NCERT Textbook: The Adventure of the Three Garridebs | Class 11 English Woven Words - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

 Page 1


The Adventure of the Three Garridebs 37
The Adventure of the Three
Garridebs
Arthur Conan Doyle
F F F F F Look for these expressions in the text and guess what they mean
from the context
with a disconsolate air            of sinister and murderous  reputation
want of imaginative intuition      penitentiary
devilish ingenuity confederate in crime
shamefaced grin dissipated dreams
rigmarole of lies syncopated dialogue
cadaverous face
It may have been a comedy, or it may have been a tragedy.
It cost one man his reason, it cost me a blood-letting, and
it cost yet another man the penalties of the law. Yet there
was certainly an element of comedy. Well, you shall judge
for yourselves.
I remember the date very well, for, it was in the same
month that Holmes refused a knighthood for services which
may perhaps some day be described. I only refer to the
matter in passing, for, in my position of partner and
confidant I am obliged to be particularly careful to avoid
any indiscretion. I repeat, however, that this enables me to
fix the date, which was the latter end of June 1902, shortly
after the conclusion of the South African War. Holmes had
spent several days in bed, as was his habit from time to
time, but he emerged that morning with a long foolscap
document in his hand and a twinkle of amusement in his
austere grey eyes.
‘There is a chance for you to make some money, friend
Watson,’ said he. ‘Have you ever heard the name of Garrideb?’
2024-25
Page 2


The Adventure of the Three Garridebs 37
The Adventure of the Three
Garridebs
Arthur Conan Doyle
F F F F F Look for these expressions in the text and guess what they mean
from the context
with a disconsolate air            of sinister and murderous  reputation
want of imaginative intuition      penitentiary
devilish ingenuity confederate in crime
shamefaced grin dissipated dreams
rigmarole of lies syncopated dialogue
cadaverous face
It may have been a comedy, or it may have been a tragedy.
It cost one man his reason, it cost me a blood-letting, and
it cost yet another man the penalties of the law. Yet there
was certainly an element of comedy. Well, you shall judge
for yourselves.
I remember the date very well, for, it was in the same
month that Holmes refused a knighthood for services which
may perhaps some day be described. I only refer to the
matter in passing, for, in my position of partner and
confidant I am obliged to be particularly careful to avoid
any indiscretion. I repeat, however, that this enables me to
fix the date, which was the latter end of June 1902, shortly
after the conclusion of the South African War. Holmes had
spent several days in bed, as was his habit from time to
time, but he emerged that morning with a long foolscap
document in his hand and a twinkle of amusement in his
austere grey eyes.
‘There is a chance for you to make some money, friend
Watson,’ said he. ‘Have you ever heard the name of Garrideb?’
2024-25
38 Woven Words
I admitted that I had not.
‘Well, if you can lay your hand upon a Garrideb, there’s
money in it.’
‘Why?’
‘Ah, that’s a long story—rather a whimsical one, too. I
don’t think in all our explorations of human complexities
we have ever come upon anything more singular. The fellow
will be here presently for cross-examination, so I won’t
open the matter up till he comes. But meanwhile, that’s
the name we want.’
The telephone directory lay on the table beside me and
I turned over the pages in a rather hopeless quest. But to
my amazement there was this strange name in its due
place. I gave a cry of triumph.
Here you are Holmes! Here it is!’
Holmes took the book from my hand.
‘Garrideb, N.’ he read, ‘136, Little Ryder Street, W. Sorry
to disappoint you, my dear Watson, but this is the man
himself. That is the address upon his letter. We want
another to match him.’
Mrs Hudson had come in with a card upon a tray. I
took it up and glanced at it.
‘Why, here it is!’ I cried in amazement. ‘This is a different
initial. John Garrideb, Counsellor at Law, Moorville, Kansas, U.S.A.’
Holmes smiled as he looked at the card. ‘I am afraid
you must make yet another effort, Watson,’ said he. ‘This
gentleman is also in the plot already, though I certainly
did not expect to see him this morning. However, he is in a
position to tell us a good deal which I want to know.’
A moment later he was in the room. Mr John Garrideb,
Counsellor at Law, was a short, powerful man with the
round, fresh clean-shaven face characteristic of so many
American men of affairs. The general effect was chubby
and rather childlike, so that one received the impression
of quite a young man with a broad set smile upon his face.
