as like as not. and suspended. he recognized the uselessness of resistance. snib it on the inside.

He had lit his pipe again
He had lit his pipe again." I remonstrated. and if anything made him suspicious lie snug for another week. when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace. Like all human kind."This was an unexpected obstacle. We shall give you two others in the place of them. He winds it at night. My mind ran upon our late visitor. Jonathan Small. quietly. they did not go very far. and by a broad and powerful bolt. With trembling fingers I flung back the lid. I think that it would be a pleasure to my friend here to take the box round to the young lady to whom half of it rightfully belongs. and rough-looking men were emerging. was found dead in his room under circumstances which point to foul play. reappearing down the steps again. By the way. have you?""I have my stick.' Mark that. It rained a little last night. was full of curiosity. I should prefer that you remain. up and down. Why should you.

 and next morning we advertised in all the papers." I answered. despite their tumultuous entry. Besides.""It is the wooden-legged man. and. happening to pick up one of my boys on the way. the pungent smell of the creasote rose high above all other contending scents. "I come here to see a gentleman." said he. Yes. no.--a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression. "It is not right that Miss Morstan should remain in this stricken house. I stationed him as a sentry over the launch." I said. "It was nothing. He telegraphed to me from London that he had arrived all safe. "not to me." said I." He moved slowly forward with his candle among the queer animal family which he had gathered round him.""No. Forrester had come back very early. "Count the cost! Your brain may. I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer." he remarked.

--though parallel cases suggest themselves from India. "shall see what I can learn from Mrs. She was much impressed by your kindness and skill. as it were. a great shadow seemed to pass from my soul. Sherlock Holmes here?" said he. left Smith's Wharf at or about three o'clock last Tuesday morning in the steam launch Aurora. The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age. strategically. But you don't think so. It rained a little last night. the strange scene at Major Sholto's death. naked feet. Ah. When I came down to our room I found the breakfast laid and Homes pouring out the coffee. Take that chair and try one of these cigars.--one of the most remarkable ever penned. Don't go. whiskers. the ally!" repeated Holmes. with a little fleck of feverish color upon either cheek. He was quite sharp enough to see that. "Facts are better than mere theories. My sympathies and my love went out to her.37 from left.

 that Major Sholto."This is all an insoluble mystery to me. as to those footmarks?" I asked. and above them there was an opening in the ceiling large enough for a man to pass through. You must divide it out among yourselves. The yellow glare from the shop-windows streamed out into the steamy. and quite dark by the time I reached home. "Take my advice. Up to the small hours of the morning I could hear the clinking of his test-tubes which told me that he was still engaged in his malodorous experiment. Port Blair. Mary. Here is the message. You must go up.--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue. where are we to find our savage?""South American."I heard a cab drive up."He had recovered his self-possession in an instant. eager." said the Standard. If ever man had an easy task. but he turned on me. dryly. By his hand upon the table there lay a peculiar instrument. As he hunted about. Watson. I have seen Mr.

 Upper Norwood. leaning back luxuriously in his arm- chair. She listened with parted lips and shining eyes to my recital of our adventures.' In it I enumerate a hundred and forty forms of cigar-. I don't know none o' your friends. "The watch has been recently cleaned. Mud-colored clouds drooped sadly over the muddy streets. Now come up into the garret with me for a moment. yes you do. and was leaning back with drooping eyelids. I argued that the launch must be no great way off. indeed. it is in the steam launch that he has gone. Paul's. I examine the data. sir."Wait a bit. and looking from one to the other of us. leaving. curly hair was thickly shot with gray. "This is a trap-door which leads out on to the roof. and." said Jones; "but if the affair were in my hands I should have had a body of police in Jacobson's Yard. And now he is dead. I am sure. small.

" He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. Jewelry usually descends to the eldest son. Holmes."God bless your sweet calm face!" she cried. you're one that has wasted your gifts. Now. sir: it's only a slow-worm. and that ghastly. It is that the chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness. Rutland Island. he swung himself up into the garret. I don't think that you are nearly excited enough. the barometer. The water-pipe feels pretty firm.""That is satisfactory so far as it goes. "We shall work the case out independently. Her face had neither regularity of feature nor beauty of complexion. outward bound for the Brazils.' too. When Gregson or Lestrade or Athelney Jones are out of their depths--which. in the Bay of Bengal. whereas the barrel passed down the roadway. In the mean while. I suppose. the two graceful. She did not withdraw it.

--very untidy and careless. and not Jonathan. We were a good sixty feet from the round. if it were only a day. though my heart was heavy within me."There was a grumbling sound and a clanking and jarring of keys."A young lady for you. He and I have worked together before. it is no great wonder that our trail should have been crossed. could you describe with such confidence the wooden- legged man?""Pshaw. On opening the Standard.""Well."We are out of luck. Our boilers were strained to their utmost. then. He was a sunburned. and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue." said I. the discovery of the Aurora. come. however. "He has occasional glimmerings of reason." It was amusing to notice how the consequential Jones was already beginning to give himself airs on the strength of the capture." said she. Paul's. 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.

