[dramatic music] ♪ >> look, father, we have been through all this before. >> do as i tell you, boy, you damn disobedient little bastard. give me the gun. >> it's my life,

and i'm gonna run it the way i like. >> get off out of it. >> good morning! >> good morning. >> caught anything? >> [laughs] not yet. holmes! what on earth are you doing here? >> looking for you. carry on, my dear fellow. don't let me disturb you. >> what on earth are you doing here? >> [laughs] a case has brought me this way. >> what sort of case? >> the newspapers are calling it the boscombe valley mystery. i expect you've read something of it. >> no, not a word. i haven't seen a paper for days.

>> a farmer called mccarthy, australian by birth, met his death by a meer at the bottom of his farm. they seem to have established a very serious case against the son of the murdered man. >> there's a big one just under that rock. so, then, it's, um, a murder. >> well, it's conjectured to be so. of course, i shall take nothing for granted until i've had a chance to look into it personally. >> naturally. >> i don't wish to spoil your holiday, but i was wondering if i could persuade you to join me for a couple of days. >> well, of course. >> are you sure? >> i should be delighted. >> then we must move quickly. our local train leaves in 35 minutes.

>> your hot water, sir. >> watson, all this fresh air will kill me. >> mm. well, the london press don't seem much interested, not--not very full accounts. >> yes, useless. [sighs] so much for the london press. >> it all seems depressingly simple. what persuaded you to take an interest in this case? >> this.

>> "boscombe valley mystery. there has been a grave miscarriage of justice. the matter is urgent. we need your help. please come if you can, alice turner." good heavens. who is alice turner? >> she's the daughter of a mr. turner, also australian, who owns this whole estate. >> well, it's a mystery, not murder, to miss turner. >> note the "we," watson-- "we need your help." if ever there was a cry from the heart, that is it. it leaps from the paper. >> have you seen this lady? >> no, not yet. do you remember a certain sergeant summerby? >> summerby. oh, yes, the case of the counterfeit spanish dollars. >> mexican. >> a pleasant fellow. much admired your methods, did he not? >> probably his reason for promotion to inspector. he is in charge of the case, and it was he who organized this accommodation for us. >> "us"? you presumed that i would come. >> no, not presumed, watson-- hoped. very much hoped. >> well, mr. holmes.

and you, doctor. it's a pleasure to see you again. >> congratulations on your promotion. inspector, well. >> thank you, doctor. well, it's a quiet district as a rule but nonetheless my own. i have a carriage waiting. >> ah. >> oh. >> mccarthy, the murdered man, rented a farm called hatherley from mr. turner, who is one of the largest landed proprietors in this part of the country. made his money in australia. >> i presume that both being colonials, they had much in common. >> old friends, i believe. though mr. turner has been in failing health for some time. >> he has a daughter called alice? >> an only child and a most charming one. >> we surmise that miss turner and the mccarthy boy are friends. >> great friends. >> it was miss turner who brings me here. >> well, i know, mr. holmes, and to be quite honest with you, i'm surprised you came.

well, the case is as plain as a backstaff, and the more one gets into it, the plainer it becomes. so i have warned miss turner that this time, not even mr. sherlock holmes will be able to work miracles. so there we are. >> beautiful countryside. >> yes, yes, indeed. this is, uh, boscombe valley. and over there at the bottom is boscombe meer, where the murder took place. >> peaceful place for a tragedy. >> any witnesses? >> i expected that question, mr. holmes. the principal witness is william crowder, one of mr. turner's gamekeepers. >> it was after i'd had me dinner. last monday, it was, the, uh... >> the 3rd of june. >> ah, aye, that's right. now, i fed the young pheasants. hawks, we call them. you were planting out lettuces. ah, ah, that's right. i was setting out some lettuces, those lettuces over there, when my little girl patience,

she comes running up. >> dad, dad, the mccarthys are fighting. >> well, won't be the first time. well, don't you worry about it, patience. 't ain't no concern of ours. go on. in you go. that mr. mccarthy, whoo, he had a temper, that man, you know? oh, aye. do you know, if he thought another gun had poached his bird out shooting, he'd let fly in a real fury? >> was the boy the same way inclined? no milk for me, please. >> uh, no. no, not that i've noticed, anyway. no, he always seemed a nice enough boy. i'm surprised, him doing such a thing. but then again, he was provoked.

no doubt. who's to say? >> you tell the gentlemen what happened next. >> what? >> you haven't forgotten what you said in evidence at the inquest? >> forgotten? i shan't forget that day, not so long as i live. now, i'd just sent patience in to her mother, and i hadn't planted out no more than another half box when young mccarthy comes running up looking like he'd seen a ghost. >> my father's met with a terrible accident. please come with me. i need your help. >> where is he? >> down by the meer. is he alive?

[sobbing] >> you just come along with me. i brought him back here, and i sent me wife down in the trap for the police. >> did the boy say anything? >> no. no, no, not a word. he just there where you are, sobbing and moaning. and i didn't take me eyes off him till they came for him, and that's the truth. >> did you examine the gun at all, the butt, for instance? >> uh, no, no, not especially. there was a bit of mud on it. >> he wiped it. >> he wiped it.

>> well, i might have done. i mean, it would have been natural, wouldn't it? there was mr. mccarthy lying there dead with his head bashed in. he hadn't got that way swatting wasps, had he? >> and you believe that the boy killed his father. >> well, of course i do, sir. i mean, who else could have done it? well, i can tell you this much, gentlemen, all right? now, i'm a gamekeeper, all right? and when a man's got a gun in his hand, strange things can happen. oh, aye. now, i've seen men-- quiet, law-abiding, gentlemen-- you put a gun in their hands, they turn into near maniacs-- >> thank you so much, mr. crowder, for giving so much of your valuable time. >> well, it's been a pleasure, gentlemen. it's not the first time i've been able to help the cause of justice. no, not by a long shot. well, last year, at candlemas time. you remember, inspector? no, i'm a liar. it were two years-- >> well, we must be on our way. >> well, i'm on the side of law and order, sir. the inspector will tell you that. >> indeed, you are, crowder. thank you. >> good-bye.

>> [sighs] they're all the same, these country people. once they get an audience, they'll talk the hind leg off a donkey. now, if you follow me, i'll take you down to the scene of the crime. >> no need for the moment. >> that's very true. no need in the circumstances. it's a sad case but a pretty clear one. >> the glass is high, weather set fair. i should like to call on james mccarthy. >> i can arrange it if you wish. >> tomorrow. >> tomorrow. oh, one more thing i should tell you, mr. holmes: when the boy was charged with the murder, he didn't appear in the least surprised. in fact, he said it was no more than his desserts. those were his very words. >> a confession. >> you might think so. >> did he also protest his innocence? >> yes. but then again, they always do, don't they? >> i think we'd best be getting back to the hotel. >> i have some calls to make on the estate. >> till tomorrow, then. boscombe arms.

>> well, the boy said he got no more than his desserts. well, that's a pretty suspicious remark. i mean, coming after such a damning series of events. >> on the contrary. it's the brightest rift i can see in the clouds at present. the self-reproaching contrition displayed by his remark appears to me to be signs of a healthy mind rather than a guilty one. >> many men have been hanged on far slighter evidence. >> so they have, and many man have been hanged wrongfully. oh, look, a pheasant. [clock ticking] >> hmm, "witness"-- that's james mccarthy-- "i had a conversation with my father which led to high words and almost to blows." >> as his temper was becoming

ungovernable, i left him and went up the hill. i hadn't gone more than 100 yards when i heard a hideous outcry which caused me to run back again. i found my father expiring on the ground with his head terribly injured. >> did you see anyone near your father when you returned? >> no, no one. i have no idea how he came by his injuries. he as not a popular man, but as far as i know, he had no active enemies. i know nothing further of the matter. >> did your father say anything to you before he died? >> he mumbled a few words, but all i could catch was some allusion to a rat. [crowd murmuring] >> silence! be quiet! a rat? and what did you understand by that? >> it conveyed nothing to me. i thought-- well, i thought he was delirious.

>> what was the point upon which you and your father had this final quarrel? >> i should prefer not to answer that question, sir. >> i am afraid that i must press it. >> it is really impossible for me to tell you. but i can assure you that it had nothing to do with the sad tragedy that followed. >> that is for the court to decide. i need hardly point out to you that your refusal to answer will prejudice your case considerably in any future proceedings which may arise. you may sit down. gentlemen of the jury, you are here to discover the cause of death of mr. william mccarthy and thereafter to deliver your verdict. you have heard the facts of this crime, and i believe they make the situation very clear. mr. james mccarthy's account of his father's dying is singular, to say the least. his refusal to give any details of their last conversation

must go very much against him. the verdict of willful murder would seem to me to fit the facts we have heard. i hope i make myself clear. >> so willful murder it was. >> monstrous. >> well, the boy did rather ask for it. >> oh, my dear watson, don't you see that both you and the coroner have been to some pains to single out the strongest points in the young man's favor? don't you see that you alternately give him credit for too much imagination or too little-- too little if he could not invent a quarrel which would give him the sympathy of the jury; too much if he evolved from his own inner consciousness anything so outre as a dying reference to a rat? >> well, these country coroners do think they're little tin-pot gods. >> it's an absolute scandal. [clock chiming] no, no, no. i shall approach this case from the point of view that what this young man says is true.

we have a visitor. our young client has arrived. [knocking at door] come in. >> i'm so glad you have come, mr. holmes. i'm alice turner. >> this is my friend and colleague dr. watson. >> dr. watson, of course. it is you who have written down some of mr. holmes' cases in such an interesting way.

you see, i know all about you, mr. holmes, and your wonderful success. if you knew how much we need you now. do you yet know anything of what happened? >> please sit down, miss turner. inspector summerby has told me something of it. >> oh, yes, the inspector. he gave me your address. he's quite a kind man, isn't he? but he doesn't understand. how could he? he's a policeman. mr. holmes, i know that james didn't do it. i know it. and i want you to start your work knowing it too. never let yourself doubt upon that point. >> have you known james mccarthy a long time? >> yes, all my life. we have known each other since we were children. but he's too tenderhearted to hurt a fly. this charge is just absurd to anyone who really knows him. >> well, i hope that we may clear him. i shall do all i can. >> but from what you have heard already, do you not think

he's innocent? >> i think it is probable. though i don't think my friend is so convinced. >> well, i think that mr. holmes has been a little-- a little quick in his conclusions. >> but you are right. oh, i know that you are right. james never did it. >> [inhales deeply] this quarrel with his father which he would not talk about to the coroner, do you know anything of it? >> i believe it was because i was concerned in it. >> in what way? >> it is no time to hide anything now. james and his father had many disagreements about me. mr. mccarthy was very anxious that there should be a marriage between us. well, james and i have always loved each other like brother and sister. well, of course, we haven't seen so much of each other lately. i have been away at boarding school for some years, and james has been studying in liverpool. he is only 22 and has seen very little of life, and-- well, i suppose he does not wish

to do anything like that just yet. so there were quarrels, and this, i am sure, was one of them. >> how old are you, miss turner? >> i am 18, quite nearly 19. >> as you say, this isn't a time to hide anything. are you in love with james mccarthy? >> yes, i am, mr. holmes, very much in love. there is no one else and never will be. even if-- >> and he with you? >> oh, i think so. i hope so. but how should i know for sure? we have never discussed marriage. >> was your father in favor

of such a union? >> no, he was averse to it. no one but mr. mccarthy was in favor of it. >> thank you for being so frank with us. if i was to visit your father, could i see him, please? >> i'm afraid not. the doctor has forbidden any visitors. >> oh, i'm sorry. we did not know he was so ill. >> my father has never been strong, but this has broken him completely. he has taken to his bed, and dr. willows says that he is a wreck and his nervous system is shattered. i can hardly leave him, or i would have been at the railway station to meet you. well, you see, mr. mccarthy was the only man alive who had known dad in the old days in australia. >> australia. >> in victoria, at the mines-- the gold mines. well, that's where dad made all his money. >> you have been of material assistance to me.

>> will you be able to see james? >> tomorrow. >> tell him that i know him to be innocent. >> i will. >> could you give him this? >> of course. >> and if you have any news, you will tell me? i must go home now. i left my father asleep, but if he wakes and i'm not there, he'll be upset. good-bye. good-bye. and god help you in your undertaking.

