Sherlock Holmes complete collection by sir arthur conan doyle

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes THE COPPER BEECHES

"TO THE man who loves art for its own sake," remarked SherlockHolmes, tossing aside the advertisement sheet of the Daily Telegraph, "itis frequently in its least important and lowliest manifestations that thekeenest pleasure is to be derived. It is pleasant to me to observe, Watson,that you have so far grasped this truth that in these little records of ourcases which you have been good enough to draw up, and, I am bound tosay, occasionally to embellish, you have given prominence not so much tothe many causes célèbres and sensational trials in which I have figuredbut rather to those incidents which may have been trivial in themselves,[317] but which have given room for those faculties of deduction and oflogical synthesis which I have made my special province.""And yet," said I, smiling, "I cannot quite hold myself absolved fromthe charge of sensationalism which has been urged against my records.""You have erred, perhaps," he observed, taking up a glowing cinderwith the tongs and lighting with it the long cherry-wood pipe which waswont to replace his clay when he was in a disputatious rather than ameditative mood-"you have erred perhaps in attempting to put colour andlife into each of your statements instead of confining yourself to the taskof placing upon record that severe reasoning from cause to effect which isreally the only notable feature about the thing.""It seems to me that I have done you full justice in the matter," Iremarked with some coldness, for I was repelled by the egotism which I had more than once observed to be a strong factor in my friend's singularcharacter."No, it is not selfishness or conceit," said he, answering, as was hiswont, my thoughts rather than my words. "If I claim full justice for myart, it is because it is an impersonal thing-a thing beyond myself. Crime iscommon. Logic is rare. Therefore it is upon the logic rather than upon thecrime that you should dwell. You have degraded what should have been acourse of lectures into a series of tales."It was a cold morning of the early spring, and we sat after breakfast oneither side of a cheery fire in the old room at Baker Street. A thick fogrolled down between the lines of dun-coloured houses, and the opposingwindows loomed like dark, shapeless blurs through the heavy yellowwreaths. Our gas was lit and shone on the white cloth and glimmer ofchina and metal, for the table had not been cleared yet. Sherlock Holmeshad been silent all the morning, dipping continuously into theadvertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last, havingapparently given up his search, he had emerged in no very sweet temperto lecture me upon my literary shortcomings."At the same time," he remarked after a pause, during which he had satpuffing at his long pipe and gazing down into the fire, "you can hardly beopen to a charge of sensationalism, for out of these cases which you havebeen so kind as to interest yourself in, a fair proportion do not treat ofcrime, in its legal sense, at all. The small matter in which I endeavouredto help the King of Bohemia, the singular experience of Miss MarySutherland, the problem connected with the man with the twisted lip, andthe incident of the noble bachelor, were all matters which are outside thepale of the law. But in avoiding the sensational, I fear that you may havebordered on the trivial.""The end may have been so," I answered, "but the methods I hold tohave been novel and of interest.""Pshaw, my dear fellow, what do the public, the great unobservantpublic, who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a compositor by hisleft thumb, care about the finer shades of analysis and deduction! But,indeed, if you are trivial, I cannot blame you, for the days of the greatcases are past. Man, or at least criminal man, has lost all enterprise andoriginality. As to my own little practice, it seems to be degenerating intoan agency for recovering lost lead pencils and giving advice to youngladies from boarding-schools. I think that I have touched bottom at last,however. This note I had this morning marks my zero-point, I fancy. Readit!" He tossed a crumpled letter across to me.[318] It was dated from Montague Place upon the preceding evening,and ran thus:DEAR MR. HOLMES:I am very anxious to consult you as to whether I should orshould not accept a situation which has been offered to me asgoverness. I shall call at half-past ten to-morrow if I do notinconvenience you.Yours faithfully,VIOLET HUNTER."Do you know the young lady?" I asked."Not I.""It is half-past ten now.""Yes, and I have no doubt that is her ring.""It may turn out to be of more interest than you think. You rememberthat the affair of the blue carbuncle, which appeared to be a mere whim atfirst, developed into a serious investigation. It may be so in this case,also.""Well, let us hope so. But our doubts will very soon be solved, for here,unless I am much mistaken, is the person in question."As he spoke the door opened and a young lady entered the room. Shewas plainly but neatly dressed, with a bright, quick face, freckled like aplover's egg, and with the brisk manner of a woman who has had her ownway to make in the world."You will excuse my troubling you, I am sure," said she, as mycompanion rose to greet her, "but I have had a very strange experience,and as I have no parents or relations of any sort from whom I could askadvice, I thought that perhaps you would be kind enough to tell me what Ishould do.""Pray take a seat, Miss Hunter. I shall be happy to do anything that Ican to serve you."I could see that Holmes was favourably impressed by the manner andspeech of his new client. He looked her over in his searching fashion, andthen composed himself, with his lids drooping and his finger-tipstogether, to listen to her story. "I have been a governess for five years," said she, "in the family ofColonel Spence Munro, but two months ago the colonel received anappointment at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and took his children over toAmerica with him, so that I found myself without a situation. I advertised,and I answered advertisements, but without success. At last the littlemoney which I had saved began to run short, and I was at my wit's end asto what I should do."There is a well-known agency for governesses in the West End calledWestaway's, and there I used to call about once a week in order to seewhether anything had turned up which might suit me. Westaway was thename of the founder of the business, but it is really managed by MissStoper. She sits in her own little office, and the ladies who are seekingemployment wait in an anteroom, and are then shown in one by one,when she consults her ledgers and sees whether she has anything whichwould suit them."Well, when I called last week I was shown into the little office asusual, but I found that Miss Stoper was not alone. A prodigiously stoutman with a very smiling face and a great heavy chin which rolled down infold upon fold over his throat sat at her elbow with a pair of glasses on hisnose, looking very earnestly at the ladies who entered. As I came in hegave quite a jump in his chair and turned quickly to Miss Stoper." 