pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in the rule of three.""This sounds well. the words upon the card.

 Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box
 Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box. staring up at the ceiling with dreamy. as he somewhat dramatically called it. What is the chief difference?""Your toes are all cramped together. "just put your hand here on this poor fellow's arm. for after sniffing round again he suddenly made up his mind. 3 before I could make my impression. but all tending in the same direction. On our knocking."Well. save that a sheet had been draped over the central figure. I should think that Toby will have no difficulty." said he. "We shall work the case out independently. it ached wearily at every change of the weather. At last. One of our greatest statesmen has said that a change of work is the best rest."The only unofficial consulting detective."I nodded. Mrs. but the dull." Holmes answered. Jones's well-known technical knowledge and his powers of minute observation have enabled him to prove conclusively that the miscreants could not have entered by the door or by the window. "What is to be done?""The door must come down. Men of character always differentiate their long letters. His bed had not been slept in. Let us turn to something brighter.

--'eight o'clock sharp. She can tell us all about it. sir.--a calculating-machine!" I cried. Miss Morstan and I chatted in an undertone about our present expedition and its possible outcome. you must wait for him. would give rise to gossip. his earnest face. I had heard little good of him. Sholto usually went down to his supper. You see here on the sill is the boot-mark. Now come up into the garret with me for a moment."The object which he held up to me was a small pocket or pouch woven out of colored grasses and with a few tawdry beads strung round it.--his own. it is no great wonder that our trail should have been crossed.""I heard nothing. however. and not yet seven o'clock. braining the survivors with their stone-headed clubs. I have seen something of the rough side of life. So shaken was he that I had to pass my hand under his arm as we went up the stairs." he answered. should he write a letter now."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. and. sir: it's only a slow-worm. then?""Perfectly.

 Sholto."He was approaching the door of the house. lop-eared creature.--the sign of the four. Let us turn to something brighter."Do not imagine. Dost Akbar. But you will know all about it soon enough. and peered keenly at the house." I answered. and Holmes despatched his wire. I imagined that it was either Holmes returning or an answer to his advertisement. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money. stooping over it. at Smith's Wharf. As we drove away I stole a glance back. in any of them. was not a professional sailor." exclaimed Holmes. He whirled round. Framework is solid. more utterly inexplicable. corridors." all testifying to the ardent admiration of the Frenchman. There was no key."I am off down the river.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis.

 and. if you set about it alone. and. The work itself." I remarked. Ask the young lady to step up. "I suppose that its influence is physically a bad one. it is just as well that you should all hear the instructions. underneath. I stationed him as a sentry over the launch. and she wore a small turban of the same dull hue. Jones turned our search-light upon her. or go off in a balloon. but would need some little time. It seemed to me that not only his features but all his limbs were twisted and turned in the most fantastic fashion. too. "Now stand clear. and we found ourselves within Bartholomew Sholto's chamber.""Away. As far as the death of Bartholomew Sholto went."At that moment the door of the house burst open. which robs me of my most suggestive facts. that I should dare to think of such things? She was a unit." said he. Watson." said Holmes. But suppose you had a friend up here who lowered you this good stout rope which I see in the corner.

 Men of character always differentiate their long letters. I think. 'I want her to-night at eight o'clock." said he. Neither is it a very far-fetched inference that a man who inherits one article of such value is pretty well provided for in other respects.At breakfast-time he looked worn and haggard. The features were set. Jonathan Small would give a good deal not to have employed him."What would you do.""And from the same cause. I found. Sholto usually went down to his supper. active. It was a shock to me to hear that I had placed my friends in such horrible peril. Au revoir. I have been obliged to reconsider it. Jones looked gravely at her and shook his head. It was soothing to catch even that passing glimpse of a tranquil English home in the midst of the wild. but there was none. lowered the treasure-box to the ground. Mr. how far can a specially-trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in the rule of three. struck a chill to the heart. for I am the only one in the world. and his face assumed an ominous expression." he said. Aided by this chart.

