{"id":215,"date":"2024-08-30T03:02:57","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T03:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=215"},"modified":"2024-08-30T03:02:57","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T03:02:57","slug":"the-adventure-of-the-blue-carbuncle-by-arthur-conan-doyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=215","title":{"rendered":"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/quizlit.org\/scottish-literature-quiz\">Arthur Conan Doyle<\/a>, is the seventh story of twelve in the collection\u00a0The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in\u00a0The Strand magazine, January 1892.<\/p>\n<p><em>This post may contain affiliate links that earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle<\/h2>\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade no-lazyload\"><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle<\/h3>\n\n<p>I\u00a0had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several places. A lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the purpose of examination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are engaged,\u201d said I; \u201cperhaps I interrupt you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot at all. I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss my results. The matter is a perfectly trivial one\u201d\u2014he jerked his thumb in the direction of the old hat\u2014\u201cbut there are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I seated myself in his armchair and warmed my hands before his crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows were thick with the ice crystals. \u201cI suppose,\u201d I remarked, \u201cthat, homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to it\u2014that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of some mystery and the punishment of some crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, no. No crime,\u201d said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. \u201cOnly one of those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have four million human beings all jostling each other within the space of a few square miles. Amid the action and reaction of so dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be presented which may be striking and bizarre without being criminal. We have already had experience of such.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo much so,\u201d I remarked, \u201cthat of the last six cases which I have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any legal crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrecisely. You allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler papers, to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to the adventure of the man with the twisted lip. Well, I have no doubt that this small matter will fall into the same innocent category. You know Peterson, the commissionaire?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is to him that this trophy belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is his hat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, no, he found it. Its owner is unknown. I beg that you will look upon it not as a battered billycock but as an intellectual problem. And, first, as to how it came here. It arrived upon Christmas morning, in company with a good fat goose, which is, I have no doubt, roasting at this moment in front of Peterson\u2019s fire. The facts are these: about four o\u2019clock on Christmas morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was returning from some small jollification and was making his way homeward down Tottenham Court Road. In front of him he saw, in the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and carrying a white goose slung over his shoulder. As he reached the corner of Goodge Street, a row broke out between this stranger and a little knot of roughs. One of the latter knocked off the man\u2019s hat, on which he raised his stick to defend himself and, swinging it over his head, smashed the shop window behind him. Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his assailants; but the man, shocked at having broken the window, and seeing an official-looking person in uniform rushing towards him, dropped his goose, took to his heels, and vanished amid the labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of Tottenham Court Road. The roughs had also fled at the appearance of Peterson, so that he was left in possession of the field of battle, and also of the spoils of victory in the shape of this battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas goose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich surely he restored to their owner?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that \u2018For Mrs. Henry Baker\u2019 was printed upon a small card which was tied to the bird\u2019s left leg, and it is also true that the initials \u2018H. B.\u2019 are legible upon the lining of this hat, but as there are some thousands of Bakers, and some hundreds of Henry Bakers in this city of ours, it is not easy to restore lost property to any one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat, then, did Peterson do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe brought round both hat and goose to me on Christmas morning, knowing that even the smallest problems are of interest to me. The goose we retained until this morning, when there were signs that, in spite of the slight frost, it would be well that it should be eaten without unnecessary delay. Its finder has carried it off, therefore, to fulfil the ultimate destiny of a goose, while I continue to retain the hat of the unknown gentleman who lost his Christmas dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he not advertise?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen, what clue could you have as to his identity?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly as much as we can deduce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom his hat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrecisely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut you are joking. What can you gather from this old battered felt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere is my lens. You know my methods. What can you gather yourself as to the individuality of the man who has worn this article?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I took the tattered object in my hands and turned it over rather ruefully. It was a very ordinary black hat of the usual round shape, hard and much the worse for wear. The lining had been of red silk, but was a good deal discoloured. There was no maker\u2019s name; but, as Holmes had remarked, the initials \u201cH. B.\u201d were scrawled upon one side. It was pierced in the brim for a hat-securer, but the elastic was missing. For the rest, it was cracked, exceedingly dusty, and spotted in several places, although there seemed to have been some attempt to hide the discoloured patches by smearing them with ink.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can see nothing,\u201d said I, handing it back to my friend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail, however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in drawing your inferences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen, pray tell me what it is that you can infer from this hat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He picked it up and gazed at it in the peculiar introspective fashion which was characteristic of him. \u201cIt is perhaps less suggestive than it might have been,\u201d he remarked, \u201cand yet there are a few inferences which are very distinct, and a few others which represent at least a strong balance of probability. That the man was highly intellectual is of course obvious upon the face of it, and also that he was fairly well-to-do within the last three years, although he has now fallen upon evil days. He had foresight, but has less now than formerly, pointing to a moral retrogression, which, when taken with the decline of his fortunes, seems to indicate some evil influence, probably drink, at work upon him. This may account also for the obvious fact that his wife has ceased to love him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy dear Holmes!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has, however, retained some degree of self-respect,\u201d he continued, disregarding my remonstrance. \u201cHe is a man who leads a sedentary life, goes out little, is out of training entirely, is middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream. These are the more patent facts which are to be deduced from his hat. Also, by the way, that it is extremely improbable that he has gas laid on in his house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are certainly joking, Holmes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot in the least. Is it possible that even now, when I give you these results, you are unable to see how they are attained?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have no doubt that I am very stupid, but I must confess that I am unable to follow you. For example, how did you deduce that this man was intellectual?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For answer Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. \u201cIt is a question of cubic capacity,\u201d said he; \u201ca man with so large a brain must have something in it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe decline of his fortunes, then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis hat is three years old. These flat brims curled at the edge came in then. It is a hat of the very best quality. Look at the band of ribbed silk and the excellent lining. If this man could afford to buy so expensive a hat three years ago, and has had no hat since, then he has assuredly gone down in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, that is clear enough, certainly. But how about the foresight and the moral retrogression?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sherlock Holmes laughed. \u201cHere is the foresight,\u201d said he putting his finger upon the little disc and loop of the hat-securer. \u201cThey are never sold upon hats. If this man ordered one, it is a sign of a certain amount of foresight, since he went out of his way to take this precaution against the wind. But since we see that he has broken the elastic and has not troubled to replace it, it is obvious that he has less foresight now than formerly, which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. On the other hand, he has endeavoured to conceal some of these stains upon the felt by daubing them with ink, which is a sign that he has not entirely lost his self-respect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour reasoning is certainly plausible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe further points, that he is middle-aged, that his hair is grizzled, that it has been recently cut, and that he uses lime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the lower part of the lining. The lens discloses a large number of hair-ends, clean cut by the scissors of the barber. They all appear to be adhesive, and there is a distinct odour of lime-cream. This dust, you will observe, is not the gritty, grey dust of the street but the fluffy brown dust of the house, showing that it has been hung up indoors most of the time, while the marks of moisture upon the inside are proof positive that the wearer perspired very freely, and could therefore, hardly be in the best of training.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut his wife\u2014you said that she had ceased to love him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis hat has not been brushed for weeks. When I see you, my dear Watson, with a week\u2019s accumulation of dust upon your hat, and when your wife allows you to go out in such a state, I shall fear that you also have been unfortunate enough to lose your wife\u2019s affection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he might be a bachelor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to his wife. Remember the card upon the bird\u2019s leg.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have an answer to everything. But how on earth do you deduce that the gas is not laid on in his house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne tallow stain, or even two, might come by chance; but when I see no less than five, I think that there can be little doubt that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with burning tallow\u2014walks upstairs at night probably with his hat in one hand and a guttering candle in the other. Anyhow, he never got tallow-stains from a gas-jet. Are you satisfied?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, it is very ingenious,\u201d said I, laughing; \u201cbut since, as you said just now, there has been no crime committed, and no harm done save the loss of a goose, all this seems to be rather a waste of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sherlock Holmes had opened his mouth to reply, when the door flew open, and Peterson, the commissionaire, rushed into the apartment with flushed cheeks and the face of a man who is dazed with astonishment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe goose, Mr. Holmes! The goose, sir!\u201d he gasped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEh? What of it, then? Has it returned to life and flapped off through the kitchen window?\u201d Holmes twisted himself round upon the sofa to get a fairer view of the man\u2019s excited face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSee here, sir! See what my wife found in its crop!\u201d He held out his hand and displayed upon the centre of the palm a brilliantly scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but of such purity and radiance that it twinkled like an electric point in the dark hollow of his hand.<\/p>\n<p>Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle. \u201cBy Jove, Peterson!\u201d said he, \u201cthis is treasure trove indeed. I suppose you know what you have got?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA diamond, sir? A precious stone. It cuts into glass as though it were putty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s more than a precious stone. It is\u00a0<em>the<\/em>\u00a0precious stone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot the Countess of Morcar\u2019s blue carbuncle!\u201d I ejaculated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrecisely so. I ought to know its size and shape, seeing that I have read the advertisement about it in\u00a0<em>The Times<\/em>\u00a0every day lately. It is absolutely unique, and its value can only be conjectured, but the reward offered of \u00a3 1000 is certainly not within a twentieth part of the market price.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA thousand pounds! Great Lord of mercy!\u201d The commissionaire plumped down into a chair and stared from one to the other of us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the reward, and I have reason to know that there are sentimental considerations in the background which would induce the Countess to part with half her fortune if she could but recover the gem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan,\u201d I remarked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrecisely so, on December 22nd, just five days ago. John Horner, a plumber, was accused of having abstracted it from the lady\u2019s jewel-case. The evidence against him was so strong that the case has been referred to the Assizes. I have some account of the matter here, I believe.\u201d He rummaged amid his newspapers, glancing over the dates, until at last he smoothed one out, doubled it over, and read the following paragraph:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHotel Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery. John Horner, 26, plumber, was brought up upon the charge of having upon the 22nd inst., abstracted from the jewel-case of the Countess of Morcar the valuable gem known as the blue carbuncle. James Ryder, upper-attendant at the hotel, gave his evidence to the effect that he had shown Horner up to the dressing-room of the Countess of Morcar upon the day of the robbery in order that he might solder the second bar of the grate, which was loose. He had remained with Horner some little time, but had finally been called away. On returning, he found that Horner had disappeared, that the bureau had been forced open, and that the small morocco casket in which, as it afterwards transpired, the Countess was accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon the dressing-table. Ryder instantly gave the alarm, and Horner was arrested the same evening; but the stone could not be found either upon his person or in his rooms. Catherine Cusack, maid to the Countess, deposed to having heard Ryder\u2019s cry of dismay on discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room, where she found matters as described by the last witness. Inspector Bradstreet, B division, gave evidence as to the arrest of Horner, who struggled frantically, and protested his innocence in the strongest terms. Evidence of a previous conviction for robbery having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate refused to deal summarily with the offence, but referred it to the Assizes. Horner, who had shown signs of intense emotion during the proceedings, fainted away at the conclusion and was carried out of court.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHum! So much for the police-court,\u201d said Holmes thoughtfully, tossing aside the paper. \u201cThe question for us now to solve is the sequence of events leading from a rifled jewel-case at one end to the crop of a goose in Tottenham Court Road at the other. You see, Watson, our little deductions have suddenly assumed a much more important and less innocent aspect. Here is the stone; the stone came from the goose, and the goose came from Mr. Henry Baker, the gentleman with the bad hat and all the other characteristics with which I have bored you. So now we must set ourselves very seriously to finding this gentleman and ascertaining what part he has played in this little mystery. To do this, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie undoubtedly in an advertisement in all the evening papers. If this fail, I shall have recourse to other methods.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat will you say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGive me a pencil and that slip of paper. Now, then: \u2018Found at the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mr. Henry Baker can have the same by applying at 6:30 this evening at 221B, Baker Street.