IX. THE ADVENTURE OF THE ENGINEER'S THUMB
Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr.Sherlock Holmes, for solution during the years of our intimacy,there were only two which I was the means of introducing to hisnotice--that of Mr. Hatherley's thumb, and that of ColonelWarburton's madness. Of these the latter may have afforded afiner field for an acute and original observer, but the other wasso strange in its inception and so dramatic in its details thatit may be the more worthy of being placed upon record, even if itgave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods ofreasoning by which he achieved such remarkable results. The storyhas, I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers, but,like all such narratives, its effect is much less striking whenset forth en bloc in a single half-column of print than when thefacts slowly evolve before your own eyes, and the mystery clearsgradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which leadson to the complete truth. At the time the circumstances made adeep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardlyserved to weaken the effect.
It was in the summer of '89, not long after my marriage, that theevents occurred which I am now about to summarise. I had returnedto civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his BakerStreet rooms, although I continually visited him and occasionallyeven persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to comeand visit us. My practice had steadily increased, and as Ihappened to live at no very great distance from PaddingtonStation, I got a few patients from among the officials. One ofthese, whom I had cured of a painful and lingering disease, wasnever weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavouring to sendme on every sufferer over whom he might have any influence.
One morning, at a little before seven o'clock, I was awakened bythe maid tapping at the door to announce that two men had comefrom Paddington and were waiting in the consulting-room. Idressed hurriedly, for I knew by experience that railway caseswere seldom trivial, and hastened downstairs. As I descended, myold ally, the guard, came out of the room and closed the doortightly behind him.
"I've got him here," he whispered, jerking his thumb over hisshoulder; "he's all right."
"What is it, then?" I asked, for his manner suggested that it wassome strange creature which he had caged up in my room.
"It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring himround myself; then he couldn't slip away. There he is, all safeand sound. I must go now, Doctor; I have my dooties, just thesame as you." And off he went, this trusty tout, without evengiving me time to thank him.
I entered my consulting-room and found a gentleman seated by thetable. He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with asoft cloth cap which he had laid down upon my books. Round one ofhis hands he had a handkerchief wrapped, which was mottled allover with bloodstains. He was young, not more thanfive-and-twenty, I should say, with a strong, masculine face; buthe was exceedingly pale and gave me the impression of a man whowas suffering from some strong agitation, which it took all hisstrength of mind to control.
"I am sorry to knock you up so early, Doctor," said he, "but Ihave had a very serious accident during the night. I came in bytrain this morning, and on inquiring at Paddington as to where Imight find a doctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted mehere. I gave the maid a card, but I see that she has left it uponthe side-table."
I took it up and glanced at it. "Mr. Victor Hatherley, hydraulicengineer, 16A, Victoria Street (3rd floor)." That was the name,style, and abode of my morning visitor. "I regret that I havekept you waiting," said I, sitting down in my library-chair. "Youare fresh from a night journey, I understand, which is in itselfa monotonous occupation."
"Oh, my night could not be called monotonous," said he, andlaughed. He laughed very heartily, with a high, ringing note,leaning back in his chair and shaking his sides. All my medicalinstincts rose up against that laugh.
"Stop it!" I cried; "pull yourself together!" and I poured outsome water from a caraffe.
It was useless, however. He was off in one of those hystericaloutbursts which come upon a strong nature when some great crisisis over and gone. Presently he came to himself once more, veryweary and pale-looking.
"I have been making a fool of myself," he gasped.
"Not at all. Drink this." I dashed some brandy into the water,and the colour began to come back to his bloodless cheeks.
"That's better!" said he. "And now, Doctor, perhaps you wouldkindly attend to my thumb, or rather to the place where my thumbused to be."
He unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. It gave evenmy hardened nerves a shudder to look at it. There were fourprotruding fingers and a horrid red, spongy surface where thethumb should have been. It had been hacked or torn right out fromthe roots.
"Good heavens!" I cried, "this is a terrible injury. It must havebled considerably."
"Yes, it did. I fainted when it was done, and I think that I musthave been senseless for a long time. When I came to I found thatit was still bleeding, so I tied one end of my handkerchief verytightly round the wrist and braced it up with a twig."
"Excellent! You should have been a surgeon."
"It is a question of hydraulics, you see, and came within my ownprovince."
"This has been done," said I, examining the wound, "by a veryheavy and sharp instrument."
"A thing like a cleaver," said he.
"An accident, I presume?"
"By no means."
"What! a murderous attack?"
"Very murderous indeed."
"You horrify me."
I sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it, and finally coveredit over with cotton wadding and carbolised bandages. He lay backwithout wincing, though he bit his lip from time to time.
"How is that?" I asked when I had finished.
"Capital! Between your brandy and your bandage, I feel a new man.I was very weak, but I have had a good deal to go through."
"Perhaps you had better not speak of the matter. It is evidentlytrying to your nerves."
"Oh, no, not now. I shall have to tell my tale to the police;but, between ourselves, if it were not for the convincingevidence of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if theybelieved my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one, and Ihave not much in the way of proof with which to back it up; and,even if they believe me, the clues which I can give them are sovague that it is a question whether justice will be done."
"Ha!" cried I, "if it is anything in the nature of a problemwhich you desire to see solved, I should strongly recommend youto come to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, before you go to theofficial police."
"Oh, I have heard of that fellow," answered my visitor, "and Ishould be very glad if he would take the matter up, though ofcourse I must use the official police as well. Would you give mean introduction to him?"
"I'll do better. I'll take you round to him myself."
"I should be immensely obliged to you."
"We'll call a cab and go together. We shall just be in time tohave a little breakfast with him. Do you feel equal to it?"
"Yes; I shall not feel easy until I have told my story."
"Then my servant will call a cab, and I shall be with you in aninstant." I rushed upstairs, explained the matter shortly to mywife, and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with mynew acquaintance to Baker Street.
Sherlock Holmes was, as I expected, lounging about hissitting-room in his dressing-gown, reading the agony column of TheTimes and smoking his before-breakfast pipe, which was composedof all the plugs and dottles left from his smokes of the daybefore, all carefully dried and collected on the corner of themantelpiece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion,ordered fresh rashers and eggs, and joined us in a hearty meal.When it was concluded he settled our new acquaintance upon thesofa, placed a pillow beneath his head, and laid a glass ofbrandy and water within his reach.
"It is easy to see that your experience has been no common one,Mr. Hatherley," said he. "Pray, lie down there and make yourselfabsolutely at home. Tell us
what you can, but stop when you aretired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant."
"Thank you," said my patient, "but I have felt another man sincethe doctor bandaged me, and I think that your breakfast hascompleted the cure. I shall take up as little of your valuabletime as possible, so I shall start at once upon my peculiarexperiences."
Holmes sat in his big armchair with the weary, heavy-liddedexpression which veiled his keen and eager nature, while I satopposite to him, and we listened in silence to the strange storywhich our visitor detailed to us.
"You must know," said he, "that I am an orphan and a bachelor,residing alone in lodgings in London. By profession I am ahydraulic engineer, and I have had considerable experience of mywork during the seven years that I was apprenticed to Venner &Matheson, the well-known firm, of Greenwich. Two years ago,having served my time, and having also come into a fair sum ofmoney through my poor father's death, I determined to start inbusiness for myself and took professional chambers in VictoriaStreet.
"I suppose that everyone finds his first independent start inbusiness a dreary experience. To me it has been exceptionally so.During two years I have had three consultations and one smalljob, and that is absolutely all that my profession has broughtme. My gross takings amount to 27 pounds 10s. Every day, fromnine in the morning until four in the afternoon, I waited in mylittle den, until at last my heart began to sink, and I came tobelieve that I should never have any practice at all.
"Yesterday, however, just as I was thinking of leaving theoffice, my clerk entered to say there was a gentleman waiting whowished to see me upon business. He brought up a card, too, withthe name of 'Colonel Lysander Stark' engraved upon it. Close athis heels came the colonel himself, a man rather over the middlesize, but of an exceeding thinness. I do not think that I haveever seen so thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into noseand chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn quite tense overhis outstanding bones. Yet this emaciation seemed to be hisnatural habit, and due to no disease, for his eye was bright, hisstep brisk, and his bearing assured. He was plainly but neatlydressed, and his age, I should judge, would be nearer forty thanthirty.
"'Mr. Hatherley?' said he, with something of a German accent.'You have been recommended to me, Mr. Hatherley, as being a manwho is not only proficient in his profession but is also discreetand capable of preserving a secret.'
"I bowed, feeling as flattered as any young man would at such anaddress. 'May I ask who it was who gave me so good a character?'
"'Well, perhaps it is better that I should not tell you that justat this moment. I have it from the same source that you are bothan orphan and a bachelor and are residing alone in London.'
"'That is quite correct,' I answered; 'but you will excuse me ifI say that I cannot see how all this bears upon my professionalqualifications. I understand that it was on a professional matterthat you wished to speak to me?'
"'Undoubtedly so. But you will find that all I say is really tothe point. I have a professional commission for you, but absolutesecrecy is quite essential--absolute secrecy, you understand, andof course we may expect that more from a man who is alone thanfrom one who lives in the bosom of his family.'
"'If I promise to keep a secret,' said I, 'you may absolutelydepend upon my doing so.'
"He looked very hard at me as I spoke, and it seemed to me that Ihad never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye.
"'Do you promise, then?' said he at last.
"'Yes, I promise.'
"'Absolute and complete silence before, during, and after? Noreference to the matter at all, either in word or writing?'
"'I have already given you my word.'
"'Very good.' He suddenly sprang up, and darting like lightningacross the room he flung open the door. The passage outside wasempty.
"'That's all right,' said he, coming back. 'I know that clerks aresometimes curious as to their master's affairs. Now we can talkin safety.' He drew up his chair very close to mine and began tostare at me again with the same questioning and thoughtful look.
"A feeling of repulsion, and of something akin to fear had begunto rise within me at the strange antics of this fleshless man.Even my dread of losing a client could not restrain me fromshowing my impatience.
"'I beg that you will state your business, sir,' said I; 'my timeis of value.' Heaven forgive me for that last sentence, but thewords came to my lips.
"'How would fifty guineas for a night's work suit you?' he asked.
"'Most admirably.'
"'I say a night's work, but an hour's would be nearer the mark. Isimply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine whichhas got out of gear. If you show us what is wrong we shall soonset it right ourselves. What do you think of such a commission asthat?'
"'The work appears to be light and the pay munificent.'
"'Precisely so. We shall want you to come to-night by the lasttrain.'
"'Where to?'
"'To Eyford, in Berkshire. It is a little place near the bordersof Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of Reading. There is atrain from Paddington which would bring you there at about11:15.'
"'Very good.'
"'I shall come down in a carriage to meet you.'
"'There is a drive, then?'
"'Yes, our little place is quite out in the country. It is a goodseven miles from Eyford Station.'
"'Then we can hardly get there before midnight. I suppose therewould be no chance of a train back. I should be compelled to stopthe night.'
"'Yes, we could easily give you a shake-down.'
"'That is very awkward. Could I not come at some more convenienthour?'
"'We have judged it best that you should come late. It is torecompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, ayoung and unknown man, a fee which would buy an opinion from thevery heads of your profession. Still, of course, if you wouldlike to draw out of the business, there is plenty of time to doso.'
"I thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful theywould be to me. 'Not at all,' said I, 'I shall be very happy toaccommodate myself to your wishes. I should like, however, tounderstand a little more clearly what it is that you wish me todo.'
"'Quite so. It is very natural that the pledge of secrecy whichwe have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity. Ihave no wish to commit you to anything without your having it alllaid before you. I suppose that we are absolutely safe fromeavesdroppers?'
"'Entirely.'
"'Then the matter stands thus. You are probably aware thatfuller's-earth is a valuable product, and that it is only foundin one or two places in England?'
"'I have heard so.'
"'Some little time ago I bought a small place--a very smallplace--within ten miles of Reading. I was fortunate enough todiscover that there was a deposit of fuller's-earth in one of myfields. On examining it, however, I found that this deposit was acomparatively small one, and that it formed a link between twovery much larger ones upon the right and left--both of them,however, in the grounds of my neighbours. These good people wereabsolutely ignorant that their land contained that which wasquite as valuable as a gold-mine. Naturally, it was to myinterest to buy their land before they discovered its true value,but unfortunately I had no capital by which I could do this. Itook a few of my friends into the secret, however, and theysuggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own littledeposit and that in this way we should earn the money which wouldenable us to buy the neighbouring fields. This we have now beendoing for some time, and in order to help us in our operations weerected a hydraulic press. This press, as I have alreadyexplained, has got out of order, and we wish your advice upon thesubject. We guard our secret very jealously, however, and if itonce became known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to ourlittle house, it would soon rouse inquiry, and then, if the factscame out, it would be good-bye to any chance of getting thesefields and carrying out our plans. That is why I have made youpromise me that you will not tell a human being that you aregoing to Eyford
to-night. I hope that I make it all plain?'
"'I quite follow you,' said I. 'The only point which I could notquite understand was what use you could make of a hydraulic pressin excavating fuller's-earth, which, as I understand, is dug outlike gravel from a pit.'
"'Ah!' said he carelessly, 'we have our own process. We compressthe earth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealingwhat they are. But that is a mere detail. I have taken you fullyinto my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley, and I have shown you how Itrust you.' He rose as he spoke. 'I shall expect you, then, atEyford at 11:15.'
"'I shall certainly be there.'
"'And not a word to a soul.' He looked at me with a last long,questioning gaze, and then, pressing my hand in a cold, dankgrasp, he hurried from the room.
"Well, when I came to think it all over in cool blood I was verymuch astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commissionwhich had been intrusted to me. On the one hand, of course, I wasglad, for the fee was at least tenfold what I should have askedhad I set a price upon my own services, and it was possible thatthis order might lead to other ones. On the other hand, the faceand manner of my patron had made an unpleasant impression uponme, and I could not think that his explanation of thefuller's-earth was sufficient to explain the necessity for mycoming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should tellanyone of my errand. However, I threw all fears to the winds, atea hearty supper, drove to Paddington, and started off, havingobeyed to the letter the injunction as to holding my tongue.
"At Reading I had to change not only my carriage but my station.However, I was in time for the last train to Eyford, and Ireached the little dim-lit station after eleven o'clock. I was theonly passenger who got out there, and there was no one upon theplatform save a single sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passedout through the wicket gate, however, I found my acquaintance ofthe morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without aword he grasped my arm and hurried me into a carriage, the doorof which was standing open. He drew up the windows on eitherside, tapped on the wood-work, and away we went as fast as thehorse could go."
"One horse?" interjected Holmes.
"Yes, only one."
"Did you observe the colour?"
"Yes, I saw it by the side-lights when I was stepping into thecarriage. It was a chestnut."
"Tired-looking or fresh?"
"Oh, fresh and glossy."
"Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continueyour most interesting statement."
"Away we went then, and we drove for at least an hour. ColonelLysander Stark had said that it was only seven miles, but Ishould think, from the rate that we seemed to go, and from thetime that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He satat my side in silence all the time, and I was aware, more thanonce when I glanced in his direction, that he was looking at mewith great intensity. The country roads seem to be not very goodin that part of the world, for we lurched and jolted terribly. Itried to look out of the windows to see something of where wewere, but they were made of frosted glass, and I could make outnothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light. Nowand then I hazarded some remark to break the monotony of thejourney, but the colonel answered only in monosyllables, and theconversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping of theroad was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a gravel-drive,and the carriage came to a stand. Colonel Lysander Stark sprangout, and, as I followed after him, pulled me swiftly into a porchwhich gaped in front of us. We stepped, as it were, right out ofthe carriage and into the hall, so that I failed to catch themost fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant thatI had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us,and I heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriagedrove away.
"It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbledabout looking for matches and muttering under his breath.Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and along, golden bar of light shot out in our direction. It grewbroader, and a woman appeared with a lamp in her hand, which sheheld above her head, pushing her face forward and peering at us.I could see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with whichthe light shone upon her dark dress I knew that it was a richmaterial. She spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone asthough asking a question, and when my companion answered in agruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearlyfell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her, whisperedsomething in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the roomfrom whence she had come, he walked towards me again with thelamp in his hand.
"'Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for afew minutes,' said he, throwing open another door. It was aquiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in thecentre, on which several German books were scattered. ColonelStark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside thedoor. 'I shall not keep you waiting an instant,' said he, andvanished into the darkness.
"I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of myignorance of German I could see that two of them were treatiseson science, the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walkedacross to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse ofthe country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was foldedacross it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There was an oldclock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwiseeverything was deadly still. A vague feeling of uneasiness beganto steal over me. Who were these German people, and what werethey doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? Andwhere was the place? I was ten miles or so from Eyford, that wasall I knew, but whether north, south, east, or west I had noidea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other large towns,were within that radius, so the place might not be so secluded,after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness,that we were in the country. I paced up and down the room,humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feelingthat I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee.
"Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of theutter stillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. The womanwas standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behindher, the yellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager andbeautiful face. I could see at a glance that she was sick withfear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up oneshaking finger to warn me to be silent, and she shot a fewwhispered words of broken English at me, her eyes glancing back,like those of a frightened horse, into the gloom behind her.
"'I would go,' said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, tospeak calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is nogood for you to do.'
"'But, madam,' said I, 'I have not yet done what I came for. Icannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.'
"'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can passthrough the door; no one hinders.' And then, seeing that I smiledand shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint andmade a step forward, with her hands wrung together. 'For the loveof Heaven!' she whispered, 'get away from here before it is toolate!'
"But I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready toengage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. Ithought of my fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and ofthe unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all togo for nothing? Why should I slink away without having carriedout my commission, and without the payment which was my due? Thiswoman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stoutbearing, therefore, though her manner had shaken me more than Icared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intentionof remaining where I was. She was about to renew her entreatieswhen a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several footstepswas heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw upher hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly andas noiselessly as she had come.
"The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick manwith a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his doublechin, who was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson.
"'This is my secretary and manager,' said the colonel. 'B
y theway, I was under the impression that I left this door shut justnow. I fear that you have felt the draught.'
"'On the contrary,' said I, 'I opened the door myself because Ifelt the room to be a little close.'
"He shot one of his suspicious looks at me. 'Perhaps we hadbetter proceed to business, then,' said he. 'Mr. Ferguson and Iwill take you up to see the machine.'
"'I had better put my hat on, I suppose.'
"'Oh, no, it is in the house.'
"'What, you dig fuller's-earth in the house?'
"'No, no. This is only where we compress it. But never mind that.All we wish you to do is to examine the machine and to let usknow what is wrong with it.'
"We went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, thefat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house,with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and littlelow doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by thegenerations who had crossed them. There were no carpets and nosigns of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plasterwas peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through ingreen, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned anair as possible, but I had not forgotten the warnings of thelady, even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen eye uponmy two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose and silentman, but I could see from the little that he said that he was atleast a fellow-countryman.
"Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door, whichhe unlocked. Within was a small, square room, in which the threeof us could hardly get at one time. Ferguson remained outside,and the colonel ushered me in.
"'We are now,' said he, 'actually within the hydraulic press, andit would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone wereto turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really theend of the descending piston, and it comes down with the force ofmany tons upon this metal floor. There are small lateral columnsof water outside which receive the force, and which transmit andmultiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The machinegoes readily enough, but there is some stiffness in the workingof it, and it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you willhave the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can setit right.'
"I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine verythoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable ofexercising enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, andpressed down the levers which controlled it, I knew at once bythe whishing sound that there was a slight leakage, which alloweda regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders. Anexamination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which wasround the head of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not quite tofill the socket along which it worked. This was clearly the causeof the loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions, whofollowed my remarks very carefully and asked several practicalquestions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When Ihad made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of themachine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity.It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller's-earthwas the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to supposethat so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate apurpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of alarge iron trough, and when I came to examine it I could see acrust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and wasscraping at this to see exactly what it was when I heard amuttered exclamation in German and saw the cadaverous face of thecolonel looking down at me.
"'What are you doing there?' he asked.
"I felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story asthat which he had told me. 'I was admiring your fuller's-earth,'said I; 'I think that I should be better able to advise you as toyour machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which itwas used.'
"The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness ofmy speech. His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up inhis grey eyes.
"'Very well,' said he, 'you shall know all about the machine.' Hetook a step backward, slammed the little door, and turned the keyin the lock. I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle, but itwas quite secure, and did not give in the least to my kicks andshoves. 'Hullo!' I yelled. 'Hullo! Colonel! Let me out!'
"And then suddenly in the silence I heard a sound which sent myheart into my mouth. It was the clank of the levers and the swishof the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lampstill stood upon the floor where I had placed it when examiningthe trough. By its light I saw that the black ceiling was comingdown upon me, slowly, jerkily, but, as none knew better thanmyself, with a force which must within a minute grind me to ashapeless pulp. I threw myself, screaming, against the door, anddragged with my nails at the lock. I implored the colonel to letme out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned mycries. The ceiling was only a foot or two above my head, and withmy hand upraised I could feel its hard, rough surface. Then itflashed through my mind that the pain of my death would dependvery much upon the position in which I met it. If I lay on myface the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered tothink of that dreadful snap. Easier the other way, perhaps; andyet, had I the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly blackshadow wavering down upon me? Already I was unable to standerect, when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hopeback to my heart.
"I have said that though the floor and ceiling were of iron, thewalls were of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around, I sawa thin line of yellow light between two of the boards, whichbroadened and broadened as a small panel was pushed backward. Foran instant I could hardly believe that here was indeed a doorwhich led away from death. The next instant I threw myselfthrough, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel hadclosed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp, and a fewmoments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told mehow narrow had been my escape.
"I was recalled to myself by a frantic plucking at my wrist, andI found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor,while a woman bent over me and tugged at me with her left hand,while she held a candle in her right. It was the same good friendwhose warning I had so foolishly rejected.
"'Come! come!' she cried breathlessly. 'They will be here in amoment. They will see that you are not there. Oh, do not wastethe so-precious time, but come!'
"This time, at least, I did not scorn her advice. I staggered tomy feet and ran with her along the corridor and down a windingstair. The latter led to another broad passage, and just as wereached it we heard the sound of running feet and the shouting oftwo voices, one answering the other from the floor on which wewere and from the one beneath. My guide stopped and looked abouther like one who is at her wit's end. Then she threw open a doorwhich led into a bedroom, through the window of which the moonwas shining brightly.
"'It is your only chance,' said she. 'It is high, but it may bethat you can jump it.'
"As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of thepassage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Starkrushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like abutcher's cleaver in the other. I rushed across the bedroom,flung open the window, and looked out. How quiet and sweet andwholesome the garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not bemore than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but Ihesitated to jump until I should have heard what passed betweenmy saviour and the ruffian who pursued me. If she were ill-used,then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance.The thought had hardly flashed through my mind before he was atthe door, pushing his way past her; but she threw her arms roundhim and tried to hold him back.
"'Fritz! Fritz!' she cried in English, 'remember your promiseafter the last time. You said it should not be again. He will besilent! Oh, he will be silent!'
"'You are mad, Elise!' he shouted, struggling to break away fromher. 'You will be the ruin of us. He has seen too much. Let mepass, I say!' He dashed her to one side, and, rushing to thewindow, cut at me with his heavy weapon. I had let myself go, andwas hanging by the hands to the sill, when his blow f
ell. I wasconscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into thegarden below.
"I was shaken but not hurt by the fall; so I picked myself up andrushed off among the bushes as hard as I could run, for Iunderstood that I was far from being out of danger yet. Suddenly,however, as I ran, a deadly dizziness and sickness came over me.I glanced down at my hand, which was throbbing painfully, andthen, for the first time, saw that my thumb had been cut off andthat the blood was pouring from my wound. I endeavoured to tie myhandkerchief round it, but there came a sudden buzzing in myears, and next moment I fell in a dead faint among therose-bushes.
"How long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have beena very long time, for the moon had sunk, and a bright morning wasbreaking when I came to myself. My clothes were all sodden withdew, and my coat-sleeve was drenched with blood from my woundedthumb. The smarting of it recalled in an instant all theparticulars of my night's adventure, and I sprang to my feet withthe feeling that I might hardly yet be safe from my pursuers. Butto my astonishment, when I came to look round me, neither housenor garden were to be seen. I had been lying in an angle of thehedge close by the highroad, and just a little lower down was along building, which proved, upon my approaching it, to be thevery station at which I had arrived upon the previous night. Wereit not for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had passedduring those dreadful hours might have been an evil dream.
"Half dazed, I went into the station and asked about the morningtrain. There would be one to Reading in less than an hour. Thesame porter was on duty, I found, as had been there when Iarrived. I inquired of him whether he had ever heard of ColonelLysander Stark. The name was strange to him. Had he observed acarriage the night before waiting for me? No, he had not. Wasthere a police-station anywhere near? There was one about threemiles off.
"It was too far for me to go, weak and ill as I was. I determinedto wait until I got back to town before telling my story to thepolice. It was a little past six when I arrived, so I went firstto have my wound dressed, and then the doctor was kind enough tobring me along here. I put the case into your hands and shall doexactly what you advise."
We both sat in silence for some little time after listening tothis extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled downfrom the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in which heplaced his cuttings.
"Here is an advertisement which will interest you," said he. "Itappeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this:'Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, agedtwenty-six, a hydraulic engineer. Left his lodgings at teno'clock at night, and has not been heard of since. Wasdressed in,' etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time thatthe colonel needed to have his machine overhauled, I fancy."
"Good heavens!" cried my patient. "Then that explains what thegirl said."
"Undoubtedly. It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool anddesperate man, who was absolutely determined that nothing shouldstand in the way of his little game, like those out-and-outpirates who will leave no survivor from a captured ship. Well,every moment now is precious, so if you feel equal to it we shallgo down to Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary to starting forEyford."
Some three hours or so afterwards we were all in the traintogether, bound from Reading to the little Berkshire village.There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, InspectorBradstreet, of Scotland Yard, a plain-clothes man, and myself.Bradstreet had spread an ordnance map of the county out upon theseat and was busy with his compasses drawing a circle with Eyfordfor its centre.
"There you are," said he. "That circle is drawn at a radius often miles from the village. The place we want must be somewherenear that line. You said ten miles, I think, sir."
"It was an hour's good drive."
"And you think that they brought you back all that way when youwere unconscious?"
"They must have done so. I have a confused memory, too, of havingbeen lifted and conveyed somewhere."
"What I cannot understand," said I, "is why they should havespared you when they found you lying fainting in the garden.Perhaps the villain was softened by the woman's entreaties."
"I hardly think that likely. I never saw a more inexorable facein my life."
"Oh, we shall soon clear up all that," said Bradstreet. "Well, Ihave drawn my circle, and I only wish I knew at what point uponit the folk that we are in search of are to be found."
"I think I could lay my finger on it," said Holmes quietly.
"Really, now!" cried the inspector, "you have formed youropinion! Come, now, we shall see who agrees with you. I say it issouth, for the country is more deserted there."
"And I say east," said my patient.
"I am for west," remarked the plain-clothes man. "There areseveral quiet little villages up there."
"And I am for north," said I, "because there are no hills there,and our friend says that he did not notice the carriage go upany."
"Come," cried the inspector, laughing; "it's a very prettydiversity of opinion. We have boxed the compass among us. Who doyou give your casting vote to?"
"You are all wrong."
"But we can't all be."
"Oh, yes, you can. This is my point." He placed his finger in thecentre of the circle. "This is where we shall find them."
"But the twelve-mile drive?" gasped Hatherley.
"Six out and six back. Nothing simpler. You say yourself that thehorse was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be thatif it had gone twelve miles over heavy roads?"
"Indeed, it is a likely ruse enough," observed Bradstreetthoughtfully. "Of course there can be no doubt as to the natureof this gang."
"None at all," said Holmes. "They are coiners on a large scale,and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken theplace of silver."
"We have known for some time that a clever gang was at work,"said the inspector. "They have been turning out half-crowns bythe thousand. We even traced them as far as Reading, but couldget no farther, for they had covered their traces in a way thatshowed that they were very old hands. But now, thanks to thislucky chance, I think that we have got them right enough."
But the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were notdestined to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled intoEyford Station we saw a gigantic column of smoke which streamedup from behind a small clump of trees in the neighbourhood andhung like an immense ostrich feather over the landscape.
"A house on fire?" asked Bradstreet as the train steamed offagain on its way.
"Yes, sir!" said the station-master.
"When did it break out?"
"I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse,and the whole place is in a blaze."
"Whose house is it?"
"Dr. Becher's."
"Tell me," broke in the engineer, "is Dr. Becher a German, verythin, with a long, sharp nose?"
The station-master laughed heartily. "No, sir, Dr. Becher is anEnglishman, and there isn't a man in the parish who has abetter-lined waistcoat. But he has a gentleman staying with him,a patient, as I understand, who is a foreigner, and he looks asif a little good Berkshire beef would do him no harm."
The station-master had not finished his speech before we were allhastening in the direction of the fire. The road topped a lowhill, and there was a great widespread whitewashed building infront of us, spouting fire at every chink and window, while inthe garden in front three fire-engines were vainly striving tokeep the flames under.
"That's it!" cried Hatherley, in intense excitement. "There isthe gravel-drive, and there are the rose-bushes where I lay. Thatsecond window is the one that I jumped from."
"Well, at least," said Holmes, "you have had your revenge uponthem. There can be no question that it was your oil-lamp which,when it was crushed in the press, set fire to the wooden walls,though no doubt they were too excited in the chase after you toobserve it at the time. Now keep your eyes open in this crowd foryour friends of last night, though I very much fear that they area good hundred miles off by
now."
And Holmes' fears came to be realised, for from that day to thisno word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, thesinister German, or the morose Englishman. Early that morning apeasant had met a cart containing several people and some verybulky boxes driving rapidly in the direction of Reading, butthere all traces of the fugitives disappeared, and even Holmes'ingenuity failed ever to discover the least clue as to theirwhereabouts.
The firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangementswhich they had found within, and still more so by discovering anewly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor.About sunset, however, their efforts were at last successful, andthey subdued the flames, but not before the roof had fallen in,and the whole place been reduced to such absolute ruin that, savesome twisted cylinders and iron piping, not a trace remained ofthe machinery which had cost our unfortunate acquaintance sodearly. Large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered storedin an out-house, but no coins were to be found, which may haveexplained the presence of those bulky boxes which have beenalready referred to.
How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed from the garden tothe spot where he recovered his senses might have remainedforever a mystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us avery plain tale. He had evidently been carried down by twopersons, one of whom had remarkably small feet and the otherunusually large ones. On the whole, it was most probable that thesilent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than hiscompanion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious man outof the way of danger.
"Well," said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to returnonce more to London, "it has been a pretty business for me! Ihave lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and whathave I gained?"
"Experience," said Holmes, laughing. "Indirectly it may be ofvalue, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain thereputation of being excellent company for the remainder of yourexistence."
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Page 9