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diff --git a/old/memho11.txt b/old/memho11.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..15e7505 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/memho11.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12443 @@ +***The Project Gutenberg Etext of Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes**** +#11 in our series by Sir Author Conan Doyle + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. 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Cable +3370 Roosevelt #E +Rock Springs, WY 82901 +(307) 382-9098 +dispatch@rock-springs.dowell.slb.com + + + + + +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 sat down 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 already been mixed up in this extraordinary +case, which was the one topic of conversation through +the length and breadth of England. For a whole day my +companion had rambled about the room with his chin +upon his chest and his brows knitted, charging and +recharging his pipe with the strongest black tobacco, +and absolutely deaf to any of my questions or remarks. +Fresh editions of every paper had been sent up by our +news agent, only to 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 was but one problem before the public which +could challenge his powers of analysis, and that was +the singular disappearance of the favorite for the +Wessex Cup, and the tragic murder of its trainer. +When, therefore, he suddenly announced his intention +of setting out for the scene of the drama 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 the way," said I. + +"My dear Watson, you would confer a great favor upon +me by coming. And I think that your time will not be +misspent, for there are points about the case which +promise to make it an absolutely unique one. We have, +I think, just time to catch our train at Paddington, +and I will go further into the matter upon our +journey. You would oblige me by bringing with you +your very excellent field-glass." + +And so it happened that an hour or so later I found +myself in the corner of a first-class carriage flying +along en route for Exeter, while Sherlock Holmes, with +his sharp, eager face framed in his ear-flapped +travelling-cap, dipped rapidly into the bundle of +fresh papers which he had procured at Paddington. We +had left Reading far behind us before he thrust the +last one of them under the seat, and offered me his +cigar-case. + +"We are going well," said he, looking out the window +and glancing at his watch. "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 yards apart, and the calculation is a simple +one. I presume that you have looked into this matter +of the murder of John Straker and the disappearance 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 be used rather for the sifting of +details than for the acquiring of fresh evidence. The +tragedy has been so uncommon, so complete and of such +personal importance to so many people, that we are +suffering from a plethora of surmise, conjecture, and +hypothesis. The difficulty is to detach the framework +of fact--of absolute undeniable fact--from the +embellishments of theorists and reporters. Then, +having established ourselves upon this sound basis, it +is our duty to see what inferences may be drawn and +what are the special points upon which the whole +mystery turns. On Tuesday evening I received +telegrams from both Colonel Ross, the owner of the +horse, and from Inspector Gregory, who is looking +after the case, inviting my cooperation." + +"Tuesday evening!" I exclaimed. "And this is Thursday +morning. Why didn't you go down yesterday?" + +"Because I made a blunder, my dear Watson--which is, I +am afraid, a more common occurrence than any one would +think who only knew me through your memoirs. The fact +is that I could not believe it possible that the most +remarkable horse in England could long remain +concealed, especially in so sparsely inhabited a place +as the north of Dartmoor. From hour to hour yesterday +I expected to hear that he had been found, and that +his abductor was the murderer of John Straker. When, +however, another morning had come, and I found that +beyond the arrest of young Fitzroy Simpson nothing had +been done, I felt that it was time for me to take +action. 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 shall enumerate them to you, for nothing +clears up a case so much as stating it to another +person, and I can hardly expect your co-operation if I +do not 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 points upon the palm of +his left hand, gave me a sketch of the events which +had led to our journey. + +"Silver Blaze," said he, "is from the Somomy stock, +and holds as brilliant 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 first favorite for the +Wessex Cup, the betting being three to one on him. He +has always, however, been a prime favorite with the +racing public, and has never yet disappointed them, so +that even at those odds enormous sums of money have +been laid upon him. It is obvious, therefore, that +there were many people who had the strongest interest +in preventing Silver Blaze from being there at the +fall of the flag next Tuesday. + +"The fact was, of course, appreciated at King's +Pyland, where the Colonel's training-stable is +situated. Every precaution was taken to guard the +favorite. The trainer, John Straker, is a retired +jockey who rode in Colonel Ross's colors before he +became too heavy for the weighing-chair. He has +served the Colonel for five years as jockey and for +seven as trainer, and has always shown himself to be a +zealous and honest servant. Under him were three +lads; for the establishment was a small one, +containing only four horses in all. One of these lads +sat up each night in the stable, while the others +slept in the loft. All three bore excellent +characters. John Straker, who is a married man, lived +in a small villa about two hundred yards from the +stables. He has no children, keeps one maid-servant, +and is comfortably off. The country round is very +lonely, but about half a mile to the north there is a +small cluster of villas which have been built by a +Tavistock contractor for the use of invalids and +others who may wish to enjoy the pure Dartmoor air. +Tavistock itself lies two miles to the west, while +across the moor, also about two miles distant, is the +larger training establishment of Mapleton, which +belongs to Lord Backwater, and is managed by Silas +Brown. In every other direction the moor is a +complete wilderness, inhabited only by a few roaming +gypsies. Such was the general situation last Monday +night when the catastrophe occurred. + +"On that evening the horses had been exercised and +watered as usual, and the stables were locked up at +nine o'clock. Two of the lads walked up to the +trainer's house, where they had supper in the kitchen, +while the third, Ned Hunter, remained on guard. At a +few minutes after nine the maid, Edith Baxter, carried +down to the stables his supper, which consisted of a +dish of curried mutton. She took no liquid, as there +was a water-tap in the stables, and it was the rule +that the lad on duty should drink nothing else. The +maid carried a lantern with her, as it was very dark +and the path ran across the open moor. + +"Edith Baxter was within thirty yards of the stables, +when a man appeared out of the darkness and called to +her to stop. As he stepped into the circle of yellow +light thrown by the lantern she saw that he was 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 knob to it. She was most +impressed, however, by the extreme pallor of his face +and by the nervousness of his manner. His age, she +thought, would be rather over thirty than under it. + +"'Can you tell me where I am?' he asked. 'I had almost +made up my mind to 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 a stable-boy sleeps there alone every +night. Perhaps that is his supper which you are +carrying to him. Now I am sure that you would not be +too proud to earn the price of a new dress, would +you?' He took a piece of white paper folded up out of +his waistcoat pocket. 'See that the boy has this +to-night, and you shall have the prettiest frock that +money can buy.' + +"She was frightened by the earnestness of his manner, +and ran past him to the window through which she was +accustomed to hand the meals. It was already opened, +and Hunter was seated at the small table inside. She +had begun to tell him of what had happened, when the +stranger came up again. + +"'Good-evening,' said he, looking through the window. +'I wanted to have a word with you.' The girl has +sworn that as he spoke she noticed the corner 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 the other. 'You've two horses in for +the Wessex Cup--Silver Blaze and Bayard. Let me have +the straight tip and you won't be a loser. Is it a +fact that at the weights Bayard could give the other a +hundred yards in five 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 you how we serve them in King's +Pyland.' He sprang up and rushed across the stable to +unloose the dog. The girl fled away to the house, but +as she ran she looked back and saw that the stranger +was leaning through the window. A minute later, +however, when Hunter rushed out with the hound he was +gone, and though he ran all round the buildings he +failed to find any trace of him." + +"One moment," I asked. "Did the stable-boy, when he +ran out with the dog, leave the door unlocked behind +him?" + +"Excellent, Watson, excellent!" murmured my companion. +"The importance of the point struck me so forcibly +that I sent a special wire to Dartmoor yesterday to +clear the matter up. The boy locked the door before +he left it. The window, I may add, was not large +enough for a man to get through. + +"Hunter waited until his fellow-grooms had returned, +when he sent a message to the trainer and told him +what had occurred. Straker was excited at hearing the +account, although he does not seem to have quite +realized its true significance. It left him, however, +vaguely uneasy, and Mrs. Straker, waking at one in the +morning, found that he was dressing. In reply to her +inquiries, he said that he could not sleep on account +of his anxiety about the horses, and that he intended +to walk down to the stables to see that all was well. +She begged him to remain at home, as she could hear +the rain pattering against the window, but in spite of +her entreaties he pulled on his large mackintosh and +left the house. + +"Mrs. Straker awoke at seven in the morning, to find +that her husband had not yet returned. She dressed +herself hastily, called the maid, and set off for the +stables. The door was open; inside, huddled together +upon a chair, Hunter was sunk in a state of absolute +stupor, the favorite'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-room were quickly aroused. They had +heard nothing during the night, for they are both +sound sleepers. Hunter was obviously under the +influence of some powerful drug, and as no sense could +be got out of him, he was left to sleep it off while +the two lads and the two women ran out in search of +the absentees. They still had hopes that the trainer +had for some reason taken out the horse for early +exercise, but on ascending the knoll near the house, +from which all the neighboring moors were visible, +they not only could see no signs of the missing +favorite, but they perceived something which warned +them that they were in the presence of a tragedy. + +"About a quarter of a mile from the stables John +Straker's overcoat was flapping from a furze-bush. +Immediately beyond there was a bowl-shaped depression +in the moor, and at the bottom of this was found the +dead body of the unfortunate trainer. His head had +been shattered by a savage blow from some heavy +weapon, and he was wounded on the thigh, where there +was a long, clean cut, inflicted evidently by some +very sharp instrument. It was clear, however, that +Straker had defended himself vigorously against his +assailants, for in his right hand he held a small +knife, which was clotted with blood up to the handle, +while in his left he clasped a red and black silk +cravat, which was recognized by the maid as having +been worn on the preceding evening by the stranger who +had visited the stables. Hunter, on recovering from +his stupor, was also quite positive as to the +ownership of the cravat. He was equally certain that +the same stranger had, while standing at the window, +drugged his curried mutton, and so deprived the +stables of their watchman. As to the missing horse, +there were abundant proofs in the mud which lay at the +bottom of the fatal hollow that he had been there at +the time of the struggle. But from that morning he +has disappeared, and although a large reward has been +offered, and all the gypsies of Dartmoor are on the +alert, no news has come of him. Finally, an analysis +has shown that the remains of his supper left by the +stable-lad contain an appreciable quantity of powdered +opium, while the people at the house partook of the +same dish on the same night without any ill effect. + +"Those are the main facts of the case, stripped of all +surmise, and stated as baldly as possible. I shall +now recapitulate what the police have done in the +matter. + +"Inspector Gregory, to whom the case has been +committed, is an extremely competent officer. Were he +but gifted with imagination he might rise to great +heights in his profession. On his arrival he promptly +found and arrested the man upon whom suspicion +naturally rested. There was little difficulty in +finding him, for he inhabited one of those villas +which I have mentioned. His name, it appears, was +Fitzroy Simpson. He was a man of excellent birth and +education, who had squandered a fortune upon the turf, +and who lived now by doing a little quiet and genteel +book-making in the sporting clubs of London. An +examination of his betting-book shows that bets to the +amount of five thousand pounds had been registered by +him against the favorite. On being arrested he +volunteered that statement that he had come down to +Dartmoor in the hope of getting some information about +the King's Pyland horses, and also about Desborough, +the second favorite, which was in charge of Silas +Brown at the Mapleton stables. He did not attempt to +deny that he had acted as described upon the evening +before, but declared that he had no sinister designs, +and had simply wished to obtain first-hand +information. When confronted with his cravat, he +turned very pale, and was utterly unable to account +for its presence in the hand of the murdered man. His +wet clothing 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 just such a +weapon as might, by repeated blows, have inflicted the +terrible injuries to which the trainer had succumbed. +On the other hand, there was no wound upon his person, +while the state of Straker's knife would show 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 any light 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 the facts were +familiar to me, I had not sufficiently appreciated +their relative importance, nor their connection to +each other. + +"Is it not possible," I suggested, "that the incised +wound upon Straker may have been caused by his own +knife in the convulsive struggles which follow any +brain injury?" + +"It is more than possible; it is probable," said +Holmes. "In that case one of the main points in favor +of the accused disappears." + +"And yet," said I, "even now I fail to understand what +the theory of the police can be." + +"I am afraid that whatever theory we state has very +grave objections to it," returned my companion. "The +police imagine, I take it, that this Fitzroy Simpson, +having drugged the lad, and having in some way +obtained a duplicate key, opened the stable door and +took out the horse, with the intention, apparently, of +kidnapping him altogether. His bridle is missing, so +that Simpson must have put this on. Then, having left +the door open behind him, he was leading the horse +away over the moor, when he was either met or +overtaken by the trainer. A row naturally ensued. +Simpson beat out the trainer's brains with his heavy +stick without receiving any injury from the small +knife which Straker used in self-defence, and then the +thief either led the horse on to some secret +hiding-place, or else it may have bolted during the +struggle, and be now wandering out on the moors. That +is the case as it appears to the police, and +improbable as it is, all other explanations are more +improbable still. However, I shall very quickly test +the matter when I am once upon the spot, and until +then I cannot really see how we can get much further +than our present position." + +It was evening before we reached the little town of +Tavistock, which lies, like the boss of a shield, in +the middle of the huge circle of Dartmoor. Two +gentlemen were awaiting us in the station--the one a +tall, fair man with lion-like hair and beard and +curiously penetrating light blue eyes; the other a +small, alert person, very neat and dapper, in a +frock-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 English +detective 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 I wish to leave +no stone unturned in trying to avenge poor Straker and +in recovering my horse." + +"Have there been any fresh developments?" asked +Holmes. + +"I am sorry to say that we have made very little +progress," said the Inspector. "We have an open +carriage outside, and as you would no doubt like to +see the place before the light fails, we might talk it +over as we drive." + +A minute later we were all seated in a comfortable +landau, and were rattling through the quaint old +Devonshire city. Inspector Gregory was full of his +case, and poured out a stream of remarks, while Holmes +threw in an occasional question or interjection. +Colonel Ross leaned back with his arms folded and his +hat tilted over his eyes, while I listened with +interest to the dialogue of the two detectives. +Gregory was formulating his theory, which was almost +exactly what Holmes had foretold in the train. + +"The net is drawn pretty close round Fitzroy Simpson," +he remarked, "and I believe myself that he is our man. +At the same time I recognize that the evidence is +purely circumstantial, and that some new development +may upset it." + +"How about Straker's knife?" + +"We have quite come to the conclusion that he wounded +himself in his fall." + +"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. The evidence against him is certainly very +strong. He had a great interest in the disappearance +of the favorite. He lies under suspicion of having +poisoned the stable-boy, he was undoubtedly out in the +storm, he was armed with a heavy stick, and his cravat +was found in the dead man's hand. 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 wished to injure it +why could he not do it there? Has a duplicate key +been found in his possession? What chemist sold him +the powdered opium? Above all, where could he, a +stranger to the district, hide a horse, and such a +horse as this? What is his own explanation as to the +paper which he wished the maid to give to the +stable-boy?" + +"He says that it was a ten-pound note. One was found +in his purse. But your other difficulties are not so +formidable as they seem. He is not a stranger to the +district. He has twice lodged at Tavistock in the +summer. The opium was probably brought from London. +The key, having served its purpose, would be hurled +away. The horse may be at the bottom of 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 a new element has been introduced +into the case which may account for his leading the +horse from the stable." + +Holmes pricked up his ears. + +"We have found traces which show that a party of +gypsies encamped on Monday night within a mile of the +spot where the murder took place. On Tuesday they +were gone. Now, presuming that there was some +understanding between Simpson and these gypsies, might +he not have been leading the horse 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 every stable 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. As Desborough, their horse, was second in +the betting, they had an interest in the disappearance +of the favorite. Silas Brown, the trainer, is known +to have had large bets upon the event, and he was no +friend to poor Straker. We have, however, examined +the stables, and there is nothing to connect him with +the affair." + +"And nothing to connect this man Simpson with the +interests of the Mapleton stables?" + +"Nothing at all." + +Holmes leaned back in the carriage, and the +conversation ceased. A few minutes later our driver +pulled up at a neat little red-brick villa with +overhanging eaves which stood by the road. Some +distance off, across a paddock, lay a long gray-tiled +out-building. In every other direction the low curves +of the moor, bronze-colored from the fading ferns, +stretched away to the sky-line, broken only by the +steeples of Tavistock, and by a cluster of houses away +to the westward which marked the 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 of him, entirely absorbed in his own +thoughts. It was only when I touched his arm that he +roused himself with a violent start and stepped out of +the carriage. + +"Excuse me," said he, turning to Colonel Ross, who +had looked at him in some surprise. "I was +day-dreaming." There was a gleam in his eyes and a +suppressed excitement in his manner which convinced +me, used as I was to his ways, that his hand was upon +a clue, though I could not imagine where 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 or two 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 at the time of his death, Inspector?" + +"I have the things themselves in the sitting-room, if +you would care to see them." + +"I should be very glad." We all filed into the front +room and sat round the central table while the +Inspector unlocked a square tin box and laid a small +heap of things before us. There was a box of vestas, +two inches of tallow candle, an A D P brier-root pipe, +a pouch of seal-skin with half 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 an ivory-handled knife with a very +delicate, inflexible blade marked Weiss & Co., London. + +"This is a very singular knife," said Holmes, lifting +it up and examining it minutely. "I presume, as I see +blood-stains upon it, that it is the one which was +found in the dead man's grasp. Watson, this knife 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 the dressing-table, +and that he had picked it up as he left the room. It +was a poor weapon, but perhaps the best that he could +lay his hands on at the moment." + +"Very possible. How about these papers?" + +"Three of them are receipted hay-dealers' accounts. +One of them is a letter of instructions from Colonel +Ross. This other is a milliner's account for +thirty-seven pounds fifteen made out by Madame +Lesurier, of Bond Street, to William Derbyshire. Mrs. +Straker tells us that Derbyshire was a friend of her +husband's and that occasionally his letters were +addressed here." + +"Madam Derbyshire had somewhat expensive tastes," +remarked Holmes, glancing down the account. +"Twenty-two guineas is rather heavy for a single +costume. However there appears to be nothing more to +learn, and we may now go down to the scene of the +crime." + +As we emerged from the sitting-room a woman, who had +been waiting in the passage, took a step forward and +laid her hand upon the Inspector's sleeve. Her face +was haggard and thin and eager, stamped with the print +of 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 of dove-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 he followed the Inspector outside. A short +walk across the moor took us to the hollow in which +the body had been found. At the brink of it was the +furze-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, but placed there." + +"Yes, it was laid across the bush." + +"You fill me with interest, I perceive that the +ground has been trampled up 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 all stood upon that." + +"Excellent." + +"In this bag I have one of the boots which Straker +wore, one of Fitzroy Simpson'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 central position. Then +stretching himself upon his face and leaning his chin +upon his hands, he made a careful study of the +trampled mud in front of him. "Hullo!" said he, +suddenly. "What's this?" It was a wax vesta half +burned, which was so coated with mud that it looked at +first like a little chip of wood. + +"I cannot think how I came to overlook it," said the +Inspector, with an expression of annoyance. + +"It was invisible, buried in the mud. I only saw it +because I was looking 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 of them with marks upon the +ground. Then he clambered up to the rim of the +hollow, and crawled about among the ferns and bushes. + +"I am afraid that there are no more tracks," said the +Inspector. "I have examined the ground very carefully +for a hundred yards in each direction." + +"Indeed!" said Holmes, rising. "I should not have the +impertinence to do it again after what you say. But I +should like to take a little walk over 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's quiet and systematic method of work, +glanced at his watch. "I wish you would come back +with me, Inspector," said he. "There are several +points on which I should like your advice, and +especially as to whether we do not owe it to the +public to remove our horse's name from the entries for +the Cup." + +"Certainly not," cried Holmes, with decision. "I +should let the name stand." + +The Colonel bowed. "I am very glad to have had your +opinion, sir," said he. "You will find us at poor +Straker's house when you have finished your walk, and +we can drive together into Tavistock." + +He turned back with the Inspector, while Holmes and I +walked slowly across the moor. The sun was beginning +to sink behind the stables of Mapleton, and the long, +sloping plain in front of us was tinged with gold, +deepening into rich, ruddy browns where the faded +ferns and brambles caught the evening light. But the +glories of the landscape were all wasted upon my +companion, who was sunk in the deepest thought. + +"It's this way, Watson," said he at last. "We may +leave the question of who killed John Straker for the +instant, and confine ourselves to finding out what has +become of the horse. Now, supposing that he broke +away during or after the tragedy, where could he have +gone to? The horse is a very gregarious creature. If +left to himself his instincts would have been either +to return to King's Pyland or go over to Mapleton. +Why should 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 when they 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 risk and 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 to Mapleton. He is not at King's Pyland. +Therefore he is at Mapleton. Let us take that as a +working hypothesis and see what it leads us to. This +part of the moor, as the Inspector remarked, is very +hard and dry. But it falls away towards Mapleton, and +you can see from here that there is a long hollow over +yonder, which must have been very wet on Monday night. +If our supposition is correct, then the horse must +have crossed that, and there is the point where we +should look for his tracks." + +We had been walking briskly during this conversation, +and a few more minutes brought us to the hollow in +question. At Holmes' request I walked down the bank +to the right, and he to the left, but I had not taken +fifty paces before I heard him give a shout, and saw +him waving his hand to me. The track of a horse was +plainly outlined in the soft earth in front of him, +and the shoe which he took from his pocket exactly +fitted the impression. + +"See the value of imagination," said Holmes. "It is +the one quality which Gregory lacks. We imagined what +might have happened, acted upon the 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 more +quite close to Mapleton. It was Holmes who saw them +first, and he stood pointing with a look of triumph +upon his face. A man's track was visible beside 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's Pyland. Holmes whistled, and we +both followed along after it. His eyes were on the +trail, but I happened to look a little to one side, +and saw to my surprise the same tracks coming back +again in the opposite direction. + +"One for you, Watson," said Holmes, when I pointed it +out. "You have saved us a long walk, which would have +brought us back on our own traces. Let us follow the +return track." + +We had not to go far. It ended at the paving of +asphalt which led up to the gates of the Mapleton +stables. As we approached, a groom ran out from them. + +"We don't want any loiterers about here," said he. + +"I only wished to ask a question," said Holmes, with +his finger and thumb in his waistcoat pocket. "Should +I be too early to see your master, Mr. Silas Brown, if +I were to call at five o'clock to-morrow morning?" + +"Bless you, sir, if any one is about he will be, for +he is always the first stirring. But here he is, sir, +to answer your questions for himself. No, sir, no; it +is as much as my place is worth to let him see me +touch your money. Afterwards, if you like." + +As Sherlock Holmes replaced the half-crown which he +had drawn from his pocket, a fierce-looking elderly +man strode out from the gate with a hunting-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 sweetest of voices. + +"I've no time to talk to every gadabout. We want no +stranger here. Be off, or you may find a dog at your +heels." + +Holmes leaned forward and whispered something in the +trainer's ear. He started 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 in your 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 before Holmes and the trainer reappeared. Never +have I seen such a change as had been brought about in +Silas Brown in that short time. His face was ashy +pale, beads of perspiration shone upon his brow, and +his hands shook until the hunting-crop wagged like a +branch in the wind. His bullying, overbearing manner +was all gone too, and he cringed along at my +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 other winced as he read the menace in his +eyes. + +"Oh no, there shall be no mistake. It shall be there. +Should I change it first or not?" + +Holmes thought a little and then burst out laughing. +"No, don't," said he; "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 turned upon his heel, disregarding the +trembling hand which the other held out to him, and we +set off for King's Pyland. + +"A more perfect compound of the bully, coward, and +sneak than Master Silas Brown I have seldom met with," +remarked Holmes as we trudged along together. + +"He has the horse, then?" + +"He tried to bluster out of it, but I described to him +so exactly what his actions had been upon that morning +that he is convinced that I was watching him. Of +course you observed the peculiarly square toes in the +impressions, 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 first +down, he perceived a strange horse wandering over the +moor. How he went out to it, and his astonishment at +recognizing, from the white forehead which has given +the favorite its name, that chance had put in his +power the 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 to King's +Pyland, and how the devil had shown him how he could +hide the horse until the race was over, and how he had +led it back and concealed it at Mapleton. When I told +him every detail he gave it up and thought only 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 he has every interest in injuring +it?" + +"My dear fellow, he will guard it as the apple of his +eye. He knows that his only hope of mercy is to +produce it safe." + +"Colonel Ross did not impress me as a man who would be +likely to show much 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 of being unofficial. I +don't know whether you observed it, Watson, but the +Colonel's manner has been just a trifle cavalier to +me. I am inclined now to have a little amusement at +his expense. Say nothing to him about the horse." + +"Certainly not without your permission." + +"And of course this is all quite a minor point +compared to the question of 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 hours in Devonshire, and that he should +give up an investigation which he had begun so +brilliantly was quite incomprehensible to me. Not a +word more could I draw from him until we were back at +the trainer's house. The Colonel and the Inspector +were awaiting us in the parlor. + +"My friend and I return to town by the night-express," +said Holmes. "We have 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 difficulties in the way," said he. "I have +every hope, however, that your horse will start upon +Tuesday, and I beg that you will have your jockey in +readiness. 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 to wait here for an instant, I have a +question which I should like to put to 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 see that 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 his shoulders. "I should prefer to have the +horse." + +I was about to make some reply in defence of my friend +when he entered the 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 door open for us. A sudden idea seemed to +occur to Holmes, for he leaned forward 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 and rubbed 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 epidemic among the sheep. +Drive on, coachman!" + +Colonel Ross still wore an expression which showed the +poor opinion which he had formed of my companion's +ability, but I saw by the Inspector'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 for Winchester to see the race for the Wessex +Cup. Colonel Ross met us by appointment outside the +station, and we drove in his drag to the course beyond +the town. His face was grave, and his manner was cold +in the extreme. + +"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. "A child would know Silver +Blaze, with his white forehead and his mottled +off-foreleg." + +"How is the betting?" + +"Well, that is the curious part of it. You could have +got fifteen to one yesterday, but the price has become +shorter and shorter, until you can hardly 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 at the card to see the entries. + +Wessex Plate [it ran] 50 sovs each h ft with 1000 sovs +added for four and five year olds. Second, L300. +Third, L200. New course (one mile and five furlongs). +Mr. Heath Newton's The Negro. Red cap. Cinnamon +jacket. +Colonel Wardlaw's Pugilist. Pink cap. Blue and black +jacket. +Lord Backwater's Desborough. Yellow cap and sleeves. +Colonel Ross's Silver Blaze. Black cap. Red jacket. +Duke of Balmoral's Iris. Yellow and black stripes. +Lord Singleford's Rasper. Purple cap. Black sleeves. + +"We scratched our other one, and put all hopes on your +word," said the Colonel. "Why, what is that? Silver +Blaze favorite?" + +"Five to four against Silver Blaze!" roared the ring. +"Five to four against Silver Blaze! Five to fifteen +against Desborough! Five to four on 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 great agitation. "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 enclosure and cantered past us, bearing on +its back the well-known black and red of the Colonel. + +"That's not my horse," cried the owner. "That beast +has not a white hair upon 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! An excellent +start!" he cried suddenly. "There they are, coming +round the curve!" + +From our drag we had a superb view as they came up the +straight. The six horses 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 the Colonel's horse, coming away with a +rush, passed the post a good six lengths before its +rival, the Duke of Balmoral's Iris making a bad third. + +"It's my race, anyhow," gasped the Colonel, passing +his hand over his eyes. "I confess that I can make +neither head nor tail of it. Don't you think that you +have kept up your mystery long enough, Mr. Holmes?" + +"Certainly, Colonel, you shall know everything. Let +us all go round and have a look at the horse together. +Here he is," he continued, as we made our way into the +weighing enclosure, where only owners and their +friends find admittance. "You have only to wash his +face and his leg in spirits of wine, and you will find +that he is the same old Silver Blaze as ever." + +"You take my breath away!" + +"I found him in the hands of a faker, and took the +liberty of running him 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 apologies for having doubted your +ability. You have done me a great service by +recovering my horse. You would do me a greater still +if you could lay your 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! Where is he, then?" + +"He is here." + +"Here! Where?" + +"In my company at the present moment." + +The Colonel flushed angrily. "I quite recognize that +I am under obligations to you, Mr. Holmes," said he, +"but I must regard what you have just said as either a +very bad joke or an insult." + +Sherlock Holmes laughed. "I assure you that I have +not associated you with the crime, Colonel," said he. +"The real murderer is standing immediately behind +you." He stepped past and laid his hand upon the +glossy 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 was done in self-defence, and that John +Straker was a man who was entirely unworthy of your +confidence. But there goes the bell, and as I stand +to win a little on this next race, I shall defer a +lengthy explanation until a more fitting time." + + + + +We had the corner of a Pullman car to ourselves that +evening as we whirled back to London, and I fancy that +the journey was a short one to Colonel Ross as well as +to myself, as we listened to our companion's narrative +of the events which had occurred at the Dartmoor +training-stables upon the Monday night, and the means +by which he had unravelled them. + +"I confess," said he, "that any theories which I had +formed from the newspaper reports were entirely +erroneous. And yet there were indications there, had +they not been overlaid by other details which +concealed their true import. I went to Devonshire +with the conviction that Fitzroy Simpson was the true +culprit, although, of course, I saw that the evidence +against him was by no means complete. It was while I +was in the carriage, just as we reached the trainer's +house, that the immense significance of the curried +mutton occurred to me. You may remember that I was +distrait, and remained sitting after you had all +alighted. I was marvelling in my own mind how I could +possibly have overlooked so obvious a clue." + +"I confess," said the Colonel, "that even now I cannot +see how it helps us." + +"It was the first link in my chain of reasoning. +Powdered opium is by no means tasteless. The flavor +is not disagreeable, but it is perceptible. Were it +mixed with any ordinary dish the eater would +undoubtedly detect it, and would probably eat no more. +A curry was exactly the medium which would disguise +this taste. By no possible supposition could this +stranger, Fitzroy Simpson, have caused curry to be +served in the trainer's family that night, and it is +surely too monstrous a coincidence to suppose that he +happened to come along with powdered opium upon the +very night when a dish happened to be served which +would disguise the flavor. That is unthinkable. +Therefore Simpson becomes eliminated from the case, +and our attention centers upon Straker and his wife, +the only two people who could have chosen curried +mutton for supper that night. The opium was added +after the dish was set aside for the stable-boy, for +the others had the same for supper with no ill +effects. Which of them, then, had access to that dish +without the maid seeing them? + +"Before deciding that question I had grasped the +significance of the silence 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, he had not barked enough to +arouse the two lads in the loft. Obviously the +midnight visitor was some one whom the dog knew well. + +"I was already convinced, or almost convinced, that +John Straker went down 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 drug his own stable-boy? And yet I was at a +loss to know why. There have been cases before now +where trainers have made sure of great sums of money +by laying against their own horses, through agents, +and then preventing them from winning by fraud. +Sometimes it is a pulling jockey. Sometimes it is +some surer and subtler means. What was it here? I +hoped that the contents of his pockets might help me +to form a conclusion. + +"And they did so. You cannot have forgotten the +singular knife which was found in the dead man's hand, +a knife which certainly no sane man would choose for a +weapon. It was, as Dr. Watson told us, a form of +knife which is used for the most delicate operations +known in surgery. And it was to be used for a +delicate operation that night. You must know, with +your wide experience of turf matters, Colonel Ross, +that it is possible to make a slight nick upon the +tendons of a horse's ham, and to do it subcutaneously, +so as to leave absolutely no trace. A horse so +treated would develop a slight lameness, which would +be put down to a strain in exercise 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 the horse out on to the moor. So +spirited a creature would have certainly roused the +soundest of sleepers when it felt the prick of the +knife. It was absolutely necessary to do it in the +open air." + +"I have been blind!" cried the Colonel. "Of course +that was why he needed the candle, and struck the +match." + +"Undoubtedly. But in examining his belongings I was +fortunate enough to discover not only the method of +the crime, but even its motives. As a man of the +world, Colonel, you know that men do not carry other +people's bills about in their pockets. We have most +of us quite enough to do to settle our own. I at once +concluded that Straker was leading a double life, and +keeping a second establishment. The nature of the +bill showed that 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 they can buy +twenty-guinea walking dresses for their ladies. I +questioned Mrs. Straker as to the dress without her +knowing it, and having satisfied myself that it had +never reached her, I made a note of the milliner's +address, and felt that by calling there with Straker's +photograph I could easily dispose of the mythical +Derbyshire. + +"From that time on all was plain. Straker had led out +the horse to a hollow where his light would be +invisible. Simpson in his flight had dropped 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 the hollow, he had got behind the horse +and had struck a light; but the creature frightened at +the sudden glare, and with the strange instinct of +animals feeling that some mischief was intended, had +lashed out, and the 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 +delicate task, and so, as he fell, his knife gashed +his thigh. Do I make it clear?" + +"Wonderful!" cried the Colonel. "Wonderful! You +might have been there!" + +"My final shot was, I confess a very long one. It +struck me that so astute a man as Straker would not +undertake this delicate tendon-nicking without a +little practice. What could he practice on? My eyes +fell upon the sheep, and I asked a question which, +rather to my surprise, showed that my surmise was +correct. + +"When I returned to London I called upon the milliner, +who had recognized Straker as an excellent customer of +the name of Derbyshire, who had a very dashing wife, +with a strong partiality for expensive dresses. I +have no doubt that this woman had plunged him over +head and ears in debt, and so led him into this +miserable plot." + +"You have explained all but one thing," cried the +Colonel. "Where was the horse?" + +"Ah, it bolted, and was cared for by one of your +neighbors. We must have an amnesty in that direction, +I think. This is Clapham Junction, if I am not +mistaken, and we shall be in Victoria in less than ten +minutes. If you care to smoke a cigar in our rooms, +Colonel, I shall be happy to give you any other +details which might interest you." + + + +Adventure II + + +The Yellow Face + + +[In publishing these short sketches based upon the +numerous cases in which my companion's singular gifts +have made us the listeners to, and eventually the +actors in, some strange drama, it is only natural that +I should dwell rather upon his successes than upon his +failures. And this not so much for the sake of his +reputation--for, indeed, it was when he was at his +wits' end that his energy and his versatility were +most admirable--but because where he failed it +happened too often that no one else succeeded, and +that the tale was left forever without a conclusion. +Now and again, however, it chanced that even when he +erred, the truth was still discovered. I have noted +of some half-dozen cases of the kind; the Adventure of +the Musgrave Ritual and that which I am about to +recount 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 undoubtedly one of the +finest boxers of his weight that I have ever seen; but +he looked upon aimless bodily exertion as a waste of +energy, and he seldom bestirred himself save when +there was some professional object to be served. Then +he was absolutely untiring and indefatigable. That he +should have kept himself in training under such +circumstances is remarkable, but his diet was usually +of the sparest, and his habits were simple to the +verge of austerity. Save for the occasional use of +cocaine, he had no vices, and he only turned to the +drug as a protest against the monotony of existence +when cases were scanty and the papers uninteresting. + +One day in early spring he had so far relaxed as to +go for a walk with me in the Park, where the first +faint shoots of green were breaking out upon the elms, +and the sticky spear-heads of the chestnuts were just +beginning to burst into their five-fold leaves. For +two hours we rambled about together, in silence for +the most part, as befits two men who know each other +intimately. It was nearly five before we were back in +Baker Street once more. + +"Beg pardon, sir," said our page-boy, as he opened the +door. "There's been a gentleman here asking for you, +sir." + +Holmes glanced reproachfully at me. "So much for +afternoon walks!" said he. "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 +he cries, '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 wait in the open +air, for I feel half choked,' says he. 