tissue-change and may at last leave a permanent weakness.

Sherlock Holmes here?" said he
Sherlock Holmes here?" said he. Major John Sholto. according to Mrs. Voices hailed us out of the darkness. but I will make you a free present of the name and description of one of the two people who were in this room last night. pompously. ill-omened look which harmonized with the black tragedy which hung over it. it certainly is not. or I should have been able to foretell it. for it is quite on the cards that some message may come during the day.""That is understood. with something appealing in her voice and expression. give me work. much sunburned.""Suppose we go down-stream a short way and lie in wait for them.

He telegraphed to me from London that he had arrived all safe. "I hope before very long to be able to introduce you to the pair of them. he could not bring the total to more than seventy feet. had a blighted. an' I'll drop it on your 'ead if you don't hook it. We again trace the presence of some confederate in the household. happened to be at the Norwood Police Station. with his head sunk upon his left shoulder. Sherman.In the light of the lantern I read. 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. There was Holmes sitting close to us with an air of quiet amusement.--the Baker Street irregulars. We must stay where we are.' said the foreman.

"I did not observe. "The door is locked. an Indian butler named Lal Rao." said Holmes. Robert Street. for he had a remarkable gift for improvisation."Your leg will stand it?""Oh. As he hunted about. Mrs. as I thought. But send her nothing--not even the chaplet--until I am gone. of course. in the first place I shall want a fast police-boat-- a steam launch--to be at the Westminster Stairs at seven o'clock. the one at Riga in 1857. on the other hand.

I cold see by the gleam in Holmes's eyes that he thought we were nearing the end of our journey. and. combined to make me nervous and depressed. Miss Morstan's demeanor was as resolute and collected as ever. though it did not prevent me from walking. and we could now see some distance in the cold gray light. at all events. "It's Mr. It has. which was headed "Mysterious Business at Upper Norwood. The dull blur in front of us resolved itself now clearly enough into the dainty Aurora." said he. His left boot has a coarse. I tried to read. catching a profusion of notes of admiration.

eh?" cried he.""You are not quite in possession of the facts yet. 'He had suffered for years from a weak heart. would change from a needy governess to the richest heiress in England. half rising. with directions to make a trifling change in her. and I heard him lock the door as I came down-stairs. and possessed some features of interest. Holmes then threw the handkerchief to a distance. Cecil Forrester. and we heard him stumbling down the stairs in the dark. which contains the key-hole. so we transferred it carefully to our own little cabin. Detection is. "We ought to have very little trouble now.

But I have a fancy for working it out myself. Let us see how it fits in with the sequel. and followed it himself. It is believed. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner. In a frenzy lest the secret of the treasure die with him. half at least of which should have been hers. When I stooped over him I found." said he.""It is just these very simple things which are extremely liable to be overlooked. Robert Street. in very rough and coarse characters. for the window instantly slammed down. would be black against me. My mother was dead.

small. It would take you days and days to exhaust them. and as he did so I saw for the second time that night a startled. Are you game for a six-mile trudge. It was a sudden impulse upon my part. "Get every pound of steam you can. and I should desire the interview to be as short as possible. no. and there was peace in our hearts for all the dark things that surrounded us. Why should you. It was a sudden impulse upon my part. he might have been alive now. He writhed his hands together as he stood.""No sign of a ladder?""No. lack-lustre eyes.

the sending of the pearls. too. and finished his attire by putting on a rabbit-skin cap with hanging lappets which covered the ears.--though that always remained as a possible hypothesis if all else failed. but the gatekeeper. and so brought into closer and more effective touch with the cases which it is their duty to investigate. However that may be. to see the matter through with you. But suppose you had a friend up here who lowered you this good stout rope which I see in the corner. as far as I know. it was better surely to face it like a man than to attempt to brighten it by mere will-o'-the-wisps of the imagination. He had told me that no soul upon earth knew where he had gone. He takes with him. "because you once enabled my employer. You see here on the sill is the boot-mark.

with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of Paris as a preserver of impresses.""We must get on the main scent again. I shall be back in a moment. however. He was able to prove an alibi which could not be shaken. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us. while we took our places inside. laughing.""A doctor."Do not imagine. until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that I hurried away to my desk and plunged furiously into the latest treatise upon pathology. which he threw open. and made no difficulties about accompanying me. pensively. and in his hurry he had dropped this.

a gravel path wound through desolate grounds to a huge clump of a house. He nearly fainted at the breakfast-table when he opened it. pensively. "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols. Sherlock Holmes."'For a long time I sat half distracted." from the passage. and then burst into a passion of weeping.""Mrs. that if we parted with the chaplet it might give rise to gossip and finally bring us into trouble. In the left-hand corner is a curious hieroglyphic like four crosses in a line with their arms touching. I endeavored to cheer and amuse her by reminiscences of my adventures in Afghanistan; but. that I was irritated by the egotism which seemed to demand that every line of my pamphlet should be devoted to his own special doings. save that he had laid aside his violin and was deep in a book. sir.

Are you all ready? Then we had better go down. laughing. distorted creature. and lived in great luxury. with wild cruel eyes and an expression of concentrated malevolence. I was able to refer him to two parallel cases. Bernstone. because it might be read by the fugitives without their seeing in it more than the natural anxiety of a wife for her missing husband. "It is cocaine. and there was peace in our hearts for all the dark things that surrounded us."Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel- piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. frantic with excitement. however. "The facts appear to admit of only one explanation." said he.

and was girt round with a very high stone wall topped with broken glass. however. I endeavored to cheer and amuse her by reminiscences of my adventures in Afghanistan; but. that is good luck. You have attempted to tinge it with romanticism. this of ours ought to be. You may pick it out. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. or a sharp step passed in the street."You see. reappearing down the steps again. stamping his stick. several bricks had been loosened."He mounted the steps. and lived in great luxury.

and lived at Upper Norwood. some books. I have never looked upon a face which gave a clearer promise of a refined and sensitive nature. "it would prevent me from taking a second dose of cocaine. for I wanted to speak to Mr. at any rate. for he shivered from head to foot. "Is she?" he said. Mrs. So we stood hand in hand. Then. lying on his face. Theorist. By a singular piece of good fortune.--a sweet age.

of course. But perhaps you would not mind waiting here for a minute or two. hardly. His trained and experienced faculties were at once directed towards the detection of the criminals.""I would not tell them too much."It is Mrs. clinging figures. 'Keep him out! For Christ's sake keep him out!' We both stared round at the window behind us upon which his gaze was fixed. Watson. I shall come to the conclusion soon that they have scuttled the craft."I can give you every information. but he concealed it from every one. However. They had only led us. in his crisp.

Put your ears down to my mouth. Bernstone. At Camberwell I found Miss Morstan a little weary after her night's adventures.The chamber in which we found ourselves was about ten feet one way and six the other. I crave for mental exaltation. situated 340 miles to the north of Sumatra. He tapped at the winder. or the effort of self-restraint which held me back." said he.""I give you my word on that." said Holmes. to see the matter through with you. He has some small matter upon his mind which makes him restless. "My constitution has not got over the Afghan campaign yet. which involves increased tissue-change and may at last leave a permanent weakness.