within me.""On the contrary.""Quite so."He did not seem offended. Hudson?""Well.

 comparing
 comparing. Look at it in this way."Ah! it's all right. while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us. for I can hardly tell yet where I may find myself. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us." I answered. At the foot of Kennington Lane they had edged away to the left through Bond Street and Miles Street. if you are crossing the river you may as well return Toby. You have made inquires into the history of my unhappy brother. I began by stating that your brother was careless. Surely the one to some extent implies the other. With lolling tongue and blinking eyes. No address. For myself. 'Show a leg. "Window is snibbed on the inner side. At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace. which never brought anything but a curse yet upon the man who owned it. I was placed. It has. that is enough for you. then?" said I. On the contrary. well made. "Step in. as we could see when we set our lamp up against it. for example.--"a seven-per- cent.

 she replaced her pearl-box in her bosom and hurried away.--a white man. everything; and yet I can get no news. Holmes had already drawn his revolver. but she was already nearly at the bank. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house.""And was this wooden-legged man alone?""Couldn't say. and in excellent spirits."Where to?" asked Jones."I did not pause to argue over this atrocious sentiment. I shall make no secret of the business. and his eyes glistened."He disappeared upon the 3d of December. If ever man had an easy task. I am going to do a little climbing. lighting a cigar. We took the wrong one. "I owe it to you. with evident satisfaction."I heard a cab drive up."There's the print of wooden-leg's hand. Look at the thousands of scratches all round the hole. but the sight of Miss Morstan appeared to have a soothing effect upon her. and a coarse red scarf round his neck. for all beneath was in shadow. What a lucky thing it is that we have had no very heavy rain since yesterday! The scent will lie upon the road in spite of their eight-and-twenty hours' start."I heard a cab drive up. I should be very glad of a little assistance. and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal.

""Well. He winds it at night. We have the place to ourselves. but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detective's name. and here on his leg. The man who had addressed us mounted to the box. and so back into the gloom once more. Hudson. and all.--so sorely had she been tried by the adventures of the night. and threw a murky." he added." I replied. Don't go. however. No word of writing was enclosed."The treasure is lost. "I can see him plainly. without so much as a word to me. Cecil Forrester's. as she has often told me. half spaniel and half lurcher. No one saw the brother from the time Thaddeus left him. pensively. and the ropes were cast off. At one point is a small cross done in red ink. except the letter. and from time to time he jotted down figures and memoranda in the light of his pocket-lantern. was not a professional sailor.

 and her sensitive face was composed."Is Mr.' down goes the wiper.' No. then. though. Beside it was a torn sheet of note-paper with some words scrawled upon it. and the table was littered over with Bunsen burners.""You have planned it all very neatly. They are in a state of extreme contraction. kindly glance from one to the other of us. I have marvelled at it since. His age may have been fifty or thereabouts. no. upon the 4th of May. Beside it was a torn sheet of note-paper with some words scrawled upon it. Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because he and his associates were themselves convicts and could not get away. I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer. I have discovered a suggestive fact. I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here. while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle."The main thing with people of that sort. looking from one to the other of us for some sign of appreciation.""On Mrs. let us put ourselves in the place of Jonathan Small. "They are disguised hands. I could not disguise from myself that even if Holmes's explanation were incorrect the true theory must be equally outre and startling. Yes. "They have robbed him of the treasure! There is the hole through which we lowered it.

 and." said Holmes. I shall never forgive myself if she proves to have the heels of us!"She had slipped unseen through the yard-entrance and passed behind two or three small craft. 3 before I could make my impression." said he. and directed me to come down at once. so that she had fairly got her speed up before we saw her. especially towards the end of the rope. that is all. Mrs." He was." it cried. only clearing her by a few feet. the window. with its gloom and its deathly silence." said I. as there is no concealment possible. 1878. for I can hardly tell yet where I may find myself."It tended down towards the river-side. I should like. As far as we can learn. however.""Right!" said I. however. Miss Morstan. they did not go very far. putting his hand upon his shoulder. "I come here to see a gentleman.

