THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE 17 page

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 342.

"'I say a night's work, but an hour's would be nearer the mark. I

simply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine which

has got out of gear. If you show us what is wrong we shall soon

set it right ourselves. What do you think of such a commission as

that?'

"'The work appears to be light and the pay munificent.'

"'Precisely so. We shall want you to come to-night by the last

train.'

"'Where to?'

"'To Eyford, in Berkshire. It is a little place near the borders

of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of Reading. There is a

train from Paddington which would bring you there at about

11:15.'

"'Very good.'

"'I shall come down in a carriage to meet you.'

"'There is a drive, then?'

"'Yes, our little place is quite out in the country. It is a good

seven miles from Eyford Station.'

"'Then we can hardly get there before midnight. I suppose there

would be no chance of a train back. I should be compelled to stop

the night.'

"'Yes, we could easily give you a shake-down.'

"'That is very awkward. Could I not come at some more convenient

hour?'

"'We have judged it best that you should come late. It is to

recompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a

young and unknown man, a fee which would buy an opinion from the

very heads of your profession. Still, of course, if you would

like to draw out of the business, there is plenty of time to do

so.'

"I thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful they

would be to me. 'Not at all,' said I, 'I shall be very happy to

accommodate myself to your wishes. I should like, however, to

understand a little more clearly what it is that you wish me to

do.'

"'Quite so. It is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which

we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity. I

have no wish to commit you to anything without your having it all

laid before you. I suppose that we are absolutely safe from

eavesdroppers?'

"'Entirely.'

"'Then the matter stands thus. You are probably aware that

fuller's-earth is a valuable product, and that it is only found

in one or two places in England?'

"'I have heard so.'

"'Some little time ago I bought a small place--a very small

place--within ten miles of Reading. I was fortunate enough to

discover that there was a deposit of fuller's-earth in one of my

fields. On examining it, however, I found that this deposit was a

comparatively small one, and that it formed a link between two

very much larger ones upon the right and left--both of them,

however, in the grounds of my neighbours. These good people were

absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was

quite as valuable as a gold-mine. Naturally, it was to my

interest to buy their land before they discovered its true value,

but unfortunately I had no capital by which I could do this. I

took a few of my friends into the secret, however, and they

suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little

deposit and that in this way we should earn the money which would

enable us to buy the neighbouring fields. This we have now been

doing for some time, and in order to help us in our operations we

erected a hydraulic press. This press, as I have already

explained, has got out of order, and we wish your advice upon the

subject. We guard our secret very jealously, however, and if it

once became known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our

little house, it would soon rouse inquiry, and then, if the facts

came out, it would be good-bye to any chance of getting these

fields and carrying out our plans. That is why I have made you

promise me that you will not tell a human being that you are

going to Eyford to-night. I hope that I make it all plain?'

"'I quite follow you,' said I. 'The only point which I could not

quite understand was what use you could make of a hydraulic press

in excavating fuller's-earth, which, as I understand, is dug out

like gravel from a pit.'

"'Ah!' said he carelessly, 'we have our own process. We compress

the earth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealing

what they are. But that is a mere detail. I have taken you fully

into my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley, and I have shown you how I

trust you.' He rose as he spoke. 'I shall expect you, then, at

Eyford at 11:15.'

"'I shall certainly be there.'

"'And not a word to a soul.' He looked at me with a last long,

questioning gaze, and then, pressing my hand in a cold, dank

grasp, he hurried from the room.

"Well, when I came to think it all over in cool blood I was very

much astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission

which had been intrusted to me. On the one hand, of course, I was

glad, for the fee was at least tenfold what I should have asked

had I set a price upon my own services, and it was possible that

this order might lead to other ones. On the other hand, the face

and manner of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon

me, and I could not think that his explanation of the

fuller's-earth was sufficient to explain the necessity for my

coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should tell

anyone of my errand. However, I threw all fears to the winds, ate

a hearty supper, drove to Paddington, and started off, having

obeyed to the letter the injunction as to holding my tongue.

"At Reading I had to change not only my carriage but my station.

However, I was in time for the last train to Eyford, and I

reached the little dim-lit station after eleven o'clock. I was the

only passenger who got out there, and there was no one upon the

platform save a single sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passed

out through the wicket gate, however, I found my acquaintance of

the morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without a

word he grasped my arm and hurried me into a carriage, the door

of which was standing open. He drew up the windows on either

side, tapped on the wood-work, and away we went as fast as the

horse could go."

"One horse?" interjected Holmes.

"Yes, only one."

"Did you observe the colour?"

"Yes, I saw it by the side-lights when I was stepping into the

carriage. It was a chestnut."

"Tired-looking or fresh?"

"Oh, fresh and glossy."

"Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue

your most interesting statement."

"Away we went then, and we drove for at least an hour. Colonel

Lysander Stark had said that it was only seven miles, but I

should think, from the rate that we seemed to go, and from the

time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He sat

at my side in silence all the time, and I was aware, more than

once when I glanced in his direction, that he was looking at me

with great intensity. The country roads seem to be not very good

in that part of the world, for we lurched and jolted terribly. I

tried to look out of the windows to see something of where we

were, but they were made of frosted glass, and I could make out

nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light. Now

and then I hazarded some remark to break the monotony of the

journey, but the colonel answered only in monosyllables, and the

conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping of the

road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a gravel-drive,

and the carriage came to a stand. Colonel Lysander Stark sprang

out, and, as I followed after him, pulled me swiftly into a porch

which gaped in front of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of

the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed to catch the

most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant that

I had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us,

and I heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage

drove away.

"It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled

about looking for matches and muttering under his breath.

Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and a

long, golden bar of light shot out in our direction. It grew

broader, and a woman appeared with a lamp in her hand, which she

held above her head, pushing her face forward and peering at us.

I could see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with which

the light shone upon her dark dress I knew that it was a rich

material. She spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as

though asking a question, and when my companion answered in a

gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly

fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her, whispered

something in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the room

from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the

lamp in his hand.

"'Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a

few minutes,' said he, throwing open another door. It was a

quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the

centre, on which several German books were scattered. Colonel

Stark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the

door. 'I shall not keep you waiting an instant,' said he, and

vanished into the darkness.

"I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my

ignorance of German I could see that two of them were treatises

on science, the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked

across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of

the country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded

across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There was an old

clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise

everything was deadly still. A vague feeling of uneasiness began

to steal over me. Who were these German people, and what were

they doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? And

where was the place? I was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was

all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or west I had no

idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other large towns,

were within that radius, so the place might not be so secluded,

after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness,

that we were in the country. I paced up and down the room,

humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling

that I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee.

"Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the

utter stillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman

was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind

her, the yellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager and

beautiful face. I could see at a glance that she was sick with

fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one

shaking finger to warn me to be silent, and she shot a few

whispered words of broken English at me, her eyes glancing back,

like those of a frightened horse, into the gloom behind her.

"'I would go,' said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, to

speak calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is no

good for you to do.'

"'But, madam,' said I, 'I have not yet done what I came for. I

cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.'

"'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass

through the door; no one hinders.' And then, seeing that I smiled

and shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and

made a step forward, with her hands wrung together. 'For the love

of Heaven!' she whispered, 'get away from here before it is too

late!'

"But I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready to

engage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I

thought of my fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of

the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to

go for nothing? Why should I slink away without having carried

out my commission, and without the payment which was my due? This

woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout

bearing, therefore, though her manner had shaken me more than I

cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention

of remaining where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties

when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several footsteps

was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up

her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and

as noiselessly as she had come.

"The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick man

with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double

chin, who was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson.

"'This is my secretary and manager,' said the colonel. 'By the

way, I was under the impression that I left this door shut just

now. I fear that you have felt the draught.'

"'On the contrary,' said I, 'I opened the door myself because I

felt the room to be a little close.'

