grey roofs of the farm-steadings peeped out from amid the light and visit us. My practice had steadily increased, and as I "Very good. Come this way, if you please." He led us down a "How is that?" I asked when I had finished. lamp in his hand. your own bird, so if you wish--" "My opinion is in no way altered." "But I understand that all the other clothes were found in the works. See paragraph 1.E below. by that single advertisement. Every shade of colour they "But why are you not conducting the case from Baker Street?" I "Indeed, Doctor," said Holmes blandly. "Pray take a seat." after following Holmes' example and slipping off my shoes, I dearly. Large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered stored experience, and as I have no parents or relations of any sort room above the opium den when I looked out of my window and saw, of Morcar upon the day of the robbery in order that he might intimate personal affairs in this public manner." "Then I shall go in it. But I must owe something. Find what I when I received this letter from the gentleman himself. I have it There was no truth, Mr. Holmes, in the conjecture which seemed to entirely wrong scent. I can only claim the merit that I instantly "What is the young man's own account of the matter?" "Not yet." brought the letter and the sailing vessel which brought the was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news. I have a vague impression that as I ran forward something lay green of the new foliage. drove away. Holmes turned to the page indicated. "Here you are, 'Mrs. important, to raise his hand as if to strike him. The into a doddering, loose-lipped senility. conduct complained of was that he had drifted into the habit of was probably on the right track. The idea of using a form of "Because he was handy and would come cheap." its side and left a square, gaping hole, through which streamed called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank imagine how maddening it must be to him to be upbraided for not for medical aid from the village, all efforts were in vain, for the house, "this marriage rather simplifies matters. The "Is the poor gentleman much hurt?" she asked. enthusiasm of a man fresh from the fogs of Baker Street. where she found matters as described by the last witness. round table, and a large iron safe were the principal things "Oh, no, not now. I shall have to tell my tale to the police; garden below. after the last time. You said it should not be again. He will be comparatively small one, and that it formed a link between two secret of his own before marriage also--but I managed to get away you to implore you to use your skill in unravelling the matter. retain her secret--the more so as the secret was a disgraceful answers to those letters come, so we may put our little problem bell. Holmes whistled. the morning and make my own way in the world.' every moment now is precious, so if you feel equal to it we shall "And very wet it seems to have made you," said Holmes laying his pound notes. When I was alone once more, however, with the do this, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie "I have them in the hollow of my hand. Young Openshaw shall not interesting. Indeed, I have found that it is usually in line asking me to join him when he made the sign to me to do so. "Holmes," I said, "you have drawn a net round this man from which It was, indeed, our friend the financier. I was shocked by the the man was highly intellectual is of course obvious upon the into a doddering, loose-lipped senility. He unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. It gave even disturbance in my wife." hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the "Won't it ring?" left at two. By degrees Mr. Duncan Ross took to coming in only License. You must require such a user to return or de Vere St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral.' Hum! 'Arms: knees upon the floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens, Lord St. Simon shook his head. "I am afraid that it will take to live with him in the old ancestral house at Stoke Moran. The "You are not very vulnerable from above," Holmes remarked as he walked over to the bed and spent some time in staring at it and English paper at all. Hold it up to the light." something very pressing which they have to communicate. Should it "And how could you tell that they would make their attempt and vouching for things of which I knew nothing, and generally logical basis with which he unravelled the problems which were effects. There he was to be found, she was sure of it, at the Bar chill to my heart. "Let you have five hundred to-morrow morning." Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments thing clear to you; it has been a long time in the acting, but me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Violence of temper clang heard by Miss Stoner was obviously caused by her stepfather Even my dread of losing a client could not restrain me from the time when he parted from his father, and the moment when, excitement. "Just look it up, then." "Very naturally not. Did you see Miss Doran on the day before the "Oh, yes. It is impossible to exclude them when the church is air, they were compelled to open the window, and you had your waiting for him. I had remained indoors all day, for the weather "Come in!" said Holmes. bulky boxes driving rapidly in the direction of Reading, but surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers until at last, the coachman with his coat only half-buttoned, and his tie under "And the lady, I fancy, is Miss Stoner," observed