 In the weird circle, in this cave by the restless sea, we are met to call from out the past stories, strange and weird. Bellkeeper, hold the bell, so all may know we are gathered again in the weird circle. Manette's manuscript. I have in my hand a manuscript that Dr. Alex Manette unearthed on the night of February 12th, 1751. A manuscript that will provide conclusive proof of the guilt of Charles St. everyone, accusing him of fraud, murder, and conspiracy. A chain of fantastic events lead to Dr. Manette's finding of the manuscript, and I should like to describe these events to you now. I, Philippe Jean-T, was with Alex Manette early in the evening. I had dropped by his home in hopes of persuading him to join me at a large soiree which was being given that night by one of the most distinguished barons in all Paris. The baron's name is unimportant. Dr. Manette and I were standing at the doorway of his home. It was exactly 6.45. That, I remember, because the grandfather's clock in the living room was just beginning to chime. I'm sorry, Philippe. I simply can't come to the ball this evening. I promised several of my patients that I'd drop by and see them. She's going to be there. She? Who? Who, who, who? The woman I was telling you about. Countess Clarissa St. everyone. Ah, your countess with the mysterious husband. She's half what you say she is, Philippe Jean-T. It'd be just as well if I don't meet her. Nothing can persuade you? Nothing. Come along. I'll walk you outside at any rate. And if you change your mind, come to 12-3 St. Honoré. If I change my mind, give your countess my greetings. That is, if her husband isn't around. Don't worry about him. Charles St. everyone is never around. Too busy and his estate's in Normandy. Goodbye, Philippe. Goodbye, Alec. And don't forget, 12-3 St. Honoré. You will make it. I won't forget, but I can't make it. Well, it must be close to 7 o'clock. Better hurry. I'll never finish my calls tonight. Party, indeed. I have no time for parties. Are Dr. Minette. Yes? Who is it? Over here, please, in the carriage. Oh, what do you want? I'd like to see you for a moment. You are Dr. Minette, aren't you? Yes, I am, but I don't believe I have the privilege of knowing you. I have a patient that needs your aid very badly. Won't you please accompany us? But who are you? That is unimportant as far as you're concerned, monsieur. Robert. Yes, brother? Perhaps your pistol can persuade the doctor to join us. I don't need to be persuaded by force to help save human life. This is not force, Dr. Minette. Now, if you don't mind, we have a great deal to do this evening. We insist that you enter the carriage. Right in here, sir. A middle seat will do. Very well. We can handle this all very agreeably, doctor, if you will be reasonable. You'll be well paid for your work. I'm sure of it. Are you ready, brother? Quite ready, Robert. All right, brother. I hate to inconvenience you, Dr. Minette. Believe me. But I'm forced to tie this handkerchief around your eyes. I prefer that you do not know where we're taking you for reasons which are purely personal. I, uh, hope you don't mind. No, no, no. Go right ahead. Nothing I can do about it, is there? No. Not very much, Dr. Minette. Just sit quietly and the work will soon be over. Well, doctor, this is your destination. I'll remove the blindfold from your eyes now. What was that scream I just heard? It's your patient, Dr. Minette. We'll take you right upstairs to an hour. If you will follow me, doctor, up this staircase. Must be old place, isn't it? Yes, quite old. You lived here long? Does it matter? Sorry, my mister. Girl, has she been that way for long? Two days now, doctor. Her screams are as regular as the swing of a pendulum, and we can't quiet her. That is why you're here. These screams are nerve-racking to myself and to my brother, Robert. Oh, it's, uh, this door here. Go right in, doctor. My husband, my father, my brother. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. Twelve. Pay no attention to her chatter, doctor. Why are you bounded to the bed? To keep her from going mad. You think that's protection from insanity? This girl is already in the last stages of brain fever. You don't mind if I untie her, do you? Mind? Why should I? Here's all the medicine you might need. Thank you. My husband, my father, my brother. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Hush. Quiet, my dear. I'll just undo these ties. Most we can hope for is to administer sedative and keep her quiet. Is this fresh water in the container? Quite fresh, doctor. Quite a medical collection here. Yes, we have quite. My husband, my father, my brother. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Hush. What does this cry of hers mean? How should I know? Nothing at all. Well, doctor, what do you think? I think the girl has been purposely driven mad, gentlemen. That she is dying. If that is your opinion, Dr. Manette, it is best you keep it to yourself. Here you are, my dear. Drink this. No! No! Open your mouth. What would you suggest we do with her, Dr. Manette? Can't suggest anything. It's too late. Oh, my husband, my father, my brother. One, two, three, four. Quiet, my dear, quiet. Nobody must find him. Nobody. He's safe. Safe from you, you bitch. Now, now, you're quite safe, my dear. Quite safe. I'm the doctor. Doctor. Doctor. Doctor, don't forget the numbers. The graves. The graves. The graveyard. What did she say to you, doctor? She spoke too softly. I couldn't understand it. Well, gentlemen, you waited too long. The young lady is dead. How unfortunate. Oh, Manette. You remember the doctor's code, do you not? What exactly are you referring to? The sanctity of the death-beth confession. The silence in which it must be held. If you repeat anything you've seen here this evening, we will take legal recourse to prove that you were responsible for the death of this girl. You're not threatening me, are you? Yes, yes. As a matter of fact, I am. Now, doctor, if you're ready, my brother will blindfold you and return you to the place we originally found you. And before you leave, doctor. Yes. I promised you you'd be well-paid. I'll give you this little bag of 100 gold pieces. Thank you. But I only did what was humanly possible. Uh, Robert. See that the doctor Manette is returned home safely. Driver, hold the carriage. This is where we found you, doctor Manette. I hope if we should ever meet again, it'll be in happier circumstances. Yes, I hope so. Good night, doctor. Oh, uh, tell me one thing before you leave. Yes. Can you, uh, know about me? We've heard a great deal about you, doctor Manette, indirectly through a friend of yours. His name, I believe, is Philip Jean-T. Good night, doctor. Philip Jean-T, I wonder. What was that address he gave me? 12 Ries Saint-Honoré. I'd better walk over there. I wonder, my father, my husband, the 12 numbers. Hush. Doctor Manette walked quickly to number 12 Ries Saint-Honoré. When he arrived, the Baron's house was already crowded with merry-makers. I was seated in the corner with the countess when Alex rushed in. I introduced him to Clarissa, and he told us the exact story which I have just recounted. I noticed that Clarissa appeared to be pale. Then she said... I beg of you, doctor Manette. Please forget all about this evening. Forget that you were ever here. Forget that you ever saw this man. Do you know who he is? Philip, please. I'm feeling very faint. I'd like to go outside for some fresh air. Certainly, Clarissa. Do you mind if I join you? Oh, not at all. We'll leave through the side doors. Philip, is anybody watching us? Not that I notice, my dear. Follow me, gentlemen, out this way and shut the doors behind us. Let me warn you, doctor Manette, your life isn't great danger. Yes, I know them. My husband and his brother, Robert. You see, Philip has told me about you, doctor. And yesterday, because I was feeling ill, I asked my husband to send for you. But he's a fiend, that one. Your husband? But what is he up to? Revenge. On whom? On me. He's always trying to trap me. Charles knows I have nothing but loathing for him. And in that twisted mind of his, he suspects my love for Philip. So that's why his brother, Robert, mentioned Philip's name to me? Yes. And when he threatened to accuse you of murder, it was no idle threat. He said you followed here. He means to trap us all. But count us. I can prove my innocence. You think so, doctor Manette, but you don't know his power. If he finds out about us, Clarissa. Philip, it's no use, my dear. He came to Paris to take me back with him tomorrow. I was going to tell you our little dream was over tonight. Only I wanted it to be gay and exciting and say goodbye as if... as if I were leaving on an adventure. My dear countess, what do you know about the twelve numbers? Twelve numbers? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Have you any idea who the girl was? None. Unless she's a daughter of one of the peasants on the land. It's not unusual for Charles, or that pig of a brother of his, to amuse themselves at the expense of such unfortunates. Oh, I warn you, doctor Manette, if you've any respect for your life, go. Go as far from here as you possibly can. And leave you to the mercy of your husband and half of Normandy to that kind of tyranny? No, I don't think so. Alex is quite right, Clarissa. This is no time to run from anything. Our first job is to get you to safety. And the next is to find out what the twelve numbers mean. But you don't understand. Charles planned all this to happen exactly the way it has. He knew doctor Manette would join us at the party, and he also knows that we'll try to escape. And nothing would please him more than to catch me this way. If he does catch you, Clarissa, send for one of the maids in this house. And I think for a few francs she might lend you some clothes. But, Philippe, you're both risking your lives, don't you understand? Since they are our lives, Countess, we'll worry about them. Now, do what Philippe says. And let's hurry. Yes. Go into the house by yourself, Clarissa. Upstairs to the dressing room and wait. I'll go in the back way and send one of the maids up to you. Alex, you wait here for me. Don't take any chances, any of you. I'll see you later, Philippe, darling. Later. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, hush. I don't get it. My father, my brother, my husband... Are you Dr. Alex Manette? Why, yes, I am. I am Inspector de Vray from the Paris police. In the name of the king, I arrest you for the murder of Lily Deschamps. Well, gentlemen, while Alex was waiting for us in the garden, the inspector of the Paris police arrested him for the murder of a girl he didn't even know. Some found it at first. Alex just stared at Inspector de Vray. I'm arrested? So soon. Who pressed these charges? Count Charles Saint-Evrimon. Ah, and the girl I supposedly killed is... What is her name again? Lily Deschamps. Lily Deschamps. So that's her name. Come along. Come along, sort. My coat is inside. If you'll give me permission, I'll just get my coat and hat and join you down here in a few minutes. I wouldn't try to escape, sir. The house is surrounded. You have my word, monsieur. I shall be back. Countess Saint-Evrimon. Countess. Dr. Manette? Come in here. I thought you were to wait downstairs. Great heavens. I would never have recognized you, Countess. It's the maid's costume. How do I look in peasant dress? It's charming, madame, but where is Philippe? Waiting in the garden. I thought he was with you. I've just been arrested. No, I've only a short time, so listen to me carefully. I'm escaped and I've only one chance. You and Philippe must have to work fast to help me. Of course, doctor, anything. No, I'll manage to delay the inspector for 15 minutes. In that time, you and Philippe must arrange to follow the inspector's carriage in your own cab. Now, to get to the jail from here, they must travel down the rebla to a quiet part of the cane near the Sain. I'll be riding with the inspector, a prisoner in his cab. You understand? Yes, yes, so far I do, doctor. Listen carefully. There's a warehouse at the corner where you turn down the cane. Now, you and Philippe instruct your driver to go pull speed the other way around it and meet us. Happily bring money and two pistols. I'll be ready. You can count on us, doctor. We shan't fear you. This must be the spot. Look, Carissa, there's his carriage right ahead, turning toward the cane. Philip, are you sure this is the place? Positive, darling. There's the warehouse Alex told us about. Coachman. Yes? Turn to the left here. We miss you. Get up, get up. The inspector's cab will come down the left side of the street. When we start galloping, Carissa, open the door and hop out quickly and head for the warehouse in the corner. Wait in the doorway for us if there's any trouble. Yes, Philippe, yes, darling. Coachman. Yes? As soon as you turn the corner toward the key, put your horses into full gallop. You'll see another carriage heading toward us. We miss you. Go for it. Run straight into it. But my cab's here. Here are 4,000 francs, driver. That'll take care of the cab and any damage that could possibly occur. No, we miss you. Look, Philippe, there's the inspector's cab at the other end of the block. All right, driver, full gallop. That's the other cab. Head into him. We miss you. Here we go, Philippe. Be ready to jump, Clarissa, at the minute we strike. Watch out, Philippe. Hold on, darling. Look, there's Alex in the other cab. He's got his hand on the door. Here we go for the crash. Open the door, Clarissa. Jump. Get those horses of yours, untangled horses. We could all have been killed. This is the prefix, special cab. Idiot. This was... I'm following you down here. Where's Alex? He's out of Deverey's cab and running down the street. He missed at the corner. Hurry, darling, hurry. This way, Clarissa. Down here. I'm so worn out. Hurry, darling, hurry. Around this corner. Before they notice Alex is gone. Here. In here. Both of you, quickly. Alex. Are you all right? I'm a bit shaken, but I'll be all right. Now, this is the old warehouse I was telling you about. I hope the door is open. There it is. Quickly, follow me in here. Now, it'll be quite safe here till they give up the hunt. It's so dark in here, Doctor. All the better. Now, we'd have to wait in here for a few hours. Then we'd get a cab out of town. Where can we go, Doctor? To the country, to your husband's estate. There, I think we should find out what the twelve numbers mean. And then I'll have the answer to this whole mystery. Well, make yourselves comfortable. Leave a long wait. For a long while, Clarissa, Alex, and myself sat huddled in the corner of the warehouse waiting. Alex stood near the door, one eye to the keyhole watching. Finally, as morning came, he back into us. Cautiously, the three of us emerged into the deserted early morning streets. We walked several blocks without encountering a soul. Unfortunately, not even a cab was in sight. We were about to give up hope when Alex saw a cab rolling down the streets. He held it, and we got in. Alex took complete charge of the proceedings. Rather, take the river road out of town to the St. Everman Estates in Normandy. I'm sorry, Monsieur, but I can't leave Paris and my cab. The revolver in your back may change your mind. Go on and quickly. Oui, Monsieur. Clarissa, Philippe, sit on the floor of the carriage. Come along, Clarissa. Cover yourselves with this rope. Driver, if you stop to signal anybody, even for a second, you'll be killed. Oui, Monsieur, I understand. I'm glad you do. And hurry, it's a two-hour journey. How does... Do you know anyone by the name of Duchamp? Lily Duchamp? Yes, yes, I do. She's a pleasant girl who works in the St. Everman land in Normandy. She lived with her father, her husband, and her brother. My father, my husband, my brother. One, two, three. At least she did live with him. Charles told