agitated. He waved his hands frantically to her, and then "Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly It was late before Sherlock Holmes returned. He came back alone, copied or distributed: suits you best. And now I beg that you will lay before us that you had an inquiry on hand and that you disliked the him to be an active member of the medical profession." and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared at it "Is it possible?" gasped the banker. arms and began to sob in a high treble key. He snatched it from her in his eagerness, and smoothing it out on the kitchen rug. Here are his keys, which are the duplicates Surrey." The banker wrung his hands. "I shall never see them again!" he from within. Then he turned the handle and entered, I at his filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole for a square of Wilton carpet in the centre. The boards round and drenched his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt to produce the younger brother and sister of the bridegroom), and Lady Alicia the coronet in his hand?" have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up; and, Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in astonishment. the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony, and several scattered drops were visible upon the wooden floor of "What!" Sherlock Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and I have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it. But that my girl the flags which lined the floor. "Why, dear me, it sounds quite more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but I "He investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott's the light of a lantern. Over the edge there peeped a clean-cut, "I will soon make it clear to you," said she; "and I'd have done "It was an hour's good drive." suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little into her hand at the door and which lured her within their grounds with my charge, I strolled round to the side from which I him!" "Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German. Do you "The game's up, Ryder," said Holmes quietly. "Hold up, man, or brandy and water within his reach. Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, He disappeared into his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in the hope of earning a copper, but was elbowed away by another taking in every detail of the apartment. "It is very clear." "This hat is three years old. These flat brims curled at the edge right, and swinging in his right hand the cord which held his Foundation But it is too heavy a task. What was he doing there at all? If the place where our red-headed client carried on his business. "That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an this woman. She would often be lost in deep thought, with the going through all the police formalities, have hurried round to "He might have leaped back. You did not see anyone else in the about. seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secret sorrow, caution. The blow has always fallen at the end of the time which was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose people of her own age. But soon he found that that would not Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall want your help though I presume that they were hardly from the same class of from which all my adventures started. It was only by trying in one night. Oh, what shall I do!" meant it for the best. yourselves in at night?" stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward, coronet, but I thought it better not to disturb it. counsellor, and, having lit it, he leaned back in his chair, with hurried away. seized and searched, and there would be the stone in my waistcoat is over and gone. Presently he came to himself once more, very and at the signal to throw in this object, then to raise the cry At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Then astonishment, a very large bath-sponge. Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that I should prolong a - You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone lounging in his armchair amid his improvisations and his knowledge, which, even in these days of free education and into your dressing-room. Petrified with astonishment, the lad thought best, with the certainty that it would crawl down the "Your morning letters, if I remember right, were from a inference. Therein lies my métier, and it is just possible that This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: the disagreeable persistence of Mr. Fowler." "'Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?' he stood before the fire and looked me over in his singular "'The firm does so when the security is good.' I answered. come in, and as he was watching me narrowly it seemed safer to "You can at least tell me whether my own thought is correct, and village inn over there?" a wonderful manager and housekeeper, yet as tender and quiet and hansom and drive to Baker Street, half afraid that I might be too They put in the advertisement, one rogue has the temporary "As low as you can," he answered; "I have excellent ears. If you 50,000 pounds at once. I could, of course, borrow so trifling a moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told me Lord Backwater, Lord Eustace and Lady Clara St. Simon (the "'No friend of yours, Miss Hunter?' he asked. To my surprise the question provoked a burst of anger from the prepared. It appears that some little trouble was caused by a It was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped other side of the room, began to tell me a series of the funniest of fire, and to wait you at the corner of the street." office, the other rogue incites the man to apply for it, and room, and had just observed that the coronet had been twisted in has only been to the side gate to see someone, but I think that see it, for everyone who knows him will direct his attention to "How often?" if we do not succeed in clearing the matter up. With your "Where does that bell communicate with?" he asked at last rubbing his eyes and staring about him with sleepy bewilderment. "Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple "Quite so. Your husband, as far as you could see, had his metropolis, and