diff options
Diffstat (limited to '221.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 221.txt | 13086 |
1 files changed, 13086 insertions, 0 deletions
@@ -0,0 +1,13086 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Return of Sherlock Holmes + Magazine Edition + +Author: Arthur Conan Doyle + +Release Date: July 10, 2008 [EBook #221] +Original Release Date: February, 1995 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Keller, Joanne Brown, Frank Sadowski, +and Roger Squires + + + + + + +THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + +By Arthur Conan Doyle. + + + +Contents: + + The Adventure of the Empty House. + The Adventure of the Norwood Builder. + The Adventure of the Dancing Men. + The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist. + The Adventure of the Priory School. + The Adventure of Black Peter. + The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton. + The Adventure of the Six Napoleons. + The Adventure of the Three Students. + The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez. + The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter. + The Adventure of the Abbey Grange. + The Adventure of the Second Stain.] + + + + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 26 OCTOBER, 1903 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +I.--The Adventure of the Empty House. + + +IT was in the spring of the year 1894 that all London was interested, +and the fashionable world dismayed, by the murder of the Honourable +Ronald Adair under most unusual and inexplicable circumstances. The +public has already learned those particulars of the crime which came out +in the police investigation; but a good deal was suppressed upon that +occasion, since the case for the prosecution was so overwhelmingly +strong that it was not necessary to bring forward all the facts. Only +now, at the end of nearly ten years, am I allowed to supply those +missing links which make up the whole of that remarkable chain. The +crime was of interest in itself, but that interest was as nothing to +me compared to the inconceivable sequel, which afforded me the greatest +shock and surprise of any event in my adventurous life. Even now, +after this long interval, I find myself thrilling as I think of it, and +feeling once more that sudden flood of joy, amazement, and incredulity +which utterly submerged my mind. Let me say to that public which has +shown some interest in those glimpses which I have occasionally given +them of the thoughts and actions of a very remarkable man that they +are not to blame me if I have not shared my knowledge with them, for I +should have considered it my first duty to have done so had I not been +barred by a positive prohibition from his own lips, which was only +withdrawn upon the third of last month. + +It can be imagined that my close intimacy with Sherlock Holmes had +interested me deeply in crime, and that after his disappearance I never +failed to read with care the various problems which came before +the public, and I even attempted more than once for my own private +satisfaction to employ his methods in their solution, though with +indifferent success. There was none, however, which appealed to me like +this tragedy of Ronald Adair. As I read the evidence at the inquest, +which led up to a verdict of wilful murder against some person or +persons unknown, I realized more clearly than I had ever done the loss +which the community had sustained by the death of Sherlock Holmes. There +were points about this strange business which would, I was sure, have +specially appealed to him, and the efforts of the police would have been +supplemented, or more probably anticipated, by the trained observation +and the alert mind of the first criminal agent in Europe. All day as +I drove upon my round I turned over the case in my mind, and found no +explanation which appeared to me to be adequate. At the risk of telling +a twice-told tale I will recapitulate the facts as they were known to +the public at the conclusion of the inquest. + +The Honourable Ronald Adair was the second son of the Earl of Maynooth, +at that time Governor of one of the Australian Colonies. Adair's mother +had returned from Australia to undergo the operation for cataract, and +she, her son Ronald, and her daughter Hilda were living together at +427, Park Lane. The youth moved in the best society, had, so far as was +known, no enemies, and no particular vices. He had been engaged to Miss +Edith Woodley, of Carstairs, but the engagement had been broken off by +mutual consent some months before, and there was no sign that it had +left any very profound feeling behind it. For the rest the man's life +moved in a narrow and conventional circle, for his habits were quiet and +his nature unemotional. Yet it was upon this easy-going young aristocrat +that death came in most strange and unexpected form between the hours of +ten and eleven-twenty on the night of March 30, 1894. + +Ronald Adair was fond of cards, playing continually, but never for such +stakes as would hurt him. He was a member of the Baldwin, the Cavendish, +and the Bagatelle card clubs. It was shown that after dinner on the day +of his death he had played a rubber of whist at the latter club. He had +also played there in the afternoon. The evidence of those who had played +with him--Mr. Murray, Sir John Hardy, and Colonel Moran--showed that +the game was whist, and that there was a fairly equal fall of the cards. +Adair might have lost five pounds, but not more. His fortune was a +considerable one, and such a loss could not in any way affect him. He +had played nearly every day at one club or other, but he was a cautious +player, and usually rose a winner. It came out in evidence that in +partnership with Colonel Moran he had actually won as much as four +hundred and twenty pounds in a sitting some weeks before from Godfrey +Milner and Lord Balmoral. So much for his recent history, as it came out +at the inquest. + +On the evening of the crime he returned from the club exactly at ten. +His mother and sister were out spending the evening with a relation. The +servant deposed that she heard him enter the front room on the second +floor, generally used as his sitting-room. She had lit a fire there, and +as it smoked she had opened the window. No sound was heard from the room +until eleven-twenty, the hour of the return of Lady Maynooth and her +daughter. Desiring to say good-night, she had attempted to enter her +son's room. The door was locked on the inside, and no answer could be +got to their cries and knocking. Help was obtained and the door forced. +The unfortunate young man was found lying near the table. His head had +been horribly mutilated by an expanding revolver bullet, but no weapon +of any sort was to be found in the room. On the table lay two bank-notes +for ten pounds each and seventeen pounds ten in silver and gold, the +money arranged in little piles of varying amount. There were some +figures also upon a sheet of paper with the names of some club friends +opposite to them, from which it was conjectured that before his death he +was endeavouring to make out his losses or winnings at cards. + +A minute examination of the circumstances served only to make the case +more complex. In the first place, no reason could be given why the +young man should have fastened the door upon the inside. There was the +possibility that the murderer had done this and had afterwards escaped +by the window. The drop was at least twenty feet, however, and a bed of +crocuses in full bloom lay beneath. Neither the flowers nor the earth +showed any sign of having been disturbed, nor were there any marks +upon the narrow strip of grass which separated the house from the road. +Apparently, therefore, it was the young man himself who had fastened the +door. But how did he come by his death? No one could have climbed up to +the window without leaving traces. Suppose a man had fired through the +window, it would indeed be a remarkable shot who could with a +revolver inflict so deadly a wound. Again, Park Lane is a frequented +thoroughfare, and there is a cab-stand within a hundred yards of the +house. No one had heard a shot. And yet there was the dead man, and +there the revolver bullet, which had mushroomed out, as soft-nosed +bullets will, and so inflicted a wound which must have caused +instantaneous death. Such were the circumstances of the Park Lane +Mystery, which were further complicated by entire absence of motive, +since, as I have said, young Adair was not known to have any enemy, and +no attempt had been made to remove the money or valuables in the room. + +All day I turned these facts over in my mind, endeavouring to hit upon +some theory which could reconcile them all, and to find that line +of least resistance which my poor friend had declared to be the +starting-point of every investigation. I confess that I made little +progress. In the evening I strolled across the Park, and found myself +about six o'clock at the Oxford Street end of Park Lane. A group of +loafers upon the pavements, all staring up at a particular window, +directed me to the house which I had come to see. A tall, thin man with +coloured glasses, whom I strongly suspected of being a plain-clothes +detective, was pointing out some theory of his own, while the others +crowded round to listen to what he said. I got as near him as I could, +but his observations seemed to me to be absurd, so I withdrew again in +some disgust. As I did so I struck against an elderly deformed man, +who had been behind me, and I knocked down several books which he was +carrying. I remember that as I picked them up I observed the title of +one of them, "The Origin of Tree Worship," and it struck me that the +fellow must be some poor bibliophile who, either as a trade or as a +hobby, was a collector of obscure volumes. I endeavoured to apologize +for the accident, but it was evident that these books which I had so +unfortunately maltreated were very precious objects in the eyes of their +owner. With a snarl of contempt he turned upon his heel, and I saw his +curved back and white side-whiskers disappear among the throng. + +My observations of No. 427, Park Lane did little to clear up the problem +in which I was interested. The house was separated from the street by +a low wall and railing, the whole not more than five feet high. It was +perfectly easy, therefore, for anyone to get into the garden, but the +window was entirely inaccessible, since there was no water-pipe or +anything which could help the most active man to climb it. More puzzled +than ever I retraced my steps to Kensington. I had not been in my study +five minutes when the maid entered to say that a person desired to +see me. To my astonishment it was none other than my strange old +book-collector, his sharp, wizened face peering out from a frame of +white hair, and his precious volumes, a dozen of them at least, wedged +under his right arm. + +"You're surprised to see me, sir," said he, in a strange, croaking +voice. + +I acknowledged that I was. + +"Well, I've a conscience, sir, and when I chanced to see you go into +this house, as I came hobbling after you, I thought to myself, I'll just +step in and see that kind gentleman, and tell him that if I was a bit +gruff in my manner there was not any harm meant, and that I am much +obliged to him for picking up my books." + +"You make too much of a trifle," said I. "May I ask how you knew who I +was?" + +"Well, sir, if it isn't too great a liberty, I am a neighbour of yours, +for you'll find my little bookshop at the corner of Church Street, +and very happy to see you, I am sure. Maybe you collect yourself, sir; +here's 'British Birds,' and 'Catullus,' and 'The Holy War'--a bargain +every one of them. With five volumes you could just fill that gap on +that second shelf. It looks untidy, does it not, sir?" + +I moved my head to look at the cabinet behind me. When I turned again +Sherlock Holmes was standing smiling at me across my study table. I rose +to my feet, stared at him for some seconds in utter amazement, and then +it appears that I must have fainted for the first and the last time +in my life. Certainly a grey mist swirled before my eyes, and when it +cleared I found my collar-ends undone and the tingling after-taste of +brandy upon my lips. Holmes was bending over my chair, his flask in his +hand. + +"My dear Watson," said the well-remembered voice, "I owe you a thousand +apologies. I had no idea that you would be so affected." + +I gripped him by the arm. + +"Holmes!" I cried. "Is it really you? Can it indeed be that you are +alive? Is it possible that you succeeded in climbing out of that awful +abyss?" + +"Wait a moment," said he. "Are you sure that you are really fit to +discuss things? I have given you a serious shock by my unnecessarily +dramatic reappearance." + +"I am all right, but indeed, Holmes, I can hardly believe my eyes. Good +heavens, to think that you--you of all men--should be standing in my +study!" Again I gripped him by the sleeve and felt the thin, sinewy arm +beneath it. "Well, you're not a spirit, anyhow," said I. "My dear chap, +I am overjoyed to see you. Sit down and tell me how you came alive out +of that dreadful chasm." + +He sat opposite to me and lit a cigarette in his old nonchalant manner. +He was dressed in the seedy frock-coat of the book merchant, but the +rest of that individual lay in a pile of white hair and old books upon +the table. Holmes looked even thinner and keener than of old, but there +was a dead-white tinge in his aquiline face which told me that his life +recently had not been a healthy one. + +"I am glad to stretch myself, Watson," said he. "It is no joke when a +tall man has to take a foot off his stature for several hours on end. +Now, my dear fellow, in the matter of these explanations we have, if +I may ask for your co-operation, a hard and dangerous night's work in +front of us. Perhaps it would be better if I gave you an account of the +whole situation when that work is finished." + +"I am full of curiosity. I should much prefer to hear now." + +"You'll come with me to-night?" + +"When you like and where you like." + +"This is indeed like the old days. We shall have time for a mouthful of +dinner before we need go. Well, then, about that chasm. I had no serious +difficulty in getting out of it, for the very simple reason that I never +was in it." + +"You never were in it?" + +"No, Watson, I never was in it. My note to you was absolutely genuine. +I had little doubt that I had come to the end of my career when I +perceived the somewhat sinister figure of the late Professor Moriarty +standing upon the narrow pathway which led to safety. I read an +inexorable purpose in his grey eyes. I exchanged some remarks with him, +therefore, and obtained his courteous permission to write the short note +which you afterwards received. I left it with my cigarette-box and my +stick and I walked along the pathway, Moriarty still at my heels. When +I reached the end I stood at bay. He drew no weapon, but he rushed at me +and threw his long arms around me. He knew that his own game was up, and +was only anxious to revenge himself upon me. We tottered together upon +the brink of the fall. I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or +the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very +useful to me. I slipped through his grip, and he with a horrible scream +kicked madly for a few seconds and clawed the air with both his hands. +But for all his efforts he could not get his balance, and over he went. +With my face over the brink I saw him fall for a long way. Then he +struck a rock, bounded off, and splashed into the water." + +I listened with amazement to this explanation, which Holmes delivered +between the puffs of his cigarette. + +"But the tracks!" I cried. "I saw with my own eyes that two went down +the path and none returned." + +"It came about in this way. The instant that the Professor had +disappeared it struck me what a really extraordinarily lucky chance Fate +had placed in my way. I knew that Moriarty was not the only man who +had sworn my death. There were at least three others whose desire for +vengeance upon me would only be increased by the death of their leader. +They were all most dangerous men. One or other would certainly get me. +On the other hand, if all the world was convinced that I was dead they +would take liberties, these men, they would lay themselves open, and +sooner or later I could destroy them. Then it would be time for me to +announce that I was still in the land of the living. So rapidly does +the brain act that I believe I had thought this all out before Professor +Moriarty had reached the bottom of the Reichenbach Fall. + +"I stood up and examined the rocky wall behind me. In your picturesque +account of the matter, which I read with great interest some months +later, you assert that the wall was sheer. This was not literally +true. A few small footholds presented themselves, and there was some +indication of a ledge. The cliff is so high that to climb it all was +an obvious impossibility, and it was equally impossible to make my way +along the wet path without leaving some tracks. I might, it is true, +have reversed my boots, as I have done on similar occasions, but the +sight of three sets of tracks in one direction would certainly have +suggested a deception. On the whole, then, it was best that I should +risk the climb. It was not a pleasant business, Watson. The fall roared +beneath me. I am not a fanciful person, but I give you my word that +I seemed to hear Moriarty's voice screaming at me out of the abyss. A +mistake would have been fatal. More than once, as tufts of grass came +out in my hand or my foot slipped in the wet notches of the rock, I +thought that I was gone. But I struggled upwards, and at last I reached +a ledge several feet deep and covered with soft green moss, where I +could lie unseen in the most perfect comfort. There I was stretched when +you, my dear Watson, and all your following were investigating in the +most sympathetic and inefficient manner the circumstances of my death. + +"At last, when you had all formed your inevitable and totally erroneous +conclusions, you departed for the hotel and I was left alone. I had +imagined that I had reached the end of my adventures, but a very +unexpected occurrence showed me that there were surprises still in store +for me. A huge rock, falling from above, boomed past me, struck the +path, and bounded over into the chasm. For an instant I thought that +it was an accident; but a moment later, looking up, I saw a man's head +against the darkening sky, and another stone struck the very ledge upon +which I was stretched, within a foot of my head. Of course, the meaning +of this was obvious. Moriarty had not been alone. A confederate--and +even that one glance had told me how dangerous a man that confederate +was--had kept guard while the Professor had attacked me. From a +distance, unseen by me, he had been a witness of his friend's death and +of my escape. He had waited, and then, making his way round to the +top of the cliff, he had endeavoured to succeed where his comrade had +failed. + +"I did not take long to think about it, Watson. Again I saw that grim +face look over the cliff, and I knew that it was the precursor of +another stone. I scrambled down on to the path. I don't think I could +have done it in cold blood. It was a hundred times more difficult than +getting up. But I had no time to think of the danger, for another stone +sang past me as I hung by my hands from the edge of the ledge. Halfway +down I slipped, but by the blessing of God I landed, torn and bleeding, +upon the path. I took to my heels, did ten miles over the mountains +in the darkness, and a week later I found myself in Florence with the +certainty that no one in the world knew what had become of me. + +"I had only one confidant--my brother Mycroft. I owe you many apologies, +my dear Watson, but it was all-important that it should be thought I +was dead, and it is quite certain that you would not have written so +convincing an account of my unhappy end had you not yourself thought +that it was true. Several times during the last three years I have taken +up my pen to write to you, but always I feared lest your affectionate +regard for me should tempt you to some indiscretion which would betray +my secret. For that reason I turned away from you this evening when +you upset my books, for I was in danger at the time, and any show of +surprise and emotion upon your part might have drawn attention to my +identity and led to the most deplorable and irreparable results. As to +Mycroft, I had to confide in him in order to obtain the money which +I needed. The course of events in London did not run so well as I had +hoped, for the trial of the Moriarty gang left two of its most dangerous +members, my own most vindictive enemies, at liberty. I travelled for +two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa +and spending some days with the head Llama. You may have read of the +remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure +that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your +friend. I then passed through Persia, looked in at Mecca, and paid a +short but interesting visit to the Khalifa at Khartoum, the results of +which I have communicated to the Foreign Office. Returning to France I +spent some months in a research into the coal-tar derivatives, which I +conducted in a laboratory at Montpelier, in the South of France. Having +concluded this to my satisfaction, and learning that only one of my +enemies was now left in London, I was about to return when my movements +were hastened by the news of this very remarkable Park Lane Mystery, +which not only appealed to me by its own merits, but which seemed to +offer some most peculiar personal opportunities. I came over at once to +London, called in my own person at Baker Street, threw Mrs. Hudson into +violent hysterics, and found that Mycroft had preserved my rooms and my +papers exactly as they had always been. So it was, my dear Watson, that +at two o'clock to-day I found myself in my old arm-chair in my own old +room, and only wishing that I could have seen my old friend Watson in +the other chair which he has so often adorned." + +Such was the remarkable narrative to which I listened on that April +evening--a narrative which would have been utterly incredible to me had +it not been confirmed by the actual sight of the tall, spare figure and +the keen, eager face, which I had never thought to see again. In some +manner he had learned of my own sad bereavement, and his sympathy was +shown in his manner rather than in his words. "Work is the best antidote +to sorrow, my dear Watson," said he, "and I have a piece of work for us +both to-night which, if we can bring it to a successful conclusion, will +in itself justify a man's life on this planet." In vain I begged him +to tell me more. "You will hear and see enough before morning," he +answered. "We have three years of the past to discuss. Let that suffice +until half-past nine, when we start upon the notable adventure of the +empty house." + +It was indeed like old times when, at that hour, I found myself seated +beside him in a hansom, my revolver in my pocket and the thrill of +adventure in my heart. Holmes was cold and stern and silent. As the +gleam of the street-lamps flashed upon his austere features I saw that +his brows were drawn down in thought and his thin lips compressed. I +knew not what wild beast we were about to hunt down in the dark jungle +of criminal London, but I was well assured from the bearing of this +master huntsman that the adventure was a most grave one, while the +sardonic smile which occasionally broke through his ascetic gloom boded +little good for the object of our quest. + +I had imagined that we were bound for Baker Street, but Holmes stopped +the cab at the corner of Cavendish Square. I observed that as he stepped +out he gave a most searching glance to right and left, and at every +subsequent street corner he took the utmost pains to assure that he was +not followed. Our route was certainly a singular one. Holmes's knowledge +of the byways of London was extraordinary, and on this occasion he +passed rapidly, and with an assured step, through a network of mews and +stables the very existence of which I had never known. We emerged at +last into a small road, lined with old, gloomy houses, which led us into +Manchester Street, and so to Blandford Street. Here he turned swiftly +down a narrow passage, passed through a wooden gate into a deserted +yard, and then opened with a key the back door of a house. We entered +together and he closed it behind us. + +The place was pitch-dark, but it was evident to me that it was an empty +house. Our feet creaked and crackled over the bare planking, and my +outstretched hand touched a wall from which the paper was hanging in +ribbons. Holmes's cold, thin fingers closed round my wrist and led me +forwards down a long hall, until I dimly saw the murky fanlight over the +door. Here Holmes turned suddenly to the right, and we found ourselves +in a large, square, empty room, heavily shadowed in the corners, but +faintly lit in the centre from the lights of the street beyond. There +was no lamp near and the window was thick with dust, so that we could +only just discern each other's figures within. My companion put his hand +upon my shoulder and his lips close to my ear. + +"Do you know where we are?" he whispered. + +"Surely that is Baker Street," I answered, staring through the dim +window. + +"Exactly. We are in Camden House, which stands opposite to our own old +quarters." + +"But why are we here?" + +"Because it commands so excellent a view of that picturesque pile. Might +I trouble you, my dear Watson, to draw a little nearer to the window, +taking every precaution not to show yourself, and then to look up at our +old rooms--the starting-point of so many of our little adventures? We +will see if my three years of absence have entirely taken away my power +to surprise you." + +I crept forward and looked across at the familiar window. As my eyes +fell upon it I gave a gasp and a cry of amazement. The blind was down +and a strong light was burning in the room. The shadow of a man who +was seated in a chair within was thrown in hard, black outline upon the +luminous screen of the window. There was no mistaking the poise of the +head, the squareness of the shoulders, the sharpness of the features. +The face was turned half-round, and the effect was that of one of +those black silhouettes which our grandparents loved to frame. It was a +perfect reproduction of Holmes. So amazed was I that I threw out my +hand to make sure that the man himself was standing beside me. He was +quivering with silent laughter. + +"Well?" said he. + +"Good heavens!" I cried. "It is marvellous." + +"I trust that age doth not wither nor custom stale my infinite +variety,'" said he, and I recognised in his voice the joy and pride +which the artist takes in his own creation. "It really is rather like +me, is it not?" + +"I should be prepared to swear that it was you." + +"The credit of the execution is due to Monsieur Oscar Meunier, of +Grenoble, who spent some days in doing the moulding. It is a bust in +wax. The rest I arranged myself during my visit to Baker Street this +afternoon." + +"But why?" + +"Because, my dear Watson, I had the strongest possible reason for +wishing certain people to think that I was there when I was really +elsewhere." + +"And you thought the rooms were watched?" + +"I KNEW that they were watched." + +"By whom?" + +"By my old enemies, Watson. By the charming society whose leader lies +in the Reichenbach Fall. You must remember that they knew, and only +they knew, that I was still alive. Sooner or later they believed that I +should come back to my rooms. They watched them continuously, and this +morning they saw me arrive." + +"How do you know?" + +"Because I recognised their sentinel when I glanced out of my window. He +is a harmless enough fellow, Parker by name, a garroter by trade, and a +remarkable performer upon the Jew's harp. I cared nothing for him. But +I cared a great deal for the much more formidable person who was behind +him, the bosom friend of Moriarty, the man who dropped the rocks over +the cliff, the most cunning and dangerous criminal in London. That is +the man who is after me to-night, Watson, and that is the man who is +quite unaware that we are after HIM." + +My friend's plans were gradually revealing themselves. From this +convenient retreat the watchers were being watched and the trackers +tracked. That angular shadow up yonder was the bait and we were the +hunters. In silence we stood together in the darkness and watched the +hurrying figures who passed and repassed in front of us. Holmes was +silent and motionless; but I could tell that he was keenly alert, and +that his eyes were fixed intently upon the stream of passers-by. It was +a bleak and boisterous night, and the wind whistled shrilly down the +long street. Many people were moving to and fro, most of them muffled in +their coats and cravats. Once or twice it seemed to me that I had seen +the same figure before, and I especially noticed two men who appeared +to be sheltering themselves from the wind in the doorway of a house +some distance up the street. I tried to draw my companion's attention +to them, but he gave a little ejaculation of impatience and continued +to stare into the street. More than once he fidgeted with his feet and +tapped rapidly with his fingers upon the wall. It was evident to me +that he was becoming uneasy and that his plans were not working out +altogether as he had hoped. At last, as midnight approached and +the street gradually cleared, he paced up and down the room in +uncontrollable agitation. I was about to make some remark to him when +I raised my eyes to the lighted window and again experienced almost as +great a surprise as before. I clutched Holmes's arm and pointed upwards. + +"The shadow has moved!" I cried. + +It was, indeed, no longer the profile, but the back, which was turned +towards us. + +Three years had certainly not smoothed the asperities of his temper or +his impatience with a less active intelligence than his own. + +"Of course it has moved," said he. "Am I such a farcical bungler, +Watson, that I should erect an obvious dummy and expect that some of +the sharpest men in Europe would be deceived by it? We have been in +this room two hours, and Mrs. Hudson has made some change in that figure +eight times, or once in every quarter of an hour. She works it from the +front so that her shadow may never be seen. Ah!" He drew in his breath +with a shrill, excited intake. In the dim light I saw his head thrown +forward, his whole attitude rigid with attention. Outside, the street +was absolutely deserted. Those two men might still be crouching in the +doorway, but I could no longer see them. All was still and dark, save +only that brilliant yellow screen in front of us with the black figure +outlined upon its centre. Again in the utter silence I heard that thin, +sibilant note which spoke of intense suppressed excitement. An instant +later he pulled me back into the blackest corner of the room, and I +felt his warning hand upon my lips. The fingers which clutched me were +quivering. Never had I known my friend more moved, and yet the dark +street still stretched lonely and motionless before us. + +But suddenly I was aware of that which his keener senses had already +distinguished. A low, stealthy sound came to my ears, not from the +direction of Baker Street, but from the back of the very house in which +we lay concealed. A door opened and shut. An instant later steps +crept down the passage--steps which were meant to be silent, but which +reverberated harshly through the empty house. Holmes crouched back +against the wall and I did the same, my hand closing upon the handle +of my revolver. Peering through the gloom, I saw the vague outline of a +man, a shade blacker than the blackness of the open door. He stood for +an instant, and then he crept forward, crouching, menacing, into the +room. He was within three yards of us, this sinister figure, and I had +braced myself to meet his spring, before I realized that he had no idea +of our presence. He passed close beside us, stole over to the window, +and very softly and noiselessly raised it for half a foot. As he sank to +the level of this opening the light of the street, no longer dimmed by +the dusty glass, fell full upon his face. The man seemed to be beside +himself with excitement. His two eyes shone like stars and his +features were working convulsively. He was an elderly man, with a thin, +projecting nose, a high, bald forehead, and a huge grizzled moustache. +An opera-hat was pushed to the back of his head, and an evening dress +shirt-front gleamed out through his open overcoat. His face was gaunt +and swarthy, scored with deep, savage lines. In his hand he carried what +appeared to be a stick, but as he laid it down upon the floor it gave +a metallic clang. Then from the pocket of his overcoat he drew a bulky +object, and he busied himself in some task which ended with a loud, +sharp click, as if a spring or bolt had fallen into its place. Still +kneeling upon the floor he bent forward and threw all his weight and +strength upon some lever, with the result that there came a long, +whirling, grinding noise, ending once more in a powerful click. He +straightened himself then, and I saw that what he held in his hand was +a sort of gun, with a curiously misshapen butt. He opened it at the +breech, put something in, and snapped the breech-block. Then, crouching +down, he rested the end of the barrel upon the ledge of the open window, +and I saw his long moustache droop over the stock and his eye gleam as +it peered along the sights. I heard a little sigh of satisfaction as +he cuddled the butt into his shoulder, and saw that amazing target, the +black man on the yellow ground, standing clear at the end of his fore +sight. For an instant he was rigid and motionless. Then his finger +tightened on the trigger. There was a strange, loud whiz and a long, +silvery tinkle of broken glass. At that instant Holmes sprang like a +tiger on to the marksman's back and hurled him flat upon his face. He +was up again in a moment, and with convulsive strength he seized Holmes +by the throat; but I struck him on the head with the butt of my revolver +and he dropped again upon the floor. I fell upon him, and as I held him +my comrade blew a shrill call upon a whistle. There was the clatter of +running feet upon the pavement, and two policemen in uniform, with one +plain-clothes detective, rushed through the front entrance and into the +room. + +"That you, Lestrade?" said Holmes. + +"Yes, Mr. Holmes. I took the job myself. It's good to see you back in +London, sir." + +"I think you want a little unofficial help. Three undetected murders in +one year won't do, Lestrade. But you handled the Molesey Mystery with +less than your usual--that's to say, you handled it fairly well." + +We had all risen to our feet, our prisoner breathing hard, with a +stalwart constable on each side of him. Already a few loiterers had +begun to collect in the street. Holmes stepped up to the window, closed +it, and dropped the blinds. Lestrade had produced two candles and the +policemen had uncovered their lanterns. I was able at last to have a +good look at our prisoner. + +It was a tremendously virile and yet sinister face which was turned +towards us. With the brow of a philosopher above and the jaw of a +sensualist below, the man must have started with great capacities for +good or for evil. But one could not look upon his cruel blue eyes, with +their drooping, cynical lids, or upon the fierce, aggressive nose and +the threatening, deep-lined brow, without reading Nature's plainest +danger-signals. He took no heed of any of us, but his eyes were fixed +upon Holmes's face with an expression in which hatred and amazement were +equally blended. "You fiend!" he kept on muttering. "You clever, clever +fiend!" + +"Ah, Colonel!" said Holmes, arranging his rumpled collar; "'journeys end +in lovers' meetings,' as the old play says. I don't think I have had the +pleasure of seeing you since you favoured me with those attentions as I +lay on the ledge above the Reichenbach Fall." + +The Colonel still stared at my friend like a man in a trance. "You +cunning, cunning fiend!" was all that he could say. + +"I have not introduced you yet," said Holmes. "This, gentlemen, is +Colonel Sebastian Moran, once of Her Majesty's Indian Army, and the best +heavy game shot that our Eastern Empire has ever produced. I believe +I am correct, Colonel, in saying that your bag of tigers still remains +unrivalled?" + +The fierce old man said nothing, but still glared at my companion; with +his savage eyes and bristling moustache he was wonderfully like a tiger +himself. + +"I wonder that my very simple stratagem could deceive so old a shikari," +said Holmes. "It must be very familiar to you. Have you not tethered a +young kid under a tree, lain above it with your rifle, and waited for +the bait to bring up your tiger? This empty house is my tree and you +are my tiger. You have possibly had other guns in reserve in case there +should be several tigers, or in the unlikely supposition of your own aim +failing you. These," he pointed around, "are my other guns. The parallel +is exact." + +Colonel Moran sprang forward, with a snarl of rage, but the constables +dragged him back. The fury upon his face was terrible to look at. + +"I confess that you had one small surprise for me," said Holmes. "I did +not anticipate that you would yourself make use of this empty house and +this convenient front window. I had imagined you as operating from the +street, where my friend Lestrade and his merry men were awaiting you. +With that exception all has gone as I expected." + +Colonel Moran turned to the official detective. + +"You may or may not have just cause for arresting me," said he, "but at +least there can be no reason why I should submit to the gibes of this +person. If I am in the hands of the law let things be done in a legal +way." + +"Well, that's reasonable enough," said Lestrade. "Nothing further you +have to say, Mr. Holmes, before we go?" + +Holmes had picked up the powerful air-gun from the floor and was +examining its mechanism. + +"An admirable and unique weapon," said he, "noiseless and of tremendous +power. I knew Von Herder, the blind German mechanic, who constructed it +to the order of the late Professor Moriarty. For years I have been aware +of its existence, though I have never before had the opportunity of +handling it. I commend it very specially to your attention, Lestrade, +and also the bullets which fit it." + +"You can trust us to look after that, Mr. Holmes," said Lestrade, as the +whole party moved towards the door. "Anything further to say?" + +"Only to ask what charge you intend to prefer?" + +"What charge, sir? Why, of course, the attempted murder of Mr. Sherlock +Holmes." + +"Not so, Lestrade. I do not propose to appear in the matter at all. To +you, and to you only, belongs the credit of the remarkable arrest which +you have effected. Yes, Lestrade, I congratulate you! With your usual +happy mixture of cunning and audacity you have got him." + +"Got him! Got whom, Mr. Holmes?" + +"The man that the whole force has been seeking in vain--Colonel +Sebastian Moran, who shot the Honourable Ronald Adair with an expanding +bullet from an air-gun through the open window of the second-floor front +of No. 427, Park Lane, upon the 30th of last month. That's the charge, +Lestrade. And now, Watson, if you can endure the draught from a broken +window, I think that half an hour in my study over a cigar may afford +you some profitable amusement." + + +Our old chambers had been left unchanged through the supervision of +Mycroft Holmes and the immediate care of Mrs. Hudson. As I entered I +saw, it is true, an unwonted tidiness, but the old landmarks were all +in their place. There were the chemical corner and the acid-stained, +deal-topped table. There upon a shelf was the row of formidable +scrap-books and books of reference which many of our fellow-citizens +would have been so glad to burn. The diagrams, the violin-case, and the +pipe-rack--even the Persian slipper which contained the tobacco--all met +my eyes as I glanced round me. There were two occupants of the room--one +Mrs. Hudson, who beamed upon us both as we entered; the other the +strange dummy which had played so important a part in the evening's +adventures. It was a wax-coloured model of my friend, so admirably done +that it was a perfect facsimile. It stood on a small pedestal table with +an old dressing-gown of Holmes's so draped round it that the illusion +from the street was absolutely perfect. + +"I hope you preserved all precautions, Mrs. Hudson?" said Holmes. + +"I went to it on my knees, sir, just as you told me." + +"Excellent. You carried the thing out very well. Did you observe where +the bullet went?" + +"Yes, sir. I'm afraid it has spoilt your beautiful bust, for it passed +right through the head and flattened itself on the wall. I picked it up +from the carpet. Here it is!" + +Holmes held it out to me. "A soft revolver bullet, as you perceive, +Watson. There's genius in that, for who would expect to find such a +thing fired from an air-gun. All right, Mrs. Hudson, I am much obliged +for your assistance. And now, Watson, let me see you in your old seat +once more, for there are several points which I should like to discuss +with you." + +He had thrown off the seedy frock-coat, and now he was the Holmes of old +in the mouse-coloured dressing-gown which he took from his effigy. + +"The old shikari's nerves have not lost their steadiness nor his eyes +their keenness," said he, with a laugh, as he inspected the shattered +forehead of his bust. + +"Plumb in the middle of the back of the head and smack through the +brain. He was the best shot in India, and I expect that there are few +better in London. Have you heard the name?" + +"No, I have not." + +"Well, well, such is fame! But, then, if I remember aright, you had not +heard the name of Professor James Moriarty, who had one of the great +brains of the century. Just give me down my index of biographies from +the shelf." + +He turned over the pages lazily, leaning back in his chair and blowing +great clouds from his cigar. + +"My collection of M's is a fine one," said he. "Moriarty himself is +enough to make any letter illustrious, and here is Morgan the poisoner, +and Merridew of abominable memory, and Mathews, who knocked out my left +canine in the waiting-room at Charing Cross, and, finally, here is our +friend of to-night." + +He handed over the book, and I read: "MORAN, SEBASTIAN, COLONEL. +Unemployed. Formerly 1st Bengalore Pioneers. Born London, 1840. Son of +Sir Augustus Moran, C.B., once British Minister to Persia. Educated +Eton and Oxford. Served in Jowaki Campaign, Afghan Campaign, Charasiab +(despatches), Sherpur, and Cabul. Author of 'Heavy Game of the Western +Himalayas,' 1881; 'Three Months in the Jungle,' 1884. Address: Conduit +Street. Clubs: The Anglo-Indian, the Tankerville, the Bagatelle Card +Club." + +On the margin was written, in Holmes's precise hand: "The second most +dangerous man in London." + +"This is astonishing," said I, as I handed back the volume. "The man's +career is that of an honourable soldier." + +"It is true," Holmes answered. "Up to a certain point he did well. He +was always a man of iron nerve, and the story is still told in India how +he crawled down a drain after a wounded man-eating tiger. There are some +trees, Watson, which grow to a certain height and then suddenly develop +some unsightly eccentricity. You will see it often in humans. I have +a theory that the individual represents in his development the whole +procession of his ancestors, and that such a sudden turn to good or +evil stands for some strong influence which came into the line of his +pedigree. The person becomes, as it were, the epitome of the history of +his own family." + +"It is surely rather fanciful." + +"Well, I don't insist upon it. Whatever the cause, Colonel Moran began +to go wrong. Without any open scandal, he still made India too hot to +hold him. He retired, came to London, and again acquired an evil name. +It was at this time that he was sought out by Professor Moriarty, +to whom for a time he was chief of the staff. Moriarty supplied him +liberally with money and used him only in one or two very high-class +jobs which no ordinary criminal could have undertaken. You may have +some recollection of the death of Mrs. Stewart, of Lauder, in 1887. +Not? Well, I am sure Moran was at the bottom of it; but nothing could +be proved. So cleverly was the Colonel concealed that even when the +Moriarty gang was broken up we could not incriminate him. You remember +at that date, when I called upon you in your rooms, how I put up the +shutters for fear of air-guns? No doubt you thought me fanciful. I knew +exactly what I was doing, for I knew of the existence of this remarkable +gun, and I knew also that one of the best shots in the world would be +behind it. When we were in Switzerland he followed us with Moriarty, +and it was undoubtedly he who gave me that evil five minutes on the +Reichenbach ledge. + +"You may think that I read the papers with some attention during my +sojourn in France, on the look-out for any chance of laying him by the +heels. So long as he was free in London my life would really not have +been worth living. Night and day the shadow would have been over me, and +sooner or later his chance must have come. What could I do? I could not +shoot him at sight, or I should myself be in the dock. There was no use +appealing to a magistrate. They cannot interfere on the strength of what +would appear to them to be a wild suspicion. So I could do nothing. But +I watched the criminal news, knowing that sooner or later I should get +him. Then came the death of this Ronald Adair. My chance had come at +last! Knowing what I did, was it not certain that Colonel Moran had done +it? He had played cards with the lad; he had followed him home from the +club; he had shot him through the open window. There was not a doubt of +it. The bullets alone are enough to put his head in a noose. I came +over at once. I was seen by the sentinel, who would, I knew, direct +the Colonel's attention to my presence. He could not fail to connect my +sudden return with his crime and to be terribly alarmed. I was sure that +he would make an attempt to get me out of the way AT ONCE, and would +bring round his murderous weapon for that purpose. I left him an +excellent mark in the window, and, having warned the police that they +might be needed--by the way, Watson, you spotted their presence in that +doorway with unerring accuracy--I took up what seemed to me to be a +judicious post for observation, never dreaming that he would choose the +same spot for his attack. Now, my dear Watson, does anything remain for +me to explain?" + +"Yes," said I. "You have not made it clear what was Colonel Moran's +motive in murdering the Honourable Ronald Adair." + +"Ah! my dear Watson, there we come into those realms of conjecture where +the most logical mind may be at fault. Each may form his own hypothesis +upon the present evidence, and yours is as likely to be correct as +mine." + +"You have formed one, then?" + +"I think that it is not difficult to explain the facts. It came out +in evidence that Colonel Moran and young Adair had between them won a +considerable amount of money. Now, Moran undoubtedly played foul--of +that I have long been aware. I believe that on the day of the murder +Adair had discovered that Moran was cheating. Very likely he had spoken +to him privately, and had threatened to expose him unless he voluntarily +resigned his membership of the club and promised not to play cards +again. It is unlikely that a youngster like Adair would at once make a +hideous scandal by exposing a well-known man so much older than himself. +Probably he acted as I suggest. The exclusion from his clubs would mean +ruin to Moran, who lived by his ill-gotten card gains. He therefore +murdered Adair, who at the time was endeavouring to work out how +much money he should himself return, since he could not profit by his +partner's foul play. He locked the door lest the ladies should surprise +him and insist upon knowing what he was doing with these names and +coins. Will it pass?" + +"I have no doubt that you have hit upon the truth." + +"It will be verified or disproved at the trial. Meanwhile, come what +may, Colonel Moran will trouble us no more, the famous air-gun of Von +Herder will embellish the Scotland Yard Museum, and once again +Mr. Sherlock Holmes is free to devote his life to examining those +interesting little problems which the complex life of London so +plentifully presents." + + +***** + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 26 NOVEMBER, 1903 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + + +II.--The Adventure of the Norwood Builder. + + +"FROM the point of view of the criminal expert," said Mr. Sherlock +Holmes, "London has become a singularly uninteresting city since the +death of the late lamented Professor Moriarty." + +"I can hardly think that you would find many decent citizens to agree +with you," I answered. + +"Well, well, I must not be selfish," said he, with a smile, as he pushed +back his chair from the breakfast-table. "The community is certainly +the gainer, and no one the loser, save the poor out-of-work specialist, +whose occupation has gone. With that man in the field one's morning +paper presented infinite possibilities. Often it was only the smallest +trace, Watson, the faintest indication, and yet it was enough to tell me +that the great malignant brain was there, as the gentlest tremors of +the edges of the web remind one of the foul spider which lurks in the +centre. Petty thefts, wanton assaults, purposeless outrage--to the man +who held the clue all could be worked into one connected whole. To the +scientific student of the higher criminal world no capital in Europe +offered the advantages which London then possessed. But now----" He +shrugged his shoulders in humorous deprecation of the state of things +which he had himself done so much to produce. + +At the time of which I speak Holmes had been back for some months, and +I, at his request, had sold my practice and returned to share the old +quarters in Baker Street. A young doctor, named Verner, had purchased my +small Kensington practice, and given with astonishingly little demur the +highest price that I ventured to ask--an incident which only explained +itself some years later when I found that Verner was a distant relation +of Holmes's, and that it was my friend who had really found the money. + +Our months of partnership had not been so uneventful as he had stated, +for I find, on looking over my notes, that this period includes the case +of the papers of Ex-President Murillo, and also the shocking affair of +the Dutch steamship FRIESLAND, which so nearly cost us both our lives. +His cold and proud nature was always averse, however, to anything in the +shape of public applause, and he bound me in the most stringent terms +to say no further word of himself, his methods, or his successes--a +prohibition which, as I have explained, has only now been removed. + +Mr. Sherlock Holmes was leaning back in his chair after his whimsical +protest, and was unfolding his morning paper in a leisurely fashion, +when our attention was arrested by a tremendous ring at the bell, +followed immediately by a hollow drumming sound, as if someone were +beating on the outer door with his fist. As it opened there came a +tumultuous rush into the hall, rapid feet clattered up the stair, and an +instant later a wild-eyed and frantic young man, pale, dishevelled, and +palpitating, burst into the room. He looked from one to the other of us, +and under our gaze of inquiry he became conscious that some apology was +needed for this unceremonious entry. + +"I'm sorry, Mr. Holmes," he cried. "You mustn't blame me. I am nearly +mad. Mr. Holmes, I am the unhappy John Hector McFarlane." + +He made the announcement as if the name alone would explain both his +visit and its manner; but I could see by my companion's unresponsive +face that it meant no more to him than to me. + +"Have a cigarette, Mr. McFarlane," said he, pushing his case across. +"I am sure that with your symptoms my friend Dr. Watson here would +prescribe a sedative. The weather has been so very warm these last few +days. Now, if you feel a little more composed, I should be glad if you +would sit down in that chair and tell us very slowly and quietly who you +are and what it is that you want. You mentioned your name as if I should +recognise it, but I assure you that, beyond the obvious facts that +you are a bachelor, a solicitor, a Freemason, and an asthmatic, I know +nothing whatever about you." + +Familiar as I was with my friend's methods, it was not difficult for me +to follow his deductions, and to observe the untidiness of attire, the +sheaf of legal papers, the watch-charm, and the breathing which had +prompted them. Our client, however, stared in amazement. + +"Yes, I am all that, Mr. Holmes, and in addition I am the most +unfortunate man at this moment in London. For Heaven's sake don't +abandon me, Mr. Holmes! If they come to arrest me before I have finished +my story, make them give me time so that I may tell you the whole +truth. I could go to gaol happy if I knew that you were working for me +outside." + +"Arrest you!" said Holmes. "This is really most grati--most interesting. +On what charge do you expect to be arrested?" + +"Upon the charge of murdering Mr. Jonas Oldacre, of Lower Norwood." + +My companion's expressive face showed a sympathy which was not, I am +afraid, entirely unmixed with satisfaction. + +"Dear me," said he; "it was only this moment at breakfast that I was +saying to my friend, Dr. Watson, that sensational cases had disappeared +out of our papers." + +Our visitor stretched forward a quivering hand and picked up the DAILY +TELEGRAPH, which still lay upon Holmes's knee. + +"If you had looked at it, sir, you would have seen at a glance what the +errand is on which I have come to you this morning. I feel as if my name +and my misfortune must be in every man's mouth." He turned it over to +expose the central page. "Here it is, and with your permission I +will read it to you. Listen to this, Mr. Holmes. The head-lines are: +'Mysterious Affair at Lower Norwood. Disappearance of a Well-known +Builder. Suspicion of Murder and Arson. A Clue to the Criminal.' That is +the clue which they are already following, Mr. Holmes, and I know that +it leads infallibly to me. I have been followed from London Bridge +Station, and I am sure that they are only waiting for the warrant to +arrest me. It will break my mother's heart--it will break her heart!" +He wrung his hands in an agony of apprehension, and swayed backwards and +forwards in his chair. + +I looked with interest upon this man, who was accused of being the +perpetrator of a crime of violence. He was flaxen-haired and handsome +in a washed-out negative fashion, with frightened blue eyes and a +clean-shaven face, with a weak, sensitive mouth. His age may have been +about twenty-seven; his dress and bearing that of a gentleman. From the +pocket of his light summer overcoat protruded the bundle of endorsed +papers which proclaimed his profession. + +"We must use what time we have," said Holmes. "Watson, would you +have the kindness to take the paper and to read me the paragraph in +question?" + +Underneath the vigorous head-lines which our client had quoted I read +the following suggestive narrative:-- + + +Late last night, or early this morning, an incident occurred at Lower +Norwood which points, it is feared, to a serious crime. Mr. Jonas +Oldacre is a well-known resident of that suburb, where he has carried +on his business as a builder for many years. Mr. Oldacre is a bachelor, +fifty-two years of age, and lives in Deep Dene House, at the Sydenham +end of the road of that name. He has had the reputation of being a +man of eccentric habits, secretive and retiring. For some years he has +practically withdrawn from the business, in which he is said to have +amassed considerable wealth. A small timber-yard still exists, however, +at the back of the house, and last night, about twelve o'clock, an alarm +was given that one of the stacks was on fire. The engines were soon upon +the spot, but the dry wood burned with great fury, and it was impossible +to arrest the conflagration until the stack had been entirely consumed. +Up to this point the incident bore the appearance of an ordinary +accident, but fresh indications seem to point to serious crime. Surprise +was expressed at the absence of the master of the establishment from +the scene of the fire, and an inquiry followed, which showed that he had +disappeared from the house. An examination of his room revealed that the +bed had not been slept in, that a safe which stood in it was open, +that a number of important papers were scattered about the room, and, +finally, that there were signs of a murderous struggle, slight traces +of blood being found within the room, and an oaken walking-stick, which +also showed stains of blood upon the handle. It is known that Mr. Jonas +Oldacre had received a late visitor in his bedroom upon that night, and +the stick found has been identified as the property of this person, who +is a young London solicitor named John Hector McFarlane, junior partner +of Graham and McFarlane, of 426, Gresham Buildings, E.C. The police +believe that they have evidence in their possession which supplies +a very convincing motive for the crime, and altogether it cannot be +doubted that sensational developments will follow. + +LATER.--It is rumoured as we go to press that Mr. John Hector McFarlane +has actually been arrested on the charge of the murder of Mr. Jonas +Oldacre. It is at least certain that a warrant has been issued. There +have been further and sinister developments in the investigation at +Norwood. Besides the signs of a struggle in the room of the unfortunate +builder it is now known that the French windows of his bedroom (which is +on the ground floor) were found to be open, that there were marks as +if some bulky object had been dragged across to the wood-pile, and, +finally, it is asserted that charred remains have been found among the +charcoal ashes of the fire. The police theory is that a most sensational +crime has been committed, that the victim was clubbed to death in his +own bedroom, his papers rifled, and his dead body dragged across to +the wood-stack, which was then ignited so as to hide all traces of the +crime. The conduct of the criminal investigation has been left in +the experienced hands of Inspector Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, who is +following up the clues with his accustomed energy and sagacity. + + +Sherlock Holmes listened with closed eyes and finger-tips together to +this remarkable account. + +"The case has certainly some points of interest," said he, in his +languid fashion. "May I ask, in the first place, Mr. McFarlane, how +it is that you are still at liberty, since there appears to be enough +evidence to justify your arrest?" + +"I live at Torrington Lodge, Blackheath, with my parents, Mr. Holmes; +but last night, having to do business very late with Mr. Jonas Oldacre, +I stayed at an hotel in Norwood, and came to my business from there. I +knew nothing of this affair until I was in the train, when I read what +you have just heard. I at once saw the horrible danger of my position, +and I hurried to put the case into your hands. I have no doubt that I +should have been arrested either at my City office or at my home. A +man followed me from London Bridge Station, and I have no doubt--Great +Heaven, what is that?" + +It was a clang of the bell, followed instantly by heavy steps upon the +stair. A moment later our old friend Lestrade appeared in the doorway. +Over his shoulder I caught a glimpse of one or two uniformed policemen +outside. + +"Mr. John Hector McFarlane?" said Lestrade. + +Our unfortunate client rose with a ghastly face. + +"I arrest you for the wilful murder of Mr. Jonas Oldacre, of Lower +Norwood." + +McFarlane turned to us with a gesture of despair, and sank into his +chair once more like one who is crushed. + +"One moment, Lestrade," said Holmes. "Half an hour more or less can make +no difference to you, and the gentleman was about to give us an account +of this very interesting affair, which might aid us in clearing it up." + +"I think there will be no difficulty in clearing it up," said Lestrade, +grimly. + +"None the less, with your permission, I should be much interested to +hear his account." + +"Well, Mr. Holmes, it is difficult for me to refuse you anything, for +you have been of use to the force once or twice in the past, and we owe +you a good turn at Scotland Yard," said Lestrade. "At the same time I +must remain with my prisoner, and I am bound to warn him that anything +he may say will appear in evidence against him." + +"I wish nothing better," said our client. "All I ask is that you should +hear and recognise the absolute truth." + +Lestrade looked at his watch. "I'll give you half an hour," said he. + +"I must explain first," said McFarlane, "that I knew nothing of Mr. +Jonas Oldacre. His name was familiar to me, for many years ago my +parents were acquainted with him, but they drifted apart. I was very +much surprised, therefore, when yesterday, about three o'clock in the +afternoon, he walked into my office in the City. But I was still more +astonished when he told me the object of his visit. He had in his hand +several sheets of a note-book, covered with scribbled writing--here they +are--and he laid them on my table. + +"'Here is my will,' said he. 'I want you, Mr. McFarlane, to cast it into +proper legal shape. I will sit here while you do so.' + +"I set myself to copy it, and you can imagine my astonishment when I +found that, with some reservations, he had left all his property to me. +He was a strange little, ferret-like man, with white eyelashes, and +when I looked up at him I found his keen grey eyes fixed upon me with +an amused expression. I could hardly believe my own senses as I read the +terms of the will; but he explained that he was a bachelor with hardly +any living relation, that he had known my parents in his youth, and that +he had always heard of me as a very deserving young man, and was assured +that his money would be in worthy hands. Of course, I could only stammer +out my thanks. The will was duly finished, signed, and witnessed by +my clerk. This is it on the blue paper, and these slips, as I have +explained, are the rough draft. Mr. Jonas Oldacre then informed me +that there were a number of documents--building leases, title-deeds, +mortgages, scrip, and so forth--which it was necessary that I should see +and understand. He said that his mind would not be easy until the whole +thing was settled, and he begged me to come out to his house at +Norwood that night, bringing the will with me, and to arrange matters. +'Remember, my boy, not one word to your parents about the affair until +everything is settled. We will keep it as a little surprise for +them.' He was very insistent upon this point, and made me promise it +faithfully. + +"You can imagine, Mr. Holmes, that I was not in a humour to refuse him +anything that he might ask. He was my benefactor, and all my desire was +to carry out his wishes in every particular. I sent a telegram home, +therefore, to say that I had important business on hand, and that it was +impossible for me to say how late I might be. Mr. Oldacre had told me +that he would like me to have supper with him at nine, as he might not +be home before that hour. I had some difficulty in finding his house, +however, and it was nearly half-past before I reached it. I found him--" + +"One moment!" said Holmes. "Who opened the door?" + +"A middle-aged woman, who was, I suppose, his housekeeper." + +"And it was she, I presume, who mentioned your name?" + +"Exactly," said McFarlane. + +"Pray proceed." + +McFarlane wiped his damp brow and then continued his narrative:-- + +"I was shown by this woman into a sitting-room, where a frugal supper +was laid out. Afterwards Mr. Jonas Oldacre led me into his bedroom, in +which there stood a heavy safe. This he opened and took out a mass of +documents, which we went over together. It was between eleven and twelve +when we finished. He remarked that we must not disturb the housekeeper. +He showed me out through his own French window, which had been open all +this time." + +"Was the blind down?" asked Holmes. + +"I will not be sure, but I believe that it was only half down. Yes, I +remember how he pulled it up in order to swing open the window. I could +not find my stick, and he said, 'Never mind, my boy; I shall see a good +deal of you now, I hope, and I will keep your stick until you come back +to claim it.' I left him there, the safe open, and the papers made up +in packets upon the table. It was so late that I could not get back to +Blackheath, so I spent the night at the Anerley Arms, and I knew nothing +more until I read of this horrible affair in the morning." + +"Anything more that you would like to ask, Mr. Holmes?" said Lestrade, +whose eyebrows had gone up once or twice during this remarkable +explanation. + +"Not until I have been to Blackheath." + +"You mean to Norwood," said Lestrade. + +"Oh, yes; no doubt that is what I must have meant," said Holmes, with +his enigmatical smile. Lestrade had learned by more experiences than he +would care to acknowledge that that razor-like brain could cut through +that which was impenetrable to him. I saw him look curiously at my +companion. + +"I think I should like to have a word with you presently, Mr. Sherlock +Holmes," said he. "Now, Mr. McFarlane, two of my constables are at the +door and there is a four-wheeler waiting." The wretched young man +arose, and with a last beseeching glance at us walked from the room. The +officers conducted him to the cab, but Lestrade remained. + +Holmes had picked up the pages which formed the rough draft of the will, +and was looking at them with the keenest interest upon his face. + +"There are some points about that document, Lestrade, are there not?" +said he, pushing them over. + +The official looked at them with a puzzled expression. + +"I can read the first few lines, and these in the middle of the second +page, and one or two at the end. Those are as clear as print," said +he; "but the writing in between is very bad, and there are three places +where I cannot read it at all." + +"What do you make of that?" said Holmes. + +"Well, what do YOU make of it?" + +"That it was written in a train; the good writing represents stations, +the bad writing movement, and the very bad writing passing over points. +A scientific expert would pronounce at once that this was drawn up on a +suburban line, since nowhere save in the immediate vicinity of a great +city could there be so quick a succession of points. Granting that his +whole journey was occupied in drawing up the will, then the train was an +express, only stopping once between Norwood and London Bridge." + +Lestrade began to laugh. + +"You are too many for me when you begin to get on your theories, Mr. +Holmes," said he. "How does this bear on the case?" + +"Well, it corroborates the young man's story to the extent that the +will was drawn up by Jonas Oldacre in his journey yesterday. It is +curious--is it not?--that a man should draw up so important a document +in so haphazard a fashion. It suggests that he did not think it was +going to be of much practical importance. If a man drew up a will which +he did not intend ever to be effective he might do it so." + +"Well, he drew up his own death-warrant at the same time," said +Lestrade. + +"Oh, you think so?" + +"Don't you?" + +"Well, it is quite possible; but the case is not clear to me yet." + +"Not clear? Well, if that isn't clear, what COULD be clear? Here is a +young man who learns suddenly that if a certain older man dies he will +succeed to a fortune. What does he do? He says nothing to anyone, but +he arranges that he shall go out on some pretext to see his client that +night; he waits until the only other person in the house is in bed, and +then in the solitude of a man's room he murders him, burns his body in +the wood-pile, and departs to a neighbouring hotel. The blood-stains in +the room and also on the stick are very slight. It is probable that he +imagined his crime to be a bloodless one, and hoped that if the +body were consumed it would hide all traces of the method of his +death--traces which for some reason must have pointed to him. Is all +this not obvious?" + +"It strikes me, my good Lestrade, as being just a trifle too obvious," +said Holmes. "You do not add imagination to your other great qualities; +but if you could for one moment put yourself in the place of this young +man, would you choose the very night after the will had been made to +commit your crime? Would it not seem dangerous to you to make so very +close a relation between the two incidents? Again, would you choose an +occasion when you are known to be in the house, when a servant has let +you in? And, finally, would you take the great pains to conceal the +body and yet leave your own stick as a sign that you were the criminal? +Confess, Lestrade, that all this is very unlikely." + +"As to the stick, Mr. Holmes, you know as well as I do that a criminal +is often flurried and does things which a cool man would avoid. He was +very likely afraid to go back to the room. Give me another theory that +would fit the facts." + +"I could very easily give you half-a-dozen," said Holmes. "Here, for +example, is a very possible and even probable one. I make you a free +present of it. The older man is showing documents which are of evident +value. A passing tramp sees them through the window, the blind of which +is only half down. Exit the solicitor. Enter the tramp! He seizes a +stick, which he observes there, kills Oldacre, and departs after burning +the body." + +"Why should the tramp burn the body?" + +"For the matter of that why should McFarlane?" + +"To hide some evidence." + +"Possibly the tramp wanted to hide that any murder at all had been +committed." + +"And why did the tramp take nothing?" + +"Because they were papers that he could not negotiate." + +Lestrade shook his head, though it seemed to me that his manner was less +absolutely assured than before. + +"Well, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, you may look for your tramp, and while you +are finding him we will hold on to our man. The future will show which +is right. Just notice this point, Mr. Holmes: that so far as we know +none of the papers were removed, and that the prisoner is the one man in +the world who had no reason for removing them, since he was heir-at-law +and would come into them in any case." + +My friend seemed struck by this remark. + +"I don't mean to deny that the evidence is in some ways very strongly +in favour of your theory," said he. "I only wish to point out that there +are other theories possible. As you say, the future will decide. Good +morning! I dare say that in the course of the day I shall drop in at +Norwood and see how you are getting on." + +When the detective departed my friend rose and made his preparations +for the day's work with the alert air of a man who has a congenial task +before him. + +"My first movement, Watson," said he, as he bustled into his frock-coat, +"must, as I said, be in the direction of Blackheath." + +"And why not Norwood?" + +"Because we have in this case one singular incident coming close to the +heels of another singular incident. The police are making the mistake of +concentrating their attention upon the second, because it happens to +be the one which is actually criminal. But it is evident to me that the +logical way to approach the case is to begin by trying to throw some +light upon the first incident--the curious will, so suddenly made, and +to so unexpected an heir. It may do something to simplify what followed. +No, my dear fellow, I don't think you can help me. There is no prospect +of danger, or I should not dream of stirring out without you. I trust +that when I see you in the evening I will be able to report that I have +been able to do something for this unfortunate youngster who has thrown +himself upon my protection." + +It was late when my friend returned, and I could see by a glance at his +haggard and anxious face that the high hopes with which he had started +had not been fulfilled. For an hour he droned away upon his violin, +endeavouring to soothe his own ruffled spirits. At last he flung down +the instrument and plunged into a detailed account of his misadventures. + +"It's all going wrong, Watson--all as wrong as it can go. I kept a bold +face before Lestrade, but, upon my soul, I believe that for once the +fellow is on the right track and we are on the wrong. All my instincts +are one way and all the facts are the other, and I much fear that +British juries have not yet attained that pitch of intelligence when +they will give the preference to my theories over Lestrade's facts." + +"Did you go to Blackheath?" + +"Yes, Watson, I went there, and I found very quickly that the late +lamented Oldacre was a pretty considerable black-guard. The father was +away in search of his son. The mother was at home--a little, fluffy, +blue-eyed person, in a tremor of fear and indignation. Of course, she +would not admit even the possibility of his guilt. But she would not +express either surprise or regret over the fate of Oldacre. On +the contrary, she spoke of him with such bitterness that she was +unconsciously considerably strengthening the case of the police, for, +of course, if her son had heard her speak of the man in this fashion it +would predispose him towards hatred and violence. 'He was more like a +malignant and cunning ape than a human being,' said she, 'and he always +was, ever since he was a young man.' + +"'You knew him at that time?' said I. + +"'Yes, I knew him well; in fact, he was an old suitor of mine. Thank +Heaven that I had the sense to turn away from him and to marry a better, +if a poorer, man. I was engaged to him, Mr. Holmes, when I heard a +shocking story of how he had turned a cat loose in an aviary, and I was +so horrified at his brutal cruelty that I would have nothing more to +do with him.' She rummaged in a bureau, and presently she produced a +photograph of a woman, shamefully defaced and mutilated with a knife. +'That is my own photograph,' she said. 'He sent it to me in that state, +with his curse, upon my wedding morning.' + +"'Well,' said I, 'at least he has forgiven you now, since he has left +all his property to your son.' + +"'Neither my son nor I want anything from Jonas Oldacre, dead or alive,' +she cried, with a proper spirit. 'There is a God in Heaven, Mr. Holmes, +and that same God who has punished that wicked man will show in His own +good time that my son's hands are guiltless of his blood.' + +"Well, I tried one or two leads, but could get at nothing which would +help our hypothesis, and several points which would make against it. I +gave it up at last and off I went to Norwood. + +"This place, Deep Dene House, is a big modern villa of staring brick, +standing back in its own grounds, with a laurel-clumped lawn in front +of it. To the right and some distance back from the road was the +timber-yard which had been the scene of the fire. Here's a rough plan on +a leaf of my note-book. This window on the left is the one which opens +into Oldacre's room. You can look into it from the road, you see. That +is about the only bit of consolation I have had to-day. Lestrade was +not there, but his head constable did the honours. They had just made a +great treasure-trove. They had spent the morning raking among the ashes +of the burned wood-pile, and besides the charred organic remains they +had secured several discoloured metal discs. I examined them with +care, and there was no doubt that they were trouser buttons. I even +distinguished that one of them was marked with the name of 'Hyams,' who +was Oldacre's tailor. I then worked the lawn very carefully for signs +and traces, but this drought has made everything as hard as iron. +Nothing was to be seen save that some body or bundle had been dragged +through a low privet hedge which is in a line with the wood-pile. All +that, of course, fits in with the official theory. I crawled about the +lawn with an August sun on my back, but I got up at the end of an hour +no wiser than before. + +"Well, after this fiasco I went into the bedroom and examined that also. +The blood-stains were very slight, mere smears and discolorations, but +undoubtedly fresh. The stick had been removed, but there also the marks +were slight. There is no doubt about the stick belonging to our client. +He admits it. Footmarks of both men could be made out on the carpet, +but none of any third person, which again is a trick for the other +side. They were piling up their score all the time and we were at a +standstill. + +"Only one little gleam of hope did I get--and yet it amounted to +nothing. I examined the contents of the safe, most of which had been +taken out and left on the table. The papers had been made up into sealed +envelopes, one or two of which had been opened by the police. They were +not, so far as I could judge, of any great value, nor did the bank-book +show that Mr. Oldacre was in such very affluent circumstances. But it +seemed to me that all the papers were not there. There were allusions to +some deeds--possibly the more valuable--which I could not find. This, of +course, if we could definitely prove it, would turn Lestrade's argument +against himself, for who would steal a thing if he knew that he would +shortly inherit it? + +"Finally, having drawn every other cover and picked up no scent, I tried +my luck with the housekeeper. Mrs. Lexington is her name, a little, +dark, silent person, with suspicious and sidelong eyes. She could tell +us something if she would--I am convinced of it. But she was as close as +wax. Yes, she had let Mr. McFarlane in at half-past nine. She wished +her hand had withered before she had done so. She had gone to bed at +half-past ten. Her room was at the other end of the house, and she could +hear nothing of what passed. Mr. McFarlane had left his hat, and to the +best of her belief his stick, in the hall. She had been awakened by the +alarm of fire. Her poor, dear master had certainly been murdered. Had he +any enemies? Well, every man had enemies, but Mr. Oldacre kept himself +very much to himself, and only met people in the way of business. She +had seen the buttons, and was sure that they belonged to the clothes +which he had worn last night. The wood-pile was very dry, for it had not +rained for a month. It burned like tinder, and by the time she reached +the spot nothing could be seen but flames. She and all the firemen +smelled the burned flesh from inside it. She knew nothing of the papers, +nor of Mr. Oldacre's private affairs. + +"So, my dear Watson, there's my report of a failure. And yet--and +yet--"--he clenched his thin hands in a paroxysm of conviction--"I KNOW +it's all wrong. I feel it in my bones. There is something that has +not come out, and that housekeeper knows it. There was a sort of sulky +defiance in her eyes, which only goes with guilty knowledge. However, +there's no good talking any more about it, Watson; but unless some lucky +chance comes our way I fear that the Norwood Disappearance Case will not +figure in that chronicle of our successes which I foresee that a patient +public will sooner or later have to endure." + +"Surely," said I, "the man's appearance would go far with any jury?" + +"That is a dangerous argument, my dear Watson. You remember that +terrible murderer, Bert Stevens, who wanted us to get him off in '87? +Was there ever a more mild-mannered, Sunday-school young man?" + +"It is true." + +"Unless we succeed in establishing an alternative theory this man is +lost. You can hardly find a flaw in the case which can now be presented +against him, and all further investigation has served to strengthen it. +By the way, there is one curious little point about those papers which +may serve us as the starting-point for an inquiry. On looking over the +bank-book I found that the low state of the balance was principally due +to large cheques which have been made out during the last year to Mr. +Cornelius. I confess that I should be interested to know who this +Mr. Cornelius may be with whom a retired builder has such very large +transactions. Is it possible that he has had a hand in the affair? +Cornelius might be a broker, but we have found no scrip to correspond +with these large payments. Failing any other indication my researches +must now take the direction of an inquiry at the bank for the gentleman +who has cashed these cheques. But I fear, my dear fellow, that our +case will end ingloriously by Lestrade hanging our client, which will +certainly be a triumph for Scotland Yard." + +I do not know how far Sherlock Holmes took any sleep that night, but +when I came down to breakfast I found him pale and harassed, his bright +eyes the brighter for the dark shadows round them. The carpet round his +chair was littered with cigarette-ends and with the early editions of +the morning papers. An open telegram lay upon the table. + +"What do you think of this, Watson?" he asked, tossing it across. + +It was from Norwood, and ran as follows:-- + + "IMPORTANT FRESH EVIDENCE TO HAND. MCFARLANE'S GUILT + DEFINITELY ESTABLISHED. ADVISE YOU TO ABANDON CASE. + --LESTRADE." + +"This sounds serious," said I. + +"It is Lestrade's little cock-a-doodle of victory," Holmes answered, +with a bitter smile. "And yet it may be premature to abandon the case. +After all, important fresh evidence is a two-edged thing, and may +possibly cut in a very different direction to that which Lestrade +imagines. Take your breakfast, Watson, and we will go out together and +see what we can do. I feel as if I shall need your company and your +moral support to-day." + +My friend had no breakfast himself, for it was one of his peculiarities +that in his more intense moments he would permit himself no food, and I +have known him presume upon his iron strength until he has fainted from +pure inanition. "At present I cannot spare energy and nerve force for +digestion," he would say in answer to my medical remonstrances. I was +not surprised, therefore, when this morning he left his untouched meal +behind him and started with me for Norwood. A crowd of morbid sightseers +were still gathered round Deep Dene House, which was just such a +suburban villa as I had pictured. Within the gates Lestrade met us, his +face flushed with victory, his manner grossly triumphant. + +"Well, Mr. Holmes, have you proved us to be wrong yet? Have you found +your tramp?" he cried. + +"I have formed no conclusion whatever," my companion answered. + +"But we formed ours yesterday, and now it proves to be correct; so you +must acknowledge that we have been a little in front of you this time, +Mr. Holmes." + +"You certainly have the air of something unusual having occurred," said +Holmes. + +Lestrade laughed loudly. + +"You don't like being beaten any more than the rest of us do," said he. +"A man can't expect always to have it his own way, can he, Dr. Watson? +Step this way, if you please, gentlemen, and I think I can convince you +once for all that it was John McFarlane who did this crime." + +He led us through the passage and out into a dark hall beyond. + +"This is where young McFarlane must have come out to get his hat +after the crime was done," said he. "Now, look at this." With dramatic +suddenness he struck a match and by its light exposed a stain of blood +upon the whitewashed wall. As he held the match nearer I saw that it was +more than a stain. It was the well-marked print of a thumb. + +"Look at that with your magnifying glass, Mr. Holmes." + +"Yes, I am doing so." + +"You are aware that no two thumb marks are alike?" + +"I have heard something of the kind." + +"Well, then, will you please compare that print with this wax impression +of young McFarlane's right thumb, taken by my orders this morning?" + +As he held the waxen print close to the blood-stain it did not take +a magnifying glass to see that the two were undoubtedly from the same +thumb. It was evident to me that our unfortunate client was lost. + +"That is final," said Lestrade. + +"Yes, that is final," I involuntarily echoed. + +"It is final," said Holmes. + +Something in his tone caught my ear, and I turned to look at him. An +extraordinary change had come over his face. It was writhing with inward +merriment. His two eyes were shining like stars. It seemed to me that +he was making desperate efforts to restrain a convulsive attack of +laughter. + +"Dear me! Dear me!" he said at last. "Well, now, who would have thought +it? And how deceptive appearances may be, to be sure! Such a nice young +man to look at! It is a lesson to us not to trust our own judgment, is +it not, Lestrade?" + +"Yes, some of us are a little too much inclined to be cocksure, Mr. +Holmes," said Lestrade. The man's insolence was maddening, but we could +not resent it. + +"What a providential thing that this young man should press his right +thumb against the wall in taking his hat from the peg! Such a very +natural action, too, if you come to think of it." Holmes was outwardly +calm, but his whole body gave a wriggle of suppressed excitement as he +spoke. "By the way, Lestrade, who made this remarkable discovery?" + +"It was the housekeeper, Mrs. Lexington, who drew the night constable's +attention to it." + +"Where was the night constable?" + +"He remained on guard in the bedroom where the crime was committed, so +as to see that nothing was touched." + +"But why didn't the police see this mark yesterday?" + +"Well, we had no particular reason to make a careful examination of the +hall. Besides, it's not in a very prominent place, as you see." + +"No, no, of course not. I suppose there is no doubt that the mark was +there yesterday?" + +Lestrade looked at Holmes as if he thought he was going out of his mind. +I confess that I was myself surprised both at his hilarious manner and +at his rather wild observation. + +"I don't know whether you think that McFarlane came out of gaol in the +dead of the night in order to strengthen the evidence against himself," +said Lestrade. "I leave it to any expert in the world whether that is +not the mark of his thumb." + +"It is unquestionably the mark of his thumb." + +"There, that's enough," said Lestrade. "I am a practical man, Mr. +Holmes, and when I have got my evidence I come to my conclusions. If +you have anything to say you will find me writing my report in the +sitting-room." + +Holmes had recovered his equanimity, though I still seemed to detect +gleams of amusement in his expression. + +"Dear me, this is a very sad development, Watson, is it not?" said he. +"And yet there are singular points about it which hold out some hopes +for our client." + +"I am delighted to hear it," said I, heartily. "I was afraid it was all +up with him." + +"I would hardly go so far as to say that, my dear Watson. The fact is +that there is one really serious flaw in this evidence to which our +friend attaches so much importance." + +"Indeed, Holmes! What is it?" + +"Only this: that I KNOW that that mark was not there when I examined the +hall yesterday. And now, Watson, let us have a little stroll round in +the sunshine." + +With a confused brain, but with a heart into which some warmth of hope +was returning, I accompanied my friend in a walk round the garden. +Holmes took each face of the house in turn and examined it with great +interest. He then led the way inside and went over the whole building +from basement to attics. Most of the rooms were unfurnished, but +none the less Holmes inspected them all minutely. Finally, on the top +corridor, which ran outside three untenanted bedrooms, he again was +seized with a spasm of merriment. + +"There are really some very unique features about this case, Watson," +said he. "I think it is time now that we took our friend Lestrade into +our confidence. He has had his little smile at our expense, and perhaps +we may do as much by him if my reading of this problem proves to be +correct. Yes, yes; I think I see how we should approach it." + +The Scotland Yard inspector was still writing in the parlour when Holmes +interrupted him. + +"I understood that you were writing a report of this case," said he. + +"So I am." + +"Don't you think it may be a little premature? I can't help thinking +that your evidence is not complete." + +Lestrade knew my friend too well to disregard his words. He laid down +his pen and looked curiously at him. + +"What do you mean, Mr. Holmes?" + +"Only that there is an important witness whom you have not seen." + +"Can you produce him?" + +"I think I can." + +"Then do so." + +"I will do my best. How many constables have you?" + +"There are three within call." + +"Excellent!" said Holmes. "May I ask if they are all large, able-bodied +men with powerful voices?" + +"I have no doubt they are, though I fail to see what their voices have +to do with it." + +"Perhaps I can help you to see that and one or two other things as +well," said Holmes. "Kindly summon your men, and I will try." + +Five minutes later three policemen had assembled in the hall. + +"In the outhouse you will find a considerable quantity of straw," said +Holmes. "I will ask you to carry in two bundles of it. I think it will +be of the greatest assistance in producing the witness whom I require. +Thank you very much. I believe you have some matches in your pocket, +Watson. Now, Mr. Lestrade, I will ask you all to accompany me to the top +landing." + +As I have said, there was a broad corridor there, which ran outside +three empty bedrooms. At one end of the corridor we were all marshalled +by Sherlock Holmes, the constables grinning and Lestrade staring at +my friend with amazement, expectation, and derision chasing each other +across his features. Holmes stood before us with the air of a conjurer +who is performing a trick. + +"Would you kindly send one of your constables for two buckets of water? +Put the straw on the floor here, free from the wall on either side. Now +I think that we are all ready." + +Lestrade's face had begun to grow red and angry. + +"I don't know whether you are playing a game with us, Mr. Sherlock +Holmes," said he. "If you know anything, you can surely say it without +all this tomfoolery." + +"I assure you, my good Lestrade, that I have an excellent reason for +everything that I do. You may possibly remember that you chaffed me a +little some hours ago, when the sun seemed on your side of the hedge, so +you must not grudge me a little pomp and ceremony now. Might I ask you, +Watson, to open that window, and then to put a match to the edge of the +straw?" + +I did so, and, driven by the draught, a coil of grey smoke swirled down +the corridor, while the dry straw crackled and flamed. + +"Now we must see if we can find this witness for you, Lestrade. Might I +ask you all to join in the cry of 'Fire!'? Now, then; one, two, three--" + +"Fire!" we all yelled. + +"Thank you. I will trouble you once again." + +"Fire!" + +"Just once more, gentlemen, and all together." + +"Fire!" The shout must have rung over Norwood. + +It had hardly died away when an amazing thing happened. A door suddenly +flew open out of what appeared to be solid wall at the end of the +corridor, and a little, wizened man darted out of it, like a rabbit out +of its burrow. + +"Capital!" said Holmes, calmly. "Watson, a bucket of water over the +straw. That will do! Lestrade, allow me to present you with your +principal missing witness, Mr. Jonas Oldacre." + +The detective stared at the new-comer with blank amazement. The latter +was blinking in the bright light of the corridor, and peering at us +and at the smouldering fire. It was an odious face--crafty, vicious, +malignant, with shifty, light-grey eyes and white eyelashes. + +"What's this, then?" said Lestrade at last. "What have you been doing +all this time, eh?" + +Oldacre gave an uneasy laugh, shrinking back from the furious red face +of the angry detective. + +"I have done no harm." + +"No harm? You have done your best to get an innocent man hanged. If it +wasn't for this gentleman here, I am not sure that you would not have +succeeded." + +The wretched creature began to whimper. + +"I am sure, sir, it was only my practical joke." + +"Oh! a joke, was it? You won't find the laugh on your side, I promise +you. Take him down and keep him in the sitting-room until I come. Mr. +Holmes," he continued, when they had gone, "I could not speak before the +constables, but I don't mind saying, in the presence of Dr. Watson, +that this is the brightest thing that you have done yet, though it is a +mystery to me how you did it. You have saved an innocent man's life, +and you have prevented a very grave scandal, which would have ruined my +reputation in the Force." + +Holmes smiled and clapped Lestrade upon the shoulder. + +"Instead of being ruined, my good sir, you will find that your +reputation has been enormously enhanced. Just make a few alterations in +that report which you were writing, and they will understand how hard it +is to throw dust in the eyes of Inspector Lestrade." + +"And you don't want your name to appear?" + +"Not at all. The work is its own reward. Perhaps I shall get the credit +also at some distant day when I permit my zealous historian to lay out +his foolscap once more--eh, Watson? Well, now, let us see where this rat +has been lurking." + +A lath-and-plaster partition had been run across the passage six feet +from the end, with a door cunningly concealed in it. It was lit within +by slits under the eaves. A few articles of furniture and a supply of +food and water were within, together with a number of books and papers. + +"There's the advantage of being a builder," said Holmes, as we came +out. "He was able to fix up his own little hiding-place without any +confederate--save, of course, that precious housekeeper of his, whom I +should lose no time in adding to your bag, Lestrade." + +"I'll take your advice. But how did you know of this place, Mr. Holmes?" + +"I made up my mind that the fellow was in hiding in the house. When I +paced one corridor and found it six feet shorter than the corresponding +one below, it was pretty clear where he was. I thought he had not the +nerve to lie quiet before an alarm of fire. We could, of course, have +gone in and taken him, but it amused me to make him reveal himself; +besides, I owed you a little mystification, Lestrade, for your chaff in +the morning." + +"Well, sir, you certainly got equal with me on that. But how in the +world did you know that he was in the house at all?" + +"The thumb-mark, Lestrade. You said it was final; and so it was, in a +very different sense. I knew it had not been there the day before. I pay +a good deal of attention to matters of detail, as you may have observed, +and I had examined the hall and was sure that the wall was clear. +Therefore, it had been put on during the night." + +"But how?" + +"Very simply. When those packets were sealed up, Jonas Oldacre got +McFarlane to secure one of the seals by putting his thumb upon the soft +wax. It would be done so quickly and so naturally that I dare say the +young man himself has no recollection of it. Very likely it just so +happened, and Oldacre had himself no notion of the use he would put it +to. Brooding over the case in that den of his, it suddenly struck him +what absolutely damning evidence he could make against McFarlane by +using that thumb-mark. It was the simplest thing in the world for him to +take a wax impression from the seal, to moisten it in as much blood as +he could get from a pin-prick, and to put the mark upon the wall during +the night, either with his own hand or with that of his housekeeper. +If you examine among those documents which he took with him into +his retreat I will lay you a wager that you find the seal with the +thumb-mark upon it." + +"Wonderful!" said Lestrade. "Wonderful! It's all as clear as crystal, as +you put it. But what is the object of this deep deception, Mr. Holmes?" + +It was amusing to me to see how the detective's overbearing manner had +changed suddenly to that of a child asking questions of its teacher. + +"Well, I don't think that is very hard to explain. A very deep, +malicious, vindictive person is the gentleman who is now awaiting us +downstairs. You know that he was once refused by McFarlane's mother? +You don't! I told you that you should go to Blackheath first and Norwood +afterwards. Well, this injury, as he would consider it, has rankled +in his wicked, scheming brain, and all his life he has longed for +vengeance, but never seen his chance. During the last year or two things +have gone against him--secret speculation, I think--and he finds himself +in a bad way. He determines to swindle his creditors, and for this +purpose he pays large cheques to a certain Mr. Cornelius, who is, I +imagine, himself under another name. I have not traced these cheques +yet, but I have no doubt that they were banked under that name at some +provincial town where Oldacre from time to time led a double existence. +He intended to change his name altogether, draw this money, and vanish, +starting life again elsewhere." + +"Well, that's likely enough." + +"It would strike him that in disappearing he might throw all pursuit off +his track, and at the same time have an ample and crushing revenge upon +his old sweetheart, if he could give the impression that he had been +murdered by her only child. It was a masterpiece of villainy, and he +carried it out like a master. The idea of the will, which would give +an obvious motive for the crime, the secret visit unknown to his own +parents, the retention of the stick, the blood, and the animal remains +and buttons in the wood-pile, all were admirable. It was a net from +which it seemed to me a few hours ago that there was no possible escape. +But he had not that supreme gift of the artist, the knowledge of when to +stop. He wished to improve that which was already perfect--to draw the +rope tighter yet round the neck of his unfortunate victim--and so +he ruined all. Let us descend, Lestrade. There are just one or two +questions that I would ask him." + +The malignant creature was seated in his own parlour with a policeman +upon each side of him. + +"It was a joke, my good sir, a practical joke, nothing more," he whined +incessantly. "I assure you, sir, that I simply concealed myself in order +to see the effect of my disappearance, and I am sure that you would not +be so unjust as to imagine that I would have allowed any harm to befall +poor young Mr. McFarlane." + +"That's for a jury to decide," said Lestrade. "Anyhow, we shall have you +on a charge of conspiracy, if not for attempted murder." + +"And you'll probably find that your creditors will impound the banking +account of Mr. Cornelius," said Holmes. + +The little man started and turned his malignant eyes upon my friend. + +"I have to thank you for a good deal," said he. "Perhaps I'll pay my +debt some day." + +Holmes smiled indulgently. + +"I fancy that for some few years you will find your time very fully +occupied," said he. "By the way, what was it you put into the wood-pile +besides your old trousers? A dead dog, or rabbits, or what? You won't +tell? Dear me, how very unkind of you! Well, well, I dare say that a +couple of rabbits would account both for the blood and for the charred +ashes. If ever you write an account, Watson, you can make rabbits serve +your turn." + + +***** + + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 26 DECEMBER, 1903 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +III.--The Adventure of the Dancing Men. + + +HOLMES had been seated for some hours in silence with his long, +thin back curved over a chemical vessel in which he was brewing a +particularly malodorous product. His head was sunk upon his breast, and +he looked from my point of view like a strange, lank bird, with dull +grey plumage and a black top-knot. + +"So, Watson," said he, suddenly, "you do not propose to invest in South +African securities?" + +I gave a start of astonishment. Accustomed as I was to Holmes's curious +faculties, this sudden intrusion into my most intimate thoughts was +utterly inexplicable. + +"How on earth do you know that?" I asked. + +He wheeled round upon his stool, with a steaming test-tube in his hand +and a gleam of amusement in his deep-set eyes. + +"Now, Watson, confess yourself utterly taken aback," said he. + +"I am." + +"I ought to make you sign a paper to that effect." + +"Why?" + +"Because in five minutes you will say that it is all so absurdly +simple." + +"I am sure that I shall say nothing of the kind." + +"You see, my dear Watson"--he propped his test-tube in the rack and +began to lecture with the air of a professor addressing his class--"it +is not really difficult to construct a series of inferences, each +dependent upon its predecessor and each simple in itself. If, after +doing so, one simply knocks out all the central inferences and presents +one's audience with the starting-point and the conclusion, one may +produce a startling, though possibly a meretricious, effect. Now, it was +not really difficult, by an inspection of the groove between your left +forefinger and thumb, to feel sure that you did NOT propose to invest +your small capital in the goldfields." + +"I see no connection." + +"Very likely not; but I can quickly show you a close connection. Here +are the missing links of the very simple chain: 1. You had chalk between +your left finger and thumb when you returned from the club last night. +2. You put chalk there when you play billiards to steady the cue. 3. You +never play billiards except with Thurston. 4. You told me four weeks ago +that Thurston had an option on some South African property which would +expire in a month, and which he desired you to share with him. 5. Your +cheque-book is locked in my drawer, and you have not asked for the key. +6. You do not propose to invest your money in this manner." + +"How absurdly simple!" I cried. + +"Quite so!" said he, a little nettled. "Every problem becomes very +childish when once it is explained to you. Here is an unexplained one. +See what you can make of that, friend Watson." He tossed a sheet of +paper upon the table and turned once more to his chemical analysis. + +I looked with amazement at the absurd hieroglyphics upon the paper. + +"Why, Holmes, it is a child's drawing," I cried. + +"Oh, that's your idea!" + +"What else should it be?" + +"That is what Mr. Hilton Cubitt, of Riding Thorpe Manor, Norfolk, is +very anxious to know. This little conundrum came by the first post, and +he was to follow by the next train. There's a ring at the bell, Watson. +I should not be very much surprised if this were he." + +A heavy step was heard upon the stairs, and an instant later there +entered a tall, ruddy, clean-shaven gentleman, whose clear eyes and +florid cheeks told of a life led far from the fogs of Baker Street. He +seemed to bring a whiff of his strong, fresh, bracing, east-coast air +with him as he entered. Having shaken hands with each of us, he was +about to sit down when his eye rested upon the paper with the curious +markings, which I had just examined and left upon the table. + +"Well, Mr. Holmes, what do you make of these?" he cried. "They told me +that you were fond of queer mysteries, and I don't think you can find a +queerer one than that. I sent the paper on ahead so that you might have +time to study it before I came." + +"It is certainly rather a curious production," said Holmes. "At first +sight it would appear to be some childish prank. It consists of a number +of absurd little figures dancing across the paper upon which they +are drawn. Why should you attribute any importance to so grotesque an +object?" + +"I never should, Mr. Holmes. But my wife does. It is frightening her to +death. She says nothing, but I can see terror in her eyes. That's why I +want to sift the matter to the bottom." + +Holmes held up the paper so that the sunlight shone full upon it. It was +a page torn from a note-book. The markings were done in pencil, and ran +in this way:-- + +GRAPHIC + +Holmes examined it for some time, and then, folding it carefully up, he +placed it in his pocket-book. + +"This promises to be a most interesting and unusual case," said he. +"You gave me a few particulars in your letter, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, but I +should be very much obliged if you would kindly go over it all again for +the benefit of my friend, Dr. Watson." + +"I'm not much of a story-teller," said our visitor, nervously clasping +and unclasping his great, strong hands. "You'll just ask me anything +that I don't make clear. I'll begin at the time of my marriage last +year; but I want to say first of all that, though I'm not a rich man, my +people have been at Ridling Thorpe for a matter of five centuries, and +there is no better known family in the County of Norfolk. Last year I +came up to London for the Jubilee, and I stopped at a boarding-house in +Russell Square, because Parker, the vicar of our parish, was staying in +it. There was an American young lady there--Patrick was the name--Elsie +Patrick. In some way we became friends, until before my month was up +I was as much in love as a man could be. We were quietly married at +a registry office, and we returned to Norfolk a wedded couple. You'll +think it very mad, Mr. Holmes, that a man of a good old family should +marry a wife in this fashion, knowing nothing of her past or of her +people; but if you saw her and knew her it would help you to understand. + +"She was very straight about it, was Elsie. I can't say that she did not +give me every chance of getting out of it if I wished to do so. 'I have +had some very disagreeable associations in my life,' said she; 'I wish +to forget all about them. I would rather never allude to the past, for +it is very painful to me. If you take me, Hilton, you will take a woman +who has nothing that she need be personally ashamed of; but you will +have to be content with my word for it, and to allow me to be silent +as to all that passed up to the time when I became yours. If these +conditions are too hard, then go back to Norfolk and leave me to the +lonely life in which you found me.' It was only the day before our +wedding that she said those very words to me. I told her that I was +content to take her on her own terms, and I have been as good as my +word. + +"Well, we have been married now for a year, and very happy we have been. +But about a month ago, at the end of June, I saw for the first time +signs of trouble. One day my wife received a letter from America. I saw +the American stamp. She turned deadly white, read the letter, and threw +it into the fire. She made no allusion to it afterwards, and I made +none, for a promise is a promise; but she has never known an easy hour +from that moment. There is always a look of fear upon her face--a look +as if she were waiting and expecting. She would do better to trust me. +She would find that I was her best friend. But until she speaks I can +say nothing. Mind you, she is a truthful woman, Mr. Holmes, and whatever +trouble there may have been in her past life it has been no fault of +hers. I am only a simple Norfolk squire, but there is not a man in +England who ranks his family honour more highly than I do. She knows it +well, and she knew it well before she married me. She would never bring +any stain upon it--of that I am sure. + +"Well, now I come to the queer part of my story. About a week ago--it +was the Tuesday of last week--I found on one of the window-sills a +number of absurd little dancing figures, like these upon the paper. They +were scrawled with chalk. I thought that it was the stable-boy who had +drawn them, but the lad swore he knew nothing about it. Anyhow, they had +come there during the night. I had them washed out, and I only mentioned +the matter to my wife afterwards. To my surprise she took it very +seriously, and begged me if any more came to let her see them. None did +come for a week, and then yesterday morning I found this paper lying on +the sun-dial in the garden. I showed it to Elsie, and down she dropped +in a dead faint. Since then she has looked like a woman in a dream, half +dazed, and with terror always lurking in her eyes. It was then that I +wrote and sent the paper to you, Mr. Holmes. It was not a thing that +I could take to the police, for they would have laughed at me, but you +will tell me what to do. I am not a rich man; but if there is any danger +threatening my little woman I would spend my last copper to shield her." + +He was a fine creature, this man of the old English soil, simple, +straight, and gentle, with his great, earnest blue eyes and broad, +comely face. His love for his wife and his trust in her shone in his +features. Holmes had listened to his story with the utmost attention, +and now he sat for some time in silent thought. + +"Don't you think, Mr. Cubitt," said he, at last, "that your best plan +would be to make a direct appeal to your wife, and to ask her to share +her secret with you?" + +Hilton Cubitt shook his massive head. + +"A promise is a promise, Mr. Holmes. If Elsie wished to tell me she +would. If not, it is not for me to force her confidence. But I am +justified in taking my own line--and I will." + +"Then I will help you with all my heart. In the first place, have you +heard of any strangers being seen in your neighbourhood?" + +"No." + +"I presume that it is a very quiet place. Any fresh face would cause +comment?" + +"In the immediate neighbourhood, yes. But we have several small +watering-places not very far away. And the farmers take in lodgers." + +"These hieroglyphics have evidently a meaning. If it is a purely +arbitrary one it may be impossible for us to solve it. If, on the other +hand, it is systematic, I have no doubt that we shall get to the bottom +of it. But this particular sample is so short that I can do nothing, and +the facts which you have brought me are so indefinite that we have no +basis for an investigation. I would suggest that you return to Norfolk, +that you keep a keen look-out, and that you take an exact copy of any +fresh dancing men which may appear. It is a thousand pities that we +have not a reproduction of those which were done in chalk upon the +window-sill. Make a discreet inquiry also as to any strangers in the +neighbourhood. When you have collected some fresh evidence come to me +again. That is the best advice which I can give you, Mr. Hilton Cubitt. +If there are any pressing fresh developments I shall be always ready to +run down and see you in your Norfolk home." + +The interview left Sherlock Holmes very thoughtful, and several times +in the next few days I saw him take his slip of paper from his note-book +and look long and earnestly at the curious figures inscribed upon it. He +made no allusion to the affair, however, until one afternoon a fortnight +or so later. I was going out when he called me back. + +"You had better stay here, Watson." + +"Why?" + +"Because I had a wire from Hilton Cubitt this morning--you remember +Hilton Cubitt, of the dancing men? He was to reach Liverpool Street at +one-twenty. He may be here at any moment. I gather from his wire that +there have been some new incidents of importance." + +We had not long to wait, for our Norfolk squire came straight from the +station as fast as a hansom could bring him. He was looking worried and +depressed, with tired eyes and a lined forehead. + +"It's getting on my nerves, this business, Mr. Holmes," said he, as he +sank, like a wearied man, into an arm-chair. "It's bad enough to feel +that you are surrounded by unseen, unknown folk, who have some kind of +design upon you; but when, in addition to that, you know that it is just +killing your wife by inches, then it becomes as much as flesh and blood +can endure. She's wearing away under it--just wearing away before my +eyes." + +"Has she said anything yet?" + +"No, Mr. Holmes, she has not. And yet there have been times when the +poor girl has wanted to speak, and yet could not quite bring herself +to take the plunge. I have tried to help her; but I dare say I did +it clumsily, and scared her off from it. She has spoken about my old +family, and our reputation in the county, and our pride in our unsullied +honour, and I always felt it was leading to the point; but somehow it +turned off before we got there." + +"But you have found out something for yourself?" + +"A good deal, Mr. Holmes. I have several fresh dancing men pictures for +you to examine, and, what is more important, I have seen the fellow." + +"What, the man who draws them?" + +"Yes, I saw him at his work. But I will tell you everything in order. +When I got back after my visit to you, the very first thing I saw next +morning was a fresh crop of dancing men. They had been drawn in chalk +upon the black wooden door of the tool-house, which stands beside the +lawn in full view of the front windows. I took an exact copy, and here +it is." He unfolded a paper and laid it upon the table. Here is a copy +of the hieroglyphics:-- + +GRAPHIC + +"Excellent!" said Holmes. "Excellent! Pray continue." + +"When I had taken the copy I rubbed out the marks; but two mornings +later a fresh inscription had appeared. I have a copy of it here":-- + +GRAPHIC + +Holmes rubbed his hands and chuckled with delight. + +"Our material is rapidly accumulating," said he. + +"Three days later a message was left scrawled upon paper, and placed +under a pebble upon the sun-dial. Here it is. The characters are, as you +see, exactly the same as the last one. After that I determined to lie in +wait; so I got out my revolver and I sat up in my study, which overlooks +the lawn and garden. About two in the morning I was seated by the +window, all being dark save for the moonlight outside, when I heard +steps behind me, and there was my wife in her dressing-gown. She +implored me to come to bed. I told her frankly that I wished to see who +it was who played such absurd tricks upon us. She answered that it was +some senseless practical joke, and that I should not take any notice of +it. + +"'If it really annoys you, Hilton, we might go and travel, you and I, +and so avoid this nuisance.' + +"'What, be driven out of our own house by a practical joker?' said I. +'Why, we should have the whole county laughing at us.' + +"'Well, come to bed,' said she, 'and we can discuss it in the morning.' + +"Suddenly, as she spoke, I saw her white face grow whiter yet in the +moonlight, and her hand tightened upon my shoulder. Something was moving +in the shadow of the tool-house. I saw a dark, creeping figure which +crawled round the corner and squatted in front of the door. Seizing my +pistol I was rushing out, when my wife threw her arms round me and held +me with convulsive strength. I tried to throw her off, but she clung to +me most desperately. At last I got clear, but by the time I had opened +the door and reached the house the creature was gone. He had left a +trace of his presence, however, for there on the door was the very same +arrangement of dancing men which had already twice appeared, and which +I have copied on that paper. There was no other sign of the fellow +anywhere, though I ran all over the grounds. And yet the amazing thing +is that he must have been there all the time, for when I examined the +door again in the morning he had scrawled some more of his pictures +under the line which I had already seen." + +"Have you that fresh drawing?" + +"Yes; it is very short, but I made a copy of it, and here it is." + +Again he produced a paper. The new dance was in this form:-- + +GRAPHIC + +"Tell me," said Holmes--and I could see by his eyes that he was much +excited--"was this a mere addition to the first, or did it appear to be +entirely separate?" + +"It was on a different panel of the door." + +"Excellent! This is far the most important of all for our purpose. It +fills me with hopes. Now, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, please continue your most +interesting statement." + +"I have nothing more to say, Mr. Holmes, except that I was angry with +my wife that night for having held me back when I might have caught the +skulking rascal. She said that she feared that I might come to harm. For +an instant it had crossed my mind that perhaps what she really feared +was that HE might come to harm, for I could not doubt that she knew who +this man was and what he meant by these strange signals. But there is a +tone in my wife's voice, Mr. Holmes, and a look in her eyes which forbid +doubt, and I am sure that it was indeed my own safety that was in her +mind. There's the whole case, and now I want your advice as to what I +ought to do. My own inclination is to put half-a-dozen of my farm lads +in the shrubbery, and when this fellow comes again to give him such a +hiding that he will leave us in peace for the future." + +"I fear it is too deep a case for such simple remedies," said Holmes. +"How long can you stay in London?" + +"I must go back to-day. I would not leave my wife alone all night for +anything. She is very nervous and begged me to come back." + +"I dare say you are right. But if you could have stopped I might +possibly have been able to return with you in a day or two. Meanwhile +you will leave me these papers, and I think that it is very likely that +I shall be able to pay you a visit shortly and to throw some light upon +your case." + +Sherlock Holmes preserved his calm professional manner until our visitor +had left us, although it was easy for me, who knew him so well, to see +that he was profoundly excited. The moment that Hilton Cubitt's broad +back had disappeared through the door my comrade rushed to the table, +laid out all the slips of paper containing dancing men in front of him, +and threw himself into an intricate and elaborate calculation. For +two hours I watched him as he covered sheet after sheet of paper with +figures and letters, so completely absorbed in his task that he had +evidently forgotten my presence. Sometimes he was making progress and +whistled and sang at his work; sometimes he was puzzled, and would sit +for long spells with a furrowed brow and a vacant eye. Finally he sprang +from his chair with a cry of satisfaction, and walked up and down the +room rubbing his hands together. Then he wrote a long telegram upon a +cable form. "If my answer to this is as I hope, you will have a very +pretty case to add to your collection, Watson," said he. "I expect that +we shall be able to go down to Norfolk to-morrow, and to take our friend +some very definite news as to the secret of his annoyance." + +I confess that I was filled with curiosity, but I was aware that Holmes +liked to make his disclosures at his own time and in his own way; so I +waited until it should suit him to take me into his confidence. + +But there was a delay in that answering telegram, and two days of +impatience followed, during which Holmes pricked up his ears at every +ring of the bell. On the evening of the second there came a letter from +Hilton Cubitt. All was quiet with him, save that a long inscription had +appeared that morning upon the pedestal of the sun-dial. He inclosed a +copy of it, which is here reproduced:-- + +GRAPHIC + +Holmes bent over this grotesque frieze for some minutes, and then +suddenly sprang to his feet with an exclamation of surprise and dismay. +His face was haggard with anxiety. + +"We have let this affair go far enough," said he. "Is there a train to +North Walsham to-night?" + +I turned up the time-table. The last had just gone. + +"Then we shall breakfast early and take the very first in the morning," +said Holmes. "Our presence is most urgently needed. Ah! here is our +expected cablegram. One moment, Mrs. Hudson; there may be an answer. No, +that is quite as I expected. This message makes it even more essential +that we should not lose an hour in letting Hilton Cubitt know how +matters stand, for it is a singular and a dangerous web in which our +simple Norfolk squire is entangled." + +So, indeed, it proved, and as I come to the dark conclusion of a story +which had seemed to me to be only childish and bizarre I experience once +again the dismay and horror with which I was filled. Would that I had +some brighter ending to communicate to my readers, but these are the +chronicles of fact, and I must follow to their dark crisis the strange +chain of events which for some days made Ridling Thorpe Manor a +household word through the length and breadth of England. + +We had hardly alighted at North Walsham, and mentioned the name of our +destination, when the station-master hurried towards us. "I suppose that +you are the detectives from London?" said he. + +A look of annoyance passed over Holmes's face. + +"What makes you think such a thing?" + +"Because Inspector Martin from Norwich has just passed through. But +maybe you are the surgeons. She's not dead--or wasn't by last accounts. +You may be in time to save her yet--though it be for the gallows." + +Holmes's brow was dark with anxiety. + +"We are going to Ridling Thorpe Manor," said he, "but we have heard +nothing of what has passed there." + +"It's a terrible business," said the station-master. "They are shot, +both Mr. Hilton Cubitt and his wife. She shot him and then herself--so +the servants say. He's dead and her life is despaired of. Dear, dear, +one of the oldest families in the County of Norfolk, and one of the most +honoured." + +Without a word Holmes hurried to a carriage, and during the long seven +miles' drive he never opened his mouth. Seldom have I seen him so +utterly despondent. He had been uneasy during all our journey from +town, and I had observed that he had turned over the morning papers with +anxious attention; but now this sudden realization of his worst fears +left him in a blank melancholy. He leaned back in his seat, lost in +gloomy speculation. Yet there was much around to interest us, for we +were passing through as singular a country-side as any in England, where +a few scattered cottages represented the population of to-day, while on +every hand enormous square-towered churches bristled up from the flat, +green landscape and told of the glory and prosperity of old East Anglia. +At last the violet rim of the German Ocean appeared over the green edge +of the Norfolk coast, and the driver pointed with his whip to two old +brick and timber gables which projected from a grove of trees. "That's +Ridling Thorpe Manor," said he. + +As we drove up to the porticoed front door I observed in front of +it, beside the tennis lawn, the black tool-house and the pedestalled +sun-dial with which we had such strange associations. A dapper little +man, with a quick, alert manner and a waxed moustache, had just +descended from a high dog-cart. He introduced himself as Inspector +Martin, of the Norfolk Constabulary, and he was considerably astonished +when he heard the name of my companion. + +"Why, Mr. Holmes, the crime was only committed at three this morning. +How could you hear of it in London and get to the spot as soon as I?" + +"I anticipated it. I came in the hope of preventing it." + +"Then you must have important evidence of which we are ignorant, for +they were said to be a most united couple." + +"I have only the evidence of the dancing men," said Holmes. "I will +explain the matter to you later. Meanwhile, since it is too late to +prevent this tragedy, I am very anxious that I should use the knowledge +which I possess in order to ensure that justice be done. Will you +associate me in your investigation, or will you prefer that I should act +independently?" + +"I should be proud to feel that we were acting together, Mr. Holmes," +said the inspector, earnestly. + +"In that case I should be glad to hear the evidence and to examine the +premises without an instant of unnecessary delay." + +Inspector Martin had the good sense to allow my friend to do things +in his own fashion, and contented himself with carefully noting the +results. The local surgeon, an old, white-haired man, had just come down +from Mrs. Hilton Cubitt's room, and he reported that her injuries were +serious, but not necessarily fatal. The bullet had passed through the +front of her brain, and it would probably be some time before she could +regain consciousness. On the question of whether she had been shot or +had shot herself he would not venture to express any decided opinion. +Certainly the bullet had been discharged at very close quarters. There +was only the one pistol found in the room, two barrels of which had +been emptied. Mr. Hilton Cubitt had been shot through the heart. It was +equally conceivable that he had shot her and then himself, or that +she had been the criminal, for the revolver lay upon the floor midway +between them. + +"Has he been moved?" asked Holmes. + +"We have moved nothing except the lady. We could not leave her lying +wounded upon the floor." + +"How long have you been here, doctor?" + +"Since four o'clock." + +"Anyone else?" + +"Yes, the constable here." + +"And you have touched nothing?" + +"Nothing." + +"You have acted with great discretion. Who sent for you?" + +"The housemaid, Saunders." + +"Was it she who gave the alarm?" + +"She and Mrs. King, the cook." + +"Where are they now?" + +"In the kitchen, I believe." + +"Then I think we had better hear their story at once." + +The old hall, oak-panelled and high-windowed, had been turned into a +court of investigation. Holmes sat in a great, old-fashioned chair, his +inexorable eyes gleaming out of his haggard face. I could read in them +a set purpose to devote his life to this quest until the client whom he +had failed to save should at last be avenged. The trim Inspector Martin, +the old, grey-headed country doctor, myself, and a stolid village +policeman made up the rest of that strange company. + +The two women told their story clearly enough. They had been aroused +from their sleep by the sound of an explosion, which had been followed +a minute later by a second one. They slept in adjoining rooms, and Mrs. +King had rushed in to Saunders. Together they had descended the stairs. +The door of the study was open and a candle was burning upon the table. +Their master lay upon his face in the centre of the room. He was quite +dead. Near the window his wife was crouching, her head leaning against +the wall. She was horribly wounded, and the side of her face was red +with blood. She breathed heavily, but was incapable of saying anything. +The passage, as well as the room, was full of smoke and the smell of +powder. The window was certainly shut and fastened upon the inside. Both +women were positive upon the point. They had at once sent for the +doctor and for the constable. Then, with the aid of the groom and the +stable-boy, they had conveyed their injured mistress to her room. Both +she and her husband had occupied the bed. She was clad in her dress--he +in his dressing-gown, over his night clothes. Nothing had been moved in +the study. So far as they knew there had never been any quarrel between +husband and wife. They had always looked upon them as a very united +couple. + +These were the main points of the servants' evidence. In answer to +Inspector Martin they were clear that every door was fastened upon the +inside, and that no one could have escaped from the house. In answer +to Holmes they both remembered that they were conscious of the smell +of powder from the moment that they ran out of their rooms upon the +top floor. "I commend that fact very carefully to your attention," said +Holmes to his professional colleague. "And now I think that we are in a +position to undertake a thorough examination of the room." + +The study proved to be a small chamber, lined on three sides with books, +and with a writing-table facing an ordinary window, which looked out +upon the garden. Our first attention was given to the body of the +unfortunate squire, whose huge frame lay stretched across the room. His +disordered dress showed that he had been hastily aroused from sleep. +The bullet had been fired at him from the front, and had remained in +his body after penetrating the heart. His death had certainly been +instantaneous and painless. There was no powder-marking either upon his +dressing-gown or on his hands. According to the country surgeon the lady +had stains upon her face, but none upon her hand. + +"The absence of the latter means nothing, though its presence may +mean everything," said Holmes. "Unless the powder from a badly-fitting +cartridge happens to spurt backwards, one may fire many shots without +leaving a sign. I would suggest that Mr. Cubitt's body may now be +removed. I suppose, doctor, you have not recovered the bullet which +wounded the lady?" + +"A serious operation will be necessary before that can be done. But +there are still four cartridges in the revolver. Two have been fired and +two wounds inflicted, so that each bullet can be accounted for." + +"So it would seem," said Holmes. "Perhaps you can account also for the +bullet which has so obviously struck the edge of the window?" + +He had turned suddenly, and his long, thin finger was pointing to a hole +which had been drilled right through the lower window-sash about an inch +above the bottom. + +"By George!" cried the inspector. "How ever did you see that?" + +"Because I looked for it." + +"Wonderful!" said the country doctor. "You are certainly right, sir. +Then a third shot has been fired, and therefore a third person must have +been present. But who could that have been and how could he have got +away?" + +"That is the problem which we are now about to solve," said Sherlock +Holmes. "You remember, Inspector Martin, when the servants said that on +leaving their room they were at once conscious of a smell of powder I +remarked that the point was an extremely important one?" + +"Yes, sir; but I confess I did not quite follow you." + +"It suggested that at the time of the firing the window as well as the +door of the room had been open. Otherwise the fumes of powder could not +have been blown so rapidly through the house. A draught in the room was +necessary for that. Both door and window were only open for a very short +time, however." + +"How do you prove that?" + +"Because the candle has not guttered." + +"Capital!" cried the inspector. "Capital!" + +"Feeling sure that the window had been open at the time of the tragedy +I conceived that there might have been a third person in the affair, who +stood outside this opening and fired through it. Any shot directed at +this person might hit the sash. I looked, and there, sure enough, was +the bullet mark!" + +"But how came the window to be shut and fastened?" + +"The woman's first instinct would be to shut and fasten the window. But, +halloa! what is this?" + +It was a lady's hand-bag which stood upon the study table--a trim little +hand-bag of crocodile-skin and silver. Holmes opened it and turned +the contents out. There were twenty fifty-pound notes of the Bank of +England, held together by an india-rubber band--nothing else. + +"This must be preserved, for it will figure in the trial," said Holmes, +as he handed the bag with its contents to the inspector. "It is now +necessary that we should try to throw some light upon this third bullet, +which has clearly, from the splintering of the wood, been fired from +inside the room. I should like to see Mrs. King, the cook, again. You +said, Mrs. King, that you were awakened by a LOUD explosion. When you +said that, did you mean that it seemed to you to be louder than the +second one?" + +"Well, sir, it wakened me from my sleep, and so it is hard to judge. But +it did seem very loud." + +"You don't think that it might have been two shots fired almost at the +same instant?" + +"I am sure I couldn't say, sir." + +"I believe that it was undoubtedly so. I rather think, Inspector Martin, +that we have now exhausted all that this room can teach us. If you will +kindly step round with me, we shall see what fresh evidence the garden +has to offer." + +A flower-bed extended up to the study window, and we all broke into an +exclamation as we approached it. The flowers were trampled down, and the +soft soil was imprinted all over with footmarks. Large, masculine feet +they were, with peculiarly long, sharp toes. Holmes hunted about among +the grass and leaves like a retriever after a wounded bird. Then, with +a cry of satisfaction, he bent forward and picked up a little brazen +cylinder. + +"I thought so," said he; "the revolver had an ejector, and here is the +third cartridge. I really think, Inspector Martin, that our case is +almost complete." + +The country inspector's face had shown his intense amazement at the +rapid and masterful progress of Holmes's investigation. At first he +had shown some disposition to assert his own position; but now he was +overcome with admiration and ready to follow without question wherever +Holmes led. + +"Whom do you suspect?" he asked. + +"I'll go into that later. There are several points in this problem which +I have not been able to explain to you yet. Now that I have got so far +I had best proceed on my own lines, and then clear the whole matter up +once and for all." + +"Just as you wish, Mr. Holmes, so long as we get our man." + +"I have no desire to make mysteries, but it is impossible at the moment +of action to enter into long and complex explanations. I have the +threads of this affair all in my hand. Even if this lady should never +recover consciousness we can still reconstruct the events of last night +and ensure that justice be done. First of all I wish to know whether +there is any inn in this neighbourhood known as 'Elrige's'?" + +The servants were cross-questioned, but none of them had heard of such a +place. The stable-boy threw a light upon the matter by remembering that +a farmer of that name lived some miles off in the direction of East +Ruston. + +"Is it a lonely farm?" + +"Very lonely, sir." + +"Perhaps they have not heard yet of all that happened here during the +night?" + +"Maybe not, sir." + +Holmes thought for a little and then a curious smile played over his +face. + +"Saddle a horse, my lad," said he. "I shall wish you to take a note to +Elrige's Farm." + +He took from his pocket the various slips of the dancing men. With these +in front of him he worked for some time at the study-table. Finally he +handed a note to the boy, with directions to put it into the hands +of the person to whom it was addressed, and especially to answer no +questions of any sort which might be put to him. I saw the outside of +the note, addressed in straggling, irregular characters, very unlike +Holmes's usual precise hand. It was consigned to Mr. Abe Slaney, +Elrige's Farm, East Ruston, Norfolk. + +"I think, inspector," Holmes remarked, "that you would do well to +telegraph for an escort, as, if my calculations prove to be correct, you +may have a particularly dangerous prisoner to convey to the county gaol. +The boy who takes this note could no doubt forward your telegram. If +there is an afternoon train to town, Watson, I think we should do well +to take it, as I have a chemical analysis of some interest to finish, +and this investigation draws rapidly to a close." + +When the youth had been dispatched with the note, Sherlock Holmes gave +his instructions to the servants. If any visitor were to call asking for +Mrs. Hilton Cubitt no information should be given as to her condition, +but he was to be shown at once into the drawing-room. He impressed these +points upon them with the utmost earnestness. Finally he led the way +into the drawing-room with the remark that the business was now out of +our hands, and that we must while away the time as best we might until +we could see what was in store for us. The doctor had departed to his +patients, and only the inspector and myself remained. + +"I think that I can help you to pass an hour in an interesting and +profitable manner," said Holmes, drawing his chair up to the table +and spreading out in front of him the various papers upon which were +recorded the antics of the dancing men. "As to you, friend Watson, I owe +you every atonement for having allowed your natural curiosity to remain +so long unsatisfied. To you, inspector, the whole incident may appeal +as a remarkable professional study. I must tell you first of all the +interesting circumstances connected with the previous consultations +which Mr. Hilton Cubitt has had with me in Baker Street." He then +shortly recapitulated the facts which have already been recorded. "I +have here in front of me these singular productions, at which one +might smile had they not proved themselves to be the fore-runners of +so terrible a tragedy. I am fairly familiar with all forms of secret +writings, and am myself the author of a trifling monograph upon the +subject, in which I analyze one hundred and sixty separate ciphers; +but I confess that this is entirely new to me. The object of those who +invented the system has apparently been to conceal that these characters +convey a message, and to give the idea that they are the mere random +sketches of children. + +"Having once recognised, however, that the symbols stood for letters, +and having applied the rules which guide us in all forms of secret +writings, the solution was easy enough. The first message submitted to +me was so short that it was impossible for me to do more than to say +with some confidence that the symbol XXX stood for E. As you are aware, +E is the most common letter in the English alphabet, and it predominates +to so marked an extent that even in a short sentence one would expect +to find it most often. Out of fifteen symbols in the first message four +were the same, so it was reasonable to set this down as E. It is true +that in some cases the figure was bearing a flag and in some cases not, +but it was probable from the way in which the flags were distributed +that they were used to break the sentence up into words. I accepted this +as a hypothesis, and noted that E was represented by XXX. + +"But now came the real difficulty of the inquiry. The order of +the English letters after E is by no means well marked, and any +preponderance which may be shown in an average of a printed sheet may be +reversed in a single short sentence. Speaking roughly, T, A, O, I, N, S, +H, R, D, and L are the numerical order in which letters occur; but T, +A, O, and I are very nearly abreast of each other, and it would be an +endless task to try each combination until a meaning was arrived at. I, +therefore, waited for fresh material. In my second interview with Mr. +Hilton Cubitt he was able to give me two other short sentences and one +message, which appeared--since there was no flag--to be a single word. +Here are the symbols. Now, in the single word I have already got the +two E's coming second and fourth in a word of five letters. It might +be 'sever,' or 'lever,' or 'never.' There can be no question that +the latter as a reply to an appeal is far the most probable, and +the circumstances pointed to its being a reply written by the lady. +Accepting it as correct, we are now able to say that the symbols XXX +stand respectively for N, V, and R. + +"Even now I was in considerable difficulty, but a happy thought put me +in possession of several other letters. It occurred to me that if these +appeals came, as I expected, from someone who had been intimate with the +lady in her early life, a combination which contained two E's with +three letters between might very well stand for the name 'ELSIE.' On +examination I found that such a combination formed the termination of +the message which was three times repeated. It was certainly some appeal +to 'Elsie.' In this way I had got my L, S, and I. But what appeal could +it be? There were only four letters in the word which preceded 'Elsie,' +and it ended in E. Surely the word must be 'COME.' I tried all other +four letters ending in E, but could find none to fit the case. So now I +was in possession of C, O, and M, and I was in a position to attack the +first message once more, dividing it into words and putting dots for +each symbol which was still unknown. So treated it worked out in this +fashion:-- + + .M .ERE ..E SL.NE. + +"Now the first letter CAN only be A, which is a most useful discovery, +since it occurs no fewer than three times in this short sentence, and +the H is also apparent in the second word. Now it becomes:-- + + AM HERE A.E SLANE. + +Or, filling in the obvious vacancies in the name:-- + + AM HERE ABE SLANEY. + +I had so many letters now that I could proceed with considerable +confidence to the second message, which worked out in this fashion:-- + + A. ELRI.ES. + +Here I could only make sense by putting T and G for the missing letters, +and supposing that the name was that of some house or inn at which the +writer was staying." + +Inspector Martin and I had listened with the utmost interest to the full +and clear account of how my friend had produced results which had led to +so complete a command over our difficulties. + +"What did you do then, sir?" asked the inspector. + +"I had every reason to suppose that this Abe Slaney was an American, +since Abe is an American contraction, and since a letter from America +had been the starting-point of all the trouble. I had also every cause +to think that there was some criminal secret in the matter. The lady's +allusions to her past and her refusal to take her husband into her +confidence both pointed in that direction. I therefore cabled to my +friend, Wilson Hargreave, of the New York Police Bureau, who has more +than once made use of my knowledge of London crime. I asked him whether +the name of Abe Slaney was known to him. Here is his reply: 'The most +dangerous crook in Chicago.' On the very evening upon which I had his +answer Hilton Cubitt sent me the last message from Slaney. Working with +known letters it took this form:-- + + ELSIE .RE.ARE TO MEET THY GO. + +The addition of a P and a D completed a message which showed me that the +rascal was proceeding from persuasion to threats, and my knowledge of +the crooks of Chicago prepared me to find that he might very rapidly +put his words into action. I at once came to Norfolk with my friend and +colleague, Dr. Watson, but, unhappily, only in time to find that the +worst had already occurred." + +"It is a privilege to be associated with you in the handling of a case," +said the inspector, warmly. "You will excuse me, however, if I speak +frankly to you. You are only answerable to yourself, but I have to +answer to my superiors. If this Abe Slaney, living at Elrige's, is +indeed the murderer, and if he has made his escape while I am seated +here, I should certainly get into serious trouble." + +"You need not be uneasy. He will not try to escape." + +"How do you know?" + +"To fly would be a confession of guilt." + +"Then let us go to arrest him." + +"I expect him here every instant." + +"But why should he come?" + +"Because I have written and asked him." + +"But this is incredible, Mr. Holmes! Why should he come because you +have asked him? Would not such a request rather rouse his suspicions and +cause him to fly?" + +"I think I have known how to frame the letter," said Sherlock Holmes. +"In fact, if I am not very much mistaken, here is the gentleman himself +coming up the drive." + +A man was striding up the path which led to the door. He was a tall, +handsome, swarthy fellow, clad in a suit of grey flannel, with a Panama +hat, a bristling black beard, and a great, aggressive hooked nose, and +flourishing a cane as he walked. He swaggered up the path as if the +place belonged to him, and we heard his loud, confident peal at the +bell. + +"I think, gentlemen," said Holmes, quietly, "that we had best take up +our position behind the door. Every precaution is necessary when dealing +with such a fellow. You will need your handcuffs, inspector. You can +leave the talking to me." + +We waited in silence for a minute--one of those minutes which one can +never forget. Then the door opened and the man stepped in. In an instant +Holmes clapped a pistol to his head and Martin slipped the handcuffs +over his wrists. It was all done so swiftly and deftly that the fellow +was helpless before he knew that he was attacked. He glared from one to +the other of us with a pair of blazing black eyes. Then he burst into a +bitter laugh. + +"Well, gentlemen, you have the drop on me this time. I seem to have +knocked up against something hard. But I came here in answer to a letter +from Mrs. Hilton Cubitt. Don't tell me that she is in this? Don't tell +me that she helped to set a trap for me?" + +"Mrs. Hilton Cubitt was seriously injured and is at death's door." + +The man gave a hoarse cry of grief which rang through the house. + +"You're crazy!" he cried, fiercely. "It was he that was hurt, not she. +Who would have hurt little Elsie? I may have threatened her, God forgive +me, but I would not have touched a hair of her pretty head. Take it +back--you! Say that she is not hurt!" + +"She was found badly wounded by the side of her dead husband." + +He sank with a deep groan on to the settee and buried his face in his +manacled hands. For five minutes he was silent. Then he raised his face +once more, and spoke with the cold composure of despair. + +"I have nothing to hide from you, gentlemen," said he. "If I shot the +man he had his shot at me, and there's no murder in that. But if you +think I could have hurt that woman, then you don't know either me or +her. I tell you there was never a man in this world loved a woman more +than I loved her. I had a right to her. She was pledged to me years ago. +Who was this Englishman that he should come between us? I tell you that +I had the first right to her, and that I was only claiming my own." + +"She broke away from your influence when she found the man that you +are," said Holmes, sternly. "She fled from America to avoid you, and she +married an honourable gentleman in England. You dogged her and followed +her and made her life a misery to her in order to induce her to abandon +the husband whom she loved and respected in order to fly with you, whom +she feared and hated. You have ended by bringing about the death of a +noble man and driving his wife to suicide. That is your record in this +business, Mr. Abe Slaney, and you will answer for it to the law." + +"If Elsie dies I care nothing what becomes of me," said the American. +He opened one of his hands and looked at a note crumpled up in his palm. +"See here, mister," he cried, with a gleam of suspicion in his eyes, +"you're not trying to scare me over this, are you? If the lady is +hurt as bad as you say, who was it that wrote this note?" He tossed it +forwards on to the table. + +"I wrote it to bring you here." + +"You wrote it? There was no one on earth outside the Joint who knew the +secret of the dancing men. How came you to write it?" + +"What one man can invent another can discover," said Holmes. There is +a cab coming to convey you to Norwich, Mr. Slaney. But, meanwhile, you +have time to make some small reparation for the injury you have wrought. +Are you aware that Mrs. Hilton Cubitt has herself lain under grave +suspicion of the murder of her husband, and that it was only my presence +here and the knowledge which I happened to possess which has saved her +from the accusation? The least that you owe her is to make it clear +to the whole world that she was in no way, directly or indirectly, +responsible for his tragic end." + +"I ask nothing better," said the American. "I guess the very best case I +can make for myself is the absolute naked truth." + +"It is my duty to warn you that it will be used against you," cried the +inspector, with the magnificent fair-play of the British criminal law. + +Slaney shrugged his shoulders. + +"I'll chance that," said he. "First of all, I want you gentlemen to +understand that I have known this lady since she was a child. There were +seven of us in a gang in Chicago, and Elsie's father was the boss of the +Joint. He was a clever man, was old Patrick. It was he who invented that +writing, which would pass as a child's scrawl unless you just happened +to have the key to it. Well, Elsie learned some of our ways; but she +couldn't stand the business, and she had a bit of honest money of her +own, so she gave us all the slip and got away to London. She had been +engaged to me, and she would have married me, I believe, if I had taken +over another profession; but she would have nothing to do with anything +on the cross. It was only after her marriage to this Englishman that I +was able to find out where she was. I wrote to her, but got no answer. +After that I came over, and, as letters were no use, I put my messages +where she could read them. + +"Well, I have been here a month now. I lived in that farm, where I had +a room down below, and could get in and out every night, and no one the +wiser. I tried all I could to coax Elsie away. I knew that she read the +messages, for once she wrote an answer under one of them. Then my temper +got the better of me, and I began to threaten her. She sent me a letter +then, imploring me to go away and saying that it would break her heart +if any scandal should come upon her husband. She said that she would +come down when her husband was asleep at three in the morning, and speak +with me through the end window, if I would go away afterwards and leave +her in peace. She came down and brought money with her, trying to bribe +me to go. This made me mad, and I caught her arm and tried to pull +her through the window. At that moment in rushed the husband with his +revolver in his hand. Elsie had sunk down upon the floor, and we were +face to face. I was heeled also, and I held up my gun to scare him off +and let me get away. He fired and missed me. I pulled off almost at the +same instant, and down he dropped. I made away across the garden, and as +I went I heard the window shut behind me. That's God's truth, gentlemen, +every word of it, and I heard no more about it until that lad came +riding up with a note which made me walk in here, like a jay, and give +myself into your hands." + +A cab had driven up whilst the American had been talking. Two uniformed +policemen sat inside. Inspector Martin rose and touched his prisoner on +the shoulder. + +"It is time for us to go." + +"Can I see her first?" + +"No, she is not conscious. Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I only hope that if ever +again I have an important case I shall have the good fortune to have you +by my side." + +We stood at the window and watched the cab drive away. As I turned back +my eye caught the pellet of paper which the prisoner had tossed upon the +table. It was the note with which Holmes had decoyed him. + +"See if you can read it, Watson," said he, with a smile. + +It contained no word, but this little line of dancing men:-- + +GRAPHIC + +"If you use the code which I have explained," said Holmes, "you will +find that it simply means 'Come here at once.' I was convinced that +it was an invitation which he would not refuse, since he could never +imagine that it could come from anyone but the lady. And so, my dear +Watson, we have ended by turning the dancing men to good when they have +so often been the agents of evil, and I think that I have fulfilled my +promise of giving you something unusual for your note-book. Three-forty +is our train, and I fancy we should be back in Baker Street for dinner." + + +Only one word of epilogue. The American, Abe Slaney, was condemned to +death at the winter assizes at Norwich; but his penalty was changed to +penal servitude in consideration of mitigating circumstances, and the +certainty that Hilton Cubitt had fired the first shot. Of Mrs. Hilton +Cubitt I only know that I have heard she recovered entirely, and that +she still remains a widow, devoting her whole life to the care of the +poor and to the administration of her husband's estate. + +***** + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 27 JANUARY, 1904 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +IV.--The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist. + + +FROM the years 1894 to 1901 inclusive Mr. Sherlock Holmes was a very +busy man. It is safe to say that there was no public case of any +difficulty in which he was not consulted during those eight years, and +there were hundreds of private cases, some of them of the most intricate +and extraordinary character, in which he played a prominent part. Many +startling successes and a few unavoidable failures were the outcome of +this long period of continuous work. As I have preserved very full notes +of all these cases, and was myself personally engaged in many of them, +it may be imagined that it is no easy task to know which I should select +to lay before the public. I shall, however, preserve my former rule, and +give the preference to those cases which derive their interest not so +much from the brutality of the crime as from the ingenuity and dramatic +quality of the solution. For this reason I will now lay before the +reader the facts connected with Miss Violet Smith, the solitary cyclist +of Charlington, and the curious sequel of our investigation, which +culminated in unexpected tragedy. It is true that the circumstances +did not admit of any striking illustration of those powers for which my +friend was famous, but there were some points about the case which made +it stand out in those long records of crime from which I gather the +material for these little narratives. + +On referring to my note-book for the year 1895 I find that it was upon +Saturday, the 23rd of April, that we first heard of Miss Violet Smith. +Her visit was, I remember, extremely unwelcome to Holmes, for he was +immersed at the moment in a very abstruse and complicated problem +concerning the peculiar persecution to which John Vincent Harden, the +well-known tobacco millionaire, had been subjected. My friend, who +loved above all things precision and concentration of thought, resented +anything which distracted his attention from the matter in hand. And yet +without a harshness which was foreign to his nature it was impossible +to refuse to listen to the story of the young and beautiful woman, tall, +graceful, and queenly, who presented herself at Baker Street late in the +evening and implored his assistance and advice. It was vain to urge that +his time was already fully occupied, for the young lady had come with +the determination to tell her story, and it was evident that nothing +short of force could get her out of the room until she had done so. With +a resigned air and a somewhat weary smile, Holmes begged the beautiful +intruder to take a seat and to inform us what it was that was troubling +her. + +"At least it cannot be your health," said he, as his keen eyes darted +over her; "so ardent a bicyclist must be full of energy." + +She glanced down in surprise at her own feet, and I observed the slight +roughening of the side of the sole caused by the friction of the edge of +the pedal. + +"Yes, I bicycle a good deal, Mr. Holmes, and that has something to do +with my visit to you to-day." + +My friend took the lady's ungloved hand and examined it with as close +an attention and as little sentiment as a scientist would show to a +specimen. + +"You will excuse me, I am sure. It is my business," said he, as he +dropped it. "I nearly fell into the error of supposing that you were +typewriting. Of course, it is obvious that it is music. You observe the +spatulate finger-end, Watson, which is common to both professions? There +is a spirituality about the face, however"--he gently turned it towards +the light--"which the typewriter does not generate. This lady is a +musician." + +"Yes, Mr. Holmes, I teach music." + +"In the country, I presume, from your complexion." + +"Yes, sir; near Farnham, on the borders of Surrey." + +"A beautiful neighbourhood and full of the most interesting +associations. You remember, Watson, that it was near there that we took +Archie Stamford, the forger. Now, Miss Violet, what has happened to you +near Farnham, on the borders of Surrey?" + +The young lady, with great clearness and composure, made the following +curious statement:-- + +"My father is dead, Mr. Holmes. He was James Smith, who conducted the +orchestra at the old Imperial Theatre. My mother and I were left without +a relation in the world except one uncle, Ralph Smith, who went to +Africa twenty-five years ago, and we have never had a word from him +since. When father died we were left very poor, but one day we were +told that there was an advertisement in the TIMES inquiring for our +whereabouts. You can imagine how excited we were, for we thought that +someone had left us a fortune. We went at once to the lawyer whose name +was given in the paper. There we met two gentlemen, Mr. Carruthers and +Mr. Woodley, who were home on a visit from South Africa. They said that +my uncle was a friend of theirs, that he died some months before in +great poverty in Johannesburg, and that he had asked them with his last +breath to hunt up his relations and see that they were in no want. It +seemed strange to us that Uncle Ralph, who took no notice of us when he +was alive, should be so careful to look after us when he was dead; but +Mr. Carruthers explained that the reason was that my uncle had just +heard of the death of his brother, and so felt responsible for our +fate." + +"Excuse me," said Holmes; "when was this interview?" + +"Last December--four months ago." + +"Pray proceed." + +"Mr. Woodley seemed to me to be a most odious person. He was for ever +making eyes at me--a coarse, puffy-faced, red-moustached young man, with +his hair plastered down on each side of his forehead. I thought that he +was perfectly hateful--and I was sure that Cyril would not wish me to +know such a person." + +"Oh, Cyril is his name!" said Holmes, smiling. + +The young lady blushed and laughed. + +"Yes, Mr. Holmes; Cyril Morton, an electrical engineer, and we hope +to be married at the end of the summer. Dear me, how DID I get talking +about him? What I wished to say was that Mr. Woodley was perfectly +odious, but that Mr. Carruthers, who was a much older man, was more +agreeable. He was a dark, sallow, clean-shaven, silent person; but he +had polite manners and a pleasant smile. He inquired how we were left, +and on finding that we were very poor he suggested that I should come +and teach music to his only daughter, aged ten. I said that I did not +like to leave my mother, on which he suggested that I should go home +to her every week-end, and he offered me a hundred a year, which was +certainly splendid pay. So it ended by my accepting, and I went down +to Chiltern Grange, about six miles from Farnham. Mr. Carruthers was +a widower, but he had engaged a lady-housekeeper, a very respectable, +elderly person, called Mrs. Dixon, to look after his establishment. The +child was a dear, and everything promised well. Mr. Carruthers was very +kind and very musical, and we had most pleasant evenings together. Every +week-end I went home to my mother in town. + +"The first flaw in my happiness was the arrival of the red-moustached +Mr. Woodley. He came for a visit of a week, and oh, it seemed three +months to me! He was a dreadful person, a bully to everyone else, but to +me something infinitely worse. He made odious love to me, boasted of his +wealth, said that if I married him I would have the finest diamonds in +London, and finally, when I would have nothing to do with him, he seized +me in his arms one day after dinner--he was hideously strong--and he +swore that he would not let me go until I had kissed him. Mr. Carruthers +came in and tore him off from me, on which he turned upon his own host, +knocking him down and cutting his face open. That was the end of his +visit, as you can imagine. Mr. Carruthers apologized to me next day, +and assured me that I should never be exposed to such an insult again. I +have not seen Mr. Woodley since. + +"And now, Mr. Holmes, I come at last to the special thing which has +caused me to ask your advice to-day. You must know that every Saturday +forenoon I ride on my bicycle to Farnham Station in order to get the +12.22 to town. The road from Chiltern Grange is a lonely one, and at +one spot it is particularly so, for it lies for over a mile between +Charlington Heath upon one side and the woods which lie round +Charlington Hall upon the other. You could not find a more lonely tract +of road anywhere, and it is quite rare to meet so much as a cart, or a +peasant, until you reach the high road near Crooksbury Hill. Two +weeks ago I was passing this place when I chanced to look back over my +shoulder, and about two hundred yards behind me I saw a man, also on a +bicycle. He seemed to be a middle-aged man, with a short, dark beard. I +looked back before I reached Farnham, but the man was gone, so I thought +no more about it. But you can imagine how surprised I was, Mr. Holmes, +when on my return on the Monday I saw the same man on the same stretch +of road. My astonishment was increased when the incident occurred again, +exactly as before, on the following Saturday and Monday. He always kept +his distance and did not molest me in any way, but still it certainly +was very odd. I mentioned it to Mr. Carruthers, who seemed interested in +what I said, and told me that he had ordered a horse and trap, so +that in future I should not pass over these lonely roads without some +companion. + +"The horse and trap were to have come this week, but for some reason +they were not delivered, and again I had to cycle to the station. +That was this morning. You can think that I looked out when I came to +Charlington Heath, and there, sure enough, was the man, exactly as he +had been the two weeks before. He always kept so far from me that I +could not clearly see his face, but it was certainly someone whom I did +not know. He was dressed in a dark suit with a cloth cap. The only thing +about his face that I could clearly see was his dark beard. To-day I was +not alarmed, but I was filled with curiosity, and I determined to find +out who he was and what he wanted. I slowed down my machine, but he +slowed down his. Then I stopped altogether, but he stopped also. Then +I laid a trap for him. There is a sharp turning of the road, and I +pedalled very quickly round this, and then I stopped and waited. I +expected him to shoot round and pass me before he could stop. But he +never appeared. Then I went back and looked round the corner. I +could see a mile of road, but he was not on it. To make it the more +extraordinary, there was no side road at this point down which he could +have gone." + +Holmes chuckled and rubbed his hands. "This case certainly presents +some features of its own," said he. "How much time elapsed between your +turning the corner and your discovery that the road was clear?" + +"Two or three minutes." + +"Then he could not have retreated down the road, and you say that there +are no side roads?" + +"None." + +"Then he certainly took a footpath on one side or the other." + +"It could not have been on the side of the heath or I should have seen +him." + +"So by the process of exclusion we arrive at the fact that he made his +way towards Charlington Hall, which, as I understand, is situated in its +own grounds on one side of the road. Anything else?" + +"Nothing, Mr. Holmes, save that I was so perplexed that I felt I should +not be happy until I had seen you and had your advice." + +Holmes sat in silence for some little time. + +"Where is the gentleman to whom you are engaged?" he asked, at last. + +"He is in the Midland Electrical Company, at Coventry." + +"He would not pay you a surprise visit?" + +"Oh, Mr. Holmes! As if I should not know him!" + +"Have you had any other admirers?" + +"Several before I knew Cyril." + +"And since?" + +"There was this dreadful man, Woodley, if you can call him an admirer." + +"No one else?" + +Our fair client seemed a little confused. + +"Who was he?" asked Holmes. + +"Oh, it may be a mere fancy of mine; but it has seemed to me sometimes +that my employer, Mr. Carruthers, takes a great deal of interest in me. +We are thrown rather together. I play his accompaniments in the evening. +He has never said anything. He is a perfect gentleman. But a girl always +knows." + +"Ha!" Holmes looked grave. "What does he do for a living?" + +"He is a rich man." + +"No carriages or horses?" + +"Well, at least he is fairly well-to-do. But he goes into the City two +or three times a week. He is deeply interested in South African gold +shares." + +"You will let me know any fresh development, Miss Smith. I am very busy +just now, but I will find time to make some inquiries into your case. In +the meantime take no step without letting me know. Good-bye, and I trust +that we shall have nothing but good news from you." + +"It is part of the settled order of Nature that such a girl should have +followers," said Holmes, as he pulled at his meditative pipe, "but for +choice not on bicycles in lonely country roads. Some secretive lover, +beyond all doubt. But there are curious and suggestive details about the +case, Watson." + +"That he should appear only at that point?" + +"Exactly. Our first effort must be to find who are the tenants of +Charlington Hall. Then, again, how about the connection between +Carruthers and Woodley, since they appear to be men of such a different +type? How came they BOTH to be so keen upon looking up Ralph Smith's +relations? One more point. What sort of a MENAGE is it which pays double +the market price for a governess, but does not keep a horse although six +miles from the station? Odd, Watson--very odd!" + +"You will go down?" + +"No, my dear fellow, YOU will go down. This may be some trifling +intrigue, and I cannot break my other important research for the sake +of it. On Monday you will arrive early at Farnham; you will conceal +yourself near Charlington Heath; you will observe these facts for +yourself, and act as your own judgment advises. Then, having inquired as +to the occupants of the Hall, you will come back to me and report. And +now, Watson, not another word of the matter until we have a few solid +stepping-stones on which we may hope to get across to our solution." + +We had ascertained from the lady that she went down upon the Monday by +the train which leaves Waterloo at 9.50, so I started early and caught +the 9.13. At Farnham Station I had no difficulty in being directed to +Charlington Heath. It was impossible to mistake the scene of the young +lady's adventure, for the road runs between the open heath on one side +and an old yew hedge upon the other, surrounding a park which is studded +with magnificent trees. There was a main gateway of lichen-studded +stone, each side pillar surmounted by mouldering heraldic emblems; but +besides this central carriage drive I observed several points where +there were gaps in the hedge and paths leading through them. The house +was invisible from the road, but the surroundings all spoke of gloom and +decay. + +The heath was covered with golden patches of flowering gorse, gleaming +magnificently in the light of the bright spring sunshine. Behind one of +these clumps I took up my position, so as to command both the gateway +of the Hall and a long stretch of the road upon either side. It had been +deserted when I left it, but now I saw a cyclist riding down it from the +opposite direction to that in which I had come. He was clad in a dark +suit, and I saw that he had a black beard. On reaching the end of the +Charlington grounds he sprang from his machine and led it through a gap +in the hedge, disappearing from my view. + +A quarter of an hour passed and then a second cyclist appeared. This +time it was the young lady coming from the station. I saw her look +about her as she came to the Charlington hedge. An instant later the man +emerged from his hiding-place, sprang upon his cycle, and followed +her. In all the broad landscape those were the only moving figures, the +graceful girl sitting very straight upon her machine, and the man behind +her bending low over his handle-bar, with a curiously furtive suggestion +in every movement. She looked back at him and slowed her pace. He slowed +also. She stopped. He at once stopped too, keeping two hundred yards +behind her. Her next movement was as unexpected as it was spirited. She +suddenly whisked her wheels round and dashed straight at him! He was as +quick as she, however, and darted off in desperate flight. Presently she +came back up the road again, her head haughtily in the air, not deigning +to take any further notice of her silent attendant. He had turned also, +and still kept his distance until the curve of the road hid them from my +sight. + +I remained in my hiding-place, and it was well that I did so, for +presently the man reappeared cycling slowly back. He turned in at the +Hall gates and dismounted from his machine. For some few minutes I could +see him standing among the trees. His hands were raised and he seemed to +be settling his necktie. Then he mounted his cycle and rode away from +me down the drive towards the Hall. I ran across the heath and peered +through the trees. Far away I could catch glimpses of the old grey +building with its bristling Tudor chimneys, but the drive ran through a +dense shrubbery, and I saw no more of my man. + +However, it seemed to me that I had done a fairly good morning's work, +and I walked back in high spirits to Farnham. The local house-agent +could tell me nothing about Charlington Hall, and referred me to a +well-known firm in Pall Mall. There I halted on my way home, and met +with courtesy from the representative. No, I could not have Charlington +Hall for the summer. I was just too late. It had been let about a month +ago. Mr. Williamson was the name of the tenant. He was a respectable +elderly gentleman. The polite agent was afraid he could say no more, as +the affairs of his clients were not matters which he could discuss. + +Mr. Sherlock Holmes listened with attention to the long report which I +was able to present to him that evening, but it did not elicit that +word of curt praise which I had hoped for and should have valued. On +the contrary, his austere face was even more severe than usual as he +commented upon the things that I had done and the things that I had not. + +"Your hiding-place, my dear Watson, was very faulty. You should have +been behind the hedge; then you would have had a close view of this +interesting person. As it is you were some hundreds of yards away, and +can tell me even less than Miss Smith. She thinks she does not know +the man; I am convinced she does. Why, otherwise, should he be so +desperately anxious that she should not get so near him as to see his +features? You describe him as bending over the handle-bar. Concealment +again, you see. You really have done remarkably badly. He returns to +the house and you want to find out who he is. You come to a London +house-agent!" + +"What should I have done?" I cried, with some heat. + +"Gone to the nearest public-house. That is the centre of country +gossip. They would have told you every name, from the master to the +scullery-maid. Williamson! It conveys nothing to my mind. If he is an +elderly man he is not this active cyclist who sprints away from that +athletic young lady's pursuit. What have we gained by your expedition? +The knowledge that the girl's story is true. I never doubted it. That +there is a connection between the cyclist and the Hall. I never doubted +that either. That the Hall is tenanted by Williamson. Who's the better +for that? Well, well, my dear sir, don't look so depressed. We can do +little more until next Saturday, and in the meantime I may make one or +two inquiries myself." + +Next morning we had a note from Miss Smith, recounting shortly and +accurately the very incidents which I had seen, but the pith of the +letter lay in the postscript:-- + +"I am sure that you will respect my confidence, Mr. Holmes, when I tell +you that my place here has become difficult owing to the fact that my +employer has proposed marriage to me. I am convinced that his feelings +are most deep and most honourable. At the same time my promise is, of +course, given. He took my refusal very seriously, but also very gently. +You can understand, however, that the situation is a little strained." + +"Our young friend seems to be getting into deep waters," said Holmes, +thoughtfully, as he finished the letter. "The case certainly presents +more features of interest and more possibility of development than I had +originally thought. I should be none the worse for a quiet, peaceful day +in the country, and I am inclined to run down this afternoon and test +one or two theories which I have formed." + +Holmes's quiet day in the country had a singular termination, for +he arrived at Baker Street late in the evening with a cut lip and a +discoloured lump upon his forehead, besides a general air of dissipation +which would have made his own person the fitting object of a Scotland +Yard investigation. He was immensely tickled by his own adventures, and +laughed heartily as he recounted them. + +"I get so little active exercise that it is always a treat," said he. +"You are aware that I have some proficiency in the good old British +sport of boxing. Occasionally it is of service. To-day, for example, I +should have come to very ignominious grief without it." + +I begged him to tell me what had occurred. + +"I found that country pub which I had already recommended to your +notice, and there I made my discreet inquiries. I was in the bar, and +a garrulous landlord was giving me all that I wanted. Williamson is a +white-bearded man, and he lives alone with a small staff of servants at +the Hall. There is some rumour that he is or has been a clergyman; but +one or two incidents of his short residence at the Hall struck me as +peculiarly unecclesiastical. I have already made some inquiries at a +clerical agency, and they tell me that there WAS a man of that name in +orders whose career has been a singularly dark one. The landlord further +informed me that there are usually week-end visitors--'a warm lot, +sir'--at the Hall, and especially one gentleman with a red moustache, +Mr. Woodley by name, who was always there. We had got as far as this +when who should walk in but the gentleman himself, who had been drinking +his beer in the tap-room and had heard the whole conversation. Who was +I? What did I want? What did I mean by asking questions? He had a fine +flow of language, and his adjectives were very vigorous. He ended a +string of abuse by a vicious back-hander which I failed to entirely +avoid. The next few minutes were delicious. It was a straight left +against a slogging ruffian. I emerged as you see me. Mr. Woodley went +home in a cart. So ended my country trip, and it must be confessed that, +however enjoyable, my day on the Surrey border has not been much more +profitable than your own." + +The Thursday brought us another letter from our client. + +"You will not be surprised, Mr. Holmes," said she, "to hear that I am +leaving Mr. Carruthers's employment. Even the high pay cannot reconcile +me to the discomforts of my situation. On Saturday I come up to town +and I do not intend to return. Mr. Carruthers has got a trap, and so +the dangers of the lonely road, if there ever were any dangers, are now +over. + +"As to the special cause of my leaving, it is not merely the strained +situation with Mr. Carruthers, but it is the reappearance of that odious +man, Mr. Woodley. He was always hideous, but he looks more awful +than ever now, for he appears to have had an accident and he is much +disfigured. I saw him out of the window, but I am glad to say I did +not meet him. He had a long talk with Mr. Carruthers, who seemed much +excited afterwards. Woodley must be staying in the neighbourhood, for he +did not sleep here, and yet I caught a glimpse of him again this morning +slinking about in the shrubbery. I would sooner have a savage wild +animal loose about the place. I loathe and fear him more than I can say. +How CAN Mr. Carruthers endure such a creature for a moment? However, all +my troubles will be over on Saturday." + +"So I trust, Watson; so I trust," said Holmes, gravely. "There is some +deep intrigue going on round that little woman, and it is our duty to +see that no one molests her upon that last journey. I think, Watson, +that we must spare time to run down together on Saturday morning, +and make sure that this curious and inconclusive investigation has no +untoward ending." + +I confess that I had not up to now taken a very serious view of +the case, which had seemed to me rather grotesque and bizarre than +dangerous. That a man should lie in wait for and follow a very handsome +woman is no unheard-of thing, and if he had so little audacity that he +not only dared not address her, but even fled from her approach, he +was not a very formidable assailant. The ruffian Woodley was a very +different person, but, except on one occasion, he had not molested our +client, and now he visited the house of Carruthers without intruding +upon her presence. The man on the bicycle was doubtless a member of +those week-end parties at the Hall of which the publican had spoken; but +who he was or what he wanted was as obscure as ever. It was the severity +of Holmes's manner and the fact that he slipped a revolver into his +pocket before leaving our rooms which impressed me with the feeling that +tragedy might prove to lurk behind this curious train of events. + +A rainy night had been followed by a glorious morning, and the +heath-covered country-side with the glowing clumps of flowering gorse +seemed all the more beautiful to eyes which were weary of the duns and +drabs and slate-greys of London. Holmes and I walked along the broad, +sandy road inhaling the fresh morning air, and rejoicing in the music of +the birds and the fresh breath of the spring. From a rise of the road on +the shoulder of Crooksbury Hill we could see the grim Hall bristling +out from amidst the ancient oaks, which, old as they were, were still +younger than the building which they surrounded. Holmes pointed down the +long tract of road which wound, a reddish yellow band, between the brown +of the heath and the budding green of the woods. Far away, a black +dot, we could see a vehicle moving in our direction. Holmes gave an +exclamation of impatience. + +"I had given a margin of half an hour," said he. "If that is her trap +she must be making for the earlier train. I fear, Watson, that she will +be past Charlington before we can possibly meet her." + +From the instant that we passed the rise we could no longer see the +vehicle, but we hastened onwards at such a pace that my sedentary life +began to tell upon me, and I was compelled to fall behind. Holmes, +however, was always in training, for he had inexhaustible stores of +nervous energy upon which to draw. His springy step never slowed until +suddenly, when he was a hundred yards in front of me, he halted, and I +saw him throw up his hand with a gesture of grief and despair. At the +same instant an empty dog-cart, the horse cantering, the reins trailing, +appeared round the curve of the road and rattled swiftly towards us. + +"Too late, Watson; too late!" cried Holmes, as I ran panting to his +side. "Fool that I was not to allow for that earlier train! It's +abduction, Watson--abduction! Murder! Heaven knows what! Block the road! +Stop the horse! That's right. Now, jump in, and let us see if I can +repair the consequences of my own blunder." + +We had sprung into the dog-cart, and Holmes, after turning the horse, +gave it a sharp cut with the whip, and we flew back along the road. As +we turned the curve the whole stretch of road between the Hall and the +heath was opened up. I grasped Holmes's arm. + +"That's the man!" I gasped. + +A solitary cyclist was coming towards us. His head was down and his +shoulders rounded as he put every ounce of energy that he possessed +on to the pedals. He was flying like a racer. Suddenly he raised his +bearded face, saw us close to him, and pulled up, springing from his +machine. That coal-black beard was in singular contrast to the pallor of +his face, and his eyes were as bright as if he had a fever. He stared at +us and at the dog-cart. Then a look of amazement came over his face. + +"Halloa! Stop there!" he shouted, holding his bicycle to block our road. +"Where did you get that dog-cart? Pull up, man!" he yelled, drawing a +pistol from his side pocket. "Pull up, I say, or, by George, I'll put a +bullet into your horse." + +Holmes threw the reins into my lap and sprang down from the cart. + +"You're the man we want to see. Where is Miss Violet Smith?" he said, in +his quick, clear way. + +"That's what I am asking you. You're in her dog-cart. You ought to know +where she is." + +"We met the dog-cart on the road. There was no one in it. We drove back +to help the young lady." + +"Good Lord! Good Lord! what shall I do?" cried the stranger, in an +ecstasy of despair. "They've got her, that hellhound Woodley and the +blackguard parson. Come, man, come, if you really are her friend. Stand +by me and we'll save her, if I have to leave my carcass in Charlington +Wood." + +He ran distractedly, his pistol in his hand, towards a gap in the hedge. +Holmes followed him, and I, leaving the horse grazing beside the road, +followed Holmes. + +"This is where they came through," said he, pointing to the marks of +several feet upon the muddy path. "Halloa! Stop a minute! Who's this in +the bush?" + +It was a young fellow about seventeen, dressed like an ostler, with +leather cords and gaiters. He lay upon his back, his knees drawn up, a +terrible cut upon his head. He was insensible, but alive. A glance at +his wound told me that it had not penetrated the bone. + +"That's Peter, the groom," cried the stranger. "He drove her. The beasts +have pulled him off and clubbed him. Let him lie; we can't do him any +good, but we may save her from the worst fate that can befall a woman." + +We ran frantically down the path, which wound among the trees. We had +reached the shrubbery which surrounded the house when Holmes pulled up. + +"They didn't go to the house. Here are their marks on the left--here, +beside the laurel bushes! Ah, I said so!" + +As he spoke a woman's shrill scream--a scream which vibrated with a +frenzy of horror--burst from the thick green clump of bushes in front of +us. It ended suddenly on its highest note with a choke and a gurgle. + +"This way! This way! They are in the bowling alley," cried the +stranger, darting through the bushes. "Ah, the cowardly dogs! Follow me, +gentlemen! Too late! too late! by the living Jingo!" + +We had broken suddenly into a lovely glade of greensward surrounded by +ancient trees. On the farther side of it, under the shadow of a mighty +oak, there stood a singular group of three people. One was a woman, our +client, drooping and faint, a handkerchief round her mouth. Opposite her +stood a brutal, heavy-faced, red-moustached young man, his gaitered legs +parted wide, one arm akimbo, the other waving a riding-crop, his whole +attitude suggestive of triumphant bravado. Between them an elderly, +grey-bearded man, wearing a short surplice over a light tweed suit, +had evidently just completed the wedding service, for he pocketed his +prayer-book as we appeared and slapped the sinister bridegroom upon the +back in jovial congratulation. + +"They're married!" I gasped. + +"Come on!" cried our guide; "come on!" He rushed across the glade, +Holmes and I at his heels. As we approached, the lady staggered against +the trunk of the tree for support. Williamson, the ex-clergyman, bowed +to us with mock politeness, and the bully Woodley advanced with a shout +of brutal and exultant laughter. + +"You can take your beard off, Bob," said he. "I know you right enough. +Well, you and your pals have just come in time for me to be able to +introduce you to Mrs. Woodley." + +Our guide's answer was a singular one. He snatched off the dark beard +which had disguised him and threw it on the ground, disclosing a long, +sallow, clean-shaven face below it. Then he raised his revolver and +covered the young ruffian, who was advancing upon him with his dangerous +riding-crop swinging in his hand. + +"Yes," said our ally, "I AM Bob Carruthers, and I'll see this woman +righted if I have to swing for it. I told you what I'd do if you +molested her, and, by the Lord, I'll be as good as my word!" + +"You're too late. She's my wife!" + +"No, she's your widow." + +His revolver cracked, and I saw the blood spurt from the front of +Woodley's waistcoat. He spun round with a scream and fell upon his back, +his hideous red face turning suddenly to a dreadful mottled pallor. The +old man, still clad in his surplice, burst into such a string of foul +oaths as I have never heard, and pulled out a revolver of his own, but +before he could raise it he was looking down the barrel of Holmes's +weapon. + +"Enough of this," said my friend, coldly. "Drop that pistol! Watson, +pick it up! Hold it to his head! Thank you. You, Carruthers, give me +that revolver. We'll have no more violence. Come, hand it over!" + +"Who are you, then?" + +"My name is Sherlock Holmes." + +"Good Lord!" + +"You have heard of me, I see. I will represent the official police until +their arrival. Here, you!" he shouted to a frightened groom who had +appeared at the edge of the glade. "Come here. Take this note as hard as +you can ride to Farnham." He scribbled a few words upon a leaf from his +note-book. "Give it to the superintendent at the police-station. Until +he comes I must detain you all under my personal custody." + +The strong, masterful personality of Holmes dominated the tragic scene, +and all were equally puppets in his hands. Williamson and Carruthers +found themselves carrying the wounded Woodley into the house, and I gave +my arm to the frightened girl. The injured man was laid on his bed, and +at Holmes's request I examined him. I carried my report to where he sat +in the old tapestry-hung dining-room with his two prisoners before him. + +"He will live," said I. + +"What!" cried Carruthers, springing out of his chair. "I'll go upstairs +and finish him first. Do you tell me that that girl, that angel, is to +be tied to Roaring Jack Woodley for life?" + +"You need not concern yourself about that," said Holmes. "There are two +very good reasons why she should under no circumstances be his wife. In +the first place, we are very safe in questioning Mr. Williamson's right +to solemnize a marriage." + +"I have been ordained," cried the old rascal. + +"And also unfrocked." + +"Once a clergyman, always a clergyman." + +"I think not. How about the license?" + +"We had a license for the marriage. I have it here in my pocket." + +"Then you got it by a trick. But in any case a forced marriage is no +marriage, but it is a very serious felony, as you will discover before +you have finished. You'll have time to think the point out during the +next ten years or so, unless I am mistaken. As to you, Carruthers, you +would have done better to keep your pistol in your pocket." + +"I begin to think so, Mr. Holmes; but when I thought of all the +precaution I had taken to shield this girl--for I loved her, Mr. Holmes, +and it is the only time that ever I knew what love was--it fairly drove +me mad to think that she was in the power of the greatest brute and +bully in South Africa, a man whose name is a holy terror from Kimberley +to Johannesburg. Why, Mr. Holmes, you'll hardly believe it, but ever +since that girl has been in my employment I never once let her go past +this house, where I knew these rascals were lurking, without following +her on my bicycle just to see that she came to no harm. I kept my +distance from her, and I wore a beard so that she should not recognise +me, for she is a good and high-spirited girl, and she wouldn't have +stayed in my employment long if she had thought that I was following her +about the country roads." + +"Why didn't you tell her of her danger?" + +"Because then, again, she would have left me, and I couldn't bear to +face that. Even if she couldn't love me it was a great deal to me just +to see her dainty form about the house, and to hear the sound of her +voice." + +"Well," said I, "you call that love, Mr. Carruthers, but I should call +it selfishness." + +"Maybe the two things go together. Anyhow, I couldn't let her go. +Besides, with this crowd about, it was well that she should have someone +near to look after her. Then when the cable came I knew they were bound +to make a move." + +"What cable?" + +Carruthers took a telegram from his pocket. + +"That's it," said he. + +It was short and concise:-- + +"The old man is dead." + +"Hum!" said Holmes. "I think I see how things worked, and I can +understand how this message would, as you say, bring them to a head. But +while we wait you might tell me what you can." + +The old reprobate with the surplice burst into a volley of bad language. + +"By Heaven," said he, "if you squeal on us, Bob Carruthers, I'll serve +you as you served Jack Woodley. You can bleat about the girl to your +heart's content, for that's your own affair, but if you round on your +pals to this plain-clothes copper it will be the worst day's work that +ever you did." + +"Your reverence need not be excited," said Holmes, lighting a cigarette. +"The case is clear enough against you, and all I ask is a few details +for my private curiosity. However, if there's any difficulty in your +telling me I'll do the talking, and then you will see how far you have +a chance of holding back your secrets. In the first place, three of you +came from South Africa on this game--you Williamson, you Carruthers, and +Woodley." + +"Lie number one," said the old man; "I never saw either of them until +two months ago, and I have never been in Africa in my life, so you can +put that in your pipe and smoke it, Mr. Busybody Holmes!" + +"What he says is true," said Carruthers. + +"Well, well, two of you came over. His reverence is our own home-made +article. You had known Ralph Smith in South Africa. You had reason +to believe he would not live long. You found out that his niece would +inherit his fortune. How's that--eh?" + +Carruthers nodded and Williamson swore. + +"She was next-of-kin, no doubt, and you were aware that the old fellow +would make no will." + +"Couldn't read or write," said Carruthers. + +"So you came over, the two of you, and hunted up the girl. The idea +was that one of you was to marry her and the other have a share of the +plunder. For some reason Woodley was chosen as the husband. Why was +that?" + +"We played cards for her on the voyage. He won." + +"I see. You got the young lady into your service, and there Woodley was +to do the courting. She recognised the drunken brute that he was, and +would have nothing to do with him. Meanwhile, your arrangement was +rather upset by the fact that you had yourself fallen in love with the +lady. You could no longer bear the idea of this ruffian owning her." + +"No, by George, I couldn't!" + +"There was a quarrel between you. He left you in a rage, and began to +make his own plans independently of you." + +"It strikes me, Williamson, there isn't very much that we can tell this +gentleman," cried Carruthers, with a bitter laugh. "Yes, we quarreled, +and he knocked me down. I am level with him on that, anyhow. Then I lost +sight of him. That was when he picked up with this cast padre here. I +found that they had set up house-keeping together at this place on the +line that she had to pass for the station. I kept my eye on her after +that, for I knew there was some devilry in the wind. I saw them from +time to time, for I was anxious to know what they were after. Two days +ago Woodley came up to my house with this cable, which showed that Ralph +Smith was dead. He asked me if I would stand by the bargain. I said I +would not. He asked me if I would marry the girl myself and give him a +share. I said I would willingly do so, but that she would not have me. +He said, 'Let us get her married first, and after a week or two she +may see things a bit different.' I said I would have nothing to do with +violence. So he went off cursing, like the foul-mouthed blackguard that +he was, and swearing that he would have her yet. She was leaving me this +week-end, and I had got a trap to take her to the station, but I was +so uneasy in my mind that I followed her on my bicycle. She had got a +start, however, and before I could catch her the mischief was done. The +first thing I knew about it was when I saw you two gentlemen driving +back in her dog-cart." + +Holmes rose and tossed the end of his cigarette into the grate. "I have +been very obtuse, Watson," said he. "When in your report you said that +you had seen the cyclist as you thought arrange his necktie in +the shrubbery, that alone should have told me all. However, we may +congratulate ourselves upon a curious and in some respects a unique +case. I perceive three of the county constabulary in the drive, and I am +glad to see that the little ostler is able to keep pace with them; so +it is likely that neither he nor the interesting bridegroom will be +permanently damaged by their morning's adventures. I think, Watson, that +in your medical capacity you might wait upon Miss Smith and tell her +that if she is sufficiently recovered we shall be happy to escort her to +her mother's home. If she is not quite convalescent you will find that +a hint that we were about to telegraph to a young electrician in the +Midlands would probably complete the cure. As to you, Mr. Carruthers, I +think that you have done what you could to make amends for your share in +an evil plot. There is my card, sir, and if my evidence can be of help +to you in your trial it shall be at your disposal." + + +In the whirl of our incessant activity it has often been difficult for +me, as the reader has probably observed, to round off my narratives, and +to give those final details which the curious might expect. Each case +has been the prelude to another, and the crisis once over the actors +have passed for ever out of our busy lives. I find, however, a short +note at the end of my manuscripts dealing with this case, in which I +have put it upon record that Miss Violet Smith did indeed inherit a +large fortune, and that she is now the wife of Cyril Morton, the senior +partner of Morton & Kennedy, the famous Westminster electricians. +Williamson and Woodley were both tried for abduction and assault, the +former getting seven years and the latter ten. Of the fate of Carruthers +I have no record, but I am sure that his assault was not viewed very +gravely by the Court, since Woodley had the reputation of being a most +dangerous ruffian, and I think that a few months were sufficient to +satisfy the demands of justice. + + +***** + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 27 FEBRUARY, 1904 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +V.--The Adventure of the Priory School. + + +WE have had some dramatic entrances and exits upon our small stage at +Baker Street, but I cannot recollect anything more sudden and startling +than the first appearance of Thorneycroft Huxtable, M.A., Ph.D., etc. +His card, which seemed too small to carry the weight of his academic +distinctions, preceded him by a few seconds, and then he entered +himself--so large, so pompous, and so dignified that he was the very +embodiment of self-possession and solidity. And yet his first action +when the door had closed behind him was to stagger against the table, +whence he slipped down upon the floor, and there was that majestic +figure prostrate and insensible upon our bearskin hearthrug. + +We had sprung to our feet, and for a few moments we stared in silent +amazement at this ponderous piece of wreckage, which told of some sudden +and fatal storm far out on the ocean of life. Then Holmes hurried with +a cushion for his head and I with brandy for his lips. The heavy white +face was seamed with lines of trouble, the hanging pouches under the +closed eyes were leaden in colour, the loose mouth drooped dolorously at +the corners, the rolling chins were unshaven. Collar and shirt bore +the grime of a long journey, and the hair bristled unkempt from the +well-shaped head. It was a sorely-stricken man who lay before us. + +"What is it, Watson?" asked Holmes. + +"Absolute exhaustion--possibly mere hunger and fatigue," said I, with my +finger on the thready pulse, where the stream of life trickled thin and +small. + +"Return ticket from Mackleton, in the North of England," said Holmes, +drawing it from the watch-pocket. "It is not twelve o'clock yet. He has +certainly been an early starter." + +The puckered eyelids had begun to quiver, and now a pair of vacant, grey +eyes looked up at us. An instant later the man had scrambled on to his +feet, his face crimson with shame. + +"Forgive this weakness, Mr. Holmes; I have been a little overwrought. +Thank you, if I might have a glass of milk and a biscuit I have no doubt +that I should be better. I came personally, Mr. Holmes, in order to +ensure that you would return with me. I feared that no telegram would +convince you of the absolute urgency of the case." + +"When you are quite restored---" + +"I am quite well again. I cannot imagine how I came to be so weak. I +wish you, Mr. Holmes, to come to Mackleton with me by the next train." + +My friend shook his head. + +"My colleague, Dr. Watson, could tell you that we are very busy at +present. I am retained in this case of the Ferrers Documents, and the +Abergavenny murder is coming up for trial. Only a very important issue +could call me from London at present." + +"Important!" Our visitor threw up his hands. "Have you heard nothing of +the abduction of the only son of the Duke of Holdernesse?" + +"What! the late Cabinet Minister?" + +"Exactly. We had tried to keep it out of the papers, but there was some +rumour in the GLOBE last night. I thought it might have reached your +ears." + +Holmes shot out his long, thin arm and picked out Volume "H" in his +encyclopaedia of reference. + +"'Holdernesse, 6th Duke, K.G., P.C.'--half the alphabet! 'Baron +Beverley, Earl of Carston'--dear me, what a list! 'Lord Lieutenant +of Hallamshire since 1900. Married Edith, daughter of Sir Charles +Appledore, 1888. Heir and only child, Lord Saltire. Owns about two +hundred and fifty thousand acres. Minerals in Lancashire and Wales. +Address: Carlton House Terrace; Holdernesse Hall, Hallamshire; Carston +Castle, Bangor, Wales. Lord of the Admiralty, 1872; Chief Secretary +of State for--' Well, well, this man is certainly one of the greatest +subjects of the Crown!" + +"The greatest and perhaps the wealthiest. I am aware, Mr. Holmes, that +you take a very high line in professional matters, and that you are +prepared to work for the work's sake. I may tell you, however, that his +Grace has already intimated that a cheque for five thousand pounds will +be handed over to the person who can tell him where his son is, and +another thousand to him who can name the man, or men, who have taken +him." + +"It is a princely offer," said Holmes. "Watson, I think that we shall +accompany Dr. Huxtable back to the North of England. And now, Dr. +Huxtable, when you have consumed that milk you will kindly tell me what +has happened, when it happened, how it happened, and, finally, what Dr. +Thorneycroft Huxtable, of the Priory School, near Mackleton, has to do +with the matter, and why he comes three days after an event--the state +of your chin gives the date--to ask for my humble services." + +Our visitor had consumed his milk and biscuits. The light had come back +to his eyes and the colour to his cheeks as he set himself with great +vigour and lucidity to explain the situation. + +"I must inform you, gentlemen, that the Priory is a preparatory school, +of which I am the founder and principal. 'Huxtable's Sidelights on +Horace' may possibly recall my name to your memories. The Priory is, +without exception, the best and most select preparatory school +in England. Lord Leverstoke, the Earl of Blackwater, Sir Cathcart +Soames--they all have entrusted their sons to me. But I felt that +my school had reached its zenith when, three weeks ago, the Duke of +Holdernesse sent Mr. James Wilder, his secretary, with the intimation +that young Lord Saltire, ten years old, his only son and heir, was about +to be committed to my charge. Little did I think that this would be the +prelude to the most crushing misfortune of my life. + +"On May 1st the boy arrived, that being the beginning of the summer +term. He was a charming youth, and he soon fell into our ways. I may +tell you--I trust that I am not indiscreet, but half-confidences are +absurd in such a case--that he was not entirely happy at home. It is an +open secret that the Duke's married life had not been a peaceful one, +and the matter had ended in a separation by mutual consent, the Duchess +taking up her residence in the South of France. This had occurred very +shortly before, and the boy's sympathies are known to have been strongly +with his mother. He moped after her departure from Holdernesse Hall, +and it was for this reason that the Duke desired to send him to my +establishment. In a fortnight the boy was quite at home with us, and was +apparently absolutely happy. + +"He was last seen on the night of May 13th--that is, the night of last +Monday. His room was on the second floor, and was approached through +another larger room in which two boys were sleeping. These boys saw and +heard nothing, so that it is certain that young Saltire did not pass out +that way. His window was open, and there is a stout ivy plant leading to +the ground. We could trace no footmarks below, but it is sure that this +is the only possible exit. + +"His absence was discovered at seven o'clock on Tuesday morning. His bed +had been slept in. He had dressed himself fully before going off in his +usual school suit of black Eton jacket and dark grey trousers. There +were no signs that anyone had entered the room, and it is quite certain +that anything in the nature of cries, or a struggle, would have been +heard, since Caunter, the elder boy in the inner room, is a very light +sleeper. + +"When Lord Saltire's disappearance was discovered I at once called a +roll of the whole establishment, boys, masters, and servants. It was +then that we ascertained that Lord Saltire had not been alone in his +flight. Heidegger, the German master, was missing. His room was on the +second floor, at the farther end of the building, facing the same way +as Lord Saltire's. His bed had also been slept in; but he had apparently +gone away partly dressed, since his shirt and socks were lying on the +floor. He had undoubtedly let himself down by the ivy, for we could see +the marks of his feet where he had landed on the lawn. His bicycle was +kept in a small shed beside this lawn, and it also was gone. + +"He had been with me for two years, and came with the best references; +but he was a silent, morose man, not very popular either with masters +or boys. No trace could be found of the fugitives, and now on Thursday +morning we are as ignorant as we were on Tuesday. Inquiry was, of +course, made at once at Holdernesse Hall. It is only a few miles away, +and we imagined that in some sudden attack of home-sickness he had +gone back to his father; but nothing had been heard of him. The Duke is +greatly agitated--and as to me, you have seen yourselves the state of +nervous prostration to which the suspense and the responsibility have +reduced me. Mr. Holmes, if ever you put forward your full powers, I +implore you to do so now, for never in your life could you have a case +which is more worthy of them." + +Sherlock Holmes had listened with the utmost intentness to the statement +of the unhappy schoolmaster. His drawn brows and the deep furrow +between them showed that he needed no exhortation to concentrate all +his attention upon a problem which, apart from the tremendous interests +involved, must appeal so directly to his love of the complex and the +unusual. He now drew out his note-book and jotted down one or two +memoranda. + +"You have been very remiss in not coming to me sooner," said he, +severely. "You start me on my investigation with a very serious +handicap. It is inconceivable, for example, that this ivy and this lawn +would have yielded nothing to an expert observer." + +"I am not to blame, Mr. Holmes. His Grace was extremely desirous to +avoid all public scandal. He was afraid of his family unhappiness being +dragged before the world. He has a deep horror of anything of the kind." + +"But there has been some official investigation?" + +"Yes, sir, and it has proved most disappointing. An apparent clue was +at once obtained, since a boy and a young man were reported to have been +seen leaving a neighbouring station by an early train. Only last night +we had news that the couple had been hunted down in Liverpool, and they +prove to have no connection whatever with the matter in hand. Then it +was that in my despair and disappointment, after a sleepless night, I +came straight to you by the early train." + +"I suppose the local investigation was relaxed while this false clue was +being followed up?" + +"It was entirely dropped." + +"So that three days have been wasted. The affair has been most +deplorably handled." + +"I feel it, and admit it." + +"And yet the problem should be capable of ultimate solution. I shall be +very happy to look into it. Have you been able to trace any connection +between the missing boy and this German master?" + +"None at all." + +"Was he in the master's class?" + +"No; he never exchanged a word with him so far as I know." + +"That is certainly very singular. Had the boy a bicycle?" + +"No." + +"Was any other bicycle missing?" + +"No." + +"Is that certain?" + +"Quite." + +"Well, now, you do not mean to seriously suggest that this German rode +off upon a bicycle in the dead of the night bearing the boy in his +arms?" + +"Certainly not." + +"Then what is the theory in your mind?" + +"The bicycle may have been a blind. It may have been hidden somewhere +and the pair gone off on foot." + +"Quite so; but it seems rather an absurd blind, does it not? Were there +other bicycles in this shed?" + +"Several." + +"Would he not have hidden A COUPLE had he desired to give the idea that +they had gone off upon them?" + +"I suppose he would." + +"Of course he would. The blind theory won't do. But the incident is an +admirable starting-point for an investigation. After all, a bicycle +is not an easy thing to conceal or to destroy. One other question. Did +anyone call to see the boy on the day before he disappeared?" + +"No." + +"Did he get any letters?" + +"Yes; one letter." + +"From whom?" + +"From his father." + +"Do you open the boys' letters?" + +"No." + +"How do you know it was from the father?" + +"The coat of arms was on the envelope, and it was addressed in the +Duke's peculiar stiff hand. Besides, the Duke remembers having written." + +"When had he a letter before that?" + +"Not for several days." + +"Had he ever one from France?" + +"No; never. + +"You see the point of my questions, of course. Either the boy was +carried off by force or he went of his own free will. In the latter case +you would expect that some prompting from outside would be needed to +make so young a lad do such a thing. If he has had no visitors, that +prompting must have come in letters. Hence I try to find out who were +his correspondents." + +"I fear I cannot help you much. His only correspondent, so far as I +know, was his own father." + +"Who wrote to him on the very day of his disappearance. Were the +relations between father and son very friendly?" + +"His Grace is never very friendly with anyone. He is completely immersed +in large public questions, and is rather inaccessible to all ordinary +emotions. But he was always kind to the boy in his own way." + +"But the sympathies of the latter were with the mother?" + +"Yes." + +"Did he say so?" + +"No." + +"The Duke, then?" + +"Good heavens, no!" + +"Then how could you know?" + +"I have had some confidential talks with Mr. James Wilder, his Grace's +secretary. It was he who gave me the information about Lord Saltire's +feelings." + +"I see. By the way, that last letter of the Duke's--was it found in the +boy's room after he was gone?" + +"No; he had taken it with him. I think, Mr. Holmes, it is time that we +were leaving for Euston." + +"I will order a four-wheeler. In a quarter of an hour we shall be at +your service. If you are telegraphing home, Mr. Huxtable, it would +be well to allow the people in your neighbourhood to imagine that +the inquiry is still going on in Liverpool, or wherever else that red +herring led your pack. In the meantime I will do a little quiet work at +your own doors, and perhaps the scent is not so cold but that two old +hounds like Watson and myself may get a sniff of it." + + +That evening found us in the cold, bracing atmosphere of the Peak +country, in which Dr. Huxtable's famous school is situated. It was +already dark when we reached it. A card was lying on the hall table, +and the butler whispered something to his master, who turned to us with +agitation in every heavy feature. + +"The Duke is here," said he. "The Duke and Mr. Wilder are in the study. +Come, gentlemen, and I will introduce you." + +I was, of course, familiar with the pictures of the famous statesman, +but the man himself was very different from his representation. He was a +tall and stately person, scrupulously dressed, with a drawn, thin face, +and a nose which was grotesquely curved and long. His complexion was +of a dead pallor, which was more startling by contrast with a long, +dwindling beard of vivid red, which flowed down over his white +waistcoat, with his watch-chain gleaming through its fringe. Such was +the stately presence who looked stonily at us from the centre of +Dr. Huxtable's hearthrug. Beside him stood a very young man, whom I +understood to be Wilder, the private secretary. He was small, nervous, +alert, with intelligent, light-blue eyes and mobile features. It was he +who at once, in an incisive and positive tone, opened the conversation. + +"I called this morning, Dr. Huxtable, too late to prevent you from +starting for London. I learned that your object was to invite Mr. +Sherlock Holmes to undertake the conduct of this case. His Grace is +surprised, Dr. Huxtable, that you should have taken such a step without +consulting him." + +"When I learned that the police had failed----" + +"His Grace is by no means convinced that the police have failed." + +"But surely, Mr. Wilder----" + +"You are well aware, Dr. Huxtable, that his Grace is particularly +anxious to avoid all public scandal. He prefers to take as few people as +possible into his confidence." + +"The matter can be easily remedied," said the brow-beaten doctor; "Mr. +Sherlock Holmes can return to London by the morning train." + +"Hardly that, Doctor, hardly that," said Holmes, in his blandest voice. +"This northern air is invigorating and pleasant, so I propose to spend a +few days upon your moors, and to occupy my mind as best I may. Whether +I have the shelter of your roof or of the village inn is, of course, for +you to decide." + +I could see that the unfortunate doctor was in the last stage of +indecision, from which he was rescued by the deep, sonorous voice of the +red-bearded Duke, which boomed out like a dinner-gong. + +"I agree with Mr. Wilder, Dr. Huxtable, that you would have done wisely +to consult me. But since Mr. Holmes has already been taken into your +confidence, it would indeed be absurd that we should not avail ourselves +of his services. Far from going to the inn, Mr. Holmes, I should be +pleased if you would come and stay with me at Holdernesse Hall." + +"I thank your Grace. For the purposes of my investigation I think that +it would be wiser for me to remain at the scene of the mystery." + +"Just as you like, Mr. Holmes. Any information which Mr. Wilder or I can +give you is, of course, at your disposal." + +"It will probably be necessary for me to see you at the Hall," said +Holmes. "I would only ask you now, sir, whether you have formed any +explanation in your own mind as to the mysterious disappearance of your +son?" + +"No, sir, I have not." + +"Excuse me if I allude to that which is painful to you, but I have no +alternative. Do you think that the Duchess had anything to do with the +matter?" + +The great Minister showed perceptible hesitation. + +"I do not think so," he said, at last. + +"The other most obvious explanation is that the child has been kidnapped +for the purpose of levying ransom. You have not had any demand of the +sort?" + +"No, sir." + +"One more question, your Grace. I understand that you wrote to your son +upon the day when this incident occurred." + +"No; I wrote upon the day before." + +"Exactly. But he received it on that day?" + +"Yes." + +"Was there anything in your letter which might have unbalanced him or +induced him to take such a step?" + +"No, sir, certainly not." + +"Did you post that letter yourself?" + +The nobleman's reply was interrupted by his secretary, who broke in with +some heat. + +"His Grace is not in the habit of posting letters himself," said he. +"This letter was laid with others upon the study table, and I myself put +them in the post-bag." + +"You are sure this one was among them?" + +"Yes; I observed it." + +"How many letters did your Grace write that day?" + +"Twenty or thirty. I have a large correspondence. But surely this is +somewhat irrelevant?" + +"Not entirely," said Holmes. + +"For my own part," the Duke continued, "I have advised the police to +turn their attention to the South of France. I have already said that I +do not believe that the Duchess would encourage so monstrous an action, +but the lad had the most wrong-headed opinions, and it is possible that +he may have fled to her, aided and abetted by this German. I think, Dr. +Huxtable, that we will now return to the Hall." + +I could see that there were other questions which Holmes would have +wished to put; but the nobleman's abrupt manner showed that the +interview was at an end. It was evident that to his intensely +aristocratic nature this discussion of his intimate family affairs +with a stranger was most abhorrent, and that he feared lest every +fresh question would throw a fiercer light into the discreetly shadowed +corners of his ducal history. + +When the nobleman and his secretary had left, my friend flung himself at +once with characteristic eagerness into the investigation. + +The boy's chamber was carefully examined, and yielded nothing save the +absolute conviction that it was only through the window that he could +have escaped. The German master's room and effects gave no further clue. +In his case a trailer of ivy had given way under his weight, and we saw +by the light of a lantern the mark on the lawn where his heels had +come down. That one dint in the short green grass was the only material +witness left of this inexplicable nocturnal flight. + +Sherlock Holmes left the house alone, and only returned after eleven. +He had obtained a large ordnance map of the neighbourhood, and this +he brought into my room, where he laid it out on the bed, and, having +balanced the lamp in the middle of it, he began to smoke over it, and +occasionally to point out objects of interest with the reeking amber of +his pipe. + +"This case grows upon me, Watson," said he. "There are decidedly some +points of interest in connection with it. In this early stage I want you +to realize those geographical features which may have a good deal to do +with our investigation. + +GRAPHIC + +"Look at this map. This dark square is the Priory School. I'll put a pin +in it. Now, this line is the main road. You see that it runs east and +west past the school, and you see also that there is no side road for +a mile either way. If these two folk passed away by road it was THIS +road." + +"Exactly." + +"By a singular and happy chance we are able to some extent to check +what passed along this road during the night in question. At this point, +where my pipe is now resting, a country constable was on duty from +twelve to six. It is, as you perceive, the first cross road on the east +side. This man declares that he was not absent from his post for an +instant, and he is positive that neither boy nor man could have gone +that way unseen. I have spoken with this policeman to-night, and he +appears to me to be a perfectly reliable person. That blocks this end. +We have now to deal with the other. There is an inn here, the Red Bull, +the landlady of which was ill. She had sent to Mackleton for a doctor, +but he did not arrive until morning, being absent at another case. The +people at the inn were alert all night, awaiting his coming, and one or +other of them seems to have continually had an eye upon the road. They +declare that no one passed. If their evidence is good, then we are +fortunate enough to be able to block the west, and also to be able to +say that the fugitives did NOT use the road at all." + +"But the bicycle?" I objected. + +"Quite so. We will come to the bicycle presently. To continue our +reasoning: if these people did not go by the road, they must have +traversed the country to the north of the house or to the south of the +house. That is certain. Let us weigh the one against the other. On the +south of the house is, as you perceive, a large district of arable land, +cut up into small fields, with stone walls between them. There, I admit +that a bicycle is impossible. We can dismiss the idea. We turn to the +country on the north. Here there lies a grove of trees, marked as the +'Ragged Shaw,' and on the farther side stretches a great rolling moor, +Lower Gill Moor, extending for ten miles and sloping gradually upwards. +Here, at one side of this wilderness, is Holdernesse Hall, ten miles by +road, but only six across the moor. It is a peculiarly desolate plain. A +few moor farmers have small holdings, where they rear sheep and cattle. +Except these, the plover and the curlew are the only inhabitants until +you come to the Chesterfield high road. There is a church there, +you see, a few cottages, and an inn. Beyond that the hills become +precipitous. Surely it is here to the north that our quest must lie." + +"But the bicycle?" I persisted. + +"Well, well!" said Holmes, impatiently. "A good cyclist does not need +a high road. The moor is intersected with paths and the moon was at the +full. Halloa! what is this?" + +There was an agitated knock at the door, and an instant afterwards Dr. +Huxtable was in the room. In his hand he held a blue cricket-cap, with a +white chevron on the peak. + +"At last we have a clue!" he cried. "Thank Heaven! at last we are on the +dear boy's track! It is his cap." + +"Where was it found?" + +"In the van of the gipsies who camped on the moor. They left on Tuesday. +To-day the police traced them down and examined their caravan. This was +found." + +"How do they account for it?" + +"They shuffled and lied--said that they found it on the moor on Tuesday +morning. They know where he is, the rascals! Thank goodness, they are +all safe under lock and key. Either the fear of the law or the Duke's +purse will certainly get out of them all that they know." + +"So far, so good," said Holmes, when the doctor had at last left the +room. "It at least bears out the theory that it is on the side of the +Lower Gill Moor that we must hope for results. The police have really +done nothing locally, save the arrest of these gipsies. Look here, +Watson! There is a watercourse across the moor. You see it marked here +in the map. In some parts it widens into a morass. This is particularly +so in the region between Holdernesse Hall and the school. It is vain to +look elsewhere for tracks in this dry weather; but at THAT point there +is certainly a chance of some record being left. I will call you early +to-morrow morning, and you and I will try if we can throw some little +light upon the mystery." + +The day was just breaking when I woke to find the long, thin form of +Holmes by my bedside. He was fully dressed, and had apparently already +been out. + +"I have done the lawn and the bicycle shed," said he. "I have also had a +ramble through the Ragged Shaw. Now, Watson, there is cocoa ready in the +next room. I must beg you to hurry, for we have a great day before us." + +His eyes shone, and his cheek was flushed with the exhilaration of the +master workman who sees his work lie ready before him. A very different +Holmes, this active, alert man, from the introspective and pallid +dreamer of Baker Street. I felt, as I looked upon that supple figure, +alive with nervous energy, that it was indeed a strenuous day that +awaited us. + +And yet it opened in the blackest disappointment. With high hopes we +struck across the peaty, russet moor, intersected with a thousand sheep +paths, until we came to the broad, light-green belt which marked the +morass between us and Holdernesse. Certainly, if the lad had gone +homewards, he must have passed this, and he could not pass it without +leaving his traces. But no sign of him or the German could be seen. With +a darkening face my friend strode along the margin, eagerly observant +of every muddy stain upon the mossy surface. Sheep-marks there were +in profusion, and at one place, some miles down, cows had left their +tracks. Nothing more. + +"Check number one," said Holmes, looking gloomily over the rolling +expanse of the moor. "There is another morass down yonder and a narrow +neck between. Halloa! halloa! halloa! what have we here?" + +We had come on a small black ribbon of pathway. In the middle of it, +clearly marked on the sodden soil, was the track of a bicycle. + +"Hurrah!" I cried. "We have it." + +But Holmes was shaking his head, and his face was puzzled and expectant +rather than joyous. + +"A bicycle, certainly, but not THE bicycle," said he. "I am familiar +with forty-two different impressions left by tyres. This, as you +perceive, is a Dunlop, with a patch upon the outer cover. Heidegger's +tyres were Palmer's, leaving longitudinal stripes. Aveling, the +mathematical master, was sure upon the point. Therefore, it is not +Heidegger's track." + +"The boy's, then?" + +"Possibly, if we could prove a bicycle to have been in his possession. +But this we have utterly failed to do. This track, as you perceive, was +made by a rider who was going from the direction of the school." + +"Or towards it?" + +"No, no, my dear Watson. The more deeply sunk impression is, of course, +the hind wheel, upon which the weight rests. You perceive several places +where it has passed across and obliterated the more shallow mark of the +front one. It was undoubtedly heading away from the school. It may or +may not be connected with our inquiry, but we will follow it backwards +before we go any farther." + +We did so, and at the end of a few hundred yards lost the tracks as +we emerged from the boggy portion of the moor. Following the path +backwards, we picked out another spot, where a spring trickled across +it. Here, once again, was the mark of the bicycle, though nearly +obliterated by the hoofs of cows. After that there was no sign, but +the path ran right on into Ragged Shaw, the wood which backed on to the +school. From this wood the cycle must have emerged. Holmes sat down on +a boulder and rested his chin in his hands. I had smoked two cigarettes +before he moved. + +"Well, well," said he, at last. "It is, of course, possible that a +cunning man might change the tyre of his bicycle in order to leave +unfamiliar tracks. A criminal who was capable of such a thought is a man +whom I should be proud to do business with. We will leave this question +undecided and hark back to our morass again, for we have left a good +deal unexplored." + +We continued our systematic survey of the edge of the sodden portion +of the moor, and soon our perseverance was gloriously rewarded. Right +across the lower part of the bog lay a miry path. Holmes gave a cry +of delight as he approached it. An impression like a fine bundle of +telegraph wires ran down the centre of it. It was the Palmer tyre. + +"Here is Herr Heidegger, sure enough!" cried Holmes, exultantly. "My +reasoning seems to have been pretty sound, Watson." + +"I congratulate you." + +"But we have a long way still to go. Kindly walk clear of the path. Now +let us follow the trail. I fear that it will not lead very far." + +We found, however, as we advanced that this portion of the moor is +intersected with soft patches, and, though we frequently lost sight of +the track, we always succeeded in picking it up once more. + +"Do you observe," said Holmes, "that the rider is now undoubtedly +forcing the pace? There can be no doubt of it. Look at this impression, +where you get both tyres clear. The one is as deep as the other. +That can only mean that the rider is throwing his weight on to the +handle-bar, as a man does when he is sprinting. By Jove! he has had a +fall." + +There was a broad, irregular smudge covering some yards of the track. +Then there were a few footmarks, and the tyre reappeared once more. + +"A side-slip," I suggested. + +Holmes held up a crumpled branch of flowering gorse. To my horror I +perceived that the yellow blossoms were all dabbled with crimson. On the +path, too, and among the heather were dark stains of clotted blood. + +"Bad!" said Holmes. "Bad! Stand clear, Watson! Not an unnecessary +footstep! What do I read here? He fell wounded, he stood up, he +remounted, he proceeded. But there is no other track. Cattle on this +side path. He was surely not gored by a bull? Impossible! But I see no +traces of anyone else. We must push on, Watson. Surely with stains as +well as the track to guide us he cannot escape us now." + +Our search was not a very long one. The tracks of the tyre began to +curve fantastically upon the wet and shining path. Suddenly, as I +looked ahead, the gleam of metal caught my eye from amid the thick gorse +bushes. Out of them we dragged a bicycle, Palmer-tyred, one pedal bent, +and the whole front of it horribly smeared and slobbered with blood. On +the other side of the bushes a shoe was projecting. We ran round, and +there lay the unfortunate rider. He was a tall man, full bearded, with +spectacles, one glass of which had been knocked out. The cause of his +death was a frightful blow upon the head, which had crushed in part of +his skull. That he could have gone on after receiving such an injury +said much for the vitality and courage of the man. He wore shoes, but +no socks, and his open coat disclosed a night-shirt beneath it. It was +undoubtedly the German master. + +Holmes turned the body over reverently, and examined it with great +attention. He then sat in deep thought for a time, and I could see +by his ruffled brow that this grim discovery had not, in his opinion, +advanced us much in our inquiry. + +"It is a little difficult to know what to do, Watson," said he, at last. +"My own inclinations are to push this inquiry on, for we have already +lost so much time that we cannot afford to waste another hour. On the +other hand, we are bound to inform the police of the discovery, and to +see that this poor fellow's body is looked after." + +"I could take a note back." + +"But I need your company and assistance. Wait a bit! There is a fellow +cutting peat up yonder. Bring him over here, and he will guide the +police." + +I brought the peasant across, and Holmes dispatched the frightened man +with a note to Dr. Huxtable. + +"Now, Watson," said he, "we have picked up two clues this morning. One +is the bicycle with the Palmer tyre, and we see what that has led to. +The other is the bicycle with the patched Dunlop. Before we start to +investigate that, let us try to realize what we DO know so as to make +the most of it, and to separate the essential from the accidental." + +"First of all I wish to impress upon you that the boy certainly left of +his own free will. He got down from his window and he went off, either +alone or with someone. That is sure." + +I assented. + +"Well, now, let us turn to this unfortunate German master. The boy was +fully dressed when he fled. Therefore, he foresaw what he would do. +But the German went without his socks. He certainly acted on very short +notice." + +"Undoubtedly." + +"Why did he go? Because, from his bedroom window, he saw the flight of +the boy. Because he wished to overtake him and bring him back. He seized +his bicycle, pursued the lad, and in pursuing him met his death." + +"So it would seem." + +"Now I come to the critical part of my argument. The natural action of +a man in pursuing a little boy would be to run after him. He would know +that he could overtake him. But the German does not do so. He turns to +his bicycle. I am told that he was an excellent cyclist. He would not do +this if he did not see that the boy had some swift means of escape." + +"The other bicycle." + +"Let us continue our reconstruction. He meets his death five miles +from the school--not by a bullet, mark you, which even a lad might +conceivably discharge, but by a savage blow dealt by a vigorous arm. +The lad, then, HAD a companion in his flight. And the flight was a swift +one, since it took five miles before an expert cyclist could overtake +them. Yet we survey the ground round the scene of the tragedy. What do +we find? A few cattle tracks, nothing more. I took a wide sweep round, +and there is no path within fifty yards. Another cyclist could have +had nothing to do with the actual murder. Nor were there any human +footmarks." + +"Holmes," I cried, "this is impossible." + +"Admirable!" he said. "A most illuminating remark. It IS impossible as I +state it, and therefore I must in some respect have stated it wrong. Yet +you saw for yourself. Can you suggest any fallacy?" + +"He could not have fractured his skull in a fall?" + +"In a morass, Watson?" + +"I am at my wit's end." + +"Tut, tut; we have solved some worse problems. At least we have plenty +of material, if we can only use it. Come, then, and, having exhausted +the Palmer, let us see what the Dunlop with the patched cover has to +offer us." + +We picked up the track and followed it onwards for some distance; but +soon the moor rose into a long, heather-tufted curve, and we left the +watercourse behind us. No further help from tracks could be hoped for. +At the spot where we saw the last of the Dunlop tyre it might equally +have led to Holdernesse Hall, the stately towers of which rose some +miles to our left, or to a low, grey village which lay in front of us, +and marked the position of the Chesterfield high road. + +As we approached the forbidding and squalid inn, with the sign of a +game-cock above the door, Holmes gave a sudden groan and clutched me +by the shoulder to save himself from falling. He had had one of those +violent strains of the ankle which leave a man helpless. With difficulty +he limped up to the door, where a squat, dark, elderly man was smoking a +black clay pipe. + +"How are you, Mr. Reuben Hayes?" said Holmes. + +"Who are you, and how do you get my name so pat?" the countryman +answered, with a suspicious flash of a pair of cunning eyes. + +"Well, it's printed on the board above your head. It's easy to see a man +who is master of his own