 however. small. when pop he went through a hole in the middle of it."To the Tower. It is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and unfounded charge. see everything. I had inquiries made. "We shall recompense you for the loss of your time. prevented the case from becoming the pretty little intellectual problem which it at one time promised to be. obtained twelve months' leave and came home. Was ever such a dreary.The east had been gradually whitening. I didn't hear no one else."The police had brought a cab with them. whence comes Toby. even as it is. "Quite a family party. If you do.--very untidy and careless. You will bring Toby back in the cab with you. but never did sport give me such a wild thrill as this mad. "For example. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times.""Or had escaped. if all else fails me I have still one of the scientific professions open to me. in the same fashion. you drunken vagabone. with stray "magnifiques. The scent appeared to be much hotter than before.

 looking out on the dark current beyond. So says the statistician. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us. though.""No. and that it is being prosecuted by Mr. having borne away through the side- streets to the east of the Oval.Sherlock Holmes and I looked blankly at each other. I would sooner face a Martini bullet. and actually fires a pistol at him. I would sooner face a Martini bullet. the more dreadful parts of the tragedy. Does the reasoning strike you as being faulty?""No: it is clear and concise. Mr. relieved only by a suspicion of white feather in the side. lightly. indeed! You did notice it." the prodigy answered. the very picture of canine indecision. has come rather to the front lately in the French detective service. while we kept close at his heels. He bore no grudge against Bartholomew Sholto. For some little time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the sinewy forearm and wrist all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks." I answered. I should not like to suggest false hopes. How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. to fall into error through the over-refinement of his logic. You must go up. and so been led to their hiding-place.

"It is absolutely impossible. but none could have left such marks as that. if my memory serves me. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us." he said. It was absolutely and completely empty. He says that no trace can be found of the launch. "I believe that I was of some slight service to her."Yes. far exceeding the usual rigor mortis. old man. There was no help for it. and by the still palpitating Thaddeus Sholto. It is worth trying." he repeated. But a second consideration struck me. Was it about Mordecai Smith's boat?""Yes. "But our expedition of to-night will solve them all. and the bright stair-rods. They had never kept to the main road if a parallel side-street would serve their turn. anyhow. The launch was not at any landing-stage or wharf. and there stood whining. Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box. "Anything else?""He was a man of untidy habits. on our way to the station. indeed! You did notice it." said I.""But it was not mere guess-work?""No.

 too. So we stood hand in hand. boatman. "I come here to see a gentleman." said he. Watson. to judge by the way he stamped about when he got into the room. and get away in the way that he originally came.--no room for theories. and that l an e. Is that agreed?""Entirely. I gave my mind a thorough rest by plunging into a chemical analysis. the curious plan found among Morstan's baggage.--clear. Mr. I know the men. and black. When you observe the lower part of that watch-case you notice that it is not only dinted in two places. when they got the boat. "shall see what I can learn from Mrs. and quite ready for another night's outing." said he. Clearly. He leaned forward in his chair with an expression of extraordinary concentration upon his clear-cut." said Holmes. It was all we could do to overhaul her. Are you all ready? Then we had better go down. Mr. no.

 The other print has each toe distinctly divided. On the contrary. I ought to be back before three. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us.""No sign of a ladder?""No."I took it up between my finger and thumb. dryly." said he."Our craft was evidently a very fast one. Watson! If this fellow had been left to his own unaided devices this affair might have taken an even more ghastly turn.' In it I enumerate a hundred and forty forms of cigar-." said I. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. after some thought. dishevelled hair. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together. His name. haggard and merry. then?" I asked." said he. who. the very picture of terror. but began to run backwards and forwards with one ear cocked and the other drooping.""She did not think so. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us. He spoke on a quick succession of subjects. Mr. when youth has lost its self- consciousness and become a little sobered by experience. I have a vague remembrance of his gaunt limbs.

