918\. Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle 💎 (Learn English with a Short Story)
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Hello, listeners. Welcome back to Luke's English Podcast. Very nice to be talking to you again in another episode. And it's story time in this one.

I've got a PDF ready, which you can download from the episode description or show notes, wherever you're listening to this. Let's have a look at that PDF right now. You don't need to follow the PDF with me. You can just enjoy listening if you prefer. But the PDF is available for you and I'm going to start working from it right now. So here we go. So learn English with a Sherlock Holmes story.

Hello listeners, back by popular demand, here's another episode of Learn English with a Sherlock Holmes story on Luke's English Podcast. My aim with this episode is simply to let you enjoy a classic Sherlock Holmes mystery story in English in the original text.

This time I'm going to read The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and originally published in Strand magazine in 1892. It's available in the collection of stories called The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which is available from any good bookshop.

Depending on your level of English, it might be quite difficult to understand everything in this story the first time you hear it. This is because the English here is fairly old-fashioned and complex. So this might be difficult. I'll help you during the story, but if you find it difficult to follow at any point,

I would like to encourage you to persevere, meaning keep listening, even if there are moments when you don't understand what's happening or there are specific words which you can't understand. Persevere, keep listening, because I will explain things, but also it's just good practice to carry on

even when you don't understand everything 100%. Try to work out what's happening and try to tolerate a certain amount of confusion. To help you, what I will do is this. So I'll read a section of the story, then I'll stop and explain what has happened, and then I'll move on to the next section. Now, I might not be able to spend a lot of time explaining every single specific word or phrase,

because I don't want the episode to go on forever, but I'll see what I can do. If you want to check any specific vocabulary yourself, that would be a great idea. I always want to encourage you to be autonomous in your learning, so feel free to use an online dictionary or whatever is your preferred way of checking English words. Checking vocabulary is a good study skill to practice, and there's nothing stopping you from doing it.

I recommend cross-checking new words and phrases using a variety of online tools, including Oxford Learners Dictionaries. That's OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com. Cambridge Dictionary of English. That's dictionary.cambridge.org. The usual AI chatbots.

Then also YouGlish.com to hear words and phrases being spoken in different accents. And just good old-fashioned Google searches. All of that can help you cross-reference words and phrases.

understanding their meanings, pronunciation and other important details. So I just would like to add one point here, which is that, yes, when it comes to explaining words and things, I won't be spending loads of time on that. Normally, when I do a short story on the podcast, I redo the story and then I go through the story text in a lot of detail, explaining loads of bits of vocab. I can't really do that this time because it would take too long. Instead, I'm going to focus on your global understanding of the story,

rather than getting into the fine details of specific words. But I'll see what I can do. There might be some words and phrases that I have to point out. Also, it's worth bearing in mind that because this is quite an old story, some of the language is old-fashioned. And I will try to remember to point out things which are especially old-fashioned or not really used anymore.

and provide you with perhaps more up-to-date versions. Now, the language that Arthur Conan Doyle used when he wrote the story, which is from the late 19th century, is a bit old-fashioned. I mean, it's still pretty modern. It's still pretty much like the English that we use today or the English that you would read or hear today. It's not radically different. It just seems a bit formal. That's the main thing.

But it's not like, for example, the language of Shakespeare, which is really, really difficult to understand by modern standards. For the most part, these stories are in the same English that we use today. It just sounds a bit formal compared to the English you hear these days.

OK, continuing the PDF here for your reference, you can find the PDF for this with the full story text. The link is in the episode description and on my website. Overall, I hope you can simply enjoy listening to my reading of this story and I hope my regular explanations are helpful for you.

Oh, just one other thing. Thinking about some of the comments I had from listeners recently about shadowing with my short story episodes. This one is probably a bit long for that. It might be a bit much for you to repeat sometimes.

every line of the story with me. I mean, you could try, but it might take a long time. I think if I just read the story without stopping to explain anything, it would take at least 45 minutes, maybe an hour, just the story. Considering I'm going to be stopping sometimes to explain some things, it's going to take probably twice that, maybe more. So shadowing this one might be a little bit difficult. But you can always try to perhaps just...

Shadow me for a section. You could just do like a five-minute section or a ten-minute section. You know, it's up to you. Anyway, continuing the PDF, I should begin by explaining the title of the story, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. So the blue carbuncle in the title is a rare gemstone, right? And gemstones are rare, precious and valuable stones like jewels, right?

The most common types of gemstones are diamonds, emeralds, which are the green ones, rubies, which are the red ones, and sapphires, which are the blue ones. In the story, the blue carbuncle is described as a very valuable blue diamond, although I think that description is not exactly scientifically accurate. In real life, carbuncles exist, and they are valuable stones, but they're not diamonds.

And they're usually red and never blue, but it doesn't really matter. In the case of the story, you can just imagine it's a very, very rare and valuable stone. Also, these days, the word carbuncle is used in medical English, really, to mean a kind of nasty spot on someone's skin.

So this is how the word carbuncle tends to be used today in a medical context. But in the past, the word also referred to a type of gemstone. So anyway, the story revolves around a very rare and very valuable blue gem known as the blue carbuncle. But the story begins with Watson visiting Holmes in winter just after Christmas. He finds Holmes inspecting a scruffy old hat.

which has been brought to him. He's trying to work out who it belongs to, and we get some of Holmes' famous deductive reasoning. He examines the hat and draws various conclusions about its owner based on the things he can see. So it's classic Sherlock Holmes stuff at the beginning. This hat, and also a goose. A goose is a large bird that you might find on a farm, for example, or wild as well. Large, big bird with a long neck.

So this hat and a goose, both of which have been found in the street and brought to homes, lead us into a chain of events that form the main narrative of the story. So as I said, a goose is a large bird, like a large duck with a long neck that you might find living on a farm. People in England used to eat geese at Christmastime.

These days people more commonly eat turkey. So let's see then if you can keep up with the twists in this story and follow how this hat and goose are connected to the disappearance of one of the most famous and valuable gemstones in Britain and maybe the world. So who owns the hat?

What happened to the goose? How are these things connected to the disappearance of this valuable blue gemstone? Who is responsible? Will justice prevail? And how will Sherlock Holmes use his particular set of skills to work it all out? As usual, Dr. John Watson is the narrator of the story. So here we go. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle.

I had 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. You're engaged, said I. Perhaps I interrupt you. Not at all. I'm glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss my results.

"'The matter is a perfectly trivial one.' He jerked his thumb in the direction of the old hat. "'But there are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest, and even of instruction.' 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 ice crystals.'

"'I suppose,' I remarked, "'that, homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked to it, that it's the clue which will guide you in the solution of some mystery and the punishment of some crime?' "'No, no, no crime,' said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. "'Only 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

"'So much so,' I remarked, "'that of the last six cases which I have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any legal crime. Precisely, 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.'

Okay, so I'm going to stop here. Any idea what's going on? So basically, Watson visits Holmes with the intention of basically wishing him a Merry Christmas. This story takes place some days after Christmas. So Watson goes to visit Holmes. He sees that Holmes is sitting there on his sofa or something. He's got his pipe rack next to him, which means that he's able to easily take a pipe and...

have a bit of a smoke and he's lounging there. I think there are some newspapers nearby, but there's a chair positioned in a certain way and there's this old hat sitting on the back of the chair and the hat appears to have been put there so that Holmes can examine it. And there's a magnifying glass, I think.

Did he say that? I think so. A magnifying glass and a pair of forceps, like kind of little metal tweezers that you would use to pick up the hat. So he's been examining this old hat and the hat is described as being, is it a worn out hat with cracks in it? So it's a fairly old looking hat, a bit, a hat that's in bad condition, a scruffy hat.

