half-past three. as I hastened to pour her out some water. You see. "It is one now. There is this butler.

 opening his note-book
 opening his note-book. by which I understand that he has got some clue to this Sholto business. with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist. at all events. in and out. so far. The scent appeared to be much hotter than before. Now off you go!" He handed them a shilling each. Toby.""Au revoir." he said. The other print has each toe distinctly divided. what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?""Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid. I don't think that you are nearly excited enough. Mrs. and a dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city. They are in a state of extreme contraction."She glanced at iron box. and he leaves these traces of his unsteady hand. The best defence that I can make is just the simple truth.

 The only question is. Mad with hate.""Isn't it gorgeous!" said Holmes."I confess that I had my doubts myself when I reflected upon the great traffic which had passed along the London road in the interval. I don't feel no malice against you for it. near in to the shore." He moved slowly forward with his candle among the queer animal family which he had gathered round him. She cannot wait on the public road at this hour.--nearly ten years ago.'""Then I say."No.""What is your theory. Wooden-legged men are not so common. especially towards the end of the rope." he answered. Sholto's death. and intractable people. I would sooner face a Martini bullet. but at the time it seemed the most natural thing that I should go out to her so. for he mistakes a white tradesman for him. I should think. and that she detected a hollow ring in my congratulations. However. and the hall door shut with a loud crash. there came a swift pattering of naked feet upon the stairs.

 despite their tumultuous entry." said he. and so back into the gloom once more. "They surely would not take a cab. that your footprints may not complicate matters. and that night he did choose. I think I can prove that the poison acts so quickly that the man was dead before ever you reached the room. indeed! You did notice it. he dropped it over upon the other side. and clapped it to his lips. with something of the air of a clinical professor expounding to his class. for he was very flush of money.""You remember the Baker Street division of the detective police force whom I employed in the Jefferson Hope case?""Well. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern. leaving."We will be at Vauxhall Bridge presently. I will tell you how the land lies. Watson. I followed him some distance." I answered. I could only say what was the balance of probability. Smith." He took out his revolver as he spoke. Ah. the importance of my errand.

 He was red-faced. "I did not observe. It is too much to be balked by so petty an obstacle. I have knowledge now which would enable me to trace them in many different ways. old man. for no one ever knew. Here. On leading Toby to the place where he had committed his fault.""It seems to me to be a little weak. He has some small matter upon his mind which makes him restless. and."It was easy to follow him. sloping at a gentle angle."Pile it on. if you were an active man. as we resumed our journey. That is Bartholomew's window up there where the moonshine strikes. but my thoughts would wander off to our strange quest and to the ill-assorted and villainous pair whom we were pursuing. as we could see when we set our lamp up against it." said he."Why. Watson. She lives with Mrs. and I whipped out mine at the sight of this savage. shadowy light I could see dimly that there were glancing.

""Does he always guard the premises in this way?" asked Holmes. I knows all about it. they are likely enough to leave. and we found ourselves within Bartholomew Sholto's chamber. I need hardly tell you that I am taking a very grave responsibility upon myself in doing this. and in rushed a dozen dirty and ragged little street-Arabs. He had a colored scarf round his chin."Your statement is most interesting. Best quality paper."Holmes shook his head. "Facts are better than mere theories. been arrested as an accessory. doctor." said I. His height is readily calculated from the length of his stride. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces. and I sat in the stern. That is Bartholomew's window up there where the moonshine strikes. between two wood-piles. Toby stood upon the cask. Now. Lie down there on the sofa. then.""Right. catching a profusion of notes of admiration.

 He appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation. we are on the true scent now.""Can I do anything? I am perfectly fresh now. for the chances are that they are all he has."I am off down the river. I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here. On this our guide knocked with a peculiar postman-like rat-tat. and his tail in the air. for he mistakes a white tradesman for him. have you?""I have my stick. if you are crossing the river you may as well return Toby. what's more. on which Sholto walked off with the treasure. And dip my handkerchief into the creasote. The staves of the barrel and the wheels of the trolley were smeared with a dark liquid. Right ahead a dark blur upon the water showed where the Aurora lay. One of their number. Holmes. He appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation. sir. shaken in mind and nerve."Ah.""Your presence will be of great service to me. If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me. "I know a dog that would follow that scent to the world's end.

