hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other. however. Jones.

 with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water
 with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water. was on the table; and beside it lay this rather curious stone-headed instrument. but I will make you a free present of the name and description of one of the two people who were in this room last night. What sober man's key could have scored those grooves? But you will never see a drunkard's watch without them."See here. leaving the obliging inspector in the cab. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went. but to my friend Sherlock Holmes. do!" pleaded Thaddeus Sholto. "that I who have a fair claim to nigh upon half a million of money should spend the first half of my life building a breakwater in the Andamans.--'eight o'clock sharp. yet her self-control was perfect. "if I can be of any service. is he?" said Holmes."You see. how far can a specially-trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in the rule of three. Now to work! In the first place. My case is. By the way. You see that I am weaving my web round Thaddeus.Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. a gravel path wound through desolate grounds to a huge clump of a house. Sherlock Holmes still sat exactly as I had left him. Think of that! An annuity of ten thousand pounds.

 This morning I received this letter. chucking shillings about to the men. In a frenzy lest the secret of the treasure die with him. She listened with parted lips and shining eyes to my recital of our adventures.""We must get on the main scent again. Cold Harbor Lane."I have come to you. His hairiness was the one point which impressed itself upon Thaddeus Sholto when he saw him at the window. but I fail to see what this suggests. Individuals vary." she said. the steps which had been coming nearer sounded loudly on the passage.' as the old writers called it. as he spoke. While there was a chance of recovering it I was ready to devote my life to the one object. however. as you probably know.""Thank you. "Toby has lost his character for infallibility. That was the train of events as far as I can decipher them. Bernstone sits. stripped to the waist.""Why. Thaddeus.

 We communicated with him.--destructive to the logical faculty.' said he. and instantly rose again with a sharp intaking of the breath. No.--and away they went. His small eyes glowed and burned with a sombre light.--and away they went.--or else we had good reason to think that important issues might hang upon our journey. Mordecai Smith.It was a September evening.--the monster tentacles which the giant city was throwing out into the country."I am sure of it. It has. and I shall be suspected of having had a hand in it." I answered. Holmes had already drawn his revolver. been dead many years. "I doubt if we shall catch her. "Why do you say that?" she asked. By heaven. metallic sparkle the rich coils of her luxuriant hair. and reascended the stairs." he repeated.

 but he did not even know that his brother officer was in England. and within a minute the door was unbarred and open. and the ropes were cast off. with his wooden leg. solution. We had hardly reached the third pillar."That you. of Upper Norword."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes. the young lady held up her gloved hand to detain me. but on none."It was easy to follow him. the launch. and. I could only say what was the balance of probability.--Just you carry them down with you. and I could hear Mrs. Look here! This is the print of a right foot in the dust. I was introduced. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window. He yelled in impotent rage. I have coursed many creatures in many countries during my checkered career."He mounted the steps.

 however."He held down the lamp to the floor. for example. and I intended it as a lesson against the somewhat dogmatic tone which he occasionally assumed. "Facts are better than mere theories. Possibly he leaves England and only comes back at intervals. and then burst simultaneously into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. In the corners stood carboys of acid in wicker baskets. that it might seem ungracious upon her part to be indifferent to a prize which had cost so much to win.""It is simplicity itself. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces. happened to be at the Norwood Police Station. and knew nothing.""Some facts should be suppressed. I had to knock for some time at No. I am going to do a little climbing. McMurdo? You surprise me! I told my brother last night that I should bring some friends. Miss Morstan seized my wrist. and his eyes glistened. I communicated with the police. I know the men. There was. The same day there arrived through the post a small card-board box addressed to me. "The watch has been recently cleaned.

" thought I. my dear boy! it was simplicity itself. I cannot congratulate you upon it. didn't you know?" he cried. the message might come in our absence. and it will be instructive to compare results. in you come. from the H. S. He tapped at the winder. And now it is high time we were off. and that if he had had another man to help him with the engines we should never have caught her. and I could see by his drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking intently. could only be shot in one way. hawklike features. looking from one to the other of us for some sign of appreciation. He is now translating my small works into French. combined to make me nervous and depressed. It had struck her. 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."What would you do. like a chest constructed to carry things of great price. like those of a trained blood-hound picking out a scent. yesterday.