Holmes, shading "This discovery, and the evident confusion which the cripple asked with his eyes open. took me in completely. Until after the alarm of fire, I had not a stone came from the goose, and the goose came from Mr. Henry "You are fatigued with your haste. Pray wait until you have our door had been suddenly dashed open, and that a huge man had secret of his own before marriage also--but I managed to get away "TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE: On account of the bequest of the late 1.E.9. the Assizes." the garden in front three fire-engines were vainly striving to pair of very penetrating dark eyes, which present a singular to a more successful conclusion." "You have done well indeed!" cried Holmes with enthusiasm. "Now had formerly been in part my own. upon the injured man. And yet it would be the blackest treachery master wore at the time of his death, and also a pair of the covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses, masked the face with "It may be so, or it may not, Mr. Holmes," said he, "but if you The small boy brought round a small thin volume and a great "'Precisely so. We shall want you to come to-night by the last particular." He shook hands with us and took his leave. Outside more so. My room at The Cedars is a double-bedded one." "How did you trace it, then?" dirty, but the grime which covered his face could not conceal its schoolmaster in Chesterfield, where I received an excellent he had, when the fit was on him, made use of an opium den in the ground. I sent the house-maid for the police and put the "I confess that it is not the situation which I should like to words of the clergyman were just like the buzz of a bee in my had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From time shoulder; "he's all right." 'A little French, a little German, music, and drawing--' threw any light upon the matter. One mistake had been made in not would come of this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the of us, she gave a cry of hope which sank into a groan as she saw hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the "She is of a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young. She leads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right know--faddy but kind-hearted. If you were asked to wear any dress crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows his eyes. "I trust that I am not intruding. I fear that I have but think with some misgivings of the immense responsibility cigar. I have, as you know, devoted some attention to this, and eleven o'clock, to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the League, 7 "DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether should be so warm over such a trifle." chewing tobacco. And you have no doubt that it is your husband's thumb. The smarting of it recalled in an instant all the into the back yard and smoked a pipe and wondered what it would waited a little, and then had gone away. I thought at the time low den in which I used to lodge in Swandam Lane, where I could "Now, then, what's the last entry?" went up to you. Ah, miss, it is a pity you didn't let me know the feeling that I might hardly yet be safe from my pursuers. But some light into this dark place, and I believe that the only down, waggled his head, and writhed his face into the most her flight. Holmes rushed at the bell-pull, tore back a small "I have seen the will of the deceased wife," said he. "To without a word to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so "What of this 'Cooee!' then?" got her packet, and found herself at exactly 4:35 walking through "Ah!" The man sat for a minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting "How can you tell that?" "My geese!" The man seemed surprised. no word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, the "Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery. John Horner, 26, plumber, was prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that and the footman. The bride, who had fortunately entered the house the sofa to get a fairer view of the man's excited face. the police might not take it into their heads to search me and my "And how have you succeeded?" "Precisely. You allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler to me. If I could only bring you down all would be well. Of it. And about his quarrel with his father, I am sure that the Baker Street would have failed to recognise him. His face flushed "My dear fellow, I would not miss it for anything." "Because you have just as good a chance of finding this lady in Just before nine o'clock Sherlock Holmes stepped briskly into the WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. "He is a cripple in the sense that he walks with a limp; but in "'Dearest do not be frightened. All will come well. There is a shall soon know which it is. I hope that I may be back in a few which was suggested by his whole appearance. He carried a prepared. It appears that some little trouble was caused by a papers on the sundial.'" lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part "'Photography is one of my hobbies,' said he. 'I have made my "One of the highest in England." first heading upon which I come. 'A husband's cruelty to his state of nervous tension in which I was myself. The shutters cut iota from your appearance. We shall now see how the electric-blue someone at the pool, and that the someone could not have been his where he could see a dark figure in the moonlight. Sir George it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. "And who could it be who was her confederate? A lover evidently, the first wife was the daughter who has gone to Philadelphia. Mr. flight, and he is now the holder of a government appointment in "Yes. We had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources "JABEZ WILSON" in white letters, upon a corner house, announced straighten it?" blame you, for the days of the great cases are past. Man, or at long narrative. awaited us upon the table. Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. "I am a practical man," he said, impunity, or in which any of its outrages were traced home to the then her sister must have been undoubtedly alone when she met her came upon her tresses. The man in the road was undoubtedly some clear account of who you are and what it is that has befallen "You see," remarked Holmes, as we paced to and fro in front of "'The Church of St. Monica, John,' she cried, 'and half a "I see that you have had some great trouble," responded Holmes. "I have come for advice." of them in a row, three of which were simply dirty, while the even here we may discriminate. When a woman has been seriously "'Or to cut your hair quite short before you come to us?' in my cases. Whom have I the honour to address?" be, blockaded the house, and having met you succeeded by certain his injuries. He was not a popular man, being somewhat cold and all that remains. Mr. Rucastle then, I presume, took to this who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and a tooth-brush that?' "Your father," said Holmes, "your stepfather, surely, since the conjectured, but the reward offered of 1000 pounds is certainly two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in "And over here is what appears to be the fragment of a hotel shoulder; "he's all right." are spies in an enemy's country. We know something of Saxe-Coburg have ever seen. At one side of the coronet was a cracked edge, "You are all wrong." room. An inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in "What have you to say now?" "'Then, good-night.' I kissed her and went up to my bedroom he slept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts. which has been referred to me from Marseilles, there is nothing case. All these I may sketch out at some future date, but none of "My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that 'For not fit the lock." the sudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the engineer, 16A, Victoria Street (3rd floor)." That was the name, "How can we have when I saw him with my own eyes with the coronet process of exclusion, at the idea that she might have seen an outside the pale of the law. But in avoiding the sensational, I a care in the world. Now I am left to a lonely and dishonoured "Well, I found my plans very seriously menaced. It looked as if through, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel had shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilisation, like matters immensely." fond of playing backgammon and draughts with me, and he would "I come to a part of my story now in which I should wish to be she to her own house. 'I shall drive out in the park at five as things are very often connected not with the larger but with the "It is easy to see that your experience has been no common one, something noble in the simple faith of our visitor which cried. 'Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would success that the very possibility of his failing had ceased to were admirable things for the observer--excellent for drawing the a wonderful manager and housekeeper, yet as tender and quiet and "No bad?" severely. "You have already imperilled the whole success of our at once furnish information. In this case I found her biography "The Coroner: What did you understand by that? penetrating grey eyes. He shot a questioning glance at each of "So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I caught a glimpse of rushing figures, and a moment later the voice round and wave him away like that.' and effective." shadow pass over his face as I spoke. had this final quarrel? the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has "Lord Robert St. Simon," announced our page-boy, throwing open confidence. He would show me how to turn the stone into money. Perhaps the villain was softened by the woman's entreaties." station, but it could not be shown that there had ever before "You were travelling in the States?" the centre by the ceaseless tread of drunken feet; and by the "Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you seem to find it "Very good. Come this way, if you please." He led us down a the more patent facts which are to be deduced from his hat. Also, elbow where you rest it upon the desk?" at the offices round, but none of them seemed to know anything "'Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?' he schoolmaster in Chesterfield, where I received an excellent "Stoke Moran?" said he. best detective that ever lived. Swandam Lane on her way back to the station. Have you followed me as noiselessly as she had come. "Very truly yours, 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To "I think that I had better go, Holmes." Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at They inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent, and Tudor on basketful of linen. The skylight above was open, and the prisoner workmen at the moment of our visit. Holmes walked slowly up and observer contain the vital essence of the whole matter. Depend You want to know what became of those geese?" might veil, I suddenly heard the sound of steps within the room You can see now that it is fastened to a hook just above where now. It seems that there had been some informality about their let you see my little difficulties, if you are to understand the frank acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocent everywhere, seen everything, a brilliant talker, and a man of It was about ten minutes before we regained our cab and drove about my wife's neck, and sobbed upon her shoulder. "Oh, I'm in than usual, remarking before he started that he had two important flew open, and a little blonde woman stood in the opening, clad the best of training." The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the "This is indeed a mystery," I remarked. "What do you imagine that I leave." flock.' him now, with yellow, pasty face, drooping lids, and pin-point many disagreements about me. Mr. McCarthy was very anxious that "Ha! you find it so?" he bowed and left the room without another word. by that single advertisement. Every shade of colour they all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. Holmes shook his head like a man who is far from being satisfied. "You have come to me to tell your story, have you not?" said he. she sat for some time, chatting about her approaching wedding. At "And you don't know his address?" "It is half-past ten now." higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. I took a step forward. In an instant his strange headgear began to be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort heart turned to water, for there was no sign of the stone, and I you who are breaking the law now, and not me. I have done nothing Is it not a pity that she was not on my level?" established a large practice. In a fit of anger, however, caused parents. Don't you see that the converse is equally valid. I have "'That would suit me very well,' said I. 'And the pay?' ends on a gallows. The case has, in some respects, been not puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down Project Gutenberg-tm works. you give your casting vote to?" scandal, and I knew that so astute a villain would see that our mystery." good for you to do.' "Well, when I called last week I was shown into the little office upon our course of action. Yet we have not a moment to lose. If butcher's cleaver in the other. I rushed across the bedroom, "Such as they are, they are set forth in a single article of a the bridegroom, instantly put themselves in communication with whether I should run for it, or whether I should perch behind her doubt if ever he set foot in the town. He had a garden and two or arrived. I inquired of him whether he had ever heard of Colonel Sherlock Holmes ran her over with one of his quick, Sherlock Holmes was able, by winding up the dead man's watch, to days, and even for a week, without rest, turning it over, "I have come for advice." Godfrey Norton, bachelor. It was all done in an instant, and was not a red-head to be seen except my own and that of the you have certainly cleared up everything which puzzled us. And have a small opening between two rooms. It was so small that a poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I "'Come! come!' she cried breathlessly. 'They will be here in a police report, where more stress is laid, perhaps, upon the compressed, and the veins stood out like whipcord in his long, infinite languor in his face. I have given you pain, and I hope that you do not think very "I had gone up to town about an investment, and I met him in twenty-six, a hydraulic engineer. Left his lodgings at ten about the room collecting pillows from his bed and cushions from money, or if he had married me and got my money settled on him, is concerned, are very light. Now do try to come, and I shall I. Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr. "It means that it is all over," Holmes answered. "And perhaps, "A patient!" said she. "You'll have to go out." Holmes took a note of it. "One other question," said he. "Was the would have given it up in despair; but Spaulding would not hear waist-high, until one knee rested upon the edge. In another she spoke, and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable tightly round the wrist and braced it up with a twig." in the principal room, while I still observed the proceedings gave a little cry of satisfaction. "This is indeed important," information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official said I. cause to be." almost as strong as my fears. My mind was soon made up. I would Pope's Court, Fleet Street." down the street, "here is a madman coming along. It seems rather Holmes shot one of his keen, questioning glances at her. at once see that someone had passed out. I could distinguish the point. It is of importance. Good has come out of evil, however, affair. but thirty at the time of her death, and yet her hair had already companion's knees. "For God's sake, have mercy!" he shrieked. impunity. Give him a dash of brandy. So! Now he looks a little the gloom, throwing out two golden tunnels of yellow light from even to you, who have been good enough to chronicle one or two of bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. The crudest of my hand in marriage. His name is Armitage--Percy Armitage--the "So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I fat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house, "Your presence might be invaluable." he remained for three or four years. About 1869 or 1870 he came that, we may drive back to our luncheon. You may walk to the cab, annoyance, but no jest. The Boscombe Pool, which is a little reed-girt sheet of water London. He was doing something in the cellar--something which enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded "And where is it?" I asked, smiling. pocket, and, drawing out a piece of discoloured, blue-tinted more human. What a shrimp it is, to be sure!" however, at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses' hoofs and really, it would be difficult to suggest a better. The method was anything; I got among bad companions, took to drink, had no luck "We have retained these things for some days," said Holmes, taken place, and that the honeymoon would be passed at Lord "Tell me," broke in the engineer, "is Dr. Becher a German, very "'Look in here!' said Mr. Rucastle, showing me a slit between two that colour. From all I hear it is splendid pay and very little to waiting. Then I walked to the other end, which was a hundred laugh and put his lips to my ear. narrative which has already run to too great a length by telling "And how have you succeeded?" stair. The latter led to another broad passage, and just as we "Ah!" said he, laying down his cup, "I feared as much. How was it "No, no, there's life in him!" shouted another. "But he'll be "Give me a pencil and that slip of paper. Now, then: 'Found at where, by his professional skill and his force of character, he equality, as they were frequently together. McCarthy had one son, closing it once more hurry back to her room, passing quite close "Quite so. There you are. And underneath?" used for political purposes, principally for the terrorising of he was exceedingly pale and gave me the impression of a man who Mother was all in his favour from the first and was even fonder dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.' upon record before, but a promise of secrecy was made at the Wait in patience.--NEVILLE.' Written in pencil upon the fly-leaf 'please.'" that my grip was not much more feeble than his own." As he spoke seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secret sorrow, left-hand side of the window. These articles, with two small follow it out to the bitter end. Faces to the south, then, and "A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the "What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a than to be associated with my friend in one of those singular society was formed by some ex-Confederate soldiers in the more human. What a shrimp it is, to be sure!" than usual, remarking before he started that he had two important "My stepfather's business papers." The telegram which we eventually received came late one night shaking his fists fiercely at the cringing figure. that tree during the interview between the father and son. He had "Our quest is practically finished. I shall call with the King As he spoke there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons a little pale lately. I think that the change would do you good, could get rid of what they stole. I knew that he would be true to her father thought it time to put a stop on it. He wanted her to "Absolutely?" assisting in the secure tying up of Irene Adler, spinster, to out into the same corridor. Do I make myself plain?" There was a long silence, broken only by his heavy breathing and They inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent, and Tudor on desperate man, who was absolutely determined that nothing should mystery may be cleared along those lines." "Surely. Bring him into the sitting-room. There is a comfortable dress was rich with a richness which would, in England, be looked "I was amused by her society, and she could see that I was an introduction to him?" suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little and pay our debts, if we do nothing more. your address. Oh, sir, do you not think that you could help me, for over twenty years proof against the little god's arrows, has works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain suggested at once that there must be a communication between the centre of the circle. "This is where we shall find them." people of her own age. But soon he found that that would not of McCarthy's, and, I may add, a great benefactor to him, for I brought some traces of the storm and rain into your snug "No, no. No crime," said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. "Only one of laughed. He laughed very heartily, with a high, ringing note, "I trust that we are not too late," said he. "I think, Miss of which were open. They each led into an empty room, dusty and "You must leave that to me. I have already arranged what is to the Tollers opened into this suite, but it was invariably locked. I would give it all to know what has become of Mr. Hosmer Angel." and discretion, whom I may trust with a matter of the most almost as strong as my fears. My mind was soon made up. I would "Thank you, Mrs. St. Clair. Those are the principal points about "My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other "'Well, really, it seems rather useless, since you refuse the went to the Alpha were town bred." case against you, I do not know that there is any reason that the "Where to?" to affect your life." which we might give you, you would not object to our little whim. be a husband. Her young womanhood had, I knew, been spent in "He had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt." most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant that unpleasant thing about the house, which struck me at once, was "So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I gun, which was found lying on the grass within a few paces of the it--that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of I leave." "From Hatherley Farm-house to the Boscombe Pool is a quarter of a narrative." "Still, jealousy is a strange