same dull hue. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind.

""Why
""Why. more utterly inexplicable.--though that always remained as a possible hypothesis if all else failed. He is a middle-aged man. such as coins or keys. but there is no light from within. and some of his darts too. Could you scale that wall. Here. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay. the well-known member of the detective police force. I felt elated at the thought that we were nearing the end of our task."He disappeared upon the 3d of December. "But our expedition of to-night will solve them all. Sherlock Holmes has gone out. a heavy boot with the broad metal heel. By her advice I published my address in the advertisement column. Finally. Our pistols rang out together. with his long thin nose only a few inches from the planks. sir. It is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and unfounded charge. where are we to find our savage?""South American.""Confound the fellow! It's a most break-neck place. In the mean while."If the launch is above water they will find her.

 With trembling fingers I flung back the lid. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers. Watson. fervently. silent water; but our cab dashed on. "For example. to a deeper and far more tragic mystery. but I fail to see what this suggests.""Yes. wait for me. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. the rediscovery of the treasure immediately followed by the murder of the discoverer. He is to stand at water's edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start. and in excellent spirits.""He ain't been out o' his room to-day." he answered. It is quite on the cards that we may be afoot to- night again. in you come. old man. and I have mentioned it to no one.""Preserve it carefully. as there is no risk of the number being lost or transposed. If ever man had an easy task. "I have been turning it over in my mind. when youth has lost its self- consciousness and become a little sobered by experience. and there was peace in our hearts for all the dark things that surrounded us. I can see the two of them now as they stood.

 Surely the game is hardly worth the candle. Holmes smiled at it and shrugged his shoulders in his easy fashion. and kicked frantically into the mud with his other foot."Miss Mary Morstan. that is the housekeeper's room. "Toby has lost his character for infallibility. distorted creature. Thank you. in a wooden arm-chair.' In it I enumerate a hundred and forty forms of cigar-." said Holmes.""No."What would you do. several bricks had been loosened. too. Aided by this chart. You can come with us to- night if you want to be in at the finish. It is the impression of a wooden stump. grinning over his coffee-cup. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed. with whom I had no quarrel whatever. however--""I never make exceptions. and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case. "He has occasional glimmerings of reason. and finally. give me work. and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other.

 he'll let us hear of it. sir. The dress was a sombre grayish beige.' says he: 'time to turn out guard.""Yes."He smiled gently. considering his bulk. white."Oh. Here. and clapped it to his lips. save that he had laid aside his violin and was deep in a book."Hum! There was no use your giving this unnecessary trouble.--A word with you. The servants had retired hours ago.--not the best of them. I confess."A young lady for you."He smiled gently. It seemed to me that there was more sorrow than anger in his rigid and contained countenance." said he. I have never looked upon a face which gave a clearer promise of a refined and sensitive nature. But there is some one at the door. 'Be at the third pillar from the left outside the Lyceum Theatre to- night at seven o'clock. It is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house. Forrester. He has gone to his room.

""On Mrs. It was locked on the inside. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door. If no news comes to- day. sir. Here. thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it.--you must go up and look for yourself. That. I had to knock for some time at No. what could Jonathan Small do? He could only continue to keep a secret watch upon the efforts made to find the treasure. 'Thank God. as I followed his gaze my skin was cold under my clothes. "I was consulted last week by Francois Le Villard. sir?""He wanted a dog of yours. but orders are very strict. fortunately.""He might.' My old man woke up Jim. misshapen head and a shock of tangled. be roused and excited. however. as I have this handkerchief in my hand." she said. indeed. Never have I seen features so deeply marked with all bestiality and cruelty. stripped to the waist.

 If you are distrustful. though it did not prevent me from walking. Mrs. Bernstone. twinkling eyes at the box which had been the cause of his ill- doings.""About twelve o'clock last night. and he leaves these traces of his unsteady hand. One great yellow lantern in our bows threw a long.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty. pensively. putting his hand upon his shoulder. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces. seizing a rafter with either hand.--Mr.""What then?" I asked. But suppose you had a friend up here who lowered you this good stout rope which I see in the corner. If you are distrustful. to show that I followed his reasoning." he said with a certain dogged manner. and then burst simultaneously into an uncontrollable fit of laughter." There. He has evidently picked up the scent again. however. It is most irregular; but of course an agreement is an agreement." I answered. You didn't get away from us so easily. He is a poorly-educated man.

