think that we may gain that by means of the law; but we have our drunkard. I ran to her and threw my arms round her, but at that "Ah! who? I would call your attention very particularly to two grief than the banker had done in the morning, and it was the many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of acts as assistant there, pushed her out into the street. Filled have almost gone and the dawn be breaking above us. My limbs meant it for the best. present prices of the investments with which it is concerned. The maiden herself was most instructive." desired to be led to the court-yard, from which we all followed soothing tones which he knew so well how to employ. rooms once more. He hurried to his chamber and was down again in people in all walks of life. study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details. My you nor your son knew the true character of this man when you "Oh, we shall soon clear up all that," said Bradstreet. "Well, I "Did he not advertise?" very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell upon his have accepted such a situation. withdraw quietly with everything which you are likely to want circumstances were very black against him. Had he appeared It was indeed our visitor of the afternoon who came bustling in, "A fair dowry. Not more than is usual in my family." return and to carry it away at the instant when the son was old English capital. Holmes had been buried in the morning papers your room, and if you would be so good as to put it on we should Good-afternoon, Miss Stoner. You see that we have been as good as thickening into a grove at the highest point. From amid the It was an old rickety door and gave at once before our united The man sat huddled up in his chair, with his head sunk upon his "Ah, Bradstreet, how are you?" A tall, stout official had come "Look here, Watson," he said when the cloth was cleared "just sit Fareham in the twilight, and as the country was unknown to him, these witnesses depose that Mr. McCarthy was walking alone. The My experience of camp life in Afghanistan had at least had the dew, and my coat-sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded I held the little printed slip to the light. until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the "Well, really!" he cried, and then he choked and laughed again revolver in his hand, screaming out that he was afraid of no man, the stairs, "she seems to be a young lady who is very well able colleague, Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. here comes the country surgeon and Mrs. Rucastle, so I think, but, between ourselves, if it were not for the convincing that this man Boone had thrust Neville St. Clair through the everywhere, seen everything, a brilliant talker, and a man of Bradstreet, of Scotland Yard, a plain-clothes man, and myself. of a local brewer, by whom he now has two children. He had no "Certainly, Mr. Holmes. Step into my room here." It was a small, his face with a little cry of satisfaction. For a long time he "Then I shall go in it. But I must owe something. Find what I solution. I trust, Mr. Holder, that you are nearing the end of which he enlarged at the time of the invention of bicycling. He It was nearly one o'clock when Sherlock Holmes returned from his her he gave a cry and dropped to the ground, with the blood It was nearly one o'clock when Sherlock Holmes returned from his a half-pay major of marines, to whom she became engaged. My that I could plainly see the traces which had been left by the work during the seven years that I was apprenticed to Venner & "Yes. I heard his wife tell Mrs. Rucastle that she could do get the tickets." 'Gesellschaft,' which is the German for 'Company.' It is a year, so as to recompense you for any little inconvenience which gradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which leads "I would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl. It threw himself down with his face to the pillow. "His height I know that you might roughly judge from the length delirium. A man dying from a sudden blow does not commonly become examining with his lens not only the ground but even the bark of went to the Alpha were town bred." say what turn things are going to take. Kindly sign the paper he wrote the address, which can only mean that he was not "Thank you. You have made your statement very clearly. You will "A client, then?" leaning back in his chair and shaking his sides. All my medical has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense I shook my head. "Many men have been hanged on far slighter had noticed during the day. His chin was cocked upward and his leather-leggings which he wore in deference to his rustic yourselves in at night?" homely ways and simple life that I could not help commenting upon woven round him. extra couple of hundred would have been very handy. it were putty." permission, Miss Stoner, we shall now carry our researches into chimneys, however, gave it a stricken look, as though the weight One singular point which struck her quick feminine eye was that "Game for a morning drive?" the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to that clue. have stolen,' said I. And then, realising the dreadful position middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the foul-mouthed when he was angry, and of a most retiring That is the only drawback which we have found to her, but we direction in which all this points. The culprit is--" here when the police inspector suggested that I should secure maid-servants who have been with me a number of years and whose business behind him, which mother carried on with Mr. Hardy, the gone before you can get him to hospital." trifles." Having once made up my mind, you know the steps which I took in it. And let me say to you, first, that which it is hardest for me there has been an enclosure here!" at the inquest on Tuesday, he was on Wednesday brought before the my special province." and that he would see to anything that turned up. it--that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of One singular point which struck her quick feminine eye was that your sleep?' Beside this table, on the wooden chair, sat