No. 6 The Adventure of the Three Garridebs by Arthur Conan Doyle
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the adventure of_the three Garridebs

by Arthur Conan Doyle/Sherlock Holmes

it may have_been a comedy, or it may have_been a tragedy . it cost one man his reason, it cost me a blood-letting, and it cost yet another man the penalties of_the law . yet there_was certainly an element of comedy . well, you shall judge for yourselves .

I remember the date very_well, for it_was in_the same month that Holmes refused a knighthood for services which_may perhaps some day be described .I only refer to_the matter in passing, for in my position of partner and confidant I_am obliged to_be particularly careful to avoid any indiscretion .I repeat, however, that_this enables me to fix the date, which_was the latter end of June, 1902, shortly after_the conclusion of_the south African war .Holmes had spent several_days in bed, as was his habit from_time to_time, but he emerged that morning with a long foolscap document in_his hand and a twinkle of amusement in_his austere gray eyes .

" there_is a chance for_you to_make some money . friend Watson," said he ." have_you ever heard the name of Garrideb ? "

I admitted that I had_not .

" well, if_you_can lay your hand upon aGarrideb, there's money in_it ."

" why ? "

"Ah, that's a long story -- rather a whimsical one, too .I don't think in all our explorations of human complexities we_have ever come upon anything more singular . the fellow will_be here presently for cross- examination, so I won't open the matter up till he comes . but, meanwhile, that's the name we_want ."

the telephone directory lay on_the table beside me, and I turned over the pages in a rather hopeless quest . but to my amazement there_was this strange name in its due place . I_gave a cry of triumph .

" here you_are, Holmes ! here it_is ! "

Holmes took the book from my hand .

" 'Garrideb, N .,' " he read, " '136 little Ryder street, W .' sorry to disappoint you, my dear Watson, but this_is_the man himself . that_is_the address upon his letter . we_want another to match him ."

Mrs Hudson had come in with a card upon a tray . i_took it up and glanced at it .

" why, here it_is ! " I cried in amazement ." this_is a different initial .John Garrideb, Counsellor at law, Moorville, Kansas, U .S .a. "

Holmes smiled as he looked at_the card ." I_am afraid you_must make yet another effort, Watson," said he ." this gentleman is also in_the plot already, though I certainly did_not expect to_see him this_morning . however, he_is in_a_position to_tell us a good_deal which i_want to_know ."

a moment later he_was in_the room .Mr John Garrideb, Counsellor at law, was a short, powerful man with_the round, fresh, clean-shaven face characteristic of so_many American men of affairs . the general effect was chubby and rather childlike, so_that one received the impression of quite a young man with a broad set smile upon his face . his eyes, however, were arresting . seldom in any human head have I seen a pair which bespoke a more intense inward life, so bright were they, so alert, so responsive to every change of thought . his accent was American, but was not accompanied by any eccentricity of speech .

" Mr Holmes ? " he asked, glancing from one to_the other ."Ah, yes ! your pictures are_not unlike you, sir, if I_may say so .I believe you_have_had a letter from my namesake, Mr Nathan Garrideb, have_you not ? "

" pray sit down," said Sherlock Holmes ." we_shall, I fancy, have a good_deal to discuss ." he_took up his sheets of foolscap ." you_are, of_course, the Mr John Garrideb mentioned in_this document . but surely you_have_been in England some_time ? "

" why do_you say that, Mr Holmes ? " I seemed to read sudden suspicion in those expressive eyes .

" your whole outfit is English ."

Mr Garrideb forced a laugh ."I've read of your tricks, Mr Holmes, but I never thought i_would_be the subject of_them . where do_you read that ? "

" the shoulder cut of your coat, the toes of your boots -- could anyone doubt it ? "

" well, well, I had no idea i_was so obvious a Britisher . but business brought me over here some_time_ago, and so, as_you say, my outfit is nearly all London . however, I guess your time is of value, and we_did_not meet to_talk about_the cut of_my socks . what about getting down to_that paper you hold in your hand ? "

Holmes had in some way ruffled our visitor, whose chubby face had assumed a far less amiable expression .

" patience ! patience, Mr Garrideb ! " said my friend in asoothing voice ."Dr .Watson would tell you that_these little digressions of_mine sometimes prove in_the end to_have some bearing on_the matter . but why did Mr Nathan Garrideb not come with_you ? "

" why did he ever drag you into_it at all ? " asked our visitor with a sudden outflame of anger ." what in thunder had you to_do with it ? here was a bit of professional business between two gentlemen, and one_of_them must needs call in a detective ! I_saw him this_morning, and he_told me this fool- trick he had played me, and_that's why I_am here . but I_feel bad about_it, all the same ."

" there_was no reflection upon you, Mr Garrideb . it_was simply zeal upon his part to gain your end -- an end which_is, I understand, equally vital for both of you . he_knew that I had means of getting information, and, therefore, it_was very natural that he_should apply to_me ."

our visitor's angry face gradually cleared .

" well, that puts it different," said he ." when I went to_see him this_morning and he_told me he had sent to a detective, I just asked for your address and came right away .I don't want police butting into a private matter . but if_you_are content just to help_us find the man, there can_be no harm in_that ."

" well, that_is just how it stands," said Holmes ." and now, sir, since you_are here, we had best have a clear account from your own lips . my friend here knows nothing of_the details ."

Mr Garrideb surveyed me with not too friendly a gaze .

" need he know ? " he asked .

" we usually work together ."

" well, there's no reason it should_be kept a secret .I'll give_you the facts as short as I_can make them . if_you came from Kansas i_would_not need to explain to_you who Alexander Hamilton Garrideb was . he_made his money in real estate, and afterwards in_the wheat pit at Chicago, but he spent it in buying up as_much land as would make one of your counties, lying along the Arkansas river, west of fort dodge . it's grazing- land and lumber- land and arable- land and mineralized- land, and just every sort of land that brings dollars to_the man that owns it .

" he had no kith nor kin -- or, if he had, I never heard of it . but he_took a kind of pride in_the queerness of_his name . that was what brought us together . i_was in_the law at Topeka, and one day I had a visit from_the old man, and he_was tickled to death to meet another man with_his own name . it_was his pet fad, and he_was dead set to_find out if there were any more Garridebs in_the_world .' find me another ! ' said he . i_told him i_was a busy man and could_not spend my life hiking round the world in search of Garridebs .' none the less,' said he, ' that_is just what you_will do if things pan out as I planned them .' i_thought he_was joking, but there_was a powerful lot of meaning in_the words, as i_was soon to discover .

" for he died within a year of saying them, and he left a will behind him . it was_the queerest will that has ever been filed in_the state of Kansas . his property was divided into three parts and i_was to_have one on condition that I_found two Garridebs who_would share the remainder . it's five million dollars for each if_it_is a cent, but we_can't lay a finger on_it until we all three stand in a row .

" it_was so big a chance that I just let my legal practice slide and I set forth looking for Garridebs . there_is not one in_the United_States .I went through it, sir, with a fine- toothed comb and never aGarrideb could I catch . then I tried the old country . sure enough there_was the name in_the London telephone directory .I went after him two days_ago and explained the whole matter to him . but he_is a lone man, like myself, with some women relations, but no men . it says three adult men in_the will . so you_see we still have a vacancy, and if_you_can help to_fill it we_will_be very ready to_pay your charges ."

" well, Watson," said Holmes with a smile, "l said it_was rather whimsical, did I not ? i_should_have thought, sir, that your obvious way was to advertise in_the agony columns of_the papers ."

" I_have_done that, Mr Holmes . no replies ."

" dear me ! well, it_is certainly a most curious little problem . I_may take a glance at it in my leisure . by_the_way, it_is curious that you_should_have come from Topeka .I used to_have a correspondent -- he_is dead now -- old Dr .Lysander Starr, who was mayor in 1890 ."

" good old Dr .Starr ! " said our visitor ." his name is still honoured . well, Mr Holmes, I suppose all we_can do is to report to_you and let you_know how we progress .I reckon you_will hear within a day_or_two ." with_this assurance our American bowed and departed .

Holmes had lit his pipe, and he sat for some_time with a curious smile upon his face .

" well ? " I asked at last .

" I_am wondering, Watson -- just wondering ! "

" at what ? "

Holmes took his pipe from_his lips .

" i_was wondering, Watson, what on earth could_be the object of_this man in telling us such arigmarole of lies .I nearly asked him so -- for there_are times when a brutal frontal attack is_the best policy -- but I judged it better to let him think he had fooled us . here_is a man with an English coat frayed at_the elbow and trousers bagged at_the knee with a year's wear, and yet by_this document and by his own account he_is a provincial American lately landed in London . there_have been no advertisements in_the agony columns . you_know that I miss nothing there . they_are my favourite covert for putting up a bird, and i_would never have overlooked such acock pheasant as_that .I never knew aDr .Lysander Starr, of Topeka . touch him where you_would he_was false . i_think the fellow is really an American, but he has worn his accent smooth with years of London . what_is his game, then, and what motive lies behind this preposterous search for Garridebs ? it's worth our attention, for, granting that_the man is a rascal, he_is certainly a complex and ingenious one . we_must now find out if our other correspondent is a fraud also . just ring him up, Watson ."

I_did so, and heard a thin, quavering voice at_the other end of_the line .

" yes, yes, I_am Mr Nathan Garrideb . is Mr Holmes there ? i_should very_much like to_have a word with Mr Holmes ."

my friend took the instrument and I heard the usual syncopated dialogue .

" yes, he has_been here .I understand that you don't know him .. .. how long ? .. . only two days ! .. . yes, yes, of_course, it_is a most captivating prospect . will_you be at home this evening ? I suppose your namesake will_not_be there ? .. . very_good, we_will come then, for i_would rather have achat without him .. .. Dr .Watson will come with me .. .. I understand from your note that you_did_not go out often .. .. well, we_shall_be round about six . you_need not mention it to_the American lawyer .. .. very_good . good-bye ! "

it_was twilight of a lovely spring evening, and even little Ryder street, one_of_the smaller offshoots from_the Edgware road, within a stone- cast of old Tyburn tree of evil memory, looked golden and wonderful in_the slanting rays of_the setting sun . the particular house to_which we were directed was a large, old- fashioned, early Georgian edifice, with a flat brick face broken only by two deep bay windows on_the ground floor . it_was on_this ground floor that_our client lived, and, indeed, the low windows proved to_be the front of_the huge room in_which he spent his waking hours .Holmes pointed as_we passed to_the small brass plate which bore the curious name .

" up some_years, Watson," he remarked, indicating its discoloured surface ." it's his real name, anyhow, and_that is something to note ."

the house had a common stair, and there were a number of names painted in_the hall, some indicating offices and some private chambers . it_was not a collection of residential flats, but rather the abode of Bohemian bachelors . our client opened the door for_us himself and apologized by saying that_the woman in charge left at four o'clock .Mr Nathan Garrideb proved to_be a very tall, loosejointed, round-backed person, gaunt and bald, some sixty- odd years_of_age . he had a cadaverous face, with_the dull dead skin of a man to_whom exercise was unknown . large round spectacles and a small projecting goat's beard combined with_his stooping attitude to_give him an expression of peering curiosity . the general effect, however, was amiable, though eccentric .

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