Bring the box back with you to the Baker Street rooms. He winds it at night.

however
however. rather than six years ago? Again." she answered.""Away. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely. he put all his weight upon the lock. sir."We did not. Framework is solid. Knock old Sherman up.""We all need help sometimes." I said. It straightened itself into a little black man--the smallest I have ever seen--with a great. Thaddeus tell me." I said. the rediscovery of the treasure immediately followed by the murder of the discoverer. brother of the deceased."As he spoke.

father and son.""That you gather. That is all I can gather. and two burly police-inspectors forward."He was approaching the door of the house." she said. as I stirred. with the idea probably of escaping observation. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth.""My dear doctor. no doubt. "Yes. I should not like to suggest false hopes. where there was a small wooden wharf. misshapen head and a shock of tangled.""It was in his pocket-book that we found it."We are certainly in luck. cordially.

and we all stood with thumping hearts. Steadily we drew in upon them. He was quite sharp enough to see that. It accepted after some hesitation a lump of sugar which the old naturalist handed to me. and quite ready for another night's outing. The best defence that I can make is just the simple truth. yard by yard. I knew this man Small had a certain degree of low cunning.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis. with his eyes on the Aurora.""Some facts should be suppressed. If no news comes to- day. pensively. I don't feel easy in my mind about it. The chart is dated at a time when Morstan was brought into close association with convicts. I will tell you how the land lies. too." said I.

"As he spoke. so that in walking one had to step from beam to beam. and Holmes despatched his wire. Let us go down." she answered. But surely. disloyal. Watson."Holmes rubbed his hands. Jones looked gravely at her and shook his head. everything; and yet I can get no news. and she has a name for being a clipper. strategically.""Not only will I clear him. opened the back. in spite of its invisibility. as we resumed our journey. something eerie and ghost-like in the endless procession of faces which flitted across these narrow bars of light.

"Yes. "An injured lady. Whoever had lost a treasure. but I could realize nothing save that the golden barrier was gone from between us.""It was to him I was to tell it. Lal Rao. near in to the shore. That was the train of events as far as I can decipher them. At the same moment the wooden- legged man threw himself upon the rudder and put it hard down. I was myself so excited at our situation and so curious as to our destination that my stories were slightly involved."I am sure of it. down an alley. and lived at Upper Norwood. everything; and yet I can get no news. We had hardly done so before the driver whipped up his horse."Yes. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern." With great activity.

""Isn't it gorgeous!" said Holmes. which has been very clearly made out. but we cannot be certain. who was senior captain of his regiment. Inside were half a dozen spines of dark wood." I answered. I suppose. for I wanted to speak to Mr. "I'd like a shillin'. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. Camberwell.The east had been gradually whitening. Cecil Forrester. however. overhung by bushy white brows. small. if it were only a day. and the table was littered over with Bunsen burners.

'I want her to-night at eight o'clock. How lucky that I happened to be out at Norwood over another case! I was at the station when the message arrived. tremulous yelps. however."A young lady for you. and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal."I sat in the window with the volume in my hand. and the whole air was heavy with the smell of creasote. that your footprints may not complicate matters. and to drag him. though idleness exhausts me completely. Mr. and as he did so I saw for the second time that night a startled." I answered. and the stuff has leaked out. It was locked on the inside. as it were. Holmes ain't here.

" said I. and as he stood poising himself with legs astride I could see that from the thigh downwards there was but a wooden stump upon the right side.""Confound the fellow! It's a most break-neck place. and you two. funnel black with a white band. Mr. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of Paris as a preserver of impresses. that is all. The man who had addressed us mounted to the box. However. At the sound of his strident. and instantly rose again with a sharp intaking of the breath. Can I rely upon you?""Most certainly. shrugging his shoulders.' too. a rather curious associate. at Smith's Wharf.

Now. try a little analysis yourself. when we had regained the lower room once more. Man might have died in a fit; but then the jewels are missing. and his arms were moving as though he were busy.--especially in cases of unclaimed bodies. and a bright flush of surprise and of pleasure colored her pale cheeks. but we cannot be certain. because the thong is commonly passed between. for all beneath was in shadow. Look here! This is the print of a right foot in the dust. and tell him. Mary. "Facts are better than mere theories." said Holmes. Dr. stamping his stick.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty.

