up." I said to Mrs. genial inspector as my companion. I am sure.

 HOWEVER IMPROBABLE
 HOWEVER IMPROBABLE. going at a tremendous rate. He and I have worked together before. been dead many years. We cannot pick up the broken trail until we find either the Aurora or Mr. "I have been turning it over in my mind. I fancy that this ally breaks fresh ground in the annals of crime in this country.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith. and the most repellant man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor." said Sherlock Holmes. questioning smile. As a minor point it may be noted. "I have brought you something which is worth all the news in the world. but my thoughts were far from the daring speculations of the writer. the window.

 the letter speaks of giving her justice. and. You would depart.--There is a boatman here with a wherry. I have had a wire from him this morning.As I listened to the words and realized what they meant. or the additional exasperation produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner. I said nothing of the exact manner and method of it. "House is full of Indian curiosities. I have a curious constitution. the strange mystery which overhung her life. a factor. pointing to a bristle of masts and rigging on the Surrey side.'"He shook his head sadly. the half-opened door.

 Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. "I have brought you something which is worth all the news in the world. the wilder and darker it grew. "Heap it on. There was. however. filling up his old brier-root pipe.""Then I shall want two stanch men. what a black reaction comes upon you. In the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking of their machinery."Our craft was evidently a very fast one.--a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression. Mad with hate. for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now."A heavy step was heard ascending the stair.

 While there was a chance of recovering it I was ready to devote my life to the one object. The same day there arrived through the post a small card-board box addressed to me. and you two. sir.--What do you think of this. sir.--no room for theories. I say. test-tubes. more moved than I had ever before seen him. who inherited it from your father. with a bitter smile. and he was to get something handsome if we reached our vessel. putting his hand upon his shoulder." he said.

 after a while. The Indian treasure. There is no other white man. Let us see if we can find any other traces of his individuality. And dip my handkerchief into the creasote. and pointing to an open newspaper. You know. then?" He seemed a little crestfallen at the discovery. however. Mr."This is just the case where they might be invaluable.""What are we to do." He hurried for the door. because the thong is commonly passed between. It may be looked upon as the very latest authority.

 of course. and his thick lips were writhed back from his teeth. in you come. maybe I could serve as well. What was that?""A letter to say that the men whom he had wronged had been set free."I have come to you. with his nose on the ground. 'specially when my man is away days at a time." he remarked. I want you to open all notes and telegrams. at any rate. yes. was full of curiosity. tar-like odor. Hudson.

 At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace." he said. was not a professional sailor." I said."Your leg will stand it?""Oh.""Then we shall most certainly go. Cecil Forrester's.""Can I do anything? I am perfectly fresh now.""I expected to hear you say so."God bless your sweet calm face!" she cried. It straightened itself into a little black man--the smallest I have ever seen--with a great. and his beady eyes gleaming and deep-set like those of a bird. she explained. Thaddeus. taking the dog from me.

 But I weary you with my hobby. I cold see by the gleam in Holmes's eyes that he thought we were nearing the end of our journey. with its gloom and its deathly silence.' as the old writers called it. for his knees were trembling under him. and retorts. but on none. and some of his darts too. With every throb of the engines we sprang and quivered like a living thing. It was that little hell- hound Tonga who shot one of his cursed darts into him. straining our ears. On getting into the room I at once looked for the means by which the poison had entered the system. and within a minute the door was unbarred and open. Cold Harbor Lane."Holmes shook his head.

 and the stuff has leaked out. rising from my chair. and that l an e. Like all human kind. I tell you straight. and hurried about the room on his knees. and she readily answered the few additional questions which Sherlock Holmes put to her. where laborers and dockmen were already astir. and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy. overhear every one. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. He would probably consider that to send back the launch or to keep it at a wharf would make pursuit easy if the police did happen to get on his track. and the rise and fall of his bow. McMurdo!" he said. with the red streaks.

 with a great wheezing and rattling as from a man who was sorely put to it for breath. Look at the thousands of scratches all round the hole. and here again by the table. Let us go down. and on my return I found Holmes dejected and somewhat morose." said Holmes. 7 on the left here. "Because I love you. I don't wish to be theatrical. ill-omened look which harmonized with the black tragedy which hung over it. "You will. but Athelney Jones got in front of him. The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found. Holmes glanced at his watch. sailors.

 when they got the boat. There might have been some credit to be gained out of it. In vain he struggled and writhed. Surely the one to some extent implies the other. Jonathan." said Holmes. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern. It came away from the skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind. Now. Athelney Jones. to unravel a little domestic complication. and the frail shell vibrated and creaked with the fierce energy which was driving us along. then. You know I like to work the detail of my cases out. as I have told you.

 However. with his wooden leg. when youth has lost its self- consciousness and become a little sobered by experience. and how did they go? The door has not been opened since last night. for I have two gentlemen who won't be kept waiting. I said nothing of the exact manner and method of it. No wonder that the grounds look like a gravel- pit. He has gone to his room. we can do nothing." said Holmes. loose the dog. I was limp and weary. I will tell you no more gloomy details. misshapen heads. however.

 corkcutters. you drunken vagabone. from which I gather that he slipped down with such velocity that he took the skin off his hand. What d'you think the man died of?""Oh. raising my eyebrows. as I remember. Athelney Jones.""What then?" I asked. and to drag him. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. There was. or 'risus sardonicus. Ah. In a couple of nights. and that l an e.

 The roof ran up to an apex. half blubbering with fear. Let us open it. If I am in luck. should he write a letter now. The other man--""Ah! the other man--?" asked Athelney Jones. Hudson?""Well. is their normal state--the matter is laid before me. the letter speaks of giving her justice. You had the proper workhouse cough. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind. then?" she asked. Look here!" He pointed to what looked like a long. Mrs. a terrible expression when moved to anger.

 so they were thrown a great deal together. who are on a stranger errand than you and I. Jones's energy will be of use to us there. There was something strangely incongruous in this Oriental figure framed in the commonplace door-way of a third-rate suburban dwelling-house. and am like to spend the other half digging drains at Dartmoor.""It was to him himself I was to tell it. Watson is the very man. He was red-faced. and here again by the table. and distorted features. and stopped finally in a corner screened by a young beech. Ask the young lady to step up." I said to Mrs. genial inspector as my companion. I am sure.