MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Adventure I. Silver Blaze "I am afraid, Watson, that I shall have to go, " said Holmes, as we satdown together to our breakfast one morning. "Go! Where to?" "To Dartmoor; to King's Pyland. " I was not surprised. Indeed, my only wonder was that he had not alreadybeen mixed up in this extraordinary case, which was the one topic ofconversation through the length and breadth of England. For a whole daymy companion had rambled about the room with his chin upon his chest andhis brows knitted, charging and recharging his pipe with the strongestblack tobacco, and absolutely deaf to any of my questions or remarks. Fresh editions of every paper had been sent up by our news agent, onlyto be glanced over and tossed down into a corner. Yet, silent as he was, I knew perfectly well what it was over which he was brooding. There wasbut one problem before the public which could challenge his powers ofanalysis, and that was the singular disappearance of the favorite forthe Wessex Cup, and the tragic murder of its trainer. When, therefore, he suddenly announced his intention of setting out for the scene of thedrama it was only what I had both expected and hoped for. "I should be most happy to go down with you if I should not be in theway, " said I. "My dear Watson, you would confer a great favor upon me by coming. AndI think that your time will not be misspent, for there are points aboutthe case which promise to make it an absolutely unique one. We have, Ithink, just time to catch our train at Paddington, and I will go furtherinto the matter upon our journey. You would oblige me by bringing withyou your very excellent field-glass. " And so it happened that an hour or so later I found myself in thecorner of a first-class carriage flying along en route for Exeter, whileSherlock Holmes, with his sharp, eager face framed in his ear-flappedtravelling-cap, dipped rapidly into the bundle of fresh papers which hehad procured at Paddington. We had left Reading far behind us beforehe thrust the last one of them under the seat, and offered me hiscigar-case. "We are going well, " said he, looking out the window and glancing at hiswatch. "Our rate at present is fifty-three and a half miles an hour. " "I have not observed the quarter-mile posts, " said I. "Nor have I. But the telegraph posts upon this line are sixty yardsapart, and the calculation is a simple one. I presume that youhave looked into this matter of the murder of John Straker and thedisappearance of Silver Blaze?" "I have seen what the Telegraph and the Chronicle have to say. " "It is one of those cases where the art of the reasoner should beused rather for the sifting of details than for the acquiring of freshevidence. The tragedy has been so uncommon, so complete and of suchpersonal importance to so many people, that we are suffering from aplethora of surmise, conjecture, and hypothesis. The difficulty is todetach the framework of fact--of absolute undeniable fact--from theembellishments of theorists and reporters. Then, having establishedourselves upon this sound basis, it is our duty to see what inferencesmay be drawn and what are the special points upon which the wholemystery turns. On Tuesday evening I received telegrams from both ColonelRoss, the owner of the horse, and from Inspector Gregory, who is lookingafter the case, inviting my cooperation. " "Tuesday evening!" I exclaimed. "And this is Thursday morning. Whydidn't you go down yesterday?" "Because I made a blunder, my dear Watson--which is, I am afraid, a morecommon occurrence than any one would think who only knew me through yourmemoirs. The fact is that I could not believe it possible that the mostremarkable horse in England could long remain concealed, especially inso sparsely inhabited a place as the north of Dartmoor. From hour tohour yesterday I expected to hear that he had been found, and thathis abductor was the murderer of John Straker. When, however, anothermorning had come, and I found that beyond the arrest of young FitzroySimpson nothing had been done, I felt that it was time for me to takeaction. Yet in some ways I feel that yesterday has not been wasted. " "You have formed a theory, then?" "At least I have got a grip of the essential facts of the case. I shallenumerate them to you, for nothing clears up a case so much as statingit to another person, and I can hardly expect your co-operation if I donot show you the position from which we start. " I lay back against the cushions, puffing at my cigar, while Holmes, leaning forward, with his long, thin forefinger checking off the pointsupon the palm of his left hand, gave me a sketch of the events which hadled to our journey. "Silver Blaze, " said he, "is from the Somomy stock, and holds asbrilliant a record as his famous ancestor. He is now in his fifth year, and has brought in turn each of the prizes of the turf to Colonel Ross, his fortunate owner. Up to the time of the catastrophe he was the firstfavorite for the Wessex Cup, the betting being three to one on him. Hehas always, however, been a prime favorite with the racing public, andhas never yet disappointed them, so that even at those odds enormoussums of money have been laid upon him. It is obvious, therefore, thatthere were many people who had the strongest interest in preventingSilver Blaze from being there at the fall of the flag next Tuesday. "The fact was, of course, appreciated at King's Pyland, where theColonel's training-stable is situated. Every precaution was taken toguard the favorite. The trainer, John Straker, is a retired jockeywho rode in Colonel Ross's colors before he became too heavy for theweighing-chair. He has served the Colonel for five years as jockey andfor seven as trainer, and has always shown himself to be a zealous andhonest servant. Under him were three lads; for the establishment was asmall one, containing only four horses in all. One of these lads sat upeach night in the stable, while the others slept in the loft. All threebore excellent characters. John Straker, who is a married man, livedin a small villa about two hundred yards from the stables. He has nochildren, keeps one maid-servant, and is comfortably off. The countryround is very lonely, but about half a mile to the north there is asmall cluster of villas which have been built by a Tavistock contractorfor the use of invalids and others who may wish to enjoy the pureDartmoor air. Tavistock itself lies two miles to the west, whileacross the moor, also about two miles distant, is the larger trainingestablishment of Mapleton, which belongs to Lord Backwater, and ismanaged by Silas Brown. In every other direction the moor is a completewilderness, inhabited only by a few roaming gypsies. Such was thegeneral situation last Monday night when the catastrophe occurred. "On that evening the horses had been exercised and watered as usual, andthe stables were locked up at nine o'clock. Two of the lads walked upto the trainer's house, where they had supper in the kitchen, while thethird, Ned Hunter, remained on guard. At a few minutes after ninethe maid, Edith Baxter, carried down to the stables his supper, whichconsisted of a dish of curried mutton. She took no liquid, as there wasa water-tap in the stables, and it was the rule that the lad on dutyshould drink nothing else. The maid carried a lantern with her, as itwas very dark and the path ran across the open moor. "Edith Baxter was within thirty yards of the stables, when a manappeared out of the darkness and called to her to stop. As he steppedinto the circle of yellow light thrown by the lantern she saw that hewas a person of gentlemanly bearing, dressed in a gray suit of tweeds, with a cloth cap. He wore gaiters, and carried a heavy stick with a knobto it. She was most impressed, however, by the extreme pallor of hisface and by the nervousness of his manner. His age, she thought, wouldbe rather over thirty than under it. "'Can you tell me where I am?' he asked. 'I had almost made up my mindto sleep on the moor, when I saw the light of your lantern. ' "'You are close to the King's Pyland training-stables, ' said she. "'Oh, indeed! What a stroke of luck!' he cried. 'I understand that astable-boy sleeps there alone every night. Perhaps that is his supperwhich you are carrying to him. Now I am sure that you would not be tooproud to earn the price of a new dress, would you?' He took a piece ofwhite paper folded up out of his waistcoat pocket. 'See that the boyhas this to-night, and you shall have the prettiest frock that money canbuy. ' "She was frightened by the earnestness of his manner, and ran past himto the window through which she was accustomed to hand the meals. It wasalready opened, and Hunter was seated at the small table inside. She hadbegun to tell him of what had happened, when the stranger came up again. "'Good-evening, ' said he, looking through the window. 'I wanted to havea word with you. ' The girl has sworn that as he spoke she noticed thecorner of the little paper packet protruding from his closed hand. "'What business have you here?' asked the lad. "'It's business that may put something into your pocket, ' said theother. 'You've two horses in for the Wessex Cup--Silver Blaze andBayard. Let me have the straight tip and you won't be a loser. Is it afact that at the weights Bayard could give the other a hundred yards infive furlongs, and that the stable have put their money on him?' "'So, you're one of those damned touts!' cried the lad. 'I'll show youhow we serve them in King's Pyland. ' He sprang up and rushed across thestable to unloose the dog. The girl fled away to the house, but as sheran she looked back and saw that the stranger was leaning through thewindow. A minute later, however, when Hunter rushed out with the houndhe was gone, and though he ran all round the buildings he failed to findany trace of him. " "One moment, " I asked. "Did the stable-boy, when he ran out with thedog, leave the door unlocked behind him?" "Excellent, Watson, excellent!" murmured my companion. "The importanceof the point struck me so forcibly that I sent a special wire toDartmoor yesterday to clear the matter up. The boy locked the doorbefore he left it. The window, I may add, was not large enough for a manto get through. "Hunter waited until his fellow-grooms had returned, when he sent amessage to the trainer and told him what had occurred. Straker wasexcited at hearing the account, although he does not seem to have quiterealized its true significance. It left him, however, vaguely uneasy, and Mrs. Straker, waking at one in the morning, found that he wasdressing. In reply to her inquiries, he said that he could not sleep onaccount of his anxiety about the horses, and that he intended to walkdown to the stables to see that all was well. She begged him to remainat home, as she could hear the rain pattering against the window, but inspite of her entreaties he pulled on his large mackintosh and left thehouse. "Mrs. Straker awoke at seven in the morning, to find that her husbandhad not yet returned. She dressed herself hastily, called the maid, andset off for the stables. The door was open; inside, huddled togetherupon a chair, Hunter was sunk in a state of absolute stupor, thefavorite's stall was empty, and there were no signs of his trainer. "The two lads who slept in the chaff-cutting loft above the harness-roomwere quickly aroused. They had heard nothing during the night, for theyare both sound sleepers. Hunter was obviously under the influence ofsome powerful drug, and as no sense could be got out of him, he was leftto sleep it off while the two lads and the two women ran out in searchof the absentees. They still had hopes that the trainer had for somereason taken out the horse for early exercise, but on ascending theknoll near the house, from which all the neighboring moors were visible, they not only could see no signs of the missing favorite, but theyperceived something which warned them that they were in the presence ofa tragedy. "About a quarter of a mile from the stables John Straker's overcoat wasflapping from a furze-bush. Immediately beyond there was a bowl-shapeddepression in the moor, and at the bottom of this was found the deadbody of the unfortunate trainer. His head had been shattered by a savageblow from some heavy weapon, and he was wounded on the thigh, wherethere was a long, clean cut, inflicted evidently by some very sharpinstrument. It was clear, however, that Straker had defended himselfvigorously against his assailants, for in his right hand he held a smallknife, which was clotted with blood up to the handle, while in his lefthe clasped a red and black silk cravat, which was recognized by the maidas having been worn on the preceding evening by the stranger who hadvisited the stables. Hunter, on recovering from his stupor, was alsoquite positive as to the ownership of the cravat. He was equally certainthat the same stranger had, while standing at the window, drugged hiscurried mutton, and so deprived the stables of their watchman. As to themissing horse, there were abundant proofs in the mud which lay at thebottom of the fatal hollow that he had been there at the time of thestruggle. But from that morning he has disappeared, and although a largereward has been offered, and all the gypsies of Dartmoor are on thealert, no news has come of him. Finally, an analysis has shown thatthe remains of his supper left by the stable-lad contain an appreciablequantity of powdered opium, while the people at the house partook of thesame dish on the same night without any ill effect. "Those are the main facts of the case, stripped of all surmise, andstated as baldly as possible. I shall now recapitulate what the policehave done in the matter. "Inspector Gregory, to whom the case has been committed, is an extremelycompetent officer. Were he but gifted with imagination he might rise togreat heights in his profession. On his arrival he promptly found andarrested the man upon whom suspicion naturally rested. There was littledifficulty in finding him, for he inhabited one of those villas which Ihave mentioned. His name, it appears, was Fitzroy Simpson. He was a manof excellent birth and education, who had squandered a fortune upon theturf, and who lived now by doing a little quiet and genteel book-makingin the sporting clubs of London. An examination of his betting-bookshows that bets to the amount of five thousand pounds had beenregistered by him against the favorite. On being arrested he volunteeredthat statement that he had come down to Dartmoor in the hope ofgetting some information about the King's Pyland horses, and also aboutDesborough, the second favorite, which was in charge of Silas Brown atthe Mapleton stables. He did not attempt to deny that he had acted asdescribed upon the evening before, but declared that he had no sinisterdesigns, and had simply wished to obtain first-hand information. Whenconfronted with his cravat, he turned very pale, and was utterly unableto account for its presence in the hand of the murdered man. His wetclothing showed that he had been out in the storm of the night before, and his stick, which was a Penang-lawyer weighted with lead, was justsuch a weapon as might, by repeated blows, have inflicted the terribleinjuries to which the trainer had succumbed. On the other hand, therewas no wound upon his person, while the state of Straker's knife wouldshow that one at least of his assailants must bear his mark upon him. There you have it all in a nutshell, Watson, and if you can give me anylight I shall be infinitely obliged to you. " I had listened with the greatest interest to the statement which Holmes, with characteristic clearness, had laid before me. Though most of thefacts were familiar to me, I had not sufficiently appreciated theirrelative importance, nor their connection to each other. "Is it not possible, " I suggested, "that the incised wound upon Strakermay have been caused by his own knife in the convulsive struggles whichfollow any brain injury?" "It is more than possible; it is probable, " said Holmes. "In that caseone of the main points in favor of the accused disappears. " "And yet, " said I, "even now I fail to understand what the theory of thepolice can be. " "I am afraid that whatever theory we state has very grave objections toit, " returned my companion. "The police imagine, I take it, that thisFitzroy Simpson, having drugged the lad, and having in some way obtaineda duplicate key, opened the stable door and took out the horse, withthe intention, apparently, of kidnapping him altogether. His bridle ismissing, so that Simpson must have put this on. Then, having left thedoor open behind him, he was leading the horse away over the moor, whenhe was either met or overtaken by the trainer. A row naturally ensued. Simpson beat out the trainer's brains with his heavy stick withoutreceiving any injury from the small knife which Straker used inself-defence, and then the thief either led the horse on to some secrethiding-place, or else it may have bolted during the struggle, and benow wandering out on the moors. That is the case as it appears tothe police, and improbable as it is, all other explanations are moreimprobable still. However, I shall very quickly test the matter when Iam once upon the spot, and until then I cannot really see how we can getmuch further than our present position. " It was evening before we reached the little town of Tavistock, whichlies, like the boss of a shield, in the middle of the huge circle ofDartmoor. Two gentlemen were awaiting us in the station--the one a tall, fair man with lion-like hair and beard and curiously penetrating lightblue eyes; the other a small, alert person, very neat and dapper, in afrock-coat and gaiters, with trim little side-whiskers and an eye-glass. The latter was Colonel Ross, the well-known sportsman; the other, Inspector Gregory, a man who was rapidly making his name in the Englishdetective service. "I am delighted that you have come down, Mr. Holmes, " said the Colonel. "The Inspector here has done all that could possibly be suggested, but Iwish to leave no stone unturned in trying to avenge poor Straker and inrecovering my horse. " "Have there been any fresh developments?" asked Holmes. "I am sorry to say that we have made very little progress, " said theInspector. "We have an open carriage outside, and as you would no doubtlike to see the place before the light fails, we might talk it over aswe drive. " A minute later we were all seated in a comfortable landau, and wererattling through the quaint old Devonshire city. Inspector Gregory wasfull of his case, and poured out a stream of remarks, while Holmes threwin an occasional question or interjection. Colonel Ross leaned back withhis arms folded and his hat tilted over his eyes, while I listened withinterest to the dialogue of the two detectives. Gregory was formulatinghis theory, which was almost exactly what Holmes had foretold in thetrain. "The net is drawn pretty close round Fitzroy Simpson, " he remarked, "andI believe myself that he is our man. At the same time I recognize thatthe evidence is purely circumstantial, and that some new development mayupset it. " "How about Straker's knife?" "We have quite come to the conclusion that he wounded himself in hisfall. " "My friend Dr. Watson made that suggestion to me as we came down. If so, it would tell against this man Simpson. " "Undoubtedly. He has neither a knife nor any sign of a wound. Theevidence against him is certainly very strong. He had a great interestin the disappearance of the favorite. He lies under suspicion of havingpoisoned the stable-boy, he was undoubtedly out in the storm, he wasarmed with a heavy stick, and his cravat was found in the dead man'shand. I really think we have enough to go before a jury. " Holmes shook his head. "A clever counsel would tear it all to rags, "said he. "Why should he take the horse out of the stable? If he wishedto injure it why could he not do it there? Has a duplicate key beenfound in his possession? What chemist sold him the powdered opium? Aboveall, where could he, a stranger to the district, hide a horse, and sucha horse as this? What is his own explanation as to the paper which hewished the maid to give to the stable-boy?" "He says that it was a ten-pound note. One was found in his purse. Butyour other difficulties are not so formidable as they seem. He is nota stranger to the district. He has twice lodged at Tavistock in thesummer. The opium was probably brought from London. The key, havingserved its purpose, would be hurled away. The horse may be at the bottomof one of the pits or old mines upon the moor. " "What does he say about the cravat?" "He acknowledges that it is his, and declares that he had lost it. But anew element has been introduced into the case which may account for hisleading the horse from the stable. " Holmes pricked up his ears. "We have found traces which show that a party of gypsies encamped onMonday night within a mile of the spot where the murder took place. OnTuesday they were gone. Now, presuming that there was some understandingbetween Simpson and these gypsies, might he not have been leading thehorse to them when he was overtaken, and may they not have him now?" "It is certainly possible. " "The moor is being scoured for these gypsies. I have also examined everystable and out-house in Tavistock, and for a radius of ten miles. " "There is another training-stable quite close, I understand?" "Yes, and that is a factor which we must certainly not neglect. AsDesborough, their horse, was second in the betting, they had an interestin the disappearance of the favorite. Silas Brown, the trainer, is knownto have had large bets upon the event, and he was no friend to poorStraker. We have, however, examined the stables, and there is nothing toconnect him with the affair. " "And nothing to connect this man Simpson with the interests of theMapleton stables?" "Nothing at all. " Holmes leaned back in the carriage, and the conversation ceased. A fewminutes later our driver pulled up at a neat little red-brick villa withoverhanging eaves which stood by the road. Some distance off, across apaddock, lay a long gray-tiled out-building. In every other directionthe low curves of the moor, bronze-colored from the fading ferns, stretched away to the sky-line, broken only by the steeples ofTavistock, and by a cluster of houses away to the westward which markedthe Mapleton stables. We all sprang out with the exception of Holmes, who continued to lean back with his eyes fixed upon the sky in front ofhim, entirely absorbed in his own thoughts. It was only when I touchedhis arm that he roused himself with a violent start and stepped out ofthe carriage. "Excuse me, " said he, turning to Colonel Ross, who had looked at him insome surprise. "I was day-dreaming. " There was a gleam in his eyes and asuppressed excitement in his manner which convinced me, used as I wasto his ways, that his hand was upon a clue, though I could not imaginewhere he had found it. "Perhaps you would prefer at once to go on to the scene of the crime, Mr. Holmes?" said Gregory. "I think that I should prefer to stay here a little and go into one ortwo questions of detail. Straker was brought back here, I presume?" "Yes; he lies upstairs. The inquest is to-morrow. " "He has been in your service some years, Colonel Ross?" "I have always found him an excellent servant. " "I presume that you made an inventory of what he had in his pockets atthe time of his death, Inspector?" "I have the things themselves in the sitting-room, if you would care tosee them. " "I should be very glad. " We all filed into the front room and sat roundthe central table while the Inspector unlocked a square tin box and laida small heap of things before us. There was a box of vestas, two inchesof tallow candle, an A D P brier-root pipe, a pouch of seal-skin withhalf an ounce of long-cut Cavendish, a silver watch with a gold chain, five sovereigns in gold, an aluminum pencil-case, a few papers, and anivory-handled knife with a very delicate, inflexible blade marked Weiss& Co. , London. "This is a very singular knife, " said Holmes, lifting it up andexamining it minutely. "I presume, as I see blood-stains upon it, thatit is the one which was found in the dead man's grasp. Watson, thisknife is surely in your line?" "It is what we call a cataract knife, " said I. "I thought so. A very delicate blade devised for very delicate work. A strange thing for a man to carry with him upon a rough expedition, especially as it would not shut in his pocket. " "The tip was guarded by a disk of cork which we found beside his body, "said the Inspector. "His wife tells us that the knife had lain upon thedressing-table, and that he had picked it up as he left the room. It wasa poor weapon, but perhaps the best that he could lay his hands on atthe moment. " "Very possible. How about these papers?" "Three of them are receipted hay-dealers' accounts. One of them is aletter of instructions from Colonel Ross. This other is a milliner'saccount for thirty-seven pounds fifteen made out by Madame Lesurier, of Bond Street, to William Derbyshire. Mrs. Straker tells us thatDerbyshire was a friend of her husband's and that occasionally hisletters were addressed here. " "Madam Derbyshire had somewhat expensive tastes, " remarked Holmes, glancing down the account. "Twenty-two guineas is rather heavy for asingle costume. However there appears to be nothing more to learn, andwe may now go down to the scene of the crime. " As we emerged from the sitting-room a woman, who had been waiting inthe passage, took a step forward and laid her hand upon the Inspector'ssleeve. Her face was haggard and thin and eager, stamped with the printof a recent horror. "Have you got them? Have you found them?" she panted. "No, Mrs. Straker. But Mr. Holmes here has come from London to help us, and we shall do all that is possible. " "Surely I met you in Plymouth at a garden-party some little time ago, Mrs. Straker?" said Holmes. "No, sir; you are mistaken. " "Dear me! Why, I could have sworn to it. You wore a costume ofdove-colored silk with ostrich-feather trimming. " "I never had such a dress, sir, " answered the lady. "Ah, that quite settles it, " said Holmes. And with an apology hefollowed the Inspector outside. A short walk across the moor took us tothe hollow in which the body had been found. At the brink of it was thefurze-bush upon which the coat had been hung. "There was no wind that night, I understand, " said Holmes. "None; but very heavy rain. " "In that case the overcoat was not blown against the furze-bush, butplaced there. " "Yes, it was laid across the bush. " "You fill me with interest, I perceive that the ground has been trampledup a good deal. No doubt many feet have been here since Monday night. " "A piece of matting has been laid here at the side, and we have allstood upon that. " "Excellent. " "In this bag I have one of the boots which Straker wore, one of FitzroySimpson's shoes, and a cast horseshoe of Silver Blaze. " "My dear Inspector, you surpass yourself!" Holmes took the bag, and, descending into the hollow, he pushed the matting into a more centralposition. Then stretching himself upon his face and leaning his chinupon his hands, he made a careful study of the trampled mud in front ofhim. "Hullo!" said he, suddenly. "What's this?" It was a wax vesta halfburned, which was so coated with mud that it looked at first like alittle chip of wood. "I cannot think how I came to overlook it, " said the Inspector, with anexpression of annoyance. "It was invisible, buried in the mud. I only saw it because I waslooking for it. " "What! You expected to find it?" "I thought it not unlikely. " He took the boots from the bag, and compared the impressions of each ofthem with marks upon the ground. Then he clambered up to the rim of thehollow, and crawled about among the ferns and bushes. "I am afraid that there are no more tracks, " said the Inspector. "Ihave examined the ground very carefully for a hundred yards in eachdirection. " "Indeed!" said Holmes, rising. "I should not have the impertinence todo it again after what you say. But I should like to take a little walkover the moor before it grows dark, that I may know my ground to-morrow, and I think that I shall put this horseshoe into my pocket for luck. " Colonel Ross, who had shown some signs of impatience at my companion'squiet and systematic method of work, glanced at his watch. "I wish youwould come back with me, Inspector, " said he. "There are several pointson which I should like your advice, and especially as to whether we donot owe it to the public to remove our horse's name from the entries forthe Cup. " "Certainly not, " cried Holmes, with decision. "I should let the namestand. " The Colonel bowed. "I am very glad to have had your opinion, sir, " saidhe. "You will find us at poor Straker's house when you have finishedyour walk, and we can drive together into Tavistock. " He turned back with the Inspector, while Holmes and I walked slowlyacross the moor. The sun was beginning to sink behind the stables ofMapleton, and the long, sloping plain in front of us was tinged withgold, deepening into rich, ruddy browns where the faded ferns andbrambles caught the evening light. But the glories of the landscape wereall wasted upon my companion, who was sunk in the deepest thought. "It's this way, Watson, " said he at last. "We may leave the questionof who killed John Straker for the instant, and confine ourselves tofinding out what has become of the horse. Now, supposing that he brokeaway during or after the tragedy, where could he have gone to? The horseis a very gregarious creature. If left to himself his instincts wouldhave been either to return to King's Pyland or go over to Mapleton. Whyshould he run wild upon the moor? He would surely have been seen by now. And why should gypsies kidnap him? These people always clear out whenthey hear of trouble, for they do not wish to be pestered by the police. They could not hope to sell such a horse. They would run a great riskand gain nothing by taking him. Surely that is clear. " "Where is he, then?" "I have already said that he must have gone to King's Pyland or toMapleton. He is not at King's Pyland. Therefore he is at Mapleton. Letus take that as a working hypothesis and see what it leads us to. Thispart of the moor, as the Inspector remarked, is very hard and dry. Butit falls away towards Mapleton, and you can see from here that thereis a long hollow over yonder, which must have been very wet on Mondaynight. If our supposition is correct, then the horse must have crossedthat, and there is the point where we should look for his tracks. " We had been walking briskly during this conversation, and a few moreminutes brought us to the hollow in question. At Holmes' request Iwalked down the bank to the right, and he to the left, but I had nottaken fifty paces before I heard him give a shout, and saw him wavinghis hand to me. The track of a horse was plainly outlined in the softearth in front of him, and the shoe which he took from his pocketexactly fitted the impression. "See the value of imagination, " said Holmes. "It is the one qualitywhich Gregory lacks. We imagined what might have happened, acted uponthe supposition, and find ourselves justified. Let us proceed. " We crossed the marshy bottom and passed over a quarter of a mile of dry, hard turf. Again the ground sloped, and again we came on the tracks. Then we lost them for half a mile, but only to pick them up once morequite close to Mapleton. It was Holmes who saw them first, and he stoodpointing with a look of triumph upon his face. A man's track was visiblebeside the horse's. "The horse was alone before, " I cried. "Quite so. It was alone before. Hullo, what is this?" The double track turned sharp off and took the direction of King'sPyland. Holmes whistled, and we both followed along after it. His eyeswere on the trail, but I happened to look a little to one side, andsaw to my surprise the same tracks coming back again in the oppositedirection. "One for you, Watson, " said Holmes, when I pointed it out. "You havesaved us a long walk, which would have brought us back on our owntraces. Let us follow the return track. " We had not to go far. It ended at the paving of asphalt which led upto the gates of the Mapleton stables. As we approached, a groom ran outfrom them. "We don't want any loiterers about here, " said he. "I only wished to ask a question, " said Holmes, with his finger andthumb in his waistcoat pocket. "Should I be too early to see yourmaster, Mr. Silas Brown, if I were to call at five o'clock to-morrowmorning?" "Bless you, sir, if any one is about he will be, for he is alwaysthe first stirring. But here he is, sir, to answer your questions forhimself. No, sir, no; it is as much as my place is worth to let him seeme touch your money. Afterwards, if you like. " As Sherlock Holmes replaced the half-crown which he had drawn from hispocket, a fierce-looking elderly man strode out from the gate with ahunting-crop swinging in his hand. "What's this, Dawson!" he cried. "No gossiping! Go about your business!And you, what the devil do you want here?" "Ten minutes' talk with you, my good sir, " said Holmes in the sweetestof voices. "I've no time to talk to every gadabout. We want no stranger here. Beoff, or you may find a dog at your heels. " Holmes leaned forward and whispered something in the trainer's ear. Hestarted violently and flushed to the temples. "It's a lie!" he shouted, "an infernal lie!" "Very good. Shall we argue about it here in public or talk it over inyour parlor?" "Oh, come in if you wish to. " Holmes smiled. "I shall not keep you more than a few minutes, Watson, "said he. "Now, Mr. Brown, I am quite at your disposal. " It was twenty minutes, and the reds had all faded into grays beforeHolmes and the trainer reappeared. Never have I seen such a change ashad been brought about in Silas Brown in that short time. His face wasashy pale, beads of perspiration shone upon his brow, and his handsshook until the hunting-crop wagged like a branch in the wind. Hisbullying, overbearing manner was all gone too, and he cringed along atmy companion's side like a dog with its master. "Your instructions will be done. It shall all be done, " said he. "There must be no mistake, " said Holmes, looking round at him. The otherwinced as he read the menace in his eyes. "Oh no, there shall be no mistake. It shall be there. Should I change itfirst or not?" Holmes thought a little and then burst out laughing. "No, don't, " saidhe; "I shall write to you about it. No tricks, now, or--" "Oh, you can trust me, you can trust me!" "Yes, I think I can. Well, you shall hear from me to-morrow. " He turnedupon his heel, disregarding the trembling hand which the other held outto him, and we set off for King's Pyland. "A more perfect compound of the bully, coward, and sneak than MasterSilas Brown I have seldom met with, " remarked Holmes as we trudged alongtogether. "He has the horse, then?" "He tried to bluster out of it, but I described to him so exactly whathis actions had been upon that morning that he is convinced that I waswatching him. Of course you observed the peculiarly square toes in theimpressions, and that his own boots exactly corresponded to them. Again, of course no subordinate would have dared to do such a thing. I described to him how, when according to his custom he was the firstdown, he perceived a strange horse wandering over the moor. How he wentout to it, and his astonishment at recognizing, from the white foreheadwhich has given the favorite its name, that chance had put in his powerthe only horse which could beat the one upon which he had put his money. Then I described how his first impulse had been to lead him back toKing's Pyland, and how the devil had shown him how he could hide thehorse until the race was over, and how he had led it back and concealedit at Mapleton. When I told him every detail he gave it up and thoughtonly of saving his own skin. " "But his stables had been searched?" "Oh, an old horse-faker like him has many a dodge. " "But are you not afraid to leave the horse in his power now, since hehas every interest in injuring it?" "My dear fellow, he will guard it as the apple of his eye. He knows thathis only hope of mercy is to produce it safe. " "Colonel Ross did not impress me as a man who would be likely to showmuch mercy in any case. " "The matter does not rest with Colonel Ross. I follow my own methods, and tell as much or as little as I choose. That is the advantage ofbeing unofficial. I don't know whether you observed it, Watson, but theColonel's manner has been just a trifle cavalier to me. I am inclinednow to have a little amusement at his expense. Say nothing to him aboutthe horse. " "Certainly not without your permission. " "And of course this is all quite a minor point compared to the questionof who killed John Straker. " "And you will devote yourself to that?" "On the contrary, we both go back to London by the night train. " I was thunderstruck by my friend's words. We had only been a few hoursin Devonshire, and that he should give up an investigation which he hadbegun so brilliantly was quite incomprehensible to me. Not a word morecould I draw from him until we were back at the trainer's house. TheColonel and the Inspector were awaiting us in the parlor. "My friend and I return to town by the night-express, " said Holmes. "Wehave had a charming little breath of your beautiful Dartmoor air. " The Inspector opened his eyes, and the Colonel's lip curled in a sneer. "So you despair of arresting the murderer of poor Straker, " said he. Holmes shrugged his shoulders. "There are certainly grave difficultiesin the way, " said he. "I have every hope, however, that your horsewill start upon Tuesday, and I beg that you will have your jockey inreadiness. Might I ask for a photograph of Mr. John Straker?" The Inspector took one from an envelope and handed it to him. "My dear Gregory, you anticipate all my wants. If I might ask you towait here for an instant, I have a question which I should like to putto the maid. " "I must say that I am rather disappointed in our London consultant, "said Colonel Ross, bluntly, as my friend left the room. "I do not seethat we are any further than when he came. " "At least you have his assurance that your horse will run, " said I. "Yes, I have his assurance, " said the Colonel, with a shrug of hisshoulders. "I should prefer to have the horse. " I was about to make some reply in defence of my friend when he enteredthe room again. "Now, gentlemen, " said he, "I am quite ready for Tavistock. " As we stepped into the carriage one of the stable-lads held the dooropen for us. A sudden idea seemed to occur to Holmes, for he leanedforward and touched the lad upon the sleeve. "You have a few sheep in the paddock, " he said. "Who attends to them?" "I do, sir. " "Have you noticed anything amiss with them of late?" "Well, sir, not of much account; but three of them have gone lame, sir. " I could see that Holmes was extremely pleased, for he chuckled andrubbed his hands together. "A long shot, Watson; a very long shot, " said he, pinching my arm. "Gregory, let me recommend to your attention this singular epidemicamong the sheep. Drive on, coachman!" Colonel Ross still wore an expression which showed the poor opinionwhich he had formed of my companion's ability, but I saw by theInspector's face that his attention had been keenly aroused. "You consider that to be important?" he asked. "Exceedingly so. " "Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?" "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. " "The dog did nothing in the night-time. " "That was the curious incident, " remarked Sherlock Holmes. Four days later Holmes and I were again in the train, bound forWinchester to see the race for the Wessex Cup. Colonel Ross met us byappointment outside the station, and we drove in his drag to the coursebeyond the town. His face was grave, and his manner was cold in theextreme. "I have seen nothing of my horse, " said he. "I suppose that you would know him when you saw him?" asked Holmes. The Colonel was very angry. "I have been on the turf for twenty years, and never was asked such a question as that before, " said he. "Achild would know Silver Blaze, with his white forehead and his mottledoff-foreleg. " "How is the betting?" "Well, that is the curious part of it. You could have got fifteen to oneyesterday, but the price has become shorter and shorter, until you canhardly get three to one now. " "Hum!" said Holmes. "Somebody knows something, that is clear. " As the drag drew up in the enclosure near the grand stand I glanced atthe card to see the entries. Wessex Plate [it ran] 50 sovs each h ft with 1000 sovs added for fourand five year olds. Second, L300. Third, L200. New course (one mile andfive furlongs). Mr. Heath Newton's The Negro. Red cap. Cinnamon jacket. Colonel Wardlaw's Pugilist. Pink cap. Blue and black jacket. LordBackwater's Desborough. Yellow cap and sleeves. Colonel Ross's SilverBlaze. Black cap. Red jacket. Duke of Balmoral's Iris. Yellow and blackstripes. Lord Singleford's Rasper. Purple cap. Black sleeves. "We scratched our other one, and put all hopes on your word, " said theColonel. "Why, what is that? Silver Blaze favorite?" "Five to four against Silver Blaze!" roared the ring. "Five to fouragainst Silver Blaze! Five to fifteen against Desborough! Five to fouron the field!" "There are the numbers up, " I cried. "They are all six there. " "All six there? Then my horse is running, " cried the Colonel in greatagitation. "But I don't see him. My colors have not passed. " "Only five have passed. This must be he. " As I spoke a powerful bay horse swept out from the weighing enclosureand cantered past us, bearing on its back the well-known black and redof the Colonel. "That's not my horse, " cried the owner. "That beast has not a white hairupon its body. What is this that you have done, Mr. Holmes?" "Well, well, let us see how he gets on, " said my friend, imperturbably. For a few minutes he gazed through my field-glass. "Capital! Anexcellent start!" he cried suddenly. "There they are, coming round thecurve!" From our drag we had a superb view as they came up the straight. The sixhorses were so close together that a carpet could have covered them, but half way up the yellow of the Mapleton stable showed to the front. Before they reached us, however, Desborough's bolt was shot, and theColonel's horse, coming away with a rush, passed the post a good sixlengths before its rival, the Duke of Balmoral's Iris making a badthird. "It's my race, anyhow, " gasped the Colonel, passing his hand over hiseyes. "I confess that I can make neither head nor tail of it. Don't youthink that you have kept up your mystery long enough, Mr. Holmes?" "Certainly, Colonel, you shall know everything. Let us all go round andhave a look at the horse together. Here he is, " he continued, as we madeour way into the weighing enclosure, where only owners and their friendsfind admittance. "You have only to wash his face and his leg in spiritsof wine, and you will find that he is the same old Silver Blaze asever. " "You take my breath away!" "I found him in the hands of a faker, and took the liberty of runninghim just as he was sent over. " "My dear sir, you have done wonders. The horse looks very fit and well. It never went better in its life. I owe you a thousand apologiesfor having doubted your ability. You have done me a great service byrecovering my horse. You would do me a greater still if you could layyour hands on the murderer of John Straker. " "I have done so, " said Holmes quietly. The Colonel and I stared at him in amazement. "You have got him! Whereis he, then?" "He is here. " "Here! Where?" "In my company at the present moment. " The Colonel flushed angrily. "I quite recognize that I am underobligations to you, Mr. Holmes, " said he, "but I must regard what youhave just said as either a very bad joke or an insult. " Sherlock Holmes laughed. "I assure you that I have not associatedyou with the crime, Colonel, " said he. "The real murderer is standingimmediately behind you. " He stepped past and laid his hand upon theglossy neck of the thoroughbred. "The horse!" cried both the Colonel and myself. "Yes, the horse. And it may lessen his guilt if I say that it wasdone in self-defence, and that John Straker was a man who was entirelyunworthy of your confidence. But there goes the bell, and as I standto win a little on this next race, I shall defer a lengthy explanationuntil a more fitting time. " We had the corner of a Pullman car to ourselves that evening as wewhirled back to London, and I fancy that the journey was a short oneto Colonel Ross as well as to myself, as we listened to ourcompanion's narrative of the events which had occurred at the Dartmoortraining-stables upon the Monday night, and the means by which he hadunravelled them. "I confess, " said he, "that any theories which I had formed fromthe newspaper reports were entirely erroneous. And yet there wereindications there, had they not been overlaid by other details whichconcealed their true import. I went to Devonshire with the convictionthat Fitzroy Simpson was the true culprit, although, of course, I sawthat the evidence against him was by no means complete. It was while Iwas in the carriage, just as we reached the trainer's house, that theimmense significance of the curried mutton occurred to me. You mayremember that I was distrait, and remained sitting after you had allalighted. I was marvelling in my own mind how I could possibly haveoverlooked so obvious a clue. " "I confess, " said the Colonel, "that even now I cannot see how it helpsus. " "It was the first link in my chain of reasoning. Powdered opium is by nomeans tasteless. The flavor is not disagreeable, but it is perceptible. Were it mixed with any ordinary dish the eater would undoubtedly detectit, and would probably eat no more. A curry was exactly the mediumwhich would disguise this taste. By no possible supposition couldthis stranger, Fitzroy Simpson, have caused curry to be served inthe trainer's family that night, and it is surely too monstrous acoincidence to suppose that he happened to come along with powderedopium upon the very night when a dish happened to be served which woulddisguise the flavor. That is unthinkable. Therefore Simpson becomeseliminated from the case, and our attention centers upon Straker andhis wife, the only two people who could have chosen curried mutton forsupper that night. The opium was added after the dish was set asidefor the stable-boy, for the others had the same for supper with no illeffects. Which of them, then, had access to that dish without the maidseeing them? "Before deciding that question I had grasped the significance of thesilence of the dog, for one true inference invariably suggests others. The Simpson incident had shown me that a dog was kept in the stables, and yet, though some one had been in and had fetched out a horse, hehad not barked enough to arouse the two lads in the loft. Obviously themidnight visitor was some one whom the dog knew well. "I was already convinced, or almost convinced, that John Straker wentdown to the stables in the dead of the night and took out Silver Blaze. For what purpose? For a dishonest one, obviously, or why should he drughis own stable-boy? And yet I was at a loss to know why. There have beencases before now where trainers have made sure of great sums of moneyby laying against their own horses, through agents, and then preventingthem from winning by fraud. Sometimes it is a pulling jockey. Sometimesit is some surer and subtler means. What was it here? I hoped that thecontents of his pockets might help me to form a conclusion. "And they did so. You cannot have forgotten the singular knife which wasfound in the dead man's hand, a knife which certainly no sane man wouldchoose for a weapon. It was, as Dr. Watson told us, a form of knifewhich is used for the most delicate operations known in surgery. And itwas to be used for a delicate operation that night. You must know, withyour wide experience of turf matters, Colonel Ross, that it is possibleto make a slight nick upon the tendons of a horse's ham, and to do itsubcutaneously, so as to leave absolutely no trace. A horse so treatedwould develop a slight lameness, which would be put down to a strain inexercise or a touch of rheumatism, but never to foul play. " "Villain! Scoundrel!" cried the Colonel. "We have here the explanation of why John Straker wished to take thehorse out on to the moor. So spirited a creature would have certainlyroused the soundest of sleepers when it felt the prick of the knife. Itwas absolutely necessary to do it in the open air. " "I have been blind!" cried the Colonel. "Of course that was why heneeded the candle, and struck the match. " "Undoubtedly. But in examining his belongings I was fortunate enough todiscover not only the method of the crime, but even its motives. As aman of the world, Colonel, you know that men do not carry other people'sbills about in their pockets. We have most of us quite enough to do tosettle our own. I at once concluded that Straker was leading a doublelife, and keeping a second establishment. The nature of the bill showedthat there was a lady in the case, and one who had expensive tastes. Liberal as you are with your servants, one can hardly expect that theycan buy twenty-guinea walking dresses for their ladies. I questionedMrs. Straker as to the dress without her knowing it, and havingsatisfied myself that it had never reached her, I made a note of themilliner's address, and felt that by calling there with Straker'sphotograph I could easily dispose of the mythical Derbyshire. "From that time on all was plain. Straker had led out the horse to ahollow where his light would be invisible. Simpson in his flight haddropped his cravat, and Straker had picked it up--with some idea, perhaps, that he might use it in securing the horse's leg. Once in thehollow, he had got behind the horse and had struck a light; but thecreature frightened at the sudden glare, and with the strange instinctof animals feeling that some mischief was intended, had lashed out, andthe steel shoe had struck Straker full on the forehead. He had already, in spite of the rain, taken off his overcoat in order to do his delicatetask, and so, as he fell, his knife gashed his thigh. Do I make itclear?" "Wonderful!" cried the Colonel. "Wonderful! You might have been there!" "My final shot was, I confess a very long one. It struck me that soastute a man as Straker would not undertake this delicate tendon-nickingwithout a little practice. What could he practice on? My eyes fell uponthe sheep, and I asked a question which, rather to my surprise, showedthat my surmise was correct. "When I returned to London I called upon the milliner, who hadrecognized Straker as an excellent customer of the name of Derbyshire, who had a very dashing wife, with a strong partiality for expensivedresses. I have no doubt that this woman had plunged him over head andears in debt, and so led him into this miserable plot. " "You have explained all but one thing, " cried the Colonel. "Where wasthe horse?" "Ah, it bolted, and was cared for by one of your neighbors. We must havean amnesty in that direction, I think. This is Clapham Junction, if I amnot mistaken, and we shall be in Victoria in less than ten minutes. Ifyou care to smoke a cigar in our rooms, Colonel, I shall be happy togive you any other details which might interest you. " Adventure II. The Yellow Face [In publishing these short sketches based upon the numerous cases inwhich my companion's singular gifts have made us the listeners to, andeventually the actors in, some strange drama, it is only natural that Ishould dwell rather upon his successes than upon his failures. And thisnot so much for the sake of his reputation--for, indeed, it was whenhe was at his wits' end that his energy and his versatility were mostadmirable--but because where he failed it happened too often that no oneelse succeeded, and that the tale was left forever without a conclusion. Now and again, however, it chanced that even when he erred, the truthwas still discovered. I have noted of some half-dozen cases of thekind; the Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual and that which I am about torecount are the two which present the strongest features of interest. ] Sherlock Holmes was a man who seldom took exercise for exercise's sake. Few men were capable of greater muscular effort, and he was undoubtedlyone of the finest boxers of his weight that I have ever seen; but helooked upon aimless bodily exertion as a waste of energy, and he seldombestirred himself save when there was some professional object to beserved. Then he was absolutely untiring and indefatigable. That heshould have kept himself in training under such circumstances isremarkable, but his diet was usually of the sparest, and his habitswere simple to the verge of austerity. Save for the occasional use ofcocaine, he had no vices, and he only turned to the drug as a protestagainst the monotony of existence when cases were scanty and the papersuninteresting. One day in early spring he had so far relaxed as to go for a walk withme in the Park, where the first faint shoots of green were breaking outupon the elms, and the sticky spear-heads of the chestnuts were justbeginning to burst into their five-fold leaves. For two hours we rambledabout together, in silence for the most part, as befits two men who knoweach other intimately. It was nearly five before we were back in BakerStreet once more. "Beg pardon, sir, " said our page-boy, as he opened the door. "There'sbeen a gentleman here asking for you, sir. " Holmes glanced reproachfully at me. "So much for afternoon walks!" saidhe. "Has this gentleman gone, then?" "Yes, sir. " "Didn't you ask him in?" "Yes, sir; he came in. " "How long did he wait?" "Half an hour, sir. He was a very restless gentleman, sir, a-walkin'and a-stampin' all the time he was here. I was waitin' outside the door, sir, and I could hear him. At last he outs into the passage, and hecries, 'Is that man never goin' to come?' Those were his very words, sir. 'You'll only need to wait a little longer, ' says I. 'Then I'll waitin the open air, for I feel half choked, ' says he. 