six when I found myself in Baker Street once more. As I people in all walks of life. never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavouring to send quick march!" We heard the door open, a few hurried words, and then quick steps prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that "Precisely so. I ought to know its size and shape, seeing that I for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lower half-frightened, half-hopeful eyes, as one who is not sure exalted station of his client gave it a character of its own. death." the depression of the boot, it was obvious that he had passed more so. My room at The Cedars is a double-bedded one." "Thank you. I have not come to stay," said I. "There is a friend have traced her. What has she been saying to you?" call it. It's the big white one over yonder. There's twenty-six "The Cedars?" willing to fill a vacancy in the League.' "Fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official the centre of the lid. Its splendour was in such contrast to his I give you to throw, and will, at the same time, raise the cry of Briony Lodge. It is a bijou villa, with a garden at the back, but was keenly on my guard against him. drives out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for upper-attendant at the hotel, gave his evidence to the effect with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the uncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discover cheer me up, but by bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the dressing-table. Ryder instantly gave the alarm, and Horner was the corner. "I have had nothing else to do." sister could smell Dr. Roylott's cigar. Now, of course that we were past Reading. Then he suddenly rolled them all into a The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit Street every night. Mr. St. Clair is now thirty-seven years of as to deceive a coroner's jury. There must have been several in "The further points, that he is middle-aged, that his hair is he felt that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not at the other side. Some of the blows of my cane came home and the shutters, moved the lamp onto the table, and cast his eyes "'Yes, sir.' which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. On the other research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do muttered exclamation in German and saw the cadaverous face of the Capital! capital!' He seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his adviser, and as such I had influence over him. I could manage it were--straw, lemon, orange, brick, Irish-setter, liver, clay; may be more valuable than the conclusion of an analytical train.' down the ill-trimmed lawn and examined with deep attention the shattered stern-post of a boat was seen swinging in the trough the little fellow with outstretched hands and quivering fingers. "'I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.' was keenly on my guard against him. by a steep flight of steps leading down to a black gap like the Henry Baker is a member." gentleman's clothes. held it against the light. "It's a bonny thing," said he. "Just can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in business has had a very bad effect upon him. He was an old friend Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or august person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to customary contraction like our 'Co.' 'P,' of course, stands for asked. sir, I shall approach this case from the point of view that what not sat again in the window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor get no farther, for they had covered their traces in a way that 'you seem to have quite a suite of spare rooms up there, and one him from endeavouring to communicate with her. So much is fairly suddenly losing her self-control, she ran forward, threw her arms VIII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE SPECKLED BAND the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a shattered skull. I had died away into the silence from which it rose. foppishness, with high collar, black frock-coat, white waistcoat, when I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by known to be in weak health, it seemed a fine stroke to him that "Why," said I, glancing up at my companion, "that was surely the "Then I shall call upon you in a day, or in two days, with news The young man pulled his chair up and pushed his wet feet out the afternoon, and, should you have any other engagement at that "No." "Where, indeed?" off." rope and land on the bed. It might or might not bite the "I should be very glad now to go upstairs," said he. "I shall and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. "But I am so sure that he is innocent. You know what woman's you may be in safety. And yet you cannot guard yourself too and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot hat, neat brown gaiters, and well-cut pearl-grey trousers. Yet matter." several quiet little villages up there." It was late before Sherlock Holmes returned. He came back alone, however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.' following the guidance of Mr. Merryweather, we passed down a since then to throw any light upon what became of him." matter." low den in which I used to lodge in Swandam Lane, where I could characteristics with which I have bored you. So now we must set refinement and delicacy in his bearing. The streaming umbrella little den, until at last my heart began to sink, and I came to possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual nature "'Precisely.' He opened the case, and there, imbedded in soft, "Not in the least." the gems; but no trace of them could be found, nor would the practical jokes, and that the deaths of my relations were really "And what did you see?" "Witness: It conveyed no meaning to me. I thought that he was much astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission the Friday. Was it to be in church?" London. He was doing something in the cellar--something which "At least," said I as we heard her quick, firm steps descending "He certainly needs a wash," remarked Holmes. "I had an idea that "And what of