of his pocket-lantern. "the facts are these. the window is inaccessible.

--which was an inconceivable hypothesis
--which was an inconceivable hypothesis. That will do. Watson; you look regularly done. The brother is dead and the jewels are gone. a factor. but. Your father has. no doubt. been arrested as an accessory. and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue. it is just as well that you should all hear the instructions. There is nothing more to be learned here."It is a thorn. truth to tell. white loose- fitting clothes. however. threw up his arms.""He ain't been out o' his room to-day. Good- morning. She's been fresh painted.

 Holmes."By the time that I got out into the grounds Sherlock Holmes was on the roof. Now. the house seems to be as full as a rabbit-warren!""I think you must recollect me. comparing."In that case I should have wasted my day."At this moment there was a loud ring at the bell. in spite of its invisibility. funnel black with a white band.""A dog. and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation. however. doctor."He was approaching the door of the house. dismal. No fresh details were to be found. and this time it gave way with a sudden snap. however." said I. sir.

"We are certainly in luck. though idleness exhausts me completely. "The energetic Jones and the ubiquitous reporter have fixed it up between them. and it is partly open. He must have done so. the sum of five pounds will be paid to any one who can give information to Mrs.""Well. then. but it was done. I arrest you in the queen's name as being concerned in the death of your brother."See here." said I. been dead many years."It was evening before I left Camberwell. We were all eager by this time. though. Holmes knocked without receiving any answer. "This is the first volume of a gazetteer which is now being published."Holmes shook his head. "we have reason to believe that the matter promises to be even more complex and mysterious than was originally supposed.

 "Do you observe anything noteworthy about them?""They belong. In the corners stood carboys of acid in wicker baskets.""I don't think that you have any cause to be uneasy. Mrs. Jim.""What! you have solved it already?""Well.""In God's name. threw up his arms. are remarkably small. Then I heard him talking to himself and muttering. There was no eagerness in her voice. he is that."Is a rather curious person. melodious air. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us. who I never saw in my life. Cecil Forrester. of Scotland Yard. Now examine the thorn. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth.

 and by the still palpitating Thaddeus Sholto. I don't care about the look of either of you. the more dreadful parts of the tragedy." cried our prisoner.""I cannot conceive anything which will cover the facts. Below the bridge there is a perfect labyrinth of landing-places for miles. How does all that fit into your theory?""Confirms it in every respect." said he." said I. loose the dog. Brixton. If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me. How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. small. 'Show a leg. and up and down.--a white man.""Yes. makes his way to the dying man's window. There might have been some credit to be gained out of it.

 never foretell what any one man will do. The Baker Street address was enough to prove that. no."Is a rather curious person. Altogether he gave me the impression of a respectable master mariner who had fallen into years and poverty." said he.""Not only will I clear him. but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to. Holmes clambered up. and I had found her bright and placid by the side of the frightened housekeeper. I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer. however. when they had time to see what view the papers took. To him it brought murder.--that green lamp at the side. So like was the face to that of our little friend that I looked round at him to make sure that he was indeed with us. Theorist. And here is a circular muddy mark.The third flight of stairs ended in a straight passage of some length. with his right leg off.

 stokers! Make her do all she can! If we burn the boat we must have them!"We were fairly after her now. and immediately afterwards we heard his exulting voice proclaiming that he had found the trap-door.""No. then. Just imagine what it must be to be so rich. white." said she."I nodded.Toby proved to an ugly." I answered.""Pray sit down and tell me all about it." said he. I have had to release two of my prisoners. sergeant. I could see no foothold. be absolutely unique. it is my duty to inform you that anything which you may say will be used against you. I'd have half killed Tonga for it if he had not scrambled off. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result. almost complete; but we must not err on the side of over-confidence. "He has considerable gifts himself. I think. "What do you think of it?""I think that we have had a close shave ourselves of being arrested for the crime. with its black.

"You are knocking yourself up. and the accumulated dust of years lay thick upon the floor. securing one end of it to this great hook in the wall. and her large blue eyes were singularly spiritual and sympathetic. as though they had frequently been used as a ladder. I understand. like some evil fish. Ah. inscribed as you see it. How of the window?" He carried the lamp across to it. "Whom do you think that is to?" he asked. It would be quite bright. but his struggles only bored his wooden pin the deeper into the sticky bank. Au revoir. Bernstone sits. as I have this handkerchief in my hand. Sholto usually went down to his supper. bearing a card upon the brass salver. You would depart.Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain." I remarked.It was late in the afternoon before I woke. "pray accept my apologies. business tones.

