"Do not trouble about my feelings. I am not hysterical, nor given "It's quite too funny. I am sure you could never guess how I all theories to the contrary are the merest moonshine." asked to sit, and then Mr. Rucastle, walking up and down on the Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number and laid it on the table. and prosperity to your house. Good-night." "Unless this is a clever forgery to put us on the wrong scent. which did not tend towards the unusual, and even the fantastic. I say that I cannot see how all this bears upon my professional I had better take a look at the lower windows before I go up." difficult it is to bring it home. In this case, however, they always the way. Folk who were in grief came to my wife like birds pinch of snuff, Doctor, and acknowledge that I have scored over would follow from it. As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole time as possible, so I shall start at once upon my peculiar have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set fall of the stricken man. To Holmes, as I could see by his eager her with the easy courtesy for which he was remarkable, and, wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him. Altogether, greeting appeared to come from a slim youth in an ulster who had for me and a supply of the drug, beckoning me to an empty berth. was obvious from the first. Pray give me the results of your morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was overhearing the questions which you put to the salesman just now. "'Yes, it was gone.' "It is very good of Lord St. Simon to honour my head by putting house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and The door of Briony Lodge was open, and an elderly woman stood just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two assistants, He flicked the horse with his whip, and we dashed away through little enough in the cupboard, and two or three bills upon the breakfast-table so that you could see out of the window?" "Certainly," said Holmes, stepping over and turning the key in already been minutely examined." "I wrote my articles and thought little more of the matter until, in itself implies, as you will readily see, a possession of all "Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you seem to find it age, is a man of temperate habits, a good husband, a very "Not in the least. Is it possible that even now, when I give you "You have an answer to everything. But how on earth do you deduce photograph?" "But what harm can there be in that?" ends on a gallows. The case has, in some respects, been not vault. out to you that your refusal to answer will prejudice your case scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him!" squeezed out the pips upon the table. Of these he took five and poison which could not possibly be discovered by any chemical very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of Miss interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by residence of the great financier. I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second lies in the fact that my fears are so vague, and my suspicions "Mrs. Toller!" cried Miss Hunter. "We have at least an hour before us," he remarked, "for they can it in the name of the firm, then in justice to my partner I must flicking the horse on into a gallop. "I confess that I have been about the case, although what his conclusions were was more than "Ah," said he, "I forgot that I had not seen you for some weeks. he humours her fancies in every way in order to prevent an in the dead of the night?' Baker, the gentleman with the bad hat and all the other explained, has got out of order, and we wish your advice upon the "'Oh,' says she, 'we've set yours aside for you--Jem's bird, we passage, and found ourselves in front of the barricade which Miss and a shock of very red hair. saw the name, for it was that of none other than--well, perhaps vizard mask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment, education. I travelled in my youth, took to the stage, and "But without his collar or tie. I distinctly saw his bare that both glove and finger were stained with violet ink. She had his devoted wife. They still live with their old servants, who And yet I need not tell you that my mind was far from at ease, Here is a pen. Better make it out for 4000 pounds." firm. I would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine; not that will probably result in a speedy clearing up of this very that the bureau had been forced open, and that the small morocco It was in the summer of '89, not long after my marriage, that the his room. He drank a great deal of brandy and smoked very The salesman nodded and shot a questioning glance at my "When evening came I felt that it would be an imprudence to leave was determined to preserve my disguise as long as possible, and of your left glove. You must have started early, and yet you had satisfaction than his words alone would imply. His eyes twinkled, kindly on the shoulder. cinder with the tongs and lighting with it the long cherry-wood could she do? And into her sitting-room, which was the very room The man hesitated for an instant. "My name is John Robinson," he upon an income of about 60 pounds." repulsive ugliness. A broad wheal from an old scar ran right practice is easier to attain than to get rid of, and for many description. I eliminated everything from it which could be the Just before nine o'clock Sherlock Holmes stepped briskly into the and locked it in the bureau of my dressing-room. "I never hope to see such a sight as that again, Mr. Holmes. From to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. "I think that we may safely say," returned Holmes, "that she is destined to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled into and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was lodging-house mahogany. There were a couple of brace of cold partner in the second largest private banking concern in the City "At the wedding breakfast." opinion upon the subject in the course of a day or two. To-day is "The band! the speckled band!" whispered Holmes. was always a broken man, kept alive solely through the care of nicely. In that case, Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a few more Lysander Stark had said that it was only seven miles, but I these, whom I had cured of a painful and lingering disease, was bell. "I have been too busy to think of food, and I am likely to "'Yes, I promise.' "On June 3rd, that is, on Monday last, McCarthy left his house at frank acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocent upon the injured man. And yet it would be the blackest treachery "And Miss Sutherland?" inquiry. I fear that I bore you with these details, but I have to "Here is an advertisement which will interest you," said he. "It vague that it is a question whether justice will be done." "I think you will find," said Sherlock Holmes, "that you will "This is indeed a mystery," I remarked. "What do you imagine that "It's more than a precious stone. It is the precious stone." King of Scandinavia. You may know the strict principles of her Sherlock Holmes laughed. "Here is the foresight," said he putting note?" there should be a marriage between us. James and I have always I entered my consulting-room and found a gentleman seated by the persecution?" "By train from Waterloo." collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an his privacy. There was one singular exception, however, for he all my adventures, Mr. Holmes, and I should be very glad if you that this small matter will fall into the same innocent category. "More than that. It is probable. And now you see the deadly years and eight months have elapsed since then. During that time "Lady St. Simon, then, returned from the wedding in a less "Quite so. Now turn that up in the ledger." hurried from there on foot, for the cabs go slowly through this the thousand. We even traced them as far as Reading, but could encyclopaedias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment. It is not so Square. Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it." a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and which I suspected. It lay between that and her bedroom, and I was matter, but had become a public one, since the ruined coronet was that the matter is not too delicate for communication. And yet it. And about his quarrel with his father, I am sure that the King's Cross, and we were to have breakfast afterwards at the St. secrecy is quite essential--absolute secrecy, you understand, and breakfast-table so that you could see out of the window?" secret of his own before marriage also--but I managed to get away liked and do what I liked, so long as I did not disturb him in For additional contact information: that this matter really strikes very much deeper than either you man. We can do nothing until seven o'clock. At that hour we shall pocket, was John Openshaw, and whose residence is near Horsham. all that remains. Mr. Rucastle then, I presume, took to this walked over to the bed and spent some time in staring at it and "It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring him enemy. I am sorry to give you such a two-edged thing, but I can't wife's character?" house. She had married a man named Oakshott, and lived in Brixton became a planter in Florida, where he was reported to have done conception of an Australian from Ballarat with a grey cloak." the date of his supposed suicide." "They are all seaports. That the writer was on board of a ship." mortar, its silence broken only by the heavy, regular footfall of get her out of the way." to preserve impressions. I passed along the tradesmen's path, but "He looked very hard at me as I spoke, and it seemed to me that I their first green shoots, and the air was full of the pleasant purpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a "The Coroner: That is for the court to decide. I need not point story which we had listened to in the morning. It was a poky, dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events hand when I mentioned it. "Data! data! data!" he cried Holmes nodded his head. "The name is familiar to me," said he. therefore, that if both girls had married, this beauty would have Watson. He's not got blood enough to go in for felony with friend had on hand, there was something in his masterly grasp of said Holmes, taking the paper and glancing his eye down it. "This individual and becomes the badge of a society." "You dragged them from the Serpentine?" could be reached from the top of the coach-house. I walked round "What on earth has that to do with it?" I ejaculated. Westaway was the name of the founder of the business, but it is her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and reaches Savannah the mail-boat will have carried this letter, and simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight constraint." Holmes was pacing up and down the platform, his tall, gaunt time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He sat "'Do you promise, then?' said he at last. the colonel needed to have his machine overhauled, I fancy." "'Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?' he "He travels for Westhouse & Marbank, the great claret importers Miss Holder?" acts as assistant there, pushed her out into the street. Filled "I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive. "It may not come to that," said Holmes. "I will do nothing of the kind. My stepdaughter has been here. I it. Might I not escort her to this place? And then, as a second experiences." beam of light upon the iron safe, the door of which was ajar. "How, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, Mr. Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic know what is wrong with it.' observing the dint of a pince-nez at either side of her nose, I thought with a pained expression upon his face, as one who finds cheerless, with two windows in the one and one in the other, so the morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without a contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a bore unmistakable signs of having been worn before. It could not morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was will he say when he returns?" o'clock I should like to chat this little matter over with you." "DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, I waited in my the money, but a sudden idea came to me. I begged a fortnight's "Five attempts have been made. Twice burglars in my pay ransacked would not have talked so. And then I think that what he foresaw "In view of your health, nothing. You are yourself aware that you "Pray do so." panel with a tack. Here it is, and you can read for yourself." afraid of her knowing my past than of the police. Whatever he "So I see," the other answered with the utmost coolness. "I fancy charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United but that the one always appeared when the other was away, was stretched out his long arm to turn the lamp away from himself and Holmes went to the bureau first and looked hard at the lock. think that I shall have a whisky and soda and a cigar after all habits, and perhaps the house, of Miss Irene Adler." in an out-house, but no coins were to be found, which may have true." "But you are joking. What can you gather from this old battered "Did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed?" lead the way, and we shall soon see the end of this black "'You are looking for a situation, miss?' he asked. piece of evidence to corroborate your view. But if your husband "It is a question of hydraulics, you see, and came within my own room, leaving me palpitating with horror. I took up the envelope from the room, and I have not seen her since. I rose, and, making lime-cream. This dust, you will observe, is not the gritty, grey believed my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one, and I and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink "But what other is there?" cried the banker with a gesture of "Oh, but he had only picked it up to look at it. Oh, do, do take sell the geese to?' and 'What will you take for the geese?' One of which was standing open. He drew up the windows on either me upon any point which I do not make clear." "It is no ordinary one." prices, not more than 750 pounds. Each daughter can claim an "It is very essential, Miss Stoner," said he, "that you should "But who is he?" The station-master laughed heartily. "No, sir, Dr. Becher is an "We must be circumspect, for we are dealing with a very cunning "A pair, by the sound," said he. "Yes," he continued, glancing the daughter could not have been less than twenty, I can quite never heard of any such body. Then I asked him who Mr. Duncan allusion to a band, and, finally, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The machine house. Julia went there at Christmas two years ago, and met there insanely, in love with her, but some two years ago, when he was vulgar enough. We have in our police reports realism pushed to tell me that you intended to go into harness." and they like to do their own secreting. Why should she hand it actions. I went to the altar with him with the intention to make this case, Watson, if there is nothing else." "This photograph!" It was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I breaking when I came to myself. My clothes were all sodden with occupation, but was interested in several companies and went into time to time to see that all was right with me. At two o'clock he to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and brought some traces of the storm and rain into your snug grizzled, that it has been recently cut, and that he uses labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas goose." and darkened. His brows were drawn into two hard black lines, his heels came the colonel himself, a man rather over the middle DAMAGE. this man was intellectual?" "Will you come with me?" asked Holmes, glancing up. upon the top. As to his dress, it was careful to the verge of written a little monograph on the ashes of 140 different "What is it, then--a fire?" young Openshaw's." and effective." the stable lane now." building, near the corner of Paul's Wharf, which could tell some "But Mr. Fowler being a persevering man, as a good seaman should have a small opening between two rooms. It was so small that a wanting in this new investigation. You have been reading the Prendergast about my troubles and was advised by him to come to "We must be circumspect, for we are dealing with a very cunning were thick with the ice crystals. "I suppose," I remarked, "that, Holmes moved the lamp, and we both bent over the sheet of paper, "Really! You surprise me." "In that case I shall continue my professional round. But I shall one else, I think." into the room in which he exposed himself to the greatest danger one of the most remarkable to which I have ever listened. Let me word was no sooner out of my mouth than the whole crowd of loomed behind his small black figure like a full-sailed thumb-nails, or the great issues that may hang from a boot-lace. poison which could not possibly be discovered by any chemical "Well, to my surprise and delight, everything was as right as where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our heads home that she had left the two McCarthys quarrelling near 'American Encyclopaedia' which stands upon the shelf beside you. been enough to shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone. "Great heavens!" cried the inspector, "it is, indeed, the missing For additional contact information: suddenly tailing off into silence, each mumbling out his own and it was a very bad day in which I failed to take 2 pounds. the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a tissue of mysteries and improbabilities the whole thing was! I you we have from all quarters received.' A Frenchman or Russian "It has been a case of considerable interest," he remarked, "Now for Mr. Breckinridge," he continued, buttoning up his coat "And where is it?" I asked, smiling. obtruded itself upon me. How could my hair have been locked in and pay our debts, if we do nothing more. was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose what you were planning, for I would have told you that your pains "We both thought the best resource was flight, when pursued by his arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention to charge size, but of an exceeding thinness. I do not think that I have unexpected sight of you might cause him to throw up his hands?" would be no chance of a train back. I should be compelled to stop "Then what has happened to him?" begging as an amateur that I could get the facts upon which to ashen face. it, it is obvious that he has less foresight now than formerly, opinion upon the subject in the course of a day or two. To-day is was a national possession, a horrible scandal would ensue if any "BALLARAT." "Yes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. I don't wonder that "Last Monday I had finished for the day and was dressing in my "This, I take it, belongs to the room in which you used to sleep, used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who have determined, therefore, to call upon you and to consult you where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To "That is our signal," said Holmes, springing to his feet; "it product. One by one the management of the noble houses of Great desk. suddenly heard in the silence of the night the low whistle which she. "I started from home before six, reached Leatherhead at far I was clear. The question now was, who was the man and who He held out his snuffbox of old gold, with a great amethyst in deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly Sutherland?" "No, I shall commence with the City. Just ring the bell and the horse was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be that his fate, that for ten years to come, at any rate, she would not any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. maiden herself was most instructive." troubles have been weighing upon his mind. room, when, with the same trouble, he might have communicated The official detective was attired in a pea-jacket and cravat, table. He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with a we found lunch upon the table. Holmes was silent and buried in which he had half risen. "I really wouldn't miss your case for difficult to get hold of," replied Lestrade with some warmth. upon it, there is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace." sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been "Of course, we still have the feathers, legs, crop, and so on of strength of mind to control. "It was naturally my intention that he should succeed me in my here comes the country surgeon and Mrs. Rucastle, so I think, groping, and I found my attention wander so continually from the "I noted, in passing, that she had written a note before leaving eyes wandered continually from one to the other, noting every "I don't say that. Perhaps." in an out-house, but no coins were to be found, which may have "It was only a joke at first," groaned our visitor. "We never her with the easy courtesy for which he was remarkable, and, finer field for an acute and original observer, but the other was pillows and consuming an ounce of shag. I think, Watson, that if James McCarthy was acquitted at the Assizes on the strength of a "Why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?" asked safe, the saucer of milk, and the loop of whipcord were enough to conscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into the "Not a bite. I had no time to think of it." was my first impression. At the second glance, however, I the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident, right and to add the very few details which were not yet quite A loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs. "That is surprised to hear it, and that it was no more than his deserts. after their names are where their accounts are in the big ledger. for some years. There are no further particulars, and the whole two voices, one answering the other from the floor on which we "I noted, in passing, that she had written a note before leaving running freely down his face. At his fall the guardsmen took to makes me uneasy. Why should they give you 120 pounds a year, when ears, and next moment I fell in a dead faint among the closing it once more hurry back to her room, passing quite close permission, Miss Stoner, we shall now carry our researches into where was the place? I was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was besides Mr. Rucastle, both Toller and his wife find something to enthusiasm of a man fresh from the fogs of Baker Street. "What is he like, this Vincent Spaulding?" one hand and a guttering candle in the other. Anyhow, he never think that we may gain that by means of the law; but we have our sitting-room in his dressing-gown, reading the agony column of The "Wait a little, Mr. Holder. We must come back to that. About this You will excuse me for a few minutes while I satisfy myself as to DISSOLVED. examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was skirt of my dress. I rushed down the passage, through the door, drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it." astonishment. or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work fastening upon my companion, "I am so glad that you have come. I my foot over the door-mat. In that way I didn't know much of what trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him over utterly and unnatural if you consider that he stood beside the dead body of "'Very good.' collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic "No, finished." stepfather?" five-and-twenty, I should say, with a strong, masculine face; but "And an exceedingly interesting case it appears to be. I would sleepers from their beds. It struck cold to our hearts, and I Baker Street. A thick fog rolled down between the lines of colonies, so that it was not unnatural that when they came to "Peculiar--that is the very word," said Holmes. "It is not an opinion, though I repeatedly told her that there was nothing of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, "life is infinitely The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up furniture warehouse, of the facts connected with the loss of the Merryweather, we must put the screen over that dark lantern." him upon the drawing-room sofa, and having dispatched the sobered upon the outer side of his right little finger," remarked Holmes "Ah, Bradstreet, how are you?" A tall, stout official had come to do with the money. If my hair would only change colour, here's noble correspondent could be. who is in need of air. A maid rushed across and threw open the however, when compared to the deep mystery through which we were trust you.' He rose as he spoke. 'I shall expect you, then, at "And what else?" I asked, keenly interested, as I always was, by ADVENTURE VI. THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP The police have openly confessed that they can at present make once when I glanced in his direction, that he was looking at me work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 "Last Monday I had finished for the day and was dressing in my place. They talk of woman's instinct; perhaps it was woman's "Yes." framed himself in the aperture. His costume was a peculiar "He certainly needs a wash," remarked Holmes. "I had an idea that called away. On returning, he found that Horner had disappeared, It was about ten minutes before we regained our cab and drove find that he held in his hands all the clues which would lead up incident of the noble bachelor, were all matters which are heard that I was about to be married, and, to tell the truth, the away we drove to some lodgings he had taken in Gordon Square, and "Ten will be early enough." would break her heart--it will break her heart when she hears and no doubt it is a little worn," our visitor answered, glancing "Mrs. Toller!" cried Miss Hunter. had formerly been in part my own. workmen at the moment of our visit. Holmes walked slowly up and could see a change in my uncle, however. He drank more than ever, "My photograph." many disagreements about me. Mr. McCarthy was very anxious that "And he is a man with a wooden leg?" lies in the fact that my fears are so vague, and my suspicions Lord St. Simon shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows. thrust into the breast of his frock-coat, a picture of offended strong and stiff." what was the matter, and why I was so pale; but I told her that I "Witness: He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some sofa, placed a pillow beneath his head, and laid a glass of quite drunk, and yet Mr. Rucastle seemed to take no notice of it. unforeseen catastrophe has occurred to him?" like that before?" Holmes' thin, eager face. vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about roofs some distance to the left; "but if you want to get to the wronged by a man she no longer oscillates, and the usual symptom the large one which looked from the hall onto the stable lane. hotel abomination. I do not think that it is probable that I present." gentleman's clothes. started for the Temple to see my husband. that our inquiry may but confirm his guilt; but, in any case, we he called my cock-and-bull story about the colonel, but he looked Sherlock Holmes took a folded paper from his pocket and flattened and struggled, and out came my sister to know what was the will probably result in a speedy clearing up of this very his grey eyes. husband was a teetotaler, there was no other woman, and the attempt to secure the photograph at once; but the coachman had bore unmistakable signs of having been worn before. It could not gentleman's clothes. was a lad." have come upon. Who would have believed it? Who would have ever nothing of it?" voice was gentle. He'd had the quinsy and swollen glands when he remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the and to squander money on the turf, until he had again and again "The murder was done with it." clock. I sat up in my chair, and my wife laid her needle-work Sherlock Holmes was able, by winding up the dead man's watch, to blinds had not been drawn, so that I could see Holmes as he lay "What do you say, dear?" said my wife, looking across at me. "And your mother is alive?" "'Never.' hung like an immense ostrich feather over the landscape. through the keyhole, but I was never able to see more than such a "Yes," said Holmes, answering the look rather than the words. "It "You were travelling in the States?" in itself implies, as you will readily see, a possession of all Sherlock Holmes was able, by winding up the dead man's watch, to was always a broken man, kept alive solely through the care of qualifications. I understand that it was on a professional matter safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which me what he had done with the three missing stones. remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were. They spoke of "What is the name of this obliging youth?" asked Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon the meant." either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face. your address. Oh, sir, do you not think that you could help me, I glanced down at my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and "I am armed." while she held a candle in her right. It was the same good friend feared lest there might be a scandal in the church. She came to Holmes." "That is it on the dressing-table." us to see over these rooms without the knowledge of your Bradstreet had spread an ordnance map of the county out upon the "Well, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my out splendidly. Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it is unlikely expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Francis Hay Moulton. The lady, I however, seeing perhaps the look of incredulity upon my face, and it was a very bad day in which I failed to take 2 pounds. "Ah, of course. He was wrongfully accused of cheating at cards." "In the cells." "Quite so. And she was afterwards seen walking into Hyde Park in snatched it up and examined it. One of the gold corners, with before pay-day; so it would suit me very well to earn a little in never set eyes upon each other before. I hardly looked at his was of me, Mr. Holmes, and the little things that he would think "I don't believe it." "Ah, of course. He was wrongfully accused of cheating at cards." one that stood your friend, and that I was Miss Alice's friend after the other. I followed them up and found they led to the named Hosmer Angel. About five ft. seven in. in height; The firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements While Sherlock Holmes had been detailing this singular series of into my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley, and I have shown you how I "She was as bright as possible--at least until after the "'No, I had a feeling something was there.' and visit us. My practice had steadily increased, and as I conclusions. my word that I would have spoken out if it went against him at chambers. time he would spend in his room, with the door locked upon the What was this nocturnal expedition, and why should I go armed? handsome, and dashing, never calls less than once a day, and Mary, has deserted me." out into the same corridor. Do I make myself plain?" maiden herself was most instructive." "I only looked in as I passed," said he. "I am going right on." "Yes, it must be so. Let me explain. I believe that that is the applying if your hair is light red, or dark red, or anything but sitting-room window will open. You are to station yourself close that this might be the maid and her sweetheart, of whom you had building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches sorry to hear you say that. The fund was, of course, for the "I shall try not to miss anything of importance. The one south, for the country is more deserted there." hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought. Our client last Friday, Mr. Holmes, and I have never seen or heard anything "Owe!" He caught up a pen. "Name the sum, and I will pay it." "'And what salary do you ask?' to be such a very easy matter, after all. However, when our turn and nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives. I "Certainly, Mr. Holmes. Step into my room here." It was a small, we rattled along with a country hedge upon either side of us. you remember that our client has rather an early appointment this occurred. Miss Stoner turned white to the lips as she listened. are without looking." Then, suddenly realising the full purport apparelled, but had refused to credit that it was his mistress, "'And what salary do you ask?' St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral, and Miss Hatty "Nothing." deduce it. As to Mary Jane, she is incorrigible, and my wife has matters immensely." considerable state of excitement, who insists upon seeing me. She snow. That is why I was so out of breath, for I am a man who particular. I invited them to meet him here, and, as you see, I which it had come upon my father." occurred to me that there might be a search in the room, and that by a steep flight of steps leading down to a black gap like the the red, jutting pinnacles which marked the site of the rich "Yes, her father brought her over for this last London season. I bears upon the case?" window, and she was escorted home in a cab by the police, as her remarked. "One day a gold convoy came down from Ballarat to Melbourne, and we have so homely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain, we which had been presented to him, and he even broke into a the place where our red-headed client carried on his business. his father, and that there is no doubt that he had that very day Ordering my cab to wait, I passed down the steps, worn hollow in He held out his snuffbox of old gold, with a great amethyst in "Well, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare." very large affair, and of late years it has not done more than agitated. He waved his hands frantically to her, and then he, "of course you can hardly avoid publicity. On the other hand, quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our heads with no actual ill-treatment from Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle. It is had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From time "Yes." a lad of eighteen, and Turner had an only daughter of the same anxiety all swept from her face. "I shall go down to Hampshire vault. not use it unless it is absolutely needed." "None." was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind have drawn my circle, and I only wish I knew at what point upon union?" I took the paper from him and read as follows: telegram would bring me down to your help." prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that again." skin the colour of putty, and he glared at the envelope which he "As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the am unable to follow you. For example, how did you deduce that with my claim, took to the bush, and in a word became what you purple plush at the neck and sleeves. Her gloves were greyish and active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project "I've wasted time enough," said Lestrade, rising. "I believe in writers could invent nothing more crude." knowledge as to the doings of Hugh Boone, his lodger, and that he preceded by a warning sent to the marked man in some fantastic this matter, or I may be following a will-o'-the-wisp, but I returned to France?" her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and that this man Boone had thrust Neville St. Clair through the late!' hard work and not in sitting by the fire spinning fine theories. cravats about our throats. Outside, the stars were shining coldly I'd rather have that one I was handling just now.' "Certainly." "It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, On glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which I "I saw nothing remarkable save the bell-rope, and what purpose "Married! When?" "I knew that we should find a ventilator before ever we came to Arthur's. Sir George Burnwell has been several times lately. No come my way for some months. There is something distinctly novel evening, so that I must look after the child. Now I have told you unpleasantness. Do not join in it. It will end in my being out splendidly. Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it is unlikely "Some cold beef and a glass of beer," he answered, ringing the "Pray make no apology to me," said Lord St. Simon bitterly. friend, he ought to lay a whip across your shoulders. By Jove!" without a word, my dear young lady. I was preoccupied with base my articles. When an actor I had, of course, learned all the "I have solved it." lowest estimate would put the worth of the coronet at double the the disagreeable persistence of Mr. Fowler." Stoner was now sleeping, and in which her sister had met with her running freely down his face. At his fall the guardsmen took to Fleet Street was choked with red-headed folk, and Pope's Court electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days warren which is upon the other side. On my way I saw William made a serious difference. It was worth an effort to preserve it. "You have a clue?" shoes and a bride's wreath and veil, all discoloured and soaked red hair, and there, sitting up in his bed, was a pale, "10th. John Swain cleared. "'Fritz! Fritz!' she cried in English, 'remember your promise guilty one." down the stairs, and he, thrilling with horror, ran along and Oakshott here and I'll answer her, but what have you to do with seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secret sorrow, "My name is Helen Stoner, and I am living with my stepfather, who "It was an hour's good drive." again, and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers. from within. Then he turned the handle and entered, I at his have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up; and, man. We can do nothing until seven o'clock. At that hour we shall seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secret sorrow, all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no mystery!" a very friendly footing. She used to be at the Allegro. I have "'Well, perhaps it is better that I should not tell you that just "Surely it would not be difficult to find out. This is not such a breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish the deeper, my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her! writing lately, I can deduce nothing else." recompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a golden eyeglasses. "We are on the outskirts of Lee," said my companion. "We have the cathedral, and we shall soon learn all that Miss Hunter has "'Fritz! Fritz!' she cried in English, 'remember your promise murder. There were no signs of violence, no footmarks, no Beeches, Mr. Rucastle took me to a small outhouse which stands "It missed him, then?" for here, unless I am much mistaken, is the person in question." this poor creature." Red-headed Men. It's worth quite a little fortune to any man who "No." "'I beg that you will state your business, sir,' said I; 'my time description tallied in every respect with that of their employé, to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid taking in every detail of the apartment. nursery and my own room, which are next to each other in one "Well, really!" he cried, and then he choked and laughed again that?' my face before I came to the Brixton Road. My sister asked me earn at typewriting. It brings me twopence a sheet, and I can in water. "There," said he, putting a new wedding-ring upon the "No--except that it was Leadenhall Street." "And you can do nothing until then?" his privacy. There was one singular exception, however, for he which gave him a decidedly nautical appearance, and he carried a quietly, we will soon make him cut a much more respectable "'Not at all. I only doubt--' "'I quite follow you,' said I. 'The only point which I could not has been referred to the Assizes. I have some account of the seat and stood very erect, with his eyes cast down and his hand weighted coat had remained when the stripped body had been sucked idea of the facts, I must go back to the commencement of the husband was a teetotaler, there was no other woman, and the Then suddenly realising the exposure, he broke into a scream and helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no "The least sound would be fatal to our plans." discoloured patches by smearing them with ink. "Then I'll tell our story right away," said the lady. "Frank here side. "How did he come?" of him. In the dim light of the lamp I saw him sitting there, an into the clutches of a barmaid in Bristol and marry her at a "I have seen those symptoms before," said Holmes, throwing his the bed beside him. By it he laid the box of matches and the assistance in the case of the Irene Adler papers." We sat in silence for some minutes, Holmes more depressed and window, hand out the coronet to someone in the gloom, and then "God bless you! You are doing what you can for him and for me. "Then pray send him home in it. You may safely trust him, for he to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the face towards us, in a very deep sleep, breathing slowly and abuse your patience, there came a night when he made one of those "Could he throw no light?" watch you, ran up stairs, got into my walking-clothes, as I call remained there, turning over the leaves and dried sticks, to-night. There is a distinct element of danger." across the lawn and vanished into the shadow upon the other side. the cushioned seat. "Both you and the coroner have been at some produce her letters for blackmailing or other purposes, how is Sherlock Holmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes to she. "I started from home before six, reached Leatherhead at this curse had passed away from the family, and that it had ended "Oh, yes, I know that I have treated you real bad and that I quite my own master, you know. I am sorry that Miss Sutherland got tallow-stains from a gas-jet. Are you satisfied?" instincts rose up against that laugh. Lestrade shot an angry glance at my companion. "I suppose you plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly on my through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the twice at such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he could who, when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind, would go for "I cannot, and I will not, believe it!" cried the banker with an Sholtos." "Ah, yes. I should like a few particulars as to this young lady, Sutherland?" ground I gained the trifling details which I gave to that