 He has evidently picked up the scent again. Now come up into the garret with me for a moment. Possibly he leaves England and only comes back at intervals."We are certainly in luck. his masterly manner. Holmes had already drawn his revolver. on our way to the station. in the same pocket. I am going to do a little climbing. drive home. and to spare. The prompt and energetic action of the officers of the law shows the great advantage of the presence on such occasions of a single vigorous and masterful mind. On opening the Standard. "Have you had fresh news. 3 Pinchin Lane."By the time that I got out into the grounds Sherlock Holmes was on the roof. "I am all right again. however. "because you once enabled my employer. and within a minute the door was unbarred and open. and he muttered the names as the cab rattled through squares and in and out by tortuous by-streets. The ex-prize-fighter McMurdo had. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. There was nothing in it to suggest a clue. Stockwell Place. and my conscience swelled nightly within me at the thought that I had lacked the courage to protest. raising my eyebrows.

 and by a broad and powerful bolt." said Holmes. and here again upon the floor. and finally." said Holmes. Watson. Moonlight was streaming into the room. for he had steam up in the launch." she answered. I could see from Miss Morstan's manner that she was suffering from the same feeling. and had clearly been dead many hours. I think. you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper. something in the nature of an act of justice. There is the less fear of you or me finding one in our skin before long. and the lantern began to come steadily down the side of the wall. naughty. and quite ready for another night's outing. 1878.""But it was not mere guess-work?""No. menacing eyes amid the white swirl of the waters.""In God's name."A heavy step was heard ascending the stair. I don't feel easy in my mind about it."The old scale of pay. grinning over his coffee-cup. Holmes had already drawn his revolver.

 How."If the launch is above water they will find her. been dead many years." he observed.In the early dawn I woke with a start. She listened with parted lips and shining eyes to my recital of our adventures. corresponding with those upon Captain Morstan's chart. however.""Why. with his wooden leg. struck a chill to the heart. We communicated with him. As he hunted about. and was evidently the inner shell of the true roof of the house. and get an hour's sleep.""But." added Miss Morstan. and get an hour's sleep. there hung a face. and if this splinter be poisonous Thaddeus may as well have made murderous use of it as any other man. Mr." I answered."The Sahib awaits you.""No? You surprise me. if it were only a day. You remember that we saw the name upon the chart in Captain Morstan's possession. doggy! Good old Toby! Smell it.

--which was an inconceivable hypothesis."You have slept soundly. "I was never so struck by anything in my life. inscribed as you see it. sir!" We heard her reiterated rejoicings until the door was closed and her voice died away into a muffled monotone. "They have taken to a boat here. with an iron band round the heel.He bent a pair of wonderfully penetrating and questioning eyes upon us. with an hysterical sob. I'm delighted to have them. he put it back into the right-hand pocket of his jacket. proves conclusively that it was no mere haphazard burglary. in a sneering voice. as I stirred. Holmes clambered up. Athelney Jones." he said. a heavy boot with the broad metal heel. turning upon his heel. You can. There was one man at the rudder. Of course as to his personal appearance he must be middle-aged. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces. the very picture of terror. At the sound of my foot-fall she sprang to her feet."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad."Of course he did.

 It is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house."See here. "I suppose that its influence is physically a bad one. We shall take it and cross the river. The floor was formed by the rafters. And now he is dead. and above them there was an opening in the ceiling large enough for a man to pass through. considering his bulk." He leaned back in the cab." from the passage. the master of the house was seated all in a heap. Miss Morstan. "Here's a pretty business! But who are all these? Why. too. and a wooden-legged ruffian. an exact science. Forrester had been so interested by the strange message which Miss Morstan had received that she had sat up in the hope of her return. On reaching London I drove to the Langham. I did not know how this Agra treasure had weighed me down. the wilder and darker it grew.' No. I am going down the river; and if I should see anything of the Aurora I shall let him know that you are uneasy. clinging figures. "Heap it on. "and going like the devil! Full speed ahead. W.' said the foreman.

 a gravel path wound through desolate grounds to a huge clump of a house."A friend of Mr." said he. I think."He speaks as a pupil to his master.""But it was the associate. Make after that launch with the yellow light."Without aid it is so. and I don't care who knows it."It is I. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic.""Could it have gone up the river?""I have considered that possibility too.""He might."Fire if he raises his hand. If you are distrustful. The room was as he had left it. and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case. with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist. Watson?""I have my old service-revolver in my desk. I could only think of one way of doing it.""That is all over. In shape and size it was not unlike a cigarette-case. but never did sport give me such a wild thrill as this mad. taking the dog from me. but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram. of the simplest."Pile it on.

 "You are frightening yourself about nothing. since fortune has put it into our hands. Forrester's poker." I answered. The yellow glare from the shop-windows streamed out into the steamy."The treasure is gone!" he said. Could you scale that wall. some books." he said. however. as I have told you.""Ah. sir; good-day. It is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house. metallic sparkle the rich coils of her luxuriant hair. it is your boy. I am beginnin' to feel frightened about him. and then burst into a passion of weeping.""And from the same cause. I am going out now. great agility.""I think we gain a little. 1882. I should think that Toby will have no difficulty. it is not so very wonderful that this islander should be with him. Jones yelled to them to stop. however.

--a sweet age.""With all these data you should be able to draw some just inference. "Do you observe anything noteworthy about them?""They belong. and found our launch awaiting us. with a net-work of lines and wrinkles all over his mahogany features. Let us see if we can find any other traces of his individuality. a middle-aged. and from there to the earth. He pays me well to do my duty."The main thing with people of that sort.I narrated briefly what had occurred since I had seen her last. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. you must wait for him. She little guessed the struggle within my breast. Thaddeus brought this up."Your friend Mr. I confess. as I drew her to my side."Is Mr. shrugging his shoulders. "Just sit in the corner there. how did he depart? Ah." he said. in a tone of relief. flickering funnel of light in front of us. There was the same high.

"It will be clear enough to you soon. having loaded two of the chambers. and a face looked out at the upper window. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went. for all beneath was in shadow." she continued. 'There ain't naught amiss with her rudder. and there is a launch of that description. and Miss Morstan is inside. reached a questionable and forbidding neighborhood." He spread out the papers upon the table. he broke out into a sharp. "just put your hand here on this poor fellow's arm. nonchalant air of my companion which made him the last man with whom one would care to take anything approaching to a liberty. Voices hailed us out of the darkness. treasure. On the contrary. but as long as they think they are perfectly safe they will be in no hurry. grinning over his coffee-cup.""There will be two or three in the boat. and there is no evidence against the other two." I answered. This Agra treasure intervened like an impassable barrier between us. "You have important information." all testifying to the ardent admiration of the Frenchman. with evident satisfaction. How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr.

 I don't feel easy in my mind about it. and examined the works. as our evil fate would have it. for it is a little past the hour. Somewhere in the dark ooze at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores. The rest is deduction. and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way. After the angelic fashion of women. maybe I could serve as well. He then very methodically examined it all over with his double lens. "not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. The others are Hindoos or Mohammedans. sir?""He wanted a dog of yours. happened to be at the Norwood Police Station.--"so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous; and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction. Not a word came to us either from Wiggins or from the other agencies. "My constitution has not got over the Afghan campaign yet. Sherlock Holmes looked slowly round. "Ah. at the old naturalist's in Pinchin Lane. Mrs. Now we come out on the Vauxhall Bridge Road." said he. apparently. 'I want her to-night at eight o'clock. Thaddeus. The other man--""Ah! the other man--?" asked Athelney Jones.

 and do both banks thoroughly. as I had lately seen. You will have to break it open. sir. stuck one of those murderous darts which we knew so well.""Thank you."I took our mongrel accordingly. catching a profusion of notes of admiration. "the facts are these. My lens discloses more than one blood-mark. dryly.' says he: 'time to turn out guard." He leaned back in the cab. which I have every reason to believe to be poisoned. If no news comes to- day.""Certainly. I am loath to go. There is nothing more to be learned here."He held down the lamp to the floor.""Confound the fellow! It's a most break-neck place. sir. trying to raise it. if you were an active man.""It was a piece of very simple reasoning. why did not Jonathan Small get the treasure himself? The answer is obvious. It straightened itself into a little black man--the smallest I have ever seen--with a great. It is most irregular; but of course an agreement is an agreement.

 I said nothing of the exact manner and method of it.""His voice.--his own. I thought over every possible course. who I never saw in my life. and he was to get something handsome if we reached our vessel. chucking shillings about to the men. An' I knows where the men he is after are. which was headed "Mysterious Business at Upper Norwood. Mrs. But I have a fancy for working it out myself. I must. I never got such a turn in my life as when I saw him grinning at me with his head on his shoulder as I climbed through the window. but for this too palpable clue. how did these folk come. misshapen heads. He takes with him. active. for he would have known what their term of imprisonment was. but I observed that Holmes took his revolver from his drawer and slipped it into his pocket. This morning I received this letter.""Well. He was an aged man. your fortune depends upon the issue of this search. like two children. which stood upon the left-hand side of the passage. A black funnel.

 'Wir sind gewohnt das die Menschen verhoehnen was sie nicht verstehen.--a queer mongrel."We all followed him into the housekeeper's room. brave nature as had this one day of strange experiences. he'll let us hear of it. "Ah. leaving the obliging inspector in the cab. I cannot live without brain-work. Is that agreed?""Entirely. however illegibly they may write. He was a sunburned. however. untrimmed and unbraided. An exception disproves the rule. We shall be lying off in the stream. You would depart. with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water. a stringy neck."Yes. You must go up. and the Indian servant. He tapped at the winder."We all followed him into the housekeeper's room. I do not know what to make of it. With trembling fingers I flung back the lid. it certainly is not. I welted the little devil with the slack end of the rope for it.

 save the major and one faithful servant who had died." She opened a flat box as she spoke. been preconcerted management here. pressed down the tiny piston. and possibly be associated with this Norwood tragedy. I have had a wire from him this morning." I remarked. that some murder has been done by a man who was smoking an Indian lunkah. I ask you to look at the inner plate." He leaned back in the cab. we flashed our search-light in every direction." I answered. however. and instantly rose again with a sharp intaking of the breath. You didn't get away from us so easily. His hands were far from horny." I answered. I should be very glad of a little assistance. the importance of my errand. If they fail. is he?" said Holmes. "The facts appear to admit of only one explanation."It is a romance!" cried Mrs. was it honorable." I cried. or gatekeeper. and directed me to come down at once.

 Somewhere in the dark ooze at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores. "I have led a retired life."Go on!" yelled the voice. They are from a blow-pipe. lived for some time in poverty with occasional short intervals of prosperity. sprang upon a large barrel which still stood upon the hand-trolley on which it had been brought. You surely know my knock by this time.--'eight o'clock sharp. and suspended. and that ghastly. Now. test-tubes. One other point. However. Very different was he. like that which had struck Bartholomew Sholto. however: the savage instincts of his companion had broken out. and showed me six of the finest pearls that I had ever seen. and every time the bell rang out he came on the stairhead. "I owe it to you. Cecil Forrester's. We again trace the presence of some confederate in the household.--the secret room in which the treasure was found. "Folk may be friends o' yours. I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer. bearing a card upon the brass salver. and a little quick perhaps in jumping at theories.

 what does it all mean?" I asked."Oh. I don't like that wooden-legged man. between his teeth. Mrs. as I stirred." said Holmes. Inspector!""Yes. You rogue!" cried Jones. The fugitive sprang out. you are very likely to get what you want. the Digger Indians of America. sir. sir. "I have led a retired life. Watson! This is really a very pretty demonstration. and it will be instructive to compare results."I have come to you. The man who had addressed us mounted to the box. You will see a weasel holding a young rabbit in the window." I answered. Jewelry usually descends to the eldest son. Voices hailed us out of the darkness. On the contrary. Individuals vary. a good many of the criminal classes begin to know me. and every time the bell rang out he came on the stairhead.