house. I suppose you haven't such a thing as a +carriage in your stables?" + +"No; I have not." + +"I can hardly put my foot to the ground." + +"Don't put it to the ground." + +"But I can't walk." + +"Well, then, hop." + +Mr. Reuben Hayes's manner was far from gracious, but Holmes took it with +admirable good-humour. + +"Look here, my man," said he. "This is really rather an awkward fix for +me. I don't mind how I get on." + +"Neither do I," said the morose landlord. + +"The matter is very important. I would offer you a sovereign for the use +of a bicycle." + +The landlord pricked up his ears. + +"Where do you want to go?" + +"To Holdernesse Hall." + +"Pals of the Dook, I suppose?" said the landlord, surveying our +mud-stained garments with ironical eyes. + +Holmes laughed good-naturedly. + +"He'll be glad to see us, anyhow." + +"Why?" + +"Because we bring him news of his lost son." + +The landlord gave a very visible start. + +"What, you're on his track?" + +"He has been heard of in Liverpool. They expect to get him every hour." + +Again a swift change passed over the heavy, unshaven face. His manner +was suddenly genial. + +"I've less reason to wish the Dook well than most men," said he, "for I +was his head coachman once, and cruel bad he treated me. It was him that +sacked me without a character on the word of a lying corn-chandler. But +I'm glad to hear that the young lord was heard of in Liverpool, and I'll +help you to take the news to the Hall." + +"Thank you," said Holmes. "We'll have some food first. Then you can +bring round the bicycle." + +"I haven't got a bicycle." + +Holmes held up a sovereign. + +"I tell you, man, that I haven't got one. I'll let you have two horses +as far as the Hall." + +"Well, well," said Holmes, "we'll talk about it when we've had something +to eat." + +When we were left alone in the stone-flagged kitchen it was astonishing +how rapidly that sprained ankle recovered. It was nearly nightfall, and +we had eaten nothing since early morning, so that we spent some time +over our meal. Holmes was lost in thought, and once or twice he walked +over to the window and stared earnestly out. It opened on to a squalid +courtyard. In the far corner was a smithy, where a grimy lad was at +work. On the other side were the stables. Holmes had sat down again +after one of these excursions, when he suddenly sprang out of his chair +with a loud exclamation. + +"By Heaven, Watson, I believe that I've got it!" he cried. "Yes, yes, it +must be so. Watson, do you remember seeing any cow-tracks to-day?" + +"Yes, several." + +"Where?" + +"Well, everywhere. They were at the morass, and again on the path, and +again near where poor Heidegger met his death." + +"Exactly. Well, now, Watson, how many cows did you see on the moor?" + +"I don't remember seeing any." + +"Strange, Watson, that we should see tracks all along our line, but +never a cow on the whole moor; very strange, Watson, eh?" + +"Yes, it is strange." + +"Now, Watson, make an effort; throw your mind back! Can you see those +tracks upon the path?" + +"Yes, I can." + +"Can you recall that the tracks were sometimes like that, Watson"--he +arranged a number of bread-crumbs in this fashion--:::::--"and sometimes +like this"--:.:.:.:. --"and occasionally like this"--. '. '. '. "Can you +remember that?" + +"No, I cannot." + +"But I can. I could swear to it. However, we will go back at our +leisure and verify it. What a blind beetle I have been not to draw my +conclusion!" + +"And what is your conclusion?" + +"Only that it is a remarkable cow which walks, canters, and gallops. By +George, Watson, it was no brain of a country publican that thought out +such a blind as that! The coast seems to be clear, save for that lad in +the smithy. Let us slip out and see what we can see." + +There were two rough-haired, unkempt horses in the tumble-down stable. +Holmes raised the hind leg of one of them and laughed aloud. + +"Old shoes, but newly shod--old shoes, but new nails. This case deserves +to be a classic. Let us go across to the smithy." + +The lad continued his work without regarding us. I saw Holmes's eye +darting to right and left among the litter of iron and wood which was +scattered about the floor. Suddenly, however, we heard a step behind +us, and there was the landlord, his heavy eyebrows drawn over his savage +eyes, his swarthy features convulsed with passion. He held a short, +metal-headed stick in his hand, and he advanced in so menacing a fashion +that I was right glad to feel the revolver in my pocket. + +"You infernal spies!" the man cried. "What are you doing there?" + +"Why, Mr. Reuben Hayes," said Holmes, coolly, "one might think that you +were afraid of our finding something out." + +The man mastered himself with a violent effort, and his grim mouth +loosened into a false laugh, which was more menacing than his frown. + +"You're welcome to all you can find out in my smithy," said he. "But +look here, mister, I don't care for folk poking about my place without +my leave, so the sooner you pay your score and get out of this the +better I shall be pleased." + +"All right, Mr. Hayes--no harm meant," said Holmes. "We have been having +a look at your horses, but I think I'll walk after all. It's not far, I +believe." + +"Not more than two miles to the Hall gates. That's the road to the +left." He watched us with sullen eyes until we had left his premises. + +We did not go very far along the road, for Holmes stopped the instant +that the curve hid us from the landlord's view. + +"We were warm, as the children say, at that inn," said he. "I seem +to grow colder every step that I take away from it. No, no; I can't +possibly leave it." + +"I am convinced," said I, "that this Reuben Hayes knows all about it. A +more self-evident villain I never saw." + +"Oh! he impressed you in that way, did he? There are the horses, there +is the smithy. Yes, it is an interesting place, this Fighting Cock. I +think we shall have another look at it in an unobtrusive way." + +A long, sloping hillside, dotted with grey limestone boulders, stretched +behind us. We had turned off the road, and were making our way up +the hill, when, looking in the direction of Holdernesse Hall, I saw a +cyclist coming swiftly along. + +"Get down, Watson!" cried Holmes, with a heavy hand upon my shoulder. We +had hardly sunk from view when the man flew past us on the road. Amid +a rolling cloud of dust I caught a glimpse of a pale, agitated face--a +face with horror in every lineament, the mouth open, the eyes staring +wildly in front. It was like some strange caricature of the dapper James +Wilder whom we had seen the night before. + +"The Duke's secretary!" cried Holmes. "Come, Watson, let us see what he +does." + +We scrambled from rock to rock until in a few moments we had made +our way to a point from which we could see the front door of the inn. +Wilder's bicycle was leaning against the wall beside it. No one was +moving about the house, nor could we catch a glimpse of any faces at the +windows. Slowly the twilight crept down as the sun sank behind the high +towers of Holdernesse Hall. Then in the gloom we saw the two side-lamps +of a trap light up in the stable yard of the inn, and shortly afterwards +heard the rattle of hoofs, as it wheeled out into the road and tore off +at a furious pace in the direction of Chesterfield. + +"What do you make of that, Watson?" Holmes whispered. + +"It looks like a flight." + +"A single man in a dog-cart, so far as I could see. Well, it certainly +was not Mr. James Wilder, for there he is at the door." + +A red square of light had sprung out of the darkness. In the middle of +it was the black figure of the secretary, his head advanced, peering out +into the night. It was evident that he was expecting someone. Then at +last there were steps in the road, a second figure was visible for an +instant against the light, the door shut, and all was black once more. +Five minutes later a lamp was lit in a room upon the first floor. + +"It seems to be a curious class of custom that is done by the Fighting +Cock," said Holmes. + +"The bar is on the other side." + +"Quite so. These are what one may call the private guests. Now, what in +the world is Mr. James Wilder doing in that den at this hour of night, +and who is the companion who comes to meet him there? Come, Watson, +we must really take a risk and try to investigate this a little more +closely." + +Together we stole down to the road and crept across to the door of the +inn. The bicycle still leaned against the wall. Holmes struck a match +and held it to the back wheel, and I heard him chuckle as the light fell +upon a patched Dunlop tyre. Up above us was the lighted window. + +"I must have a peep through that, Watson. If you bend your back and +support yourself upon the wall, I think that I can manage." + +An instant later his feet were on my shoulders. But he was hardly up +before he was down again. + +"Come, my friend," said he, "our day's work has been quite long enough. +I think that we have gathered all that we can. It's a long walk to the +school, and the sooner we get started the better." + +He hardly opened his lips during that weary trudge across the moor, nor +would he enter the school when he reached it, but went on to Mackleton +Station, whence he could send some telegrams. Late at night I heard him +consoling Dr. Huxtable, prostrated by the tragedy of his master's death, +and later still he entered my room as alert and vigorous as he had been +when he started in the morning. "All goes well, my friend," said he. "I +promise that before to-morrow evening we shall have reached the solution +of the mystery." + + +At eleven o'clock next morning my friend and I were walking up the +famous yew avenue of Holdernesse Hall. We were ushered through the +magnificent Elizabethan doorway and into his Grace's study. There we +found Mr. James Wilder, demure and courtly, but with some trace of that +wild terror of the night before still lurking in his furtive eyes and in +his twitching features. + +"You have come to see his Grace? I am sorry; but the fact is that the +Duke is far from well. He has been very much upset by the tragic news. +We received a telegram from Dr. Huxtable yesterday afternoon, which told +us of your discovery." + +"I must see the Duke, Mr. Wilder." + +"But he is in his room." + +"Then I must go to his room." + +"I believe he is in his bed." + +"I will see him there." + +Holmes's cold and inexorable manner showed the secretary that it was +useless to argue with him. + +"Very good, Mr. Holmes; I will tell him that you are here." + +After half an hour's delay the great nobleman appeared. His face was +more cadaverous than ever, his shoulders had rounded, and he seemed to +me to be an altogether older man than he had been the morning before. He +greeted us with a stately courtesy and seated himself at his desk, his +red beard streaming down on to the table. + +"Well, Mr. Holmes?" said he. + +But my friend's eyes were fixed upon the secretary, who stood by his +master's chair. + +"I think, your Grace, that I could speak more freely in Mr. Wilder's +absence." + +The man turned a shade paler and cast a malignant glance at Holmes. + +"If your Grace wishes----" + +"Yes, yes; you had better go. Now, Mr. Holmes, what have you to say?" + +My friend waited until the door had closed behind the retreating +secretary. + +"The fact is, your Grace," said he, "that my colleague, Dr. Watson, and +myself had an assurance from Dr. Huxtable that a reward had been offered +in this case. I should like to have this confirmed from your own lips." + +"Certainly, Mr. Holmes." + +"It amounted, if I am correctly informed, to five thousand pounds to +anyone who will tell you where your son is?" + +"Exactly." + +"And another thousand to the man who will name the person or persons who +keep him in custody?" + +"Exactly." + +"Under the latter heading is included, no doubt, not only those who +may have taken him away, but also those who conspire to keep him in his +present position?" + +"Yes, yes," cried the Duke, impatiently. "If you do your work well, +Mr. Sherlock Holmes, you will have no reason to complain of niggardly +treatment." + +My friend rubbed his thin hands together with an appearance of avidity +which was a surprise to me, who knew his frugal tastes. + +"I fancy that I see your Grace's cheque-book upon the table," said he. +"I should be glad if you would make me out a cheque for six thousand +pounds. It would be as well, perhaps, for you to cross it. The Capital +and Counties Bank, Oxford Street branch, are my agents." + +His Grace sat very stern and upright in his chair, and looked stonily at +my friend. + +"Is this a joke, Mr. Holmes? It is hardly a subject for pleasantry." + +"Not at all, your Grace. I was never more earnest in my life." + +"What do you mean, then?" + +"I mean that I have earned the reward. I know where your son is, and I +know some, at least, of those who are holding him." + +The Duke's beard had turned more aggressively red than ever against his +ghastly white face. + +"Where is he?" he gasped. + +"He is, or was last night, at the Fighting Cock Inn, about two miles +from your park gate." + +The Duke fell back in his chair. + +"And whom do you accuse?" + +Sherlock Holmes's answer was an astounding one. He stepped swiftly +forward and touched the Duke upon the shoulder. + +"I accuse YOU," said he. "And now, your Grace, I'll trouble you for that +cheque." + +Never shall I forget the Duke's appearance as he sprang up and clawed +with his hands like one who is sinking into an abyss. Then, with an +extraordinary effort of aristocratic self-command, he sat down and sank +his face in his hands. It was some minutes before he spoke. + +"How much do you know?" he asked at last, without raising his head. + +"I saw you together last night." + +"Does anyone else besides your friend know?" + +"I have spoken to no one." + +The Duke took a pen in his quivering fingers and opened his cheque-book. + +"I shall be as good as my word, Mr. Holmes. I am about to write your +cheque, however unwelcome the information which you have gained may be +to me. When the offer was first made I little thought the turn which +events might take. But you and your friend are men of discretion, Mr. +Holmes?" + +"I hardly understand your Grace." + +"I must put it plainly, Mr. Holmes. If only you two know of this +incident, there is no reason why it should go any farther. I think +twelve thousand pounds is the sum that I owe you, is it not?" + +But Holmes smiled and shook his head. + +"I fear, your Grace, that matters can hardly be arranged so easily. +There is the death of this schoolmaster to be accounted for." + +"But James knew nothing of that. You cannot hold him responsible for +that. It was the work of this brutal ruffian whom he had the misfortune +to employ." + +"I must take the view, your Grace, that when a man embarks upon a crime +he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it." + +"Morally, Mr. Holmes. No doubt you are right. But surely not in the eyes +of the law. A man cannot be condemned for a murder at which he was not +present, and which he loathes and abhors as much as you do. The instant +that he heard of it he made a complete confession to me, so filled was +he with horror and remorse. He lost not an hour in breaking entirely +with the murderer. Oh, Mr. Holmes, you must save him--you must save +him! I tell you that you must save him!" The Duke had dropped the last +attempt at self-command, and was pacing the room with a convulsed face +and with his clenched hands raving in the air. At last he mastered +himself and sat down once more at his desk. "I appreciate your conduct +in coming here before you spoke to anyone else," said he. "At least, we +may take counsel how far we can minimize this hideous scandal." + +"Exactly," said Holmes. "I think, your Grace, that this can only be done +by absolute and complete frankness between us. I am disposed to help +your Grace to the best of my ability; but in order to do so I must +understand to the last detail how the matter stands. I realize that your +words applied to Mr. James Wilder, and that he is not the murderer." + +"No; the murderer has escaped." + +Sherlock Holmes smiled demurely. + +"Your Grace can hardly have heard of any small reputation which I +possess, or you would not imagine that it is so easy to escape me. Mr. +Reuben Hayes was arrested at Chesterfield on my information at eleven +o'clock last night. I had a telegram from the head of the local police +before I left the school this morning." + +The Duke leaned back in his chair and stared with amazement at my +friend. + +"You seem to have powers that are hardly human," said he. "So Reuben +Hayes is taken? I am right glad to hear it, if it will not react upon +the fate of James." + +"Your secretary?" + +"No, sir; my son." + +It was Holmes's turn to look astonished. + +"I confess that this is entirely new to me, your Grace. I must beg you +to be more explicit." + +"I will conceal nothing from you. I agree with you that complete +frankness, however painful it may be to me, is the best policy in this +desperate situation to which James's folly and jealousy have reduced +us. When I was a very young man, Mr. Holmes, I loved with such a love +as comes only once in a lifetime. I offered the lady marriage, but she +refused it on the grounds that such a match might mar my career. Had she +lived I would certainly never have married anyone else. She died, and +left this one child, whom for her sake I have cherished and cared for. +I could not acknowledge the paternity to the world; but I gave him the +best of educations, and since he came to manhood I have kept him near +my person. He surprised my secret, and has presumed ever since upon the +claim which he has upon me and upon his power of provoking a scandal, +which would be abhorrent to me. His presence had something to do +with the unhappy issue of my marriage. Above all, he hated my young +legitimate heir from the first with a persistent hatred. You may well +ask me why, under these circumstances, I still kept James under my roof. +I answer that it was because I could see his mother's face in his, and +that for her dear sake there was no end to my long-suffering. All her +pretty ways, too--there was not one of them which he could not suggest +and bring back to my memory. I COULD not send him away. But I feared so +much lest he should do Arthur--that is, Lord Saltire--a mischief that I +dispatched him for safety to Dr. Huxtable's school. + +"James came into contact with this fellow Hayes because the man was a +tenant of mine, and James acted as agent. The fellow was a rascal from +the beginning; but in some extraordinary way James became intimate with +him. He had always a taste for low company. When James determined +to kidnap Lord Saltire it was of this man's service that he availed +himself. You remember that I wrote to Arthur upon that last day. Well, +James opened the letter and inserted a note asking Arthur to meet him +in a little wood called the Ragged Shaw, which is near to the school. +He used the Duchess's name, and in that way got the boy to come. That +evening James bicycled over--I am telling you what he has himself +confessed to me--and he told Arthur, whom he met in the wood, that his +mother longed to see him, that she was awaiting him on the moor, and +that if he would come back into the wood at midnight he would find a man +with a horse, who would take him to her. Poor Arthur fell into the trap. +He came to the appointment and found this fellow Hayes with a led pony. +Arthur mounted, and they set off together. It appears--though this James +only heard yesterday--that they were pursued, that Hayes struck the +pursuer with his stick, and that the man died of his injuries. Hayes +brought Arthur to his public-house, the Fighting Cock, where he was +confined in an upper room, under the care of Mrs. Hayes, who is a kindly +woman, but entirely under the control of her brutal husband. + +"Well, Mr. Holmes, that was the state of affairs when I first saw you +two days ago. I had no more idea of the truth than you. You will ask me +what was James's motive in doing such a deed. I answer that there was +a great deal which was unreasoning and fanatical in the hatred which +he bore my heir. In his view he should himself have been heir of all +my estates, and he deeply resented those social laws which made it +impossible. At the same time he had a definite motive also. He was eager +that I should break the entail, and he was of opinion that it lay in my +power to do so. He intended to make a bargain with me--to restore Arthur +if I would break the entail, and so make it possible for the estate +to be left to him by will. He knew well that I should never willingly +invoke the aid of the police against him. I say that he would have +proposed such a bargain to me, but he did not actually do so, for events +moved too quickly for him, and he had not time to put his plans into +practice. + +"What brought all his wicked scheme to wreck was your discovery of this +man Heidegger's dead body. James was seized with horror at the news. It +came to us yesterday as we sat together in this study. Dr. Huxtable had +sent a telegram. James was so overwhelmed with grief and agitation that +my suspicions, which had never been entirely absent, rose instantly to +a certainty, and I taxed him with the deed. He made a complete voluntary +confession. Then he implored me to keep his secret for three days +longer, so as to give his wretched accomplice a chance of saving his +guilty life. I yielded--as I have always yielded--to his prayers, and +instantly James hurried off to the Fighting Cock to warn Hayes and +give him the means of flight. I could not go there by daylight without +provoking comment, but as soon as night fell I hurried off to see my +dear Arthur. I found him safe and well, but horrified beyond expression +by the dreadful deed he had witnessed. In deference to my promise, and +much against my will, I consented to leave him there for three days +under the charge of Mrs. Hayes, since it was evident that it was +impossible to inform the police where he was without telling them also +who was the murderer, and I could not see how that murderer could be +punished without ruin to my unfortunate James. You asked for frankness, +Mr. Holmes, and I have taken you at your word, for I have now told you +everything without an attempt at circumlocution or concealment. Do you +in turn be as frank with me." + +"I will," said Holmes. "In the first place, your Grace, I am bound to +tell you that you have placed yourself in a most serious position in +the eyes of the law. You have condoned a felony and you have aided the +escape of a murderer; for I cannot doubt that any money which was taken +by James Wilder to aid his accomplice in his flight came from your +Grace's purse." + +The Duke bowed his assent. + +"This is indeed a most serious matter. Even more culpable in my opinion, +your Grace, is your attitude towards your younger son. You leave him in +this den for three days." + +"Under solemn promises----" + +"What are promises to such people as these? You have no guarantee that +he will not be spirited away again. To humour your guilty elder son +you have exposed your innocent younger son to imminent and unnecessary +danger. It was a most unjustifiable action." + +The proud lord of Holdernesse was not accustomed to be so rated in +his own ducal hall. The blood flushed into his high forehead, but his +conscience held him dumb. + +"I will help you, but on one condition only. It is that you ring for the +footman and let me give such orders as I like." + +Without a word the Duke pressed the electric bell. A servant entered. + +"You will be glad to hear," said Holmes, "that your young master is +found. It is the Duke's desire that the carriage shall go at once to the +Fighting Cock Inn to bring Lord Saltire home. + +"Now," said Holmes, when the rejoicing lackey had disappeared, "having +secured the future, we can afford to be more lenient with the past. I am +not in an official position, and there is no reason, so long as the +ends of justice are served, why I should disclose all that I know. As to +Hayes I say nothing. The gallows awaits him, and I would do nothing +to save him from it. What he will divulge I cannot tell, but I have +no doubt that your Grace could make him understand that it is to his +interest to be silent. From the police point of view he will have +kidnapped the boy for the purpose of ransom. If they do not themselves +find it out I see no reason why I should prompt them to take a broader +point of view. I would warn your Grace, however, that the continued +presence of Mr. James Wilder in your household can only lead to +misfortune." + +"I understand that, Mr. Holmes, and it is already settled that he shall +leave me for ever and go to seek his fortune in Australia." + +"In that case, your Grace, since you have yourself stated that any +unhappiness in your married life was caused by his presence, I would +suggest that you make such amends as you can to the Duchess, and +that you try to resume those relations which have been so unhappily +interrupted." + +"That also I have arranged, Mr. Holmes. I wrote to the Duchess this +morning." + +"In that case," said Holmes, rising, "I think that my friend and I can +congratulate ourselves upon several most happy results from our little +visit to the North. There is one other small point upon which I desire +some light. This fellow Hayes had shod his horses with shoes which +counterfeited the tracks of cows. Was it from Mr. Wilder that he learned +so extraordinary a device?" + +The Duke stood in thought for a moment, with a look of intense surprise +on his face. Then he opened a door and showed us into a large room +furnished as a museum. He led the way to a glass case in a corner, and +pointed to the inscription. + +"These shoes," it ran, "were dug up in the moat of Holdernesse Hall. +They are for the use of horses; but they are shaped below with a cloven +foot of iron, so as to throw pursuers off the track. They are supposed +to have belonged to some of the marauding Barons of Holdernesse in the +Middle Ages." + +Holmes opened the case, and moistening his finger he passed it along the +shoe. A thin film of recent mud was left upon his skin. + +"Thank you," said he, as he replaced the glass. "It is the second most +interesting object that I have seen in the North." + +"And the first?" + +Holmes folded up his cheque and placed it carefully in his note-book. +"I am a poor man," said he, as he patted it affectionately and thrust it +into the depths of his inner pocket. + + +***** + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 27 MARCH, 1904 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +VI.--The Adventure of Black Peter. + + +I HAVE never known my friend to be in better form, both mental and +physical, than in the year '95. His increasing fame had brought with it +an immense practice, and I should be guilty of an indiscretion if I +were even to hint at the identity of some of the illustrious clients who +crossed our humble threshold in Baker Street. Holmes, however, like all +great artists, lived for his art's sake, and, save in the case of the +Duke of Holdernesse, I have seldom known him claim any large reward for +his inestimable services. So unworldly was he--or so capricious--that +he frequently refused his help to the powerful and wealthy where the +problem made no appeal to his sympathies, while he would devote weeks of +most intense application to the affairs of some humble client whose case +presented those strange and dramatic qualities which appealed to his +imagination and challenged his ingenuity. + +In this memorable year '95 a curious and incongruous succession of cases +had engaged his attention, ranging from his famous investigation of the +sudden death of Cardinal Tosca--an inquiry which was carried out by him +at the express desire of His Holiness the Pope--down to his arrest of +Wilson, the notorious canary-trainer, which removed a plague-spot from +the East-End of London. Close on the heels of these two famous cases +came the tragedy of Woodman's Lee, and the very obscure circumstances +which surrounded the death of Captain Peter Carey. No record of the +doings of Mr. Sherlock Holmes would be complete which did not include +some account of this very unusual affair. + +During the first week of July my friend had been absent so often and so +long from our lodgings that I knew he had something on hand. The fact +that several rough-looking men called during that time and inquired for +Captain Basil made me understand that Holmes was working somewhere under +one of the numerous disguises and names with which he concealed his own +formidable identity. He had at least five small refuges in different +parts of London in which he was able to change his personality. He +said nothing of his business to me, and it was not my habit to force a +confidence. The first positive sign which he gave me of the direction +which his investigation was taking was an extraordinary one. He had gone +out before breakfast, and I had sat down to mine, when he strode into +the room, his hat upon his head and a huge barbed-headed spear tucked +like an umbrella under his arm. + +"Good gracious, Holmes!" I cried. "You don't mean to say that you have +been walking about London with that thing?" + +"I drove to the butcher's and back." + +"The butcher's?" + +"And I return with an excellent appetite. There can be no question, +my dear Watson, of the value of exercise before breakfast. But I am +prepared to bet that you will not guess the form that my exercise has +taken." + +"I will not attempt it." + +He chuckled as he poured out the coffee. + +"If you could have looked into Allardyce's back shop you would have +seen a dead pig swung from a hook in the ceiling, and a gentleman in +his shirt-sleeves furiously stabbing at it with this weapon. I was that +energetic person, and I have satisfied myself that by no exertion of my +strength can I transfix the pig with a single blow. Perhaps you would +care to try?" + +"Not for worlds. But why were you doing this?" + +"Because it seemed to me to have an indirect bearing upon the mystery of +Woodman's Lee. Ah, Hopkins, I got your wire last night, and I have been +expecting you. Come and join us." + +Our visitor was an exceedingly alert man, thirty years of age, dressed +in a quiet tweed suit, but retaining the erect bearing of one who was +accustomed to official uniform. I recognised him at once as Stanley +Hopkins, a young police inspector for whose future Holmes had high +hopes, while he in turn professed the admiration and respect of a pupil +for the scientific methods of the famous amateur. Hopkins's brow was +clouded, and he sat down with an air of deep dejection. + +"No, thank you, sir. I breakfasted before I came round. I spent the +night in town, for I came up yesterday to report." + +"And what had you to report?" + +"Failure, sir; absolute failure." + +"You have made no progress?" + +"None." + +"Dear me! I must have a look at the matter." + +"I wish to heavens that you would, Mr. Holmes. It's my first big chance, +and I am at my wit's end. For goodness' sake come down and lend me a +hand." + +"Well, well, it just happens that I have already read all the available +evidence, including the report of the inquest, with some care. By the +way, what do you make of that tobacco-pouch found on the scene of the +crime? Is there no clue there?" + +Hopkins looked surprised. + +"It was the man's own pouch, sir. His initials were inside it. And it +was of seal-skin--and he an old sealer." + +"But he had no pipe." + +"No, sir, we could find no pipe; indeed, he smoked very little. And yet +he might have kept some tobacco for his friends." + +"No doubt. I only mention it because if I had been handling the case +I should have been inclined to make that the starting-point of my +investigation. However, my friend Dr. Watson knows nothing of this +matter, and I should be none the worse for hearing the sequence of +events once more. Just give us some short sketch of the essentials." + +Stanley Hopkins drew a slip of paper from his pocket. + +"I have a few dates here which will give you the career of the dead man, +Captain Peter Carey. He was born in '45--fifty years of age. He was a +most daring and successful seal and whale fisher. In 1883 he commanded +the steam sealer SEA UNICORN, of Dundee. He had then had several +successful voyages in succession, and in the following year, 1884, he +retired. After that he travelled for some years, and finally he bought +a small place called Woodman's Lee, near Forest Row, in Sussex. There he +has lived for six years, and there he died just a week ago to-day. + +"There were some most singular points about the man. In ordinary life he +was a strict Puritan--a silent, gloomy fellow. His household consisted +of his wife, his daughter, aged twenty, and two female servants. +These last were continually changing, for it was never a very cheery +situation, and sometimes it became past all bearing. The man was an +intermittent drunkard, and when he had the fit on him he was a perfect +fiend. He has been known to drive his wife and his daughter out of doors +in the middle of the night, and flog them through the park until the +whole village outside the gates was aroused by their screams. + +"He was summoned once for a savage assault upon the old vicar, who had +called upon him to remonstrate with him upon his conduct. In short, +Mr. Holmes, you would go far before you found a more dangerous man than +Peter Carey, and I have heard that he bore the same character when he +commanded his ship. He was known in the trade as Black Peter, and the +name was given him, not only on account of his swarthy features and the +colour of his huge beard, but for the humours which were the terror of +all around him. I need not say that he was loathed and avoided by every +one of his neighbours, and that I have not heard one single word of +sorrow about his terrible end. + +"You must have read in the account of the inquest about the man's cabin, +Mr. Holmes; but perhaps your friend here has not heard of it. He had +built himself a wooden outhouse--he always called it 'the cabin'--a few +hundred yards from his house, and it was here that he slept every night. +It was a little, single-roomed hut, sixteen feet by ten. He kept the +key in his pocket, made his own bed, cleaned it himself, and allowed no +other foot to cross the threshold. There are small windows on each side, +which were covered by curtains and never opened. One of these windows +was turned towards the high road, and when the light burned in it at +night the folk used to point it out to each other and wonder what Black +Peter was doing in there. That's the window, Mr. Holmes, which gave us +one of the few bits of positive evidence that came out at the inquest. + +"You remember that a stonemason, named Slater, walking from Forest Row +about one o'clock in the morning--two days before the murder--stopped +as he passed the grounds and looked at the square of light still shining +among the trees. He swears that the shadow of a man's head turned +sideways was clearly visible on the blind, and that this shadow was +certainly not that of Peter Carey, whom he knew well. It was that of a +bearded man, but the beard was short and bristled forwards in a way +very different from that of the captain. So he says, but he had been two +hours in the public-house, and it is some distance from the road to the +window. Besides, this refers to the Monday, and the crime was done upon +the Wednesday. + +"On the Tuesday Peter Carey was in one of his blackest moods, flushed +with drink and as savage as a dangerous wild beast. He roamed about the +house, and the women ran for it when they heard him coming. Late in the +evening he went down to his own hut. About two o'clock the following +morning his daughter, who slept with her window open, heard a most +fearful yell from that direction, but it was no unusual thing for him to +bawl and shout when he was in drink, so no notice was taken. On rising +at seven one of the maids noticed that the door of the hut was open, but +so great was the terror which the man caused that it was midday before +anyone would venture down to see what had become of him. Peeping into +the open door they saw a sight which sent them flying with white faces +into the village. Within an hour I was on the spot and had taken over +the case. + +"Well, I have fairly steady nerves, as you know, Mr. Holmes, but I +give you my word that I got a shake when I put my head into that little +house. It was droning like a harmonium with the flies and bluebottles, +and the floor and walls were like a slaughter-house. He had called it a +cabin, and a cabin it was sure enough, for you would have thought that +you were in a ship. There was a bunk at one end, a sea-chest, maps and +charts, a picture of the SEA UNICORN, a line of log-books on a shelf, +all exactly as one would expect to find it in a captain's room. And +there in the middle of it was the man himself, his face twisted like a +lost soul in torment, and his great brindled beard stuck upwards in his +agony. Right through his broad breast a steel harpoon had been driven, +and it had sunk deep into the wood of the wall behind him. He was pinned +like a beetle on a card. Of course, he was quite dead, and had been so +from the instant that he had uttered that last yell of agony. + +"I know your methods, sir, and I applied them. Before I permitted +anything to be moved I examined most carefully the ground outside, and +also the floor of the room. There were no footmarks." + +"Meaning that you saw none?" + +"I assure you, sir, that there were none." + +"My good Hopkins, I have investigated many crimes, but I have never +yet seen one which was committed by a flying creature. As long as the +criminal remains upon two legs so long must there be some indentation, +some abrasion, some trifling displacement which can be detected by the +scientific searcher. It is incredible that this blood-bespattered room +contained no trace which could have aided us. I understand, however, +from the inquest that there were some objects which you failed to +overlook?" + +The young inspector winced at my companion's ironical comments. + +"I was a fool not to call you in at the time, Mr. Holmes. However, +that's past praying for now. Yes, there were several objects in the room +which called for special attention. One was the harpoon with which the +deed was committed. It had been snatched down from a rack on the wall. +Two others remained there, and there was a vacant place for the third. +On the stock was engraved 'Ss. SEA UNICORN, Dundee.' This seemed to +establish that the crime had been done in a moment of fury, and that +the murderer had seized the first weapon which came in his way. The fact +that the crime was committed at two in the morning, and yet Peter +Carey was fully dressed, suggested that he had an appointment with the +murderer, which is borne out by the fact that a bottle of rum and two +dirty glasses stood upon the table." + +"Yes," said Holmes; "I think that both inferences are permissible. Was +there any other spirit but rum in the room?" + +"Yes; there was a tantalus containing brandy and whisky on the +sea-chest. It is of no importance to us, however, since the decanters +were full, and it had therefore not been used." + +"For all that its presence has some significance," said Holmes. +"However, let us hear some more about the objects which do seem to you +to bear upon the case." + +"There was this tobacco-pouch upon the table." + +"What part of the table?" + +"It lay in the middle. It was of coarse seal-skin--the straight-haired +skin, with a leather thong to bind it. Inside was 'P.C.' on the flap. +There was half an ounce of strong ship's tobacco in it." + +"Excellent! What more?" + +Stanley Hopkins drew from his pocket a drab-covered note-book. The +outside was rough and worn, the leaves discoloured. On the first page +were written the initials "J.H.N." and the date "1883." Holmes laid +it on the table and examined it in his minute way, while Hopkins and I +gazed over each shoulder. On the second page were the printed letters +"C.P.R.," and then came several sheets of numbers. Another heading was +Argentine, another Costa Rica, and another San Paulo, each with pages of +signs and figures after it. + +"What do you make of these?" asked Holmes. + +"They appear to be lists of Stock Exchange securities. I thought that +'J.H.N.' were the initials of a broker, and that 'C.P.R.' may have been +his client." + +"Try Canadian Pacific Railway," said Holmes. + +Stanley Hopkins swore between his teeth and struck his thigh with his +clenched hand. + +"What a fool I have been!" he cried. "Of course, it is as you say. Then +'J.H.N.' are the only initials we have to solve. I have already examined +the old Stock Exchange lists, and I can find no one in 1883 either in +the House or among the outside brokers whose initials correspond with +these. Yet I feel that the clue is the most important one that I hold. +You will admit, Mr. Holmes, that there is a possibility that these +initials are those of the second person who was present--in other words, +of the murderer. I would also urge that the introduction into the case +of a document relating to large masses of valuable securities gives us +for the first time some indication of a motive for the crime." + +Sherlock Holmes's face showed that he was thoroughly taken aback by this +new development. + +"I must admit both your points," said he. "I confess that this +note-book, which did not appear at the inquest, modifies any views which +I may have formed. I had come to a theory of the crime in which I +can find no place for this. Have you endeavoured to trace any of the +securities here mentioned?" + +"Inquiries are now being made at the offices, but I fear that the +complete register of the stockholders of these South American concerns +is in South America, and that some weeks must elapse before we can trace +the shares." + +Holmes had been examining the cover of the note-book with his magnifying +lens. + +"Surely there is some discolouration here," said he. + +"Yes, sir, it is a blood-stain. I told you that I picked the book off +the floor." + +"Was the blood-stain above or below?" + +"On the side next the boards." + +"Which proves, of course, that the book was dropped after the crime was +committed." + +"Exactly, Mr. Holmes. I appreciated that point, and I conjectured that +it was dropped by the murderer in his hurried flight. It lay near the +door." + +"I suppose that none of these securities have been found among the +property of the dead man?" + +"No, sir." + +"Have you any reason to suspect robbery?" + +"No, sir. Nothing seemed to have been touched." + +"Dear me, it is certainly a very interesting case. Then there was a +knife, was there not?" + +"A sheath-knife, still in its sheath. It lay at the feet of the dead +man. Mrs. Carey has identified it as being her husband's property." + +Holmes was lost in thought for some time. + +"Well," said he, at last, "I suppose I shall have to come out and have a +look at it." + +Stanley Hopkins gave a cry of joy. + +"Thank you, sir. That will indeed be a weight off my mind." + +Holmes shook his finger at the inspector. + +"It would have been an easier task a week ago," said he. "But even now +my visit may not be entirely fruitless. Watson, if you can spare +the time I should be very glad of your company. If you will call a +four-wheeler, Hopkins, we shall be ready to start for Forest Row in a +quarter of an hour." + + +Alighting at the small wayside station, we drove for some miles through +the remains of widespread woods, which were once part of that +great forest which for so long held the Saxon invaders at bay--the +impenetrable "weald," for sixty years the bulwark of Britain. Vast +sections of it have been cleared, for this is the seat of the first +iron-works of the country, and the trees have been felled to smelt the +ore. Now the richer fields of the North have absorbed the trade, and +nothing save these ravaged groves and great scars in the earth show +the work of the past. Here in a clearing upon the green slope of a hill +stood a long, low stone house, approached by a curving drive running +through the fields. Nearer the road, and surrounded on three sides by +bushes, was a small outhouse, one window and the door facing in our +direction. It was the scene of the murder! + +Stanley Hopkins led us first to the house, where he introduced us to a +haggard, grey-haired woman, the widow of the murdered man, whose gaunt +and deep-lined face, with the furtive look of terror in the depths of +her red-rimmed eyes, told of the years of hardship and ill-usage which +she had endured. With her was her daughter, a pale, fair-haired girl, +whose eyes blazed defiantly at us as she told us that she was glad that +her father was dead, and that she blessed the hand which had struck him +down. It was a terrible household that Black Peter Carey had made for +himself, and it was with a sense of relief that we found ourselves in +the sunlight again and making our way along a path which had been worn +across the fields by the feet of the dead man. + +The outhouse was the simplest of dwellings, wooden-walled, +shingle-roofed, one window beside the door and one on the farther side. +Stanley Hopkins drew the key from his pocket, and had stooped to the +lock, when he paused with a look of attention and surprise upon his +face. + +"Someone has been tampering with it," he said. + +There could be no doubt of the fact. The woodwork was cut and the +scratches showed white through the paint, as if they had been that +instant done. Holmes had been examining the window. + +"Someone has tried to force this also. Whoever it was has failed to make +his way in. He must have been a very poor burglar." + +"This is a most extraordinary thing," said the inspector; "I could swear +that these marks were not here yesterday evening." + +"Some curious person from the village, perhaps," I suggested. + +"Very unlikely. Few of them would dare to set foot in the grounds, far +less try to force their way into the cabin. What do you think of it, Mr. +Holmes?" + +"I think that fortune is very kind to us." + +"You mean that the person will come again?" + +"It is very probable. He came expecting to find the door open. He tried +to get in with the blade of a very small penknife. He could not manage +it. What would he do?" + +"Come again next night with a more useful tool." + +"So I should say. It will be our fault if we are not there to receive +him. Meanwhile, let me see the inside of the cabin." + +The traces of the tragedy had been removed, but the furniture within the +little room still stood as it had been on the night of the crime. For +two hours, with most intense concentration, Holmes examined every object +in turn, but his face showed that his quest was not a successful one. +Once only he paused in his patient investigation. + +"Have you taken anything off this shelf, Hopkins?" + +"No; I have moved nothing." + +"Something has been taken. There is less dust in this corner of the +shelf than elsewhere. It may have been a book lying on its side. It may +have been a box. Well, well, I can do nothing more. Let us walk in +these beautiful woods, Watson, and give a few hours to the birds and the +flowers. We shall meet you here later, Hopkins, and see if we can come +to closer quarters with the gentleman who has paid this visit in the +night." + +It was past eleven o'clock when we formed our little ambuscade. Hopkins +was for leaving the door of the hut open, but Holmes was of the opinion +that this would rouse the suspicions of the stranger. The lock was a +perfectly simple one, and only a strong blade was needed to push it +back. Holmes also suggested that we should wait, not inside the hut, but +outside it among the bushes which grew round the farther window. In this +way we should be able to watch our man if he struck a light, and see +what his object was in this stealthy nocturnal visit. + +It was a long and melancholy vigil, and yet brought with it something of +the thrill which the hunter feels when he lies beside the water pool and +waits for the coming of the thirsty beast of prey. What savage creature +was it which might steal upon us out of the darkness? Was it a fierce +tiger of crime, which could only be taken fighting hard with flashing +fang and claw, or would it prove to be some skulking jackal, dangerous +only to the weak and unguarded? + +In absolute silence we crouched amongst the bushes, waiting for whatever +might come. At first the steps of a few belated villagers, or the sound +of voices from the village, lightened our vigil; but one by one these +interruptions died away and an absolute stillness fell upon us, save for +the chimes of the distant church, which told us of the progress of the +night, and for the rustle and whisper of a fine rain falling amid the +foliage which roofed us in. + +Half-past two had chimed, and it was the darkest hour which precedes +the dawn, when we all started as a low but sharp click came from the +direction of the gate. Someone had entered the drive. Again there was a +long silence, and I had begun to fear that it was a false alarm, when +a stealthy step was heard upon the other side of the hut, and a moment +later a metallic scraping and clinking. The man was trying to force the +lock! This time his skill was greater or his tool was better, for there +was a sudden snap and the creak of the hinges. Then a match was struck, +and next instant the steady light from a candle filled the interior of +the hut. Through the gauze curtain our eyes were all riveted upon the +scene within. + +The nocturnal visitor was a young man, frail and thin, with a black +moustache which intensified the deadly pallor of his face. He could not +have been much above twenty years of age. I have never seen any human +being who appeared to be in such a pitiable fright, for his teeth were +visibly chattering and he was shaking in every limb. He was dressed like +a gentleman, in Norfolk jacket and knickerbockers, with a cloth cap upon +his head. We watched him staring round with frightened eyes. Then he +laid the candle-end upon the table and disappeared from our view into +one of the corners. He returned with a large book, one of the log-books +which formed a line upon the shelves. Leaning on the table he rapidly +turned over the leaves of this volume until he came to the entry which +he sought. Then, with an angry gesture of his clenched hand, he closed +the book, replaced it in the corner, and put out the light. He had +hardly turned to leave the hut when Hopkins's hand was on the fellow's +collar, and I heard his loud gasp of terror as he understood that he +was taken. The candle was re-lit, and there was our wretched captive +shivering and cowering in the grasp of the detective. He sank down upon +the sea-chest, and looked helplessly from one of us to the other. + +"Now, my fine fellow," said Stanley Hopkins, "who are you, and what do +you want here?" + +The man pulled himself together and faced us with an effort at +self-composure. + +"You are detectives, I suppose?" said he. "You imagine I am connected +with the death of Captain Peter Carey. I assure you that I am innocent." + +"We'll see about that," said Hopkins. "First of all, what is your name?" + +"It is John Hopley Neligan." + +I saw Holmes and Hopkins exchange a quick glance. + +"What are you doing here?" + +"Can I speak confidentially?" + +"No, certainly not." + +"Why should I tell you?" + +"If you have no answer it may go badly with you at the trial." + +The young man winced. + +"Well, I will tell you," he said. "Why should I not? And yet I hate to +think of this old scandal gaining a new lease of life. Did you ever hear +of Dawson and Neligan?" + +I could see from Hopkins's face that he never had; but Holmes was keenly +interested. + +"You mean the West-country bankers," said he. "They failed for a +million, ruined half the county families of Cornwall, and Neligan +disappeared." + +"Exactly. Neligan was my father." + +At last we were getting something positive, and yet it seemed a long gap +between an absconding banker and Captain Peter Carey pinned against the +wall with one of his own harpoons. We all listened intently to the young +man's words. + +"It was my father who was really concerned. Dawson had retired. I was +only ten years of age at the time, but I was old enough to feel the +shame and horror of it all. It has always been said that my father stole +all the securities and fled. It is not true. It was his belief that if +he were given time in which to realize them all would be well and every +creditor paid in full. He started in his little yacht for Norway just +before the warrant was issued for his arrest. I can remember that last +night when he bade farewell to my mother. He left us a list of the +securities he was taking, and he swore that he would come back with his +honour cleared, and that none who had trusted him would suffer. Well, +no word was ever heard from him again. Both the yacht and he vanished +utterly. We believed, my mother and I, that he and it, with the +securities that he had taken with him, were at the bottom of the sea. We +had a faithful friend, however, who is a business man, and it was he who +discovered some time ago that some of the securities which my father +had with him have reappeared on the London market. You can imagine our +amazement. I spent months in trying to trace them, and at last, after +many doublings and difficulties, I discovered that the original seller +had been Captain Peter Carey, the owner of this hut. + +"Naturally, I made some inquiries about the man. I found that he had +been in command of a whaler which was due to return from the Arctic seas +at the very time when my father was crossing to Norway. The autumn of +that year was a stormy one, and there was a long succession of southerly +gales. My father's yacht may well have been blown to the north, and +there met by Captain Peter Carey's ship. If that were so, what had +become of my father? In any case, if I could prove from Peter Carey's +evidence how these securities came on the market it would be a proof +that my father had not sold them, and that he had no view to personal +profit when he took them. + +"I came down to Sussex with the intention of seeing the captain, but +it was at this moment that his terrible death occurred. I read at the +inquest a description of his cabin, in which it stated that the old +log-books of his vessel were preserved in it. It struck me that if I +could see what occurred in the month of August, 1883, on board the SEA +UNICORN, I might settle the mystery of my father's fate. I tried last +night to get at these log-books, but was unable to open the door. +To-night I tried again, and succeeded; but I find that the pages which +deal with that month have been torn from the book. It was at that moment +I found myself a prisoner in your hands." + +"Is that all?" asked Hopkins. + +"Yes, that is all." His eyes shifted as he said it. + +"You have nothing else to tell us?" + +He hesitated. + +"No; there is nothing." + +"You have not been here before last night?" + +"No." + +"Then how do you account for THAT?" cried Hopkins, as he held up the +damning note-book, with the initials of our prisoner on the first leaf +and the blood-stain on the cover. + +The wretched man collapsed. He sank his face in his hands and trembled +all over. + +"Where did you get it?" he groaned. "I did not know. I thought I had +lost it at the hotel." + +"That is enough," said Hopkins, sternly. "Whatever else you have to +say you must say in court. You will walk down with me now to the +police-station. Well, Mr. Holmes, I am very much obliged to you and to +your friend for coming down to help me. As it turns out your presence +was unnecessary, and I would have brought the case to this successful +issue without you; but none the less I am very grateful. Rooms have been +reserved for you at the Brambletye Hotel, so we can all walk down to the +village together." + +"Well, Watson, what do you think of it?" asked Holmes, as we travelled +back next morning. + +"I can see that you are not satisfied." + +"Oh, yes, my dear Watson, I am perfectly satisfied. At the same +time Stanley Hopkins's methods do not commend themselves to me. I am +disappointed in Stanley Hopkins. I had hoped for better things from him. +One should always look for a possible alternative and provide against +it. It is the first rule of criminal investigation." + +"What, then, is the alternative?" + +"The line of investigation which I have myself been pursuing. It may +give us nothing. I cannot tell. But at least I shall follow it to the +end." + +Several letters were waiting for Holmes at Baker Street. He snatched +one of them up, opened it, and burst out into a triumphant chuckle of +laughter. + +"Excellent, Watson. The alternative develops. Have you telegraph +forms? Just write a couple of messages for me: 'Sumner, Shipping +Agent, Ratcliff Highway. Send three men on, to arrive ten to-morrow +morning.--Basil.' That's my name in those parts. The other is: +'Inspector Stanley Hopkins, 46, Lord Street, Brixton. Come breakfast +to-morrow at nine-thirty. Important. Wire if unable to come.--Sherlock +Holmes.' There, Watson, this infernal case has haunted me for ten days. +I hereby banish it completely from my presence. To-morrow I trust that +we shall hear the last of it for ever." + +Sharp at the hour named Inspector Stanley Hopkins appeared, and we sat +down together to the excellent breakfast which Mrs. Hudson had prepared. +The young detective was in high spirits at his success. + +"You really think that your solution must be correct?" asked Holmes. + +"I could not imagine a more complete case." + +"It did not seem to me conclusive." + +"You astonish me, Mr. Holmes. What more could one ask for?" + +"Does your explanation cover every point?" + +"Undoubtedly. I find that young Neligan arrived at the Brambletye Hotel +on the very day of the crime. He came on the pretence of playing golf. +His room was on the ground-floor, and he could get out when he liked. +That very night he went down to Woodman's Lee, saw Peter Carey at +the hut, quarrelled with him, and killed him with the harpoon. Then, +horrified by what he had done, he fled out of the hut, dropping the +note-book which he had brought with him in order to question Peter Carey +about these different securities. You may have observed that some of +them were marked with ticks, and the others--the great majority--were +not. Those which are ticked have been traced on the London market; but +the others presumably were still in the possession of Carey, and young +Neligan, according to his own account, was anxious to recover them in +order to do the right thing by his father's creditors. After his flight +he did not dare to approach the hut again for some time; but at last +he forced himself to do so in order to obtain the information which he +needed. Surely that is all simple and obvious?" + +Holmes smiled and shook his head. + +"It seems to me to have only one drawback, Hopkins, and that is that it +is intrinsically impossible. Have you tried to drive a harpoon through a +body? No? Tut, tut, my dear sir, you must really pay attention to these +details. My friend Watson could tell you that I spent a whole morning in +that exercise. It is no easy matter, and requires a strong and practised +arm. But this blow was delivered with such violence that the head of the +weapon sank deep into the wall. Do you imagine that this anaemic youth +was capable of so frightful an assault? Is he the man who hobnobbed +in rum and water with Black Peter in the dead of the night? Was it his +profile that was seen on the blind two nights before? No, no, Hopkins; +it is another and a more formidable person for whom we must seek." + +The detective's face had grown longer and longer during Holmes's speech. +His hopes and his ambitions were all crumbling about him. But he would +not abandon his position without a struggle. + +"You can't deny that Neligan was present that night, Mr. Holmes. The +book will prove that. I fancy that I have evidence enough to satisfy a +jury, even if you are able to pick a hole in it. Besides, Mr. Holmes, +I have laid my hand upon MY man. As to this terrible person of yours, +where is he?" + +"I rather fancy that he is on the stair," said Holmes, serenely. "I +think, Watson, that you would do well to put that revolver where you can +reach it." He rose, and laid a written paper upon a side-table. "Now we +are ready," said he. + +There had been some talking in gruff voices outside, and now Mrs. Hudson +opened the door to say that there were three men inquiring for Captain +Basil. + +"Show them in one by one," said Holmes. + +The first who entered was a little ribston-pippin of a man, with ruddy +cheeks and fluffy white side-whiskers. Holmes had drawn a letter from +his pocket. + +"What name?" he asked. + +"James Lancaster." + +"I am sorry, Lancaster, but the berth is full. Here is half a sovereign +for your trouble. Just step into this room and wait there for a few +minutes." + +The second man was a long, dried-up creature, with lank hair and sallow +cheeks. His name was Hugh Pattins. He also received his dismissal, his +half-sovereign, and the order to wait. + +The third applicant was a man of remarkable appearance. A fierce +bull-dog face was framed in a tangle of hair and beard, and two bold +dark eyes gleamed behind the cover of thick, tufted, overhung eyebrows. +He saluted and stood sailor-fashion, turning his cap round in his hands. + +"Your name?" asked Holmes. + +"Patrick Cairns." + +"Harpooner?" + +"Yes, sir. Twenty-six voyages." + +"Dundee, I suppose?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"And ready to start with an exploring ship?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"What wages?" + +"Eight pounds a month." + +"Could you start at once?" + +"As soon as I get my kit." + +"Have you your papers?" + +"Yes, sir." He took a sheaf of worn and greasy forms from his pocket. +Holmes glanced over them and returned them. + +"You are just the man I want," said he. "Here's the agreement on the +side-table. If you sign it the whole matter will be settled." + +The seaman lurched across the room and took up the pen. + +"Shall I sign here?" he asked, stooping over the table. + +Holmes leaned over his shoulder and passed both hands over his neck. + +"This will do," said he. + +I heard a click of steel and a bellow like an enraged bull. The next +instant Holmes and the seaman were rolling on the ground together. He +was a man of such gigantic strength that, even with the handcuffs +which Holmes had so deftly fastened upon his wrists, he would have +very quickly overpowered my friend had Hopkins and I not rushed to +his rescue. Only when I pressed the cold muzzle of the revolver to his +temple did he at last understand that resistance was vain. We lashed his +ankles with cord and rose breathless from the struggle. + +"I must really apologize, Hopkins," said Sherlock Holmes; "I fear that +the scrambled eggs are cold. However, you will enjoy the rest of your +breakfast all the better, will you not, for the thought that you have +brought your case to a triumphant conclusion." + +Stanley Hopkins was speechless with amazement. + +"I don't know what to say, Mr. Holmes," he blurted out at last, with a +very red face. "It seems to me that I have been making a fool of +myself from the beginning. I understand now, what I should never have +forgotten, that I am the pupil and you are the master. Even now I +see what you have done, but I don't know how you did it, or what it +signifies." + +"Well, well," said Holmes, good-humouredly. "We all learn by experience, +and your lesson this time is that you should never lose sight of the +alternative. You were so absorbed in young Neligan that you could not +spare a thought to Patrick Cairns, the true murderer of Peter Carey." + +The hoarse voice of the seaman broke in on our conversation. + +"See here, mister," said he, "I make no complaint of being man-handled +in this fashion, but I would have you call things by their right names. +You say I murdered Peter Carey; I say I KILLED Peter Carey, and there's +all the difference. Maybe you don't believe what I say. Maybe you think +I am just slinging you a yarn." + +"Not at all," said Holmes. "Let us hear what you have to say." + +"It's soon told, and, by the Lord, every word of it is truth. I knew +Black Peter, and when he pulled out his knife I whipped a harpoon +through him sharp, for I knew that it was him or me. That's how he died. +You can call it murder. Anyhow, I'd as soon die with a rope round my +neck as with Black Peter's knife in my heart." + +"How came you there?" asked Holmes. + +"I'll tell it you from the beginning. Just sit me up a little so as I +can speak easy. It was in '83 that it happened--August of that year. +Peter Carey was master of the SEA UNICORN, and I was spare harpooner. We +were coming out of the ice-pack on our way home, with head winds and a +week's southerly gale, when we picked up a little craft that had been +blown north. There was one man on her--a landsman. The crew had thought +she would founder, and had made for the Norwegian coast in the dinghy. +I guess they were all drowned. Well, we took him on board, this man, and +he and the skipper had some long talks in the cabin. All the baggage we +took off with him was one tin box. So far as I know, the man's name was +never mentioned, and on the second night he disappeared as if he had +never been. It was given out that he had either thrown himself overboard +or fallen overboard in the heavy weather that we were having. Only one +man knew what had happened to him, and that was me, for with my own +eyes I saw the skipper tip up his heels and put him over the rail in the +middle watch of a dark night, two days before we sighted the Shetland +lights. + +"Well, I kept my knowledge to myself and waited to see what would come +of it. When we got back to Scotland it was easily hushed up, and nobody +asked any questions. A stranger died by an accident, and it was nobody's +business to inquire. Shortly after Peter Carey gave up the sea, and it +was long years before I could find where he was. I guessed that he had +done the deed for the sake of what was in that tin box, and that he +could afford now to pay me well for keeping my mouth shut. + +"I found out where he was through a sailor man that had met him +in London, and down I went to squeeze him. The first night he was +reasonable enough, and was ready to give me what would make me free of +the sea for life. We were to fix it all two nights later. When I came +I found him three parts drunk and in a vile temper. We sat down and we +drank and we yarned about old times, but the more he drank the less I +liked the look on his face. I spotted that harpoon upon the wall, and I +thought I might need it before I was through. Then at last he broke +out at me, spitting and cursing, with murder in his eyes and a great +clasp-knife in his hand. He had not time to get it from the sheath +before I had the harpoon through him. Heavens! what a yell he gave; and +his face gets between me and my sleep! I stood there, with his blood +splashing round me, and I waited for a bit; but all was quiet, so I took +heart once more. I looked round, and there was the tin box on a shelf. I +had as much right to it as Peter Carey, anyhow, so I took it with me and +left the hut. Like a fool I left my baccy-pouch upon the table. + +"Now I'll tell you the queerest part of the whole story. I had hardly +got outside the hut when I heard someone coming, and I hid among the +bushes. A man came slinking along, went into the hut, gave a cry as if +he had seen a ghost, and legged it as hard as he could run until he was +out of sight. Who he was or what he wanted is more than I can tell. +For my part I walked ten miles, got a train at Tunbridge Wells, and so +reached London, and no one the wiser. + +"Well, when I came to examine the box I found there was no money in it, +and nothing but papers that I would not dare to sell. I had lost my hold +on Black Peter, and was stranded in London without a shilling. There was +only my trade left. I saw these advertisements about harpooners and high +wages, so I went to the shipping agents, and they sent me here. That's +all I know, and I say again that if I killed Black Peter the law should +give me thanks, for I saved them the price of a hempen rope." + +"A very clear statement," said Holmes, rising and lighting his pipe. "I +think, Hopkins, that you should lose no time in conveying your prisoner +to a place of safety. This room is not well adapted for a cell, and Mr. +Patrick Cairns occupies too large a proportion of our carpet." + +"Mr. Holmes," said Hopkins, "I do not know how to express my gratitude. +Even now I do not understand how you attained this result." + +"Simply by having the good fortune to get the right clue from the +beginning. It is very possible if I had known about this note-book +it might have led away my thoughts, as it did yours. But all I heard +pointed in the one direction. The amazing strength, the skill in the use +of the harpoon, the rum and water, the seal-skin tobacco-pouch, with the +coarse tobacco--all these pointed to a seaman, and one who had been a +whaler. I was convinced that the initials 'P.C.' upon the pouch were a +coincidence, and not those of Peter Carey, since he seldom smoked, and +no pipe was found in his cabin. You remember that I asked whether whisky +and brandy were in the cabin. You said they were. How many landsmen are +there who would drink rum when they could get these other spirits? Yes, +I was certain it was a seaman." + +"And how did you find him?" + +"My dear sir, the problem had become a very simple one. If it were +a seaman, it could only be a seaman who had been with him on the SEA +UNICORN. So far as I could learn he had sailed in no other ship. I +spent three days in wiring to Dundee, and at the end of that time I had +ascertained the names of the crew of the SEA UNICORN in 1883. When I +found Patrick Cairns among the harpooners my research was nearing its +end. I argued that the man was probably in London, and that he would +desire to leave the country for a time. I therefore spent some days in +the East-end, devised an Arctic expedition, put forth tempting terms for +harpooners who would serve under Captain Basil--and behold the result!" + +"Wonderful!" cried Hopkins. "Wonderful!" + +"You must obtain the release of young Neligan as soon as possible," said +Holmes. "I confess that I think you owe him some apology. The tin box +must be returned to him, but, of course, the securities which Peter +Carey has sold are lost for ever. There's the cab, Hopkins, and you can +remove your man. If you want me for the trial, my address and that of +Watson will be somewhere in Norway--I'll send particulars later." + + +***** + + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 27 APRIL, 1904 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +VII.--The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton. + + +IT is years since the incidents of which I speak took place, and yet it +is with diffidence that I allude to them. For a long time, even with the +utmost discretion and reticence, it would have been impossible to make +the facts public; but now the principal person concerned is beyond the +reach of human law, and with due suppression the story may be told +in such fashion as to injure no one. It records an absolutely unique +experience in the career both of Mr. Sherlock Holmes and of myself. The +reader will excuse me if I conceal the date or any other fact by which +he might trace the actual occurrence. + +We had been out for one of our evening rambles, Holmes and I, and had +returned about six o'clock on a cold, frosty winter's evening. As Holmes +turned up the lamp the light fell upon a card on the table. He glanced +at it, and then, with an ejaculation of disgust, threw it on the floor. +I picked it up and read:-- + + CHARLES AUGUSTUS MILVERTON, + APPLEDORE TOWERS, + AGENT. HAMPSTEAD. + +"Who is he?" I asked. + +"The worst man in London," Holmes answered, as he sat down and stretched +his legs before the fire. "Is anything on the back of the card?" + +I turned it over. + +"Will call at 6.30--C.A.M.," I read. + +"Hum! He's about due. Do you feel a creeping, shrinking sensation, +Watson, when you stand before the serpents in the Zoo and see the +slithery, gliding, venomous creatures, with their deadly eyes and +wicked, flattened faces? Well, that's how Milverton impresses me. I've +had to do with fifty murderers in my career, but the worst of them never +gave me the repulsion which I have for this fellow. And yet I can't get +out of doing business with him--indeed, he is here at my invitation." + +"But who is he?" + +"I'll tell you, Watson. He is the king of all the blackmailers. Heaven +help the man, and still more the woman, whose secret and reputation come +into the power of Milverton. With a smiling face and a heart of marble +he will squeeze and squeeze until he has drained them dry. The fellow is +a genius in his way, and would have made his mark in some more savoury +trade. His method is as follows: He allows it to be known that he is +prepared to pay very high sums for letters which compromise people of +wealth or position. He receives these wares not only from treacherous +valets or maids, but frequently from genteel ruffians who have gained +the confidence and affection of trusting women. He deals with no niggard +hand. I happen to know that he paid seven hundred pounds to a footman +for a note two lines in length, and that the ruin of a noble family was +the result. Everything which is in the market goes to Milverton, and +there are hundreds in this great city who turn white at his name. No +one knows where his grip may fall, for he is far too rich and far too +cunning to work from hand to mouth. He will hold a card back for years +in order to play it at the moment when the stake is best worth winning. +I have said that he is the worst man in London, and I would ask you how +could one compare the ruffian who in hot blood bludgeons his mate with +this man, who methodically and at his leisure tortures the soul and +wrings the nerves in order to add to his already swollen money-bags?" + +I had seldom heard my friend speak with such intensity of feeling. + +"But surely," said I, "the fellow must be within the grasp of the law?" + +"Technically, no doubt, but practically not. What would it profit a +woman, for example, to get him a few months' imprisonment if her own +ruin must immediately follow? His victims dare not hit back. If ever he +blackmailed an innocent person, then, indeed, we should have him; but he +is as cunning as the Evil One. No, no; we must find other ways to fight +him." + +"And why is he here?" + +"Because an illustrious client has placed her piteous case in my hands. +It is the Lady Eva Brackwell, the most beautiful DEBUTANTE of last +season. She is to be married in a fortnight to the Earl of Dovercourt. +This fiend has several imprudent letters--imprudent, Watson, nothing +worse--which were written to an impecunious young squire in the country. +They would suffice to break off the match. Milverton will send the +letters to the Earl unless a large sum of money is paid him. I have been +commissioned to meet him, and--to make the best terms I can." + +At that instant there was a clatter and a rattle in the street below. +Looking down I saw a stately carriage and pair, the brilliant lamps +gleaming on the glossy haunches of the noble chestnuts. A footman +opened the door, and a small, stout man in a shaggy astrachan overcoat +descended. A minute later he was in the room. + +Charles Augustus Milverton was a man of fifty, with a large, +intellectual head, a round, plump, hairless face, a perpetual frozen +smile, and two keen grey eyes, which gleamed brightly from behind broad, +golden-rimmed glasses. There was something of Mr. Pickwick's benevolence +in his appearance, marred only by the insincerity of the fixed smile and +by the hard glitter of those restless and penetrating eyes. His voice +was as smooth and suave as his countenance, as he advanced with a plump +little hand extended, murmuring his regret for having missed us at his +first visit. Holmes disregarded the outstretched hand and looked at him +with a face of granite. Milverton's smile broadened; he shrugged his +shoulders, removed his overcoat, folded it with great deliberation over +the back of a chair, and then took a seat. + +"This gentleman?" said he, with a wave in my direction. "Is it discreet? +Is it right?" + +"Dr. Watson is my friend and partner." + +"Very good, Mr. Holmes. It is only in your client's interests that I +protested. The matter is so very delicate----" + +"Dr. Watson has already heard of it." + +"Then we can proceed to business. You say that you are acting for Lady +Eva. Has she empowered you to accept my terms?" + +"What are your terms?" + +"Seven thousand pounds." + +"And the alternative?" + +"My dear sir, it is painful for me to discuss it; but if the money is +not paid on the 14th there certainly will be no marriage on the 18th." +His insufferable smile was more complacent than ever. + +Holmes thought for a little. + +"You appear to me," he said, at last, "to be taking matters too much for +granted. I am, of course, familiar with the contents of these letters. +My client will certainly do what I may advise. I shall counsel her to +tell her future husband the whole story and to trust to his generosity." + +Milverton chuckled. + +"You evidently do not know the Earl," said he. + +From the baffled look upon Holmes's face I could see clearly that he +did. + +"What harm is there in the letters?" he asked. + +"They are sprightly--very sprightly," Milverton answered. "The lady +was a charming correspondent. But I can assure you that the Earl of +Dovercourt would fail to appreciate them. However, since you think +otherwise, we will let it rest at that. It is purely a matter of +business. If you think that it is in the best interests of your client +that these letters should be placed in the hands of the Earl, then you +would indeed be foolish to pay so large a sum of money to regain them." +He rose and seized his astrachan coat. + +Holmes was grey with anger and mortification. + +"Wait a little," he said. "You go too fast. We would certainly make +every effort to avoid scandal in so delicate a matter." + +Milverton relapsed into his chair. + +"I was sure that you would see it in that light," he purred. + +"At the same time," Holmes continued, "Lady Eva is not a wealthy +woman. I assure you that two thousand pounds would be a drain upon her +resources, and that the sum you name is utterly beyond her power. I beg, +therefore, that you will moderate your demands, and that you will return +the letters at the price I indicate, which is, I assure you, the highest +that you can get." + +Milverton's smile broadened and his eyes twinkled humorously. + +"I am aware that what you say is true about the lady's resources," said +he. "At the same time, you must admit that the occasion of a lady's +marriage is a very suitable time for her friends and relatives to +make some little effort upon her behalf. They may hesitate as to an +acceptable wedding present. Let me assure them that this little bundle +of letters would give more joy than all the candelabra and butter-dishes +in London." + +"It is impossible," said Holmes. + +"Dear me, dear me, how unfortunate!" cried Milverton, taking out a bulky +pocket-book. "I cannot help thinking that ladies are ill-advised in +not making an effort. Look at this!" He held up a little note with a +coat-of-arms upon the envelope. "That belongs to--well, perhaps it is +hardly fair to tell the name until to-morrow morning. But at that time +it will be in the hands of the lady's husband. And all because she will +not find a beggarly sum which she could get by turning her diamonds +into paste. It IS such a pity. Now, you remember the sudden end of the +engagement between the Honourable Miss Miles and Colonel Dorking? Only +two days before the wedding there was a paragraph in the MORNING POST +to say that it was all off. And why? It is almost incredible, but +the absurd sum of twelve hundred pounds would have settled the whole +question. Is it not pitiful? And here I find you, a man of sense, +boggling about terms when your client's future and honour are at stake. +You surprise me, Mr. Holmes." + +"What I say is true," Holmes answered. "The money cannot be found. +Surely it is better for you to take the substantial sum which I offer +than to ruin this woman's career, which can profit you in no way?" + +"There you make a mistake, Mr. Holmes. An exposure would profit me +indirectly to a considerable extent. I have eight or ten similar cases +maturing. If it was circulated among them that I had made a severe +example of the Lady Eva I should find all of them much more open to +reason. You see my point?" + +Holmes sprang from his chair. + +"Get behind him, Watson! Don't let him out! Now, sir, let us see the +contents of that note-book." + +Milverton had glided as quick as a rat to the side of the room, and +stood with his back against the wall. + +"Mr. Holmes, Mr. Holmes," he said, turning the front of his coat and +exhibiting the butt of a large revolver, which projected from the inside +pocket. "I have been expecting you to do something original. This has +been done so often, and what good has ever come from it? I assure you +that I am armed to the teeth, and I am perfectly prepared to use my +weapons, knowing that the law will support me. Besides, your supposition +that I would bring the letters here in a note-book is entirely mistaken. +I would do nothing so foolish. And now, gentlemen, I have one or two +little interviews this evening, and it is a long drive to Hampstead." +He stepped forward, took up his coat, laid his hand on his revolver, and +turned to the door. I picked up a chair, but Holmes shook his head and +I laid it down again. With bow, a smile, and a twinkle Milverton was out +of the room, and a few moments after we heard the slam of the carriage +door and the rattle of the wheels as he drove away. + +Holmes sat motionless by the fire, his hands buried deep in his trouser +pockets, his chin sunk upon his breast, his eyes fixed upon the glowing +embers. For half an hour he was silent and still. Then, with the gesture +of a man who has taken his decision, he sprang to his feet and passed +into his bedroom. A little later a rakish young workman with a goatee +beard and a swagger lit his clay pipe at the lamp before descending into +the street. "I'll be back some time, Watson," said he, and vanished into +the night. I understood that he had opened his campaign against Charles +Augustus Milverton; but I little dreamed the strange shape which that +campaign was destined to take. + +For some days Holmes came and went at all hours in this attire, but +beyond a remark that his time was spent at Hampstead, and that it was +not wasted, I knew nothing of what he was doing. At last, however, on +a wild, tempestuous evening, when the wind screamed and rattled against +the windows, he returned from his last expedition, and having removed +his disguise he sat before the fire and laughed heartily in his silent +inward fashion. + +"You would not call me a marrying man, Watson?" + +"No, indeed!" + +"You'll be interested to hear that I am engaged." + +"My dear fellow! I congrat----" + +"To Milverton's housemaid." + +"Good heavens, Holmes!" + +"I wanted information, Watson." + +"Surely you have gone too far?" + +"It was a most necessary step. I am a plumber with a rising business, +Escott by name. I have walked out with her each evening, and I have +talked with her. Good heavens, those talks! However, I have got all I +wanted. I know Milverton's house as I know the palm of my hand." + +"But the girl, Holmes?" + +He shrugged his shoulders. + +"You can't help it, my dear Watson. You must play your cards as best you +can when such a stake is on the table. However, I rejoice to say that +I have a hated rival who will certainly cut me out the instant that my +back is turned. What a splendid night it is!" + +"You like this weather?" + +"It suits my purpose. Watson, I mean to burgle Milverton's house +to-night." + +I had a catching of the breath, and my skin went cold at the words, +which were slowly uttered in a tone of concentrated resolution. As a +flash of lightning in the night shows up in an instant every detail of +a wide landscape, so at one glance I seemed to see every possible result +of such an action--the detection, the capture, the honoured career +ending in irreparable failure and disgrace, my friend himself lying at +the mercy of the odious Milverton. + +"For Heaven's sake, Holmes, think what you are doing," I cried. + +"My dear fellow, I have given it every consideration. I am never +precipitate in my actions, nor would I adopt so energetic and indeed so +dangerous a course if any other were possible. Let us look at the matter +clearly and fairly. I suppose that you will admit that the action is +morally justifiable, though technically criminal. To burgle his house +is no more than to forcibly take his pocket-book--an action in which you +were prepared to aid me." + +I turned it over in my mind. + +"Yes," I said; "it is morally justifiable so long as our object is to +take no articles save those which are used for an illegal purpose." + +"Exactly. Since it is morally justifiable I have only to consider the +question of personal risk. Surely a gentleman should not lay much stress +upon this when a lady is in most desperate need of his help?" + +"You will be in such a false position." + +"Well, that is part of the risk. There is no other possible way of +regaining these letters. The unfortunate lady has not the money, and +there are none of her people in whom she could confide. To-morrow is +the last day of grace, and unless we can get the letters to-night this +villain will be as good as his word and will bring about her ruin. I +must, therefore, abandon my client to her fate or I must play this +last card. Between ourselves, Watson, it's a sporting duel between +this fellow Milverton and me. He had, as you saw, the best of the first +exchanges; but my self-respect and my reputation are concerned to fight +it to a finish." + +"Well, I don't like it; but I suppose it must be," said I. "When do we +start?" + +"You are not coming." + +"Then you are not going," said I. "I give you my word of honour--and +I never broke it in my life--that I will take a cab straight to the +police-station and give you away unless you let me share this adventure +with you." + +"You can't help me." + +"How do you know that? You can't tell what may happen. Anyway, my +resolution is taken. Other people beside you have self-respect and even +reputations." + +Holmes had looked annoyed, but his brow cleared, and he clapped me on +the shoulder. + +"Well, well, my dear fellow, be it so. We have shared the same room +for some years, and it would be amusing if we ended by sharing the +same cell. You know, Watson, I don't mind confessing to you that I have +always had an idea that I would have made a highly efficient criminal. +This is the chance of my lifetime in that direction. See here!" He took +a neat little leather case out of a drawer, and opening it he exhibited +a number of shining instruments. "This is a first-class, up-to-date +burgling kit, with nickel-plated jemmy, diamond-tipped glass-cutter, +adaptable keys, and every modern improvement which the march of +civilization demands. Here, too, is my dark lantern. Everything is in +order. Have you a pair of silent shoes?" + +"I have rubber-soled tennis shoes." + +"Excellent. And a mask?" + +"I can make a couple out of black silk." + +"I can see that you have a strong natural turn for this sort of thing. +Very good; do you make the masks. We shall have some cold supper before +we start. It is now nine-thirty. At eleven we shall drive as far as +Church Row. It is a quarter of an hour's walk from there to Appledore +Towers. We shall be at work before midnight. Milverton is a heavy +sleeper and retires punctually at ten-thirty. With any luck we should be +back here by two, with the Lady Eva's letters in my pocket." + +Holmes and I put on our dress-clothes, so that we might appear to be two +theatre-goers homeward bound. In Oxford Street we picked up a hansom and +drove to an address in Hampstead. Here we paid off our cab, and with our +great-coats buttoned up, for it was bitterly cold and the wind seemed to +blow through us, we walked along the edge of the Heath. + +"It's a business that needs delicate treatment," said Holmes. "These +documents are contained in a safe in the fellow's study, and the study +is the ante-room of his bed-chamber. On the other hand, like all these +stout, little men who do themselves well, he is a plethoric sleeper. +Agatha--that's my FIANCEE--says it is a joke in the servants' hall that +it's impossible to wake the master. He has a secretary who is devoted to +his interests and never budges from the study all day. That's why we are +going at night. Then he has a beast of a dog which roams the garden. I +met Agatha late the last two evenings, and she locks the brute up so +as to give me a clear run. This is the house, this big one in its own +grounds. Through the gate--now to the right among the laurels. We might +put on our masks here, I think. You see, there is not a glimmer of light +in any of the windows, and everything is working splendidly." + +With our black silk face-coverings, which turned us into two of the most +truculent figures in London, we stole up to the silent, gloomy house. +A sort of tiled veranda extended along one side of it, lined by several +windows and two doors. + +"That's his bedroom," Holmes whispered. "This door opens straight into +the study. It would suit us best, but it is bolted as well as locked, +and we should make too much noise getting in. Come round here. There's a +greenhouse which opens into the drawing-room." + +The place was locked, but Holmes removed a circle of glass and turned +the key from the inside. An instant afterwards he had closed the door +behind us, and we had become felons in the eyes of the law. The thick, +warm air of the conservatory and the rich, choking fragrance of exotic +plants took us by the throat. He seized my hand in the darkness and led +me swiftly past banks of shrubs which brushed against our faces. Holmes +had remarkable powers, carefully cultivated, of seeing in the dark. +Still holding my hand in one of his he opened a door, and I was vaguely +conscious that we had entered a large room in which a cigar had been +smoked not long before. He felt his way among the furniture, opened +another door, and closed it behind us. Putting out my hand I felt +several coats hanging from the wall, and I understood that I was in a +passage. We passed along it, and Holmes very gently opened a door upon +the right-hand side. Something rushed out at us and my heart sprang into +my mouth, but I could have laughed when I realized that it was the cat. +A fire was burning in this new room, and again the air was heavy with +tobacco smoke. Holmes entered on tiptoe, waited for me to follow, and +then very gently closed the door. We were in Milverton's study, and a +PORTIERE at the farther side showed the entrance to his bedroom. + +It was a good fire, and the room was illuminated by it. Near the door I +saw the gleam of an electric switch, but it was unnecessary, even if it +had been safe, to turn it on. At one side of the fireplace was a heavy +curtain, which covered the bay window we had seen from outside. On the +other side was the door which communicated with the veranda. A desk +stood in the centre, with a turning chair of shining red leather. +Opposite was a large bookcase, with a marble bust of Athene on the top. +In the corner between the bookcase and the wall there stood a tall green +safe, the firelight flashing back from the polished brass knobs upon its +face. Holmes stole across and looked at it. Then he crept to the door of +the bedroom, and stood with slanting head listening intently. No sound +came from within. Meanwhile it had struck me that it would be wise +to secure our retreat through the outer door, so I examined it. To my +amazement it was neither locked nor bolted! I touched Holmes on the arm, +and he turned his masked face in that direction. I saw him start, and he +was evidently as surprised as I. + +"I don't like it," he whispered, putting his lips to my very ear. "I +can't quite make it out. Anyhow, we have no time to lose." + +"Can I do anything?" + +"Yes; stand by the door. If you hear anyone come, bolt it on the inside, +and we can get away as we came. If they come the other way, we can +get through the door if our job is done, or hide behind these window +curtains if it is not. Do you understand?" + +I nodded and stood by the door. My first feeling of fear had passed +away, and I thrilled now with a keener zest than I had ever enjoyed when +we were the defenders of the law instead of its defiers. The high object +of our mission, the consciousness that it was unselfish and chivalrous, +the villainous character of our opponent, all added to the sporting +interest of the adventure. Far from feeling guilty, I rejoiced and +exulted in our dangers. With a glow of admiration I watched Holmes +unrolling his case of instruments and choosing his tool with the calm, +scientific accuracy of a surgeon who performs a delicate operation. I +knew that the opening of safes was a particular hobby with him, and I +understood the joy which it gave him to be confronted with this green +and gold monster, the dragon which held in its maw the reputations of +many fair ladies. Turning up the cuffs of his dress-coat--he had placed +his overcoat on a chair--Holmes laid out two drills, a jemmy, and +several skeleton keys. I stood at the centre door with my eyes glancing +at each of the others, ready for any emergency; though, indeed, my plans +were somewhat vague as to what I should do if we were interrupted. For +half an hour Holmes worked with concentrated energy, laying down one +tool, picking up another, handling each with the strength and delicacy +of the trained mechanic. Finally I heard a click, the broad green door +swung open, and inside I had a glimpse of a number of paper packets, +each tied, sealed, and inscribed. Holmes picked one out, but it was hard +to read by the flickering fire, and he drew out his little dark lantern, +for it was too dangerous, with Milverton in the next room, to switch on +the electric light. Suddenly I saw him halt, listen intently, and then +in an instant he had swung the door of the safe to, picked up his +coat, stuffed his tools into the pockets, and darted behind the window +curtain, motioning me to do the same. + +It was only when I had joined him there that I heard what had alarmed +his quicker senses. There was a noise somewhere within the house. A door +slammed in the distance. Then a confused, dull murmur broke itself into +the measured thud of heavy footsteps rapidly approaching. They were in +the passage outside the room. They paused at the door. The door opened. +There was a sharp snick as the electric light was turned on. The door +closed once more, and the pungent reek of a strong cigar was borne +to our nostrils. Then the footsteps continued backwards and forwards, +backwards and forwards, within a few yards of us. Finally, there was a +creak from a chair, and the footsteps ceased. Then a key clicked in a +lock and I heard the rustle of papers. + +So far I had not dared to look out, but now I gently parted the division +of the curtains in front of me and peeped through. From the pressure +of Holmes's shoulder against mine I knew that he was sharing my +observations. Right in front of us, and almost within our reach, was the +broad, rounded back of Milverton. It was evident that we had entirely +miscalculated his movements, that he had never been to his bedroom, +but that he had been sitting up in some smoking or billiard room in the +farther wing of the house, the windows of which we had not seen. His +broad, grizzled head, with its shining patch of baldness, was in the +immediate foreground of our vision. He was leaning far back in the red +leather chair, his legs outstretched, a long black cigar projecting +at an angle from his mouth. He wore a semi-military smoking jacket, +claret-coloured, with a black velvet collar. In his hand he held a long +legal document, which he was reading in an indolent fashion, blowing +rings of tobacco smoke from his lips as he did so. There was no promise +of a speedy departure in his composed bearing and his comfortable +attitude. + +I felt Holmes's hand steal into mine and give me a reassuring shake, as +if to say that the situation was within his powers and that he was +easy in his mind. I was not sure whether he had seen what was only too +obvious from my position, that the door of the safe was imperfectly +closed, and that Milverton might at any moment observe it. In my own +mind I had determined that if I were sure, from the rigidity of his +gaze, that it had caught his eye, I would at once spring out, throw my +great-coat over his head, pinion him, and leave the rest to Holmes. But +Milverton never looked up. He was languidly interested by the papers in +his hand, and page after page was turned as he followed the argument of +the lawyer. At least, I thought, when he has finished the document and +the cigar he will go to his room; but before he had reached the end of +either there came a remarkable development which turned our thoughts +into quite another channel. + +Several times I had observed that Milverton looked at his watch, and +once he had risen and sat down again, with a gesture of impatience. The +idea, however, that he might have an appointment at so strange an +hour never occurred to me until a faint sound reached my ears from +the veranda outside. Milverton dropped his papers and sat rigid in his +chair. The sound was repeated, and then there came a gentle tap at the +door. Milverton rose and opened it. + +"Well," said he, curtly, "you are nearly half an hour late." + +So this was the explanation of the unlocked door and of the nocturnal +vigil of Milverton. There was the gentle rustle of a woman's dress. I +had closed the slit between the curtains as Milverton's face had turned +in our direction, but now I ventured very carefully to open it once +more. He had resumed his seat, the cigar still projecting at an insolent +angle from the corner of his mouth. In front of him, in the full glare +of the electric light, there stood a tall, slim, dark woman, a veil over +her face, a mantle drawn round her chin. Her breath came quick and fast, +and every inch of the lithe figure was quivering with strong emotion. + +"Well," said Milverton, "you've made me lose a good night's rest, +my dear. I hope you'll prove worth it. You couldn't come any other +time--eh?" + +The woman shook her head. + +"Well, if you couldn't you couldn't. If the Countess is a hard mistress +you have your chance to get level with her now. Bless the girl, what are +you shivering about? That's right! Pull yourself together! Now, let us +get down to business." He took a note from the drawer of his desk. "You +say that you have five letters which compromise the Countess d'Albert. +You want to sell them. I want to buy them. So far so good. It only +remains to fix a price. I should want to inspect the letters, of course. +If they are really good specimens--Great heavens, is it you?" + +The woman without a word had raised her veil and dropped the mantle +from her chin. It was a dark, handsome, clear-cut face which confronted +Milverton, a face with a curved nose, strong, dark eyebrows shading +hard, glittering eyes, and a straight, thin-lipped mouth set in a +dangerous smile. + +"It is I," she said; "the woman whose life you have ruined." + +Milverton laughed, but fear vibrated in his voice. "You were so very +obstinate," said he. "Why did you drive me to such extremities? I +assure you I wouldn't hurt a fly of my own accord, but every man has his +business, and what was I to do? I put the price well within your means. +You would not pay." + +"So you sent the letters to my husband, and he--the noblest gentleman +that ever lived, a man whose boots I was never worthy to lace--he broke +his gallant heart and died. You remember that last night when I came +through that door I begged and prayed you for mercy, and you laughed in +my face as you are trying to laugh now, only your coward heart cannot +keep your lips from twitching? Yes, you never thought to see me here +again, but it was that night which taught me how I could meet you face +to face, and alone. Well, Charles Milverton, what have you to say?" + +"Don't imagine that you can bully me," said he, rising to his feet. "I +have only to raise my voice, and I could call my servants and have you +arrested. But I will make allowance for your natural anger. Leave the +room at once as you came, and I will say no more." + +The woman stood with her hand buried in her bosom, and the same deadly +smile on her thin lips. + +"You will ruin no more lives as you ruined mine. You will wring no more +hearts as you wrung mine. I will free the world of a poisonous thing. +Take that, you hound, and that!--and that!--and that!" + +She had drawn a little, gleaming revolver, and emptied barrel after +barrel into Milverton's body, the muzzle within two feet of his shirt +front. He shrank away and then fell forward upon the table, coughing +furiously and clawing among the papers. Then he staggered to his feet, +received another shot, and rolled upon the floor. "You've done me," he +cried, and lay still. The woman looked at him intently and ground her +heel into his upturned face. She looked again, but there was no sound +or movement. I heard a sharp rustle, the night air blew into the heated +room, and the avenger was gone. + +No interference upon our part could have saved the man from his fate; +but as the woman poured bullet after bullet into Milverton's shrinking +body I was about to spring out, when I felt Holmes's cold, strong grasp +upon my wrist. I understood the whole argument of that firm, restraining +grip--that it was no affair of ours; that justice had overtaken a +villain; that we had our own duties and our own objects which were not +to be lost sight of. But hardly had the woman rushed from the room when +Holmes, with swift, silent steps, was over at the other door. He turned +the key in the lock. At the same instant we heard voices in the house +and the sound of hurrying feet. The revolver shots had roused the +household. With perfect coolness Holmes slipped across to the safe, +filled his two arms with bundles of letters, and poured them all into +the fire. Again and again he did it, until the safe was empty. Someone +turned the handle and beat upon the outside of the door. Holmes looked +swiftly round. The letter which had been the messenger of death for +Milverton lay, all mottled with his blood, upon the table. Holmes tossed +it in among the blazing papers. Then he drew the key from the outer +door, passed through after me, and locked it on the outside. "This way, +Watson," said he; "we can scale the garden wall in this direction." + +I could not have believed that an alarm could have spread so swiftly. +Looking back, the huge house was one blaze of light. The front door +was open, and figures were rushing down the drive. The whole garden was +alive with people, and one fellow raised a view-halloa as we emerged +from the veranda and followed hard at our heels. Holmes seemed to know +the ground perfectly, and he threaded his way swiftly among a plantation +of small trees, I close at his heels, and our foremost pursuer panting +behind us. It was a six-foot wall which barred our path, but he sprang +to the top and over. As I did the same I felt the hand of the man behind +me grab at my ankle; but I kicked myself free and scrambled over a +glass-strewn coping. I fell upon my face among some bushes; but Holmes +had me on my feet in an instant, and together we dashed away across the +huge expanse of Hampstead Heath. We had run two miles, I suppose, before +Holmes at last halted and listened intently. All was absolute silence +behind us. We had shaken off our pursuers and were safe. + + +We had breakfasted and were smoking our morning pipe on the day after +the remarkable experience which I have recorded when Mr. Lestrade, of +Scotland Yard, very solemn and impressive, was ushered into our modest +sitting-room. + +"Good morning, Mr. Holmes," said he; "good morning. May I ask if you are +very busy just now?" + +"Not too busy to listen to you." + +"I thought that, perhaps, if you had nothing particular on hand, you +might care to assist us in a most remarkable case which occurred only +last night at Hampstead." + +"Dear me!" said Holmes. "What was that?" + +"A murder--a most dramatic and remarkable murder. I know how keen you +are upon these things, and I would take it as a great favour if you +would step down to Appledore Towers and give us the benefit of your +advice. It is no ordinary crime. We have had our eyes upon this Mr. +Milverton for some time, and, between ourselves, he was a bit of a +villain. He is known to have held papers which he used for blackmailing +purposes. These papers have all been burned by the murderers. No article +of value was taken, as it is probable that the criminals were men of +good position, whose sole object was to prevent social exposure." + +"Criminals!" said Holmes. "Plural!" + +"Yes, there were two of them. They were, as nearly as possible, captured +red-handed. We have their foot-marks, we have their description; it's +ten to one that we trace them. The first fellow was a bit too active, +but the second was caught by the under-gardener and only got away after +a struggle. He was a middle-sized, strongly-built man--square jaw, thick +neck, moustache, a mask over his eyes." + +"That's rather vague," said Sherlock Holmes. "Why, it might be a +description of Watson!" + +"It's true," said the inspector, with much amusement. "It might be a +description of Watson." + +"Well, I am afraid I can't help you, Lestrade," said Holmes. "The fact +is that I knew this fellow Milverton, that I considered him one of the +most dangerous men in London, and that I think there are certain crimes +which the law cannot touch, and which therefore, to some extent, justify +private revenge. No, it's no use arguing. I have made up my mind. My +sympathies are with the criminals rather than with the victim, and I +will not handle this case." + + +Holmes had not said one word to me about the tragedy which we had +witnessed, but I observed all the morning that he was in his most +thoughtful mood, and he gave me the impression, from his vacant eyes and +his abstracted manner, of a man who is striving to recall something to +his memory. We were in the middle of our lunch when he suddenly sprang +to his feet. "By Jove, Watson; I've got it!" he cried. "Take your hat! +Come with me!" He hurried at his top speed down Baker Street and along +Oxford Street, until we had almost reached Regent Circus. Here on the +left hand there stands a shop window filled with photographs of the +celebrities and beauties of the day. Holmes's eyes fixed themselves upon +one of them, and following his gaze I saw the picture of a regal and +stately lady in Court dress, with a high diamond tiara upon her noble +head. I looked at that delicately-curved nose, at the marked eyebrows, +at the straight mouth, and the strong little chin beneath it. Then I +caught my breath as I read the time-honoured title of the great nobleman +and statesman whose wife she had been. My eyes met those of Holmes, and +he put his finger to his lips as we turned away from the window. + + +***** + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 27 MAY, 1904 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +VIII.--The Adventure of the Six Napoleons. + + +IT was no very unusual thing for Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, to +look in upon us of an evening, and his visits were welcome to Sherlock +Holmes, for they enabled him to keep in touch with all that was going on +at the police head-quarters. In return for the news which Lestrade would +bring, Holmes was always ready to listen with attention to the +details of any case upon which the detective was engaged, and was able +occasionally, without any active interference, to give some hint or +suggestion drawn from his own vast knowledge and experience. + +On this particular evening Lestrade had spoken of the weather and the +newspapers. Then he had fallen silent, puffing thoughtfully at his +cigar. Holmes looked keenly at him. + +"Anything remarkable on hand?" he asked. + +"Oh, no, Mr. Holmes, nothing very particular." + +"Then tell me about it." + +Lestrade laughed. + +"Well, Mr. Holmes, there is no use denying that there IS something on my +mind. And yet it is such an absurd business that I hesitated to +bother you about it. On the other hand, although it is trivial, it is +undoubtedly queer, and I know that you have a taste for all that is out +of the common. But in my opinion it comes more in Dr. Watson's line than +ours." + +"Disease?" said I. + +"Madness, anyhow. And a queer madness too! You wouldn't think there was +anyone living at this time of day who had such a hatred of Napoleon the +First that he would break any image of him that he could see." + +Holmes sank back in his chair. + +"That's no business of mine," said he. + +"Exactly. That's what I said. But then, when the man commits burglary +in order to break images which are not his own, that brings it away from +the doctor and on to the policeman." + +Holmes sat up again. + +"Burglary! This is more interesting. Let me hear the details." + +Lestrade took out his official note-book and refreshed his memory from +its pages. + +"The first case reported was four days ago," said he. "It was at the +shop of Morse Hudson, who has a place for the sale of pictures and +statues in the Kennington Road. The assistant had left the front shop +for an instant when he heard a crash, and hurrying in he found a plaster +bust of Napoleon, which stood with several other works of art upon the +counter, lying shivered into fragments. He rushed out into the road, +but, although several passers-by declared that they had noticed a man +run out of the shop, he could neither see anyone nor could he find any +means of identifying the rascal. It seemed to be one of those senseless +acts of Hooliganism which occur from time to time, and it was reported +to the constable on the beat as such. The plaster cast was not worth +more than a few shillings, and the whole affair appeared to be too +childish for any particular investigation. + +"The second case, however, was more serious and also more singular. It +occurred only last night. + +"In Kennington Road, and within a few hundred yards of Morse Hudson's +shop, there lives a well-known medical practitioner, named Dr. Barnicot, +who has one of the largest practices upon the south side of the Thames. +His residence and principal consulting-room is at Kennington Road, but +he has a branch surgery and dispensary at Lower Brixton Road, two miles +away. This Dr. Barnicot is an enthusiastic admirer of Napoleon, and his +house is full of books, pictures, and relics of the French Emperor. Some +little time ago he purchased from Morse Hudson two duplicate plaster +casts of the famous head of Napoleon by the French sculptor, Devine. One +of these he placed in his hall in the house at Kennington Road, and the +other on the mantelpiece of the surgery at Lower Brixton. Well, when Dr. +Barnicot came down this morning he was astonished to find that his house +had been burgled during the night, but that nothing had been taken save +the plaster head from the hall. It had been carried out and had been +dashed savagely against the garden wall, under which its splintered +fragments were discovered." + +Holmes rubbed his hands. + +"This is certainly very novel," said he. + +"I thought it would please you. But I have not got to the end yet. Dr. +Barnicot was due at his surgery at twelve o'clock, and you can imagine +his amazement when, on arriving there, he found that the window had been +opened in the night, and that the broken pieces of his second bust were +strewn all over the room. It had been smashed to atoms where it stood. +In neither case were there any signs which could give us a clue as to +the criminal or lunatic who had done the mischief. Now, Mr. Holmes, you +have got the facts." + +"They are singular, not to say grotesque," said Holmes. "May I ask +whether the two busts smashed in Dr. Barnicot's rooms were the exact +duplicates of the one which was destroyed in Morse Hudson's shop?" + +"They were taken from the same mould." + +"Such a fact must tell against the theory that the man who breaks them +is influenced by any general hatred of Napoleon. Considering how many +hundreds of statues of the great Emperor must exist in London, it is +too much to suppose such a coincidence as that a promiscuous iconoclast +should chance to begin upon three specimens of the same bust." + +"Well, I thought as you do," said Lestrade. "On the other hand, this +Morse Hudson is the purveyor of busts in that part of London, and these +three were the only ones which had been in his shop for years. So, +although, as you say, there are many hundreds of statues in London, it +is very probable that these three were the only ones in that district. +Therefore, a local fanatic would begin with them. What do you think, Dr. +Watson?" + +"There are no limits to the possibilities of monomania," I answered. +"There is the condition which the modern French psychologists have +called the 'idee fixe,' which may be trifling in character, and +accompanied by complete sanity in every other way. A man who had read +deeply about Napoleon, or who had possibly received some hereditary +family injury through the great war, might conceivably form such +an 'idee fixe' and under its influence be capable of any fantastic +outrage." + +"That won't do, my dear Watson," said Holmes, shaking his head; "for no +amount of 'idee fixe' would enable your interesting monomaniac to find +out where these busts were situated." + +"Well, how do YOU explain it?" + +"I don't attempt to do so. I would only observe that there is a certain +method in the gentleman's eccentric proceedings. For example, in Dr. +Barnicot's hall, where a sound might arouse the family, the bust was +taken outside before being broken, whereas in the surgery, where there +was less danger of an alarm, it was smashed where it stood. The affair +seems absurdly trifling, and yet I dare call nothing trivial when I +reflect that some of my most classic cases have had the least promising +commencement. You will remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of +the Abernetty family was first brought to my notice by the depth which +the parsley had sunk into the butter upon a hot day. I can't afford, +therefore, to smile at your three broken busts, Lestrade, and I shall +be very much obliged to you if you will let me hear of any fresh +developments of so singular a chain of events." + + +The development for which my friend had asked came in a quicker and an +infinitely more tragic form than he could have imagined. I was still +dressing in my bedroom next morning when there was a tap at the door and +Holmes entered, a telegram in his hand. He read it aloud:-- + +"Come instantly, 131, Pitt Street, Kensington.--Lestrade." + +"What is it, then?" I asked. + +"Don't know--may be anything. But I suspect it is the sequel of the +story of the statues. In that case our friend, the image-breaker, has +begun operations in another quarter of London. There's coffee on the +table, Watson, and I have a cab at the door." + +In half an hour we had reached Pitt Street, a quiet little backwater +just beside one of the briskest currents of London life. No. 131 was one +of a row, all flat-chested, respectable, and most unromantic dwellings. +As we drove up we found the railings in front of the house lined by a +curious crowd. Holmes whistled. + +"By George! it's attempted murder at the least. Nothing less will hold +the London message-boy. There's a deed of violence indicated in that +fellow's round shoulders and outstretched neck. What's this, Watson? The +top steps swilled down and the other ones dry. Footsteps enough, anyhow! +Well, well, there's Lestrade at the front window, and we shall soon know +all about it." + +The official received us with a very grave face and showed us into a +sitting-room, where an exceedingly unkempt and agitated elderly +man, clad in a flannel dressing-gown, was pacing up and down. He was +introduced to us as the owner of the house--Mr. Horace Harker, of the +Central Press Syndicate. + +"It's the Napoleon bust business again," said Lestrade. "You seemed +interested last night, Mr. Holmes, so I thought perhaps you would be +glad to be present now that the affair has taken a very much graver +turn." + +"What has it turned to, then?" + +"To murder. Mr. Harker, will you tell these gentlemen exactly what has +occurred?" + +The man in the dressing-gown turned upon us with a most melancholy face. + +"It's an extraordinary thing," said he, "that all my life I have been +collecting other people's news, and now that a real piece of news has +come my own way I am so confused and bothered that I can't put two +words together. If I had come in here as a journalist I should have +interviewed myself and had two columns in every evening paper. As it is +I am giving away valuable copy by telling my story over and over to a +string of different people, and I can make no use of it myself. However, +I've heard your name, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and if you'll only explain +this queer business I shall be paid for my trouble in telling you the +story." + +Holmes sat down and listened. + +"It all seems to centre round that bust of Napoleon which I bought for +this very room about four months ago. I picked it up cheap from Harding +Brothers, two doors from the High Street Station. A great deal of my +journalistic work is done at night, and I often write until the early +morning. So it was to-day. I was sitting in my den, which is at the back +of the top of the house, about three o'clock, when I was convinced that +I heard some sounds downstairs. I listened, but they were not repeated, +and I concluded that they came from outside. Then suddenly, about five +minutes later, there came a most horrible yell--the most dreadful sound, +Mr. Holmes, that ever I heard. It will ring in my ears as long as I +live. I sat frozen with horror for a minute or two. Then I seized the +poker and went downstairs. When I entered this room I found the window +wide open, and I at once observed that the bust was gone from the +mantelpiece. Why any burglar should take such a thing passes my +understanding, for it was only a plaster cast and of no real value +whatever. + +"You can see for yourself that anyone going out through that open window +could reach the front doorstep by taking a long stride. This was clearly +what the burglar had done, so I went round and opened the door. Stepping +out into the dark I nearly fell over a dead man who was lying there. I +ran back for a light, and there was the poor fellow, a great gash in his +throat and the whole place swimming in blood. He lay on his back, his +knees drawn up, and his mouth horribly open. I shall see him in my +dreams. I had just time to blow on my police-whistle, and then I must +have fainted, for I knew nothing more until I found the policeman +standing over me in the hall." + +"Well, who was the murdered man?" asked Holmes. + +"There's nothing to show who he was," said Lestrade. "You shall see the +body at the mortuary, but we have made nothing of it up to now. He is a +tall man, sunburned, very powerful, not more than thirty. He is poorly +dressed, and yet does not appear to be a labourer. A horn-handled clasp +knife was lying in a pool of blood beside him. Whether it was the weapon +which did the deed, or whether it belonged to the dead man, I do not +know. There was no name on his clothing, and nothing in his pockets save +an apple, some string, a shilling map of London, and a photograph. Here +it is." + +It was evidently taken by a snap-shot from a small camera. It +represented an alert, sharp-featured simian man with thick eyebrows, and +a very peculiar projection of the lower part of the face like the muzzle +of a baboon. + +"And what became of the bust?" asked Holmes, after a careful study of +this picture. + +"We had news of it just before you came. It has been found in the front +garden of an empty house in Campden House Road. It was broken into +fragments. I am going round now to see it. Will you come?" + +"Certainly. I must just take one look round." He examined the carpet and +the window. "The fellow had either very long legs or was a most active +man," said he. "With an area beneath, it was no mean feat to reach +that window-ledge and open that window. Getting back was comparatively +simple. Are you coming with us to see the remains of your bust, Mr. +Harker?" + +The disconsolate journalist had seated himself at a writing-table. + +"I must try and make something of it," said he, "though I have no doubt +that the first editions of the evening papers are out already with +full details. It's like my luck! You remember when the stand fell at +Doncaster? Well, I was the only journalist in the stand, and my journal +the only one that had no account of it, for I was too shaken to write +it. And now I'll be too late with a murder done on my own doorstep." + +As we left the room we heard his pen travelling shrilly over the +foolscap. + +The spot where the fragments of the bust had been found was only a +few hundred yards away. For the first time our eyes rested upon this +presentment of the great Emperor, which seemed to raise such frantic +and destructive hatred in the mind of the unknown. It lay scattered in +splintered shards upon the grass. Holmes picked up several of them and +examined them carefully. I was convinced from his intent face and his +purposeful manner that at last he was upon a clue. + +"Well?" asked Lestrade. + +Holmes shrugged his shoulders. + +"We have a long way to go yet," said he. "And yet--and yet--well, we +have some suggestive facts to act upon. The possession of this trifling +bust was worth more in the eyes of this strange criminal than a human +life. That is one point. Then there is the singular fact that he did not +break it in the house, or immediately outside the house, if to break it +was his sole object." + +"He was rattled and bustled by meeting this other fellow. He hardly knew +what he was doing." + +"Well, that's likely enough. But I wish to call your attention very +particularly to the position of this house in the garden of which the +bust was destroyed." + +Lestrade looked about him. + +"It was an empty house, and so he knew that he would not be disturbed in +the garden." + +"Yes, but there is another empty house farther up the street which he +must have passed before he came to this one. Why did he not break it +there, since it is evident that every yard that he carried it increased +the risk of someone meeting him?" + +"I give it up," said Lestrade. + +Holmes pointed to the street lamp above our heads. + +"He could see what he was doing here and he could not there. That was +his reason." + +"By Jove! that's true," said the detective. "Now that I come to think of +it, Dr. Barnicot's bust was broken not far from his red lamp. Well, Mr. +Holmes, what are we to do with that fact?" + +"To remember it--to docket it. We may come on something later which will +bear upon it. What steps do you propose to take now, Lestrade?" + +"The most practical way of getting at it, in my opinion, is to identify +the dead man. There should be no difficulty about that. When we have +found who he is and who his associates are, we should have a good start +in learning what he was doing in Pitt Street last night, and who it was +who met him and killed him on the doorstep of Mr. Horace Harker. Don't +you think so?" + +"No doubt; and yet it is not quite the way in which I should approach +the case." + +"What would you do, then?" + +"Oh, you must not let me influence you in any way! I suggest that you +go on your line and I on mine. We can compare notes afterwards, and each +will supplement the other." + +"Very good," said Lestrade. + +"If you are going back to Pitt Street you might see Mr. Horace Harker. +Tell him from me that I have quite made up my mind, and that it is +certain that a dangerous homicidal lunatic with Napoleonic delusions was +in his house last night. It will be useful for his article." + +Lestrade stared. + +"You don't seriously believe that?" + +Holmes smiled. + +"Don't I? Well, perhaps I don't. But I am sure that it will interest Mr. +Horace Harker and the subscribers of the Central Press Syndicate. +Now, Watson, I think that we shall find that we have a long and rather +complex day's work before us. I should be glad, Lestrade, if you could +make it convenient to meet us at Baker Street at six o'clock this +evening. Until then I should like to keep this photograph found in the +dead man's pocket. It is possible that I may have to ask your company +and assistance upon a small expedition which will have be undertaken +to-night, if my chain of reasoning should prove to be correct. Until +then, good-bye and good luck!" + +Sherlock Holmes and I walked together to the High Street, where he +stopped at the shop of Harding Brothers, whence the bust had been +purchased. A young assistant informed us that Mr. Harding would be +absent until after noon, and that he was himself a newcomer who could +give us no information. Holmes's face showed his disappointment and +annoyance. + +"Well, well, we can't expect to have it all our own way, Watson," he +said, at last. "We must come back in the afternoon if Mr. Harding +will not be here until then. I am, as you have no doubt surmised, +endeavouring to trace these busts to their source, in order to find if +there is not something peculiar which may account for their remarkable +fate. Let us make for Mr. Morse Hudson, of the Kennington Road, and see +if he can throw any light upon the problem." + +A drive of an hour brought us to the picture-dealer's establishment. He +was a small, stout man with a red face and a peppery manner. + +"Yes, sir. On my very counter, sir," said he. "What we pay rates and +taxes for I don't know, when any ruffian can come in and break one's +goods. Yes, sir, it was I who sold Dr. Barnicot his two statues. +Disgraceful, sir! A Nihilist plot, that's what I make it. No one but an +Anarchist would go about breaking statues. Red republicans, that's what +I call 'em. Who did I get the statues from? I don't see what that has to +do with it. Well, if you really want to know, I got them from Gelder +and Co., in Church Street, Stepney. They are a well-known house in the +trade, and have been this twenty years. How many had I? Three--two and +one are three--two of Dr. Barnicot's and one smashed in broad daylight +on my own counter. Do I know that photograph? No, I don't. Yes, I do, +though. Why, it's Beppo. He was a kind of Italian piece-work man, who +made himself useful in the shop. He could carve a bit and gild and +frame, and do odd jobs. The fellow left me last week, and I've heard +nothing of him since. No, I don't know where he came from nor where he +went to. I have nothing against him while he was here. He was gone two +days before the bust was smashed." + +"Well, that's all we could reasonably expect to get from Morse Hudson," +said Holmes, as we emerged from the shop. "We have this Beppo as a +common factor, both in Kennington and in Kensington, so that is worth a +ten-mile drive. Now, Watson, let us make for Gelder and Co., of Stepney, +the source and origin of busts. I shall be surprised if we don't get +some help down there." + +In rapid succession we passed through the fringe of fashionable London, +hotel London, theatrical London, literary London, commercial London, +and, finally, maritime London, till we came to a riverside city of a +hundred thousand souls, where the tenement houses swelter and reek with +the outcasts of Europe. Here, in a broad thoroughfare, once the abode +of wealthy City merchants, we found the sculpture works for which we +searched. Outside was a considerable yard full of monumental masonry. +Inside was a large room in which fifty workers were carving or moulding. +The manager, a big blond German, received us civilly, and gave a clear +answer to all Holmes's questions. A reference to his books showed that +hundreds of casts had been taken from a marble copy of Devine's head of +Napoleon, but that the three which had been sent to Morse Hudson a year +or so before had been half of a batch of six, the other three being sent +to Harding Brothers, of Kensington. There was no reason why those six +should be different to any of the other casts. He could suggest no +possible cause why anyone should wish to destroy them--in fact, he +laughed at the idea. Their wholesale price was six shillings, but the +retailer would get twelve or more. The cast was taken in two moulds from +each side of the face, and then these two profiles of plaster of Paris +were joined together to make the complete bust. The work was usually +done by Italians in the room we were in. When finished the busts were +put on a table in the passage to dry, and afterwards stored. That was +all he could tell us. + +But the production of the photograph had a remarkable effect upon the +manager. His face flushed with anger, and his brows knotted over his +blue Teutonic eyes. + +"Ah, the rascal!" he cried. "Yes, indeed, I know him very well. This has +always been a respectable establishment, and the only time that we have +ever had the police in it was over this very fellow. It was more than a +year ago now. He knifed another Italian in the street, and then he came +to the works with the police on his heels, and he was taken here. Beppo +was his name--his second name I never knew. Serve me right for engaging +a man with such a face. But he was a good workman, one of the best." + +"What did he get?" + +"The man lived and he got off with a year. I have no doubt he is out +now; but he has not dared to show his nose here. We have a cousin of his +here, and I dare say he could tell you where he is." + +"No, no," cried Holmes, "not a word to the cousin--not a word, I beg +you. The matter is very important, and the farther I go with it the more +important it seems to grow. When you referred in your ledger to the sale +of those casts I observed that the date was June 3rd of last year. Could +you give me the date when Beppo was arrested?" + +"I could tell you roughly by the pay-list," the manager answered. "Yes," +he continued, after some turning over of pages, "he was paid last on May +20th." + +"Thank you," said Holmes. "I don't think that I need intrude upon your +time and patience any more." With a last word of caution that he should +say nothing as to our researches we turned our faces westward once more. + +The afternoon was far advanced before we were able to snatch a hasty +luncheon at a restaurant. A news-bill at the entrance announced +"Kensington Outrage. Murder by a Madman," and the contents of the paper +showed that Mr. Horace Harker had got his account into print after +all. Two columns were occupied with a highly sensational and flowery +rendering of the whole incident. Holmes propped it against the +cruet-stand and read it while he ate. Once or twice he chuckled. + +"This is all right, Watson," said he. "Listen to this: 'It is +satisfactory to know that there can be no difference of opinion upon +this case, since Mr. Lestrade, one of the most experienced members of +the official force, and Mr. Sherlock Holmes, the well-known consulting +expert, have each come to the conclusion that the grotesque series of +incidents, which have ended in so tragic a fashion, arise from lunacy +rather than from deliberate crime. No explanation save mental aberration +can cover the facts.' The Press, Watson, is a most valuable institution +if you only know how to use it. And now, if you have quite finished, +we will hark back to Kensington and see what the manager of Harding +Brothers has to say to the matter." + +The founder of that great emporium proved to be a brisk, crisp little +person, very dapper and quick, with a clear head and a ready tongue. + +"Yes, sir, I have already read the account in the evening papers. Mr. +Horace Harker is a customer of ours. We supplied him with the bust some +months ago. We ordered three busts of that sort from Gelder and Co., of +Stepney. They are all sold now. To whom? Oh, I dare say by consulting +our sales book we could very easily tell you. Yes, we have the entries +here. One to Mr. Harker, you see, and one to Mr. Josiah Brown, of +Laburnum Lodge, Laburnum Vale, Chiswick, and one to Mr. Sandeford, of +Lower Grove Road, Reading. No, I have never seen this face which you +show me in the photograph. You would hardly forget it, would you, sir, +for I've seldom seen an uglier. Have we any Italians on the staff? Yes, +sir, we have several among our workpeople and cleaners. I dare say +they might get a peep at that sales book if they wanted to. There is no +particular reason for keeping a watch upon that book. Well, well, it's +a very strange business, and I hope that you'll let me know if anything +comes of your inquiries." + +Holmes had taken several notes during Mr. Harding's evidence, and I +could see that he was thoroughly satisfied by the turn which affairs +were taking. He made no remark, however, save that, unless we hurried, +we should be late for our appointment with Lestrade. Sure enough, when +we reached Baker Street the detective was already there, and we found +him pacing up and down in a fever of impatience. His look of importance +showed that his day's work had not been in vain. + +"Well?" he asked. "What luck, Mr. Holmes?" + +"We have had a very busy day, and not entirely a wasted one," my friend +explained. "We have seen both the retailers and also the wholesale +manufacturers. I can trace each of the busts now from the beginning." + +"The busts!" cried Lestrade. "Well, well, you have your own methods, Mr. +Sherlock Holmes, and it is not for me to say a word against them, but +I think I have done a better day's work than you. I have identified the +dead man." + +"You don't say so?" + +"And found a cause for the crime." + +"Splendid!" + +"We have an inspector who makes a specialty of Saffron Hill and the +Italian quarter. Well, this dead man had some Catholic emblem round his +neck, and that, along with his colour, made me think he was from the +South. Inspector Hill knew him the moment he caught sight of him. His +name is Pietro Venucci, from Naples, and he is one of the greatest +cut-throats in London. He is connected with the Mafia, which, as you +know, is a secret political society, enforcing its decrees by murder. +Now you see how the affair begins to clear up. The other fellow is +probably an Italian also, and a member of the Mafia. He has broken +the rules in some fashion. Pietro is set upon his track. Probably the +photograph we found in his pocket is the man himself, so that he may not +knife the wrong person. He dogs the fellow, he sees him enter a house, +he waits outside for him, and in the scuffle he receives his own +death-wound. How is that, Mr. Sherlock Holmes?" + +Holmes clapped his hands approvingly. + +"Excellent, Lestrade, excellent!" he cried. "But I didn't quite follow +your explanation of the destruction of the busts." + +"The busts! You never can get those busts out of your head. After all, +that is nothing; petty larceny, six months at the most. It is the murder +that we are really investigating, and I tell you that I am gathering all +the threads into my hands." + +"And the next stage?" + +"Is a very simple one. I shall go down with Hill to the Italian quarter, +find the man whose photograph we have got, and arrest him on the charge +of murder. Will you come with us?" + +"I think not. I fancy we can attain our end in a simpler way. I can't +say for certain, because it all depends--well, it all depends upon +a factor which is completely outside our control. But I have great +hopes--in fact, the betting is exactly two to one--that if you will come +with us to-night I shall be able to help you to lay him by the heels." + +"In the Italian quarter?" + +"No; I fancy Chiswick is an address which is more likely to find him. If +you will come with me to Chiswick to-night, Lestrade, I'll promise to go +to the Italian quarter with you to-morrow, and no harm will be done by +the delay. And now I think that a few hours' sleep would do us all good, +for I do not propose to leave before eleven o'clock, and it is unlikely +that we shall be back before morning. You'll dine with us, Lestrade, and +then you are welcome to the sofa until it is time for us to start. In +the meantime, Watson, I should be glad if you would ring for an express +messenger, for I have a letter to send, and it is important that it +should go at once." + +Holmes spent the evening in rummaging among the files of the old daily +papers with which one of our lumber-rooms was packed. When at last he +descended it was with triumph in his eyes, but he said nothing to +either of us as to the result of his researches. For my own part, I had +followed step by step the methods by which he had traced the various +windings of this complex case, and, though I could not yet perceive the +goal which we would reach, I understood clearly that Holmes expected +this grotesque criminal to make an attempt upon the two remaining busts, +one of which, I remembered, was at Chiswick. No doubt the object of our +journey was to catch him in the very act, and I could not but admire the +cunning with which my friend had inserted a wrong clue in the evening +paper, so as to give the fellow the idea that he could continue his +scheme with impunity. I was not surprised when Holmes suggested that +I should take my revolver with me. He had himself picked up the loaded +hunting-crop which was his favourite weapon. + +A four-wheeler was at the door at eleven, and in it we drove to a spot +at the other side of Hammersmith Bridge. Here the cabman was directed to +wait. A short walk brought us to a secluded road fringed with pleasant +houses, each standing in its own grounds. In the light of a street +lamp we read "Laburnum Villa" upon the gate-post of one of them. The +occupants had evidently retired to rest, for all was dark save for a +fanlight over the hall door, which shed a single blurred circle on to +the garden path. The wooden fence which separated the grounds from the +road threw a dense black shadow upon the inner side, and here it was +that we crouched. + +"I fear that you'll have a long wait," Holmes whispered. "We may thank +our stars that it is not raining. I don't think we can even venture to +smoke to pass the time. However, it's a two to one chance that we get +something to pay us for our trouble." + +It proved, however, that our vigil was not to be so long as Holmes had +led us to fear, and it ended in a very sudden and singular fashion. In +an instant, without the least sound to warn us of his coming, the garden +gate swung open, and a lithe, dark figure, as swift and active as an +ape, rushed up the garden path. We saw it whisk past the light thrown +from over the door and disappear against the black shadow of the house. +There was a long pause, during which we held our breath, and then a very +gentle creaking sound came to our ears. The window was being opened. The +noise ceased, and again there was a long silence. The fellow was making +his way into the house. We saw the sudden flash of a dark lantern inside +the room. What he sought was evidently not there, for again we saw the +flash through another blind, and then through another. + +"Let us get to the open window. We will nab him as he climbs out," +Lestrade whispered. + +But before we could move the man had emerged again. As he came out into +the glimmering patch of light we saw that he carried something white +under his arm. He looked stealthily all round him. The silence of the +deserted street reassured him. Turning his back upon us he laid down +his burden, and the next instant there was the sound of a sharp tap, +followed by a clatter and rattle. The man was so intent upon what he was +doing that he never heard our steps as we stole across the grass plot. +With the bound of a tiger Holmes was on his back, and an instant later +Lestrade and I had him by either wrist and the handcuffs had been +fastened. As we turned him over I saw a hideous, sallow face, with +writhing, furious features, glaring up at us, and I knew that it was +indeed the man of the photograph whom we had secured. + +But it was not our prisoner to whom Holmes was giving his attention. +Squatted on the doorstep, he was engaged in most carefully examining +that which the man had brought from the house. It was a bust of Napoleon +like the one which we had seen that morning, and it had been broken +into similar fragments. Carefully Holmes held each separate shard to +the light, but in no way did it differ from any other shattered piece of +plaster. He had just completed his examination when the hall lights flew +up, the door opened, and the owner of the house, a jovial, rotund figure +in shirt and trousers, presented himself. + +"Mr. Josiah Brown, I suppose?" said Holmes. + +"Yes, sir; and you, no doubt, are Mr. Sherlock Holmes? I had the note +which you sent by the express messenger, and I did exactly what you told +me. We locked every door on the inside and awaited developments. Well, +I'm very glad to see that you have got the rascal. I hope, gentlemen, +that you will come in and have some refreshment." + +However, Lestrade was anxious to get his man into safe quarters, so +within a few minutes our cab had been summoned and we were all four upon +our way to London. Not a word would our captive say; but he glared at us +from the shadow of his matted hair, and once, when my hand seemed within +his reach, he snapped at it like a hungry wolf. We stayed long enough +at the police-station to learn that a search of his clothing revealed +nothing save a few shillings and a long sheath knife, the handle of +which bore copious traces of recent blood. + +"That's all right," said Lestrade, as we parted. "Hill knows all these +gentry, and he will give a name to him. You'll find that my theory of +the Mafia will work out all right. But I'm sure I am exceedingly obliged +to you, Mr. Holmes, for the workmanlike way in which you laid hands upon +him. I don't quite understand it all yet." + +"I fear it is rather too late an hour for explanations," said Holmes. +"Besides, there are one or two details which are not finished off, and +it is one of those cases which are worth working out to the very end. +If you will come round once more to my rooms at six o'clock to-morrow I +think I shall be able to show you that even now you have not grasped the +entire meaning of this business, which presents some features which make +it absolutely original in the history of crime. If ever I permit you +to chronicle any more of my little problems, Watson, I foresee that you +will enliven your pages by an account of the singular adventure of the +Napoleonic busts." + + +When we met again next evening Lestrade was furnished with much +information concerning our prisoner. His name, it appeared, was Beppo, +second name unknown. He was a well-known ne'er-do-well among the Italian +colony. He had once been a skilful sculptor and had earned an honest +living, but he had taken to evil courses and had twice already been +in gaol--once for a petty theft and once, as we had already heard, for +stabbing a fellow-countryman. He could talk English perfectly well. His +reasons for destroying the busts were still unknown, and he refused to +answer any questions upon the subject; but the police had discovered +that these same busts might very well have been made by his own hands, +since he was engaged in this class of work at the establishment of +Gelder and Co. To all this information, much of which we already knew, +Holmes listened with polite attention; but I, who knew him so well, +could clearly see that his thoughts were elsewhere, and I detected a +mixture of mingled uneasiness and expectation beneath that mask which +he was wont to assume. At last he started in his chair and his eyes +brightened. There had been a ring at the bell. A minute later we heard +steps upon the stairs, and an elderly, red-faced man with grizzled +side-whiskers was ushered in. In his right hand he carried an +old-fashioned carpet-bag, which he placed upon the table. + +"Is Mr. Sherlock Holmes here?" + +My friend bowed and smiled. "Mr. Sandeford, of Reading, I suppose?" said +he. + +"Yes, sir, I fear that I am a little late; but the trains were awkward. +You wrote to me about a bust that is in my possession." + +"Exactly." + +"I have your letter here. You said, 'I desire to possess a copy of +Devine's Napoleon, and am prepared to pay you ten pounds for the one +which is in your possession.' Is that right?" + +"Certainly." + +"I was very much surprised at your letter, for I could not imagine how +you knew that I owned such a thing." + +"Of course you must have been surprised, but the explanation is very +simple. Mr. Harding, of Harding Brothers, said that they had sold you +their last copy, and he gave me your address." + +"Oh, that was it, was it? Did he tell you what I paid for it?" + +"No, he did not." + +"Well, I am an honest man, though not a very rich one. I only gave +fifteen shillings for the bust, and I think you ought to know that +before I take ten pounds from you." + +"I am sure the scruple does you honour, Mr. Sandeford. But I have named +that price, so I intend to stick to it." + +"Well, it is very handsome of you, Mr. Holmes. I brought the bust up +with me, as you asked me to do. Here it is!" He opened his bag, and at +last we saw placed upon our table a complete specimen of that bust which +we had already seen more than once in fragments. + +Holmes took a paper from his pocket and laid a ten-pound note upon the +table. + +"You will kindly sign that paper, Mr. Sandeford, in the presence of +these witnesses. It is simply to say that you transfer every possible +right that you ever had in the bust to me. I am a methodical man, you +see, and you never know what turn events might take afterwards. Thank +you, Mr. Sandeford; here is your money, and I wish you a very good +evening." + +When our visitor had disappeared Sherlock Holmes's movements were such +as to rivet our attention. He began by taking a clean white cloth from +a drawer and laying it over the table. Then he placed his newly-acquired +bust in the centre of the cloth. Finally, he picked up his hunting-crop +and struck Napoleon a sharp blow on the top of the head. The figure +broke into fragments, and Holmes bent eagerly over the shattered +remains. Next instant, with a loud shout of triumph, he held up one +splinter, in which a round, dark object was fixed like a plum in a +pudding. + +"Gentlemen," he cried, "let me introduce you to the famous black pearl +of the Borgias." + +Lestrade and I sat silent for a moment, and then, with a spontaneous +impulse, we both broke out clapping as at the well-wrought crisis of a +play. A flush of colour sprang to Holmes's pale cheeks, and he bowed to +us like the master dramatist who receives the homage of his audience. +It was at such moments that for an instant he ceased to be a reasoning +machine, and betrayed his human love for admiration and applause. The +same singularly proud and reserved nature which turned away with disdain +from popular notoriety was capable of being moved to its depths by +spontaneous wonder and praise from a friend. + +"Yes, gentlemen," said he, "it is the most famous pearl now existing +in the world, and it has been my good fortune, by a connected chain of +inductive reasoning, to trace it from the Prince of Colonna's bedroom at +the Dacre Hotel, where it was lost, to the interior of this, the last of +the six busts of Napoleon which were manufactured by Gelder and Co., +of Stepney. You will remember, Lestrade, the sensation caused by the +disappearance of this valuable jewel, and the vain efforts of the London +police to recover it. I was myself consulted upon the case; but I was +unable to throw any light upon it. Suspicion fell upon the maid of the +Princess, who was an Italian, and it was proved that she had a brother +in London, but we failed to trace any connection between them. The +maid's name was Lucretia Venucci, and there is no doubt in my mind that +this Pietro who was murdered two nights ago was the brother. I have been +looking up the dates in the old files of the paper, and I find that the +disappearance of the pearl was exactly two days before the arrest of +Beppo for some crime of violence, an event which took place in the +factory of Gelder and Co., at the very moment when these busts were +being made. Now you clearly see the sequence of events, though you see +them, of course, in the inverse order to the way in which they presented +themselves to me. Beppo had the pearl in his possession. He may have +stolen it from Pietro, he may have been Pietro's confederate, he +may have been the go-between of Pietro and his sister. It is of no +consequence to us which is the correct solution. + +"The main fact is that he HAD the pearl, and at that moment, when it was +on his person, he was pursued by the police. He made for the factory in +which he worked, and he knew that he had only a few minutes in which to +conceal this enormously valuable prize, which would otherwise be found +on him when he was searched. Six plaster casts of Napoleon were drying +in the passage. One of them was still soft. In an instant Beppo, a +skilful workman, made a small hole in the wet plaster, dropped in the +pearl, and with a few touches covered over the aperture once more. It +was an admirable hiding-place. No one could possibly find it. But Beppo +was condemned to a year's imprisonment, and in the meanwhile his six +busts were scattered over London. He could not tell which contained his +treasure. Only by breaking them could he see. Even shaking would tell +him nothing, for as the plaster was wet it was probable that the pearl +would adhere to it--as, in fact, it has done. Beppo did not despair, and +he conducted his search with considerable ingenuity and perseverance. +Through a cousin who works with Gelder he found out the retail firms who +had bought the busts. He managed to find employment with Morse Hudson, +and in that way tracked down three of them. The pearl was not there. +Then, with the help of some Italian EMPLOYEE, he succeeded in finding out +where the other three busts had gone. The first was at Harker's. There +he was dogged by his confederate, who held Beppo responsible for the +loss of the pearl, and he stabbed him in the scuffle which followed." + +"If he was his confederate why should he carry his photograph?" I asked. + +"As a means of tracing him if he wished to inquire about him from any +third person. That was the obvious reason. Well, after the murder +I calculated that Beppo would probably hurry rather than delay his +movements. He would fear that the police would read his secret, and so +he hastened on before they should get ahead of him. Of course, I could +not say that he had not found the pearl in Harker's bust. I had not even +concluded for certain that it was the pearl; but it was evident to me +that he was looking for something, since he carried the bust past +the other houses in order to break it in the garden which had a lamp +overlooking it. Since Harker's bust was one in three the chances were +exactly as I told you, two to one against the pearl being inside it. +There remained two busts, and it was obvious that he would go for the +London one first. I warned the inmates of the house, so as to avoid +a second tragedy, and we went down with the happiest results. By that +time, of course, I knew for certain that it was the Borgia pearl that we +were after. The name of the murdered man linked the one event with the +other. There only remained a single bust--the Reading one--and the pearl +must be there. I bought it in your presence from the owner--and there it +lies." + +We sat in silence for a moment. + +"Well," said Lestrade, "I've seen you handle a good many cases, Mr. +Holmes, but I don't know that I ever knew a more workmanlike one than +that. We're not jealous of you at Scotland Yard. No, sir, we are very +proud of you, and if you come down to-morrow there's not a man, from +the oldest inspector to the youngest constable, who wouldn't be glad to +shake you by the hand." + +"Thank you!" said Holmes. "Thank you!" and as he turned away it seemed +to me that he was more nearly moved by the softer human emotions than I +had ever seen him. A moment later he was the cold and practical thinker +once more. "Put the pearl in the safe, Watson," said he, "and get out +the papers of the Conk-Singleton forgery case. Good-bye, Lestrade. If +any little problem comes your way I shall be happy, if I can, to give +you a hint or two as to its solution." + + +***** + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 27 JUNE, 1904 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +IX.