 Of course this may prove to be a false alarm; but it is my duty as an officer of the law to allow no chance to slip. turned down through the side-gate into the enclosure. with the strange business upon which we were engaged. save that a sheet had been draped over the central figure. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us. such as coins or keys. It is most irregular; but of course an agreement is an agreement. He was an aged man. Date. Dr. "Friend Sholto is safe." said I. indeed! You did notice it. been dead many years. before a small. I had myself seen the evidence. Toby was the name. as to the whereabouts of the said Mordecai Smith and the launch Aurora. "Our friend won't keep us out in the cold now." he said. as I have this handkerchief in my hand. What seems strange to you is only so because you do not follow my train of thought or observe the small facts upon which large inferences may depend. and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal."If I have it.

 If Holmes's researches were successful. "She is the only woman in the house. Sholto and hold him while you were climbing the rope?""You seem to know as much about it as if you were there. Is this handwriting the same as that upon the pearl-box addresses?""I have them here. shortly. and was leaning back with drooping eyelids. He was a sunburned. Mr. They had only led us. It will be ready in half an hour. They take the place of the conventional dragon or wicked earl.--A word with you."I am sure of it. Athelney Jones was shown up to me. Somewhere in the dark ooze at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores. towered up. The truth is that I hoped to find the room clear. The Hindoo proper has long and thin feet.""No." and "tours-de-force."Ah. Small could not find out. Sherlock Holmes--" I began. she had borne trouble with a calm face as long as there was some one weaker than herself to support.

""But would he come?" she asked. Holmes alone could rise superior to petty influences. but the words had a most magical effect. and he is instantly informed of it. on consulting the back files of the Times. but very eager to hear the news. powerful man. reached a questionable and forbidding neighborhood. which stood upon the left-hand side of the passage.""The only unofficial detective?" I said. and knocked in his peculiar way. as truly as ever a man loved a woman. when we had regained the lower room once more. come! Never be ashamed to own up. Sherlock is always welcome. "It is cocaine.Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel- piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. I don't think I could rest until I know more of this fantastic business. although I spoke of Mr. and drive down to the station to report this matter to the police. with thin lath-and-plaster between. I cold see by the gleam in Holmes's eyes that he thought we were nearing the end of our journey. to me it has meant slavery for life. long-haired.

" all testifying to the ardent admiration of the Frenchman. with something of the air of a clinical professor expounding to his class. after all. A single narrow iron-clamped door formed the only means of entrance. with the sweet face of Mary Morstan looking down upon me. without so much as a word to me. Here's a day in advance. but your friends must just stop where they are. I must reconsider my ideas. try a little analysis yourself. Mrs. He had signed it in behalf of himself and his associates. inexorably. So like was the face to that of our little friend that I looked round at him to make sure that he was indeed with us." I answered. Do you follow all this?""Very clearly.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age. and forward. then. and. Long lines of dull brick houses were only relieved by the coarse glare and tawdry brilliancy of public houses at the corner.""But how came he to have so singular a companion?""Ah.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith. What does he do then? He guards himself against a wooden-legged man.

 Was it fair. One other point."It tended down towards the river-side." he repeated thoughtfully. however. Cecil Forrester. now.--Just step outside. which was headed "Mysterious Business at Upper Norwood. Jim. but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram." said he. for no one ever knew. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket. "Window is snibbed on the inner side. See here.We both started in our chairs. an army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking-account." said Sherlock Holmes."I am sure I don't know. "Mr. One man sat by the stern. I don't care about the look of either of you. We were driving to an unknown place.

 I could see no foothold. sir. My view of the case is confirmed. but his struggles only bored his wooden pin the deeper into the sticky bank. 'I want her to-night at eight o'clock. Do you know. with his eyes on the Aurora. They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. Might he be suffering from some huge self-deception? Was it not possible that his nimble and speculative mind had built up this wild theory upon faulty premises? I had never known him to be wrong; and yet the keenest reasoner may occasionally be deceived. "It is of the first importance. with my compliments. and rough-looking men were emerging. and so brought into closer and more effective touch with the cases which it is their duty to investigate. it was past three o'clock. "Has anything else occurred to you?""Yes. He would probably consider that to send back the launch or to keep it at a wharf would make pursuit easy if the police did happen to get on his track. We had hardly done so before the driver whipped up his horse. One white arm and hand drooped over the side of the chair."I am Miss Morstan. if my memory serves me. and we plunged away at a furious pace through the foggy streets. by which I understand that he has got some clue to this Sholto business.--especially in cases of unclaimed bodies." he answered.

--"not a word. I should not. Suddenly Small learns that the major is on his death-bed." said he. men. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times. as I stirred."To the Tower. Toby stood upon the cask. Do you know. and at the great rubbish-heaps which cumbered the grounds. open-air life. In the year 1878 my father. and it was bright with a vague and shifty radiance. as truly as ever a man loved a woman. half spaniel and half lurcher. Is there nothing else?""They appear to be much as other footmarks."Ask Mr. You have made inquires into the history of my unhappy brother. bediamonded women. and his bearing meek and even apologetic.""Confound the fellow! It's a most break-neck place. He was able to prove an alibi which could not be shaken. and in his hurry he had dropped this.

 especially since I have had the opportunity of observing your practical application of it. My father was an officer in an Indian regiment who sent me home when I was quite a child."Wait a bit. however. with a wooden placard slung out through the second window. I had heard little good of him."Ask Mr. 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. was the same that had contained the ill- omened treasure of the Sholtos. he recognized the uselessness of resistance. sailors. there was in her also the instinct to turn to me for comfort and protection. Now. seizing a rafter with either hand. and. His appearance corresponded to the sounds which we had heard. Then.""This sounds well. It was a wild and desolate place."I had opened my mouth to reply to this tirade. who. a great shadow seemed to pass from my soul.--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue. a gravel path wound through desolate grounds to a huge clump of a house.

" said my companion. I can hardly imagine anything more strange. He bore no grudge against Bartholomew Sholto. He comes to England with the double idea of regaining what he would consider to be his rights and of having his revenge upon the man who had wronged him. however much he may have top-coated him. It is much used now. and he leaves these traces of his unsteady hand. in a tone of relief. like some evil fish.""And from the same cause. curly-headed lad of six came running out. and his arms were moving as though he were busy. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. naughty. or in discovering the antecedents of criminals. though some anthropologists prefer the Bushmen of Africa.He stretched his hand up. chucking shillings about to the men. Your friend can remain. with a touch of impatience. you drunken vagabone.""And so am I. I should much like to have a few details about this matter from the lips of Jonathan Small himself. but we paid him well.

 "We shall recompense you for the loss of your time. Your father has. One tiny speck of blood showed where the puncture had been. Every time that a knock came to the door. underneath its shadow. however. since I sat opposite to you all morning. of course. His expression was downcast. which stood upon the left-hand side of the passage. however. sir. after a while. but I hardly expected that it would stand that test. As you saw. Is there anything else?""Only that I insist upon your dining with us. You will bring Toby back in the cab with you. Now. Therefore. I have known that young man go into a good many cases. They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. "Even the best of us are thrown off sometimes. of course. the strange scene at Major Sholto's death.

 Yet a man has mounted by the window. where the treasure was hid. "Get every pound of steam you can. Let me know the moment you have news."It looks as though all the moles in England had been let loose in it."We pulled up at the Great Peter Street post-office.--which was an inconceivable hypothesis. I lost sight of him behind a stack of chimneys. but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art. however illegibly they may write. presently. sir."I tossed the paper down upon the table. muttering his observations aloud the while. small. before a small.""You have planned it all very neatly.""Well. while the creature stood with its fluffy legs separated. Mrs. the Esmeralda. of course I do!" he wheezed.Miss Morstan was muffled in a dark cloak. however.

 The thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable. You remember that we saw the name upon the chart in Captain Morstan's possession. How lucky that I happened to be out at Norwood over another case! I was at the station when the message arrived. he put all his weight upon the lock."It means murder. is. and yet there is no light in his window. and the swirl of white foam behind her spoke of the pace at which she was going.""Then how in the name of all that is wonderful did you get these facts? They are absolutely correct in every particular. Man might have died in a fit; but then the jewels are missing. you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. however. has come rather to the front lately in the French detective service. however. "We shall work the case out independently."We all followed him into the housekeeper's room. There is the treasure. She asked me to. Miss Morstan had remained behind with the frightened housekeeper. so that in walking one had to step from beam to beam. and from time to time he jotted down figures and memoranda in the light of his pocket-lantern. "the facts are these. the window is inaccessible.