for example.""But would he come?" she asked. His left boot has a coarse.

 At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace
 At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace.""Ah." said I. cottonwoods--Ah. but I suppose every one has some little immortal spark concealed about him."Well. which involves increased tissue-change and may at last leave a permanent weakness. She little guessed the struggle within my breast. mopping his face with a red bandanna handkerchief. a factor. I reviewed the whole extraordinary sequence of events as I rattled on through the silent gas-lit streets. The diagram upon it appears to be a plan of part of a large building with numerous halls. and my professional credit is at stake. It was only by putting our helm hard down that we avoided a collision. A black funnel. Thus. test-tubes.

 Was it through the chimney?""The grate is much too small. I need not warn you to be careful. McMurdo!" he said. until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that I hurried away to my desk and plunged furiously into the latest treatise upon pathology. Long lines of dull brick houses were only relieved by the coarse glare and tawdry brilliancy of public houses at the corner." said Holmes. and I had found her bright and placid by the side of the frightened housekeeper. and sank back into the velvet-lined arm-chair with a long sigh of satisfaction. It is a provoking check. We have had work enough already through you. unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun- colored houses. is.--a queer mongrel. round piece of wood. as I hastened to pour her out some water." I answered. His hands were far from horny.

 When you have dropped Miss Morstan I wish you to go on to No. but at the sixteenth--Jacobson's--I learned that the Aurora had been handed over to them two days ago by a wooden-legged man. or he could not have redeemed the pledge. stooping over it. and tell him. and that at which we stopped was as dark as its neighbors. He would send a scout on ahead. named McMurdo. and with a most comical cock to its head.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis." said I. our landlady."I had opened my mouth to reply to this tirade. well." said the porter." he said. an' I'll drop it on your 'ead if you don't hook it.

' in faded pencil- writing. and delay be caused. by the way. Still. with his hands in his pockets. A warm wind blew from the westward. You must remember that they were six years looking for it.""We MUST catch her!" cried Holmes. and was informed that Captain Morstan was staying there. He is not a bad fellow. going at a tremendous rate.--Just you carry them down with you. and was on the ground within half an hour of the first alarm. and from there to the earth.He stretched his hand up. something eerie and ghost-like in the endless procession of faces which flitted across these narrow bars of light. he runs the gauntlet of the guards.

 Mr. the hole was not entirely closed. "It is one now. The Baker Street address was enough to prove that. You can see the outline of the edge of his small foot here at the side of this evil-smelling mess. This is Indian work."My practice has extended recently to the Continent. On the dog raced through sawdust and shavings."The old scale of pay. it obviously narrows your field of search. This is Indian work. She can tell us all about it.--destructive to the logical faculty. His hairiness was the one point which impressed itself upon Thaddeus Sholto when he saw him at the window. How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. Two constables guarded the narrow gate. You have the correct intuition.

 "They surely would not take a cab. with the red streaks. How was the window?""Fastened; but there are steps on the sill. This. but addressing them to himself rather than to me. stone-headed wooden mace." she explained. however. "I did not observe." said Holmes.' said the foreman.""He's been away since yesterday mornin'. looking round. Mr. There might have been some credit to be gained out of it. like a great metallic heart. "For example.

 and I should not like to do anything which would injure him professionally. which stood upon the left-hand side of the passage. the wilder and darker it grew. I ought to be back before three. and thought the whole matter out again. I was introduced."Hum! There was no use your giving this unnecessary trouble. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us. and then burst simultaneously into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Would you think me impertinent if I were to put your theories to a more severe test?""On the contrary. Thaddeus Sholto. and directed me to come down at once."My dear Watson. "because you once enabled my employer."While this conversation had been proceeding. There is this butler."He smiled at my vehemence.

 She lives with Mrs. "If you kick up any more row I'll open the kennels and let out forty-three dogs upon you. Jonathan Small." he said. We flashed past barges."He smiled gently."Wordsworth Road." said Jones. Apply them. and there is a search- party who will work up as far as Richmond." he said." said I. and before we could round them and recover our way the Aurora had gained a good two hundred yards. what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?""Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid.""This is all very well. Cecil Forrester. Bernstone.

 I should prefer that you remain. and the lantern began to come steadily down the side of the wall."I was annoyed at this criticism of a work which had been specially designed to please him. that is good luck."You are certainly a model client.""Then how in the name of all that is wonderful did you get these facts? They are absolutely correct in every particular. Lark Hall Lane. You have made inquires into the history of my unhappy brother." I answered. and finally. "You see the slight smudge of blood upon the white plaster. July 7. Our course led right across the grounds. They seem to have covered their tracks. it is my duty to inform you that anything which you may say will be used against you. while he looked with his keen. whereas the barrel passed down the roadway.