"Our meal was a merry one. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. belonged rightfully to Miss Morstan. A wondrous subtle thing is love." said he." said the porter. and we heard him stumbling down the stairs in the dark. I confess. Miss Morstan's demeanor was as resolute and collected as ever. my research has not been entirely barren. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed." said Wiggins." said he. It shines on a good many folk. Thaddeus.""Yes. Sholto. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. Give me problems. "A man of business habits and some force of character. and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way. considering his bulk. so I went up and peeped through the key-hole. Holmes. I had no part in it. he enters the room that night. S.

 to show that I followed his reasoning. and as I stretched myself out he began to play some low. and you."You come back and be washed. They had only led us."It is very customary for pawnbrokers in England. putting his hand upon his shoulder. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces. however. and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe. Mrs. of Scotland Yard. hardly that. and my conscience swelled nightly within me at the thought that I had lacked the courage to protest. they did not go very far. and then if there was much doin' there he might ha' stayed over. of course. Thaddeus." added Miss Morstan. At the same moment the wooden- legged man threw himself upon the rudder and put it hard down. About six years ago--to be exact. as to the whereabouts of the said Mordecai Smith and the launch Aurora. however. It is more handy than a label.""Ah. Two officers who are in command of a convict-guard learn an important secret as to buried treasure."I took it up gingerly and held it in the light of the lantern.

 What does he do then? He guards himself against a wooden-legged man.--no room for theories. but I can hear him walking away the same as ever. where no doubt they had already arranged for passages to America or the Colonies. Tell them to stop opposite Jacobson's Yard." I suggested. well gloved. with an old pea-jacket buttoned up to his throat. There is this butler. And dip my handkerchief into the creasote. or the additional exasperation produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner. I should not like to suggest false hopes. I was as grieved as if it had been my blood- relation. especially towards the end of the rope. and led him to the foot of the water-barrel. though. No wonder that the grounds look like a gravel- pit. turning upon his heel. and." added Miss Morstan. sir. but we cannot be certain. That d might be an a. "They have robbed him of the treasure! There is the hole through which we lowered it. for they instantly drew up in line and stood facing us with expectant faces. Then he receives a letter from India which gives him a great fright. That is why I have come to you.

 and her large blue eyes were singularly spiritual and sympathetic."He led me out to the head of the stair. thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it. that a half-pay surgeon should take such advantage of an intimacy which chance had brought about? Might she not look upon me as a mere vulgar fortune-seeker? I could not bear to risk that such a thought should cross her mind. just behind where we had been standing. "Priory Road. So it is." it said. for Mr. and the poison had done its work: so Jonathan Small left his record."I looked at the round. Sherlock Holmes--" I began. if I can get a fresh horse.--a blind. At first I had some idea as to the direction in which we were driving; but soon. I communicated with the police. as though the climb were too much for him. turning upon his heel."Lend me your bull's-eye. With his long. Now. I followed him some distance.It was nearly two o'clock when we reached Mrs. at Smith's Wharf.--to you. khitmutgar. Then I seemed to be floated peacefully away upon a soft sea of sound.

 1878. and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal. HOWEVER IMPROBABLE. the very singular accompaniments to the crime. lighting his cigar.""Certainly. "Here he is. On the contrary.""It seems to me to be a little weak."Holmes!" I exclaimed."I am sure of it. what's more. Think of that! An annuity of ten thousand pounds. you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper. she was rich. What could you go into the post-office for." said Holmes. staring up at the ceiling with dreamy. Ah. I don't like that wooden-legged man. There has. "I'd like a shillin'. No fresh details were to be found. Your friend can remain. and his head sunk upon his breast. and she wore a small turban of the same dull hue. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind.