11. Insert the right prepositions:
out, by, from(3), for, about, in, of(2), with
1) So I got…………… my revolver and I sat up in my room…………… where I could see the lawn and garden.
2) Something was moving…………… the shadow…………… the tool-house.
3) He was so completely occupied…………… this task that he had evidently forgotten…………… me.
4) We didn’t have to wait…………… a long time, because our Norfolk squire came straight…………… the station as fast as he could.
5) It means that we will leave our own house because…………… some jokers?
6) I’m surrounded…………… invisible unknown people, who want something…………… me.
12. Complete the table:
III
But the answer came only in two days, during which Holmes was very impatient. At every ring at the bell he jumped to his feet. In the evening we received a letter from Hilton Cubitt. He said that all was quiet there, but that morning a long inscription had appeared on the sun-dial. He sent us a copy of it, here it is:
Holmes stood with this piece of paper for some minutes, examining it, and then suddenly he turned to me. His eyes were full with anxiety.
“We have let this affair go far enough[116],” he said. “Is there a train to North Walsham tonight?”
I looked it up in the time-table. The last train had just gone.
“Then we shall have breakfast early and take the very first train in the morning,” said Holmes. “We must be there. Ah! And here is also our expected telegram. One moment, Mrs. Hudson. There must be an answer. Yes, it means I was right. This message makes it evident that we should not lose any minute. We must explain what’s the matter[117] to Hilton Cubitt. It is a very dangerous web in which our simple Norfolk squire is caught.”
So, as I come to this part of my story (which before had seemed to me only childish and strange) I feel once again the fear and horror with which I was filled then. I’d like to tell my readers that there will be a happy end, but I can’t. This book should be truthful. I must tell the facts and I must follow them to the strange chain of events which some day will be the talk of the whole England.[118]
We had hardly arrived at[119] North Walsham, and said where we were going to, when the station-master[120] came up to us. “I suppose that you are the detectives from London?” he said.
Holmes was very much worried.
“What makes you think so?”
“Because Inspector Martin from Norwich has just arrived. But maybe you are the doctors. She’s not dead… not yet. You may be in time[121] to save her… although it doesn’t matter – she will come to the gallows[122].”
Holmes’s eyes became very anxious.
“We are going to Ridling Thorpe Manor,” he said, “but we haven’t heard anything what had happened there.”
“It’s a terrible business,” said the station-master. “They are shot, both Mr. Hilton Cubitt and his wife. She shot him and then herself… so the servants say. He’s dead and she is doomed to death. Oh my God, one of the oldest families in the County of Norfolk, and one of the most honoured.”
Without a word Holmes hurried to a carriage, and during the long seven miles’ drive he didn’t open his mouth. Seldom have I seen him so gloomy. He had been uneasy during all our journey from Baker Street, and I had seen that he had turned over the morning papers with anxious attention. But now this sudden realization of his worst fears came. He was sitting in his seat, thinking about everything. But there were a lot of interesting views there. We were passing through a country-side of England, where there were few houses, beautiful churches. Green landscape told of the glory and prosperity of old East Anglia. At last the driver pointed on the two roofs out of trees.
“That’s Ridling Thorpe Manor,” he said.
We came up to the front door. I looked around and saw the black tool-house, the sun-dial, with which we had such strange associations. An active little man with moustache had just come down from the carriage. He introduced himself as Inspector Martin, and he was very much surprised when he heard the name of my friend.
“But Mr. Holmes, the crime was only committed at three this morning. How could you hear of it in London and come here as soon as I?”
“I guessed it. I was hoping I could stop it.”
“Then I think you have some important evidence that we haven’t. Because we don’t know what to think – they were a very united couple.”
“I have only the evidence of the dancing men,” said Holmes. “I will explain everything to you later. However, it is very sad that it is too late to stop this tragedy… I hope that I can use the information that I know in order to help justice. Will you allow me to help you in your investigation, or will you prefer me to act independently?”
“I will be proud if we are working together, Mr. Holmes,” said the inspector.
“In that case I’ll be glad to hear the evidence[123] and to examine the place where it had happened.”
Inspector Martin was a clever man. He allowed my friend to do everything in his own way, he just watched and made some notes. The local doctor, an old, white-haired man, had just come down from Mrs. Hilton Cubitt’s room. He said that her injuries were serious, but not fatal. The bullet had hit her brain[124], and it would take some time[125] before she could speak. But the doctor couldn’t answer the question whether she had been shot or had shot herself. But certainly it happened at a very short distance. They found only one revolver in the room. Mr. Hilton Cubitt was shot in the heart. It was equally possible that he had shot her and then himself, or that she was the criminal, because the revolver lay on the floor right between them.
“Has anyone moved him?” asked Holmes.
“We have moved nothing except the lady. We could not leave her here, she was wounded and lying on the floor.”
“How long have you been here, doctor?”
“Since four o’clock.”
“Anyone else?”
“Yes, the policeman is here.”
“Have you touched nothing?”
“Nothing.”
“Good. Who sent for you?”
“The housemaid, Saunders.”
“Was it she who gave the alarm[126]?”
“She and Mrs. King, the cook.”
“Where are they now?”
“In the kitchen, I think.”
“Then I think we had better hear their story now.”
The old hall with big windows turned into a court of investigation[127]. Holmes sat in a great, old-fashioned chair. I could read in his severe eyes that he was ready to devote his life to this case. He didn’t manage to save his client, it was too late. But at least he could take revenge[128]. Inspector Martin, the old country doctor, myself and a policeman made up the rest of that company.
The two women told their story clearly enough. They woke up because of a loud sound of an explosion, in a minute they heard a second one. They slept in different rooms, and Mrs. King had run to Saunders. Together they came to the room – the door was open and a candle was burning on the table. Their master lay on his face in the centre of the room. He was dead. Near the window his wife was sitting. She was horribly wounded, and her face was red with blood. She breathed heavily, but couldn’t say anything. The corridor and the room were full of smoke and the smell of powder. The window was shut. Both women were sure of it. They had sent for the doctor and for the policeman at once. Then, with the help of the groom and the stable-boy, they carried Mrs Cubitt to her room. She had a dress on, Mr. Cubitt was in his dressing-gown, over his night clothes. Nothing had been moved in the room. As far as Mrs. King and Saunders knew, husband and wife never quarreled. They were a very united couple.
These were the main points of the servants’ evidence. They were sure that every door was locked from the inside, and that no one could have escaped from the house. They both remembered that they noticed the smell of powder when they ran out of their rooms. “It’s important to pay attention to[129] this fact,” said Holmes to us. “And now I think that we can do a careful examination of the room.”
The room was really small. There were a lot of book shelves and a writing-table at the window, which looked out on the garden. The body of the poor squire was lying on the floor. The bullet was fired at him from the front, and remained in his body. His death was certainly painless. There was no powder on his dressing-gown or on his hands. The country doctor said the lady had stains on her face, but none on her hands.
“Well, it means nothing, although the stains on the hands may mean everything,” said Holmes. “I think that Mr. Cubitt’s body may be removed now. So, doctor, you have not taken the bullet out which wounded the lady?”
“A serious operation is necessary. But there are still four patrons in the revolver. Two have been fired and there are two wounds.”
“It only seems so,” Holmes said. “Could you explain me then what’s this on the window-frame? It’s a mark of one more bullet.”
He turned suddenly, and his long, thin finger was pointing to a hole in the window-frame.
“Oh my!”[130] cried the inspector. “How did you notice that?”
“Because I looked for it.”
“Wonderful!” the country doctor said. “You are certainly right, sir. Then there was a third shot, and a third person must have been there. But who? And how did he manage to run away?”
“That is the problem which we have to solve,” said Sherlock Holmes. “Do you remember, Inspector Martin, when the servants said that they noticed a smell of powder when they left their rooms? And I said that this is very important?”
“Yes, sir. But I am afraid that I do not understand you.”
“It means that the door and the window were open during the firing. A draught was necessary to spread the smell of powder through the house. Both door and window were only open for a very short time, however.”
“How can you prove that?”
“Because the candle didn’t go out[131].”
“True!” the inspector cried.
“So if the window had been open at the time of the tragedy, it means that there was a third person, who stood outside and shot through the window. Any shot at this person might hit the window-frame. I looked there and yes, there was the bullet mark!”
“But the window was shut and locked…”
“The woman’s first instinct would be to shut and lock the window. But… what is this?”
It was a lady’s hand-bag which lay on the table, a little hand-bag of crocodile-skin and silver. Holmes opened it. There were twenty fifty-pound notes of the Bank of England, held together by an india-rubber band[132].
“It will be necessary in the trial,” said Holmes and gave the bag to the inspector. “Now let us concentrate on this third bullet. It was certainly fired from the inside of the room. I’d like to see Mrs. King, the cook, again… You said, Mrs. King, that you woke up because of a loud explosion. When you said that, did you mean that it was louder than the second one?”
“Well, sir, it is hard to say, because the moment before I was sleeping. But yes, it was very loud.”
“Don’t you think that it was two shots fired almost at the same time?”
“I am not sure, sir.”
“I believe it was. Inspector Martin, I think we’ve learned everything from this room. If you don’t mind, we shall see what fresh evidence are there in the garden.”
There was a flower-bed just under the window and we were very much surprised when we saw that it was in a mess[133]. There were a lot of footmarks on it. Large feet of a man with long, sharp toes. Holmes started looking for something, like a retriever for a wounded bird. Then he cried with satisfaction and picked up a little bullet.
“I thought so,” he said, “I think, Inspector Martin, that our case is almost complete.”
Exercises
1. Was Holmes happy to receive a letter and a telegram?
1) Yes, he was. He wanted to finish the case as fast as he could.
2) Yes, he was. He needed good news.
3) No, he wasn’t. He was worried when he received them.
4) No, he wasn’t. He didn’t want to work.
2. Why did Holmes decide to visit the Cubitts at once?
1) He wanted to talk with Mrs. Cubitt.
2) He was tired with Baker Street.
3) He solved the riddle and wanted to explain everything to Mr. Cubitt.
4) He wanted to know some details for his investigation.
3. How did Holmes feel when he found out what had happened?
1) He was worried and nervous and couldn’t work.
2) He was very gloomy and decided to come back home.
3) He was ready to devote his life to this case, he wanted to take revenge.
4) He started crying.
4. What were Mrs. King and Saunders sure of?
1) That Mrs. Cubitt killed her husband.
2) That the window was shut.
3) That there were only two shots.
4) That the cubitts were not united.
5. How did Holmes explain that the window was shut?
1) The smell of the powder didn’t spread through the house.
2) The man’s first instinct would be to shut and lock the window.
3) The woman’s first instinct would be to shut and lock the window.
4) The criminal was very careful.
6. What was in the lady’s hand-bag?
1) A letter with the dancing men
2) A gun
3) A ticket to America
4) Twenty fifty-pound notes of the bank of England
7. Where did Holmes find the third bullet?
1) In the window-frame
2) In the garden
3) On the floor
4) In the lady’s hand-bag
8. Describe Inspector Martin:
4) In the lady’s hand-bag
8. Describe Inspector Martin:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. Choose the right verbs:
Together they…………… to the room – the door…………… open and a candle…………… on the table.
1) were coming, was, burned
2) come, was, was burning
3) were coming, was, was burning
4) came, was, was burning
10. Complete the sentences with these words and expressions:
the alarm, the talk of, in a mess, what’s the matter, time, pay attention
1) It would take some…………… before she could speak.
2) I must tell the facts and I must follow them to the strange chain of events which some day will be…………… the whole England.
3) We must explain…………… to Hilton Cubitt.
4) Was it she who gave……………?
5) We were very much surprised when we saw that the flower-bed was…………….
6) “It’s important to…………… to this fact,” said Holmes to us.
11. Insert the right prepositions:
of, for (2), in (2), to, with, on (2)
1) There were a lot of footmarks…………… it. Large feet of a man…………… long, sharp toes.
2) Now let us concentrate…………… this third bullet.
3) Mr. Hilton Cubitt was shot…………… the heart.
4) Holmes stood with this piece of paper…………… some minutes, examining it, and then suddenly he turned…………… me.
5) Both door and window were only open…………… a very short time, however.
6) They woke up because…………… a loud sound of an explosion…………… a minute they heard a second one.
12. Complete the table:
IV
The country inspector’s face showed amazement. At first he had his own position, but now he was filled with admiration and was ready to follow without question wherever Holmes led.
“Whom do you suspect?” he asked.
“I’ll tell you later. There are several points in this problem which I haven’t explained to you yet. But I think it will be better if we wait a bit, and then I’ll explain everything.”
“As you wish, Mr. Holmes, but we must catch the murderer.”
“I don’t want to make mysteries, but it is impossible at the moment to start long and difficult explanations. I have the threads of this affair all in my hand[134]. Even if this lady should never recover we can still reconstruct the events of last night. First of all I’d like to know whether there is a hotel in this neighbourhood, called ‘Elrige’s’?”
We asked the servants, but none of them had heard of such a place. Only the stable-boy remembered that a farmer of that name lived some miles in the direction of East Ruston.
“Is it a lonely farm?”
“Very lonely, sir.”
“Perhaps they have not heard yet of all that happened here during the night?”
“Maybe not, sir.”
Holmes thought for a little and then he suddenly smiled.
“Saddle a horse, boy,” he said. “Take a note to Elrige’s Farm.”
He took out from his pocket all the pieces of paper with the dancing men. He worked with them for some time at the table. Finally he gave a note to the boy. He said to put it into the hands of the person to whom it was addressed, and especially not to answer any questions. I saw the note – it was addressed to Mr. Abe Slaney, Elrige’s Farm, East Ruston, Norfolk.
“I think, inspector,” Holmes said, “if my calculations are correct, you should telegraph for an escort. We may catch a very dangerous prisoner. The boy who takes this note could help with your telegram. If there is an afternoon train to town, Watson, I think we should take it, because I have to finish my chemical analysis, and this investigation comes to an end.”
When the boy with the note left, Sherlock Holmes gave some instructions to the servants. If any visitor came to Mrs. Cubitt, they shouldn’t tell him anything about what had happened. And he should be led right to the living-room. He said it was very important. Finally he seated in the living-room and said that we must wait until we could see what would happen. The doctor left to his patients, and only the inspector and I remained.
“I think that now I can help you to spend this hour in an interesting way,” said Holmes. He came up to the table and spread out in front of him the various papers on which were drawn the dancing men.
“As to you, my friend Watson, I should finally satisfy your curiosity. To you, inspector, the whole story may seem remarkable. I must tell you how I met Mr. Hilton Cubitt in Baker Street.” He shortly told the facts which have already been mentioned.
“So who knew that these childish symbols could lead to such a tragedy! I know all forms of secret writings and I am the author of some, by the way[135]. But this is new to me. The man who invented this one, tried to conceal that these symbols could have a meaning and presented them as drawings of children.”
“However, when I understood that the symbols stood for the letters, the solution was easy enough. The first message was so short that it was impossible for me to read it. But I guessed that the symbol
meant E. As all we know, E is the most common letter in the English alphabet, and even in a short sentence we could find it most often[136]. There were fifteen symbols in the first message, four were the same. So it was reasonable to mark them as E. In some cases the figure was with a flag in his hands and in some cases not. And I came to an idea that the flags were used to break the sentence up into words.”
“And that’s it. It would be an endless task to try all the letters until the message was meaningful. That’s why I waited for fresh material. In my second interview with Mr. Hilton Cubitt he gave me two other short sentences and one message, which was (there was no flag) a single word. Here are the symbols. Now, in the single word I have already got the two E’s: the second and the fourth letter in a word of five letters. It might be ‘sever’, or ‘lever’ or… ‘never’. There is no doubt[137] the latter as a reply is the most probable. And we can assume that it was a reply written by the lady. Now we can say that these symbols mean N, V and R.”
“Even now I was in some difficulty[138], but suddenly it occurred to me[139] that if this person, who drew these dancing men, had been close with the lady in her past, a combination which contained two E’s with three letters between might mean the name ‘ELSIE’. It was certainly some appeal to ‘Elsie’. In this way I had got my L, S, and I. But what appeal could it be? There were only four letters in the word before ‘Elsie,’ and it ended in E. Surely the word must be ‘COME. ‘ I tried all other words ending in E, but ‘COME’ was the most appropriate. So now I had C, O, and M. And I started reading the first message once more. It was like this:
M.ERE..E SL.NE.
“Now the first letter can only be A, which repeats three times in this short sentence. And the H is also obvious in the second word. Now it becomes:
AM HERE A.E SLANE.
Or, if we fill the rest in the name:
AM HERE ABE SLANEY.
I had so many letters now that I could read the second message, which was:
A. ELRI.ES.
Here I could only put T and G for the missing letters. I thought it was the name of some house or hotel at which the man was staying[140].”
Inspector Martin and I had listened with interest to the full story how our friend managed to solve this riddle of the dancing men.
“What did you do then, sir?” asked the inspector.
“I guessed that this Slaney was an American, because Abe is an American name, and because a letter from America gave a start of all the trouble. I was sure that there was some criminal secret here. The way the lady spoke about her past helped me to think so. I called my friend from New York, Wilson Hargreave, policeman. I asked him whether the name of Abe Slaney was known to him. Here is his reply: ‘The most dangerous cheater in Chicago’. That evening Hilton Cubitt sent me the last message from Slaney. It took this form:
ELSIE.RE.ARE TO MEET THY[141] GO.
I completed the message with a P and a D which showed me that this man was now threatening. I at once came to Norfolk with my friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, but, unfortunately, the worst had already happened.”
“It is great to work with you, Mr. Holmes,” said the inspector, warmly. “You will excuse me, however, if I speak frankly to you. I’m responsible for this case. If this Abe Slaney is really the murderer and if he has escaped while I’m sitting here, I’ll get into serious trouble[142].”
“Don’t worry. He will not escape.”
“How do you know?”
“To escape would be a confession of guilt.”
“Then let us go to arrest him.”
“No, we expect him here every minute.”
“But why should he come?”
“Because I have written to him and asked him.”
“But this is incredible, Mr. Holmes! Why should he come because you have asked him? Isn’t it suspicious?”
“I think I have written the letter correctly,” said Sherlock Holmes. “In fact, if I am not mistaken[143], here he comes.”
A man was walking up the path which led to the door. He was very tall and handsome, dressed in a grey suit, with a Panama hat. He had a black beard and a great hooked nose. He walked up the path with the face as if the place belonged to him. We heard a ring at the bell.
“I think, gentlemen,” said Holmes, quietly, “that we had better take up our position behind the door. It is necessary to take every precaution[144] when you deal with such a person. You will need your handcuffs, inspector. I will talk.”
We waited in silence for a minute… one of those minutes which one can never forget. Then the door opened and the man stepped in.
Exercises
1. Was Inspector Martin happy to work with Mr. Holmes?
1) Yes, he was, it was great to work with him.
2) Yes, he was but at first he didn’t like him.
3) No, he wasn’t but at first he liked him.
4) No, he wasn’t because he could get into serious trouble.
2. Why didn’t Sherlock Holmes explain everything to his colleagues at once?
1) He liked to make mysteries.
2) He didn’t want to share it with anybody.
3) He had no time.
4) It would take time and he wanted to act immediately.
3. Who was Elrige?
1) A farmer
2) A policeman
3) A doctor
4) A cheater
4. What was the first letter that Holmes guessed?
1) K
2) M
3) I
4) E
Why?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Why was Inspector Martin worried that Abe Slaney could escape?
1) He was responsible for this case.
2) He forgot his handcuffs.
3) He had no escort to help him.
4) Sherlock Holmes talked too much.
6. Why did Holmes call the policeman from New York?
1) He wanted to know if the name Abe Slaney was American.
2) He wanted to know if Mrs. Cubitt was known to him.
3) He wanted to ask for his advice.
4) He wanted to know if Abe Slaney was a criminal.
7. Why couldn’t Slaney escape?
1) He was in handcuffs.
2) He wanted to be sent in prison.
3) It would be a confession of guilt.
4) It wasn’t mentioned in the text.
8. Describe Abe Slaney:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. Choose the right verbs:
If any visitor…………… to Mrs. Cubitt, they shouldn’t…………… him anything about what…………….
1) came, told, happened
2) came, tell, had happened
3) had come, tell, had happened
4) come, told, happened
10. Complete the sentences with these words and expressions:
no doubt, difficulty, by the way, every precaution, mistaken, get into, occurred
1) In fact, if I am not……………, here he comes.
2) Even now I was in some……………, but suddenly it…………… to me that this person had been close with the lady in her past.
3) It is necessary to take…………… when you deal with such a person.
4) There is…………… that the latter as a reply is the most probable.
5) If this Abe Slaney is really the murderer and if he has escaped while I’m sitting here, I’ll…………… serious trouble.
6) I know all forms of secret writings and I am the author of some…………….
11. Insert the right prepositions:
by, into, for, in, to, with, at, without
1) He worked with them…………… some time…………… the table.
2) Finally he gave a note…………… the boy.
3) And we can assume that it was a reply written…………… the lady.