Adventure III. The Stock-Broker's Clerk
Shortly after my marriage I had bought a connection in the Paddingtondistrict. Old Mr. Farquhar, from whom I purchased it, had at one time anexcellent general practice; but his age, and an affliction of the natureof St. Vitus's dance from which he suffered, had very much thinned it.The public not unnaturally goes on the principle that he who would healothers must himself be whole, and looks askance at the curative powersof the man whose own case is beyond the reach of his drugs. Thus as mypredecessor weakened his practice declined, until when I purchasedit from him it had sunk from twelve hundred to little more than threehundred a year. I had confidence, however, in my own youth and energy,and was convinced that in a very few years the concern would be asflourishing as ever.
For three months after taking over the practice I was kept very closelyat work, and saw little of my friend Sherlock Holmes, for I was too busyto visit Baker Street, and he seldom went anywhere himself save uponprofessional business. I was surprised, therefore, when, one morning inJune, as I sat reading the British Medical Journal after breakfast, Iheard a ring at the bell, followed by the high, somewhat strident tonesof my old companion's voice.
"Ah, my dear Watson," said he, striding into the room, "I am verydelighted to see you! I trust that Mrs. Watson has entirely recoveredfrom all the little excitements connected with our adventure of the Signof Four."
"Thank you, we are both very well," said I, shaking him warmly by thehand.
"And I hope, also," he continued, sitting down in the rocking-chair,"that the cares of medical practice have not entirely obliterated theinterest which you used to take in our little deductive problems."
"On the contrary," I answered, "it was only last night that I waslooking over my old notes, and classifying some of our past results."
"I trust that you don't consider your collection closed."
"Not at all. I should wish nothing better than to have some more of suchexperiences."
"To-day, for example?"
"Yes, to-day, if you like."
"And as far off as Birmingham?"
"Certainly, if you wish it."
"And the practice?"
"I do my neighbor's when he goes. He is always ready to work off thedebt."
"Ha! Nothing could be better," said Holmes, leaning back in his chairand looking keenly at me from under his half closed lids. "I perceivethat you have been unwell lately. Summer colds are always a littletrying."
"I was confined to the house by a severe chill for three days last week.I thought, however, that I had cast off every trace of it."
"So you have. You look remarkably robust."
"How, then, did you know of it?"
"My dear fellow, you know my methods."
"You deduced it, then?"
"Certainly."
"And from what?"
"From your slippers."
I glanced down at the new patent leathers which I was wearing. "How onearth--" I began, but Holmes answered my question before it was asked.
"Your slippers are new," he said. "You could not have had them more thana few weeks. The soles which you are at this moment presenting to me areslightly scorched. For a moment I thought they might have got wet andbeen burned in the drying. But near the instep there is a small circularwafer of paper with the shopman's hieroglyphics upon it. Damp would ofcourse have removed this. You had, then, been sitting with your feetoutstretched to the fire, which a man would hardly do even in so wet aJune as this if he were in his full health."
Like all Holmes's reasoning the thing seemed simplicity itself when itwas once explained. He read the thought upon my features, and his smilehad a tinge of bitterness.
"I am afraid that I rather give myself away when I explain," said he."Results without causes are much more impressive. You are ready to cometo Birmingham, then?"
"Certainly. What is the case?"
"You shall hear it all in the train. My client is outside in afour-wheeler. Can you come at once?"
"In an instant." I scribbled a note to my neighbor, rushed upstairs toexplain the matter to my wife, and joined Holmes upon the door-step.
"Your neighbor is a doctor," said he, nodding at the brass plate.
"Yes; he bought a practice as I did."
"An old-established one?"
"Just the same as mine. Both have been ever since the houses werebuilt."
"Ah! Then you got hold of the best of the two."
"I think I did. But how do you know?"
"By the steps, my boy. Yours are worn three inches deeper than his. Butthis gentleman in the cab is my client, Mr. Hall Pycroft. Allow me tointroduce you to him. Whip your horse up, cabby, for we have only justtime to catch our train."