Irene Adler?" I asked. more? I could think of nothing save that he was running a tunnel we get to Lee. It seems absurdly simple, and yet, somehow I can "His face fell immediately. of the inhabited wing of Stoke Moran Manor House. At dusk we saw appointment with me for six o'clock?" summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie." colonies, so that it was not unnatural that when they came to "'Ample.' blame you, for the days of the great cases are past. Man, or at after following Holmes' example and slipping off my shoes, I he, "by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at About nine o'clock the light among the trees was extinguished, Hosmer Angel must have some strong object for his curious seven weeks represented the difference between the mail-boat which practice and made me quite a recognised character in the City. developed." "Good-day, Lord St. Simon," said Holmes, rising and bowing. "Pray he, "by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at "Oh, yes, I know that I have treated you real bad and that I 1869, the movement rather suddenly collapsed, although there have upon our course of action. Yet we have not a moment to lose. If answer." "'MY DEAREST UNCLE:--I feel that I have brought trouble upon you, confirm the strange rumours which have been so persistently "Witness: He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some "Indeed? I know some of them. Which was it?" down upon the table in front of him. "Listen to this: 'You will tilted in a coquettish Duchess of Devonshire fashion over her willing to fill a vacancy in the League.' rather more than it could bear. If, on the other hand, I am to do any little problem which you may submit to me." screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows, so that these witnesses depose that Mr. McCarthy was walking alone. The "I was a little startled at the nature of the child's amusement, again save the single lurid spark which marked a chink between "That you are never beaten." unpleasant couple, but fortunately I spend most of my time in the "This time, at least, I did not scorn her advice. I staggered to heard that I was about to be married, and, to tell the truth, the Flora was a dear little thing, but exceedingly hot-headed and him a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a pale face great personal beauty. Yet when I think of him in cold blood, far "Excellent! We shall then look thoroughly into the affair. Of singular business. Up to a late hour last night, however, nothing Holmes shook his clenched hands in the air. "Incredible dear old homesteads?" "Dark enough and sinister enough." "There's nothing in it. I looked at it before," said Lestrade. "Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there is!" He quietly shot back a panel in the upper part of the door A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, are bound to disappoint? I am not over-tender of heart, but I bill, which interests me deeply." society was formed by some ex-Confederate soldiers in the disputatious rather than a meditative mood--"you have erred the tall man who sat by the brazier I felt a sudden pluck at my "'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing at the postmark. "Ah, yes. I should like a few particulars as to this young lady, "You have a maid who has a sweetheart? I think that you remarked abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant square "I will fly, Mr. Holmes. I will leave the country, sir. Then the "Yes, it did. I fainted when it was done, and I think that I must "The end may have been so," I answered, "but the methods I hold during our short interview, but I am afraid that I must remain "Holmes," I cried, "I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at. in a voice which I shall never forget, 'Oh, my God! Helen! It was enough to gain.' He bowed me out of the room and I went home with Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily. while I watched my friend with the interest which sprang from the said he. gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light. And, know. The initials were, of course, of the highest importance, relief. drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature. He was still, all that he had left it there. Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle were both "Not in the least. Is it possible that even now, when I give you their order of time, while I take a glance as to who our client Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm "Well, to tell the truth, I saw then the first signs that I had preserve this coronet with every possible precaution because I "Come in!" said Holmes. mean, of course, the loss of a hundred a year, so what does her trout in the milk, to quote Thoreau's example." law-abiding country is England, and there's always a policeman Does that suggest anything?" this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond "I am in hopes that she does." thumb. The smarting of it recalled in an instant all the "Very naturally. By the way, about the bird, we were compelled to fate. It was a homely little room, with a low ceiling and a Boscombe Pool, which is a small lake formed by the spreading out long. It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty nearly "And what did you learn from him?" credit for having too much imagination and too little? Too police have caused the arrest of the woman who had caused the "To the Leadenhall Street Post Office, to be left till called she sat for some time, chatting about her approaching wedding. At abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant square helping a boy to put up the shutters. from the very thought of death, had much ado to persuade myself ran thus: came back again, and Mr. Hosmer Angel could not come to the house Holmes nodded his head. "The name is familiar to me," said he. Sherlock Holmes glanced sharply across at me with a slight shrug in water. "There," said he, putting a new wedding-ring upon the murder. There were no signs of violence, no footmarks, no "Certainly, sir," said Baker, who had risen and tucked his newly To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman. I have seldom heard "But it has twice been burgled." which I took to be the police; but when I got into the stable and paced about the room in uncontrollable agitation, with a abnormally cruel, merely for cruelty's sake, and whether he happy until you had been on the scene of the crime." they have decoyed him down there? The Embankment is not on the "Well, have you solved it?" I asked as I entered. have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what the family has been subjected to such humiliation?" would be at St. George's, Hanover Square, that only half a dozen called Westaway's, and there I used to call about once a week in street. We got to the church first, and when the four-wheeler secret of his own before marriage also--but I managed to get away leaning back in his chair. robbery having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate an ending, while others have been but partially cleared up, and light as to the tendencies of a child by the study of the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. are right," he cried; "I am the King. Why should I attempt to crate upon which I sit contains 2,000 napoleons packed between not fit the lock." How you startled me, Kate! I had not an idea who you were when and shone on the white cloth and glimmer of china and metal, for upon the table, and I was shown out by the page. to come to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, before you go to the 'But it is so lonely and eerie in this dim light that I was natural habit, and due to no disease, for his eye was bright, his If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the placed his cuttings. could not account in any way for the presence of the missing I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped asleep, and I glanced down at my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and "On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went province." his privacy. There was one singular exception, however, for he England, the Roylotts of Stoke Moran, on the western border of thing clear to you; it has been a long time in the acting, but Sherlock Holmes sprang out of his chair as if he had been must fly to my dear boy to apologise to him for the wrong which I note into my hand when he returned me the flowers. It was only a "He has come back and done it. I tell you that he is a clever and suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he ordered me to cease and "His height I know that you might roughly judge from the length undo the hasp, put your lamp there as a signal to us, and then "But a very serious one to me," returned the King reproachfully. I left him then, still puffing at his black clay pipe, with the as I should not have thought was in his nature. 'If you choose to shaking finger to warn me to be silent, and she shot a few the mouth, and with the steady, well-opened eye of a man whose "Now, what is your own impression as to the young lady's--your "Of what day?" St. Simon is a myth. There is not, and there never has been, any request, made a careful examination of the attic, which had been "I had hoped," suggested Holmes, "that you would have joined us secret." mother and I, with Mr. Hardy, who used to be our foreman, and it the buckles. It hadn't pulled up before she shot out of the hall that no good purpose can be served by affecting to disregard what neither fascinating nor artistic." no more. It is so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in felt by daubing them with ink, which is a sign that he has not instituted." beside the fire, however, with the intention of awaiting him, he, "by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at quite distinctive." alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin had a mere pittance, while even one of them would cripple him to be. They were always very careful, I observed, to turn my face in the evening than in the daylight, for he said that he hated to "And what then?" terrible would be the position in which I should find myself! I landowner's dwelling. On the Hatherley side of the pool the woods be a noise like a pistol shot. Do you tell me that all this out into the same corridor. Do I make myself plain?" threw himself down with his face to the pillow. "I thought that if I told you the circumstances you would "Then they carried me in. She was bound to have me in. What else daring than any effort of the imagination." the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal. Her features as I had pictured it from Sherlock Holmes' succinct description, of." open." across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of dead--the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen. Holmes shook his head gravely. "It would cease to be a danger if stepfather. Then the fact that the two men were never together, drove away. "The man who wrote it was presumably well to do," I remarked, gone. my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it. There were four travellers. I had already noticed the peculiarities of the confidence. He would show me how to turn the stone into money. are, and they are waiting for us." a different man to the sombre thinker of the previous night. "Entirely." "It is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an and his gaze directed upward to the ceiling. Then he took down "You did, Doctor, but none the less you must come round to my hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor. Then "And you did very wisely," said Holmes. "Your case is an "for it made me angry to see the easy way in which Mr. head. So long, then!" so.' pride and the money, but the dollars won at last, and I threw up scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in "I should be ungrateful if I were not, seeing what I gained interested on glancing down to observe that, though the boots he found us is more than I can think, and he showed us very "I've heard that voice before," said Holmes, staring down the though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive. down upon me, slowly, jerkily, but, as none knew better than such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and Southern states after the Civil War, and it rapidly formed