His eyes, however, were arresting. Seldom in any human
head have I seen a pair which bespoke a more intense
inward life, so bright were they, so alert, so responsive to
every change of thought. His accent was American but was
not accompanied by any eccentricity of speech.
2024-25
Page 3


The Adventure of the Three Garridebs 37
The Adventure of the Three
Garridebs
Arthur Conan Doyle
F F F F F Look for these expressions in the text and guess what they mean
from the context
with a disconsolate air            of sinister and murderous  reputation
want of imaginative intuition      penitentiary
devilish ingenuity confederate in crime
shamefaced grin dissipated dreams
rigmarole of lies syncopated dialogue
cadaverous face
It may have been a comedy, or it may have been a tragedy.
It cost one man his reason, it cost me a blood-letting, and
it cost yet another man the penalties of the law. Yet there
was certainly an element of comedy. Well, you shall judge
for yourselves.
I remember the date very well, for, it was in the same
month that Holmes refused a knighthood for services which
may perhaps some day be described. I only refer to the
matter in passing, for, in my position of partner and
confidant I am obliged to be particularly careful to avoid
any indiscretion. I repeat, however, that this enables me to
fix the date, which was the latter end of June 1902, shortly
after the conclusion of the South African War. Holmes had
spent several days in bed, as was his habit from time to
time, but he emerged that morning with a long foolscap
document in his hand and a twinkle of amusement in his
austere grey eyes.
‘There is a chance for you to make some money, friend
Watson,’ said he. ‘Have you ever heard the name of Garrideb?’
2024-25
38 Woven Words
I admitted that I had not.
‘Well, if you can lay your hand upon a Garrideb, there’s
money in it.’
‘Why?’
‘Ah, that’s a long story—rather a whimsical one, too. I
don’t think in all our explorations of human complexities
we have ever come upon anything more singular. The fellow
will be here presently for cross-examination, so I won’t
open the matter up till he comes. But meanwhile, that’s
the name we want.’
The telephone directory lay on the table beside me and
I turned over the pages in a rather hopeless quest. But to
my amazement there was this strange name in its due
place. I gave a cry of triumph.
Here you are Holmes! Here it is!’
Holmes took the book from my hand.
‘Garrideb, N.’ he read, ‘136, Little Ryder Street, W. Sorry
to disappoint you, my dear Watson, but this is the man
himself. That is the address upon his letter. We want
another to match him.’
Mrs Hudson had come in with a card upon a tray. I
took it up and glanced at it.
‘Why, here it is!’ I cried in amazement. ‘This is a different
initial. John Garrideb, Counsellor at Law, Moorville, Kansas, U.S.A.’
Holmes smiled as he looked at the card. ‘I am afraid
you must make yet another effort, Watson,’ said he. ‘This
gentleman is also in the plot already, though I certainly
did not expect to see him this morning. However, he is in a
position to tell us a good deal which I want to know.’
A moment later he was in the room. Mr John Garrideb,
Counsellor at Law, was a short, powerful man with the
round, fresh clean-shaven face characteristic of so many
American men of affairs. The general effect was chubby
and rather childlike, so that one received the impression
of quite a young man with a broad set smile upon his face.
His eyes, however, were arresting. Seldom in any human
head have I seen a pair which bespoke a more intense
inward life, so bright were they, so alert, so responsive to
every change of thought. His accent was American but was
not accompanied by any eccentricity of speech.
2024-25
The Adventure of the Three Garridebs 39
‘Mr Holmes?’ he asked, glancing from one to the other.
‘Ah, yes! Your pictures are not unlike  you, sir, if I may say
so I believe you have had a letter from my namesake, Mr
Nathan Garrideb, have you not?’
‘Pray sit down,’ said Sherlock Holmes. We shall, I fancy,
have a good deal to discuss.’ He took up his sheets of
foolscap.
You are, of course, the Mr John Garrideb mentioned in this
document. But surely you have been in England some time?’
‘Why do you say that, Mr Holmes?’ I seemed to read
sudden suspicion in those expressive eyes.
‘Your whole outfit is English.’
Mr Garrideb forced a laugh. ‘I’ve read of your tricks,
Mr Holmes, but I never thought I would be the subject of
them. Where do you read that?’
