DarqueDante/test2 · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 74
"I will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night. Your
niece, when you had, as she thought, gone to your room, slipped down
and talked to her lover through the window which leads into the
stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right through the snow, so
long had he stood there. She told him of the coronet. His wicked lust
for gold kindled at the news, and he bent her to his will. I have no
doubt that she loved you, but there are women in whom the love of a
lover extinguishes all other loves, and I think that she must have
been one. She had hardly listened to his instructions when she saw
you coming downstairs, on which she closed the window rapidly and
told you about one of the servants' escapade with her wooden-legged
lover, which was all perfectly true.

"Your boy, Arthur, went to bed after his interview with you but he
slept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts. In the
middle of the night he heard a soft tread pass his door, so he rose
and, looking out, was surprised to see his cousin walking very
stealthily along the passage until she disappeared into your
dressing-room. Petrified with astonishment, the lad slipped on some
clothes and waited there in the dark to see what would come of this
strange affair. Presently she emerged from the room again, and in the
light of the passage-lamp your son saw that she carried the precious
coronet in her hands. She passed down the stairs, and he, thrilling
with horror, ran along and slipped behind the curtain near your door,
whence he could see what passed in the hall beneath. He saw her
stealthily open the window, hand out the coronet to someone in the
gloom, and then closing it once more hurry back to her room, passing
quite close to where he stood hid behind the curtain.

"As long as she was on the scene he could not take any action without
a horrible exposure of the woman whom he loved. But the instant that
she was gone he realised how crushing a misfortune this would be for
you, and how all-important it was to set it right. He rushed down,
just as he was, in his bare feet, opened the window, sprang out into
the snow, and ran down the lane, where he could see a dark figure in
the moonlight. Sir George Burnwell tried to get away, but Arthur
caught him, and there was a struggle between them, your lad tugging
at one side of the coronet, and his opponent at the other. In the
scuffle, your son struck Sir George and cut him over the eye. Then
something suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had the
coronet in his hands, rushed back, closed the window, ascended to
your room, and had just observed that the coronet had been twisted in
the struggle and was endeavouring to straighten it when you appeared
upon the scene."

"Is it possible?" gasped the banker.

"You then roused his anger by calling him names at a moment when he
felt that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not explain
the true state of affairs without betraying one who certainly
deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He took the more
chivalrous view, however, and preserved her secret."

"And that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw the coronet,"
cried Mr. Holder. "Oh, my God! what a blind fool I have been! And his
asking to be allowed to go out for five minutes! The dear fellow
wanted to see if the missing piece were at the scene of the struggle.
How cruelly I have misjudged him!"

"When I arrived at the house," continued Holmes, "I at once went very
carefully round it to observe if there were any traces in the snow
which might help me. I knew that none had fallen since the evening
before, and also that there had been a strong frost to preserve
impressions. I passed along the tradesmen's path, but found it all
trampled down and indistinguishable. Just beyond it, however, at the
far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood and talked with a
man, whose round impressions on one side showed that he had a wooden
leg. I could even tell that they had been disturbed, for the woman
had run back swiftly to the door, as was shown by the deep toe and
light heel marks, while Wooden-leg had waited a little, and then had
gone away. I thought at the time that this might be the maid and her
sweetheart, of whom you had already spoken to me, and inquiry showed
it was so. I passed round the garden without seeing anything more
than random tracks, which I took to be the police; but when I got
into the stable lane a very long and complex story was written in the
snow in front of me.

"There was a double line of tracks of a booted man, and a second
double line which I saw with delight belonged to a man with naked
feet. I was at once convinced from what you had told me that the
latter was your son. The first had walked both ways, but the other
had run swiftly, and as his tread was marked in places over the
depression of the boot, it was obvious that he had passed after the
other. I followed them up and found they led to the hall window,
where Boots had worn all the snow away while waiting. Then I walked
to the other end, which was a hundred yards or more down the lane. I
saw where Boots had faced round, where the snow was cut up as though
there had been a struggle, and, finally, where a few drops of blood
had fallen, to show me that I was not mistaken. Boots had then run
down the lane, and another little smudge of blood showed that it was
he who had been hurt. When he came to the highroad at the other end,
I found that the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to
that clue.

"On entering the house, however, I examined, as you remember, the
sill and framework of the hall window with my lens, and I could at
once see that someone had passed out. I could distinguish the outline
of an instep where the wet foot had been placed in coming in. I was
then beginning to be able to form an opinion as to what had occurred.
A man had waited outside the window; someone had brought the gems;

"I will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night. Your

niece, when you had, as she thought, gone to your room, slipped down

and talked to her lover through the window which leads into the

stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right through the snow, so

long had he stood there. She told him of the coronet. His wicked lust

for gold kindled at the news, and he bent her to his will. I have no

doubt that she loved you, but there are women in whom the love of a

lover extinguishes all other loves, and I think that she must have

been one. She had hardly listened to his instructions when she saw

you coming downstairs, on which she closed the window rapidly and

told you about one of the servants' escapade with her wooden-legged

lover, which was all perfectly true.

"Your boy, Arthur, went to bed after his interview with you but he

slept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts. In the

middle of the night he heard a soft tread pass his door, so he rose

and, looking out, was surprised to see his cousin walking very

stealthily along the passage until she disappeared into your

dressing-room. Petrified with astonishment, the lad slipped on some

clothes and waited there in the dark to see what would come of this

strange affair. Presently she emerged from the room again, and in the

light of the passage-lamp your son saw that she carried the precious

coronet in her hands. She passed down the stairs, and he, thrilling

with horror, ran along and slipped behind the curtain near your door,

whence he could see what passed in the hall beneath. He saw her

stealthily open the window, hand out the coronet to someone in the

gloom, and then closing it once more hurry back to her room, passing

quite close to where he stood hid behind the curtain.

"As long as she was on the scene he could not take any action without

a horrible exposure of the woman whom he loved. But the instant that

she was gone he realised how crushing a misfortune this would be for

you, and how all-important it was to set it right. He rushed down,

just as he was, in his bare feet, opened the window, sprang out into

the snow, and ran down the lane, where he could see a dark figure in

the moonlight. Sir George Burnwell tried to get away, but Arthur

caught him, and there was a struggle between them, your lad tugging

at one side of the coronet, and his opponent at the other. In the

scuffle, your son struck Sir George and cut him over the eye. Then

something suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had the

coronet in his hands, rushed back, closed the window, ascended to

your room, and had just observed that the coronet had been twisted in

the struggle and was endeavouring to straighten it when you appeared

upon the scene."

"Is it possible?" gasped the banker.

"You then roused his anger by calling him names at a moment when he

felt that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not explain

the true state of affairs without betraying one who certainly

deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He took the more

chivalrous view, however, and preserved her secret."

"And that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw the coronet,"

cried Mr. Holder. "Oh, my God! what a blind fool I have been! And his

asking to be allowed to go out for five minutes! The dear fellow

wanted to see if the missing piece were at the scene of the struggle.

How cruelly I have misjudged him!"

"When I arrived at the house," continued Holmes, "I at once went very

carefully round it to observe if there were any traces in the snow

which might help me. I knew that none had fallen since the evening

before, and also that there had been a strong frost to preserve

impressions. I passed along the tradesmen's path, but found it all

trampled down and indistinguishable. Just beyond it, however, at the

far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood and talked with a

man, whose round impressions on one side showed that he had a wooden

leg. I could even tell that they had been disturbed, for the woman

had run back swiftly to the door, as was shown by the deep toe and

light heel marks, while Wooden-leg had waited a little, and then had

gone away. I thought at the time that this might be the maid and her

sweetheart, of whom you had already spoken to me, and inquiry showed

it was so. I passed round the garden without seeing anything more

than random tracks, which I took to be the police; but when I got

into the stable lane a very long and complex story was written in the

snow in front of me.

"There was a double line of tracks of a booted man, and a second

double line which I saw with delight belonged to a man with naked

feet. I was at once convinced from what you had told me that the

latter was your son. The first had walked both ways, but the other

had run swiftly, and as his tread was marked in places over the

depression of the boot, it was obvious that he had passed after the

other. I followed them up and found they led to the hall window,

where Boots had worn all the snow away while waiting. Then I walked

to the other end, which was a hundred yards or more down the lane. I

saw where Boots had faced round, where the snow was cut up as though

there had been a struggle, and, finally, where a few drops of blood

had fallen, to show me that I was not mistaken. Boots had then run

down the lane, and another little smudge of blood showed that it was

he who had been hurt. When he came to the highroad at the other end,

I found that the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to

that clue.

"On entering the house, however, I examined, as you remember, the

sill and framework of the hall window with my lens, and I could at

once see that someone had passed out. I could distinguish the outline

of an instep where the wet foot had been placed in coming in. I was

then beginning to be able to form an opinion as to what had occurred.

A man had waited outside the window; someone had brought the gems;