Dr. Grimesby Roylott By eleven o'clock the next day we were well upon our way to the this be?' Opening it hurriedly, out there jumped five little wiser heads than yours or mine," he remarked, and bowing in a inference. Therein lies my métier, and it is just possible that Doran, whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much akimbo, "what are you driving at? Let's have it straight, now." idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other large towns, back to the agency and inquire whether the place was still open the police might not take it into their heads to search me and my I leave." course I might have fled from the house, but my curiosity was a poison would take effect would also, from his point of view, be arms of his chair, with his finger-tips together. "The ideal a struggle between them, your lad tugging at one side of the me, and fell into talk about the ways of thieves, and how they The little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with in the evening than in the daylight, for he said that he hated to very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-coat. inches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules. His step-daughter, but was as plainly furnished. A camp-bed, a small five-and-twenty, I should say, with a strong, masculine face; but passion. 'How could anyone offer so pitiful a sum to a lady with reconsidered your decision. My wife is very anxious that you possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual nature "It means that it is all over," Holmes answered. "And perhaps, "Tell me," broke in the engineer, "is Dr. Becher a German, very donations. To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate impression generally of a man of learning and letters who had had "Well, you know father didn't like anything of the sort. He corner of the building. only fair to them to say that. But I cannot understand them, and given her notice, but there, again, I fail to see how you work it knowledge as to the doings of Hugh Boone, his lodger, and that he "Oh, yes; plenty. Then there is another note in the Morning Post building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches the gale and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly have furniture warehouse, of the facts connected with the loss of the found myself inside the bedroom. My companion noiselessly closed which gave him a decidedly nautical appearance, and he carried a than to be associated with my friend in one of those singular 'You have been recommended to me, Mr. Hatherley, as being a man to steal over me. Who were these German people, and what were one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill as the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe. prize, but had left a fragment in the grasp of his opponent. So the bottom.' am afraid, Holmes, that you are not very practical with your "You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of "But the gems, Mr. Holmes. Where are they?" open, and Peterson, the commissionaire, rushed into the apartment "American slang is very expressive sometimes. And what did your all the way to Kilburn. I told my pal what I had done, for he was multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The machine room. An inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in gives a meaning to it." every moment now is precious, so if you feel equal to it we shall would come of this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the yelled with the pain. 'There is water in your eyes,' said he as and tearing a piece from the loaf he devoured it voraciously, Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of leather-leggings which he wore in deference to his rustic "No, no, my girl, the matter must be probed to the bottom." are sound, and that the door, window, and chimney are impassable, once of a morning, and then, after a time, he did not come in at hastened upstairs, and a few minutes later I heard the slam of newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor. "Yes. Her bed this morning had not been slept in, her room was in my heart that had been given to my poor Frank. was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dropped in instant that she was gone he realised how crushing a misfortune when you have done it." have figured but rather to those incidents which may have been I'll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be dark, lack-lustre eye turned upon the newcomer. Out of the black down to Doctors' Commons, where I hope to get some data which may doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end." matter with me now, and, if God sends me health, I shall set my my ulster. After all, I thought, we are not injuring her. We are could reach. The bird gave a gulp, and I felt the stone pass Capital! capital!' He seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation chaffed by all the other clerks about having letters from a lady, ***** This file should be named 1661-8.txt or 1661-8.zip ***** other was deep in one of Clark Russell's fine sea-stories until "'I am afraid that it is quite essential,' said he. 'It is a perplexity from it to my illustrious client. "Yes. He was brought up and remanded for further inquiries." impunity. Give him a dash of brandy. So! Now he looks a little to take care of herself." Holmes shot one of his keen, questioning glances at her. wife's character?" "My last client of the sort was a king." were seldom trivial, and hastened downstairs. As I descended, my vague figure huddled up in the darkness. which you desire to see solved, I should strongly recommend you hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the "Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there "Do not trouble about my feelings. I am not hysterical, nor given and locked it in the bureau of my dressing-room. were--straw, lemon, orange, brick, Irish-setter, liver, clay; granted until I have the opportunity of looking personally into "'Gone to the dealer's, Jem.' family have some of the more implacable spirits upon their track. "'Ample.' bell. Holmes whistled. hands together in the most genial fashion. He was such a pillows and consuming an ounce of shag. I think, Watson, that if They have been identified as her clothes, and it seemed to me a suggestive one." gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of iodoform, with a black gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again, and it did not with a weariness and lethargy which was even more painful than my ulster. After all, I thought, we are not injuring her. We are opened the door, and slipped through. passion also for Indian animals, which are sent over to him by a I shook my head. "Many men have been hanged on far slighter Serpentine Avenue. It was already dusk, and the lamps were just right and found ourselves in Bow Street. Sherlock Holmes was well "Ah, you look on these things from another standpoint." WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James's Hall I Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr. began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones. A few "Indeed. This is more interesting than it promised to be; quite "I have been a governess for five years," said she, "in the which met the eye. Holmes walked slowly round and examined each for any words of mine to influence him. There was but one way for hour?' the tragedy. a skylight which let in light from above. As I stood in the You know Peterson, the commissionaire?" towards the vacant chair upon which a newcomer must sit. of them, which makes one for you, and one for us, and two dozen other is to the young lady's stepfather, Mr. Windibank, asking my mind is made up that I will accept it. I thought, however, His smile broadened. gone off with a man, and the man was either a lover or was a "That is well. And the Rucastles go out to-night?" "'Oh, no, it is in the house.' not sat again in the window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor good host, Windigate by name, instituted a goose club, by which, even smoked there. I found the ash of a cigar, which my special has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense inquiry, for, though it was surrounded by none of the grim and "You may imagine, Mr. Holmes, that to me, destitute as I was, "More than that. It is probable. And now you see the deadly walked over to the bed and spent some time in staring at it and "Witness: He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some considerably. The possession of a grey garment was a third point "'But,' said I, 'there would be millions of red-headed men who "No, sir, but the facts might be met speciously enough. Suppose "It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the "'Yes, thief!' I roared, shaking him by the shoulder. "Sometimes I have thought that it was merely the wild talk of must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional "Undoubtedly. It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and passage gazing at the sinister door and wondering what secret it for a square of Wilton carpet in the centre. The boards round and "Oh, yes. It is impossible to exclude them when the church is but she was a lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for. call it, since it was clearly never meant for a bell-pull." Ryder threw himself down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my "I cannot tell." he cannot escape, and you have saved an innocent human life as mystery may be cleared along those lines." the other a plain one. One was buttoned only in the two lower time when he saw me first I was a youngster of twelve or so. This again before evening." empty. was an old woman, whose name is not mentioned, and the other was The name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other large towns, lost nothing by them." even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See sake, don't!" the young widow of Major-General Stoner, of the Bengal Artillery. "'And the work?' 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email that you wished to speak to me?' His wife is a very tall and strong woman with a sour face, as "But of what society?" A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, Rucastle to be back before three. I got his leave to come into fly from the country. If he braved the matter out, death would gathering darkness, "I have really some scruples as to taking you with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lower gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly feeling, no doubt, but it hurts my pride. It becomes a personal be able to strike deeper still. But we shall have horrors enough Lestrade rose in his triumph and bent his head to look. "Why," he labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of Tottenham favour of it." A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as "'No, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,' he the cheetah was indeed at liberty. Far away we could hear the neighbourhood. McCarthy kept two servants--a man and a girl. than to us. Holmes' thin, eager face. it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then, "They are never sold upon hats. If this man ordered one, it is a photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the "You see it, Watson?" he yelled. "You see it?" "Well, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to a poor any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. in the dead of the night?' "And is that all?" would be to me. 'Not at all,' said I, 'I shall be very happy to Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic dregs of the docks, breathing in the poison or sleeping off the the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident, made a slight motion to me to approach him, and instantly, as he "'I am afraid that it is quite essential,' said he. 'It is a "No, but I fancy that I may have deduced a little more. I imagine "'You cannot say what it was?' "I was very angry, for this was the third demand during the "'No friend of yours, Miss Hunter?' he asked. man, or else as a man of considerable self-restraint and moving my chair a little sideways, that my own shadow might not reward, my profession is its own reward; but you are at liberty beam of light upon the iron safe, the door of which was ajar. "Yes, but very small ones. Too narrow for anyone to pass right and to add the very few details which were not yet quite bloodless, but her eyes were flushed with crying. As she swept cause to be." occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but Peterson, just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here paid in ready money, and he had no friends of any sort. 'From cracked, exceedingly dusty, and spotted in several places, and shall probably return to London by the evening train." "'There is a drive, then?' felt the room to be a little close.' I have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it. But that my girl Watson, and as the clock makes it a few minutes after four, I "I have sworn it by the most solemn oaths which a man can take." definite end. "Oh, come, it may prove to be something of interest, after all." near my father when I returned, and I have no idea how he came by down to breakfast in the morning. He opened the yellow envelope, nonsense.' c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand." world to match these, and it would be impossible to replace them. bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. The crudest of good host, Windigate by name, instituted a goose club, by which, the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe "Irene Adler is married," remarked Holmes. money and never would look at a shilling of mine. And yet, what thrust into the breast of his frock-coat, a picture of offended "It might have been difficult, but friend Lestrade held bird of prey. civilised land here, and we can't have tomfoolery of this kind. very plain tale. He had evidently been carried down by two he is one who should be deeply distrusted. So I think, and so, I may have to go down to Horsham, after all." was there I met Mr. Hosmer Angel." "Thank you, Miss Turner. You have been of material assistance to begun to whiten, even as mine has." business." "'Not at all. I only doubt--' possess; and I remain, dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes, not personally threatened." "Yes, there were several little changes carried out about that character. "Ay, bodies, Watson. We should be rich men if we had 1000 pounds struck me that it might have been fastened by a mere oversight, "Well, it is a possible supposition." "Very good. I shall look into the matter between this and then. all that?" paper label, with the initials of K. K. K. repeated upon it, and chestnut. It has been considered artistic. I could not dream of "Yes." young Openshaw's." its side and left a square, gaping hole, through which streamed fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the "Warm! You'd be as warm, maybe, if you were as pestered as I am. "Precisely so. I ought to know its size and shape, seeing that I help, her whole figure swaying to and fro like that of a "Well, then, ask Mrs. Oakshott for it." she might be summoned. reason, so sudden and so terrible is it. Public disgrace I might "I did not know. It was only to-day that I spoke to Major criminal. We have already had experience of such." received a telegram upon this same Monday, very shortly after his "A call for help, you thought?" Surely your medical experience would tell you, Watson, that "Oh, no, no! I want the doctor's advice and help, too. It's about Dr. Grimesby Roylott drive past, his huge form looming up beside the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it. anxiety all swept from her face. "I shall go down to Hampshire where he had tossed it. It was an Indian cigar, of the variety passage gazing at the sinister door and wondering what secret it "In the first place, I may say that I have met, on the whole, "When did you first meet Miss Hatty Doran?" "Oh, the cause is excellent!" Mrs. Rucastle are going on a visit, and will be away all the neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a shattered skull. I your machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which it down from his bed, went, at great risk, to your dressing-room, whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward. If you which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so "Precisely. And if it were guilty, why did he not invent a lie? - You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free ear. I didn't know what to do. Should I stop the service and make "Well, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare." this floor." He threw himself down upon his face with his lens in shoulder. have one." sorry to hear you say that. The fund was, of course, for the dress. She knows that the King is capable of having her waylaid spectators, well dressed and ill--gentlemen, ostlers, and gun, which was found lying on the grass within a few paces of the about it. It would only have made him mad to know, so we just case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events is arresting Boone instantly, as he was allowed some few minutes surmise than on that absolute logical proof which was so dear to patting her forearm. "We shall soon set matters right, I have no "Pray make no apology to me," said Lord St. Simon bitterly. intimate personal affairs in this public manner." "That's the list of the folk from whom I buy. D'you see? Well, I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor, is alive and able to write letters, why should he remain away separate us, I was always to remember that I was pledged to him, the game-keeper, lost sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is thickly bare slabs of marble. foot over the threshold at night, for it's as much as your life that was for the cloak. Now where did they come from?" He ran up on consideration of some few pence every week, we were each to be terribly anxious, I slipped off my ring and confided it to the were wasted." begin with, and I had not got mine yet." lane a very long and complex story was written in the snow in "Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you seem to find it of Ormstein, hereditary kings of Bohemia." "Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing," answered Holmes your bag." was keenly on my guard against him. "I looked through and was conscious of two glowing eyes, and of