And so Holmes has been examining this hat and Watson comes in and sits down after Holmes invites him in and sits by the fire because it's very cold. And he says, oh, I suppose this hat is probably it's probably some crime story connected to this hat. And Holmes laughs and says, no, no, no, no, no crime. Just one of those sort of whimsical stories.

situations. Whimsical means kind of a bit strange, a bit funny, a bit odd, a bit amusing. So this story is not quite as dark as some of the other Sherlock Holmes stories. It's more of a whimsical story. There's definitely serious crime involved in it, but there's no murder in this particular one. I think...

And so Holmes says, no, no, no crime, but just one of those interesting, coincidental, strange things that can happen when you have all these millions of people all living together in very close quarters, that all sorts of strange things can happen in this sort of situation.

And without there being a crime involved, and they both refer to previous cases that Watson has written down in the past, including a couple of other Sherlock Holmes stories that you might know. The Irene Adler papers, the case of Miss Mary Sutherland, the adventure of the man with a twisted lip, which is another story that I would like to do on this podcast sometime.

And Holmes thinks that this is one of those. It's probably not such a dark one, more of a funny, whimsical story. OK, so let's continue. You know Peterson, the commissionaire? Yes. It is to him that this trophy belongs. It is his hat. No, 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 on Christmas morning in company with a good fat goose, which is, I have no doubt, roasting at this moment in front of Peterson's fire. The facts are these. About four o'clock on Christmas morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was returning from some small jollification and was making his way homewards 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 Gouge Street, a row broke out between this stranger and a little knot of ruffs. One of the latter knocked off the man's hat, at 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 which surely he restored to their owner

My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that for Mrs Henry Baker was printed upon a small card which was tied to the bird's left leg, and it is also true that the initials HB 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.

What then did Peterson do? He 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 did he not advertise no then what clue could you have to his identity only as much as we can deduce from his hat precisely but you're joking what can you gather from this old battered felt

Well, here is my lens. You know my methods. What can you gather yourself as to the individuality of the man who has worn this article? OK, let's pause there and go back and just make sure that you understand exactly what's going on. So what's the story behind the hat? Did you catch that? Hold on a minute. I've gone a bit too far. So Peterson, the commissioner. So he's a police officer, basically Peterson.

So Peterson was coming home Christmas Eve. That's Christmas morning. So that's the morning of Christmas Day, the 25th of December. Peterson was coming home in the middle of the night, early in the morning, in fact, at something like four o'clock.

Peterson was coming home from some small jollity, like he'd been drinking or having a little party. And he was coming home from that. And he saw someone in the street. So he saw someone in the street walking along, staggering.

or walking with a slight stagger. If you're a bit drunk, you would stagger, right? Sort of walking in a fairly unsteady way. So he saw this person walking in front of him with a slight stagger, carrying a goose slung over his shoulder, and of course wearing this hat, which is described as a billycock. That's these days more commonly known as a bowler hat.

Not that people wear them anymore, but, you know, of course, it's like an image of an old-fashioned English gentleman that they wear a suit and a bowler hat. In the past, in the days when this story was published, everyone wore hats all the time. You'd never leave the house without a hat on your head. And the bowler hat was a very common hat of the time. So anyway...

This stranger was walking down the road with this white goose over his shoulder. He reached the corner of Gouge Street. So we're talking about, I think, Tottenham Court Road and Gouge Street, a part of London that I know really well. Another reason I love these Sherlock Holmes stories, because they always refer to these parts of the city that I really like as well. So he reached the corner of Gouge Street and he ended up in an argument. A row broke out.

So he ended up in an argument with what's described as a little knot of roughs. So roughs would be sort of kind of criminal types. These days, we wouldn't use the word roughs to describe people, but it would be like a group of yobs or a group of hooligans, something like that. So he ends up getting into this argument with this group of people,

And it's a bit of a fight, like a little bit of a scuffle. One of them knocked off the man's hat. And this man was trying to defend himself. He raised his stick. So presumably he had a walking stick or something. He raised it over his head and accidentally smashed the shop window behind him. And Peterson, this police officer, rushed towards him to help him.

But because the man was shocked that he'd broken the window and then he saw a police officer running towards him, this man dropped the goose and also his hat was on the floor and he ran away. He took to his heels and ran into the back streets and escaped. And the kind of group of yobs also ran away.

And Peterson, the police officer, was left with the scene of the crime. He was left in ownership of the field of battle, was it? Is that how he described it? He was left in possession of the field of battle and also of the spoils of victory. So he also was left in possession of the things that were left behind. In this case, it was a big fat goose and this hat, a

a battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas goose. Unimpeachable meaning completely innocent. And so the problem is that Peterson had no way of knowing who the man was who ran away, the owner of the goose. He had no idea of identifying who this was, didn't know what to do. So he brought the goose and the hat to Sherlock Holmes in the morning, knowing that Sherlock would probably be able to solve the problem.

OK, now the goose had a little note attached to one of its feet that said for Mrs. Henry Baker. And the hat on the inside, you could see the initials HB. So that probably is Henry Baker. So it seems that the man's name is Henry Baker. The goose looks like it was for his wife, HB.

And so Peterson then brought the hat to Sherlock and they held onto them for a while until it was decided that Peterson should probably take the goose away and eat it because obviously a dead goose is not going to stay fresh that long, even if it is cold outside. The goose needs to be eaten. So Peterson takes the bird away, takes it home to be eaten for their Christmas lunch or Christmas dinner where it's going to be cooked and

Meanwhile, Holmes keeps the hat and examines it. And the only clue that they have to the identity of the owner of the hat is what they can work out by looking at it, what they can deduce. Watson, as always...

is sort of surprised or sceptical about what they can learn from something just by looking at it. Because despite the fact he spends all of his time with Sherlock Holmes, and Sherlock must be constantly showing off his deductive reasoning skills, Watson is always sceptical or surprised about it. So,

um watson says you you must be joking what can you understand from this old hat and at this point sherlock says to watson well you know my methods why don't you inspect it and tell me what you can work out from it so that's where we continue okay here we go i took the tattered object in my hands tattered battered scruffy just means in poor condition

I took the tattered object in my hands and turned it over rather ruefully, sort of sadly. It was a very ordinary black hat of the usual round shape, hard, and much the worse for wear. Worse for wear, it's a bit old and worn out. The lining had been of red silk, but was a good deal discoloured. By the way, can you work out anything about the person from the hat?

OK, I'll stop interrupting now and just keep reading. The lining had been of red silk but was a good deal discoloured. There was no maker's name. But, as Holmes had remarked, the initials HB 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. "'I can see nothing,' said I, handing it back to my friend. "'On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. "'You fail, however, to reason from what you see. "'You are too timid in drawing your inferences. "'Then pray tell me what it is that you can infer from this hat.'

He picked it up and gazed at it in the peculiar introspective fashion which was characteristic of him. "'It is perhaps less suggestive than it might have been,' he remarked, "'and 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. My dear Holmes!"

"'He has, however, retained some degree of self-respect,' he continued, "'disregarding my remonstrance. "'He 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.'

"'There are 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.' "'You are certainly joking, Holmes. Not in the least. It is possible that even now, when I give you these results, you are unable to see how they are attained.' "'I 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?'

