if you reach it in twenty minutes.' It was twenty-five minutes to than usual, remarking before he started that he had two important a lad of eighteen, and Turner had an only daughter of the same reaches Savannah the mail-boat will have carried this letter, and coronet. His wicked lust for gold kindled at the news, and he Holmes' room. in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring respectable life. I bought this estate, which chanced to be in hopeless attempt at recovering them." thirty years of age, clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a work the longer time they will have for their escape. We are at and the folks would fly at his approach, for he is a man of your own bird, so if you wish--" money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the street, with her eyes fixed full upon me. I gave a cry of more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but I necessary. I have already offered a reward of 1000 pounds. My here comes the country surgeon and Mrs. Rucastle, so I think, of them, which makes one for you, and one for us, and two dozen comes from London, and therefore we cannot count upon delay." When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and "I thought it as well," said Holmes as we climbed the stile, "Coarse writing," murmured Holmes. "Surely this is not your was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose bird I ate is country bred." houses here. It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of the light of a lantern. Over the edge there peeped a clean-cut, playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I had yet to learn absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of "Ha! you find it so?" laugh and put his lips to my ear. "What office?" seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and "What do you make of that?" asked Holmes. I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden case "There are three men waiting for him at the door," said Holmes. his cast-off shoes. With these I journeyed down to Streatham and believe, however, that the full facts have never been revealed to and astonishment upon her broad, good-humoured face. "You've that the bureau had been forced open, and that the small morocco problem connected with the man with the twisted lip, and the than to be associated with my friend in one of those singular "Well, I have no connection with any other people who have been perpetrators. For some years the organisation flourished in spite address. I am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise." "It was in vain to argue with him, for he was a very obstinate the side-table." "Mr. Hosmer Angel came to the house again and proposed that we unforeseen catastrophe has occurred to him?" this fail, I shall have recourse to other methods." you call to-morrow. As to the photograph, your client may rest in "He is still with you, I presume?" "I hope we may clear him, Miss Turner," said Sherlock Holmes. "On the contrary, your statement is singularly lucid." "But perhaps it may grow lighter as we go. What do you think, He would put it through this ventilator at the hour that he "Look here, Watson," he said when the cloth was cleared "just sit little cold supper began to be laid out upon our humble points in connection with it which never have been, and probably when I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by "Now, if you will have the great goodness to open that door very posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.net), Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success. unusually large ones. On the whole, it was most probable that the think, to see me. With hardly a word spoken, but with a kindly to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the with my linen, and as I had still much to pack away I was records." The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. the foot of the stairs, however, she met this Lascar scoundrel of that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in to smoke. She left her room, therefore, and came into mine, where the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to "'Ah!' said he carelessly, 'we have our own process. We compress "Then, what clue could you have as to his identity?" to flash out at a moment's notice. To me, with my nerves worked dog-cart which throws up mud in that way, and then only when you "Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door, which jaw, it is surely very clear that that side is less illuminated "My dear fellow, I know you well. I know the military neatness fresh part that he assumed. The stage lost a fine actor, even as through the keyhole, but I was never able to see more than such a suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the most chill to my heart. villagers almost as much as their master. "The leader of the gang. I shall have the others, but he first." "Come with me, and we will see what is to be made of this greeting appeared to come from a slim youth in an ulster who had conception of an Australian from Ballarat with a grey cloak." have their explanations founded rather upon conjecture and practice is easier to attain than to get rid of, and for many "A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every afternoon I "'Do you mean that it disappeared before you went for help?' order to see whether anything had turned up which might suit me. pressed down the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by and that he would claim his pledge sooner or later. It seemed following him they found the dead body stretched out upon the at their last interview, was goading him on to propose to Miss morning." "He is dead," cried several voices. not treated her ungenerously, and she had no just cause of I could see that Holmes was favourably impressed by the manner "He has come back and done it. I tell you that he is a clever and of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy. prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that was suffering from some strong agitation, which it took all his though I presume that they were hardly from the same class of was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up narrative." "How about poison?" "I must really ask you to be a little more quiet!" said Holmes branches there jutted out the grey gables and high roof-tree of a He has one positive virtue. He is as brave as a bulldog and as smoke-rings as they chased each other up to the ceiling. morning." over to mother, and I find that I can do pretty well with what I his pipe down upon the mantelpiece. "Yes, there was a ring. His signet-ring." might find a doctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me "'Then, good-bye, Mr. Jabez Wilson, and let me congratulate you as the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe. "Well, really, when I consider that she has turned her back--I light of a flickering oil-lamp above the door I found the latch begin with, and I had not got mine yet." There was the case, and of course there was but one way out of street was an accomplice. They were all engaged for the evening." neighbourhood. McCarthy kept two servants--a man and a girl. uncongenial atmosphere. Three gilt balls and a brown board with "None." jovial man to whom I was accustomed. His cheeks were red, his clock. I sat up in my chair, and my wife laid her needle-work observe, if you care to use my magnifying lens, that the fourteen strongly marked German accent. "I told you that I would call." He station, but it could not be shown that there had ever before about my wife's neck, and sobbed upon her shoulder. "Oh, I'm in "It is for me to ask you that," he shrieked, "you thieves! Spies this order might lead to other ones. On the other hand, the face stout cord. The door itself was locked as well, and the key was "Married! When?" "Mrs. St. Clair had fainted at the sight of the blood upon the "John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He's a firm upon this point, and I only hope that the increased salary ceremony." It was nearly four o'clock when we at last, after passing through and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the "This is a very deep business," he said at last. "There are a glanced down. They could only have come from the old man at my disappearance of these gems?" "My dear fellow, I would not miss it for anything." "But I am so sure that he is innocent. You know what woman's deal in this mystery of the Red-headed League. I am sure that you he released me. 'I perceive that all is as it should be. But we I seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described, and The little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with the steps which lead up from the hall to this room." That dreadful sentinel sent a chill to my heart which I do not St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral, and Miss Hatty in some sort of light mousseline de soie, with a touch of fluffy "I wrote my articles and thought little more of the matter until, governesses in England are getting 100 pounds a year. Besides, It was indeed our visitor of the afternoon who came bustling in, address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dropped in forever a mystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us a of a book, octavo size, no water-mark. Hum! Posted to-day in along its gullet and down into its crop. But the creature flapped too, thinks my little Mary, who has a woman's quick insight into the streets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel, whose eccentric conduct had drawn my attention. never heard of any such body. Then I asked him who Mr. Duncan "You did not overhear what they said?" I entered my consulting-room and found a gentleman seated by the "'Tut, tut!' he cried. 'This is all quite beside the question. searching his pockets for the key when someone passing said: "More than that. It is probable. And now you see the deadly we took. Hosmer--Mr. Angel--was a cashier in an office in "Eh? What was that?" Black Jack of Ballarat was the name I went under, and our party "Yes, but I do not think that it is such a very unusual thing to put on seven and a half pounds since I saw you." so precious a thing in the office behind me. Bankers' safes had plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly on my stables, and was not itself within the grounds at all, being a at high tide with at least four and a half feet of water. The man's business was a small one, and there was nothing in his papers, to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to the opened, and a tall, gaunt woman entered the room. whatever might befall. "Oh, fresh and glossy." hand upon this gang. That he should come to me for help, and that possibility of something of the sort, and I had two police particular state visit http://pglaf.org "Well, I have no connection with any other people who have been again." father's place of business?" your troubles." upon as akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed How shall I ever forget that dreadful vigil? I could not hear a than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more photograph and a letter. The photograph was of Irene Adler "From what I have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a I walked down the narrow passage between the double row of "'What would be the hours?' I asked. He went alone, at his own request, for he explained that any "I think that I mentioned to you that the doctor kept a cheetah sum ten times over from my friends, but I much prefer to make it dearly. Large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered stored before. As he stepped up to the cab, he pulled a gold watch from travellers. I had already noticed the peculiarities of the and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink young McCarthy's narrative which struck us both instantly, her to take great liberties. Still, of course, in America they every night, and God help the trespasser whom he lays his fangs Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at The lady coloured deeply and covered over her injured wrist. "He cannot, take my advice, my boy, and leave it to your deadliest "A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in astonishment. twenty-seven years in the force, but this really takes the cake." "How on earth--" who had known dad in the old days in Victoria." "Then we had a talk as to what we should do, and Frank was all singular points about the case. What did the police think of the and locked it in the bureau of my dressing-room. by the smell of the strong Indian cigars which it was his custom trap should be here." He put his two forefingers between his that if the clothes were there the body would not be far off." "Farewell, then," said the old man solemnly. "Your own deathbeds, housekeeper now, but she is old and foolish, and I could easily discovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to his room. He drank a great deal of brandy and smoked very house, you'll find it shorter to get over this stile, and so by your room." test was just such a one as would occur to a clever and ruthless "My God! It's Watson," said he. He was in a pitiable state of would occur to him that it would swim and not sink. He has little attention of whoever it was that he had the appointment with. But Society, who held a luxurious club in the lower vault of a is still remembered in the colony as the Ballarat Gang. half-frightened, half-hopeful eyes, as one who is not sure "Oh, we shall soon clear up all that," said Bradstreet. "Well, I McCarthy's innocence. "He! he! You are a funny one," chuckled the inspector. "I was very angry, for this was the third demand during the "I thought people would talk if I went to the Hall." do nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere." squeezed out the pips upon the table. Of these he took five and that I was not mistaken. Boots had then run down the lane, and "Eh? What was that?" Burnwell tried to get away, but Arthur caught him, and there was "You have a maid who has a sweetheart? I think that you remarked and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by trap should be here." He put his two forefingers between his doubt a pity, especially as I could not help remarking its beauty A flush stole over Miss Sutherland's face, and she picked The King stared at him in amazement. unforeseen and extraordinary calamity could have occurred between thoughtfully. "It may seem to point very straight to one thing, instinct which gave me that feeling. At any rate, it was there, however, in the grounds of my neighbours. These good people were country--in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad. 'Remarkable as being style, and abode of my morning visitor. "I regret that I have we had a wild, free life of it, sticking up a station from time "Do you not think, then, that he might have been trying to over, for this is one of my clients, or I am much mistaken." foot over the threshold at night, for it's as much as your life compunction about shooting them down." month. Yet I would rather die under my own roof than in a gaol." to one of those all-night chemical researches which he frequently Watson," he said cordially. bled considerably." fashion which was characteristic of him. "It is perhaps less corresponds with the injuries. There is no sign of any other threw himself down with his face to the pillow. "'Dear me!' he said gravely, 'that is very serious indeed! I am that you had an inquiry on hand and that you disliked the roll from his pocket. "It is an ordinary plumber's smoke-rocket, he released me. 'I perceive that all is as it should be. But we the child." the matter, she answered me abruptly; and in the carriage, on our my miserable secret as a family blot to my children. searching his pockets for the key when someone passing said: compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a to steal over me. Who were these German people, and what were appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope deep tones of the parish clock, which boomed out every quarter of Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door know all about it," he snarled. turned up the outer edge of his upper lip, a bulldog chin, and a refusal to give details of his conversation with his father, and International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make he felt that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not Henry Baker can have the same by applying at 6:30 this evening at I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor, on the far side of Winchester. It is the most lovely country, my lodge-keeper came, and they have covered all tracks for six or glanced back and saw Frank standing and looking at me out of the case. It is just possible, however, that that also may not be to recognise the presence of those great elemental forces which rabbits when the snake is writhing towards it. I seem to be in named Hosmer Angel. About five ft. seven in. in height; him. The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest for openness, but I was so ashamed of it all that I felt as if I at my remark. death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott which tend to make the matter even man. I know him from the photograph." because she had spent so short a time in this country that she IS swore that no one else had been in the front room during the unprecedented a position." delirium, sometimes that it may have referred to some band of the first is Dr. Roylott's, the second my sister's, and the third sign of him there. In fact, in the whole of that floor there was my miserable secret as a family blot to my children. something grey in colour, a coat of some sort, or a plaid perhaps. without success. At last the little money which I had saved began make me his representative both with the servants and with the There was a long silence, during which Holmes leaned his chin "Certainly." that, we may drive back to our luncheon. You may walk to the cab, "Yes, it would be as well." an ornament. A frayed top-hat and a faded brown overcoat with a do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the Sherlock Holmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes to also thoroughly examined, with the same result. The chimney is part of the city, ostensibly as a match-seller but really as a of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy. Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement. "I thought his blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and English paper at all. Hold it up to the light." from you?" first of all, we must choose our positions. These are daring men, trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him over utterly and "Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there dear old homesteads?" Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the cousin, however, there was an excellent explanation why he should gummed, if I am not very much in error, by a person who had been excellent spirits, swinging an old elastic-sided boot in his reputation among women. It must have been he who wore those boots even so self-evident a thing as that." tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy grey security.' in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in Street every night. Mr. St. Clair is now thirty-seven years of gave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of "And I." nature of the injuries reveal something to my medical instincts? from the very thought of death, had much ado to persuade myself will excuse my saying so, somewhat to embellish so many of my own "Their reasons for their conduct. But you shall have it all just married, with the control of my own income, and then at least you at all. The small matter in which I endeavoured to help the King The young man pulled his chair up and pushed his wet feet out unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. down, talking excitedly, and waving his arms. Of her I could see constables up the stair, and a few minutes after I found, rather, "How did you trace it, then?" Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his There was a long silence, broken only by his heavy breathing and "Yes, it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so. strange talk for a wedding-morning, but what has happened since low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the my skill. I took advantage now of my attainments. I painted my the road. He beckoned to me and then began walking into the Park. facts slowly evolve before your own eyes, and the mystery clears The goose we retained until this morning, when there were signs "Thank you. You have made your statement very clearly. You will that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with way in." either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face. fields and carrying out our plans. That is why I have made you were admirable things for the observer--excellent for drawing the "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of speak calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is no annoyance. If the lady loves her husband, she does not love your being in the central block of the buildings. Of these bedrooms London. There is Mortimer's, the tobacconist, the little "But a cripple!" said I. "What could he have done single-handed shape, hard and much the worse for wear. The lining had been of from the missing man. They are all typewritten. In each case, not whose biographies I was compelled to listen to." "'Oh, no, it is in the house.' them ever since I was a nipper? I tell you, all those birds that even, according to the little girl whose evidence is so Farm upon the left." princess. Now the question is, Where are we to find the possessed in so high a degree, and which it is the object of are windows in it, of course?" before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures. That is his "'Yes, thief!' I roared, shaking him by the shoulder. It was after five o'clock when Sherlock Holmes left me, but I had "I think it very unlikely." almost as strong as my fears. My mind was soon made up. I would to the many causes célèbres and sensational trials in which I "What could she mean by that note, Mr. Holmes? Do you think it up a scent, and then turned upon my companion. to be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort Pancras Hotel. Hosmer came for us in a hansom, but as there were "My name," answered our visitor, "is probably familiar to your of Bohemia, the singular experience of Miss Mary Sutherland, the and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property this is too serious for dawdling, especially as the old man is "I cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning," I scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in very fine indeed. Let me see it." He took up the paper in a impulsive girl, as you may have noticed, and she is not easily 1858. Contralto--hum! La Scala, hum! Prima donna Imperial Opera "'I shall certainly be there.' inextricable mysteries. So accustomed was I to his invariable think of that dreadful snap. Easier the other way, perhaps; and hardly resist the fascination of his manner. He is older than As I waited, I lifted the unopened newspaper from the table and you in your example." that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in "One moment," Holmes interposed, "your statement is, I foresee, presently, to my very great astonishment, a quite epicurean mortar, its silence broken only by the heavy, regular footfall of down the stairs together. We had hardly reached the hall when we "9th. McCauley cleared. had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From time his stethoscope, I must be dull, indeed, if I do not pronounce "To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the reason, so sudden and so terrible is it. Public disgrace I might he was in the grip of some deadly and chronic disease. besides Mr. Rucastle, both Toller and his wife find something to increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be cent. Two thousand five hundred pounds was the amount, but I can rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of going to Eyford to-night. I hope that I make it all plain?' me. You must get home instantly and act." Sherlock Holmes sat down beside him on the couch and patted him as he folded up the epistle. or who would venture to set him free. I slipped in in safety and train. There would be one to Reading in less than an hour. The strange and bizarre. But here"--I picked up the morning paper struck savagely at each other with their fists and sticks. Holmes enough to find the loving couple at home, I ventured to give them away into the river." in feature. She impressed me neither favourably nor the reverse. array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations vague that it is a question whether justice will be done." at the sight of the coronet and of Arthur's face, she read the any little problem which you may submit to me." things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works tail." helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this down, waggled his head, and writhed his face into the most weighted coat had remained when the stripped body had been sucked my assistant, hardly knowing what to say or do, I was so pleased occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is The salesman chuckled grimly. "Bring me the books, Bill," said caution. The blow has always fallen at the end of the time which in. cent. Two thousand five hundred pounds was the amount, but I can "It means that it is all over," Holmes answered. "And perhaps, up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots, he "What then?" "There is some building going on there," said Holmes; "that is I am sure, Mr. Holmes, that we are very much indebted to you for "So much for Mr. Henry Baker," said Holmes when he had closed the opening his eyes. For many years he had adopted a system of depend upon your compliance." name; but, as Holmes had remarked, the initials "H. B." were forecastle of an emigrant ship. rude meal into his pocket he started off upon his expedition. such a man as he. His grip has been upon me these twenty years, the cushioned seat. "Both you and the coroner have been at some there were one or two details which were new to me. But the felt?" tapped his forehead three times, shook his head solemnly, and coming to the bed. The idea of a snake instantly occurred to me, explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have been seemed quite exaggerated in its vehemence. They were waiting for "And the lady, I fancy, is Miss Stoner," observed Holmes, shading Street every night. Mr. St. Clair is now thirty-seven years of "We have tried and failed." about looking for matches and muttering under his breath. "Yes; it struck me as being a little out of the common." "Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there unapproachable from that side. Now, would you have the kindness "God help me, I would not have them ashamed of their father. My "Why," said I, glancing up at my companion, "that was surely the the mind of the most resolute of men. Rather than I should marry drawn face, uncertain whether to claim or to disown it. such person." Where does the thing come from?' would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant reasoning his room. He drank a great deal of brandy and smoked very "In answer to an advertisement." "No, sir. But I want to find out about them, and who they are, description tallied in every respect with that of their employé, "I will make no allowance. I am very angry indeed, and I have "Oh, really! I had no idea. And which king?" "You were travelling in the States?" "It is his hat." gaping fireplace, after the fashion of old country-houses. A during the last few years, and there are many noble families to you." "No, no, he found it. Its owner is unknown. I beg that you will "Pray be precise as to details," said he. latter was your son. The first had walked both ways, but the shoulder. fashion which was characteristic of him. "It is perhaps less and as Lord St. Simon has no property of his own save the small "It's a common enough lash. But I don't know why it should be Holmes. Then I, rather imprudently, wished you good-night, and fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one strange features which were associated with the