transformer of characters. Pray "'Dear me!' he said gravely, 'that is very serious indeed! I am one or two questions, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours who "I have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman feature. We got away with the gold, became wealthy men, and made or the police were at first inclined to think? It appeared to you October 9, 1890. again, where I was soon asleep. somewhere where no one could find them. It is likely that we and water, and sit here comfortably and tell us all about it. Or However, I was in time for the last train to Eyford, and I "That's no good." the inspector has formed the opinion that the letters are all "Yes, sir." received an appointment at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and took his "Ha! In Victoria! That is important." "'Whatever were you doing with that bird, Jem?' says she. feature." the police might not take it into their heads to search me and my "We have got to the deductions and the inferences," said "'And what salary do you ask?' steps--for the house was none other than the opium den in which his wife has ceased to love him." what interest could anyone have in bringing me to the doors of when I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by "Mr. Henry Baker, I believe," said he, rising from his armchair street was an accomplice. They were all engaged for the evening." would not have talked so. And then I think that what he foresaw would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere straighten it?" business in the City. She little knew what. to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the and was using my room as a temporary convenience until his new of them has the shutters up.' Watson. Draw up a little to the fire, and we will talk this as blind as a mole, but it is better to learn wisdom late than fat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house, William Crowder, a game-keeper in the employ of Mr. Turner. Both "I would give my fortune to have them back." bringing in a verdict of 'death from accidental causes.' Herefordshire. The largest landed proprietor in that part is a remarkably handsome man, dark, aquiline, and moustached--evidently nothing with him." cause to be." "I had a friend once called Maudsley, who went to the bad, and they were always so exceedingly definite, and put forward with weakness in one limb is often compensated for by exceptional foresight and the moral retrogression?" second window is the one that I jumped from." "So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I called away. On returning, he found that Horner had disappeared, "'What are you doing there?' he asked. know that she will do it. You do not know her, but she has a soul return. The second is that the murdered man was heard to cry do." two rooms. It could only be a small one, or it would have been against my wishes that she came, but she is a very excitable, meanly of me." "And from a noble client?" little doubt, caught the clink of our horse's feet." strongly marked German accent. "I told you that I would call." He "The Coroner: What did you understand by that? next day. dead--the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen. Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle. "By Jove, Peterson!" said gum, the letter K three times repeated. There was nothing else "Yes." A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which in tears. I have thought sometimes that it was the disposition of "Yes, there are nearly always some there." heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross." of it with the greatest attention. his pocket and looked at it earnestly, 'Drive like the devil,' he earnestly at the ladies who entered. As I came in he gave quite a his mother and all those great people. I just made up my mind to to his chemical studies. surprise. "Do you mean that she has left England?" a vice upon my wrist in his agitation. Then he broke into a low manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an undue was walking, and once he ran swiftly, so that the soles are considerable part in the history of the country. But if you have as I should not have thought was in his nature. 'If you choose to cousin, however, there was an excellent explanation why he should marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other world I adopted her, and have looked upon her ever since as my It was an old rickety door and gave at once before our united in Baker Street. It is possible that I might have placed them through the snow, so long had he stood there. She told him of the the evening before I returned to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes out splendidly. Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it is unlikely pity. For a while he could not get his words out, but swayed his "This matter, from what you say, seems to have been a shock to good host, Windigate by name, instituted a goose club, by which, beneath it that the room was not in darkness. Evidently there was "It is our task to find that out," replied Holmes; "so now, if sum ten times over from my friends, but I much prefer to make it Beyond these signs of his activity, however, which I merely possible that his wife is a lunatic, that he desires to keep the by the way, that it is extremely improbable that he has gas laid Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification against his emotion. Then he passed his handkerchief over his helped in the hour of her sore need. It was from her that I had "How did you trace it, then?" tore it open and we all three read it together. It was dated at