Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

THE COPPER BEECHES
www.world-english.org
"To the man who loves art for its own sake," remarked Sherlock Holmes,
tossing aside the advertisement sheet of the Daily Telegrah, "!t is
fre"uently in its least imortant and lowliest manifestations that the keenest
leasure is to #e derived. !t is leasant to me to o#serve, $atson, that you
have so far grased this truth that in these little records of our cases which
you have #een good enough to draw u, and, ! am #ound to say,
occasionally to em#ellish, you have given rominence not so much to the
many causes cele#res and sensational trials in which ! have figured #ut
rather to those incidents which may have #een trivial in themselves, #ut
which have given room for those faculties of deduction and of logical
synthesis which ! have made my secial rovince."
"And yet," said !, smiling, "! cannot "uite hold myself a#solved from the
charge of sensationalism which has #een urged against my records."
"%ou have erred, erhas," he o#served, taking u a glowing cinder with
the tongs and lighting with it the long cherry-wood ie which was wont to
relace his clay when he was in a disutatious rather than a meditative mood
&"%ou have erred erhas in attemting to ut color and life into each of
your statements instead of confining yourself to the task of lacing uon
record that severe reasoning from cause to effect which is really the only
nota#le feature a#out the thing."
"!t seems to me that ! have done you full 'ustice in the matter," !
remarked with some coldness, for ! was reelled #y the egotism which ! had
more than once o#served to #e a strong factor in my friend(s singular
character.
")o, it is not selfishness or conceit," said he, answering, as was his
wont, my thoughts rather than my words. "!f ! claim full 'ustice for my art, it
is #ecause it is an imersonal thing&a thing #eyond myself. Crime is
common. *ogic is rare. Therefore it is uon the logic rather than uon the
crime that you should dwell. %ou have degraded what should have #een a
course of lectures into a series of tales."
!t was a cold morning of the early sring, and we sat after #reakfast on
either side of a cheery fire in the old room at +aker Street. A thick fog rolled
down #etween the lines of dun-colored houses, and the oosing windows
loomed like dark, shaeless #lurs through the heavy yellow wreaths. ,ur gas
was lit and shone on the white cloth and glimmer of china and metal, for the
ta#le had not #een cleared yet. Sherlock Holmes had #een silent all the
morning, diing continuously into the advertisement columns of a
succession of aers until at last, having aarently given u his search, he
had emerged in no very sweet temer to lecture me uon my literary
shortcomings.
"At the same time," he remarked after a ause, during which he had sat
uffing at his long ie and ga-ing down into the fire, "%ou can hardly #e
oen to a charge of sensationalism, for out of these cases which you have
#een so kind as to interest yourself in, a fair roortion do not treat of crime,
in its legal sense, at all. The small matter in which ! endeavored to hel the
.ing of +ohemia, the singular e/erience of 0iss 0ary Sutherland, the
ro#lem connected with the man with the twisted li, and the incident of the
no#le #achelor, were all matters which are outside the ale of the law. +ut in
avoiding the sensational, ! fear that you may have #ordered on the trivial."
"The end may have #een so," ! answered, "#ut the methods ! hold to
have #een novel and of interest."
"1shaw, my dear fellow, what do the u#lic, the great uno#servant
u#lic, who could hardly tell a weaver #y his tooth or a comositor #y his
left thum#, care a#out the finer shades of analysis and deduction2 +ut,
indeed, if you are trivial. ! cannot #lame you, for the days of the great cases
are ast. 0an, or at least criminal man, has lost all enterrise and originality.
As to my own little ractice, it seems to #e degenerating into an agency for
recovering lost lead encils and giving advice to young ladies from
#oarding-schools. ! think that ! have touched #ottom at last, however. This
note ! had this morning marks my -ero-oint, ! fancy. 3ead it2" He tossed a
crumled letter across to me. !t was dated from 0ontague 1lace uon the
receding evening, and ran thus4

"DEAR MR. HOLMES:I am very anxious to consult you as to
weter I soul! or soul! not acce"t a situation wic as #een
o$$ere! to me as %overness. I sall call at al$&"ast ten to&
morrow i$ I !o not inconvenience you. 'ours $ait$ully( )IOLE*
H+,*ER."
"Do you know the young lady5" ! asked.
")ot !."
"!t is half-ast ten now."
"%es, and ! have no dou#t that is her ring."
"!t may turn out to #e of more interest than you think. %ou remem#er
that the affair of the #lue car#uncle, which aeared to #e a mere whim at
first, develoed into a serious investigation. !t may #e so in this case, also."
"$ell, let us hoe so. +ut our dou#ts will very soon #e solved, for here,
unless ! am much mistaken, is the erson in "uestion."
As he soke the door oened and a young lady entered the room. She
was lainly #ut neatly dressed, with a #right, "uick face, freckled like a
lover(s egg, and with the #risk manner of a woman who has had her own
way to make in the world. "%ou will e/cuse my trou#ling you, ! am sure,"
said she, as my comanion rose to greet her, "#ut ! have had a very strange
e/erience, and as ! have no arents or relations of any sort from whom !
could ask advice, ! thought that erhas you would #e kind enough to tell
me what ! should do."
"1ray take a seat, 0iss Hunter. ! shall #e hay to do anything that ! can
to serve you." ! could see that Holmes was favora#ly imressed #y the
manner and seech of his new client. He looked her over in his searching
fashion, and then comosed himself, with his lids drooing and his finger-
tis together, to listen to her story.
"! have #een a governess for five years," said she, "!n the family of
Colonel Sence 0unro, #ut two months ago the colonel received an
aointment at Halifa/, in )ova Scotia, and took his children over to
America with him, so that ! found myself without a situation. ! advertised,
and ! answered advertisements, #ut without success. At last the little money
which ! had saved #egan to run short, and ! was at my wit(s end as to what !
should do.
"There is a well-known agency for governesses in the $est 6nd called
$estaway(s, and there ! used to call a#out once a week in order to see
whether anything had turned u which might suit me. $estaway was the
name of the founder of the #usiness, #ut it is really managed #y 0iss Stoer.
