This episode from The Life of Sherlock Holmes will be
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through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio
Service. Petri Wine brings you Basil
Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in The New Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes. The Petrie family, the family
that took time to bring you good wine, invite you to listen to
Doctor Watson tell us about another exciting adventure he
shared with his old friend, that master detective Sherlock
Holmes, saying I've got a little something to tell you myself.
I want to tell you that if you haven't sent in for your free
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But better hurry so we can get your recipe calendar to you
immediately. And now let's drop in on our
good friend Doctor Watson. Good evening, Doctor.
Good. Evening, Mr. Forman.
Where are the puppies tonight? Well I I found them playing with
a dead seagull, so they've been sent up to bed in disgrace.
You certainly look comfortable yourself, Doctor.
What's that small blue book you're reading?
The latest bestseller? No.
No, no, indeed not. This book was never a
bestseller, my boy. It's entitled Practical Handbook
of Bee Culture. There's some observations on the
segregation of the queen. Quite a catchy title.
Who's the author followed. By the name of Sherlock Holmes,
he was engaged in writing it when the adventure I'm going to
tell you about took. Place Well, you told us last
week, doctor, that a pair of Canaries played an important
part in the story that's. Quite right Mr. Foreman.
It was in the summer of 19108, I remember, and I had persuaded
Holmes to leave his Sussex Bee farm for a few weeks and to join
me in a holiday the little fishing village of Kingsgate in
Kent. We were staying at a charming
little inn called the Fisherman's Arm and for the
first few days our holiday was delightful.
And then? And then I suppose Doctor
Strange things began to happen. They did indeed, Mr. Foreman,
they did indeed. That is strange thing.
One afternoon we just finished a late tea, I remember, and we're
sitting outside on the lawn sunning ourselves and enjoying
our pipes. Holmes laid back with his long
thin fingers cast behind his head, gazing thoughtfully at the
multi colored fishing boat bobbing at anchor in the
harbour. After a moment or two, he spoke
to me. Wasn't You're really a splendid
companion. I can't think of anyone else who
would let me smoke my pipe in silence for half an hour without
asking me what I'm thinking about.
That's. Not very surprising homes, after
all the years that we've been together.
Nevertheless, the gift is a rare 1 old chap and I appreciate.
It. Oh, thank you.
By the way, since the half hour's up, what have you been
thinking about? Lack of enterprise.
I'm a modern criminal. Audacity and romance seemed to
have passed forever from the criminal world.
Read this note I received this morning.
Old fellow, give yourself how low I have sunk.
Mr. Holmes, I am staying in the same inn as yourself and as I
have had a very frightening experience, I thought perhaps
you would help me. Please do it, signed Mary Victor
An. Exciting document, isn't it?
Written on lavender. Newspaper reeking of perfume and
the handwriting is obviously that of an adolescent girl.
You haven't bothered to answer the course.
Oh yes I have. I sent a message back by our
good landlord that I would glad to see you.
Why home? You came down here to complete
your handbook on bee farming. Oh.
Confound it 2 Richard Canaries are getting their sunbath on the
window sill above it. Oh, I think it's rather jolly to
hear little fellows chirping away up.
I find the sound most distracting.
Let's go inside. You know Holmes, those birds are
owned by a charming couple, a Mr. and Missus Wainwright.
I was chatting with them on the stairs this morning.
I'm afraid that charm will escape me as long as their pets
continue to tweet in that irritating manner.
You've spoken of a peace and quiet of the country in Watson,
and yet I find that. Come in.
Ah, this Mary Victor, I presume? Yes, Mr. Holmes.
Please come in. close the door, won't you?
Thank you. This is my old friend, Doctor
Watson. You may speak quite fairly in
front of him. How do you do miss Victor?
How do you do, Doctor? Now sit down, young lady, and
tell me what's troubling you. Mr. Holmes, I came down here
from London to get away from someone, but I've been followed.
I've been afraid to leave the inn until last night.
I thought I couldn't stand being cooped up any longer, so I went
for a walk in the seashore. Someone followed me.
Mr. Holmes I ran back here as fast as I could, but now he
knows where I live and I'm frightened.
Please help. Me, my dear Miss Victor, I'm
afraid you must be much more specific before I can help you.
Who has followed you down here? And why are you afraid of him?
I'll tell you the whole story. It'll sound strange to you, but
I swear it. Oh, there he is, getting down by
the gate. I'm going to my room now.
Now, now, now. Don't you be frightened, Miss
Victor. I'm sure we'll be.
Why? So I don't see.
Anyone outside who might might have fightened her, or two or
three fishermen lodging about. Wait a minute.
Here's a young fellow walking up the park.
Come on Watson, answer the French windows.
Who? Gracious me, Here we go again.
I think we'll take the liberty of accosting him.
Excuse me, Sir. Yes.
Are you looking for Miss Mary Victor?
Is he young and pretty? Yes, Sir, she is extremely Sir.
And I'm looking for her. Where can I find her?
I can see you're being facetious, Sir.
Well, there's no harm in that, is there?
But away. Who are you gentlemen, may I
ask? My name is Holmes, and this is
my friend Doctor Watson. I'm Basil Carter.
You're not Sherlock Holmes, are you?
That. Is my name.
I thought you seemed familiar. I know your brother, Mycroft.
Indeed. Then I presume you're connected
to the fallen office. Yes, I'm in the consular
service. Are you staying at the inn,
young man? For a few days.
It's funny that I should run into the great Sherlock Holmes.
Why may I ask? I was planning a murder, but
with the gentleman here, I see that I shall have to be very
discreet. Who is your intended victim, may
I inquire? There are two of them.
The two. Canaries in the room next to
mine. The moment I felt that you, you
were really serious. But I am serious.
The wretched criticism is driving me mad.
I quite sympathise with you Sir, I've been thinking of committing
a slight kiss of mayhem under myself.
We can take 1 apiece, Mr. Holmes.
Well, I'm glad. To have met you both.
I'll probably see you again. Goodbye.
Goodbye, Sir. Goodbye.
I don't like that fellow home. If you ask me, he's the man
who's been frightening the poor girl that came to this cute
little look on his face when you asked me.
He was looking for Mary Victor. There's only one person who can
settle the question, and that's the young lady herself.
Come on old fella, let's go back indoors here.
Comes Wainwright, the owner of the Canaries.
Good evening, Mr. Wainwright. Good evening, gentlemen.
This is my friend. It's the Sherlock Holmes.
I'm honoured to meet you, Sir. How do you do, Mr. Wainwright?
Beautiful evening, isn't it? I just took a stroll down to the
store to get some more bird seed.
By the way, Mr. Holmes, I hope our Canaries don't bother.
You little fellows are such a comfort to my wife and me.
Oh no, no, not at all, Sir. I find that chirping very
soothing. I I'm so glad.
Good night, gentlemen. Good night, Good night.
Mr. Wilson not. Wilson, Mr. Holmes, Wainwright.
Your partner. I'm so sorry.
I thought you said Wilson. Good night.
Not like you to mix up names home.
I didn't mix them up old fellow. I never forget a face.
Mr. Wainwright is in reality Wilson, the notorious Canary
trainer whom I had the pleasure of sending to prison for a 7
year stretch of 95. Some years later, he made one of
the most spectacular escapes from prison in the history of
crime and has since managed to evade all efforts to recapture
him. It's got he seems the sweet
over. Well, possibly he's reformed,
but I doubt it. Our stage is set for an
intriguing problem old chap, and our cast is an interesting 1A
frightened young girl, a diplomat of uncertain integrity
and a noted criminal, Watson. I have a feeling that once again
the games are put. Holmes, why are we strolling
along the pier instead of staying at the inn?
I thought you said that you were expecting trouble.
I am old Jeff and I'm sure it will find us out.
You know, Holmes, I'm still completely mystified by the
behaviour of that girl, Mary Victor.
I knocked at her door last evening, again this morning.
I couldn't get any answer. And the landlord told me that
she was not seen at dinner last night, nor at breakfast this
morning, and yet her room has not been vacated.
Curious. Hello.
There's the village constable sunning himself at the end of
the pier. Good morning, Sergeant Blake.
Mr. Al, Doctor Watson, how are you, gentlemen?
Splenda, Thank you, Sergeant, and very appreciative of the
weather that you've provided for us.
I. Don't think nothing.
I would say we always arranged it for our really distinguished
visitors. By the way, Mr. Holmes, I was
reading one of your friend's stories about you last night,
the one called The Adventure of Mysterio Lodge.
That was Wisteria Lodge. You, you foolish.
Fellow maybe it was. Anyway, I was reading it aloud
to me, old woman. And if you don't mind my saying,
Sir, Mr. Holmes, we both thought you made a bad mistake, though
of course you come out all right in.
The end. Dear me, Sergeant, I stand
reproved. Serious, Sergeant Holmes,
Holmes, look with that figure standing by itself right at the
end of the pier. Our friend Wilson, the Canary
trainer, he's got a revolver. Here, here.