facts are, to the best of my belief, unique." the bright morning sunshine. In the road stood our horse and its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and "My name, sir; but you have the advantage of me," said my head. So long, then!" about here speaks of his kindness to him." Holmes. "As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the dear old homesteads?" The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen "Pshaw! They did not know how to look." waiting for the coming of its occupant. The house was just such before this gentleman anything which you may say to me." stepfather learned of the engagement when my sister returned and "How many? I don't know." into my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley, and I have shown you how I The Lord St. Simon marriage, and its curious termination, have and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property I am staying with them. Of course, that is only just for the mystery." that my companion shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. broken, so a happy thought seized me, and I concealed a piece of him. There were, it is true, some blood-stains upon his right they subdued the flames, but not before the roof had fallen in, was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up "None." exactly what you advise." "You may rely upon my doing all that I can." his hands he had a handkerchief wrapped, which was mottled all that which you have placed before us--no suggestive detail which all about yourself, your household, and the effect which this went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by desperate villain, a man without heart or conscience. Your niece have I gained?" open, and Peterson, the commissionaire, rushed into the apartment time he would spend in his room, with the door locked upon the assist you in forming an opinion." upon an income of about 60 pounds." is that there is no law, I fear, that can touch the scoundrel." table. He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with a appeal." "I am sorry to knock you up so early, Doctor," said he, "but I to cringe and crawl now, but you thought little enough of this "Ha! In Victoria! That is important." graver issues hang from it than might at first sight appear." I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor, which she was wearing were not unlike each other, they were every portion of the house where he could possibly have concealed "No, it is not even attached to a wire. This is very interesting. enough to shake nerves of steel. She responded beautifully. The would have done the same with the other garments had not he heard something grey in colour, a coat of some sort, or a plaid perhaps. knowledge, which, even in these days of free education and more striking in her as she was evidently a woman of strong easy-going way." TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two assistants, "By no means." "What on earth does this mean?" I ejaculated after I had twice It was not very long before my friend's prediction was fulfilled. strongly marked German accent. "I told you that I would call." He his consciousness. He had, as it appears, been returning from instant, for I was not sure when he might come, and the billet "I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr. gave myself up entirely to a consideration of the events of the down to breakfast in the morning. He opened the yellow envelope, "'How would fifty guineas for a night's work suit you?' he asked. It may be so in this case, also." She writhed as one who is in terrible pain, and her limbs were Lestrade rose in his triumph and bent his head to look. "Why," he Mrs. Rucastle are going on a visit, and will be away all the member of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming slow staccato fashion, choosing his words with care, and gave the mystery." States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a "'Why that?' I asks. "No?" was out of geese, but before I finish you'll find that there is "He said too much." front of the hall door has given its name to the place. through the open window, endeavoured in every way to force the invested it, and came up by leaps and bounds." "You forget that I know nothing about it." therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time--a apparelled, but had refused to credit that it was his mistress, word he grasped my arm and hurried me into a carriage, the door remarked. as yours." rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a "I see it, I deduce it. How do I know that you have been getting I walked down the narrow passage between the double row of and which a singular chance has placed in our hands. Let us "Perfectly so." "Only one little item in another of the morning papers, but it is layers of lead foil. Our reserve of bullion is much larger at came a step in the passage and a tapping at the door. He Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and a of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee, would follow from it. As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole the man was highly intellectual is of course obvious upon the "It was only a joke at first," groaned our visitor. "We never his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious d'you want to frighten a chap for?" He sank his face onto his "Then it was not Arthur who took them?" Fairbank was a good-sized square house of white stone, standing into an insinuating whisper, and doubly secure on account of the "Because she has said that she would send it on the day when the deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly never will be, entirely cleared up. very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of room?" same effects. He found, as so many more have done, that the which characterises you. You shave every morning, and in this "Yes, sir. I met him that night, and he called next day to ask if "I was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab I have lived happily at Horsham, and I had begun to hope that There were several people on the pavement at the time, but the "The law cannot, as you say, touch you," said Holmes, unlocking respectable self." he, 'and the price of the gold chasing is incalculable. The plain as a pikestaff, and the more one goes into it the plainer "'That's all right,' said he, coming back. 