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In this thrilling episode of CBS Radio Mystery Theater, host E.G. Marshall delves into the gripping world of compulsive gambling and its deadly consequences. The episode, "A Study in Scarlet," adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic, follows the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusted companion, Dr. Watson, as they unravel a complex murder mystery. The story begins with a mysterious death, a cryptic message written in blood, and a seemingly impossible puzzle that only Holmes's keen powers of deduction can solve. As the investigation unfolds, Holmes and Watson navigate through a web of deceit, revenge, and a deadly game of chance that leads them to unexpected revelations.
Listeners are taken on a suspenseful journey as Holmes employs his unparalleled skills in observation and deduction to piece together the clues. The narrative explores themes of justice, retribution, and the dark side of human nature, all while showcasing the dynamic partnership between Holmes and Watson. With a cast of intriguing characters and a plot filled with twists and turns, this episode is a testament to the enduring appeal of Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective stories. Join us as we uncover the truth behind the murders and witness Holmes's brilliance in action.
(00:38) Introduction to Compulsive Gambling
(01:34) A Study in Scarlet Begins
(02:04) Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson Meet
(05:03) The Crime Scene Investigation
(14:04) Holmes' Clever Trap
(22:34) Lestrade's Theory
(31:06) Holmes' Experiment with the Pills
(34:15) Jefferson Hope's Confession
(42:01) The Conclusion and Legacy of Sherlock Holmes
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[00:00:01]
Unknown:
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[00:00:14] Unknown:
Auto parts. CBS Radio Mystery Theater presents Come in. Welcome. I'm EG Marshall. It's no secret that compulsive gamblers are every bit as sick as alcoholics or drug addicts. Gambling is a fever that consumes them as surely as whiskey or heroin. However, even the most habitual and devoted of gamblers might well hesitate when the gamble literally means his life or death. Come on, man. Choose.
[00:01:08] Unknown:
I'm giving you more of a chance than you gave Lucy. Now you've got a fifty fifty chance.
[00:01:14] Unknown:
Now one capsule is harmless on my word of honor. The other means death. Now I'm giving you a choice. First chance. You might even have the pleasure of watching me die. Our mystery drama, A Study in Scarlet, was adapted from the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic, especially for the mystery theater by Murray Burnett and stars Kevin McCarthy. It is sponsored in part by True Value Hardware stores and Buick Motor Division. I'll be back shortly with act one. Word association games provide amusement for many people. They're even employed by psychologists to diagnose aptitudes and attitudes.
For example, Scarlett O'Hara brings to mind Rhett Butler, while Romeo immediately suggests Juliet. Sherlock Holmes, doctor Watson. It's possible that many of you wondered how Sheryl and doctor Watson first met and decided that they would make good roommates. Well, doctor, you've seen the flat, and I am Sherlock Holmes.
[00:02:37] Unknown:
I said the flat seems comfortable, and, well, as far as you, mister Holmes, are concerned, I I I imagine we'll have to let time tell us if we're going to get along with each other. Capital thinking, my dear, sir. Yes. And let me tell you at once that I shall require the use of this shipping room only when I see my clients.
[00:02:54] Unknown:
They may come at odd hours, but you'd certainly understand that being yourself a physician and lately come from Afghanistan.
[00:03:03] Unknown:
Who who who told you that, sir? Our mutual friend, Wallaby,
[00:03:06] Unknown:
told me you were a doctor, but I deduced that you were recently in Afghanistan. Mister Holmes,
[00:03:12] Unknown:
I've no wish to be rude and certainly not on such short acquaintance,
[00:03:16] Unknown:
but I I cannot have believed I was told that you were a doctor, but you carry yourself with an air of a military man. Army doctor. Just come from the Tropics because his face is dark, but his wrist's there. Left arm injured because he holds it slightly stiff in an unnatural position. Where in the Tropics would an English army doctor have received such a wound? Clearly, in Afghanistan. It sounds simple when you explain it, but I find it rather astonishing. Elementary, my dear fellow. Elementary.
[00:03:50] Unknown:
As the days wore on, I found Holmes a singularly easy man to live with. Quiet in his way with regular habits, but with no ceiling system for work. Indeed, I didn't discover what work he was engaged in until one morning in March when I arose somewhat earlier than with my custom and at breakfast, read an article with the somewhat ambitious title of don't cook good life. What utter nonsense. Never read such rubbish in my life. What is? This article evidently written by some armchair lounger who solves riddles by sitting safely in his own study. I'd like to see him clapped down in a third class railway carriage and ask to name the trades of his fellow travelers.
I'd I'd lay a thousand and 1 against him. You would lose your money.
[00:04:39] Unknown:
As for that article, I wrote it myself. You Yes. Yes. I specialize in observation and deduction, which has set me up in my trade. I am a consulting detective. What what's that? Well, to put it succinctly, I step in when government and private detectives are at fault.
[00:05:04] Unknown:
The very next day, when the letter came by special messenger, it was signed inspector Lestrade of Scotland Guard, who asked my roommate to come, if possible, to free Lauriston Gardens off the Brixton Road. Holmes asked me along, and in a very short time, we alighted from a cab at the address.
[00:05:23] Unknown:
Now we're fortunate that it rained so heavily last night, but come along. I see the Strahd waiting at the door. It's nice of you to come right along with the room. But, who is this? This is my friend and colleague, doctor Watson. If you don't object to Oh, any friend of yours is always welcome. Thank you. Come this way and I'll show you the room. By the by, miss Bart. Did you come here in a cab? No, sir. No. Now, as you can see this house is to let. All the other rooms were locked. And here, the only item of furniture is the dining room table. And that, as you can see, is occupied by the court.
I assume you've already examined the body. Is there no wound? No. No. No wound at all, mister Holmes. And yet we have these great gouts and splashes of blood all over. Then the blood must belong to the murderer if a murder has been committed. If a murder was committed, look at the man's face, the distortion of his limbs. Yes. Yes. Yes. Watson, I've noted all those things. But tell me, Lefebvre, did you move the corpse at all? No more than was necessary for the purposes of examination. Mhmm. Well, then you can have the body taken to the mortuary. There's nothing more to be learned from it. Right.
Alright. You two. You can take the body out. I said, look at that. There's been a woman there. That's a woman's wedding ring which just fell from the body. As if this wasn't already complicated enough. What did you find in the pockets? Oh, a gold watch, gold pin with a strange device. Looks like some kind of a cube. Russian leather card case. Card printed reading Enoch j Drebber of Cleveland. Two letters to one e j Drebber and one to Joseph Stungerson. Address, American Exchange Strand. They refer to steamship sailings. As it's clear that this unfortunate man was about to return to New York. And this other man, Stangerson, have you made any inquiries about him? Of course, at all. But you haven't seen yet what I consider is crucial.
Now it's over here in the corner against the wall, and you can't see it unless you start a match.
[00:07:43] Unknown:
In the particular corner illuminated by the flailing match, part of the wallpaper had been peeled away. And there, scored in blood red letters, was a single word, r a c h e, Reich. Mister Adams,
[00:08:01] Unknown:
what do you think of that? A fascinating discovery. I've not had time to examine this room yet, but with your permission, I'll do so now. Would it disturb you if I were to reconstruct how the word came to be there and what it means? Oh, by no means. I'd be interested corner chosen to write upon? Because, mister Holmes, if you'd observe that candle on the mantelpiece. Mhmm. I see it. Well, that must have been lit at the time and that made this corner the brightest spot in the room. Excellent, Lestrade. I congratulate you. And the murderer wrote with his or her own blood. Now, you see this smear where it has trickled down the wall. My dear Lestrade, you're outdoing yourself. I agree. Well, that disposes of the idea of suicide. Right? Absolutely. It was murder. But now that you found the writing and done so brilliantly, what do you construe it to mean?
Simply that the dead man was going to write the female name Rochelle, but was, interrupted before he or she had time to finish. Oh, you mark my words, mister Holmes. When this case comes to be cleared up, we'll find out that a woman named Rochelle had something to do with it. Interesting and partly accurate. First, you're correct. It was murder. Secondly, the murderer was a man. He's more than six feet tall in the prime of life, and he has small feet for a man of his height. He wore a course square toed boots and smoked a picotopolous scar. But but but one moment, sir. I I can't get it all down. It's it's too fast. Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. He came here with his victim in a four wheeled cab, which was drawn by a horse with three old shoes and one new one on his off foreleg.
In all probability, the murderer has a florid complexion, and the fingernails of his right hand were remarkably long. Now these few indications may be of some assistance to you?