"He shot one of his suspicious looks at me. 'Perhaps we had

better proceed to business, then,' said he. 'Mr. Ferguson and I

will take you up to see the machine.'

"'I had better put my hat on, I suppose.'

"'Oh, no, it is in the house.'

"'What, you dig fuller's-earth in the house?'

"'No, no. This is only where we compress it. But never mind that.

All we wish you to do is to examine the machine and to let us

know what is wrong with it.'

"We went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, the

fat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house,

with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little

low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the

generations who had crossed them. There were no carpets and no

signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster

was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in

green, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned an

air as possible, but I had not forgotten the warnings of the

lady, even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen eye upon

my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent

man, but I could see from the little that he said that he was at

least a fellow-countryman.

"Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door, which

he unlocked. Within was a small, square room, in which the three

of us could hardly get at one time. Ferguson remained outside,

and the colonel ushered me in.

"'We are now,' said he, 'actually within the hydraulic press, and

it would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were

to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the

end of the descending piston, and it comes down with the force of

many tons upon this metal floor. There are small lateral columns

of water outside which receive the force, and which transmit and

multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The machine

goes readily enough, but there is some stiffness in the working

of it, and it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you will

have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set

it right.'

"I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very

thoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of

exercising enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and

pressed down the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by

the whishing sound that there was a slight leakage, which allowed

a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders. An

examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was

round the head of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not quite to

fill the socket along which it worked. This was clearly the cause

of the loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions, who

followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical

questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When I

had made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the

machine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity.

It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller's-earth

was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose

that so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate a

purpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a

large iron trough, and when I came to examine it I could see a

crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was

scraping at this to see exactly what it was when I heard a

muttered exclamation in German and saw the cadaverous face of the

colonel looking down at me.

"'What are you doing there?' he asked.

"I felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as

that which he had told me. 'I was admiring your fuller's-earth,'

said I; 'I think that I should be better able to advise you as to

your machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which it

was used.'

"The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of

my speech. His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in

his grey eyes.

"'Very well,' said he, 'you shall know all about the machine.' He

took a step backward, slammed the little door, and turned the key

in the lock. I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle, but it

was quite secure, and did not give in the least to my kicks and

shoves. 'Hullo!' I yelled. 'Hullo! Colonel! Let me out!'

"And then suddenly in the silence I heard a sound which sent my

heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the levers and the swish

of the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lamp

still stood upon the floor where I had placed it when examining

the trough. By its light I saw that the black ceiling was coming

down upon me, slowly, jerkily, but, as none knew better than

myself, with a force which must within a minute grind me to a

shapeless pulp. I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and

dragged with my nails at the lock. I implored the colonel to let

me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my

cries. The ceiling was only a foot or two above my head, and with

my hand upraised I could feel its hard, rough surface. Then it

flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend

very much upon the position in which I met it. If I lay on my

face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to

think of that dreadful snap. Easier the other way, perhaps; and

yet, had I the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly black

shadow wavering down upon me? Already I was unable to stand

erect, when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope

back to my heart.

"I have said that though the floor and ceiling were of iron, the

walls were of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around, I saw

a thin line of yellow light between two of the boards, which

broadened and broadened as a small panel was pushed backward. For

an instant I could hardly believe that here was indeed a door

which led away from death. The next instant I threw myself

through, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel had

closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp, and a few

moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told me

how narrow had been my escape.

"I was recalled to myself by a frantic plucking at my wrist, and

I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor,

while a woman bent over me and tugged at me with her left hand,

while she held a candle in her right. It was the same good friend

whose warning I had so foolishly rejected.

"'Come! come!' she cried breathlessly. 'They will be here in a

moment. They will see that you are not there. Oh, do not waste

the so-precious time, but come!'

"This time, at least, I did not scorn her advice. I staggered to

my feet and ran with her along the corridor and down a winding

stair. The latter led to another broad passage, and just as we

reached it we heard the sound of running feet and the shouting of

two voices, one answering the other from the floor on which we

were and from the one beneath. My guide stopped and looked about

her like one who is at her wit's end. Then she threw open a door

which led into a bedroom, through the window of which the moon

was shining brightly.