'I'll be back +before long.' And with that he ups and he outs, and +all I could say wouldn't hold him back." + +"Well, well, you did your best," said Holmes, as we +walked into our room. "It's very annoying, though, +Watson. I was badly in need of a case, and this +looks, from the man's impatience, as if it were of +importance. Hullo! That's not your pipe on the table. +He must have left his behind him. A nice old brier +with a good long stem of what the tobacconists call +amber. I wonder how many real amber mouthpieces there +are in London? Some people think that a fly in it is +a sign. Well, he must have been disturbed in his mind +to leave a pipe behind him which he evidently 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 once in the +amber. Each of these mends, done, as you observe, +with silver bands, must have cost more than the pipe +did originally. The man must value the pipe highly +when he prefers to patch it up rather than buy a new +one with the same money." + +"Anything else?" I asked, for Holmes was turning the +pipe about in his hand, and staring at it in his +peculiar pensive way. + +He held it up and tapped on it with his long, thin +fore-finger, as a professor might who was lecturing on +a bone. + +"Pipes are occasionally of extraordinary interest," +said he. "Nothing has more individuality, save +perhaps watches and bootlaces. The indications here, +however, are neither very marked nor very important. +The owner is obviously a muscular man, left-handed, +with an excellent set of teeth, careless in his +habits, and with no need to practise economy." + +My friend threw out the information in a very offhand +way, but I saw that 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 smoke for 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 a match could +not have done that. Why should a man hold a match to +the side of his pipe? But you cannot light it at a +lamp without getting the bowl charred. And it is all +on the right side of the pipe. From that I gather +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 the flame. You +might do it once the other way, but not as a +constancy. This has always been held so. Then he has +bitten through his amber. It takes a muscular, +energetic fellow, and one with a good set of teeth, to +do that. But if I am not mistaken I hear him upon the +stair, so we shall have 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 brown wide-awake in +his hand. I should have put him at about thirty, +though he was really some years older. + +"I beg your pardon," said he, with some embarrassment; +"I suppose I should have knocked. Yes, of course I +should have knocked. The fact is that I am a little +upset, and you must put it all down to that." He +passed his hand over his forehead like a man who is +half dazed, and then fell 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, and more 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 life seems 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 the world. I want to know what I +ought to do next. I hope to God you'll be able to +tell me." + +He spoke in little, sharp, jerky outbursts, and it +seemed to me that to speak at all was very painful to +him, and that his will all through was overriding his +inclinations. + +"It's a very delicate thing," said he. "One does not +like to speak of one's domestic affairs to strangers. +It seems dreadful to discuss the conduct of one's wife +with two men whom I have never seen before. It's +horrible to have to do it. But I've got to the end of +my tether, and I must 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 would suggest that you cease to write your +name upon the lining of your hat, or else that you +turn the crown towards the person whom you are +addressing. I was about to say that my friend and I +have listened to a good many strange secrets in this +room, and that we have had the good fortune to bring +peace to many troubled souls. I trust that we may do +as much for you. Might I beg you, as time may prove +to be of importance, to furnish me with the facts of +your case without further delay?" + +Our visitor again passed his hand over his forehead, +as if he found it bitterly hard. From every gesture +and expression I could see that he was a reserved, +self-contained man, with a dash of pride in his +nature, more likely to hide his wounds than to expose +them. Then suddenly, with a fierce gesture of his +closed hand, like one who throws reserve to the winds, +he began. + +"The facts are these, Mr. Holmes," said he. "I am a +married man, and have been so for three years. During +that time my wife and I have loved each other as +fondly and lived as happily as any two that ever were +joined. We have not had a difference, not one, in +thought or word or deed. And now, since last Monday, +there has suddenly sprung up a barrier between us, and +I find that there is something in her life and in her +thought of which I know as little as if she were the +woman who brushes by 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 go any further, Mr. Holmes. Effie loves +me. Don't let there be any mistake about that. She +loves me with her whole heart and soul, and never more +than now. I know it. I feel it. I don't want to +argue about that. A man can tell easily enough when a +woman loves him. But there's this secret between us, +and we can never be the same until it is cleared." + +"Kindly let me have the facts, Mr. Munro," said +Holmes, with some impatience. + +"I'll tell you what I know about Effie's history. She +was a widow when I met her first, though quite +young--only twenty-five. Her name then was Mrs. +Hebron. She went out to America when she was young, +and lived in the town of Atlanta, where she married +this Hebron, who was a lawyer with a good practice. +They had one child, but the yellow fever broke out +badly in the place, and both husband and child died of +it. I have seen his death certificate. This sickened +her of America, and she came back to live with a +maiden aunt at Pinner, in Middlesex. I may mention +that her husband had left her comfortably off, and +that she had a capital of about four thousand five +hundred pounds, which had been so well invested by him +that it returned an average of seven per cent. She +had only been six 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 or eight hundred, we found ourselves +comfortably off, and took a nice eighty-pound-a-year +villa at Norbury. Our little place was very +countrified, considering that it is so close to town. +We had an inn and two houses a little above us, and a +single cottage at the other side of the field which +faces us, and except those there were no houses until +you got half way to the station. My business took me +into town at certain seasons, but in summer I had less +to do, and then in our country home my wife and I were +just as happy as could be wished. I tell you that +there never was a shadow between us until this +accursed affair began. + +"There's one thing I ought to tell you before I go +further. When we married, my wife made over all her +property to me--rather against my will, for I saw how +awkward it would be if my business affairs went wrong. +However, she would have it so, and it was done. Well, +about six weeks ago she came to me. + +"'Jack,' said she, 'when you took my money you said +that if ever I wanted 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 new dress 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 my banker, 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 that there had ever been any secret between +us. I gave her a check, and I never thought any more +of the matter. It may have nothing to do with what +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 our house. There is just a field between us, +but to reach it you have to go along the road and then +turn down a lane. Just beyond it is a nice little +grove of Scotch firs, and I used to be very fond of +strolling down there, for trees are always a +neighborly kind of things. The cottage 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 and honeysuckle about it. I have +stood many a time and thought what a neat little +homestead it would make. + +"Well, last Monday evening I was taking a stroll down +that way, when I met an empty van coming up the lane, +and saw a pile of carpets and things lying about on +the grass-plot beside the porch. It was clear that +the cottage had at last been let. I walked past it, +and wondered what sort of folk they were who had come +to live so near us. And as I looked I suddenly became +aware that a face was watching me out of one of the +upper windows. + +"I don't know what there was about that face, Mr. +Holmes, but it seemed to send a chill right down my +back. I was some little way off, so that I could not +make out the features, but there was something +unnatural and inhuman about the face. That was the +impression that I had, and I moved quickly forwards to +get a nearer view of the person who was watching me. +But as I did so the face suddenly disappeared, so +suddenly that it seemed to have been plucked away into +the darkness of the room. I stood for five minutes +thinking the business over, and trying to analyze my +impressions. I could not tell if the face were that +of a man or a woman. It had been too far from me for +that. But its color was what had impressed me most. +It was of a livid chalky white, and with something set +and rigid about it which was shockingly unnatural. So +disturbed was I that I determined to see a little more +of the new inmates of the cottage. I approached and +knocked at the door, which was instantly opened 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. 'I see that you have only just +moved in, so I thought that if I could be of any help +to you in any--' + +"'Ay, we'll just ask ye when we want ye,' said she, +and shut the door in my face. Annoyed at the churlish +rebuff, I turned my back and walked home. All +evening, though I tried to think of other things, my +mind would still turn to the apparition at the window +and the rudeness of the woman. I determined to say +nothing about the former to my wife, for she is a +nervous, highly strung woman, and I had no wish that +she would share the unpleasant impression which had +been produced upon myself. I remarked to her, +however, before I fell asleep, that the cottage was +now occupied, to which she returned no reply. + +"I am usually an extremely sound sleeper. It has been +a standing jest in the family that nothing could ever +wake me during the night. And yet somehow on that +particular night, whether it may have been the slight +excitement produced by my little adventure or not I +know not, but I slept much more lightly than usual. +Half in my dreams I was dimly conscious that something +was going on in the room, and gradually became aware +that my wife had dressed herself and was slipping on +her mantle and her bonnet. My lips were parted to +murmur out some sleepy words of surprise or +remonstrance at this untimely preparation, when +suddenly my half-opened eyes fell upon her face, +illuminated by the candle-light, and astonishment held +me dumb. She wore an expression such as I had never +seen before--such as I should have thought her +incapable of assuming. She was deadly pale and +breathing fast, glancing furtively towards the bed as +she fastened her mantle, to see if she had disturbed +me. Then, thinking that I was still asleep, she +slipped noiselessly from the room, and an instant +later I heard a sharp creaking which could only come +from the hinges of the front door. I sat up in bed +and rapped my knuckles against the rail to make +certain that I was truly awake. Then I took my watch +from under the pillow. It was three in the morning. +What on this earth could my wife be doing out on the +country road at three in the morning? + +"I had sat for about twenty minutes turning the thing +over in my mind and trying to find some possible +explanation. The more I thought, the more +extraordinary and inexplicable did it appear. I was +still puzzling over it when I heard the door gently +close again, and her footsteps coming 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, and that cry and start troubled me more +than all the rest, for there was something +indescribably guilty about them. My wife had always +been a woman of a frank, open nature, and it gave me a +chill to see her slinking into her own room, and +crying out and wincing when her own husband spoke to +her. + +"'You awake, Jack!' she cried, with a nervous laugh. +'Why, I thought that 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 that her fingers were trembling as she +undid the fastenings of her mantle. 'Why, I never +remember having done such a thing in my life before. +The fact is that I felt as though I were choking, and +had a perfect longing for a breath of fresh air. I +really think that I should have fainted if I had not +gone out. I stood at the door for a few minutes, and +now I am quite myself again.' + +"All the time that she was telling me this story she +never once looked in my direction, and her voice was +quite unlike her usual tones. It was evident to me +that she was saying what was false. I said nothing in +reply, but turned my face to the wall, sick at heart, +with my mind filled with a thousand venomous doubts +and suspicions. What was it that my wife was +concealing from me? Where had she been during that +strange expedition? I felt that I should have no +peace until I knew, and yet I shrank 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 after theory, each more unlikely than the last. + +"I should have gone to the City that day, but I was +too disturbed in my mind to be able to pay attention +to business matters. My wife seemed to be as upset as +myself, and I could see from the little questioning +glances which she kept shooting at me that she +understood that I disbelieved her statement, and that +she was at her wits' end what to do. We hardly +exchanged a word during breakfast, and immediately +afterwards I went out for a walk, that I might think +the matter out in the fresh morning air. + +"I went as far as the Crystal Palace, spent an hour in +the grounds, and was back in Norbury by one o'clock. +It happened that my way took me past the cottage, and +I stopped for an instant to look at the windows, and +to see if I could catch a glimpse of the strange face +which had looked out 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 my emotions were nothing to those which +showed themselves upon her face when our eyes met. +She seemed for an instant to wish to shrink back +inside the house again; and then, seeing how useless +all concealment must be, she came forward, with a very +white face and frightened eyes which belied the smile +upon her lips. + +"'Ah, Jack,' she said, 'I have just been in to see if +I can be of any assistance 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 should visit 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 voice changes as you speak. When +have I ever had a secret from you? I shall enter 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 back with +convulsive strength. + +"'I implore you not to do this, Jack,' she cried. 'I +swear that I will tell you everything some day, but +nothing but misery can come of it if you enter that +cottage.' Then, as I tried to shake her off, she +clung to me in a frenzy of entreaty. + +"'Trust me, Jack!' she cried. 'Trust me only this +once. You will never have cause to regret it. You +know that I would not have a secret from you if it +were not for your own sake. Our whole lives are at +stake in this. If you come home with me, all will be +well. If you force your way into that cottage, all is +over between us.' + +"There was such earnestness, such despair, in her +manner that her words arrested me, and I stood +irresolute before the door. + +"'I will trust you on one condition, and on one +condition only,' said I at last. 'It is that this +mystery comes to an end from now. You are at liberty +to preserve your secret, but you must promise me that +there shall be no more nightly visits, no more doings +which are kept from my knowledge. I am willing to +forget those which are passed if you will promise that +there shall be no more in the future.' + +"'I was sure that you would trust me,' she cried, with +a great sigh of relief. 'It shall be just as you +wish. Come away--oh, come away up to the house.' + +"Still pulling at my sleeve, she led me away from the +cottage. As we went I glanced back, and there was +that yellow livid face watching us out of the upper +window. What link could there be between that +creature and my wife? Or how could the coarse, rough +woman whom I had seen the day before be connected with +her? It was a strange puzzle, and yet I knew 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 abide loyally by our engagement, for, as +far as I know, she never stirred out of the house. On +the third day, however, I had ample evidence that her +solemn promise was not enough to hold her back from +this secret influence 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 of the 3.36, which is my usual train. +As I entered the house the maid ran into 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 make sure that she was not in the +house. As I did so I happened to glance out of one of +the upper windows, and saw the maid with whom I had +just been speaking running across the field in the +direction of the cottage. Then of 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 with anger, I rushed down and +hurried across, determined to end the matter once and +forever. I saw my wife and the maid hurrying back +along the lane, but I did not stop to speak with them. +In the cottage lay the secret which was casting a +shadow over my life. I vowed that, come what might, +it should be a secret no longer. I did not even knock +when I reached it, but turned the handle and rushed +into the passage. + +"It was all still and quiet upon the ground floor. In +the kitchen a kettle was singing on the fire, and a +large black cat lay coiled up in the 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 up the 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 pictures +were of the most common and vulgar description, save +in the one chamber at the window of which I had seen +the strange face. That was comfortable and elegant, +and all my suspicions rose into a fierce bitter flame +when I saw that on the mantelpiece stood a copy of a +full-length photograph of my wife, which had been +taken at my request only three months ago. + +"I stayed long enough to make certain that the house +was absolutely empty. Then I left it, feeling a +weight at my heart such as I had never had before. My +wife came out into the hall as I entered my house; but +I was too hurt and angry to speak with her, and +pushing past her, I made my way into my study. She +followed me, however, before I could close the door. + +"'I am sorry that I broke my promise, Jack,' said she; +'but if you knew all 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, and who it is to whom you have given +that photograph, there can never be any confidence +between us,' said I, and breaking away from her, I +left the house. 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 first shadow +that has come between us, and it has so shaken me that +I do not know what I should do for the best. Suddenly +this morning it occurred to me that you were the man +to advise me, so I have hurried to you now, and I +place myself unreservedly in your hands. If there is +any point which I have not made clear, pray question +me about it. But, above all, tell me quickly 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 extraordinary statement, which had been delivered +in the jerky, broken fashion of a man who is under the +influence of extreme emotions. My companion sat +silent 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 face which you saw at the window?" + +"Each time that I saw it I was some distance away from +it, so that it is impossible 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 rigidity about 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, and all 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 the cottage is now permanently +deserted we may have some difficulty. If, on the +other hand, as I fancy is more likely, the inmates +were warned of your coming, and left before you entered +yesterday, then they may be back 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 your way in, but send a wire +to my friend and me. We shall be with you within an +hour of receiving it, and we shall then very soon get +to the bottom of 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 have a cause for it." + +"I am afraid that this is a bad business, Watson," +said my companion, as he returned after accompanying +Mr. Grant Munro to the door. "What do you make 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 room in the place, and has her photograph +above his fireplace. Upon my word, Watson, there is +something very attractive about that livid face at the +window, 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 turn out 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 should not enter it? The facts, as I read +them, are something like this: This woman was married +in America. Her husband developed some hateful +qualities; or shall we say that he contracted some +loathsome disease, and became a leper or an imbecile? +She flies from him at last, returns to England, +changes her name, and starts her life, as she thinks, +afresh. She has been married three years, and +believes that her position is quite secure, having +shown her husband the death certificate of some man +whose name she has assumed, when suddenly her +whereabouts is discovered by her first husband; or, we +may suppose, by some unscrupulous woman who has +attached herself to the invalid. They write to the +wife, and threaten to come and expose her. She asks +for a hundred pounds, and endeavors to buy them off. +They come in spite of it, and when the husband +mentions casually to the wife that there are new-comers +in the cottage, she knows in some way that they are +her pursuers. She waits until her husband is asleep, +and then she rushes down to endeavor to persuade them +to leave her in peace. Having no success, she goes +again next morning, and her husband meets her, as he +has told us, as she comes out. She promises him then +not to go there again, but two days afterwards the +hope of getting rid of those dreadful neighbors was +too strong for her, and she made another attempt, +taking down with her the photograph which had probably +been demanded from her. In the midst of this +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 the cottage, hurried the +inmates out at the back door, into the grove of +fir-trees, probably, which was mentioned as standing +near. In this way he found the place deserted. I +shall be very much surprised, however, if it is still so +when he reconnoitres it this evening. What do you +think of my theory?" + +"It is all surmise." + +"But at least it covers all the facts. When new facts +come to our knowledge which cannot be covered by it, +it will be time enough to reconsider it. We can do +nothing more until we have a message from our friend +at Norbury." + +But we had not a very long time to wait for that. It +came just as we had finished our tea. "The cottage is +still tenanted," it said. "Have seen the face again +at the window. Will meet the seven o'clock train, and +will take no steps until you arrive." + + +He was waiting on the platform when we stepped out, +and we could see in the light of the station lamps +that he was very pale, and quivering with agitation. + +"They are still there, Mr. Holmes," said he, laying +his hand hard upon my friend's sleeve. "I saw lights +in the cottage as I came down. We shall settle it now +once and for all." + +"What is your plan, then?" asked Holmes, as he walked +down the dark tree-lined road. + +"I am going to force my way in and see for myself who +is in the house. I wish you both to be there as +witnesses." + +"You are quite determined to do this, in spite of your +wife's warning that 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 than indefinite doubt. We had better go up +at once. Of course, legally, we are putting ourselves +hopelessly in the wrong; but I think that it is worth +it." + +It was a very dark night, and a thin rain began to +fall as we turned from the high road into a narrow +lane, deeply rutted, with hedges on either side. Mr. +Grant Munro pushed impatiently forward, however, and +we stumbled after him as best we could. + +"There are the lights of my house," he murmured, +pointing to a glimmer among 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 building close beside us. A yellow bar +falling across the black foreground showed that the +door was not quite closed, and one window in the upper +story was brightly illuminated. As we looked, we saw +a dark blur moving across the blind. + +"There is that creature!" cried Grant Munro. "You can +see for yourselves that 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 shadow and stood in the golden track of the +lamp-light. I could not see her face in the darkness, +but her arms were thrown out in an attitude of entreaty. + +"For God's sake, don't Jack!" she cried. "I had a +presentiment that you would come this evening. Think +better of it, dear! Trust me again, and you will +never have cause to regret it." + +"I have trusted you too long, Effie," he cried, +sternly. "Leave go of me! I must pass you. My +friends and I are going to settle this matter once and +forever!" He pushed her to one side, and we followed +closely after him. As he threw the door open an old +woman ran out in front of him and tried to bar his +passage, but he thrust her back, and an instant +afterwards we were all upon the stairs. Grant Munro +rushed into the lighted room at the top, and we +entered at his heels. + +It was a cosey, well-furnished apartment, with two +candles burning upon the table and two upon the +mantelpiece. In the corner, stooping over a desk, +there sat what appeared to be a little girl. Her face +was turned away as we entered, but we could see that +she was dressed in a red frock, and that she had long +white gloves on. As she whisked round to us, I gave a +cry of surprise and horror. The face which she turned +towards us was of the strangest livid tint, and the +features were absolutely devoid of any expression. An +instant later the mystery was explained. Holmes, with +a laugh, passed his hand behind the child's ear, a +mask peeled off from her countenance, and there was a +little coal black negress, with all her white teeth +flashing in amusement at our amazed 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 into the room with a proud, set face. "You +have forced me, against my own judgment, to tell you, +and now we must both make the best of it. My husband +died at Atlanta. My child survived." + +"Your child?" + +She drew a large silver locket from her bosom. "You +have never seen this open." + +"I understood that it did not open." + +She touched a spring, and the front hinged back. +There was a portrait within of a man strikingly +handsome and intelligent-looking, but bearing +unmistakable signs upon his features of his African +descent. + +"That is John Hebron, of Atlanta," said the lady, "and +a nobler man never walked the earth. I cut myself off +from my race in order to wed him, but never once while +he lived did I for an instant regret it. It was our +misfortune that our only child took after his people +rather than mine. It is often so in such matches, and +little Lucy is darker far than ever 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 and nestled up against the lady's dress. +"When I left her in America," she continued, "it was +only because her health was weak, and the change might +have done her harm. She was given to the care of a +faithful Scotch woman who had once been our servant. +Never for an instant did I dream of 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. God forgive me, I feared that I should lose +you, and I had not the courage to tell you. I had to +choose between you, and in my weakness I turned away +from my own little girl. For three years I have kept +her existence a secret from you, but I heard from the +nurse, and I knew that all was well with her. At +last, however, there came an overwhelming desire to +see the child once more. I struggled against it, but +in vain. Though I knew the danger, I determined to +have the child over, if it were but for a few weeks. +I sent a hundred pounds to the nurse, and I gave her +instructions about this cottage, so that she might +come as a neighbor, without my appearing to be in any +way connected with her. I pushed my precautions so +far as to order her to keep the child in the house +during the daytime, and to cover up her little face +and hands so that even those who might see her at the +window should not gossip about there being a black +child in the neighborhood. If I had been less +cautious I might have been more wise, but I was half +crazy with fear that you should learn the truth. + +"It was you who told me first that the cottage was +occupied. I should have waited for the morning, but I +could not sleep for excitement, and so at last I +slipped out, knowing how difficult it is to awake you. +But you saw me go, and that was the beginning of my +troubles. Next day you had my secret at your mercy, +but you nobly refrained from pursuing your advantage. +Three days later, however, the nurse and child only +just escaped from the back door as you rushed in at +the front one. And now to-night you at last know all, +and I ask you what is to become of us, my child and +me?" She clasped her hands and waited for an answer. + +It was a long ten minutes before Grant Munro broke the +silence, and when his answer came it was one of which +I love to think. He lifted the little child, kissed +her, and then, still carrying her, he held his other +hand out to his wife and turned towards the door. + +"We can talk it over more comfortably at home," said +he. "I am not a very good man, Effie, but I think +that I am a better one than you have given me credit +for being." + +Holmes and I followed them down the lane, and my +friend plucked at my sleeve as we came out. + +"I think," said he, "that we shall be of more use in +London than in Norbury." + +Not another word did he say of the case until late +that night, when he was turning away, with his lighted +candle, for his bedroom. + +"Watson," said he, "if it should ever strike you that +I am getting a little over-confident in my powers, or +giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly +whisper 'Norbury' in my ear, and I shall be infinitely +obliged to you." + + + +Adventure III + + +The Stock-Broker's Clerk + + +Shortly after my marriage I had bought a connection in +the Paddington district. Old Mr. Farquhar, from whom +I purchased it, had at one time an excellent general +practice; but his age, and an affliction of the nature +of 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 heal others must +himself be whole, and looks askance at the curative +powers of the man whose own case is beyond the reach +of his drugs. Thus as my predecessor weakened his +practice declined, until when I purchased it from him +it had sunk from twelve hundred to little more than +three hundred 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 as flourishing as +ever. + +For three months after taking over the practice I was +kept very closely at work, and saw little of my friend +Sherlock Holmes, for I was too busy to visit Baker +Street, and he seldom went anywhere himself save upon +professional business. I was surprised, therefore, +when, one morning in June, as I sat reading the +British Medical Journal after breakfast, I heard a +ring at the bell, followed by the high, somewhat +strident tones of my old companion's voice. + +"Ah, my dear Watson," said he, striding into the room, +"I am very delighted to see you! I trust that Mrs. +Watson has entirely recovered from all the little +excitements connected with our adventure of the Sign +of Four." + +"Thank you, we are both very well," said I, shaking +him warmly by the hand. + +"And I hope, also," he continued, sitting down in the +rocking-chair, "that the cares of medical practice +have not entirely obliterated the interest which you +used to take in our little deductive problems." + +"On the contrary," I answered, "it was only last night +that I was looking 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 such experiences." + +"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 the debt." + +"Ha! Nothing could be better," said Holmes, leaning +back in his chair and looking keenly at me from under +his half closed lids. "I perceive that you have been +unwell lately. Summer colds are always a little +trying." + +"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 on earth--" I began, but Holmes +answered my question before it was asked. + +"Your slippers are new," he said. "You could not have +had them more than a few weeks. The soles which you +are at this moment presenting to me are slightly +scorched. For a moment I thought they might have got +wet and been burned in the drying. But near the instep +there is a small circular wafer of paper with the +shopman's hieroglyphics upon it. Damp would of course +have removed this. You had, then, been sitting with +your feet outstretched to the fire, which a man would +hardly do even in so wet a June as this if he were in +his full health." + +Like all Holmes's reasoning the thing seemed +simplicity itself when it was once explained. He read +the thought upon my features, and his smile had 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 come to Birmingham, +then?" + +"Certainly. What is the case?" + +"You shall hear it all in the train. My client is +outside in a four-wheeler. Can you come at once?" + +"In an instant." I scribbled a note to my neighbor, +rushed upstairs to explain 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 were built." + +"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. But this gentleman in the cab is my +client, Mr. Hall Pycroft. Allow me to introduce you +to him. Whip your horse up, cabby, for we have only +just time to catch our train." + +The man whom I found myself facing was a well built, +fresh-complexioned young fellow, with a frank, honest +face and a slight, crisp, yellow mustache. 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 class who have been labeled cockneys, but +who give us our crack volunteer regiments, and who +turn out more fine athletes and sportsmen than any +body of men in these islands. His round, ruddy face +was naturally full of cheeriness, but the corners of +his mouth seemed to me to be pulled down in a +half-comical distress. It was not, however, until we +were all in a first-class carriage and well started +upon our journey to Birmingham that I was able to +learn what the trouble was which had driven him to +Sherlock Holmes. + +"We have a clear run here of seventy minutes," Holmes +remarked. "I want you, Mr. Hall Pycroft, to tell my +friend your very interesting experience exactly as you +have told it to me, or with more detail if possible. +It will be of use to me to hear the succession of +events again. It is a case, Watson, which may prove +to have something in it, or may prove to have nothing, +but which, at least, presents those unusual and 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 a confounded fool. Of course it may work +out all right, and I don't see that I could have done +otherwise; but if I have lost my crib and get nothing +in exchange I shall feel what a soft Johnnie I have +been. I'm not very good at telling a story, Dr. +Watson, but it is like this with me: + +"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 +them five years, and old Coxon gave me a ripping good +testimonial when the smash came, but of course we +clerks were all turned adrift, the twenty-seven of us. +I tried here and tried there, but there were lots of +other chaps on the same lay as myself, and it was a +perfect frost for a long time. I had been taking +three pounds a week at Coxon's, and I had saved about +seventy of them, but I soon worked my way through that +and out 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 the envelopes to stick +them to. I had worn out my boots paddling up office +stairs, 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-broking firm in Lombard Street. I dare +say E. C. Is not much in your line, but I can tell you +that this is about the richest house in London. The +advertisement was to be answered by letter only. I +sent in my testimonial and application, but without +the least hope of getting it. Back came an answer by +return, saying that if I would appear next Monday I +might take over my new duties at once, provided that +my appearance was satisfactory. No one knows how +these things are worked. Some people say that the +manager just plunges his hand into the heap and takes +the first that comes. Anyhow it was my innings that +time, and I don't ever wish to feel better pleased. +The screw was a pound a week rise, and the duties just +about the same as at Coxon's. + +"And now I come to the queer part of the business. +I was in diggings out Hampstead way, 17 Potter's +Terrace. Well, I was sitting doing a smoke that very +evening after I had been promised the appointment, +when up came my landlady with a card which had 'Arthur +Pinner, Financial Agent,' printed upon it. I had +never heard the name before and could not imagine what +he wanted with me; but, of course, I asked her to show +him up. In he 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 way +with 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 +really extraordinary 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 in the office, but I had never +dreamed that I was talked about in the City in 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 of work?' he asked. + +"'Yes. I read the stock exchange list every morning.' + +"'Now that shows real application!' he cried. 'That is +the way to prosper! You won't mind my testing you, +will you? Let me see. How are Ayrshires?' + +"'A hundred and six and a quarter to a hundred and five +and seven-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 all that I had heard. My boy, my boy, +you are very much too good to be a clerk 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 +glad to 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 little enough 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't go there at all.' + +"'Not go to Mawson's?' + +"'No, sir. By that day you will be the business +manager of the Franco-Midland Hardware Company, +Limited, with a hundred and thirty-four branches in +the towns and villages of France, not counting one in +Brussels 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 all privately subscribed, and it's too +good a thing to let the public into. My brother, +Harry Pinner, is promoter, and joins the board after +allotment as managing director. He knew I was in the +swim down here, and asked me to pick up a good man +cheap. A young, pushing man with plenty of snap about +him. Parker spoke of you, and that brought me here +to-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 +overriding commission of one per cent on all business +done by your agents, and you may 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 suddenly a 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 company that--' + +"'Ah, smart, smart!' he cried, in a kind of ecstasy of +delight. 'You are 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 we +can do business you may just slip it into your pocket +as an advance upon your salary.' + +"'That is very handsome,' said I. 'When should I take +over my new duties?' + +"'Be in Birmingham to-morrow at one,' said he. 'I have +a note in my pocket here which you will take to my +brother. You will find him at 126b Corporation +Street, where the temporary offices of the company are +situated. Of course he must confirm your engagement, +but between ourselves it will be all right.' + +"'Really, I hardly know how to express my gratitude, +Mr. Pinner,' said I. + +"'Not at all, my boy. You have only got your deserts. +There are one or two small things--mere +formalities--which I must arrange with you. You have +a bit of paper beside you there. Kindly write upon it +"I am perfectly willing to act as business manager to +the Franco-Midland Hardware 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 about Mawson'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 with Mawson's manager. I had gone up to ask +him about you, and he was very offensive; 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 want good 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 never so much as hear from him again.' + +"'Done!' said he. 'We picked him out of the gutter, +and he won't leave us so easily.' Those were his very +words." + +"'The impudent scoundrel!' I cried. 'I've never so +much as seen him in my life. Why should I consider +him in any way? I shall certainly not write if you +would rather I didn't.' + +"'Good! That's a promise,' said he, rising from his +chair. 'Well, I'm delighted to have got so good a man +for my brother. Here's your advance of 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 is your appointment. +Good-night; and may you have all the fortune that you +deserve!' + +"That's just about all that passed between us, as near +as I can remember. You can imagine, Dr. Watson, how +pleased I was at such an extraordinary bit of good +fortune. I sat up half the night hugging myself over +it, and next day I was off to Birmingham in a train +that would take me in plenty time for my appointment. +I took my things to a hotel in New Street, and then I +made my way to the address which had been given me. + +"It was a quarter of an hour before my time, but I +thought that would make no difference. 126b was a +passage between two large shops, which led to a +winding stone stair, from which there were many flats, +let as offices to companies or professional men. The +names of the occupants were painted at the bottom on +the wall, but there was no such name as the +Franco-Midland Hardware Company, Limited. I stood for +a few minutes with my heart in my boots, wondering +whether the whole thing was an elaborate hoax or not, +when up came a man and addressed me. He was very like +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 had a note from my brother this morning +in which he sang your praises very loudly.' + +"'I was just looking for the offices when you came. + +"'We have not got our name up yet, for we only secured +these temporary premises 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 under the slates, were a couple of empty, +dusty little rooms, uncarpeted and uncurtained, into +which he led me. I had thought of a great office with +shining tables and rows of clerks, such as I was used +to, and I dare say I stared rather straight at the two +deal chairs and one little table, which, with a ledger +and a waste paper basket, made up the whole furniture. + +"'Don't be disheartened, Mr. Pycroft,' said my new +acquaintance, seeing the length of my face. 'Rome was +not built in a day, and we have lots of money at our +backs, though we don't cut much dash yet in offices. +Pray sit 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,' said he; '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 pour a flood of English crockery into the +shops of a hundred and thirty-four agents in France. +The purchase will be completed in a week, and +meanwhile 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 the names of the people. I want you to +take it home with you, and to mark off all the hardware +sellers, with their addresses. It would be of the +greatest 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 company a good master.' + +"I went back to the hotel with the big book under my +arm, and with very conflicting feelings in my breast. +On the one hand, I was definitely engaged and had a +hundred pounds in my pocket; on the other, the look of +the offices, the absence of name on the wall, and +other of the points which would strike a business man +had left a bad impression as to the position of my +employers. However, come what might, I had my money, +so I settled down to my task. All Sunday I was kept +hard at work, and yet by Monday I had only got as far +as H. I went round to my employer, found him in the +same dismantled kind of room, and was told to keep at +it until Wednesday, and then come again. On Wednesday +it was still unfinished, so I hammered away until +Friday--that is, yesterday. Then I brought it round +to Mr. Harry Pinner. + +"'Thank you very much,' said he; 'I fear that I +underrated the difficulty of the task. This list will +be of very material assistance to me.' + +"'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 how you are getting on. Don't overwork +yourself. A couple of hours at Day's Music Hall in +the evening would do you no harm after your labors.' +He laughed as he spoke, and I saw with a thrill that +his second tooth upon the left-hand side had been very +badly stuffed with gold." + + +Sherlock Holmes rubbed his hands with delight, and I +stared with astonishment 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 he laughed at my not +going to Mawson's, I happened to notice that his tooth +was stuffed in this very identical fashion. The glint +of the gold in each case caught my eye, you see. When +I put that with the voice and figure being the same, +and only those things altered which might be changed +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 should have the same tooth +stuffed in the same way. He bowed me out, and I found +myself in the street, hardly knowing whether I was on +my head or my 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 from himself to himself? It was +altogether too much for me, and I could make no sense +of it. And then suddenly it struck me that what was +dark to me might be very light to Mr. Sherlock Holmes. +I had just time to get up to town by the night train +to see him this morning, and to bring you both back +with me to Birmingham." + +There was a pause after the stock-broker's clerk had +concluded his surprising experience. Then Sherlock +Holmes cocked his eye at me, leaning back on the +cushions with a pleased and yet critical face, like a +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 which please me. I think that you will +agree with me that an interview with Mr. Arthur Harry +Pinner in the temporary offices of the Franco-Midland +Hardware Company, Limited, would be a rather +interesting experience for both of us." + +"But how can we do it?" I asked. + +"Oh, easily enough," said Hall Pycroft, cheerily. +"You are two friends of mine who are in want of a +billet, and what could be more natural than that I +should bring you both round to the managing director?" + +"Quite so, of course," said Holmes. "I should like to +have a look at the gentleman, and see if I can make +anything of his little game. What qualities have you, +my friend, which would make your services so valuable? +or is it possible that--" He began biting his nails +and staring blankly out of the window, and we hardly +drew another word from him until we were in New +Street. + +At seven o'clock that evening we were walking, the +three of us, down Corporation Street to the company's +offices. + +"It is no use our being at all before our time," said +our client. "He only comes there to see me, +apparently, for the place is deserted up to the very +hour he names." + +"That is suggestive," remarked Holmes. + +"By Jove, I told you so!" cried the clerk. "That's he +walking ahead of us there." + +He pointed to a smallish, dark, well-dressed man who +was bustling along the other side of the road. As we +watched him he looked across at a boy who was bawling +out the latest edition of the evening paper, and +running over among the cabs and busses, he bought one +from him. Then, clutching it in his hand, he vanished +through a door-way. + +"There he goes!" cried Hall Pycroft. "These are the +company's offices into which he has gone. Come with +me, and I'll fix it up as easily as possible." + +Following his lead, we ascended five stories, until we +found ourselves outside a half-opened door, at which +our client tapped. A voice within bade us enter, and +we entered a bare, unfurnished room such as Hall +Pycroft had described. At the single table sat the +man whom we had seen in the street, with his evening +paper spread out in front of him, and as he looked up +at us it seemed to me that I had never looked upon a +face which bore such marks of grief, and of something +beyond grief--of a horror such as comes to few men in +a lifetime. His brow glistened with perspiration, 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 he failed to recognize him, and I +could see by the astonishment depicted upon our +conductor's face that this was by no means the usual +appearance of his employer. + +"You look ill, Mr. Pinner!" he exclaimed. + +"Yes, I am not very well," answered the other, making +obvious efforts to pull himself together, and licking +his dry lips before he spoke. "Who are these +gentlemen whom you have brought with you?" + +"One is Mr. Harris, of Bermondsey, and the other is +Mr. Price, of this town," said our clerk, glibly. +"They are friends of mine and gentlemen of 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 the company'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 you know about it as soon as we come +to any conclusion. And now I beg that you will go. +For God's sake leave me to myself!" + +These last words were shot out of him, as though the +constraint which he was evidently setting upon himself +had suddenly and utterly burst asunder. Holmes and I +glanced at each other, and Hall Pycroft took a step +towards the table. + +"You forget, Mr. Pinner, that I am here by appointment +to receive some directions 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 friends should not wait +with you. I will be entirely at your service in three +minutes, if I might trespass upon your patience so +far." He rose with a very courteous air, and, bowing +to us, he passed out through a door at the 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't understand in this manner. If +ever a man was three parts mad with terror, that man's +name is Pinner. What can have put the shivers on +him?" + +"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 we entered the room," said he. "It is just +possible that--" + +His words were interrupted by a sharp rat-tat from the +direction of the inner 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 at the closed door. Glancing at +Holmes, I saw his face turn rigid, and he leaned +forward in intense excitement. Then suddenly came a +low guggling, gargling sound, and a brisk drumming +upon woodwork. Holmes sprang frantically across the +room and pushed