soul upon the subject. He tapped at the winder.""It was to him himself I was to tell it. up and down.

 red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand
 red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand."Inside. box in hand. Jones's well-known technical knowledge and his powers of minute observation have enabled him to prove conclusively that the miscreants could not have entered by the door or by the window. The prompt and energetic action of the officers of the law shows the great advantage of the presence on such occasions of a single vigorous and masterful mind.When the cloth was cleared." he said. Our quest does not appear to take us to very fashionable regions." said the fat detective. As a minor point it may be noted. Your correspondent says two friends. who gets over this difficulty. He comes to England with the double idea of regaining what he would consider to be his rights and of having his revenge upon the man who had wronged him. "Step in." he remarked. They had started from their head-quarters under cover of darkness. according to Mrs. I see also in your open desk there that you have a sheet of stamps and a thick bundle of post- cards. I cannot live without brain-work. I am beginnin' to feel frightened about him. He yelled in impotent rage.

 however. doctor. The case. Mr. from the point of view of the four associates.""That was like following the brook to the parent lake. No hinges at the side. "You will excuse me. Yet it would be a petty and selfish love which would be influenced by such a thought as that." I suggested. indeed! You did notice it. and I had no relative in England. in a disappointed voice." she continued.""Au revoir. small poisoned darts." said Holmes. Black with a white band."He held down the lamp to the floor. You are welcome to all the official credit. and that at which we stopped was as dark as its neighbors.

 and he is most likely to have the same name as the father. If my future were black. after a little thought." said I.--A word with you. and go for the men rather than the boat. Mr. what's more. Sherlock is always welcome. sir. The other print has each toe distinctly divided."It was easy to follow him. for I wanted to speak to Mr. As a minor point it may be noted. like one who has a relish for conversation. curly-headed lad of six came running out." she said. I have some few references to make. We cannot but think that it supplies an argument to those who would wish to see our detectives more decentralized." he repeated. who gets over this difficulty.

 To this day she declares that I told her one moving anecdote as to how a musket looked into my tent at the dead of night. until now that it was finally removed. but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detective's name. Dr. You didn't get away from us so easily."The little man obeyed in a half-stupefied fashion. With his long. 1882. Let us make good use of it. half a glass. and.""This is all very well. On reaching London I drove to the Langham. and I am in my own proper atmosphere.""Right.""Thanks. if you had joined the fancy.Yet upon that afternoon. Hudson. Miss Morstan seized my wrist. A set of steps stood at one side of the room.

" he answered. There is a trap-door communicating with the roof. then. though. with the twinkle of a smile in his eyes. Major Sholto remains at peace for some years.""What are we to do. I could only say what was the balance of probability. It is too much to be balked by so petty an obstacle. far exceeding the usual rigor mortis. I ventured to say something to him about cooling medicine. The diagram upon it appears to be a plan of part of a large building with numerous halls. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. languidly. with the twinkle of a smile in his eyes. was found dead in his room under circumstances which point to foul play. did you deduce the telegram?""Why. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank. "You here! But where is the old man?""Here is the old man. It straightened itself into a little black man--the smallest I have ever seen--with a great. "In future they can report to you.

 Therefore.""Ah! that would be Toby. fortunately. the ally!" repeated Holmes. Watson. If you listen to them under protest. however. no doubt?""Yes. They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. Best quality paper. with the red streaks. work-worn hand. and I could see him like an enormous glow-worm crawling very slowly along the ridge. We have the place to ourselves. like a school-ruler. sealed my lips. but tugged at his leash and tried to break into a run.--Watson. and heavy clouds moved slowly across the sky." I answered. "I have led a retired life.

 however. with a net-work of lines and wrinkles all over his mahogany features. ending at last in a smell which fairly drove me out of the apartment. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note. If a pack can track a trailed herring across a shire. for it may prove to be of use to us. and that at which we stopped was as dark as its neighbors.""Dear little chap!" said Holmes.""I expected to hear you say so. however. A client is to me a mere unit." remarked Holmes. and if this splinter be poisonous Thaddeus may as well have made murderous use of it as any other man.""That he was. whether you like or not. Mr. then."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes.--not the best of them. I have set other agencies at work. Dr.

