24 The Final Problem from The Memoirs of Sherlock Ho

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The adventure of the final problem. It is with a
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heavy heart that I take up my pen to write
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these the last words in which I shall ever record
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the singular gifts by which my friend mister Sherlock Holmes
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was distinguished in an incoherent and, as I deeply feel,
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an entirely inadequate fashion. I have endeavored to give some
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account of my strange experiences in his company, from the
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chance which first brought us together at the period of
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the study in Scarlet, up to the time of his
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interference in the matter of the Naval Treaty, an interference
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which had the unquestionable effect of preventing a serious international complication.
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It was my intention to have stopped there and to
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have said nothing of that event, which has created a
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void in my life which the lapse of two years
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has done little to fill. My hand has been forced, however,
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by the recent letters in which Colonel James Moriarty defends
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the memory of his brother, and I have no choice
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but to lay the facts before the public exactly as
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they occurred. I alone know the absolute truth of the matter,
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and I am satisfied that the time has come when
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no good purpose is to be served by its suppression.
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As far as I know, there have been only three
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accounts in the public press, that in the Journal de
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Geneve upon May sixth, eighteen ninety one, the Reuters Dispatch
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in the English papers upon May the seventh, and finally
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the recent letters to which I have alluded. Of these,
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the first and second were extremely condensed, while the last is,
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as I shall now show, an absolute perversion of the facts.
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It lies with me to tell for the first time
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what really took place between Professor Mariati and mister Sherlock Holmes.
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It may be remembered that after my marriage and my
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subsequent start in private practice, the very intimate relations which
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had existed between Homes and myself became, to some extent modified.
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He still came to me from time to time when
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he desired a companion in his investigations, but these occasions
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grew more and more seldom, until I find that in
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the year eighteen ninety there were only three cases of
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which I retain any record. During the winter of that
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year and the early spring of eighteen ninety one, I
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saw in the papers that he had been engaged by
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the French government upon a matter of supreme importance, and
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I received two notes from homes dated from Nabonn and
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from Nim, from which I gathered that his stay in
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France was likely to be a long one. It was
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with some surprise, therefore, that I saw him walk into
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my consulting room upon the evening of the twenty fourth
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of April. It struck me that he was looking even
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paler and thinner than usual. Yes, I have been using
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myself up rather too freely, he remarked, in answer to
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my look, rather than to my words. I have been
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a little pressed of late. Have you any objection to
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my closing your shutters? The only light in the room
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came from the lamp upon the table at which I
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had been reading. Holmes edged his way round the wall, and,
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flinging the shutters together, he bolted them securely. You are
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afraid of something, I asked, Well, I am of what
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of air guns? My dear Holmes, what do you mean?
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I think that you know me well enough Watson to
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understand that I am, by no means a nervous man.
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At the same time, it is stupidity, rather than courage,
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to refuse to recognize danger when it is close upon you.
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Might I trouble you for a match, he drew in
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the smoke of his cigarette, as if the soothing influence
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was grateful to him. I must apologize for calling so late,
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said he, And I must beg you to be so
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unconventional as to allow me to leave your house presently
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I scrambling over your back garden wall. But what does
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it all mean? I asked. He held out his hand,
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and I saw in the light of the lamp that
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two of his knuckles were burst and bleeding. It is
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not an airy nothing, you see, said he, smiling. On
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the contrary, it is solid enough for a man to
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break his hand. Over is missus Watson in she is
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away upon a visit? Indeed, you are alone quite then
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it makes it the easier for me to propose that
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you should come away with me for a week. Aren't
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the continent where, oh anywhere? It's all the same to me.
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There was something very strange in all this. It was
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not Holmes's nature to take an aimless holiday, and something
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about his pale, worn face told me that his nerves
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were at their highest tension. He saw the question in
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my eyes, and putting his fingertips together and his elbows
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upon his knees, he explained the situation. You have probably
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never heard of Professor Moriarty said he never. Ay, there's
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the genius and the wonder of the thing, he cried.
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The man pervades London and no one has heard of him.
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That's what puts him on a pinnacle in the records
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of crime. I tell you, Watson, in all seriousness, that
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if I could beat that man, if I could free
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society of him, I shall feel that my own career
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had reached its summit, and I should be prepared to
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turn to some more placid line in life between ourselves.
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The recent cases in which I have been of assistance
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to the Royal family of Scandinavia and to the French
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Republic have left me in such a position that I
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could continue to live in the quiet fashion which is
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most congenial to me, and to concentrate my attention upon
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my chemical researches. But I could not rest, Watson. I
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could not sit quiet in my chair if I thought
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that such a man as Professor Moriarty were walking the
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streets of London unchallenged. What has he done? Then? His
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career has been an extraordinary one. He is a man
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of good birth and excellent education. Endowed by nature with
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a phenomenal mathematical faculty. At the age of twenty one,
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he wrote a treatise upon the binomial theorem, which has
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had a European vogue. On the strength of it, he
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won the mathematical chair at one of our smaller universities,
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and had, to all appearance, a most brilliant career before him.
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But the man had hereditary tendencies of the most diabolical kind.
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A criminal strain ran in his blood, which, instead of
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being modified, was increased and rendered infinitely more dangerous by
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his extraordinary mental powers. Dark rumors gathered round him in
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the university town, and eventually he was compelled to resign
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his chair and to come down to London, where he
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set up as an army coach. So much is known
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to the world, But what I am telling you now
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is what I myself have discovered. As you are aware, Watson,
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there is no one who knows the higher criminal world
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of London so well as I do. For years past,
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I have continually been conscious of some power behind the malefactor,
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some deep organizing power which forever stands in the way
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of the law and throws its shield over the wrongdoer.
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Again and again in cases of the most varying sorts,
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forgery cases, robberies, murders. I have felt the presence of
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this force, and I have deduced its action in many
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of those undiscovered crimes in which I have not been
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personally consulted. For years, I have endeavored to break through
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the veil which shrouded it. And at last the time
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came when I seized my thread and followed it until
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it led me after a thousand cunning windings to ex
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Professor Moriarty of mathematical celebrity. He is the Napoleon of
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crime Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil,
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and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city.
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He is a genius, a philosopher, and an abstract thinker.
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He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless,
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like a spider in the center of its web. But
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that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well
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every quiver of each of them. It does little himself.
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He only plans, but his agents are numerous and splendidly organized.
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Is there a crime to be done, a paper to
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be abstracted, we will say, a house to be rifled?
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A man to be removed. The word is passed to
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the Professor, the matter is organized and carried out. The
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agent may be caught. In that case money is found
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for his bail or his defense. But the central power
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which uses the agent is never caught, never so much
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as suspected. This was the organization which I deduced, Watson,
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and which I devoted my whole energy to exposing and
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breaking up. But the Professor was fenced round with safeguards
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so cunningly devised that do what I would, It seemed
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impossible to get evidence which could convict in a court
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of law. You know my powers, my dear Watson. And
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yet at the end of three months I was forced
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to confess that I had at last met an antagonist
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who was my intellectual equal. My horror at his crimes
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was lost in my admiration at his skill. But at
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last he made a trip, only a little, little trip,
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but it was more than he could afford. When I
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was so close upon him, I had my chance. And
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starting from that point I have woven my net round him,
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until now it is all ready to close. In three days,
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that is to say, on Monday next matters will be ripe,
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and the Professor, with all the principal members of his gang,
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will be in the hands of the police. Then will
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come the greatest criminal trial of the century, the clearing
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up of over forty mysteries, and the rope for all
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of them. But if we move at all prematurely, you understand,
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they may slip out of our hands, even at the
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last moment. If I could have done this without the
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knowledge of Professor Moriarty, all would have been well. But
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he was too wily for that. He saw every step
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which I took to draw my toils round him. Again
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and again he strove to break away, but I as
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often headed him off. I tell you, my friend, that
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if a detailed account of that silent contest could be written,
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it would take its place as the most brilliant bit
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of thrust and pari work in the history of detection.
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Never have I risen to such a height, and never
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have I been so hard pressed by an opponent. He
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cut deep, and yet I just undercut him. This morning,
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the last steps were taken, and three days only were
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wanted to complete the business. I was sitting in my
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room thinking the matter over, when the door opened and
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Professor MURRIARTI stood before me. My nerves are fairly proof, Watson.
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But I must confess to a start. When I saw
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the very man who had been so much in my
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thoughts standing there on my threshold, his appearance was quite
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familiar to me. He is extremely tall and thin. His
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forehead domes out in a white curve, and his two
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eyes are deeply sunken in his head. He is clean shaven, pale,
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and ascetic looking, retaining something of the professor in his features.
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His shoulders a rounded from much study, and his face
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protrudes forward and is forever slowly oscillating from side to
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side in a curiously reptilian fashion. He peered at me
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with great curiosity in his puckered eyes. You have less
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frontal development than I should have expected, said he at last.
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It is a dangerous habit to finger loaded firearms in
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the pocket of one's dressing gown. The fact is that
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upon his entrance I had instantly read recognized the extreme
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personal danger in which I lay. The only conceivable escape
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for him lay in silence in my tongue. In an
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instant I had slipped the revolver from the drawer into
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my pocket and was covering him through the cloth. At
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his remark, I drew the weapon out and laid it
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cocked upon the table. He still smiled and blinked, but
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there was something about his eyes which made me feel
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very glad that I had it there. You evidently don't
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know me, said he. On the contrary, I answered, I
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think it is fairly evident that I do pray. Take
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a chair. I can spare you five minutes if you
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have anything to say. All that I have to say
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has already crossed your mind, said he. Then possibly my
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answer has crossed yours, I replied, you stand fast. Absolutely.
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He clapped his hand into his pocket, and I raised
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the pistol from the table. But he merely drew out
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a memorandum book in which he had scribbled some dates.
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You crossed my path on the fourth of January, said he.
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On the twenty third, you incommoded me. By the middle
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of February, I was seriously inconvenienced by you. At the
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end of March I was absolutely hampered in my plans.
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And now at the close of April, I find myself
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in such positions from your continual persecution that I am
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in positive danger of losing my liperty. The situation is
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becoming an impossible one. Have you any suggestion to make?
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I asked, you must drop it, mister Holmes, said, he,
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swaying his face about you really must you know after Monday,
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said I. Tut tut, said he. I am quite sure
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that a man of your intelligence will see that there
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can be but one outcome to this affair. It is
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necessary that you should withdraw. You have worked things in
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such a fashion that we have only one resource left.
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It has been an intellectual treat to me to see
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the way in which you have grappled with this affair.
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And I say, unaffectedly that it would be a grief
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to me to be forced to take any extreme measure.
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You smile, sir, that I assure you that it really would.
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Danger is part of my trade. I remarked. This is
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not danger, said he, It is inevitable destruction. You stand
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in the way not merely of an individual, but of
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a mighty organization, the full extent of which you, with
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all your cleverness, have been unable to realize. You must
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stand clear, mister Holmes, or be trodden under foot. I
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am afraid, said I, rising that in the pleasure of
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this conversation, I am neglecting business of importance which awaits
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me elsewhere. He rose also and looked at me in silence,
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shaking his head sadly. Well, well, said he at last.
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It seems a pity. But I have done what I could.
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I know every move of your game. You can do
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nothing before Monday. It has been a duel between you
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and me. Mister Holmes. You hope to place me in
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the dark. I tell you that I will never stand
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in the dark. You hope to beat me. I tell
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you that you will never beat me if you are
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clever enough to bring destruction upon me. Rest assured that
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I shall do as much to you. You have paid
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me several compliments, mister Moriati said, I let me pay
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you one in return. When I say that, if I
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were assured of the former eventuality, I would, in the
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interests of the public, cheerfully accept the latter. I can
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promise you the one, but not the other. He snarled,
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and so turned his rounded back upon me and went
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peering and blinking out of the room. That was my
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singular interview with Professor Moriaty. I confess that it left
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an unpleasant effect upon my mind. His soft, precise fashion
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of speech leaves a conviction of sincerity which a mere
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bully could not produce. Of course, you will say why
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not take police precautions against him? The reason is that
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I am well convinced that it is from his agents
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the blow would fall. I have the best of proofs
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that it would be. So you have already been assaulted,
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my dear Watson. Professor Murriarty is not a man who
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lets the grass grow under his feet. I went out
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about midday to transact some business in Oxford Street. As
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I passed the corner which leads from Bentinck Street on
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to the Wellbeck Street crossing, a two horse van furiously
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driven whizzed round and was on me like a flash.
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I sprang for the footpath and saved myself by the
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fraction of a second. The van dashed round by Marylybn
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Lane and was gone in an instant. I kept to
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the pavement after that, Watson. But as I walked down
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Via Street, a brick came down from the roof of
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one of the houses and was shattered to fragments at
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my feet. I called the police and had the place examined.
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There were slates and bricks piled upon the roof preparatory
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to some repairs, and they would have me believe that
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the wind had toppled over one of these. Of course
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I knew better, but I could prove nothing. I took
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a cab after that and reached my brother's rooms in
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paw Maw, where I spent the day. Now I have
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come round to you, and on my way I was
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attacked by a ruff with a bludgeon. I knocked him down,
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and the police have him in custody. That I can
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tell you with the most absolute confidence that no possible
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connection will ever be traced between the gentlemen upon whose
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front teeth I have barked my knuckles and the retiring
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mathematical coach who is I dare say, working out problems
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upon a blackboard ten miles away. You will not wonder, Watson,
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that my first act on entering your rooms was to
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close your shutters, and that I have been compelled to
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ask your permission to leave the house by some less
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conspicuous exit than the front door. I had often admired
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my friend's courage, but never more than now, as he
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sat quietly checking off a series of incidents which must
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have combined to make up a day of horror, you
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will spend the night here, I said, no, my friend,
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you might find me a dangerous guest. I have my
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plans laid and all will be well. Matters have gone
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so far now that they can move without my help
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as far as the arrest goes. Though my presence is
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necessary for a conviction. It is obvious therefore that I
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cannot do better than get away for the few days
312
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which remain before the police are at liberty to act.
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It would be a great pleasure to me. Therefore, if
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you could come on to the continent with me. The
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practice is quiet, said I, and I have an accommodating neighbor.
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I should be glad to come and to start tomorrow
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morning if necessary. Oh, yes, it is most necessary. Then
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these are your instructions, and I beg my dear Watson,
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that you will obey them to the letter, for you
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are now playing a double handed game with me against
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00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:19.839
the cleverest rogue and the most powerful syndicate of criminals
322
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in Europe. Now listen, you will dispatch whatever luggage you
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intend to take by a trusty messenger unaddressed to Victoria
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to night. In the morning you will send for a
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hansom desiring your man to take neither the first nor
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00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:38.920
the second, which may present itself into this hansom. You
327
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will jump, and you will drive to the strand end
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of the louther arcade, handing the address to the cabman
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upon a slip of paper, with a request that he
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will not throw it away. Have your fare ready, and
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the instant that your cab stops. Dashed through the arcade,
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timing yourself to reach the other side. At a quarter
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past nine, you will find a small broom waiting close
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to the curb, driven by a fellow with a heavy
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black cloak tipped at the collar with red. Into this
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you will step, and you will reach Victoria in time
337
00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:15.200
for the Continental Express. Where shall I meet you at
338
00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:18.279
the station? The second first class carriage from the front
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00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:23.039
will be reserved for us. The carriage is our rendezvous. Then, yes,
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it was in vain that I asked Holmes to remain
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for the evening. It was evident to me that he
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thought he might bring trouble to the roof he was under,
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and that that was the motive which impelled him to go.
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With a few hurried words as to our plans for
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the morrow, he rose and came out with me into
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the garden, clambering over the wall which leads into Mortimer Street,
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and immediately whistling for a hansom, in which I heard
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him drive away. In the morning, I obeyed Holmes's injunctions
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to the letter. A hansom was procured with such precautions
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as would prevent its being one which was placed ready
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for us, and I drove immediately after breakfast to the
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louther arcade, through which I hurried at the top of
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my speed. A broom was waiting with a very massive
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driver wrapped in a dark cloak, who the instant that
355
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I had stepped in, whipped up the horse and rattled
356
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off to Victoria's station. On my alighting there, he turned
357
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the carriage and dashed away again without so much as
358
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a look in my direction. So far all had gone admirably.
359
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.680
My luggage was waiting for me, and I had no
360
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difficulty in finding the carriage, which Homes had indicated, the
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less so as it was the only one in the
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train which was marked engaged. My only source of anxiety
363
00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:46.079
now was the non appearance of Homes. The station clock
364
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marked only seven minutes from the time when we were
365
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due to start in Vain. I searched among the groups
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of travelers and leave takers. For the lithe figure of
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00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:59.960
my friend, there was no sign of him. I sped
368
00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:03.759
a few minutes in assisting a venerable Italian priest who
369
00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:06.839
was endeavoring to make a porter understand in his broken
370
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English that his luggage was to be booked through to Paris. Then,
371
00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:14.519
having taken another look around, I returned to my carriage,
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where I found that the porter, in spite of the ticket,
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had given me my decrepit Italian friend as a traveling companion.
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It was useless for me to explain to him that
375
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his presence was an intrusion, for my Italian was even
376
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more limited than his English. So I shrugged my shoulders resignedly,
377
00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:36.720
and continued to look out anxiously for my friend. A
378
00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:39.480
chill of fear had come over me, as I thought
379
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that his absence might mean that some blow had fallen
380
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during the night. Already the doors had all been shut
381
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and the whistle blown. When my dear Watson said a
382
00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:53.920
voice you have not even condescended to say good morning.
383
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I turned in incontrollable astonishment. The aged Ecclesiastick had turned
384
00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:03.839
his face towards me for an instant. The wrinkles were
385
00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:07.240
smoothed away, the nose drew away from the chin, the
386
00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:10.000
lower lip ceased to protrude down, the mouth to mumble.
387
00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:14.200
The dull eyes regained their fire. The drooping figure expanded.
388
00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:19.039
The next the whole frame collapsed again, and Holmes had
389
00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:23.000
gone as quickly as he had come. Good Heavens, I cried,
390
00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:27.759
how you startled me. Every precaution is still necessary, he whispered.
391
00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:30.519
I have reason to think that they are hot upon
392
00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:35.680
our trail. Ah, there is moriarti himself. The train had
393
00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:39.799
already begun to move. As Homes spoke. Glancing back, I
394
00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:42.960
saw a tall man pushing his way furiously through the crowd,
395
00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:45.880
and waving his hand as if he desired to have
396
00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:50.039
the train stopped. It was too late, however, for we
397
00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:54.079
were rapidly gathering momentum, and an instant later had shot
398
00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:58.000
clear of the station. With all our precautions. You see
399
00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:00.720
that we have cut it rather fine, said her Holmes, laughing.
400
00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:04.519
He rose, and throwing off the black cassock and hat
401
00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:07.880
which had formed his disguise. He packed them away in
402
00:25:07.960 --> 00:25:12.000
a handbag. Have you seen the morning paper, Watson? No,
403
00:25:12.920 --> 00:25:16.480
you haven't seen about Baker Street then Baker Street. They
404
00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:19.839
set fire to our rooms last night. No great harm
405
00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:23.839
was done. Good Heavens Holmes. This is intolerable. They must
406
00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:27.559
have lost my track completely after their bludgeon man was arrested.
407
00:25:28.119 --> 00:25:30.720
Otherwise they could not have imagined that I had returned
408
00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:34.160
to my rooms. They have evidently taken the precaution of
409
00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:37.680
watching you, however, and that is what has brought Moriarty
410
00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:41.440
to Victoria. You could not have made any slip in coming.
411
00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:46.200
I did exactly what you advised. Did you find your broom, Yes,
412
00:25:46.279 --> 00:25:50.279
it was waiting. Did you recognize your coachman, No, it
413
00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:53.519
was my brother Micraft. It is an advantage to get
414
00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:56.920
about in such a case without taking a mercenary into
415
00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:00.279
your confidence. But we must plan what we are to
416
00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:04.000
do about Mariati now. As this is an express and
417
00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:07.319
as the boat runs in connection with it, I should
418
00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:10.720
think we have shaken him off very effectively. My dear Watson,
419
00:26:10.759 --> 00:26:13.559
you evidently did not realize my meaning when I said
420
00:26:13.599 --> 00:26:15.920
that this man may be taken as being quite on
421
00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:19.759
the same intellectual plane as myself. You do not imagine
422
00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:22.480
that if I were the pursuer, I should allow myself
423
00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:25.839
to be baffled by so slight an obstacle, Why then
424
00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:28.920
should you think so meanly of him? What will he do?
425
00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:33.119
What I should do? What would you do? Then? Engage
426
00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:36.799
a special But it must be late by no means.
427
00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:39.440
This train stops at Canterbury, and there is always at
428
00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:41.720
least a quarter of an hour's delay at the boat.
429
00:26:42.200 --> 00:26:44.759
He will catch us there. One would think that we
430
00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:48.039
were the criminals. Let us have him arrested on his arrival.
431
00:26:48.599 --> 00:26:51.319
It would be to ruin the work of three months.
432
00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:54.799
We should get the big fish, but the smaller would
433
00:26:54.839 --> 00:26:58.279
dart right and left out of the net on Monday.
434
00:26:58.319 --> 00:27:01.599
We should have them all. No, an arrest is inadmissible.