at the door. It was fastened on the +inner side. Following his example, we threw ourselves +upon it with all our weight. One hinge snapped, then +the other, and down came the door with a crash. +Rushing over it, we found ourselves in the inner room. +It was empty. + +But it was only for a moment that we were at fault. +At one corner, the corner 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 +lying on the floor, and from a hook behind the door, +with his own braces round his neck, was hanging the +managing director of the Franco-Midland Hardware +Company. His knees were drawn up, his head hung at a +dreadful angle to his body, and the clatter of his +heels against the door made the noise which had broken +in upon our conversation. In an instant I had caught +him round the waist, and held him up while Holmes and +Pycroft untied the elastic bands which had disappeared +between the livid creases of skin. Then we carried +him into the other room, where he lay with a +clay-colored face, puffing his purple lips in and out +with every breath--a dreadful wreck of all that he had +been but five minutes before. + +"What do you think of him, Watson?" asked Holmes. + +I stooped over him and examined him. His pulse was +feeble and intermittent, but his breathing grew +longer, and there was a little shivering of his +eyelids, which showed a thin white slit of ball +beneath. + +"It has been touch and go with him," said I, "but +he'll live now. Just open 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 +until he drew a long, natural breath. "It's only a +question of time now," said I, as I turned away from +him. + +Holmes stood by the table, with his hands deep in his +trouser's pockets and his chin upon his breast. + +"I suppose we ought to call the police in now," said +he. "And yet I confess 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 this last 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 to one conclusion." + +"What do you make of them?" + +"Well, the whole thing hinges upon two points. The +first is the making of Pycroft write a declaration by +which he entered the service of this preposterous +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, for these arrangements are usually +verbal, and there was no earthly business reason 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 our little problem. Why? There +can be only one adequate reason. Some one wanted to +learn to imitate your writing, and had to procure a +specimen of it first. And now if we pass on to the +second point we find that each throws light upon the +other. That point is the request made by Pinner that +you should not resign your place, but should leave the +manager of this important business in the full +expectation that a Mr. Hall Pycroft, whom he had never +seen, was about to enter the office upon the Monday +morning." + +"My God!" cried our client, "what a blind beetle I +have been!" + +"Now you see the point about the handwriting. Suppose +that some one turned up in your place who wrote a +completely different hand from that in which you had +applied for the vacancy, of course the game would have +been up. But in the interval the rogue had learned to +imitate you, and his position was therefore secure, as +I presume that nobody in the office had ever set eyes +upon you." + +"Not a soul," groaned Hall Pycroft. + +"Very good. Of course it was of the utmost importance +to prevent you from thinking better of it, and also to +keep you from coming into contact with any one who +might tell you that your double was at work in +Mawson's office. Therefore they gave you a handsome +advance on your salary, and ran you off to the +Midlands, where they gave you enough work to do to +prevent your going to London, where you might have +burst their little 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 them in it. The other is impersonating you +at the office. This one acted as your engager, and +then found that he could not find you an employer +without admitting a third person into his plot. That +he was most unwilling to do. He changed his +appearance as far as he could, and trusted that the +likeness, which you could not fail to observe, would +be put down to a family resemblance. But for the +happy chance of the gold stuffing, 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 Pycroft been doing +at Mawson's? What should we do, Mr. Holmes? Tell me +what to do." + +"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 of the securities that they hold. I +remember hearing it talked of in the City." + +"Very good; we shall wire to him, and see if all is +well, and if a clerk of your name is working there. +That is clear enough; but what is not so clear is why +at sight of us one of the rogues should instantly walk +out of the room and hang himself." + +"The paper!" croaked a voice behind us. The man was +sitting up, blanched and ghastly, with returning +reason in his eyes, and hands which rubbed nervously +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 never entered 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 his lips. "Look at this, Watson," +he cried. "It is a London paper, an early edition of +the Evening Standard. Here is what we want. Look at +the headlines: 'Crime in the City. Murder at Mawson & +Williams's. Gigantic attempted Robbery. Capture of +the Criminal.' Here, Watson, we are all equally +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 of importance in town, and the +account of it ran in this way: + +"A desperate attempt at robbery, culminating in the +death of one man and the capture of the criminal, +occurred this afternoon in the City. For some time +back Mawson & Williams, the famous financial house, +have been the guardians of securities which amount in +the aggregate to a sum of considerably over a million +sterling. So conscious was the manager of the +responsibility which devolved upon him in consequence +of the great interests at stake that safes of the very +latest construction have been employed, and an armed +watchman has been left day and night in the building. +It appears that last week a new clerk named Hall +Pycroft was engaged by the firm. This person appears +to have been none other that Beddington, the famous +forger and cracksman, who, with his brother, had only +recently emerged from a five years' spell of penal +servitude. By some means, which are not yet clear, he +succeeded in winning, under a false name, this official +position in the office, which he utilized in order to +obtain moulding of various locks, and a thorough +knowledge of the position of the strong room and the +safes. + +"It is customary at Mawson's for the clerks to leave +at midday on Saturday. Sergeant Tuson, of the City +Police, was somewhat surprised, therefore to see a +gentleman with a carpet bag come down the steps at +twenty minutes past one. His suspicions being +aroused, the sergeant followed the man, and with the +aid of Constable Pollock succeeded, after a most +desperate resistance, in arresting him. It was at +once clear that a daring and gigantic robbery had been +committed. Nearly a hundred thousand pounds' worth of +American railway bonds, with a large amount of scrip +in mines and other companies, was discovered in the +bag. On examining the premises the body of the +unfortunate watchman was found doubled up and thrust +into the largest of the safes, where it would not have +been discovered until Monday morning had it not been +for the prompt action of Sergeant Tuson. The man's +skull had been shattered by a blow from a poker +delivered from behind. There could be no doubt that +Beddington had obtained entrance by pretending that he +had left something behind him, and having murdered the +watchman, rapidly rifled the large safe, and then made +off with his booty. His brother, who usually works +with him, has not appeared in this job as far as can +at present be ascertained, although the police are +making energetic inquiries 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 villain +and murderer can inspire such affection that his +brother turns to suicide when he learns that his neck +is forfeited. However, we have no 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 sat one 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 the +documents in the extraordinary case of the Gloria +Scott, and this is the message which struck Justice of +the Peace Trevor dead with horror when he read it." + +He had picked from a drawer a little tarnished +cylinder, and, undoing the tape, he handed me a short +note scrawled upon a half-sheet of slate-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 orders for fly-paper and for +preservation of your hen-pheasant's life." + +As I glanced up from reading this enigmatical message, +I saw Holmes chuckling 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 seems to 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 butt end of a pistol." + +"You arouse my curiosity," said I. "But why did you +say just now that there 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 turned his mind in the direction of +criminal research, but had never caught him before in +a communicative humor. Now he sat forward in this +arm-chair and spread out the documents upon his knees. +Then he lit his pipe and sat for some time smoking and +turning them over. + +"You never heard me talk of Victor Trevor?" he asked. +"He was the only friend I made during the two years I +was at college. I was never a very sociable fellow, +Watson, always rather fond of moping in my rooms and +working out my own little methods of thought, so that +I never mixed much with the men of my year. Bar +fencing and boxing I had few athletic tastes, and then +my line of study was quite distinct from that of the +other fellows, so that we had no points of contact at +all. Trevor was the only man I knew, and that only +through the accident of his bull terrier 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 to inquire after me. At +first it was only a minute's chat, but soon his visits +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 subjects in common, and +it was a bond of union when I found that he was as +friendless as I. Finally, he invited me down to his +father's place at Donnithorpe, in Norfolk, and I +accepted his hospitality for a month of the long +vacation. + +"Old Trevor was evidently a man of some wealth and +consideration, a J.P., and a landed proprietor. +Donnithorpe is a little hamlet just to the north of +Langmere, in the country of the Broads. The house was +an old-fashioned, wide-spread, oak-beamed brick +building, with a fine lime-lined avenue leading up to +it. There was excellent wild-duck shooting in the +fens, remarkably good fishing, a small but select +library, taken over, as I understood, from a former +occupant, and a tolerable cook, so that he would be a +fastidious man who could not put in 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 diphtheria while on a visit to Birmingham. The +father interested me extremely. He was a man of +little culture, but with a considerable amount of rude +strength, both physically and mentally. He knew +hardly any books, but he had traveled far, had seen +much of the world. And had remembered all that he had +learned. In person he was a thick-set, burly man with +a shock of grizzled hair, a brown, weather-beaten +face, and blue eyes which were keen to the verge of +fierceness. Yet he had a reputation for kindness and +charity on the country-side, and was noted for the +leniency of his sentences from the bench. + +"One evening, shortly after my arrival, we were +sitting over a glass of port after dinner, when young +Trevor began to talk about those habits of observation +and inference which I had already formed into a +system, although I had not yet appreciated the part +which they were to play in my life. The old man +evidently thought that his son was exaggerating in his +description of one or two trivial feats which I had +performed. + +"'Come, now, Mr. Holmes,' said he, laughing +good-humoredly. 'I'm an excellent subject, if you can +deduce anything from me.' + +"'I fear there is not very much,' I answered; 'I might +suggest that you have gone about in fear of some +personal attack within the last twelvemonth.' + +"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 his son, 'when we broke up that +poaching gang they swore to knife us, and Sir Edward +Holly has actually been attacked. I've always been on +my guard since then, though I have no idea how you +know it.' + +"'You have a very handsome stick,' I answered. 'By +the inscription I observed that you had not had it +more than a year. But you have taken some pains to +bore the head of it and pour melted lead into the hole +so as to make it a formidable weapon. I argued that +you would not take such precautions 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 of the straight?' + +"'No,' said I. 'It is your ears. They have the +peculiar flattening and thickening 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 whose initials were J. A., and whom you +afterwards were eager to entirely forget.' + +"Mr. Trevor stood slowly up, fixed his large blue eyes +upon me with a strange wild stare, and then pitched +forward, with his face among the nutshells which +strewed the cloth, in a dead faint. + +"You can imagine, Watson, how shocked both his son and +I were. His attack did not last long, however, for +when we undid his collar, and sprinkled the water from +one of the finger-glasses over his face, he gave 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 not take 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 fancy would be children in your hands. +That's your line of life, sir, and you may take the +word of a man who has seen something of the world.' + +"And that recommendation, with the exaggerated +estimate of my ability with which he prefaced it, was, +if you will believe me, Watson, the very first thing +which ever made me feel that a profession might be +made out 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 to think 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 ask how you know, and how much you +know?' He spoke now in a half-jesting fashion, 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 draw that fish into the boat I saw that J. +A. Had been tattooed in the bend of the elbow. The +letters were still legible, but it was perfectly clear +from their blurred appearance, and from the staining +of the skin round them, that efforts had been made to +obliterate them. It was obvious, then, that those +initials had once been very familiar to you, and that +you had afterwards wished to forget them.' + +"What an eye you have!" he cried, with a sigh of +relief. 'It is just as you say. But we won't talk of +it. Of all ghosts the ghosts of our old lovers are +the worst. Come into the billiard-room and have a +quiet cigar.' + + +"From that day, amid all his cordiality, there was +always a touch of suspicion 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 +be sure again of what you know and what you don't +know.' He did not mean to show it, I am sure, but it +was so strongly in his mind that it peeped out at +every action. At last I became so convinced that I +was causing him uneasiness that I drew my visit to a +close. On the very day, however, before I left, and +incident occurred which proved in the sequel to 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 maid came 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's conversation.' + +"'Show him round here.' An instant afterwards there +appeared a little wizened fellow with a cringing +manner and a shambling style of walking. He wore an +open jacket, with a splotch of tar on the sleeve, a +red-and-black check shirt, dungaree trousers, and +heavy boots badly worn. His face was thin and brown +and crafty, with a perpetual smile upon it, which +showed an irregular line of yellow teeth, and his +crinkled 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 of hiccoughing +noise in his throat, and jumping out of his chair, he +ran into the house. He was back in a moment, and I +smelt a strong reek of brandy 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 same loose-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 of surprise. + +"'Hudson it is, sir,' said the seaman. 'Why, it's +thirty year and more since I saw you last. Here you +are in your house, and me still picking my 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 low voice. 'Go into +the kitchen,' he continued out loud, 'and you will get +food 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 just off a two-yearer in an +eight-knot tramp, short-handed at that, and I wants 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 the fellow with a sinister smile, and he +slouched off after the maid to the kitchen. Mr. +Trevor mumbled something to us about having been +shipmate with the man when he was going back to the +diggings, and then, leaving us on the lawn, he went +indoors. An hour later, when we entered the house, we +found him stretched dead drunk upon the dining-room +sofa. The whole incident left a most ugly impression +upon my mind, and I was not sorry next day to leave +Donnithorpe behind me, for I felt that my presence +must be a source of embarrassment to my friend. + +"All this occurred during the first month of the long +vacation. I went up to my London rooms, where I spent +seven weeks working out a few experiments in organic +chemistry. One day, however, when the autumn was far +advanced and the vacation drawing to a close, I +received a telegram from my friend imploring me to +return to Donnithorpe, and saying that he was in great +need of my advice and assistance. Of course I dropped +everything and set out for the North once more. + +"He met me with the dog-cart at the station, and I saw +at a glance that the last two months had been very +trying ones for him. He had grown thin and careworn, +and had lost the loud, cheery manner for which he had +been remarkable. + +"'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 we shall 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 hour since--not one. The governor has never +held up his head from that evening, and now the life +has been crushed out of him and his heart broken, 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 a ruffian! But +I am so glad that you have come, Holmes. I trust very +much to your judgment and discretion, and I know that +you will advise me for the best.' + +"We were dashing along the smooth white country road, +with the long stretch of the Broads in front of us +glimmering in the red light of the setting sun. From +a grove upon our left I could already see the high +chimneys and the flag-staff which marked the squire's +dwelling. + +"'My father made the fellow gardener,' said my +companion, 'and then, as that did not satisfy him, he +was promoted to be butler. The house seemed to 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. The dad raised their wages all +round to recompense them for the annoyance. The +fellow would take the boat and my father's best gun +and treat himself to little shooting trips. And all +this with such a sneering, leering, insolent face that +I would have knocked him down twenty times over if he +had been a man of my own age. I tell you, Holmes, I +have had to keep a tight hold upon myself all this +time; and now I am asking myself whether, if I had let +myself go a little more, I might not have been a wiser +man. + +"'Well, matters went from bad to worse with us, and +this animal Hudson became more and more intrusive, +until at last, on making some insolent reply to my +father in my presence one day, I took him by the +shoulders and turned him out of the room. He slunk +away with a livid face and two venomous eyes which +uttered more threats than his tongue could do. I +don't know what passed between the poor dad and him +after that, but the dad came to me next day and asked +me whether I would mind apologizing to Hudson. I +refused, as you can imagine, and asked my father how +he could allow such a wretch to take such liberties +with himself and his household. + +"'"Ah, my boy," said he, "it is all very well to talk, +but you don't know how I am placed. But you shall +know, Victor. I'll see that you shall know, come what +may. You wouldn't believe harm of your poor old +father, would you, lad?" He was very much moved, and +shut himself up in the study all day, where I could +see through the window that he was writing 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 the dining-room as we sat +after dinner, and announced his intention in the thick +voice of a half-drunken man. + +"'"I've had enough of Norfolk," said he. "I'll run +down to Mr. Beddoes in 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 my father, 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 fellow rather roughly," said the dad, +turning to me. + +"'"On the contrary, I think that we have both shown +extraordinary patience towards him," I answered. + +"'"Oh, you do, do you?" he snarls. "Very good, mate. +We'll see about that!" + +"'He slouched out of the room, and half an hour +afterwards left the house, leaving my father in a +state of pitiable nervousness. Night after night I +heard him pacing his room, and it was just as he was +recovering his confidence that the blow did at last +fall.' + +"'And how?' I asked eagerly. + +"'In a most extraordinary fashion. A letter arrived +for my father yesterday evening, bearing the +Fordingbridge post-mark. My father read it, clapped +both his hands to his head, and began running round +the room in little circles like a man who has been +driven out of his senses. When I at last drew him +down on to the sofa, his mouth and eyelids were all +puckered on one side, and I saw that he had a stroke. +Dr. Fordham came over at once. We put him to bed; but +the paralysis has spread, he has shown no sign of +returning consciousness, and I think that we shall +hardly find him alive.' + +"'You horrify me, Trevor!' I cried. 'What then could +have been in this letter to cause so dreadful a +result?' + +"'Nothing. There lies the inexplicable part of it. +The message was absurd and trivial. Ah, my God, it is +as I feared!' + +"As he spoke we came round the curve of the avenue, +and saw in the fading light that every blind in the +house had been drawn down. As we dashed up to the +door, my friend's face convulsed with grief, a +gentleman 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 I remained in the study, turning the +whole matter over and over in my head, and feeling as +sombre as ever I had done in my life. What was the +past of this Trevor, pugilist, traveler, and +gold-digger, and how had he placed himself in the +power of this acid-faced seaman? Why, too, should he +faint at an allusion to the half-effaced initials upon +his arm, and die of fright when he had a letter from +Fordingham? Then I remembered that Fordingham was in +Hampshire, and that this Mr. Beddoes, whom the seaman +had gone to visit and presumably to blackmail, had +also been mentioned as living in Hampshire. The +letter, then, might either come from Hudson, the +seaman, saying that he had betrayed the guilty secret +which appeared to exist, or it might come from +Beddoes, warning an old confederate that such a +betrayal was imminent. So far it seemed clear enough. +But then how could this letter be trivial and +grotesque, as describe by the son? He must have +misread it. If so, it must have been one of those +ingenious secret codes which mean one thing while they +seem to mean another. I must see this letter. If +there were a hidden meaning in it, I was confident +that I could pluck it forth. For an hour I sat +pondering over it in the gloom, until at last a +weeping maid brought in a 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 sat down opposite to me, drew the lamp to the edge +of the table, and handed me a short note scribbled, as +you see, upon a single sheet of 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 orders for fly-paper and for +preservation of your hen-pheasant's life.' + +"I dare say my face looked as bewildered as yours did +just now when first I read this message. Then I +reread it very carefully. It was evidently as I had +thought, and some secret meaning must lie buried in +this strange combination of words. Or could it be +that there was a prearranged significance to such +phrases as 'fly-paper' and 'hen-pheasant'? Such a +meaning would be arbitrary and could not be deduced in +any way. And yet I was loath to believe that this was +the case, and the presence of the word Hudson seemed +to show that the subject of the message was as I had +guessed, and that it was from Beddoes rather than the +sailor. I tried it backwards, but the combination +'life pheasant's hen' was not encouraging. Then I +tried alternate 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 saw that every third word, beginning +with the first, would give a message which 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 disgrace as 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 us if we had no other means of +discovering the sender. You see that he has begun by +writing "The...game...is," and so on. Afterwards he +had, to fulfill the prearranged cipher, to fill in any +two words in each space. He would naturally use the +first words which came to his mind, and if there were +so many which referred to sport among them, you may be +tolerably sure that he is either an ardent shot or +interested in breeding. Do you know anything of this +Beddoes?' + +"'Why, now that you mention it,' said he, 'I remember +that my poor father used to have an invitation from +him to shoot over his preserves every autumn.' + +"'Then it is undoubtedly from him that the note +comes,' said I. 'It only remains for us to find out +what this secret was which the sailor Hudson seems to +have held over the heads of these two wealthy and +respected men.' + +"'Alas, Holmes, I fear that it is one of sin and +shame!' cried my friend. 'But from you I shall have +no secrets. Here is the statement which was drawn up +by my father when he knew that the danger from Hudson +had become imminent. I found it in the Japanese +cabinet, as he told the doctor. Take it and read it +to me, for I have neither the strength nor the courage +to do it myself.' + +"These are the very papers, Watson, which he handed to +me, and I will read 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 voyage +of the bark _Gloria Scott_, from her leaving Falmouth on +the 8th October, 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 in this way: + +"'My dear, dear son, now that approaching disgrace +begins to darken the closing years of my life, I can +write with all truth and honesty that it is not the +terror of the law, it is not the loss of my position +in the county, nor is it my fall in the eyes of all +who have known me, which cuts me to the heart; but it +is the thought that you should come to blush for +me--you who love me and who have seldom, I hope, had +reason to do other than respect me. But if the blow +falls which is forever hanging over me, then I should +wish you to read this, that you may know straight from +me how far I have been to blame. On the other hand, +if all should go well (which may kind God Almighty +grant!), then if by any chance this paper should be +still undestroyed and should fall into your hands, I +conjure 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 and to never give +one thought to it again. + +"'If then your eye goes on to read this line, I know +that I shall already have been exposed and dragged +from my home, or as is more likely, for you know that +my heart is weak, by lying with my tongue sealed +forever in death. In either case the time for +suppression is past, and every word which I tell you +is the naked truth, and this I swear as I hope for +mercy. + +"'My name, dear lad, is not Trevor. I was James +Armitage in my younger days, and you can understand +now the shock that it was to me a few weeks ago when +your college friend addressed me in words which seemed +to imply that he had surprised my secret. As Armitage +it was that I entered a London banking-house, and as +Armitage I was convicted of breaking my country's +laws, and was sentenced to transportation. Do not +think very harshly of me, laddie. It was a debt of +honor, so called, which I had to pay, and I used money +which was not my own to do it, in the certainty that I +could replace it before there could be any possibility +of its being missed. But the most dreadful ill-luck +pursued me. The money which I had reckoned upon never +came to hand, and a premature examination of accounts +exposed my deficit. The case might have been dealt +leniently with, but the laws were more harshly +administered thirty years ago than now, and on my +twenty-third birthday I found myself chained as a +felon with thirty-seven other convicts in 'tween-decks +of the bark _Gloria Scott_, bound for Australia. + +"'It was the year '55 when the Crimean war was at its +height, and the old convict ships had been largely used +as transports in the Black Sea. The government was +compelled, therefore, to use smaller and less suitable +vessels for sending out their prisoners. The Gloria +Scott had been in the Chinese tea-trade, but she was +an old-fashioned, heavy-bowed, broad-beamed craft, and +the new clippers had cut her out. She was a +five-hundred-ton boat; and besides her thirty-eight +jail-birds, she carried twenty-six of a crew, eighteen +soldiers, a captain, three mates, a doctor, a +chaplain, and four warders. Nearly a hundred souls +were in her, all told, when we set sail from Falmouth. + +"'The partitions between the cells of the convicts, +instead of being of thick 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 +particularly noticed when we were led down the quay. +He was a young man with a clear, hairless face, a +long, thin nose, and rather nut-cracker jaws. He +carried his head very jauntily in the air, had a +swaggering style of walking, and was, above all else, +remarkable for his extraordinary height. I don't +think any of our heads would have come up to his +shoulder, and I am sure that he could not have +measured less than six and a half feet. It was +strange among so many sad and weary faces to see one +which was full of energy and resolution. The sight of +it was to me like a fire in a snow-storm. I was glad, +then, to find that he was my neighbor, and gladder +still when, in the dead of the night, I heard a +whisper close to my ear, and found that he had managed +to cut an opening in the board which separated us. + +"'"Hullo, chummy!" said he, "what's your name, and +what are you here for?" + +"'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 my name before you've done with me." + +"'I remembered hearing of his case, for it was one +which had made an immense sensation throughout the +country some time before my own arrest. He was a man +of good family and of great ability, but of incurably +vicious habits, who had by an ingenious system of +fraud obtained huge sums 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 more pounds 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 going to 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, +such a man will look after himself and will look after +his chums. You may lay to that! You hold on to him, +and you may kiss the book that he'll haul you +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 all possible solemnity, +he let me understand that there really was a plot to +gain command of the vessel. A dozen of the prisoners +had hatched it before they came aboard, Prendergast +was the leader, and his money was the motive power. + +"'"I'd a partner," said he, "a rare good man, as true +as a stock to a barrel. He's got the dibbs, he has, +and where do you think he is at this moment? Why, +he's the chaplain of this ship--the chaplain, no less! +He came aboard with a black coat, and his papers +right, and money enough in his box to buy the thing +right up from keel to main-truck. The crew are his, +body and soul. He could buy 'em at so much a gross +with a cash discount, and he did it before ever they +signed on. He's got two of the warders 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 these soldiers 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 every mother's son of us, and if we can't +carry this ship, with the crew at our 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 be trusted." + +"'I did so, and found my other neighbor to be a young +fellow in much the same position as myself, whose +crime had been forgery. His name was Evans, but he +afterwards changed it, like myself, and he is now a +rich and prosperous man in the south of England. He +was ready enough to join the conspiracy, as the only +means of saving ourselves, and before we had crossed +the Bay there were only two of the prisoners who were +not in the secret. 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 use +to us. + +"'From the beginning there was really nothing to +prevent us from taking possession of the ship. The +crew were a set of ruffians, specially picked 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 did he come that by the third day +we had each stowed away at the foot of our beds 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 was his right-hand +man. The captain, the two mates, two warders +Lieutenant Martin, his eighteen soldiers, and the +doctor were all that we had against us. Yet, safe as +it was, we determined to neglect no precaution, and to +make our attack suddenly by night. It came, however, +more quickly than we expected, and in this way. + +"'One evening, about the third week after our start, +the doctor had come down to see one of the prisoners +who was ill, and putting his hand down on the bottom +of his bunk he felt the outline of the pistols. If he +had been silent he might have blown the whole thing, +but he was a nervous little chap, so he gave a cry of +surprise and turned so pale that the man knew what was +up in an instant and seized him. He was gagged before +he could give the alarm, and tied down upon the bed. +He had unlocked the door that led to the deck, and we +were through it in a rush. The two sentries were shot +down, and so was a corporal who came running to see +what was the matter. There were two more soldiers at +the door of the state-room, and their muskets seemed +not to be loaded, for they never fired 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 the door there was an explosion from +within, and there he lay with his brains smeared over +the chart of the Atlantic which was pinned upon the +table, while the chaplain stood with a smoking pistol +in his hand at his elbow. The two mates had both been +seized by the crew, and the whole business seemed to +be settled. + +"'The state-room was next the cabin, and we flocked in +there and flopped down on the settees, all speaking +together, for we were just mad with the 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 a dozen of brown sherry. We cracked +off the necks of the bottles, poured the stuff out +into tumblers, and were just tossing them off, when in +an instant without warning there came the roar of +muskets in our ears, and the 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 others were wriggling on the top of each other +on the floor, and the blood and the brown sherry on +that table turn me sick now when I think of it. We +were so cowed by the sight that I think we should have +given the job up if it had not been for Prendergast. He +bellowed like a bull and rushed for 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 swing skylights above the saloon table had +been a bit open, and they had fired on us through the +slit. We got on them before they could load, and they +stood to it like men; but we had the upper hand of +them, and in five minutes it was all over. My God! +Was there ever a slaughter-house like that ship! +Prendergast was like a raging devil, and he picked the +soldiers up as if they had been children and threw +them overboard alive or dead. There was one sergeant +that was horribly wounded and yet kept on swimming for +a surprising time, until some one in mercy blew out +his brains. When the fighting was over there was no +one left of our enemies except just the warders the +mates, and the doctor. + +"'It was over them that the great quarrel arose. +There were many of us who were glad enough to win back +our freedom, and yet who had no wish to have murder on +our souls. It was one thing to knock the soldiers +over with their muskets in their hands, and it was +another to stand by while men were being killed in +cold blood. Eight of us, five convicts and three +sailors, said that we would not see it done. But +there was no moving Prendergast and those who were with +him. Our only chance of safety lay in making a clean +job of it, said he, and he would not leave a tongue +with power to wag in a witness-box. It nearly came to +our sharing the fate of the prisoners, but at last he +said that if we wished we might take a boat and go. +We jumped at the offer, for we were already sick of +these bloodthirsty doings, and we saw that there would +be worse before it was done. We were given a suit of +sailor togs each, a barrel of water, two casks, one of +junk and one of biscuits, and a compass. Prendergast +threw us over a chart, told us that we were +shipwrecked mariners whose ship had foundered in Lat. +15 degrees and Long 25 degrees west, 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 as we left +them they brought it square again, and as there was a +light wind from the north and east the bark began to +draw slowly away from us. Our boat lay, rising and +falling, upon the long, smooth rollers, and Evans and +I, who were the most educated of the party, were +sitting in the sheets working out our position and +planning what coast we should make for. It was a nice +question, for the Cape de Verdes were about five +hundred miles to the north of us, and the African +coast about seven hundred to the east. On the whole, +as the wind was coming round to the north, we thought +that Sierra Leone might be best, and turned our head +in that direction, the bark being at that time nearly +hull down on our starboard quarter. Suddenly as we +looked at her we saw a dense black cloud of smoke +shoot up from her, which hung like a monstrous tree +upon the sky line. A few seconds later a roar like +thunder burst upon our ears, 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 and +pulled with all our strength for the place where the +haze still trailing over the water marked the scene of +this catastrophe. + +"'It was a long hour before we reached it, and at +first we feared that we had come too late to save any +one. A splintered boat and a number of crates and +fragments of spars rising and falling on the waves +showed us where the vessel had foundered; but there +was no sign of life, and we had turned away in despair +when we heard a cry for help, and saw at some distance +a piece of wreckage with a man lying stretched across +it. When we pulled him aboard the boat he proved to +be a young seaman of the name of Hudson, who was so +burned and exhausted that he could give us no account +of what had happened until the following morning. + +"'It seemed that after we had left, Prendergast and +his gang had proceeded to put to death the five +remaining prisoners. The two warders had been shot +and thrown overboard, and so also had the third mate. +Prendergast then descended into the 'tween-decks and +with his own hands cut the throat of the unfortunate +surgeon. There only remained the first mate, who was +a bold and active man. When he saw the convict +approaching him with the bloody knife in his hand he +kicked off his bonds, which he had somehow contrived +to loosen, and rushing down the deck he plunged into +the after-hold. A dozen convicts, who descended with +their pistols in search of him, found him with a +match-box in his hand seated beside an open +powder-barrel, which was one of a hundred carried on +board, and swearing that he would blow all hands up if +he were in any way molested. An instant later the +explosion occurred, though Hudson thought it was +caused by the misdirected bullet of one of the +convicts rather than the mate's match. Be the cause +what it may, it was the end of the _Gloria Scott_ and of +the rabble who held command of her. + +"'Such, in a few words, my dear boy, is the history of +this terrible business in which I was involved. Next +day we were picked up by the brig _Hotspur_, bound for +Australia, whose captain found no difficulty in +believing that we were the survivors of a passenger +ship which had foundered. The transport ship Gloria +Scott was set down by the Admiralty as being lost at +sea, and no word has ever leaked out as to her true +fate. After an excellent voyage the _Hotspur_ landed us +at Sydney, where Evans and I changed our names and +made our way to the diggings, where, among the crowds +who were gathered from all nations, we had no +difficulty 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 have +led peaceful and useful lives, and we hoped that our +past was forever buried. Imagine, then, my feelings +when in the seaman who came to us I recognized +instantly the man who had been picked off the wreck. +He had tracked us down somehow, and had set himself to +live upon our fears. You will 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 fill me, now that he has gone from me to his +other victim with threats upon his 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 mercy on our souls!' + + +"That was the narrative which I read that night to +young Trevor, and I think, Watson, that under the +circumstances it was a dramatic one. The good fellow +was heart-broken at it, and went out to the Terai tea +planting, where I hear that he is doing well. As to +the sailor and Beddoes, neither of them was ever heard +of again after that day on which the letter of warning +was written. They both disappeared utterly and +completely. No complaint had been lodged with the +police, so that Beddoes had mistaken a threat for a +deed. Hudson had been seen lurking about, and it was +believed by the police that he had done away with +Beddoes and had fled. For myself I believe that the +truth was exactly the opposite. I think that it is +most probable that Beddoes, pushed to desperation and +believing himself to have been already betrayed, had +revenged himself upon Hudson, and had fled from the +country with as much money 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 that +they are very heartily at your service." + + + +Adventure V + + +The Musgrave Ritual + + +An anomaly which often struck me in the character of +my friend Sherlock Holmes was that, although in his +methods of thought he was the neatest and most +methodical of mankind, and although also he affected a +certain quiet primness of dress, he was none the less +in his personal habits one of the most untidy men that +ever drove a fellow-lodger to distraction. Not that I +am in the least conventional in that respect myself. +The rough-and-tumble work in Afghanistan, coming on +the top of a natural Bohemianism of disposition, has +made me rather more lax than befits a medical man. +But with me there is a limit, and when I find a man who +keeps his cigars in the coal-scuttle, his tobacco in +the toe end of a Persian slipper, and his unanswered +correspondence transfixed by a jack-knife into the +very centre of his wooden mantelpiece, then I begin to +give myself virtuous airs. I have always held, too, +that pistol practice should be distinctly an open-air +pastime; and when Holmes, in one of his queer humors, +would sit in an arm-chair with his hair-trigger and a +hundred Boxer cartridges, and proceed to adorn the +opposite wall with a patriotic V. R. done in +bullet-pocks, I felt strongly that neither the +atmosphere nor the appearance of our room was improved +by it. + +Our chambers were always full of chemicals and of +criminal relics which had a way of wandering into +unlikely positions, and of turning up in the +butter-dish or in even less desirable places. But his +papers were my great crux. He had a horror of +destroying documents, especially those which were +connected with his past cases, and yet it was only +once in every year or two that he would muster energy +to docket and arrange them; for, as I have mentioned +somewhere in these incoherent memoirs, the outbursts +of passionate energy when he performed the remarkable +feats with which his name is associated were followed +by reactions of lethargy during which he would lie +about with his violin and his books, hardly moving +save from the sofa to the table. Thus month after +month his papers accumulated, until every corner of +the room was stacked with bundles of manuscript which +were on no account to be burned, and which could not +be put away save by their owner. One winter's night, +as we sat together by the fire, I ventured to suggest +to him that, as he had finished pasting extracts into +his common-place book, he might employ the next two +hours in making our room a little more habitable. He +could not deny the justice of my request, so with a +rather rueful face he went off to his bedroom, from which +he returned presently pulling a large tin box behind +him. This he placed in the middle of the floor and, +squatting down upon a stool in front of it, he threw +back the lid. I could see that it was already a third +full of bundles of paper tied up with red tape into +separate packages. + +"There are cases enough here, Watson," said he, +looking at me with mischievous eyes. "I think that if +you knew all that I had in this box you 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 often wished that I had notes of those +cases." + +"Yes, my boy, these were all done prematurely before +my biographer had 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 record of the Tarleton murders, and the +case of Vamberry, the wine merchant, and the adventure +of the old Russian woman, and the singular affair of +the aluminium crutch, as well as a full account of +Ricoletti of the club-foot, and his abominable wife. +And here--ah, now, this really is something a little +recherché." + +He dived his arm down to the bottom of the chest, and +brought up a small wooden box with a sliding lid, such +as children's toys are kept in. From within he +produced a crumpled piece of paper, and old-fashioned +brass key, a peg of wood with a ball of string +attached to it, and three rusty old disks of metal. + +"Well, my boy, what do you make of this lot?" he +asked, smiling at my expression. + +"It is a curious collection." + +"Very curious, and the story that hangs round it will +strike you as being 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 edge of the table. Then he reseated +himself in his chair and looked them over with a gleam +of satisfaction in his eyes. + +"These," said he, "are all that I have left to remind +me of the adventure of the Musgrave Ritual." + +I had heard him mention the case more than once, +though I had never been able to gather the details. +"I should be so glad," said I, "if you would give me +an account of it." + +"And leave the litter as it is?" he cried, +mischievously. "Your tidiness won't bear much strain +after all, Watson. But I should be glad that you +should add this case to your annals, for there are +points in it which make it quite unique in the +criminal records of this or, I believe, of any other +country. A collection of my trifling achievements +would certainly be incomplete which contained no +account of this very singular business. + +"You may remember how the affair of the _Gloria Scott_, +and my conversation with the unhappy man whose fate I +told you of, first turned my attention in the +direction of the profession which has become my life's +work. You see me now when my name has become known +far and wide, and when I am generally recognized both +by the public and by the official 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 +have commemorated in 'A Study in Scarlet,' I had +already established a considerable, though not a very +lucrative, connection. You can hardly realize, then, +how difficult I found it at first, and how long I had +to wait before I succeeded in making any headway. + +"When I first came up to London I had rooms in +Montague Street, just round the corner from the +British Museum, and there I waited, filling in my too +abundant leisure time by studying all those branches +of science which might make me more efficient. Now +and again cases came in my way, principally through +the introduction of old fellow-students, for during my +last years at the University there was a good deal of +talk there about myself and my methods. The third of +these cases was that of the Musgrave Ritual, and it is +to the interest which was aroused by that singular +chain of events, and the large issues which proved to +be at stake, that