[00:10:03] Unknown:
Oh, you can guess it. Well, of course, I I,
[00:10:06] Unknown:
I I must thank you. But, but, mister Holmes, if the man was murdered, how was it done? Poison. Poison. But no better. But how I mean did he one other thing, Lesad. Rush is the German word for revenge. So don't waste any time looking for a woman named Rochelle. Holmes, you're not at all as sure of those particulars you gave Lestrade as you seem to be. But there is no room for error. If you take the trouble to observe, you've reached the same conclusions. On arriving, I saw the cab had made two ruts with its wheels close to the curb. Yeah. You know about last night's rain? There were also marks of the horse's hooves. Plain for all to see.
Lestrade said that he had not come by camp, so it it must have brought those two individuals to the house. Well, that that seems simple enough, but
[00:11:06] Unknown:
the description of the man, his height My dear doctor,
[00:11:09] Unknown:
when a man writes on a wall, he doesn't lean down or reach up. He writes at eye level. Now that writing was over six feet from the ground. Child's play doctor.
[00:11:23] Unknown:
I must confess you made it seem that way, but
[00:11:26] Unknown:
his age is Well, if a man can stride four and a half feet without the smallest effort, he can't be approaching senility. That was the breadth of a puddle in the garden walk that Square toes had hopped over. The platen leather black boots had gone wronged. But, Holmes, that would mean that these two Came in the same cab. Right. Were as friendly as possible until they got inside the house.
[00:11:48] Unknown:
I still can't understand about the fingernails
[00:11:51] Unknown:
from a cigar. The writing on the wall was done by a man's fingernail dipped in blood. The wall plaster was slightly scratched, which wouldn't have been the case if the man's nails had been trimmed. And as for the cigar, I have made a special study of cigar ashes, written a monograph on the subject, And the ash that I picked up from the floor could only have come from a Triconopoly cigar.
[00:12:20] Unknown:
I was pleased to see that I wasn't the only man who was astounded
[00:12:24] Unknown:
by the deductive reasoning processes of my friend Holmes. We'd called to see Constable Redz who'd found the body. What I particularly want to know is, was the street empty when you went out to call for help? Well, it was as far as anybody that could be of any good goes. What do you mean? I've seen many a drunk chap in my time, but never anyone so bleeding drunk as that co. How was he dressed? Brown overcoat. Eddie, you're whipping his hand. No. You must have left it behind. You didn't happen to see or hear a cab after that? I was tending to my business. You should rather say that you were letting the man who owes the clue to this mystery slip through your fingers.
Come along, doctor. Holmes, I'm afraid I'm as much in the dark as the constable.
[00:13:12] Unknown:
If this man is the second party in the mystery, why should he return so soon at the scene of the crime? The ring, doctor. The wedding ring.
[00:13:21] Unknown:
If we have no other way of catching him, we can always bait our line with the ring. Some two centuries before, Hamlet had cried, the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. Now Sherlock Holmes has informed doctor Watson that the ring will catch the man who scrawled the German word, ross, in blood across the wall of the murder room. Act two will tell us whether he's right. We all use our friends in one way or another. Sometimes, some of us use friendship in a way that stretches the ties almost to the breaking point. But I'll venture to say that no one ever used a friend as often and as recklessly as Sherlock Holmes used doctor Watson and still retained his friendship and loyalty.
For example, here we pick up the friends in the familiar apartment on Baker Street where Watson is waiting for Holmes who has disappeared. My dear doctor, I must apologize for running off, but I've had a great deal of doom. I had this advertisement sent to every paper this morning. Here. Read it in the lost and found column.
[00:14:48] Unknown:
In Brixton Road this morning, a plain girl wedding ring. Apply doctor Watson
[00:14:55] Unknown:
21 B Belcher Street between eight and nine this evening. Excuse me excuse me my using your name, but I I fear that some of these dunderheads might recognize mine. Oh, that's quite alright. But what if someone applies? My head will ring. Oh, yes. You have. This will do very well. It's almost a facsimile. And then who do you expect to answer this advertisement? I've already told you. The man in the brown coat or he will send an accomplice. I still don't understand why he wrote the word on the wall. Simply a blind to put the police on the wrong track. It was not written by a German because while the a was printed somewhat after the German fashion, a real German invariably prints in Latin characters. So this was done by a clumsy imitator who overdid his part.
Unless I'm very wrong, this will be our man now. Come in. Good evening, gentlemen. Good evening. Good evening, ma'am. Well, it's this advert has brought me. Now it's this gold wedding ring in Brixton Road. It belongs to my girl, Sally, as we're married only this time twelve months to which her husband is steward aboard a union boat. Well, he'd say if he comes home and her without a ring is more than I can think. Yes. Yes. Well, is this her ring? Oh, the Lord be thanked. Sally will be a glad girl this night. Oh, that's the thing. Where are you going, Hovs? I I must follow her. She's obviously an accomplice.
You know, Watson, she'll lead me to the man I want.
[00:16:43] Unknown:
Well, after Holmes left, I had no other collars. And I sat puffing at my pipe while ten and then 11:00 past with no word from him. It was close upon midnight when I heard his latch key. Well, Holmes, how did it go?
[00:17:02] Unknown:
Doctor, doctor, you must promise me not to tell this to Lestrade because he'd never let me forget it. What is it? What did she do? I ran out after her and had no trouble keeping up as she little way before she began to limp and show every sign of exhaustion. Presently, she came to a halt and hailed a four wheeler which was passing and she clambered in and I managed to perch myself behind. And I heard her sing out 13 Duncan Street houndstitch. Away we rattled. And just before the driver pulled up there, I hopped off and began lounging about down the street. I say, well, I shall never forget that cab driver's face as he opened the door and waited expectantly, waited for the passenger who never came out. Well, you don't mean to say that that tottering feeble old woman was able to get out of the cab while it was in motion without either you or Oh, the moment be damned. We were the old women to be taken in by that disguise. Well, it was a young man, and he must have been an incomparable actor.
And now we must look elsewhere to find our man and our answer. My dear Holmes, congratulate me. I have sold the whole thing. You mean you're on the right track? The right track? Why I have the man under lock and key. And the man's name is? Arthur Charpentier. Subject tenant in her majesty's navy. Uh-huh. Well, I'm waiting to hear what sets you on the right track. Well, of course, the prime difficulty was in tracing the antecedents of this American. Now, mister Owens, do you remember the hat we found beside the dead man? Mhmm. John Underwood and Sons. 129 Camberwell Road. Well, I have no idea you've noticed that. Have you been there? No. Oh.
Oh. Well, anyway, I'll never neglect a chance no matter how small. I went there and checked over his box and discovered that he'd sold that to a mister Vibber, residing at Charpentier's Boarding Establishment, Torquay Terrace. Very, very smart. Oh, thank you, mister Harris. And needless to say, I hurried right around to Torquay Terrace. And it was there I found the answers of the whole business. Not after mister Charpentier who runs the establishment, but from her daughter. A pretty young thing who speaks only the truth. Finally, her mother, seeing that the daughter was determined to answer my question,
[00:19:28] Unknown:
resigned herself to it. And the girl told me the following story. Mister Drebber has been with us nearly three weeks. He and his secretary, mister Stangerson. I like mister Stangerson who was a quiet man. But I'm sorry to say that mister Drebber was a coarse, brutish sort of fellow who drank all the time and too much. And? And that's why my mother asked them to leave. Because he was drinking too much. And because when he did, he he he he was rude to me. Rude? Well, you know, sir. Not not respectful. So we were all glad when mother told him he must leave and he and mister Sengerson went off. On the day he was killed? Yes. And that was the last you saw of him? No.
No. He came back. He claimed he missed his train. He was well, he had a lot to drink and then right there in front of my mother.
[00:20:30] Unknown:
Well, now it's alright, miss. This won't get into the papers. I promise. Oh, yes.
[00:20:36] Unknown:
He asked me to go away with him, told me not to pay any attention to the old girl, said he had plenty of money and swore that I'd live like a princess. Well, mother told me to leave the room. And when I tried, he'd rent me And that's when my brother came in. Oh, and then There was a struggle and shouting. Arthur's very fond of me, you see. And I hit my face in my hand. For the next thing I know, Arthur came back laughing with a stick in his hand. He said to me, don't worry about that paralysis. He won't trouble you anymore. And I think I'll just keep an eye on him and see what he does with himself.
[00:21:16] Unknown:
And when did your brother come back? I don't know. You've no idea at all.
[00:21:22] Unknown:
Well, we know that I went to bed. Arthur had a batch key and he must have let himself in with that. Very late.
[00:21:37] Unknown:
And what's your theory, Lassard? My theory is that he followed Drebber as far as Brixton Road. Now, he still had the cudgel with him. His sister told me about that. In Brixton Road, a fresh altercation arose and Charpentier hit him and killed him. Oh, perhaps unintentionally. And then, seeing what he'd done, he dragged the body into the young tenanted house. The writing, the candle, and the ring are all so many tricks to throw us off, I said. Come in. I assume that note is for you, Inspector Lestan. I give it here, please. Good thought.
