Please, baron!
Missed!
As far as I can tell from the recent trend of events,
you will probably be back in Berlin within a week.
When you get there, my dear Von Bork, I think you will be surprised
at the welcome you will receive.
I happen to know what is thought at the highest quarters
of your work in this country.
English are not very hard to deceive.
It was a great idea, my dear Von Bork,
to pose as a sportsman--
No, no, it's not a ruse at all. I am a born sportsman.
Well, that makes it even more effective.
I have even heard that you practice boxing
with the young Eglish officers.
Wonderful.
As a result,nobody takes you very seriously.
You are a 'good old sport,'
'quite a decent fellow for a German.'
And this whole time this quiet country house of yours
is the source of half the mischief in England,
and the sporting squire
happens to be the best secret agent in Europe.
You're a genius, my dear Von Bork, a genius!
You flatter me, Baron.
Although I can certainly claim
that six years I spent in this country have not been unproductive.
I've never shown you my little stash.
Would you mind stepping in for a moment?
Some of my papers have already been transferred.
My wife took the less important documents with her.
She and the household left yesterday for Flissingham.
I count on the embassy
to guard the rest.
Your name has already been added as a staff member.
Of course,you never know.
We may have to stay.
If England leaves France to her fate.
We know for a fact
that there is no binding treaty between them.
And Belgium?
Yes, and Belgium, too.
- But the country's pride? - My dear Von Bork,
we live in a utilitarian age.
Everything can be bought and sold.
Honor is a medieval conception. Besides, England is not ready.
I should think
they would be wiser to fight with allies
rather than alone.
This week will decide the fate of this country.
Look!
"The Channel", "Forts", "Ireland".
"Submarines", "Airplanes".
Wonderful!
And all in four years, Baron.
Not a bad show for the hard drinking country squire with a penchant for hunting.
But the gem of my collection is still on its way
and there is the setting, all ready for it.
Naval Signals.
You have a very impressive dossier here.
Outdated. Waste of paper.
The Admiralty somehow got wind of the leak of information
and every code has been changed.
But!
Thanks to my cheque book and the good old Altamont
all will be well tonight.
Please.
"All's well. I'm bringing the new sparking plugs soon. Altamont."
Sparking plugs, huh?
You see, he poses as a car mechanic
and I have a full garage here. We created a code.
Everything likely to come up in a report is named after some spare part.
If he talks of a radiator, it is a "battleship",
an "oil pump" means a cruiser, and so on.
"Sparking plugs" are naval signals.
They are useful, these traitors,
but I dread paying them their 'thirty golden coins'.
He is not a traitor at all.
I assure you that our most patriotic Germans
have nothing on this Irish American
when it comes to how they feel towards England.
So he's an Irish American?
Yes.
He is a touchy fellow and needs humouring on occasion.
He can be quite difficult, I assure you.
Alas, I have to go.
I need to get back to London early.
How still and peaceful it all seems.
This all may change
in a matter of one week.
If our contact comes up with necessary information
The sky will look different,too.
Who is that?
That is Martha,our servant.
My wife wanted to take her to Germany,
but I decided to keep her here.
You did?
To me,she almost personifies Britain.
With her complete self-absorption and general air of comfortable somnolence.
My dear Von Bork!
Having won the battle against the greed and corruption
of the new representatives of European high society,
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson
saved the Great Britain from what seemed to be an inevitable war -
the letter of the capricious monarch found its way back into the box,
Holmes returned to his farm in Sussex.
Watson returned to to his patients.
The times of the Good Old England faded from everybody's memory. And so did...
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes VASILIY LIVANOV
Dr. Watson VITALIY SOLOMIN
The Twentieth Century Begins
Part Two
Come in, Watson.
You have grown a beard again.
Stay away from the window draft.
Summer colds are always a little trying.
How did you know?
Don't tell me it's my shoes that gave me away again.
Of course, your shoes!
The letter from your brother Mycroft.
Your boots are new. You could not have had them more than a few weeks.
The wingtips from what I can gather,
are slightly burned.
For a moment I thought they might have got wet
and you burnt them while trying to get them dry next to a fireplace.
But near the instep there is a small circular wafer of paper
with the shop's hieroglyphics upon it.
Moisture would, of course, have removed it.
That could only mean hat you've been sitting with your feet outstretched to the fire,
It hasn't been raining in a while
So you had a cold and were trying to keep yourself warm next to the fireplace.
- Who is Arthur Cadogan West? - I shall tell you on the way.
My neighbor Bork came again for the honey.
How much do you need this time?
Only one pound.
Did you manage to get sparking plugs?
There's been a bit of a snag.
A friend of mine promised me to take me to London today,
and I am sure we will get everything resolved.
One shilling.
- So cheap? - It is a blue honey.
Plus there is a discount for regular customers.
So who is Arthur Cadogan West?
He was a clerk at Woolwich Arsenal.
His dead body was discovered on the rails,but what train he was on
and where he was going, we could not find out yet.
His ticket, of course, would show that.
There was no ticket in his pockets.
No ticket! Maybe they didn't find it?
The press printed a list of his possessions.
His purse contained two pounds in cash plus a cheque book,
through which his identity was established.
There were also two theater tickets.
and a small packet of some technical documentation.
Well, let's start investigating!
It is a real crisis.
I have never seen HIM so upset.
As for the Admiralty - it is buzzing like an overturned beehive.
What were the technical papers?
The plans of the Bruce-Partington submarine.
Surely you have heard of it?
- Bruce-Partington? - Never.
Right!
It has been the most jealously guarded of all government secrets.
Naval warfare becomes impossible
within the radius of a Bruce-Partington's operation.
Two years ago a very large sum was paid
in acquiring the rights to the invention.
The plans, which are exceedingly complex,
comprise some thirty separate patents,
each essential to the working of the whole system,
and are kept in an elaborate safe
in a confidential office
adjoining the arsenal.
If the chief constructor of the Navy desired to consult them,
even he'd be forced to go in person to the Woolwich office.
And suddenly we find these papers in the pocket of a some dead junior clerk
at the heart of London.
From the official point of view it's simply unacceptable.
But you have recovered them?
Ten papers were stolen from the safe in Woolwich.
There were only seven in Cadogan West's pocket.
The most essential three are gone.
Stolen, vanished.
Sherlock!
Forget everything else!
Never mind your usual petty puzzles.
It's an international problem of massive proportions
that you have to solve.
Why did Cadogan West take the papers?
How did he die?
How did his body end up where it was found?
Where are the missing documents?
He took the papers to London to sell the secret,
intending, no doubt, to have the plans back next morning
before they were found missing.
While in London, on this mission of treason, he met his end.
He was going back to Woolwich when he was killed and thrown out of the train car.
Lestrade can tell you more.
He represents Scotland Yard in this investigation.
The most disturbing piece of business, Sherlock.
This is where the young man's body laid.
As you can see, the body could not have fallen from above,
Therefore, it could only have come from a train,
and the last train has passed about midnight on Monday.
Have the train cars been examined for any sign of violence?
- No such signs were found. - None.
And no ticket has been found on him.
No record of a train car door being found open?
None.
Well, Holmes,it's time to pick up a scent,like you did in the past.
There aren't many rail switchpoints like that on this line,is there?
No, there are very few.
The case certainly gets more and more interesting.
Fascinating.
By the way, I saw no signs of blood.
There weren't any.
- Was he seriously wounded? - The skull was crushed,
but nothing much on the rest of the body.
And yet one would have expected some bleeding.
I can assure you, Mr. Holmes,
that every car has been carefully examined.
I saw to it myself.
It is not the cars that I think you should have checked.
Let us continue, shall we?
The actual official guardian of the papers
is the famous government expert, Sir James Walter,
whose decorations and titles
can fill two full lines in a book of reference.
He has spent his whole life servicng his country,
a true gentleman,
a wecome guest in the most prestigious society gatherings.
He is one of the two people who had a key to the safe.
Sir James left for London on Monday about three o'clock
taking his key with him.
- Has the fact been verified? - Yes.
His brother, Colonel Valentine Walter,
has testified to his departure from Woolwich.
Can we see sir James Walter?
Sir James...
Sir James has passed away.
- Good heavens! When? - This morning.
How did he die?
Perhaps you would care to step in, sir,
and see his brother, Colonel Valentine Walter?
Yes, we had better do so.
I don't think it's a coincidence
that the body was found near the place
where the train shakes and sways as it comes through the switchpoint.
The absence of blood is not a coincidence, either.
The switchpoints would affect no object inside the train.
We know that the doors were locked.
That is why I think that
he was killed somewhere else.
But how did the body end up near the rails?
His body fell off the roof of a train car.
- Off the roof? - Yes.
It was this horrible scandal that has caused this.
My brother, Sir James, was a man of honor,
and he could not survive such shame.
It broke his heart.
He was always so proud of the efficiency of his department,
and this was a crushing blow.
We had hoped that he might have given us some indications
which could help us resolve the matter.
I assure you
that it was all a mystery to him
as it is to you and to all of us.
He had already told the police everything he knew.
Naturally, he had no doubt that Cadogan West was guilty.
But the rest is a mystery.
What is your personal opinion?
I know nothing myself save what I have read or heard.
I have no desire to be discourteous,
but you have to understand, Mr. Holmes,
We are grieving at present,
and I must ask you to finish this interview.
Young West took the papers.
Now, this could only be done by having a copied key.
Several copied keys.
He had to open the building
and then the actual room and then,a safe.
Tell us about Cadogan West.
We have nothing on him.
He worked as a junior clerk under supervision of one Sidney Johnson.
No one else had an access to the safe.
Who was the other man with a key?
The senior clerk,Mr. Sidney Johnson.
He is forty, married, with five children.
He has an impeccable record in public service.
Who locked the plans up that night?
Sidney Johnson.
A very unpleasant story, Mr. Holmes.
The place is so disorganized.
Now the department chief is dead, Cadogan West is dead,
Our documents have been stolen.
To think that when we locked the office on Monday evening,
we were still as efficient an office as any in the government service.
At what hour was the office closed?
At five.
- Where were the plans? - In a safe. I put them there myself.
Let's assume that Cadogan West decided to make his way into the building
after hours.
He would need three keys,
before he could reach the papers,right?
The key to the entrance door, the key to the office, and the key to the safe.
Only Sir James Walter and you had those keys?
I had no keys to the doors, only to the safe.
Was Sir James a man who was particular in his habits?
Yes, he was.
He carried those three keys on the same key chain.
I have often seen them.
So he took that set of keys with him to London?
He carried them with him everywhere he went.
- Please. - Thank you.
One other thing,
if a clerk in this office
desired to sell the information,
would it not be simpler to just copy the documents
without stealing the originals?
It would take a considerable technical knowledge
to copy the plans in an effective way.
But I suppose both Sir James and West had that technical knowledge.So did you.
No doubt we all did,
but I implore you to keep me away from all this!
What is the use of speculating in this manner
when the original plans were actually found on Cadogan West's body?
It's just odd that he should take the risk
of stealing the originals
if he could safely have made copies,
and sell them without anybody knowing.
Very odd, no doubt.
Mr. Johnson,
could you show us
how you close the shutters.
You see, Watson, they cannot move any further.
So anyone could look inside the office
from the street.
I cannot explain it, Mr. Holmes.
I could get no sleep since the tragedy,
thinking, night and day, what the true meaning of it is.
Arthur was an honest man, and a true patriot.
He would rather have cut his hand off
than sell a state secret confided to his keeping.
But the facts, Miss Westbury?
Yes,I admit I cannot explain them.
Has he had any financial prolems?
No.
His needs were very modest
and he had an ample salary.
Arthur had saved a few hundred pounds,
and we were to be engaged at the New Year's Eve.
Were there any signs stress?
Come, Miss Westbury, be absolutely frank with us.
He spoke one evening
of the importance of the secret papers kept in a safe
and I recall now how he said that no doubt
foreign spies would pay a great deal of money to get their hands on them.
Anything else?
He said that the government is too careless in such matters
and it would be easy for a traitor to get the plans, should he try.
Now tell us of that last evening you spent together.
We were to go to the theatre.
The fog was so thick that ordering a cab was pointless.
So we walked,
As we were walking past his office
Arthur suddenly darted away into the fog.
- Without a word? - Actually...
I think he yelled something.
I waited, but he never returned.
Then I walked home.
Next morning, after the office opened, they came to inquire his whereabouts.
About twelve o'clock we heard the terrible news.
"To Microft Holmes. White Hall.
Please send by messenger, to await return at Baker Street, a complete list
of all foreign spies known to be in England, with full address. Sherlock."
"To Sherlock Holmes. Baker Street, 221-B. Top secret.
There are plenty of agents,
but few who could handle so big an affair.
The only men worth considering are
Adolph Meyer, of 13 Great George Street, Westminster.
Louis La Rothiere, of Campden Mansions, Notting Hill.
Hugo Oberstein, 13 Caulfield Gardens, Kensington.
The Cabinet awaits your final report with the utmost anxiety.
Directives from the highest quarters
have been issued.
The whole apparatus of the State
is at your disposal should you need it.
Mycroft."
John!
John, the telegram for you.
"I'm havig a lunch at Goldini's Restaurant,
at Gloucester Road, Kensington. Please come at once.
Bring with you a jemmy, a lantern,
a chisel, and a revolver. Holmes."
Have you brought the tools?
Now it must be evident to you,
that this young man's body was placed on the roof of the train.
Could it not have been dropped from a bridge?
I don't think so.
- The body would not hold out there. - It seems most improbable.
We must fall back on the old axiom:
When all other contingencies fail,
whatever remains, however improbable,
must be the truth.
I found
that the leading international agent...
Hugo Oberstein happens to reside in a house
which is located right next to the railway.
13 Caulfield Gardens.
So you've figured this one out, then?
Oberstein has left for the continent.
I'm sure he wouldn't mind
two gentlemen paying a visit to Caulfield Gardens in his absence.
Breaking and entering again? I don't like it, Holmes.
My dear friend, you'll just keep watch.
I'll do the criminal part.
Think of Mycroft's note,
of the Admiralty, which awaits the news.
Even the Prime Minister,
not to mention of one very important person,who shan't be named
They depend on us.
You are right, Holmes. It's our duty.
Goddamn it!
Here we are,this must be the window we talked about.
Look, Watson! The soot on the sill is worn out.
You can see where they rested the body of Cadogan West.
What is this?
It is a blood stain.
There are also a few on the staircase.
Here is the train roof, right underneath.
Seems I was right in my assumptions.
What do you think of it?
You have never risen to greater heights,Holmes.
Let us continue.
The cunning dog has covered his tracks.
His dangerous correspondence has been destroyed or removed.
Cutouts from newspaper.
Judging by the print, it's an ad from the Daily Telegraph.
Not a single chance for us.
No dates, but messages arrange themselves. This must be the first.
"Hoped to hear sooner. Terms agreed to.
Write to the address given on card. Pierrot."
Second message: "Too complex for description.
Must have full report. Staff awaits you when goods delivered.
Pierrot." Next:
"Matter presses.
Must withdraw offer unless contract completed.
Make appointment by letter. Will confirm by advertisement.
Pierrot". Finally:
"Monday night after nine. Two knocks.
Only ourselves. Do not be suspicious. Pierrot."
A fairly complete record.
If we could only get the man at the other end of the correspondence!
Have you seen the "Daily Telegraph" today?
- No. - A new Pierrot's advertisement.
You don't say so. Smith!
Yes, sir.
Put me through to my brother, Mycroft Holmes.
The central? 835, please.
Thank you.
Mycroft, good morning! Yes, it is me.
- Yes. - Here it is.
"Tonight. Same time. Same place. Two knocks.
Most important business.
Your own safety at stake. Pierrot."
How do you like that?
The mine we have planted seems to be working.
And the first casualty was our friend, Doctor Watson.
He was blown up instantly.
Yes?
No, if you come to Caulfield Gardens at eight tonight,
I think we can solve our problem.
Yes.
No, no, Lestrade is essential here.
He is like a terrier you need to pull a fox out of a hole.
Sit down, Mycroft.
Sit down, gentlemen!
This is against the law, Mr. Holmes.
The fact that we are here,in somebody's house without permission
is breaking and entering, no more,no less.
Quiet, inspector. You don't know what you're talking about.
How dare you!
Whole city is under my police supervision!
He is coming.
Don't move.
Well,that's a surprise.
- Who is he? - It is Colonel Valentine Walter,
the younger brother of the late Sir James Walter.
Lestrade!
What is this? I came here to visit Mr. Oberstein.
The conspracy is uncovered, Colonel Walter.
We discovered the correspondence between you
and Oberstein, along with the circumstances
concerning the death of young Cadogan West.
We know that you made copies of the keys
which your brother held,
and that you engaged in a correspondence with Oberstein,
who replied to your letters through the advertisement columns
of the Daily Telegraph. We are aware that
you broke into the office
on the foggy Monday evening,
but you were spotted through the office window and were followed by West,
who had probably some previous reason to suspect you.
Leaving all his private concerns, he followed you closely
in the fog and kept at your heels until you reached this house.
- Here he confronted you... - And thats when you, Colonel Walter...
added even more terrible crime
on top of the treason you have already commited -
- Murder! - I did not!
I swear to you, I did not kill him!
Tell us then, how Cadogan West met his end.
I lost money at the stock market. My debts were growing.
Oberstein offered me five thousand pounds.
It was to save myself from ruin. But as for murder, I am innocent.
What happened, then?
West had his suspicions before, and he followed me.
The young man broke into the house
and demanded to know
what we were going to do with the papers.
Oberstein had a brass knuckles.
The blow proved to be fatal.
Oberstein had this idea of dropping the body on a train roof.
But first he examined the papers. He said three of them were essential,
and that he must keep them. The others
we stuffed into the pocket of Cadogan West.
so that when he is found
he'll become the obious suspect.
And your brother?
He said nothing,
but he had caught me once with his keys,
and I think that he suspected.
I read in his eyes that he did.
It was terrible.
Where is Oberstein now?
I don't know.
Did he leave you no address?
He said he had some business to take care of, down in Sussex.
- Where? In Sussex? - Yes.
Let's go, Watson. It is on our way.
No use for this one!
Wait for me, my friend, it will take a few minutes.
I need to drop the "Handbook of Bee Culture" at my neighbor's.
He decided to follow my example and become a bee keeper.
See,how quiet we have it here. Fresh air, everything's so peaceful.
Enjoy it, Watson, while you still can.
Mr Bork!
- Well? - Here's my delivery at last.
- Here are the sparking plugs. - The signals?
Same as I said in my cable. Lamp code, Marconi,
a copy, mind you, not the original.
That was very risky. But it's the real thing, I can testify to that.
We should celebrate
the successful conclusion of our business.
Just a minute.
Getting ready to leave?
Listen, Bork.
Don't tell me you keep all the papers in there?
Why not?
You're supposed to be a superspy.
Why, a petty crook could break into that with a can opener.
If I knew that our correspondence was going to be kept in a thing like that
I would have reconcidered my decision to go into business with you.
No crook could nandle my safe.
You can't cut that type of metal with any tool.
- But the lock? - It's a double combination lock.
You need to know a word,which in this case,a name of the month,
as well as a two sets of figures and digits
before you can get the lock to work.
This upper one is for the digits, the lower one for the letters.
We're on the verge of a war.
It was bound o happen.
So here it is.
I'm shutting down all my activities effective tomorrow morning.
Can you get me out of here,too, Mr Bork?
I can't stay on this dreaded island anymore.
A week from now England will be in the middle of the war.
I'd rather watch it from across the Channel.
But you're an American citizen, you've got nothing to worry about.
So was Jack James,
and he's doing time in prison now, all the same.
It means nothing to a British copper
whether you're US citizen or not.
'lt's British law and order over here,' they'd say.
It seems to me you don't do much to take care of your men.
- What do you mean? - Have you helped any of them?
There's James --
It was his own fault. You know that yourself.
He lacked discipline for that type of work.
True.
James was a bonehead.
What about Lucas?
He had a mad wife.
He was a little mad, too.
Anyone can get mad if he sees police everywhere.
As for Oberstein--
What about him?
Don't you know?
Oberstein was arrested with his papers.
Now he is doing time in Portland prison.
How did they get Oberstein?
The landlady that lives next door had a couple of visitors recently,
Made inquiries about me.
Since we came to our agreement
Oberstein was number four. I know I'll be the fifth.
if I don't run.
I'm just curious, who has been selling us all out?
How dare you speak to me in such a manner!
If I couldn't dare,sir
I wouldn't be in your service to begin with.
Rumor has it
when an agent has done his dirty work for you
you are not particularly sorry to see him gone.
Are you trying to suggest that I get rid of my own agents?
Not at all. Just take me with you
and the sooner, the better.
We have worked together way too long
to quarrel now,at the very hour of our victory.
You've done splendid work and taken great risks,
I can't forget that.I'll set it up. First, you're off to Holland,
where you can catch a boat from Rotterdam to New York.
No other line will be safe a week from now.
I'll take your materials and pack it with the rest.
What about the reward?
500 pounds. The reward.
I want it right here, right now.
All right. Have it your way.
After all, since we are all business nowadays, Mr. Altamont,
I don't see why I should trust you any more than you trust me.
I give you the cheque, you give me the parcel.
I heard everything, my friend. What's the meaning of this?
Sherlock Holmes!
What?! Sherlock Holmes?
Yes! Sherlock Holmes!
Watson,you've got a scratch.
You were incredible, Watson, just incredible!
What happened here,Holmes?
I'll be back soon. Martha will explain everything.
Martha!
Doctor Watson!
- How do you know me? - Watson, you've got a wound.
What does it all mean anyway?
It means that Mr. Holmes
did a great service for the Great Britain.
And I'm proud to consider myself among this great man's acquaintances.
- Mrs. Hudson! - It is me, Doctor Watson.
You recognized me, finally.
Everything that is going on here is a state secret.
I cannot betray it even to you.
Help me, Watson.
- Is he dead? - No, he is just sleeping.
I gave him a strong soporific.
If you, my friend,
had delayed your impressive entrance for just five minutes,
he wouldn't have had to jump out the window.
He fell asleep running, a hundred metres away from the house.
Mister Holmes, what happened to Mr Bork?
Don't worry, Mrs. Hudson, he is just sleeping.
Allright,then.
He is a good man, in a way.
He wanted me to go with his wife to Germany,
but that would hardly have suited your plans, would it, sir?
As long as you were here, my mind was at ease.
What took you so long to give me a signal tonight?
He was on the phone for quite some time.
I was beginning to worry until I saw your lamp in the window.
Are you ready to leave?
Yes, sir. He has mailed seven letters today.
I have the addresses, as usual.
Very good. I will look into it later.
I am so glad to see you, Doctor Watson.
How is your lovely wife? How is your practice?
Thank you, Mrs. Hudson, everything is just fine.
You see, mobilized again to the military service.
So am I.
May I go, sir?
Yes, wire to Smith, at Baker Street,
Tell him to meet us there. Good night, Mrs. Hudson.
Yes, sir!
I wonder, what did Von Bork pack for his departure?
Some of the information contained in these papers
is not that valuable.
Most of them
came through my hands,you see.
German is kind of rough,
but still is the most expressive of all European languages.
What do you think, Watson?
Tell me, Holmes,why did you ask him for a cheque?
To make sure that not only his shilling coins were fake
but so were the cheques.
So your plans were fake, too?
No.
No, my friend, I had to lie to Von Bork,
but to you, I told the truth.
- "Practical Handbook of Bee Culture". - Yes.
One thing is stil bothering me.
When and how did it happen that you went back to work?
You see,over the last few years as I was browsing through the press,
I became aware that some methods used only in the criminal world in the past,
the worst kind,mind you
found a new niche, this time in politics.
Fact is, Watson, that this gentleman here, sleeping on the sofa
was a bit too much for our counter intelligence.
I spent four years to get to him,
and my efforts were finally rewarded today.
First i went to the States,
managed to become a member of the secret Irish organization in Buffalo,
made plenty of trouble for the local police,
and eventually caught the eye
of one of Von Bork's contacts there
who recommended me as a great candidate
to work in his employ.
Before you showed up, my friend,
Von Bork trusted me completely.
Truth is, it was I who tracked down and helped capture four of his best agents.
Holmes
I long for those good old days.
All those robbers, killers, rapists,
that you caught over the last century
seem like innocent children
compared to the 'wolves' we've met recently.
One can steal a million, or kill a rich uncle,
I can understand that.
but I cannot understand a high rank scoundrel,
who pushes millions of people to war for the sake of a little profit.
I don't care if he is a German Baron
or an English lord.
How can we,mere mortals -
you, me, Mrs. Hudson - stop this horror?
I don't like it at all.
What do you think about the future? It's not so dark, is it?
I hope so, my friend. The twentieth century has only just begun.