‘The shoulder cut of your coat, the toes of your boots—
could anyone doubt it?’
‘Well, well, I had no idea I was so obvious a Britisher.
But business brought me over here some time ago and so,
as you say, my outfit is nearly all London. However, I guess
your time is of value and we did not meet to talk about the
cut of my socks. What about getting down to that paper
you hold in your hand?’
Holmes had, in some way, ruffled our visitor, whose
chubby face had assumed a far less amiable expression.
‘Patience! Patience, Mr Garrideb!’ said my friend in a
soothing voice. ‘Dr Watson would tell you that these little
digressions of mine sometimes prove in the end to have
some bearing on the matter. But why did Mr Nathan
Garrideb not come with you?’
‘Why did he ever drag you into it at all?’ asked our
visitor, with a sudden outflame of anger. ‘What in thunder
had you to do with it? Here was a bit of professional business
between two gentlemen, and one of them must need call in
a detective! I saw him this morning and he told me this
fool-trick he had played on me, and that’s why I am here.
But I feel bad about it, all the same.’
‘There was no reflection upon you, Mr Garrideb. It was
simply zeal upon his part to gain your end—an end which
is, I understand, equally vital for both of you. He knew that
2024-25
Page 4


The Adventure of the Three Garridebs 37
The Adventure of the Three
Garridebs
Arthur Conan Doyle
F F F F F Look for these expressions in the text and guess what they mean
from the context
with a disconsolate air            of sinister and murderous  reputation
want of imaginative intuition      penitentiary
devilish ingenuity confederate in crime
shamefaced grin dissipated dreams
rigmarole of lies syncopated dialogue
cadaverous face
It may have been a comedy, or it may have been a tragedy.
It cost one man his reason, it cost me a blood-letting, and
it cost yet another man the penalties of the law. Yet there
was certainly an element of comedy. Well, you shall judge
for yourselves.
I remember the date very well, for, it was in the same
month that Holmes refused a knighthood for services which
may perhaps some day be described. I only refer to the
matter in passing, for, in my position of partner and
confidant I am obliged to be particularly careful to avoid
any indiscretion. I repeat, however, that this enables me to
fix the date, which was the latter end of June 1902, shortly
after the conclusion of the South African War. Holmes had
spent several days in bed, as was his habit from time to
time, but he emerged that morning with a long foolscap
document in his hand and a twinkle of amusement in his
austere grey eyes.
‘There is a chance for you to make some money, friend
Watson,’ said he. ‘Have you ever heard the name of Garrideb?’
2024-25
38 Woven Words
I admitted that I had not.
‘Well, if you can lay your hand upon a Garrideb, there’s
money in it.’
‘Why?’
‘Ah, that’s a long story—rather a whimsical one, too. I
don’t think in all our explorations of human complexities
we have ever come upon anything more singular. The fellow
will be here presently for cross-examination, so I won’t
open the matter up till he comes. But meanwhile, that’s
the name we want.’
The telephone directory lay on the table beside me and
I turned over the pages in a rather hopeless quest. But to
my amazement there was this strange name in its due
place. I gave a cry of triumph.
Here you are Holmes! Here it is!’
Holmes took the book from my hand.
‘Garrideb, N.’ he read, ‘136, Little Ryder Street, W. Sorry
to disappoint you, my dear Watson, but this is the man
himself. That is the address upon his letter. We want
another to match him.’
Mrs Hudson had come in with a card upon a tray. I
took it up and glanced at it.
‘Why, here it is!’ I cried in amazement. ‘This is a different
initial. John Garrideb, Counsellor at Law, Moorville, Kansas, U.S.A.’
Holmes smiled as he looked at the card. ‘I am afraid
you must make yet another effort, Watson,’ said he. ‘This
gentleman is also in the plot already, though I certainly
did not expect to see him this morning. However, he is in a
position to tell us a good deal which I want to know.’
A moment later he was in the room. Mr John Garrideb,
Counsellor at Law, was a short, powerful man with the
round, fresh clean-shaven face characteristic of so many
American men of affairs. The general effect was chubby
and rather childlike, so that one received the impression
of quite a young man with a broad set smile upon his face.
His eyes, however, were arresting. Seldom in any human
head have I seen a pair which bespoke a more intense
inward life, so bright were they, so alert, so responsive to
every change of thought. His accent was American but was
not accompanied by any eccentricity of speech.
