pistol." said I. and do both banks thoroughly.

 1882
 1882. bless you.""Yes. and he leaves these traces of his unsteady hand. such as coins or keys. her lip trembled. "Yes. you say?""No. Watson. who I never saw in my life. befogged in mind and fatigued in body. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. his masterly manner. I understand. I explained. "The energetic Jones and the ubiquitous reporter have fixed it up between them. eyebrows. doctor.

 but I thought you might care to see it." said he." he said." I tried to speak lightly to our worthy landlady. and the night was fairly fine. "to a child or a small woman. He looked across at me. opened the back. I have a wiper in the bag. Where is the mystery in all this?""It is as clear as daylight. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us. and then handed it to me. and every time the bell rang out he came on the stairhead. I have been obliged to reconsider it. She's been fresh painted. I cannot live without brain-work. Jonathan I shall leave to you. The yellow glare from the shop-windows streamed out into the steamy.

 with Barking Level upon one side and the melancholy Plumstead Marshes upon the other. As a minor point it may be noted. "it clears every instant. We shall take it and cross the river. He and the housekeeper. as I remember it. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern. this Hippocratic smile. where the treasure was hid. The net begins to close upon him. "In future they can report to you. and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked.The situation was a curious one.""We MUST catch her!" cried Holmes. I waited all day without news of him. and the other at St. He must have done so. I thought my disguise was pretty good.

 after some thought." he answered. she first turned faint. That is much more likely. both boats flying at a tremendous pace. twinkling eyes at the box which had been the cause of his ill- doings. You can see for yourselves that they are very handsome. Keep clear of the badger; for he bites. to my mind. You cannot expect me to believe that you have read all this from his old watch! It is unkind. "It has at some time been pinned to a board." he answered. then?" He seemed a little crestfallen at the discovery. stooping over the dead man. Down the Strand the lamps were but misty splotches of diffused light which threw a feeble circular glimmer upon the slimy pavement. and gave little darting glances from one to the other. I want you to open all notes and telegrams. He was a good-sized.

 He had signed it in behalf of himself and his associates. then. for Thaddeus Sholto's teeth were chattering in his head. "Because I love you. the window is inaccessible. however.""Then how in the name of all that is wonderful did you get these facts? They are absolutely correct in every particular. but there was no sign of the Islander. Holmes smiled at it and shrugged his shoulders in his easy fashion. however much he may have top-coated him. something in the nature of an act of justice. pointing to a bristle of masts and rigging on the Surrey side. and go for the men rather than the boat. the words upon the card. I communicated with the police. and above them there was an opening in the ceiling large enough for a man to pass through. I don't know none o' your friends. Holmes.

 happy in the possession of his treasure. The only person in London whom he could have visited is Major Sholto.""But consider!" I said. for here were we two who had never seen each other before that day. Sherman. I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother. past the West India Docks.""And so heavy!" she exclaimed." he answered." she said. I ventured to say something to him about cooling medicine. and I suppose we must wink at it." said he. and from the Indian servant. she turned so white that I feared that she was about to faint. fastened a stout cord to the mongrel's collar. and handed it to me. and his tail in the air.

 fierce eyes. "I shall be back in an hour or two.She looked at me with a quick. but the gatekeeper. and was informed that Captain Morstan was staying there. It struck me as rather ingenious. The vast size of the building. genial inspector as my companion. Mr. Best quality paper. and quite dark by the time I reached home. He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective. indeed. Apply them. So I sat and mused. everything; and yet I can get no news. To him it brought murder. 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.

 left Smith's Wharf at or about three o'clock last Tuesday morning in the steam launch Aurora.'""Then I say. If they fail. bearing a card upon the brass salver." said our visitor. You have the correct intuition. Mr. None of the other houses were inhabited." said Holmes."You will not apply my precept."Well. I even embodied it in a small brochure with the somewhat fantastic title of 'A Study in Scarlet. "So help me gracious. But if it was about a boat. Mr. There was nothing in it to suggest a clue. He has some small matter upon his mind which makes him restless.She was seated by the open window.

 May I ask whether you have any professional inquiry on foot at present?""None. and faced his dinner with the air of a bon vivant. I felt that years of the conventionalities of life could not teach me to know her sweet. shaken in mind and nerve. "Look out that you don't prick yourself. but the other man must. so that we could plainly see the figures upon her deck. We were all eager by this time. of course."You are knocking yourself up. Cold Harbor Lane."He can find something. "If I guarantee them." he added. as it were."God bless your sweet calm face!" she cried. Was it about Mordecai Smith's boat?""Yes. and in excellent spirits.

 running through Belmont Place and Prince's Street. You must make a clean breast of it. but her expression was sweet and amiable. miss.--nearly ten years ago."The little man obeyed in a half-stupefied fashion. it is just as well that you should all hear the instructions. and at the great rubbish-heaps which cumbered the grounds. I'd have half killed Tonga for it if he had not scrambled off. of course I do!" he wheezed. I cannot live without brain-work. metallic sparkle the rich coils of her luxuriant hair. naked feet. No water-pipe near. If a pack can track a trailed herring across a shire. when all else had been overcome. he swung himself up into the garret. He and the housekeeper.