She sits in her own little office, and the ladies who are seeking emloyment
wait in an anteroom, and are then shown in one #y one, when she consults
her ledgers and sees whether she has anything which would suit them.
"$ell, when ! called last week ! was shown into the little office as usual,
#ut ! found that 0iss Stoer was not alone. A rodigiously stout man with a
very smiling face and a great heavy chin which rolled down in fold uon
fold over his throat sat at her el#ow with a air of glasses on his nose,
looking very earnestly at the ladies who entered. As ! came in he gave "uite
a 'um in his chair and turned "uickly to 0iss Stoer.
"(That will do,( said he7 (! could not ask for anything #etter. Caital2
caital2( He seemed "uite enthusiastic and ru##ed his hands together in the
most genial fashion. He was such a comforta#le-looking man that it was
"uite a leasure to look at him.
"(%ou are looking for a situation, miss5( he asked.
"(%es, sir.(
"(As governess5(
"(%es, sir.(
"(And what salary do you ask5(
"(! had 8 ounds a month in my last lace with Colonel Sence 0unro.(
"(,h, tut, tut2 sweating&rank sweating2( he cried, throwing his fat hands
out into the air like a man who is in a #oiling assion. (How could anyone
offer so itiful a sum to a lady with such attractions and accomlishments5(
"(0y accomlishments, sir, may #e less than you imagine,( said !. (A
little 9rench, a little :erman, music, and drawing &(
"(Tut, tut2( he cried. (This is all "uite #eside the "uestion. The oint is,
have you or have you not the #earing and deortment of a lady5 There it is
in a nutshell. !f you have not, you are not fined for the rearing of a child who
may some day lay a considera#le art in the history of the country. +ut if
you have why, then, how could any gentleman ask you to condescend to
accet anything under the three figures5 %our salary with me, madam,
would commence at ;<< ounds a year.(
"%ou may imagine, 0r. Holmes, that to me, destitute as ! was, such an
offer seemed almost too good to #e true. The gentleman, however, seeing
erhas the look of incredulity uon my face, oened a ocket-#ook and
took out a note.
"(!t is also my custom,( said he, smiling in the most leasant fashion until
his eyes were 'ust two little shining slits amid the white creases of his face,
(to advance to my young ladies half their salary #eforehand, so that they may
meet any little e/enses of their 'ourney and their wardro#e.(
"!t seemed to me that ! had never met so fascinating and so thoughtful a
man. As ! was already in de#t to my tradesmen, the advance was a great
convenience, and yet there was something unnatural a#out the whole
transaction which made me wish to know a little more #efore ! "uite
committed myself.
"(0ay ! ask where you live, sir5( said !.
"(Hamshire. Charming rural lace. The Coer +eeches, five miles on
the far side of $inchester. !t is the most lovely country, my dear young
lady, and the dearest old country-house.(
"(And my duties, sir5 ! should #e glad to know what they would #e.(
"(,ne child&one dear little romer 'ust si/ years old. ,h, if you could
see him killing cockroaches with a slier2 Smack2 smack2 smack2 Three
gone #efore you could wink2( He leaned #ack in his chair and laughed his
eyes into his head again.
"! was a little startled at the nature of the child(s amusement, #ut the
father(s laughter made me think that erhas he was 'oking.
"(0y sole duties, then,( ! asked, (are to take charge of a single child5(
"()o, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,( he cried. (%our
duty would #e, as ! am sure your good sense would suggest, to o#ey any
little commands my wife might give, rovided always that they were such
commands as a lady might with roriety o#ey. %ou see no difficulty, heh5(
"(! should #e hay to make myself useful.(
"(=uite so. !n dress now, for e/amle. $e are faddy eole, you know&
faddy #ut kind-hearted. !f you were asked to wear any dress which we might
give you, you would not o#'ect to our little whim. Heh5(
"()o,( said !, considera#ly astonished at his words.
"(,r to sit here, or sit there, that would not #e offensive to you5(
"(,h, no.(
"(,r to cut your hair "uite short #efore you come to us5(
"! could hardly #elieve my ears. As you may o#serve, 0r. Holmes, my
hair is somewhat lu/uriant, and of a rather eculiar tint of chestnut. !t has
#een considered artistic. ! could not dream of sacrificing it in this offhand
fashion.
"(! am afraid that that is "uite imossi#le,( said !. He had #een watching
me eagerly out of his small eyes, and ! could see a shadow ass over his face
as ! soke.
"(! am afraid that it is "uite essential,( said he. (!t is a little fancy of my
wife(s, and ladies( fancies, you know, madam, ladies( fancies must #e
consulted. And so you won(t cut your hair5(
"()o, sir, ! really could not,( ! answered firmly.
"(Ah, very well7 then that "uite settles the matter. !t is a ity, #ecause in
other resects you would really have done very nicely. !n that case, 0iss
Stoer, ! had #est insect a few more of your young ladies.(
"The manageress had sat all this while #usy with her aers without a
word to either of us, #ut she glanced at me now with so much annoyance
uon her face that ! could not hel susecting that she had lost a handsome
commission through my refusal.
"(Do you desire your name to #e ket uon the #ooks5( she asked.
"(!f you lease, 0iss Stoer.(
"($ell, really, it seems rather useless, since you refuse the most e/cellent
offers in this fashion,( said she sharly. (%ou can hardly e/ect us to e/ert
ourselves to find another such oening for you. :ood-day to you, 0iss
Hunter.( She struck a gong uon the ta#le, and ! was shown out #y the age.
"$ell, 0r. Holmes, when ! got #ack to my lodgings and found little
enough in the cu#oard, and two or three #ills uon the ta#le. ! #egan to ask
myself whether ! had not done a very foolish thing. After all, if these eole
had strange fads and e/ected o#edience on the most e/traordinary matters,
they were at least ready to ay for their eccentricity. >ery few governesses
in 6ngland are getting ;<< ounds a year. +esides, what use was my hair to
me5 0any eole are imroved #y wearing it short and erhas ! should #e
among the num#er. )e/t day ! was inclined to think that ! had made a
mistake, and #y the day after ! was sure of it. ! had almost overcome my
ride so far as to go #ack to the agency and in"uire whether the lace was
still oen when ! received this letter from the gentleman himself. ! have it
here and ! will read it to you4
"-*e .o""er /eeces( near 0incester. "-DEAR MISS
H+,*ER:
"Miss Sto"er as very 1in!ly %iven me your a!!ress( an! I
write $rom ere to as1 you weter you ave reconsi!ere! your
!ecision. My wi$e is very anxious tat you soul! come( $or se
as #een muc attracte! #y my !escri"tion o$ you. 0e are willin%
to %ive 23 "oun!s a 4uarter( or 563 "oun!s a year( so as to
recom"ense you $or any little inconvenience wic our $a!s may
cause you. *ey are not very exactin%( a$ter all. My wi$e is $on!
o$ a "articular sa!e o$ electric #lue an! woul! li1e you to wear
suc a !ress in!oors in te mornin%. 'ou nee! not( owever( %o to
te ex"ense o$ "urcasin% one( as we ave one #elon%in% to my
!ear !au%ter Alice 7now in 8ila!el"ia9( wic woul!( I soul!
tin1( $it you very well. *en( as to sittin% ere or tere(or
amusin% yoursel$ in any manner in!icate!( tat nee! cause you no
inconvenience. As re%ar!s your air( it is no !ou#t a "ity(
es"ecially as I coul! not el" remar1in% its #eauty !urin% our
sort interview( #ut I am a$rai! tat I must remain $irm u"on
tis "oint( an! I only o"e tat te increase! salary may
recom"ense you $or te loss. 'our !uties( as $ar as te cil! is
concerne!( are very li%t. ,ow !o try to come( an! I sall meet
you wit te !o%&cart at 0incester. Let me 1now your train.
"'ours $ait$ully( :E8HRO R+.AS*LE.-
"That is the letter which ! have 'ust received, 0r. Holmes, and my mind
is made u that ! will accet it. ! thought, however, that #efore taking the
final ste ! should like to su#mit the whole matter to your consideration."
"$ell, 0iss Hunter, if your mind is made u, that settles the "uestion,"
said Holmes, smiling.
"+ut you would not advise me to refuse5"
"! confess that it is not the situation which ! should like to see a sister of
mine aly for."
"$hat is the meaning of it all, 0r. Holmes5"
"Ah, ! have no data. ! cannot tell. 1erhas you have yourself formed
some oinion5"
"$ell, there seems to me to #e only one ossi#le solution. 0r. 3ucastle
seemed to #e a very kind, good-natured man. !s it not ossi#le that his wife
is a lunatic, that he desires to kee the matter "uiet for fear she should #e
taken to an asylum, and that he humors her fancies in every way in order to
revent an out#reak5"
"That is a ossi#le solution&in fact, as matters stand, it is the most
ro#a#le one. +ut in any case it does not seem to #e a nice household for a
young lady."
"+ut the money, 0r. Holmes the money2"
"$ell, yes, of course the ay is good&too good. That is what makes me
uneasy. $hy should they give you ;?< ounds a year, when they could have
their ick for 8< ounds5 There must #e some strong reason #ehind."
"! thought that if ! told you the circumstances you would understand
afterwards if ! wanted your hel. ! should feel so much stronger if ! felt that
you were at the #ack of me."
",h, you may carry that feeling away with you. ! assure you that your
little ro#lem romises to #e the most interesting which has come my way
for some months. There is something distinctly novel a#out some of the
features. !f you should find yourself in dou#t or in danger&"
"Danger2 $hat danger do you foresee5" Holmes shook his head gravely.
"!t would cease to #e a danger if we could define it," said he. "+ut at any
time, day or night, a telegram would #ring me down to your hel."
"That is enough." She rose #riskly from her chair with the an/iety all
swet from her face. "! shall go down to Hamshire "uite easy in my mind
now. ! shall write to 0r. 3ucastle at once, sacrifice my oor hair to-night,
and start for $inchester to-morrow." $ith a few grateful words to Holmes
she #ade us #oth good-night and #ustled off uon her way.
"At least," said ! as we heard her "uick, firm stes descending the stairs,
"She seems to #e a young lady who is very well a#le to take care of herself."
"And she would need to #e," said Holmes gravely. "! am much mistaken
if we do not hear from her #efore many days are ast."
!t was not very long #efore my friend(s rediction was fulfilled. A
fortnight went #y, during which ! fre"uently found my thoughts turning in
her direction and wondering what strange side-alley of human e/erience
this lonely woman had strayed into. The unusual salary, the curious
conditions, the light duties, all ointed to something a#normal, though
whether a fad or a lot, or whether the man were a hilanthroist or a
villain, it was "uite #eyond my owers to determine. As to Holmes, !
o#served that he sat fre"uently for half an hour on end, with knitted #rows
and an a#stracted air, #ut he swet the matter away with a wave of his hand
when ! mentioned it.
"Data2 data2 data2" he cried imatiently. "! can(t make #ricks without
clay." And yet he would always wind u #y muttering that no sister of his
should ever have acceted such a situation.
The telegram which we eventually received came late one night 'ust as !
was thinking of turning in and Holmes was settling down to one of those all-
night chemical researches which he fre"uently indulged in, when ! would
leave him stooing over a retort and a test-tu#e at night and find him in the
same osition when ! came down to #reakfast in the morning. He oened the
yellow enveloe, and then, glancing at the message, threw it across to me.
"@ust look u the trains in +radshaw," said he, and turned #ack to his
chemical studies. The summons was a #rief and urgent one.
"Please be at the Black Swan Hotel at Winchester at midday to-
morrow," it said. "Do come! I am at my wit's end. H!"#$."
"$ill you come with me5" asked Holmes, glancing u.
"! should wish to."
"@ust look it u, then."
"There is a train at half-ast nine," said !, glancing over my +radshaw.
"!t is due at $inchester at ;;4A<."
"That will do very nicely. Then erhas ! had #etter ostone my
analysis of the acetones, as we may need to #e at our #est in the morning."