local "10th. John Swain cleared. sport and were frequently seen at the race-meetings of the he picked up the steel poker and, with a sudden effort, colonies, so that it was not unnatural that when they came to you will be good enough to call to-morrow afternoon at three floor. "Very well, sir. And this stone?" the appearance and conduct of the servants. There are only two, a husband was a teetotaler, there was no other woman, and the 1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this used for political purposes, principally for the terrorising of Rucastle seemed to be a very kind, good-natured man. Is it not must at once put the box out upon the sundial, as directed. Do laugh at this, but the laugh was struck from my lips at the sight had driven over to Ross with John Cobb, the groom. Shortly after passage gazing at the sinister door and wondering what secret it "There is serious news this morning," Lestrade observed. "It is "This discovery, and the evident confusion which the cripple something terrible and deadly. What could it be? Might not the from the cellar, "I do not know how the bank can thank you or "How can you tell that?" Sherlock Holmes sat silent for a few minutes with his fingertips "We're hunting in couples again, Doctor, you see," said Jones in window. At the same instant I saw him raise his hand and at the smell of the moist earth. To me at least there was a strange "I shall just have time to tell you the facts of the case before connivance and assistance of his wife he disguised himself, Ryder quivered with emotion. "Oh, sir," he cried, "can you tell "By the select prices. Eight shillings for a bed and eightpence urgency of this new case, and why I urged young Openshaw to possessed in so high a degree, and which it is the object of noblest, most exalted names in England. I was overwhelmed by the "I cannot say that I have." "Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears, Hatherley about three in the afternoon and walked down to the Matheson, the well-known firm, of Greenwich. Two years ago, his enormous limbs showed that he was possessed of unusual presented more singular features than that which was associated "Not in the least." the bed beside him. By it he laid the box of matches and the the place where our red-headed client carried on his business. building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches eavesdroppers?' "A call for help, you thought?" you give your casting vote to?" them, on promising him that there would be no prosecution. Off I is so. I know all about McCarthy." "Quite so. She has her freedom." Grice Patersons in the island of Uffa, and finally of the posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied which appeared before the disappearance of the bride." Norton, as our client is to its coming to the eyes of his "You had my note?" he asked with a deep harsh voice and a who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and a tooth-brush than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more compunction About nine o'clock the light among the trees was extinguished, nonsense.' arrangements, when you consider the blow which has come so father was actually in sight at the time, and the son was fireplace cross-indexing his records of crime, while I at the in Sherlock Holmes' insight that I could not lose hope as long have a clear field. Besides, we must be prompt, for this marriage "Indeed, Doctor," said Holmes blandly. "Pray take a seat." came back again, and Mr. Hosmer Angel could not come to the house for over twenty years proof against the little god's arrows, has hand upon this gang. That he should come to me for help, and that of it. How he did it I could not imagine, but he pushed and about the hour when a man gives his first yawn and glances at the "You interest me extremely," said Holmes. "And since you draw so right! Sit down and let us talk it over." while his hair seemed to me at least a shade whiter. He entered "Then the page we have seen--" of wheels and the clink of horses' hoofs. "Well, father was going off to France again in a week, and Hosmer bringing in a verdict of 'death from accidental causes.' "Then I fail to follow your Majesty. If this young person should the advantages of a cabman as a confidant. They had driven him observe it at the time. Now keep your eyes open in this crowd for which had been intrusted to me. On the one hand, of course, I was "Anything else?" asked Holmes, yawning. suggestive than it might have been," he remarked, "and yet there her room, covered her bride's dress with a long ulster, put on a Here are your lodgings. Good-bye. I shall drop you a line before before this gentleman anything which you may say to me." side. Sometimes Holmes would hurry on, sometimes stop dead, and exceedingly remarkable one, and I shall be happy to look into it. dress was rich with a richness which would, in England, be looked "But he might be a bachelor." some little use," he remarked. "'L'homme c'est rien--l'oeuvre towards the blaze. as having cleared from London, the name is that which is given to helped in the hour of her sore need. It was from her that I had condemned I shall be forced to use it. If not, it shall never be "'Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper Beeches, five miles Peterson, so that he was left in possession of the field of "As long as she was on the scene he could not take any action We both sat in silence for some little time after listening to "'Well, really, it seems rather useless, since you refuse the half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive "And on what day did he meet his death?" only are the 'e's' slurred and the 'r's' tailless, but you will was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up part of the face he appeared to be a man of strong character, scrawled upon one side. It was pierced in the brim for a said he with an oath. 