2024-25
The Adventure of the Three Garridebs 39
‘Mr Holmes?’ he asked, glancing from one to the other.
‘Ah, yes! Your pictures are not unlike  you, sir, if I may say
so I believe you have had a letter from my namesake, Mr
Nathan Garrideb, have you not?’
‘Pray sit down,’ said Sherlock Holmes. We shall, I fancy,
have a good deal to discuss.’ He took up his sheets of
foolscap.
You are, of course, the Mr John Garrideb mentioned in this
document. But surely you have been in England some time?’
‘Why do you say that, Mr Holmes?’ I seemed to read
sudden suspicion in those expressive eyes.
‘Your whole outfit is English.’
Mr Garrideb forced a laugh. ‘I’ve read of your tricks,
Mr Holmes, but I never thought I would be the subject of
them. Where do you read that?’
‘The shoulder cut of your coat, the toes of your boots—
could anyone doubt it?’
‘Well, well, I had no idea I was so obvious a Britisher.
But business brought me over here some time ago and so,
as you say, my outfit is nearly all London. However, I guess
your time is of value and we did not meet to talk about the
cut of my socks. What about getting down to that paper
you hold in your hand?’
Holmes had, in some way, ruffled our visitor, whose
chubby face had assumed a far less amiable expression.
‘Patience! Patience, Mr Garrideb!’ said my friend in a
soothing voice. ‘Dr Watson would tell you that these little
digressions of mine sometimes prove in the end to have
some bearing on the matter. But why did Mr Nathan
Garrideb not come with you?’
‘Why did he ever drag you into it at all?’ asked our
visitor, with a sudden outflame of anger. ‘What in thunder
had you to do with it? Here was a bit of professional business
between two gentlemen, and one of them must need call in
a detective! I saw him this morning and he told me this
fool-trick he had played on me, and that’s why I am here.
But I feel bad about it, all the same.’
‘There was no reflection upon you, Mr Garrideb. It was
simply zeal upon his part to gain your end—an end which
is, I understand, equally vital for both of you. He knew that
2024-25
40 Woven Words
I had means of getting information and, therefore, it was
very natural that he should apply to me.’
Our visitor’s angry face gradually cleared.
‘Well, that puts it different,’ said he, ‘When I went to
see him this morning and he told me he had sent for a
detective, I just asked for your address and came right
away. I don’t want police butting into a private matter. But
if you are content just to help us find the man, there can
be no harm in that.’
‘Well, that is just how it stands,’ said Holmes. ‘And
now, sir, since you are here, we had best have a clear
account from your own lips. My friend here knows nothing
of the details.’
Mr Garrideb surveyed me with not too friendly a gaze.
‘Need he know?’ he asked.
‘We usually work together.’
‘Well, there’s no reason it should be kept a secret.
I’ll give you the facts as short as I can make them. If
you came from Kansas I would not need to explain to
you who Alexander Hamilton Garrideb was. He made
his money in real estate and, afterwards, in the wheat
pit at Chicago, but he spent it in buying up as much
land as would make one of your counties, lying along
the Arkansas River, west of Fort Dodge. It’s grazing land
and lumber land and Arabic land and mineralised land,
and just every sort of land that brings dollars to the
man that owns it.
‘He had no kith nor kin—or, if he had, I never heard of
it. But he took a kind of pride in the queerness of his
name. That was what brought us together. I was in the law
at Topeka, and one day I had a visit from the old man and
he was tickled to death to meet another man with his own
name. It was his pet fad and he was dead set to find out if
there were any more Garridebs in the world. ‘Find me
another!’ said he. I told him I was a busy man and could
not spend my life hiking round the world in search of
Garridebs. ‘None the less,’ said he, ‘that is just what you
will do if things pan out as I planned them.’ I thought he
was joking, but there was a powerful lot of meaning in the
words, as I was soon to discover.
2024-25
Page 5


The Adventure of the Three Garridebs 37
The Adventure of the Three
Garridebs
Arthur Conan Doyle
F F F F F Look for these expressions in the text and guess what they mean
from the context
with a disconsolate air            of sinister and murderous  reputation
want of imaginative intuition      penitentiary
devilish ingenuity confederate in crime
shamefaced grin dissipated dreams
rigmarole of lies syncopated dialogue
cadaverous face
It may have been a comedy, or it may have been a tragedy.
It cost one man his reason, it cost me a blood-letting, and
it cost yet another man the penalties of the law. Yet there
was certainly an element of comedy. Well, you shall judge
for yourselves.
I remember the date very well, for, it was in the same
month that Holmes refused a knighthood for services which
may perhaps some day be described. I only refer to the
matter in passing, for, in my position of partner and
confidant I am obliged to be particularly careful to avoid
any indiscretion. I repeat, however, that this enables me to
fix the date, which was the latter end of June 1902, shortly
after the conclusion of the South African War. Holmes had
spent several days in bed, as was his habit from time to
time, but he emerged that morning with a long foolscap
document in his hand and a twinkle of amusement in his
austere grey eyes.
‘There is a chance for you to make some money, friend
Watson,’ said he. ‘Have you ever heard the name of Garrideb?’
2024-25
38 Woven Words
I admitted that I had not.
‘Well, if you can lay your hand upon a Garrideb, there’s
money in it.’
‘Why?’
‘Ah, that’s a long story—rather a whimsical one, too. I
don’t think in all our explorations of human complexities
we have ever come upon anything more singular. The fellow
will be here presently for cross-examination, so I won’t
open the matter up till he comes. But meanwhile, that’s
the name we want.’
The telephone directory lay on the table beside me and
I turned over the pages in a rather hopeless quest. But to
my amazement there was this strange name in its due
place. I gave a cry of triumph.
Here you are Holmes! Here it is!’
Holmes took the book from my hand.
‘Garrideb, N.’ he read, ‘136, Little Ryder Street, W. Sorry
to disappoint you, my dear Watson, but this is the man
himself. That is the address upon his letter. We want
another to match him.’
Mrs Hudson had come in with a card upon a tray. I
took it up and glanced at it.
‘Why, here it is!’ I cried in amazement. ‘This is a different
initial. John Garrideb, Counsellor at Law, Moorville, Kansas, U.S.A.’
Holmes smiled as he looked at the card. ‘I am afraid
you must make yet another effort, Watson,’ said he. ‘This
gentleman is also in the plot already, though I certainly
did not expect to see him this morning. However, he is in a
position to tell us a good deal which I want to know.’
A moment later he was in the room. Mr John Garrideb,
Counsellor at Law, was a short, powerful man with the
round, fresh clean-shaven face characteristic of so many
American men of affairs. The general effect was chubby
and rather childlike, so that one received the impression
of quite a young man with a broad set smile upon his face.
His eyes, however, were arresting. Seldom in any human
head have I seen a pair which bespoke a more intense
inward life, so bright were they, so alert, so responsive to
every change of thought. His accent was American but was
not accompanied by any eccentricity of speech.
2024-25
The Adventure of the Three Garridebs 39
‘Mr Holmes?’ he asked, glancing from one to the other.
‘Ah, yes! Your pictures are not unlike  you, sir, if I may say
so I believe you have had a letter from my namesake, Mr
Nathan Garrideb, have you not?’
‘Pray sit down,’ said Sherlock Holmes. We shall, I fancy,
have a good deal to discuss.’ He took up his sheets of
foolscap.
You are, of course, the Mr John Garrideb mentioned in this
document. But surely you have been in England some time?’
‘Why do you say that, Mr Holmes?’ I seemed to read
sudden suspicion in those expressive eyes.
‘Your whole outfit is English.’
Mr Garrideb forced a laugh. ‘I’ve read of your tricks,
Mr Holmes, but I never thought I would be the subject of
them. Where do you read that?’
‘The shoulder cut of your coat, the toes of your boots—
could anyone doubt it?’
‘Well, well, I had no idea I was so obvious a Britisher.
But business brought me over here some time ago and so,
as you say, my outfit is nearly all London. However, I guess
your time is of value and we did not meet to talk about the
cut of my socks. What about getting down to that paper
you hold in your hand?’
Holmes had, in some way, ruffled our visitor, whose
chubby face had assumed a far less amiable expression.
‘Patience! Patience, Mr Garrideb!’ said my friend in a
soothing voice. ‘Dr Watson would tell you that these little
digressions of mine sometimes prove in the end to have
some bearing on the matter. But why did Mr Nathan
Garrideb not come with you?’