We don't want any of these going on in Kings.
Come on here, you. What are you doing leaving that
revolver? About keep back the three of
you. On the law here.
Don't you tell me what to do Keep.
Back I say I'm not. Afraid of fire?
Better do as he says, Sergeant. You don't want to trifle with
just exactly what are you up to, Wilson?
You. Caught up with me once again,
Sherlock. Holmes, but this?
Time You're not going to send me back to a prison again, and
maybe the gallows if I can't escape you and I'll take my own
way out. With this what and Thunder are
you talking about A murder at the end last night?
I did it murder. I'm confessing in front of the
three of you. Oh, you leave my wife alone.
She didn't know anything about it.
Now, I hope you're satisfied, Mr. Sherlock.
Holmes, he's putting the revolver as he has you.
Fools, stop it. Start me pink.
He done it over the pier and into the.
Sea, get help, Sergeant. It's possible.
Isn't dead right here. Come on, Watson.
We're going back to the end, I suppose, of.
Course we are. We've just heard a murder
confession, but we don't know who has been murdered.
Holmes Umm what was the telegram that you you sent off just.
Now a message to my brother Mycroft, the innkeeper, informed
me that Dansel Carter, the young diplomat we met yesterday, let
me in rather hurriedly in the early hours of this morning.
Come on, let's go upstairs. Well, we'll have to break the
news to Missus Wainwright, I suppose.
Before we do that, I think we'll see it.
Miss Victor's in her room. Which one is it?
Here, top the stairs. We'll take the liberty of
looking in. Victor hasn't been seen since
last night. Uh huh.
I'm locked. Lord, what a mess those two are
all over the place. Open suitcases.
Look at this, that the young lady had been planning an
immediate departure. Where could you?
Be no one's seen her since last night.
Mr. Mary, I Oh, oh, I beg your pardon, gentlemen.
I thought I heard Mary Victor come in.
I'm Mrs. Wainwright, Missus Wainwright, I'm afraid we have
some other bad news for you. Your husband shot himself 1/4 of
an hour ago at the end of the pier and his body fell into the
sea. Is he dead?
We must presume so, Madam. I'll let the police Sergeant
there searching for him. Sergeant Blake should be back
here any moment now. So he did it after.
All you don't seem that a surprise, Madam.
He threatened to do it. This is Wainwright.
Before your husband shot himself, he confessed to
committing a murder in this inn last night.
A murder? Who is murder?
At the moment, we're not quite sure.
Oh, he must have been out of his mind.
Wainwright, I'm afraid I must ask you some rather painful
questions. Are you aware that your husband
was a criminal, but he served a prison sentence under the name
of Wilson? Yes, I knew that.
He told me when we were married two years ago.
But he said that he'd gone straight ever since he'd come
out of prison. That's why I changed his name.
He was trying to make a fresh start.
You know no reason for his planning to kill anyone at this
inn. None, and unless you find
someone murdered, I wouldn't give too much thought to it.
Yes, if you'll forgive my thanks for Madam.
You seem remarkably unmoved by your husband's tragedy.
Why should I pretend we were very unhappy together.
This might be the best way out of it for both of us.
My husband came quite a large amount of life insurance in the
event of suicide. Would that be payable?
And on a policy, Madam. Then I must say that from your
attitude I begin to doubt whether your husband is dead.
What do you mean? I mean that if Mr. Wilson, or if
you prefer it, Mr. Wainwright wished to disappear in
spectacular style. What could be simpler than to
pretend to shoot himself? Drop into the scene.
I'm up here, Sergeant. Ah, did you find him?
Yes, Mr. Ames, he fished him out right away.
Dead, is he? Door knife shot himself to the
end. He did well.
That disposes of your last theory home.
Did you find the revolver, Sergeant?
Yes, man. Got it right here with me.
One bullet missing. Have you found out if anyone
here has been murdered, Mr. Ames?
I found out very little yet. Wait a moment.
Listen. I don't hear anything.
Exactly. You hear nothing yet.
We're within a few feet of the Wainwright's room.
What do you mean, Mr. Harris? I mean that there is one sound
we should be hearing very clearly at the moment.
Why did I think of it before? The sound of your Canaries
chirping. You've heard little else for
days. Come on, Watson.
Where are you going? Your room, Madam.
I'm afraid I must dispense with asking your permission already
in my room it seems a little light even to mention the
subject. Here's the bird cage and the
willows of Holy. Birds are gone.
No chap. If you look more closely, you'll
see them on the bottom of the cage.
Let me open this door and get one of them out, Joe Holmes.
They did, and yet when we entered the inn a few minutes
ago, they were still chillipping.
But who on? Earth would want to kill a
couple of birds. That, my dear fellow, is one of
the things we have to find out. So far, I must admit I'm
puzzled. We have a self contested
murderer and the nearest thing we can find to a corpse is a
pair of dead Canaries. We'll bring you the rest of
Doctor Watson's story in just a second.
A second I'll take if you don't mind to ask you if you've ever
had a glass of Petri California Sherry.
Because if you haven't, boy, you want to remedy that situation
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usual before dinner low into a main event and say, if you like
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But after all, when it's a Petri wine, it's always a good wine.
And now back to tonight's new Sherlock Holmes adventure.
Strange events are taking place in the Kentish fishing village
of Kingsgate. A self confessed murderer has
committed suicide, but his victim cannot be found.
As we rejoin our story, the great detective and his old
friend Doctor Watson are once again examining the room of Mary
Victor, one of the missing. Guests, you know, Holmes, the
murder that Wilson confessed to before he committed suicide
might have been the the killing of those two Canaries.
I think not. Old chap Wilson obviously loved
the creatures and get them in spite of the fact that they were
dangerously apartment to identify him with his criminal
past. Uh huh.
Interesting. Very interesting.
Huh. What have you found?
This note lying on this Victor's dressing table?
Yeah. So we look you think you can
hide from me, Mary, but you can't.
Wherever I go, I shall follow you.
So why not get wise to yourself and stop running away?
Sounds as if the poor girl was in danger, all right.
Possibly, but the writer of that note was certainly obliging.
So the letter is unsigned. He at least gives us a clue to
his identity. Oh, what clue?
The phrase Get wise to yourself is very UN English.
It's American. Come on old chap, where are we
going now? The envelope to this letter has
the Kingsgate postmark on it. I should be surprised at that
point of all knowledge. The village postmistress can't
help us find an American visitor.
Yes, I know the young man you must be looking for, gentlemen.
His name's Walter C Bunker. He's been in here to send
telegrams and his accents are strong.
You could cut the truth and knife.
It's just like one of the big Indian fellows you read about.
Can you tell me where he lives, Madam?
There he can, Sir. He's been ruined at Missus
Bell's house. 15 Laburnum Grove. Down behind the guest. 15
Laburnum Grove, Missus Bell. Thank you.
Thank you very much. I'm very much obliged you, you
Missus Bell. Yes, Sir.
What can I do for you gentlemen? Well.
We understand that Mister Walter Bunker has been staying with
you, Madam. That he has a nice young
American gentleman is. He at home may.
I ask. No, Sir, nothing worried about
him. This morning when he goes out,
he asks me where the nearest cemetery is.
Cemetery, I tell him, and then he gives a quick kind of laugh.
I'm not sure I'll see you anymore, he says.
And then he walks off and I haven't seen him since.
I'll tell you I'm worried about him, gentlemen.
And where is the nearest cemetery, Missus Bell, The one
you directed him to? About 3 miles from here, just
this side of Branson Woods. Thank you, Madam.
Come on. Watson Cemetery seems deserted.
Usually come from. The church you.
Lord it, it's a funeral. Or a wedding?
Come on. Hi Julie, It is a wedding home.
I'm. Afraid we're on a false trail?
That we'd better make sure. Quiet gentlemen, please.
The ceremony is just ending. Just one question, tell me the
names of the couple who've just been married.
Miss Mary Victor from the Inn and the young American by the
name of Bunker. Thank you as we have been
following a false trail. Confounded, the frightened young
lady was merely frightened by her persistent American fiance.
Threatening letter that he sent her.
Ambiguously worded when you come to think of it.
Anyway, we can cease to worry about Miss Victor.
She is now Missus Bunker. I think we can assume that she's
out of old. Danger.
We've got to start all over again.
Oh no, no, my dear fellow, my field is narrowing.
We'll head back to. The inn now.
And I have a feeling that we're on the last lap of our strange
adventure. Yeah, she has another suspect
eliminated. This telegram is from my brother
Mycroft, and I telegraphed him earlier on today to check on the
movement of Nazel Carter, the young man who left the inn so
mysteriously in the early hours of this morning.
His answer informed Smith that the gentleman in question was
recalled to the Foreign Office suddenly and arrived quite
safely a few hours ago. Well, now I'm completely.
Puzzled, and I hope alone at last sea daylight.
Wish I did, Mr. Alan, go upstairs and get the dead man's
widow and bring it to my room, please.
And then I think I can give you the solution to this problem.
What do you want with me, Miss Jones?
Mr. Town, Madam, you and Sergeant Blake make yourself
comfortable now in the 1st place.
The murder occurred this morning and not last night.
I know what you're hinting at. The Canaries, I admit I killed
them. But you can't do anything to me
for that. Why did you kill those birds?
I hated them as much as my husband loved them.
When I knew he was dead, their singing drove me mad, so I
killed. Them.
But they must have been already dead when we told you of your
husband's suicide, Joe Watson. But the lady was fully aware
that her husband was dead when we informed her of the fact.
You see, she murdered him. You're talking rubbish.
Yes, Mr. Holmes, How could she have murdered him?
We saw him shoot himself before our eyes.
Because when Wilson raised that revolver to his head, he was
convinced that it contained blank cartridges.
Unfortunately for him, his wife had deliberately replaced the
blanks with. Live cartridges.
Great heavens. Why?
How? Let me reconstruct the case for
you. Wilson, with the connivance of
his wife here had conceived a disappearance plot.
He knew that I had spotted his real identity and so he planned
this rather dramatic exit, confessed from a non existent
murder and then well had his plan materialized.
He was to shoot himself with a blank all from the pier and
apparent suicide it. Was a fantastic team.
And how did he plan to get away? Well he would have swum under
the water safe distance and so made his escape his.
Plan couldn't work possible. Probably not.
Probably not, but at least it was ingenious.
He would have destroyed his two identity that had his revenge on
me by making the search for a murder that had never been
committed. Unfortunately for him, his wife
was his accomplice and saw in the scheme an excellent way of
killing her husband. You think you're so very clever,
Mr. Holmes, But even if it were true, how could you prove it?
Observe this revolver, Missus Wilson.
It's the one your husband shot himself with.
What can you prove from that? Ever hear of fingerprint tests?
I've heard of them, but that revolver's been underwater.
True. Quite true.
But thanks to the researchers of my excellent friend Doctor John
Klondike, an infallible test has been discovered for recording
fingerprints even after immersion in seawater.
I applied the test to the prints on the revolver and the bullets
and compared them with some that we found on the water glass in
your room. They are the same, Mrs. Wilson.
Now, does a man let his wife load his suicide weapon?
Sergeant Blake, I think it's obvious that the time has come
for you to take over the case. All right, all right, So I did
change the billets. I hated him.
I'm glad he's dead. What's why I do it again?
Mr. Rounds, Yeah. It's hard to Blake.
Now that I've taken Missus Wilson to the station and booked
her on a murder charge, I wonder if you'd mind answering a
question. With pleasure.
This fingerprint I'd like to know about that I've I never
heard of of being able to take prints after a revolver has been
handled two or three times and soaked in salt water.
Homes and I'd like to know when you perform the test and took
the prints off the glass in her room.
I thought that I was with you all the.
Time you were, my dear fellow. Well then I.
Can give you the answer in one word.
Bluff. There is no such test, my dear
Watson. It would be almost impossible to
expect core prints after so much handling, and totally impossible
after submersion. Fortunately for us, though, Mrs.
Wilson was gullible enough to believe me and give me a
confession. And there's no such person as
Doctor John Fonda. Oh.
Yes, yes, indeed, there is a great success last year in the
case of the red thumb mark, you didn't.
Tell me about that case. No, no, I didn't.
It was deliberate. Oh, yeah.
With your taste for writing sensational stories, I was
afraid you might publish The Affair.
Would it have matter that I heard?
Oh, yes, it would. You would have given away, what
should I say, professional secrets.
You would have provided the public, and in particular the
criminal public, with a complete education on fingerprints.
And when that happens, my dear Watson, we shall have no tricks
left. That will be a sad day for
detectives. Tonight Sherlock Holmes
adventure is written by Dennis Green and Anthony Boucher and is
based on an incident in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story The
Adventure of Wisteria Lot. Mr. Rathbone appears to the
courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer and Mr. Bruce to the courtesy of
Universal Pictures, where they are now starring in the Sherlock
Holmes series. The Petri Wine Company of San
Francisco, CA invites you to tune in again next week.
Same time, same station. This is Bill Foreman saying
goodnight for the Petri family. Sherlock Holmes comes to you
from our Hollywood studios. This is the mutual.
Broadcasting System.