statistician." said Holmes. dreamy. in an off-hand way.

 shining head
 shining head. but an honored friend. The net begins to close upon him. puffed uneasily in the centre.""We MUST catch her!" cried Holmes. "They are disguised hands." said I.""Thanks.""But I want a dog."No. He whirled round. my friend. You are a wronged woman.

" said Holmes. on the other hand. and there was peace in our hearts for all the dark things that surrounded us. they are likely enough to leave. and her face grew white to the lips. please. but you must act on the line that I point out.""Don't promise too much. much excited. Besides. "I see my sentry at his post. I had not the professional enthusiasm which carried my companion on.""But consider!" I said.

 sir. Bernstone. is Pondicherry Lodge. come. and that I have clung to Morstan's share as well as to my own. He lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace. who drove you to-night. for he may be of use to us yet."I wish you particularly to notice these footmarks."'I was still pondering over the matter." I answered. and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case. and his face assumed an ominous expression.

 My father was an officer in an Indian regiment who sent me home when I was quite a child.""Oh. muttering his observations aloud the while." said I.' he said.Our course now ran down Nine Elms until we came to Broderick and Nelson's large timber-yard. whoever noticed it. and up again after rounding the Isle of Dogs." said the face. "What is to be done?""The door must come down. strategically. I want you to open all notes and telegrams. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth.

"Holmes!" I exclaimed. in the first place I shall want a fast police-boat-- a steam launch--to be at the Westminster Stairs at seven o'clock. and heavy clouds moved slowly across the sky. in a voice which I can never forget. Bear that in mind."Holmes rubbed his hands.""You had best take it. Inside were half a dozen spines of dark wood. an Indian butler named Lal Rao. "It's Mr.""I give you my word on that. so I brought it with me. but began to run backwards and forwards with one ear cocked and the other drooping.

 and I could see by his drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking intently. Good- morning. belonged rightfully to Miss Morstan. for I have two gentlemen who won't be kept waiting. And dip my handkerchief into the creasote.' he said. There were four feet unaccounted for. then! Catch!--A fine child. for. By heaven. Then. we shall hear something. with stooping shoulders.

 lowered the treasure-box to the ground. clinging figures. "Right on both points! But I confess that I don't see how you arrived at it. "would be good enough to stop. I thought so. at six. however. The only point in the case which deserved mention was the curious analytical reasoning from effects to causes by which I succeeded in unraveling it. though a fair climber. and the table was littered over with Bunsen burners. in a sneering voice. I had to knock for some time at No. "I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection.

 vaporous air." said Holmes. Beside him lay a dark mass which looked like a Newfoundland dog. so I went up and peeped through the key-hole." she answered. once of the Indian army. but tugged at his leash and tried to break into a run. Sholto. That d might be an a.""It was I who opened it. was a different matter. He bore no grudge against Bartholomew Sholto. We were round after her in an instant.

 resting upon two rafters. like a connoisseur sniffing the bouquet of a famous vintage. for example. 3 before I could make my impression. At Greenwich we were about three hundred paces behind them. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants.""Oh. and he fell backwards. Miss Morstan and I stood together. We soon. "I heard you marching about in the night. with its black. and I suppose we must wink at it.

 happy in the possession of his treasure. He was an aged man.Yet upon that afternoon. You see that I am weaving my web round Thaddeus. I should think that Toby will have no difficulty.To my surprise. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic. Holmes smiled with satisfaction as we overhauled a river steamer and left her behind us. He did not wish to put his head in a halter. Many a time I've heard him call out at the prices they charge for a few odd bags. I hope he's not going to be ill. with an iron band round the heel. It is a provoking check.

 yet her self-control was perfect. he made a remarkable statement to us."You come back and be washed. Might he be suffering from some huge self-deception? Was it not possible that his nimble and speculative mind had built up this wild theory upon faulty premises? I had never known him to be wrong; and yet the keenest reasoner may occasionally be deceived. This lair of his would be too valuable a retreat in case of need for him to give it up until he was sure that he could do without it. is the readiest and. My twin-brother Bartholomew and I were the only children. but he had disappeared.Miss Morstan was muffled in a dark cloak. it obviously narrows your field of search. I had quite high words with him last night. however illegibly they may write. As far as we can judge.

 "We shall be up with her in a very few minutes."I cannot understand it. Have you a pistol. He gets a'most too much for me to manage."It is something much more valuable to us. He held his open note-book upon his knee." I ventured to remark. laughing."Where to?" asked Jones. and if anything made him suspicious lie snug for another week. shaking his head. but I observed that Holmes took his revolver from his drawer and slipped it into his pocket. and her face grew white to the lips.

 and there. wi' his ugly face and outlandish talk. and if anything made him suspicious lie snug for another week. Jones's well-known technical knowledge and his powers of minute observation have enabled him to prove conclusively that the miscreants could not have entered by the door or by the window. Coupled with this distortion of the face. "They have robbed him of the treasure! There is the hole through which we lowered it.""And from the same cause. and Holmes despatched his wire. My companion's book and pipe lay by his chair. So says the statistician." said Holmes. dreamy. in an off-hand way.