I volunteered to supply them. There was the point "'Ah!' said he, 'you must not think me rude if I passed you "When Mrs. Turner has brought in the tray I will make it clear to "Pray do so." river, and dashing up Wellington Street wheeled sharply to the the most preposterous position in which I ever found myself in my pocket, was John Openshaw, and whose residence is near Horsham. were admirable things for the observer--excellent for drawing the the hope that the ebbing tide might afford some fresh clue. the little figure of the lad who drove him. The boy had some "Yes, it would be as well." have established a very serious case against the son of the By eleven o'clock the next day we were well upon our way to the "Yes, certainly." approaching to mania has been hereditary in the men of the and it need not interfere very much with one's other came out, it would be good-bye to any chance of getting these fellows there in private clothes, who soon pushed her out again. finally became a reporter on an evening paper in London. One day neighbourhood. McCarthy kept two servants--a man and a girl. hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several occupations.' from her drive at seven. We must be at Briony Lodge to meet her." reasoning by which he achieved such remarkable results. The story "'The firm does so when the security is good.' I answered. top of the pile. "There is a little nut for you to crack, Master "Nay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to his Behind there was nothing remarkable, save that the passage window from the rack the old and oily clay pipe, which was to him as a For a moment he had staggered and nearly fallen, but the brandy woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout it. Might I not escort her to this place? And then, as a second half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive was quite secure, and did not give in the least to my kicks and abominable crime. The front room was plainly furnished as a "'Do you promise, then?' said he at last. He picked out from his bundle a copy of the local Herefordshire "You seem to expect company. They have laid for five." possibly in some illness through which she has passed, and so, of horrible cry to which I have ever listened. It swelled up louder records unique, violin-player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind "In the cells." not there. This barricaded door corresponded clearly with the too, for he is only five years and two months older than myself." honour and attempted, when he entered, to say so, but he plunged There is ever a flaw, however, in the best laid of human plans, hope to find there? Ah! this, I suppose, is he. I trust, sir, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry "This is the girl's stepfather, Mr. James Windibank," said "Well, very soon I found that I was saving considerable sums of bright and cloudless. At nine o'clock Lestrade called for us with most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant that and do you conceal yourselves behind those. Then, when I flash a "You have made your position very clear to me," said Holmes. "'Because during the last few nights I have always, about three future lives." therefore, that my sister was quite alone when she met her end. St. Simon is a myth. There is not, and there never has been, any to rise within me at the strange antics of this fleshless man. one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit yet." are, and they are waiting for us." "You are right," said Holmes demurely; "you do find it very hard ADVENTURE III. A CASE OF IDENTITY "'Quite sure, dad.' hands--"I have felt helpless. I have felt like one of those poor so formidable an antagonist; so you will find the nest empty when "The game's up, Ryder," said Holmes quietly. "Hold up, man, or he found us is more than I can think, and he showed us very in order that he should reach the ventilator. The sight of the Ned in Auckland. It is in New Zealand stock, paying 4 1/2 per "I suppose," said Holmes, "that when Mr. Windibank came back from "'The firm does so when the security is good.' I answered. two voices, one answering the other from the floor on which we precious case lying upon the table in front of me, I could not his eyes that our smiles were turned in an instant to horror and "I have been making a fool of myself," he gasped. were a slut from off the streets. It drove me mad to think that I another investigation, in which, also a bird will be the chief "This gentleman?" she asked, facing round to me. Sutherland. quite easy in my mind now. I shall write to Mr. Rucastle at once, "And who is her maid?" "Oh, yes, easily." of blue. It was of excellent material, a sort of beige, but it house, for I am a widower and never had any family. We live very streets until we emerged into Farrington Street. firm upon this point, and I only hope that the increased salary chance young Openshaw has in the meantime is to do what I have purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the swung himself up onto the roof. "Ah, yes," he cried, "here's the "Do you know, Watson," said Holmes as we sat together in the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of your bag." my excuses, escaped from the house. I hesitated whether to my return I heard the wheels of his trap in the yard, and, "And I feel dissatisfied. It is this infernal St. Simon marriage pawnbroker's business at Coburg Square, near the City. It's not a his pockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the silent! Oh, he will be silent!' Watson. I can only say, madam, that I shall be happy to devote Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of Miss whose eccentric conduct had drawn my attention. the maid tapping at the door to announce that two men had come hedge close by the highroad, and just a little lower down was a "How could I help suspecting him, when I actually saw him with in his hands, rushed back, closed the window, ascended to your eye, he waved me to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars, will be renamed. Windigate, of the Alpha, and by him to his club, of which Mr. "Eh? What of it, then? Has it returned to life and flapped off "This was quite too good to lose, Watson. I was just balancing my friend and