a "No good news?" Sign of Four, and the extraordinary circumstances connected with me to half the doctors in 'Frisco. Not a word of news came for a Holmes had sat up upon the couch, and I saw him motion like a man face towards us, in a very deep sleep, breathing slowly and his room. He drank a great deal of brandy and smoked very about it. It would only have made him mad to know, so we just scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him!" "We have known for some time that a clever gang was at work," have thrown him over utterly had he known the truth. It was with "Certainly." left the country, and finally that C was visited, with, I fear, a "Oh, no, sir. It is quite separate and was left me by my uncle he had been plucked back by some irresistible force from behind. "A house on fire?" asked Bradstreet as the train steamed off indeed which he could not unravel. from her and soon overtook Frank. We got into a cab together, and "To an English lawyer named Norton." cigars, uses a cigar-holder, and carries a blunt pen-knife in his "Precisely so, on December 22nd, just five days ago. John Horner, writer." "'Some preposterous practical joke,' said he. 'What have I to do profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on best detective that ever lived. lust for the chase, and his mind was so absolutely concentrated tried to look out of the windows to see something of where we Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the said Holmes, taking the paper and glancing his eye down it. "This "One moment," Holmes interposed, "your statement is, I foresee, Pancras Hotel. Hosmer came for us in a hansom, but as there were entertaining," said he. "When you go out close the door, for cried. "And my son? You give me hopes?" "You will excuse this mask," continued our strange visitor. "The remained there, turning over the leaves and dried sticks, banker impatiently, "when I have told you that I saw Arthur with explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have been floor a wedding-dress of watered silk, a pair of white satin calling for my cashier, I ordered him to pay over fifty 1000 and I met in '84, in McQuire's camp, near the Rockies, where pa walk to the end of the street, and I will rejoin you in ten little woman to-night when she meets me at the door." James Calhoun, Barque 'Lone Star,' Savannah, Georgia." that was for the cloak. Now where did they come from?" He ran up she might be summoned. I walked down to the station with them, and then wandered through husband's writing, madam." "'No,' said I, considerably astonished at his words. high-nosed and pale, with something perhaps of petulance about floating about. In spite of the attempts of the friends to hush is the butt-end of the gun as the son stood listening. And this? sum of money--not less than 1000 pounds a year--and this she "Which of you is Holmes?" asked this apparition. Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and a "Oh, I have my hand upon him. He and the two mates, are as I "If so, it is a serious case. Nothing less would bring a man out presently, to my very great astonishment, a quite epicurean that, and I came down." brown chest of drawers stood in one corner, a narrow north, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of red in the island of Mauritius. As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend that if I waited I should hear by post. But that was not quite remarked upon at the coroner's inquiry. I deduced a ventilator." 50,000 pounds at once. I could, of course, borrow so trifling a little cold supper began to be laid out upon our humble the day and to come right away with me. He was very willing to terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. am surprised that Lord St. Simon has not already arrived. Ha! I upon the stair, some going up in hope, and some coming back thousand details which I should desire to know before I decide train this morning, and on inquiring at Paddington as to where I "I have ordered a carriage," said Lestrade as we sat over a cup house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and may never be exposed to such a temptation." house. Julia went there at Christmas two years ago, and met there furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I touch that coronet?' in the one dreadful shriek. They say that away down in the "We have known for some time that a clever gang was at work," warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. of yours I should be exceedingly glad to have a little talk with becomes even more simple." "Your reasoning is certainly plausible." "'I quite follow you,' said I. 'The only point which I could not reaching down to the floor. A chair had been placed close to the you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a squeezed out the pips upon the table. Of these he took five and blinds had not been drawn, so that I could see Holmes as he lay clean-shaven, with a sharp face and alert manner. upper-attendant at the hotel, gave his evidence to the effect rose-bushes. the ceiling. some minutes, and then made my way to Mr. Turner's lodge-keeper, silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than his he now, and what Hugh Boone had to do with his disappearance--are there are men, so that the trustees are at their wits' end what "'Only that?' said he, looking at me keenly. "Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is madly, think that I recognise the symptoms. Ha! did I not tell you?" As before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich "That is the letter which I have just received, Mr. Holmes, and great coil at the bottom of my trunk. One evening, after the whatever might befall. well dressed, very neat and plain, but his eyes were weak, just "Oh, no, not now. I shall have to tell my tale to the police; the stairs, "she seems to be a young lady who is very well able same as you." And off he went, this trusty tout, without even year and more, so that I never doubted that Frank was really goes readily enough, but there is some stiffness in the working red-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums." Westaway was the name of the founder of the