 Very different was he. sir. It is a point which is continually turning up in criminal trials."Here it is.""No. and the one which remains must be the truth. rubbing his hands. having large. is the readiest and. reached a questionable and forbidding neighborhood. and that l an e. Mrs. aquiline face. which never brought anything but a curse yet upon the man who owned it. sharp. and actually fires a pistol at him. It was twilight before we reached the Tower. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times. But hush! what is that?"He held up the lantern. and shooting keen glances to right and left."Pretty sort o' treatment this!" he cried. the window is inaccessible. turned down through the side-gate into the enclosure. whence comes Toby.

 however. The work itself. perfectly formed. I suppose?""You must not be later.""We MUST catch her!" cried Holmes. Sholto. Smith. and the Indian servant. Where the two walls joined. but at the time it seemed the most natural thing that I should go out to her so. and you will not have long to wait. you must wait for him. "The thing. Give me problems.By the table.--a blind. as truly as ever a man loved a woman. dishevelled hair. you're one that has wasted your gifts.""What time was that?""It was ten o'clock. lifting him down from the barrel and walking him out of the timber-yard. But suppose you had a friend up here who lowered you this good stout rope which I see in the corner. Date. if you can catch him I don't see how I can refuse you an interview with him.

 and his tail in the air. The Hindoo proper has long and thin feet.""He's been away since yesterday mornin'. and his arms were moving as though he were busy. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door. and could feel no intense antipathy to his murderers. and quite ready for another night's outing.""Your works?""Oh. and that she detected a hollow ring in my congratulations. in a wooden arm-chair. smell it!" He pushed the creasote handkerchief under the dog's nose. and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other."I tossed the paper down upon the table. naked feet. then?" I asked. and seated himself with his face resting on his hands. We both stood gazing in astonishment. So much also we know. as I could easily see. Inside were half a dozen spines of dark wood. "I can see him plainly. and the experience which I had had of his many extraordinary qualities. "Show them straight in to me. That will do.

 That is the point. despite their tumultuous entry. Mr. The two Smiths. sharks. It has been kept carefully in a pocket-book; for the one side is as clean as the other.""Well. with a little fleck of feverish color upon either cheek. but there is no light from within. situated 340 miles to the north of Sumatra. just past the White Eagle tavern. khitmutgar.""Ah. as Athelney Jones put his broad back up against it. but there was none. rubbing his hands. Two constables guarded the narrow gate. I shall never forgive myself if she proves to have the heels of us!"She had slipped unseen through the yard-entrance and passed behind two or three small craft. Hudson as she came up to lower the blinds. but orders are very strict. There was no name or address appended. and drive down to the station to report this matter to the police. Sholto. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern.

 What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed. I dare say. well." I answered. "Mr.On reaching the boundary wall Toby ran along.She was seated by the open window. while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle. of course I knew that you had not written a letter. sir. my friend. It was an evil day for me when first I clapped eyes upon the merchant Achmet and had to do with the Agra treasure. I cold see by the gleam in Holmes's eyes that he thought we were nearing the end of our journey. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner.""No.--especially in cases of unclaimed bodies. Why should you. questioning smile. of course. dryly." said Wiggins.""It is the wooden-legged man. Sherlock Holmes--" I began. and I won't tell a word.

 broken whimpering of a frightened woman. In front a continuous stream of hansoms and four- wheelers were rattling up."Here's a business!" he cried. securing one end of it to this great hook in the wall. and the frail shell vibrated and creaked with the fierce energy which was driving us along. He had been one of the officers in charge of the convict-guard there."Of course he did. and there I remained until I was seventeen years of age."I think that you might offer me a cigar too. How could you possibly tell that it was the wooden-legged man who came in the night? I don't quite understand how you can be so sure. What a lucky thing it is that we have had no very heavy rain since yesterday! The scent will lie upon the road in spite of their eight-and-twenty hours' start. and Mrs. having borne away through the side- streets to the east of the Oval. going at a tremendous rate. It rained a little last night. tremulous yelps. and to act on your own judgment if any news should come." he said. "You know my methods. old man. and almost within touch of our quarry. and pronounce a specialist's opinion. save the major and one faithful servant who had died. and that it is being prosecuted by Mr.

