The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes audiobook A Case of Identity Learn English Through Story

[Music]

the adventures of sherlock holmes

by sir arthur conan doyle

a case of identity

[Music]

my dear fellow said sherlock holmes as

we sat on either side of the fire and

his lodgings at baker street

life is infinitely stranger than

anything which the mind of man could

invent

we would not dare to conceive the things

which are really mere commonplaces of

existence

if we could fly out of that window hand

in hand

hover over this great city gently remove

the roofs

and peep in at the queer things which

are going on

the strange coincidences the plannings

the cross purposes the wonderful chains

of events

working through generations and leading

to the most

outrage results it would make all

fiction with its conventionalities and

forcing conclusions

most stale and unprofitable

and yet i am not convinced of it i

answered

the cases which come to light in the

papers are

as a rule bald enough and vulgar enough

we have in our police reports realism

pushed to its extreme limits

and yet the result is it must be

confessed

neither fascinating nor artistic

a certain selection and discretion must

be used in producing a realistic effect

remarked holmes this is wanting in the

police report

where more stress is laid perhaps upon

the platitudes of the magistrate

than upon the details which to an

observer contained the vital essence of

the whole matter

depend upon it there is nothing so

unnatural

as the commonplace i smiled and shook my

head

i can quite understand your thinking so

i said of course in your position of

unofficial advisor and helper to

everybody who is

absolutely puzzled throughout three

continents

you are brought in contact with all that

is strange and bizarre

but here i picked up the morning paper

from the ground

let us put it to a practical test

here is the first heading upon which i

come

a husband’s cruelty to his wife

there is half a column of print but i

know without reading it

that is all perfectly familiar to me

there is of course the other woman the

drink

the push the blow the bruise

the sympathetic sister or landlady the

crudest of writers could invent nothing

more crude

indeed your example is an unfortunate

one for your argument

said holmes taking the paper and

glancing his eye down it

this is the dundas separation case

and as it happens i was engaged in

clearing up some small points

in canaan with it the husband was a

teetotaler

there was no other woman and the conduct

complained of was that he had drifted

into the habit

of winding up every meal by taking out

his false teeth

and hurling them at his wife which you

will allow

is not an action likely to occur to the

imagination of the average

storyteller take a pitch of snuff

doctor and acknowledge that i have

scored over you in your example

he held out his snuff box of old gold

with a great amethyst in the center of

the lid

its splendor was in such contrast to his

homely ways and simple life

that i could not help commenting upon it

ah said he i forgot that i had not seen

you for some weeks

it is a little souvenir from the king of

bohemia

in return for my assistance in the case

of the irene adler papers

and the ring i asked glancing at a

remarkable brilliant which sparkled upon

his finger

it was from the reigning family of

holland though the matter in which i

served them was of such delicacy that i

cannot confide it

even to you who have been good enough to

chronicle one or two of my little

problems and have you ready on hand just

now

i asked with interest some 10 or 12

but none which present any feature of

interest

they are important you understand

without being

interesting indeed i have found that it

is usually in unimportant

matters that there is a field for the

observation

and for the quick analysis of cause and

effect which gives the charm

to an investigation the larger crimes

are apt to be the simpler

for the bigger the crime the more

obvious as a rule

is the motive in these cases

save one rather intricate matter which

has been referred to me from marseille

there is nothing which presents any

features of interest

it is possible however that i may have

something better before very many

minutes are over

for this is one of my clients or i am

much mistaken

he had risen from his chair and was

standing between the parted blinds

gazing down into the dull

neutral tinted london street looking

over his shoulder

i saw that on the pavement opposite

there stood a large woman with a heavy

fur

boa around her neck and a large curling

red feather and a broad brimmed hat

which was tilted in a coketish duchess

of devonshire fashion over her

ear from under this great panoply

she peeped up in a nervous hesitating

fashion at our windows

while her body oscillated backward and

forward

and her fingers fidgeted with her glove

buttons

suddenly with a plunge as of the swimmer

who leaves the bank

she hurried across the road and we heard

the sharp clang of the bell

i have seen those symptoms before

said holmes throwing his cigarette into

the fire

oscillation upon the pavement always

means an affair cool

she would like advice but it is not sure

that the matter is not too delicate for

