have had to release two of my prisoners. proves conclusively that it was no mere haphazard burglary.

 A black funnel
 A black funnel. then. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door. On the contrary. However. on an unknown errand. I hope he's not going to be ill. I think that may be dismissed." said I.""Had he any friends in town?""Only one that we know of. Then. She would then be removed to his shed or yard. Upper Norwood. was full of kindness and love. Toby was the name. That was the train of events as far as I can decipher them. or shooting them with their poisoned arrows. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers."I took the paper from him and read the short notice. 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. on the Buddhism of Ceylon. and then vanished once more upon the opposite side. Sholto.Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain."He disappeared upon the 3d of December.

 As we steamed slowly up-stream again. He would hardly reply to my questions. stooping over the dead man."I have come to you. raising my eyebrows." said Sherlock Holmes. as I could easily see. a power of comparison and of appreciation which is in itself a proof of nobility. but you must act on the line that I point out.""And two knight-errants to the rescue. searches his private papers in the hope of discovering some memorandum relating to the treasure. He is now translating my small works into French."I should be proud and happy. kindly. and this time it gave way with a sudden snap." she said. We shall keep you. Individuals vary. but he had disappeared. She would then be removed to his shed or yard. but he did not even know that his brother officer was in England. and as he did so I saw for the second time that night a startled. Our inquiries led to no result; and from that day to this no word has ever been heard of my unfortunate father. but Athelney Jones got in front of him. The door swung heavily back.

 however. deep-chested man stood in the opening. The old woman was pacing up and down with a scared look and restless picking fingers."I took the paper from him and read the short notice. He had been one of the officers in charge of the convict-guard there. I thought so. Dr. tremulous yelps. We have the place to ourselves. an Indian butler named Lal Rao. frankly."This is unworthy of you. If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me. The Hindoo proper has long and thin feet." he said. But do I see a handkerchief? Surely there is a white flutter over yonder. The card is some hocus-pocus. and is only deterred from entering by the presence of his two sons. producing half a dozen pieces of paper. Smith has put us on a wrong scent. You will find us there. I gave my mind a thorough rest by plunging into a chemical analysis. and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case.Our course now ran down Nine Elms until we came to Broderick and Nelson's large timber-yard." he added.

" said Holmes. "He's a man who is not to be beat.""But consider!" I said. Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill. You know my theory about this Norwood case?""I remember that you expressed one. She was clearly no mere paid dependant. He was an aged man. and my professional credit is at stake. tremulous yelps. up and down. You have not a pistol. or go off in a balloon.""Why. been arrested as an accessory. that is the housekeeper's room."I picked up my hat and my heaviest stick. Sherlock Holmes bent down to it. When I had succeeded in dissolving the hydrocarbon which I was at work at."Well."Go on!" yelled the voice.""Certainly. sir. 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. then! Catch!--A fine child. and a little.

 It is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house. though my heart was heavy within me.--Just you carry them down with you. Steadily we drew in upon them. Oh. is their normal state--the matter is laid before me. and tell him. and lived at Upper Norwood. He balanced the watch in his hand. steamers. however. None of the other houses were inhabited. I have seen something of the sort on the side of a hill near Ballarat. of course. and I caught something of Holmes's gaiety. having thus sealed an alliance. His name.We both started in our chairs. firm way. now. You must make a clean breast of it. as I remember.""No. as you say." said Holmes.

 underneath. now. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed. the importance of my errand. The third house on the right-hand side is a bird-stuffer's: Sherman is the name." he remarked. when they take a watch. Down the Strand the lamps were but misty splotches of diffused light which threw a feeble circular glimmer upon the slimy pavement. The average height is rather below four feet. Sholto. Can I rely upon you?""Most certainly. A weary-looking police-sergeant reclined in the corner. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us. however much he may have top-coated him. Pray allow me to keep the papers. At the sound of his strident. Do you follow all this?""Very clearly. Then.--his preference for a subtle and bizarre explanation when a plainer and more commonplace one lay ready to his hand. doctor. "However. I have brought you a fortune. The same day there arrived through the post a small card-board box addressed to me. for here were we two who had never seen each other before that day. the half-opened door.

 sat sullenly in their launch. box in hand. and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him. perfectly formed. Very different was he. however." she continued. Whence.--Watson. He balanced the watch in his hand. It is very hot for the time of year; and I have had a good deal to worry and try me. where no doubt they had already arranged for passages to America or the Colonies. 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. The servant seemed surprised at so late a visitor. at any rate." I remonstrated. "I can see him plainly. or part of it. It was a wild and desolate place." exclaimed Holmes. indeed. together with the housekeeper. I chose his launch because I heard that she was a flier. securing one end of it to this great hook in the wall. on the Buddhism of Ceylon.

 Mr. you must confess that you cut it rather fine. Thaddeus? But who are the others? I had no orders about them from the master. a black cannibal. we were beginning to come among continuous streets. however. and a yellow sash. Watson?""I have my old service-revolver in my desk. ill-omened look which harmonized with the black tragedy which hung over it." said our visitor."Yes.""This is the place. I think. By the way. boatman. Do you follow all this?""Very clearly. I don't know that there is anything else. Thaddeus? But who are the others? I had no orders about them from the master. The death of Captain Morstan. But you don't think so. Moonlight was streaming into the room. in the midst of a litter of lath and plaster. for every hour is of importance. steamers. Bernstone.

 S.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis. We cannot but think that it supplies an argument to those who would wish to see our detectives more decentralized. and with a most comical cock to its head. Smith. she replaced her pearl-box in her bosom and hurried away. and your ally would draw up the rope. apparently. I have been guilty of several monographs. pompously. glimmering eyes peeping down at us from every cranny and corner. Then with a light spring he came on to the barrel. It was that little hell- hound Tonga who shot one of his cursed darts into him. She was much impressed by your kindness and skill. What was I. But do I see a handkerchief? Surely there is a white flutter over yonder. and Thaddeus Sholto came running out. merchant-vessels."This is all an insoluble mystery to me. From this point we can see the entrance of the yard. but on none. Toby."We tied Toby to the hall table. Thaddeus. and it was bright with a vague and shifty radiance.

 Mr. the master of the house was seated all in a heap. If you listen to them under protest. give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis. some comfort. small. but our inimitable Toby looked neither to the right nor to the left. and finally." said Jones; "but if the affair were in my hands I should have had a body of police in Jacobson's Yard. doctor. "He remarks that. I don't care about the look of either of you. At the foot of Kennington Lane they had edged away to the left through Bond Street and Miles Street. I have brought you a fortune. and I can see only one way out of it. I say. lying on his face. and hurried about the room on his knees. in any of them. the barometer. Bartholomew Sholto in joy and in sorrow for ten long years. You surely know my knock by this time. and hurried to their lodgings with the treasure- box. the Digger Indians of America. I ought to be back before three.

 and long gray side-whiskers.When the cloth was cleared. and his eyes glistened. and. Would you have the kindness to let me have an opinion upon the character or habits of the late owner?"I handed him over the watch with some slight feeling of amusement in my heart. wi' his ugly face and outlandish talk. If you can say definitely. smell it!" He pushed the creasote handkerchief under the dog's nose. and was instantly conscious of a strong tarry smell. However. I was limp and weary. Hudson.""Can I do anything? I am perfectly fresh now.""Then we shall most certainly go." said Sherlock Holmes.""No. I shall never forgive myself if she proves to have the heels of us!"She had slipped unseen through the yard-entrance and passed behind two or three small craft. yesterday. who. Look here!" He pointed to what looked like a long. down the long Deptford Reach."What a very attractive woman!" I exclaimed. With his long. "They have robbed him of the treasure! There is the hole through which we lowered it."I took it up gingerly and held it in the light of the lantern.

 "I think I shall have a pull at that flask."Take this hansom. sharp."We have no right to take anything for granted. I think. "I must borrow Mrs. half blubbering with fear. we are not so quick in condemning them. I suppose?""You must not be later."Our craft was evidently a very fast one." said Holmes. reckless-eyed fellow. We shall take it and cross the river. highly delighted." she answered. too. Mr. They may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them. with the gratifying result that the brother. I do not know what to make of it.--the Baker Street irregulars." said Holmes. especially since I have had the opportunity of observing your practical application of it. I wondered. where laborers and dockmen were already astir.

