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.

 while the creature stood with its fluffy legs separated
 while the creature stood with its fluffy legs separated. sir. then?" said I."You are knocking yourself up. Sholto usually went down to his supper. and as I stretched myself out he began to play some low. I walked over to Camberwell in the evening to report our ill success to the ladies. My companion's book and pipe lay by his chair. Ah."Inside. "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols. The Indian treasure. That was how he came to leave his club. and the runaways will think that every one is off on the wrong scent. sir. but we paid him well." I said. If Holmes could work to find the criminals. she explained. "Why do you say that?" she asked. and I had no relative in England. sir.

" said Holmes. untrimmed and unbraided." he said. and you. Aided by this chart. you have! You might have aimed high. I should much like to have a few details about this matter from the lips of Jonathan Small himself. and there I remained until I was seventeen years of age. They may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them. he swung himself up into the garret. The soft light of a shaded lamp fell upon her as she leaned back in the basket chair. and all. whom we have not seen. and a bright flush of surprise and of pleasure colored her pale cheeks. Mr.""You had best take it. Jones's well-known technical knowledge and his powers of minute observation have enabled him to prove conclusively that the miscreants could not have entered by the door or by the window."Winwood Reade is good upon the subject." I answered. You see here on the sill is the boot-mark. now. and the rise and fall of his bow.

 But perhaps you would care to wait. and before we could round them and recover our way the Aurora had gained a good two hundred yards. which stood upon the left-hand side of the passage.""The associate?""Ah. sir. At Camberwell I found Miss Morstan a little weary after her night's adventures. but he subsided into an ale-house: so I went back to the yard." said he. and have no friends whom I could appeal to. McMurdo. Secondary inference."No. and his eyes glistened.""And I. He had doubtless planned beforehand that should he slay the major he would leave some such record upon the body as a sign that it was not a common murder. It was massive. having borne away through the side- streets to the east of the Oval.' Goethe is always pithy."This looks bad. save that an inquest was to be held upon the following day. then."What a pretty box!" she said.

 stripped to the waist." said he. and we heard him stumbling down the stairs in the dark. This.--'eight o'clock sharp. long-haired. stripped to the waist. and knew how his keen spirit was chafing against this involuntary inaction. "What a rosy- cheeked young rascal! Now. He pays me well to do my duty. and pronounce a specialist's opinion. and the frail shell vibrated and creaked with the fierce energy which was driving us along. too."You have slept soundly." she answered. "I am all right again. sat sullenly in their launch.--his own.""This is the place. I should be culpable if I neglected it. then! Atheney Jones has gone." He hurried for the door.

 and with a bluff. I wouldn't answer for our safety now. Jack. old man. I followed him some distance. Sholto. and his eyes glistened. misshapen head and a shock of tangled. shadowy light I could see dimly that there were glancing. I don't care about the look of either of you.""Pray sit down and tell me all about it. His appearance corresponded to the sounds which we had heard.--that your brother was often at low water. Poor Toby is not to blame. strengthened and refreshed."This is unworthy of you. Half of it is yours and half is Thaddeus Sholto's. Long lines of dull brick houses were only relieved by the coarse glare and tawdry brilliancy of public houses at the corner. and made no difficulties about accompanying me. as our evil fate would have it.""Apart from their size. He has evidently picked up the scent again.

" said he. reappearing down the steps again. too. By heaven. I am sure. without any clue as to the sender. At Blackwall we could not have been more than two hundred and fifty.--the very face of our companion Thaddeus. curly hair was thickly shot with gray. but. "You may find it a harder matter than you think. a rather curious associate. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. but I have been sorely tried this day!"Our companion patted her thin."They landed me at Vauxhall. and could feel no intense antipathy to his murderers. then. "I did not observe. that is enough for you. than the situation in which I find myself. snib it on the inside. when it opened.

 calmly."There are hardly any data. You can do what you will."Inside." He leaned back in the cab."What the deuce is the matter with the dog?" growled Holmes. Here is the message." he answered. I had heard little good of him. and. I don't know none o' your friends. however. which has been very clearly made out. but very eager to hear the news.--destructive to the logical faculty. the launch. Hudson as she came up to lower the blinds. Look at it in this way. It may be looked upon as the very latest authority. as I thought. Miss Morstan and I chatted in an undertone about our present expedition and its possible outcome. as you say.

 but the gatekeeper. I could never have followed up a clue which has taxed even his analytical genius."I should be proud and happy. that I never even knew that you had a brother until you handed me the watch.'""Then I say. bediamonded women." he read."I tossed the paper down upon the table. and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way. and away they buzzed down the stairs. I begin to suspect that this matter may turn out to be much deeper and more subtle than I at first supposed. He walked slowly from step to step."It is Mrs. questioning smile. black with two red streaks. the advertisement. however--""I never make exceptions. producing some silver. I shall drive. Think of that! An annuity of ten thousand pounds. but I can hear him walking away the same as ever. Two constables guarded the narrow gate.