'I'll be back beforelong. ' And with that he ups and he outs, and all I could say wouldn'thold him back. " "Well, well, you did your best, " said Holmes, as we walked into ourroom. "It's very annoying, though, Watson. I was badly in need ofa case, and this looks, from the man's impatience, as if it were ofimportance. Hullo! That's not your pipe on the table. He must haveleft his behind him. A nice old brier with a good long stem of what thetobacconists call amber. I wonder how many real amber mouthpieces thereare in London? Some people think that a fly in it is a sign. Well, hemust have been disturbed in his mind to leave a pipe behind him which heevidently values highly. " "How do you know that he values it highly?" I asked. "Well, I should put the original cost of the pipe at seven and sixpence. Now it has, you see, been twice mended, once in the wooden stem and oncein the amber. Each of these mends, done, as you observe, with silverbands, must have cost more than the pipe did originally. The man mustvalue the pipe highly when he prefers to patch it up rather than buy anew one with the same money. " "Anything else?" I asked, for Holmes was turning the pipe about in hishand, and staring at it in his peculiar pensive way. He held it up and tapped on it with his long, thin fore-finger, as aprofessor might who was lecturing on a bone. "Pipes are occasionally of extraordinary interest, " said he. "Nothinghas more individuality, save perhaps watches and bootlaces. Theindications here, however, are neither very marked nor very important. The owner is obviously a muscular man, left-handed, with an excellentset of teeth, careless in his habits, and with no need to practiseeconomy. " My friend threw out the information in a very offhand way, but I sawthat he cocked his eye at me to see if I had followed his reasoning. "You think a man must be well-to-do if he smokes a seven-shilling pipe, "said I. "This is Grosvenor mixture at eightpence an ounce, " Holmes answered, knocking a little out on his palm. "As he might get an excellent smokefor half the price, he has no need to practise economy. " "And the other points?" "He has been in the habit of lighting his pipe at lamps and gas-jets. You can see that it is quite charred all down one side. Of course amatch could not have done that. Why should a man hold a match to theside of his pipe? But you cannot light it at a lamp without getting thebowl charred. And it is all on the right side of the pipe. From that Igather that he is a left-handed man. You hold your own pipe to the lamp, and see how naturally you, being right-handed, hold the left side to theflame. You might do it once the other way, but not as a constancy. Thishas always been held so. Then he has bitten through his amber. It takesa muscular, energetic fellow, and one with a good set of teeth, to dothat. But if I am not mistaken I hear him upon the stair, so we shallhave something more interesting than his pipe to study. " An instant later our door opened, and a tall young man entered the room. He was well but quietly dressed in a dark-gray suit, and carried a brownwide-awake in his hand. I should have put him at about thirty, though hewas really some years older. "I beg your pardon, " said he, with some embarrassment; "I suppose Ishould have knocked. Yes, of course I should have knocked. The factis that I am a little upset, and you must put it all down to that. " Hepassed his hand over his forehead like a man who is half dazed, and thenfell rather than sat down upon a chair. "I can see that you have not slept for a night or two, " said Holmes, in his easy, genial way. "That tries a man's nerves more than work, andmore even than pleasure. May I ask how I can help you?" "I wanted your advice, sir. I don't know what to do and my whole lifeseems to have gone to pieces. " "You wish to employ me as a consulting detective?" "Not that only. I want your opinion as a judicious man--as a man of theworld. I want to know what I ought to do next. I hope to God you'll beable to tell me. " He spoke in little, sharp, jerky outbursts, and it seemed to me that tospeak at all was very painful to him, and that his will all through wasoverriding his inclinations. "It's a very delicate thing, " said he. "One does not like to speak ofone's domestic affairs to strangers. It seems dreadful to discuss theconduct of one's wife with two men whom I have never seen before. It'shorrible to have to do it. But I've got to the end of my tether, and Imust have advice. " "My dear Mr. Grant Munro--" began Holmes. Our visitor sprang from his chair. "What!" he cried, "you know my name?" "If you wish to preserve your incognito, " said Holmes, smiling, "I wouldsuggest that you cease to write your name upon the lining of yourhat, or else that you turn the crown towards the person whom you areaddressing. I was about to say that my friend and I have listened to agood many strange secrets in this room, and that we have had the goodfortune to bring peace to many troubled souls. I trust that we may do asmuch for you. Might I beg you, as time may prove to be of importance, tofurnish me with the facts of your case without further delay?" Our visitor again passed his hand over his forehead, as if he found itbitterly hard. From every gesture and expression I could see that he wasa reserved, self-contained man, with a dash of pride in his nature, morelikely to hide his wounds than to expose them. Then suddenly, with afierce gesture of his closed hand, like one who throws reserve to thewinds, he began. "The facts are these, Mr. Holmes, " said he. "I am a married man, andhave been so for three years. During that time my wife and I have lovedeach other as fondly and lived as happily as any two that ever werejoined. We have not had a difference, not one, in thought or word ordeed. And now, since last Monday, there has suddenly sprung up a barrierbetween us, and I find that there is something in her life and in herthought of which I know as little as if she were the woman who brushesby me in the street. We are estranged, and I want to know why. "Now there is one thing that I want to impress upon you before I goany further, Mr. Holmes. Effie loves me. Don't let there be any mistakeabout that. She loves me with her whole heart and soul, and never morethan now. I know it. I feel it. I don't want to argue about that. A mancan tell easily enough when a woman loves him. But there's this secretbetween us, and we can never be the same until it is cleared. " "Kindly let me have the facts, Mr. Munro, " said Holmes, with someimpatience. "I'll tell you what I know about Effie's history. She was a widow whenI met her first, though quite young--only twenty-five. Her name then wasMrs. Hebron. She went out to America when she was young, and lived inthe town of Atlanta, where she married this Hebron, who was a lawyerwith a good practice. They had one child, but the yellow fever broke outbadly in the place, and both husband and child died of it. I have seenhis death certificate. This sickened her of America, and she came backto live with a maiden aunt at Pinner, in Middlesex. I may mention thather husband had left her comfortably off, and that she had a capital ofabout four thousand five hundred pounds, which had been so well investedby him that it returned an average of seven per cent. She had only beensix months at Pinner when I met her; we fell in love with each other, and we married a few weeks afterwards. "I am a hop merchant myself, and as I have an income of seven oreight hundred, we found ourselves comfortably off, and took a niceeighty-pound-a-year villa at Norbury. Our little place was verycountrified, considering that it is so close to town. We had an inn andtwo houses a little above us, and a single cottage at the other side ofthe field which faces us, and except those there were no houses untilyou got half way to the station. My business took me into town atcertain seasons, but in summer I had less to do, and then in our countryhome my wife and I were just as happy as could be wished. I tell youthat there never was a shadow between us until this accursed affairbegan. "There's one thing I ought to tell you before I go further. When wemarried, my wife made over all her property to me--rather against mywill, for I saw how awkward it would be if my business affairs wentwrong. However, she would have it so, and it was done. Well, about sixweeks ago she came to me. "'Jack, ' said she, 'when you took my money you said that if ever Iwanted any I was to ask you for it. ' "'Certainly, ' said I. 'It's all your own. ' "'Well, ' said she, 'I want a hundred pounds. ' "I was a bit staggered at this, for I had imagined it was simply a newdress or something of the kind that she was after. "'What on earth for?' I asked. "'Oh, ' said she, in her playful way, 'you said that you were only mybanker, and bankers never ask questions, you know. ' "'If you really mean it, of course you shall have the money, ' said I. "'Oh, yes, I really mean it. ' "'And you won't tell me what you want it for?' "'Some day, perhaps, but not just at present, Jack. ' "So I had to be content with that, though it was the first time thatthere had ever been any secret between us. I gave her a check, and Inever thought any more of the matter. It may have nothing to do withwhat came afterwards, but I thought it only right to mention it. "Well, I told you just now that there is a cottage not far from ourhouse. There is just a field between us, but to reach it you have togo along the road and then turn down a lane. Just beyond it is a nicelittle grove of Scotch firs, and I used to be very fond of strollingdown there, for trees are always a neighborly kind of things. Thecottage had been standing empty this eight months, and it was a pity, for it was a pretty two-storied place, with an old-fashioned porch andhoneysuckle about it. I have stood many a time and thought what a neatlittle homestead it would make. "Well, last Monday evening I was taking a stroll down that way, whenI met an empty van coming up the lane, and saw a pile of carpets andthings lying about on the grass-plot beside the porch. It was clear thatthe cottage had at last been let. I walked past it, and wondered whatsort of folk they were who had come to live so near us. And as I lookedI suddenly became aware that a face was watching me out of one of theupper windows. "I don't know what there was about that face, Mr. Holmes, but it seemedto send a chill right down my back. I was some little way off, so thatI could not make out the features, but there was something unnatural andinhuman about the face. That was the impression that I had, and I movedquickly forwards to get a nearer view of the person who was watchingme. But as I did so the face suddenly disappeared, so suddenly that itseemed to have been plucked away into the darkness of the room. I stoodfor five minutes thinking the business over, and trying to analyze myimpressions. I could not tell if the face were that of a man or awoman. It had been too far from me for that. But its color was what hadimpressed me most. It was of a livid chalky white, and with somethingset and rigid about it which was shockingly unnatural. So disturbedwas I that I determined to see a little more of the new inmates ofthe cottage. I approached and knocked at the door, which was instantlyopened by a tall, gaunt woman with a harsh, forbidding face. "'What may you be wantin'?' she asked, in a Northern accent. "'I am your neighbor over yonder, ' said I, nodding towards my house. 'Isee that you have only just moved in, so I thought that if I could be ofany help to you in any--' "'Ay, we'll just ask ye when we want ye, ' said she, and shut the doorin my face. Annoyed at the churlish rebuff, I turned my back and walkedhome. All evening, though I tried to think of other things, my mindwould still turn to the apparition at the window and the rudeness of thewoman. I determined to say nothing about the former to my wife, forshe is a nervous, highly strung woman, and I had no wish that she wouldshare the unpleasant impression which had been produced upon myself. Iremarked to her, however, before I fell asleep, that the cottage was nowoccupied, to which she returned no reply. "I am usually an extremely sound sleeper. It has been a standing jestin the family that nothing could ever wake me during the night. And yetsomehow on that particular night, whether it may have been the slightexcitement produced by my little adventure or not I know not, butI slept much more lightly than usual. Half in my dreams I was dimlyconscious that something was going on in the room, and gradually becameaware that my wife had dressed herself and was slipping on her mantleand her bonnet. My lips were parted to murmur out some sleepy words ofsurprise or remonstrance at this untimely preparation, when suddenly myhalf-opened eyes fell upon her face, illuminated by the candle-light, and astonishment held me dumb. She wore an expression such as I hadnever seen before--such as I should have thought her incapable ofassuming. She was deadly pale and breathing fast, glancing furtivelytowards the bed as she fastened her mantle, to see if she had disturbedme. Then, thinking that I was still asleep, she slipped noiselessly fromthe room, and an instant later I heard a sharp creaking which could onlycome from the hinges of the front door. I sat up in bed and rapped myknuckles against the rail to make certain that I was truly awake. ThenI took my watch from under the pillow. It was three in the morning. Whaton this earth could my wife be doing out on the country road at three inthe morning? "I had sat for about twenty minutes turning the thing over in my mindand trying to find some possible explanation. The more I thought, themore extraordinary and inexplicable did it appear. I was still puzzlingover it when I heard the door gently close again, and her footstepscoming up the stairs. "'Where in the world have you been, Effie?' I asked as she entered. "She gave a violent start and a kind of gasping cry when I spoke, andthat cry and start troubled me more than all the rest, for there wassomething indescribably guilty about them. My wife had always beena woman of a frank, open nature, and it gave me a chill to see herslinking into her own room, and crying out and wincing when her ownhusband spoke to her. "'You awake, Jack!' she cried, with a nervous laugh. 'Why, I thoughtthat nothing could awake you. ' "'Where have you been?' I asked, more sternly. "'I don't wonder that you are surprised, ' said she, and I could see thather fingers were trembling as she undid the fastenings of her mantle. 'Why, I never remember having done such a thing in my life before. Thefact is that I felt as though I were choking, and had a perfect longingfor a breath of fresh air. I really think that I should have fainted ifI had not gone out. I stood at the door for a few minutes, and now I amquite myself again. ' "All the time that she was telling me this story she never once lookedin my direction, and her voice was quite unlike her usual tones. Itwas evident to me that she was saying what was false. I said nothingin reply, but turned my face to the wall, sick at heart, with my mindfilled with a thousand venomous doubts and suspicions. What was it thatmy wife was concealing from me? Where had she been during that strangeexpedition? I felt that I should have no peace until I knew, and yet Ishrank from asking her again after once she had told me what was false. All the rest of the night I tossed and tumbled, framing theory aftertheory, each more unlikely than the last. "I should have gone to the City that day, but I was too disturbed in mymind to be able to pay attention to business matters. My wife seemedto be as upset as myself, and I could see from the little questioningglances which she kept shooting at me that she understood that Idisbelieved her statement, and that she was at her wits' end what to do. We hardly exchanged a word during breakfast, and immediately afterwardsI went out for a walk, that I might think the matter out in the freshmorning air. "I went as far as the Crystal Palace, spent an hour in the grounds, andwas back in Norbury by one o'clock. It happened that my way took me pastthe cottage, and I stopped for an instant to look at the windows, and tosee if I could catch a glimpse of the strange face which had lookedout at me on the day before. As I stood there, imagine my surprise, Mr. Holmes, when the door suddenly opened and my wife walked out. "I was struck dumb with astonishment at the sight of her; but myemotions were nothing to those which showed themselves upon her facewhen our eyes met. She seemed for an instant to wish to shrink backinside the house again; and then, seeing how useless all concealmentmust be, she came forward, with a very white face and frightened eyeswhich belied the smile upon her lips. "'Ah, Jack, ' she said, 'I have just been in to see if I can be of anyassistance to our new neighbors. Why do you look at me like that, Jack?You are not angry with me?' "'So, ' said I, 'this is where you went during the night. ' "'What do you mean?' she cried. "'You came here. I am sure of it. Who are these people, that you shouldvisit them at such an hour?' "'I have not been here before. ' "'How can you tell me what you know is false?' I cried. 'Your very voicechanges as you speak. When have I ever had a secret from you? I shallenter that cottage, and I shall probe the matter to the bottom. ' "'No, no, Jack, for God's sake!' she gasped, in uncontrollable emotion. Then, as I approached the door, she seized my sleeve and pulled me backwith convulsive strength. "'I implore you not to do this, Jack, ' she cried. 'I swear that I willtell you everything some day, but nothing but misery can come of it ifyou enter that cottage. ' Then, as I tried to shake her off, she clung tome in a frenzy of entreaty. "'Trust me, Jack!' she cried. 'Trust me only this once. You will neverhave cause to regret it. You know that I would not have a secret fromyou if it were not for your own sake. Our whole lives are at stake inthis. If you come home with me, all will be well. If you force your wayinto that cottage, all is over between us. ' "There was such earnestness, such despair, in her manner that her wordsarrested me, and I stood irresolute before the door. "'I will trust you on one condition, and on one condition only, ' said Iat last. 'It is that this mystery comes to an end from now. You areat liberty to preserve your secret, but you must promise me that thereshall be no more nightly visits, no more doings which are kept from myknowledge. I am willing to forget those which are passed if you willpromise that there shall be no more in the future. ' "'I was sure that you would trust me, ' she cried, with a great sigh ofrelief. 'It shall be just as you wish. Come away--oh, come away up tothe house. ' "Still pulling at my sleeve, she led me away from the cottage. As wewent I glanced back, and there was that yellow livid face watching usout of the upper window. What link could there be between that creatureand my wife? Or how could the coarse, rough woman whom I had seen theday before be connected with her? It was a strange puzzle, and yet Iknew that my mind could never know ease again until I had solved it. "For two days after this I stayed at home, and my wife appeared to abideloyally by our engagement, for, as far as I know, she never stirred outof the house. On the third day, however, I had ample evidence thather solemn promise was not enough to hold her back from this secretinfluence which drew her away from her husband and her duty. "I had gone into town on that day, but I returned by the 2. 40 instead ofthe 3. 36, which is my usual train. As I entered the house the maid raninto the hall with a startled face. "'Where is your mistress?' I asked. "'I think that she has gone out for a walk, ' she answered. "My mind was instantly filled with suspicion. I rushed upstairs to makesure that she was not in the house. As I did so I happened to glance outof one of the upper windows, and saw the maid with whom I had just beenspeaking running across the field in the direction of the cottage. Thenof course I saw exactly what it all meant. My wife had gone over there, and had asked the servant to call her if I should return. Tingling withanger, I rushed down and hurried across, determined to end the matteronce and forever. I saw my wife and the maid hurrying back along thelane, but I did not stop to speak with them. In the cottage lay thesecret which was casting a shadow over my life. I vowed that, come whatmight, it should be a secret no longer. I did not even knock when Ireached it, but turned the handle and rushed into the passage. "It was all still and quiet upon the ground floor. In the kitchen akettle was singing on the fire, and a large black cat lay coiled up inthe basket; but there was no sign of the woman whom I had seen before. I ran into the other room, but it was equally deserted. Then I rushed upthe stairs, only to find two other rooms empty and deserted at the top. There was no one at all in the whole house. The furniture and pictureswere of the most common and vulgar description, save in the one chamberat the window of which I had seen the strange face. That was comfortableand elegant, and all my suspicions rose into a fierce bitter flame whenI saw that on the mantelpiece stood a copy of a full-length photographof my wife, which had been taken at my request only three months ago. "I stayed long enough to make certain that the house was absolutelyempty. Then I left it, feeling a weight at my heart such as I had neverhad before. My wife came out into the hall as I entered my house; but Iwas too hurt and angry to speak with her, and pushing past her, I mademy way into my study. She followed me, however, before I could close thedoor. "'I am sorry that I broke my promise, Jack, ' said she; 'but if you knewall the circumstances I am sure that you would forgive me. ' "'Tell me everything, then, ' said I. "'I cannot, Jack, I cannot, ' she cried. "'Until you tell me who it is that has been living in that cottage, andwho it is to whom you have given that photograph, there can never be anyconfidence between us, ' said I, and breaking away from her, I left thehouse. That was yesterday, Mr. Holmes, and I have not seen her since, nor do I know anything more about this strange business. It is the firstshadow that has come between us, and it has so shaken me that I do notknow what I should do for the best. Suddenly this morning it occurred tome that you were the man to advise me, so I have hurried to you now, andI place myself unreservedly in your hands. If there is any point which Ihave not made clear, pray question me about it. But, above all, tell mequickly what I am to do, for this misery is more than I can bear. " Holmes and I had listened with the utmost interest to this extraordinarystatement, which had been delivered in the jerky, broken fashion of aman who is under the influence of extreme emotions. My companion satsilent for some time, with his chin upon his hand, lost in thought. "Tell me, " said he at last, "could you swear that this was a man's facewhich you saw at the window?" "Each time that I saw it I was some distance away from it, so that it isimpossible for me to say. " "You appear, however, to have been disagreeably impressed by it. " "It seemed to be of an unnatural color, and to have a strange rigidityabout the features. When I approached, it vanished with a jerk. " "How long is it since your wife asked you for a hundred pounds?" "Nearly two months. " "Have you ever seen a photograph of her first husband?" "No; there was a great fire at Atlanta very shortly after his death, andall her papers were destroyed. " "And yet she had a certificate of death. You say that you saw it. " "Yes; she got a duplicate after the fire. " "Did you ever meet any one who knew her in America?" "No. " "Did she ever talk of revisiting the place?" "No. " "Or get letters from it?" "No. " "Thank you. I should like to think over the matter a little now. If thecottage is now permanently deserted we may have some difficulty. If, onthe other hand, as I fancy is more likely, the inmates were warned ofyour coming, and left before you entered yesterday, then they may beback now, and we should clear it all up easily. Let me advise you, then, to return to Norbury, and to examine the windows of the cottage again. If you have reason to believe that it is inhabited, do not force yourway in, but send a wire to my friend and me. We shall be with you withinan hour of receiving it, and we shall then very soon get to the bottomof the business. " "And if it is still empty?" "In that case I shall come out to-morrow and talk it over with you. Good-by; and, above all, do not fret until you know that you really havea cause for it. " "I am afraid that this is a bad business, Watson, " said my companion, ashe returned after accompanying Mr. Grant Munro to the door. "What do youmake of it?" "It had an ugly sound, " I answered. "Yes. There's blackmail in it, or I am much mistaken. " "And who is the blackmailer?" "Well, it must be the creature who lives in the only comfortable roomin the place, and has her photograph above his fireplace. Upon my word, Watson, there is something very attractive about that livid face at thewindow, and I would not have missed the case for worlds. " "You have a theory?" "Yes, a provisional one. But I shall be surprised if it does not turnout to be correct. This woman's first husband is in that cottage. " "Why do you think so?" "How else can we explain her frenzied anxiety that her second one shouldnot enter it? The facts, as I read them, are something like this:This woman was married in America. Her husband developed some hatefulqualities; or shall we say that he contracted some loathsome disease, and became a leper or an imbecile? She flies from him at last, returnsto England, changes her name, and starts her life, as she thinks, afresh. She has been married three years, and believes that her positionis quite secure, having shown her husband the death certificate ofsome man whose name she has assumed, when suddenly her whereaboutsis discovered by her first husband; or, we may suppose, by someunscrupulous woman who has attached herself to the invalid. They writeto the wife, and threaten to come and expose her. She asks for a hundredpounds, and endeavors to buy them off. They come in spite of it, andwhen the husband mentions casually to the wife that there are new-comersin the cottage, she knows in some way that they are her pursuers. Shewaits until her husband is asleep, and then she rushes down to endeavorto persuade them to leave her in peace. Having no success, she goesagain next morning, and her husband meets her, as he has told us, asshe comes out. She promises him then not to go there again, but two daysafterwards the hope of getting rid of those dreadful neighbors was toostrong for her, and she made another attempt, taking down with her thephotograph which had probably been demanded from her. In the midst ofthis interview the maid rushed in to say that the master had come home, on which the wife, knowing that he would come straight down to thecottage, hurried the inmates out at the back door, into the grove offir-trees, probably, which was mentioned as standing near. In this wayhe found the place deserted. I shall be very much surprised, however, ifit is still so when he reconnoitres it this evening. What do you thinkof my theory?" "It is all surmise. " "But at least it covers all the facts. When new facts come to ourknowledge which cannot be covered by it, it will be time enough toreconsider it. We can do nothing more until we have a message from ourfriend at Norbury. " But we had not a very long time to wait for that. It came just as we hadfinished our tea. "The cottage is still tenanted, " it said. "Have seenthe face again at the window. Will meet the seven o'clock train, andwill take no steps until you arrive. " He was waiting on the platform when we stepped out, and we could see inthe light of the station lamps that he was very pale, and quivering withagitation. "They are still there, Mr. Holmes, " said he, laying his hand hard uponmy friend's sleeve. "I saw lights in the cottage as I came down. Weshall settle it now once and for all. " "What is your plan, then?" asked Holmes, as he walked down the darktree-lined road. "I am going to force my way in and see for myself who is in the house. Iwish you both to be there as witnesses. " "You are quite determined to do this, in spite of your wife's warningthat it is better that you should not solve the mystery?" "Yes, I am determined. " "Well, I think that you are in the right. Any truth is better thanindefinite doubt. We had better go up at once. Of course, legally, weare putting ourselves hopelessly in the wrong; but I think that it isworth it. " It was a very dark night, and a thin rain began to fall as we turnedfrom the high road into a narrow lane, deeply rutted, with hedges oneither side. Mr. Grant Munro pushed impatiently forward, however, and westumbled after him as best we could. "There are the lights of my house, " he murmured, pointing to a glimmeramong the trees. "And here is the cottage which I am going to enter. " We turned a corner in the lane as he spoke, and there was the buildingclose beside us. A yellow bar falling across the black foreground showedthat the door was not quite closed, and one window in the upper storywas brightly illuminated. As we looked, we saw a dark blur moving acrossthe blind. "There is that creature!" cried Grant Munro. "You can see for yourselvesthat some one is there. Now follow me, and we shall soon know all. " We approached the door; but suddenly a woman appeared out of the shadowand stood in the golden track of the lamp-light. I could not see herface in the darkness, but her arms were thrown out in an attitude ofentreaty. "For God's sake, don't Jack!" she cried. "I had a presentiment that youwould come this evening. Think better of it, dear! Trust me again, andyou will never have cause to regret it. " "I have trusted you too long, Effie, " he cried, sternly. "Leave go ofme! I must pass you. My friends and I are going to settle this matteronce and forever!" He pushed her to one side, and we followed closelyafter him. As he threw the door open an old woman ran out in front ofhim and tried to bar his passage, but he thrust her back, and an instantafterwards we were all upon the stairs. Grant Munro rushed into thelighted room at the top, and we entered at his heels. It was a cosey, well-furnished apartment, with two candles burning uponthe table and two upon the mantelpiece. In the corner, stooping over adesk, there sat what appeared to be a little girl. Her face was turnedaway as we entered, but we could see that she was dressed in a redfrock, and that she had long white gloves on. As she whisked roundto us, I gave a cry of surprise and horror. The face which she turnedtowards us was of the strangest livid tint, and the features wereabsolutely devoid of any expression. An instant later the mystery wasexplained. Holmes, with a laugh, passed his hand behind the child'sear, a mask peeled off from her countenance, and there was a little coalblack negress, with all her white teeth flashing in amusement at ouramazed faces. I burst out laughing, out of sympathy with her merriment;but Grant Munro stood staring, with his hand clutching his throat. "My God!" he cried. "What can be the meaning of this?" "I will tell you the meaning of it, " cried the lady, sweeping intothe room with a proud, set face. "You have forced me, against my ownjudgment, to tell you, and now we must both make the best of it. Myhusband died at Atlanta. My child survived. " "Your child?" She drew a large silver locket from her bosom. "You have never seen thisopen. " "I understood that it did not open. " She touched a spring, and the front hinged back. There was a portraitwithin of a man strikingly handsome and intelligent-looking, but bearingunmistakable signs upon his features of his African descent. "That is John Hebron, of Atlanta, " said the lady, "and a nobler mannever walked the earth. I cut myself off from my race in order to wedhim, but never once while he lived did I for an instant regret it. Itwas our misfortune that our only child took after his people rather thanmine. It is often so in such matches, and little Lucy is darker far thanever her father was. But dark or fair, she is my own dear little girlie, and her mother's pet. " The little creature ran across at the words andnestled up against the lady's dress. "When I left her in America, " shecontinued, "it was only because her health was weak, and the changemight have done her harm. She was given to the care of a faithful Scotchwoman who had once been our servant. Never for an instant did I dreamof disowning her as my child. But when chance threw you in my way, Jack, and I learned to love you, I feared to tell you about my child. Godforgive me, I feared that I should lose you, and I had not the courageto tell you. I had to choose between you, and in my weakness I turnedaway from my own little girl. For three years I have kept her existencea secret from you, but I heard from the nurse, and I knew that all waswell with her. At last, however, there came an overwhelming desire tosee the child once more. I struggled against it, but in vain. Though Iknew the danger, I determined to have the child over, if it were butfor a few weeks. I sent a hundred pounds to the nurse, and I gave herinstructions about this cottage, so that she might come as a neighbor, without my appearing to be in any way connected with her. I pushed myprecautions so far as to order her to keep the child in the house duringthe daytime, and to cover up her little face and hands so that eventhose who might see her at the window should not gossip about therebeing a black child in the neighborhood. If I had been less cautiousI might have been more wise, but I was half crazy with fear that youshould learn the truth. "It was you who told me first that the cottage was occupied. I shouldhave waited for the morning, but I could not sleep for excitement, andso at last I slipped out, knowing how difficult it is to awake you. Butyou saw me go, and that was the beginning of my troubles. Next day youhad my secret at your mercy, but you nobly refrained from pursuing youradvantage. Three days later, however, the nurse and child only justescaped from the back door as you rushed in at the front one. And nowto-night you at last know all, and I ask you what is to become of us, mychild and me?" She clasped her hands and waited for an answer. It was a long ten minutes before Grant Munro broke the silence, andwhen his answer came it was one of which I love to think. He liftedthe little child, kissed her, and then, still carrying her, he held hisother hand out to his wife and turned towards the door. "We can talk it over more comfortably at home, " said he. "I am not avery good man, Effie, but I think that I am a better one than you havegiven me credit for being. " Holmes and I followed them down the lane, and my friend plucked at mysleeve as we came out. "I think, " said he, "that we shall be of more use in London than inNorbury. " Not another word did he say of the case until late that night, when hewas turning away, with his lighted candle, for his bedroom. "Watson, " said he, "if it should ever strike you that I am getting alittle over-confident in my powers, or giving less pains to a casethan it deserves, kindly whisper 'Norbury' in my ear, and I shall beinfinitely obliged to you. " Adventure III. The Stock-Broker's Clerk Shortly after my marriage I had bought a connection in the Paddingtondistrict. Old Mr. Farquhar, from whom I purchased it, had at one time anexcellent general practice; but his age, and an affliction of the natureof St. Vitus's dance from which he suffered, had very much thinned it. The public not unnaturally goes on the principle that he who would healothers must himself be whole, and looks askance at the curative powersof the man whose own case is beyond the reach of his drugs. Thus as mypredecessor weakened his practice declined, until when I purchasedit from him it had sunk from twelve hundred to little more than threehundred a year. I had confidence, however, in my own youth and energy, and was convinced that in a very few years the concern would be asflourishing as ever. For three months after taking over the practice I was kept very closelyat work, and saw little of my friend Sherlock Holmes, for I was too busyto visit Baker Street, and he seldom went anywhere himself save uponprofessional business. I was surprised, therefore, when, one morning inJune, as I sat reading the British Medical Journal after breakfast, Iheard a ring at the bell, followed by the high, somewhat strident tonesof my old companion's voice. "Ah, my dear Watson, " said he, striding into the room, "I am verydelighted to see you! I trust that Mrs. Watson has entirely recoveredfrom all the little excitements connected with our adventure of the Signof Four. " "Thank you, we are both very well, " said I, shaking him warmly by thehand. "And I hope, also, " he continued, sitting down in the rocking-chair, "that the cares of medical practice have not entirely obliterated theinterest which you used to take in our little deductive problems. " "On the contrary, " I answered, "it was only last night that I waslooking over my old notes, and classifying some of our past results. " "I trust that you don't consider your collection closed. " "Not at all. I should wish nothing better than to have some more of suchexperiences. " "To-day, for example?" "Yes, to-day, if you like. " "And as far off as Birmingham?" "Certainly, if you wish it. " "And the practice?" "I do my neighbor's when he goes. He is always ready to work off thedebt. " "Ha! Nothing could be better, " said Holmes, leaning back in his chairand looking keenly at me from under his half closed lids. "I perceivethat you have been unwell lately. Summer colds are always a littletrying. " "I was confined to the house by a severe chill for three days last week. I thought, however, that I had cast off every trace of it. " "So you have. You look remarkably robust. " "How, then, did you know of it?" "My dear fellow, you know my methods. " "You deduced it, then?" "Certainly. " "And from what?" "From your slippers. " I glanced down at the new patent leathers which I was wearing. "How onearth--" I began, but Holmes answered my question before it was asked. "Your slippers are new, " he said. "You could not have had them more thana few weeks. The soles which you are at this moment presenting to me areslightly scorched. For a moment I thought they might have got wet andbeen burned in the drying. But near the instep there is a small circularwafer of paper with the shopman's hieroglyphics upon it. Damp would ofcourse have removed this. You had, then, been sitting with your feetoutstretched to the fire, which a man would hardly do even in so wet aJune as this if he were in his full health. " Like all Holmes's reasoning the thing seemed simplicity itself when itwas once explained. He read the thought upon my features, and his smilehad a tinge of bitterness. "I am afraid that I rather give myself away when I explain, " said he. "Results without causes are much more impressive. You are ready to cometo Birmingham, then?" "Certainly. What is the case?" "You shall hear it all in the train. My client is outside in afour-wheeler. Can you come at once?" "In an instant. " I scribbled a note to my neighbor, rushed upstairs toexplain the matter to my wife, and joined Holmes upon the door-step. "Your neighbor is a doctor, " said he, nodding at the brass plate. "Yes; he bought a practice as I did. " "An old-established one?" "Just the same as mine. Both have been ever since the houses werebuilt. " "Ah! Then you got hold of the best of the two. " "I think I did. But how do you know?" "By the steps, my boy. Yours are worn three inches deeper than his. Butthis gentleman in the cab is my client, Mr. Hall Pycroft. Allow me tointroduce you to him. Whip your horse up, cabby, for we have only justtime to catch our train. " The man whom I found myself facing was a well built, fresh-complexionedyoung fellow, with a frank, honest face and a slight, crisp, yellowmustache. He wore a very shiny top hat and a neat suit of sober black, which made him look what he was--a smart young City man, of the classwho have been labeled cockneys, but who give us our crack volunteerregiments, and who turn out more fine athletes and sportsmen than anybody of men in these islands. His round, ruddy face was naturally fullof cheeriness, but the corners of his mouth seemed to me to be pulleddown in a half-comical distress. It was not, however, until we wereall in a first-class carriage and well started upon our journey toBirmingham that I was able to learn what the trouble was which haddriven him to Sherlock Holmes. "We have a clear run here of seventy minutes, " Holmes remarked. "Iwant you, Mr. Hall Pycroft, to tell my friend your very interestingexperience exactly as you have told it to me, or with more detail ifpossible. It will be of use to me to hear the succession of eventsagain. It is a case, Watson, which may prove to have something in it, ormay prove to have nothing, but which, at least, presents those unusualand outré features which are as dear to you as they are to me. Now, Mr. Pycroft, I shall not interrupt you again. " Our young companion looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. "The worst of the story is, " said he, "that I show myself up as such aconfounded fool. Of course it may work out all right, and I don't seethat I could have done otherwise; but if I have lost my crib and getnothing in exchange I shall feel what a soft Johnnie I have been. I'mnot very good at telling a story, Dr. Watson, but it is like this withme: "I used to have a billet at Coxon & Woodhouse's, of Draper's Gardens, but they were let in early in the spring through the Venezuelan loan, as no doubt you remember, and came a nasty cropper. I had been with themfive years, and old Coxon gave me a ripping good testimonial whenthe smash came, but of course we clerks were all turned adrift, thetwenty-seven of us. I tried here and tried there, but there were lots ofother chaps on the same lay as myself, and it was a perfect frost for along time. I had been taking three pounds a week at Coxon's, and I hadsaved about seventy of them, but I soon worked my way through that andout at the other end. I was fairly at the end of my tether at last, and could hardly find the stamps to answer the advertisements or theenvelopes to stick them to. I had worn out my boots paddling up officestairs, and I seemed just as far from getting a billet as ever. "At last I saw a vacancy at Mawson & Williams's, the great stock-brokingfirm in Lombard Street. I dare say E. C. Is not much in your line, butI can tell you that this is about the richest house in London. The advertisement was to be answered by letter only. I sent in mytestimonial and application, but without the least hope of getting it. Back came an answer by return, saying that if I would appear next MondayI might take over my new duties at once, provided that my appearance wassatisfactory. No one knows how these things are worked. Some people saythat the manager just plunges his hand into the heap and takes the firstthat comes. Anyhow it was my innings that time, and I don't ever wish tofeel better pleased. The screw was a pound a week rise, and the dutiesjust about the same as at Coxon's. "And now I come to the queer part of the business. I was in diggings outHampstead way, 17 Potter's Terrace. Well, I was sitting doing a smokethat very evening after I had been promised the appointment, when upcame my landlady with a card which had 'Arthur Pinner, Financial Agent, 'printed upon it. I had never heard the name before and could not imaginewhat he wanted with me; but, of course, I asked her to show him up. Inhe walked, a middle-sized, dark-haired, dark-eyed, black-bearded man, with a touch of the Sheeny about his nose. He had a brisk kind of waywith him and spoke sharply, like a man who knew the value of time. " "'Mr. Hall Pycroft, I believe?'" said he. "'Yes, sir, ' I answered, pushing a chair towards him. "'Lately engaged at Coxon & Woodhouse's?' "'Yes, sir. ' "'And now on the staff of Mawson's. ' "'Quite so. ' "'Well, ' said he, 'the fact is that I have heard some reallyextraordinary stories about your financial ability. You remember Parker, who used to be Coxon's manager? He can never say enough about it. ' "Of course I was pleased to hear this. I had always been pretty sharp inthe office, but I had never dreamed that I was talked about in the Cityin this fashion. "'You have a good memory?' said he. "'Pretty fair, ' I answered, modestly. "'Have you kept in touch with the market while you have been out ofwork?' he asked. "'Yes. I read the stock exchange list every morning. ' "'Now that shows real application!' he cried. 'That is the way toprosper! You won't mind my testing you, will you? Let me see. How areAyrshires?' "'A hundred and six and a quarter to a hundred and five andseven-eighths. ' "'And New Zealand consolidated?' "'A hundred and four. "'And British Broken Hills?' "'Seven to seven-and-six. ' "'Wonderful!' he cried, with his hands up. 'This quite fits in with allthat I had heard. My boy, my boy, you are very much too good to be aclerk at Mawson's!' "This outburst rather astonished me, as you can think. 'Well, ' said I, 'other people don't think quite so much of me as you seem to do, Mr. Pinner. I had a hard enough fight to get this berth, and I am very gladto have it. ' "'Pooh, man; you should soar above it. You are not in your true sphere. Now, I'll tell you how it stands with me. What I have to offer is littleenough when measured by your ability, but when compared with Mawson's, it's light to dark. Let me see. When do you go to Mawson's?' "'On Monday. ' "'Ha, ha! I think I would risk a little sporting flutter that you don'tgo there at all. ' "'Not go to Mawson's?' "'No, sir. By that day you will be the business manager of theFranco-Midland Hardware Company, Limited, with a hundred and thirty-fourbranches in the towns and villages of France, not counting one inBrussels and one in San Remo. ' "This took my breath away. 'I never heard of it, ' said I. "'Very likely not. It has been kept very quiet, for the capital was allprivately subscribed, and it's too good a thing to let the publicinto. My brother, Harry Pinner, is promoter, and joins the board afterallotment as managing director. He knew I was in the swim down here, andasked me to pick up a good man cheap. A young, pushing man with plentyof snap about him. Parker spoke of you, and that brought me hereto-night. We can only offer you a beggarly five hundred to start with. ' "'Five hundred a year!' I shouted. "'Only that at the beginning; but you are to have an overridingcommission of one per cent on all business done by your agents, and youmay take my word for it that this will come to more than your salary. ' "'But I know nothing about hardware. ' "'Tut, my boy; you know about figures. ' "My head buzzed, and I could hardly sit still in my chair. But suddenlya little chill of doubt came upon me. "'I must be frank with you, ' said I. 'Mawson only gives me two hundred, but Mawson is safe. Now, really, I know so little about your companythat--' "'Ah, smart, smart!' he cried, in a kind of ecstasy of delight. 'Youare the very man for us. You are not to be talked over, and quite right, too. Now, here's a note for a hundred pounds, and if you think that wecan do business you may just slip it into your pocket as an advance uponyour salary. ' "'That is very handsome, ' said I. 'When should I take over my newduties?' "'Be in Birmingham to-morrow at one, ' said he. 'I have a note in mypocket here which you will take to my brother. You will find him at126b Corporation Street, where the temporary offices of the companyare situated. Of course he must confirm your engagement, but betweenourselves it will be all right. ' "'Really, I hardly know how to express my gratitude, Mr. Pinner, ' saidI. "'Not at all, my boy. You have only got your deserts. There are one ortwo small things--mere formalities--which I must arrange with you. You have a bit of paper beside you there. Kindly write upon it "I amperfectly willing to act as business manager to the Franco-MidlandHardware Company, Limited, at a minimum salary of L500. "' "I did as he asked, and he put the paper in his pocket. "'There is one other detail, ' said he. 'What do you intend to do aboutMawson's?' "I had forgotten all about Mawson's in my joy. 'I'll write and resign, 'said I. "'Precisely what I don't want you to do. I had a row over you withMawson's manager. I had gone up to ask him about you, and he was veryoffensive; accused me of coaxing you away from the service of the firm, and that sort of thing. At last I fairly lost my temper. "If you wantgood men you should pay them a good price, " said I. ' "'He would rather have our small price than your big one, ' said he. "'I'll lay you a fiver, ' said I, 'that when he has my offer you'll neverso much as hear from him again. ' "'Done!' said he. 'We picked him out of the gutter, and he won't leaveus so easily. ' Those were his very words. " "'The impudent scoundrel!' I cried. 'I've never so much as seen him inmy life. Why should I consider him in any way? I shall certainly notwrite if you would rather I didn't. ' "'Good! That's a promise, ' said he, rising from his chair. 'Well, I'mdelighted to have got so good a man for my brother. Here's your advanceof a hundred pounds, and here is the letter. Make a note of the address, 126b Corporation Street, and remember that one o'clock to-morrow isyour appointment. Good-night; and may you have all the fortune that youdeserve!' "That's just about all that passed between us, as near as I canremember. You can imagine, Dr. Watson, how pleased I was at such anextraordinary bit of good fortune. I sat up half the night huggingmyself over it, and next day I was off to Birmingham in a train thatwould take me in plenty time for my appointment. I took my things toa hotel in New Street, and then I made my way to the address which hadbeen given me. "It was a quarter of an hour before my time, but I thought that wouldmake no difference. 126b was a passage between two large shops, whichled to a winding stone stair, from which there were many flats, let asoffices to companies or professional men. The names of the occupantswere painted at the bottom on the wall, but there was no such name asthe Franco-Midland Hardware Company, Limited. I stood for a few minuteswith my heart in my boots, wondering whether the whole thing was anelaborate hoax or not, when up came a man and addressed me. He was verylike the chap I had seen the night before, the same figure and voice, but he was clean shaven and his hair was lighter. "'Are you Mr. Hall Pycroft?' he asked. "'Yes, ' said I. "'Oh! I was expecting you, but you are a trifle before your time. I hada note from my brother this morning in which he sang your praises veryloudly. ' "'I was just looking for the offices when you came. "'We have not got our name up yet, for we only secured these temporarypremises last week. Come up with me, and we will talk the matter over. ' "I followed him to the top of a very lofty stair, and there, right underthe slates, were a couple of empty, dusty little rooms, uncarpeted anduncurtained, into which he led me. I had thought of a great office withshining tables and rows of clerks, such as I was used to, and I dare sayI stared rather straight at the two deal chairs and one little table, which, with a ledger and a waste paper basket, made up the wholefurniture. "'Don't be disheartened, Mr. Pycroft, ' said my new acquaintance, seeingthe length of my face. 'Rome was not built in a day, and we have lots ofmoney at our backs, though we don't cut much dash yet in offices. Praysit down, and let me have your letter. ' "I gave it to him, and he read it over very carefully. "'You seem to have made a vast impression upon my brother Arthur, ' saidhe; 'and I know that he is a pretty shrewd judge. He swears by London, you know; and I by Birmingham; but this time I shall follow his advice. Pray consider yourself definitely engaged. " "'What are my duties?' I asked. "'You will eventually manage the great depot in Paris, which will poura flood of English crockery into the shops of a hundred and thirty-fouragents in France. The purchase will be completed in a week, andmeanwhile you will remain in Birmingham and make yourself useful. ' "'How?' "For answer, he took a big red book out of a drawer. "'This is a directory of Paris, ' said he, 'with the trades after thenames of the people. I want you to take it home with you, and to markoff all the hardware sellers, with their addresses. It would be of thegreatest use to me to have them. ' "'Surely there are classified lists?' I suggested. "'Not reliable ones. Their system is different from ours. Stick at it, and let me have the lists by Monday, at twelve. Good-day, Mr. Pycroft. If you continue to show zeal and intelligence you will find the companya good master. ' "I went back to the hotel with the big book under my arm, and with veryconflicting feelings in my breast. On the one hand, I was definitelyengaged and had a hundred pounds in my pocket; on the other, the lookof the offices, the absence of name on the wall, and other of the pointswhich would strike a business man had left a bad impression as to theposition of my employers. However, come what might, I had my money, so Isettled down to my task. All Sunday I was kept hard at work, and yet byMonday I had only got as far as H. I went round to my employer, foundhim in the same dismantled kind of room, and was told to keep atit until Wednesday, and then come again. On Wednesday it was stillunfinished, so I hammered away until Friday--that is, yesterday. Then Ibrought it round to Mr. Harry Pinner. "'Thank you very much, ' said he; 'I fear that I underrated thedifficulty of the task. This list will be of very material assistance tome. ' "'It took some time, ' said I. "'And now, ' said he, 'I want you to make a list of the furniture shops, for they all sell crockery. ' "'Very good. ' "'And you can come up to-morrow evening, at seven, and let me know howyou are getting on. Don't overwork yourself. A couple of hours at Day'sMusic Hall in the evening would do you no harm after your labors. ' Helaughed as he spoke, and I saw with a thrill that his second tooth uponthe left-hand side had been very badly stuffed with gold. " Sherlock Holmes rubbed his hands with delight, and I stared withastonishment at our client. "You may well look surprised, Dr. Watson; but it is this way, " said he:"When I was speaking to the other chap in London, at the time that helaughed at my not going to Mawson's, I happened to notice that his toothwas stuffed in this very identical fashion. The glint of the gold ineach case caught my eye, you see. When I put that with the voice andfigure being the same, and only those things altered which might bechanged by a razor or a wig, I could not doubt that it was the same man. Of course you expect two brothers to be alike, but not that they shouldhave the same tooth stuffed in the same way. He bowed me out, and Ifound myself in the street, hardly knowing whether I was on my head ormy heels. Back I went to my hotel, put my head in a basin of cold water, and tried to think it out. Why had he sent me from London to Birmingham?Why had he got there before me? And why had he written a letter fromhimself to himself? It was altogether too much for me, and I could makeno sense of it. And then suddenly it struck me that what was dark to memight be very light to Mr. Sherlock Holmes. I had just time to get up totown by the night train to see him this morning, and to bring you bothback with me to Birmingham. " There was a pause after the stock-broker's clerk had concluded hissurprising experience. Then Sherlock Holmes cocked his eye at me, leaning back on the cushions with a pleased and yet critical face, likea connoisseur who has just taken his first sip of a comet vintage. "Rather fine, Watson, is it not?" said he. "There are points in it whichplease me. I think that you will agree with me that an interview withMr. Arthur Harry Pinner in the temporary offices of the Franco-MidlandHardware Company, Limited, would be a rather interesting experience forboth of us. " "But how can we do it?" I asked. "Oh, easily enough, " said Hall Pycroft, cheerily. "You are two friendsof mine who are in want of a billet, and what could be more natural thanthat I should bring you both round to the managing director?" "Quite so, of course, " said Holmes. "I should like to have a look atthe gentleman, and see if I can make anything of his little game. What qualities have you, my friend, which would make your servicesso valuable? or is it possible that--" He began biting his nails andstaring blankly out of the window, and we hardly drew another word fromhim until we were in New Street. At seven o'clock that evening we were walking, the three of us, downCorporation Street to the company's offices. "It is no use our being at all before our time, " said our client. "Heonly comes there to see me, apparently, for the place is deserted up tothe very hour he names. " "That is suggestive, " remarked Holmes. "By Jove, I told you so!" cried the clerk. "That's he walking ahead ofus there. " He pointed to a smallish, dark, well-dressed man who was bustling alongthe other side of the road. As we watched him he looked across at a boywho was bawling out the latest edition of the evening paper, and runningover among the cabs and busses, he bought one from him. Then, clutchingit in his hand, he vanished through a door-way. "There he goes!" cried Hall Pycroft. "These are the company's officesinto which he has gone. Come with me, and I'll fix it up as easily aspossible. " Following his lead, we ascended five stories, until we found ourselvesoutside a half-opened door, at which our client tapped. A voice withinbade us enter, and we entered a bare, unfurnished room such as HallPycroft had described. At the single table sat the man whom we had seenin the street, with his evening paper spread out in front of him, and ashe looked up at us it seemed to me that I had never looked upon a facewhich bore such marks of grief, and of something beyond grief--of ahorror such as comes to few men in a lifetime. His brow glistened withperspiration, his cheeks were of the dull, dead white of a fish's belly, and his eyes were wild and staring. He looked at his clerk as though hefailed to recognize him, and I could see by the astonishment depictedupon our conductor's face that this was by no means the usual appearanceof his employer. "You look ill, Mr. Pinner!" he exclaimed. "Yes, I am not very well, " answered the other, making obvious effortsto pull himself together, and licking his dry lips before he spoke. "Whoare these gentlemen whom you have brought with you?" "One is Mr. Harris, of Bermondsey, and the other is Mr. Price, of thistown, " said our clerk, glibly. "They are friends of mine and gentlemenof experience, but they have been out of a place for some little time, and they hoped that perhaps you might find an opening for them in thecompany's employment. " "Very possibly! Very possibly!" cried Mr. Pinner with a ghastly smile. "Yes, I have no doubt that we shall be able to do something for you. What is your particular line, Mr. Harris?" "I am an accountant, " said Holmes. "Ah yes, we shall want something of the sort. And you, Mr. Price?" "A clerk, " said I. "I have every hope that the company may accommodate you. I will let youknow about it as soon as we come to any conclusion. And now I beg thatyou will go. For God's sake leave me to myself!" These last words were shot out of him, as though the constraint whichhe was evidently setting upon himself had suddenly and utterly burstasunder. Holmes and I glanced at each other, and Hall Pycroft took astep towards the table. "You forget, Mr. Pinner, that I am here by appointment to receive somedirections from you, " said he. "Certainly, Mr. Pycroft, certainly, " the other resumed in a calmer tone. "You may wait here a moment; and there is no reason why your friendsshould not wait with you. I will be entirely at your service in threeminutes, if I might trespass upon your patience so far. " He rose with avery courteous air, and, bowing to us, he passed out through a door atthe farther end of the room, which he closed behind him. "What now?" whispered Holmes. "Is he giving us the slip?" "Impossible, " answered Pycroft. "Why so?" "That door leads into an inner room. " "There is no exit?" "None. " "Is it furnished?" "It was empty yesterday. " "Then what on earth can he be doing? There is something which I don'tunderstand in this manner. If ever a man was three parts mad withterror, that man's name is Pinner. What can have put the shivers onhim?" "He suspects that we are detectives, " I suggested. "That's it, " cried Pycroft. Holmes shook his head. "He did not turn pale. He was pale when weentered the room, " said he. "It is just possible that--" His words were interrupted by a sharp rat-tat from the direction of theinner door. "What the deuce is he knocking at his own door for?" cried the clerk. Again and much louder came the rat-tat-tat. We all gazed expectantly atthe closed door. Glancing at Holmes, I saw his face turn rigid, and heleaned forward in intense excitement. Then suddenly came a low guggling, gargling sound, and a brisk drumming upon woodwork. Holmes sprangfrantically across the room and pushed at the door. It was fastened onthe inner side. Following his example, we threw ourselves upon it withall our weight. One hinge snapped, then the other, and down came thedoor with a crash. Rushing over it, we found ourselves in the innerroom. It was empty. But it was only for a moment that we were at fault. At one corner, thecorner nearest the room which we had left, there was a second door. Holmes sprang to it and pulled it open. A coat and waistcoat were lyingon the floor, and from a hook behind the door, with his own bracesround his neck, was hanging the managing director of the Franco-MidlandHardware Company. His knees were drawn up, his head hung at a dreadfulangle to his body, and the clatter of his heels against the door madethe noise which had broken in upon our conversation. In an instant Ihad caught him round the waist, and held him up while Holmes and Pycroftuntied the elastic bands which had disappeared between the livid creasesof skin. Then we carried him into the other room, where he lay witha clay-colored face, puffing his purple lips in and out with everybreath--a dreadful wreck of all that he had been but five minutesbefore. "What do you think of him, Watson?" asked Holmes. I stooped over him and examined him. His pulse was feeble andintermittent, but his breathing grew longer, and there was a littleshivering of his eyelids, which showed a thin white slit of ballbeneath. "It has been touch and go with him, " said I, "but he'll live now. Justopen that window, and hand me the water carafe. " I undid his collar, poured the cold water over his face, and raised and sank his arms untilhe drew a long, natural breath. "It's only a question of time now, " saidI, as I turned away from him. Holmes stood by the table, with his hands deep in his trouser's pocketsand his chin upon his breast. "I suppose we ought to call the police in now, " said he. "And yet Iconfess that I'd like to give them a complete case when they come. " "It's a blessed mystery to me, " cried Pycroft, scratching his head. "Whatever they wanted to bring me all the way up here for, and then--" "Pooh! All that is clear enough, " said Holmes impatiently. "It is thislast sudden move. " "You understand the rest, then?" "I think that it is fairly obvious. What do you say, Watson?" I shrugged my shoulders. "I must confess that I am out of my depths, "said I. "Oh surely if you consider the events at first they can only point toone conclusion. " "What do you make of them?" "Well, the whole thing hinges upon two points. The first is the makingof Pycroft write a declaration by which he entered the service of thispreposterous company. Do you not see how very suggestive that is?" "I am afraid I miss the point. " "Well, why did they want him to do it? Not as a business matter, forthese arrangements are usually verbal, and there was no earthly businessreason why this should be an exception. Don't you see, my young friend, that they were very anxious to obtain a specimen of your handwriting, and had no other way of doing it?" "And why?" "Quite so. Why? When we answer that we have made some progress with ourlittle problem. Why? There can be only one adequate reason. Some onewanted to learn to imitate your writing, and had to procure a specimenof it first. And now if we pass on to the second point we find that eachthrows light upon the other. That point is the request made by Pinnerthat you should not resign your place, but should leave the manager ofthis important business in the full expectation that a Mr. Hall Pycroft, whom he had never seen, was about to enter the office upon the Mondaymorning. " "My God!" cried our client, "what a blind beetle I have been!" "Now you see the point about the handwriting. Suppose that some oneturned up in your place who wrote a completely different hand from thatin which you had applied for the vacancy, of course the game would havebeen up. But in the interval the rogue had learned to imitate you, and his position was therefore secure, as I presume that nobody in theoffice had ever set eyes upon you. " "Not a soul, " groaned Hall Pycroft. "Very good. Of course it was of the utmost importance to prevent youfrom thinking better of it, and also to keep you from coming intocontact with any one who might tell you that your double was at workin Mawson's office. Therefore they gave you a handsome advance on yoursalary, and ran you off to the Midlands, where they gave you enough workto do to prevent your going to London, where you might have burst theirlittle game up. That is all plain enough. " "But why should this man pretend to be his own brother?" "Well, that is pretty clear also. There are evidently only two of themin it. The other is impersonating you at the office. This one actedas your engager, and then found that he could not find you an employerwithout admitting a third person into his plot. That he was mostunwilling to do. He changed his appearance as far as he could, andtrusted that the likeness, which you could not fail to observe, would beput down to a family resemblance. But for the happy chance of the goldstuffing, your suspicions would probably never have been aroused. " Hall Pycroft shook his clinched hands in the air. "Good Lord!" he cried, "while I have been fooled in this way, what has this other Hall Pycroftbeen doing at Mawson's? What should we do, Mr. Holmes? Tell me what todo. " "We must wire to Mawson's. " "They shut at twelve on Saturdays. " "Never mind. There may be some door-keeper or attendant--" "Ah yes, they keep a permanent guard there on account of the value ofthe securities that they hold. I remember hearing it talked of in theCity. " "Very good; we shall wire to him, and see if all is well, and if a clerkof your name is working there. That is clear enough; but what is not soclear is why at sight of us one of the rogues should instantly walk outof the room and hang himself. " "The paper!" croaked a voice behind us. The man was sitting up, blanchedand ghastly, with returning reason in his eyes, and hands which rubbednervously at the broad red band which still encircled his throat. "The paper! Of course!" yelled Holmes, in a paroxysm of excitement. "Idiot that I was! I thought so much of our visit that the paper neverentered my head for an instant. To be sure, the secret must be there. "He flattened it out upon the table, and a cry of triumph burst from hislips. "Look at this, Watson, " he cried. "It is a London paper, an earlyedition of the Evening Standard. Here is what we want. Look at theheadlines: 'Crime in the City. Murder at Mawson & Williams's. Giganticattempted Robbery. Capture of the Criminal. ' Here, Watson, we are allequally anxious to hear it, so kindly read it aloud to us. " It appeared from its position in the paper to have been the one event ofimportance in town, and the account of it ran in this way: "A desperate attempt at robbery, culminating in the death of one man andthe capture of the criminal, occurred this afternoon in the City. Forsome time back Mawson & Williams, the famous financial house, have beenthe guardians of securities which amount in the aggregate to a sum ofconsiderably over a million sterling. So conscious was the manager ofthe responsibility which devolved upon him in consequence of the greatinterests at stake that safes of the very latest construction havebeen employed, and an armed watchman has been left day and night in thebuilding. It appears that last week a new clerk named Hall Pycroft wasengaged by the firm. This person appears to have been none other thatBeddington, the famous forger and cracksman, who, with his brother, hadonly recently emerged from a five years' spell of penal servitude. Bysome means, which are not yet clear, he succeeded in winning, under afalse name, this official position in the office, which he utilized inorder to obtain moulding of various locks, and a thorough knowledge ofthe position of the strong room and the safes. "It is customary at Mawson's for the clerks to leave at midday onSaturday. Sergeant Tuson, of the City Police, was somewhat surprised, therefore to see a gentleman with a carpet bag come down the steps attwenty minutes past one. His suspicions being aroused, the sergeantfollowed the man, and with the aid of Constable Pollock succeeded, aftera most desperate resistance, in arresting him. It was at once clearthat a daring and gigantic robbery had been committed. Nearly a hundredthousand pounds' worth of American railway bonds, with a large amountof scrip in mines and other companies, was discovered in the bag. Onexamining the premises the body of the unfortunate watchman was founddoubled up and thrust into the largest of the safes, where it would nothave been discovered until Monday morning had it not been for the promptaction of Sergeant Tuson. The man's skull had been shattered by ablow from a poker delivered from behind. There could be no doubtthat Beddington had obtained entrance by pretending that he had leftsomething behind him, and having murdered the watchman, rapidly rifledthe large safe, and then made off with his booty. His brother, whousually works with him, has not appeared in this job as far as canat present be ascertained, although the police are making energeticinquiries as to his whereabouts. " "Well, we may save the police some little trouble in that direction, "said Holmes, glancing at the haggard figure huddled up by the window. "Human nature is a strange mixture, Watson. You see that even a villainand murderer can inspire such affection that his brother turns tosuicide when he learns that his neck is forfeited. However, we haveno choice as to our action. The doctor and I will remain on guard, Mr. Pycroft, if you will have the kindness to step out for the police. " Adventure IV. The "_Gloria Scott_" "I have some papers here, " said my friend Sherlock Holmes, as we satone winter's night on either side of the fire, "which I really think, Watson, that it would be worth your while to glance over. These are thedocuments in the extraordinary case of the Gloria Scott, and this is themessage which struck Justice of the Peace Trevor dead with horror whenhe read it. " He had picked from a drawer a little tarnished cylinder, and, undoingthe tape, he handed me a short note scrawled upon a half-sheet ofslate-gray paper. "The supply of game for London is going steadily up, " it ran. "Head-keeper Hudson, we believe, has been now told to receive all ordersfor fly-paper and for preservation of your hen-pheasant's life. " As I glanced up from reading this enigmatical message, I saw Holmeschuckling at the expression upon my face. "You look a little bewildered, " said he. "I cannot see how such a message as this could inspire horror. It seemsto me to be rather grotesque than otherwise. " "Very likely. Yet the fact remains that the reader, who was a fine, robust old man, was knocked clean down by it as if it had been the buttend of a pistol. " "You arouse my curiosity, " said I. "But why did you say just now thatthere were very particular reasons why I should study this case?" "Because it was the first in which I was ever engaged. " I had often endeavored to elicit from my companion what had first turnedhis mind in the direction of criminal research, but had never caught himbefore in a communicative humor. Now he sat forward in this arm-chairand spread out the documents upon his knees. Then he lit his pipe andsat for some time smoking and turning them over. "You never heard me talk of Victor Trevor?" he asked. "He was the onlyfriend I made during the two years I was at college. I was never a verysociable fellow, Watson, always rather fond of moping in my rooms andworking out my own little methods of thought, so that I never mixedmuch with the men of my year. Bar fencing and boxing I had few athletictastes, and then my line of study was quite distinct from that of theother fellows, so that we had no points of contact at all. Trevor wasthe only man I knew, and that only through the accident of his bullterrier freezing on to my ankle one morning as I went down to chapel. "It was a prosaic way of forming a friendship, but it was effective. I was laid by the heels for ten days, but Trevor used to come in toinquire after me. At first it was only a minute's chat, but soon hisvisits lengthened, and before the end of the term we were close friends. He was a hearty, full-blooded fellow, full of spirits and energy, the very opposite to me in most respects, but we had some subjectsin common, and it was a bond of union when I found that he was asfriendless as I. Finally, he invited me down to his father's place atDonnithorpe, in Norfolk, and I accepted his hospitality for a month ofthe long vacation. "Old Trevor was evidently a man of some wealth and consideration, aJ. P. , and a landed proprietor. Donnithorpe is a little hamlet just tothe north of Langmere, in the country of the Broads. The house wasan old-fashioned, wide-spread, oak-beamed brick building, with a finelime-lined avenue leading up to it. There was excellent wild-duckshooting in the fens, remarkably good fishing, a small but selectlibrary, taken over, as I understood, from a former occupant, and atolerable cook, so that he would be a fastidious man who could not putin a pleasant month there. "Trevor senior was a widower, and my friend his only son. "There had been a daughter, I heard, but she had died of diphtheriawhile on a visit to Birmingham. The father interested me extremely. He was a man of little culture, but with a considerable amount of rudestrength, both physically and mentally. He knew hardly any books, buthe had traveled far, had seen much of the world. And had rememberedall that he had learned. In person he was a thick-set, burly man witha shock of grizzled hair, a brown, weather-beaten face, and blue eyeswhich were keen to the verge of fierceness. Yet he had a reputation forkindness and charity on the country-side, and was noted for the leniencyof his sentences from the bench. "One evening, shortly after my arrival, we were sitting over a glass ofport after dinner, when young Trevor began to talk about those habitsof observation and inference which I had already formed into a system, although I had not yet appreciated the part which they were to play inmy life. The old man evidently thought that his son was exaggerating inhis description of one or two trivial feats which I had performed. "'Come, now, Mr. Holmes, ' said he, laughing good-humoredly. 'I'm anexcellent subject, if you can deduce anything from me. ' "'I fear there is not very much, ' I answered; 'I might suggest thatyou have gone about in fear of some personal attack within the lasttwelvemonth. ' "The laugh faded from his lips, and he stared at me in great surprise. "'Well, that's true enough, ' said he. 'You know, Victor, ' turning to hisson, 'when we broke up that poaching gang they swore to knife us, andSir Edward Holly has actually been attacked. I've always been on myguard since then, though I have no idea how you know it. ' "'You have a very handsome stick, ' I answered. 'By the inscription Iobserved that you had not had it more than a year. But you have takensome pains to bore the head of it and pour melted lead into the hole soas to make it a formidable weapon. I argued that you would not take suchprecautions unless you had some danger to fear. ' "'Anything else?' he asked, smiling. "'You have boxed a good deal in your youth. ' "'Right again. How did you know it? Is my nose knocked a little out ofthe straight?' "'No, ' said I. 'It is your ears. They have the peculiar flattening andthickening which marks the boxing man. ' "'Anything else?' "'You have done a good deal of digging by your callosities. ' "'Made all my money at the gold fields. ' "'You have been in New Zealand. ' "'Right again. ' "'You have visited Japan. ' "'Quite true. ' "'And you have been most intimately associated with some one whoseinitials were J. A. , and whom you afterwards were eager to entirelyforget. ' "Mr. Trevor stood slowly up, fixed his large blue eyes upon me with astrange wild stare, and then pitched forward, with his face among thenutshells which strewed the cloth, in a dead faint. "You can imagine, Watson, how shocked both his son and I were. Hisattack did not last long, however, for when we undid his collar, andsprinkled the water from one of the finger-glasses over his face, hegave a gasp or two and sat up. "'Ah, boys, ' said he, forcing a smile, 'I hope I haven't frightened you. Strong as I look, there is a weak place in my heart, and it does nottake much to knock me over. I don't know how you manage this, Mr. Holmes, but it seems to me that all the detectives of fact and of fancywould be children in your hands. That's your line of life, sir, and youmay take the word of a man who has seen something of the world. ' "And that recommendation, with the exaggerated estimate of my abilitywith which he prefaced it, was, if you will believe me, Watson, the veryfirst thing which ever made me feel that a profession might be madeout of what had up to that time been the merest hobby. At the moment, however, I was too much concerned at the sudden illness of my host tothink of anything else. "'I hope that I have said nothing to pain you?' said I. "'Well, you certainly touched upon rather a tender point. Might I askhow you know, and how much you know?' He spoke now in a half-jestingfashion, but a look of terror still lurked at the back of his eyes. "'It is simplicity itself, ' said I. 'When you bared your arm to drawthat fish into the boat I saw that J. A. Had been tattooed in the bendof the elbow. The letters were still legible, but it was perfectly clearfrom their blurred appearance, and from the staining of the skin roundthem, that efforts had been made to obliterate them. It was obvious, then, that those initials had once been very familiar to you, and thatyou had afterwards wished to forget them. ' "What an eye you have!" he cried, with a sigh of relief. 'It is just asyou say. But we won't talk of it. Of all ghosts the ghosts of our oldlovers are the worst. Come into the billiard-room and have a quietcigar. ' "From that day, amid all his cordiality, there was always a touch ofsuspicion in Mr. Trevor's manner towards me. Even his son remarked it. 'You've given the governor such a turn, ' said he, 'that he'll never besure again of what you know and what you don't know. ' He did not meanto show it, I am sure, but it was so strongly in his mind that it peepedout at every action. At last I became so convinced that I was causinghim uneasiness that I drew my visit to a close. On the very day, however, before I left, and incident occurred which proved in the sequelto be of importance. "We were sitting out upon the lawn on garden chairs, the three of us, basking in the sun and admiring the view across the Broads, when a maidcame out to say that there was a man at the door who wanted to see Mr. Trevor. "'What is his name?' asked my host. "'He would not give any. ' "'What does he want, then?' "'He says that you know him, and that he only wants a moment'sconversation. ' "'Show him round here. ' An instant afterwards there appeared a littlewizened fellow with a cringing manner and a shambling style ofwalking. He wore an open jacket, with a splotch of tar on the sleeve, a red-and-black check shirt, dungaree trousers, and heavy boots badlyworn. His face was thin and brown and crafty, with a perpetual smileupon it, which showed an irregular line of yellow teeth, and hiscrinkled hands were half closed in a way that is distinctive of sailors. As he came slouching across the lawn I heard Mr. Trevor make a sort ofhiccoughing noise in his throat, and jumping out of his chair, he raninto the house. He was back in a moment, and I smelt a strong reek ofbrandy as he passed me. "'Well, my man, ' said he. 'What can I do for you?' "The sailor stood looking at him with puckered eyes, and with the sameloose-lipped smile upon his face. "'You don't know me?' he asked. "'Why, dear me, it is surely Hudson, ' said Mr. Trevor in a tone ofsurprise. "'Hudson it is, sir, ' said the seaman. 'Why, it's thirty year and moresince I saw you last. Here you are in your house, and me still pickingmy salt meat out of the harness cask. ' "'Tut, you will find that I have not forgotten old times, ' cried Mr. Trevor, and, walking towards the sailor, he said something in a lowvoice. 'Go into the kitchen, ' he continued out loud, 'and you will getfood and drink. I have no doubt that I shall find you a situation. ' "'Thank you, sir, ' said the seaman, touching his fore-lock. 'I'm justoff a two-yearer in an eight-knot tramp, short-handed at that, and Iwants a rest. I thought I'd get it either with Mr. Beddoes or with you. ' "'Ah!' cried Trevor. 'You know where Mr. Beddoes is?' "'Bless you, sir, I know where all my old friends are, ' said thefellow with a sinister smile, and he slouched off after the maid to thekitchen. Mr. Trevor mumbled something to us about having been shipmatewith the man when he was going back to the diggings, and then, leavingus on the lawn, he went indoors. An hour later, when we entered thehouse, we found him stretched dead drunk upon the dining-room sofa. Thewhole incident left a most ugly impression upon my mind, and I wasnot sorry next day to leave Donnithorpe behind me, for I felt that mypresence must be a source of embarrassment to my friend. "All this occurred during the first month of the long vacation. I wentup to my London rooms, where I spent seven weeks working out a fewexperiments in organic chemistry. One day, however, when the autumn wasfar advanced and the vacation drawing to a close, I received a telegramfrom my friend imploring me to return to Donnithorpe, and saying thathe was in great need of my advice and assistance. Of course I droppedeverything and set out for the North once more. "He met me with the dog-cart at the station, and I saw at a glance thatthe last two months had been very trying ones for him. He had grown thinand careworn, and had lost the loud, cheery manner for which he had beenremarkable. "'The governor is dying, ' were the first words he said. "'Impossible!' I cried. 'What is the matter?' "'Apoplexy. Nervous shock, He's been on the verge all day. I doubt if weshall find him alive. ' "I was, as you may think, Watson, horrified at this unexpected news. "'What has caused it?' I asked. "'Ah, that is the point. Jump in and we can talk it over while we drive. You remember that fellow who came upon the evening before you left us?' "'Perfectly. ' "'Do you know who it was that we let into the house that day?' "'I have no idea. ' "'It was the devil, Holmes, ' he cried. "I stared at him in astonishment. "'Yes, it was the devil himself. We have not had a peaceful hoursince--not one. The governor has never held up his head from thatevening, and now the life has been crushed out of him and his heartbroken, all through this accursed Hudson. ' "'What power had he, then?' "'Ah, that is what I would give so much to know. The kindly, charitable, good old governor--how could he have fallen into the clutches of such aruffian! But I am so glad that you have come, Holmes. I trust very muchto your judgment and discretion, and I know that you will advise me forthe best. ' "We were dashing along the smooth white country road, with the longstretch of the Broads in front of us glimmering in the red light of thesetting sun. From a grove upon our left I could already see the highchimneys and the flag-staff which marked the squire's dwelling. "'My father made the fellow gardener, ' said my companion, 'and then, asthat did not satisfy him, he was promoted to be butler. The house seemedto be at his mercy, and he wandered about and did what he chose in it. The maids complained of his drunken habits and his vile language. Thedad raised their wages all round to recompense them for the annoyance. The fellow would take the boat and my father's best gun and treathimself to little shooting trips. And all this with such a sneering, leering, insolent face that I would have knocked him down twenty timesover if he had been a man of my own age. I tell you, Holmes, I havehad to keep a tight hold upon myself all this time; and now I am askingmyself whether, if I had let myself go a little more, I might not havebeen a wiser man. "'Well, matters went from bad to worse with us, and this animal Hudsonbecame more and more intrusive, until at last, on making some insolentreply to my father in my presence one day, I took him by the shouldersand turned him out of the room. He slunk away with a livid face and twovenomous eyes which uttered more threats than his tongue could do. Idon't know what passed between the poor dad and him after that, but thedad came to me next day and asked me whether I would mind apologizing toHudson. I refused, as you can imagine, and asked my father how hecould allow such a wretch to take such liberties with himself and hishousehold. "'"Ah, my boy, " said he, "it is all very well to talk, but you don'tknow how I am placed. But you shall know, Victor. I'll see that youshall know, come what may. You wouldn't believe harm of your poor oldfather, would you, lad?" He was very much moved, and shut himself upin the study all day, where I could see through the window that he waswriting busily. "'That evening there came what seemed to me to be a grand release, for Hudson told us that he was going to leave us. He walked into thedining-room as we sat after dinner, and announced his intention in thethick voice of a half-drunken man. "'"I've had enough of Norfolk, " said he. "I'll run down to Mr. Beddoesin Hampshire. He'll be as glad to see me as you were, I dare say. " "'"You're not going away in an unkind spirit, Hudson, I hope, " said myfather, with a tameness which made my blood boil. "'"I've not had my 'pology, " said he sulkily, glancing in my direction. "'"Victor, you will acknowledge that you have used this worthy fellowrather roughly, " said the dad, turning to me. "'"On the contrary, I think that we have both shown extraordinarypatience towards him, " I answered. "'"Oh, you do, do you?" he snarls. "Very good, mate. We'll see aboutthat!" "'He slouched out of the room, and half an hour afterwards left thehouse, leaving my father in a state of pitiable nervousness. Night afternight I heard him pacing his room, and it was just as he was recoveringhis confidence that the blow did at last fall. ' "'And how?' I asked eagerly. "'In a most extraordinary fashion. A letter arrived for my fatheryesterday evening, bearing the Fordingbridge post-mark. My father readit, clapped both his hands to his head, and began running round the roomin little circles like a man who has been driven out of his senses. WhenI at last drew him down on to the sofa, his mouth and eyelids were allpuckered on one side, and I saw that he had a stroke. Dr. Fordham cameover at once. We put him to bed; but the paralysis has spread, he hasshown no sign of returning consciousness, and I think that we shallhardly find him alive. ' "'You horrify me, Trevor!' I cried. 'What then could have been in thisletter to cause so dreadful a result?' "'Nothing. There lies the inexplicable part of it. The message wasabsurd and trivial. Ah, my God, it is as I feared!' "As he spoke we came round the curve of the avenue, and saw in thefading light that every blind in the house had been drawn down. Aswe dashed up to the door, my friend's face convulsed with grief, agentleman in black emerged from it. "'When did it happen, doctor?' asked Trevor. "'Almost immediately after you left. ' "'Did he recover consciousness?' "'For an instant before the end. ' "'Any message for me. ' "'Only that the papers were in the back drawer of the Japanese cabinet. ' "My friend ascended with the doctor to the chamber of death, while Iremained in the study, turning the whole matter over and over in myhead, and feeling as sombre as ever I had done in my life. What was thepast of this Trevor, pugilist, traveler, and gold-digger, and how had heplaced himself in the power of this acid-faced seaman? Why, too, shouldhe faint at an allusion to the half-effaced initials upon his arm, anddie of fright when he had a letter from Fordingham? Then I rememberedthat Fordingham was in Hampshire, and that this Mr. Beddoes, whom theseaman had gone to visit and presumably to blackmail, had also beenmentioned as living in Hampshire. The letter, then, might either comefrom Hudson, the seaman, saying that he had betrayed the guilty secretwhich appeared to exist, or it might come from Beddoes, warning an oldconfederate that such a betrayal was imminent. So far it seemed clearenough. But then how could this letter be trivial and grotesque, asdescribe by the son? He must have misread it. If so, it must have beenone of those ingenious secret codes which mean one thing while they seemto mean another. I must see this letter. If there were a hidden meaningin it, I was confident that I could pluck it forth. For an hour I satpondering over it in the gloom, until at last a weeping maid brought ina lamp, and close at her heels came my friend Trevor, pale but composed, with these very papers which lie upon my knee held in his grasp. He satdown opposite to me, drew the lamp to the edge of the table, and handedme a short note scribbled, as you see, upon a single sheet of graypaper. 'The supply of game for London is going steadily up, ' it ran. 'Head-keeper Hudson, we believe, has been now told to receive all ordersfor fly-paper and for preservation of your hen-pheasant's life. ' "I dare say my face looked as bewildered as yours did just now whenfirst I read this message. Then I reread it very carefully. It wasevidently as I had thought, and some secret meaning must lie buriedin this strange combination of words. Or could it be that there wasa prearranged significance to such phrases as 'fly-paper' and'hen-pheasant'? Such a meaning would be arbitrary and could not bededuced in any way. And yet I was loath to believe that this was thecase, and the presence of the word Hudson seemed to show that thesubject of the message was as I had guessed, and that it was fromBeddoes rather than the sailor. I tried it backwards, but thecombination 'life pheasant's hen' was not encouraging. Then I triedalternate words, but neither 'the of for' nor 'supply game London'promised to throw any light upon it. "And then in an instant the key of the riddle was in my hands, and I sawthat every third word, beginning with the first, would give a messagewhich might well drive old Trevor to despair. "It was short and terse, the warning, as I now read it to my companion: "'The game is up. Hudson has told all. Fly for your life. ' "Victor Trevor sank his face into his shaking hands. 'It must be that, I suppose, ' said he. "This is worse than death, for it means disgraceas well. But what is the meaning of these "head-keepers" and"hen-pheasants"?' "'It means nothing to the message, but it might mean a good deal to usif we had no other means of discovering the sender. You see that he hasbegun by writing "The. . . Game. . . Is, " and so on. Afterwards he had, tofulfill the prearranged cipher, to fill in any two words in each space. He would naturally use the first words which came to his mind, andif there were so many which referred to sport among them, you maybe tolerably sure that he is either an ardent shot or interested inbreeding. Do you know anything of this Beddoes?' "'Why, now that you mention it, ' said he, 'I remember that my poorfather used to have an invitation from him to shoot over his preservesevery autumn. ' "'Then it is undoubtedly from him that the note comes, ' said I. 'It onlyremains for us to find out what this secret was which the sailor Hudsonseems to have held over the heads of these two wealthy and respectedmen. ' "'Alas, Holmes, I fear that it is one of sin and shame!' cried myfriend. 'But from you I shall have no secrets. Here is the statementwhich was drawn up by my father when he knew that the danger from Hudsonhad become imminent. I found it in the Japanese cabinet, as he told thedoctor. Take it and read it to me, for I have neither the strength northe courage to do it myself. ' "These are the very papers, Watson, which he handed to me, and I willread them to you, as I read them in the old study that night to him. They are endorsed outside, as you see, 'Some particulars of the voyageof the bark _Gloria Scott_, from her leaving Falmouth on the 8thOctober, 1855, to her destruction in N. Lat. 15 degrees 20', W. Long. 25 degrees 14' on Nov. 6th. ' It is in the form of a letter, and runs inthis way: "'My dear, dear son, now that approaching disgrace begins to darken theclosing years of my life, I can write with all truth and honesty that itis not the terror of the law, it is not the loss of my position in thecounty, nor is it my fall in the eyes of all who have known me, whichcuts me to the heart; but it is the thought that you should come toblush for me--you who love me and who have seldom, I hope, had reason todo other than respect me. But if the blow falls which is forever hangingover me, then I should wish you to read this, that you may know straightfrom me how far I have been to blame. On the other hand, if all shouldgo well (which may kind God Almighty grant!), then if by any chance thispaper should be still undestroyed and should fall into your hands, Iconjure you, by all you hold sacred, by the memory of your dear mother, and by the love which had been between us, to hurl it into the fire andto never give one thought to it again. "'If then your eye goes on to read this line, I know that I shallalready have been exposed and dragged from my home, or as is morelikely, for you know that my heart is weak, by lying with my tonguesealed forever in death. In either case the time for suppression ispast, and every word which I tell you is the naked truth, and this Iswear as I hope for mercy. "'My name, dear lad, is not Trevor. I was James Armitage in my youngerdays, and you can understand now the shock that it was to me a few weeksago when your college friend addressed me in words which seemed to implythat he had surprised my secret. As Armitage it was that I entered aLondon banking-house, and as Armitage I was convicted of breaking mycountry's laws, and was sentenced to transportation. Do not think veryharshly of me, laddie. It was a debt of honor, so called, which I hadto pay, and I used money which was not my own to do it, in the certaintythat I could replace it before there could be any possibility of itsbeing missed. But the most dreadful ill-luck pursued me. The money whichI had reckoned upon never came to hand, and a premature examination ofaccounts exposed my deficit. The case might have been dealt lenientlywith, but the laws were more harshly administered thirty years ago thannow, and on my twenty-third birthday I found myself chained as a felonwith thirty-seven other convicts in 'tween-decks of the bark _GloriaScott_, bound for Australia. "'It was the year '55 when the Crimean war was at its height, and theold convict ships had been largely used as transports in the BlackSea. The government was compelled, therefore, to use smaller and lesssuitable vessels for sending out their prisoners. The Gloria Scotthad been in the Chinese tea-trade, but she was an old-fashioned, heavy-bowed, broad-beamed craft, and the new clippers had cut herout. She was a five-hundred-ton boat; and besides her thirty-eightjail-birds, she carried twenty-six of a crew, eighteen soldiers, acaptain, three mates, a doctor, a chaplain, and four warders. Nearly ahundred souls were in her, all told, when we set sail from Falmouth. "'The partitions between the cells of the convicts, instead of being ofthick oak, as is usual in convict-ships, were quite thin and frail. The man next to me, upon the aft side, was one whom I had particularlynoticed when we were led down the quay. He was a young man with aclear, hairless face, a long, thin nose, and rather nut-cracker jaws. He carried his head very jauntily in the air, had a swaggering styleof walking, and was, above all else, remarkable for his extraordinaryheight. I don't think any of our heads would have come up to hisshoulder, and I am sure that he could not have measured less than sixand a half feet. It was strange among so many sad and weary faces to seeone which was full of energy and resolution. The sight of it was to melike a fire in a snow-storm. I was glad, then, to find that he was myneighbor, and gladder still when, in the dead of the night, I heard awhisper close to my ear, and found that he had managed to cut an openingin the board which separated us. "'"Hullo, chummy!" said he, "what's your name, and what are you herefor?" "'I answered him, and asked in turn who I was talking with. "'"I'm Jack Prendergast, " said he, "and by God! You'll learn to bless myname before you've done with me. " "'I remembered hearing of his case, for it was one which had made animmense sensation throughout the country some time before my own arrest. He was a man of good family and of great ability, but of incurablyvicious habits, who had by an ingenious system of fraud obtained hugesums of money from the leading London merchants. "'"Ha, ha! You remember my case!" said he proudly. "'"Very well, indeed. " "'"Then maybe you remember something queer about it?" "'"What was that, then?" "'"I'd had nearly a quarter of a million, hadn't I?" "'"So it was said. " "'"But none was recovered, eh?" "'"No. " "'"Well, where d'ye suppose the balance is?" he asked. "'"I have no idea, " said I. "'"Right between my finger and thumb, " he cried. "By God! I've got morepounds to my name than you've hairs on your head. And if you've money, my son, and know how to handle it and spread it, you can do anything. Now, you don't think it likely that a man who could do anything is goingto wear his breeches out sitting in the stinking hold of a rat-gutted, beetle-ridden, mouldy old coffin of a Chin China coaster. No, sir, sucha man will look after himself and will look after his chums. You may layto that! You hold on to him, and you may kiss the book that he'll haulyou through. " "'That was his style of talk, and at first I thought it meant nothing;but after a while, when he had tested me and sworn me in with allpossible solemnity, he let me understand that there really was a plotto gain command of the vessel. A dozen of the prisoners had hatched itbefore they came aboard, Prendergast was the leader, and his money wasthe motive power. "'"I'd a partner, " said he, "a rare good man, as true as a stock to abarrel. He's got the dibbs, he has, and where do you think he is at thismoment? Why, he's the chaplain of this ship--the chaplain, no less! Hecame aboard with a black coat, and his papers right, and money enough inhis box to buy the thing right up from keel to main-truck. The creware his, body and soul. He could buy 'em at so much a gross with a cashdiscount, and he did it before ever they signed on. He's got two of thewarders and Mereer, the second mate, and he'd get the captain himself, if he thought him worth it. " "'"What are we to do, then?" I asked. "'"What do you think?" said he. "We'll make the coats of some of thesesoldiers redder than ever the tailor did. " "'"But they are armed, " said I. "'"And so shall we be, my boy. There's a brace of pistols for everymother's son of us, and if we can't carry this ship, with the crew atour back, it's time we were all sent to a young misses' boarding-school. You speak to your mate upon the left to-night, and see if he is to betrusted. " "'I did so, and found my other neighbor to be a young fellow in muchthe same position as myself, whose crime had been forgery. His name wasEvans, but he afterwards changed it, like myself, and he is now a richand prosperous man in the south of England. He was ready enough to jointhe conspiracy, as the only means of saving ourselves, and before we hadcrossed the Bay there were only two of the prisoners who were not in thesecret. One of these was of weak mind, and we did not dare to trust him, and the other was suffering from jaundice, and could not be of any useto us. "'From the beginning there was really nothing to prevent us from takingpossession of the ship. The crew were a set of ruffians, speciallypicked for the job. The sham chaplain came into our cells to exhort us, carrying a black bag, supposed to be full of tracts, and so often didhe come that by the third day we had each stowed away at the foot of ourbeds a file, a brace of pistols, a pound of powder, and twenty slugs. Two of the warders were agents of Prendergast, and the second mate washis right-hand man. The captain, the two mates, two warders LieutenantMartin, his eighteen soldiers, and the doctor were all that we hadagainst us. Yet, safe as it was, we determined to neglect no precaution, and to make our attack suddenly by night. It came, however, more quicklythan we expected, and in this way. "'One evening, about the third week after our start, the doctor had comedown to see one of the prisoners who was ill, and putting his hand downon the bottom of his bunk he felt the outline of the pistols. If he hadbeen silent he might have blown the whole thing, but he was a nervouslittle chap, so he gave a cry of surprise and turned so pale that theman knew what was up in an instant and seized him. He was gagged beforehe could give the alarm, and tied down upon the bed. He had unlockedthe door that led to the deck, and we were through it in a rush. The twosentries were shot down, and so was a corporal who came running to seewhat was the matter. There were two more soldiers at the door of thestate-room, and their muskets seemed not to be loaded, for they neverfired upon us, and they were shot while trying to fix their bayonets. Then we rushed on into the captain's cabin, but as we pushed open thedoor there was an explosion from within, and there he lay with hisbrains smeared over the chart of the Atlantic which was pinned upon thetable, while the chaplain stood with a smoking pistol in his hand athis elbow. The two mates had both been seized by the crew, and the wholebusiness seemed to be settled. "'The state-room was next the cabin, and we flocked in there and floppeddown on the settees, all speaking together, for we were just mad withthe feeling that we were free once more. There were lockers all round, and Wilson, the sham chaplain, knocked one of them in, and pulled out adozen of brown sherry. We cracked off the necks of the bottles, pouredthe stuff out into tumblers, and were just tossing them off, when in aninstant without warning there came the roar of muskets in our ears, andthe saloon was so full of smoke that we could not see across the table. When it cleared again the place was a shambles. Wilson and eight otherswere wriggling on the top of each other on the floor, and the blood andthe brown sherry on that table turn me sick now when I think of it. Wewere so cowed by the sight that I think we should have given the job upif it had not been for Prendergast. He bellowed like a bull and rushedfor the door with all that were left alive at his heels. Out we ran, and there on the poop were the lieutenant and ten of his men. The swingskylights above the saloon table had been a bit open, and they had firedon us through the slit. We got on them before they could load, and theystood to it like men; but we had the upper hand of them, and in fiveminutes it was all over. My God! Was there ever a slaughter-houselike that ship! Prendergast was like a raging devil, and he picked thesoldiers up as if they had been children and threw them overboard aliveor dead. There was one sergeant that was horribly wounded and yet kepton swimming for a surprising time, until some one in mercy blew out hisbrains. When the fighting was over there was no one left of our enemiesexcept just the warders the mates, and the doctor. "'It was over them that the great quarrel arose. There were many of uswho were glad enough to win back our freedom, and yet who had no wishto have murder on our souls. It was one thing to knock the soldiers overwith their muskets in their hands, and it was another to stand by whilemen were being killed in cold blood. Eight of us, five convicts andthree sailors, said that we would not see it done. But there was nomoving Prendergast and those who were with him. Our only chance ofsafety lay in making a clean job of it, said he, and he would not leavea tongue with power to wag in a witness-box. It nearly came to oursharing the fate of the prisoners, but at last he said that if we wishedwe might take a boat and go. We jumped at the offer, for we were alreadysick of these bloodthirsty doings, and we saw that there would be worsebefore it was done. We were given a suit of sailor togs each, a barrelof water, two casks, one of junk and one of biscuits, and a compass. Prendergast threw us over a chart, told us that we were shipwreckedmariners whose ship had foundered in Lat. 15 degrees and Long 25 degreeswest, and then cut the painter and let us go. "'And now I come to the most surprising part of my story, my dear son. The seamen had hauled the fore-yard aback during the rising, but now aswe left them they brought it square again, and as there was a light windfrom the north and east the bark began to draw slowly away from us. Ourboat lay, rising and falling, upon the long, smooth rollers, and Evansand I, who were the most educated of the party, were sitting in thesheets working out our position and planning what coast we should makefor. It was a nice question, for the Cape de Verdes were about fivehundred miles to the north of us, and the African coast about sevenhundred to the east. On the whole, as the wind was coming round to thenorth, we thought that Sierra Leone might be best, and turned our headin that direction, the bark being at that time nearly hull down on ourstarboard quarter. Suddenly as we looked at her we saw a dense blackcloud of smoke shoot up from her, which hung like a monstrous tree uponthe sky line. A few seconds later a roar like thunder burst upon ourears, and as the smoke thinned away there was no sign left of the_Gloria Scott_. In an instant we swept the boat's head round again andpulled with all our strength for the place where the haze still trailingover the water marked the scene of this catastrophe. "'It was a long hour before we reached it, and at first we feared thatwe had come too late to save any one. A splintered boat and a number ofcrates and fragments of spars rising and falling on the waves showed uswhere the vessel had foundered; but there was no sign of life, and wehad turned away in despair when we heard a cry for help, and saw at somedistance a piece of wreckage with a man lying stretched across it. Whenwe pulled him aboard the boat he proved to be a young seaman of thename of Hudson, who was so burned and exhausted that he could give us noaccount of what had happened until the following morning. "'It seemed that after we had left, Prendergast and his gang hadproceeded to put to death the five remaining prisoners. The two wardershad been shot and thrown overboard, and so also had the third mate. Prendergast then descended into the 'tween-decks and with his own handscut the throat of the unfortunate surgeon. There only remained the firstmate, who was a bold and active man. When he saw the convict approachinghim with the bloody knife in his hand he kicked off his bonds, which hehad somehow contrived to loosen, and rushing down the deck he plungedinto the after-hold. A dozen convicts, who descended with their pistolsin search of him, found him with a match-box in his hand seated besidean open powder-barrel, which was one of a hundred carried on board, andswearing that he would blow all hands up if he were in any way molested. An instant later the explosion occurred, though Hudson thought it wascaused by the misdirected bullet of one of the convicts rather than themate's match. Be the cause what it may, it was the end of the _GloriaScott_ and of the rabble who held command of her. "'Such, in a few words, my dear boy, is the history of this terriblebusiness in which I was involved. Next day we were picked up by the brig_Hotspur_, bound for Australia, whose captain found no difficulty inbelieving that we were the survivors of a passenger ship which hadfoundered. The transport ship Gloria Scott was set down by the Admiraltyas being lost at sea, and no word has ever leaked out as to her truefate. After an excellent voyage the _Hotspur_ landed us at Sydney, whereEvans and I changed our names and made our way to the diggings, where, among the crowds who were gathered from all nations, we had nodifficulty in losing our former identities. The rest I need not relate. We prospered, we traveled, we came back as rich colonials to England, and we bought country estates. For more than twenty years we haveled peaceful and useful lives, and we hoped that our past was foreverburied. Imagine, then, my feelings when in the seaman who came to us Irecognized instantly the man who had been picked off the wreck. He hadtracked us down somehow, and had set himself to live upon our fears. Youwill understand now how it was that I strove to keep the peace with him, and you will in some measure sympathize with me in the fears which fillme, now that he has gone from me to his other victim with threats uponhis tongue. ' "Underneath is written in a hand so shaky as to be hardly legible, 'Beddoes writes in cipher to say H. Has told all. Sweet Lord, have mercyon our souls!' "That was the narrative which I read that night to young Trevor, and Ithink, Watson, that under the circumstances it was a dramatic one. The good fellow was heart-broken at it, and went out to the Terai teaplanting, where I hear that he is doing well. As to the sailor andBeddoes, neither of them was ever heard of again after that day on whichthe letter of warning was written. They both disappeared utterly andcompletely. No complaint had been lodged with the police, so thatBeddoes had mistaken a threat for a deed. Hudson had been seen lurkingabout, and it was believed by the police that he had done away withBeddoes and had fled. For myself I believe that the truth was exactlythe opposite. I think that it is most probable that Beddoes, pushed todesperation and believing himself to have been already betrayed, hadrevenged himself upon Hudson, and had fled from the country with as muchmoney as he could lay his hands on. Those are the facts of the case, Doctor, and if they are of any use to your collection, I am sure thatthey are very heartily at your service. " Adventure V. The Musgrave Ritual An anomaly which often struck me in the character of my friend SherlockHolmes was that, although in his methods of thought he was the neatestand most methodical of mankind, and although also he affected a certainquiet primness of dress, he was none the less in his personal habits oneof the most untidy men that ever drove a fellow-lodger to distraction. Not that I am in the least conventional in that respect myself. Therough-and-tumble work in Afghanistan, coming on the top of a naturalBohemianism of disposition, has made me rather more lax than befits amedical man. But with me there is a limit, and when I find a man whokeeps his cigars in the coal-scuttle, his tobacco in the toe end ofa Persian slipper, and his unanswered correspondence transfixed by ajack-knife into the very centre of his wooden mantelpiece, then I beginto give myself virtuous airs. I have always held, too, that pistolpractice should be distinctly an open-air pastime; and when Holmes, inone of his queer humors, would sit in an arm-chair with his hair-triggerand a hundred Boxer cartridges, and proceed to adorn the oppositewall with a patriotic V. R. Done in bullet-pocks, I felt strongly thatneither the atmosphere nor the appearance of our room was improved byit. Our chambers were always full of chemicals and of criminal relics whichhad a way of wandering into unlikely positions, and of turning up inthe butter-dish or in even less desirable places. But his papers weremy great crux. He had a horror of destroying documents, especially thosewhich were connected with his past cases, and yet it was only once inevery year or two that he would muster energy to docket and arrangethem; for, as I have mentioned somewhere in these incoherent memoirs, the outbursts of passionate energy when he performed the remarkablefeats with which his name is associated were followed by reactions oflethargy during which he would lie about with his violin and his books, hardly moving save from the sofa to the table. Thus month after monthhis papers accumulated, until every corner of the room was stacked withbundles of manuscript which were on no account to be burned, and whichcould not be put away save by their owner. One winter's night, as wesat together by the fire, I ventured to suggest to him that, as he hadfinished pasting extracts into his common-place book, he might employthe next two hours in making our room a little more habitable. He couldnot deny the justice of my request, so with a rather rueful face he wentoff to his bedroom, from which he returned presently pulling a large tinbox behind him. This he placed in the middle of the floor and, squattingdown upon a stool in front of it, he threw back the lid. I could seethat it was already a third full of bundles of paper tied up with redtape into separate packages. "There are cases enough here, Watson, " said he, looking at me withmischievous eyes. "I think that if you knew all that I had in this boxyou would ask me to pull some out instead of putting others in. " "These are the records of your early work, then?" I asked. "I have oftenwished that I had notes of those cases. " "Yes, my boy, these were all done prematurely before my biographerhad come to glorify me. " He lifted bundle after bundle in a tender, caressing sort of way. "They are not all successes, Watson, " said he. "But there are some pretty little problems among them. Here's the recordof the Tarleton murders, and the case of Vamberry, the wine merchant, and the adventure of the old Russian woman, and the singular affairof the aluminium crutch, as well as a full account of Ricoletti of theclub-foot, and his abominable wife. And here--ah, now, this really issomething a little recherché. " He dived his arm down to the bottom of the chest, and brought up a smallwooden box with a sliding lid, such as children's toys are kept in. Fromwithin he produced a crumpled piece of paper, and old-fashioned brasskey, a peg of wood with a ball of string attached to it, and three rustyold disks of metal. "Well, my boy, what do you make of this lot?" he asked, smiling at myexpression. "It is a curious collection. " "Very curious, and the story that hangs round it will strike you asbeing more curious still. " "These relics have a history then?" "So much so that they are history. " "What do you mean by that?" Sherlock Holmes picked them up one by one, and laid them along the edgeof the table. Then he reseated himself in his chair and looked them overwith a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. "These, " said he, "are all that I have left to remind me of theadventure of the Musgrave Ritual. " I had heard him mention the case more than once, though I had never beenable to gather the details. "I should be so glad, " said I, "if you wouldgive me an account of it. " "And leave the litter as it is?" he cried, mischievously. "Your tidinesswon't bear much strain after all, Watson. But I should be glad that youshould add this case to your annals, for there are points in it whichmake it quite unique in the criminal records of this or, I believe, of any other country. A collection of my trifling achievements wouldcertainly be incomplete which contained no account of this very singularbusiness. "You may remember how the affair of the _Gloria Scott_, and myconversation with the unhappy man whose fate I told you of, first turnedmy attention in the direction of the profession which has become mylife's work. You see me now when my name has become known far andwide, and when I am generally recognized both by the public and by theofficial force as being a final court of appeal in doubtful cases. Even when you knew me first, at the time of the affair which you havecommemorated in 'A Study in Scarlet, ' I had already established aconsiderable, though not a very lucrative, connection. You can hardlyrealize, then, how difficult I found it at first, and how long I had towait before I succeeded in making any headway. "When I first came up to London I had rooms in Montague Street, justround the corner from the British Museum, and there I waited, filling inmy too abundant leisure time by studying all those branches of sciencewhich might make me more efficient. Now and again cases came in my way, principally through the introduction of old fellow-students, for duringmy last years at the University there was a good deal of talk thereabout myself and my methods. The third of these cases was that of theMusgrave Ritual, and it is to the interest which was aroused by thatsingular chain of events, and the large issues which proved to be atstake, that I trace my first stride towards the position which I nowhold. "Reginald Musgrave had been in the same college as myself, and I hadsome slight acquaintance with him. He was not generally popular amongthe undergraduates, though it always seemed to me that what was set downas pride was really an attempt to cover extreme natural diffidence. In appearance he was a man of exceedingly aristocratic type, thin, high-nosed, and large-eyed, with languid and yet courtly manners. He wasindeed a scion of one of the very oldest families in the kingdom, though his branch was a cadet one which had separated from the northernMusgraves some time in the sixteenth century, and had established itselfin western Sussex, where the Manor House of Hurlstone is perhaps theoldest inhabited building in the county. Something of his birth placeseemed to cling to the man, and I never looked at his pale, keen faceor the poise of his head without associating him with gray archways andmullioned windows and all the venerable wreckage of a feudal keep. Onceor twice we drifted into talk, and I can remember that more than once heexpressed a keen interest in my methods of observation and inference. "For four years I had seen nothing of him until one morning he walkedinto my room in Montague Street. He had changed little, was dressed likea young man of fashion--he was always a bit of a dandy--and preservedthe same quiet, suave manner which had formerly distinguished him. "'How has all gone with you Musgrave?' I asked, after we had cordiallyshaken hands. "'You probably heard of my poor father's death, ' said he; 'he wascarried off about two years ago. Since then I have of course had theHurlstone estates to manage, and as I am member for my district as well, my life has been a busy one. But I understand, Holmes, that you areturning to practical ends those powers with which you used to amaze us?' "'Yes, ' said I, 'I have taken to living by my wits. ' "'I am delighted to hear it, for your advice at present would beexceedingly valuable to me. We have had some very strange doings atHurlstone, and the police have been able to throw no light upon thematter. It is really the most extraordinary and inexplicable business. ' "You can imagine with what eagerness I listened to him, Watson, forthe very chance for which I had been panting during all those monthsof inaction seemed to have come within my reach. In my inmost heart Ibelieved that I could succeed where others failed, and now I had theopportunity to test myself. "'Pray, let me have the details, ' I cried. "Reginald Musgrave sat down opposite to me, and lit the cigarette whichI had pushed towards him. "'You must know, ' said he, 'that though I am a bachelor, I have to keepup a considerable staff of servants at Hurlstone, for it is a ramblingold place, and takes a good deal of looking after. I preserve, too, andin the pheasant months I usually have a house-party, so that it wouldnot do to be short-handed. Altogether there are eight maids, the cook, the butler, two footmen, and a boy. The garden and the stables of coursehave a separate staff. "'Of these servants the one who had been longest in our service wasBrunton the butler. He was a young school-master out of place when hewas first taken up by my father, but he was a man of great energy andcharacter, and he soon became quite invaluable in the household. He wasa well-grown, handsome man, with a splendid forehead, and though he hasbeen with us for twenty years he cannot be more than forty now. Withhis personal advantages and his extraordinary gifts--for he can speakseveral languages and play nearly every musical instrument--it iswonderful that he should have been satisfied so long in such a position, but I suppose that he was comfortable, and lacked energy to make anychange. The butler of Hurlstone is always a thing that is remembered byall who visit us. "'But this paragon has one fault. He is a bit of a Don Juan, and you canimagine that for a man like him it is not a very difficult part to playin a quiet country district. When he was married it was all right, butsince he has been a widower we have had no end of trouble with him. Afew months ago we were in hopes that he was about to settle down againfor he became engaged to Rachel Howells, our second house-maid; but hehas thrown her over since then and taken up with Janet Tregellis, thedaughter of the head game-keeper. Rachel--who is a very good girl, butof an excitable Welsh temperament--had a sharp touch of brain-fever, and goes about the house now--or did until yesterday--like a black-eyedshadow of her former self. That was our first drama at Hurlstone; but asecond one came to drive it from our minds, and it was prefaced by thedisgrace and dismissal of butler Brunton. "'This was how it came about. I have said that the man was intelligent, and this very intelligence has caused his ruin, for it seems to haveled to an insatiable curiosity about things which did not in the leastconcern him. I had no idea of the lengths to which this would carry him, until the merest accident opened my eyes to it. "'I have said that the house is a rambling one. One day last week--onThursday night, to be more exact--I found that I could not sleep, having foolishly taken a cup of strong café noir after my dinner. Afterstruggling against it until two in the morning, I felt that it was quitehopeless, so I rose and lit the candle with the intention of continuinga novel which I was reading. The book, however, had been left in thebilliard-room, so I pulled on my dressing-gown and started off to getit. "'In order to reach the billiard-room I had to descend a flight ofstairs and then to cross the head of a passage which led to the libraryand the gun-room. You can imagine my surprise when, as I looked downthis corridor, I saw a glimmer of light coming from the open door of thelibrary. I had myself extinguished the lamp and closed the door beforecoming to bed. Naturally my first thought was of burglars. The corridorsat Hurlstone have their walls largely decorated with trophies of oldweapons. From one of these I picked a battle-axe, and then, leaving mycandle behind me, I crept on tiptoe down the passage and peeped in atthe open door. "'Brunton, the butler, was in the library. He was sitting, fullydressed, in an easy-chair, with a slip of paper which looked like amap upon his knee, and his forehead sunk forward upon his hand in deepthought. I stood dumb with astonishment, watching him from the darkness. A small taper on the edge of the table shed a feeble light whichsufficed to show me that he was fully dressed. Suddenly, as I looked, he rose from his chair, and walking over to a bureau at the side, heunlocked it and drew out one of the drawers. From this he took a paper, and returning to his seat he flattened it out beside the taper on theedge of the table, and began to study it with minute attention. Myindignation at this calm examination of our family documents overcameme so far that I took a step forward, and Brunton, looking up, saw mestanding in the doorway. He sprang to his feet, his face turned lividwith fear, and he thrust into his breast the chart-like paper which hehad been originally studying. "'"So!" said I. "This is how you repay the trust which we have reposedin you. You will leave my service to-morrow. " "'He bowed with the look of a man who is utterly crushed, and slunk pastme without a word. The taper was still on the table, and by its lightI glanced to see what the paper was which Brunton had taken from thebureau. To my surprise it was nothing of any importance at all, but simply a copy of the questions and answers in the singular oldobservance called the Musgrave Ritual. It is a sort of ceremony peculiarto our family, which each Musgrave for centuries past has gone throughon his coming of age--a thing of private interest, and perhaps of somelittle importance to the archaeologist, like our own blazonings andcharges, but of no practical use whatever. ' "'We had better come back to the paper afterwards, ' said I. "'If you think it really necessary, ' he answered, with some hesitation. 