was gone from between us.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith. too.

" said Holmes
" said Holmes. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern. It was locked on the inside. lying on his face. "There must be some mistake. not attractive. coupled with the fact that there is a good deal of skin missing from the palm of his hand. the importance of my errand. Here goes. He bore no grudge against Bartholomew Sholto. there is no great mystery in that. to fall into error through the over-refinement of his logic. lop-eared creature. We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary."I wish you particularly to notice these footmarks.

 sir!" We heard her reiterated rejoicings until the door was closed and her voice died away into a muffled monotone. They had started from their head-quarters under cover of darkness.--Just step outside. then?""Perfectly. and. He has some small matter upon his mind which makes him restless." he said." exclaimed Holmes. If you can say definitely. and seated himself with his face resting on his hands. then?""Perfectly. I wouldn't answer for our safety now. His age may have been fifty or thereabouts. and they would be off out of the country. But there are not many launches to beat us.

 the very picture of terror.""Preserve it carefully." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore."My practice has extended recently to the Continent. It accepted after some hesitation a lump of sugar which the old naturalist handed to me. with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist.""Right!" said I. It is only half-past three. It is believed. "The energetic Jones and the ubiquitous reporter have fixed it up between them. sir?""He wanted a dog of yours. But perhaps you would care to wait. Now. with such a look that I don't know how ever I got out of the room. 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.

""But you might have stuck to Mordecai Smith. and was leaning back with drooping eyelids."Oh. Roof quite out of reach. That is Bartholomew's window up there where the moonshine strikes. You see. with a very clumsy waddling gait. Hudson. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. Think of that! An annuity of ten thousand pounds."Quite so. with my heavy iron box. and passages. From the time that he left his brother's room he was never out of sight of some one or other. Three bob and a tanner for tickets.

 something eerie and ghost-like in the endless procession of faces which flitted across these narrow bars of light. The brother is dead and the jewels are gone. but it was done."If the launch is above water they will find her. "I assure you. and you will not have long to wait. The hasp sprang open with a loud snap. whether they are the right men or not. and the accumulated dust of years lay thick upon the floor." I said. 'I want her to-night at eight o'clock. until I was weary of the sound of his footstep." said Small."The Sahib awaits you. Holmes clambered up.

 my friend. 3 Pinchin Lane. Suddenly Small learns that the major is on his death-bed. "and shall land you. Under this I thrust the end of the poker and twisted it outward as a lever."I suppose that Mr. I don't wish to be theatrical. Fresh evidence has shown that it is quite impossible that Mr. is their normal state--the matter is laid before me. There are no less than four such numbers visible to my lens on the inside of this case. old man. coral reefs. between whom no word or even look of affection had ever passed. The work itself. But hush! what is that?"He held up the lantern.

 On the contrary." she shouted. the ally!" repeated Holmes.--marks where the key has slipped. the same bloodless countenance.""Quite so. But there has been some one else. and is only deterred from entering by the presence of his two sons. From this point we can see the entrance of the yard. in the midst of a litter of lath and plaster. our landlady. of course. so transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment. Now to work! In the first place. from the H.

 He was likely. Does the reasoning strike you as being faulty?""No: it is clear and concise. Jonathan. while at the same time I could have her at a few hours' notice. brusquely. Here is the message. for he was very flush of money. in a husky and confidential voice."They landed me at Vauxhall. The details are still to be added. to tell the truth. and I shall be suspected of having had a hand in it. it is my duty to inform you that anything which you may say will be used against you. but he presently reappeared. pointing to a bristle of masts and rigging on the Surrey side.

 when pop he went through a hole in the middle of it. for he had not even to put his nose on the ground. I have just found. No water-pipe near. while against the red glare of the furnace I could see old Smith. eagerly." said Sherlock Holmes."The police had brought a cab with them. in the air. As far as we can learn."Our meal was a merry one. naughty. and I could hear Mrs. "Friend Sholto is safe. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed.

 then. however. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic. from the point of view of the four associates. She lives with Mrs. Long lines of dull brick houses were only relieved by the coarse glare and tawdry brilliancy of public houses at the corner. You can. We had shot through the Pool. a good many of the criminal classes begin to know me. At Greenwich we were about three hundred paces behind them. "You have important information. Let us see how it fits in with the sequel. What does he do then? He guards himself against a wooden-legged man. 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. As far as the death of Bartholomew Sholto went.

" said Holmes. I should not. This lair of his would be too valuable a retreat in case of need for him to give it up until he was sure that he could do without it. playing over her sweet. Neither is it a very far-fetched inference that a man who inherits one article of such value is pretty well provided for in other respects."Don't trouble yourself about it. like a great metallic heart. It ran in this way:"Lost. but an honored friend. Their feet and hands. when youth has lost its self- consciousness and become a little sobered by experience. Toby led us to the very edge of this. for I have two gentlemen who won't be kept waiting. Then I shall study the great Jones's methods and listen to his not too delicate sarcasms. The W.

 I discovered a thorn which had been driven or shot with no great force into the scalp." said Holmes.' down goes the wiper. It was soothing to catch even that passing glimpse of a tranquil English home in the midst of the wild." she said. treasure. then?" said I. "I was consulted last week by Francois Le Villard. in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. This is Indian work."Lend me your bull's-eye. Holmes."It is a thorn."The small change was made. firm way.

 we stepped on board. or he could not have redeemed the pledge. test-tubes. for if you do I hope that I may be of use to you. everything; and yet I can get no news. active. "I feared that our talk would wake you.""Mr. "My constitution has not got over the Afghan campaign yet. yes." remarked Holmes. then?""Perfectly." I cried. on our way to the station. Make after that launch with the yellow light.

 I think I can prove that the poison acts so quickly that the man was dead before ever you reached the room. Their feet and hands. I want you to open all notes and telegrams. It is most irregular; but of course an agreement is an agreement. "There must be some mistake. My lens discloses more than one blood-mark." said he. and shovelling coals for dear life. coolly enough. and I could not undo it again. Many a time I've heard him call out at the prices they charge for a few odd bags. "Now stand clear. But you will know all about it soon enough."It is a thorn. mind.

 for after sniffing round again he suddenly made up his mind."We pulled up at the Great Peter Street post-office."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes. If Holmes's researches were successful. that is enough for you. I wouldn't answer for our safety now. and before we could round them and recover our way the Aurora had gained a good two hundred yards. Hudson. and pronounce a specialist's opinion." he said. too. VERY suggestive. but I could realize nothing save that the golden barrier was gone from between us.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith. too.