DarqueDante/test2 · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 74

"In which, sir?"

"Oh, in the Globe, Star, Pall Mall, St. James's, Evening News,
Standard, Echo, and any others that occur to you."

"Very well, sir. And this stone?"

"Ah, yes, I shall keep the stone. Thank you. And, I say, Peterson,
just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here with me, for we
must have one to give to this gentleman in place of the one which
your family is now devouring."

When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and held
it against the light. "It's a bonny thing," said he. "Just see how it
glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime.
Every good stone is. They are the devil's pet baits. In the larger
and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone
is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy
River in southern China and is remarkable in having every
characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade
instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a sinister
history. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide,
and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain
weight of crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so pretty a toy
would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? I'll lock it up in
my strong box now and drop a line to the Countess to say that we have
it."

"Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?"

"I cannot tell."

"Well, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had
anything to do with the matter?"

"It is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an absolutely
innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he was carrying was
of considerably more value than if it were made of solid gold. That,
however, I shall determine by a very simple test if we have an answer
to our advertisement."

"And you can do nothing until then?"

"Nothing."

"In that case I shall continue my professional round. But I shall
come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I should
like to see the solution of so tangled a business."

"Very glad to see you. I dine at seven. There is a woodcock, I
believe. By the way, in view of recent occurrences, perhaps I ought
to ask Mrs. Hudson to examine its crop."

I had been delayed at a case, and it was a little after half-past six
when I found myself in Baker Street once more. As I approached the
house I saw a tall man in a Scotch bonnet with a coat which was
buttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the bright semicircle
which was thrown from the fanlight. Just as I arrived the door was
opened, and we were shown up together to Holmes' room.

"Mr. Henry Baker, I believe," said he, rising from his armchair and
greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he could so
readily assume. "Pray take this chair by the fire, Mr. Baker. It is a
cold night, and I observe that your circulation is more adapted for
summer than for winter. Ah, Watson, you have just come at the right
time. Is that your hat, Mr. Baker?"

"Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat."

He was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and a
broad, intelligent face, sloping down to a pointed beard of grizzled
brown. A touch of red in nose and cheeks, with a slight tremor of his
extended hand, recalled Holmes' surmise as to his habits. His rusty
black frock-coat was buttoned right up in front, with the collar
turned up, and his lank wrists protruded from his sleeves without a
sign of cuff or shirt. He spoke in a slow staccato fashion, choosing
his words with care, and gave the impression generally of a man of
learning and letters who had had ill-usage at the hands of fortune.

"We have retained these things for some days," said Holmes, "because
we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your address. I
am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise."

Our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh. "Shillings have not been
so plentiful with me as they once were," he remarked. "I had no doubt
that the gang of roughs who assaulted me had carried off both my hat
and the bird. I did not care to spend more money in a hopeless
attempt at recovering them."

"Very naturally. By the way, about the bird, we were compelled to eat
it."

"To eat it!" Our visitor half rose from his chair in his excitement.

"Yes, it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so. But
I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is about
the same weight and perfectly fresh, will answer your purpose equally
well?"

"In which, sir?"

"Oh, in the Globe, Star, Pall Mall, St. James's, Evening News,

Standard, Echo, and any others that occur to you."

"Very well, sir. And this stone?"

"Ah, yes, I shall keep the stone. Thank you. And, I say, Peterson,

just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here with me, for we

must have one to give to this gentleman in place of the one which

your family is now devouring."

When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and held

it against the light. "It's a bonny thing," said he. "Just see how it

glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime.

Every good stone is. They are the devil's pet baits. In the larger

and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone

is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy

River in southern China and is remarkable in having every

characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade

instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a sinister

history. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide,

and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain

weight of crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so pretty a toy

would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? I'll lock it up in

my strong box now and drop a line to the Countess to say that we have

it."

"Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?"

"I cannot tell."

"Well, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had

anything to do with the matter?"

"It is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an absolutely

innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he was carrying was

of considerably more value than if it were made of solid gold. That,

however, I shall determine by a very simple test if we have an answer

to our advertisement."

"And you can do nothing until then?"

"Nothing."

"In that case I shall continue my professional round. But I shall

come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I should

like to see the solution of so tangled a business."

"Very glad to see you. I dine at seven. There is a woodcock, I

believe. By the way, in view of recent occurrences, perhaps I ought

to ask Mrs. Hudson to examine its crop."

I had been delayed at a case, and it was a little after half-past six

when I found myself in Baker Street once more. As I approached the

house I saw a tall man in a Scotch bonnet with a coat which was

buttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the bright semicircle

which was thrown from the fanlight. Just as I arrived the door was

opened, and we were shown up together to Holmes' room.

"Mr. Henry Baker, I believe," said he, rising from his armchair and

greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he could so

readily assume. "Pray take this chair by the fire, Mr. Baker. It is a

cold night, and I observe that your circulation is more adapted for

summer than for winter. Ah, Watson, you have just come at the right

time. Is that your hat, Mr. Baker?"

"Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat."

He was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and a

broad, intelligent face, sloping down to a pointed beard of grizzled

brown. A touch of red in nose and cheeks, with a slight tremor of his

extended hand, recalled Holmes' surmise as to his habits. His rusty

black frock-coat was buttoned right up in front, with the collar

turned up, and his lank wrists protruded from his sleeves without a

sign of cuff or shirt. He spoke in a slow staccato fashion, choosing

his words with care, and gave the impression generally of a man of

learning and letters who had had ill-usage at the hands of fortune.

"We have retained these things for some days," said Holmes, "because

we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your address. I

am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise."

Our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh. "Shillings have not been

so plentiful with me as they once were," he remarked. "I had no doubt

that the gang of roughs who assaulted me had carried off both my hat

and the bird. I did not care to spend more money in a hopeless

attempt at recovering them."

"Very naturally. By the way, about the bird, we were compelled to eat

it."

"To eat it!" Our visitor half rose from his chair in his excitement.

"Yes, it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so. But

I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is about

the same weight and perfectly fresh, will answer your purpose equally

well?"