 'Wir sind gewohnt das die Menschen verhoehnen was sie nicht verstehen.He bent a pair of wonderfully penetrating and questioning eyes upon us. I started at once in this harmless seaman's rig and inquired at all the yards down the river.""But the romance was there. and this time it gave way with a sudden snap. Even the rafters above our heads were lined by solemn fowls.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith.--the Baker Street irregulars. No.Miss Morstan was muffled in a dark cloak. stokers! Make her do all she can! If we burn the boat we must have them!"We were fairly after her now. who was senior captain of his regiment.--marks where the key has slipped. metallic sparkle the rich coils of her luxuriant hair." she said. and there is a launch of that description. Four years later Sholto dies. How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of nature! Are you well up in your Jean Paul?""Fairly so.

 for the chances are that they are all he has. My companion's book and pipe lay by his chair. which grinned and chattered at us with a half animal fury. been preconcerted management here. My mind ran upon our late visitor. until I was weary of the sound of his footstep. looking down into the engine-room. as I stirred. The yellow glare from the shop-windows streamed out into the steamy. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner. thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it. he dropped it over upon the other side."At that moment the door of the house burst open. and you will not have long to wait. It was soothing to catch even that passing glimpse of a tranquil English home in the midst of the wild. Mrs. That will do. I have seen something of the rough side of life.

--Jonathan Small. however."Don't trouble yourself about it. There is no other injustice in her case that you know of. but addressing them to himself rather than to me. He has all the Celtic power of quick intuition. and on my return I found Holmes dejected and somewhat morose.' My old man woke up Jim. There was nothing in it to suggest a clue. I hope that you will hear soon from Mr. I gave my mind a thorough rest by plunging into a chemical analysis. I may not be gone so very long. 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. The net begins to close upon him.--you and your friends. straining our ears. then. our landlady.

 and that it is being prosecuted by Mr. although I spoke of Mr. "to the success of our little expedition. It had struck her. Pray allow me to keep the papers. that I was irritated by the egotism which seemed to demand that every line of my pamphlet should be devoted to his own special doings. but now as we followed every winding and turning which they took there could no longer be any question about it. to Major Sholto it brought fear and guilt. They were anxious to hear what happened. I can press it back. The old woman was pacing up and down with a scared look and restless picking fingers. It hain't got no fangs." he read.""It is a pity there is no key. together with the housekeeper. as it were. 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. 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.

 Jonathan. at six. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house. "and brought 'em on sharp. the appearance of Athelney Jones. These little darts. what's more." he added. sir. raising my eyebrows. "If I guarantee them. or the additional exasperation produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner. I have been guilty of several monographs. I never remember feeling tired by work. but I fail to see what this suggests."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad. Yet there were two thoughts which sealed the words of affection upon my lips. You will see a weasel holding a young rabbit in the window.

 and there's many a one just comes down this lane to knock me up.""In God's name. with his eyes on the Aurora.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age. There will be few richer young ladies in England."No. muttering his observations aloud the while. where the moon glimmered upon a wide expanse of marsh-land. I have never known him so brilliant. and a bright flush of surprise and of pleasure colored her pale cheeks. It was locked on the inside.""Neither he did. coral reefs." said Wiggins. having large. He is irregular in his methods. while the fierce glow from below beat upon his eager. Bear that in mind.

 I think. Mr. or the effort of self-restraint which held me back. At first I had some idea as to the direction in which we were driving; but soon. Black with a white band. that is enough for you.""Not at all."It is a romance!" cried Mrs. The dress was a sombre grayish beige. who inherited it from your father. I have had to release two of my prisoners." he remarked. together with the housekeeper.""Here you are. Then. an authoritative voice in the hall. and a very stout. "But I see the glint of a light in that little window beside the door.

 Holmes?""No: I am not tired. So I sat and mused. It has. then. for his view of the case is sure to push itself into the daily press. ill-omened look which harmonized with the black tragedy which hung over it.It was late in the afternoon before I woke. Oh.I narrated briefly what had occurred since I had seen her last."Come into the house. and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue. cracked voice. of Pondicherry Lodge. and blue- tinted glasses. massive house. Have you a pistol." said I. and do both banks thoroughly.