communication and yet even here we may

discriminate

when a woman has been seriously wronged

by a man she no longer oscillates

and the usual symptom is a broken bell

wire

here we may take it that there is a love

matter

but that the maiden is not so much angry

as

perplexed or grieved but here she comes

in person to resolve our doubts

as he spoke there was a tap at the door

and the boy in

buttons entered to announce miss mary

sutherland

while the lady herself loomed behind his

small black

figure like a full sailed merchant man

behind a tiny pilot boat

sherlock holmes welcomed her with the

easy courtesy for which he was

remarkable

and having closed the door and bowed her

into an armchair

he looked her over in the minute yet

abstracted fashion which was peculiar to

him

do you not find he said

that with your short sight it is a

little trying to do so much

typewriting i

did it first she answered but

now i know where the letters are without

looking

then suddenly realizing the full purport

of his words

she gave a violent start and looked up

with fear

and astonishment upon her broad good

humored face

you’ve heard about me mr holmes she

cried

else how could you know all that

never mind said holmes laughing

it is my business to know things perhaps

i have trained myself to see what others

overlook if not why should you come to

consult me

i came to you sir because i heard of you

from mrs

etheridge whose husband you found so

easy when the police and everyone had

given him up for dead

oh mr holmes i wish you would do as much

for me

i’m not rich but still i have a hundred

a year in my own right

besides the little that i make by the

machine

and i would give it all to know what has

become of mr hosmer angel

why did you come away to consult me in

such a hurry

asked sherlock holmes with his

fingertips together

and his eyes to the ceiling

again a startled look came over the

somewhat vacuous face of miss mary

sutherland

yes i did bang out of the house

she said for it made me angry to see the

easy way in which mr windbank

that is my father took it all

he would not go to the police and he

would not go to you

and so at last as he would do nothing

and kept on saying that there was no

harm done

it made me mad and i just on with my

things and came right away to you

your father said holmes your

stepfather surely since the name is

different

yes my stepfather i call him father

though it sounds funny too for he is

only five years and two months older

than myself

and your mother is alive oh yes

mother is alive and well i wasn’t best

pleased mr holmes when she married again

so soon after father’s death

and a man who was nearly 15 years

younger than herself

father was a plumber in the tottenham

court road

and he left a tidy business behind him

which mother carried on with mr hardy

the foreman

but when mr wind bank came he made her

sell the business

for he was very superior being a

traveler in

wines they got forty seven hundred

pounds for the good will and interest

which wasn’t near as much as father

could have got if he had been alive

i had expected to see sherlock holmes

impatient under this

rambling and inconsequential narrative

but on the contrary he had listened with

the greatest

concentration of attention

your own little income he asked

does it come out of the business oh

no sir it is quite separate and was left

me by

uncle ned in auckland it is in new

zealand stock

paying four and a half percent two

thousand five hundred pounds was the

amount

but i can only touch the interest

you interest me extremely said holmes

and since you draw so large as some as a

hundred a year

with what you earn into the bargain you

no doubt travel a little and indulge

yourself in every way

i believe that a single lady can get on

very nicely

upon an income of about 60 pounds

i could deal with much less than that mr

holmes

but you understand that as long as i

live at home

i don’t wish to be a burden to them and

so they have the use of the money just

while i am staying with them

of course that is only just for the time

mr windebag draws my interest every

quarter and pays it over to mother

and i find that i can do pretty well

with what i earn at typewriting

it brings me tuppence a sheet and i can

often do

from fifteen to twenty sheets in a day

you have made your position very clear

to me

said holmes this is my friend

dr watson before whom you can speak as

freely as before myself

kindly tell us now all about your

connection with mr hosmer angel

a flush stole over miss sutherland’s

face

and she picked nervously at the fringe

of her jacket

i met him first at the gas fitters fall

she said they used to send father

tickets

when he was alive and then afterwards

they remembered us

and sent them to mother mr winterbag did

not wish us to go

he never did wish us to go anywhere he

would get quite mad if i wanted so much

as to join

a sunday school treat but this time i

was set on going

and i would go for what right had he to

prevent

he said the folk were not fit for us to

know

when all fathers friends were to be

there

and he said that i had nothing fit to

wear when i had my purple plush that i

had never so much as taken out of the

drawer

at last when nothing else would do he