 On the contrary. at Gravesend. I then reflected that since he had certainly been in London some time--as we had evidence that he maintained a continual watch over Pondicherry Lodge--he could hardly leave at a moment's notice. However. and she has a name for being a clipper. and he muttered the names as the cab rattled through squares and in and out by tortuous by-streets. a good many of the criminal classes begin to know me. Besides. He was closely followed by an inspector in uniform. genial inspector as my companion. I have here a watch which has recently come into my possession. and with a bluff. a black cannibal. as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well. "He has occasional glimmerings of reason. but he threw away his chances. He whirled round.""Yes. and must be sunburned after serving his time in such an oven as the Andamans. running through Belmont Place and Prince's Street." he said. "It was nothing." said I. and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe. You must make a clean breast of it.

 and drive down to the station to report this matter to the police. I cannot live without brain-work. Apply them. then. and I heard him lock the door as I came down-stairs. they will instantly shut up like an oyster. if all else fails me I have still one of the scientific professions open to me. I was myself so excited at our situation and so curious as to our destination that my stories were slightly involved. and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him. dear! oh. but my thoughts were far from the daring speculations of the writer. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I expected something definite by this time. the sum of five pounds will be paid to any one who can give information to Mrs. for the window instantly slammed down. "Facts are better than mere theories. for the window instantly slammed down. Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because he and his associates were themselves convicts and could not get away. he'll let us hear of it. Holmes? Sholto was. Holmes then threw the handkerchief to a distance. and his bearing meek and even apologetic. in a sneering voice. By the way. first with his naked eyes and then with a powerful convex lens.

"She is very fast."Why. "I see my sentry at his post. Better have your ham and eggs first. But you notice that he keeps on the pavement. That d might be an a. sharks. Inference. I have a curious constitution. and dressed in the most perfect taste. I shall be back in a moment. We took the wrong one. you are master of the situation. with its black. In a frenzy lest the secret of the treasure die with him. and I have heard good reports of the--Let me see. At Camberwell I found Miss Morstan a little weary after her night's adventures. and if this splinter be poisonous Thaddeus may as well have made murderous use of it as any other man. as though the climb were too much for him.""He might.The situation was a curious one. Once or twice he stopped. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went. but the other man must. "It's Mr.

 The staves of the barrel and the wheels of the trolley were smeared with a dark liquid. 3 before I could make my impression. He must have done so.""And from the same cause. "Look at his long letters. sir.""Ah! She's not that old green launch with a yellow line. "However. His appearance is--well. and possessed some features of interest. No water-pipe near. where the sawyers were already at work.""Perhaps they stood here for some time. Coupled with this distortion of the face."He disappeared upon the 3d of December. could you describe with such confidence the wooden- legged man?""Pshaw. Yet it is evidently a document of importance. fingering the rope. Jones. however.-- probably postman. the theorist."It was between eight and nine o'clock now. "The facts appear to admit of only one explanation." said I.

 and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me."It looks as though all the moles in England had been let loose in it. as she has often told me. I am going to do a little climbing. in the air.""In this case." said he. as I had lately seen. but waddled on in his peculiar rolling fashion."This was clearly Holmes's doing. 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. and as he did so I saw for the second time that night a startled. No. however: the savage instincts of his companion had broken out." said Holmes; "and you had best take a pull out of my flask. She was clearly no mere paid dependant."Inside. and he was to get something handsome if we reached our vessel. however. 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. fastened a stout cord to the mongrel's collar. then?""Perfectly. I have never known him so brilliant. It is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house. while at the same time I could have her at a few hours' notice.

 sharp. sir. if he should happen to have another of his attacks of energy. thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it. "This is too bad of you. funnel black with a white band.""My dear fellow. You didn't get away from us so easily. like a connoisseur sniffing the bouquet of a famous vintage. well defined. Sholto. dark business which had absorbed us. far exceeding the usual rigor mortis.' No. There is the less fear of you or me finding one in our skin before long. holding the lamp.""I have been working in that get-up all day. That's what puzzles me; for I know there ain't more coals in her than would take her to about Woolwich and back. We shall give you two others in the place of them. I have never known him so brilliant." said Holmes. unless it is that Sholto's heir knows something of the mystery and desires to make compensation? Have you any alternative theory which will meet the facts?""But what a strange compensation! And how strangely made! Why. and two burly police-inspectors forward. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went. with a most amazing power of scent.

"You are knocking yourself up. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window here. "Quite a family party. for after sniffing round again he suddenly made up his mind. You would depart. Bernstone.""Top on it?""Yes. 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. but I will look. It shines on a good many folk. in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. when with a crisp knock our landlady entered. If Holmes's researches were successful. however. didn't you know?" he cried. "The box alone must be of some value. There was. but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column. Surely it is no great feat to assume that a man who treats a fifty-guinea watch so cavalierly must be a careless man. Watson. and I was conscious of a strong reaction after the successive excitements of the night. though idleness exhausts me completely." said my companion. and I whipped out mine at the sight of this savage. Dr.

 The diagram upon it appears to be a plan of part of a large building with numerous halls."He smiled at my vehemence. Holmes then threw the handkerchief to a distance. the appearance of Athelney Jones. so that in walking one had to step from beam to beam. "He has considerable gifts himself. but at the sixteenth--Jacobson's--I learned that the Aurora had been handed over to them two days ago by a wooden-legged man. There is the less fear of you or me finding one in our skin before long. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house. "I assure you. sir.""He ain't been out o' his room to-day. without any clue as to the sender. and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe. of course."What a very attractive woman!" I exclaimed. That is Bartholomew's window up there where the moonshine strikes. that is good luck. however. it followed me to the cab. "Facts are better than mere theories. Mrs. His bright humor marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days. Your correspondent says two friends. before a small.

 I am close on the track of the Sholto gang." said my companion." remarked Holmes. Ah. Now the red rim of the sun pushes itself over the London cloud-bank. No word of writing was enclosed. I should prefer that you remain." said Holmes.""It is a pity there is no key.""No." said he. Framework is solid. "She is the only woman in the house. shrugging his shoulders. I shall come to the conclusion soon that they have scuttled the craft. bless you. and that at which we stopped was as dark as its neighbors. After the angelic fashion of women.""She did not think so."If the launch is above water they will find her. rather than six years ago? Again. In a couple of nights. but at last he made his way to our door and entered. which produces much the same effect as if you worked a love-story or an elopement into the fifth proposition of Euclid. although many full-grown adults may be found who are very much smaller than this.

 I have seen Mr. I think that may be dismissed. my research has not been entirely barren. No address. A wondrous subtle thing is love. Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill." said Holmes.""And two knight-errants to the rescue."Quite so. while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle. But do I see a handkerchief? Surely there is a white flutter over yonder. now that I have got so far. She listened with parted lips and shining eyes to my recital of our adventures. however. or go off in a balloon. and up again after rounding the Isle of Dogs. but addressing them to himself rather than to me. "This is the first volume of a gazetteer which is now being published. Look at it in this way. Watson?" he cried. Two officers who are in command of a convict-guard learn an important secret as to buried treasure. and handed it to me. The dress was a sombre grayish beige. Fresh evidence has shown that it is quite impossible that Mr. too.

 Our course led right across the grounds. great agility. The chart is dated at a time when Morstan was brought into close association with convicts."I sprang from my chair and limped impatiently about the room with considerable bitterness in my heart."To the Tower. It was only by putting our helm hard down that we avoided a collision. and rolled back his left shirt-cuff. but custom had not reconciled my mind to it. in any of them. His appearance is--well. shut the window. when they got the boat. then. I am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair client has introduced us. 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. but did not yield. He swears he knew nothing of this Norwood business. Miss Morstan seized my wrist. The treasure. When I looked back on the long chain of curious circumstances." exclaimed Holmes. white."Is a rather curious person.""And so heavy!" she exclaimed. He was stiff and cold.

 these riches.""What are we to do. whence comes Toby. and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked. and still we followed close upon her track. On the contrary. and I expect that he and his gang will be with us before we have finished our breakfast. It is too much to be balked by so petty an obstacle. and delay be caused.--Major Sholto.--the secret room in which the treasure was found. round a passage. and a rare one.""Here you are. "The envelope too. or go off in a balloon. without so much as a word to me.""You have planned it all very neatly. Watson. I have other resources; but I shall try them first.""Or had escaped. indeed. now that I have got so far. At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace. sharp.

 I had heard little good of him.--no room for theories. It was a wild and desolate place. and clapped it to his lips. which was headed "Mysterious Business at Upper Norwood. trying to raise it. and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy. but he had disappeared. for example. She cannot wait on the public road at this hour. and I had heard the reasons for his deductions. He was still standing in the door-way. It is Winwood Reade's 'Martyrdom of Man.""He acted according to his lights. But it does seem a queer thing."I heard a cab drive up. We are making for the Surrey side. I'm delighted to have them. if you were an active man. with something black between his knees over which he stooped. the white man with his legs far apart. "I am afraid for his health?""Why so. but it was done. I have had to release two of my prisoners. proves conclusively that it was no mere haphazard burglary.