435
00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:06.039
What then we shall get out at Canterbury. And then well,
436
00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:08.440
then we must make a cross country journey to new
437
00:27:08.440 --> 00:27:12.799
Haven and so over to d'epp Moriarty will again do
438
00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:15.240
what I should do. He will get on to Paris,
439
00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:18.240
mark down our luggage and wait for two days at
440
00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:21.480
the depot. In the meantime, we shall treat ourselves to
441
00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:24.839
a couple of carpet bags, encourage the manufactures of the
442
00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:28.119
countries through which we travel, and make our way at
443
00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:33.880
our leisure into Switzerland via Luxembourg and bal I am
444
00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:36.759
too old a traveler to allow myself to be seriously
445
00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:40.440
inconvenienced by the loss of my luggage. But I confess
446
00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:42.799
that I was annoyed at the idea of being forced
447
00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:45.720
to dodge and hide before a man whose record was
448
00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:50.200
black with unutterable infamies. It was evident, however, that Holmes
449
00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:54.640
understood the situation more clearly than I did at Canterbury. Therefore,
450
00:27:54.680 --> 00:27:57.480
we are lighted, only to find that we should have
451
00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:59.559
to wait an hour before we could get a train
452
00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:03.200
to New Haven. I was still looking rather ruefully after
453
00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:07.759
the rapidly disappearing luggage van which contained my wardrobe, when
454
00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:11.920
Holmes pulled my sleeve and pointed up the line. Already
455
00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:15.960
you see, said he. Far away among the Kentish woods,
456
00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:19.799
there rose a thin spray of smoke. A minute later
457
00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:22.720
a carriage and engine could be seen flying along the
458
00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:26.559
open curve which leads to the station. We had hardly
459
00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:29.480
time to take our places behind a pile of luggage
460
00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:33.079
when it passed with a rattle and a roar, beating
461
00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:36.680
a blast of hot air into our faces. There he goes,
462
00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:40.000
said Holmes, as we watched the carriage swing and rock
463
00:28:40.119 --> 00:28:43.599
over the points. There are limits, you see, to our
464
00:28:43.720 --> 00:28:47.160
friend's intelligence. It would have been a coup de metre
465
00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:51.359
had he deduced what I would deduce and acted accordingly.
466
00:28:52.359 --> 00:28:54.720
And what would he have done had he overtaken us?
467
00:28:55.400 --> 00:28:57.480
There cannot be the least doubt that he would have
468
00:28:57.519 --> 00:29:01.000
made a murderous attack upon me. It is, however, a
469
00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:04.440
game at which two may play. The question now is
470
00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:07.839
whether we should take a premature lunch here or run
471
00:29:07.880 --> 00:29:11.200
our chance of starving. Before we reached the buffet at
472
00:29:11.240 --> 00:29:16.200
new Haven, we made our way to Brussels that night
473
00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:19.519
and spent two days there, moving upon the third day
474
00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:23.480
as far as Strasbourg. On the Monday morning Holmes had
475
00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:26.880
telegraphed to the London police, and in the evening we
476
00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:30.759
found a reply waiting for us at our hotel home.
477
00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:33.839
Store it open, and then, with a bitter curse, hurled
478
00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:37.559
it into the grate. I might have known it, he groaned.
479
00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:42.400
He has escaped Mariarty. They have secured the whole gang,
480
00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:46.000
with the exception of him. He has given them the slip.
481
00:29:46.920 --> 00:29:49.559
Of course, when I had left the country there was
482
00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:52.400
no one to cope with him. But I did think
483
00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:55.440
that I had put the game in their hands. I
484
00:29:55.559 --> 00:29:58.839
think that you had better return to England, Watson, Why
485
00:29:59.559 --> 00:30:03.279
because you will find me a dangerous companion. Now this
486
00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:06.440
man's occupation is gone. He is lost if he returns
487
00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:09.519
to London. If I read his character right, he will
488
00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:13.480
devote his whole energies to revenging himself upon me. He
489
00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:16.640
said as much in our short interview, and I fancy
490
00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:19.920
that he meant it. I should certainly recommend you to
491
00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:23.720
return to your practice. It was hardly an appeal to
492
00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:27.200
be successful with one who was an old campaigner as
493
00:30:27.240 --> 00:30:30.599
well as an old friend. We sat in the Strasbourg
494
00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:34.720
Salamonnges arguing the question for half an hour. But the
495
00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:37.599
same night we had resumed our journey and were well
496
00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:41.880
on our way to Geneva for a charming week. We
497
00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:45.400
wandered up the valley of the Rhone, and then branching
498
00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:49.400
off at Luke, we made our way over the Jemmy Pass,
499
00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:53.519
still deep in snow, and so by way of Interlaken
500
00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:58.759
to Mehringen. It was a lovely trip, the dainty green
501
00:30:58.839 --> 00:31:02.799
of the spring below, the virgin white of the winter above.
502
00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:05.599
But it was clear to me that never for one
503
00:31:05.640 --> 00:31:08.880
instant did Holmes forget the shadow which lay across him.
504
00:31:09.160 --> 00:31:12.640
In the homely alpine villages or in the lonely mountain passes,
505
00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:15.960
I could still tell, by his quick glancing eyes and
506
00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:19.480
his sharp scrutiny of every face that passed us, that
507
00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:22.680
he was well convinced that walk where we would, we
508
00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:25.720
could not walk ourselves clear of the danger which was
509
00:31:25.799 --> 00:31:30.039
dogging our footsteps. Once I remember, as we passed over
510
00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:34.359
the Gemmy and walked along the border of the melancholy Dobenzeh,
511
00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:37.759
a large rock which had been dislodged from the ridge
512
00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:41.279
upon our right, clattered down and roared into the lake
513
00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:45.039
behind us. In an instant, Holmes had raced up on
514
00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:49.519
to the ridge, and, standing upon a lofty pinnacle, craned
515
00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:53.240
his neck in every direction. It was in vain that
516
00:31:53.319 --> 00:31:56.200
our guide assured him that a fall of stones was
517
00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:59.680
a common chance in the springtime at that spot. He
518
00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:02.440
said nothing, but he smiled at me with the air
519
00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:05.039
of a man who sees the fulfillment of that which
520
00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:09.359
he had expected. And yet for all his watchfulness, he
521
00:32:09.440 --> 00:32:13.240
was never depressed. On the contrary, I can never recollect
522
00:32:13.319 --> 00:32:17.359
having seen him in such exuberant spirits. Again and again
523
00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:19.359
he recurred to the fact that if he could be
524
00:32:19.400 --> 00:32:23.440
assured that society was freed from Professor Moriarty, he would
525
00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:27.599
cheerfully bring his own career to a conclusion. I think
526
00:32:27.640 --> 00:32:29.759
that I may go so far as to say, Watson,
527
00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:34.000
that I have not lived wholly in vain. He remarked.
528
00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:36.880
If my record were closed to night, I could still
529
00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:40.599
survey it with equanimity. The air of London is the
530
00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:45.359
sweeter for my presence in over a thousand cases. I
531
00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:47.599
am not aware that I have ever used my powers
532
00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:51.200
upon the wrong side of late. I have been tempted
533
00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:54.519
to look into the problems furnished by nature, rather than
534
00:32:54.559 --> 00:32:58.039
those more superficial ones for which our artificial state of
535
00:32:58.119 --> 00:33:02.559
society is responsible. Your memoirs will draw to an end, Watson,
536
00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:05.759
upon the day that I crown my career by the
537
00:33:05.799 --> 00:33:10.240
capture or extinction of the most dangerous and capable criminal
538
00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:15.319
in Europe. I shall be brief and yet exact in
539
00:33:15.400 --> 00:33:18.559
the little which remains for me to tell. It is
540
00:33:18.599 --> 00:33:21.799
not a subject on which I would willingly dwell, and
541
00:33:21.880 --> 00:33:24.359
yet I am conscious that a duty devolves upon me
542
00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:28.079
to omit no detail. It was upon the third of
543
00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:31.319
May that we reached the little village of Merringen, where
544
00:33:31.359 --> 00:33:35.839
we put up at the Englisherhoff, then kept by Peter Steiler,
545
00:33:35.960 --> 00:33:40.400
the elder. Our landlord was an intelligent man and spoke
546
00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:44.640
excellent English, having served for three years as waiter at
547
00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:48.759
the Grosvenor Hotel in London. At his advice, upon the
548
00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:51.759
afternoon of the fourth we set off together with the
549
00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:54.839
intention of crossing the hills and spending the night at
550
00:33:54.880 --> 00:33:59.640
the hamlet of Rosenlau. We had strict injunctions. However, on
551
00:33:59.720 --> 00:34:02.920
Noah cant to pass the falls of Reichenbach, which are
552
00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:06.039
about halfway up the hill, without making a small day
553
00:34:06.119 --> 00:34:10.599
tour to see them. It is indeed a fearful place.
554
00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:15.679
The torrent, swollen by the melting snow, plunges into a
555
00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:19.719
tremendous abyss, from which the spray rolls up like the
556
00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:23.559
smoke from a burning house. The shaft into which the
557
00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:28.679
river hurls itself is an immense chasm, lined by glistening coal,
558
00:34:28.800 --> 00:34:33.440
black rock, and narrowing into a creaming, boiling pit of
559
00:34:33.719 --> 00:34:38.639
incalculable depth, which brims over and shoots the stream onward
560
00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:43.119
over its jagged lip. The long sweep of green water
561
00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:47.480
roaring forever down, and the thick, flickering curtain of spray,
562
00:34:47.639 --> 00:34:52.320
hissing forever upwards, turn a man giddy with their constant
563
00:34:52.360 --> 00:34:56.960
whirl and clamor. We stood near the edge, peering down
564
00:34:57.000 --> 00:34:59.599
at the gleam of the breaking water far below us,
565
00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:03.280
against the black rocks, and listening to the half human
566
00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:07.280
shout which came booming up with the spray out of
567
00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:11.679
the abyss. The path has been cut halfway round the
568
00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:15.840
fall to afford a complete view, but it ends abruptly,
569
00:35:16.719 --> 00:35:20.000
and the traveler has to return as he came. We
570
00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:22.239
had turned to do so when we saw a Swiss
571
00:35:22.320 --> 00:35:25.440
lad come running along it with a letter in his hand.
572
00:35:26.480 --> 00:35:28.400
It bore the mark of the hotel which we had
573
00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:31.280
just left, and was addressed to me by the landlord.
574
00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:34.840
It appeared that within a very few minutes of our leaving,
575
00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:38.280
an English lady had arrived, who was in the last
576
00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:43.440
stage of consumption. She had wintered at Davos Platz and
577
00:35:43.599 --> 00:35:47.320
was journeying now to join her friends at Lucerne. When
578
00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:50.880
a sudden hemorrhage had overtaken her. It was thought that
579
00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:53.679
she could hardly live a few hours, but it would
580
00:35:53.719 --> 00:35:56.679
be a great consolation to her to see an English doctor,
581
00:35:57.400 --> 00:36:01.840
and if I would only return, etc. Etc. The good
582
00:36:01.920 --> 00:36:05.639
Stuyler assured me in a PostScript that he would himself
583
00:36:05.719 --> 00:36:09.880
look upon my compliance as a very great favor, since
584
00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:13.400
the lady absolutely refused to see a Swiss physician, and
585
00:36:13.559 --> 00:36:15.639
he could not but feel that he was incurring a
586
00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:20.320
great responsibility. The appeal was one which could not be ignored.
587
00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:23.519
It was impossible to refuse the request of a fellow
588
00:36:23.639 --> 00:36:27.800
countrywoman dying in a strange land, yet I had my
589
00:36:27.880 --> 00:36:32.280
scruples about leaving homes. It was finally agreed, however, that
590
00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:35.719
he should retain the young Swiss messenger with him as
591
00:36:35.880 --> 00:36:40.880
guide and companion while I returned to Merringen. My friend
592
00:36:40.960 --> 00:36:43.000
would stay some little time at the fall, he said,
593
00:36:43.639 --> 00:36:46.719
and would then walk slowly over the hill to Rosenlau,
594
00:36:47.360 --> 00:36:50.920
where I was to rejoin him in the evening. As
595
00:36:50.960 --> 00:36:54.239
I turned away, I saw Holmes with his back against
596
00:36:54.280 --> 00:36:57.519
a rock and his arms folded, gazing down at the
597
00:36:57.639 --> 00:37:00.880
rush of waters. It was the last that I was
598
00:37:00.920 --> 00:37:04.960
ever destined to see of him in this world. When
599
00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:07.440
I was near the bottom of the descent, I looked back.
