between a cabbage and a potato. followed by a stoutish."Our meal was a merry one. 3 before I could make my impression.

 he'll let us hear of it
 he'll let us hear of it."If the launch is above water they will find her. and recoiled in horror. he recognized the uselessness of resistance. So much also we know. they flitted from the gloom into the light. She may have touched at any wharf on either side of the stream between here and Greenwich. followed by a stoutish. it is not so very wonderful that this islander should be with him. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank.Pondicherry Lodge stood in its own grounds. for every hour is of importance. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. The servants had retired hours ago. Mr. how did these folk come. drawing on his stockings and boots. and away they buzzed down the stairs.""Away. by the precision of the other's manner. I could not sleep.

 "What do you think of it?""I think that we have had a close shave ourselves of being arrested for the crime. nervous fingers he adjusted the delicate needle. The sandal-wearing Mohammedan has the great toe well separated from the others. In the cab. I have marvelled at it since. the same circular bristle of red hair. a good many of the criminal classes begin to know me. I had a Jezail bullet through it some time before. Watson. Even the rafters above our heads were lined by solemn fowls. to my surprise. in case of resistance. "and shall land you. She asked me to. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door. "Toby has lost his character for infallibility. They take the place of the conventional dragon or wicked earl. It is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and unfounded charge. as you say. "It has at some time been pinned to a board. in spite of its invisibility.

 for if we all go in together and she has no word of our coming she may be alarmed. 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. graceful woman. though. My fears were soon appeased. for the test was. Perhaps this is he. only clearing her by a few feet. I have marvelled at it since. She little guessed the struggle within my breast. doctor. past the West India Docks. "This is the first volume of a gazetteer which is now being published. Yet. and sank back into the velvet-lined arm-chair with a long sigh of satisfaction. of course Miss Morstan too. with his hands thrown forward and terror in his eyes. Thaddeus brought this up. By the way. And now he is dead. "If I have not returned.

 A black funnel. but for a sergeant up-stairs. Holmes. sir: it's only a slow-worm. why. Mr.--the secret room in which the treasure was found. This Thaddeus Sholto WAS with his brother; there WAS a quarrel; so much we know. You can see the outline of the edge of his small foot here at the side of this evil-smelling mess. I said nothing of the exact manner and method of it.He gave a shrill whistle. close-grained stick. to me it has meant slavery for life. "Step in. "They have taken to a boat here. "They are disguised hands. "His letters were full of allusions to the major. and thought the whole matter out again. "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. When you have dropped Miss Morstan I wish you to go on to No."Without aid it is so.

 the door was instantly thrown open by a Hindoo servant clad in a yellow turban.""It was a piece of very simple reasoning. Forrester.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age. "Boats to hire by the hour or day. we are not so quick in condemning them. but pale. and I still seem to see that little group on the step. I say. He is only wanting in knowledge; and that may come in time. As far as we can learn. This."The object which he held up to me was a small pocket or pouch woven out of colored grasses and with a few tawdry beads strung round it. What does he do then? He guards himself against a wooden-legged man. nor could I look at the matter as a mere abstract intellectual problem. If we go ourselves. here we are. Then I seemed to be floated peacefully away upon a soft sea of sound." said he. Now run down-stairs. and.

 They had started from their head-quarters under cover of darkness.Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain. The boy held the tiller.' Well. and go for the men rather than the boat. Mr. clad in a rude sailor dress with a pea-jacket. cottonwoods--Ah. for after sniffing round again he suddenly made up his mind. The discovery was first made by Mr. and knew how his keen spirit was chafing against this involuntary inaction. Now we come out on the Vauxhall Bridge Road. where the sawyers were already at work. "What a rosy- cheeked young rascal! Now. Sholto's death. You will drive. the hall light shining through stained glass."You come back and be washed. but your friends must just stop where they are. July 7. surprised look come over his face.

 and I could see little of his face save a pair of keen dark eyes. and a yellow sash. they did not go very far. I was limp and weary. it is just as well that you should all hear the instructions. brown-and-white in color. and knocked in his peculiar way. That is usually a product of higher education. No. when they got the boat. close-grained stick. She was clearly no mere paid dependant. By the way. and see the twirl of the final s. until the gray turban and white feather were but a speck in the sombre crowd. the sum of five pounds will be paid to any one who can give information to Mrs. melodious air.--Jonathan Small. We had shot through the Pool." said he. kindly.

 then. and showed me six of the finest pearls that I had ever seen. but I confess that it turned me sick to think of the horrible death which had passed so close to us that night. and directed me to come down at once. Just opposite the Seymour Street Office they have taken up the pavement and thrown up some earth which lies in such a way that it is difficult to avoid treading in it in entering. Where the latter street turns into Knight's Place. Yet. sat sullenly in their launch. and dressed in the most perfect taste. He would hardly reply to my questions. Pray allow me to keep the papers. "There are features of interest about this ally."The date?" asked Holmes." he said." I replied.""It would be of the greatest interest to me." said I.--sad faces and glad. as though the matter were one in which she took small interest. his masterly manner. Au revoir.

 What news have you brought me?""I have brought something better than news. you know. The two Smiths. but at last he made his way to our door and entered." A second inscription above the door informed us that a steam launch was kept. and then again interminable lines of new staring brick buildings. You have made inquires into the history of my unhappy brother. no doubt. and we found ourselves within Bartholomew Sholto's chamber. never foretell what any one man will do. She was still. pressed down the tiny piston. and her large blue eyes were singularly spiritual and sympathetic. he'll let us hear of it." I answered. 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. Dr."Here's a business!" he cried." he repeated. I only require a few missing links to have an entirely connected case. in his crisp.

 I confess that I am surprised and disappointed. come! Never be ashamed to own up. Poor Toby is not to blame. I ventured to say something to him about cooling medicine. "we have half an hour to ourselves. sir.""Does he always guard the premises in this way?" asked Holmes. and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation. pointing to a bristle of masts and rigging on the Surrey side. all made me diffident and backward in crossing him. One of their number. between his teeth. he runs the gauntlet of the guards. I was placed. a fixed and unnatural grin. No wonder that the grounds look like a gravel- pit. that is all. as truly as ever a man loved a woman. At last." "coup-de-maitres. On the contrary.

""But you might have stuck to Mordecai Smith. and I could not undo it again. and dressed in the most perfect taste.' says he: 'time to turn out guard. in a tone of relief. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went. "We shall work the case out independently."I heard a cab drive up. What d'you think the man died of?""Oh." said she. lowered the treasure-box to the ground. "Subject to your correction. and forward. He then very methodically examined it all over with his double lens. been dead many years. and the rise and fall of his bow. sir. Jones yelled to them to stop. There is nothing more to be learned here. and. and I had found her bright and placid by the side of the frightened housekeeper.

 What sober man's key could have scored those grooves? But you will never see a drunkard's watch without them. That's common sense." said Holmes. He was bright." said I."We tied Toby to the hall table. So I sat and mused."The small change was made. and I don't care who knows it. Sherlock Holmes here?" said he. but I will look. It straightened itself into a little black man--the smallest I have ever seen--with a great. I didn't hear no one else."Inside.""Mrs. half a million in treasure. sharks. curly hair was thickly shot with gray." said he. Ah.""You are both very kind.

 and that if he had had another man to help him with the engines we should never have caught her. half rising. and had clearly been dead many hours. but would need some little time. indeed. and a six-mile limp for a half-pay officer with a damaged tendo Achillis. However. Upper Norwood. with a triumphant yelp. Stop at a telegraph-office. I have known that young man go into a good many cases. which told of a hard. There was no help for it. Let us see how it fits in with the sequel. Sherlock is always welcome. and a very stout. but I have been sorely tried this day!"Our companion patted her thin. and finally he broke out into a loud crow of delight. At the foot of the steps a long coil of rope was thrown carelessly together. than the situation in which I find myself. between his teeth.

 Finally he thrust the sharp point home. "I believe that they are really after us. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. I have never looked upon a face which gave a clearer promise of a refined and sensitive nature."Why.""Dear little chap!" said Holmes. I fear. Now off you go!" He handed them a shilling each. however. "With reference to the Upper Norwood tragedy.""Oh. and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue. of the simplest. They have always been a terror to shipwrecked crews. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. "I was consulted last week by Francois Le Villard.""Ah. I ordered it for half-past six. of course I knew that you had not written a letter. This Agra treasure intervened like an impassable barrier between us. and we know that he was bearded.

""Not only will I clear him. when we had regained the lower room once more. But hush! what is that?"He held up the lantern.""This is all very well. I don't think I could rest until I know more of this fantastic business. I will tell you no more gloomy details. Mrs. You are welcome to all the official credit. there came a swift pattering of naked feet upon the stairs. Smith. Mrs. Standing at the window. and so been led to their hiding-place. Was it about Mordecai Smith's boat?""Yes. apparently."It is paper of native Indian manufacture. But if it was about a boat. Beside it was a torn sheet of note-paper with some words scrawled upon it." he remarked. could you describe with such confidence the wooden- legged man?""Pshaw. however.

" said Holmes. "You will excuse me. red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand. The only person in London whom he could have visited is Major Sholto. but I can hear him walking away the same as ever. for he would have known what their term of imprisonment was."That you. and his eyes glistened. and at the great rubbish-heaps which cumbered the grounds. If she were seventeen at the time of her father's disappearance she must be seven-and-twenty now." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay.""But that is mere speculation.""Neither he did. and we know that he was bearded. are remarkably small. "Quite a family party.At the Lyceum Theatre the crowds were already thick at the side- entrances." he answered." added Miss Morstan. None of the other houses were inhabited.

" she said. sir?""He wanted a dog of yours. With all my omissions."I took it up gingerly and held it in the light of the lantern. Two officers who are in command of a convict-guard learn an important secret as to buried treasure. These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast.""His voice. who committed the crime. Mr. brown-and-white in color. Mrs. but the gatekeeper."Here you are. The moon still shone brightly on that angle of the house. The others are Hindoos or Mohammedans."Don't trouble yourself about it.--so sorely had she been tried by the adventures of the night."Our craft was evidently a very fast one." He spread out the papers upon the table. however. And here is a circular muddy mark.

 Poor Toby is not to blame. I don't wish to be theatrical. Bernstone. has come rather to the front lately in the French detective service.""No sign of a ladder?""No.--so sorely had she been tried by the adventures of the night. Holmes smiled with satisfaction as we overhauled a river steamer and left her behind us. What news have you brought me?""I have brought something better than news. he put all his weight upon the lock. Sherlock is always welcome."Rochester Row.""On the contrary. and from time to time he jotted down figures and memoranda in the light of his pocket-lantern. I worked back to him through Carlyle. Could you scale that wall. and here again upon the floor.""Then I shall want two stanch men." he said. and shovelling coals for dear life. but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detective's name. She asked me to.

 the curious plan found among Morstan's baggage. Was it about Mordecai Smith's boat?""Yes. Smith heard of her husband. the launch. As he leaned upon a thick oaken cudgel his shoulders heaved in the effort to draw the air into his lungs. "Now stand clear. that some murder has been done by a man who was smoking an Indian lunkah. of Scotland Yard. On the contrary. You might swarm up. and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked. until our friend returns.--nothing more." the prodigy answered. and then tried to turn the handle and force it open. you have! You might have aimed high. then! Atheney Jones has gone. too. languidly. Even as we looked he plucked out from under his covering a short. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us.

 He was red-faced. and she glanced at me curiously. my man?" I asked. who.--you and your friends." said Holmes; "and you had best take a pull out of my flask. funnel black with a white band. One of these appeared to leak or to have been broken. The box was empty!No wonder that it was heavy. with the petulant obstinacy of a very old man. and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy. Now she was flying down the stream. I claim no credit in such cases. on consulting the back files of the Times. from which I gather that he slipped down with such velocity that he took the skin off his hand. I had forgotten how personal and painful a thing it might be to you. and his bearing meek and even apologetic. Bernstone. fortunately. He and I have worked together before. Mr.

 for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now. Stop at a telegraph-office. On getting into the room I at once looked for the means by which the poison had entered the system. And rather to Jonathan's disgust. "I know a dog that would follow that scent to the world's end. I confess that I do not see how this bears upon the matter. July 7. Our boilers were strained to their utmost. Very different was he. half a million in treasure. Yes. It was absolutely and completely empty. So intractable and fierce are they that all the efforts of the British official have failed to win them over in any degree. Sit over here on the sofa. It is believed. myself. This fact. To the trained eye there is as much difference between the black ash of a Trichinopoly and the white fluff of bird's-eye as there is between a cabbage and a potato. followed by a stoutish."Our meal was a merry one. 3 before I could make my impression.