Music Welcome to this newscast. The podcast is designed to help you fall asleep. Findnessatsnewscast.com and if you enjoy your show, please share us with a friend. This episode is brought to you by a most useful discovery. Tonight we'll read the second half to the adventure of the dancing men written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as part of 1903's The Return of Sherlock Holmes. If you haven't listened to the first part, it aired just last week. This story is considered one of the detectives most famous and memorable cases. In the previous episode, Hilton Cupid arrives at Baker Street and tells Holmes and Watson his strange tale. The appearance of childish strong is mysteriously frightening his wife. Elsie Cupid, Neapatric? Cupid had married the American LCA year earlier.

What one of the conditions of marriage was that Cupid was not to ask his wife about her life prior to their meeting. It was a strange request. being a gentleman was one cuban as a running tool great.

Let's get cozy.

Close your eyes.

Relax your body into the softness of your bed. Now, take a few deep breaths. As we drove up to the portico to front door, I observed in front of it beside the tennis lawn, the black tool house, and the pedestal sundial, with which we had such strange associations. a dapper little man with a quick quick alert manner, and a waxed mustache, had just descended from a high dog cart. He introduced himself as Inspector Martin of the Norfolk Constable-Ary, and he was considerably astonished when he heard the name of my companion. Why, I missed our homes. The crime was only committed at three this morning. How could you hear of it in London and get to the spot as soon as I? I anticipated it, and I came in the hope of preventing it. Then you must have important evidence of which are ignorant, for they were said to be a most united couple. I have only the evidence of the dancing men said, Ohms, I will explain the matter to you later. Meanwhile, I am very anxious that I should use the knowledge which I possess in order to ensure that justice be done. Will you associate me in your investigation? Or will you prefer that I should act independently? I should be proud to feel that we are acting together, Mr. Holmes," said the inspector, earnestly. In that case, I should be glad to hear the evidence and to examine the premises without an instant of unnecessary delay. Inspector Martin had the good sense to allow my friend to do things in his own fashion, and contented himself with carefully noting the results. The local surgeon, an old, white-haired man, had just come down from Mrs. Hilton Cupid's room, and he reported that our injuries were serious, but not fatal. There was only the one pistol found in the room, two barrels of which had been emptied, Holmes asked the surgeon. You have acted with great discretion. Who sent for you? My house made sonders. Was it she who gave the alarm? She and Mrs. King, the cook. Where are they now? In the kitchen, I believe, that I think we had better hear their story at once. The old home, oak paneled, and high windowed, had been turned into a court of investigation. Holmes sat in a great old-fashioned chair. His eyes gleaming out of his haggard face. I could read in them a set purpose to devote his life to this quest, until the client whom he had failed to save should at last be avenged. The trim inspector Martin, the old grey-headed country doctor, myself, and a stalled village policeman made up the rest of that strange company. The two women told their story clearly enough. They had been aroused from their sleep by the sound of an explosion, which had been followed a minute later by a second one. They slept in a joining rooms and Mrs. King had rushed in to Saunders. Together they had descended the stairs. The door of this study was open, and a candle was burning upon the table. The passage, as well as the room, was full of smoke and the smell of powder. The window was certainly shut and fastened upon the inside. Both women were positive upon the point. They had at once sent for the doctor and for the constable. Then, with the aid of the groom and the stable boy, they had conveyed their injured mistress to our room. She was clad in her dress, he and his dressing-gown, over his night clothes. Nothing had been moved in the study. So far as they knew, there had never been any quarrel between husband and wife, they had always looked upon them as a very united couple. These were the main points of the servant's evidence. In answer to Inspector Martin, they were clear that every door was fastened upon the inside, and that no one could have escaped from the house. In answer to Holmes, they both remembered that they were conscious of the smell of powder from the moment that they ran out of their rooms upon the top floor. I commend that fact very carefully to your attention, said Holmes to his professional colleague, and now I think that we are in a position to undertake a thorough examination of the room. The study proved to be a small chamber, lined on three sides with books and with a writing table facing an ordinary window which looked out upon the garden. Holmes had turned suddenly, and his long thin finger was pointing to a hole which had been drilled right through the lower window sash about an inch above the bottom. "'My George,' cried the inspector. "'However, did you see that? Because I looked for it." "'A wonderful,' said the country doctor. You are certainly right, sir. Then a third shot has been fired, and therefore a third person must have been present. But who could that have been? And how could he have gotten away?' "'That is the problem which we are now about to solve," said Sherlock Holmes. You remember Inspector Martin, when the servants said that on leaving their room they were at once conscious of a smell of powder. I remarked that the point was an extremely important one. Yes, sir, but I I confess I did not quite follow you. It suggested that at the time of the firing, the window as well as the door of the room had been open, otherwise the fumes of powder could not have been blown so rapidly through the house. A draft in the room was necessary for that. Both door and window were only open for a very short time, however. How do you prove that? Because the candle was not gutted. Capital cried the inspector. Capital! Feeling sure that the window had been open at the time of the tragedy, I conceived that there might have been a third person in the affair, who stood outside this opening and fired through it. Any shot directed at this person might hit the sash. I looked. And there, sure enough, was the bullet-mark. But how came the window to be shut and fastened? The woman's first instinct would be to shut and fast the window, but hello, what is this? It was a lady's handbag which stood upon the study table, a trim little handbag of crocodile skin and silver. Holmes opened it and turned the contents out. There were 20 50 50 pound notes of the Bank of England held together by an India rubber band. Nothing else. A flower bed extended up to the study window and we all broke into an exclamation as we approached it. The flowers were trampled down, and the soft soil was imprinted all over with footmarks. Large, masculine feet they were, with peculiarly long sharp toes. Homes hunted about among the grass and leaves like a retriever after a wounded bird. Then, with a cry of satisfaction, he bent forward and picked up a little brazen cylinder. I thought so, said he. The revolver had an ejector, and here is the third cartridge. I really think Inspector Martin that our case is almost complete. The country inspector's face had shown his intense amazement at the rapid and masterful progress of Holmes' investigation. At first, he had shown some disposition to assert his own position, but now he was overcome with admiration and ready to follow without question wherever Holmes led. Whom do you suspect?' he asked. I'll go into that later. There are several points in this problem which I have not been able to explain to you yet. Now that I have got so far, I had best proceed on my own minds and then clear the whole matter up once and for all. Just as you wish, Mr. Holmes, so long as we get our man. I have no desire to make mysteries, but it is impossible at the moment of action to enter into long and complex explanations. I have the threads of this affair all in my head, even if this lady should never recover consciousness. We can still reconstruct the events of last night and ensure that justice can be done. First of all, I wish to know whether there is any in in this neighborhood known as Elvages. The servants were cross-questioned, but none of them have heard of such a place. The stable boy threw a light upon the matter, by remembering that a farmer of that name lived some miles off in the direction of East Rustin. Is it a lonely farm? Very lonely, sir. Perhaps they have not heard yet of all that happened here during the night. Maybe not, sir. Holmes thought for a little, and then a curious smile played over his face. Settle a horse, my lad, said he, and I shall wish you to take a note to Elrich's farm. He took from his pocket the various slips of the dancing men. With these in front of him, he worked for some time at the study table. Finally, he handed a note to the boy, with directions to put it into the hands of the person to whom it was addressed, and especially to answer no questions of any sort, which might be put to him. I saw the outside of the note, addressed in straggling or regular characters. Very unlike Holmes's usual precise hand, it was consigned to Mr. Abe Slaneyiny, Elwyrgis Farm, East Rustin, Norfolk. When the youth had been dispatched with the note, Sherlock Holmes gave his instructions to the servants. If any visitor were to call asking for Mrs. Hilton Cupid, no information should be given as to her condition, But he was to be shown at once into the drawing room. He impressed these points upon them with the utmost earnestness. Finally, he led the way into the drawing room with the remark that the business was now out of our hands and that we must while away the time, as best we might,

until we could see what was in store for us. The doctor had departed to his patients, and only the inspector and myself remained. I think that I can help you to pass an hour in an interesting and profitable manner, said and, drawing his chair up to the table, and spreading out in front of them the various papers upon which were recorded the antics of the dancing men. As to you, friend Watson, I owe you every atonement for having allowed your natural curiosity to remain so long unsatisfied. To you, Inspector, the whole incident may appeal as a remarkable professional study. I must tell you, first of all, the interesting circumstances connected with the previous consultations which Mr. Hilton Cupid has had with me in Baker Street. He then shortly recapitulated the facts which have already been recorded. I have here in front of me these singular productions, at which one might smile, and they not prove themselves to be the forerunners of a tragedy. I am fairly familiar with all forms of secret writings, and in myself the author of a trifling monograph upon the subject in which I analyze 160 separate ciphers. But I confess that this is entirely new to me. The object of those who invented this system has apparently been to conceal that these characters convey a message and to give the idea that they are the mere random sketches of children. Having once recognized, however, that the symbols stood for letters and having applied the rules which guide us in all forms of secret writings, the solution was easy enough. The first message submitted to me was so short that it was impossible for me to do more than to say with some confidence

that the symbol XXX stood for E. As you are aware, E is the most common letter in the English alphabet, and it predominates to so market and extent that even in a short sentence, One would expect to find it most often.

