One of the most remarkable characteristics of Sherlock Holmeswas his power of throwing his brain out of action and switchingall his thoughts on to lighter things whenever he had convincedhimself that he could no longer work to advantage. I rememberthat during the whole of that memorable day he lost himself inmonograph which he had undertaken upon the PolyphonicMotets of Lassus. For my own part I had none of this powerof detachment, and the day, in consequence, appeared to beinterminable. The great national importance of the issue, thesuspense in high quarters, the direct nature of the experimentwhich we were trying—all combined to work upon my nerve. Itwas a relief to me when at last, after a light dinner, we set out uponour expedition. Lestrade and Mycroft met us by appointmentat the outside of Gloucester Road Station. The area door ofOberstein’s house had been left open the night before, and it wasnecessary for me, as Mycroft Holmes absolutely and indignantlydeclined to climb the railings, to pass in and open the hall door. Bynine o’clock we were all seated in the study, waiting patently forour man.
An hour passed and yet another. When eleven struck, themeasured beat of the great church clock seemed to sound thedirge of our hopes. Lestrade and Mycroft were fidgeting in theirseats and looking twice a minute at their watches. Holmes satsilent and composed, his eyelids half shut, but every sense on thealert. He raised his head with a sudden jerk.
“He is coming,” said he.
There had been a furtive step past the door. Now it returned.
We heard a shuffling sound outside, and then two sharp taps withthe knocker. Holmes rose, motioning to us to remain seated. Thegas in the hall was a mere point of light. He opened the outerdoor, and then as a dark figure slipped past him he closed andfastened it. “This way!” we heard him say, and a moment later ourman stood before us. Holmes had followed him closely, and asthe man turned with a cry of surprise and alarm he caught him bythe collar and threw him back into the room. Before our prisonerhad recovered his balance the door was shut and Holmes standingwith his back against it. The man glared round him, staggered, andfell senseless upon the floor. With the shock, his broad-brimmedhat flew from his head, his cravat slipped down from his lips, andthere were the long light beard and the soft, handsome delicatefeatures of Colonel Valentine Walter.
Holmes gave a whistle of surprise.
“You can write me down an ass this time, Watson,” said he. “Thiswas not the bird that I was looking for.”
“Who is he?” asked Mycroft eagerly.
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge 1167
“The younger brother of the late Sir James Walter, the head ofthe Submarine Department. Yes, yes; I see the fall of the cards. Heis coming to. I think that you had best leave his examination tome.”
We had carried the prostrate body to the sofa. Now our prisonersat up, looked round him with a horror-stricken face, and passedhis hand over his forehead, like one who cannot believe his ownsenses.
“What is this?” he asked. “I came here to visit Mr. Oberstein.”
“Everything is known, Colonel Walter,” said Holmes. “How anEnglish gentleman could behave in such a manner is beyond mycomprehension. But your whole correspondence and relationswith Oberstein are within our knowledge. So also are thecircumstances connected with the death of young Cadogan West.
Let me advise you to gain at least the small credit for repentanceand confession, since there are still some details which we canonly learn from your lips.”
The man groaned and sank his face in his hands. We waited, buthe was silent.
“I can assure you,” said Holmes, “that every essential is alreadyknown. We know that you were pressed for money; that you tookan impress of the keys which your brother held; and that youentered into a correspondence with Oberstein, who answeredyour letters through the advertisement columns of the DailyTelegraph. We are aware that you went down to the office in thefog on Monday night, but that you were seen and followed byyoung Cadogan West, who had probably some previous reason tosuspect you. He saw your theft, but could not give the alarm, as itwas just possible that you were taking the papers to your brotherin London. Leaving all his private concerns, like the good citizenthat he was, he followed you closely in the fog and kept at yourheels until you reached this very house. There he intervened, andthen it was, Colonel Walter, that to treason you added the moreterrible crime of murder.”
“I did not! I did not! Before God I swear that I did not!” criedour wretched prisoner.
“Tell us, then, how Cadogan West met his end before you laidhim upon the roof of a railway carriage.”
“I will. I swear to you that I will. I did the rest. I confess it. It wasjust as you say. A Stock Exchange debt had to be paid. I needed themoney badly. Oberstein offered me five thousand. It was to savemyself from ruin. But as to murder, I am as innocent as you.”
“What happened, then?”
“He had his suspicions before, and he followed me as youdescribe. I never knew it until I was at the very door. It was thick1168 The Complete Sherlock Holmes
fog, and one could not see three yards. I had given two taps andOberstein had come to the door. The young man rushed up anddemanded to know what we were about to do with the papers.
Oberstein had a short life-preserver. He always carried it with him.
As West forced his way after us into the house Oberstein struckhim on the head. The blow was a fatal one. He was dead withinfive minutes. There he lay in the hall, and we were at our wit’s endwhat to do. Then Oberstein had this idea about the trains whichhalted under his back window. But first he examined the paperswhich I had brought. He said that three of them were essential,and that he must keep them. ‘You cannot keep them,’ said I. ‘Therewill be a dreadful row at Woolwich if they are not returned.
