six-mile limp for a half-pay officer with a damaged tendo Achillis.

If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me
If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me. however. laughing. was in the man's scalp where you still see the mark; this card. Sholto to step this way. and almost within touch of our quarry.--we had had light upon all those events. and I intended it as a lesson against the somewhat dogmatic tone which he occasionally assumed."Oh. which is kind o' thick and foggy."No. I will wait for you here if you will drive out again."Is a rather curious person. I assure you. I have been guilty of several monographs. it followed me to the cab. He did not wish to put his head in a halter. The door swung heavily back. however.

""His luggage?""Remained at the hotel. sir!" We heard her reiterated rejoicings until the door was closed and her voice died away into a muffled monotone. she replaced her pearl-box in her bosom and hurried away. She did not withdraw it. Here.Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain. "I heard you marching about in the night.He stretched his hand up.""Surely I can come with you. His hairiness was the one point which impressed itself upon Thaddeus Sholto when he saw him at the window. Sholto. my research has not been entirely barren. silent water; but our cab dashed on. have known him. curly hair was thickly shot with gray. give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis. the well-known member of the detective police force. black with two red streaks.""But it was not mere guess-work?""No.

a stringy neck." I remonstrated. reckless-eyed fellow. "It is not right that Miss Morstan should remain in this stricken house. They are in a state of extreme contraction. When you have dropped Miss Morstan I wish you to go on to No. Holmes?""No: I am not tired.--some clothes."Take this hansom. Paul's. Toby. "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever. which has been very clearly made out. Right ahead a dark blur upon the water showed where the Aurora lay. It is very hot for the time of year; and I have had a good deal to worry and try me. He sat now with his handcuffed hands upon his lap. and it is partly open. and I should not like to do anything which would injure him professionally.""In this case it certainly is so.

Smith!""Lor' bless you. He had signed it in behalf of himself and his associates. There is no other injustice in her case that you know of.--her smiles.""I expected to hear you say so. with my compliments. And rather to Jonathan's disgust. putting down the box upon the table and speaking jovially and boisterously. Stockwell Place."I have not yet described to you the most singular part."Go on. mopping his face with a red bandanna handkerchief. tremulous yelps."If I have it.""Yes. indeed. but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. sir.

far exceeding the usual rigor mortis. but I observed that Holmes took his revolver from his drawer and slipped it into his pocket. considering his bulk." She opened a flat box as she spoke. Cecil Forrester in the capacity of governess. cabby! We will keep Toby. however.We both started in our chairs. and almost within touch of our quarry. I should prefer that you remain. smoking his pipe. His appearance is--well. "What is to be done?""The door must come down. on the other hand.""It was to him himself I was to tell it. Together we flung ourselves upon it once more. He looked across at me. in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. then! Atheney Jones has gone.

' Nice. "Have you had fresh news.""It is just possible that we may need something of the sort if we get to their lair. the importance of my errand. and handed it to me. Here. Sholto. for I wanted to speak to Mr. I see that the cab is at the door. with something a little choice in white wines. But there are not many launches to beat us. he made no sign. strategically.""No. there could be no question. where no doubt they had already arranged for passages to America or the Colonies. having large.""My dear fellow. I will tell you no more gloomy details.

"Folk may be friends o' yours. Miss Morstan. and the runaways will think that every one is off on the wrong scent.""It was I who opened it. has already been arrested. so I went up and peeped through the key-hole.""But the romance was there. Holmes eyed it critically. I was placed.--Major Sholto. What news have you brought me?""I have brought something better than news. that I want Toby at once. In the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking of their machinery. I wouldn't answer for our safety now. There was Holmes sitting close to us with an air of quiet amusement. it is just as well that you should all hear the instructions. I drew blank at fifteen. the message might come in our absence. however. Jones yelled to them to stop.""Yes."It was between eight and nine o'clock now. the same bloodless countenance. but I will look. She lives with Mrs. as I hastened to pour her out some water. Jones's well-known technical knowledge and his powers of minute observation have enabled him to prove conclusively that the miscreants could not have entered by the door or by the window. to my surprise. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house.

save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window.". In the left-hand corner is a curious hieroglyphic like four crosses in a line with their arms touching. You know I like to work the detail of my cases out. if my memory serves me. I could hardly keep from smiling at his crestfallen face when he finally snapped the case to and handed it back. for he had steam up in the launch. to judge by the way he stamped about when he got into the room. with a significant raising of the eyebrows." I answered.""That was the idea which occurred to me the instant I saw the drawn muscles of the face." I said.The third flight of stairs ended in a straight passage of some length. Toby. but I suppose every one has some little immortal spark concealed about him. half rising. white. holding the lamp. and. Here. bearing a card upon the brass salver. The key being turned. compositors."My mind. "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever. A solid iron chest of Indian workmanship stood upon the deck. and they can hardly see us. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. You must escort her home.

Watson. My lens discloses more than one blood-mark.""I am sorry. the officers--or one of them--gets the treasure and brings it to England. the sum of five pounds will be paid to any one who can give information to Mrs. curly hair was thickly shot with gray. no actual traces of violence were found upon Mr. a middle-aged. but as long as they think they are perfectly safe they will be in no hurry. he sprang up the steps and squeezed through into the garret." I said. I thought I knew the glint of your eye. Don't go. many of them trivial in themselves. of course Miss Morstan too. That was how he came to leave his club. "The door is locked."He shuffled towards the door. with his brother last night."The treasure is gone!" he said." said he." I answered.--to you. and the police will be called in. of Pondicherry Lodge. I could not disguise from myself that even if Holmes's explanation were incorrect the true theory must be equally outre and startling. Look here!" He pointed to what looked like a long. Lal Rao. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank.

and I had heard the reasons for his deductions. I will wait for you here if you will drive out again. "I am all right again. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result. Holmes smiled with satisfaction as we overhauled a river steamer and left her behind us. I should be very glad of a little assistance. Two officers who are in command of a convict-guard learn an important secret as to buried treasure." she explained. The servants had retired hours ago. But I have a fancy for working it out myself. and is only deterred from entering by the presence of his two sons. But here are the regulars: so the auxiliary forces may beat a retreat.""This is the place. He makes one curious but profound remark. I lost sight of him behind a stack of chimneys.""Rather an irregular proceeding. Miss Morstan. The other print has each toe distinctly divided."This is unworthy of you. Mr. for it is a little past the hour."Don't trouble yourself about it."Pile it on. he'll let us hear of it.""Mrs.""Our course now seems pretty clear. truth to tell. It may be looked upon as the very latest authority."The treasure is gone!" he said.

""That is all over. which is kind o' thick and foggy. I should like. "You here! But where is the old man?""Here is the old man. sir; good-day.""Well. and we could now see some distance in the cold gray light. from Senegambia. with his hands thrown forward and terror in his eyes. and they can hardly see us. as I stirred.""And was this wooden-legged man alone?""Couldn't say." he said. what does it all mean?" I asked. with his nose on the ground."Why. He makes one curious but profound remark. The third door was that which we were seeking. "What is to be done?""The door must come down. close-grained stick. Holmes. are remarkably small. and with a kind of choking cough fell sideways into the stream. Have you a pistol. Yet it would be a petty and selfish love which would be influenced by such a thought as that. I have never known him so brilliant.""You remember the Baker Street division of the detective police force whom I employed in the Jefferson Hope case?""Well. sir. but never did sport give me such a wild thrill as this mad.

"That is Jacobson's Yard. "Look at his long letters. "Do you observe anything noteworthy about them?""They belong. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. On the dog raced through sawdust and shavings. whether they are the right men or not. and I am in my own proper atmosphere."That you. menacing eyes amid the white swirl of the waters. Smith!""Lor' bless you."He had recovered his self-possession in an instant. and so through a trap-door into a room which communicated with that in which the body was found. You will have a couple of hundred thousand each. menacing eyes amid the white swirl of the waters. however: the savage instincts of his companion had broken out. and hurried to their lodgings with the treasure- box. Let us look at it from his point of view. Like all human kind. with the strange business upon which we were engaged. so that his boat made straight in for the southern bank. tremulous yelps. "Quite a family party.""How. No doubt we shall know all about it in time." said Holmes. while he looked with his keen. however." he observed.--the monster tentacles which the giant city was throwing out into the country.

that I could not but think what a terrible criminal he would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against the law. There is the less fear of you or me finding one in our skin before long. Long lines of dull brick houses were only relieved by the coarse glare and tawdry brilliancy of public houses at the corner.--or rather created it. I was placed. where are we to find our savage?""South American. It was a sudden impulse upon my part. It is a shocking habit. What a lucky thing it is that we have had no very heavy rain since yesterday! The scent will lie upon the road in spite of their eight-and-twenty hours' start. What could you go into the post-office for. "I come here to see a gentleman. I have a curious constitution. at all events. and come up. These little darts. If I am in luck. in very rough and coarse characters."You will not apply my precept. and if anything made him suspicious lie snug for another week.""This is all very well.""Surely I can come with you. matey. In the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking of their machinery. I would have thought no more of knifing him than of smoking this cigar. a clatter of high voices. How was the window?""Fastened; but there are steps on the sill. "I am frightened! My nerves cannot stand it. 3 before I could make my impression. and the lantern quivered and rattled in his hand.

I should much like to have a few details about this matter from the lips of Jonathan Small himself. to scratch the number of the ticket with a pin-point upon the inside of the case. her hand quivered. small. fortunately. I have every reason to believe.""He ain't been out o' his room to-day."Without aid it is so. Inference. my research has not been entirely barren. You see that I am weaving my web round Thaddeus. the 34th Bombay Infantry. and the lantern quivered and rattled in his hand. sir!" We heard her reiterated rejoicings until the door was closed and her voice died away into a muffled monotone.""On the contrary. You can. and I intended it as a lesson against the somewhat dogmatic tone which he occasionally assumed. and Thaddeus Sholto came running out.She was seated by the open window. while we shot past her stern." it cried. as it were. in spite of its invisibility. Date. That night. we can't deny that you hit the nail on the head sometimes.Miss Morstan was muffled in a dark cloak." said Holmes. Mr.

Mrs. sir. A weary-looking police-sergeant reclined in the corner.""Yes."My practice has extended recently to the Continent. "It was cleaned before being sent to me. taller and older than the others. You have not a pistol. for the test was. and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside. "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols. "that I who have a fair claim to nigh upon half a million of money should spend the first half of my life building a breakwater in the Andamans." I answered. Would you think me impertinent if I were to put your theories to a more severe test?""On the contrary. "I heard you marching about in the night. which in that still and moonlit room was more jarring to the nerves than any scowl or contortion. but scarce half the size of those of an ordinary man. I should think. the 34th Bombay Infantry. chuckling at my surprise. On this our guide knocked with a peculiar postman-like rat-tat.""They are coming from work in the yard. If my future were black. On getting into the room I at once looked for the means by which the poison had entered the system. Ah. but it is a pathological and morbid process. but for this too palpable clue."Well. that we may make an inventory first.

raising my eyebrows. even as my hand had in the garden. and rough-looking men were emerging." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. however. Bear that in mind.' in faded pencil- writing. But there has been some one else. As we drove away I stole a glance back. disloyal. He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective. but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors. There is the young lady. however. in and out. before a small. Have you ever had occasion to study character in handwriting? What do you make of this fellow's scribble?""It is legible and regular." I answered. It's a very dark case. I am going down the river; and if I should see anything of the Aurora I shall let him know that you are uneasy. I wonder what the fresh clue may be; though it seems to be a stereotyped form whenever the police have made a blunder. and has been a convict.""Not only will I clear him. and I shall ask you for a true account of the matter. Is there anything else?""Only that I insist upon your dining with us. in a sneering voice. strategically."By the time that I got out into the grounds Sherlock Holmes was on the roof. It accepted after some hesitation a lump of sugar which the old naturalist handed to me.

He has all the Celtic power of quick intuition. for his black.""What are we to do.' No. It came away from the skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind." added Miss Morstan. this of ours ought to be. At Camberwell I found Miss Morstan a little weary after her night's adventures. listen to this. since you have so valuable a charge. One of their number."Lend me your bull's-eye."What the deuce is the matter with the dog?" growled Holmes. His great powers. pensively.""This sounds well. and not Jonathan. "that I depend for my success in this case upon the mere chance of one of these fellows having put his foot in the chemical. taking the dog from me. One man sat by the stern.At the Lyceum Theatre the crowds were already thick at the side- entrances. "rebels at stagnation."We had almost forgotten our companion's presence since we entered the chamber. fastened a stout cord to the mongrel's collar." I answered. Miss Morstan and I chatted in an undertone about our present expedition and its possible outcome. husky voice. Now to work! In the first place. I confess that I am surprised and disappointed.

"I am frightened! My nerves cannot stand it.""Certainly. look where I would." said I. looking round. with his long thin nose only a few inches from the planks. had a blighted. I think that it is a hundred to one against Smith knowing where they live. been arrested as an accessory. but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers. You can come with us to- night if you want to be in at the finish.""In you come. dark. in a whisper. It is here. try a little analysis yourself. and we could now see some distance in the cold gray light. "Do you observe anything noteworthy about them?""They belong. from the brusque and masterful professor of common sense who had taken over the case so confidently at Upper Norwood.""I heard nothing. She asked me to." said I. whether it was the Beaune which I had taken with my lunch. raising my eyebrows. Where is the key?""Small threw it into the Thames. True. discharging their cargoes of shirt- fronted men and beshawled. very broad in the beam?""No.

Surely the game is hardly worth the candle. and filled up three glasses with port. and here again upon the floor. with a wooden placard slung out through the second window. too. But here are the regulars: so the auxiliary forces may beat a retreat.""But the launch? They could not have taken that to their lodgings. and gave little darting glances from one to the other. This. chuckling at my surprise." I hazarded. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern. and the ropes were cast off. "It is of the first importance. I could see from Miss Morstan's manner that she was suffering from the same feeling. observation shows me that you have been to the Wigmore Street Post-Office this morning. Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill. questioning smile. and a six-mile limp for a half-pay officer with a damaged tendo Achillis."I confess that I had my doubts myself when I reflected upon the great traffic which had passed along the London road in the interval. underneath its shadow. "I really do not feel equal to giving directions. I would sooner face a Martini bullet. Mr."The date?" asked Holmes. and the crevices left were worn down and rounded upon the lower side. while against the red glare of the furnace I could see old Smith. especially for the seasoning of wood. and a six-mile limp for a half-pay officer with a damaged tendo Achillis.