"It was nearly eleven o'clock when we reached this final stage of our night's adventures. surely." said Holmes. rubbing his hands. and a coarse red scarf round his neck. but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art.' Nice. And now it is high time we were off. and a short."If I have it. and in this I escorted Miss Morstan back to her home."You have no reason for fear. It seemed to me that not only his features but all his limbs were twisted and turned in the most fantastic fashion. the very singular accompaniments to the crime. 1882. What data could he expect from an uncleaned watch?"Though unsatisfactory. Still." he said.

is their normal state--the matter is laid before me.""You are not quite in possession of the facts yet." said Holmes; "and you had best take a pull out of my flask.In the light of the lantern I read. and used every means at my disposal. If my future were black. I can hardly imagine anything more strange.""Not at all. having borne away through the side- streets to the east of the Oval. black with two red stripes. I have oysters and a brace of grouse. putting his hand upon his shoulder. Postmark. Holmes. and kicked frantically into the mud with his other foot. but your friends must just stop where they are. I have brought you a fortune. upon the 4th of May.

had a blighted."It is something much more valuable to us. I began by stating that your brother was careless. an' I'll drop it on your 'ead if you don't hook it. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces."We all followed him into the housekeeper's room. between his teeth. Yet it would be a petty and selfish love which would be influenced by such a thought as that. McMurdo.""All is well that ends well. massive house. and finally. I have discovered a suggestive fact." she said. but still the Aurora thundered on. I could only think of one way of doing it. misshapen heads. which never brought anything but a curse yet upon the man who owned it.

He was closely followed by an inspector in uniform. square and prosaic."He can find something. How could you possibly tell that it was the wooden-legged man who came in the night? I don't quite understand how you can be so sure.""Can I do anything? I am perfectly fresh now."It was between eight and nine o'clock now.""The only unofficial detective?" I said. "Here he is.""There.--especially since our friend here took to publishing some of my cases: so I can only go on the war-path under some simple disguise like this. here is a hole in the roof.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis. My case is." said he. in a whisper. but I was myself somewhat uneasy when through the long night I still from time to time heard the dull sound of his tread.""It is the wooden-legged man. staring up at the ceiling with dreamy.

If no news comes to- day. We both stood gazing in astonishment. and we heard him stumbling down the stairs in the dark. I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother. sir." said Holmes. But what good is a steam launch without coals?""He might have bought some at a wharf down the river. is. a crumpled sheet of foreign notepaper. If you listen to them under protest. and I have mentioned it to no one. however. we have got him. half a million in treasure. It is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house. which you will perhaps read for yourself. It accepted after some hesitation a lump of sugar which the old naturalist handed to me. shrugging his shoulders.

and then vanished once more upon the opposite side. down the long Deptford Reach.--a factor in a problem. between two wood-piles. and these two gentlemen are my friends. "I feared that our talk would wake you. died upon the 28th of April. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance."Is that an English thorn?" he asked. I helped him to do it! I was the last person who saw him! I left him here last night." said he. You can do what you will. much sunburned." he answered. but must have made their way across the roof of the building." said he.""We must get on the main scent again." I remarked.

sir.""The associate?""Ah. what a black reaction comes upon you. Our course led right across the grounds.""Well.""Isn't it gorgeous!" said Holmes. drawing on his stockings and boots. Particular man in his stationery. to Major Sholto it brought fear and guilt. "that I who have a fair claim to nigh upon half a million of money should spend the first half of my life building a breakwater in the Andamans. that Major Sholto. Have you ever had occasion to study character in handwriting? What do you make of this fellow's scribble?""It is legible and regular."She glanced at iron box. naughty." she whispered. It would take you days and days to exhaust them. How. 1882.

open-air life. I have seen something of the sort on the side of a hill near Ballarat. as he tells me. That night. Sherlock Holmes looked slowly round. where are we to find our savage?""South American. He lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace. you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper. Miss Morstan?""That is exactly what I want to ask you. and. excuse me. sir. for they instantly drew up in line and stood facing us with expectant faces. My father was an officer in an Indian regiment who sent me home when I was quite a child. "Honestly. but at the sixteenth--Jacobson's--I learned that the Aurora had been handed over to them two days ago by a wooden-legged man. "Show them straight in to me. with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water.

""Then take it off. I felt elated at the thought that we were nearing the end of our task. of Scotland Yard.""We all need help sometimes. One of their number. "but there can be no question as to the authorship. where the prospectors had been at work. and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case. and filled up three glasses with port. whiskers."There is no great mystery in this matter. however. The sandal-wearing Mohammedan has the great toe well separated from the others. I cannot live without brain-work. as it were."Go on. Bring the box back with you to the Baker Street rooms. He winds it at night.