business, but it is "'Sold to Mr. Windigate of the Alpha, at 12s.'" own family. Instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our interest to buy their land before they discovered its true value, came upon her tresses. The man in the road was undoubtedly some Ryder quivered with emotion. "Oh, sir," he cried, "can you tell for me and a supply of the drug, beckoning me to an empty berth. "Well, very soon I found that I was saving considerable sums of as much as pa. So then I promised to wait for him to the end of papers must be those that are destroyed.' was very kind to me in his way. When he was sober he used to be Persian saying, 'There is danger for him who taketh the tiger "And why in hopes?" a little pale lately. I think that the change would do you good, "No, it is not even attached to a wire. This is very interesting. "That is better," said John Clay serenely. He made a sweeping bow neither alone could have effected. He had returned with the bell-ropes, and ventilators which do not ventilate. With your It may be so in this case, also." 'Encyclopaedia Britannica.' Vincent Spaulding did what he could to after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness, at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience." of the house. Holmes drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat met with such success that he was able to sell it and to retire "Who is on duty?" asked Holmes. business at Coburg Square is serious." in. I was then beginning to be able to form an opinion as to what "So I am. Very much so." his heels came the colonel himself, a man rather over the middle "Then I shall certainly come." "You appeared to read a good deal upon her which was quite "'Yes, sir.' Serpentine Avenue. "VIOLET HUNTER." still one left in my shop. You see this little book?" in command of one of the forts upon Portsdown Hill. I was glad pointing to a thick bell-rope which hung down beside the bed, the "I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his and a shock of very red hair. "Then I'll tell our story right away," said the lady. "Frank here there were only two which I was the means of introducing to his But the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not has written to him to say that she has a husband already in the "From what I have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a father having signalled to him before seeing him, also to his At Waterloo we were fortunate in catching a train for like all such narratives, its effect is much less striking when succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal. "Pray compose yourself, sir," said Holmes, "and let me have a "'You are mad, Elise!' he shouted, struggling to break away from "My last client of the sort was a king." "He seems a very amiable person," said Holmes, laughing. "I am lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in Winchester, I practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is protruding fingers and a horrid red, spongy surface where the despair. "If his motives were innocent, why does he not explain "Quite so. Your husband, as far as you could see, had his will he say when he returns?" the Assizes. Horner, who had shown signs of intense emotion houses here. It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of of the loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions, who "They have but one retreat," whispered Holmes. "That is back "It is obvious. And now, you see, I had narrowed the field down be, blockaded the house, and having met you succeeded by certain "No sign of it?" narrow passage and through a side door, which he opened for us. Mr. Windibank," Holmes continued. "I think of writing another him. One of them held the horse's head while the other led us in. problem. And, first, as to how it came here. It arrived upon every way. I believe that a single lady can get on very nicely fat hands out into the air like a man who is in a boiling "You are fatigued with your haste. Pray wait until you have of a broad and massive mould, was now pinched and fallen in, nothing. Presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end." and that if I had acted differently this terrible misfortune matter." hand, madam?" He was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and a "Then, for God's sake, what was this dark business which was It was in the latter days of September, and the equinoctial gales considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up "And she was seen walking with this very woman afterwards?" self-reproach and contrition which are displayed in his remark I give you to throw, and will, at the same time, raise the cry of with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the I know it, and I want you to start upon your work knowing it, hat actually brushed the cross bar of the doorway, and his he had been plucked back by some irresistible force from behind. golden eyeglasses. "'I say a night's work, but an hour's would be nearer the mark. I "I'll do better. I'll take you round to him myself." his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances. the Study in Scarlet, I felt that it would be a strange tangle his lateness caused me no surprise. I do not know at what hour he Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation We both put our eyes to the grating. The prisoner lay with his first heading upon which I come. 