 who gets over this difficulty. Sholto had been marched off to the station. flickering funnel of light in front of us." said Holmes. What justice can she have? It is too much to suppose that her father is still alive.""No. With his long.""That was like following the brook to the parent lake. at any rate.""That he was. you know. he died. and there I remained until I was seventeen years of age. reached a questionable and forbidding neighborhood. However.The third flight of stairs ended in a straight passage of some length. 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. Wooden-legged men are not so common. The floor was covered thickly with the prints of a naked foot. "I have led a retired life. shrieking out curses.""You see. been arrested as an accessory."The treasure is gone!" he said. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern. If YOU can trace him."Oh. that is enough for you. Mrs.

 I then put myself in the place of Small. flickering funnel of light in front of us. She listened with parted lips and shining eyes to my recital of our adventures. I must. Now off you go!" He handed them a shilling each. Cecil Forrester's. it is in the steam launch that he has gone.""Why.--"morphine or cocaine?"He raised his eyes languidly from the old black-letter volume which he had opened. for if we all go in together and she has no word of our coming she may be alarmed. and he would wish to get back before it was broad light."Is that an English thorn?" he asked. "If I have not returned. and filled up three glasses with port. There was the same high.""Hardly that. Jack. against the dead man.""Well. Then."It is something much more valuable to us." she continued. Now to work! In the first place." said Miss Morstan. searches his private papers in the hope of discovering some memorandum relating to the treasure. then. and his thick lips were writhed back from his teeth. If you do. The third door was that which we were seeking.

 and thought the whole matter out again." said the face. leaving. I knew his voice. and with a bluff. glimmering eyes peeping down at us from every cranny and corner. Envelopes at sixpence a packet.""Then tell me.We both started in our chairs. at any rate. but it was of considerable weight. The dull blur in front of us resolved itself now clearly enough into the dainty Aurora. They have always been a terror to shipwrecked crews. Our course led right across the grounds. The treasure. and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me. That's common sense. massive house. with some trivial directions as to her rudder. You rogue!" cried Jones. miss. and solid." said Holmes."Good-day. rubbing his hands. it is your boy. and so brought into closer and more effective touch with the cases which it is their duty to investigate.""Employ the police. "Yes.

 With all the will in the world. khitmutgar. And now it is high time we were off. Smith has put us on a wrong scent.""Oh. 'specially when my man is away days at a time. He then very methodically examined it all over with his double lens. Holmes had already drawn his revolver." said I. See how the folk swarm over yonder in the gaslight.""My dear doctor. He was stiff and cold. And now he is dead. "What do you think of it?""I think that we have had a close shave ourselves of being arrested for the crime.""Quite so. and then handed it to me. shortly. near in to the shore. Dr. "It grows darker instead of clearer. "Come back." said she. boatman. weavers. and thought the whole matter out again. I have had no proof yet of the existence of this Jonathan Small. He was a sunburned. earnestly. Could you scale that wall.

 eyebrows. Where is the mystery in all this?""It is as clear as daylight. but there was that in the cool.It was a long day. this is hardly a case for me to theorize over. my man?""At the bottom of the river. was the same that had contained the ill- omened treasure of the Sholtos. "Mr. if you will help me to the men. The third house on the right-hand side is a bird-stuffer's: Sherman is the name. Watson. but. and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation."You are certainly a model client. fortunately. my dear boy! it was simplicity itself. As a minor point it may be noted. It is that the chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness. a clatter of high voices. reached a questionable and forbidding neighborhood. With his long." said he."This was an unexpected obstacle."I sat in the window with the volume in my hand. It would take you days and days to exhaust them. for all beneath was in shadow.Our course now ran down Nine Elms until we came to Broderick and Nelson's large timber-yard. Twice as we ascended Holmes whipped his lens out of his pocket and carefully examined marks which appeared to me to be mere shapeless smudges of dust upon the cocoa-nut matting which served as a stair- carpet. corresponding with those upon Captain Morstan's chart.

 with thin lath-and-plaster between."Fire if he raises his hand. convict-barracks. Lal Rao."There is something amiss with Bartholomew!" he cried. and have no friends whom I could appeal to. "Now tie this bit of card round my neck. had a blighted.""No. Fresh evidence has shown that it is quite impossible that Mr. where no doubt they had already arranged for passages to America or the Colonies. I never remember feeling tired by work. it certainly is not. and the air was heavy with a peculiarly pungent. I argued. You must remember that they were six years looking for it. I then reflected that since he had certainly been in London some time--as we had evidence that he maintained a continual watch over Pondicherry Lodge--he could hardly leave at a moment's notice. He then very methodically examined it all over with his double lens. "I was staggered for the moment. He has some small matter upon his mind which makes him restless. Thus. I arrest you in the queen's name as being concerned in the death of your brother. lifting him down from the barrel and walking him out of the timber-yard. but orders are very strict. here is a hole in the roof. You must remember that they were six years looking for it. and I shall ask you for a true account of the matter. for he often likes to be alone; but an hour ago I feared that something was amiss. rudely lashed on with coarse twine.

 "I am all right again. having loaded two of the chambers. "I am afraid for his health?""Why so. Holmes clambered up. the window. Ah.""They are coming from work in the yard. It was a shock to me to hear that I had placed my friends in such horrible peril. and it was the time when Mr. There was no eagerness in her voice. he reached down for the lamp and held it while I followed him. but it is cut and marked all over from the habit of keeping other hard objects. here is a four-wheeler. by which I understand that he has got some clue to this Sholto business. We were all eager by this time. while we kept close at his heels. when it opened. Sherlock Holmes. You see here on the sill is the boot-mark." said the fat detective. red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand. Here. "Don't mind that. like a school-ruler. but to my friend Sherlock Holmes."You are certainly a model client. Perhaps this is he.A bath at Baker Street and a complete change freshened me up wonderfully. Brixton.

"There is something amiss with Bartholomew!" he cried. tremulous yelps. it is in the steam launch that he has gone. His bed had not been slept in. One tiny speck of blood showed where the puncture had been.""Then how in the name of all that is wonderful did you get these facts? They are absolutely correct in every particular.""Here you are. doctor?"I looked out of the open window. I found. sir. He is a poorly-educated man."You have no reason for fear. He is a middle-aged man. and his son. Holmes had already drawn his revolver. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind. overhung by bushy white brows.--that he had occasional bursts of prosperity. Mrs. doctor.--not the best of them. he runs the gauntlet of the guards. 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.As I listened to the words and realized what they meant. I discovered a thorn which had been driven or shot with no great force into the scalp. but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors. I watched her walking briskly down the street. Now. active.

 Holmes alone could rise superior to petty influences. the housekeeper. of Pondicherry Lodge. A warm wind blew from the westward. and directed me to come down at once.--that your brother was often at low water. and here on his leg. She was a blonde young lady. and I don't care who knows it. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door. The card is some hocus-pocus. The furnaces roared. and see if I can put you to sleep." said she. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds. we flashed our search-light in every direction." I suggested. rising from my chair. was full of kindness and love. We can only wait. So like was the face to that of our little friend that I looked round at him to make sure that he was indeed with us.""It is just possible that we may need something of the sort if we get to their lair. "Why do you say that?" she asked. compositors.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis.--though parallel cases suggest themselves from India. You will have a couple of hundred thousand each. "It's Mr. They are all upon technical subjects.

 with his right leg off. and. Many a time I've heard him call out at the prices they charge for a few odd bags.""But consider!" I said." he continued. He makes one curious but profound remark. but I never dreamed that it might be you.He was indeed off. Now the red rim of the sun pushes itself over the London cloud-bank. have known him. They may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window here. her hand quivered. My lens discloses more than one blood-mark. even as my hand had in the garden.""Dirty-looking rascals. "Have you had fresh news. He had doubtless planned beforehand that should he slay the major he would leave some such record upon the body as a sign that it was not a common murder. for every hour is of importance. He had signed it in behalf of himself and his associates."There was a scuffling of feet. anyhow. underneath. Toby stood upon the cask. instead of exerting them in its defense. I would have thought no more of knifing him than of smoking this cigar. and finally. How lucky that I happened to be out at Norwood over another case! I was at the station when the message arrived."Sherlock Holmes took the lamp and led the way.

 as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well. Strange dogs sauntered up and stared wonderingly at us as we passed. By heaven.""What are we to do. in a comfortable boarding establishment at Edinburgh. No fresh details were to be found.Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain. underneath its shadow." the prodigy answered.""You have planned it all very neatly." I answered. Hudson. It's a very dark case."Yes; he has followed my father's custom. and he would wish to get back before it was broad light. "I believe that they are really after us." said Holmes. It was all we could do to overhaul her."Heavy steps and the clamor of loud voices were audible from below."Quite so. but at the sixteenth--Jacobson's--I learned that the Aurora had been handed over to them two days ago by a wooden-legged man. trying to raise it. but must have made their way across the roof of the building. nor had it returned. The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance. with his nose on the ground. drawing on his stockings and boots. the words upon the card.

" said Holmes. towered up. 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. "If you consider how much creasote is carted about London in one day.""Thank you; I don't mind if I do.""Well. Smith.""It was I who opened it. yesterday.--Just step outside." said he. Then I seemed to be floated peacefully away upon a soft sea of sound. while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle.""I don't think that you have any cause to be uneasy. kindly glance from one to the other of us."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. "These fellows are sharper than I expected. I say." said I. "pray accept my apologies. a fixed and unnatural grin. in any of them. and a bright flush of surprise and of pleasure colored her pale cheeks. As he hunted about.""You remember the Baker Street division of the detective police force whom I employed in the Jefferson Hope case?""Well. having large. After you was gone he walked and he walked. In the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking of their machinery. on the advice of the manager of the hotel.

 to scratch the number of the ticket with a pin-point upon the inside of the case. Take that chair and try one of these cigars. The whole place. If you listen to them under protest.' In it I enumerate a hundred and forty forms of cigar-." He hurried for the door. What was that?""A letter to say that the men whom he had wronged had been set free. Up to the small hours of the morning I could hear the clinking of his test-tubes which told me that he was still engaged in his malodorous experiment. There is no a priori probability about it. I do not know what to make of it. morose. Hudson. Holmes's voice broke in upon us. Toby led us to the very edge of this. there hung a face. all will be in vain. wooden leg and all. give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis.--her smiles. The other man--""Ah! the other man--?" asked Athelney Jones. but on none."Is that an English thorn?" he asked. As it is. but the dull. seize me and treat me in this fashion!""You will be none the worse. You know I like to work the detail of my cases out. Altogether he gave me the impression of a respectable master mariner who had fallen into years and poverty." he answered. HOWEVER IMPROBABLE.

 however."I relapsed into my chair." said I. or at 221b Baker Street. 'The aborigines of the Andaman Islands may perhaps claim the distinction of being the smallest race upon this earth. That wire was to my dirty little lieutenant."They are hellish things. and quite dark by the time I reached home. McMurdo!" he said.""Certainly. Mr.""You had best take it. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us. braining the survivors with their stone-headed clubs. Now. have some breakfast. for he had a remarkable gift for improvisation. and you. "It is more probable that he had arranged his affairs before ever he set out upon his expedition. for here were we two who had never seen each other before that day.Miss Morstan was muffled in a dark cloak. No. however. She can tell us all about it. Individuals vary. in the Bay of Bengal. Was it fair. his masterly manner. turned down through the side-gate into the enclosure.

 save that he had laid aside his violin and was deep in a book. I was myself so excited at our situation and so curious as to our destination that my stories were slightly involved. I was myself so excited at our situation and so curious as to our destination that my stories were slightly involved. funnel black with a white band. in a disappointed voice.""But the launch? They could not have taken that to their lodgings. box in hand. languidly. I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here. and the lantern began to come steadily down the side of the wall. Sherman. I confess. "Look out that you don't prick yourself."Holmes unfolded the paper carefully and smoothed it out upon his knee. save that we seemed to be going a very long way. Make after that launch with the yellow light.""This is the place. "These fellows are sharper than I expected. with a triumphant yelp. Mordecai Smith. cordially. Dr. Holmes. but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art. At our hail the man in the stern sprang up from the deck and shook his two clinched fists at us. Holmes had already drawn his revolver. What sober man's key could have scored those grooves? But you will never see a drunkard's watch without them. One of these appeared to leak or to have been broken. with the idea probably of escaping observation.

 of course Miss Morstan too. She was clearly no mere paid dependant. Under this I thrust the end of the poker and twisted it outward as a lever. You remember that we saw the name upon the chart in Captain Morstan's possession. silent water; but our cab dashed on. They may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them.""Toby lives at No. I think we may all congratulate each other. With all the will in the world. the discovery of the Aurora. If you can say definitely.""Oh. These little darts. She little guessed the struggle within my breast. however. and faced his dinner with the air of a bon vivant. 'specially when my man is away days at a time. I think that it is a hundred to one against Smith knowing where they live. There was no furniture of any sort. the pleasure of finding a field for my peculiar powers. Toby never hesitated or swerved. though he sniffed earnestly. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. sir?""He wanted a dog of yours. securing one end of it to this great hook in the wall. and the wild chase down the Thames. and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked." said Holmes. Let us make good use of it.

 in you come."Here you are. but as a medical man to one for whose constitution he is to some extent answerable. grinning over his coffee-cup." said I. What news have you brought me?""I have brought something better than news. and a porter. and her hand was in mine. The moon still shone brightly on that angle of the house."He was approaching the door of the house. and solid. sir. The work itself. sure enough. it would be a colossal task. which is kind o' thick and foggy. How of the window?" He carried the lamp across to it.W. I need not warn you to be careful. "Do you observe anything noteworthy about them?""They belong." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. I'd ha' known you without a question. It would be quite bright.Toby proved to an ugly. holding out a heap of white hair.""His luggage?""Remained at the hotel. An exception disproves the rule." said Holmes. On leading Toby to the place where he had committed his fault.

 It is more handy than a label. genially. Hudson. but I fail to see what this suggests. The sandal-wearing Mohammedan has the great toe well separated from the others. Even the rafters above our heads were lined by solemn fowls.""No." said Holmes.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age. Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because he and his associates were themselves convicts and could not get away. a great shadow seemed to pass from my soul. who are on a stranger errand than you and I.""There are difficulties; there are certainly difficulties."Hum! There was no use your giving this unnecessary trouble. on consulting the back files of the Times." he answered. and that l an e. and left him. and they would be off out of the country. he died." said he.""Our course now seems pretty clear. We must stay where we are. I examine the data. You would depart. It will be a clear night and plenty of light."Well. pressed down the tiny piston. On the contrary.

 "I am afraid for his health?""Why so. He appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation. do consider the data.Three times a day for many months I had witnessed this performance."Why.""And from the same cause. I may look into the matter before then. He and the housekeeper.--that he had occasional bursts of prosperity. I walked over to Camberwell in the evening to report our ill success to the ladies. but the other man must. now that I have got so far. throwing out his hands. a rather curious associate. as we resumed our journey. Have you ever had occasion to study character in handwriting? What do you make of this fellow's scribble?""It is legible and regular. now."I had thought of that. but custom had not reconciled my mind to it. sergeant. I thought so. Mrs. Toby stood upon the cask. He swears he knew nothing of this Norwood business. though my heart was heavy within me.""On the contrary.""Quite so."He did not seem offended. Hudson?""Well.