went off to france upon the business of

the firm

but we went mother and i with mr hardy

who used to be our foreman and it was

there i met

mr hosmer angel i suppose

said holmes that when mr windebank came

back from france

he was very annoyed at your having gone

to the ball

oh well he was very good about it he

laughed

i remember and shrugged his shoulders

and said there was no use denying

anything to a woman

for she would have her way i see

then at the gas fitters ball you met as

i understand

a gentleman called mr hosmer angel

yes sir i met him that night and he

called next day to ask if we had got

home all safe

and after that we met him that is to say

mr holmes

i met him twice for walks but after that

father came back again

a mr hosmer angel could not come to the

house anymore

no well you know father didn’t like

anything of the sort he wouldn’t have

any visitors if he could help it

and he used to say that a woman should

be happy in her own family circle

but then as i used to say to mother

a woman wants her own circle to begin

with and i had not got

mine yet but how about mr hosmer angel

did he make no attempt to see you

well father was going off to france

again in a week

and hosmer wrote and said that it would

be safer and better not to see each

other

until he had gone we could write in the

meantime

and he used to write every day i took

the letters in the morning

so there was no need for father to know

were you engaged to the gentleman at

this time

oh yes mr holmes we were engaged after

the first walk that we took

hosmer mr angel was a cashier

in an office in ledin hall street and

what office that’s the worst of it mr

holmes

i don’t know where did he live then

he slept on the premises and you don’t

know his address

no except that it was leadenhall street

where did you address your letters then

to the ledend hall street post office to

be left to called for

he said that if they were sent to the

office he would be chaffed by all the

other clerks about

having letters from a lady so i offered

to typewrite them

like he did his but he wouldn’t have

that

for he said that when i wrote them they

seemed to come from me

but when they were typewritten he always

felt that the machine had come between

us

that will just show you how fond he was

of me mr holmes

and the little things that he would

think of

it was most suggestive said holmes

it has long been an axiom of mine that

the little things are

infinitely the most important can you

remember any other little things about

mr hosmer

angel he was a very

shy man mr holmes he would rather walk

with me in the evening than in the

daylight

for he said that he hated to be

conspicuous

very retiring and gentlemanly he was

even his voice was gentle he’d had

the quincy and swollen glands when he

was young

he told me and it had left him with a

weak throat

and a hesitating whispering fashion of

speech

he was always well dressed very neat and

plain

but his eyes were weak just as mine are

and he wore

tinted glasses against the glare

well and what happened when mr

winderbeck your stepfather returned to

france

mr hosmer angel came to the house again

and proposed that we should marry before

father came back

he was in dreadful earnest and made me

swear

with my hands on the testament that

whatever happened i would always be true

to him

mother said he was quite right to make

me swear and that it was a sign of his

passion

mother was all in his favor from the

first

and was even fonder of him than i was

then when they talked of marrying within

the week

i began to ask about father but they

both said never to mind about father

but just to tell him afterwards and

mother said

she would make it all right with him i

didn’t quite like that mr holmes

it seemed funny that i should ask his

leave as he was only a few years

older than me but i didn’t want to do

anything

on the sly so i wrote to father at

bordeaux

where the company has its french offices

but the letter came back to me on the

very morning of the wedding

it missed him then yes sir

for he had started to england just

before it arrived

ha that was unfortunate your wedding was

arranged then for the friday

was it to be in church yes sir but very

quietly

it was to be at sun saviors near king’s

cross

and we were to have breakfast afterwards

at the saint pancras hotel

hosmer came for us in a handsome but as

there were two of us

he put us both into it and stepped

himself into a four-wheeler

which happened to be the only other cab

in the street

we got to the church first and when the

four-wheeler drove up we waited for him

to step

out but he never did and when the cabin

got down from the box and looked

there was no one there the cabin said

that he could not imagine what had

become of him

for he had seen him get in with his own

eyes

that was last friday mr holmes and i

have neither seen nor heard

anything since then to throw any light

upon what has become of him

it seems to me that you have been very

shamefully treated

said holmes oh no sir

he was too good and kind to leave me so

why all the morning he was saying to me

that

whatever happened i was to be true

and that even if something quite

unforeseen occurred to separate us

i was always to remember that i was

pledged to him

and that he would claim his pledge

sooner or later

it seemed strange talk for a wedding

morning

but what has happened since gives a

meaning to it

most certainly it does your own opinion

is then that some unforeseen catastrophe

has occurred to him

yes sir i believe that he foresaw some

danger

or else he would not have talked so and

then i think that what he foresaw

happened but you have no notion

as to what it could have been none

one more question how did your mother

take the matter

she was angry and said that i was never

to speak of the matter

again and your father

did you tell him yes

and he seemed to think with me that

something had happened

and that i should hear of hosmer again

as he said what interest could anyone

have

in bringing me to the doors of the

church and then leaving me

now if he had borrowed my money or if he

had married me and got my money

settled on him there might be some

reason

but hosmer was very independent about

money

and never would look at a shilling of

mine

and yet what could have happened and why

could he not write

oh it drives me half mad to think of it

and i can’t sleep a wink at night

she pulled a little handkerchief out of

her mouth and began to sob

heavily into it i shall glance into the

case for you

said holmes rising and i have no doubt

that we shall reach some

definite result let the matter rest upon

me now

and do not let your mind dwell upon it

further

above all try to let mr hosmer angel

vanish from your memory as he has done

from your life

then you don’t think i’ll see him again

i fear not then what has happened to him

you will leave that question in my hands

i should like an

accurate description of him and any

letters of his which you can spare

i advertise for him in last saturday’s

chronicle

said she here is the slip and here are

four letters from him

thank you and your address

number 31 lion place camberwell

mr angel’s address you never had i

understand

where is your father’s place of business

he travels for west house and marbank

the great claret empress of fenn church

street thank you you have made your

statement very clearly

you will leave the papers here and

remember the advice which i have given

you

let the whole incident be a sealed book

and do not allow it to affect your life

you are very kind mr holmes but i cannot

do that

i shall be true to hosmer he shall find

me ready

when he comes back for all the

preposterous hat and the vacuous face

there was something noble in the simple

faith of our visitor which compelled our

respect she laid her little bundle of

papers upon the table and went her way

with a promise to come again whenever

she might be summoned

sherlock holmes sat silent for a few

minutes with his fingertips still

pressed together

his legs stretched out in front of him

and his gaze directed upward to the

ceiling

then he took down from the rack the old

and oily clay pipe

which was to him as a counselor and

having lit it he leaned back in his

chair

with the thick blue cloud wreaths

spinning up from him

and a look of infinite langer in his

face

quite an interesting study that maiden

he observed i found her more interesting

than her little problem

which by the way is rather a trite one

you will find parallel cases if you

consult my index

in andover in 77 and there was something

of the sort at the hague last year

old as is the idea however there were

one or two

details which were new to me but the

maiden herself was most instructive

you appeared to read a good deal upon

her which was quite invisible to me

i remarked not invisible but

unnoticed watson you did not know where

to look

and you missed all that was important i

can never bring you to realize the

importance of sleeves

the suggestiveness of thumbnails or the

great

issues that may hang from a boot lace

now

what did you gather from that woman’s

appearance describe it

well she had a slate colored broad brim

straw hat with a feather of a brickish

red

her jacket was black with black beads

sewn upon it

and a fringe of little black jet

ornaments

her dress was brown rather darker than

coffee color

with a little purple plush at the neck

and sleeves

her gloves were grayish and were worn

through at the right forefinger

her boots i didn’t observe she had small

round hanging gold earrings and a

general air of being fairly well to do

in a vulgar comfortable easy going way

sherlock holmes clapped his hands softly

together and

chuckled upon my word watson

you are coming along wonderfully you

have really done

very well indeed it is true that you

have missed

everything of importance but you have

hit upon the method

and you have a quick eye for color never

trust to general impressions my boy but

concentrate yourself

upon details my first glance is always

at a woman’s sleeve

in a man it is perhaps better first to

take the knee of the trouser

as you observe this woman had plush upon

her sleeves

which is a most useful material for

showing traces

the double line a little above the wrist

where the typewriters

presses against the table was

beautifully defined

the sewing machine of the hand type

leaves a similar mark

but only on the left arm and on the side

of it farthest from the thumb

instead of being right across the

