THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE 22 page

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been! And his asking to be allowed to go out for five minutes!

The dear fellow wanted to see if the missing piece were at the

scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him!"

"When I arrived at the house," continued Holmes, "I at once went

very carefully round it to observe if there were any traces in

the snow which might help me. I knew that none had fallen since

the evening before, and also that there had been a strong frost

to preserve impressions. I passed along the tradesmen's path, but

found it all trampled down and indistinguishable. Just beyond it,

however, at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood

and talked with a man, whose round impressions on one side showed

that he had a wooden leg. I could even tell that they had been

disturbed, for the woman had run back swiftly to the door, as was

shown by the deep toe and light heel marks, while Wooden-leg had

waited a little, and then had gone away. I thought at the time

that this might be the maid and her sweetheart, of whom you had

already spoken to me, and inquiry showed it was so. I passed

round the garden without seeing anything more than random tracks,

which I took to be the police; but when I got into the stable

lane a very long and complex story was written in the snow in

front of me.

"There was a double line of tracks of a booted man, and a second

double line which I saw with delight belonged to a man with naked

feet. I was at once convinced from what you had told me that the

latter was your son. The first had walked both ways, but the

other had run swiftly, and as his tread was marked in places over

the depression of the boot, it was obvious that he had passed

after the other. I followed them up and found they led to the

hall window, where Boots had worn all the snow away while

waiting. Then I walked to the other end, which was a hundred

yards or more down the lane. I saw where Boots had faced round,

where the snow was cut up as though there had been a struggle,

and, finally, where a few drops of blood had fallen, to show me

that I was not mistaken. Boots had then run down the lane, and

another little smudge of blood showed that it was he who had been

hurt. When he came to the highroad at the other end, I found that

the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to that clue.

"On entering the house, however, I examined, as you remember, the

sill and framework of the hall window with my lens, and I could

at once see that someone had passed out. I could distinguish the

outline of an instep where the wet foot had been placed in coming

in. I was then beginning to be able to form an opinion as to what

had occurred. A man had waited outside the window; someone had

brought the gems; the deed had been overseen by your son; he had

pursued the thief; had struggled with him; they had each tugged

at the coronet, their united strength causing injuries which

neither alone could have effected. He had returned with the

prize, but had left a fragment in the grasp of his opponent. So

far I was clear. The question now was, who was the man and who

was it brought him the coronet?

"It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the

impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the

truth. Now, I knew that it was not you who had brought it down,

so there only remained your niece and the maids. But if it were

the maids, why should your son allow himself to be accused in

their place? There could be no possible reason. As he loved his

cousin, however, there was an excellent explanation why he should

retain her secret--the more so as the secret was a disgraceful

one. When I remembered that you had seen her at that window, and

how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again, my conjecture

became a certainty.

"And who could it be who was her confederate? A lover evidently,

for who else could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must

feel to you? I knew that you went out little, and that your

circle of friends was a very limited one. But among them was Sir

George Burnwell. I had heard of him before as being a man of evil

reputation among women. It must have been he who wore those boots

and retained the missing gems. Even though he knew that Arthur

had discovered him, he might still flatter himself that he was

safe, for the lad could not say a word without compromising his

own family.

"Well, your own good sense will suggest what measures I took

next. I went in the shape of a loafer to Sir George's house,

managed to pick up an acquaintance with his valet, learned that

his master had cut his head the night before, and, finally, at

the expense of six shillings, made all sure by buying a pair of

his cast-off shoes. With these I journeyed down to Streatham and

saw that they exactly fitted the tracks."

"I saw an ill-dressed vagabond in the lane yesterday evening,"

said Mr. Holder.

"Precisely. It was I. I found that I had my man, so I came home

and changed my clothes. It was a delicate part which I had to

play then, for I saw that a prosecution must be avoided to avert

scandal, and I knew that so astute a villain would see that our

hands were tied in the matter. I went and saw him. At first, of

course, he denied everything. But when I gave him every

particular that had occurred, he tried to bluster and took down a

life-preserver from the wall. I knew my man, however, and I

clapped a pistol to his head before he could strike. Then he

became a little more reasonable. I told him that we would give

him a price for the stones he held--1000 pounds apiece. That

brought out the first signs of grief that he had shown. 'Why,

dash it all!' said he, 'I've let them go at six hundred for the

three!' I soon managed to get the address of the receiver who had

them, on promising him that there would be no prosecution. Off I

set to him, and after much chaffering I got our stones at 1000

pounds apiece. Then I looked in upon your son, told him that all

was right, and eventually got to my bed about two o'clock, after

what I may call a really hard day's work."

"A day which has saved England from a great public scandal," said

the banker, rising. "Sir, I cannot find words to thank you, but

you shall not find me ungrateful for what you have done. Your

skill has indeed exceeded all that I have heard of it. And now I

must fly to my dear boy to apologise to him for the wrong which I

have done him. As to what you tell me of poor Mary, it goes to my

very heart. Not even your skill can inform me where she is now."

"I think that we may safely say," returned Holmes, "that she is

wherever Sir George Burnwell is. It is equally certain, too, that

whatever her sins are, they will soon receive a more than

sufficient punishment."

XII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHES

"To the man who loves art for its own sake," remarked Sherlock

Holmes, tossing aside the advertisement sheet of the Daily

Telegraph, "it is frequently in its least important and lowliest

manifestations that the keenest pleasure is to be derived. It is

pleasant to me to observe, Watson, that you have so far grasped

this truth that in these little records of our cases which you

have been good enough to draw up, and, I am bound to say,

occasionally to embellish, you have given prominence not so much

to the many causes cйlиbres and sensational trials in which I

have figured but rather to those incidents which may have been

trivial in themselves, but which have given room for those

faculties of deduction and of logical synthesis which I have made

my special province."

"And yet," said I, smiling, "I cannot quite hold myself absolved

from the charge of sensationalism which has been urged against my

records."

"You have erred, perhaps," he observed, taking up a glowing

cinder with the tongs and lighting with it the long cherry-wood

pipe which was wont to replace his clay when he was in a

disputatious rather than a meditative mood--"you have erred

perhaps in attempting to put colour and life into each of your

statements instead of confining yourself to the task of placing

upon record that severe reasoning from cause to effect which is

really the only notable feature about the thing."

"It seems to me that I have done you full justice in the matter,"

I remarked with some coldness, for I was repelled by the egotism

which I had more than once observed to be a strong factor in my

friend's singular character.

"No, it is not selfishness or conceit," said he, answering, as

was his wont, my thoughts rather than my words. "If I claim full

justice for my art, it is because it is an impersonal thing--a

thing beyond myself. Crime is common. Logic is rare. Therefore it

is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should

dwell. You have degraded what should have been a course of

lectures into a series of tales."

It was a cold morning of the early spring, and we sat after

breakfast on either side of a cheery fire in the old room at

Baker Street. A thick fog rolled down between the lines of

dun-coloured houses, and the opposing windows loomed like dark,

shapeless blurs through the heavy yellow wreaths. Our gas was lit

and shone on the white cloth and glimmer of china and metal, for

the table had not been cleared yet. Sherlock Holmes had been

silent all the morning, dipping continuously into the

advertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last,

having apparently given up his search, he had emerged in no very

sweet temper to lecture me upon my literary shortcomings.

"At the same time," he remarked after a pause, during which he

had sat puffing at his long pipe and gazing down into the fire,

"you can hardly be open to a charge of sensationalism, for out of

these cases which you have been so kind as to interest yourself

in, a fair proportion do not treat of crime, in its legal sense,

at all. The small matter in which I endeavoured to help the King

of Bohemia, the singular experience of Miss Mary Sutherland, the

problem connected with the man with the twisted lip, and the

incident of the noble bachelor, were all matters which are

outside the pale of the law. But in avoiding the sensational, I

fear that you may have bordered on the trivial."

"The end may have been so," I answered, "but the methods I hold

to have been novel and of interest."

"Pshaw, my dear fellow, what do the public, the great unobservant

public, who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a

compositor by his left thumb, care about the finer shades of

analysis and deduction! But, indeed, if you are trivial. I cannot

blame you, for the days of the great cases are past. Man, or at

least criminal man, has lost all enterprise and originality. As

to my own little practice, it seems to be degenerating into an

agency for recovering lost lead pencils and giving advice to

young ladies from boarding-schools. I think that I have touched

bottom at last, however. This note I had this morning marks my

zero-point, I fancy. Read it!" He tossed a crumpled letter across

to me.

It was dated from Montague Place upon the preceding evening, and

ran thus:

"DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether

I should or should not accept a situation which has been offered

to me as governess. I shall call at half-past ten to-morrow if I

do not inconvenience you. Yours faithfully,

"VIOLET HUNTER."

"Do you know the young lady?" I asked.

"Not I."

"It is half-past ten now."

"Yes, and I have no doubt that is her ring."

"It may turn out to be of more interest than you think. You

remember that the affair of the blue carbuncle, which appeared to

be a mere whim at first, developed into a serious investigation.

It may be so in this case, also."

"Well, let us hope so. But our doubts will very soon be solved,

for here, unless I am much mistaken, is the person in question."

As he spoke the door opened and a young lady entered the room.

She was plainly but neatly dressed, with a bright, quick face,

freckled like a plover's egg, and with the brisk manner of a

woman who has had her own way to make in the world.

"You will excuse my troubling you, I am sure," said she, as my

companion rose to greet her, "but I have had a very strange

experience, and as I have no parents or relations of any sort

from whom I could ask advice, I thought that perhaps you would be

kind enough to tell me what I should do."

"Pray take a seat, Miss Hunter. I shall be happy to do anything

that I can to serve you."

I could see that Holmes was favourably impressed by the manner

and speech of his new client. He looked her over in his searching

fashion, and then composed himself, with his lids drooping and

his finger-tips together, to listen to her story.

"I have been a governess for five years," said she, "in the

family of Colonel Spence Munro, but two months ago the colonel

received an appointment at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and took his

children over to America with him, so that I found myself without

a situation. I advertised, and I answered advertisements, but

without success. At last the little money which I had saved began

to run short, and I was at my wit's end as to what I should do.

"There is a well-known agency for governesses in the West End

called Westaway's, and there I used to call about once a week in

order to see whether anything had turned up which might suit me.

Westaway was the name of the founder of the business, but it is

really managed by Miss Stoper. She sits in her own little office,

and the ladies who are seeking employment wait in an anteroom,

and are then shown in one by one, when she consults her ledgers

and sees whether she has anything which would suit them.

"Well, when I called last week I was shown into the little office

as usual, but I found that Miss Stoper was not alone. A

prodigiously stout man with a very smiling face and a great heavy

chin which rolled down in fold upon fold over his throat sat at

her elbow with a pair of glasses on his nose, looking very

earnestly at the ladies who entered. As I came in he gave quite a

jump in his chair and turned quickly to Miss Stoper.

"'That will do,' said he; 'I could not ask for anything better.

Capital! capital!' He seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his

hands together in the most genial fashion. He was such a

comfortable-looking man that it was quite a pleasure to look at

him.

"'You are looking for a situation, miss?' he asked.

"'Yes, sir.'

"'As governess?'

"'Yes, sir.'

"'And what salary do you ask?'

"'I had 4 pounds a month in my last place with Colonel Spence

Munro.'

"'Oh, tut, tut! sweating--rank sweating!' he cried, throwing his

fat hands out into the air like a man who is in a boiling

passion. 'How could anyone offer so pitiful a sum to a lady with

such attractions and accomplishments?'

"'My accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,' said I.

'A little French, a little German, music, and drawing--'

"'Tut, tut!' he cried. 'This is all quite beside the question.

The point is, have you or have you not the bearing and deportment

of a lady? There it is in a nutshell. If you have not, you are

not fitted for the rearing of a child who may some day play a

considerable part in the history of the country. But if you have

why, then, how could any gentleman ask you to condescend to

accept anything under the three figures? Your salary with me,

madam, would commence at 100 pounds a year.'

"You may imagine, Mr. Holmes, that to me, destitute as I was,

such an offer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman,

however, seeing perhaps the look of incredulity upon my face,

opened a pocket-book and took out a note.

"'It is also my custom,' said he, smiling in the most pleasant

fashion until his eyes were just two little shining slits amid

the white creases of his face, 'to advance to my young ladies

half their salary beforehand, so that they may meet any little

expenses of their journey and their wardrobe.'

"It seemed to me that I had never met so fascinating and so

thoughtful a man. As I was already in debt to my tradesmen, the

advance was a great convenience, and yet there was something

unnatural about the whole transaction which made me wish to know

a little more before I quite committed myself.

"'May I ask where you live, sir?' said I.

"'Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper Beeches, five miles

on the far side of Winchester. It is the most lovely country, my

dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.'

"'And my duties, sir? I should be glad to know what they would

be.'

"'One child--one dear little romper just six years old. Oh, if

you could see him killing cockroaches with a slipper! Smack!

smack! smack! Three gone before you could wink!' He leaned back

in his chair and laughed his eyes into his head again.

"I was a little startled at the nature of the child's amusement,

but the father's laughter made me think that perhaps he was

joking.

"'My sole duties, then,' I asked, 'are to take charge of a single

child?'

"'No, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,' he

cried. 'Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would

suggest, to obey any little commands my wife might give, provided

always that they were such commands as a lady might with

propriety obey. You see no difficulty, heh?'

"'I should be happy to make myself useful.'

"'Quite so. In dress now, for example. We are faddy people, you

know--faddy but kind-hearted. If you were asked to wear any dress

which we might give you, you would not object to our little whim.

Heh?'

"'No,' said I, considerably astonished at his words.

"'Or to sit here, or sit there, that would not be offensive to

you?'

"'Oh, no.'

"'Or to cut your hair quite short before you come to us?'

"I could hardly believe my ears. As you may observe, Mr. Holmes,

my hair is somewhat luxuriant, and of a rather peculiar tint of

chestnut. It has been considered artistic. I could not dream of

sacrificing it in this offhand fashion.

"'I am afraid that that is quite impossible,' said I. He had been

watching me eagerly out of his small eyes, and I could see a

shadow pass over his face as I spoke.

"'I am afraid that it is quite essential,' said he. 'It is a

little fancy of my wife's, and ladies' fancies, you know, madam,

ladies' fancies must be consulted. And so you won't cut your

hair?'

"'No, sir, I really could not,' I answered firmly.

"'Ah, very well; then that quite settles the matter. It is a

pity, because in other respects you would really have done very

nicely. In that case, Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a few more

of your young ladies.'

"The manageress had sat all this while busy with her papers

without a word to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so

much annoyance upon her face that I could not help suspecting

that she had lost a handsome commission through my refusal.

"'Do you desire your name to be kept upon the books?' she asked.

"'If you please, Miss Stoper.'

"'Well, really, it seems rather useless, since you refuse the

most excellent offers in this fashion,' said she sharply. 'You

can hardly expect us to exert ourselves to find another such

opening for you. Good-day to you, Miss Hunter.' She struck a gong

upon the table, and I was shown out by the page.

"Well, Mr. Holmes, when I got back to my lodgings and found

little enough in the cupboard, and two or three bills upon the

table. I began to ask myself whether I had not done a very

foolish thing. After all, if these people had strange fads and

expected obedience on the most extraordinary matters, they were

at least ready to pay for their eccentricity. Very few

governesses in England are getting 100 pounds a year. Besides,

what use was my hair to me? Many people are improved by wearing

it short and perhaps I should be among the number. Next day I was

inclined to think that I had made a mistake, and by the day after

I was sure of it. I had almost overcome my pride so far as to go

back to the agency and inquire whether the place was still open

when I received this letter from the gentleman himself. I have it

here and I will read it to you:

"'The Copper Beeches, near Winchester.

