Mr. Savage, Sir, I didn't know, Sir. Sir, I didn't know.
It's all right, Benson. Last minute decision.
Oh, there you are.
Adelaide. Good morning.
Where's Victor gone?
Victor?
Victor. Please do not pretend you are ignorant of where he is.
Am I my cousin's keeper?
I should be obliged if you would tell me where he has gone.
I know what he has gone to do. Where has he gone?
You have the advantage of me, my dear.
I was expecting to walk over to Home Farm with him this morning.
Have you no pity for us?
You encouraged him into this nightmarish life.
I? Pity? For you?
At Somerleigh House? With your lovely children?
The love you have for each other?
Where has he gone?
I can see I am unwelcome. Some unwitting fault I fear.
I shall return to town and leave you in peace.
Oh, Mrs. Hudson.
We have been missing you.
Only a... only another ten days.
Yes.
Morning, Holmes.
Don't ask me to comment on your new tie.
Quite heartless, Holmes.
That woman is undoubtedly coming here.
She has been staring up at this window for the past three minutes.
Oh, I do wish she'd make up her mind.
I could ask Mrs. Hudson to bring up an extra cup.
Handsome, isn't she?
Who?
It's obviously something of importance to make her hesitate so long.
A client?
Alright, Polly? There's a good girl.
Mr. Savage? John Gedgrave.
Where the devil have you been?
Two pounds Mr. Savage. In advance.
And three for the establishment, five in total.
Hope it's worth it.
Oh. Anonymous was the word you used.
Where we're going is as anonymous as you'll ever find.
Every compartment has a curtain even. No one will see you.
Oh, Good Lord. You, You're not taking those with you, are you?
No.
Oh, no. Oh, no, no...
May as well tear 'em up and drop 'em in the Thames.
Forty pound. I'll er, I'll give you a receipt.
Holmes!
That'll be our fair visitor?
Please, do sit down.
This receipt, Gedgrave.
What about it?
Well. What are you playing at? You've signed it Carter.
You don't expect me to use my real name doing this sort of work, do you?
Carter's my real name, I could've signed it anything.
I've entrusted you with my real name, Mr. Savage,
please don't complain.
I need your help...
I, erm...
Anything you say here will, of course, be treated in the strictest confidence.
We have kept the secrets of Kings, Madam.
I... my husband...
My husband is a financier.
You have heard of the Oxford & Lombard Bank?
Yes, the chief shareholders are the Conyards?
My husband's family on his mother's side. He is one of the directors.
The job is well within his powers, only...
Victor has found the work increasingly irksome.
He entertains an ambition, you see,
which none of his family would begin to understand...
What is that?
He wishes to be a poet.
He has come to believe that opium heightens his powers,
intensifies the evidence of his senses...
This may be so temporarily, but as I'm sure you know,
the effect only survives the first few times the drug is taken.
That is so, is it not?
Oh yes. Indeed.
Addiction quickly follows, very often for life. The er,
the infernal substance soon offers the addict nothing...
Except relief from the terrible effects of its absence.
I believe Victor stands on the threshold of addiction.
He left a note for me this morning which suggests he knows what danger he's in.
You are going?
Well, clearly Dr. Watson is the person to consult on this matter.
No, Mr. Holmes, no! There is much more to it than that.
There is Mr. Culverton Smith.
Culverton Smith?
Victor's cousin.
He is a malign influence. I am sure he has driven Victor to this,
and I am certain he has done it for his own ends.
Holmes.
The cab's on the corner.
I do hope this is not a wild goose chase.
How can it be?
Well...
I think you've had your head turned by a pretty woman. Thank you.
Oh, yes. What about Culverton Smith?
I have looked him up.
Culverton Smith did some very important medical work while he was in the East.
He pushed back the boundaries of science. However,
he was obliged to publish his findings with his own expense.
Why?
He is an amateur. And the professionals are jealous.
Huh. Well, I can see why he interests you.
Ah. Your mystery guests! Who are they?
I couldn't let Colonel Carnac be the only celebrity.
I don't want him at our table because he's a celebrity my darling.
It's just that he's horribly rich, or rather his wife is,
and they bank with the Oxford and Lombard.
Personally, I can't think of anything
worse than hunting stories all through dinner.
Nor I.
So I've persuaded a rather most interesting hunter to join us.
Who is it? Don't tease, Addy.
Sherlock Holmes.
I say. That is something of a coup.
Well done!
Oh look, Culverton Smith's here too.
