Part 56 (1/2)
”Soton came down to itation He spoke of solary which, he said, had been committed in the West End, and he appeared, I re that a day should not pass before we should add stronger bolts to our s and doors For a week he continued to be in a peculiar state of restlessness, peering continually out of the s, and ceasing to take the short hich had usually been the prelude to his dinner From hisor somebody, but when I questioned him upon the point he became so offensive that I was compelled to drop the subject Gradually, as time passed, his fears appeared to die away, and he renewed his former habits, when a fresh event reduced him to the pitiable state of prostration in which he now lies
”What happened was this Two days ago I received the letter which I now read to you Neither address nor date is attached to it
”A Russian noblelad to avail himself of the professional assistance of Dr Percy Trevelyan He has been for some years a victim to cataleptic attacks, on which, as is well known, Dr Trevelyan is an authority He proposes to call at about a quarter-past six to-, if Dr Trevelyan will make it convenient to be at home
”This letter interested me deeply, because the chief difficulty in the study of catalepsy is the rareness of the disease You -rooe showed in the patient
”He was an elderly man, thin, demure, and commonplace-by no means the conception one forms of a Russian nobleman I was much more struck by the appearance of his coly handsome, with a dark, fierce face, and the limbs and chest of a Hercules He had his hand under the other's arm as they entered, and helped him to a chair with a tenderness which one would hardly have expected fro in, Doctor,' said he to ht lisp 'This isimportance to me'
”I was touched by this filial anxiety 'You would, perhaps, care to re the consultation?' said I
” 'Not for the world,' he cried with a gesture of horror 'It is more painful to me than I can express If I were to see my father in one of these dreadful seizures I am convinced that I should never survive it My own nervous system is an exceptionally sensitive one With your pero into my father's case'
”To this, of course, I assented, and the young ed into a discussion of his case, of which I took exhaustive notes He was not reence, and his ansere frequently obscure, which I attributed to his lie Suddenly, however, as I sat writing, he ceased to give any answer at all totowards hiht in his chair, staring at ain in the grip of his , as I have just said, was one of pity and horror My second, I fear, was rather one of professional satisfaction I made notes of idity of hismarkedly abnormal in any of these conditions, which harood results in such cases by the inhalation of nitrite of amyl, and the present see its virtues The bottle was downstairs inet it There was so it-five ine one
”Of course, one also The hall door had been closed, but not shut My page who admits patients is a new boy and by no means quick He waits downstairs and runs up to show patients out when I ring the consulting-roo, and the affair reton came in fro to hiot in the way of late of holding as little coht that I should see anything ine , they both ca-room, just as they had done before
” 'I feel that I owe you a great ies for my abrupt departure yesterday, Doctor,' said my patient
” 'I confess that I was very much surprised at it,' said I
” 'Well, the fact is,' he remarked, 'that when I recover from these attacks one before I woke up in a strange room, as it seemed to me, and made my way out into the street in a sort of dazed hen you were absent'
” 'And I,' said the son, 'seeing ht that the consultation had coan to realize the true state of affairs '
” 'Well,' said I, laughing, 'there is no harm done except that you puzzled me terribly; so if you, sir, would kindly step into the waiting-room I shall be happy to continue our consultation which was brought to so abrupt an ending'
”For half an hour or so I discussed the old gentle prescribed for hio off upon the arenerally chose this hour of the day for his exercise He came in shortly afterwards and passed upstairs An instant later I heard hi-room like a man who is mad with panic: ” 'Who has been in my room?' he cried
” 'No one,' said I
” 'It's a lie!' he yelled 'Corossness of his language, as he seemed half out of his mind with fear When I went upstairs with hiht carpet
” 'Do you mean to say those are er than any which he could have made, and were evidently quite fresh It rained hard this afternoon, as you know, and my patients were the only people who called It -room had, for some unknown reason, while I was busy with the other, ascended to the roo had been touched or taken, but there were the footprints to prove that the intrusion was an undoubted fact
”Mr Blessington seeht possible, though of course it was enough to disturb anybody's peace ofin an aret hiestion that I should come round to you, and of course I at once saw the propriety of it, for certainly the incident is a very singular one, though he appears to completely overrate its ihah I can hardly hope that you will be able to explain this remarkable occurrence”
Sherlock Hol narrative with an intentness which showed me that his interest was keenly aroused His face was as impassive as ever, but his lids had drooped more heavily over his eyes, and his smoke had curled up more thickly from his pipe to emphasize each curious episode in the doctor's tale As our visitor concluded, Hol up without a word, handed me my hat, picked his own from the table, and followed Dr Trevelyan to the door Within a quarter of an hour we had been dropped at the door of the physician's residence in Brook Street, one of those sombre, flat-faced houses which one associates with a West End practice A san at once to ascend the broad, well-carpeted stair
But a singular interruption brought us to a standstill The light at the top was suddenly whisked out, and fro voice
”I have a pistol,” it cried ”I give you my word that I'll fire if you coeous, Mr Blessington,” cried Dr Trevelyan
”Oh, then it is you, Doctor,” said the voice with a great heave of relief ”But those other gentlemen, are they what they pretend to be?”
We were conscious of a long scrutiny out of the darkness
”Yes, yes, it's all right,” said the voice at last ”You can come up, and I am sorry if as as he spoke, andbefore us a singular-looking man, whose appearance, as well as his voice, testified to his jangled nerves He was very fat, but had apparently at so about his face in loose pouches, like the cheeks of a bloodhound He was of a sickly colour, and his thin, sandy hair seemed to bristle up with the intensity of his emotion In his hand he held a pistol, but he thrust it into his pocket as we advanced
”Good-evening, Mr Holed to you for co round No one ever needed your advice more than I do I suppose that Dr Trevelyan has told you of this most unwarrantable intrusion into my rooms”
”Quite so,” said Holton, and why do they wish to molest you?”
”Well, well,” said the resident patient in a nervous fashi+on, ”of course it is hard to say that You can hardly expect me to answer that, Mr Holmes”
”Do you mean that you don't know?”
”Come in here, if you please Just have the kindness to step in here”
He led the way into his bedrooe and co to a big black box at the end of his bed ”I have never been a very rich man, Mr Holmes-never made but one investment in my life, as Dr Trevelyan would tell you But I don't believe in bankers I would never trust a banker, Mr Holmes Between ourselves, what little I have is in that box, so you can understand what it means to me when unknown people force theton in his questioning way and shook his head
”I cannot possibly advise you if you try to deceive ”
Holht, Dr Trevelyan,” said he
”And no advice forvoice
”My advice to you, sir, is to speak the truth”
Afor home We had crossed Oxford Street and were halfway down Harley Street before I could get a word fro you out on such a fool's errand, Watson,” he said at last ”It is an interesting case, too, at the bottom of it”
”I can make little of it,” I confessed
”Well, it is quite evident that there are two men-more, perhaps, but at least tho are deterton I have no doubt in my mind that both on the first and on the second occasion that young ton's rooenious device, kept the doctor fro”
”And the catalepsy?”