broadest part as this was

i then glanced at her face and observing

the dint of a pins

nays at either side of her nose i

ventured to remark upon short sight in

typewriting which seemed to surprise her

it surprised me but surely it was

obvious

i was then much surprised and interested

on glancing down to observe that

though the boots which she was wearing

were not unlike each other

they were really odd ones the one having

a slightly decorated toe cap

and the other a plain one one was

buttoned only in the two lower buttons

out of five and the other at the first

third and fifth now when you see

that a young lady otherwise neatly

dressed

has come away from home with odd boots

half buttoned

it is no great deduction to say that she

came away in a hurry

and what else i asked keenly interested

as i always was by my friend’s incisive

reasoning

i noted in passing that she had written

a note before leaving home

but after being fully dressed you

observe that a right glove was torn at

the forefinger

but you did not apparently see that both

glove and finger were stained with

violet

ink she had written in a hurry and

dipped her pen

too deep it must have been this morning

or the mark would not remain clear upon

the finger

all this is amusing though rather

elementary but i must go

back to business watson would you mind

reading me the

advertised description of mr hosmer

angel

i held the little printed slip to the

light

missing it said on the morning of the

14th

a gentleman named hosmer angel

about five feet seven inches in height

strongly built sallow complexion

black hair a little bald in the center

bushy black side whiskers and mustache

tinted glasses slight infirmity of

speech

was dressed when last seen in black

frock coat

faced with silk black waistcoat gold

albert

chain and gray harris tweed trousers

with brown gators over elastic sided

boots

known to have been employed in an office

in leaden hall street

anybody bringing that will do

said holmes as to the letters he

continued glancing over them

they are very commonplace absolutely no

clue in them to mr angel

say that he quotes balzac once

there is one remarkable point however

which will no doubt strike you

they are typewritten i remarked

not only that but the signature is

typewritten

look at the neat little hosmer angel at

the bottom

there is a date you see but no

superscription except

latin hall street which is rather vague

the point about the signature is very

suggestive

in fact we may call it conclusive

of what my dear fellow is it possible

you do not see how strongly it bears

upon the case

i cannot say that i do unless it were

that he wished to be able to deny his

signature

if an action for breach of promise were

instituted

no that was not the point however i

shall write two

letters which should settle the matter

one is to affirm in the city the other

is to the young lady’s stepfather mr

windebag

asking him whether he could meet us here

at six o’clock tomorrow

evening it is just as well that we

should do business with the male

relatives and now doctor we can do

nothing until the answers to those

letters come

so we may put a little problem upon the

shelf for the

interim i had had so many reasons to

believe in my friend’s

subtle powers of reasoning and

extraordinary energy in action

that i felt that he must have some solid

grounds for the assured and easy

demeanor

with which he treated the singular

mystery which he had been called upon to

fathom

once only had i known him to fail in the

case of the king of bohemia

and the irene adler photograph but when

i looked back to the weird business of

the sign of four

and the extraordinary circumstances

connected with the study in scarlet

i felt that it would be a strange tangle

indeed

which he could not unravel i left him

then

still puffing at his black clay pipe

with the conviction that when i came

again on the next ning

i would find that he held in his hands

all the clues which would lead up to the

identity

of the disappearing bridegroom of miss

mary

sutherland a professional case of great

gravity was engaging my own attention at

the time

and the whole of next day i was busy at

the bedside of the sufferer

it was not until close upon six o’clock

that i found myself free

and was able to spring into a handsome

and drive to baker street

half afraid that i might be too late to

assist at the

day of the little mystery

i found sherlock holmes alone however

half asleep

with his long thin form curled up in the

recesses of his armchair

a formidable array of bottles and test

tubes with the pungent cleanly smell of

hydrochloric acid

told me that he had spent his day in the

chemical work which was so

dear to him well have you solved it

i asked as i entered yes it was the

bisulfate of barita

no no the mystery i cried

oh that i thought of the salt that i had

been working upon

there was never any mystery in the

matter though as i said yesterday

some of the details are of interest

the only drawback is that there is no

law i fear that can touch the scoundrel

who was he then and what was his object

in deserting miss sutherland

the question was hardly out of my mouth

and holmes had not yet

opened his lips to reply when we heard a

heavy footfall in the passage

