[00:00.00]Text The Great Idea of Mr.Budd(1)
[00:07.08]￡500 REWARD
[00:11.15]The Evening Messenger has decided to offer the above reward to any person who gives information
[00:19.10]which results inthe arrest of William Strickland,
[00:24.37]who is wanted by the police in connection with the murder of Emma Strickland in Manchester.
[00:32.24]DESCRIPTION OF THE WANTED MAN
[00:36.39]This is the official description of William Strickland;
[00:41.72]Age forty-three;height about six feet one inch;
[00:47.75]thick silver-grey hair,which may be dyed;
[00:53.08]full grey beard,but may now have been shaved off;light grey eyes;
[01:01.86]large nose;strong white teeth,of which some are filled with gold;
[01:09.62]left thumbnail damaged by a recent blow.
[01:14.76]Mr.Budd read the description carefully.
[01:19.44]There were hundreds of barbers'shops in London.
[01:24.19]It was unlikely that William Strickland would choose his small shop for a haircut,
[01:30.85]a shave or even to have his hair dyed.
[01:35.71]Three weeks had passed since the murder,
[01:40.36]and it seemed very probable that William Strickland had already left the country.
[01:46.89]But in spite of this Mr.Budd memorised the description as well as possible.
[01:53.42]There was a chance.
[01:56.98]These were difficult times for Mr.Budd,
[02:01.42]and he was attracted by any opportunity of making money.
[02:06.98]It may seem strange that,
[02:10.82]in an age when it was fashionable for ladies to have their hair styled,
[02:17.20]Mr.Budd should search for opportunities of making money.
[02:23.12]But recently a new"Ladies Hairdressing Department"had opened opposite.
[02:30.49]The result was an endless stream of young ladies
[02:35.64]who hurried there to make appointments.
[02:40.08]Day after day,Mr.Budd watched them goingin and out of the rival shop
[02:48.02]and hoped that some of them would come over to him;but they never did.
[02:55.67]And yet Mr.Budd knew that he was the better hairdresser.
[03:02.02]He had studied especially the art of hair-dyeing,
[03:07.30]and it made him quite angry to see the careless way in which his rival did this particular branch of his work.
[03:15.63]Mr.Budd put the newspaper down,
[03:19.99]and as he did so,caught sight of his face in the mirror.
[03:24.09]He was not the sort of man who catches a violent murderer by himself.
[03:30.65]Even with a razor,he would be no match for William Strickland,
[03:36.22]who had murdered his old aunt so violently.
[03:41.78]Mr.Budd shook his head doubtfully
[03:46.04]and walked to-wards the door to watch the busy shop opposite.
[03:51.60]As he did so,
[03:54.76]he nearly ran into a large man who suddenly came in through the door-way.
[04:01.11]"I beg your pardon,sir,"said Mr.Budd politely,
[04:06.39]not wanting to lose any money."Would you like a shave,sir?"
[04:12.24]The large man quickly took off his coat.
[04:16.89]"Are you ready to die?"he asked fiercely.
[04:22.35]The question was so close to Mr.Budd's thoughts about murder
[04:28.51]that for a moment he was quite frightened.
[04:32.59]"I beg your pardon,sir,"he managed to say at last.
[04:38.05]"Do you dye hair?"said the man impatiently.
[04:42.80]"Oh!"said Mr.Bubb,feeling relieved,"yes,sir,certainly."
[04:49.75]This was a stroke of luck.He could get a good price for dyeing.
[04:56.28]"Good",said the man,sitting down and allowing Mr.Budd to put a cloth about his neck.
[05:02.94]"The fact of the matter is that my young lady doesn't like red hair.
[05:08.30]I thought that perhaps it could be changed to something less noticeable.
[05:14.57]Dark brown is the colour that she would like.What do you think?"
[05:20.81]Mr.Budd,in the interests of business,agreed that dark brown would be very nice.
[05:27.89]Besides,it was very likely that there was no young lady.
[05:33.82]When a man is going to do something foolish he prefers,
[05:39.67]if possible,to put the responsibility on to someone else.
[05:45.63]"Very well,then,"said the man,
[05:49.39]"carry on.And I'm afraid that the beard must go.
[05:54.74]My young lady doesn't like beards."
[05:58.71]The man sat back,and Mr.Budd noticed strong,well-kept teeth,
[06:06.45]one of which was filled with gold.
[06:10.39]"I see that you have used a dye before,sir,"said Mr.Budd.
[06:16.87]"Could you tell me--?"
[06:20.42]"Eh?"said the man.
[06:23.95]"Oh,yes--well the fact is that my young lady is much youner than I am.
[06:30.48]You can see that my hair began to go grey early in my life and so I had it dyed.
[06:37.45]But she doesn't really like the colour.
[06:41.29]I should change it to a colour she does like,eh?"
[06:46.47]Mr.Budd got from the man the name of the dye which had been used before
[06:53.23]and decided that he would have to be careful.
[06:57.99]Some dyes do not mix well with other dyes.
[07:03.13]He shaved off the beard.He washed the hair and then began to dry it.
[07:10.11]Meanwhile,he talked about sport and politics,
[07:15.67]and passed on naturally to the Manchester murder.
[07:21.23]"The police seem to have given up in despair,"said the man.
[07:27.11]"Perhaps the reward will help,"said Mr.Bubb who was still thinking of the subject.
[07:33.36]"Oh,there's a reward,is there?I hadn't seen that."
[07:38.92]"It's in this evening's paper,sir.Would you like to have a look at it?"
[07:44.56]"Thanks,yes,I would."
[07:48.22]Mr.Budd fetched the Evening Messenger.
[07:52.27]The stranger read the article carefully
[07:56.71]and Mr.Budd,watching him in the mirror,saw him suddenly pull back his left hand
[08:03.87]which had been resting carelessly on the arm of the chair.
[08:09.01]But not before Mr.Budd had seen the misshapen thumbnail.
[08:15.57]The man looked up sharply
[08:19.72]and Mr.Budd saw his eyes watching him closely in the mirror.
[08:26.49]He was examining Mr.Budd's face to find out how much he knew.
[08:33.15]"I've no doubt,"said Mr.Budd,
[08:37.30]"that the man is safely out of the country by now.
[08:42.48]They've offered the reward too late,I think."
[08:47.12]The man laughed.
[08:50.60]"I think they have,"he said.
[08:54.75]Mr.Budd wondered whether many men
[08:59.19]who had a damaged left thumb also had an upper tooth filled with gold. |