\u2019 That is clear and concise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVery. But will he see it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to a poor man, the loss was a heavy one. He was clearly so scared by his mischance in breaking the window and by the approach of Peterson that he thought of nothing but flight, but since then he must have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drop his bird. Then, again, the introduction of his name will cause him to see it, for everyone who knows him will direct his attention to it. Here you are, Peterson, run down to the advertising agency and have this put in the evening papers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn which, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, in the\u00a0<em>Globe<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Star<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Pall Mall<\/em>,\u00a0<em>St. James\u2019s Gazette<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Evening News<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Standard<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Echo<\/em>, and any others that occur to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVery well, sir. And this stone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAh, yes, I shall keep the stone. Thank you. And, I say, Peterson, just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here with me, for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place of the one which your family is now devouring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and held it against the light. \u201cIt\u2019s a bonny thing,\u201d said he. \u201cJust see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil\u2019s pet baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? I\u2019ll lock it up in my strong box now and drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you think that this man Horner is innocent?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI cannot tell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had anything to do with the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an absolutely innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he was carrying was of considerably more value than if it were made of solid gold. That, however, I shall determine by a very simple test if we have an answer to our advertisement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you can do nothing until then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn that case I shall continue my professional round. But I shall come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I should like to see the solution of so tangled a business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVery glad to see you. I dine at seven. There is a woodcock, I believe. By the way, in view of recent occurrences, perhaps I ought to ask Mrs. Hudson to examine its crop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I had been delayed at a case, and it was a little after half-past six when I found myself in Baker Street once more. As I approached the house I saw a tall man in a Scotch bonnet with a coat which was buttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the bright semicircle which was thrown from the fanlight. Just as I arrived the door was opened, and we were shown up together to Holmes\u2019 room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Henry Baker, I believe,\u201d said he, rising from his armchair and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he could so readily assume. \u201cPray take this chair by the fire, Mr. Baker. It is a cold night, and I observe that your circulation is more adapted for summer than for winter. Ah, Watson, you have just come at the right time. Is that your hat, Mr. Baker?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and a broad, intelligent face, sloping down to a pointed beard of grizzled brown. A touch of red in nose and cheeks, with a slight tremor of his extended hand, recalled Holmes\u2019 surmise as to his habits. His rusty black frock-coat was buttoned right up in front, with the collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded from his sleeves without a sign of cuff or shirt. He spoke in a slow staccato fashion, choosing his words with care, and gave the impression generally of a man of learning and letters who had had ill-usage at the hands of fortune.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have retained these things for some days,\u201d said Holmes, \u201cbecause we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your address. I am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh. \u201cShillings have not been so plentiful with me as they once were,\u201d he remarked. \u201cI had no doubt that the gang of roughs who assaulted me had carried off both my hat and the bird. I did not care to spend more money in a hopeless attempt at recovering them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVery naturally. By the way, about the bird, we were compelled to eat it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo eat it!\u201d Our visitor half rose from his chair in his excitement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so. But I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is about the same weight and perfectly fresh, will answer your purpose equally well?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, certainly, certainly,\u201d answered Mr. Baker with a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, we still have the feathers, legs, crop, and so on of your own bird, so if you wish\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The man burst into a hearty laugh. \u201cThey might be useful to me as relics of my adventure,\u201d said he, \u201cbut beyond that I can hardly see what use the\u00a0<em>disjecta membra<\/em>\u00a0of my late acquaintance are going to be to me. No, sir, I think that, with your permission, I will confine my attentions to the excellent bird which I perceive upon the sideboard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sherlock Holmes glanced sharply across at me with a slight shrug of his shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is your hat, then, and there your bird,\u201d said he. \u201cBy the way, would it bore you to tell me where you got the other one from? I am somewhat of a fowl fancier, and I have seldom seen a better grown goose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCertainly, sir,\u201d said Baker, who had risen and tucked his newly gained property under his arm. \u201cThere are a few of us who frequent the Alpha Inn, near the Museum\u2014we are to be found in the Museum itself during the day, you understand. This year our good host, Windigate by name, instituted a goose club, by which, on consideration of some few pence every week, we were each to receive a bird at Christmas. My pence were duly paid, and the rest is familiar to you. I am much indebted to you, sir, for a Scotch bonnet is fitted neither to my years nor my gravity.