and a tap at the door this is the girl’s

stepfather mr

james winterback said holmes

he has written to me to say that he

would be here at six

come in the man who entered was a sturdy

middle-sized

fellow some 30 years of age clean-shaven

and sallow-skinned with a bland

insinuating manner

and a pair of wonderfully sharp and

penetrating gray eyes

he shot a questioning glance at each of

us placed his shiny top hat upon the

sideboard

and with a slight bow settled down into

the nearest chair

good evening mr james winderberg said

holmes

i think that this type written letter is

from you

in which you have made an appointment

with me for six o’clock

yes sir i am afraid that i am a little

late

but i am not quite my own master you

know

i am sorry that miss sutherland has

troubled you about this little matter

for i think it is far better not to wash

linen of the sort

in public it was quite against my wishes

that she came

but she is a very excitable impulsive

girl as you may have noticed

she is not easily controlled when she

has made up her mind on a point

of course i did not mind you so much

as you are not connected with the

official police

but it is not pleasant to have a family

misfortune like this

noised abroad besides it is a useless

expense for how could you possibly find

this

hosmer angel on the contrary

said holmes quietly i have every reason

to believe that i will succeed

in discovering mr hosmer angel

mr winderbank gave a violent start and

dropped his gloves

i am delighted to hear it he said

it is a curious thing remarked holmes

that a typewriter has really quite as

much individuality

as a man’s handwriting unless they are

quite new

no two of them write exactly alike

some letters get more worn than others

and somewhere only on one

side now you remark in this note of

yours mr windbank

that in every case there is some little

slurring over of the e

and a slight defect in the tail of the r

there are 14 other characteristics but

those are the more obvious

we do all our correspondence with this

machine at the office and no doubt it is

a little worn our visitor answered

glancing keenly at homes with

his bright little eyes and now i will

show you what is really a very

interesting study mr windy bank holmes

continued

i think of writing another little

monograph some of these days on the

typewriter

and its relation to crime it is a

subject to which i have devoted some

little attention

i have here four letters which report to

come from the missing man

they are all typewritten in each case

not only are the e’s slurred and the r’s

tailless

but you will observe if you care to use

my magnifying lens

that the 14 other characteristics to

which i have eluded

are there as well mr winderbank

sprang out of his chair and picked up

his hat

i cannot waste time over this sort of

fantastic

talk mr holmes he said if you can catch

the man

catch him and let me know when you have

done it

certainly said holmes stepping over and

turning the key in the door

i let you know then that i have caught

him

what where shouted mr winderbach turning

white to his lips and glancing at

him like a rat in a trap oh it won’t do

really it won’t said holmes swavely

there is no possible getting out of it

mr windebag

it is quite too transparent and it was a

very bad compliment when you said that

it was impossible for me to solve

so simple a question that’s right

sit down and let us talk it over

our visitor collapsed into a chair with

a ghastly face and a glitter of moisture

on his brow

it’s it’s not actionable he’s stammered

i am very much afraid that it is not

but between ourselves windy bank it was

as cruel and selfish and heartless a

trick in a

petty way as ever came before me

now let me just run over the course of

events

and you will contradict me if i go wrong

the man sat huddled up in his chair with

his head sunk upon his breast

like one who was utterly crushed holmes

stuck his feet up on the corner of the

mantelpiece

and leaning back with his hands in his

pockets began

talking rather to himself as it seemed

than to us

the man married a woman very much older

than himself for her money

said he and he enjoyed the use of the

money of the daughter as long as she

lived with them

it was a considerable sum for people in

their position

and the loss of it would have made a

serious difference

it was worth an effort to preserve it

the daughter was of a good amiable

disposition

but affectionate and warm-hearted in her

ways

so that it was evident that with her

fair personal

advantages and her little income

she would not be allowed to remain

single long

now her marriage would mean of course

the loss of a hundred a year

so what does her stepfather do to

prevent it

he takes the obvious course of keeping

her at home

and forbidding her to seek the company

of people of her own age

but soon he found that that would answer

forever

she became restive insisted upon her

rights

and finally announced her positive

intention of going to a certain

ball what does her clever stepfather do

then

he conceives an idea more creditable to

his head

than to his heart with the connivance

and assistance of his wife

he disguised himself covered those keen

eyes with tinted

glasses masked the face with a mustache