>> may i see him alone, please? >> as you wish, mr. holmes, but remember, this man is on remand, accused of willful murder. and as you well know, such a man under such circumstances is unlikely to speak the truth. >> well, thank you for your good advice. james mccarthy, my name is sherlock holmes. i'm here to help you. >> how should i know that? you came with a police inspector. i saw him out there. i'm here at the request of miss turner.

>> i am sorry, mr. holmes. lately i've learned to trust no one. i'm afraid you've come too late. they've already made up their minds that i am guilty. >> well, i have not. >> the coroner's court-- >> the coroner and the coroner's jury only sit to inquire into the facts. they do not sit in judgment. >> well, how can i help you? >> i'd like you to tell me exactly what happened. let us sit down over here, where we can talk quietly and not be overheard. >> where shall i start? >> you choose. >> um, well, i've been studying in liverpool for some three years. my father was most anxious i should have some academic qualifications. it was on that day, june the 3rd,

that i returned home. >> was your father expecting you? >> no, no, not exactly. he knew i was due for a few days' holiday, but not the exact day. a local courier took me up to the farm from the village. [laughs] >> nice to see you back, master james. >> oh, it's nice to be back, george. >> hey, stand. stand. >> is my father in the house? >> no, no. went off about five minutes ago. looked as though he had something on his mind. >> oh, all right, george. >> will you be wanting a pony later? >> uh, no, no, i'll ride tomorrow. i might take the gun, see if i can pull in a few rabbits. >> they need shooting. place is crawling with them. walk on. >> hello, father. >> james? what are you doing here?

>> i'm just back for a few days. that's all. >> well, i don't want you down here, so get off out of it. keep away from me. do you understand? >> yes. why? >> none of your damn business. just do as you're told. james. look, now you are here, get over the turners' place and tell that girl you'll marry her. >> i'll do no such thing. look, father, we have been through-- >> do as i tell you, boy, you damn disobedient little bastard. give me the gun. give me the gun. >> it's my life, and i'm gonna run it the way i like. >> all right. damn you. i'll throw you out. i'll ruin you. you'll see. now, get off out of it.

>> i had hardly gone any distance at all when i heard a-- a terrible scream. i ran back down and found my father lying on his side. >> did you see anyone else? >> no, no one. >> no movement anywhere? no, my attention was entirely on my father. he was terribly wounded. >> you would not tell the coroner about this quarrel with your father. >> it was something private. it was no business of his. >> was it not because this confrontation with your father might seem to incriminate you? >> no. no, it was because it concerned alice. it as no business of the coroner's or anyone else's. i wasn't going to have her name bandied about in the courtroom. >> you do know that alice loves you, james, and believes you to be innocent. >> yes, i know.

the thought of her love and her faith in me has kept me in some sort of sanity in this horrible place. >> and yet you did not wish to marry her, as your father so clearly wished. >> perhaps you did not share her love. >> i did. i do, mr. holmes. i love alice turner. i-i adore her. i worship the very ground she treads on. but-- >> and yet? >> i could not ask her to marry me, because-- because i was married already. >> don't you think you'd better tell me about it? >> when--when i first started studying in liverpool, my father gave me a very generous allowance, too generous for my own good.

i became very wild and fell in with a bad set of people. in a fit of drunken madness, i went through a form of marriage in a register office to a woman much older than i was. a barmaid. i hardly ever saw alice at that time. of course, i couldn't tell my father. he would certainly have thrown me out, as he'd so often threatened. >> yes, i'm sure he would have. have you any idea who would have killed your father so brutally? >> none whatsoever. do you know, i go over the scene day after day after day in my mind? but i am as puzzled as everyone else is. >> don't give up hope. >> thank you, mr. holmes. oh, mr. holmes. >> yes? >> it hardly concerns all this business, but perhaps i should tell you.