This is from Dixon. He says Stengers has been found murdered in his room at Herderday's Hotel. I cannot understand it. I certainly should have had word by now. Oh, word about what, Rose? Marriage, Watson. Marriage. Oh. Yes. I believe that the answer to both of those murders lies back in Cleveland, Ohio. An answer which I'm impatiently awaiting. Well,
[00:23:00] Unknown:
We cab to Soho to a rather shabby building housing a number of theatrical agents.
[00:23:07] Unknown:
Watson. Well, I've just seen Jack LaSandra, a theatrical agent friend of mine, and I've asked him if he knew of any young actors who specialize in character parts, particularly old ladies. From the look in your eyes, I I did you said he did, Capital Watson. You'll make a detective yet. Oh. He not only knew the fella, name of Royce Bardi, but he gave me his address and it's just around the corner here. Hello. What's this? Lestrade here. Well, it beats me, mister Holmes, how you do it, but you turn up almost as quickly as we do. Well, how did you get the news? Believe me, miss Hart. I don't know what you're talking about. I've just come along with doctor Watson to see an actor by the name of Royce Boddy. But that's exactly what I mean. I've just come from mister Boddy's vet. We were called when the landlady went in and found out he's disappeared. And she also found the words crawled on the wall. And the word was rushed.
Now, don't tell me you went hurt. My word of honor, Lassard. But I do think that we ought to go into that pub over there and put our heads together over this latest development. Now, tell me, mister Holmes. What put you on to Barby and how did you know about that word on the wall? First first, please. Have you had an answer to your Telegram to America? Oh, yes. They know of, mister Drever, but there's nothing against him. And so that proved to be a dead end. He's not a criminal. I never thought he was. Now, how about Barty, mister Well, I connected him with the case because of the wedding ring we found when we moved Trevor's body. Oh, what in the world would he have to do with that? It's my belief that he was used as a cat paw. A messenger employed by the murderer to recover the ring. Well, not even if that's true, why would he now disappear? Oh, hold on a minute.
Perhaps we have another murder on our end there. Is that possible, mister Holmes? No. No. We are quite done with murders on this case, mister Hunt. What makes you so certain? Because once again, the killer has tried to throw us off the trail. He's a clever man. And once he realized that I had deduced that Barty was used as a messenger, he must have paid him to clear out. The word rush is just another attempt to throw us off the trail. Now you say all this without asking me anything about the Stangerson murder. I ask you only one thing about it. How was he killed?
With a dagger. Well, that's a bit of a blow. And I hope this won't be another. What do you think was written on the wall? Written in blood above the bed of the murdered men. The word rash, of course. But I still need one more thing before my case is complete. As an avid reader of detective stories, I've always felt some resentment when the detective proudly announces that his case is complete, and, of course, I haven't the slightest idea in the world what the solution is. However, I must say that of all the fictional detectives who use this device, Holmes irritates me the least, perhaps because I know his explanation will be lucid and not make a fool of the reader.
We'll be back with that solution in just a few minutes.
[00:26:45] Unknown:
The pen is mightier than the sword,
[00:26:48] Unknown:
a cliche quote by now, but, of course, it's a cliche because it's so true. For example, Genghis Khan, Attila, Alexander, Napoleon, and Hitler all tried to conquer the world. They all failed. Whereas, there's no country in our world where Sherlock Holmes and doctor Watson are unknown. The words from the pen of sir Arthur Conan Doyle have been translated in every language spoken today. Mister Holmes, here I am sitting in your flat talking when I have the strong feeling I should be out hot on the trail of this body who disappeared. But if you feel Bardy's so important, Inspector, I'll answer any question you wanna put to him. Well, if you don't mind, sir, I'd rather be talking to the man myself. No. I assure you. I assure you, Lisbotte. I'll give you almost word for word what Bardy would say if he were sitting in this chair. Now, I might just take you up on that.
Alright, Barney. Why did you do a bunk? It was a great lark and my pal asked me to do him this favor. He paid me to take his little vacation. I see. And was it also his idea to write that word on the wall? Absolutely. That was part of the game. You see. He told me he was playing a fancy trick on some of his old paths. Sort of a practical joke and I went along with it. Anything wrong with that inspector? Can you tell me your pale name? Of course. Jefferson Hope.
[00:28:18] Unknown:
When Holmes uttered the name, mister Cobb's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged. I must say that I'm sure I had the same reaction. I I I simply couldn't contain myself.
[00:28:30] Unknown:
I say, Holmes, if you knew that, well, then I I'm sorry. I've I've neglected to inform you, my dear doctor, that I received the answer I've been waiting for from America.
[00:28:40] Unknown:
And that gave you the name? Most assuredly. But
[00:28:43] Unknown:
what kind of question did you ask that America sent you the name of the killer? I asked if there were any unusual circumstances surrounding the marriage of Enoch Drebber. Remember the ring was signed for years, but the murderer evidently felt it was so important, he was willing to risk capture to come back and get it. He also sent Barbie after it. Well, I'll see that, but I'll still The telegram that I received from America told me that Trevor had applied for the protection of the law against an old rival in love named Jefferson Hope.
And that shortly after he made the application, he, Trevor, had left for Europe, and Hope had also disappeared from Cleveland.
[00:29:24] Unknown:
Oh, I take my hat off to you, mister Holmes. No. But you must admit that was a very lucky hit.
[00:29:30] Unknown:
Well, now that I have the name of the criminal and also a description. The description? From whom? And how did you get it? Oh, well, a a mitt man, on an early delivery, was leaving bottles in the back of hotel. When he noticed that the ladder, which was usually on the ground, was raised against a second story window, which was open. He actually saw a man descend the ladder, but the man came down so openly that he just believed that he was some workman. And the description, the movement didn't take careful note, but he thought that the man was tallish, red faced, and, wore a brown overcoat. Aye, Joe. Exactly as you said he'd look out. Of course. Of course. Tell me, miss Hyde. Didn't you find anything else strange in the room? Or nothing of any importance?
A novel with which he'd read himself sleep was lying upon the bed and this pipe on the chair beside him. There was a glass of water on the table and on the window sill, a small box containing a couple of pills. The last link. Could you lay your hand on those pills? Well, I had them, but I must say, I don't attach any great importance to them. May I have them? Thank you. Now, doctor, are these ordinary pills?
[00:30:47] Unknown:
Certainly not. I've rarely seen anything like him. From their likeness and transparency, I should imagine they're water soluble. Precisely so.
[00:30:56] Unknown:
Now doctor, would you mind going down and fetching that poor little devil of a terrier, which has been sick so long and which the landlady asked you to put out of its pain yesterday? Well, I fetched the dog. Well, he was indeed in a bad way, and I brought him tenderly back to the flat. Put the animal comfortably on a cushion there, doctor. And now I will cut one of these pills in two. One half we will save and the other I'll place in this wine glass, which has a teaspoon full of water at the bottom. See how easily it dissolves.
Well, this may all be very interesting to serve, but I I don't see what it has to do with the death of Joseph Stangerson. Patience, this time. Patience. I'll add little milk to make it palatable and I'm sure that we will find that the dog laps it up readily enough. And, and now what? Get a minute. Get a minute. We shall see. He's going to act very quickly. Oh, they do? Not from what I can see. That can't be a coincidence. Is that it pills which I suspect, killed Deborah, I found after the death of Stangerson and yet there is no. Of course. Of course.
Now I have it. Doctor, give me the other pill.
[00:32:22] Unknown:
When I handed him the pill, he quickly cut it in two, added milk after the pill dissolved, and presented it to the terrier. Oh, the dog's tongue seemed hard to have been worsened in it before he gave a convulsive shiver and lay of hatred and lifeless
[00:32:38] Unknown:
out of its suffering. Alright, mister Holmes. You've been proved right again. But I still don't see how this will bring me any closer to this Jefferson Hope. Thanks to you, I have a name and a description. So if I could get cracking on this now, it shouldn't be too long before you hear that I have the fellow in custody. Good luck inspector. But I wonder if you'd humor me by lending me your handcuffs. You never know but what I might run across this Jefferson Hope before you do. I've learned not to argue with you. Here they argue.
And please don't forget to return them if you don't use them.
[00:33:22] Unknown:
The Strad muscled off. I wondered why on earth Holmes had borrowed a pair of handcuffs. My curiosity could no longer be restrained when Holmes came into the living room carrying a pair of boxes and a small portmanteau.
[00:33:37] Unknown:
Surely, Holmes, you you you'll not think you're taking a trip at this time. No. I've always sounded well to be prepared for anything at a moment's notice. That might be the man I'm expecting now.
[00:33:50] Unknown:
Come in.