Out of fifteen symbols in the first message four were the same, so it was reasonable to set this down as e. It is true that in some cases the figure was bearing a flag, and in some cases not, but it was probable from the way in which the flags were distributed, that they were used to break the sentence up into words. I accepted this as hypothesis, and noted that E was represented by E. But now came the real difficulty of the inquiry.

The order of the English letters after E is by no means well marked, and any preponderance which may be shown in an average of a printed sheet may be reversed in a single short sentence. speaking roughly, T-A-O-I-N-S-H-R-D and L are in the numerical order in which letters occur, but T-A-O and I are very nearly abreast of each other, and it would be an endless task to try each combination until a meaning was arrived at, I therefore waited for fresh material. In my second interview with Mr. Hilton Cupid, he was able to give me two other short sentences and one message which appeared since there was no flag to be a single word. Here are the symbols. Now, in the single word, I have already got the two E's coming second and fourth in a word of five letters. It might be sever or lever or never. there can be no question that the latter has a reply to an appeal as far the most probable. In the circumstances pointed to its being a reply written by the lady, accepting it as correct, we are now able to say that the symbols stand respectively for n, v, and r. Even now, I was in considerable difficulty, but a happy thought put me in possession of several other letters. It occurred to me that if these appeals came, as I expected, from someone who had been intimate with the lady in her early

life, a combination which contained two weas with three letters between might very well stand for the name Elsie. On examination, I found that such a combination formed the termination of the message which was three times repeated. It was certainly some appeal to Elsie, in this way I had got my L, S and I, but what appeal could it be? There were only four letters in the word which preceded Elsie and it ended in E. Surely the word must become, I tried all

other four letters ending in E. But could find none to fit the case. So now I was in possession of C, O, and M. And I was in a position to attack the first message once more, dividing it into words and putting dots for each symbol, which was still unknown. So treated, it worked out in this fashion.m space.ir space dot dot e space s l dot n e dot. Now the first letter can only be a which is a most useful, since it occurs no fewer than three times in this short sentence. And the H is also apparent in the second word. Now it becomes M here, A dot E, S L A N E dot or filling in the obvious fanciest in the name, M here, Abe Slaney. I had so many letters now that I could proceed with considerable confidence to the second message, which worked out in this fashion. A dot space, E L R I dot space, E S dot. Here I could only make sense by putting T and G for the missing letters, and supposing that the name was that of somehow sore in, in which the writer was staying. Inspector Martin and I had listened with the utmost interest to the full and clear account of how my friend had produced results, which had led to so complete a command over our difficulties. What did you do then, sir, Vast the Inspector? I had every reason to suppose that this ape slainy was an American, since ape is an American traction, and since a letter from America had been the

starting point of all the trouble. I had also every cause to think that there was some criminal secret in the matter. The lady's illusions to her past, and her refusal to take her husband into her confidence. Both pointed in that direction. I therefore capalled my friend, Wilson Hargrave of the New York police bureau, who has more than once made use of my knowledge of London crime. I asked him whether the name of Abe Slaney was known to him. Here is his reply. The most dangerous crook in Chicago. On the very evening upon which I had his answer, Hilton Cubitt sent me the last message from Slaney, working with known letters, it took this form.

.RE to meet thai gal. lc.r-e.a-r-e. To meet thy go. The addition of a p and a d completed a message which showed me that the rascal was proceeding from persuasion to threats. And my knowledge of the crooks of Chicago prepared me to find that he might very rapidly put his words into action. I at once came to Norfolk with my friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, but unhappily only in time to find that the worst had already occurred. It is a privilege to be associated with you in the handling of a case," said the inspector, warmly. You will excuse me, however, if I speak frankly to you. You are only answerable to yourself, but I have to answer to my superiors. If this ape slainy, living at Elvages, is indeed the man we are looking for, and if he has made his escape while I am seated here, I should certainly get into serious trouble. You need not be uneasy. He will not try to escape. How do you know to fly would be a confession of guilt. Then let us go arrest him. I expect him here every instant. But why should he come? Because I have ran and asked him. But this is incredible, Mr. Holmes. Why should he come because you have asked him? Would not such a request rather rouse his suspicions and cause him to fly. I think I have known how to frame the letter," said Sherlock Holmes. In fact, if I'm not very much mistaken, here is the gentleman himself coming up the drive. A man was striding up the path which led to the door. He was a tall handsome handsome, swarthy fellow, clad in a suit of gray flannel, with a Panama hat, a bristling black beard, and a great hooked nose, and flourishing a cane as he walked. He swaggered up a path as if the place belonged to him, and we heard his loud, confident peel at the bell. Now, I think gentlemen said Holmes quietly that we had best take apart our position behind the door. Every precaution is necessary when dealing with such a fellow. You will need your handcuffs inspector. You can leave the talking to me. We waited in silence for a minute. One of those minutes which one could never forget. The door opened and the man stepped in. In an instant, Holmes clapped a pistol to his head, and Martin slipped the handcuffs over his wrists. It was all done so swiftly and defiantly that the fellow was helpless. He glared from one to the other, with a pair of blazing black eyes, and he burst into a bitter laugh. Ah, a well gentleman, who have the drop on me this time? I seem to have knocked up against something hard, but I came here in answer to a letter from Mrs. Hilton Cupid. Don't tell me that she is in this. Don't tell me that she helped a set of trap for me. Mrs. Hilton Cupid was seriously injured. He sank with a deep groan on the setty and buried his face in his mannacled hands. For five minutes, he was silent. Then he raised his face once more, and spoke with the cold composure of despair. I have nothing to hide from you gentlemen, said he, I tell you, there was never a man in this world loved a woman more than I loved her. She was pledged to me years ago. Who was this Englishman that he should come between us? I tell you that I had the first right to her, and that I was only claiming my own. She broke away from your influence when she found the man that you were, said Holmes, sternly. She fled from America to avoid you, and she married an honorable gentleman in England. You dogged her and followed her. The American opened one of his hands and looked at a note crumpled up in his palm, see here Mr. He cried with a gleam of suspicion in his eyes. You're not trying to scare me over this, are you?" He tossed it forward onto the table. I wrote it to bring you here. You wrote it. There was no one on earth outside the joint who knew the secret of the dancing men. How came you to write it?

What one man can invent, another can discover, said Holmes, there is a cab coming to convey you to Norwich, Mr. Slaney. But meanwhile, you have time to make some small reparation for the injury you have wrought. Are you aware that Mrs. Hilton Cupid has herself laying under grave suspicion towards her husband and that it was only my presence here and the knowledge which I happened to possess which has saved her from the accusation? The least that you owe her is to make it clear to the whole world that she was in no way directly or indirectly responsible for his end. I ask nothing better," said the American, and I guess the very best case I can make for myself is the absolute naked truth. It is my duty to warn you that it will be used against you, cried the inspector, with the magnificent fair play of the British criminal law, slainy shrugged his shoulders. I'll chance that, said he, first of all, and I want you gentlemen to understand that I have known this lady since she was a child. There were seven of us in a gang in Chicago, and else's father was the boss of the joint. He was a clever man, was old Patrick. It was he who invented that writing, which would pass as a child's scroll, unless you just happen to have the key to it. Well, I'll see learn some of our ways, but she couldn't stand the business, and she had a bit of honest money of her own. So she gave us all the slip and got away to London. She had been engaged to me, and she would have married me, I believe, if I had taken over another profession, but she would have nothing to do with anything on the cross. It was only after her marriage to this Englishman that I was able to find out where she was. I wrote to her, but got no answer. After that I came over, and as the letters were no use, I put my messages where she could read them. Well, I have been here a month now. I lived in that farm where I had a room down below and could get in and out every night. And no one was the wiser. I tried all I could to coax Elsea away. I knew that she read the messages. For once she wrote an answer under one of them. She sent me a letter then, imploring me to go away, and saying that it would break our heart if any scandal should come upon her husband. She said that she would come down when her husband was asleep at three in the morning, and speak with me through the end window, if I would go away afterwards and leave her in peace. She came down and brought money with her, trying to bribe me to go. This made me mad, and I caught her arm and tried to pull her through the window. At that moment, in rush the husband with his revolver in his hand, I'll see her sunk down upon the floor and we were face to face. I ran and made a way across the garden, and as I went, I heard the window shut behind me. That's God's truth, gentlemen. Every word of it. And I heard no more about it until that lad came riding up with a note which made me walk in here like a J and give myself into your hands. A cab had driven up most the American had been talking to uniformed policemen sat inside. Inspector Martin Rose entouched his prisoner on the shoulder. It is time for us to go, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. I only hope that if I ever again have an important case, I shall have the good fortune to have you by my side. We stood at the window and watched the cab drive away. As I turned back, my eye caught the pellet of paper, which the prisoner had tossed upon the table. It was the note with which Holmes had decoited him. See if you can read it Watson, said he with a smile. It contained no word but this little line of dancing men which translated to, Come here at once. If you use the code which I have explained, said Holmes, you will find that it simply means come here at once. I was convinced that it was an invitation which he would not refuse, since he could never imagine that it could come from anyone but the lady. And so my dear Watson, we have ended by turning the dancing men to good when they have so often been the agents of evil.

And I think that I have fulfilled my promise of giving you something unusual for your notebook.

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