me yesterday that her father and her husband both died. Probably from overwork. Charles always hated that family. More than any of the others, and worked them twice as hard. Often he'd hitch them to a wagon and force them to do the work of cattle. Right of a landowner. Some of our French laws are a combination of cruelty and stupidity. But what about her brother? I don't know, really. Well, Lily Duchamp is the girl I'm accused of murdering. I don't know why, but that's what we're going to find out as soon as we get there. But how, Alex? Just before the girl died, she mentioned something about a graveyard. Just whisper it. Graveyard. If I can only find out what the numbers mean. Doctor, right ahead of us at the turn of the road is the graveyard. I think we better stop the carriage here before somebody sees us. Yes, quite right, Countess. Draw up here, driver. Oui, monsieur. Let me help you or the carriage. Thank you, darling. I'm so frightened. Frightened for all of us. Now, darling, don't be. Pray for the best. You lead the way, Countess. Driver, you walk between my friend and me. Oui, monsieur. I'll be quiet, everybody. Yeah. I tell you I saw a carriage coming down the road. He'll down everybody. Quiet. I tell you you're wrong. Come on, let's eat breakfast before the Count gets back or we won't eat at all. Quiet. Of course, I think we ought to look again here. You know what the Count shouts our desire. No strangers allowed on the lines. Well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Come on, let's eat. Those are two of the workers. They'll be returning to their homes. The graveyard's right through this hedge. There's so many headstones. How can we find the one we're looking for? Here's Luck, Alex. Here are some, Mark Deschamps. Yes, Philip. Look, here's the grave of Lily's father. Next to it is her husband's grave. And next to that is her brother's. It's empty, Clarissa. I know, but it's a custom here for every peasant to dig his own grave before death and carve his own tombstone. What a pleasant little plan. Then the brother must still be alive somewhere. Yes. Doctor, now that you've found the grave, what do we do? Find something to count on. Now, I wonder where this flagstone path leads to. The one next to the husband's grave. Well, I've never noticed it before. Well, it goes to the old well over there. The flagstone path to the well. How many flagstones? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. That's it. Twelve flagstones to the well. Twelve. It must be hidden in the well somewhere. I don't follow you, Alex. It's so simple. The girl in her family evidently found out something about your husband, Countess. They had no way of proving it because they couldn't go into court without the consent of your husband. I'm sorry, Doctor. It still doesn't make any sense. Of course it does. Your husband killed two men in trying to extract the information from them. They tortured the girl to death, drove her insane. And they never understood the code that she was giving me. My husband, my father, my brother, one, two, three, the twelve numbers, hush. I wonder what the hush was for. Hush? Well, that's the inscription written on this stone in the old well. Look, it's right here. Hush, ye who enter here, for they are dead. Look, this one stone of the well. Now, let me see. Now, look, Philippe, it's loose. I can move it, I think. Yes, it moves. You fools, I'll have you all plugged for allowing strangers on my property. It's my husband. He discovered us. I think he's too late. Look, there's an old apartment here, a manuscript. Clarissa, what are you doing here? Shoot them if you have to, Philippe. But hold them off with your gun until I've read this manuscript. Stay back, my Clarissa. Stand where you are, both of you. Insolence. Stop that gun, you fool. I can have you hanged for this. Stand back. This is the title to the St. Evermont property in Normandy. In the year 1751, all said property reverts from the St. Evermont family to their cousins, the Duchamp family. And the debt of the Duchamp family is paid in full on February 1st, 1751, at exactly one o'clock in the afternoon. Did you hear that, Count St. Evermont? Yes, yes, I did. You know what this means? That you will die on the gallows for a triple murder as soon as we can haul you and this documentary proof of ownership into court, which will be right now. So, gentlemen of this court, this document, Dr. Manette's manuscript, is living proof in your hands. The only reason the Deschamps family could not bring that document in themselves was that it did not come due until 11 days ago, February 1st, 1751. Until that date, the Deschamps were sworn vassals of the St. Evermont family, bonded peasants on their own lands, and Charles and his brother, Robert, were determined to wipe out the entire family. They succeeded in killing the father, the husband, and even the girl. But the brother is still alive. Thank you, Mr. Jean-Tier. Charles and Robert St. Evermont, this court finds you guilty and sentences you to death. The property will revert to Young Deschamps as soon as he can be located. Your Honor, you won't have to locate the young man. I am the Young Deschamps, alias Philippe Jean-Tier. On pages of the past, we have heard again the story of Dr. Manette's manuscript. Bell Deeper. All of us.