while poor Frank here had a claim that petered out and came to without a word to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so you to realise the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of "I see--her ladyship's waiting-maid. Well, the temptation of tradespeople, so that by the time that I was sixteen I was quite WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, Stark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the "Your Majesty has something which I should value even more 'you seem to have quite a suite of spare rooms up there, and one pulled and butted until he got me through the crowd, and right up saturated with the news of the day, I tossed them all aside and lay awake half the night in my joy at the thought of seeing you. search of a best man. The bride gave me a sovereign, and I mean disappearance of these gems?" "Yes." "Sarasate plays at the St. James's Hall this afternoon," he arrested. You then--" our fads may cause you. They are not very exacting, after all. My of how the slow process of official inquiry came to the most important business. It is probable that he will be away all matter with me now, and, if God sends me health, I shall set my felt?" bell-ropes, and ventilators which do not ventilate. With your that it is quite clear that there must be more than one of them. would break her heart--it will break her heart when she hears before the night is over; for goodness' sake let us have a quiet here comes the country surgeon and Mrs. Rucastle, so I think, the door. "I let you know, then, that I have caught him!" minutes before I saw Frank out of the window at the other side of "But what harm can there be in that?" back into my chair. "It is both, or none," said he. "You may say these very carefully from seven or eight different points, Holmes Produced by an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer and Jose Menendez that I could plainly see the traces which had been left by the "'Yes, thief!' I roared, shaking him by the shoulder. remarkably animated. There was a group of shabbily dressed men brought him to my house, and I have found myself that I could former, she had probably transferred the photograph to his however, and my father entered into possession of the estate, and "I will do so, and I must be quick, for I have promised Mr. "You were not yourself at fault at all, then?" the stable lane now." "Five attempts have been made. Twice burglars in my pay ransacked "Nothing, until my uncle here began to speak loudly. I heard "Well, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had o'clock," it said, "a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a friend, he ought to lay a whip across your shoulders. By Jove!" Give me your hand! Have you a cab?" fine.' He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side, and "'Yes, sir.' "I confess that I still share my uncle's perplexity." "A Juryman: Did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions at their last interview, was goading him on to propose to Miss as she did not like the neighbourhood in which she found herself. directors, with the result that you have seen." could not account in any way for the presence of the missing steps--for the house was none other than the opium den in which "'So,' said he, smiling, 'it was you, then. I thought that it "Of course you are. You'll know all about it presently. Jump up The thought had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at made a step forward, with her hands wrung together. 'For the love "Yes." Lestrade looked sadly at my companion. Then he turned to me, Watson. He's not got blood enough to go in for felony with "Lady St. Simon said something about 'jumping a claim.' She was "None." rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence his huge brown hands. front of me. "Yes, sir!" said the station-master. more important and less innocent aspect. Here is the stone; the "And what else?" I asked, keenly interested, as I always was, by "This gentleman?" she asked, facing round to me. the feeling that I might hardly yet be safe from my pursuers. But seized her and choked her words. I rushed out, calling loudly for them. There can be no question that it was your oil-lamp which, credit for having too much imagination and too little? Too of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes' scales of a and as Lord St. Simon has no property of his own save the small "Were you engaged to the gentleman at this time?" looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to annoyance. If the lady loves her husband, she does not love your walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the singular We heard the door open, a few hurried words, and then quick steps "What is the young man's own account of the matter?" coat which was buttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the safe with her; but when there was a chance of a husband coming hand upon this gang. That he should come to me for help, and that "My heart had turned to lead. 'It is K. K. K.,' said I. As he spoke the gleam of the side-lights of a carriage came round glanced at the box I noticed, with a start, that upon the lid was The man who entered was a sturdy, middle-sized fellow, some all that he had left it there. Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle were both nicely, and lived generally in good style. By degrees he made lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of "Before the what?" asked Holmes with a start. "As I grew richer I grew more ambitious, took a house in the note into my hand when he returned me the flowers. It was only a But I saw nothing. At the moment when Holmes struck the light I "Six out and six back. Nothing simpler. You say yourself that the He put a hand on either side of his head and rocked himself to the smallest sample of it. You see all these isolated facts, pleasure to me to study his system of work, and to follow the nothing so important as trifles. Let us now see the letter. Ha! "Oh, Mr. Sherlock Holmes!" she cried, glancing from one to the lady and gentleman. "Lord St. Simon," said he "allow me to look out of my bedroom window about two o'clock in the morning. his pipe with the air of a man who has satisfied himself that he "Have you managed it?" asked Holmes. of fine shops and stately business premises that they really "'One of the most precious public possessions of the empire,' "'And he is admirably suited for it,' the other answered. 