"'It is your only chance,' said she. 'It is high, but it may be

that you can jump it.'

"As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the

passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark

rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a

butcher's cleaver in the other. I rushed across the bedroom,

flung open the window, and looked out. How quiet and sweet and

wholesome the garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be

more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but I

hesitated to jump until I should have heard what passed between

my saviour and the ruffian who pursued me. If she were ill-used,

then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance.

The thought had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at

the door, pushing his way past her; but she threw her arms round

him and tried to hold him back.

"'Fritz! Fritz!' she cried in English, 'remember your promise

after the last time. You said it should not be again. He will be

silent! Oh, he will be silent!'

"'You are mad, Elise!' he shouted, struggling to break away from

her. 'You will be the ruin of us. He has seen too much. Let me

pass, I say!' He dashed her to one side, and, rushing to the

window, cut at me with his heavy weapon. I had let myself go, and

was hanging by the hands to the sill, when his blow fell. I was

conscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into the

garden below.

"I was shaken but not hurt by the fall; so I picked myself up and

rushed off among the bushes as hard as I could run, for I

understood that I was far from being out of danger yet. Suddenly,

however, as I ran, a deadly dizziness and sickness came over me.

I glanced down at my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and

then, for the first time, saw that my thumb had been cut off and

that the blood was pouring from my wound. I endeavoured to tie my

handkerchief round it, but there came a sudden buzzing in my

ears, and next moment I fell in a dead faint among the

rose-bushes.

"How long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have been

a very long time, for the moon had sunk, and a bright morning was

breaking when I came to myself. My clothes were all sodden with

dew, and my coat-sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded

thumb. The smarting of it recalled in an instant all the

particulars of my night's adventure, and I sprang to my feet with

the feeling that I might hardly yet be safe from my pursuers. But

to my astonishment, when I came to look round me, neither house

nor garden were to be seen. I had been lying in an angle of the

hedge close by the highroad, and just a little lower down was a

long building, which proved, upon my approaching it, to be the

very station at which I had arrived upon the previous night. Were

it not for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had passed

during those dreadful hours might have been an evil dream.

"Half dazed, I went into the station and asked about the morning

train. There would be one to Reading in less than an hour. The

same porter was on duty, I found, as had been there when I

arrived. I inquired of him whether he had ever heard of Colonel

Lysander Stark. The name was strange to him. Had he observed a

carriage the night before waiting for me? No, he had not. Was

there a police-station anywhere near? There was one about three

miles off.

"It was too far for me to go, weak and ill as I was. I determined

to wait until I got back to town before telling my story to the

police. It was a little past six when I arrived, so I went first

to have my wound dressed, and then the doctor was kind enough to

bring me along here. I put the case into your hands and shall do

exactly what you advise."

We both sat in silence for some little time after listening to

this extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down

from the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in which he

placed his cuttings.

"Here is an advertisement which will interest you," said he. "It

appeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this:

'Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, aged

twenty-six, a hydraulic engineer. Left his lodgings at ten

o'clock at night, and has not been heard of since. Was

dressed in,' etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time that

the colonel needed to have his machine overhauled, I fancy."

"Good heavens!" cried my patient. "Then that explains what the

girl said."

"Undoubtedly. It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and

desperate man, who was absolutely determined that nothing should

stand in the way of his little game, like those out-and-out

pirates who will leave no survivor from a captured ship. Well,

every moment now is precious, so if you feel equal to it we shall

go down to Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary to starting for

Eyford."

Some three hours or so afterwards we were all in the train

together, bound from Reading to the little Berkshire village.

There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector

Bradstreet, of Scotland Yard, a plain-clothes man, and myself.

Bradstreet had spread an ordnance map of the county out upon the

seat and was busy with his compasses drawing a circle with Eyford

for its centre.

"There you are," said he. "That circle is drawn at a radius of

ten miles from the village. The place we want must be somewhere