For answer, Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. "'It is a question of cubic capacity,' said he. "'A man with so large a brain must have something in it.' "'The decline of his fortunes, then?' "'This 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.' "'Well, that is clear enough, certainly. But how about the foresight and the moral retrogression?' Sherlock Holmes laughed. "'Here is the foresight,' said he, putting his finger upon the little disc and loop of the hat-securer.'

They 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. Your reasoning is certainly plausible. The 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 but his wife you said that she had ceased to love him

"'This hat has not been brushed for weeks. When I see you, my dear Watson, with a week's 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's affection. But he might be a bachelor. Nay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to his wife. Remember the card upon the bird's leg?'

you have an answer to everything. But how on earth do you deduce that the gas is not laid on in his house? One 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, walks 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? Well, it is very ingenious, said I, laughing. But since, as you said just now, there's been no crime committed and no harm done save the loss of a goose, all this seems to be rather a waste of energy. Sherlock Holmes had opened his mouth to reply when the door flew open. Shoo!

and Peterson, the commissionaire, rushed into the apartment with flushed cheeks and the face of a man who is dazed with astonishment. Okay, so what's going to happen next? Peterson has just rushed in, but first of all, I need to back up and make sure that you've

followed all of that stuff about the hat and about the owner of the hat and all the deductions. So, first of all, Watson begins by examining the object, turning it over in his hands. He can see that it's just an ordinary worn-out hat.

written on the side. Um, there's a hat securer, which presumably is some sort of device to hold the hat on the owner's head, like a little thing with an elastic band or a pin or something like that. I don't know, but a hat securer, which is broken. Other than that, just a dusty hat with a few stains on it, which appear to have been, uh,

hidden with ink and nothing really. So Watson can't really understand what he's looking at. He can see all the same things that Holmes is seeing, but he doesn't really know how to interpret those things. So then Holmes has a go and explains all the things that he can see. So those things are basically, first of all, he says that the man is intellectual and he proves this by taking the hat and putting it on his own head.

Basically, OK, here are the things that Holmes says. He says he's intellectual. He says he was well-to-do like three years ago. If you're well-to-do, it means that you are fairly rich, that you're doing quite well, meaning that you've got some money. So he was well-to-do, but these days, not so much. He had foresight, but has less now than formerly, pointing to a moral retrogression. So he had foresight. Foresight is like the...

wisdom to act, the wisdom to look to the future and make plans to account for it, to be careful, to be organised, to think about the future and take steps to kind of plan things for the

than he used to do, which suggests that morally or mentally or something in his emotional life is not very good. Some sort of decline. Maybe he's less lucky these days than he used to be, or something is influencing him, like maybe drink. Maybe he's been drinking a lot recently, which is having a bad negative effect on him. And this might be why his wife doesn't love him anymore.

but he spends a lot of time indoors, doesn't go out very much, isn't in very good shape, so he's not very fit. He's middle-aged. He's got grizzled hair, which means his hair is going grey. He had his hair cut recently, and he anoints it with lime cream. He uses some sort of cream on his hair. And there are other things as well, like there's no gas laid on in his house, meaning that he has no gas lighting in his house, because, you know...

We're talking about the days when people use candles a lot. And then if you were well-to-do, you might have a system of gas lights in your house, right? But he doesn't have gas in his house.

OK, I think that's it. I think those are the things. So in terms of how Holmes worked all this out. Well, the thing about the man being intellectual, Holmes proves this by putting the hat on his own head. The hat is much bigger. The hat doesn't fit properly. It's a big hat for a big head. And the idea is that, you know, cubic capacity, a man with a large brain must be intellectual. I mean, this idea has since then been disproven.

We know that the size of a person's head doesn't really account for their intellectual capacity, but that's how it worked in those days. The decline in his fortunes, the fact he's less lucky or things in his life are not so good as they used to be. First of all, Holmes identifies that the style of the hat is a bit old-fashioned. Three years ago, this style of hat with the flat brim, the brim is the bit that goes around the edge of the hat,

These flat brims which are curled at the edge, they came into fashion about three years ago. And it's a very good quality hat. So clearly the man was able to spend money about three years ago. But he hasn't been able to replace it. He can't buy a new one because, you know, this one is in bad condition. He can't buy a new one because apparently he doesn't have the money anymore. What about the moral retrogression? So the foresight...

meaning the ability to plan for the future. Holmes points to the hat securer, this device which keeps the hat on the head. He says these things are never sold with the hat. So when he bought the hat, he also had the foresight to buy the hat securer as well to make sure the hat stayed on his head. But it's broken these days.

And so he hasn't trouble. He hasn't taken the trouble to replace the hat securer. So this is proof again that the guy is less, has less foresight, maybe less money than he used to have. Also, the stains on the hat, he's tried to cover them up with some ink, which shows that he hasn't completely lost his sense of self-respect and other things. The grey hair, which has been recently cut and the lime cream, which

When Holmes examines the inside of the hat, he can see that there are little bits of hair that have clearly been cut by the scissors of a barber. And they are sticky. And there's the odour, the smell of lime cream. So, you know, clearly he uses lime cream. His hair has been cut recently. The dust on the hat...

It's not the kind of dust that you would find in the street, but the dust that you would find at home, suggesting that the man spends most of his time indoors at home. The marks of moisture upon the inside of the hat show that the man sweats a lot, so he's not in great physical shape. He must be out of shape if he sweats a lot.

So he's not in good training. The fact that his wife seems not to love him anymore is that the hat has not been brushed for quite a long time. And Holmes remarks that if he ever saw Watson wearing a hat that's not been brushed and that his wife had allowed him to go out like that, then it would probably mean that she doesn't really care for him anymore.

He says, Watson says, but he may he might be a bachelor, meaning a single man. But no, this is not the case because the goose has a note on it saying it's for Mrs. Henry Baker. Yes. What about the fact that the man doesn't have gas laid on in his house? Well, he's talking about tallow stains. Tallow, I think, is a kind of wax or.

Yeah, I guess it's something that's used in the making of candles. So if we're talking about tallow stains, we're talking about something relating to candles. So one tallow stain or even two on the hat might be just a question of chance. But when Holmes saw...

at least five of these tallow stains, he can be sure that the individual must be frequently in contact with burning tallow, like candles or something. He probably walks upstairs at night with his hat in one hand and a candle in the other hand, and he's certainly never got tallow stains from a gas light. Okay, so...

Watson is impressed and so on and blah, blah, blah. And Watson says, oh, but, you know, there's no crime involved in this. Right. So what's the point? Sherlock Holmes is about to reply. And then suddenly Peterson rushes into the apartment with flushed cheeks. So his face is red and the face of a man who is dazed with astonishment. So Peterson rushes in. He's all surprised and shocked. And let's continue.

"'The goose, Mr Holmes, the goose, sir!' he gasped. "'Eh? What of it, then? "'Has it returned to life and flapped off through the kitchen window?' "'Holmes twisting himself round upon the sofa "'to get a fairer view of the man's excited face. "'See here, sir! See what my wife found in its crop!' "'Crop is like the throat or neck.'

part of the bird. See what my wife found in its crop. 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. Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle. Whip!

"'By Jove, Peterson,' said he, "'this is treasure trove indeed. "'I suppose you know what you've got. "'A diamond, sir, a precious stone. "'It cuts into glass as though it were putty. "'It's more than a precious stone. "'It's the precious stone. "'Not the Countess of Morcar's blue carbuncle I ejaculated.' "'Oh, God, Watson's done it again. "'Not the Countess of Morcar's blue carbuncle I ejaculated.'

Watson has ejaculated again. You'd have thought he'd learned his lesson. Is this not the third time that Watson has ejaculated in the company of other people? Watson, please control yourself. If you're to ejaculate, at least do it in the privacy of your own quarters. No, as we've established...