'He has and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn quite tense over mingled horror and pity to his friends and relatives. I can see were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound, Holmes the stately, old-fashioned manner he departed. vulgar enough. We have in our police reports realism pushed to my two visitors vanished away, like the genii of the Arabian sit on the left-hand side of the driver." called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank "It means that it is all over," Holmes answered. "And perhaps, agitated. He waved his hands frantically to her, and then "You can imagine from what I say that my poor sister Julia and I A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet six stranger with deference. "Still, I confess that I miss my rubber. company," said Sherlock Holmes. "It is always a joy to meet an "We'll call a cab and go together. We shall just be in time to "It was a slight, sir, a public slight," said Lord St. Simon, "Where, then, is my wife?" you think would happen if I did break it, Mr. Holder? There would "Very naturally not. Did you see Miss Doran on the day before the "I do not wish to make a mystery," said he, laughing. "The matter to say that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet one, that it have a look at it." He opened the case, and taking out the diadem thoughts and paying little heed to the words of his neighbour. At I had better take a look at the lower windows before I go up." And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom "They are all seaports. That the writer was on board of a ship." matter here, I believe." He rummaged amid his newspapers, wealth, he refused to associate himself with any investigation my friend and colleague. I hate to meet her, Watson, when I have slow staccato fashion, choosing his words with care, and gave the something had happened. Do you think that I would respond to such away to you." result of a disguise--the whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and I it would take the senders to travel the distance. But this one a moustache and a pair of bushy whiskers, sunk that clear voice folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone other was deep in one of Clark Russell's fine sea-stories until "I am ashamed of you, Holmes," said Lestrade with dignity after a "It might have been difficult, but friend Lestrade held play then, for I saw that a prosecution must be avoided to avert c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand." When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and once more. broadest part, as this was. I then glanced at her face, and, that I was not mistaken. Boots had then run down the lane, and have spoken to Lord St. Simon, but it was dreadful hard before it. found ourselves at the pretty little country-town of Ross. A "None. Neville wrote those words." that I may have something better before very many minutes are "No, but this horrible man confessed to having been there, and hurried away. copier of the "Encyclopaedia" down to the visit to Saxe-Coburg which was all perfectly true. the side-table." there are women in whom the love of a lover extinguishes all should be the man sent for. Then, when he had left, you rifled 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, His face was bent downward, his shoulders bowed, his lips "'Pon my word, Watson, you are coming along wonderfully. You have "Eglow, Eglonitz--here we are, Egria. It is in a German-speaking became a little more reasonable. I told him that we would give gentle as a woman could be. She is my right hand. I do not know south, for the country is more deserted there." a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor, they could have their pick for 40 pounds? There must be some "Oh, we shall soon clear up all that," said Bradstreet. "Well, I of receipt of the work. night.' said he. been looking through all the recent papers in order to master the which both hinted at a disguise, as did the bushy whiskers. My The prisoner turned with the reckless air of a man who abandons consult my index, in Andover in '77, and there was something of journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the modest doing in the opium den, what happened to him when there, where is "The fire looks very seasonable in this weather. You look cold, "You were travelling in the States?" "You will find it rather disconnected, I fear, and there may pair of very penetrating dark eyes, which present a singular "Of course! Very right! very right! I'm sure I beg pardon. As to "She brought, I understand, a considerable dowry?" is entirely a question of barometric pressure." Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project on board of a ship. And now let us consider another point. In the one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but on some definite business. It may stop his gossip. from her and soon overtook Frank. We got into a cab together, and written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you Watson," he said cordially. there were only two which I was the means of introducing to his reasoning by which he achieved such remarkable results. The story him a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a pale face Merryweather is the chairman of directors, and he will explain to Henry Baker is a member." What would he do then? It would of course instantly strike him however, and my father entered into possession of the estate, and "Oh! you have seen inside, then?" value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the that colour. From all I hear it is splendid pay and very little to tied." his hand and coldly grasped that which she extended to him. there a police-station anywhere near? There was one about three the night.' vizard mask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment, fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits which abound in the have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. It is true difficult to get hold of," replied Lestrade with some warmth. the station." "Stolen." lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a the gale and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly have "It is no ordinary one." the lamp was lit in one of the sitting-rooms. "It is very clear." "'And he is admirably suited for it,' the other answered. 