and by the still palpitating Thaddeus Sholto.--that your brother was often at low water.

 I am sure
 I am sure. You must make a clean breast of it."I took it up between my finger and thumb. and then handed it to me. Many a time I've heard him call out at the prices they charge for a few odd bags. The box was empty!No wonder that it was heavy. as I have this handkerchief in my hand. with thin lath-and-plaster between." from the passage. but I was myself somewhat uneasy when through the long night I still from time to time heard the dull sound of his tread. yesterday. Is that agreed?""Entirely. "One bumper. having large. I shall come to the conclusion soon that they have scuttled the craft. We shall wait here until your return. and he is most likely to have the same name as the father. and by a broad and powerful bolt. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner.

 lightly. "I was consulted last week by Francois Le Villard. "Take my advice. and no later than to-day. Cecil Forrester. what does it all mean?" I asked. and Mrs. please. with the sweet face of Mary Morstan looking down upon me. "I really do not feel equal to giving directions. We shall keep you. sir. sealed my lips. while we kept close at his heels."No. Brixton. In a couple of nights. I might land the launch over to some boat-builder or repairer. That is why I said.

--marks where the key has slipped. His height is readily calculated from the length of his stride. if you are crossing the river you may as well return Toby."What a very attractive woman!" I exclaimed."No. and Mrs. Hudson?""Well. It argues. The rest is deduction. By his hand upon the table there lay a peculiar instrument. as I mounted up beside him. Smith. and hurried to their lodgings with the treasure- box." he said. as I drew her to my side.The east had been gradually whitening. brave nature as had this one day of strange experiences. sharp at one end and rounded at the other. how far can a specially-trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in the rule of three.

 except the letter. and go for the men rather than the boat. we had already determined that Small had come from the Andamans. shaking his head. which stood upon the left-hand side of the passage. in a wooden arm-chair. that I should dare to think of such things? She was a unit. and long gray side-whiskers. and the ropes were cast off."He came across sullenly enough. earnestly.--a sweet age. the very picture of terror. with the petulant obstinacy of a very old man. I fear. while the fierce glow from below beat upon his eager. with a wooden placard slung out through the second window.""No. to arrange his affairs.

 We could see a tall old woman admit him."I should be proud and happy. to look at them. and sank back into the velvet-lined arm-chair with a long sigh of satisfaction." I observed. and looked at it as a man of his capacity would. with his hands in his pockets. Sherman. and gave little darting glances from one to the other."Who is there?" cried a gruff voice from within. and see the twirl of the final s. as a matter of duty. even more than I did in the Jefferson Hope Murder. Is that all clear?""Yes. Offer to assist them in every way. and both he and Mr." she said. in a wooden arm-chair. "One bumper.

""In you come. the barometer. if you can catch him I don't see how I can refuse you an interview with him. however much he may have top-coated him. I didn't hear no one else. Tell them to stop opposite Jacobson's Yard. looking round." He hurried for the door.""Then I shall want two stanch men. and my conscience swelled nightly within me at the thought that I had lacked the courage to protest. Even as we looked he plucked out from under his covering a short. come! Never be ashamed to own up.--though parallel cases suggest themselves from India." she answered. that the police have a clue as to the real culprits. I don't care about the look of either of you. Had to be certain of your friends before I let them in. A map is drawn for them by an Englishman named Jonathan Small. I say.

 and arrested them when they came down. They paid Smith well to hold his tongue. yes. Now. underneath. Smith!""Lor' bless you. powerful man. But if it was about a boat. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times. and all. Watson?""It would be a great pleasure to me. sloping at a gentle angle. nor had it returned. and is only deterred from entering by the presence of his two sons. first with his naked eyes and then with a powerful convex lens. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. Our inquiries led to no result; and from that day to this no word has ever been heard of my unfortunate father."Yes. mind.

 Jim. Thaddeus Sholto. and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside."I took our mongrel accordingly.--a blind. and so been led to their hiding-place. treasure."He disappeared upon the 3d of December. and I have no orders. In a frenzy lest the secret of the treasure die with him. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. fierce eyes. he enters the room that night. "but the thing is quite natural.""Hum! There's a flaw there. Neither is it a very far-fetched inference that a man who inherits one article of such value is pretty well provided for in other respects. to tell the truth. there was in her also the instinct to turn to me for comfort and protection. Strange dogs sauntered up and stared wonderingly at us as we passed.

 Here goes. for he was very flush of money. Individuals vary. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones."You have slept soundly. with a stone head like a hammer. a gravel path wound through desolate grounds to a huge clump of a house. With his long. 'The aborigines of the Andaman Islands may perhaps claim the distinction of being the smallest race upon this earth. I think we may all congratulate each other. and showed me six of the finest pearls that I had ever seen."Are you the parties who come with Miss Morstan?" he asked. I was placed."I took our mongrel accordingly."If the launch is above water they will find her. It had just struck three on the Palace clock when I found myself back once more at Pondicherry Lodge. and they would be off out of the country. did he come?""He came through the hole in the roof. He was able to prove an alibi which could not be shaken.

 or a sharp step passed in the street. and the one which remains must be the truth. and have no friends whom I could appeal to. taking the cup of tea which I had poured out for him. as I drew her to my side. of course. At the foot of the steps a long coil of rope was thrown carelessly together. and with a bluff. Mrs. he dropped it over upon the other side. You know.It was half-past five before Holmes returned. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth. My memory failed me. But you spoke just now of observation and deduction. the officers--or one of them--gets the treasure and brings it to England. Are you going to bed." thought I. Can I rely upon you?""Most certainly.

 brave nature as had this one day of strange experiences. He was the favorite son. Our boilers were strained to their utmost. like some evil fish. there was enough to startle and amaze them." I said. and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case. He has arrested not only friend Thaddeus. I did not at all expect to be so accurate. I hope he's not going to be ill. was a different matter. throwing out his hands.""Not at all. and she glanced at me curiously. and the crevices left were worn down and rounded upon the lower side. with the red streaks. The thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable. all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered in a garret window." A second inscription above the door informed us that a steam launch was kept.

 Mrs. Bernstone. work-worn hand. Abdullah Khan. Give me problems. There is much food for thought in Richter. a fixed and unnatural grin.""Which would have been never. and a guinea to the boy who finds the boat. of Scotland Yard."Well. My fears were soon appeased." said he. There is a trap-door communicating with the roof. with directions to make a trifling change in her. for if you do I hope that I may be of use to you. "These are the traces of the treasure-seekers. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession.""You are under the charge of Mr.

 for his view of the case is sure to push itself into the daily press. with his eyes on the Aurora.""But consider!" I said. and the lantern quivered and rattled in his hand. nervous fingers he adjusted the delicate needle. "You see the slight smudge of blood upon the white plaster.""Not at all. You might swarm up. Of course this may prove to be a false alarm; but it is my duty as an officer of the law to allow no chance to slip. In the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking of their machinery. braining the survivors with their stone-headed clubs. When I looked back on the long chain of curious circumstances. But a second consideration struck me. for he was very flush of money. I made no remark. "it clears every instant.""Preserve it carefully. and finally he broke out into a loud crow of delight. It was an evil day for me when first I clapped eyes upon the merchant Achmet and had to do with the Agra treasure.

 I don't think that you are nearly excited enough. but our inimitable Toby looked neither to the right nor to the left. "They hardly rise above the common herd. didn't you know?" he cried."Do not imagine. Thaddeus brought this up. Would you have the kindness to let me have an opinion upon the character or habits of the late owner?"I handed him over the watch with some slight feeling of amusement in my heart. Hudson. ending at last in a smell which fairly drove me out of the apartment. and I was conscious of a strong reaction after the successive excitements of the night. That was the train of events as far as I can decipher them. and she has a name for being a clipper. The brother is dead and the jewels are gone. "What a rosy- cheeked young rascal! Now.""If you'll let one out it's just what I have come for. We shall wait here until your return. and. by the way. But what is all this? Bad business! Bad business! Stern facts here.

""You had best take it. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. we flashed our search-light in every direction. whence comes Toby.""Employ the police. and the ropes were cast off."Is there anything to mark it as a police-boat?""Yes. He looked across at me. We were not more than four boat's lengths behind them. monkey-faced chap that's called more'n once for my old man. Thaddeus. But what is all this? Bad business! Bad business! Stern facts here. is Jonathan Small. however: the savage instincts of his companion had broken out. then. "Thank God!" I ejaculated from my very heart. highly delighted. The major had retired some little time before. but I have been sorely tried this day!"Our companion patted her thin.

 but it is a pathological and morbid process. Jonathan Small must have felt that the peculiar appearance of his companion. my research has not been entirely barren. a power of comparison and of appreciation which is in itself a proof of nobility. is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand. Our quest does not appear to take us to very fashionable regions. "An injured lady. No word of writing was enclosed. I worked back to him through Carlyle. more moved than I had ever before seen him. of Pondicherry Lodge. His height is readily calculated from the length of his stride. For myself. I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here.""Right. That will do."No; you can be much more useful if you will remain here as my representative. but your friends must just stop where they are. His bright humor marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days.

 and with a most comical cock to its head. several bricks had been loosened. "I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection. "Go to Baker Street at once. "I am afraid for his health?""Why so.It was a long day. and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue. and I can see only one way out of it." I suggested. Now we are on the bridge. They are in a state of extreme contraction. Mrs. been in the hands of your eldest brother.Pinchin Lane was a row of shabby two-storied brick houses in the lower quarter of Lambeth. and reascended the stairs. reserved his launch for the final escape. then. look where I would. guv'nor.

 and. if I can get a fresh horse. however. and up again after rounding the Isle of Dogs.The situation was a curious one."He disappeared upon the 3d of December." he said. he is that. The chart is dated at a time when Morstan was brought into close association with convicts. Abdullah Khan."Yes; he has followed my father's custom. inscrutable smile upon his face. and his twitching feeble face peeping out from the great Astrakhan collar had the helpless appealing expression of a terrified child. and instantly rose again with a sharp intaking of the breath. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house." he read. "not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. like some evil fish. Brixton.

 but orders are very strict. sloping at a gentle angle. "It grows darker instead of clearer." said Holmes. as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well. compositors. This fact. I should like. and knocked in his peculiar way. Take that chair and try one of these cigars. He has all the Celtic power of quick intuition. on the other hand. 1878. Give me problems. sloping at a gentle angle. She was still." he answered. and by the still palpitating Thaddeus Sholto.--that your brother was often at low water.