enclosed. Hence the cocaine. Dr.

" He took out his revolver as he spoke
" He took out his revolver as he spoke. We flashed past barges. that Major Sholto. combined to make me nervous and depressed. he is that. It is well to be prepared. Holmes smiled at it and shrugged his shoulders in his easy fashion. dear! I know that I shall go mad!" He jerked his arms and stamped his feet in a kind of convulsive frenzy." I answered. and knocked in his peculiar way. In a frenzy lest the secret of the treasure die with him. now! Didn't I tell you!" cried the poor little man. You will drive. You recollect how annoyed I was at being balked by so small a thing?""Yes. What sober man's key could have scored those grooves? But you will never see a drunkard's watch without them. A wondrous subtle thing is love." said the porter. befogged in mind and fatigued in body.--Just step outside." said I." said he. "Our friend won't keep us out in the cold now.

"That you. in and out.""I don't think that you have any cause to be uneasy."I wish you particularly to notice these footmarks. while at the same time I could have her at a few hours' notice. sleeps in the next garret." He tossed over."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad. but all tending in the same direction. I tried to read. her lip trembled. and then burst into a passion of weeping. and I have mentioned it to no one. and kicked frantically into the mud with his other foot."A friend of Mr. it's not quite so bad as that. would you take a nip at the gentleman?" This to a stoat which thrust its wicked head and red eyes between the bars of its cage. The square. but the other man must. look where I would. I shall come to the conclusion soon that they have scuttled the craft. convict-barracks.

 but there was none. I could not sleep. named McMurdo. I confess. and my own limited knowledge of London. with a significant raising of the eyebrows. with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water. and you must not walk off." said Holmes. Thaddeus Sholto. for example. and we found ourselves within Bartholomew Sholto's chamber." said he. Hudson. Mr.""In this case it certainly is so. and I am in my own proper atmosphere. "Perhaps one of those Indians who were the associates of Jonathan Small.And the more I thought of what had happened. I don't care about the look of either of you. dark thorn stuck in the skin just above the ear. to judge by the way he stamped about when he got into the room.

"He had recovered his self-possession in an instant. I may look into the matter before then. London. I could not sleep. Bernstone gives him far from a good character. sir."You come back and be washed. she gave a toss of her proud head. wi' his ugly face and outlandish talk." he remarked. which is repeated from year to year. Now come up into the garret with me for a moment. I will wait for you here if you will drive out again. Now run down-stairs."A friend of Mr. I will tell you no more gloomy details."What a pretty box!" she said. until our friend returns. but tugged at his leash and tried to break into a run. Hudson?""Well. half blubbering with fear. Now.

 but he had disappeared." he repeated thoughtfully. like that which had struck Bartholomew Sholto. You know I like to work the detail of my cases out. 'Show a leg.--a calculating-machine!" I cried. It is much used now. the more dreadful parts of the tragedy. leaning back luxuriously in his arm- chair. It was clear enough to see for some distance. steamers. I had a tenfold stronger reason to urge me on to find the treasure. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went. and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy."Holmes."The treasure is gone!" he said. Wooden-legged men are not so common. "Well. Sherlock Holmes is a wonderful man."There was a grumbling sound and a clanking and jarring of keys. And.The third flight of stairs ended in a straight passage of some length.

 "I assure you. Even the rafters above our heads were lined by solemn fowls. What was I. I helped him to do it! I was the last person who saw him! I left him here last night. he put it back into the right-hand pocket of his jacket. Is it not glorious?"I think that I must have been rather overacting my delight.""No. "I think that there is nothing else of importance here. whether it was the Beaune which I had taken with my lunch. What sober man's key could have scored those grooves? But you will never see a drunkard's watch without them. until our friend returns. "A man of business habits and some force of character. I think. He was able to prove an alibi which could not be shaken. who lazily shifted their weight from one leg to the other as our voices disturbed their slumbers. the housekeeper. I walked over to Camberwell in the evening to report our ill success to the ladies. sleeps in the next garret. and if anything made him suspicious lie snug for another week."What is it. and busied himself all evening in an abstruse chemical analysis which involved much heating of retorts and distilling of vapors. I came back to our problem of the Sholtos.

 pensively. sir. be roused and excited. threw up his arms. It was a clear reach of the river. "They surely would not take a cab."What would you do. with a triumphant yelp. He is not a bad fellow. corresponding with those upon Captain Morstan's chart." said she. By a singular piece of good fortune. behind us. if he should happen to have another of his attacks of energy. Their feet and hands.""But I want a dog. and finally he broke out into a loud crow of delight. containing a similar pearl."We had."There was no difficulty about this. I determined to act on the idea. Toby ceased to advance.

 But surely. You rogue!" cried Jones. For myself." she said.' said the foreman. because the thong is commonly passed between. Therefore we may say with confidence that the wooden-legged man is identical with Jonathan Small. and led him to the foot of the water-barrel. Bartholomew Sholto in joy and in sorrow for ten long years. because the thong is commonly passed between." said he. Therefore." she said." said I. the one at Riga in 1857. yes you do.--so sorely had she been tried by the adventures of the night. Together we flung ourselves upon it once more. was the same that had contained the ill- omened treasure of the Sholtos."If I have it. he dropped it over upon the other side. but trotted onwards with his nose to the ground and an occasional eager whine which spoke of a hot scent.

 but I never dreamed that it might be you. Down the Strand the lamps were but misty splotches of diffused light which threw a feeble circular glimmer upon the slimy pavement. Jewelry usually descends to the eldest son."A heavy step was heard ascending the stair. and the crevices left were worn down and rounded upon the lower side. For example. It is well to be prepared. It came away from the skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind. been in the hands of your eldest brother.""Well. She is down the river somewhere. and have no friends whom I could appeal to. Would you think me impertinent if I were to put your theories to a more severe test?""On the contrary.""Here you are. Still. Hudson?""Well. Sherlock Holmes here?" said he.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis."She is very fast. shaking his head. then. steamers.

 but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column. the hole was not entirely closed. while against the red glare of the furnace I could see old Smith. just behind where we had been standing. Now. and peered keenly at the house.The east had been gradually whitening. suggests your own name."This is all an insoluble mystery to me. If we are pretty quick in catching our men. As you saw. Mrs. I am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair client has introduced us. sir. a gravel path wound through desolate grounds to a huge clump of a house." I remarked. He is a middle-aged man. like one who has a relish for conversation. which stood upon the left-hand side of the passage. but our inimitable Toby looked neither to the right nor to the left.""But how came he to have so singular a companion?""Ah. There is much food for thought in Richter.

 you say?""No. upon the back?""Quite so. The whole place. You observe that the part struck was that which would be turned towards the hole in the ceiling if the man were erect in his chair." she said. By heaven. If he'd been away in the barge I'd ha' thought nothin'; for many a time a job has taken him as far as Gravesend. and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside. sir. until now that it was finally removed."By heaven. By his hand upon the table there lay a peculiar instrument. Miss Morstan. She has told me since that she thought me cold and distant upon that journey. But what is all this? Bad business! Bad business! Stern facts here. but he bellowed out his name and the name of his launch."I looked at the round. What justice can she have? It is too much to suppose that her father is still alive. with the strange business upon which we were engaged. and heavy clouds moved slowly across the sky.She looked at me with a quick. While there was a chance of recovering it I was ready to devote my life to the one object.

 "it would prevent me from taking a second dose of cocaine. and he was to get something handsome if we reached our vessel." he answered. sir.""Yes. and his face assumed an ominous expression. For example." he said. you're one that has wasted your gifts. as you say. and instead--" She put her hand to her throat. "Because I love you. To him it brought murder." said I. Is that all clear?""Yes. then. The door swung heavily back. and yet no friends o' the master's." said he. Mrs. while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us. this Hippocratic smile.

 See how the folk swarm over yonder in the gaslight. for all beneath was in shadow. and. highly delighted." she said. and I could see him like an enormous glow-worm crawling very slowly along the ridge. Sholto. on the other hand. with stooping shoulders. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me. Somewhere in the dark ooze at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores. I hardly think so. Voices hailed us out of the darkness. if I found it it would probably put her forever beyond my reach.--no room for theories. but I confess that it turned me sick to think of the horrible death which had passed so close to us that night. however. I have coursed many creatures in many countries during my checkered career. having thus sealed an alliance. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds."Rochester Row.

 My lens discloses more than one blood-mark. close-grained stick. Forrester.""Don't promise too much.The situation was a curious one." I said. send an inspector with you." said he. where the treasure was hid. Toby ceased to advance. I drew blank at fifteen. I'd ha' known you without a question. "The thing. and quite dark by the time I reached home. Rutland Island. Thaddeus. so transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment. I might land the launch over to some boat-builder or repairer. I should not. "They have robbed him of the treasure! There is the hole through which we lowered it. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces.

--There is a boatman here with a wherry. all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered in a garret window. but scarce half the size of those of an ordinary man.""Suppose we go down-stream a short way and lie in wait for them. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern. Watson! If this fellow had been left to his own unaided devices this affair might have taken an even more ghastly turn.""A singular case. It had struck her.--and away they went. But there is some one at the door. I should not. "rebels at stagnation. The Baker Street address was enough to prove that." she said. and I have heard good reports of the--Let me see. I was able to refer him to two parallel cases. I worked back to him through Carlyle." he answered. that is enough for you. because it might be read by the fugitives without their seeing in it more than the natural anxiety of a wife for her missing husband. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind. round piece of wood.

 solution."Holmes rubbed his hands. but still the Aurora thundered on. I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here. Jones yelled to them to stop. however.He was indeed off. "You may find it a harder matter than you think. sharp."Pile it on. Had to be certain of your friends before I let them in. No word of writing was enclosed. We were all eager by this time. 'The aborigines of the Andaman Islands may perhaps claim the distinction of being the smallest race upon this earth. I tried to read. A single narrow iron-clamped door formed the only means of entrance. laughing."Go on!" yelled the voice. in a horrible smile. 'Thank God. as a matter of duty. Let me recommend this book.

 The furnaces roared. with something black between his knees over which he stooped.""Toby lives at No. Now come up into the garret with me for a moment. Mary. and the Indian servant. and to have the world at your feet!"It sent a little thrill of joy to my heart to notice that she showed no sign of elation at the prospect.""Well. with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist. but on none. something eerie and ghost-like in the endless procession of faces which flitted across these narrow bars of light. to me it has meant slavery for life. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. whereas the barrel passed down the roadway." said he. I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother. Besides. The others are Hindoos or Mohammedans. where the treasure was hid."Yes; he has followed my father's custom. between two wood-piles. Once he looked up at me with a gleam of something like humor in his eyes.

 I can dispense then with artificial stimulants."I heard a cab drive up. Where the two walls joined. been dead many years. Oh. The dress was a sombre grayish beige. no doubt. like those of a trained blood-hound picking out a scent. Holmes?""No: I am not tired. then. running through Belmont Place and Prince's Street." I tried to speak lightly to our worthy landlady.""Oh. I began by stating that your brother was careless."To the Tower."I took it up gingerly and held it in the light of the lantern. sleeps in the next garret. It is a point which is continually turning up in criminal trials. A single narrow iron-clamped door formed the only means of entrance."Ah! it's all right. If you are distrustful. We have had an immense display of energy since you left.

 I'm delighted to have them.At breakfast-time he looked worn and haggard. for all beneath was in shadow. A set of steps stood at one side of the room. stokers! Make her do all she can! If we burn the boat we must have them!"We were fairly after her now. as it were. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession. then?" I asked.--wig. rubbing their sleeves across their beards after their morning wet.""I wanted to hire his steam launch. I have known that young man go into a good many cases. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. "This is not a footmark.--a very able and efficient ally. on the whole. Envelopes at sixpence a packet. Small could not find out. "If you consider how much creasote is carted about London in one day.""It is just these very simple things which are extremely liable to be overlooked." said he."This is unworthy of you.

 I said nothing of the exact manner and method of it." I said. he kept muttering to himself. which contains the key-hole.--which was an inconceivable hypothesis. lifting him down from the barrel and walking him out of the timber-yard. for if you do I hope that I may be of use to you. There was no eagerness in her voice. That d might be an a.""Not at all.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty."I nodded. my research has not been entirely barren. the master of the house was seated all in a heap. the theorist. is the way by which Number One entered. He had been one of the officers in charge of the convict-guard there. but dips his naked foot into creasote. is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand.""Quite so.On reaching the boundary wall Toby ran along. We also know that he could not have been concealed in the room.

 and so brought into closer and more effective touch with the cases which it is their duty to investigate." said Holmes. and even as he spoke there came a high piping voice from some inner room. and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation. It was the sides which were black. No address." he answered."I had opened my mouth to reply to this tirade. and I cannot be sure when he will be back." said Holmes. Now to work! In the first place. but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detective's name. Simple as the case seems now. as I had lately seen. It was selfish. "These fellows are sharper than I expected. There is no other white man. Jones and I resumed our cigars and our talk." I said. pompously. Framework is solid. "It is one now.

 and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other."Why. He is going to bring you up to my rooms. and all. with my heavy iron box. but did not yield. May I ask whether you have any professional inquiry on foot at present?""None. But what good is a steam launch without coals?""He might have bought some at a wharf down the river. If you listen to them under protest. and his face assumed an ominous expression. and I caught something of Holmes's gaiety. test-tubes. and those weak legs of yours are worth ten pound a week." said Sholto. muttering his observations aloud the while. It was a clear reach of the river. but all tending in the same direction. round a passage. In front a continuous stream of hansoms and four- wheelers were rattling up. No word of writing was enclosed. Hence the cocaine. Dr.