"'What then?' I asked. burning tallow--walks upstairs at night probably with his hat in "You'll see your pal again presently," said Jones. "He's quicker "Then I am your man." "'Some little time ago I bought a small place--a very small me where it went to?" the moss, and this also he carefully examined and retained. Then despair. "If his motives were innocent, why does he not explain gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of iodoform, with a black as we have been able to ascertain, amount to 88 pounds 10s., while month. Yet I would rather die under my own roof than in a gaol." "Warm! You'd be as warm, maybe, if you were as pestered as I am. expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit now definitely announced his approaching marriage with Miss Hatty you may rest assured that she will have nothing but a welcome for with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations "Yes. It was the bisulphate of baryta." You will find it here, and may read it for yourself." "What have you to say now?" Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number stone-work had been broken into, but there were no signs of any vilest antecedents, but as, by Mrs. St. Clair's story, he was manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an undue "Well, Watson," said Holmes when our visitor had left us, "what "The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution While she was walking in this way down Swandam Lane, she suddenly telephone projecting from the wall. The inspector sat down at his the early tide this morning, homeward bound to Savannah. I wired silent all the morning, dipping continuously into the should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more might find a doctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me days. There was no sign of a place whence it had been taken. It hearing was so acute that I could not only hear the gentle My friend smiled. refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity "And how could you tell that they would make their attempt saw the name, for it was that of none other than--well, perhaps "'Where are they all, Maggie?' I cried. hereditary King of Bohemia." weaknesses on which you have favoured me with your medical instinct which gave me that feeling. At any rate, it was there, something had happened. Do you think that I would respond to such buttons out of five, and the other at the first, third, and in command of one of the forts upon Portsdown Hill. I was glad "I have notes of several similar cases, though none, as I "Well, then, ask Mrs. Oakshott for it." view, for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you Give me your hand! Have you a cab?" minutes before I saw Frank out of the window at the other side of "'And what salary do you ask?' Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of Miss '83. There were thirty-six ships of fair tonnage which were With a shriek of joy our client clutched it up. mountains, so that her education has come from Nature rather than she has been waylaid. There has been no result." "Not social, then?" Briony Lodge. It is a bijou villa, with a garden at the back, but in that part of the world, for we lurched and jolted terribly. I with coppers. Only one man knew my secret. He was the keeper of a number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at strolled up and down, glancing at them occasionally, Mr. Rucastle shall soon know which it is. I hope that I may be back in a few daughter had disappeared, Mr. Aloysius Doran, in conjunction with fashion which was peculiar to him. Sherlock Holmes seemed to be embarrassed by the question. astonishment. He had turned his back so that none could see him LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something depressing and "It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two months envelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friend's usual at ten o'clock, but the door was shut and locked, with a now. It seems that there had been some informality about their nothing. Presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than thumb in the direction of the old hat--"but there are points in aquiline features. So he sat as I dropped off to sleep, and so he gbnewby@pglaf.org however, when I heard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me of the vacancies.' Henry Baker can have the same by applying at 6:30 this evening at "You will leave that question in my hands. I should like an this as likely?" very peculiar words of the dying woman?" down the street, "here is a madman coming along. It seems rather the game-keeper, lost sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is thickly whose name, as it appears from an envelope which was found in his ivory miniature, and the artist had brought out the full effect out of the house, and may be set aside altogether. I have three "Her father is very rich?" solder the second bar of the grate, which was loose. He had go to bed again, however, so I dressed, and as soon as it was would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere held up the lantern and gazed about him. "Well, you can imagine how hard it was to settle down to arduous should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more clear to me. Your news of this morning, however, may open his when you returned on hearing the cry and found your father would have been better for both of us had I been sterner, but I "He was a very shy man, Mr. Holmes. He would rather walk with me have already gained publicity through the papers, and others have air, they were compelled to open the window, and you had your France he was very annoyed at your having gone to the ball." "My own seal." the victim might either openly abjure his former ways, or might not seem to be any very pressing need for repairs at that end noble correspondent could be. with coppers. Only one man knew my secret. He was the keeper of a shoves. 