"THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON" "By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" "The Treasures of Agra" "Part One" "Sherlock Holmes VASILIY LIVANOV" "Dr. Watson VITALIY SOLOMIN" "Mrs. Hudson RINA ZELYONAYA" "Inspector Lestrade BORISLAV BRONDUKOV" "To Mr. Sherlock Holmes esquire." "Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his." "In our society we speak of softer passions as of an excellent for drawing the veil from men's motives and actions." " I thought the woman..." " Her name is Irene Adler." "I thought Irene Adler would only stay in the folder, named "The Scandal in Bohemia."" "With Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein," "Grand Duke of Cassel Felstein, and hereditary King of Bohemia, but I was wrong." "Her picture always follows him." "After some deducting reasoning," "I draw a horrible conclusion." "You faltered, Sherlock Holmes." "It was not that you felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler." "All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to your cold, precise but admirably balanced mind." "But you faltered." "What is it in your hands?" "This is a sovereign you got from her." "There's much harsh truth in your saying, my dear friend." "Momentary hesitation." "I successfully failed the case "The Scandal in Bohemia."" "Of course, Irene Adler was an exception, which proves the rule." "You are right women are low-level creatures, in comparison with us, men." "Because they always follow so called "softer passions", emotions." "Emotions are opposite to pure and cold judgment." "You are right." "Of all women I know only our incomparable Mrs. Hudson can live here." "A young lady for you, sir." "Miss Morstan." "I have no recollection of the name." "Ask the young lady to step up." "I hope, you don't need me." "I need to attend a pathology course." "Don't go, Doctor." "I should prefer that you always remain when a woman is close to me." " Good morning." " Good morning." " Have a seat." " Thank you." "State your case." "You will, I am sure, excuse me." "If your friend, would be good enough to stop, he might be of inestimable service to me." "We are listening to you, miss Morstan." "My father was an officer in an Indian regiment." "When I was quite a child, my mother died." "I had no relative in England." "My father sent me to Edinburgh." "I was placed in a comfortable boarding establishment where I remained until I was seventeen years of age." "He telegraphed to me that he had arrived to England, and gave the Langham Hotel as his address." "I drove there." "I was informed that Captain Morstan was staying there, but that he had gone out the night before and had not returned." "Next morning I read in newspapers about my father's disappearing." "From that day to this no word has ever been heard of him." "The date?" "He disappeared upon the third of December, 1878." " His luggage?" " Remained at the hotel." "Some clothes, some books, and a number of curiosities from the Andaman Islands." "He had been one of the officers in charge of the convict-guard there." "Had he any friends in town?" "Major Sholto." "Only one that we know of" " Major Sholto." "The major had retired some little time before and lived at Upper Norwood." "We communicated with him, of course, but he did not know anything about my father." "A very old case. 10 years ago." "I had better leave you." "No, no, please, stay." "I have not yet described to you the most singular part." "About six years ago an advertisement appeared in the Times asking for the address of Miss Morstan, and stating that it would be to her advantage to come forward." "After that there arrived through the post a small cardboard box addressed to me, which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl." "Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box, containing a similar pearl." "They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare and of considerable value." "Your statement is most interesting." " Where are you going?" ".." " Watson." "Watson." "This is my friend, Dr. Watson." "Like your father he was an officer in an Indian regiment." "And he is very brave." "Your pearl, miss Morstan." "Has anything else occurred to you?" "This morning I received this letter." " Read it." " The envelope, too, please." "Post-mark, London, S. W. Date, September 7." "Man's thumb-mark on corner." "Probably postman." "Best quality paper." "Envelopes at sixpence a packet." "No address." ""Be at the left pillar outside the Lyceum Theatre" "If you are distrustful bring two friends." "You are a wronged woman and shall have justice." "Do not bring police." "If you do, all will be in vain." "Your unknown friend."" " What do you intend to do?" " To meet the unknown friend." "And which two friends you shall choose?" "You and Dr. Watson." "Would you come?" "I was so happy to see him here." "I thought you had been here alone." "I do not have any friends here whom I could rely on." "I agree to come with you." "I do not know about Dr. Watson." "Would you come, doctor?" "If I can be of any service." "If I am here at six it will do, I suppose?" "We had better pick you up." "Wait for us at six o'clock." "Good bye." "Good bye." "What a very attractive woman!" "Is she?" "I did not observe." "It is of the first importance, Watson, not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities." "The most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money." "And the most repellent man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor." "The exceptions prove the rule." "And what about Irene Adler?" "Irene Adler was a good lesson for both of us." "I have just found, on consulting the back files of the Times, that Major Sholto, of Upper Norwood, late of the Thirty-fourth Bombay Infantry, died six years ago." "I may be very obtuse, Holmes, but I fail to see what this suggests." "No?" "Look at it in this way, then." "Captain Morstan comes to England and disappears." "The only person in London whom he could have visited is Major Sholto." "Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London." "Four years later Sholto dies." "Within a week of his death Captain Morstan's daughter receives a valuable present, which is repeated from year to year during six years." "Six years, I emphasize." "And now culminates in a letter which describes her as a wronged woman." "What wrong can it refer to except this deprivation of her father." "And why should the presents begin immediately after Sholto's death unless it is that Sholto's heir knows something and desires to make compensation?" "But what a strange compensation!" "Good evening." "Good evening." "A curious paper was found in Papa's desk." "It is paper of native Indian manufacture." "The diagram upon it appears to be a plan of part of a large building." "In the left-hand corner is a small cross done in red ink." "And above it is '3.37.'" "In the left-hand corner is a curious hieroglyphic." "It is written 'The sign of the four' and some names:" "Mahomet Singh, Jonathan Small, Abdullah Khan, Dost Akbar." "I confess that I do not see how this bears upon the matter." "Preserve it carefully, then, Miss Morstan, for it may prove to be of use to us." "Are you the parties who come with Miss Morstan?" "I am Miss Morstan, and these two gentlemen are my friends." "You will excuse me, miss, but give me your word that neither of your companions is a police-officer." "I give you my word on that." "Cold Harbour Lane." "Now we come out on the Vauxhall Bridge Road." "Our quest does not appear to take us to very fashionable regions." "We are making for the Surrey side apparently." "Yes, I thought so." "Miss Morstan." "Miss Morstan." "Pray step into my little sanctum." "A small place, but furnished to my own liking." "An oasis of art in the howling desert of South London." "Mr. Thaddeus Sholto, that is my name." "You are Miss Morstan, of course." "And these gentlemen?" "This is Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and this Dr. Watson." "A doctor?" "A doctor." "Would you have the kindness?" "I have grave doubts as to my mitral valve." "The aortic I may rely upon, but I should value your opinion upon the mitral." "Had your father, Miss Morstan, refrained from throwing a strain upon his heart, he might have been alive now." "It appears to be normal." "I am delighted to hear that they are unwarranted." "Would you have the kindness, Mr. Sholto to tell us everything." "It's late." "Yes, it's late." "I..." "Mr. Holmes..." "I shall tell you everything." "I shall explain you." "Miss Morstan," "I can do you justice, and I will!" "I will do it, whatever Brother Bartholomew may say." "I am so glad to have your friends here not only as an escort to you but also as witnesses to what I am about to do and say." "Let us have no outsiders - no police or officials." "I trust that you have no objection to tobacco-smoke." "I am a little nervous, and I find my hookah an invaluable sedative." "My father was Major John Sholto, once of the Indian Army," "He brought back a large collection of curiosities, and a staff of native servants." "My brother Bartholomew and I were the only children." "We did know that some positive danger, overhung him." "He was very fearful of going out alone, and he always employed two prize-fighters to act as porters at Pondicherry Lodge." "On one occasion our father actually fired his revolver at a wooden-legged man, who proved to be a harmless tradesman canvassing for orders." "Early in 1882 my father received a letter from India." "It was short and it was a great shock to him." "He had suffered for years from an enlarged spleen, but he now became rapidly worse." "Towards the beginning of April we were informed that he wished to see us." "He besought us to lock the door and to come upon either side of the bed." "I have only one thing, which weighs upon my mind at this supreme moment." "It is my treatment of poor Morstan's orphan." "The cursed greed." "See that chaplet tipped with pearls?" "Even that I could not bear to part with, although I had got it out to send it to her." "You, my sons, will give her a fair share of the Agra treasure." "But send her nothing, not even the chaplet, until I am gone." "I will tell you how Morstan died." "He had suffered for years from a weak heart." "When in India, he and I, came into possession of a considerable treasure." "I brought it over to England." "Soon Morstan came back to England." "Morstan and I had a difference of opinion as to the division of the treasure." "Morstan had sprung out of his chair, his face turned a dusky hue." "He fell backward, cutting his head against the corner of the treasure-chest." "Do not fear, sahib, no one need know that you have killed him." "Let us hide him away." " I did not kill him." " I heard it all." "I heard you quarrel." "I heard the blow." "But my lips are sealed." "All are asleep in the house." "Let us put him away together." "If my own servant could not believe my innocence, how could I hope to make it good before twelve foolish tradesmen in a jury-box?" "I disposed of the body." "We concealed not only the body but also the treasure and that I have clung to Morstan's share as well as to my own." "I wish you, therefore, to make restitution." "Put your ears down to my mouth." "Down to my mouth." "The treasure is hidden in" "Keep him out!" "For Christ's sake keep him out!" "We searched the garden that night but found nothing." "Only a single footmark was visible in the flower-bed." "Just under the window." "The window of my father's room was found open in the morning, his cup-boards and boxes had been rifled, and upon his chest was fixed a torn piece of paper with the words 'The sign of the four' scrawled across it." "I would like to look at it." "My brother has it." "He lives in my father's house." "We will be there soon." "We will?" "You will see all." "There is something else to tell you." "For weeks and for months we dug and delved in every part of the garden without discovering the treasure's whereabouts." "We could judge the splendor of the missing riches by the chaplet." "I could persuade him to let me find out Miss Morstan's address and send her a detached pearl" "at fixed intervals so that at least she might never feel destitute." "It was a kindly thought." "It was extremely good of you." "Yesterday, however, I learned that an event of extreme importance has occurred." "The treasure has been discovered." "I instantly communicated with Miss Morstan." "It remains to drive out to Norwood and demand our share." "I explained my views last night to Brother Bartholomew, so we shall be expected," "if not welcome, visitors." "We had best put the matter through without delay." "Bartholomew is a clever fellow." "How do you think he found out where the treasure was?" "The height of the building was seventy-four feet." "But on adding together the heights of all the separate rooms and making every allowance for the space between, which he ascertained by borings," "he could not bring the total to more than seventy feet." "There were four feet unaccounted for." "He knocked a hole, therefore, in the lath and plaster ceiling of the highest room, and there, sure enough, he came upon another little garret above it." "In the centre stood the treasure-chest resting upon two rafters." "He computes the value of the jewels at not less than half a million sterling." "Miss Morstan, could we secure her rights, would change from a needy governess to the richest heiress in England." "McMurdo!" " Who is there?" " It is I, McMurdo." " Who is there?" " It is I, McMurdo." "You surely know my voice by this time." "That you, Mr. Thaddeus?" "But who are the others?" "I had no orders about them from the master." "McMurdo, you surprise me!" "I told my brother last night that I should bring some friends." "He hasn't been out o' his rooms to-day." "You know very well that I must stick to regulations." "I can let you in, but your friends" "This is too bad of you, McMurdo!" "There is the young lady." "She cannot wait on the public road at this hour." "Very sorry, Mr. Thaddeus." "Folk may be friends o' yours, and yet no friend o' the master's." "He pays me well to do my duty, and my duty I'll do." "I don't know none o' your friends." "Oh, yes you do, McMurdo." "Don't you remember that amateur who fought three rounds with you at Alison's rooms on the night of your benefit four years back?" "Not Mr. Sherlock Holmes!" "How could I have mistook you?" "If you had just given me that cross-hit of yours under the jaw, I'd ha' known you." "You're one that has wasted your gifts, you have!" "You see, Watson, if all else fails me," "I have still one of the scientific professions open to me." "And what is your profession, mister Holmes?" "I have many of them." "Very sorry, Mr. Thaddeus, but orders are very strict." "Had to be certain of your friends before I let them in." "I cannot understand it." "There must be some mistake." "I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here." "Do you see that window?" "That is his window, and there is no light there." "And whose windows are downstairs?" "That is the housekeeper's room." "Mrs. Bernstone can tell us all about it." "Perhaps you would not mind waiting here for a minute or two." "If we all go in together, and she has had no word of our coming, she may be alarmed." "What is that?" "It is Mrs. Bernstone." "She is the only woman in the house." "Wait for me." "Mr. Thaddeus, sir, I am so glad you have come!" "I am so glad you have come!" "What a strange place!" "It looks as though all the moles in England had been let loose in it." "It looks like a gold mine." "They were six years looking for treasure." "There is something amiss with Bartholomew!" " God bless your sweet, calm face!" " What has happened?" "He often likes to be alone." "Mr. Thaddeus, you must go up and look for yourself." "Miss Morstan, you should remain here." "I have seen Mr. Bartholomew Sholto in joy and in sorrow for ten long years, but I never saw him with such a face on him as that." "Mister Holms, gentlemen, follow me." "This is his door." "There is something devilish in this, Watson." " Are you twins?" " He is two hours older than me." "Give me some light." "In God's name!" "What does it all mean?" "It means murder." "Look here!" " It looks like a thorn." " It is a thorn." "You may pick it out." "Be careful, for it is poisoned." "What is it, Holmes?" "This is "The sign of the four."" "The treasure!" "The treasure is gone!" "They have robbed him of the treasure!" "There is the hole through which we lowered it." "I left him here last night, and I heard him lock the door as I came downstairs." " What time was that?" " It was ten o'clock." "And now he is dead." "And the police will be called in, and I shall be suspected of having had a hand in it." "But you don't think so, gentlemen?" "Surely you don't think that it was I?" "You have no reason for fear." "Do not worry if you are not guilty." "Drive down to the station to report the matter to the police." "You are right." "Now, Watson, we have half an hour to ourselves." "Let us make good use of it." "Just sit in the chair, that your footprints may not complicate matters." "The door has not been opened since last night." "Frame-work is solid." "Window is snibbed on the inner side." "No water-pipe near." "Roof quite out of reach." "Yet a man has mounted by the window." "It rained a little last night." "Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill." "And here is a circular muddy mark." "And here again upon the floor." "And here again on the carpet." "That is not a foot-mark." "It is something much more valuable to us." "It is the impression of a wooden stump." " It is the wooden-legged man?" " Or a man with an attached wooden leg." "Could you scale that wall, Doctor?" "It is absolutely impossible." "But suppose you had a friend up here, who lowered you this good stout rope, which I see in the corner, securing one end of it to this great hook in the wall." "If you were an active man, you might swarm up, wooden leg and all." "You would depart, of course, in the same fashion." "Your ally would draw up the rope, untie it from the hook, shut the window, snib it on the inside, and get away in the way that he originally came." " How came he into the room?" " The first one?" "There are features of interest about this ally." "He lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace." "If you, my friend, give me some light," "I shall mount the steps and tell you how he came in." "This is a trapdoor which leads out on to the roof." "Watson, Watson!" "Let us see if we can find some other traces of his individuality?" "Holmes, take the lamp." "Excellent." "These are a child's prints?" "A child has done this horrid thing?" "Number One has had the misfortune to tread in the creosote." "Did you see a carboy downstairs?" "It has been cracked, and the stuff has leaked out." "We have got him, that's all." "It is not right that Miss Morstan should remain in this stricken house." "When you have dropped Miss Morstan, I wish you to go on to No. 3 Pinchin Lane, down near the water's edge at Lambeth." "The third house on the right-hand side is a bird-stuffer's." "Sherman is the name." "Tell him, with my compliments, that I want Toby at once." "Who is it?" "A queer mongrel with a most amazing power of scent." "Dear Miss Morsten, you must agree, that all questions have been solved." "You know for sure that your father has died in his bed." "You know who sent you the pearl and why." "And who was looking for you." "Quite enough." "Although we have more mysteries." "Indian treasure, some plan, which was found in your father's belongings." "Revelation of the hiding place and the murder of the person who has found it." "Strange prints, strange weapon, some words on paper." "And, finally, a child." "Do not be upset, Miss Morsten, Sherlock Holmes, my friend will solve this case." "You can be sure." "And you will be the richest heiress in England." "Here's a business!" "Why, the house seems to be as full as a rabbit-warren!" " Hello, inspector." " Hello, the theorist." "Stern facts here - no room for theories." "How lucky that I happened to be out at Norwood over another case!" "I was at the station when the message arrived." "What d'you think the man died of?"" "Door locked, I understand." "How was the window?" "There are steps on the sill." "Well, well." "Jewels missing." "Worth half a million." "Where have they gone?" "Mister Holmes, I have a theory." " Inspector?" " Yes, sir." "What do you think of Sholto, Holmes?" "Sholto was, on his own confession, with his brother last night." "The brother died in a fit, on which Sholto walked off with the treasure?" "He could do that." "On which the dead man very considerately got up and locked the door on the inside." "Hum!" "Yes." "Let us apply common sense to the matter." "Here we go." "This Thaddeus Sholto was with his brother, there was a quarrel." "So much we know." "The brother is dead and the jewels are gone." "So much also we know." "You see that I am weaving my web round Thaddeus." "The net begins to close upon him." "Thaddeus is evidently in a most disturbed state of mind." "And look, the door is locked, the window is locked too, and the treasure is gone." "Where is it gone?" "Of course, Mister Holmes, here is a hole in the roof." "Why didn't you notice that?" "They left through the hole in the roof." "There is a trapdoor communicating with the roof, and it is partly open." " It was I who opened it." " Oh, indeed!" "Well, whoever did it, it shows how our gentleman got away." "Inspector!" " Yes, sir?" " Sholto?" "Yes, sir!" "Mr. Sholto, it is my duty to inform you that anything which you may say will be used against you." "I arrest you in the Queen's name as being concerned in the death of your brother." "Didn't I tell you!" "Don't trouble yourself about it, Mr. Sholto." "I think that I can engage to clear you of the charge." "I will make you a free present of the name and description of one of the two people who were in this room last night." "His name is Jonathan Small." "He is a man with his right leg off, and wearing a wooden stump which is worn away upon the inner side." "His left boot has a coarse, square-toed sole, with an iron band round the heel." "He is a middle-aged man, much sunburned, and has been a convict." "There is a good deal of skin missing from the palm of his hand." " The other man " " Ah!" "the other man?" "Yes." "He is a rather curious person." "Go on, you drunken vagabond!" "If you kick up any more row, I'll open the kennels and let out 43 dogs upon you." "If you'll let one out, it's just what I have come for." "Go on!" "I have a wiper in this bag." "I'll drop it on your 'ead if you don't hook it!" "But I want a dog." "I won't be argued with!" "Now stand clear, for when I say 'three, ' down goes the wiper." "Mr. Sherlock Holmes " "A friend of Mr. Sherlock is always welcome." " Step in, sir." " Thank you." "You are welcome." "Keep clear of the badger, for he bites." "Don't mind that, sir." "It's only a slowworm." "It hasn't got no fangs, so I gives it the run o' the room." "It keeps the beetles down." "To let my lodgers live in peace." "You must not mind my bein' just a little short wi' you at first." "I'm guyed at by the children." "There's many a one comes down this lane to knock me up." "What was it that Mr. Sherlock Holmes wanted, sir?" "He wanted a dog of yours." " That would be Toby." " Yes, Toby was the name." "Toby lives at No. 7 on the left here." "You have him there!" "Good dog, then!" "Lestrade has gone." "We have had an immense display of energy." "He has arrested not only friend Thaddeus but the gatekeeper, the housekeeper, and the Indian servant." "We have the place to ourselves but for a sergeant upstairs." "Lend me your bull's eye, Sergeant." "Dip my handkerchief into the creosote." "There, on the floor." "Carry my boots down with you, Watson." "I am going to do a little climbing." "These footsteps belong to a child." "Apart from their size, though." "Is there nothing else?" "They appear to be much as other footmarks." "Not at all." "Look here!" "What is the chief difference?" "Your toes are all cramped together." "The other print has each toe distinctly divided." "That is the point." "Bear that in mind." "Now, would you kindly step over to that flap-window" "and smell the edge of the woodwork?" "What is this smell?" " Tarry smell." " That's right." "If you can trace him, I should think that Toby will have no difficulty." "Now run downstairs, loose the dog, and look out for Blondin." "I will go to the roof." " That you, Watson?" " Yes." "This is the place." "What is that black thing down there?" " A water-barrel." " Top on it?" "Yes." "Watson, I'm going down." "Careful!" "No sign of a ladder?" "No." "It's a most breakneck place." "Don't fall down." "I was trying to follow him." "It was not easy." "I found this." "Do you know what it is, Watson?" "Hellish things." "What do we know?" "Two officers who are in command of a convict-guard learn an important secret." "A map is drawn for them by an Englishman named Jonathan Small." "Aided by this chart, the officers get the treasure and brings it to England, leaving, we will suppose, some condition." "But this is my theory." "Toby, Toby!" "Why did not Jonathan Small get the treasure himself?" "He did not get the treasure because he was a convict." "But this is mere speculation." "It is more than that." "It is the only hypothesis which covers the facts." "Major Sholto remains at peace for some years," "Then he receives a letter from India." "What was in that letter?" "A letter to say that the men whom he had wronged had been set free." "Or had escaped." "That is much more likely, for he would have known what their term of imprisonment was." "What does he do then?" "He guards himself against a wooden-legged man, because he is scared to death of him." "Mark you, for he mistakes a white tradesman for him and fires a pistol at him." "Now, only Hindoos or Mohammedans names on the chart." "And only one white man's name." "We may say with confidence that the wooden-legged man is Jonathan Small." "Does the reasoning strike you as being faulty?" "No, it is clear and concise." "Well, now, let us put ourselves in the place of Jonathan Small." "He comes to England with the double idea of regaining what he would consider to be his rights." "Small could not find the treasure, for no one ever knew save the major and one faithful servant who had died." "Suddenly Small learns that the major is on his deathbed" "He makes his way to the dying man's window, and is only deterred from entering by the presence of his two sons." "In a frenzy lest the secret of the treasure die with him, he enters the room that night, searches his private papers and finally leaves a memento of his visit." "Do you follow all this?" "Very clearly." "What the deuce is the matter with the dog?" "They surely would not take a cab or go off in a balloon." "Perhaps they stood here for some time." "It's all right." "He's off again." "Now what could Jonathan Small do?" "He could only continue to keep a secret watch upon the efforts." "Then comes the discovery of the garret, and he is instantly informed of it." "Some confederate in the household." "Jonathan, with his wooden leg, is utterly unable to reach the lofty room of Bartholomew Sholto." "He takes with him, however, a rather curious associate, who gets over this difficulty" "but dips his naked foot into creosote, whence come Toby, and a six-mile limp for a half-pay officer." "But it was the associate and not Jonathan who committed the crime." "Toby has lost his character for infallibility." "He found a barrel with creosote." "If you consider how much creosote is carted about London in one day." "Toby will improve." "We must get on the main scent again, I suppose." "We must take care that he does not bring us to the place where the barrel came from." "I had thought of that." "They have taken to a boat here." "Maybe." "Dear little chap!" " Is there anything you would like?" " A shilling'." "Nothing you would like better?" "Two shilling'." "Watson, give him two shillings." "You come back and be washed, Jack!" "A fine child, Mrs." "He gets a'most too much for me to manage, 'specially when my man is away days at a time." "Away, is he?" "I am sorry for that, for I wanted to speak to him." "He's been away since yesterday mornin'." "I am beginning' to feel frightened about him." "But if it was about a boat, sir, maybe I could serve as well." "I wanted to hire his steam launch." "It is in the steam launch that he has gone." "That's what puzzles me." "For I know there ain't more coals in her than would take her to about Woolwich and back." "I don't like that wooden-legged man." "What did he want always knocking' about here for?" "A wooden-legged man?" "Yes, sir, a brown, monkey-faced chap." "It was him that roused him up yesternight and, what's more, my man knew he was comin', for he had steam up in the launch." "How could you possibly tell that it was the wooden-legged man who came in the night?" "You are frightening yourself about nothing." "His voice, sir." "I knew his voice, which is kind o' thick and foggy." "He tapped at the winder about three it would be." "My old man woke up Jim, that's my eldest, and away they went without so much as a word to me." "And was this wooden-legged man alone?" "I didn't hear no one else." "I am sorry, Mrs. Smith, for I wanted a steam launch." "What is her name?" "Diana, sir." "Ah!" "She's not that old green launch with a yellow line, very broad in the beam?" "No, indeed." "She's as trim a little thing as any on the river." "She's been fresh painted, black with two red streaks." "I am going down the river, and if I should see anything of your man I shall let him know that you are uneasy." "A blue funnel, you say?" "No, sir." "Black." "Ah, of course." "Good-morning, Mrs. Smith." " Good morning, gentlemen." " Good morning, Mrs. Hudson." "I hope you have slept soundly." "Yes, excellent, thank you." "Breakfast will be in 15 minutes." "Watson!" "Watson!" "You look regularly done." "Lie down there on the sofa." "How is your leg?" "Will we find that steam launch?" "Yes, we will." "I wired to my dirty little lieutenant, Wiggins." "Do you remember his gang, which helped us to catch Jefferson Hope?" " Agra treasure on the steam launch?" " I am sure of it." "And can we take it?" "No doubt." "And Miss Morstan will be the richest heiress in England?" "I will try to get those diamonds for her." "It's awful." "Watson, you overdid." "If we find it, Miss Morstan will be lost for me for ever." "A half-pay surgeon is looking for a rich bride." "Do not be upset, my friend." "Only music can console you." "I can devote all my life to find that treasure." "End of part one" "00:29:06:2500:29:08:25 Owner Mordecai Smith." "THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON" "By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" "The Agra Treasure" "Part Two" "Sherlock Holmes VASILIY LIVANOV" "Dr. Watson VITALIY SOLOMIN" "Mrs. Hudson RINA ZELYONAYA" "Inspector Lestrade BORISLAV BRONDUKOV" "I am the King." "Why should I attempt to conceal it?" "Why, indeed?" "Your Majesty had not spoken before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein," "Grand Duke of Cassel Felstein, and hereditary King of Bohemia." "You can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in my own person." "Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power." "I have come incognito from Prague for the purpose of consulting you." "Then, pray consult." "Some five years ago, during a lengthy visit to Europe," "I made the acquaintance of the well known adventuress, Irene Adler." "The name is no doubt familiar to you." "Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor." "Please." "Your Majesty, as I understand, became entangled with this young person, and is now desirous of getting those letters back." "Precisely so." " Was there a secret marriage?" " None." "No legal papers or certificates?" " None." " Letter, maybe?" "How is she to prove their authenticity?" " There is the writing." " Forgery." " My private note-paper." " Stolen." " My own seal." " Imitated." "My photograph." "Bought." " I found it!" " Read it." "Irene Adler." "Born in New Jersey in the year 1858." "American." "Contralto!" "La Scala!" "Prima donna Imperial Opera of Warsaw." "Retired from operatic stage." "Living in London." "It's important." "The photograph could have been bought." "We were both in the photograph." "That is very bad!" "Your Majesty has indeed committed an indiscretion." "I was mad." "You have compromised yourself seriously." "Here it is." "She has the second copy." "I was only Crown Prince then." "I was young." "You were very handsome." "I am but thirty now." "It must be recovered." "We have tried and failed." "It must be bought." "She will not sell." "Stolen, then." "Five attempts have been made." "Twice burglars in my pay ransacked her house." "Once we diverted her luggage when she traveled." "Twice she has been waylaid." "There has been no result." "No sign of it?" "Absolutely none." "It is quite a pretty little problem." "And what does she propose to do with the photograph?" "To ruin me." "I am about to be married." "To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the King of Scandinavia." "You may know the strict principles of her family." "She is herself the very soul of delicacy." "A shadow of a doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end." "And Irene Adler?" "Threatens to send them the photograph." "You are sure that she has not sent it yet?" " I am sure." " And why?" "She will send it on the day when the betrothal was publicly proclaimed." "That will be next Monday." "You will find me at the Langham under the name of the Count Von Kramm." "Drop me a line to let me know how you progress." "Then, as to money?" " You have carte blanche." " Absolutely?" "I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom to have that photograph." "And for present expenses?" "Thank you, sir." "Who is he?" "A lawyer." "Who is at law here?" "Nobody." "This is Mr. Godfrey Norton." "He came to his woman." "She has turned his head down in that part." "A very sly one." "She is a tasty morsel in the world." "She is a singer." "We know such women." "She lives quietly, sings at concerts." "Drives out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for dinner." "Drive like the devil, first to Gross  Hankey's in Regent Street, and then to the Church of St. Monica in the Edgeware Road." "Half a guinea if you do it in twenty minutes!" "Yes, sir." "To the Church of St. Monica." "Half a guinea if you do it in twenty minutes!" "Stop!" "To the Church of St. Monica." "Half a sovereign if you do it in twenty minutes!" "Thank God." "You'll do." "What then?" "Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal." "Be our witness, I beg you." "I shall want your cooperation." "I shall be delighted." " You don't mind breaking the law?" " Not in the least." "Nor running a chance of arrest?" "Not in a good cause." "Oh, the cause is excellent!" "Excellent!" " Great, Watson." " I am your man." "I was sure that I might rely on you." "But what is it you wish?" " What time is it?" " It is nearly five now." "Nearly five now." "In two hours we must be on the scene of action." " At Briony Lodge?" " Exactly." "Miss Irene, or Mrs. Adler, rather" " returns from her drive at seven." " And what then?" " I will meet her." " Very good." "You must not interfere, come what may." "You understand?" "I am to be neutral?" "To do nothing whatever." "And the matter is..." "Four or five minutes afterwards the sitting-room window will open." "You are to station yourself close to that open window." "Yes." "Raise the cry of fire." "It will be taken up by people." "You may then walk to the end of the street, and I will rejoin you in ten minutes." "You may entirely rely on me." "Yes, Watson." "Women are naturally secretive, and they like to do their own secreting." "The photograph must be in her own house." "But it has twice been burgled." "You mean they didn't find anything?" " They did not know how to look." " But how will you look?" "I will not look." "I will get her to show me." " But she will refuse." " She will not be able to." "I hear the rumble of wheels." "Please, Madam." "Please." "Now carry out my orders to the letter." "Stop it, gentlemen." " Are you much hurt?" " He is dead" "Is he really?" " No, no, there's life in him!" " He is breathing." "He can't lie in the street." "May we bring him in, mam?" "Surely." "Bring him into the sitting room." "Carefully." "Show gentlemen the way." "Stairs, be careful." "Hold the door." "Fire!" " Fire!" " Where?" "You have the photograph?" "The photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the bell-pull." "And where is it now?" "As I said, it is there." "When a married woman thinks that her house is on fire, she grabs at her baby, an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box, and Irene Adler took the photograph." "I saw a half of it." "How was my fire?" "You did it very nicely, Doctor." "You are the best campaigner." "When I cried out that it was a false alarm, she replaced it, glanced at the rocket, and I have not seen her since." "Why didn't you take the photograph?" "I am in a very nice mood, Watson." "Let the king go to her to take that photograph." "Besides, the servant always watched me." "Good evening, mister Holmes." "Good evening." "A letter for you." "But..." "I've heard that voice before." ""My dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes," "You really did it very well." "You took me in completely." "I am an actress and I like amusements." "Your client may rest in peace." "I love and am loved by a better man than he." "I keep the photograph only to safeguard myself." "I send a photograph which he might care to possess." "Today we leave England for ever." "I am happy that you witnessed our marriage." "Thank you again for such a performance." "Very truly yours, Irene Norton, nee ADLER."" "Have you got it?" "And yes and no." "Here is it." "But it's not the photograph." " I know." " Irene Adler is married." "Married?" " When?" " Yesterday." "But to whom?" "To an English lawyer named Norton." " But she could not love him." " I am in hopes that she does." "And she does not lay claim to him." "What a woman!" "She would be a great queen!" "Is it not a pity that she was not on my level?" "From what I have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a very different level." "Nothing could be more successful." "I know that her word is inviolate." "The photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire." "In what way I can reward you?" "Your Majesty has something which I should value even more highly." "You have but to name it." "This photograph!" "Irene's photograph!" "Certainly, if you wish it." "To Mr. Sherlock Holmes esquire." "The victory and the defeat, my friend." "What a woman!" "What happened?" "The Baker Street irregulars have come." "Dreaming is over." "Please, gentlemen." "Got your message, sir and brought 'em on sharp." "One, two, three, four, five, six." "Three bob and a tanner for tickets." "Hear the instructions." "I want to find a steam launch called Diana." "It is lost in the river." "White with two red streaks." "Funnel black." "I want one boy to be at Mordecai Smith's landing-stage opposite Millbank to say if the boat comes back." " Is that all clear?" " Yes, guv'nor." "The old scale of pay." "A guinea to the boy who finds the boat." "If the launch is above water they will find her." "They can go every-where, see everything, overhear everyone." "If ever man had an easy task, this of ours ought to be." "Wooden-legged men are not so common, but the other man must be absolutely unique." "That other man again!" "Now, do consider the data." "Like what?" "Everything we know." " Diminutive footmarks." " Toes never fettered by boots." "Great agility." "Small poisoned darts." "What do you make of all this?" " A savage!" " That is right, Watson." "The Andaman Islands." "Situated 340 miles to the north of Sumatra, in the Bay of Bengal." "Moist climate, coral reefs, sharks." "Convict barracks." "The aborigines of the Andaman Islands may is the smallest race on the earth." "The average height is rather below four feet." "They are a fierce, morose, and intractable people, though capable of forming most devoted friendships." "Mind you, most devoted friendships." "We have to wait for the news from Wiggins." "You can do what you will, but I must remain on guard." "Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs. Cecil Forrester." "Mrs. Cecil Forrester?" "Women are never to be entirely trusted - not the best of them." "If you are crossing the river you may as well return Toby, for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now." "I will be back in two hours." "Toby!" "An argument to the previous chapters." "Toby, as a participator will correct me if I am wrong." "I will start my story neither from your visit to Baker Street, dear Miss Morstan, nor from our trip to Thaddeus Sholto, where he told us about your father's and his father's deaths." "I guess, you told Mrs. Forrester about our trip to his brother Bartholomew Sholto." "Trust me, he died of a horrible death." "After that I took you home." "On the way home I met this nice gentleman." "Now I am talking about you, Toby." "When Toby and I came to the crime scene, we found a new character:" "Scotland Yard inspector Lestrade, who arrested everyone in the house except Sherlock Holmes, and Thaddeus Sholto was brought to trial on a charge of murder of his brother." "What?" "Thaddeus Sholto was arrested?" "Yes." "But we know who are the real criminals." "Do we, Toby?" "There are two of them and they have fabulous feet." "One has a wooden stump, the other one has bare feet with a tarlike odor." "Three of us started chasing them." "It was Sherlock Holmes, your humble servant and this dog, who, by the way, brought us to a large timber-yard." "Yes, yes Toby." "So, Toby brought us to the Thames." "We know that criminals left on the steam launch Diana, which we will find soon." "We know that one of them is Jonathan Small, the other one is a savage from the Andaman Islands." "It is a romance!" "An injured lady, half a million in treasure, a black cannibal, and a wooden-legged ruffian." "And two knight-errants to the rescue." "Who can make the lady rich." "It is for Mr. Thaddeus Sholto that I am anxious." "Nothing else is of any consequence." "He has behaved most kindly and honorably throughout." "It is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and unfounded charge." "Holmes!" " Mr. Sherlock Holmes has gone out?" " No, sir." "He has gone to his room." "I am afraid for his health." "Why so, Mrs. Hudson?" "After you was gone he walked and he walked, up and down, and up and down." "Then I heard him talking to himself and muttering and every time the bell rang out he came on the stairhead, with 'What is that, Mrs. Hudson?" "'" "What is that, Mrs. Hudson?" "Not what but who." "This is Doctor Watson, my second lodger." "And I am going to buy some cooling medicine for you, Mr. Holmes." "I am off down the river, Watson." "I have been turning it over in my mind, and I think it is worth trying." "Surely I can come with you, then?" "No, you can be much more useful, if you will remain here as my representative." "Act on your own judgment if any news should come." " Can I rely upon you?" " Most certainly." "Men sometimes speak funnily." "When Dr. Watson was tellin me about his adventures in the east, he told me how a musket looked into his tent at the dead of night, and how he fired a double-barreled tiger cub at it." "Why did he say something like that, Mrs. Forrester?" "My dear girl, you live with me for such a long time that I can tell you that Dr. Watson is madly " "Miss Morstan." "I am not guilty." "Mr. Sholto, have you been set free?" "I am completely innocent, Miss Morstan." "Here is the "Standard", read it." " I believe you." " No, read it." "I don't know who your friends are, Miss Morstan, but I am grateful to one of them, Mr. Holmes." "He promised to release me and he did." "I am here to thank you." "Mr. Lestrade from Scotland Yard" "Please, do not read about Scotland Yard." "I hate detectives." "But Sherlock Holmes is a detective too." "Is Dr. Watson a de... detective?" "No, but it is he whom you should thank." " Good morning." " Good morning." " Mr. Sherlock Holmes is out." " Yes." "I would wait." "Come in." " Would you like cigars?" " No." "Don't smoke in the morning." "To drink something?" "A whisky, half a glass." "Half a glass?" "Yes, a little." "You know my theory about this Norwood case?" "I remember that you expressed one." "Well, I have been obliged to reconsider it." "I had my net drawn tightly round Mr. Sholto, when pop he went through a hole in the middle of it." "And he left." "He was able to prove an alibi which could not be shaken." "He was never out of sight of someone" "or other." "So it could not be he who climbed over roofs and through trapdoors." "It's a very dark case." "Very dark case." "Doctor Watson," "my professional credit is at stake." "I should be very glad of a little assistance." "We all need help sometimes." "Your friend Mr. Holmes is irregular in his methods, he makes mistakes sometimes, but, on the whole, I think he would have made a most promising officer." "I have had a wire from him this morning by which I understand that he has got some clue to this Sholto business." "Here is his message." "From Poplar at twelve o'clock." "Go to Baker Street at once." "If I have not returned, wait for me." "I am close on the track of the Sholto gang." "You can come with us tonight if you want to be in at the finish." "This sounds well." "He has evidently picked up the scent again." "What is it, my man?" "Is Mr. Sherlock Holmes here?" "No, but I am acting for him." "You can tell me any message you have for him." "It was to him himself I was to tell it." "Was it about Mordecai Smith's boat?" "Yes." "I knows well where it is." "I knows where the men he is after are." "I knows where the treasure is." "Then tell us." "It was to him I was to tell it." "Then you can leave us with your secrets!" "I will." "I don't care about the look of either of you, and I won't tell a word." " You cannot scare us." " Sit down, man." "You have important information, and you must not walk off." "Watson, come on." "What?" "What methods you have in Scotland Yard." "You rogue!" "What an actor!" "Those weak legs of yours are worth ten pound a week." "I thought I knew the glint of your eye, though." "You didn't get away from us so easily, you see." " You got my wire?" " Yes, of course?" "That was what brought me here." "How has your case prospered?" "Nothing." "I released two of my prisoners and no evidence against the other two." "Never mind." "We shall give you two others in the place of them." " I agree." " Great." "Then, in the first place I shall want, a fast police-boat - a steam launch - to be at the Westminster Stairs at seven o'clock." "That is easily managed." " There is more." " Yes." "Then I shall want two staunch men in case of resistance." "There will be two or three in the boat." "Great." "When we secure the men we shall get the treasure." "It would be a pleasure to my friend here to take the box round to the young lady." "To open it." "It would be a great pleasure to me." "Rather an irregular proceeding, Mister Holmes." "Half of it rightfully belongs to her," "However, the whole thing is irregular, and I suppose we must wink at it." "Perfectly." "Is there anything else?" "Only that I insist upon your dining with us." "I have oysters and a brace of grouse, with something a little choice in white wines." "You are not only a theorist." "Is there anything to mark it as a police-boat?" "Yes, that green lamp at the side." "Then take it off." "Take the lamp off!" "Cast off!" "Full speed ahead!" "We ought to be able to catch anything on the river." "There are not many launches to beat us." "I would have a body of police in Jacobson's Yard and arrested them when they came down." "This man Small is a pretty shrewd fellow." "He would send a scout on ahead." "If anything made him suspicious he would lie snug for another week." "But you might have stuck to Smith, and so been led to their hiding-place." "In that case I should have wasted my day." "I think that Smith doesn't know where they live." "As long as he has liquor and good pay, why should he ask questions?" "I think you are right." "Stop!" "That is Jacobson's Yard." "Suppose we go downstream a short way and lie in wait for them." "We have no right to take anything for granted." "It is certainly ten to one that they go downstream, but we cannot be certain." "From this point we can see the entrance of the yard, and they can hardly see us." "I can see my man." "But I don't see a handkerchief." "There is a handkerchief, Holmes, it is your boy." "Full speed ahead!" "Cast off!" "Full speed!" "Full speed!" " I doubt if we shall catch her." " Heap it on, stokers!" "We cannot catch them!" " I think we gain a little." " I am sure of it." "We shall be up with her in a very few minutes." "In the Queen's name stop it!" "You need the treasure?" "Get it!" "Fire if he raises his hand." "Got him!" "Devil!" "Thank God!" "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols." "Well, Jonathan Small, I am sorry that it has come to this." "And so am I, sir." "I give you my word on the book that I never raised hand against Mr. Sholto." "It was that little hell-hound Tonga, who shot one of his cursed darts into him." "I had no part in it, sir." "You had best take a pull out of my flask, for you are very wet." "Quite a family party." "I think we may all congratulate each other." "How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. Sholto and hold him while you were climbing the rope?" "You seem to know as much about it as if you were there, sir." "If it had been the old major I would have swung for him with a light heart." "I would have thought no more of knifing him than of smoking this cigar." "But it's cursed hard that I should be lagged over this young" "Sholto, with whom I had no quarrel whatever." "I think I can prove that the man was dead before ever you reached the room." "I will prove it." "That he was, sir." "Though how you kept on it is more than I can tell." "I don't feel no malice against you for it." "But it does seem a queer thing." "I, who have a fair claim to half a million of money, should spend the first half of my life building a breakwater in the Andamans, and am like to spend the other half digging drains at Dartmoor." "It was an evil day for me when first I clapped eyes upon the merchant Achmet and had to do with the Agra treasure, which never brought anything but a curse." "To him it brought murder, to Major Sholto it brought fear and guilt, to me it has meant slavery for life." "We will be at Vauxhall Bridge presently and shall land you, Dr. Watson, with the treasure-box." "I need hardly tell you that I am taking a responsibility upon myself in doing this, but of course an agreement is an agreement." "I must, however, as a matter of duty, send an inspector with you, since you have so valuable a charge." "You will drive, no doubt?" "Yes." "It is a pity there is no key, that we may make an inventory first." "Where is the key, my man?" "At the bottom of the river." "What happened?" "What news have you brought me?" "I have brought something better than news." "I have brought you something which is worth all the news in the world." "I have brought you a fortune." "Is that the treasure then?" "Yes." "This is the great Agra treasure." "Half of it is yours and half is Thaddeus Sholto's." "You will have a couple of hundred thousand each." "An annuity of ten thousand pounds." "There will be few richer young ladies in England." "Is it not glorious?" "If I have it, I owe it to you." "No, no, not to me but to my friend Sherlock Holmes." "With all the will in the world, I could never have followed up-a clue which has taxed even his analytical genius." "As it was, we very nearly lost it at the last moment." "It is a shock to me to know that I had placed my friends in such horrible peril." "That is all over." "It was nothing." "I got leave to bring it with me." "It would interest you to be the first to see it." "What a pretty box!" "This is Indian work, I suppose?" "Yes, it is Benares metal-work." "And so heavy!" " Where is the key?" " Small threw it into the Thames." "I must borrow Mrs. Forrester's poker." "The treasure is lost." "Thank God!" "Why do you say that?" "Because I love you, Mary, as truly as ever a man loved a woman." "But this treasure, these riches, sealed my lips." "Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you." "That is why I said, 'Thank God.'" "Then I say 'Thank God, ' too." "The Doctor is being brought." "What is going on, Doctor Watson?" "I am arrested." "This gentleman stole the treasure." "Here is the box, but it is empty." "It became empty when the gentleman was in the house." "I was at the porch." "You disappointed me!" "And you, dear theoretic!" "It is a lie." "Where is the treasure then?" "Where?" " This is your doing, Small?" " Yes." "I have put it away where you shall never lay hand upon it." "No living man has any right to it, unless it is three men who are in the Andaman convict-barracks and myself." "I have acted all through for them as much as for myself." "It's been the sign of four with us always." "They would throw the treasure into the Thames rather than let it go to kith or kin of Sholto or Morstan." "You'll find the treasure where the key is and where little Tonga is." "When I saw that your launch must catch us, I put the loot away in a safe place." "You are deceiving us, Small?" "If you had wished to throw the treasure it would have been easier for you to have thrown box and all." "Holmes?" "Easier for me to throw and easier for you to recover." "The man that was clever enough to hunt me down could pick an iron box from the river." "Now that they are scattered over five miles or so, it may be a harder job." "This is a very serious matter, Small." "If you had helped justice, instead of thwarting it in this way, you would have had a better chance at your trial." "Yes, yes." "Justice?" "Where is the justice that I should give it up to those who have never earned it?" "Twenty long years in that fever-ridden swamp, all day at work under the mangrove-tree, all night chained up in the filthy convict-huts." "That was how I earned the Agra treasure." "I would rather swing a score of times, than live in a convict's cell and feel that another man is in a palace with the money that should be mine." "I think we should send him to a safe place, Mr. Holmes." "There is a four-wheeler and two policemen outside." "I am very grateful to you and your friend for your help." "And your presence in court is obligatory." "Get up." "Quick!" "Good luck, gentlemen." "You first, Small, I'll take particular care that you don't club me with your wooden leg." "Quickly!" "Quickly!" "What about me?" "Ah, yes, I'm sorry." "Your hands." "Down." "A real savage!" "The Times was very wrong when they said that he is the best detective." "Miss Morstan has done me the honor to accept me as a husband in prospective." "I feared as much." "Have you any reason to be dissatisfied with my choice?" "Not at all." "I think she is one of the most charming young ladies." "But love is an emotional thing, which is opposed to cold reason." "It is obvious, my friend." "I should never marry myself, lest I bias my judgment." "I trust that my judgment may survive the ordeal." "No, my dear friend, I'm afraid that it was the last time, when you studied my deductive theory." "I will come back!" "The division seems rather unfair." "You have done all the work in this business." "Doctor Watson gets a wife out of it." "Lestrade gets the credit." "Pray what remains for you?"