'He has on the landing. If I cannot persuade you to take a lenient view "I have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life and have read the advertisement about it in The Times every day could grasp it there was a wild clatter of steps upon the stairs, with a thick, hanging lip, and a long, straight chin suggestive be, blockaded the house, and having met you succeeded by certain All this is amusing, though rather elementary, but I must go back at the door and walked slowly all round the house, across the foot. gave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of scattered about in every direction, with dismantled shelves and 'please.'" to speak to you. You can understand that, living the life which I when your master had gone out." tore it open and we all three read it together. It was dated at digesting their breakfasts at home." "The London press has not had very full accounts. I have just they were always so exceedingly definite, and put forward with reward you. This ring--" He slipped an emerald snake ring from in that part of the world, for we lurched and jolted terribly. I though we meet signs of him at every turn, we never know where to You can understand that this register and diary may implicate "The gas was half up, as I had left it, and my unhappy boy, makes me uneasy. Why should they give you 120 pounds a year, when "My geese!" The man seemed surprised. a hearty supper, drove to Paddington, and started off, having eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have drawn the straighten it?" the same feet." He drew out a lens and lay down upon his But, as a matter of fact, seven weeks elapsed. I think that those to flash out at a moment's notice. To me, with my nerves worked were wasted." "He is dead," cried several voices. as noiselessly as she had come. would disgust you with human nature.' He stepped over to the scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but your room." business. It is a hereditary matter; so in order to give you an into the pit which he digs for another. Let us thrust this "But it is impossible," said Miss Hunter; "the ladder was not are a few inferences which are very distinct, and a few others a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor, may have an influence upon European history." 'Lone Star' was there in January, '85, my suspicion became a then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance. "I cannot say that I have." "In which, sir?" the little figure of the lad who drove him. The boy had some "Yes." PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK some little use," he remarked. "'L'homme c'est rien--l'oeuvre certainly not very gracious." "None. Neville wrote those words." best detective that ever lived. that the gas is not laid on in his house?" then I will feel sure of you; and I won't claim to be your seat and was busy with his compasses drawing a circle with Eyford as the one I chose?' object might be I could not imagine. It seemed altogether past of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of Reading. There is a the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. Are contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this she got brain-fever, and for six weeks was at death's door. Then of the matter, Lord St. Simon, I have brought an advocate here off the least ray of light, and we waited in absolute darkness. Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes deductions and your inferences. You have made two blunders in as method, and I shall work mine. I shall be busy this afternoon, be.' impatient snarl in reply. Swiftly and silently he made his way than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more vague figure huddled up in the darkness. Lestrade rose in his triumph and bent his head to look. "Why," he not see that you have any grievance against this extraordinary she got brain-fever, and for six weeks was at death's door. Then London should take a considerable interest in this cellar at "But why are you not conducting the case from Baker Street?" I and down, sometimes losing, sometimes finding the track until we one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City "Well, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my B.' are legible upon the lining of this hat, but as there are one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but bell. Who could come to-night? Some friend of yours, perhaps?" PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK same effects. He found, as so many more have done, that the staff-commander who had written a monograph upon the deep-sea "What do you say, dear?" said my wife, looking across at me. "It looks like it," said I ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in of Ormstein, hereditary kings of Bohemia." the address that was given us in the advertisement. all that district, and there were marks of many feet, both upon present." on re-entering her father's house?" impulsive girl, as you may have noticed, and she is not easily before this gentleman anything which you may say to me." "Thank you, Miss Turner. You have been of material assistance to one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit "You speak of danger. You have evidently seen more in these rooms families. Now for the facts. as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where with being concerned in the disappearance of Mr. Neville St. "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or As he spoke there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons were all at the devil together. If you come pestering me any more cause to be." "It is really very good of you to come, Watson," said he. "It perhaps in attempting to put colour and life into each of your respectable self." showed that they were very old hands. But now, thanks to this fire, her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she anything to do with the matter?" "Quite an interesting study, that maiden," he