[00:33:52] Unknown:
I didn't know you're expecting anyone. Your cab's at the door downstairs, gentlemen. Very good. Perhaps you'd be so kind as to give me a hand with these boxes. See if they're stacked up securely. I asked. Of course, sir. Mhmm. Here. Now let me give you a hand. Oh, damn nation. What devil's trick is that? Trick Weston here. I will. I will. Hang on to his arm. Well, doctor, allow me to introduce you to mister Jefferson Hope, the murderer of Enoch Trevor and Joseph Stangerson.
[00:34:29] Unknown:
If you gents are reckoning on taking me to the police station, you're welcome to use my cab. That's a very generous offer. On the other hand, I'd be happy to tell you gentlemen all about everything right here and now because I'm never going to trial.
[00:34:44] Unknown:
I must say you're an impregnated
[00:34:45] Unknown:
crew. Oh, I don't know. You got me wrong. I heard your friend here call you doctor. You a medical man? Yes. Yes. I am. Well, then you put your hands right here on my chest.
[00:34:58] Unknown:
That's it. Well, you you have a aortic aneurysm.
[00:35:04] Unknown:
That's what they call it. The doctor who saw me last week told me it's bound to burst before too many days pass.
[00:35:11] Unknown:
What's your opinion, Watson? Is there immediate danger?
[00:35:15] Unknown:
Oh, my dear. That most certainly is. You're Sherlock Holmes, aren't you? Yes.
[00:35:21] Unknown:
Well, you kept in my trail as caution. Well, now that you know I'm a dying man, you can be sure I'm not lying when I tell you that those two men were guilty of the death of two human beings, a father and a daughter.
[00:35:40] Unknown:
You ever hear of the Dicers Club? Never. Mhmm. No surprise.
[00:35:45] Unknown:
It's in America. It's a club of gamblers. Trevor and Stangerson were charter members. My darling Lucy's father joined later. It was a black day for all of us when he joined. His name? John Ferrier. He was a storekeeper out west, and I was a trapper and a scout. Oh, he had a lovely daughter named Lucy, and we fell in love.
[00:36:10] Unknown:
Her father approved,
[00:36:12] Unknown:
but by this time, he was doomed because he joined the dices. It was all up for him. Well, I used to enjoy playing a hand or two of poker now and then, but I tell you, doctor, there are some people who become crazed with a gambler fever. Yes. And John Ferrier was one of them. He can no more stop gambling than breathing, and he lost everything, store, his savings.
[00:36:38] Unknown:
And finally,
[00:36:39] Unknown:
his daughter, Lucy. Don't tell me that a father gambled his daughter. No. No. No, doc.
[00:36:45] Unknown:
John Ferrier was a fine man despite that one overriding fault. No. No. No. You never stooped to that. No.
[00:36:53] Unknown:
It was Lucy who suggested it. A bargain, you mean? A devil's bargain.
[00:36:58] Unknown:
You see, Ferrier was badly in debt to both Drebber and Stangerson, and they were threatening him with jail. You know, debtors prison? Mhmm. Now Lucy couldn't stay on the idea of her father in prison, and she well knew both of them were gone on her. In fact, before I came along, they wouldn't leave her alone. Her father
[00:37:18] Unknown:
father had to forbid them the house. But it was she who went to them and suggested promised to marry one of them
[00:37:25] Unknown:
if they forgive her father's debt.
[00:37:29] Unknown:
Mister
[00:37:31] Unknown:
Holmes, those those devils, they they worked out a scheme. Trevor worked it out. He went through a false marriage ceremony, and and they shared her, the two of them. And I spoke,
[00:37:44] Unknown:
Well, never mind. I I kept I kept my oath. And what happened to Ferrier and Lucy? John shot himself, Lucy. She died of shame and a broken heart only two months after they tricked her. And you have been tracking them ever since? Ever since I took that false marriage ring from her dead finger.
[00:38:04] Unknown:
For eight long years, I've been on that trail, and they've been on the run. Took every penny I had. When we got to London, I was flat broke. I applied to the cab owner's office and got a job right away because of my experience with horses. Well, after years of dog in their footsteps night and day, my chance came when they missed the Liverpool train that night. For the first time in eight years, they separated. And when they missed the train, Drebber insisted he had business of his own and would meet Stangerson back on the train platform at eleven. Then how did Stangerson come to be found at Halliday's Hotel? Stangerson realized Dreber was drunk and said that if Dreber didn't show up at the station, they'd meet at the hotel.
[00:38:49] Unknown:
And Trevor took your cab from the station. Hardly likely once, and if Hope was close enough to ever revert their conversation on the platform, he'd hardly have been able to get back to his cab in time for Trevor to have hailed him. That's exactly right, mister Holmes.
[00:39:03] Unknown:
But I I followed him and darned if he didn't go right back to the boarding house he just left. He wasn't inside more than five minutes before he was out again. A young man had him by the neck and practically threw him down the steps and into the street. You ever come near this house again, I'll flash you. Well, Drebber picked himself up and staggered over to my cab, jumped in, and said,
[00:39:27] Unknown:
have this hotel, driver, unless you see a pub on our way And stop and I'll get myself a whiskey. I tell you, sir, my heart jumped with joy when I had him inside my house. But you still have the problem of getting into the house in Brixton Road. Oh, I never doubted I would.
[00:39:46] Unknown:
Driver? Driver?
[00:39:47] Unknown:
See if you can find another plug. I need a
[00:39:52] Unknown:
driver, where are we?
[00:39:55] Unknown:
We're here, sir. Let me give you a hand.
[00:40:03] Unknown:
It's it's wet, cold. I need drink. Damn. It is dark in here. We'll soon have a light with this camel. There. Now, ain't it, Trevor? Who am I? Who? Maybe this wedding ring will help you. Guess what? You look at it, man. Now either you or I will not see tomorrow's sun. Oh, well, where'd your money be in? Hold on. We will select your punishment. Here here are two pills. Now I swear upon my poor dead darling, Lucy, that one of them is harmless, and one deadly poison. No. Here's justice for you, Trevor. You're a dicer, Uncle, now you choose first. Choose.
And and and it's old. Like, few the bits of fib you baker of mercy. Now take one of these. Go on. No. No. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Alright.
[00:41:04] Unknown:
I'll take this. No. No.
[00:41:08] Unknown:
This this was Follow it. Follow it. No. Good. Yeah. That's the way it was, gentlemen. But I've been so excited. I I first noticed the blood streaming from my nose.
[00:41:26] Unknown:
I wrote rage on the wall just to throw you off. And Stangerson wouldn't gamble. Was that why he was damned? He wouldn't submit to God's judgment. You know he'd lose. Oh,
[00:41:41] Unknown:
excuse me,
[00:41:45] Unknown:
dear God. His aneurysm
[00:41:51] Unknown:
had burst.
[00:41:53] Unknown:
Well, when the start arrives, you'll be deprived of his trial, but not his triumph. If you will allow him to use your notes doctor. Well, happily, since they give you all the credit. No. I somehow don't think that that's the way it will be reported, but that's the way both of us will gain mutual satisfaction. The publication of this story, A Study in Scarlet, marked the birth of the greatest detective figure in fiction. It not only launched the career of Arthur Conan Doyle as a writer, but also laid the foundation for the ascent of the mystery story into the realms of the respectable. I'll be back with what Doyle rarely thought of famed detectives to find the quote after these messages.
This spring, reward your walls for their fine support of the ceiling with a new coat of true test paint from True Value Hardware stores. Hi. Pat Summerall to tell you during their interior paint sale, truest hardware stores offer truest interior paints at special prices. For example, truest easy care latex flat enamel, a wash and wear childproof paint, comes in white and 44 decorator colors for just $8.97 a gallon, or you can choose True Test satin hue interior flat latex, the washable finish for walls and ceilings in white and 44 colors for just $7.97 a gallon.
And get True Test Marveluster latex semi gloss, the ideal paint for woodwork and colors to match satin hue flat for only $8.97 a gallon. See the complete selection of truest interior paints on sale at special prices during the interior paint sale going on now through April, exclusively at participating True Value hardware stores. True Value, that's more than just a name, remembers their way of doing business. From all that has been written and said about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he seemed to be a likable and modest man. However, the opinions he expressed about Poe's famous detective Dupin and Gaborneaus LeCocq showed him to be not without vanity.
Of Dupin, Holmes said, now in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow. He had some analytical genius, no doubt, but he was by no means the phenomenon Poe appeared to have had. He was even stronger about the cook, whom he termed a miserable bungler who made me positively ill. To Doyle as to the world, there was only one Sherlock Holmes. Our cast included Kevin McCarthy, Mary Jane Higbee, Court Benson, Earl Hammond, and Ian Martin. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown. And now a preview of our next tale. You have fever, Twan. You stay quiet. Fever will burn away.
I will take palm wine to men. You do not leave house Twan. Why should we have anything to fear from our own men? Let me point out something I have said before.