'That will do,' said he; 'I could not ask for anything better. Capital!capital!' [319] He seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his hands togetherin the most genial fashion. He was such a comfortable-looking man that itwas quite a pleasure to look at him." 'You are looking for a situation, miss?' he asked." 'Yes, sir.' " 'As governess?'" 'Yes, sir.'" 'And what salary do you ask?'" 'I had £4 a month in my last place with Colonel Spence Munro.'" 'Oh, tut, tut! sweating-rank sweating!' he cried, throwing his fathands out into the air like a man who is in a boiling passion. 'How couldanyone offer so pitiful a sum to a lady with such attractions andaccomplishments?'" 'My accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,' said I. 'Alittle French, a little German, music, and drawing- -'" 'Tut, tut!' he cried. 'This is all quite beside the question. The point is,have you or have you not the bearing and deportment of a lady? There itis in a nutshell. If you have not, you are not fitted for the rearing of a childwho may some day play a considerable part in the history of the country.But if you have, why, then, how could any gentleman ask you tocondescend to accept anything under the three figures? Your salary withme, madam, would commence at £100 a year.'"You may imagine, Mr. Holmes, that to me, destitute as I was, such anoffer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman, however, seeingperhaps the look of incredulity upon my face, opened a pocket-book andtook out a note." 'It is also my custom,' said he, smiling in the most pleasant fashionuntil his eyes were just two little shining slits amid the white creases ofhis face, 'to advance to my young ladies half their salary beforehand, sothat they may meet any little expenses of their journey and theirwardrobe.'"It seemed to me that I had never met so fascinating and so thoughtful aman. As I was already in debt to my tradesmen, the advance was a greatconvenience, and yet there was something unnatural about the wholetransaction which made me wish to know a little more before I quitecommitted myself." 'May I ask where you live, sir?' said I." 'Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper Beeches, five mileson the far side of Winchester. It is the most lovely country, my dearyoung lady, and the dearest old country-house.'" 'And my duties, sir? I should be glad to know what they would be.'" 'One child-one dear little romper just six years old. Oh, if you couldsee him killing cockroaches with a slipper! Smack! smack! smack! Threegone before you could wink!' He leaned back in his chair and laughed hiseyes into his head again."I was a little startled at the nature of the child's amusement, but thefather's laughter made me think that perhaps he was joking." 'My sole duties, then,' I asked, 'are to take charge of a single child?'" 'No, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,' he cried.'Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would suggest, toobey any little commands my wife might give, provided always that theywere such commands as a lady might with propriety obey. You see nodifficulty, heh?'" 'I should be happy to make myself useful.' " 'Quite so. In dress now, for example. We are faddy people, youknow- faddy [320] but kind-hearted. If you were asked to wear any dresswhich we might give you, you would not object to our little whim. Heh?'" 'No,' said I, considerably astonished at his words." 'Or to sit here, or sit there, that would not be offensive to you?'" 'Oh, no.'" 'Or to cut your hair quite short before you come to us?'"I could hardly believe my ears. As you may observe, Mr. Holmes, myhair is somewhat luxuriant, and of a rather peculiar tint of chestnut. It hasbeen considered artistic. I could not dream of sacrificing it in this offhandfashion." 'I am afraid that that is quite impossible,' said I. He had beenwatching me eagerly out of his small eyes, and I could see a shadow passover his face as I spoke." 'I am afraid that it is quite essential,' said he. 'It is a little fancy of mywife's, and ladies' fancies, you know, madam, ladies' fancies must beconsulted. And so you won't cut your hair?'" 'No, sir, I really could not,' I answered firmly." 'Ah, very well; then that quite settles the matter. It is a pity, becausein other respects you would really have done very nicely. In that case,Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a few more of your young ladies.'"The manageress had sat all this while busy with her papers without aword to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so much annoyanceupon her face that I could not help suspecting that she had lost ahandsome commission through my refusal." 'Do you desire your name to be kept upon the books?' she asked." 'If you please, Miss Stoper.'" 'Well, really, it seems rather useless, since you refuse the mostexcellent offers in this fashion,' said she sharply. 'You can hardly expectus to exert ourselves to find another such opening for you. Good-day toyou, Miss Hunter.' She struck a gong upon the table, and I was shown outby the page."Well, Mr. Holmes, when I got back to my lodgings and found littleenough in the cupboard, and two or three bills upon the table, I began toask myself whether I had not done a very foolish thing. After all, if thesepeople had strange fads and expected obedience on the mostextraordinary matters, they were at least ready to pay for theireccentricity. Very few governesses in England are getting £100 a year.Besides, what use was my hair to me? Many people are improved bywearing it short, and perhaps I should be among the number. Next day Iwas inclined to think that I had made a mistake, and by the day after I wassure of it. I had almost overcome my pride so far as to go back to theagency and inquire whether the place was still open when I received thisletter from the gentleman himself. I have it here, and I will read it to you:"The Copper Beeches, near Winchester."DEAR MISS HUNTER:"Miss Stoper has very kindly given me your address, and I writefrom here to ask you whether you have reconsidered your decision. My wife is very anxious that you should come, for shehas been much attracted by my description of you. We are willingto give £30 a quarter, or £120 a year, so as to recompense you forany little inconvenience which our fads may cause you. They arenot very exacting, after all. My wife is fond of a particular shadeof electric blue, and would like you to wear such a dress indoors in[321] the morning. You need not, however, go to the expense ofpurchasing one, as we have one belonging to my dear daughterAlice (now in Philadelphia), which would, I should think, fit youvery well. Then, as to sitting here or there, or amusing yourself inany manner indicated, that need cause you no inconvenience. Asregards your hair, it is no doubt a pity, especially as I could nothelp remarking its beauty during our short interview, but I amafraid that I must remain firm upon this point, and I only hope thatthe increased salary may recompense you for the loss. Your duties,as far as the child is concerned, are very light. Now do try to come,and I shall meet you with the dog-cart at Winchester. Let me knowyour train."Yours faithfully,"JEPHRO RUCASTLE."That is the letter which I have just received, Mr. Holmes, and mymind is made up that I will accept it. I thought, however, that beforetaking the final step I should like to submit the whole matter to yourconsideration.""Well, Miss Hunter, if your mind is made up, that settles the question,"said Holmes, smiling."But you would not advise me to refuse?""I confess that it is not the situation which I should like to see a sisterof mine apply for.""What is the meaning of it all, Mr. Holmes?""Ah, I have no data. I cannot tell. Perhaps you have yourself formedsome opinion?""Well, there seems to me to be only one possible solution. Mr. Rucastleseemed to be a very kind, good-natured man. Is it not possible that hiswife is a lunatic, that he desires to keep the matter quiet for fear sheshould be taken to an asylum, and that he humours her fancies in everyway in order to prevent an outbreak?""That is a possible solution-in fact, as matters stand, it is the mostprobable one. But in any case it does not seem to be a nice household fora young lady.""But the money, Mr. Holmes, the money!""Well, yes, of course the pay is good-too good. That is what makes meuneasy. Why should they give you £120 a year, when they could havetheir pick for £40? There must be some strong reason behind.""I thought that if I told you the circumstances you would understandafterwards if I wanted your help. I should feel so much stronger if I feltthat you were at the back of me.""Oh, you may carry that feeling away with you. I assure you that your little problem promises to be the most interesting which has come myway for some months. There is something distinctly novel about some ofthe features. If you should find yourself in doubt or in danger- -""Danger! What danger do you foresee?"Holmes shook his head gravely. "It would cease to be a danger if wecould define it," said he. "But at any time, day or night, a telegram wouldbring me down to your help.""That is enough." She rose briskly from her chair with the anxiety allswept from her face. "I shall go down to Hampshire quite easy in mymind now. I shall write to Mr. Rucastle at once, sacrifice my poor hair tonight, and start for Winchester [322] to-morrow." With a few gratefulwords to Holmes she bade us both good-night and bustled off upon herway."At least," said I as we heard her quick, firm steps descending thestairs, "she seems to be a young lady who is very well able to take care ofherself.""And she would need to be," said Holmes gravely. "I am muchmistaken if we do not hear from her before many days are past."It was not very long before my friend's prediction was fulfilled. Afortnight went by, during which I frequently found my thoughts turning inher direction and wondering what strange side-alley of human experiencethis lonely woman had strayed into. The unusual salary, the curiousconditions, the light duties, all pointed to something abnormal, thoughwhether a fad or a plot, or whether the man were a philanthropist or avillain, it was quite beyond my powers to determine. As to Holmes, Iobserved that he sat frequently for half an hour on end, with knitted browsand an abstracted air, but he swept the matter away with a wave of hishand when I mentioned it. "Data! data! data!" he cried impatiently. "Ican't make bricks without clay." And yet he would always wind up bymuttering that no sister of his should ever have accepted such a situation. The telegram which we eventually received came late one night just asI was thinking of turning in and Holmes was settling down to one of thoseall-night chemical researches which he frequently indulged in, when Iwould leave him stooping over a retort and a test-tube at night and findhim in the same position when I came down to breakfast in the morning.He opened the yellow envelope, and then, glancing at the message, threwit across to me."Just look up the trains in Bradshaw," said he, and turned back to hischemical studies.The summons was a brief and urgent one.Please be at the Black Swan Hotel at Winchester at midday tomorrow [it said]. Do come! I am at my wit's end.HUNTER."Will you come with me?" asked Holmes, glancing up."I should wish to.""Just look it up, then.""There is a train at half-past nine," said I, glancing over my Bradshaw."It is due at Winchester at 11:30.""That will do very nicely. Then perhaps I had better postpone myanalysis of the acetones, as we may need to be at our best in the morning."By eleven o'clock the next day we were well upon our way to the oldEnglish capital. Holmes had been buried in the morning papers all theway down, but after we had passed the Hampshire border he threw themdown and began to admire the scenery. It was an ideal spring day, a lightblue sky, flecked with little fleecy white clouds drifting across from westto east. The sun was shining very brightly, and yet there was anexhilarating nip in the air, which set an edge to a man's energy. All overthe countryside, away to the rolling hills around Aldershot, the little redand gray roofs of the farm-steadings peeped out from amid the light greenof the new foliage."Are they not fresh and beautiful?" I cried with all the enthusiasm of aman fresh from the fogs of Baker Street.[323] But Holmes shook his head gravely."Do you know, Watson," said he, "that it is one of the curses of a mindwith a turn like mine that I must look at everything with reference to myown special subject. You look at these scattered houses, and you areimpressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought whichcomes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with whichcrime may be committed there.""Good heavens!" I cried. "Who would associate crime with these dearold homesteads?""They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, Watson,founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in Londondo not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling andbeautiful countryside.""You horrify me!""But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion can doin the town what the law cannot accomplish. There is no lane so vile thatthe scream of a tortured child, or the thud of a drunkard's blow, does notbeget sympathy and indignation among the neighbours, and then thewhole machinery of justice is ever so close that a word of complaint canset it going, and there is but a step between the crime and the dock. Butlook at these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most partwith poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds ofhellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out,in such places, and none the wiser. Had this lady who appeals to us forhelp gone to live in Winchester, I should never have had a fear for her. Itis the five miles of country which makes the danger. Still, it is clear thatshe is not personally threatened.""No. If she can come to Winchester to meet us she can get away.""Quite so. She has her freedom.""What can be the matter, then? Can you suggest no explanation?""I have devised seven separate explanations, each of which wouldcover the facts as far as we know them. But which of these is correct canonly be determined by the fresh information which we shall no doubt findwaiting for us. Well, there is the tower of the cathedral, and we shall soonlearn all that Miss Hunter has to tell."The Black Swan is an inn of repute in the High Street, at no distance from the station, and there we found the young lady waiting for us. Shehad engaged a sitting-room, and our lunch awaited us upon the table."I am so delighted that you have come," she said earnestly. "It is sovery kind of you both; but indeed I do not know what I should do. Youradvice will be altogether invaluable to me.""Pray tell us what has happened to you.""I will do so, and I must be quick, for I have promised Mr. Rucastle tobe back before three. I got his leave to come into town this morning,though he little knew for what purpose.""Let us have everything in its due order." Holmes thrust his long thinlegs out towards the fire and composed himself to listen."In the first place, I may say that I have met, on the whole, with noactual ill-treatment from Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle. It is only fair to them tosay that. But I cannot understand them, and I am not easy in my mindabout them.""What can you not understand?""Their reasons for their conduct. But you shall have it all just as itoccurred. [324] When I came down, Mr. Rucastle met me here and droveme in his dog-cart to the Copper Beeches. It is, as he said, beautifullysituated, but it is not beautiful in itself, for it is a large square block of ahouse, whitewashed, but all stained and streaked with damp and badweather. There are grounds round it, woods on three sides, and on thefourth a field which slopes down to the Southampton highroad, whichcurves past about a hundred yards from the front door. This ground infront belongs to the house, but the woods all round are part of LordSoutherton's preserves. A clump of copper beeches immediately in front of the hall door has given its name to the place."I was driven over by my employer, who was as amiable as ever, andwas introduced by him that evening to his wife and the child. There wasno truth, Mr. Holmes, in the conjecture which seemed to us to be probablein your rooms at Baker Street. Mrs. Rucastle is not mad. I found her to bea silent, pale-faced woman, much younger than her husband, not morethan thirty, I should think, while he can hardly be less than forty-five.From their conversation I have gathered that they have been marriedabout seven years, that he was a widower, and that his only child by thefirst wife was the daughter who has gone to Philadelphia. Mr. Rucastletold me in private that the reason why she had left them was that she hadan unreasoning aversion to her stepmother. As the daughter could nothave been less than twenty, I can quite imagine that her position musthave been uncomfortable with her father's young wife."Mrs. Rucastle seemed to me to be colourless in mind as well as infeature. She impressed me neither favourably nor the reverse. She was anonentity. It was easy to see that she was passionately devoted both to herhusband and to her little son. Her light gray eyes wandered continuallyfrom one to the other, noting every little want and forestalling it ifpossible. He was kind to her also in his bluff, boisterous fashion, and onthe whole they seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secretsorrow, this woman. She would often be lost in deep thought, with thesaddest look upon her face. More than once I have surprised her in tears. Ihave thought sometimes that it was the disposition of her child whichweighed upon her mind, for I have never met so utterly spoiled and so illnatured a little creature. He is small for his age, with a head which is quitedisproportionately large. His whole life appears to be spent in analternation between savage fits of passion and gloomy intervals ofsulking. Giving pain to any creature weaker than himself seems to be hisone idea of amusement, and he shows quite remarkable talent in planningthe capture of mice, little birds, and insects. But I would rather not talkabout the creature, Mr. Holmes, and, indeed, he has little to do with mystory.""I am glad of all details," remarked my friend, "whether they seem toyou to be relevant or not.""I shall try not to miss anything of importance. The one unpleasantthing about the house, which struck me at once, was the appearance andconduct of the servants. There are only two, a man and his wife. Toller,for that is his name, is a rough, uncouth man, with grizzled hair andwhiskers, and a perpetual smell of drink. Twice since I have been withthem he has been quite drunk, and yet Mr. Rucastle seemed to take nonotice of it. His wife is a very tall and strong woman with a sour face, assilent as Mrs. Rucastle and much less amiable. They are a mostunpleasant couple, but fortunately I spend most of my time in the nurseryand my own room, which are next to each other in one corner of thebuilding."For two days after my arrival at the Copper Beeches my life was veryquiet; on [325] the third, Mrs. Rucastle came down just after breakfast andwhispered something to her husband. " 'Oh, yes,' said he, turning to me, 'we are very much obliged to you,Miss Hunter, for falling in with our whims so far as to cut your hair. Iassure you that it has not detracted in the tiniest iota from yourappearance. We shall now see how the electric-blue dress will becomeyou. You will find it laid out upon the bed in your room, and if you wouldbe so good as to put it on we should both be extremely obliged.'"The dress which I found waiting for me was of a peculiar shade ofblue. It was of excellent material, a sort of beige, but it bore unmistakablesigns of having been worn before. It could not have been a better fit if Ihad been measured for it. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle expressed a delightat the look of it, which seemed quite exaggerated in its vehemence. Theywere waiting for me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room,stretching along the entire front of the house, with three long windowsreaching down to the floor. A chair had been placed close to the centralwindow, with its back turned towards it. In this I was asked to sit, andthen Mr. Rucastle, walking up and down on the other side of the room,began to tell me a series of the funniest stories that I have ever listened to.You cannot imagine how comical he was, and I laughed until I was quiteweary. Mrs. Rucastle, however, who has evidently no sense of humour,never so much as smiled, but sat with her hands in her lap, and a sad,anxious look upon her face. After an hour or so, Mr. Rucastle suddenlyremarked that it was time to commence the duties of the day, and that Imight change my dress and go to little Edward in the nursery."Two days later this same performance was gone through under exactlysimilar circumstances. Again I changed my dress, again I sat in thewindow, and again I laughed very heartily at the funny stories of whichmy employer had an immense repertoire, and which he told inimitably.Then he handed me a yellow-backed novel, and moving my chair a littlesideways, that my own shadow might not fall upon the page, he beggedme to read aloud to him. I read for about ten minutes, beginning in theheart of a chapter, and then suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, heordered me to cease and to change my dress."You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, how curious I became as to whatthe meaning of this extraordinary performance could possibly be. Theywere always very careful, I observed, to turn my face away from thewindow, so that I became consumed with the desire to see what wasgoing on behind my back. At first it seemed to be impossible, but I soondevised a means. My hand-mirror had been broken, so a happy thoughtseized me, and I concealed a piece of the glass in my handkerchief. Onthe next occasion, in the midst of my laughter, I put my handkerchief upto my eyes, and was able with a little management to see all that therewas behind me. I confess that I was disappointed. There was nothing. Atleast that was my first impression. At the second glance, however, Iperceived that there was a man standing in the Southampton Road, asmall bearded man in a gray suit, who seemed to be looking in mydirection. The road is an important highway, and there are usually peoplethere. This man, however, was leaning against the railings which borderedour field and was looking earnestly up. I lowered my handkerchief andglanced at Mrs. Rucastle to find her eyes fixed upon me with a mostsearching gaze. She said nothing, but I am convinced that she had divinedthat I had a mirror in my hand and had seen what was behind me. Sherose at once.[326] " 'Jephro,' said she, 'there is an impertinent fellow upon the roadthere who stares up at Miss Hunter.'" 'No friend of yours, Miss Hunter?' he asked." 'No, I know no one in these parts.'" 'Dear me! How very impertinent! Kindly turn round and motion tohim to go away.' " 'Surely it would be better to take no notice.'" 'No, no, we should have him loitering here always. Kindly turn roundand wave him away like that.'"I did as I was told, and at the same instant Mrs. Rucastle drew downthe blind. That was a week ago, and from that time I have not sat again inthe window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor seen the man in the road.""Pray continue," said Holmes. "Your narrative promises to be a mostinteresting one.""You will find it rather disconnected, I fear, and there may prove to belittle relation between the different incidents of which I speak. On thevery first day that I was at the Copper Beeches, Mr. Rucastle took me to asmall outhouse which stands near the kitchen door. As we approached it Iheard the sharp rattling of a chain, and the sound as of a large animalmoving about." 'Look in here!' said Mr. Rucastle, showing me a slit between twoplanks. 'Is he not a beauty?'"I looked through and was conscious of two glowing eyes, and of avague figure huddled up in the darkness." 'Don't be frightened,' said my employer, laughing at the start which Ihad given. 'It's only Carlo, my mastiff. I call him mine, but really oldToller, my groom, is the only man who can do anything with him. Wefeed him once a day, and not too much then, so that he is always as keenas mustard. Toller lets him loose every night, and God help the trespasserwhom he lays his fangs upon. For goodness' sake don't you ever on anypretext set your foot over the threshold at night, for it's as much as yourlife is worth.'"The warning was no idle one, for two nights later I happened to lookout of my bedroom window about two o'clock in the morning. It was abeautiful moonlight night, and the lawn in front of the house was silveredover and almost as bright as day. I was standing, rapt in the peacefulbeauty of the scene, when I was aware that something was moving underthe shadow of the copper beeches. As it emerged into the moonshine Isaw what it was. It was a giant dog, as large as a calf, tawny tinted, withhanging jowl, black muzzle, and huge projecting bones. It walked slowlyacross the lawn and vanished into the shadow upon the other side. Thatdreadful sentinel sent a chill to my heart which I do not think that anyburglar could have done."And now I have a very strange experience to tell you. I had, as youknow, cut off my hair in London, and I had placed it in a great coil at thebottom of my trunk. One evening, after the child was in bed, I began toamuse myself by examining the furniture of my room and by rearrangingmy own little things. There was an old chest of drawers in the room, thetwo upper ones empty and open, the lower one locked. I had filled thefirst two with my linen, and as I had still much to pack away I wasnaturally annoyed at not having the use of the third drawer. It struck methat it might have been fastened by a mere oversight, so I took out mybunch of keys and tried to open it. The very first key fitted to perfection,and I [327] drew the drawer open. There was only one thing in it, but I amsure that you would never guess what it was. It was my coil of hair. "I took it up and examined it. It was of the same peculiar tint, and thesame thickness. But then the impossibility of the thing obtruded itselfupon me. How could my hair have been locked in the drawer? Withtrembling hands I undid my trunk, turned out the contents, and drew fromthe bottom my own hair. I laid the two tresses together, and I assure youthat they were identical. Was it not extraordinary? Puzzle as I would, Icould make nothing at all of what it meant. I returned the strange hair tothe drawer, and I said nothing of the matter to the Rucastles as I felt that Ihad put myself in the wrong by opening a drawer which they had locked."I am naturally observant, as you may have remarked, Mr. Holmes, andI soon had a pretty good plan of the whole house in my head. There wasone wing, however, which appeared not to be inhabited at all. A doorwhich faced that which led into the quarters of the Tollers opened intothis suite, but it was invariably locked. One day, however, as I ascendedthe stair, I met Mr. Rucastle coming out through this door, his keys in hishand, and a look on his face which made him a very different person tothe round, jovial man to whom I was accustomed. His cheeks were red,his brow was all crinkled with anger, and the veins stood out at histemples with passion. He locked the door and hurried past me without aword or a look."This aroused my curiosity; so when I went out for a walk in thegrounds with my charge, I strolled round to the side from which I couldsee the windows of this part of the house. There were four of them in arow, three of which were simply dirty, while the fourth was shuttered up.They were evidently all deserted. As I strolled up and down, glancing atthem occasionally, Mr. Rucastle came out to me, looking as merry andjovial as ever. " 'Ah!' said he, 'you must not think me rude if I passed you without aword, my dear young lady. I was preoccupied with business matters.'"I assured him that I was not offended. 'By the way,' said I, 'you seemto have quite a suite of spare rooms up there, and one of them has theshutters up.'"He looked surprised and, as it seemed to me, a little startled at myremark." 'Photography is one of my hobbies,' said he. 'I have made my darkroom up there. But, dear me! what an observant young lady we havecome upon. Who would have believed it? Who would have ever believedit?' He spoke in a jesting tone, but there was no jest in his eyes as helooked at me. I read suspicion there and annoyance, but no jest."Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there wassomething about that suite of rooms which I was not to know, I was all onfire to go over them. It was not mere curiosity, though I have my share ofthat. It was more a feeling of duty-a feeling that some good might comefrom my penetrating to this place. They talk of woman's instinct; perhapsit was woman's instinct which gave me that feeling. At any rate, it wasthere, and I was keenly on the lookout for any chance to pass theforbidden door."It was only yesterday that the chance came. I may tell you that,besides Mr. Rucastle, both Toller and his wife find something to do inthese deserted rooms, and I once saw him carrying a large black linen bagwith him through the door. Recently he has been drinking hard, andyesterday evening he was very drunk; and when I came upstairs there wasthe key in the door. I have no doubt at all that he [328] had left it there.Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle were both downstairs, and the child was withthem, so that I had an admirable opportunity. I turned the key gently inthe lock, opened the door, and slipped through."There was a little passage in front of me, unpapered and uncarpeted,which turned at a right angle at the farther end. Round this corner werethree doors in a line, the first and third of which were open. They each ledinto an empty room, dusty and cheerless, with two windows in the oneand one in the other, so thick with dirt that the evening light glimmereddimly through them. The centre door was closed, and across the outsideof it had been fastened one of the broad bars of an iron bed, padlocked atone 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. Thisbarricaded door corresponded clearly with the shuttered window outside,and yet I could see by the glimmer from beneath it that the room was notin darkness. Evidently there was a skylight which let in light from above.As I stood in the passage gazing at the sinister door and wondering whatsecret it might veil, I suddenly heard the sound of steps within the roomand saw a shadow pass backward and forward against the little slit of dimlight which shone out from under the door. A mad, unreasoning terrorrose up in me at the sight, Mr. Holmes. My overstrung nerves failed mesuddenly, and I turned and ran-ran as though some dreadful hand werebehind me clutching at the skirt of my dress. I rushed down the passage,through the door, and straight into the arms of Mr. Rucastle, who was waiting outside." 'So,' said he, smiling, 'it was you, then. I thought that it must bewhen I saw the door open.'" 'Oh, I am so frightened!' I panted." 'My dear young lady! my dear young lady!'-you cannot think howcaressing and soothing his manner was-'and what has frightened you, mydear young lady?'"But his voice was just a little too coaxing. He overdid it. I was keenlyon my guard against him." 'I was foolish enough to go into the empty wing,' I answered. 'But itis so lonely and eerie in this dim light that I was frightened and ran outagain. Oh, it is so dreadfully still in there!'" 'Only that?' said he, looking at me keenly." 'Why, what did you think?' I asked." 'Why do you think that I lock this door?'" 'I am sure that I do not know.'" 'It is to keep people out who have no business there. Do you see?' Hewas still smiling in the most amiable manner." 'I am sure if I had known- -'" 'Well, then, you know now. And if you ever put your foot over thatthreshold 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-'I'll throw you to themastiff.' "I was so terrified that I do not know what I did. I suppose that I musthave rushed past him into my room. I remember nothing until I foundmyself lying on my bed trembling all over. Then I thought of you, Mr.Holmes. I could not live there longer without some advice. I wasfrightened of the house, of the man, of the woman, of the servants, evenof the child. They were all horrible to me. If I could only bring you downall would be well. Of course I might have fled from the house, but mycuriosity was almost as strong as my fears. My mind was [329] soon madeup. I would send you a wire. I put on my hat and cloak, went down to theoffice, which is about half a mile from the house, and then returned,feeling very much easier. A horrible doubt came into my mind as Iapproached the door lest the dog might be loose, but I remembered thatToller had drunk himself into a state of insensibility that evening, and Iknew that he was the only one in the household who had any influencewith the savage creature, or who would venture to set him free. I slippedin in safety and lay awake half the night in my joy at the thought of seeingyou. I had no difficulty in getting leave to come into Winchester thismorning, but I must be back before three o'clock, for Mr. and Mrs.Rucastle are going on a visit, and will be away all the evening, so that Imust look after the child. Now I have told you all my adventures, Mr.Holmes, and I should be very glad if you could tell me what it all means,and, above all, what I should do."Holmes and I had listened spellbound to this extraordinary story. Myfriend rose now and paced up and down the room, his hands in hispockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon his face."Is Toller still drunk?" he asked."Yes. I heard his wife tell Mrs. Rucastle that she could do nothing withhim.""That is well. And the Rucastles go out to-night?""Yes.""Is there a cellar with a good strong lock?""Yes, the wine-cellar.""You seem to me to have acted all through this matter like a very braveand sensible girl, Miss Hunter. Do you think that you could perform onemore feat? I should not ask it of you if I did not think you a quiteexceptional woman.""I will try. What is it?""We shall be at the Copper Beeches by seven o'clock, my friend and I.The Rucastles will be gone by that time, and Toller will, we hope, beincapable. There only remains Mrs. Toller, who might give the alarm. Ifyou could send her into the cellar on some errand, and then turn the keyupon her, you would facilitate matters immensely.""I will do it.""Excellent! We shall then look thoroughly into the affair. Of coursethere is only one feasible explanation. You have been brought there topersonate someone, and the real person is imprisoned in this chamber.That is obvious. As to who this prisoner is, I have no doubt that it is thedaughter, Miss Alice Rucastle, if I remember right, who was said to havegone to America. You were chosen, doubtless, as resembling her in height, figure, and the colour of your hair. Hers had been cut off, verypossibly in some illness through which she has passed, and so, of course,yours had to be sacrificed also. By a curious chance you came upon hertresses. The man in the road was undoubtedly some friend ofhers-possibly her fiance-and no doubt, as you wore the girl's dress andwere so like her, he was convinced from your laughter, whenever he sawyou, and afterwards from your gesture, that Miss Rucastle was perfectlyhappy, and that she no longer desired his attentions. The dog is let looseat night to prevent him from endeavouring to communicate with her. Somuch is fairly clear. The most serious point in the case is the dispositionof the child.""What on earth has that to do with it?" I ejaculated."My dear Watson, you as a medical man are continually gaining lightas to the tendencies of a child by the study of the parents. Don't you seethat the converse [330] is equally valid. I have frequently gained my firstreal insight into the character of parents by studying their children. Thischild's disposition is abnormally cruel, merely for cruelty's sake, andwhether he derives this from his smiling father, as I should suspect, orfrom his mother, it bodes evil for the poor girl who is in their power.""I am sure that you are right, Mr. Holmes," cried our client. "Athousand things come back to me which make me certain that you havehit it. Oh, let us lose not an instant in bringing help to this poor creature.""We must be circumspect, for we are dealing with a very cunning man.We can do nothing until seven o'clock. At that hour we shall be with you,and it will not be long before we solve the mystery."We were as good as our word, for it was just seven when we reachedthe Copper Beeches, having put up our trap at a wayside public-house.The group of trees, with their dark leaves shining like burnished metal inthe light of the setting sun, were sufficient to mark the house even hadMiss Hunter not been standing smiling on the door-step."Have you managed it?" asked Holmes.A loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs. "That is Mrs.Toller in the cellar," said she. "Her husband lies snoring on the kitchenrug. Here are his keys, which are the duplicates of Mr. Rucastle's.""You have done well indeed!" cried Holmes with enthusiasm. "Nowlead the way, and we shall soon see the end of this black business."We passed up the stair, unlocked the door, followed on down a passage,and found ourselves in front of the barricade which Miss Hunter haddescribed. Holmes cut the cord and removed the transverse bar. Then hetried the various keys in the lock, but without success. No sound camefrom within, and at the silence Holmes's face clouded over."I trust that we are not too late," said he. "I think, Miss Hunter, that wehad better go in without you. Now, Watson, put your shoulder to it, andwe shall see whether we cannot make our way in."It was an old rickety door and gave at once before our united strength.Together we rushed into the room. It was empty. There was no furnituresave a little pallet bed, a small table, and a basketful of linen. The skylightabove was open, and the prisoner gone."There has been some villainy here," said Holmes; "this beauty has guessed Miss Hunter's intentions and has carried his victim off.""But how?""Through the skylight. We shall soon see how he managed it." Heswung himself up onto the roof. "Ah, yes," he cried, "here's the end of along light ladder against the eaves. That is how he did it.""But it is impossible," said Miss Hunter; "the ladder was not therewhen the Rucastles went away.""He has come back and done it. I tell you that he is a clever anddangerous man. I should not be very much surprised if this were he whosestep I hear now upon the stair. I think, Watson, that it would be as well foryou to have your pistol ready."The words were hardly out of his mouth before a man appeared at thedoor of the room, a very fat and burly man, with a heavy stick in his hand.Miss Hunter [331] screamed and shrunk against the wall at the sight ofhim, but Sherlock Holmes sprang forward and confronted him."You villain!" said he, "where's your daughter?"The fat man cast his eyes round, and then up at the open skylight."It is for me to ask you that," he shrieked, "you thieves! Spies andthieves! I have caught you, have I? You are in my power. I'll serve you!"He turned and clattered down the stairs as hard as he could go."He's gone for the dog!" cried Miss Hunter."I have my revolver," said I."Better close the front door," cried Holmes, and we all rushed down thestairs together. We had hardly reached the hall when we heard the bayingof a hound, and then a scream of agony, with a horrible worrying soundwhich it was dreadful to listen to. An elderly man with a red face andshaking limbs came staggering out at a side door."My God!" he cried. "Someone has loosed the dog. It's not been fed fortwo days. Quick, quick, or it'll be too late!"Holmes and I rushed out and round the angle of the house, with Tollerhurrying behind us. There was the huge famished brute, its black muzzleburied in Rucastle's throat, while he writhed and screamed upon theground. Running up, I blew its brains out, and it fell over with its keenwhite teeth still meeting in the great creases of his neck. With muchlabour we separated them and carried him, living but horribly mangled,into the house. We laid him upon the drawing-room sofa, and havingdispatched the sobered Toller to bear the news to his wife, I did what Icould to relieve his pain. We were all assembled round him when the dooropened, and a tall, gaunt woman entered the room."Mrs. Toller!" cried Miss Hunter."Yes, miss. Mr. Rucastle let me out when he came back before he wentup to you. Ah, miss, it is a pity you didn't let me know what you wereplanning, for I would have told you that your pains were wasted.""Ha!" said Holmes, looking keenly at her. "It is clear that Mrs. Tollerknows more about this matter than anyone else.""Yes, sir, I do, and I am ready enough to tell what I know.""Then, pray, sit down, and let us hear it, for there are several points onwhich I must confess that I am still in the dark.""I will soon make it clear to you," said she; "and I'd have done sobefore now if I could ha' got out from the cellar. If there's police-courtbusiness over this, you'll remember that I was the one that stood yourfriend, and that I was Miss Alice's friend too."She was never happy at home, Miss Alice wasn't, from the time thather father married again. She was slighted like and had no say inanything, but it never really became bad for her until after she met Mr.Fowler at a friend's house. As well as I could learn, Miss Alice had rightsof her own by will, but she was so quiet and patient, she was, that shenever said a word about them, but just left everything in Mr. Rucastle'shands. He knew he was safe with her; but when there was a chance of ahusband coming forward, who would ask for all that the law would givehim, then her father thought it time to put a stop on it. He wanted her tosign a paper, so that whether she married or not, he could use her money.When she wouldn't do it, he kept on worrying her until she got brainfever, and for six weeks was at death's door. Then she got better at last,all worn to a shadow, and [332] with her beautiful hair cut off; but that didn't make no change in her young man, and he stuck to her as true asman could be.""Ah," said Holmes, "I think that what you have been good enough totell us makes the matter fairly clear, and that I can deduce all thatremains. Mr. Rucastle then, I presume, took to this system ofimprisonment?""Yes, sir.""And brought Miss Hunter down from London in order to get rid of thedisagreeable persistence of Mr. Fowler.""That was it, sir.""But Mr. Fowler being a persevering man, as a good seaman should be,blockaded the house, and having met you succeeded by certainarguments, metallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your interestswere the same as his.""Mr. Fowler was a very kind-spoken, free-handed gentleman," saidMrs. Toller serenely."And in this way he managed that your good man should have no wantof drink, and that a ladder should be ready at the moment when yourmaster had gone out.""You have it, sir, just as it happened.""I am sure we owe you an apology, Mrs. Toller," said Holmes, "for youhave certainly cleared up everything which puzzled us. And here comesthe country surgeon and Mrs. Rucastle, so I think, Watson, that we hadbest escort Miss Hunter back to Winchester, as it seems to me that ourlocus standi now is rather a questionable one."And thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the copperbeeches in front of the door. Mr. Rucastle survived, but was always abroken man, kept alive solely through the care of his devoted wife. Theystill live with their old servants, who probably know so much ofRucastle's past life that he finds it difficult to part from them. Mr. Fowlerand Miss Rucastle were married, by special license, in Southampton theday after their flight, and he is now the holder of a governmentappointment in the island of Mauritius. As to Miss Violet Hunter, myfriend Holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no furtherinterest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one of hisproblems, and she is now the head of a private school at Walsall, where Ibelieve that she has met with considerable success.