I trace my first stride towards the +position which I now hold. + +"Reginald Musgrave had been in the same college as +myself, and I had some slight acquaintance with him. +He was not generally popular among the undergraduates, +though it always seemed to me that what was set down +as 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 +was indeed a scion of one of the very oldest families +in the kingdom, though his branch was a cadet one +which had separated from the northern Musgraves some +time in the sixteenth century, and had established +itself in western Sussex, where the Manor House of +Hurlstone is perhaps the oldest inhabited building in +the county. Something of his birth place seemed to +cling to the man, and I never looked at his pale, keen +face or the poise of his head without associating him +with gray archways and mullioned windows and all the +venerable wreckage of a feudal keep. Once or twice we +drifted into talk, and I can remember that more than +once he expressed a keen interest in my methods of +observation and inference. + +"For four years I had seen nothing of him until one +morning he walked into my room in Montague Street. He +had changed little, was dressed like a young man of +fashion--he was always a bit of a dandy--and preserved +the same quiet, suave manner which had formerly +distinguished him. + +"'How has all gone with you Musgrave?' I asked, after +we had cordially shaken hands. + +"'You probably heard of my poor father's death,' said +he; 'he was carried off about two years ago. Since +then I have of course had the Hurlstone 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 are turning 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 be exceedingly valuable to me. We have +had some very strange doings at Hurlstone, and the +police have been able to throw no light upon the +matter. It is really the most extraordinary and +inexplicable business.' + +"You can imagine with what eagerness I listened to +him, Watson, for the very chance for which I had been +panting during all those months of inaction seemed to +have come within my reach. In my inmost heart I +believed that I could succeed where others failed, and +now I had the opportunity to test myself. + +"'Pray, let me have the details,' I cried. + +"Reginald Musgrave sat down opposite to me, and lit +the cigarette which I had pushed towards him. + +"'You must know,' said he, 'that though I am a +bachelor, I have to keep up a considerable staff of +servants at Hurlstone, for it is a rambling old place, +and takes a good deal of looking after. I preserve, +too, and in the pheasant months I usually have a +house-party, so that it would not 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 course have a separate staff. + +"'Of these servants the one who had been longest in +our service was Brunton the butler. He was a young +school-master out of place when he was first taken up +by my father, but he was a man of great energy and +character, and he soon became quite invaluable in the +household. He was a well-grown, handsome man, with a +splendid forehead, and though he has been with us for +twenty years he cannot be more than forty now. With +his personal advantages and his extraordinary +gifts--for he can speak several languages and play +nearly every musical instrument--it is wonderful that +he should have been satisfied so long in such a +position, but I suppose that he was comfortable, and +lacked energy to make any change. The butler of +Hurlstone is always a thing that is remembered by all +who visit us. + +"'But this paragon has one fault. He is a bit of a +Don Juan, and you can imagine that for a man like him +it is not a very difficult part to play in a quiet +country district. When he was married it was all +right, but since he has been a widower we have had no +end of trouble with him. A few months ago we were in +hopes that he was about to settle down again for he +became engaged to Rachel Howells, our second +house-maid; but he has thrown her over since then and +taken up with Janet Tregellis, the daughter of the +head game-keeper. Rachel--who is a very good girl, +but of an excitable Welsh temperament--had a sharp +touch of brain-fever, and goes about the house now--or +did until yesterday--like a black-eyed shadow of her +former self. That was our first drama at Hurlstone; +but a second one came to drive it from our minds, and +it was prefaced by the disgrace 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 have led to an +insatiable curiosity about things which did not in the +least concern 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--on Thursday night, to be more exact--I +found that I could not sleep, having foolishly taken a +cup of strong café noir after my dinner. After +struggling against it until two in the morning, I felt +that it was quite hopeless, so I rose and lit the +candle with the intention of continuing a novel which +I was reading. The book, however, had been left in +the billiard-room, so I pulled on my dressing-gown and +started off to get it. + +"'In order to reach the billiard-room I had to descend +a flight of stairs and then to cross the head of a +passage which led to the library and the gun-room. +You can imagine my surprise when, as I looked down +this corridor, I saw a glimmer of light coming from +the open door of the library. I had myself +extinguished the lamp and closed the door before +coming to bed. Naturally my first thought was of +burglars. The corridors at Hurlstone have their walls +largely decorated with trophies of old weapons. From +one of these I picked a battle-axe, and then, leaving +my candle behind me, I crept on tiptoe down the +passage and peeped in at the open door. + +"'Brunton, the butler, was in the library. He was +sitting, fully dressed, in an easy-chair, with a slip +of paper which looked like a map upon his knee, and +his forehead sunk forward upon his hand in deep +thought. I stood dumb with astonishment, watching him +from the darkness. A small taper on the edge of the +table shed a feeble light which sufficed 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, he unlocked 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 the +edge of the table, and began to study it with minute +attention. My indignation at this calm examination of +our family documents overcame me so far that I took a +step forward, and Brunton, looking up, saw me standing +in the doorway. He sprang to his feet, his face +turned livid with fear, and he thrust into his breast +the chart-like paper which he had been originally +studying. + +"'"So!" said I. "This is how you repay the trust +which we have reposed in you. You will leave my +service to-morrow." + +"'He bowed with the look of a man who is utterly +crushed, and slunk past me without a word. The taper +was still on the table, and by its light I glanced to +see what the paper was which Brunton had taken from +the bureau. To my surprise it was nothing of any +importance at all, but simply a copy of the questions +and answers in the singular old observance called the +Musgrave Ritual. It is a sort of ceremony peculiar to +our family, which each Musgrave for centuries past has +gone through on his coming of age--a thing of private +interest, and perhaps of some little importance to the +archaeologist, like our own blazonings and charges, +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 key which Brunton had +left, and I had turned to go when I was surprised to +find that the butler had returned, and was standing +before me. + +"'"Mr. Musgrave, sir," he cried, in a voice which was +hoarse with emotion, "I can't bear disgrace, sir. +I've always been proud above my station in life, and +disgrace would kill me. My blood will be on your +head, sir--it will, indeed--if you drive me to +despair. If you cannot keep me after what has passed, +then for God's sake let me give you notice and leave +in a month, as if of my own free will. I could stand +that, Mr. Musgrave, but not to be cast out before all +the folk that I know so well." + +"'"You don't deserve much consideration, Brunton," I +answered. "Your conduct has been most infamous. +However, as you have been a long time in the 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 reason you like for going." + +"'"Only a week, sir?" he cried, in a despairing voice. +"A fortnight--say at least a fortnight!" + +"'"A week," I repeated, "and you may consider yourself +to have been very leniently dealt with." + +"'He crept away, his face sunk upon his breast, like a +broken man, while I put out the light and returned to +my room. + + +"'"For two days after this Brunton was most assiduous +in his attention to his duties. I made no allusion to +what had passed, and waited with some curiosity to see +how he would cover his disgrace. On the third +morning, however he did not appear, as was his custom, +after breakfast to receive my instructions for the +day. As I left the dining-room I happened to meet +Rachel Howells, the maid. I have told you that she +had only recently recovered from an illness, and was +looking so wretchedly pale 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 are stronger." + +"'She looked at me with so strange an expression that +I began to suspect that her brain was affected. + +"'"I am strong enough, Mr. Musgrave," said she. + +"'"We will see what the doctor says," I answered. +"You must stop work now, 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, he is gone, he is gone!" She fell +back against the wall with shriek after shriek of +laughter, while I, horrified at this sudden hysterical +attack, rushed to the bell to summon help. The girl +was taken to her room, still screaming and sobbing, +while I made inquiries about Brunton. There was no +doubt about it that he had disappeared. His bed had +not been slept in, he had been seen by no one since he +had retired to his room the night before, and yet it +was difficult to see how he could have left the house, +as both windows and doors were found to be fastened in +the morning. 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 butler Brunton 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 was no trace of him. It is, as I +have said, a labyrinth of an old house, especially the +original wing, which is now practically uninhabited; +but we ransacked every room and cellar without +discovering the least sign of the missing man. It was +incredible to me that he could have gone away leaving +all his property behind him, and yet where could he +be? I called in the local police, but without +success. Rain had fallen on the night before and we +examined the lawn and the paths all round the house, +but in vain. Matters were in this state, when a new +development quite drew our 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 her at night. +On the third night after Brunton's disappearance, the +nurse, finding her patient sleeping nicely, had +dropped into a nap in the arm-chair, when she woke in +the early morning to find the bed empty, the window +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 easily across the lawn to the edge of +the mere, where they vanished close to the gravel path +which leads out of the grounds. The lake there is +eight feet deep, and you can imagine our feelings when +we saw that the trail of 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 the remains, but no trace of the body could +we find. On the other hand, we brought to the surface +an object of a most unexpected kind. It was a linen +bag which contained within it a mass of old rusted and +discolored metal and several dull-colored pieces of +pebble or glass. This strange find was all that we +could get from the mere, and, although we made every +possible search and inquiry yesterday, we know nothing +of the fate either of Rachel Howells or of Richard +Brunton. The county police are at their wits' end, +and I have come up to you as a last resource.' + +"You can imagine, Watson, with what eagerness I +listened to this extraordinary sequence of events, and +endeavored to piece them together, and to devise some +common thread upon which they might all hang. The +butler was gone. The maid was gone. The maid had +loved the butler, but had afterwards had cause to hate +him. She was of Welsh blood, fiery and passionate. +She had been terribly excited immediately after his +disappearance. She had flung into the lake a bag +containing some curious contents. These were all +factors which had to be taken into consideration, and +yet none of them got quite to the heart of the matter. +What was the starting-point of this chain of events? +There lay the end of this tangled line. + +"'I must see that paper, Musgrave,' said I, 'which +this butler of your thought it worth his while to +consult, even at the risk of the loss of his 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 have a copy of the +questions and answers here if you care to run your eye +over them.' + +"He handed me the very paper which I have here, +Watson, and this is the strange catechism to which +each Musgrave had to submit when he came to man'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 by two, 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 the seventeenth century,' remarked +Musgrave. 'I am afraid, however, that it can be of +little help to you in solving this mystery.' + +"'At least,' said I, 'it gives us another mystery, and +one which is even more interesting than the first. It +may be that the solution of the one may 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 of no practical importance.' + +"'But to me it seems immensely practical, and I fancy +that Brunton took the same view. He had probably seen +it before that night on which you caught him.' + +"'It is very possible. We took no pains to hide it.' + +"'He simply wished, I should imagine, to refresh his +memory upon that last occasion. He had, as I +understand, some sort of map or chart which he was +comparing with the manuscript, and which he thrust +into his pocket when you appeared.' + +"'That is true. But what could he have to do with +this old family custom of ours, and what does this +rigmarole mean?' + +"'I don't think that we should have much difficulty in +determining that,' said I; 'with your permission we +will take the first train down to Sussex, and go a +little more deeply into the matter upon the spot.' + + +"The same afternoon saw us both at Hurlstone. +Possibly you have seen pictures and read descriptions +of the famous old building, so I will confine my +account of it to saying that it is built in the shape +of an L, the long arm being the more modern portion, +and the shorter the ancient nucleus, from which the +other had developed. Over the low, heavily-lintelled +door, in the centre of this old part, is chiseled the +date, 1607, but experts are agreed that the beams and +stone-work are really much older than this. The +enormously thick walls and tiny windows of this part +had in the last century driven the family into +building the new 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 surrounds the +house, and the lake, to which my client had referred, +lay close to the avenue, about two hundred yards from +the building. + +"I was already firmly convinced, Watson, that there +were not three separate mysteries here, but one only, +and that if I could read the Musgrave Ritual aright I +should hold in my hand the clue which would lead me to +the truth concerning both the butler Brunton and the +maid Howells. To that then I turned all my energies. +Why should this servant be so anxious to master this +old formula? Evidently because he saw something in it +which had escaped all those generations of country +squires, and from which he expected some personal +advantage. What was it then, and how had it affected +his fate? + +"It was perfectly obvious to me, on reading the +ritual, that the measurements must refer to some spot +to which the rest of the document alluded, and that if +we could find that spot, we should be in a fair way +towards finding what the secret was which the old +Musgraves had thought it necessary to embalm in so +curious a fashion. There were two guides given us to +start with, an oak and an elm. As to the oak there +could be no question at all. Right in front of the +house, upon the left-hand side of the drive, there +stood a patriarch among oaks, one of the most +magnificent trees that I have ever seen. + +"'That was there when your ritual was drawn up,' said +I, as we drove past 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 by lightning 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 the elm had stood. It was +nearly midway between the oak and the house. My +investigation 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, it always took the shape of measuring +heights. When I was a lad I worked out every tree and +building in the estate.' + +"This was an unexpected piece of luck. My data were +coming more quickly than 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 it to my mind,' he answered, 'Brunton +did ask me about the height of the tree some months +ago, in connection with some little argument with the +groom.' + +"This was excellent news, Watson, for it showed me +that I was on the right road. I looked up at the sun. +It was low in the heavens, and I calculated that in +less than an hour it would lie just above the topmost +branches of the old oak. One condition mentioned in +the Ritual would then be fulfilled. And the shadow of +the elm must mean the farther end of 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 the sun was just clear of the +oak." + +"That must have been difficult, Holmes, when the elm +was no longer there." + +"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 study and whittled myself +this peg, to which I tied this long string with a knot +at each yard. Then I took two lengths of a +fishing-rod, which came to just six feet, and I went +back with my client to where the elm had been. The +sun was just grazing the top of the oak. I fastened +the rod on end, marked out the direction of the +shadow, and measured it. It was nine feet in length. + +"Of course the calculation now was a simple one. If a +rod of six feet threw a shadow of nine, a tree of +sixty-four feet would throw one of ninety-six, and the +line of the one would of course be the line of the other. +I measured out the distance, which brought me almost +to the wall of the house, and I thrust a peg into the +spot. You can imagine my exultation, Watson, when +within two inches of my peg I saw a conical depression +in the ground. I knew that it was the mark made by +Brunton in his measurements, and that I was still upon +his trail. + +"From this starting-point I proceeded to step, having +first taken the cardinal points by my pocket-compass. +Ten steps with each foot took me along parallel with +the wall of the house, and again I marked my spot with +a peg. Then I carefully paced off five to the east +and two to the south. It brought me to the very +threshold of the old door. Two steps to the west +meant now that I was to go two paces down the +stone-flagged passage, and this was the place +indicated by the Ritual. + +"Never have I felt such a cold chill of +disappointment, Watson. For a moment is seemed to me +that there must be some radical mistake in my +calculations. The setting sun shone full upon the +passage floor, and I could see that the old, foot-worn +gray stones with which it was paved were firmly +cemented together, and had certainly not been moved +for many a 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 crack or +crevice. But, fortunately, Musgrave, who had begun to +appreciate the meaning of my proceedings, and who was +now as excited as myself, took out 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?' I cried. + +"'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 instant it was obvious +that we had at last come upon the true place, and that +we had not been the only people to visit the spot +recently. + +"It had been used for the storage of wood, but the +billets, which had evidently been littered over the +floor, were now piled at the sides, so as to leave a +clear space in the middle. In this space lay a large +and heavy flagstone with a rusted iron ring in the +centre to which a thick shepherd's-check muffler was +attached. + +"'By Jove!' cried my client. 'That's Brunton's +muffler. I have seen it on 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 be present, and I then endeavored to raise +the stone by pulling on the cravat. I could only move +it slightly, and it was with the aid of one of 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 to us. At one side of this was a +squat, brass-bound wooden box, the lid of which was +hinged upwards, with this curious old-fashioned key +projecting from the lock. It was furred outside by a +thick layer of dust, and damp and worms had eaten +through the wood, so that a crop of livid fungi was +growing on the inside of it. Several discs of metal, +old coins apparently, such as I hold here, were +scattered over the bottom of the box, but it contained +nothing else. + +"At the moment, however, we had no thought for the old +chest, for our eyes were riveted upon that which +crouched beside it. It was the figure of a man, clad +in a suit of black, who squatted down upon his hams +with his forehead sunk upon the edge of the box and +his two arms thrown out on each side of it. The +attitude had drawn all the stagnant blood to the face, +and no man could have recognized that distorted +liver-colored countenance; but his height, his dress, +and his hair were all sufficient to show my client, +when we had drawn the body up, that it was indeed his +missing butler. He had been dead some days, but there +was no wound or bruise upon his person to show how he +had met his dreadful end. When his body had been +carried from the cellar we found ourselves still +confronted with a problem which was almost as +formidable as that with which we had started. + +"I confess that so far, Watson, I had been +disappointed in my investigation. I had reckoned upon +solving the matter when once I had found the place +referred to in the Ritual; but now I was there, and +was apparently as far as ever from knowing what it was +which the family had concealed with such elaborate +precautions. It is true that I had thrown a light +upon the fate of Brunton, but now I had to ascertain +how that fate had come upon him, and what part had +been played in the matter by the woman who had +disappeared. I sat down upon a keg in the corner and +thought the whole matter carefully over. + +"You know my methods in such cases, Watson. I put +myself in the man's place and, having first gauged his +intelligence, I try to imagine how I should myself +have proceeded under the same circumstances. In this +case the matter was simplified by Brunton's +intelligence being quite first-rate, so that it was +unnecessary to make any allowance for the personal +equation, as the astronomers have dubbed it. He know +that something valuable was concealed. He had spotted +the place. He found that the stone which covered it +was just too heavy for a man to move unaided. What +would he do next? He could not get help from outside, +even if he had some one whom he could trust, without +the unbarring of doors and considerable risk of +detection. It was better, if he could, to have his +helpmate inside the house. But whom could he ask? +This girl had been devoted to him. A man always finds +it hard to realize that he may have finally lost a +woman's love, however badly he may have treated her. +He would 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 at night to +the cellar, and their united force would suffice to +raise the stone. So far I could follow their actions +as if I had actually seen them. + +"But for two of them, and one a woman, it must have +been heavy work the raising of that stone. A burly +Sussex policeman and I had found it no light job. +What would they do to assist them? Probably what I +should have done myself. I rose and examined +carefully the different billets of wood which were +scattered round the floor. Almost at once I came upon +what I expected. One piece, about three feet in +length, had a very marked indentation at one end, +while several were flattened at the sides as if they +had been compressed by some considerable weight. +Evidently, as they had dragged the stone up they had +thrust the chunks of wood into the chink, until at +last, when the opening was large enough to crawl +through, they would hold it open by a billet placed +lengthwise, which might very well become indented at +the lower end, since the whole weight of the stone +would press it down on to the edge of this other slab. +So far 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. The girl must have +waited above. Brunton then unlocked the box, handed +up the contents presumably--since they were not to be +found--and then--and then what happened? + +"What smouldering fire of vengeance had suddenly +sprung into flame in this passionate Celtic woman's +soul when she saw the man who had wronged her--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 shut Brunton into what had become +his sepulchre? Had she only been guilty of silence as +to his fate? Or had some sudden blow from her hand +dashed the support away and sent the slab crashing +down into its place? Be that as it might, I seemed to +see that woman's figure still clutching at her +treasure trove and flying wildly up the winding stair, +with her ears ringing perhaps with the muffled screams +from behind her and with the drumming of frenzied +hands against the slab of stone which was choking her +faithless lover's life out. + +"Here was the secret of her blanched face, her shaken +nerves, her peals of hysterical laughter on the next +morning. But what had been in the box? What had she +done with that? Of course, it must have been the old +metal and pebbles which my client had dragged from the +mere. She had thrown them in there at the first +opportunity to remove the last trace of her crime. + +"For twenty minutes I had sat motionless, thinking the +matter out. Musgrave still stood with a very pale +face, swinging his lantern and peering down into the +hole. + +"'These are coins of Charles the First,' said he, +holding out the few which had been in the box; 'you +see we were right in fixing our date for the Ritual.' + +"'We may find something else of Charles the First,' I +cried, as the probable meaning of the first two +questions of the Ritual broke suddenly upon me. 'Let +me see the contents of the bag which you fished from +the mere.' + + +"We ascended to his study, and he laid the debris +before me. I could understand his regarding it as of +small importance when I looked at it, for the metal +was almost black and the stones lustreless and dull. +I rubbed one of them on my sleeve, however, and it +glowed afterwards like a spark in the dark hollow of +my hand. The metal work was in the form of a double +ring, but it had been bent and twisted out of its +original shape. + +"'You must bear in mind,' said I, 'that the royal +party made head in England even after the death of the +king, and that when they at last fled they probably +left many of their most precious possessions buried +behind them, with the intention of returning for them +in more peaceful times.' + +"'My ancestor, Sir Ralph Musgrave, was a prominent +Cavalier and the right-hand man of Charles the Second +in his wanderings,' said my friend. + +"'Ah, indeed!' I answered. 'Well now, I think that +really should give us the last link that we wanted. I +must congratulate you on coming into the possession, +though in rather a tragic manner of a relic which is +of great intrinsic value, but of even greater +importance as an historical curiosity.' + +"'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 was it?" "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 that this battered and shapeless +diadem once encircled the brows of the royal Stuarts.' + +"'And how came it in the pond?' + +"'Ah, that is a question that will take some time to +answer.' And with that I sketched out to him the +whole long chain of surmise and of proof which I had +constructed. The twilight had closed in and the moon +was shining brightly in the sky before my narrative +was finished. + +"'And how was it then that Charles did not get his +crown when he returned?' asked Musgrave, pushing back +the relic into its linen bag. + +"'Ah, there you lay your finger upon the one point +which we shall probably never be able to clear up. It +is likely that the Musgrave who held the secret died +in the interval, and by some oversight left this guide +to his descendant without explaining the meaning of +it. From that day to this it has been handed down +from father to son, until at last it came within reach +of a man who tore its secret out of it and lost his +life in the venture.' + + +"And that's the story of the Musgrave Ritual, Watson. +They have the crown down at Hurlstone--though they had +some legal bother and a considerable sum to pay before +they were allowed to retain it. I am sure that if you +mentioned my name they would be happy to show it to +you. Of the woman nothing was ever heard, and the +probability is that she got away out of England and +carried herself and the memory of her crime to some +land beyond the seas." + + + +Adventure VI + + +The Reigate Puzzle + + +It was some time before the health of my friend Mr. +Sherlock Holmes recovered from the strain caused by +his immense exertions in the spring of '87. The whole +question of the Netherland-Sumatra Company and of the +colossal schemes of Baron Maupertuis are too recent in +the minds of the public, and are too intimately +concerned with politics and finance to be fitting +subjects for this series of sketches. They led, +however, in an indirect fashion to a singular and +complex problem which gave my friend an opportunity of +demonstrating the value of a fresh weapon among the +many 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 that I received a telegram from Lyons +which informed me that Holmes was lying ill in the +Hotel Dulong. Within twenty-four hours I was in his +sick-room, and was relieved to find that there was +nothing formidable in his symptoms. Even his iron +constitution, however, had broken down under 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 days at a +stretch. Even the triumphant issue of his labors +could not save him from reaction after so terrible an +exertion, and at a time when Europe was ringing with +his name and when his room was literally ankle-deep +with congratulatory telegrams I found him a prey to +the blackest depression. Even the knowledge that he +had succeeded where the police of three countries had +failed, and that he had outmanoeuvred at every point +the most accomplished swindler in Europe, was +insufficient to rouse him from his nervous +prostration. + +Three days later we were back in Baker Street +together; but it was evident that my friend would be +much the better for a change, and the thought of a +week of spring time in the country was full of +attractions to me also. My old friend, Colonel +Hayter, who had come under my professional care in +Afghanistan, had now taken a house near Reigate in +Surrey, and had frequently asked me to come down to +him upon a visit. On the last occasion he had +remarked that if my friend would only come with me he +would be glad to extend his hospitality to him also. +A little diplomacy was needed, but when Holmes +understood that the establishment was 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 were under the Colonel's roof. Hayter was a +fine old soldier who had seen much of the world, and +he soon found, as I had expected, that Holmes and he +had much in common. + +On the evening of our arrival we were sitting in the +Colonel's gun-room after dinner, Holmes stretched upon +the sofa, while Hayter and I looked over his little +armory of Eastern weapons. + +"By the way," said he suddenly, "I think I'll take one +of these pistols upstairs 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 of our county magnates, had his +house broken into last Monday. No great damage 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 country crimes, which must seem too small +for your attention, Mr. Holmes, after this great +international affair." + +Holmes waved away the compliment, though his smile +showed that it had pleased him. + +"Was there any feature of interest?" + +"I fancy not. The thieves ransacked the library and +got very little for their 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 oak barometer, 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, it is 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 get started on a new problem when +your nerves are all in shreds." + +Holmes shrugged his shoulders with a glance of comic +resignation towards the Colonel, and the talk drifted +away into less dangerous channels. + +It was destined, however, that all my professional +caution should be wasted, for next morning the problem +obtruded itself upon us in such a way that it was +impossible to ignore it, and our country visit took a +turn which neither of us could have anticipated. We +were at breakfast when the Colonel's butler rushed in +with all his propriety shaken out of him. + +"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 just broke in at the pantry window +when William came on him and met his end in 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, coolly settling down to his breakfast again. +"It's a baddish business," he added when the butler +had gone; "he's our leading man about here, is old +Cunningham, and a very decent fellow too. He'll be +cut up over this, for the man has been in his service +for years and was a good servant. It's evidently 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 same at first glance this is just a little +curious, is it not? A gang of burglars acting in the +country might be expected to vary the scene of their +operations, and not to crack two cribs in the same +district within a few days. When you spoke last night +of taking precautions I remember that it passed +through my mind that this was probably the last parish +in England to which the thief or thieves would be +likely to turn their attention--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 which has sucked the blood out of both of +them, I fancy. Old Acton has some claim on half +Cunningham's estate, and the lawyers have been at it +with both hands." + +"If it's a local villain there should not be much +difficulty in running him down," said Holmes with a +yawn. "All right, Watson, I don't intend to 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 hear that 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 were chatting about the matter when you +came in, Inspector. Perhaps you can let us have a few +details." As he leaned back in his chair in the +familiar 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 was seen." + +"Ah!" + +"Yes, sir. But he was off like a deer after the shot +that killed poor William Kirwan was fired. Mr. +Cunningham saw him from the bedroom window, and Mr. +Alec Cunningham saw him from the back passage. It was +quarter to twelve when the alarm broke out. Mr. +Cunningham had just got into bed, and Mr. Alec was +smoking a pipe in his dressing-gown. They both heard +William the coachman calling for help, and Mr. Alec +ran down to see what was the matter. The back door +was open, and as he came to the foot of the stairs he +saw two men wrestling together outside. One of them +fired a shot, the other dropped, and the murderer +rushed across the garden 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 villain got clean away. Beyond the +fact that he was a middle-sized man and dressed in +some dark stuff, we have no personal clue; but we are +making energetic inquiries, and if he is a stranger we +shall soon find him out." + +"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 a very faithful fellow we imagine that +he walked up to the house with the intention of seeing +that all was right there. Of course this Acton +business has put every one on their guard. The robber +must have just burst open the door--the lock has been +forced--when William came upon him." + +"Did William say anything to his mother before going +out?" + +"She is very old and deaf, and we can get no +information from her. The shock has made her +half-witted, but I understand that she was never very +bright. There is one very important circumstance, +however. Look at this!" + +He took a small piece of torn paper from a note-book +and spread it out upon his knee. + +"This was found between the finger and thumb of the +dead man. It appears to be a fragment torn from a +larger sheet. You will observe that the hour +mentioned upon it is the very time at which the poor +fellow met his fate. You see that his murderer might +have torn the rest of the sheet from him or he might +have taken this fragment from the murderer. It reads +almost as though it were an appointment." + +Holmes took up the scrap of paper, a fac-simile of +which is here reproduced. + +d at quarter to twelve +learn what +maybe + +"Presuming that it is an appointment," continued the +Inspector, "it is of course a conceivable theory that +this William Kirwan--though he had the reputation of +being an honest man, may have been in league with the +thief. He may have met him there, may even have +helped him to break in the door, and then they may +have fallen out between themselves." + +"This writing is of extraordinary interest," said +Holmes, who had been examining it with intense +concentration. "These are much deeper waters than I +had though." He sank his head upon his hands, while +the Inspector smiled at the effect which his case had +had upon the famous London specialist. + +"Your last remark," said Holmes, presently, "as to the +possibility of there being an understanding between +the burglar and the servant, and this being a note of +appointment from one to the other, is an ingenious and +not entirely impossible supposition. But this writing +opens up--" He sank his head into his hands again and +remained for some minutes in the deepest thought. +When he raised his face again, I was surprised to see +that his cheek was tinged with color, and his eyes as +bright as before his 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 little glance into the details of this case. +There is something in it which fascinates me +extremely. If you will permit me, Colonel, I will +leave my friend Watson and you, and I will step round +with the Inspector to test the truth of one or two +little fancies of mine. I will be with you again in +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. "He wants 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. Between ourselves, 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 found that there was method in his +madness." + +"Some folks might say there was madness in his +method," muttered the Inspector. "But he's all on +fire to start, Colonel, so we had best go out if you +are ready." + +We found Holmes pacing up and down in the field, his +chin sunk upon his breast, and his hands thrust into +his trousers pockets. + +"The matter grows in interest," said he. "Watson, +your country-trip has been a distinct success. I have +had a charming morning." + +"You have been up to the scene of the crime, I +understand," said the Colonel. + +"Yes; the Inspector and I have made quite a little +reconnaissance together." + +"Any success?" + +"Well, we have seen some very interesting things. +I'll tell you what we did 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. We then had an interview with Mr. +Cunningham and his son, who were able to point out the +exact spot where the murderer had broken through the +garden-hedge in his flight. That was of great +interest." + +"Naturally." + +"Then we had a look at this poor fellow's mother. We +could get no information 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 visit now may do something to make it less +obscure. I think that we are both agreed, 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 of extreme importance." + +"It should give a clue, Mr. Holmes." + +"It does give a clue. Whoever wrote that note was the +man who brought William Kirwan out of his bed at that +hour. But where is the rest of that sheet of paper?" + +"I examined the ground carefully in the hope of +finding it," said the Inspector. + +"It was torn out of the dead man's hand. Why was some +one so anxious to get possession of it? Because it +incriminated him. And what would he do with it? +Thrust it into his pocket, most likely, never noticing +that a corner of it had been left in the grip of the +corpse. If we could get the rest of that sheet it is +obvious that we should have gone a long way towards +solving the mystery." + +"Yes, but how can we get at the criminal's pocket +before we catch the criminal?" + +"Well, well, it was worth thinking over. Then there +is another obvious point. The note was sent to +William. The man who wrote it could not have taken +it; otherwise, of course, he might have delivered his +own message by word of mouth. Who brought the note, +then? Or did it come through the post?" + +"I have made inquiries," said the Inspector. "William +received a letter by the afternoon post yesterday. +The envelope was destroyed by him." + +"Excellent!" cried Holmes, clapping the Inspector on +the back. "You've seen the postman. It is a pleasure +to work with you. Well, here is the lodge, and if you +will come up, Colonel, I will show you the scene of +the crime." + +We passed the pretty cottage where the murdered man +had lived, and walked up an oak-lined avenue to the +fine old Queen Anne house, which bears the date of +Malplaquet upon the lintel of the door. Holmes and +the Inspector led us round it until we came to the +side gate, which is separated by a stretch of garden +from the hedge which lines the road. A constable was +standing at the kitchen door. + +"Throw the door open, officer," said Holmes. "Now, it +was on those stairs that young Mr. Cunningham stood +and saw the two men struggling just where we are. Old +Mr. Cunningham was at that window--the second on the +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 is very hard, you see, +and there are no marks to guide us." As he spoke two +men came down the garden path, from round the angle of +the house. The one was an elderly man, with a strong, +deep-lined, heavy-eyed face; the other a dashing young +fellow, whose bright, smiling expression and showy +dress were in strange contract with the business which +had brought us there. + +"Still at it, then?" said he to Holmes. "I thought +you Londoners were never 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 we have any clue at all." + +"There's only one," answered the Inspector. "We +thought that if we could only 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 a suppressed groan +he dropped on his face upon the ground. Horrified at +the suddenness and severity of the attack, we carried +him into the kitchen, where he lay back in a large +chair, and breathed heavily for some minutes. +Finally, with a shamefaced apology for his weakness, +he rose once more. + +"Watson would tell you that I have only just recovered +from a severe illness," 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 to feel sure. We can very easily verify +it." + +"What was it?" + +"Well, it seems to me that it is just possible that +the arrival of this poor fellow William was not +before, but after, the entrance of the 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, my son Alec had not yet gone to bed, +and he would certainly have heard any one 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. "Is it not extraordinary that a +burglary--and a burglar who had had some previous +experience--should deliberately break into a house at +a time when he could see from the lights that two of +the family were still afoot?" + +"He must have been a cool hand." + +"Well, of course, if the case were not an odd one we +should not have been driven to ask you for an +explanation," said young Mr. Alec. "But as to your +ideas that the man had robbed the house before William +tackled him, I think it a most absurd notion. +Wouldn't we have found the place disarranged, and +missed the things which he had taken?" + +"It depends on what the things were," said Holmes. +"You must remember that we are dealing with a burglar +who is a very peculiar fellow, and who appears to work +on lines of his own. Look, for example, at the queer +lot of things which he took from Acton's--what was +it?