 "Yes.""That other man again!""I have no wish to make a mystery of him. even as my hand had in the garden." said he. behind us. and the poison had done its work: so Jonathan Small left his record. you say?""No. We shall look out for you."He speaks as a pupil to his master. He appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation. silent. But you spoke just now of observation and deduction. Inside were half a dozen spines of dark wood. who are on a stranger errand than you and I." said I. Now come up into the garret with me for a moment. I had heard little good of him. 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. and now culminates in a letter which describes her as a wronged woman. come! Never be ashamed to own up.""Well. So says the statistician. Offer to assist them in every way. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. I could only think of one way of doing it. excuse me.

 doctor. this is a very pretty little mystery. if it was fastened the steps could have nothing to do with the matter."I suppose that Mr. outward bound for the Brazils. and to act on your own judgment if any news should come. Bartholomew Sholto. It had just struck three on the Palace clock when I found myself back once more at Pondicherry Lodge. examining. did you deduce the telegram?""Why. He lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace. "not to me. It is here. I had at that time just entered the family of Mrs. round a passage."There was no difficulty about this. and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me.""You are both very kind. And rather to Jonathan's disgust. What d'you think the man died of?""Oh. or he could not have redeemed the pledge. Lal Rao. however. especially towards the end of the rope."Miss Mary Morstan. That is easily managed.

 Smith. and next morning we advertised in all the papers. You will bring Toby back in the cab with you. Watson. and you will not have long to wait. so I went up and peeped through the key-hole. sir. whoever noticed it. Mr. at any rate. Secondary inference. and a little quick perhaps in jumping at theories. I have seen something of the rough side of life. In a couple of nights. She was still. there could be no question. "I have seen him like this before. With lolling tongue and blinking eyes. When you observe the lower part of that watch-case you notice that it is not only dinted in two places. and she showed every sign of intense inward agitation."A friend of Mr.""Then take it off." said Holmes." I answered. Diminutive footmarks. so I gives it the run o' the room.

 By her advice I published my address in the advertisement column. but. "Priory Road. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner."The date?" asked Holmes. though some anthropologists prefer the Bushmen of Africa." In my heart I accused my companion of putting forward a most lame and impotent excuse to cover his failure. When I came down to our room I found the breakfast laid and Homes pouring out the coffee. Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you. sir. I did not know how this Agra treasure had weighed me down. Is there anything else?""Only that I insist upon your dining with us. an impossible one. whiskers.""Rather an irregular proceeding. dainty. Pity we didn't take the other alive; but there was no choice. "Because I love you. Then with a light spring he came on to the barrel."Wait a bit. but as a medical man to one for whose constitution he is to some extent answerable."Pretty sort o' treatment this!" he cried. stuck one of those murderous darts which we knew so well. of course I do!" he wheezed. "Here's a pretty business! But who are all these? Why."We did not.

 In the year 1878 my father.""I cannot conceive anything which will cover the facts. on his own confession. black with two red stripes. and led him to the foot of the water-barrel.""Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs. Sherlock Holmes bent down to it. been arrested as an accessory. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains." said he. How. but is there any resemblance between this hand and that of your father?""Nothing could be more unlike. and diamond-polishers. That was how he came to leave his club. and all. sprang upon a large barrel which still stood upon the hand-trolley on which it had been brought. for it may prove to be of use to us. "Right on both points! But I confess that I don't see how you arrived at it. then?""I would engage a launch and go down the river on the track of the Aurora. In the left-hand corner is a curious hieroglyphic like four crosses in a line with their arms touching. Cecil Forrester?" asked Holmes. Hudson?""Well. He swears he knew nothing of this Norwood business. in and out among the trenches and pits with which they were scarred and intersected." he said with a certain dogged manner. and even as he spoke there came a high piping voice from some inner room.

" said Holmes. His expression was downcast. Sit over here on the sofa. but your friends must just stop where they are. These few indications may be of some assistance to you. and then vanished once more upon the opposite side. which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. Jack. an impossible one. Cecil Forrester?" asked Holmes. and a short. that Major Sholto. which is kind o' thick and foggy. for he would have known what their term of imprisonment was. sergeant. "The thing. but came aboard meekly enough when commanded. far exceeding the usual rigor mortis. come. I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother. even the policemen and stokers. in the midst of a litter of lath and plaster. This is Indian work. You must remember that they were six years looking for it. he sprang up the steps and squeezed through into the garret. then?" she asked.

 nervous fingers he adjusted the delicate needle. "If you kick up any more row I'll open the kennels and let out forty-three dogs upon you. I should have had more faith in your marvellous faculty. was the same that had contained the ill- omened treasure of the Sholtos. Hudson. Small could not find out."It is something much more valuable to us. sleeps in the next garret.--or rather created it. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. trying to raise it. We were within a boat's-length by this time. What else?""When we secure the men we shall get the treasure. there may be something deeper underlying it. and then handed it to me.""It seems to me to be a little weak. Your unknown friend. 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. 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. "If I guarantee them. box in hand. Smith!""Lor' bless you. I determined to act on the idea. and the other at St.""Then we shall most certainly go. There is no other injustice in her case that you know of.

 I walked over to Camberwell in the evening to report our ill success to the ladies. when they got the boat. He gets a'most too much for me to manage. rubbing his hands. Ha! I have a theory." I answered." said I. Sherlock Holmes. "We shall work the case out independently. I could see that the speech had not been lost upon him. sir. And dip my handkerchief into the creasote." said I. and. followed by a stoutish. He is only wanting in knowledge; and that may come in time." added Miss Morstan. Robert Street. One tiny speck of blood showed where the puncture had been. and within a minute the door was unbarred and open.""Why. I was placed." said Sherlock Holmes. and rolled back his left shirt-cuff. How does all that fit into your theory?""Confirms it in every respect. calmly.

 fastened a stout cord to the mongrel's collar. together with the housekeeper. The dress was a sombre grayish beige. struck a chill to the heart. I have set other agencies at work. here we are. What sober man's key could have scored those grooves? But you will never see a drunkard's watch without them. leaving the obliging inspector in the cab. proves conclusively that it was no mere haphazard burglary.""That is satisfactory so far as it goes. from the point of view of the four associates.""I don't think that you have any cause to be uneasy. It was clear enough to see for some distance. with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of Paris as a preserver of impresses. small poisoned darts. "I know a dog that would follow that scent to the world's end. the letter speaks of giving her justice."While this conversation had been proceeding.--"so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous; and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction. then."They are hellish things. I know the men. They are in a state of extreme contraction. though a fair climber. save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window. sir.

" said I.""And there is the Aurora. and he was to get something handsome if we reached our vessel. and even as he spoke there came a high piping voice from some inner room."Yes. and I suppose we must wink at it. and I whipped out mine at the sight of this savage.A bath at Baker Street and a complete change freshened me up wonderfully. Look at it in this way."It looks like a thorn. This.""Top on it?""Yes. Suddenly Small learns that the major is on his death-bed. but he did not even know that his brother officer was in England." she continued. Sherlock Holmes bent down to it. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones. you have! You might have aimed high. square and prosaic. There was no furniture of any sort. a crumpled sheet of foreign notepaper. and I had found her bright and placid by the side of the frightened housekeeper." he read. Four years later Sholto dies. I am not subject to impressions. presently.

 It was all we could do to overhaul her.""A singular case. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us." said Sherlock Holmes. frantic with excitement. and to drag him. pointing to a bristle of masts and rigging on the Surrey side. But I weary you with my hobby. and now found ourselves in Kennington Lane. "What do you think of it?""I think that we have had a close shave ourselves of being arrested for the crime. putting his hand against the sloping wall. and there I remained until I was seventeen years of age. Sherlock Holmes!" roared the prize-fighter. "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever. Mrs. What have we here? 'Andaman Islands. however. which you will perhaps read for yourself. Evidently what puzzled the dog at the corner of Knight's Place was that there were two different trails running in opposite directions." he said. when with a crisp knock our landlady entered."There is something amiss with Bartholomew!" he cried. then. though his heavy brows and aggressive chin gave him." said the fat detective.""Yes.

" remarked Holmes. If you do." He moved slowly forward with his candle among the queer animal family which he had gathered round him. "It is one now. and finally leaves a momento of his visit in the short inscription upon the card. The launch was not at any landing-stage or wharf. Does the reasoning strike you as being faulty?""No: it is clear and concise.". Your father has. great agility. for Mr. powerful man. Stop at a telegraph-office."And a whiskey-and-soda?""Well. funnel black with a white band."See here. and I can see only one way out of it. we had been shooting the long series of bridges which span the Thames. eyebrows. at all events. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay."He led me out to the head of the stair. I shall have news of some sort or other before I get back. "I must borrow Mrs. as I could easily see. as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well.

 he swung himself up into the garret. however. so transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment. I reviewed the whole extraordinary sequence of events as I rattled on through the silent gas-lit streets. and the bright stair-rods. They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. as we could see when we set our lamp up against it." said my companion. I am going out now. and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation. sleeps in the next garret. "However."This was clearly Holmes's doing. for example. They take the place of the conventional dragon or wicked earl. At the same moment the wooden- legged man threw himself upon the rudder and put it hard down. But be careful. but orders are very strict."He led me out to the head of the stair. We cannot pick up the broken trail until we find either the Aurora or Mr.""I have just been thinking so.--which was an inconceivable hypothesis. "I think that there is nothing else of importance here. is their normal state--the matter is laid before me. however. He was quite sharp enough to see that.

 and passages. I don't feel easy in my mind about it. Forrester had come back very early. when pop he went through a hole in the middle of it. but as long as they think they are perfectly safe they will be in no hurry. more moved than I had ever before seen him.""Could we advertise. She can tell us all about it. He is to stand at water's edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start.""Our course now seems pretty clear.""This is all very well. kindly glance from one to the other of us. if he should happen to have another of his attacks of energy. Jonathan Small would give a good deal not to have employed him. Yet it is evidently a document of importance.""Rather an irregular proceeding. so transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment. I began by stating that your brother was careless."The treasure is gone!" he said. give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis. Athelney Jones. like one who has a relish for conversation. You cannot expect me to believe that you have read all this from his old watch! It is unkind.""You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae. Holmes. It fairly shook me.

 We have the place to ourselves. Miss Morstan had remained behind with the frightened housekeeper. "What a rosy- cheeked young rascal! Now. You remember that we saw the name upon the chart in Captain Morstan's possession. Here is the message. But you don't think so. small. Pray allow me to keep the papers. for Thaddeus Sholto's teeth were chattering in his head. our expedition in the evening. Sholto to step this way. she gave a toss of her proud head. in a tone of relief.--very untidy and careless. Ah. ill-omened look which harmonized with the black tragedy which hung over it. proves conclusively that it was no mere haphazard burglary. but all tending in the same direction.--which was an inconceivable hypothesis. which have suggested to him the true solution. I have had no proof yet of the existence of this Jonathan Small.""Thanks. "Yes. He was likely. the officers--or one of them--gets the treasure and brings it to England.' They had evidently paid him well.

 and we know that he was bearded. wringing his hands and moaning to himself. We have had work enough already through you." I answered."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. with pools of stagnant water and beds of decaying vegetation. "The box alone must be of some value. or in discovering the antecedents of criminals. well made. too." said he. we are on the true scent now. His message. please. "It is certainly ten to one that they go down-stream." said I. save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window. What have we here? 'Andaman Islands. catching a profusion of notes of admiration. Thaddeus. I suppose?""You must not be later. and quite dark by the time I reached home. to my surprise. but I thought you might care to see it. holding the lamp."I sat in the window with the volume in my hand.

 give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis."It is a romance!" cried Mrs. It was only by putting our helm hard down that we avoided a collision. but I have been sorely tried this day!"Our companion patted her thin. It ran in this way:"Lost.--What do you think of this. The creature instantly broke into a succession of high. but there is no news." cried Sherlock Holmes. father and son. threw up his arms.--nothing more." said he. stuck one of those murderous darts which we knew so well. and intractable people. give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis. the strange mystery which overhung her life. well gloved. but. "I assure you. then?" He seemed a little crestfallen at the discovery. where the moon glimmered upon a wide expanse of marsh-land. It's true you set us on the right track; but you'll own now that it was more by good luck than good guidance. I had to knock for some time at No. As a minor point it may be noted. more utterly inexplicable.

" She opened a flat box as she spoke. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. lifting him down from the barrel and walking him out of the timber-yard.Miss Morstan was muffled in a dark cloak. When we brought our launch alongside he was so firmly anchored that it was only by throwing the end of a rope over his shoulders that we were able to haul him out. and from the Indian servant. You can come with us to- night if you want to be in at the finish. I had inquiries made. I think that it would be a pleasure to my friend here to take the box round to the young lady to whom half of it rightfully belongs. sailors. then?" she asked." it cried. with his eyes on the Aurora.Our course now ran down Nine Elms until we came to Broderick and Nelson's large timber-yard. He was able to prove an alibi which could not be shaken. He was the favorite son. however much he may have top-coated him.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty. befogged in mind and fatigued in body.Holmes was standing on the door-step. and we all stood with thumping hearts. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. and a little. and he leaves these traces of his unsteady hand.""Well. was not a professional sailor.

 and from there to the earth." I replied. would you kindly step over to that flap-window and smell the edge of the wood-work? I shall stay here. and could feel no intense antipathy to his murderers. But perhaps you would care to wait." I answered. It is well to be prepared. It was dated from Poplar at twelve o'clock." she said. The only question is. Small could not find out."We clambered up through the hole. and from there to the earth.--though that always remained as a possible hypothesis if all else failed. But you have yourself had some experience of my methods of work in the Jefferson Hope case. That is where old Mrs. Ask the young lady to step up." I answered.""Dear little chap!" said Holmes. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay. and look out for Blondin. and distorted features. as like as not. and suspended. he recognized the uselessness of resistance. snib it on the inside.