Chapter 5 of The Sign of the four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
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Chapter 5, the tragedy of pondicherry Lodge.
It was nearly eleven o'clock. When we reach this final stage
of our nights Adventures, we had left the damp fog of the great
City behind us and the night was fairly fine.
A warm wind blew from the westward and heavy clouds moved
slowly across the sky, with half a moon peeping occasionally
through the Rifts. It was clear enough to see for
some distance, but Thaddeus sholto took down one of the side
lamps from The Carriage to give us a better light upon our way.
Pondicherry Lodge stood in its own grounds and was Gert round
with a very high stone. Wall topped with broken glass, a
single narrow iron, clamps door form.
The only means of entrance on this, our guide knocked with a
peculiar Postman like rat tat. Who is there?
Cried. A Gruff voice from within it?
Is I McMurdo you surely know my Knock.
By this time, there was a grumbling sound and the clanking
and jarring of keys, the door, swung heavily back and a short,
deep chested, man. Stood in the opening with the
yellow light of the lantern shining upon his protruded face
and twinkling distrustful eyes. That you mr.
Thaddeus. But who are the others?
I had no orders about them from the master.
No McMurdo. You surprised me.
I told my brother last night that I should bring some
friends. He ain't been out his room
today. Mr. Thaddeus, and I have no
orders, you know, very well that I must stick to regulations.
I can let you in, but your friends must just stop where
they are. This was an unexpected obstacle.
Thaddeus sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless
manner. This is too bad of you McMurdo.
He said, if I guarantee them that's enough for you, there is
the young lady to. She can't wait on the public
road at this hour. Very sorry, mr.
Thaddeus said the porter, inexorably vote, maybe a friends
of yours and yet no friends are the Masters.
He paid me well to do my duty and my do L.
Do, I don't know, none of your friends.
Oh, yes, you do. McMurdo cried, Sherlock, Holmes,
Genie, Ali. I don't think you can have
forgotten me. Don't you remember the amateur
who fought three rounds with you at Alison's rooms on the night
of your benefit tour years back? Not mr.
Sherlock Holmes Road, the prizefighter God's truth.
How could I have mistook you if instead of standing there?
So quiet, you just stepped up and give me that cross it of
yours under the jaw. I don't know new without
question. Your one that is wasted your
gifts. You have you might have aimed
high, if you join the fancy, You see Watson, if all else fails me
I have still one of the scientific professions open to
me said Holmes laughing have friend won't keep us out in the
cold now I am sure in your come sir in you come you and your
friends. He answered very sorry.
Mr. Thaddeus but orders are very strict at the be certain of your
friends before I let em in. Inside a gravel path, wound
through desolate grounds to a huge clump of a house square and
prosaic all plunged in Shadow save where a Moonbeam struck,
one corner and glimmered in a Garret window, the vast size of
the building with its Gloom and it's deathly.
Silence. Struck a chill to the heart.
Even Thaddeus, sholto seemed ill at ease and the lantern quivered
and rattled in his hand. I cannot understand it.
He said, There must be some mistake.
I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here and yet
there is no light in his window. I do not know what to make of
it. Does he always guard the
premises in this way? Asked Holmes.
Yes. He has followed my father's
custom. He was the favorite son, you
know, and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more
than he ever told me that is Bartholomew's window up there
where the Moonshine strikes, it is quite bright but there is no
light from within, I think none said Holmes.
But I see the glint of light in that little window beside the
door. Oh, that is the housekeeper's
room. That is where old mrs.
Bernstone sits, she can tell us all about it, but perhaps you
would not mind waiting here for a minute or two.
For if we all go in together and she has no word of our coming,
she may be alarmed, but hush, what is that?
He held up the Lantern and his hand shook until the circles of
light flickered and wave, it all around us, miss morstan seized
my wrist. And we all stood with thumping
Hearts straining. Our ears from the great black
house there sounded through the Silent Night, the saddest and
most pitiful of sounds, the shrill broken whimpering of a
frightened woman, It is mrs. Bernstone said sholto she is the
only woman in the house. Wait here.