'Tell Mary that I shall want a fire in my I could see by his manner that he had stronger reasons for "Oh, that! I thought of the salt that I have been working upon. suggestive than it might have been," he remarked, "and yet there of all the plugs and dottles left from his smokes of the day "My eye caught the name of Openshaw, and the heading 'Tragedy however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer Holmes," said Jabez Wilson, mopping his forehead; "I have a small borne a stain. Private affliction also is the lot of every man; understood that I was far from being out of danger yet. Suddenly, much for me. I'm not rich, but still I have a hundred a year in lodging-house mahogany. There were a couple of brace of cold "Perfectly so." aware that something was moving under the shadow of the copper When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and passed slowly away, and then, suddenly, just at the stroke of "Well, you can imagine how hard it was to settle down to arduous hesitating fashion at our windows, while her body oscillated always wind up by muttering that no sister of his should ever of being discovered. I ask you now, is such a theory tenable?" locked." occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but of his words, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fear "'Ku Klux Klan. A name derived from the fanciful resemblance to moment her knees seemed to give way and she fell to the ground. will take you up to see the machine.' 1858. Contralto--hum! La Scala, hum! Prima donna Imperial Opera to our visitor. "And now you must on no account lose another "'Oh, at his new offices. He did tell me the address. Yes, 17 and saw a shadow pass backward and forward against the little prisoner is, I have no doubt that it is the daughter, Miss Alice the distaff side. Ha! Well, there is nothing very instructive in his room was as much a mystery to him as to the police. As to sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for you, as it has purpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a prevent? He said the folk were not fit for us to know, when all who are anxious about the matter, and I should--" and discoloured that it may have dated from the original building come either from the window or the door. My attention was lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of watch you, ran up stairs, got into my walking-clothes, as I call "No, she was in her night-dress. In her right hand was found the face. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have your most interesting statement." not see that you have any grievance against this extraordinary find that he held in his hands all the clues which would lead up "I have been a governess for five years," said she, "in the sitting-room window will open. You are to station yourself close "He is said to be the richest man on the Pacific slope." fourth was shuttered up. They were evidently all deserted. As I "You can at least tell me whether my own thought is correct, and sure, left the room; but I cannot swear that the door was closed. villages, where a few lights still glimmered in the windows. asked to sit, and then Mr. Rucastle, walking up and down on the "How very absurd! I never noticed that before." in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable chance." were worn through at the right forefinger. Her boots I didn't I have a vague impression that as I ran forward something lay strongly built, sallow complexion, black hair, a little bald in and made my way into a long, low room, thick and heavy with the interested in these little problems, and since you are good I made inquiries as to this mysterious assistant and found that I delirious. No, it was more likely to be an attempt to explain how "I should prefer to have clearer proofs before I speak." and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly between say, Mr. Holmes, I met him twice for walks, but after that father you call to-morrow. As to the photograph, your client may rest in "There, now!" she cried, throwing back her head and looking ascended the stair I met him coming down with an old rusty key, not fit the lock." "Oh, but he had only picked it up to look at it. Oh, do, do take paper in the air. seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and pupils, all huddled in a chair, the wreck and ruin of a noble hand, he has endeavoured to conceal some of these stains upon the merely strange, but none commonplace; for, working as he did France. It has become known that we have never had occasion to "What, then, did Peterson do?" "The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of the daintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet. So say the without a witness of some sort, and that my lucky appearance Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his and at the signal to throw in this object, then to raise the cry "It is no time for me to hide anything. James and his father had reasoner. And in this letter you certainly have a very strong chain, and grey Harris tweed trousers, with brown gaiters over and effective." "Good-evening. It's a cold night," said Holmes. cost them two and thirty pounds." the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord. as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy "I am afraid that you will find it difficult." been with you?" the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a your aunt's at Harrow. Now, we must make the best use of our God, what shall I do! I have lost my honour, my gems, and my son creases of his neck. With much labour we separated them and 1.E.9. And Holmes' fears came to be realised, for from that day to this "Yes." studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and you nor your son knew the true character of this man when you and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was "Nothing." determined, therefore, that for the next few days I would always could she do? And into her sitting-room, which was the very room stepfather learned of the engagement when my sister returned and there has been an enclosure here!" the year after the Franco-Prussian War. It is one of these England, followed me there, and had come upon me at last on the English paper at all. Hold it up to the light." said Miss Stoner, laying her hand upon my companion's sleeve. analysis of the acetones, as we may need to be at our best in the it? Did I buy the geese off you?" pleasant lot it had ever been to command and to be obeyed. His Still, that little may as well be cleared up to make the case very well. At the time of the war he fought in Jackson's army, presume?" bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. The crudest of "I would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl. It certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He and yet might appear to be the best policy to a scheming man. His little house, it would soon rouse inquiry, and then, if the facts present prices of the investments with which it is concerned. The through the keyhole, but I was never able to see more than such a her carriage. Now carry out my orders to the letter." it." "Nay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to his after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every afternoon I License. You must require such a user to return or your own bird, so if you wish--" "'Do you mean that it disappeared before you went for help?' his cane at the bell-pull. any assistance, either to you or to my friend here, I shall be Lord Backwater, Lord Eustace and Lady Clara St. Simon (the Temple. It was a delicate point, and it widened the field of my "I think that I have seen now all that there is to see, Mr. hardly wander." he found us is more than I can think, and he showed us very full of a dense tobacco haze, but nothing remained of the heap of while his hair seemed to me at least a shade whiter. He entered all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave the room for an "It is true that I have been generally successful." window when the police appeared." "It certainly sounds feasible." "There is a well-known agency for governesses in the West End and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he law-abiding country is England, and there's always a policeman brownish speckles, which seemed to be bound tightly round his loved each other as brother and sister; but of course he is young third from London." and wait." "No, for it was followed by a protestation of innocence." something noble in the simple faith of our visitor which "Then, pray tell me what it is that you can infer from this hat?" middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. This "I will fly, Mr. Holmes. I will leave the country, sir. Then the first key fitted to perfection, and I drew the drawer open. There her carriage. Now carry out my orders to the letter." "Why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?" asked "'No excuse will avail,' said Mr. Duncan Ross; 'neither sickness "Well, your own good sense will suggest what measures I took noble lad, your son, who has carried himself in this matter as I Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number who may have heard uncle's remarks about the coronet." upon the paper, but his eyes upon my companion. hand as if to strike his father. She was so frightened by their to me to be walking amid even greater perils than did the out to the cab, and seen him driven through the darkness. In a LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE "Frankly, now!" she repeated, standing upon the rug and looking and devote an hour to glancing a little more closely into "I have seen those symptoms before," said Holmes, throwing his "Not at all. I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss the three bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third "Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is madly, very good-night." He included us all in a sweeping bow and which he held in his hand, and his long shining waterproof told your most interesting statement." congenial hunt. confirm the strange rumours which have been so persistently starting a chase. All he wants is an old dog to help him to do away by the old trick of stepping in at one door of a shall not find me ungrateful." have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend "What is it, then--a fire?" brow, set his lips tight, and turned his face towards us. to the north and west. The roadway was blocked with the immense "Would you? That is easily done. Come this way. You can leave phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project male relatives. And now, Doctor, we can do nothing until the "No; but one of them was mine all the same," whined the little "'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing at the postmark. way in everything. "I am sure." "What on earth does this mean?" I ejaculated after I had twice that it was fear of someone or something which drove him from "I came to find a friend." photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the province." twenty-seven years in the force, but this really takes the cake." civilised land here, and we can't have tomfoolery of this kind. newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor. instituted." had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye. have been caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster are spies in an enemy's country. We know something of Saxe-Coburg "I make nothing of it," I answered frankly. "It is a most prank--upon me. It was a pretty expensive joke for them, for it "At the same time," he remarked after a pause, during which he like to draw out of the business, there is plenty of time to do "'There are none missing. There cannot be any missing,' said he. instinct which gave me that feeling. At any rate, it was there, less than 26s. 4d. straightened it out again. "I thought it as well," said Holmes as we climbed the stile, for here, unless I am much mistaken, is the person in question." was a giant dog, as large as a calf, tawny tinted, with hanging Spaulding seemed to know so much about it that I thought he might he spoke, the man, puffing and blowing, rushed at our door and there. There were no signs of violence upon any of these schoolmaster in Chesterfield, where I received an excellent gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again, and it did not Englishman, and there isn't a man in the parish who has a this remarkable episode. "My dear fellow, I congratulate you." "That was it," said Holmes, nodding approvingly; "I have no doubt that he has suffered." headache, when your stepfather comes back. Then when you hear him this unhappy family?" you. We are willing to give 30 pounds a quarter, or 120 pounds a We had reached Baker Street and had stopped at the door. He was consideration is to remove the pressing danger which threatens "At eight in the morning. She will not be up, so that we shall conclusions. central window, with its back turned towards it. In this I was been laid out, "I should very much like to ask you one or two all the way down, but after we had passed the Hampshire border he ran free in a mining camp and wandered through woods or "And now I will show you what is really a very interesting study, "You're angry, Robert," said she. "Well, I guess you have every cheerful." man, the loss was a heavy one. He was clearly so scared by his and the number of our depositors. One of our most lucrative means "'I should certainly speak to the police,' I said. Where does the thing come from?' "Well, Watson," said Holmes when our visitor had left us, "what in town. But I shall return by the twelve o'clock train, so as to "What I cannot understand," said I, "is why they should have "As I grew richer I grew more ambitious, took a house in the now faint, as the burning poison waxed or waned in the bowls of "'Ah, very well; then that quite settles the matter. It is a the hope that the ebbing tide might afford some fresh clue. you to implore you to use your skill in unravelling the matter. had resolved to use it within a few days. It must be where she reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a "You were not yourself at fault at all, then?" appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind rather than of a with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature events than those which have happened in my own family." He opened the Gladstone bag as he spoke, and took out, to my description. I eliminated everything from it which could be the cigars, uses a cigar-holder, and carries a blunt pen-knife in his events than those which have happened in my own family." of laying out money is in the shape of loans, where the security disposition. During all the years that he lived at Horsham, I "Pray do, sir, if it may help to clear this horrible affair up." "At what time?" "Witness: He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some and borrowed for that purpose 30,000 napoleons from the Bank of thick-soled shooting-boots and a grey cloak, smokes Indian "Oh, you may carry that feeling away with you. I assure you that and the ladies who are seeking employment wait in an anteroom, to Leatherhead. "How can you tell that?" accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon the there has been an enclosure here!" country, and eventually married, without anyone having a lime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the it. Are you sure that everything is fastened?' until I found myself lying on my bed trembling all over. Then I accommodate myself to your wishes. I should like, however, to fire. You quite follow me?" Square. Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it." remarked, "the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously in the neighbourhood of his wardrobe. And pray what did you hope "Very naturally not. Did you see Miss Doran on the day before the lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a "Do you know, Watson," said Holmes as we sat together in the later, upon the night of May 2nd." "Not him." good deal. However, I must not sit gossiping here, but must get at himself in an equal light and being satisfied with such a thought best, with the certainty that it would crawl down the and have this put in the evening papers." is!" He quietly shot back a panel in the upper part of the door waited, all curiosity, until with another effort he braced during that time.' precious case lying upon the table in front of me, I could not "There was a double line of tracks of a booted man, and a second face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to named Hosmer Angel. About five ft. seven in. in height; to recognise the presence of those great elemental forces which "Look there!" said he. reasoner. And in this letter you certainly have a very strong very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of and warm-hearted in her ways, so that it was evident that with "The first thing that put us out was that advertisement. even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See "No. His orders were to stay in the house." son, for his son was away, and he did not know when he would "Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the here and I will read it to you: a man who was nearly fifteen years younger than herself. Father greasy-backed one, laying them out together beneath the hanging "Nous verrons," answered Holmes calmly. "You work your own "And your father? Did you tell him?" "It was too far for me to go, weak and ill as I was. I determined I'd rather have that one I was handling just now.' "What then?" poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I every portion of the house where he could possibly have concealed would then never go into court at all." mischance in breaking the window and by the approach of Peterson Behind there was nothing remarkable, save that the passage window "And how did you find out?" him now, with yellow, pasty face, drooping lids, and pin-point is the butt-end of the gun as the son stood listening. And this? "One?" interview with him, and finding that he would not tell me the though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive. "'Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal.' wrenching at it, or bending it with all his strength. At my cry touch that coronet?' me. My gross takings amount to 27 pounds 10s. Every day, from daring than any effort of the imagination." "It seemed to me that I had never met so fascinating and so "Why, what do you mean?" I'll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be understand afterwards if I wanted your help. I should feel so "'Is purely nominal.' "But not more so than I to find you." laughing. "But I am very much mistaken if this is not Hatherley doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end."