600
00:37:08.599 --> 00:37:11.559
It was impossible from that position to see the fall,
601
00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:14.679
but I could see the curving path which winds over
602
00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:18.320
the shoulder of the hill and leads to it. Along
603
00:37:18.440 --> 00:37:23.360
this a man was, I remember, walking very rapidly. I
604
00:37:23.400 --> 00:37:26.599
could see his black figure clearly outlined against the green
605
00:37:26.679 --> 00:37:30.840
behind him. I noted him and the energy with which
606
00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:34.360
he walked, but he passed from my mind again as
607
00:37:34.400 --> 00:37:38.320
I hurried on upon my errand it may have been
608
00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:42.079
a little over an hour before I reached Meringen. Old
609
00:37:42.119 --> 00:37:45.519
Stuyler was standing at the porch of his hotel. Well,
610
00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:48.559
said I, as I came hurrying up. I trust that
611
00:37:48.679 --> 00:37:52.159
she is no worse. A look of surprise passed over
612
00:37:52.280 --> 00:37:55.599
his face, and at the first quiver of his eyebrows,
613
00:37:56.320 --> 00:37:59.800
my heart turned to lead in my breast. You did
614
00:37:59.840 --> 00:38:03.280
not write this, I said, pulling the letter from my pocket.
615
00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:07.679
There is no sick english woman in the hotel. Certainly not,
616
00:38:08.199 --> 00:38:11.920
he cried. But it does the hotel mark upon it. Ah,
617
00:38:12.159 --> 00:38:14.719
it must have been written by that tall englishman who
618
00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:17.960
came in after you had gone, he said. But I
619
00:38:18.039 --> 00:38:22.199
waited for none of the landlord's explanations. In a tingle
620
00:38:22.239 --> 00:38:24.760
of fear, I was already running down the village street
621
00:38:25.440 --> 00:38:28.239
and making for the path which I had so lately descended.
622
00:38:29.320 --> 00:38:32.079
It had taken me an hour to come down. For
623
00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:35.719
all my efforts, Two more had passed before I found
624
00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:39.960
myself at the fall of Reichenbach. Once more, there was
625
00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:43.639
Holmes's alpine stock, still leaning against the rock by which
626
00:38:43.679 --> 00:38:46.840
I had left him. But there was no sign of him,
627
00:38:47.800 --> 00:38:51.159
And it was in vain that I shouted. My only
628
00:38:51.239 --> 00:38:54.679
answer was my own voice, reverberating in a rolling echo
629
00:38:54.880 --> 00:38:59.079
from the cliffs around me. It was the sight of
630
00:38:59.159 --> 00:39:03.880
that alpine st which turned me cold and sick. He
631
00:39:03.960 --> 00:39:07.199
had not gone to Rosenlaud. Then. He had remained on
632
00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:10.800
that three foot path, with sheer wall on one side
633
00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:14.480
and sheer drop upon the other, until his enemy had
634
00:39:14.519 --> 00:39:19.400
overtaken him. The young Swiss had gone too. He had
635
00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:23.039
probably been in the pay of Mariati and had left
636
00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:27.559
the two men together. And then what had happened? Who
637
00:39:27.719 --> 00:39:31.440
was to tell us what had happened? Then I stood
638
00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:34.360
for a minute or two to collect myself, for I
639
00:39:34.519 --> 00:39:37.760
was dazed with the horror of the thing. Then I
640
00:39:37.800 --> 00:39:40.639
began to think of Holmes's own methods and to try
641
00:39:40.679 --> 00:39:45.360
to practice them in reading this tragedy. It was alas
642
00:39:45.559 --> 00:39:50.119
only too easy to do. During our conversation. We had
643
00:39:50.199 --> 00:39:52.480
not gone to the end of the path, and the
644
00:39:52.559 --> 00:39:56.639
alpine stock marked the place where we had stood. The
645
00:39:56.719 --> 00:40:00.440
blackish soil is kept forever soft by the incessant drift
646
00:40:00.519 --> 00:40:04.079
of spray, and a bird would leave its tread upon it.