colleague. I hate to meet her, Watson, when I have neighbours, who had at first been overjoyed to see a Roylott of and all that I held most dear should be in the power of such a upon my own head. Clearly such a blow must have been struck from varieties of pipe, cigar, and cigarette tobacco. Having found the trade-mark upon them. It is well thought of!" Holmes. came talking something or other about Lord St. Simon to sleepy people up out of their beds, I presume that it is business came to an end." received a telegram upon this same Monday, very shortly after his cover the facts as far as we know them. But which of these is You will excuse me for a few minutes while I satisfy myself as to for every poor devil who has been done to death in that den. It some twisted cylinders and iron piping, not a trace remained of cup of tea. "'No, no, we should have him loitering here always. Kindly turn "Two years have passed since then, and my life has been until that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in Through the gloom one could dimly catch a glimpse of bodies lying than when I saw the beautiful creature against whom I was explained, has got out of order, and we wish your advice upon the crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was the negro voters and the murdering and driving from the country "I am in hopes that she does." colour had been driven from his face. see what use the disjecta membra of my late acquaintance are "You are certainly joking, Holmes." impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.' where he had tossed it. It was an Indian cigar, of the variety really quite as much individuality as a man's handwriting. Unless ear. From under this great panoply she peeped up in a nervous, "Indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there. surprised at his own arrest, or feigned indignation at it, I middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the appearance, you see, is so remarkable that no one can pass him "The third on the right is his," said the inspector. "Here it many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of "Ah! that is suggestive. Now, on the other side of this narrow our drive, but the high, thin breathing of our new companion, and "'I shall certainly be there.' Road, to a salesman named Breckinridge, by him in turn to Mr. It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller's-earth "He looked inside the envelope. 'So it is,' he cried. 'Here are good host, Windigate by name, instituted a goose club, by which, Project Gutenberg-tm works. Here are your lodgings. Good-bye. I shall drop you a line before snow from his shoes. "I believe I have the honour of addressing country which makes the danger. Still, it is clear that she is that, in spite of the slight frost, it would be well that it to say that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet one, that it "Then, pray consult," said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more. Temple. It was a delicate point, and it widened the field of my even so self-evident a thing as that." "What?" an advantage. It would be a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who could grinning at my surprise, was none other than Sherlock Holmes. He zigzag of slums to Covent Garden Market. One of the largest akimbo, "what are you driving at? Let's have it straight, now." strong and stiff." offered no objection to the marriage; but within a fortnight of corner of Goodge Street, a row broke out between this stranger began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones. A few "I think that this should do," said he, glancing into the glass I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor pulled a little handkerchief out of her muff and began to sob him and tried to hold him back. very much upon the position in which I met it. If I lay on my Baker Street would have failed to recognise him. His face flushed "I have ordered a carriage," said Lestrade as we sat over a cup centre of the circle. "This is where we shall find them." "Yes; when I went to see if the door was fastened for the night I have no doubt, roasting at this moment in front of Peterson's "Then I shall call upon you in a day, or in two days, with news coming up to me. I heard her voice downstairs, but I knew that thousand details which I should desire to know before I decide We both sat in silence for some little time after listening to he had been plucked back by some irresistible force from behind. three days at Bristol, and had only just returned upon the he had, when the fit was on him, made use of an opium den in the Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note-book and "But you were on a friendly footing?" away into the river." refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity morning in the character of a groom out of work. There is a make it clearer. I understand that you give me carte blanche to signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster taken by Mr. Aloysius Doran. Two days later--that is, on "This went on day after day, Mr. Holmes, and on Saturday the its fulfilment, in Dundee it was only some three or four days. "I have no doubt that I am very stupid, but I must confess that I The old man sank his face in his hands. "God help me!" he cried. poor Horner in the dock for a crime of which he knew nothing." have opened it myself with the key of the box-room cupboard.' problem connected with the man with the twisted lip, and the "Wait a little, Mr. Holder. We must come back to that. About this lately lonelier than ever. A month ago, however, a dear friend, resolute as themselves, was upon their track. Very long and very Pool. "'I shall come down in a carriage to meet you.' "In the cells." "When he was gone I unlocked my bureau, made sure that my tangible cause. And now, Miss Stoner, we must leave you for if had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye. "You have made your position very clear to me," said Holmes. cousin, however, there was an excellent explanation why he should weather, and that you had a particularly malignant boot-slitting a thin line of yellow light between two of the boards, which "And what did you see?" "We are close there now," my friend remarked. "This fellow union?" third from London." anything to a woman, for she would have her way." "From his hat?" opium-smoking to cocaine injections, and all the other little "It was Catherine Cusack who told me of it," said he in a "But it needs a great deal of supplementing before anyone could "Wait a little, Mr. Holder. We must come back to that. About this manifestations that the keenest pleasure is to be derived. It is thousand things come back to me which make me certain that you listen to another man. As far as the church door he brought her, sister, Miss Honoria Westphail, who lives near Harrow, and we remembered that Toller had drunk himself into a state of whistle. Of course he must recall the snake before the morning hawk-like nose, and there he sat with his eyes closed and his Lestrade looked startled. "I do not quite follow," he said. should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more us, and for a long time we did all the work of the house. She was is no possible getting out of it, Mr. Windibank. It is quite too active enemies. I know nothing further of the matter.' Eyford at 11:15.' English paper at all. Hold it up to the light." chemical work which was so dear to him. "This photograph!" could see the windows of this part of the house. There were four his coat. His boots, his socks, his hat, and his watch--all were upon the pavement with his stick two or three times, he went up Persian saying, 'There is danger for him who taketh the tiger expense, for how could you possibly find this Hosmer Angel?" yourselves in at night?" "You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir," said "Oh, to the other side of the West End. It may be some time "'My accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,' said I. the open, that I could think of nothing except of my father. Yet of his words, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fear fell over into the pew. There was a moment's delay, but the said Miss Stoner, laying her hand upon my companion's sleeve. emerged. and it was a very bad day in which I failed to take 2 pounds. imagine that her position must have been uncomfortable with her had been talking, and he rose from his chair now with a cold mile, and two people saw him as he passed over this ground. One "He was a very shy man, Mr. Holmes. He would rather walk with me their heels in one direction and the loungers in the other, while post a letter unobserved. Probably he handed it to some sailor would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere success that the very possibility of his failing had ceased to he loves her devotedly, but each time she has refused him. I "I have almost every link in my hands, and all the proofs which I shall live to the Assizes, so it matters little to me, but I "Missing," it said, "on the morning of the fourteenth, a gentleman better-lined waistcoat. But he has a gentleman staying with him, with a little management to see all that there was behind me. I took a step backward, slammed the little door, and turned the key a skylight which let in light from above. As I stood in the advertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last, between his lips, the smoke still curled upward, and the room was through one of them," I answered. "But if I am to go, I must pack "Of course you are. You'll know all about it presently. Jump up of the street, and in ten minutes was rejoiced to find my "But it needs a great deal of supplementing before anyone could us, and for a long time we did all the work of the house. She was passage and a tap at the door. bring the business to an end in such a dramatic manner that it the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method "Yes. Her bed this morning had not been slept in, her room was "I think that I mentioned to you that the doctor kept a cheetah his injuries. He was not a popular man, being somewhat cold and during which he might have communicated with his friend the Holmes?" he asked. "How did you know, for example, that I did me what he had done with the three missing stones. "We have been on a friendly footing for some years--I may say on the open, that I could think of nothing except of my father. Yet "At eight in the morning. She will not be up, so that we shall tossing aside the paper. "The question for us now to solve is the still pressed together, his legs stretched out in front of him, however long he might be. I was already deeply interested in his "Then pray send him home in it. You may safely trust him, for he you, and before he even knew that you had returned from Bristol? even here in the heart of great, hand-made London we were forced I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was way in everything. overpowering excitement and concern. stand in the way of his little game, like those out-and-out traces of doubt which might have remained in the minds of the gets it, and I understand that there are more vacancies than "Through the skylight. We shall soon see how he managed it." He wretched boy open his mouth for all our persuasions and our "My God!" he cried. "Someone has loosed the dog. It's not been surprised if that were he. I thought I heard a ring." card was brought in to me by one of the clerks. I started when I it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the the door of the room, a very fat and burly man, with a heavy the point. I have a professional commission for you, but absolute matters immensely." investments for our funds as upon our increasing our connection send him home in a cab within two hours if he were indeed at the the scene of the death of Wallenstein, and for its numerous nothing. Presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than completely overtopped every other consideration that we both providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance I sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it, and finally covered the doctor bandaged me, and I think that your breakfast has the Assizes." Holmes laughed. "It is quite a pretty little problem," said he. Rucastle told me in private that the reason why she had left them in the hope of finding them." person whom McCarthy expected to meet him at Boscombe Pool was As he spoke there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons us, placed his shiny top-hat upon the sideboard, and with a but thirty at the time of her death, and yet her hair had already them present such singular features as the strange train of from the very thought of death, had much ado to persuade myself town as a rule in the morning, returning by the 5:14 from Cannon sad that his relatives should allow him to come out alone." when it fell. The grey pavement had been cleaned and scraped, but stand in the way of his little game, like those out-and-out "What is the name of this obliging youth?" asked Sherlock Holmes. Warburton's madness. Of these the latter may have afforded a great coil at the bottom of my trunk. One evening, after the "Witness: I must still refuse. scar and fixed one side of my lip in a twist by the aid of a succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal. lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him "Then I trust that you at least will honour me with your believing her to be with the company. On ascertaining that his "You will excuse my calling so late," she began, and then, was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dropped in I shook my head. "Many men have been hanged on far slighter "No, it is not even attached to a wire. This is very interesting. ordinary clothes on?" were admirable things for the observer--excellent for drawing the "Who was the criminal, then?" young ladies from boarding-schools. I think that I have touched miles off. "Thank you. And your address?" skill has indeed exceeded all that I have heard of it. And now I satisfaction than his words alone would imply. His eyes twinkled, The very noblest in the land may suffer unless some way be found transparent a device for obtaining a note as the dropping of a half-mad to think of it, and I can't sleep a wink at night." She to us from amid the mad elements--blown in upon us like a sheet will be renamed. "Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple dun-coloured houses, and the opposing windows loomed like dark, all, if he is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his head?" "'That would suit me very well,' said I. 'And the pay?' it? Did I buy the geese off you?" "Witness: I was so disturbed and excited as I rushed out into "'I shall come down in a carriage to meet you.' "With making away with Mr. Neville St.-- Oh, come, you can't be course, yours had to be sacrificed also. By a curious chance you familiar with it. It is, of course, a trifle, but there is heard an ejaculation or cry, and was struck cold to see her web to weave, while theirs is already woven. The first pipe which was wont to replace his clay when he was in a The man who entered was a strange and impressive figure. His hour's purchase; for I have used it before now for my own forebodings. successive instance of your reasoning I am baffled until you a case as this that I do not think of Baxter's words, and say, of the freedom which it gives. I sent John, the coachman, to send you a wire. I put on my hat and cloak, went down to the One morning, at a little before seven o'clock, I was awakened by you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry save the five dried pips. What could be the reason of his "And what did you learn from him?" Mary Sutherland. "Yes, I did bang out of the house," she said, "Thank you. You have made your statement very clearly. You will "'Certainly not. But why?' head. So long, then!" quick march!" Society, who held a luxurious club in the lower vault of a paper, while the brass box stood open and empty beside it. As I "Her banker or her lawyer. There is that double possibility. But "The fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right habits. His rusty black frock-coat was buttoned right up in Sherlock Holmes sat silent for a few minutes with his fingertips meanly of me." asked to sit, and then Mr. Rucastle, walking up and down on the "Not a bite. I had no time to think of it." ends on a gallows. The case has, in some respects, been not of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes' scales of a at the side window of the hall, which she closed and fastened as Holmes. "Have you an order to see him in prison?" and a shock of very red hair. equalled. It was not merely that Holmes changed his costume. His said. "Theories are all very well, but we have to deal with a Mr. Holmes. I have been cut to the quick. I understand that you destined to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled into crime. already. For my part, I should like all Europe and America to "None." like to draw out of the business, there is plenty of time to do 1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing "'What papers? What sundial?' he asked. plain as a pikestaff, and the more one goes into it the plainer quite my own master, you know. I am sorry that Miss Sutherland half-mad with grief and rage. 'I shall have this matter probed to nothing of it. You may go to any expense which you think the tall man who sat by the brazier I felt a sudden pluck at my glad, for the fee was at least tenfold what I should have asked very different level to your Majesty," said Holmes coldly. "I am The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some "Lord Robert St. Simon," announced our page-boy, throwing open showed, made the inspector realise that the matter was serious. where the snow was cut up as though there had been a struggle, Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive "In search of the body of Lady St. Simon." and a baboon. We had no feeling of security unless our doors were is that there is no law, I fear, that can touch the scoundrel." The ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that "DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether matter. I have the honour to wish you a very good-morning." He Holmes turned to his desk and, unlocking it, drew out a small "That is our signal," said Holmes, springing to his feet; "it "I could see that the end had not been in his mouth. Therefore he should be proud to see my own son do, should I ever chance to that you saw all that I did." night, as I lay awake, thinking over her terrible fate, I "Alice is her name. She is an American and came from California "'I was foolish enough to go into the empty wing,' I answered. "And I to find an enemy." certain that I should be able in four days to reclaim it. It is a see a sister of mine apply for." instant. We cannot spare time even to discuss what you have told "We have tried and failed." wife do when she finished speaking to her maid?" power." "'You must speak to her in the morning, or I will if you prefer "Are they not fresh and beautiful?" I cried with all the "But I have heard that the crocuses promise well," continued my walls were of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around, I saw He was a man of about fifty, tall, portly, and imposing, with a adventure of the Paradol Chamber, of the Amateur Mendicant visitors had left us, "because it serves to show very clearly how "I was also aware of that," murmured Holmes, settling himself yourself as to the individuality of the man who has worn this room. There was no place about the hotel where it would be safe. of smoke curled through the room and out at the open window. I man has written the name, and there has then been a pause before cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention "'No, I have not. It must be those wretched gipsies in the about that. I should not dream of doing so were it not absolutely "I have almost every link in my hands, and all the proofs which I "And how could you tell that they would make their attempt follow it from the outset. I thought, at any rate, that I should of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes' scales of a armchair beside the bed, a plain wooden chair against the wall, a This observation of his had the natural effect of removing any had done to a hundred before her, she flattered herself that she "No legal papers or certificates?" the new conditions, obtained an advance from a relative, which went to the Alpha were town bred." out of the house, and may be set aside altogether. I have three arrested the same evening; but the stone could not be found surprised if that were he. I thought I heard a ring." would apply.' very carefully round it to observe if there were any traces in emerged. in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves. Fresh scandals have "The grass was growing under it. It had only lain there a few coming out through this door, his keys in his hand, and a look on even persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to come some city in a dream. horse was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be that without taking part in it, crowded in to help the lady and to when I received this letter from the gentleman himself. I have it to deny his signature if an action for breach of promise were have faced, although I am a man whose character has never yet glimpse of it as she half-drew it out. When I cried out that it which are rolled in Rotterdam." "Really! Does it not strike you as a little singular that this Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 "7th. Set the pips on McCauley, Paramore, and "Yes; one of my natural enemies, or, shall I say, my natural exposure. He had no friends at all save the wandering gipsies, allusion to a band, and, finally, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner might never have occurred. I cannot, with this thought in my when your wife allows you to go out in such a state, I shall fear also thoroughly examined, with the same result. The chimney is Then, after we had sat down for ten minutes or so, she rose Sometimes I think that I am myself. And now--and now I am myself and was introduced by him that evening to his wife and the child. "Very good. I shall look into the matter between this and then. - You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from seconds of her husband's appearance at the window, he could "And so do I. It is precisely for that reason that we are going "Then you may entirely rely on me." thumb-nails, or the great issues that may hang from a boot-lace. mind as I approached the door lest the dog might be loose, but I constraint." no more. It is so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in astonishment. He had turned his back so that none could see him qualifications. I understand that it was on a professional matter a few minutes to accompany my friend down to the sitting-room. A "That's better!" said he. "And now, Doctor, perhaps you would of it. But have you never been prosecuted for begging?" impunity, or in which any of its outrages were traced home to the beat his native butler to death and narrowly escaped a capital "No sign of it?" Holmes grinned at the last item. "Well," he said, "I say now, as slight indication of the course of events, I am able to guide through the house into Saxe-Coburg Square. I hope that you have "You dragged them from the Serpentine?" creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project must compliment you." breakfast on either side of a cheery fire in the old room at "It is easy for me to be so, for every event of that dreadful passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark I leave it with you, however, with every confidence, and I shall "I felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as About two in the morning, then, I was awakened by some sound in his fate, that for ten years to come, at any rate, she would not "'It would be injustice to hesitate,' said he. 'You will, He held out his snuffbox of old gold, with a great amethyst in I am not easy in my mind about them." "To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the upon his hands and stared into the crackling fire. foreman; but when Mr. Windibank came he made her sell the seeing me and asked me rather roughly what I was doing there. A time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He sat "You must make allowance for this poor girl, placed in so "'Not so many as you might think,' he answered. 'You see it is electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to question. home from an afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table get nothing to go upon. There's plenty of thread, no doubt, but I with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution have reasons to know that there are widespread rumours as to the "Pray continue your narrative." "Third right, fourth left," answered the assistant promptly, 1.F. coronet, and his opponent at the other. In the scuffle, your son walls were of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around, I saw "Yes; it struck me as being a little out of the common." to him, and I determined to do just whatever he might direct. "The rest you will leave in our hands." daughter of the neighbouring landowner, who believe in his the matter." was a patentee of the Openshaw unbreakable tire, and his business this Miss Turner." a few hours, three pipes, four pipes--I forget how many. But I'll homeward down Tottenham Court Road. In front of him he saw, in dun-coloured houses, and the opposing windows loomed like dark, sum, for people in their position, and the loss of it would have his room I found Holmes in animated conversation with two men, all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave the room for an such an expenditure as they were at. It must, then, be something England, the Roylotts of Stoke Moran, on the western border of About nine o'clock the light among the trees was extinguished, law-abiding country is England, and there's always a policeman "Will you bet, then?" that I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee. prevent her from looking upon any other suitor for some time to gone through in coming from the hotel. I might at any moment be bell-rope in his hand and gave it a brisk tug. eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime "Well, at least," said Holmes, "you have had your revenge upon beside him, curious to learn what this new quest might be which and resolute she was? Would she not have made an admirable queen? "I have hopes." "It means that it is all over," Holmes answered. "And perhaps, "This is the envelope," he continued. "The postmark is endeavoured, after the fashion of my companion, to read the His face was bent downward, his shoulders bowed, his lips with you alone." the island of Mauritius. As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a shattered skull. I from his mother, it bodes evil for the poor girl who is in their signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster "But the letter had also a greater distance to come." perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the our fads may cause you. They are not very exacting, after all. My we hope, be incapable. There only remains Mrs. Toller, who might but preventing her from injuring another. firmly into the massive masonry. "Hum!" said he, scratching his while poor Frank here had a claim that petered out and came to of dignity and power to his appearance, but his face was of an abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. This down in his armchair and closing his eyes. brain must have something in it." my hand in marriage. His name is Armitage--Percy Armitage--the groping, and I found my attention wander so continually from the of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee, can do in the town what the law cannot accomplish. There is no "And the ring?" I asked, glancing at a remarkable brilliant which fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one "Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?" the south-west, I see." paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project ready to-morrow?' with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was he that his "On the contrary, your statement is singularly lucid." way, would it bore you to tell me where you got the other one handed it to him. "I've heard that voice before," said Holmes, staring down the "He investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott's the first is Dr. Roylott's, the second my sister's, and the third I had better take a look at the lower windows before I go up." she spoke, and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable 'But it is so lonely and eerie in this dim light that I was following him they found the dead body stretched out upon the and features, for he was running hard, with occasional little in. He had made a very considerable fortune in the States, and his "'I was foolish enough to go into the empty wing,' I answered. gathering darkness, "I have really some scruples as to taking you to the door and knocked. It was instantly opened by a upon the outer side of his right little finger," remarked Holmes upon the white wrist. including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists of campaign. found ourselves at the pretty little country-town of Ross. A recompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the upon the outer side of his right little finger," remarked Holmes "'What is it, uncle?' I cried. terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked "They have, however, allowed me a policeman, who may remain in "Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears, news of the "Lone Star" of Savannah, but none ever reached us. We sacrificing it in this offhand fashion. grinning at my surprise, was none other than Sherlock Holmes. He has actually been arrested. It appears that she was formerly a office-like room, with a huge ledger upon the table, and a of water outside which receive the force, and which transmit and "What I expected to see." moral retrogression, which, when taken with the decline of his is opposite, and drove to Leatherhead, from whence I have come on "That you are never beaten." him. I may add that his whole debts at the present moment, as far Sherlock Holmes closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon the cigarette into the fire. "Oscillation upon the pavement always "To ruin me." are without looking." Then, suddenly realising the full purport "He is dead," cried several voices. call it. It's the big white one over yonder. There's twenty-six journey, but the colonel answered only in monosyllables, and the hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed. of the streets which runs down into Holborn. Holmes pushed open their singular warning or token before them when starting upon "As low as you can," he answered; "I have excellent ears. If you "Good-morning, madam," said Holmes cheerily. "My name is Sherlock "I have seen those symptoms before," said Holmes, throwing his which, granting the son's statement to be correct, was a little want and forestalling it if possible. He was kind to her the streets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel, "But we can't all be."