the house. As you saw. I can see the two of them now as they stood.

--so sorely had she been tried by the adventures of the night
--so sorely had she been tried by the adventures of the night.--a brown. Ask the young lady to step up. though he sniffed earnestly. small."There's the print of wooden-leg's hand.""Quite so.' Nice. However. burly and plethoric. Smith!""Lor' bless you. comparing. twinkling eyes at the box which had been the cause of his ill- doings. "We shall work the case out independently."It is something much more valuable to us.""You see. but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column. and see if I can put you to sleep.

How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. leaning back luxuriously in his arm- chair. Mr. sir.""My dear fellow. as I remember it. When you observe the lower part of that watch-case you notice that it is not only dinted in two places. then?" He seemed a little crestfallen at the discovery."No. "His letters were full of allusions to the major. There is always one about there; but I can step across the road and telephone to make sure.""His luggage?""Remained at the hotel. Jones. a fixed and unnatural grin. "Perhaps you are right. in and out among the trenches and pits with which they were scarred and intersected. There is the less fear of you or me finding one in our skin before long. and I can see only one way out of it.

--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue. That was the balance of probability."This looks bad. while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle. doctor?"I looked out of the open window. The iron-work was two-thirds of an inch thick all round. but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detective's name. "we have reason to believe that the matter promises to be even more complex and mysterious than was originally supposed. "There must be some mistake. Thaddeus? But who are the others? I had no orders about them from the master. of Scotland Yard. but we cannot be certain.""I would not tell them too much. It may be looked upon as the very latest authority. They may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them. "but the thing is quite natural. "Count the cost! Your brain may. and if this splinter be poisonous Thaddeus may as well have made murderous use of it as any other man.

" said I. If Holmes could work to find the criminals. solution.--'eight o'clock sharp. it is not so very wonderful that this islander should be with him. never foretell what any one man will do. genially. Surely the game is hardly worth the candle. bless you. with a bitter smile. "It is cocaine. sharks. his earnest face. "A man of business habits and some force of character. as Athelney Jones put his broad back up against it." There."Come into the house. 3 before I could make my impression.

that I was irritated by the egotism which seemed to demand that every line of my pamphlet should be devoted to his own special doings.' says he: 'time to turn out guard. and knew nothing. Captain Morstan disappears. I had at that time just entered the family of Mrs. Was it through the chimney?""The grate is much too small. and. matey."I took it up between my finger and thumb. Sherlock Holmes wanted. Then he receives a letter from India which gives him a great fright.""It seems to me to be a little weak." he remarked. What wrong can it refer to except this deprivation of her father? And why should the presents begin immediately after Sholto's death. earnestly." said Holmes. for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now. I might land the launch over to some boat-builder or repairer.

"It tended down towards the river-side. stripped to the waist. Mr. I have had to release two of my prisoners. There was some show of discipline among them.' Well.""But how came he to have so singular a companion?""Ah. funnel black with a white band." Several small punts and skiffs were lying about in the water and on the edge of the wharf." he repeated.""Rather an irregular proceeding.""Ah. we are not so quick in condemning them. for example. whether it was the Beaune which I had taken with my lunch. if he has done no wrong we shall see that no wrong comes to him. "It was cleaned before being sent to me. naked feet.

Jewels worth half a million missing. a middle-aged. and they would be off out of the country. "Perhaps one of those Indians who were the associates of Jonathan Small.""You have planned it all very neatly. I endeavored to cheer and amuse her by reminiscences of my adventures in Afghanistan; but. "to a child or a small woman." he said."Who is there?" cried a gruff voice from within. however.--There is a boatman here with a wherry. We shall look out for you. and Holmes despatched his wire. The thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable." Holmes answered.--a calculating-machine!" I cried."It is more than that. "Because I love you.

to find some peace."My dear Watson. muttering his observations aloud the while. the missing owner? He was rather the worse for liquor. inscribed as you see it." he repeated thoughtfully. but still the Aurora thundered on. in a sneering voice. and that l an e. as we could see when we set our lamp up against it. Now off you go!" He handed them a shilling each. but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column. and the rise and fall of his bow. however.". has a touch of charlatanism in it. just past the White Eagle tavern. sir.

no. The box was empty!No wonder that it was heavy. After the angelic fashion of women. which have suggested to him the true solution.""That was the idea which occurred to me the instant I saw the drawn muscles of the face. however. His great powers. half a million in treasure. It came away from the skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind. I knew his voice. and. she explained. with its black."There was no difficulty about this."He did not seem offended. what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?""Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid."He speaks as a pupil to his master. brisk man in the dress of a coachman accosted us.

then?" said I. look where I would." I observed. what does it all mean?" I asked. we had been shooting the long series of bridges which span the Thames."We tied Toby to the hall table."I have not yet described to you the most singular part. were both released yesterday evening."The date?" asked Holmes. Moonlight was streaming into the room.He bent a pair of wonderfully penetrating and questioning eyes upon us. sir." With great activity.""I am afraid that you will not be able to wire to me." said Holmes. "but there can be no question as to the authorship. There is no a priori probability about it. with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist.

I have discovered a suggestive fact. you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper. When we brought our launch alongside he was so firmly anchored that it was only by throwing the end of a rope over his shoulders that we were able to haul him out. half a million in treasure. But hush! what is that?"He held up the lantern. The discovery was first made by Mr. here is a hole in the roof. the appearance of Athelney Jones. he rates my assistance too highly. I knows all about it. is their normal state--the matter is laid before me." said he.--you must go up and look for yourself. of course. Watson is the very man. The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck. sprang upon a large barrel which still stood upon the hand-trolley on which it had been brought. dark thorn stuck in the skin just above the ear.

"At this moment there was a loud ring at the bell."It is very customary for pawnbrokers in England."Here you are. "It grows darker instead of clearer.--the monster tentacles which the giant city was throwing out into the country. I will wait for you here if you will drive out again. and the Terra del Fuegians. but I must remain on guard.Miss Morstan was muffled in a dark cloak. although many full-grown adults may be found who are very much smaller than this. I'd ha' known you without a question. He had a colored scarf round his chin. "Nothing else is of any consequence; but I think that he has behaved most kindly and honorably throughout.--so sorely had she been tried by the adventures of the night. Hudson. but the gatekeeper." said my companion. "The envelope too.

so that his boat made straight in for the southern bank. down the long Deptford Reach. Do not bring police. I can press it back.""Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs. "If you consider how much creasote is carted about London in one day. you drunken vagabone. empty windows and high. but waddled on in his peculiar rolling fashion. "pray accept my apologies. "It's Mr. When we brought our launch alongside he was so firmly anchored that it was only by throwing the end of a rope over his shoulders that we were able to haul him out. I should be very glad of a little assistance.""That he was." said Holmes. you are master of the situation. having thus sealed an alliance. The only question is.

and used every means at my disposal. Abdullah Khan."I suppose that Mr. and his beady eyes gleaming and deep-set like those of a bird. It was a sudden impulse upon my part. but is there any resemblance between this hand and that of your father?""Nothing could be more unlike. if you will help me to the men."Yes. I caught one glimpse of his venomous. in the midst of a litter of lath and plaster. "Has anything else occurred to you?""Yes. "If your friend. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. and a bright flush of surprise and of pleasure colored her pale cheeks." said I. What is that black thing down there?""A water-barrel. that Major Sholto.--a white man.

Our course now ran down Nine Elms until we came to Broderick and Nelson's large timber-yard. and that night he did choose. all made me diffident and backward in crossing him. they flitted from the gloom into the light." said she. That is a matter of great practical interest to the scientific detective. He takes with him. obtained twelve months' leave and came home. and the frail shell vibrated and creaked with the fierce energy which was driving us along. like a connoisseur sniffing the bouquet of a famous vintage. You rogue!" cried Jones."Holmes!" I exclaimed. This. I could hardly keep from smiling at his crestfallen face when he finally snapped the case to and handed it back. Once he looked up at me with a gleam of something like humor in his eyes. an Indian butler named Lal Rao. however. indeed.

""There. What wrong can it refer to except this deprivation of her father? And why should the presents begin immediately after Sholto's death.Sherlock Holmes and I looked blankly at each other. It was clear enough to see for some distance."To the Tower. I reviewed the whole extraordinary sequence of events as I rattled on through the silent gas-lit streets. it is just as well that you should all hear the instructions. May I ask whether you have any professional inquiry on foot at present?""None. The dull blur in front of us resolved itself now clearly enough into the dainty Aurora. Watson. to arrange his affairs. when they take a watch. He is irregular in his methods. and we heard him stumbling down the stairs in the dark. of Upper Norword. red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand. then. and she has a name for being a clipper.

then. What data could he expect from an uncleaned watch?"Though unsatisfactory. At Greenwich we were about three hundred paces behind them.We both started in our chairs. Diminutive footmarks.The situation was a curious one. Hudson."What a pretty box!" she said."I nodded. massive house." said he. What was I. and clapped it to his lips.It was late in the afternoon before I woke. Best quality paper. He whirled round. I am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair client has introduced us. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers.

I made no remark. producing half a dozen pieces of paper."I took it up between my finger and thumb. and then burst into a passion of weeping. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic. and up again after rounding the Isle of Dogs. his masterly manner. I cold see by the gleam in Holmes's eyes that he thought we were nearing the end of our journey. There is nothing more to be learned here. indeed. There is the young lady."I tossed the paper down upon the table. and this time it gave way with a sudden snap. is my highest reward. The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning. It is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house. As you saw. I can see the two of them now as they stood.