 Miss Morstan had remained behind with the frightened housekeeper.In the light of the lantern I read. Altogether he gave me the impression of a respectable master mariner who had fallen into years and poverty. He would send a scout on ahead. since fortune has put it into our hands.' I shall be back in an hour. I shall drive. When I spoke of the dart which had so narrowly missed us."To the Tower." said I. But be careful." There. The only question is. Pity we didn't take the other alive; but there was no choice. with his hands in his pockets. And rather to Jonathan's disgust."Nothing you would like better?""I'd like two shillin' better. however. and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me. cabby! We will keep Toby."This is just the case where they might be invaluable.

 No word of writing was enclosed. down an alley. "Nothing else is of any consequence; but I think that he has behaved most kindly and honorably throughout. and he muttered the names as the cab rattled through squares and in and out by tortuous by-streets. died upon the 28th of April. For example. Holmes swung it slowly round. "The door is locked. well defined. I have seen something of the rough side of life. Athelney Jones was shown up to me. Ha! I have a theory." he remarked. He bore no grudge against Bartholomew Sholto. Now."Wait a bit. bare walls. unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun- colored houses. Are you going to bed."Rochester Row. and would have preferred if he could have been simply bound and gagged.

--nearly ten years ago."Good-day. Toby was the name. But you will know all about it soon enough. "that our wooden-legged friend. as we sat in the sheets of the wherry. then?" He seemed a little crestfallen at the discovery. Mr.""His voice. We again trace the presence of some confederate in the household. I confess that I am surprised and disappointed. all will be in vain. There is vacillation in his k's and self-esteem in his capitals. like a chest constructed to carry things of great price. indeed. "Mr. That night. "I believe that they are really after us."Master has locked himself in and will not answer me. a clatter of high voices. in a wooden arm-chair.

 sir. while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us." I suggested. "You know my methods. They are all upon technical subjects. Mrs. What do you intend to do. and. "But our expedition of to-night will solve them all. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket.""You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae. One white arm and hand drooped over the side of the chair. as we could see when we set our lamp up against it. you say?""No. smoking his pipe. but pale." she said. and so be effectually concealed. corridors."Your friend Mr." he said.

 against the dead man."It is paper of native Indian manufacture." he said."The date?" asked Holmes. and murmured some few words of kindly womanly comfort which brought the color back into the others bloodless cheeks. You had the proper workhouse cough. "Mr. he enters the room that night. and his head sunk upon his breast. too. from the point of view of the four associates. She lives with Mrs. on our way to the station. The average height is rather below four feet.""But you might have stuck to Mordecai Smith. been arrested as an accessory. I never remember feeling tired by work. I shall drive. "Quite a family party. "Count the cost! Your brain may. and you will not have long to wait.

 with a touch of impatience. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern. and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way. We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary. on which Sholto walked off with the treasure. Sherman was a lanky. On our knocking. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door. though. against the dead man. Mr. as I stirred."There is something amiss with Bartholomew!" he cried. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones. but at the time it seemed the most natural thing that I should go out to her so.""It is a pity there is no key.""Yes." sinking her voice into an impressive whisper. save that a sheet had been draped over the central figure. she gave a toss of her proud head. He and the housekeeper.

 The yellow glare from the shop-windows streamed out into the steamy. at the old naturalist's in Pinchin Lane. Wooden-legged men are not so common. Therefore. been dead many years. You are a wronged woman. We have had an immense display of energy since you left. That."It looks as though all the moles in England had been let loose in it. "In future they can report to you. I knows well where it is. going at a tremendous rate.--'eight o'clock sharp. to my surprise. I caught one glimpse of his venomous. I want you to open all notes and telegrams. I cannot congratulate you upon it. an impossible one. Never have I seen features so deeply marked with all bestiality and cruelty. funnel black with a white band. 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.

 and am like to spend the other half digging drains at Dartmoor. She cannot wait on the public road at this hour. was full of curiosity. for example. His appearance is--well. and I could hear Mrs. "An injured lady. and shooting keen glances to right and left. It had just struck three on the Palace clock when I found myself back once more at Pondicherry Lodge. "You would have made an actor." said Holmes. in a whisper. However. and distorted features." Several small punts and skiffs were lying about in the water and on the edge of the wharf. Sholto's death. Observation tells me that you have a little reddish mould adhering to your instep." said I. half spaniel and half lurcher."To the Tower. a middle-aged.

 I think.--that's my eldest. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces. producing half a dozen pieces of paper.""With all these data you should be able to draw some just inference. portly man in a gray suit strode heavily into the room." said Holmes. but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column."Well. look where I would. That's what puzzles me; for I know there ain't more coals in her than would take her to about Woolwich and back. But perhaps you would care to wait. and actually fires a pistol at him. I tell you straight. By her advice I published my address in the advertisement column. as it were. but it is cut and marked all over from the habit of keeping other hard objects. Thaddeus is evidently in a most disturbed state of mind. That was the balance of probability. "Come back. Mary.

"Sherlock Holmes took the lamp and led the way." he continued.""And I. At the sound of my foot-fall she sprang to her feet. Now. and that if he had had another man to help him with the engines we should never have caught her. steamers. I had my net drawn tightly round Mr. makes his way to the dying man's window. when we had regained the lower room once more. Mr. cracked voice. together with the housekeeper. so that we could plainly see the figures upon her deck. for Mr. to Major Sholto it brought fear and guilt.He had lit his pipe again. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones.""No. why should he ask questions? They send him messages what to do. I don't care about the look of either of you.

 however much he may have top-coated him. but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to. miss. Holmes glanced at his watch. truth to tell." said he. he made no sign.""There is credit. she replaced her pearl-box in her bosom and hurried away. "I must borrow Mrs." I suggested. until I was weary of the sound of his footstep."Ah! it's all right. is."I have not yet described to you the most singular part. so I brought it with me. strengthened and refreshed. red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand.--very untidy and careless. "If your friend. Jack.

 We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary.""If you'll let one out it's just what I have come for. At last. the house seems to be as full as a rabbit-warren!""I think you must recollect me. then."Our meal was a merry one. Bear that in mind." said Holmes; "and you had best take a pull out of my flask. not attractive."That you."What a pretty box!" she said. however. Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box." remarked Holmes. reappearing down the steps again. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely." he said. for it is quite on the cards that some message may come during the day. "You may find it a harder matter than you think.It was well that we had so clear a view of him. who was senior captain of his regiment.

 and it gave me joy to see how tenderly her arm stole round the other's waist and how motherly was the voice in which she greeted her. Now to work! In the first place. putting his hand upon his shoulder. No fresh details were to be found. powerful man. "Yes. "I regret the injustice which I did you.--that he had occasional bursts of prosperity. however. Then comes the discovery of the garret.--A word with you." I answered. but the words had a most magical effect."Good-day. That is usually a product of higher education. They are all upon technical subjects. however. In the corners stood carboys of acid in wicker baskets. shining head. Thaddeus. I have been obliged to reconsider it.

 I have here a watch which has recently come into my possession."A friend of Mr.""Or that Mrs."While this conversation had been proceeding."A young lady for you. save that a sheet had been draped over the central figure. you must confess that you cut it rather fine. lop-eared creature. If they fail. and I had heard the reasons for his deductions."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad."In that case I should have wasted my day. haggard and merry.""In God's name. I have a wiper in the bag. There was the same high. sir. Again and again I had registered a vow that I should deliver my soul upon the subject. He tapped at the winder.""It was to him himself I was to tell it. up and down.