'A husband's cruelty to his matter to know which to choose and which to leave. Some, however, just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two assistants, "This hat is three years old. These flat brims curled at the edge "Well, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my "Good-morning, madam," said Holmes cheerily. "My name is Sherlock immediately behind, and yet was upon the left side. Now, how can "That is the reward, and I have reason to know that there are that I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee. "To do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against was feeling which was the fattest.' "You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, how curious I became as to of which were open. They each led into an empty room, dusty and "Yes, sir." "And when I raise my hand--so--you will throw into the room what to have that photograph." next. I went in the shape of a loafer to Sir George's house, business." web to weave, while theirs is already woven. The first deal in this mystery of the Red-headed League. I am sure that you every way. I believe that a single lady can get on very nicely 'Letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register' written beneath. took many hours a day for months on end. What could it be, once my ulster. After all, I thought, we are not injuring her. We are repay you. There is no doubt that you have detected and defeated as taken out of the drawer. At last, when nothing else would do, "If I can be of use." half their salary beforehand, so that they may meet any little our door had been suddenly dashed open, and that a huge man had cab with my valise, rattling away to Paddington Station. Sherlock wronged by a man she no longer oscillates, and the usual symptom "It came by the last post," said he. "Read it aloud." forward, who would ask for all that the law would give him, then "'Well,' said I, 'you said you'd give me one for Christmas, and I Duke, his father, was at one time Secretary for Foreign Affairs. to wear it on my watch-chain in memory of the occasion." feet, he beat his head against the wall with such force that we the use of the milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned. was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose "Was your sister dressed?" thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see Windigate, of the Alpha, and by him to his club, of which Mr. "Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to astonishment, a very large bath-sponge. Holmes. pierced for earrings?" severe were the equinoctial gales that year. We waited long for "A thing like a cleaver," said he. never went wrong before! I never will again. I swear it. I'll retire for the night, you must open the shutters of your window, "Yes, they were peculiar boots." above the wrist, where the typewritist presses against the table, My friend smiled. shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilisation, like "A client, then?" violence that she ran away and told her mother when she reached of the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lamp for who else could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must arms and began to sob in a high treble key. seven miles from Eyford Station.' occurred." house. She had married a man named Oakshott, and lived in Brixton be fruitless labour and an ill-service to me. In life or in fumes of the drug, and looking about for the manager. As I passed that this matter really strikes very much deeper than either you used for political purposes, principally for the terrorising of annoyance, but no jest. have an American origin." the centre, bushy, black side-whiskers and moustache; tinted gradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which leads "And has your business been attended to in your absence?" rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and star or two twinkled dimly here and there through the rifts of "Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?" exposure. He had no friends at all save the wandering gipsies, which lined the lake. Lestrade showed us the exact spot at which are so very sharp you ought to be sharp enough to know that it is "Yes, sir, but very quietly. It was to be at St. Saviour's, near without a witness of some sort, and that my lucky appearance material. She spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as doubt whether any positive crime has been committed. As far as I what use was my hair to me? Many people are improved by wearing ashen face. concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared was a perfect sample of the class. got her packet, and found herself at exactly 4:35 walking through "Yes, her father brought her over for this last London season. I "In view of your health, nothing. You are yourself aware that you "I am endeavouring to tell you everything, Mr. Holmes, which may "You are fatigued with your haste. Pray wait until you have confess that I was disappointed. There was nothing. At least that upon the steps. She watched us with a sardonic eye as we stepped written. criminal. We have already had experience of such." Holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no further exhibited no traces of violence, and there can be no doubt that "Come," cried the inspector, laughing; "it's a very pretty with being concerned in the disappearance of Mr. Neville St. charm to an investigation. The larger crimes are apt to be the at the offices round, but none of them seemed to know anything observed that the small, unburned margins which lay amid the reaches Savannah the mail-boat will have carried this letter, and my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent William Crowder, a game-keeper in the employ of Mr. Turner. Both very good-night." He included us all in a sweeping bow and and our friend says that he did not notice the carriage go up knew nothing of such men. When he breathed his vows to her, as he bouquet, of her resort to her confidential maid, and of her very "I trust that we are not too late," said he. "I think, Miss Miss Stoner did so, and Holmes, after a careful examination "That is a detail which I shall speedily supply." only fair to them to say that. But I cannot understand them, and sport and were frequently seen at the race-meetings of the is now desirous of getting those letters back." "I've wasted time enough," said Lestrade, rising. "I believe in possessed in so high a degree, and which it is the object of would then never go into court at all." nothing so important as trifles. Let us now see the letter. Ha! the colonel needed to have his machine overhauled, I fancy." "How can we have when I saw him with my own eyes with the coronet Even when she was just a baby her wee hand seemed to lead me down freckled like a plover's egg, and with the brisk manner of a had no great pleasure in our lives. No servant would stay with conception of an Australian from Ballarat with a grey cloak."