Sherlock Holmes Stories | Read by Benedict Cumberbatch

Sherlock Holmes The rediscovered Railway Mysteries and Other Stories by John Taylor read by Benedict Cumberbatch [Music] an inscrutable masquerade [Music] in a draw in the Bureau of an upstairs room of my current home there is a locked cedar wood box which I inherited as a youth from my grandfather this is one might say my box of Secrets when I was young it contained the treasures of Boyhood a catapult a lump of beeswax the carapace of a crab for many years since it has been the repository of an archive admittedly a ragged and disordered archive a

collection of notes and scribblings concerning some of the many cases of my lifelong friend the Consulting detective Sherlock Holmes which for one reason or another I never took the trouble to write into proper reports having had recently a little time on my hands I reopened this box of yellowing notebooks and it seemed to me that several of the cases given the ocean of time between those events and the present day would now bear telling and I begin by chronicling an adventure which I may have dismissed for several reasons not because it lacked baffling and intriguing

elements on the contrary but mostly I think because it was for me personally such a dizzying and distressing experience it was a Wednesday evening in July at the end of a day of Street jacketing Heat and I sat next to the open window of our parlor at Baker Street drinking in the air and hoping for the liberating Ripple of a breeze the newspaper on my lap reported the release from police custody of a known criminal Tobias organ arrested some days previously for the murder of Max Zimmerman a money lender shot through the head in his

small apartment in wardore Street in the end there'd been insufficient evidence to charge organ with murder even though the police clearly thought him culpable strangely enough I had once met organ myself he had come to me as a patient suffering as I recall from a severe lesion to the lower back which he maintained had been caused by a fall against a metal stanchion but which I had little doubt was in fact a stab wound my diagnosis was supported I Believe by his barely Veiled Threat that I should under no circumstances make known his injury to

anyone else he had an unforgettable menacing way with him and I had felt immense relief when he left my surgery I'd been looking forward to discussing the organ case with Holmes who would certainly have some views on the subject but when he finally appeared for dinner he was irritable and uncommunicative and from these symptoms I guessed him to be in the process of some taxing mental work all the same I had no wish to sit out the meal in silence stifling weather to be out and about homes I said peppering a slice of beef indeed

Watson and equally stifling to be in he visited himself with cutting into a potato after a while I said I've not seen you today I presume you were somewhere on business yes Watson I was another pause the of cutlery somewhere local somewhere very local Watson I'd expect you'd like to know where well I I have no wish to be intrusive in the basement I've been all day in the basement of our house and since your desire not to be intrusive is clearly struggling against your overwhelming curiosity to know I will tell you why I was

there and he paused and smiled in the full confidence that you will not breathe a word to a soul about it my homes of course not and on the understanding that if I do tell you you will not be able to leave this house until my work is complete what I put down almost dropped my knife and fork we don't mean not leave at all that's precisely what I mean so it may be that you would prefer to forego my secret rather than consent to becoming a prisoner here for what might be several days hopelessly

intrigued I gave no thought to the discomfort of being shut indoors in this sultry heat no thought to the boredom not even any thought to the fact that I had appointments in my diary I'm prepared to abide by your request homes he stood up from the table his meal unfinished and went across to the Hearth to retrieve his pipe and tobacco pouch as he filled his pipe and lit it he sank into his armchair I believe you have been preoccupied with the case of Tobias organ Watson yes it has been on my mind how you

twice left the newspaper open at that page the money lender Zimmerman a legitimate businessman with a wife and young children was murdered with an army rifle the police have many reasons for believing Tobias organ to be guilty of the crime of one of these is that he owns an army rifle organ of course denies that his firearm is the murder weapon well yes I said one would expect he would but suppose said Holmes Suppose there was a science which could with certainty tie a bullet to the gun which fired it that would be marvelous I

said but that isn't is there well Watson let us say that such a science is seminal it is exactly this problem which I am wrestling with at present in the basement of the house I've set up a laboratory of sorts down there where I can conduct some experiments progress is promising and if the results are as I expect they will certainly send Tobias organ to The Gallows but organ is an utterly ruthless villain undoubtedly guilty of a number of murders but devious enough always to Palm them off on others if you were to gain even

an inkling of my work we would be in the utmost Danger but I can see that you would be in danger homes but how might I be as I say Watson organ is ruthless to get at any enemy his favorite trick is to abduct someone close to his adversary often with I'm afraid horrific consequences you know too much now and since I'm not prepared to put you at risk in that way I fear you must sit it out in these apartments you must not answer the door you must stay away from the windows no visitors

you must lead the life of a prisoner until such time as this matter is settled well I said it might be good for me I have a medical paper to write in the period of confinement might induce me to keep my nose to my studies excellent Watson I'm sure your sacrifice will not be in vain I really did not see myself sacrificing very much at all I spent the evening canceling all appointments for the following week and went to bed rather looking forward to a few days of fruitful incarceration the morning found me in a

hopeful mood in what appeared to be an empty house Holmes I presumed had already descended to his basement Laboratory our landlady and Mrs Hudson had left me a pleasant cold breakfast an indication that she herself had had to leave the house early the day while already warm and bright had not yet begun to turn oppressive the clock over the half ticked slowly as I settled down to my books experiencing for the first time since my student years some of the quiet Ecstasy of study by midday the room had become hot my concentration meandered and thirst

plagued me I wandered downstairs to Mrs Hudson's apartment and found her still absent so I proceeded down to the basement to ask Holmes whether he knew what arrangements had been made for lunch the door to the basement was shut and when I tried the handle I found it to be locked from within I could hear the occasional crack of what sounded like a gun being fired and the grind of metal on metal like ball bearings rolling around an iron bowl Holmes are you there Watson what are you doing here I'm in the process of an

investigation indeed yes I'm trying to find out what's happening about luncheon you'll have to prepare something for yourself he called back I'm afraid I've sent Mrs Hudson away I cannot risk the lives of innocent people and Watson be so good as to keep away from the basement confine yourself to our own rooms and to the kitchen there's a good fellow very well Holmes but yes I really would very much like a newspaper I'm afraid you must do without neither of us could take the chance of leaving here until this business is complete now please let

me get on I trundled to the kitchen I managed to find myself some bread and cheese which I took back upstairs our rooms were now very hot and since I was forbidden to sit near the window I ate my luncheon over my books dropping crumbs into the creases of Gray's Anatomy and beginning to feel Restless after lunch I managed to force myself to a little more work but by three o'clock had fallen asleep in the armchair I woke to hear the sounds of evening traffic moving along Baker Street I listened with something like Envy to

the busy hubbub of those who were free to come and go who had families to return to and simple feasts awaiting them at convivial tables my lot seemed Bleak by comparison Holmes did not emerge from his infernal basement and Mrs Hudson did not appear with an evening meal I cannot recall how the rest of the evening passed the heat absorbed during the day by London's Pavements now radiated back to thicken the evening air the world outside of which I had no news became gradually silent and I hungry and disconsolate went finally to bed the next

morning after a makeshift breakfast I got down to some work and was well into the argument of the paper I was writing when I began to realize that the room was again beginning to become airless and oven-like determined not to succumb to lethargy as I had the previous afternoon I decided that despite Holmes's strict embargo on going near the window I simply must have some air as I raised the sash I saw a cab approaching along Baker Street and stopping directly beneath the window the passenger who stepped out was Nicholas Cartwright an old University friend

now writing for the times I hadn't seen him for a couple of months and he seemed about to pay a surprise visit desperate as I was for company I could not forget the promise I had made to Holmes to admit no visitors the doorbell rang my first idea was to wait for Cartwright to give up and go away but there quickly came a second ring and with it a call from the street through the now open window Martin a note of anxiety in his voice suggesting that all was not well Cartwright was a good friend

I did not see how I could linger there pretending to be deaf when he might be in need of my help I dashed down the stairs and opened the front door Watson so pleased to have found you the statement immediately struck me as odd as did Cartwright's whole demeanor but mindful of the proximity of homes in his makeshift laboratory I whispered look old chap odd things are going on come up as quietly as you can I'll explain there a sudden sharp crack issued from the depths of the house and I hoped that preoccupied as he

was Holmes would have no inkling of the presence of my visitor as we entered the Parlor and shut the door Cartwright said Watson I've been worried about you I didn't even know if I'd find you here worried yes the story in The Gazette regarding yourself and Mr Holmes did you know it was in the papers Cartwright I haven't the least idea what you're talking about and as for newspapers I haven't seen one in days here he tossed me the paper open at about the third or fourth page and I read the following headline in accompanying

article Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson part company after several years of celebrated collaboration the eminent Consulting detective Mr Sherlock Holmes and his medical companion Dr John Watson have terminated their professional partnership and it seems simultaneously ended their personal friendship Mr Holmes said that while he continued to hold Dr Watson in high esteem and to regard him as a matter of exceptional honor and professional competent circumstances upon which he could not and would not elaborate had made it expedient for them to go their separate ways there was no comment from Dr Watson I stood for a

moment holding the newspaper and diverting my gaze from Cartwright who had written this did Holmes know about it was there some truth in it was Holmes is exiled to the basement a way of keeping me at Bay while he found alternative lodgings this is today's Gazette yes Watson I see you knew nothing about this am I speaking to you as a friend Cartwright or as a journalist well I suppose unfortunately as a friend John I say unfortunately because this is clearly a damn good story but if you wish to talk to me off the Record

so be it off the Record then I know nothing of this and I don't know whether Holmes has had a hand in it he's conducting some very secret business at present and possibly it's connected to that that's all I can tell you I'm afraid one thing does baffle me Cartwright said how did The Gazette get the story without us getting it too anyway I won't make anything of this John until you give me the go-ahead but I hope if there does turn out to be an exclusive you'll be the one to get it I said

