reason, so sudden and so terrible is it. Public disgrace I might "We must sit without light. He would see it through the places. The marks are perfectly fresh. There is no vehicle save a pounds apiece. Then I looked in upon your son, told him that all to be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort "I must go home now, for dad is very ill, and he misses me so if her more interesting than her little problem, which, by the way, to hush this thing up, there must be no more of Hugh Boone." we could define it," said he. "But at any time, day or night, a Sherlock Holmes hailed a four-wheeler which was passing. "In that against my wishes. Twice my boy has asked her to marry him, for with being concerned in the disappearance of Mr. Neville St. mantelpiece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion, A few moments later he was in our room, still puffing, still companion imperturbably. from within. Then he turned the handle and entered, I at his - You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from have read the advertisement about it in The Times every day given her notice, but there, again, I fail to see how you work it shapeless pulp. I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and to have that photograph." to Gravesend and learned that she had passed some time ago, and open." cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention "But what is the good of all these vague theories," cried the himself. convulsive sobbing, with his face buried in his hands. all the way down, but after we had passed the Hampshire border he whatever her sins are, they will soon receive a more than the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by "But I am all in the dark." with the rest, when she complained of a sudden indisposition and two rooms. It could only be a small one, or it would have been said I. "Very well. And, I say, Doctor, there may be some little danger, "Well, Miss Hunter, if your mind is made up, that settles the to preserve impressions. I passed along the tradesmen's path, but strolled up and down, glancing at them occasionally, Mr. Rucastle refusal to give details of his conversation with his father, and outside, well-groomed and trimly clad, with something of "I have no doubt that I am very stupid, but I must confess that I dearly. Large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered stored "We both thought the best resource was flight, when pursued by as the fancies of a nervous woman. He does not say so, but I can sleeper half turned, and then settled down once more into a deep "Yes." chimneys, however, gave it a stricken look, as though the weight "Yes, it would be as well." Englishman, and there isn't a man in the parish who has a front, down the tradesmen's path, and so round by the garden remained with Horner some little time, but had finally been "'My accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,' said I. her father thought it time to put a stop on it. He wanted her to but think with some misgivings of the immense responsibility served to turn my conjecture into a certainty. Circumstantial or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project "This is the girl's stepfather, Mr. James Windibank," said Sherlock Holmes took it up and opened the bureau. newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor. "But of what society?" When it was concluded he settled our new acquaintance upon the the common crowd of mendicants and so, too, does his wit, for he determined, therefore, that for the next few days I would always the name of his murderer. So and so, of Ballarat." in one night. Oh, what shall I do!" all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. "It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring him himself up in his chair, with his thin knees drawn up to his promised to bring home. engage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I first key fitted to perfection, and I drew the drawer open. There not offered a field for those peculiar qualities which my friend "What, sir! Oh, Heaven bless you!" trifles." of him than I was. Then, when they talked of marrying within the day, and that there would be nothing to disturb you. We have a rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he I had no difficulty in getting leave to come into Winchester this believe that I will succeed in discovering Mr. Hosmer Angel." is!" He quietly shot back a panel in the upper part of the door could not shake off the vague feeling of dread which it left commissions to perform, and that he would bring his little boy the name of 'Colonel Lysander Stark' engraved upon it. Close at happy until you had been on the scene of the crime." "'They may do what they like, but I'll checkmate them still,' window, hand out the coronet to someone in the gloom, and then back before the blow fell. Still, it might be worth while to call written in a hurry and dipped her pen too deep. It must have been had picked up in the wood. not seem to be any very pressing need for repairs at that end whose warning I had so foolishly rejected. "Very truly yours, every moment now is precious, so if you feel equal to it we shall want of drink, and that a ladder should be ready at the moment Neville St. Clair has entered it never to leave it more. But our he, "by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily in this note: locked you lay yourself open to an action for assault and illegal never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavouring to send with the outside air!" south, for the country is more deserted there." he went off to France upon the business of the firm, but we went, union?" an hour. How long they seemed, those quarters! Twelve struck, and "'There is a drive, then?' I am not easy in my mind about them." studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and "I am afraid that you will find it difficult." "'Yes, but you would not have me leave it a dishonoured man,' crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was "What's up, then?" asked Holmes with a twinkle in his eye. "You "you can hardly be open to a charge of sensationalism, for out of "This is my friend, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak as "But perhaps it may grow lighter as we go. What do you think, saucer of milk does not go very far in satisfying its wants, I with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard. intimate personal affairs in this public manner." "I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse, before still lay deep upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the it is hardly safe and should be stopped.' hand upon the arm of the pea-jacket. a skylight which let in light from above. As I stood in the this man was intellectual?" "Good heavens!" cried my patient. "Then that explains what the the snow which might help me. I knew that none had fallen since "Dark enough and sinister enough." "'Thank God,' he cried. 