DarqueDante/test2 · Datasets at Hugging Face

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hand me down the letter K of the 'American Encyclopaedia' which
stands upon the shelf beside you. Thank you. Now let us consider the
situation and see what may be deduced from it. In the first place, we
may start with a strong presumption that Colonel Openshaw had some
very strong reason for leaving America. Men at his time of life do
not change all their habits and exchange willingly the charming
climate of Florida for the lonely life of an English provincial town.
His extreme love of solitude in England suggests the idea that he was
in fear of someone or something, so we may assume as a working
hypothesis that it was fear of someone or something which drove him
from America. As to what it was he feared, we can only deduce that by
considering the formidable letters which were received by himself and
his successors. Did you remark the postmarks of those letters?"

"The first was from Pondicherry, the second from Dundee, and the
third from London."

"From East London. What do you deduce from that?"

"They are all seaports. That the writer was on board of a ship."

"Excellent. We have already a clue. There can be no doubt that the
probability--the strong probability--is that the writer was on board
of a ship. And now let us consider another point. In the case of
Pondicherry, seven weeks elapsed between the threat and its
fulfilment, in Dundee it was only some three or four days. Does that
suggest anything?"

"A greater distance to travel."

"But the letter had also a greater distance to come."

"Then I do not see the point."

"There is at least a presumption that the vessel in which the man or
men are is a sailing-ship. It looks as if they always send their
singular warning or token before them when starting upon their
mission. You see how quickly the deed followed the sign when it came
from Dundee. If they had come from Pondicherry in a steamer they
would have arrived almost as soon as their letter. But, as a matter
of fact, seven weeks elapsed. I think that those seven weeks
represented the difference between the mail-boat which brought the
letter and the sailing vessel which brought the writer."

"It is possible."

"More than that. It is probable. And now you see the deadly urgency
of this new case, and why I urged young Openshaw to caution. The blow
has always fallen at the end of the time which it would take the
senders to travel the distance. But this one comes from London, and
therefore we cannot count upon delay."

"Good God!" I cried. "What can it mean, this relentless persecution?"

"The papers which Openshaw carried are obviously of vital importance
to the person or persons in the sailing-ship. I think that it is
quite clear that there must be more than one of them. A single man
could not have carried out two deaths in such a way as to deceive a
coroner's jury. There must have been several in it, and they must
have been men of resource and determination. Their papers they mean
to have, be the holder of them who it may. In this way you see K. K.
K. ceases to be the initials of an individual and becomes the badge
of a society."

"But of what society?"

"Have you never--" said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and sinking
his voice--"have you never heard of the Ku Klux Klan?"

"I never have."

Holmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee. "Here it
is," said he presently:

"'Ku Klux Klan. A name derived from the fanciful resemblance to the
sound produced by cocking a rifle. This terrible secret society was
formed by some ex-Confederate soldiers in the Southern states after
the Civil War, and it rapidly formed local branches in different
parts of the country, notably in Tennessee, Louisiana, the Carolinas,
Georgia, and Florida. Its power was used for political purposes,
principally for the terrorising of the negro voters and the murdering
and driving from the country of those who were opposed to its views.
Its outrages were usually preceded by a warning sent to the marked
man in some fantastic but generally recognised shape--a sprig of
oak-leaves in some parts, melon seeds or orange pips in others. On
receiving this the victim might either openly abjure his former ways,
or might fly from the country. If he braved the matter out, death
would unfailingly come upon him, and usually in some strange and
unforeseen manner. So perfect was the organisation of the society,
and so systematic its methods, that there is hardly a case upon
record where any man succeeded in braving it with impunity, or in
which any of its outrages were traced home to the perpetrators. For
some years the organisation flourished in spite of the efforts of the
United States government and of the better classes of the community
in the South. Eventually, in the year 1869, the movement rather
suddenly collapsed, although there have been sporadic outbreaks of
the same sort since that date.'