647
00:40:05.280 --> 00:40:08.320
Two lines of footmarks were clearly marked along the farther
648
00:40:08.519 --> 00:40:13.239
end of the path, both leading away from me. There
649
00:40:13.280 --> 00:40:17.000
were none returning. A few yards from the end, the
650
00:40:17.119 --> 00:40:19.639
soil was all plowed up into a patch of mud,
651
00:40:20.519 --> 00:40:24.000
and the brambles and ferns which fringed the chasm were
652
00:40:24.119 --> 00:40:28.400
torn and bedraggled. I lay upon my face and peered over,
653
00:40:29.400 --> 00:40:33.239
with the spray spouting up all around me. It had
654
00:40:33.320 --> 00:40:36.880
darkened since I left, and now I could only see
655
00:40:36.960 --> 00:40:39.920
here and there the glistening of moisture upon the black walls,
656
00:40:40.880 --> 00:40:43.159
and far away, down at the end of the shaft,
657
00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:49.559
the gleam of the broken water. I shouted, but only
658
00:40:49.679 --> 00:40:53.079
that same half human cry of the fall was borne
659
00:40:53.159 --> 00:40:57.360
back to my ears. But it was destined that I
660
00:40:57.480 --> 00:41:00.280
should after all have a last word of greeting from
661
00:41:00.360 --> 00:41:04.639
my friend and comrade. I have said that his alpine
662
00:41:04.719 --> 00:41:08.039
stock had been left leaning against a rock which jutted
663
00:41:08.119 --> 00:41:11.519
onto the path from the top of this boulder. The
664
00:41:11.559 --> 00:41:15.320
gleam of something bright caught my eye, and raising my hand,
665
00:41:15.400 --> 00:41:18.159
I found that it came from the silver cigarette case
666
00:41:18.239 --> 00:41:21.360
which he used to carry. As I took it up,
667
00:41:21.480 --> 00:41:24.360
a small square of paper upon which it had lain
668
00:41:25.119 --> 00:41:29.480
fluttered down onto the ground. Unfolding it, I found that
669
00:41:29.639 --> 00:41:33.599
it consisted of three pages torn from his notebook and
670
00:41:33.679 --> 00:41:38.159
addressed to me. It was characteristic of the man that
671
00:41:38.320 --> 00:41:41.679
the direction was as precise, and the writing as firm
672
00:41:41.760 --> 00:41:45.480
and clear, as though it had been written in his study.
673
00:41:48.039 --> 00:41:52.199
My dear Watson, he said, I write these few lines
674
00:41:52.320 --> 00:41:56.400
through the courtesy of mister Moriarty, who awaits my convenience
675
00:41:56.880 --> 00:41:59.960
for the final discussion of those questions which lie between us.
676
00:42:01.079 --> 00:42:03.440
He has been giving me a sketch of the methods
677
00:42:03.480 --> 00:42:06.960
by which he avoided the English police and kept himself
678
00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:11.119
informed of our movements. They certainly confirmed the very high
679
00:42:11.159 --> 00:42:14.840
opinion which I had formed of his abilities. I am
680
00:42:14.920 --> 00:42:17.119
pleased to think that I shall be able to free
681
00:42:17.239 --> 00:42:21.039
society from any further effects of his presence, though I
682
00:42:21.159 --> 00:42:24.400
fear that it is at a cost which will give
683
00:42:24.519 --> 00:42:30.559
pain to my friends, and especially my dear Watson to you.
684
00:42:32.280 --> 00:42:35.239
I have already explained to you, however, that my career
685
00:42:35.679 --> 00:42:39.199
had in any case reached its crisis, and that no
686
00:42:39.360 --> 00:42:42.480
possible conclusion to it could be more congenial to me
687
00:42:43.039 --> 00:42:46.440
than this. Indeed, if I may make a full confession
688
00:42:46.480 --> 00:42:49.760
to you, I was quite convinced that the letter from
689
00:42:49.880 --> 00:42:54.000
Merringen was a hoax, and I allowed you to depart
690
00:42:54.119 --> 00:42:58.000
on that errand, under the persuasion that some development of
691
00:42:58.039 --> 00:43:02.480
this sort would follow. Tell Inspector Patterson that the papers
692
00:43:02.519 --> 00:43:06.119
which he needs to convict the gang are in Pigeonhole,
693
00:43:06.440 --> 00:43:10.360
m done up in a blue envelope and inscribed Moriarty.
694
00:43:11.480 --> 00:43:14.920
I made every disposition of my property before leaving England,
695
00:43:15.559 --> 00:43:18.920
and handed it to my brother Micraft. Pray give my
696
00:43:19.079 --> 00:43:23.280
greetings to missus Watson, and believe me to be my
697
00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:32.360
dear fellow. Very sincerely, yours, Sherlock Holmes. A few words
698
00:43:32.400 --> 00:43:37.239
may suffice to tell the little that remains. An examination
699
00:43:37.360 --> 00:43:40.920
by experts leaves little doubt that a personal contest between
700
00:43:41.000 --> 00:43:44.480
the two men ended, as it could hardly fail to
701
00:43:44.639 --> 00:43:48.679
end in such a situation. In their reeling over locked
702
00:43:48.760 --> 00:43:52.760
in each other's arms, any attempt at recovering the bodies
703
00:43:52.920 --> 00:43:56.840
was absolutely hopeless, and there, deep down in that dreadful
704
00:43:56.920 --> 00:44:00.840
cauldron of swirling water and seething foam, will lie for
705
00:44:00.960 --> 00:44:06.000
all time the most dangerous criminal and the foremost champion
706
00:44:06.079 --> 00:44:10.679
of the law of their generation. The Swiss youth was
707
00:44:10.760 --> 00:44:14.000
never found again, and there can be no doubt that
708
00:44:14.119 --> 00:44:17.159
he was one of the numerous agents whom Moriarty kept
709
00:44:17.239 --> 00:44:20.639
in his employ. As to the gang, it will be
710
00:44:20.800 --> 00:44:24.159
within the memory of the public how completely the evidence
711
00:44:24.199 --> 00:44:29.559
which Holmes had accumulated exposed their organization, and how heavily
712
00:44:29.639 --> 00:44:34.400
the hand of the dead man weighed upon them of
713
00:44:34.559 --> 00:44:39.079
their terrible chief. Few details came out during the proceedings,
714
00:44:40.199 --> 00:44:41.880
And if I have now been compelled to make a
715
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clear statement of his career, it is due to those
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injudicious champions who have endeavored to clear his memory by
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attacks upon him, whom I shall ever regard as the
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best and the wisest man whom I have ever known.
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That is the end of the adventure of the Final Problem.
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From the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
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read by Greg Wagland for Magpie Audio, twenty sixteen.