Thank You Nicholas I saw him down the stairs and closed the front door behind him finding myself relieved that he had gone I had no idea that I would be singing him again soon under even more peculiar circumstances but determined that now I must confront homes with this business I knocked on the door of the basement homes a long silence homes we must speak not now Watson Holmes there's something I must discuss with you urgently something in the newspaper there was a scuffling in the basement door opened newspaper how did you get a newspaper Cartwright

called he'd seen an article yes Holmes interrupted yes the article I dare say you would appreciate an explanation give me half an hour a little later we sat opposite one another in our sitting room the evening was still close and oppressive the newspaper article said Holmes was an unfortunate necessity I hope it has not caused you too much embarrassment Watson and when this business is finished all will be rectified why I said reporters as having quarreled bear with me Watson I beg of you as you know I have tried to keep my work here secret

but how certain can one be of that the police are involved in these matters and are aware of my experiments and who knows whether some junior or even senior member of the force is not in League with that utterly ruthless villain now having been alerted to that newspaper report might it not be the case that Tobias organ would assume that you were no longer in London at any rate he would certainly be likely to assume you were no longer sharing these premises with me you gave the story to The Gazette to protect me yes Watson

that was my purpose I just wish that you'd consulted me first you were not supposed even to know about it Watson and if you had not had a visit from Cartwright you would never have seen the article it was unfortunate that he came when he did it was the article that brought him yes a miscalculation on my part now it is late work to do tomorrow and I must insist on extracting from you another guarantee what's that homes that you will not under any circumstances interrupt my work again it's all very delicate in a disturbance

at an inopportune moment could ruin everything is that clear not under any circumstance that night I lay awake in the muggy heat the bed clothes pulled back and grieved for what I calculated to be the death of my reputation at least I imagined that's how the world would see it or at least that portion of the world that reads the London Gazette Holmes and Watson have parted company but there is no comment from Watson only a nobly worded valediction from the Greek Detective such bitter thoughts polluted my Restless waking and tormented my subsequent dreams and

added to all this their layers sense that things were still not clear that something crucial remained unspoken I woke early but exhausted without going near the window I took in what I could of the Awakening day the street was quiet I dressed slowly and descended to the kitchen to find something to eat the rattles and sharp cracks of homes's experiments had already come to life below in the basement and they wondered whether he had even bothered to go to bed I was making a pot of tea when the doorbell sounded the noises from The Cellar

did not pour so I assumed that Holmes had not heard the Bell I could see nothing off the front of the house from the kitchen but after I'd taken a few steps up into the lobby it became clear by means of a side window that the visitor was once again Nicholas Cartwright I went to the door and admitted him cut right what's going on Watson what do you mean I mean what game is being played here cut right I've no idea what you're referring to you better come up he was I could tell steaming with

anger though I had no idea what I could have done to arouse it he would not sit he stood with his arms behind his back a man preparing to deliver an accusation you told me you were inescapably confined to this house yes Cartwright and so I have been this is the third day excluding yesterday night you mean no I was here yesterday night too tossing and turning in my bed at the thought of my ruined reputation what see here yesterday you prevailed upon my friendship by confiding in me matters which as a journalist I considered

more than worthy of publication had I known that you were deceiving me Cartwright you have my word I was not deceiving you I've not left this house since Monday afternoon so you have a twin brother no I do not then please explain to me who was the man outside the restaurant at malabon station at five past midnight I take it he resembled me more than resembled I do hope you're being truthful with me Watson I could see that his suspicions were not allayed I even began to wonder whether my Restless period of waking the previous

night had itself been a dream and whether I had been sleepwalking such things are possible I know and the heat my fatigue and the events of the last days had left me so baffled that in that moment of confusion I could not entirely rule it out what happened he said was it that I was walking through the station Concourse when I spotted you by the wall of the restaurant which by then was closed talking to a man in a brown felt hat I would have approached you but when I caught your eye you cut me

as dead as if you didn't know me and I assumed your conversation was of some importance the more I thought about it the more I thought it was a poor way to treat a good friend suddenly the fog in my brain gave way to an horrific clarity I knew that I must rid myself of Cartwright at once thank you for telling me this I said it is of the utmost importance but Nicholas and I pray you won't take this amiss I must ask you to leave to leave please this is a fearfully serious business that

is real Danger you're not just trying to get me out of the way Watson that's exactly what I'm trying to do Cartwright but preferred a very good reason believe me you will have your story very well John very well at the front door he patted me amiably on the shoulder I shut the door on him and leaned against the wall trying to get my thoughts in order Holmes had instructed me not under any circumstances to trouble him again yet this situation was possibly critical if Tobias organ had hired some impersonated look and sound so like

me that even Cartwright who had known me for years could be convinced then Holmes might also be deceived and then what power they would have in their hands if I could not speak to Holmes I could at least alert him by other means I ran up the stairs with the idea of writing a note which I could slip under the basement door but as I reached our rooms I heard a cry from the street without thinking I ran to the Parlor window a hundred yards southwards along Baker Street three men were struggling two of them

were bundling the third man into a cab against his will it was caught right I dashed down the stairs and ran into the street the driver of the cab had already whipped up the horse and moved off at a lick but I gave Chase Fury and outrage fueling my progress I pursued them for a good half a mile until eventually they outpaced me and I stood gasping for breath outside Saint Vincent's church sat on the pavement I needed Holmes's help the transgression of a broken promise was a trivial thing surely in the context of this

appalling incident I would go to him immediately aware that in the haste of my Pursuit I'd left the front door of the house open a new anxiety overcame me clearly this kidnap was the work of organ's Ruffians and who was to say that they would not take advantage of an open door I trotted as priskly as I could back to Baker Street but the door was no longer open and on such a close and windless day I thought it unlikely it had been closed by a draft the horrible thought occurred to me that someone may

have already got in and then everything seemed to Tumble into place Cartwright's abduction had been intended to draw me out of the house so that the man masquerading as myself could gain entry Holmes would be unaware of this he would eventually open the door of the basement to his assailant and believing it was myself he was admitting would offer the easiest of targets I'd left the house without a key but I knew there was a possibility of access via the rear of the Terrace this entailed my knocking at the door of our neighbor Mrs Harbin

an elderly amiable woman who seemed happy to allow me access to the rear of the building here I was obliged to scale a wall to the yard outside the back of our own dingy basement the front room being that which Holmes had taken for his makeshift Laboratory there was no Light Within I opened the door with infinite slowness the noise of homes's experiments seemed to have stopped the door that connected this room to the front half of the basement was six or seven short Paces away but it was too dark to see whether the bare

floorboards were liable to move and groan when I trod upon them I tested each step before lowering my weight and moved with the floating motion of a rather overweight pantomime artist one two three then there was movement behind me a hand was clamped across my mouth and an arm locked around my throat the grip was expert I could not breathe or move the hot breath of my assailant in my ear whispered do not cry out I'm gonna release you and you will turn around slowly and face me you must not make a sound tap my

hand if you understand I reached up to the hand around my throat and obediently I tapped it the arm released me and as quietly as I could I took a deep draft of air turning as I did so a straight doctor wasn't expecting you here or rather in a sense I was but since you are just about to arrive I wasn't expecting you to come in the back way as well the policeman smirked at his little conundrum when he explained to me I began what on Earth you mean not now doctor he said glad you're

here though sir an additional pair of ears up close to the door now and listen it won't be long it was indeed less than a minute before we heard the door from the front of the house opening into the laboratory and the arrival of what sounded like two men the door was closed with a thump and a Gruff voice said so this is it yes this is where he's working there was something familiar about that second voice and he won't be back for a while no half an hour I should think at that moment with

a shock I recognized the other voice it was my own I turned to lestrade again but he just put his finger to his lips and indicated that I should continue to listen so what's the plan then ask the graph Voice Within to match the bullet that killed maximum with the ones from your gun said my voice the police know you killed him but they need homes to provide them with evidence that will convince a jury evidently I thought the gruff character is Tobias organ I heard him Pace about then spit noisily Zimmerman's not the first

one I've topped and they've never got me yet they say you only got four pounds 10 Shillings from him never you mind what I got anyway I never killed him just for the money I killed him because he gave me a bad look he gave me a bad look and I gave him a bad headache a bullet right between the eyes now I deal with this little problem suddenly there was a tumultuous crash as if one of the walls had fallen in here we go doctor said lestrade he pushed the door harder we rushed into

the laboratory where organ had kicked Holmes's equipment flying in all directions and where to my amazement I saw that he was now being attacked by myself a perfect duplicate of me cracked him a right hook then a left hook and then filled him with a blow to the side of the head organ hit the floor like a sack of cabbages lestrade was on him in a Flash cuffing organ's arms behind his back lestrade blew his whistle and then proceeded to harass him as I stood back to get a better look at my other self the

duplicate doctor put a hand to his own face wrenched at his upper brow and pulled and stretched until he had removed his entire face revealing beneath the peeling mask the flaming eyes of Sherlock Holmes the next moment lestrade's officers came bursting through the basement door and Tobias organ was dragged away the heat of the day had given way at last to a pleasant evening Mrs Hudson had returned to the house and provided homes and myself with an excellent evening meal now we sat with our brandies and homes with his pipe at the open window where

a gentle breeze lifted the curtains and refreshed The Parlor as you will have deduced Holmes was saying by way of explaining it all to me the object of the Masquerade was to lure organs somewhere where we could extract a confession from him by subterfuge but your ballistics experiments I said would they not have been enough to convict him it is a science only in the imagination Holmes said and though one day I'm certain it will be more than that that is much more work to do than I could accomplish in a fortnight but lestrade and

I agree that if organ believed himself to be at risk from my experiments he would wish to destroy them but on Earth were you doing in their homes if the thing was a complete hoax I'm afraid I did deceive you a little I was not in there all the time the mechanism of an Old Railway clock and a device employing elastic and a drum skin were intended to give the ear the impression of ongoing industry well it certainly deceived me I said but was it really necessary for me to be incarcerated for the duration I'm

afraid so my friend if organ through one of his spies had got wind that there were two Watsons the trick would not have worked what's more it was necessary for him to believe that you and I had quarreled and therefore that the good Dr Watson might be in the market for a bit of betrayal unfortunately your friend Cartwright saw me meeting organs accomplice at malaban station and almost let the cat out of the bag it was necessary for us to put him somewhere safe lestrade's men kindly subjected him to a temporary and very comfortable period

of kidnap it was you who had dragged away yes I had not calculated that you would follow him of course or that you would be locked out and find yourself clamoring in through the back but it turned out well you will make an additional witness for the prosecution do you think they'll convict him oh yes Watson his confession today was as clear as a bell Tobias organ will hang as for you my friend I have given you a terrible time and as a reward I'm going to take you to the Opera tonight yes tonight Gilbert

and Sullivan the Mercado but homes my memory is you don't much like Gilbert and Sullivan no Watson but you do and besides I have to confess to having a soft spot for the Lord High executioner [Music] the conundrum of coach 13. on an October morning when rain streamed from the black clouds that swept above our Baker Street lodgings I found my friend Sherlock Holmes in a similarly overcast mood he had not had a case in weeks not at least what he called a decent case and he had been huffing and puffing about the house for

two days it was with some relief to both of us therefore that we heard the slowing approach of a cab in the street outside and both moved eagerly to the window the handsome did indeed stop directly beside our door and after a moment a large and finely dressed middle-aged gentleman emerged into the downpour paid his fare and rang our doorbell Holmes was smiling now what could make a rich American so distressed Watson that he would come pelmel here to us from Paddington an American I said drawn irresistibly as usual into whoms's tantalizing games certainly and

I think a formidable character and you wish to tell me how you deduce all that homes I deduce his distress and his nationality from the fact that he just tried to pay the cabbie in American dollars before recalling which pocket held his Pounds Sterling as for his coming from Paddington that was the easiest of all for the driver of the handsome is Henry Brown I'm surprised you do not recognize him who always works from the Paddington rank as ever Watson I apologize for the banality of these observations but you did ask by now there were

footsteps on the stairs as Mrs Hudson escorted the visitor to our apartment while I inwardly delighted to note that my friend had returned to his amiable best in anticipation of a new challenge I find myself praying that it would be a challenge worthy of his powers and his pent-up Energies no sooner had the door opened than the huge returned figure of our visitor bright in a cream suit burst into the room like an actor onto a stage determined to establish his character instantly Mr Holmes boomed the American voices both his arms swept forward to grasp

my right hand Benedict Masterson what a great privilege to meet you delighted but I am Dr John Watson I replied this is Mr Sherlock Holmes with equally booming apologies he bowed charmingly to me and turned to my friend ah yes now I see unmistakable unmistakable the impression given was that he had found the first Sherlock Holmes of his acquaintance a little short of his expectations Mr Holmes I wish to ask you to act for me in a business both mysterious and distressing you would better sit down Mr Masterson said Holmes and tell us everything and

having settled his cream-covered bulk into an armchair and accepted a cigar on which he continued to Puff anxiously as he spoke the American told us his story I am a dealer in Gold gentlemen gold has been my life my father owned small minds in Nevada which gave us a comfortable living in my turn through judicious trading I've made these assets yield a fortune I came to London last week because your own Bank of England had made an order for a substantial quantity of gold bars to boost its Reserves the bullion was shipped into Bristol Harbor

and transferred yesterday onto a chartered London train for transfer to the bank I have been in London doing the paperwork of which there is let me assure you no small amount and I went to Paddington this morning to meet the consignment the train was there the gold was not I see said Holmes stolen undoubtedly how much we're talking four or five Millions Mr Holmes that's a large loss is the gold insured indeed it is but you know insurance companies Mr Holmes they are ever suspicious and the circumstances of the Gold's disappearance are to say the

least rather strange the details Mr Masterson said my friend if you please well continued Masterson tapping a thick cylinder of Ash into the ashtray I had asked a commission a special an overnight train and also insisted that it be discreet not armored or escorted or in any way having the appearance of a specially secured conveyance I was offered the charter of a passenger train which returns empty from Bristol to London once a week and Which rare women jokingly call the bad luck special not because anything has ever happened to it but because it normally consists

of 13 empty passenger coaches as indeed it did on this occasion I insisted that the gold be packed in steel containers each locked with a unique key you will appreciate the goal itself gentlemen is a weighty medal so each box contained only as many bars as would enable the containers to be carried in order to prevent the possibility of them being removed from the moving train I ensured that while it was small enough to go through the open Carriage door they were too large to pass through the windows even with the window slid down to

their largest aperture I then arranged for the doors of the bullying Carriage to be locked from the outside so they could not be open until the train reached London the train was empty then apart from the driver and firemen of the locomotive no Mr Holmes it is Railway practice for all trains to have a guard a practice I was very happy to comply with since it meant my Consignment would have an overseer throughout its journey and to this end all the steel cases were loaded into the last coach of the train coach 13 where the

guard could keep a constant watch on them the man employed for the job was a Mr Lions Mr John Lyons a mature and trusted employee of the Railway company here strangely Mr Masterson stopped and smiled I uh I inquired whether he had ever worked on the French Railways guard Lions DC guard de Leon Holmes smiled politely and nodded oh forgive me gentlemen I could never resist upon to continue the train left Bristol at three this morning as scheduled but when it arrived at Paddington at six the steel boxes of gold were gone Mr Holmes this

was an impossible robbery the train stopped only once for a minute or so to take on water hardly time to unload a single box of bullying let alone a hundred of the darn things weighing in at 150 pounds a piece and the god asked Holmes Lions claimed that he fell asleep somewhere near the journey awoke to find the bullying disappeared he's being held a Paddington along with the driver and engineer but all ardently protest their innocence and with regard to other suspects can you think of anyone in your organization who might feel inclined to take

advantage of you Masterson pinched his lips and looked embarrassed well if I may confide something to you in the strictest confidence my estranged wife Laura still has shares in the company she believes that she should have more there is uh some bitterness in this regard however I know Laura well enough to doubt that she is a thief my friend simply said Thank you Mr Masterson I will certainly take the case on be so good as to why Bristol and inform them that Dr Watson and I are on our way I will sir you mean to

go there today indeed yes as soon as I have made a check or two at Paddington Station well I surely thank you I can think of no better hands in which to leave the case of the bad luck special than those of Mr sheer luck Holmes Holmes did not smile I never leave anything to chance Mr Masterson perspicacity and reason are the tools I employ forgive me Mr Holmes as I say I am fairly attracted to puns we will keep you in touch home said with all developments within half an hour we were at Paddington

but before boarding the Bristol train homes wish to make certain that the so-called bad luck special was Secure the train had been shunted into a sighting and we were relieved to find the police responsibility for the case had fallen to inspector Stanley Hopkins a young but ambitious detective with whom Holmes and myself had had numerous dealings in the past hearing that we were being engaged by Mr Benedict Masterson the inspector agreed to watch over the train and make sure it remained undisturbed until our return to London it was still raining when we arrived at Bristol

where we met the station Foreman George Willits an amiable man in his 50s who gave the comforting impression of having been in his job for a lifetime and knowing the whole business Inside Out Willits had been on duty the previous night and took us directly to the goods platform from which the bullion train had left though he did his best to be of assistance he looked painfully weary I apologize you gents for my appearance he said but I was on night shift last night seeing out the special was just about to go off when the

message came from London about the theft so I've not yet been on the bed we won't keep you long will it home said I understand you were here when the bullion boxes were being loaded I was sure he supervised them myself watched them being lifted in the garage Carriage at this very spot before I sent the signal to bring in the rest of the Train the guards coach was not connected to the train while it was loaded that's right sir the rest of the train was shutted out of the siding and coupled up just before

she would leave and who brought her in Tommy Marriott the engineer in his farm and Pat mcglinchey old hands not quite so much a fixture as myself Mr ohms but they've been around the best part of 10 years they're sound men good now if you'll bear with me a little longer will it's I'd like to ask you a little more about the gold itself how many men were involved in loading the carriage well sir there's quite some operation took four men to load each box two inside the carriage two outside damn heavy things if you'll

excuse me sir over a hundred weight a piece and Dan awkward squeezing him through them narrow doors it was a hell of a job and how long would you say the whole business took it was about half past midnight when they started in about a quarter before two by the time they finished so almost 80 minutes and after it was loaded was there any delay before departure no sir the rest of the train as I say was reversed in from the siren John Lyons the guard got aboard and the door of the guards coach was

locked from without sir as per our instructions one final question will it's if I may I'm informed the train stopped on Route yes sir she was scheduled to hold up for a minute or so at Swindon to take on water it stopped for no longer than that and at no other time no sir the signalman would know for sure if she'd been held over for more than a minute and that's already been checked homes seem to pause for a moment while he considered all this information and then he said well it's I'm most grateful for

your detailed and I have no doubt accurate Recollections now if you will excuse us Dr Watson and I will take the next train back to London and leave you to go home and get some sleep inspector Hopkins was at Paddington when we arrived and Holmes immediately requested that he arranged for us to speak to the railway men who had commandeered the bad luck special on the previous night Marriott and mcglinchey the engineer and fireman and the guard lions in a dark Office of the Railway man's Quarters on one of the Grimmer outer platforms of Paddington

Station the three men sat disconsolately on rickety wooden chairs it occurred to me that they had by now been detained in this dismal place for several hours and when Holmes and I were introduced to Lions he barely had the energy to nod to us but he did speak his words almost drowned in the muffler which half covered his mouth oh dare say you think me a thief Mr wrongs from what you'll have heard I'm not sir but what I have done is derelict my duty so maybe I deserve what's coming I want to assure you

Mr Lyons Holmes said that my intention here is to uncover the truth and uncover it I will if you are as you say innocent of any crime you will have nothing to fear from the law but tell me how you think you failed in your duty but I Were Meant to keep my eye on the shipment sir weren't I I fell asleep it's not something I make a habit of but this time I did and woke to find the bullion gone a nightmare sir I suppose I should have stopped the train with a pool call

but I was in a bit of a daze how long do you think you slept I thought about that sir I remember us passing through the White Horse Valley just before Swindon and when I woke up we were about 10 miles out of it and passed the lumsy water tower Holmes looked towards the farm in mcglinchey a plump man with Rich black curls when you stopped to fill the tank did you notice anything odd no sir it was a dark night and there were no lights there save the fires from the boiler you couldn't see

20 feet beyond the train homes turned back to Lions I would like you to describe to me the events of yesterday evening well sir oh I wasn't you starting my shift until one in the morning so around about 12 I had a brown ale in the railway mince canteen and collected some sandwiches and a can of tea for the journey just tea and sandwiches yes sir and a piece of seed cake if that's not too much detail there is no such thing as too much detail please continue with your story well at about half past

one I made my way over to the goods platform they just finished loading the bullion into the end carriage and the other part of the train had been brought in and coupled up a gentleman in his suit gave us final instructions to the engineering farm and Tommy and Pat here he said the train was cleared to London with just the one brief water stop which was under no circumstances to take more than three minutes and if there should be an emergency they won't leave the cab at that point they locked me in with the gold

and at exactly 2 A.M we were on our way about a half hour after I had me sandwiches and a few swigs of tea it were a clear night and I sat by one of the windows and watched the Stars contented with everything sir that's when I must have dozed and well what happened after that you know thank you lions said Holmes then he turned to Young inspector Hopkins with a new Fierce gleam in his eye if we may Hopkins I should now like to inspect the train we made our way along the track to

the engine sheds and after checking the locomotive searched through each of the 13 coaches whose number I carefully counted myself until we arrived at the last the guards coach in which the gold had been transported now I have been assured Holmes said to Hopkins that the doors of this coach were locked from the outside for the duration of the journey yes Mr ohms yet it was possible to move along the train through the coaches via the connecting doors yes and what are the other coaches I checked them that outer doors were all locked too but

it would have been impossible anyway for the thieves to have moved the containers along the train to jettison them from another Carriage the boxes of gold were too big to pass through the connecting doors all that had been carefully calculated but is it quite certain I ventured that the boxes could not have been opened and the gold removed bar by bar quite certain said Hopkins not without the original keys they were unique to each box besides Watson said Holmes if the boxes had been opened here then with or without the gold they would still surely

be here now speaking of which Hopkins The Carriage is just as it was found when the doors were first opened this morning as I said Mr Holmes nothing's been touched Holmes took an initial sweeping glass around the carriage interior then stooped to pick something up from the floor this brown paper I presumed the wrapping for the guard Lion's sandwiches yes this is can of tea yes curious that he had a can of tea no no curious that a man under stress should be so painstakingly tidy I don't understand sir never mind what you make of

this Hopkins Holmes had picked up from the corner a loop of scarlet fabric silken and ruffled I don't know Mr domes I was completely baffled by it it seems to be a small decorative item of some sort from a lady's wardrobe a hair tie I should think I said how might it have got here I don't know doctor I'm sure but I suppose it's theoretically possible that someone might have concealed herself in another carriage homes had put the object to his nose there is a perfume to it he said but faint as though it had

not been worn for some time could it belong to the thief I asked tentatively possibly said Holmes though I think that might have been a thief too many he stooped to replace the Scarlet fabric on the floor of the carriage I think we are close to a conclusion Watson Hopkins I should like to talk to the guard Lions again and to the driver and his fireman please make sure that there is at least one other police officer present and we must be sure to invite Mr Benedict Masterson to our little denumor since he's been kind

enough to pay the fee for this investigation by the time Masterson arrived the Clock Was approaching nine and we sat in the old mess room bathed in dingy yellow Gaslight the rain rattled ceaselessly on the roof and windows and when we were all assembled the three weary railwaymen along with Benedict Masterson inspector Hopkins a junior officer and Holmes and myself the Gathering became hushed and expectant Masterson said well this has certainly been a baffling business Mr Holmes but I assume we're here because you've picked up some Clues along the way you are certainly a man

equal to his reputation sir the inspector mentioned a red silk trinket of some sort yes Holmes said he produced the item from his pocket this piece of perfumed fabric the clear message is that someone was concealed in the carriage with the bullion I see and moreover I put in that the concealed person was probably female Masterson appeared a little shaken female you say oh dear if I may said Holmes we will return to that later Mr Lyons let us revert for the present to the subject of your sandwiches my sandwiches again sir indeed the sandwiches

you took on board the train last night together with the seed cake in the can of cold tea you say you at them just before you fell asleep yes sir you ate the sandwiches and the cake you dozed off you woke up again and the gold was gone yes sir that's how it happened and when you came around and realized the gold had gone you say it was like a nightmare yes Mr Rose you were very agitated I certainly was too agitated I expect to sweep the floor of the carriage to what sir I presume

you did not sweep the floor of the carriage at that point in that Disturbed state no sir I didn't with respect sir that's not my job quite I wouldn't expect you to which makes it very difficult to explain why when I examined the guards coach this afternoon I found not a single crumb on the floor Now can anyone here tell me how it's possible to eat several sandwiches and a slice of seed cake without dropping a single crumb or come to that A Single Seed I promise you sir what I said about my supper was

true I remember exactly what I brought and exactly what I ate I have no doubt of that Mr Lions then what sir my point is merely that you are obviously not in coach 13 when you ate the sandwiches On My Honor Mr ohms I swear I was oh you weren't in a cannon certainly but you were not in the carriage in which your sandwich wrapper was found the coach where you ate your supper the coach with the bullion never made it to London Mr Holmes this is confusing began Masterson homes interrupted on the contrary Mr

Masterson it's very clear the coach containing the gold was uncoupled from the train when it stopped for water run into a sighting by those awaiting it and unloaded of its cargo at their Leisure during the night it was a perfectly dark night there was no moon so the railway men as Mr mcglinchey here has recently confirmed could from the water pump see nothing of what was going on at the back of the train but Mr Holmes said inspector Hopkins the bad luck special has 13 coaches everyone knows that and you will no doubt yourself have

noted that we passed through exactly 13 coaches in our inspection of the train this afternoon oh it has 13 coaches now of course inspector Holmes said and it only struck me after we had left Bristol and its pleasant station Master Willits that he had described to us in detail his whole engagement with the loading of the gold and the departure of the train without once mentioning that he'd counted the coaches before the train left the fact is he didn't count them he didn't think he needed to the bad luck special had always consisted of 13

coaches he wasn't to know that your accomplices at Bristol had added an additional coach to the train before it was attached to the coach carrying the boxes a coach with its seats stripped out to make it practically identical to the bullion car on that one night the bad luck special had not 13 but 14 carriages when the train stopped to acquire water it simultaneously shed a coach and it very nearly he continued turning back the Lions shared a guard too you're a very fortunate man lions I don't feel fortunate sir your good fortune is that

you are still alive and that in turn is because you are fortunate enough to fall asleep imagine if you had not the train stops the thieves uncouple the rear coach with yourself inside it as soon as you see them you become a risk to them there's no telling what they might have done what I believe actually happened was that as they were releasing The Carriage from the train someone noticed that you were asleep inside they took the opportunity to move you into the next coach along with your tea can and sandwich wrappings you may be

thankful you did not wake at that moment Masterson War an expression of amazement I am full of admiration Mr Holmes but at the same time I feel somewhat desolated this clearly means that someone in my organization has betrayed me which brings me back to the Ring of scarlet silk discovered in the cottage certainly an intriguing adornment to the problem said Holmes it could indeed signify the presence of a woman but there is the mystery I said of how she got there or what she might have done I think however said Holmes that is a mystery

with a simple solution at this point Masterson appeared rather tragically stricken you're thinking yes said Holmes you're thinking that my estranged wife Laura dear God that foolish woman oh come along Mr Masterson you know full well your wife had nothing to do with it there was no one aboard the train saved the three men here driver engineer and guard and none of them had anything to do with the robbery the three Railway men looked at one another as though they had suddenly had revealed to them their entitlement to a joint Fortune as for the thieves

said Holmes they are to be located somewhere nursing a horde of bullying a part of course from their paymaster who is sitting here with us is that not so Mr Masterson Masterson blasted and steamed he was outraged this was absurd how dare you sir what evidence have you for such an outrageous suggestion I had misgivings from the beginning I could not understand why you came to me so quickly after the theft had been discovered when you had so much else to deal with I see now that you were pings to demonstrate to the insurance company

that you were doing all in your power to recover the bullion because of course if you could have both the gold and the insurance money you would have considerably augmented your fortune but worse still what your partners in crime would have done to Mr Lions had he not had the good sense to fall asleep on the job hardly Bears thinking about you were prepared not just to steal but to be an accessory to murder this is speculation Mr Holmes this would not stand up in court you should be looking for another felon what about that

red silk ring ah yes you've been very subtle about that Mr Masterson suggesting your wife's name one moment and the next assuring me that she could not possibly be implicated I doubt whether you thought she would be but you certainly sought to throw me off the scent what was that item if not a red herring and is that not for those who like to play games with words another way to say a red heading what fun you no doubt plan to have with that joke Mr Masterson had you got away with this business now it

seems The Joke is on You that was one pun Mr Masterson which you would indeed have done better to have resisted but whether Justice was fully done is a moot point in expectation of reducing his own sentence Masters and eventually divulged the names of his accomplices and led police to the embezzled bullion and although he was committed to prison for several years it was clear that once his sentence was served he would continue the life of a wealthy man I can't understand I said to Holmes a couple of evenings later why you seem so damnably

happy a man is never more content Watson he said than when doing well what his Nietzsche has fitted him to do and which thought will you pass me the tobacco pouch I think we should indulge ourselves in a brace of good pipes [Music] the Trinity vicarage larceny [Music] One Fine spring morning Sherlock Holmes and I received into our rooms a portly gentleman in a purple dress that at least is how it momentarily appeared to me as I glanced up from the Daily Chronicle at the open door the purple gentleman it transpired was the right Reverend

the Lord Bishop of Kent an old acquaintance of homes and he had brought with him as so many of our visitors do a problem that was clearly causing him some agitation mollified a little by coffee and a cigar Bishop Spriggs needed no prompting to divulge his story the nub of my problem gentlemen is an unfortunate young priest a young man of promise and talent very popular with his parishioners who has inadvertently got himself into deep water intriguing said Holmes you may recall the clergyman continued the Trinity Church in the Kent Village of hechingham was last

year in the news because of an exceptional discovery of course I said a silver chalice of considerable worth was discovered in the Crypt yes Dr Watson a magnificent medieval Relic the so-called hatchingham Grail weighing some 22 pounds with my approval it was sold to the British museum with the idea that a good portion of the proceeds would go towards restoring hatchingham Church the Reverend Kingsley pending the beginning of the building work had locked the money up in the church Crypt it was stolen yesterday Holmes you can imagine what an outcry they'd be if this found

its way into the papers it would be bad for Kingsley and the hatching comparish and goodness and limb knows what it would do for the reputation of the church at any cost the money must be recovered and the thief put away and I mean any cost homes let us not concern ourselves with fees just yet Holmes said are there any clues at all as to who might be responsible for this theft I'm not sure about Clues replied to clergyman Kingsley did make some sort of an attempt to discover the identity of the villain by chasing

him over the fields after the theft but I'm afraid he didn't get very far I think we had better meet the young Reverend said Holmes as soon as is practical Watson would you be at Liberty to accompany me to hatching him for a few days I'm utterly indebted to you both said the bishop I dare say while you're in hatching him we could put you up at the Trinity Church wreck today oh there's the Jolly Bulldog if you'd prefer an in ah said Holmes that Jolly Bulldog now that sounds like just my kind of animal

we journeyed to hatchingham the next morning and established ourselves at the Cozy but crumbling hostility that was the Jolly bulldog our landlord was a bluff man called Starkey taller by inches than homes and compelled to stoop to avoid the beams of his own ceiling as he lumbered about in heavy boots serving his customers he grudgingly provided us with a late snack of bread and some rather tough cold meats complaining that if everyone chose to be fed at half past two in the afternoon they would have to invent a new word for the mule taken between

luncheon and dinner leftovers said Holmes to me impliciously and at a level which I am sure Starkey was meant to overhear might be that word the public and growled ominously as he left us and I leaned over to Holmes and whispered there is surely an example of how a little power may go to the head of a man and make him too big for his boots I was thinking rather said Holmes from the way he clumps about this place that his boots are rather too big for him I saw the two gentlemen on a nearby

table smile at this remark I shouldn't take a lot of notice of Starkey said one of them amiibly he's just as tiresome with all the customers the gentleman introduced himself as John hapten and His companion as Matthew Winslow although neither Holmes nor myself disclosed the details of our mission to hatching him it seems they knew we were expected and it turned out that both gentlemen were members of the parish committee and were fully apprised of the theft though they were quick to assert that it was not yet public knowledge I hope you will be successful

said Hampton in bringing this thief to book we Are fond of our vegan and he has been in deeply troubled young man since it happened the Reverend kingsley's house was accessed from hatchingham Lane by a short Stone path a few steps beyond the vicarage stood the church with on the West Side a moderate-sized graveyard on the other side with its own access to the Lane and shaded by a handful of fruit trees stood Cherry cottage which we would later discover to be the residents of The Verge and his wife the Reverend Kingsley was a man

in his early 30s small in stature but of good looks his clerical dress the Quint essence of neatness while clearly stricken by his predicament he remained calm and articulate and did his best to make us welcome in a pleasantly appointed parlor whose deep-colored thick piled carpet and embroidered cushions evidenced a delicate sense of taste it's a relief to see you gentlemen he said the bishop told me all about you about your many successes in solving complex cases the problem as you know is that while we saw the thief Escape we were unable to establish his

identity however there are one or two factors which that they seem opaque to my own consideration might prove Illuminating under your own if I might show you I would be most grateful Mr Kingsley Holmes said first though I see that you have recently held a meeting in this charming room I presume that apart from the three other gentlemen present the fourth was yourself you keep the side chairs in another room I take it how did you know all that oh it's a simple matter the carpet beside the window has indentations of four chairs and therefore

I presume four four people but there are no chairs in the room whose feet would match but yes you are of course quite correct said Kingsley with a broad smile the parish committee convened here just yesterday as we do each week yesterday was the day I broke the news that the Grail money had been stolen and I hope that that news will remain privy to the committee members until such time as the thief is caught but the vicar paused and Holmes said please go on Mr Kingsley but continued the young clergyman the gentleman on the

parish committee are the same three who sat here two weeks ago when I revealed that the money for the Grail was in the Crypt of the church only they and I knew of the fact you see so I can no longer be as confident as before that they are all honest men which is a most unfortunate thing it was all in cash I presume home said yes Mr Holmes I kept cash so that I could employ local men to restore the church and pay them by the day I have little time to run to the

bank and make a withdrawal every time a man finishes Plastering a wall the money was under lock and key yes there is a safe in the Crypt where the church's small Treasures have always been secreted and the Crypt itself is locked yes it can be entered either from within the church or by a door leading from the churchyard and both those doors are locked at night Mr Holmes I do hope you can help me with this I don't know how my flock will ever forgive me if that money is not returned then perhaps if you

can bear to go over it all again you'd be so kind as to tell Dr Watson and myself the circumstances of the robbery yes of course two weeks ago looking out of this window on a Monday morning at about 11 I saw a man I'm fairly certain it was a man standing at the Lich gate and looking over into the church Hut I would not have given this a moment's thought except that he wore a hat with an unusually wide brim and had it pulled so low over his eyes and his collar so high that

one could not distinguish his features as I say I cannot even be certain it was not a woman except for his way of moving I watched him for a good 10 minutes before he turned and Strode back along the lane towards the village that same afternoon this time from an upstairs window I saw him again but now further along the lane standing under a tree and once again seeming to study the church and its grounds his contrived anonymity naturally put me on my guard in the evening after those first two sightings I was sitting in

that very chair Dr Watson which you are currently occupying when a thought hit me like a bolt of lightning I thought which you no doubt will be surprised had not occurred to me earlier that this stranger might have designs on the money in the Crypt after this alarming Epiphany I spoke to my Verger Sam manners and his wife may who keep house for me they live in Cherry cottage which as you will have seen stands on the lane beside the church's Lich gate there's a shortcut from their back door to this house which they employ

when they wish to see me I mentioned that because as I think you would agree it Bears upon the matter I asked them to report to me if this Sinister figure or anyone else unknown to them appeared in the vicinity of the church and indeed it seems as if the man in that hat had begun to watch my whereabouts because first May manners then her husband reported to me that they had indeed seen the man in the Hat I began to feel that an attempt on the money was imminent I resolved then to remain in

the vicarage or the church grounds until I was certain that the threat had passed I instructed Mr and Mrs manners that if they saw the stranger again they were to take the shortcut to my house and inform me immediately but they were under no circumstances to approach him and now we come to the day of the theft Sam manners was whitewashing the walls of the church at this point Holmes stood up I think it would be as well Mr Kingsley to acquaint ourselves with the geography of the church and its grounds might we continue outside

a rapturous afternoon of sunshine and Birdsong greeted us as we left the vicarage and walked out into the churchyard where the Reverend Kingsley commenced our guided tour I immediately began to locate us on a mental map of hatchingham Village at its surrounding areas a practice I learned in my Military Days in which has served me well in civilian life I could see in my mind the large oblong of Farmland about two miles across with hatchingham Village and the church almost at opposite corners this substantial area of land was surrounded on all four sides by public

roads Mr Kingsley took us through the grounds on a grassy path which ran along the side of the church up against the gravestones of the churchyard this is the wall of the church Sarah manners was painting that morning said the vicar he worked for a couple of hours and at 12 o'clock I sent him off to his cottage for his regular midday meal I went back into the vicarage and took up a book after about 20 minutes there was a knock at the back door Mrs manners was in a frantic State she and Sam had

just seen the man in the white brimmed hat going into the church hat I told her to return immediately and to tell Sam to meet me here at the crypto and I came here directly to find myself staring at a spectacular mess he pointed to a flight of four steps just off the path leading to a door low down in the half-painted church wall the door to the Crypt he said from which the thief must have made his exit and not expecting to encounter a paint bucket presumably kicked it flying in his haste to escape

a residual expanse of powdery white still damp in places stained the flagstones at the bottom of the steps Sam was with me within seconds continued the vicar we could see nobody but we soon guessed which way he'd gone if you'll follow me gentlemen the vicar led us a little further along the grassy path to where the churchyard ended in a wooden fence set into the fence was a style leading onto a footpath that said the vicar was his Escape Route beyond the style the Ragged footpath traversed the meadow through weeds and rough grasses stretching away

into the distance along this narrow track could be seen intermittent Blobs of white and I suppose the presumption would be said Holmes that the trail of white paint marks are the fleeing man's footsteps yes exactly obviously our man escaped across the field to Harding Lane Mr Holmes my companion nodded he stopped at the style that are two white handprints here he said a right hand and a left hand the fellows in some haste as indeed one would expect Holmes crossed the style athletically and walked a little way into the field bending down he examined one

of the white marks then plucked up a handful of grass and returned to us thank you Mr Kingsley I think I've seen all I need to hear is there anything else you think might help us yes said the vicar enthusiastically back at the house Holmes requested that Sam manners and his wife join us in the vicarage and a little afterwards in Mr kingsley's kitchen Mrs manners set herself to the task of making us all tea while Holmes paced the stone floor slowly I sat at the kitchen table with the vicar and Sam manners a ruddy

man in his early 40s whom Holmes was now addressing so Mr manners you are the only person to have caught a glimpse of the man in the Hat on the day of the robbery I believe so sir I was at the window taking my lunch I saw this fellow in the Big Air looking up and down the lane a few times as if to check all was clear then enter the churchyard straight away I said to me says Manos to go by the back door and tell the vicar and you yourself waited in the cottage

until Mrs manners returned I did Sir for how long not more than two minutes she told me the vicar wanted me to meet him out by the church I Dash right out and found the Reverend Kingsley waiting for you yes sir and the door to the wide open whitewash everywhere hmm the crypt door had been locked before you went to lunch oh yes Mr Holmes it always was and that was when you noticed the trail of paint exactly sir and set off to follow it you must have only been a short way behind the thief

must have been Sarah but he moved Like the Wind we was across that Meadow in less than five minutes it was good four furlongs and never caught up to him but what we found at the opposite side clinched it here Mr Kingsley interrupted Sam means this he said and produced from a draw a wide brimmed black velvet hat inexpensively made and in shape rather resembling the sort of thing one sees worn by picadors in pictures of bull fights Holmes took the hat and turned it around in his hands it was me found it sir said

manners I was running a bit ahead of the river and hoping to catch up with our thief and as soon as I was over the style I saw it in the grass by the road just where I suppose it had fallen from his head well said Holmes while I cannot see yet how that will help us with your permission I shall take it away with me of course said to Vicar we'll leave you then but by way of that path across the fields I'd rather like to follow the route taken by our escaping felon and

so it was that we made our farewells and set out from the church out across the wide Meadow towards Harding Lane although it had been a week since the church Thief had fled there remained a clear trail of white Footprints across the entire width of the field the path ended at another style which gave onto the Shaded narrowness of Harding Lane we calculated that the return to hatching a village we could go in either direction around the perimeter of the meadow we took the route West along the pincham road rather than going east and back

via the church as we walked my companion looked repeatedly this way and that into the fields at the roadside the patches of scrubland and the bushes and trees if you note anything you must let me know Watson and I agreed that I would but the fields lay bright and innocent in the late afternoon air and the trees were populated only by birds jubilantly enjoying the sunshine then as we crossed the bridge over a gurgling stream homes stopped halfway there's something there do you see he pointed to the bank of the stream above which a Hawthorne

overhung the Rushing Water something that bush a pair of some things unless I'm mistaken we clambered over the battle Strait of the little bridge and dropped onto the bank side the whole Thorn was thick and even at Close Quarters my eyes were at pains to penetrate into its depths homes using a fallen Branch the thickness of his arm smashed his way into the bush his soft Cry of Triumph told me he had found something and he reached in and retrieved in one hand a large pair of leather boots what do you think Watson is this

or is this not the Footwear of our Thief they're certainly large those of a very big man I should say and that a white marks on the stove should we see how they fit those prints on the church Meadow I think we can assume that much Watson but what would induce the villain to jetters in his boots here perhaps I said he thought he was still being chased and knew that if he were caught wearing them he would be recognized straight away equally suspicious if he'd been found with no boots at all said Holmes though

I suppose he may have carried a spare pair of shoes with him Watson it is fairly clear to me the thief is a local man why unless he feared to be recognized would he indulge in such an elaborate disguise let us go back to the Jolly Bulldog that after all is where the locals like to congregate in fact on our return to the Inn we found John hapten and Matthew Winslow the parish committee men we had met earlier having returned to or perhaps never having left the same table as we sat down Holmes placed beside

him on the floorboards the pair of boots we had found in the hedro causing the two gentlemen to look at them inquisitively when Starkey the landlord arrived to service the first thing he said was your boats gentlemen not ours said Holmes we found them in a bush in Harding Lane strange what some folks will throw away said the public and they looks in Prime order to me hardly been worn Holmes replied and then he asked would these boots fit you Mr Starkey and seeing our companions on the nearby table watching he added or either of

you gentlemen not me sir Starkey replied rather more aimibly than I had expected I know my boots look weighty but my feet aren't so big as you might think it's just I'm subject to blisters would you find big boots help your blisters I asked my experience of patients suffering with that condition telling me the opposite no sir to start the blisters I need to put on three pairs of thick hose so always gets my boots well over my proper foot size then rather sardonically he said thank you though for asking sir Mr Hampton on the

next table asked do you mind me asking USA what's your interest in Boots Holmes said it's an investigation we are conducting in which boots have well some scientific significance then to me he whispered as our neighbor turned away with a disbelieving Grimace it's as I thought Watson we have our culprit stocky no not Starkey one of these and I indicated with my thumb the two men from the parish committee oh Watson who then these boots Watson Do You observe nothing untoward about them no not at all the practically knew that of a large size apart

from that they are undistinguished on the contrary my friend I would say they were distinguished by a lack of paint a baker pardon I mean Watson that there are white marks on the souls to be sure but tell me pray how a man with his hands covered in whitewash could have unlaced and removed his boots without leaving marks on the laces I don't know I said but it would be a singular coincidence if someone completely innocent had jettisoned a pair of boots with paint on the Soles there is no coincidence Holmes said These boots were

undoubtedly left here by the thief but not in the way we were intended to believe are you suggesting that you know who the thief is the thief Watson is the reverent Kingsley himself how could it be homes there was no time for him to escape across that Meadow and return to the vicarage in time to meet Sam manners outside the church How could a man Chase himself across a meadow as you know Watson we are due to meet the bishop this evening at Trinity vicarage so let us finish our meal I will explain everything there

we had promised the bishop an interim meeting at the vicarage to advise him of our progress in the case which no doubt the clergyman expected to be only moderate this soon after our previous meeting but we had hardly settled to our Shetty in Mr kingsley's comfortable parlor then Holmes declared dramatically you will no doubt be delighted to know gentlemen that Dr Watson and I have solved the case I did not think in my business to confess that after my previous conversation with Holmes I was as much in the dark as anyone but I sat quietly

sipping my Shetty while I watched my friend open the bag we had brought from the inn and removed the two large white stained boots we had found beside the Stream The Bishop's eyes widened I have to say he looked incredulous Mr Kingsley too wore a skeptical smirk and raised his eyebrows please tell us Mr Holmes what you think you have found Dr Watson and I found these homes explained in a bramble bush in Harding Lane big boots suggested we were seeking a big man yet the footprints told us his stride was short it was our

landlord at the Jolly Bulldog who enabled me to understand the dichotomy he is a man who buys bigger boots than his foot size in order to accommodate extra socks our villain however bought his bigger boots in order to accommodate another pair of shoes leaving the footprints of a bigger man than he is himself is that not so Mr Kingsley the young vicar I thought at the time if he was guilty of anything was heroically cool about it he betrayed nothing but gentile's surprise are you suggesting that I was the thief Mr Hobbes Holmes said the

bishop Gravely from what I understand Mr Kingsley and his Verger practically managed to catch up with the thief on that fateful day what on Earth do you think is the evidence for this assertion my Lord Holmes said confidently Mr Kingsley wished to embezzle the money raised by the sale of the hatchingham Grail and decided to construct a piece of Theater which would deceive investigators he not only invented the spectral man in the large brimmed hat he also on several occasions paraded in the Hat and the high collared coat and ensured that Mr and Mrs manners

caught a glimpse of him on the day of the theft having sent Sam manners to lunch he came back here to the vicarage assumed the disguise showed himself at the cottage window where manners was eating and proceeded into the churchyard dashing back to the wicked again he slipped out of his cloak and hat and waited for Mrs Manor's knock on the door he told Mrs manners to summon her husband and rendezvous with him outside the crypt door and then what said Mr Kingsley insolent with Fury I put on these boots unlocked the church went down

to the Crypt took the money escaped the church jumped the style and ran across a mile at the field then dashed a mile back took off the boots and waited calmly for Sam to arrive whereupon I went chasing off across the field again that would indeed have been ingenious to do in two minutes what an athlete could not do in 20. yes indeed the question as my friend Dr Watson has clarified is precisely how may a man Chase himself across a meadow and the answer asked the bishop no one will ever know at what point

you took the money Mr Kingsley as the keyhole that you are free to do it at your leisure and for all one knows it may never have been in the Crypt safe in the first place certainly there was no need for you to waste time on it on the day we are discussing you wished to ensure there was just enough time with Mr manners at lunch for you to get to the crypto and kick over the white wash bucket and of course you had given Mr Manus the task of whitewashing that particular part of the

church wall simply to ensure that there would be a bucket there to be upturned that was all you needed to do because and here is the thing you had made the footprints across the field on the night before you would also I have no doubt planted the boots in the Hedgerow on the same occasion making sure they had plenty of white paint on the Soles foolishly you forgot to dorb a little on the shoe laces at this point the vicar dropped into a chair as though all resistance had suddenly fled him and I believe that

as Holmes proceeded we all realized that he was now approaching a devastating conclusion at some out of that night Mr Kingsley having splashed so much whitewash on the underside of the boots that your hands were gloved with paint you planted your white printed Trail along the footpath across the meadow to Harding Lane afterwards you dropped the wide brimmed hat by the style and jettisoned the boots in a bush further along Harding Lane the trail of Prince was therefore neatly in place for the deception next morning and I dare say you were solicitors to keep Mr

manners away from the style where he might prematurely stumble upon your if I may so miss name it handiwork but one moment said the bishop if Mr Kingsley had dropped the Hat the night before how could he have been wearing it that morning well of course that simple said Holmes there were two hats and finally there was the question of the keys what question was that Holmes I asked I don't recollect any mention of keys precisely there was a distinct absence of any such mention why because a key would have been needed to enter the

Crypt and Mr Kingsley thought it better not to raise the tricky matter of how such an intruder might have got hold of one the pale face and slumped figure of Mr Kingsley indicated his utter defeat the bishop clearly needed no further convincing the money Kingsley he said have you spent it the vicar looked bitter I'm a gambler Bishop and the truth is that over the years I have burdened myself with appalling debt I started to use the church money bit by bit I meant to return it one day when I had a big win but

money runs through my hands like water there's little of it left then it's a matter for the police the bishop said and we must find a new vicar for hatching them I fear that you Mr Kingsley will for many years be the incumbent of a much dingier Parish [Music] the 1059 assassin [Music] it is now well known that the investigations of my friend and companion Sherlock Holmes which I have had the privilege to document over the years represent only a small portion of his life's work many other cases have fallen into the Obscure well of

history but nothing departs this world without leaving some trace or memory and now and then an old story rears its head so it was with the events of the stovey murder A letter came to Holmes one morning at our Baker Street Department from Samuel Carpenter an elderly Publican at the horse in colors hostery in the Kent Village of stovey several years previously Samuel Carpenter had been a witness at the trial of Arthur weeks a local villain accused of intimidation abduction blackmail and Grievous bodily harm Holmes had been involved in helping police on the case with

footprint evidence and that had come to meet the amiable publican I suppose we never expected to visit the quiet settlement of stovey ever again but the letter contained a clear and Urgent summons Dear Mr Holmes it did say when we made our fell Wells four years ago that if ever there should be a day when I had need of your assistance I was to write to you immediately I'm afraid sir that day has come a terrible set of events has clouded my life and I am quite a loss Arthur weeks that ruthless villain you helped

put away died in jail a few months ago ever since then his son Henry has been making our lives a misery I found my dog catcher shot dead in the field and twice a dead fox in our water tank started getting letters threatening to burn down the Inn telling me I should one day wait in vain for my wife to come home terrible things but all written anonymous then he brazenly come and drink at the end as innocent as you like well last week our son jack told weeks straight there in front of all my

customers that he'd gone too far and he better prepare himself for some serious consequences I wish he had not done it two days afterwards weeks was found shocked through the head and my Jack is now being arrested as a murderer there's anything you may be able to do Mr ohms please come immediately I knew that Holmes had taken strongly to the Publican so it was hardly a surprise to me when he asked as is his way whether I had any pressing engagements over the next few days and when I said no instructed me to pack

immediately an overnight bag within an hour we were aboard a Kent bound train in stovey Village we took rooms at the horse in colors and as soon as we were settled in sat with our landlord at a table in the bar where a large fire battled the chill in the air Holmes said now Mr Carpenter the first thing you must do if I'm to help you is to answer my questions honestly and accurately that I will do Mr Holmes your Jack made a threat to Henry weeks here in this bar yes sir and two days

later weeks was found dead dead with a shot through his head just outside the village where Nightingale Lane crosses the London Railway line and his horse tied up nearby and they came to arrest Jack when that very night but Jack wasn't here of course wasn't here Jack couldn't have killed him Mr ohms Jack was already aboard the London train when weeks was killed it was offered by himself a suit for his wedding I took him to stovey station myself that evening to catch the 10 59. there weren't a moment when Jack left my sight I

watched him get on that train and waved him off as it left but the police didn't seem to think that counts for anything as soon as he got back here next day they carted him off and he's now on a lock and key in Maidstone jail well Mr Carpenter said Holmes I accept unequivocally that what you are telling me is the truth but my sense is that this is going to be a very convoluted business and I must impress on you the need to be patient when Carpenter had returned to serving his customers I said

quietly to Holmes surely if what the old chap says is true the police have no case Wix must have had a hundred enemies hungry for his blood with thought we could Alibis than Jack Carpenter perhaps so said Holmes but I fear the word of a father in defense of a son is unlikely to be regarded in court as compelling evidence especially when the police have their minds made up in advance Watson I have a suspicion that things may get a lot more obscure before they become clearer let's make good use of the afternoon by acquainting

ourselves with the details of Henry week's unfortunate end our escort to the scene of the crime was a local policeman Sergeant Berry a man of stubborn practicality whose uniform one suspected must have been artfully augmented to accommodate the spectacular recundity of his belly he clearly felt he had better things to do than to accompany a Consulting detective to the scene of a crime when the culprit was already halfway to The Gallows walking from stovey Village we arrived at a spot about 30 yards from a level crossing where the main London Railway line traversed Nightingale Lane

dark Hill Crossing co-ops found air Sergeant Betty said bluntly six feet from the fence victims are still tied to defense scores a death single bullet entering just here he put a plump finger in the center of his brow weapon a gun said the policeman incidentally I am aware said Holmes clearly irritated that if a man is killed with a bullet then the probable source of the missile is a firearm what I want to know is whether the weapon has been found or if not whether anyone has deduced the type of gun from the type of

bullet no gun found said Betty as for the bullet as far as I know it's still at the end of a short tunnel into his skull and the horse oh I don't think we can pin it on the horse sir the policeman said with a smirk Sergeant Berry Holmes was threateningly patient are you able to assist me in this investigation or would it be more convenient to you if I were to apply to my acquaintances at the yard to find me an alternative guide the policeman looked suddenly chastened just my joke Mr owns yes I

can take you to the horse sir and to the body we saw the horse first it had been stabled with the police horses in a yard in the village a tall brown stallion with rather frightened eyes when young it must have been a formidable creature now it looked ragged from a lifetime of hard riding Holmes looked it over carefully the animal was skittish seemingly distressed and tried to pull away when Holmes held its Bridle to examine its head I watched rather nervously as my friend entered the stable Bay and walked around the animal which threatened

to jostle him against the walls then when he reached the front of the creature again home said there's a Mark here a sharp wound can you see on the right foreleg just above the fetlock joint was a slender but quite noticeable lesion apparently caused fairly recently Holmes turned to Betty again this Mark here when the horse was found I believe so good well since we seem to be in the business of investigating wounds today you'd better show us the way to the morgue incidentally Sergeant how well do you know the accused man fairly well replied

the policeman do you know whether he has friends acquaintances perhaps of some intimacy well not really that I know of so it was always at his father's public house and they were ever a close lot I mean the sergeant Betty stopped he became instantly animated and business-like a gleam came into his eyes and he said look there's the mortuary Mr Holmes just after the church I'll leave you to it if I may just thought of something rather urgent I've got to do and very briskly almost running he disappeared back towards the village strange I said

to Holmes what do you think that was about I think said Holmes that I've put an idea into his head I only hope it doesn't complicate matters it transpired that a post-mortem on the dead man had been commissioned but that the police pathologist had only arrived from London that morning possibly on the same train as Holmes and myself I knew Professor Yardley a little through my connection with Saint Mary's Hospital in Paddington and he was quite amenable to my assisting him with the matter in hand he was a conscientious practitioner and while the cause of

death seemed evident he thoroughly inspected the externalities of the corpse before opening it the head wound was a clean almost star-shaped hole glutted with dried blood there was no wound on the back of their head and it was apparent that the bullet had not exited the body notwithstanding that there was no weapon at the scene Holmes said suicide seems out of the question wouldn't you say that a no Powder Burns to the skin and besides the wound is probably too small for a close shot I'd say the missile came from some distance the bullet had

it turned out penetrated the brow and lodged deep in the parietal lobe of the brain but as Holmes had suggested the hole in the skull was small and there was not the dramatic shattering of bone one might have expected from a close shot suicide Professor Yardley concurred was not a possibility we are certainly looking for a murderer then I commented to Holmes as we wandered back towards stovey well somebody killed Henry weeks for certain Watson but I have to confess that at this moment I have no idea who it was you don't think we might

be wrong about Jack Carpenter after all I do hope not Watson it would be an appalling tragedy but then I suppose for one poor soul or another murder always is hoped that our next Port of Call would be the horse in colors for an icy wind had blown up and I was ready for a glass of beer and the comfort of the Inns blazing logs but Holmes walked us straight to stovey station where he said we must make an important call I stealed myself against the increasing cold as the last Light feeded from the sky

the station Master at stovy was Milton Fraser a man dressed to give the impression of order and precision his cap fitting perfectly the balding sphere of a small neat head and a fine silver pocket watch peeping from his waistcoat pocket Holmes whose own knowledge of the country's Railways is second to none one his confidence easily I wish to ask you Mr Fraser he said about yesterday evening there is a late train to London I believe the 1059 sir it was on time it was as it generally is not much traffic on the tracks at that

hour and do you recall whether any passengers boarded the train at stovy course Adusa Young Jack Carpenter just him yes sir his father saw him aboard I watched the train pull away myself and there is no way anyone could have left the train after that well not here in the station no not without my seeing him not in the station no I suppose it might be possible for someone to alight at the Crossing the level crossing yes sir the 1059 always stops a dark Hill Crossing for a few minutes safety precautions are Thornley bridge over

the tower is considered unsafe for two trains until they finish the repairs so the 1059 uptrain must wait until the 1104 down has come through and this happens every night can't recollect when it lasts didn't sir lastly Mr Fraser can you recall which part of the train Mr Carpenter boarded second compartment of the third character I'm quite sure of that thank you Mr Fraser you've been more helpful than you know I suppose we now have to consider I said to my companion back at the horse in colors as I stared into the Flames of the

fire that Jack Carpenter shot Henry weeks from the stationary train we must consider it certainly yet I think it rather unlikely how would Carpenter have known his intended target was going to be waiting there at the Crossing then what is the significance of the stopping train has it any I'm beginning to think it has but I must confess to being currently unsure in what way well let's eat and then sleep on it I said but at that moment our cozy evening was horribly interrupted a young woman hair disheveled came screaming into the bar Mr Carpenter

Mr Carpenter the elderly landlord came rushing him from the kitchen what is it Sarah it's Beth Miller they've taken her in her who's taken her the police that Sergeant berries arrested her says he found a gun what's this Pride homes who is Beth Miller Beth is my son Jax betrothed Carpenter said their wedding is fixed for next month Beth's a good and honest young woman and gentler as a lamb I'll see that blasted policeman Holmes barred his way and put a hand on his shoulder if I'm to help you Mr Carpenter he said staring hard

into the man's wild eyes believe me when I say that it will not serve our purposes to be too precipitous Dr Watson and I will go straight to the police station and find out what's happening I beg of you to do nothing before you hear from us having received Carpenter's assurances we made our way out of stovey to the police station a thick walled Stone building halfway along to the next Village once a brewery it now had the Grim air of a medieval lock-up it would not be exaggerating to say that my friend and I

received a cool welcome from Sergeant Berry whose domain this appeared to be yes sir I do have a young woman in custody here and I can confirm that she has been charged on suspicion of murder and can you tell me said Holmes how she is supposed to have committed this crime well obviously sir we don't know all the details yet but with a bit of imagination an intelligent person might construe that she had lured Mr weeks to Nightingale laying on some shall we say enticing pretext laying in wait for him and dispatched him with a

bullet as he tethered his horse and said Holmes with this same intelligent person construe that Jack Carpenter had a part in this well yes sir that person assuming he was using his faculties would conclude that quite obviously Jack Carpenter was an accessory before the fact and therefore equally culpable thank you Sergeant Holmes said for simplifying what I in my sluggishness of Mind had considered a mystifying problem might it be possible for us to see the prisoner now I'm sorry sir I couldn't permit that or should it wait until I have received Authority from my good

friend superintendent Wales at the yard the policeman licked his lips pretended to consult a piece of paper on his desk and said well as you say you are a friend of the superintendent sir I'm sure five minutes wouldn't hurt we were shown to a cavernous room where rusted iron remnants of the Brew House remained bolted to the walls and ceiling the large Skylight had been set with bars and there were no other windows a pretty dark-haired girl of no more than 20 years sat at a wooden table she reacted to us with suspicion as we

were admitted but no sooner had the Constable left us alone with her and no doubt largely in desperation she confided in US readily Miss Miller we have a limited amount of time Holmes said to her and you must tell us everything you can about this business yes sir I'll try I think I may have done something foolish sir foolish I think I were the first to find a body sir you see well now said Holmes I'd certainly not guessed that I plan to see my Jack under the London train she continued but we was held

back at the farm delivering a calf and I knew I was likely to miss him the train usually stops by dark Hill Crossing so I thought if I cut a long Nightingale Lane I might be able to wave him off but when I got there the train was already disappearing across the bridge then a stone strove from the track I saw a horse tied up to the fence and something on the road beside it when I got up close I saw who it was Henry weeks covered in blood and next to him the gun and

you picked up the gun I asked yes sir why why did you not go directly to the police well sir because I recognized the gun I meant to hide it somewhere it was Jack's gun you see I failed to conceal my shock 's gun so you took the gun Holmes said because you thought Jack Carpenter might have killed weeks sir that was my fear even though Jack was on the train I didn't know how long week said Lane there sir it's a lonely place and he might have been there for hours so that didn't look

good for Jack departing as he did the very same evening I weren't sure of nothing Mr ohms except that Jack was likely to get the blame everyone knowing about the Venom between him and the weeks family and what Holmes said did you do with Jack's gun wrapped in Marshall slung it on my shoulder and took it home to hide it but I was unlucky on the way I passed Sergeant Berry uh I think he must afterwards have puzzled over my strange burden for he came today to search the cottage and that's when I was arrested

hopes I said if the murder weapon was beside the body doesn't that at least establish Jack's innocence unfortunately not Watson the Assumption we had made was that the murder occurred while Jack was on the train if it happened well before that I fear that either he or Miss Miller here remained the primer Facey Suspects but I didn't kill Henry weeks sir I I swear to God I don't believe you did Miss Miller but we have to convince the police of that be hopeful but as we walked back along the lane that evening towards stovey in

the horse in colors Holmes seemed somewhat less certain I have little to go on at this moment except Instinct Watson I do not feel that Jack Carpenter killed Henry weeks and I feel even more strongly that that young woman did not do it either but feelings I'm afraid are not evidence let's hurry back to the end and hope the bar is still available to us then we could make an assessment of these matters in Comfort the Inn was closed customers when we arrived but Mr Carpenter hastily provided us with a bottle of whiskey and some

bread and cheese the fire was still glowing bright and I sat there for a good hour while my friend went away to ask some questions of our host eventually he returned and reclaimed his seat beside the fire can we number the suspects in this case Watson well apart from Jack Carpenter and the girl Beth Miller I said dropping my voice I suppose Jack's father our landlord is another possibility yes and since we know he saw jack off onto the train either he or his son would have needed to commit the murder sometime earlier but how

early I've just spoken to him at length he assures me and I believe him that there are plenty of people prepared to swear that both he and Jack were here all afternoon and Beth spent the day at farm work even so if the police go ahead and prosecute a case against one or all of them there's a strong chance a jury might find them guilty based purely on the assumption that they would at some time have had the opportunity we are not out of the woods yet Watson I see what you mean our inquiries seem

to have stalled rather I refilled our glasses from the whiskey bottle and Holmes puffed at his pipe then suddenly he said the secret is on that train Watson I'm sure that's where it is what time is it 20 minutes to 11. come along we might just get there before it leaves it was an old cart that transported US Post heaps along the hold and muddy Lanes of stovey so that we arrived at the station splattered and not a little shaken we were however in good time to meet the 1059 unfortunately for us the station Master

Mr Milton Fraser was again on duty despite his obvious respect for my friend however he became instantly resistant on hearing Holmes's request no sir I'm afraid I most definitely cannot hold up the 1059 London train Mr Fraser this is no flippant request an innocent young woman will spend tonight locked in a dungeon as will her fiance unless I am able to complete certain essential inquiries I ask only for 10 minutes Mr ohms my reputation may be a small thing by the world's standards but it is very important to me 10 minutes is a long time

to delay a train but if I can guarantee you that this will not affect your reputation can you really do that sir Mr Fraser you have my word on it a long thoughtful pause then very well Mr Holmes I'll do as you ask when two minutes later the great black locomotive hauled its clanking carriages into the station Mr Milton Fraser went straight to the foot plate and had words with the engineer a wave to Holmes and myself who were some way along the platform told us all was clear and we boarded the train Holmes went

directly to the second compartment of the third Carriage which contained just one late passenger an elderly gentleman sitting beside what I saw immediately to be the medical bag of a general practitioner if I may interrupt your peace and quiet sir home said and having outlined his reasons asked were you aboard this train last night I was said the older man I take this train pretty well every night I'm a medical man with a practice in Newbury and a home in London were you in this same compartment last night the elderly physician laughed creature of habit

sir same compartment every night and do you recollect the young man who I believe got onto the train at this station yesterday I do as a matter of fact he sat there right opposite me by the window Pleasant young man good now sir the train stopped at dark Hill crossing a little way up the line do you recall anything unusual about that oh it's there pretty well every night but well I do remember something as a matter of fact the train whistled as it usually does to see if the downtrain is close enough to respond

at just that moment I remarked a small flash of light outside the train like the sun reflecting off brass and the young man said Holmes what was his response he seemed as puzzled as I was he said he knew the area and couldn't imagine what it could be thank you doctor said Holmes he let me briskly from the Train we have just three of our 10 minutes left before the train leaves Watson but I think it might just be enough Mr Fraser was waiting for us on the platform all done sir at one final request

Mr Fraser are these the same carriages and in the same order as made up the train last night yes sir that doesn't change much then I'll need to get onto the line to check the other side of the train I don't know Mr ohms the downtrain is due you'll be at too much risk I shall be quick and without further discussion he re-entered the train crossed the compartment opened the further door and dropped onto the downline Beyond at almost precisely that moment we heard a whistle and Fraser said by golly Dr Watson that's the downtrend

crossing the bridge I waited for a half minute but when I heard the rumble of the approaching train I could restrain myself no longer Holmes I called get a move on for God's sake but the last words of my sentence were drowned by the Roar of a locomotive thundering into the station and hissing to a halt next to the 1059 I'm not sure what I thought had happened I could see that Holmes had not regained the empty compartment for a terrible moment I hovered in a cloud of anxiety then his head appeared between the bottom

of the train and the platform Edge he had ducked under the stationary train to avoid the incoming Express Homes are you all right more than all right Watson he said as he clambered back onto the platform especially as I believe I can now name our murderer he turned to the rather shaken station master the train may leave Mr Fraser but there are conditions I see there are no facilities for uncoupling a carriage here in stovey correct sir there are no sightings here then I must ask you to travel to London with the train and to

ensure on arrival that the carriage in which the physician gentleman is traveling is impounded at Paddington good Lord Mr ohms is the doctor a suspect no Mr Fraser but one might say the carriage is despite his misgivings the station master was heroically compliant and directly he had arranged for a message to be sent to his own family he boarded the 1059 which had now for one night only become the 11 25 and the train pulled out of the station on its way to London well Holmes I probably don't need to tell you I said that

I am completely baffled you can be forgiven for that Watson it has been a puzzling business but you do intend to explain to me how a trained Carriage could be a suspect in a murder case I will explain everything when we get back to the horse in colors but first I must ensure that Beth Miller is released from that appalling prison and spends tonight in her own bed it was long past midnight when we sat again in the comfort of the Inn though I had not been present when Holmes had put his theory before Sergeant

Berry at the makeshift jail he had clearly made a convincing argument because Beth Miller had been immediately released and sat with us now at the rough hewn table where Samuel Carpenter bubbling with the turn in Fortune was proving very liberal with his best ale so who was it Mr ohms who was the murderer well that's not a simpler question to answer as you might think said Holmes the simple answer is that Henry weeks was the murderer do you mean it was suicide I said well Watson whatever we call it that is no doubt that when

Henry weeks fired the gun it was to Murder Jack Carpenter around the table Mr Carpenter Beth Miller and I all wearing similar baffled Expressions sat staring at homes waiting for him to elucidate Henry weeks home said went to the spot with the intention of killing Young Jack he knew the train would stop there and he meant to get a shot at his victim through the carriage window things seemed to be going well for him Jack Carpenter was sitting on the stovey side of the train so weeks would have had a good view of him from

the lane here is what I believe happened weeks took aim but at the very moment he was about to squeeze the trigger the train blew its whistle my guess is that the horse reared up and kicked the butt of the gun hence that wound on the beast's foreleg the gun went off ah said I that flash of light the physician on the train mentioned precisely the sound of the shot was probably drowned by the noise of the Train the gun battle now tilted down its aim sent low the bullet hit the wheel bogey of the

carriage the mark on the metal work is what I was so Keen to check this evening and ricocheted back to strike Henry weeks so the train wheel was the killer I said as I say one could impute the train or the bullet or even the horse as accessories for all were material in the death but the fact of the matter is that Henry weeks in a rather elegant example of poetic justice inadvertently murdered himself Holmes and I took the first train back to London the following morning passing on our way out of stovey station the

site of weeks is lonely death what put you onto it Holmes I asked I suppose you could say Watson that human goodness put me onto it not deduction then Samuel Carpenter his son jack Beth Miller good people Watson we were if my instinct about them was correct distinctly short of homicidal candidates then you'll recollect the nature of weeks's head wound clearly not suicide as you noted yourself because of the shallow nature of the wound but was it a deep enough lesion to have been caused by a direct hit at close range that set me wondering

about whether the bullet might have rebounded my examination of the train confirmed it you're quite right about the wound I dare say it didn't kill him outright poor man probably lay there for some while bleeding to death in the cold well said Holmes perhaps that Bleak hour may have given him time to reconsider the error of his ways Sherlock Holmes The rediscovered Railway Mysteries and Other Stories was written by John Taylor and read by Benedict Cumberbatch it was produced by fiction Factory and is published by BBC audiobooks [Music] foreign [Music] when I was young it

contained the treasures of Boyhood a catapult a lump of beeswax the carapace of a crab for many years since it has been the repository of an archive admittedly and riot