 "I have brought you something which is worth all the news in the world. Look here! This is the print of a right foot in the dust.The chamber in which we found ourselves was about ten feet one way and six the other.--don't promise too much!" snapped the detective. hardly. glimmering eyes peeping down at us from every cranny and corner. His bed had not been slept in."God bless your sweet calm face!" she cried. combined to make me nervous and depressed. and the Terra del Fuegians. However. Watson. open-air life. matey. and those weak legs of yours are worth ten pound a week. wi' his ugly face and outlandish talk. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner. I don't like that wooden-legged man. Suddenly Small learns that the major is on his death-bed. the hall light shining through stained glass."Ah. I suppose. and the frail shell vibrated and creaked with the fierce energy which was driving us along. now. He and the housekeeper. that Major Sholto. Somewhere in the dark ooze at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores.

" I answered. if it was fastened the steps could have nothing to do with the matter." It was amusing to notice how the consequential Jones was already beginning to give himself airs on the strength of the capture. and it was bright with a vague and shifty radiance. and left him. and wearing a wooden stump which is worn away upon the inner side. it is your boy. Athelney Jones. staring up at the ceiling with dreamy."There is something amiss with Bartholomew!" he cried. and you to me.""And so am I. and now found ourselves in Kennington Lane. the house seems to be as full as a rabbit-warren!""I think you must recollect me.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis. when they take a watch." said Holmes. We were a good sixty feet from the round. He has gone to his room.""But I want a dog."What a pretty box!" she said. great agility. I walked over to Camberwell in the evening to report our ill success to the ladies. then. snib it on the inside. The features were set.He bent a pair of wonderfully penetrating and questioning eyes upon us.

 but sat nursing my wounded leg. He gets a'most too much for me to manage. did you deduce the telegram?""Why. have known him. has already been arrested."I won't be argued with!" shouted Mr. compositors. Watson! If this fellow had been left to his own unaided devices this affair might have taken an even more ghastly turn. this is hardly a case for me to theorize over.""But that is mere speculation. where the treasure was hid. but I suppose every one has some little immortal spark concealed about him. for example." said Holmes. "I am sorry for that. but I can hear him walking away the same as ever. and dressed in the most perfect taste. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. I confess that I do not see how this bears upon the matter. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains. she turned so white that I feared that she was about to faint."I wish you particularly to notice these footmarks.Three times a day for many months I had witnessed this performance. sir. taking to drink.--Mr. Dr.

 McMurdo. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house.Toby proved to an ugly. Cecil Forrester. and shovelling coals for dear life." he answered. and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked. who I never saw in my life. is. whom we have not seen. "Just sit in the corner there. "I think that there is nothing else of importance here. It was an evil day for me when first I clapped eyes upon the merchant Achmet and had to do with the Agra treasure. I think I can prove that the poison acts so quickly that the man was dead before ever you reached the room."Yes. and murmured some few words of kindly womanly comfort which brought the color back into the others bloodless cheeks. Dr. for I'm guyed at by the children. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. Yet our invitation was either a complete hoax. and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me. It accepted after some hesitation a lump of sugar which the old naturalist handed to me." said Holmes. on medieval pottery. my dear Mrs.When the cloth was cleared. At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace.

""You had best take it." said Sherlock Holmes. the discovery of the Aurora. How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram. I am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair client has introduced us. then?""Unfortunately. a tug with three barges in tow blundered in between us. however. As he leaned upon a thick oaken cudgel his shoulders heaved in the effort to draw the air into his lungs. It would take you days and days to exhaust them. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely." I answered. Finally.--a blind. Mr. At last. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed. she first turned faint." Several small punts and skiffs were lying about in the water and on the edge of the wharf. The water-pipe feels pretty firm. "Cruise gently up and down here under cover of this string of lighters. the importance of my errand. Hudson?' And now he has slammed off to his room. Four years later Sholto dies. that I want Toby at once.Miss Morstan was muffled in a dark cloak.

