A Study in Terror Page #3

What makes you think she is here?

She gave this hostel as her address

in a business transaction. When?

About two years ago.

Names mean nothing here, Watson!

Girls change their names as often

as they change their clothes.

I can't help.

I'm certain she's here.

I'M certain she's not!

You saw the people outside.

I'm their only doctor.

I haven't time to answer questions

about lost women.

I know she is here.

I demand to see her!

"Demand" be damned!

Will you leave my surgery?! But...

Please, Dr Watson!

Well!

Forgive my uncle. He works even

at night. His work IS these people.

I insist on seeing Angela Osborne!

I will not be put off!

Please!

Something is very wrong! Saying

you haven't heard of Angela Osborne!

You haven't seen the last of me!

I will not rest till I have found

out what you have done to this girl!

CLATTER:

(Dear, dear...)

What are you doing? I've come

to converse, not for fisticuffs!

Who the devil are you?

Sherlock Holmes. You may remember

we met yesterday.

Sherlock Holmes? Wouldn't we

be more comfortable in here?

What's all this about, Holmes?

How did you get here? I followed

this young lady. I saw no-one.

That happens when I follow people.

Why did you follow Miss Young?

She left when Angela Osborne

was mentioned, as I expected.

YOU sent Dr Watson!

You'd better tell me the whole

story. It's none of your damned

business. There's nothing to hide.

As I said, I went to Paris

and found my brother had thrown up

his studies and returned to England.

For weeks I tried to find him,

but...

Then, one night, a man came

to see me. He said that Michael

had married a prostitute.

Blackmail.

He threatened to tell the papers?

He was far cleverer than that.

He threatened to tell my father,

who had just suffered

a severe heart attack.

You've met my father. The family

name is the meaning of his life.

Surely he is a man of the world?

The OLD world. The shock

would kill him. So you paid?

Are you still? The blackmailer

came back three times.

I refused to pay until he told me

the whereabouts of my brother

and his...

That woman he married.

He said if I visited the hostel,

Michael would be waiting.

Was he waiting? No. But I met

Dr Murray, and...I met Miss Young.

I told them my story.

Michael had been helping Dr Murray.

He gave me the address of his

lodgings but I found that he'd left.

No-one has seen them since. And

your blackmailer? He bought himself

a tavern - the Angel and Crown.

Did YOU know Michael Osborne? He

left the day before I came to the

hostel. It's a wretched story.

The good thing was that Edward -

Lord Carfax - became interested

in my uncle's work.

His money has kept the hostel going.

I saw Dr Murray's fight

against the poverty and sin.

It was the least I could do.

He bought this house, to be near.

I'd be grateful if you would

mention none of this to my father.

There is one more thing.

What branch of medicine

was your brother studying?

His ambition was to be a surgeon.

PIANO AND SINGING

# ..Food is dear, rent is dear

Love is cheap for the time of year

# So grab the nearest miss

And whisper while you kiss

# In...these hard times

You've got to put up with anything

# In these hard times

You mustn't pick and choose

# If you'renice and squeeze her tight

She'll ask you round tomorrow night

# If you don't mind sitting

without a light

In these hard times

# Farmer Brown came to town

To the cattle show

# Went to wet his whistle

In the Hotel Cecil

# Lady fair saw him there

All her neck and shoulders bare

# Said Farmer Brown, "Alack!"

As he saw her dainty back

# In...these hard times

# You've got to put up with anything

You mustn't pick and choose

# This dress you wear

Leaves your neck and shoulders bare

# Lucky to be dressed up to there

In these hard times

# Mrs Green, rather mean

Went out last Saturday marketing

# And saw right in the gutter

A codfish on a shutter

# Felt its gums, poked her thumbs

All round the fish

# And said, "Oh, crumbs!

It don't look nice at all!"

# Then the coster had to bawl:

In...these hard times

# You've got to put up with anything

# In these hard times

You mustn't pick and choose

# The codfish there's a sacrifice

# And, Ma'am, would YOU look nice

# If you had been torpedoed twice?

# In these...hard...times. #

Come on, out you go.

I've had enough of you. Out!

Holmes, you delight in embarrassing

me! You invite me to dine

then bring me to a low East End pub!

You'll bring light

into their drab lives.

Welcome to the Angel

and Crown. This way.

Sit down, please. We have

always a warm welcome for guests.

So I see(!) What would you have?

Cognac.

WHISTLE:

Coo-ee!

You see the interest

you're causing in the fair sex.

BLOWS RASPBERRY:

Here you are, gents.

Will you join us in a drink, Mr...?

Steiner. Max Steiner. Dick - a glass.

A bad night. Everyone's

scared off the street after dark.

These ladies come in for safety?

Here is always a selection -

if you're so inclined.

A selection.

A selection? We did not

come here for this reason!

Then I can do nothing.

You can give us some information.

Information? What about? About the

disappearance of Michael Osborne.

What did you say your name was?

My name would alarm you, Mr Steiner.

You're a copper.

Consulting detective.

My friends at Scotland Yard

would be interested in you.

Watch what you say. Answer me or my

friends will put you in the dock!

Who are you? Sherlock Holmes.

Seen Lord Carfax, have you? You know

Angela Osborne well, I take it?

How did you know? You had to

have an accomplice in blackmail.

Compensation. I could have opened my

mouth and collected from the press,

or kept it

shut and collected from Lord Carfax.

I did the nobility of England

a service.

Lord Carfax compensated me for my

loss of business from the newspapers.

The governor of Brixton Prison

will not call it compensation.

Angela was on the streets when you

met her? Born to it. Loved the game.

Most of them start

because they have to. Not Angela.

Met her at the gangway when

my ship tied up. I took up with her.

And again when she returned

from Paris with Osborne? His wife!

I always said she got her face

and name from the angels

and her heart from the devil.

You don't know what happened

to her? Disappeared from the face

of the earth.

Well, gentlemen...

That's all I can tell you.

What possessed Michael Osborne

to marry such a creature?

Because she got her face

from the angels.

One of the most attractive women I

ever met was hanged for murdering

three children for insurance money.

I feel violent when I see a villain

like Steiner enjoying the rewards

of his skullduggery.

Rewards?

He ended up owning that pub.

Watson, though not luminous, you're

an excellent conductor of light.

I am?

What do you think became of

Angela Osborne? That scoundrel said

she disappeared from the earth.

And yet... And yet...

Do you think Michael Osborne

is dead? I never theorise

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes