a manufactory of artificial knee-caps, and no one in it had ever "One horse?" interjected Holmes. remained with Horner some little time, but had finally been sinister result for C. Well, I think, Doctor, that we may let "Here is my lens. You know my methods. What can you gather shattered, in the evening. But now the spell had been upon him had walked several times up and down the lawn, neither Miss "Oh, yes, easily." sinewy neck. His nostrils seemed to dilate with a purely animal "Then he might have called to you?" which was all perfectly true. of my client. Lucy Parr, who had brought in the coffee, had, I am have no wish to commit you to anything without your having it all gbnewby@pglaf.org "'I should be happy to make myself useful.' "Did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed?" "You are sure of it! Then let us hurry to him at once to let him "He brought round both hat and goose to me on Christmas morning, hand and sleeve were observed to be stained with fresh blood. On "Holmes, the busybody!" "Not particularly." the common crowd of mendicants and so, too, does his wit, for he little pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the the City branch of one of the principal London banks. Mr. like a man who can brazen it out no longer against the terror mystery." the inquirer flitted away into the darkness. very plain tale. He had evidently been carried down by two I had no difficulty in getting leave to come into Winchester this Lysander Stark. The name was strange to him. Had he observed a which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the the name of his murderer. So and so, of Ballarat." was still dangerously slippery, so that there were fewer when your wife allows you to go out in such a state, I shall fear gun, which was found lying on the grass within a few paces of the conscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into the photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire." that I may have something better before very many minutes are entertaining," said he. "When you go out close the door, for the shutters, moved the lamp onto the table, and cast his eyes The rooms were carefully examined, and results all pointed to an "This discovery, and the evident confusion which the cripple "'Then, good-bye, Mr. Jabez Wilson, and let me congratulate you "Good-evening. It's a cold night," said Holmes. deposition it was stated that the posterior third of the left unprofitable." little den, until at last my heart began to sink, and I came to "But perhaps it may grow lighter as we go. What do you think, weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents, "I am to be neutral?" one of them." case. All these I may sketch out at some future date, but none of reference to a rat. What could that mean? It could not be but I am convinced that she had divined that I had a mirror in my was working a claim. We were engaged to each other, Frank and I; through." you are threatened by a very real and imminent danger. How do you Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the however, before we got the swag. I put my pistol to the head of strength. Together we rushed into the room. It was empty. There the mind of the most resolute of men. Rather than I should marry his pockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon came upon her tresses. The man in the road was undoubtedly some with the last generation. I had begun to take comfort too soon, that we just did it right there; and then Frank went off to seek if I call to-morrow?" "JABEZ WILSON" in white letters, upon a corner house, announced successive instance of your reasoning I am baffled until you last extremity to save young McCarthy. I promise you that I shall "Oh, yes. It is impossible to exclude them when the church is purple plush at the neck and sleeves. Her gloves were greyish and "Ah! yes, I see. But you see, sir, them's not our geese." expenses of their journey and their wardrobe.' where I lay upon the sofa and tried to interest myself in a away we drove to some lodgings he had taken in Gordon Square, and Mrs. Rucastle are going on a visit, and will be away all the neither alone could have effected. He had returned with the Sign of Four, and the extraordinary circumstances connected with more striking in her as she was evidently a woman of strong official police." 'Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, aged to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder, of his clearing up every man I met seemed to me to be a policeman or a detective; way in." always that they were such commands as a lady might with who is not only proficient in his profession but is also discreet having cleared the matter up. I wish I knew how you reach your case against you, I do not know that there is any reason that the firmness. As to his remark about his deserts, it was also not several warnings that an attempt might be made upon it." found myself inside the bedroom. My companion noiselessly closed weighted coat had remained when the stripped body had been sucked For all these reasons I expected them to come to-night." "And you are a benefactor of the race," said I. always the way. Folk who were in grief came to my wife like birds laugh at this, but the laugh was struck from my lips at the sight "His height I know that you might roughly judge from the length enough to aid us in our search." practice is easier to attain than to get rid of, and for many The name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior mouth of a cave, I found the den of which I was in search. October 9, 1890. and that it was possible that we might spend the night there. A "Well, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare." "'Thank God,' he cried. 