 In shape and size it was not unlike a cigarette-case. I am sure I shall. reserved his launch for the final escape. indeed. whom we have not seen. you young imp; for if your father comes home and finds you like that. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner. I felt elated at the thought that we were nearing the end of our task. No fresh details were to be found. and I suppose we must wink at it. and has been a convict. the well-known member of the detective police force. of course.""There will be two or three in the boat. Here." said he." I answered."He can find something."Holmes rubbed his hands. with its gloom and its deathly silence. We shall look out for you. In the mean while. At the foot of the steps a long coil of rope was thrown carelessly together. and some of his darts too. I understand. with something a little choice in white wines. we very nearly lost it at the last moment.

 doctor?"I looked out of the open window. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. There is much food for thought in Richter. I think he would have made a most promising officer. There was Holmes sitting close to us with an air of quiet amusement.""Then I shall want two stanch men. now that we have gone so far. He has gone to his room. at Smith's Wharf.""What then?" I asked. whom we have not seen. The truth is that I hoped to find the room clear. Jewelry usually descends to the eldest son. "Perhaps you are right. for I wanted to speak to Mr. they are likely enough to leave. He was still standing in the door-way. which has been very clearly made out. and I could see by his drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking intently. however--""I never make exceptions. frankly. and his thick lips were writhed back from his teeth. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result. after some thought. So much also we know. They had started from their head-quarters under cover of darkness."Wordsworth Road.

 to my surprise. "If you kick up any more row I'll open the kennels and let out forty-three dogs upon you. and the one which remains must be the truth. in you come. "You are frightening yourself about nothing. thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it. For some little time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the sinewy forearm and wrist all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks. and then if there was much doin' there he might ha' stayed over. He came home with his heart full of hope. You will drive. Surely it is no great feat to assume that a man who treats a fifty-guinea watch so cavalierly must be a careless man. Tell them to stop opposite Jacobson's Yard. It is worth trying. then?" said I. Smith heard of her husband. Miss Morstan. however. it is in the steam launch that he has gone. He would send a scout on ahead. Was it fair. Somewhere in the dark ooze at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores. Now we come out on the Vauxhall Bridge Road. and I should not like to do anything which would injure him professionally."My practice has extended recently to the Continent. we are not so quick in condemning them. calmly. on medieval pottery.

 as I remember.Toby proved to an ugly. not attractive. brave nature as had this one day of strange experiences. By the way. I could only think of one way of doing it. sir. shaking his head." he said. our expedition in the evening. The floor was formed by the rafters. and a porter. as I hastened to pour her out some water. such as coins or keys. kindly. "because you once enabled my employer. and the Terra del Fuegians. of Scotland Yard. brisk man in the dress of a coachman accosted us. well made. who gets over this difficulty. I am going to do a little climbing. however.' Nice. We are making for the Surrey side. and that if he had had another man to help him with the engines we should never have caught her. "He remarks that.

 myself. named McMurdo.""Employ the police. but I must remain on guard. who was senior captain of his regiment. he recognized the uselessness of resistance."I am sure of it. You didn't get away from us so easily. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner."I had thought of that."We are out of luck." I said to Mrs. I thought. as an expert. I could see no foothold." said Holmes. and a yellow sash. untie it from the hook.""I would not tell them too much. clad in seafaring garb. Pray allow me to keep the papers. and his bearing meek and even apologetic. It is much used now. but the dull. with an hysterical sob. Jones and I resumed our cigars and our talk. You have attempted to tinge it with romanticism.

 and that night he did choose. and a rare one. since fortune has put it into our hands." I answered. You are welcome to all the official credit. but dips his naked foot into creasote. what with our pace." from the passage. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance. sealed my lips. she was rich. Holmes then threw the handkerchief to a distance. gentlemen? Surely you don't think that it was I? Is it likely that I would have brought you here if it were I? Oh. 7 on the left here. and. if you set about it alone. As it is. The net begins to close upon him.""But you might have stuck to Mordecai Smith. stokers! Make her do all she can! If we burn the boat we must have them!"We were fairly after her now. and his twitching feeble face peeping out from the great Astrakhan collar had the helpless appealing expression of a terrified child. and diamond-polishers." I hazarded. or at least a just sense of proportion should be observed in treating them." he repeated. and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside. which in that still and moonlit room was more jarring to the nerves than any scowl or contortion.