--a ball of string, 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 be done." + +"In the first place," said Holmes, "I should like you +to offer a reward--coming from yourself, for the +officials may take a little time before they would +agree upon the sum, and these things cannot be done +too promptly. I have jotted down the form here, if +you would not mind signing it. Fifty pounds was quite +enough, I thought." + +"I would willingly give five hundred," said the J.P., +taking the slip of paper and the pencil which Holmes +handed to him. "This is not quite correct, however," +he added, glancing over the document. + +"I wrote it rather hurriedly." + +"You see you begin, 'Whereas, at about a quarter to +one on Tuesday morning 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 any slip of the kind. It was his +specialty to be accurate as to fact, but his recent +illness had shaken him, and this one little incident +was enough to show me that he was still far from being +himself. He was obviously embarrassed for an instant, +while the Inspector raised his eyebrows, and Alec +Cunningham burst into a laugh. The old gentleman +corrected the mistake, however, and handed the paper +back to Holmes. + +"Get it printed as soon as possible," he said; "I +think your idea is an excellent 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 all go over the house together and make +certain that this rather erratic burglar did not, +after all, carry anything away with him." + +Before entering, Holmes made an examination of the +door which had been forced. It was evident that a +chisel or strong knife had been thrust in, and the +lock forced back with it. We could see the marks in +the wood where 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 us over the house, +Mr. Cunningham." + +A stone-flagged passage, with the kitchens branching +away from it, led by a wooden staircase directly to +the first floor of the house. It came out upon the +landing opposite to a second more ornamental stair +which came up from the front hall. Out of this +landing opened the drawing-room and 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 yet I could not in the least +imagine in what direction his inferences were leading +him. + +"My good sir," said Mr. Cunningham with some +impatience, "this is surely very unnecessary. That is +my room at the end of the stairs, and my son's is the +one beyond it. I leave it to your judgment whether it +was possible 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 son with a rather malicious smile. + +"Still, I must ask you to humor me a little further. +I should like, for example, 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--"and +that, I presume, is the dressing-room in which he sat +smoking when the alarm was given. Where does the +window of that look out to?" He stepped across the +bedroom, pushed open the door, and glanced round the +other chamber. + +"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 across it in the +direction of the window, Holmes fell back until he and +I were the last of the group. Near the foot of the +bed stood a dish of oranges and a carafe of water. As +we passed it Holmes, to my unutterable astonishment, +leaned over in front of me and deliberately knocked +the whole thing over. The glass smashed into a +thousand pieces and the fruit rolled about into every +corner of the room. + +"You've done it now, Watson," said he, coolly. "A +pretty mess you've made 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 blame upon myself. The others +did the same, and set the table on its legs again. + +"Hullo!" cried the Inspector, "where's he got to?" + +Holmes had disappeared. + +"Wait here an instant," said young Alec Cunningham. +"The fellow is off his head, in my opinion. Come with +me, father, and see where he has got to!" + +They rushed out of the room, leaving the Inspector, +the Colonel, and me staring at each other. + +"'Pon my word, I am inclined to agree with Master +Alec," said the official. "It may be the effect of +this illness, but it seems to me that--" + +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 rushed madly from the room on +to the landing. The cries, which had sunk down into a +hoarse, inarticulate shouting, came from the room +which we had first visited. I dashed in, and on into +the dressing-room beyond. The two Cunninghams were +bending over the prostrate figure of Sherlock Holmes, +the younger clutching his throat with both hands, +while the elder seemed to be twisting one of his +wrists. In an instant the three of 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 human countenances. The older man seemed +numbed and dazed with a heavy, sullen expression 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 eyes and distorted his +handsome features. The Inspector said nothing, but, +stepping to the door, he blew his whistle. Two of his +constables came at the call. + +"I have no alternative, Mr. Cunningham," said he. "I +trust that this may all 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 +younger man was in the act of cocking clattered down +upon the floor. + +"Keep that," said Holmes, quietly putting his foot +upon it; "you will find it useful at the trial. But +this is what we really wanted." He held up 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 you presently. I think, Colonel, that +you and Watson might return now, and I will be with +you again in an hour at the furthest. The Inspector +and I must have a word with the prisoners, but you +will certainly see me back at luncheon time." + + +Sherlock Holmes was as good as his word, for about one +o'clock he rejoined us in the Colonel's smoking-room. +He was accompanied by a little elderly gentleman, who +was introduced to me as the Mr. Acton whose house had +been the scene of the original burglary. + +"I wished Mr. Acton to be present while I demonstrated +this small matter to you," said Holmes, "for it is +natural that he should take a keen interest in the +details. I am afraid, my dear Colonel, that you must +regret the hour that you took in such a stormy petrel +as I am." + +"On the contrary," answered the Colonel, warmly, "I +consider it the greatest privilege to have been +permitted to study your methods of working. I confess +that they quite surpass my expectations, and that I am +utterly unable to account for your result. I have not +yet seen the vestige of a clue." + +"I am afraid that my explanation may disillusion you +but it has always been my habit to hide none of my +methods, either from my friend Watson or 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 in the dressing-room, I think that I shall +help myself to a dash of your brandy, 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. Pray +interrupt me if there is any inference which is not +perfectly clear to you. + +"It is of the highest importance in the art of +detection to be able to recognize, out of a number of +facts, which are incidental and which vital. +Otherwise your energy and attention must be dissipated +instead of being concentrated. Now, in this case +there was not the slightest doubt in my mind from the +first that the key of the whole matter must be looked +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, after shooting William +Kirwan, had instantly fled, then it obviously could +not be 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 old man +had descended several servants were upon the scene. +The point is a simple one, but the Inspector had +overlooked it because he had started with the +supposition that these county magnates had had nothing +to do with the matter. Now, I make a point of never +having any prejudices, and of following docilely +wherever fact may lead me, and so, in the very first +stage of the investigation, I found myself looking a +little askance at the part which had been played by +Mr. Alec Cunningham. + +"And now I made a very careful examination of the +corner of paper which the Inspector had submitted to +us. It was at once clear to me that it formed part of +a very remarkable document. Here it is. Do you not +now observe 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 the world 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 ask +you to compare them with the weak ones of 'quarter' +and 'twelve,' you will instantly recognize the fact. +A very brief analysis of these four 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 should two men write a letter in such a +fashion?" + +"Obviously the business was a bad one, and one of the +men who distrusted the other was determined that, +whatever was done, each should have an equal hand in +it. Now, of the two men, it is clear that the one who +wrote 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 compared with the other. But we have more +assured reasons than that for supposing it. If you +examine this scrap with attention you will come to the +conclusion that the man with the stronger hand wrote +all his words first, leaving blanks for the other to +fill up. These blanks were not always sufficient, and +you can see that the second man had a squeeze to fit +his 'quarter' in between the 'at' and the 'to,' +showing that the latter were already written. The man +who wrote all his words first is undoubtedly the man +who planned the affair." + +"Excellent!" cried Mr. Acton. + +"But very superficial," said Holmes. "We come now, +however, to a point which is of importance. You may +not be aware that the deduction of a man's age from +his writing is one which has brought to considerable +accuracy by experts. In normal cases one can place a +man in his true decade with tolerable confidence. I +say normal cases, because ill-health and physical +weakness reproduce the signs of old age, even when the +invalid is a youth. In this case, looking at the +bold, strong hand of the one, and the rather +broken-backed appearance of the other, which still +retains its legibility although the t's have begun to +lose their crossing, we can say that the one was a +young man and the other was advanced in years without +being positively decrepit." + +"Excellent!" cried Mr. Acton again. + +"There is a further point, however, which is subtler +and of greater interest. There is something in common +between these hands. They belong to men who are +blood-relatives. It may be most obvious to you in the +Greek e's, but to me there are many small points which +indicate the same thing. I have no doubt at all that +a family mannerism can be traced in these two +specimens of writing. I am only, of course, giving +you the leading results now of my examination of the +paper. There were twenty-three other deductions which +would be of more interest to experts than to you. +They all tend to deepen the impression upon my mind +that the Cunninghams, father and son, had written this +letter. + +"Having got so far, my next step was, of course, to +examine into the details of the crime, and to see how +far they would help us. I went up to the house with +the Inspector, and saw all that was to be seen. The +wound upon the dead man was, as I was able to +determine with absolute confidence, fired from a +revolver at the distance of something over four yards. +There was no powder-blackening on the clothes. +Evidently, therefore, Alec Cunningham had lied when +he said that the two men were struggling when the shot +was fired. Again, both father and son agreed as 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 was +absolutely sure not only that the Cunninghams had +again lied, but that there had never been any unknown +man upon the scene at all. + +"And now I have to consider the motive of this +singular crime. To get at this, I endeavored first of +all to solve the reason of the original burglary at +Mr. Acton's. I understood, from something which the +Colonel told us, that a lawsuit had been going on +between you, Mr. Acton, and the Cunninghams. Of +course, it instantly occurred to me that they had +broken into your library with the intention of getting +at some document which might be of importance in the +case." + +"Precisely so," said Mr. Acton. "There can be no +possible doubt as to their intentions. I have the +clearest claim upon half of their present estate, and +if they could have found a single paper--which, +fortunately, was in the strong-box of my +solicitors--they would undoubtedly have crippled our +case." + +"There you are," said Holmes, smiling. "It was a +dangerous, reckless attempt, in which I seem to trace +the influence of young Alec. Having found nothing +they tried to divert suspicion by making it appear to +be an ordinary burglary, to which end they carried off +whatever they could lay their hands upon. That is all +clear enough, but there was much that was still +obscure. What I wanted above all was to get the +missing part of that note. I was certain that Alec +had torn it out of the dead man's hand, and almost +certain that he must have thrust it into the pocket of +his dressing-gown. Where else could he have put it? +The only question was whether it was still there. It +was worth an effort to find out, and for that object +we all went up to the house. + +"The Cunninghams joined us, as you doubtless remember, +outside the kitchen door. It was, of course, of the +very first importance that they should not be reminded +of the existence of this paper, otherwise they would +naturally destroy it without delay. The Inspector was +about to tell them the importance which we attached to +it when, by the luckiest chance in the world, I +tumbled down in a sort of fit and so changed the +conversation. + +"Good heavens!" cried the Colonel, laughing, "do you +mean to say all our sympathy was wasted and your fit +an imposture?" + +"Speaking professionally, it was admirably done," +cried I, looking in amazement at this man who was +forever confounding me with some new phase of his +astuteness. + +"It is an art which is often useful," said he. "When +I recovered I managed, by a device which had perhaps +some little merit of ingenuity, to get old Cunningham +to write the word 'twelve,' so that I might compare 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," said Holmes, laughing. "I was sorry to +cause you the sympathetic pain which I know that you +felt. We then went upstairs together, and having +entered the room and seen the dressing-gown hanging up +behind the door, I contrived, by upsetting a table, to +engage their attention for the moment, and slipped +back to examine the pockets. I had hardly got the +paper, however--which was, as I had expected, in one +of them--when the two Cunninghams were on me, and +would, I verily believe, have murdered me then and +there but for your prompt and friendly aid. As it is, +I feel that young man's grip on my throat now, and the +father has twisted my wrist round in the effort to get +the paper out of my hand. They saw that I must know +all about it, you see, and the sudden change from +absolute security to complete despair made them +perfectly desperate. + +"I had a little talk with old Cunningham afterwards as +to the motive of the 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 got +to his revolver. When Cunningham saw that the case +against him was so strong he lost all heart and made a +clean breast of everything. It seems that William had +secretly followed his two masters on the night when +they made their raid upon Mr. Acton's, and having thus +got them into his power, proceeded, under threats of +exposure, to levy blackmail upon them. Mr. Alec, +however, was a dangerous man to play games of that +sort with. It was a stroke of positive genius on his +part to see in the burglary scare which was convulsing +the country side an opportunity of plausibly getting +rid of the man whom he feared. William was decoyed up +and shot, and had they only got the whole of the note +and paid a little more attention to detail in the +accessories, it is very possible that suspicion 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 will +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. "Of course, we do not yet know what the +relations may have been between Alec Cunningham, +William Kirwan, and Annie Morrison. The results shows +that the trap was skillfully baited. I am sure that +you cannot fail to be delighted with the traces of +heredity shown in the p's and in the tails of the g's. +The absence of the i-dots in the old man's writing is +also most characteristic. Watson, I think our quiet +rest in the country has been a distinct success, and I +shall certainly return much invigorated to Baker +Street to-morrow." + + + +Adventure VII + + +The Crooked Man + + +One summer night, a few months after my marriage, I +was seated by my own hearth smoking a last pipe and +nodding over a novel, for my day's work had been an +exhausting one. My wife had already gone upstairs, +and the sound of the locking of the hall door some +time before told me that the servants had also +retired. I had risen from my seat and was knocking +out the 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 be a visitor at so late an hour. A +patient, evidently, and possibly an all-night sitting. +With a wry face I went out into the hall and opened +the door. To my astonishment it was Sherlock Holmes +who stood upon my step. + +"Ah, Watson," said he, "I hoped that I might not be +too late to catch you." + +"My dear fellow, pray come in." + +"You look surprised, and no wonder! Relieved, too, I +fancy! Hum! You still smoke the Arcadia mixture of +your bachelor days then! There's no mistaking that +fluffy ash upon your coat. It's easy to tell that you +have been accustomed to wear a uniform, Watson. +You'll never pass as a pure-bred civilian as long as +you keep that habit of carrying your handkerchief 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 you have 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 had the 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 linoleum just where the light strikes it. No, +thank you, I had some supper at Waterloo, but I'll +smoke a pipe with you with pleasure." + +I handed him my pouch, and he seated himself opposite +to me and smoked for some time in silence. I was well +aware that nothing but business of importance would +have brought him to me at such an hour, so I waited +patiently 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 in your 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 you use a hansom. As +I perceive that your boots, although used, are by no +means dirty, I cannot doubt that you are at present +busy enough to justify the hansom." + +"Excellent!" I cried. + +"Elementary," said he. "It is one of those instances +where the reasoner can produce an effect which seems +remarkable to his neighbor, because the latter has +missed the one little point which is the basis of the +deduction. The same may be said, my dear fellow, for +the effect of some of these little sketches of yours, +which is entirely meretricious, depending as it does +upon your retaining in your own hands some factors in +the problem which are never imparted to the reader. +Now, at present I am in the position of these same +readers, for I hold in this hand several threads of +one of the strangest cases which ever perplexed a +man's brain, and yet I lack the one or two which are +needful to complete my theory. But I'll have them, +Watson, I'll have them!" His eyes kindled and a +slight flush sprang into his thin cheeks. For an +instant only. When I glanced again his face had +resumed that red-Indian composure which had made so +many regard him as a machine rather than a man. + +"The problem presents features of interest," said he. +"I may even say exceptional features of interest. I +have already looked into the matter, and have come, as +I think, within sight of my solution. If you could +accompany me in that last step you might be of +considerable service to me." + +"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 has happened, 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 omitting anything vital to the case. It is +conceivable that you may even have read some account +of the matter. It is the supposed murder of Colonel +Barclay, 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 are only two days old. Briefly +they are these: + +"The Royal Munsters is, as you know, one of the most +famous Irish regiments in the British army. It did +wonders both in the Crimea and the Mutiny, and has +since that time distinguished itself upon every +possible occasion. It was commanded up to Monday +night by James Barclay, a gallant veteran, who started +as a full private, was raised to commissioned rank for +his bravery at the time of the Mutiny, and so lived to +command the regiment in which he had once carried a +musket. + +"Colonel Barclay had married at the time when he was a +sergeant, and his wife, whose maiden name was Miss +Nancy Devoy, was the daughter of a former +color-sergeant in the same corps. There was, +therefore, as can be imagined, some little social +friction when the young couple (for they were still +young) found themselves in their new surroundings. +They appear, however, to have quickly adapted +themselves, and Mrs. Barclay has always, I understand, +been as popular with the ladies of the regiment as her +husband was with his brother officers. I may add that +she was a woman of great beauty, and that even now, +when she has been married for upwards of thirty years, +she is still of a striking and queenly appearance. + +"Colonel Barclay's family life appears to have been a +uniformly happy one. Major Murphy, to whom I owe most +of my facts, assures me that he has never heard of any +misunderstanding between the pair. On the whole, he +thinks that Barclay's devotion to his wife was greater +than his wife's to Barclay. He was acutely uneasy if +he were absent from her for a day. She, on the other +hand, though devoted and faithful, was less +obtrusively affectionate. But they were regarded in +the regiment as the very model of a middle-aged +couple. There was absolutely nothing in their mutual +relations to prepare people for the tragedy which was +to follow. + +"Colonel Barclay himself seems to have had some +singular traits in his character. He was a dashing, +jovial old soldier in his usual mood, but there were +occasions on which he seemed to show himself capable +of considerable violence and vindictiveness. This +side of his nature, however, appears never to have +been turned towards his wife. Another fact, which had +struck Major Murphy and three out of five of the other +officers with whom I conversed, was the singular sort +of depression which came upon him at times. As the +major expressed it, the smile had often been struck +from his mouth, as if by some invisible hand, when he +has been joining the gayeties and chaff of the +mess-table. For days on end, 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 +traits in his character which his brother officers had +observed. The latter peculiarity took the form of a +dislike to being left alone, especially after dark. +This puerile feature in a nature which was +conspicuously manly had often given rise to comment +and conjecture. + +"The first battalion of the Royal Munsters (which is +the old 117th) has been stationed at Aldershot for +some years. The married officers live out of +barracks, and the Colonel has during all this time +occupied a villa called Lachine, about half a mile +from the north camp. The house stands in its own +grounds, but the west side of it is not more than +thirty yards from the high-road. A coachman and two +maids form the staff of servants. These with their +master and mistress were the sole occupants of +Lachine, for the Barclays had no children, nor was it +usual for them to have resident visitors. + +"Now for the events at Lachine between nine and ten on +the evening of last Monday." + +"Mrs. Barclay was, it appears, a member of the Roman +Catholic Church, and had interested herself very much +in the establishment of the Guild of St. George, which +was formed in connection with the Watt Street Chapel +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. When leaving +the house she was heard by the coachman to make some +commonplace remark to her husband, and to assure him +that she would be back before very long. She then +called for Miss Morrison, a young lady who lives in +the next villa, and the two went off together to their +meeting. It lasted forty minutes, and at a +quarter-past nine Mrs. Barclay returned home, having +left Miss Morrison at her door as she passed. + +"There is a room which is used as a morning-room at +Lachine. This faces the road and opens by a large +glass folding-door on to the lawn. The lawn is thirty +yards across, and is only divided from the highway by +a 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 was seldom used in +the evening, but Mrs. Barclay herself lit the lamp and +then rang the bell, asking Jane Stewart, the +house-maid, to bring her a cup of tea, which was quite +contrary to her usual habits. The Colonel had been +sitting in the dining-room, but hearing that his wife +had returned he joined her in the morning-room. The +coachman saw him cross the hall and enter it. He was +never seen again alive. + +"The tea which had been ordered was brought up at the +end of ten minutes; but the maid, as she approached +the door, was surprised to hear the voices of her +master and mistress in furious altercation. She +knocked without receiving any answer, and even turned +the handle, but only to find that the door was locked +upon the inside. Naturally enough she ran down to +tell the cook, and the two women with the coachman +came up 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 Barclay and of his +wife. Barclay's remarks were subdued and abrupt, so +that none of 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 as breathe the same air +with you again! You coward! You coward!' Those were +scraps of her conversation, ending in a sudden +dreadful cry in the man's voice, with a crash, and a +piercing scream from the woman. Convinced that some +tragedy had occurred, the coachman rushed to the door +and strove to force it, while scream after scream +issued from within. He was unable, however, to make +his way in, and the maids were too distracted with +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 upon which the long French +windows open. One side of the window was open, which +I understand was quite usual in the summer-time, and +he passed without difficulty into the room. His +mistress had ceased to scream and was stretched +insensible upon a couch, while with his feet tilted +over the side of an arm-chair, and his head upon the +ground near the corner of the fender, was lying the +unfortunate soldier stone dead in a pool of his own +blood. + +"Naturally, the coachman's first thought, on finding +that he could do nothing for his master, was to open +the door. But here an unexpected and singular +difficulty presented itself. The key was not in the +inner side of the door, nor could he find it anywhere +in the room. He went out again, therefore, through +the window, and having obtained the help of a +policeman and of a medical man, he returned. The +lady, against whom naturally the strongest suspicion +rested, was removed to her room, still in a state of +insensibility. The Colonel's body was then placed +upon the sofa, and a careful examination made of the +scene of the tragedy. + +"The injury from which the unfortunate veteran was +suffering was found to 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 the floor, close to the body, was +lying a singular club of hard carved wood with a bone +handle. The Colonel possessed a varied collection of +weapons brought from the different countries in which +he had fought, and it is conjectured by the police +that his club was among his trophies. The servants +deny having seen it before, but among the numerous +curiosities in the house it is possible that it may +have been overlooked. Nothing else of importance was +discovered in the room by the police, save the +inexplicable fact that neither upon Mrs. Barclay's +person nor upon that of the victim nor in any part of +the room was the missing key to be found. The door +had eventually to be opened by a locksmith from +Aldershot. + +"That was the state of things, Watson, when upon the +Tuesday morning I, at the request of Major Murphy, +went down to Aldershot to supplement the efforts of +the police. I think that you will acknowledge that +the problem was already one of interest, but my +observations soon made me realize that it was in truth +much more extraordinary than would at first sight +appear. + +"Before examining the room I cross-questioned the +servants, but only succeeded in eliciting the facts +which I have already stated. One other detail of +interest was remembered by Jane Stewart, the +housemaid. You will remember that on hearing the +sound of the quarrel she descended and returned with +the other servants. On that first occasion, when she +was alone, she says that the voices of her master and +mistress were sunk so low that she could hear hardly +anything, and judged by their tones rather than their +words that they had fallen out. On my pressing her, +however, she remembered that she heard the word David +uttered twice by the lady. The point is of the utmost +importance as guiding us towards the reason of the +sudden quarrel. The Colonel's name, you remember, was +James. + +"There was one thing in the case which had made the +deepest impression both upon the servants and the +police. This was the contortion of the Colonel's +face. It had set, according to their account, into +the most dreadful expression of fear and horror which +a human countenance is capable of assuming. More than +one person fainted at the mere sight of him, so +terrible was the effect. It was quite certain that he +had foreseen his fate, and that it had caused him the +utmost horror. This, of course, fitted in well enough +with the police theory, if the Colonel could have seen +his wife making a murderous attack upon him. Nor was +the fact of the wound being on the back of his head a +fatal objection to this, as he might have turned to +avoid the blow. No information could be got from the +lady herself, who was temporarily insane from an acute +attack of brain-fever. + +"From the police I learned that Miss Morrison, who you +remember went out that evening with Mrs. Barclay, +denied having any knowledge of what it was 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 were merely incidental. +There could be no question that the most distinctive +and suggestive point in the case was the singular +disappearance of the door-key. A most careful search +had failed to discover it in the room. Therefore it +must have been taken from it. But neither the Colonel +nor the Colonel's wife could have taken it. That was +perfectly clear. Therefore a third person must have +entered the room. And that third person could only +have come in through the window. It seemed to me that +a careful examination of the room and the lawn might +possibly reveal some 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 it ended by my discovering traces, but very +different ones from those which I had expected. There +had been a man in the room, and he had crossed the lawn +coming from the road. I was able to obtain five very +clear impressions of his foot-marks: one in the +roadway itself, at the point where he had climbed the +low wall, two on the lawn, and two very faint ones +upon the stained boards near the window where he had +entered. He had apparently rushed across the lawn, +for his toe-marks were much deeper than his heels. +But it was not the man who surprised me. It was his +companion." + +"His companion!" + +Holmes pulled a large sheet of tissue-paper out of his +pocket and carefully 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 small animal. 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 distinct traces 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 familiar with. I have tried to reconstruct it +from the measurements. Here are four prints where the +beast has been standing motionless. You see that it +is no less than fifteen inches from fore-foot to hind. +Add to that the length of neck and head, and you get a +creature not much less than two feet long--probably +more if there is any tail. But now observe this other +measurement. The animal has been moving, and we have +the length of its stride. In each case it is only +about three inches. You have an indication, 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 a curtain, and it is +carnivorous." + +"How do you deduce that?" + +"Because it ran up the curtain. A canary's cage was +hanging in the window, 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 solving the case. On the whole, it was +probably some creature of the weasel and stoat +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, you perceive. We know that a man stood in +the road looking at the quarrel between the +Barclays--the blinds were up and the room lighted. We +know, also, that he ran across the lawn, entered the +room, accompanied by a strange animal, and that he +either struck the Colonel or, as is equally possible, +that the Colonel fell down from sheer fright at the +sight of him, and cut his head on the corner of the +fender. Finally, we have the curious fact that the +intruder carried away the key with him when he left." + +"Your discoveries seem to have left the business more +obscure that it was before," said I. + +"Quite so. They undoubtedly showed that the affair +was much deeper than was at first conjectured. I +thought the matter over, and I came to the conclusion +that I must approach the case from another aspect. +But really, Watson, I am keeping you up, and I might +just as well tell you all 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-past seven she was on good terms with +her husband. She was never, as I think I have said, +ostentatiously affectionate, but she was heard by the +coachman chatting with the Colonel in a friendly +fashion. Now, it was equally certain that, +immediately on her return, she had gone to the room in +which she was least likely to see her husband, had +flown to tea as an agitated woman will, and finally, +on his coming in to her, had broken into violent +recriminations. Therefore something had occurred +between seven-thirty and nine o'clock which had +completely altered her feelings towards him. But Miss +Morrison had been with her during the whole of that +hour and a half. It was absolutely certain, +therefore, in spite of her denial, that she must know +something of the matter. + +"My first conjecture was, that possibly there had been +some passages between this young lady and the old +soldier, which the former had now confessed to the +wife. That would account for the angry return, and +also for the girl's denial that anything had occurred. +Nor would it be entirely incompatible with most of the +words overhead. But there was the reference to David, +and there was the known affection of the Colonel for +his wife, to weigh against it, to say nothing of the +tragic intrusion of this other man, which might, of +course, be entirely disconnected with what had gone +before. It was not easy to pick one's steps, but, on +the whole, I was inclined to dismiss the idea that +there had been anything between the Colonel and Miss +Morrison, but more than ever convinced that the 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 perfectly certain that +she held the facts in her possession, and of assuring +her that her friend, Mrs. Barclay, might find herself +in the dock upon a capital charge unless the matter +were cleared up. + +"Miss Morrison is a little ethereal slip of a girl, +with timid eyes and blond hair, but I found her by no +means wanting in shrewdness and common-sense. She sat +thinking for some time after I had spoken, and then, +turning to me with a brisk air of resolution, she +broke into a remarkable statement which I will +condense for your benefit. + +"'I promised my friend that I would say nothing of the +matter, and a promise is a promise,' said she; 'but if +I can really help her when so serious a charge is laid +against her, and when her own mouth, poor darling, is +closed by illness, then I think I am absolved from my +promise. I will tell you exactly what happened upon +Monday evening. + +"'We were returning from the Watt Street Mission about +a quarter to nine o'clock. On our way we had to pass +through Hudson Street, which is a very quiet +thoroughfare. There is only one lamp in it, upon the +left-hand side, and as we approached this lamp I saw a +man coming towards us with his back very bent, and +something like a box slung over one of his shoulders. +He appeared to be deformed, for he carried his head +low and walked with his knees bent. We were passing +him when he raised 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, "My +God, it's Nancy!" Mrs. Barclay turned as white as +death, and would have fallen down had the +dreadful-looking creature not caught hold of her. I +was going to call for the police, but she, to my +surprise, spoke quite civilly to the fellow. + +"'"I thought you had been dead this thirty years, +Henry," said she, in a shaking voice. + +"'"So I have," said he, and it was awful to hear the +tones that he said it in. He had a very dark, +fearsome face, and a gleam in his eyes that comes back +to me in my dreams. His hair and whiskers were shot +with gray, 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 have a word with this man. There +is nothing to be afraid of." She tried to speak +boldly, but she was still deadly pale and could hardly +get her words 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 the crippled wretch standing +by the lamp-post and shaking his clenched fists in the +air as if he were mad with rage. She never said a +word until we were at the door here, when she took me +by the hand and begged me to tell 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 I have never seen her +since. I have told you now the whole truth, and if I +withheld it from the police it is because I did not +realize then the danger in which my dear friend stood. +I know that it can only be to her advantage that +everything should be known.' + +"There was her statement, Watson, and to me, as you +can imagine, it was like a light on a dark night. +Everything which had been disconnected before began at +once to assume its true place, and I had a shadowy +presentiment of the whole sequence of events. My next +step obviously was to 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 +difficult matter. There are not such a very great +number of civilians, and a deformed man was sure to +have attracted attention. I spent a day in the +search, 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 same street in which the +ladies met him. He has only been five days in the +place. In the character of a registration-agent I had +a most interesting gossip with his landlady. The man +is by trade a conjurer and performer, going round the +canteens after nightfall, and giving a little +entertainment at each. He carries some creature about +with him in that box; 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 his +tricks 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 +last two nights she had heard him groaning and weeping +in his bedroom. He was all right, as far as money +went, but in his deposit he had given her what looked +like a bad florin. She showed it to me, Watson, and +it was an Indian rupee. + +"So now, my dear fellow, you see exactly how we stand +and why it is I want you. It is perfectly plain that +after the ladies parted from this man he followed them +at a distance, that he saw the quarrel between husband +and wife through the window, that he rushed in, and +that the creature which he carried in his box got +loose. That is all very certain. But he is the only +person in this world who can tell us exactly what +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 Baker Street 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 bed any 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 see that Holmes was in a state of suppressed +excitement, while I was myself tingling with that +half-sporting, half-intellectual pleasure which I +invariably experienced when I associated myself with +him in his investigations. + +"This is the street," said he, as we turned into a +short thoroughfare lined with plain two-storied brick +houses. "Ah, here is Simpson to report." + +"He's in all right, Mr. Holmes," cried a small street +Arab, running up to 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 he had come on important +business, and a moment later we were face to face with +the man whom we had come to see. In spite of the warm +weather he was crouching over a fire, and the little +room was like an oven. The man sat all twisted and +huddled in his chair in a way which gave an +indescribably impression of deformity; but the face +which he turned towards us, though worn and swarthy, +must at some time have been remarkable for its beauty. +He looked suspiciously at us now out of yellow-shot, +bilious eyes, and, without speaking or rising, he +waved towards two chairs. + +"Mr. Henry Wood, late of India, I believe," said +Holmes, affably. "I've come 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 the matter is cleared up, Mrs. +Barclay, who is an old friend of yours, will in 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 you do 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 arrest her." + +"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 if I had knocked his brains out, as it +was in my heart to do, he would have had no more than +his due from my hands. If his own guilty conscience +had not struck him down it is likely enough that I +might have had his blood upon my soul. You want me to +tell the story. Well, I don't know why I shouldn'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 and by ribs all awry, but there was a +time when Corporal Henry Wood was the smartest 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, was sergeant 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 her lips, was Nancy Devoy, the daughter of the +color-sergeant. There were two men that loved her, +and one that she loved, and you'll smile when you look +at this poor thing huddled before the fire, and hear +me say that it was for my good looks that she loved +me. + +"Well, though I had her heart, her father was set upon +her marrying Barclay. I was a harum-scarum, reckless +lad, and he had had an education, and was already +marked for the sword-belt. But the girl held true to +me, and it seemed that I would have had her when the +Mutiny broke out, and all hell was loose in the +country. + +"We were shut up in Bhurtee, the regiment of us with +half a battery of artillery, 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 +set of terriers round a rat-cage. About the second +week of it our water gave out, and it was a question +whether we could communicate with General Neill's +column, which was moving up country. It was our only +chance, for we 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. My +offer was accepted, and I talked it over with Sergeant +Barclay, who was supposed to know the ground better +than any other man, and who drew up a route by which I +might get through the rebel lines. At ten o'clock the +same night I started off upon my journey. There were +a thousand lives to save, but it was of only one that +I was thinking when I dropped over the wall that +night. + +"My way ran down a dried-up watercourse, which we +hoped would screen me from the enemy's sentries; but +as I crept round the corner of it I walked right into +six of them, who were crouching down in the dark +waiting for me. In an instant I was stunned with a +blow and bound hand and foot. But the real blow was +to my heart and not to my head, for as I 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 arranged the way that I was to take, +had betrayed me by means of a native servant into the +hands of the enemy. + +"Well, there's no need for me to dwell on that part of +it. You know now what James Barclay was capable of. +Bhurtee was relieved by Neill next day, but the rebels +took me away with them in their retreat, and it was +many a long year before ever I saw a white face again. +I was tortured and tried to get away, and was captured +and tortured again. You can see for yourselves the +state in which I was left. Some of them that fled +into Nepaul took me with them, and then afterwards I +was up past Darjeeling. The hill-folk up there +murdered the rebels who had me, and I became their +slave for a time until I escaped; but instead of going +south I had to go north, until I found myself among +the Afghans. There I 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 the +conjuring tricks that I had learned. What use was it +for me, a wretched cripple, to go back to England or +to make myself known to my old comrades? Even my wish +for revenge would not make me do that. I had rather +that Nancy and my old pals should think of Harry Wood +as having died with a straight back, than see him +living and crawling with a stick like a chimpanzee. +They never doubted that I was dead, and I meant that +they never should. I heard that Barclay had married +Nancy, and that he was 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 been dreaming of the bright green +fields and the hedges of England. At last I +determined 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 and how to amuse +them and so earn enough to keep me." + +"Your narrative is most interesting," said Sherlock +Holmes. "I have already heard of your meeting with +Mrs. Barclay, and your mutual recognition. You then, +as I understand, followed her home and saw through the +window an altercation between her husband and her, in +which she doubtless cast his conduct to you in his +teeth. Your own feelings overcame 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 man look before, and over he went +with his head on the fender. But he was dead before +he fell. I read death on his face as plain as I can +read that text over the fire. The bare sight of me +was like a bullet through his 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 to me better to +leave it alone and get away, for the thing might look +black against me, and any way my secret would be out +if I were taken. In my haste I thrust the key into my +pocket, and dropped my stick while I was chasing +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 in the corner. In an instant out there +slipped a beautiful reddish-brown creature, 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 the man. "Snake-catcher is what I +call them, and Teddy is amazing quick on cobras. I +have one here without the fangs, and Teddy catches it +every night 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 to be 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 a dead man, foully as he has acted. +You have at least the satisfaction of knowing that for +thirty years of his life his conscience bitterly +reproached him for this wicked deed. Ah, there goes +Major Murphy on the other side of the street. +Good-by, Wood. I want to learn if anything has +happened 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 has come to nothing?" + +"What then?" + +"The inquest is just over. The medical evidence +showed conclusively that death was due to apoplexy. +You see it was quite a simple case after all." + +"Oh, remarkably superficial," said Holmes, smiling. +"Come, Watson, I don't think we shall be wanted in +Aldershot any more." + +"There's one thing," said I, as we walked down to the +station. "If the husband's name was James, and the +other was Henry, what was this talk about David?" + +"That one word, my dear Watson, should have told me +the whole story had I been the ideal reasoner which +you are so fond of depicting. It was evidently a term +of reproach." + +"Of reproach?" + +"Yes; David strayed a little occasionally, you know, +and on one occasion in the same direction as Sergeant +James Barclay. You remember the small affair 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 I have endeavored to illustrate a +few of the mental peculiarities of my friend Mr. +Sherlock Holmes, I have been struck by the difficulty +which I have experienced in picking out examples which +shall in every way answer my purpose. For in those +cases in which Holmes has performed some tour de force +of analytical reasoning, and has demonstrated the +value of his peculiar methods of investigation, the +facts themselves have often been so slight or so +commonplace that I could not feel justified in laying +them before the public. On the other hand, it has +frequently happened that he has been concerned in some +research where the facts have been of the most +remarkable and dramatic character, but where the share +which he has himself taken in determining their causes +has been less pronounced than I, as his biographer, +could wish. The small matter which I have chronicled +under the heading of "A Study in Scarlet," and that +other later one connected with the loss of the Gloria +Scott, may serve as examples of this Scylla and +Charybdis which are forever threatening the historian. +It may be that in the business of which I am now about +to write the part which my friend played is not +sufficiently accentuated; and yet the whole train of +circumstances is so remarkable that I cannot bring +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 letter which he had received +by the morning post. For myself, my term of service +in India had trained me to stand heat better than +cold, and a thermometer of 90 was no hardship. But +the paper was uninteresting. Parliament had risen. +Everybody was out of town, and I yearned for the +glades of the New Forest or the shingle of Southsea. +A depleted bank account had caused me to postpone my +holiday, and as to my companion, neither the country +nor the sea presented the slightest attraction to him. +He loved to lie in the very centre of five millions of +people, with his filaments stretching out and running +through them, responsive to every little rumor or +suspicion of unsolved crime. Appreciation of Nature +found no place among his many gifts, and his only +change was when he turned his mind from the evil-doer +of the town to track down his brother of the country. + +Finding that Holmes was too absorbed for conversation, +I had tossed aside the barren paper, and leaning back +in my chair, I fell into a brown study. Suddenly my +companion's voice broke in upon my thoughts. + +"You are right, Watson," said he. "It does seem a +very preposterous way of settling a dispute." + +"Most preposterous!" I exclaimed, and then, suddenly +realizing how he had echoed the inmost thought of my +soul, I sat up in my chair and stared at him in blank +amazement. + +"What is this, Holmes?" I cried. "This is beyond +anything which I could have imagined." + +He laughed heartily at my perplexity. + +"You remember," said he, "that some little time ago, +when I read you the passage in one of Poe's sketches, +in which a close reasoner follows the unspoken thought +of his companion, you were inclined to treat the +matter as a mere tour de force of the author. On my +remarking that I was constantly in the habit of doing +the same thing you expressed incredulity." + +"Oh, no!" + +"Perhaps not with your tongue, my dear Watson, but +certainly with your eyebrows. So when I saw you throw +down your paper and enter upon a train of thought, I +was very happy to have the opportunity of reading it +off, and eventually of breaking into it, as a proof +that I had been in rapport with you." + +But I was still far from satisfied. "In the example +which you read to me," said I, "the reasoner drew his +conclusions from the actions of the man whom he +observed. If I remember right, he stumbled over a +heap of stones, looked up at the stars, and so on. +But I have been seated quietly in my chair, and what +clues can I have given you?" + +"You do yourself an injustice. The features are given +to man as the means by which he shall express his +emotions, and yours are faithful servants." + +"Do you mean to say that you read my train of thoughts +from my features?" + +"Your features, and especially your eyes. Perhaps you +cannot yourself recall how your reverie commenced?" + +"No, I cannot." + +"Then I will tell you. After throwing down your +paper, which was the action which drew my attention to +you, you sat for half a minute with a vacant +expression. Then your eyes fixed themselves upon your +newly-framed picture of General Gordon, and I saw by +the alteration in your face that a train of thought +had been started. But it did not lead very far. Your +eyes turned across to the unframed portrait of Henry +Ward Beecher which stands upon the top of your books. +You then glanced up at the wall, and of course your +meaning was obvious. You were thinking that if the +portrait were framed it would just cover that bare +space and correspond 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 went back to Beecher, and you looked hard +across as if you were studying the character in his +features. Then your eyes ceased to pucker, but you +continued to look across, and your face was +thoughtful. You were recalling the incidents of +Beecher's career. I was well aware that you could not +do this without thinking of the mission which he +undertook on behalf of the North at the time of the +Civil War, for I remember you expressing your +passionate indignation at the way in which he was +received by the more turbulent of our people. You +felt so strongly about it that I knew you could not +think of Beecher without thinking of that also. 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 when I observed that your lips set, +your eyes sparkled, and your hands clinched, I was +positive that you were indeed thinking of the +gallantry which was shown by both sides in that +desperate struggle. But then, again, your face grew +sadder; you shook your head. You were dwelling upon +the sadness and horror and useless waste of life. +Your hand stole towards your own old wound, and a +smile quivered on your lips, which showed me that the +ridiculous side of this method of settling +international questions had forced itself upon your +mind. At this point I agreed with you that it was +preposterous, and was glad to find that all my +deductions had been correct." + +"Absolutely!" said I. "And now that you have +explained it, I confess that I am as amazed as +before." + +"It was very superficial, my dear Watson, I assure +you. I should not have intruded it upon your +attention had you not shown some incredulity the other +day. But the evening has brought a breeze with it. +What do you say to a ramble through London?" + +I was weary of our little sitting-room and gladly +acquiesced. For three hours we strolled about +together, watching the ever-changing kaleidoscope of +life as it ebbs and flows through Fleet Street and the +Strand. His characteristic talk, with its keen +observance of detail and subtle power of inference +held me amused and enthralled. It was ten o'clock +before we reached Baker Street again. A brougham was +waiting at our door. + +"Hum! A doctor's--general practitioner, I perceive," +said Holmes. "Not been long in practice, but has had +a good deal to do. Come to consult us, I fancy! +Lucky we came back!" + +I was sufficiently conversant with Holmes's methods to +be able to follow his reasoning, and to see that the +nature and state of the various medical instruments in +the wicker basket which hung in the lamplight inside +the brougham had given him the data for his swift +deduction. The light in our window above showed that +this late visit was indeed intended for us. With some +curiosity as to what could have sent a brother medico +to us at such an hour, I followed Holmes into our +sanctum. + +A pale, taper-faced man with sandy whiskers rose up +from a chair by the fire as we entered. His age may +not have been more than three or four and thirty, but +his haggard expression and unhealthy hue told of a +life which has sapped his strength and robbed him of +his youth. His manner was nervous and shy, like that +of a sensitive gentleman, and the thin white hand +which he laid on the mantelpiece as he rose was that +of an artist rather than of a surgeon. His dress was +quiet and sombre--a black frock-coat, dark trousers, +and a touch of color about his necktie. + +"Good-evening, doctor," said Holmes, cheerily. "I am +glad to see that you 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 your seat and let me know how I can serve +you." + +"My name is Doctor Percy Trevelyan," said our visitor, +"and I live at 403 Brook Street." + +"Are you not the author of a monograph upon obscure +nervous lesions?" I asked. + +His pale cheeks flushed with pleasure at hearing that +his work was known to me. + +"I so seldom hear of the work that I thought it was +quite dead," said he. "My publishers gave me a most +discouraging account of its sale. You are yourself, I +presume, a medical man?" + +"A retired army surgeon." + +"My own hobby has always been nervous disease. I +should wish to make it an absolute specialty, but, of +course, a man must take what he can get at first. +This, however, is beside the question, Mr. Sherlock +Holmes, and I quite appreciate how valuable your time +is. The fact is that a very singular train of events +has occurred recently at my house in Brook Street, and +to-night they came to such a head that I felt it was +quite impossible for me to wait another hour before +asking for your advice and assistance." + +Sherlock Holmes sat down and lit his pipe. "You are +very welcome to both," said he. "Pray let me have a +detailed account of what the circumstances are which +have disturbed you." + +"One or two of them are so trivial," said Dr. +Trevelyan, "that really I 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 +shall lay it all before you, and you shall judge what +is essential and what is not. + +"I am compelled, to begin with, to say something of my +own college career. I am a London University man, you +know, and I am sure that your will not think that I am +unduly singing my own praises if I say that my student +career was considered by my professors to be a very +promising one. After I had graduated I continued to +devote myself to research, occupying a minor position +in King's College Hospital, and I was fortunate enough +to excite considerable interest by my research into +the pathology of catalepsy, and finally to win the +Bruce Pinkerton prize and medal by the monograph on +nervous lesions to which your friend has just alluded. +I should not go too far if I were to say that there +was a general impression at that time that a +distinguished career lay before me. + +"But the one great stumbling-block lay in my want of +capital. As you will readily understand, a specialist +who aims high is compelled to start in one of a dozen +streets in the Cavendish Square quarter, all of which +entail enormous rents and furnishing expenses. +Besides this preliminary outlay, he must be prepared +to keep himself for some years, and to hire a +presentable carriage and horse. To do this was quite +beyond my power, and I could only hope that by economy +I might in ten years' 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 a complete stranger to me. He +came up to my room one morning, and plunged into +business in an instant. + +"'You are the same Percy Trevelyan who has had so +distinguished a career and won a great prize lately?' +said he. + +"I bowed. + +"'Answer me frankly,' he continued, 'for you will find +it to your interest to do so. You have all the +cleverness which makes a successful man. 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 these qualities, why are you not in +practice?' + +"I shrugged my shoulders. + +"'Come, come!' said he, in his bustling way. 'It's +the old story. More in your brains than in your +pocket, eh? What would you say if I were to start you +in Brook Street?' + +"I stared at him in astonishment. + +"'Oh, it's for my sake, not for yours,' he cried. +'I'll be perfectly frank with you, and if it suits you +it will suit me very well. I have a few 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 run the whole place. All you have to +do is just to wear out your chair in the +consulting-room. I'll let you have pocket-money and +everything. Then you hand over to me three quarters +of what you earn, and you keep the other quarter for +yourself.' + +"This was the strange proposal, Mr. Holmes, with which +the man Blessington approached me. I won't weary you +with the account of how we bargained and negotiated. +It ended in my moving into the house next Lady-day, +and starting in practice on very much the same +conditions as he had suggested. He came himself to +live with me in the character of a resident patient. +His heart was weak, it appears, and he needed constant +medical supervision. He turned the two best rooms of +the first floor into a sitting-room and bedroom for +himself. He was a man of singular habits, shunning +company and very seldom going out. His life was +irregular, but in one respect he was regularity +itself. Every evening, at the same hour, he walked +into the consulting-room, examined the books, 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 his speculation. From the first it was a +success. A few good cases and the reputation which I +had won in the hospital brought me rapidly to the +front, 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 to bring 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, he said, had been +committed in the West End, and he appeared, I +remember, to be quite unnecessarily excited about it, +declaring that a day should not 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 short walk which had usually +been the prelude to his dinner. From his manner it +struck me that he was in mortal dread of something or +somebody, but when I questioned him upon the point he +became so offensive that I was compelled to drop the +subject. Gradually, as time passed, his fears +appeared to die away, and he had renewed his former +habits, when a fresh event reduced him to the pitiable +state of prostration in which he now lies. + +"What happened was this. Two days ago I received the +letter which I now read to you. Neither address nor +date is attached to it. + +"'A Russian nobleman who is now resident in England,' +it runs, 'would be glad to avail himself of the +professional assistance of Dr. Percy Trevelyan. He +has been for some years a victim to cataleptic +attacks, on which, as is well known, Dr. Trevelyan is +an authority. He proposes to call at about quarter +past six to-morrow evening, if Dr. Trevelyan will make +it convenient to be at home.' + +"This letter interested me deeply, because the chief +difficulty in the study of catalepsy is the rareness +of the disease. You may believe, then, that I was in +my consulting-room when, at the appointed hour, the +page showed in the patient. + +"He was an elderly man, thin, demure, and +commonplace--by no means the conception one forms of +a Russian nobleman. I was much more struck by the +appearance of his companion. This was a tall young +man, surprisingly handsome, with a dark, fierce face, +and the limbs and chest of a Hercules. He had his +hand under the other's arm as they entered, and helped +him to a chair with a tenderness which one would +hardly have expected from his appearance. + +"'You will excuse my coming in, doctor,' said he to +me, speaking English with a slight lisp. 'This is my +father, and his health is a matter of the most +overwhelming importance to me.' + +"I was touched by this filial anxiety. 'You would, +perhaps, care to remain during the consultation?' said +I. + +"'Not for the world,' he cried with a gesture of +horror. 'It is more painful to me than I can express. +If I were to see my father in one of these dreadful +seizures I am convinced that I should never survive +it. My own nervous system is an exceptionally +sensitive one. With your permission, I will remain in +the waiting-room while you go into my father's case.' + +"To this, of course, I assented, and the young man +withdrew. The patient and I then plunged into a +discussion of his case, of which I took exhaustive +notes. He was not remarkable for intelligence, and +his answers were frequently obscure, which I +attributed to his limited acquaintance with our +language. Suddenly, however, as I sat writing, he +ceased to give any answer at all to my inquiries, and +on my turning towards him I was shocked to see that he +was sitting bolt upright in his chair, staring at me +with a perfectly blank and rigid face. He was again +in 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 made notes of my +patient's pulse and temperature, tested the rigidity +of his muscles, and examined his reflexes. There was +nothing markedly abnormal in any of these conditions, +which harmonized with my former experiences. I had +obtained good results in such cases by the inhalation +of nitrite of amyl, and the present seemed an +admirable opportunity of testing its virtues. The +bottle was downstairs in my laboratory, so leaving my +patient seated in his chair, I ran down to get it. +There was some little delay 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 had gone also. The hall door +had been closed, but not shut. My page who admits +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 say anything to him upon the subject, +for, to tell the truth, I have got in the way of late +of holding as little communication with him as +possible. + +"Well, I never thought that I should see anything more +of the Russian and his son, so you can imagine my +amazement when, at the very same hour this evening, +they both came marching into my consulting-room, just +as they had done before. + +"'I feel that I owe you a great many apologies for my +abrupt departure yesterday, 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 these attacks my mind is always very +clouded as to all that has gone before. I woke up in +a strange room, as it seemed to me, and made my way +out into the street in a sort of dazed way when you +were absent.' + +"'And I,' said the son, 'seeing my father pass the +door of the waiting-room, naturally thought that the +consultation had come to an end. It was not until we +had reached home that I began to realize the true +state of affairs.' + +"'Well,' said I, laughing, 'there is no harm done +except that you puzzled me terribly; so if you, sir, +would kindly step into the waiting-room I shall be +happy to continue our consultation which was brought +to so abrupt an ending.' + +"'For half an hour or so I discussed that old +gentleman's symptoms with him, and then, having +prescribed for him, I saw him go off upon the arm of +his son. + +"I have told you that Mr. Blessington generally chose +this hour of the day for his exercise. He came in +shortly afterwards and passed upstairs. An instant +later I heard him running down, and he burst into my +consulting-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 of his mind with fear. When I went +upstairs with him he pointed to several footprints +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 you know, and my +patients were the only people who called. It must +have been the case, then, that the man in the +waiting-room had, for some unknown reason, while I was +busy with the other, ascended to the room of my +resident patient. Nothing had been touched or taken, +but there were the footprints to prove that the +intrusion was an undoubted fact. + +"Mr. Blessington seemed more excited over the matter +than I should have thought possible, though of course +it was enough to disturb anybody's peace of mind. He +actually sat crying in an arm-chair, and I could +hardly get him to speak coherently. It was his +suggestion that I should come 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 to completely overrate its importance. If +you would only come back with me in my brougham, you +would at least be able to soothe him, though I can +hardly hope that you will be able to explain this +remarkable occurrence." + +Sherlock Holmes had listened to this long narrative +with an intentness which showed me that his interest +was keenly aroused. His face was as impassive 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 each curious episode in the +doctor's tale. As our visitor concluded, Holmes +sprang up without a word, handed me my hat, picked his +own from the table, and followed Dr. Trevelyan to the +door. Within a quarter of an hour we had been dropped +at the door of the physician's residence in Brook +Street, one of those sombre, flat-faced houses which +one associates with a West-End practice. A small page +admitted us, and we began at once to ascend the broad, +well-carpeted stair. + +But a singular interruption brought us to a +standstill. The light at the 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 you come any nearer." + +"This really grows outrageous, Mr. Blessington," cried +Dr. Trevelyan. + +"Oh, then it is you, doctor," said the voice, with a +great heave of relief. "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 a singular-looking man, whose appearance, as well +as his voice, testified to his jangled nerves. He was +very fat, but had apparently at some time been 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 his thin, 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 we advanced. + +"Good-evening, Mr. Holmes," said he. "I am sure I am +very much obliged to 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 +unwarrantable intrusion into my rooms." + +"Quite so," said Holmes. "Who are these two men Mr. +Blessington, and why do they wish to molest you?" + +"Well, well," said the resident patient, in a nervous +fashion, "of course 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 +comfortably furnished. + +"You see that," said he, pointing to a big black box +at the end of his bed. "I have never been a very rich +man, Mr. Holmes--never made but one investment in my +life, as Dr. Trevelyan would tell you. But I don't +believe in bankers. I would never trust a banker, Mr. +Holmes. Between ourselves, what little I have is in +that box, so you can understand what it 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 your, sir, is to speak the truth." + +A minute later we were in the street and walking for +home. We had crossed Oxford Street and were half way +down Harley Street before I could get a word from my +companion. + +"Sorry to bring you out on such a fool's errand, +Watson," he said at last. "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, but at least two--who are +determined for some reason to get at this fellow +Blessington. I have no doubt in my mind that both on +the first and on the second occasion that young man +penetrated to Blessington's room, while his +confederate, by an ingenious device, kept the doctor +from interfering." + +"And the catalepsy?" + +"A fraudulent imitation, Watson, though I should +hardly dare to hint as much to our specialist. It is +a very easy complaint to imitate. I have done it +myself." + +"And then?" + +"By the purest chance Blessington was out on each +occasion. Their reason for choosing so unusual an +hour for a consultation was obviously to insure that +there should be no other patient in the waiting-room. +It just happened, however, that this hour coincided +with Blessington's constitutional, which seems to show +that they were not very well acquainted with his daily +routine. Of course, if they had been merely after +plunder they would at least have made some attempt to +search for it. Besides, I can read in a man's eye +when it is his own skin that he is frightened for. It +is inconceivable that this fellow could have made two +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 +possible that 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 the cataleptic +Russian and his son be a concoction of Dr. +Trevelyan's, who has, for his own purposes, been in +Blessington's rooms?" + +I saw in the gaslight that Holmes wore an amused smile +at this brilliant departure of mine. + +"My dear fellow," said he, "it was one of the first +solutions which occurred 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 quite +superfluous 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 pointed like +Blessington's, and were quite an inch and a third +longer than the doctor's, you will acknowledge that +there can be no doubt as to his individuality. But we +may sleep on it now, for I shall be surprised if we do +not hear something further from Brook Street in the +morning." + + +Sherlock Holmes's prophecy was soon fulfilled, and in +a dramatic fashion. At half-past seven next morning, +in the first glimmer of daylight, 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--a sheet 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 to it +when he wrote this. Come along, my dear fellow, for +it's an urgent call." + +In a quarter of an hour or so we were back at the +physician's house. He came 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 evidently his waiting-room. + +"I really hardly know what I am doing," he cried. +"The police are already 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 maid entered, about seven, there +the unfortunate fellow was hanging in the middle of +the room. He had tied his cord to the hook on which +the heavy lamp used to hang, and he had jumped off +from the top of the very box that he showed us +yesterday." + +Holmes stood for a moment in deep thought. + +"With your permission," said he at last, "I should +like to go upstairs and 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. I have spoken of the impression of +flabbiness which this man Blessington conveyed. As he +dangled from the hook it was exaggerated and +intensified until he was scarce human in his +appearance. The neck was drawn out like a plucked +chicken's, making the rest of him seem the more obese +and unnatural by the contrast. He was clad only in +his long night-dress, and his swollen ankles and +ungainly feet protruded starkly from beneath it. +Beside him stood a smart-looking police-inspector, who +was taking notes in a pocket-book. + +"Ah, Mr. Holmes," said he, heartily, as my friend +entered, "I am delighted to see you." + +"Good-morning, Lanner," answered Holmes; "you won't +think me an intruder, I am sure. Have you heard of +the events which led up to this affair?" + +"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 by fright. The bed has been well slept in, +you see. There's his impression deep enough. It's +about five in the morning, you know, that suicides are +most common. That would be about his time for hanging +himself. It seems to have been a very deliberate +affair." + +"I should say that he has been dead about three hours, +judging by the rigidity 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 to have smoked heavily during the night, +too. Here are four cigar-ends that I 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 sort which are imported by the Dutch from +their East Indian colonies. They are usually wrapped +in straw, you know, and are thinner for their length +than any other brand." He picked up the four ends and +examined them with his 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 ends bitten 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 hanging him?" + +"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 you some further information about it." + +He went over to the door, and turning the lock he +examined it in his methodical way. Then he took out +the key, which was on the inside, and inspected that +also. The bed, the carpet, the chairs the +mantelpiece, the dead body, and the rope were each in +turn examined, until at last he professed himself +satisfied, and with my aid and that of the inspector +cut 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 from under the bed. "He was morbidly +nervous of fire, and always kept this beside him, so +that he might escape by the window in case the stairs +were burning." + +"That must have saved them trouble," said Holmes, +thoughtfully. "Yes, the actual facts are very plain, +and I shall be surprised if by the afternoon I cannot +give you the reasons for them as well. I will take +this photograph of Blessington, which I see upon the +mantelpiece, as it may 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 a third, to whose +identity I have no clue. The first two, I need hardly +remark, 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 by a +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, has only recently come +into your service, Doctor." + +"The young imp cannot be found," said Dr. Trevelyan; +"the maid and the cook have just been searching for +him." + +Holmes shrugged his shoulders. + +"He has played a not unimportant part in this drama," +said he. "The three men having ascended the stairs, +which they did on tiptoe, the elder man first, the +younger man second, and the unknown man in the rear--" + +"My dear Holmes!" I ejaculated. + +"Oh, there could be no question as to the +superimposing of the footmarks. I had the advantage +of learning which was which last night. They +ascended, then, to Mr. Blessington's room, the door of +which they found to be locked. With the help of a +wire, however, they forced round the key. Even +without the lens you will perceive, by the scratches +on this 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 paralyzed with 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, was unheard. + +"Having secured him, it is evident to me that a +consultation of some sort was held. Probably it was +something in the nature of a judicial proceeding. It +must have lasted for some time, for it was then that +these cigars were smoked. The older man sat in that +wicker chair; it was he who used the cigar-holder. +The younger man sat over yonder; he knocked his ash +off against the chest of drawers. The third fellow +paced up and down. Blessington, I think, sat upright +in the bed, but of that I cannot be absolutely +certain. + +"Well, it ended by their taking Blessington and +hanging him. The matter was so prearranged that it is +my belief that they brought with them some sort of +block or pulley which might serve as a gallows. That +screw-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 behind +them by their confederate." + +We had all listened with the deepest interest to this +sketch of the night's doings, which Holmes had deduced +from signs so subtle and minute that, even when he had +pointed them out to us, we could scarcely follow him +in his reasoning. The inspector hurried away on the +instant to make inquiries about the page, while Holmes +and I returned to Baker Street for breakfast. + +"I'll be back by three," said he, when we had finished +our meal. "Both the inspector and the doctor will +meet me here at that hour, and I hope by that time to +have cleared up any little obscurity which the case +may still present." + + +Our visitors arrived at the appointed time, but it was +a quarter to four before my friend put in an +appearance. From his expression as he entered, +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 Blessington is, as I expected, well known at +headquarters, and so are his assailants. 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," said Holmes. "Five men were in it--these +four and a fifth called Cartwright. Tobin, the +care-taker, was murdered, and the thieves got away +with seven thousand pounds. This was in 1875. They +were all five arrested, but the evidence against them +was by no means conclusive. This Blessington or +Sutton, who was the worst of the gang, turned +informer. On his evidence Cartwright was hanged and +the other three got fifteen years apiece. When they +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 to avenge the death of +their comrade upon him. Twice they tried to get at +him and failed; a third time, you see, it came off. +Is there anything further which I can explain, Dr. +Trevelyan?" + +"I think you have made it all remarkable clear," said +the doctor. "No doubt the day on which he was +perturbed was the day when he had seen of their +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 old associates, he was trying to hide his own +identity from everybody as long as he could. His +secret was a shameful one, and he could not bring +himself to divulge it. However, wretch as he was, he +was still living under the shield of British law, and +I have no doubt, Inspector, that you will see that, +though that shield may fail to guard, the sword of +justice is still there to avenge." + + +Such were the singular circumstances in connection +with the Resident Patient and the Brook Street Doctor. +From that night nothing has been seen of the three +murderers by the police, and it is surmised at +Scotland Yard that they were among the passengers of +the ill-fated steamer Norah Creina, which was lost +some years ago with all hands upon the Portuguese +coast, some leagues to the north of Oporto. The +proceedings against the page broke down for want of +evidence, and the Brook Street Mystery, as it was +called, has never until now been fully dealt with in +any public print. + + + +Adventure IX + + +The Greek Interpreter + + +During my long and intimate acquaintance with Mr. +Sherlock Holmes I had never heard him refer to his +relations, and hardly ever to his own early life. +This reticence upon his part had increased the +somewhat inhuman effect which he produced upon me, +until sometimes I found myself regarding him as an +isolated phenomenon, a brain without a heart, as +deficient in human sympathy as he was pre-eminent in +intelligence. His aversion to women and his +disinclination to form new friendships were both +typical of his unemotional character, but not more so +than his complete suppression of every reference to +his own people. I had come to believe that he was an +orphan with no relatives living, but one day, to my +very great surprise, he began to talk to me about his +brother. + +It was after tea on a summer evening, and the +conversation, which had roamed in a desultory, +spasmodic fashion from golf clubs to the causes of the +change in the obliquity of the ecliptic, came round at +last to the question of atavism and hereditary +aptitudes. The point under discussion was, how far +any singular gift in an individual was due to his +ancestry and how far to his own early training. + +"In your own case," said I, "from all that you have +told me, it seems obvious that your faculty of +observation and your peculiar facility for deduction +are due to your own systematic training." + +"To some extent," he answered, thoughtfully. "My +ancestors were country squires, who appear to have led +much the same life as is natural to their class. But, +none the less, my turn that way is in my veins, and +may have come with my grandmother, who was the sister +of Vernet, the French 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 singular powers in England, how was it that +neither police nor public had heard of him? I put the +question, with a hint that it was my companion's +modesty which made him acknowledge his brother as his +superior. Holmes laughed at my suggestion. + +"My dear Watson," said he, "I cannot agree with those +who rank modesty among the virtues. To the logician +all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to +underestimate one's self is as much a departure from +truth as to exaggerate one's own powers. When I say, +therefore, that Mycroft has better powers of +observation than I, you may take it that I am 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 proclaimed as much, for Sherlock Holmes pulled +out his watch. + +"The Diogenes Club is the queerest club in London, and +Mycroft one of the queerest men. He's always there +from quarter to five to twenty to eight. It's six +now, so if you care for a stroll this beautiful +evening I shall be very happy to introduce you to two +curiosities." + +Five minutes later we were in the street, walking +towards Regent's Circus. + +"You wonder," said my companion, "why it is that +Mycroft does not use his 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 the art of the detective began and +ended in reasoning from an arm-chair, my brother would +be the greatest criminal agent that ever lived. But +he has no ambition and no energy. He will not even go +out of his way to verify his own solutions, and would +rather be considered wrong than take the trouble to +prove himself right. Again and again I have taken a +problem to him, and have received an explanation which +has afterwards proved to be the correct one. And yet +he was absolutely incapable of working out the +practical points which must be gone into before a case +could be laid before 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 merest hobby of a dilettante. He has an +extraordinary faculty for figures, and audits the +books in some of the government departments. Mycroft +lodges in Pall Mall, and he walks round the corner +into Whitehall every morning and back every evening. +From year's end to year's end he takes no other +exercise, 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 from shyness, some from misanthropy, +have no wish for the company of their fellows. Yet +they are not averse to comfortable chairs and the +latest periodicals. It is for the convenience of +these that the Diogenes Club was started, and it now +contains the most unsociable and unclubable men in +town. No member is permitted to take the least notice +of any other one. Save in the Stranger's Room, no +talking is, under any circumstances, allowed, and +three offences, if brought to the notice of the +committee, render the talker liable to expulsion. My +brother was one of 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 the St. James's end. Sherlock +Holmes stopped at a door some little distance from the +Carlton, and, cautioning me not to speak, he led the +way into the hall. Through the glass paneling I +caught a glimpse of a large and luxurious room, in +which a considerable number of men were sitting about +and reading papers, each in his own little nook. +Holmes showed me into a small chamber which looked out +into Pall Mall, and then, leaving me for a minute, he +came back with a companion whom I knew could only be +his brother. + +Mycroft Holmes was a much larger and stouter man than +Sherlock. His body was absolutely corpulent, but his +face, though massive, had preserved something of the +sharpness of expression which was so remarkable in +that of his brother. His eyes, which were of a +peculiarly light, watery gray, seemed to always retain +that far-away, introspective look which I had only +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 hand like the flipper of a seal. "I hear +of Sherlock everywhere since you became his +chronicler. By the way, Sherlock, I expected to see +you round last week, to consult me over that Manor +House case. I thought you might be 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 the bow-window of the club. "To any one +who wishes to study mankind this is the spot," said +Mycroft. "Look at the magnificent types! Look at +these two 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 the waistcoat pocket were the only +signs of billiards which I could see in one of them. +The other was a very small, dark fellow, with his hat +pushed 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 that bearing, expression of authority, and +sunbaked skin, is a soldier, is more than a private, +and is not long from India." + +"That he has not left the service long is shown by his +still wearing his ammunition boots, as they are +called," observed Mycroft. + +"He had not the cavalry stride, yet he wore his hat on +one side, as is shown by the lighter skin of that side +of his brow. His weight is against his being a +sapper. He is in the artillery." + +"Then, of course, his complete mourning shows that he +has lost some one very dear. The fact that he is +doing his own shopping looks as though it 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 wife probably died in +childbed. The fact that he has a picture-book under +his arm shows that there is another child to be +thought of." + +I began to understand what my friend meant when he +said that his brother possessed even keener faculties +that he did himself. He glanced across at me and +smiled. Mycroft took snuff from a tortoise-shell box, +and brushed away the wandering grains from his coat +front with a large, red silk handkerchief. + +"By the way, Sherlock," said he, "I have had something +quite after your own heart--a most singular +problem--submitted to my judgment. I really had 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 care to 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 the floor above me, and I have some slight +acquaintance with him, which led him 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 living partly as interpreter in the law +courts and partly by acting as guide to any wealthy +Orientals who may visit the Northumberland Avenue +hotels. I think I will leave him to tell his very +remarkable experience in his own fashion." + +A few minutes later we were joined by a short, stout +man whose olive face and coal-black hair proclaimed +his Southern origin, though his speech was that of an +educated Englishman. He shook hands eagerly with +Sherlock Holmes, and his dark eyes sparkled with +pleasure when he understood that the specialist was +anxious to hear his story. + +"I do not believe that the police credit me--on my +word, I do not," said he 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 +never be easy in my mind until I know what has become +of my poor man with the sticking-plaster upon his +face." + +"I am all attention," said Sherlock Holmes. + +"This is Wednesday evening," said Mr. Melas. "Well +then, it was Monday night--only two days ago, you +understand--that all this happened. I am an +interpreter, as perhaps my neighbor there has told +you. I interpret all languages--or nearly all--but as +I am a Greek by birth and with a Grecian name, it is +with that particular tongue that I am principally +associated. For many years I have been the chief +Greek interpreter in London, and my name is very well +known in the hotels. + +"It happens not unfrequently that I am sent for at +strange hours by foreigners who get into difficulties, +or by travelers who arrive late and wish my services. +I was not surprised, therefore, on Monday night when a +Mr. Latimer, a very fashionably dressed young man, +came up to my rooms and asked me to accompany him in a +cab which was waiting at the door. A Greek friend had +come to see him upon business, he said, and as he +could speak nothing but his own tongue, the services +of an interpreter were indispensable. He gave me to +understand that his house was some little distance +off, in Kensington, and he seemed to be in a great +hurry, bustling me rapidly into the cab when we had +descended to the street. + +"I say into the cab, but I soon became doubtful as to +whether it was not a carriage in which I found myself. +It was certainly more roomy than the ordinary +four-wheeled disgrace to London, and the fittings, +though frayed, were of rich quality. Mr. Latimer +seated himself opposite to me and 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 to this being a roundabout way to +Kensington, when my words were arrested by the +extraordinary conduct of my companion. + +"He began by drawing a most formidable-looking +bludgeon loaded with lead from his pocket, and +switching it backward and forward several times, as if +to test its weight and strength. Then he placed it +without a word upon the seat beside him. Having done +this, he drew up the windows on each side, and I found +to my astonishment that they were covered with paper +so as to prevent my seeing through them. + +"'I am sorry to cut off your view, Mr. Melas,' said +he. 'The fact is that I have no intention that you +should see what the place is to which we are driving. +It might possibly be inconvenient to me if you could +find your way there again.' + +"As you can imagine, I was utterly taken aback by such +an address. My companion was a powerful, +broad-shouldered young fellow, and, apart from the +weapon, I should not have had the slightest chance in +a struggle with him. + +"'This is very extraordinary conduct, Mr. Latimer,' I +stammered. 'You must be aware that what you are doing +is quite illegal.' + +"'It is somewhat of a liberty, no doubt,' said he, +'but we'll make it up to you. I must warn you, +however, Mr. Melas, that if at any time to-night you +attempt to raise an alarm or do anything which is +against my interests, you will find it a very serious +thing. I beg you to remember that no one knows where +you are, and that, whether you are in this carriage or +in my house, you are equally in my power.' + +"His words were quiet, but he had a rasping way of +saying them which was very menacing. I sat in silence +wondering what on earth could be his reason for +kidnapping me in this extraordinary fashion. Whatever +it might be, it was perfectly clear that there was no +possible use in my resisting, and that I could only +wait to see what might befall. + +"For nearly two hours we drove without my having the +least clue as to where we were going. Sometimes the +rattle of the stones told of a paved causeway, and at +others our smooth, silent course suggested asphalt; +but, save by this variation in sound, there was +nothing at all which could 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 +curtain was drawn across the glass work in front. It +was a quarter-past seven when we left Pall Mall, and +my watch showed me that it was ten minutes to nine +when we at last came to a standstill. My companion +let down the window, and I caught a glimpse of a low, +arched doorway with a lamp burning above it. As I was +hurried from the carriage it swung open, and I found +myself inside the house, with a vague impression of a +lawn and trees on each side of me as I entered. +Whether these were private grounds, however, or +bona-fide country was more than I could possibly +venture to say. + +"There was a colored gas-lamp inside which was turned +so low that I could see little save that the hall was +of some size and hung with pictures. In the dim light +I could make out that the person who had opened the +door was a small, mean-looking, middle-aged man with +rounded shoulders. As he turned towards us the glint +of the light showed me that he 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 not get 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, +jerky fashion, and with little giggling laughs in +between, but somehow he impressed 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 to say, or--' here came +the nervous giggle again--'you had better never have +been born.' + +"As he spoke he opened a door and showed the way into +a room which appeared to be very richly furnished, but +again the only light was afforded by a single lamp +half-turned down. The chamber was certainly large, +and the way in which my feet sank into the carpet as I +stepped across it told me of its richness. I caught +glimpses of velvet chairs, a high white marble +mantel-piece, and what seemed to be a suit of Japanese +armor at one side of it. There was a chair just under +the lamp, and the elderly man motioned that I should +sit in it. The younger had left us, but he suddenly +returned through another door, leading with him a +gentleman clad in some sort of loose dressing-gown who +moved slowly towards us. As he came into the circle +of dim light which enables me to see him more clearly +I was thrilled with horror at his appearance. He was +deadly pale and terribly emaciated, with the +protruding, brilliant eyes of a man whose spirit was +greater than his strength. But what shocked me more +than any signs of physical weakness was that his face +was grotesquely criss-crossed with sticking-plaster, +and that one large pad of it was fastened over his +mouth. + +"'Have you the slate, Harold?' cried the older man, as +this strange being 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, and +he will write the answers. Ask him first of all +whether he is prepared to 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 I know.' + +"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 our strange half-spoken, half-written +conversation. Again and again I had to ask him +whether he would give in and sign the documents. +Again and again I had the same indignant reply. But +soon a happy thought came to me. I took to adding on +little sentences of my own to each question, innocent +ones at first, to test whether either of our +companions knew anything of the matter, and then, as I +found that they showed no signs I played a more +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 the whole story under their very noses. My +very next question might have cleared the matter up, +but at that instant the door opened and a woman +stepped into the room. I could not see her clearly +enough to know more than that she was tall and +graceful, with black hair, and clad in some sort of +loose white gown. + +"'Harold,' said she, speaking English with a broken +accent. 'I could not stay away longer. It is so +lonely up there with only--Oh, my God, it is Paul!' + +"These last words were in Greek, and at the same +instant the man with a convulsive effort tore the +plaster from his lips, and screaming out 'Sophy! +Sophy!' rushed into the woman's arms. Their embrace +was but for an instant, however, for the younger man +seized the woman and pushed her out of the room, while +the elder easily overpowered his emaciated victim, and +dragged him away through the other door. For a moment +I was left alone in the room, and I sprang to my feet +with some vague idea that I might in some way get a +clue to what this house was in which I found myself. +Fortunately, however, I took no steps, for looking up +I saw that the older man was standing in the door-way +with his eyes fixed upon me. + +"'That will do, Mr. Melas,' said he. 'You perceive +that we have taken you into our confidence over some +very private business. We should not have troubled +you, only that our friend who speaks Greek and who +began these negotiations has been forced to return to +the East. It was quite necessary for us to find some +one to take his place, and we were fortunate in +hearing of your powers.' + +"I bowed. + +"'There are five sovereigns here,' said he, walking up +to me, 'which will, I hope, be a sufficient fee. But +remember,' he added, tapping me lightly on the chest +and giggling, 'if you speak to a human soul about +this--one human soul, mind--well, may God have mercy +upon your soul!" + +"I cannot tell you the loathing and horror with which +this insignificant-looking man inspired me. I could +see him better now as the lamp-light shone upon him. +His features were peaky and sallow, and his little +pointed beard was thready and ill-nourished. He +pushed his face forward as he spoke and his lips and +eyelids were continually twitching like a man with St. +Vitus's dance. I could not help thinking that his +strange, catchy little laugh was also a symptom of +some nervous malady. The terror of his face lay in +his eyes, however, steel gray, and glistening coldly +with a malignant, inexorable cruelty in their depths. + +"'We shall know if you speak of this,' said he. 'We +have our own means of information. Now you will find +the carriage waiting, and my friend will see you on +your way.' + +"I was hurried through the hall and into the vehicle, +again obtaining that momentary glimpse of trees and a +garden. Mr. Latimer followed closely at my heels, and +took his place opposite to me without a word. In +silence we again drove for an interminable distance +with the windows raised, until at last, just after +midnight, the carriage pulled up. + +"'You will get down here, Mr. Melas,' said my +companion. 'I am sorry to leave you so far from your +house, but there is no alternative. Any attempt upon +your part to follow the carriage can only end in +injury to yourself.' + +"He opened the door as he spoke, and I had hardly time +to spring out when the coachman lashed the horse and +the carriage rattled away. I looked around me in +astonishment. I was on some sort of a heathy common +mottled over with dark clumps of furze-bushes. Far +away stretched a line of houses, with a light here and +there in the upper windows. On the other side I saw +the red signal-lamps of a railway. + +"The carriage which had brought me was already out of +sight. I stood gazing round and wondering where on +earth I might be, when I saw some one coming towards +me in the darkness. As he came up to me I made out +that 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'll just be in time for the last to +Victoria.' + +"So that was the end of my adventure, Mr. Holmes. I +do not know where I was, nor whom I spoke with, nor +anything save what I have told you. But I know that +there is foul play going on, and I want to help that +unhappy man 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 this extraordinary 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 Greek gentleman named Paul Kratides, from Athens, +who is unable to speak English, will be rewarded. A +similar reward paid to any one giving information +about a Greek lady whose first name is Sophy. X +2473.' That was 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 to me. "Well, you take the case up +by all means, and let me know if you do any good." + +"Certainly," answered my friend, rising from his +chair. "I'll let you know, and Mr. Melas also. In +the meantime, Mr. Melas, I should certainly be on my +guard, if I were you, for of course they must know +through these advertisements that you have betrayed +them." + +As we walked home together, Holmes stopped at a +telegraph office and sent off several wires. + +"You see, Watson," he remarked, "our evening has been +by no means wasted. Some of my most interesting cases +have come to me in this way through Mycroft. The +problem which we have just listened to, although it +can admit of but one explanation, has still some +distinguishing features." + +"You have hopes of solving it?" + +"Well, knowing as much as we do, it will be singular +indeed if we fail to discover the rest. You must +yourself have formed some theory which will 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 off by 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 of Greek. The lady could talk English +fairly well. Inference--that she had been 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--comes over from Greece to interfere. He +imprudently puts himself into the power of the young +man and his older associate. They seize him and use +violence towards him in order to make him sign some +papers to make over the girl's fortune--of which he +may be trustee--to them. This he refuses to 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 +by the merest accident." + +"Excellent, Watson!" cried Holmes. "I really fancy +that you are not far from the truth. You see that we +hold all the cards, and we have only to fear some +sudden act of violence on their part. If they give us +time we must 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 Sophy Kratides, we should have no +difficulty in tracing her. That must be our main +hope, for the brother is, of course, a complete +stranger. It is clear that some time has elapsed +since this Harold established these relations with the +girl--some weeks, at any rate--since the brother in +Greece has had time to hear of it and come across. If +they have been living in the same place during this +time, it is probable that we shall have 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 room he gave a start of +surprise. Looking over his shoulder, I was equally +astonished. His brother Mycroft was sitting smoking +in the arm-chair. + +"Come in, Sherlock! Come in, sir," said he blandly, +smiling at our surprised 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 a middle-aged man with a weak +constitution. 'Sir,' he says, 'in answer to your +advertisement of to-day's date, I beg to inform you +that I know the young lady in question very well. If +you should care to call upon me I could give you some +particulars as to her painful history. She is living +at present at The Myrtles, Beckenham. Yours +faithfully, J. Davenport.' + +"He writes from Lower Brixton," said Mycroft Holmes. +"Do you not think that we might drive to him now, +Sherlock, and learn these particulars?" + +"My dear Mycroft, the brother's life is more valuable +than the sister's story. 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 to +death, and every hour may be vital." + +"Better pick up Mr. Melas on our way," I suggested. +"We may need an interpreter." + +"Excellent," said Sherlock Holmes. "Send the boy for +a four-wheeler, and we shall be off at once." He +opened the table-drawer as he spoke, and I noticed +that he slipped his revolver into his pocket. "Yes," +said he, in answer to my glance; "I should say from +what we have heard, that we are dealing with a +particularly dangerous gang." + +It was almost dark before we found ourselves in Pall +Mall, at the rooms of 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 only know 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 he was +talking." + +"Come along!" cried Sherlock Holmes, abruptly. "This +grows serious," he observed, as we drove to Scotland +Yard. "These men have got hold of Melas again. He is +a man of no physical courage, as they are well aware +from their experience the other night. This villain +was able to terrorize him the instant that he got into +his presence. No doubt they want his professional +services, but, having used him, they may be inclined +to punish him for what they will regard as his +treachery." + +Our hope was that, by taking train, we might get to +Beckenham as soon or sooner than the carriage. On +reaching Scotland Yard, however, it was more than an +hour before we could get Inspector Gregson and comply +with the legal formalities which would enable us to +enter the house. It was a quarter to ten before we +reached London Bridge, and half past before the four +of us alighted on the Beckenham platform. A drive of +half a mile brought us to The Myrtles--a large, dark +house standing back from the road in its own grounds. +Here we dismissed our cab, and made our way up the +drive together. + +"The windows are all dark," remarked the inspector. +"The house seems deserted." + +"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 last hour." + +The inspector laughed. "I saw the wheel-tracks in the +light of the gate-lamp, but where does the luggage +come in?" + +"You may have observed the same wheel-tracks going the +other way. But the outward-bound ones were very much +deeper--so much so that we can say for a certainty +that there was a very considerable weight on the +carriage." + +"You get a trifle beyond me there," said the +inspector, shrugging his shoulder. "It will not be an +easy door to force, but we will try if we cannot make +some one hear us." + +He hammered loudly at the knocker and pulled at the +bell, but without any 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 against it, Mr. Holmes," remarked the +inspector, as he noted the clever way in which my +friend had forced back the catch. "Well, I think that +under the circumstances we may enter without an +invitation." + +One after the other we made our way into a large +apartment, which was evidently that in which Mr. Melas +had found himself. The inspector had lit his lantern, +and by its light we could see the two doors, the +curtain, the lamp, and the suit of Japanese mail as he +had described them. On the table lay two glasses, and +empty brandy-bottle, and the remains of a meal. + +"What is that?" asked Holmes, suddenly. + +We all stood still and listened. A low moaning sound +was coming from somewhere over our heads. Holmes +rushed to the door and out into the hall. The dismal +noise came from upstairs. He dashed up, the inspector +and I at his heels, while his brother Mycroft followed +as quickly as his great bulk would permit. + +Three doors faced up upon the second floor, and it was +from the central of these that the sinister sounds +were issuing, sinking sometimes into a dull mumble and +rising again into a shrill whine. It was locked, but +the key had been left on the outside. Holmes flung +open the door and rushed in, 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 a dull blue flame which flickered from +a small brass tripod in the centre. It threw a livid, +unnatural circle upon the floor, while in the shadows +beyond we saw the vague loom of two figures which +crouched against the wall. From the open door there +reeked a horrible poisonous exhalation which set us +gasping and coughing. Holmes rushed to the top of the +stairs to draw in the fresh air, and then, dashing +into the room, he threw 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 a candle? I doubt if we could +strike a match in that atmosphere. Hold the light 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 the well-lit hall. Both of them were +blue-lipped and insensible, with swollen, congested +faces and protruding eyes. Indeed, so distorted were +their features that, save for his black beard and +stout figure, we might have failed to recognize in one +of them the Greek interpreter who had parted from us +only a few hours before at the Diogenes Club. His +hands and feet were securely strapped together, and he +bore over one eye the marks of a violent blow. The +other, who was secured in a similar fashion, was a +tall man in the last stage of emaciation, with several +strips of sticking-plaster arranged in a grotesque +pattern over his face. He had ceased to moan as we +laid him down, and a glance showed me 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 and brandy I had the satisfaction of seeing +him open his eyes, and of knowing that my hand had +drawn him back from that dark valley in which all +paths meet. + +It was a simple story which he had to tell, and one +which did but confirm our own deductions. His +visitor, on entering his rooms, had drawn a +life-preserver from his sleeve, and had so impressed +him with the fear of instant and inevitable death that +he had kidnapped him for the second time. Indeed, it +was almost mesmeric, the effect which this giggling +ruffian had produced upon the unfortunate linguist, +for he could not speak of him save with trembling +hands and a blanched cheek. He had been taken swiftly +to Beckenham, and had acted as interpreter in a second +interview, even more dramatic than the first, in which +the two Englishmen had menaced their prisoner with +instant death if he did not comply with their demands. +Finally, finding him proof against every threat, they +had hurled him back into his prison, and after +reproaching Melas with his treachery, which appeared +from the newspaper advertisement, they had stunned him +with a blow from a stick, and he remembered nothing +more until he found us bending over him. + +And this was the singular case of the Grecian +Interpreter, the explanation of which is still +involved in some mystery. We were able to find out, +by communicating with the gentleman who had answered +the advertisement, that the unfortunate young lady +came of a wealthy Grecian family, 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 had acquired an ascendancy over he and had +eventually persuaded her to fly with him. Her +friends, shocked at the event, had contented +themselves with informing her brother at Athens, and +had then washed their hands of the matter. The +brother, on his arrival in England, had imprudently +placed himself in the power of Latimer and of his +associate, whose name was Wilson Kemp--a man of the +foulest antecedents. These two, finding that through +his ignorance of the language he was helpless in their +hands, had kept him a prisoner, and had endeavored by +cruelty and starvation to make him sign away his own +and his sister's property. They had kept him in the +house without the girl's knowledge, and the plaster +over the face had been for the purpose of making +recognition difficult in case she should ever catch a +glimpse of him. Her feminine perception, however, had +instantly seen through the disguise when, on the +occasion of the interpreter's visit, she had seen him +for the first time. The poor girl, however, was +herself a prisoner, for there was no one about the +house except the man who acted as coachman, and his +wife, both of whom were tools of the conspirators. +Finding that their secret was out, and that their +prisoner was not to be coerced, the two villains with +the girl had fled away at a few hours' notice from the +furnished house which they had hired, having first, as +they thought, taken vengeance both upon the man who +had defied and the one who had betrayed them. + +Months afterwards a curious newspaper cutting reached +us from Buda-Pesth. It told how two Englishmen who +had been traveling with a woman 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 had inflicted mortal injuries upon each +other. Holmes, however, is, I fancy, of a different +way of thinking, and holds to this day that, if one +could find the Grecian girl, one might learn how the +wrongs of herself and her brother came to be avenged. + + + +Adventure X + + +The Naval Treaty + + +The July which immediately succeeded my marriage was +made memorable by three cases of interest, in which I +had the privilege of being associated with Sherlock +Holmes and of studying his methods. I find them +recorded in my notes under the headings of "The +Adventure of the Second Stain," "The Adventure of the +Naval Treaty," and "The Adventure of the Tired +Captain." The first of these, however, deals with +interest of such importance and implicates so many of +the first families in the kingdom that for many years +it will be impossible to make it public. No case, +however, in which Holmes was engaged has ever +illustrated the value of his analytical methods so +clearly or has impressed those who were associated +with him so deeply. I still retain an almost verbatim +report of the interview in which he demonstrated the +true facts of the case to Monsieur Dubugue of the +Paris police, and Fritz von Waldbaum, the well-known +specialist of Dantzig, both of whom had wasted their +energies upon what proved to be side-issues. The new +century will have come, however, before the story can +be safely told. Meanwhile I pass on to the second on +my list, which promised also at one time to be of +national importance, and was marked by several +incidents which give it a quite unique character. + +During my school-days I had been intimately associated +with a lad named Percy Phelps, who was of much the +same age as myself, though he was two classes ahead of +me. He was a very brilliant boy, and carried away +every prize which the school had to offer, finished +his exploits by winning a scholarship which sent him +on to continue his triumphant career at Cambridge. He +was, I remember, extremely well connected, and even +when we were all little boys together we knew that his +mother's brother was Lord Holdhurst, the great +conservative politician. This gaudy relationship did +him little good at school. On the contrary, it seemed +rather a piquant thing to us to chevy him about the +playground and hit him over the shins with a wicket. +But it was another thing when he came out into the +world. I heard vaguely that his abilities and the +influences which he commanded had won him a good +position at the Foreign Office, and then he passed +completely out of my mind until the following letter +recalled his existence: + + +Briarbrae, Woking. +My dear Watson,--I have no doubt that you can remember +"Tadpole" Phelps, who was in the fifth form when you +were in the third. It is possible even that you may +have heard that through my uncle's influence I +obtained a good appointment at the Foreign Office, and +that I was in a situation of trust and honor until a +horrible misfortune came suddenly to blast my career. + +There is no use writing of the details of that +dreadful event. In the event of your acceding to my +request it is probably that I shall have to narrate +them to you. I have only just recovered from nine +weeks of brain-fever, and am still exceedingly weak. +Do you think that you could bring your friend Mr. +Holmes down to see me? I should like to have his +opinion of the case, though the authorities assure me +that nothing more can be done. Do try to bring him +down, and as soon as possible. Every minute 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 because I did not appreciate his talents, +but because I have been off my head ever since the +blow fell. Now I am clear again, though I dare not +think of it too much for fear of a relapse. I am still +so weak that I have to write, 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, something pitiable in the reiterated appeals +to bring Holmes. So moved was I that even had it been +a difficult matter I should have tried it, but of +course I knew well that Holmes loved his art, so that +he was ever as ready to bring his aid as his client +could be to receive it. My wife agreed with me that +not a moment should be lost in laying the matter +before him, and so within an hour of breakfast-time I +found myself back once more in the old rooms in Baker +Street. + +Holmes was seated at his side-table clad in his +dressing-gown, and working hard over a chemical +investigation. A large curved retort was boiling +furiously in the bluish flame of a Bunsen burner, and +the distilled drops were condensing into a two-litre +measure. My friend hardly glanced up as I entered, +and I, seeing that his investigation must be of +importance, seated myself in an arm-chair and waited. +He dipped into this bottle or that, drawing out a few +drops of each with his glass pipette, and finally +brought a test-tube containing a solution over 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 into the 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 his +desk and scribbled off several telegrams, which were +handed over to the page-boy. Then he threw himself +down into the chair opposite, and drew up his knees +until his fingers clasped round his long, thin shins. + +"A very commonplace little murder," said he. "You've +got something better, I fancy. You are the stormy +petrel of crime, Watson. What is it?" + +I handed him the letter, which he read with the most +concentrated attention. + +"It does not tell us very much, does it?" he remarked, +as he handed it back 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 the commencement of an investigation it is +something to know that your client is in close contact +with some one who, for good or evil, has an +exceptional nature. My interest is already awakened +in the case. If you are ready we will start at once +for Woking, and see this diplomatist who is 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 in a little under an hour we found +ourselves among the fir-woods and the heather of +Woking. Briarbrae proved to be a large detached house +standing in extensive grounds within a few minutes' +walk of the station. On sending in our cards we were +shown into an elegantly appointed drawing-room, where +we were joined in a few minutes by a rather stout man +who received us with much hospitality. His age may +have been nearer forty than thirty, but his cheeks +were so ruddy and his eyes so merry that he still +conveyed the impression of a plump and mischievous +boy. + +"I am so glad that you have come," said he, shaking +our hands with effusion. "Percy has been inquiring +for you all morning. Ah, poor old chap, he clings to +any straw! His father and his mother asked me to see +you, for the mere mention of the subject is very +painful to them." + +"We have had no details yet," observed Holmes. "I +perceive that you are not yourself a member of the +family." + +Our acquaintance looked surprised, and then, glancing +down, he began to laugh. + +"Of course you saw the J H monogram on my locket," +said he. "For a moment I thought you had done +something clever. Joseph Harrison is my name, and as +Percy is to marry my sister Annie I shall at least be +a relation by marriage. You will find my sister in +his room, for she has nursed him hand-and-foot this +two months back. Perhaps we'd better go in at once, +for I know how impatient he is." + +The chamber in which we were shown was on the same +floor as the drawing-room. It was furnished partly as +a sitting and partly as a bedroom, with flowers +arranged daintily in every nook and corner. A young +man, very pale and worn, was lying upon a sofa near +the open window, through which came the rich scent of +the garden and the balmy summer 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 I dare say you +would not be prepared to swear to me. This I presume +is your celebrated friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes?" + +I introduced him in a few words, and we both sat down. +The stout young man had left us, but his sister still +remained with her hand in that of the invalid. She +was a striking-looking woman, a little short and thick +for symmetry, but with a beautiful olive complexion, +large, dark, Italian eyes, and a wealth of deep black +hair. Her rich tints made the white 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 happy and successful man, +Mr. Holmes, and on the eve of being married, when a +sudden and dreadful misfortune wrecked all my +prospects in life. + +"I was, as Watson may have told you, in the Foreign +Office, and through the influences of my uncle, Lord +Holdhurst, I rose rapidly to a responsible position. +When my uncle became foreign minister in this +administration he gave me several missions of trust, +and as I always brought them to a successful +conclusion, he came at last to have the utmost +confidence in my ability and tact. + +"Nearly ten weeks ago--to be more accurate, on the 23d +of May--he called me into his private room, and, after +complimenting me on the good work which I had done, he +informed me that he had a new commission of trust for +me to execute. + +"'This,' said he, taking a gray roll of paper from his +bureau, 'is the original of that secret treaty between +England and Italy of which, I regret to say, some +rumors have already got into the public press. It is +of enormous importance that nothing further should +leak out. The French or the Russian embassy would pay +an immense sum to learn the contents of these papers. +They should not leave my bureau were it not that it is +absolutely necessary to have them copied. You have a +desk in your office?" + +"'Yes, sir.' + +"'Then take the treaty and lock it up there. I shall +give directions that you may remain behind when the +others go, so that you may copy it at your leisure +without fear of being overlooked. When you have +finished, relock both the original and the draft in +the desk, and hand them over to me personally +to-morrow morning.' + +"I took the papers and--" + +"Excuse me an instant," said Holmes. "Were you alone +during this conversation?" + +"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 had departed. One of them in my room, +Charles Gorot, had some arrears of work to make up, so +I left him there and went out to dine. When I +returned he was gone. I was anxious to hurry my work, +for I knew that Joseph--the Mr. Harrison whom you saw +just now--was in town, and that he would travel down +to Woking by the eleven-o'clock train, and I wanted if +possible to catch it. + +"When I came to examine the treaty I saw at once that +it was of such importance that my uncle had been +guilty of no exaggeration in what he had said. +Without going into details, I may say that it defined +the position of Great Britain towards the Triple +Alliance, and fore-shadowed the policy which this +country would pursue in the event of the French fleet +gaining a complete ascendancy over that of Italy in +the Mediterranean. The questions treated in it were +purely naval. At the end were the signatures of the +high dignitaries who had signed it. I glanced my eyes +over it, and then settled down to my task of copying. + +"It was a long document, written in the French +language, and containing twenty-six separate articles. +I copied as quickly as I could, but at nine o'clock I +had only done nine articles, and it seemed hopeless +for me to attempt to catch my train. I was feeling +drowsy and stupid, partly from my dinner and also from +the effects of a long day's work. A cup of coffee +would clear my brain. A commissionnaire remains all +night in a little lodge at the foot of the stairs, and +is in the habit of making coffee at his spirit-lamp +for any of the officials who may be working over 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 the +commissionnaire's wife, who did the charing, and I +gave her the order for the coffee. + +"I wrote two more articles and then, feeling more +drowsy than ever, I rose and walked up and down the +room to stretch my legs. My coffee had not 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 a straight passage, dimly +lighted, which led from the room in which I had been +working, and was the only exit from it. It ended in a +curving staircase, with the commissionnaire's lodge in +the passage at the bottom. Half way down this +staircase is a small landing, with another passage +running into it at right angles. This second one +leads by means of a second small stair to a side door, +used by servants, and also as a short cut by clerks +when coming from Charles Street. Here is a rough +chart 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 the commissionnaire fast asleep in his +box, with the kettle boiling furiously upon the +spirit-lamp. I took off the kettle and blew out the +lamp, for the water was spurting over the floor. Then +I put out my hand and was about to shake the man, who +was still sleeping soundly, when a bell 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 and then up at the still quivering +bell with an ever-growing astonishment upon 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 that room where my precious treaty +lay upon the table. I ran frantically up the 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, save only that the +papers which had been committed to my care had been +taken from the desk on which they lay. The copy was +there, and the original was gone." + +Holmes sat up in his chair and rubbed his hands. I +could see that the problem was entirely to his heart. +"Pray, what did you do then?" he murmured. + +"I recognized in an instant that the thief must have +come up the stairs from the side door. Of course I +must have met him if he had come the other way." + +"You were satisfied that he could not have been +concealed in the room all the time, or in the corridor +which you have just described as dimly lighted?" + +"It is absolutely impossible. A rat could not conceal +himself either in the 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 be feared, had followed me upstairs. +Now we both rushed along the corridor and down the +steep steps which led to Charles Street. The door at +the bottom was closed, but unlocked. We flung it open +and rushed out. I can distinctly remember that as we +did so there came three chimes from a neighboring +clock. It was quarter to ten." + +"That is of enormous importance," said Holmes, making +a note upon his shirt-cuff. + +"The night was very dark, and a thin, warm rain was +falling. There was no one in Charles Street, but a +great traffic was going on, as usual, in Whitehall, at +the extremity. We rushed along the pavement, +bare-headed as we were, and at the far corner we found +a policeman standing. + +"'A robbery has been committed,' I gasped. 'A +document of immense value has 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 else passed?' + +"'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 me away 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 for watching 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 of importance,' cried the commissionnaire; +'take my word for it that my old woman has nothing to +do with it, and come down to the other end of the +street. Well, if you won't, I will.' And with that +he rushed off in the other 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 drawn away upon a false scent, Mr. Phelps. +Come to the other end of the street and let us see if +we can hear of anything.' + +"Nothing was to be lost by following his advice. With +the policeman we both hurried down, but only to find +the street full of traffic, many people coming and +going, but all only too eager to get to a place of +safety upon so wet a night. There was no lounger who +could tell us who had passed. + +"Then we returned to the office, and searched the +stairs and the passage without result. The corridor +which led to the room was laid down with a kind of +creamy linoleum which shows an impression very easily. +We examined 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 left no 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 the commissionnaire's office, and +putting on list slippers." + +"That is very clear. There were no marks, then, +though the night was a wet 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 them were fastened on +the inside. The carpet prevents any possibility of a +trap-door, and the ceiling is of the ordinary +whitewashed kind. I will pledge my life that whoever +stole my papers could only have come through the +door." + +"How about the fireplace?" + +"They use none. There is a stove. The bell-rope +hangs from the wire just to the right of my desk. +Whoever rang it must have come right up to the desk to +do it. But why should any criminal wish to ring the +bell? It is a most insoluble mystery." + +"Certainly the incident was unusual. What were your +next steps? You examined the room, I presume, to see +if the intruder had left any traces--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 such an investigation." + +"I never smoke myself, so I think I should have +observed it if there had been any smell of tobacco. +There was absolutely no clue of any kind. The only +tangible fact was that the commissionnaire's wife--Mrs. +Tangey was the name--had hurried out of the place. He +could give no explanation save that it was about the +time when the woman always went home. The policeman +and I agreed that our best plan would be to seize the +woman before she could get rid of the papers, +presuming that she had them. + +"The alarm had reached Scotland Yard by this time, and +Mr. Forbes, the detective, came round at once and took +up the case with a great deal of energy. We hired a +hansom, and in half an hour we were at the address +which had been given to us. A young woman opened the +door, who proved to be Mrs. Tangey's eldest daughter. +Her mother had not come back yet, and we were shown +into the front room to wait. + +"About ten minutes later a knock came at the door, and +here we made the one serious mistake for which I blame +myself. Instead of opening the door 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 instant afterwards we heard the patter of feet +rushing down the passage. Forbes flung open the door, +and we both ran into the back room or kitchen, but the +woman had got there before us. She stared at us with +defiant eyes, and then, suddenly recognizing me, an +expression of absolute astonishment 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 trouble with a tradesman.' + +"'That's not quite good enough,' answered Forbes. 'We +have reason to believe that you have taken a paper of +importance from the Foreign Office, and that you ran in +here to dispose of it. You must come back with us to +Scotland Yard to be searched.' + +"It was in vain that she protested and resisted. A +four-wheeler was brought, and we all three drove back +in it. We had first made an examination of the +kitchen, and especially of the kitchen fire, to see +whether she might have made away with the papers +during the instant that she 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 female searcher. I waited in an agony of suspense +until she came back with her report. There were no +signs of the papers. + +"Then for the first time the horror of my situation +came in its full force. Hitherto I had been acting, +and action had numbed thought. I had been so +confident of regaining the treaty at once that I had +not dared to think of what would be the consequence if +I failed to do so. But now there was nothing more to +be done, and I had leisure to realize my position. It +was horrible. Watson there would tell you that I was +a nervous, sensitive boy at school. It is my nature. +I thought of my uncle and of his colleagues in the +Cabinet, of the shame which I had brought upon him, +upon myself, upon every one connected with me. What +though I was the victim of an extraordinary accident? +No allowance is made for accidents where diplomatic +interests are at stake. I was ruined, shamefully, +hopelessly ruined. I don't know what I did. I fancy +I must have made a scene. I have a dim recollection +of a group of officials who crowded round me, +endeavoring to soothe me. One of them drove down with +me to Waterloo, and saw me into the Woking train. I +believe that he would have come all the way had it not +been that Dr. Ferrier, who lives near me, was going +down by that very train. The doctor most kindly took +charge 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 from their beds by the doctor's ringing +and found me in this condition. Poor Annie here and +my mother were broken-hearted. Dr. Ferrier had just +heard enough from the detective at the station to be +able to give an idea of what had happened, and his +story did not mend matters. It was evident to all +that I was in for a long illness, so Joseph was +bundled out of this cheery bedroom, and it was turned +into a sick-room for me. Here I have lain, Mr. +Holmes, for over nine weeks, unconscious, and raving +with brain-fever. If it had not been for Miss +Harrison here and for the doctor's care I should not +be speaking to you now. She has nursed me by day and +a hired nurse has looked after me by night, for in my +mad fits I was capable of anything. Slowly my reason +has cleared, but it is only during the last three days +that my memory has quite returned. Sometimes I wish +that it never had. The first thing that I did was to +wire to Mr. 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 without any light being thrown upon the +matter. The suspicions of the police then rested upon +young Gorot, who, as you may remember, stayed over +time in the office that night. His remaining behind +and his French name were really the only two points +which could suggest suspicion; but, as a matter of +fact, I did not begin work until he had gone, and his +people are of Huguenot extraction, but as English in +sympathy and tradition as you and I are. Nothing was +found to implicate him in any way, and there the +matter dropped. I turn to you, Mr. Holmes, as +absolutely my last hope. If you fail me, then my +honor as well as my position are forever forfeited." + +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, in an attitude which might seem listless to a +stranger, but which I knew betokened the most intense +self-absorption. + +"You statement has been so explicit," said he at last, +"that you have really left me very few questions to +ask. There is one of the very utmost importance, +however. Did you tell any one that you had this +special task to perform?" + +"No one." + +"Not Miss Harrison here, for example?" + +"No. I had not been back to Woking between getting +the order and executing 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 these inquiries 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. The authorities are excellent at amassing +facts, though they do not always use them to +advantage. What a lovely thing a rose is!" + +He walked past the couch to the open window, and held +up the drooping stalk of a moss-rose, looking down at +the dainty blend of crimson and green. It was a new +phase of his character to me, for I had never before +seen 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 built up as an exact +science by the reasoner. Our highest assurance of the +goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the +flowers. All other things, our powers our desires, +our food, are all really necessary for our existence +in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. +Its smell 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 have much to +hope from the flowers." + +Percy Phelps and his nurse looked at Holmes during +this demonstration with surprise and a good deal of +disappointment written upon their faces. He had +fallen into a reverie, with the moss-rose between his +fingers. It had lasted some minutes before the young +lady broke in upon it. + +"Do you see any prospect of solving this mystery, Mr. +Holmes?" she asked, with a touch of asperity in her +voice. + +"Oh, the mystery!" he answered, coming back with a +start to the realities of life. "Well, it would be +absurd to deny that the case is a very abstruse and +complicated one, but I can promise you that I will +look 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 them before 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. "I think, Watson, we cannot do +better. Do not allow yourself to indulge in false +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 be the same train to-morrow, +though it's more than likely that my report will be a +negative one." + +"God bless you for promising to come," cried our +client. "It gives me fresh life to know that +something is being done. By the way, I have had a +letter from Lord Holdhurst." + +"Ha! What did he say?" + +"He was cold, but not harsh. I dare say my severe +illness prevented him from being that. He repeated +that the matter was of the utmost importance, and +added that no steps would be taken about my future--by +which he means, of course, my dismissal--until my +health was restored and 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 soon whirling 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 lines which 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 soon explained himself. + +"Look at those big, isolated clumps of building rising +up above the slates, like brick islands in a +lead-colored sea." + +"The board-schools." + +"Light-houses, my boy! Beacons of the future! +Capsules with hundreds of bright little seeds in each, +out of which will spring the wise, better England 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's a +question whether we shall ever be able to get him +ashore. What did you think of Miss Harrison?" + +"A girl of strong character." + +"Yes, but she is a good sort, or I am mistaken. She +and her brother are the only children of an +iron-master somewhere up Northumberland way. He got +engaged to her when traveling last winter, and she +came down to be introduced to his people, with her +brother as escort. Then came the smash, and she +stayed on to nurse her lover, while brother Joseph, +finding himself pretty snug, stayed on too. I've been +making a few independent 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--" said Holmes, with some asperity. + +"I was going to say that my practice could get along +very well for a day or two, since it is the slackest +time in the year." + +"Excellent," said he, recovering his good-humor. +"Then we'll look into this 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 what side the case is to be approached." + +"You said you had a clue?" + +"Well, we have several, but we can only test their +value by further inquiry. The most difficult crime to +track is the one which is purposeless. Now this is +not purposeless. Who is it who profits by it? There +is the French ambassador, there is the Russian, there +is whoever might sell it to either of these, and +there is Lord Holdhurst." + +"Lord Holdhurst!" + +"Well, it is just conceivable that a statesman might +find himself in a position where he was not sorry to +have such a document accidentally destroyed." + +"Not a statesman with the honorable record of Lord +Holdhurst?" + +"It is a possibility and we cannot afford to disregard +it. We shall see the noble lord to-day and find out +if he can tell us anything. Meanwhile I 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 in pencil: "L10 reward. The number of +the cab which dropped a fare at or about the door of +the Foreign Office in Charles Street at quarter to ten +in 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 stating that there is no hiding-place +either in the room or the corridors, then the person +must have come from outside. If he came from outside +on so wet a night, and yet left no trace of damp upon +the linoleum, which was examined within a few minutes +of his passing, then it is exceeding probable that he +came in a cab. Yes, I think that we may safely deduce +a cab." + +"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 distinctive feature of the +case. Why should the bell ring? Was it the thief who +did it out of bravado? Or was it some one who was +with the thief who did it in order to prevent the +crime? Or was it an accident? Or was it--?" He sank +back into the state of intense and silent thought from +which he had 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 hasty luncheon at the buffet we pushed on +at once to Scotland Yard. Holmes had already wired to +Forbes, and we found him waiting to receive us--a +small, foxy man with a sharp but by no means amiable +expression. He was decidedly frigid in his manner to +us, especially when he heard the errand 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 lay at your disposal, +and then you try to finish the case yourself and bring +discredit on them." + +"On the contrary," said Holmes, "out of my last +fifty-three cases my name has only appeared in four, +and the police have had all the credit in forty-nine. +I don't blame you for not knowing this, for you are +young and inexperienced, but if you wish to get on in +your new duties you will work with me and not against +me." + +"I'd be very glad of a hint or two," said the +detective, changing his manner. "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 with a good character and we can find +nothing against him. His wife is a bad lot, 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 our woman has been with her twice when she +was well on, but she could get nothing 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 sign of 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 later asleep in his chair. There is nothing +against them then but the woman's character. Did you +ask her why she hurried away that night? Her haste +attracted 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 least twenty 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 back kitchen?" + +"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 in leaving 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 else have you done?" + +"The clerk Gorot has been shadowed all these nine +weeks, but without result. 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 it was, to go and give the alarm like +that." + +"Yes, it was queer thing to do. Many thanks to you +for what you have told 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 and future premier of England." + +We were fortunate in finding that Lord Holdhurst was +still in his chambers in Downing Street, and on Holmes +sending in his card we were instantly shown up. The +statesman received us with that old-fashioned courtesy +for which he is remarkable, and seated us on the two +luxuriant lounges on either side of the fireplace. +Standing on the rug between us, with his slight, tall +figure, his sharp features, thoughtful face, and +curling hair prematurely tinged with gray, he seemed +to represent that not 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 +for your 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 makes it the more impossible for me to +screen him in any way. I fear that the incident 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 copying of 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 any one 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 nobody else knew anything of the matter, +then the thief's presence in the room was 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 important point which I wish to discuss with +you," said he. "You feared, as I understand, that +very grave results might follow from the details of +this treaty becoming known." + +A shadow passed over the expressive face of the +statesman. "Very grave results indeed." + +"Any have they occurred?" + +"Not yet." + +"If the treaty had reached, let us say, the French or +Russian Foreign Office, 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 not reached them." + +Lord Holdhurst shrugged his shoulders. + +"We can hardly suppose, Mr. Holmes, that the thief +took the treaty in order 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 treaty will cease to be secret in a few +months." + +"That is most important," said Holmes. "Of course, it +is a possible supposition that the thief has had a +sudden illness--" + +"An attack of brain-fever, for example?" asked the +statesman, flashing a swift glance at him. + +"I did not say so," said Holmes, imperturbably. "And +now, Lord Holdhurst, we have already taken up too much +of your valuable time, and we 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. "But he has a struggle to keep up his +position. He is far from rich and has many 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 cab +advertisement. But I should be extremely obliged to +you if you would come down with me to Woking +to-morrow, by the same train which we took yesterday." + + +I met him accordingly next morning and we traveled +down to Woking together. He had had no answer to his +advertisement, he said, and no fresh light had been +thrown upon the case. He had, when he so willed it, +the utter immobility of countenance of a red Indian, +and I could not gather from his appearance whether he +was satisfied or not with the position of the case. +His conversation, I remember, was about the Bertillon +system of measurements, and he expressed his +enthusiastic admiration of the French savant. + +We found our client still under the charge of his +devoted nurse, but looking considerably better than +before. He rose from the sofa and greeted us without +difficulty when we entered. + +"Any news?" he asked, eagerly. + +"My report, as I expected, is a negative one," said +Holmes. "I have seen Forbes, and I have seen your +uncle, and I have set one or two trains of inquiry +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 our courage and our patience the truth +must come out." + +"We have more to tell you than you have for us," said +Phelps, reseating himself upon the couch. + +"I hoped you might have something." + +"Yes, we have had an adventure during the night, and +one which might have proved to be a serious one." His +expression grew very grave as he spoke, and a look of +something akin to fear sprang up in his eyes. "Do you +know," said he, "that I begin to believe that I am the +unconscious centre of some monstrous conspiracy, and +that my life is aimed at as well as my honor?" + +"Ah!" cried Holmes. + +"It sounds incredible, for I have not, as far as I +know, an enemy in the world. Yet from last night's +experience I can come to no other conclusion." + +"Pray let me hear it." + +"You must know that last night was the very first +night that I have ever slept without a nurse in the +room. I was so much better that I thought I 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 was suddenly aroused by a +slight noise. It was like the sound which a mouse +makes when it is gnawing a plank, and I lay listening +to it for some time under the impression that it must +come from that cause. Then it grew louder, and +suddenly there came from the window a sharp metallic +snick. I sat up in amazement. There could be no +doubt what the sounds were now. The first ones had +been caused by some one forcing an instrument through +the slit between the sashes, and the second by the +catch being pressed back. + +"There was a pause then for about ten minutes, as if +the person were waiting to see whether the noise had +awakened me. Then I heard a gentle creaking as the +window was very slowly opened. I could stand it no +longer, for my nerves are not what they used to be. I +sprang out of bed and flung open the shutters. A man +was crouching at the window. I could see little of +him, for he was gone like a flash. He was wrapped in +some sort of cloak which came across the lower part of +his face. One thing only I am sure of, and that is +that he had some weapon in his hand. It looked to me +like a long knife. I distinctly saw the gleam of it +as he turned 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 been stronger. As it was, I rang the bell and +roused the house. It took me some little time, for +the bell rings in the kitchen and the servants all +sleep upstairs. I shouted, however, and that brought +Joseph down, and he roused the others. Joseph and the +groom found marks on the bed outside the window, but +the weather has been so dry lately that they found it +hopeless to follow the trail across the grass. +There's a place, however, on the wooden fence which +skirts the road which shows signs, they tell me, as if +some one had got over, and had snapped the top of the +rail in doing so. I have said nothing to the local +police yet, for I thought I had best have your opinion +first." + +This tale of our client's appeared to have an +extraordinary effect upon Sherlock Holmes. He rose +from his chair and paced about the room in +uncontrollable excitement. + +"Misfortunes never come single," said Phelps, smiling, +though it was evident that his adventure had somewhat +shaken him. + +"You have certainly had your share," said Holmes. "Do +you think you could 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 ask you 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 round the +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 and vague. Holmes +stopped over them for an instant, and then rose +shrugging his shoulders. + +"I don't think any one could make much of this," said +he. "Let us go round the house and see why this +particular room was chosen by the burglar. I should +have thought those larger windows of the drawing-room +and 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 at night." + +"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 a negligent air which was unusual with +him. + +"By the way," said he to Joseph Harrison, "you found +some place, I understand, where the fellow scaled the +fence. Let us have a look at that!" + +The plump young man led us to a spot where the top of +one of the wooden rails 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 it not?" + +"Well, possibly so." + +"There are no marks of any one jumping down upon the +other side. No, I fancy we shall get no help here. +Let us go back to the bedroom and talk the matter +over." + +Percy Phelps was walking very slowly, leaning upon the +arm of his future brother-in-law. Holmes walked +swiftly across the lawn, and we were at the open +window of the bedroom long before the others came up. + +"Miss Harrison," said Holmes, speaking with the utmost +intensity of manner, "you must stay where you are all +day. Let nothing prevent you from 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 keep the 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 into the sunshine!" + +"No, thank you, Joseph. I have a slight headache and +this room is deliciously 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 our main inquiry. It would be a very +great help to me if you would come up to 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 the bird flown. We are all in your +hands, Mr. Holmes, and you must tell us exactly what +you would like done. Perhaps you would prefer that +Joseph came with us so as to look after me?" + +"Oh, no; my friend Watson is a medical man, you know, +and he'll look after you. We'll have our lunch here, +if you will permit us, and then we shall all three set +off for town together." + +It was arranged as he suggested, though Miss Harrison +excused herself from leaving the bedroom, in +accordance with Holmes's suggestion. What the object +of my friend's manoeuvres was I could not conceive, +unless it were to keep the lady away from Phelps, who, +rejoiced by his returning health and by the prospect +of action, lunched with us in the dining-room. Holmes +had a still more startling surprise for us, however, +for, after accompanying us down to the station and +seeing us into our carriage, he calmly announced that +he had no intention of leaving Woking. + +"There are one or two small points which I should +desire to clear up before I go," said he. "Your +absence, Mr. Phelps, will in some ways rather assist +me. Watson, when you reach London you would oblige me +by driving at once to Baker Street with our friend +here, and remaining with him until I see you again. +It is fortunate that you are old school-fellows, as +you must have much to talk over. Mr. Phelps can have +the spare bedroom to-night, and I will be with you in +time for breakfast, for there is a train which will +take me into Waterloo at eight." + +"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 more immediate use here." + +"You might tell them at Briarbrae that I hope to be +back to-morrow night," cried Phelps, as we began to +move from the platform. + +"I hardly expect to go back to Briarbrae," answered +Holmes, and waved his hand to us cheerily as we shot +out from the station. + +Phelps and I talked it over on our journey, but +neither of us could devise 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 ordinary thief." + +"What is your own idea, then?" + +"Upon my word, you may put it down to my weak nerves +or not, but I believe there is some deep political +intrigue going on around me, and that for some reason +that passes my understanding my life is aimed at by +the conspirators. It sounds high-flown and absurd, +but consider the facts! Why should a thief try to +break in at a bedroom window, where there could be no +hope of any plunder, and why should he come with a +long 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 his hands upon +the man who threatened you last night he will have +gone a long way towards finding who took the naval +treaty. It is absurd to suppose that you have two +enemies, one of whom robs you, while the other +threatens 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 do anything yet without a very good reason," +and with that our conversation drifted off on to other +topics. + +But it was a weary day for me. Phelps was still weak +after his long illness, and his misfortune made him +querulous and nervous. In vain I endeavored to +interest him in Afghanistan, in India, in social +questions, 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 was +taking, what news we should have in the morning. As +the evening wore on his 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 clues than yours." + +"But not where such large interests are at stake?" + +"I don't know that. To my certain knowledge he has +acted on behalf of three of the reigning houses of +Europe in very vital matters." + +"But you know him well, Watson. He is such an +inscrutable fellow that I never quite know what to +make of him. Do you think he is hopeful? Do you +think 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 he generally says so. It is when he is on a +scent and is not quite absolutely 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 +nervous about them, so let me implore you to go to bed +and so be fresh for whatever may await us to-morrow." + +I was able at last to persuade my companion to take my +advice, though I knew from his excited manner that +there was not much hope of sleep for him. Indeed, his +mood was infectious, for I lay tossing half the night +myself, brooding over this strange problem, and +inventing a hundred theories, each of which was more +impossible than the last. Why had Holmes remained at +Woking? Why had he asked Miss Harrison to remain in +the sick-room all day? Why had he been so careful not +to inform the people at Briarbrae that he intended to +remain near them? I cudgelled my brains until I fell +asleep in the endeavor to find some explanation which +would cover all these facts. + +It was seven o'clock when I awoke, and I set off at +once for Phelps's room, to find him haggard and spent +after a sleepless night. His first question was +whether Holmes had arrived yet. + +"He'll be here when he promised," said I, "and not an +instant sooner or later." + +And my words were true, for shortly after eight a +hansom dashed up to the door and our friend got out of +it. Standing in the window we saw that his left hand +was swathed in a bandage and that his face was very +grim and pale. He entered the house, but it was some +little time before he came upstairs. + +"He looks like a beaten man," cried Phelps. + +I was forced to confess that he was right. "After +all," said I, "the clue 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 his return. But surely his hand was +not tied up like that yesterday. What can 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, is certainly 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 has happened?" + +"After breakfast, my dear Watson. Remember that I +have breathed thirty miles of Surrey air this morning. +I suppose that there has been no answer from my cabman +advertisement? Well, well, we cannot expect to score +every time." + +The table was all laid, and just as I was about to +ring Mrs. Hudson entered with the tea and coffee. A +few minutes later she brought in three covers, and we +all drew up to the table, Holmes ravenous, I curious, +and Phelps in the gloomiest state of depression. + +"Mrs. Hudson has risen to the occasion," said Holmes, +uncovering a dish of curried chicken. "Her cuisine is +a little limited, but she has as 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, or will 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 that you have no objection to helping me?" + +Phelps raised the cover, and as he did so he uttered a +scream, and sat there 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 about the 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 own +emotions that we had to pour brandy down his throat to +keep him from fainting. + +"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 tell you that I +never can resist a touch of the dramatic." + +Phelps seized his hand and kissed it. "God bless +you!" he cried. "You have saved my honor." + +"Well, my own was at stake, you know," said Holmes. +"I assure you it is just as hateful to me to fail in a +case as it can be to you to blunder over a +commission." + +Phelps thrust away the precious document into the +innermost pocket of his coat. + +"I have not the heart to interrupt your breakfast any +further, and yet I am dying to know how you got it and +where it was." + +Sherlock Holmes swallowed a cup of coffee, and turned +his attention to the ham and eggs. Then he rose, lit +his pipe, and settled himself down into 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 walk through some +admirable Surrey scenery to a pretty little village +called Ripley, where I had my tea at an inn, and took +the precaution of filling my flask and of putting a +paper of sandwiches in my pocket. There I remained +until evening, when I set off for Woking again, and +found myself in the high-road outside Briarbrae just +after sunset. + +"Well, I waited until the road was clear--it is never +a very frequented one at any time, I fancy--and then I +clambered over the fence into the grounds." + +"Surely the gate was open!" ejaculated Phelps. + +"Yes, but I have a peculiar taste in these matters. I +chose the place where the three fir-trees stand, and +behind their screen I got over without 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 one to the other--witness the +disreputable state of my trouser knees--until I had +reached the clump of rhododendrons just opposite to +your bedroom window. There I squatted down and +awaited developments. + +"The blind was not down in your room, and I could see +Miss Harrison sitting there reading by the table. It +was quarter-past ten when she closed her book, +fastened the shutters, and retired. + +"I heard her shut the door, and felt quite sure that +she had turned the key in the lock." + +"The key!" ejaculated Phelps. + +"Yes; I had given Miss Harrison instructions to lock +the door on the outside and take the key with her when +she went to bed. She carried out every one of my +injunctions to the letter, and certainly without her +cooperation you would not have that paper in you +coat-pocket. She departed then and the lights went +out, and I was left squatting in the +rhododendron-bush. + +"The night was fine, but still it was a very weary +vigil. Of course it has the sort of excitement about +it that the sportsman feels when he lies beside the +water-course and waits for the big game. It was very +long, though--almost as long, Watson, as when you and +I waited in that deadly 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 I thought more than once that it had stopped. At +last however about two in the morning, I suddenly +heard the gentle sound of a bolt being pushed back and +the creaking of a key. A moment later the servants' +door was opened, 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 so that he could conceal his face in +an instant if there were any alarm. He walked on +tiptoe under the shadow of the wall, and when he +reached the window he worked a long-bladed knife +through the sash and pushed back the catch. Then he +flung open the window, and putting his knife through +the 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 of every one of his movements. He lit +the two candles which stood upon the mantelpiece, and +then he proceeded to turn back the corner of the +carpet in the neighborhood of the door. Presently he +stopped and picked out a square piece of board, such +as is usually left to enable plumbers to get at the +joints of the gas-pipes. This one covered, as a +matter of fact, the T joint which gives off the pipe +which supplies the kitchen underneath. Out of this +hiding-place he drew that little cylinder of paper, +pushed down the board, rearranged the carpet, blew out +the candles, and walked straight into my arms as I +stood waiting for him outside the window. + +"Well, he has rather more viciousness than I gave him +credit for, has Master Joseph. He flew at me with his +knife, and I had to grasp him twice, and got a cut +over the knuckles, before I had the upper hand of him. +He looked murder out of the only eye he could see with +when we had finished, but he listened to reason and +gave up the papers. Having got them I let my man go, +but I wired full particulars to Forbes this morning. +If he is quick enough to catch his bird, well and good. +But if, 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 for one, and +Mr. Percy Phelps for another, would very much rather +that the affair never got as far as a police-court. + +"My God!" gasped our client. "Do you tell me that +during these long ten weeks of agony the stolen papers +were within the very room with me all the time?" + +"So it was." + +"And Joseph! Joseph a villain and a thief!" + +"Hum! I am afraid Joseph's character is a rather +deeper and more dangerous one than one might judge +from his appearance. From what I have heard from him +this morning, I gather that he has lost heavily in +dabbling with stocks, and that he is ready to do +anything on earth to better his fortunes. Being an +absolutely selfish man, when a chance presented itself +he did not allow either his sister's happiness or your +reputation to hold his hand." + +Percy Phelps sank back in his chair. "My head +whirls," said he. "Your words have dazed me." + +"The principal difficulty in your case," remarked +Holmes, in his didactic fashion, "lay in the fact of +there being too much evidence. What was vital was +overlaid and hidden by what was irrelevant. Of all +the facts which were presented to us we had to pick +just those which we deemed to be essential, and then +piece them together in their order, so as to +reconstruct this very remarkable chain of events. I +had already begun to suspect Joseph, from the fact +that you had intended to travel home with him that +night, and that therefore it was a likely enough thing +that he should call for you, knowing the Foreign +Office well, upon his way. When I heard that some one +had been so anxious to get into the bedroom, in which +no one but Joseph could have concealed anything--you +told us in your narrative how you had turned Joseph +out when you arrived with the doctor--my suspicions +all changed to certainties, especially as the attempt +was made on the first night upon which the nurse was +absent, showing that the intruder was well acquainted +with the ways of the house." + +"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 +after you left it. Finding no one there he promptly +rang the bell, and at the 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 of +immense value, and in an instant he had thrust it into +his pocket and was gone. A few minutes elapsed, as +you remember, before the sleepy commissionnaire drew +your attention to the bell, and those were just enough +to give the thief time to make his escape. + +"He made his way to Woking by the first train, and +having examined his booty and assured himself that it +really was of immense value, he had concealed it in +what he thought was a very safe place, with the +intention of taking it out again in a day or two, and +carrying it to the French embassy, or wherever he +thought that a long price was to be had. Then came +your sudden return. He, without a moment's warning, +was bundled out of his room, and from that time onward +there were always at least two of you there to prevent +him from regaining his treasure. The situation to him +must have been a maddening one. But at last he +thought he saw his chance. He tried to steal in, but +was baffled by your wakefulness. You remember that +you did not take your usual draught that night." + +"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, I understood that he would +repeat the attempt whenever it could be done with +safety. Your leaving the room gave him the chance he +wanted. I kept Miss 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 as I have +described. I already knew that the papers were +probably in the room, but I had no desire to rip up +all the planking and skirting in search of them. I +let him take them, therefore, from the hiding-place, +and so saved myself an infinity of trouble. Is there +any other point which I can make clear?" + +"Why did he try the window on the first occasion," I +asked, "when he might have entered by the door?" + +"In reaching the door he would have to pass seven +bedrooms. On the other hand, 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 only say for certain that Mr. +Joseph Harrison is a gentleman to whose mercy I should +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 last words in which I shall ever +record the singular gifts by which my friend Mr. +Sherlock Holmes was distinguished. In an incoherent +and, as I deeply feel, an entirely inadequate fashion, +I have endeavored to give some account of my strange +experiences in his company from the chance which first +brought us together at the period of the "Study in +Scarlet," up to the time of his interference in the +matter of the "Naval Treaty"--an interference which +had the unquestionable effect of preventing a serious +international complication. It was my intention to +have stopped there, and to have said nothing of that +event which has created a void in my life which the +lapse of two years has done little to fill. My hand +has been forced, however, by the recent letters in +which Colonel James Moriarty defends the memory of his +brother, and I have no choice but to lay the facts +before the public exactly as they occurred. I alone +know the absolute truth of the matter, and I am +satisfied that the time has come when no good purpose +is to be served by its suppression. As far as I know, +there have been only three accounts in the public +press: that in the Journal de Geneve on May 6th, +1891, the Reuter's despatch in the English papers on +May 7th, and finally the recent letter to which I have +alluded. Of these the first and second were extremely +condensed, while the 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 place between +Professor Moriarty and Mr. Sherlock Holmes. + +It may be remembered that after my marriage, and my +subsequent start in private practice, the very +intimate relations which had existed between Holmes +and myself became to some extent modified. He still +came to me from time to time when he desired a +companion in his investigation, but these occasions +grew more and more seldom, until I find that in the +year 1890 there were only three cases of which I +retain any record. During the winter of that year and +the early spring of 1891, I saw in the papers that he +had been engaged by the French government upon a +matter of supreme importance, and I received two notes +from Holmes, dated from Narbonne and from Nimes, from +which I gathered that his stay in France was likely to +be a long one. It was with some surprise, therefore, +that I 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, in answer to my look rather than to my +words; "I have been a little pressed of 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 I had been reading. Holmes edged his +way round the wall and flinging the shutters 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 am by no means a nervous man. At +the same time, it is stupidity rather than courage to +refuse to recognize danger when it is close upon you. +Might I trouble you for a match?" He drew in the +smoke of his cigarette as if the soothing influence +was grateful to him. + +"I must apologize for calling so late," said he, "and +I must further beg you to be so unconventional as to +allow me to leave your house presently by 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 his knuckles were burst and bleeding. + +"It is not an airy nothing, you see," said he, +smiling. "On the contrary, 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 away with 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 nature to take an aimless holiday, and +something about his pale, worn face told me that his +nerves were at their highest tension. He saw the +question in my eyes, and, putting his finger-tips +together and his elbows upon his knees, 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. "The man pervades London, and no one has +heard of him. That's what puts him on a pinnacle in +the records of crime. I tell you, Watson, in all +seriousness, that if I could beat that man, if I could +free society of him, I should feel that my own career +had reached its summit, and I should be prepared to +turn to some more placid line in life. Between +ourselves, the recent cases in which I have been of +assistance to the royal family of Scandinavia, and to +the French republic, have left me in such a position +that I could continue to live in the quiet fashion +which is most congenial to me, and to concentrate my +attention upon my chemical researches. But I could +not rest, Watson, I could not sit quiet in my chair, +if I thought that such a man as Professor Moriarty +were walking the streets of London unchallenged." + +"What has he done, then?" + +"His career has been an extraordinary one. He is a +man of good birth and excellent education, endowed by +nature with a phenomenal mathematical faculty. At the +age of twenty-one he wrote a treatise upon the +Binomial Theorem, which has had a European vogue. On +the strength of it he won the Mathematical Chair at +one of our smaller universities, and had, to all +appearances, a most brilliant career before him. But +the man had hereditary tendencies of the most +diabolical kind. A criminal strain ran in his blood, +which, instead of being modified, was increased and +rendered infinitely more dangerous by his +extraordinary mental powers. Dark rumors gathered +round him in the university town, and eventually he +was compelled to resign his chair and to come down to +London, where he set up as an army coach. So much is +known to the world, but what I am telling you now is +what I have myself discovered. + +"As you are aware, Watson, there is no one who knows +the higher criminal world of London so well as I do. +For years past I have continually been conscious of +some power behind the malefactor, some deep organizing +power which forever stands in the way of the law, and +throws its shield over the wrong-doer. Again and again +in cases of the most varying sorts--forgery cases, +robberies, murders--I have felt the presence of this +force, and I have deduced its action in many of those +undiscovered crimes in which I have not been +personally consulted. For years I have endeavored to +break through the veil which shrouded it, and at last +the time came when I seized my thread and followed it, +until it led me, after a thousand cunning windings, to +ex-Professor Moriarty of mathematical celebrity. + +"He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the +organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that +is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a +philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of +the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in +the center of its web, but that web has a thousand +radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of +them. He does little himself. He only plans. But +his agents are numerous and splendidly organized. Is +there a crime to be done, a paper to be abstracted, we +will say, a house to be rifled, a man to be +removed--the word is passed to the Professor, the +matter is organized and carried out. The agent may be +caught. In that case money is found for his bail or +his defence. But the central power which uses the +agent is never caught--never so much as suspected. +This was the organization which I deduced, Watson, and +which I devoted my whole energy to exposing and +breaking up. + +"But the Professor was fenced round with safeguards so +cunningly devised that, do what I would, it seemed +impossible to get evidence which would convict in a +court of law. You know my powers, my dear Watson, and +yet at the end of three months I was forced to confess +that I had at last met an antagonist who was my +intellectual equal. My horror at his crimes was lost +in my admiration at his skill. But at last he made a +trip--only a little, little trip--but it was more than +he could afford when I was so close upon him. I had +my chance, and, starting from that point, I have woven +my net round him until now it is all ready to close. +In three days--that is to say, on Monday next--matters +will be ripe, and the Professor, with all the +principal members of his gang, will be in the hands of +the police. Then will come the greatest criminal +trial of the century, the clearing up of over forty +mysteries, and the rope for all of them; but if we +move at all prematurely, you understand, they may slip +out of our hands even at the last moment. + +"Now, if I could have done this without the knowledge +of Professor Moriarty, all would have been well. But +he was too wily for that. He saw every step which I +took to draw my toils round him. Again and again he +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 could be written, it would take +its place as the most brilliant bit of +thrust-and-parry work in the history of detection. +Never have I risen to such a height, and never have I +been so hard pressed by an opponent. He cut deep, and +yet I just undercut him. This morning the last steps +were taken, and three days only were wanted to +complete the business. I was sitting in my room +thinking the matter over, when the door opened and +Professor Moriarty stood before me. + +"My nerves are fairly proof, Watson, but I must +confess to a start when I saw the very man who had +been so much in my thoughts standing there on my +threshhold. His appearance was quite familiar to me. +He is extremely tall and thin, his forehead domes out +in a white curve, and his two eyes are deeply sunken +in his head. He is clean-shaven, pale, and +ascetic-looking, retaining something of the professor +in his features. His shoulders are rounded from much +study, and his face protrudes forward, and is forever +slowly oscillating from side to side in a curiously +reptilian fashion. He peered at me with great +curiosity in his puckered eyes. + +"'You have less frontal development than I should have +expected,' said he, at last. 'It is a dangerous habit +to finger loaded firearms in the pocket of one's +dressing-gown.' + +"The fact is that upon his entrance I had instantly +recognized the extreme personal danger in which I lay. +The only conceivable escape for him lay in silencing +my tongue. In an instant I had slipped the revolver +from 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 +eyes which 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 to say.' + +"'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 from the table. But he merely drew out a +memorandum-book in which he had scribbled some dates. + +"'You crossed my path on the 4th of January,' said +he. 'On the 23d you incommoded me; by the middle of +February I was seriously inconvenienced by you; at the +end of March I was absolutely hampered in my plans; +and now, at the close of April, I find myself placed +in such a position through your continual persecution +that I am in positive danger of losing 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. 'You really must, you know.' + +"'After Monday,' said I. + +"'Tut, tut,' said he. 'I am quite sure that a man of +your intelligence will see that there can be but one +outcome to this affair. It is necessary that you +should withdraw. You have worked things in such a +fashion that we have only one resource left. It has been +an intellectual treat 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 +forced to take any extreme measure. You smile, sir, +but I assure you that it really would.' + +"'Danger is part of my trade,' I remarked. + +"'That is not danger,' said he. 'It is inevitable +destruction. You stand in the way not merely of an +individual, but of a mighty organization, the full +extent of which you, with all your cleverness, have +been unable to realize. You must stand clear, Mr. +Holmes, or be trodden under foot.' + +"'I am afraid,' said I, rising, 'that in the pleasure +of this conversation I am neglecting business of +importance which awaits me elsewhere.' + +"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 done what I could. I know every move of +your game. You can do nothing before Monday. It has +been a duel between you and me, Mr. Holmes. You hope +to place 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 are clever enough +to bring destruction upon me, rest assured that I +shall do as much to you.' + +"'You have paid me several compliments, Mr. Moriarty,' +said I. 'Let me pay you one in return when I say that +if I were assured of the former eventuality I would, +in the interests of the public, cheerfully accept the +latter.' + +"'I can promise you the one, but not the other,' he +snarled, and so turned his rounded back upon me, and +went peering and blinking out of the room. + +"That was my singular interview with Professor +Moriarty. I confess that it left an unpleasant effect +upon my mind. His soft, precise fashion of speech +leaves a conviction of sincerity which a mere bully +could not produce. Of course, you will say: 'Why not +take police precautions against him?' the reason is +that I am well convinced that it is from his agents +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 grow under his feet. I went out about +mid-day to transact some business in Oxford Street. +As I passed the corner which leads from Bentinck +Street on to the Welbeck Street crossing a two-horse +van furiously driven whizzed round and was on me like +a flash. I sprang for the foot-path and saved myself +by the fraction of a second. The van dashed round by +Marylebone Lane and was gone in an instant. I kept to +the pavement after that, Watson, but as I walked down +Vere Street a brick came down from the roof of one of +the houses, and was shattered to fragments at my feet. +I called the police and had the place examined. There +were slates and bricks piled up on the roof +preparatory to some repairs, and they would have me +believe that the wind had toppled over one of these. +Of course I knew better, but I could prove nothing. I +took a cab after that and reached my brother's rooms +in Pall Mall, where I spent the day. Now I have come +round to you, and on my way I was attacked by a rough +with a bludgeon. I knocked him down, and the police +have him in custody; but I can tell you with the most +absolute confidence that no possible connection will +ever be traced between the gentleman upon whose front +teeth I have barked my knuckles and the retiring +mathematical coach, who is, 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 +rooms was to close your shutters, and that I have been +compelled to ask your permission to leave the house by +some less conspicuous exit than the front door." + +I had often admired my friend's courage, but never +more than now, as he sat quietly checking off a series +of incidents which must have combined to 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 plans laid, and all will be well. Matters +have gone so far now that they can move without my +help as far as the arrest goes, though my presence is +necessary for a conviction. It is obvious, therefore, +that I cannot do better than get away for the few days +which remain before the police are at liberty to act. +It would be a great pleasure to me, therefore, if you +could 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 I beg, my dear Watson, that you will +obey them to the letter, for you are now playing a +double-handed game with me against the cleverest rogue +and the most powerful syndicate of criminals in +Europe. Now listen! You will dispatch whatever +luggage you intend to take by a trusty messenger +unaddressed to Victoria to-night. In the morning you +will send for a hansom, desiring your man to take +neither the first nor the second which may present +itself. Into this hansom you will jump, and you will +drive to the Strand end of the Lowther Arcade, +handing the address to the cabman upon a slip of +paper, with a request that he will not throw it away. +Have your fare ready, and the instant that your cab +stops, dash through the Arcade, timing yourself to +reach the other side at a quarter-past nine. You will +find a small brougham waiting close to the curb, +driven by a fellow with a heavy black cloak tipped at +the collar with red. Into this you will step, and you +will reach Victoria in time for the Continental +express." + +"Where shall I meet you?" + +"At the station. The second first-class carriage from +the front will be reserved for us." + +"The carriage is our rendezvous, then?" + +"Yes." + +It was in vain that I asked Holmes to remain for the +evening. It was evident to me that he thought he might +bring trouble to the roof he was under, and that that +was the motive which impelled him to go. With a few +hurried words as to our plans for the morrow he rose +and came out with me into the garden, clambering over +the wall which leads into Mortimer Street, and +immediately whistling for a hansom, in which I heard +him drive away. + +In the morning I obeyed Holmes's injunctions to the +letter. A hansom was procured with such precaution as +would prevent its being one which was placed ready for +us, and I drove immediately after breakfast to the +Lowther Arcade, through which I hurried at the top of +my speed. A brougham 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 rattled off +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 had no difficulty in finding the +carriage which Holmes had indicated, the less 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. The station clock marked +only seven minutes from the time when we were due to +start. In vain I searched among the groups of +travellers and leave-takers for the lithe figure of +my friend. There was no sign of him. I spent a few +minutes in assisting a venerable Italian priest, who +was endeavoring to make a porter understand, in his +broken English, that his luggage was to be booked +through to Paris. Then, having taken another look +round, I returned to my carriage, where I found that +the porter, in spite of the ticket, had given me my +decrepit Italian friend as a traveling companion. It +was useless for me to explain to him that his presence +was an intrusion, for my Italian was even more limited +than his English, so I shrugged my shoulders +resignedly, and continued to look out anxiously for my +friend. A chill of fear had come over me, as I +thought that his absence might mean that some blow had +fallen during the night. Already the doors had all +been shut and the whistle blown, when-- + +"My dear Watson," said a voice, "you have not even +condescended to say good-morning." + +I turned in uncontrollable astonishment. The aged +ecclesiastic had turned his face towards me. For an +instant the wrinkles were smoothed away, the nose drew +away from the chin, the lower lip ceased to protrude +and the mouth to mumble, the dull eyes regained their +fire, the drooping figure expanded. The next the +whole frame collapsed again, and Holmes had 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 to think that they are hot upon our +trail. Ah, there is Moriarty himself." + +The train had already begun to move as Holmes spoke. +Glancing back, I saw a tall man pushing his way +furiously through the crowd, and waving his hand as if +he desired to have the train stopped. It was too +late, however, for we were rapidly gathering momentum, +and an instant later had 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 and hat 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 was arrested. Otherwise they could not +have imagined that I had returned to my rooms. They +have evidently taken the precaution of watching you, +however, and that is what has brought Moriarty to +Victoria. You could not 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 a case without taking a mercenary into +your confidence. But we must plan what we are to do +about Moriarty now." + +"As this is an express, and as the boat runs in +connection with it, I should think we have shaken him +off very effectively." + +"My dear Watson, you evidently did not realize my +meaning when I said that this man may be taken as +being quite on the same intellectual plane as myself. +You do not imagine that if I were the pursuer I should +allow myself to be baffled by so slight an obstacle. +Why, then, should you think 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 at least 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 on his arrival." + +"It would be to ruin the work of three months. We +should get the big fish, but the smaller would dart +right and left out of the net. On Monday 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 so over to Dieppe. Moriarty will again +do what I should do. He will get on to 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, and make our way at +our leisure into Switzerland, via Luxembourg and +Basle." + +At Canterbury, therefore, we alighted, only to find +that we should have to wait an hour before we could +get a train to Newhaven. + +I was still looking rather ruefully after the rapidly +disappearing luggage-van which contained my wardrobe, +when Holmes pulled my sleeve and 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 open curve which +leads to the station. We had hardly time to take our +place behind 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 and rock over the points. "There are +limits, you see, to our friend's intelligence. It +would have been a coup-de-maitre had he deduced what +I would 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 murderous attack upon me. It is, however, a +game at which two may play. The question now is +whether we should take a premature lunch here, or run +our chance of starving before we reach the buffet at +Newhaven." + + +We made our way to Brussels that night and spent two +days there, moving on upon the third day as far as +Strasburg. On the Monday morning Holmes had +telegraphed to the London police, and in the evening +we found a reply waiting for us at our hotel. Holmes +tore it open, and then with a bitter 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 has given them the slip. Of course, when +I had left the country there was no one to cope with +him. But I did think that I had put the game in their +hands. I think that you had better return to England, +Watson." + +"Why?" + +"Because you will find me a dangerous companion now. +This man's occupation is gone. He is lost if he +returns to London. If I read his character right he +will devote his whole energies to revenging himself +upon me. He said as much in our short interview, and +I fancy that he meant it. I should certainly +recommend you to return to your practice." + +It was hardly an appeal to be successful with one who +was an old campaigner as well as an old friend. We +sat in the Strasburg salle-à-manger arguing the +question for half an hour, but the same night we 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 deep in snow, and so, +by way of Interlaken, to Meiringen. It was a lovely +trip, the dainty green of the spring below, the virgin +white of the winter above; but it was clear to me that +never for one instant did Holmes forget the shadow +which lay across him. In the homely Alpine villages +or in the lonely mountain passes, I could tell by his +quick glancing eyes and his sharp scrutiny of every +face that passed us, that he was well convinced that, +walk where we would, we could not walk ourselves clear +of the danger which was dogging our footsteps. + +Once, I remember, as we passed over the Gemmi, and +walked along the border of the melancholy Daubensee, a +large rock which had been dislodged from the ridge +upon our right clattered down and roared into the 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 a common +chance in the spring-time at that spot. He said +nothing, but he smiled at me with the air of a man who +sees the fulfillment of that which he had expected. + +And yet for all his watchfulness he was never +depressed. On the contrary, I can never recollect +having seen him in such exuberant spirits. Again and +again he recurred to the fact that if he could be +assured that society was freed from Professor Moriarty +he would cheerfully bring his own career to a +conclusion. + +"I think that I may go so far as to say, Watson, that +I have not lived wholly in vain," he remarked. "If my +record were closed to-night I could still survey it +with equanimity. The air of London is the sweeter for +my presence. In over a thousand cases I am not aware +that I have ever used my powers upon the wrong side. +Of late I have been tempted to look into the problems +furnished by nature rather than those more superficial +ones for which our artificial state of society is +responsible. Your memoirs will draw to an end, +Watson, upon the day that I crown my career by the +capture or extinction of the most dangerous and +capable criminal in Europe." + +I shall be brief, and yet exact, in the little which +remains for me to tell. It is not a subject on which +I would willingly dwell, and yet I am conscious 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 the elder. +Our landlord was an intelligent man, and spoke +excellent English, having served for three years as +waiter at the Grosvenor Hotel in London. 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 the hamlet of Rosenlaui. We had +strict injunctions, however, on no account to 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 the smoke from a +burning house. The shaft into which the river hurls +itself is an immense chasm, lined by glistening +coal-black rock, and narrowing into a creaming, +boiling pit of incalculable depth, which brims over +and shoots the stream onward over its jagged lip. The +long sweep of green water roaring forever down, and +the thick flickering curtain of spray hissing forever +upward, turn a man giddy with their constant whirl and +clamor. We stood near the edge peering down at the +gleam of the breaking water far below us against the +black rocks, and listening to the half-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 had turned to +do so, when we saw a Swiss lad come running along it +with a letter in his hand. It bore the mark of the +hotel which we had just left, and was addressed to me +by the landlord. It appeared that within a very few +minutes of our leaving, an English lady had arrived +who was in the last stage of consumption. She had +wintered at Davos Platz, and was journeying now to +join her friends at Lucerne, when a sudden hemorrhage +had overtaken her. It was thought that she could +hardly live a few hours, but it would be a great +consolation to her to see an English doctor, and, if I +would only return, etc. The good Steiler assured me +in a postscript that he would himself look upon my +compliance as a very great 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 to refuse the request of a +fellow-countrywoman dying in a strange land. Yet I +had my scruples about leaving Holmes. It was finally +agreed, however, that he should retain the young Swiss +messenger with him as guide and companion while I +returned to Meiringen. My friend would stay some +little time at the fall, he said, and would then walk +slowly over the hill to Rosenlaui, where I was to +rejoin him in the evening. As I turned away 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 ever destined to see of him in +this world. + +When I was near the bottom of the descent I looked +back. It was impossible, from that position, to see +the fall, but I could see the curving 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 behind him. I noted him, and the energy with +which he walked but he passed from my mind again as I +hurried on upon my errand. + +It may have been a little over an hour before I +reached Meiringen. Old Steiler 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 his eyebrows 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, it must have been written by that tall +Englishman who came in after you had gone. He said--" + +But I waited for none of the landlord's explanations. +In a tingle of fear I was already running down the +village street, and making for the path which I had so +lately descended. It had taken me an hour to come +down. For all my efforts two more had passed before I +found myself at the fall of Reichenbach once more. +There was Holmes's Alpine-stock still leaning against +the rock by which I had left him. But there was no +sign of him, and it was in vain that I shouted. My +only answer was my own voice 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-foot path, with sheer +wall on one side and sheer drop on the other, until +his enemy had overtaken him. The young Swiss had gone +too. He had probably been in the pay of Moriarty, and +had left the two men together. And then what 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 the horror of the thing. Then I began +to think of Holmes's own methods and to try to +practise them in reading this tragedy. It was, alas, +only too easy to do. During our conversation we had +not gone to the end of the path, and the Alpine-stock +marked the place where we had stood. The blackish +soil is kept forever soft by the incessant drift of +spray, and a bird would leave its tread upon it. Two +lines of footmarks were clearly marked along the +farther end of the path, both leading away from me. +There were none returning. A few yards from the end +the soil was all ploughed up into a patch of mud, and +the branches and ferns which fringed the chasm were +torn and bedraggled. I lay upon my face and peered +over with the spray spouting up all around me. It had +darkened since I left, and now I could only see here +and there the glistening of moisture upon the black +walls, and far away down at the end of the shaft the +gleam of the broken water. I shouted; but only the +same half-human cry of the fall was borne back to my +ears. + +But it was destined that I should after all have a +last word of greeting from my friend and comrade. I +have said that his Alpine-stock had been left leaning +against a rock which jutted on to the path. From the +top of this bowlder the gleam of something bright +caught my eye, and, raising my hand, I found that it +came from the silver cigarette-case which he used to +carry. As I took it up a small square of paper upon +which it had lain fluttered down on to the ground. +Unfolding it, I found that it consisted of three pages +torn from his note-book and addressed to me. It was +characteristic of the man that the direction was a +precise, and the writing 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 courtesy of Mr. Moriarty, who awaits my +convenience for the final discussion of those +questions which lie between us. He has been giving me +a sketch of the methods by which he avoided the +English police and kept himself informed of our +movements. They certainly confirm the very high +opinion which I had formed of his abilities. I am +pleased to think that I shall be able to free society +from any further effects of his presence, though I +fear that it is at a cost which will give pain to my +friends, and especially, my dear Watson, to you. I +have already explained to you, however, that my career +had in any case reached its crisis, and that no +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 convinced that the letter from +Meiringen was a hoax, and I allowed you to depart on +that errand under the persuasion that some development +of this sort would follow. Tell Inspector Patterson +that the papers which he needs to convict the gang are +in pigeonhole M., done up in a blue envelope and +inscribed "Moriarty." I made every disposition of my +property before leaving England, and handed it to my +brother Mycroft. Pray give my greetings 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 examination by experts leaves little +doubt that a personal contest between the two men +ended, as it could hardly fail to end in such a +situation, in their reeling over, locked in each +other's arms. Any attempt at recovering the bodies +was absolutely hopeless, and there, deep down in that +dreadful caldron of swirling water and seething foam, +will lie for all time the most dangerous criminal and +the foremost champion of the law of their generation. +The Swiss youth was never found again, and there can +be no doubt that he was one of the numerous agents +whom Moriarty kept in this employ. As to the gang, it +will be within the memory of the public how completely +the evidence which Holmes had accumulated exposed +their organization, and how heavily the hand of the +dead man weighed upon them. Of their terrible chief +few details came out during the proceedings, and if I +have now been compelled to make a clear statement of +his career it is due to those injudicious champions +who have endeavored to clear his memory by attacks +upon him whom I shall ever regard as the best and the +wisest man whom I have ever known. + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes + |