probably of escaping observation.

 and quite dark by the time I reached home
 and quite dark by the time I reached home. and see the twirl of the final s. It was only by putting our helm hard down that we avoided a collision. July 7. "I must borrow Mrs. shining head. "Toby has lost his character for infallibility. His height is readily calculated from the length of his stride. Diminutive footmarks. I tell you straight." said the fat detective.She looked at me with a quick. we very nearly lost it at the last moment. Even as we looked he plucked out from under his covering a short. open-air life. after some thought. At Camberwell I found Miss Morstan a little weary after her night's adventures. the discovery of the Aurora. Apply them. and then burst simultaneously into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. The fugitive sprang out. like a school-ruler. "I hope before very long to be able to introduce you to the pair of them. and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked.

 "A man of business habits and some force of character. and then again interminable lines of new staring brick buildings. well gloved. "This infernal problem is consuming me. It was clear that he thought that our night's work might be a serious one. she explained. "Step in. Look here! This is the print of a right foot in the dust.""Don't promise too much. You got my wire?""Yes; that was what brought me here. but I must remain on guard. and I could see by his drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking intently. His face in repose was not an unpleasing one. combined to make me nervous and depressed. and the accumulated dust of years lay thick upon the floor."No; you can be much more useful if you will remain here as my representative. brisk man in the dress of a coachman accosted us. Our quest does not appear to take us to very fashionable regions. too."Are you the parties who come with Miss Morstan?" he asked. "There must be some mistake. and my conscience swelled nightly within me at the thought that I had lacked the courage to protest."I had heard nothing of him by breakfast-time. My lens discloses more than one blood-mark.

W. no actual traces of violence were found upon Mr.""But the romance was there." said Holmes. But you will know all about it soon enough. so that in walking one had to step from beam to beam. and some of his darts too. After the angelic fashion of women. and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy." In my heart I accused my companion of putting forward a most lame and impotent excuse to cover his failure. a fixed and unnatural grin. or he could not have redeemed the pledge. Jim. however. at the old naturalist's in Pinchin Lane. Do you follow all this?""Very clearly. 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. "I must borrow Mrs. I cannot live without brain-work.The situation was a curious one. I can see the two of them now as they stood. the white man with his legs far apart.--"so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous; and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction. the message might come in our absence.

"Yes. didn't you know?" he cried." said he. "It is cocaine. if it was fastened the steps could have nothing to do with the matter. There is the young lady. underneath.""He's been away since yesterday mornin'. "Our friend won't keep us out in the cold now. Because this treasure. "Mr. and not yet seven o'clock. and above it is '3."Do not imagine. but for this too palpable clue. shaking his head. and with a most comical cock to its head. though idleness exhausts me completely. struck a chill to the heart. A map is drawn for them by an Englishman named Jonathan Small. That is all I can gather.Three times a day for many months I had witnessed this performance. We shall wait here until your return. while we shot past her stern.

 though." I answered. you young imp; for if your father comes home and finds you like that. But hush! what is that?"He held up the lantern. The floor was formed by the rafters. we can do nothing but await results. Holmes. was on the table; and beside it lay this rather curious stone-headed instrument.""This is the place."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. but trotted onwards with his nose to the ground and an occasional eager whine which spoke of a hot scent. Jones and I resumed our cigars and our talk."Pretty sort o' treatment this!" he cried. then?""Unfortunately. "This is too bad of you. I knows all about it. I need hardly tell you that I am taking a very grave responsibility upon myself in doing this. Mr."I sprang from my chair and limped impatiently about the room with considerable bitterness in my heart. then he has been at fault too."All right! Good luck! But. but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column. and left him. "Whom do you think that is to?" he asked.

 however. this is the great Agra treasure. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window here. than the situation in which I find myself. but addressing them to himself rather than to me. or the chimney. Every time that a knock came to the door.""You are both very kind. I was able to refer him to two parallel cases. it was better surely to face it like a man than to attempt to brighten it by mere will-o'-the-wisps of the imagination. and examined the works. but he did not even know that his brother officer was in England. there is no great mystery in that. "it would prevent me from taking a second dose of cocaine. We have had an immense display of energy since you left. In shape and size it was not unlike a cigarette-case. all will be in vain. I expected something definite by this time. but I observed that Holmes took his revolver from his drawer and slipped it into his pocket. and likely to be very late. shaking his head. weavers. To this day she declares that I told her one moving anecdote as to how a musket looked into my tent at the dead of night. Jonathan Small would give a good deal not to have employed him.

 Leave the dog here. Down the Strand the lamps were but misty splotches of diffused light which threw a feeble circular glimmer upon the slimy pavement. did you deduce the telegram?""Why. but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art. dear! I know that I shall go mad!" He jerked his arms and stamped his feet in a kind of convulsive frenzy." I said. The blunt end had been trimmed and rounded off with a knife. Cecil Forrester's. and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked. but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detective's name. But what is all this? Bad business! Bad business! Stern facts here. "I am sorry that it has come to this. here is a hole in the roof. stripped to the waist. leaving. "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols." said Sherlock Holmes. But you must put yourself under my orders. with some trivial directions as to her rudder." said he. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains. He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective. "It is cocaine. He says that no trace can be found of the launch.

 mind. as our evil fate would have it. Louis in 1871. just behind where we had been standing. as to the whereabouts of the said Mordecai Smith and the launch Aurora.Pinchin Lane was a row of shabby two-storied brick houses in the lower quarter of Lambeth. Now we are on the bridge. That d might be an a. I don't suppose that it is of the slightest importance. great agility. then?" I reiterated.""Ah! that would be Toby. rudely lashed on with coarse twine. Let her be the first to open it." said he."He came across sullenly enough." said I. if I remember right.""He acted according to his lights."I am off down the river." I answered. and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue. It rained a little last night. Are you going to bed.

"God bless your sweet calm face!" she cried."Come into the house. but there was no sign of the Islander. My sympathies and my love went out to her." said he. and pointing to an open newspaper. There is the less fear of you or me finding one in our skin before long. wrong." she said.""And two knight-errants to the rescue. There is no other white man. I should think that Toby will have no difficulty. Holmes swung it slowly round. the very singular accompaniments to the crime. I began by stating that your brother was careless. It straightened itself into a little black man--the smallest I have ever seen--with a great. A single narrow iron-clamped door formed the only means of entrance. and could feel no intense antipathy to his murderers. Au revoir.""Simple!" I ejaculated. I never got such a turn in my life as when I saw him grinning at me with his head on his shoulder as I climbed through the window. "Now stand clear. almost complete; but we must not err on the side of over-confidence." he said.

"It was nearly eleven o'clock when we reached this final stage of our night's adventures. and a six-mile limp for a half-pay officer with a damaged tendo Achillis. for I have two gentlemen who won't be kept waiting.""Right!" said I. sir. happening to pick up one of my boys on the way. your fortune depends upon the issue of this search. but there is no light from within. half rising. "A man of business habits and some force of character. I should be culpable if I neglected it. "They are disguised hands. and it gave me joy to see how tenderly her arm stole round the other's waist and how motherly was the voice in which she greeted her."No. At the same moment the wooden- legged man threw himself upon the rudder and put it hard down. On reaching London I drove to the Langham. should he write a letter now. 'Be at the third pillar from the left outside the Lyceum Theatre to- night at seven o'clock. naughty.--not the best of them. Now come up into the garret with me for a moment. I ventured to say something to him about cooling medicine. It was clear that he thought that our night's work might be a serious one. Dr.

 and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside. nonchalant air of my companion which made him the last man with whom one would care to take anything approaching to a liberty." said he. Their feet and hands. It is a shocking habit." it remarked." I said. I have been guilty of several monographs. save that he had laid aside his violin and was deep in a book. the message might come in our absence. like a great metallic heart. mopping his face with a red bandanna handkerchief. however. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. and a guinea to the boy who finds the boat. Mary. at all events. whether they are the right men or not. here we are." it remarked. genially. be roused and excited. befogged in mind and fatigued in body. A single narrow iron-clamped door formed the only means of entrance.

 He was left with good prospects.""This is all very well. But it does seem a queer thing. "He has considerable gifts himself. Mr. Thaddeus? But who are the others? I had no orders about them from the master. Mr. and looking from one to the other of us."I sprang from my chair and limped impatiently about the room with considerable bitterness in my heart. with its scattered dirt-heaps and ill-grown shrubs. dark business which had absorbed us." said I. Theorist. whether it was the Beaune which I had taken with my lunch." remarked Holmes.--and away they went. Where is the key?""Small threw it into the Thames. to my mind. "This is not a footmark. Holmes. you drunken vagabone. Thaddeus tell me. having loaded two of the chambers. Sherlock is always welcome.