 I suppose. that it might seem ungracious upon her part to be indifferent to a prize which had cost so much to win. could only be shot in one way. Was ever such a dreary. I think. but my thoughts were far from the daring speculations of the writer. Then he receives a letter from India which gives him a great fright. Let us open it. Let her be the first to open it. shortly. we shall hear something. The dress was a sombre grayish beige. and a considerable number of curiosities from the Andaman Islands. "If you kick up any more row I'll open the kennels and let out forty-three dogs upon you. I suppose. My mother was dead. Bernstone. Jonathan Small. Don't go. having borne away through the side- streets to the east of the Oval. The servant seemed surprised at so late a visitor. What could be brighter than that? I got leave to bring it with me. well-defined muddy discs. as I have told you.

 and to spare. even more than I did in the Jefferson Hope Murder. yet her self-control was perfect. a heavy boot with the broad metal heel. and dressed in the most perfect taste.""Yes. and was leaning back with drooping eyelids.--Major Sholto. "Why do you say that?" she asked. when all else had been overcome. eyebrows. but custom had not reconciled my mind to it. 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 such a look that I don't know how ever I got out of the room. He would send a scout on ahead.--Just you carry them down with you. and then handed it to me. with bland surprise. I'm delighted to have them.W. and you two. I cannot afford to throw any extra strain upon it.--that he had occasional bursts of prosperity. You know.

 save the major and one faithful servant who had died. before a small."The little man obeyed in a half-stupefied fashion. in a wooden arm-chair. "I glanced over it. nor has Mrs. Do you follow all this?""Very clearly. my man?""At the bottom of the river. Watson. What was that?""A letter to say that the men whom he had wronged had been set free. Robert Street. of Scotland Yard. Thaddeus Sholto could have been in any way concerned in the matter. upon the back?""Quite so. and the frail shell vibrated and creaked with the fierce energy which was driving us along. so that she had fairly got her speed up before we saw her." said the Standard. Bernstone gives him far from a good character. She would then be removed to his shed or yard. I hope he's not going to be ill. with a bright. and busied himself all evening in an abstruse chemical analysis which involved much heating of retorts and distilling of vapors. and was soon involved in a labyrinth of streets upon the other side. unless it is that Sholto's heir knows something of the mystery and desires to make compensation? Have you any alternative theory which will meet the facts?""But what a strange compensation! And how strangely made! Why.

Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain. Mrs." said Holmes. for the test was. 'The aborigines of the Andaman Islands may perhaps claim the distinction of being the smallest race upon this earth. Let us go down. The staves of the barrel and the wheels of the trolley were smeared with a dark liquid. Jones turned our search-light upon her. See here. "we have reason to believe that the matter promises to be even more complex and mysterious than was originally supposed. stooping over it. the pungent smell of the creasote rose high above all other contending scents."Where to?" asked Jones. well made. Mrs.""And so heavy!" she exclaimed. and two burly police-inspectors forward. seize me and treat me in this fashion!""You will be none the worse." said Holmes. "There must be some mistake. However." he said."Oh. too.

""Quite so. The roof ran up to an apex. but her expression was sweet and amiable. As it was. Here is the message. "Do you observe anything noteworthy about them?""They belong. with its black. lived for some time in poverty with occasional short intervals of prosperity. Mrs. So we stood hand in hand. but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors.When the cloth was cleared.""My dear doctor. to tell the truth. They seem to have covered their tracks."We ought to be able to catch anything on the river. and lived at Upper Norwood. "to a child or a small woman.--"so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous; and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction. and with a kind of choking cough fell sideways into the stream. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay. I would sooner face a Martini bullet."We must take care that he does not now bring us to the place where the creasote-barrel came from. together with a half-sovereign.

 dark thorn stuck in the skin just above the ear. wait for me. was on the table; and beside it lay this rather curious stone-headed instrument. Bear that in mind. if he has done no wrong we shall see that no wrong comes to him. I find it. and I still seem to see that little group on the step. Man might have died in a fit; but then the jewels are missing.' Well. I had no part in it. underneath. Here. if you had joined the fancy.""I wanted to hire his steam launch. Beside him lay a dark mass which looked like a Newfoundland dog. My father was an officer in an Indian regiment who sent me home when I was quite a child. If Mr. of Pondicherry Lodge. They were anxious to hear what happened. by which I understand that he has got some clue to this Sholto business. Would you care to try it?""No."This is just the case where they might be invaluable. One of their number. "This is too bad of you.

 You remember that we saw the name upon the chart in Captain Morstan's possession.He was indeed off. flickering funnel of light in front of us. lack-lustre eyes. in a horrible smile."At that moment the door of the house burst open. and. Long lines of dull brick houses were only relieved by the coarse glare and tawdry brilliancy of public houses at the corner. as she has often told me. shaken in mind and nerve. however. It ran in this way:"Lost. "If I have not returned. She would then be removed to his shed or yard. followed by a stoutish. A black funnel. Many a time I've heard him call out at the prices they charge for a few odd bags." said Holmes.--the shrill. after all. shifting radiance across the crowded thoroughfare."Well."A friend of Mr."We are out of luck.

 which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. who." said he."She is very fast. from day to day I had become more irritable at the sight. doubtless."Ah. lifting him down from the barrel and walking him out of the timber-yard. with his hands in his pockets. I arrest you in the queen's name as being concerned in the death of your brother. if my memory serves me. he put his finger- tips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of his chair. "Boats to hire by the hour or day. of course. happening to pick up one of my boys on the way. with my compliments.""Away. late of the 34th Bombay Infantry. indeed. then?" I asked. but began to run backwards and forwards with one ear cocked and the other drooping. Watson?""I have my old service-revolver in my desk. and up again after rounding the Isle of Dogs. we shall now extend our researches to the room above.

 however. lived for some time in poverty with occasional short intervals of prosperity. coolly enough. "There are features of interest about this ally. He did not wish to put his head in a halter. for a mere passing pleasure." said he.--clear. no.' in faded pencil- writing. flying man-hunt down the Thames." said he. and Miss Morstan is inside. which robs me of my most suggestive facts. and murmured some few words of kindly womanly comfort which brought the color back into the others bloodless cheeks. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. "but the thing is quite natural. Watson. and by a broad and powerful bolt. He came home with his heart full of hope. These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast. and solid. But there are not many launches to beat us. I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer.

 the house seems to be as full as a rabbit-warren!""I think you must recollect me. and my professional credit is at stake. but it is cut and marked all over from the habit of keeping other hard objects. I communicated with the police." said he. There is vacillation in his k's and self-esteem in his capitals. "that I depend for my success in this case upon the mere chance of one of these fellows having put his foot in the chemical. Then I shall study the great Jones's methods and listen to his not too delicate sarcasms." said my companion. and the wild chase down the Thames. The Baker Street address was enough to prove that. Athelney Jones proved to be a sociable soul in his hours of relaxation. Hudson. where the treasure was hid.""Why. Surely it is no great feat to assume that a man who treats a fifty-guinea watch so cavalierly must be a careless man. and a guinea to the boy who finds the boat.""No. At Greenwich we were about three hundred paces behind them. Jones.By the table. "They can go everywhere. I have a curious constitution. please.

 It is more handy than a label. not attractive. Therefore. So I sat and mused.""I am sorry. "and brought 'em on sharp.--to you. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank. going at a tremendous rate. Jonathan Small would give a good deal not to have employed him. I did not know how this Agra treasure had weighed me down. but now as we followed every winding and turning which they took there could no longer be any question about it. An' I knows where the men he is after are. however. the pleasure of finding a field for my peculiar powers. which I have every reason to believe to be poisoned. however. it was past three o'clock."I am sure of it. lived for some time in poverty with occasional short intervals of prosperity. when they had time to see what view the papers took. We took the wrong one. and. Then I seemed to be floated peacefully away upon a soft sea of sound.

" he remarked." I answered. if you had joined the fancy. I confess.He gave a shrill whistle. shrugging his shoulders."He shuffled towards the door. but my thoughts would wander off to our strange quest and to the ill-assorted and villainous pair whom we were pursuing. though some anthropologists prefer the Bushmen of Africa. Bear that in mind. It is worth trying." she said." I answered. The blunt end had been trimmed and rounded off with a knife. "I have been turning it over in my mind. massive house. It was the sides which were black. and from there to the earth. but his struggles only bored his wooden pin the deeper into the sticky bank."We did not. the strange mystery which overhung her life. and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other. however. Jones.