The man whom I found myself facing was a well built, fresh-complexionedyoung fellow, with a frank, honest face and a slight, crisp, yellowmustache. He wore a very shiny top hat and a neat suit of sober black,which made him look what he was--a smart young City man, of the classwho have been labeled cockneys, but who give us our crack volunteerregiments, and who turn out more fine athletes and sportsmen than anybody of men in these islands. His round, ruddy face was naturally fullof cheeriness, but the corners of his mouth seemed to me to be pulleddown in a half-comical distress. It was not, however, until we wereall in a first-class carriage and well started upon our journey toBirmingham that I was able to learn what the trouble was which haddriven him to Sherlock Holmes.
"We have a clear run here of seventy minutes," Holmes remarked. "Iwant you, Mr. Hall Pycroft, to tell my friend your very interestingexperience exactly as you have told it to me, or with more detail ifpossible. It will be of use to me to hear the succession of eventsagain. It is a case, Watson, which may prove to have something in it, ormay prove to have nothing, but which, at least, presents those unusualand outre features which are as dear to you as they are to me. Now, Mr.Pycroft, I shall not interrupt you again."
Our young companion looked at me with a twinkle in his eye.
"The worst of the story is," said he, "that I show myself up as such aconfounded fool. Of course it may work out all right, and I don't seethat I could have done otherwise; but if I have lost my crib and getnothing in exchange I shall feel what a soft Johnnie I have been. I'mnot very good at telling a story, Dr. Watson, but it is like this withme:
"I used to have a billet at Coxon & Woodhouse's, of Draper's Gardens,but they were let in early in the spring through the Venezuelan loan,as no doubt you remember, and came a nasty cropper. I had been with themfive years, and old Coxon gave me a ripping good testimonial whenthe smash came, but of course we clerks were all turned adrift, thetwenty-seven of us. I tried here and tried there, but there were lots ofother chaps on the same lay as myself, and it was a perfect frost for along time. I had been taking three pounds a week at Coxon's, and I hadsaved about seventy of them, but I soon worked my way through that andout at the other end. I was fairly at the end of my tether at last,and could hardly find the stamps to answer the advertisements or theenvelopes to stick them to. I had worn out my boots paddling up officestairs, and I seemed just as far from getting a billet as ever.
"At last I saw a vacancy at Mawson & Williams's, the great stock-brokingfirm in Lombard Street. I dare say E. C. is not much in your line, butI can tell you that this is about the richest house in London.The advertisement was to be answered by letter only. I sent in mytestimonial and application, but without the least hope of getting it.Back came an answer by return, saying that if I would appear next MondayI might take over my new duties at once, provided that my appearance wassatisfactory. No one knows how these things are worked. Some people saythat the manager just plunges his hand into the heap and takes the firstthat comes. Anyhow it was my innings that time, and I don't ever wish tofeel better pleased. The screw was a pound a week rise, and the dutiesjust about the same as at Coxon's.
"And now I come to the queer part of the business. I was in diggings outHampstead way, 17 Potter's Terrace. Well, I was sitting doing a
smokethat very evening after I had been promised the appointment, when upcame my landlady with a card which had 'Arthur Pinner, Financial Agent,'printed upon it. I had never heard the name before and could not imaginewhat he wanted with me; but, of course, I asked her to show him up. Inhe walked, a middle-sized, dark-haired, dark-eyed, black-bearded man,with a touch of the Sheeny about his nose. He had a brisk kind of waywith him and spoke sharply, like a man who knew the value of time."
"'Mr. Hall Pycroft, I believe?'" said he.
"'Yes, sir,' I answered, pushing a chair towards him.
"'Lately engaged at Coxon & Woodhouse's?'
"'Yes, sir.'
"'And now on the staff of Mawson's.'
"'Quite so.'
"'Well,' said he, 'the fact is that I have heard some reallyextraordinary stories about your financial ability. You remember Parker,who used to be Coxon's manager? He can never say enough about it.'
"Of course I was pleased to hear this. I had always been pretty sharp inthe office, but I had never dreamed that I was talked about in the Cityin this fashion.
"'You have a good memory?' said he.
"'Pretty fair,' I answered, modestly.
"'Have you kept in touch with the market while you have been out ofwork?' he asked.
"'Yes. I read the stock exchange list every morning.'
"'Now that shows real application!' he cried. 'That is the way toprosper! You won't mind my testing you, will you? Let me see. How areAyrshires?'
"'A hundred and six and a quarter to a hundred and five andseven-eighths.'
"'And New Zealand consolidated?'
"'A hundred and four.
"'And British Broken Hills?'
"'Seven to seven-and-six.'
"'Wonderful!' he cried, with his hands up. 'This quite fits in with allthat I had heard. My boy, my boy, you are very much too good to be aclerk at Mawson's!'
"This outburst rather astonished me, as you can think. 'Well,' said I,'other people don't think quite so much of me as you seem to do, Mr.Pinner. I had a hard enough fight to get this berth, and I am very gladto have it.'
"'Pooh, man; you should soar above it. You are not in your true sphere.Now, I'll tell you how it stands with me. What I have to offer is littleenough when measured by your ability, but when compared with Mawson's,it's light to dark. Let me see. When do you go to Mawson's?'
"'On Monday.'
"'Ha, ha! I think I would risk a little sporting flutter that you don'tgo there at all.'
"'Not go to Mawson's?'
"'No, sir. By that day you will be the business manager of theFranco-Midland Hardware Company, Limited, with a hundred and thirty-fourbranches in the towns and villages of France, not counting one inBrussels and one in San Remo.'
"This took my breath away. 'I never heard of it,' said I.
"'Very likely not. It has been kept very quiet, for the capital was allprivately subscribed, and it's too good a thing to let the publicinto. My brother, Harry Pinner, is promoter, and joins the board afterallotment as managing director. He knew I was in the swim down here, andasked me to pick up a good man cheap. A young, pushing man with plentyof snap about him. Parker spoke of you, and that brought me hereto-night. We can only offer you a beggarly five hundred to start with.'
"'Five hundred a year!' I shouted.
"'Only that at the beginning; but you are to have an overridingcommission of one per cent on all business done by your agents, and youmay take my word for it that this will come to more than your salary.'
"'But I know nothing about hardware.'
"'Tut, my boy; you know about figures.'
"My head buzzed, and I could hardly sit still in my chair. But suddenlya little chill of doubt came upon me.
"'I must be frank with you,' said I. 'Mawson only gives me two hundred,but Mawson is safe. Now, really, I know so little about your companythat--'
"'Ah, smart, smart!' he cried, in a kind of ecstasy of delight. 'Youare the very man for us. You are not to be talked over, and quite right,too. Now, here's a note for a hundred pounds, and if you think that wecan do business you may just slip it into your pocket as an advance uponyour salary.'
"'That is very handsome,' said I. 'When should I take over my newduties?'
"'Be in Birmingham to-morrow at one,' said he. 'I have a note in mypocket here which you will take to my brother. You will find him at126b Corporation Street, where the temporary offices of the companyare situated. Of course he must confirm your engagement, but betweenourselves it will be all right.'
"'Really, I hardly know how to express my gratitude, Mr. Pinner,' saidI.
"'Not at all, my boy. You have only got your deserts. There are one ortwo small things--mere formalities--which I must arrange with you.You have a bit of paper beside you there. Kindly write upon it "I amperfectly willing to act as business manager to the Franco-MidlandHardware Company, Limited, at a minimum salary of L500."'
"I did as he asked, and he put the paper in his pocket.
"'There is one other detail,' said he. 'What do you intend to do aboutMawson's?'
"I had forgotten all about Mawson's in my joy. 'I'll write and resign,'said I.
"'Precisely what I don't want you to do. I had a row over you withMawson's manager. I had gone up to ask him about you, and he was veryoffensive; accused me of coaxing you away from the service of the firm,and that sort of thing. At last I fairly lost my temper. "If you wantgood men you should pay them a good price," said I.'
"'He would rather have our small price than your big one,' said he.
"'I'll lay you a fiver,' said I, 'that when he has my offer you'll neverso much as hear from him again.'
"'Done!' said he. 'We picked him out of the gutter, and he won't leaveus so easily.' Those were his very words."
"'The impudent scoundrel!' I cried. 'I've never so much as seen him inmy life. Why should I consider him in any way? I shall certainly notwrite if you would rather I didn't.'
"'Good! That's a promise,' said he, rising from his chair. 'Well, I'mdelighted to have got so good a man for my brother. Here's your advanceof a hundred pounds, and here is the letter. Make a note of the address,126b Corporation Street, and remember that one o'clock to-morrow isyour appointment. Good-night; and may you have all the fortune that youdeserve!'
"That's just about all that passed between us, as near as I canremember. You can imagine, Dr. Watson, how pleased I was at such anextraordinary bit of good fortune. I sat up half the night huggingmyself over it, and next day I was off to Birmingham in a train thatwould take me in plenty time for my appointment. I took my things toa hotel in New Street, and then I made my way to the address which hadbeen given me.
"It was a quarter of an hour before my time, but I thought that wouldmake no difference. 126b was a passage between two large shops, whichled to a winding stone stair, from which there were many flats, let asoffices to companies or professional men. The names of the occupantswere painted at the bottom on the wall, but there was no such name asthe Franco-Midland Hardware Company, Limited. I stood for a few minuteswith my heart in my boots, wondering whether the whole thing was anelaborate hoax or not, when up came a man and addressed me. He was verylike the chap I had seen the night before, the same figure and voice,but he was clean shaven and his hair was lighter.
"'Are you Mr. Hall Pycroft?' he asked.
"'Yes,' said I.
"'Oh! I was expecting you, but you are a trifle before your time. I hada note from my brother this morning in which he sang your praises veryloudly.'
"'I was just looking for the offices when you came.
"'We have not got our name up yet, for we only secured these temporarypremises last week. Come up with me, and we will talk the matter over.'
"I followed him to the top of a very lofty stair, and there, right underthe slates, were a couple of empty, dusty little rooms, uncarpeted anduncurtained, into which he led me. I had thought of a great office withshining tables and rows of clerks, such as I was used to, and I dare sayI stared rather st
raight at the two deal chairs and one little table,which, with a ledger and a waste paper basket, made up the wholefurniture.
"'Don't be disheartened, Mr. Pycroft,' said my new acquaintance, seeingthe length of my face. 'Rome was not built in a day, and we have lots ofmoney at our backs, though we don't cut much dash yet in offices. Praysit down, and let me have your letter.'
"I gave it to him, and he read it over very carefully.
"'You seem to have made a vast impression upon my brother Arthur,' saidhe; 'and I know that he is a pretty shrewd judge. He swears by London,you know; and I by Birmingham; but this time I shall follow his advice.Pray consider yourself definitely engaged."
"'What are my duties?' I asked.
"'You will eventually manage the great depot in Paris, which will poura flood of English crockery into the shops of a hundred and thirty-fouragents in France. The purchase will be completed in a week, andmeanwhile you will remain in Birmingham and make yourself useful.'
"'How?'
"For answer, he took a big red book out of a drawer.
"'This is a directory of Paris,' said he, 'with the trades after thenames of the people. I want you to take it home with you, and to markoff all the hardware sellers, with their addresses. It would be of thegreatest use to me to have them.'
"'Surely there are classified lists?' I suggested.
"'Not reliable ones. Their system is different from ours. Stick at it,and let me have the lists by Monday, at twelve. Good-day, Mr. Pycroft.If you continue to show zeal and intelligence you will find the companya good master.'