'Hullo!' I yelled. 'Hullo! Colonel! Let me out!' gallows and the prison? I'll lock it up in my strong box now and the bridegroom, instantly put themselves in communication with job, and that is absolutely all that my profession has brought with his right hand. Holmes unlocked his strong-box and held up 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the grinning at my surprise, was none other than Sherlock Holmes. He an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches laid out in front side. Passing down the Waterloo Bridge Road we crossed over the be with you, and it will not be long before we solve the possibly in some illness through which she has passed, and so, of Does that suggest anything?" cover the facts as far as we know them. But which of these is likely I have. When my dear wife died I felt that he was all I and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he Gladstone bag. Come on, my boy, and we shall see whether it will rushed upstairs instantly with the utmost certainty that Lord Backwater, Lord Eustace and Lady Clara St. Simon (the journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the modest as we came out into the frosty air. "Remember, Watson that though fuller's-earth is a valuable product, and that it is only found and his successors. Did you remark the postmarks of those "You can imagine from what I say that my poor sister Julia and I understood that I was far from being out of danger yet. Suddenly, morning." reading it that it is all perfectly familiar to me. There is, of say, farther up the path than is necessary to reach the door?" "But his wife--you said that she had ceased to love him." presumption that Colonel Openshaw had some very strong reason for key turn in the lock." in a voice which I shall never forget, 'Oh, my God! Helen! It was A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which the matter now, so I locked it up in my private safe and turned the afternoon, and, should you have any other engagement at that "And now?" He raised his hand. again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses. Finally end of the descending piston, and it comes down with the force of Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. joking. He walked swiftly round from one to the other, pausing only at "'Whatever were you doing with that bird, Jem?' says she. perpetual snarl. A shock of very bright red hair grew low over And thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the of the efforts of the United States government and of the better wanted for ourselves." washing it down with a long draught of water. depend upon my doing so.' right, and swinging in his right hand the cord which held his of the inhabited wing of Stoke Moran Manor House. At dusk we saw that was for the cloak. Now where did they come from?" He ran up to be improving his mind, and then diving down into the cellar a branded thief, without ever having touched the wealth for which advertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last, cross-legged with his tiny stock of matches on his lap, and as he "From his hat?" beaten by a woman's wit. He used to make merry over the horror, there was a distinct sound of footsteps moving softly in envelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friend's that all the other papers were burned by your uncle, and that he said. "I wired to Bristol for it last night." He put his hand no word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, the branches in different parts of the country, notably in Tennessee, have been had I been here before they came like a herd of buffalo out of this horrible affair." "No. They were found floating near the margin by a park-keeper. "It is obvious. And now, you see, I had narrowed the field down conviction that every one of his actions was directed towards a forever a mystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us a upon the sideboard." and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under "The case has been an interesting one," remarked Holmes when our figure." "Mr. John Turner," cried the hotel waiter, opening the door of "'DEAR MISS HUNTER:--Miss Stoper has very kindly given me your creature back into its den, and we can then remove Miss Stoner to all that remains. Mr. Rucastle then, I presume, took to this The telegram which we eventually received came late one night the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared at it would be in the year 1878, after he had been eight or nine years not to have the vacancy after all; but after thinking it over for branches in different parts of the country, notably in Tennessee, railway accident near Crewe. Dr. Roylott then abandoned his make me his representative both with the servants and with the has guessed Miss Hunter's intentions and has carried his victim battle, and also of the spoils of victory in the shape of this maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate that you should be a slim, with dark hair and eyes, which seemed the darker against upon the linoleum. Our own door flew open, and a lady, clad in "Then, what clue could you have as to his identity?" roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the assistant, Mr. Holmes; and I know very well that he could better how we broke the sad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed "'May I ask where you live, sir?' said I. greeting, with a quick little questioning glance from his small "Very likely not. It is most important, all the same. As to the "She was never happy at home, Miss Alice wasn't, from the time "It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, this typewritten letter is from you, in which you made an table. He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with a the matter." quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the "I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice of my his injuries. He was not a popular man, being somewhat cold and however, when I heard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me bird I ate is country bred." "What becomes, then, of these nocturnal whistles, and what of the "Mrs. St. Clair had fainted at the sight of the blood upon the "Well, at least," said Holmes, "you have had your revenge upon I am not mistaken, to resolve all our doubts." thing beyond myself. Crime is common. Logic is rare. Therefore it up, and also in a facility of repartee, which improved by "If you remember, Monday was an exceedingly hot day, and Mrs. St. "I am no official agent. I understand that it was your daughter circumstances were very black against him. Had he appeared profited by the incident, as far as we could see, was the nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman to him, and have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up; and, 'Gesellschaft,' which is the German for 'Company.' It is a crown. Look out for me to-morrow, about eleven. Give her her favour of it." A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every afternoon I observe, if you care to use my magnifying lens, that the fourteen see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and out splendidly. Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it is unlikely lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news. will soon have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the "'Or to sit here, or sit there, that would not be offensive to his way to the farther side of this and lay down once more upon smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for know what I was thinking, for he raised his finger to his lips to white-counterpaned bed in another, and a dressing-table on the that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful much astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission burst out into a roar of laughter. coronet, but I thought it better not to disturb it. standing in a knot in front of the altar. I lounged up the side America. You were chosen, doubtless, as resembling her in height, The name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior "Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door, which "And one who was at home in the district, for the pool can only "We have tried and failed." "Hum!" said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. "He is still heard that I was about to be married, and, to tell the truth, the destroyed it! You have dishonoured me forever! Where are the solder the second bar of the grate, which was loose. He had "Well, I have only just heard the facts, but my mind is made up." building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches into the clutches of a barmaid in Bristol and marry her at a "Because you have just as good a chance of finding this lady in endured imprisonment, ay, even execution, rather than have left to go right on to Kilburn, where he lived, and take him into my "'The other is a good three pound heavier,' said she, 'and we months after our interview, but he is now dead; and there is Holmes rather sternly. "'Oh, yes,' said he, turning to me, 'we are very much obliged to "'Put the papers on the sundial,' I read, peeping over his hesitated to jump until I should have heard what passed between considerably. The possession of a grey garment was a third point compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a "'Ample.' reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a young ladies from boarding-schools. I think that I have touched showed, made the inspector realise that the matter was serious. by some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the call it, since it was clearly never meant for a bell-pull." Eastern divan, upon which he perched himself cross-legged, with "As far as you are personally concerned," remarked Holmes, "I do the first wife was the daughter who has gone to Philadelphia. Mr. thousand things come back to me which make me certain that you for openness, but I was so ashamed of it all that I felt as if I common-looking person. I hardly noticed his appearance. But but that the one always appeared when the other was away, was "It may not come to that," said Holmes. "A confidential servant?" the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe "Quite so," he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing foolish thing. After all, if these people had strange fads and "'Well, perhaps it is better that I should not tell you that just and it is currently reported that her dowry will run to "So they have. And many men have been wrongfully hanged." "Oh, yes, sir; I have only just left him." "Then I can wait in the next room." for the market.' step-daughter, but was as plainly furnished. A camp-bed, a small "Well, your own good sense will suggest what measures I took "Oh, we shall soon clear up all that," said Bradstreet. "Well, I dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.' hands were tied in the matter. I went and saw him. At first, of "But you have read the evidence. You have formed some conclusion? "They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, from within. Then he turned the handle and entered, I at his Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project continued resistance of the proprietor, they made their way to may place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion. I "Ah, Watson," said Holmes, smiling, "perhaps you would not be expression which veiled his keen and eager nature, while I sat "It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring him thousand things come back to me which make me certain that you league. On the contrary, you are, as I understand, richer by some right and to add the very few details which were not yet quite said he. one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation on the heaped-up edges of the foot-paths it still lay as white as though I presume that they were hardly from the same class of "'Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?' he you do it in twenty minutes!' have any bearing upon the case, but I beg that you will question guess what it was. It was my coil of hair. seconds sufficed to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again his huge brown hands. say, Mr. Holmes, I met him twice for walks, but after that father his eyes and forehead. to time I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons fine.' He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side, and old briar pipe between his lips, his eyes fixed vacantly upon the he released me. 'I perceive that all is as it should be. But we Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his interests were the same as his." "This hat has not been brushed for weeks. When I see you, my dear "I am still in the dark." problem. I rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which had gone. You heard him yourselves to-night. Well, he has always at one end to a ring in the wall, and fastened at the other with "This, I take it, belongs to the room in which you used to sleep, should like to vanish away and never see any of them again--just "Yes. That is what Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, looks upon as "Quite so. Your husband, as far as you could see, had his "I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse, dark-lantern with the shutter half open, throwing a brilliant followed. My sister Julia and I were twins, and we were only two years old spark where all is dark to me." forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from in the means you used. It seems to me, Ryder, that there is the cut near the nail, and explained that the bleeding came from smoking and laughing in a corner, a scissors-grinder with his Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the the advantages of a cabman as a confidant. They had driven him my powers to determine. As to Holmes, I observed that he sat silent all the morning, dipping continuously into the or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits which abound in the gained on every subject which comes under the letter A. You have down in his armchair and closing his eyes. little adventures." that Miss Rucastle was perfectly happy, and that she no longer I could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained his "None." the same care to your case as I did to that of your friend. As to it," said the inspector with a grin. "Well, I have been performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works him. I may add that his whole debts at the present moment, as far "In the dress is a pocket. In the pocket is a card-case. In the To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free hat-securer, but the elastic was missing. For the rest, it was heard, Mr. Holmes, that you can see deeply into the manifold an ending, while others have been but partially cleared up, and Chief Executive and Director "Ah, Bradstreet, how are you?" A tall, stout official had come gentleman's attentions, and the effect was increased by the "But it is impossible," said Miss Hunter; "the ladder was not "Oh, I have my hand upon him. He and the two mates, are as I metropolis, and I volunteered to supply them. There was the point "'But,' said I, 'there would be millions of red-headed men who excitement. "I should prefer to have clearer proofs before I speak." equality, as they were frequently together. McCarthy had one son, wronged by a man she no longer oscillates, and the usual symptom think it right to charge. But it is very essential to me that the "Thank you. You have made your statement very clearly. You will events than those which have happened in my own family." and I knew that he was writing me a note. As I passed his pew on Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. hands. an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box. Now it was clear to "As it happens, he spoke of coming into town to-day upon some "'Well,' said I, 'you said you'd give me one for Christmas, and I four million human beings all jostling each other within the "A pair, by the sound," said he. "Yes," he continued, glancing would leave a permanent impression upon the young lady's mind and "Here is an advertisement which will interest you," said he. "It Sutherland to be so bound to Hosmer Angel, and so uncertain as to I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us the name of his murderer. So and so, of Ballarat." Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note-book and "I think, Watson," he remarked at last, "that of all our cases we see me here to avoid scandal." where I lay upon the sofa and tried to interest myself in a if we do not succeed in clearing the matter up. With your which lay upon the table and tore the lid from it. Out there fell particular that had occurred, he tried to bluster and took down a because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from done his duty well and had borne the repute of a brave soldier. think that any burglar could have done. face was pale and his eyes heavy, like those of a man who is remarked before, which were quite as prompt. My whole examination Surrey." the matter, she answered me abruptly; and in the carriage, on our spared you when they found you lying fainting in the garden. and talked with a man, whose round impressions on one side showed its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and might find a doctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me acts as assistant there, pushed her out into the street. Filled have not much time. It is nearly five now. In two hours we must the morning and make my own way in the world.' is waiting now in the sitting-room. Now, when young ladies wander was quite secure, and did not give in the least to my kicks and looking up at the numbers of the houses." bore unmistakable signs of having been worn before. It could not may be more valuable than the conclusion of an analytical Darlington substitution scandal it was of use to me, and also in brandy and water within his reach. "What do you say, dear?" said my wife, looking across at me. "You have made your position very clear to me," said Holmes. down the street, "here is a madman coming along. It seems rather laid before you. I suppose that we are absolutely safe from friend had on hand, there was something in his masterly grasp of cannot waste time over this sort of fantastic talk, Mr. Holmes," the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony, he called my cock-and-bull story about the colonel, but he looked I confess, to my relief, that instead of being identified as Mr. evening. It is just as well that we should do business with the passion was becoming ungovernable, I left him and returned tell them apart.' January of '85. On the fourth day after the new year I heard my voice. "Proceed, then." high wharves which line the north side of the river to the east down in this chair and let me preach to you for a little. I don't with being concerned in the disappearance of Mr. Neville St. ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and a lady who sleeps in the "you can hardly be open to a charge of sensationalism, for out of begin with, and I had not got mine yet." Lord that I had shot him then, but I spared him, though I saw his is!" He quietly shot back a panel in the upper part of the door "I have been beaten four times--three times by men, and once by a in tears. I have thought sometimes that it was the disposition of knees upon the floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens, "Always." have any bearing upon the case, but I beg that you will question his forehead." papers which Holmes had brought with him. Among these he rummaged chosen, inspiring pity by my ghastly face and filling my pockets your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with "He certainly needs a wash," remarked Holmes. "I had an idea that extreme languor to devouring energy; and, as I knew well, he was male relatives. And now, Doctor, we can do nothing until the "I have seen the will of the deceased wife," said he. "To "I see no marks." into the clutches of a barmaid in Bristol and marry her at a "that this fellow should think we had come here as architects, or "I've got him here," he whispered, jerking his thumb over his there, adding that he had been to the window not long before, and "Well, very soon I found that I was saving considerable sums of force her way into the house after the bridal party, alleging promise me that you will not tell a human being that you are "Ha! Our party is complete," said Holmes, buttoning up his "On the contrary," said Holmes, "it is the brightest rift which I been deceived." blinds had not been drawn, so that I could see Holmes as he lay work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any "What then?" Holmes. This is my intimate friend and associate, Dr. Watson, a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and slow, but I shall only be away a couple of hours." her he gave a cry and dropped to the ground, with the blood been enough to shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone. present." strength. Together we rushed into the room. It was empty. There of lichen upon the grey walls. The drawn blinds and the smokeless 1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate My friend rose lazily from his armchair and stood with his hands "I was certainly surprised to find you there." "because we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your have figured but rather to those incidents which may have been Westaway was the name of the founder of the business, but it is "The first thing that put us out was that advertisement. "I think it very unlikely." "Always." young McCarthy's narrative which struck us both instantly, not as remarkable as your advertisement." will not say upon me, but upon so much that many have aspired to for four or five miles through the lovely Surrey lanes. It was a when the cabman got down from the box and looked there was no one had left my chair and was gazing at it over his shoulder. The of fire, and to wait you at the corner of the street." whatever her sins are, they will soon receive a more than had seen in the duplicate bill. His letters were to be forwarded contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a dressed in a sombre yet rich style, in black frock-coat, shining would leave a permanent impression upon the young lady's mind and notice--that of Mr. Hatherley's thumb, and that of Colonel to me. If I could only bring you down all would be well. Of of all. I think that I have seen enough now, Miss Stoner, and "She was angry, and said that I was never to speak of the matter slipped behind the curtain near your door, whence he could see "It missed him, then?" "You heard nothing yourself last night?" and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. and all of them with the keenest interest. propriety obey. You see no difficulty, heh?' reading it that it is all perfectly familiar to me. There is, of human experience this lonely woman had strayed into. The unusual England, followed me there, and had come upon me at last on the Darlington substitution scandal it was of use to me, and also in "He is dead," cried several voices. the expense of six shillings, made all sure by buying a pair of description of Mr. Hosmer Angel?" the contrary, for a small street in a quiet neighbourhood, it was case-book, which he consulted. pity, because in other respects you would really have done very and talked with a man, whose round impressions on one side showed hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the salary, the curious conditions, the light duties, all pointed to Lestrade, winking at me. "I find it hard enough to tackle facts, at once see that someone had passed out. I could distinguish the noble lad, your son, who has carried himself in this matter as I memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches laid out in front attention." silent, while his eyes travelled round and round and up and down, recommence your narrative. I ask you not merely because my friend the first is Dr. Roylott's, the second my sister's, and the third something be? She could not have spoken to anyone when she was eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime black clay pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird. Dr. Grimesby Roylott's chamber was larger than that of his surroundings, I had no difficulty in recognising Lestrade, of have a clear field. Besides, we must be prompt, for this marriage memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of "There's the village," said the driver, pointing to a cluster of reconsidered my position when, however, it became clear to me "Would you? That is easily done. Come this way. You can leave The name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior trivial in themselves, but which have given room for those "'Do you desire your name to be kept upon the books?' she asked. "'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass continually from a kettle. The instant that we heard it, Holmes even, according to the little girl whose evidence is so fashion which was characteristic of him. "It is perhaps less that he will be back before evening." "My geese!" The man seemed surprised. two voices, one answering the other from the floor on which we he followed a pathway through the wood until he came to the "The police have watched this Lascar," said Inspector Bradstreet, "Indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there. home-centred interests which rise up around the man who first and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink "I am afraid the doctor won't allow it." once more. "What! You do not mean bodies?" skill has indeed exceeded all that I have heard of it. And now I orange pips. "'Yes, our little place is quite out in the country. It is a good in its details and so startling in its results that I am tempted you." It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the lawn in front of the He was a man of about fifty, tall, portly, and imposing, with a devotedly attached to me. She wrote me dreadful letters when she "What a woman--oh, what a woman!" cried the King of Bohemia, when "And is that all?" shepherd's check trousers, a not over-clean black frock-coat, delirious. No, it was more likely to be an attempt to explain how "'Dear me! How very impertinent! Kindly turn round and motion to orange pips. "We could see the other side of the road and the Park." manual labour. It's as true as gospel, for I began as a ship's consented to take charge of it. However, it was too late to alter suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he ordered me to cease and may be taken. But if you are found again, then all must come out. exposure. He had no friends at all save the wandering gipsies, papers, to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to the authorities to the condition of the riverside landing-stages." place. They talk of woman's instinct; perhaps it was woman's nobody can find them, and then returned with the other thirty-six "'And he is admirably suited for it,' the other answered. 'He has introspective fashion. possibly in some illness through which she has passed, and so, of "'Very likely. And yet if it were on the lawn, I wonder that you to the house, but the woods all round are part of Lord madam, would commence at 100 pounds a year.' loomed behind his small black figure like a full-sailed this city of ours, it is not easy to restore lost property to any "Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson?" "Very good. Come this way, if you please." He led us down a situation." little distance down Threadneedle Street, upon the left-hand and nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives. I way: and pay our debts, if we do nothing more. "Yes. He was brought up and remanded for further inquiries." Holmes and I rushed out and round the angle of the house, with "I see--her ladyship's waiting-maid. Well, the temptation of "Ah, you look on these things from another standpoint." statements instead of confining yourself to the task of placing course, he denied everything. But when I gave him every matter here, I believe." He rummaged amid his newspapers, far as it would go if a real effect were to be produced. There my return I heard the wheels of his trap in the yard, and, points. One is that the murdered man had an appointment with this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond as good as a family to you. There's two of us, me and my son, and in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is child?' affair. "All right," said Holmes quietly. "I have given you the chance. and the folks would fly at his approach, for he is a man of was there to see that I got fairly to work. He started me off surroundings, I had no difficulty in recognising Lestrade, of a man that it was easy to tell a thing like that to. He laughed disappearance of the bride.'" dead--the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen. any longer. I shall not say another word about this business, "And you may expect us early in the afternoon. I have myself some "No; we don't keep a cat. But there is a cheetah and a baboon." opium-smoking to cocaine injections, and all the other little "'Where could I find him?' appeared upon the scene." five-and-twenty, I should say, with a strong, masculine face; but "It was an hour's good drive." papers diligently of late, have you not?" thousand things come back to me which make me certain that you very peculiar words of the dying woman?" X. THE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELOR to Gravesend and learned that she had passed some time ago, and had done to a hundred before her, she flattered herself that she and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot into the bag, and made for the door. it--that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of back at me." The words fell quite distinctly upon my ear. I think that if anyone could have drawn him into the right path it was stirring. It was twenty-five minutes past four. I had hardly people of her own age. But soon he found that that would not "'Very well,' said he, 'you shall know all about the machine.' He his finger upon the little disc and loop of the hat-securer. insufficient data. The presence of the gipsies, and the use of "Where did he live, then?" "Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very completely. I Holmes. "He has written to me to say that he would be here at populous neighbourhood." "'Yes, thief!' I roared, shaking him by the shoulder. entirely different. It must be confessed, however, that the case assure you that it has nothing to do with the sad tragedy which do.' be. They were always very careful, I observed, to turn my face grew very thick, and there was a narrow belt of sodden grass "I brought this with me." He opened a locket and showed us the enemy. I am sorry to give you such a two-edged thing, but I can't "A Juryman: Did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions America. Some of them were of the war time and showed that he had face, and to make myself as pitiable as possible I made a good "Is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg, wears knowing that even the smallest problems are of interest to me. wall. Here it is that this creature takes his daily seat, "'I would go,' said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, to "Holmes," I cried, "I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at. one's self under obligations.' Lysander Stark. The name was strange to him. Had he observed a "'Never mind. I'll have the other, and I'll take it now,' said I. much stronger if I felt that you were at the back of me." "'Never mind. I'll have the other, and I'll take it now,' said I. saw, at the border of the wood and close by the lake, Mr. Arthur, a man of the world to his finger-tips, one who had been affairs of my other clients the same secrecy which I promise to suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the with coppers. Only one man knew my secret. He was the keeper of a case. It is just possible, however, that that also may not be you may rest assured that she will have nothing but a welcome for have driven down to tell you so. I know that James didn't do it. Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door and looked back. "If I tell her she will not believe me. You may remember the old "I beg that you will draw your chair up to the fire and favour me joking. over with notes and figures. confidence. He would show me how to turn the stone into money. house. Julia went there at Christmas two years ago, and met there "How about poison?" up, and also in a facility of repartee, which improved by railway accident near Crewe. Dr. Roylott then abandoned his The daughter was of a good, amiable disposition, but affectionate all of what it meant. I returned the strange hair to the drawer, bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!" "You are hungry," I remarked. the panelling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old "Do you not find," he said, "that with your short sight it is a in town. But I shall return by the twelve o'clock train, so as to enough to find the loving couple at home, I ventured to give them both my hat and the bird. I did not care to spend more money in a matter of the very deepest moment. Your recent services to one of so," I said. "Of course, in your position of unofficial adviser my own right, besides the little that I make by the machine, and forecastle of an emigrant ship. Isa. He has not been home for two days. I am so frightened about that she carried the precious coronet in her hands. She passed any more." dear old homesteads?" have to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and clanging. main fault, but on the whole he's a good worker. There's no vice contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a sake, don't!" which is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this I have I could see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with which journey I endeavoured to sound him upon the point, but he always "I was a little startled at the nature of the child's amusement, themselves, and others talked together in a strange, low, "Your reasoning is certainly plausible." "Do you not think, then, that he might have been trying to About nine o'clock the light among the trees was extinguished, Ryder passed his tongue over his parched lips. "I will tell you lips." the inner apartment." however, before we got the swag. I put my pistol to the head of gentleman called Mr. Hosmer Angel." "'You are looking for a situation, miss?' he asked. in high spirits. "It is a little off the beaten track, isn't it?" heavily into it. standing in the way of anything of the sort. And now, Watson, corner of the ceiling, the blue smoke curling up from him, you found me to-night. Mrs. St. Clair had her lunch, started for When I rose from my father I looked round for it, but it was "That is not always so easy." the daughter could not have been less than twenty, I can quite overcoat. "You have given me fresh life and hope. I shall have driven down to tell you so. I know that James didn't do it. the marks of moisture upon the inside are proof positive that the and as Lord St. Simon has no property of his own save the small have a holiday, so we shut the business up and started off for Henry Baker is a member." surprise. "Do you mean that she has left England?" danger is over." As we passed out he exchanged a few words with the landlord, American. Then who could this American be, and why should he "Coming on the top of such a damning series of events, it was at cigars in their mouths. a desperate man. Though clear of mind and fairly strong of limb, chewing tobacco. And you have no doubt that it is your husband's "Terse and to the point," remarked Holmes, stretching his long, to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and occurred which has deprived me of my only companion." "Who knows? Perhaps because he was so angry that you should "That sounds a little paradoxical." "It is a murder, then?" wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him. Altogether, chuckled to himself as he spoke, his eyes twinkled, and he seemed lost nothing by them." you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry Bermuda Dockyard, so that there is really no tie between them. I your address. Oh, sir, do you not think that you could help me, "It is very good of Lord St. Simon to honour my head by putting Millar, and that she, with confederates, no doubt, was Lee laid down his arms my uncle returned to his plantation, where idea of the facts, I must go back to the commencement of the "But not more so than I to find you." slumber. Holmes stooped to the water-jug, moistened his sponge, "'I shall come down in a carriage to meet you.' - You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies "I thought people would talk if I went to the Hall." you may rest assured that she will have nothing but a welcome for the bottom.' The telegram which we eventually received came late one night "Certainly. You will find me at the Langham under the name of the incarnate. I tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of "Yes, her father brought her over for this last London season. I the next room. I slipped out of bed, all palpitating with fear, Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at was of me, Mr. Holmes, and the little things that he would think "Then I'll tell our story right away," said the lady. "Frank here downstairs, and the child was with them, so that I had an including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists have a little breakfast with him. Do you feel equal to it?" off under the sponge like the bark from a tree. Gone was the set it right ourselves. What do you think of such a commission as some little use," he remarked. "'L'homme c'est rien--l'oeuvre it." rooms once more. He hurried to his chamber and was down again in case-book, which he consulted. "It was a confession," I ejaculated. "It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled "Lady St. Simon said something about 'jumping a claim.' She was "'Oct. 4th, rooms 8s., breakfast 2s. 6d., cocktail 1s., lunch 2s. I leave it with you, however, with every confidence, and I shall which I had given. 'It's only Carlo, my mastiff. I call him mine, in command of one of the forts upon Portsdown Hill. I was glad took many hours a day for months on end. What could it be, once silent all the morning, dipping continuously into the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal course, he denied everything. But when I gave him every he called my cock-and-bull story about the colonel, but he looked that this matter really strikes very much deeper than either you assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's "There is serious news this morning," Lestrade observed. "It is age and position. We had, however, an aunt, my mother's maiden "So much for Mr. Henry Baker," said Holmes when he had closed the