--The Adventure of the Three Students. + + +IT was in the year '95 that a combination of events, into which I need +not enter, caused Mr. Sherlock Holmes and myself to spend some weeks in +one of our great University towns, and it was during this time that the +small but instructive adventure which I am about to relate befell us. It +will be obvious that any details which would help the reader to exactly +identify the college or the criminal would be injudicious and offensive. +So painful a scandal may well be allowed to die out. With due discretion +the incident itself may, however, be described, since it serves to +illustrate some of those qualities for which my friend was remarkable. +I will endeavour in my statement to avoid such terms as would serve +to limit the events to any particular place, or give a clue as to the +people concerned. + +We were residing at the time in furnished lodgings close to a library +where Sherlock Holmes was pursuing some laborious researches in early +English charters--researches which led to results so striking that they +may be the subject of one of my future narratives. Here it was that one +evening we received a visit from an acquaintance, Mr. Hilton Soames, +tutor and lecturer at the College of St. Luke's. Mr. Soames was a tall, +spare man, of a nervous and excitable temperament. I had always known +him to be restless in his manner, but on this particular occasion he was +in such a state of uncontrollable agitation that it was clear something +very unusual had occurred. + +"I trust, Mr. Holmes, that you can spare me a few hours of your valuable +time. We have had a very painful incident at St. Luke's, and really, but +for the happy chance of your being in the town, I should have been at a +loss what to do." + +"I am very busy just now, and I desire no distractions," my friend +answered. "I should much prefer that you called in the aid of the +police." + +"No, no, my dear sir; such a course is utterly impossible. When once the +law is evoked it cannot be stayed again, and this is just one of those +cases where, for the credit of the college, it is most essential to +avoid scandal. Your discretion is as well known as your powers, and you +are the one man in the world who can help me. I beg you, Mr. Holmes, to +do what you can." + +My friend's temper had not improved since he had been deprived of the +congenial surroundings of Baker Street. Without his scrap-books, his +chemicals, and his homely untidiness, he was an uncomfortable man. He +shrugged his shoulders in ungracious acquiescence, while our visitor +in hurried words and with much excitable gesticulation poured forth his +story. + +"I must explain to you, Mr. Holmes, that to-morrow is the first day +of the examination for the Fortescue Scholarship. I am one of the +examiners. My subject is Greek, and the first of the papers consists of +a large passage of Greek translation which the candidate has not seen. +This passage is printed on the examination paper, and it would naturally +be an immense advantage if the candidate could prepare it in advance. +For this reason great care is taken to keep the paper secret. + +"To-day about three o'clock the proofs of this paper arrived from the +printers. The exercise consists of half a chapter of Thucydides. I had +to read it over carefully, as the text must be absolutely correct. At +four-thirty my task was not yet completed. I had, however, promised to +take tea in a friend's rooms, so I left the proof upon my desk. I was +absent rather more than an hour. + +"You are aware, Mr. Holmes, that our college doors are double--a green +baize one within and a heavy oak one without. As I approached my outer +door I was amazed to see a key in it. For an instant I imagined that I +had left my own there, but on feeling in my pocket I found that it was +all right. The only duplicate which existed, so far as I knew, was that +which belonged to my servant, Bannister, a man who has looked after my +room for ten years, and whose honesty is absolutely above suspicion. I +found that the key was indeed his, that he had entered my room to know +if I wanted tea, and that he had very carelessly left the key in the +door when he came out. His visit to my room must have been within a very +few minutes of my leaving it. His forgetfulness about the key would +have mattered little upon any other occasion, but on this one day it has +produced the most deplorable consequences. + +"The moment I looked at my table I was aware that someone had rummaged +among my papers. The proof was in three long slips. I had left them all +together. Now, I found that one of them was lying on the floor, one was +on the side table near the window, and the third was where I had left +it." + +Holmes stirred for the first time. + +"The first page on the floor, the second in the window, the third where +you left it," said he. + +"Exactly, Mr. Holmes. You amaze me. How could you possibly know that?" + +"Pray continue your very interesting statement." + +"For an instant I imagined that Bannister had taken the unpardonable +liberty of examining my papers. He denied it, however, with the utmost +earnestness, and I am convinced that he was speaking the truth. The +alternative was that someone passing had observed the key in the door, +had known that I was out, and had entered to look at the papers. A large +sum of money is at stake, for the scholarship is a very valuable one, +and an unscrupulous man might very well run a risk in order to gain an +advantage over his fellows. + +"Bannister was very much upset by the incident. He had nearly fainted +when we found that the papers had undoubtedly been tampered with. I gave +him a little brandy and left him collapsed in a chair while I made a +most careful examination of the room. I soon saw that the intruder had +left other traces of his presence besides the rumpled papers. On the +table in the window were several shreds from a pencil which had been +sharpened. A broken tip of lead was lying there also. Evidently the +rascal had copied the paper in a great hurry, had broken his pencil, and +had been compelled to put a fresh point to it." + +"Excellent!" said Holmes, who was recovering his good-humour as his +attention became more engrossed by the case. "Fortune has been your +friend." + +"This was not all. I have a new writing-table with a fine surface of red +leather. I am prepared to swear, and so is Bannister, that it was +smooth and unstained. Now I found a clean cut in it about three inches +long--not a mere scratch, but a positive cut. Not only this, but on +the table I found a small ball of black dough, or clay, with specks +of something which looks like sawdust in it. I am convinced that +these marks were left by the man who rifled the papers. There were no +footmarks and no other evidence as to his identity. I was at my wits' +ends, when suddenly the happy thought occurred to me that you were in +the town, and I came straight round to put the matter into your hands. +Do help me, Mr. Holmes! You see my dilemma. Either I must find the +man or else the examination must be postponed until fresh papers are +prepared, and since this cannot be done without explanation there +will ensue a hideous scandal, which will throw a cloud not only on the +college, but on the University. Above all things I desire to settle the +matter quietly and discreetly." + +"I shall be happy to look into it and to give you such advice as I +can," said Holmes, rising and putting on his overcoat. "The case is not +entirely devoid of interest. Had anyone visited you in your room after +the papers came to you?" + +"Yes; young Daulat Ras, an Indian student who lives on the same stair, +came in to ask me some particulars about the examination." + +"For which he was entered?" + +"Yes." + +"And the papers were on your table?" + +"To the best of my belief they were rolled up." + +"But might be recognised as proofs?" + +"Possibly." + +"No one else in your room?" + +"No." + +"Did anyone know that these proofs would be there?" + +"No one save the printer." + +"Did this man Bannister know?" + +"No, certainly not. No one knew." + +"Where is Bannister now?" + +"He was very ill, poor fellow. I left him collapsed in the chair. I was +in such a hurry to come to you." + +"You left your door open?" + +"I locked up the papers first." + +"Then it amounts to this, Mr. Soames, that unless the Indian student +recognised the roll as being proofs, the man who tampered with them came +upon them accidentally without knowing that they were there." + +"So it seems to me." + +Holmes gave an enigmatic smile. + +"Well," said he, "let us go round. Not one of your cases, +Watson--mental, not physical. All right; come if you want to. Now, Mr. +Soames--at your disposal!" + + +The sitting-room of our client opened by a long, low, latticed window on +to the ancient lichen-tinted court of the old college. A Gothic arched +door led to a worn stone staircase. On the ground floor was the tutor's +room. Above were three students, one on each story. It was already +twilight when we reached the scene of our problem. Holmes halted and +looked earnestly at the window. Then he approached it, and, standing on +tiptoe with his neck craned, he looked into the room. + +"He must have entered through the door. There is no opening except the +one pane," said our learned guide. + +"Dear me!" said Holmes, and he smiled in a singular way as he glanced at +our companion. "Well, if there is nothing to be learned here we had best +go inside." + +The lecturer unlocked the outer door and ushered us into his room. We +stood at the entrance while Holmes made an examination of the carpet. + +"I am afraid there are no signs here," said he. "One could hardly hope +for any upon so dry a day. Your servant seems to have quite recovered. +You left him in a chair, you say; which chair?" + +"By the window there." + +"I see. Near this little table. You can come in now. I have finished +with the carpet. Let us take the little table first. Of course, what has +happened is very clear. The man entered and took the papers, sheet by +sheet, from the central table. He carried them over to the window table, +because from there he could see if you came across the courtyard, and so +could effect an escape." + +"As a matter of fact he could not," said Soames, "for I entered by the +side door." + +"Ah, that's good! Well, anyhow, that was in his mind. Let me see the +three strips. No finger impressions--no! Well, he carried over this one +first and he copied it. How long would it take him to do that, using +every possible contraction? A quarter of an hour, not less. Then he +tossed it down and seized the next. He was in the midst of that when +your return caused him to make a very hurried retreat--VERY hurried, +since he had not time to replace the papers which would tell you that he +had been there. You were not aware of any hurrying feet on the stair as +you entered the outer door?" + +"No, I can't say I was." + +"Well, he wrote so furiously that he broke his pencil, and had, as you +observe, to sharpen it again. This is of interest, Watson. The pencil +was not an ordinary one. It was above the usual size, with a soft lead; +the outer colour was dark blue, the maker's name was printed in silver +lettering, and the piece remaining is only about an inch and a half +long. Look for such a pencil, Mr. Soames, and you have got your man. +When I add that he possesses a large and very blunt knife, you have an +additional aid." + +Mr. Soames was somewhat overwhelmed by this flood of information. "I can +follow the other points," said he, "but really, in this matter of the +length----" + +Holmes held out a small chip with the letters NN and a space of clear +wood after them. + +"You see?" + +"No, I fear that even now----" + +"Watson, I have always done you an injustice. There are others. What +could this NN be? It is at the end of a word. You are aware that Johann +Faber is the most common maker's name. Is it not clear that there is +just as much of the pencil left as usually follows the Johann?" He held +the small table sideways to the electric light. "I was hoping that if +the paper on which he wrote was thin some trace of it might come through +upon this polished surface. No, I see nothing. I don't think there is +anything more to be learned here. Now for the central table. This small +pellet is, I presume, the black, doughy mass you spoke of. Roughly +pyramidal in shape and hollowed out, I perceive. As you say, there +appear to be grains of sawdust in it. Dear me, this is very interesting. +And the cut--a positive tear, I see. It began with a thin scratch and +ended in a jagged hole. I am much indebted to you for directing my +attention to this case, Mr. Soames. Where does that door lead to?" + +"To my bedroom." + +"Have you been in it since your adventure?" + +"No; I came straight away for you." + +"I should like to have a glance round. What a charming, old-fashioned +room! Perhaps you will kindly wait a minute until I have examined the +floor. No, I see nothing. What about this curtain? You hang your clothes +behind it. If anyone were forced to conceal himself in this room he must +do it there, since the bed is too low and the wardrobe too shallow. No +one there, I suppose?" + +As Holmes drew the curtain I was aware, from some little rigidity and +alertness of his attitude, that he was prepared for an emergency. As +a matter of fact the drawn curtain disclosed nothing but three or four +suits of clothes hanging from a line of pegs. Holmes turned away and +stooped suddenly to the floor. + +"Halloa! What's this?" said he. + +It was a small pyramid of black, putty-like stuff, exactly like the one +upon the table of the study. Holmes held it out on his open palm in the +glare of the electric light. + +"Your visitor seems to have left traces in your bedroom as well as in +your sitting-room, Mr. Soames." + +"What could he have wanted there?" + +"I think it is clear enough. You came back by an unexpected way, and so +he had no warning until you were at the very door. What could he do? +He caught up everything which would betray him and he rushed into your +bedroom to conceal himself." + +"Good gracious, Mr. Holmes, do you mean to tell me that all the time I +was talking to Bannister in this room we had the man prisoner if we had +only known it?" + +"So I read it." + +"Surely there is another alternative, Mr. Holmes. I don't know whether +you observed my bedroom window?" + +"Lattice-paned, lead framework, three separate windows, one swinging on +hinge and large enough to admit a man." + +"Exactly. And it looks out on an angle of the courtyard so as to be +partly invisible. The man might have effected his entrance there, left +traces as he passed through the bedroom, and, finally, finding the door +open have escaped that way." + +Holmes shook his head impatiently. + +"Let us be practical," said he. "I understand you to say that there are +three students who use this stair and are in the habit of passing your +door?" + +"Yes, there are." + +"And they are all in for this examination?" + +"Yes." + +"Have you any reason to suspect any one of them more than the others?" + +Soames hesitated. + +"It is a very delicate question," said he. "One hardly likes to throw +suspicion where there are no proofs." + +"Let us hear the suspicions. I will look after the proofs." + +"I will tell you, then, in a few words the character of the three men +who inhabit these rooms. The lower of the three is Gilchrist, a fine +scholar and athlete; plays in the Rugby team and the cricket team for +the college, and got his Blue for the hurdles and the long jump. He is +a fine, manly fellow. His father was the notorious Sir Jabez Gilchrist, +who ruined himself on the turf. My scholar has been left very poor, but +he is hard-working and industrious. He will do well. + +"The second floor is inhabited by Daulat Ras, the Indian. He is a quiet, +inscrutable fellow, as most of those Indians are. He is well up in his +work, though his Greek is his weak subject. He is steady and methodical. + +"The top floor belongs to Miles McLaren. He is a brilliant fellow when +he chooses to work--one of the brightest intellects of the University, +but he is wayward, dissipated, and unprincipled. He was nearly expelled +over a card scandal in his first year. He has been idling all this term, +and he must look forward with dread to the examination." + +"Then it is he whom you suspect?" + +"I dare not go so far as that. But of the three he is perhaps the least +unlikely." + +"Exactly. Now, Mr. Soames, let us have a look at your servant, +Bannister." + +He was a little, white-faced, clean-shaven, grizzly-haired fellow of +fifty. He was still suffering from this sudden disturbance of the quiet +routine of his life. His plump face was twitching with his nervousness, +and his fingers could not keep still. + +"We are investigating this unhappy business, Bannister," said his +master. + +"Yes, sir." + +"I understand," said Holmes, "that you left your key in the door?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Was it not very extraordinary that you should do this on the very day +when there were these papers inside?" + +"It was most unfortunate, sir. But I have occasionally done the same +thing at other times." + +"When did you enter the room?" + +"It was about half-past four. That is Mr. Soames's tea time." + +"How long did you stay?" + +"When I saw that he was absent I withdrew at once." + +"Did you look at these papers on the table?" + +"No, sir; certainly not." + +"How came you to leave the key in the door?" + +"I had the tea-tray in my hand. I thought I would come back for the key. +Then I forgot." + +"Has the outer door a spring lock?" + +"No, sir." + +"Then it was open all the time?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Anyone in the room could get out?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"When Mr. Soames returned and called for you, you were very much +disturbed?" + +"Yes, sir. Such a thing has never happened during the many years that I +have been here. I nearly fainted, sir." + +"So I understand. Where were you when you began to feel bad?" + +"Where was I, sir? Why, here, near the door." + +"That is singular, because you sat down in that chair over yonder near +the corner. Why did you pass these other chairs?" + +"I don't know, sir. It didn't matter to me where I sat." + +"I really don't think he knew much about it, Mr. Holmes. He was looking +very bad--quite ghastly." + +"You stayed here when your master left?" + +"Only for a minute or so. Then I locked the door and went to my room." + +"Whom do you suspect?" + +"Oh, I would not venture to say, sir. I don't believe there is any +gentleman in this University who is capable of profiting by such an +action. No, sir, I'll not believe it." + +"Thank you; that will do," said Holmes. "Oh, one more word. You have not +mentioned to any of the three gentlemen whom you attend that anything is +amiss?" + +"No, sir; not a word." + +"You haven't seen any of them?" + +"No, sir." + +"Very good. Now, Mr. Soames, we will take a walk in the quadrangle, if +you please." + +Three yellow squares of light shone above us in the gathering gloom. + +"Your three birds are all in their nests," said Holmes, looking up. +"Halloa! What's that? One of them seems restless enough." + +It was the Indian, whose dark silhouette appeared suddenly upon his +blind. He was pacing swiftly up and down his room. + +"I should like to have a peep at each of them," said Holmes. "Is it +possible?" + +"No difficulty in the world," Soames answered. "This set of rooms is +quite the oldest in the college, and it is not unusual for visitors to +go over them. Come along, and I will personally conduct you." + +"No names, please!" said Holmes, as we knocked at Gilchrist's door. A +tall, flaxen-haired, slim young fellow opened it, and made us welcome +when he understood our errand. There were some really curious pieces of +mediaeval domestic architecture within. Holmes was so charmed with +one of them that he insisted on drawing it on his note-book, broke his +pencil, had to borrow one from our host, and finally borrowed a knife to +sharpen his own. The same curious accident happened to him in the rooms +of the Indian--a silent, little, hook-nosed fellow, who eyed us askance +and was obviously glad when Holmes's architectural studies had come to +an end. I could not see that in either case Holmes had come upon the +clue for which he was searching. Only at the third did our visit prove +abortive. The outer door would not open to our knock, and nothing more +substantial than a torrent of bad language came from behind it. "I +don't care who you are. You can go to blazes!" roared the angry voice. +"To-morrow's the exam, and I won't be drawn by anyone." + +"A rude fellow," said our guide, flushing with anger as we withdrew +down the stair. "Of course, he did not realize that it was I who was +knocking, but none the less his conduct was very uncourteous, and, +indeed, under the circumstances rather suspicious." + +Holmes's response was a curious one. + +"Can you tell me his exact height?" he asked. + +"Really, Mr. Holmes, I cannot undertake to say. He is taller than the +Indian, not so tall as Gilchrist. I suppose five foot six would be about +it." + +"That is very important," said Holmes. "And now, Mr. Soames, I wish you +good-night." + +Our guide cried aloud in his astonishment and dismay. "Good gracious, +Mr. Holmes, you are surely not going to leave me in this abrupt fashion! +You don't seem to realize the position. To-morrow is the examination. I +must take some definite action to-night. I cannot allow the examination +to be held if one of the papers has been tampered with. The situation +must be faced." + +"You must leave it as it is. I shall drop round early to-morrow morning +and chat the matter over. It is possible that I may be in a position +then to indicate some course of action. Meanwhile you change +nothing--nothing at all." + +"Very good, Mr. Holmes." + +"You can be perfectly easy in your mind. We shall certainly find some +way out of your difficulties. I will take the black clay with me, also +the pencil cuttings. Good-bye." + +When we were out in the darkness of the quadrangle we again looked up at +the windows. The Indian still paced his room. The others were invisible. + +"Well, Watson, what do you think of it?" Holmes asked, as we came out +into the main street. "Quite a little parlour game--sort of three-card +trick, is it not? There are your three men. It must be one of them. You +take your choice. Which is yours?" + +"The foul-mouthed fellow at the top. He is the one with the worst +record. And yet that Indian was a sly fellow also. Why should he be +pacing his room all the time?" + +"There is nothing in that. Many men do it when they are trying to learn +anything by heart." + +"He looked at us in a queer way." + +"So would you if a flock of strangers came in on you when you were +preparing for an examination next day, and every moment was of +value. No, I see nothing in that. Pencils, too, and knives--all was +satisfactory. But that fellow DOES puzzle me." + +"Who?" + +"Why, Bannister, the servant. What's his game in the matter?" + +"He impressed me as being a perfectly honest man." + +"So he did me. That's the puzzling part. Why should a perfectly +honest man--well, well, here's a large stationer's. We shall begin our +researches here." + +There were only four stationers of any consequence in the town, and at +each Holmes produced his pencil chips and bid high for a duplicate. All +were agreed that one could be ordered, but that it was not a usual size +of pencil and that it was seldom kept in stock. My friend did not +appear to be depressed by his failure, but shrugged his shoulders in +half-humorous resignation. + +"No good, my dear Watson. This, the best and only final clue, has run +to nothing. But, indeed, I have little doubt that we can build up a +sufficient case without it. By Jove! my dear fellow, it is nearly nine, +and the landlady babbled of green peas at seven-thirty. What with your +eternal tobacco, Watson, and your irregularity at meals, I expect that +you will get notice to quit and that I shall share your downfall--not, +however, before we have solved the problem of the nervous tutor, the +careless servant, and the three enterprising students." + + +Holmes made no further allusion to the matter that day, though he sat +lost in thought for a long time after our belated dinner. At eight in +the morning he came into my room just as I finished my toilet. + +"Well, Watson," said he, "it is time we went down to St. Luke's. Can you +do without breakfast?" + +"Certainly." + +"Soames will be in a dreadful fidget until we are able to tell him +something positive." + +"Have you anything positive to tell him?" + +"I think so." + +"You have formed a conclusion?" + +"Yes, my dear Watson; I have solved the mystery." + +"But what fresh evidence could you have got?" + +"Aha! It is not for nothing that I have turned myself out of bed at the +untimely hour of six. I have put in two hours' hard work and covered at +least five miles, with something to show for it. Look at that!" + +He held out his hand. On the palm were three little pyramids of black, +doughy clay. + +"Why, Holmes, you had only two yesterday!" + +"And one more this morning. It is a fair argument that wherever No. 3 +came from is also the source of Nos. 1 and 2. Eh, Watson? Well, come +along and put friend Soames out of his pain." + + +The unfortunate tutor was certainly in a state of pitiable agitation +when we found him in his chambers. In a few hours the examination would +commence, and he was still in the dilemma between making the facts +public and allowing the culprit to compete for the valuable scholarship. +He could hardly stand still, so great was his mental agitation, and he +ran towards Holmes with two eager hands outstretched. + +"Thank Heaven that you have come! I feared that you had given it up in +despair. What am I to do? Shall the examination proceed?" + +"Yes; let it proceed by all means." + +"But this rascal----?" + +"He shall not compete." + +"You know him?" + +"I think so. If this matter is not to become public we must give +ourselves certain powers, and resolve ourselves into a small private +court-martial. You there, if you please, Soames! Watson, you here! I'll +take the arm-chair in the middle. I think that we are now sufficiently +imposing to strike terror into a guilty breast. Kindly ring the bell!" + +Bannister entered, and shrunk back in evident surprise and fear at our +judicial appearance. + +"You will kindly close the door," said Holmes. "Now, Bannister, will you +please tell us the truth about yesterday's incident?" + +The man turned white to the roots of his hair. + +"I have told you everything, sir." + +"Nothing to add?" + +"Nothing at all, sir." + +"Well, then, I must make some suggestions to you. When you sat down +on that chair yesterday, did you do so in order to conceal some object +which would have shown who had been in the room?" + +Bannister's face was ghastly. + +"No, sir; certainly not." + +"It is only a suggestion," said Holmes, suavely. "I frankly admit that +I am unable to prove it. But it seems probable enough, since the moment +that Mr. Soames's back was turned you released the man who was hiding in +that bedroom." + +Bannister licked his dry lips. + +"There was no man, sir." + +"Ah, that's a pity, Bannister. Up to now you may have spoken the truth, +but now I know that you have lied." + +The man's face set in sullen defiance. + +"There was no man, sir." + +"Come, come, Bannister!" + +"No, sir; there was no one." + +"In that case you can give us no further information. Would you please +remain in the room? Stand over there near the bedroom door. Now, Soames, +I am going to ask you to have the great kindness to go up to the room of +young Gilchrist, and to ask him to step down into yours." + +An instant later the tutor returned, bringing with him the student. He +was a fine figure of a man, tall, lithe, and agile, with a springy step +and a pleasant, open face. His troubled blue eyes glanced at each of us, +and finally rested with an expression of blank dismay upon Bannister in +the farther corner. + +"Just close the door," said Holmes. "Now, Mr. Gilchrist, we are all +quite alone here, and no one need ever know one word of what passes +between us. We can be perfectly frank with each other. We want to know, +Mr. Gilchrist, how you, an honourable man, ever came to commit such an +action as that of yesterday?" + +The unfortunate young man staggered back and cast a look full of horror +and reproach at Bannister. + +"No, no, Mr. Gilchrist, sir; I never said a word--never one word!" cried +the servant. + +"No, but you have now," said Holmes. "Now, sir, you must see that after +Bannister's words your position is hopeless, and that your only chance +lies in a frank confession." + +For a moment Gilchrist, with upraised hand, tried to control his +writhing features. The next he had thrown himself on his knees beside +the table and, burying his face in his hands, he had burst into a storm +of passionate sobbing. + +"Come, come," said Holmes, kindly; "it is human to err, and at least +no one can accuse you of being a callous criminal. Perhaps it would be +easier for you if I were to tell Mr. Soames what occurred, and you can +check me where I am wrong. Shall I do so? Well, well, don't trouble to +answer. Listen, and see that I do you no injustice. + +"From the moment, Mr. Soames, that you said to me that no one, not even +Bannister, could have told that the papers were in your room, the case +began to take a definite shape in my mind. The printer one could, of +course, dismiss. He could examine the papers in his own office. The +Indian I also thought nothing of. If the proofs were in a roll he +could not possibly know what they were. On the other hand, it seemed an +unthinkable coincidence that a man should dare to enter the room, +and that by chance on that very day the papers were on the table. I +dismissed that. The man who entered knew that the papers were there. How +did he know? + +"When I approached your room I examined the window. You amused me by +supposing that I was contemplating the possibility of someone having +in broad daylight, under the eyes of all these opposite rooms, forced +himself through it. Such an idea was absurd. I was measuring how tall +a man would need to be in order to see as he passed what papers were on +the central table. I am six feet high, and I could do it with an effort. +No one less than that would have a chance. Already you see I had reason +to think that if one of your three students was a man of unusual height +he was the most worth watching of the three. + +"I entered and I took you into my confidence as to the suggestions of +the side table. Of the centre table I could make nothing, until in +your description of Gilchrist you mentioned that he was a long-distance +jumper. Then the whole thing came to me in an instant, and I only needed +certain corroborative proofs, which I speedily obtained. + +"What happened was this. This young fellow had employed his afternoon at +the athletic grounds, where he had been practising the jump. He returned +carrying his jumping shoes, which are provided, as you are aware, with +several sharp spikes. As he passed your window he saw, by means of his +great height, these proofs upon your table, and conjectured what they +were. No harm would have been done had it not been that as he passed +your door he perceived the key which had been left by the carelessness +of your servant. A sudden impulse came over him to enter and see if they +were indeed the proofs. It was not a dangerous exploit, for he could +always pretend that he had simply looked in to ask a question. + +"Well, when he saw that they were indeed the proofs, it was then that +he yielded to temptation. He put his shoes on the table. What was it you +put on that chair near the window?" + +"Gloves," said the young man. + +Holmes looked triumphantly at Bannister. "He put his gloves on the +chair, and he took the proofs, sheet by sheet, to copy them. He thought +the tutor must return by the main gate, and that he would see him. As we +know, he came back by the side gate. Suddenly he heard him at the very +door. There was no possible escape. He forgot his gloves, but he caught +up his shoes and darted into the bedroom. You observe that the scratch +on that table is slight at one side, but deepens in the direction of the +bedroom door. That in itself is enough to show us that the shoe had been +drawn in that direction and that the culprit had taken refuge there. The +earth round the spike had been left on the table, and a second sample +was loosened and fell in the bedroom. I may add that I walked out to the +athletic grounds this morning, saw that tenacious black clay is used in +the jumping-pit, and carried away a specimen of it, together with +some of the fine tan or sawdust which is strewn over it to prevent the +athlete from slipping. Have I told the truth, Mr. Gilchrist?" + +The student had drawn himself erect. + +"Yes, sir, it is true," said he. + +"Good heavens, have you nothing to add?" cried Soames. + +"Yes, sir, I have, but the shock of this disgraceful exposure has +bewildered me. I have a letter here, Mr. Soames, which I wrote to you +early this morning in the middle of a restless night. It was before I +knew that my sin had found me out. Here it is, sir. You will see that I +have said, 'I have determined not to go in for the examination. I have +been offered a commission in the Rhodesian Police, and I am going out to +South Africa at once."' + +"I am indeed pleased to hear that you did not intend to profit by your +unfair advantage," said Soames. "But why did you change your purpose?" + +Gilchrist pointed to Bannister. + +"There is the man who set me in the right path," said he. + +"Come now, Bannister," said Holmes. "It will be clear to you from what +I have said that only you could have let this young man out, since you +were left in the room, and must have locked the door when you went out. +As to his escaping by that window, it was incredible. Can you not clear +up the last point in this mystery, and tell us the reasons for your +action?" + +"It was simple enough, sir, if you only had known; but with all your +cleverness it was impossible that you could know. Time was, sir, when +I was butler to old Sir Jabez Gilchrist, this young gentleman's father. +When he was ruined I came to the college as servant, but I never forgot +my old employer because he was down in the world. I watched his son all +I could for the sake of the old days. Well, sir, when I came into this +room yesterday when the alarm was given, the very first thing I saw was +Mr. Gilchrist's tan gloves a-lying in that chair. I knew those gloves +well, and I understood their message. If Mr. Soames saw them the game +was up. I flopped down into that chair, and nothing would budge me until +Mr. Soames he went for you. Then out came my poor young master, whom I +had dandled on my knee, and confessed it all to me. Wasn't it natural, +sir, that I should save him, and wasn't it natural also that I should +try to speak to him as his dead father would have done, and make him +understand that he could not profit by such a deed? Could you blame me, +sir?" + +"No, indeed," said Holmes, heartily, springing to his feet. "Well, +Soames, I think we have cleared your little problem up, and our +breakfast awaits us at home. Come, Watson! As to you, sir, I trust that +a bright future awaits you in Rhodesia. For once you have fallen low. +Let us see in the future how high you can rise." + + +***** + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 28 JULY, 1904 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE + + + + +X.--The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez. + + +WHEN I look at the three massive manuscript volumes which contain our +work for the year 1894 I confess that it is very difficult for me, +out of such a wealth of material, to select the cases which are most +interesting in themselves and at the same time most conducive to a +display of those peculiar powers for which my friend was famous. As I +turn over the pages I see my notes upon the repulsive story of the red +leech and the terrible death of Crosby the banker. Here also I find an +account of the Addleton tragedy and the singular contents of the ancient +British barrow. The famous Smith-Mortimer succession case comes also +within this period, and so does the tracking and arrest of Huret, the +Boulevard assassin--an exploit which won for Holmes an autograph letter +of thanks from the French President and the Order of the Legion of +Honour. Each of these would furnish a narrative, but on the whole I am +of opinion that none of them unite so many singular points of interest +as the episode of Yoxley Old Place, which includes not only the +lamentable death of young Willoughby Smith, but also those subsequent +developments which threw so curious a light upon the causes of the +crime. + +It was a wild, tempestuous night towards the close of November. Holmes +and I sat together in silence all the evening, he engaged with a +powerful lens deciphering the remains of the original inscription upon +a palimpsest, I deep in a recent treatise upon surgery. Outside the +wind howled down Baker Street, while the rain beat fiercely against the +windows. It was strange there in the very depths of the town, with ten +miles of man's handiwork on every side of us, to feel the iron grip of +Nature, and to be conscious that to the huge elemental forces all London +was no more than the molehills that dot the fields. I walked to the +window and looked out on the deserted street. The occasional lamps +gleamed on the expanse of muddy road and shining pavement. A single cab +was splashing its way from the Oxford Street end. + +"Well, Watson, it's as well we have not to turn out to-night," said +Holmes, laying aside his lens and rolling up the palimpsest. "I've done +enough for one sitting. It is trying work for the eyes. So far as I can +make out it is nothing more exciting than an Abbey's accounts dating +from the second half of the fifteenth century. Halloa! halloa! halloa! +What's this?" + +Amid the droning of the wind there had come the stamping of a horse's +hoofs and the long grind of a wheel as it rasped against the kerb. The +cab which I had seen had pulled up at our door. + +"What can he want?" I ejaculated, as a man stepped out of it. + +"Want! He wants us. And we, my poor Watson, want overcoats and cravats +and goloshes, and every aid that man ever invented to fight the weather. +Wait a bit, though! There's the cab off again! There's hope yet. He'd +have kept it if he had wanted us to come. Run down, my dear fellow, and +open the door, for all virtuous folk have been long in bed." + +When the light of the hall lamp fell upon our midnight visitor I had no +difficulty in recognising him. It was young Stanley Hopkins, a promising +detective, in whose career Holmes had several times shown a very +practical interest. + +"Is he in?" he asked, eagerly. + +"Come up, my dear sir," said Holmes's voice from above. "I hope you have +no designs upon us on such a night as this." + + +The detective mounted the stairs, and our lamp gleamed upon his shining +waterproof. I helped him out of it while Holmes knocked a blaze out of +the logs in the grate. + +"Now, my dear Hopkins, draw up and warm your toes," said he. "Here's +a cigar, and the doctor has a prescription containing hot water and a +lemon which is good medicine on a night like this. It must be something +important which has brought you out in such a gale." + +"It is indeed, Mr. Holmes. I've had a bustling afternoon, I promise you. +Did you see anything of the Yoxley case in the latest editions?" + +"I've seen nothing later than the fifteenth century to-day." + +"Well, it was only a paragraph, and all wrong at that, so you have not +missed anything. I haven't let the grass grow under my feet. It's down +in Kent, seven miles from Chatham and three from the railway line. I was +wired for at three-fifteen, reached Yoxley Old Place at five, conducted +my investigation, was back at Charing Cross by the last train, and +straight to you by cab." + +"Which means, I suppose, that you are not quite clear about your case?" + +"It means that I can make neither head nor tail of it. So far as I can +see it is just as tangled a business as ever I handled, and yet at first +it seemed so simple that one couldn't go wrong. There's no motive, Mr. +Holmes. That's what bothers me--I can't put my hand on a motive. Here's +a man dead--there's no denying that--but, so far as I can see, no reason +on earth why anyone should wish him harm." + +Holmes lit his cigar and leaned back in his chair. + +"Let us hear about it," said he. + +"I've got my facts pretty clear," said Stanley Hopkins. "All I want now +is to know what they all mean. The story, so far as I can make it out, +is like this. Some years ago this country house, Yoxley Old Place, was +taken by an elderly man, who gave the name of Professor Coram. He was +an invalid, keeping his bed half the time, and the other half hobbling +round the house with a stick or being pushed about the grounds by the +gardener in a bath-chair. He was well liked by the few neighbours who +called upon him, and he has the reputation down there of being a very +learned man. His household used to consist of an elderly housekeeper, +Mrs. Marker, and of a maid, Susan Tarlton. These have both been with him +since his arrival, and they seem to be women of excellent character. The +Professor is writing a learned book, and he found it necessary about +a year ago to engage a secretary. The first two that he tried were +not successes; but the third, Mr. Willoughby Smith, a very young man +straight from the University, seems to have been just what his employer +wanted. His work consisted in writing all the morning to the Professor's +dictation, and he usually spent the evening in hunting up references and +passages which bore upon the next day's work. This Willoughby Smith has +nothing against him either as a boy at Uppingham or as a young man at +Cambridge. I have seen his testimonials, and from the first he was a +decent, quiet, hardworking fellow, with no weak spot in him at all. +And yet this is the lad who has met his death this morning in the +Professor's study under circumstances which can point only to murder." + +The wind howled and screamed at the windows. Holmes and I drew closer to +the fire while the young inspector slowly and point by point developed +his singular narrative. + +"If you were to search all England," said he, "I don't suppose you could +find a household more self-contained or free from outside influences. +Whole weeks would pass and not one of them go past the garden gate. The +Professor was buried in his work and existed for nothing else. Young +Smith knew nobody in the neighbourhood, and lived very much as his +employer did. The two women had nothing to take them from the +house. Mortimer the gardener, who wheels the bath-chair, is an Army +pensioner--an old Crimean man of excellent character. He does not live +in the house, but in a three-roomed cottage at the other end of the +garden. Those are the only people that you would find within the grounds +of Yoxley Old Place. At the same time, the gate of the garden is a +hundred yards from the main London to Chatham road. It opens with a +latch, and there is nothing to prevent anyone from walking in. + +"Now I will give you the evidence of Susan Tarlton, who is the only +person who can say anything positive about the matter. It was in the +forenoon, between eleven and twelve. She was engaged at the moment in +hanging some curtains in the upstairs front bedroom. Professor Coram was +still in bed, for when the weather is bad he seldom rises before midday. +The housekeeper was busied with some work in the back of the +house. Willoughby Smith had been in his bedroom, which he uses as a +sitting-room; but the maid heard him at that moment pass along the +passage and descend to the study immediately below her. She did not +see him, but she says that she could not be mistaken in his quick, firm +tread. She did not hear the study door close, but a minute or so later +there was a dreadful cry in the room below. It was a wild, hoarse +scream, so strange and unnatural that it might have come either from a +man or a woman. At the same instant there was a heavy thud, which shook +the old house, and then all was silence. The maid stood petrified for a +moment, and then, recovering her courage, she ran downstairs. The study +door was shut, and she opened it. Inside young Mr. Willoughby Smith was +stretched upon the floor. At first she could see no injury, but as she +tried to raise him she saw that blood was pouring from the underside of +his neck. It was pierced by a very small but very deep wound, which had +divided the carotid artery. The instrument with which the injury had +been inflicted lay upon the carpet beside him. It was one of those small +sealing-wax knives to be found on old-fashioned writing-tables, with +an ivory handle and a stiff blade. It was part of the fittings of the +Professor's own desk. + +"At first the maid thought that young Smith was already dead, but on +pouring some water from the carafe over his forehead he opened his eyes +for an instant. 'The Professor,' he murmured--'it was she.' The maid is +prepared to swear that those were the exact words. He tried desperately +to say something else, and he held his right hand up in the air. Then he +fell back dead. + +"In the meantime the housekeeper had also arrived upon the scene, but +she was just too late to catch the young man's dying words. Leaving +Susan with the body, she hurried to the Professor's room. He was sitting +up in bed horribly agitated, for he had heard enough to convince him +that something terrible had occurred. Mrs. Marker is prepared to swear +that the Professor was still in his night-clothes, and, indeed, it was +impossible for him to dress without the help of Mortimer, whose orders +were to come at twelve o'clock. The Professor declares that he heard the +distant cry, but that he knows nothing more. He can give no explanation +of the young man's last words, 'The Professor--it was she,' but imagines +that they were the outcome of delirium. He believes that Willoughby +Smith had not an enemy in the world, and can give no reason for the +crime. His first action was to send Mortimer the gardener for the local +police. A little later the chief constable sent for me. Nothing was +moved before I got there, and strict orders were given that no one +should walk upon the paths leading to the house. It was a splendid +chance of putting your theories into practice, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. +There was really nothing wanting." + +"Except Mr. Sherlock Holmes," said my companion, with a somewhat bitter +smile. "Well, let us hear about it. What sort of job did you make of +it?" + +"I must ask you first, Mr. Holmes, to glance at this rough plan, which +will give you a general idea of the position of the Professor's study +and the various points of the case. It will help you in following my +investigation." + +He unfolded the rough chart, which I here reproduce, and he laid it +across Holmes's knee. I rose, and, standing behind Holmes, I studied it +over his shoulder. + +GRAPHIC + +"It is very rough, of course, and it only deals with the points +which seem to me to be essential. All the rest you will see later for +yourself. Now, first of all, presuming that the assassin entered the +house, how did he or she come in? Undoubtedly by the garden path and the +back door, from which there is direct access to the study. Any other way +would have been exceedingly complicated. The escape must have also been +made along that line, for of the two other exits from the room one was +blocked by Susan as she ran downstairs and the other leads straight to +the Professor's bedroom. I therefore directed my attention at once +to the garden path, which was saturated with recent rain and would +certainly show any footmarks. + +"My examination showed me that I was dealing with a cautious and expert +criminal. No footmarks were to be found on the path. There could be no +question, however, that someone had passed along the grass border which +lines the path, and that he had done so in order to avoid leaving a +track. I could not find anything in the nature of a distinct impression, +but the grass was trodden down and someone had undoubtedly passed. It +could only have been the murderer, since neither the gardener nor anyone +else had been there that morning and the rain had only begun during the +night." + +"One moment," said Holmes. "Where does this path lead to?" + +"To the road." + +"How long is it?" + +"A hundred yards or so." + +"At the point where the path passes through the gate you could surely +pick up the tracks?" + +"Unfortunately, the path was tiled at that point." + +"Well, on the road itself?" + +"No; it was all trodden into mire." + +"Tut-tut! Well, then, these tracks upon the grass, were they coming or +going?" + +"It was impossible to say. There was never any outline." + +"A large foot or a small?" + +"You could not distinguish." + +Holmes gave an ejaculation of impatience. + +"It has been pouring rain and blowing a hurricane ever since," said +he. "It will be harder to read now than that palimpsest. Well, well, it +can't be helped. What did you do, Hopkins, after you had made certain +that you had made certain of nothing?" + +"I think I made certain of a good deal, Mr. Holmes. I knew that someone +had entered the house cautiously from without. I next examined the +corridor. It is lined with cocoanut matting and had taken no +impression of any kind. This brought me into the study itself. It is a +scantily-furnished room. The main article is a large writing-table with +a fixed bureau. This bureau consists of a double column of drawers +with a central small cupboard between them. The drawers were open, the +cupboard locked. The drawers, it seems, were always open, and nothing +of value was kept in them. There were some papers of importance in the +cupboard, but there were no signs that this had been tampered with, and +the Professor assures me that nothing was missing. It is certain that no +robbery has been committed. + +"I come now to the body of the young man. It was found near the bureau, +and just to the left of it, as marked upon that chart. The stab was +on the right side of the neck and from behind forwards, so that it is +almost impossible that it could have been self-inflicted." + +"Unless he fell upon the knife," said Holmes. + +"Exactly. The idea crossed my mind. But we found the knife some feet +away from the body, so that seems impossible. Then, of course, there are +the man's own dying words. And, finally, there was this very important +piece of evidence which was found clasped in the dead man's right hand." + +From his pocket Stanley Hopkins drew a small paper packet. He unfolded +it and disclosed a golden pince-nez, with two broken ends of black +silk cord dangling from the end of it. "Willoughby Smith had excellent +sight," he added. "There can be no question that this was snatched from +the face or the person of the assassin." + +Sherlock Holmes took the glasses into his hand and examined them with +the utmost attention and interest. He held them on his nose, endeavoured +to read through them, went to the window and stared up the street with +them, looked at them most minutely in the full light of the lamp, and +finally, with a chuckle, seated himself at the table and wrote a few +lines upon a sheet of paper, which he tossed across to Stanley Hopkins. + +"That's the best I can do for you," said he. "It may prove to be of some +use." + +The astonished detective read the note aloud. It ran as follows:-- + +"Wanted, a woman of good address, attired like a lady. She has a +remarkably thick nose, with eyes which are set close upon either side +of it. She has a puckered forehead, a peering expression, and probably +rounded shoulders. There are indications that she has had recourse to an +optician at least twice during the last few months. As her glasses are +of remarkable strength and as opticians are not very numerous, there +should be no difficulty in tracing her." + +Holmes smiled at the astonishment of Hopkins, which must have been +reflected upon my features. + +"Surely my deductions are simplicity itself," said he. "It would be +difficult to name any articles which afford a finer field for inference +than a pair of glasses, especially so remarkable a pair as these. That +they belong to a woman I infer from their delicacy, and also, of course, +from the last words of the dying man. As to her being a person of +refinement and well dressed, they are, as you perceive, handsomely +mounted in solid gold, and it is inconceivable that anyone who wore such +glasses could be slatternly in other respects. You will find that the +clips are too wide for your nose, showing that the lady's nose was very +broad at the base. This sort of nose is usually a short and coarse one, +but there are a sufficient number of exceptions to prevent me from being +dogmatic or from insisting upon this point in my description. My own +face is a narrow one, and yet I find that I cannot get my eyes into the +centre, or near the centre, of these glasses. Therefore the lady's eyes +are set very near to the sides of the nose. You will perceive, Watson, +that the glasses are concave and of unusual strength. A lady whose +vision has been so extremely contracted all her life is sure to have the +physical characteristics of such vision, which are seen in the forehead, +the eyelids, and the shoulders." + +"Yes," I said, "I can follow each of your arguments. I confess, however, +that I am unable to understand how you arrive at the double visit to the +optician." + +Holmes took the glasses in his hand. + +"You will perceive," he said, "that the clips are lined with tiny +bands of cork to soften the pressure upon the nose. One of these is +discoloured and worn to some slight extent, but the other is new. +Evidently one has fallen off and been replaced. I should judge that the +older of them has not been there more than a few months. They +exactly correspond, so I gather that the lady went back to the same +establishment for the second." + +"By George, it's marvellous!" cried Hopkins, in an ecstasy of +admiration. "To think that I had all that evidence in my hand and +never knew it! I had intended, however, to go the round of the London +opticians." + +"Of course you would. Meanwhile, have you anything more to tell us about +the case?" + +"Nothing, Mr. Holmes. I think that you know as much as I do +now--probably more. We have had inquiries made as to any stranger seen +on the country roads or at the railway station. We have heard of none. +What beats me is the utter want of all object in the crime. Not a ghost +of a motive can anyone suggest." + +"Ah! there I am not in a position to help you. But I suppose you want us +to come out to-morrow?" + +"If it is not asking too much, Mr. Holmes. There's a train from Charing +Cross to Chatham at six in the morning, and we should be at Yoxley Old +Place between eight and nine." + +"Then we shall take it. Your case has certainly some features of great +interest, and I shall be delighted to look into it. Well, it's nearly +one, and we had best get a few hours' sleep. I dare say you can manage +all right on the sofa in front of the fire. I'll light my spirit-lamp +and give you a cup of coffee before we start." + + +The gale had blown itself out next day, but it was a bitter morning when +we started upon our journey. We saw the cold winter sun rise over the +dreary marshes of the Thames and the long, sullen reaches of the river, +which I shall ever associate with our pursuit of the Andaman Islander +in the earlier days of our career. After a long and weary journey we +alighted at a small station some miles from Chatham. While a horse was +being put into a trap at the local inn we snatched a hurried breakfast, +and so we were all ready for business when we at last arrived at Yoxley +Old Place. A constable met us at the garden gate. + +"Well, Wilson, any news?" + +"No, sir, nothing." + +"No reports of any stranger seen?" + +"No, sir. Down at the station they are certain that no stranger either +came or went yesterday." + +"Have you had inquiries made at inns and lodgings?" + +"Yes, sir; there is no one that we cannot account for." + +"Well, it's only a reasonable walk to Chatham. Anyone might stay there, +or take a train without being observed. This is the garden path of +which I spoke, Mr. Holmes. I'll pledge my word there was no mark on it +yesterday." + +"On which side were the marks on the grass?" + +"This side, sir. This narrow margin of grass between the path and the +flower-bed. I can't see the traces now, but they were clear to me then." + +"Yes, yes; someone has passed along," said Holmes, stooping over the +grass border. "Our lady must have picked her steps carefully, must she +not, since on the one side she would leave a track on the path, and on +the other an even clearer one on the soft bed?" + +"Yes, sir, she must have been a cool hand." + +I saw an intent look pass over Holmes's face. + +"You say that she must have come back this way?" + +"Yes, sir; there is no other." + +"On this strip of grass?" + +"Certainly, Mr. Holmes." + +"Hum! It was a very remarkable performance--very remarkable. Well, I +think we have exhausted the path. Let us go farther. This garden door is +usually kept open, I suppose? Then this visitor had nothing to do but +to walk in. The idea of murder was not in her mind, or she would have +provided herself with some sort of weapon, instead of having to pick +this knife off the writing-table. She advanced along this corridor, +leaving no traces upon the cocoanut matting. Then she found herself in +this study. How long was she there? We have no means of judging." + +"Not more than a few minutes, sir. I forgot to tell you that Mrs. +Marker, the housekeeper, had been in there tidying not very long +before--about a quarter of an hour, she says." + +"Well, that gives us a limit. Our lady enters this room and what does +she do? She goes over to the writing-table. What for? Not for anything +in the drawers. If there had been anything worth her taking it would +surely have been locked up. No; it was for something in that wooden +bureau. Halloa! what is that scratch upon the face of it? Just hold a +match, Watson. Why did you not tell me of this, Hopkins?" + +The mark which he was examining began upon the brass work on the +right-hand side of the keyhole, and extended for about four inches, +where it had scratched the varnish from the surface. + +"I noticed it, Mr. Holmes. But you'll always find scratches round a +keyhole." + +"This is recent, quite recent. See how the brass shines where it is +cut. An old scratch would be the same colour as the surface. Look at it +through my lens. There's the varnish, too, like earth on each side of a +furrow. Is Mrs. Marker there?" + +A sad-faced, elderly woman came into the room. + +"Did you dust this bureau yesterday morning?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Did you notice this scratch?" + +"No, sir, I did not." + +"I am sure you did not, for a duster would have swept away these shreds +of varnish. Who has the key of this bureau?" + +"The Professor keeps it on his watch-chain." + +"Is it a simple key?" + +"No, sir; it is a Chubb's key." + +"Very good. Mrs. Marker, you can go. Now we are making a little +progress. Our lady enters the room, advances to the bureau, and either +opens it or tries to do so. While she is thus engaged young Willoughby +Smith enters the room. In her hurry to withdraw the key she makes this +scratch upon the door. He seizes her, and she, snatching up the nearest +object, which happens to be this knife, strikes at him in order to make +him let go his hold. The blow is a fatal one. He falls and she escapes, +either with or without the object for which she has come. Is Susan the +maid there? Could anyone have got away through that door after the time +that you heard the cry, Susan?" + +"No sir; it is impossible. Before I got down the stair I'd have seen +anyone in the passage. Besides, the door never opened, for I would have +heard it." + +"That settles this exit. Then no doubt the lady went out the way she +came. I understand that this other passage leads only to the Professor's +room. There is no exit that way?" + +"No, sir." + +"We shall go down it and make the acquaintance of the Professor. Halloa, +Hopkins! this is very important, very important indeed. The Professor's +corridor is also lined with cocoanut matting." + +"Well, sir, what of that?" + +"Don't you see any bearing upon the case? Well, well, I don't insist +upon it. No doubt I am wrong. And yet it seems to me to be suggestive. +Come with me and introduce me." + +We passed down the passage, which was of the same length as that which +led to the garden. At the end was a short flight of steps ending in +a door. Our guide knocked, and then ushered us into the Professor's +bedroom. + +It was a very large chamber, lined with innumerable volumes, which had +overflowed from the shelves and lay in piles in the corners, or were +stacked all round at the base of the cases. The bed was in the centre +of the room, and in it, propped up with pillows, was the owner of the +house. I have seldom seen a more remarkable-looking person. It was a +gaunt, aquiline face which was turned towards us, with piercing dark +eyes, which lurked in deep hollows under overhung and tufted brows. His +hair and beard were white, save that the latter was curiously stained +with yellow around his mouth. A cigarette glowed amid the tangle of +white hair, and the air of the room was fetid with stale tobacco-smoke. +As he held out his hand to Holmes I perceived that it also was stained +yellow with nicotine. + +"A smoker, Mr. Holmes?" said he, speaking well-chosen English with a +curious little mincing accent. "Pray take a cigarette. And you, sir? I +can recommend them, for I have them especially prepared by Ionides of +Alexandria. He sends me a thousand at a time, and I grieve to say that I +have to arrange for a fresh supply every fortnight. Bad, sir, very bad, +but an old man has few pleasures. Tobacco and my work--that is all that +is left to me." + +Holmes had lit a cigarette, and was shooting little darting glances all +over the room. + +"Tobacco and my work, but now only tobacco," the old man exclaimed. +"Alas! what a fatal interruption! Who could have foreseen such a +terrible catastrophe? So estimable a young man! I assure you that after +a few months' training he was an admirable assistant. What do you think +of the matter, Mr. Holmes?" + +"I have not yet made up my mind." + +"I shall indeed be indebted to you if you can throw a light where all is +so dark to us. To a poor bookworm and invalid like myself such a blow +is paralyzing. I seem to have lost the faculty of thought. But you are +a man of action--you are a man of affairs. It is part of the everyday +routine of your life. You can preserve your balance in every emergency. +We are fortunate indeed in having you at our side." + +Holmes was pacing up and down one side of the room whilst the old +Professor was talking. I observed that he was smoking with extraordinary +rapidity. It was evident that he shared our host's liking for the fresh +Alexandrian cigarettes. + +"Yes, sir, it is a crushing blow," said the old man. "That is my MAGNUM +OPUS--the pile of papers on the side table yonder. It is my analysis of +the documents found in the Coptic monasteries of Syria and Egypt, a work +which will cut deep at the very foundations of revealed religion. +With my enfeebled health I do not know whether I shall ever be able to +complete it now that my assistant has been taken from me. Dear me, Mr. +Holmes; why, you are even a quicker smoker than I am myself." + +Holmes smiled. + +"I am a connoisseur," said he, taking another cigarette from the +box--his fourth--and lighting it from the stub of that which he had +finished. "I will not trouble you with any lengthy cross-examination, +Professor Coram, since I gather that you were in bed at the time of the +crime and could know nothing about it. I would only ask this. What +do you imagine that this poor fellow meant by his last words: 'The +Professor--it was she'?" + +The Professor shook his head. + +"Susan is a country girl," said he, "and you know the incredible +stupidity of that class. I fancy that the poor fellow murmured some +incoherent delirious words, and that she twisted them into this +meaningless message." + +"I see. You have no explanation yourself of the tragedy?" + +"Possibly an accident; possibly--I only breathe it among ourselves--a +suicide. Young men have their hidden troubles--some affair of the heart, +perhaps, which we have never known. It is a more probable supposition +than murder." + +"But the eye-glasses?" + +"Ah! I am only a student--a man of dreams. I cannot explain the +practical things of life. But still, we are aware, my friend, that +love-gages may take strange shapes. By all means take another cigarette. +It is a pleasure to see anyone appreciate them so. A fan, a glove, +glasses--who knows what article may be carried as a token or treasured +when a man puts an end to his life? This gentleman speaks of footsteps +in the grass; but, after all, it is easy to be mistaken on such a point. +As to the knife, it might well be thrown far from the unfortunate man as +he fell. It is possible that I speak as a child, but to me it seems that +Willoughby Smith has met his fate by his own hand." + +Holmes seemed struck by the theory thus put forward, and he continued to +walk up and down for some time, lost in thought and consuming cigarette +after cigarette. + +"Tell me, Professor Coram," he said, at last, "what is in that cupboard +in the bureau?" + +"Nothing that would help a thief. Family papers, letters from my poor +wife, diplomas of Universities which have done me honour. Here is the +key. You can look for yourself." + +Holmes picked up the key and looked at it for an instant; then he handed +it back. + +"No; I hardly think that it would help me," said he. "I should prefer +to go quietly down to your garden and turn the whole matter over in my +head. There is something to be said for the theory of suicide which +you have put forward. We must apologize for having intruded upon you, +Professor Coram, and I promise that we won't disturb you until after +lunch. At two o'clock we will come again and report to you anything +which may have happened in the interval." + +Holmes was curiously distrait, and we walked up and down the garden path +for some time in silence. + +"Have you a clue?" I asked, at last. + +"It depends upon those cigarettes that I smoked," said he. "It is +possible that I am utterly mistaken. The cigarettes will show me." + +"My dear Holmes," I exclaimed, "how on earth----" + +"Well, well, you may see for yourself. If not, there's no harm done. Of +course, we always have the optician clue to fall back upon, but I take +a short cut when I can get it. Ah, here is the good Mrs. Marker! Let us +enjoy five minutes of instructive conversation with her." + +I may have remarked before that Holmes had, when he liked, a peculiarly +ingratiating way with women, and that he very readily established terms +of confidence with them. In half the time which he had named he had +captured the housekeeper's goodwill, and was chatting with her as if he +had known her for years. + +"Yes, Mr. Holmes, it is as you say, sir. He does smoke something +terrible. All day and sometimes all night, sir. I've seen that room of +a morning--well, sir, you'd have thought it was a London fog. Poor young +Mr. Smith, he was a smoker also, but not as bad as the Professor. His +health--well, I don't know that it's better nor worse for the smoking." + +"Ah!" said Holmes, "but it kills the appetite." + +"Well, I don't know about that, sir." + +"I suppose the Professor eats hardly anything?" + +"Well, he is variable. I'll say that for him." + +"I'll wager he took no breakfast this morning, and won't face his lunch +after all the cigarettes I saw him consume." + +"Well, you're out there, sir, as it happens, for he ate a remarkable big +breakfast this morning. I don't know when I've known him make a +better one, and he's ordered a good dish of cutlets for his lunch. I'm +surprised myself, for since I came into that room yesterday and saw +young Mr. Smith lying there on the floor I couldn't bear to look at +food. Well, it takes all sorts to make a world, and the Professor hasn't +let it take his appetite away." + +We loitered the morning away in the garden. Stanley Hopkins had gone +down to the village to look into some rumours of a strange woman who had +been seen by some children on the Chatham Road the previous morning. As +to my friend, all his usual energy seemed to have deserted him. I had +never known him handle a case in such a half-hearted fashion. Even the +news brought back by Hopkins that he had found the children and that +they had undoubtedly seen a woman exactly corresponding with Holmes's +description, and wearing either spectacles or eye-glasses, failed to +rouse any sign of keen interest. He was more attentive when Susan, who +waited upon us at lunch, volunteered the information that she believed +Mr. Smith had been out for a walk yesterday morning, and that he had +only returned half an hour before the tragedy occurred. I could not +myself see the bearing of this incident, but I clearly perceived that +Holmes was weaving it into the general scheme which he had formed in his +brain. Suddenly he sprang from his chair and glanced at his watch. "Two +o'clock, gentlemen," said he. "We must go up and have it out with our +friend the Professor." + +The old man had just finished his lunch, and certainly his empty dish +bore evidence to the good appetite with which his housekeeper had +credited him. He was, indeed, a weird figure as he turned his white mane +and his glowing eyes towards us. The eternal cigarette smouldered in his +mouth. He had been dressed and was seated in an arm-chair by the fire. + +"Well, Mr. Holmes, have you solved this mystery yet?" He shoved the +large tin of cigarettes which stood on a table beside him towards my +companion. Holmes stretched out his hand at the same moment, and between +them they tipped the box over the edge. For a minute or two we were all +on our knees retrieving stray cigarettes from impossible places. When +we rose again I observed that Holmes's eyes were shining and his cheeks +tinged with colour. Only at a crisis have I seen those battle-signals +flying. + +"Yes," said he, "I have solved it." + +Stanley Hopkins and I stared in amazement. Something like a sneer +quivered over the gaunt features of the old Professor. + +"Indeed! In the garden?" + +"No, here." + +"Here! When?" + +"This instant." + +"You are surely joking, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. You compel me to tell you +that this is too serious a matter to be treated in such a fashion." + +"I have forged and tested every link of my chain, Professor Coram, and +I am sure that it is sound. What your motives are or what exact part you +play in this strange business I am not yet able to say. In a few +minutes I shall probably hear it from your own lips. Meanwhile I will +reconstruct what is past for your benefit, so that you may know the +information which I still require. + +"A lady yesterday entered your study. She came with the intention of +possessing herself of certain documents which were in your bureau. She +had a key of her own. I have had an opportunity of examining yours, and +I do not find that slight discolouration which the scratch made upon the +varnish would have produced. You were not an accessory, therefore, and +she came, so far as I can read the evidence, without your knowledge to +rob you." + +The Professor blew a cloud from his lips. "This is most interesting and +instructive," said he. "Have you no more to add? Surely, having traced +this lady so far, you can also say what has become of her." + +"I will endeavour to do so. In the first place she was seized by your +secretary, and stabbed him in order to escape. This catastrophe I am +inclined to regard as an unhappy accident, for I am convinced that the +lady had no intention of inflicting so grievous an injury. An assassin +does not come unarmed. Horrified by what she had done she rushed wildly +away from the scene of the tragedy. Unfortunately for her she had lost +her glasses in the scuffle, and as she was extremely short-sighted she +was really helpless without them. She ran down a corridor, which she +imagined to be that by which she had come--both were lined with cocoanut +matting--and it was only when it was too late that she understood that +she had taken the wrong passage and that her retreat was cut off behind +her. What was she to do? She could not go back. She could not remain +where she was. She must go on. She went on. She mounted a stair, pushed +open a door, and found herself in your room." + +The old man sat with his mouth open staring wildly at Holmes. Amazement +and fear were stamped upon his expressive features. Now, with an effort, +he shrugged his shoulders and burst into insincere laughter. + +"All very fine, Mr. Holmes," said he. "But there is one little flaw +in your splendid theory. I was myself in my room, and I never left it +during the day." + +"I am aware of that, Professor Coram." + +"And you mean to say that I could lie upon that bed and not be aware +that a woman had entered my room?" + +"I never said so. You WERE aware of it. You spoke with her. You +recognised her. You aided her to escape." + +Again the Professor burst into high-keyed laughter. He had risen to his +feet and his eyes glowed like embers. + +"You are mad!" he cried. "You are talking insanely. I helped her to +escape? Where is she now?" + +"She is there," said Holmes, and he pointed to a high bookcase in the +corner of the room. + +I saw the old man throw up his arms, a terrible convulsion passed over +his grim face, and he fell back in his chair. At the same instant the +bookcase at which Holmes pointed swung round upon a hinge, and a woman +rushed out into the room. "You are right!" she cried, in a strange +foreign voice. "You are right! I am here." + +She was brown with the dust and draped with the cobwebs which had come +from the walls of her hiding-place. Her face, too, was streaked with +grime, and at the best she could never have been handsome, for she had +the exact physical characteristics which Holmes had divined, with, in +addition, a long and obstinate chin. What with her natural blindness, +and what with the change from dark to light, she stood as one dazed, +blinking about her to see where and who we were. And yet, in spite of +all these disadvantages, there was a certain nobility in the woman's +bearing, a gallantry in the defiant chin and in the upraised head, which +compelled something of respect and admiration. Stanley Hopkins had laid +his hand upon her arm and claimed her as his prisoner, but she waved +him aside gently, and yet with an overmastering dignity which compelled +obedience. The old man lay back in his chair, with a twitching face, and +stared at her with brooding eyes. + +"Yes, sir, I am your prisoner," she said. "From where I stood I could +hear everything, and I know that you have learned the truth. I confess +it all. It was I who killed the young man. But you are right, you who +say it was an accident. I did not even know that it was a knife which +I held in my hand, for in my despair I snatched anything from the table +and struck at him to make him let me go. It is the truth that I tell." + +"Madam," said Holmes, "I am sure that it is the truth. I fear that you +are far from well." + +She had turned a dreadful colour, the more ghastly under the dark +dust-streaks upon her face. She seated herself on the side of the bed; +then she resumed. + +"I have only a little time here," she said, "but I would have you to +know the whole truth. I am this man's wife. He is not an Englishman. He +is a Russian. His name I will not tell." + +For the first time the old man stirred. "God bless you, Anna!" he cried. +"God bless you!" + +She cast a look of the deepest disdain in his direction. "Why should you +cling so hard to that wretched life of yours, Sergius?" said she. "It +has done harm to many and good to none--not even to yourself. However, +it is not for me to cause the frail thread to be snapped before God's +time. I have enough already upon my soul since I crossed the threshold +of this cursed house. But I must speak or I shall be too late. + +"I have said, gentlemen, that I am this man's wife. He was fifty and I +a foolish girl of twenty when we married. It was in a city of Russia, a +University--I will not name the place." + +"God bless you, Anna!" murmured the old man again. + +"We were reformers--revolutionists--Nihilists, you understand. He and I +and many more. Then there came a time of trouble, a police officer was +killed, many were arrested, evidence was wanted, and in order to save +his own life and to earn a great reward my husband betrayed his own wife +and his companions. Yes, we were all arrested upon his confession. Some +of us found our way to the gallows and some to Siberia. I was among +these last, but my term was not for life. My husband came to England +with his ill-gotten gains, and has lived in quiet ever since, knowing +well that if the Brotherhood knew where he was not a week would pass +before justice would be done." + +The old man reached out a trembling hand and helped himself to a +cigarette. "I am in your hands, Anna," said he. "You were always good to +me." + +"I have not yet told you the height of his villainy," said she. "Among +our comrades of the Order there was one who was the friend of my heart. +He was noble, unselfish, loving--all that my husband was not. He hated +violence. We were all guilty--if that is guilt--but he was not. He wrote +for ever dissuading us from such a course. These letters would have +saved him. So would my diary, in which from day to day I had entered +both my feelings towards him and the view which each of us had taken. My +husband found and kept both diary and letters. He hid them, and he tried +hard to swear away the young man's life. In this he failed, but Alexis +was sent a convict to Siberia, where now, at this moment, he works in +a salt mine. Think of that, you villain, you villain; now, now, at this +very moment, Alexis, a man whose name you are not worthy to speak, works +and lives like a slave, and yet I have your life in my hands and I let +you go." + +"You were always a noble woman, Anna," said the old man, puffing at his +cigarette. + +She had risen, but she fell back again with a little cry of pain. + +"I must finish," she said. "When my term was over I set myself to get +the diary and letters which, if sent to the Russian Government, would +procure my friend's release. I knew that my husband had come to England. +After months of searching I discovered where he was. I knew that he +still had the diary, for when I was in Siberia I had a letter from him +once reproaching me and quoting some passages from its pages. Yet I was +sure that with his revengeful nature he would never give it to me of his +own free will. I must get it for myself. With this object I engaged an +agent from a private detective firm, who entered my husband's house as +secretary--it was your second secretary, Sergius, the one who left you +so hurriedly. He found that papers were kept in the cupboard, and he got +an impression of the key. He would not go farther. He furnished me with +a plan of the house, and he told me that in the forenoon the study was +always empty, as the secretary was employed up here. So at last I took +my courage in both hands and I came down to get the papers for myself. I +succeeded, but at what a cost! + +"I had just taken the papers and was locking the cupboard when the young +man seized me. I had seen him already that morning. He had met me in +the road and I had asked him to tell me where Professor Coram lived, not +knowing that he was in his employ." + +"Exactly! exactly!" said Holmes. "The secretary came back and told his +employer of the woman he had met. Then in his last breath he tried to +send a message that it was she--the she whom he had just discussed with +him." + +"You must let me speak," said the woman, in an imperative voice, and +her face contracted as if in pain. "When he had fallen I rushed from the +room, chose the wrong door, and found myself in my husband's room. He +spoke of giving me up. I showed him that if he did so his life was in my +hands. If he gave me to the law I could give him to the Brotherhood. It +was not that I wished to live for my own sake, but it was that I desired +to accomplish my purpose. He knew that I would do what I said--that +his own fate was involved in mine. For that reason and for no other he +shielded me. He thrust me into that dark hiding-place, a relic of old +days, known only to himself. He took his meals in his own room, and so +was able to give me part of his food. It was agreed that when the police +left the house I should slip away by night and come back no more. But in +some way you have read our plans." She tore from the bosom of her dress +a small packet. "These are my last words," said she; "here is the packet +which will save Alexis. I confide it to your honour and to your love of +justice. Take it! You will deliver it at the Russian Embassy. Now I have +done my duty, and----" + +"Stop her!" cried Holmes. He had bounded across the room and had +wrenched a small phial from her hand. + +"Too late!" she said, sinking back on the bed. "Too late! I took the +poison before I left my hiding-place. My head swims! I am going! I +charge you, sir, to remember the packet." + + +"A simple case, and yet in some ways an instructive one," Holmes +remarked, as we travelled back to town. "It hinged from the outset upon +the pince-nez. But for the fortunate chance of the dying man having +seized these I am not sure that we could ever have reached our solution. +It was clear to me from the strength of the glasses that the wearer must +have been very blind and helpless when deprived of them. When you asked +me to believe that she walked along a narrow strip of grass without +once making a false step I remarked, as you may remember, that it was +a noteworthy performance. In my mind I set it down as an impossible +performance, save in the unlikely case that she had a second pair of +glasses. I was forced, therefore, to seriously consider the hypothesis +that she had remained within the house. On perceiving the similarity of +the two corridors it became clear that she might very easily have made +such a mistake, and in that case it was evident that she must have +entered the Professor's room. I was keenly on the alert, therefore, +for whatever would bear out this supposition, and I examined the room +narrowly for anything in the shape of a hiding-place. The carpet seemed +continuous and firmly nailed, so I dismissed the idea of a trap-door. +There might well be a recess behind the books. As you are aware, such +devices are common in old libraries. I observed that books were piled +on the floor at all other points, but that one bookcase was left clear. +This, then, might be the door. I could see no marks to guide me, but the +carpet was of a dun colour, which lends itself very well to examination. +I therefore smoked a great number of those excellent cigarettes, and I +dropped the ash all over the space in front of the suspected bookcase. +It was a simple trick, but exceedingly effective. I then went downstairs +and I ascertained, in your presence, Watson, without your perceiving +the drift of my remarks, that Professor Coram's consumption of food had +increased--as one would expect when he is supplying a second person. We +then ascended to the room again, when, by upsetting the cigarette-box, +I obtained a very excellent view of the floor, and was able to see quite +clearly, from the traces upon the cigarette ash, that the prisoner had, +in our absence, come out from her retreat. Well, Hopkins, here we are at +Charing Cross, and I congratulate you on having brought your case to +a successful conclusion. You are going to head-quarters, no doubt. I +think, Watson, you and I will drive together to the Russian Embassy." + + +***** + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 28 AUGUST, 1904 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +XI.