"I went back to the hotel with the big book under my arm, and with veryconflicting feelings in my breast. On the one hand, I was definitelyengaged and had a hundred pounds in my pocket; on the other, the lookof the offices, the absence of name on the wall, and other of the pointswhich would strike a business man had left a bad impression as to theposition of my employers. However, come what might, I had my money, so Isettled down to my task. All Sunday I was kept hard at work, and yet byMonday I had only got as far as H. I went round to my employer, foundhim in the same dismantled kind of room, and was told to keep atit until Wednesday, and then come again. On Wednesday it was stillunfinished, so I hammered away until Friday--that is, yesterday. Then Ibrought it round to Mr. Harry Pinner.
"'Thank you very much,' said he; 'I fear that I underrated thedifficulty of the task. This list will be of very material assistance tome.'
"'It took some time,' said I.
"'And now,' said he, 'I want you to make a list of the furniture shops,for they all sell crockery.'
"'Very good.'
"'And you can come up to-morrow evening, at seven, and let me know howyou are getting on. Don't overwork yourself. A couple of hours at Day'sMusic Hall in the evening would do you no harm after your labors.' Helaughed as he spoke, and I saw with a thrill that his second tooth uponthe left-hand side had been very badly stuffed with gold."
Sherlock Holmes rubbed his hands with delight, and I stared withastonishment at our client.
"You may well look surprised, Dr. Watson; but it is this way," said he:"When I was speaking to the other chap in London, at the time that helaughed at my not going to Mawson's, I happened to notice that his toothwas stuffed in this very identical fashion. The glint of the gold ineach case caught my eye, you see. When I put that with the voice andfigure being the same, and only those things altered which might bechanged by a razor or a wig, I could not doubt that it was the same man.Of course you expect two brothers to be alike, but not that they shouldhave the same tooth stuffed in the same way. He bowed me out, and Ifound myself in the street, hardly knowing whether I was on my head ormy heels. Back I went to my hotel, put my head in a basin of cold water,and tried to think it out. Why had he sent me from London to Birmingham?Why had he got there before me? And why had he written a letter fromhimself to himself? It was altogether too much for me, and I could makeno sense of it. And then suddenly it struck me that what was dark to memight be very light to Mr. Sherlock Holmes. I had just time to get up totown by the night train to see him this morning, and to bring you bothback with me to Birmingham."
There was a pause after the stock-broker's clerk had concluded hissurprising experience. Then Sherlock Holmes cocked his eye at me,leaning back on the cushions with a pleased and yet critical face, likea connoisseur who has just taken his first sip of a comet vintage.
"Rather fine, Watson, is it not?" said he. "There are points in it whichplease me. I think that you will agree with me that an interview withMr. Arthur Harry Pinner in the temporary offices of the Franco-MidlandHardware Company, Limited, would be a rather interesting experience forboth of us."
"But how can we do it?" I asked.
"Oh, easily enough," said Hall Pycroft, cheerily. "You are two friendsof mine who are in want of a billet, and what could be more natural thanthat I should bring you both round to the managing director?"
"Quite so, of course," said Holmes. "I should like to have a look atthe gentleman, and see if I can make anything of his little game.What qualities have you, my friend, which would make your servicesso valuable? or is it possible that--" He began biting his nails andstaring blankly out of the window, and we hardly drew another word fromhim until we were in New Street.
At seven o'clock that evening we were walking, the three of us, downCorporation Street to the company's offices.
"It is no use our being at all before our time," said our client. "Heonly comes there to see me, apparently, for the place is deserted up tothe very hour he names."
"That is suggestive," remarked Holmes.
"By Jove, I told you so!" cried the clerk. "That's he walking ahead ofus there."
He pointed to a smallish, dark, well-dressed man who was bustling alongthe other side of the road. As we watched him he looked across at a boywho was bawling out the latest edition of the evening paper, and runningover among the cabs and busses, he bought one from him. Then, clutchingit in his hand, he vanished through a door-way.
"There he goes!" cried Hall Pycroft. "These are the company's officesinto which he has gone. Come with me, and I'll fix it up as easily aspossible."
Following his lead, we ascended five stories, until we found ourselvesoutside a half-opened door, at which our client tapped. A voice withinbade us enter, and we entered a bare, unfurnished room such as HallPycroft had described. At the single table sat the man whom we had seenin the street, with his evening paper spread out in front of him, and ashe looked up at us it seemed to me that I had never looked upon a facewhich bore such marks of grief, and of something beyond grief--of ahorror such as comes to few men in a lifetime. His brow glistened withperspiration, his cheeks were of the dull, dead white of a fish's belly,and his eyes were wild and staring. He looked at his clerk as though hefailed to recognize him, and I could see by the astonishment depictedupon our conductor's face that this was by no means the usual appearanceof his employer.
"You look ill, Mr. Pinner!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, I am not very well," answered the other, making obvious effortsto pull himself together, and licking his dry lips before he spoke. "Whoare these gentlemen whom you have brought with you?"
"One is Mr. Harris, of Bermondsey, and the other is Mr. Price, of thistown," said our clerk, glibly. "They are friends of mine and gentlemenof experience, but they have been out of a place for some little time,and they hoped that perhaps you might find an opening for them in thecompany's employment."
"Very possibly! Very possibly!" cried Mr. Pinner with a ghastly smile."Yes, I have no doubt that we shall be able to do something for you.What is your particular line, Mr. Harris?"
"I am an accountant," said Holmes.
"Ah yes, we shall want something of the sort. And you, Mr. Price?"
"A clerk," said I.
"I have every hope that the company may accommodate you. I will let youknow about it as soon as we come to any conclusion. And now I beg thatyou will go. For God's sake leave me to myself!"
These last
words were shot out of him, as though the constraint whichhe was evidently setting upon himself had suddenly and utterly burstasunder. Holmes and I glanced at each other, and Hall Pycroft took astep towards the table.
"You forget, Mr. Pinner, that I am here by appointment to receive somedirections from you," said he.
"Certainly, Mr. Pycroft, certainly," the other resumed in a calmer tone."You may wait here a moment; and there is no reason why your friendsshould not wait with you. I will be entirely at your service in threeminutes, if I might trespass upon your patience so far." He rose with avery courteous air, and, bowing to us, he passed out through a door atthe farther end of the room, which he closed behind him.
"What now?" whispered Holmes. "Is he giving us the slip?"
"Impossible," answered Pycroft.
"Why so?"
"That door leads into an inner room."
"There is no exit?"
"None."
"Is it furnished?"
"It was empty yesterday."
"Then what on earth can he be doing? There is something which I don'tunderstand in this manner. If ever a man was three parts mad withterror, that man's name is Pinner. What can have put the shivers onhim?"
"He suspects that we are detectives," I suggested.
"That's it," cried Pycroft.
Holmes shook his head. "He did not turn pale. He was pale when weentered the room," said he. "It is just possible that--"
His words were interrupted by a sharp rat-tat from the direction of theinner door.
"What the deuce is he knocking at his own door for?" cried the clerk.
Again and much louder came the rat-tat-tat. We all gazed expectantly atthe closed door. Glancing at Holmes, I saw his face turn rigid, and heleaned forward in intense excitement. Then suddenly came a low guggling,gargling sound, and a brisk drumming upon woodwork. Holmes sprangfrantically across the room and pushed at the door. It was fastened onthe inner side. Following his example, we threw ourselves upon it withall our weight. One hinge snapped, then the other, and down came thedoor with a crash. Rushing over it, we found ourselves in the innerroom. It was empty.
But it was only for a moment that we were at fault. At one corner, thecorner nearest the room which we had left, there was a second door.Holmes sprang to it and pulled it open. A coat and waistcoat were lyingon the floor, and from a hook behind the door, with his own bracesround his neck, was hanging the managing director of the Franco-MidlandHardware Company. His knees were drawn up, his head hung at a dreadfulangle to his body, and the clatter of his heels against the door madethe noise which had broken in upon our conversation. In an instant Ihad caught him round the waist, and held him up while Holmes and Pycroftuntied the elastic bands which had disappeared between the livid creasesof skin. Then we carried him into the other room, where he lay witha clay-colored face, puffing his purple lips in and out with everybreath--a dreadful wreck of all that he had been but five minutesbefore.
"What do you think of him, Watson?" asked Holmes.
I stooped over him and examined him. His pulse was feeble andintermittent, but his breathing grew longer, and there was a littleshivering of his eyelids, which showed a thin white slit of ballbeneath.
"It has been touch and go with him," said I, "but he'll live now. Justopen that window, and hand me the water carafe." I undid his collar,poured the cold water over his face, and raised and sank his arms untilhe drew a long, natural breath. "It's only a question of time now," saidI, as I turned away from him.
Holmes stood by the table, with his hands deep in his trouser's pocketsand his chin upon his breast.
"I suppose we ought to call the police in now," said he. "And yet Iconfess that I'd like to give them a complete case when they come."
"It's a blessed mystery to me," cried Pycroft, scratching his head."Whatever they wanted to bring me all the way up here for, and then--"
"Pooh! All that is clear enough," said Holmes impatiently. "It is thislast sudden move."
"You understand the rest, then?"
"I think that it is fairly obvious. What do you say, Watson?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I must confess that I am out of my depths,"said I.
"Oh surely if you consider the events at first they can only point toone conclusion."
"What do you make of them?"
"Well, the whole thing hinges upon two points. The first is the makingof Pycroft write a declaration by which he entered the service of thispreposterous company. Do you not see how very suggestive that is?"
"I am afraid I miss the point."
"Well, why did they want him to do it? Not as a business matter, forthese arrangements are usually verbal, and there was no earthly businessreason why this should be an exception. Don't you see, my young friend,that they were very anxious to obtain a specimen of your handwriting,and had no other way of doing it?"
"And why?"
"Quite so. Why? When we answer that we have made some progress with ourlittle problem. Why? There can be only one adequate reason. Some onewanted to learn to imitate your writing, and had to procure a specimenof it first. And now if we pass on to the second point we find that eachthrows light upon the other. That point is the request made by Pinnerthat you should not resign your place, but should leave the manager ofthis important business in the full expectation that a Mr. Hall Pycroft,whom he had never seen, was about to enter the office upon the Mondaymorning."
"My God!" cried our client, "what a blind beetle I have been!"
"Now you see the point about the handwriting. Suppose that some oneturned up in your place who wrote a completely different hand from thatin which you had applied for the vacancy, of course the game would havebeen up. But in the interval the rogue had learned to imitate you,and his position was therefore secure, as I presume that nobody in theoffice had ever set eyes upon you."
"Not a soul," groaned Hall Pycroft.
"Very good. Of course it was of the utmost importance to prevent youfrom thinking better of it, and also to keep you from coming intocontact with any one who might tell you that your double was at workin Mawson's office. Therefore they gave you a handsome advance on yoursalary, and ran you off to the Midlands, where they gave you enough workto do to prevent your going to London, where you might have burst theirlittle game up. That is all plain enough."
"But why should this man pretend to be his own brother?"
"Well, that is pretty clear also. There are evidently only two of themin it. The other is impersonating you at the office. This one actedas your engager, and then found that he could not find you an employerwithout admitting a third person into his plot. That he was mostunwilling to do. He changed his appearance as far as he could, andtrusted that the likeness, which you could not fail to observe, would beput down to a family resemblance. But for the happy chance of the goldstuffing, your suspicions would probably never have been aroused."
Hall Pycroft shook his clinched hands in the air. "Good Lord!" he cried,"while I have been fooled in this way, what has this other Hall Pycroftbeen doing at Mawson's? What should we do, Mr. Holmes? Tell me what todo."
"We must wire to Mawson's."
"They shut at twelve on Saturdays."
"Never mind. There may be some door-keeper or attendant--"
"Ah yes, they keep a permanent guard there on account of the value ofthe securities that they hold. I remember hearing it talked of in theCity."
"Very good; we shall wire to him, and see if all is well, and if a clerkof your name is working there. That is clear enough; but what is not soclear is why at sight of us one of the rogues should instantly walk outof the room and hang himself."
"The paper!" croaked a voice behind us. The man was sitting up, blanchedand ghastly, with returning reason in his eyes, and hands which rubbednervously at the broad red band which still encircled his throat.
"The paper! Of course!" yelled Holmes, in a paroxysm of excitement."Idiot that I was! I thought so much of our visit that the paper neverentered my head for an instant. T
o be sure, the secret must be there."He flattened it out upon the table, and a cry of triumph burst from hislips. "Look at this, Watson," he cried. "It is a London paper, an earlyedition of the Evening Standard. Here is what we want. Look at theheadlines: 'Crime in the City. Murder at Mawson & Williams's. Giganticattempted Robbery. Capture of the Criminal.' Here, Watson, we are allequally anxious to hear it, so kindly read it aloud to us."
It appeared from its position in the paper to have been the one event ofimportance in town, and the account of it ran in this way:
"A desperate attempt at robbery, culminating in the death of one man andthe capture of the criminal, occurred this afternoon in the City. Forsome time back Mawson & Williams, the famous financial house, have beenthe guardians of securities which amount in the aggregate to a sum ofconsiderably over a million sterling. So conscious was the manager ofthe responsibility which devolved upon him in consequence of the greatinterests at stake that safes of the very latest construction havebeen employed, and an armed watchman has been left day and night in thebuilding. It appears that last week a new clerk named Hall Pycroft wasengaged by the firm. This person appears to have been none other thanBeddington, the famous forger and cracksman, who, with his brother, hadonly recently emerged from a five years' spell of penal servitude. Bysome means, which are not yet clear, he succeeded in winning, under afalse name, this official position in the office, which he utilized inorder to obtain moulding of various locks, and a thorough knowledge ofthe position of the strong room and the safes.
"It is customary at Mawson's for the clerks to leave at midday onSaturday. Sergeant Tuson, of the City Police, was somewhat surprised,therefore to see a gentleman with a carpet bag come down the steps attwenty minutes past one. His suspicions being aroused, the sergeantfollowed the man, and with the aid of Constable Pollock succeeded, aftera most desperate resistance, in arresting him. It was at once clearthat a daring and gigantic robbery had been committed. Nearly a hundredthousand pounds' worth of American railway bonds, with a large amountof scrip in mines and other companies, was discovered in the bag. Onexamining the premises the body of the unfortunate watchman was founddoubled up and thrust into the largest of the safes, where it would nothave been discovered until Monday morning had it not been for the promptaction of Sergeant Tuson. The man's skull had been shattered by ablow from a poker delivered from behind. There could be no doubtthat Beddington had obtained entrance by pretending that he had leftsomething behind him, and having murdered the watchman, rapidly rifledthe large safe, and then made off with his booty. His brother, whousually works with him, has not appeared in this job as far as canat present be ascertained, although the police are making energeticinquiries as to his whereabouts."
"Well, we may save the police some little trouble in that direction,"said Holmes, glancing at the haggard figure huddled up by the window."Human nature is a strange mixture, Watson. You see that even a villainand murderer can inspire such affection that his brother turns tosuicide when he learns that his neck is forfeited. However, we haveno choice as to our action. The doctor and I will remain on guard, Mr.Pycroft, if you will have the kindness to step out for the police."
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Page 4