"You will observe," said Holmes, laying down the volume, "that the
sudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the

hand me down the letter K of the 'American Encyclopaedia' which

stands upon the shelf beside you. Thank you. Now let us consider the

situation and see what may be deduced from it. In the first place, we

may start with a strong presumption that Colonel Openshaw had some

very strong reason for leaving America. Men at his time of life do

not change all their habits and exchange willingly the charming

climate of Florida for the lonely life of an English provincial town.

His extreme love of solitude in England suggests the idea that he was

in fear of someone or something, so we may assume as a working

hypothesis that it was fear of someone or something which drove him

from America. As to what it was he feared, we can only deduce that by

considering the formidable letters which were received by himself and

his successors. Did you remark the postmarks of those letters?"

"The first was from Pondicherry, the second from Dundee, and the

third from London."

"From East London. What do you deduce from that?"

"They are all seaports. That the writer was on board of a ship."

"Excellent. We have already a clue. There can be no doubt that the

probability--the strong probability--is that the writer was on board

of a ship. And now let us consider another point. In the case of

Pondicherry, seven weeks elapsed between the threat and its

fulfilment, in Dundee it was only some three or four days. Does that

suggest anything?"

"A greater distance to travel."

"But the letter had also a greater distance to come."

"Then I do not see the point."

"There is at least a presumption that the vessel in which the man or

men are is a sailing-ship. It looks as if they always send their

singular warning or token before them when starting upon their

mission. You see how quickly the deed followed the sign when it came

from Dundee. If they had come from Pondicherry in a steamer they

would have arrived almost as soon as their letter. But, as a matter

of fact, seven weeks elapsed. I think that those seven weeks

represented the difference between the mail-boat which brought the

letter and the sailing vessel which brought the writer."

"It is possible."

"More than that. It is probable. And now you see the deadly urgency

of this new case, and why I urged young Openshaw to caution. The blow

has always fallen at the end of the time which it would take the

senders to travel the distance. But this one comes from London, and

therefore we cannot count upon delay."

"Good God!" I cried. "What can it mean, this relentless persecution?"

"The papers which Openshaw carried are obviously of vital importance

to the person or persons in the sailing-ship. I think that it is

quite clear that there must be more than one of them. A single man

could not have carried out two deaths in such a way as to deceive a

coroner's jury. There must have been several in it, and they must

have been men of resource and determination. Their papers they mean

to have, be the holder of them who it may. In this way you see K. K.

K. ceases to be the initials of an individual and becomes the badge

of a society."

"But of what society?"

"Have you never--" said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and sinking

his voice--"have you never heard of the Ku Klux Klan?"

"I never have."

Holmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee. "Here it

is," said he presently:

"'Ku Klux Klan. A name derived from the fanciful resemblance to the

sound produced by cocking a rifle. This terrible secret society was

formed by some ex-Confederate soldiers in the Southern states after

the Civil War, and it rapidly formed local branches in different

parts of the country, notably in Tennessee, Louisiana, the Carolinas,

Georgia, and Florida. Its power was used for political purposes,

principally for the terrorising of the negro voters and the murdering

and driving from the country of those who were opposed to its views.

Its outrages were usually preceded by a warning sent to the marked

man in some fantastic but generally recognised shape--a sprig of

oak-leaves in some parts, melon seeds or orange pips in others. On

receiving this the victim might either openly abjure his former ways,

or might fly from the country. If he braved the matter out, death

would unfailingly come upon him, and usually in some strange and

unforeseen manner. So perfect was the organisation of the society,

and so systematic its methods, that there is hardly a case upon

record where any man succeeded in braving it with impunity, or in

which any of its outrages were traced home to the perpetrators. For

some years the organisation flourished in spite of the efforts of the

United States government and of the better classes of the community

in the South. Eventually, in the year 1869, the movement rather

suddenly collapsed, although there have been sporadic outbreaks of

the same sort since that date.'

"You will observe," said Holmes, laying down the volume, "that the

sudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the