I'm so glad you felt able to invite him again, Addie darling.
Look at him. Anyone would think Somerleigh was his.
I do dislike it.
Mr. Sherlock Holmes?
Culverton Smith.
Dear Adelaide promised me a surprise guest.
I feared it might be somebody who was famous for being famous.
Someone of your distinction I'd not expected at all.
Nor I one of yours.
Of mine? I make no claims to distinction, Mr. Holmes.
You are too modest.
Your account of the pathology of the Sumatran River Fever is a masterpiece.
Thank you. Thank you.
For a lure to work, of course, you have to make the animal believe it's safe.
Now, that's all very well.
The animals involved however have a highly developed sense of danger.
I am sure Mr. Holmes must have that sense too. Do you, Mr. Holmes?
Yes. I see it. Yes.
You mean that the detective could be said to move
in a world of predators and victims?
Oh, we all do that Colonel, even humble family solicitors...
Yes.
And you would have enemies, Mr. Holmes, would you not?
Yes, yes. It would take something, I dare say, to bring Mr. Holmes
on to a lure and dispatch him.
It would take careful study of his habits
and a half-light shot or worse.
It might even be necessary to follow him up to his lair even.
Bertram, be quiet.
You're not eating, Mr. Holmes.
With so much to observe, food becomes of secondary importance.
What have you observed so far?
Courage,
fever,
gluttony,
acute irritation,
envy,
wit, intelligence. I mean just the usual
vices and virtues with any large English country house.
This is very good.
Do you know the game of "shove ha'penny?" Well,
it's similar. I call this one "Rug skatery".
My more serious gambling friends, the stock-broking fraternity that is to say,
have introduced it to their establishments
to the fury of their wives.
It is agreed, however, that the authentic Somerleigh version is best.
And she never wore them at all.
Will the men be mortified if we don't cheer them on at their silly games?
I dare say they will.
It's almost a reason for not doing it.
But for the sake of harmony...
We indulge little boys.
Well done. Well done.
Our host has again out-jumped all estimates.
So, the lawyer takes the pot.
Well done, Charles. My turn now.
Faites vos jeux, gentlemen.
I should halve your estimates of last time.
It's quite alright. My children do that too.
Mama...
What is wrong with Papa?
When he hugged me, he felt horrid.
He felt all cold and shivery.
What do you mean by that, darling?
He felt as if he was dead.
Don't be silly.
Give him to me. Give him to me.
Doctor.
Smith.
Poor fellow. I could do nothing for him, Mr. Holmes.
Not even I.
The nursing was all right too. A tragic business.
Would you satisfy me upon one point?
Of course.
This disease. Do you know what it was?
All the signs point to that class of fevers of
which the Sumatran River Fever is the most deadly.
It was not necessarily that however?
Something very like it.
I have advised that the poor fellow's body is handled with extreme care.
It is a disease transmitted through broken skin,
you see they cannot be too careful.
How did Savage come by such a thing?
I can rely on your discretion?
Of course.
I understand Savage er, sometimes frequented...
Well, that's to say his affairs took him to a part of Rotherhithe
inhabited mostly by Chinese and Lascars.
He must have picked it up there.
The authorities in Rotherhithe must be informed.
Oh they will be.
Whether the measures they take turn out to be appropriate is another matter.
Most institutions, I'm afraid, are run by the criminally lazy.
I know Penrose Fisher
and the Director, a little. I'll do what I can.
I am grateful for your interest Mr. Holmes...
Poor Adelaide. This will hit her very hard.
Leave Somerleigh?
I must leave Somerleigh?
As soon as the will is proved,
Culverton Smith is within his rights to ask you to go.
I'm very sorry Adelaide.
All this has its origins in old Sir Bernard's will.
And partly I blame myself.
This entailment to Victor's eldest cousin of the house
and the rest of it is something that I...
The rest of it?
The income from the Berkshire estate.
That will go to him too?
Yes.
Dear God. What is left?
Enough for you to live modestly, and respectfully.
You will not be able to continue as you have done.
No. I see.
As I say, I had asked Victor many times to change the terms
of the entail to favour you in your lifetime...
and it, it would have been legal, of course, and easily done.
But ah, Victor was young.
Surely...
Culverton Smith will not exercise his right to evict Mrs. Savage?
He might.
Why do you think that?
He's been in touch. He seems to know the main dispositions of the will.
He talked of the estate income being put to "a proper use." Whatever that meant.
He seemed to think that Adelaide would be able to rely on her family.
They haven't the means.
When he knows that, he must relent?
I doubt it.
He has wanted something like this to happen ever since he came into our lives.
He encouraged all that was weakest in Victor in the hope of some disaster.
This is a triumph for him.
It may be worth talking to him, Adelaide.
I suppose so.
If you could bring yourself to plead with him...
For the children, I will do even that.
Oh, Percy. Do blow your nose.
Now, remember, all this happened nine days ago.
That was the day when the Queen entertained the Sultan of Kallipur
and Frivolous won the Birkenhead Stakes...
At Goodwood.
Right.
Harry, where are your boots?
Oh, I see.
Well then, off to Rotherhithe.
Good luck. Good luck.
There Holmes.
That is a list of every blemish I could find on the skin surface.
I presume you are seeking the means of transmission?
Yes.
Through broken skin.
That is how Culverton Smith believes it was transmitted.
His opinion is worth knowing certainly.
What do you think of him, Fisher?
He is a friend of yours?
Not at all. I hardly know him.
I have read a couple of his papers, that's all.
Well, I think his work, in parts, brilliant.
If he has a fault, it is that he can accept no criticism whatsoever.
I did find an insect bite, but no other puncture of the skin at all.
I even looked inside the mouth.
It seems clear that no human agency was involved.
I assume you are investigating the possibility of this disease
having been passed on deliberately?
Well what a unique delight,
to meet a man with a mind as logical as yours.
Is this him?
Er, yes. Er, Mr. Holmes.
Ah, bravo Ben. You are...
Er, Gedgrave, er, John Gedgrave.
Holmes.
This way.
Recognised him soon as I seen the newspaper. It's him all right.
How did you come to be acting for him?
Advert.
"Gentleman of discretion required with knowledge of dock etiquette".
"Dock etiquette"?
For knowing your way round the poppy houses.
Opium. Well, I knew one or two of the er better places.
Was the advertisement placed by Savage?
No.
Who then?
Huh, don't know.
Mr. Gedgrave. You wouldn't lie to me, would you?
No, no. It was some fellow I met in a rented office.
Describe him for me.
I can't, well, what I mean is, I never saw the fellow,
he, didn't make me do,
he kept a light shining in my eyes all of the time.
Indeed, when was this?
The fourteenth, he paid alright, told me I was to be contacted,
then I was... to meet him.
What happened to him... I don't want any trouble, that's why I came to you.
Where did you take him?
To a house in Duke's alley, it's a good place.
Good?
Well, never had any problems there. Good place.
What happened to him?
Holmes.
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...
Thank you, Mr. Gedgrave for your trouble.
Any time, Mr. Holmes. Any time. Oh.
Generous, that is er, generous.
I will need a guide in Rotherhithe.
You want the best places? I'm your man. Look no further.
Tomorrow morning? Ten thirty?
Done.
The er, The Red Slipper Club.
Ask for er Carter, Frank Carter.
Will that be you, Mr. Gedgrae?
Mrs. Hudson. Dr. Watson may be staying for dinner.
Now, Watson.
Culverton Smith means to throw Mrs. Savage and her children
out of Somerleigh House.
How is he able to do that?
The house is entailed to him. An old will which was has never been revised.
Well, that is interesting.
You know what this means.
It means that Culverton Smith had a motive for doing away with his cousin.
Savage is dead.
Killed by a disease in which Culverton Smith was the acknowledged expert.
No, no, no, no, no.
Are you deliberately trying to misunderstand me?
You have pointed out a remarkable coincidence, that is all.
No inferences can be drawn from it.
They cannot allow Mrs. Savage to be thrown into the street by this fellow!
We may have to.
It must have been Culverton Smith, who rented the office.
I dare say, but it proves nothing.
But... There must be a way of stopping him, Holmes. Surely?
Oh, I doubt it more and more.
Suppose, you were convinced of his guilt, what would you do then?
You know my methods. I would gain entry to the house.
Then that's what I shall do. You don't have to come.
Nevertheless, I shall. You've already had your head turned.
I must make sure you don't get your neck broken as well.
Once poor Savage had been convinced that opium would open the door to the,
mysteries of the poetic craft,
Culverton Smith would have had him in his power, wouldn't he?
He traded on Savage's sense of guilt.
He knew that Savage would want to continue experimenting with the drug
far away from Somerleigh.
What you have to face, Watson, is that Savage's
catching the disease in Rotherhithe, is entirely plausible.
The coincidence that Smith's expertise of the matter is exactly that,
a coincidence. You can't hang a man on coincidence.
