RubyGems - git-scribe - Versions diffs - 0.0.4 → 0.0.5 - Mend

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@@ -1,825 +0,0 @@
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-    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
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-    <title>The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle</title>
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-    <table width="100%">
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-    <div class="content">
-      <div class="section" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
-<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">
-<a id="_the_adventure_of_the_blue_carbuncle"></a>The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle</h2></div></div></div>
-<p>I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second
-morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the
-compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a
-purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the
-right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly
-studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and
-on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable
-hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several
-places. A lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair
-suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the
-purpose of examination.</p>
-<p>"You are engaged," said I; "perhaps I interrupt you."</p>
-<p>"Not at all. I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss
-my results. The matter is a perfectly trivial one"--he jerked his
-thumb in the direction of the old hat--"but there are points in
-connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and
-even of instruction."</p>
-<p>I seated myself in his armchair and warmed my hands before his
-crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows
-were thick with the ice crystals. "I suppose," I remarked, "that,
-homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to
-it—that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of
-some mystery and the punishment of some crime."</p>
-<p>"No, no. No crime," said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. "Only one of
-those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have
-four million human beings all jostling each other within the
-space of a few square miles. Amid the action and reaction of so
-dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events
-may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be
-presented which may be striking and bizarre without being
-criminal. We have already had experience of such."</p>
-<p>"So much so," I remarked, "that of the last six cases which I
-have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any
-legal crime."</p>
-<p>"Precisely. You allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler
-papers, to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to the
-adventure of the man with the twisted lip. Well, I have no doubt
-that this small matter will fall into the same innocent category.
-You know Peterson, the commissionaire?"</p>
-<p>"Yes."</p>
-<p>"It is to him that this trophy belongs."</p>
-<p>"It is his hat."</p>
-<p>"No, no, he found it. Its owner is unknown. I beg that you will
-look upon it not as a battered billycock but as an intellectual
-problem. And, first, as to how it came here. It arrived upon
-Christmas morning, in company with a good fat goose, which is, I
-have no doubt, roasting at this moment in front of Peterson’s
-fire. The facts are these: about four o’clock on Christmas
-morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was
-returning from some small jollification and was making his way
-homeward down Tottenham Court Road. In front of him he saw, in
-the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and
-carrying a white goose slung over his shoulder. As he reached the
-corner of Goodge Street, a row broke out between this stranger
-and a little knot of roughs. One of the latter knocked off the
-man’s hat, on which he raised his stick to defend himself and,
-swinging it over his head, smashed the shop window behind him.
-Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his
-assailants; but the man, shocked at having broken the window, and
-seeing an official-looking person in uniform rushing towards him,
-dropped his goose, took to his heels, and vanished amid the
-labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of Tottenham
-Court Road. The roughs had also fled at the appearance of
-Peterson, so that he was left in possession of the field of
-battle, and also of the spoils of victory in the shape of this
-battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas goose."</p>
-<p>"Which surely he restored to their owner?"</p>
-<p>"My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that <span class="emphasis"><em>For
-Mrs. Henry Baker</em></span> was printed upon a small card which was tied to
-the bird’s left leg, and it is also true that the initials <span class="emphasis"><em>H.
-B.</em></span> are legible upon the lining of this hat, but as there are
-some thousands of Bakers, and some hundreds of Henry Bakers in
-this city of ours, it is not easy to restore lost property to any
-one of them."</p>
-<p>"What, then, did Peterson do?"</p>
-<p>"He brought round both hat and goose to me on Christmas morning,
-knowing that even the smallest problems are of interest to me.
-The goose we retained until this morning, when there were signs
-that, in spite of the slight frost, it would be well that it
-should be eaten without unnecessary delay. Its finder has carried
-it off, therefore, to fulfil the ultimate destiny of a goose,
-while I continue to retain the hat of the unknown gentleman who
-lost his Christmas dinner."</p>
-<p>"Did he not advertise?"</p>
-<p>"No."</p>
-<p>"Then, what clue could you have as to his identity?"</p>
-<p>"Only as much as we can deduce."</p>
-<p>"From his hat?"</p>
-<p>"Precisely."</p>
-<p>"But you are joking. What can you gather from this old battered
-felt?"</p>
-<p>"Here is my lens. You know my methods. What can you gather
-yourself as to the individuality of the man who has worn this
-article?"</p>
-<p>I took the tattered object in my hands and turned it over rather
-ruefully. It was a very ordinary black hat of the usual round
-shape, hard and much the worse for wear. The lining had been of
-red silk, but was a good deal discoloured. There was no maker’s
-name; but, as Holmes had remarked, the initials "H. B." were
-scrawled upon one side. It was pierced in the brim for a
-hat-securer, but the elastic was missing. For the rest, it was
-cracked, exceedingly dusty, and spotted in several places,
-although there seemed to have been some attempt to hide the
-discoloured patches by smearing them with ink.</p>
-<p>"I can see nothing," said I, handing it back to my friend.</p>
-<p>"On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail,
-however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in
-drawing your inferences."</p>
-<p>"Then, pray tell me what it is that you can infer from this hat?"</p>
-<p>He picked it up and gazed at it in the peculiar introspective
-fashion which was characteristic of him. "It is perhaps less
-suggestive than it might have been," he remarked, "and yet there
-are a few inferences which are very distinct, and a few others
-which represent at least a strong balance of probability. That
-the man was highly intellectual is of course obvious upon the
-face of it, and also that he was fairly well-to-do within the
-last three years, although he has now fallen upon evil days. He
-had foresight, but has less now than formerly, pointing to a
-moral retrogression, which, when taken with the decline of his
-fortunes, seems to indicate some evil influence, probably drink,
-at work upon him. This may account also for the obvious fact that
-his wife has ceased to love him."</p>
-<p>"My dear Holmes!"</p>
-<p>"He has, however, retained some degree of self-respect," he
-continued, disregarding my remonstrance. "He is a man who leads a
-sedentary life, goes out little, is out of training entirely, is
-middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the
-last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream. These are
-the more patent facts which are to be deduced from his hat. Also,
-by the way, that it is extremely improbable that he has gas laid
-on in his house."</p>
-<p>"You are certainly joking, Holmes."</p>
-<p>"Not in the least. Is it possible that even now, when I give you
-these results, you are unable to see how they are attained?"</p>
-<p>"I have no doubt that I am very stupid, but I must confess that I
-am unable to follow you. For example, how did you deduce that
-this man was intellectual?"</p>
-<p>For answer Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right
-over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. "It is
-a question of cubic capacity," said he; "a man with so large a
-brain must have something in it."</p>
-<p>"The decline of his fortunes, then?"</p>
-<p>"This hat is three years old. These flat brims curled at the edge
-came in then. It is a hat of the very best quality. Look at the
-band of ribbed silk and the excellent lining. If this man could
-afford to buy so expensive a hat three years ago, and has had no
-hat since, then he has assuredly gone down in the world."</p>
-<p>"Well, that is clear enough, certainly. But how about the
-foresight and the moral retrogression?"</p>
-<p>Sherlock Holmes laughed. "Here is the foresight," said he putting
-his finger upon the little disc and loop of the hat-securer.
-"They are never sold upon hats. If this man ordered one, it is a
-sign of a certain amount of foresight, since he went out of his
-way to take this precaution against the wind. But since we see
-that he has broken the elastic and has not troubled to replace
-it, it is obvious that he has less foresight now than formerly,
-which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. On the other
-hand, he has endeavoured to conceal some of these stains upon the
-felt by daubing them with ink, which is a sign that he has not
-entirely lost his self-respect."</p>
-<p>"Your reasoning is certainly plausible."</p>
-<p>"The further points, that he is middle-aged, that his hair is
-grizzled, that it has been recently cut, and that he uses
-lime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the
-lower part of the lining. The lens discloses a large number of
-hair-ends, clean cut by the scissors of the barber. They all
-appear to be adhesive, and there is a distinct odour of
-lime-cream. This dust, you will observe, is not the gritty, grey
-dust of the street but the fluffy brown dust of the house,
-showing that it has been hung up indoors most of the time, while
-the marks of moisture upon the inside are proof positive that the
-wearer perspired very freely, and could therefore, hardly be in
-the best of training."</p>
-<p>"But his wife—you said that she had ceased to love him."</p>
-<p>"This hat has not been brushed for weeks. When I see you, my dear
-Watson, with a week’s accumulation of dust upon your hat, and
-when your wife allows you to go out in such a state, I shall fear
-that you also have been unfortunate enough to lose your wife’s
-affection."</p>
-<p>"But he might be a bachelor."</p>
-<p>"Nay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to his
-wife. Remember the card upon the bird’s leg."</p>
-<p>"You have an answer to everything. But how on earth do you deduce
-that the gas is not laid on in his house?"</p>
-<p>"One tallow stain, or even two, might come by chance; but when I
-see no less than five, I think that there can be little doubt
-that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with
-burning tallow—walks upstairs at night probably with his hat in
-one hand and a guttering candle in the other. Anyhow, he never
-got tallow-stains from a gas-jet. Are you satisfied?"</p>
-<p>"Well, it is very ingenious," said I, laughing; "but since, as
-you said just now, there has been no crime committed, and no harm
-done save the loss of a goose, all this seems to be rather a
-waste of energy."</p>
-<p>Sherlock Holmes had opened his mouth to reply, when the door flew
-open, and Peterson, the commissionaire, rushed into the apartment
-with flushed cheeks and the face of a man who is dazed with
-astonishment.</p>
-<p>"The goose, Mr. Holmes! The goose, sir!" he gasped.</p>
-<p>"Eh? What of it, then? Has it returned to life and flapped off
-through the kitchen window?" Holmes twisted himself round upon
-the sofa to get a fairer view of the man’s excited face.</p>
-<p>"See here, sir! See what my wife found in its crop!" He held out
-his hand and displayed upon the centre of the palm a brilliantly
-scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but
-of such purity and radiance that it twinkled like an electric
-point in the dark hollow of his hand.</p>
-<p>Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle. "By Jove, Peterson!" said
-he, "this is treasure trove indeed. I suppose you know what you
-have got?"</p>
-<p>"A diamond, sir? A precious stone. It cuts into glass as though
-it were putty."</p>
-<p>"It’s more than a precious stone. It is the precious stone."</p>
-<p>"Not the Countess of Morcar’s blue carbuncle!" I ejaculated.</p>
-<p>"Precisely so. I ought to know its size and shape, seeing that I
-have read the advertisement about it in The Times every day
-lately. It is absolutely unique, and its value can only be
-conjectured, but the reward offered of 1000 pounds is certainly
-not within a twentieth part of the market price."</p>
-<p>"A thousand pounds! Great Lord of mercy!" The commissionaire
-plumped down into a chair and stared from one to the other of us.</p>
-<p>"That is the reward, and I have reason to know that there are
-sentimental considerations in the background which would induce
-the Countess to part with half her fortune if she could but
-recover the gem."</p>
-<p>"It was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan," I
-remarked.</p>
-<p>"Precisely so, on December 22nd, just five days ago. John Horner,
-a plumber, was accused of having abstracted it from the lady’s
-jewel-case. The evidence against him was so strong that the case
-has been referred to the Assizes. I have some account of the
-matter here, I believe." He rummaged amid his newspapers,
-glancing over the dates, until at last he smoothed one out,
-doubled it over, and read the following paragraph:</p>
-<p>"Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery. John Horner, 26, plumber, was
-brought up upon the charge of having upon the 22nd inst.,
-abstracted from the jewel-case of the Countess of Morcar the
-valuable gem known as the blue carbuncle. James Ryder,
-upper-attendant at the hotel, gave his evidence to the effect
-that he had shown Horner up to the dressing-room of the Countess
-of Morcar upon the day of the robbery in order that he might
-solder the second bar of the grate, which was loose. He had
-remained with Horner some little time, but had finally been
-called away. On returning, he found that Horner had disappeared,
-that the bureau had been forced open, and that the small morocco
-casket in which, as it afterwards transpired, the Countess was
-accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon the
-dressing-table. Ryder instantly gave the alarm, and Horner was
-arrested the same evening; but the stone could not be found
-either upon his person or in his rooms. Catherine Cusack, maid to
-the Countess, deposed to having heard Ryder’s cry of dismay on
-discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room,
-where she found matters as described by the last witness.
-Inspector Bradstreet, B division, gave evidence as to the arrest
-of Horner, who struggled frantically, and protested his innocence
-in the strongest terms. Evidence of a previous conviction for
-robbery having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate
-refused to deal summarily with the offence, but referred it to
-the Assizes. Horner, who had shown signs of intense emotion
-during the proceedings, fainted away at the conclusion and was
-carried out of court."</p>
-<p>"Hum! So much for the police-court," said Holmes thoughtfully,
-tossing aside the paper. "The question for us now to solve is the
-sequence of events leading from a rifled jewel-case at one end to
-the crop of a goose in Tottenham Court Road at the other. You
-see, Watson, our little deductions have suddenly assumed a much
-more important and less innocent aspect. Here is the stone; the
-stone came from the goose, and the goose came from Mr. Henry
-Baker, the gentleman with the bad hat and all the other
-characteristics with which I have bored you. So now we must set
-ourselves very seriously to finding this gentleman and
-ascertaining what part he has played in this little mystery. To
-do this, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie
-undoubtedly in an advertisement in all the evening papers. If
-this fail, I shall have recourse to other methods."</p>
-<p>"What will you say?"</p>
-<p>"Give me a pencil and that slip of paper. Now, then: <span class="emphasis"><em>Found at
-the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mr.
-Henry Baker can have the same by applying at 6:30 this evening at
-221B, Baker Street.</em></span> That is clear and concise."</p>
-<p>"Very. But will he see it?"</p>
-<p>"Well, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to a poor
-man, the loss was a heavy one. He was clearly so scared by his
-mischance in breaking the window and by the approach of Peterson
-that he thought of nothing but flight, but since then he must
-have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drop his
-bird. Then, again, the introduction of his name will cause him to
-see it, for everyone who knows him will direct his attention to
-it. Here you are, Peterson, run down to the advertising agency
-and have this put in the evening papers."</p>
-<p>"In which, sir?"</p>
-<p>"Oh, in the Globe, Star, Pall Mall, St. James’s, Evening News,
-Standard, Echo, and any others that occur to you."</p>
-<p>"Very well, sir. And this stone?"</p>
-<p>"Ah, yes, I shall keep the stone. Thank you. And, I say,
-Peterson, just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here
-with me, for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place
-of the one which your family is now devouring."</p>
-<p>When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and
-held it against the light. "It’s a bonny thing," said he. "Just
-see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and
-focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil’s pet
-baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a
-bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found
-in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable
-in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is
-blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has
-already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a
-vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about
-for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal.
-Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the
-gallows and the prison? I’ll lock it up in my strong box now and
-drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it."</p>
-<p>"Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?"</p>
-<p>"I cannot tell."</p>
-<p>"Well, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had
-anything to do with the matter?"</p>
-<p>"It is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an
-absolutely innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he
-was carrying was of considerably more value than if it were made
-of solid gold. That, however, I shall determine by a very simple
-test if we have an answer to our advertisement."</p>
-<p>"And you can do nothing until then?"</p>
-<p>"Nothing."</p>
-<p>"In that case I shall continue my professional round. But I shall
-come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I
-should like to see the solution of so tangled a business."</p>
-<p>"Very glad to see you. I dine at seven. There is a woodcock, I
-believe. By the way, in view of recent occurrences, perhaps I
-ought to ask Mrs. Hudson to examine its crop."</p>
-<p>I had been delayed at a case, and it was a little after half-past
-six when I found myself in Baker Street once more. As I
-approached the house I saw a tall man in a Scotch bonnet with a
-coat which was buttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the
-bright semicircle which was thrown from the fanlight. Just as I
-arrived the door was opened, and we were shown up together to
-Holmes' room.</p>
-<p>"Mr. Henry Baker, I believe," said he, rising from his armchair
-and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he
-could so readily assume. "Pray take this chair by the fire, Mr.
-Baker. It is a cold night, and I observe that your circulation is
-more adapted for summer than for winter. Ah, Watson, you have
-just come at the right time. Is that your hat, Mr. Baker?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat."</p>
-<p>He was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and a
-broad, intelligent face, sloping down to a pointed beard of
-grizzled brown. A touch of red in nose and cheeks, with a slight
-tremor of his extended hand, recalled Holmes' surmise as to his
-habits. His rusty black frock-coat was buttoned right up in
-front, with the collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded
-from his sleeves without a sign of cuff or shirt. He spoke in a
-slow staccato fashion, choosing his words with care, and gave the
-impression generally of a man of learning and letters who had had
-ill-usage at the hands of fortune.</p>
-<p>"We have retained these things for some days," said Holmes,
-"because we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your
-address. I am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise."</p>
-<p>Our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh. "Shillings have not
-been so plentiful with me as they once were," he remarked. "I had
-no doubt that the gang of roughs who assaulted me had carried off
-both my hat and the bird. I did not care to spend more money in a
-hopeless attempt at recovering them."</p>
-<p>"Very naturally. By the way, about the bird, we were compelled to
-eat it."</p>
-<p>"To eat it!" Our visitor half rose from his chair in his
-excitement.</p>
-<p>"Yes, it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so.
-But I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is
-about the same weight and perfectly fresh, will answer your
-purpose equally well?"</p>
-<p>"Oh, certainly, certainly," answered Mr. Baker with a sigh of
-relief.</p>
-<p>"Of course, we still have the feathers, legs, crop, and so on of
-your own bird, so if you wish--"</p>
-<p>The man burst into a hearty laugh. "They might be useful to me as
-relics of my adventure," said he, "but beyond that I can hardly
-see what use the disjecta membra of my late acquaintance are
-going to be to me. No, sir, I think that, with your permission, I
-will confine my attentions to the excellent bird which I perceive
-upon the sideboard."</p>
-<p>Sherlock Holmes glanced sharply across at me with a slight shrug
-of his shoulders.</p>
-<p>"There is your hat, then, and there your bird," said he. "By the
-way, would it bore you to tell me where you got the other one
-from? I am somewhat of a fowl fancier, and I have seldom seen a
-better grown goose."</p>
-<p>"Certainly, sir," said Baker, who had risen and tucked his newly
-gained property under his arm. "There are a few of us who
-frequent the Alpha Inn, near the Museum—we are to be found in
-the Museum itself during the day, you understand. This year our
-good host, Windigate by name, instituted a goose club, by which,
-on consideration of some few pence every week, we were each to
-receive a bird at Christmas. My pence were duly paid, and the
-rest is familiar to you. I am much indebted to you, sir, for a
-Scotch bonnet is fitted neither to my years nor my gravity." With
-a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and
-strode off upon his way.</p>
-<p>"So much for Mr. Henry Baker," said Holmes when he had closed the
-door behind him. "It is quite certain that he knows nothing
-whatever about the matter. Are you hungry, Watson?"</p>
-<p>"Not particularly."</p>
-<p>"Then I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow
-up this clue while it is still hot."</p>
-<p>"By all means."</p>
-<p>It was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped
-cravats about our throats. Outside, the stars were shining coldly
-in a cloudless sky, and the breath of the passers-by blew out
-into smoke like so many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang out
-crisply and loudly as we swung through the doctors' quarter,
-Wimpole Street, Harley Street, and so through Wigmore Street into
-Oxford Street. In a quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at
-the Alpha Inn, which is a small public-house at the corner of one
-of the streets which runs down into Holborn. Holmes pushed open
-the door of the private bar and ordered two glasses of beer from
-the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord.</p>
-<p>"Your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese,"
-said he.</p>
-<p>"My geese!" The man seemed surprised.</p>
-<p>"Yes. I was speaking only half an hour ago to Mr. Henry Baker,
-who was a member of your goose club."</p>
-<p>"Ah! yes, I see. But you see, sir, them’s not our geese."</p>
-<p>"Indeed! Whose, then?"</p>
-<p>"Well, I got the two dozen from a salesman in Covent Garden."</p>
-<p>"Indeed? I know some of them. Which was it?"</p>
-<p>"Breckinridge is his name."</p>
-<p>"Ah! I don’t know him. Well, here’s your good health landlord,
-and prosperity to your house. Good-night."</p>
-<p>"Now for Mr. Breckinridge," he continued, buttoning up his coat
-as we came out into the frosty air. "Remember, Watson that though
-we have so homely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain, we
-have at the other a man who will certainly get seven years' penal
-servitude unless we can establish his innocence. It is possible
-that our inquiry may but confirm his guilt; but, in any case, we
-have a line of investigation which has been missed by the police,
-and which a singular chance has placed in our hands. Let us
-follow it out to the bitter end. Faces to the south, then, and
-quick march!"</p>
-<p>We passed across Holborn, down Endell Street, and so through a
-zigzag of slums to Covent Garden Market. One of the largest
-stalls bore the name of Breckinridge upon it, and the proprietor
-a horsey-looking man, with a sharp face and trim side-whiskers was
-helping a boy to put up the shutters.</p>
-<p>"Good-evening. It’s a cold night," said Holmes.</p>
-<p>The salesman nodded and shot a questioning glance at my
-companion.</p>
-<p>"Sold out of geese, I see," continued Holmes, pointing at the
-bare slabs of marble.</p>
-<p>"Let you have five hundred to-morrow morning."</p>
-<p>"That’s no good."</p>
-<p>"Well, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare."</p>
-<p>"Ah, but I was recommended to you."</p>
-<p>"Who by?"</p>
-<p>"The landlord of the Alpha."</p>
-<p>"Oh, yes; I sent him a couple of dozen."</p>
-<p>"Fine birds they were, too. Now where did you get them from?"</p>
-<p>To my surprise the question provoked a burst of anger from the
-salesman.</p>
-<p>"Now, then, mister," said he, with his head cocked and his arms
-akimbo, "what are you driving at? Let’s have it straight, now."</p>
-<p>"It is straight enough. I should like to know who sold you the
-geese which you supplied to the Alpha."</p>
-<p>"Well then, I shan’t tell you. So now!"</p>
-<p>"Oh, it is a matter of no importance; but I don’t know why you
-should be so warm over such a trifle."</p>
-<p>"Warm! You’d be as warm, maybe, if you were as pestered as I am.
-When I pay good money for a good article there should be an end
-of the business; but it’s <span class="emphasis"><em>Where are the geese?</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>Who did you
-sell the geese to?</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>What will you take for the geese?</em></span> One
-would think they were the only geese in the world, to hear the
-fuss that is made over them."</p>
-<p>"Well, I have no connection with any other people who have been
-making inquiries," said Holmes carelessly. "If you won’t tell us
-the bet is off, that is all. But I’m always ready to back my
-opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiver on it that the
-bird I ate is country bred."</p>
-<p>"Well, then, you’ve lost your fiver, for it’s town bred," snapped
-the salesman.</p>
-<p>"It’s nothing of the kind."</p>
-<p>"I say it is."</p>
-<p>"I don’t believe it."</p>
-<p>"D’you think you know more about fowls than I, who have handled
-them ever since I was a nipper? I tell you, all those birds that
-went to the Alpha were town bred."</p>
-<p>"You’ll never persuade me to believe that."</p>
-<p>"Will you bet, then?"</p>
-<p>"It’s merely taking your money, for I know that I am right. But
-I’ll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be
-obstinate."</p>
-<p>The salesman chuckled grimly. "Bring me the books, Bill," said
-he.</p>
-<p>The small boy brought round a small thin volume and a great
-greasy-backed one, laying them out together beneath the hanging
-lamp.</p>
-<p>"Now then, Mr. Cocksure," said the salesman, "I thought that I
-was out of geese, but before I finish you’ll find that there is
-still one left in my shop. You see this little book?"</p>
-<p>"Well?"</p>
-<p>"That’s the list of the folk from whom I buy. D’you see? Well,
-then, here on this page are the country folk, and the numbers
-after their names are where their accounts are in the big ledger.
-Now, then! You see this other page in red ink? Well, that is a
-list of my town suppliers. Now, look at that third name. Just
-read it out to me."</p>
-<p>"Mrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road—249," read Holmes.</p>
-<p>"Quite so. Now turn that up in the ledger."</p>
-<p>Holmes turned to the page indicated. "Here you are, <span class="emphasis"><em>Mrs.
-Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road, egg and poultry supplier.</em></span>"</p>
-<p>"Now, then, what’s the last entry?"</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>December 22nd. Twenty-four geese at 7s. 6d.</em></span>"</p>
-<p>"Quite so. There you are. And underneath?"</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Sold to Mr. Windigate of the Alpha, at 12s.</em></span>"</p>
-<p>"What have you to say now?"</p>
-<p>Sherlock Holmes looked deeply chagrined. He drew a sovereign from
-his pocket and threw it down upon the slab, turning away with the
-air of a man whose disgust is too deep for words. A few yards off
-he stopped under a lamp-post and laughed in the hearty, noiseless
-fashion which was peculiar to him.</p>
-<p>"When you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the <span class="emphasis"><em>Pink 'un</em></span>
-protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet,"
-said he. "I daresay that if I had put 100 pounds down in front of
-him, that man would not have given me such complete information
-as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a
-wager. Well, Watson, we are, I fancy, nearing the end of our
-quest, and the only point which remains to be determined is
-whether we should go on to this Mrs. Oakshott to-night, or
-whether we should reserve it for to-morrow. It is clear from what
-that surly fellow said that there are others besides ourselves
-who are anxious about the matter, and I should--"</p>
-<p>His remarks were suddenly cut short by a loud hubbub which broke
-out from the stall which we had just left. Turning round we saw a
-little rat-faced fellow standing in the centre of the circle of
-yellow light which was thrown by the swinging lamp, while
-Breckinridge, the salesman, framed in the door of his stall, was
-shaking his fists fiercely at the cringing figure.</p>
-<p>"I’ve had enough of you and your geese," he shouted. "I wish you
-were all at the devil together. If you come pestering me any more
-with your silly talk I’ll set the dog at you. You bring Mrs.
-Oakshott here and I’ll answer her, but what have you to do with
-it? Did I buy the geese off you?"</p>
-<p>"No; but one of them was mine all the same," whined the little
-man.</p>
-<p>"Well, then, ask Mrs. Oakshott for it."</p>
-<p>"She told me to ask you."</p>
-<p>"Well, you can ask the King of Proosia, for all I care. I’ve had
-enough of it. Get out of this!" He rushed fiercely forward, and
-the inquirer flitted away into the darkness.</p>
-<p>"Ha! this may save us a visit to Brixton Road," whispered Holmes.
-"Come with me, and we will see what is to be made of this
-fellow." Striding through the scattered knots of people who
-lounged round the flaring stalls, my companion speedily overtook
-the little man and touched him upon the shoulder. He sprang
-round, and I could see in the gas-light that every vestige of
-colour had been driven from his face.</p>
-<p>"Who are you, then? What do you want?" he asked in a quavering
-voice.</p>
-<p>"You will excuse me," said Holmes blandly, "but I could not help
-overhearing the questions which you put to the salesman just now.
-I think that I could be of assistance to you."</p>
-<p>"You? Who are you? How could you know anything of the matter?"</p>
-<p>"My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other
-people don’t know."</p>
-<p>"But you can know nothing of this?"</p>
-<p>"Excuse me, I know everything of it. You are endeavouring to
-trace some geese which were sold by Mrs. Oakshott, of Brixton
-Road, to a salesman named Breckinridge, by him in turn to Mr.
-Windigate, of the Alpha, and by him to his club, of which Mr.
-Henry Baker is a member."</p>
-<p>"Oh, sir, you are the very man whom I have longed to meet," cried
-the little fellow with outstretched hands and quivering fingers.
-"I can hardly explain to you how interested I am in this matter."</p>
-<p>Sherlock Holmes hailed a four-wheeler which was passing. "In that
-case we had better discuss it in a cosy room rather than in this
-wind-swept market-place," said he. "But pray tell me, before we
-go farther, who it is that I have the pleasure of assisting."</p>
-<p>The man hesitated for an instant. "My name is John Robinson," he
-answered with a sidelong glance.</p>
-<p>"No, no; the real name," said Holmes sweetly. "It is always
-awkward doing business with an alias."</p>
-<p>A flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger. "Well then,"
-said he, "my real name is James Ryder."</p>
-<p>"Precisely so. Head attendant at the Hotel Cosmopolitan. Pray
-step into the cab, and I shall soon be able to tell you
-everything which you would wish to know."</p>
-<p>The little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with
-half-frightened, half-hopeful eyes, as one who is not sure
-whether he is on the verge of a windfall or of a catastrophe.
-Then he stepped into the cab, and in half an hour we were back in
-the sitting-room at Baker Street. Nothing had been said during
-our drive, but the high, thin breathing of our new companion, and
-the claspings and unclaspings of his hands, spoke of the nervous
-tension within him.</p>
-<p>"Here we are!" said Holmes cheerily as we filed into the room.
-"The fire looks very seasonable in this weather. You look cold,
-Mr. Ryder. Pray take the basket-chair. I will just put on my
-slippers before we settle this little matter of yours. Now, then!
-You want to know what became of those geese?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
-<p>"Or rather, I fancy, of that goose. It was one bird, I imagine in
-which you were interested—white, with a black bar across the
-tail."</p>
-<p>Ryder quivered with emotion. "Oh, sir," he cried, "can you tell
-me where it went to?"</p>
-<p>"It came here."</p>
-<p>"Here?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. I don’t wonder that
-you should take an interest in it. It laid an egg after it was
-dead—the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen.
-I have it here in my museum."</p>
-<p>Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece
-with his right hand. Holmes unlocked his strong-box and held up
-the blue carbuncle, which shone out like a star, with a cold,
-brilliant, many-pointed radiance. Ryder stood glaring with a
-drawn face, uncertain whether to claim or to disown it.</p>
-<p>"The game’s up, Ryder," said Holmes quietly. "Hold up, man, or
-you’ll be into the fire! Give him an arm back into his chair,
-Watson. He’s not got blood enough to go in for felony with
-impunity. Give him a dash of brandy. So! Now he looks a little
-more human. What a shrimp it is, to be sure!"</p>
-<p>For a moment he had staggered and nearly fallen, but the brandy
-brought a tinge of colour into his cheeks, and he sat staring
-with frightened eyes at his accuser.</p>
-<p>"I have almost every link in my hands, and all the proofs which I
-could possibly need, so there is little which you need tell me.
-Still, that little may as well be cleared up to make the case
-complete. You had heard, Ryder, of this blue stone of the
-Countess of Morcar’s?"</p>
-<p>"It was Catherine Cusack who told me of it," said he in a
-crackling voice.</p>
-<p>"I see—her ladyship’s waiting-maid. Well, the temptation of
-sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for you, as it has
-been for better men before you; but you were not very scrupulous
-in the means you used. It seems to me, Ryder, that there is the
-making of a very pretty villain in you. You knew that this man
-Horner, the plumber, had been concerned in some such matter
-before, and that suspicion would rest the more readily upon him.
-What did you do, then? You made some small job in my lady’s
-room—you and your confederate Cusack—and you managed that he
-should be the man sent for. Then, when he had left, you rifled
-the jewel-case, raised the alarm, and had this unfortunate man
-arrested. You then--"</p>
-<p>Ryder threw himself down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my
-companion’s knees. "For God’s sake, have mercy!" he shrieked.
-"Think of my father! Of my mother! It would break their hearts. I
-never went wrong before! I never will again. I swear it. I’ll
-swear it on a Bible. Oh, don’t bring it into court! For Christ’s
-sake, don’t!"</p>
-<p>"Get back into your chair!" said Holmes sternly. "It is very well
-to cringe and crawl now, but you thought little enough of this
-poor Horner in the dock for a crime of which he knew nothing."</p>
-<p>"I will fly, Mr. Holmes. I will leave the country, sir. Then the
-charge against him will break down."</p>
-<p>"Hum! We will talk about that. And now let us hear a true account
-of the next act. How came the stone into the goose, and how came
-the goose into the open market? Tell us the truth, for there lies
-your only hope of safety."</p>
-<p>Ryder passed his tongue over his parched lips. "I will tell you
-it just as it happened, sir," said he. "When Horner had been
-arrested, it seemed to me that it would be best for me to get
-away with the stone at once, for I did not know at what moment
-the police might not take it into their heads to search me and my
-room. There was no place about the hotel where it would be safe.
-I went out, as if on some commission, and I made for my sister’s
-house. She had married a man named Oakshott, and lived in Brixton
-Road, where she fattened fowls for the market. All the way there
-every man I met seemed to me to be a policeman or a detective;
-and, for all that it was a cold night, the sweat was pouring down
-my face before I came to the Brixton Road. My sister asked me
-what was the matter, and why I was so pale; but I told her that I
-had been upset by the jewel robbery at the hotel. Then I went
-into the back yard and smoked a pipe and wondered what it would
-be best to do.</p>
-<p>"I had a friend once called Maudsley, who went to the bad, and
-has just been serving his time in Pentonville. One day he had met
-me, and fell into talk about the ways of thieves, and how they
-could get rid of what they stole. I knew that he would be true to
-me, for I knew one or two things about him; so I made up my mind
-to go right on to Kilburn, where he lived, and take him into my
-confidence. He would show me how to turn the stone into money.
-But how to get to him in safety? I thought of the agonies I had
-gone through in coming from the hotel. I might at any moment be
-seized and searched, and there would be the stone in my waistcoat
-pocket. I was leaning against the wall at the time and looking at
-the geese which were waddling about round my feet, and suddenly
-an idea came into my head which showed me how I could beat the
-best detective that ever lived.</p>
-<p>"My sister had told me some weeks before that I might have the
-pick of her geese for a Christmas present, and I knew that she
-was always as good as her word. I would take my goose now, and in
-it I would carry my stone to Kilburn. There was a little shed in
-the yard, and behind this I drove one of the birds—a fine big
-one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill
-open, I thrust the stone down its throat as far as my finger
-could reach. The bird gave a gulp, and I felt the stone pass
-along its gullet and down into its crop. But the creature flapped
-and struggled, and out came my sister to know what was the
-matter. As I turned to speak to her the brute broke loose and
-fluttered off among the others.</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Whatever were you doing with that bird, Jem?</em></span> says she.</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Well,</em></span> said I, <span class="emphasis"><em>you said you’d give me one for Christmas, and I
-was feeling which was the fattest.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Oh,</em></span> says she, <span class="emphasis"><em>we’ve set yours aside for you—Jem’s bird, we
-call it. It’s the big white one over yonder. There’s twenty-six
-of them, which makes one for you, and one for us, and two dozen
-for the market.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Thank you, Maggie,</em></span> says I; <span class="emphasis"><em>but if it is all the same to you,
-I’d rather have that one I was handling just now.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>The other is a good three pound heavier,</em></span> said she, <span class="emphasis"><em>and we
-fattened it expressly for you.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Never mind. I’ll have the other, and I’ll take it now,</em></span> said I.</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Oh, just as you like,</em></span> said she, a little huffed. <span class="emphasis"><em>Which is it
-you want, then?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>That white one with the barred tail, right in the middle of the
-flock.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Oh, very well. Kill it and take it with you.</em></span></p>
-<p>"Well, I did what she said, Mr. Holmes, and I carried the bird
-all the way to Kilburn. I told my pal what I had done, for he was
-a man that it was easy to tell a thing like that to. He laughed
-until he choked, and we got a knife and opened the goose. My
-heart turned to water, for there was no sign of the stone, and I
-knew that some terrible mistake had occurred. I left the bird,
-rushed back to my sister’s, and hurried into the back yard. There
-was not a bird to be seen there.</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Where are they all, Maggie?</em></span> I cried.</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Gone to the dealer’s, Jem.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Which dealer’s?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Breckinridge, of Covent Garden.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>But was there another with a barred tail?</em></span> I asked, <span class="emphasis"><em>the same
-as the one I chose?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Yes, Jem; there were two barred-tailed ones, and I could never
-tell them apart.</em></span></p>
-<p>"Well, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my
-feet would carry me to this man Breckinridge; but he had sold the
-lot at once, and not one word would he tell me as to where they
-had gone. You heard him yourselves to-night. Well, he has always
-answered me like that. My sister thinks that I am going mad.
-Sometimes I think that I am myself. And now—and now I am myself
-a branded thief, without ever having touched the wealth for which
-I sold my character. God help me! God help me!" He burst into
-convulsive sobbing, with his face buried in his hands.</p>
-<p>There was a long silence, broken only by his heavy breathing and
-by the measured tapping of Sherlock Holmes' finger-tips upon the
-edge of the table. Then my friend rose and threw open the door.</p>
-<p>"Get out!" said he.</p>
-<p>"What, sir! Oh, Heaven bless you!"</p>
-<p>"No more words. Get out!"</p>
-<p>And no more words were needed. There was a rush, a clatter upon
-the stairs, the bang of a door, and the crisp rattle of running
-footfalls from the street.</p>
-<p>"After all, Watson," said Holmes, reaching up his hand for his
-clay pipe, "I am not retained by the police to supply their
-deficiencies. If Horner were in danger it would be another thing;
-but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case must
-collapse. I suppose that I am commuting a felony, but it is just
-possible that I am saving a soul. This fellow will not go wrong
-again; he is too terribly frightened. Send him to gaol now, and
-you make him a gaol-bird for life. Besides, it is the season of
-forgiveness. Chance has put in our way a most singular and
-whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward. If you
-will have the goodness to touch the bell, Doctor, we will begin
-another investigation, in which, also a bird will be the chief
-feature."</p>
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