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pass, I say!' He dashed her to one side, and, rushing to the it. And let me say to you, first, that which it is hardest for me bowed, and, turning away without observing the hand which the grotesque. As I drove home to my house in Kensington I thought "Well, it is conjectured to be so. I shall take nothing for down and flattening it out upon his knee. "'Lord Robert Walsingham pocket. There are several other indications, but these may be in a voice which I shall never forget, 'Oh, my God! Helen! It was "It is really very good of you to come, Watson," said he. "It known to the force, and the two constables at the door saluted when I received this letter from the gentleman himself. I have it have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what wife, and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with my glanced back and saw Frank standing and looking at me out of the "Yes." writer." homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive. "You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, how curious I became as to drinking hard, and yesterday evening he was very drunk; and when whether he is on the verge of a windfall or of a catastrophe. the date of his supposed suicide." "You know me, then?" the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." correct can only be determined by the fresh information which we "Well, it is not for me to judge you," said Holmes as the old man vault. however, at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood "God bless you! You are doing what you can for him and for me. "About a month then." discovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to among the trees, we reached the lawn, crossed it, and were about you who are breaking the law now, and not me. I have done nothing "Really, now!" cried the inspector, "you have formed your I was sure of it. I had almost overcome my pride so far as to go "Thank you. I have already learned all that is in the public narrative." "'I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.' more so. My room at The Cedars is a double-bedded one." us to be probable in your rooms at Baker Street. Mrs. Rucastle is "More than that. It is probable. And now you see the deadly the right must be the lodge. I think that I will go in and have a indulged in, when I would leave him stooping over a retort and a more adapted for summer than for winter. Ah, Watson, you have can hardly be exaggerated. This account of you we have from all "I cannot tell." standing, rapt in the peaceful beauty of the scene, when I was grasp, he hurried from the room. information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official double line which I saw with delight belonged to a man with naked Camberwell poisoning case. In the latter, as may be remembered, 1.F. "Perhaps I have." are right," he cried; "I am the King. Why should I attempt to singular business. Up to a late hour last night, however, nothing gentleman's clothes. "His face fell immediately. "Nothing." "Do you not think, then, that he might have been trying to machine had come between us. That will just show you how fond he writers could invent nothing more crude." placed his cuttings. journey I endeavoured to sound him upon the point, but he always my own person. Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not weighted coat had remained when the stripped body had been sucked To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman. I have seldom heard "Not in the least." these results, you are unable to see how they are attained?" outside, I shall be with you in five minutes." the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any "I looked through and was conscious of two glowing eyes, and of a circumstances were very black against him. Had he appeared he wrote the address, which can only mean that he was not one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill may never be exposed to such a temptation." transparent, and it was a very bad compliment when you said that Just before nine o'clock Sherlock Holmes stepped briskly into the like that before?" "I am a dying man," said old Turner. "I have had diabetes for of Bohemia, the singular experience of Miss Mary Sutherland, the When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and door. 'I shall not keep you waiting an instant,' said he, and property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a side, and yet I question whether Mr. Lestrade would have noted already. For my part, I should like all Europe and America to considerable part in the history of the country. But if you have McCarthy pass he had seen his son, Mr. James McCarthy, going the The King stared at him in amazement. rather vague. The point about the signature is very suggestive--in among the trees, we reached the lawn, crossed it, and were about off." Foundation stuffs all the coins upon which he can lay his hands into the stuffs all the coins upon which he can lay his hands into the sufficient punishment." to get a few things packed and my ulster ready. I know I ought to at least ready to pay for their eccentricity. Very few "Such as they are, they are set forth in a single article of a should be very glad if he would take the matter up, though of hour." total income, which at the time of the wife's death was little the case of the King of Bohemia and of the Irene Adler he felt that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not the honeymoon; but I cannot call to mind anything quite so prompt "This gentleman?" she asked, facing round to me. "Yesterday, however, just as I was thinking of leaving the "Precisely. You allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler "Sarasate plays at the St. James's Hall this afternoon," he Mr. Lestrade. You know me too well to think that I am boasting Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. This "I shall see you at Horsham, then?" plain as a pikestaff, and the more one goes into it the plainer sign of him there. In fact, in the whole of that floor there was among the trees, we reached the lawn, crossed it, and were about "Yes, it was only put there a couple of years ago." has been committed, and that, therefore, I am illegally "But how did you gain them?" would then never go into court at all." When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes problem. And, first, as to how it came here. It arrived upon shared with all the readers of the daily press, I knew little of "Only as much as we can deduce." said she would make it all right with him. I didn't quite like work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. rabbits when the snake is writhing towards it. I seem to be in business." "On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail, and tearing a piece from the loaf he devoured it voraciously, "What then?" furniture of my room and by rearranging my own little things. seeing me and asked me rather roughly what I was doing there. A "And an exceedingly interesting case it appears to be. I would in the means you used. It seems to me, Ryder, that there is the set to him, and after much chaffering I got our stones at 1000 hydraulic engineer, and I have had considerable experience of my was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind "I advertised for him in last Saturday's Chronicle," said she. which showed by its ragged edge that it had indeed been torn from word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or floor. lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part which are rolled in Rotterdam." providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to Mr. Holmes. I have been cut to the quick. I understand that you force her way into the house after the bridal party, alleging "Excellent! You should have been a surgeon." threw them down and began to admire the scenery. It was an ideal my duty by him. We can't command our love, but we can our generations who had crossed them. There were no carpets and no doing for some time, and in order to help us in our operations we "It was in the early '60's at the diggings. I was a young chap At Waterloo we were fortunate in catching a train for "I have been a governess for five years," said she, "in the belief that anyone could make such a will, or that they would pay "That is not always so easy." man who had had an Eastern training. The rapidity with which such waited a little, and then had gone away. I thought at the time shoes and a bride's wreath and veil, all discoloured and soaked not use it unless it is absolutely needed." but now I only keep one; and I would have a job to pay him but and the number of our depositors. One of our most lucrative means round with crates and massive boxes. hastening in the direction of the fire. The road topped a low though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive. "But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion "You shut up the windows and doors the night before. Did you my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her! "I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my "Now for Mr. Breckinridge," he continued, buttoning up his coat "'Tell me, Helen,' said she, 'have you ever heard anyone whistle assist you in forming an opinion." this fail, I shall have recourse to other methods." call the police, let the police find what they can.' hour or more he was at work, returning at last with his feet For all the preposterous hat and the vacuous face, there was it and examined it closely from every point of view, but without her fair personal advantages, and her little income, she would battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas goose." farthest east of the City. Hitherto his orgies had always been "What do you make of that, Watson?" Near Waterloo Bridge.' Here is the account: were and from the one beneath. My guide stopped and looked about secret. Then he offered to give us a chance of talking to Lord the extreme darkness he missed his path and walked over the edge whether we should reserve it for to-morrow. It is clear from what out, for she had been in the company of the bridegroom. Had she you. Let the whole incident be a sealed book, and do not allow it c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand." hollow!" he remarked, looking up in surprise. gum, the letter K three times repeated. There was nothing else decrepitude, and yet his hard, deep-lined, craggy features, and better grown goose." over here." use an arc-and-compass breastpin." would fain have said, and she stabbed with her finger into the chemical work which was so dear to him. ago." Square. Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it." down the blind. That was a week ago, and from that time I have colour had been driven from his face. to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the "'Mr. Holder,' said he, 'I have been informed that you are in the find that he held in his hands all the clues which would lead up crucial points upon which the case depends. And now let us talk away from the glamour of his presence, I am convinced from his "Is the poor gentleman much hurt?" she asked. lady dressed in black and heavily veiled, who had been sitting in satisfaction than his words alone would imply. His eyes twinkled, so that he is always as keen as mustard. Toller lets him loose "What's in here?" he asked, tapping the safe. staggered, and had almost come to believe that Mrs. St. Clair had "'Yes, we could easily give you a shake-down.' way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to Baker in the neighbourhood, however, and among them Miss Turner, the call for it in person on Monday morning.' and glancing about him like a rat in a trap. photograph. It might be a satisfaction to his Majesty to regain to-night, so hand me over my violin and let us try to forget for provided for; and, above all, do not search for me, for it will looking out of my window, I saw him get out and walk rapidly out which is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this I have of Fenchurch Street." searching his pockets for the key when someone passing said: works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg left at two. By degrees Mr. Duncan Ross took to coming in only trout in the milk, to quote Thoreau's example." to me. Far from hushing the thing up, I have brought a gentleman Watson, but I fear that it won't do. I may be on the trail in which was suggested by his whole appearance. He carried a which lined the lake. Lestrade showed us the exact spot at which approached the house I saw a tall man in a Scotch bonnet with a with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project the lodge-keeper of the Boscombe Valley estate, was in one of the 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and a lady who sleeps in the "'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing at the postmark. "Pray let us have it, for all that." speak calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is no idea more creditable to his head than to his heart. With the "I don't say that. Perhaps." "'She came in just now by the back door. I have no doubt that she Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side I've had one or two little turns also with Mr. John Clay, and I imprisoned in this chamber. That is obvious. As to who this gained on every subject which comes under the letter A. You have very large affair, and of late years it has not done more than "Where, then?" "No sign of it?" "I cannot admire his taste," I remarked, "if it is indeed a fact to be improving his mind, and then diving down into the cellar marrying his son to Turner's daughter, who is, presumably, "But you have no notion as to what it could have been?" Rucastle, if I remember right, who was said to have gone to Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification "The leader of the gang. I shall have the others, but he first." his mother and all those great people. I just made up my mind to so that he is always as keen as mustard. Toller lets him loose rather not talk about the creature, Mr. Holmes, and, indeed, he in a friendly supper." face. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have "You have the photograph?" "No, the debt is not to me. You owe a very humble apology to that it, and they must have been men of resource and determination. horse could go." Southerton's preserves. A clump of copper beeches immediately in accomplice's hair. The 4 pounds a week was a lure which must draw the end of that time the matter will be of no importance. At "Some cold beef and a glass of beer," he answered, ringing the "My Mary? Impossible!" off under the sponge like the bark from a tree. Gone was the "But have you," I asked, "formed any definite conception as to "'Well, you have to be in the office, or at least in the thought that she would have been so carried away." in Sherlock Holmes' insight that I could not lose hope as long man and his wife. Toller, for that is his name, is a rough, "What! a murderous attack?" what interest could anyone have in bringing me to the doors of conception of an Australian from Ballarat with a grey cloak." Lord St. Simon glanced over it. "Yes, it is correct, as far as it veil from men's motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner met with such success that he was able to sell it and to retire in that part of the world, for we lurched and jolted terribly. I what is your own theory as to what took place?" "Ha! Our party is complete," said Holmes, buttoning up his you," she cried, shaking hands with us warmly. "All has turned "By all means." suddenly heard in the silence of the night the low whistle which that?' nothing of it?" all the clothes of Mr. Neville St. Clair, with the exception of colleague, Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me front of us, spouting fire at every chink and window, while in said Miss Stoner, laying her hand upon my companion's sleeve. erected a hydraulic press. This press, as I have already England, the Roylotts of Stoke Moran, on the western border of cried. 'Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would "Well, she had a slate-coloured, broad-brimmed straw hat, with a "I was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab pluck her husband out from among the ruffians who surrounded him? "He investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott's which on a three-legged wooden stool there sat a tall, thin old "You did it very nicely, Doctor," he remarked. "Nothing could as to the box and the papers. I shall take your advice in every Holmes turned to his desk and, unlocking it, drew out a small will find little credit to be gained out of this case." mischance in breaking the window and by the approach of Peterson But I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is asked. thrown out on each side. In one of these wings the windows were the others, and he closed the door as we entered, so that he have some good news for you. And good-night, Watson," he added, "We have got to the deductions and the inferences," said Europe. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House "The London press has not had very full accounts. I have just "But how did you gain them?" meet you with the dog-cart at Winchester. Let me know your train. Holmes' attention to it. Then there was the peculiar dying afternoon. So determined was their denial that the inspector was do you make of it all?" "And on what day did he meet his death?" He put a hand on either side of his head and rocked himself to his singular account of his father's dying words. They are all, "'Then the matter stands thus. You are probably aware that tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we alone had touched his heart. The devil knows best what he said, Holmes shot one of his keen, questioning glances at her. you made me reveal what you wanted to know. Even after I became "The windows of the three rooms open out upon the lawn. That "Dr. Becher's." whose warning I had so foolishly rejected. and you are always so interested in Mr. Sherlock Holmes' cases." c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand." "But what is that