‘Why did he ever drag you into it at all?’ asked our
visitor, with a sudden outflame of anger. ‘What in thunder
had you to do with it? Here was a bit of professional business
between two gentlemen, and one of them must need call in
a detective! I saw him this morning and he told me this
fool-trick he had played on me, and that’s why I am here.
But I feel bad about it, all the same.’
‘There was no reflection upon you, Mr Garrideb. It was
simply zeal upon his part to gain your end—an end which
is, I understand, equally vital for both of you. He knew that
2024-25
40 Woven Words
I had means of getting information and, therefore, it was
very natural that he should apply to me.’
Our visitor’s angry face gradually cleared.
‘Well, that puts it different,’ said he, ‘When I went to
see him this morning and he told me he had sent for a
detective, I just asked for your address and came right
away. I don’t want police butting into a private matter. But
if you are content just to help us find the man, there can
be no harm in that.’
‘Well, that is just how it stands,’ said Holmes. ‘And
now, sir, since you are here, we had best have a clear
account from your own lips. My friend here knows nothing
of the details.’
Mr Garrideb surveyed me with not too friendly a gaze.
‘Need he know?’ he asked.
‘We usually work together.’
‘Well, there’s no reason it should be kept a secret.
I’ll give you the facts as short as I can make them. If
you came from Kansas I would not need to explain to
you who Alexander Hamilton Garrideb was. He made
his money in real estate and, afterwards, in the wheat
pit at Chicago, but he spent it in buying up as much
land as would make one of your counties, lying along
the Arkansas River, west of Fort Dodge. It’s grazing land
and lumber land and Arabic land and mineralised land,
and just every sort of land that brings dollars to the
man that owns it.
‘He had no kith nor kin—or, if he had, I never heard of
it. But he took a kind of pride in the queerness of his
name. That was what brought us together. I was in the law
at Topeka, and one day I had a visit from the old man and
he was tickled to death to meet another man with his own
name. It was his pet fad and he was dead set to find out if
there were any more Garridebs in the world. ‘Find me
another!’ said he. I told him I was a busy man and could
not spend my life hiking round the world in search of
Garridebs. ‘None the less,’ said he, ‘that is just what you
will do if things pan out as I planned them.’ I thought he
was joking, but there was a powerful lot of meaning in the
words, as I was soon to discover.
2024-25
The Adventure of the Three Garridebs 41
‘For he died within a year of saying them and he left a
will behind him. It was the queerest will that has ever
been filed in the State of Kansas. His property was divided
into three parts and I was to have one on condition that I
found two Garridebs who would share the remainder. It’s
five million dollars for each if it is a cent, but we can’t lay a
finger on it until we all three stand in a row.
‘It was so big a chance that I just let my legal practice
slide and I set forth looking for Garridebs. There is not one
in the United States. I went through it, sir, with a fine-
toothed comb and never a Garrideb could I catch. Then I
tried the old country. Sure enough there was the name in
the London Telephone Directory. I went after him two days
ago and explained the whole matter to him. But he is a
lone man, like myself, with some women relations, but no
men. It says three adult men in the will. So you see we still
have a vacancy and if you can help to fill it we will be very
ready to pay your charges.’
‘Well, Watson,’ said Holmes, with a smile, ‘I said it was
rather whimsical, did I not? I should have thought, sir,
that your obvious way was to advertise in the agony
columns of the papers.’
‘I have done that, Mr Holmes. No replies.’
‘Dear me! Well, it is certainly a most curious little
problem. I may take a glance at it in my leisure. By the
way, it is curious that you should have come from Topeka.
I used to have a correspondent—he is dead now—old Dr
Lysander Starr, who was Mayor in 1890.’
‘Good old Dr Starr!’ said our visitor. ‘His name is still
honoured. Well, Mr Holmes, I suppose all we can do is to
report to you and let you know how we progress. I reckon
you will hear within a day or two.’ With this assurance our
American bowed and departed.
Holmes had lit his pipe, and he sat for some time with
a curious smile upon his face.
‘Well?’ I asked at last.
‘I am wondering, Watson—just wondering!’
‘At what?’
Holmes took his pipe from his lips.
‘I was wondering, Watson, what on earth could be the
2024-25