some good has come out of this evil. since i've been in here, i've received a message from the woman i married, who has read in the newspapers that i am in serious trouble and likely to be hanged. she wrote that she had a husband already in the bermuda dockyard. >> good heavens. >> so there is no legal tie between us. if only i had known before. >> you were right to tell me. [door slams] >> poor fellow. must've been maddening to be upbraided by his father for not doing something he would give his very eyes to do. if he's innocent, who did it? >> indeed. >> well, perhaps i can help. i've not been entirely idle in your absence. in the surgeon's deposition

at the inquest, it states that the posterior third of the left parietal bone and the left half of the occipital bone were shattered by blows from a blunt weapon. now, that's--that's here, behind. but the evidence states that they were quarreling face-to-face. >> that's a very nice piece of deduction, watson. >> thank you. >> but hardly a valued one. mccarthy could have easily turned his back the moment the girl had run off. but i am so glad that you're coming around to my way of thinking and miss turner's. the boy is innocent. >> now, holmes, you're putting words into my mouth. i didn't say that. >> but you're thinking it, just a little. >> [chuckles] >> those boots were the ones the master was wearing at the time he was murdered, sir. i've cleaned them up since, of course. those, those are a pair of master james'. he bought them new last michaelmas.

>> thank you, george. now let us go down to the meer. >> this is the place, mr. holmes. you can still see traces of the blood. >> please, would you keep clear of this area? why did you enter the meer, inspector? >> well, fished about with a rake. i thought there might be some weapon thrown there or some other trace. >> if only i had been here before they came like a herd of buffalo and wallowed all over it. this must be the gamekeeper and his gang. these tracks are young mccarthy's, and these. twice he walked. he turned.

once he ran. so the soles of the feet are deeply marked. the heels are hardly visible. that would bear out his story. he ran when he saw his father on the ground. >> he does work at it. i'll say that. >> the father paced up and down right here. what have we here? tiptoes. tiptoes. square toes-- most unusual boots. where did mr. square toes come from? >> he'd have made a rare bloodhound, would mr. holmes. >> [chuckles] >> ah.

it has been a case of considerable interest. come. thank you, george. >> thank you, sir. >> would you deliver this note? yes, sir, indeed. right away. >> uh, this may interest you, inspector. the murder was done with it. >> i see no marks. >> there are none. >> well, how do you know, then? >> the grass was growing under it. it had only been there a few days. it corresponds with the injuries. and the murderer? >> is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg,

wears thick-soled shooting boots with square toes, smokes indian cigars, uses a cigar holder, and carries a blunt penknife in his pocket. >> [laughs] >> [laughs] >> [laughs] >> you're a brilliant man, mr. holmes, and i wish i had your brains. your theories are all very well. but i'm still not convinced, not this time. we have to deal with a hardheaded british jury. >> well, you've had your chance, inspector. >> i'm a practical man, mr. holmes. i cannot undertake to go all around the country looking for a left-handed gentleman with a gammy leg. i should become the laughingstock of cheshire. >> well, we shall see. you work your method. i shall work mine. now, let us take this morning's work. from my examination of the ground, i gained details as to

the personality of the criminal. >> mm-hmm, but how? >> you know my method. it is founded upon the observance of trifles. >> his height i know you might roughly judge by the length of his stride, his boots by his traces, but the man's lameness? >> the impression of his right foot was always less distinct than that of the left. why? because he limped. >> his left-handedness? a blow was delivered from immediately behind him, yet it was on the left-hand side. >> watson. >> he must have been a left-handed man. of course. >> he stood behind that tree during the confrontation between father and son. he even smoked there. >> smoked? >> cigar ash. an indian cigar. you will remember my little monograph on the subject of ashes from pipe, cigar, and cigarette tobacco. >> 100 different varieties, if i remember. >> 140, thank you, watson. having discovered the ash, i discovered this stump, which the man had thrown

among the moss. an indian cigar rolled in rotterdam. you will notice that the end has not been in his mouth, so he used a cigar holder. the tip has been cut off, not bitten, but the cut is not a clean one, so i deduced a blunt penknife. >> [laughs] amazing. >> among the words mumbled by the dying man, the only word that young mccarthy could understand was the word "rat." >> rat. hmm. most curious. >> come with me. now...

what do you read? >> "a rat." >> and now? >> "ball a rat." ballarat. >> that is the word the man uttered. >> australia. >> someone from ballarat. what is ballarat known for? >> its goldfields. miss turner said that her father had met mccarthy on the goldfields. i see the direction which all this points. an australian from ballarat, and one who is at home in the district. [door slams] unless i'm very much mistaken, he's here. >> [knocks] mr. john turner. >> mr. holmes, dr. watson. my daughter told me you were lodging here. >> did you get my note? >> yes, yes. something about coming here to avoid a scandal. >> better than meeting up at the hall. people might talk. >> and why do you wish to see me?

>> oh, yes. i know about you and mccarthy. my friend watson will jot down a few facts. i promise you, they'll not be used unless it is absolutely needed. do sit down. >> you didn't know the dead man mccarthy. he was the devil incarnate. god keep you out of the clutches of a man such as he. his grip has been upon me these many years, and he's blasted my life. i'll tell you first how i came to be in his power. it was in the early '60s at the diggings.

i was a young chap then, hot-blooded and reckless. well, had no luck with my claim, took to the bush, and became what you'd call a highway robber. there was a little gang of us. we lived a wild, free life of it, sticking up a station from time to time or stopping the wagon on the road from the diggings. they called me black jack of ballarat. i believe they still remember the ballarat gang in the colony. [horses whinnying] [gunfire] the wagon driver was mccarthy, and i spared him. get out of it. go on, shift. do a botany, fast!

[gunshots] [gunshot] we got away with the gold. look at that. my mate and i were wealthy men beyond the dreams of avarice. there was-- there was-- there was a price on our heads. i decided to make for england. i determined to settle down to a quiet and respectable life. i bought this estate. it included the whole village. even this inn is mine.

i set myself to do a little good with my money to make up for the way in which i'd earned it. i married, and though my darling wife died young, she left me my dear little alice. i was a happy man, you might say, until mccarthy laid his grip upon me. he'd followed my trail. when he first came here, he'd hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his foot. "here we are, jack," he said. "you can have the keeping of us, me and my little boy. and if you don't, england's a fine, law-abiding country, and there's always a policeman handy." i was a sitting duck for blackmail. there was no shaking him off. there was no rest, no peace, no forgetfulness. turn where i would, there was his cunning, grinning face at me elbow. whatever he wanted

he must have, and whatever it was, i gave him without question-- land, money, houses... till at last he asked a thing i could not give. he asked for alice. his son and my girl had grown up. he knew i was in weak health. seemed a fine stroke to him that his son should step into the whole property. but there i was firm. i would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine. not that i had any dislike for the lad, but his father's blood was in him, and that was enough. i stood firm. mccarthy threatened. i braved him to do his worst. we arranged to meet at the meer halfway between our two houses to talk it over. >> james. >> as i listened to his talk, all that was black and bitter seemed to come uppermost.

he was urging his son to marry my daughter with as little regard for what she might think as a slut from off the streets. >> but, father, we have been through-- >> do as i tell you, boy, you damn disobedient little bastard. >> it drove me mad to think that i and all that i held dear should be in the power of such a man. >> it's my life, and i'm gonna run it the way i like. >> i was a dying and desperate man. if i could silence that foul tongue, i could still save me and my family's reputation in this valley. >> get off out of it. oh! aah! [screaming]

>> i did it, mr. holmes, and i would do it again. deeply though i have sinned, i've lived a life of martyrdom to atone for it. and my girl should become entangled in the same meshes which held me was more than i could suffer. i struck him down with no more compunction than if he'd been some foul and venomous beast. that is the true story, gentlemen... of all that occurred. >> well... [sighs] it is not for me to judge you, but i hope that we may never be exposed to such a temptation. >> i pray not, sir.

i'm a dying man. i've had the diabetes for years. my doctor says it's a question of whether i shall live a month. i'd rather die under me own roof than in a jail. >> young mccarthy must be got off, however. >> oh, god help me, but i wouldn't let that young man come to harm. i give you my word that i'd have spoken out if it went against him at the assizes. >> i'm very glad to hear you say so. >> i'd have spoken now, had it not been for my dear girl. it would break her heart. it'll break her heart when she hears that i'm arrested. >> it may not come to that. we are not the police. i am no official agent. i'm here at your daughter's request. >> alice?

>> alice. >> what do you intend to do? >> in view of your health, nothing. you are yourself aware that you will have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the assizes. if young mccarthy is condemned, i shall be forced to use this confession. if not, it will never be seen by mortal eye, and your secret, whether you be alive or dead, shall be safe with us. >> farewell, then. your own deathbeds, when they come,

will be the easier for the thought of the peace that you've given to mine. >> god help us. >> "turner, john stewart, 16th of august, boscombe hall, cheshire. after a long illness bravely borne. beloved father of alice." now we're free to use that confession at young mccarthy's trial. >> no, by no means.

my promise was that it would not be used unless mccarthy is condemned, and i think i have given enough objections to the charge to ensure his acquittal. >> well, i hope so. [crowd clamoring] [applause] >> well done, lad. well done.

>> i love you. >> i love you too. >> will you marry me? >> yes, i will. >> a happy ending to a brilliant case. i congratulate you, holmes. >> i thank you. i must admit, there were certain aspects to this case which even i did not anticipate.

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[bell rings] [bird chirping] >> appraiser: so how does a cup all the way from china get to czechoslovakia? >> man: alright, uh, belonged to my granddad, he was blacksmith. and he was visited by german in second war, and uh, he must have gone with them to russia because they needed blacksmiths. and uh, in russia, he was captured by russian because he

was with german, and they don't kill him because they need blacksmiths. he come home one night in '44 with this cup. >> appraiser: so, whilst he was in russia, he stumbled into a piece of chinese silver from the tang dynasty. >> man: uh, yeah. we have no idea where it come from, and you know, what is that. >> appraiser: well, this does come from the tang dynasty. so your relative was a blacksmith, but the person who made this was, um, a smith of a different sort, going right back to probably the 6th or 7th century a.d. possibly the oldest piece of silver we're going to see today. it is an exquisite little object, and it shows us how sophisticated the tang dynasty in china was at that time. probably more sophisticated than they have ever been since. the smith has actually worked from the inside pushing out these little panels of

decorative birds. in fact, the birds are geese. geese were given in china to people who were getting married or as farewell presents, either/or, because geese are faithful birds, they return to their partners and they migrate. so they would have worked for both occasions. and boy, this one's migrated. this really is the time for chinese collectors. the chinese are buying back their own things. and today, who knows what it could fetch, £5,000, 10,000. >> man: wow! good. >> appraiser: and who knows what the original russian collection might pay for its return? >> man: [laughs] yeah, we don't know. we don't know. >> appraiser: well, some people may think this is a bit of a racy subject to be brought to a cathedral. so we have these beautiful cavorting ladies by an indian artist.

tell me a little bit about this. >> woman: his name was avinash chandra. he moved to england in the late '50s and my granddad met him in the early '60s. he was living in guilford, didn't have much money, and he wanted some chairs from my granddad's design shop. >> appraiser: right. >> woman: my granddad used to be a designer for heal's before he opened his shop, and they exchanged the painting for the chairs. >> appraiser: two chairs? >> woman: i don't know how many it was, but it was for chairs. >> appraiser: that's interesting because there were a number of struggling artists, especially from india, who were living in this country from the 1960s. probably the most famous chap called souza. and they really struggled to make a living. and what is so fascinating, today, the indian market has changed dramatically, and we've seen huge wealth being created in india. and guess what?

they want to buy back their own heritage. it's extremely decorative, isn't it? >> woman: it is. >> appraiser: and it's on two pieces of paper. that's the first thing i noticed. and it's a watercolor with... it's suffered a bit over the years, hasn't it? it's got a little bit of browning from age. although it's not that old. >> woman: no, 47 years. >> appraiser: it's dated here 1963, and here's the artist's name there. it's wonderful. and, you know, it's got a sort of "picasso-y" feel to it. it's very modern in its feel. do you like it? >> woman: oh, i love it. i've loved it ever since i was a child. >> appraiser: really? >> woman: yeah. >> appraiser: and now the great thing is the valuation, isn't it? >> woman: yes. >> appraiser: well, i think it's incredibly nice, and because the indian market's changed dramatically, if you brought it to me in 1963, i have to say i'd have probably said £100 pounds. but today i think this is worth

sort of £5,000 to 7,000. >> woman: oh my god! >> appraiser: that's not bad. >> woman: no, it's brilliant. >> appraiser: and interestingly, i bet the chairs are not worth anything like that. >> woman: no, i expect not. although we still do have a couple. >> appraiser: oh, do you? >> woman: yeah. >> appraiser: let's bring them into the next roadshow .