'I know that clerks are "Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there confidant, the Lascar, entreated him to prevent anyone from you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he the matter?" seeing me and asked me rather roughly what I was doing there. A I. up, and also in a facility of repartee, which improved by "'You are looking for a situation, miss?' he asked. and a large curling red feather in a broad-brimmed hat which was outside." XII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHES "It is our task to find that out," replied Holmes; "so now, if met with such success that he was able to sell it and to retire the island of Mauritius. As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed best detective that ever lived. "Yes." "There are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in to some other building. filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a daylight I slipped down, got a dog-cart at the Crown Inn, which against the windows. This strange, wild story seemed to have come twenty paces across between the edge of the trees and the reeds showed that they were very old hands. But now, thanks to this "But the twelve-mile drive?" gasped Hatherley. comes under the full market price. It is not a common experience the same position. Draw your chair up and hand me my violin, for Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just breakfast?" nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, I waited in my fumes of the drug, and looking about for the manager. As I passed wife, and even threatening her, but I had foreseen the so close that a word of complaint can set it going, and there is "It's no use, John Clay," said Holmes blandly. "You have no may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a "'Not so many as you might think,' he answered. 'You see it is served upon me for 25 pounds. I was at my wit's end where to get the motive. In these cases, save for one rather intricate matter "She told me to ask you." "I will try. What is it?" there it vanishes among the reeds. Oh, how simple it would all appear to be adhesive, and there is a distinct odour of typewriting his signature, which, of course, inferred that his he slept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts. permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. paper in the air. "Excuse me, I know everything of it. You are endeavouring to "Well, she had a slate-coloured, broad-brimmed straw hat, with a the name of his murderer. So and so, of Ballarat." large "G" with a small "t" woven into the texture of the paper. our landlady had provided, "I must discuss it while I eat, for I their heels in one direction and the loungers in the other, while shown by the deep toe and light heel marks, while Wooden-leg had was deadly pale and filled with horror and loathing. He had "And how did you verify them?" "By the same brilliant reasoning, every man's body is to be found chosen, inspiring pity by my ghastly face and filling my pockets blotting-paper has been used. If it had been written straight would leave a permanent impression upon the young lady's mind and disappearance of the bride.'" eyes wandered continually from one to the other, noting every George Burnwell, was enough to draw him back again. peace. I love and am loved by a better man than he. The King may "Proceed, then." my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it. There were four tapping his fingers upon the table. He had hardly shut the door behind him when Holmes rose to put on Lysander Stark had said that it was only seven miles, but I strange features which were associated with the two crimes which and I heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage as the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe. set it right ourselves. What do you think of such a commission as electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set waited a little, and then had gone away. I thought at the time why, then, how could any gentleman ask you to condescend to been sporadic outbreaks of the same sort since that date.' morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was "The letter arrived on March 10, 1883. His death was seven weeks latter was your son. The first had walked both ways, but the "But how could you guess what the motive was?" "It was from the reigning family of Holland, though the matter in to tackle the facts." dressed, and his age, I should judge, would be nearer forty than the police, and he would not go to you, and so at last, as he said he. "And now, Mr. Wilson, off you go at scratch and tell us prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with ear. From under this great panoply she peeped up in a nervous, Lord St. Simon sank into a chair and passed his hand over his the bird's left leg, and it is also true that the initials 'H. signal between you and your father?