Ma'am, Ma'am...
We have reason to believe that erm,
well, as a matter of fact, you are trespassing.
Sergeant, I'm sure you are as aware as I am, that-
the laws of trespass in this country are most curious, not to say odd.
I should know,
I have responsibility for hundreds of acres
which are about to be stolen from me through legal trickery
by that man,
a man who preyed on my husband like some bloated parasite...
Corrupted him, and drove him to his death, and now...
now he will not speak to the woman he has widowed.
Of course he won't.
He knows he has no justice on his side.
Merely cold legality...
Benson, Mrs. Savage should now return to Somerleigh House.
Yes, sir.
Ma'am. You have my assurance I will pursue Culverton Smith.
I will not rest until he has renounced his plans to ruin you.
And Mr. Holmes?
Oh, I see. I do not blame him.
He only sees it as the world sees it.
Unfortunate and cold-hearted on Mr. Smith's part perhaps.
But no case to answer.
No case to answer.
Smith!
It is a singular coincidence, is it not?
That you should inherit so much
from a man who dies of a disease
upon which you are the sole expert?
What...
coincidence bordering upon the unbelievable.
Let me tell you.
The doors of your profession
which have been closed to you,
will now be locked and bolted against you.
It is my mission!
Yes.
The post, Mr. Holmes.
"Rhodesian tobacco, Jeremiah Carlisle"
Mrs. Savage,
I know you will be sensible enough not to come to rely on this,
but it will help you through these difficult days.
Thank you, doctor.
Doctor. You must come quickly. It's Mr. Holmes!
Mr. Holmes?
Why didn't you call me sooner?
But he wouldn't not give me leave. So I said permission or no I am,
and, and he said well, let it be Watson then...
Oh, Doctor, I, I think he's dying.
Now, now, Mrs. Hudson, I...
I'm sure it's not as bad as you fear.
But he won't let me near him. He hasn't eaten a scrap.
He has had plenty to drink I, I trust?
Not, not a drop has passed his lips these three days.
And he's been to Rotherhithe. He thinks he caught the fever there.
He's dying, Doctor.
Holmes?
Holmes!
Watson. We have fallen upon bad times.
My dear fellow...
Stand back! Please, stand right back,
or I'll have you thrown out of the house.
I only wish to help.
The best thing you can to do help is to do as you are told.
Of course.
We were wrong.
About Culverton Smith.
We may not like the man, but he is no murderer...
The river fever is abroad in Rotherhithe...
Holmes, we must get you to hospital at once...
No. Now, keep your distance!
Please! Don't you see. This thing is contagious.
Do you think such a consideration weighs with me?
Keep your distance.
This could run through London.
If there are bi-valves,
presumably there are mono-valves...
It's cramps...
Holmes?
Well...
give a man a doctor, at least let me have someone in whom I have confidence.
You have none in me?
Your friendship, yes.
But I mean you're only a general practitioner with mediocre qualifications.
That remark is unworthy of you, Holmes.
Shows me very clearly the state of your nerves.
That demonstrates your ignorance. What do you know of Tapanuli fever?
What do you know of The black Formosa corruption?
I have never heard of either.
They're very strange, pathological disorders in the East.
If you have no faith in me let me fetch Jasper Meek,
Penrose Fisher. Ainstree I hear is in London. Let me fetch him.
No, there is only one man who can help me.
The man we have maligned.
Culverton Smith. Do you believe he would help?
He must.
It is my only chance.
Oysters.
They do breed, don't they?
I cannot think but the whole bed of the ocean is one solid mass of oysters.
Homes, can you hear me?
I'm going for Culverton Smith this instant.
Then go.
I'm to bring him back here with me.
Oh, he is the Emperor of River Fevers.
Of course you must persuade him, but you must return alone.
Make any excuse not to come with him.
Tell him I apologise.
I do! Don't fail me, Watson.
Of course not.
And what of Rivers?
Are there no natural enemies to limit the increase of these creatures?
It's horrible.
Horrible...
It's essential that I see Mr. Culverton Smith.
Mr. Culverton Smith, Sir,
does not appreciate being disturbed during his hours of study.
Just a minute, sir. You can't just...
Smith!
Please! Sir!
Smith!
Sir, you can't just... You can't just walk in. Sir.
Ah. Smith.
What the devil do you mean by this, sir?
I have come from Sherlock Holmes.
He is desperately ill and he begs you to come to him.
Why? You are a physician. Tend him yourself.