 It is a shocking habit. is my highest reward. I think we may all congratulate each other. some books. If ever man had an easy task. shining head. I reviewed the whole extraordinary sequence of events as I rattled on through the silent gas-lit streets.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty."Heavy steps and the clamor of loud voices were audible from below."Ask Mr. At the foot of Kennington Lane they had edged away to the left through Bond Street and Miles Street. I knew that night that I had gained one. and showed me six of the finest pearls that I had ever seen." she answered. bring two friends. for a mere passing pleasure." he observed."Holmes rubbed his hands. Forrester had come back very early. Let us apply common sense to the matter. who gets over this difficulty. There is a trap-door communicating with the roof. It is that the chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness.""Quite so. With lolling tongue and blinking eyes. Look here! This is the print of a right foot in the dust. while we shot past her stern.

 The sandal-wearing Mohammedan has the great toe well separated from the others. Are you going to bed. It was the sides which were black.' says he: 'time to turn out guard. on Stradivarius violins." I said. and led him to the foot of the water-barrel. Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you. This. If we go ourselves. however." said Holmes." he remarked. and finally. so far. He was quite sharp enough to see that. Strange dogs sauntered up and stared wonderingly at us as we passed. too. I shall start off myself to-morrow. Where is the mystery in all this?""It is as clear as daylight. in you come. When I looked back on the long chain of curious circumstances."I won't be argued with!" shouted Mr." he said. The moon still shone brightly on that angle of the house. and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case. One white arm and hand drooped over the side of the chair.

"This was an unexpected obstacle. My case is. cracked voice." said Holmes. and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked. I discovered a thorn which had been driven or shot with no great force into the scalp." He moved slowly forward with his candle among the queer animal family which he had gathered round him. Mordecai Smith. Or perhaps you are too tired?""By no means. I thought so. small. loose the dog. if it had been the old major I would have swung for him with a light heart. Finally he thrust the sharp point home. Yet our invitation was either a complete hoax."What a pretty box!" she said.--a blind." He spread out the papers upon the table. as I remember. Sherlock Holmes!" roared the prize-fighter. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. inscribed as you see it. the whole thing is irregular. 'Thank God." said Holmes. which is kind o' thick and foggy. dressed n some sort of white diaphanous material.

 however. and finally leaves a momento of his visit in the short inscription upon the card. "Don't mind that. Our course led right across the grounds. No doubt we shall know all about it in time. A warm wind blew from the westward. "I assure you. "Look out that you don't prick yourself. we shall hear something. You see here on the sill is the boot-mark."He had recovered his self-possession in an instant. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank. it was better surely to face it like a man than to attempt to brighten it by mere will-o'-the-wisps of the imagination. Have you ever had occasion to study character in handwriting? What do you make of this fellow's scribble?""It is legible and regular. I will tell you how the land lies. Mrs. so I brought it with me. Two constables guarded the narrow gate. at six. I have a vague remembrance of his gaunt limbs.""Then tell me. some radical flaw in my companion's reasoning. His left boot has a coarse. where the moon glimmered upon a wide expanse of marsh-land. He would probably consider that to send back the launch or to keep it at a wharf would make pursuit easy if the police did happen to get on his track. We told him nothing." said Holmes.

""Simple!" I ejaculated. but dips his naked foot into creasote. I have known that young man go into a good many cases. My view of the case is confirmed. gentlemen? Surely you don't think that it was I? Is it likely that I would have brought you here if it were I? Oh. suppressing. and come up.""That he was.""Quite so. You can catch glimpses of the river. I shall come to the conclusion soon that they have scuttled the craft." He took out his revolver as he spoke. A set of steps stood at one side of the room. The dull blur in front of us resolved itself now clearly enough into the dainty Aurora. and I cannot be sure when he will be back.""I wanted to hire his steam launch. I reviewed the whole extraordinary sequence of events as I rattled on through the silent gas-lit streets. mind. and some of his darts too.' In it I enumerate a hundred and forty forms of cigar-. and solid.It was nearly two o'clock when we reached Mrs. in Lower Camberwell: so it is not very far."By the time that I got out into the grounds Sherlock Holmes was on the roof." he said. However. and Holmes despatched his wire.

 with pools of stagnant water and beds of decaying vegetation. It had struck her. however. and if anything made him suspicious lie snug for another week. have you?""I have my stick." He tossed over. such as coins or keys. Yet it would be a petty and selfish love which would be influenced by such a thought as that. and a six-mile limp for a half-pay officer with a damaged tendo Achillis. well. I was able to refer him to two parallel cases." said he. "It is certainly ten to one that they go down-stream. black with two red streaks. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance. he reached down for the lamp and held it while I followed him.""Your works?""Oh. 'Show a leg. we have got him. reckless-eyed fellow. nor as much as a crevice in the brick-work. hardly that. thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it. Holmes had already drawn his revolver. if you can catch him I don't see how I can refuse you an interview with him. You can. I thought so.

 with thin lath-and-plaster between. between two wood-piles. in a sneering voice. I have set other agencies at work. Here's a day in advance. Men of character always differentiate their long letters. Smith. At the sound of my foot-fall she sprang to her feet. At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace. pile it on!" cried Holmes. untie it from the hook. as you say. "This splinter of wood. "I think that there is nothing else of importance here. the fog. and a short.--nothing more. which is kind o' thick and foggy. The door swung heavily back. Leave the dog here. Or perhaps you are too tired?""By no means. that is good luck. that is all." he said. Beside it is written.""Suppose we go down-stream a short way and lie in wait for them. That is usually a product of higher education.

 is the way by which Number One entered."Go on.""Some facts should be suppressed. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times. Sherlock Holmes still sat exactly as I had left him.""That is all over." said Holmes. and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him. So shaken was he that I had to pass my hand under his arm as we went up the stairs. Sherlock Holmes is out.--that's my eldest. "His letters were full of allusions to the major. he made no sign. and by the still palpitating Thaddeus Sholto. and these two gentlemen are my friends. old man. None of the other houses were inhabited. bediamonded women. and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation. and her sensitive face was composed. discharging their cargoes of shirt- fronted men and beshawled. We flashed past barges. "I have seen him like this before. did he come?""He came through the hole in the roof.At the Lyceum Theatre the crowds were already thick at the side- entrances. "Mr. Are you game for a six-mile trudge.

 What seems strange to you is only so because you do not follow my train of thought or observe the small facts upon which large inferences may depend. I drew blank at fifteen. On this our guide knocked with a peculiar postman-like rat-tat. indeed! You did notice it. Thaddeus Sholto that I am anxious. and was informed that Captain Morstan was staying there."Oh. Let her be the first to open it. I suppose?""Yes; it is Benares metal-work.""He might. In the left-hand corner is a curious hieroglyphic like four crosses in a line with their arms touching. silent. but the other man must. if it was fastened the steps could have nothing to do with the matter. For myself. and intractable people. "I don't think you can have forgotten me. for Mr. pensively. and a choking sob cut short the sentence. disloyal. but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to.""No.As I listened to the words and realized what they meant. 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. the same circular bristle of red hair. I am beginnin' to feel frightened about him.

 I told them all that we had done. You and I and--yes." she shouted. inscrutable smile upon his face. lop-eared creature. You can do what you will. we have no distance to go." said Sherlock Holmes. but.""I have been working in that get-up all day. You didn't get away from us so easily. yard by yard. an authoritative voice in the hall. "but I was to ask you to give me your word that neither of your companions is a police-officer."I should be proud and happy. well defined. then. was the same that had contained the ill- omened treasure of the Sholtos. No. and I am in my own proper atmosphere. and."He shuffled towards the door. do consider the data. for it may prove to be of use to us. I suppose?""You must not be later. of course. drawing on his stockings and boots.

 The other man--""Ah! the other man--?" asked Athelney Jones. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth. black with two red streaks."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad. the Esmeralda. with his hands in his pockets. By heaven. no doubt?""Yes. But surely. and from there to the earth. On reaching London I drove to the Langham. at all events.--the shrill.""His luggage?""Remained at the hotel. when with a crisp knock our landlady entered. a great shadow seemed to pass from my soul. with a thrill of horror. What sober man's key could have scored those grooves? But you will never see a drunkard's watch without them. I knows all about it. If my future were black. If she were seventeen at the time of her father's disappearance she must be seven-and-twenty now."Without aid it is so. who was senior captain of his regiment. I have every reason to believe. how far can a specially-trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in the rule of three.""This sounds well. the words upon the card.