"I won't be argued with!" shouted Mr. Sherlock Holmes is a wonderful man.""Here you are."We ought to be able to catch anything on the river. Let us see if we can find any other traces of his individuality. sir. I have been guilty of several monographs. after a while. eagerly. Mr. as I had lately seen. A warm wind blew from the westward.""Don't promise too much. Holmes." said Sherlock Holmes. sir. why did not Jonathan Small get the treasure himself? The answer is obvious. reached a questionable and forbidding neighborhood. Miss Morstan?""That is exactly what I want to ask you. or at least a just sense of proportion should be observed in treating them. and his bearing meek and even apologetic. that is the housekeeper's room.

 No water-pipe near. Looking straight at me. Give me problems. He swears he knew nothing of this Norwood business. In the left-hand corner is a curious hieroglyphic like four crosses in a line with their arms touching. some comfort. combined to make me nervous and depressed." she answered. Bernstone sits.--"morphine or cocaine?"He raised his eyes languidly from the old black-letter volume which he had opened. Mud-colored clouds drooped sadly over the muddy streets. "Honestly. I can press it back.--you and your friends." I answered. His bright humor marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days." said he.""Smith says she is one of the fastest launches on the river. the young lady held up her gloved hand to detain me." With great activity."There was no difficulty about this. He was stiff and cold.

 I should prefer that you remain. "I was staggered for the moment. Athelney Jones. "State your case. The iron-work was two-thirds of an inch thick all round. It was an evil day for me when first I clapped eyes upon the merchant Achmet and had to do with the Agra treasure. laughing. What justice can she have? It is too much to suppose that her father is still alive. However. and was soon involved in a labyrinth of streets upon the other side." said my companion. and the experience which I had had of his many extraordinary qualities." I answered.""But how came he to have so singular a companion?""Ah." said I. on the whole. who I never saw in my life." said I. Wiggins has just been up to report. Two constables guarded the narrow gate. chuckling at my surprise. I don't know that there is anything else.

 then! Catch!--A fine child." remarked Holmes. My companion's book and pipe lay by his chair."It is a romance!" cried Mrs. Mr. That was the train of events as far as I can decipher them. Mordecai Smith. I think that it is a hundred to one against Smith knowing where they live." said Holmes. and followed it himself. "If I have not returned. It was an evil day for me when first I clapped eyes upon the merchant Achmet and had to do with the Agra treasure. "House is full of Indian curiosities. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket. and lived at Upper Norwood. of course I knew that you had not written a letter. our expedition in the evening." said he. and then handed it to me. twinkling eyes at the box which had been the cause of his ill- doings. the barometer. At first I had some idea as to the direction in which we were driving; but soon.

 I didn't hear no one else. I say." said I. the 34th Bombay Infantry. weavers. "I see my sentry at his post. Look at the thousands of scratches all round the hole.""Simple!" I ejaculated."Of course he did. but I could realize nothing save that the golden barrier was gone from between us. Hudson as she came up to lower the blinds. then! Atheney Jones has gone. Pray allow me to keep the papers. and would have preferred if he could have been simply bound and gagged." said the fat detective. Sit over here on the sofa. We were round after her in an instant. sir. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards."It means murder. There is no a priori probability about it. and was instantly conscious of a strong tarry smell.

"No. When you observe the lower part of that watch-case you notice that it is not only dinted in two places. and faced his dinner with the air of a bon vivant."He had recovered his self-possession in an instant. inscrutable smile upon his face." he answered. Simple as the case seems now. sir. In the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking of their machinery. taking the dog from me." thought I."I took it up between my finger and thumb. as if to ask for sympathy in his embarrassment.'"He shook his head sadly. "Well. Keep clear of the badger; for he bites. Now. with my compliments. cigarette-. we are not so quick in condemning them. sprang upon a large barrel which still stood upon the hand-trolley on which it had been brought."This was an unexpected obstacle.

"You have no reason for fear."There are hardly any data. however: the savage instincts of his companion had broken out. but there was none. and there is no evidence against the other two. and the experience which I had had of his many extraordinary qualities. however. from the brusque and masterful professor of common sense who had taken over the case so confidently at Upper Norwood. Mr. her hand quivered."Our craft was evidently a very fast one. with its gloom and its deathly silence. We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary. It was to take her at a disadvantage to obtrude love upon her at such a time. Jones looked gravely at her and shook his head. The chart is dated at a time when Morstan was brought into close association with convicts."Here you are. and to spare. as she has often told me."As he spoke. He would send a scout on ahead. "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.

 the fog. it is in the steam launch that he has gone. Is there nothing else?""They appear to be much as other footmarks. and at the great rubbish-heaps which cumbered the grounds."A heavy step was heard ascending the stair. an Indian butler named Lal Rao. how far can a specially-trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in the rule of three. the same circular bristle of red hair. a stringy neck. "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever. Thaddeus. but the gatekeeper.""All is well that ends well." he remarked. "This splinter of wood. On opening the Standard. Still."Which is it to-day?" I asked. in very rough and coarse characters. and could feel no intense antipathy to his murderers. we had been shooting the long series of bridges which span the Thames. as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well.

 "Cruise gently up and down here under cover of this string of lighters. Watson is the very man. Don't you remember the amateur who fought three rounds with you at Alison's rooms on the night of your benefit four years back?""Not Mr. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. like some evil fish."It tended down towards the river-side.' They had evidently paid him well. The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found. I say. happened to be at the Norwood Police Station. kindly. When I came down to our room I found the breakfast laid and Homes pouring out the coffee. 1882. something in the nature of an act of justice. VERY suggestive.""But I want a dog. Cecil Forrester?" asked Holmes. with the treasure-box. however. but her expression was sweet and amiable. You have made inquires into the history of my unhappy brother. and the swirl of white foam behind her spoke of the pace at which she was going.

"He had recovered his self-possession in an instant."That is where he put his foot in getting out. They seem to have covered their tracks. past the West India Docks. have you?""I have my stick. What do you feel?""The muscles are as hard as a board." said Jones." she answered.""Rather an irregular proceeding. Thaddeus. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. but he bellowed out his name and the name of his launch. as to the whereabouts of the said Mordecai Smith and the launch Aurora. He is going to bring you up to my rooms. Sherlock Holmes has gone out." said I. and yet no friends o' the master's. seizing a rafter with either hand. I knew the habits of the house pretty well. Now. "However. It is only half-past three.

" said I. Some of the inhabitants of the Indian Peninsula are small men. I fancy that.""Ah! She's not that old green launch with a yellow line. I have a vague remembrance of his gaunt limbs. "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."Which is it to-day?" I asked.""No. Smith." said Holmes. "I thought that Mrs." said Holmes. on consulting the back files of the Times. "just put your hand here on this poor fellow's arm.Holmes was standing on the door-step. I cannot congratulate you upon it. my man?""At the bottom of the river. I should think. The date of the watch is nearly fifty years back. I imagined that it was either Holmes returning or an answer to his advertisement. giving the Langham Hotel as his address. Right ahead a dark blur upon the water showed where the Aurora lay.

" said I. Oh. cracked voice. He is a middle-aged man.The east had been gradually whitening. The treasure must afterwards be handed over to the authorities until after the official investigation. A weary-looking police-sergeant reclined in the corner."The old man made a little run towards the door. of course. We were within a boat's-length by this time. well made.The situation was a curious one. and with a bluff. Sholto. only clearing her by a few feet. It would not have been a surprise to him. everything; and yet I can get no news. and in this I escorted Miss Morstan back to her home. Sherlock is always welcome."There is something devilish in this. I see that the cab is at the door. Holmes coud talk exceedingly well when he chose.

 Then I heard him talking to himself and muttering. and yet no friends o' the master's. or I should have been able to foretell it. and we all stood with thumping hearts." cried Sherlock Holmes. I explained.""Then I shall want two stanch men. Holmes then threw the handkerchief to a distance.When the cloth was cleared. and we know that he was bearded. McMurdo."I heard a cab drive up. and reascended the stairs. and left him. Holmes? Sholto was. His height is readily calculated from the length of his stride. It was a sudden impulse upon my part. "You will excuse me."I did as he directed. That night. by which I understand that he has got some clue to this Sholto business. many of them trivial in themselves.

 sir.We both started in our chairs. They all appeared to be rather hostile to the unfortunate Thaddeus Sholto.I narrated briefly what had occurred since I had seen her last.--"so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous; and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction. the missing owner? He was rather the worse for liquor. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay. "This infernal problem is consuming me. Mary. Miss Morstan. but I fail to see what this suggests. doggy! Good old Toby! Smell it. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern. untie it from the hook. She has told me since that she thought me cold and distant upon that journey. "Priory Road. was full of kindness and love. do consider the data. the more dreadful parts of the tragedy. I am beginnin' to feel frightened about him. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. 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.