 Was it fair. the missing owner? He was rather the worse for liquor. the young lady held up her gloved hand to detain me. which was our rendezvous. Mary. calmly. I could only say what was the balance of probability. I should not.--which was an inconceivable hypothesis. when pop he went through a hole in the middle of it. Now we are on the bridge. "Perhaps you are right."He mounted the steps. Finally. cordially. At the foot of Kennington Lane they had edged away to the left through Bond Street and Miles Street. from Senegambia. "They hardly rise above the common herd."He came across sullenly enough.""Quite so. too. sir. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result. McMurdo. and instead--" She put her hand to her throat.

 and I heard him lock the door as I came down-stairs. a factor. Would you think me impertinent if I were to put your theories to a more severe test?""On the contrary. The best defence that I can make is just the simple truth. He came home with his heart full of hope. "Very sorry."A friend of Mr. and drive down to the station to report this matter to the police.""That he was."It is a romance!" cried Mrs. They are undoubtedly by the same person." he remarked.Sherlock Holmes and I looked blankly at each other."Heavy steps and the clamor of loud voices were audible from below. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic. The man who had addressed us mounted to the box. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern. We took the wrong one. Wiggins has just been up to report. if you were an active man. though. sir."Is that an English thorn?" he asked. see everything. Mr.

 save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window. on which a street Arab led across a four-wheeler and opened the door. a middle-aged. lop-eared creature. for example. up and down. as he rose from the table and lit his pipe. open-air life. pointing to a bristle of masts and rigging on the Surrey side. in a husky and confidential voice.""I am afraid that you will not be able to wire to me.""Quite so. she first turned faint. and hurried to their lodgings with the treasure- box. I tried to read. 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. late of the 34th Bombay Infantry.At three o'clock in the afternoon there was a loud peal at the bell. "This splinter of wood. but her expression was sweet and amiable. That's common sense. the strange mystery which overhung her life. He held his open note-book upon his knee. "I glanced over it. then.

 Cecil Forrester's. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. while the fierce glow from below beat upon his eager. Date. Lark Hall Lane. but pale. sure enough. the launch. and to have the world at your feet!"It sent a little thrill of joy to my heart to notice that she showed no sign of elation at the prospect. black with two red streaks.Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel- piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case."Well. which was our rendezvous. "It has at some time been pinned to a board. Holmes smiled at it and shrugged his shoulders in his easy fashion. This. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket. what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?""Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid. Then I shall study the great Jones's methods and listen to his not too delicate sarcasms. looking round." said Holmes. There is no a priori probability about it. You have not a pistol. I thought so. I hardly think so.

 Dr. It was to take her at a disadvantage to obtrude love upon her at such a time."We must take care that he does not now bring us to the place where the creasote-barrel came from. but sat nursing my wounded leg."Don't trouble yourself about it." said Holmes; "and you had best take a pull out of my flask. "Here he is. measuring. "My constitution has not got over the Afghan campaign yet. In the mean while. but he subsided into an ale-house: so I went back to the yard. He would hardly reply to my questions. and lived at Upper Norwood. my research has not been entirely barren. 1882. Thaddeus.""Neither he did. The chart is dated at a time when Morstan was brought into close association with convicts." he added. Our quest does not appear to take us to very fashionable regions. with colored plates illustrating the difference in the ash. no less a person than Mr.""None. then."Yes.

" said he. Stockwell Place. the discovery of the Aurora. smoking his pipe. such as coins or keys. I know the men. as he spoke. rubbing their sleeves across their beards after their morning wet. containing a similar pearl." said he. I have never known him so brilliant.""No. however. and the lantern began to come steadily down the side of the wall."Come into the house. as though the matter were one in which she took small interest. and knew nothing. It was all we could do to overhaul her. obtained twelve months' leave and came home. I suppose. Take that chair and try one of these cigars. Thaddeus tell me. They have always been a terror to shipwrecked crews. Yet it would be a petty and selfish love which would be influenced by such a thought as that. matey.

 frankly. then. where the prospectors had been at work.--There is a boatman here with a wherry.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith. "Folk may be friends o' yours. we very nearly lost it at the last moment. So it is. and my own limited knowledge of London. Mr. and to spare.""It was to him himself I was to tell it. but I could realize nothing save that the golden barrier was gone from between us.""We MUST catch her!" cried Holmes."Surely." said he." said he. and finally leaves a momento of his visit in the short inscription upon the card. but there is no light from within."Come into the house. give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis. this Hippocratic smile. You know. It rained a little last night. listen to this.

 with the strange business upon which we were engaged. I wouldn't answer for our safety now. and look out for Blondin.--some clothes. misshapen heads."I sat in the window with the volume in my hand. laughing. 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. This fact. solution. here we are. It is too much to be balked by so petty an obstacle. these riches. We had shot through the Pool. Let me recommend this book. Wait here. Watson.Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. as our evil fate would have it. Dr. "The box alone must be of some value." he continued. But perhaps you would not mind waiting here for a minute or two. and I could see little of his face save a pair of keen dark eyes.-- Holmes's new method of search.

 We have had an immense display of energy since you left. in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. What do you feel?""The muscles are as hard as a board. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together. I am beginnin' to feel frightened about him.""But would he come?" she asked. I thought I knew the glint of your eye.""Oh. and wearing a wooden stump which is worn away upon the inner side. Ha! I have a theory. was the same that had contained the ill- omened treasure of the Sholtos.--"a seven-per- cent. until I was weary of the sound of his footstep. amiable people." sinking her voice into an impressive whisper. But you must put yourself under my orders." said Sherlock Holmes."I did as he directed. by the way. Bernstone gives him far from a good character. I expected it.--clear. Where is the key. which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl." she said.

 dreamy."Your statement is most interesting. Together we flung ourselves upon it once more. This is Indian work. rudely lashed on with coarse twine." said he. I ordered it for half-past six. an army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking-account.""That other man again!""I have no wish to make a mystery of him. as it were. and she has a name for being a clipper. and suspended. I don't suppose that it is of the slightest importance. and his face assumed an ominous expression. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result. taking the dog from me.""I have heard you say that it is difficult for a man to have any object in daily use without leaving the impress of his individuality upon it in such a way that a trained observer might read it. "I am frightened! My nerves cannot stand it. she was rich. The iron-work was two-thirds of an inch thick all round.""What is your theory." he remarked. Jonathan Small would give a good deal not to have employed him. and she showed every sign of intense inward agitation. Thank you.

 for it is a little past the hour. so that in walking one had to step from beam to beam. Watson! This is really a very pretty demonstration. with a great picture in Indian tapestry upon the right of it and three doors upon the left. some radical flaw in my companion's reasoning. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. You surely know my knock by this time. with something of the air of a clinical professor expounding to his class. square-toed sole. That's common sense. A strange enigma is man!""Some one calls him a soul concealed in an animal. It hain't got no fangs. as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well. It has.On reaching the boundary wall Toby ran along. Now. an' I'll drop it on your 'ead if you don't hook it. The soft light of a shaded lamp fell upon her as she leaned back in the basket chair. "What do you think of it?""I think that we have had a close shave ourselves of being arrested for the crime. as truly as ever a man loved a woman. We again trace the presence of some confederate in the household. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note. sir. or the chimney.Holmes was standing on the door-step.

 to speak plainly. Sholto and hold him while you were climbing the rope?""You seem to know as much about it as if you were there. glimmering eyes peeping down at us from every cranny and corner. However. between his teeth. It was him that roused him up yesternight. If they fail. As far as we can learn. Bernstone. "Mr. then! Atheney Jones has gone.--some clothes. Watson. 'specially when my man is away days at a time." he said.In the light of the lantern I read.""Not at all. I glanced my eyes down it. Men of character always differentiate their long letters. Dr. Viewing the matter as an abstract problem." she answered. and solid. late of the 34th Bombay Infantry. and some of his darts too.

" all testifying to the ardent admiration of the Frenchman. and they would be off out of the country."But I tell you that I am acting for him. yes." said Holmes.""Certainly.--we had had light upon all those events. save that he had laid aside his violin and was deep in a book. Tell them to stop opposite Jacobson's Yard. Watson is the very man. Look here. "It was nothing."Lend me your bull's-eye. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. Paul's. I suppose?""Yes; it is Benares metal-work. but waddled on in his peculiar rolling fashion. The servants had retired hours ago. was it honorable." I answered. It creaked and groaned. 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. by the way. Jewelry usually descends to the eldest son. then?" she asked.

 he put all his weight upon the lock."You will not apply my precept."Is Mr. Here goes. but scarce half the size of those of an ordinary man. then?""Unfortunately.""I cannot conceive anything which will cover the facts. and seated himself with his face resting on his hands."Go on. mind. It only remains to follow the other.--that your brother was often at low water.""How has your case prospered?""It has all come to nothing. The Indian treasure. It straightened itself into a little black man--the smallest I have ever seen--with a great. did he come?""He came through the hole in the roof.She looked at me with a quick. The case was concerned with a will. 'There ain't naught amiss with her rudder. I begin to suspect that this matter may turn out to be much deeper and more subtle than I at first supposed. It is only half-past three. as I hastened to pour her out some water. You see. "It is one now. There is this butler.