Previously, in these Sherlock Holmes episodes, ejaculated in those days meant said something very quickly. So, not the Countess of Morkar's blue carbuncle, I quickly said, I ejaculated. Precisely so. I ought to know its size and shape, seeing that I've read the advertisement about it in the Times every day lately.

it is absolutely unique and its value can only be conjectured but the reward offered of a thousand pounds is certainly not within a twentieth part of the market price thousand pounds great lord of mercy the commissionaire plumped down into a chair and stared from one to the other of us

That is the reward, and I have reason to know that there are sentimental considerations in the background which would induce the Countess to part within half her fortune if she could but recover the gem. It was lost, if I remember all right, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan, I remarked. Precisely so, on the 22nd of December, just five days ago. John Horner, a plumber, was accused of having abstracted it from the lady's jewel case.'

The evidence against him was so strong that the case has been referred to the Assizes. By the way, that's like a higher court, higher criminal court. Old-fashioned word. These days we use like the high court, maybe. I have some account of the matter here, I believe.

He rummaged amid his newspapers, glancing over the dates, until at last he smoothed one out, doubled it over, and read the following paragraph. Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery, John Horner, 26, plumber, was brought up upon the charge of having upon this 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'd 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 rider 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's 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 a 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. "'Hm, so much for the police court,' said Holmes thoughtfully, tossing aside the paper."

The 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 the evening papers. If this fails, I shall have recourse to other methods. What will you say? Give me a pencil and that slip of paper. Now then...

Found at the corner of Gouge 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. That is very clear and concise. Very, but will he see it? Well, 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.

"'In which, sir?' "'Oh, in the Globe, Star, Pal-Mal, St James's, Evening News, Standard Echo, and any others that occur to you.' "'Very well, sir. And this stone?' "'Ah, 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.'

When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and held it against the light. "'It's a bonny thing,' said he. "'Just see how it glints and sparkles. "'Of course, it is a nucleus and focus of crime.'

Every good stone is. They are the devil's pet baits. In the larger and older jewels, every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone is not yet 20 years old. So actually, I'm going to stop here. This is good, though, isn't it? I'm going to stop there before we go into some of the history of the stone and go back to what's going on here. OK, let's just move back, back, back, back, back a bit.

to the crime and the stone. So you understand, of course, that Peterson rushed in all surprised and shocked. And he said, look what I look, what my wife found in the crop of the goose, meaning in the sort of lower part of the goose's neck. I suppose this is part of the bird that's removed before it's cooked. And it's the stone.

All right, this beautiful scintillating stone. Holmes is surprised. A diamond, a diamond, the precious diamond, the precious stone. And then Watson ejaculates again. Not the Countess of Morcar's blue carbuncle.

Precisely so. So apparently the stone that's been found is a precious missing stone owned by the Countess of Morcar, some sort of aristocrat. Some aristocrat who's the owner of this very, very, very valuable jewel, this gem. Holmes knows all about it because he's been reading about it every day in the Times newspaper because they've been running stories about how the stone has gone missing.

It's worth a lot of money. It's worth £1,000. Now, there's a reward. There's a reward for the return of the stone, £1,000, which apparently is only a twelfth of the market price. So it would sell for about £12,000. I don't know how much that is by today's money, but it's loads. It's like really, really valuable.

Um, well, you do wonder though, don't you? If, if there's a reward for the stone, if someone finds the stone, they can return it and pick up the reward. The reward is a thousand pounds. But if you just sell the stone, um, on the black market, you can get like a 12,000 pounds. So anyway, um,

So there's a big reward and then the story Holmes reads the story From the newspaper, which is basically from the hotel cosmopolitan There's been a jewel robbery John Horner is the prime suspect 26 years old he's a plumber a plumber is someone who fixes the all the pipes in someone's home they work with metal and

when it's fitted into people's houses, dealing with water, pipes for water and pipes for heating and things like that. So he was brought to the room to fix something in the room. Apparently there was a bar on one of the heaters that needed to be repaired. So Horner was brought into the room.

And then he's been arrested and taken to court for the theft of the jewel from the Countess's jewellery desk or something like that. James Ryder is the upper attendant at the hotel. So this is a man who works at the hotel. He is the one who's given the main evidence against John Horner.

saying that he invited Horner to the dressing room of the Countess, uh, so that he could fix, um, something in the room. Um,

He'd stayed, Ryder had stayed with Horner in the room but then had to leave. When he came back, Horner had disappeared, the bureau, the desk had been forced open and the little sort of container with the gem was open and empty and the gem was gone. Ryder then...

informed the police and gave evidence against Horner and Horner was then arrested the same evening. The stone couldn't be found, so they couldn't find it on him or in his room. Another person, the maid of the Countess, so the Countess's servant, Catherine Cusack, she also gave some evidence saying that she heard Ryder's alarm when he discovered that the jewel had been taken.

She rushed into the room and she confirms Ryder's account of the story. The evidence has been given against Horner. Horner struggled frantically when he was taken away by the police and he protested his innocence in the strongest terms. So he was shouting, I'm innocent, I'm innocent, shouting it out.

He'd been previously convicted of robbery, so it seems that he already had a conviction for robbery in the past, which obviously is going to count against him. And when he was taken to the first court, the magistrate's court, so the way it works in England is that if there's a crime, first the case is taken to the magistrate's court, which is a sort of lower level court.

And then the magistrates decide how serious it is. And if it's very serious, it needs to go to the higher court, which is what happened here. They called it the Assizes. These days, it's the sort of like high court, let's say. Horner was like very upset, very emotional. And when the...

decision was made when the judgment was passed in the court, he fainted, sort of collapsed and was carried away. Holmes appears to be unconvinced by the police court, as he usually has contempt for the police, and decides that he needs to investigate this. And the way to investigate it is to work out who this Henry Baker is, what's the connection between the goose and

And the missing jewel, because obviously the jewel came from the goose, was discovered in the goose. So who is this Henry Baker? It turns out that actually this is a much, much more serious case than we thought before. And so we need to find out what's going on. And then.

Peterson goes off to give a message to the newspapers so they could put a message in the newspapers, because obviously this is the way that things were done in those days. You could just put a message in the newspapers, put a message in all the main newspapers, the Globe, the Star, the Pal-Mal, St. James's, the Evening News, the Standard and the Echo. And no doubt Henry Baker, who...

has lost a goose and his hat is probably going to be looking for notices in the newspaper. This is going to attract Henry Baker to Baker Street to pick up his hat and his goose. And maybe this is where they can work out what's going on. And if Henry Baker, you know how badly he wants to get that goose back again.

We'll see how important it is and see if they can work it out. So this is a way of attracting Henry Baker to Baker Street by putting this advertisement in the newspaper. So Peterson goes off to do that. And Holmes asks him to bring a goose, another goose, so that they can actually give a goose to Henry Baker. And there you go. And then Holmes keeps hold of the

the blue carbuncle and he then talks about the fact that all of these stones, these precious stones attract crime to them. There's always some sort of bloody deed, some violent crime that's associated with them. This stone is not yet 20 years old, he says, so it was probably discovered 20 years ago. So let's continue.

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Here's a little background story about the stone itself. So Holmes says, "...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 40-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? I'll lock it up in my strongbox now and drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it.

"'Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?' "'I cannot tell.' "'Well then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had anything to do with the matter? "'It 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. And you can do nothing until then? Nothing. In that case, I shall continue my professional round, but I shall come back in the evening at the hour you've mentioned, for I should like to see the solution of so tangled a business.'

Very 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. OK, so...

What's going on here? So basically, this particular stone was found about 20 years ago in China, in the banks of the Amoy River. He says it's exactly like a carbuncle, except that it's blue. This isn't scientifically accurate. It already has a very sinister history. I suppose he knows about this from reading the newspapers. There have been two murders, a vitriol throwing, a suicide and several robberies.

for this, even though it's 20 years old. So two murders, we understand, a vitriol throwing, that's an acid attack where someone throws acid at someone, a suicide and several robberies. Wow, quite a story, quite a series of stories. Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? Who would think that such a pretty thing would basically bring people to the gallows? That's where you go to get hanged.

until you're dead and the prison, I think you know. So Holmes says he'll lock it up in his strongbox and let the Countess know that he has it.

He's not sure if Horner is innocent. He's not sure about Henry Baker, although he thinks that he's probably innocent. He's going to set up a sort of test to work it out. So when Baker arrives at Baker Street, Holmes is going to use a little test to work out whether he is guilty or innocent or not. So let's continue. So at this point, Watson goes off to continue his professional practice. You know, obviously, he's a doctor, so he's got...

patients to look after but he says he'll come back at around about seven o'clock in the evening to have dinner with Holmes Holmes and find out what's going on Holmes makes that joke yeah there's a woodcock which is another large bird people used to eat and maybe I ought to ask Mrs Hudson to examine its crop okay so let's continue you okay everyone keeping up with this yes you are good okay a couple of skeletons but that's all right

Okay, so I'd 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 fan light. Just as I arrived, the door was opened and we were shown up together to Holmes's room.

"'Mr Henry Baker, I believe,' said he, rising from his armchair and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he could so readily assume. "'Pray 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?' "'Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat.'

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 his nose and cheeks with a slight tremor of his extended hand

recalled Holmes's 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.

"'We have retained these things for some days,' said Holmes, "'because we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your address. "'I am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise.' "'Our visitor gave a rather shame-faced laugh. "'Shillings have not been so plentiful with me as they once were,' he remarked. "'I 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. "'Very naturally. "'By the way, about the bird, we were compelled to eat it.' "'To eat it?' Our visitor half rose from his chair in his excitement. "'Yes, it would have been 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?'

"'Oh, certainly, certainly,' answered Mr Baker, with a sigh of relief. "'Of course, we still have the feathers, legs, crop, and so on of your own bird, so if you wish—' The man burst into a hearty laugh. "'They might be useful to me as relics of my adventure,' said he."

"'but beyond that I can hardly see what use the disjecta membra of 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.' "'Sherlock Holmes glanced sharply across at me, with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "'There is your hat, then, and there your bird,' said he.'

"'By the way, would it bore you to tell me where you got the other one from? I'm somewhat of a foul fancier, and I have seldom seen a better-grown goose.' "'Certainly, sir,' said Baker, who had risen and tucked his newly-gained property under his arm. "'There are a few of us who frequent the Alpha Inn near the museum. We are to be found in the museum itself during the day, you understand.'

"'This year our good host Windegate 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 to my gravity.'

With a comical pomposity of manner, he bowed solemnly to both of us and strode off upon his way. Okay, right. So what about Henry Baker then? Let's go back and work out what's going on here. I wonder how much of this you're following. So Watson comes back to...

Holmes's place on Baker Street about half past six in the evening and he sees Henry Baker in fact standing outside the building tall man in a scotch bonnet a scotch bonnet is a kind of like Scottish hat it's a sort of a soft soft hat which is kind of like a beret sort of thing like a large soft hat that sits on your head obviously that's what a hat does

But the man is wearing this, presumably because he doesn't have his normal hat. So he's been forced to wear this Scotch bonnet. The coat is buttoned up all the way to the top. And the door was opened. Holmes is very genial, very friendly. He offers the man inside, take the chair, blah, blah, blah.

He says, is this your hat? The man says, yes, that's definitely my hat. Um, the man is described as having a big head, rounded shoulders, uh, an intelligent face, um, a touch of red in his nose and cheeks with a slight tremor of his extended hand. So his hand is shaking slightly. He's got a red, reddish face and nose, which, um, seems to, um, confirm what Holmes thought about him, that he had been drinking alcohol these days. Um,

And having a look at him, you could see that the man is probably not in... He's having some difficulty in his life. He doesn't have a shirt on underneath his coat. He probably doesn't have a lot of money to buy clothes and things at this time. He's basically having a bit of a bad time. So basically Holmes' deductions are all correct. And the man didn't have enough money to advertise the fact he'd lost his hat and goose in the newspaper. Um...

And he thought that those young, like the yobs who'd attacked him had probably stolen the bird and the hat. So he decided that spending money to advertise for someone who had found them would have been a waste of time and money. Holmes at this point does his test. He says, I'm sorry, but we ate the bird. We had to eat it.

He wanted to see what Baker's reaction would be. And Henry Baker was surprised. But as soon as Holmes said, well, we had no choice, but look, I've got you another bird to replace it. Baker then is quite satisfied with that and not so angry. So this tells us that Henry Baker didn't know that the gemstone was inside the goose. He had no idea about that because if, you know, if...

he'd known, then he would have been a lot more upset and wouldn't have been satisfied with a replacement bird. Okay. And so everything seems to be settled. Okay. And then, um, um, you know, Holmes says, oh, we've got the other bits of the bird, like the, the neck and the legs and the crop, if you want. And the man confirms his innocence by saying, I don't know. I certainly don't need any of those things. Ha ha ha. And then, um,

Holmes then says, oh, by the way, I'm a bit of a foul fancier, meaning I'm sort of interested in birds. And I'm curious about this one. It was an excellent goose. Where did you get it? And so Baker then describes how he got it from a landlord of a pub called Windegate. So Baker and some of his friends go to the Alpha Inn, which is the name of a pub near the museum, near the British Museum.

And

They had a goose club there, which is basically where they pay the landlord some money every week. And at Christmas time, they're given a goose. So they got it from the Alpha Inn, from a man named Windegate. That's where the bird came from. OK. And then Baker, obviously innocent, leaves and goes on with the rest of his life. So let's continue the story then. So we've got a lead here, which is the Alpha Inn and Windegate.

This is where the goose came from. So let's see if we can find out more information about this. What are Watson and Holmes going to do? All right, so let's continue. So much for Mr. Henry Baker, said Holmes, when he'd closed the door behind him. It's quite certain that he knows nothing whatever about the matter. Are you hungry, Watson? Not particularly. Then I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow up this clue while it's still hot.

by all means. 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 Doctor's 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 Hoburn. Holmes pushed open the door of the private bar and ordered two glasses of beer from the ruddy-faced white-aproned landlord. "'Your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese,' said he. "'My geese?' The man seemed surprised."

"'Yes, I was speaking only half an hour ago to Mr Henry Baker, who was a member of your goose club.' "'Oh, yes, I see. But you see, sir, them's not our geese.' "'Indeed? Whose then?' "'Well, I got the two dozen from a salesman in Covent Garden.' "'Indeed? I know some of them. Which was it?' "'Breckenridge is his name.' "'Ah, I don't know him. Well, here's your good health, landlord, and prosperity to your house. Good night.'

"'Now, for Mr Breckenridge,' he continued, buttoning up his coat, as we came out into the frosty air, "'remember, 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' 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.' "'We passed across Hoburn, 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

I'm going to have to stop here and clarify that section of the story because that's kind of a key bit. Because obviously they need to work out what's the story with that goose? Where did it come from? So they head outside in the cold night air, walking through some of my favourite parts of London down towards the British Museum to this pub, the Alpha Inn, where they go in and Holmes engages the landlord.

whose name is what's his name i can't remember it doesn't really matter so they talk to the landlord of the pub and holmes is saying oh you know i've where did you get that bird uh it's excellent you know your beer is as if your beer is your beer should be excellent if it's as good as your geese so they start talking about the geese and the landlord says that he got it from a um

A man called Breckenridge, who is a salesman in Covent Garden. Covent Garden these days, for any of you who visited central London will know, it's like a great place to go shopping. But back in the old days, it used to be a big market where you get fruit and vegetables and other things like maybe a goose at Christmas time.

So Breckenridge is the one who sold the goose to the pub landlord. So off they go, Holmes and Watson, to follow it because they need to follow this lead, a lead that the police don't have, which could prove Horner to be innocent because he's facing seven years in jail.

for this. He might be innocent, maybe he's guilty, but they need to find out what's going on. So let's continue as Holmes and Watson approach this market stall in Covent Garden and the man named Breckenridge. "'Good evening. It's a cold night,' said Holmes. The salesman nodded and shot a questioning glance at my companion. "'Sold out of geese, I see,' continued Holmes, pointing at the bare slabs of marble.'

"'Let you have five hundred tomorrow morning.' "'That's no good.' "'Well, there are some on the stall with the gas flare.' "'Ah, but I was recommended to you.' "'Who by?' "'The landlord of the Alpha. Ah yes, I sent him a couple of dozen. Fine birds they were too. Now, where did you get them from?' To my surprise, the question provoked a burst of anger from the salesman. "'Now then, mister,' said he, with his head cocked and his arms akimbo,

What are you driving at? Now, let's have it straight now. But it is straight enough. I should like to know who sold you the geese which you supplied to the Alpha. Well, then I shan't tell you. So now. Oh, it is a matter of no importance, but I don't know why you should be so warm over such a trifle. Warm? You'd 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's where are the geese, and who do you sell the geese to, and what will you take for the geese? One would think they were the only geese in the world, to hear the fuss that's made over them.' "'Well, I have no connection with any other people who've been making inquiries,' said Holmes carelessly.'

"'If you won't tell us, the bet is off, that's all. "'But I'm always ready to back my opinion on a matter of fowls, "'and I have a fiver on it that that bird I ate is country bread.' "'Well, then you've lost your fiver, for it's town bread!' "'Snapped the salesman. "'It is nothing of the kind.' "'Well, I say it is. "'I don't believe it. "'Do you think you know more about fowls than I, "'who've handled them ever since I was a nipper? "'I tell you, all those birds that went to the Alpha were town bread.'

"'You'll never persuade me to believe that.' "'Will you bet, then?' "'Well, it's merely taking your money, for I know that I'm right. But I'll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be obstinate.' The salesman chuckled grimly. "'Bring me the books, Bill,' said he.'

The small boy brought round a thin volume and a great greasy-backed one, laying them out together beneath the hanging lamp. "'Now then, Mr Cockshaw,' said the salesman, "'I thought that I was out of geese, but before I finish you'll find that there's still one left in my shop. You see this little book? Well, that's the list of the folk from whom I buy.'

Do you see? Well then, here on this page are the country folk and the numbers after their names are where the accounts are in the big ledger. Now then, you see this other page in red ink? Well, that's a list of my town suppliers. Now look at that third name. Just read it out to me. Mrs Oakshot 117 Brixton Road 249 Redholmes. Quite so. Now, turn that up in the ledger.

Holmes turned to the page, indicated, Here you are, Mrs. Oakshot, 117 Brixton Road, egg and poultry supplier. Now then, what's the last entry? December 22nd, 24 geese at 7 shillings 6d. Quite so. There you are, and underneath, sold to Mr. Windegate of the Alpha at 12 shillings. Well, what have you to say now?

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 lamppost and laughed in the hearty, noiseless fashion which was peculiar to him. "'When you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the pinken,' the sporting times, protruding out of his pocket, "'you can always draw him by a bet,' said he.'

"'I dare say that if I had put a hundred pounds 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. Oakshot tonight "'or whether we should reserve it for tomorrow.'

It is clear from what that surly fellow said that there are others beside ourselves who are anxious about the matter, and I should... His remarks were suddenly cut short by a loud hubbub which broke out from the stall which we had just left. Right, let's stop there then and back up...

to the beginning of this section where we dealt with Mr Breckenridge. So did you get what happened? That Holmes again uses some sort of like little trick to get information here. So he pretends that he has made a bet with someone. He pretends that he's eaten one of the geese that came from the Alpha Inn.

and that he's pretending that he thinks he knows everything about geese, and he's saying that that goose was country bred, meaning it had been reared, born and raised, let's say, in the countryside. So you've got country bred geese and town bred geese, and Holmes thinks this goose was country bred, and in fact he pretends that he's made a bet. He's bet £5 on it or something.

So he goes to Breckenridge and starts asking these very direct questions like, where did you get that goose from? Breckenridge is angry because apparently other people have been asking him about his geese. Where are the geese? Where's the goose? Where did you get the geese from? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so he's a bit annoyed about it. And Holmes, instead of just offering money for information, uses his little trick where he makes the guy a bet, right? He bets money.

A bet is where you put money down on something. For example, you bet on a horse race. You can bet on the result of a football match. You put your money down. If you get what you predicted, then you get more money, right? So Holmes says, I bet that that, I bet you a shilling. Is it a shilling? A sovereign. A sovereign is, I don't know how much money that was because we don't talk about sovereigns anymore, but it's probably quite a lot.

He bets a sovereign that the bird was country bred. And so Breckenridge proves him wrong by getting out the book, which shows exactly where he bought those birds from. And it turns out it was bought on Brixton Road, which is in Brixton, which is in London. So it is a town bred bird proving Holmes wrong. Holmes puts the sovereign down and pretends to be annoyed and upset that he lost the bet.

They walk off and then Holmes reveals that it was just a trick. He doesn't really care. And it was a way for him to extract the information from the man. And he knows that he knew that he could... that that would work because looking at the guy...

He got a sense of what this kind of guy was like, including the fact he had the pink and sticking out of his pocket. That's the Sporting Times, a sports newspaper, which shows that he's probably a gambling man.

So they work out then that it's from Oakshot in Brixton Road. That's the origin of the goose. And Holmes is saying, well, we've got a choice. We can either go and find out about Oakshot now or we can leave it until the morning. He was just talking about that when suddenly something happened at the market stall where they'd just been. A hubbub broke out. That's noise like a kind of like a

sound of, what would you call it? Like something going on, like there's an argument or shouting or something, like a loud noise at the market stall, which attracts Holmes and Watson's attention. And they decide that before they can do anything else, they need to find out what's going on. So let's continue. Turning round, we saw a little rat-faced fellow, a

"'a little rat-faced man, "'standing in the centre of the circle of yellow light "'which was thrown by the swinging lamp, "'while Breckenridge the salesman, "'framed in the door of his stall, "'was shaking his fists fiercely at the cringing figure. "'I've had enough of you and your geese!' he shouted. "'I wish you were all at the devil together! "'If you come pestering me any more with your silly talk, "'I'll set the dog on you!'

"'You bring Mrs. Oakshot here and I'll answer her, but what have you to do with it?' "'Did I buy the geese off you?' "'No, but one of them was mine all the same,' whined the little man. "'Well, then ask Mrs. Oakshot for it. She told me to ask you.' "'Well, you can ask the King of Prussia, for all I care. I've had enough of it. Now get out of this!' He rushed fiercely forward, and the enquirer flitted away into the darkness, meaning he ran away. "'Ha! This may save us a visit to the Brixton Road.'

"'whispered Holmes. "'Come with me and we'll see what is to be made of this fellow.' "'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 gaslight "'that every vestige of colour had been driven from his face. "'Who are you, then? What do you want?' "'he asked in a quavering voice. "'Will you excuse me?' said Holmes blandly.'

But 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. Who are you? How could you know of anything of the matter? My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don't know. But you could know nothing of this. Excuse me? I know everything of it.

"'You are endeavouring to trace some geese, "'which were sold by Mrs. Oakshot of Brixton Road, "'to a salesman named Breckeridge, "'by him in turn to Mr. Windegate of the Alpha, "'and by him to his club, of which Mr. Henry Baker is a member.' "'Oh, sir, you are the very man who I've longed to meet,' "'cried the little fellow, with outstretched hands and quivering fingers. "'I can hardly explain to you how interested I am in this matter.'

Sherlock Holmes hailed a four-wheeler which was passing. In that case, we'd better discuss it in a cosy room rather than in this windswept marketplace, said he. But pray tell me, before we go further, who is it that I have the pleasure of assisting? The man hesitated for a second. My name is John Robinson, he answered with a sidelong glance. No, no, the real name, said Holmes sweetly.

"'It is always awkward doing business with an alias.' A flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger. "'Oh, well then,' said he, "'my real name is James Ryder.' "'Precisely 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.'

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's 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. Okay, so the hubbub, the noise was Breckenridge getting angry and

with this little rat-faced man. Breckridge is basically getting angry with him. I've had enough of you and your geese. What's it got to do with you? It's nothing to do with you. Now get out of here. And he chases the guy away. Holmes and Watson follow this little guy and catch up with him. And Holmes...

blandly tells him that he knows absolutely everything about the situation and the man seems sort of confused. He's not sure if this is good or if it's not good and Holmes very calmly sort of flags down a taxi and they get in and they are going to take him to, no doubt, to Baker Street to question him. But this man, this suspicious man, isn't sure what

what's going on. He's not sure if this is good or bad for him. But Holmes knows who he is. This is Ryder, James Ryder from the hotel. This is the guy who worked at the hotel, the guy who, when he discovered that apparently the jewel, the blue carbuncle had been stolen, he's the one who contacted the police. He is the one who's given evidence against, is his name Horner? The other guy, the plumber,

who's been arrested and is facing seven years in jail. But it's Ryder who has been giving evidence against him. And for some reason now, Ryder is desperate to find the goose. So, hmm, very suspicious what's going on here. And how is Holmes going to kind of get all the information from him? Let's continue. 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. "'Here we are,' said Holmes cheerily, as we filed into the room. "'The 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?' "'Yes, sir. Or rather, I fancy, of that goose.'

"'It was one bird, I imagine, in which you were interested, white, with a black bar across the tail.' Ryder quivered with emotion. "'Oh, sir,' he cried, "'can you tell me where it went to?' "'It came here.' "'Here?'

Yes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. I don't wonder that you should take an interest in it. It laid an egg after it was dead. The bonniest, brightest little blue egg that was ever seen. I have it here in my museum. Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece with his right hand. Ha!

Holmes unlocked his strongbox 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 it or disown it. "'The game's up, Ryder,' said Holmes quietly. "'Hold up, man, or you'll be into the fire!' So it seems that Ryder is staggering. He might fall.'

Give him an arm back into his chair, Watson. He's 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. For a moment he'd 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.

"'I 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's?' "'Er, it was Catherine Cusack who told me of it,' said he in a crackling voice.'

"'I see, her ladyship's 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 the lady's room, you and your confederate Cusack, and 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... Ryder threw himself down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my companion's knees. "'For God's sake, have mercy!' he shrieked. "'Think of my father and my mother! It would break their hearts!' "'I never went wrong before. I never will again, I swear it. I swear it on a Bible!'

"'Oh, don't bring it into court, for Christ's sake, don't!' "'Get back into your chair,' said Holmes sternly. "'It 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. "'I'll fly, Mr. Holmes. I'll leave the country, sir. Then the charge against him will break down.' "'Hmm,'

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. All right. So what's the story then here with this rider? Is that his name? So they invite him into Baker Street. Holmes is being all friendly and warm. Sit by the fire. You must be cold. All that sort of thing.

and says, what do you want to know? You know, you want to know what happened to these geese then, huh? Or goose, in fact. Because it was just that one bird, wasn't it, that you were interested in? White with a black bar across the tail and riders like, and he's like, can you tell me what happened to it? And then Holmes says, well, it came here, of course. And the most remarkable thing, it laid this

It laid an egg after it was dead. This beautiful, bright little blue egg. I have it here in my museum. And the rider stands up. He's so shocked and he nearly falls into the fire. He nearly passes out because he's so shocked. And then Holmes gets it out and shows it to him. And riders all completely overcome, overwhelmed. And Holmes then says, the game's up.

And then Ryder nearly collapses into the fire. Watson helps him back into the chair and give, of course they give him brandy because this is the solution to all medical issues is just to give brandy. And after a bit of brandy, he's after a dash of brandy, he looks a little bit more human again, um,

And basically Holmes says, just tell us what happened. You know, I pretty much know the whole story, but I would just like to know all of it, please. And Ryder admits that it's Catherine Cusack, the maid of the Countess, who told him that the jewel, that the carbuncle was there. He knew that Horner, Holmes makes him admit that he knew that Horner had a previous record for theft,

And so Ryder invited the man, Horner, to come in and fix something that he made up. And then when he'd left, he then stole the blue carbuncle, but then told the police that it was Horner.

um which is a pretty nasty thing to do and the guy is so desperate for mercy he's begging Holmes to have mercy to let him go Holmes is not impressed and says well you didn't really you didn't really care about the poor Horner who you were willing to let go to prison over this um and so Holmes just wants to know what's going on um

Ryder says, look, I'll run away. I'll leave the country. You know, just let me go, please. For Christ's sake, for God's sake, let me go. But Holmes wants to know what what actually happened. So Ryder is now going to tell us the story of exactly what happened. So here we go. Ryder passed his tongue over his parched lips. So put his tongue over his dry lips. I will tell you, I will tell you it just as it happened, sir. He said when Horner had been arrested, he

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 my way to my sister's house. She'd married a man named Oakshot and lived in Brixton Road where she fattened fowls for the market.

All the way there, every man I met seemed 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'd been upset by the jewel robbery at the hotel. Then I went into the backyard and smoked a pipe and wondered what it would be best to do.

I had a friend once called Maudsley who turned bad and has just finished serving his time in Pentonville Prison. One day he 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'd 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.

My 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, a fine big one, white with a barred tail. I caught it, prising its bill open, I thrust the stone down its throat as far as my finger could reach. The bird gave a gulp, and

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. "'Whatever were you doing with that bird, Jem?' says she. "'Well,' said I, "'you said you'd give me one for Christmas, and I was feeling which was the fattest.' "'Oh,' says she,

"'We've set yours aside for you. "'Gemsbird, we call it. "'It's the big white one over yonder. "'There's 26 of them, which makes one for you "'and one for us and two dozen for the market.' "'Thank you, Maggie,' says I. "'But if it's all the same to you, "'I'd rather have that one I was just handling just now.' "'The other one is a good three pounds heavier,' said she. "'And we fattened it expressly for you.' "'No, never mind. "'I'll have the other and I'll take it now,' said I. "'Ah, just as you like,' said she, a little huffed.'

"'Which is it you want, then?' "'Erm, that white one with the barred tail right in the middle of the flock.' "'Oh, very well. Kill it and take it with you.' "'Well, I did what she said, Mr Holmes, and I carried the bird all the way to Kilburn. "'I told my pal what I'd done, for he was a man that it was easier to tell things like that to. "'He laughed until he choked, and we got a knife and opened the goose. "'Oh, 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 sisters and hurried into the backyard. There was not a bird to be seen there. Where are they all, Maggie? I cried. Gone to the dealers, Jim. Which dealers? Breckenridge of Covent Garden. But was there another with a barred tail? I asked. The same as the one I chose? Yes, Jim. There were two bar-tailed ones and I could never tell them apart.

Well then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my feet could carry me to this man Breckenridge. But he'd sold the lot at once, and not one word would he tell me as to where they'd gone. You heard him yourselves tonight. Well, he's always answered me like that.

My sister thinks I'm going mad. Sometimes I think that I am myself. And now, and 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. He burst into convulsive sobbing with his face buried in his hands like that.

There was a long silence, broken only by his heavy breathing and by the measured tapping of Sherlock Holmes's fingertips upon the edge of the table. Right, let's have a pause there so I can back up and describe what happened. So you got the idea, right? That yes, it's true. He stole this blue carbuncle, right?

And he didn't know what to do. He was suddenly very stressed out to be in possession of this extremely valuable missing gemstone. And he quickly decided he'd go to his sister's in Brixton Road. She'd married a man called Oakshot. So this is the Mrs. Oakshot who bred the geese. So off he went to get out of the area. He went down to Brixton. And while he was at his sister's, he went outside and smoked a pipe and

came up with a plan and the plan was he'd put he'd put the gem stone inside one of the geese because his sister had promised that he could have one of the geese for christmas he'd take one of the geese and put the stone inside it so he he grabbed one of them and stuffed the stone down the neck of the goose and felt it going in and then the his sister came out and the goose started flapping its wings and he lost grip his grip on it and it went back into all the other geese

He then said, oh, can I have one of the, you know, you said I could have one of the geese. And his sister said, yeah, we've put one aside for you, that one over there. And he said, well, if it's all the same to you, can I have that one in the middle? And she was like, I suppose so. And so he grabbed what he thought was the right goose, but obviously he got it wrong because there was another goose that looked almost the same. So he grabbed the wrong goose, feeling very nervous about travelling with the stone. That's why he hid it inside the goose in the first place, because he was concerned that he'd be

You know, he'd be he'd be suspected by the police because he's he works in the in the hotel and has access to the room. So he's thinking it's only a matter of time before they start searching me. So he was very wary of traveling with the stone. That's why he hid it in the goose. But the wrong goose, he got the wrong goose headed off to a friend of his who had spent time in prison. The sort of person who you could talk to about criminal things.

He thought that his friend would be able to help him to sell the jewel and get money and stuff.

they examined the goose they cut it open no no blue carbuncle and he realized what had happened rushed back to his sisters asked but all the birds had gone sold to breckenridge of course in covent garden uh rider then went to breckenridge and we know what happened there breckenridge was so fed up with being asked about the the geese that um

It seems that Ryder had visited him a few times. And then, of course, we know what happened. That's where Sherlock Holmes caught up with him. Okay. All right, then. So that's how the blue carbuncle ended up inside the goose. And then after making this confession, Ryder is sobbing, crying into his hands. So then my friend...

As Sherlock Holmes rose and threw open the door, ''Get out!'' said he. ''What, sir?'' ''Oh, heaven bless you!'' ''No more words. Get out!'' And no more words were needed. There was a rush, a clatter upon the stairs, and the bang of a door, and the crisp rattle of running footfalls from the street. ''After all, Watson,'' said Holmes, reaching up his hand for a clay pipe, ''I am not retained by the police to supply their deficiencies.''

If Horner were in danger, it would be another thing, but this fellow would not appear against him, and the case must collapse. I suppose that I'm commuting a felony, but it is just possible that I'm saving a soul. This fellow will not go wrong again. He's too terribly frightened. Send him to jail now, and you make him a jailbird 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'll have the goodness to touch the bell, Doctor, we will begin another investigation in which also a bird will be the chief feature. So, in the end, Sherlock Holmes lets him go. He lets Ryder go.

His justification for this, first of all, that Horner won't be prosecuted. He'll be acquitted because without the evidence from Ryder, there's no case. So he's certain that Horner will be acquitted and will go free. There's that. And secondly, he decides that

And he's giving Ryder a chance. He thinks that he's too scared to do anything like this again. And if you locked him up for seven years, you would just stick him into the prison system where he would enter the world of criminals and he would end up being executed.

His life would be ruined. He'd end up going to a life of crime, which, as we know, is what happens when people get locked up in jail. They end up becoming criminals. They become jailbirds, people who are in and out of prison. So he lets him go, certain that he won't do it again. And all the other things that I just mentioned. And then...

Also, it's the season of goodwill. It is the festive season after all. It's the season of goodwill. So he decides that he will let Ryder go and give him a second chance.

And he said, the chance put this case in our way, gave us this problem. The solution is its own reward. And then he says, if you touch the bell, meaning call Mrs. Hudson, we'll begin another investigation in which also a bird will be the chief feature. In this case, they're going to eat dinner. So that is the end of the story. How was that for you, everyone? Did you have any idea what was going on? Now, maybe you knew the story already.

I know a lot of you have read all these stories before, but how was it? Is that the first time you've heard it in English and all the rest of it? Now, there's just a few loose ends here.

Loose ends are like little details which perhaps need to be fixed or need to be accounted for. So one question is, what did Holmes do with the blue carbuncle? Because he had it in his possession. What did he do with it? Now, Holmes says in the story that when the investigation is finished, he will return the stone to the Countess of Moorcar. Perhaps he knows her personally and will give it back to her himself. Holmes also promised Peterson that he could claim the £1,000 reward for finding the stone.

So the stone will definitely be returned so that Peterson can claim the reward. It's not very clear now, but let's not... It's not very clear how this is going to happen, but let's not worry about that now. I'm sure that Holmes didn't keep it. Again, why did Holmes let Ryder go? Well, he took pity on him, deciding that he would save his soul, knowing that he would never commit a similar crime again because of fear. And he knew that Ryder was not strong enough to survive a term in prison anyway.

Which suggests to me it's not even the strongest case anyway. If you've just got one dodgy witness and the whole case rests upon that,

No evidence, no evidence that Horner had the stone in his possession. So it was already kind of a shaky case. But, you know, often the way these things go, if you've got a previous conviction and there's apparently strong witness evidence against you, there's a good chance you're going to go down again. In the end, I suppose Holmes will find some way of returning the jewel without revealing the real identity of the thief. I don't know how he'll do that.

There'll be no victims except what Horner experienced, and the jewel is returned in the end. Ryder will probably run away to Europe, as he promised he would. Who knows?

And Ryder never profited from the crime. In fact, he seemed to suffer. So perhaps all's well that ends well. And that is also where we're going to end this episode. Thank you for listening. Well done for getting all the way through to the end. Okay. I look forward to reading your comments in which I think you should probably include the word bird in your comment. So if you made it all the way through to the end, mention something about a bird in your comment.

Okay, I look forward to seeing what you write. But I hope you enjoyed the episode. I hope you enjoyed the story. And I'll speak to you again on the podcast soon in some form. But for now, it's time to say goodbye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to Luke's English Podcast. For more information, visit teachaluke.co.uk.

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