'To continue my statement, however: I relocked the bureau, using the keywhich Brunton had left, and I had turned to go when I was surprised tofind that the butler had returned, and was standing before me. "'"Mr. Musgrave, sir, " he cried, in a voice which was hoarse withemotion, "I can't bear disgrace, sir. I've always been proud above mystation in life, and disgrace would kill me. My blood will be on yourhead, sir--it will, indeed--if you drive me to despair. If you cannotkeep me after what has passed, then for God's sake let me give younotice and leave in a month, as if of my own free will. I could standthat, Mr. Musgrave, but not to be cast out before all the folk that Iknow so well. " "'"You don't deserve much consideration, Brunton, " I answered. "Yourconduct has been most infamous. However, as you have been a long time inthe family, I have no wish to bring public disgrace upon you. A month, however is too long. Take yourself away in a week, and give what reasonyou like for going. " "'"Only a week, sir?" he cried, in a despairing voice. "A fortnight--sayat least a fortnight!" "'"A week, " I repeated, "and you may consider yourself to have been veryleniently dealt with. " "'He crept away, his face sunk upon his breast, like a broken man, whileI put out the light and returned to my room. "'"For two days after this Brunton was most assiduous in his attentionto his duties. I made no allusion to what had passed, and waited withsome curiosity to see how he would cover his disgrace. On the thirdmorning, however he did not appear, as was his custom, after breakfastto receive my instructions for the day. As I left the dining-room Ihappened to meet Rachel Howells, the maid. I have told you that she hadonly recently recovered from an illness, and was looking so wretchedlypale and wan that I remonstrated with her for being at work. "'"You should be in bed, " I said. "Come back to your duties when you arestronger. " "'She looked at me with so strange an expression that I began to suspectthat her brain was affected. "'"I am strong enough, Mr. Musgrave, " said she. "'"We will see what the doctor says, " I answered. "You must stop worknow, and when you go downstairs just say that I wish to see Brunton. " "'"The butler is gone, " said she. "'"Gone! Gone where?" "'"He is gone. No one has seen him. He is not in his room. Oh, yes, heis gone, he is gone!" She fell back against the wall with shriek aftershriek of laughter, while I, horrified at this sudden hysterical attack, rushed to the bell to summon help. The girl was taken to her room, stillscreaming and sobbing, while I made inquiries about Brunton. There wasno doubt about it that he had disappeared. His bed had not been sleptin, he had been seen by no one since he had retired to his room thenight before, and yet it was difficult to see how he could have leftthe house, as both windows and doors were found to be fastened in themorning. His clothes, his watch, and even his money were in his room, but the black suit which he usually wore was missing. His slippers, too, were gone, but his boots were left behind. Where then could butlerBrunton have gone in the night, and what could have become of him now? "'Of course we searched the house from cellar to garret, but there wasno trace of him. It is, as I have said, a labyrinth of an old house, especially the original wing, which is now practically uninhabited; butwe ransacked every room and cellar without discovering the least signof the missing man. It was incredible to me that he could have gone awayleaving all his property behind him, and yet where could he be? I calledin the local police, but without success. Rain had fallen on the nightbefore and we examined the lawn and the paths all round the house, butin vain. Matters were in this state, when a new development quite drewour attention away from the original mystery. "'For two days Rachel Howells had been so ill, sometimes delirious, sometimes hysterical, that a nurse had been employed to sit up with herat night. On the third night after Brunton's disappearance, the nurse, finding her patient sleeping nicely, had dropped into a nap in thearm-chair, when she woke in the early morning to find the bed empty, thewindow open, and no signs of the invalid. I was instantly aroused, and, with the two footmen, started off at once in search of the missing girl. It was not difficult to tell the direction which she had taken, for, starting from under her window, we could follow her footmarks easilyacross the lawn to the edge of the mere, where they vanished close tothe gravel path which leads out of the grounds. The lake there is eightfeet deep, and you can imagine our feelings when we saw that the trailof the poor demented girl came to an end at the edge of it. "'Of course, we had the drags at once, and set to work to recover theremains, but no trace of the body could we find. On the other hand, webrought to the surface an object of a most unexpected kind. It was alinen bag which contained within it a mass of old rusted and discoloredmetal and several dull-colored pieces of pebble or glass. This strangefind was all that we could get from the mere, and, although we madeevery possible search and inquiry yesterday, we know nothing of the fateeither of Rachel Howells or of Richard Brunton. The county police are attheir wits' end, and I have come up to you as a last resource. ' "You can imagine, Watson, with what eagerness I listened to thisextraordinary sequence of events, and endeavored to piece them together, and to devise some common thread upon which they might all hang. Thebutler was gone. The maid was gone. The maid had loved the butler, buthad afterwards had cause to hate him. She was of Welsh blood, fieryand passionate. She had been terribly excited immediately after hisdisappearance. She had flung into the lake a bag containing somecurious contents. These were all factors which had to be taken intoconsideration, and yet none of them got quite to the heart of thematter. What was the starting-point of this chain of events? There laythe end of this tangled line. "'I must see that paper, Musgrave, ' said I, 'which this butler of yourthought it worth his while to consult, even at the risk of the loss ofhis place. ' "'It is rather an absurd business, this ritual of ours, ' he answered. 'But it has at least the saving grace of antiquity to excuse it. I havea copy of the questions and answers here if you care to run your eyeover them. ' "He handed me the very paper which I have here, Watson, and this is thestrange catechism to which each Musgrave had to submit when he came toman's estate. I will read you the questions and answers as they stand. "'Whose was it?' "'His who is gone. ' "'Who shall have it?' "'He who will come. ' "'Where was the sun?' "'Over the oak. ' "'Where was the shadow?' "'Under the elm. ' "How was it stepped?' "'North by ten and by ten, east by five and by five, south by two and bytwo, west by one and by one, and so under. ' "'What shall we give for it?' "'All that is ours. ' "'Why should we give it?' "'For the sake of the trust. ' "'The original has no date, but is in the spelling of the middle of theseventeenth century, ' remarked Musgrave. 'I am afraid, however, that itcan be of little help to you in solving this mystery. ' "'At least, ' said I, 'it gives us another mystery, and one which is evenmore interesting than the first. It may be that the solution of the onemay prove to be the solution of the other. You will excuse me, Musgrave, if I say that your butler appears to me to have been a very clever man, and to have had a clearer insight than ten generations of his masters. ' "'I hardly follow you, ' said Musgrave. 'The paper seems to me to be ofno practical importance. ' "'But to me it seems immensely practical, and I fancy that Brunton tookthe same view. He had probably seen it before that night on which youcaught him. ' "'It is very possible. We took no pains to hide it. ' "'He simply wished, I should imagine, to refresh his memory upon thatlast occasion. He had, as I understand, some sort of map or chart whichhe was comparing with the manuscript, and which he thrust into hispocket when you appeared. ' "'That is true. But what could he have to do with this old family customof ours, and what does this rigmarole mean?' "'I don't think that we should have much difficulty in determiningthat, ' said I; 'with your permission we will take the first train downto Sussex, and go a little more deeply into the matter upon the spot. ' "The same afternoon saw us both at Hurlstone. Possibly you have seenpictures and read descriptions of the famous old building, so I willconfine my account of it to saying that it is built in the shape ofan L, the long arm being the more modern portion, and the shorter theancient nucleus, from which the other had developed. Over the low, heavily-lintelled door, in the centre of this old part, is chiseled thedate, 1607, but experts are agreed that the beams and stone-work arereally much older than this. The enormously thick walls and tiny windowsof this part had in the last century driven the family into building thenew wing, and the old one was used now as a store-house and a cellar, when it was used at all. A splendid park with fine old timber surroundsthe house, and the lake, to which my client had referred, lay close tothe avenue, about two hundred yards from the building. "I was already firmly convinced, Watson, that there were not threeseparate mysteries here, but one only, and that if I could read theMusgrave Ritual aright I should hold in my hand the clue which wouldlead me to the truth concerning both the butler Brunton and the maidHowells. To that then I turned all my energies. Why should this servantbe so anxious to master this old formula? Evidently because he sawsomething in it which had escaped all those generations of countrysquires, and from which he expected some personal advantage. What was itthen, and how had it affected his fate? "It was perfectly obvious to me, on reading the ritual, that themeasurements must refer to some spot to which the rest of the documentalluded, and that if we could find that spot, we should be in a fair waytowards finding what the secret was which the old Musgraves had thoughtit necessary to embalm in so curious a fashion. There were two guidesgiven us to start with, an oak and an elm. As to the oak there could beno question at all. Right in front of the house, upon the left-handside of the drive, there stood a patriarch among oaks, one of the mostmagnificent trees that I have ever seen. "'That was there when your ritual was drawn up, ' said I, as we drovepast it. "'It was there at the Norman Conquest in all probability, ' he answered. 'It has a girth of twenty-three feet. ' "'Have you any old elms?' I asked. "'There used to be a very old one over yonder but it was struck bylightning ten years ago, and we cut down the stump. ' "'You can see where it used to be?' "'Oh, yes. ' "'There are no other elms?' "'No old ones, but plenty of beeches. ' "'I should like to see where it grew. ' "We had driven up in a dog-cart, and my client led me away at once, without our entering the house, to the scar on the lawn where theelm had stood. It was nearly midway between the oak and the house. Myinvestigation seemed to be progressing. "'I suppose it is impossible to find out how high the elm was?' I asked. "'I can give you it at once. It was sixty-four feet. ' "'How do you come to know it?' I asked, in surprise. "'When my old tutor used to give me an exercise in trigonometry, italways took the shape of measuring heights. When I was a lad I workedout every tree and building in the estate. ' "This was an unexpected piece of luck. My data were coming more quicklythan I could have reasonably hoped. "'Tell me, ' I asked, 'did your butler ever ask you such a question?' "Reginald Musgrave looked at me in astonishment. 'Now that you call itto my mind, ' he answered, 'Brunton did ask me about the height of thetree some months ago, in connection with some little argument with thegroom. ' "This was excellent news, Watson, for it showed me that I was on theright road. I looked up at the sun. It was low in the heavens, and Icalculated that in less than an hour it would lie just above the topmostbranches of the old oak. One condition mentioned in the Ritual wouldthen be fulfilled. And the shadow of the elm must mean the farther endof the shadow, otherwise the trunk would have been chosen as the guide. I had, then, to find where the far end of the shadow would fall when thesun was just clear of the oak. " "That must have been difficult, Holmes, when the elm was no longerthere. " "Well, at least I knew that if Brunton could do it, I could also. Besides, there was no real difficulty. I went with Musgrave to his studyand whittled myself this peg, to which I tied this long string with aknot at each yard. Then I took two lengths of a fishing-rod, which cameto just six feet, and I went back with my client to where the elm hadbeen. The sun was just grazing the top of the oak. I fastened the rodon end, marked out the direction of the shadow, and measured it. It wasnine feet in length. "Of course the calculation now was a simple one. If a rod of six feetthrew a shadow of nine, a tree of sixty-four feet would throw one ofninety-six, and the line of the one would of course be the line of theother. I measured out the distance, which brought me almost to thewall of the house, and I thrust a peg into the spot. You can imaginemy exultation, Watson, when within two inches of my peg I saw a conicaldepression in the ground. I knew that it was the mark made by Brunton inhis measurements, and that I was still upon his trail. "From this starting-point I proceeded to step, having first taken thecardinal points by my pocket-compass. Ten steps with each foot took mealong parallel with the wall of the house, and again I marked my spotwith a peg. Then I carefully paced off five to the east and two to thesouth. It brought me to the very threshold of the old door. Two stepsto the west meant now that I was to go two paces down the stone-flaggedpassage, and this was the place indicated by the Ritual. "Never have I felt such a cold chill of disappointment, Watson. For amoment is seemed to me that there must be some radical mistake in mycalculations. The setting sun shone full upon the passage floor, and Icould see that the old, foot-worn gray stones with which it was pavedwere firmly cemented together, and had certainly not been moved for manya long year. Brunton had not been at work here. I tapped upon the floor, but it sounded the same all over, and there was no sign of any crackor crevice. But, fortunately, Musgrave, who had begun to appreciate themeaning of my proceedings, and who was now as excited as myself, tookout his manuscript to check my calculation. "'And under, ' he cried. 'You have omitted the "and under. "' "I had thought that it meant that we were to dig, but now, of course, I saw at once that I was wrong. 'There is a cellar under this then?' Icried. "'Yes, and as old as the house. Down here, through this door. ' "We went down a winding stone stair, and my companion, striking a match, lit a large lantern which stood on a barrel in the corner. In an instantit was obvious that we had at last come upon the true place, and that wehad not been the only people to visit the spot recently. "It had been used for the storage of wood, but the billets, which hadevidently been littered over the floor, were now piled at the sides, soas to leave a clear space in the middle. In this space lay a large andheavy flagstone with a rusted iron ring in the centre to which a thickshepherd's-check muffler was attached. "'By Jove!' cried my client. 'That's Brunton's muffler. I have seen iton him, and could swear to it. What has the villain been doing here?' "At my suggestion a couple of the county police were summoned to bepresent, and I then endeavored to raise the stone by pulling on thecravat. I could only move it slightly, and it was with the aid of oneof the constables that I succeeded at last in carrying it to one side. A black hole yawned beneath into which we all peered, while Musgrave, kneeling at the side, pushed down the lantern. "A small chamber about seven feet deep and four feet square lay open tous. At one side of this was a squat, brass-bound wooden box, the lid ofwhich was hinged upwards, with this curious old-fashioned key projectingfrom the lock. It was furred outside by a thick layer of dust, and dampand worms had eaten through the wood, so that a crop of livid fungiwas growing on the inside of it. Several discs of metal, old coinsapparently, such as I hold here, were scattered over the bottom of thebox, but it contained nothing else. "At the moment, however, we had no thought for the old chest, for oureyes were riveted upon that which crouched beside it. It was the figureof a man, clad in a suit of black, who squatted down upon his hams withhis forehead sunk upon the edge of the box and his two arms thrown outon each side of it. The attitude had drawn all the stagnant blood tothe face, and no man could have recognized that distorted liver-coloredcountenance; but his height, his dress, and his hair were all sufficientto show my client, when we had drawn the body up, that it was indeed hismissing butler. He had been dead some days, but there was no wound orbruise upon his person to show how he had met his dreadful end. Whenhis body had been carried from the cellar we found ourselves stillconfronted with a problem which was almost as formidable as that withwhich we had started. "I confess that so far, Watson, I had been disappointed in myinvestigation. I had reckoned upon solving the matter when once I hadfound the place referred to in the Ritual; but now I was there, and wasapparently as far as ever from knowing what it was which the family hadconcealed with such elaborate precautions. It is true that I had throwna light upon the fate of Brunton, but now I had to ascertain how thatfate had come upon him, and what part had been played in the matter bythe woman who had disappeared. I sat down upon a keg in the corner andthought the whole matter carefully over. "You know my methods in such cases, Watson. I put myself in the man'splace and, having first gauged his intelligence, I try to imagine how Ishould myself have proceeded under the same circumstances. In thiscase the matter was simplified by Brunton's intelligence being quitefirst-rate, so that it was unnecessary to make any allowance for thepersonal equation, as the astronomers have dubbed it. He knew thatsomething valuable was concealed. He had spotted the place. He foundthat the stone which covered it was just too heavy for a man to moveunaided. What would he do next? He could not get help from outside, evenif he had some one whom he could trust, without the unbarring of doorsand considerable risk of detection. It was better, if he could, to havehis helpmate inside the house. But whom could he ask? This girl had beendevoted to him. A man always finds it hard to realize that he may havefinally lost a woman's love, however badly he may have treated her. Hewould try by a few attentions to make his peace with the girl Howells, and then would engage her as his accomplice. Together they would come atnight to the cellar, and their united force would suffice to raise thestone. So far I could follow their actions as if I had actually seenthem. "But for two of them, and one a woman, it must have been heavy work theraising of that stone. A burly Sussex policeman and I had found it nolight job. What would they do to assist them? Probably what I shouldhave done myself. I rose and examined carefully the different billetsof wood which were scattered round the floor. Almost at once I cameupon what I expected. One piece, about three feet in length, had a verymarked indentation at one end, while several were flattened at the sidesas if they had been compressed by some considerable weight. Evidently, as they had dragged the stone up they had thrust the chunks of wood intothe chink, until at last, when the opening was large enough to crawlthrough, they would hold it open by a billet placed lengthwise, whichmight very well become indented at the lower end, since the whole weightof the stone would press it down on to the edge of this other slab. Sofar I was still on safe ground. "And now how was I to proceed to reconstruct this midnight drama?Clearly, only one could fit into the hole, and that one was Brunton. Thegirl must have waited above. Brunton then unlocked the box, handed upthe contents presumably--since they were not to be found--and then--andthen what happened? "What smouldering fire of vengeance had suddenly sprung into flame inthis passionate Celtic woman's soul when she saw the man who had wrongedher--wronged her, perhaps, far more than we suspected--in her power?Was it a chance that the wood had slipped, and that the stone had shutBrunton into what had become his sepulchre? Had she only been guilty ofsilence as to his fate? Or had some sudden blow from her hand dashed thesupport away and sent the slab crashing down into its place? Be thatas it might, I seemed to see that woman's figure still clutching at hertreasure trove and flying wildly up the winding stair, with her earsringing perhaps with the muffled screams from behind her and with thedrumming of frenzied hands against the slab of stone which was chokingher faithless lover's life out. "Here was the secret of her blanched face, her shaken nerves, her pealsof hysterical laughter on the next morning. But what had been in thebox? What had she done with that? Of course, it must have been the oldmetal and pebbles which my client had dragged from the mere. She hadthrown them in there at the first opportunity to remove the last traceof her crime. "For twenty minutes I had sat motionless, thinking the matter out. Musgrave still stood with a very pale face, swinging his lantern andpeering down into the hole. "'These are coins of Charles the First, ' said he, holding out the fewwhich had been in the box; 'you see we were right in fixing our date forthe Ritual. ' "'We may find something else of Charles the First, ' I cried, as theprobable meaning of the first two questions of the Ritual broke suddenlyupon me. 'Let me see the contents of the bag which you fished from themere. ' "We ascended to his study, and he laid the debris before me. I couldunderstand his regarding it as of small importance when I looked at it, for the metal was almost black and the stones lustreless and dull. Irubbed one of them on my sleeve, however, and it glowed afterwards likea spark in the dark hollow of my hand. The metal work was in the formof a double ring, but it had been bent and twisted out of its originalshape. "'You must bear in mind, ' said I, 'that the royal party made head inEngland even after the death of the king, and that when they at lastfled they probably left many of their most precious possessions buriedbehind them, with the intention of returning for them in more peacefultimes. ' "'My ancestor, Sir Ralph Musgrave, was a prominent Cavalier and theright-hand man of Charles the Second in his wanderings, ' said my friend. "'Ah, indeed!' I answered. 'Well now, I think that really should give usthe last link that we wanted. I must congratulate you on coming intothe possession, though in rather a tragic manner of a relic which is ofgreat intrinsic value, but of even greater importance as an historicalcuriosity. ' "'What is it, then?' he gasped in astonishment. "'It is nothing less than the ancient crown of the kings of England. ' "'The crown!' "'Precisely. Consider what the Ritual says: How does it run? "Whose wasit?" "His who is gone. " That was after the execution of Charles. Then, "Who shall have it?" "He who will come. " That was Charles the Second, whose advent was already foreseen. There can, I think, be no doubt thatthis battered and shapeless diadem once encircled the brows of the royalStuarts. ' "'And how came it in the pond?' "'Ah, that is a question that will take some time to answer. ' And withthat I sketched out to him the whole long chain of surmise and of proofwhich I had constructed. The twilight had closed in and the moon wasshining brightly in the sky before my narrative was finished. "'And how was it then that Charles did not get his crown when hereturned?' asked Musgrave, pushing back the relic into its linen bag. "'Ah, there you lay your finger upon the one point which we shallprobably never be able to clear up. It is likely that the Musgrave whoheld the secret died in the interval, and by some oversight left thisguide to his descendant without explaining the meaning of it. From thatday to this it has been handed down from father to son, until at lastit came within reach of a man who tore its secret out of it and lost hislife in the venture. ' "And that's the story of the Musgrave Ritual, Watson. They have thecrown down at Hurlstone--though they had some legal bother and aconsiderable sum to pay before they were allowed to retain it. I am surethat if you mentioned my name they would be happy to show it to you. Ofthe woman nothing was ever heard, and the probability is that she gotaway out of England and carried herself and the memory of her crime tosome land beyond the seas. " Adventure VI. The Reigate Puzzle It was some time before the health of my friend Mr. Sherlock Holmesrecovered from the strain caused by his immense exertions in the springof '87. The whole question of the Netherland-Sumatra Company and of thecolossal schemes of Baron Maupertuis are too recent in the minds of thepublic, and are too intimately concerned with politics and finance to befitting subjects for this series of sketches. They led, however, in anindirect fashion to a singular and complex problem which gave my friendan opportunity of demonstrating the value of a fresh weapon among themany with which he waged his life-long battle against crime. On referring to my notes I see that it was upon the 14th of April thatI received a telegram from Lyons which informed me that Holmes waslying ill in the Hotel Dulong. Within twenty-four hours I was in hissick-room, and was relieved to find that there was nothing formidable inhis symptoms. Even his iron constitution, however, had broken downunder the strain of an investigation which had extended over two months, during which period he had never worked less than fifteen hours a day, and had more than once, as he assured me, kept to his task for five daysat a stretch. Even the triumphant issue of his labors could not save himfrom reaction after so terrible an exertion, and at a time when Europewas ringing with his name and when his room was literally ankle-deepwith congratulatory telegrams I found him a prey to the blackestdepression. Even the knowledge that he had succeeded where the police ofthree countries had failed, and that he had outmanoeuvred at every pointthe most accomplished swindler in Europe, was insufficient to rouse himfrom his nervous prostration. Three days later we were back in Baker Street together; but it wasevident that my friend would be much the better for a change, and thethought of a week of spring time in the country was full of attractionsto me also. My old friend, Colonel Hayter, who had come under myprofessional care in Afghanistan, had now taken a house near Reigate inSurrey, and had frequently asked me to come down to him upon a visit. Onthe last occasion he had remarked that if my friend would only comewith me he would be glad to extend his hospitality to him also. A littlediplomacy was needed, but when Holmes understood that the establishmentwas a bachelor one, and that he would be allowed the fullest freedom, he fell in with my plans and a week after our return from Lyons we wereunder the Colonel's roof. Hayter was a fine old soldier who had seenmuch of the world, and he soon found, as I had expected, that Holmes andhe had much in common. On the evening of our arrival we were sitting in the Colonel's gun-roomafter dinner, Holmes stretched upon the sofa, while Hayter and I lookedover his little armory of Eastern weapons. "By the way, " said he suddenly, "I think I'll take one of these pistolsupstairs with me in case we have an alarm. " "An alarm!" said I. "Yes, we've had a scare in this part lately. Old Acton, who is one ofour county magnates, had his house broken into last Monday. No greatdamage done, but the fellows are still at large. " "No clue?" asked Holmes, cocking his eye at the Colonel. "None as yet. But the affair is a petty one, one of our little countrycrimes, which must seem too small for your attention, Mr. Holmes, afterthis great international affair. " Holmes waved away the compliment, though his smile showed that it hadpleased him. "Was there any feature of interest?" "I fancy not. The thieves ransacked the library and got very little fortheir pains. The whole place was turned upside down, drawers burst open, and presses ransacked, with the result that an odd volume of Pope's'Homer, ' two plated candlesticks, an ivory letter-weight, a small oakbarometer, and a ball of twine are all that have vanished. " "What an extraordinary assortment!" I exclaimed. "Oh, the fellows evidently grabbed hold of everything they could get. " Holmes grunted from the sofa. "The county police ought to make something of that, " said he; "why, itis surely obvious that--" But I held up a warning finger. "You are here for a rest, my dear fellow. For Heaven's sake don't getstarted on a new problem when your nerves are all in shreds. " Holmes shrugged his shoulders with a glance of comic resignation towardsthe Colonel, and the talk drifted away into less dangerous channels. It was destined, however, that all my professional caution should bewasted, for next morning the problem obtruded itself upon us in such away that it was impossible to ignore it, and our country visit took aturn which neither of us could have anticipated. We were at breakfastwhen the Colonel's butler rushed in with all his propriety shaken out ofhim. "Have you heard the news, sir?" he gasped. "At the Cunningham's sir!" "Burglary!" cried the Colonel, with his coffee-cup in mid-air. "Murder!" The Colonel whistled. "By Jove!" said he. "Who's killed, then? The J. P. Or his son?" "Neither, sir. It was William the coachman. Shot through the heart, sir, and never spoke again. " "Who shot him, then?" "The burglar, sir. He was off like a shot and got clean away. He'd justbroke in at the pantry window when William came on him and met his endin saving his master's property. " "What time?" "It was last night, sir, somewhere about twelve. " "Ah, then, we'll step over afterwards, " said the Colonel, coollysettling down to his breakfast again. "It's a baddish business, " headded when the butler had gone; "he's our leading man about here, is oldCunningham, and a very decent fellow too. He'll be cut up over this, forthe man has been in his service for years and was a good servant. It'sevidently the same villains who broke into Acton's. " "And stole that very singular collection, " said Holmes, thoughtfully. "Precisely. " "Hum! It may prove the simplest matter in the world, but all the sameat first glance this is just a little curious, is it not? A gang ofburglars acting in the country might be expected to vary the scene oftheir operations, and not to crack two cribs in the same district withina few days. When you spoke last night of taking precautions I rememberthat it passed through my mind that this was probably the last parishin England to which the thief or thieves would be likely to turn theirattention--which shows that I have still much to learn. " "I fancy it's some local practitioner, " said the Colonel. "In that case, of course, Acton's and Cunningham's are just the places he would go for, since they are far the largest about here. " "And richest?" "Well, they ought to be, but they've had a lawsuit for some years whichhas sucked the blood out of both of them, I fancy. Old Acton has someclaim on half Cunningham's estate, and the lawyers have been at it withboth hands. " "If it's a local villain there should not be much difficulty in runninghim down, " said Holmes with a yawn. "All right, Watson, I don't intendto meddle. " "Inspector Forrester, sir, " said the butler, throwing open the door. The official, a smart, keen-faced young fellow, stepped into the room. "Good-morning, Colonel, " said he; "I hope I don't intrude, but we hearthat Mr. Holmes of Baker Street is here. " The Colonel waved his hand towards my friend, and the Inspector bowed. "We thought that perhaps you would care to step across, Mr. Holmes. " "The fates are against you, Watson, " said he, laughing. "We werechatting about the matter when you came in, Inspector. Perhaps youcan let us have a few details. " As he leaned back in his chair in thefamiliar attitude I knew that the case was hopeless. "We had no clue in the Acton affair. But here we have plenty to go on, and there's no doubt it is the same party in each case. The man wasseen. " "Ah!" "Yes, sir. But he was off like a deer after the shot that killed poorWilliam Kirwan was fired. Mr. Cunningham saw him from the bedroomwindow, and Mr. Alec Cunningham saw him from the back passage. It wasquarter to twelve when the alarm broke out. Mr. Cunningham had just gotinto bed, and Mr. Alec was smoking a pipe in his dressing-gown. Theyboth heard William the coachman calling for help, and Mr. Alec ran downto see what was the matter. The back door was open, and as he came tothe foot of the stairs he saw two men wrestling together outside. One ofthem fired a shot, the other dropped, and the murderer rushed across thegarden and over the hedge. Mr. Cunningham, looking out of his bedroom, saw the fellow as he gained the road, but lost sight of him at once. Mr. Alec stopped to see if he could help the dying man, and so the villaingot clean away. Beyond the fact that he was a middle-sized man anddressed in some dark stuff, we have no personal clue; but we are makingenergetic inquiries, and if he is a stranger we shall soon find himout. " "What was this William doing there? Did he say anything before he died?" "Not a word. He lives at the lodge with his mother, and as he was avery faithful fellow we imagine that he walked up to the house withthe intention of seeing that all was right there. Of course this Actonbusiness has put every one on their guard. The robber must have justburst open the door--the lock has been forced--when William came uponhim. " "Did William say anything to his mother before going out?" "She is very old and deaf, and we can get no information from her. Theshock has made her half-witted, but I understand that she was neververy bright. There is one very important circumstance, however. Look atthis!" He took a small piece of torn paper from a note-book and spread it outupon his knee. "This was found between the finger and thumb of the dead man. It appearsto be a fragment torn from a larger sheet. You will observe that thehour mentioned upon it is the very time at which the poor fellow met hisfate. You see that his murderer might have torn the rest of the sheetfrom him or he might have taken this fragment from the murderer. Itreads almost as though it were an appointment. " Holmes took up the scrap of paper, a fac-simile of which is herereproduced. d at quarter to twelve learn what maybe "Presuming that it is an appointment, " continued the Inspector, "it isof course a conceivable theory that this William Kirwan--though he hadthe reputation of being an honest man, may have been in league with thethief. He may have met him there, may even have helped him to break inthe door, and then they may have fallen out between themselves. " "This writing is of extraordinary interest, " said Holmes, who had beenexamining it with intense concentration. "These are much deeper watersthan I had though. " He sank his head upon his hands, while the Inspectorsmiled at the effect which his case had had upon the famous Londonspecialist. "Your last remark, " said Holmes, presently, "as to the possibility ofthere being an understanding between the burglar and the servant, andthis being a note of appointment from one to the other, is an ingeniousand not entirely impossible supposition. But this writing opens up--" Hesank his head into his hands again and remained for some minutes in thedeepest thought. When he raised his face again, I was surprised to seethat his cheek was tinged with color, and his eyes as bright as beforehis illness. He sprang to his feet with all his old energy. "I'll tell you what, " said he, "I should like to have a quiet littleglance into the details of this case. There is something in it whichfascinates me extremely. If you will permit me, Colonel, I will leave myfriend Watson and you, and I will step round with the Inspector to testthe truth of one or two little fancies of mine. I will be with you againin half an hour. " An hour and half had elapsed before the Inspector returned alone. "Mr. Holmes is walking up and down in the field outside, " said he. "Hewants us all four to go up to the house together. " "To Mr. Cunningham's?" "Yes, sir. " "What for?" The Inspector shrugged his shoulders. "I don't quite know, sir. Betweenourselves, I think Mr. Holmes had not quite got over his illness yet. He's been behaving very queerly, and he is very much excited. " "I don't think you need alarm yourself, " said I. "I have usually foundthat there was method in his madness. " "Some folks might say there was madness in his method, " muttered theInspector. "But he's all on fire to start, Colonel, so we had best goout if you are ready. " We found Holmes pacing up and down in the field, his chin sunk upon hisbreast, and his hands thrust into his trousers pockets. "The matter grows in interest, " said he. "Watson, your country-trip hasbeen a distinct success. I have had a charming morning. " "You have been up to the scene of the crime, I understand, " said theColonel. "Yes; the Inspector and I have made quite a little reconnaissancetogether. " "Any success?" "Well, we have seen some very interesting things. I'll tell you what wedid as we walk. First of all, we saw the body of this unfortunate man. He certainly died from a revolver wound as reported. " "Had you doubted it, then?" "Oh, it is as well to test everything. Our inspection was not wasted. Wethen had an interview with Mr. Cunningham and his son, who were ableto point out the exact spot where the murderer had broken through thegarden-hedge in his flight. That was of great interest. " "Naturally. " "Then we had a look at this poor fellow's mother. We could get noinformation from her, however, as she is very old and feeble. " "And what is the result of your investigations?" "The conviction that the crime is a very peculiar one. Perhaps our visitnow may do something to make it less obscure. I think that we are bothagreed, Inspector that the fragment of paper in the dead man's hand, bearing, as it does, the very hour of his death written upon it, is ofextreme importance. " "It should give a clue, Mr. Holmes. " "It does give a clue. Whoever wrote that note was the man who broughtWilliam Kirwan out of his bed at that hour. But where is the rest ofthat sheet of paper?" "I examined the ground carefully in the hope of finding it, " said theInspector. "It was torn out of the dead man's hand. Why was some one so anxious toget possession of it? Because it incriminated him. And what would he dowith it? Thrust it into his pocket, most likely, never noticing that acorner of it had been left in the grip of the corpse. If we could getthe rest of that sheet it is obvious that we should have gone a long waytowards solving the mystery. " "Yes, but how can we get at the criminal's pocket before we catch thecriminal?" "Well, well, it was worth thinking over. Then there is another obviouspoint. The note was sent to William. The man who wrote it could not havetaken it; otherwise, of course, he might have delivered his own messageby word of mouth. Who brought the note, then? Or did it come through thepost?" "I have made inquiries, " said the Inspector. "William received a letterby the afternoon post yesterday. The envelope was destroyed by him. " "Excellent!" cried Holmes, clapping the Inspector on the back. "You'veseen the postman. It is a pleasure to work with you. Well, here is thelodge, and if you will come up, Colonel, I will show you the scene ofthe crime. " We passed the pretty cottage where the murdered man had lived, andwalked up an oak-lined avenue to the fine old Queen Anne house, whichbears the date of Malplaquet upon the lintel of the door. Holmes andthe Inspector led us round it until we came to the side gate, which isseparated by a stretch of garden from the hedge which lines the road. Aconstable was standing at the kitchen door. "Throw the door open, officer, " said Holmes. "Now, it was on thosestairs that young Mr. Cunningham stood and saw the two men strugglingjust where we are. Old Mr. Cunningham was at that window--the second onthe left--and he saw the fellow get away just to the left of that bush. Then Mr. Alec ran out and knelt beside the wounded man. The ground isvery hard, you see, and there are no marks to guide us. " As he spoke twomen came down the garden path, from round the angle of the house. Theone was an elderly man, with a strong, deep-lined, heavy-eyed face; theother a dashing young fellow, whose bright, smiling expression and showydress were in strange contract with the business which had brought usthere. "Still at it, then?" said he to Holmes. "I thought you Londoners werenever at fault. You don't seem to be so very quick, after all. " "Ah, you must give us a little time, " said Holmes good-humoredly. "You'll want it, " said young Alec Cunningham. "Why, I don't see that wehave any clue at all. " "There's only one, " answered the Inspector. "We thought that if we couldonly find--Good heavens, Mr. Holmes! What is the matter?" My poor friend's face had suddenly assumed the most dreadful expression. His eyes rolled upwards, his features writhed in agony, and with asuppressed groan he dropped on his face upon the ground. Horrifiedat the suddenness and severity of the attack, we carried him into thekitchen, where he lay back in a large chair, and breathed heavily forsome minutes. Finally, with a shamefaced apology for his weakness, herose once more. "Watson would tell you that I have only just recovered from a severeillness, " he explained. "I am liable to these sudden nervous attacks. " "Shall I send you home in my trap?" asked old Cunningham. "Well, since I am here, there is one point on which I should like tofeel sure. We can very easily verify it. " "What was it?" "Well, it seems to me that it is just possible that the arrival ofthis poor fellow William was not before, but after, the entrance ofthe burglary into the house. You appear to take it for granted that, although the door was forced, the robber never got in. " "I fancy that is quite obvious, " said Mr. Cunningham, gravely. "Why, myson Alec had not yet gone to bed, and he would certainly have heard anyone moving about. " "Where was he sitting?" "I was smoking in my dressing-room. " "Which window is that?" "The last on the left next my father's. " "Both of your lamps were lit, of course?" "Undoubtedly. " "There are some very singular points here, " said Holmes, smiling. "Isit not extraordinary that a burglary--and a burglar who had had someprevious experience--should deliberately break into a house at a timewhen he could see from the lights that two of the family were stillafoot?" "He must have been a cool hand. " "Well, of course, if the case were not an odd one we should not havebeen driven to ask you for an explanation, " said young Mr. Alec. "But asto your ideas that the man had robbed the house before William tackledhim, I think it a most absurd notion. Wouldn't we have found the placedisarranged, and missed the things which he had taken?" "It depends on what the things were, " said Holmes. "You must rememberthat we are dealing with a burglar who is a very peculiar fellow, andwho appears to work on lines of his own. Look, for example, at thequeer lot of things which he took from Acton's--what was it?--a ball ofstring, a letter-weight, and I don't know what other odds and ends. " "Well, we are quite in your hands, Mr. Holmes, " said old Cunningham. "Anything which you or the Inspector may suggest will most certainly bedone. " "In the first place, " said Holmes, "I should like you to offer areward--coming from yourself, for the officials may take a little timebefore they would agree upon the sum, and these things cannot be donetoo promptly. I have jotted down the form here, if you would not mindsigning it. Fifty pounds was quite enough, I thought. " "I would willingly give five hundred, " said the J. P. , taking the slipof paper and the pencil which Holmes handed to him. "This is not quitecorrect, however, " he added, glancing over the document. "I wrote it rather hurriedly. " "You see you begin, 'Whereas, at about a quarter to one on Tuesdaymorning an attempt was made, ' and so on. It was at a quarter to twelve, as a matter of fact. " I was pained at the mistake, for I knew how keenly Holmes would feel anyslip of the kind. It was his specialty to be accurate as to fact, buthis recent illness had shaken him, and this one little incident wasenough to show me that he was still far from being himself. He wasobviously embarrassed for an instant, while the Inspector raised hiseyebrows, and Alec Cunningham burst into a laugh. The old gentlemancorrected the mistake, however, and handed the paper back to Holmes. "Get it printed as soon as possible, " he said; "I think your idea is anexcellent one. " Holmes put the slip of paper carefully away into his pocket-book. "And now, " said he, "it really would be a good thing that we should allgo over the house together and make certain that this rather erraticburglar did not, after all, carry anything away with him. " Before entering, Holmes made an examination of the door which had beenforced. It was evident that a chisel or strong knife had been thrustin, and the lock forced back with it. We could see the marks in the woodwhere it had been pushed in. "You don't use bars, then?" he asked. "We have never found it necessary. " "You don't keep a dog?" "Yes, but he is chained on the other side of the house. " "When do the servants go to bed?" "About ten. " "I understand that William was usually in bed also at that hour. " "Yes. " "It is singular that on this particular night he should have been up. Now, I should be very glad if you would have the kindness to show usover the house, Mr. Cunningham. " A stone-flagged passage, with the kitchens branching away from it, ledby a wooden staircase directly to the first floor of the house. It cameout upon the landing opposite to a second more ornamental stair whichcame up from the front hall. Out of this landing opened the drawing-roomand several bedrooms, including those of Mr. Cunningham and his son. Holmes walked slowly, taking keen note of the architecture of the house. I could tell from his expression that he was on a hot scent, and yetI could not in the least imagine in what direction his inferences wereleading him. "My good sir, " said Mr. Cunningham with some impatience, "this is surelyvery unnecessary. That is my room at the end of the stairs, and myson's is the one beyond it. I leave it to your judgment whether it waspossible for the thief to have come up here without disturbing us. " "You must try round and get on a fresh scent, I fancy, " said the sonwith a rather malicious smile. "Still, I must ask you to humor me a little further. I should like, forexample, to see how far the windows of the bedrooms command the front. This, I understand is your son's room"--he pushed open the door--"andthat, I presume, is the dressing-room in which he sat smoking when thealarm was given. Where does the window of that look out to?" He steppedacross the bedroom, pushed open the door, and glanced round the otherchamber. "I hope that you are satisfied now?" said Mr. Cunningham, tartly. "Thank you, I think I have seen all that I wished. " "Then if it is really necessary we can go into my room. " "If it is not too much trouble. " The J. P. Shrugged his shoulders, and led the way into his own chamber, which was a plainly furnished and commonplace room. As we moved acrossit in the direction of the window, Holmes fell back until he and I werethe last of the group. Near the foot of the bed stood a dish of orangesand a carafe of water. As we passed it Holmes, to my unutterableastonishment, leaned over in front of me and deliberately knocked thewhole thing over. The glass smashed into a thousand pieces and the fruitrolled about into every corner of the room. "You've done it now, Watson, " said he, coolly. "A pretty mess you'vemade of the carpet. " I stooped in some confusion and began to pick up the fruit, understanding for some reason my companion desired me to take the blameupon myself. The others did the same, and set the table on its legsagain. "Hullo!" cried the Inspector, "where's he got to?" Holmes had disappeared. "Wait here an instant, " said young Alec Cunningham. "The fellow is offhis head, in my opinion. Come with me, father, and see where he has gotto!" They rushed out of the room, leaving the Inspector, the Colonel, and mestaring at each other. "'Pon my word, I am inclined to agree with Master Alec, " said theofficial. "It may be the effect of this illness, but it seems to methat--" His words were cut short by a sudden scream of "Help! Help! Murder!"With a thrill I recognized the voice of that of my friend. I rushedmadly from the room on to the landing. The cries, which had sunk downinto a hoarse, inarticulate shouting, came from the room which we hadfirst visited. I dashed in, and on into the dressing-room beyond. Thetwo Cunninghams were bending over the prostrate figure of SherlockHolmes, the younger clutching his throat with both hands, while theelder seemed to be twisting one of his wrists. In an instant the threeof us had torn them away from him, and Holmes staggered to his feet, very pale and evidently greatly exhausted. "Arrest these men, Inspector, " he gasped. "On what charge?" "That of murdering their coachman, William Kirwan. " The Inspector stared about him in bewilderment. "Oh, come now, Mr. Holmes, " said he at last, "I'm sure you don't really mean to--" "Tut, man, look at their faces!" cried Holmes, curtly. Never certainly have I seen a plainer confession of guilt upon humancountenances. The older man seemed numbed and dazed with a heavy, sullenexpression upon his strongly-marked face. The son, on the other hand, had dropped all that jaunty, dashing style which had characterized him, and the ferocity of a dangerous wild beast gleamed in his dark eyesand distorted his handsome features. The Inspector said nothing, but, stepping to the door, he blew his whistle. Two of his constables came atthe call. "I have no alternative, Mr. Cunningham, " said he. "I trust that this mayall prove to be an absurd mistake, but you can see that--Ah, would you?Drop it!" He struck out with his hand, and a revolver which the youngerman was in the act of cocking clattered down upon the floor. "Keep that, " said Holmes, quietly putting his foot upon it; "you willfind it useful at the trial. But this is what we really wanted. " He heldup a little crumpled piece of paper. "The remainder of the sheet!" cried the Inspector. "Precisely. " "And where was it?" "Where I was sure it must be. I'll make the whole matter clear to youpresently. I think, Colonel, that you and Watson might return now, andI will be with you again in an hour at the furthest. The Inspector and Imust have a word with the prisoners, but you will certainly see me backat luncheon time. " Sherlock Holmes was as good as his word, for about one o'clock herejoined us in the Colonel's smoking-room. He was accompanied by alittle elderly gentleman, who was introduced to me as the Mr. Actonwhose house had been the scene of the original burglary. "I wished Mr. Acton to be present while I demonstrated this small matterto you, " said Holmes, "for it is natural that he should take a keeninterest in the details. I am afraid, my dear Colonel, that you mustregret the hour that you took in such a stormy petrel as I am. " "On the contrary, " answered the Colonel, warmly, "I consider it thegreatest privilege to have been permitted to study your methods ofworking. I confess that they quite surpass my expectations, and that Iam utterly unable to account for your result. I have not yet seen thevestige of a clue. " "I am afraid that my explanation may disillusion you but it has alwaysbeen my habit to hide none of my methods, either from my friend Watsonor from any one who might take an intelligent interest in them. But, first, as I am rather shaken by the knocking about which I had inthe dressing-room, I think that I shall help myself to a dash of yourbrandy, Colonel. My strength had been rather tried of late. " "I trust that you had no more of those nervous attacks. " Sherlock Holmes laughed heartily. "We will come to that in its turn, "said he. "I will lay an account of the case before you in its due order, showing you the various points which guided me in my decision. Prayinterrupt me if there is any inference which is not perfectly clear toyou. "It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be ableto recognize, out of a number of facts, which are incidental and whichvital. Otherwise your energy and attention must be dissipated instead ofbeing concentrated. Now, in this case there was not the slightest doubtin my mind from the first that the key of the whole matter must belooked for in the scrap of paper in the dead man's hand. "Before going into this, I would draw your attention to the fact that, if Alec Cunningham's narrative was correct, and if the assailant, aftershooting William Kirwan, had instantly fled, then it obviously could notbe he who tore the paper from the dead man's hand. But if it was not he, it must have been Alec Cunningham himself, for by the time that the oldman had descended several servants were upon the scene. The point is asimple one, but the Inspector had overlooked it because he had startedwith the supposition that these county magnates had had nothing to dowith the matter. Now, I make a point of never having any prejudices, and of following docilely wherever fact may lead me, and so, in thevery first stage of the investigation, I found myself looking a littleaskance at the part which had been played by Mr. Alec Cunningham. "And now I made a very careful examination of the corner of paper whichthe Inspector had submitted to us. It was at once clear to me that itformed part of a very remarkable document. Here it is. Do you not nowobserve something very suggestive about it?" "It has a very irregular look, " said the Colonel. "My dear sir, " cried Holmes, "there cannot be the least doubt in theworld that it has been written by two persons doing alternate words. When I draw your attention to the strong t's of 'at' and 'to', and askyou to compare them with the weak ones of 'quarter' and 'twelve, ' youwill instantly recognize the fact. A very brief analysis of thesefour words would enable you to say with the utmost confidence that the'learn' and the 'maybe' are written in the stronger hand, and the 'what'in the weaker. " "By Jove, it's as clear as day!" cried the Colonel. "Why on earth shouldtwo men write a letter in such a fashion?" "Obviously the business was a bad one, and one of the men who distrustedthe other was determined that, whatever was done, each should have anequal hand in it. Now, of the two men, it is clear that the one whowrote the 'at' and 'to' was the ringleader. " "How do you get at that?" "We might deduce it from the mere character of the one hand as comparedwith the other. But we have more assured reasons than that for supposingit. If you examine this scrap with attention you will come to theconclusion that the man with the stronger hand wrote all his wordsfirst, leaving blanks for the other to fill up. These blanks were notalways sufficient, and you can see that the second man had a squeezeto fit his 'quarter' in between the 'at' and the 'to, ' showing that thelatter were already written. The man who wrote all his words first isundoubtedly the man who planned the affair. " "Excellent!" cried Mr. Acton. "But very superficial, " said Holmes. "We come now, however, to a pointwhich is of importance. You may not be aware that the deduction of aman's age from his writing is one which has brought to considerableaccuracy by experts. In normal cases one can place a man in his truedecade with tolerable confidence. I say normal cases, because ill-healthand physical weakness reproduce the signs of old age, even when theinvalid is a youth. In this case, looking at the bold, strong hand ofthe one, and the rather broken-backed appearance of the other, whichstill retains its legibility although the t's have begun to lose theircrossing, we can say that the one was a young man and the other wasadvanced in years without being positively decrepit. " "Excellent!" cried Mr. Acton again. "There is a further point, however, which is subtler and of greaterinterest. There is something in common between these hands. They belongto men who are blood-relatives. It may be most obvious to you in theGreek e's, but to me there are many small points which indicate the samething. I have no doubt at all that a family mannerism can be traced inthese two specimens of writing. I am only, of course, giving youthe leading results now of my examination of the paper. There weretwenty-three other deductions which would be of more interest to expertsthan to you. They all tend to deepen the impression upon my mind thatthe Cunninghams, father and son, had written this letter. "Having got so far, my next step was, of course, to examine into thedetails of the crime, and to see how far they would help us. I went upto the house with the Inspector, and saw all that was to be seen. Thewound upon the dead man was, as I was able to determine with absoluteconfidence, fired from a revolver at the distance of something overfour yards. There was no powder-blackening on the clothes. Evidently, therefore, Alec Cunningham had lied when he said that the two men werestruggling when the shot was fired. Again, both father and son agreedas to the place where the man escaped into the road. At that point, however, as it happens, there is a broadish ditch, moist at the bottom. As there were no indications of bootmarks about this ditch, I wasabsolutely sure not only that the Cunninghams had again lied, but thatthere had never been any unknown man upon the scene at all. "And now I have to consider the motive of this singular crime. To getat this, I endeavored first of all to solve the reason of the originalburglary at Mr. Acton's. I understood, from something which the Coloneltold us, that a lawsuit had been going on between you, Mr. Acton, andthe Cunninghams. Of course, it instantly occurred to me that they hadbroken into your library with the intention of getting at some documentwhich might be of importance in the case. " "Precisely so, " said Mr. Acton. "There can be no possible doubt as totheir intentions. I have the clearest claim upon half of their presentestate, and if they could have found a single paper--which, fortunately, was in the strong-box of my solicitors--they would undoubtedly havecrippled our case. " "There you are, " said Holmes, smiling. "It was a dangerous, recklessattempt, in which I seem to trace the influence of young Alec. Havingfound nothing they tried to divert suspicion by making it appear to bean ordinary burglary, to which end they carried off whatever they couldlay their hands upon. That is all clear enough, but there was much thatwas still obscure. What I wanted above all was to get the missing partof that note. I was certain that Alec had torn it out of the dead man'shand, and almost certain that he must have thrust it into the pocket ofhis dressing-gown. Where else could he have put it? The only questionwas whether it was still there. It was worth an effort to find out, andfor that object we all went up to the house. "The Cunninghams joined us, as you doubtless remember, outside thekitchen door. It was, of course, of the very first importance that theyshould not be reminded of the existence of this paper, otherwise theywould naturally destroy it without delay. The Inspector was about totell them the importance which we attached to it when, by the luckiestchance in the world, I tumbled down in a sort of fit and so changed theconversation. "Good heavens!" cried the Colonel, laughing, "do you mean to say all oursympathy was wasted and your fit an imposture?" "Speaking professionally, it was admirably done, " cried I, looking inamazement at this man who was forever confounding me with some new phaseof his astuteness. "It is an art which is often useful, " said he. "When I recovered Imanaged, by a device which had perhaps some little merit of ingenuity, to get old Cunningham to write the word 'twelve, ' so that I mightcompare it with the 'twelve' upon the paper. " "Oh, what an ass I have been!" I exclaimed. "I could see that you were commiserating me over my weakness, " saidHolmes, laughing. "I was sorry to cause you the sympathetic pain whichI know that you felt. We then went upstairs together, and having enteredthe room and seen the dressing-gown hanging up behind the door, Icontrived, by upsetting a table, to engage their attention for themoment, and slipped back to examine the pockets. I had hardly got thepaper, however--which was, as I had expected, in one of them--when thetwo Cunninghams were on me, and would, I verily believe, have murderedme then and there but for your prompt and friendly aid. As it is, I feelthat young man's grip on my throat now, and the father has twisted mywrist round in the effort to get the paper out of my hand. They saw thatI must know all about it, you see, and the sudden change from absolutesecurity to complete despair made them perfectly desperate. "I had a little talk with old Cunningham afterwards as to the motive ofthe crime. He was tractable enough, though his son was a perfect demon, ready to blow out his own or anybody else's brains if he could have gotto his revolver. When Cunningham saw that the case against him was sostrong he lost all heart and made a clean breast of everything. It seemsthat William had secretly followed his two masters on the night whenthey made their raid upon Mr. Acton's, and having thus got them intohis power, proceeded, under threats of exposure, to levy blackmail uponthem. Mr. Alec, however, was a dangerous man to play games of thatsort with. It was a stroke of positive genius on his part to see in theburglary scare which was convulsing the country side an opportunity ofplausibly getting rid of the man whom he feared. William was decoyed upand shot, and had they only got the whole of the note and paid a littlemore attention to detail in the accessories, it is very possible thatsuspicion might never have been aroused. " "And the note?" I asked. Sherlock Holmes placed the subjoined paper before us. If you will only come around to the east gate you it will very much surprise you and be of the greatest service to you and also to Annie Morrison. But say nothing to anyone upon the matter. "It is very much the sort of thing that I expected, " said he. "Ofcourse, we do not yet know what the relations may have been between AlecCunningham, William Kirwan, and Annie Morrison. The results shows thatthe trap was skillfully baited. I am sure that you cannot fail to bedelighted with the traces of heredity shown in the p's and in the tailsof the g's. The absence of the i-dots in the old man's writing is alsomost characteristic. Watson, I think our quiet rest in the country hasbeen a distinct success, and I shall certainly return much invigoratedto Baker Street to-morrow. " Adventure VII. The Crooked Man One summer night, a few months after my marriage, I was seated by my ownhearth smoking a last pipe and nodding over a novel, for my day's workhad been an exhausting one. My wife had already gone upstairs, and thesound of the locking of the hall door some time before told me that theservants had also retired. I had risen from my seat and was knocking outthe ashes of my pipe when I suddenly heard the clang of the bell. I looked at the clock. It was a quarter to twelve. This could not bea visitor at so late an hour. A patient, evidently, and possibly anall-night sitting. With a wry face I went out into the hall and openedthe door. To my astonishment it was Sherlock Holmes who stood upon mystep. "Ah, Watson, " said he, "I hoped that I might not be too late to catchyou. " "My dear fellow, pray come in. " "You look surprised, and no wonder! Relieved, too, I fancy! Hum! Youstill smoke the Arcadia mixture of your bachelor days then! There's nomistaking that fluffy ash upon your coat. It's easy to tell that youhave been accustomed to wear a uniform, Watson. You'll never pass asa pure-bred civilian as long as you keep that habit of carrying yourhandkerchief in your sleeve. Could you put me up to-night?" "With pleasure. " "You told me that you had bachelor quarters for one, and I see that youhave no gentleman visitor at present. Your hat-stand proclaims as much. " "I shall be delighted if you will stay. " "Thank you. I'll fill the vacant peg then. Sorry to see that you've hadthe British workman in the house. He's a token of evil. Not the drains, I hope?" "No, the gas. " "Ah! He has left two nail-marks from his boot upon your linoleumjust where the light strikes it. No, thank you, I had some supper atWaterloo, but I'll smoke a pipe with you with pleasure. " I handed him my pouch, and he seated himself opposite to me and smokedfor some time in silence. I was well aware that nothing but businessof importance would have brought him to me at such an hour, so I waitedpatiently until he should come round to it. "I see that you are professionally rather busy just now, " said he, glancing very keenly across at me. "Yes, I've had a busy day, " I answered. "It may seem very foolish inyour eyes, " I added, "but really I don't know how you deduced it. " Holmes chuckled to himself. "I have the advantage of knowing your habits, my dear Watson, " said he. "When your round is a short one you walk, and when it is a long one youuse a hansom. As I perceive that your boots, although used, are byno means dirty, I cannot doubt that you are at present busy enough tojustify the hansom. " "Excellent!" I cried. "Elementary, " said he. "It is one of those instances where the reasonercan produce an effect which seems remarkable to his neighbor, becausethe latter has missed the one little point which is the basis of thededuction. The same may be said, my dear fellow, for the effect ofsome of these little sketches of yours, which is entirely meretricious, depending as it does upon your retaining in your own hands some factorsin the problem which are never imparted to the reader. Now, at presentI am in the position of these same readers, for I hold in this handseveral threads of one of the strangest cases which ever perplexed aman's brain, and yet I lack the one or two which are needful to completemy theory. But I'll have them, Watson, I'll have them!" His eyes kindledand a slight flush sprang into his thin cheeks. For an instant only. When I glanced again his face had resumed that red-Indian composurewhich had made so many regard him as a machine rather than a man. "The problem presents features of interest, " said he. "I may even sayexceptional features of interest. I have already looked into the matter, and have come, as I think, within sight of my solution. If you couldaccompany me in that last step you might be of considerable service tome. " "I should be delighted. " "Could you go as far as Aldershot to-morrow?" "I have no doubt Jackson would take my practice. " "Very good. I want to start by the 11. 10 from Waterloo. " "That would give me time. " "Then, if you are not too sleepy, I will give you a sketch of what hashappened, and of what remains to be done. " "I was sleepy before you came. I am quite wakeful now. " "I will compress the story as far as may be done without omittinganything vital to the case. It is conceivable that you may even haveread some account of the matter. It is the supposed murder of ColonelBarclay, of the Royal Munsters, at Aldershot, which I am investigating. " "I have heard nothing of it. " "It has not excited much attention yet, except locally. The facts areonly two days old. Briefly they are these: "The Royal Munsters is, as you know, one of the most famous Irishregiments in the British army. It did wonders both in the Crimea and theMutiny, and has since that time distinguished itself upon every possibleoccasion. It was commanded up to Monday night by James Barclay, a gallant veteran, who started as a full private, was raised tocommissioned rank for his bravery at the time of the Mutiny, and solived to command the regiment in which he had once carried a musket. "Colonel Barclay had married at the time when he was a sergeant, andhis wife, whose maiden name was Miss Nancy Devoy, was the daughter of aformer color-sergeant in the same corps. There was, therefore, as canbe imagined, some little social friction when the young couple (forthey were still young) found themselves in their new surroundings. Theyappear, however, to have quickly adapted themselves, and Mrs. Barclayhas always, I understand, been as popular with the ladies of theregiment as her husband was with his brother officers. I may add thatshe was a woman of great beauty, and that even now, when she has beenmarried for upwards of thirty years, she is still of a striking andqueenly appearance. "Colonel Barclay's family life appears to have been a uniformly happyone. Major Murphy, to whom I owe most of my facts, assures me that hehas never heard of any misunderstanding between the pair. On the whole, he thinks that Barclay's devotion to his wife was greater than hiswife's to Barclay. He was acutely uneasy if he were absent from her fora day. She, on the other hand, though devoted and faithful, was lessobtrusively affectionate. But they were regarded in the regiment asthe very model of a middle-aged couple. There was absolutely nothing intheir mutual relations to prepare people for the tragedy which was tofollow. "Colonel Barclay himself seems to have had some singular traits in hischaracter. He was a dashing, jovial old soldier in his usual mood, but there were occasions on which he seemed to show himself capableof considerable violence and vindictiveness. This side of his nature, however, appears never to have been turned towards his wife. Anotherfact, which had struck Major Murphy and three out of five of the otherofficers with whom I conversed, was the singular sort of depressionwhich came upon him at times. As the major expressed it, the smile hadoften been struck from his mouth, as if by some invisible hand, when hehas been joining the gayeties and chaff of the mess-table. For days onend, when the mood was on him, he has been sunk in the deepest gloom. This and a certain tinge of superstition were the only unusual traitsin his character which his brother officers had observed. The latterpeculiarity took the form of a dislike to being left alone, especiallyafter dark. This puerile feature in a nature which was conspicuouslymanly had often given rise to comment and conjecture. "The first battalion of the Royal Munsters (which is the old 117th) hasbeen stationed at Aldershot for some years. The married officers liveout of barracks, and the Colonel has during all this time occupied avilla called Lachine, about half a mile from the north camp. The housestands in its own grounds, but the west side of it is not more thanthirty yards from the high-road. A coachman and two maids form thestaff of servants. These with their master and mistress were the soleoccupants of Lachine, for the Barclays had no children, nor was it usualfor them to have resident visitors. "Now for the events at Lachine between nine and ten on the evening oflast Monday. " "Mrs. Barclay was, it appears, a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and had interested herself very much in the establishment of the Guildof St. George, which was formed in connection with the Watt StreetChapel for the purpose of supplying the poor with cast-off clothing. A meeting of the Guild had been held that evening at eight, and Mrs. Barclay had hurried over her dinner in order to be present at it. Whenleaving the house she was heard by the coachman to make some commonplaceremark to her husband, and to assure him that she would be back beforevery long. She then called for Miss Morrison, a young lady who livesin the next villa, and the two went off together to their meeting. Itlasted forty minutes, and at a quarter-past nine Mrs. Barclay returnedhome, having left Miss Morrison at her door as she passed. "There is a room which is used as a morning-room at Lachine. This facesthe road and opens by a large glass folding-door on to the lawn. Thelawn is thirty yards across, and is only divided from the highway bya low wall with an iron rail above it. It was into this room that Mrs. Barclay went upon her return. The blinds were not down, for the room wasseldom used in the evening, but Mrs. Barclay herself lit the lamp andthen rang the bell, asking Jane Stewart, the house-maid, to bring hera cup of tea, which was quite contrary to her usual habits. The Colonelhad been sitting in the dining-room, but hearing that his wife hadreturned he joined her in the morning-room. The coachman saw him crossthe hall and enter it. He was never seen again alive. "The tea which had been ordered was brought up at the end of tenminutes; but the maid, as she approached the door, was surprised tohear the voices of her master and mistress in furious altercation. Sheknocked without receiving any answer, and even turned the handle, butonly to find that the door was locked upon the inside. Naturally enoughshe ran down to tell the cook, and the two women with the coachman cameup into the hall and listened to the dispute which was still raging. They all agreed that only two voices were to be heard, those of Barclayand of his wife. Barclay's remarks were subdued and abrupt, so that noneof them were audible to the listeners. The lady's, on the other hand, were most bitter, and when she raised her voice could be plainly heard. 'You coward!' she repeated over and over again. 'What can be done now?What can be done now? Give me back my life. I will never so much asbreathe the same air with you again! You coward! You coward!' Those werescraps of her conversation, ending in a sudden dreadful cry in the man'svoice, with a crash, and a piercing scream from the woman. Convincedthat some tragedy had occurred, the coachman rushed to the door andstrove to force it, while scream after scream issued from within. He wasunable, however, to make his way in, and the maids were too distractedwith fear to be of any assistance to him. A sudden thought struck him, however, and he ran through the hall door and round to the lawn uponwhich the long French windows open. One side of the window was open, which I understand was quite usual in the summer-time, and he passedwithout difficulty into the room. His mistress had ceased to scream andwas stretched insensible upon a couch, while with his feet tilted overthe side of an arm-chair, and his head upon the ground near the cornerof the fender, was lying the unfortunate soldier stone dead in a pool ofhis own blood. "Naturally, the coachman's first thought, on finding that he could donothing for his master, was to open the door. But here an unexpected andsingular difficulty presented itself. The key was not in the inner sideof the door, nor could he find it anywhere in the room. He went outagain, therefore, through the window, and having obtained the help ofa policeman and of a medical man, he returned. The lady, against whomnaturally the strongest suspicion rested, was removed to her room, stillin a state of insensibility. The Colonel's body was then placed upon thesofa, and a careful examination made of the scene of the tragedy. "The injury from which the unfortunate veteran was suffering was foundto be a jagged cut some two inches long at the back part of his head, which had evidently been caused by a violent blow from a blunt weapon. Nor was it difficult to guess what that weapon may have been. Upon thefloor, close to the body, was lying a singular club of hard carved woodwith a bone handle. The Colonel possessed a varied collection of weaponsbrought from the different countries in which he had fought, and itis conjectured by the police that his club was among his trophies. Theservants deny having seen it before, but among the numerous curiositiesin the house it is possible that it may have been overlooked. Nothingelse of importance was discovered in the room by the police, save theinexplicable fact that neither upon Mrs. Barclay's person nor upon thatof the victim nor in any part of the room was the missing key tobe found. The door had eventually to be opened by a locksmith fromAldershot. "That was the state of things, Watson, when upon the Tuesday morning I, at the request of Major Murphy, went down to Aldershot to supplementthe efforts of the police. I think that you will acknowledge that theproblem was already one of interest, but my observations soon made merealize that it was in truth much more extraordinary than would at firstsight appear. "Before examining the room I cross-questioned the servants, but onlysucceeded in eliciting the facts which I have already stated. One otherdetail of interest was remembered by Jane Stewart, the housemaid. Youwill remember that on hearing the sound of the quarrel she descended andreturned with the other servants. On that first occasion, when she wasalone, she says that the voices of her master and mistress were sunkso low that she could hear hardly anything, and judged by their tonesrather than their words that they had fallen out. On my pressing her, however, she remembered that she heard the word David uttered twice bythe lady. The point is of the utmost importance as guiding us towardsthe reason of the sudden quarrel. The Colonel's name, you remember, wasJames. "There was one thing in the case which had made the deepest impressionboth upon the servants and the police. This was the contortion of theColonel's face. It had set, according to their account, into the mostdreadful expression of fear and horror which a human countenance iscapable of assuming. More than one person fainted at the mere sightof him, so terrible was the effect. It was quite certain that he hadforeseen his fate, and that it had caused him the utmost horror. This, of course, fitted in well enough with the police theory, if the Colonelcould have seen his wife making a murderous attack upon him. Nor wasthe fact of the wound being on the back of his head a fatal objection tothis, as he might have turned to avoid the blow. No information couldbe got from the lady herself, who was temporarily insane from an acuteattack of brain-fever. "From the police I learned that Miss Morrison, who you remember went outthat evening with Mrs. Barclay, denied having any knowledge of what itwas which had caused the ill-humor in which her companion had returned. "Having gathered these facts, Watson, I smoked several pipes over them, trying to separate those which were crucial from others which weremerely incidental. There could be no question that the most distinctiveand suggestive point in the case was the singular disappearance of thedoor-key. A most careful search had failed to discover it in the room. Therefore it must have been taken from it. But neither the Colonelnor the Colonel's wife could have taken it. That was perfectly clear. Therefore a third person must have entered the room. And that thirdperson could only have come in through the window. It seemed to me thata careful examination of the room and the lawn might possibly revealsome traces of this mysterious individual. You know my methods, Watson. There was not one of them which I did not apply to the inquiry. And itended by my discovering traces, but very different ones from those whichI had expected. There had been a man in the room, and he had crossedthe lawn coming from the road. I was able to obtain five very clearimpressions of his foot-marks: one in the roadway itself, at the pointwhere he had climbed the low wall, two on the lawn, and two very faintones upon the stained boards near the window where he had entered. He had apparently rushed across the lawn, for his toe-marks were muchdeeper than his heels. But it was not the man who surprised me. It washis companion. " "His companion!" Holmes pulled a large sheet of tissue-paper out of his pocket andcarefully unfolded it upon his knee. "What do you make of that?" he asked. The paper was covered with he tracings of the foot-marks of some smallanimal. It had five well-marked foot-pads, an indication of long nails, and the whole print might be nearly as large as a dessert-spoon. "It's a dog, " said I. "Did you ever hear of a dog running up a curtain? I found distincttraces that this creature had done so. " "A monkey, then?" "But it is not the print of a monkey. " "What can it be, then?" "Neither dog nor cat nor monkey nor any creature that we are familiarwith. I have tried to reconstruct it from the measurements. Here arefour prints where the beast has been standing motionless. You see thatit is no less than fifteen inches from fore-foot to hind. Add to thatthe length of neck and head, and you get a creature not much less thantwo feet long--probably more if there is any tail. But now observe thisother measurement. The animal has been moving, and we have the lengthof its stride. In each case it is only about three inches. You have anindication, you see, of a long body with very short legs attached to it. It has not been considerate enough to leave any of its hair behind it. But its general shape must be what I have indicated, and it can run up acurtain, and it is carnivorous. " "How do you deduce that?" "Because it ran up the curtain. A canary's cage was hanging in thewindow, and its aim seems to have been to get at the bird. " "Then what was the beast?" "Ah, if I could give it a name it might go a long way towards solvingthe case. On the whole, it was probably some creature of the weasel andstoat tribe--and yet it is larger than any of these that I have seen. " "But what had it to do with the crime?" "That, also, is still obscure. But we have learned a good deal, youperceive. We know that a man stood in the road looking at the quarrelbetween the Barclays--the blinds were up and the room lighted. We know, also, that he ran across the lawn, entered the room, accompanied by astrange animal, and that he either struck the Colonel or, as is equallypossible, that the Colonel fell down from sheer fright at the sight ofhim, and cut his head on the corner of the fender. Finally, we have thecurious fact that the intruder carried away the key with him when heleft. " "Your discoveries seem to have left the business more obscure that itwas before, " said I. "Quite so. They undoubtedly showed that the affair was much deeper thanwas at first conjectured. I thought the matter over, and I came tothe conclusion that I must approach the case from another aspect. Butreally, Watson, I am keeping you up, and I might just as well tell youall this on our way to Aldershot to-morrow. " "Thank you, you have gone rather too far to stop. " "It is quite certain that when Mrs. Barclay left the house at half-pastseven she was on good terms with her husband. She was never, as I thinkI have said, ostentatiously affectionate, but she was heard by thecoachman chatting with the Colonel in a friendly fashion. Now, it wasequally certain that, immediately on her return, she had gone to theroom in which she was least likely to see her husband, had flown to teaas an agitated woman will, and finally, on his coming in to her, hadbroken into violent recriminations. Therefore something had occurredbetween seven-thirty and nine o'clock which had completely altered herfeelings towards him. But Miss Morrison had been with her during thewhole of that hour and a half. It was absolutely certain, therefore, inspite of her denial, that she must know something of the matter. "My first conjecture was, that possibly there had been some passagesbetween this young lady and the old soldier, which the former had nowconfessed to the wife. That would account for the angry return, andalso for the girl's denial that anything had occurred. Nor would it beentirely incompatible with most of the words overhead. But there was thereference to David, and there was the known affection of the Colonel forhis wife, to weigh against it, to say nothing of the tragic intrusionof this other man, which might, of course, be entirely disconnected withwhat had gone before. It was not easy to pick one's steps, but, on thewhole, I was inclined to dismiss the idea that there had been anythingbetween the Colonel and Miss Morrison, but more than ever convinced thatthe young lady held the clue as to what it was which had turned Mrs. Barclay to hatred of her husband. I took the obvious course, therefore, of calling upon Miss M. , of explaining to her that I was perfectlycertain that she held the facts in her possession, and of assuring herthat her friend, Mrs. Barclay, might find herself in the dock upon acapital charge unless the matter were cleared up. "Miss Morrison is a little ethereal slip of a girl, with timid eyesand blond hair, but I found her by no means wanting in shrewdness andcommon-sense. She sat thinking for some time after I had spoken, andthen, turning to me with a brisk air of resolution, she broke into aremarkable statement which I will condense for your benefit. "'I promised my friend that I would say nothing of the matter, and apromise is a promise, ' said she; 'but if I can really help her whenso serious a charge is laid against her, and when her own mouth, poordarling, is closed by illness, then I think I am absolved from mypromise. I will tell you exactly what happened upon Monday evening. "'We were returning from the Watt Street Mission about a quarter to nineo'clock. On our way we had to pass through Hudson Street, which isa very quiet thoroughfare. There is only one lamp in it, upon theleft-hand side, and as we approached this lamp I saw a man comingtowards us with his back very bent, and something like a box slung overone of his shoulders. He appeared to be deformed, for he carried hishead low and walked with his knees bent. We were passing him when heraised his face to look at us in the circle of light thrown by the lamp, and as he did so he stopped and screamed out in a dreadful voice, "MyGod, it's Nancy!" Mrs. Barclay turned as white as death, and would havefallen down had the dreadful-looking creature not caught hold of her. Iwas going to call for the police, but she, to my surprise, spoke quitecivilly to the fellow. "'"I thought you had been dead this thirty years, Henry, " said she, in ashaking voice. "'"So I have, " said he, and it was awful to hear the tones that he saidit in. He had a very dark, fearsome face, and a gleam in his eyes thatcomes back to me in my dreams. His hair and whiskers were shot withgray, and his face was all crinkled and puckered like a withered apple. "'"Just walk on a little way, dear, " said Mrs. Barclay; "I want to havea word with this man. There is nothing to be afraid of. " She tried tospeak boldly, but she was still deadly pale and could hardly get herwords out for the trembling of her lips. "'I did as she asked me, and they talked together for a few minutes. Then she came down the street with her eyes blazing, and I saw thecrippled wretch standing by the lamp-post and shaking his clenched fistsin the air as if he were mad with rage. She never said a word until wewere at the door here, when she took me by the hand and begged me totell no one what had happened. "'"It's an old acquaintance of mine who has come down in the world, "said she. When I promised her I would say nothing she kissed me, and Ihave never seen her since. I have told you now the whole truth, and ifI withheld it from the police it is because I did not realize then thedanger in which my dear friend stood. I know that it can only be to heradvantage that everything should be known. ' "There was her statement, Watson, and to me, as you can imagine, it waslike a light on a dark night. Everything which had been disconnectedbefore began at once to assume its true place, and I had a shadowypresentiment of the whole sequence of events. My next step obviously wasto find the man who had produced such a remarkable impression upon Mrs. Barclay. If he were still in Aldershot it should not be a very difficultmatter. There are not such a very great number of civilians, and adeformed man was sure to have attracted attention. I spent a day in thesearch, and by evening--this very evening, Watson--I had run him down. The man's name is Henry Wood, and he lives in lodgings in this samestreet in which the ladies met him. He has only been five days in theplace. In the character of a registration-agent I had a most interestinggossip with his landlady. The man is by trade a conjurer and performer, going round the canteens after nightfall, and giving a littleentertainment at each. He carries some creature about with him in thatbox; about which the landlady seemed to be in considerable trepidation, for she had never seen an animal like it. He uses it in some of histricks according to her account. So much the woman was able to tell me, and also that it was a wonder the man lived, seeing how twisted he was, and that he spoke in a strange tongue sometimes, and that for the lasttwo nights she had heard him groaning and weeping in his bedroom. Hewas all right, as far as money went, but in his deposit he had given herwhat looked like a bad florin. She showed it to me, Watson, and it wasan Indian rupee. "So now, my dear fellow, you see exactly how we stand and why it is Iwant you. It is perfectly plain that after the ladies parted from thisman he followed them at a distance, that he saw the quarrel betweenhusband and wife through the window, that he rushed in, and thatthe creature which he carried in his box got loose. That is all verycertain. But he is the only person in this world who can tell us exactlywhat happened in that room. " "And you intend to ask him?" "Most certainly--but in the presence of a witness. " "And I am the witness?" "If you will be so good. If he can clear the matter up, well and good. If he refuses, we have no alternative but to apply for a warrant. " "But how do you know he'll be there when we return?" "You may be sure that I took some precautions. I have one of my BakerStreet boys mounting guard over him who would stick to him like a burr, go where he might. We shall find him in Hudson Street to-morrow, Watson, and meanwhile I should be the criminal myself if I kept you out of bedany longer. " It was midday when we found ourselves at the scene of the tragedy, and, under my companion's guidance, we made our way at once to Hudson Street. In spite of his capacity for concealing his emotions, I could easily seethat Holmes was in a state of suppressed excitement, while I was myselftingling with that half-sporting, half-intellectual pleasure whichI invariably experienced when I associated myself with him in hisinvestigations. "This is the street, " said he, as we turned into a short thoroughfarelined with plain two-storied brick houses. "Ah, here is Simpson toreport. " "He's in all right, Mr. Holmes, " cried a small street Arab, running upto us. "Good, Simpson!" said Holmes, patting him on the head. "Come along, Watson. This is the house. " He sent in his card with a message that hehad come on important business, and a moment later we were face to facewith the man whom we had come to see. In spite of the warm weather hewas crouching over a fire, and the little room was like an oven. Theman sat all twisted and huddled in his chair in a way which gave anindescribably impression of deformity; but the face which he turnedtowards us, though worn and swarthy, must at some time have beenremarkable for its beauty. He looked suspiciously at us now out ofyellow-shot, bilious eyes, and, without speaking or rising, he wavedtowards two chairs. "Mr. Henry Wood, late of India, I believe, " said Holmes, affably. "I'vecome over this little matter of Colonel Barclay's death. " "What should I know about that?" "That's what I want to ascertain. You know, I suppose, that unless thematter is cleared up, Mrs. Barclay, who is an old friend of yours, willin all probability be tried for murder. " The man gave a violent start. "I don't know who you are, " he cried, "nor how you come to know what youdo know, but will you swear that this is true that you tell me?" "Why, they are only waiting for her to come to her senses to arresther. " "My God! Are you in the police yourself?" "No. " "What business is it of yours, then?" "It's every man's business to see justice done. " "You can take my word that she is innocent. " "Then you are guilty. " "No, I am not. " "Who killed Colonel James Barclay, then?" "It was a just providence that killed him. But, mind you this, that ifI had knocked his brains out, as it was in my heart to do, he would havehad no more than his due from my hands. If his own guilty conscience hadnot struck him down it is likely enough that I might have had his bloodupon my soul. You want me to tell the story. Well, I don't know why Ishouldn't, for there's no cause for me to be ashamed of it. "It was in this way, sir. You see me now with my back like a camel andmy ribs all awry, but there was a time when Corporal Henry Wood was thesmartest man in the 117th foot. We were in India then, in cantonments, at a place we'll call Bhurtee. Barclay, who died the other day, wassergeant in the same company as myself, and the belle of the regiment, ay, and the finest girl that ever had the breath of life between herlips, was Nancy Devoy, the daughter of the color-sergeant. There weretwo men that loved her, and one that she loved, and you'll smile whenyou look at this poor thing huddled before the fire, and hear me saythat it was for my good looks that she loved me. "Well, though I had her heart, her father was set upon her marryingBarclay. I was a harum-scarum, reckless lad, and he had had aneducation, and was already marked for the sword-belt. But the girl heldtrue to me, and it seemed that I would have had her when the Mutinybroke out, and all hell was loose in the country. "We were shut up in Bhurtee, the regiment of us with half a battery ofartillery, a company of Sikhs, and a lot of civilians and women-folk. There were ten thousand rebels round us, and they were as keen as a setof terriers round a rat-cage. About the second week of it our water gaveout, and it was a question whether we could communicate with GeneralNeill's column, which was moving up country. It was our only chance, forwe could not hope to fight our way out with all the women and children, so I volunteered to go out and to warn General Neill of our danger. Myoffer was accepted, and I talked it over with Sergeant Barclay, who wassupposed to know the ground better than any other man, and who drew upa route by which I might get through the rebel lines. At ten o'clock thesame night I started off upon my journey. There were a thousand lives tosave, but it was of only one that I was thinking when I dropped over thewall that night. "My way ran down a dried-up watercourse, which we hoped would screenme from the enemy's sentries; but as I crept round the corner of itI walked right into six of them, who were crouching down in the darkwaiting for me. In an instant I was stunned with a blow and bound handand foot. But the real blow was to my heart and not to my head, for asI came to and listened to as much as I could understand of their talk, I heard enough to tell me that my comrade, the very man who had arrangedthe way that I was to take, had betrayed me by means of a native servantinto the hands of the enemy. "Well, there's no need for me to dwell on that part of it. You know nowwhat James Barclay was capable of. Bhurtee was relieved by Neill nextday, but the rebels took me away with them in their retreat, and it wasmany a long year before ever I saw a white face again. I was torturedand tried to get away, and was captured and tortured again. You can seefor yourselves the state in which I was left. Some of them that fledinto Nepaul took me with them, and then afterwards I was up pastDarjeeling. The hill-folk up there murdered the rebels who had me, andI became their slave for a time until I escaped; but instead of goingsouth I had to go north, until I found myself among the Afghans. ThereI wandered about for many a year, and at last came back to the Punjab, where I lived mostly among the natives and picked up a living by theconjuring tricks that I had learned. What use was it for me, a wretchedcripple, to go back to England or to make myself known to my oldcomrades? Even my wish for revenge would not make me do that. I hadrather that Nancy and my old pals should think of Harry Wood as havingdied with a straight back, than see him living and crawling with a sticklike a chimpanzee. They never doubted that I was dead, and I meant thatthey never should. I heard that Barclay had married Nancy, and that hewas rising rapidly in the regiment, but even that did not make me speak. "But when one gets old one has a longing for home. For years I've beendreaming of the bright green fields and the hedges of England. At last Idetermined to see them before I died. I saved enough to bring me across, and then I came here where the soldiers are, for I know their ways andhow to amuse them and so earn enough to keep me. " "Your narrative is most interesting, " said Sherlock Holmes. "I havealready heard of your meeting with Mrs. Barclay, and your mutualrecognition. You then, as I understand, followed her home and sawthrough the window an altercation between her husband and her, in whichshe doubtless cast his conduct to you in his teeth. Your own feelingsovercame you, and you ran across the lawn and broke in upon them. " "I did, sir, and at the sight of me he looked as I have never seen a manlook before, and over he went with his head on the fender. But he wasdead before he fell. I read death on his face as plain as I can readthat text over the fire. The bare sight of me was like a bullet throughhis guilty heart. " "And then?" "Then Nancy fainted, and I caught up the key of the door from her hand, intending to unlock it and get help. But as I was doing it it seemed tome better to leave it alone and get away, for the thing might look blackagainst me, and any way my secret would be out if I were taken. In myhaste I thrust the key into my pocket, and dropped my stick while I waschasing Teddy, who had run up the curtain. When I got him into his box, from which he had slipped, I was off as fast as I could run. " "Who's Teddy?" asked Holmes. The man leaned over and pulled up the front of a kind of hutch inthe corner. In an instant out there slipped a beautiful reddish-browncreature, thin and lithe, with the legs of a stoat, a long, thin nose, and a pair of the finest red eyes that ever I saw in an animal's head. "It's a mongoose, " I cried. "Well, some call them that, and some call them ichneumon, " said theman. "Snake-catcher is what I call them, and Teddy is amazing quick oncobras. I have one here without the fangs, and Teddy catches it everynight to please the folk in the canteen. "Any other point, sir?" "Well, we may have to apply to you again if Mrs. Barclay should prove tobe in serious trouble. " "In that case, of course, I'd come forward. " "But if not, there is no object in raking up this scandal against adead man, foully as he has acted. You have at least the satisfactionof knowing that for thirty years of his life his conscience bitterlyreproached him for this wicked deed. Ah, there goes Major Murphy on theother side of the street. Good-by, Wood. I want to learn if anything hashappened since yesterday. " We were in time to overtake the major before he reached the corner. "Ah, Holmes, " he said: "I suppose you have heard that all this fuss hascome to nothing?" "What then?" "The inquest is just over. The medical evidence showed conclusivelythat death was due to apoplexy. You see it was quite a simple case afterall. " "Oh, remarkably superficial, " said Holmes, smiling. "Come, Watson, Idon't think we shall be wanted in Aldershot any more. " "There's one thing, " said I, as we walked down to the station. "If thehusband's name was James, and the other was Henry, what was this talkabout David?" "That one word, my dear Watson, should have told me the whole story hadI been the ideal reasoner which you are so fond of depicting. It wasevidently a term of reproach. " "Of reproach?" "Yes; David strayed a little occasionally, you know, and on one occasionin the same direction as Sergeant James Barclay. You remember the smallaffair of Uriah and Bathsheba? My biblical knowledge is a trifle rusty, I fear, but you will find the story in the first or second of Samuel. " Adventure VIII. The Resident Patient Glancing over the somewhat incoherent series of Memoirs with which Ihave endeavored to illustrate a few of the mental peculiarities of myfriend Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I have been struck by the difficulty which Ihave experienced in picking out examples which shall in every way answermy purpose. For in those cases in which Holmes has performed some tourde force of analytical reasoning, and has demonstrated the value of hispeculiar methods of investigation, the facts themselves have often beenso slight or so commonplace that I could not feel justified in layingthem before the public. On the other hand, it has frequently happenedthat he has been concerned in some research where the facts have been ofthe most remarkable and dramatic character, but where the share which hehas himself taken in determining their causes has been less pronouncedthan I, as his biographer, could wish. The small matter which I havechronicled under the heading of "A Study in Scarlet, " and that otherlater one connected with the loss of the Gloria Scott, may serve asexamples of this Scylla and Charybdis which are forever threatening thehistorian. It may be that in the business of which I am now about towrite the part which my friend played is not sufficiently accentuated;and yet the whole train of circumstances is so remarkable that I cannotbring myself to omit it entirely from this series. It had been a close, rainy day in October. Our blinds were half-drawn, and Holmes lay curled upon the sofa, reading and re-reading a letterwhich he had received by the morning post. For myself, my term ofservice in India had trained me to stand heat better than cold, anda thermometer of 90 was no hardship. But the paper was uninteresting. Parliament had risen. Everybody was out of town, and I yearned for theglades of the New Forest or the shingle of Southsea. A depleted bankaccount had caused me to postpone my holiday, and as to my companion, neither the country nor the sea presented the slightest attraction tohim. He loved to lie in the very centre of five millions of people, withhis filaments stretching out and running through them, responsive toevery little rumor or suspicion of unsolved crime. Appreciation ofNature found no place among his many gifts, and his only change waswhen he turned his mind from the evil-doer of the town to track down hisbrother of the country. Finding that Holmes was too absorbed for conversation, I had tossedaside the barren paper, and leaning back in my chair, I fell into abrown study. Suddenly my companion's voice broke in upon my thoughts. "You are right, Watson, " said he. "It does seem a very preposterous wayof settling a dispute. " "Most preposterous!" I exclaimed, and then, suddenly realizing howhe had echoed the inmost thought of my soul, I sat up in my chair andstared at him in blank amazement. "What is this, Holmes?" I cried. "This is beyond anything which I couldhave imagined. " He laughed heartily at my perplexity. "You remember, " said he, "that some little time ago, when I read you thepassage in one of Poe's sketches, in which a close reasoner follows theunspoken thought of his companion, you were inclined to treat thematter as a mere tour de force of the author. On my remarking that Iwas constantly in the habit of doing the same thing you expressedincredulity. " "Oh, no!" "Perhaps not with your tongue, my dear Watson, but certainly with youreyebrows. So when I saw you throw down your paper and enter upon a trainof thought, I was very happy to have the opportunity of reading itoff, and eventually of breaking into it, as a proof that I had been inrapport with you. " But I was still far from satisfied. "In the example which you read tome, " said I, "the reasoner drew his conclusions from the actions of theman whom he observed. If I remember right, he stumbled over a heapof stones, looked up at the stars, and so on. But I have been seatedquietly in my chair, and what clues can I have given you?" "You do yourself an injustice. The features are given to man as themeans by which he shall express his emotions, and yours are faithfulservants. " "Do you mean to say that you read my train of thoughts from myfeatures?" "Your features, and especially your eyes. Perhaps you cannot yourselfrecall how your reverie commenced?" "No, I cannot. " "Then I will tell you. After throwing down your paper, which was theaction which drew my attention to you, you sat for half a minute witha vacant expression. Then your eyes fixed themselves upon yournewly-framed picture of General Gordon, and I saw by the alteration inyour face that a train of thought had been started. But it did not leadvery far. Your eyes turned across to the unframed portrait of Henry WardBeecher which stands upon the top of your books. You then glanced up atthe wall, and of course your meaning was obvious. You were thinkingthat if the portrait were framed it would just cover that bare space andcorrespond with Gordon's picture over there. " "You have followed me wonderfully!" I exclaimed. "So far I could hardly have gone astray. But now your thoughts wentback to Beecher, and you looked hard across as if you were studyingthe character in his features. Then your eyes ceased to pucker, butyou continued to look across, and your face was thoughtful. You wererecalling the incidents of Beecher's career. I was well aware that youcould not do this without thinking of the mission which he undertookon behalf of the North at the time of the Civil War, for I rememberyou expressing your passionate indignation at the way in which he wasreceived by the more turbulent of our people. You felt so strongly aboutit that I knew you could not think of Beecher without thinking of thatalso. When a moment later I saw your eyes wander away from the picture, I suspected that your mind had now turned to the Civil War, and whenI observed that your lips set, your eyes sparkled, and your handsclinched, I was positive that you were indeed thinking of the gallantrywhich was shown by both sides in that desperate struggle. But then, again, your face grew sadder; you shook your head. You were dwellingupon the sadness and horror and useless waste of life. Your hand stoletowards your own old wound, and a smile quivered on your lips, which showed me that the ridiculous side of this method of settlinginternational questions had forced itself upon your mind. At this pointI agreed with you that it was preposterous, and was glad to find thatall my deductions had been correct. " "Absolutely!" said I. "And now that you have explained it, I confessthat I am as amazed as before. " "It was very superficial, my dear Watson, I assure you. I should nothave intruded it upon your attention had you not shown some incredulitythe other day. But the evening has brought a breeze with it. What do yousay to a ramble through London?" I was weary of our little sitting-room and gladly acquiesced. Forthree hours we strolled about together, watching the ever-changingkaleidoscope of life as it ebbs and flows through Fleet Street and theStrand. His characteristic talk, with its keen observance of detailand subtle power of inference held me amused and enthralled. It was teno'clock before we reached Baker Street again. A brougham was waiting atour door. "Hum! A doctor's--general practitioner, I perceive, " said Holmes. "Notbeen long in practice, but has had a good deal to do. Come to consultus, I fancy! Lucky we came back!" I was sufficiently conversant with Holmes's methods to be able to followhis reasoning, and to see that the nature and state of the variousmedical instruments in the wicker basket which hung in the lamplightinside the brougham had given him the data for his swift deduction. The light in our window above showed that this late visit was indeedintended for us. With some curiosity as to what could have sent abrother medico to us at such an hour, I followed Holmes into oursanctum. A pale, taper-faced man with sandy whiskers rose up from a chair by thefire as we entered. His age may not have been more than three or fourand thirty, but his haggard expression and unhealthy hue told of a lifewhich has sapped his strength and robbed him of his youth. His mannerwas nervous and shy, like that of a sensitive gentleman, and the thinwhite hand which he laid on the mantelpiece as he rose was that of anartist rather than of a surgeon. His dress was quiet and sombre--a blackfrock-coat, dark trousers, and a touch of color about his necktie. "Good-evening, doctor, " said Holmes, cheerily. "I am glad to see thatyou have only been waiting a very few minutes. " "You spoke to my coachman, then?" "No, it was the candle on the side-table that told me. Pray resume yourseat and let me know how I can serve you. " "My name is Doctor Percy Trevelyan, " said our visitor, "and I live at403 Brook Street. " "Are you not the author of a monograph upon obscure nervous lesions?" Iasked. His pale cheeks flushed with pleasure at hearing that his work was knownto me. "I so seldom hear of the work that I thought it was quite dead, " saidhe. "My publishers gave me a most discouraging account of its sale. Youare yourself, I presume, a medical man?" "A retired army surgeon. " "My own hobby has always been nervous disease. I should wish to make itan absolute specialty, but, of course, a man must take what he can getat first. This, however, is beside the question, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and I quite appreciate how valuable your time is. The fact is that avery singular train of events has occurred recently at my house in BrookStreet, and to-night they came to such a head that I felt it was quiteimpossible for me to wait another hour before asking for your advice andassistance. " Sherlock Holmes sat down and lit his pipe. "You are very welcometo both, " said he. "Pray let me have a detailed account of what thecircumstances are which have disturbed you. " "One or two of them are so trivial, " said Dr. Trevelyan, "that reallyI am almost ashamed to mention them. But the matter is so inexplicable, and the recent turn which it has taken is so elaborate, that I shalllay it all before you, and you shall judge what is essential and what isnot. "I am compelled, to begin with, to say something of my own collegecareer. I am a London University man, you know, and I am sure that yourwill not think that I am unduly singing my own praises if I say that mystudent career was considered by my professors to be a very promisingone. After I had graduated I continued to devote myself to research, occupying a minor position in King's College Hospital, and I wasfortunate enough to excite considerable interest by my research into thepathology of catalepsy, and finally to win the Bruce Pinkerton prize andmedal by the monograph on nervous lesions to which your friend hasjust alluded. I should not go too far if I were to say that there was ageneral impression at that time that a distinguished career lay beforeme. "But the one great stumbling-block lay in my want of capital. As youwill readily understand, a specialist who aims high is compelled tostart in one of a dozen streets in the Cavendish Square quarter, allof which entail enormous rents and furnishing expenses. Besides thispreliminary outlay, he must be prepared to keep himself for some years, and to hire a presentable carriage and horse. To do this was quitebeyond my power, and I could only hope that by economy I might in tenyears' time save enough to enable me to put up my plate. Suddenly, however, an unexpected incident opened up quite a new prospect to me. "This was a visit from a gentleman of the name of Blessington, who was acomplete stranger to me. He came up to my room one morning, and plungedinto business in an instant. "'You are the same Percy Trevelyan who has had so distinguished a careerand won a great prize lately?' said he. "I bowed. "'Answer me frankly, ' he continued, 'for you will find it to yourinterest to do so. You have all the cleverness which makes a successfulman. Have you the tact?' "I could not help smiling at the abruptness of the question. "'I trust that I have my share, ' I said. "'Any bad habits? Not drawn towards drink, eh?' "'Really, sir!' I cried. "'Quite right! That's all right! But I was bound to ask. With all thesequalities, why are you not in practice?' "I shrugged my shoulders. "'Come, come!' said he, in his bustling way. 'It's the old story. Morein your brains than in your pocket, eh? What would you say if I were tostart you in Brook Street?' "I stared at him in astonishment. "'Oh, it's for my sake, not for yours, ' he cried. 'I'll be perfectlyfrank with you, and if it suits you it will suit me very well. I have afew thousands to invest, d'ye see, and I think I'll sink them in you. ' "'But why?' I gasped. "'Well, it's just like any other speculation, and safer than most. ' "'What am I to do, then?' "'I'll tell you. I'll take the house, furnish it, pay the maids, and runthe whole place. All you have to do is just to wear out your chair inthe consulting-room. I'll let you have pocket-money and everything. Thenyou hand over to me three quarters of what you earn, and you keep theother quarter for yourself. ' "This was the strange proposal, Mr. Holmes, with which the manBlessington approached me. I won't weary you with the account of howwe bargained and negotiated. It ended in my moving into the house nextLady-day, and starting in practice on very much the same conditions ashe had suggested. He came himself to live with me in the character of aresident patient. His heart was weak, it appears, and he needed constantmedical supervision. He turned the two best rooms of the first floorinto a sitting-room and bedroom for himself. He was a man of singularhabits, shunning company and very seldom going out. His life wasirregular, but in one respect he was regularity itself. Every evening, at the same hour, he walked into the consulting-room, examined thebooks, put down five and three-pence for every guinea that I had earned, and carried the rest off to the strong-box in his own room. "I may say with confidence that he never had occasion to regret hisspeculation. From the first it was a success. A few good cases and thereputation which I had won in the hospital brought me rapidly to thefront, and during the last few years I have made him a rich man. "So much, Mr. Holmes, for my past history and my relations with Mr. Blessington. It only remains for me now to tell you what has occurred tobring me here to-night. "Some weeks ago Mr. Blessington came down to me in, as it seemed to me, a state of considerable agitation. He spoke of some burglary which, hesaid, had been committed in the West End, and he appeared, I remember, to be quite unnecessarily excited about it, declaring that a day shouldnot pass before we should add stronger bolts to our windows and doors. For a week he continued to be in a peculiar state of restlessness, peering continually out of the windows, and ceasing to take the shortwalk which had usually been the prelude to his dinner. From his mannerit struck me that he was in mortal dread of something or somebody, butwhen I questioned him upon the point he became so offensive that I wascompelled to drop the subject. Gradually, as time passed, his fearsappeared to die away, and he had renewed his former habits, when a freshevent reduced him to the pitiable state of prostration in which he nowlies. "What happened was this. Two days ago I received the letter which I nowread to you. Neither address nor date is attached to it. "'A Russian nobleman who is now resident in England, ' it runs, 'wouldbe glad to avail himself of the professional assistance of Dr. PercyTrevelyan. He has been for some years a victim to cataleptic attacks, onwhich, as is well known, Dr. Trevelyan is an authority. He proposes tocall at about quarter past six to-morrow evening, if Dr. Trevelyan willmake it convenient to be at home. ' "This letter interested me deeply, because the chief difficulty in thestudy of catalepsy is the rareness of the disease. You may believe, then, that I was in my consulting-room when, at the appointed hour, thepage showed in the patient. "He was an elderly man, thin, demure, and commonplace--by no means theconception one forms of a Russian nobleman. I was much more struck bythe appearance of his companion. This was a tall young man, surprisinglyhandsome, with a dark, fierce face, and the limbs and chest of aHercules. He had his hand under the other's arm as they entered, andhelped him to a chair with a tenderness which one would hardly haveexpected from his appearance. "'You will excuse my coming in, doctor, ' said he to me, speaking Englishwith a slight lisp. 'This is my father, and his health is a matter ofthe most overwhelming importance to me. ' "I was touched by this filial anxiety. 'You would, perhaps, care toremain during the consultation?' said I. "'Not for the world, ' he cried with a gesture of horror. 'It is morepainful to me than I can express. If I were to see my father in one ofthese dreadful seizures I am convinced that I should never surviveit. My own nervous system is an exceptionally sensitive one. With yourpermission, I will remain in the waiting-room while you go into myfather's case. ' "To this, of course, I assented, and the young man withdrew. The patientand I then plunged into a discussion of his case, of which I tookexhaustive notes. He was not remarkable for intelligence, and hisanswers were frequently obscure, which I attributed to his limitedacquaintance with our language. Suddenly, however, as I sat writing, he ceased to give any answer at all to my inquiries, and on my turningtowards him I was shocked to see that he was sitting bolt upright in hischair, staring at me with a perfectly blank and rigid face. He was againin the grip of his mysterious malady. "My first feeling, as I have just said, was one of pity and horror. My second, I fear, was rather one of professional satisfaction. I madenotes of my patient's pulse and temperature, tested the rigidity of hismuscles, and examined his reflexes. There was nothing markedly abnormalin any of these conditions, which harmonized with my former experiences. I had obtained good results in such cases by the inhalation of nitriteof amyl, and the present seemed an admirable opportunity of testingits virtues. The bottle was downstairs in my laboratory, so leaving mypatient seated in his chair, I ran down to get it. There was some littledelay in finding it--five minutes, let us say--and then I returned. Imagine my amazement to find the room empty and the patient gone. "Of course, my first act was to run into the waiting-room. The son hadgone also. The hall door had been closed, but not shut. My page whoadmits patients is a new boy and by no means quick. He waits downstairs, and runs up to show patients out when I ring the consulting-room bell. He had heard nothing, and the affair remained a complete mystery. Mr. Blessington came in from his walk shortly afterwards, but I did not sayanything to him upon the subject, for, to tell the truth, I have got inthe way of late of holding as little communication with him as possible. "Well, I never thought that I should see anything more of the Russianand his son, so you can imagine my amazement when, at the very same hourthis evening, they both came marching into my consulting-room, just asthey had done before. "'I feel that I owe you a great many apologies for my abrupt departureyesterday, doctor, ' said my patient. "'I confess that I was very much surprised at it, ' said I. "'Well, the fact is, ' he remarked, 'that when I recover from theseattacks my mind is always very clouded as to all that has gone before. Iwoke up in a strange room, as it seemed to me, and made my way out intothe street in a sort of dazed way when you were absent. ' "'And I, ' said the son, 'seeing my father pass the door of thewaiting-room, naturally thought that the consultation had come to anend. It was not until we had reached home that I began to realize thetrue state of affairs. ' "'Well, ' said I, laughing, 'there is no harm done except that youpuzzled me terribly; so if you, sir, would kindly step into thewaiting-room I shall be happy to continue our consultation which wasbrought to so abrupt an ending. ' "'For half an hour or so I discussed that old gentleman's symptoms withhim, and then, having prescribed for him, I saw him go off upon the armof his son. "I have told you that Mr. Blessington generally chose this hour of theday for his exercise. He came in shortly afterwards and passed upstairs. An instant later I heard him running down, and he burst into myconsulting-room like a man who is mad with panic. "'Who has been in my room?' he cried. "'No one, ' said I. "'It's a lie! He yelled. 'Come up and look!' "I passed over the grossness of his language, as he seemed half out ofhis mind with fear. When I went upstairs with him he pointed to severalfootprints upon the light carpet. "'D'you mean to say those are mine?' he cried. "They were certainly very much larger than any which he could have made, and were evidently quite fresh. It rained hard this afternoon, as youknow, and my patients were the only people who called. It must have beenthe case, then, that the man in the waiting-room had, for some unknownreason, while I was busy with the other, ascended to the room of myresident patient. Nothing had been touched or taken, but there were thefootprints to prove that the intrusion was an undoubted fact. "Mr. Blessington seemed more excited over the matter than I should havethought possible, though of course it was enough to disturb anybody'speace of mind. He actually sat crying in an arm-chair, and I couldhardly get him to speak coherently. It was his suggestion that I shouldcome round to you, and of course I at once saw the propriety of it, for certainly the incident is a very singular one, though he appears tocompletely overrate its importance. If you would only come back with mein my brougham, you would at least be able to soothe him, though Ican hardly hope that you will be able to explain this remarkableoccurrence. " Sherlock Holmes had listened to this long narrative with an intentnesswhich showed me that his interest was keenly aroused. His face was asimpassive as ever, but his lids had drooped more heavily over his eyes, and his smoke had curled up more thickly from his pipe to emphasize eachcurious episode in the doctor's tale. As our visitor concluded, Holmessprang up without a word, handed me my hat, picked his own from thetable, and followed Dr. Trevelyan to the door. Within a quarter of anhour we had been dropped at the door of the physician's residencein Brook Street, one of those sombre, flat-faced houses which oneassociates with a West-End practice. A small page admitted us, and webegan at once to ascend the broad, well-carpeted stair. But a singular interruption brought us to a standstill. The light atthe top was suddenly whisked out, and from the darkness came a reedy, quivering voice. "I have a pistol, " it cried. "I give you my word that I'll fire if youcome any nearer. " "This really grows outrageous, Mr. Blessington, " cried Dr. Trevelyan. "Oh, then it is you, doctor, " said the voice, with a great heave ofrelief. "But those other gentlemen, are they what they pretend to be?" We were conscious of a long scrutiny out of the darkness. "Yes, yes, it's all right, " said the voice at last. "You can come up, and I am sorry if my precautions have annoyed you. " He relit the stair gas as he spoke, and we saw before us asingular-looking man, whose appearance, as well as his voice, testifiedto his jangled nerves. He was very fat, but had apparently at some timebeen much fatter, so that the skin hung about his face in loose pouches, like the cheeks of a blood-hound. He was of a sickly color, and histhin, sandy hair seemed to bristle up with the intensity of his emotion. In his hand he held a pistol, but he thrust it into his pocket as weadvanced. "Good-evening, Mr. Holmes, " said he. "I am sure I am very much obligedto you for coming round. No one ever needed your advice more than I do. I suppose that Dr. Trevelyan has told you of this most unwarrantableintrusion into my rooms. " "Quite so, " said Holmes. "Who are these two men Mr. Blessington, and whydo they wish to molest you?" "Well, well, " said the resident patient, in a nervous fashion, "ofcourse it is hard to say that. You can hardly expect me to answer that, Mr. Holmes. " "Do you mean that you don't know?" "Come in here, if you please. Just have the kindness to step in here. " He led the way into his bedroom, which was large and comfortablyfurnished. "You see that, " said he, pointing to a big black box at the end of hisbed. "I have never been a very rich man, Mr. Holmes--never made butone investment in my life, as Dr. Trevelyan would tell you. But I don'tbelieve in bankers. I would never trust a banker, Mr. Holmes. Betweenourselves, what little I have is in that box, so you can understand whatit means to me when unknown people force themselves into my rooms. " Holmes looked at Blessington in his questioning way and shook his head. "I cannot possibly advise you if you try to deceive me, " said he. "But I have told you everything. " Holmes turned on his heel with a gesture of disgust. "Good-night, Dr. Trevelyan, " said he. "And no advice for me?" cried Blessington, in a breaking voice. "My advice to you, sir, is to speak the truth. " A minute later we were in the street and walking for home. We hadcrossed Oxford Street and were half way down Harley Street before Icould get a word from my companion. "Sorry to bring you out on such a fool's errand, Watson, " he said atlast. "It is an interesting case, too, at the bottom of it. " "I can make little of it, " I confessed. "Well, it is quite evident that there are two men--more, perhaps, butat least two--who are determined for some reason to get at this fellowBlessington. I have no doubt in my mind that both on the first and onthe second occasion that young man penetrated to Blessington's room, while his confederate, by an ingenious device, kept the doctor frominterfering. " "And the catalepsy?" "A fraudulent imitation, Watson, though I should hardly dare to hint asmuch to our specialist. It is a very easy complaint to imitate. I havedone it myself. " "And then?" "By the purest chance Blessington was out on each occasion. Their reasonfor choosing so unusual an hour for a consultation was obviously toinsure that there should be no other patient in the waiting-room. Itjust happened, however, that this hour coincided with Blessington'sconstitutional, which seems to show that they were not very wellacquainted with his daily routine. Of course, if they had been merelyafter plunder they would at least have made some attempt to search forit. Besides, I can read in a man's eye when it is his own skin that heis frightened for. It is inconceivable that this fellow could have madetwo such vindictive enemies as these appear to be without knowing of it. I hold it, therefore, to be certain that he does know who these men are, and that for reasons of his own he suppresses it. It is just possiblethat to-morrow may find him in a more communicative mood. " "Is there not one alternative, " I suggested, "grotesquely improbably, no doubt, but still just conceivable? Might the whole story of thecataleptic Russian and his son be a concoction of Dr. Trevelyan's, whohas, for his own purposes, been in Blessington's rooms?" I saw in the gaslight that Holmes wore an amused smile at this brilliantdeparture of mine. "My dear fellow, " said he, "it was one of the first solutions whichoccurred to me, but I was soon able to corroborate the doctor's tale. This young man has left prints upon the stair-carpet which made it quitesuperfluous for me to ask to see those which he had made in the room. When I tell you that his shoes were square-toed instead of being pointedlike Blessington's, and were quite an inch and a third longer than thedoctor's, you will acknowledge that there can be no doubt as to hisindividuality. But we may sleep on it now, for I shall be surprised ifwe do not hear something further from Brook Street in the morning. " Sherlock Holmes's prophecy was soon fulfilled, and in a dramaticfashion. At half-past seven next morning, in the first glimmer ofdaylight, I found him standing by my bedside in his dressing-gown. "There's a brougham waiting for us, Watson, " said he. "What's the matter, then?" "The Brook Street business. " "Any fresh news?" "Tragic, but ambiguous, " said he, pulling up the blind. "Look at this--asheet from a note-book, with 'For God's sake come at once--P. T. , 'scrawled upon it in pencil. Our friend, the doctor, was hard put toit when he wrote this. Come along, my dear fellow, for it's an urgentcall. " In a quarter of an hour or so we were back at the physician's house. Hecame running out to meet us with a face of horror. "Oh, such a business!" he cried, with his hands to his temples. "What then?" "Blessington has committed suicide!" Holmes whistled. "Yes, he hanged himself during the night. " We had entered, and the doctor had preceded us into what was evidentlyhis waiting-room. "I really hardly know what I am doing, " he cried. "The police arealready upstairs. It has shaken me most dreadfully. " "When did you find it out?" "He has a cup of tea taken in to him early every morning. When the maidentered, about seven, there the unfortunate fellow was hanging in themiddle of the room. He had tied his cord to the hook on which the heavylamp used to hang, and he had jumped off from the top of the very boxthat he showed us yesterday. " Holmes stood for a moment in deep thought. "With your permission, " said he at last, "I should like to go upstairsand look into the matter. " We both ascended, followed by the doctor. It was a dreadful sight which met us as we entered the bedroom door. Ihave spoken of the impression of flabbiness which this man Blessingtonconveyed. As he dangled from the hook it was exaggerated and intensifieduntil he was scarce human in his appearance. The neck was drawn outlike a plucked chicken's, making the rest of him seem the more obese andunnatural by the contrast. He was clad only in his long night-dress, andhis swollen ankles and ungainly feet protruded starkly from beneath it. Beside him stood a smart-looking police-inspector, who was taking notesin a pocket-book. "Ah, Mr. Holmes, " said he, heartily, as my friend entered, "I amdelighted to see you. " "Good-morning, Lanner, " answered Holmes; "you won't think me anintruder, I am sure. Have you heard of the events which led up to thisaffair?" "Yes, I heard something of them. " "Have you formed any opinion?" "As far as I can see, the man has been driven out of his senses byfright. The bed has been well slept in, you see. There's his impressiondeep enough. It's about five in the morning, you know, that suicides aremost common. That would be about his time for hanging himself. It seemsto have been a very deliberate affair. " "I should say that he has been dead about three hours, judging by therigidity of the muscles, " said I. "Noticed anything peculiar about the room?" asked Holmes. "Found a screw-driver and some screws on the wash-hand stand. Seems tohave smoked heavily during the night, too. Here are four cigar-ends thatI picked out of the fireplace. " "Hum!" said Holmes, "have you got his cigar-holder?" "No, I have seen none. " "His cigar-case, then?" "Yes, it was in his coat-pocket. " Holmes opened it and smelled the single cigar which it contained. "Oh, this is an Havana, and these others are cigars of the peculiar sortwhich are imported by the Dutch from their East Indian colonies. Theyare usually wrapped in straw, you know, and are thinner for their lengththan any other brand. " He picked up the four ends and examined them withhis pocket-lens. "Two of these have been smoked from a holder and two without, " said he. "Two have been cut by a not very sharp knife, and two have had the endsbitten off by a set of excellent teeth. This is no suicide, Mr. Lanner. It is a very deeply planned and cold-blooded murder. " "Impossible!" cried the inspector. "And why?" "Why should any one murder a man in so clumsy a fashion as by hanginghim?" "That is what we have to find out. " "How could they get in?" "Through the front door. " "It was barred in the morning. " "Then it was barred after them. " "How do you know?" "I saw their traces. Excuse me a moment, and I may be able to give yousome further information about it. " He went over to the door, and turning the lock he examined it in hismethodical way. Then he took out the key, which was on the inside, andinspected that also. The bed, the carpet, the chairs the mantelpiece, the dead body, and the rope were each in turn examined, until at last heprofessed himself satisfied, and with my aid and that of the inspectorcut down the wretched object and laid it reverently under a sheet. "How about this rope?" he asked. "It is cut off this, " said Dr. Trevelyan, drawing a large coil fromunder the bed. "He was morbidly nervous of fire, and always kept thisbeside him, so that he might escape by the window in case the stairswere burning. " "That must have saved them trouble, " said Holmes, thoughtfully. "Yes, the actual facts are very plain, and I shall be surprised if by theafternoon I cannot give you the reasons for them as well. I will takethis photograph of Blessington, which I see upon the mantelpiece, as itmay help me in my inquiries. " "But you have told us nothing!" cried the doctor. "Oh, there can be no doubt as to the sequence of events, " said Holmes. "There were three of them in it: the young man, the old man, and athird, to whose identity I have no clue. The first two, I need hardlyremark, are the same who masqueraded as the Russian count and his son, so we can give a very full description of them. They were admitted bya confederate inside the house. If I might offer you a word of advice, Inspector, it would be to arrest the page, who, as I understand, hasonly recently come into your service, Doctor. " "The young imp cannot be found, " said Dr. Trevelyan; "the maid and thecook have just been searching for him. " Holmes shrugged his shoulders. "He has played a not unimportant part in this drama, " said he. "Thethree men having ascended the stairs, which they did on tiptoe, theelder man first, the younger man second, and the unknown man in therear--" "My dear Holmes!" I ejaculated. "Oh, there could be no question as to the superimposing of thefootmarks. I had the advantage of learning which was which last night. They ascended, then, to Mr. Blessington's room, the door of which theyfound to be locked. With the help of a wire, however, they forced roundthe key. Even without the lens you will perceive, by the scratches onthis ward, where the pressure was applied. "On entering the room their first proceeding must have been to gag Mr. Blessington. He may have been asleep, or he may have been so paralyzedwith terror as to have been unable to cry out. These walls are thick, and it is conceivable that his shriek, if he had time to utter one, wasunheard. "Having secured him, it is evident to me that a consultation of somesort was held. Probably it was something in the nature of a judicialproceeding. It must have lasted for some time, for it was then thatthese cigars were smoked. The older man sat in that wicker chair; itwas he who used the cigar-holder. The younger man sat over yonder; heknocked his ash off against the chest of drawers. The third fellow pacedup and down. Blessington, I think, sat upright in the bed, but of that Icannot be absolutely certain. "Well, it ended by their taking Blessington and hanging him. The matterwas so prearranged that it is my belief that they brought with themsome sort of block or pulley which might serve as a gallows. Thatscrew-driver and those screws were, as I conceive, for fixing it up. Seeing the hook, however they naturally saved themselves the trouble. Having finished their work they made off, and the door was barred behindthem by their confederate. " We had all listened with the deepest interest to this sketch of thenight's doings, which Holmes had deduced from signs so subtle and minutethat, even when he had pointed them out to us, we could scarcely followhim in his reasoning. The inspector hurried away on the instant to makeinquiries about the page, while Holmes and I returned to Baker Streetfor breakfast. "I'll be back by three, " said he, when we had finished our meal. "Boththe inspector and the doctor will meet me here at that hour, and I hopeby that time to have cleared up any little obscurity which the case maystill present. " Our visitors arrived at the appointed time, but it was a quarter tofour before my friend put in an appearance. From his expression as heentered, however, I could see that all had gone well with him. "Any news, Inspector?" "We have got the boy, sir. " "Excellent, and I have got the men. " "You have got them!" we cried, all three. "Well, at least I have got their identity. This so-called Blessingtonis, as I expected, well known at headquarters, and so are hisassailants. Their names are Biddle, Hayward, and Moffat. " "The Worthingdon bank gang, " cried the inspector. "Precisely, " said Holmes. "Then Blessington must have been Sutton. " "Exactly, " said Holmes. "Why, that makes it as clear as crystal, " said the inspector. But Trevelyan and I looked at each other in bewilderment. "You must surely remember the great Worthingdon bank business, " saidHolmes. "Five men were in it--these four and a fifth called Cartwright. Tobin, the care-taker, was murdered, and the thieves got away with seventhousand pounds. This was in 1875. They were all five arrested, but theevidence against them was by no means conclusive. This Blessington orSutton, who was the worst of the gang, turned informer. On his evidenceCartwright was hanged and the other three got fifteen years apiece. Whenthey got out the other day, which was some years before their full term, they set themselves, as you perceive, to hunt down the traitor and toavenge the death of their comrade upon him. Twice they tried to get athim and failed; a third time, you see, it came off. Is there anythingfurther which I can explain, Dr. Trevelyan?" "I think you have made it all remarkable clear, " said the doctor. "Nodoubt the day on which he was perturbed was the day when he had seen oftheir release in the newspapers. " "Quite so. His talk about a burglary was the merest blind. " "But why could he not tell you this?" "Well, my dear sir, knowing the vindictive character of his oldassociates, he was trying to hide his own identity from everybody aslong as he could. His secret was a shameful one, and he could not bringhimself to divulge it. However, wretch as he was, he was still livingunder the shield of British law, and I have no doubt, Inspector, thatyou will see that, though that shield may fail to guard, the sword ofjustice is still there to avenge. " Such were the singular circumstances in connection with the ResidentPatient and the Brook Street Doctor. From that night nothing hasbeen seen of the three murderers by the police, and it is surmisedat Scotland Yard that they were among the passengers of the ill-fatedsteamer Norah Creina, which was lost some years ago with all handsupon the Portuguese coast, some leagues to the north of Oporto. Theproceedings against the page broke down for want of evidence, and theBrook Street Mystery, as it was called, has never until now been fullydealt with in any public print. Adventure IX. The Greek Interpreter During my long and intimate acquaintance with Mr. Sherlock Holmes I hadnever heard him refer to his relations, and hardly ever to his own earlylife. This reticence upon his part had increased the somewhat inhumaneffect which he produced upon me, until sometimes I found myselfregarding him as an isolated phenomenon, a brain without a heart, asdeficient in human sympathy as he was pre-eminent in intelligence. Hisaversion to women and his disinclination to form new friendships wereboth typical of his unemotional character, but not more so than hiscomplete suppression of every reference to his own people. I had come tobelieve that he was an orphan with no relatives living, but one day, tomy very great surprise, he began to talk to me about his brother. It was after tea on a summer evening, and the conversation, which hadroamed in a desultory, spasmodic fashion from golf clubs to the causesof the change in the obliquity of the ecliptic, came round at lastto the question of atavism and hereditary aptitudes. The point underdiscussion was, how far any singular gift in an individual was due tohis ancestry and how far to his own early training. "In your own case, " said I, "from all that you have told me, it seemsobvious that your faculty of observation and your peculiar facility fordeduction are due to your own systematic training. " "To some extent, " he answered, thoughtfully. "My ancestors were countrysquires, who appear to have led much the same life as is natural totheir class. But, none the less, my turn that way is in my veins, andmay have come with my grandmother, who was the sister of Vernet, theFrench artist. Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms. " "But how do you know that it is hereditary?" "Because my brother Mycroft possesses it in a larger degree than I do. " This was news to me indeed. If there were another man with such singularpowers in England, how was it that neither police nor public had heardof him? I put the question, with a hint that it was my companion'smodesty which made him acknowledge his brother as his superior. Holmeslaughed at my suggestion. "My dear Watson, " said he, "I cannot agree with those who rank modestyamong the virtues. To the logician all things should be seen exactly asthey are, and to underestimate one's self is as much a departure fromtruth as to exaggerate one's own powers. When I say, therefore, thatMycroft has better powers of observation than I, you may take it that Iam speaking the exact and literal truth. " "Is he your junior?" "Seven years my senior. " "How comes it that he is unknown?" "Oh, he is very well known in his own circle. " "Where, then?" "Well, in the Diogenes Club, for example. " I had never heard of the institution, and my face must have proclaimedas much, for Sherlock Holmes pulled out his watch. "The Diogenes Club is the queerest club in London, and Mycroft one ofthe queerest men. He's always there from quarter to five to twenty toeight. It's six now, so if you care for a stroll this beautiful eveningI shall be very happy to introduce you to two curiosities. " Five minutes later we were in the street, walking towards Regent'sCircus. "You wonder, " said my companion, "why it is that Mycroft does not usehis powers for detective work. He is incapable of it. " "But I thought you said--" "I said that he was my superior in observation and deduction. If theart of the detective began and ended in reasoning from an arm-chair, mybrother would be the greatest criminal agent that ever lived. But he hasno ambition and no energy. He will not even go out of his way to verifyhis own solutions, and would rather be considered wrong than take thetrouble to prove himself right. Again and again I have taken a problemto him, and have received an explanation which has afterwards proved tobe the correct one. And yet he was absolutely incapable of working outthe practical points which must be gone into before a case could be laidbefore a judge or jury. " "It is not his profession, then?" "By no means. What is to me a means of livelihood is to him the meresthobby of a dilettante. He has an extraordinary faculty for figures, andaudits the books in some of the government departments. Mycroft lodgesin Pall Mall, and he walks round the corner into Whitehall every morningand back every evening. From year's end to year's end he takes no otherexercise, and is seen nowhere else, except only in the Diogenes Club, which is just opposite his rooms. " "I cannot recall the name. " "Very likely not. There are many men in London, you know, who, some fromshyness, some from misanthropy, have no wish for the company of theirfellows. Yet they are not averse to comfortable chairs and the latestperiodicals. It is for the convenience of these that the Diogenes Clubwas started, and it now contains the most unsociable and unclubable menin town. No member is permitted to take the least notice of anyother one. Save in the Stranger's Room, no talking is, under anycircumstances, allowed, and three offences, if brought to the notice ofthe committee, render the talker liable to expulsion. My brother was oneof the founders, and I have myself found it a very soothing atmosphere. " We had reached Pall Mall as we talked, and were walking down it from theSt. James's end. Sherlock Holmes stopped at a door some little distancefrom the Carlton, and, cautioning me not to speak, he led the way intothe hall. Through the glass paneling I caught a glimpse of a large andluxurious room, in which a considerable number of men were sitting aboutand reading papers, each in his own little nook. Holmes showed me into asmall chamber which looked out into Pall Mall, and then, leaving me fora minute, he came back with a companion whom I knew could only be hisbrother. Mycroft Holmes was a much larger and stouter man than Sherlock. His bodywas absolutely corpulent, but his face, though massive, had preservedsomething of the sharpness of expression which was so remarkable in thatof his brother. His eyes, which were of a peculiarly light, watery gray, seemed to always retain that far-away, introspective look which I hadonly observed in Sherlock's when he was exerting his full powers. "I am glad to meet you, sir, " said he, putting out a broad, fat handlike the flipper of a seal. "I hear of Sherlock everywhere since youbecame his chronicler. By the way, Sherlock, I expected to see you roundlast week, to consult me over that Manor House case. I thought you mightbe a little out of your depth. " "No, I solved it, " said my friend, smiling. "It was Adams, of course. " "Yes, it was Adams. " "I was sure of it from the first. " The two sat down together in thebow-window of the club. "To any one who wishes to study mankind this isthe spot, " said Mycroft. "Look at the magnificent types! Look at thesetwo men who are coming towards us, for example. " "The billiard-marker and the other?" "Precisely. What do you make of the other?" The two men had stopped opposite the window. Some chalk marks over thewaistcoat pocket were the only signs of billiards which I could seein one of them. The other was a very small, dark fellow, with his hatpushed back and several packages under his arm. "An old soldier, I perceive, " said Sherlock. "And very recently discharged, " remarked the brother. "Served in India, I see. " "And a non-commissioned officer. " "Royal Artillery, I fancy, " said Sherlock. "And a widower. " "But with a child. " "Children, my dear boy, children. " "Come, " said I, laughing, "this is a little too much. " "Surely, " answered Holmes, "it is not hard to say that a man with thatbearing, expression of authority, and sunbaked skin, is a soldier, ismore than a private, and is not long from India. " "That he has not left the service long is shown by his still wearing hisammunition boots, as they are called, " observed Mycroft. "He had not the cavalry stride, yet he wore his hat on one side, asis shown by the lighter skin of that side of his brow. His weight isagainst his being a sapper. He is in the artillery. " "Then, of course, his complete mourning shows that he has lost some onevery dear. The fact that he is doing his own shopping looks as thoughit were his wife. He has been buying things for children, you perceive. There is a rattle, which shows that one of them is very young. The wifeprobably died in childbed. The fact that he has a picture-book under hisarm shows that there is another child to be thought of. " I began to understand what my friend meant when he said that his brotherpossessed even keener faculties that he did himself. He glanced acrossat me and smiled. Mycroft took snuff from a tortoise-shell box, andbrushed away the wandering grains from his coat front with a large, redsilk handkerchief. "By the way, Sherlock, " said he, "I have had something quite after yourown heart--a most singular problem--submitted to my judgment. I reallyhad not the energy to follow it up save in a very incomplete fashion, but it gave me a basis for some pleasing speculation. If you would careto hear the facts--" "My dear Mycroft, I should be delighted. " The brother scribbled a note upon a leaf of his pocket-book, and, ringing the bell, he handed it to the waiter. "I have asked Mr. Melas to step across, " said he. "He lodges on thefloor above me, and I have some slight acquaintance with him, which ledhim to come to me in his perplexity. Mr. Melas is a Greek by extraction, as I understand, and he is a remarkable linguist. He earns his livingpartly as interpreter in the law courts and partly by acting as guide toany wealthy Orientals who may visit the Northumberland Avenue hotels. Ithink I will leave him to tell his very remarkable experience in his ownfashion. " A few minutes later we were joined by a short, stout man whose oliveface and coal-black hair proclaimed his Southern origin, though hisspeech was that of an educated Englishman. He shook hands eagerlywith Sherlock Holmes, and his dark eyes sparkled with pleasure when heunderstood that the specialist was anxious to hear his story. "I do not believe that the police credit me--on my word, I do not, " saidhe in a wailing voice. "Just because they have never heard of it before, they think that such a thing cannot be. But I know that I shall neverbe easy in my mind until I know what has become of my poor man with thesticking-plaster upon his face. " "I am all attention, " said Sherlock Holmes. "This is Wednesday evening, " said Mr. Melas. "Well then, it was Mondaynight--only two days ago, you understand--that all this happened. I aman interpreter, as perhaps my neighbor there has told you. I interpretall languages--or nearly all--but as I am a Greek by birth and with aGrecian name, it is with that particular tongue that I am principallyassociated. For many years I have been the chief Greek interpreter inLondon, and my name is very well known in the hotels. "It happens not unfrequently that I am sent for at strange hours byforeigners who get into difficulties, or by travelers who arrive lateand wish my services. I was not surprised, therefore, on Monday nightwhen a Mr. Latimer, a very fashionably dressed young man, came up to myrooms and asked me to accompany him in a cab which was waiting at thedoor. A Greek friend had come to see him upon business, he said, andas he could speak nothing but his own tongue, the services of aninterpreter were indispensable. He gave me to understand that his housewas some little distance off, in Kensington, and he seemed to be in agreat hurry, bustling me rapidly into the cab when we had descended tothe street. "I say into the cab, but I soon became doubtful as to whether it was nota carriage in which I found myself. It was certainly more roomy thanthe ordinary four-wheeled disgrace to London, and the fittings, thoughfrayed, were of rich quality. Mr. Latimer seated himself opposite to meand we started off through Charing Cross and up the Shaftesbury Avenue. We had come out upon Oxford Street and I had ventured some remark as tothis being a roundabout way to Kensington, when my words were arrestedby the extraordinary conduct of my companion. "He began by drawing a most formidable-looking bludgeon loaded with leadfrom his pocket, and switching it backward and forward several times, as if to test its weight and strength. Then he placed it without a wordupon the seat beside him. Having done this, he drew up the windows oneach side, and I found to my astonishment that they were covered withpaper so as to prevent my seeing through them. "'I am sorry to cut off your view, Mr. Melas, ' said he. 'The fact isthat I have no intention that you should see what the place is to whichwe are driving. It might possibly be inconvenient to me if you couldfind your way there again. ' "As you can imagine, I was utterly taken aback by such an address. Mycompanion was a powerful, broad-shouldered young fellow, and, apart fromthe weapon, I should not have had the slightest chance in a strugglewith him. "'This is very extraordinary conduct, Mr. Latimer, ' I stammered. 'Youmust be aware that what you are doing is quite illegal. ' "'It is somewhat of a liberty, no doubt, ' said he, 'but we'll make itup to you. I must warn you, however, Mr. Melas, that if at any timeto-night you attempt to raise an alarm or do anything which is againstmy interests, you will find it a very serious thing. I beg you toremember that no one knows where you are, and that, whether you are inthis carriage or in my house, you are equally in my power. ' "His words were quiet, but he had a rasping way of saying them whichwas very menacing. I sat in silence wondering what on earth could behis reason for kidnapping me in this extraordinary fashion. Whatever itmight be, it was perfectly clear that there was no possible use in myresisting, and that I could only wait to see what might befall. "For nearly two hours we drove without my having the least clue as towhere we were going. Sometimes the rattle of the stones told of a pavedcauseway, and at others our smooth, silent course suggested asphalt;but, save by this variation in sound, there was nothing at all whichcould in the remotest way help me to form a guess as to where we were. The paper over each window was impenetrable to light, and a blue curtainwas drawn across the glass work in front. It was a quarter-past sevenwhen we left Pall Mall, and my watch showed me that it was ten minutesto nine when we at last came to a standstill. My companion let downthe window, and I caught a glimpse of a low, arched doorway with a lampburning above it. As I was hurried from the carriage it swung open, andI found myself inside the house, with a vague impression of a lawnand trees on each side of me as I entered. Whether these were privategrounds, however, or bona-fide country was more than I could possiblyventure to say. "There was a colored gas-lamp inside which was turned so low that Icould see little save that the hall was of some size and hung withpictures. In the dim light I could make out that the person who hadopened the door was a small, mean-looking, middle-aged man with roundedshoulders. As he turned towards us the glint of the light showed me thathe was wearing glasses. "'Is this Mr. Melas, Harold?' said he. "'Yes. ' "'Well done, well done! No ill-will, Mr. Melas, I hope, but we could notget on without you. If you deal fair with us you'll not regret it, but if you try any tricks, God help you!' He spoke in a nervous, jerkyfashion, and with little giggling laughs in between, but somehow heimpressed me with fear more than the other. "'What do you want with me?' I asked. "'Only to ask a few questions of a Greek gentleman who is visiting us, and to let us have the answers. But say no more than you are told tosay, or--' here came the nervous giggle again--'you had better neverhave been born. ' "As he spoke he opened a door and showed the way into a room whichappeared to be very richly furnished, but again the only light wasafforded by a single lamp half-turned down. The chamber was certainlylarge, and the way in which my feet sank into the carpet as I steppedacross it told me of its richness. I caught glimpses of velvet chairs, ahigh white marble mantel-piece, and what seemed to be a suit of Japanesearmor at one side of it. There was a chair just under the lamp, and theelderly man motioned that I should sit in it. The younger had leftus, but he suddenly returned through another door, leading with hima gentleman clad in some sort of loose dressing-gown who moved slowlytowards us. As he came into the circle of dim light which enables me tosee him more clearly I was thrilled with horror at his appearance. Hewas deadly pale and terribly emaciated, with the protruding, brillianteyes of a man whose spirit was greater than his strength. But whatshocked me more than any signs of physical weakness was that his facewas grotesquely criss-crossed with sticking-plaster, and that one largepad of it was fastened over his mouth. "'Have you the slate, Harold?' cried the older man, as this strangebeing fell rather than sat down into a chair. 'Are his hands loose? Now, then, give him the pencil. You are to ask the questions, Mr. Melas, andhe will write the answers. Ask him first of all whether he is preparedto sign the papers?' "The man's eyes flashed fire. "'Never!' he wrote in Greek upon the slate. "'On no condition?' I asked, at the bidding of our tyrant. "'Only if I see her married in my presence by a Greek priest whom Iknow. ' "The man giggled in his venomous way. "'You know what awaits you, then?' "'I care nothing for myself. ' "These are samples of the questions and answers which made up ourstrange half-spoken, half-written conversation. Again and again I had toask him whether he would give in and sign the documents. Again and againI had the same indignant reply. But soon a happy thought came to me. Itook to adding on little sentences of my own to each question, innocentones at first, to test whether either of our companions knew anythingof the matter, and then, as I found that they showed no signs I played amore dangerous game. Our conversation ran something like this: "'You can do no good by this obstinacy. Who are you?' "'I care not. I am a stranger in London. ' "'Your fate will be upon your own head. How long have you been here?' "'Let it be so. Three weeks. ' "'The property can never be yours. What ails you?' "'It shall not go to villains. They are starving me. ' "'You shall go free if you sign. What house is this?' "'I will never sign. I do not know. ' "'You are not doing her any service. What is your name?' "'Let me hear her say so. Kratides. ' "'You shall see her if you sign. Where are you from?' "'Then I shall never see her. Athens. ' "Another five minutes, Mr. Holmes, and I should have wormed out thewhole story under their very noses. My very next question might havecleared the matter up, but at that instant the door opened and a womanstepped into the room. I could not see her clearly enough to know morethan that she was tall and graceful, with black hair, and clad in somesort of loose white gown. "'Harold, ' said she, speaking English with a broken accent. 'I could notstay away longer. It is so lonely up there with only--Oh, my God, it isPaul!' "These last words were in Greek, and at the same instant the man witha convulsive effort tore the plaster from his lips, and screaming out'Sophy! Sophy!' rushed into the woman's arms. Their embrace was but foran instant, however, for the younger man seized the woman and pushedher out of the room, while the elder easily overpowered his emaciatedvictim, and dragged him away through the other door. For a moment I wasleft alone in the room, and I sprang to my feet with some vague ideathat I might in some way get a clue to what this house was in which Ifound myself. Fortunately, however, I took no steps, for looking up Isaw that the older man was standing in the door-way with his eyes fixedupon me. "'That will do, Mr. Melas, ' said he. 'You perceive that we have takenyou into our confidence over some very private business. We should nothave troubled you, only that our friend who speaks Greek and who beganthese negotiations has been forced to return to the East. It wasquite necessary for us to find some one to take his place, and we werefortunate in hearing of your powers. ' "I bowed. "'There are five sovereigns here, ' said he, walking up to me, 'whichwill, I hope, be a sufficient fee. But remember, ' he added, tapping melightly on the chest and giggling, 'if you speak to a human soul aboutthis--one human soul, mind--well, may God have mercy upon your soul!" "I cannot tell you the loathing and horror with which thisinsignificant-looking man inspired me. I could see him better now as thelamp-light shone upon him. His features were peaky and sallow, and hislittle pointed beard was thready and ill-nourished. He pushed his faceforward as he spoke and his lips and eyelids were continually twitchinglike a man with St. Vitus's dance. I could not help thinking that hisstrange, catchy little laugh was also a symptom of some nervous malady. The terror of his face lay in his eyes, however, steel gray, andglistening coldly with a malignant, inexorable cruelty in their depths. "'We shall know if you speak of this, ' said he. 'We have our own meansof information. Now you will find the carriage waiting, and my friendwill see you on your way. ' "I was hurried through the hall and into the vehicle, again obtainingthat momentary glimpse of trees and a garden. Mr. Latimer followedclosely at my heels, and took his place opposite to me without a word. In silence we again drove for an interminable distance with the windowsraised, until at last, just after midnight, the carriage pulled up. "'You will get down here, Mr. Melas, ' said my companion. 'I am sorryto leave you so far from your house, but there is no alternative. Anyattempt upon your part to follow the carriage can only end in injury toyourself. ' "He opened the door as he spoke, and I had hardly time to spring outwhen the coachman lashed the horse and the carriage rattled away. Ilooked around me in astonishment. I was on some sort of a heathy commonmottled over with dark clumps of furze-bushes. Far away stretched aline of houses, with a light here and there in the upper windows. On theother side I saw the red signal-lamps of a railway. "The carriage which had brought me was already out of sight. I stoodgazing round and wondering where on earth I might be, when I saw someone coming towards me in the darkness. As he came up to me I made outthat he was a railway porter. "'Can you tell me what place this is?' I asked. "'Wandsworth Common, ' said he. "'Can I get a train into town?' "'If you walk on a mile or so to Clapham Junction, ' said he, 'you'lljust be in time for the last to Victoria. ' "So that was the end of my adventure, Mr. Holmes. I do not know where Iwas, nor whom I spoke with, nor anything save what I have told you. ButI know that there is foul play going on, and I want to help that unhappyman if I can. I told the whole story to Mr. Mycroft Holmes next morning, and subsequently to the police. " We all sat in silence for some little time after listening to thisextraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock looked across at his brother. "Any steps?" he asked. Mycroft picked up the Daily News, which was lying on the side-table. "'Anybody supplying any information to the whereabouts of a Greekgentleman named Paul Kratides, from Athens, who is unable to speakEnglish, will be rewarded. A similar reward paid to any one givinginformation about a Greek lady whose first name is Sophy. X 2473. ' Thatwas in all the dailies. No answer. " "How about the Greek Legation?" "I have inquired. They know nothing. " "A wire to the head of the Athens police, then?" "Sherlock has all the energy of the family, " said Mycroft, turning tome. "Well, you take the case up by all means, and let me know if you doany good. " "Certainly, " answered my friend, rising from his chair. "I'll let youknow, and Mr. Melas also. In the meantime, Mr. Melas, I should certainlybe on my guard, if I were you, for of course they must know throughthese advertisements that you have betrayed them. " As we walked home together, Holmes stopped at a telegraph office andsent off several wires. "You see, Watson, " he remarked, "our evening has been by no meanswasted. Some of my most interesting cases have come to me in this waythrough Mycroft. The problem which we have just listened to, althoughit can admit of but one explanation, has still some distinguishingfeatures. " "You have hopes of solving it?" "Well, knowing as much as we do, it will be singular indeed if we failto discover the rest. You must yourself have formed some theory whichwill explain the facts to which we have listened. " "In a vague way, yes. " "What was your idea, then?" "It seemed to me to be obvious that this Greek girl had been carried offby the young Englishman named Harold Latimer. " "Carried off from where?" "Athens, perhaps. " Sherlock Holmes shook his head. "This young man could not talk a word ofGreek. The lady could talk English fairly well. Inference--that she hadbeen in England some little time, but he had not been in Greece. " "Well, then, we will presume that she had come on a visit to England, and that this Harold had persuaded her to fly with him. " "That is more probable. " "Then the brother--for that, I fancy, must be the relationship--comesover from Greece to interfere. He imprudently puts himself into thepower of the young man and his older associate. They seize him and useviolence towards him in order to make him sign some papers to make overthe girl's fortune--of which he may be trustee--to them. This he refusesto do. In order to negotiate with him they have to get an interpreter, and they pitch upon this Mr. Melas, having used some other one before. The girl is not told of the arrival of her brother, and finds it out bythe merest accident. " "Excellent, Watson!" cried Holmes. "I really fancy that you are not farfrom the truth. You see that we hold all the cards, and we have only tofear some sudden act of violence on their part. If they give us time wemust have them. " "But how can we find where this house lies?" "Well, if our conjecture is correct and the girl's name is or was SophyKratides, we should have no difficulty in tracing her. That must be ourmain hope, for the brother is, of course, a complete stranger. It isclear that some time has elapsed since this Harold established theserelations with the girl--some weeks, at any rate--since the brother inGreece has had time to hear of it and come across. If they have beenliving in the same place during this time, it is probable that we shallhave some answer to Mycroft's advertisement. " We had reached our house in Baker Street while we had been talking. Holmes ascended the stair first, and as he opened the door of our roomhe gave a start of surprise. Looking over his shoulder, I was equallyastonished. His brother Mycroft was sitting smoking in the arm-chair. "Come in, Sherlock! Come in, sir, " said he blandly, smiling at oursurprised faces. "You don't expect such energy from me, do you, Sherlock? But somehow this case attracts me. " "How did you get here?" "I passed you in a hansom. " "There has been some new development?" "I had an answer to my advertisement. " "Ah!" "Yes, it came within a few minutes of your leaving. " "And to what effect?" Mycroft Holmes took out a sheet of paper. "Here it is, " said he, "written with a J pen on royal cream paper by amiddle-aged man with a weak constitution. 'Sir, ' he says, 'in answer toyour advertisement of to-day's date, I beg to inform you that I know theyoung lady in question very well. If you should care to call upon me Icould give you some particulars as to her painful history. She is livingat present at The Myrtles, Beckenham. Yours faithfully, J. Davenport. ' "He writes from Lower Brixton, " said Mycroft Holmes. "Do you not thinkthat we might drive to him now, Sherlock, and learn these particulars?" "My dear Mycroft, the brother's life is more valuable than the sister'sstory. I think we should call at Scotland Yard for Inspector Gregson, and go straight out to Beckenham. We know that a man is being done todeath, and every hour may be vital. " "Better pick up Mr. Melas on our way, " I suggested. "We may need aninterpreter. " "Excellent, " said Sherlock Holmes. "Send the boy for a four-wheeler, andwe shall be off at once. " He opened the table-drawer as he spoke, and Inoticed that he slipped his revolver into his pocket. "Yes, " said he, inanswer to my glance; "I should say from what we have heard, that we aredealing with a particularly dangerous gang. " It was almost dark before we found ourselves in Pall Mall, at the roomsof Mr. Melas. A gentleman had just called for him, and he was gone. "Can you tell me where?" asked Mycroft Holmes. "I don't know, sir, " answered the woman who had opened the door; "I onlyknow that he drove away with the gentleman in a carriage. " "Did the gentleman give a name?" "No, sir. " "He wasn't a tall, handsome, dark young man?" "Oh, no, sir. He was a little gentleman, with glasses, thin in the face, but very pleasant in his ways, for he was laughing all the time that hewas talking. " "Come along!" cried Sherlock Holmes, abruptly. "This grows serious, "he observed, as we drove to Scotland Yard. "These men have got hold ofMelas again. He is a man of no physical courage, as they are wellaware from their experience the other night. This villain was able toterrorize him the instant that he got into his presence. No doubtthey want his professional services, but, having used him, they may beinclined to punish him for what they will regard as his treachery. " Our hope was that, by taking train, we might get to Beckenham as soonor sooner than the carriage. On reaching Scotland Yard, however, it wasmore than an hour before we could get Inspector Gregson and comply withthe legal formalities which would enable us to enter the house. It was aquarter to ten before we reached London Bridge, and half past before thefour of us alighted on the Beckenham platform. A drive of half a milebrought us to The Myrtles--a large, dark house standing back from theroad in its own grounds. Here we dismissed our cab, and made our way upthe drive together. "The windows are all dark, " remarked the inspector. "The house seemsdeserted. " "Our birds are flown and the nest empty, " said Holmes. "Why do you say so?" "A carriage heavily loaded with luggage has passed out during the lasthour. " The inspector laughed. "I saw the wheel-tracks in the light of thegate-lamp, but where does the luggage come in?" "You may have observed the same wheel-tracks going the other way. Butthe outward-bound ones were very much deeper--so much so that we cansay for a certainty that there was a very considerable weight on thecarriage. " "You get a trifle beyond me there, " said the inspector, shrugging hisshoulder. "It will not be an easy door to force, but we will try if wecannot make some one hear us. " He hammered loudly at the knocker and pulled at the bell, but withoutany success. Holmes had slipped away, but he came back in a few minutes. "I have a window open, " said he. "It is a mercy that you are on the side of the force, and not againstit, Mr. Holmes, " remarked the inspector, as he noted the clever way inwhich my friend had forced back the catch. "Well, I think that under thecircumstances we may enter without an invitation. " One after the other we made our way into a large apartment, which wasevidently that in which Mr. Melas had found himself. The inspectorhad lit his lantern, and by its light we could see the two doors, thecurtain, the lamp, and the suit of Japanese mail as he had describedthem. On the table lay two glasses, and empty brandy-bottle, and theremains of a meal. "What is that?" asked Holmes, suddenly. We all stood still and listened. A low moaning sound was coming fromsomewhere over our heads. Holmes rushed to the door and out into thehall. The dismal noise came from upstairs. He dashed up, the inspectorand I at his heels, while his brother Mycroft followed as quickly as hisgreat bulk would permit. Three doors faced up upon the second floor, and it was from the centralof these that the sinister sounds were issuing, sinking sometimes into adull mumble and rising again into a shrill whine. It was locked, but thekey had been left on the outside. Holmes flung open the door and rushedin, but he was out again in an instant, with his hand to his throat. "It's charcoal, " he cried. "Give it time. It will clear. " Peering in, we could see that the only light in the room came from adull blue flame which flickered from a small brass tripod in the centre. It threw a livid, unnatural circle upon the floor, while in the shadowsbeyond we saw the vague loom of two figures which crouched against thewall. From the open door there reeked a horrible poisonous exhalationwhich set us gasping and coughing. Holmes rushed to the top of thestairs to draw in the fresh air, and then, dashing into the room, hethrew up the window and hurled the brazen tripod out into the garden. "We can enter in a minute, " he gasped, darting out again. "Where is acandle? I doubt if we could strike a match in that atmosphere. Hold thelight at the door and we shall get them out, Mycroft, now!" With a rush we got to the poisoned men and dragged them out into thewell-lit hall. Both of them were blue-lipped and insensible, withswollen, congested faces and protruding eyes. Indeed, so distorted weretheir features that, save for his black beard and stout figure, we mighthave failed to recognize in one of them the Greek interpreter who hadparted from us only a few hours before at the Diogenes Club. His handsand feet were securely strapped together, and he bore over one eyethe marks of a violent blow. The other, who was secured in a similarfashion, was a tall man in the last stage of emaciation, with severalstrips of sticking-plaster arranged in a grotesque pattern over hisface. He had ceased to moan as we laid him down, and a glance showedme that for him at least our aid had come too late. Mr. Melas, however, still lived, and in less than an hour, with the aid of ammonia andbrandy I had the satisfaction of seeing him open his eyes, and ofknowing that my hand had drawn him back from that dark valley in whichall paths meet. It was a simple story which he had to tell, and one which did butconfirm our own deductions. His visitor, on entering his rooms, haddrawn a life-preserver from his sleeve, and had so impressed him withthe fear of instant and inevitable death that he had kidnapped him forthe second time. Indeed, it was almost mesmeric, the effect which thisgiggling ruffian had produced upon the unfortunate linguist, for hecould not speak of him save with trembling hands and a blanched cheek. He had been taken swiftly to Beckenham, and had acted as interpreter ina second interview, even more dramatic than the first, in which the twoEnglishmen had menaced their prisoner with instant death if he did notcomply with their demands. Finally, finding him proof against everythreat, they had hurled him back into his prison, and afterreproaching Melas with his treachery, which appeared from the newspaperadvertisement, they had stunned him with a blow from a stick, and heremembered nothing more until he found us bending over him. And this was the singular case of the Grecian Interpreter, theexplanation of which is still involved in some mystery. We were ableto find out, by communicating with the gentleman who had answered theadvertisement, that the unfortunate young lady came of a wealthy Grecianfamily, and that she had been on a visit to some friends in England. While there she had met a young man named Harold Latimer, who hadacquired an ascendancy over he and had eventually persuaded her to flywith him. Her friends, shocked at the event, had contented themselveswith informing her brother at Athens, and had then washed their handsof the matter. The brother, on his arrival in England, had imprudentlyplaced himself in the power of Latimer and of his associate, whose namewas Wilson Kemp--a man of the foulest antecedents. These two, findingthat through his ignorance of the language he was helpless in theirhands, had kept him a prisoner, and had endeavored by cruelty andstarvation to make him sign away his own and his sister's property. Theyhad kept him in the house without the girl's knowledge, and the plasterover the face had been for the purpose of making recognition difficultin case she should ever catch a glimpse of him. Her feminine perception, however, had instantly seen through the disguise when, on the occasionof the interpreter's visit, she had seen him for the first time. Thepoor girl, however, was herself a prisoner, for there was no one aboutthe house except the man who acted as coachman, and his wife, both ofwhom were tools of the conspirators. Finding that their secret was out, and that their prisoner was not to be coerced, the two villains with thegirl had fled away at a few hours' notice from the furnished house whichthey had hired, having first, as they thought, taken vengeance both uponthe man who had defied and the one who had betrayed them. Months afterwards a curious newspaper cutting reached us fromBuda-Pesth. It told how two Englishmen who had been traveling with awoman had met with a tragic end. They had each been stabbed, it seems, and the Hungarian police were of opinion that they had quarreled and hadinflicted mortal injuries upon each other. Holmes, however, is, I fancy, of a different way of thinking, and holds to this day that, if one couldfind the Grecian girl, one might learn how the wrongs of herself and herbrother came to be avenged. Adventure X. The Naval Treaty The July which immediately succeeded my marriage was made memorableby three cases of interest, in which I had the privilege of beingassociated with Sherlock Holmes and of studying his methods. I find themrecorded in my notes under the headings of "The Adventure of the SecondStain, " "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty, " and "The Adventure of theTired Captain. " The first of these, however, deals with interest of suchimportance and implicates so many of the first families in the kingdomthat for many years it will be impossible to make it public. No case, however, in which Holmes was engaged has ever illustrated the valueof his analytical methods so clearly or has impressed those who wereassociated with him so deeply. I still retain an almost verbatim reportof the interview in which he demonstrated the true facts of the caseto Monsieur Dubugue of the Paris police, and Fritz von Waldbaum, thewell-known specialist of Dantzig, both of whom had wasted their energiesupon what proved to be side-issues. The new century will have come, however, before the story can be safely told. Meanwhile I pass on tothe second on my list, which promised also at one time to be of nationalimportance, and was marked by several incidents which give it a quiteunique character. During my school-days I had been intimately associated with a lad namedPercy Phelps, who was of much the same age as myself, though he was twoclasses ahead of me. He was a very brilliant boy, and carried away everyprize which the school had to offer, finished his exploits by winninga scholarship which sent him on to continue his triumphant career atCambridge. He was, I remember, extremely well connected, and even whenwe were all little boys together we knew that his mother's brotherwas Lord Holdhurst, the great conservative politician. This gaudyrelationship did him little good at school. On the contrary, it seemedrather a piquant thing to us to chevy him about the playground and hithim over the shins with a wicket. But it was another thing when hecame out into the world. I heard vaguely that his abilities and theinfluences which he commanded had won him a good position at the ForeignOffice, and then he passed completely out of my mind until the followingletter recalled his existence: Briarbrae, Woking. My dear Watson, --I have no doubt that you canremember "Tadpole" Phelps, who was in the fifth form when you were inthe third. It is possible even that you may have heard that through myuncle's influence I obtained a good appointment at the Foreign Office, and that I was in a situation of trust and honor until a horriblemisfortune came suddenly to blast my career. There is no use writing of the details of that dreadful event. In theevent of your acceding to my request it is probably that I shall haveto narrate them to you. I have only just recovered from nine weeks ofbrain-fever, and am still exceedingly weak. Do you think that you couldbring your friend Mr. Holmes down to see me? I should like to have hisopinion of the case, though the authorities assure me that nothing morecan be done. Do try to bring him down, and as soon as possible. Everyminute seems an hour while I live in this state of horrible suspense. Assure him that if I have not asked his advice sooner it was not becauseI did not appreciate his talents, but because I have been off my headever since the blow fell. Now I am clear again, though I dare not thinkof it too much for fear of a relapse. I am still so weak that I have towrite, as you see, by dictating. Do try to bring him. Your old school-fellow, Percy Phelps. There was something that touched me as I read this letter, somethingpitiable in the reiterated appeals to bring Holmes. So moved was Ithat even had it been a difficult matter I should have tried it, butof course I knew well that Holmes loved his art, so that he was everas ready to bring his aid as his client could be to receive it. My wifeagreed with me that not a moment should be lost in laying the matterbefore him, and so within an hour of breakfast-time I found myself backonce more in the old rooms in Baker Street. Holmes was seated at his side-table clad in his dressing-gown, andworking hard over a chemical investigation. A large curved retortwas boiling furiously in the bluish flame of a Bunsen burner, and thedistilled drops were condensing into a two-litre measure. My friendhardly glanced up as I entered, and I, seeing that his investigationmust be of importance, seated myself in an arm-chair and waited. Hedipped into this bottle or that, drawing out a few drops of each withhis glass pipette, and finally brought a test-tube containing a solutionover to the table. In his right hand he held a slip of litmus-paper. "You come at a crisis, Watson, " said he. "If this paper remains blue, all is well. If it turns red, it means a man's life. " He dipped it intothe test-tube and it flushed at once into a dull, dirty crimson. "Hum!I thought as much!" he cried. "I will be at your service in an instant, Watson. You will find tobacco in the Persian slipper. " He turned to hisdesk and scribbled off several telegrams, which were handed over to thepage-boy. Then he threw himself down into the chair opposite, and drewup his knees until his fingers clasped round his long, thin shins. "A very commonplace little murder, " said he. "You've got somethingbetter, I fancy. You are the stormy petrel of crime, Watson. What isit?" I handed him the letter, which he read with the most concentratedattention. "It does not tell us very much, does it?" he remarked, as he handed itback to me. "Hardly anything. " "And yet the writing is of interest. " "But the writing is not his own. " "Precisely. It is a woman's. " "A man's surely, " I cried. "No, a woman's, and a woman of rare character. You see, at thecommencement of an investigation it is something to know that yourclient is in close contact with some one who, for good or evil, has anexceptional nature. My interest is already awakened in the case. If youare ready we will start at once for Woking, and see this diplomatist whois in such evil case, and the lady to whom he dictates his letters. " We were fortunate enough to catch an early train at Waterloo, and ina little under an hour we found ourselves among the fir-woods andthe heather of Woking. Briarbrae proved to be a large detached housestanding in extensive grounds within a few minutes' walk of the station. On sending in our cards we were shown into an elegantly appointeddrawing-room, where we were joined in a few minutes by a rather stoutman who received us with much hospitality. His age may have been nearerforty than thirty, but his cheeks were so ruddy and his eyes so merrythat he still conveyed the impression of a plump and mischievous boy. "I am so glad that you have come, " said he, shaking our hands witheffusion. "Percy has been inquiring for you all morning. Ah, poor oldchap, he clings to any straw! His father and his mother asked me to seeyou, for the mere mention of the subject is very painful to them. " "We have had no details yet, " observed Holmes. "I perceive that you arenot yourself a member of the family. " Our acquaintance looked surprised, and then, glancing down, he began tolaugh. "Of course you saw the J H monogram on my locket, " said he. "For amoment I thought you had done something clever. Joseph Harrison is myname, and as Percy is to marry my sister Annie I shall at least be arelation by marriage. You will find my sister in his room, for she hasnursed him hand-and-foot this two months back. Perhaps we'd better go inat once, for I know how impatient he is. " The chamber in which we were shown was on the same floor as thedrawing-room. It was furnished partly as a sitting and partly as abedroom, with flowers arranged daintily in every nook and corner. Ayoung man, very pale and worn, was lying upon a sofa near the openwindow, through which came the rich scent of the garden and the balmysummer air. A woman was sitting beside him, who rose as we entered. "Shall I leave, Percy?" she asked. He clutched her hand to detain her. "How are you, Watson?" said he, cordially. "I should never have known you under that moustache, and Idare say you would not be prepared to swear to me. This I presume isyour celebrated friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes?" I introduced him in a few words, and we both sat down. The stout youngman had left us, but his sister still remained with her hand in that ofthe invalid. She was a striking-looking woman, a little short andthick for symmetry, but with a beautiful olive complexion, large, dark, Italian eyes, and a wealth of deep black hair. Her rich tints made thewhite face of her companion the more worn and haggard by the contrast. "I won't waste your time, " said he, raising himself upon the sofa. "I'll plunge into the matter without further preamble. I was a happyand successful man, Mr. Holmes, and on the eve of being married, when asudden and dreadful misfortune wrecked all my prospects in life. "I was, as Watson may have told you, in the Foreign Office, andthrough the influences of my uncle, Lord Holdhurst, I rose rapidly toa responsible position. When my uncle became foreign minister in thisadministration he gave me several missions of trust, and as I alwaysbrought them to a successful conclusion, he came at last to have theutmost confidence in my ability and tact. "Nearly ten weeks ago--to be more accurate, on the 23d of May--he calledme into his private room, and, after complimenting me on the good workwhich I had done, he informed me that he had a new commission of trustfor me to execute. "'This, ' said he, taking a gray roll of paper from his bureau, 'is theoriginal of that secret treaty between England and Italy of which, Iregret to say, some rumors have already got into the public press. It isof enormous importance that nothing further should leak out. The Frenchor the Russian embassy would pay an immense sum to learn the contentsof these papers. They should not leave my bureau were it not that itis absolutely necessary to have them copied. You have a desk in youroffice?" "'Yes, sir. ' "'Then take the treaty and lock it up there. I shall give directionsthat you may remain behind when the others go, so that you may copyit at your leisure without fear of being overlooked. When you havefinished, relock both the original and the draft in the desk, and handthem over to me personally to-morrow morning. ' "I took the papers and--" "Excuse me an instant, " said Holmes. "Were you alone during thisconversation?" "Absolutely. " "In a large room?" "Thirty feet each way. " "In the centre?" "Yes, about it. " "And speaking low?" "My uncle's voice is always remarkably low. I hardly spoke at all. " "Thank you, " said Holmes, shutting his eyes; "pray go on. " "I did exactly what he indicated, and waited until the other clerks haddeparted. One of them in my room, Charles Gorot, had some arrearsof work to make up, so I left him there and went out to dine. When Ireturned he was gone. I was anxious to hurry my work, for I knew thatJoseph--the Mr. Harrison whom you saw just now--was in town, and that hewould travel down to Woking by the eleven-o'clock train, and I wanted ifpossible to catch it. "When I came to examine the treaty I saw at once that it was of suchimportance that my uncle had been guilty of no exaggeration in whathe had said. Without going into details, I may say that it defined theposition of Great Britain towards the Triple Alliance, and fore-shadowedthe policy which this country would pursue in the event of theFrench fleet gaining a complete ascendancy over that of Italy in theMediterranean. The questions treated in it were purely naval. At the endwere the signatures of the high dignitaries who had signed it. I glancedmy eyes over it, and then settled down to my task of copying. "It was a long document, written in the French language, and containingtwenty-six separate articles. I copied as quickly as I could, but atnine o'clock I had only done nine articles, and it seemed hopeless forme to attempt to catch my train. I was feeling drowsy and stupid, partlyfrom my dinner and also from the effects of a long day's work. A cup ofcoffee would clear my brain. A commissionnaire remains all night in alittle lodge at the foot of the stairs, and is in the habit of makingcoffee at his spirit-lamp for any of the officials who may be workingover time. I rang the bell, therefore, to summon him. "To my surprise, it was a woman who answered the summons, a large, coarse-faced, elderly woman, in an apron. She explained that she was thecommissionnaire's wife, who did the charing, and I gave her the orderfor the coffee. "I wrote two more articles and then, feeling more drowsy than ever, Irose and walked up and down the room to stretch my legs. My coffee hadnot yet come, and I wondered what was the cause of the delay could be. Opening the door, I started down the corridor to find out. There was astraight passage, dimly lighted, which led from the room in which Ihad been working, and was the only exit from it. It ended in a curvingstaircase, with the commissionnaire's lodge in the passage at thebottom. Half way down this staircase is a small landing, with anotherpassage running into it at right angles. This second one leads by meansof a second small stair to a side door, used by servants, and also asa short cut by clerks when coming from Charles Street. Here is a roughchart of the place. " "Thank you. I think that I quite follow you, " said Sherlock Holmes. "It is of the utmost importance that you should notice this point. I went down the stairs and into the hall, where I found thecommissionnaire fast asleep in his box, with the kettle boilingfuriously upon the spirit-lamp. I took off the kettle and blew out thelamp, for the water was spurting over the floor. Then I put out my handand was about to shake the man, who was still sleeping soundly, when abell over his head rang loudly, and he woke with a start. "'Mr. Phelps, sir!' said he, looking at me in bewilderment. "'I came down to see if my coffee was ready. ' "'I was boiling the kettle when I fell asleep, sir. ' He looked at me andthen up at the still quivering bell with an ever-growing astonishmentupon his face. "'If you was here, sir, then who rang the bell?' he asked. "'The bell!' I cried. 'What bell is it?' "'It's the bell of the room you were working in. ' "A cold hand seemed to close round my heart. Some one, then, was in thatroom where my precious treaty lay upon the table. I ran frantically upthe stair and along the passage. There was no one in the corridors, Mr. Holmes. There was no one in the room. All was exactly as I left it, saveonly that the papers which had been committed to my care had been takenfrom the desk on which they lay. The copy was there, and the originalwas gone. " Holmes sat up in his chair and rubbed his hands. I could see that theproblem was entirely to his heart. "Pray, what did you do then?" hemurmured. "I recognized in an instant that the thief must have come up the stairsfrom the side door. Of course I must have met him if he had come theother way. " "You were satisfied that he could not have been concealed in the roomall the time, or in the corridor which you have just described as dimlylighted?" "It is absolutely impossible. A rat could not conceal himself either inthe room or the corridor. There is no cover at all. " "Thank you. Pray proceed. " "The commissionnaire, seeing by my pale face that something was to befeared, had followed me upstairs. Now we both rushed along the corridorand down the steep steps which led to Charles Street. The door at thebottom was closed, but unlocked. We flung it open and rushed out. I candistinctly remember that as we did so there came three chimes from aneighboring clock. It was quarter to ten. " "That is of enormous importance, " said Holmes, making a note upon hisshirt-cuff. "The night was very dark, and a thin, warm rain was falling. There wasno one in Charles Street, but a great traffic was going on, as usual, inWhitehall, at the extremity. We rushed along the pavement, bare-headedas we were, and at the far corner we found a policeman standing. "'A robbery has been committed, ' I gasped. 'A document of immense valuehas been stolen from the Foreign Office. Has any one passed this way?' "'I have been standing here for a quarter of an hour, sir, ' said he;'only one person has passed during that time--a woman, tall and elderly, with a Paisley shawl. ' "'Ah, that is only my wife, ' cried the commissionnaire; 'has no one elsepassed?' "'No one. ' "'Then it must be the other way that the thief took, ' cried the fellow, tugging at my sleeve. "'But I was not satisfied, and the attempts which he made to draw meaway increased my suspicions. "'Which way did the woman go?' I cried. "'I don't know, sir. I noticed her pass, but I had no special reason forwatching her. She seemed to be in a hurry. ' "'How long ago was it?' "'Oh, not very many minutes. ' "'Within the last five?' "'Well, it could not be more than five. ' "'You're only wasting your time, sir, and every minute now is ofimportance, ' cried the commissionnaire; 'take my word for it that my oldwoman has nothing to do with it, and come down to the other end of thestreet. Well, if you won't, I will. ' And with that he rushed off in theother direction. "But I was after him in an instant and caught him by the sleeve. "'Where do you live?' said I. "'16 Ivy Lane, Brixton, ' he answered. 'But don't let yourself be drawnaway upon a false scent, Mr. Phelps. Come to the other end of the streetand let us see if we can hear of anything. ' "Nothing was to be lost by following his advice. With the policeman weboth hurried down, but only to find the street full of traffic, manypeople coming and going, but all only too eager to get to a place ofsafety upon so wet a night. There was no lounger who could tell us whohad passed. "Then we returned to the office, and searched the stairs and the passagewithout result. The corridor which led to the room was laid down witha kind of creamy linoleum which shows an impression very easily. Weexamined it very carefully, but found no outline of any footmark. " "Had it been raining all evening?" "Since about seven. " "How is it, then, that the woman who came into the room about nine leftno traces with her muddy boots?" "I am glad you raised the point. It occurred to me at the time. The charwomen are in the habit of taking off their boots at thecommissionnaire's office, and putting on list slippers. " "That is very clear. There were no marks, then, though the night was awet one? The chain of events is certainly one of extraordinary interest. What did you do next? "We examined the room also. There is no possibility of a secret door, and the windows are quite thirty feet from the ground. Both of themwere fastened on the inside. The carpet prevents any possibility of atrap-door, and the ceiling is of the ordinary whitewashed kind. I willpledge my life that whoever stole my papers could only have come throughthe door. " "How about the fireplace?" "They use none. There is a stove. The bell-rope hangs from the wire justto the right of my desk. Whoever rang it must have come right up to thedesk to do it. But why should any criminal wish to ring the bell? It isa most insoluble mystery. " "Certainly the incident was unusual. What were your next steps? Youexamined the room, I presume, to see if the intruder had left anytraces--any cigar-end or dropped glove or hairpin or other trifle?" "There was nothing of the sort. " "No smell?" "Well, we never thought of that. " "Ah, a scent of tobacco would have been worth a great deal to us in suchan investigation. " "I never smoke myself, so I think I should have observed it if there hadbeen any smell of tobacco. There was absolutely no clue of any kind. Theonly tangible fact was that the commissionnaire's wife--Mrs. Tangey wasthe name--had hurried out of the place. He could give no explanationsave that it was about the time when the woman always went home. Thepoliceman and I agreed that our best plan would be to seize the womanbefore she could get rid of the papers, presuming that she had them. "The alarm had reached Scotland Yard by this time, and Mr. Forbes, thedetective, came round at once and took up the case with a great deal ofenergy. We hired a hansom, and in half an hour we were at the addresswhich had been given to us. A young woman opened the door, who proved tobe Mrs. Tangey's eldest daughter. Her mother had not come back yet, andwe were shown into the front room to wait. "About ten minutes later a knock came at the door, and here we made theone serious mistake for which I blame myself. Instead of opening thedoor ourselves, we allowed the girl to do so. We heard her say, 'Mother, there are two men in the house waiting to see you, ' and an instantafterwards we heard the patter of feet rushing down the passage. Forbesflung open the door, and we both ran into the back room or kitchen, butthe woman had got there before us. She stared at us with defianteyes, and then, suddenly recognizing me, an expression of absoluteastonishment came over her face. "'Why, if it isn't Mr. Phelps, of the office!' she cried. "'Come, come, who did you think we were when you ran away from us?'asked my companion. "'I thought you were the brokers, ' said she, 'we have had some troublewith a tradesman. ' "'That's not quite good enough, ' answered Forbes. 'We have reason tobelieve that you have taken a paper of importance from the ForeignOffice, and that you ran in here to dispose of it. You must come backwith us to Scotland Yard to be searched. ' "It was in vain that she protested and resisted. A four-wheeler wasbrought, and we all three drove back in it. We had first made anexamination of the kitchen, and especially of the kitchen fire, to seewhether she might have made away with the papers during the instant thatshe was alone. There were no signs, however, of any ashes or scraps. When we reached Scotland Yard she was handed over at once to the femalesearcher. I waited in an agony of suspense until she came back with herreport. There were no signs of the papers. "Then for the first time the horror of my situation came in its fullforce. Hitherto I had been acting, and action had numbed thought. I hadbeen so confident of regaining the treaty at once that I had not daredto think of what would be the consequence if I failed to do so. Butnow there was nothing more to be done, and I had leisure to realizemy position. It was horrible. Watson there would tell you that I was anervous, sensitive boy at school. It is my nature. I thought of my uncleand of his colleagues in the Cabinet, of the shame which I had broughtupon him, upon myself, upon every one connected with me. What though Iwas the victim of an extraordinary accident? No allowance is madefor accidents where diplomatic interests are at stake. I was ruined, shamefully, hopelessly ruined. I don't know what I did. I fancy I musthave made a scene. I have a dim recollection of a group of officials whocrowded round me, endeavoring to soothe me. One of them drove down withme to Waterloo, and saw me into the Woking train. I believe that hewould have come all the way had it not been that Dr. Ferrier, who livesnear me, was going down by that very train. The doctor most kindly tookcharge of me, and it was well he did so, for I had a fit in the station, and before we reached home I was practically a raving maniac. "You can imagine the state of things here when they were roused fromtheir beds by the doctor's ringing and found me in this condition. PoorAnnie here and my mother were broken-hearted. Dr. Ferrier had just heardenough from the detective at the station to be able to give an idea ofwhat had happened, and his story did not mend matters. It was evident toall that I was in for a long illness, so Joseph was bundled out of thischeery bedroom, and it was turned into a sick-room for me. Here I havelain, Mr. Holmes, for over nine weeks, unconscious, and raving withbrain-fever. If it had not been for Miss Harrison here and for thedoctor's care I should not be speaking to you now. She has nursed me byday and a hired nurse has looked after me by night, for in my mad fitsI was capable of anything. Slowly my reason has cleared, but it is onlyduring the last three days that my memory has quite returned. SometimesI wish that it never had. The first thing that I did was to wire toMr. Forbes, who had the case in hand. He came out, and assures me that, though everything has been done, no trace of a clue has been discovered. The commissionnaire and his wife have been examined in every way withoutany light being thrown upon the matter. The suspicions of the policethen rested upon young Gorot, who, as you may remember, stayed over timein the office that night. His remaining behind and his French name werereally the only two points which could suggest suspicion; but, as amatter of fact, I did not begin work until he had gone, and his peopleare of Huguenot extraction, but as English in sympathy and tradition asyou and I are. Nothing was found to implicate him in any way, and therethe matter dropped. I turn to you, Mr. Holmes, as absolutely my lasthope. If you fail me, then my honor as well as my position are foreverforfeited. " The invalid sank back upon his cushions, tired out by this long recital, while his nurse poured him out a glass of some stimulating medicine. Holmes sat silently, with his head thrown back and his eyes closed, inan attitude which might seem listless to a stranger, but which I knewbetokened the most intense self-absorption. "You statement has been so explicit, " said he at last, "that you havereally left me very few questions to ask. There is one of the veryutmost importance, however. Did you tell any one that you had thisspecial task to perform?" "No one. " "Not Miss Harrison here, for example?" "No. I had not been back to Woking between getting the order andexecuting the commission. " "And none of your people had by chance been to see you?" "None. " "Did any of them know their way about in the office?" "Oh, yes, all of them had been shown over it. " "Still, of course, if you said nothing to any one about the treaty theseinquiries are irrelevant. " "I said nothing. " "Do you know anything of the commissionnaire?" "Nothing except that he is an old soldier. " "What regiment?" "Oh, I have heard--Coldstream Guards. " "Thank you. I have no doubt I can get details from Forbes. Theauthorities are excellent at amassing facts, though they do not alwaysuse them to advantage. What a lovely thing a rose is!" He walked past the couch to the open window, and held up the droopingstalk of a moss-rose, looking down at the dainty blend of crimson andgreen. It was a new phase of his character to me, for I had never beforeseen him show any keen interest in natural objects. "There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion, "said he, leaning with his back against the shutters. "It can be builtup as an exact science by the reasoner. Our highest assurance of thegoodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All otherthings, our powers our desires, our food, are all really necessary forour existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Itssmell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we havemuch to hope from the flowers. " Percy Phelps and his nurse looked at Holmes during this demonstrationwith surprise and a good deal of disappointment written upon theirfaces. He had fallen into a reverie, with the moss-rose between hisfingers. It had lasted some minutes before the young lady broke in uponit. "Do you see any prospect of solving this mystery, Mr. Holmes?" sheasked, with a touch of asperity in her voice. "Oh, the mystery!" he answered, coming back with a start to therealities of life. "Well, it would be absurd to deny that the case isa very abstruse and complicated one, but I can promise you that I willlook into the matter and let you know any points which may strike me. " "Do you see any clue?" "You have furnished me with seven, but, of course, I must test thembefore I can pronounce upon their value. " "You suspect some one?" "I suspect myself. " "What!" "Of coming to conclusions too rapidly. " "Then go to London and test your conclusions. " "Your advice is very excellent, Miss Harrison, " said Holmes, rising. "Ithink, Watson, we cannot do better. Do not allow yourself to indulge infalse hopes, Mr. Phelps. The affair is a very tangled one. " "I shall be in a fever until I see you again, " cried the diplomatist. "Well, I'll come out by the same train to-morrow, though it's more thanlikely that my report will be a negative one. " "God bless you for promising to come, " cried our client. "It gives mefresh life to know that something is being done. By the way, I have hada letter from Lord Holdhurst. " "Ha! What did he say?" "He was cold, but not harsh. I dare say my severe illness preventedhim from being that. He repeated that the matter was of the utmostimportance, and added that no steps would be taken about my future--bywhich he means, of course, my dismissal--until my health was restoredand I had an opportunity of repairing my misfortune. " "Well, that was reasonable and considerate, " said Holmes. "Come, Watson, for we have a good day's work before us in town. " Mr. Joseph Harrison drove us down to the station, and we were soonwhirling up in a Portsmouth train. Holmes was sunk in profound thought, and hardly opened his mouth until we had passed Clapham Junction. "It's a very cheery thing to come into London by any of these lineswhich run high, and allow you to look down upon the houses like this. " I thought he was joking, for the view was sordid enough, but he soonexplained himself. "Look at those big, isolated clumps of building rising up above theslates, like brick islands in a lead-colored sea. " "The board-schools. " "Light-houses, my boy! Beacons of the future! Capsules with hundreds ofbright little seeds in each, out of which will spring the wise, betterEngland of the future. I suppose that man Phelps does not drink?" "I should not think so. " "Nor should I, but we are bound to take every possibility into account. The poor devil has certainly got himself into very deep water, and it'sa question whether we shall ever be able to get him ashore. What did youthink of Miss Harrison?" "A girl of strong character. " "Yes, but she is a good sort, or I am mistaken. She and her brother arethe only children of an iron-master somewhere up Northumberland way. Hegot engaged to her when traveling last winter, and she came down tobe introduced to his people, with her brother as escort. Then camethe smash, and she stayed on to nurse her lover, while brother Joseph, finding himself pretty snug, stayed on too. I've been making a fewindependent inquiries, you see. But to-day must be a day of inquiries. " "My practice--" I began. "Oh, if you find your own cases more interesting than mine--" saidHolmes, with some asperity. "I was going to say that my practice could get along very well for a dayor two, since it is the slackest time in the year. " "Excellent, " said he, recovering his good-humor. "Then we'll look intothis matter together. I think that we should begin by seeing Forbes. He can probably tell us all the details we want until we know from whatside the case is to be approached. " "You said you had a clue?" "Well, we have several, but we can only test their value by furtherinquiry. The most difficult crime to track is the one which ispurposeless. Now this is not purposeless. Who is it who profits by it?There is the French ambassador, there is the Russian, there is whoevermight sell it to either of these, and there is Lord Holdhurst. " "Lord Holdhurst!" "Well, it is just conceivable that a statesman might find himself ina position where he was not sorry to have such a document accidentallydestroyed. " "Not a statesman with the honorable record of Lord Holdhurst?" "It is a possibility and we cannot afford to disregard it. We shall seethe noble lord to-day and find out if he can tell us anything. MeanwhileI have already set inquiries on foot. " "Already?" "Yes, I sent wires from Woking station to every evening paper in London. This advertisement will appear in each of them. " He handed over a sheet torn from a note-book. On it was scribbled inpencil: "L10 reward. The number of the cab which dropped a fare at orabout the door of the Foreign Office in Charles Street at quarter to tenin the evening of May 23d. Apply 221 B, Baker Street. " "You are confident that the thief came in a cab?" "If not, there is no harm done. But if Mr. Phelps is correct in statingthat there is no hiding-place either in the room or the corridors, thenthe person must have come from outside. If he came from outside on sowet a night, and yet left no trace of damp upon the linoleum, whichwas examined within a few minutes of his passing, then it is exceedingprobable that he came in a cab. Yes, I think that we may safely deduce acab. " "It sounds plausible. " "That is one of the clues of which I spoke. It may lead us to something. And then, of course, there is the bell--which is the most distinctivefeature of the case. Why should the bell ring? Was it the thief who didit out of bravado? Or was it some one who was with the thief who did itin order to prevent the crime? Or was it an accident? Or was it--?" Hesank back into the state of intense and silent thought from which hehad emerged; but it seemed to me, accustomed as I was to his every mood, that some new possibility had dawned suddenly upon him. It was twenty past three when we reached our terminus, and after a hastyluncheon at the buffet we pushed on at once to Scotland Yard. Holmeshad already wired to Forbes, and we found him waiting to receive us--asmall, foxy man with a sharp but by no means amiable expression. Hewas decidedly frigid in his manner to us, especially when he heard theerrand upon which we had come. "I've heard of your methods before now, Mr. Holmes, " said he, tartly. "You are ready enough to use all the information that the police can layat your disposal, and then you try to finish the case yourself and bringdiscredit on them. " "On the contrary, " said Holmes, "out of my last fifty-three cases myname has only appeared in four, and the police have had all the creditin forty-nine. I don't blame you for not knowing this, for you are youngand inexperienced, but if you wish to get on in your new duties you willwork with me and not against me. " "I'd be very glad of a hint or two, " said the detective, changing hismanner. "I've certainly had no credit from the case so far. " "What steps have you taken?" "Tangey, the commissionnaire, has been shadowed. He left the Guards witha good character and we can find nothing against him. His wife is a badlot, though. I fancy she knows more about this than appears. " "Have you shadowed her?" "We have set one of our women on to her. Mrs. Tangey drinks, and ourwoman has been with her twice when she was well on, but she could getnothing out of her. " "I understand that they have had brokers in the house?" "Yes, but they were paid off. " "Where did the money come from?" "That was all right. His pension was due. They have not shown any signof being in funds. " "What explanation did she give of having answered the bell when Mr. Phelps rang for the coffee?" "She said that he husband was very tired and she wished to relieve him. " "Well, certainly that would agree with his being found a little laterasleep in his chair. There is nothing against them then but the woman'scharacter. Did you ask her why she hurried away that night? Her hasteattracted the attention of the police constable. " "She was later than usual and wanted to get home. " "Did you point out to her that you and Mr. Phelps, who started at leasttwenty minutes after her, got home before her?" "She explains that by the difference between a 'bus and a hansom. " "Did she make it clear why, on reaching her house, she ran into the backkitchen?" "Because she had the money there with which to pay off the brokers. " "She has at least an answer for everything. Did you ask her whether inleaving she met any one or saw any one loitering about Charles Street?" "She saw no one but the constable. " "Well, you seem to have cross-examined her pretty thoroughly. What elsehave you done?" "The clerk Gorot has been shadowed all these nine weeks, but withoutresult. We can show nothing against him. " "Anything else?" "Well, we have nothing else to go upon--no evidence of any kind. " "Have you formed a theory about how that bell rang?" "Well, I must confess that it beats me. It was a cool hand, whoever itwas, to go and give the alarm like that. " "Yes, it was queer thing to do. Many thanks to you for what you havetold me. If I can put the man into your hands you shall hear from me. Come along, Watson. " "Where are we going to now?" I asked, as we left the office. "We are now going to interview Lord Holdhurst, the cabinet minister andfuture premier of England. " We were fortunate in finding that Lord Holdhurst was still in hischambers in Downing Street, and on Holmes sending in his card we wereinstantly shown up. The statesman received us with that old-fashionedcourtesy for which he is remarkable, and seated us on the two luxuriantlounges on either side of the fireplace. Standing on the rug between us, with his slight, tall figure, his sharp features, thoughtful face, andcurling hair prematurely tinged with gray, he seemed to represent thatnot too common type, a nobleman who is in truth noble. "Your name is very familiar to me, Mr. Holmes, " said he, smiling. "And, of course, I cannot pretend to be ignorant of the object of your visit. There has only been one occurrence in these offices which could call foryour attention. In whose interest are you acting, may I ask?" "In that of Mr. Percy Phelps, " answered Holmes. "Ah, my unfortunate nephew! You can understand that our kinship makesit the more impossible for me to screen him in any way. I fear that theincident must have a very prejudicial effect upon his career. " "But if the document is found?" "Ah, that, of course, would be different. " "I had one or two questions which I wished to ask you, Lord Holdhurst. " "I shall be happy to give you any information in my power. " "Was it in this room that you gave your instructions as to the copyingof the document?" "It was. " "Then you could hardly have been overheard?" "It is out of the question. " "Did you ever mention to any one that it was your intention to give anyone the treaty to be copied?" "Never. " "You are certain of that?" "Absolutely. " "Well, since you never said so, and Mr. Phelps never said so, and nobodyelse knew anything of the matter, then the thief's presence in the roomwas purely accidental. He saw his chance and he took it. " The statesman smiled. "You take me out of my province there, " said he. Holmes considered for a moment. "There is another very importantpoint which I wish to discuss with you, " said he. "You feared, as Iunderstand, that very grave results might follow from the details ofthis treaty becoming known. " A shadow passed over the expressive face of the statesman. "Very graveresults indeed. " "Any have they occurred?" "Not yet. " "If the treaty had reached, let us say, the French or Russian ForeignOffice, you would expect to hear of it?" "I should, " said Lord Holdhurst, with a wry face. "Since nearly ten weeks have elapsed, then, and nothing has been heard, it is not unfair to suppose that for some reason the treaty has notreached them. " Lord Holdhurst shrugged his shoulders. "We can hardly suppose, Mr. Holmes, that the thief took the treaty inorder to frame it and hang it up. " "Perhaps he is waiting for a better price. " "If he waits a little longer he will get no price at all. The treatywill cease to be secret in a few months. " "That is most important, " said Holmes. "Of course, it is a possiblesupposition that the thief has had a sudden illness--" "An attack of brain-fever, for example?" asked the statesman, flashing aswift glance at him. "I did not say so, " said Holmes, imperturbably. "And now, LordHoldhurst, we have already taken up too much of your valuable time, andwe shall wish you good-day. " "Every success to your investigation, be the criminal who it may, "answered the nobleman, as he bowed us out the door. "He's a fine fellow, " said Holmes, as we came out into Whitehall. "Buthe has a struggle to keep up his position. He is far from rich and hasmany calls. You noticed, of course, that his boots had been resoled. Now, Watson, I won't detain you from your legitimate work any longer. I shall do nothing more to-day, unless I have an answer to my cabadvertisement. But I should be extremely obliged to you if you wouldcome down with me to Woking to-morrow, by the same train which we tookyesterday. " I met him accordingly next morning and we traveled down to Wokingtogether. He had had no answer to his advertisement, he said, and nofresh light had been thrown upon the case. He had, when he so willedit, the utter immobility of countenance of a red Indian, and I couldnot gather from his appearance whether he was satisfied or not withthe position of the case. His conversation, I remember, was about theBertillon system of measurements, and he expressed his enthusiasticadmiration of the French savant. We found our client still under the charge of his devoted nurse, butlooking considerably better than before. He rose from the sofa andgreeted us without difficulty when we entered. "Any news?" he asked, eagerly. "My report, as I expected, is a negative one, " said Holmes. "I have seenForbes, and I have seen your uncle, and I have set one or two trains ofinquiry upon foot which may lead to something. " "You have not lost heart, then?" "By no means. " "God bless you for saying that!" cried Miss Harrison. "If we keep ourcourage and our patience the truth must come out. " "We have more to tell you than you have for us, " said Phelps, reseatinghimself upon the couch. "I hoped you might have something. " "Yes, we have had an adventure during the night, and one which mighthave proved to be a serious one. " His expression grew very grave as hespoke, and a look of something akin to fear sprang up in his eyes. "Doyou know, " said he, "that I begin to believe that I am the unconsciouscentre of some monstrous conspiracy, and that my life is aimed at aswell as my honor?" "Ah!" cried Holmes. "It sounds incredible, for I have not, as far as I know, an enemy inthe world. Yet from last night's experience I can come to no otherconclusion. " "Pray let me hear it. " "You must know that last night was the very first night that I have everslept without a nurse in the room. I was so much better that I thoughtI could dispense with one. I had a night-light burning, however. Well, about two in the morning I had sunk into a light sleep when I wassuddenly aroused by a slight noise. It was like the sound which a mousemakes when it is gnawing a plank, and I lay listening to it for sometime under the impression that it must come from that cause. Then itgrew louder, and suddenly there came from the window a sharp metallicsnick. I sat up in amazement. There could be no doubt what the soundswere now. The first ones had been caused by some one forcing aninstrument through the slit between the sashes, and the second by thecatch being pressed back. "There was a pause then for about ten minutes, as if the person werewaiting to see whether the noise had awakened me. Then I heard a gentlecreaking as the window was very slowly opened. I could stand it nolonger, for my nerves are not what they used to be. I sprang out of bedand flung open the shutters. A man was crouching at the window. I couldsee little of him, for he was gone like a flash. He was wrapped in somesort of cloak which came across the lower part of his face. One thingonly I am sure of, and that is that he had some weapon in his hand. Itlooked to me like a long knife. I distinctly saw the gleam of it as heturned to run. " "This is most interesting, " said Holmes. "Pray what did you do then?" "I should have followed him through the open window if I had beenstronger. As it was, I rang the bell and roused the house. It took mesome little time, for the bell rings in the kitchen and the servants allsleep upstairs. I shouted, however, and that brought Joseph down, and heroused the others. Joseph and the groom found marks on the bed outsidethe window, but the weather has been so dry lately that they found ithopeless to follow the trail across the grass. There's a place, however, on the wooden fence which skirts the road which shows signs, they tellme, as if some one had got over, and had snapped the top of the rail indoing so. I have said nothing to the local police yet, for I thought Ihad best have your opinion first. " This tale of our client's appeared to have an extraordinary effect uponSherlock Holmes. He rose from his chair and paced about the room inuncontrollable excitement. "Misfortunes never come single, " said Phelps, smiling, though it wasevident that his adventure had somewhat shaken him. "You have certainly had your share, " said Holmes. "Do you think youcould walk round the house with me?" "Oh, yes, I should like a little sunshine. Joseph will come, too. " "And I also, " said Miss Harrison. "I am afraid not, " said Holmes, shaking his head. "I think I must askyou to remain sitting exactly where you are. " The young lady resumed her seat with an air of displeasure. Her brother, however, had joined us and we set off all four together. We passed roundthe lawn to the outside of the young diplomatist's window. There were, as he had said, marks upon the bed, but they were hopelessly blurred andvague. Holmes stopped over them for an instant, and then rose shrugginghis shoulders. "I don't think any one could make much of this, " said he. "Let us goround the house and see why this particular room was chosen by theburglar. I should have thought those larger windows of the drawing-roomand dining-room would have had more attractions for him. " "They are more visible from the road, " suggested Mr. Joseph Harrison. "Ah, yes, of course. There is a door here which he might have attempted. What is it for?" "It is the side entrance for trades-people. Of course it is locked atnight. " "Have you ever had an alarm like this before?" "Never, " said our client. "Do you keep plate in the house, or anything to attract burglars?" "Nothing of value. " Holmes strolled round the house with his hands in his pockets and anegligent air which was unusual with him. "By the way, " said he to Joseph Harrison, "you found some place, Iunderstand, where the fellow scaled the fence. Let us have a look atthat!" The plump young man led us to a spot where the top of one of the woodenrails had been cracked. A small fragment of the wood was hanging down. Holmes pulled it off and examined it critically. "Do you think that was done last night? It looks rather old, does itnot?" "Well, possibly so. " "There are no marks of any one jumping down upon the other side. No, Ifancy we shall get no help here. Let us go back to the bedroom and talkthe matter over. " Percy Phelps was walking very slowly, leaning upon the arm of his futurebrother-in-law. Holmes walked swiftly across the lawn, and we were atthe open window of the bedroom long before the others came up. "Miss Harrison, " said Holmes, speaking with the utmost intensity ofmanner, "you must stay where you are all day. Let nothing prevent youfrom staying where you are all day. It is of the utmost importance. " "Certainly, if you wish it, Mr. Holmes, " said the girl in astonishment. "When you go to bed lock the door of this room on the outside and keepthe key. Promise to do this. " "But Percy?" "He will come to London with us. " "And am I to remain here?" "It is for his sake. You can serve him. Quick! Promise!" She gave a quick nod of assent just as the other two came up. "Why do you sit moping there, Annie?" cried her brother. "Come out intothe sunshine!" "No, thank you, Joseph. I have a slight headache and this room isdeliciously cool and soothing. " "What do you propose now, Mr. Holmes?" asked our client. "Well, in investigating this minor affair we must not lose sight of ourmain inquiry. It would be a very great help to me if you would come upto London with us. " "At once?" "Well, as soon as you conveniently can. Say in an hour. " "I feel quite strong enough, if I can really be of any help. " "The greatest possible. " "Perhaps you would like me to stay there to-night?" "I was just going to propose it. " "Then, if my friend of the night comes to revisit me, he will find thebird flown. We are all in your hands, Mr. Holmes, and you must tell usexactly what you would like done. Perhaps you would prefer that Josephcame with us so as to look after me?" "Oh, no; my friend Watson is a medical man, you know, and he'll lookafter you. We'll have our lunch here, if you will permit us, and then weshall all three set off for town together. " It was arranged as he suggested, though Miss Harrison excused herselffrom leaving the bedroom, in accordance with Holmes's suggestion. Whatthe object of my friend's manoeuvres was I could not conceive, unless itwere to keep the lady away from Phelps, who, rejoiced by hisreturning health and by the prospect of action, lunched with us in thedining-room. Holmes had a still more startling surprise for us, however, for, after accompanying us down to the station and seeing us intoour carriage, he calmly announced that he had no intention of leavingWoking. "There are one or two small points which I should desire to clear upbefore I go, " said he. "Your absence, Mr. Phelps, will in some waysrather assist me. Watson, when you reach London you would oblige me bydriving at once to Baker Street with our friend here, and remainingwith him until I see you again. It is fortunate that you are oldschool-fellows, as you must have much to talk over. Mr. Phelps canhave the spare bedroom to-night, and I will be with you in time forbreakfast, for there is a train which will take me into Waterloo ateight. " "But how about our investigation in London?" asked Phelps, ruefully. "We can do that to-morrow. I think that just at present I can be of moreimmediate use here. " "You might tell them at Briarbrae that I hope to be back to-morrownight, " cried Phelps, as we began to move from the platform. "I hardly expect to go back to Briarbrae, " answered Holmes, and wavedhis hand to us cheerily as we shot out from the station. Phelps and I talked it over on our journey, but neither of us coulddevise a satisfactory reason for this new development. "I suppose he wants to find out some clue as to the burglary last night, if a burglar it was. For myself, I don't believe it was an ordinarythief. " "What is your own idea, then?" "Upon my word, you may put it down to my weak nerves or not, but Ibelieve there is some deep political intrigue going on around me, andthat for some reason that passes my understanding my life is aimed atby the conspirators. It sounds high-flown and absurd, but consider thefacts! Why should a thief try to break in at a bedroom window, wherethere could be no hope of any plunder, and why should he come with along knife in his hand?" "You are sure it was not a house-breaker's jimmy?" "Oh, no, it was a knife. I saw the flash of the blade quite distinctly. " "But why on earth should you be pursued with such animosity?" "Ah, that is the question. " "Well, if Holmes takes the same view, that would account for his action, would it not? Presuming that your theory is correct, if he can lay hishands upon the man who threatened you last night he will have gone along way towards finding who took the naval treaty. It is absurd tosuppose that you have two enemies, one of whom robs you, while the otherthreatens your life. " "But Holmes said that he was not going to Briarbrae. " "I have known him for some time, " said I, "but I never knew him doanything yet without a very good reason, " and with that our conversationdrifted off on to other topics. But it was a weary day for me. Phelps was still weak after his longillness, and his misfortune made him querulous and nervous. In vainI endeavored to interest him in Afghanistan, in India, in socialquestions, in anything which might take his mind out of the groove. He would always come back to his lost treaty, wondering, guessing, speculating, as to what Holmes was doing, what steps Lord Holdhurst wastaking, what news we should have in the morning. As the evening wore onhis excitement became quite painful. "You have implicit faith in Holmes?" he asked. "I have seen him do some remarkable things. " "But he never brought light into anything quite so dark as this?" "Oh, yes; I have known him solve questions which presented fewer cluesthan yours. " "But not where such large interests are at stake?" "I don't know that. To my certain knowledge he has acted on behalf ofthree of the reigning houses of Europe in very vital matters. " "But you know him well, Watson. He is such an inscrutable fellow that Inever quite know what to make of him. Do you think he is hopeful? Do youthink he expects to make a success of it?" "He has said nothing. " "That is a bad sign. " "On the contrary, I have noticed that when he is off the trail hegenerally says so. It is when he is on a scent and is not quiteabsolutely sure yet that it is the right one that he is most taciturn. Now, my dear fellow, we can't help matters by making ourselves nervousabout them, so let me implore you to go to bed and so be fresh forwhatever may await us to-morrow. " I was able at last to persuade my companion to take my advice, though Iknew from his excited manner that there was not much hope of sleep forhim. Indeed, his mood was infectious, for I lay tossing half the nightmyself, brooding over this strange problem, and inventing a hundredtheories, each of which was more impossible than the last. Why hadHolmes remained at Woking? Why had he asked Miss Harrison to remainin the sick-room all day? Why had he been so careful not to inform thepeople at Briarbrae that he intended to remain near them? I cudgelledmy brains until I fell asleep in the endeavor to find some explanationwhich would cover all these facts. It was seven o'clock when I awoke, and I set off at once for Phelps'sroom, to find him haggard and spent after a sleepless night. His firstquestion was whether Holmes had arrived yet. "He'll be here when he promised, " said I, "and not an instant sooner orlater. " And my words were true, for shortly after eight a hansom dashed up tothe door and our friend got out of it. Standing in the window we sawthat his left hand was swathed in a bandage and that his face was verygrim and pale. He entered the house, but it was some little time beforehe came upstairs. "He looks like a beaten man, " cried Phelps. I was forced to confess that he was right. "After all, " said I, "theclue of the matter lies probably here in town. " Phelps gave a groan. "I don't know how it is, " said he, "but I had hoped for so much from hisreturn. But surely his hand was not tied up like that yesterday. Whatcan be the matter?" "You are not wounded, Holmes?" I asked, as my friend entered the room. "Tut, it is only a scratch through my own clumsiness, " he answered, nodding his good-mornings to us. "This case of yours, Mr. Phelps, iscertainly one of the darkest which I have ever investigated. " "I feared that you would find it beyond you. " "It has been a most remarkable experience. " "That bandage tells of adventures, " said I. "Won't you tell us what hashappened?" "After breakfast, my dear Watson. Remember that I have breathed thirtymiles of Surrey air this morning. I suppose that there has been noanswer from my cabman advertisement? Well, well, we cannot expect toscore every time. " The table was all laid, and just as I was about to ring Mrs. Hudsonentered with the tea and coffee. A few minutes later she brought inthree covers, and we all drew up to the table, Holmes ravenous, Icurious, and Phelps in the gloomiest state of depression. "Mrs. Hudson has risen to the occasion, " said Holmes, uncovering a dishof curried chicken. "Her cuisine is a little limited, but she hasas good an idea of breakfast as a Scotch-woman. What have you here, Watson?" "Ham and eggs, " I answered. "Good! What are you going to take, Mr. Phelps--curried fowl or eggs, orwill you help yourself?" "Thank you. I can eat nothing, " said Phelps. "Oh, come! Try the dish before you. " "Thank you, I would really rather not. " "Well, then, " said Holmes, with a mischievous twinkle, "I suppose thatyou have no objection to helping me?" Phelps raised the cover, and as he did so he uttered a scream, and satthere staring with a face as white as the plate upon which he looked. Across the centre of it was lying a little cylinder of blue-gray paper. He caught it up, devoured it with his eyes, and then danced madly aboutthe room, pressing it to his bosom and shrieking out in his delight. Then he fell back into an arm-chair so limp and exhausted with his ownemotions that we had to pour brandy down his throat to keep him fromfainting. "There! there!" said Holmes, soothing, patting him upon the shoulder. "It was too bad to spring it on you like this, but Watson here will tellyou that I never can resist a touch of the dramatic. " Phelps seized his hand and kissed it. "God bless you!" he cried. "Youhave saved my honor. " "Well, my own was at stake, you know, " said Holmes. "I assure you it isjust as hateful to me to fail in a case as it can be to you to blunderover a commission. " Phelps thrust away the precious document into the innermost pocket ofhis coat. "I have not the heart to interrupt your breakfast any further, and yet Iam dying to know how you got it and where it was. " Sherlock Holmes swallowed a cup of coffee, and turned his attention tothe ham and eggs. Then he rose, lit his pipe, and settled himself downinto his chair. "I'll tell you what I did first, and how I came to do it afterwards, "said he. "After leaving you at the station I went for a charming walkthrough some admirable Surrey scenery to a pretty little village calledRipley, where I had my tea at an inn, and took the precaution of fillingmy flask and of putting a paper of sandwiches in my pocket. There Iremained until evening, when I set off for Woking again, and foundmyself in the high-road outside Briarbrae just after sunset. "Well, I waited until the road was clear--it is never a very frequentedone at any time, I fancy--and then I clambered over the fence into thegrounds. " "Surely the gate was open!" ejaculated Phelps. "Yes, but I have a peculiar taste in these matters. I chose the placewhere the three fir-trees stand, and behind their screen I got overwithout the least chance of any one in the house being able to see me. I crouched down among the bushes on the other side, and crawled from oneto the other--witness the disreputable state of my trouser knees--untilI had reached the clump of rhododendrons just opposite to your bedroomwindow. There I squatted down and awaited developments. "The blind was not down in your room, and I could see Miss Harrisonsitting there reading by the table. It was quarter-past ten when sheclosed her book, fastened the shutters, and retired. "I heard her shut the door, and felt quite sure that she had turned thekey in the lock. " "The key!" ejaculated Phelps. "Yes; I had given Miss Harrison instructions to lock the door on theoutside and take the key with her when she went to bed. She carried outevery one of my injunctions to the letter, and certainly without hercooperation you would not have that paper in you coat-pocket. Shedeparted then and the lights went out, and I was left squatting in therhododendron-bush. "The night was fine, but still it was a very weary vigil. Of course ithas the sort of excitement about it that the sportsman feels when helies beside the water-course and waits for the big game. It was verylong, though--almost as long, Watson, as when you and I waited in thatdeadly room when we looked into the little problem of the Speckled Band. There was a church-clock down at Woking which struck the quarters, and Ithought more than once that it had stopped. At last however about twoin the morning, I suddenly heard the gentle sound of a bolt being pushedback and the creaking of a key. A moment later the servants' door wasopened, and Mr. Joseph Harrison stepped out into the moonlight. " "Joseph!" ejaculated Phelps. "He was bare-headed, but he had a black coat thrown over his shoulder sothat he could conceal his face in an instant if there were any alarm. Hewalked on tiptoe under the shadow of the wall, and when he reached thewindow he worked a long-bladed knife through the sash and pushed backthe catch. Then he flung open the window, and putting his knife throughthe crack in the shutters, he thrust the bar up and swung them open. "From where I lay I had a perfect view of the inside of the room and ofevery one of his movements. He lit the two candles which stood upon themantelpiece, and then he proceeded to turn back the corner of the carpetin the neighborhood of the door. Presently he stopped and picked out asquare piece of board, such as is usually left to enable plumbers to getat the joints of the gas-pipes. This one covered, as a matter offact, the T joint which gives off the pipe which supplies the kitchenunderneath. Out of this hiding-place he drew that little cylinderof paper, pushed down the board, rearranged the carpet, blew out thecandles, and walked straight into my arms as I stood waiting for himoutside the window. "Well, he has rather more viciousness than I gave him credit for, hasMaster Joseph. He flew at me with his knife, and I had to grasp himtwice, and got a cut over the knuckles, before I had the upper hand ofhim. He looked murder out of the only eye he could see with when we hadfinished, but he listened to reason and gave up the papers. Havinggot them I let my man go, but I wired full particulars to Forbes thismorning. If he is quick enough to catch his bird, well and good. Butif, as I shrewdly suspect, he finds the nest empty before he gets there, why, all the better for the government. I fancy that Lord Holdhurst forone, and Mr. Percy Phelps for another, would very much rather that theaffair never got as far as a police-court. "My God!" gasped our client. "Do you tell me that during these long tenweeks of agony the stolen papers were within the very room with me allthe time?" "So it was. " "And Joseph! Joseph a villain and a thief!" "Hum! I am afraid Joseph's character is a rather deeper and moredangerous one than one might judge from his appearance. From what Ihave heard from him this morning, I gather that he has lost heavily indabbling with stocks, and that he is ready to do anything on earth tobetter his fortunes. Being an absolutely selfish man, when a chancepresented itself he did not allow either his sister's happiness or yourreputation to hold his hand. " Percy Phelps sank back in his chair. "My head whirls, " said he. "Yourwords have dazed me. " "The principal difficulty in your case, " remarked Holmes, in hisdidactic fashion, "lay in the fact of there being too much evidence. What was vital was overlaid and hidden by what was irrelevant. Of allthe facts which were presented to us we had to pick just those which wedeemed to be essential, and then piece them together in their order, soas to reconstruct this very remarkable chain of events. I had alreadybegun to suspect Joseph, from the fact that you had intended to travelhome with him that night, and that therefore it was a likely enoughthing that he should call for you, knowing the Foreign Office well, uponhis way. When I heard that some one had been so anxious to get into thebedroom, in which no one but Joseph could have concealed anything--youtold us in your narrative how you had turned Joseph out when you arrivedwith the doctor--my suspicions all changed to certainties, especially asthe attempt was made on the first night upon which the nurse was absent, showing that the intruder was well acquainted with the ways of thehouse. " "How blind I have been!" "The facts of the case, as far as I have worked them out, are these:this Joseph Harrison entered the office through the Charles Street door, and knowing his way he walked straight into your room the instant afteryou left it. Finding no one there he promptly rang the bell, and atthe instant that he did so his eyes caught the paper upon the table. A glance showed him that chance had put in his way a State document ofimmense value, and in an instant he had thrust it into his pocket andwas gone. A few minutes elapsed, as you remember, before the sleepycommissionnaire drew your attention to the bell, and those were justenough to give the thief time to make his escape. "He made his way to Woking by the first train, and having examined hisbooty and assured himself that it really was of immense value, hehad concealed it in what he thought was a very safe place, with theintention of taking it out again in a day or two, and carrying it to theFrench embassy, or wherever he thought that a long price was to behad. Then came your sudden return. He, without a moment's warning, wasbundled out of his room, and from that time onward there were always atleast two of you there to prevent him from regaining his treasure. Thesituation to him must have been a maddening one. But at last he thoughthe saw his chance. He tried to steal in, but was baffled by yourwakefulness. You remember that you did not take your usual draught thatnight. " "I remember. " "I fancy that he had taken steps to make that draught efficacious, and that he quite relied upon your being unconscious. Of course, Iunderstood that he would repeat the attempt whenever it could be donewith safety. Your leaving the room gave him the chance he wanted. I keptMiss Harrison in it all day so that he might not anticipate us. Then, having given him the idea that the coast was clear, I kept guard asI have described. I already knew that the papers were probably in theroom, but I had no desire to rip up all the planking and skirting insearch of them. I let him take them, therefore, from the hiding-place, and so saved myself an infinity of trouble. Is there any other pointwhich I can make clear?" "Why did he try the window on the first occasion, " I asked, "when hemight have entered by the door?" "In reaching the door he would have to pass seven bedrooms. On the otherhand, he could get out on to the lawn with ease. Anything else?" "You do not think, " asked Phelps, "that he had any murderous intention?The knife was only meant as a tool. " "It may be so, " answered Holmes, shrugging his shoulders. "I can onlysay for certain that Mr. Joseph Harrison is a gentleman to whose mercy Ishould be extremely unwilling to trust. " Adventure XI. The Final Problem It is with a heavy heart that I take up my pen to write these the lastwords in which I shall ever record the singular gifts by which my friendMr. Sherlock Holmes was distinguished. In an incoherent and, as I deeplyfeel, an entirely inadequate fashion, I have endeavored to give someaccount of my strange experiences in his company from the chance whichfirst brought us together at the period of the "Study in Scarlet, " upto the time of his interference in the matter of the "Naval Treaty"--aninterference which had the unquestionable effect of preventing a seriousinternational complication. It was my intention to have stopped there, and to have said nothing of that event which has created a void in mylife which the lapse of two years has done little to fill. My handhas been forced, however, by the recent letters in which Colonel JamesMoriarty defends the memory of his brother, and I have no choice but tolay the facts before the public exactly as they occurred. I alone knowthe absolute truth of the matter, and I am satisfied that the time hascome when no good purpose is to be served by its suppression. As far asI know, there have been only three accounts in the public press: thatin the Journal de Geneve on May 6th, 1891, the Reuter's despatch in theEnglish papers on May 7th, and finally the recent letter to which I havealluded. Of these the first and second were extremely condensed, whilethe last is, as I shall now show, an absolute perversion of the facts. It lies with me to tell for the first time what really took placebetween Professor Moriarty and Mr. Sherlock Holmes. It may be remembered that after my marriage, and my subsequent start inprivate practice, the very intimate relations which had existed betweenHolmes and myself became to some extent modified. He still came to mefrom time to time when he desired a companion in his investigation, butthese occasions grew more and more seldom, until I find that in the year1890 there were only three cases of which I retain any record. Duringthe winter of that year and the early spring of 1891, I saw in thepapers that he had been engaged by the French government upon a matterof supreme importance, and I received two notes from Holmes, dated fromNarbonne and from Nimes, from which I gathered that his stay in Francewas likely to be a long one. It was with some surprise, therefore, thatI saw him walk into my consulting-room upon the evening of April 24th. It struck me that he was looking even paler and thinner than usual. "Yes, I have been using myself up rather too freely, " he remarked, inanswer to my look rather than to my words; "I have been a little pressedof late. Have you any objection to my closing your shutters?" The only light in the room came from the lamp upon the table at which Ihad been reading. Holmes edged his way round the wall and flinging theshutters together, he bolted them securely. "You are afraid of something?" I asked. "Well, I am. " "Of what?" "Of air-guns. " "My dear Holmes, what do you mean?" "I think that you know me well enough, Watson, to understand that I amby no means a nervous man. At the same time, it is stupidity rather thancourage to refuse to recognize danger when it is close upon you. MightI trouble you for a match?" He drew in the smoke of his cigarette as ifthe soothing influence was grateful to him. "I must apologize for calling so late, " said he, "and I must further begyou to be so unconventional as to allow me to leave your house presentlyby scrambling over your back garden wall. " "But what does it all mean?" I asked. He held out his hand, and I saw in the light of the lamp that two of hisknuckles were burst and bleeding. "It is not an airy nothing, you see, " said he, smiling. "On thecontrary, it is solid enough for a man to break his hand over. Is Mrs. Watson in?" "She is away upon a visit. " "Indeed! You are alone?" "Quite. " "Then it makes it the easier for me to propose that you should come awaywith me for a week to the Continent. " "Where?" "Oh, anywhere. It's all the same to me. " There was something very strange in all this. It was not Holmes's natureto take an aimless holiday, and something about his pale, worn face toldme that his nerves were at their highest tension. He saw the question inmy eyes, and, putting his finger-tips together and his elbows upon hisknees, he explained the situation. "You have probably never heard of Professor Moriarty?" said he. "Never. " "Aye, there's the genius and the wonder of the thing!" he cried. "Theman pervades London, and no one has heard of him. That's what putshim on a pinnacle in the records of crime. I tell you, Watson, in allseriousness, that if I could beat that man, if I could free societyof him, I should feel that my own career had reached its summit, andI should be prepared to turn to some more placid line in life. Betweenourselves, the recent cases in which I have been of assistance to theroyal family of Scandinavia, and to the French republic, have left me insuch a position that I could continue to live in the quiet fashionwhich is most congenial to me, and to concentrate my attention upon mychemical researches. But I could not rest, Watson, I could not sit quietin my chair, if I thought that such a man as Professor Moriarty werewalking the streets of London unchallenged. " "What has he done, then?" "His career has been an extraordinary one. He is a man of good birth andexcellent education, endowed by nature with a phenomenal mathematicalfaculty. At the age of twenty-one he wrote a treatise upon the BinomialTheorem, which has had a European vogue. On the strength of it he wonthe Mathematical Chair at one of our smaller universities, and had, toall appearances, a most brilliant career before him. But the man hadhereditary tendencies of the most diabolical kind. A criminal strainran in his blood, which, instead of being modified, was increased andrendered infinitely more dangerous by his extraordinary mental powers. Dark rumors gathered round him in the university town, and eventually hewas compelled to resign his chair and to come down to London, where heset up as an army coach. So much is known to the world, but what I amtelling you now is what I have myself discovered. "As you are aware, Watson, there is no one who knows the higher criminalworld of London so well as I do. For years past I have continually beenconscious of some power behind the malefactor, some deep organizingpower which forever stands in the way of the law, and throws its shieldover the wrong-doer. Again and again in cases of the most varyingsorts--forgery cases, robberies, murders--I have felt the presence ofthis force, and I have deduced its action in many of those undiscoveredcrimes in which I have not been personally consulted. For years I haveendeavored to break through the veil which shrouded it, and at lastthe time came when I seized my thread and followed it, until it ledme, after a thousand cunning windings, to ex-Professor Moriarty ofmathematical celebrity. "He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half thatis evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city. He is agenius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the firstorder. He sits motionless, like a spider in the center of its web, butthat web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver ofeach of them. He does little himself. He only plans. But his agents arenumerous and splendidly organized. Is there a crime to be done, apaper to be abstracted, we will say, a house to be rifled, a man to beremoved--the word is passed to the Professor, the matter is organizedand carried out. The agent may be caught. In that case money is foundfor his bail or his defence. But the central power which uses the agentis never caught--never so much as suspected. This was the organizationwhich I deduced, Watson, and which I devoted my whole energy to exposingand breaking up. "But the Professor was fenced round with safeguards so cunningly devisedthat, do what I would, it seemed impossible to get evidence which wouldconvict in a court of law. You know my powers, my dear Watson, and yetat the end of three months I was forced to confess that I had at lastmet an antagonist who was my intellectual equal. My horror at his crimeswas lost in my admiration at his skill. But at last he made a trip--onlya little, little trip--but it was more than he could afford when I wasso close upon him. I had my chance, and, starting from that point, Ihave woven my net round him until now it is all ready to close. In threedays--that is to say, on Monday next--matters will be ripe, and theProfessor, with all the principal members of his gang, will be in thehands of the police. Then will come the greatest criminal trial of thecentury, the clearing up of over forty mysteries, and the rope for allof them; but if we move at all prematurely, you understand, they mayslip out of our hands even at the last moment. "Now, if I could have done this without the knowledge of ProfessorMoriarty, all would have been well. But he was too wily for that. He sawevery step which I took to draw my toils round him. Again and againhe strove to break away, but I as often headed him off. I tell you, my friend, that if a detailed account of that silent contest couldbe written, it would take its place as the most brilliant bit ofthrust-and-parry work in the history of detection. Never have I risen tosuch a height, and never have I been so hard pressed by an opponent. Hecut deep, and yet I just undercut him. This morning the last steps weretaken, and three days only were wanted to complete the business. I wassitting in my room thinking the matter over, when the door opened andProfessor Moriarty stood before me. "My nerves are fairly proof, Watson, but I must confess to a start whenI saw the very man who had been so much in my thoughts standing there onmy threshhold. His appearance was quite familiar to me. He is extremelytall and thin, his forehead domes out in a white curve, and his twoeyes are deeply sunken in his head. He is clean-shaven, pale, andascetic-looking, retaining something of the professor in his features. His shoulders are rounded from much study, and his face protrudesforward, and is forever slowly oscillating from side to side in acuriously reptilian fashion. He peered at me with great curiosity in hispuckered eyes. "'You have less frontal development than I should have expected, ' saidhe, at last. 'It is a dangerous habit to finger loaded firearms in thepocket of one's dressing-gown. ' "The fact is that upon his entrance I had instantly recognized theextreme personal danger in which I lay. The only conceivable escape forhim lay in silencing my tongue. In an instant I had slipped the revolverfrom the drawer into my pocket, and was covering him through the cloth. At his remark I drew the weapon out and laid it cocked upon the table. He still smiled and blinked, but there was something about his eyeswhich made me feel very glad that I had it there. "'You evidently don't know me, ' said he. "'On the contrary, ' I answered, 'I think it is fairly evident that I do. Pray take a chair. I can spare you five minutes if you have anything tosay. ' "'All that I have to say has already crossed your mind, ' said he. "'Then possibly my answer has crossed yours, ' I replied. "'You stand fast?' "'Absolutely. ' "He clapped his hand into his pocket, and I raised the pistol fromthe table. But he merely drew out a memorandum-book in which he hadscribbled some dates. "'You crossed my path on the 4th of January, ' said he. 'On the 23d youincommoded me; by the middle of February I was seriously inconveniencedby you; at the end of March I was absolutely hampered in my plans; andnow, at the close of April, I find myself placed in such a positionthrough your continual persecution that I am in positive danger oflosing my liberty. The situation is becoming an impossible one. ' "'Have you any suggestion to make?' I asked. "'You must drop it, Mr. Holmes, ' said he, swaying his face about. 'Youreally must, you know. ' "'After Monday, ' said I. "'Tut, tut, ' said he. 'I am quite sure that a man of your intelligencewill see that there can be but one outcome to this affair. It isnecessary that you should withdraw. You have worked things in such afashion that we have only one resource left. It has been an intellectualtreat to me to see the way in which you have grappled with this affair, and I say, unaffectedly, that it would be a grief to me to be forcedto take any extreme measure. You smile, sir, but I assure you that itreally would. ' "'Danger is part of my trade, ' I remarked. "'That is not danger, ' said he. 'It is inevitable destruction. You standin the way not merely of an individual, but of a mighty organization, the full extent of which you, with all your cleverness, have been unableto realize. You must stand clear, Mr. Holmes, or be trodden under foot. ' "'I am afraid, ' said I, rising, 'that in the pleasure of thisconversation I am neglecting business of importance which awaits meelsewhere. ' "He rose also and looked at me in silence, shaking his head sadly. "'Well, well, ' said he, at last. 'It seems a pity, but I have donewhat I could. I know every move of your game. You can do nothing beforeMonday. It has been a duel between you and me, Mr. Holmes. You hope toplace me in the dock. I tell you that I will never stand in the dock. You hope to beat me. I tell you that you will never beat me. If you areclever enough to bring destruction upon me, rest assured that I shall doas much to you. ' "'You have paid me several compliments, Mr. Moriarty, ' said I. 'Let mepay you one in return when I say that if I were assured of the formereventuality I would, in the interests of the public, cheerfully acceptthe latter. ' "'I can promise you the one, but not the other, ' he snarled, and soturned his rounded back upon me, and went peering and blinking out ofthe room. "That was my singular interview with Professor Moriarty. I confess thatit left an unpleasant effect upon my mind. His soft, precise fashionof speech leaves a conviction of sincerity which a mere bully couldnot produce. Of course, you will say: 'Why not take police precautionsagainst him?' the reason is that I am well convinced that it is from hisagents the blow will fall. I have the best proofs that it would be so. " "You have already been assaulted?" "My dear Watson, Professor Moriarty is not a man who lets the grass growunder his feet. I went out about mid-day to transact some business inOxford Street. As I passed the corner which leads from Bentinck Streeton to the Welbeck Street crossing a two-horse van furiously drivenwhizzed round and was on me like a flash. I sprang for the foot-pathand saved myself by the fraction of a second. The van dashed round byMarylebone Lane and was gone in an instant. I kept to the pavement afterthat, Watson, but as I walked down Vere Street a brick came down fromthe roof of one of the houses, and was shattered to fragments at myfeet. I called the police and had the place examined. There were slatesand bricks piled up on the roof preparatory to some repairs, and theywould have me believe that the wind had toppled over one of these. Ofcourse I knew better, but I could prove nothing. I took a cab after thatand reached my brother's rooms in Pall Mall, where I spent the day. NowI have come round to you, and on my way I was attacked by a rough with abludgeon. I knocked him down, and the police have him in custody; butI can tell you with the most absolute confidence that no possibleconnection will ever be traced between the gentleman upon whose frontteeth I have barked my knuckles and the retiring mathematical coach, whois, I dare say, working out problems upon a black-board ten miles away. You will not wonder, Watson, that my first act on entering your roomswas to close your shutters, and that I have been compelled to ask yourpermission to leave the house by some less conspicuous exit than thefront door. " I had often admired my friend's courage, but never more than now, as hesat quietly checking off a series of incidents which must have combinedto make up a day of horror. "You will spend the night here?" I said. "No, my friend, you might find me a dangerous guest. I have my planslaid, and all will be well. Matters have gone so far now that they canmove without my help as far as the arrest goes, though my presence isnecessary for a conviction. It is obvious, therefore, that I cannot dobetter than get away for the few days which remain before the police areat liberty to act. It would be a great pleasure to me, therefore, if youcould come on to the Continent with me. " "The practice is quiet, " said I, "and I have an accommodating neighbor. I should be glad to come. " "And to start to-morrow morning?" "If necessary. " "Oh yes, it is most necessary. Then these are your instructions, and Ibeg, my dear Watson, that you will obey them to the letter, for you arenow playing a double-handed game with me against the cleverest rogue andthe most powerful syndicate of criminals in Europe. Now listen! Youwill dispatch whatever luggage you intend to take by a trusty messengerunaddressed to Victoria to-night. In the morning you will send for ahansom, desiring your man to take neither the first nor the second whichmay present itself. Into this hansom you will jump, and you will driveto the Strand end of the Lowther Arcade, handing the address to thecabman upon a slip of paper, with a request that he will not throw itaway. Have your fare ready, and the instant that your cab stops, dash through the Arcade, timing yourself to reach the other side at aquarter-past nine. You will find a small brougham waiting close to thecurb, driven by a fellow with a heavy black cloak tipped at the collarwith red. Into this you will step, and you will reach Victoria in timefor the Continental express. " "Where shall I meet you?" "At the station. The second first-class carriage from the front will bereserved for us. " "The carriage is our rendezvous, then?" "Yes. " It was in vain that I asked Holmes to remain for the evening. It wasevident to me that he thought he might bring trouble to the roof he wasunder, and that that was the motive which impelled him to go. With a fewhurried words as to our plans for the morrow he rose and came out withme into the garden, clambering over the wall which leads into MortimerStreet, and immediately whistling for a hansom, in which I heard himdrive away. In the morning I obeyed Holmes's injunctions to the letter. A hansom wasprocured with such precaution as would prevent its being one which wasplaced ready for us, and I drove immediately after breakfast to theLowther Arcade, through which I hurried at the top of my speed. Abrougham was waiting with a very massive driver wrapped in a dark cloak, who, the instant that I had stepped in, whipped up the horse and rattledoff to Victoria Station. On my alighting there he turned the carriage, and dashed away again without so much as a look in my direction. So far all had gone admirably. My luggage was waiting for me, and I hadno difficulty in finding the carriage which Holmes had indicated, theless so as it was the only one in the train which was marked "Engaged. "My only source of anxiety now was the non-appearance of Holmes. Thestation clock marked only seven minutes from the time when we weredue to start. In vain I searched among the groups of travellers andleave-takers for the lithe figure of my friend. There was no sign ofhim. I spent a few minutes in assisting a venerable Italian priest, whowas endeavoring to make a porter understand, in his broken English, that his luggage was to be booked through to Paris. Then, having takenanother look round, I returned to my carriage, where I found that theporter, in spite of the ticket, had given me my decrepit Italian friendas a traveling companion. It was useless for me to explain to him thathis presence was an intrusion, for my Italian was even more limited thanhis English, so I shrugged my shoulders resignedly, and continued tolook out anxiously for my friend. A chill of fear had come over me, as Ithought that his absence might mean that some blow had fallen during thenight. Already the doors had all been shut and the whistle blown, when-- "My dear Watson, " said a voice, "you have not even condescended to saygood-morning. " I turned in uncontrollable astonishment. The aged ecclesiastic hadturned his face towards me. For an instant the wrinkles were smoothedaway, the nose drew away from the chin, the lower lip ceased to protrudeand the mouth to mumble, the dull eyes regained their fire, the droopingfigure expanded. The next the whole frame collapsed again, and Holmeshad gone as quickly as he had come. "Good heavens!" I cried; "how you startled me!" "Every precaution is still necessary, " he whispered. "I have reason tothink that they are hot upon our trail. Ah, there is Moriarty himself. " The train had already begun to move as Holmes spoke. Glancing back, Isaw a tall man pushing his way furiously through the crowd, and wavinghis hand as if he desired to have the train stopped. It was too late, however, for we were rapidly gathering momentum, and an instant laterhad shot clear of the station. "With all our precautions, you see that we have cut it rather fine, "said Holmes, laughing. He rose, and throwing off the black cassock andhat which had formed his disguise, he packed them away in a hand-bag. "Have you seen the morning paper, Watson?" "No. " "You haven't' seen about Baker Street, then?" "Baker Street?" "They set fire to our rooms last night. No great harm was done. " "Good heavens, Holmes! this is intolerable. " "They must have lost my track completely after their bludgeon-man wasarrested. Otherwise they could not have imagined that I had returnedto my rooms. They have evidently taken the precaution of watching you, however, and that is what has brought Moriarty to Victoria. You couldnot have made any slip in coming?" "I did exactly what you advised. " "Did you find your brougham?" "Yes, it was waiting. " "Did you recognize your coachman?" "No. " "It was my brother Mycroft. It is an advantage to get about in such acase without taking a mercenary into your confidence. But we must planwhat we are to do about Moriarty now. " "As this is an express, and as the boat runs in connection with it, Ishould think we have shaken him off very effectively. " "My dear Watson, you evidently did not realize my meaning when I saidthat this man may be taken as being quite on the same intellectual planeas myself. You do not imagine that if I were the pursuer I should allowmyself to be baffled by so slight an obstacle. Why, then, should youthink so meanly of him?" "What will he do?" "What I should do?" "What would you do, then?" "Engage a special. " "But it must be late. " "By no means. This train stops at Canterbury; and there is always atleast a quarter of an hour's delay at the boat. He will catch us there. " "One would think that we were the criminals. Let us have him arrested onhis arrival. " "It would be to ruin the work of three months. We should get the bigfish, but the smaller would dart right and left out of the net. OnMonday we should have them all. No, an arrest is inadmissible. " "What then?" "We shall get out at Canterbury. " "And then?" "Well, then we must make a cross-country journey to Newhaven, and soover to Dieppe. Moriarty will again do what I should do. He will get onto Paris, mark down our luggage, and wait for two days at the depot. In the meantime we shall treat ourselves to a couple of carpet-bags, encourage the manufactures of the countries through which we travel, andmake our way at our leisure into Switzerland, via Luxembourg and Basle. " At Canterbury, therefore, we alighted, only to find that we should haveto wait an hour before we could get a train to Newhaven. I was still looking rather ruefully after the rapidly disappearingluggage-van which contained my wardrobe, when Holmes pulled my sleeveand pointed up the line. "Already, you see, " said he. Far away, from among the Kentish woods there rose a thin spray of smoke. A minute later a carriage and engine could be seen flying along the opencurve which leads to the station. We had hardly time to take our placebehind a pile of luggage when it passed with a rattle and a roar, beating a blast of hot air into our faces. "There he goes, " said Holmes, as we watched the carriage swing androck over the points. "There are limits, you see, to our friend'sintelligence. It would have been a coup-de-maitre had he deduced what Iwould deduce and acted accordingly. " "And what would he have done had he overtaken us?" "There cannot be the least doubt that he would have made a murderousattack upon me. It is, however, a game at which two may play. Thequestion now is whether we should take a premature lunch here, or runour chance of starving before we reach the buffet at Newhaven. " We made our way to Brussels that night and spent two days there, movingon upon the third day as far as Strasburg. On the Monday morning Holmeshad telegraphed to the London police, and in the evening we found areply waiting for us at our hotel. Holmes tore it open, and then with abitter curse hurled it into the grate. "I might have known it!" he groaned. "He has escaped!" "Moriarty?" "They have secured the whole gang with the exception of him. He hasgiven them the slip. Of course, when I had left the country there was noone to cope with him. But I did think that I had put the game in theirhands. I think that you had better return to England, Watson. " "Why?" "Because you will find me a dangerous companion now. This man'soccupation is gone. He is lost if he returns to London. If I read hischaracter right he will devote his whole energies to revenging himselfupon me. He said as much in our short interview, and I fancy that hemeant it. I should certainly recommend you to return to your practice. " It was hardly an appeal to be successful with one who was anold campaigner as well as an old friend. We sat in the Strasburgsalle-à-manger arguing the question for half an hour, but the same nightwe had resumed our journey and were well on our way to Geneva. For a charming week we wandered up the Valley of the Rhone, and then, branching off at Leuk, we made our way over the Gemmi Pass, still deepin snow, and so, by way of Interlaken, to Meiringen. It was a lovelytrip, the dainty green of the spring below, the virgin white of thewinter above; but it was clear to me that never for one instant didHolmes forget the shadow which lay across him. In the homely Alpinevillages or in the lonely mountain passes, I could tell by his quickglancing eyes and his sharp scrutiny of every face that passed us, that he was well convinced that, walk where we would, we could not walkourselves clear of the danger which was dogging our footsteps. Once, I remember, as we passed over the Gemmi, and walked alongthe border of the melancholy Daubensee, a large rock which had beendislodged from the ridge upon our right clattered down and roared intothe lake behind us. In an instant Holmes had raced up on to the ridge, and, standing upon a lofty pinnacle, craned his neck in every direction. It was in vain that our guide assured him that a fall of stones was acommon chance in the spring-time at that spot. He said nothing, buthe smiled at me with the air of a man who sees the fulfillment of thatwhich he had expected. And yet for all his watchfulness he was never depressed. On thecontrary, I can never recollect having seen him in such exuberantspirits. Again and again he recurred to the fact that if he couldbe assured that society was freed from Professor Moriarty he wouldcheerfully bring his own career to a conclusion. "I think that I may go so far as to say, Watson, that I have not livedwholly in vain, " he remarked. "If my record were closed to-night I couldstill survey it with equanimity. The air of London is the sweeter for mypresence. In over a thousand cases I am not aware that I have ever usedmy powers upon the wrong side. Of late I have been tempted to look intothe problems furnished by nature rather than those more superficial onesfor which our artificial state of society is responsible. Your memoirswill draw to an end, Watson, upon the day that I crown my career bythe capture or extinction of the most dangerous and capable criminal inEurope. " I shall be brief, and yet exact, in the little which remains for me totell. It is not a subject on which I would willingly dwell, and yet I amconscious that a duty devolves upon me to omit no detail. It was on the 3d of May that we reached the little village of Meiringen, where we put up at the Englischer Hof, then kept by Peter Steiler theelder. Our landlord was an intelligent man, and spoke excellent English, having served for three years as waiter at the Grosvenor Hotel inLondon. At his advice, on the afternoon of the 4th we set off together, with the intention of crossing the hills and spending the night at thehamlet of Rosenlaui. We had strict injunctions, however, on no accountto pass the falls of Reichenbach, which are about half-way up the hill, without making a small detour to see them. It is indeed, a fearful place. The torrent, swollen by the melting snow, plunges into a tremendous abyss, from which the spray rolls up like thesmoke from a burning house. The shaft into which the river hurls itselfis an immense chasm, lined by glistening coal-black rock, and narrowinginto a creaming, boiling pit of incalculable depth, which brims over andshoots the stream onward over its jagged lip. The long sweep of greenwater roaring forever down, and the thick flickering curtain of sprayhissing forever upward, turn a man giddy with their constant whirl andclamor. We stood near the edge peering down at the gleam of the breakingwater far below us against the black rocks, and listening to thehalf-human shout which came booming up with the spray out of the abyss. The path has been cut half-way round the fall to afford a complete view, but it ends abruptly, and the traveler has to return as he came. We hadturned to do so, when we saw a Swiss lad come running along it witha letter in his hand. It bore the mark of the hotel which we had justleft, and was addressed to me by the landlord. It appeared that within avery few minutes of our leaving, an English lady had arrived who was inthe last stage of consumption. She had wintered at Davos Platz, and wasjourneying now to join her friends at Lucerne, when a sudden hemorrhagehad overtaken her. It was thought that she could hardly live a fewhours, but it would be a great consolation to her to see an Englishdoctor, and, if I would only return, etc. The good Steiler assured mein a postscript that he would himself look upon my compliance as a verygreat favor, since the lady absolutely refused to see a Swiss physician, and he could not but feel that he was incurring a great responsibility. The appeal was one which could not be ignored. It was impossible torefuse the request of a fellow-countrywoman dying in a strange land. YetI had my scruples about leaving Holmes. It was finally agreed, however, that he should retain the young Swiss messenger with him as guide andcompanion while I returned to Meiringen. My friend would stay somelittle time at the fall, he said, and would then walk slowly over thehill to Rosenlaui, where I was to rejoin him in the evening. As I turnedaway I saw Holmes, with his back against a rock and his arms folded, gazing down at the rush of the waters. It was the last that I was everdestined to see of him in this world. When I was near the bottom of the descent I looked back. It wasimpossible, from that position, to see the fall, but I could see thecurving path which winds over the shoulder of the hill and leads to it. Along this a man was, I remember, walking very rapidly. I could see his black figure clearly outlined against the green behindhim. I noted him, and the energy with which he walked but he passed frommy mind again as I hurried on upon my errand. It may have been a little over an hour before I reached Meiringen. OldSteiler was standing at the porch of his hotel. "Well, " said I, as I came hurrying up, "I trust that she is no worse?" A look of surprise passed over his face, and at the first quiver of hiseyebrows my heart turned to lead in my breast. "You did not write this?" I said, pulling the letter from my pocket. "There is no sick Englishwoman in the hotel?" "Certainly not!" he cried. "But it has the hotel mark upon it! Ha, itmust have been written by that tall Englishman who came in after you hadgone. He said--" But I waited for none of the landlord's explanations. In a tingle offear I was already running down the village street, and making for thepath which I had so lately descended. It had taken me an hour to comedown. For all my efforts two more had passed before I found myself atthe fall of Reichenbach once more. There was Holmes's Alpine-stock stillleaning against the rock by which I had left him. But there was no signof him, and it was in vain that I shouted. My only answer was my ownvoice reverberating in a rolling echo from the cliffs around me. It was the sight of that Alpine-stock which turned me cold and sick. He had not gone to Rosenlaui, then. He had remained on that three-footpath, with sheer wall on one side and sheer drop on the other, until hisenemy had overtaken him. The young Swiss had gone too. He had probablybeen in the pay of Moriarty, and had left the two men together. And thenwhat had happened? Who was to tell us what had happened then? I stood for a minute or two to collect myself, for I was dazed with thehorror of the thing. Then I began to think of Holmes's own methods andto try to practise them in reading this tragedy. It was, alas, only tooeasy to do. During our conversation we had not gone to the end of thepath, and the Alpine-stock marked the place where we had stood. Theblackish soil is kept forever soft by the incessant drift of spray, and a bird would leave its tread upon it. Two lines of footmarks wereclearly marked along the farther end of the path, both leading away fromme. There were none returning. A few yards from the end the soil wasall ploughed up into a patch of mud, and the branches and ferns whichfringed the chasm were torn and bedraggled. I lay upon my face andpeered over with the spray spouting up all around me. It had darkenedsince I left, and now I could only see here and there the glistening ofmoisture upon the black walls, and far away down at the end of the shaftthe gleam of the broken water. I shouted; but only the same half-humancry of the fall was borne back to my ears. But it was destined that I should after all have a last word of greetingfrom my friend and comrade. I have said that his Alpine-stock had beenleft leaning against a rock which jutted on to the path. From the top ofthis bowlder the gleam of something bright caught my eye, and, raisingmy hand, I found that it came from the silver cigarette-case which heused to carry. As I took it up a small square of paper upon which ithad lain fluttered down on to the ground. Unfolding it, I found that itconsisted of three pages torn from his note-book and addressed to me. Itwas characteristic of the man that the direction was a precise, and thewriting as firm and clear, as though it had been written in his study. My dear Watson [it said], I write these few lines through the courtesyof Mr. Moriarty, who awaits my convenience for the final discussion ofthose questions which lie between us. He has been giving me a sketchof the methods by which he avoided the English police and kept himselfinformed of our movements. They certainly confirm the very high opinionwhich I had formed of his abilities. I am pleased to think that I shallbe able to free society from any further effects of his presence, thoughI fear that it is at a cost which will give pain to my friends, andespecially, my dear Watson, to you. I have already explained to you, however, that my career had in any case reached its crisis, and thatno possible conclusion to it could be more congenial to me than this. Indeed, if I may make a full confession to you, I was quite convincedthat the letter from Meiringen was a hoax, and I allowed you to departon that errand under the persuasion that some development of this sortwould follow. Tell Inspector Patterson that the papers which he needsto convict the gang are in pigeonhole M. , done up in a blue envelopeand inscribed "Moriarty. " I made every disposition of my property beforeleaving England, and handed it to my brother Mycroft. Pray give mygreetings to Mrs. Watson, and believe me to be, my dear fellow, Very sincerely yours, Sherlock Holmes A few words may suffice to tell the little that remains. An examinationby experts leaves little doubt that a personal contest between the twomen ended, as it could hardly fail to end in such a situation, in theirreeling over, locked in each other's arms. Any attempt at recovering thebodies was absolutely hopeless, and there, deep down in that dreadfulcaldron of swirling water and seething foam, will lie for all time themost dangerous criminal and the foremost champion of the law of theirgeneration. The Swiss youth was never found again, and there can be nodoubt that he was one of the numerous agents whom Moriarty kept in thisemploy. As to the gang, it will be within the memory of the publichow completely the evidence which Holmes had accumulated exposed theirorganization, and how heavily the hand of the dead man weighedupon them. Of their terrible chief few details came out during theproceedings, and if I have now been compelled to make a clear statementof his career it is due to those injudicious champions who haveendeavored to clear his memory by attacks upon him whom I shall everregard as the best and the wisest man whom I have ever known.