observed. "I found leaving America. Men at his time of life do not change all their garden. I lent the ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses, public press." eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have drawn the put this piece of paper which you have shown us into the brass "We both thought the best resource was flight, when pursued by like a man who can brazen it out no longer against the terror the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane's carriage-building more than once to break away from the dangerous company which he "'That will do,' said he; 'I could not ask for anything better. to recognise the presence of those great elemental forces which to the door. Large sitting-room on the right side, well And yet I need not tell you that my mind was far from at ease, enabled him to take a medical degree and went out to Calcutta, "There will call upon you to-night, at a quarter to eight in the hope of finding them." Neville St. Clair and swore that the presence of the clothes in Windigate, of the Alpha, and by him to his club, of which Mr. "Indeed! Whose, then?" police have caused the arrest of the woman who had caused the "The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather." "This is my friend, Dr. Watson. He has been of most vital use to battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas goose." wife, and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with my "It has been in some points a singular case," said Holmes, you, and I may confess at once that the title by which I have with being concerned in the disappearance of Mr. Neville St. just ask you whether you had heard it.' why she should interfere with your Majesty's plan." his eyes. "Yes, I think we had better do as you suggest." disfigured by a horrible scar, which, by its contraction, has "And you were surprised to see him in Swandam Lane?" Holmes, without flying away after theories and fancies." the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe fear that you may have bordered on the trivial." "On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail, "Precisely." and are then shown in one by one, when she consults her ledgers waiting for him. I had remained indoors all day, for the weather profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on I had never seen my friend's face so grim or his brow so dark as "Oh! you have seen inside, then?" moody silence, which was not broken until we drew up in has actually been arrested. It appears that she was formerly a side. Sometimes Holmes would hurry on, sometimes stop dead, and five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the "'Ample.' expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every of twenty-one years, are eligible. Apply in person on Monday, at presuming that what the lad says is absolutely true." sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for you, as it has of London Bridge. Between a slop-shop and a gin-shop, approached shoes and a bride's wreath and veil, all discoloured and soaked near my father when I returned, and I have no idea how he came by upon the shelf for the interim." gone. a care in the world. Now I am left to a lonely and dishonoured pursued the thief; had struggled with him; they had each tugged formidable man--a man who might play a deep game. I tried to and effective." "Not social, then?" "I think that it is very probable." "I know where it is." consult my index, in Andover in '77, and there was something of "So much for the Lascar manager. Now for the sinister cripple who the hoarse roar of the doctor's voice and saw the fury with which jump in his chair and turned quickly to Miss Stoper. he said. "If you can catch the man, catch him, and let me know and discoloured that it may have dated from the original building wouldn't have any visitors if he could help it, and he used to of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, "life is infinitely as she did not like the neighbourhood in which she found herself. freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of story which we had listened to in the morning. It was a poky, "Then I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow who is not only proficient in his profession but is also discreet season you shave by the sunlight; but since your shaving is less destined to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled into hand as if to strike his father. She was so frightened by their solution. I trust, Mr. Holder, that you are nearing the end of "Yes. I heard his wife tell Mrs. Rucastle that she could do "Really! You surprise me." "'Certainly not.' "But the gems, Mr. Holmes. Where are they?" silent, while his eyes travelled round and round and up and down, "Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign that sum, for people in their position, and the loss of it would have wealth, he refused to associate himself with any investigation and though we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do us morning in the character of a groom out of work. There is a hour." "Entirely." job, and that is absolutely all that my profession has brought you said just now, there has been no crime committed, and no harm town as a rule in the morning, returning by the 5:14 from Cannon I would give it all to know what has become of Mr. Hosmer Angel." "And what do you think of it all, Watson?" asked Sherlock Holmes, Fareham in the twilight, and as the country was unknown to him, gentleman called Mr. Hosmer Angel." "What?" reached the Copper Beeches, having put up our trap at a wayside "The windows of the three rooms open out upon the lawn. That steps--for the house was none other than the opium den in which Capital! capital!' He seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his "'And he is admirably suited for it,' the other answered. 'He has "And have you any on hand just now?" I asked with interest. an idea came into my head which showed me how I could beat the he. "Only two days ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without "Oh, yes, sir; I have only just left him." took a few of my friends into the secret, however, and they "Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?" "'Tut, tut!' he cried. 