Part 1 (1/2)
Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
In the third week of Nove settled down upon London From the Monday to the Thursday I doubt whether it was ever possible from our s in Baker Street to see the loom of the opposite houses The first day Hole book of references The second and third had been patiently occupied upon a subject which he hand recently es But when, for the fourth ti back our chairs froreasy, heavy broirl still drifting past us and condensing in oily drops upon the - panes, my comrade's impatient and active nature could endure this drab existence no longer He paced restlessly about our sitting- roo the furniture, and chafing against inaction
”Nothing of interest in the paper, Watson?” he said
I are that by anything of interest, Hol of criminal interest There was the news of a revolution, of a possible war, and of an iovernment; but these did not co recorded in the shape of criroaned and resus
”The London criminal is certainly a dull fellow,” said he in the querulous voice of the sportsame has failed hiures loom up, are dimly seen, and then blend once more into the cloud-bank The thief or the er does the jungle, unseen until he pounces, and then evident only to his victim”
”There have,” said I, ”been numerous petty thefts”
Hole is set for so more worthy than that,” said he ”It is fortunate for this community that I am not a criminal”
”It is, indeed!” said I heartily
”Suppose that I were Brooks or Woodhouse, or any of the fiftycould I survive against us appointment, and all would be over It is well they don't have days of fog in the Latin countries--the countries of assassination By Jove! here co at last to break our dead ra
”Well, well! What next?” said he ”Brother Mycroft is co round”
”Why not?” I asked
”Why not? It is as if youdown a country lane Mycroft has his rails and he runs on theenes Club, Whitehall--that is his cycle Once, and only once, he has been here What upheaval can possibly have derailed him?”
”Does he not explain?”
Holra at once
Mycroft
”Cadogen West? I have heard the na to my mind But that Mycroft should break out in this erratic fashi+on! A planet ht as well leave itsobt By the way, do you knohat Mycroft is?”
I had soue recollection of an explanation at the time of the Adventure of the Greek Interpreter
”You told overnment”
Holmes chuckled
”I did not know you quite so well in those days One has to be discreet when one talks of highthat he under the British governht in a sense if you said that occasionally he IS the British governht surprise you Mycroft draws four hundred and fifty pounds a year, remains a subordinate, has no ambitions of any kind, will receive neither honour nor title, but remains the most indispensable man in the country”
”But how?”
”Well, his position is unique He haslike it before, nor will be again He has the tidiest andfacts, of any reat pohich I have turned to the detection of crime he has used for this particular business The conclusions of every departe, the clearinghouse, which makes out the balance All other men are specialists, but his specialism is omniscience We will suppose that a minister needs information as to a point which involves the Navy, India, Canada and the biet his separate advices from various departments upon each, but only Mycroft can focus them all, and say offhand how each factor would affect the other They began by using him as a short-cut, a convenience; now he has reat brain of his everything is pigeon-holed and can be handed out in an instant Again and again his word has decided the national policy He lives in it He thinks of nothing else save when, as an intellectual exercise, he unbends if I call upon him and ask him to adviseto-day What on earth can it an West, and what is he to Mycroft?”
”I have it,” I cried, and plunged a the litter of papers upon the sofa ”Yes, yes, here he is, sure enough! Cadogen West was the young ”
Holmes sat up at attention, his pipe halfway to his lips
”This must be serious, Watson A death which has caused my brother to alter his habits can be no ordinary one What in the world can he have to do with it? The case was featureless as I re man had apparently fallen out of the train and killed himself He had not been robbed, and there was no particular reason to suspect violence Is that not so?”
”There has been an inquest,” said I, ”and a good many fresh facts have come out Looked at more closely, I should certainly say that it was a curious case”
”Judging by its effect upon my brother, I should think it led down in his armchair ”Now, Watson, let us have the facts”
”The an West He enty-seven years of age, unmarried, and a clerk at Woolwich arsenal”
”Government employ Behold the link with Brother Mycroft!”
”He left Woolwich suddenly on Monday night Was last seen by his fiancee, Miss Violet Westbury, who There was no quarrel between the heard of him hen his dead body was discovered by a plate-layer naround system in London”
”When?”
”The body was found at six on Tuesdaywide of the oes eastward, at a point close to the station, where the line ees from the tunnel in which it runs The head was badly crushed--an injury which ht well have been caused by a fall from the train The body could only have come on the line in that way Had it been carried down fro street, it must have passed the station barriers, where a collector is always standing This point seeood The case is definite enough The man, dead or alive, either fell or was precipitated from a train So much is clear to me Continue”
”The trains which traverse the lines of rail beside which the body was found are those which run fro purely Metropolitan, and so junctions It can be stated for certain that this youngin this direction at soht, but at what point he entered the train it is impossible to state”
”His ticket, of course, would show that”
”There was no ticket in his pockets”
”No ticket! Dearto my experience it is not possible to reach the platfor one's ticket Presu man had one Was it taken from him in order to conceal the station from which he cae? That is also possible But the point is of curious interest I understand that there was no sign of robbery?”
”Apparently not There is a list here of his possessions His purse contained two pounds fifteen He had also a check-book on the Woolwich branch of the Capital and Counties Bank Through this his identity was established There were also two dress- circle tickets for the Woolwich Theatre, dated for that very evening Also a save an exclamation of satisfaction
”There we have it at last, Watson! British government--Woolwich arsenal--technical papers--Brother Mycroft, the chain is complete But here he comes, if I am not mistaken, to speak for himself”