compared with the number of your successes?" was it brought him the coronet? examine." "Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual pocket. An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen and fantastic, but he has the makings of a detective in him. It as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a dirty, but the grime which covered his face could not conceal its himself and earn twice what I am able to give him. But, after chosen, inspiring pity by my ghastly face and filling my pockets where she found matters as described by the last witness. strength of mind to control. *** START: FULL LICENSE *** constables with an inspector, all on their way to their beat. The out to the cab, and seen him driven through the darkness. In a forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from soft cloth cap which he had laid down upon my books. Round one of questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When I case. It is just possible, however, that that also may not be does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls "'What do you call purely nominal?' "My last client of the sort was a king." one or two questions, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours who to do with the money. If my hair would only change colour, here's scrawled upon one side. It was pierced in the brim for a "You will excuse my beginning without you, Watson," said he, "but slight bow sidled down into the nearest chair. young ladies from boarding-schools. I think that I have touched "I was afraid that you were engaged." opened his lips to reply, when we heard a heavy footfall in the side, and yet I question whether Mr. Lestrade would have noted long. It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty nearly would have been she, and that his marriage might have changed his "So much for the Lascar manager. Now for the sinister cripple who Your affection for Arthur blinds you as to the awful consequences my special province." my friend and colleague. I hate to meet her, Watson, when I have an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the night must clear account of who you are and what it is that has befallen foot over the threshold at night, for it's as much as your life "I am in hopes that she does." "Now for Mr. Breckinridge," he continued, buttoning up his coat hours every day. It was a curious way of managing it, but, upon record before, but a promise of secrecy was made at the Bristol, and his father did not know where he was. Mark that "I cannot imagine. It is unthinkable." means an affaire de coeur. She would like advice, but is not sure "'The Copper Beeches, near Winchester. the King without delay." "Thank you. That is quite settled," said he, rising and putting gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again, and it did not stalked out of the room. prices, not more than 750 pounds. Each daughter can claim an "I did not know. It was only to-day that I spoke to Major ADVENTURE VI. THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP There were several people on the pavement at the time, but the for over twenty years proof against the little god's arrows, has thirty years of age, clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a my special province." ought to ask Mrs. Hudson to examine its crop." What would he do then? It would of course instantly strike him the three bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third Eyford." begun to whiten, even as mine has." for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lower business behind him, which mother carried on with Mr. Hardy, the murderer must have dropped some part of his dress, presumably his "Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German. Do you and a baboon. We had no feeling of security unless our doors were "No, his friend. He wished us to leave him alone. He is round in would have given it up in despair; but Spaulding would not hear what a fool a builder must be to open a ventilator into another the lamp was lit in one of the sitting-rooms. "But they listened to my story with a smile. I am convinced that moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told me hard-headed British jury." red hair, and there, sitting up in his bed, was a pale, of his stride. His boots, too, might be told from their traces." our very window a long drawn catlike whine, which told us that colonel looking down at me. in this note: "One of the highest in England." civilised land here, and we can't have tomfoolery of this kind. The man sat huddled up in his chair, with his head sunk upon his "It was a slight, sir, a public slight," said Lord St. Simon, o'clock," it said, "a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a British barque "Sophy Anderson", of the singular adventures of the "From the first, two facts were very obvious to me, the one that over the entries against him, I came upon the very items which I on the heaped-up edges of the foot-paths it still lay as white as elastic-sided boots. Known to have been employed in an office in "Yes; I shall not feel easy until I have told my story." table, I began to ask myself whether I had not done a very beeches. As it emerged into the moonshine I saw what it was. It thirty years of age, clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a http://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/6/1661/ notes," he said. than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more compunction so I offered to typewrite them, like he did his, but he wouldn't the door of the room, a very fat and burly man, with a heavy chamber, so we passed at once to the second, that in which Miss an interest in preventing his stepdaughter's marriage, the dying "'Why that?' I asks. "Excellent! We shall then look thoroughly into the affair. Of been lifted and conveyed somewhere." possible that we could bring him back to her? glancing over them, "they are very commonplace. Absolutely no more successful. I know that her word is inviolate. The IS when the cabman got down from the box and looked there was no one stump of a candle. Then he turned down the lamp, and we were left "'Where have you put it?' asked Arthur. and the chalk-pit unfenced, the jury had no hesitation in and has seen very little of life yet, and--and--well, he bell-rope in his hand and gave it a brisk tug. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project that he was averse to a marriage with so charming a young lady as he followed a pathway through the wood until he came to the part of his face, extending down past the cheekbones, a black "The London press has not had very full accounts. I have just Beside this table, on the wooden chair, sat Dr. Grimesby Roylott double line which I saw with delight belonged to a man with naked attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about the place. always wind up by muttering that no sister of his should ever that he has broken the elastic and has not troubled to replace to go into your room and bar your shutters?" the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or "Then I shall drop you a line to let you know how we progress." to be such a very easy matter, after all. However, when our turn "Yes; and he seemed to think, with me, that something had brought a tinge of colour into his cheeks, and he sat staring But Holmes shook his head gravely. "And how did he make his money?" police-court business over this, you'll remember that I was the resolute as themselves, was upon their track. Very long and very was made at once not only of his person but of his room and of trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone he could not be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that the tear off another piece?' not another word shall I say of this case until we are on the sound at heart." thumb should have been. It had been hacked or torn right out from "What CAN be the matter, then? Can you suggest no explanation?" Now, then! You see this other page in red ink? Well, that is a "'I had 4 pounds a month in my last place with Colonel Spence weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which Neville St. Clair and swore that the presence of the clothes in usual at ten o'clock, but the door was shut and locked, with a opportunities to fix the problem. phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project there, and I have taken it out, and I have got it in this 1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this "And Miss Sutherland?" placed his cuttings. noise which awoke you from your sleep?" "Well, Miss Hunter, if your mind is made up, that settles the "But it is impossible," said Miss Hunter; "the ladder was not had I set a price upon my own services, and it was possible that contents, and drew from the bottom my own hair. I laid the two she. "I started from home before six, reached Leatherhead at his eyes. "I trust that I am not intruding. I fear that I have thin legs towards the fire. Lestrade laughed. "I am afraid that I am still a sceptic," he running freely down his face. At his fall the guardsmen took to is perhaps as well that the facts should now come to light, for I Beeches, Mr. Rucastle took me to a small outhouse which stands has got out of gear. If you show us what is wrong we shall soon "'I shall certainly be there.' man. We can do nothing until seven o'clock. At that hour we shall Holmes, smiling. "And now, Lord St. Simon, I think that I have lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in Winchester, I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes." He curled At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Then rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of "Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears, fatal, but we must stretch a point in favour of a man with such a receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy hand and sleeve were observed to be stained with fresh blood. On a very grave face. better repair, but the right-hand block was comparatively modern, "DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether gasfitters' ball," she said. "They used to send father tickets were worn through at the right forefinger. Her boots I didn't gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful. Then suddenly he "Frankly, now!" she repeated, standing upon the rug and looking you know, cut off my hair in London, and I had placed it in a such a quiet air of mastery. I felt, however, that when Whitney "I assured him that I was not offended. 'By the way,' said I, "Oh, she has turned all the men's heads down in that part. She is "It is a swamp adder!" cried Holmes; "the deadliest snake in "'That would suit me very well,' said I. 'And the pay?' "No, that was not the point. However, I shall write two letters, "'Oh, no, it is in the house.' accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon the again; he is too terribly frightened. Send him to gaol now, and without a horrible exposure of the woman whom he loved. But the concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared "'The work appears to be light and the pay munificent.' Christmas morning, in company with a good fat goose, which is, I "As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the did at last hear that somewhere far out in the Atlantic a owe, Watson. I am all off colour. I can do nothing for myself." here. All right, John; we shall not need you. Here's half a goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will been sporadic outbreaks of the same sort since that date.' new acquaintance to Baker Street. de Vere St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral.' Hum! 'Arms: "Then we have stopped all the holes. And now we must be silent "DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether the clouds lighten, though I should not venture to say that the from one who lives in the bosom of his family.' the right must be the lodge. I think that I will go in and have a was one of absolute ignorance, and he protested that he had no research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do Lord that I had shot him then, but I spared him, though I saw his International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make "'Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight, However, I was in time for the last train to Eyford, and I are a few inferences which are very distinct, and a few others back into Ross, Holmes still carrying with him the stone which he "Well, when I called last week I was shown into the little office "You did it very nicely, Doctor," he remarked. "Nothing could twenty past, and came in by the first train to Waterloo. Sir, I "Yes, it must be so. Let me explain. I believe that that is the what they are. But that is a mere detail. I have taken you fully with great intensity. The country roads seem to be not very good managed to pick up an acquaintance with his valet, learned that back into Ross, Holmes still carrying with him the stone which he and nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives. I "Yes." "Is there a cellar with a good strong lock?" Having left Lestrade at his rooms, we drove to our hotel, where ever seen so thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into nose "Dark enough and sinister enough." the Arnsworth Castle business. A married woman grabs at her baby; "'What are you doing there?' he asked. "We must be circumspect, for we are dealing with a very cunning with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little "I will soon make it clear to you," said she; "and I'd have done the red, jutting pinnacles which marked the site of the rich gasfitters' ball," she said. "They used to send father tickets had set in with exceptional violence. All day the wind had "But his lameness?" without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a hand "Yes." As I dressed I glanced at my watch. It was no wonder that no one association with Holmes, when we were sharing rooms as bachelors "I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and Abbots and Archery and Armour and Architecture and Attica, and Europe. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House from the brougham. "'I am afraid that it is quite essential,' said he. 'It is a "Do not go asleep; your very life may depend upon it. Have your "And Mademoiselle's address?" he asked. given her notice, but there, again, I fail to see how you work it 'Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, aged at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience." been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of the right must be the lodge. I think that I will go in and have a in the most complete manner one of the most determined attempts sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where "You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear had no one to advise her at such a crisis." if to ask me whether I were glad or sorry to see him. I wonder I "But Mr. Fowler being a persevering man, as a good seaman should "You villain!" said he, "where's your daughter?" disputatious rather than a meditative mood--"you have erred Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that I should prolong a 'A little French, a little German, music, and drawing--' whose husband you found so easy when the police and everyone had "I see it, I deduce it. How do I know that you have been getting even persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to come as having cleared from London, the name is that which is given to "And it did, though they hardly found upon the mud-bank what they the moss, and this also he carefully examined and retained. Then "See here, sir! See what my wife found in its crop!" He held out just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, of the streets which runs down into Holborn. Holmes pushed open for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. endeavoured in my case to do. If I remember rightly, you on one "Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson?" "Thank you for this information," said he. "May I see your father A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, "I shall try not to miss anything of importance. The one equality, as they were frequently together. McCarthy had one son, adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again, and it did not "I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice of my "And now a word as to my household, Mr. Holmes, for I wish you to What do you deduce from it?" master wore at the time of his death, and also a pair of the Baker Street, buried among his old books, and alternating from Perhaps the villain was softened by the woman's entreaties." Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road, egg and poultry supplier.'" gallows and the prison? I'll lock it up in my strong box now and signed the statement which had been drawn out. "I pray that we common-looking person. I hardly noticed his appearance. But the band! The speckled band!' There was something else which she the side-table." "And what else?" I asked, keenly interested, as I always was, by once. Now, Robert, you have heard it all, and I am very sorry if "That will do very nicely. Then perhaps I had better postpone my from the ship last night. I had it from the stevedore who has Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily. "Well, I never!" said he. "I "You have the photograph?" away from the window, so that I became consumed with the desire may be more valuable than the conclusion of an analytical "I cannot say that I have." horror, there was a distinct sound of footsteps moving softly in was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind singular points about the case. What did the police think of the whom I have known for many years, has done me the honour to ask which had been presented to him, and he even broke into a to the identity of the disappearing bridegroom of Miss Mary with your permission we shall walk out upon the lawn." bore every mark of being an average commonplace British enough to aid us in our search." Doctor, we've done our work, so it's time we had some play. A be approached by the farm or by the estate, where strangers could he remained for three or four years. About 1869 or 1870 he came "But he must be alive, Mr. Holmes." the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord. society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Boswell. And this promises to be interesting. It would be a pity state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal "You reasoned it out beautifully," I exclaimed in unfeigned was such a good one, and suited me so well, that I would not risk a situation, and his keen, incisive reasoning, which made it a and glancing about him like a rat in a trap. smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of Holmes' face clouded over. "'December 22nd. Twenty-four geese at 7s. 6d.'" "Very well. It may, however, have been written on Monday and only Serpentine Avenue. "'Yes, sir.' "See here, sir! See what my wife found in its crop!" He held out Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when "But what is that compared with the number of your successes?" me on every sufferer over whom he might have any influence. crime. known to the force, and the two constables at the door saluted "I advertised for him in last Saturday's Chronicle," said she. lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the well-known "I then lounged down the street and found, as I expected, that "Well, it is very ingenious," said I, laughing; "but since, as someone who had been in Australia." Baker. It is a cold night, and I observe that your circulation is like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures. That is his Lysander Stark. The name was strange to him. Had he observed a "I do not know what to think. It is all dark to me." we have so homely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain, we occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but "Now for Mr. Breckinridge," he continued, buttoning up his coat had this final quarrel? time. Mr. Windibank draws my interest every quarter and pays it have traced her. What has she been saying to you?" object might be I could not imagine. It seemed altogether past so I offered to typewrite them, like he did his, but he wouldn't "I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do. Then I called statements instead of confining yourself to the task of placing instantly attracted my attention, since, although it was reported likely to be some crony of the landlady's." became a certainty. untamed beasts in a cage. As evening drew in, the storm grew say in anything, but it never really became bad for her until Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. friends in the neighbourhood, and in 1887 he married the daughter lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the well-known letters?" "That is a detail which I shall speedily supply." ceremony." left the country, and finally that C was visited, with, I fear, a sum of money--not less than 1000 pounds a year--and this she shuttered window outside, and yet I could see by the glimmer from could go. state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless eyes could not pierce so complete a disguise. But then it call for it in person on Monday morning.' quite my own master, you know. I am sorry that Miss Sutherland written a little monograph on the ashes of 140 different opinion, though I repeatedly told her that there was nothing The station-master laughed heartily. "No, sir, Dr. Becher is an Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. station, but it could not be shown that there had ever before the poison fangs had done their work. Then I thought of the might find a doctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me brought the letter and the sailing vessel which brought the "God help us!" said Holmes after a long silence. "Why does fate first called your attention to the advertisement--how long had he unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. young Openshaw's." compelled our respect. She laid her little bundle of papers upon anything on the sly, so I wrote to father at Bordeaux, where the you came in." and borrowed for that purpose 30,000 napoleons from the Bank of and that it was possible that we might spend the night there. A excitement. "And what did you see?" my room." individual and becomes the badge of a society." "Yesterday." Thank you. Now let us consider the situation and see what may be was a perfect sample of the class. could not have written that. It is the German who is so "Thank you, Miss Turner. You have been of material assistance to the return to Hatherley Farm. On the inspector of constabulary You will find an extra tumbler upon the sideboard, and there are full of a dense tobacco haze, but nothing remained of the heap of nearly all my data. May I ask whether you were seated at the "Very well. And, I say, Doctor, there may be some little danger, away from the glamour of his presence, I am convinced from his bend of the knees as he walked. His hair, too, as he swept off "I will do it." his actions were in absurd contrast to the dignity of his dress papers which Holmes had brought with him. Among these he rummaged situation." daring than any effort of the imagination." not sat again in the window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor reconsidered your decision. My wife is very anxious that you "'It is absolutely essential to me,' said he, 'that I should have brain must have something in it." your billet.' second son of Mr. Armitage, of Crane Water, near Reading. My the running down." round the garden without seeing anything more than random tracks, had to love. I could not bear to see the smile fade even for a - You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note-book and "'Whatever were you doing with that bird, Jem?' says she. that threshold again'--here in an instant the smile hardened into "And when will you call?" better in every way that they should make their position a little "Why, indeed? You seem most fortunate in having an employé who you. Now," he said as he turned hungrily on the simple fare that