I shall be back in a moment. He heard for the door and
knocked in his peculiar way. We could see a tall old woman
admit him and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him.
I'll mr. Thaddeus sir.
I'm so glad you've come. I am so glad you've come mr.
Thaddeus sir. We heard her reiterated
rejoicings until the door was closed and her voice died away
into a muffled monotone. I'll guided left us the lantern
homes. Swung, it slowly round and
peered keenly at the house and at the great rubbish heaps,
which cumbered the grounds Miss morstan and I stood together and
her hand was in mine. A wondrous subtle thing is love
for here. We were to had never seen each
other before that day. Between whom no word or even
look of affection had ever passed and yet.
Now, in an hour of trouble hands in Think of Lee sort for each
other. I have marveled at it since, but
at the time, it seemed the most natural thing that I should go
out to her. So and as she has often told me
there was in her. Also, the instinct to turn to me
for comfort and protection. So we stood hand in hand, like
two children and there was peace in our hearts, for all the dark
things that surrounded us, what a strange place, she said,
looking around. It looks as though all the moles
in England of Let loose in it. I've seen something of the sort
on the side of a hill near Ballarat, where the Prospectors
have been at work. And from the same cause said,
Holmes these are the traces of the treasure-seekers.
You must remember that they were six years looking for it.
No wonder that the grounds look like a gravel pit at that
moment. The door of the house burst open
and Thaddeus sholto. Came running out with his hands
thrown forward and Terror in his eyes.
There is something amiss with Bartholomew.
He cried. I am frightened, my nerves.
Can't stand it. He was DDOS, blubbering with
fear and is twitching feeble face peeping out from the great
astrakhan. Collar.
Had the helpless appealing expression of a terrified Child.
Come into the house, said Holmes in his crisp firm way.
Yes, do pleaded Thaddeus sholto. I really do not feel equal to
giving directions. We all followed him into the
housekeeper's room, which stood upon the left-hand side of the
passage. The old woman was pacing up and
down with a scared, look and Restless picking fingers, but
the site of Miss morstan appeared to have a soothing
effect upon her. God bless your sweet.
Calm face. She cried with an hysterical.
SOB. It does me.
Good to see you. Oh, but I have been sorely.
Tried this day. I'll companion patted her sin
work, Warren hand and murmured. Some few words of kindly womanly
Comfort, which brought the color back into the others.
Bloodless cheeks, Masters, locked himself in and will not
answer me, she explained all day.
I've waited to hear from him for he often likes to be alone but
an hour ago I feared that something was amiss.
So I went up and peeped Through the Keyhole you must go up mr.
Thaddeus. You must go up and look for Elf
I seen mr. Bartholomew sholto in joy and in
sorrow for 10 long years, but I never saw him was such a face on
him as that. Sherlock Holmes took the lamp
and led the way for 30 as sholto's teeth were chattering
in his head. So shaken, was he that I had to
pass my hand under his arm. As he went up the stairs for his
knees. Were trembling under him twice
as we ascended, homes, whipped his lens out of his pocket and
carefully. Examined marks, which appeared
to me to be Mia, shapeless, smudges of dust upon the
Cocoanut matting, which served as a stair carpet.
He walked slowly from step to step holding the lamp and
shooting Keen glance has to right and left.
Miss morstan had remained behind with the frightened housekeeper.
The third flight of stairs ended in a straight, passage of some
length with a great picture in Indian tapestry upon the right
of it and three doors upon the left Holmes, advanced elongate
in the same slow and methodical way, while we kept close at his
heels. With our long, black Shadows
streaming backwards down the corridor.
The side door was that which we were seeking homes knocked
without receiving any answer, and then tried to turn the
handle and force it open. It was locked on the inside.
However, and by a broad and Powerful bolt, as we could see,
when we set our lamp up against it, the key being turned.
However, the whole was not entirely closed Sherlock,
Holmes, bent down to it and instantly rose again with a
sharp in taking of the breath. There is something devilish in
this. Watson said he more moved and I
had ever before seen him. What do you make of it?
I stooped to the hole and recoiled in horror, Moonlight
was streaming into the room and it was bright with a vague and
Shifty. Radiance looking straight at me
and suspended as it were in the air.
For all beneath was in Shadow. Their hunger face, the very face
of our companion saw dias, There was the same high shining head.
The same circular bristle of red hair, the same bloodless
countenance, the features were set, however, in a horrible
smile, a fixed and unnatural grin which in that still and
moonlit room was more jarring to the nerves than any scowl or
contortion. So like was the face to that, of
our little friend that I looked round at him to make sure that
he was indeed with us. Then I recall to mind that he
had mentioned to us, that his brother and he were twins.
This is terrible. I said two homes.
What is to be done? The door must come down.
He answered and springing against it.
He put all his weight upon the lock.
It creaked and groaned but did not yield together.
We flung ourselves upon it. Once more and this time it gave
way with a sudden snap and we found ourselves within
Bartholomew sholto is chamber. It appeared to have been fitted
up as a chemical laboratory, a double line of glass.
Stoppard bottles was drawn up upon the wall, opposite, the
door, and a table was littered over with Bunsen, burners test
tubes and retorts in the corners to carboys of acid in wicker.
Baskets, one of these appeared to leak or to have been broken
for a stream of dark colored. Liquid had trickled out from it
and the air was Heavy with a peculiarly pungent tar-like.
Oh, A set of steps. Did it one side of the room in
the midst of a litter of Lathe and plaster and above them,
there was an opening in the ceiling, large enough for a man
to pass through at the foot of the steps.
A long coil of rope was thrown carelessly together.
By the table in a wooden armchair.
The Master of the House was seated all in a heap with his
head sunk upon his left shoulder and that ghastly inscrutable
smile upon his face. He was stiff and cold and had
clearly been dead many hours. It seemed to me that not only
his features, but all his limbs were twisted and turned.
In the most fantastic fashion by his hand upon the table, their
lair, Instrument a brown clothes grain stick with a stone head,
like a hammer rudely lashed on, with cost wine beside.
It was a torn sheet of notepaper with some words scrawled upon
it, Holmes glanced at it, then handed it to me.
You see he said with a significant raising of the
eyebrows in the light of the lantern.
I read with a thrill of horror the sign of the four in God's
name. What does it all mean?
I asked it means murder said he stooping over the dead, man.
I expected it. Look here.
He pointed to what looked like a long dark Thorn stuck in the
skin, just above the ear. It looks like a thorn said, I it
is a thorn, you may pick it out, but be careful for it is
poisoned, I took it up between my finger and the thumb.
It came away from the skin, so readily, but hardly any Mark was
left behind one tiny Speck of blood showed where the puncture
had been. This is all an insoluble mystery
to me said, I it grows darker instead of clearer On the
contrary, he answered it clears. Every instant, I only require a
few missing links to have an entirely connected case.
We had almost forgotten our companions presence.
Since we entered the chamber, he was still standing in the
doorway, the very picture of Terror, wringing his hands and
moaning to himself suddenly. However, he broke out into a
sharp querulous cry. The treasure is Come.
He said they have robbed him of the treasure.
There is a hole through which we lowered it.
I helped him to do it. I was the last person who saw
him, I left him here last night and I heard him lock the door as
I came downstairs. What time was that?
It was 10:00 and now he is dead. And the police will be called in
and I shall be suspected of having had a hand in it?
Oh, yes. I am sure I shall.
But you don't think so gentlemen.
Surely you don't think it was? I is it likely that I would have
brought you here if it were a high?
Oh dear. Oh dear, I know that I shall go
mad. He jerked his arms and stamped
his feet in a kind of convulsive frenzy.
You have no reason for fear mr. Sholto said Holmes, kindly
putting his hand upon his shoulder.
Take my advice and drive down to the station to report this
matter, to the police offered to assist them in every way we
shall wait, here until your return.
The little man obeyed in a half stupefied fashion, and we heard
him stumbling down the stairs, in the dark.
End of chapter 5. End of chapter 5.