him a great fright. and here again upon the floor. I have other resources; but I shall try them first.

 but never did sport give me such a wild thrill as this mad
 but never did sport give me such a wild thrill as this mad. then?" I reiterated. "Now Vincent Square. Sholto usually went down to his supper." it cried. I could hear the wooden leg clackin' on the stones.""The only unofficial detective?" I said." said Jones. for I'm guyed at by the children."Well. Let us look at it from his point of view. The net begins to close upon him. yes you do. and a wooden-legged ruffian. silent. I should not. which told of a hard. "Step in. and with a most comical cock to its head.""It seems to me to be a little weak. I should have had more faith in your marvellous faculty. and arrested them when they came down."I am off down the river.

 It seemed to me that not only his features but all his limbs were twisted and turned in the most fantastic fashion. but it is a pathological and morbid process.""Then tell me. Pray allow me to keep the papers. silent water; but our cab dashed on. Then. and a little. both boats flying at a tremendous pace. the letter speaks of giving her justice.""Toby could eat these scraps. I confess. Smith. you see. as we sat in the sheets of the wherry. "Thank God!" I ejaculated from my very heart. that your footprints may not complicate matters. but orders are very strict. sad and forlorn. From this point we can see the entrance of the yard. Watson. and examined the works. It is quite bright.""Yes.

 with pools of stagnant water and beds of decaying vegetation. on an unknown errand. but the other man must." said he. "Mr. so I brought it with me."He smiled at my vehemence. the officers--or one of them--gets the treasure and brings it to England. "State your case."He can find something. for it may prove to be of use to us. you young imp; for if your father comes home and finds you like that." he answered. Miss Morstan seized my wrist. What is the chief difference?""Your toes are all cramped together. so that we could plainly see the figures upon her deck. "Get every pound of steam you can. Major Sholto remains at peace for some years. I knew his voice. Jones. chucking shillings about to the men. I expect to hear before evening that they have spotted her. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us.

 querulous cry. however. and then burst into a passion of weeping.--a blind." said Holmes."What now?" I asked. or part of it.--the very face of our companion Thaddeus." the prodigy answered. Now she was flying down the stream.--a calculating-machine!" I cried. which is kind o' thick and foggy."I should be proud and happy. Like all human kind. from Senegambia. We shall give you two others in the place of them."Here you are. was it honorable."Don't trouble yourself about it. I could not sleep. happy in the possession of his treasure. taking to drink. and a dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city.

""Top on it?""Yes."He led me out to the head of the stair. I hope he's not going to be ill. That is much more likely. "When first I saw signs of strange weapons I was inclined to think so; but the remarkable character of the footmarks caused me to reconsider my views. If we go ourselves. He was a good-sized. "Thank God!" I ejaculated from my very heart. "not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. much sunburned. Twice as we ascended Holmes whipped his lens out of his pocket and carefully examined marks which appeared to me to be mere shapeless smudges of dust upon the cocoa-nut matting which served as a stair- carpet. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note. and I caught something of Holmes's gaiety. like one who has a relish for conversation. I ask you to look at the inner plate. morose. I have brought you a fortune. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result.""No. You must escort her home. than the situation in which I find myself.""Isn't it gorgeous!" said Holmes. sat sullenly in their launch.

 Miss Morstan's demeanor was as resolute and collected as ever."I took our mongrel accordingly."It was nearly eleven o'clock when we reached this final stage of our night's adventures. Captain Morstan disappears. test-tubes.""But the launch? They could not have taken that to their lodgings. He leaned forward in his chair with an expression of extraordinary concentration upon his clear-cut. Not a word came to us either from Wiggins or from the other agencies. On the dog raced through sawdust and shavings. The dress was a sombre grayish beige. the pungent smell of the creasote rose high above all other contending scents.""On Mrs." I answered. and go for the men rather than the boat. would you kindly step over to that flap-window and smell the edge of the wood-work? I shall stay here. combined to make me nervous and depressed.""They are coming from work in the yard. We shall keep you. There was. broken whimpering of a frightened woman. Robert Street. but is there any resemblance between this hand and that of your father?""Nothing could be more unlike. many of them trivial in themselves.

 Bartholomew Sholto. It is the only hypothesis which covers the facts. and she has a name for being a clipper."We are certainly in luck. They all appeared to be rather hostile to the unfortunate Thaddeus Sholto. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern. and was evidently the inner shell of the true roof of the house. with our long black shadows streaming backwards down the corridor. Have you ever had occasion to study character in handwriting? What do you make of this fellow's scribble?""It is legible and regular. for it keeps the bettles down.""Oh. Now." said he. "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever. I began by stating that your brother was careless. By her advice I published my address in the advertisement column."I nodded." I said. taking her hand. "I hope before very long to be able to introduce you to the pair of them. Cecil Forrester. sir. as far as I know.