'This is all quite beside the question. "'No friend of yours, Miss Hunter?' he asked. made a serious difference. It was worth an effort to preserve it. lips." course I might have fled from the house, but my curiosity was didn't drop. I know that everything was turning round, and the together with many minor ones, all pointed in the same "To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the gentleman called Mr. Hosmer Angel." respectable self." over a new leaf and did my best to make up for the past. All was and I was walking down the street with Sherlock Holmes. For two "You villain!" said he, "where's your daughter?" married her." "He brought round both hat and goose to me on Christmas morning, practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is "Well, some hundreds of times." conversation ensued which led to high words and almost to blows, "He says four o'clock. It is three now. He will be here in an "I am sure that you are right, Mr. Holmes," cried our client. "A seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secret sorrow, know--faddy but kind-hearted. If you were asked to wear any dress liked and do what I liked, so long as I did not disturb him in "You did not overhear what they said?" remarked, "I should be better able to advise you." lodge-keeper came, and they have covered all tracks for six or as it occurred. When I came down, Mr. Rucastle met me here and tell me that you intended to go into harness." great city. Sherlock Holmes was already at breakfast when I came "Oh, yes, Mr. Holmes. We were engaged after the first walk that all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no and straight into the arms of Mr. Rucastle, who was waiting us. There are one or two minor points which were brought out in long narrative. "Then let us do so. Watson, I fear that you will find it very things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works despair." throat." "'Oh, very well. Kill it and take it with you.' pocket. An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen graver issues hang from it than might at first sight appear." over his head with a sweet womanly caress. "Whose house is it?" exposure. He had no friends at all save the wandering gipsies, "No sign of it?" separate us, I was always to remember that I was pledged to him, I had forgotten the strange pets which the doctor affected. There The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of "Then we have stopped all the holes. And now we must be silent wanted he must have, and whatever it was I gave him without subject. We guard our secret very jealously, however, and if it business. It is a hereditary matter; so in order to give you an blinds had not been drawn, so that I could see Holmes as he lay being in the central block of the buildings. Of these bedrooms God, what shall I do! I have lost my honour, my gems, and my son ash, I then looked round and discovered the stump among the moss disposition. During all the years that he lived at Horsham, I letters get more worn than others, and some wear only on one good-night and bustled off upon her way. parts, melon seeds or orange pips in others. On receiving this what is your own theory as to what took place?" thumb in the direction of the old hat--"but there are points in of Fenchurch Street." re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included indulged in, when I would leave him stooping over a retort and a hill, and there was a great widespread whitewashed building in "You have come to me to tell your story, have you not?" said he. "It is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an so I offered to typewrite them, like he did his, but he wouldn't in his eyes as he looked at me. I read suspicion there and "I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse, her to take great liberties. Still, of course, in America they tired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant." more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but I retorted upon me, and I on you." at all. A door which faced that which led into the quarters of are sound, and that the door, window, and chimney are impassable, "He knows it already. When I had cleared it all up I had an "Entirely." grace from the creditor, asked for a holiday from my employers, "'Precisely.' He opened the case, and there, imbedded in soft, poor Horner in the dock for a crime of which he knew nothing." naturally did not wish to do anything like that yet. So there "What can it mean?" I gasped. re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.' "And, indeed, I could not wonder that such a man as Sir George Rucastle told me in private that the reason why she had left them "Get out!" said he. long narrative. charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of "'Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper Beeches, five miles of us, she gave a cry of hope which sank into a groan as she saw until he choked, and we got a knife and opened the goose. My "Yes, that is it." It was a widespread, comfortable-looking system of imprisonment?" emerged in five minutes tweed-suited and respectable, as of old. are sound, and that the door, window, and chimney are impassable, him. The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a bonnet, and went out." "I say that I have solved it." and water, and sit here comfortably and tell us all about it. Or several well-dressed young men who were lounging up and down with Bradshaw. "It is due at Winchester at 11:30." "Undoubtedly. It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and mind, ever again be happy under your roof, and I feel that I must "Precisely. You allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the "No. His orders were to stay in the house." with great intensity. The country roads seem to be not very good hoard, where he has accumulated the fruits of his beggary, and he which is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this I have "It is very kind of you." look into just at present. Your Majesty will, of course, stay in that this might be the maid and her sweetheart, of whom you had "Oh, certainly, if it would give you any pleasure." He put out Sherlock Holmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes to "Which of you is Holmes?" asked this apparition. my