+y eleven o(clock the ne/t day we were well uon our way to the old
6nglish caital. Holmes had #een #uried in the morning aers all the way
down, #ut after we had assed the Hamshire #order he threw them down
and #egan to admire the scenery. !t was an ideal sring day, a light #lue sky,
flecked with little fleecy white clouds drifting across from west to east. The
sun was shining very #rightly, and yet there was an e/hilarating ni in the
air, which set an edge to a man(s energy. All over the countryside, away to
the rolling hills around Aldershot, the little red and gray roofs of the farm-
steadings eeed out from amid the light green of the new foliage.
"Are they not fresh and #eautiful5" ! cried with all the enthusiasm of a
man fresh from the fogs of +aker Street.
+ut Holmes shook his head gravely. "Do you know, $atson," said he,
"That it is one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine that ! must look
at everything with reference to my own secial su#'ect. %ou look at these
scattered houses, and you are imressed #y their #eauty. ! look at them, and
the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the
imunity with which crime may #e committed there."
":ood heavens2" ! cried. "$ho would associate crime with these dear
old homesteads5"
"They always fill me with a certain horror. !t is my #elief, $atson,
founded uon my e/erience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in *ondon do
not resent a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and #eautiful
countryside."
"%ou horrify me2"
"+ut the reason is very o#vious. The ressure of u#lic oinion can do in
the town what the law cannot accomlish. There is no lane so vile that the
scream of a tortured child, or the thud of a drunkard(s #low, does not #eget
symathy and indignation among the neigh#ors, and then the whole
machinery of 'ustice is ever so close that a word of comlaint can set it
going, and there is #ut a ste #etween the crime and the dock. +ut look at
these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most art with oor
ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds of hellish
cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such
laces, and none the wiser. Had this lady who aeals to us for hel gone to
live in $inchester, ! should never have had a fear for her. !t is the five miles
of country which makes the danger. Still, it is clear that she is not ersonally
threatened."
")o. !f she can come to $inchester to meet us she can get away."
"=uite so. She has her freedom."
"$hat CA) #e the matter, then5 Can you suggest no e/lanation5"
"! have devised seven searate e/lanations, each of which would cover
the facts as far as we know them. +ut which of these is correct can only #e
determined #y the fresh information which we shall no dou#t find waiting
for us. $ell, there is the tower of the cathedral, and we shall soon learn all
that 0iss Hunter has to tell."
The +lack Swan is an inn of reute in the High Street, at no distance
from the station, and there we found the young lady waiting for us. She had
engaged a sitting-room, and our lunch awaited us uon the ta#le.
"! am so delighted that you have come," she said earnestly. "!t is so very
kind of you #oth7 #ut indeed ! do not know what ! should do. %our advice
will #e altogether invalua#le to me."
"1ray tell us what has haened to you."
"! will do so, and ! must #e "uick, for ! have romised 0r. 3ucastle to
#e #ack #efore three. ! got his leave to come into town this morning, though
he little knew for what urose."
"*et us have everything in its due order." Holmes thrust his long thin
legs out towards the fire and comosed himself to listen.
"!n the first lace, ! may say that ! have met, on the whole, with no
actual ill-treatment from 0r. and 0rs. 3ucastle. !t is only fair to them to say
that. +ut ! cannot understand them, and ! am not easy in my mind a#out
them."
"$hat can you not understand5"
"Their reasons for their conduct. +ut you shall have it all 'ust as it
occurred. $hen ! came down, 0r. 3ucastle met me here and drove me in
his dog-cart to the Coer +eeches. !t is, as he said, #eautifully situated, #ut
it is not #eautiful in itself, for it is a large s"uare #lock of a house,
whitewashed, #ut all stained and streaked with dam and #ad weather. There
are grounds round it, woods on three sides, and on the fourth a field which
sloes down to the Southamton highroad, which curves ast a#out a
hundred yards from the front door. This ground in front #elongs to the
house, #ut the woods all round are art of *ord Southerton(s reserves. A
clum of coer #eeches immediately in front of the hall door has given its
name to the lace.
"! was driven over #y my emloyer, who was as amia#le as ever, and
was introduced #y him that evening to his wife and the child. There was no
truth, 0r. Holmes, in the con'ecture which seemed to us to #e ro#a#le in
your rooms at +aker Street. 0rs. 3ucastle is not mad. ! found her to #e a
silent, ale-faced woman, much younger than her hus#and, not more than
thirty, ! should think, while he can hardly #e less than forty-five. 9rom their
conversation ! have gathered that they have #een married a#out seven years,
that he was a widower, and that his only child #y the first wife was the
daughter who has gone to 1hiladelhia. 0r. 3ucastle told me in rivate that
the reason why she had left them was that she had an unreasoning aversion
to her stemother. As the daughter could not have #een less than twenty, !
can "uite imagine that her osition must have #een uncomforta#le with her
father(s young wife.
"0rs. 3ucastle seemed to me to #e colorless in mind as well as in
feature. She imressed me neither favora#ly nor the reverse. She was a
nonentity. !t was easy to see that she was assionately devoted #oth to her
hus#and and to her little son. Her light gray eyes wandered continually from
one to the other, noting every little want and forestalling it if ossi#le. He
was kind to her also in his #luff, #oisterous fashion, and on the whole they
seemed to #e a hay coule. And yet she had some secret sorrow, this
woman. She would often #e lost in dee thought, with the saddest look uon
her face. 0ore than once ! have surrised her in tears. ! have thought
sometimes that it was the disosition of her child which weighed uon her
mind, for ! have never met so utterly soiled and so ill-natured a little
creature. He is small for his age, with a head which is "uite
disroortionately large. His whole life aears to #e sent in an alternation
#etween savage fits of assion and gloomy intervals of sulking. :iving ain
to any creature weaker than himself seems to #e his one idea of amusement,
and he shows "uite remarka#le talent in lanning the cature of mice, little
#irds, and insects. +ut ! would rather not talk a#out the creature, 0r.
Holmes, and, indeed, he has little to do with my story."
"! am glad of all details," remarked my friend, "whether they seem to
you to #e relevant or not."