\u201d With a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and strode off upon his way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo much for Mr. Henry Baker,\u201d said Holmes when he had closed the door behind him. \u201cIt is quite certain that he knows nothing whatever about the matter. Are you hungry, Watson?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot particularly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow up this clue while it is still hot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy all means.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped cravats about our throats. Outside, the stars were shining coldly in a cloudless sky, and the breath of the passers-by blew out into smoke like so many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang out crisply and loudly as we swung through the doctors\u2019 quarter, Wimpole Street, Harley Street, and so through Wigmore Street into Oxford Street. In a quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at the Alpha Inn, which is a small public-house at the corner of one of the streets which runs down into Holborn. Holmes pushed open the door of the private bar and ordered two glasses of beer from the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese,\u201d said he.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy geese!\u201d The man seemed surprised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes. I was speaking only half an hour ago to Mr. Henry Baker, who was a member of your goose club.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAh! yes, I see. But you see, sir, them\u2019s not\u00a0<em>our<\/em>\u00a0geese.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndeed! Whose, then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, I got the two dozen from a salesman in Covent Garden.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndeed? I know some of them. Which was it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBreckinridge is his name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAh! I don\u2019t know him. Well, here\u2019s your good health landlord, and prosperity to your house. Good-night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow for Mr. Breckinridge,\u201d he continued, buttoning up his coat as we came out into the frosty air. \u201cRemember, Watson that though we have so homely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain, we have at the other a man who will certainly get seven years\u2019 penal servitude unless we can establish his innocence. It is possible that our inquiry may but confirm his guilt; but, in any case, we have a line of investigation which has been missed by the police, and which a singular chance has placed in our hands. Let us follow it out to the bitter end. Faces to the south, then, and quick march!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We passed across Holborn, down Endell Street, and so through a zigzag of slums to Covent Garden Market. One of the largest stalls bore the name of Breckinridge upon it, and the proprietor a horsey-looking man, with a sharp face and trim side-whiskers was helping a boy to put up the shutters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood-evening. It\u2019s a cold night,\u201d said Holmes.<\/p>\n<p>The salesman nodded and shot a questioning glance at my companion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSold out of geese, I see,\u201d continued Holmes, pointing at the bare slabs of marble.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet you have five hundred to-morrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s no good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAh, but I was recommended to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho by?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe landlord of the Alpha.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, yes; I sent him a couple of dozen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFine birds they were, too. Now where did you get them from?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To my surprise the question provoked a burst of anger from the salesman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, then, mister,\u201d said he, with his head cocked and his arms akimbo, \u201cwhat are you driving at? Let\u2019s have it straight, now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is straight enough. I should like to know who sold you the geese which you supplied to the Alpha.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell then, I shan\u2019t tell you. So now!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, it is a matter of no importance; but I don\u2019t know why you should be so warm over such a trifle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWarm! You\u2019d be as warm, maybe, if you were as pestered as I am. When I pay good money for a good article there should be an end of the business; but it\u2019s \u2018Where are the geese?\u2019 and \u2018Who did you sell the geese to?\u2019 and \u2018What will you take for the geese?\u2019 One would think they were the only geese in the world, to hear the fuss that is made over them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, I have no connection with any other people who have been making inquiries,\u201d said Holmes carelessly. \u201cIf you won\u2019t tell us the bet is off, that is all. But I\u2019m always ready to back my opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiver on it that the bird I ate is country bred.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, then, you\u2019ve lost your fiver, for it\u2019s town bred,\u201d snapped the salesman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s nothing of the kind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI say it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cD\u2019you think you know more about fowls than I, who have handled them ever since I was a nipper? I tell you, all those birds that went to the Alpha were town bred.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll never persuade me to believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWill you bet, then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s merely taking your money, for I know that I am right. But I\u2019ll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be obstinate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The salesman chuckled grimly. \u201cBring me the books, Bill,\u201d said he.<\/p>\n<p>The small boy brought round a small thin volume and a great greasy-backed one, laying them out together beneath the hanging lamp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow then, Mr. Cocksure,\u201d said the salesman, \u201cI thought that I was out of geese, but before I finish you\u2019ll find that there is still one left in my shop. You see this little book?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the list of the folk from whom I buy. D\u2019you see? Well, then, here on this page are the country folk, and the numbers after their names are where their accounts are in the big ledger. Now, then! You see this other page in red ink? Well, that is a list of my town suppliers. Now, look at that third name. Just read it out to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road\u2014249,\u201d read Holmes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuite so. Now turn that up in the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Holmes turned to the page indicated. \u201cHere you are, \u2018Mrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road, egg and poultry supplier.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, then, what\u2019s the last entry?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018December 22nd. Twenty-four geese at 7<em>s<\/em>. 6<em>d<\/em>.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuite so. There you are. And underneath?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Sold to Mr. Windigate of the Alpha, at 12<em>s<\/em>.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat have you to say now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sherlock Holmes looked deeply chagrined. He drew a sovereign from his pocket and threw it down upon the slab, turning away with the air of a man whose disgust is too deep for words. A few yards off he stopped under a lamp-post and laughed in the hearty, noiseless fashion which was peculiar to him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the \u2018Pink \u2019un\u2019 protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet,\u201d said he. \u201cI daresay that if I had put \u00a3 100 down in front of him, that man would not have given me such complete information as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a wager. Well, Watson, we are, I fancy, nearing the end of our quest, and the only point which remains to be determined is whether we should go on to this Mrs. Oakshott to-night, or whether we should reserve it for to-morrow. It is clear from what that surly fellow said that there are others besides ourselves who are anxious about the matter, and I should\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His remarks were suddenly cut short by a loud hubbub which broke out from the stall which we had just left. Turning round we saw a little rat-faced fellow standing in the centre of the circle of yellow light which was thrown by the swinging lamp, while Breckinridge, the salesman, framed in the door of his stall, was shaking his fists fiercely at the cringing figure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve had enough of you and your geese,\u201d he shouted. \u201cI wish you were all at the devil together. If you come pestering me any more with your silly talk I\u2019ll set the dog at you. You bring Mrs. Oakshott here and I\u2019ll answer her, but what have you to do with it? Did I buy the geese off you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo; but one of them was mine all the same,\u201d whined the little man.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, then, ask Mrs. Oakshott for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe told me to ask you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, you can ask the King of Proosia, for all I care. I\u2019ve had enough of it. Get out of this!\u201d He rushed fiercely forward, and the inquirer flitted away into the darkness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHa! this may save us a visit to Brixton Road,\u201d whispered Holmes. \u201cCome with me, and we will see what is to be made of this fellow.\u201d Striding through the scattered knots of people who lounged round the flaring stalls, my companion speedily overtook the little man and touched him upon the shoulder. He sprang round, and I could see in the gas-light that every vestige of colour had been driven from his face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho are you, then? What do you want?\u201d he asked in a quavering voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou will excuse me,\u201d said Holmes blandly, \u201cbut I could not help overhearing the questions which you put to the salesman just now. I think that I could be of assistance to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou? Who are you? How could you know anything of the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut you can know nothing of this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExcuse me, I know everything of it. You are endeavouring to trace some geese which were sold by Mrs. Oakshott, of Brixton Road, to a salesman named Breckinridge, by him in turn to Mr. Windigate, of the Alpha, and by him to his club, of which Mr. Henry Baker is a member.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, sir, you are the very man whom I have longed to meet,\u201d cried the little fellow with outstretched hands and quivering fingers. \u201cI can hardly explain to you how interested I am in this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sherlock Holmes hailed a four-wheeler which was passing. \u201cIn that case we had better discuss it in a cosy room rather than in this wind-swept market-place,\u201d said he. \u201cBut pray tell me, before we go farther, who it is that I have the pleasure of assisting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The man hesitated for an instant. \u201cMy name is John Robinson,\u201d he answered with a sidelong glance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, no; the real name,\u201d said Holmes sweetly. \u201cIt is always awkward doing business with an alias.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger. \u201cWell then,\u201d said he, \u201cmy real name is James Ryder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrecisely so. Head attendant at the Hotel Cosmopolitan. Pray step into the cab, and I shall soon be able to tell you everything which you would wish to know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with half-frightened, half-hopeful eyes, as one who is not sure whether he is on the verge of a windfall or of a catastrophe. Then he stepped into the cab, and in half an hour we were back in the sitting-room at Baker Street. Nothing had been said during our drive, but the high, thin breathing of our new companion, and the claspings and unclaspings of his hands, spoke of the nervous tension within him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere we are!\u201d said Holmes cheerily as we filed into the room. \u201cThe fire looks very seasonable in this weather. You look cold, Mr. Ryder. Pray take the basket-chair. I will just put on my slippers before we settle this little matter of yours. Now, then! You want to know what became of those geese?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr rather, I fancy, of that goose. It was one bird, I imagine in which you were interested\u2014white, with a black bar across the tail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ryder quivered with emotion. \u201cOh, sir,\u201d he cried, \u201ccan you tell me where it went to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt came here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. I don\u2019t wonder that you should take an interest in it. It laid an egg after it was dead\u2014the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen. I have it here in my museum.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece with his right hand. Holmes unlocked his strong-box and held up the blue carbuncle, which shone out like a star, with a cold, brilliant, many-pointed radiance. Ryder stood glaring with a drawn face, uncertain whether to claim or to disown it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe game\u2019s up, Ryder,\u201d said Holmes quietly. \u201cHold up, man, or you\u2019ll be into the fire! Give him an arm back into his chair, Watson. He\u2019s not got blood enough to go in for felony with impunity. Give him a dash of brandy. So! Now he looks a little more human. What a shrimp it is, to be sure!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For a moment he had staggered and nearly fallen, but the brandy brought a tinge of colour into his cheeks, and he sat staring with frightened eyes at his accuser.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have almost every link in my hands, and all the proofs which I could possibly need, so there is little which you need tell me. Still, that little may as well be cleared up to make the case complete. You had heard, Ryder, of this blue stone of the Countess of Morcar\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was Catherine Cusack who told me of it,\u201d said he in a crackling voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI see\u2014her ladyship\u2019s waiting-maid. Well, the temptation of sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for you, as it has been for better men before you; but you were not very scrupulous in the means you used. It seems to me, Ryder, that there is the making of a very pretty villain in you. You knew that this man Horner, the plumber, had been concerned in some such matter before, and that suspicion would rest the more readily upon him. What did you do, then? You made some small job in my lady\u2019s room\u2014you and your confederate Cusack\u2014and you managed that he should be the man sent for. Then, when he had left, you rifled the jewel-case, raised the alarm, and had this unfortunate man arrested. You then\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ryder threw himself down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my companion\u2019s knees. \u201cFor God\u2019s sake, have mercy!\u201d he shrieked. \u201cThink of my father! Of my mother! It would break their hearts. I never went wrong before! I never will again. I swear it. I\u2019ll swear it on a Bible. Oh, don\u2019t bring it into court! For Christ\u2019s sake, don\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGet back into your chair!\u201d said Holmes sternly. \u201cIt is very well to cringe and crawl now, but you thought little enough of this poor Horner in the dock for a crime of which he knew nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will fly, Mr. Holmes. I will leave the country, sir. Then the charge against him will break down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHum! We will talk about that. And now let us hear a true account of the next act. How came the stone into the goose, and how came the goose into the open market? Tell us the truth, for there lies your only hope of safety.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ryder passed his tongue over his parched lips. \u201cI will tell you it just as it happened, sir,\u201d said he. \u201cWhen Horner had been arrested, it seemed to me that it would be best for me to get away with the stone at once, for I did not know at what moment the police might not take it into their heads to search me and my room. There was no place about the hotel where it would be safe. I went out, as if on some commission, and I made for my sister\u2019s house. She had married a man named Oakshott, and lived in Brixton Road, where she fattened fowls for the market. All the way there every man I met seemed to me to be a policeman or a detective; and, for all that it was a cold night, the sweat was pouring down my face before I came to the Brixton Road. My sister asked me what was the matter, and why I was so pale; but I told her that I had been upset by the jewel robbery at the hotel. Then I went into the back yard and smoked a pipe and wondered what it would be best to do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had a friend once called Maudsley, who went to the bad, and has just been serving his time in Pentonville. One day he had met me, and fell into talk about the ways of thieves, and how they could get rid of what they stole. I knew that he would be true to me, for I knew one or two things about him; so I made up my mind to go right on to Kilburn, where he lived, and take him into my confidence. He would show me how to turn the stone into money. But how to get to him in safety? I thought of the agonies I had gone through in coming from the hotel. I might at any moment be seized and searched, and there would be the stone in my waistcoat pocket. I was leaning against the wall at the time and looking at the geese which were waddling about round my feet, and suddenly an idea came into my head which showed me how I could beat the best detective that ever lived.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy sister had told me some weeks before that I might have the pick of her geese for a Christmas present, and I knew that she was always as good as her word. I would take my goose now, and in it I would carry my stone to Kilburn. There was a little shed in the yard, and behind this I drove one of the birds\u2014a fine big one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill open, I thrust the stone down its throat as far as my finger could reach. The bird gave a gulp, and I felt the stone pass along its gullet and down into its crop. But the creature flapped and struggled, and out came my sister to know what was the matter. As I turned to speak to her the brute broke loose and fluttered off among the others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Whatever were you doing with that bird, Jem?\u2019 says she.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 said I, \u2018you said you\u2019d give me one for Christmas, and I was feeling which was the fattest.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Oh,\u2019 says she, \u2018we\u2019ve set yours aside for you\u2014Jem\u2019s bird, we call it. It\u2019s the big white one over yonder. There\u2019s twenty-six of them, which makes one for you, and one for us, and two dozen for the market.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Thank you, Maggie,\u2019 says I; \u2018but if it is all the same to you, I\u2019d rather have that one I was handling just now.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018The other is a good three pound heavier,\u2019 said she, \u2018and we fattened it expressly for you.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Never mind. I\u2019ll have the other, and I\u2019ll take it now,\u2019 said I.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Oh, just as you like,\u2019 said she, a little huffed. \u2018Which is it you want, then?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018That white one with the barred tail, right in the middle of the flock.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Oh, very well. Kill it and take it with you.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, I did what she said, Mr. Holmes, and I carried the bird all the way to Kilburn. I told my pal what I had done, for he was a man that it was easy to tell a thing like that to. He laughed until he choked, and we got a knife and opened the goose. My heart turned to water, for there was no sign of the stone, and I knew that some terrible mistake had occurred. I left the bird, rushed back to my sister\u2019s, and hurried into the back yard. There was not a bird to be seen there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Where are they all, Maggie?\u2019 I cried.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Gone to the dealer\u2019s, Jem.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Which dealer\u2019s?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Breckinridge, of Covent Garden.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018But was there another with a barred tail?\u2019 I asked, \u2018the same as the one I chose?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Yes, Jem; there were two barred-tailed ones, and I could never tell them apart.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my feet would carry me to this man Breckinridge; but he had sold the lot at once, and not one word would he tell me as to where they had gone. You heard him yourselves to-night. Well, he has always answered me like that. My sister thinks that I am going mad. Sometimes I think that I am myself. And now\u2014and now I am myself a branded thief, without ever having touched the wealth for which I sold my character. God help me! God help me!\u201d He burst into convulsive sobbing, with his face buried in his hands.<\/p>\n<p>There was a long silence, broken only by his heavy breathing and by the measured tapping of Sherlock Holmes\u2019 finger-tips upon the edge of the table. Then my friend rose and threw open the door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGet out!\u201d said he.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat, sir! Oh, Heaven bless you!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo more words. Get out!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And no more words were needed. There was a rush, a clatter upon the stairs, the bang of a door, and the crisp rattle of running footfalls from the street.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter all, Watson,\u201d said Holmes, reaching up his hand for his clay pipe, \u201cI am not retained by the police to supply their deficiencies. If Horner were in danger it would be another thing; but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case must collapse. I suppose that I am commuting a felony, but it is just possible that I am saving a soul. This fellow will not go wrong again; he is too terribly frightened. Send him to gaol now, and you make him a gaol-bird for life. Besides, it is the season of forgiveness. Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward. If you will have the goodness to touch the bell, Doctor, we will begin another investigation, in which, also a bird will be the chief feature.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Best Arthur Conan Doyle Books to Read<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3KdyFHL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/43VfA49\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3rDWDW1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Dzl2yx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><br \/>\nClick on the image to buy a copy<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p>If you enjoyed The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle, you can also read <a href=\"https:\/\/quizlit.org\/the-adventure-of-the-illustrious-client\">The Adventure of the Illustrious Client by Arthur Conan Doyle<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Narrated by Simon Evers, courtesy of Librivox<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by\u00a0Arthur Conan Doyle, is the seventh story of twelve in the collection\u00a0The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in\u00a0The Strand magazine, January 1892. This post may contain affiliate links that earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}