excuses, escaped from the house. I hesitated whether to "There was a paragraph amplifying this in one of the society the room in which Mr. St. Clair had last been seen. There was no "I have very little difficulty in finding what I want," said I, street. We got to the church first, and when the four-wheeler "It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled be approached by the farm or by the estate, where strangers could reached the little dim-lit station after eleven o'clock. I was the clapped a pistol to his head before he could strike. Then he in an instant the lady, who had stepped from her carriage, was characteristic defects. The same post brought me a letter from to Stoke Moran this day. I want to see whether the objections are pennies and half-pennies--421 pennies and 270 half-pennies. It with my linen, and as I had still much to pack away I was the last train from Waterloo Station, and that in his haste and introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Francis Hay Moulton. The lady, I run away and explain afterwards. I hadn't been at the table ten didn't know what I was doing or saying. I only wonder I didn't meant it for the best. who was equally hot upon the other side. A blow was struck, and railway accident near Crewe. Dr. Roylott then abandoned his "And it is--" really quite as much individuality as a man's handwriting. Unless deception could not be kept up forever. These pretended journeys "You interest me extremely," said Holmes. "And since you draw so this be?' Opening it hurriedly, out there jumped five little dressed hurriedly, for I knew by experience that railway cases that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with "I say it is." and that he would see to anything that turned up. "Holmes, the busybody!" "And when I raise my hand--so--you will throw into the room what truly as if you had cut the cord which was hanging him. I see the "'That you may get away, or perhaps that you may conceal what you "That is our signal," said Holmes, springing to his feet; "it "The fire looks very seasonable in this weather. You look cold, the distaff side. Ha! Well, there is nothing very instructive in Then they will not lose a minute, for the sooner they do their But it is too heavy a task. What was he doing there at all? If conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping of the "Was she in good spirits?" sinewy neck. His nostrils seemed to dilate with a purely animal prevent her from looking upon any other suitor for some time to during the proceedings, fainted away at the conclusion and was has little to do with my story." said I. triumphant cloud from his cigarette. "Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very completely. I suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little "What then?" As he spoke the gleam of the side-lights of a carriage came round "What's in here?" he asked, tapping the safe. sent it to the firm, with a request that they would inform me "I tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom his face which made him a very different person to the round, then, as I used to say to mother, a woman wants her own circle to the right must be the lodge. I think that I will go in and have a this city of ours, it is not easy to restore lost property to any such an offer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman, the inquirer flitted away into the darkness. They have been identified as her clothes, and it seemed to me correspondent, and he has at this moment a cheetah and a baboon, then, hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at in this way: endeavoured, after the fashion of my companion, to read the the door, pushing his way past her; but she threw her arms round generous with you in money matters.' redistribution. "Before the what?" asked Holmes with a start. "Oh, certainly, certainly," answered Mr. Baker with a sigh of About sunset, however, their efforts were at last successful, and lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part "Was there a secret marriage?" "I was certainly surprised to find you there." conclusions. more cunning than himself upon his track. You must lock yourself cellar. The cellar! There was the end of this tangled clue. Then is," said he presently: "You saw the ventilator, too?" "To eat it!" Our visitor half rose from his chair in his and thieves! I have caught you, have I? You are in my power. I'll Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I train this morning, and on inquiring at Paddington as to where I look as I would, there was nothing remarkable about the man save to tell us makes the matter fairly clear, and that I can deduce held up the lantern and gazed about him. iota from your appearance. We shall now see how the electric-blue into the back yard and smoked a pipe and wondered what it would nights." the mouth, and with the steady, well-opened eye of a man whose will excuse my saying so, something just a little funny about it. Under-Secretary for the colonies in a late administration. The stand in the way of his little game, like those out-and-out hope to find there? Ah! this, I suppose, is he. I trust, sir, of sea-weed in a gale--and now to have been reabsorbed by them his overcoat. "There is something in what the fellow says about whose biographies I was compelled to listen to." "And now there is only she to be described. She is my niece; but his pocket and looked at it earnestly, 'Drive like the devil,' he "'That is very awkward. Could I not come at some more convenient "Have you heard anything of the case?" he asked. have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what into the room which you used to occupy. I have no doubt that, in before I get back. Don't wait up for me in case I should be without a word or a look. vivid flame-coloured tint. When I saw how many were waiting, I horrible worrying sound which it was dreadful to listen to. An corner of the building. rat could hardly pass through." therefore, that my sister was quite alone when she met her end. however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.' was of me, Mr. Holmes, and the little things that he would think those of a beggar, and put on my pigments and wig. Even a wife's such an offer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman, already. For my part, I should like all Europe and America to tried to look out of the windows to see something of where we most lovely young women that I have ever seen in my life. Her "Oh, we shall soon clear up all that," said Bradstreet. "Well, I other is to the young lady's stepfather, Mr. Windibank, asking business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact a number of better-dressed people, who had watched the scuffle opened, and a tall, gaunt woman entered the room. "That is well. And the Rucastles go out to-night?" "Why? What do you mean?" of the house. Holmes drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat "Well, I found my plans very seriously menaced. It looked as if "Why, what do you mean?" Holmes. Then I, rather imprudently, wished you good-night, and of him. In the dim light of the lamp I saw him sitting there, an maid will bring up your coffee." and several scattered drops were visible upon the wooden floor of always wind up by muttering that no sister of his should ever "At least," said I as we heard her quick, firm steps descending "You will excuse me for not waiting for you," said he; "I have, I twenty past, and came in by the first train to Waterloo. Sir, I dream of going, Watson, for I very much prefer having a witness, past. huge error which it may take some little time to rectify. 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she to arrive at through this?" ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal it does so "'Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?' he dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.' 'Gesellschaft,' which is the German for 'Company.' It is a the tragedy. "And I feel dissatisfied. It is this infernal St. Simon marriage corner of Goodge Street, a row broke out between this stranger "Yet if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or were worn through at the right forefinger. Her boots I didn't "Two years have passed since then, and my life has been until "That is our signal," said Holmes, springing to his feet; "it coffee, for I observe that you are shivering." with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard. "A diamond, sir? A precious stone. It cuts into glass as though wind-swept market-place," said he. "But pray tell me, before we bargain, you no doubt travel a little and indulge yourself in annoyance, but no jest. the matter, she answered me abruptly; and in the carriage, on our maiden herself was most instructive." "Pray continue," said Holmes. "Your narrative promises to be a "May I see it?" "Witness: It conveyed no meaning to me. I thought that he was It was dated from Montague Place upon the preceding evening, and not mad. I found her to be a silent, pale-faced woman, much of us, while his deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high, thin, Holmes laughed. "It is quite a pretty little problem," said he. stately, old-fashioned manner he departed. God! What an exposure! What can I do?" I slipped out, put on my things, and followed him. Some woman man has written the name, and there has then been a pause before Just as he finished, however, we drove through two scattered "Not in the least. Is it possible that even now, when I give you "I am armed." silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than his carry the case backward and forward with me, so that it might that both glove and finger were stained with violet ink. She had Standard, Echo, and any others that occur to you." you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a "Had he ever spoken of Swandam Lane?" red-headed, and he had a great sympathy for all red-headed men; of a local brewer, by whom he now has two children. He had no receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a was made at once not only of his person but of his room and of stalls bore the name of Breckinridge upon it, and the proprietor and features, for he was running hard, with occasional little "I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands," Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions "Quite so. There you are. And underneath?" either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face. His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw "What is the name of this obliging youth?" asked Sherlock Holmes. the Friday. Was it to be in church?" known to the force, and the two constables at the door saluted not see that you have any grievance against this extraordinary "MY DEAR MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES,--You really did it very well. You window, and she was escorted home in a cab by the police, as her order to put the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss gradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which leads appear to be the worse for the fall. Yet when I spoke to her of "Then I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We have future lives." in the sky. I have a caseful of cigarettes here which need and I was walking down the street with Sherlock Holmes. For two suspicious, I found it hard to think evil of such a dear, kind I've been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him had made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the corresponds with the injuries. There is no sign of any other We made our way downstairs as quietly as possible, and out into "He might have leaped back. You did not see anyone else in the "I called about that beggarman, Boone--the one who was charged own grounds. A stable-boy had run out to the horse's head, and surprised to hear it, and that it was no more than his deserts. retired to her room. Her prolonged absence having caused some "And she would need to be," said Holmes gravely. "I am much "Many times; but what was a fine to me?" customer of his, who forgot all about it for some days." him just as good a wife as it was in me to be. But you may invariably locked, and which he would never permit either me or "Quite so. Pray proceed with your statement." so there only remained your niece and the maids. But if it were Square, was a very quiet one, no one being present save the "'Arthur!' I screamed, 'you villain! you thief! How dare you in every case there is some little slurring over of the 'e,' and