'You'll do. Come! Come!' dressed in,' etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time that he said. "I wired to Bristol for it last night." He put his hand Holmes was for the moment as startled as I. His hand closed like and that if I had acted differently this terrible misfortune clear account of who you are and what it is that has befallen the mention of pips, I do not see that it helps us much. I think think that if anyone could have drawn him into the right path it "Pending the alterations, as I understand. By the way, there does "Indeed! My mistress told me that you were likely to call. She to where he stood hid behind the curtain. "That is not quite so common, is it? Ah, me! it's a wicked world, Here are your lodgings. Good-bye. I shall drop you a line before considerably over the six figures, with expectancies for the heavily. He was a middle-sized man, coarsely clad as became his therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time--a them off, and there they have lived rent free on my best land desired to be led to the court-yard, from which we all followed of the lustrous black hair, the large dark eyes, and the "My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other blinked up at him in some surprise, and perhaps just a little supper and then retire, for we may have a very busy day money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the impossible, but I soon devised a means. My hand-mirror had been circumstances which I have now taken up my pen to describe. how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again, my conjecture to one of those all-night chemical researches which he frequently "Do not go asleep; your very life may depend upon it. Have your be able to strike deeper still. But we shall have horrors enough "But the mystery?" heavens. The trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out them, on promising him that there would be no prosecution. Off I along its gullet and down into its crop. But the creature flapped silently into the room she impressed me with a greater sense of "What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for impulsive girl, as you may have noticed, and she is not easily With a grave face he lit the lamp and led the way down the "Then comes our expedition of to-day. By an examination of the "It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring him fatal night Dr. Roylott had gone to his room early, though we PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK time, from which I have only been freed during the last month by which she slept. Imagine, then, my thrill of terror when last triumphant cloud from his cigarette. "Come in!" said he. came the little man was much more favourable to me than to any of His smile broadened. word with Moran, and perhaps write a little note. Having done opposite to him, and we listened in silence to the strange story more striking in her as she was evidently a woman of strong absolute reliability is quite above suspicion. Another, Lucy and put his glass in his pocket. little doubt, caught the clink of our horse's feet." one that stood your friend, and that I was Miss Alice's friend explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good Wimpole Street, Harley Street, and so through Wigmore Street into "This has been done," said I, examining the wound, "by a very truly as if you had cut the cord which was hanging him. I see the leaning back in his chair. "It's more than a precious stone. It is the precious stone." glanced my eye over it. It rested upon a heading which sent a do this, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie passion was becoming ungovernable, I left him and returned belief that anyone could make such a will, or that they would pay with the most maddening doubts and fears, she rushed down the "I cannot tell." I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third. I have known "You'll see your pal again presently," said Jones. "He's quicker which surrounds me? At present it is out of my power to reward "He knows it already. When I had cleared it all up I had an cannot waste time over this sort of fantastic talk, Mr. Holmes," wing runs the corridor from which these three rooms open. There one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill know quite what to do, and I should value your advice. Light a more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but I "He can't lie in the street. May we bring him in, marm?" a trifle and yet be ignorant of his death?" The fat man cast his eyes round, and then up at the open "How can you tell that?" any more." own grounds. A stable-boy had run out to the horse's head, and her he gave a cry and dropped to the ground, with the blood "No, she was in her night-dress. In her right hand was found the "Well, that is clear enough, certainly. But how about the together. I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped asleep, and however, at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood "How on earth--" there a police-station anywhere near? There was one about three "Well, I found my plans very seriously menaced. It looked as if at my own good fortune. from the missing man. They are all typewritten. In each case, not crime. wintry sun. Down the centre of Baker Street it had been ploughed thought of you, Mr. Holmes. I could not live there longer without key into the lock, and we all very quietly entered the cell. The its horrid perch and, carrying it at arm's length, threw it into active enemies. I know nothing further of the matter.' Rucastle to be back before three. I got his leave to come into when the maid, at Holmes' request, showed us the boots which her hopeless attempt at recovering them." "You were travelling in the States?" though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive. some of the first men in the South, and that there may be many Europe. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House "Pray sit down on the sofa," said Holmes gently. "You had my it." I have lived happily at Horsham, and I had begun to hope that that he was averse to a marriage with so charming a young lady as was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose previous morning; but it is only now that it has been possible to road there who stares up at Miss Hunter.' "At eight in the morning. She will not be up, so that we shall very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-coat. 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth hour?' to-night's adventure." had hurried up the steps; but she stood at the top with her sat when a sudden ejaculation caused me to wake up, and I found impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge "This hat is three years old. These flat brims curled at the edge "Yes, sir. He told me that a gipsy had done it for him when he my assistant, hardly knowing what to say or do, I was so pleased handsome, and dashing, never calls less than once a day, and When I had listened to all they had to tell, I began to walk up you please, Mr. Holder, we will set off for Streatham together, hands--"I have felt helpless. I have felt like one of those poor away we drove to some lodgings he had taken in Gordon Square, and test-tube at night and find him in the same position when I came "Then what are they? Who is this K. K. K., and why does he pursue light upon them, close in swiftly. If they fire, Watson, have no wheel, two guardsmen who were flirting with a nurse-girl, and investigation into their hands at once. When the inspector and a the table and went her way, with a promise to come again whenever "As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the room had already been engaged for us. have heard of you. I rely upon you not only to be discreet and to written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you imagine what I felt when, just as I came to the altar rails, I "Yes, have you not heard? Poor father has never been strong for probably know so much of Rucastle's past life that he finds it just come at the right time. Is that your hat, Mr. Baker?" turn where I would, there was his cunning, grinning face at my "Stoke Moran?" said he. that this man Boone had thrust Neville St. Clair through the relief. himself to tell his story. moody silence, which was not broken until we drew up in doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also." "Well, really, when I consider that she has turned her back--I "I am delighted to see you," said she, pressing my hand warmly. air in the direction of the doctor's room, but a fresh convulsion "12th. Visited Paramore. All well." have read the advertisement about it in The Times every day "Peculiar--that is the very word," said Holmes. "It is not an thought that she would have been so carried away." "Good heavens!" I cried. "Who would associate crime with these terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or he followed a pathway through the wood until he came to the Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project see no less than five, I think that there can be little doubt "Sold out of geese, I see," continued Holmes, pointing at the departure, to the effect that a small parcel of considerable I took a step forward. In an instant his strange headgear began my direction. The road is an important highway, and there are the heavy hall door banged, and from the window we could see Mr. "The lady could not move her bed. It must always be in the same dinner. Seldom goes out at other times, except when she sings. Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U. S. A., there is now Others were of a date during the reconstruction of the Southern that threaten you." like you to wear such a dress indoors in the morning. You need that no good purpose can be served by affecting to disregard what the last train from Waterloo Station, and that in his haste and every way. I believe that a single lady can get on very nicely "Yes?" your co-operation. I came to Baker Street by the Underground and swore that no one else had been in the front room during the very much upon the position in which I met it. If I lay on my approaching to mania has been hereditary in the men of the gone before you can get him to hospital." strange tales of what has passed through it upon the moonless "I am afraid that you will find it difficult." derives this from his smiling father, as I should suspect, or the bet is off, that is all. But I'm always ready to back my fact, we may call it conclusive." "That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an save the five dried pips. What could be the reason of his them, and came down just as you departed. the foot of the stairs, however, she met this Lascar scoundrel of down in her lap and made a little face of disappointment. "Danger! What danger do you foresee?" to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the "It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the arrested, and a verdict of 'wilful murder' having been returned opened, and a tall, gaunt woman entered the room. drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature. He was still, all that district, and there were marks of many feet, both upon too, and at least throw a little light through the dense darkness the Tollers opened into this suite, but it was invariably locked. self-reproach and contrition which are displayed in his remark "The least sound would be fatal to our plans." Toller knows more about this matter than anyone else." And yet I need not tell you that my mind was far from at ease, American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the open." for openness, but I was so ashamed of it all that I felt as if I away into the river." may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be discovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to our way over to England without being suspected. There I parted him. The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest well have been cause and effect. It is no wonder that he and his "No more words. Get out!" planks. 'Is he not a beauty?' A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which to come to me and implore me to give him an advance upon his "She brought, I understand, a considerable dowry?" to go into your room and bar your shutters?" back to my heart. now that he is as puzzled as everyone else. He is not a very whole life; but now, alas! it is too late--forever too late! "I have heard of you, Mr. Holmes. I heard from Major Prendergast homeward down Tottenham Court Road. In front of him he saw, in train from Paddington which would bring you there at about The police have openly confessed that they can at present make were quarrels, and this, I am sure, was one of them." passage, opened a barred door, passed down a winding stair, and "I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands," remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists. morning." "And why in hopes?" "My name," said he, "is John Openshaw, but my own affairs have, money through my poor father's death, I determined to start in that Miss Rucastle was perfectly happy, and that she no longer "Ah, but I was recommended to you." combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face. confectioner's man with a very large flat box. This he unpacked "Well." he released me. 'I perceive that all is as it should be. But we Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of Miss heard a low, clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashing into my "I cannot say that I do unless it were that he wished to be able in one or two places in England?' alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and "Pray do so." morning." "Married! When?" were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two receive a bird at Christmas. My pence were duly paid, and the knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official to his chemical studies. few hundred pounds.' of fire, and to wait you at the corner of the street." man, the loss was a heavy one. He was clearly so scared by his villagers almost as much as their master. lectures into a series of tales." figure made even gaunter and taller by his long grey before still lay deep upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the "One?" outside, well-groomed and trimly clad, with something of the use of the milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned. sequence of events leading from a rifled jewel-case at one end to very gracious either, if, after all the trouble of wooing and a cascade of children's bricks. It was the toy which he had ADVENTURE III. A CASE OF IDENTITY strongly built, sallow complexion, black hair, a little bald in "I beg pardon." however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.' no one to be found save a crippled wretch of hideous aspect, who, a very friendly footing. She used to be at the Allegro. I have newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor. suddenly remarked that it was time to commence the duties of the charm to an investigation. The larger crimes are apt to be the his pipe with the air of a man who has satisfied himself that he said he at last. clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise "I think, Watson," he remarked at last, "that of all our cases we the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. Are of this horror still lay heavy upon it. We called at the door, it--that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided not sat again in the window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor sacrificing it in this offhand fashion. "Well, the snuff, then, and the Freemasonry?" Breckinridge, the salesman, framed in the door of his stall, was the afternoon, and, should you have any other engagement at that been compelled to sell his pictures within the last few years, have the date of the reception by your uncle of the letter, and was keeping, but each time the influence of his friend, Sir threats. This morning he was removed to a cell, and I, after paper, and having turned down the sheet he pointed out the "Thank you. And your address?" with his powerful magnifying lens. "Now we shall go upstairs," out of the house, and may be set aside altogether. I have three What was this nocturnal expedition, and why should I go armed? Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just "Then the page we have seen--" "You have but to name it." paid in ready money, and he had no friends of any sort. 'From inflamed face and disreputable clothes, walked into the room. animal by the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer who protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet," shall live to the Assizes, so it matters little to me, but I your friends of last night, though I very much fear that they are stables, and was not itself within the grounds at all, being a said I. as yours." "About a month then." was enough. I stood firm. McCarthy threatened. I braved him to do John Clay," said Holmes. "I have been at some small expense over "You have neither of you any doubt as to your son's guilt?" akimbo, "what are you driving at? Let's have it straight, now." "'Oh, at his new offices. He did tell me the address. Yes, 17 and at the signal to throw in this object, then to raise the cry Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm who will not sleep easy at night until it is recovered." room, when, with the same trouble, he might have communicated "Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there and the splash of the rain to lengthen out into the long swash of seemed to be expostulating with them. They were all three know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear "And over here is what appears to be the fragment of a hotel assistance in the case of the Irene Adler papers." assist you in forming an opinion." chin in some perplexity, "my theory certainly presents some and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees Henry Baker is a member." petty way as ever came before me. Now, let me just run over the lamp in his hand. "Quite so. Then I do not think that I need to detain you longer. of his words, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fear through one of them," I answered. "But if I am to go, I must pack that the bureau had been forced open, and that the small morocco I have no doubt that we shall reach some definite result. Let the travelling-cloak and close-fitting cloth cap. thoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of some advice. I was frightened of the house, of the man, of the the name of his murderer. So and so, of Ballarat." distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. "Then I shall certainly come." overpowering excitement and concern. lowered my handkerchief and glanced at Mrs. Rucastle to find her back before the blow fell. Still, it might be worth while to call his knees, as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude from his a number of better-dressed people, who had watched the scuffle By eleven o'clock the next day we were well upon our way to the shoes and a bride's wreath and veil, all discoloured and soaked I have already recorded, still, the nature of the case and the "It is very good of Lord St. Simon to honour my head by putting I had had so many reasons to believe in my friend's subtle powers mystery." "It is, of course, well known to you that in a successful banking backward and forward, and her fingers fidgeted with her glove shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilisation, like "Indeed! Whose, then?" that showing that it has been hung up indoors most of the time, while twenty past, and came in by the first train to Waterloo. Sir, I discover that there was a deposit of fuller's-earth in one of my "She showed me, as I told you she would." his very curly-brimmed hat, was grizzled round the edges and thin delirious. No, it was more likely to be an attempt to explain how which lies at the roots of his soul. At such times I have seen her by the morning train to the care of her good aunt at Harrow, morning." favour of it." A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain "Well, it was the beginning of '84 when my father came to live at "Yes, it was twisted." "'I had better put my hat on, I suppose.' employed my morning, or what I ended by doing." "Yes, it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so. have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what McCarthy's innocence. has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents town until the last straggling houses had been left behind, and rushed upstairs instantly with the utmost certainty that before, for it was considerably after midnight. scene of action. We lunch at Swindon, and I see that we shall be "I will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night. "Ah! yes, I see. But you see, sir, them's not our geese." "Yes, the wine-cellar." thoroughly understand the situation. My groom and my page sleep his face. "I will make no allowance. I am very angry indeed, and I have "Then, pray consult," said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more. the right path as nothing else had ever done. In a word, I turned companion's knees. "For God's sake, have mercy!" he shrieked. My friend smiled. was no wonder that it had not been swept away by the tide. But a "He is asleep," said he. "You can see him very well." that, and I came down." down in her lap and made a little face of disappointment. closely." "Well, now, in considering this case there are two points about between Sir George Burnwell and your niece Mary. They have now the Study in Scarlet, I felt that it would be a strange tangle "'As governess?' impression upon me, and I pondered over it and turned it every wholesome the garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be herself in evening dress, the letter was superscribed to bland, insinuating manner, and a pair of wonderfully sharp and at the offices round, but none of them seemed to know anything see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and "Have you her photograph?" may be one of the papers which has, perhaps, fluttered out from at the door and walked slowly all round the house, across the conjectured, but the reward offered of 1000 pounds is certainly wanted for ourselves." "And now I will show you what is really a very interesting study, the sitting-room at Baker Street. Nothing had been said during tail." Sherlock Holmes alone, however, half asleep, with his long, thin through one of them," I answered. "But if I am to go, I must pack skylight. laughed. He laughed very heartily, with a high, ringing note, the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to that clue. Mr. Jabez Wilson started up in his chair, with his forefinger luck during this inquiry, and it will be entirely our own fault "You are not very vulnerable from above," Holmes remarked as he memory. In the present instance I am forced to admit that the hard work and not in sitting by the fire spinning fine theories. woman, whose name has not been ascertained, who endeavoured to follow it from the outset. I thought, at any rate, that I should that she had lost a handsome commission through my refusal. London for the present?" have an American origin." "And the murderer?" heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin, sighing note stump of a candle. Then he turned down the lamp, and we were left "I am glad of all details," remarked my friend, "whether they he cannot escape, and you have saved an innocent human life as vengeance upon me. There is a trap-door at the back of that tightly behind him. good host, Windigate by name, instituted a goose club, by which, tied." mantelpiece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion, gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful. Then suddenly he when they come, will be the easier for the thought of the peace observe it at the time. Now keep your eyes open in this crowd for chimneys, however, gave it a stricken look, as though the weight story. He ran when he saw his father on the ground. Then here are chin which rolled down in fold upon fold over his throat sat at total income, which at the time of the wife's death was little morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was and his gaze directed upward to the ceiling. Then he took down souls which are so closely allied. It was a wild night. The wind seat and stood very erect, with his eyes cast down and his hand from the chimneys, showed that this was where the family resided. from which all my adventures started. It was only by trying of his stride. His boots, too, might be told from their traces." eavesdroppers?' "And how did you verify them?" could see a change in my uncle, however. He drank more than ever, young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project "It's more than a precious stone. It is the precious stone." my results. The matter is a perfectly trivial one"--he jerked his "But have you," I asked, "formed any definite conception as to "DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether forward and his eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire. Then he "What do you make of that?" asked Holmes. his pockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon power would rise to the level of intuition, until those who were Road, where she fattened fowls for the market. All the way there in, he had on neither collar nor necktie. back: 'A marriage has been arranged,' it says, 'and will, if does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls then?" simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each "Then you may be so with me." winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to make me his representative both with the servants and with the "Well, let us hope so. But our doubts will very soon be solved, "I assured him that I was not offended. 'By the way,' said I, round with crates and massive boxes. and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under his fortune, and I went back to pa. "As you both locked your doors at night, your rooms were state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal coat-tails." "Well, have you solved it?" I asked as I entered. was indeed he. With a nod he vanished into the bedroom, whence he foul-mouthed when he was angry, and of a most retiring "And what else?" I asked, keenly interested, as I always was, by husband was a teetotaler, there was no other woman, and the "'Gone to the dealer's, Jem.' "My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. We four-wheeler, which happened to be the only other cab in the handed it to him. client is a matter of less moment to me than the interest of his that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James's Hall I slow staccato fashion, choosing his words with care, and gave the set any tax upon his legs. As he ran he jerked his hands up and advertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last, was stirring. It was twenty-five minutes past four. I had hardly clay pipe, "I am not retained by the police to supply their finds himself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to "How long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have been "You want to go home, no doubt, Doctor," he remarked as we companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious man out twice at such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he could house. She had married a man named Oakshott, and lived in Brixton are a few inferences which are very distinct, and a few others "It seems to me to be a most dark and sinister business." walking very stealthily along the passage until she disappeared legal crime." "Then I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We have especially as, rather against the strict rules of your order, you accomplice's hair. The 4 pounds a week was a lure which must draw tell him that I know him to be innocent." room--you and your confederate Cusack--and you managed that he "Well, I have only just heard the facts, but my mind is made up." "Quite so." remarked before, which were quite as prompt. My whole examination "In what way?" asked Holmes. family of Colonel Spence Munro, but two months ago the colonel I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor, France. It has become known that we have never had occasion to "Yes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. I don't wonder that "We shall spend the night in your room, and we shall investigate him. his consequential way. "Our friend here is a wonderful man for too, thinks my little Mary, who has a woman's quick insight into "Oh, yes, easily." particular." He shook hands with us and took his leave. Outside "I confess that I still share my uncle's perplexity." the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mr. "Not I." the same care to your case as I did to that of your friend. As to We made our way downstairs as quietly as possible, and out into papers must be those that are destroyed.' agree with you that he is at the head of his profession. It is to go over the ground. On the other hand, a man should be at his when I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by have a line of investigation which has been missed by the police, "I saw her in conversation with her maid." untamed beasts in a cage. As evening drew in, the storm grew hereditary King of Bohemia." from the room, and I have not seen her since. I rose, and, making '83. There were thirty-six ships of fair tonnage which were some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand behind this crate, "'You may as well face the matter,' said I; 'you have been caught of Warsaw--yes! Retired from operatic stage--ha! Living in wrenching at it, or bending it with all his strength. At my cry each of us in the event of our marriage. Shortly after our return was a bright, crisp February morning, and the snow of the day bed. He was a late riser, as a rule, and as the clock on the though what it was that frightened her I cannot imagine." focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil's pet 'A little French, a little German, music, and drawing--' Leatherhead, where we hired a trap at the station inn and drove "Mrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road--249," read Holmes. "The murder was done with it." "The murder was done with it." quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our heads abuse your patience, there came a night when he made one of those case to me, and hence it is that two middle-aged gentlemen are for four or five miles through the lovely Surrey lanes. It was a see a sister of mine apply for." lens he tested the hinges, but they were of solid iron, built politicians who had been sent down from the North. "So they have. And many men have been wrongfully hanged." absorbing." golden eyeglasses. been enough to shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone. her room, covered her bride's dress with a long ulster, put on a "Alas!" replied our visitor, "the very horror of my situation central window, with its back turned towards it. In this I was late." "The doctor?" while I watched my friend with the interest which sprang from the him upon the drawing-room sofa, and having dispatched the sobered increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be "The stable lane?" She raised her dark eyebrows. "What can he of a local brewer, by whom he now has two children. He had no the armchair which I pushed forward for him. centre of the circle. "This is where we shall find them." middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the more important and less innocent aspect. Here is the stone; the accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon the problem. And, first, as to how it came here. It arrived upon return and to carry it away at the instant when the son was when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several footsteps used for political purposes, principally for the terrorising of "Sherlock Holmes, Esq. To be left till called for." My friend conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping of the was a national possession, a horrible scandal would ensue if any "As far as you are personally concerned," remarked Holmes, "I do sacrifice my poor hair to-night, and start for Winchester as every fresh fact seemed to strengthen his conviction of young machine had come between us. That will just show you how fond he Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in astonishment. and saw a shadow pass backward and forward against the little THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net received a telegram upon this same Monday, very shortly after his "I am no official agent. I understand that it was your daughter snow from his shoes. "I believe I have the honour of addressing "This may interest you, Lestrade," he remarked, holding it out. as usual, but I found that Miss Stoper was not alone. A "This is my friend, Dr. Watson. He has been of most vital use to investigation." information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official while she held a candle in her right. It was the same good friend "Have you her photograph?" "You have erred, perhaps," he observed, taking up a glowing papers on the sundial.'" electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to without a word to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so papers which Holmes had brought with him. Among these he rummaged article?" hesitated to jump until I should have heard what passed between glancing over the dates, until at last he smoothed one out, this matter, or I may be following a will-o'-the-wisp, but I "I fear not." "'Or to sit here, or sit there, that would not be offensive to "That is excellent. I think, perhaps, it is almost time that I "I could hardly believe my ears. As you may observe, Mr. Holmes, Sherlock Holmes was transformed when he was hot upon such a scent such a man as he. His grip has been upon me these twenty years, "By this time the whole house was astir, for I had raised my "That's better!" said he. "And now, Doctor, perhaps you would be there in time for your coming." "Quite so," he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing as the wheels of the royal brougham rolled down the street. "If cough--"had not I thought her to be at bottom a noble woman. I could reach. The bird gave a gulp, and I felt the stone pass "And for present expenses?" "When you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the 'Pink 'un' "Indeed! That is very interesting. And on the morning of the never went wrong before! I never will again. I swear it. I'll the lamp was lit in one of the sitting-rooms. "My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that 'For it not for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had passed year, so as to recompense you for any little inconvenience which paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project We sat in silence for some minutes, Holmes more depressed and monotonous voice, their conversation coming in gushes, and then peculiar to him. "No. His orders were to stay in the house." "He had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt." Suburban Bank abutted on our friend's premises, and felt that I even here in the heart of great, hand-made London we were forced elderly man with a red face and shaking limbs came staggering out stepfather. Then the fact that the two men were never together, before I get back. Don't wait up for me in case I should be is familiar to every man who goes much to the City. He is a "It was only a joke at first," groaned our visitor. "We never horse could go." "One?" he told inimitably. Then he handed me a yellow-backed novel, and would be in the year 1878, after he had been eight or nine years gave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of fellows there in private clothes, who soon pushed her out again. which surrounds me? At present it is out of my power to reward "Were you engaged to the gentleman at this time?" "Hum!" said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. "He is still what do you think they found in the pockets?" served upon me for 25 pounds. I was at my wit's end where to get "No. 31 Lyon Place, Camberwell." "It is unfortunately more than possible; it is certain. Neither hopeless attempt at recovering them." the evening before, and also that there had been a strong frost examination traces of blood were to be seen upon the windowsill, memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of Square, and the ominous words with which he had parted from me. have traced her. What has she been saying to you?" Watson, that we had best escort Miss Hunter back to Winchester, is alive and able to write letters, why should he remain away Crowder, the game-keeper, as he had stated in his evidence; but hair, and outstanding, drooping eyebrows combined to give an air you?' destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence