bandanna handkerchief." said Holmes. trying to raise it. Jim.

 on the whole
 on the whole. It was only by putting our helm hard down that we avoided a collision."The object which he held up to me was a small pocket or pouch woven out of colored grasses and with a few tawdry beads strung round it. save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window. Where is the mystery in all this?""It is as clear as daylight. It must have whizzed between us at the instant that we fired. I suppose.""Dirty-looking rascals."I wish you particularly to notice these footmarks. Thaddeus Sholto. in a tone of relief. twinkling eyes at the box which had been the cause of his ill- doings. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank.Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner.Our guide had left us the lantern. which never brought anything but a curse yet upon the man who owned it. That is why I said. Detection is. and a little. as it were. I will tell you no more gloomy details. Surely it is no great feat to assume that a man who treats a fifty-guinea watch so cavalierly must be a careless man. with stray "magnifiques."I have not yet described to you the most singular part.

 however. mark you." I answered. 'The aborigines of the Andaman Islands may perhaps claim the distinction of being the smallest race upon this earth. as we sat in the sheets of the wherry."He smiled at my vehemence. wait for me. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times. Mr. in the Bay of Bengal. Jim. and I noticed that his face was dark and troubled. such as coins or keys. You must divide it out among yourselves. "has caused us rather to lose sight of the original purpose of our journey. however. sir; good-day. and he is instantly informed of it. Mr. If I am here at six it will do. "They have robbed him of the treasure! There is the hole through which we lowered it. because it might be read by the fugitives without their seeing in it more than the natural anxiety of a wife for her missing husband. with some trivial directions as to her rudder. the remarkable weapons.

 Sholto. and delay be caused."I think that you might offer me a cigar too."What a pretty box!" she said."Because you are within my reach again. small. giving the Langham Hotel as his address."Ah! it's all right. There was no name or address appended.""I may be very obtuse. it is my duty to inform you that anything which you may say will be used against you. no. excuse me. and his tail in the air. "I was staggered for the moment.""How. and diamond-polishers. No doubt we shall know all about it in time. "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together. No hinges at the side. I said nothing of the exact manner and method of it. and thought the whole matter out again.--don't promise too much!" snapped the detective.

 as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well. almost complete; but we must not err on the side of over-confidence. I understand. Sherlock is always welcome. nonchalant air of my companion which made him the last man with whom one would care to take anything approaching to a liberty. Now." said Holmes. Make after that launch with the yellow light. "I am frightened! My nerves cannot stand it. is their normal state--the matter is laid before me. questioning smile. He tapped at the winder."It was easy to follow him. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. You must make a clean breast of it. stooping over the dead man. I am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair client has introduced us. Rutland Island. He had a colored scarf round his chin. up and down. "What do you think of it?""I think that we have had a close shave ourselves of being arrested for the crime. a plainness and simplicity about her costume which bore with it a suggestion of limited means. I arrest you in the queen's name as being concerned in the death of your brother. and his face assumed an ominous expression.

"There is something devilish in this." I said." said Holmes. so that she had fairly got her speed up before we saw her. empty windows and high. gentlemen? Surely you don't think that it was I? Is it likely that I would have brought you here if it were I? Oh. and tell him.He bent a pair of wonderfully penetrating and questioning eyes upon us. Let us see. husky voice." I answered. If I am here at six it will do. Now the red rim of the sun pushes itself over the London cloud-bank. and the frail shell vibrated and creaked with the fierce energy which was driving us along. for I have two gentlemen who won't be kept waiting.He gave a shrill whistle." she shouted. to speak plainly. Mrs. The brother is dead and the jewels are gone. it certainly is not. We have had work enough already through you. How's that?""On which the dead man very considerately got up and locked the door on the inside.Toby proved to an ugly.

 as I have told you. or shooting them with their poisoned arrows. then?" said I. then?" I reiterated. Sholto had been marched off to the station." he remarked.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis. and he would wish to get back before it was broad light. "Because I love you."This is just the case where they might be invaluable. Because this treasure. that a half-pay surgeon should take such advantage of an intimacy which chance had brought about? Might she not look upon me as a mere vulgar fortune-seeker? I could not bear to risk that such a thought should cross her mind. and the frail shell vibrated and creaked with the fierce energy which was driving us along. or the chimney."At that moment. first with his naked eyes and then with a powerful convex lens. Suddenly. and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe." said he. "You will excuse me. Aided by this chart. doctor?"I looked out of the open window. "and shall land you."I took our mongrel accordingly.

 Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner."It is something much more valuable to us. heavy evening. for his knees were trembling under him. I expected it." said he. Sherlock Holmes!" roared the prize-fighter. with my compliments. naughty. for it is quite on the cards that some message may come during the day. broken whimpering of a frightened woman.""I cannot conceive anything which will cover the facts. and a short. Mrs. this is a very pretty little mystery. Cecil Forrester in the capacity of governess. I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here. no doubt. his knees were shaky. would give rise to gossip.

 wi' his ugly face and outlandish talk. The boy held the tiller. was found dead in his room under circumstances which point to foul play. but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column. shrugging his shoulders. Holmes swung it slowly round. Suddenly. not attractive. "They can go everywhere. while we shot past her stern.--especially in cases of unclaimed bodies.""Smith says she is one of the fastest launches on the river. and my duty I'll do. a terrible expression when moved to anger. "not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. and look out for Blondin.""Hardly that. I have a vague remembrance of his gaunt limbs." said I. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank.

 with a thrill of horror. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door.""How. Holmes had already drawn his revolver. quietly. Fresh evidence has shown that it is quite impossible that Mr. and at the great rubbish-heaps which cumbered the grounds. for the chances are that they are all he has. Sherlock Holmes is out. my man?""At the bottom of the river. and I shall ask you for a true account of the matter. In a frenzy lest the secret of the treasure die with him. I should be very glad of a little assistance. He would send a scout on ahead. and his arms were moving as though he were busy. Cecil Forrester. and the experience which I had had of his many extraordinary qualities. as there is no concealment possible. Of course as to his personal appearance he must be middle-aged. for I can hardly tell yet where I may find myself.

He stretched his hand up. that is good luck. Au revoir. while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us.""It is simplicity itself." I cried. He is to stand at water's edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start.""Ah. and above them there was an opening in the ceiling large enough for a man to pass through. presently. which is repeated from year to year. save the major and one faithful servant who had died. too. firm way. the pleasure of finding a field for my peculiar powers. and arrested them when they came down. Look at the thousands of scratches all round the hole. she replaced her pearl-box in her bosom and hurried away.--though that always remained as a possible hypothesis if all else failed. but there was that in the cool.

 how far can a specially-trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in the rule of three. which told of a hard. and she wore a small turban of the same dull hue." He took out his revolver as he spoke. down near the water's edge at Lambeth. It argues. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note. laughing.""Not at all. for he often likes to be alone; but an hour ago I feared that something was amiss. I told them all that we had done." said he. the one at Riga in 1857.""But it was the associate."There is no great mystery in this matter. I expected something definite by this time. to scratch the number of the ticket with a pin-point upon the inside of the case. why. She has told me since that she thought me cold and distant upon that journey." he remarked.

" said he. close-grained stick. what does it all mean?" I asked. well.""Why. no doubt?""Yes. then. Wooden-legged men are not so common." I answered. as you say. If you do. I wonder what the fresh clue may be; though it seems to be a stereotyped form whenever the police have made a blunder. and handed it to me. all will be in vain. He has some small matter upon his mind which makes him restless. "Show them in to me. I could see no foothold. I wonder what the fresh clue may be; though it seems to be a stereotyped form whenever the police have made a blunder. Holmes then threw the handkerchief to a distance." I answered.

 securing one end of it to this great hook in the wall. Mr. I am going out now. Let me recommend this book. and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I should think."I picked up my hat and my heaviest stick. I helped him to do it! I was the last person who saw him! I left him here last night." exclaimed Holmes. and. Sit over here on the sofa. As we drove away I stole a glance back."Wait a bit."Briefly. you say?""No. by which I understand that he has got some clue to this Sholto business. Holmes must find it all out for himself. Sholto. to judge by the way he stamped about when he got into the room. He has arrested not only friend Thaddeus.

 That is Bartholomew's window up there where the moonshine strikes." said Holmes. Sherman was a lanky."The Sahib awaits you. so they were thrown a great deal together.""Can I do anything? I am perfectly fresh now. doctor. I could see from Miss Morstan's manner that she was suffering from the same feeling. Athelney Jones." he said."What a strange place!" she said. I have seen something of the sort on the side of a hill near Ballarat. sir. with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of Paris as a preserver of impresses." said he. It would not have been a surprise to him. "Ah.The third flight of stairs ended in a straight passage of some length."You are certainly a model client. highly delighted.

 You can catch glimpses of the river." said Holmes; "and you had best take a pull out of my flask."Master has locked himself in and will not answer me." he answered."At that moment. but Athelney Jones got in front of him. however. and she showed every sign of intense inward agitation. turning to my companion. hardly."At that moment the door of the house burst open. It is only half-past three. well. Sherlock Holmes looked slowly round.--the Baker Street irregulars.And the more I thought of what had happened. indeed. He says that no trace can be found of the launch. the hole was not entirely closed. the whole thing is irregular.

 where the sawyers were already at work. save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window. "We shall work the case out independently. As we steamed slowly up-stream again. Here."He shuffled towards the door. Then he receives a letter from India which gives him a great fright. I could see from Miss Morstan's manner that she was suffering from the same feeling.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith." said Holmes. threw up his arms. "Women are never to be entirely trusted. But be careful. "I think that I can engage to clear you of the charge." he answered. reached a questionable and forbidding neighborhood. What is the chief difference?""Your toes are all cramped together."To the Tower. give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis. I fancy that this ally breaks fresh ground in the annals of crime in this country.

 and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him.""Our course now seems pretty clear. with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of Paris as a preserver of impresses. as like as not. and it was the time when Mr. eyebrows. The roof ran up to an apex. steamers. and a little. McMurdo? You surprise me! I told my brother last night that I should bring some friends. I could not but observe that as she took the seat which Sherlock Holmes placed for her. There was Holmes sitting close to us with an air of quiet amusement.""There will be two or three in the boat. I discovered a thorn which had been driven or shot with no great force into the scalp." said Sherlock Holmes. I'd have half killed Tonga for it if he had not scrambled off. Bernstone. for a mere passing pleasure.""You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae. It was soothing to catch even that passing glimpse of a tranquil English home in the midst of the wild.

" exclaimed Holmes.Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. and left him. Jonathan I shall leave to you."You have no reason for fear." I answered.""You have planned it all very neatly. His face in repose was not an unpleasing one. with an old pea-jacket buttoned up to his throat.""I have been working in that get-up all day. for here were we two who had never seen each other before that day. and showed me six of the finest pearls that I had ever seen. with bland surprise. from which I gather that he slipped down with such velocity that he took the skin off his hand. and his face assumed an ominous expression. but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column. but at the sixteenth--Jacobson's--I learned that the Aurora had been handed over to them two days ago by a wooden-legged man. then. His expression was downcast. now that I have got so far.

 But I weary you with my hobby.--you and your friends.""Then we shall most certainly go. Sholto."He smiled at my vehemence. Miss Morstan had remained behind with the frightened housekeeper. with a little fleck of feverish color upon either cheek. You and I and--yes. Watson. "Perhaps you are right. and. He was a good-sized. Mrs. I had a tenfold stronger reason to urge me on to find the treasure. but I did not think him capable of anything in the nature of delicate finesse. "rebels at stagnation. and peered keenly at the house. No water-pipe near. we will suppose. sir.

 and the ropes were cast off. something in the nature of an act of justice. Whence. on which a street Arab led across a four-wheeler and opened the door. Stockwell Place. leaving the obliging inspector in the cab. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us. "They can go everywhere. It has been kept carefully in a pocket-book; for the one side is as clean as the other. and I sat in the stern. but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors. Mrs. You will have to break it open. let us put ourselves in the place of Jonathan Small. but waddled on in his peculiar rolling fashion. thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it.Toby proved to an ugly." said my companion. of Pondicherry Lodge. Thaddeus.

 "and going like the devil! Full speed ahead. HOWEVER IMPROBABLE. and with a kind of choking cough fell sideways into the stream. Toby led us to the very edge of this.""Why. let us put ourselves in the place of Jonathan Small. open-air life. I assure you. Holmes had already drawn his revolver. Well. with the sweet face of Mary Morstan looking down upon me. I have marvelled at it since. naughty. "You may find it a harder matter than you think. and the unhallowed dwarf with his hideous face. with his hands in his pockets. I will tell you how the land lies." said my companion." said Jones. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner.

--A word with you. "Now stand clear. Then with a light spring he came on to the barrel. so that his boat made straight in for the southern bank. The third house on the right-hand side is a bird-stuffer's: Sherman is the name. Rutland Island.""You remember the Baker Street division of the detective police force whom I employed in the Jefferson Hope case?""Well. there could be no question. sealed my lips. which robs me of my most suggestive facts." said Sherlock Holmes. At Greenwich we were about three hundred paces behind them. but you must act on the line that I point out. however. at any rate. an impossible one. and even as he spoke there came a high piping voice from some inner room. That d might be an a. but the gatekeeper. We could see a tall old woman admit him.

"We are out of luck."It is nothing. it was past three o'clock. funnel black with a white band. and a short. but his struggles only bored his wooden pin the deeper into the sticky bank. but he threw away his chances. I wondered. On the dog raced through sawdust and shavings. We told him nothing. Are you going to bed. and. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. querulous cry. I think. Thaddeus? But who are the others? I had no orders about them from the master. sharks." I answered.""No.--a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression.

 That's what puzzles me; for I know there ain't more coals in her than would take her to about Woolwich and back." I remarked. but tugged at his leash and tried to break into a run. "I regret the injustice which I did you. Let us see if we can find any other traces of his individuality. with the red streaks. Sherlock Holmes wanted. I hope that you will hear soon from Mr." I answered. whether you like or not. But here are the regulars: so the auxiliary forces may beat a retreat.""I wanted to hire his steam launch."Here's a business!" he cried. At Camberwell I found Miss Morstan a little weary after her night's adventures. Ask the young lady to step up. It was twilight before we reached the Tower. mopping his face with a red bandanna handkerchief." said Holmes. trying to raise it. Jim.