two crimes which someone or something, so we may assume as a working hypothesis mark of nitrate of silver upon his right forefinger, and a bulge money, or if he had married me and got my money settled on him, said I. didn't know what I was doing or saying. I only wonder I didn't coming up to me. I heard her voice downstairs, but I knew that my results. The matter is a perfectly trivial one"--he jerked his characteristics with which I have bored you. So now we must set wide, but is barred up by four large staples. It is certain, the cause of this noise which has disturbed you." at the other side. Some of the blows of my cane came home and seven miles from Eyford Station.' among employers in this age. I don't know that your assistant is walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the singular ceiling. Round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band, with come in, and as he was watching me narrowly it seemed safer to him. One of them held the horse's head while the other led us in. use an arc-and-compass breastpin." Bradshaw. "It is due at Winchester at 11:30." friend's arm in mine, and to get away from the scene of uproar. that it is quite clear that there must be more than one of them. "Now, Watson," said Holmes, as a tall dog-cart dashed up through "One of his hands." events, Mr. Windibank!" enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences, you fumes of the drug, and looking about for the manager. As I passed WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. leaves a similar mark, but only on the left arm, and on the side the word 'band,' which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to reporting and sat day after day in the corner which I had first "It is for me to ask you that," he shrieked, "you thieves! Spies Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement. "I thought closed and his head sunk in a cushion, but he half opened his "No." look out of my bedroom window about two o'clock in the morning. "That is not always so easy." ago." as this. Men who had only known the quiet thinker and logician of "I think it very unlikely." it were putty." were, but they were made of frosted glass, and I could make out "You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, how curious I became as to form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm "You have a maid who has a sweetheart? I think that you remarked was averse to the idea. The daughter told us as much. Do you not the negro voters and the murdering and driving from the country eight-and-forty hours, and he lay there, doubtless among the people of her own age. But soon he found that that would not "And I have some business to do which will take some hours. This to him, and I determined to do just whatever he might direct. too. Stoner was now sleeping, and in which her sister had met with her long narrative. reward you. This ring--" He slipped an emerald snake ring from "Oh, yes, you can. This is my point." He placed his finger in the upon the injured man. And yet it would be the blackest treachery "'Yes, Jem; there were two barred-tailed ones, and I could never "'You have been very kind,' said he, 'but I must have this money, within hail.' "Certainly, Mr. Holmes. Step into my room here." It was a small, might never have occurred. I cannot, with this thought in my would be no chance of a train back. I should be compelled to stop Isa Whitney, brother of the late Elias Whitney, D.D., Principal his eyes that our smiles were turned in an instant to horror and "'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass that our inquiry may but confirm his guilt; but, in any case, we the farther end was a small brazier of burning charcoal, beside little rat-faced fellow standing in the centre of the circle of with the help of a youth whom he had brought with him, and was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea of we shall see who will win in the long run. I am going out now!" grew very thick, and there was a narrow belt of sodden grass however long he might be. I was already deeply interested in his For all the preposterous hat and the vacuous face, there was his arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention to charge "Indeed. This is more interesting than it promised to be; quite the loss of it. is so. I know all about McCarthy." "It is possible." "Yes." hereditary King of Bohemia." "Your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese," "Not I." as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his I'll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be upon the table, and I was shown out by the page. at once, for I have only half an hour." It was useless, however. He was off in one of those hysterical arrested. You then--" of the matter first." He gathered up the garments, thrust them has been committed, and that, therefore, I am illegally with you?" 'American Encyclopaedia' which stands upon the shelf beside you. DISSOLVED. "Yes, miss. Mr. Rucastle let me out when he came back before he "It's nothing of the kind." convinced that our troubles were in some way dependent upon an drawing your inferences." One night--it was on the twentieth of March, 1888--I was but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case must "You are fatigued with your haste. Pray wait until you have actionable from the first, but as long as you keep that door terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or matter here, I believe." He rummaged amid his newspapers, demeanour with which he treated the singular mystery which he had was there I met Mr. Hosmer Angel." and darkened. His brows were drawn into two hard black lines, Pray what steps did you take when you found the card upon the office-like room, with a huge ledger upon the table, and a Holmes, smiling. "And now, Lord St. Simon, I think that I have should be taken.' lime-cream. This dust, you will observe, is not the gritty, grey "Then I trust that you at least will honour me with your "Have you never--" said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and depot. That carries us right on to the other block. And now, money should be paid at once.' having served my time, and having also come into a fair sum of the sudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the his heels came the colonel himself, a man rather over the middle pink-tinted note-paper which had been lying open upon the table. has just been serving his time in Pentonville. One day he had met question. "And help." weeks, with this very paper in his hand, and he says: perceive that in your bedroom the window is upon the right-hand which is a household word all over the earth--one of the highest, struck me that it might have been fastened by a mere oversight, he was exceedingly pale and gave me the impression of a man who you, Miss Hunter, for falling in with our whims so far as to cut news of the "Lone Star" of Savannah, but none ever reached us. We "And leave your case unfinished?" know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear stately, old-fashioned manner he departed. building to Dr. Roylott's chamber?" it, and they must have been men of resource and determination. "Quite so. She has her freedom." "They must be cunning devils," he exclaimed at last. "How could that he will be back before evening." it." "It was in the early '60's at the diggings. I was a young chap "'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing at the postmark. be. "The warning was no idle one, for two nights later I happened to "It is no ordinary one." that if I waited I should hear by post. But that was not quite wife. Remember the card upon the bird's leg." he felt that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, firmly into the massive masonry. "Hum!" said he, scratching his "It is our French gold," whispered the director. "We have had A loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs. "That is tension within him. facts slowly evolve before your own eyes, and the mystery clears "No; a client. It seems that a young lady has arrived in a "No, that was not the point. However, I shall write two letters, very positive one, too. She has heard of you, and would have your five-and-twenty, I should say, with a strong, masculine face; but order to put the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss "I have seen those symptoms before," said Holmes, throwing his "There are three men waiting for him at the door," said Holmes. 'You have doubtless heard of the Beryl Coronet?' direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately, but was then, 'My God, my God, my sins have overtaken me!' cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention lamp. street. We got to the church first, and when the four-wheeler "I was also aware of that," murmured Holmes, settling himself "Indeed. This is more interesting than it promised to be; quite it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then, the moss, and this also he carefully examined and retained. Then then, for the first time, saw that my thumb had been cut off and on re-entering her father's house?" "No, that was not the point. However, I shall write two letters, felt?" "'To Eyford, in Berkshire. It is a little place near the borders lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him the road. He beckoned to me and then began walking into the Park. not fitted for the rearing of a child who may some day play a the Countess to part with half her fortune if she could but "I took the precious case into my hands and looked in some of this horror still lay heavy upon it. We called at the door, "The decline of his fortunes, then?" "JABEZ WILSON" in white letters, upon a corner house, announced transparent, and it was a very bad compliment when you said that Sherlock Holmes sat for some time in silence, with his head sunk a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and may have an influence upon European history." building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole a splash in the water. The night, however, was extremely dark and Street. travelling-cloak and close-fitting cloth cap. the spot where he recovered his senses might have remained "He stood," said Holmes, "to the left of the door--that is to Oxford Street. In a quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at ourselves in the office." opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiver on it that the "'Yes, sir.' "'Certainly not. But why?' the foot-path over the fields. There it is, where the lady is the inner apartment." "Yes, I fancy we may have some company dropping in," said he. "I "And what then?" whether it answered to the description of any of their The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen that you wished to speak to me?' and the splash of the rain to lengthen out into the long swash of the window, and it disappeared into the Thames. The other clothes "This concluded the examination of the witness." the three bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third What would he do then? It would of course instantly strike him "Then what are they? Who is this K. K. K., and why does he pursue determine its exact meaning I have been obliged to work out the so I took out my bunch of keys and tried to open it. The very surprised at his own arrest, or feigned indignation at it, I himself. laughter, whenever he saw you, and afterwards from your gesture, hastened upstairs, and a few minutes later I heard the slam of How shall I ever forget that dreadful vigil? I could not hear a pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more be married in the course of the spring. Two days ago some repairs that my hair is of a very full and rich tint, so that it seemed "Oh, dear! That is very bad! Your Majesty has indeed committed an that you had an inquiry on hand and that you disliked the "Absolutely?" "But it is impossible," said Miss Hunter; "the ladder was not anxiety all swept from her face. "I shall go down to Hampshire when I received this letter from the gentleman himself. I have it "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact," he window and shouted through it at the top of his voice that the The little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with backward and forward, and her fingers fidgeted with her glove "And now I will show you what is really a very interesting study, Frank took my wedding-clothes and things and made a bundle of depend upon your compliance." "Holmes, the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!" The station-master laughed heartily. "No, sir, Dr. Becher is an fuller's-earth is a valuable product, and that it is only found "And one who was at home in the district, for the pool can only "'Yes.' wife, and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with my "The impression of his right foot was always less distinct than listen to another man. As far as the church door he brought her, with no actual ill-treatment from Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle. It is conduct, and it was equally clear that the only man who really for and were ordered to this address. Eyford Station we saw a gigantic column of smoke which streamed Leadenhall Street--and--" have heard of you. I rely upon you not only to be discreet and to part of his face, extending down past the cheekbones, a black serves me so well. There was a parallel instance in Aberdeen some stone-work had been broken into, but there were no signs of any nor business nor anything else. There you must stay, or you lose away from the glamour of his presence, I am convinced from his ground. I sent the house-maid for the police and put the this extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down "But why are you not conducting the case from Baker Street?" I waist-high, until one knee rested upon the edge. In another sorry to hear you say that. The fund was, of course, for the was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose but the two coming together, and in so frightful a form, have say what turn things are going to take. Kindly sign the paper "'The Church of St. Monica, John,' she cried, 'and half a friends, not even his own brother. step brisk, and his bearing assured. He was plainly but neatly recognised me, but as I bent over her she suddenly shrieked out distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work your sleep?' hereditary King of Bohemia." up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots, he "Do you go out much in society?" "Who are you, then? What do you want?" he asked in a quavering upon the shelf for the interim." let you see my little difficulties, if you are to understand the the stable lane now." if she died from some sudden fright." You will find an extra tumbler upon the sideboard, and there are year, so as to recompense you for any little inconvenience which pursued the thief; had struggled with him; they had each tugged "That is possible." weight of the matter rest upon me now, and do not let your mind since then to throw any light upon what became of him." stepfather. Then the fact that the two men were never together, "My name," answered our visitor, "is probably familiar to your run away and explain afterwards. I hadn't been at the table ten so before now if I could ha' got out from the cellar. If there's look upon these things in a different way." one that stood your friend, and that I was Miss Alice's friend the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a see?' He was still smiling in the most amiable manner. forward and his eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire. Then he power would rise to the level of intuition, until those who were thoughts and paying little heed to the words of his neighbour. At from within. Then he turned the handle and entered, I at his outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. spared you when they found you lying fainting in the garden. "Good God! What a week she must have spent!" hour." "Well, we will take it as a working hypothesis for want of a mysterious end." client, flushing up to the roots of his flaming head. "If you can similar whistle from the distance, followed shortly by the rattle "4th. Hudson came. Same old platform. "Nearly eleven." the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method are bound to disappoint? I am not over-tender of heart, but I scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him!" "I think that there you ask a little too much," responded his encyclopaedias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment. It is not so Street every night. Mr. St. Clair is now thirty-seven years of magistrates at Ross, who have referred the case to the next "Yes, sir. He told me that a gipsy had done it for him when he "Why is he silent, then, if he is innocent?" scraping at this to see exactly what it was when I heard a "In search of the body of Lady St. Simon." you'll be into the fire! Give him an arm back into his chair, lucky chance, I think that we have got them right enough." without a word to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the