Delphi Complete Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Illustrated) (1050 page)

PRINCE
(
up to him
): If I’m in this, I’m in it, ain’t I? An’ I want to know wot I’m in.

MADGE
:  Why don’t you tell him, Jimmie?

PRINCE
:  If anything ‘appened, ‘ow’d I let the office know ‘oo to look out for?

LARRABEE
:  Well — I’m willing to give him an idea of what it is but I won’t give the name of the — (
Hesitates
.)

(
MADGE
goes up to arch
.)

PRINCE
:  That’s all I ask — wot it is. I don’t want no names.

LARRABEE
(
nearer
PRINCE
and speaking lower
): You know we’ve been working the Continent. Pleasure places and all that.

PRINCE
:  So I’ve ‘eard.

(
MADGE
motions them to wait. Looking off quietly. Nods them to proceed.
)

LARRABEE
:  It was over there — Homburg was the place. We ran across a young girl who’d been havin’ trouble. Sister just died. Mother seemed wrong here. (
Touches forehead.
)

PRINCE
:  Well — you run across ‘er.

LARRABEE
:  Madge took hold and found that this sister of hers had been having some kind of love affair with a — well — with a foreign gentleman of exceedingly high rank — or at least — expectations that way.

PRINCE
:  A foreign gentleman?

LARRABEE
:  That’s what I said.

PRINCE
: I don’t so much care about that, yer know. My lay’s ‘ere at home.

LARRABEE
:  Well, this is good enough for me.

PRINCE
:  ‘Ow much was there to it?

LARRABEE
:  Promise of marriage.

PRINCE
:  Broke it, of course.

LARRABEE
:  Yes — and her heart with it. I don’t know what more she expected — anyway, she did expect more. She and her child died together.

PRINCE
:  Oh — dead!

LARRABEE
:  Yes, but the case isn’t; there are evidences — letters, photographs, jewellery with inscriptions that he gave her. The sister’s been keeping them … (
A glance about.
) We’ve been keeping the sister … You see?

PRINCE
(
whistles
): Oh, it’s the sister you’ve got ‘ere? An’ what’s ‘er little game?

LARRABEE
:  To get even.

PRINCE
:  Ah! To get back on ‘im for the way ‘e treated ‘er sister?

LARRABEE
:  Precisely.

PRINCE
:  She don’t want money?

LARRABEE
:  No.

PRINCE
:  An’ your little game?

LARRABEE
(
shrug of shoulders
): Whatever there is in it.

PRINCE
:  These papers an’ things ought to be worth a little Something!

LARRABEE
:  I tell you it wouldn’t be safe for him to marry until he gets them out of the way! He knows it very well. But what’s more, the family knows it!

PRINCE
:  Oh — family! … Rich, I take it.

LARRABEE
:  Rich isn’t quite the word. They’re something else.

PRINCE
:  You don’t mean —

(
LARRABEE
moves nearer
PRINCE
and whispers a name in his ear
.)

My Gawd! Which of ‘em?

LARRABEE
(
shakes head
): I don’t tell you that.

PRINCE
:  Well, we are a-movin’ among the swells now, ain’t we? But this ‘ere girl — the sister o’ the one that died—’ow did you manage to get ‘er into it?

MADGE
:  I picked her up, of course, and sympathized and consoled. I invited her to stay with me at my house in London. Jimmy came over and took this place — and when I brought her along a week later it was all ready — and a private desk safe for the letters and jewellery.

LARRABEE
(
turning
): Yes — combination lock and all … Everything worked smooth until a couple of weeks ago, when we began to hear from a firm of London solicitors, some veiled proposals were made — which showed that the time was coming. They wanted the things out of the way. Suddenly all negotiations on their side stopped. The next thing for me to do was to threaten. I wanted the letters for this, but when I went to get them — I found that in some way the girl had managed to change the lock on us. The numbers were wrong — and we couldn’t frighten or starve her into opening the thing.

PRINCE
:  Oh — I see it now. You’ve got the stuff in there! (
Indicating safe
.)

LARRABEE
:  That’s what I’m telling you! It’s in there, and we can’t get it out! She’s juggled the lock.

PRINCE
(
going at once to safe
): Oh, well, it won’t take long ta rectify that triflin’ error. (
Stops
.) But wot gets me is the w’y they broke off with their offers that way — can you make head or tail of that?

LARRABEE
: Yes. (
Goes nearer to
PRINCE
.) It’s simple enough.

(
PRINCE
turns to him for explanation
.)

They’ve given it up themselves, and have got in Sherlock Holmes on the case.

PRINCE
(
suddenly starting
): Wot’s that! (
Pause
.) Is ‘Olmes in this?

LARRABEE
:  That’s what they told me!

MADGE
:  But what can he do, Sid? We haven’t —

PRINCE
: ‘Ere, don’t stand talking about that — I’ll get the box open. (
Goes to piano in front of
LARRABEE
.) You send a telegram, that’s all I want! (
Tears page out of his note-book and writes hurriedly The other two watch him,
LARRABEE
a little suspiciously. Silence for a few moments while he writes.
) Where’s your nearest telegraph office?

MADGE
: Round the corner. (
Going to above piano
.)

PRINCE
(
down to
LARRABEE
and giving him the telegram he has written
): Run for it! Mind what I say — run for it.

(
LARRABEE
is looking at him hard
.)

That’s to Alf Bassick. He’s Professor Moriarty’s confidential man. Moriarty is king of ‘em all in London. He runs everything that’s shady — an’ ‘Olmes ‘as been settin’ lines all round ‘im for months — and he didn’t know it — an’ now he’s beginnin’ to find out that ‘Olmes is trackin’ ‘im down — and there’s the devil to pay. ‘E wants any cases ‘Olmes is on — it’s a dead fight between ‘em! ‘E’ll take the case just to get at ‘Olmes! ‘E’ll kill ‘im before ‘e’s finished with ‘im, you can lay all you’ve got on it.

LARRABEE
:  What are you telling him?

PRINCE
:  Nothing whatever, except I’ve got a job on as I wants to see ‘im about in the mornin’ … Read it yourself.

(
LARRABEE
looks at what
PRINCE
has written
.)

But don’t take all night over it! You cawn’t tell wot might ‘appen. (
Crosses to safe
.)

MADGE
:  Go on, Jim!

(
LARRABEE
crosses
,
MADGE
following him
.)

LARRABEE
(
to
MADGE
near archway
): Keep your eyes open.

MADGE
(
to
LARRABEE
): Don’t you worry!

(
LARRABEE
goes out
.)

(
MADGE
is looking after him. Quick sound of door closing
.
PRINCE
drops down to work — real work now — at desk. Short pause.
MADGE
stands watching
PRINCE
a moment. She moves over to near piano and picks up a book carelessly, which she glances at with perfect nonchalance. After a time she speaks without taking eyes from book
.)

I’ve heard of this Professor Moriarty.

PRINCE
:  If you ‘aven’t you must’ve been out in the woods.

MADGE
:  You say he’s king of them all.

PRINCE
(
working
): Bloomin’ Hemperor — that’s wot I call ‘im.

MADGE
:  He must be a good many different things.

PRINCE
:  You might see it that way if you looked around an’ didn’t breathe too ‘ard!

MADGE
:  What does he do?

PRINCE
:  I’ll tell you one thing he does! (
Turns to her and rests a moment from work
) He sits at ‘ome — quiet and easy — an runs nearly every big operation that’s on. All the clever boys are under him one way or another — an’ he ‘olds them in ‘is ‘and without moving a muscle! An’ if there’s a slip and the police get wind of it there ain’t never any ‘old on ‘im. They can’t touch him. And wot’s more, they wouldn’t want to if they could.

MADGE
:  Why not?

PRINCE
:  Because they’ve tried it — that’s w’y — an’ the men as did try it was found shortly after a-floatin’ in the river — that is, if they was found at all! The moment a man’s marked there ain’t a street that’s safe for ‘im! No — nor yet an alley. (
Resumes drilling
.)

MADGE
(
after pause
): What’s the idea of telling him about this?  He might not want —

PRINCE
(
turning to her
,): I tell yer, ‘e’ll come into anything that gives ‘im a chance at ‘Olmes — he wants ter trap ‘im — that’s wot is an just what he’ll do (
Resumes work
)

(
PRINCE
works rapidly, drill going in suddenly as if he had one hole sunk. He tries a few tools in it and quickly starts another hole with drills.
MADGE
starts forward at business of drill.
)

MADGE
(
recovering to careless
): Have you got it, Sid?

PRINCE
:  Not yet — but I’ll be there soon. (
Works
.) I know where I am now.

(
Sound of door closing outside. Enter
LARRABEE
hurriedly. He is breathless from running.)

LARRABEE
:  Well, Sid. How goes it?

PRINCE
(
working
): So-so.

LARRABEE
:  Now about this Professor Moriarty? (
Gets chair from near piano and sits behind
PRINCE
.)

PRINCE
(
working
): Ask ‘er.

MADGE
:  It’s all right, Jim. It was the proper thing to do.

(
Music. Melodramatic, very pp. Hardly audible
.)

(
MADGE
and
LARRABEE
move near
PRINCE
,
looking over him eagerly. He quickly introduces small punch and hammers rapidly; sound of bolts, etc., falling inside lock as if loosened. Eagerness of all three increases with final sound of loose iron work inside lock, and
PRINCE
at once pulls open the iron doors. All three give a quick look within.
MADGE
and
LARRABEE
start back with subdued exclamation. PRINCE looks in more carefully, then turns to them. Pause.
LARRABEE
in moving back pushes chair along with him. Pause. Music stops
.)