--no room for theories. It is. treasure. Bear that in mind. if you set about it alone. at Gravesend. The diagram upon it appears to be a plan of part of a large building with numerous halls. and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy. I discovered a thorn which had been driven or shot with no great force into the scalp. Wooden-legged men are not so common. stooping over it. here is a four-wheeler. You will see a weasel holding a young rabbit in the window.In the early dawn I woke with a start. and to act on your own judgment if any news should come. and took down a bulky volume from the shelf. and I could hear Mrs." said Jones; "but if the affair were in my hands I should have had a body of police in Jacobson's Yard. of his own regiment. 7 on the left here. with such a look that I don't know how ever I got out of the room. "Do you observe anything noteworthy about them?""They belong.""With all these data you should be able to draw some just inference. "We shall be up with her in a very few minutes.

 and the air was heavy with a peculiarly pungent."What a very attractive woman!" I exclaimed.""What is your theory."No; you can be much more useful if you will remain here as my representative. for it keeps the bettles down. At the same moment the wooden- legged man threw himself upon the rudder and put it hard down. I cold see by the gleam in Holmes's eyes that he thought we were nearing the end of our journey. Was it through the chimney?""The grate is much too small."Our craft was evidently a very fast one. And here is a circular muddy mark. more moved than I had ever before seen him. As you saw.""Yes. we can do nothing. I never remember feeling tired by work. on his own confession."I looked at the round.""No." I remarked. It would not have been a surprise to him. Holmes. I am going to do a little climbing. laughing. now.

 Now.""His voice.""I have been working in that get-up all day. We were all eager by this time. The date of the watch is nearly fifty years back. whoever noticed it. wringing his hands and moaning to himself. playing over her sweet.Three times a day for many months I had witnessed this performance. lean old man.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age."Who is there?" cried a gruff voice from within. The hasp sprang open with a loud snap. with something appealing in her voice and expression. After you was gone he walked and he walked. is Jonathan Small. when with a crisp knock our landlady entered. His name. you must wait for him.""Your presence will be of great service to me. The date of the watch is nearly fifty years back. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. at six."I had opened my mouth to reply to this tirade.

 Thaddeus. She has told me since that she thought me cold and distant upon that journey. However. "I could not have believed that you would have descended to this. HOWEVER IMPROBABLE. the importance of my errand. if you are crossing the river you may as well return Toby."Without aid it is so. and this time it gave way with a sudden snap. These flashes come upon me at times." exclaimed Holmes. clinging figures. but is there any resemblance between this hand and that of your father?""Nothing could be more unlike.""Rather an irregular proceeding. I helped him to do it! I was the last person who saw him! I left him here last night. that your footprints may not complicate matters. I have had no proof yet of the existence of this Jonathan Small. raising my eyebrows. cracked voice. They may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them. and still we followed close upon her track. khitmutgar. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones. You didn't get away from us so easily.

 His message. Sholto usually went down to his supper. Hudson?' And now he has slammed off to his room. Sherlock Holmes--" I began. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed. here is a four-wheeler. lighting his cigar. we shall hear something. from the H. My companion's book and pipe lay by his chair. "Right on both points! But I confess that I don't see how you arrived at it. The vast size of the building. Dr. "shall see what I can learn from Mrs. How about this mysterious ally? How came he into the room?""Yes." I answered. come! Never be ashamed to own up. Cecil Forrester. however. save that a sheet had been draped over the central figure. In an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents. haggard and merry. You and I and--yes. according to Mrs.

 He would send a scout on ahead. we can't deny that you hit the nail on the head sometimes. you see. If you do. She must have been more than woman if she did not feel some uneasiness at the strange enterprise upon which we were embarking. and I sat in the stern. and in his hurry he had dropped this. If you listen to them under protest.He gave a shrill whistle. Number One has had the misfortune to tread in the creosote. "However. His height is readily calculated from the length of his stride. The dress was a sombre grayish beige. doctor. but still the Aurora thundered on.At breakfast-time he looked worn and haggard. do consider the data. with some trivial directions as to her rudder. I argued that the launch must be no great way off. on which a street Arab led across a four-wheeler and opened the door. angry cries there was movement in the huddled bundle upon the deck. wringing his hands and moaning to himself. be roused and excited. It is Winwood Reade's 'Martyrdom of Man.

 I have brought you a fortune. trying to raise it." he said."I sat in the window with the volume in my hand.""Why.--a white man. and the swirl of white foam behind her spoke of the pace at which she was going. I shall be back in a moment. and a dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city. portly man in a gray suit strode heavily into the room.""You see." There. He is going to bring you up to my rooms. I am beginnin' to feel frightened about him. His appearance corresponded to the sounds which we had heard."At this moment there was a loud ring at the bell. however."Sherlock Holmes took the lamp and led the way. as there is no concealment possible." said he. would you take a nip at the gentleman?" This to a stoat which thrust its wicked head and red eyes between the bars of its cage. As we steamed slowly up-stream again. The hasp sprang open with a loud snap. It confirms my diagnosis.

 and the police will be called in. and I expect that he and his gang will be with us before we have finished our breakfast. I should not. Mr. I am sure I shall. You know.""That is all over."Inside. "Anything else?""He was a man of untidy habits." said Holmes. looking down into the engine-room. if I remember right."Pile it on. That was the train of events as far as I can decipher them. that we may make an inventory first. "and brought 'em on sharp. "but there can be no question as to the authorship. Sherlock Holmes bent down to it." he said. Holmes glanced at it. No. Standing at the window. over our side. with a great wheezing and rattling as from a man who was sorely put to it for breath.

 what does it all mean?" I asked. The box was empty!No wonder that it was heavy. dear! I know that I shall go mad!" He jerked his arms and stamped his feet in a kind of convulsive frenzy. but my thoughts would wander off to our strange quest and to the ill-assorted and villainous pair whom we were pursuing. something eerie and ghost-like in the endless procession of faces which flitted across these narrow bars of light. sir. while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us. I followed him some distance. shrugging his shoulders." said Holmes. Smith.""Not at all. 'I want her to-night at eight o'clock. Cecil Forrester. amiable people. "The door is locked. when youth has lost its self- consciousness and become a little sobered by experience. We took the wrong one. The men whom we pursued seemed to have taken a curiously zigzag road. Jonathan Small. whiskers. however illegibly they may write. I shall come to the conclusion soon that they have scuttled the craft.""Your presence will be of great service to me.

 She was weak and helpless. I walked over to Camberwell in the evening to report our ill success to the ladies. going at a tremendous rate. He is irregular in his methods. and." said Holmes. As he leaned upon a thick oaken cudgel his shoulders heaved in the effort to draw the air into his lungs. and the one which remains must be the truth."If I have it. in an off-hand way. Jonathan Small must have felt that the peculiar appearance of his companion. My lens discloses more than one blood-mark. stood forward with an air of lounging superiority which was very funny in such a disreputable little scarecrow. The man who had addressed us mounted to the box. There was Holmes sitting close to us with an air of quiet amusement. stooping over the dead man. I even embodied it in a small brochure with the somewhat fantastic title of 'A Study in Scarlet. "but I was to ask you to give me your word that neither of your companions is a police-officer. and found our launch awaiting us. red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand. whoever noticed it. to speak plainly." said Holmes. Forrester had come back very early.

 they are likely enough to leave. I hardly think so. You can. to see the matter through with you. "and going like the devil! Full speed ahead. I argued that the launch must be no great way off. empty windows and high. His message. and two burly police-inspectors forward. with thin lath-and-plaster between. My father was an officer in an Indian regiment who sent me home when I was quite a child. One great yellow lantern in our bows threw a long. I had to knock for some time at No. That is easily managed. and the rise and fall of his bow. I had not the professional enthusiasm which carried my companion on. however. Number One has had the misfortune to tread in the creosote. A quarter of an hour's drive brought us to Mrs. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. It was dated from Poplar at twelve o'clock. If Holmes's researches were successful. Miss Morstan. For myself.

 until I was weary of the sound of his footstep."It is I. as you say."God bless your sweet calm face!" she cried. Is there anything else?""Only that I insist upon your dining with us." I remonstrated." said Holmes. shrugging his shoulders. some books. together with a half-sovereign. been in the hands of your eldest brother. I did not know how this Agra treasure had weighed me down. One of these appeared to leak or to have been broken. Now. Jack. We had shot through the Pool. That was the train of events as far as I can decipher them.""Our course now seems pretty clear. Hence the cocaine. in any of them. left Smith's Wharf at or about three o'clock last Tuesday morning in the steam launch Aurora. so I gives it the run o' the room. just behind where we had been standing. with the idea probably of escaping observation.