DarqueDante/test2 · Datasets at Hugging Face

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obvious that the matter should be pushed as far as it would go if a
real effect were to be produced. There were meetings, and an
engagement, which would finally secure the girl's affections from
turning towards anyone else. But the deception could not be kept up
forever. These pretended journeys to France were rather cumbrous. The
thing to do was clearly to bring the business to an end in such a
dramatic manner that it would leave a permanent impression upon the
young lady's mind and prevent her from looking upon any other suitor
for some time to come. Hence those vows of fidelity exacted upon a
Testament, and hence also the allusions to a possibility of something
happening on the very morning of the wedding. James Windibank wished
Miss Sutherland to be so bound to Hosmer Angel, and so uncertain as
to his fate, that for ten years to come, at any rate, she would not
listen to another man. As far as the church door he brought her, and
then, as he could go no farther, he conveniently vanished away by the
old trick of stepping in at one door of a four-wheeler and out at the
other. I think that was the chain of events, Mr. Windibank!"

Our visitor had recovered something of his assurance while Holmes had
been talking, and he rose from his chair now with a cold sneer upon
his pale face.

"It may be so, or it may not, Mr. Holmes," said he, "but if you are
so very sharp you ought to be sharp enough to know that it is you who
are breaking the law now, and not me. I have done nothing actionable
from the first, but as long as you keep that door locked you lay
yourself open to an action for assault and illegal constraint."

"The law cannot, as you say, touch you," said Holmes, unlocking and
throwing open the door, "yet there never was a man who deserved
punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a friend, he
ought to lay a whip across your shoulders. By Jove!" he continued,
flushing up at the sight of the bitter sneer upon the man's face, "it
is not part of my duties to my client, but here's a hunting crop
handy, and I think I shall just treat myself to--" He took two swift
steps to the whip, but before he could grasp it there was a wild
clatter of steps upon the stairs, the heavy hall door banged, and
from the window we could see Mr. James Windibank running at the top
of his speed down the road.

"There's a cold-blooded scoundrel!" said Holmes, laughing, as he
threw himself down into his chair once more. "That fellow will rise
from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and ends on a
gallows. The case has, in some respects, been not entirely devoid of
interest."

"I cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning," I
remarked.

"Well, of course it was obvious from the first that this Mr. Hosmer
Angel must have some strong object for his curious conduct, and it
was equally clear that the only man who really profited by the
incident, as far as we could see, was the stepfather. Then the fact
that the two men were never together, but that the one always
appeared when the other was away, was suggestive. So were the tinted
spectacles and the curious voice, which both hinted at a disguise, as
did the bushy whiskers. My suspicions were all confirmed by his
peculiar action in typewriting his signature, which, of course,
inferred that his handwriting was so familiar to her that she would
recognise even the smallest sample of it. You see all these isolated
facts, together with many minor ones, all pointed in the same
direction."

"And how did you verify them?"

"Having once spotted my man, it was easy to get corroboration. I knew
the firm for which this man worked. Having taken the printed
description, I eliminated everything from it which could be the
result of a disguise--the whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and I
sent it to the firm, with a request that they would inform me whether
it answered to the description of any of their travellers. I had
already noticed the peculiarities of the typewriter, and I wrote to
the man himself at his business address asking him if he would come
here. As I expected, his reply was typewritten and revealed the same
trivial but characteristic defects. The same post brought me a letter
from Westhouse & Marbank, of Fenchurch Street, to say that the
description tallied in every respect with that of their employee,
James Windibank. Voilà tout!"

"And Miss Sutherland?"

"If I tell her she will not believe me. You may remember the old
Persian saying, 'There is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub,
and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.' There is
as much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as much knowledge of the
world."






THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY

We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and I, when the maid
brought in a telegram. It was from Sherlock Holmes and ran in this
way:

"Have you a couple of days to spare? Have just been wired for from
the west of England in connection with Boscombe Valley tragedy. Shall

obvious that the matter should be pushed as far as it would go if a

real effect were to be produced. There were meetings, and an

engagement, which would finally secure the girl's affections from

turning towards anyone else. But the deception could not be kept up

forever. These pretended journeys to France were rather cumbrous. The

thing to do was clearly to bring the business to an end in such a

dramatic manner that it would leave a permanent impression upon the

young lady's mind and prevent her from looking upon any other suitor

for some time to come. Hence those vows of fidelity exacted upon a

Testament, and hence also the allusions to a possibility of something

happening on the very morning of the wedding. James Windibank wished

Miss Sutherland to be so bound to Hosmer Angel, and so uncertain as

to his fate, that for ten years to come, at any rate, she would not

listen to another man. As far as the church door he brought her, and

then, as he could go no farther, he conveniently vanished away by the

old trick of stepping in at one door of a four-wheeler and out at the

other. I think that was the chain of events, Mr. Windibank!"

Our visitor had recovered something of his assurance while Holmes had

been talking, and he rose from his chair now with a cold sneer upon

his pale face.

"It may be so, or it may not, Mr. Holmes," said he, "but if you are

so very sharp you ought to be sharp enough to know that it is you who

are breaking the law now, and not me. I have done nothing actionable

from the first, but as long as you keep that door locked you lay

yourself open to an action for assault and illegal constraint."

"The law cannot, as you say, touch you," said Holmes, unlocking and

throwing open the door, "yet there never was a man who deserved

punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a friend, he

ought to lay a whip across your shoulders. By Jove!" he continued,

flushing up at the sight of the bitter sneer upon the man's face, "it

is not part of my duties to my client, but here's a hunting crop

handy, and I think I shall just treat myself to--" He took two swift

steps to the whip, but before he could grasp it there was a wild

clatter of steps upon the stairs, the heavy hall door banged, and

from the window we could see Mr. James Windibank running at the top

of his speed down the road.

"There's a cold-blooded scoundrel!" said Holmes, laughing, as he

threw himself down into his chair once more. "That fellow will rise

from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and ends on a

gallows. The case has, in some respects, been not entirely devoid of

interest."

"I cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning," I

remarked.

"Well, of course it was obvious from the first that this Mr. Hosmer

Angel must have some strong object for his curious conduct, and it

was equally clear that the only man who really profited by the

incident, as far as we could see, was the stepfather. Then the fact

that the two men were never together, but that the one always

appeared when the other was away, was suggestive. So were the tinted

spectacles and the curious voice, which both hinted at a disguise, as

did the bushy whiskers. My suspicions were all confirmed by his

peculiar action in typewriting his signature, which, of course,

inferred that his handwriting was so familiar to her that she would

recognise even the smallest sample of it. You see all these isolated

facts, together with many minor ones, all pointed in the same

direction."

"And how did you verify them?"

"Having once spotted my man, it was easy to get corroboration. I knew

the firm for which this man worked. Having taken the printed

description, I eliminated everything from it which could be the

result of a disguise--the whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and I

sent it to the firm, with a request that they would inform me whether

it answered to the description of any of their travellers. I had

already noticed the peculiarities of the typewriter, and I wrote to

the man himself at his business address asking him if he would come

here. As I expected, his reply was typewritten and revealed the same

trivial but characteristic defects. The same post brought me a letter

from Westhouse & Marbank, of Fenchurch Street, to say that the

description tallied in every respect with that of their employee,

James Windibank. Voilà tout!"

"And Miss Sutherland?"

"If I tell her she will not believe me. You may remember the old

Persian saying, 'There is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub,

and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.' There is

as much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as much knowledge of the

world."

THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY

We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and I, when the maid

brought in a telegram. It was from Sherlock Holmes and ran in this

way:

"Have you a couple of days to spare? Have just been wired for from

the west of England in connection with Boscombe Valley tragedy. Shall