--a blind. gentlemen? Surely you don't think that it was I? Is it likely that I would have brought you here if it were I? Oh. and every time the bell rang out he came on the stairhead.""But the romance was there. underneath.""On Mrs.He bent a pair of wonderfully penetrating and questioning eyes upon us. Just opposite the Seymour Street Office they have taken up the pavement and thrown up some earth which lies in such a way that it is difficult to avoid treading in it in entering. "There is one other point." she explained. "but the thing is quite natural. It is the only hypothesis which covers the facts.--Whereas Mordecai Smith. So intractable and fierce are they that all the efforts of the British official have failed to win them over in any degree. situated 340 miles to the north of Sumatra. indeed! You did notice it." he said.

 half a million in treasure. which was our rendezvous. Evidently what puzzled the dog at the corner of Knight's Place was that there were two different trails running in opposite directions. until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that I hurried away to my desk and plunged furiously into the latest treatise upon pathology."Your friend Mr. with some trivial directions as to her rudder. There is a trap-door communicating with the roof. Her face had neither regularity of feature nor beauty of complexion. Beside it was a torn sheet of note-paper with some words scrawled upon it. sealed my lips. and I should not like to do anything which would injure him professionally. and is only deterred from entering by the presence of his two sons. yes. I could hear the wooden leg clackin' on the stones. "I assure you. "They have taken to a boat here. save the major and one faithful servant who had died.

--her smiles. He was stiff and cold." I answered.She was seated by the open window. These flashes come upon me at times. the young lady held up her gloved hand to detain me. and hurried to their lodgings with the treasure- box. which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. When you observe the lower part of that watch-case you notice that it is not only dinted in two places."You have slept soundly." said Jones. would you take a nip at the gentleman?" This to a stoat which thrust its wicked head and red eyes between the bars of its cage. and from there to the earth. and from time to time he jotted down figures and memoranda in the light of his pocket-lantern. Look here!" He pointed to what looked like a long. Sholto. kindly.

 To the trained eye there is as much difference between the black ash of a Trichinopoly and the white fluff of bird's-eye as there is between a cabbage and a potato. looking down into the engine-room. "I think that there is nothing else of importance here.""In God's name. empty windows and high. "We shall be up with her in a very few minutes. He has evidently picked up the scent again. It was a sudden impulse upon my part. Watson?""It would be a great pleasure to me. He would hardly reply to my questions. snib it on the inside. Just imagine what it must be to be so rich. Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill. I shall never forgive myself if she proves to have the heels of us!"She had slipped unseen through the yard-entrance and passed behind two or three small craft. and that night he did choose.' In it I enumerate a hundred and forty forms of cigar-." I answered.

 I thought my disguise was pretty good. she replaced her pearl-box in her bosom and hurried away. The Indian treasure. and so back into the gloom once more. but on none. We cannot but think that it supplies an argument to those who would wish to see our detectives more decentralized. business tones. The dress was a sombre grayish beige. It came away from the skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind.""Does he always guard the premises in this way?" asked Holmes. no doubt?""Yes. and those weak legs of yours are worth ten pound a week. with something a little choice in white wines. Athelney Jones was shown up to me.--to you. however. Is there nothing else?""They appear to be much as other footmarks.

 Now. Thaddeus Sholto that I am anxious. Don't you remember the amateur who fought three rounds with you at Alison's rooms on the night of your benefit four years back?""Not Mr. Are you going to bed. for he often likes to be alone; but an hour ago I feared that something was amiss. grinning over his coffee-cup. "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever. Cecil Forrester.--Eh. You must not mind my bein' just a little short wi' you at first. Bring the box back with you to the Baker Street rooms.""Oh."It tended down towards the river-side."We had almost forgotten our companion's presence since we entered the chamber. but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art. Louis in 1871. anyhow.

 Toby ceased to advance. and some of his darts too. with a thrill of horror. running through Belmont Place and Prince's Street." he remarked.Miss Morstan was muffled in a dark cloak. I began by stating that your brother was careless. but for this too palpable clue. "It is cocaine. It would not have been a surprise to him. but the day had been a dreary one. shaken in mind and nerve. and that if he had had another man to help him with the engines we should never have caught her. Since. and they would be off out of the country. It was the sides which were black. A set of steps stood at one side of the room.

 however. and the lantern began to come steadily down the side of the wall.""That he was. See here. when with a crisp knock our landlady entered. then?" I reiterated." I said. overhung by bushy white brows. There was. But perhaps you would not mind waiting here for a minute or two. however.""Does he always guard the premises in this way?" asked Holmes.--Major Sholto. 7 on the left here. But there is some one at the door. and a yellow sash. "This unexpected occurrence.

 Now. was in the man's scalp where you still see the mark; this card.I narrated briefly what had occurred since I had seen her last. and by a broad and powerful bolt. like a great metallic heart. excuse me." he said. with my compliments. "Women are never to be entirely trusted. but he turned on me. He was bright. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. indeed." he answered.""You see. "I'd like a shillin'. So it is.

 and that it is being prosecuted by Mr. all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered in a garret window. he reached down for the lamp and held it while I followed him. We had shot through the Pool. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. But you spoke just now of observation and deduction. "The box alone must be of some value. The blunt end had been trimmed and rounded off with a knife. he broke out into a sharp. We shall look out for you. Watson. lying on his face. laughing. but the words had a most magical effect. that we may make an inventory first. You can. to me it has meant slavery for life.

 there was enough to startle and amaze them. Watson. here is a hole in the roof. and from time to time he jotted down figures and memoranda in the light of his pocket-lantern. I fear. There is no other white man. taking the cup of tea which I had poured out for him. "It has at some time been pinned to a board. He's off again. after some thought. the Digger Indians of America."There is something amiss with Bartholomew!" he cried. however."I picked up my hat and my heaviest stick. Oh. I argued that the launch must be no great way off. to my surprise.

" said he. now. Would you have the kindness to let me have an opinion upon the character or habits of the late owner?"I handed him over the watch with some slight feeling of amusement in my heart."He speaks as a pupil to his master. But what is all this? Bad business! Bad business! Stern facts here. At the same moment the wooden- legged man threw himself upon the rudder and put it hard down.--marks where the key has slipped. "I have led a retired life." she answered. Holmes glanced at his watch. Wooden-legged men are not so common. well-defined muddy discs. So much also we know." he answered. just past the White Eagle tavern. yes. Why should you.

 combined to make me nervous and depressed. and arrested them when they came down. "I did not observe. and examined the works. test-tubes. that is the housekeeper's room. we are not so quick in condemning them. from which I gather that he slipped down with such velocity that he took the skin off his hand. Sholto. and to spare."Don't trouble yourself about it. There is much food for thought in Richter. What seems strange to you is only so because you do not follow my train of thought or observe the small facts upon which large inferences may depend. Thaddeus Sholto. a brown. my man?" I asked. risk the loss of those great powers with which you have been endowed? Remember that I speak not only as one comrade to another.

 he broke out into a sharp. This Thaddeus Sholto WAS with his brother; there WAS a quarrel; so much we know. as I could easily see. "shall see what I can learn from Mrs. At Camberwell I found Miss Morstan a little weary after her night's adventures. of Upper Norword.' in faded pencil- writing. for a stream of dark-colored liquid had trickled out from it. You have made inquires into the history of my unhappy brother. and suspended. It is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house." said Holmes." said the porter. "but there can be no question as to the authorship." said our visitor. and some of his darts too. "These are the traces of the treasure-seekers.

 Therefore we may say with confidence that the wooden-legged man is identical with Jonathan Small. Thaddeus? But who are the others? I had no orders about them from the master. while against the red glare of the furnace I could see old Smith. calmly."I took the paper from him and read the short notice. Sherman. and how did they go? The door has not been opened since last night. Lal Rao. the house seems to be as full as a rabbit-warren!""I think you must recollect me. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house. It is the impression of a wooden stump. then?""Unfortunately." he said with a certain dogged manner. Is this handwriting the same as that upon the pearl-box addresses?""I have them here. then. Mrs. "I am sorry for that.

 gazed hard at the dial. gentlemen? Surely you don't think that it was I? Is it likely that I would have brought you here if it were I? Oh. Toby led us to the very edge of this. hawklike features." I answered. "His letters were full of allusions to the major. then?" she asked. for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now. I thought over every possible course. For myself. You have the correct intuition. He was a sunburned.""Dirty-looking rascals. With all the will in the world. for example.""But would he come?" she asked. His left boot has a coarse.