and a pair of bushy whiskers

sunk that clear voice into an

insinuating whisper

and doubly secure on account of the

girl’s short sight

he appears as mr hosmer angel

and keeps off other lovers by making

love himself

it was only a joke at first

groaned our visitor we never thought

that she would have been so

carried away very likely not

however that may be the young lady was

very decidedly carried away

and having quite made up her mind that

her stepfather was in france

the suspicion of treachery never for an

instant entered her mind

she was flattered by the gentleman’s

attentions and the effect was increased

by the loudly expressed admiration of

her mother

then mr angel began to call for it was

obvious that the matter should be pushed

as far as it would go

if a real effect were to be produced

there were meetings

and an engagement which would finally

secure the girls affections from turning

towards anyone else

but the deception could not be kept up

forever

these pretended journeys to france were

rather cumbres

the thing to do was clearly to bring the

business to an

end in such a dramatic manner that it

would leave a permanent impression upon

the young lady’s mind

and prevent her from looking upon any

other suitor for some time to come

hence those vows of fidelity exacted

upon a testament

and hence also the allusions to a

possibility of

something happening on the very morning

of the wedding

james windy bank wished miss sutherland

to be so

bound to hosmer angel and so uncertain

as to his fate that for ten years to

come at any rate

she would not listen to another man as

far as the church door he brought her

and then as he could go no farther

he conveniently vanished away by the old

trick

of stepping in at one door of a four

wheeler and

out at the other i think that was the

chain of events mr windybank

our visitor had recovered something of

his assurance while holmes had been

talking

and he rose from his chair now with a

cold sneer upon his pale face

it may be so or it may not mr holmes

said he but if you are so very sharp you

ought to be

sharp enough to know that it is you who

are breaking the law now and not

me i have done nothing actionable

from the first but as long as you keep

that door locked

you lay yourself open to an action for

assault and illegal constraint

the law cannot as you say touch you

said holmes unlocking and throwing open

the door

yet there never was a man who deserved

punishment more

if the young lady has a brother or a

friend he ought to lay a whip across

your shoulders

by jove he continued flushing up at the

sight of the bitter sneer upon the man’s

face

it is not part of my duties to my client

but here’s a hunting crop handy and i

think i shall just treat myself to

he took two swift steps to the whip but

before he could grasp it there was a

wild clatter of steps upon the stairs

the heavy hall door banged and from the

window we could see mr james windy bank

running at the top of his speed down the

road

there’s a cold-blooded scoundrel said

holmes

laughing as he threw himself down into

his chair once more

that fellow will rise from crime to

crime until he does something very bad

and ends on a gallows the case has in

some respects

been not entirely devoid of interest

i cannot now entirely see all the steps

of your reasoning

i remarked well

of course it was obvious from the first

that this mr hosmer angel must have some

strong

object for his curious conduct and it

was equally clear that the only man who

really profited by the incident

as far as we could see was the

stepfather

then the fact that the two men were

together but that the one always

appeared when the other was away

was suggestive so were the tinted

spectacles and the curious voice

which both hitted at a disguise as did

the bushy whiskers

my suspicions were all confirmed by his

peculiar action

in typewriting his signature which of

course

inferred that his handwriting was so

familiar to her

that she would recognize even the

smallest sample of it

you see all these isolated facts

together with many minor ones

all pointed in the same direction

and how did you verify them

having once spotted my man it was easy

to get corroboration

i knew the firm for which this man

worked having taken the printed

description

i eliminated everything from it which

could be the result of a disguise

the whiskers the glasses the voice

and i sent it to the firm with the

request that they would inform me

whether it answered to the description

of any of their travelers

i had already noticed the peculiarities

of the typewriter

and i wrote to the man himself at his

business address

asking him if he would come here as i

expected

his reply was type written and revealed

the same

trivial but characteristic defects

the same post brought me a letter from

west house mr bank

of finn church street to say that the

description tallied in every respect

with that of their employee james windy

bank

voila and miss sutherland

if i tell her she will not believe me

you may remember the old persian

saying there is danger for him who

taketh the tiger cub

and danger also for who so snatches a

delusion from a woman

there is as much sense in hafiz as in

horus

and as much knowledge of the world

[Music]

you