--The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter. + + +WE were fairly accustomed to receive weird telegrams at Baker Street, +but I have a particular recollection of one which reached us on a gloomy +February morning some seven or eight years ago and gave Mr. Sherlock +Holmes a puzzled quarter of an hour. It was addressed to him, and ran +thus:-- + +"Please await me. Terrible misfortune. Right wing three-quarter missing; +indispensable to morrow.--OVERTON." + +"Strand post-mark and dispatched ten-thirty-six," said Holmes, reading +it over and over. "Mr. Overton was evidently considerably excited when +he sent it, and somewhat incoherent in consequence. Well, well, he will +be here, I dare say, by the time I have looked through the TIMES, and +then we shall know all about it. Even the most insignificant problem +would be welcome in these stagnant days." + +Things had indeed been very slow with us, and I had learned to dread +such periods of inaction, for I knew by experience that my companion's +brain was so abnormally active that it was dangerous to leave it without +material upon which to work. For years I had gradually weaned him +from that drug mania which had threatened once to check his remarkable +career. Now I knew that under ordinary conditions he no longer craved +for this artificial stimulus, but I was well aware that the fiend was +not dead, but sleeping; and I have known that the sleep was a light one +and the waking near when in periods of idleness I have seen the drawn +look upon Holmes's ascetic face, and the brooding of his deep-set and +inscrutable eyes. Therefore I blessed this Mr. Overton, whoever he might +be, since he had come with his enigmatic message to break that dangerous +calm which brought more peril to my friend than all the storms of his +tempestuous life. + +As we had expected, the telegram was soon followed by its sender, and +the card of Mr. Cyril Overton, of Trinity College, Cambridge, announced +the arrival of an enormous young man, sixteen stone of solid bone and +muscle, who spanned the doorway with his broad shoulders and looked +from one of us to the other with a comely face which was haggard with +anxiety. + +"Mr. Sherlock Holmes?" + +My companion bowed. + +"I've been down to Scotland Yard, Mr. Holmes. I saw Inspector Stanley +Hopkins. He advised me to come to you. He said the case, so far as he +could see, was more in your line than in that of the regular police." + +"Pray sit down and tell me what is the matter." + +"It's awful, Mr. Holmes, simply awful! I wonder my hair isn't grey. +Godfrey Staunton--you've heard of him, of course? He's simply the hinge +that the whole team turns on. I'd rather spare two from the pack +and have Godfrey for my three-quarter line. Whether it's passing, or +tackling, or dribbling, there's no one to touch him; and then, he's got +the head and can hold us all together. What am I to do? That's what I +ask you, Mr. Holmes. There's Moorhouse, first reserve, but he is trained +as a half, and he always edges right in on to the scrum instead of +keeping out on the touch-line. He's a fine place-kick, it's true, but, +then, he has no judgment, and he can't sprint for nuts. Why, Morton +or Johnson, the Oxford fliers, could romp round him. Stevenson is +fast enough, but he couldn't drop from the twenty-five line, and a +three-quarter who can't either punt or drop isn't worth a place for +pace alone. No, Mr. Holmes, we are done unless you can help me to find +Godfrey Staunton." + +My friend had listened with amused surprise to this long speech, which +was poured forth with extraordinary vigour and earnestness, every point +being driven home by the slapping of a brawny hand upon the speaker's +knee. When our visitor was silent Holmes stretched out his hand and took +down letter "S" of his commonplace book. For once he dug in vain into +that mine of varied information. + +"There is Arthur H. Staunton, the rising young forger," said he, "and +there was Henry Staunton, whom I helped to hang, but Godfrey Staunton is +a new name to me." + +It was our visitor's turn to look surprised. + +"Why, Mr. Holmes, I thought you knew things," said he. "I suppose, then, +if you have never heard of Godfrey Staunton you don't know Cyril Overton +either?" + +Holmes shook his head good-humouredly. + +"Great Scot!" cried the athlete. "Why, I was first reserve for England +against Wales, and I've skippered the 'Varsity all this year. But that's +nothing! I didn't think there was a soul in England who didn't know +Godfrey Staunton, the crack three-quarter, Cambridge, Blackheath, and +five Internationals. Good Lord! Mr. Holmes, where HAVE you lived?" + +Holmes laughed at the young giant's naive astonishment. + +"You live in a different world to me, Mr. Overton, a sweeter and +healthier one. My ramifications stretch out into many sections of +society, but never, I am happy to say, into amateur sport, which is the +best and soundest thing in England. However, your unexpected visit this +morning shows me that even in that world of fresh air and fair play +there may be work for me to do; so now, my good sir, I beg you to sit +down and to tell me slowly and quietly exactly what it is that has +occurred, and how you desire that I should help you." + +Young Overton's face assumed the bothered look of the man who is more +accustomed to using his muscles than his wits; but by degrees, with many +repetitions and obscurities which I may omit from his narrative, he laid +his strange story before us. + + +"It's this way, Mr. Holmes. As I have said, I am the skipper of the +Rugger team of Cambridge 'Varsity, and Godfrey Staunton is my best man. +To-morrow we play Oxford. Yesterday we all came up and we settled at +Bentley's private hotel. At ten o'clock I went round and saw that all +the fellows had gone to roost, for I believe in strict training and +plenty of sleep to keep a team fit. I had a word or two with Godfrey +before he turned in. He seemed to me to be pale and bothered. I asked +him what was the matter. He said he was all right--just a touch of +headache. I bade him good-night and left him. Half an hour later the +porter tells me that a rough-looking man with a beard called with a note +for Godfrey. He had not gone to bed and the note was taken to his room. +Godfrey read it and fell back in a chair as if he had been pole-axed. +The porter was so scared that he was going to fetch me, but Godfrey +stopped him, had a drink of water, and pulled himself together. Then +he went downstairs, said a few words to the man who was waiting in the +hall, and the two of them went off together. The last that the porter +saw of them, they were almost running down the street in the direction +of the Strand. This morning Godfrey's room was empty, his bed had never +been slept in, and his things were all just as I had seen them the night +before. He had gone off at a moment's notice with this stranger, and no +word has come from him since. I don't believe he will ever come back. He +was a sportsman, was Godfrey, down to his marrow, and he wouldn't have +stopped his training and let in his skipper if it were not for some +cause that was too strong for him. No; I feel as if he were gone for +good and we should never see him again." + + +Sherlock Holmes listened with the deepest attention to this singular +narrative. + +"What did you do?" he asked. + +"I wired to Cambridge to learn if anything had been heard of him there. +I have had an answer. No one has seen him." + +"Could he have got back to Cambridge?" + +"Yes, there is a late train--quarter-past eleven." + +"But so far as you can ascertain he did not take it?" + +"No, he has not been seen." + +"What did you do next?" + +"I wired to Lord Mount-James." + +"Why to Lord Mount-James?" + +"Godfrey is an orphan, and Lord Mount-James is his nearest relative--his +uncle, I believe." + +"Indeed. This throws new light upon the matter. Lord Mount-James is one +of the richest men in England." + +"So I've heard Godfrey say." + +"And your friend was closely related?" + +"Yes, he was his heir, and the old boy is nearly eighty--cram full of +gout, too. They say he could chalk his billiard-cue with his knuckles. +He never allowed Godfrey a shilling in his life, for he is an absolute +miser, but it will all come to him right enough." + +"Have you heard from Lord Mount-James?" + +"No." + +"What motive could your friend have in going to Lord Mount-James?" + +"Well, something was worrying him the night before, and if it was to do +with money it is possible that he would make for his nearest relative +who had so much of it, though from all I have heard he would not have +much chance of getting it. Godfrey was not fond of the old man. He would +not go if he could help it." + +"Well, we can soon determine that. If your friend was going to his +relative, Lord Mount-James, you have then to explain the visit of this +rough-looking fellow at so late an hour, and the agitation that was +caused by his coming." + +Cyril Overton pressed his hands to his head. "I can make nothing of it," +said he. + +"Well, well, I have a clear day, and I shall be happy to look into the +matter," said Holmes. "I should strongly recommend you to make your +preparations for your match without reference to this young gentleman. +It must, as you say, have been an overpowering necessity which tore him +away in such a fashion, and the same necessity is likely to hold him +away. Let us step round together to this hotel, and see if the porter +can throw any fresh light upon the matter." + +Sherlock Holmes was a past-master in the art of putting a humble +witness at his ease, and very soon, in the privacy of Godfrey Staunton's +abandoned room, he had extracted all that the porter had to tell. +The visitor of the night before was not a gentleman, neither was he +a working man. He was simply what the porter described as a +"medium-looking chap"; a man of fifty, beard grizzled, pale face, +quietly dressed. He seemed himself to be agitated. The porter had +observed his hand trembling when he had held out the note. Godfrey +Staunton had crammed the note into his pocket. Staunton had not shaken +hands with the man in the hall. They had exchanged a few sentences, of +which the porter had only distinguished the one word "time." Then they +had hurried off in the manner described. It was just half-past ten by +the hall clock. + +"Let me see," said Holmes, seating himself on Staunton's bed. "You are +the day porter, are you not?" + +"Yes, sir; I go off duty at eleven." + +"The night porter saw nothing, I suppose?" + +"No, sir; one theatre party came in late. No one else." + +"Were you on duty all day yesterday?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Did you take any messages to Mr. Staunton?" + +"Yes, sir; one telegram." + +"Ah! that's interesting. What o'clock was this?" + +"About six." + +"Where was Mr. Staunton when he received it?" + +"Here in his room." + +"Were you present when he opened it?" + +"Yes, sir; I waited to see if there was an answer." + +"Well, was there?" + +"Yes, sir. He wrote an answer." + +"Did you take it?" + +"No; he took it himself." + +"But he wrote it in your presence?" + +"Yes, sir. I was standing by the door, and he with his back turned at +that table. When he had written it he said, 'All right, porter, I will +take this myself.'" + +"What did he write it with?" + +"A pen, sir." + +"Was the telegraphic form one of these on the table?" + +"Yes, sir; it was the top one." + +Holmes rose. Taking the forms he carried them over to the window and +carefully examined that which was uppermost. + +"It is a pity he did not write in pencil," said he, throwing them down +again with a shrug of disappointment. "As you have no doubt frequently +observed, Watson, the impression usually goes through--a fact which has +dissolved many a happy marriage. However, I can find no trace here. I +rejoice, however, to perceive that he wrote with a broad-pointed quill +pen, and I can hardly doubt that we will find some impression upon this +blotting-pad. Ah, yes, surely this is the very thing!" + +He tore off a strip of the blotting-paper and turned towards us the +following hieroglyphic:-- + +GRAPHIC + +Cyril Overton was much excited. "Hold it to the glass!" he cried. + +"That is unnecessary," said Holmes. "The paper is thin, and the reverse +will give the message. Here it is." He turned it over and we read:-- + +GRAPHIC + +"So that is the tail end of the telegram which Godfrey Staunton +dispatched within a few hours of his disappearance. There are at least +six words of the message which have escaped us; but what remains--'Stand +by us for God's sake!'--proves that this young man saw a formidable +danger which approached him, and from which someone else could protect +him. 'US,' mark you! Another person was involved. Who should it be but +the pale-faced, bearded man, who seemed himself in so nervous a state? +What, then, is the connection between Godfrey Staunton and the bearded +man? And what is the third source from which each of them sought for +help against pressing danger? Our inquiry has already narrowed down to +that." + +"We have only to find to whom that telegram is addressed," I suggested. + +"Exactly, my dear Watson. Your reflection, though profound, had already +crossed my mind. But I dare say it may have come to your notice that if +you walk into a post-office and demand to see the counterfoil of another +man's message there may be some disinclination on the part of the +officials to oblige you. There is so much red tape in these matters! +However, I have no doubt that with a little delicacy and finesse the end +may be attained. Meanwhile, I should like in your presence, Mr. Overton, +to go through these papers which have been left upon the table." + +There were a number of letters, bills, and note-books, which Holmes +turned over and examined with quick, nervous fingers and darting, +penetrating eyes. "Nothing here," he said, at last. "By the way, I +suppose your friend was a healthy young fellow--nothing amiss with him?" + +"Sound as a bell." + +"Have you ever known him ill?" + +"Not a day. He has been laid up with a hack, and once he slipped his +knee-cap, but that was nothing." + +"Perhaps he was not so strong as you suppose. I should think he may have +had some secret trouble. With your assent I will put one or two of these +papers in my pocket, in case they should bear upon our future inquiry." + +"One moment! one moment!" cried a querulous voice, and we looked up to +find a queer little old man, jerking and twitching in the doorway. He +was dressed in rusty black, with a very broad brimmed top-hat and a +loose white necktie--the whole effect being that of a very rustic parson +or of an undertaker's mute. Yet, in spite of his shabby and even absurd +appearance, his voice had a sharp crackle, and his manner a quick +intensity which commanded attention. + +"Who are you, sir, and by what right do you touch this gentleman's +papers?" he asked. + +"I am a private detective, and I am endeavouring to explain his +disappearance." + +"Oh, you are, are you? And who instructed you, eh?" + +"This gentleman, Mr. Staunton's friend, was referred to me by Scotland +Yard." + +"Who are you, sir?" + +"I am Cyril Overton." + +"Then it is you who sent me a telegram. My name is Lord Mount-James. I +came round as quickly as the Bayswater 'bus would bring me. So you have +instructed a detective?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"And are you prepared to meet the cost?" + +"I have no doubt, sir, that my friend Godfrey, when we find him, will be +prepared to do that." + +"But if he is never found, eh? Answer me that!" + +"In that case no doubt his family----" + +"Nothing of the sort, sir!" screamed the little man. "Don't look to me +for a penny--not a penny! You understand that, Mr. Detective! I am all +the family that this young man has got, and I tell you that I am not +responsible. If he has any expectations it is due to the fact that I +have never wasted money, and I do not propose to begin to do so now. As +to those papers with which you are making so free, I may tell you that +in case there should be anything of any value among them you will be +held strictly to account for what you do with them." + +"Very good, sir," said Sherlock Holmes. "May I ask in the meanwhile +whether you have yourself any theory to account for this young man's +disappearance?" + +"No, sir, I have not. He is big enough and old enough to look after +himself, and if he is so foolish as to lose himself I entirely refuse to +accept the responsibility of hunting for him." + +"I quite understand your position," said Holmes, with a mischievous +twinkle in his eyes. "Perhaps you don't quite understand mine. Godfrey +Staunton appears to have been a poor man. If he has been kidnapped it +could not have been for anything which he himself possesses. The fame +of your wealth has gone abroad, Lord Mount-James, and it is entirely +possible that a gang of thieves have secured your nephew in order to +gain from him some information as to your house, your habits, and your +treasure." + +The face of our unpleasant little visitor turned as white as his +neckcloth. + +"Heavens, sir, what an idea! I never thought of such villainy! What +inhuman rogues there are in the world! But Godfrey is a fine lad--a +staunch lad. Nothing would induce him to give his old uncle away. I'll +have the plate moved over to the bank this evening. In the meantime +spare no pains, Mr. Detective! I beg you to leave no stone unturned to +bring him safely back. As to money, well, so far as a fiver, or even a +tenner, goes, you can always look to me." + +Even in his chastened frame of mind the noble miser could give us no +information which could help us, for he knew little of the private life +of his nephew. Our only clue lay in the truncated telegram, and with a +copy of this in his hand Holmes set forth to find a second link for +his chain. We had shaken off Lord Mount-James, and Overton had gone to +consult with the other members of his team over the misfortune which had +befallen them. + +There was a telegraph-office at a short distance from the hotel. We +halted outside it. + +"It's worth trying, Watson," said Holmes. "Of course, with a warrant we +could demand to see the counterfoils, but we have not reached that stage +yet. I don't suppose they remember faces in so busy a place. Let us +venture it." + +"I am sorry to trouble you," said he, in his blandest manner, to the +young woman behind the grating; "there is some small mistake about a +telegram I sent yesterday. I have had no answer, and I very much fear +that I must have omitted to put my name at the end. Could you tell me if +this was so?" + +The young woman turned over a sheaf of counterfoils. + +"What o'clock was it?" she asked. + +"A little after six." + +"Whom was it to?" + +Holmes put his finger to his lips and glanced at me. "The last words +in it were 'for God's sake,'" he whispered, confidentially; "I am very +anxious at getting no answer." + +The young woman separated one of the forms. + +"This is it. There is no name," said she, smoothing it out upon the +counter. + +"Then that, of course, accounts for my getting no answer," said Holmes. +"Dear me, how very stupid of me, to be sure! Good morning, miss, and +many thanks for having relieved my mind." He chuckled and rubbed his +hands when we found ourselves in the street once more. + +"Well?" I asked. + +"We progress, my dear Watson, we progress. I had seven different schemes +for getting a glimpse of that telegram, but I could hardly hope to +succeed the very first time." + +"And what have you gained?" + +"A starting-point for our investigation." He hailed a cab. "King's Cross +Station," said he. + +"We have a journey, then?" + +"Yes; I think we must run down to Cambridge together. All the +indications seem to me to point in that direction." + +"Tell me," I asked, as we rattled up Gray's Inn Road, "have you any +suspicion yet as to the cause of the disappearance? I don't think that +among all our cases I have known one where the motives are more obscure. +Surely you don't really imagine that he may be kidnapped in order to +give information against his wealthy uncle?" + +"I confess, my dear Watson, that that does not appeal to me as a very +probable explanation. It struck me, however, as being the one which was +most likely to interest that exceedingly unpleasant old person." + +"It certainly did that. But what are your alternatives?" + +"I could mention several. You must admit that it is curious and +suggestive that this incident should occur on the eve of this important +match, and should involve the only man whose presence seems essential +to the success of the side. It may, of course, be coincidence, but it +is interesting. Amateur sport is free from betting, but a good deal of +outside betting goes on among the public, and it is possible that it +might be worth someone's while to get at a player as the ruffians of +the turf get at a race-horse. There is one explanation. A second +very obvious one is that this young man really is the heir of a great +property, however modest his means may at present be, and it is not +impossible that a plot to hold him for ransom might be concocted." + +"These theories take no account of the telegram." + +"Quite true, Watson. The telegram still remains the only solid thing +with which we have to deal, and we must not permit our attention to +wander away from it. It is to gain light upon the purpose of this +telegram that we are now upon our way to Cambridge. The path of our +investigation is at present obscure, but I shall be very much surprised +if before evening we have not cleared it up or made a considerable +advance along it." + +It was already dark when we reached the old University city. Holmes took +a cab at the station, and ordered the man to drive to the house of Dr. +Leslie Armstrong. A few minutes later we had stopped at a large mansion +in the busiest thoroughfare. We were shown in, and after a long wait +were at last admitted into the consulting-room, where we found the +doctor seated behind his table. + +It argues the degree in which I had lost touch with my profession that +the name of Leslie Armstrong was unknown to me. Now I am aware that he +is not only one of the heads of the medical school of the University, +but a thinker of European reputation in more than one branch of science. +Yet even without knowing his brilliant record one could not fail to be +impressed by a mere glance at the man, the square, massive face, the +brooding eyes under the thatched brows, and the granite moulding of the +inflexible jaw. A man of deep character, a man with an alert mind, grim, +ascetic, self-contained, formidable--so I read Dr. Leslie Armstrong. He +held my friend's card in his hand, and he looked up with no very pleased +expression upon his dour features. + +"I have heard your name, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and I am aware of your +profession, one of which I by no means approve." + +"In that, doctor, you will find yourself in agreement with every +criminal in the country," said my friend, quietly. + +"So far as your efforts are directed towards the suppression of crime, +sir, they must have the support of every reasonable member of the +community, though I cannot doubt that the official machinery is amply +sufficient for the purpose. Where your calling is more open to criticism +is when you pry into the secrets of private individuals, when you rake +up family matters which are better hidden, and when you incidentally +waste the time of men who are more busy than yourself. At the present +moment, for example, I should be writing a treatise instead of +conversing with you." + +"No doubt, doctor; and yet the conversation may prove more important +than the treatise. Incidentally I may tell you that we are doing the +reverse of what you very justly blame, and that we are endeavouring +to prevent anything like public exposure of private matters which must +necessarily follow when once the case is fairly in the hands of the +official police. You may look upon me simply as an irregular pioneer who +goes in front of the regular forces of the country. I have come to ask +you about Mr. Godfrey Staunton." + +"What about him?" + +"You know him, do you not?" + +"He is an intimate friend of mine." + +"You are aware that he has disappeared?" + +"Ah, indeed!" There was no change of expression in the rugged features +of the doctor. + +"He left his hotel last night. He has not been heard of." + +"No doubt he will return." + +"To-morrow is the 'Varsity football match." + +"I have no sympathy with these childish games. The young man's fate +interests me deeply, since I know him and like him. The football match +does not come within my horizon at all." + +"I claim your sympathy, then, in my investigation of Mr. Staunton's +fate. Do you know where he is?" + +"Certainly not." + +"You have not seen him since yesterday?" + +"No, I have not." + +"Was Mr. Staunton a healthy man?" + +"Absolutely." + +"Did you ever know him ill?" + +"Never." + +Holmes popped a sheet of paper before the doctor's eyes. "Then perhaps +you will explain this receipted bill for thirteen guineas, paid by Mr. +Godfrey Staunton last month to Dr. Leslie Armstrong of Cambridge. I +picked it out from among the papers upon his desk." + +The doctor flushed with anger. + +"I do not feel that there is any reason why I should render an +explanation to you, Mr. Holmes." + +Holmes replaced the bill in his note-book. "If you prefer a public +explanation it must come sooner or later," said he. "I have already told +you that I can hush up that which others will be bound to publish, and +you would really be wiser to take me into your complete confidence." + +"I know nothing about it." + +"Did you hear from Mr. Staunton in London?" + +"Certainly not." + +"Dear me, dear me; the post-office again!" Holmes sighed, wearily. +"A most urgent telegram was dispatched to you from London by Godfrey +Staunton at six-fifteen yesterday evening--a telegram which is +undoubtedly associated with his disappearance--and yet you have not had +it. It is most culpable. I shall certainly go down to the office here +and register a complaint." + +Dr. Leslie Armstrong sprang up from behind his desk, and his dark face +was crimson with fury. + +"I'll trouble you to walk out of my house, sir," said he. "You can tell +your employer, Lord Mount-James, that I do not wish to have anything to +do either with him or with his agents. No, sir, not another word!" He +rang the bell furiously. "John, show these gentlemen out!" A pompous +butler ushered us severely to the door, and we found ourselves in the +street. Holmes burst out laughing. + +"Dr. Leslie Armstrong is certainly a man of energy and character," said +he. "I have not seen a man who, if he turned his talents that way, was +more calculated to fill the gap left by the illustrious Moriarty. +And now, my poor Watson, here we are, stranded and friendless in this +inhospitable town, which we cannot leave without abandoning our case. +This little inn just opposite Armstrong's house is singularly adapted to +our needs. If you would engage a front room and purchase the necessaries +for the night, I may have time to make a few inquiries." + +These few inquiries proved, however, to be a more lengthy proceeding +than Holmes had imagined, for he did not return to the inn until nearly +nine o'clock. He was pale and dejected, stained with dust, and exhausted +with hunger and fatigue. A cold supper was ready upon the table, and +when his needs were satisfied and his pipe alight he was ready to take +that half comic and wholly philosophic view which was natural to him +when his affairs were going awry. The sound of carriage wheels caused +him to rise and glance out of the window. A brougham and pair of greys +under the glare of a gas-lamp stood before the doctor's door. + +"It's been out three hours," said Holmes; "started at half-past six, and +here it is back again. That gives a radius of ten or twelve miles, and +he does it once, or sometimes twice, a day." + +"No unusual thing for a doctor in practice." + +"But Armstrong is not really a doctor in practice. He is a lecturer and +a consultant, but he does not care for general practice, which distracts +him from his literary work. Why, then, does he make these long journeys, +which must be exceedingly irksome to him, and who is it that he visits?" + +"His coachman----" + +"My dear Watson, can you doubt that it was to him that I first applied? +I do not know whether it came from his own innate depravity or from the +promptings of his master, but he was rude enough to set a dog at me. +Neither dog nor man liked the look of my stick, however, and the matter +fell through. Relations were strained after that, and further inquiries +out of the question. All that I have learned I got from a friendly +native in the yard of our own inn. It was he who told me of the doctor's +habits and of his daily journey. At that instant, to give point to his +words, the carriage came round to the door." + +"Could you not follow it?" + +"Excellent, Watson! You are scintillating this evening. The idea did +cross my mind. There is, as you may have observed, a bicycle shop next +to our inn. Into this I rushed, engaged a bicycle, and was able to get +started before the carriage was quite out of sight. I rapidly overtook +it, and then, keeping at a discreet distance of a hundred yards or so, I +followed its lights until we were clear of the town. We had got well out +on the country road when a somewhat mortifying incident occurred. The +carriage stopped, the doctor alighted, walked swiftly back to where I +had also halted, and told me in an excellent sardonic fashion that +he feared the road was narrow, and that he hoped his carriage did not +impede the passage of my bicycle. Nothing could have been more admirable +than his way of putting it. I at once rode past the carriage, and, +keeping to the main road, I went on for a few miles, and then halted in +a convenient place to see if the carriage passed. There was no sign of +it, however, and so it became evident that it had turned down one of +several side roads which I had observed. I rode back, but again saw +nothing of the carriage, and now, as you perceive, it has returned after +me. Of course, I had at the outset no particular reason to connect +these journeys with the disappearance of Godfrey Staunton, and was only +inclined to investigate them on the general grounds that everything +which concerns Dr. Armstrong is at present of interest to us; but, now +that I find he keeps so keen a look-out upon anyone who may follow him +on these excursions, the affair appears more important, and I shall not +be satisfied until I have made the matter clear." + +"We can follow him to-morrow." + +"Can we? It is not so easy as you seem to think. You are not familiar +with Cambridgeshire scenery, are you? It does not lend itself to +concealment. All this country that I passed over to-night is as flat and +clean as the palm of your hand, and the man we are following is no fool, +as he very clearly showed to-night. I have wired to Overton to let us +know any fresh London developments at this address, and in the meantime +we can only concentrate our attention upon Dr. Armstrong, whose name +the obliging young lady at the office allowed me to read upon the +counterfoil of Staunton's urgent message. He knows where the young man +is--to that I'll swear--and if he knows, then it must be our own fault +if we cannot manage to know also. At present it must be admitted that +the odd trick is in his possession, and, as you are aware, Watson, it is +not my habit to leave the game in that condition." + +And yet the next day brought us no nearer to the solution of the +mystery. A note was handed in after breakfast, which Holmes passed +across to me with a smile. + +"Sir," it ran, "I can assure you that you are wasting your time in +dogging my movements. I have, as you discovered last night, a window at +the back of my brougham, and if you desire a twenty-mile ride which will +lead you to the spot from which you started, you have only to follow me. +Meanwhile, I can inform you that no spying upon me can in any way help +Mr. Godfrey Staunton, and I am convinced that the best service you can +do to that gentleman is to return at once to London and to report to +your employer that you are unable to trace him. Your time in Cambridge +will certainly be wasted. + +"Yours faithfully, + +"LESLIE ARMSTRONG." + + +"An outspoken, honest antagonist is the doctor," said Holmes. "Well, +well, he excites my curiosity, and I must really know more before I +leave him." + +"His carriage is at his door now," said I. "There he is stepping into +it. I saw him glance up at our window as he did so. Suppose I try my +luck upon the bicycle?" + +"No, no, my dear Watson! With all respect for your natural acumen I do +not think that you are quite a match for the worthy doctor. I think that +possibly I can attain our end by some independent explorations of my +own. I am afraid that I must leave you to your own devices, as the +appearance of TWO inquiring strangers upon a sleepy countryside might +excite more gossip than I care for. No doubt you will find some sights +to amuse you in this venerable city, and I hope to bring back a more +favourable report to you before evening." + +Once more, however, my friend was destined to be disappointed. He came +back at night weary and unsuccessful. + +"I have had a blank day, Watson. Having got the doctor's general +direction, I spent the day in visiting all the villages upon that side +of Cambridge, and comparing notes with publicans and other local news +agencies. I have covered some ground: Chesterton, Histon, Waterbeach, +and Oakington have each been explored and have each proved +disappointing. The daily appearance of a brougham and pair could hardly +have been overlooked in such Sleepy Hollows. The doctor has scored once +more. Is there a telegram for me?" + +"Yes; I opened it. Here it is: 'Ask for Pompey from Jeremy Dixon, +Trinity College.' I don't understand it." + +"Oh, it is clear enough. It is from our friend Overton, and is in answer +to a question from me. I'll just send round a note to Mr. Jeremy Dixon, +and then I have no doubt that our luck will turn. By the way, is there +any news of the match?" + +"Yes, the local evening paper has an excellent account in its last +edition. Oxford won by a goal and two tries. The last sentences of +the description say: 'The defeat of the Light Blues may be entirely +attributed to the unfortunate absence of the crack International, +Godfrey Staunton, whose want was felt at every instant of the game. The +lack of combination in the three-quarter line and their weakness both +in attack and defence more than neutralized the efforts of a heavy and +hard-working pack.'" + +"Then our friend Overton's forebodings have been justified," said +Holmes. "Personally I am in agreement with Dr. Armstrong, and football +does not come within my horizon. Early to bed to-night, Watson, for I +foresee that to-morrow may be an eventful day." + + +I was horrified by my first glimpse of Holmes next morning, for he +sat by the fire holding his tiny hypodermic syringe. I associated that +instrument with the single weakness of his nature, and I feared the +worst when I saw it glittering in his hand. He laughed at my expression +of dismay, and laid it upon the table. + +"No, no, my dear fellow, there is no cause for alarm. It is not upon +this occasion the instrument of evil, but it will rather prove to be the +key which will unlock our mystery. On this syringe I base all my hopes. +I have just returned from a small scouting expedition and everything is +favourable. Eat a good breakfast, Watson, for I propose to get upon Dr. +Armstrong's trail to-day, and once on it I will not stop for rest or +food until I run him to his burrow." + +"In that case," said I, "we had best carry our breakfast with us, for he +is making an early start. His carriage is at the door." + +"Never mind. Let him go. He will be clever if he can drive where I +cannot follow him. When you have finished come downstairs with me, and +I will introduce you to a detective who is a very eminent specialist in +the work that lies before us." + +When we descended I followed Holmes into the stable yard, where +he opened the door of a loose-box and led out a squat, lop-eared, +white-and-tan dog, something between a beagle and a foxhound. + +"Let me introduce you to Pompey," said he. "Pompey is the pride of the +local draghounds, no very great flier, as his build will show, but +a staunch hound on a scent. Well, Pompey, you may not be fast, but +I expect you will be too fast for a couple of middle-aged London +gentlemen, so I will take the liberty of fastening this leather leash to +your collar. Now, boy, come along, and show what you can do." He led him +across to the doctor's door. The dog sniffed round for an instant, and +then with a shrill whine of excitement started off down the street, +tugging at his leash in his efforts to go faster. In half an hour, we +were clear of the town and hastening down a country road. + +"What have you done, Holmes?" I asked. + +"A threadbare and venerable device, but useful upon occasion. I walked +into the doctor's yard this morning and shot my syringe full of aniseed +over the hind wheel. A draghound will follow aniseed from here to John +o' Groat's, and our friend Armstrong would have to drive through the Cam +before he would shake Pompey off his trail. Oh, the cunning rascal! This +is how he gave me the slip the other night." + +The dog had suddenly turned out of the main road into a grass-grown +lane. Half a mile farther this opened into another broad road, and the +trail turned hard to the right in the direction of the town, which we +had just quitted. The road took a sweep to the south of the town and +continued in the opposite direction to that in which we started. + +"This DETOUR has been entirely for our benefit, then?" said Holmes. "No +wonder that my inquiries among those villages led to nothing. The doctor +has certainly played the game for all it is worth, and one would like to +know the reason for such elaborate deception. This should be the village +of Trumpington to the right of us. And, by Jove! here is the brougham +coming round the corner. Quick, Watson, quick, or we are done!" + +He sprang through a gate into a field, dragging the reluctant Pompey +after him. We had hardly got under the shelter of the hedge when the +carriage rattled past. I caught a glimpse of Dr. Armstrong within, his +shoulders bowed, his head sunk on his hands, the very image of distress. +I could tell by my companion's graver face that he also had seen. + +"I fear there is some dark ending to our quest," said he. "It cannot +be long before we know it. Come, Pompey! Ah, it is the cottage in the +field!" + +There could be no doubt that we had reached the end of our journey. +Pompey ran about and whined eagerly outside the gate where the marks of +the brougham's wheels were still to be seen. A footpath led across to +the lonely cottage. Holmes tied the dog to the hedge, and we hastened +onwards. My friend knocked at the little rustic door, and knocked again +without response. And yet the cottage was not deserted, for a low sound +came to our ears--a kind of drone of misery and despair, which was +indescribably melancholy. Holmes paused irresolute, and then he glanced +back at the road which we had just traversed. A brougham was coming down +it, and there could be no mistaking those grey horses. + +"By Jove, the doctor is coming back!" cried Holmes. "That settles it. We +are bound to see what it means before he comes." + +He opened the door and we stepped into the hall. The droning sound +swelled louder upon our ears until it became one long, deep wail of +distress. It came from upstairs. Holmes darted up and I followed him. He +pushed open a half-closed door and we both stood appalled at the sight +before us. + +A woman, young and beautiful, was lying dead upon the bed. Her calm, +pale face, with dim, wide-opened blue eyes, looked upward from amid a +great tangle of golden hair. At the foot of the bed, half sitting, half +kneeling, his face buried in the clothes, was a young man, whose frame +was racked by his sobs. So absorbed was he by his bitter grief that he +never looked up until Holmes's hand was on his shoulder. + +"Are you Mr. Godfrey Staunton?" + +"Yes, yes; I am--but you are too late. She is dead." + +The man was so dazed that he could not be made to understand that we +were anything but doctors who had been sent to his assistance. Holmes +was endeavouring to utter a few words of consolation, and to explain the +alarm which had been caused to his friends by his sudden disappearance, +when there was a step upon the stairs, and there was the heavy, stern, +questioning face of Dr. Armstrong at the door. + +"So, gentlemen," said he, "you have attained your end, and have +certainly chosen a particularly delicate moment for your intrusion. I +would not brawl in the presence of death, but I can assure you that if I +were a younger man your monstrous conduct would not pass with impunity." + +"Excuse me, Dr. Armstrong, I think we are a little at cross-purposes," +said my friend, with dignity. "If you could step downstairs with us we +may each be able to give some light to the other upon this miserable +affair." + +A minute later the grim doctor and ourselves were in the sitting-room +below. + +"Well, sir?" said he. + +"I wish you to understand, in the first place, that I am not employed +by Lord Mount-James, and that my sympathies in this matter are entirely +against that nobleman. When a man is lost it is my duty to ascertain his +fate, but having done so the matter ends so far as I am concerned; and +so long as there is nothing criminal, I am much more anxious to hush up +private scandals than to give them publicity. If, as I imagine, there is +no breach of the law in this matter, you can absolutely depend upon my +discretion and my co-operation in keeping the facts out of the papers." + +Dr. Armstrong took a quick step forward and wrung Holmes by the hand. + +"You are a good fellow," said he. "I had misjudged you. I thank Heaven +that my compunction at leaving poor Staunton all alone in this plight +caused me to turn my carriage back, and so to make your acquaintance. +Knowing as much as you do, the situation is very easily explained. +A year ago Godfrey Staunton lodged in London for a time, and became +passionately attached to his landlady's daughter, whom he married. She +was as good as she was beautiful, and as intelligent as she was good. +No man need be ashamed of such a wife. But Godfrey was the heir to this +crabbed old nobleman, and it was quite certain that the news of his +marriage would have been the end of his inheritance. I knew the lad +well, and I loved him for his many excellent qualities. I did all I +could to help him to keep things straight. We did our very best to keep +the thing from everyone, for when once such a whisper gets about it is +not long before everyone has heard it. Thanks to this lonely cottage and +his own discretion, Godfrey has up to now succeeded. Their secret was +known to no one save to me and to one excellent servant who has at +present gone for assistance to Trumpington. But at last there came a +terrible blow in the shape of dangerous illness to his wife. It was +consumption of the most virulent kind. The poor boy was half crazed with +grief, and yet he had to go to London to play this match, for he could +not get out of it without explanations which would expose his secret. I +tried to cheer him up by a wire, and he sent me one in reply imploring +me to do all I could. This was the telegram which you appear in some +inexplicable way to have seen. I did not tell him how urgent the danger +was, for I knew that he could do no good here, but I sent the truth to +the girl's father, and he very injudiciously communicated it to Godfrey. +The result was that he came straight away in a state bordering on +frenzy, and has remained in the same state, kneeling at the end of her +bed, until this morning death put an end to her sufferings. That is all, +Mr. Holmes, and I am sure that I can rely upon your discretion and that +of your friend." + +Holmes grasped the doctor's hand. + +"Come, Watson," said he, and we passed from that house of grief into the +pale sunlight of the winter day. + + +***** + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 28 SEPTEMBER, 1904 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +XII.--The Adventure of the Abbey Grange. + + +It was on a bitterly cold and frosty morning during the winter of '97 +that I was awakened by a tugging at my shoulder. It was Holmes. The +candle in his hand shone upon his eager, stooping face and told me at a +glance that something was amiss. + +"Come, Watson, come!" he cried. "The game is afoot. Not a word! Into +your clothes and come!" + +Ten minutes later we were both in a cab and rattling through the silent +streets on our way to Charing Cross Station. The first faint winter's +dawn was beginning to appear, and we could dimly see the occasional +figure of an early workman as he passed us, blurred and indistinct in +the opalescent London reek. Holmes nestled in silence into his heavy +coat, and I was glad to do the same, for the air was most bitter and +neither of us had broken our fast. It was not until we had consumed some +hot tea at the station, and taken our places in the Kentish train, that +we were sufficiently thawed, he to speak and I to listen. Holmes drew a +note from his pocket and read it aloud:-- + + "Abbey Grange, Marsham, Kent, + "3.30 a.m. + "MY DEAR MR. HOLMES,--I should be very glad of your immediate + assistance in what promises to be a most remarkable case. + It is something quite in your line. Except for releasing the lady + I will see that everything is kept exactly as I have found it, + but I beg you not to lose an instant, as it is difficult to leave + Sir Eustace there. + "Yours faithfully, STANLEY HOPKINS." + +"Hopkins has called me in seven times, and on each occasion his summons +has been entirely justified," said Holmes. "I fancy that every one of +his cases has found its way into your collection, and I must admit, +Watson, that you have some power of selection which atones for much +which I deplore in your narratives. Your fatal habit of looking at +everything from the point of view of a story instead of as a scientific +exercise has ruined what might have been an instructive and even +classical series of demonstrations. You slur over work of the utmost +finesse and delicacy in order to dwell upon sensational details which +may excite, but cannot possibly instruct, the reader." + +"Why do you not write them yourself?" I said, with some bitterness. + +"I will, my dear Watson, I will. At present I am, as you know, fairly +busy, but I propose to devote my declining years to the composition of a +text-book which shall focus the whole art of detection into one volume. +Our present research appears to be a case of murder." + +"You think this Sir Eustace is dead, then?" + +"I should say so. Hopkins's writing shows considerable agitation, and he +is not an emotional man. Yes, I gather there has been violence, and +that the body is left for our inspection. A mere suicide would not +have caused him to send for me. As to the release of the lady, it would +appear that she has been locked in her room during the tragedy. We +are moving in high life, Watson; crackling paper, 'E.B.' monogram, +coat-of-arms, picturesque address. I think that friend Hopkins will live +up to his reputation and that we shall have an interesting morning. The +crime was committed before twelve last night." + +"How can you possibly tell?" + +"By an inspection of the trains and by reckoning the time. The local +police had to be called in, they had to communicate with Scotland Yard, +Hopkins had to go out, and he in turn had to send for me. All that makes +a fair night's work. Well, here we are at Chislehurst Station, and we +shall soon set our doubts at rest." + +A drive of a couple of miles through narrow country lanes brought us +to a park gate, which was opened for us by an old lodge-keeper, whose +haggard face bore the reflection of some great disaster. The avenue ran +through a noble park, between lines of ancient elms, and ended in a low, +widespread house, pillared in front after the fashion of Palladio. The +central part was evidently of a great age and shrouded in ivy, but the +large windows showed that modern changes had been carried out, and one +wing of the house appeared to be entirely new. The youthful figure and +alert, eager face of Inspector Stanley Hopkins confronted us in the open +doorway. + +"I'm very glad you have come, Mr. Holmes. And you too, Dr. Watson! But, +indeed, if I had my time over again I should not have troubled you, for +since the lady has come to herself she has given so clear an account of +the affair that there is not much left for us to do. You remember that +Lewisham gang of burglars?" + +"What, the three Randalls?" + +"Exactly; the father and two sons. It's their work. I have not a doubt +of it. They did a job at Sydenham a fortnight ago, and were seen and +described. Rather cool to do another so soon and so near, but it is +they, beyond all doubt. It's a hanging matter this time." + +"Sir Eustace is dead, then?" + +"Yes; his head was knocked in with his own poker." + +"Sir Eustace Brackenstall, the driver tells me." + +"Exactly--one of the richest men in Kent. Lady Brackenstall is in the +morning-room. Poor lady, she has had a most dreadful experience. She +seemed half dead when I saw her first. I think you had best see her +and hear her account of the facts. Then we will examine the dining-room +together." + +Lady Brackenstall was no ordinary person. Seldom have I seen so graceful +a figure, so womanly a presence, and so beautiful a face. She was a +blonde, golden-haired, blue-eyed, and would, no doubt, have had the +perfect complexion which goes with such colouring had not her recent +experience left her drawn and haggard. Her sufferings were physical as +well as mental, for over one eye rose a hideous, plum-coloured swelling, +which her maid, a tall, austere woman, was bathing assiduously with +vinegar and water. The lady lay back exhausted upon a couch, but her +quick, observant gaze as we entered the room, and the alert expression +of her beautiful features, showed that neither her wits nor her courage +had been shaken by her terrible experience. She was enveloped in a +loose dressing-gown of blue and silver, but a black sequin-covered +dinner-dress was hung upon the couch beside her. + +"I have told you all that happened, Mr. Hopkins," she said, wearily; +"could you not repeat it for me? Well, if you think it necessary, I will +tell these gentlemen what occurred. Have they been in the dining-room +yet?" + +"I thought they had better hear your ladyship's story first." + +"I shall be glad when you can arrange matters. It is horrible to me to +think of him still lying there." She shuddered and buried her face in +her hands. As she did so the loose gown fell back from her forearms. +Holmes uttered an exclamation. + +"You have other injuries, madam! What is this?" Two vivid red spots +stood out on one of the white, round limbs. She hastily covered it. + +"It is nothing. It has no connection with the hideous business of last +night. If you and your friend will sit down I will tell you all I can. + +"I am the wife of Sir Eustace Brackenstall. I have been married about +a year. I suppose that it is no use my attempting to conceal that our +marriage has not been a happy one. I fear that all our neighbours would +tell you that, even if I were to attempt to deny it. Perhaps the fault +may be partly mine. I was brought up in the freer, less conventional +atmosphere of South Australia, and this English life, with its +proprieties and its primness, is not congenial to me. But the main +reason lies in the one fact which is notorious to everyone, and that is +that Sir Eustace was a confirmed drunkard. To be with such a man for an +hour is unpleasant. Can you imagine what it means for a sensitive +and high-spirited woman to be tied to him for day and night? It is a +sacrilege, a crime, a villainy to hold that such a marriage is binding. +I say that these monstrous laws of yours will bring a curse upon the +land--Heaven will not let such wickedness endure." For an instant she +sat up, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes blazing from under the terrible +mark upon her brow. Then the strong, soothing hand of the austere maid +drew her head down on to the cushion, and the wild anger died away into +passionate sobbing. At last she continued:-- + +"I will tell you about last night. You are aware, perhaps, that in this +house all servants sleep in the modern wing. This central block is made +up of the dwelling-rooms, with the kitchen behind and our bedroom above. +My maid Theresa sleeps above my room. There is no one else, and no sound +could alarm those who are in the farther wing. This must have been well +known to the robbers, or they would not have acted as they did. + +"Sir Eustace retired about half-past ten. The servants had already gone +to their quarters. Only my maid was up, and she had remained in her room +at the top of the house until I needed her services. I sat until after +eleven in this room, absorbed in a book. Then I walked round to see +that all was right before I went upstairs. It was my custom to do this +myself, for, as I have explained, Sir Eustace was not always to be +trusted. I went into the kitchen, the butler's pantry, the gun-room, +the billiard-room, the drawing-room, and finally the dining-room. As I +approached the window, which is covered with thick curtains, I suddenly +felt the wind blow upon my face and realized that it was open. I flung +the curtain aside and found myself face to face with a broad-shouldered, +elderly man who had just stepped into the room. The window is a long +French one, which really forms a door leading to the lawn. I held my +bedroom candle lit in my hand, and, by its light, behind the first man I +saw two others, who were in the act of entering. I stepped back, but the +fellow was on me in an instant. He caught me first by the wrist and then +by the throat. I opened my mouth to scream, but he struck me a savage +blow with his fist over the eye, and felled me to the ground. I must +have been unconscious for a few minutes, for when I came to myself I +found that they had torn down the bell-rope and had secured me tightly +to the oaken chair which stands at the head of the dining-room table. I +was so firmly bound that I could not move, and a handkerchief round my +mouth prevented me from uttering any sound. It was at this instant that +my unfortunate husband entered the room. He had evidently heard some +suspicious sounds, and he came prepared for such a scene as he found. +He was dressed in his shirt and trousers, with his favourite blackthorn +cudgel in his hand. He rushed at one of the burglars, but another--it +was the elderly man--stooped, picked the poker out of the grate, and +struck him a horrible blow as he passed. He fell without a groan, and +never moved again. I fainted once more, but again it could only have +been a very few minutes during which I was insensible. When I opened my +eyes I found that they had collected the silver from the sideboard, and +they had drawn a bottle of wine which stood there. Each of them had a +glass in his hand. I have already told you, have I not, that one was +elderly, with a beard, and the others young, hairless lads. They might +have been a father with his two sons. They talked together in whispers. +Then they came over and made sure that I was still securely bound. +Finally they withdrew, closing the window after them. It was quite a +quarter of an hour before I got my mouth free. When I did so my screams +brought the maid to my assistance. The other servants were soon alarmed, +and we sent for the local police, who instantly communicated with +London. That is really all that I can tell you, gentlemen, and I trust +that it will not be necessary for me to go over so painful a story +again." + +"Any questions, Mr. Holmes?" asked Hopkins. + +"I will not impose any further tax upon Lady Brackenstall's patience and +time," said Holmes. "Before I go into the dining-room I should like to +hear your experience." He looked at the maid. + +"I saw the men before ever they came into the house," said she. "As I +sat by my bedroom window I saw three men in the moonlight down by the +lodge gate yonder, but I thought nothing of it at the time. It was more +than an hour after that I heard my mistress scream, and down I ran, to +find her, poor lamb, just as she says, and him on the floor with his +blood and brains over the room. It was enough to drive a woman out of +her wits, tied there, and her very dress spotted with him; but she never +wanted courage, did Miss Mary Fraser of Adelaide, and Lady Brackenstall +of Abbey Grange hasn't learned new ways. You've questioned her long +enough, you gentlemen, and now she is coming to her own room, just with +her old Theresa, to get the rest that she badly needs." + +With a motherly tenderness the gaunt woman put her arm round her +mistress and led her from the room. + +"She has been with her all her life," said Hopkins. "Nursed her as +a baby, and came with her to England when they first left Australia +eighteen months ago. Theresa Wright is her name, and the kind of maid +you don't pick up nowadays. This way, Mr. Holmes, if you please!" + +The keen interest had passed out of Holmes's expressive face, and I +knew that with the mystery all the charm of the case had departed. There +still remained an arrest to be effected, but what were these commonplace +rogues that he should soil his hands with them? An abstruse and learned +specialist who finds that he has been called in for a case of measles +would experience something of the annoyance which I read in my +friend's eyes. Yet the scene in the dining-room of the Abbey Grange was +sufficiently strange to arrest his attention and to recall his waning +interest. + +It was a very large and high chamber, with carved oak ceiling, oaken +panelling, and a fine array of deer's heads and ancient weapons around +the walls. At the farther end from the door was the high French window +of which we had heard. Three smaller windows on the right-hand side +filled the apartment with cold winter sunshine. On the left was a large, +deep fireplace, with a massive, over-hanging oak mantelpiece. Beside +the fireplace was a heavy oaken chair with arms and cross-bars at the +bottom. In and out through the open woodwork was woven a crimson cord, +which was secured at each side to the crosspiece below. In releasing the +lady the cord had been slipped off her, but the knots with which it had +been secured still remained. These details only struck our attention +afterwards, for our thoughts were entirely absorbed by the terrible +object which lay upon the tiger-skin hearthrug in front of the fire. + +It was the body of a tall, well-made man, about forty years of age. +He lay upon his back, his face upturned, with his white teeth grinning +through his short black beard. His two clenched hands were raised +above his head, and a heavy blackthorn stick lay across them. His dark, +handsome, aquiline features were convulsed into a spasm of vindictive +hatred, which had set his dead face in a terribly fiendish expression. +He had evidently been in his bed when the alarm had broken out, for he +wore a foppish embroidered night-shirt, and his bare feet projected from +his trousers. His head was horribly injured, and the whole room bore +witness to the savage ferocity of the blow which had struck him down. +Beside him lay the heavy poker, bent into a curve by the concussion. +Holmes examined both it and the indescribable wreck which it had +wrought. + +"He must be a powerful man, this elder Randall," he remarked. + +"Yes," said Hopkins. "I have some record of the fellow, and he is a +rough customer." + +"You should have no difficulty in getting him." + +"Not the slightest. We have been on the look-out for him, and there was +some idea that he had got away to America. Now that we know the gang are +here I don't see how they can escape. We have the news at every seaport +already, and a reward will be offered before evening. What beats me is +how they could have done so mad a thing, knowing that the lady could +describe them, and that we could not fail to recognise the description." + +"Exactly. One would have expected that they would have silenced Lady +Brackenstall as well." + +"They may not have realized," I suggested, "that she had recovered from +her faint." + +"That is likely enough. If she seemed to be senseless they would not +take her life. What about this poor fellow, Hopkins? I seem to have +heard some queer stories about him." + +"He was a good-hearted man when he was sober, but a perfect fiend when +he was drunk, or rather when he was half drunk, for he seldom really +went the whole way. The devil seemed to be in him at such times, and he +was capable of anything. From what I hear, in spite of all his wealth +and his title, he very nearly came our way once or twice. There was +a scandal about his drenching a dog with petroleum and setting it on +fire--her ladyship's dog, to make the matter worse--and that was only +hushed up with difficulty. Then he threw a decanter at that maid, +Theresa Wright; there was trouble about that. On the whole, and between +ourselves, it will be a brighter house without him. What are you looking +at now?" + +Holmes was down on his knees examining with great attention the +knots upon the red cord with which the lady had been secured. Then he +carefully scrutinized the broken and frayed end where it had snapped off +when the burglar had dragged it down. + +"When this was pulled down the bell in the kitchen must have rung +loudly," he remarked. + +"No one could hear it. The kitchen stands right at the back of the +house." + +"How did the burglar know no one would hear it? How dared he pull at a +bell-rope in that reckless fashion?" + +"Exactly, Mr. Holmes, exactly. You put the very question which I have +asked myself again and again. There can be no doubt that this fellow +must have known the house and its habits. He must have perfectly +understood that the servants would all be in bed at that comparatively +early hour, and that no one could possibly hear a bell ring in the +kitchen. Therefore he must have been in close league with one of the +servants. Surely that is evident. But there are eight servants, and all +of good character." + +"Other things being equal," said Holmes, "one would suspect the one +at whose head the master threw a decanter. And yet that would involve +treachery towards the mistress to whom this woman seems devoted. Well, +well, the point is a minor one, and when you have Randall you will +probably find no difficulty in securing his accomplice. The lady's story +certainly seems to be corroborated, if it needed corroboration, by every +detail which we see before us." He walked to the French window and threw +it open. "There are no signs here, but the ground is iron hard, and one +would not expect them. I see that these candles on the mantelpiece have +been lighted." + +"Yes; it was by their light and that of the lady's bedroom candle that +the burglars saw their way about." + +"And what did they take?" + +"Well, they did not take much--only half-a-dozen articles of plate off +the sideboard. Lady Brackenstall thinks that they were themselves so +disturbed by the death of Sir Eustace that they did not ransack the +house as they would otherwise have done." + +"No doubt that is true. And yet they drank some wine, I understand." + +"To steady their own nerves." + +"Exactly. These three glasses upon the sideboard have been untouched, I +suppose?" + +"Yes; and the bottle stands as they left it." + +"Let us look at it. Halloa! halloa! what is this?" + +The three glasses were grouped together, all of them tinged with wine, +and one of them containing some dregs of bees-wing. The bottle stood +near them, two-thirds full, and beside it lay a long, deeply-stained +cork. Its appearance and the dust upon the bottle showed that it was no +common vintage which the murderers had enjoyed. + +A change had come over Holmes's manner. He had lost his listless +expression, and again I saw an alert light of interest in his keen, +deep-set eyes. He raised the cork and examined it minutely. + +"How did they draw it?" he asked. + +Hopkins pointed to a half-opened drawer. In it lay some table linen and +a large cork-screw. + +"Did Lady Brackenstall say that screw was used?" + +"No; you remember that she was senseless at the moment when the bottle +was opened." + +"Quite so. As a matter of fact that screw was NOT used. This bottle was +opened by a pocket-screw, probably contained in a knife, and not more +than an inch and a half long. If you examine the top of the cork you +will observe that the screw was driven in three times before the cork +was extracted. It has never been transfixed. This long screw would +have transfixed it and drawn it with a single pull. When you catch this +fellow you will find that he has one of these multiplex knives in his +possession." + +"Excellent!" said Hopkins. + +"But these glasses do puzzle me, I confess. Lady Brackenstall actually +SAW the three men drinking, did she not?" + +"Yes; she was clear about that." + +"Then there is an end of it. What more is to be said? And yet you must +admit that the three glasses are very remarkable, Hopkins. What, you +see nothing remarkable! Well, well, let it pass. Perhaps when a man has +special knowledge and special powers like my own it rather encourages +him to seek a complex explanation when a simpler one is at hand. Of +course, it must be a mere chance about the glasses. Well, good morning, +Hopkins. I don't see that I can be of any use to you, and you appear +to have your case very clear. You will let me know when Randall is +arrested, and any further developments which may occur. I trust that I +shall soon have to congratulate you upon a successful conclusion. Come, +Watson, I fancy that we may employ ourselves more profitably at home." + +During our return journey I could see by Holmes's face that he was much +puzzled by something which he had observed. Every now and then, by an +effort, he would throw off the impression and talk as if the matter were +clear, but then his doubts would settle down upon him again, and his +knitted brows and abstracted eyes would show that his thoughts had gone +back once more to the great dining-room of the Abbey Grange in which +this midnight tragedy had been enacted. At last, by a sudden impulse, +just as our train was crawling out of a suburban station, he sprang on +to the platform and pulled me out after him. + +"Excuse me, my dear fellow," said he, as we watched the rear carriages +of our train disappearing round a curve; "I am sorry to make you the +victim of what may seem a mere whim, but on my life, Watson, I simply +CAN'T leave that case in this condition. Every instinct that I possess +cries out against it. It's wrong--it's all wrong--I'll swear that it's +wrong. And yet the lady's story was complete, the maid's corroboration +was sufficient, the detail was fairly exact. What have I to put against +that? Three wine-glasses, that is all. But if I had not taken things for +granted, if I had examined everything with the care which I would have +shown had we approached the case DE NOVO and had no cut-and-dried story +to warp my mind, would I not then have found something more definite +to go upon? Of course I should. Sit down on this bench, Watson, until a +train for Chislehurst arrives, and allow me to lay the evidence before +you, imploring you in the first instance to dismiss from your mind the +idea that anything which the maid or her mistress may have said must +necessarily be true. The lady's charming personality must not be +permitted to warp our judgment. + +"Surely there are details in her story which, if we looked at it in cold +blood, would excite our suspicion. These burglars made a considerable +haul at Sydenham a fortnight ago. Some account of them and of their +appearance was in the papers, and would naturally occur to anyone who +wished to invent a story in which imaginary robbers should play a part. +As a matter of fact, burglars who have done a good stroke of business +are, as a rule, only too glad to enjoy the proceeds in peace and quiet +without embarking on another perilous undertaking. Again, it is unusual +for burglars to operate at so early an hour; it is unusual for burglars +to strike a lady to prevent her screaming, since one would imagine that +was the sure way to make her scream; it is unusual for them to commit +murder when their numbers are sufficient to overpower one man; it is +unusual for them to be content with a limited plunder when there is +much more within their reach; and finally I should say that it was very +unusual for such men to leave a bottle half empty. How do all these +unusuals strike you, Watson?" + +"Their cumulative effect is certainly considerable, and yet each of them +is quite possible in itself. The most unusual thing of all, as it seems +to me, is that the lady should be tied to the chair." + +"Well, I am not so clear about that, Watson; for it is evident that they +must either kill her or else secure her in such a way that she could +not give immediate notice of their escape. But at any rate I have shown, +have I not, that there is a certain element of improbability about +the lady's story? And now on the top of this comes the incident of the +wine-glasses." + +"What about the wine-glasses?" + +"Can you see them in your mind's eye?" + +"I see them clearly." + +"We are told that three men drank from them. Does that strike you as +likely?" + +"Why not? There was wine in each glass." + +"Exactly; but there was bees-wing only in one glass. You must have +noticed that fact. What does that suggest to your mind?" + +"The last glass filled would be most likely to contain bees-wing." + +"Not at all. The bottle was full of it, and it is inconceivable that +the first two glasses were clear and the third heavily charged with it. +There are two possible explanations, and only two. One is that after the +second glass was filled the bottle was violently agitated, and so the +third glass received the bees-wing. That does not appear probable. No, +no; I am sure that I am right." + +"What, then, do you suppose?" + +"That only two glasses were used, and that the dregs of both were poured +into a third glass, so as to give the false impression that three people +had been here. In that way all the bees-wing would be in the last glass, +would it not? Yes, I am convinced that this is so. But if I have hit +upon the true explanation of this one small phenomenon, then in +an instant the case rises from the commonplace to the exceedingly +remarkable, for it can only mean that Lady Brackenstall and her maid +have deliberately lied to us, that not one word of their story is to be +believed, that they have some very strong reason for covering the real +criminal, and that we must construct our case for ourselves without any +help from them. That is the mission which now lies before us, and here, +Watson, is the Chislehurst train." + +The household of the Abbey Grange were much surprised at our return, but +Sherlock Holmes, finding that Stanley Hopkins had gone off to report to +head-quarters, took possession of the dining-room, locked the door upon +the inside, and devoted himself for two hours to one of those minute +and laborious investigations which formed the solid basis on which his +brilliant edifices of deduction were reared. Seated in a corner like an +interested student who observes the demonstration of his professor, +I followed every step of that remarkable research. The window, the +curtains, the carpet, the chair, the rope--each in turn was minutely +examined and duly pondered. The body of the unfortunate baronet had been +removed, but all else remained as we had seen it in the morning. Then, +to my astonishment, Holmes climbed up on to the massive mantelpiece. Far +above his head hung the few inches of red cord which were still attached +to the wire. For a long time he gazed upward at it, and then in an +attempt to get nearer to it he rested his knee upon a wooden bracket on +the wall. This brought his hand within a few inches of the broken end of +the rope, but it was not this so much as the bracket itself which seemed +to engage his attention. Finally he sprang down with an ejaculation of +satisfaction. + +"It's all right, Watson," said he. "We have got our case--one of the +most remarkable in our collection. But, dear me, how slow-witted I have +been, and how nearly I have committed the blunder of my lifetime! Now, I +think that with a few missing links my chain is almost complete." + +"You have got your men?" + +"Man, Watson, man. Only one, but a very formidable person. Strong as a +lion--witness the blow that bent that poker. Six foot three in height, +active as a squirrel, dexterous with his fingers; finally, remarkably +quick-witted, for this whole ingenious story is of his concoction. Yes, +Watson, we have come upon the handiwork of a very remarkable individual. +And yet in that bell-rope he has given us a clue which should not have +left us a doubt." + +"Where was the clue?" + +"Well, if you were to pull down a bell-rope, Watson, where would you +expect it to break? Surely at the spot where it is attached to the wire. +Why should it break three inches from the top as this one has done?" + +"Because it is frayed there?" + +"Exactly. This end, which we can examine, is frayed. He was cunning +enough to do that with his knife. But the other end is not frayed. You +could not observe that from here, but if you were on the mantelpiece you +would see that it is cut clean off without any mark of fraying whatever. +You can reconstruct what occurred. The man needed the rope. He would not +tear it down for fear of giving the alarm by ringing the bell. What did +he do? He sprang up on the mantelpiece, could not quite reach it, put +his knee on the bracket--you will see the impression in the dust--and so +got his knife to bear upon the cord. I could not reach the place by at +least three inches, from which I infer that he is at least three inches +a bigger man than I. Look at that mark upon the seat of the oaken chair! +What is it?" + +"Blood." + +"Undoubtedly it is blood. This alone puts the lady's story out of court. +If she were seated on the chair when the crime was done, how comes +that mark? No, no; she was placed in the chair AFTER the death of her +husband. I'll wager that the black dress shows a corresponding mark to +this. We have not yet met our Waterloo, Watson, but this is our Marengo, +for it begins in defeat and ends in victory. I should like now to have a +few words with the nurse Theresa. We must be wary for awhile, if we are +to get the information which we want." + +She was an interesting person, this stern Australian nurse. Taciturn, +suspicious, ungracious, it took some time before Holmes's pleasant +manner and frank acceptance of all that she said thawed her into a +corresponding amiability. She did not attempt to conceal her hatred for +her late employer. + +"Yes, sir, it is true that he threw the decanter at me. I heard him call +my mistress a name, and I told him that he would not dare to speak so if +her brother had been there. Then it was that he threw it at me. He might +have thrown a dozen if he had but left my bonny bird alone. He was for +ever ill-treating her, and she too proud to complain. She will not even +tell me all that he has done to her. She never told me of those marks on +her arm that you saw this morning, but I know very well that they come +from a stab with a hat-pin. The sly fiend--Heaven forgive me that I +should speak of him so, now that he is dead, but a fiend he was if +ever one walked the earth. He was all honey when first we met him, only +eighteen months ago, and we both feel as if it were eighteen years. She +had only just arrived in London. Yes, it was her first voyage--she had +never been from home before. He won her with his title and his money +and his false London ways. If she made a mistake she has paid for it, +if ever a woman did. What month did we meet him? Well, I tell you it was +just after we arrived. We arrived in June, and it was July. They were +married in January of last year. Yes, she is down in the morning-room +again, and I have no doubt she will see you, but you must not ask too +much of her, for she has gone through all that flesh and blood will +stand." + +Lady Brackenstall was reclining on the same couch, but looked brighter +than before. The maid had entered with us, and began once more to foment +the bruise upon her mistress's brow. + +"I hope," said the lady, "that you have not come to cross-examine me +again?" + +"No," Holmes answered, in his gentlest voice, "I will not cause you any +unnecessary trouble, Lady Brackenstall, and my whole desire is to make +things easy for you, for I am convinced that you are a much-tried woman. +If you will treat me as a friend and trust me you may find that I will +justify your trust." + +"What do you want me to do?" + +"To tell me the truth." + +"Mr. Holmes!" + +"No, no, Lady Brackenstall, it is no use. You may have heard of any +little reputation which I possess. I will stake it all on the fact that +your story is an absolute fabrication." + +Mistress and maid were both staring at Holmes with pale faces and +frightened eyes. + +"You are an impudent fellow!" cried Theresa. "Do you mean to say that my +mistress has told a lie?" + +Holmes rose from his chair. + +"Have you nothing to tell me?" + +"I have told you everything." + +"Think once more, Lady Brackenstall. Would it not be better to be +frank?" + +For an instant there was hesitation in her beautiful face. Then some new +strong thought caused it to set like a mask. + +"I have told you all I know." + +Holmes took his hat and shrugged his shoulders. "I am sorry," he said, +and without another word we left the room and the house. There was a +pond in the park, and to this my friend led the way. It was frozen +over, but a single hole was left for the convenience of a solitary +swan. Holmes gazed at it and then passed on to the lodge gate. There +he scribbled a short note for Stanley Hopkins and left it with the +lodge-keeper. + +"It may be a hit or it may be a miss, but we are bound to do something +for friend Hopkins, just to justify this second visit," said he. "I will +not quite take him into my confidence yet. I think our next scene of +operations must be the shipping office of the Adelaide-Southampton line, +which stands at the end of Pall Mall, if I remember right. There is a +second line of steamers which connect South Australia with England, but +we will draw the larger cover first." + +Holmes's card sent in to the manager ensured instant attention, and he +was not long in acquiring all the information which he needed. In June +of '95 only one of their line had reached a home port. It was the ROCK +OF GIBRALTAR, their largest and best boat. A reference to the passenger +list showed that Miss Fraser of Adelaide, with her maid, had made the +voyage in her. The boat was now on her way to Australia, somewhere to +the south of the Suez Canal. Her officers were the same as in '95, +with one exception. The first officer, Mr. Jack Croker, had been made a +captain and was to take charge of their new ship, the BASS ROCK, sailing +in two days' time from Southampton. He lived at Sydenham, but he was +likely to be in that morning for instructions, if we cared to wait for +him. + +No; Mr. Holmes had no desire to see him, but would be glad to know more +about his record and character. + +His record was magnificent. There was not an officer in the fleet to +touch him. As to his character, he was reliable on duty, but a wild, +desperate fellow off the deck of his ship, hot-headed, excitable, but +loyal, honest, and kind-hearted. That was the pith of the information +with which Holmes left the office of the Adelaide-Southampton company. +Thence he drove to Scotland Yard, but instead of entering he sat in +his cab with his brows drawn down, lost in profound thought. Finally he +drove round to the Charing Cross telegraph office, sent off a message, +and then, at last, we made for Baker Street once more. + +"No, I couldn't do it, Watson," said he, as we re-entered our room. +"Once that warrant was made out nothing on earth would save him. Once +or twice in my career I feel that I have done more real harm by my +discovery of the criminal than ever he had done by his crime. I have +learned caution now, and I had rather play tricks with the law of +England than with my own conscience. Let us know a little more before we +act." + +Before evening we had a visit from Inspector Stanley Hopkins. Things +were not going very well with him. + +"I believe that you are a wizard, Mr. Holmes. I really do sometimes +think that you have powers that are not human. Now, how on earth could +you know that the stolen silver was at the bottom of that pond?" + +"I didn't know it." + +"But you told me to examine it." + +"You got it, then?" + +"Yes, I got it." + +"I am very glad if I have helped you." + +"But you haven't helped me. You have made the affair far more difficult. +What sort of burglars are they who steal silver and then throw it into +the nearest pond?" + +"It was certainly rather eccentric behaviour. I was merely going on the +idea that if the silver had been taken by persons who did not want it, +who merely took it for a blind as it were, then they would naturally be +anxious to get rid of it." + +"But why should such an idea cross your mind?" + +"Well, I thought it was possible. When they came out through the French +window there was the pond, with one tempting little hole in the ice, +right in front of their noses. Could there be a better hiding-place?" + +"Ah, a hiding-place--that is better!" cried Stanley Hopkins. "Yes, yes, +I see it all now! It was early, there were folk upon the roads, they +were afraid of being seen with the silver, so they sank it in the pond, +intending to return for it when the coast was clear. Excellent, Mr. +Holmes--that is better than your idea of a blind." + +"Quite so; you have got an admirable theory. I have no doubt that my +own ideas were quite wild, but you must admit that they have ended in +discovering the silver." + +"Yes, sir, yes. It was all your doing. But I have had a bad set-back." + +"A set-back?" + +"Yes, Mr. Holmes. The Randall gang were arrested in New York this +morning." + +"Dear me, Hopkins! That is certainly rather against your theory that +they committed a murder in Kent last night." + +"It is fatal, Mr. Holmes, absolutely fatal. Still, there are other gangs +of three besides the Randalls, or it may be some new gang of which the +police have never heard." + +"Quite so; it is perfectly possible. What, are you off?" + +"Yes, Mr. Holmes; there is no rest for me until I have got to the bottom +of the business. I suppose you have no hint to give me?" + +"I have given you one." + +"Which?" + +"Well, I suggested a blind." + +"But why, Mr. Holmes, why?" + +"Ah, that's the question, of course. But I commend the idea to your +mind. You might possibly find that there was something in it. You won't +stop for dinner? Well, good-bye, and let us know how you get on." + +Dinner was over and the table cleared before Holmes alluded to the +matter again. He had lit his pipe and held his slippered feet to the +cheerful blaze of the fire. Suddenly he looked at his watch. + +"I expect developments, Watson." + +"When?" + +"Now--within a few minutes. I dare say you thought I acted rather badly +to Stanley Hopkins just now?" + +"I trust your judgment." + +"A very sensible reply, Watson. You must look at it this way: what +I know is unofficial; what he knows is official. I have the right to +private judgment, but he has none. He must disclose all, or he is a +traitor to his service. In a doubtful case I would not put him in so +painful a position, and so I reserve my information until my own mind is +clear upon the matter." + +"But when will that be?" + +"The time has come. You will now be present at the last scene of a +remarkable little drama." + +There was a sound upon the stairs, and our door was opened to admit as +fine a specimen of manhood as ever passed through it. He was a very +tall young man, golden-moustached, blue-eyed, with a skin which had been +burned by tropical suns, and a springy step which showed that the huge +frame was as active as it was strong. He closed the door behind him, and +then he stood with clenched hands and heaving breast, choking down some +overmastering emotion. + +"Sit down, Captain Croker. You got my telegram?" + +Our visitor sank into an arm-chair and looked from one to the other of +us with questioning eyes. + +"I got your telegram, and I came at the hour you said. I heard that you +had been down to the office. There was no getting away from you. Let's +hear the worst. What are you going to do with me? Arrest me? Speak out, +man! You can't sit there and play with me like a cat with a mouse." + +"Give him a cigar," said Holmes. "Bite on that, Captain Croker, and +don't let your nerves run away with you. I should not sit here smoking +with you if I thought that you were a common criminal, you may be sure +of that. Be frank with me, and we may do some good. Play tricks with me, +and I'll crush you." + +"What do you wish me to do?" + +"To give me a true account of all that happened at the Abbey Grange last +night--a TRUE account, mind you, with nothing added and nothing taken +off. I know so much already that if you go one inch off the straight +I'll blow this police whistle from my window and the affair goes out of +my hands for ever." + +The sailor thought for a little. Then he struck his leg with his great, +sun-burned hand. + +"I'll chance it," he cried. "I believe you are a man of your word, and +a white man, and I'll tell you the whole story. But one thing I will say +first. So far as I am concerned I regret nothing and I fear nothing, and +I would do it all again and be proud of the job. Curse the beast, if +he had as many lives as a cat he would owe them all to me! But it's +the lady, Mary--Mary Fraser--for never will I call her by that accursed +name. When I think of getting her into trouble, I who would give my life +just to bring one smile to her dear face, it's that that turns my soul +into water. And yet--and yet--what less could I do? I'll tell you my +story, gentlemen, and then I'll ask you as man to man what less could I +do. + +"I must go back a bit. You seem to know everything, so I expect that you +know that I met her when she was a passenger and I was first officer +of the ROCK OF GIBRALTAR. From the first day I met her she was the only +woman to me. Every day of that voyage I loved her more, and many a time +since have I kneeled down in the darkness of the night watch and kissed +the deck of that ship because I knew her dear feet had trod it. She was +never engaged to me. She treated me as fairly as ever a woman treated +a man. I have no complaint to make. It was all love on my side, and all +good comradeship and friendship on hers. When we parted she was a free +woman, but I could never again be a free man. + +"Next time I came back from sea I heard of her marriage. Well, why +shouldn't she marry whom she liked? Title and money--who could carry +them better than she? She was born for all that is beautiful and dainty. +I didn't grieve over her marriage. I was not such a selfish hound as +that. I just rejoiced that good luck had come her way, and that she had +not thrown herself away on a penniless sailor. That's how I loved Mary +Fraser. + +"Well, I never thought to see her again; but last voyage I was promoted, +and the new boat was not yet launched, so I had to wait for a couple of +months with my people at Sydenham. One day out in a country lane I met +Theresa Wright, her old maid. She told me about her, about him, about +everything. I tell you, gentlemen, it nearly drove me mad. This drunken +hound, that he should dare to raise his hand to her whose boots he was +not worthy to lick! I met Theresa again. Then I met Mary herself--and +met her again. Then she would meet me no more. But the other day I had a +notice that I was to start on my voyage within a week, and I determined +that I would see her once before I left. Theresa was always my friend, +for she loved Mary and hated this villain almost as much as I did. From +her I learned the ways of the house. Mary used to sit up reading in her +own little room downstairs. I crept round there last night and scratched +at the window. At first she would not open to me, but in her heart I +know that now she loves me, and she could not leave me in the frosty +night. She whispered to me to come round to the big front window, and +I found it open before me so as to let me into the dining-room. Again +I heard from her own lips things that made my blood boil, and again +I cursed this brute who mishandled the woman that I loved. Well, +gentlemen, I was standing with her just inside the window, in all +innocence, as Heaven is my judge, when he rushed like a madman into the +room, called her the vilest name that a man could use to a woman, and +welted her across the face with the stick he had in his hand. I had +sprung for the poker, and it was a fair fight between us. See here on my +arm where his first blow fell. Then it was my turn, and I went through +him as if he had been a rotten pumpkin. Do you think I was sorry? Not I! +It was his life or mine, but far more than that it was his life or hers, +for how could I leave her in the power of this madman? That was how I +killed him. Was I wrong? Well, then, what would either of you gentlemen +have done if you had been in my position?" + +"She had screamed when he struck her, and that brought old Theresa down +from the room above. There was a bottle of wine on the sideboard, and I +opened it and poured a little between Mary's lips, for she was half dead +with the shock. Then I took a drop myself. Theresa was as cool as +ice, and it was her plot as much as mine. We must make it appear that +burglars had done the thing. Theresa kept on repeating our story to her +mistress, while I swarmed up and cut the rope of the bell. Then I lashed +her in her chair, and frayed out the end of the rope to make it look +natural, else they would wonder how in the world a burglar could have +got up there to cut it. Then I gathered up a few plates and pots of +silver, to carry out the idea of a robbery, and there I left them with +orders to give the alarm when I had a quarter of an hour's start. I +dropped the silver into the pond and made off for Sydenham, feeling that +for once in my life I had done a real good night's work. And that's the +truth and the whole truth, Mr. Holmes, if it costs me my neck." + +Holmes smoked for some time in silence. Then he crossed the room and +shook our visitor by the hand. + +"That's what I think," said he. "I know that every word is true, for you +have hardly said a word which I did not know. No one but an acrobat or a +sailor could have got up to that bell-rope from the bracket, and no one +but a sailor could have made the knots with which the cord was fastened +to the chair. Only once had this lady been brought into contact with +sailors, and that was on her voyage, and it was someone of her own class +of life, since she was trying hard to shield him and so showing that she +loved him. You see how easy it was for me to lay my hands upon you when +once I had started upon the right trail." + +"I thought the police never could have seen through our dodge." + +"And the police haven't; nor will they, to the best of my belief. Now, +look here, Captain Croker, this is a very serious matter, though I am +willing to admit that you acted under the most extreme provocation to +which any man could be subjected. I am not sure that in defence of your +own life your action will not be pronounced legitimate. However, that is +for a British jury to decide. Meanwhile I have so much sympathy for you +that if you choose to disappear in the next twenty-four hours I will +promise you that no one will hinder you." + +"And then it will all come out?" + +"Certainly it will come out." + +The sailor flushed with anger. + +"What sort of proposal is that to make a man? I know enough of law to +understand that Mary would be had as accomplice. Do you think I would +leave her alone to face the music while I slunk away? No, sir; let them +do their worst upon me, but for Heaven's sake, Mr. Holmes, find some way +of keeping my poor Mary out of the courts." + +Holmes for a second time held out his hand to the sailor. + +"I was only testing you, and you ring true every time. Well, it is a +great responsibility that I take upon myself, but I have given Hopkins +an excellent hint, and if he can't avail himself of it I can do no more. +See here, Captain Croker, we'll do this in due form of law. You are the +prisoner. Watson, you are a British jury, and I never met a man who was +more eminently fitted to represent one. I am the judge. Now, gentleman +of the jury, you have heard the evidence. Do you find the prisoner +guilty or not guilty?" + +"Not guilty, my lord," said I. + +"Vox populi, vox Dei. You are acquitted, Captain Croker. So long as the +law does not find some other victim you are safe from me. Come back +to this lady in a year, and may her future and yours justify us in the +judgment which we have pronounced this night." + + +***** + + + THE STRAND MAGAZINE + Vol. 28 DECEMBER, 1904 + THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. + By ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. + + + + +XIII.--The Adventure of the Second Stain. + + +I HAD intended "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange" to be the last of +those exploits of my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, which I should ever +communicate to the public. This resolution of mine was not due to any +lack of material, since I have notes of many hundreds of cases to which +I have never alluded, nor was it caused by any waning interest on the +part of my readers in the singular personality and unique methods of +this remarkable man. The real reason lay in the reluctance which Mr. +Holmes has shown to the continued publication of his experiences. +So long as he was in actual professional practice the records of +his successes were of some practical value to him; but since he +has definitely retired from London and betaken himself to study and +bee-farming on the Sussex Downs, notoriety has become hateful to him, +and he has peremptorily requested that his wishes in this matter should +be strictly observed. It was only upon my representing to him that I +had given a promise that "The Adventure of the Second Stain" should be +published when the times were ripe, and pointing out to him that it is +only appropriate that this long series of episodes should culminate in +the most important international case which he has ever been called +upon to handle, that I at last succeeded in obtaining his consent that a +carefully-guarded account of the incident should at last be laid before +the public. If in telling the story I seem to be somewhat vague in +certain details the public will readily understand that there is an +excellent reason for my reticence. + + +It was, then, in a year, and even in a decade, that shall be nameless, +that upon one Tuesday morning in autumn we found two visitors of +European fame within the walls of our humble room in Baker Street. The +one, austere, high-nosed, eagle-eyed, and dominant, was none other than +the illustrious Lord Bellinger, twice Premier of Britain. The other, +dark, clear-cut, and elegant, hardly yet of middle age, and endowed with +every beauty of body and of mind, was the Right Honourable Trelawney +Hope, Secretary for European Affairs, and the most rising statesman in +the country. They sat side by side upon our paper-littered settee, +and it was easy to see from their worn and anxious faces that it was +business of the most pressing importance which had brought them. The +Premier's thin, blue-veined hands were clasped tightly over the ivory +head of his umbrella, and his gaunt, ascetic face looked gloomily from +Holmes to me. The European Secretary pulled nervously at his moustache +and fidgeted with the seals of his watch-chain. + +"When I discovered my loss, Mr. Holmes, which was at eight o'clock this +morning, I at once informed the Prime Minister. It was at his suggestion +that we have both come to you." + +"Have you informed the police?" + +"No, sir," said the Prime Minister, with the quick, decisive manner for +which he was famous. "We have not done so, nor is it possible that we +should do so. To inform the police must, in the long run, mean to inform +the public. This is what we particularly desire to avoid." + +"And why, sir?" + +"Because the document in question is of such immense importance that +its publication might very easily--I might almost say probably--lead to +European complications of the utmost moment. It is not too much to say +that peace or war may hang upon the issue. Unless its recovery can be +attended with the utmost secrecy, then it may as well not be recovered +at all, for all that is aimed at by those who have taken it is that its +contents should be generally known." + +"I understand. Now, Mr. Trelawney Hope, I should be much obliged if +you would tell me exactly the circumstances under which this document +disappeared." + +"That can be done in a very few words, Mr. Holmes. The letter--for it +was a letter from a foreign potentate--was received six days ago. It +was of such importance that I have never left it in my safe, but I have +taken it across each evening to my house in Whitehall Terrace, and kept +it in my bedroom in a locked despatch-box. It was there last night. Of +that I am certain. I actually opened the box while I was dressing for +dinner, and saw the document inside. This morning it was gone. The +despatch-box had stood beside the glass upon my dressing-table all +night. I am a light sleeper, and so is my wife. We are both prepared to +swear that no one could have entered the room during the night. And yet +I repeat that the paper is gone." + +"What time did you dine?" + +"Half-past seven." + +"How long was it before you went to bed?" + +"My wife had gone to the theatre. I waited up for her. It was half-past +eleven before we went to our room." + +"Then for four hours the despatch-box had lain unguarded?" + +"No one is ever permitted to enter that room save the housemaid in the +morning, and my valet, or my wife's maid, during the rest of the day. +They are both trusty servants who have been with us for some time. +Besides, neither of them could possibly have known that there was +anything more valuable than the ordinary departmental papers in my +despatch-box." + +"Who did know of the existence of that letter?" + +"No one in the house." + +"Surely your wife knew?" + +"No, sir; I had said nothing to my wife until I missed the paper this +morning." + +The Premier nodded approvingly. + +"I have long known, sir, how high is your sense of public duty," said +he. "I am convinced that in the case of a secret of this importance it +would rise superior to the most intimate domestic ties." + +The European Secretary bowed. + +"You do me no more than justice, sir. Until this morning I have never +breathed one word to my wife upon this matter." + +"Could she have guessed?" + +"No, Mr. Holmes, she could not have guessed--nor could anyone have +guessed." + +"Have you lost any documents before?" + +"No, sir." + +"Who is there in England who did know of the existence of this letter?" + +"Each member of the Cabinet was informed of it yesterday; but the pledge +of secrecy which attends every Cabinet meeting was increased by the +solemn warning which was given by the Prime Minister. Good heavens, +to think that within a few hours I should myself have lost it!" His +handsome face was distorted with a spasm of despair, and his hands +tore at his hair. For a moment we caught a glimpse of the natural man, +impulsive, ardent, keenly sensitive. The next the aristocratic mask was +replaced, and the gentle voice had returned. "Besides the members of +the Cabinet there are two, or possibly three, departmental officials who +know of the letter. No one else in England, Mr. Holmes, I assure you." + +"But abroad?" + +"I believe that no one abroad has seen it save the man who wrote it. I +am well convinced that his Ministers--that the usual official channels +have not been employed." + +Holmes considered for some little time. + +"Now, sir, I must ask you more particularly what this document is, and +why its disappearance should have such momentous consequences?" + +The two statesmen exchanged a quick glance and the Premier's shaggy +eyebrows gathered in a frown. + +"Mr. Holmes, the envelope is a long, thin one of pale blue colour. There +is a seal of red wax stamped with a crouching lion. It is addressed in +large, bold handwriting to--" + +"I fear, sir," said Holmes, "that, interesting and indeed essential as +these details are, my inquiries must go more to the root of things. What +WAS the letter?" + +"That is a State secret of the utmost importance, and I fear that I +cannot tell you, nor do I see that it is necessary. If by the aid of the +powers which you are said to possess you can find such an envelope as +I describe with its enclosure, you will have deserved well of your +country, and earned any reward which it lies in our power to bestow." + +Sherlock Holmes rose with a smile. + +"You are two of the most busy men in the country," said he, "and in +my own small way I have also a good many calls upon me. I regret +exceedingly that I cannot help you in this matter, and any continuation +of this interview would be a waste of time." + +The Premier sprang to his feet with that quick, fierce gleam of his +deep-set eyes before which a Cabinet has cowered. "I am not accustomed, +sir----" he began, but mastered his anger and resumed his seat. For a +minute or more we all sat in silence. Then the old statesman shrugged +his shoulders. + +"We must accept your terms, Mr. Holmes. No doubt you are right, and +it is unreasonable for us to expect you to act unless we give you our +entire confidence." + +"I agree with you, sir," said the younger statesman. + +"Then I will tell you, relying entirely upon your honour and that of +your colleague, Dr. Watson. I may appeal to your patriotism also, for +I could not imagine a greater misfortune for the country than that this +affair should come out." + +"You may safely trust us." + +"The letter, then, is from a certain foreign potentate who has been +ruffled by some recent Colonial developments of this country. It +has been written hurriedly and upon his own responsibility entirely. +Inquiries have shown that his Ministers know nothing of the matter. +At the same time it is couched in so unfortunate a manner, and certain +phrases in it are of so provocative a character, that its publication +would undoubtedly lead to a most dangerous state of feeling in this +country. There would be such a ferment, sir, that I do not hesitate to +say that within a week of the publication of that letter this country +would be involved in a great war." + +Holmes wrote a name upon a slip of paper and handed it to the Premier. + +"Exactly. It was he. And it is this letter--this letter which may well +mean the expenditure of a thousand millions and the lives of a hundred +thousand men--which has become lost in this unaccountable fashion." + +"Have you informed the sender?" + +"Yes, sir, a cipher telegram has been despatched." + +"Perhaps he desires the publication of the letter." + +"No, sir, we have strong reason to believe that he already understands +that he has acted in an indiscreet and hot-headed manner. It would be a +greater blow to him and to his country than to us if this letter were to +come out." + +"If this is so, whose interest is it that the letter should come out? +Why should anyone desire to steal it or to publish it?" + +"There, Mr. Holmes, you take me into regions of high international +politics. But if you consider the European situation you will have no +difficulty in perceiving the motive. The whole of Europe is an armed +camp. There is a double league which makes a fair balance of military +power. Great Britain holds the scales. If Britain were driven into +war with one confederacy, it would assure the supremacy of the other +confederacy, whether they joined in the war or not. Do you follow?" + +"Very clearly. It is then the interest of the enemies of this potentate +to secure and publish this letter, so as to make a breach between his +country and ours?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"And to whom would this document be sent if it fell into the hands of an +enemy?" + +"To any of the great Chancelleries of Europe. It is probably speeding on +its way thither at the present instant as fast as steam can take it." + +Mr. Trelawney Hope dropped his head on his chest and groaned aloud. The +Premier placed his hand kindly upon his shoulder. + +"It is your misfortune, my dear fellow. No one can blame you. There is +no precaution which you have neglected. Now, Mr. Holmes, you are in full +possession of the facts. What course do you recommend?" + +Holmes shook his head mournfully. + +"You think, sir, that unless this document is recovered there will be +war?" + +"I think it is very probable." + +"Then, sir, prepare for war." + +"That is a hard saying, Mr. Holmes." + +"Consider the facts, sir. It is inconceivable that it was taken after +eleven-thirty at night, since I understand that Mr. Hope and his wife +were both in the room from that hour until the loss was found out. +It was taken, then, yesterday evening between seven-thirty and +eleven-thirty, probably near the earlier hour, since whoever took it +evidently knew that it was there and would naturally secure it as early +as possible. Now, sir, if a document of this importance were taken at +that hour, where can it be now? No one has any reason to retain it. It +has been passed rapidly on to those who need it. What chance have we now +to overtake or even to trace it? It is beyond our reach." + +The Prime Minister rose from the settee. + +"What you say is perfectly logical, Mr. Holmes. I feel that the matter +is indeed out of our hands." + +"Let us presume, for argument's sake, that the document was taken by the +maid or by the valet----" + +"They are both old and tried servants." + +"I understand you to say that your room is on the second floor, that +there is no entrance from without, and that from within no one could go +up unobserved. It must, then, be somebody in the house who has taken it. +To whom would the thief take it? To one of several international spies +and secret agents, whose names are tolerably familiar to me. There are +three who may be said to be the heads of their profession. I will begin +my research by going round and finding if each of them is at his post. +If one is missing--especially if he has disappeared since last night--we +will have some indication as to where the document has gone." + +"Why should he be missing?" asked the European Secretary. "He would take +the letter to an Embassy in London, as likely as not." + +"I fancy not. These agents work independently, and their relations with +the Embassies are often strained." + +The Prime Minister nodded his acquiescence. + +"I believe you are right, Mr. Holmes. He would take so valuable a prize +to head-quarters with his own hands. I think that your course of action +is an excellent one. Meanwhile, Hope, we cannot neglect all our other +duties on account of this one misfortune. Should there be any fresh +developments during the day we shall communicate with you, and you will +no doubt let us know the results of your own inquiries." + +The two statesmen bowed and walked gravely from the room. + +When our illustrious visitors had departed Holmes lit his pipe in +silence, and sat for some time lost in the deepest thought. I had opened +the morning paper and was immersed in a sensational crime which had +occurred in London the night before, when my friend gave an exclamation, +sprang to his feet, and laid his pipe down upon the mantelpiece. + +"Yes," said he, "there is no better way of approaching it. The situation +is desperate, but not hopeless. Even now, if we could be sure which of +them has taken it, it is just possible that it has not yet passed out of +his hands. After all, it is a question of money with these fellows, and +I have the British Treasury behind me. If it's on the market I'll buy +it--if it means another penny on the income-tax. It is conceivable +that the fellow might hold it back to see what bids come from this +side before he tries his luck on the other. There are only those three +capable of playing so bold a game; there are Oberstein, La Rothiere, and +Eduardo Lucas. I will see each of them." + +I glanced at my morning paper. + +"Is that Eduardo Lucas of Godolphin Street?" + +"Yes." + +"You will not see him." + +"Why not?" + +"He was murdered in his house last night." + +My friend has so often astonished me in the course of our adventures +that it was with a sense of exultation that I realized how completely I +had astonished him. He stared in amazement, and then snatched the +paper from my hands. This was the paragraph which I had been engaged in +reading when he rose from his chair:-- + + + "MURDER IN WESTMINSTER. + +"A crime of mysterious character was committed last night at 16, +Godolphin Street, one of the old-fashioned and secluded rows of +eighteenth-century houses which lie between the river and the Abbey, +almost in the shadow of the great Tower of the Houses of Parliament. +This small but select mansion has been inhabited for some years by Mr. +Eduardo Lucas, well known in society circles both on account of his +charming personality and because he has the well-deserved reputation +of being one of the best amateur tenors in the country. Mr. Lucas is an +unmarried man, thirty-four years of age, and his establishment consists +of Mrs. Pringle, an elderly housekeeper, and of Mitton, his valet. The +former retires early and sleeps at the top of the house. The valet was +out for the evening, visiting a friend at Hammersmith. From ten o'clock +onwards Mr. Lucas had the house to himself. What occurred during that +time has not yet transpired, but at a quarter to twelve Police-constable +Barrett, passing along Godolphin Street, observed that the door of No. +16 was ajar. He knocked, but received no answer. Perceiving a light +in the front room he advanced into the passage and again knocked, but +without reply. He then pushed open the door and entered. The room was in +a state of wild disorder, the furniture being all swept to one side, and +one chair lying on its back in the centre. Beside this chair, and still +grasping one of its legs, lay the unfortunate tenant of the house. He +had been stabbed to the heart and must have died instantly. The knife +with which the crime had been committed was a curved Indian dagger, +plucked down from a trophy of Oriental arms which adorned one of the +walls. Robbery does not appear to have been the motive of the crime, for +there had been no attempt to remove the valuable contents of the room. +Mr. Eduardo Lucas was so well known and popular that his violent and +mysterious fate will arouse painful interest and intense sympathy in a +wide-spread circle of friends." + +"Well, Watson, what do you make of this?" asked Holmes, after a long +pause. + +"It is an amazing coincidence." + +"A coincidence! Here is one of the three men whom we had named as +possible actors in this drama, and he meets a violent death during the +very hours when we know that that drama was being enacted. The odds are +enormous against its being coincidence. No figures could express them. +No, my dear Watson, the two events are connected--MUST be connected. It +is for us to find the connection." + +"But now the official police must know all." + +"Not at all. They know all they see at Godolphin Street. They know--and +shall know--nothing of Whitehall Terrace. Only WE know of both events, +and can trace the relation between them. There is one obvious point +which would, in any case, have turned my suspicions against Lucas. +Godolphin Street, Westminster, is only a few minutes' walk from +Whitehall Terrace. The other secret agents whom I have named live in +the extreme West-end. It was easier, therefore, for Lucas than for the +others to establish a connection or receive a message from the +European Secretary's household--a small thing, and yet where events are +compressed into a few hours it may prove essential. Halloa! what have we +here?" + +Mrs. Hudson had appeared with a lady's card upon her salver. Holmes +glanced at it, raised his eyebrows, and handed it over to me. + +"Ask Lady Hilda Trelawney Hope if she will be kind enough to step up," +said he. + +A moment later our modest apartment, already so distinguished that +morning, was further honoured by the entrance of the most lovely woman +in London. I had often heard of the beauty of the youngest daughter of +the Duke of Belminster, but no description of it, and no contemplation +of colourless photographs, had prepared me for the subtle, delicate +charm and the beautiful colouring of that exquisite head. And yet as +we saw it that autumn morning, it was not its beauty which would be the +first thing to impress the observer. The cheek was lovely, but it was +paled with emotion; the eyes were bright, but it was the brightness +of fever; the sensitive mouth was tight and drawn in an effort after +self-command. Terror--not beauty--was what sprang first to the eye as +our fair visitor stood framed for an instant in the open door. + +"Has my husband been here, Mr. Holmes?" + +"Yes, madam, he has been here." + +"Mr. Holmes, I implore you not to tell him that I came here." Holmes +bowed coldly, and motioned the lady to a chair. + +"Your ladyship places me in a very delicate position. I beg that you +will sit down and tell me what you desire; but I fear that I cannot make +any unconditional promise." + +She swept across the room and seated herself with her back to the +window. It was a queenly presence--tall, graceful, and intensely +womanly. + +"Mr. Holmes," she said, and her white-gloved hands clasped and unclasped +as she spoke--"I will speak frankly to you in the hope that it may +induce you to speak frankly in return. There is complete confidence +between my husband and me on all matters save one. That one is politics. +On this his lips are sealed. He tells me nothing. Now, I am aware that +there was a most deplorable occurrence in our house last night. I know +that a paper has disappeared. But because the matter is political my +husband refuses to take me into his complete confidence. Now it is +essential--essential, I say--that I should thoroughly understand it. You +are the only other person, save only these politicians, who knows the +true facts. I beg you, then, Mr. Holmes, to tell me exactly what has +happened and what it will lead to. Tell me all, Mr. Holmes. Let no +regard for your client's interests keep you silent, for I assure you +that his interests, if he would only see it, would be best served by +taking me into his complete confidence. What was this paper which was +stolen?" + +"Madam, what you ask me is really impossible." + +She groaned and sank her face in her hands. + +"You must see that this is so, madam. If your husband thinks fit to keep +you in the dark over this matter, is it for me, who has only learned the +true facts under the pledge of professional secrecy, to tell what he has +withheld? It is not fair to ask it. It is him whom you must ask." + +"I have asked him. I come to you as a last resource. But without your +telling me anything definite, Mr. Holmes, you may do a great service if +you would enlighten me on one point." + +"What is it, madam?" + +"Is my husband's political career likely to suffer through this +incident?" + +"Well, madam, unless it is set right it may certainly have a very +unfortunate effect." + +"Ah!" She drew in her breath sharply as one whose doubts are resolved. + +"One more question, Mr. Holmes. From an expression which my husband +dropped in the first shock of this disaster I understood that terrible +public consequences might arise from the loss of this document." + +"If he said so, I certainly cannot deny it." + +"Of what nature are they?" + +"Nay, madam, there again you ask me more than I can possibly answer." + +"Then I will take up no more of your time. I cannot blame you, Mr. +Holmes, for having refused to speak more freely, and you on your side +will not, I am sure, think the worse of me because I desire, even +against his will, to share my husband's anxieties. Once more I beg that +you will say nothing of my visit." She looked back at us from the door, +and I had a last impression of that beautiful haunted face, the startled +eyes, and the drawn mouth. Then she was gone. + +"Now, Watson, the fair sex is your department," said Holmes, with a +smile, when the dwindling frou-frou of skirts had ended in the slam +of the front door. "What was the fair lady's game? What did she really +want?" + +"Surely her own statement is clear and her anxiety very natural." + +"Hum! Think of her appearance, Watson--her manner, her suppressed +excitement, her restlessness, her tenacity in asking questions. Remember +that she comes of a caste who do not lightly show emotion." + +"She was certainly much moved." + +"Remember also the curious earnestness with which she assured us that it +was best for her husband that she should know all. What did she mean by +that? And you must have observed, Watson, how she manoeuvred to have the +light at her back. She did not wish us to read her expression." + +"Yes; she chose the one chair in the room." + +"And yet the motives of women are so inscrutable. You remember the +woman at Margate whom I suspected for the same reason. No powder on her +nose--that proved to be the correct solution. How can you build on such +a quicksand? Their most trivial action may mean volumes, or their most +extraordinary conduct may depend upon a hairpin or a curling-tongs. Good +morning, Watson." + +"You are off?" + +"Yes; I will wile away the morning at Godolphin Street with our friends +of the regular establishment. With Eduardo Lucas lies the solution of +our problem, though I must admit that I have not an inkling as to what +form it may take. It is a capital mistake to theorize in advance of +the facts. Do you stay on guard, my good Watson, and receive any fresh +visitors. I'll join you at lunch if I am able." + + +All that day and the next and the next Holmes was in a mood which his +friends would call taciturn, and others morose. He ran out and ran in, +smoked incessantly, played snatches on his violin, sank into reveries, +devoured sandwiches at irregular hours, and hardly answered the casual +questions which I put to him. It was evident to me that things were not +going well with him or his quest. He would say nothing of the case, and +it was from the papers that I learned the particulars of the inquest, +and the arrest with the subsequent release of John Mitton, the valet of +the deceased. The coroner's jury brought in the obvious "Wilful Murder," +but the parties remained as unknown as ever. No motive was suggested. +The room was full of articles of value, but none had been taken. The +dead man's papers had not been tampered with. They were carefully +examined, and showed that he was a keen student of international +politics, an indefatigable gossip, a remarkable linguist, and an +untiring letter-writer. He had been on intimate terms with the leading +politicians of several countries. But nothing sensational was discovered +among the documents which filled his drawers. As to his relations with +women, they appeared to have been promiscuous but superficial. He had +many acquaintances among them, but few friends, and no one whom he +loved. His habits were regular, his conduct inoffensive. His death was +an absolute mystery, and likely to remain so. + +As to the arrest of John Mitton, the valet, it was a counsel of despair +as an alternative to absolute inaction. But no case could be sustained +against him. He had visited friends in Hammersmith that night. The ALIBI +was complete. It is true that he started home at an hour which should +have brought him to Westminster before the time when the crime was +discovered, but his own explanation that he had walked part of the way +seemed probable enough in view of the fineness of the night. He had +actually arrived at twelve o'clock, and appeared to be overwhelmed +by the unexpected tragedy. He had always been on good terms with his +master. Several of the dead man's possessions--notably a small case of +razors--had been found in the valet's boxes, but he explained that they +had been presents from the deceased, and the housekeeper was able to +corroborate the story. Mitton had been in Lucas's employment for three +years. It was noticeable that Lucas did not take Mitton on the Continent +with him. Sometimes he visited Paris for three months on end, but Mitton +was left in charge of the Godolphin Street house. As to the housekeeper, +she had heard nothing on the night of the crime. If her master had a +visitor he had himself admitted him. + +So for three mornings the mystery remained, so far as I could follow it +in the papers. If Holmes knew more he kept his own counsel, but, as he +told me that Inspector Lestrade had taken him into his confidence in the +case, I knew that he was in close touch with every development. Upon +the fourth day there appeared a long telegram from Paris which seemed to +solve the whole question. + +"A discovery has just been made by the Parisian police," said the DAILY +TELEGRAPH, "which raises the veil which hung round the tragic fate of +Mr. Eduardo Lucas, who met his death by violence last Monday night +at Godolphin Street, Westminster. Our readers will remember that +the deceased gentleman was found stabbed in his room, and that some +suspicion attached to his valet, but that the case broke down on an +ALIBI. Yesterday a lady, who has been known as Mme. Henri Fournaye, +occupying a small villa in the Rue Austerlitz, was reported to the +authorities by her servants as being insane. An examination showed that +she had indeed developed mania of a dangerous and permanent form. +On inquiry the police have discovered that Mme. Henri Fournaye only +returned from a journey to London on Tuesday last, and there is +evidence to connect her with the crime at Westminster. A comparison of +photographs has proved conclusively that M. Henri Fournaye and Eduardo +Lucas were really one and the same person, and that the deceased had for +some reason lived a double life in London and Paris. Mme. Fournaye, +who is of Creole origin, is of an extremely excitable nature, and has +suffered in the past from attacks of jealousy which have amounted to +frenzy. It is conjectured that it was in one of these that she committed +the terrible crime which has caused such a sensation in London. Her +movements upon the Monday night have not yet been traced, but it is +undoubted that a woman answering to her description attracted much +attention at Charing Cross Station on Tuesday morning by the wildness +of her appearance and the violence of her gestures. It is probable, +therefore, that the crime was either committed when insane, or that +its immediate effect was to drive the unhappy woman out of her mind. At +present she is unable to give any coherent account of the past, and the +doctors hold out no hopes of the re-establishment of her reason. There +is evidence that a woman, who might have been Mme. Fournaye, was seen +for some hours on Monday night watching the house in Godolphin Street." + +"What do you think of that, Holmes?" I had read the account aloud to +him, while he finished his breakfast. + +"My dear Watson," said he, as he rose from the table and paced up and +down the room, "you are most long-suffering, but if I have told you +nothing in the last three days it is because there is nothing to tell. +Even now this report from Paris does not help us much." + +"Surely it is final as regards the man's death." + +"The man's death is a mere incident--a trivial episode--in comparison +with our real task, which is to trace this document and save a European +catastrophe. Only one important thing has happened in the last three +days, and that is that nothing has happened. I get reports almost hourly +from the Government, and it is certain that nowhere in Europe is there +any sign of trouble. Now, if this letter were loose--no, it CAN'T be +loose--but if it isn't loose, where can it be? Who has it? Why is it +held back? That's the question that beats in my brain like a hammer. Was +it, indeed, a coincidence that Lucas should meet his death on the night +when the letter disappeared? Did the letter ever reach him? If so, why +is it not among his papers? Did this mad wife of his carry it off with +her? If so, is it in her house in Paris? How could I search for it +without the French police having their suspicions aroused? It is a case, +my dear Watson, where the law is as dangerous to us as the criminals +are. Every man's hand is against us, and yet the interests at stake are +colossal. Should I bring it to a successful conclusion it will certainly +represent the crowning glory of my career. Ah, here is my latest from +the front!" He glanced hurriedly at the note which had been handed in. +"Halloa! Lestrade seems to have observed something of interest. Put on +your hat, Watson, and we will stroll down together to Westminster." + +It was my first visit to the scene of the crime--a high, dingy, +narrow-chested house, prim, formal, and solid, like the century which +gave it birth. Lestrade's bulldog features gazed out at us from the +front window, and he greeted us warmly when a big constable had opened +the door and let us in. The room into which we were shown was that in +which the crime had been committed, but no trace of it now remained, +save an ugly, irregular stain upon the carpet. This carpet was a small +square drugget in the centre of the room, surrounded by a broad expanse +of beautiful, old-fashioned wood-flooring in square blocks highly +polished. Over the fireplace was a magnificent trophy of weapons, one of +which had been used on that tragic night. In the window was a sumptuous +writing-desk, and every detail of the apartment, the pictures, the rugs, +and the hangings, all pointed to a taste which was luxurious to the +verge of effeminacy. + +"Seen the Paris news?" asked Lestrade. + +Holmes nodded. + +"Our French friends seem to have touched the spot this time. No doubt +it's just as they say. She knocked at the door--surprise visit, I +guess, for he kept his life in water-tight compartments. He let her +in--couldn't keep her in the street. She told him how she had traced +him, reproached him, one thing led to another, and then with that dagger +so handy the end soon came. It wasn't all done in an instant, though, +for these chairs were all swept over yonder, and he had one in his hand +as if he had tried to hold her off with it. We've got it all clear as if +we had seen it." + +Holmes raised his eyebrows. + +"And yet you have sent for me?" + +"Ah, yes, that's another matter--a mere trifle, but the sort of thing +you take an interest in--queer, you know, and what you might call +freakish. It has nothing to do with the main fact--can't have, on the +face of it." + +"What is it, then?" + +"Well, you know, after a crime of this sort we are very careful to keep +things in their position. Nothing has been moved. Officer in charge here +day and night. This morning, as the man was buried and the investigation +over--so far as this room is concerned--we thought we could tidy up +a bit. This carpet. You see, it is not fastened down; only just laid +there. We had occasion to raise it. We found----" + +"Yes? You found----" + +Holmes's face grew tense with anxiety. + +"Well, I'm sure you would never guess in a hundred years what we did +find. You see that stain on the carpet? Well, a great deal must have +soaked through, must it not?" + +"Undoubtedly it must." + +"Well, you will be surprised to hear that there is no stain on the white +woodwork to correspond." + +"No stain! But there must----" + +"Yes; so you would say. But the fact remains that there isn't." + +He took the corner of the carpet in his hand and, turning it over, he +showed that it was indeed as he said. + +"But the underside is as stained as the upper. It must have left a +mark." + +Lestrade chuckled with delight at having puzzled the famous expert. + +"Now I'll show you the explanation. There IS a second stain, but it does +not correspond with the other. See for yourself." As he spoke he turned +over another portion of the carpet, and there, sure enough, was a great +crimson spill upon the square white facing of the old-fashioned floor. +"What do you make of that, Mr. Holmes?" + +"Why, it is simple enough. The two stains did correspond, but the carpet +has been turned round. As it was square and unfastened it was easily +done." + +"The official police don't need you, Mr. Holmes, to tell them that the +carpet must have been turned round. That's clear enough, for the stains +lie above each other--if you lay it over this way. But what I want to +know is, who shifted the carpet, and why?" + +I could see from Holmes's rigid face that he was vibrating with inward +excitement. + +"Look here, Lestrade," said he, "has that constable in the passage been +in charge of the place all the time?" + +"Yes, he has." + +"Well, take my advice. Examine him carefully. Don't do it before us. +We'll wait here. You take him into the back room. You'll be more likely +to get a confession out of him alone. Ask him how he dared to admit +people and leave them alone in this room. Don't ask him if he has done +it. Take it for granted. Tell him you KNOW someone has been here. Press +him. Tell him that a full confession is his only chance of forgiveness. +Do exactly what I tell you!" + +"By George, if he knows I'll have it out of him!" cried Lestrade. He +darted into the hall, and a few moments later his bullying voice sounded +from the back room. + +"Now, Watson, now!" cried Holmes, with frenzied eagerness. All the +demoniacal force of the man masked behind that listless manner burst out +in a paroxysm of energy. He tore the drugget from the floor, and in an +instant was down on his hands and knees clawing at each of the squares +of wood beneath it. One turned sideways as he dug his nails into the +edge of it. It hinged back like the lid of a box. A small black cavity +opened beneath it. Holmes plunged his eager hand into it, and drew it +out with a bitter snarl of anger and disappointment. It was empty. + +"Quick, Watson, quick! Get it back again!" The wooden lid was replaced, +and the drugget had only just been drawn straight when Lestrade's voice +was heard in the passage. He found Holmes leaning languidly against +the mantelpiece, resigned and patient, endeavouring to conceal his +irrepressible yawns. + +"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Holmes. I can see that you are bored to +death with the whole affair. Well, he has confessed, all right. Come +in here, MacPherson. Let these gentlemen hear of your most inexcusable +conduct." + +The big constable, very hot and penitent, sidled into the room. + +"I meant no harm, sir, I'm sure. The young woman came to the door last +evening--mistook the house, she did. And then we got talking. It's +lonesome, when you're on duty here all day." + +"Well, what happened then?" + +"She wanted to see where the crime was done--had read about it in the +papers, she said. She was a very respectable, well-spoken young woman, +sir, and I saw no harm in letting her have a peep. When she saw that +mark on the carpet, down she dropped on the floor, and lay as if she +were dead. I ran to the back and got some water, but I could not bring +her to. Then I went round the corner to the Ivy Plant for some brandy, +and by the time I had brought it back the young woman had recovered and +was off--ashamed of herself, I dare say, and dared not face me." + +"How about moving that drugget?" + +"Well, sir, it was a bit rumpled, certainly, when I came back. You see, +she fell on it, and it lies on a polished floor with nothing to keep it +in place. I straightened it out afterwards." + +"It's a lesson to you that you can't deceive me, Constable MacPherson," +said Lestrade, with dignity. "No doubt you thought that your breach of +duty could never be discovered, and yet a mere glance at that drugget +was enough to convince me that someone had been admitted to the room. +It's lucky for you, my man, that nothing is missing, or you would find +yourself in Queer Street. I'm sorry to have called you down over such a +petty business, Mr. Holmes, but I thought the point of the second stain +not corresponding with the first would interest you." + +"Certainly, it was most interesting. Has this woman only been here once, +constable?" + +"Yes, sir, only once." + +"Who was she?" + +"Don't know the name, sir. Was answering an advertisement about +type-writing, and came to the wrong number--very pleasant, genteel young +woman, sir." + +"Tall? Handsome?" + +"Yes, sir; she was a well-grown young woman. I suppose you might say +she was handsome. Perhaps some would say she was very handsome. 'Oh, +officer, do let me have a peep!' says she. She had pretty, coaxing ways, +as you might say, and I thought there was no harm in letting her just +put her head through the door." + +"How was she dressed?" + +"Quiet, sir--a long mantle down to her feet." + +"What time was it?" + +"It was just growing dusk at the time. They were lighting the lamps as I +came back with the brandy." + +"Very good," said Holmes. "Come, Watson, I think that we have more +important work elsewhere." + +As we left the house Lestrade remained in the front room, while the +repentant constable opened the door to let us out. Holmes turned on the +step and held up something in his hand. The constable stared intently. + +"Good Lord, sir!" he cried, with amazement on his face. Holmes put his +finger on his lips, replaced his hand in his breast-pocket, and burst +out laughing as we turned down the street. "Excellent!" said he. "Come, +friend Watson, the curtain rings up for the last act. You will be +relieved to hear that there will be no war, that the Right Honourable +Trelawney Hope will suffer no set-back in his brilliant career, that the +indiscreet Sovereign will receive no punishment for his indiscretion, +that the Prime Minister will have no European complication to deal with, +and that with a little tact and management upon our part nobody will be +a penny the worse for what might have been a very ugly incident." + +My mind filled with admiration for this extraordinary man. + +"You have solved it!" I cried. + +"Hardly that, Watson. There are some points which are as dark as ever. +But we have so much that it will be our own fault if we cannot get the +rest. We will go straight to Whitehall Terrace and bring the matter to a +head." + +When we arrived at the residence of the European Secretary it was for +Lady Hilda Trelawney Hope that Sherlock Holmes inquired. We were shown +into the morning-room. + +"Mr. Holmes!" said the lady, and her face was pink with her indignation, +"this is surely most unfair and ungenerous upon your part. I desired, +as I have explained, to keep my visit to you a secret, lest my husband +should think that I was intruding into his affairs. And yet you +compromise me by coming here and so showing that there are business +relations between us." + +"Unfortunately, madam, I had no possible alternative. I have been +commissioned to recover this immensely important paper. I must therefore +ask you, madam, to be kind enough to place it in my hands." + +The lady sprang to her feet, with the colour all dashed in an instant +from her beautiful face. Her eyes glazed--she tottered--I thought that +she would faint. Then with a grand effort she rallied from the shock, +and a supreme astonishment and indignation chased every other expression +from her features. + +"You--you insult me, Mr. Holmes." + +"Come, come, madam, it is useless. Give up the letter." + +She darted to the bell. + +"The butler shall show you out." + +"Do not ring, Lady Hilda. If you do, then all my earnest efforts to +avoid a scandal will be frustrated. Give up the letter and all will be +set right. If you will work with me I can arrange everything. If you +work against me I must expose you." + +She stood grandly defiant, a queenly figure, her eyes fixed upon his as +if she would read his very soul. Her hand was on the bell, but she had +forborne to ring it. + +"You are trying to frighten me. It is not a very manly thing, Mr. +Holmes, to come here and browbeat a woman. You say that you know +something. What is it that you know?" + +"Pray sit down, madam. You will hurt yourself there if you fall. I will +not speak until you sit down. Thank you." + +"I give you five minutes, Mr. Holmes." + +"One is enough, Lady Hilda. I know of your visit to Eduardo Lucas, of +your giving him this document, of your ingenious return to the room +last night, and of the manner in which you took the letter from the +hiding-place under the carpet." + +She stared at him with an ashen face and gulped twice before she could +speak. + +"You are mad, Mr. Holmes--you are mad!" she cried, at last. + +He drew a small piece of cardboard from his pocket. It was the face of a +woman cut out of a portrait. + +"I have carried this because I thought it might be useful," said he. +"The policeman has recognised it." + +She gave a gasp and her head dropped back in the chair. + +"Come, Lady Hilda. You have the letter. The matter may still be +adjusted. I have no desire to bring trouble to you. My duty ends when +I have returned the lost letter to your husband. Take my advice and be +frank with me; it is your only chance." + +Her courage was admirable. Even now she would not own defeat. + +"I tell you again, Mr. Holmes, that you are under some absurd illusion." + +Holmes rose from his chair. + +"I am sorry for you, Lady Hilda. I have done my best for you; I can see +that it is all in vain." + +He rang the bell. The butler entered. + +"Is Mr. Trelawney Hope at home?" + +"He will be home, sir, at a quarter to one." + +Holmes glanced at his watch. + +"Still a quarter of an hour," said he. "Very good, I shall wait." + +The butler had hardly closed the door behind him when Lady Hilda +was down on her knees at Holmes's feet, her hands out-stretched, her +beautiful face upturned and wet with her tears. + +"Oh, spare me, Mr. Holmes! Spare me!" she pleaded, in a frenzy of +supplication. "For Heaven's sake, don't tell him! I love him so! I would +not bring one shadow on his life, and this I know would break his noble +heart." + +Holmes raised the lady. "I am thankful, madam, that you have come to +your senses even at this last moment! There is not an instant to lose. +Where is the letter?" + +She darted across to a writing-desk, unlocked it, and drew out a long +blue envelope. + +"Here it is, Mr. Holmes. Would to Heaven I had never seen it!" + +"How can we return it?" Holmes muttered. "Quick, quick, we must think of +some way! Where is the despatch-box?" + +"Still in his bedroom." + +"What a stroke of luck! Quick, madam, bring it here!" + +A moment later she had appeared with a red flat box in her hand. + +"How did you open it before? You have a duplicate key? Yes, of course +you have. Open it!" + +From out of her bosom Lady Hilda had drawn a small key. The box flew +open. It was stuffed with papers. Holmes thrust the blue envelope deep +down into the heart of them, between the leaves of some other document. +The box was shut, locked, and returned to the bedroom. + +"Now we are ready for him," said Holmes; "we have still ten minutes. +I am going far to screen you, Lady Hilda. In return you will spend +the time in telling me frankly the real meaning of this extraordinary +affair." + +"Mr. Holmes, I will tell you everything," cried the lady. "Oh, Mr. +Holmes, I would cut off my right hand before I gave him a moment of +sorrow! There is no woman in all London who loves her husband as I +do, and yet if he knew how I have acted--how I have been compelled to +act--he would never forgive me. For his own honour stands so high that +he could not forget or pardon a lapse in another. Help me, Mr. Holmes! +My happiness, his happiness, our very lives are at stake!" + +"Quick, madam, the time grows short!" + +"It was a letter of mine, Mr. Holmes, an indiscreet letter written +before my marriage--a foolish letter, a letter of an impulsive, loving +girl. I meant no harm, and yet he would have thought it criminal. Had he +read that letter his confidence would have been for ever destroyed. +It is years since I wrote it. I had thought that the whole matter was +forgotten. Then at last I heard from this man, Lucas, that it had passed +into his hands, and that he would lay it before my husband. I implored +his mercy. He said that he would return my letter if I would bring him a +certain document which he described in my husband's despatch-box. He had +some spy in the office who had told him of its existence. He assured me +that no harm could come to my husband. Put yourself in my position, Mr. +Holmes! What was I to do?" + +"Take your husband into your confidence." + +"I could not, Mr. Holmes, I could not! On the one side seemed certain +ruin; on the other, terrible as it seemed to take my husband's paper, +still in a matter of politics I could not understand the consequences, +while in a matter of love and trust they were only too clear to me. +I did it, Mr. Holmes! I took an impression of his key; this man Lucas +furnished a duplicate. I opened his despatch-box, took the paper, and +conveyed it to Godolphin Street." + +"What happened there, madam?" + +"I tapped at the door as agreed. Lucas opened it. I followed him into +his room, leaving the hall door ajar behind me, for I feared to be alone +with the man. I remember that there was a woman outside as I entered. +Our business was soon done. He had my letter on his desk; I handed him +the document. He gave me the letter. At this instant there was a sound +at the door. There were steps in the passage. Lucas quickly turned +back the drugget, thrust the document into some hiding-place there, and +covered it over. + +"What happened after that is like some fearful dream. I have a vision of +a dark, frantic face, of a woman's voice, which screamed in French, 'My +waiting is not in vain. At last, at last I have found you with her!' +There was a savage struggle. I saw him with a chair in his hand, a knife +gleamed in hers. I rushed from the horrible scene, ran from the house, +and only next morning in the paper did I learn the dreadful result. That +night I was happy, for I had my letter, and I had not seen yet what the +future would bring. + +"It was the next morning that I realized that I had only exchanged one +trouble for another. My husband's anguish at the loss of his paper went +to my heart. I could hardly prevent myself from there and then kneeling +down at his feet and telling him what I had done. But that again would +mean a confession of the past. I came to you that morning in order to +understand the full enormity of my offence. From the instant that I +grasped it my whole mind was turned to the one thought of getting back +my husband's paper. It must still be where Lucas had placed it, for it +was concealed before this dreadful woman entered the room. If it had not +been for her coming, I should not have known where his hiding-place was. +How was I to get into the room? For two days I watched the place, but +the door was never left open. Last night I made a last attempt. What I +did and how I succeeded, you have already learned. I brought the paper +back with me, and thought of destroying it since I could see no way of +returning it, without confessing my guilt to my husband. Heavens, I hear +his step upon the stair!" + +The European Secretary burst excitedly into the room. + +"Any news, Mr. Holmes, any news?" he cried. + +"I have some hopes." + +"Ah, thank heaven!" His face became radiant. "The Prime Minister is +lunching with me. May he share your hopes? He has nerves of steel, and +yet I know that he has hardly slept since this terrible event. Jacobs, +will you ask the Prime Minister to come up? As to you, dear, I fear that +this is a matter of politics. We will join you in a few minutes in the +dining-room." + +The Prime Minister's manner was subdued, but I could see by the gleam +of his eyes and the twitchings of his bony hands that he shared the +excitement of his young colleague. + +"I understand that you have something to report, Mr. Holmes?" + +"Purely negative as yet," my friend answered. "I have inquired at every +point where it might be, and I am sure that there is no danger to be +apprehended." + +"But that is not enough, Mr. Holmes. We cannot live for ever on such a +volcano. We must have something definite." + +"I am in hopes of getting it. That is why I am here. The more I think of +the matter the more convinced I am that the letter has never left this +house." + +"Mr. Holmes!" + +"If it had it would certainly have been public by now." + +"But why should anyone take it in order to keep it in his house?" + +"I am not convinced that anyone did take it." + +"Then how could it leave the despatch-box?" + +"I am not convinced that it ever did leave the despatch-box." + +"Mr. Holmes, this joking is very ill-timed. You have my assurance that +it left the box." + +"Have you examined the box since Tuesday morning?" + +"No; it was not necessary." + +"You may conceivably have overlooked it." + +"Impossible, I say." + +"But I am not convinced of it; I have known such things to happen. I +presume there are other papers there. Well, it may have got mixed with +them." + +"It was on the top." + +"Someone may have shaken the box and displaced it." + +"No, no; I had everything out." + +"Surely it is easily decided, Hope," said the Premier. "Let us have the +despatch-box brought in." + +The Secretary rang the bell. + +"Jacobs, bring down my despatch-box. This is a farcical waste of time, +but still, if nothing else will satisfy you, it shall be done. Thank +you, Jacobs; put it here. I have always had the key on my watch-chain. +Here are the papers, you see. Letter from Lord Merrow, report from Sir +Charles Hardy, memorandum from Belgrade, note on the Russo-German grain +taxes, letter from Madrid, note from Lord Flowers--good heavens! what is +this? Lord Bellinger! Lord Bellinger!" + +The Premier snatched the blue envelope from his hand. + +"Yes, it is it--and the letter is intact. Hope, I congratulate you." + +"Thank you! Thank you! What a weight from my heart. But this is +inconceivable--impossible. Mr. Holmes, you are a wizard, a sorcerer! How +did you know it was there?" + +"Because I knew it was nowhere else." + +"I cannot believe my eyes!" He ran wildly to the door. "Where is my +wife? I must tell her that all is well. Hilda! Hilda!" we heard his +voice on the stairs. + +The Premier looked at Holmes with twinkling eyes. + +"Come, sir," said he. "There is more in this than meets the eye. How +came the letter back in the box?" + +Holmes turned away smiling from the keen scrutiny of those wonderful +eyes. + +"We also have our diplomatic secrets," said he, and picking up his hat +he turned to the door. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by +Arthur Conan Doyle + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES *** + +***** This file should be named 221.txt or 221.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/221/ + +Produced by Charles Keller, Joanne Brown, Frank Sadowski, +and Roger Squires + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |