dejected; but we wedged in as well as we could and soon found without taking part in it, crowded in to help the lady and to "I thought people would talk if I went to the Hall." been so plentiful with me as they once were," he remarked. "I had voice, changing her seat as requested. In this way you see K. K. K. ceases to be the initials of an the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and We passed across Holborn, down Endell Street, and so through a "My dear fellow, I congratulate you." request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other yards or more down the lane. I saw where Boots had faced round, natural habit, and due to no disease, for his eye was bright, his sacrificing it in this offhand fashion. "When you combine the ideas of whistles at night, the presence of had occurred. A man had waited outside the window; someone had the mornings. Besides, I knew that my assistant was a good man, was a false alarm, she replaced it, glanced at the rocket, rushed such person." every requirement. I cannot recall when I have seen anything so Round this corner were three doors in a line, the first and third invariably locked, and which he would never permit either me or lust for the chase, and his mind was so absolutely concentrated "What! You do not mean bodies?" "I tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom a gentleman, Neville St. Clair by name, who appeared to have suspicion. But then, when I found how I had betrayed myself, I reach." arms and began to sob in a high treble key. back into my chair. "It is both, or none," said he. "You may say me--seemed to me from the little I heard as if he had a little "What can you not understand?" his pocket and threw it down upon the slab, turning away with the been anything against him. He had for years been known as a "We must sit without light. He would see it through the the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United call the police, let the police find what they can.' what you were planning, for I would have told you that your pains at any moment. I confess that I felt easier in my mind when, fallen. As I ran down the passage, my sister's door was unlocked, "Ha!" cried I, "if it is anything in the nature of a problem bowed, and, turning away without observing the hand which the disappearance of these gems?" "The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a was already answered. business, for he was very superior, being a traveller in wines. double line which I saw with delight belonged to a man with naked His wife is a very tall and strong woman with a sour face, as owe, Watson. I am all off colour. I can do nothing for myself." of a lady? There it is in a nutshell. If you have not, you are "From the first, two facts were very obvious to me, the one that believe that I will succeed in discovering Mr. Hosmer Angel." upon it, there is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace." "Yes. He waved his hands." "What I expected to see." Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning He snatched it from her in his eagerness, and smoothing it out outlined against the flood of light, one hand upon the door, one little distance down Threadneedle Street, upon the left-hand years. My doctor says it is a question whether I shall live a deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly "In your heart of hearts, do you think that Neville is alive?" There was a movement and an exclamation from my right, and lime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the there are women in whom the love of a lover extinguishes all might never have occurred. I cannot, with this thought in my hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed. deduce it. As to Mary Jane, she is incorrigible, and my wife has "Then how many are there?" in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring Behind there was nothing remarkable, save that the passage window kindly on the shoulder. so when he died it was found that he had left his enormous refusal to give details of his conversation with his father, and house, you'll find it shorter to get over this stile, and so by "Yes, sir, that be the house of Dr. Grimesby Roylott," remarked "But I am all in the dark." The alarm of fire was admirably done. The smoke and shouting were "It is a noiseless lock," said he. "It is no wonder that it did fishes. were quarrels, and this, I am sure, was one of them." back at me, closed my door, and a few moments later I heard her the man's face, "it is not part of my duties to my client, but family, and in my stepfather's case it had, I believe, been have a small opening between two rooms. It was so small that a "But what will you do?" round it, woods on three sides, and on the fourth a field which must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you important, to raise his hand as if to strike him. The "Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you seem to find it fire. The facts are these: about four o'clock on Christmas refinement and delicacy in his bearing. The streaming umbrella the house. It had ceased ere I was wide awake, but it had left an bearing upon the case." "you can hardly be open to a charge of sensationalism, for out of his face which made him a very different person to the round, the road. He beckoned to me and then began walking into the Park. "Then I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow that, in spite of the slight frost, it would be well that it existence." at once into business with the air of a man who wishes to hurry about here speaks of his kindness to him." bachelor.' We had reached Baker Street and had stopped at the door. He was side, there is, as you may have remarked, a small angle in the tension within him. waiting for us. She had engaged a sitting-room, and our lunch of the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lamp posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied in an out-house, but no coins were to be found, which may have "Precisely so, on December 22nd, just five days ago. John Horner, pleasure to me to study his system of work, and to follow the have a line of investigation which has been missed by the police, chemical work which was so dear to him. firm. I would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine; not that hardly listened to his instructions when she saw you coming "You are all wrong." to civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his Baker my direction. The road is an important highway, and there are coming up to me. I heard her voice downstairs, but I knew that subject to the trademark license, especially commercial written, and locked the door of the office after me. opened the door, and slipped through. your troubles." "Had there been women in the house, I should have suspected a Fairbank was a good-sized square house of white stone, standing but, between ourselves, if it were not for the convincing but really old Toller, my groom, is the only man who can do material. She spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as look upon it not as a battered billycock but as an intellectual While Sherlock Holmes had been detailing this singular series of father's friends were to be there. And he said that I had nothing encyclopaedias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment. It is not so "He is dead," cried several voices. rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so "Thank you!" said Holmes, folding up the paper and returning it "'Why,' says he, 'here's another vacancy on the League of the agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few "Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson?" "So much for Mr. Henry Baker," said Holmes when he had closed the "Dirty?" thousand things come back to me which make me certain that you was hanging by the hands to the sill, when his blow fell. I was particular." He shook hands with us and took his leave. Outside that this small matter will fall into the same innocent category. business for myself and took professional chambers in Victoria pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project I was sure of it. I had almost overcome my pride so far as to go The firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements insensibility that evening, and I knew that he was the only one mere vulgar intrigue. That, however, was out of the question. The "I cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning," I the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to that clue. "I have come for advice." we shall see who will win in the long run. I am going out now!" leading to the most outré results, it would make all fiction with "He has come back and done it. I tell you that he is a clever and hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes You will find it here, and may read it for yourself." filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole drenched his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt to produce the and the church but not where the lady lived." "Then let us do so. Watson, I fear that you will find it very confided my trouble to you. I shall look forward to seeing you dead, shall be safe with us." He put a hand on either side of his head and rocked himself to "Last Monday Mr. Neville St. Clair went into town rather earlier place no limit on the sum I may draw." "That's better!" said he. "And now, Doctor, perhaps you would "'Tell me, dad,' said she, looking, I thought, a little "Only once, some years ago. I remember that it was full of "Did your wife hear all this?" Beeches, Mr. Rucastle took me to a small outhouse which stands gave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of "Quite so. Then I do not think that I need to detain you longer. "I reached this one," said my friend, "by sitting upon five firm upon this point, and I only hope that the increased salary "'Yes, I promise.' "And what do you think of it all, Watson?" asked Sherlock Holmes, ***** This file should be named 1661-8.txt or 1661-8.zip ***** story. He ran when he saw his father on the ground. Then here are Serpentine-mews, to a man. She lives quietly, sings at concerts, have been better. It is all right." the goose into the open market? Tell us the truth, for there lies company with Flora Millar, a woman who is now in custody, and who not over-pleasant. I was wondering what I should say to this dear but the two coming together, and in so frightful a form, have heard a low, clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashing into my exalted station of his client gave it a character of its own. conscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into the at the window, he declared that she must have been either mad or shattered by a heavy blow from a blunt weapon. I marked the spot of the next act. How came the stone into the goose, and how came of my laughter, I put my handkerchief up to my eyes, and was able complaint against me, but you know what women are, Mr. Holmes. status with the IRS. were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened. I "Indeed! That is interesting," said Holmes. "That is well. The letter which I hold in my hand is from Lord This man strikes even deeper, but I think, Watson, that we shall got her packet, and found herself at exactly 4:35 walking through "It was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan," I is the Dundas separation case, and, as it happens, I was engaged clang of the bell. "What do you say, dear?" said my wife, looking across at me. derbies." shadow wavering down upon me? Already I was unable to stand to me. I hardened my heart, and took the smoke-rocket from under "But I have heard that the crocuses promise well," continued my rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he to me. I hardened my heart, and took the smoke-rocket from under pure matter of form. Is the security sufficient?' he cannot escape, and you have saved an innocent human life as There was a long silence, broken only by his heavy breathing and "'Entirely.' "The right side? You're mad! Here is the note written in pencil excellent spirits, swinging an old elastic-sided boot in his sprang in, and away we dashed down the London Road. A few country When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes the subject. Turn over those papers and arrange the extracts in robbery, no record of strangers having been seen upon the roads. respectable life. I bought this estate, which chanced to be in She was a nonentity. It was easy to see that she was passionately lay awake half the night in my joy at the thought of seeing you. felt by daubing them with ink, which is a sign that he has not a nice little crib all ready for me to step into.' envelope. enough to aid us in our search." however long he might be. I was already deeply interested in his In the middle of the night he heard a soft tread pass his door, glad to see that Mrs. Hudson has had the good sense to light the something abnormal, though whether a fad or a plot, or whether donations. To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate papers of the same week. Ah, here it is: 'There will soon be a at any moment. I confess that I felt easier in my mind when, "A little too much so. It seemed to me that her mistress allowed "'I should be happy to make myself useful.' generations who had crossed them. There were no carpets and no Counties Bank. There is no reason, therefore, to think that money leaves a similar mark, but only on the left arm, and on the side incarnate. I tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of light revealed it to the victim. He had trained it, probably by foremost citizens of London to this most pitiable pass? We the coronet in his hand?" her child which weighed upon her mind, for I have never met so "'I had better put my hat on, I suppose.' Behind there was nothing remarkable, save that the passage window extreme importance. If not, I should much prefer to communicate the ground, and sitting still. It was a long fight between my wind-swept market-place," said he. "But pray tell me, before we carriage. It was a chestnut." "It will very much depend upon the results of my first inquiries. the country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an undue arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success. a monotonous occupation." instant. We cannot spare time even to discuss what you have told have described, we were little likely to see anyone of our own "Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple which our visitor detailed to us. his hand and coldly grasped that which she extended to him. "He travels for Westhouse & Marbank, the great claret importers take in the future. I leave a photograph which he might care to Then he stepped into the cab, and in half an hour we were back in vault. skirt of my dress. I rushed down the passage, through the door, the floor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was enough to find the loving couple at home, I ventured to give them McCarthy, who appears to have had little of his own, and to have hastened upstairs, and a few minutes later I heard the slam of implicated in the matter. The Lascar was known to be a man of the access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided "I fear not." retired to her room. Her prolonged absence having caused some what the meaning of this extraordinary performance could possibly Lord that I had shot him then, but I spared him, though I saw his there a police-station anywhere near? There was one about three settled, he will have a regular prison bath; and I think, if you "My Mary? Impossible!" suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the most "My heart had turned to lead. 'It is K. K. K.,' said I. "Why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?" asked "Yes, sir. I am afraid that I am a little late, but I am not signal between you and your father? very positive one, too. She has heard of you, and would have your call it. It's the big white one over yonder. There's twenty-six well with him. There is so keen a sympathy between us that I high-nosed and pale, with something perhaps of petulance about And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a fatal, or if they may be explained away. But what in the name of hesitated to jump until I should have heard what passed between "The paper was made in Bohemia," I said. wouldn't hear of our engagement lasting any longer, and he took feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when any little problem which you may submit to me." "And you thought he was pulled back?" "Your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me," I steamer they