He believes that you are the only man who can save him.
Save him?
I beg you to come.
What has he contracted?
He thinks it is the fever which killed your cousin.
How did he come by it?
He has been in Rotherhithe.
I am sorry to hear this. I hope you are wrong.
Despite his insulting behaviour the other day,
I have every respect for his talents.
He is an amateur of crime as I am of disease.
For him, the villain, for me the microbe.
Here are my prisoners.
Among these gelatine cultivations,
some of the worst offenders in the world are doing time.
Please, please. There is no time to lose. He is desperately ill.
Of what consequence is that to me?
He maligned me in the most outrageous manner.
He, he regrets it. He was most insistent upon that point. He,
he knows that the fever was abroad in Rotherhithe.
How long has he been ill?
Three days.
Is he delirious?
Sometimes seriously so.
I will come with you at once.
I, I have another appointment.
Very well. I shall go alone.
Staples! You can rely upon my being there in half an hour at most.
Did you see him?
Yes, he's coming.
Ah. You're the best of messengers. You can disappear from the scene now.
But I should stay to hear his opinion Holmes. I really should.
No. He's morbidly sensitive. We must let him practise his arts alone.
That's the front door. It's him. Hide.
Hide?
Quick, if you love me.
Please come in... Please.
Holmes...
Holmes?
Oh, Smith? I hardly dared to hope.
I should imagine not. Yet you see, I am here.
Coals of fire, Holmes, coals of fire.
It's noble.
You know what is wrong with you? You recognise the symptoms?
Yes. Quite well.
Three days with you, then?
Yes.
You have lasted well. With Victor, it was all over by now.
I have noticed this. The more mature coolies seemed to last longer.
Water... Please, could I have some water?
Ah. The final thirst.
You're near the end.
Please help me! Help me if you can... can...
I would champion your cause.
My cause?
Your work, it deserves to be trumpeted. I cou... I could be of service.
I doubt it.
Thanks to you the damage done to my reputation is irreparable.
You mean Victor Savage your cousin. Ah, I'd forgotten that.
Did you? Were you involved? I couldn't be sure.
The great detective couldn't be sure.
Well, it doesn't matter to me if you know how Savage died.
I don't see you in the witness box. Quite another sort of box.
I put an infected mosquito to his neck while he was in a opiate stupor.
There.
But you, how did you come to contract it?
That fellow who came for me told me you thought you'd caught it in Rotherhithe.
Oh, I, I could only account for it so.
Cast your mind back.
Cramps?
Yes. Cramps! Help me!
I will.
The pain!
Yes, the coolies used to do some squealing before the end.
Well now.
A few days before your symptoms began,
did you receive anything by post?
I can't think
A parcel?
You did.
Only some samples of tobacco.
That's right. Did you notice the construction of the box,
under the tobacco. Two small tacks stuck out.
You didn't see them?
They were infected?
You fool.
You would tangle with me and now you are finished.
The box?
Where is it?
Turn up the gas?
The shadows begin to lengthen do they? Yes, I'll do that.
I prefer to see you die in the light.
There it is.
Your last shred of evidence. Well, well.
Is there any other little service I can do you, my friend?
A match and a cigarette would be most welcome.
Three days without food and water is one thing.
But to be without tobacco I have found most irksome.
Come in Inspector.
By turning up the gas,
Smith was good enough to give our signal himself.
This is the self-confessed murderer of Victor Savage.
You may lie as you like, Holmes.
You have no corroboration for your insane suspicions.
Watson.
He has a box behind his back.
Treat it very gingerly. And don't open it!
Damn you!
Stop him!
Damn you!
The best way of acting a part successfully, is to be it.
What was the vaseline for?
For the forehead.
Belladonna in the eyes?
Beeswax?
Encrustation around the lips.
Why, why wouldn't you let me near you when in truth, there was no infection?
Do you imagine that I have no respect for your medical talents?
At six feet I could deceive you,
but any closer, with your astute judgement? No, no, no, no, no.
No, it was essential
that you and Mrs. Hudson believed me to be at death's door, otherwise,
Smith would have smelt a rat.
Rats! Beeswax!
Mr. Holmes, you are the very worst tennant in London!
Georgie says he's going to guard the house.
Oh, they're find children, Mrs. Savage.
They're little angels.
We're usually known As little Savages.
Thank you, Doctor Watson for letting us keep our home.
Ah, thank you my dear. I'd like to take the credit, but,
it belongs to Mr. Holmes.
We are very grateful to you, sir.