[00:45:13] Unknown:
I am the agent in charge here,
[00:45:15] Unknown:
and you are my servant. The person in charge is my colon. Don't try to deny it. You will not call me ridiculous in front of a servant. I won't stand for that kind of insubordination. If it happens once more Yes. What will you do? I'll discharge you. You mean, pull me out of our castle on stills, this vermin infested hots of a platform? You're welcome to the whole place. I'll head down This is E. G. Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theatre for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time.
[00:46:05] Unknown:
Pleasant dreams.
Check engine light on? Take the guesswork out of your check engine light with O'Reilly BaraScan. It's free. Ask for O'Reilly BaraScan today. O. O. O. O. O'Reilly.
[00:00:14] Unknown:
Auto parts. CBS Radio Mystery Theater presents Come in. Welcome. I'm EG Marshall. It's no secret that compulsive gamblers are every bit as sick as alcoholics or drug addicts. Gambling is a fever that consumes them as surely as whiskey or heroin. However, even the most habitual and devoted of gamblers might well hesitate when the gamble literally means his life or death. Come on, man. Choose.
[00:01:08] Unknown:
I'm giving you more of a chance than you gave Lucy. Now you've got a fifty fifty chance.
[00:01:14] Unknown:
Now one capsule is harmless on my word of honor. The other means death. Now I'm giving you a choice. First chance. You might even have the pleasure of watching me die. Our mystery drama, A Study in Scarlet, was adapted from the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic, especially for the mystery theater by Murray Burnett and stars Kevin McCarthy. It is sponsored in part by True Value Hardware stores and Buick Motor Division. I'll be back shortly with act one. Word association games provide amusement for many people. They're even employed by psychologists to diagnose aptitudes and attitudes.
For example, Scarlett O'Hara brings to mind Rhett Butler, while Romeo immediately suggests Juliet. Sherlock Holmes, doctor Watson. It's possible that many of you wondered how Sheryl and doctor Watson first met and decided that they would make good roommates. Well, doctor, you've seen the flat, and I am Sherlock Holmes.
[00:02:37] Unknown:
I said the flat seems comfortable, and, well, as far as you, mister Holmes, are concerned, I I I imagine we'll have to let time tell us if we're going to get along with each other. Capital thinking, my dear, sir. Yes. And let me tell you at once that I shall require the use of this shipping room only when I see my clients.
[00:02:54] Unknown:
They may come at odd hours, but you'd certainly understand that being yourself a physician and lately come from Afghanistan.
[00:03:03] Unknown:
Who who who told you that, sir? Our mutual friend, Wallaby,
[00:03:06] Unknown:
told me you were a doctor, but I deduced that you were recently in Afghanistan. Mister Holmes,
[00:03:12] Unknown:
I've no wish to be rude and certainly not on such short acquaintance,
[00:03:16] Unknown:
but I I cannot have believed I was told that you were a doctor, but you carry yourself with an air of a military man. Army doctor. Just come from the Tropics because his face is dark, but his wrist's there. Left arm injured because he holds it slightly stiff in an unnatural position. Where in the Tropics would an English army doctor have received such a wound? Clearly, in Afghanistan. It sounds simple when you explain it, but I find it rather astonishing. Elementary, my dear fellow. Elementary.
[00:03:50] Unknown:
As the days wore on, I found Holmes a singularly easy man to live with. Quiet in his way with regular habits, but with no ceiling system for work. Indeed, I didn't discover what work he was engaged in until one morning in March when I arose somewhat earlier than with my custom and at breakfast, read an article with the somewhat ambitious title of don't cook good life. What utter nonsense. Never read such rubbish in my life. What is? This article evidently written by some armchair lounger who solves riddles by sitting safely in his own study. I'd like to see him clapped down in a third class railway carriage and ask to name the trades of his fellow travelers.
I'd I'd lay a thousand and 1 against him. You would lose your money.
[00:04:39] Unknown:
As for that article, I wrote it myself. You Yes. Yes. I specialize in observation and deduction, which has set me up in my trade. I am a consulting detective. What what's that? Well, to put it succinctly, I step in when government and private detectives are at fault.
[00:05:04] Unknown:
The very next day, when the letter came by special messenger, it was signed inspector Lestrade of Scotland Guard, who asked my roommate to come, if possible, to free Lauriston Gardens off the Brixton Road. Holmes asked me along, and in a very short time, we alighted from a cab at the address.
[00:05:23] Unknown:
Now we're fortunate that it rained so heavily last night, but come along. I see the Strahd waiting at the door. It's nice of you to come right along with the room. But, who is this? This is my friend and colleague, doctor Watson. If you don't object to Oh, any friend of yours is always welcome. Thank you. Come this way and I'll show you the room. By the by, miss Bart. Did you come here in a cab? No, sir. No. Now, as you can see this house is to let. All the other rooms were locked. And here, the only item of furniture is the dining room table. And that, as you can see, is occupied by the court.
I assume you've already examined the body. Is there no wound? No. No. No wound at all, mister Holmes. And yet we have these great gouts and splashes of blood all over. Then the blood must belong to the murderer if a murder has been committed. If a murder was committed, look at the man's face, the distortion of his limbs. Yes. Yes. Yes. Watson, I've noted all those things. But tell me, Lefebvre, did you move the corpse at all? No more than was necessary for the purposes of examination. Mhmm. Well, then you can have the body taken to the mortuary. There's nothing more to be learned from it. Right.
Alright. You two. You can take the body out. I said, look at that. There's been a woman there. That's a woman's wedding ring which just fell from the body. As if this wasn't already complicated enough. What did you find in the pockets? Oh, a gold watch, gold pin with a strange device. Looks like some kind of a cube. Russian leather card case. Card printed reading Enoch j Drebber of Cleveland. Two letters to one e j Drebber and one to Joseph Stungerson. Address, American Exchange Strand. They refer to steamship sailings. As it's clear that this unfortunate man was about to return to New York. And this other man, Stangerson, have you made any inquiries about him? Of course, at all. But you haven't seen yet what I consider is crucial.
Now it's over here in the corner against the wall, and you can't see it unless you start a match.
[00:07:43] Unknown:
In the particular corner illuminated by the flailing match, part of the wallpaper had been peeled away. And there, scored in blood red letters, was a single word, r a c h e, Reich. Mister Adams,
[00:08:01] Unknown:
what do you think of that? A fascinating discovery. I've not had time to examine this room yet, but with your permission, I'll do so now. Would it disturb you if I were to reconstruct how the word came to be there and what it means? Oh, by no means. I'd be interested corner chosen to write upon? Because, mister Holmes, if you'd observe that candle on the mantelpiece. Mhmm. I see it. Well, that must have been lit at the time and that made this corner the brightest spot in the room. Excellent, Lestrade. I congratulate you. And the murderer wrote with his or her own blood. Now, you see this smear where it has trickled down the wall. My dear Lestrade, you're outdoing yourself. I agree. Well, that disposes of the idea of suicide. Right? Absolutely. It was murder. But now that you found the writing and done so brilliantly, what do you construe it to mean?
Simply that the dead man was going to write the female name Rochelle, but was, interrupted before he or she had time to finish. Oh, you mark my words, mister Holmes. When this case comes to be cleared up, we'll find out that a woman named Rochelle had something to do with it. Interesting and partly accurate. First, you're correct. It was murder. Secondly, the murderer was a man. He's more than six feet tall in the prime of life, and he has small feet for a man of his height. He wore a course square toed boots and smoked a picotopolous scar. But but but one moment, sir. I I can't get it all down. It's it's too fast. Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. He came here with his victim in a four wheeled cab, which was drawn by a horse with three old shoes and one new one on his off foreleg.
In all probability, the murderer has a florid complexion, and the fingernails of his right hand were remarkably long. Now these few indications may be of some assistance to you?
[00:10:03] Unknown:
Oh, you can guess it. Well, of course, I I,
[00:10:06] Unknown:
I I must thank you. But, but, mister Holmes, if the man was murdered, how was it done? Poison. Poison. But no better. But how I mean did he one other thing, Lesad. Rush is the German word for revenge. So don't waste any time looking for a woman named Rochelle. Holmes, you're not at all as sure of those particulars you gave Lestrade as you seem to be. But there is no room for error. If you take the trouble to observe, you've reached the same conclusions. On arriving, I saw the cab had made two ruts with its wheels close to the curb. Yeah. You know about last night's rain? There were also marks of the horse's hooves. Plain for all to see.
Lestrade said that he had not come by camp, so it it must have brought those two individuals to the house. Well, that that seems simple enough, but
[00:11:06] Unknown:
the description of the man, his height My dear doctor,
[00:11:09] Unknown:
when a man writes on a wall, he doesn't lean down or reach up. He writes at eye level. Now that writing was over six feet from the ground. Child's play doctor.
[00:11:23] Unknown:
I must confess you made it seem that way, but
[00:11:26] Unknown:
his age is Well, if a man can stride four and a half feet without the smallest effort, he can't be approaching senility. That was the breadth of a puddle in the garden walk that Square toes had hopped over. The platen leather black boots had gone wronged. But, Holmes, that would mean that these two Came in the same cab. Right. Were as friendly as possible until they got inside the house.
[00:11:48] Unknown:
I still can't understand about the fingernails
[00:11:51] Unknown:
from a cigar. The writing on the wall was done by a man's fingernail dipped in blood. The wall plaster was slightly scratched, which wouldn't have been the case if the man's nails had been trimmed. And as for the cigar, I have made a special study of cigar ashes, written a monograph on the subject, And the ash that I picked up from the floor could only have come from a Triconopoly cigar.
[00:12:20] Unknown:
I was pleased to see that I wasn't the only man who was astounded
[00:12:24] Unknown:
by the deductive reasoning processes of my friend Holmes. We'd called to see Constable Redz who'd found the body. What I particularly want to know is, was the street empty when you went out to call for help? Well, it was as far as anybody that could be of any good goes. What do you mean? I've seen many a drunk chap in my time, but never anyone so bleeding drunk as that co. How was he dressed? Brown overcoat. Eddie, you're whipping his hand. No. You must have left it behind. You didn't happen to see or hear a cab after that? I was tending to my business. You should rather say that you were letting the man who owes the clue to this mystery slip through your fingers.
Come along, doctor. Holmes, I'm afraid I'm as much in the dark as the constable.
[00:13:12] Unknown:
If this man is the second party in the mystery, why should he return so soon at the scene of the crime? The ring, doctor. The wedding ring.
[00:13:21] Unknown:
If we have no other way of catching him, we can always bait our line with the ring. Some two centuries before, Hamlet had cried, the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. Now Sherlock Holmes has informed doctor Watson that the ring will catch the man who scrawled the German word, ross, in blood across the wall of the murder room. Act two will tell us whether he's right. We all use our friends in one way or another. Sometimes, some of us use friendship in a way that stretches the ties almost to the breaking point. But I'll venture to say that no one ever used a friend as often and as recklessly as Sherlock Holmes used doctor Watson and still retained his friendship and loyalty.
For example, here we pick up the friends in the familiar apartment on Baker Street where Watson is waiting for Holmes who has disappeared. My dear doctor, I must apologize for running off, but I've had a great deal of doom. I had this advertisement sent to every paper this morning. Here. Read it in the lost and found column.
[00:14:48] Unknown:
In Brixton Road this morning, a plain girl wedding ring. Apply doctor Watson
[00:14:55] Unknown:
21 B Belcher Street between eight and nine this evening. Excuse me excuse me my using your name, but I I fear that some of these dunderheads might recognize mine. Oh, that's quite alright. But what if someone applies? My head will ring. Oh, yes. You have. This will do very well. It's almost a facsimile. And then who do you expect to answer this advertisement? I've already told you. The man in the brown coat or he will send an accomplice. I still don't understand why he wrote the word on the wall. Simply a blind to put the police on the wrong track. It was not written by a German because while the a was printed somewhat after the German fashion, a real German invariably prints in Latin characters. So this was done by a clumsy imitator who overdid his part.
Unless I'm very wrong, this will be our man now. Come in. Good evening, gentlemen. Good evening. Good evening, ma'am. Well, it's this advert has brought me. Now it's this gold wedding ring in Brixton Road. It belongs to my girl, Sally, as we're married only this time twelve months to which her husband is steward aboard a union boat. Well, he'd say if he comes home and her without a ring is more than I can think. Yes. Yes. Well, is this her ring? Oh, the Lord be thanked. Sally will be a glad girl this night. Oh, that's the thing. Where are you going, Hovs? I I must follow her. She's obviously an accomplice.
You know, Watson, she'll lead me to the man I want.
[00:16:43] Unknown:
Well, after Holmes left, I had no other collars. And I sat puffing at my pipe while ten and then 11:00 past with no word from him. It was close upon midnight when I heard his latch key. Well, Holmes, how did it go?
[00:17:02] Unknown:
Doctor, doctor, you must promise me not to tell this to Lestrade because he'd never let me forget it. What is it? What did she do? I ran out after her and had no trouble keeping up as she little way before she began to limp and show every sign of exhaustion. Presently, she came to a halt and hailed a four wheeler which was passing and she clambered in and I managed to perch myself behind. And I heard her sing out 13 Duncan Street houndstitch. Away we rattled. And just before the driver pulled up there, I hopped off and began lounging about down the street. I say, well, I shall never forget that cab driver's face as he opened the door and waited expectantly, waited for the passenger who never came out. Well, you don't mean to say that that tottering feeble old woman was able to get out of the cab while it was in motion without either you or Oh, the moment be damned. We were the old women to be taken in by that disguise. Well, it was a young man, and he must have been an incomparable actor.
And now we must look elsewhere to find our man and our answer. My dear Holmes, congratulate me. I have sold the whole thing. You mean you're on the right track? The right track? Why I have the man under lock and key. And the man's name is? Arthur Charpentier. Subject tenant in her majesty's navy. Uh-huh. Well, I'm waiting to hear what sets you on the right track. Well, of course, the prime difficulty was in tracing the antecedents of this American. Now, mister Owens, do you remember the hat we found beside the dead man? Mhmm. John Underwood and Sons. 129 Camberwell Road. Well, I have no idea you've noticed that. Have you been there? No. Oh.
Oh. Well, anyway, I'll never neglect a chance no matter how small. I went there and checked over his box and discovered that he'd sold that to a mister Vibber, residing at Charpentier's Boarding Establishment, Torquay Terrace. Very, very smart. Oh, thank you, mister Harris. And needless to say, I hurried right around to Torquay Terrace. And it was there I found the answers of the whole business. Not after mister Charpentier who runs the establishment, but from her daughter. A pretty young thing who speaks only the truth. Finally, her mother, seeing that the daughter was determined to answer my question,
[00:19:28] Unknown:
resigned herself to it. And the girl told me the following story. Mister Drebber has been with us nearly three weeks. He and his secretary, mister Stangerson. I like mister Stangerson who was a quiet man. But I'm sorry to say that mister Drebber was a coarse, brutish sort of fellow who drank all the time and too much. And? And that's why my mother asked them to leave. Because he was drinking too much. And because when he did, he he he he was rude to me. Rude? Well, you know, sir. Not not respectful. So we were all glad when mother told him he must leave and he and mister Sengerson went off. On the day he was killed? Yes. And that was the last you saw of him? No.
No. He came back. He claimed he missed his train. He was well, he had a lot to drink and then right there in front of my mother.
[00:20:30] Unknown:
Well, now it's alright, miss. This won't get into the papers. I promise. Oh, yes.
[00:20:36] Unknown:
He asked me to go away with him, told me not to pay any attention to the old girl, said he had plenty of money and swore that I'd live like a princess. Well, mother told me to leave the room. And when I tried, he'd rent me And that's when my brother came in. Oh, and then There was a struggle and shouting. Arthur's very fond of me, you see. And I hit my face in my hand. For the next thing I know, Arthur came back laughing with a stick in his hand. He said to me, don't worry about that paralysis. He won't trouble you anymore. And I think I'll just keep an eye on him and see what he does with himself.
[00:21:16] Unknown:
And when did your brother come back? I don't know. You've no idea at all.
[00:21:22] Unknown:
Well, we know that I went to bed. Arthur had a batch key and he must have let himself in with that. Very late.
[00:21:37] Unknown:
And what's your theory, Lassard? My theory is that he followed Drebber as far as Brixton Road. Now, he still had the cudgel with him. His sister told me about that. In Brixton Road, a fresh altercation arose and Charpentier hit him and killed him. Oh, perhaps unintentionally. And then, seeing what he'd done, he dragged the body into the young tenanted house. The writing, the candle, and the ring are all so many tricks to throw us off, I said. Come in. I assume that note is for you, Inspector Lestan. I give it here, please. Good thought.
This is from Dixon. He says Stengers has been found murdered in his room at Herderday's Hotel. I cannot understand it. I certainly should have had word by now. Oh, word about what, Rose? Marriage, Watson. Marriage. Oh. Yes. I believe that the answer to both of those murders lies back in Cleveland, Ohio. An answer which I'm impatiently awaiting. Well,
[00:23:00] Unknown:
We cab to Soho to a rather shabby building housing a number of theatrical agents.
[00:23:07] Unknown:
Watson. Well, I've just seen Jack LaSandra, a theatrical agent friend of mine, and I've asked him if he knew of any young actors who specialize in character parts, particularly old ladies. From the look in your eyes, I I did you said he did, Capital Watson. You'll make a detective yet. Oh. He not only knew the fella, name of Royce Bardi, but he gave me his address and it's just around the corner here. Hello. What's this? Lestrade here. Well, it beats me, mister Holmes, how you do it, but you turn up almost as quickly as we do. Well, how did you get the news? Believe me, miss Hart. I don't know what you're talking about. I've just come along with doctor Watson to see an actor by the name of Royce Boddy. But that's exactly what I mean. I've just come from mister Boddy's vet. We were called when the landlady went in and found out he's disappeared. And she also found the words crawled on the wall. And the word was rushed.
Now, don't tell me you went hurt. My word of honor, Lassard. But I do think that we ought to go into that pub over there and put our heads together over this latest development. Now, tell me, mister Holmes. What put you on to Barby and how did you know about that word on the wall? First first, please. Have you had an answer to your Telegram to America? Oh, yes. They know of, mister Drever, but there's nothing against him. And so that proved to be a dead end. He's not a criminal. I never thought he was. Now, how about Barty, mister Well, I connected him with the case because of the wedding ring we found when we moved Trevor's body. Oh, what in the world would he have to do with that? It's my belief that he was used as a cat paw. A messenger employed by the murderer to recover the ring. Well, not even if that's true, why would he now disappear? Oh, hold on a minute.
Perhaps we have another murder on our end there. Is that possible, mister Holmes? No. No. We are quite done with murders on this case, mister Hunt. What makes you so certain? Because once again, the killer has tried to throw us off the trail. He's a clever man. And once he realized that I had deduced that Barty was used as a messenger, he must have paid him to clear out. The word rush is just another attempt to throw us off the trail. Now you say all this without asking me anything about the Stangerson murder. I ask you only one thing about it. How was he killed?
With a dagger. Well, that's a bit of a blow. And I hope this won't be another. What do you think was written on the wall? Written in blood above the bed of the murdered men. The word rash, of course. But I still need one more thing before my case is complete. As an avid reader of detective stories, I've always felt some resentment when the detective proudly announces that his case is complete, and, of course, I haven't the slightest idea in the world what the solution is. However, I must say that of all the fictional detectives who use this device, Holmes irritates me the least, perhaps because I know his explanation will be lucid and not make a fool of the reader.
We'll be back with that solution in just a few minutes.
[00:26:45] Unknown:
The pen is mightier than the sword,
[00:26:48] Unknown:
a cliche quote by now, but, of course, it's a cliche because it's so true. For example, Genghis Khan, Attila, Alexander, Napoleon, and Hitler all tried to conquer the world. They all failed. Whereas, there's no country in our world where Sherlock Holmes and doctor Watson are unknown. The words from the pen of sir Arthur Conan Doyle have been translated in every language spoken today. Mister Holmes, here I am sitting in your flat talking when I have the strong feeling I should be out hot on the trail of this body who disappeared. But if you feel Bardy's so important, Inspector, I'll answer any question you wanna put to him. Well, if you don't mind, sir, I'd rather be talking to the man myself. No. I assure you. I assure you, Lisbotte. I'll give you almost word for word what Bardy would say if he were sitting in this chair. Now, I might just take you up on that.
Alright, Barney. Why did you do a bunk? It was a great lark and my pal asked me to do him this favor. He paid me to take his little vacation. I see. And was it also his idea to write that word on the wall? Absolutely. That was part of the game. You see. He told me he was playing a fancy trick on some of his old paths. Sort of a practical joke and I went along with it. Anything wrong with that inspector? Can you tell me your pale name? Of course. Jefferson Hope.
[00:28:18] Unknown:
When Holmes uttered the name, mister Cobb's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged. I must say that I'm sure I had the same reaction. I I I simply couldn't contain myself.
[00:28:30] Unknown:
I say, Holmes, if you knew that, well, then I I'm sorry. I've I've neglected to inform you, my dear doctor, that I received the answer I've been waiting for from America.
[00:28:40] Unknown:
And that gave you the name? Most assuredly. But
[00:28:43] Unknown:
what kind of question did you ask that America sent you the name of the killer? I asked if there were any unusual circumstances surrounding the marriage of Enoch Drebber. Remember the ring was signed for years, but the murderer evidently felt it was so important, he was willing to risk capture to come back and get it. He also sent Barbie after it. Well, I'll see that, but I'll still The telegram that I received from America told me that Trevor had applied for the protection of the law against an old rival in love named Jefferson Hope.
And that shortly after he made the application, he, Trevor, had left for Europe, and Hope had also disappeared from Cleveland.
[00:29:24] Unknown:
Oh, I take my hat off to you, mister Holmes. No. But you must admit that was a very lucky hit.
[00:29:30] Unknown:
Well, now that I have the name of the criminal and also a description. The description? From whom? And how did you get it? Oh, well, a a mitt man, on an early delivery, was leaving bottles in the back of hotel. When he noticed that the ladder, which was usually on the ground, was raised against a second story window, which was open. He actually saw a man descend the ladder, but the man came down so openly that he just believed that he was some workman. And the description, the movement didn't take careful note, but he thought that the man was tallish, red faced, and, wore a brown overcoat. Aye, Joe. Exactly as you said he'd look out. Of course. Of course. Tell me, miss Hyde. Didn't you find anything else strange in the room? Or nothing of any importance?
A novel with which he'd read himself sleep was lying upon the bed and this pipe on the chair beside him. There was a glass of water on the table and on the window sill, a small box containing a couple of pills. The last link. Could you lay your hand on those pills? Well, I had them, but I must say, I don't attach any great importance to them. May I have them? Thank you. Now, doctor, are these ordinary pills?
[00:30:47] Unknown:
Certainly not. I've rarely seen anything like him. From their likeness and transparency, I should imagine they're water soluble. Precisely so.
[00:30:56] Unknown:
Now doctor, would you mind going down and fetching that poor little devil of a terrier, which has been sick so long and which the landlady asked you to put out of its pain yesterday? Well, I fetched the dog. Well, he was indeed in a bad way, and I brought him tenderly back to the flat. Put the animal comfortably on a cushion there, doctor. And now I will cut one of these pills in two. One half we will save and the other I'll place in this wine glass, which has a teaspoon full of water at the bottom. See how easily it dissolves.
Well, this may all be very interesting to serve, but I I don't see what it has to do with the death of Joseph Stangerson. Patience, this time. Patience. I'll add little milk to make it palatable and I'm sure that we will find that the dog laps it up readily enough. And, and now what? Get a minute. Get a minute. We shall see. He's going to act very quickly. Oh, they do? Not from what I can see. That can't be a coincidence. Is that it pills which I suspect, killed Deborah, I found after the death of Stangerson and yet there is no. Of course. Of course.
Now I have it. Doctor, give me the other pill.
[00:32:22] Unknown:
When I handed him the pill, he quickly cut it in two, added milk after the pill dissolved, and presented it to the terrier. Oh, the dog's tongue seemed hard to have been worsened in it before he gave a convulsive shiver and lay of hatred and lifeless
[00:32:38] Unknown:
out of its suffering. Alright, mister Holmes. You've been proved right again. But I still don't see how this will bring me any closer to this Jefferson Hope. Thanks to you, I have a name and a description. So if I could get cracking on this now, it shouldn't be too long before you hear that I have the fellow in custody. Good luck inspector. But I wonder if you'd humor me by lending me your handcuffs. You never know but what I might run across this Jefferson Hope before you do. I've learned not to argue with you. Here they argue.
And please don't forget to return them if you don't use them.
[00:33:22] Unknown:
The Strad muscled off. I wondered why on earth Holmes had borrowed a pair of handcuffs. My curiosity could no longer be restrained when Holmes came into the living room carrying a pair of boxes and a small portmanteau.
[00:33:37] Unknown:
Surely, Holmes, you you you'll not think you're taking a trip at this time. No. I've always sounded well to be prepared for anything at a moment's notice. That might be the man I'm expecting now.
[00:33:50] Unknown:
Come in.
[00:33:52] Unknown:
I didn't know you're expecting anyone. Your cab's at the door downstairs, gentlemen. Very good. Perhaps you'd be so kind as to give me a hand with these boxes. See if they're stacked up securely. I asked. Of course, sir. Mhmm. Here. Now let me give you a hand. Oh, damn nation. What devil's trick is that? Trick Weston here. I will. I will. Hang on to his arm. Well, doctor, allow me to introduce you to mister Jefferson Hope, the murderer of Enoch Trevor and Joseph Stangerson.
[00:34:29] Unknown:
If you gents are reckoning on taking me to the police station, you're welcome to use my cab. That's a very generous offer. On the other hand, I'd be happy to tell you gentlemen all about everything right here and now because I'm never going to trial.
[00:34:44] Unknown:
I must say you're an impregnated
[00:34:45] Unknown:
crew. Oh, I don't know. You got me wrong. I heard your friend here call you doctor. You a medical man? Yes. Yes. I am. Well, then you put your hands right here on my chest.
[00:34:58] Unknown:
That's it. Well, you you have a aortic aneurysm.
[00:35:04] Unknown:
That's what they call it. The doctor who saw me last week told me it's bound to burst before too many days pass.
[00:35:11] Unknown:
What's your opinion, Watson? Is there immediate danger?
[00:35:15] Unknown:
Oh, my dear. That most certainly is. You're Sherlock Holmes, aren't you? Yes.
[00:35:21] Unknown:
Well, you kept in my trail as caution. Well, now that you know I'm a dying man, you can be sure I'm not lying when I tell you that those two men were guilty of the death of two human beings, a father and a daughter.
[00:35:40] Unknown:
You ever hear of the Dicers Club? Never. Mhmm. No surprise.
[00:35:45] Unknown:
It's in America. It's a club of gamblers. Trevor and Stangerson were charter members. My darling Lucy's father joined later. It was a black day for all of us when he joined. His name? John Ferrier. He was a storekeeper out west, and I was a trapper and a scout. Oh, he had a lovely daughter named Lucy, and we fell in love.
[00:36:10] Unknown:
Her father approved,
[00:36:12] Unknown:
but by this time, he was doomed because he joined the dices. It was all up for him. Well, I used to enjoy playing a hand or two of poker now and then, but I tell you, doctor, there are some people who become crazed with a gambler fever. Yes. And John Ferrier was one of them. He can no more stop gambling than breathing, and he lost everything, store, his savings.
[00:36:38] Unknown:
And finally,
[00:36:39] Unknown:
his daughter, Lucy. Don't tell me that a father gambled his daughter. No. No. No, doc.
[00:36:45] Unknown:
John Ferrier was a fine man despite that one overriding fault. No. No. No. You never stooped to that. No.
[00:36:53] Unknown:
It was Lucy who suggested it. A bargain, you mean? A devil's bargain.
[00:36:58] Unknown:
You see, Ferrier was badly in debt to both Drebber and Stangerson, and they were threatening him with jail. You know, debtors prison? Mhmm. Now Lucy couldn't stay on the idea of her father in prison, and she well knew both of them were gone on her. In fact, before I came along, they wouldn't leave her alone. Her father
[00:37:18] Unknown:
father had to forbid them the house. But it was she who went to them and suggested promised to marry one of them
[00:37:25] Unknown:
if they forgive her father's debt.
[00:37:29] Unknown:
Mister
[00:37:31] Unknown:
Holmes, those those devils, they they worked out a scheme. Trevor worked it out. He went through a false marriage ceremony, and and they shared her, the two of them. And I spoke,
[00:37:44] Unknown:
Well, never mind. I I kept I kept my oath. And what happened to Ferrier and Lucy? John shot himself, Lucy. She died of shame and a broken heart only two months after they tricked her. And you have been tracking them ever since? Ever since I took that false marriage ring from her dead finger.
[00:38:04] Unknown:
For eight long years, I've been on that trail, and they've been on the run. Took every penny I had. When we got to London, I was flat broke. I applied to the cab owner's office and got a job right away because of my experience with horses. Well, after years of dog in their footsteps night and day, my chance came when they missed the Liverpool train that night. For the first time in eight years, they separated. And when they missed the train, Drebber insisted he had business of his own and would meet Stangerson back on the train platform at eleven. Then how did Stangerson come to be found at Halliday's Hotel? Stangerson realized Dreber was drunk and said that if Dreber didn't show up at the station, they'd meet at the hotel.
[00:38:49] Unknown:
And Trevor took your cab from the station. Hardly likely once, and if Hope was close enough to ever revert their conversation on the platform, he'd hardly have been able to get back to his cab in time for Trevor to have hailed him. That's exactly right, mister Holmes.
[00:39:03] Unknown:
But I I followed him and darned if he didn't go right back to the boarding house he just left. He wasn't inside more than five minutes before he was out again. A young man had him by the neck and practically threw him down the steps and into the street. You ever come near this house again, I'll flash you. Well, Drebber picked himself up and staggered over to my cab, jumped in, and said,
[00:39:27] Unknown:
have this hotel, driver, unless you see a pub on our way And stop and I'll get myself a whiskey. I tell you, sir, my heart jumped with joy when I had him inside my house. But you still have the problem of getting into the house in Brixton Road. Oh, I never doubted I would.
[00:39:46] Unknown:
Driver? Driver?
[00:39:47] Unknown:
See if you can find another plug. I need a
[00:39:52] Unknown:
driver, where are we?
[00:39:55] Unknown:
We're here, sir. Let me give you a hand.
[00:40:03] Unknown:
It's it's wet, cold. I need drink. Damn. It is dark in here. We'll soon have a light with this camel. There. Now, ain't it, Trevor? Who am I? Who? Maybe this wedding ring will help you. Guess what? You look at it, man. Now either you or I will not see tomorrow's sun. Oh, well, where'd your money be in? Hold on. We will select your punishment. Here here are two pills. Now I swear upon my poor dead darling, Lucy, that one of them is harmless, and one deadly poison. No. Here's justice for you, Trevor. You're a dicer, Uncle, now you choose first. Choose.
And and and it's old. Like, few the bits of fib you baker of mercy. Now take one of these. Go on. No. No. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Alright.
[00:41:04] Unknown:
I'll take this. No. No.
[00:41:08] Unknown:
This this was Follow it. Follow it. No. Good. Yeah. That's the way it was, gentlemen. But I've been so excited. I I first noticed the blood streaming from my nose.
[00:41:26] Unknown:
I wrote rage on the wall just to throw you off. And Stangerson wouldn't gamble. Was that why he was damned? He wouldn't submit to God's judgment. You know he'd lose. Oh,
[00:41:41] Unknown:
excuse me,
[00:41:45] Unknown:
dear God. His aneurysm
[00:41:51] Unknown:
had burst.
[00:41:53] Unknown:
Well, when the start arrives, you'll be deprived of his trial, but not his triumph. If you will allow him to use your notes doctor. Well, happily, since they give you all the credit. No. I somehow don't think that that's the way it will be reported, but that's the way both of us will gain mutual satisfaction. The publication of this story, A Study in Scarlet, marked the birth of the greatest detective figure in fiction. It not only launched the career of Arthur Conan Doyle as a writer, but also laid the foundation for the ascent of the mystery story into the realms of the respectable. I'll be back with what Doyle rarely thought of famed detectives to find the quote after these messages.
This spring, reward your walls for their fine support of the ceiling with a new coat of true test paint from True Value Hardware stores. Hi. Pat Summerall to tell you during their interior paint sale, truest hardware stores offer truest interior paints at special prices. For example, truest easy care latex flat enamel, a wash and wear childproof paint, comes in white and 44 decorator colors for just $8.97 a gallon, or you can choose True Test satin hue interior flat latex, the washable finish for walls and ceilings in white and 44 colors for just $7.97 a gallon.
And get True Test Marveluster latex semi gloss, the ideal paint for woodwork and colors to match satin hue flat for only $8.97 a gallon. See the complete selection of truest interior paints on sale at special prices during the interior paint sale going on now through April, exclusively at participating True Value hardware stores. True Value, that's more than just a name, remembers their way of doing business. From all that has been written and said about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he seemed to be a likable and modest man. However, the opinions he expressed about Poe's famous detective Dupin and Gaborneaus LeCocq showed him to be not without vanity.
Of Dupin, Holmes said, now in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow. He had some analytical genius, no doubt, but he was by no means the phenomenon Poe appeared to have had. He was even stronger about the cook, whom he termed a miserable bungler who made me positively ill. To Doyle as to the world, there was only one Sherlock Holmes. Our cast included Kevin McCarthy, Mary Jane Higbee, Court Benson, Earl Hammond, and Ian Martin. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown. And now a preview of our next tale. You have fever, Twan. You stay quiet. Fever will burn away.
I will take palm wine to men. You do not leave house Twan. Why should we have anything to fear from our own men? Let me point out something I have said before.
[00:45:13] Unknown:
I am the agent in charge here,
[00:45:15] Unknown:
and you are my servant. The person in charge is my colon. Don't try to deny it. You will not call me ridiculous in front of a servant. I won't stand for that kind of insubordination. If it happens once more Yes. What will you do? I'll discharge you. You mean, pull me out of our castle on stills, this vermin infested hots of a platform? You're welcome to the whole place. I'll head down This is E. G. Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theatre for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time.
[00:46:05] Unknown:
Pleasant dreams.
Introduction to Compulsive Gambling
A Study in Scarlet Begins
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson Meet
The Crime Scene Investigation
Holmes' Clever Trap
Lestrade's Theory
Holmes' Experiment with the Pills
Jefferson Hope's Confession
The Conclusion and Legacy of Sherlock Holmes