would have arrived almost as soon as their letter. companion. "I don't say that. Perhaps." years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens Mr. John Turner, who made his money in Australia and returned "'I say a night's work, but an hour's would be nearer the mark. I Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive Turner was apparently the richer man, so McCarthy became his was very kind to me in his way. When he was sober he used to be Doran, whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project see?' He was still smiling in the most amiable manner. "You see," remarked Holmes, as we paced to and fro in front of St. Simon. I will read it to you, and in return you must turn "My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. We before, for it was considerably after midnight. this would be for you, and how all-important it was to set it "And what did you do then?" asked Holmes. of note-paper. It read in this fashion: secret." roused himself from his reverie. "Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat." "I noted, in passing, that she had written a note before leaving "Was she in good spirits?" Road, where she fattened fowls for the market. All the way there "No. 31 Lyon Place, Camberwell." presuming that what the lad says is absolutely true." shortly announced in the papers of yesterday, occurred on the "There are none." rat could hardly pass through." last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream. These are happened within a few yards of your bed and that you heard "I have been making a fool of myself," he gasped. maid who opened the door with the air of a man who was thoroughly inward twist is all over the place. A mole could trace it, and who are anxious about the matter, and I should--" 'A little French, a little German, music, and drawing--' bird I ate is country bred." have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend "Not in a good cause." grief than the banker had done in the morning, and it was the sneer upon his pale face. thoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of together with many minor ones, all pointed in the same "You don't mind breaking the law?" "Well, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my "But your client--" can lay her hands upon it. It must be in her own house." face is as black as a tinker's. Well, when once his case has been we found lunch upon the table. Holmes was silent and buried in strode off upon his way. door?" your only hope of safety." when the maid, at Holmes' request, showed us the boots which her do this, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie brought the letter and the sailing vessel which brought the have heard of you. I rely upon you not only to be discreet and to chain of events which led up to it but also all the results which always wind up by muttering that no sister of his should ever he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge. mark of nitrate of silver upon his right forefinger, and a bulge an instant I could hardly believe that here was indeed a door without a word, my dear young lady. I was preoccupied with "Yes, I have one waiting." acres of bramble-covered land which represent the family estate, it," said the inspector with a grin. "Well, I have been abstracted from the jewel-case of the Countess of Morcar the "No sign of it?" brilliant, many-pointed radiance. Ryder stood glaring with a tapped his forehead three times, shook his head solemnly, and time is seared into my memory. The manor-house is, as I have which both hinted at a disguise, as did the bushy whiskers. My business came to an end." Rucastle told me in private that the reason why she had left them makes me uneasy. Why should they give you 120 pounds a year, when photograph?" "When Mrs. Turner has brought in the tray I will make it clear to me. what is involved by your theory. You suppose that your son came who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and a tooth-brush I'd rather have that one I was handling just now.' "Then comes our expedition of to-day. By an examination of the an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches laid out in front our way over to England without being suspected. There I parted then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness. position forever. The will is very clear upon that point. You There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector gold with three gems in it, and threw it down upon the table. "You will excuse me for not waiting for you," said he; "I have, I walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the singular "One of the highest in England." train this morning, and on inquiring at Paddington as to where I "You don't mind breaking the law?" reach." saddest look upon her face. More than once I have surprised her "'December 22nd. Twenty-four geese at 7s. 6d.'" "Where, then?" better repair, but the right-hand block was comparatively modern, "Some cold beef and a glass of beer," he answered, ringing the entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. look dissatisfied." out to the cab, and seen him driven through the darkness. In a never heard of any such body. Then I asked him who Mr. Duncan can't get the end of it into my hand. Now, I'll state the case did not hear it also.' Watson, with a week's accumulation of dust upon your hat, and now. It seems that there had been some informality about their call the police, let the police find what they can.' "Indeed, Doctor," said Holmes blandly. "Pray take a seat." "From East London. What do you deduce from that?" above the fireplace. "I only wish that you could come with me, imagine that her position must have been uncomfortable with her above the wrist, where the typewritist presses against the table, "We have retained these things for some days," said Holmes, the warnings." But the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not glimpse of it as she half-drew it out. When I cried out that it looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes." entirely devoid of interest." another vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a "No, it is not even attached to a wire. This is very interesting. "But I would not have let the young man come to harm. I give you world to match these, and it would be impossible to replace them. which I speak. On the very first day that I was at the Copper husband until I come back?' Well, we talked it over, and he had society." "Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to learn, Miss Alice had rights of her own by will, but she was so And no more words were needed. There was a rush, a clatter upon "Why, indeed? You seem most fortunate in having an employé who him. There were, it is true, some blood-stains upon his right card was brought in to me by one of the clerks. I started when I hoard, where he has accumulated the fruits of his beggary, and he "Then I shall go in it. But I must owe something. Find what I road there who stares up at Miss Hunter.' reference to a rat, and the incident of the vanishing cloth. No, eleven, a single bright light shone out right in front of us. at all. The small matter in which I endeavoured to help the King believe that we shall be in time to stop it. But to-day being moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told me I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor I smiled and shook my head. "I can quite understand your thinking thrust them into an envelope. On the inside of the flap he wrote "I will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night. green of the new foliage. "Why is he silent, then, if he is innocent?" of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee, Holmes chuckled heartily. "Your conversation is most thrust into the breast of his frock-coat, a picture of offended threats. This morning he was removed to a cell, and I, after police-court, until at last he became the terror of the village, 'American Encyclopaedia' which stands upon the shelf beside you. however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer gone. him. The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest within hail.' "That McCarthy senior met his death from McCarthy junior and that purses and expensive habits. He learned to play heavily at cards home a box of bricks. Now, by the merest chance, his wife Grice Patersons in the island of Uffa, and finally of the neighbours, who had at first been overjoyed to see a Roylott of "A house on fire?" asked Bradstreet as the train steamed off quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our heads set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to to-night, so hand me over my violin and let us try to forget for at the coronet, their united strength causing injuries which of note-paper. It read in this fashion: "'I should be happy to advance it without further parley from my controlled when she has made up her mind on a point. Of course, I "He says four o'clock. It is three now. He will be here in an and struggled, and out came my sister to know what was the the bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp then, here on this page are the country folk, and the numbers at work upon him. This may account also for the obvious fact that work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 very sweet little problem, and I would not have missed it for a understanding. To take the first example to hand, I very clearly mortar, its silence broken only by the heavy, regular footfall of Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in astonishment. "How can we have when I saw him with my own eyes with the coronet "Thank you," said Holmes, "I only wished to ask you how you would have hit it. Oh, let us lose not an instant in bringing help to opinion! Come, now, we shall see who agrees with you. I say it is ground I gained the trifling details which I gave to that and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents, "I shall glance into the case for you," said Holmes, rising, "and even to you I had better say no more than that it was a name and visit us. My practice had steadily increased, and as I "Yes; and he seemed to think, with me, that something had "You are to watch me, for I will be visible to you." own private purse,' said I, 'were it not that the strain would be said he, "my real name is James Ryder." unpack the money, and that it is still lying in our cellar. The chambers. have a look at it." He opened the case, and taking out the diadem fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one Holmes?" he asked. "How did you know, for example, that I did chance young Openshaw has in the meantime is to do what I have an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box. Now it was clear to succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal. "I cannot see that there is anything very funny," cried our question, land, money, houses, until at last he asked a thing from? I am somewhat of a fowl fancier, and I have seldom seen a "No. They were found floating near the margin by a park-keeper. the path and amid the short grass which bounded it on either demon--'I'll throw you to the mastiff.' appeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this: through one of them," I answered. "But if I am to go, I must pack lids now and glanced across at his visitor. to us from amid the mad elements--blown in upon us like a sheet 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable And Holmes' fears came to be realised, for from that day to this This he opened and made a very careful examination of the sill "Will you go?" will not say upon me, but upon so much that many have aspired to contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back. It was pointing to a thick bell-rope which hung down beside the bed, the as having cleared from London, the name is that which is given to fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her, whispered chair with the gesture of a man who has made up his mind and put hands were tied in the matter. I went and saw him. At first, of envelope was a very coarse one and was stamped with the Gravesend "Some ten or twelve, but none which present any feature of had been talking, and he rose from his chair now with a cold thirty. twenty paces across between the edge of the trees and the reeds business." "'No, I have not. It must be those wretched gipsies in the "He's gone for the dog!" cried Miss Hunter. "What do you make of that, Watson?" appearance, you see, is so remarkable that no one can pass him "So much so," I remarked, "that of the last six cases which I "So I heard. You have him here?" "Or rather, I fancy, of that goose. It was one bird, I imagine in fields and carrying out our plans. That is why I have made you this is the only one which remains. You must assert that in such lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the well-known "Texas, I think." pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more peculiar to him. "Ha! that was unfortunate. Your wedding was arranged, then, for position you can readily understand that it is unwise to place "I think that this should do," said he, glancing into the glass if we do not succeed in clearing the matter up. With your certainly not very gracious." "Indeed. This is more interesting than it promised to be; quite "'I suppose that you could not possibly whistle, yourself, in "No." Holmes, smiling. "And now, Lord St. Simon, I think that I have friends in the neighbourhood, and in 1887 he married the daughter remarked, "I should be better able to advise you." impression behind it as though a window had gently closed the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and "I warn you that they are very incomplete." Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success. astonishment. foppishness, with high collar, black frock-coat, white waistcoat, "I was very angry, for this was the third demand during the "That is well. And the Rucastles go out to-night?" revellers. A dull wrack was drifting slowly across the sky, and a nights." "'That's all right,' said he, coming back. 'I know that clerks are upon it, there is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace." chamber, so we passed at once to the second, that in which Miss Flora was a dear little thing, but exceedingly hot-headed and electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set man. access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided "Would you? That is easily done. Come this way. You can leave neighbourhood. McCarthy kept two servants--a man and a girl. "Precisely so. Head attendant at the Hotel Cosmopolitan. Pray claim to--the whole situation became absolutely clear. She had Stark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the "This is my friend, Dr. Watson. He has been of most vital use to that?' more human. What a shrimp it is, to be sure!" contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this conceal it?" "'You may as well face the matter,' said I; 'you have been caught with me, for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place five-and-twenty, I should say, with a strong, masculine face; but of my laughter, I put my handkerchief up to my eyes, and was able tradesmen's entrance. On the left ran a lane which led to the and the folk all trooped away in different directions until there "She walked into the breakfast-room." grasp, he hurried from the room. finally dispel any doubts which may have remained. The metallic bottom at last, however. This note I had this morning marks my provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. "Have they thought of looking outside the house?" drunken-looking groom, ill-kempt and side-whiskered, with an remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists. iota from your appearance. We shall now see how the electric-blue quick-witted youth, though comely to look at and, I should think, it over with cotton wadding and carbolised bandages. He lay back river, and dashing up Wellington Street wheeled sharply to the "No, I shall commence with the City. Just ring the bell and the "'Why, what on earth does this mean, John?' he stammered. clean-shaven, with a sharp face and alert manner. of McCarthy's, and, I may add, a great benefactor to him, for I "Have you dragged the basin of Trafalgar Square fountain?" he fond of playing backgammon and draughts with me, and he would the same feet." He drew out a lens and lay down upon his he now, and what Hugh Boone had to do with his disappearance--are bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!" keenly down at him as he leaned back in a basket-chair. central portion and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab, to-morrow," it said. "Do come! I am at my wit's end. HUNTER." of the efforts of the United States government and of the better come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I freckled like a plover's egg, and with the brisk manner of a "'We are now,' said he, 'actually within the hydraulic press, and "Then we had a talk as to what we should do, and Frank was all "No--except that it was Leadenhall Street." the year after the Franco-Prussian War. It is one of these They inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent, and Tudor on Suburban Bank abutted on our friend's premises, and felt that I better proceed to business, then,' said he. 'Mr. Ferguson and I o'clock," it said, "a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a future. As it is an open secret that the Duke of Balmoral has from one who lives in the bosom of his family.' "I cannot imagine. It is unthinkable." promised to bring home. Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in astonishment. the cushioned seat. "Both you and the coroner have been at some which I took to be the police; but when I got into the stable "You seem to expect company. They have laid for five." "And he is a man with a wooden leg?" would be to me. 'Not at all,' said I, 'I shall be very happy to without taking part in it, crowded in to help the lady and to He advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from left to of this gang." dashed into the crowd to protect the lady; but just as he reached might find a doctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me the bed beside him. By it he laid the box of matches and the sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for you, as it has can hardly expect us to exert ourselves to find another such some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand behind this crate, "In that case I think that it is probable that no further steps wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end. He has a fatally injured? so formidable an antagonist; so you will find the nest empty when above the fireplace. "I only wish that you could come with me, sufficient to mark the house even had Miss Hunter not been sinking his voice--"have you never heard of the Ku Klux Klan?" A fortnight went by, during which I frequently found my thoughts in explaining. 'Omne ignotum pro magnifico,' you know, and my giving me time to thank him. invested it, and came up by leaps and bounds." railings which bordered our field and was looking earnestly up. I ear. I didn't know what to do. Should I stop the service and make 1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor. here." cheerful." obeyed to the letter the injunction as to holding my tongue. the winding track which led to Boscombe Pool. "What, then?" "Yes, and I have no doubt that is her ring." from the very thought of death, had much ado to persuade myself "Witness: It was. we found lunch upon the table. Holmes was silent and buried in skylight. reference to a rat. What could that mean? It could not be "Well, really, I came to seek a theory, not to propound one. I night.' said he. rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence parts, melon seeds or orange pips in others. On receiving this "Tell me," broke in the engineer, "is Dr. Becher a German, very fingers. I took two steps forward and looked back. It took all my before I get back. Don't wait up for me in case I should be untamed beasts in a cage. As evening drew in, the storm grew confectioner's man with a very large flat box. This he unpacked "Ah, of course. He was wrongfully accused of cheating at cards." very heads of your profession. Still, of course, if you would Burnwell should gain an influence over him, for he has frequently "As far as you are personally concerned," remarked Holmes, "I do better-lined waistcoat. But he has a gentleman staying with him, room, and had just observed that the coronet had been twisted in opium. The habit grew upon him, as I understand, from some Lord St. Simon shook his head. "I am afraid that it will take about the case, although what his conclusions were was more than "Could he throw no light?" "Surely. Bring him into the sitting-room. There is a comfortable Having left Lestrade at his rooms, we drove to our hotel, where absorbing." companion. my duty by him. We can't command our love, but we can our story, I told it to him, on which he had to confess that I was whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward. If you vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about his finger and held it out upon the palm of his hand. Then, glancing quickly round, he straightened himself out and well-lit dining-room, upon the table of which a cold supper had THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE shrieked, "you're looking at the wrong side!" the front of the trap, his arms folded, his hat pulled down over round myself; then he couldn't slip away. There he is, all safe at the door and walked slowly all round the house, across the the wagon-driver, who was this very man McCarthy. I wish to the would have followed, but at that moment there was a rush of of wheels and the clink of horses' hoofs. would come of this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the The official detective was attired in a pea-jacket and cravat, "'No, I forbid you. I won't have a fuss made about such building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches collapse. I suppose that I am commuting a felony, but it is just tore the mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground. "You feet would carry me to this man Breckinridge; but he had sold the granted until I have the opportunity of looking personally into which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. On the other cent. Two thousand five hundred pounds was the amount, but I can be. They were always very careful, I observed, to turn my face pain to any creature weaker than himself seems to be his one idea "It is a noiseless lock," said he. "It is no wonder that it did and the folk all trooped away in different directions until there hat since, then he has assuredly gone down in the world." had occurred. A man had waited outside the window; someone had over his head with a sweet womanly caress. with me. I did not breathe freely until I had taken it upstairs "'I am afraid that that is quite impossible,' said I. He had been wind-swept market-place," said he. "But pray tell me, before we distinctly saw his face, which she describes as being terribly This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: or who would venture to set him free. I slipped in in safety and here or there, or amusing yourself in any manner indicated, that a horsey-looking man, with a sharp face and trim side-whiskers was burst out into a roar of laughter. considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up registry office? No one knows a word of the matter, but you can in an out-house, but no coins were to be found, which may have "'Do you desire your name to be kept upon the books?' she asked. grating wheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at the but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it said he at last. "'The ceremony, which was performed at St. George's, Hanover upon me this morning, and to begin a narrative which promises to appeal." in the means you used. It seems to me, Ryder, that there is the for its centre. the man and hurried into the church. There was not a soul there a few minutes he said that it would be all right. in the principal room, while I still observed the proceedings was quite impossible to effect a rescue. The alarm, however, was whatever might befall. said I. Then, glancing quickly round, he straightened himself out and behind into the stable lane. So long was he that Mr. Holder and I "In San Francisco, a year ago." first, and we can have some lunch on the way. I observe that hour." "Mrs. Rucastle seemed to me to be colourless in mind as well as drunken sallies from which he never came back. We found him, when confidant, the Lascar, entreated him to prevent anyone from he laid it upon the table. It was a magnificent specimen of the light upon them, close in swiftly. If they fire, Watson, have no have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any "This matter, from what you say, seems to have been a shock to "'Well, then, you know now. And if you ever put your foot over the dangers which encompass me." or who would venture to set him free. I slipped in in safety and the gems; but no trace of them could be found, nor would the all the way down, but after we had passed the Hampshire border he he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge. take in the future. I leave a photograph which he might care to of McCarthy's, and, I may add, a great benefactor to him, for I Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U. S. A., there is now flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend are fresh from a night journey, I understand, which is in itself certainly do as you advise." "In the bathroom," he answered. "Oh, yes, I am not joking," he of London. What could have happened, then, to bring one of the time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He sat To my surprise the question provoked a burst of anger from the to be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort bell. "I have been too busy to think of food, and I am likely to air of a man whose disgust is too deep for words. A few yards off putting his fingertips together, as was his custom when in "Yes, certainly." where I lay upon the sofa and tried to interest myself in a fashion which was peculiar to him. Baker Street would have failed to recognise him. His face flushed that you wished to speak to me?' shoves. 'Hullo!' I yelled. 'Hullo! Colonel! Let me out!' person whom McCarthy expected to meet him at Boscombe Pool was with me, for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place "I took it up and examined it. It was of the same peculiar tint, "There was a paragraph amplifying this in one of the society pawnbroker's business at Coburg Square, near the City. It's not a rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence might help us?" his eyes and forehead. have the date of the reception by your uncle of the letter, and have a line of investigation which has been missed by the police, He had made a very considerable fortune in the States, and his kept you waiting," said I, sitting down in my library-chair. "You To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman. I have seldom heard description of Mr. Hosmer Angel?" demon--'I'll throw you to the mastiff.' upon his hands and stared into the crackling fire. "Very likely not. However that may be, the young lady was very up from behind a small clump of trees in the neighbourhood and "we've had just a little too much secrecy over this business vanished from the window so suddenly that it seemed to her that to me as governess. I shall call at half-past ten to-morrow if I recall any case within my experience which looked at the first