Sherlock Holmes (8 page)

Our morning's exertions had been too much for my weak health, and I was tired out in the afternoon. After Holmes's departure for the concert, I lay down upon the sofa and endeavoured to get a couple of hours' sleep. It was a useless attempt. My mind had been too much excited by all that had occurred, and the strangest fancies and surmises crowded into it. Every time that I closed my eyes I saw before me the distorted, baboon-like countenance of the murdered man. So sinister was the impression which that face had produced upon me that I found it difficult to feel anything but gratitude for him who had removed its owner from the world. If ever human features bespoke vice of the most malignant type, they were certainly those of Enoch J. Drebber, of Cleveland. Still, I recognized that justice must be done, and that the depravity of the victim was no condonement in the eyes of the law.

The more I thought of it the more extraordinary did my companion's hypothesis, that the man had been poisoned, appear. I remembered how he had sniffed his lips, and had no doubt that he had detected something which had given rise to the idea. Then, again, if not poison, what had caused the man's death, since there was neither wound nor marks of strangulation? But, on the other hand, whose blood was that which lay so thickly upon the floor? There were no signs of a struggle, nor had the victim any weapon with which he might have wounded an antagonist. As long as all these questions were unsolved, I felt that sleep would be no easy matter, either for Holmes or myself. His quiet, self-confident manner convinced me that he had already formed a theory which explained all the facts, though what it was I could not for an instant conjecture.

He was very late in returning – so late that I knew that the
concert could not have detained him all the time. Dinner was on the table before he appeared.

‘It was magnificent,' he said, as he took his seat. ‘Do you remember what Darwin says about music? He claims that the power of producing and appreciating it existed among the human race long before the power of speech was arrived at. Perhaps that is why we are so subtly influenced by it. There are vague memories in our souls of those misty centuries when the world was in its childhood.'

‘That's rather a broad idea,' I remarked.

‘One's ideas must be as broad as Nature if they are to interpret Nature,' he answered. ‘What's the matter? You're not looking quite yourself. This Brixton Road affair has upset you.'

‘To tell the truth, it has,' I said. ‘I ought to be more case-hardened after my Afghan experiences. I saw my own comrades hacked to pieces at Maiwand without losing my nerve.'

‘I can understand. There is a mystery about this which stimulates the imagination; where there is no imagination there is no horror. Have you seen the evening paper?'

‘No.'

‘It gives a fairly good account of the affair. It does not mention the fact that when the man was raised up a woman's wedding-ring fell upon the floor. It is just as well it does not.'

‘Why?'

‘Look at this advertisement,' he answered. ‘I had one sent to every paper this morning immediately after the affair.'

He threw the paper across to me and I glanced at the place indicated. It was the first announcement in the ‘Found' column. ‘In Brixton Road, this morning,' it ran, ‘a plain gold wedding-ring, found in the roadway between the White Hart Tavern and Holland Grove. Apply Dr Watson, 221
B
, Baker Street, between eight and nine this evening.'

‘Excuse me using your name,' he said. ‘If I used my own, some of these dunderheads would recognize it and want to meddle in the affair.'

‘That is all right,' I answered. ‘But supposing anyone applies, I have no ring.'

‘Oh, yes, you have,' said he, handing me one. ‘This will do very well. It is almost a facsimile.'

‘And who do you expect will answer this advertisement?'

‘Why, the man in the brown coat – our florid friend with the square toes. If he does not come himself, he will send an accomplice.'

‘Would he not consider it as too dangerous?'

‘Not at all. If my view of the case is correct, and I have every reason to believe that it is, this man would rather risk anything than lose the ring. According to my notion he dropped it while stooping over Drebber's body, and did not miss it at the time. After leaving the house he discovered his loss and hurried back, but found the police already in possession, owing to his own folly in leaving the candle burning. He had to pretend to be drunk in order to allay the suspicions which might have been aroused by his appearance at the gate. Now put yourself in that man's place. On thinking the matter over, it must have occurred to him that it was possible that he had lost the ring in the road after leaving the house. What would he do then? He would eagerly look out for the evening papers in the hope of seeing it among the articles found. His eye, of course, would alight upon this. He would be overjoyed. Why should he fear a trap? There would be no reason in his eyes why the finding of the ring should be connected with the murder. He would come. He will come. You shall see him within an hour.'

‘And then?' I asked.

‘Oh, you can leave me to deal with him then. Have you any arms?'

‘I have my old service revolver and a few cartridges.'

‘You had better clean it and load it. He will be a desperate man; and though I shall take him unawares, it is as well to be ready for anything.'

I went to my bedroom and followed his advice. When I returned with the pistol, the table had been cleared, and Holmes was engaged in his favourite occupation of scraping upon his violin.

‘The plot thickens,' he said, as I entered; ‘I have just had an answer to my American telegram. My view of the case is the correct one.'

‘And that is?' I asked eagerly.

‘My fiddle would be the better for new strings,' he remarked. ‘Put your pistol in your pocket. When the fellow comes, speak to him in an ordinary way. Leave the rest to me. Don't frighten him by looking at him too hard.'

‘It is eight o'clock now,' I said, glancing at my watch.

‘Yes. He will probably be here in a few minutes. Open the door slightly. That will do. Now put the key on the inside. Thank you! This is a queer old book I picked up at a stall yesterday –
De Jure inter Gentes
– published in Latin at Liège in the Lowlands, in 1642. Charles's head was still firm on his shoulders when this little brown-backed volume was struck off.'

‘Who is the printer?'

‘Philippe de Croy, whoever he may have been. On the flyleaf, in very faded ink, is written “Ex libris Gulielmi Whyte.” I wonder who William Whyte was. Some pragmatical seventeenth-century lawyer, I suppose. His writing has a legal twist about it. Here comes our man, I think.'

As he spoke there was a sharp ring at the bell. Sherlock Holmes rose softly and moved his chair in the direction of the door. We heard the servant pass along the hall, and the sharp click of the latch as she opened it.

‘Does Dr Watson live here?' asked a clear but rather harsh voice. We could not hear the servant's reply, but the door closed, and someone began to ascend the stairs. The footfall was an uncertain and shuffling one. A look of surprise passed over the face of my companion as he listened to it. It came slowly along the passage, and there was a feeble tap at the door.

‘Come in,' I cried.

At my summons, instead of the man of violence whom we expected, a very old and wrinkled woman hobbled into the apartment. She appeared to be dazzled by the sudden blaze of light, and after dropping a curtsy, she stood blinking at us with her bleared eyes and fumbling in her pocket with nervous shaky fingers. I glanced at my companion, and his face had assumed such a disconsolate expression that it was all I could do to keep my countenance.

The old crone drew out an evening paper, and pointed at our advertisement. ‘It's this as has brought me, good gentlemen,' she said, dropping another curtsy; ‘a gold wedding-ring in the Brixton Road. It belongs to my girl Sally, as was married only this time twelve-month, which her husband is steward aboard a Union boat, and what he'd say if he come 'ome and found her without her ring is more than I can think, he being short enough at the best o' times,
but more especially when he has the drink. If it please you, she went to the circus last night along with –'

‘Is that her ring?' I asked.

‘The Lord be thanked!' cried the old woman; ‘Sally will be a glad woman this night. That's the ring.'

‘And what may your address be?' I inquired, taking up a pencil.

‘13, Duncan Street, Houndsditch. A weary way from here.'

‘The Brixton Road does not lie between any circus and Houndsditch,' said Sherlock Holmes sharply.

The old woman faced round and looked keenly at him from her little red-rimmed eyes. ‘The gentleman asked me for
my
address,' she said. ‘Sally lives in lodgings at 3, Mayfield Place, Peckham.'

‘And your name is –?'

‘My name is Sawyer – hers is Dennis, which Tom Dennis married her – and a smart, clean lad, too, as long as he's at sea, and no steward in the company more thought of; but when on shore, what with the women and what with liquor shops –'

‘Here is your ring, Mrs Sawyer,' I interrupted, in obedience to a sign from my companion; ‘it clearly belongs to your daughter, and I am glad to be able to restore it to the rightful owner.'

With many mumbled blessings and protestations of gratitude the old crone packed it away in her pocket, and shuffled off down the stairs. Sherlock Holmes sprang to his feet the moment that she was gone and rushed into his room. He returned in a few seconds enveloped in an ulster and a cravat. ‘I'll follow her,' he said, hurriedly; ‘she must be an accomplice, and will lead me to him. Wait up for me.' The hall door had hardly slammed behind our visitor before Holmes had descended the stair. Looking through the window I could see her walking feebly along the other side, while her pursuer dogged her some little distance behind. ‘Either his whole theory is incorrect,' I thought to myself, ‘or else he will be led now to the heart of the mystery.' There was no need for him to ask me to wait up for him, for I felt that sleep was impossible until I heard the result of his adventure.

It was close upon nine when he set out. I had no idea how long he might be, but I sat stolidly puffing at my pipe and skipping over the pages of Henri Murger's
Vie de Bohème
. Ten o'clock passed, and I heard the footsteps of the maid as they pattered off to bed. Eleven,
and the more stately tread of the landlady passed my door, bound for the same destination. It was close upon twelve before I heard the sharp sound of his latch-key. The instant he entered I saw by his face that he had not been successful. Amusement and chagrin seemed to be struggling for the mastery, until the former suddenly carried the day, and he burst into a hearty laugh.

‘I wouldn't have the Scotland Yarders know it for the world,' he cried, dropping into his chair; ‘I have chaffed them so much that they would never have let me hear the end of it. I can afford to laugh, because I know that I will be even with them in the long run.'

‘What is it then?' I asked.

‘Oh, I don't mind telling a story against myself. That creature had gone a little way when she began to limp and show every sign of being footsore. Presently she came to a halt, and hailed a four-wheeler which was passing. I managed to be close to her so as to hear the address, but I need not have been so anxious, for she sang it out loud enough to be heard at the other side of the street: “Drive to 13, Duncan Street, Houndsditch,” she cried. This begins to look genuine, I thought, and having seen her safely inside, I perched myself behind. That's an art which every detective should be an expert at. Well, away we rattled, and never drew rein until we reached the street in question. I hopped off before we came to the door, and strolled down the street in an easy lounging way. I saw the cab pull up. The driver jumped down, and I saw him open the door and stand expectantly. Nothing came out though. When I reached him, he was groping about frantically in the empty cab, and giving vent to the finest assorted collection of oaths that ever I listened to. There was no sign or trace of his passenger, and I fear it will be some time before he gets his fare. On inquiring at Number 13 we found that the house belonged to a respectable paperhanger, named Keswick, and that no one of the name either of Sawyer or Dennis had ever been heard of there.'

‘You don't mean to say,' I cried, in amazement, ‘that that tottering, feeble old woman was able to get out of the cab while it was in motion, without either you or the driver seeing her?'

‘Old woman be damned!' said Sherlock Holmes, sharply. ‘We were the old women to be so taken in. It must have been a young man, and an active one, too, besides being an incomparable actor.
The get-up was inimitable. He saw that he was followed, no doubt, and used this means of giving me the slip. It shows that the man we are after is not as lonely as I imagined he was, but has friends who are ready to risk something for him. Now, Doctor, you are looking done-up. Take my advice and turn in.'

I was certainly feeling very weary, so I obeyed his injunction. I left Holmes seated in front of the smouldering fire, and long into the watches of the night I heard the low, melancholy wailings of his violin, and knew that he was still pondering over the strange problem which he had set himself to unravel.

The papers next day were full of the ‘Brixton Mystery', as they termed it. Each had a long account of the affair, and some had leaders upon it in addition. There was some information in them which was new to me. I still retain in my scrap-book numerous clippings and extracts bearing upon the case. Here is a condensation of a few of them:

The
Daily Telegraph
remarked that in the history of crime there had seldom been a tragedy which presented stranger features. The German name of the victim, the absence of all other motive, and the sinister inscription on the wall, all pointed to its perpetration by political refugees and revolutionists. The Socialists had many branches in America, and the deceased had, no doubt, infringed their unwritten laws, and been tracked down by them. After alluding airily to the Vehmgericht, aqua tofana, Carbonari, the Marchioness de Brinvilliers, the Darwinian theory, the principles of Malthus, and the Ratcliff Highway murders, the article concluded by admonishing the Government and advocating a closer watch over foreigners in England.

The
Standard
commented upon the fact that lawless outrages of the sort usually occurred under a Liberal Administration. They arose from the unsettling of the minds of the masses, and the consequent weakening of all authority. The deceased was an American gentleman who had been residing for some weeks in the Metropolis. He had stayed at the boarding-house of Madame Charpentier, in Torquay Terrace, Camberwell. He was accompanied in his travels by his private secretary, Mr Joseph Stangerson. The two bade adieu to their landlady upon Tuesday, the 4th inst., and departed to Euston Station with the avowed intention of catching the Liverpool
express. They were afterward seen together upon the platform. Nothing more is known of them until Mr Drebber's body was, as recorded, discovered in an empty house in the Brixton Road, many miles from Euston. How he came there, or how he met his fate, are questions which are still involved in mystery. Nothing is known of the whereabouts of Stangerson. We are glad to learn that Mr Lestrade and Mr Gregson, of Scotland Yard, are both engaged upon the case, and it is confidently anticipated that these well-known officers will speedily throw light upon the matter.

The
Daily News
observed that there was no doubt as to the crime being a political one. The despotism and hatred of Liberalism which animated the Continental Governments had had the effect of driving to our shores a number of men who might have made excellent citizens were they not soured by the recollection of all that they had undergone. Among these men there was a stringent code of honour, any infringement of which was punished by death. Every effort should be made to find the secretary, Stangerson, and to ascertain some particulars of the habits of the deceased. A great step had been gained by the discovery of the address of the house at which he had boarded – a result which was entirely due to the acuteness and energy of Mr Gregson of Scotland Yard.

Sherlock Holmes and I read these notices over together at breakfast, and they appeared to afford him considerable amusement.

‘I told you that, whatever happened, Lestrade and Gregson would be sure to score.'

‘That depends on how it turns out.'

‘Oh, bless you, it doesn't matter in the least. If the man is caught, it will be
on account
of their exertions; if he escapes, it will be
in spite
of their exertions. It's heads I win and tails you lose. Whatever they do, they will have followers. “Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l'admire.”'

‘What on earth is that?' I cried, for at this moment there came the pattering of many steps in the hall and on the stairs, accompanied by audible expressions of disgust upon the part of our landlady.

‘It's the Baker Street division of the detective police force,' said my companion gravely; and as he spoke there rushed into the room half a dozen of the dirtiest and most ragged street Arabs that ever I clapped eyes on.

‘'Tention!' cried Holmes, in a sharp tone, and the six dirty scoundrels stood in a line like so many disreputable statuettes. ‘In future you shall send up Wiggins alone to report, and the rest of you must wait in the street. Have you found it, Wiggins?'

‘No, sir, we hain't,' said one of the youths.

‘I hardly expected you would. You must keep on until you do. Here are your wages.' He handed each of them a shilling. ‘Now, off you go, and come back with a better report next time.'

He waved his hand, and they scampered away downstairs like so many rats, and we heard their shrill voices next moment in the street.

‘There's more work to be got out of one of those little beggars than out of a dozen of the force,' Holmes remarked. ‘The mere sight of an official-looking person seals men's lips. These youngsters, however, go everywhere, and hear everything. They are as sharp as needles, too; all they want is organization.'

‘Is it on this Brixton case that you are employing them?' I asked.

‘Yes; there is a point which I wish to ascertain. It is merely a matter of time. Hullo! we are going to hear some news now with a vengeance! Here is Gregson coming down the road with beatitude written upon every feature of his face. Bound for us, I know. Yes, he is stopping. There he is!'

There was a violent peal at the bell, and in a few seconds the fair-haired detective came up the stairs, three steps at a time, and burst into our sitting-room.

‘My dear fellow,' he cried, wringing Holmes's unresponsive hand, ‘congratulate me! I have made the whole thing as clear as day.'

A shade of anxiety seemed to me to cross my companion's expressive face.

‘Do you mean that you are on the right track?' he asked.

‘The right track! Why, sir, we have the man under lock and key.'

‘And his name is?'

‘Arthur Charpentier, sub-lieutenant in Her Majesty's Navy,' cried Gregson pompously, rubbing his fat hands and inflating his chest.

Sherlock Holmes gave a sigh of relief and relaxed into a smile.

‘Take a seat, and try one of these cigars,' he said. ‘We are anxious to know how you managed it. Will you have some whisky and water?'

‘I don't mind if I do,' the detective answered. ‘The tremendous exertions which I have gone through during the last day or two have worn me out. Not so much bodily exertion, you understand, as the strain upon the mind. You will appreciate that, Mr Sherlock Holmes, for we are both brainworkers.'

‘You do me too much honour,' said Holmes gravely. ‘Let us hear how you arrived at this most gratifying result.'

The detective seated himself in the arm-chair, and puffed complacently at his cigar. Then suddenly he slapped his thigh in a paroxysm of amusement.

‘The fun of it is,' he cried, ‘that that fool Lestrade, who thinks himself so smart, has gone off upon the wrong track altogether. He is after the secretary Stangerson, who had no more to do with the crime than the babe unborn. I have no doubt that he has caught him by this time.'

The idea tickled Gregson so much that he laughed until he choked.

‘And how did you get your clue?'

‘Ah, I'll tell you all about it. Of course, Doctor Watson, this is strictly between ourselves. The first difficulty which we had to contend with was the finding of this American's antecedents. Some people would have waited until their advertisements were answered, or until parties came forward and volunteered information. That is not Tobias Gregson's way of going to work. You remember the hat beside the dead man?'

‘Yes,' said Holmes; ‘by John Underwood and Sons, 129, Camberwell Road.'

Gregson looked quite crestfallen.

‘I had no idea that you noticed that,' he said. ‘Have you been there?'

‘No.'

‘Ha!' cried Gregson, in a relieved voice; ‘you should never neglect a chance, however small it may seem.'

‘To a great mind, nothing is little,' remarked Holmes, sententiously.

‘Well, I went to Underwood, and asked him if he had sold a hat of that size and description. He looked over his books, and came on it at once. He had sent the hat to a Mr Drebber, residing at Charpentier's Boarding Establishment, Torquay Terrace. Thus I got his address.'

‘Smart – very smart!' murmured Sherlock Holmes.

‘I next called upon Madame Charpentier,' continued the detective. ‘I found her very pale and distressed. Her daughter was in the room, too – an uncommonly fine girl she is, too; she was looking red about the eyes and her lips trembled as I spoke to her. That didn't escape my notice. I began to smell a rat. You know that feeling, Mr Sherlock Holmes, when you come upon the right scent – a kind of thrill in your nerves. “Have you heard of the mysterious death of your late boarder Mr Enoch J. Drebber, of Cleveland?” I asked.

‘The mother nodded. She didn't seem able to get out a word. The daughter burst into tears. I felt more than ever that these people knew something of the matter.

‘“At what o'clock did Mr Drebber leave your house for the train?” I asked.

‘“At eight o'clock,” she said, gulping in her throat to keep down her agitation. “His secretary, Mr Stangerson, said that there were two trains – one at 9.15 and one at 11. He was to catch the first.”

‘“And was that the last which you saw of him?”

‘A terrible change came over the woman's face as I asked the question. Her features turned perfectly livid. It was some seconds before she could get out the single word “Yes” – and when it did come it was in a husky, unnatural tone.

‘There was a silence for a moment, and then the daughter spoke in a calm, clear voice.

‘“No good can ever come of falsehood, mother,” she said. “Let us be frank with this gentleman. We
did
see Mr Drebber again.”

‘“God forgive you!” cried Madame Charpentier, throwing up her hands, and sinking back in her chair. “You have murdered your brother.”

‘“Arthur would rather that we spoke the truth,” the girl answered firmly.

‘“You had best tell me all about it now,” I said. “Half-confidences are worse than none. Besides, you do not know how much we know of it.”

‘“On your head be it, Alice!” cried her mother; and then, turning to me: “I will tell you all, sir. Do not imagine that my agitation on behalf of my son arises from any fear lest he should have had a
hand in this terrible affair. He is utterly innocent of it. My dread is, however, that in your eyes and in the eyes of others he may appear to be compromised. That, however, is surely impossible. His high character, his profession, his antecedents would all forbid it.”

‘“Your best way is to make a clean breast of the facts,” I answered. “Depend upon it, if your son is innocent he will be none the worse.”

‘“Perhaps, Alice, you had better leave us together,” she said, and her daughter withdrew. “Now, sir,” she continued, “I had no intention of telling you all this, but since my poor daughter has disclosed it I have no alternative. Having once decided to speak, I will tell you all without omitting any particular.”

‘“It is your wisest course,” said I.

‘“Mr Drebber has been with us nearly three weeks. He and his secretary, Mr Stangerson, had been travelling on the Continent. I noticed a ‘Copenhagen' label upon each of their trunks, showing that that had been their last stopping place. Stangerson was a quiet, reserved man, but his employer, I am sorry to say, was far otherwise. He was coarse in his habits and brutish in his ways. The very night of his arrival he became very much the worse for drink, and, indeed, after twelve o'clock in the day he could hardly ever be said to be sober. His manners towards the maid-servants were disgustingly free and familiar. Worst of all, he speedily assumed the same attitude towards my daughter Alice, and spoke to her more than once in a way which, fortunately, she is too innocent to understand. On one occasion he actually seized her in his arms and embraced her – an outrage which caused his own secretary to reproach him for his unmanly conduct.”

‘“But why did you stand all this?” I asked. “I suppose that you can get rid of your boarders when you wish.”

‘Madame Charpentier blushed at my pertinent question. “Would to God that I had given him notice on the very day that he came,” she said. “But it was a sore temptation. They were paying a pound a day each – fourteen pounds a week, and this is the slack season. I am a widow, and my boy in the Navy has cost me much. I grudged to lose the money. I acted for the best. This last was too much, however, and I gave him notice to leave on account of it. That was the reason of his going.”

‘“Well?”

‘“My heart grew light when I saw him drive away. My son is on leave just now, but I did not tell him anything of all this, for his temper is violent, and he is passionately fond of his sister. When I closed the door behind them a load seemed to be lifted from my mind. Alas, in less than an hour there was a ring at the bell, and I learned that Mr Drebber had returned. He was much excited, and evidently the worse for drink. He forced his way into the room, where I was sitting with my daughter, and made some incoherent remark about having missed the train. He then turned to Alice, and before my very face proposed to her that she should fly with him. ‘You are of age,' he said, ‘and there is no law to stop you. I have money enough and to spare. Never mind the old girl here, but come along with me now straight away. You shall live like a princess.' Poor Alice was so frightened that she shrunk away from him, but he caught her by the wrist and endeavoured to draw her towards the door. I screamed, and at that moment my son Arthur came into the room. What happened then I do not know. I heard oaths and the confused sounds of a scuffle. I was too terrified to raise my head. When I did look up I saw Arthur standing in the doorway laughing, with a stick in his hand. ‘I don't think that fine fellow will trouble us again,' he said. ‘I will just go after him and see what he does with himself.' With those words he took his hat and started off down the street. The next morning we heard of Mr Drebber's mysterious death.”