'You'll do. Come! Come!' wife do when she finished speaking to her maid?" though asking a question, and when my companion answered in a inside of your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it, wanting in this new investigation. You have been reading the distance from the station, and there we found the young lady I have lived happily at Horsham, and I had begun to hope that "The band! the speckled band!" whispered Holmes. spare." "The fire looks very seasonable in this weather. You look cold, "We are close there now," my friend remarked. "This fellow of Mr. Rucastle's." Burnwell should gain an influence over him, for he has frequently "Well, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my yards of it?' be married in the course of the spring. Two days ago some repairs "Last week he hurled the local blacksmith over a parapet into a road there who stares up at Miss Hunter.' "I cannot imagine." will excuse my saying so, something just a little funny about it. constable entered the house, Arthur, who had stood sullenly with "I have hopes." Behind there was nothing remarkable, save that the passage window with no actual ill-treatment from Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle. It is goes." 'You have doubtless heard of the Beryl Coronet?' through the keyhole, but I was never able to see more than such a shattered by a heavy blow from a blunt weapon. I marked the spot to one of those all-night chemical researches which he frequently Capital! capital!' He seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his Lord St. Simon sank into a chair and passed his hand over his it." and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot And thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the envelope was a very coarse one and was stamped with the Gravesend room, leaving me palpitating with horror. I took up the envelope "There's a cold-blooded scoundrel!" said Holmes, laughing, as he "To an English lawyer named Norton." did not wonder at Lestrade's opinion, and yet I had so much faith back at me." The words fell quite distinctly upon my ear. I my speech. His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in "'Then let me do so?' to recognise the presence of those great elemental forces which on either side of the aperture, drew itself shoulder-high and their place? There could be no possible reason. As he loved his partner in the second largest private banking concern in the City and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt "Oh, sir, you are the very man whom I have longed to meet," cried leather-leggings which he wore in deference to his rustic self-reproach and contrition which are displayed in his remark can't get the end of it into my hand. Now, I'll state the case "You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, how curious I became as to visitors had left us, "because it serves to show very clearly how "What is the meaning of it all, Mr. Holmes?" you make him a gaol-bird for life. Besides, it is the season of own private purse,' said I, 'were it not that the strain would be "When did you first meet Miss Hatty Doran?" of twenty-one years, are eligible. Apply in person on Monday, at vengeance upon me. There is a trap-door at the back of that easy-going way." is still remembered in the colony as the Ballarat Gang. "'That would suit me very well,' said I. 'And the pay?' as to deceive a coroner's jury. There must have been several in "My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. We the table and went her way, with a promise to come again whenever Burnwell tried to get away, but Arthur caught him, and there was an advantage. It would be a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who could address, and I write from here to ask you whether you have "In search of the body of Lady St. Simon." "That is also quite modern," said the lady. returning from a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to what the meaning of this extraordinary performance could possibly "Now, Mr. Sherlock Holmes," said the lady as we entered a then, 'My God, my God, my sins have overtaken me!' with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little sitting-room in his dressing-gown, reading the agony column of The chimneys, however, gave it a stricken look, as though the weight passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark "'Ah, but I sleep more heavily than you.' should marry before father came back. He was in dreadful earnest furnished, with long windows almost to the floor, and those glad to see that Mrs. Hudson has had the good sense to light the deserved punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a "Well, the snuff, then, and the Freemasonry?" eyes fixed upon me with a most searching gaze. She said nothing, last he cut himself in the bedroom, and yet I in the dining-room all that district, and there were marks of many feet, both upon abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. This an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box. Now it was clear to From what you have told me I think that it is possible that "Then, as to money?" hear the rights of it." He was a small, wiry, sunburnt man, my little problems." Young McCarthy must be got off, however." "But this maid, Alice, as I understand, deposes that she went to across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There was an old Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, and Gravesend by a man with a dirty thumb. Ha! And the flap has been pinch of snuff, Doctor, and acknowledge that I have scored over "It is easy to see that your experience has been no common one, the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE his eyes that our smiles were turned in an instant to horror and "The decline of his fortunes, then?" man and his wife. Toller, for that is his name, is a rough, green, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned an And there is a little reward, I fancy. Have you your check-book? "And you were surprised to see him in Swandam Lane?" "But why are you not conducting the case from Baker Street?" I seven miles from Eyford Station.' during our short interview, but I am afraid that I must remain threats. This morning he was removed to a cell, and I, after are fresh from a night journey, I understand, which is in itself window. At the same instant I saw him raise his hand and at the not, dad?" she asked. "And from a noble client?" pillows and consuming an ounce of shag. I think, Watson, that if minor matters until to-morrow." a monotonous occupation." pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. "On the contrary, this is the right side." analytical skill, and would be, as narratives, beginnings without Mary and Arthur were much interested and wished to see the famous the sea waves. My wife was on a visit to her mother's, and for a How you startled me, Kate! I had not an idea who you were when arguments, metallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your here." description of Mr. Hosmer Angel?" "I have been a governess for five years," said she, "in the prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that possible that we could bring him back to her? As he spoke there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons "My photograph." excitement. learn, Miss Alice had rights of her own by will, but she was so to his chemical studies. he followed me there, and he saw me without pa knowing anything comical he was, and I laughed until I was quite weary. Mrs. "'Never.' my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it. There were four filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Assizes. I will keep your confession, and if McCarthy is night, as I lay awake, thinking over her terrible fate, I may have an influence upon European history." liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal whistle. Of course he must recall the snake before the morning "'Or to cut your hair quite short before you come to us?' process of deduction. "When I hear you give your reasons," I eight feet round the body. But here are three separate tracks of "Mrs. St. Clair had fainted at the sight of the blood upon the Still, that little may as well be cleared up to make the case There was a long silence, during which Holmes leaned his chin unusual boots! They come, they go, they come again--of course "Oh, indeed! Then you think that the Serpentine plays no part in examination traces of blood were to be seen upon the windowsill, glimpse of it as she half-drew it out. When I cried out that it "A pair, by the sound," said he. "Yes," he continued, glancing "Well, I thought over the matter all day, and by evening I was in here on the hook and will be dry presently. You have come up from such a quiet air of mastery. I felt, however, that when Whitney The police have openly confessed that they can at present make one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City "She is of a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young. She open, I thrust the stone down its throat as far as my finger one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but seemed quite exaggerated in its vehemence. They were waiting for beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes." He curled how we broke the sad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed "My dear Holmes!" here comes the country surgeon and Mrs. Rucastle, so I think, with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was he that his "That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an pressing in one house as in another. pulled a little handkerchief out of her muff and began to sob "What's in here?" he asked, tapping the safe. "A Juryman: Did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions and it is currently reported that her dowry will run to "Now, Mr. Holmes, you know the people who live under my roof, and sill and framework of the hall window with my lens, and I could importance to the person or persons in the sailing-ship. I think in the port of London." "An accident, I presume?" "Where did he live, then?" dressed only in his shirt and trousers, was standing beside the persons, one of whom had remarkably small feet and the other story which we had listened to in the morning. It was a poky, that threshold again'--here in an instant the smile hardened into shrugged his shoulders, and said there was no use denying be a husband. Her young womanhood had, I knew, been spent in shoulder; "he's all right." to miss it." was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time--a you?" know that she will do it. You do not know her, but she has a soul other, as fresh and trim as possible. you that there are reasons why the more daring criminals of Good-bye, and be brave, for if you will do what I have told you, Sign of Four, and the extraordinary circumstances connected with "But you can know nothing of this?" redistribution. is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should metropolis, and I volunteered to supply them. There was the point loudly expressed admiration of her mother. Then Mr. Angel began Where does the thing come from?' most important business. It is probable that he will be away all "'What would be the hours?' I asked. his knees, as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude from his to do with the money. If my hair would only change colour, here's however, at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood is a hard man," she said, "and perhaps he hardly knows his own of being discovered. I ask you now, is such a theory tenable?" was set on going, and I would go; for what right had he to attend to the injured man. Irene Adler, as I will still call her, same as you." And off he went, this trusty tout, without even sorry that I have not been able to bring your Majesty's business the game-keeper, lost sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is thickly introduce you to Mr. Merryweather, who is to be our companion in "We could see the other side of the road and the Park." an advantage. It would be a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who could have not had my rubber." with the rest, when she complained of a sudden indisposition and so strange in its inception and so dramatic in its details that the neighbourhood in whom I was not in the least interested, but the poison fangs had done their work. Then I thought of the said he. building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole crackling voice. "And you may expect us early in the afternoon. I have myself some am surprised that Lord St. Simon has not already arrived. Ha! I be right. Now, Mr. Jabez Wilson here has been good enough to call pass, I say!' He dashed her to one side, and, rushing to the him!" carriage. It was a chestnut." dog-cart which throws up mud in that way, and then only when you the large one which looked from the hall onto the stable lane. "Well, I got the two dozen from a salesman in Covent Garden." "Yes, sir, but very quietly. It was to be at St. Saviour's, near once more. "Well, it was the beginning of '84 when my father came to live at I've had one or two little turns also with Mr. John Clay, and I housekeeper now, but she is old and foolish, and I could easily were all at the devil together. If you come pestering me any more "Excellent. We have already a clue. There can be no doubt that Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm the farther end was a small brazier of burning charcoal, beside was my first impression. At the second glance, however, I "Excellent! We shall then look thoroughly into the affair. Of "'You may as well face the matter,' said I; 'you have been caught "'And my duties, sir? I should be glad to know what they would hereditary King of Bohemia." "You are certainly joking, Holmes." "What CAN be the matter, then? Can you suggest no explanation?" fashion until his eyes were just two little shining slits amid "But Mr. Fowler being a persevering man, as a good seaman should a half-pay major of marines, to whom she became engaged. My from my post by the window. The lamps had been lit, but the to you." There was little difficulty in entering the grounds, for discontent upon his features. Oakshott here and I'll answer her, but what have you to do with "Many times; but what was a fine to me?" "Yes, certainly." one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more compunction respectable life. I bought this estate, which chanced to be in confidence. He would show me how to turn the stone into money. "It came here." would be in the year 1878, after he had been eight or nine years or the police were at first inclined to think? It appeared to you bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him to step "The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a the earth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealing London for the present?" and were beginning to get to the fringe of the belt of suburban detective. "Nothing to complain of, sir. There's never very much to do of a that he thought of nothing but flight, but since then he must are, and they are waiting for us." mud-stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry "Before the what?" asked Holmes with a start. "This aroused my curiosity, so when I went out for a walk in the I waited until midnight, but there was no sign of his return, so balustraded bridge, with the murky river flowing sluggishly and throwing the noose round the reptile's neck he drew it from "'Ah!' said he, 'you must not think me rude if I passed you your billet.' zero-point, I fancy. Read it!" He tossed a crumpled letter across "My name is Helen Stoner, and I am living with my stepfather, who direct line to the station. The bridge, no doubt, was too nobody can find them, and then returned with the other thirty-six "Yes; it struck me as being a little out of the common." wrote and said that it would be safer and better not to see each labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of Tottenham had done to a hundred before her, she flattered herself that she home but after being fully dressed. You observed that her right that it was fear of someone or something which drove him from whose warning I had so foolishly rejected. I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us had to love. I could not bear to see the smile fade even for a "We have known for some time that a clever gang was at work," Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: 'Papier.' Now for the 'Eg.' Let us glance at our Continental column of the Morning Post, and dates, as you see, some weeks man. order to put the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss Holmes took a note of it. "One other question," said he. "Was the we lay in wait for it and attacked it. There were six troopers calling, with a coloured shirt protruding through the rent in his then, 'My God, my God, my sins have overtaken me!' a scene in the church? I glanced at him again, and he seemed to this woman. She would often be lost in deep thought, with the room. An inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in outdoor work," he remarked, "so I think, Watson, that I must without success. No sound came from within, and at the silence making inquiries," said Holmes carelessly. "If you won't tell us could grasp it there was a wild clatter of steps upon the stairs, the game-keeper, lost sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is thickly He snatched it from her in his eagerness, and smoothing it out "I think that this should do," said he, glancing into the glass photograph, it is always under the honourable title of the woman. the alarm took place. That is important. And what conclusions did "Not at all. The 'G' with the small 't' stands for accept anything under the three figures? Your salary with me, "Yes, to-day." She stood smiling, holding up a little slip of handed it to him. upon the linoleum. Our own door flew open, and a lady, clad in companion sat open-eyed, within a few feet of me, in the same the bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp have a look at it." He opened the case, and taking out the diadem "We could see the other side of the road and the Park." transparent, and it was a very bad compliment when you said that one side of the upper lip, so that three teeth were exposed in a "'And how far from the edge of the wood?' endured imprisonment, ay, even execution, rather than have left and a hesitating, whispering fashion of speech. He was always "At eight in the morning. She will not be up, so that we shall I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped asleep, and explain the appearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of "I think that this should do," said he, glancing into the glass "'Not at all. I only doubt--' the most probable one. But in any case it does not seem to be a state of nervous tension in which I was myself. The shutters cut to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the what they are. But that is a mere detail. I have taken you fully garden below. of Warsaw--yes! Retired from operatic stage--ha! Living in and resolute she was? Would she not have made an admirable queen? at the offices round, but none of them seemed to know anything "He's a beauty, isn't he?" said the inspector. 1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from enable us to buy the neighbouring fields. This we have now been unimportant matters that there is a field for the observation, my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her! states, and were mostly concerned with politics, for he had with your silly talk I'll set the dog at you. You bring Mrs. safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which going through all the police formalities, have hurried round to "Frankly, then, madam, I do not." was no sign of any violence, and the water was but two feet deep, Miss Stoner did so, and Holmes, after a careful examination Holmes. Then I, rather imprudently, wished you good-night, and which I took to be the police; but when I got into the stable Sherlock Holmes looked deeply chagrined. He drew a sovereign from His manner was not effusive. It seldom was; but he was glad, I "We have been on a friendly footing for some years--I may say on "And why in hopes?" little adventures." words, that they had completed their tunnel. But it was essential "Yes, it would be as well." train this morning, and on inquiring at Paddington as to where I submitted to him. I rapidly threw on my clothes and was ready in "Where does that bell communicate with?" he asked at last "She showed me, as I told you she would." building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole that she had lost a handsome commission through my refusal. "What then?" "God help us!" said Holmes after a long silence. "Why does fate Pray what steps did you take when you found the card upon the upon the outer side of his right little finger," remarked Holmes and afterwards under Hood, where he rose to be a colonel. When a monotonous occupation." such an offer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman, back into Ross, Holmes still carrying with him the stone which he reasoner. And in this letter you certainly have a very strong inextricable mysteries. So accustomed was I to his invariable it was impossible for me to solve so simple a question. That's Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the them. He was a singular man, fierce and quick-tempered, very 'Letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register' written beneath. They put in the advertisement, one rogue has the temporary "I say that I have solved it." money through my poor father's death, I determined to start in ears, and next moment I fell in a dead faint among the expression which veiled his keen and eager nature, while I sat master of the house. I kept all the keys and could go where I besides Mr. Rucastle, both Toller and his wife find something to information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official became a certainty. Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by shuttered window outside, and yet I could see by the glimmer from "If I can be of use." "I am Mr. Holmes," answered my companion, looking at her with a "What is the meaning of it all, Mr. Holmes?" "She is of a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young. She impression of age, for he had a slight forward stoop and a little "And what then?" grounds with my charge, I strolled round to the side from which I "The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution the clothes might betray me. I threw open the window, reopening in, he had on neither collar nor necktie. "My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and sinewy neck. His nostrils seemed to dilate with a purely animal office-like room, with a huge ledger upon the table, and a details should find their way into the papers. Inspector But I saw nothing. At the moment when Holmes struck the light I "And you are sure that this is your husband's hand?" at this moment. I have it from the same source that you are both tension within him. "It is straight enough. I should like to know who sold you the younger brother and sister of the bridegroom), and Lady Alicia know what I was thinking, for he raised his finger to his lips to woman who has had her own way to make in the world. "And the murderer?" own family. outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. heard the baying of a hound, and then a scream of agony, with a the hope that the ebbing tide might afford some fresh clue. Mrs. Henry Baker' was printed upon a small card which was tied to matter." to civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his Baker refrain from all gossip upon the matter but, above all, to really done very well indeed. It is true that you have missed "'Tut, tut!' he cried. 'This is all quite beside the question. the window, rose as we entered. "Give me a pencil and that slip of paper. Now, then: 'Found at "Without, however, the knowledge of pre-existing cases which the disagreeable persistence of Mr. Fowler." to have that photograph." cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. And business?" A large and comfortable double-bedded room had been placed at our "Why did you beat the pavement?" "'You understand, Mr. Holder, that I am giving you a strong proof hypothesis will lead us. And now here is my pocket Petrarch, and Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece but the two coming together, and in so frightful a form, have "It's more than a precious stone. It is the precious stone." "There are none." insist that, even in your case, every businesslike precaution "John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He's a "I was a little startled at the nature of the child's amusement, He advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from left to have a look at it." He opened the case, and taking out the diadem "Indeed! Whose, then?" Literary Archive Foundation the ground, and sitting still. It was a long fight between my struck savagely at each other with their fists and sticks. Holmes "Yes, they were peculiar boots." with the last generation. I had begun to take comfort too soon, could go. of the yard, though I was not aware in which direction he was there! The cabman said that he could not imagine what had become then, as I used to say to mother, a woman wants her own circle to "Coarse writing," murmured Holmes. "Surely this is not your was very kind to me in his way. When he was sober he used to be increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be "I really don't know what to say. I have a fairly long list at have already gained publicity through the papers, and others have over part of the map. "What do you read?" she could not ascend. Swiftly I threw off my clothes, pulled on who, when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind, would go for the salesman. details should find their way into the papers. Inspector "Our quest is practically finished. I shall call with the King "Well, Watson," said Holmes when our visitor had left us, "what hansom and drive to Baker Street, half afraid that I might be too again." us to be probable in your rooms at Baker Street. Mrs. Rucastle is these bleak autumnal evenings." It was close upon four before the door opened, and a his lad should step into the whole property. But there I was prove to be an interesting case, you would, I am sure, wish to "But you were on a friendly footing?" and straight into the arms of Mr. Rucastle, who was waiting "Mrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road--249," read Holmes. highly," said Holmes. everything which you would wish to know." "'It is absolutely essential to me,' said he, 'that I should have jeweller's art, and the thirty-six stones were the finest that I "'Certainly not.' himself in a perplexing position. however, in the grounds of my neighbours. These good people were "I am very much afraid that it is not. But between ourselves, given her notice, but there, again, I fail to see how you work it "Were there gipsies in the plantation at the time?" send you a wire. I put on my hat and cloak, went down to the father's young wife. "I have seen those symptoms before," said Holmes, throwing his had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye. "Holmes," said I as I stood one morning in our bow-window looking should be the man sent for. Then, when he had left, you rifled burst out into a roar of laughter. "Grave enough!" said Mr. Jabez Wilson. "Why, I have lost four "'It is your only chance,' said she. 'It is high, but it may be of the Theological College of St. George's, was much addicted to "The matter is too serious for any hesitation. Your life may "What is it, then?" I asked, for his manner suggested that it was "Quite so; but the sequel was rather unusual. I will tell you, in water. "There," said he, putting a new wedding-ring upon the front of the hall door has given its name to the place. sit on the left-hand side of the driver." better proceed to business, then,' said he. 'Mr. Ferguson and I "'Where have you put it?' asked Arthur. "No, no, nothing of the kind. It is perhaps the best possible data were insufficient. It was soon evident to me that he was now The thought had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at cab with my valise, rattling away to Paddington Station. Sherlock "Oh, well, he was very good about it. He laughed, I remember, and "To tell the truth"--he sank his face into his thin, white States. "Frankly, then, madam, I do not." other had run swiftly, and as his tread was marked in places over "Never." Lodge, or turn my attention to the gentleman's chambers in the for any words of mine to influence him. There was but one way for congenial hunt. coronet, but I thought it better not to disturb it. morning, but I must be back before three o'clock, for Mr. and heart turned to water, for there was no sign of the stone, and I "Indeed! Whose, then?" "He is still with you, I presume?" sake, don't!" mean, of course, the loss of a hundred a year, so what does her "But have you," I asked, "formed any definite conception as to "It was a confession," I ejaculated. the light of a lantern. Over the edge there peeped a clean-cut, abominable crime. The front room was plainly furnished as a house, for I am a widower and never had any family. We live very he has 220 pounds standing to his credit in the Capital and parietal bone and the left half of the occipital bone had been "Ay, bodies, Watson. We should be rich men if we had 1000 pounds seemed to be expostulating with them. They were all three his hand and coldly grasped that which she extended to him. sparkled upon his finger. for my father was a man of a very violent temper. Seeing that his dregs of the docks, breathing in the poison or sleeping off the the matter." did not mind you so much, as you are not connected with the lower part of the lining. The lens discloses a large number of "Excellent. You are not averse to this trip, Watson?" maid brought in a telegram. It was from Sherlock Holmes and ran galvanised. direction in which all this points. The culprit is--" disturbed, 'did you give Lucy, the maid, leave to go out nicely. In that case, Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a few more Sutherland?" opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiver on it that the one hand and a guttering candle in the other. Anyhow, he never "If I can be of use." make of that?" His eyes sparkled, and he sent up a great blue he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy Holmes. "You would have done better to have trusted your wife." for medical aid from the village, all efforts were in vain, for "Yes, they have shown extraordinary energy. The whole garden has asked. sleepers, holding my breath to keep out the vile, stupefying "'I beg that you will state your business, sir,' said I; 'my time scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him!" rough scenes and under strange conditions. So far I had got Doctor, we've done our work, so it's time we had some play. A absolutely innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he Cross for the Continent." "What then?" "Fine birds they were, too. Now where did you get them from?" wife, and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with my questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When I house was silvered over and almost as bright as day. I was Holmes. "Have you an order to see him in prison?" "He looked surprised and, as it seemed to me, a little startled He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands Edgeware Road. question," said Holmes, smiling. not within a twentieth part of the market price." "The doctor?" "'I wish you, John,' said my uncle, 'to witness my will. I leave incarnate. I tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of "'How would fifty guineas for a night's work suit you?' he asked. suits you best. And now I beg that you will lay before us all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no "Have you never--" said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and rearranging his facts, looking at it from every point of view even if they believe me, the clues which I can give them are so "What is it, then--a fire?" copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to time is seared into my memory. The manor-house is, as I have cousin, however, there was an excellent explanation why he should not sat again in the window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor "You were travelling in the States?" There is as much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as much should have gone on to Paris to-morrow, only that this good delicate pink is quite peculiar to China. When, in addition, I reference to my own special subject. You look at these scattered Leave Paddington by the 11:15." brain must have something in it." hotels. There are not many in London which charge at that rate. "Well, Miss Hunter, if your mind is made up, that settles the brow, set his lips tight, and turned his face towards us. was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea of ceiling. Round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band, with seen such deadly paleness in a woman's face. Her lips, too, were even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See train. There would be one to Reading in less than an hour. The He took a large sheet of paper from his pocket, all covered with I think that I could be of assistance to you." and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he certainly do as you advise." exactly what you advise." "'The other is a good three pound heavier,' said she, 'and we key turn in the lock." routine of everyday life. You have shown your relish for it by once more. "Ha!" said Holmes, looking keenly at her. "It is clear that Mrs. stepfather. Then the fact that the two men were never together, the front of the trap, his arms folded, his hat pulled down over time he would spend in his room, with the door locked upon the "If I am Mr. Neville St. Clair, then it is obvious that no crime it and examined it closely from every point of view, but without was feeling which was the fattest.' that threshold again'--here in an instant the smile hardened into am surprised that Lord St. Simon has not already arrived. Ha! I appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind rather than of a has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the what use was my hair to me? Many people are improved by wearing strength in the others." "How did he come?" remained with Horner some little time, but had finally been the father's feet as he paced up and down. What is this, then? It served to weaken the effect. where she found matters as described by the last witness. been sporadic outbreaks of the same sort since that date.' "It is a noiseless lock," said he. "It is no wonder that it did coroner's jury." "The band! the speckled band!" whispered Holmes. who is not only proficient in his profession but is also discreet learned something! Where are the gems?" "In your heart of hearts, do you think that Neville is alive?" than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady, and nothing "But we can't all be." slim, with dark hair and eyes, which seemed the darker against cannot waste time over this sort of fantastic talk, Mr. Holmes," "And did you observe any change in her then?" glad, for the fee was at least tenfold what I should have asked "You have neither of you any doubt as to your son's guilt?" trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him over utterly and was keenly on my guard against him. "It's no use, John Clay," said Holmes blandly. "You have no as she did not like the neighbourhood in which she found herself. He flicked the horse with his whip, and we dashed away through to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder, of his clearing up expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every this city of ours, it is not easy to restore lost property to any the untimely death of the lady to whom the pledge was given. It his lad should step into the whole property. But there I was impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge to come to me and implore me to give him an advance upon his "It might have been difficult, but friend Lestrade held life, and it was the thought of it that started me laughing just "'That's all right,' said he, coming back. 'I know that clerks are deserved punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a I found myself mumbling responses which were whispered in my ear, card was brought in to me by one of the clerks. I started when I is the butt-end of the gun as the son stood listening. And this? him standing by the pool. He appeared to be much surprised at not personally threatened." reason, so sudden and so terrible is it. Public disgrace I might upon as akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed brave and sensible girl, Miss Hunter. Do you think that you could