"! shall try not to miss anything of imortance. The one unleasant thing
a#out the house, which struck me at once, was the aearance and conduct
of the servants. There are only two, a man and his wife. Toller, for that is his
name, is a rough, uncouth man, with gri--led hair and whiskers, and a
eretual smell of drink. Twice since ! have #een with them he has #een
"uite drunk, and yet 0r. 3ucastle seemed to take no notice of it. His wife is
a very tall and strong woman with a sour face, as silent as 0rs. 3ucastle and
much less amia#le. They are a most unleasant coule, #ut fortunately !
send most of my time in the nursery and my own room, which are ne/t to
each other in one corner of the #uilding.
"9or two days after my arrival at the Coer +eeches my life was very
"uiet7 on the third, 0rs. 3ucastle came down 'ust after #reakfast and
whisered something to her hus#and. "(,h, yes,( said he, turning to me, (we
are very much o#liged to you, 0iss Hunter, for falling in with our whims so
far as to cut your hair. ! assure you that it has not detracted in the tiniest iota
from your aearance. $e shall now see how the electric-#lue dress will
#ecome you. %ou will find it laid out uon the #ed in your room, and if you
would #e so good as to ut it on we should #oth #e e/tremely o#liged.(
"The dress which ! found waiting for me was of a eculiar shade of #lue.
!t was of e/cellent material, a sort of #eige, #ut it #ore unmistaka#le signs of
having #een worn #efore. !t could not have #een a #etter fit if ! had #een
measured for it. +oth 0r. and 0rs. 3ucastle e/ressed a delight at the look
of it, which seemed "uite e/aggerated in its vehemence. They were waiting
for me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching along the
entire front of the house, with three long windows reaching down to the
floor. A chair had #een laced close to the central window, with its #ack
turned towards it. !n this ! was asked to sit, and then 0r. 3ucastle, walking
u and down on the other side of the room, #egan to tell me a series of the
funniest stories that ! have ever listened to. %ou cannot imagine how
comical he was, and ! laughed until ! was "uite weary. 0rs. 3ucastle,
however, who has evidently no sense of humor, never so much as smiled,
#ut sat with her hands in her la, and a sad, an/ious look uon her face.
After an hour or so, 0r. 3ucastle suddenly remarked that it was time to
commence the duties of the day, and that ! might change my dress and go to
little 6dward in the nursery.
"Two days later this same erformance was gone through under e/actly
similar circumstances. Again ! changed my dress, again ! sat in the window,
and again ! laughed very heartily at the funny stories of which my emloyer
had an immense reertoire, and which he told inimita#ly. Then he handed
me a yellow-#acked novel, and moving my chair a little sideways, that my
own shadow might not fall uon the age, he #egged me to read aloud to
him. ! read for a#out ten minutes, #eginning in the heart of a chater, and
then suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he ordered me to cease and to
change my dress.
"%ou can easily imagine, 0r. Holmes, how curious ! #ecame as to what
the meaning of this e/traordinary erformance could ossi#ly #e. They were
always very careful, ! o#served, to turn my face away from the window, so
that ! #ecame consumed with the desire to see what was going on #ehind my
#ack. At first it seemed to #e imossi#le, #ut ! soon devised a means. 0y
hand-mirror had #een #roken, so a hay thought sei-ed me, and ! concealed
a iece of the glass in my handkerchief. ,n the ne/t occasion, in the midst
of my laughter, ! ut my handkerchief u to my eyes, and was a#le with a
little management to see all that there was #ehind me. ! confess that ! was
disaointed. There was nothing. At least that was my first imression.
At the second glance, however, ! erceived that there was a man
standing in the Southamton 3oad, a small #earded man in a gray suit, who
seemed to #e looking in my direction. The road is an imortant highway,
and there are usually eole there. This man, however, was leaning against
the railings which #ordered our field and was looking earnestly u. !
lowered my handkerchief and glanced at 0rs. 3ucastle to find her eyes
fi/ed uon me with a most searching ga-e. She said nothing, #ut ! am
convinced that she had divined that ! had a mirror in my hand and had seen
what was #ehind me. She rose at once. "(@ehro,( said she, (there is an
imertinent fellow uon the road there who stares u at 0iss Hunter.( "()o
friend of yours, 0iss Hunter5( he asked. "()o, ! know no one in these arts.(
"(Dear me2 How very imertinent2 .indly turn round and motion to him to
go away.( "(Surely it would #e #etter to take no notice.( "()o, no, we should
have him loitering here always. .indly turn round and wave him away like
that.(
"! did as ! was told, and at the same instant 0rs. 3ucastle drew down the
#lind. That was a week ago, and from that time ! have not sat again in the
window, nor have ! worn the #lue dress, nor seen the man in the road."
"1ray continue," said Holmes.
"%our narrative romises to #e a most interesting one."
"%ou will find it rather disconnected, ! fear, and there may rove to #e
little relation #etween the different incidents of which ! seak. ,n the very
first day that ! was at the Coer +eeches, 0r. 3ucastle took me to a small
outhouse which stands near the kitchen door. As we aroached it ! heard
the shar rattling of a chain, and the sound as of a large animal moving
a#out. "(*ook in here2( said 0r. 3ucastle, showing me a slit #etween two
lanks. (!s he not a #eauty5(
"! looked through and was conscious of two glowing eyes, and of a
vague figure huddled u in the darkness. "(Don(t #e frightened,( said my
emloyer, laughing at the start which ! had given. (!t(s only Carlo, my
mastiff. ! call him mine, #ut really old Toller, my groom, is the only man
who can do anything with him. $e feed him once a day, and not too much
then, so that he is always as keen as mustard. Toller lets him loose every
night, and :od hel the tresasser whom he lays his fangs uon. 9or
goodness( sake don(t you ever on any rete/t set your foot over the threshold
at night, for it(s as much as your life is worth.(
"The warning was no idle one, for two nights later ! haened to look
out of my #edroom window a#out two o(clock in the morning. !t was a
#eautiful moonlight night, and the lawn in front of the house was silvered
over and almost as #right as day. ! was standing, rat in the eaceful #eauty
of the scene, when ! was aware that something was moving under the
shadow of the coer #eeches. As it emerged into the moonshine ! saw what
it was. !t was a giant dog, as large as a calf, tawny tinted, with hanging 'owl,
#lack mu--le, and huge ro'ecting #ones. !t walked slowly across the lawn
and vanished into the shadow uon the other side. That dreadful sentinel
sent a chill to my heart which ! do not think that any #urglar could have
done.
"And now ! have a very strange e/erience to tell you. ! had, as you
know, cut off my hair in *ondon, and ! had laced it in a great coil at the
#ottom of my trunk. ,ne evening, after the child was in #ed, ! #egan to
amuse myself #y e/amining the furniture of my room and #y rearranging my
own little things. There was an old chest of drawers in the room, the two
uer ones emty and oen, the lower one locked. ! had filled the first two
with my linen. and as ! had still much to ack away ! was naturally annoyed
at not having the use of the third drawer. !t struck me that it might have #een
fastened #y a mere oversight, so ! took out my #unch of keys and tried to
oen it. The very first key fitted to erfection, and ! drew the drawer oen.
There was only one thing in it, #ut ! am sure that you would never guess
what it was. !t was my coil of hair.
"! took it u and e/amined it. !t was of the same eculiar tint, and the
same thickness. +ut then the imossi#ility of the thing o#truded itself uon
me. How could my hair have #een locked in the drawer5 $ith trem#ling
hands ! undid my trunk, turned out the contents, and drew from the #onom
my own hair. ! laid the two tresses together, and ! assure you that they were
identical. $as it not e/traordinary5 1u--le as ! would, ! could make nothing
at all of what it meant. ! returned the strange hair to the drawer, and ! said
nothing of the matter to the 3ucastles as ! felt that ! had ut myself in the
wrong #y oening a drawer which they had locked.
"! am naturally o#servant, as you may have remarked, 0r. Holmes, and !
soon had a retty good lan of the whole house in my head. There was one
wing, however, which aeared not to #e inha#ited at all. A door which
faced that which led into the "uarters of the Tollers oened into this suite,
#ut it was invaria#ly locked. ,ne day, however, as ! ascended the stair, ! met
0r. 3ucastle coming out through this door, his keys in his hand, and a look
on his face which made him a very different erson to the round, 'ovial man
to whom ! was accustomed. His cheeks were red, his #row was all crinkled
with anger, and the veins stood out at his temles with assion. He locked
the door and hurried ast me without a word or a look.
"This aroused my curiosity, so when ! went out for a walk in the grounds
with my charge, ! strolled round to the side from which ! could see the
windows of this art of the house. There were four of them in a row, three of
which were simly dirty, while the fourth was shuttered u. They were
evidently all deserted. As ! strolled u and down, glancing at them
occasionally, 0r. 3ucastle came out to me, looking as merry and 'ovial as
ever. "(Ah2( said he, (you must not think me rude if ! assed you without a
word, my dear young lady. ! was reoccuied with #usiness matters.(
"! assured him that ! was not offended. (+y the way,( said !, (you seem to
have "uite a suite of sare rooms u there, and one of them has the shutters
u.(
"He looked surrised and, as it seemed to me, a little startled at my
remark. "(1hotograhy is one of my ho##ies,( said he. (! have made my dark
room u there. +ut, dear me2 what an o#servant young lady we have come
uon. $ho would have #elieved it5 $ho would have ever #elieved it5( He
soke in a 'esting tone, #ut there was no 'est in his eyes as he looked at me. !
read susicion there and annoyance, #ut no 'est.
"$ell, 0r. Holmes, from the moment that ! understood that there was
something a#out that suite of rooms which ! was not to know, ! was all on
fire to go over them. !t was not mere curiosity, though ! have my share of
that. !t was more a feeling of duty&a feeling that some good might come
from my enetrating to this lace. They talk of woman(s instinct7 erhas it
was woman(s instinct which gave me that feeling. At any rate, it was there,
and ! was keenly on the lookout for any chance to ass the for#idden door.
"!t was only yesterday that the chance came. ! may tell you that, #esides
0r. 3ucastle, #oth Toller and his wife find something to do in these deserted
rooms, and ! once saw him carrying a large #lack linen #ag with him
through the door. 3ecently he has #een drinking hard, and yesterday evening
he was very drunk7 and when ! came ustairs there was the key in the door. !
have no dou#t at all that he had left it there. 0r. and 0rs. 3ucastle were
#oth downstairs, and the child was with them, so that ! had an admira#le
oortunity. ! turned the key gently in the lock, oened the door, and slied
through.
"There was a little assage in front of me, unaered and uncareted,
which turned at a right angle at the farther end. 3ound this corner were three
doors in a line, the first and third of which were oen. They each led into an
emty room, dusty and cheerless, with two windows in the one and one in
the other, so thick with dirt that the evening light glimmered dimly through
them. The centre door was closed, and across the outside of it had #een
fastened one of the #road #ars of an iron #ed, adlocked at one end to a ring
in the wall, and fastened at the other with stout cord. The door itself was
locked as well, and the key was not there. This #arricaded door
corresonded clearly with the shuttered window outside, and yet ! could see
#y the glimmer from #eneath it that the room was not in darkness. 6vidently
there was a skylight which let in light from a#ove.
As ! stood in the assage ga-ing at the sinister door and wondering what
secret it might veil, ! suddenly heard the sound of stes within the room and
saw a shadow ass #ackward and forward against the little slit of dim light
which shone out from under the door. A mad, unreasoning terror rose u in
me at the sight, 0r. Holmes. 0y overstrung nerves failed me suddenly, and
! turned and ran&ran as though some dreadful hand were #ehind me
clutching at the skirt of my dress. ! rushed down the assage, through the
door, and straight into the arms of 0r. 3ucastle, who was waiting outside.
"(So,( said he, smiling, (it was you, then. ! thought that it must #e when ! saw
the door oen.(
"(,h, ! am so frightened2( ! anted. "(0y dear young lady2 my dear
young lady2(&you cannot think how caressing and soothing his manner was
&(and what has frightened you, my dear young lady5(
"+ut his voice was 'ust a little too coa/ing. He overdid it. ! was keenly
on my guard against him.
"(! was foolish enough to go into the emty wing,( ! answered. (+ut it is
so lonely and eerie in this dim light that ! was frightened and ran out again.
,h, it is so dreadfully still in there2(
"(,nly that5( said he, looking at me keenly.
"($hy, what did you think5( ! asked.
"($hy do you think that ! lock this door5(
"(! am sure that ! do not know.(
"(!t is to kee eole out who have no #usiness there. Do you see5( He
was still smiling in the most amia#le manner.
"(! am sure if ! had known&(
"($ell, then, you know now. And if you ever ut your foot over that
threshold again(&here in an instant the smile hardened into a grin of rage,
and he glared down at me with the face of a demon&(!(ll throw you to the
mastiff.(
"! was so terrified that ! do not know what ! did. ! suose that ! must
have rushed ast him into my room. ! remem#er nothing until ! found
myself lying on my #ed trem#ling all over. Then ! thought of you, 0r.
Holmes. ! could not live there longer without some advice. ! was frightened
of the house, of the man of the woman, of the servants, even of the child.
They were all horri#le to me. !f ! could only #ring you down all would #e
well. ,f course ! might have fled from the house, #ut my curiosity was
almost as strong as my fears. 0y mind was soon made u. ! would send you
a wire. ! ut on my hat and cloak, went down to the office, which is a#out
half a mile from the house, and then returned, feeling very much easier. A
horri#le dou#t came into my mind as ! aroached the door lest the dog
might #e loose, #ut ! remem#ered that Toller had drunk himself into a state
of insensi#ility that evening, and ! knew that he was the only one in the
household who had any influence with the savage creature, or who would
venture to set him free. ! slied in in safety and lay awake half the night in
my 'oy at the thought of seeing you. ! had no difficulty in getting leave to
come into $inchester this morning, #ut ! must #e #ack #efore three o(clock,
for 0r. and 0rs. 3ucastle are going on a visit, and will #e away all the
evening, so that ! must look after the child. )ow ! have told you all my
adventures, 0r. Holmes, and ! should #e very glad if you could tell me what
it all means, and, a#ove all, what ! should do."
Holmes and ! had listened sell#ound to this e/traordinary story. 0y
friend rose now and aced u and down the room, his hands in his ockets,
and an e/ression of the most rofound gravity uon his face. "!s Toller still
drunk5" he asked.
"%es. ! heard his wife tell 0rs. 3ucastle that she could do nothing with
him."
"That is well. And the 3ucastles go out to-night5"
"%es."
"!s there a cellar with a good strong lock5"
"%es, the wine-cellar."
"%ou seem to me to have acted all through this matter like a very #rave
and sensi#le girl, 0iss Hunter. Do you think that you could erform one
more feat5 ! should not ask it of you if ! did not think you a "uite
e/cetional woman."
"! will try. $hat is it5"
"$e shall #e at the Coer +eeches #y seven o(clock, my friend and !.
The 3ucastles will #e gone #y that time, and Toller will, we hoe, #e
incaa#le. There only remains 0rs. Toller, who might give the alarm. !f you
could send her into the cellar on some errand, and then turn the key uon
her, you would facilitate matters immensely."
"! will do it."
"6/cellent2 $e shall then look thoroughly into the affair. ,f course
there is only one feasi#le e/lanation. %ou have #een #rought there to
ersonate someone, and the real erson is imrisoned in this cham#er. That
is o#vious. As to who this risoner is, ! have no dou#t that it is the daughter,
0iss Alice 3ucastle, if ! remem#er right, who was said to have gone to
America. %ou were chosen, dou#tless, as resem#ling her in height, figure,
and the color of your hair. Hers had #een cut off, very ossi#ly in some
illness through which she has assed, and so, of course, yours had to #e
sacrificed also. +y a curious chance you came uon her tresses. The man in
the road was undou#tedly some friend of hers&ossi#ly her fiance&and no
dou#t, as you wore the girl(s dress and were so like her, he was convinced
from your laughter, whenever he saw you, and afterwards from your gesture,
that 0iss 3ucastle was erfectly hay, and that she no longer desired his
attentions. The dog is let loose at night to revent him from endeavoring to
communicate with her. So much is fairly clear. The most serious oint in the
case is the disosition of the child."
"$hat on earth has that to do with it5" ! e'aculated.
"0y dear $atson, you as a medical man are continually gaining light as
to the tendencies of a child #y the study of the arents. Don(t you see that the
converse is e"ually valid. ! have fre"uently gained my first real insight into
the character of arents #y studying their children. This child(s disosition is
a#normally cruel, merely for cruelty(s sake, and whether he derives this from
his smiling father, as ! should susect, or from his mother, it #odes evil for
the oor girl who is in their ower."
"! am sure that you are right, 0r. Holmes," cried our client.
"A thousand things come #ack to me which make me certain that you
have hit it. ,h, let us lose not an instant in #ringing hel to this oor
creature."
"$e must #e circumsect, for we are dealing with a very cunning man.
$e can do nothing until seven o(clock. At that hour we shall #e with you,
and it will not #e long #efore we solve the mystery."
$e were as good as our word, for it was 'ust seven when we reached the
Coer +eeches, having ut u our tra at a wayside u#lic-house. The
grou of trees, with their dark leaves shining like #urnished metal in the
light of the setting sun, were sufficient to mark the house even had 0iss
Hunter not #een standing smiling on the door-ste.
"Have you managed it5" asked Holmes. A loud thudding noise came
from somewhere downstairs.
"That is 0rs. Toller in the cellar," said she.
"Her hus#and lies snoring on the kitchen rug. Here are his keys, which
are the dulicates of 0r. 3ucastle(s."
"%ou have done well indeed2" cried Holmes with enthusiasm.
")ow lead the way, and we shall soon see the end of this #lack
#usiness."
$e assed u the stair, unlocked the door, followed on down a assage,
and found ourselves in front of the #arricade which 0iss Hunter had
descri#ed. Holmes cut the cord and removed the transverse #ar. Then he
tried the various keys in the lock, #ut without success. )o sound came from
within, and at the silence Holmes(s face clouded over. "! trust that we are not
too late," said he. "! think, 0iss Hunter, that we had #etter go in without
you. )ow, $atson, ut your shoulder to it, and we shall see whether we
cannot make our way in."
!t was an old rickety door and gave at once #efore our united strength.
Together we rushed into the room. !t was emty. There was no furniture
save a little allet #ed, a small ta#le, and a #asketful of linen. The skylight
a#ove was oen, and the risoner gone.
"There has #een some villainy here," said Holmes7 "This #eauty has
guessed 0iss Hunter(s intentions and has carried his victim off."
"+ut how5"
"Through the skylight. $e shall soon see how he managed it." He swung
himself u onto the roof. "Ah, yes," he cried, "here(s the end of a long light
ladder against the eaves. That is how he did it."
"+ut it is imossi#le," said 0iss Hunter7 "The ladder was not there when
the 3ucastles went away."
"He has come #ack and done it. ! tell you that he is a clever and
dangerous man. ! should not #e very much surrised if this were he whose
ste ! hear now uon the stair. ! think, $atson, that it would #e as well for
you to have your istol ready."
The words were hardly out of his mouth #efore a man aeared at the
door of the room, a very fat and #urly man, with a heavy stick in his hand.
0iss Hunter screamed and shrunk against the wall at the sight of him, #ut
Sherlock Holmes srang forward and confronted him.
"%ou villain2" said he, "where(s your daughter5"
The fat man cast his eyes round, and then u at the oen skylight. "!t is
for me to ask you that," he shrieked, "%ou thieves2 Sies and thieves2 ! have
caught you, have !5 %ou are in my ower. !(ll serve you2" He turned and
clattered down the stairs as hard as he could go.
"He(s gone for the dog2" cried 0iss Hunter.
"! have my revolver," said !.
"+etter close the front door," cried Holmes, and we all rushed down the
stairs together. $e had hardly reached the hall when we heard the #aying of
a hound, and then a scream of agony, with a horri#le worrying sound which
it was dreadful to listen to.
An elderly man with a red face and shaking lim#s came staggering out at
a side door. "0y :od2" he cried. "Someone has loosed the dog. !t(s not #een
fed for two days. =uick, "uick, or it(ll #e too late2"
Holmes and ! rushed out and round the angle of the house, with Toller
hurrying #ehind us. There was the huge famished #rute, its #lack mu--le
#uried in 3ucastle(s throat, while he writhed and screamed uon the ground.
3unning u, ! #lew its #rains out, and it fell over with its keen white teeth
still meeting in the great creases of his neck. $ith much la#or we searated
them and carried him, living #ut horri#ly mangled, into the house. $e laid
him uon the drawing-room sofa, and having disatched the so#ered Toller
to #ear the news to his wife, ! did what ! could to relieve his ain. $e were
all assem#led round him when the door oened, and a tall, gaunt woman
entered the room.
"0rs. Toller2" cried 0iss Hunter.
"%es, miss. 0r. 3ucastle let me out when he came #ack #efore he went
u to you. Ah, miss, it is a ity you didn(t let me know what you were
lanning, for ! would have told you that your ains were wasted."
"Ha2" said Holmes, looking keenly at her.
"!t is clear that 0rs. Toller knows more a#out this matter than anyone
else."
"%es, sir, ! do, and ! am ready enough to tell what ! know."
"Then, ray, sit down, and let us hear it for there are several oints on
which ! must confess that ! am still in the dark."
"! will soon make it clear to you," said she7 "And !(d have done so #efore
now if ! could ha( got out from the cellar. !f there(s olice-court #usiness
over this, you(ll remem#er that ! was the one that stood your friend, and that
! was 0iss Alice(s friend too.
"She was never hay at home, 0iss Alice wasn(t, from the time that her
father married again. She was slighted like and had no say in anything, #ut it
never really #ecame #ad for her until after she met 0r. 9owler at a friend(s
house. As well as ! could learn, 0iss Alice had rights of her own #y will,
#ut she was so "uiet and atient, she was, that she never said a word a#out
them #ut 'ust left everything in 0r. 3ucastle(s hands. He knew he was safe
with her7 #ut when there was a chance of a hus#and coming forward, who
would ask for all that the law would give him, then her father thought it time
to ut a sto on it. He wanted her to sign a aer, so that whether she
married or not, he could use her money. $hen she wouldn(t do it, he ket on
worrying her until she got #rain-fever, and for si/ weeks was at death(s door.
Then she got #etter at last, all worn to a shadow, and with her #eautiful hair
cut off7 #ut that didn(t make no change in her young man, and he stuck to her
as true as man could #e."
"Ah," said Holmes, "! think that what you have #een good enough to tell
us makes the matter fairly clear, and that ! can deduce all that remains. 0r.
3ucastle then, ! resume, took to this system of imrisonment5"
"%es, sir."
"And #rought 0iss Hunter down from *ondon in order to get rid of the
disagreea#le ersistence of 0r. 9owler."
"That was it, sir."
"+ut 0r. 9owler #eing a ersevering man, as a good seaman should #e,
#lockaded the house, and having met you succeeded #y certain arguments,
metallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your interests were the same as
his."
"0r. 9owler was a very kind-soken, free-handed gentleman," said 0rs.
Toller serenely.
"And in this way he managed that your good man should have no want
of drink, and that a ladder should #e ready at the moment when your master
had gone out."
"%ou have it, sir, 'ust as it haened."
"! am sure we owe you an aology, 0rs. Toller," said Holmes, "for you
have certainly cleared u everything which u--led us. And here comes the
country surgeon and 0rs. 3ucastle, so ! think. $atson, that we had #est
escort 0iss Hunter #ack to $inchester, as it seems to me that our locus
standi now is rather a "uestiona#le one."
And thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the coer
#eeches in front of the door. 0r. 3ucastle survived, #ut was always a #roken
man, ket alive solely through the care of his devoted wife. They still live
with their old servants, who ro#a#ly know so much of 3ucastle(s ast life
that he finds it difficult to art from them. 0r. 9owler and 0iss 3ucastle
were married, #y secial license, in Southamton the day after their flight,
and he is now the holder of a government aointment in the island of
0auritius. As to 0iss >iolet Hunter, my friend Holmes, rather to my
disaointment, manifested no further interest in her when once she had
ceased to #e the centre of one of his ro#lems, and she is now the head of a
rivate school at $alsall, where ! #elieve that she has met with considera#le
success.
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