Sherlock Holmes Faces Death Page #7

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I don't suppose it

occurred to you

that you were taking

a bit of a chance

coming down here all alone

with a suspected

murderer.

One has to take chances

in my profession, doctor.

You see I couldn't

possibly risk

sharing my little

plot with anybody.

Not even with Dr. Watson?

Particularly not

with Dr. Watson.

If he'd known what

was up tonight

he could have been so

elaborate and mysterious

he'd a given the

whole show away.

As a matter of fact I

had a devil's own time

luring him away from

that door upstairs

so that we could be alone.

That's all I

wanted to know.

Stay where you are.

I'm afraid I have no

choice, Dr. Sexton.

Look here.

You're not really

gonna kill me, are you?

They'll hear you.

Who will?

That was a bad

slip you made

letting me know you were

so completely alone.

And you're really

gonna kill me?

I'm afraid I have no

choice, Mr. Holmes.

As you said,

I have no evidence

against you.

No proof.

No proof at all.

You forget the needle

and the button.

Bring them here, please.

Not too close.

Now put them in my pocket.

Thank you.

Curious about the button.

It is off my

coat, of course.

I can't think how

I ever missed it.

Poor old Brunton.

He didn't struggle much.

Now Phillip Musgrave

was different.

The needle broke off

and I didn't have

time to probe for it.

But you have

both of them now,

the button and the

needle why kill me?

Now step back just a bit.

Against the wall.

Now if you stand

perfectly still

I think I can manage

this with one shot.

Put 'em up.

Did you hear his

confession, Watson.

Every word, Holmes.

And I heard all

the rest, sir.

Good.

Let me congratulate you

on an extraordinary catch.

That's right, Mr. Holmes.

It's no good

saying it ain't.

I'm afraid I underestimated you, Holmes.

Pity.

Yes.

Those blank cartridges

were a cheap

sort of trick.

I grant you.

But it wasn't easy to

let you take my gun

away from me without

seeming to hand it to you.

That's why I let you

take the torch first.

I knew you'd snap it off.

Yes.

We told you, you were

taking an awful risk.

Well we had to

have a confession

and these egomaniacs are

always so much more chatty

when they feel they

have the upper hand.

Shall we go?

I can't make head

nor tail of it.

Can you Pat?

It looks like an

old land grant.

It's really a crown grant.

What I don't understand is

why the Musgraves didn't

claim the land ages ago.

Obviously Watson

one of 'em died

before passing on the meaning

of the ritual to his heir.

The words remain but

the sense was lost.

I wonder why he

left the grant

down there where

he found it.

What good would

it have done him

so long as your

brothers lived.

Once they were

out of the way

and you came

into the property

he expected

to marry you.

I like that.

What ever made

him think that...

He thought himself

irresistible.

Precisely.

It's not unheard of

in cases of egomania.

I suppose then he meant

to rediscover

the crown grant.

At the proper time, yes

and then enjoy his

wife's millions.

Did you say millions?

I did.

Look here.

About eighty

thousand acres

of the richest soil

in the England.

But aren't there

people on it.

Yes, farms, villages,

even a factory town

with hundreds of

workman's cottages.

Is this thing legal?

Perfectly.

Of course it'll drag

on through the courts.

Just a moment.

The people on this land,

they put their money

into it, their life work.

It's their homes

I'll be taking.

Yes.

Do you think I'm going

to kick these people out?

Just the same Holmes

you let poor little Sally

throw away a fortune.

My dear fellow.

I had nothing

to do with it.

The girl, more power to

her, acted on her own.

It was a grand gesture

one she will regret.

I don't think so, Watson.

There's a new spirit

abroad in the land.

The old days of

grab and greed

are on their way out.

We're beginning to think of

what we owe the other fellow

not just what we're

compelled to give him.

The time is

coming, Watson,

when we shan't be able

to fill our

bellies in comfort

while other

folk go hungry

or sleep in warm beds

while others

shiver in the cold

and we shan't be able

to kneel and thank God

for blessings before

our shining alters

while men anywhere

are kneeling

in either physical or

a spiritual subjection.

You may be right, Holmes.

I hope you are.

And god willing

we'll live to see

that day, Watson.

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