"'DEAR MISS HUNTER:--Miss Stoper has very kindly given me your

address, and I write from here to ask you whether you have

reconsidered your decision. My wife is very anxious that you

should come, for she has been much attracted by my description of

you. We are willing to give 30 pounds a quarter, or 120 pounds a

year, so as to recompense you for any little inconvenience which

our fads may cause you. They are not very exacting, after all. My

wife is fond of a particular shade of electric blue and would

like you to wear such a dress indoors in the morning. You need

not, however, go to the expense of purchasing one, as we have one

belonging to my dear daughter Alice (now in Philadelphia), which

would, I should think, fit you very well. Then, as to sitting

here or there, or amusing yourself in any manner indicated, that

need cause you no inconvenience. As regards your hair, it is no

doubt a pity, especially as I could not help remarking its beauty

during our short interview, but I am afraid that I must remain

firm upon this point, and I only hope that the increased salary

may recompense you for the loss. Your duties, as far as the child

is concerned, are very light. Now do try to come, and I shall

meet you with the dog-cart at Winchester. Let me know your train.

Yours faithfully, JEPHRO RUCASTLE.'

"That is the letter which I have just received, Mr. Holmes, and

my mind is made up that I will accept it. I thought, however,

that before taking the final step I should like to submit the

whole matter to your consideration."

"Well, Miss Hunter, if your mind is made up, that settles the

question," said Holmes, smiling.

"But you would not advise me to refuse?"

"I confess that it is not the situation which I should like to

see a sister of mine apply for."

"What is the meaning of it all, Mr. Holmes?"

"Ah, I have no data. I cannot tell. Perhaps you have yourself

formed some opinion?"

"Well, there seems to me to be only one possible solution. Mr.

Rucastle seemed to be a very kind, good-natured man. Is it not

possible that his wife is a lunatic, that he desires to keep the

matter quiet for fear she should be taken to an asylum, and that

he humours her fancies in every way in order to prevent an

outbreak?"

"That is a possible solution--in fact, as matters stand, it is

the most probable one. But in any case it does not seem to be a

nice household for a young lady."

"But the money, Mr. Holmes, the money!"

"Well, yes, of course the pay is good--too good. That is what

makes me uneasy. Why should they give you 120 pounds a year, when

they could have their pick for 40 pounds? There must be some

strong reason behind."

"I thought that if I told you the circumstances you would

understand afterwards if I wanted your help. I should feel so

much stronger if I felt that you were at the back of me."

"Oh, you may carry that feeling away with you. I assure you that

your little problem promises to be the most interesting which has

come my way for some months. There is something distinctly novel

about some of the features. If you should find yourself in doubt

or in danger--"

"Danger! What danger do you foresee?"

Holmes shook his head gravely. "It would cease to be a danger if

we could define it," said he. "But at any time, day or night, a

telegram would bring me down to your help."

"That is enough." She rose briskly from her chair with the

anxiety all swept from her face. "I shall go down to Hampshire

quite easy in my mind now. I shall write to Mr. Rucastle at once,

sacrifice my poor hair to-night, and start for Winchester

to-morrow." With a few grateful words to Holmes she bade us both

good-night and bustled off upon her way.

"At least," said I as we heard her quick, firm steps descending

the stairs, "she seems to be a young lady who is very well able

to take care of herself."

"And she would need to be," said Holmes gravely. "I am much

mistaken if we do not hear from her before many days are past."

It was not very long before my friend's prediction was fulfilled.

A fortnight went by, during which I frequently found my thoughts

turning in her direction and wondering what strange side-alley of

human experience this lonely woman had strayed into. The unusual

salary, the curious conditions, the light duties, all pointed to

something abnormal, though whether a fad or a plot, or whether

the man were a philanthropist or a villain, it was quite beyond

my powers to determine. As to Holmes, I observed that he sat

frequently for half an hour on end, with knitted brows and an