- [last lines]
- Sherlock Holmes: I really must congratulate you, Inspector. Your powers, if I may say so without offence, are superior to your opportunities.
- Inspector Baynes: You're right, Mister Holmes. In the provinces we stagnate; a case like this gives a man a chance.
- Inspector Baynes: I was sure that Henderson, as he calls himself, felt he was suspected, and he would make no move so long as he thought he was in danger, so I arrested the wrong man.
- Sherlock Holmes: Your experience is, as far as I can tell, perfectly unique. Now what else can you tell me?
- Scott Eccles: Well, I was furious. I packed my bags, and I banged the front door behind, and I set out for Esher. I called at Allen Brothers, the land agents, and found out through them that the villa had been rented.
- Sherlock Holmes: Rented?
- Scott Eccles: Well, you see, I couldn't believe they'd gone simply to make a fool of me. I thought, you know it must be the rent. But I was wrong. See the agents thanked me for my warning, but said that the rent had been paid in advance.
- Dr. Watson: By the Spanish Embassy, I imagine?
- Scott Eccles: I called at the Spanish Embassy. The man is unknown to them. And then I asked the friend who introduced us and he seemed to know less about Garcia than I did.
- Scott Eccles: Well, Mr Holmes, I'm a bachelor and being of social turn I cultivate a large number of friends. At the table of one of them recently, I met a young man named Garcia, a pleasant chap of Spanish descent, connected in some way with the embassy. We discovered a common interest in cartography, or so I thought, that's the study of old maps. The plan was to retrace Surrey as Thomas Moule engraved it some fifty years ago. As soon as I arrived I knew something was wrong, the atmosphere of the place, the house was tumbledown, depressing, Garcia told me had a wonderful cook, a half-breed he had picked up in his travels, but the dinner was so ill-prepared and served with such bad grace that it was barely edible. I can assure there many times in the course of the evening I wished could invent some excuse to leave.
- [In the flashback Garcia receives a note that he scrunches up and throws in the fire]
- Sherlock Holmes: He made no remark as to the contents of this note?
- Scott Eccles: None. But, at that moment, he gave up all pretense at conversation, just sat there smoking these endless cigarettes. About eleven I was glad to go to bed.
- Sherlock Holmes: You are like my friend Watson who has the bad habit of telling his stories wrong-end foremost.
- [first lines]
- Garcia: Mr Scott Eccles.
- Scott Eccles: Oh, ah-ha, Mr Garcia.
- Garcia: I'm sorry, I did not recognize you at once.
- Scott Eccles: Oh, ah.
- Garcia: Please, allow me to carry your case.
- Scott Eccles: That's very civil of you. Thank you very much.
- Garcia: I'm sorry the weather has been unkind for your visit.
- Scott Eccles: Ah, well, unkind for you, perhaps, but, hah, we British, you know, we're hardy souls, hah-hah.