The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was

  quite as valuable as a gold-mine. Naturally, it was to my

  interest to buy their land before they discovered its true value,

  but unfortunately I had no capital by which I could do this. I

  took a few of my friends into the secret, however, and they

  suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little

  deposit and that in this way we should earn the money which would

  enable us to buy the neighboring fields. This we have now been

  doing for some time, and in order to help us in our operations we

  erected a hydraulic press. This press, as I have already

  explained, has got out of order, and we wish your advice upon the

  subject. We guard our secret very jealously, however, and if it

  once became known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our

  little house, it would soon rouse inquiry, and then, if the facts

  came out, it would be good-bye to any chance of getting these

  fields and carrying out our plans. That is why I have made you

  promise me that you will not tell a human being that you are

  going to Eyford to-night. I hope that I make it all plain?'

  "'I quite follow you,' said I. 'The only point which I could not

  quite understand was what use you could make of a hydraulic press

  in excavating fuller's-earth, which, as I understand, is dug out

  like gravel from a pit.'

  "'Ah!' said he carelessly, 'we have our own process. We compress

  the earth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealing

  what they are. But that is a mere detail. I have taken you fully

  into my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley, and I have shown you how I

  trust you.' He rose as he spoke. 'I shall expect you, then, at

  Eyford at 11:15.'

  "'I shall certainly be there.'

  "'And not a word to a soul.' He looked at me with a last long,

  questioning gaze, and then, pressing my hand in a cold, dank

  grasp, he hurried from the room.

  "Well, when I came to think it all over in cool blood I was very

  much astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission

  which had been intrusted to me. On the one hand, of course, I was

  glad, for the fee was at least tenfold what I should have asked

  had I set a price upon my own services, and it was possible that

  this order might lead to other ones. On the other hand, the face

  and manner of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon

  me, and I could not think that his explanation of the

  fuller's-earth was sufficient to explain the necessity for my

  coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should tell

  anyone of my errand. However, I threw all fears to the winds, ate

  a hearty supper, drove to Paddington, and started off, having

  obeyed to the letter the injunction as to holding my tongue.

  "At Reading I had to change not only my carriage but my station.

  However, I was in time for the last train to Eyford, and I

  reached the little dim-lit station after eleven o'clock. I was the

  only passenger who got out there, and there was no one upon the

  platform save a single sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passed

  out through the wicket gate, however, I found my acquaintance of

  the morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without a

  word he grasped my arm and hurried me into a carriage, the door

  of which was standing open. He drew up the windows on either

  side, tapped on the wood-work, and away we went as fast as the

  horse could go."

  "One horse?" interjected Holmes.

  "Yes, only one."

  "Did you observe the color?"

  "Yes, I saw it by the side-lights when I was stepping into the

  carriage. It was a chestnut."

  "Tired-looking or fresh?"

  "Oh, fresh and glossy."

  "Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue

  your most interesting statement."

  "Away we went then, and we drove for at least an hour. Colonel

  Lysander Stark had said that it was only seven miles, but I

  should think, from the rate that we seemed to go, and from the

  time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He sat

  at my side in silence all the time, and I was aware, more than

  once when I glanced in his direction, that he was looking at me

  with great intensity. The country roads seem to be not very good

  in that part of the world, for we lurched and jolted terribly. I

  tried to look out of the windows to see something of where we

  were, but they were made of frosted glass, and I could make out

  nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light. Now

  and then I hazarded some remark to break the monotony of the

  journey, but the colonel answered only in monosyllables, and the

  conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping of the

  road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a gravel-drive,

  and the carriage came to a stand. Colonel Lysander Stark sprang

  out, and, as I followed after him, pulled me swiftly into a porch

  which gaped in front of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of

  the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed to catch the

  most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant that

  I had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us,

  and I heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage

  drove away.

  "It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled

  about looking for matches and muttering under his breath.

  Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and a

  long, golden bar of light shot out in our direction. It grew

  broader, and a woman appeared with a lamp in her hand, which she

  held above her head, pushing her face forward and peering at us.

  I could see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with which

  the light shone upon her dark dress I knew that it was a rich

  material. She spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as

  though asking a question, and when my companion answered in a

  gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly

  fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her, whispered

  something in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the room

  from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the

  lamp in his hand.

  "'Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a

  few minutes,' said he, throwing open another door. It was a

  quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the

  centre, on which several German books were scattered. Colonel

  Stark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the

  door. 'I shall not keep you waiting an instant,' said he, and

  vanished into the darkness.

  "I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my

  ignorance of German I could see that two of them were treatises

  on science, the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked

  across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of

  the country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded

  across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There was an old

  clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passa
ge, but otherwise

  everything was deadly still. A vague feeling of uneasiness began

  to steal over me. Who were these German people, and what were

  they doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? And

  where was the place? I was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was

  all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or west I had no

  idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other large towns,

  were within that radius, so the place might not be so secluded,

  after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness,

  that we were in the country. I paced up and down the room,

  humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling

  that I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee.

  "Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the

  utter stillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman

  was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind

  her, the yellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager and

  beautiful face. I could see at a glance that she was sick with

  fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one

  shaking finger to warn me to be silent, and she shot a few

  whispered words of broken English at me, her eyes glancing back,

  like those of a frightened horse, into the gloom behind her.

  "'I would go,' said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, to

  speak calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is no

  good for you to do.'

  "'But, madam,' said I, 'I have not yet done what I came for. I

  cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.'

  "'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass

  through the door; no one hinders.' And then, seeing that I smiled

  and shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and

  made a step forward, with her hands wrung together. 'For the love

  of Heaven!' she whispered, 'get away from here before it is too

  late!'

  "But I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready to

  engage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I

  thought of my fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of

  the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to

  go for nothing? Why should I slink away without having carried

  out my commission, and without the payment which was my due? This

  woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout

  bearing, therefore, though her manner had shaken me more than I

  cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention

  of remaining where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties

  when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several footsteps

  was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up

  her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and

  as noiselessly as she had come.

  "The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick man

  with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double

  chin, who was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson.

  "'This is my secretary and manager,' said the colonel. 'By the

  way, I was under the impression that I left this door shut just

  now. I fear that you have felt the draught.'

  "'On the contrary,' said I, 'I opened the door myself because I

  felt the room to be a little close.'

  "He shot one of his suspicious looks at me. 'Perhaps we had

  better proceed to business, then,' said he. 'Mr. Ferguson and I

  will take you up to see the machine.'

  "'I had better put my hat on, I suppose.'

  "'Oh, no, it is in the house.'

  "'What, you dig fuller's-earth in the house?'

  "'No, no. This is only where we compress it. But never mind that.

  All we wish you to do is to examine the machine and to let us

  know what is wrong with it.'

  "We went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, the

  fat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house,

  with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little

  low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the

  generations who had crossed them. There were no carpets and no

  signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster

  was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in

  green, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned an

  air as possible, but I had not forgotten the warnings of the

  lady, even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen eye upon

  my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent

  man, but I could see from the little that he said that he was at

  least a fellow-countryman.

  "Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door, which

  he unlocked. Within was a small, square room, in which the three

  of us could hardly get at one time. Ferguson remained outside,

  and the colonel ushered me in.

  "'We are now,' said he, 'actually within the hydraulic press, and

  it would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were

  to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the

  end of the descending piston, and it comes down with the force of

  many tons upon this metal floor. There are small lateral columns

  of water outside which receive the force, and which transmit and

  multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The machine

  goes readily enough, but there is some stiffness in the working

  of it, and it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you will

  have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set

  it right.'

  "I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very

  thoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of

  exercising enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and

  pressed down the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by

  the whishing sound that there was a slight leakage, which allowed

  a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders. An

  examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was

  round the head of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not quite to

  fill the socket along which it worked. This was clearly the cause

  of the loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions, who

  followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical

  questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When I

  had made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the

  machine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity.

  It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller's-earth

  was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose

  that so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate a

  purpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a

  large iron trough, and when I came to examine it I could see a

  crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was

  scraping at this to see exactly what it was when I heard a

  muttered exclamation in German and saw the cadaverous face of the

  colonel looking down at me.

  "'What are you doing there?' he asked.

  "I felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as

>   that which he had told me. 'I was admiring your fuller's-earth,'

  said I; 'I think that I should be better able to advise you as to

  your machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which it

  was used.'

  "The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of

  my speech. His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in

  his gray eyes.

  "'Very well,' said he, 'you shall know all about the machine.' He

  took a step backward, slammed the little door, and turned the key

  in the lock. I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle, but it

  was quite secure, and did not give in the least to my kicks and

  shoves. 'Hello!' I yelled. 'Hello! Colonel! Let me out!'

  "And then suddenly in the silence I heard a sound which sent my

  heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the levers and the swish

  of the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lamp

  still stood upon the floor where I had placed it when examining

  the trough. By its light I saw that the black ceiling was coming

  down upon me, slowly, jerkily, but, as none knew better than

  myself, with a force which must within a minute grind me to a

  shapeless pulp. I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and

  dragged with my nails at the lock. I implored the colonel to let

  me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my

  cries. The ceiling was only a foot or two above my head, and with

  my hand upraised I could feel its hard, rough surface. Then it

  flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend

  very much upon the position in which I met it. If I lay on my

  face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to

  think of that dreadful snap. Easier the other way, perhaps; and

  yet, had I the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly black

  shadow wavering down upon me? Already I was unable to stand

  erect, when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope

  back to my heart.

  "I have said that though the floor and ceiling were of iron, the

  walls were of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around, I saw

  a thin line of yellow light between two of the boards, which

  broadened and broadened as a small panel was pushed backward. For

  an instant I could hardly believe that here was indeed a door

  which led away from death. The next instant I threw myself

  through, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel had

  closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp, and a few

  moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told me

  how narrow had been my escape.

  "I was recalled to myself by a frantic plucking at my wrist, and

  I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor,

  while a woman bent over me and tugged at me with her left hand,

  while she held a candle in her right. It was the same good friend

  whose warning I had so foolishly rejected.

  "'Come! come!' she cried breathlessly. 'They will be here in a

  moment. They will see that you are not there. Oh, do not waste

  the so-precious time, but come!'

  "This time, at least, I did not scorn her advice. I staggered to

  my feet and ran with her along the corridor and down a winding

  stair. The latter led to another broad passage, and just as we

  reached it we heard the sound of running feet and the shouting of

  two voices, one answering the other from the floor on which we

  were and from the one beneath. My guide stopped and looked about

  her like one who is at her wit's end. Then she threw open a door

  which led into a bedroom, through the window of which the moon

  was shining brightly.

  "'It is your only chance,' said she. 'It is high, but it may be

  that you can jump it.'

  "As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the

  passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark

  rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a

  butcher's cleaver in the other. I rushed across the bedroom,

  flung open the window, and looked out. How quiet and sweet and

  wholesome the garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be