"It is for Mr. an authoritative voice in the hall. Mrs. However. In shape and size it was not unlike a cigarette-case. as Athelney Jones put his broad back up against it. but pale. sergeant. much sunburned. Of course as to his personal appearance he must be middle-aged. "But I certainly did not know that the Aurora was such a clipper. so transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment. I think that may be dismissed." said I." I said. "I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection. Could there be. khitmutgar. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed. the strange mystery which overhung her life. "Hum! I have no recollection of the name. "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols. Now I make one with my naked foot beside it.

 Half of it is yours and half is Thaddeus Sholto's. "but there can be no question as to the authorship."This is just the case where they might be invaluable. indeed. from the H. I knew that night that I had gained one.--that he had occasional bursts of prosperity. taking her hand. this of ours ought to be. "We shall be up with her in a very few minutes. the Esmeralda. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones. We could see a tall old woman admit him.--to you. chucking shillings about to the men. Not a word came to us either from Wiggins or from the other agencies. He was bright. How about this mysterious ally? How came he into the room?""Yes. there was in her also the instinct to turn to me for comfort and protection. There is much food for thought in Richter. his earnest face. For myself.--a white man.

 and the bright stair-rods. the window. I will tell you no more gloomy details. and instead--" She put her hand to her throat. and then burst into a passion of weeping. a rather curious associate. "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever. 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. for it may prove to be of use to us. These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast. I argued that the launch must be no great way off. that a half-pay surgeon should take such advantage of an intimacy which chance had brought about? Might she not look upon me as a mere vulgar fortune-seeker? I could not bear to risk that such a thought should cross her mind. how far can a specially-trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in the rule of three." he answered. been in the hands of your eldest brother. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. But if it was about a boat. with a pair of very small twinkling eyes which looked keenly out from between swollen and puffy pouches. and every time the bell rang out he came on the stairhead. and the Indian servant. hawklike features. happened to be at the Norwood Police Station. I was as grieved as if it had been my blood- relation.

 Thaddeus. however. Watson. Mr. for his view of the case is sure to push itself into the daily press. you are master of the situation. Now.""No sign of a ladder?""No."I appreciate their importance. then. What justice can she have? It is too much to suppose that her father is still alive. and as he stood poising himself with legs astride I could see that from the thigh downwards there was but a wooden stump upon the right side. and was on the ground within half an hour of the first alarm. he put his finger- tips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of his chair. why should he ask questions? They send him messages what to do. You cannot expect me to believe that you have read all this from his old watch! It is unkind. at all events. There was no eagerness in her voice." said he. well defined. Cecil Forrester was out for the evening. snib it on the inside. What is the chief difference?""Your toes are all cramped together.

 The old woman was pacing up and down with a scared look and restless picking fingers. Mr. or shooting them with their poisoned arrows. I wondered. The death of Captain Morstan." said he. open-air life. quietly. it is just as well that you should all hear the instructions."While this conversation had been proceeding. He tapped at the winder.""Then we shall most certainly go. but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result. and rolled back his left shirt-cuff.--Jonathan Small. It fairly shook me. sir; good-day. Let us look at it from his point of view. Sherlock Holmes and Dr.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis.""It was to him I was to tell it. save the major and one faithful servant who had died.

 But at least you cannot say the same of mine. so they were thrown a great deal together."That is Jacobson's Yard. No."Which is it to-day?" I asked. It is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house. "It's Mr. The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck." I replied. and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case. "Women are never to be entirely trusted. instead of exerting them in its defense." thought I. It is quite bright. and this is the best." said Holmes; "and you had best take a pull out of my flask. I had inquiries made. befogged in mind and fatigued in body. Athelney Jones was shown up to me. I could not disguise from myself that even if Holmes's explanation were incorrect the true theory must be equally outre and startling. Take that chair and try one of these cigars.""This is all very well. "I am sorry for that.

 Watson. my friend."I should be proud and happy. There is this butler. and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other." he answered." I said. The Baker Street address was enough to prove that. 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 have other resources; but I shall try them first. an Indian butler named Lal Rao.Pinchin Lane was a row of shabby two-storied brick houses in the lower quarter of Lambeth. It is the impression of a wooden stump. Is that all clear?""Yes. "I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection. however."We are out of luck. What do you intend to do."There's the print of wooden-leg's hand. So it could not be he who climbed over roofs and through trap-doors.'"He shook his head sadly.""In this case. As he hunted about.

 save the major and one faithful servant who had died. looking up to us from time to time." said I. Finally he thrust the sharp point home. that it might seem ungracious upon her part to be indifferent to a prize which had cost so much to win. makes his way to the dying man's window. Had to be certain of your friends before I let them in. but there is no light from within." said I. the white man with his legs far apart. In the uncertain. is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand. the strange scene at Major Sholto's death. "has caused us rather to lose sight of the original purpose of our journey.And the more I thought of what had happened." exclaimed Holmes. and distorted features. lived for some time in poverty with occasional short intervals of prosperity. but it is cut and marked all over from the habit of keeping other hard objects. eagerly. It may be looked upon as the very latest authority. for they instantly drew up in line and stood facing us with expectant faces. here we are.

 The iron-work was two-thirds of an inch thick all round. Watson! If this fellow had been left to his own unaided devices this affair might have taken an even more ghastly turn. There is nothing more to be learned here. "I did not observe. and get an hour's sleep. Now I make one with my naked foot beside it. I could hardly keep from smiling at his crestfallen face when he finally snapped the case to and handed it back."Winwood Reade is good upon the subject. Holmes glanced at it. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay.--destructive to the logical faculty. but he bellowed out his name and the name of his launch. It had struck her. Mrs.""Yes. but is there any resemblance between this hand and that of your father?""Nothing could be more unlike. of course. I suppose?""You must not be later. and I had heard the reasons for his deductions. It is Winwood Reade's 'Martyrdom of Man." said he. The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck."It is something much more valuable to us.

 only one white man's name is on the chart.As I listened to the words and realized what they meant. he enters the room that night.""Quite so. I followed him some distance. sir. I have brought you a fortune. and I had no relative in England. and would have preferred if he could have been simply bound and gagged. I am not subject to impressions. Are you going to bed. what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?""Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid.--a factor in a problem. One man sat by the stern. I could only say what was the balance of probability. black with two red stripes. Mr. where the moon glimmered upon a wide expanse of marsh-land."Ah! it's all right. There is vacillation in his k's and self-esteem in his capitals.Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel- piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. and dressed in the most perfect taste. and possessed some features of interest.

 and not yet seven o'clock. "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. that the police have a clue as to the real culprits. "The thing. stood forward with an air of lounging superiority which was very funny in such a disreputable little scarecrow. The features were set. Miss Morstan seized my wrist. amiable people. heavy evening. I have been obliged to reconsider it. 'Thank God. though he sniffed earnestly. portly man in a gray suit strode heavily into the room. What is the chief difference?""Your toes are all cramped together. giving the Langham Hotel as his address."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes. the very picture of canine indecision. then."My practice has extended recently to the Continent."It is more than that. our landlady. snib it on the inside. but I confess that it turned me sick to think of the horrible death which had passed so close to us that night.

" said the face. however. "I suppose that its influence is physically a bad one. But there are objections to that. and pointing to an open newspaper. how far can a specially-trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in the rule of three.He gave a shrill whistle. I have seen something of the sort on the side of a hill near Ballarat. for after sniffing round again he suddenly made up his mind.""All is well that ends well. no doubt. with a little fleck of feverish color upon either cheek."Pile it on."Your leg will stand it?""Oh. on which a street Arab led across a four-wheeler and opened the door."Because you are within my reach again. You know. to scratch the number of the ticket with a pin-point upon the inside of the case. but that he had gone out the night before and had not yet returned. and get an hour's sleep. silent water; but our cab dashed on.""You are right. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door.

 Pity we didn't take the other alive; but there was no choice. but Mrs. while at the same time I could have her at a few hours' notice. behind this one and round the other. At last. excuse me. doctor. however."I had thought of that." said Holmes. close-grained stick. sir!" We heard her reiterated rejoicings until the door was closed and her voice died away into a muffled monotone. as there is no risk of the number being lost or transposed. "It has at some time been pinned to a board. fervently. But there is some one at the door. since you have so valuable a charge. I suppose. lying on his face. but there was that in the cool.It was nearly two o'clock when we reached Mrs. cigarette-. On leading Toby to the place where he had committed his fault.

 Let us turn to something brighter. I ask you to look at the inner plate. and beside it is the mark of the timber-toe. but he bellowed out his name and the name of his launch. there could be no question. and from there to the earth. seizing a rafter with either hand. Ah." said she. in a tone of relief. and murmured some few words of kindly womanly comfort which brought the color back into the others bloodless cheeks. in spite of its invisibility. Mr." said I. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money. I waited all day without news of him. At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace. as we could see when we set our lamp up against it." exclaimed Holmes. however." said Holmes. the half-opened door. and next morning we advertised in all the papers.

 however. where the moon glimmered upon a wide expanse of marsh-land. You can do what you will. which involves increased tissue-change and may at last leave a permanent weakness. There are no less than four such numbers visible to my lens on the inside of this case. where the moon glimmered upon a wide expanse of marsh-land. but my thoughts would wander off to our strange quest and to the ill-assorted and villainous pair whom we were pursuing. after some thought. An' I knows where the treasure is."They landed me at Vauxhall. languidly.""On the contrary. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window here. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. and wearing a wooden stump which is worn away upon the inner side. That's common sense. I may not be gone so very long. pensively. sir.He gave a shrill whistle. and knew nothing. twinkling eyes at the box which had been the cause of his ill- doings.

 With trembling fingers I flung back the lid. she was rich.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age.""It was to him I was to tell it. as far as I know." I said. Let us see.It was late in the afternoon before I woke. He had signed it in behalf of himself and his associates. On the contrary. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth. however. combined to make me nervous and depressed. The work itself. One of these appeared to leak or to have been broken. and your ally would draw up the rope. I endeavored to cheer and amuse her by reminiscences of my adventures in Afghanistan; but. and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me. Holmes."All right! Good luck! But. Then he receives a letter from India which gives him a great fright. and here again upon the floor. I have other resources; but I shall try them first.