Next Word Prediction Model

#Importing the libraries
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pickle
import heapq

#loading the data to the variable
link = '1661-0.txt'
with open(link) as f:
    text= f.readlines()

#Reading and converting data to lower case
text = open(link).read().lower()
print('corpus length:', len(text))
text

corpus length: 581888

'\ufeff\nproject gutenberg\'s the adventures of sherlock holmes, by arthur conan doyle\n\nthis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with\nalmost no restrictions whatsoever.  you may copy it, give it away or\nre-use it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included\nwith this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.net\n\n\ntitle: the adventures of sherlock holmes\n\nauthor: arthur conan doyle\n\nrelease date: november 29, 2002 [ebook #1661]\nlast updated: may 20, 2019\n\nlanguage: english\n\ncharacter set encoding: utf-8\n\n*** start of this project gutenberg ebook the adventures of sherlock holmes ***\n\n\n\nproduced by an anonymous project gutenberg volunteer and jose menendez\n\n\n\ncover\n\n\n\nthe adventures of sherlock holmes\n\n\n\nby arthur conan doyle\n\n\n\ncontents\n\n\n   i.     a scandal in bohemia\n   ii.    the red-headed league\n   iii.   a case of identity\n   iv.    the boscombe valley mystery\n   v.     the five orange pips\n   vi.    the man with the twisted lip\n   vii.   the adventure of the blue carbuncle\n   viii.  the adventure of the speckled band\n   ix.    the adventure of the engineer’s thumb\n   x.     the adventure of the noble bachelor\n   xi.    the adventure of the beryl coronet\n   xii.   the adventure of the copper beeches\n\n\n\ni. a scandal in bohemia\n\n\ni.\n\nto sherlock holmes she is always _the_ woman. i have seldom heard him\nmention her under any other name. in his eyes she eclipses and\npredominates the whole of her sex. it was not that he felt any emotion\nakin to love for irene adler. all emotions, and that one particularly,\nwere abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. he\nwas, i take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that\nthe world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a\nfalse position. he never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe\nand a sneer. they were admirable things for the observer—excellent for\ndrawing the veil from men’s motives and actions. but for the trained\nreasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely\nadjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might\nthrow a doubt upon all his mental results. grit in a sensitive\ninstrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not\nbe more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his. and\nyet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late irene\nadler, of dubious and questionable memory.\n\ni had seen little of holmes lately. my marriage had drifted us away\nfrom each other. my own complete happiness, and the home-centred\ninterests which rise up around the man who first finds himself master\nof his own establishment, were sufficient to absorb all my attention,\nwhile holmes, who loathed every form of society with his whole bohemian\nsoul, remained in our lodgings in baker street, buried among his old\nbooks, and alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition,\nthe drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen\nnature. he was still, as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime,\nand occupied his immense faculties and extraordinary powers of\nobservation in following out those clues, and clearing up those\nmysteries which had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police.\nfrom time to time i heard some vague account of his doings: of his\nsummons to odessa in the case of the trepoff murder, of his clearing up\nof the singular tragedy of the atkinson brothers at trincomalee, and\nfinally of the mission which he had accomplished so delicately and\nsuccessfully for the reigning family of holland. beyond these signs of\nhis activity, however, which i merely shared with all the readers of\nthe daily press, i knew little of my former friend and companion.\n\none night—it was on the twentieth of march, 1888—i was returning from a\njourney to a patient (for i had now returned to civil practice), when\nmy way led me through baker street. as i passed the well-remembered\ndoor, which must always be associated in my mind with my wooing, and\nwith the dark incidents of the study in scarlet, i was seized with a\nkeen desire to see holmes again, and to know how he was employing his\nextraordinary powers. his rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as i\nlooked up, i saw his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette\nagainst the blind. he was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his\nhead sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him. to me, who\nknew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their own\nstory. he was at work again. he had risen out of his drug-created\ndreams and was hot upon the scent of some new problem. i rang the bell\nand was shown up to the chamber which had formerly been in part my own.\n\nhis manner was not effusive. it seldom was; but he was glad, i think,\nto see me. with hardly a word spoken, but with a kindly eye, he waved\nme to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars, and indicated a\nspirit case and a gasogene in the corner. then he stood before the fire\nand looked me over in his singular introspective fashion.\n\n“wedlock suits you,” he remarked. “i think, watson, that you have put\non seven and a half pounds since i saw you.”\n\n“seven!” i answered.\n\n“indeed, i should have thought a little more. just a trifle more, i\nfancy, watson. and in practice again, i observe. you did not tell me\nthat you intended to go into harness.”\n\n“then, how do you know?”\n\n“i see it, i deduce it. how do i know that you have been getting\nyourself very wet lately, and that you have a most clumsy and careless\nservant girl?”\n\n“my dear holmes,” said i, “this is too much. you would certainly have\nbeen burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. it is true that i had a\ncountry walk on thursday and came home in a dreadful mess, but as i\nhave changed my clothes i can’t imagine how you deduce it. as to mary\njane, she is incorrigible, and my wife has given her notice, but there,\nagain, i fail to see how you work it out.”\n\nhe chuckled to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands together.\n\n“it is simplicity itself,” said he; “my eyes tell me that on the inside\nof your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it, the leather is\nscored by six almost parallel cuts. obviously they have been caused by\nsomeone who has very carelessly scraped round the edges of the sole in\norder to remove crusted mud from it. hence, you see, my double\ndeduction that you had been out in vile weather, and that you had a\nparticularly malignant boot-slitting specimen of the london slavey. as\nto your practice, if a gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of\niodoform, with a black mark of nitrate of silver upon his right\nforefinger, and a bulge on the right side of his top-hat to show where\nhe has secreted his stethoscope, i must be dull, indeed, if i do not\npronounce him to be an active member of the medical profession.”\n\ni could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained his\nprocess of deduction. “when i hear you give your reasons,” i remarked,\n“the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously simple that i\ncould easily do it myself, though at each successive instance of your\nreasoning i am baffled until you explain your process. and yet i\nbelieve that my eyes are as good as yours.”\n\n“quite so,” he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing himself\ndown into an armchair. “you see, but you do not observe. the\ndistinction is clear. for example, you have frequently seen the steps\nwhich lead up from the hall to this room.”\n\n“frequently.”\n\n“how often?”\n\n“well, some hundreds of times.”\n\n“then how many are there?”\n\n“how many? i don’t know.”\n\n“quite so! you have not observed. and yet you have seen. that is just\nmy point. now, i know that there are seventeen steps, because i have\nboth seen and observed. by the way, since you are interested in these\nlittle problems, and since you are good enough to chronicle one or two\nof my trifling experiences, you may be interested in this.” he threw\nover a sheet of thick, pink-tinted notepaper which had been lying open\nupon the table. “it came by the last post,” said he. “read it aloud.”\n\nthe note was undated, and without either signature or address.\n\n“there will call upon you to-night, at a quarter to eight o’clock,” it\nsaid, “a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a matter of the very\ndeepest moment. your recent services to one of the royal houses of\neurope have shown that you are one who may safely be trusted with\nmatters which are of an importance which can hardly be exaggerated.\nthis account of you we have from all quarters received. be in your\nchamber then at that hour, and do not take it amiss if your visitor\nwear a mask.”\n\n“this is indeed a mystery,” i remarked. “what do you imagine that it\nmeans?”\n\n“i have no data yet. it is a capital mistake to theorise before one has\ndata. insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of\ntheories to suit facts. but the note itself. what do you deduce from\nit?”\n\ni carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was\nwritten.\n\n“the man who wrote it was presumably well to do,” i remarked,\nendeavouring to imitate my companion’s processes. “such paper could not\nbe bought under half a crown a packet. it is peculiarly strong and\nstiff.”\n\n“peculiar—that is the very word,” said holmes. “it is not an english\npaper at all. hold it up to the light.”\n\ni did so, and saw a large “e” with a small “g,” a “p,” and a large “g”\nwith a small “t” woven into the texture of the paper.\n\n“what do you make of that?” asked holmes.\n\n“the name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather.”\n\n“not at all. the ‘g’ with the small ‘t’ stands for ‘gesellschaft,’\nwhich is the german for ‘company.’ it is a customary contraction like\nour ‘co.’ ‘p,’ of course, stands for ‘papier.’ now for the ‘eg.’ let us\nglance at our continental gazetteer.” he took down a heavy brown volume\nfrom his shelves. “eglow, eglonitz—here we are, egria. it is in a\ngerman-speaking country—in bohemia, not far from carlsbad. ‘remarkable\nas being the scene of the death of wallenstein, and for its numerous\nglass-factories and paper-mills.’ ha, ha, my boy, what do you make of\nthat?” his eyes sparkled, and he sent up a great blue triumphant cloud\nfrom his cigarette.\n\n“the paper was made in bohemia,” i said.\n\n“precisely. and the man who wrote the note is a german. do you note the\npeculiar construction of the sentence—‘this account of you we have from\nall quarters received.’ a frenchman or russian could not have written\nthat. it is the german who is so uncourteous to his verbs. it only\nremains, therefore, to discover what is wanted by this german who\nwrites upon bohemian paper and prefers wearing a mask to showing his\nface. and here he comes, if i am not mistaken, to resolve all our\ndoubts.”\n\nas he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses’ hoofs and grating\nwheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at the bell. holmes\nwhistled.\n\n“a pair, by the sound,” said he. “yes,” he continued, glancing out of\nthe window. “a nice little brougham and a pair of beauties. a hundred\nand fifty guineas apiece. there’s money in this case, watson, if there\nis nothing else.”\n\n“i think that i had better go, holmes.”\n\n“not a bit, doctor. stay where you are. i am lost without my boswell.\nand this promises to be interesting. it would be a pity to miss it.”\n\n“but your client—”\n\n“never mind him. i may want your help, and so may he. here he comes.\nsit down in that armchair, doctor, and give us your best attention.”\n\na slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairs and in the\npassage, paused immediately outside the door. then there was a loud and\nauthoritative tap.\n\n“come in!” said holmes.\n\na man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet six inches\nin height, with the chest and limbs of a hercules. his dress was rich\nwith a richness which would, in england, be looked upon as akin to bad\ntaste. heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed across the sleeves and\nfronts of his double-breasted coat, while the deep blue cloak which was\nthrown over his shoulders was lined with flame-coloured silk and\nsecured at the neck with a brooch which consisted of a single flaming\nberyl. boots which extended halfway up his calves, and which were\ntrimmed at the tops with rich brown fur, completed the impression of\nbarbaric opulence which was suggested by his whole appearance. he\ncarried a broad-brimmed hat in his hand, while he wore across the upper\npart of his face, extending down past the cheekbones, a black vizard\nmask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment, for his hand\nwas still raised to it as he entered. from the lower part of the face\nhe appeared to be a man of strong character, with a thick, hanging lip,\nand a long, straight chin suggestive of resolution pushed to the length\nof obstinacy.\n\n“you had my note?” he asked with a deep harsh voice and a strongly\nmarked german accent. “i told you that i would call.” he looked from\none to the other of us, as if uncertain which to address.\n\n“pray take a seat,” said holmes. “this is my friend and colleague, dr.\nwatson, who is occasionally good enough to help me in my cases. whom\nhave i the honour to address?”\n\n“you may address me as the count von kramm, a bohemian nobleman. i\nunderstand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honour and\ndiscretion, whom i may trust with a matter of the most extreme\nimportance. if not, i should much prefer to communicate with you\nalone.”\n\ni rose to go, but holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me back into\nmy chair. “it is both, or none,” said he. “you may say before this\ngentleman anything which you may say to me.”\n\nthe count shrugged his broad shoulders. “then i must begin,” said he,\n“by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at the end of\nthat time the matter will be of no importance. at present it is not too\nmuch to say that it is of such weight it may have an influence upon\neuropean history.”\n\n“i promise,” said holmes.\n\n“and i.”\n\n“you will excuse this mask,” continued our strange visitor. “the august\nperson who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to you, and i may\nconfess at once that the title by which i have just called myself is\nnot exactly my own.”\n\n“i was aware of it,” said holmes dryly.\n\n“the circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution has to\nbe taken to quench what might grow to be an immense scandal and\nseriously compromise one of the reigning families of europe. to speak\nplainly, the matter implicates the great house of ormstein, hereditary\nkings of bohemia.”\n\n“i was also aware of that,” murmured holmes, settling himself down in\nhis armchair and closing his eyes.\n\nour visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at the languid,\nlounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him as the\nmost incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in europe. holmes\nslowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his gigantic client.\n\n“if your majesty would condescend to state your case,” he remarked, “i\nshould be better able to advise you.”\n\nthe man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room in\nuncontrollable agitation. then, with a gesture of desperation, he tore\nthe mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground. “you are right,”\nhe cried; “i am the king. why should i attempt to conceal it?”\n\n“why, indeed?” murmured holmes. “your majesty had not spoken before i\nwas aware that i was addressing wilhelm gottsreich sigismond von\normstein, grand duke of cassel-felstein, and hereditary king of\nbohemia.”\n\n“but you can understand,” said our strange visitor, sitting down once\nmore and passing his hand over his high white forehead, “you can\nunderstand that i am not accustomed to doing such business in my own\nperson. yet the matter was so delicate that i could not confide it to\nan agent without putting myself in his power. i have come _incognito_\nfrom prague for the purpose of consulting you.”\n\n“then, pray consult,” said holmes, shutting his eyes once more.\n\n“the facts are briefly these: some five years ago, during a lengthy\nvisit to warsaw, i made the acquaintance of the well-known adventuress,\nirene adler. the name is no doubt familiar to you.”\n\n“kindly look her up in my index, doctor,” murmured holmes without\nopening his eyes. for many years he had adopted a system of docketing\nall paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it was difficult to\nname a subject or a person on which he could not at once furnish\ninformation. in this case i found her biography sandwiched in between\nthat of a hebrew rabbi and that of a staff-commander who had written a\nmonograph upon the deep-sea fishes.\n\n“let me see!” said holmes. “hum! born in new jersey in the year 1858.\ncontralto—hum! la scala, hum! prima donna imperial opera of warsaw—yes!\nretired from operatic stage—ha! living in london—quite so! your\nmajesty, as i understand, became entangled with this young person,\nwrote her some compromising letters, and is now desirous of getting\nthose letters back.”\n\n“precisely so. but how—”\n\n“was there a secret marriage?”\n\n“none.”\n\n“no legal papers or certificates?”\n\n“none.”\n\n“then i fail to follow your majesty. if this young person should\nproduce her letters for blackmailing or other purposes, how is she to\nprove their authenticity?”\n\n“there is the writing.”\n\n“pooh, pooh! forgery.”\n\n“my private note-paper.”\n\n“stolen.”\n\n“my own seal.”\n\n“imitated.”\n\n“my photograph.”\n\n“bought.”\n\n“we were both in the photograph.”\n\n“oh, dear! that is very bad! your majesty has indeed committed an\nindiscretion.”\n\n“i was mad—insane.”\n\n“you have compromised yourself seriously.”\n\n“i was only crown prince then. i was young. i am but thirty now.”\n\n“it must be recovered.”\n\n“we have tried and failed.”\n\n“your majesty must pay. it must be bought.”\n\n“she will not sell.”\n\n“stolen, then.”\n\n“five attempts have been made. twice burglars in my pay ransacked her\nhouse. once we diverted her luggage when she travelled. twice she has\nbeen waylaid. there has been no result.”\n\n“no sign of it?”\n\n“absolutely none.”\n\nholmes laughed. “it is quite a pretty little problem,” said he.\n\n“but a very serious one to me,” returned the king reproachfully.\n\n“very, indeed. and what does she propose to do with the photograph?”\n\n“to ruin me.”\n\n“but how?”\n\n“i am about to be married.”\n\n“so i have heard.”\n\n“to clotilde lothman von saxe-meningen, second daughter of the king of\nscandinavia. you may know the strict principles of her family. she is\nherself the very soul of delicacy. a shadow of a doubt as to my conduct\nwould bring the matter to an end.”\n\n“and irene adler?”\n\n“threatens to send them the photograph. and she will do it. i know that\nshe will do it. you do not know her, but she has a soul of steel. she\nhas the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of the most\nresolute of men. rather than i should marry another woman, there are no\nlengths to which she would not go—none.”\n\n“you are sure that she has not sent it yet?”\n\n“i am sure.”\n\n“and why?”\n\n“because she has said that she would send it on the day when the\nbetrothal was publicly proclaimed. that will be next monday.”\n\n“oh, then we have three days yet,” said holmes with a yawn. “that is\nvery fortunate, as i have one or two matters of importance to look into\njust at present. your majesty will, of course, stay in london for the\npresent?”\n\n“certainly. you will find me at the langham under the name of the count\nvon kramm.”\n\n“then i shall drop you a line to let you know how we progress.”\n\n“pray do so. i shall be all anxiety.”\n\n“then, as to money?”\n\n“you have _carte blanche_.”\n\n“absolutely?”\n\n“i tell you that i would give one of the provinces of my kingdom to\nhave that photograph.”\n\n“and for present expenses?”\n\nthe king took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak and laid\nit on the table.\n\n“there are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in notes,” he\nsaid.\n\nholmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note-book and handed it\nto him.\n\n“and mademoiselle’s address?” he asked.\n\n“is briony lodge, serpentine avenue, st. john’s wood.”\n\nholmes took a note of it. “one other question,” said he. “was the\nphotograph a cabinet?”\n\n“it was.”\n\n“then, good-night, your majesty, and i trust that we shall soon have\nsome good news for you. and good-night, watson,” he added, as the\nwheels of the royal brougham rolled down the street. “if you will be\ngood enough to call to-morrow afternoon at three o’clock i should like\nto chat this little matter over with you.”\n\n\nii.\n\nat three o’clock precisely i was at baker street, but holmes had not\nyet returned. the landlady informed me that he had left the house\nshortly after eight o’clock in the morning. i sat down beside the fire,\nhowever, with the intention of awaiting him, however long he might be.\ni was already deeply interested in his inquiry, for, though it was\nsurrounded by none of the grim and strange features which were\nassociated with the two crimes which i have already recorded, still,\nthe nature of the case and the exalted station of his client gave it a\ncharacter of its own. indeed, apart from the nature of the\ninvestigation which my friend had on hand, there was something in his\nmasterly grasp of a situation, and his keen, incisive reasoning, which\nmade it a pleasure to me to study his system of work, and to follow the\nquick, subtle methods by which he disentangled the most inextricable\nmysteries. so accustomed was i to his invariable success that the very\npossibility of his failing had ceased to enter into my head.\n\nit was close upon four before the door opened, and a drunken-looking\ngroom, ill-kempt and side-whiskered, with an inflamed face and\ndisreputable clothes, walked into the room. accustomed as i was to my\nfriend’s amazing powers in the use of disguises, i had to look three\ntimes before i was certain that it was indeed he. with a nod he\nvanished into the bedroom, whence he emerged in five minutes\ntweed-suited and respectable, as of old. putting his hands into his\npockets, he stretched out his legs in front of the fire and laughed\nheartily for some minutes.\n\n“well, really!” he cried, and then he choked and laughed again until he\nwas obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the chair.\n\n“what is it?”\n\n“it’s quite too funny. i am sure you could never guess how i employed\nmy morning, or what i ended by doing.”\n\n“i can’t imagine. i suppose that you have been watching the habits, and\nperhaps the house, of miss irene adler.”\n\n“quite so; but the sequel was rather unusual. i will tell you, however.\ni left the house a little after eight o’clock this morning in the\ncharacter of a groom out of work. there is a wonderful sympathy and\nfreemasonry among horsey men. be one of them, and you will know all\nthat there is to know. i soon found briony lodge. it is a _bijou_\nvilla, with a garden at the back, but built out in front right up to\nthe road, two stories. chubb lock to the door. large sitting-room on\nthe right side, well furnished, with long windows almost to the floor,\nand those preposterous english window fasteners which a child could\nopen. behind there was nothing remarkable, save that the passage window\ncould be reached from the top of the coach-house. i walked round it and\nexamined it closely from every point of view, but without noting\nanything else of interest.\n\n“i then lounged down the street and found, as i expected, that there\nwas a mews in a lane which runs down by one wall of the garden. i lent\nthe ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses, and received in\nexchange twopence, a glass of half-and-half, two fills of shag tobacco,\nand as much information as i could desire about miss adler, to say\nnothing of half a dozen other people in the neighbourhood in whom i was\nnot in the least interested, but whose biographies i was compelled to\nlisten to.”\n\n“and what of irene adler?” i asked.\n\n“oh, she has turned all the men’s heads down in that part. she is the\ndaintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet. so say the\nserpentine-mews, to a man. she lives quietly, sings at concerts, drives\nout at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for dinner. seldom\ngoes out at other times, except when she sings. has only one male\nvisitor, but a good deal of him. he is dark, handsome, and dashing,\nnever calls less than once a day, and often twice. he is a mr. godfrey\nnorton, of the inner temple. see the advantages of a cabman as a\nconfidant. they had driven him home a dozen times from serpentine-mews,\nand knew all about him. when i had listened to all they had to tell, i\nbegan to walk up and down near briony lodge once more, and to think\nover my plan of campaign.\n\n“this godfrey norton was evidently an important factor in the matter.\nhe was a lawyer. that sounded ominous. what was the relation between\nthem, and what the object of his repeated visits? was she his client,\nhis friend, or his mistress? if the former, she had probably\ntransferred the photograph to his keeping. if the latter, it was less\nlikely. on the issue of this question depended whether i should\ncontinue my work at briony lodge, or turn my attention to the\ngentleman’s chambers in the temple. it was a delicate point, and it\nwidened the field of my inquiry. i fear that i bore you with these\ndetails, but i have to let you see my little difficulties, if you are\nto understand the situation.”\n\n“i am following you closely,” i answered.\n\n“i was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab drove up\nto briony lodge, and a gentleman sprang out. he was a remarkably\nhandsome man, dark, aquiline, and moustached—evidently the man of whom\ni had heard. he appeared to be in a great hurry, shouted to the cabman\nto wait, and brushed past the maid who opened the door with the air of\na man who was thoroughly at home.\n\n“he was in the house about half an hour, and i could catch glimpses of\nhim in the windows of the sitting-room, pacing up and down, talking\nexcitedly, and waving his arms. of her i could see nothing. presently\nhe emerged, looking even more flurried than before. as he stepped up to\nthe cab, he pulled a gold watch from his pocket and looked at it\nearnestly, ‘drive like the devil,’ he shouted, ‘first to gross &\nhankey’s in regent street, and then to the church of st. monica in the\nedgeware road. half a guinea if you do it in twenty minutes!’\n\n“away they went, and i was just wondering whether i should not do well\nto follow them when up the lane came a neat little landau, the coachman\nwith his coat only half-buttoned, and his tie under his ear, while all\nthe tags of his harness were sticking out of the buckles. it hadn’t\npulled up before she shot out of the hall door and into it. i only\ncaught a glimpse of her at the moment, but she was a lovely woman, with\na face that a man might die for.\n\n“‘the church of st. monica, john,’ she cried, ‘and half a sovereign if\nyou reach it in twenty minutes.’\n\n“this was quite too good to lose, watson. i was just balancing whether\ni should run for it, or whether i should perch behind her landau when a\ncab came through the street. the driver looked twice at such a shabby\nfare, but i jumped in before he could object. ‘the church of st.\nmonica,’ said i, ‘and half a sovereign if you reach it in twenty\nminutes.’ it was twenty-five minutes to twelve, and of course it was\nclear enough what was in the wind.\n\n“my cabby drove fast. i don’t think i ever drove faster, but the others\nwere there before us. the cab and the landau with their steaming horses\nwere in front of the door when i arrived. i paid the man and hurried\ninto the church. there was not a soul there save the two whom i had\nfollowed and a surpliced clergyman, who seemed to be expostulating with\nthem. they were all three standing in a knot in front of the altar. i\nlounged up the side aisle like any other idler who has dropped into a\nchurch. suddenly, to my surprise, the three at the altar faced round to\nme, and godfrey norton came running as hard as he could towards me.\n\n“‘thank god,’ he cried. ‘you’ll do. come! come!’\n\n“‘what then?’ i asked.\n\n“‘come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won’t be legal.’\n\n“i was half-dragged up to the altar, and before i knew where i was i\nfound myself mumbling responses which were whispered in my ear, and\nvouching for things of which i knew nothing, and generally assisting in\nthe secure tying up of irene adler, spinster, to godfrey norton,\nbachelor. it was all done in an instant, and there was the gentleman\nthanking me on the one side and the lady on the other, while the\nclergyman beamed on me in front. it was the most preposterous position\nin which i ever found myself in my life, and it was the thought of it\nthat started me laughing just now. it seems that there had been some\ninformality about their license, that the clergyman absolutely refused\nto marry them without a witness of some sort, and that my lucky\nappearance saved the bridegroom from having to sally out into the\nstreets in search of a best man. the bride gave me a sovereign, and i\nmean to wear it on my watch chain in memory of the occasion.”\n\n“this is a very unexpected turn of affairs,” said i; “and what then?”\n\n“well, i found my plans very seriously menaced. it looked as if the\npair might take an immediate departure, and so necessitate very prompt\nand energetic measures on my part. at the church door, however, they\nseparated, he driving back to the temple, and she to her own house. ‘i\nshall drive out in the park at five as usual,’ she said as she left\nhim. i heard no more. they drove away in different directions, and i\nwent off to make my own arrangements.”\n\n“which are?”\n\n“some cold beef and a glass of beer,” he answered, ringing the bell. “i\nhave been too busy to think of food, and i am likely to be busier still\nthis evening. by the way, doctor, i shall want your co-operation.”\n\n“i shall be delighted.”\n\n“you don’t mind breaking the law?”\n\n“not in the least.”\n\n“nor running a chance of arrest?”\n\n“not in a good cause.”\n\n“oh, the cause is excellent!”\n\n“then i am your man.”\n\n“i was sure that i might rely on you.”\n\n“but what is it you wish?”\n\n“when mrs. turner has brought in the tray i will make it clear to you.\nnow,” he said as he turned hungrily on the simple fare that our\nlandlady had provided, “i must discuss it while i eat, for i have not\nmuch time. it is nearly five now. in two hours we must be on the scene\nof action. miss irene, or madame, rather, returns from her drive at\nseven. we must be at briony lodge to meet her.”\n\n“and what then?”\n\n“you must leave that to me. i have already arranged what is to occur.\nthere is only one point on which i must insist. you must not interfere,\ncome what may. you understand?”\n\n“i am to be neutral?”\n\n“to do nothing whatever. there will probably be some small\nunpleasantness. do not join in it. it will end in my being conveyed\ninto the house. four or five minutes afterwards the sitting-room window\nwill open. you are to station yourself close to that open window.”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“you are to watch me, for i will be visible to you.”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“and when i raise my hand—so—you will throw into the room what i give\nyou to throw, and will, at the same time, raise the cry of fire. you\nquite follow me?”\n\n“entirely.”\n\n“it is nothing very formidable,” he said, taking a long cigar-shaped\nroll from his pocket. “it is an ordinary plumber’s smoke-rocket, fitted\nwith a cap at either end to make it self-lighting. your task is\nconfined to that. when you raise your cry of fire, it will be taken up\nby quite a number of people. you may then walk to the end of the\nstreet, and i will rejoin you in ten minutes. i hope that i have made\nmyself clear?”\n\n“i am to remain neutral, to get near the window, to watch you, and at\nthe signal to throw in this object, then to raise the cry of fire, and\nto wait you at the corner of the street.”\n\n“precisely.”\n\n“then you may entirely rely on me.”\n\n“that is excellent. i think, perhaps, it is almost time that i prepare\nfor the new role i have to play.”\n\nhe disappeared into his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in the\ncharacter of an amiable and simple-minded nonconformist clergyman. his\nbroad black hat, his baggy trousers, his white tie, his sympathetic\nsmile, and general look of peering and benevolent curiosity were such\nas mr. john hare alone could have equalled. it was not merely that\nholmes changed his costume. his expression, his manner, his very soul\nseemed to vary with every fresh part that he assumed. the stage lost a\nfine actor, even as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a\nspecialist in crime.\n\nit was a quarter past six when we left baker street, and it still\nwanted ten minutes to the hour when we found ourselves in serpentine\navenue. it was already dusk, and the lamps were just being lighted as\nwe paced up and down in front of briony lodge, waiting for the coming\nof its occupant. the house was just such as i had pictured it from\nsherlock holmes’ succinct description, but the locality appeared to be\nless private than i expected. on the contrary, for a small street in a\nquiet neighbourhood, it was remarkably animated. there was a group of\nshabbily dressed men smoking and laughing in a corner, a\nscissors-grinder with his wheel, two guardsmen who were flirting with a\nnurse-girl, and several well-dressed young men who were lounging up and\ndown with cigars in their mouths.\n\n“you see,” remarked holmes, as we paced to and fro in front of the\nhouse, “this marriage rather simplifies matters. the photograph becomes\na double-edged weapon now. the chances are that she would be as averse\nto its being seen by mr. godfrey norton, as our client is to its coming\nto the eyes of his princess. now the question is, where are we to find\nthe photograph?”\n\n“where, indeed?”\n\n“it is most unlikely that she carries it about with her. it is cabinet\nsize. too large for easy concealment about a woman’s dress. she knows\nthat the king is capable of having her waylaid and searched. two\nattempts of the sort have already been made. we may take it, then, that\nshe does not carry it about with her.”\n\n“where, then?”\n\n“her banker or her lawyer. there is that double possibility. but i am\ninclined to think neither. women are naturally secretive, and they like\nto do their own secreting. why should she hand it over to anyone else?\nshe could trust her own guardianship, but she could not tell what\nindirect or political influence might be brought to bear upon a\nbusiness man. besides, remember that she had resolved to use it within\na few days. it must be where she can lay her hands upon it. it must be\nin her own house.”\n\n“but it has twice been burgled.”\n\n“pshaw! they did not know how to look.”\n\n“but how will you look?”\n\n“i will not look.”\n\n“what then?”\n\n“i will get her to show me.”\n\n“but she will refuse.”\n\n“she will not be able to. but i hear the rumble of wheels. it is her\ncarriage. now carry out my orders to the letter.”\n\nas he spoke the gleam of the sidelights of a carriage came round the\ncurve of the avenue. it was a smart little landau which rattled up to\nthe door of briony lodge. as it pulled up, one of the loafing men at\nthe corner dashed forward to open the door in the hope of earning a\ncopper, but was elbowed away by another loafer, who had rushed up with\nthe same intention. a fierce quarrel broke out, which was increased by\nthe two guardsmen, who took sides with one of the loungers, and by the\nscissors-grinder, who was equally hot upon the other side. a blow was\nstruck, and in an instant the lady, who had stepped from her carriage,\nwas the centre of a little knot of flushed and struggling men, who\nstruck savagely at each other with their fists and sticks. holmes\ndashed into the crowd to protect the lady; but, just as he reached her,\nhe gave a cry and dropped to the ground, with the blood running freely\ndown his face. at his fall the guardsmen took to their heels in one\ndirection and the loungers in the other, while a number of better\ndressed people, who had watched the scuffle without taking part in it,\ncrowded in to help the lady and to attend to the injured man. irene\nadler, as i will still call her, had hurried up the steps; but she\nstood at the top with her superb figure outlined against the lights of\nthe hall, looking back into the street.\n\n“is the poor gentleman much hurt?” she asked.\n\n“he is dead,” cried several voices.\n\n“no, no, there’s life in him!” shouted another. “but he’ll be gone\nbefore you can get him to hospital.”\n\n“he’s a brave fellow,” said a woman. “they would have had the lady’s\npurse and watch if it hadn’t been for him. they were a gang, and a\nrough one, too. ah, he’s breathing now.”\n\n“he can’t lie in the street. may we bring him in, marm?”\n\n“surely. bring him into the sitting-room. there is a comfortable sofa.\nthis way, please!”\n\nslowly and solemnly he was borne into briony lodge and laid out in the\nprincipal room, while i still observed the proceedings from my post by\nthe window. the lamps had been lit, but the blinds had not been drawn,\nso that i could see holmes as he lay upon the couch. i do not know\nwhether he was seized with compunction at that moment for the part he\nwas playing, but i know that i never felt more heartily ashamed of\nmyself in my life than when i saw the beautiful creature against whom i\nwas conspiring, or the grace and kindliness with which she waited upon\nthe injured man. and yet it would be the blackest treachery to holmes\nto draw back now from the part which he had intrusted to me. i hardened\nmy heart, and took the smoke-rocket from under my ulster. after all, i\nthought, we are not injuring her. we are but preventing her from\ninjuring another.\n\nholmes had sat up upon the couch, and i saw him motion like a man who\nis in need of air. a maid rushed across and threw open the window. at\nthe same instant i saw him raise his hand and at the signal i tossed my\nrocket into the room with a cry of “fire!” the word was no sooner out\nof my mouth than the whole crowd of spectators, well dressed and\nill—gentlemen, ostlers, and servant maids—joined in a general shriek of\n“fire!” thick clouds of smoke curled through the room and out at the\nopen window. i caught a glimpse of rushing figures, and a moment later\nthe voice of holmes from within assuring them that it was a false\nalarm. slipping through the shouting crowd i made my way to the corner\nof the street, and in ten minutes was rejoiced to find my friend’s arm\nin mine, and to get away from the scene of uproar. he walked swiftly\nand in silence for some few minutes until we had turned down one of the\nquiet streets which lead towards the edgeware road.\n\n“you did it very nicely, doctor,” he remarked. “nothing could have been\nbetter. it is all right.”\n\n“you have the photograph?”\n\n“i know where it is.”\n\n“and how did you find out?”\n\n“she showed me, as i told you she would.”\n\n“i am still in the dark.”\n\n“i do not wish to make a mystery,” said he, laughing. “the matter was\nperfectly simple. you, of course, saw that everyone in the street was\nan accomplice. they were all engaged for the evening.”\n\n“i guessed as much.”\n\n“then, when the row broke out, i had a little moist red paint in the\npalm of my hand. i rushed forward, fell down, clapped my hand to my\nface, and became a piteous spectacle. it is an old trick.”\n\n“that also i could fathom.”\n\n“then they carried me in. she was bound to have me in. what else could\nshe do? and into her sitting-room, which was the very room which i\nsuspected. it lay between that and her bedroom, and i was determined to\nsee which. they laid me on a couch, i motioned for air, they were\ncompelled to open the window, and you had your chance.”\n\n“how did that help you?”\n\n“it was all-important. when a woman thinks that her house is on fire,\nher instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she values most. it\nis a perfectly overpowering impulse, and i have more than once taken\nadvantage of it. in the case of the darlington substitution scandal it\nwas of use to me, and also in the arnsworth castle business. a married\nwoman grabs at her baby; an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box.\nnow it was clear to me that our lady of to-day had nothing in the house\nmore precious to her than what we are in quest of. she would rush to\nsecure it. the alarm of fire was admirably done. the smoke and shouting\nwere enough to shake nerves of steel. she responded beautifully. the\nphotograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the right\nbell-pull. she was there in an instant, and i caught a glimpse of it as\nshe half drew it out. when i cried out that it was a false alarm, she\nreplaced it, glanced at the rocket, rushed from the room, and i have\nnot seen her since. i rose, and, making my excuses, escaped from the\nhouse. i hesitated whether to attempt to secure the photograph at once;\nbut the coachman had come in, and as he was watching me narrowly, it\nseemed safer to wait. a little over-precipitance may ruin all.”\n\n“and now?” i asked.\n\n“our quest is practically finished. i shall call with the king\nto-morrow, and with you, if you care to come with us. we will be shown\ninto the sitting-room to wait for the lady, but it is probable that\nwhen she comes she may find neither us nor the photograph. it might be\na satisfaction to his majesty to regain it with his own hands.”\n\n“and when will you call?”\n\n“at eight in the morning. she will not be up, so that we shall have a\nclear field. besides, we must be prompt, for this marriage may mean a\ncomplete change in her life and habits. i must wire to the king without\ndelay.”\n\nwe had reached baker street and had stopped at the door. he was\nsearching his pockets for the key when someone passing said:\n\n“good-night, mister sherlock holmes.”\n\nthere were several people on the pavement at the time, but the greeting\nappeared to come from a slim youth in an ulster who had hurried by.\n\n“i’ve heard that voice before,” said holmes, staring down the dimly lit\nstreet. “now, i wonder who the deuce that could have been.”\n\n\niii.\n\ni slept at baker street that night, and we were engaged upon our toast\nand coffee in the morning when the king of bohemia rushed into the\nroom.\n\n“you have really got it!” he cried, grasping sherlock holmes by either\nshoulder and looking eagerly into his face.\n\n“not yet.”\n\n“but you have hopes?”\n\n“i have hopes.”\n\n“then, come. i am all impatience to be gone.”\n\n“we must have a cab.”\n\n“no, my brougham is waiting.”\n\n“then that will simplify matters.” we descended and started off once\nmore for briony lodge.\n\n“irene adler is married,” remarked holmes.\n\n“married! when?”\n\n“yesterday.”\n\n“but to whom?”\n\n“to an english lawyer named norton.”\n\n“but she could not love him.”\n\n“i am in hopes that she does.”\n\n“and why in hopes?”\n\n“because it would spare your majesty all fear of future annoyance. if\nthe lady loves her husband, she does not love your majesty. if she does\nnot love your majesty, there is no reason why she should interfere with\nyour majesty’s plan.”\n\n“it is true. and yet—! well! i wish she had been of my own station!\nwhat a queen she would have made!” he relapsed into a moody silence,\nwhich was not broken until we drew up in serpentine avenue.\n\nthe door of briony lodge was open, and an elderly woman stood upon the\nsteps. she watched us with a sardonic eye as we stepped from the\nbrougham.\n\n“mr. sherlock holmes, i believe?” said she.\n\n“i am mr. holmes,” answered my companion, looking at her with a\nquestioning and rather startled gaze.\n\n“indeed! my mistress told me that you were likely to call. she left\nthis morning with her husband by the 5:15 train from charing cross for\nthe continent.”\n\n“what!” sherlock holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and\nsurprise. “do you mean that she has left england?”\n\n“never to return.”\n\n“and the papers?” asked the king hoarsely. “all is lost.”\n\n“we shall see.” he pushed past the servant and rushed into the\ndrawing-room, followed by the king and myself. the furniture was\nscattered about in every direction, with dismantled shelves and open\ndrawers, as if the lady had hurriedly ransacked them before her flight.\nholmes rushed at the bell-pull, tore back a small sliding shutter, and,\nplunging in his hand, pulled out a photograph and a letter. the\nphotograph was of irene adler herself in evening dress, the letter was\nsuperscribed to “sherlock holmes, esq. to be left till called for.” my\nfriend tore it open, and we all three read it together. it was dated at\nmidnight of the preceding night and ran in this way:\n\n    “my dear mr. sherlock holmes,—you really did it very well. you took\n    me in completely. until after the alarm of fire, i had not a\n    suspicion. but then, when i found how i had betrayed myself, i\n    began to think. i had been warned against you months ago. i had\n    been told that, if the king employed an agent, it would certainly\n    be you. and your address had been given me. yet, with all this, you\n    made me reveal what you wanted to know. even after i became\n    suspicious, i found it hard to think evil of such a dear, kind old\n    clergyman. but, you know, i have been trained as an actress myself.\n    male costume is nothing new to me. i often take advantage of the\n    freedom which it gives. i sent john, the coachman, to watch you,\n    ran upstairs, got into my walking clothes, as i call them, and came\n    down just as you departed.\n\n    “well, i followed you to your door, and so made sure that i was\n    really an object of interest to the celebrated mr. sherlock holmes.\n    then i, rather imprudently, wished you good-night, and started for\n    the temple to see my husband.\n\n    “we both thought the best resource was flight, when pursued by so\n    formidable an antagonist; so you will find the nest empty when you\n    call to-morrow. as to the photograph, your client may rest in\n    peace. i love and am loved by a better man than he. the king may do\n    what he will without hindrance from one whom he has cruelly\n    wronged. i keep it only to safeguard myself, and to preserve a\n    weapon which will always secure me from any steps which he might\n    take in the future. i leave a photograph which he might care to\n    possess; and i remain, dear mr. sherlock holmes,\n\n\n    “very truly yours,\n\n    “irene norton, _née_ adler.”\n\n\n“what a woman—oh, what a woman!” cried the king of bohemia, when we had\nall three read this epistle. “did i not tell you how quick and resolute\nshe was? would she not have made an admirable queen? is it not a pity\nthat she was not on my level?”\n\n“from what i have seen of the lady, she seems, indeed, to be on a very\ndifferent level to your majesty,” said holmes coldly. “i am sorry that\ni have not been able to bring your majesty’s business to a more\nsuccessful conclusion.”\n\n“on the contrary, my dear sir,” cried the king; “nothing could be more\nsuccessful. i know that her word is inviolate. the photograph is now as\nsafe as if it were in the fire.”\n\n“i am glad to hear your majesty say so.”\n\n“i am immensely indebted to you. pray tell me in what way i can reward\nyou. this ring—” he slipped an emerald snake ring from his finger and\nheld it out upon the palm of his hand.\n\n“your majesty has something which i should value even more highly,”\nsaid holmes.\n\n“you have but to name it.”\n\n“this photograph!”\n\nthe king stared at him in amazement.\n\n“irene’s photograph!” he cried. “certainly, if you wish it.”\n\n“i thank your majesty. then there is no more to be done in the matter.\ni have the honour to wish you a very good morning.” he bowed, and,\nturning away without observing the hand which the king had stretched\nout to him, he set off in my company for his chambers.\n\nand that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom of\nbohemia, and how the best plans of mr. sherlock holmes were beaten by a\nwoman’s wit. he used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but i\nhave not heard him do it of late. and when he speaks of irene adler, or\nwhen he refers to her photograph, it is always under the honourable\ntitle of _the_ woman.\n\n\n\nii. the red-headed league\n\n\n i had called upon my friend, mr. sherlock holmes, one day in the\n autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a very\n stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair. with an\n apology for my intrusion, i was about to withdraw when holmes pulled\n me abruptly into the room and closed the door behind me.\n\n“you could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear watson,” he\nsaid cordially.\n\n“i was afraid that you were engaged.”\n\n“so i am. very much so.”\n\n“then i can wait in the next room.”\n\n“not at all. this gentleman, mr. wilson, has been my partner and helper\nin many of my most successful cases, and i have no doubt that he will\nbe of the utmost use to me in yours also.”\n\nthe stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of\ngreeting, with a quick little questioning glance from his small\nfat-encircled eyes.\n\n“try the settee,” said holmes, relapsing into his armchair and putting\nhis fingertips together, as was his custom when in judicial moods. “i\nknow, my dear watson, that you share my love of all that is bizarre and\noutside the conventions and humdrum routine of everyday life. you have\nshown your relish for it by the enthusiasm which has prompted you to\nchronicle, and, if you will excuse my saying so, somewhat to embellish\nso many of my own little adventures.”\n\n“your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me,” i\nobserved.\n\n“you will remember that i remarked the other day, just before we went\ninto the very simple problem presented by miss mary sutherland, that\nfor strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life\nitself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the\nimagination.”\n\n“a proposition which i took the liberty of doubting.”\n\n“you did, doctor, but none the less you must come round to my view, for\notherwise i shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you until your\nreason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to be right. now, mr.\njabez wilson here has been good enough to call upon me this morning,\nand to begin a narrative which promises to be one of the most singular\nwhich i have listened to for some time. you have heard me remark that\nthe strangest and most unique things are very often connected not with\nthe larger but with the smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where\nthere is room for doubt whether any positive crime has been committed.\nas far as i have heard, it is impossible for me to say whether the\npresent case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events\nis certainly among the most singular that i have ever listened to.\nperhaps, mr. wilson, you would have the great kindness to recommence\nyour narrative. i ask you not merely because my friend dr. watson has\nnot heard the opening part but also because the peculiar nature of the\nstory makes me anxious to have every possible detail from your lips. as\na rule, when i have heard some slight indication of the course of\nevents, i am able to guide myself by the thousands of other similar\ncases which occur to my memory. in the present instance i am forced to\nadmit that the facts are, to the best of my belief, unique.”\n\nthe portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some\nlittle pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the inside\npocket of his greatcoat. as he glanced down the advertisement column,\nwith his head thrust forward and the paper flattened out upon his knee,\ni took a good look at the man and endeavoured, after the fashion of my\ncompanion, to read the indications which might be presented by his\ndress or appearance.\n\ni did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. our visitor bore\nevery mark of being an average commonplace british tradesman, obese,\npompous, and slow. he wore rather baggy grey shepherd’s check trousers,\na not over-clean black frock-coat, unbuttoned in the front, and a drab\nwaistcoat with a heavy brassy albert chain, and a square pierced bit of\nmetal dangling down as an ornament. a frayed top-hat and a faded brown\novercoat with a wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him.\naltogether, look as i would, there was nothing remarkable about the man\nsave his blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and\ndiscontent upon his features.\n\nsherlock holmes’ quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook his head\nwith a smile as he noticed my questioning glances. “beyond the obvious\nfacts that he has at some time done manual labour, that he takes snuff,\nthat he is a freemason, that he has been in china, and that he has done\na considerable amount of writing lately, i can deduce nothing else.”\n\nmr. jabez wilson started up in his chair, with his forefinger upon the\npaper, but his eyes upon my companion.\n\n“how, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, mr. holmes?”\nhe asked. “how did you know, for example, that i did manual labour.\nit’s as true as gospel, for i began as a ship’s carpenter.”\n\n“your hands, my dear sir. your right hand is quite a size larger than\nyour left. you have worked with it, and the muscles are more\ndeveloped.”\n\n“well, the snuff, then, and the freemasonry?”\n\n“i won’t insult your intelligence by telling you how i read that,\nespecially as, rather against the strict rules of your order, you use\nan arc-and-compass breastpin.”\n\n“ah, of course, i forgot that. but the writing?”\n\n“what else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for five\ninches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the elbow where you\nrest it upon the desk?”\n\n“well, but china?”\n\n“the fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right wrist\ncould only have been done in china. i have made a small study of tattoo\nmarks and have even contributed to the literature of the subject. that\ntrick of staining the fishes’ scales of a delicate pink is quite\npeculiar to china. when, in addition, i see a chinese coin hanging from\nyour watch-chain, the matter becomes even more simple.”\n\nmr. jabez wilson laughed heavily. “well, i never!” said he. “i thought\nat first that you had done something clever, but i see that there was\nnothing in it after all.”\n\n“i begin to think, watson,” said holmes, “that i make a mistake in\nexplaining. ‘_omne ignotum pro magnifico_,’ you know, and my poor\nlittle reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if i am so\ncandid. can you not find the advertisement, mr. wilson?”\n\n“yes, i have got it now,” he answered with his thick red finger planted\nhalfway down the column. “here it is. this is what began it all. you\njust read it for yourself, sir.”\n\ni took the paper from him and read as follows:\n\n“to the red-headed league: on account of the bequest of the late\nezekiah hopkins, of lebanon, pennsylvania, u.s.a., there is now another\nvacancy open which entitles a member of the league to a salary of £ 4 a\nweek for purely nominal services. all red-headed men who are sound in\nbody and mind and above the age of twenty-one years, are eligible.\napply in person on monday, at eleven o’clock, to duncan ross, at the\noffices of the league, 7 pope’s court, fleet street.”\n\n\n“what on earth does this mean?” i ejaculated after i had twice read\nover the extraordinary announcement.\n\nholmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when in\nhigh spirits. “it is a little off the beaten track, isn’t it?” said he.\n“and now, mr. wilson, off you go at scratch and tell us all about\nyourself, your household, and the effect which this advertisement had\nupon your fortunes. you will first make a note, doctor, of the paper\nand the date.”\n\n“it is _the morning chronicle_ of april 27, 1890. just two months ago.”\n\n“very good. now, mr. wilson?”\n\n“well, it is just as i have been telling you, mr. sherlock holmes,”\nsaid jabez wilson, mopping his forehead; “i have a small pawnbroker’s\nbusiness at coburg square, near the city. it’s not a very large affair,\nand of late years it has not done more than just give me a living. i\nused to be able to keep two assistants, but now i only keep one; and i\nwould have a job to pay him but that he is willing to come for half\nwages so as to learn the business.”\n\n“what is the name of this obliging youth?” asked sherlock holmes.\n\n“his name is vincent spaulding, and he’s not such a youth, either. it’s\nhard to say his age. i should not wish a smarter assistant, mr. holmes;\nand i know very well that he could better himself and earn twice what i\nam able to give him. but, after all, if he is satisfied, why should i\nput ideas in his head?”\n\n“why, indeed? you seem most fortunate in having an _employé_ who comes\nunder the full market price. it is not a common experience among\nemployers in this age. i don’t know that your assistant is not as\nremarkable as your advertisement.”\n\n“oh, he has his faults, too,” said mr. wilson. “never was such a fellow\nfor photography. snapping away with a camera when he ought to be\nimproving his mind, and then diving down into the cellar like a rabbit\ninto its hole to develop his pictures. that is his main fault, but on\nthe whole he’s a good worker. there’s no vice in him.”\n\n“he is still with you, i presume?”\n\n“yes, sir. he and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple cooking\nand keeps the place clean—that’s all i have in the house, for i am a\nwidower and never had any family. we live very quietly, sir, the three\nof us; and we keep a roof over our heads and pay our debts, if we do\nnothing more.\n\n“the first thing that put us out was that advertisement. spaulding, he\ncame down into the office just this day eight weeks, with this very\npaper in his hand, and he says:\n\n“‘i wish to the lord, mr. wilson, that i was a red-headed man.’\n\n“‘why that?’ i asks.\n\n“‘why,’ says he, ‘here’s another vacancy on the league of the\nred-headed men. it’s worth quite a little fortune to any man who gets\nit, and i understand that there are more vacancies than there are men,\nso that the trustees are at their wits’ end what to do with the money.\nif my hair would only change colour, here’s a nice little crib all\nready for me to step into.’\n\n“‘why, what is it, then?’ i asked. you see, mr. holmes, i am a very\nstay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of my having to\ngo to it, i was often weeks on end without putting my foot over the\ndoor-mat. in that way i didn’t know much of what was going on outside,\nand i was always glad of a bit of news.\n\n“‘have you never heard of the league of the red-headed men?’ he asked\nwith his eyes open.\n\n“‘never.’\n\n“‘why, i wonder at that, for you are eligible yourself for one of the\nvacancies.’\n\n“‘and what are they worth?’ i asked.\n\n“‘oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight, and it\nneed not interfere very much with one’s other occupations.’\n\n“well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears, for the\nbusiness has not been over good for some years, and an extra couple of\nhundred would have been very handy.\n\n“‘tell me all about it,’ said i.\n\n“‘well,’ said he, showing me the advertisement, ‘you can see for\nyourself that the league has a vacancy, and there is the address where\nyou should apply for particulars. as far as i can make out, the league\nwas founded by an american millionaire, ezekiah hopkins, who was very\npeculiar in his ways. he was himself red-headed, and he had a great\nsympathy for all red-headed men; so, when he died, it was found that he\nhad left his enormous fortune in the hands of trustees, with\ninstructions to apply the interest to the providing of easy berths to\nmen whose hair is of that colour. from all i hear it is splendid pay\nand very little to do.’\n\n“‘but,’ said i, ‘there would be millions of red-headed men who would\napply.’\n\n“‘not so many as you might think,’ he answered. ‘you see it is really\nconfined to londoners, and to grown men. this american had started from\nlondon when he was young, and he wanted to do the old town a good turn.\nthen, again, i have heard it is no use your applying if your hair is\nlight red, or dark red, or anything but real bright, blazing, fiery\nred. now, if you cared to apply, mr. wilson, you would just walk in;\nbut perhaps it would hardly be worth your while to put yourself out of\nthe way for the sake of a few hundred pounds.’\n\n“now, it is a fact, gentlemen, as you may see for yourselves, that my\nhair is of a very full and rich tint, so that it seemed to me that if\nthere was to be any competition in the matter i stood as good a chance\nas any man that i had ever met. vincent spaulding seemed to know so\nmuch about it that i thought he might prove useful, so i just ordered\nhim to put up the shutters for the day and to come right away with me.\nhe was very willing to have a holiday, so we shut the business up and\nstarted off for the address that was given us in the advertisement.\n\n“i never hope to see such a sight as that again, mr. holmes. from\nnorth, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of red in his\nhair had tramped into the city to answer the advertisement. fleet\nstreet was choked with red-headed folk, and pope’s court looked like a\ncoster’s orange barrow. i should not have thought there were so many in\nthe whole country as were brought together by that single\nadvertisement. every shade of colour they were—straw, lemon, orange,\nbrick, irish-setter, liver, clay; but, as spaulding said, there were\nnot many who had the real vivid flame-coloured tint. when i saw how\nmany were waiting, i would have given it up in despair; but spaulding\nwould not hear of it. how he did it i could not imagine, but he pushed\nand pulled and butted until he got me through the crowd, and right up\nto the steps which led to the office. there was a double stream upon\nthe stair, some going up in hope, and some coming back dejected; but we\nwedged in as well as we could and soon found ourselves in the office.”\n\n“your experience has been a most entertaining one,” remarked holmes as\nhis client paused and refreshed his memory with a huge pinch of snuff.\n“pray continue your very interesting statement.”\n\n“there was nothing in the office but a couple of wooden chairs and a\ndeal table, behind which sat a small man with a head that was even\nredder than mine. he said a few words to each candidate as he came up,\nand then he always managed to find some fault in them which would\ndisqualify them. getting a vacancy did not seem to be such a very easy\nmatter, after all. however, when our turn came the little man was much\nmore favourable to me than to any of the others, and he closed the door\nas we entered, so that he might have a private word with us.\n\n“‘this is mr. jabez wilson,’ said my assistant, ‘and he is willing to\nfill a vacancy in the league.’\n\n“‘and he is admirably suited for it,’ the other answered. ‘he has every\nrequirement. i cannot recall when i have seen anything so fine.’ he\ntook a step backward, cocked his head on one side, and gazed at my hair\nuntil i felt quite bashful. then suddenly he plunged forward, wrung my\nhand, and congratulated me warmly on my success.\n\n“‘it would be injustice to hesitate,’ said he. ‘you will, however, i am\nsure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.’ with that he seized\nmy hair in both his hands, and tugged until i yelled with the pain.\n‘there is water in your eyes,’ said he as he released me. ‘i perceive\nthat all is as it should be. but we have to be careful, for we have\ntwice been deceived by wigs and once by paint. i could tell you tales\nof cobbler’s wax which would disgust you with human nature.’ he stepped\nover to the window and shouted through it at the top of his voice that\nthe vacancy was filled. a groan of disappointment came up from below,\nand the folk all trooped away in different directions until there was\nnot a red-head to be seen except my own and that of the manager.\n\n“‘my name,’ said he, ‘is mr. duncan ross, and i am myself one of the\npensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. are you a\nmarried man, mr. wilson? have you a family?’\n\n“i answered that i had not.\n\n“his face fell immediately.\n\n“‘dear me!’ he said gravely, ‘that is very serious indeed! i am sorry\nto hear you say that. the fund was, of course, for the propagation and\nspread of the red-heads as well as for their maintenance. it is\nexceedingly unfortunate that you should be a bachelor.’\n\n“my face lengthened at this, mr. holmes, for i thought that i was not\nto have the vacancy after all; but after thinking it over for a few\nminutes he said that it would be all right.\n\n“‘in the case of another,’ said he, ‘the objection might be fatal, but\nwe must stretch a point in favour of a man with such a head of hair as\nyours. when shall you be able to enter upon your new duties?’\n\n“‘well, it is a little awkward, for i have a business already,’ said i.\n\n“‘oh, never mind about that, mr. wilson!’ said vincent spaulding. ‘i\nshould be able to look after that for you.’\n\n“‘what would be the hours?’ i asked.\n\n“‘ten to two.’\n\n“now a pawnbroker’s business is mostly done of an evening, mr. holmes,\nespecially thursday and friday evening, which is just before pay-day;\nso it would suit me very well to earn a little in the mornings.\nbesides, i knew that my assistant was a good man, and that he would see\nto anything that turned up.\n\n“‘that would suit me very well,’ said i. ‘and the pay?’\n\n“‘is £ 4 a week.’\n\n“‘and the work?’\n\n“‘is purely nominal.’\n\n“‘what do you call purely nominal?’\n\n“‘well, you have to be in the office, or at least in the building, the\nwhole time. if you leave, you forfeit your whole position forever. the\nwill is very clear upon that point. you don’t comply with the\nconditions if you budge from the office during that time.’\n\n“‘it’s only four hours a day, and i should not think of leaving,’ said\ni.\n\n“‘no excuse will avail,’ said mr. duncan ross; ‘neither sickness nor\nbusiness nor anything else. there you must stay, or you lose your\nbillet.’\n\n“‘and the work?’\n\n“‘is to copy out the _encyclopædia britannica_. there is the first\nvolume of it in that press. you must find your own ink, pens, and\nblotting-paper, but we provide this table and chair. will you be ready\nto-morrow?’\n\n“‘certainly,’ i answered.\n\n“‘then, good-bye, mr. jabez wilson, and let me congratulate you once\nmore on the important position which you have been fortunate enough to\ngain.’ he bowed me out of the room and i went home with my assistant,\nhardly knowing what to say or do, i was so pleased at my own good\nfortune.\n\n“well, i thought over the matter all day, and by evening i was in low\nspirits again; for i had quite persuaded myself that the whole affair\nmust be some great hoax or fraud, though what its object might be i\ncould not imagine. it seemed altogether past belief that anyone could\nmake such a will, or that they would pay such a sum for doing anything\nso simple as copying out the _encyclopædia britannica_. vincent\nspaulding did what he could to cheer me up, but by bedtime i had\nreasoned myself out of the whole thing. however, in the morning i\ndetermined to have a look at it anyhow, so i bought a penny bottle of\nink, and with a quill-pen, and seven sheets of foolscap paper, i\nstarted off for pope’s court.\n\n“well, to my surprise and delight, everything was as right as possible.\nthe table was set out ready for me, and mr. duncan ross was there to\nsee that i got fairly to work. he started me off upon the letter a, and\nthen he left me; but he would drop in from time to time to see that all\nwas right with me. at two o’clock he bade me good-day, complimented me\nupon the amount that i had written, and locked the door of the office\nafter me.\n\n“this went on day after day, mr. holmes, and on saturday the manager\ncame in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my week’s work. it\nwas the same next week, and the same the week after. every morning i\nwas there at ten, and every afternoon i left at two. by degrees mr.\nduncan ross took to coming in only once of a morning, and then, after a\ntime, he did not come in at all. still, of course, i never dared to\nleave the room for an instant, for i was not sure when he might come,\nand the billet was such a good one, and suited me so well, that i would\nnot risk the loss of it.\n\n“eight weeks passed away like this, and i had written about abbots and\narchery and armour and architecture and attica, and hoped with\ndiligence that i might get on to the b’s before very long. it cost me\nsomething in foolscap, and i had pretty nearly filled a shelf with my\nwritings. and then suddenly the whole business came to an end.”\n\n“to an end?”\n\n“yes, sir. and no later than this morning. i went to my work as usual\nat ten o’clock, but the door was shut and locked, with a little square\nof cardboard hammered on to the middle of the panel with a tack. here\nit is, and you can read for yourself.”\n\nhe held up a piece of white cardboard about the size of a sheet of\nnote-paper. it read in this fashion:\n\n“the red-headed league is dissolved. october 9, 1890.”\n\n\nsherlock holmes and i surveyed this curt announcement and the rueful\nface behind it, until the comical side of the affair so completely\novertopped every other consideration that we both burst out into a roar\nof laughter.\n\n“i cannot see that there is anything very funny,” cried our client,\nflushing up to the roots of his flaming head. “if you can do nothing\nbetter than laugh at me, i can go elsewhere.”\n\n“no, no,” cried holmes, shoving him back into the chair from which he\nhad half risen. “i really wouldn’t miss your case for the world. it is\nmost refreshingly unusual. but there is, if you will excuse my saying\nso, something just a little funny about it. pray what steps did you\ntake when you found the card upon the door?”\n\n“i was staggered, sir. i did not know what to do. then i called at the\noffices round, but none of them seemed to know anything about it.\nfinally, i went to the landlord, who is an accountant living on the\nground floor, and i asked him if he could tell me what had become of\nthe red-headed league. he said that he had never heard of any such\nbody. then i asked him who mr. duncan ross was. he answered that the\nname was new to him.\n\n“‘well,’ said i, ‘the gentleman at no. 4.’\n\n“‘what, the red-headed man?’\n\n“‘yes.’\n\n“‘oh,’ said he, ‘his name was william morris. he was a solicitor and\nwas using my room as a temporary convenience until his new premises\nwere ready. he moved out yesterday.’\n\n“‘where could i find him?’\n\n“‘oh, at his new offices. he did tell me the address. yes, 17 king\nedward street, near st. paul’s.’\n\n“i started off, mr. holmes, but when i got to that address it was a\nmanufactory of artificial knee-caps, and no one in it had ever heard of\neither mr. william morris or mr. duncan ross.”\n\n“and what did you do then?” asked holmes.\n\n“i went home to saxe-coburg square, and i took the advice of my\nassistant. but he could not help me in any way. he could only say that\nif i waited i should hear by post. but that was not quite good enough,\nmr. holmes. i did not wish to lose such a place without a struggle, so,\nas i had heard that you were good enough to give advice to poor folk\nwho were in need of it, i came right away to you.”\n\n“and you did very wisely,” said holmes. “your case is an exceedingly\nremarkable one, and i shall be happy to look into it. from what you\nhave told me i think that it is possible that graver issues hang from\nit than might at first sight appear.”\n\n“grave enough!” said mr. jabez wilson. “why, i have lost four pound a\nweek.”\n\n“as far as you are personally concerned,” remarked holmes, “i do not\nsee that you have any grievance against this extraordinary league. on\nthe contrary, you are, as i understand, richer by some £ 30, to say\nnothing of the minute knowledge which you have gained on every subject\nwhich comes under the letter a. you have lost nothing by them.”\n\n“no, sir. but i want to find out about them, and who they are, and what\ntheir object was in playing this prank—if it was a prank—upon me. it\nwas a pretty expensive joke for them, for it cost them two and thirty\npounds.”\n\n“we shall endeavour to clear up these points for you. and, first, one\nor two questions, mr. wilson. this assistant of yours who first called\nyour attention to the advertisement—how long had he been with you?”\n\n“about a month then.”\n\n“how did he come?”\n\n“in answer to an advertisement.”\n\n“was he the only applicant?”\n\n“no, i had a dozen.”\n\n“why did you pick him?”\n\n“because he was handy and would come cheap.”\n\n“at half wages, in fact.”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“what is he like, this vincent spaulding?”\n\n“small, stout-built, very quick in his ways, no hair on his face,\nthough he’s not short of thirty. has a white splash of acid upon his\nforehead.”\n\nholmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement. “i thought as\nmuch,” said he. “have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for\nearrings?”\n\n“yes, sir. he told me that a gipsy had done it for him when he was a\nlad.”\n\n“hum!” said holmes, sinking back in deep thought. “he is still with\nyou?”\n\n“oh, yes, sir; i have only just left him.”\n\n“and has your business been attended to in your absence?”\n\n“nothing to complain of, sir. there’s never very much to do of a\nmorning.”\n\n“that will do, mr. wilson. i shall be happy to give you an opinion upon\nthe subject in the course of a day or two. to-day is saturday, and i\nhope that by monday we may come to a conclusion.”\n\n“well, watson,” said holmes when our visitor had left us, “what do you\nmake of it all?”\n\n“i make nothing of it,” i answered frankly. “it is a most mysterious\nbusiness.”\n\n“as a rule,” said holmes, “the more bizarre a thing is the less\nmysterious it proves to be. it is your commonplace, featureless crimes\nwhich are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most\ndifficult to identify. but i must be prompt over this matter.”\n\n“what are you going to do, then?” i asked.\n\n“to smoke,” he answered. “it is quite a three pipe problem, and i beg\nthat you won’t speak to me for fifty minutes.” he curled himself up in\nhis chair, with his thin knees drawn up to his hawk-like nose, and\nthere he sat with his eyes closed and his black clay pipe thrusting out\nlike the bill of some strange bird. i had come to the conclusion that\nhe had dropped asleep, and indeed was nodding myself, when he suddenly\nsprang out of his chair with the gesture of a man who has made up his\nmind and put his pipe down upon the mantelpiece.\n\n“sarasate plays at the st. james’s hall this afternoon,” he remarked.\n“what do you think, watson? could your patients spare you for a few\nhours?”\n\n“i have nothing to do to-day. my practice is never very absorbing.”\n\n“then put on your hat and come. i am going through the city first, and\nwe can have some lunch on the way. i observe that there is a good deal\nof german music on the programme, which is rather more to my taste than\nitalian or french. it is introspective, and i want to introspect. come\nalong!”\n\nwe travelled by the underground as far as aldersgate; and a short walk\ntook us to saxe-coburg square, the scene of the singular story which we\nhad listened to in the morning. it was a poky, little, shabby-genteel\nplace, where four lines of dingy two-storied brick houses looked out\ninto a small railed-in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few\nclumps of faded laurel bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden\nand uncongenial atmosphere. three gilt balls and a brown board with\n“jabez wilson” in white letters, upon a corner house, announced the\nplace where our red-headed client carried on his business. sherlock\nholmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side and looked it\nall over, with his eyes shining brightly between puckered lids. then he\nwalked slowly up the street, and then down again to the corner, still\nlooking keenly at the houses. finally he returned to the pawnbroker’s,\nand, having thumped vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or\nthree times, he went up to the door and knocked. it was instantly\nopened by a bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him to\nstep in.\n\n“thank you,” said holmes, “i only wished to ask you how you would go\nfrom here to the strand.”\n\n“third right, fourth left,” answered the assistant promptly, closing\nthe door.\n\n“smart fellow, that,” observed holmes as we walked away. “he is, in my\njudgment, the fourth smartest man in london, and for daring i am not\nsure that he has not a claim to be third. i have known something of him\nbefore.”\n\n“evidently,” said i, “mr. wilson’s assistant counts for a good deal in\nthis mystery of the red-headed league. i am sure that you inquired your\nway merely in order that you might see him.”\n\n“not him.”\n\n“what then?”\n\n“the knees of his trousers.”\n\n“and what did you see?”\n\n“what i expected to see.”\n\n“why did you beat the pavement?”\n\n“my dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. we are\nspies in an enemy’s country. we know something of saxe-coburg square.\nlet us now explore the parts which lie behind it.”\n\nthe road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner from\nthe retired saxe-coburg square presented as great a contrast to it as\nthe front of a picture does to the back. it was one of the main\narteries which conveyed the traffic of the city to the north and west.\nthe roadway was blocked with the immense stream of commerce flowing in\na double tide inward and outward, while the footpaths were black with\nthe hurrying swarm of pedestrians. it was difficult to realise as we\nlooked at the line of fine shops and stately business premises that\nthey really abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant\nsquare which we had just quitted.\n\n“let me see,” said holmes, standing at the corner and glancing along\nthe line, “i should like just to remember the order of the houses here.\nit is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of london. there is\nmortimer’s, the tobacconist, the little newspaper shop, the coburg\nbranch of the city and suburban bank, the vegetarian restaurant, and\nmcfarlane’s carriage-building depot. that carries us right on to the\nother block. and now, doctor, we’ve done our work, so it’s time we had\nsome play. a sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land,\nwhere all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no\nred-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums.”\n\nmy friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very\ncapable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit. all the\nafternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect happiness,\ngently waving his long, thin fingers in time to the music, while his\ngently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes were as unlike those\nof holmes the sleuth-hound, holmes the relentless, keen-witted,\nready-handed criminal agent, as it was possible to conceive. in his\nsingular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his\nextreme exactness and astuteness represented, as i have often thought,\nthe reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which\noccasionally predominated in him. the swing of his nature took him from\nextreme languor to devouring energy; and, as i knew well, he was never\nso truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been lounging in\nhis armchair amid his improvisations and his black-letter editions.\nthen it was that the lust of the chase would suddenly come upon him,\nand that his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the level of\nintuition, until those who were unacquainted with his methods would\nlook askance at him as on a man whose knowledge was not that of other\nmortals. when i saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at st.\njames’s hall i felt that an evil time might be coming upon those whom\nhe had set himself to hunt down.\n\n“you want to go home, no doubt, doctor,” he remarked as we emerged.\n\n“yes, it would be as well.”\n\n“and i have some business to do which will take some hours. this\nbusiness at coburg square is serious.”\n\n“why serious?”\n\n“a considerable crime is in contemplation. i have every reason to\nbelieve that we shall be in time to stop it. but to-day being saturday\nrather complicates matters. i shall want your help to-night.”\n\n“at what time?”\n\n“ten will be early enough.”\n\n“i shall be at baker street at ten.”\n\n“very well. and, i say, doctor, there may be some little danger, so\nkindly put your army revolver in your pocket.” he waved his hand,\nturned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the crowd.\n\ni trust that i am not more dense than my neighbours, but i was always\noppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with sherlock\nholmes. here i had heard what he had heard, i had seen what he had\nseen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not\nonly what had happened but what was about to happen, while to me the\nwhole business was still confused and grotesque. as i drove home to my\nhouse in kensington i thought over it all, from the extraordinary story\nof the red-headed copier of the _encyclopædia_ down to the visit to\nsaxe-coburg square, and the ominous words with which he had parted from\nme. what was this nocturnal expedition, and why should i go armed?\nwhere were we going, and what were we to do? i had the hint from holmes\nthat this smooth-faced pawnbroker’s assistant was a formidable man—a\nman who might play a deep game. i tried to puzzle it out, but gave it\nup in despair and set the matter aside until night should bring an\nexplanation.\n\nit was a quarter-past nine when i started from home and made my way\nacross the park, and so through oxford street to baker street. two\nhansoms were standing at the door, and as i entered the passage i heard\nthe sound of voices from above. on entering his room, i found holmes in\nanimated conversation with two men, one of whom i recognised as peter\njones, the official police agent, while the other was a long, thin,\nsad-faced man, with a very shiny hat and oppressively respectable\nfrock-coat.\n\n“ha! our party is complete,” said holmes, buttoning up his pea-jacket\nand taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. “watson, i think you\nknow mr. jones, of scotland yard? let me introduce you to mr.\nmerryweather, who is to be our companion in to-night’s adventure.”\n\n“we’re hunting in couples again, doctor, you see,” said jones in his\nconsequential way. “our friend here is a wonderful man for starting a\nchase. all he wants is an old dog to help him to do the running down.”\n\n“i hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our chase,”\nobserved mr. merryweather gloomily.\n\n“you may place considerable confidence in mr. holmes, sir,” said the\npolice agent loftily. “he has his own little methods, which are, if he\nwon’t mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic,\nbut he has the makings of a detective in him. it is not too much to say\nthat once or twice, as in that business of the sholto murder and the\nagra treasure, he has been more nearly correct than the official\nforce.”\n\n“oh, if you say so, mr. jones, it is all right,” said the stranger with\ndeference. “still, i confess that i miss my rubber. it is the first\nsaturday night for seven-and-twenty years that i have not had my\nrubber.”\n\n“i think you will find,” said sherlock holmes, “that you will play for\na higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet, and that the play\nwill be more exciting. for you, mr. merryweather, the stake will be\nsome £ 30,000; and for you, jones, it will be the man upon whom you\nwish to lay your hands.”\n\n“john clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. he’s a young man,\nmr. merryweather, but he is at the head of his profession, and i would\nrather have my bracelets on him than on any criminal in london. he’s a\nremarkable man, is young john clay. his grandfather was a royal duke,\nand he himself has been to eton and oxford. his brain is as cunning as\nhis fingers, and though we meet signs of him at every turn, we never\nknow where to find the man himself. he’ll crack a crib in scotland one\nweek, and be raising money to build an orphanage in cornwall the next.\ni’ve been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him yet.”\n\n“i hope that i may have the pleasure of introducing you to-night. i’ve\nhad one or two little turns also with mr. john clay, and i agree with\nyou that he is at the head of his profession. it is past ten, however,\nand quite time that we started. if you two will take the first hansom,\nwatson and i will follow in the second.”\n\nsherlock holmes was not very communicative during the long drive and\nlay back in the cab humming the tunes which he had heard in the\nafternoon. we rattled through an endless labyrinth of gas-lit streets\nuntil we emerged into farrington street.\n\n“we are close there now,” my friend remarked. “this fellow merryweather\nis a bank director, and personally interested in the matter. i thought\nit as well to have jones with us also. he is not a bad fellow, though\nan absolute imbecile in his profession. he has one positive virtue. he\nis as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious as a lobster if he gets his\nclaws upon anyone. here we are, and they are waiting for us.”\n\nwe had reached the same crowded thoroughfare in which we had found\nourselves in the morning. our cabs were dismissed, and, following the\nguidance of mr. merryweather, we passed down a narrow passage and\nthrough a side door, which he opened for us. within there was a small\ncorridor, which ended in a very massive iron gate. this also was\nopened, and led down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated\nat another formidable gate. mr. merryweather stopped to light a\nlantern, and then conducted us down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and\nso, after opening a third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which was\npiled all round with crates and massive boxes.\n\n“you are not very vulnerable from above,” holmes remarked as he held up\nthe lantern and gazed about him.\n\n“nor from below,” said mr. merryweather, striking his stick upon the\nflags which lined the floor. “why, dear me, it sounds quite hollow!” he\nremarked, looking up in surprise.\n\n“i must really ask you to be a little more quiet!” said holmes\nseverely. “you have already imperilled the whole success of our\nexpedition. might i beg that you would have the goodness to sit down\nupon one of those boxes, and not to interfere?”\n\nthe solemn mr. merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a very\ninjured expression upon his face, while holmes fell upon his knees upon\nthe floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens, began to examine\nminutely the cracks between the stones. a few seconds sufficed to\nsatisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again and put his glass in his\npocket.\n\n“we have at least an hour before us,” he remarked, “for they can hardly\ntake any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed. then they\nwill not lose a minute, for the sooner they do their work the longer\ntime they will have for their escape. we are at present, doctor—as no\ndoubt you have divined—in the cellar of the city branch of one of the\nprincipal london banks. mr. merryweather is the chairman of directors,\nand he will explain to you that there are reasons why the more daring\ncriminals of london should take a considerable interest in this cellar\nat present.”\n\n“it is our french gold,” whispered the director. “we have had several\nwarnings that an attempt might be made upon it.”\n\n“your french gold?”\n\n“yes. we had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources and\nborrowed for that purpose 30,000 napoleons from the bank of france. it\nhas become known that we have never had occasion to unpack the money,\nand that it is still lying in our cellar. the crate upon which i sit\ncontains 2,000 napoleons packed between layers of lead foil. our\nreserve of bullion is much larger at present than is usually kept in a\nsingle branch office, and the directors have had misgivings upon the\nsubject.”\n\n“which were very well justified,” observed holmes. “and now it is time\nthat we arranged our little plans. i expect that within an hour matters\nwill come to a head. in the meantime mr. merryweather, we must put the\nscreen over that dark lantern.”\n\n“and sit in the dark?”\n\n“i am afraid so. i had brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and i\nthought that, as we were a _partie carrée_, you might have your rubber\nafter all. but i see that the enemy’s preparations have gone so far\nthat we cannot risk the presence of a light. and, first of all, we must\nchoose our positions. these are daring men, and though we shall take\nthem at a disadvantage, they may do us some harm unless we are careful.\ni shall stand behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind\nthose. then, when i flash a light upon them, close in swiftly. if they\nfire, watson, have no compunction about shooting them down.”\n\ni placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden case behind\nwhich i crouched. holmes shot the slide across the front of his lantern\nand left us in pitch darkness—such an absolute darkness as i have never\nbefore experienced. the smell of hot metal remained to assure us that\nthe light was still there, ready to flash out at a moment’s notice. to\nme, with my nerves worked up to a pitch of expectancy, there was\nsomething depressing and subduing in the sudden gloom, and in the cold\ndank air of the vault.\n\n“they have but one retreat,” whispered holmes. “that is back through\nthe house into saxe-coburg square. i hope that you have done what i\nasked you, jones?”\n\n“i have an inspector and two officers waiting at the front door.”\n\n“then we have stopped all the holes. and now we must be silent and\nwait.”\n\nwhat a time it seemed! from comparing notes afterwards it was but an\nhour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the night must have\nalmost gone, and the dawn be breaking above us. my limbs were weary and\nstiff, for i feared to change my position; yet my nerves were worked up\nto the highest pitch of tension, and my hearing was so acute that i\ncould not only hear the gentle breathing of my companions, but i could\ndistinguish the deeper, heavier in-breath of the bulky jones from the\nthin, sighing note of the bank director. from my position i could look\nover the case in the direction of the floor. suddenly my eyes caught\nthe glint of a light.\n\nat first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement. then it\nlengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then, without any\nwarning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a hand appeared, a white,\nalmost womanly hand, which felt about in the centre of the little area\nof light. for a minute or more the hand, with its writhing fingers,\nprotruded out of the floor. then it was withdrawn as suddenly as it\nappeared, and all was dark again save the single lurid spark which\nmarked a chink between the stones.\n\nits disappearance, however, was but momentary. with a rending, tearing\nsound, one of the broad, white stones turned over upon its side and\nleft a square, gaping hole, through which streamed the light of a\nlantern. over the edge there peeped a clean-cut, boyish face, which\nlooked keenly about it, and then, with a hand on either side of the\naperture, drew itself shoulder-high and waist-high, until one knee\nrested upon the edge. in another instant he stood at the side of the\nhole and was hauling after him a companion, lithe and small like\nhimself, with a pale face and a shock of very red hair.\n\n“it’s all clear,” he whispered. “have you the chisel and the bags?\ngreat scott! jump, archie, jump, and i’ll swing for it!”\n\nsherlock holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar.\nthe other dived down the hole, and i heard the sound of rending cloth\nas jones clutched at his skirts. the light flashed upon the barrel of a\nrevolver, but holmes’ hunting crop came down on the man’s wrist, and\nthe pistol clinked upon the stone floor.\n\n“it’s no use, john clay,” said holmes blandly. “you have no chance at\nall.”\n\n“so i see,” the other answered with the utmost coolness. “i fancy that\nmy pal is all right, though i see you have got his coat-tails.”\n\n“there are three men waiting for him at the door,” said holmes.\n\n“oh, indeed! you seem to have done the thing very completely. i must\ncompliment you.”\n\n“and i you,” holmes answered. “your red-headed idea was very new and\neffective.”\n\n“you’ll see your pal again presently,” said jones. “he’s quicker at\nclimbing down holes than i am. just hold out while i fix the derbies.”\n\n“i beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands,” remarked our\nprisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists. “you may not be\naware that i have royal blood in my veins. have the goodness, also,\nwhen you address me always to say ‘sir’ and ‘please.’”\n\n“all right,” said jones with a stare and a snigger. “well, would you\nplease, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry your\nhighness to the police-station?”\n\n“that is better,” said john clay serenely. he made a sweeping bow to\nthe three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the detective.\n\n“really, mr. holmes,” said mr. merryweather as we followed them from\nthe cellar, “i do not know how the bank can thank you or repay you.\nthere is no doubt that you have detected and defeated in the most\ncomplete manner one of the most determined attempts at bank robbery\nthat have ever come within my experience.”\n\n“i have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with mr. john\nclay,” said holmes. “i have been at some small expense over this\nmatter, which i shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond that i am\namply repaid by having had an experience which is in many ways unique,\nand by hearing the very remarkable narrative of the red-headed league.”\n\n“you see, watson,” he explained in the early hours of the morning as we\nsat over a glass of whisky and soda in baker street, “it was perfectly\nobvious from the first that the only possible object of this rather\nfantastic business of the advertisement of the league, and the copying\nof the _encyclopædia_, must be to get this not over-bright pawnbroker\nout of the way for a number of hours every day. it was a curious way of\nmanaging it, but, really, it would be difficult to suggest a better.\nthe method was no doubt suggested to clay’s ingenious mind by the\ncolour of his accomplice’s hair. the £ 4 a week was a lure which must\ndraw him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands? they\nput in the advertisement, one rogue has the temporary office, the other\nrogue incites the man to apply for it, and together they manage to\nsecure his absence every morning in the week. from the time that i\nheard of the assistant having come for half wages, it was obvious to me\nthat he had some strong motive for securing the situation.”\n\n“but how could you guess what the motive was?”\n\n“had there been women in the house, i should have suspected a mere\nvulgar intrigue. that, however, was out of the question. the man’s\nbusiness was a small one, and there was nothing in his house which\ncould account for such elaborate preparations, and such an expenditure\nas they were at. it must, then, be something out of the house. what\ncould it be? i thought of the assistant’s fondness for photography, and\nhis trick of vanishing into the cellar. the cellar! there was the end\nof this tangled clue. then i made inquiries as to this mysterious\nassistant and found that i had to deal with one of the coolest and most\ndaring criminals in london. he was doing something in the\ncellar—something which took many hours a day for months on end. what\ncould it be, once more? i could think of nothing save that he was\nrunning a tunnel to some other building.\n\n“so far i had got when we went to visit the scene of action. i\nsurprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick. i was\nascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind. it\nwas not in front. then i rang the bell, and, as i hoped, the assistant\nanswered it. we have had some skirmishes, but we had never set eyes\nupon each other before. i hardly looked at his face. his knees were\nwhat i wished to see. you must yourself have remarked how worn,\nwrinkled, and stained they were. they spoke of those hours of\nburrowing. the only remaining point was what they were burrowing for. i\nwalked round the corner, saw the city and suburban bank abutted on our\nfriend’s premises, and felt that i had solved my problem. when you\ndrove home after the concert i called upon scotland yard and upon the\nchairman of the bank directors, with the result that you have seen.”\n\n“and how could you tell that they would make their attempt to-night?” i\nasked.\n\n“well, when they closed their league offices that was a sign that they\ncared no longer about mr. jabez wilson’s presence—in other words, that\nthey had completed their tunnel. but it was essential that they should\nuse it soon, as it might be discovered, or the bullion might be\nremoved. saturday would suit them better than any other day, as it\nwould give them two days for their escape. for all these reasons i\nexpected them to come to-night.”\n\n“you reasoned it out beautifully,” i exclaimed in unfeigned admiration.\n“it is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true.”\n\n“it saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning. “alas! i already feel\nit closing in upon me. my life is spent in one long effort to escape\nfrom the commonplaces of existence. these little problems help me to do\nso.”\n\n“and you are a benefactor of the race,” said i.\n\nhe shrugged his shoulders. “well, perhaps, after all, it is of some\nlittle use,” he remarked. “‘_l’homme c’est rien—l’œuvre c’est tout_,’\nas gustave flaubert wrote to george sand.”\n\n\n\niii. a case of identity\n\n“my dear fellow,” said sherlock holmes as we sat on either side of the\nfire in his lodgings at baker street, “life is infinitely stranger than\nanything which the mind of man could invent. we would not dare to\nconceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. if\nwe could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great\ncity, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which\nare going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the\ncross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through\ngenerations, and leading to the most _outré_ results, it would make all\nfiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale\nand unprofitable.”\n\n“and yet i am not convinced of it,” i answered. “the cases which come\nto light in the papers are, as a rule, bald enough, and vulgar enough.\nwe have in our police reports realism pushed to its extreme limits, and\nyet the result is, it must be confessed, neither fascinating nor\nartistic.”\n\n“a certain selection and discretion must be used in producing a\nrealistic effect,” remarked holmes. “this is wanting in the police\nreport, where more stress is laid, perhaps, upon the platitudes of the\nmagistrate than upon the details, which to an observer contain the\nvital essence of the whole matter. depend upon it, there is nothing so\nunnatural as the commonplace.”\n\ni smiled and shook my head. “i can quite understand your thinking so,”\ni said. “of course, in your position of unofficial adviser and helper\nto everybody who is absolutely puzzled, throughout three continents,\nyou are brought in contact with all that is strange and bizarre. but\nhere”—i picked up the morning paper from the ground—“let us put it to a\npractical test. here is the first heading upon which i come. ‘a\nhusband’s cruelty to his wife.’ there is half a column of print, but i\nknow without reading it that it is all perfectly familiar to me. there\nis, of course, the other woman, the drink, the push, the blow, the\nbruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. the crudest of writers\ncould invent nothing more crude.”\n\n“indeed, your example is an unfortunate one for your argument,” said\nholmes, taking the paper and glancing his eye down it. “this is the\ndundas separation case, and, as it happens, i was engaged in clearing\nup some small points in connection with it. the husband was a\nteetotaler, there was no other woman, and the conduct complained of was\nthat he had drifted into the habit of winding up every meal by taking\nout his false teeth and hurling them at his wife, which, you will\nallow, is not an action likely to occur to the imagination of the\naverage story-teller. take a pinch of snuff, doctor, and acknowledge\nthat i have scored over you in your example.”\n\nhe held out his snuffbox of old gold, with a great amethyst in the\ncentre of the lid. its splendour was in such contrast to his homely\nways and simple life that i could not help commenting upon it.\n\n“ah,” said he, “i forgot that i had not seen you for some weeks. it is\na little souvenir from the king of bohemia in return for my assistance\nin the case of the irene adler papers.”\n\n“and the ring?” i asked, glancing at a remarkable brilliant which\nsparkled upon his finger.\n\n“it was from the reigning family of holland, though the matter in which\ni served them was of such delicacy that i cannot confide it even to\nyou, who have been good enough to chronicle one or two of my little\nproblems.”\n\n“and have you any on hand just now?” i asked with interest.\n\n“some ten or twelve, but none which present any feature of interest.\nthey are important, you understand, without being interesting. indeed,\ni have found that it is usually in unimportant matters that there is a\nfield for the observation, and for the quick analysis of cause and\neffect which gives the charm to an investigation. the larger crimes are\napt to be the simpler, for the bigger the crime the more obvious, as a\nrule, is the motive. in these cases, save for one rather intricate\nmatter which has been referred to me from marseilles, there is nothing\nwhich presents any features of interest. it is possible, however, that\ni may have something better before very many minutes are over, for this\nis one of my clients, or i am much mistaken.”\n\nhe had risen from his chair and was standing between the parted blinds\ngazing down into the dull neutral-tinted london street. looking over\nhis shoulder, i saw that on the pavement opposite there stood a large\nwoman with a heavy fur boa round her neck, and a large curling red\nfeather in a broad-brimmed hat which was tilted in a coquettish duchess\nof devonshire fashion over her ear. from under this great panoply she\npeeped up in a nervous, hesitating fashion at our windows, while her\nbody oscillated backward and forward, and her fingers fidgeted with her\nglove buttons. suddenly, with a plunge, as of the swimmer who leaves\nthe bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp clang of\nthe bell.\n\n“i have seen those symptoms before,” said holmes, throwing his\ncigarette into the fire. “oscillation upon the pavement always means an\n_affaire de cœur_. she would like advice, but is not sure that the\nmatter is not too delicate for communication. and yet even here we may\ndiscriminate. when a woman has been seriously wronged by a man she no\nlonger oscillates, and the usual symptom is a broken bell wire. here we\nmay take it that there is a love matter, but that the maiden is not so\nmuch angry as perplexed, or grieved. but here she comes in person to\nresolve our doubts.”\n\nas he spoke there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons entered\nto announce miss mary sutherland, while the lady herself loomed behind\nhis small black figure like a full-sailed merchant-man behind a tiny\npilot boat. sherlock holmes welcomed her with the easy courtesy for\nwhich he was remarkable, and, having closed the door and bowed her into\nan armchair, he looked her over in the minute and yet abstracted\nfashion which was peculiar to him.\n\n“do you not find,” he said, “that with your short sight it is a little\ntrying to do so much typewriting?”\n\n“i did at first,” she answered, “but now i know where the letters are\nwithout looking.” then, suddenly realising the full purport of his\nwords, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fear and\nastonishment upon her broad, good-humoured face. “you’ve heard about\nme, mr. holmes,” she cried, “else how could you know all that?”\n\n“never mind,” said holmes, laughing; “it is my business to know things.\nperhaps i have trained myself to see what others overlook. if not, why\nshould you come to consult me?”\n\n“i came to you, sir, because i heard of you from mrs. etherege, whose\nhusband you found so easy when the police and everyone had given him up\nfor dead. oh, mr. holmes, i wish you would do as much for me. i’m not\nrich, but still i have a hundred a year in my own right, besides the\nlittle that i make by the machine, and i would give it all to know what\nhas become of mr. hosmer angel.”\n\n“why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?” asked sherlock\nholmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes to the ceiling.\n\nagain a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of miss mary\nsutherland. “yes, i did bang out of the house,” she said, “for it made\nme angry to see the easy way in which mr. windibank—that is, my\nfather—took it all. he would not go to the police, and he would not go\nto you, and so at last, as he would do nothing and kept on saying that\nthere was no harm done, it made me mad, and i just on with my things\nand came right away to you.”\n\n“your father,” said holmes, “your stepfather, surely, since the name is\ndifferent.”\n\n“yes, my stepfather. i call him father, though it sounds funny, too,\nfor he is only five years and two months older than myself.”\n\n“and your mother is alive?”\n\n“oh, yes, mother is alive and well. i wasn’t best pleased, mr. holmes,\nwhen she married again so soon after father’s death, and a man who was\nnearly fifteen years younger than herself. father was a plumber in the\ntottenham court road, and he left a tidy business behind him, which\nmother carried on with mr. hardy, the foreman; but when mr. windibank\ncame he made her sell the business, for he was very superior, being a\ntraveller in wines. they got £ 4700 for the goodwill and interest,\nwhich wasn’t near as much as father could have got if he had been\nalive.”\n\ni had expected to see sherlock holmes impatient under this rambling and\ninconsequential narrative, but, on the contrary, he had listened with\nthe greatest concentration of attention.\n\n“your own little income,” he asked, “does it come out of the business?”\n\n“oh, no, sir. it is quite separate and was left me by my uncle ned in\nauckland. it is in new zealand stock, paying 4½ per cent. two thousand\nfive hundred pounds was the amount, but i can only touch the interest.”\n\n“you interest me extremely,” said holmes. “and since you draw so large\na sum as a hundred a year, with what you earn into the bargain, you no\ndoubt travel a little and indulge yourself in every way. i believe that\na single lady can get on very nicely upon an income of about £ 60.”\n\n“i could do with much less than that, mr. holmes, but you understand\nthat as long as i live at home i don’t wish to be a burden to them, and\nso they have the use of the money just while i am staying with them. of\ncourse, that is only just for the time. mr. windibank draws my interest\nevery quarter and pays it over to mother, and i find that i can do\npretty well with what i earn at typewriting. it brings me twopence a\nsheet, and i can often do from fifteen to twenty sheets in a day.”\n\n“you have made your position very clear to me,” said holmes. “this is\nmy friend, dr. watson, before whom you can speak as freely as before\nmyself. kindly tell us now all about your connection with mr. hosmer\nangel.”\n\na flush stole over miss sutherland’s face, and she picked nervously at\nthe fringe of her jacket. “i met him first at the gasfitters’ ball,”\nshe said. “they used to send father tickets when he was alive, and then\nafterwards they remembered us, and sent them to mother. mr. windibank\ndid not wish us to go. he never did wish us to go anywhere. he would\nget quite mad if i wanted so much as to join a sunday-school treat. but\nthis time i was set on going, and i would go; for what right had he to\nprevent? he said the folk were not fit for us to know, when all\nfather’s friends were to be there. and he said that i had nothing fit\nto wear, when i had my purple plush that i had never so much as taken\nout of the drawer. at last, when nothing else would do, he went off to\nfrance upon the business of the firm, but we went, mother and i, with\nmr. hardy, who used to be our foreman, and it was there i met mr.\nhosmer angel.”\n\n“i suppose,” said holmes, “that when mr. windibank came back from\nfrance he was very annoyed at your having gone to the ball.”\n\n“oh, well, he was very good about it. he laughed, i remember, and\nshrugged his shoulders, and said there was no use denying anything to a\nwoman, for she would have her way.”\n\n“i see. then at the gasfitters’ ball you met, as i understand, a\ngentleman called mr. hosmer angel.”\n\n“yes, sir. i met him that night, and he called next day to ask if we\nhad got home all safe, and after that we met him—that is to say, mr.\nholmes, i met him twice for walks, but after that father came back\nagain, and mr. hosmer angel could not come to the house any more.”\n\n“no?”\n\n“well, you know father didn’t like anything of the sort. he wouldn’t\nhave any visitors if he could help it, and he used to say that a woman\nshould be happy in her own family circle. but then, as i used to say to\nmother, a woman wants her own circle to begin with, and i had not got\nmine yet.”\n\n“but how about mr. hosmer angel? did he make no attempt to see you?”\n\n“well, father was going off to france again in a week, and hosmer wrote\nand said that it would be safer and better not to see each other until\nhe had gone. we could write in the meantime, and he used to write every\nday. i took the letters in in the morning, so there was no need for\nfather to know.”\n\n“were you engaged to the gentleman at this time?”\n\n“oh, yes, mr. holmes. we were engaged after the first walk that we\ntook. hosmer—mr. angel—was a cashier in an office in leadenhall\nstreet—and—”\n\n“what office?”\n\n“that’s the worst of it, mr. holmes, i don’t know.”\n\n“where did he live, then?”\n\n“he slept on the premises.”\n\n“and you don’t know his address?”\n\n“no—except that it was leadenhall street.”\n\n“where did you address your letters, then?”\n\n“to the leadenhall street post office, to be left till called for. he\nsaid that if they were sent to the office he would be chaffed by all\nthe other clerks about having letters from a lady, so i offered to\ntypewrite them, like he did his, but he wouldn’t have that, for he said\nthat when i wrote them they seemed to come from me, but when they were\ntypewritten he always felt that the machine had come between us. that\nwill just show you how fond he was of me, mr. holmes, and the little\nthings that he would think of.”\n\n“it was most suggestive,” said holmes. “it has long been an axiom of\nmine that the little things are infinitely the most important. can you\nremember any other little things about mr. hosmer angel?”\n\n“he was a very shy man, mr. holmes. he would rather walk with me in the\nevening than in the daylight, for he said that he hated to be\nconspicuous. very retiring and gentlemanly he was. even his voice was\ngentle. he’d had the quinsy and swollen glands when he was young, he\ntold me, and it had left him with a weak throat, and a hesitating,\nwhispering fashion of speech. he was always well dressed, very neat and\nplain, but his eyes were weak, just as mine are, and he wore tinted\nglasses against the glare.”\n\n“well, and what happened when mr. windibank, your stepfather, returned\nto france?”\n\n“mr. hosmer angel came to the house again and proposed that we should\nmarry before father came back. he was in dreadful earnest and made me\nswear, with my hands on the testament, that whatever happened i would\nalways be true to him. mother said he was quite right to make me swear,\nand that it was a sign of his passion. mother was all in his favour\nfrom the first and was even fonder of him than i was. then, when they\ntalked of marrying within the week, i began to ask about father; but\nthey both said never to mind about father, but just to tell him\nafterwards, and mother said she would make it all right with him. i\ndidn’t quite like that, mr. holmes. it seemed funny that i should ask\nhis leave, as he was only a few years older than me; but i didn’t want\nto do anything on the sly, so i wrote to father at bordeaux, where the\ncompany has its french offices, but the letter came back to me on the\nvery morning of the wedding.”\n\n“it missed him, then?”\n\n“yes, sir; for he had started to england just before it arrived.”\n\n“ha! that was unfortunate. your wedding was arranged, then, for the\nfriday. was it to be in church?”\n\n“yes, sir, but very quietly. it was to be at st. saviour’s, near king’s\ncross, and we were to have breakfast afterwards at the st. pancras\nhotel. hosmer came for us in a hansom, but as there were two of us he\nput us both into it and stepped himself into a four-wheeler, which\nhappened to be the only other cab in the street. we got to the church\nfirst, and when the four-wheeler drove up we waited for him to step\nout, but he never did, and when the cabman got down from the box and\nlooked there was no one there! the cabman said that he could not\nimagine what had become of him, for he had seen him get in with his own\neyes. that was last friday, mr. holmes, and i have never seen or heard\nanything since then to throw any light upon what became of him.”\n\n“it seems to me that you have been very shamefully treated,” said\nholmes.\n\n“oh, no, sir! he was too good and kind to leave me so. why, all the\nmorning he was saying to me that, whatever happened, i was to be true;\nand that even if something quite unforeseen occurred to separate us, i\nwas always to remember that i was pledged to him, and that he would\nclaim his pledge sooner or later. it seemed strange talk for a\nwedding-morning, but what has happened since gives a meaning to it.”\n\n“most certainly it does. your own opinion is, then, that some\nunforeseen catastrophe has occurred to him?”\n\n“yes, sir. i believe that he foresaw some danger, or else he would not\nhave talked so. and then i think that what he foresaw happened.”\n\n“but you have no notion as to what it could have been?”\n\n“none.”\n\n“one more question. how did your mother take the matter?”\n\n“she was angry, and said that i was never to speak of the matter\nagain.”\n\n“and your father? did you tell him?”\n\n“yes; and he seemed to think, with me, that something had happened, and\nthat i should hear of hosmer again. as he said, what interest could\nanyone have in bringing me to the doors of the church, and then leaving\nme? now, if he had borrowed my money, or if he had married me and got\nmy money settled on him, there might be some reason, but hosmer was\nvery independent about money and never would look at a shilling of\nmine. and yet, what could have happened? and why could he not write?\noh, it drives me half-mad to think of it, and i can’t sleep a wink at\nnight.” she pulled a little handkerchief out of her muff and began to\nsob heavily into it.\n\n“i shall glance into the case for you,” said holmes, rising, “and i\nhave no doubt that we shall reach some definite result. let the weight\nof the matter rest upon me now, and do not let your mind dwell upon it\nfurther. above all, try to let mr. hosmer angel vanish from your\nmemory, as he has done from your life.”\n\n“then you don’t think i’ll see him again?”\n\n“i fear not.”\n\n“then what has happened to him?”\n\n“you will leave that question in my hands. i should like an accurate\ndescription of him and any letters of his which you can spare.”\n\n“i advertised for him in last saturday’s _chronicle_,” said she. “here\nis the slip and here are four letters from him.”\n\n“thank you. and your address?”\n\n“no. 31 lyon place, camberwell.”\n\n“mr. angel’s address you never had, i understand. where is your\nfather’s place of business?”\n\n“he travels for westhouse & marbank, the great claret importers of\nfenchurch street.”\n\n“thank you. you have made your statement very clearly. you will leave\nthe papers here, and remember the advice which i have given you. let\nthe whole incident be a sealed book, and do not allow it to affect your\nlife.”\n\n“you are very kind, mr. holmes, but i cannot do that. i shall be true\nto hosmer. he shall find me ready when he comes back.”\n\nfor all the preposterous hat and the vacuous face, there was something\nnoble in the simple faith of our visitor which compelled our respect.\nshe laid her little bundle of papers upon the table and went her way,\nwith a promise to come again whenever she might be summoned.\n\nsherlock holmes sat silent for a few minutes with his fingertips still\npressed together, his legs stretched out in front of him, and his gaze\ndirected upward to the ceiling. then he took down from the rack the old\nand oily clay pipe, which was to him as a counsellor, and, having lit\nit, he leaned back in his chair, with the thick blue cloud-wreaths\nspinning up from him, and a look of infinite languor in his face.\n\n“quite an interesting study, that maiden,” he observed. “i found her\nmore interesting than her little problem, which, by the way, is rather\na trite one. you will find parallel cases, if you consult my index, in\nandover in ’77, and there was something of the sort at the hague last\nyear. old as is the idea, however, there were one or two details which\nwere new to me. but the maiden herself was most instructive.”\n\n“you appeared to read a good deal upon her which was quite invisible to\nme,” i remarked.\n\n“not invisible but unnoticed, watson. you did not know where to look,\nand so you missed all that was important. i can never bring you to\nrealise the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumb-nails,\nor the great issues that may hang from a boot-lace. now, what did you\ngather from that woman’s appearance? describe it.”\n\n“well, she had a slate-coloured, broad-brimmed straw hat, with a\nfeather of a brickish red. her jacket was black, with black beads sewn\nupon it, and a fringe of little black jet ornaments. her dress was\nbrown, rather darker than coffee colour, with a little purple plush at\nthe neck and sleeves. her gloves were greyish and were worn through at\nthe right forefinger. her boots i didn’t observe. she had small round,\nhanging gold earrings, and a general air of being fairly well-to-do in\na vulgar, comfortable, easy-going way.”\n\nsherlock holmes clapped his hands softly together and chuckled.\n\n“’pon my word, watson, you are coming along wonderfully. you have\nreally done very well indeed. it is true that you have missed\neverything of importance, but you have hit upon the method, and you\nhave a quick eye for colour. never trust to general impressions, my\nboy, but concentrate yourself upon details. my first glance is always\nat a woman’s sleeve. in a man it is perhaps better first to take the\nknee of the trouser. as you observe, this woman had plush upon her\nsleeves, which is a most useful material for showing traces. the double\nline a little above the wrist, where the typewritist presses against\nthe table, was beautifully defined. the sewing-machine, of the hand\ntype, leaves a similar mark, but only on the left arm, and on the side\nof it farthest from the thumb, instead of being right across the\nbroadest part, as this was. i then glanced at her face, and, observing\nthe dint of a pince-nez at either side of her nose, i ventured a remark\nupon short sight and typewriting, which seemed to surprise her.”\n\n“it surprised me.”\n\n“but, surely, it was obvious. i was then much surprised and interested\non glancing down to observe that, though the boots which she was\nwearing were not unlike each other, they were really odd ones; the one\nhaving a slightly decorated toe-cap, and the other a plain one. one was\nbuttoned only in the two lower buttons out of five, and the other at\nthe first, third, and fifth. now, when you see that a young lady,\notherwise neatly dressed, has come away from home with odd boots,\nhalf-buttoned, it is no great deduction to say that she came away in a\nhurry.”\n\n“and what else?” i asked, keenly interested, as i always was, by my\nfriend’s incisive reasoning.\n\n“i noted, in passing, that she had written a note before leaving home\nbut after being fully dressed. you observed that her right glove was\ntorn at the forefinger, but you did not apparently see that both glove\nand finger were stained with violet ink. she had written in a hurry and\ndipped her pen too deep. it must have been this morning, or the mark\nwould not remain clear upon the finger. all this is amusing, though\nrather elementary, but i must go back to business, watson. would you\nmind reading me the advertised description of mr. hosmer angel?”\n\ni held the little printed slip to the light. “missing,” it said, “on\nthe morning of the fourteenth, a gentleman named hosmer angel. about\nfive ft. seven in. in height; strongly built, sallow complexion, black\nhair, a little bald in the centre, bushy, black side-whiskers and\nmoustache; tinted glasses, slight infirmity of speech. was dressed,\nwhen last seen, in black frock-coat faced with silk, black waistcoat,\ngold albert chain, and grey harris tweed trousers, with brown gaiters\nover elastic-sided boots. known to have been employed in an office in\nleadenhall street. anybody bringing,” &c, &c.\n\n“that will do,” said holmes. “as to the letters,” he continued,\nglancing over them, “they are very commonplace. absolutely no clue in\nthem to mr. angel, save that he quotes balzac once. there is one\nremarkable point, however, which will no doubt strike you.”\n\n“they are typewritten,” i remarked.\n\n“not only that, but the signature is typewritten. look at the neat\nlittle ‘hosmer angel’ at the bottom. there is a date, you see, but no\nsuperscription except leadenhall street, which is rather vague. the\npoint about the signature is very suggestive—in fact, we may call it\nconclusive.”\n\n“of what?”\n\n“my dear fellow, is it possible you do not see how strongly it bears\nupon the case?”\n\n“i cannot say that i do unless it were that he wished to be able to\ndeny his signature if an action for breach of promise were instituted.”\n\n“no, that was not the point. however, i shall write two letters, which\nshould settle the matter. one is to a firm in the city, the other is to\nthe young lady’s stepfather, mr. windibank, asking him whether he could\nmeet us here at six o’clock to-morrow evening. it is just as well that\nwe should do business with the male relatives. and now, doctor, we can\ndo nothing until the answers to those letters come, so we may put our\nlittle problem upon the shelf for the interim.”\n\ni had had so many reasons to believe in my friend’s subtle powers of\nreasoning and extraordinary energy in action that i felt that he must\nhave some solid grounds for the assured and easy demeanour with which\nhe treated the singular mystery which he had been called upon to\nfathom. once only had i known him to fail, in the case of the king of\nbohemia and of the irene adler photograph; but when i looked back to\nthe weird business of the sign of four, and the extraordinary\ncircumstances connected with the study in scarlet, i felt that it would\nbe a strange tangle indeed which he could not unravel.\n\ni left him then, still puffing at his black clay pipe, with the\nconviction that when i came again on the next evening i would find that\nhe held in his hands all the clues which would lead up to the identity\nof the disappearing bridegroom of miss mary sutherland.\n\na professional case of great gravity was engaging my own attention at\nthe time, and the whole of next day i was busy at the bedside of the\nsufferer. it was not until close upon six o’clock that i found myself\nfree and was able to spring into a hansom and drive to baker street,\nhalf afraid that i might be too late to assist at the _dénouement_ of\nthe little mystery. i found sherlock holmes alone, however, half\nasleep, with his long, thin form curled up in the recesses of his\narmchair. a formidable array of bottles and test-tubes, with the\npungent cleanly smell of hydrochloric acid, told me that he had spent\nhis day in the chemical work which was so dear to him.\n\n“well, have you solved it?” i asked as i entered.\n\n“yes. it was the bisulphate of baryta.”\n\n“no, no, the mystery!” i cried.\n\n“oh, that! i thought of the salt that i have been working upon. there\nwas never any mystery in the matter, though, as i said yesterday, some\nof the details are of interest. the only drawback is that there is no\nlaw, i fear, that can touch the scoundrel.”\n\n“who was he, then, and what was his object in deserting miss\nsutherland?”\n\nthe question was hardly out of my mouth, and holmes had not yet opened\nhis lips to reply, when we heard a heavy footfall in the passage and a\ntap at the door.\n\n“this is the girl’s stepfather, mr. james windibank,” said holmes. “he\nhas written to me to say that he would be here at six. come in!”\n\nthe man who entered was a sturdy, middle-sized fellow, some thirty\nyears of age, clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a bland,\ninsinuating manner, and a pair of wonderfully sharp and penetrating\ngrey eyes. he shot a questioning glance at each of us, placed his shiny\ntop-hat upon the sideboard, and with a slight bow sidled down into the\nnearest chair.\n\n“good-evening, mr. james windibank,” said holmes. “i think that this\ntypewritten letter is from you, in which you made an appointment with\nme for six o’clock?”\n\n“yes, sir. i am afraid that i am a little late, but i am not quite my\nown master, you know. i am sorry that miss sutherland has troubled you\nabout this little matter, for i think it is far better not to wash\nlinen of the sort in public. it was quite against my wishes that she\ncame, but she is a very excitable, impulsive girl, as you may have\nnoticed, and she is not easily controlled when she has made up her mind\non a point. of course, i did not mind you so much, as you are not\nconnected with the official police, but it is not pleasant to have a\nfamily misfortune like this noised abroad. besides, it is a useless\nexpense, for how could you possibly find this hosmer angel?”\n\n“on the contrary,” said holmes quietly; “i have every reason to believe\nthat i will succeed in discovering mr. hosmer angel.”\n\nmr. windibank gave a violent start and dropped his gloves. “i am\ndelighted to hear it,” he said.\n\n“it is a curious thing,” remarked holmes, “that a typewriter has really\nquite as much individuality as a man’s handwriting. unless they are\nquite new, no two of them write exactly alike. some letters get more\nworn than others, and some wear only on one side. now, you remark in\nthis note of yours, mr. windibank, that in every case there is some\nlittle slurring over of the ‘e,’ and a slight defect in the tail of the\n‘r.’ there are fourteen other characteristics, but those are the more\nobvious.”\n\n“we do all our correspondence with this machine at the office, and no\ndoubt it is a little worn,” our visitor answered, glancing keenly at\nholmes with his bright little eyes.\n\n“and now i will show you what is really a very interesting study, mr.\nwindibank,” holmes continued. “i think of writing another little\nmonograph some of these days on the typewriter and its relation to\ncrime. it is a subject to which i have devoted some little attention. i\nhave here four letters which purport to come from the missing man. they\nare all typewritten. in each case, not only are the ‘e’s’ slurred and\nthe ‘r’s’ tailless, but you will observe, if you care to use my\nmagnifying lens, that the fourteen other characteristics to which i\nhave alluded are there as well.”\n\nmr. windibank sprang out of his chair and picked up his hat. “i cannot\nwaste time over this sort of fantastic talk, mr. holmes,” he said. “if\nyou can catch the man, catch him, and let me know when you have done\nit.”\n\n“certainly,” said holmes, stepping over and turning the key in the\ndoor. “i let you know, then, that i have caught him!”\n\n“what! where?” shouted mr. windibank, turning white to his lips and\nglancing about him like a rat in a trap.\n\n“oh, it won’t do—really it won’t,” said holmes suavely. “there is no\npossible getting out of it, mr. windibank. it is quite too transparent,\nand it was a very bad compliment when you said that it was impossible\nfor me to solve so simple a question. that’s right! sit down and let us\ntalk it over.”\n\nour visitor collapsed into a chair, with a ghastly face and a glitter\nof moisture on his brow. “it—it’s not actionable,” he stammered.\n\n“i am very much afraid that it is not. but between ourselves,\nwindibank, it was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in a petty\nway as ever came before me. now, let me just run over the course of\nevents, and you will contradict me if i go wrong.”\n\nthe man sat huddled up in his chair, with his head sunk upon his\nbreast, like one who is utterly crushed. holmes stuck his feet up on\nthe corner of the mantelpiece and, leaning back with his hands in his\npockets, began talking, rather to himself, as it seemed, than to us.\n\n“the man married a woman very much older than himself for her money,”\nsaid he, “and he enjoyed the use of the money of the daughter as long\nas she lived with them. it was a considerable sum, for people in their\nposition, and the loss of it would have made a serious difference. it\nwas worth an effort to preserve it. the daughter was of a good, amiable\ndisposition, but affectionate and warm-hearted in her ways, so that it\nwas evident that with her fair personal advantages, and her little\nincome, she would not be allowed to remain single long. now her\nmarriage would mean, of course, the loss of a hundred a year, so what\ndoes her stepfather do to prevent it? he takes the obvious course of\nkeeping her at home and forbidding her to seek the company of people of\nher own age. but soon he found that that would not answer forever. she\nbecame restive, insisted upon her rights, and finally announced her\npositive intention of going to a certain ball. what does her clever\nstepfather do then? he conceives an idea more creditable to his head\nthan to his heart. with the connivance and assistance of his wife he\ndisguised himself, covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses, masked\nthe face with a moustache and a pair of bushy whiskers, sunk that clear\nvoice into an insinuating whisper, and doubly secure on account of the\ngirl’s short sight, he appears as mr. hosmer angel, and keeps off other\nlovers by making love himself.”\n\n“it was only a joke at first,” groaned our visitor. “we never thought\nthat she would have been so carried away.”\n\n“very likely not. however that may be, the young lady was very\ndecidedly carried away, and, having quite made up her mind that her\nstepfather was in france, the suspicion of treachery never for an\ninstant entered her mind. she was flattered by the gentleman’s\nattentions, and the effect was increased by the loudly expressed\nadmiration of her mother. then mr. angel began to call, for it was\nobvious that the matter should be pushed as far as it would go if a\nreal effect were to be produced. there were meetings, and an\nengagement, which would finally secure the girl’s affections from\nturning towards anyone else. but the deception could not be kept up\nforever. these pretended journeys to france were rather cumbrous. the\nthing to do was clearly to bring the business to an end in such a\ndramatic manner that it would leave a permanent impression upon the\nyoung lady’s mind and prevent her from looking upon any other suitor\nfor some time to come. hence those vows of fidelity exacted upon a\ntestament, and hence also the allusions to a possibility of something\nhappening on the very morning of the wedding. james windibank wished\nmiss sutherland to be so bound to hosmer angel, and so uncertain as to\nhis fate, that for ten years to come, at any rate, she would not listen\nto another man. as far as the church door he brought her, and then, as\nhe could go no farther, he conveniently vanished away by the old trick\nof stepping in at one door of a four-wheeler and out at the other. i\nthink that was the chain of events, mr. windibank!”\n\nour visitor had recovered something of his assurance while holmes had\nbeen talking, and he rose from his chair now with a cold sneer upon his\npale face.\n\n“it may be so, or it may not, mr. holmes,” said he, “but if you are so\nvery sharp you ought to be sharp enough to know that it is you who are\nbreaking the law now, and not me. i have done nothing actionable from\nthe first, but as long as you keep that door locked you lay yourself\nopen to an action for assault and illegal constraint.”\n\n“the law cannot, as you say, touch you,” said holmes, unlocking and\nthrowing open the door, “yet there never was a man who deserved\npunishment more. if the young lady has a brother or a friend, he ought\nto lay a whip across your shoulders. by jove!” he continued, flushing\nup at the sight of the bitter sneer upon the man’s face, “it is not\npart of my duties to my client, but here’s a hunting crop handy, and i\nthink i shall just treat myself to—” he took two swift steps to the\nwhip, but before he could grasp it there was a wild clatter of steps\nupon the stairs, the heavy hall door banged, and from the window we\ncould see mr. james windibank running at the top of his speed down the\nroad.\n\n“there’s a cold-blooded scoundrel!” said holmes, laughing, as he threw\nhimself down into his chair once more. “that fellow will rise from\ncrime to crime until he does something very bad, and ends on a gallows.\nthe case has, in some respects, been not entirely devoid of interest.”\n\n“i cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning,” i\nremarked.\n\n“well, of course it was obvious from the first that this mr. hosmer\nangel must have some strong object for his curious conduct, and it was\nequally clear that the only man who really profited by the incident, as\nfar as we could see, was the stepfather. then the fact that the two men\nwere never together, but that the one always appeared when the other\nwas away, was suggestive. so were the tinted spectacles and the curious\nvoice, which both hinted at a disguise, as did the bushy whiskers. my\nsuspicions were all confirmed by his peculiar action in typewriting his\nsignature, which, of course, inferred that his handwriting was so\nfamiliar to her that she would recognise even the smallest sample of\nit. you see all these isolated facts, together with many minor ones,\nall pointed in the same direction.”\n\n“and how did you verify them?”\n\n“having once spotted my man, it was easy to get corroboration. i knew\nthe firm for which this man worked. having taken the printed\ndescription. i eliminated everything from it which could be the result\nof a disguise—the whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and i sent it to\nthe firm, with a request that they would inform me whether it answered\nto the description of any of their travellers. i had already noticed\nthe peculiarities of the typewriter, and i wrote to the man himself at\nhis business address asking him if he would come here. as i expected,\nhis reply was typewritten and revealed the same trivial but\ncharacteristic defects. the same post brought me a letter from\nwesthouse & marbank, of fenchurch street, to say that the description\ntallied in every respect with that of their employé, james windibank.\n_voilà tout_!”\n\n“and miss sutherland?”\n\n“if i tell her she will not believe me. you may remember the old\npersian saying, ‘there is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub, and\ndanger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.’ there is as\nmuch sense in hafiz as in horace, and as much knowledge of the world.”\n\n\n\n iv. the boscombe valley mystery\n\nwe were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and i, when the maid\nbrought in a telegram. it was from sherlock holmes and ran in this way:\n\n“have you a couple of days to spare? have just been wired for from the\nwest of england in connection with boscombe valley tragedy. shall be\nglad if you will come with me. air and scenery perfect. leave\npaddington by the 11:15.”\n\n“what do you say, dear?” said my wife, looking across at me. “will you\ngo?”\n\n“i really don’t know what to say. i have a fairly long list at\npresent.”\n\n“oh, anstruther would do your work for you. you have been looking a\nlittle pale lately. i think that the change would do you good, and you\nare always so interested in mr. sherlock holmes’ cases.”\n\n“i should be ungrateful if i were not, seeing what i gained through one\nof them,” i answered. “but if i am to go, i must pack at once, for i\nhave only half an hour.”\n\nmy experience of camp life in afghanistan had at least had the effect\nof making me a prompt and ready traveller. my wants were few and\nsimple, so that in less than the time stated i was in a cab with my\nvalise, rattling away to paddington station. sherlock holmes was pacing\nup and down the platform, his tall, gaunt figure made even gaunter and\ntaller by his long grey travelling-cloak and close-fitting cloth cap.\n\n“it is really very good of you to come, watson,” said he. “it makes a\nconsiderable difference to me, having someone with me on whom i can\nthoroughly rely. local aid is always either worthless or else biassed.\nif you will keep the two corner seats i shall get the tickets.”\n\nwe had the carriage to ourselves save for an immense litter of papers\nwhich holmes had brought with him. among these he rummaged and read,\nwith intervals of note-taking and of meditation, until we were past\nreading. then he suddenly rolled them all into a gigantic ball and\ntossed them up onto the rack.\n\n“have you heard anything of the case?” he asked.\n\n“not a word. i have not seen a paper for some days.”\n\n“the london press has not had very full accounts. i have just been\nlooking through all the recent papers in order to master the\nparticulars. it seems, from what i gather, to be one of those simple\ncases which are so extremely difficult.”\n\n“that sounds a little paradoxical.”\n\n“but it is profoundly true. singularity is almost invariably a clue.\nthe more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult it\nis to bring it home. in this case, however, they have established a\nvery serious case against the son of the murdered man.”\n\n“it is a murder, then?”\n\n“well, it is conjectured to be so. i shall take nothing for granted\nuntil i have the opportunity of looking personally into it. i will\nexplain the state of things to you, as far as i have been able to\nunderstand it, in a very few words.\n\n“boscombe valley is a country district not very far from ross, in\nherefordshire. the largest landed proprietor in that part is a mr. john\nturner, who made his money in australia and returned some years ago to\nthe old country. one of the farms which he held, that of hatherley, was\nlet to mr. charles mccarthy, who was also an ex-australian. the men had\nknown each other in the colonies, so that it was not unnatural that\nwhen they came to settle down they should do so as near each other as\npossible. turner was apparently the richer man, so mccarthy became his\ntenant but still remained, it seems, upon terms of perfect equality, as\nthey were frequently together. mccarthy had one son, a lad of eighteen,\nand turner had an only daughter of the same age, but neither of them\nhad wives living. they appear to have avoided the society of the\nneighbouring english families and to have led retired lives, though\nboth the mccarthys were fond of sport and were frequently seen at the\nrace-meetings of the neighbourhood. mccarthy kept two servants—a man\nand a girl. turner had a considerable household, some half-dozen at the\nleast. that is as much as i have been able to gather about the\nfamilies. now for the facts.\n\n“on june 3rd, that is, on monday last, mccarthy left his house at\nhatherley about three in the afternoon and walked down to the boscombe\npool, which is a small lake formed by the spreading out of the stream\nwhich runs down the boscombe valley. he had been out with his\nserving-man in the morning at ross, and he had told the man that he\nmust hurry, as he had an appointment of importance to keep at three.\nfrom that appointment he never came back alive.\n\n“from hatherley farmhouse to the boscombe pool is a quarter of a mile,\nand two people saw him as he passed over this ground. one was an old\nwoman, whose name is not mentioned, and the other was william crowder,\na game-keeper in the employ of mr. turner. both these witnesses depose\nthat mr. mccarthy was walking alone. the game-keeper adds that within a\nfew minutes of his seeing mr. mccarthy pass he had seen his son, mr.\njames mccarthy, going the same way with a gun under his arm. to the\nbest of his belief, the father was actually in sight at the time, and\nthe son was following him. he thought no more of the matter until he\nheard in the evening of the tragedy that had occurred.\n\n“the two mccarthys were seen after the time when william crowder, the\ngame-keeper, lost sight of them. the boscombe pool is thickly wooded\nround, with just a fringe of grass and of reeds round the edge. a girl\nof fourteen, patience moran, who is the daughter of the lodge-keeper of\nthe boscombe valley estate, was in one of the woods picking flowers.\nshe states that while she was there she saw, at the border of the wood\nand close by the lake, mr. mccarthy and his son, and that they appeared\nto be having a violent quarrel. she heard mr. mccarthy the elder using\nvery strong language to his son, and she saw the latter raise up his\nhand as if to strike his father. she was so frightened by their\nviolence that she ran away and told her mother when she reached home\nthat she had left the two mccarthys quarrelling near boscombe pool, and\nthat she was afraid that they were going to fight. she had hardly said\nthe words when young mr. mccarthy came running up to the lodge to say\nthat he had found his father dead in the wood, and to ask for the help\nof the lodge-keeper. he was much excited, without either his gun or his\nhat, and his right hand and sleeve were observed to be stained with\nfresh blood. on following him they found the dead body stretched out\nupon the grass beside the pool. the head had been beaten in by repeated\nblows of some heavy and blunt weapon. the injuries were such as might\nvery well have been inflicted by the butt-end of his son’s gun, which\nwas found lying on the grass within a few paces of the body. under\nthese circumstances the young man was instantly arrested, and a verdict\nof ‘wilful murder’ having been returned at the inquest on tuesday, he\nwas on wednesday brought before the magistrates at ross, who have\nreferred the case to the next assizes. those are the main facts of the\ncase as they came out before the coroner and the police-court.”\n\n“i could hardly imagine a more damning case,” i remarked. “if ever\ncircumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal it does so here.”\n\n“circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing,” answered holmes\nthoughtfully. “it may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if\nyou shift your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in\nan equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different. it\nmust be confessed, however, that the case looks exceedingly grave\nagainst the young man, and it is very possible that he is indeed the\nculprit. there are several people in the neighbourhood, however, and\namong them miss turner, the daughter of the neighbouring landowner, who\nbelieve in his innocence, and who have retained lestrade, whom you may\nrecollect in connection with the study in scarlet, to work out the case\nin his interest. lestrade, being rather puzzled, has referred the case\nto me, and hence it is that two middle-aged gentlemen are flying\nwestward at fifty miles an hour instead of quietly digesting their\nbreakfasts at home.”\n\n“i am afraid,” said i, “that the facts are so obvious that you will\nfind little credit to be gained out of this case.”\n\n“there is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact,” he answered,\nlaughing. “besides, we may chance to hit upon some other obvious facts\nwhich may have been by no means obvious to mr. lestrade. you know me\ntoo well to think that i am boasting when i say that i shall either\nconfirm or destroy his theory by means which he is quite incapable of\nemploying, or even of understanding. to take the first example to hand,\ni very clearly perceive that in your bedroom the window is upon the\nright-hand side, and yet i question whether mr. lestrade would have\nnoted even so self-evident a thing as that.”\n\n“how on earth—”\n\n“my dear fellow, i know you well. i know the military neatness which\ncharacterises you. you shave every morning, and in this season you\nshave by the sunlight; but since your shaving is less and less complete\nas we get farther back on the left side, until it becomes positively\nslovenly as we get round the angle of the jaw, it is surely very clear\nthat that side is less illuminated than the other. i could not imagine\na man of your habits looking at himself in an equal light and being\nsatisfied with such a result. i only quote this as a trivial example of\nobservation and inference. therein lies my _métier_, and it is just\npossible that it may be of some service in the investigation which lies\nbefore us. there are one or two minor points which were brought out in\nthe inquest, and which are worth considering.”\n\n“what are they?”\n\n“it appears that his arrest did not take place at once, but after the\nreturn to hatherley farm. on the inspector of constabulary informing\nhim that he was a prisoner, he remarked that he was not surprised to\nhear it, and that it was no more than his deserts. this observation of\nhis had the natural effect of removing any traces of doubt which might\nhave remained in the minds of the coroner’s jury.”\n\n“it was a confession,” i ejaculated.\n\n“no, for it was followed by a protestation of innocence.”\n\n“coming on the top of such a damning series of events, it was at least\na most suspicious remark.”\n\n“on the contrary,” said holmes, “it is the brightest rift which i can\nat present see in the clouds. however innocent he might be, he could\nnot be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that the circumstances\nwere very black against him. had he appeared surprised at his own\narrest, or feigned indignation at it, i should have looked upon it as\nhighly suspicious, because such surprise or anger would not be natural\nunder the circumstances, and yet might appear to be the best policy to\na scheming man. his frank acceptance of the situation marks him as\neither an innocent man, or else as a man of considerable self-restraint\nand firmness. as to his remark about his deserts, it was also not\nunnatural if you consider that he stood beside the dead body of his\nfather, and that there is no doubt that he had that very day so far\nforgotten his filial duty as to bandy words with him, and even,\naccording to the little girl whose evidence is so important, to raise\nhis hand as if to strike him. the self-reproach and contrition which\nare displayed in his remark appear to me to be the signs of a healthy\nmind rather than of a guilty one.”\n\ni shook my head. “many men have been hanged on far slighter evidence,”\ni remarked.\n\n“so they have. and many men have been wrongfully hanged.”\n\n“what is the young man’s own account of the matter?”\n\n“it is, i am afraid, not very encouraging to his supporters, though\nthere are one or two points in it which are suggestive. you will find\nit here, and may read it for yourself.”\n\nhe picked out from his bundle a copy of the local herefordshire paper,\nand having turned down the sheet he pointed out the paragraph in which\nthe unfortunate young man had given his own statement of what had\noccurred. i settled myself down in the corner of the carriage and read\nit very carefully. it ran in this way:\n\n“mr. james mccarthy, the only son of the deceased, was then called and\ngave evidence as follows: ‘i had been away from home for three days at\nbristol, and had only just returned upon the morning of last monday,\nthe 3rd. my father was absent from home at the time of my arrival, and\ni was informed by the maid that he had driven over to ross with john\ncobb, the groom. shortly after my return i heard the wheels of his trap\nin the yard, and, looking out of my window, i saw him get out and walk\nrapidly out of the yard, though i was not aware in which direction he\nwas going. i then took my gun and strolled out in the direction of the\nboscombe pool, with the intention of visiting the rabbit warren which\nis upon the other side. on my way i saw william crowder, the\ngame-keeper, as he had stated in his evidence; but he is mistaken in\nthinking that i was following my father. i had no idea that he was in\nfront of me. when about a hundred yards from the pool i heard a cry of\n“cooee!” which was a usual signal between my father and myself. i then\nhurried forward, and found him standing by the pool. he appeared to be\nmuch surprised at seeing me and asked me rather roughly what i was\ndoing there. a conversation ensued which led to high words and almost\nto blows, for my father was a man of a very violent temper. seeing that\nhis passion was becoming ungovernable, i left him and returned towards\nhatherley farm. i had not gone more than 150 yards, however, when i\nheard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me to run back again. i\nfound my father expiring upon the ground, with his head terribly\ninjured. i dropped my gun and held him in my arms, but he almost\ninstantly expired. i knelt beside him for some minutes, and then made\nmy way to mr. turner’s lodge-keeper, his house being the nearest, to\nask for assistance. i saw no one near my father when i returned, and i\nhave no idea how he came by his injuries. he was not a popular man,\nbeing somewhat cold and forbidding in his manners, but he had, as far\nas i know, no active enemies. i know nothing further of the matter.’\n\n“the coroner: did your father make any statement to you before he died?\n\n“witness: he mumbled a few words, but i could only catch some allusion\nto a rat.\n\n“the coroner: what did you understand by that?\n\n“witness: it conveyed no meaning to me. i thought that he was\ndelirious.\n\n“the coroner: what was the point upon which you and your father had\nthis final quarrel?\n\n“witness: i should prefer not to answer.\n\n“the coroner: i am afraid that i must press it.\n\n“witness: it is really impossible for me to tell you. i can assure you\nthat it has nothing to do with the sad tragedy which followed.\n\n“the coroner: that is for the court to decide. i need not point out to\nyou that your refusal to answer will prejudice your case considerably\nin any future proceedings which may arise.\n\n“witness: i must still refuse.\n\n“the coroner: i understand that the cry of ‘cooee’ was a common signal\nbetween you and your father?\n\n“witness: it was.\n\n“the coroner: how was it, then, that he uttered it before he saw you,\nand before he even knew that you had returned from bristol?\n\n“witness (with considerable confusion): i do not know.\n\n“a juryman: did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions when you\nreturned on hearing the cry and found your father fatally injured?\n\n“witness: nothing definite.\n\n“the coroner: what do you mean?\n\n“witness: i was so disturbed and excited as i rushed out into the open,\nthat i could think of nothing except of my father. yet i have a vague\nimpression that as i ran forward something lay upon the ground to the\nleft of me. it seemed to me to be something grey in colour, a coat of\nsome sort, or a plaid perhaps. when i rose from my father i looked\nround for it, but it was gone.\n\n“‘do you mean that it disappeared before you went for help?’\n\n“‘yes, it was gone.’\n\n“  ‘you cannot say what it was?’\n\n“‘no, i had a feeling something was there.’\n\n“‘how far from the body?’\n\n“‘a dozen yards or so.’\n\n“‘and how far from the edge of the wood?’\n\n“‘about the same.’\n\n“‘then if it was removed it was while you were within a dozen yards of\nit?’\n\n“‘yes, but with my back towards it.’\n\n“this concluded the examination of the witness.”\n\n“i see,” said i as i glanced down the column, “that the coroner in his\nconcluding remarks was rather severe upon young mccarthy. he calls\nattention, and with reason, to the discrepancy about his father having\nsignalled to him before seeing him, also to his refusal to give details\nof his conversation with his father, and his singular account of his\nfather’s dying words. they are all, as he remarks, very much against\nthe son.”\n\nholmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out upon the\ncushioned seat. “both you and the coroner have been at some pains,”\nsaid he, “to single out the very strongest points in the young man’s\nfavour. don’t you see that you alternately give him credit for having\ntoo much imagination and too little? too little, if he could not invent\na cause of quarrel which would give him the sympathy of the jury; too\nmuch, if he evolved from his own inner consciousness anything so\n_outré_ as a dying reference to a rat, and the incident of the\nvanishing cloth. no, sir, i shall approach this case from the point of\nview that what this young man says is true, and we shall see whither\nthat hypothesis will lead us. and now here is my pocket petrarch, and\nnot another word shall i say of this case until we are on the scene of\naction. we lunch at swindon, and i see that we shall be there in twenty\nminutes.”\n\nit was nearly four o’clock when we at last, after passing through the\nbeautiful stroud valley, and over the broad gleaming severn, found\nourselves at the pretty little country-town of ross. a lean,\nferret-like man, furtive and sly-looking, was waiting for us upon the\nplatform. in spite of the light brown dustcoat and leather-leggings\nwhich he wore in deference to his rustic surroundings, i had no\ndifficulty in recognising lestrade, of scotland yard. with him we drove\nto the hereford arms where a room had already been engaged for us.\n\n“i have ordered a carriage,” said lestrade as we sat over a cup of tea.\n“i knew your energetic nature, and that you would not be happy until\nyou had been on the scene of the crime.”\n\n“it was very nice and complimentary of you,” holmes answered. “it is\nentirely a question of barometric pressure.”\n\nlestrade looked startled. “i do not quite follow,” he said.\n\n“how is the glass? twenty-nine, i see. no wind, and not a cloud in the\nsky. i have a caseful of cigarettes here which need smoking, and the\nsofa is very much superior to the usual country hotel abomination. i do\nnot think that it is probable that i shall use the carriage to-night.”\n\nlestrade laughed indulgently. “you have, no doubt, already formed your\nconclusions from the newspapers,” he said. “the case is as plain as a\npikestaff, and the more one goes into it the plainer it becomes. still,\nof course, one can’t refuse a lady, and such a very positive one, too.\nshe has heard of you, and would have your opinion, though i repeatedly\ntold her that there was nothing which you could do which i had not\nalready done. why, bless my soul! here is her carriage at the door.”\n\nhe had hardly spoken before there rushed into the room one of the most\nlovely young women that i have ever seen in my life. her violet eyes\nshining, her lips parted, a pink flush upon her cheeks, all thought of\nher natural reserve lost in her overpowering excitement and concern.\n\n“oh, mr. sherlock holmes!” she cried, glancing from one to the other of\nus, and finally, with a woman’s quick intuition, fastening upon my\ncompanion, “i am so glad that you have come. i have driven down to tell\nyou so. i know that james didn’t do it. i know it, and i want you to\nstart upon your work knowing it, too. never let yourself doubt upon\nthat point. we have known each other since we were little children, and\ni know his faults as no one else does; but he is too tender-hearted to\nhurt a fly. such a charge is absurd to anyone who really knows him.”\n\n“i hope we may clear him, miss turner,” said sherlock holmes. “you may\nrely upon my doing all that i can.”\n\n“but you have read the evidence. you have formed some conclusion? do\nyou not see some loophole, some flaw? do you not yourself think that he\nis innocent?”\n\n“i think that it is very probable.”\n\n“there, now!” she cried, throwing back her head and looking defiantly\nat lestrade. “you hear! he gives me hopes.”\n\nlestrade shrugged his shoulders. “i am afraid that my colleague has\nbeen a little quick in forming his conclusions,” he said.\n\n“but he is right. oh! i know that he is right. james never did it. and\nabout his quarrel with his father, i am sure that the reason why he\nwould not speak about it to the coroner was because i was concerned in\nit.”\n\n“in what way?” asked holmes.\n\n“it is no time for me to hide anything. james and his father had many\ndisagreements about me. mr. mccarthy was very anxious that there should\nbe a marriage between us. james and i have always loved each other as\nbrother and sister; but of course he is young and has seen very little\nof life yet, and—and—well, he naturally did not wish to do anything\nlike that yet. so there were quarrels, and this, i am sure, was one of\nthem.”\n\n“and your father?” asked holmes. “was he in favour of such a union?”\n\n“no, he was averse to it also. no one but mr. mccarthy was in favour of\nit.” a quick blush passed over her fresh young face as holmes shot one\nof his keen, questioning glances at her.\n\n“thank you for this information,” said he. “may i see your father if i\ncall to-morrow?”\n\n“i am afraid the doctor won’t allow it.”\n\n“the doctor?”\n\n“yes, have you not heard? poor father has never been strong for years\nback, but this has broken him down completely. he has taken to his bed,\nand dr. willows says that he is a wreck and that his nervous system is\nshattered. mr. mccarthy was the only man alive who had known dad in the\nold days in victoria.”\n\n“ha! in victoria! that is important.”\n\n“yes, at the mines.”\n\n“quite so; at the gold-mines, where, as i understand, mr. turner made\nhis money.”\n\n“yes, certainly.”\n\n“thank you, miss turner. you have been of material assistance to me.”\n\n“you will tell me if you have any news to-morrow. no doubt you will go\nto the prison to see james. oh, if you do, mr. holmes, do tell him that\ni know him to be innocent.”\n\n“i will, miss turner.”\n\n“i must go home now, for dad is very ill, and he misses me so if i\nleave him. good-bye, and god help you in your undertaking.” she hurried\nfrom the room as impulsively as she had entered, and we heard the\nwheels of her carriage rattle off down the street.\n\n“i am ashamed of you, holmes,” said lestrade with dignity after a few\nminutes’ silence. “why should you raise up hopes which you are bound to\ndisappoint? i am not over-tender of heart, but i call it cruel.”\n\n“i think that i see my way to clearing james mccarthy,” said holmes.\n“have you an order to see him in prison?”\n\n“yes, but only for you and me.”\n\n“then i shall reconsider my resolution about going out. we have still\ntime to take a train to hereford and see him to-night?”\n\n“ample.”\n\n“then let us do so. watson, i fear that you will find it very slow, but\ni shall only be away a couple of hours.”\n\ni walked down to the station with them, and then wandered through the\nstreets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel, where i lay\nupon the sofa and tried to interest myself in a yellow-backed novel.\nthe puny plot of the story was so thin, however, when compared to the\ndeep mystery through which we were groping, and i found my attention\nwander so continually from the action to the fact, that i at last flung\nit across the room and gave myself up entirely to a consideration of\nthe events of the day. supposing that this unhappy young man’s story\nwere absolutely true, then what hellish thing, what absolutely\nunforeseen and extraordinary calamity could have occurred between the\ntime when he parted from his father, and the moment when, drawn back by\nhis screams, he rushed into the glade? it was something terrible and\ndeadly. what could it be? might not the nature of the injuries reveal\nsomething to my medical instincts? i rang the bell and called for the\nweekly county paper, which contained a verbatim account of the inquest.\nin the surgeon’s deposition it was stated that the posterior third of\nthe left parietal bone and the left half of the occipital bone had been\nshattered by a heavy blow from a blunt weapon. i marked the spot upon\nmy own head. clearly such a blow must have been struck from behind.\nthat was to some extent in favour of the accused, as when seen\nquarrelling he was face to face with his father. still, it did not go\nfor very much, for the older man might have turned his back before the\nblow fell. still, it might be worth while to call holmes’ attention to\nit. then there was the peculiar dying reference to a rat. what could\nthat mean? it could not be delirium. a man dying from a sudden blow\ndoes not commonly become delirious. no, it was more likely to be an\nattempt to explain how he met his fate. but what could it indicate? i\ncudgelled my brains to find some possible explanation. and then the\nincident of the grey cloth seen by young mccarthy. if that were true\nthe murderer must have dropped some part of his dress, presumably his\novercoat, in his flight, and must have had the hardihood to return and\nto carry it away at the instant when the son was kneeling with his back\nturned not a dozen paces off. what a tissue of mysteries and\nimprobabilities the whole thing was! i did not wonder at lestrade’s\nopinion, and yet i had so much faith in sherlock holmes’ insight that i\ncould not lose hope as long as every fresh fact seemed to strengthen\nhis conviction of young mccarthy’s innocence.\n\nit was late before sherlock holmes returned. he came back alone, for\nlestrade was staying in lodgings in the town.\n\n“the glass still keeps very high,” he remarked as he sat down. “it is\nof importance that it should not rain before we are able to go over the\nground. on the other hand, a man should be at his very best and keenest\nfor such nice work as that, and i did not wish to do it when fagged by\na long journey. i have seen young mccarthy.”\n\n“and what did you learn from him?”\n\n“nothing.”\n\n“could he throw no light?”\n\n“none at all. i was inclined to think at one time that he knew who had\ndone it and was screening him or her, but i am convinced now that he is\nas puzzled as everyone else. he is not a very quick-witted youth,\nthough comely to look at and, i should think, sound at heart.”\n\n“i cannot admire his taste,” i remarked, “if it is indeed a fact that\nhe was averse to a marriage with so charming a young lady as this miss\nturner.”\n\n“ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. this fellow is madly,\ninsanely, in love with her, but some two years ago, when he was only a\nlad, and before he really knew her, for she had been away five years at\na boarding-school, what does the idiot do but get into the clutches of\na barmaid in bristol and marry her at a registry office? no one knows a\nword of the matter, but you can imagine how maddening it must be to him\nto be upbraided for not doing what he would give his very eyes to do,\nbut what he knows to be absolutely impossible. it was sheer frenzy of\nthis sort which made him throw his hands up into the air when his\nfather, at their last interview, was goading him on to propose to miss\nturner. on the other hand, he had no means of supporting himself, and\nhis father, who was by all accounts a very hard man, would have thrown\nhim over utterly had he known the truth. it was with his barmaid wife\nthat he had spent the last three days in bristol, and his father did\nnot know where he was. mark that point. it is of importance. good has\ncome out of evil, however, for the barmaid, finding from the papers\nthat he is in serious trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him\nover utterly and has written to him to say that she has a husband\nalready in the bermuda dockyard, so that there is really no tie between\nthem. i think that that bit of news has consoled young mccarthy for all\nthat he has suffered.”\n\n“but if he is innocent, who has done it?”\n\n“ah! who? i would call your attention very particularly to two points.\none is that the murdered man had an appointment with someone at the\npool, and that the someone could not have been his son, for his son was\naway, and he did not know when he would return. the second is that the\nmurdered man was heard to cry ‘cooee!’ before he knew that his son had\nreturned. those are the crucial points upon which the case depends. and\nnow let us talk about george meredith, if you please, and we shall\nleave all minor matters until to-morrow.”\n\nthere was no rain, as holmes had foretold, and the morning broke bright\nand cloudless. at nine o’clock lestrade called for us with the\ncarriage, and we set off for hatherley farm and the boscombe pool.\n\n“there is serious news this morning,” lestrade observed. “it is said\nthat mr. turner, of the hall, is so ill that his life is despaired of.”\n\n“an elderly man, i presume?” said holmes.\n\n“about sixty; but his constitution has been shattered by his life\nabroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. this business\nhas had a very bad effect upon him. he was an old friend of mccarthy’s,\nand, i may add, a great benefactor to him, for i have learned that he\ngave him hatherley farm rent free.”\n\n“indeed! that is interesting,” said holmes.\n\n“oh, yes! in a hundred other ways he has helped him. everybody about\nhere speaks of his kindness to him.”\n\n“really! does it not strike you as a little singular that this\nmccarthy, who appears to have had little of his own, and to have been\nunder such obligations to turner, should still talk of marrying his son\nto turner’s daughter, who is, presumably, heiress to the estate, and\nthat in such a very cocksure manner, as if it were merely a case of a\nproposal and all else would follow? it is the more strange, since we\nknow that turner himself was averse to the idea. the daughter told us\nas much. do you not deduce something from that?”\n\n“we have got to the deductions and the inferences,” said lestrade,\nwinking at me. “i find it hard enough to tackle facts, holmes, without\nflying away after theories and fancies.”\n\n“you are right,” said holmes demurely; “you do find it very hard to\ntackle the facts.”\n\n“anyhow, i have grasped one fact which you seem to find it difficult to\nget hold of,” replied lestrade with some warmth.\n\n“and that is—”\n\n“that mccarthy senior met his death from mccarthy junior and that all\ntheories to the contrary are the merest moonshine.”\n\n“well, moonshine is a brighter thing than fog,” said holmes, laughing.\n“but i am very much mistaken if this is not hatherley farm upon the\nleft.”\n\n“yes, that is it.” it was a widespread, comfortable-looking building,\ntwo-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches of lichen upon\nthe grey walls. the drawn blinds and the smokeless chimneys, however,\ngave it a stricken look, as though the weight of this horror still lay\nheavy upon it. we called at the door, when the maid, at holmes’\nrequest, showed us the boots which her master wore at the time of his\ndeath, and also a pair of the son’s, though not the pair which he had\nthen had. having measured these very carefully from seven or eight\ndifferent points, holmes desired to be led to the court-yard, from\nwhich we all followed the winding track which led to boscombe pool.\n\nsherlock holmes was transformed when he was hot upon such a scent as\nthis. men who had only known the quiet thinker and logician of baker\nstreet would have failed to recognise him. his face flushed and\ndarkened. his brows were drawn into two hard black lines, while his\neyes shone out from beneath them with a steely glitter. his face was\nbent downward, his shoulders bowed, his lips compressed, and the veins\nstood out like whipcord in his long, sinewy neck. his nostrils seemed\nto dilate with a purely animal lust for the chase, and his mind was so\nabsolutely concentrated upon the matter before him that a question or\nremark fell unheeded upon his ears, or, at the most, only provoked a\nquick, impatient snarl in reply. swiftly and silently he made his way\nalong the track which ran through the meadows, and so by way of the\nwoods to the boscombe pool. it was damp, marshy ground, as is all that\ndistrict, and there were marks of many feet, both upon the path and\namid the short grass which bounded it on either side. sometimes holmes\nwould hurry on, sometimes stop dead, and once he made quite a little\ndetour into the meadow. lestrade and i walked behind him, the detective\nindifferent and contemptuous, while i watched my friend with the\ninterest which sprang from the conviction that every one of his actions\nwas directed towards a definite end.\n\nthe boscombe pool, which is a little reed-girt sheet of water some\nfifty yards across, is situated at the boundary between the hatherley\nfarm and the private park of the wealthy mr. turner. above the woods\nwhich lined it upon the farther side we could see the red, jutting\npinnacles which marked the site of the rich landowner’s dwelling. on\nthe hatherley side of the pool the woods grew very thick, and there was\na narrow belt of sodden grass twenty paces across between the edge of\nthe trees and the reeds which lined the lake. lestrade showed us the\nexact spot at which the body had been found, and, indeed, so moist was\nthe ground, that i could plainly see the traces which had been left by\nthe fall of the stricken man. to holmes, as i could see by his eager\nface and peering eyes, very many other things were to be read upon the\ntrampled grass. he ran round, like a dog who is picking up a scent, and\nthen turned upon my companion.\n\n“what did you go into the pool for?” he asked.\n\n“i fished about with a rake. i thought there might be some weapon or\nother trace. but how on earth—”\n\n“oh, tut, tut! i have no time! that left foot of yours with its inward\ntwist is all over the place. a mole could trace it, and there it\nvanishes among the reeds. oh, how simple it would all have been had i\nbeen here before they came like a herd of buffalo and wallowed all over\nit. here is where the party with the lodge-keeper came, and they have\ncovered all tracks for six or eight feet round the body. but here are\nthree separate tracks of the same feet.” he drew out a lens and lay\ndown upon his waterproof to have a better view, talking all the time\nrather to himself than to us. “these are young mccarthy’s feet. twice\nhe was walking, and once he ran swiftly, so that the soles are deeply\nmarked and the heels hardly visible. that bears out his story. he ran\nwhen he saw his father on the ground. then here are the father’s feet\nas he paced up and down. what is this, then? it is the butt-end of the\ngun as the son stood listening. and this? ha, ha! what have we here?\ntiptoes! tiptoes! square, too, quite unusual boots! they come, they go,\nthey come again—of course that was for the cloak. now where did they\ncome from?” he ran up and down, sometimes losing, sometimes finding the\ntrack until we were well within the edge of the wood and under the\nshadow of a great beech, the largest tree in the neighbourhood. holmes\ntraced his way to the farther side of this and lay down once more upon\nhis face with a little cry of satisfaction. for a long time he remained\nthere, turning over the leaves and dried sticks, gathering up what\nseemed to me to be dust into an envelope and examining with his lens\nnot only the ground but even the bark of the tree as far as he could\nreach. a jagged stone was lying among the moss, and this also he\ncarefully examined and retained. then he followed a pathway through the\nwood until he came to the highroad, where all traces were lost.\n\n“it has been a case of considerable interest,” he remarked, returning\nto his natural manner. “i fancy that this grey house on the right must\nbe the lodge. i think that i will go in and have a word with moran, and\nperhaps write a little note. having done that, we may drive back to our\nluncheon. you may walk to the cab, and i shall be with you presently.”\n\nit was about ten minutes before we regained our cab and drove back into\nross, holmes still carrying with him the stone which he had picked up\nin the wood.\n\n“this may interest you, lestrade,” he remarked, holding it out. “the\nmurder was done with it.”\n\n“i see no marks.”\n\n“there are none.”\n\n“how do you know, then?”\n\n“the grass was growing under it. it had only lain there a few days.\nthere was no sign of a place whence it had been taken. it corresponds\nwith the injuries. there is no sign of any other weapon.”\n\n“and the murderer?”\n\n“is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg, wears\nthick-soled shooting-boots and a grey cloak, smokes indian cigars, uses\na cigar-holder, and carries a blunt pen-knife in his pocket. there are\nseveral other indications, but these may be enough to aid us in our\nsearch.”\n\nlestrade laughed. “i am afraid that i am still a sceptic,” he said.\n“theories are all very well, but we have to deal with a hard-headed\nbritish jury.”\n\n“_nous verrons_,” answered holmes calmly. “you work your own method,\nand i shall work mine. i shall be busy this afternoon, and shall\nprobably return to london by the evening train.”\n\n“and leave your case unfinished?”\n\n“no, finished.”\n\n“but the mystery?”\n\n“it is solved.”\n\n“who was the criminal, then?”\n\n“the gentleman i describe.”\n\n“but who is he?”\n\n“surely it would not be difficult to find out. this is not such a\npopulous neighbourhood.”\n\nlestrade shrugged his shoulders. “i am a practical man,” he said, “and\ni really cannot undertake to go about the country looking for a\nleft-handed gentleman with a game leg. i should become the\nlaughing-stock of scotland yard.”\n\n“all right,” said holmes quietly. “i have given you the chance. here\nare your lodgings. good-bye. i shall drop you a line before i leave.”\n\nhaving left lestrade at his rooms, we drove to our hotel, where we\nfound lunch upon the table. holmes was silent and buried in thought\nwith a pained expression upon his face, as one who finds himself in a\nperplexing position.\n\n“look here, watson,” he said when the cloth was cleared “just sit down\nin this chair and let me preach to you for a little. i don’t know quite\nwhat to do, and i should value your advice. light a cigar and let me\nexpound.”\n\n “pray do so.”\n\n“well, now, in considering this case there are two points about young\nmccarthy’s narrative which struck us both instantly, although they\nimpressed me in his favour and you against him. one was the fact that\nhis father should, according to his account, cry ‘cooee!’ before seeing\nhim. the other was his singular dying reference to a rat. he mumbled\nseveral words, you understand, but that was all that caught the son’s\near. now from this double point our research must commence, and we will\nbegin it by presuming that what the lad says is absolutely true.”\n\n“what of this ‘cooee!’ then?”\n\n“well, obviously it could not have been meant for the son. the son, as\nfar as he knew, was in bristol. it was mere chance that he was within\nearshot. the ‘cooee!’ was meant to attract the attention of whoever it\nwas that he had the appointment with. but ‘cooee’ is a distinctly\naustralian cry, and one which is used between australians. there is a\nstrong presumption that the person whom mccarthy expected to meet him\nat boscombe pool was someone who had been in australia.”\n\n“what of the rat, then?”\n\nsherlock holmes took a folded paper from his pocket and flattened it\nout on the table. “this is a map of the colony of victoria,” he said.\n“i wired to bristol for it last night.” he put his hand over part of\nthe map. “what do you read?”\n\n“arat,” i read.\n\n“and now?” he raised his hand.\n\n“ballarat.”\n\n“quite so. that was the word the man uttered, and of which his son only\ncaught the last two syllables. he was trying to utter the name of his\nmurderer. so and so, of ballarat.”\n\n“it is wonderful!” i exclaimed.\n\n“it is obvious. and now, you see, i had narrowed the field down\nconsiderably. the possession of a grey garment was a third point which,\ngranting the son’s statement to be correct, was a certainty. we have\ncome now out of mere vagueness to the definite conception of an\naustralian from ballarat with a grey cloak.”\n\n“certainly.”\n\n“and one who was at home in the district, for the pool can only be\napproached by the farm or by the estate, where strangers could hardly\nwander.”\n\n“quite so.”\n\n“then comes our expedition of to-day. by an examination of the ground i\ngained the trifling details which i gave to that imbecile lestrade, as\nto the personality of the criminal.”\n\n“but how did you gain them?”\n\n“you know my method. it is founded upon the observation of trifles.”\n\n“his height i know that you might roughly judge from the length of his\nstride. his boots, too, might be told from their traces.”\n\n“yes, they were peculiar boots.”\n\n“but his lameness?”\n\n“the impression of his right foot was always less distinct than his\nleft. he put less weight upon it. why? because he limped—he was lame.”\n\n“but his left-handedness.”\n\n“you were yourself struck by the nature of the injury as recorded by\nthe surgeon at the inquest. the blow was struck from immediately\nbehind, and yet was upon the left side. now, how can that be unless it\nwere by a left-handed man? he had stood behind that tree during the\ninterview between the father and son. he had even smoked there. i found\nthe ash of a cigar, which my special knowledge of tobacco ashes enables\nme to pronounce as an indian cigar. i have, as you know, devoted some\nattention to this, and written a little monograph on the ashes of 140\ndifferent varieties of pipe, cigar, and cigarette tobacco. having found\nthe ash, i then looked round and discovered the stump among the moss\nwhere he had tossed it. it was an indian cigar, of the variety which\nare rolled in rotterdam.”\n\n“and the cigar-holder?”\n\n“i could see that the end had not been in his mouth. therefore he used\na holder. the tip had been cut off, not bitten off, but the cut was not\na clean one, so i deduced a blunt pen-knife.”\n\n“holmes,” i said, “you have drawn a net round this man from which he\ncannot escape, and you have saved an innocent human life as truly as if\nyou had cut the cord which was hanging him. i see the direction in\nwhich all this points. the culprit is—”\n\n“mr. john turner,” cried the hotel waiter, opening the door of our\nsitting-room, and ushering in a visitor.\n\nthe man who entered was a strange and impressive figure. his slow,\nlimping step and bowed shoulders gave the appearance of decrepitude,\nand yet his hard, deep-lined, craggy features, and his enormous limbs\nshowed that he was possessed of unusual strength of body and of\ncharacter. his tangled beard, grizzled hair, and outstanding, drooping\neyebrows combined to give an air of dignity and power to his\nappearance, but his face was of an ashen white, while his lips and the\ncorners of his nostrils were tinged with a shade of blue. it was clear\nto me at a glance that he was in the grip of some deadly and chronic\ndisease.\n\n“pray sit down on the sofa,” said holmes gently. “you had my note?”\n\n“yes, the lodge-keeper brought it up. you said that you wished to see\nme here to avoid scandal.”\n\n“i thought people would talk if i went to the hall.”\n\n“and why did you wish to see me?” he looked across at my companion with\ndespair in his weary eyes, as though his question was already answered.\n\n“yes,” said holmes, answering the look rather than the words. “it is\nso. i know all about mccarthy.”\n\nthe old man sank his face in his hands. “god help me!” he cried. “but i\nwould not have let the young man come to harm. i give you my word that\ni would have spoken out if it went against him at the assizes.”\n\n“i am glad to hear you say so,” said holmes gravely.\n\n“i would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl. it would\nbreak her heart—it will break her heart when she hears that i am\narrested.”\n\n“it may not come to that,” said holmes.\n\n“what?”\n\n“i am no official agent. i understand that it was your daughter who\nrequired my presence here, and i am acting in her interests. young\nmccarthy must be got off, however.”\n\n“i am a dying man,” said old turner. “i have had diabetes for years. my\ndoctor says it is a question whether i shall live a month. yet i would\nrather die under my own roof than in a gaol.”\n\nholmes rose and sat down at the table with his pen in his hand and a\nbundle of paper before him. “just tell us the truth,” he said. “i shall\njot down the facts. you will sign it, and watson here can witness it.\nthen i could produce your confession at the last extremity to save\nyoung mccarthy. i promise you that i shall not use it unless it is\nabsolutely needed.”\n\n“it’s as well,” said the old man; “it’s a question whether i shall live\nto the assizes, so it matters little to me, but i should wish to spare\nalice the shock. and now i will make the thing clear to you; it has\nbeen a long time in the acting, but will not take me long to tell.\n\n“you didn’t know this dead man, mccarthy. he was a devil incarnate. i\ntell you that. god keep you out of the clutches of such a man as he.\nhis grip has been upon me these twenty years, and he has blasted my\nlife. i’ll tell you first how i came to be in his power.\n\n“it was in the early ’60’s at the diggings. i was a young chap then,\nhot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at anything; i got\namong bad companions, took to drink, had no luck with my claim, took to\nthe bush, and in a word became what you would call over here a highway\nrobber. there were six of us, and we had a wild, free life of it,\nsticking up a station from time to time, or stopping the wagons on the\nroad to the diggings. black jack of ballarat was the name i went under,\nand our party is still remembered in the colony as the ballarat gang.\n\n“one day a gold convoy came down from ballarat to melbourne, and we lay\nin wait for it and attacked it. there were six troopers and six of us,\nso it was a close thing, but we emptied four of their saddles at the\nfirst volley. three of our boys were killed, however, before we got the\nswag. i put my pistol to the head of the wagon-driver, who was this\nvery man mccarthy. i wish to the lord that i had shot him then, but i\nspared him, though i saw his wicked little eyes fixed on my face, as\nthough to remember every feature. we got away with the gold, became\nwealthy men, and made our way over to england without being suspected.\nthere i parted from my old pals and determined to settle down to a\nquiet and respectable life. i bought this estate, which chanced to be\nin the market, and i set myself to do a little good with my money, to\nmake up for the way in which i had earned it. i married, too, and\nthough my wife died young she left me my dear little alice. even when\nshe was just a baby her wee hand seemed to lead me down the right path\nas nothing else had ever done. in a word, i turned over a new leaf and\ndid my best to make up for the past. all was going well when mccarthy\nlaid his grip upon me.\n\n“i had gone up to town about an investment, and i met him in regent\nstreet with hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his foot.\n\n“‘here we are, jack,’ says he, touching me on the arm; ‘we’ll be as\ngood as a family to you. there’s two of us, me and my son, and you can\nhave the keeping of us. if you don’t—it’s a fine, law-abiding country\nis england, and there’s always a policeman within hail.’\n\n“well, down they came to the west country, there was no shaking them\noff, and there they have lived rent free on my best land ever since.\nthere was no rest for me, no peace, no forgetfulness; turn where i\nwould, there was his cunning, grinning face at my elbow. it grew worse\nas alice grew up, for he soon saw i was more afraid of her knowing my\npast than of the police. whatever he wanted he must have, and whatever\nit was i gave him without question, land, money, houses, until at last\nhe asked a thing which i could not give. he asked for alice.\n\n“his son, you see, had grown up, and so had my girl, and as i was known\nto be in weak health, it seemed a fine stroke to him that his lad\nshould step into the whole property. but there i was firm. i would not\nhave his cursed stock mixed with mine; not that i had any dislike to\nthe lad, but his blood was in him, and that was enough. i stood firm.\nmccarthy threatened. i braved him to do his worst. we were to meet at\nthe pool midway between our houses to talk it over.\n\n“when i went down there i found him talking with his son, so i smoked a\ncigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone. but as i\nlistened to his talk all that was black and bitter in me seemed to come\nuppermost. he was urging his son to marry my daughter with as little\nregard for what she might think as if she were a slut from off the\nstreets. it drove me mad to think that i and all that i held most dear\nshould be in the power of such a man as this. could i not snap the\nbond? i was already a dying and a desperate man. though clear of mind\nand fairly strong of limb, i knew that my own fate was sealed. but my\nmemory and my girl! both could be saved if i could but silence that\nfoul tongue. i did it, mr. holmes. i would do it again. deeply as i\nhave sinned, i have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it. but that\nmy girl should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more\nthan i could suffer. i struck him down with no more compunction than if\nhe had been some foul and venomous beast. his cry brought back his son;\nbut i had gained the cover of the wood, though i was forced to go back\nto fetch the cloak which i had dropped in my flight. that is the true\nstory, gentlemen, of all that occurred.”\n\n“well, it is not for me to judge you,” said holmes as the old man\nsigned the statement which had been drawn out. “i pray that we may\nnever be exposed to such a temptation.”\n\n“i pray not, sir. and what do you intend to do?”\n\n“in view of your health, nothing. you are yourself aware that you will\nsoon have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the assizes. i\nwill keep your confession, and if mccarthy is condemned i shall be\nforced to use it. if not, it shall never be seen by mortal eye; and\nyour secret, whether you be alive or dead, shall be safe with us.”\n\n“farewell, then,” said the old man solemnly. “your own deathbeds, when\nthey come, will be the easier for the thought of the peace which you\nhave given to mine.” tottering and shaking in all his giant frame, he\nstumbled slowly from the room.\n\n“god help us!” said holmes after a long silence. “why does fate play\nsuch tricks with poor, helpless worms? i never hear of such a case as\nthis that i do not think of baxter’s words, and say, ‘there, but for\nthe grace of god, goes sherlock holmes.’”\n\njames mccarthy was acquitted at the assizes on the strength of a number\nof objections which had been drawn out by holmes and submitted to the\ndefending counsel. old turner lived for seven months after our\ninterview, but he is now dead; and there is every prospect that the son\nand daughter may come to live happily together in ignorance of the\nblack cloud which rests upon their past.\n\n\n\nv. the five orange pips\n\nwhen i glance over my notes and records of the sherlock holmes cases\nbetween the years ’82 and ’90, i am faced by so many which present\nstrange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to know\nwhich to choose and which to leave. some, however, have already gained\npublicity through the papers, and others have not offered a field for\nthose peculiar qualities which my friend possessed in so high a degree,\nand which it is the object of these papers to illustrate. some, too,\nhave baffled his analytical skill, and would be, as narratives,\nbeginnings without an ending, while others have been but partially\ncleared up, and have their explanations founded rather upon conjecture\nand surmise than on that absolute logical proof which was so dear to\nhim. there is, however, one of these last which was so remarkable in\nits details and so startling in its results that i am tempted to give\nsome account of it in spite of the fact that there are points in\nconnection with it which never have been, and probably never will be,\nentirely cleared up.\n\nthe year ’87 furnished us with a long series of cases of greater or\nless interest, of which i retain the records. among my headings under\nthis one twelve months i find an account of the adventure of the\nparadol chamber, of the amateur mendicant society, who held a luxurious\nclub in the lower vault of a furniture warehouse, of the facts\nconnected with the loss of the british barque _sophy anderson_, of the\nsingular adventures of the grice patersons in the island of uffa, and\nfinally of the camberwell poisoning case. in the latter, as may be\nremembered, sherlock holmes was able, by winding up the dead man’s\nwatch, to prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that\ntherefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time—a deduction\nwhich was of the greatest importance in clearing up the case. all these\ni may sketch out at some future date, but none of them present such\nsingular features as the strange train of circumstances which i have\nnow taken up my pen to describe.\n\nit was in the latter days of september, and the equinoctial gales had\nset in with exceptional violence. all day the wind had screamed and the\nrain had beaten against the windows, so that even here in the heart of\ngreat, hand-made london we were forced to raise our minds for the\ninstant from the routine of life and to recognise the presence of those\ngreat elemental forces which shriek at mankind through the bars of his\ncivilisation, like untamed beasts in a cage. as evening drew in, the\nstorm grew higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a\nchild in the chimney. sherlock holmes sat moodily at one side of the\nfireplace cross-indexing his records of crime, while i at the other was\ndeep in one of clark russell’s fine sea-stories until the howl of the\ngale from without seemed to blend with the text, and the splash of the\nrain to lengthen out into the long swash of the sea waves. my wife was\non a visit to her mother’s, and for a few days i was a dweller once\nmore in my old quarters at baker street.\n\n“why,” said i, glancing up at my companion, “that was surely the bell.\nwho could come to-night? some friend of yours, perhaps?”\n\n“except yourself i have none,” he answered. “i do not encourage\nvisitors.”\n\n“a client, then?”\n\n“if so, it is a serious case. nothing less would bring a man out on\nsuch a day and at such an hour. but i take it that it is more likely to\nbe some crony of the landlady’s.”\n\nsherlock holmes was wrong in his conjecture, however, for there came a\nstep in the passage and a tapping at the door. he stretched out his\nlong arm to turn the lamp away from himself and towards the vacant\nchair upon which a newcomer must sit.\n\n“come in!” said he.\n\nthe man who entered was young, some two-and-twenty at the outside,\nwell-groomed and trimly clad, with something of refinement and delicacy\nin his bearing. the streaming umbrella which he held in his hand, and\nhis long shining waterproof told of the fierce weather through which he\nhad come. he looked about him anxiously in the glare of the lamp, and i\ncould see that his face was pale and his eyes heavy, like those of a\nman who is weighed down with some great anxiety.\n\n“i owe you an apology,” he said, raising his golden pince-nez to his\neyes. “i trust that i am not intruding. i fear that i have brought some\ntraces of the storm and rain into your snug chamber.”\n\n“give me your coat and umbrella,” said holmes. “they may rest here on\nthe hook and will be dry presently. you have come up from the\nsouth-west, i see.”\n\n“yes, from horsham.”\n\n“that clay and chalk mixture which i see upon your toe caps is quite\ndistinctive.”\n\n“i have come for advice.”\n\n“that is easily got.”\n\n“and help.”\n\n“that is not always so easy.”\n\n“i have heard of you, mr. holmes. i heard from major prendergast how\nyou saved him in the tankerville club scandal.”\n\n“ah, of course. he was wrongfully accused of cheating at cards.”\n\n“he said that you could solve anything.”\n\n“he said too much.”\n\n“that you are never beaten.”\n\n“i have been beaten four times—three times by men, and once by a\nwoman.”\n\n“but what is that compared with the number of your successes?”\n\n“it is true that i have been generally successful.”\n\n“then you may be so with me.”\n\n“i beg that you will draw your chair up to the fire and favour me with\nsome details as to your case.”\n\n“it is no ordinary one.”\n\n“none of those which come to me are. i am the last court of appeal.”\n\n“and yet i question, sir, whether, in all your experience, you have\never listened to a more mysterious and inexplicable chain of events\nthan those which have happened in my own family.”\n\n“you fill me with interest,” said holmes. “pray give us the essential\nfacts from the commencement, and i can afterwards question you as to\nthose details which seem to me to be most important.”\n\nthe young man pulled his chair up and pushed his wet feet out towards\nthe blaze.\n\n“my name,” said he, “is john openshaw, but my own affairs have, as far\nas i can understand, little to do with this awful business. it is a\nhereditary matter; so in order to give you an idea of the facts, i must\ngo back to the commencement of the affair.\n\n“you must know that my grandfather had two sons—my uncle elias and my\nfather joseph. my father had a small factory at coventry, which he\nenlarged at the time of the invention of bicycling. he was a patentee\nof the openshaw unbreakable tire, and his business met with such\nsuccess that he was able to sell it and to retire upon a handsome\ncompetence.\n\n“my uncle elias emigrated to america when he was a young man and became\na planter in florida, where he was reported to have done very well. at\nthe time of the war he fought in jackson’s army, and afterwards under\nhood, where he rose to be a colonel. when lee laid down his arms my\nuncle returned to his plantation, where he remained for three or four\nyears. about 1869 or 1870 he came back to europe and took a small\nestate in sussex, near horsham. he had made a very considerable fortune\nin the states, and his reason for leaving them was his aversion to the\nnegroes, and his dislike of the republican policy in extending the\nfranchise to them. he was a singular man, fierce and quick-tempered,\nvery foul-mouthed when he was angry, and of a most retiring\ndisposition. during all the years that he lived at horsham, i doubt if\never he set foot in the town. he had a garden and two or three fields\nround his house, and there he would take his exercise, though very\noften for weeks on end he would never leave his room. he drank a great\ndeal of brandy and smoked very heavily, but he would see no society and\ndid not want any friends, not even his own brother.\n\n“he didn’t mind me; in fact, he took a fancy to me, for at the time\nwhen he saw me first i was a youngster of twelve or so. this would be\nin the year 1878, after he had been eight or nine years in england. he\nbegged my father to let me live with him and he was very kind to me in\nhis way. when he was sober he used to be fond of playing backgammon and\ndraughts with me, and he would make me his representative both with the\nservants and with the tradespeople, so that by the time that i was\nsixteen i was quite master of the house. i kept all the keys and could\ngo where i liked and do what i liked, so long as i did not disturb him\nin his privacy. there was one singular exception, however, for he had a\nsingle room, a lumber-room up among the attics, which was invariably\nlocked, and which he would never permit either me or anyone else to\nenter. with a boy’s curiosity i have peeped through the keyhole, but i\nwas never able to see more than such a collection of old trunks and\nbundles as would be expected in such a room.\n\n“one day—it was in march, 1883—a letter with a foreign stamp lay upon\nthe table in front of the colonel’s plate. it was not a common thing\nfor him to receive letters, for his bills were all paid in ready money,\nand he had no friends of any sort. ‘from india!’ said he as he took it\nup, ‘pondicherry postmark! what can this be?’ opening it hurriedly, out\nthere jumped five little dried orange pips, which pattered down upon\nhis plate. i began to laugh at this, but the laugh was struck from my\nlips at the sight of his face. his lip had fallen, his eyes were\nprotruding, his skin the colour of putty, and he glared at the envelope\nwhich he still held in his trembling hand, ‘k. k. k.!’ he shrieked, and\nthen, ‘my god, my god, my sins have overtaken me!’\n\n“‘what is it, uncle?’ i cried.\n\n“‘death,’ said he, and rising from the table he retired to his room,\nleaving me palpitating with horror. i took up the envelope and saw\nscrawled in red ink upon the inner flap, just above the gum, the letter\nk three times repeated. there was nothing else save the five dried\npips. what could be the reason of his overpowering terror? i left the\nbreakfast-table, and as i ascended the stair i met him coming down with\nan old rusty key, which must have belonged to the attic, in one hand,\nand a small brass box, like a cashbox, in the other.\n\n“‘they may do what they like, but i’ll checkmate them still,’ said he\nwith an oath. ‘tell mary that i shall want a fire in my room to-day,\nand send down to fordham, the horsham lawyer.’\n\n“i did as he ordered, and when the lawyer arrived i was asked to step\nup to the room. the fire was burning brightly, and in the grate there\nwas a mass of black, fluffy ashes, as of burned paper, while the brass\nbox stood open and empty beside it. as i glanced at the box i noticed,\nwith a start, that upon the lid was printed the treble k which i had\nread in the morning upon the envelope.\n\n“‘i wish you, john,’ said my uncle, ‘to witness my will. i leave my\nestate, with all its advantages and all its disadvantages, to my\nbrother, your father, whence it will, no doubt, descend to you. if you\ncan enjoy it in peace, well and good! if you find you cannot, take my\nadvice, my boy, and leave it to your deadliest enemy. i am sorry to\ngive you such a two-edged thing, but i can’t say what turn things are\ngoing to take. kindly sign the paper where mr. fordham shows you.’\n\n“i signed the paper as directed, and the lawyer took it away with him.\nthe singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest impression\nupon me, and i pondered over it and turned it every way in my mind\nwithout being able to make anything of it. yet i could not shake off\nthe vague feeling of dread which it left behind, though the sensation\ngrew less keen as the weeks passed and nothing happened to disturb the\nusual routine of our lives. i could see a change in my uncle, however.\nhe drank more than ever, and he was less inclined for any sort of\nsociety. most of his time he would spend in his room, with the door\nlocked upon the inside, but sometimes he would emerge in a sort of\ndrunken frenzy and would burst out of the house and tear about the\ngarden with a revolver in his hand, screaming out that he was afraid of\nno man, and that he was not to be cooped up, like a sheep in a pen, by\nman or devil. when these hot fits were over, however, he would rush\ntumultuously in at the door and lock and bar it behind him, like a man\nwho can brazen it out no longer against the terror which lies at the\nroots of his soul. at such times i have seen his face, even on a cold\nday, glisten with moisture, as though it were new raised from a basin.\n\n“well, to come to an end of the matter, mr. holmes, and not to abuse\nyour patience, there came a night when he made one of those drunken\nsallies from which he never came back. we found him, when we went to\nsearch for him, face downward in a little green-scummed pool, which lay\nat the foot of the garden. there was no sign of any violence, and the\nwater was but two feet deep, so that the jury, having regard to his\nknown eccentricity, brought in a verdict of ‘suicide.’ but i, who knew\nhow he winced from the very thought of death, had much ado to persuade\nmyself that he had gone out of his way to meet it. the matter passed,\nhowever, and my father entered into possession of the estate, and of\nsome £ 14,000, which lay to his credit at the bank.”\n\n“one moment,” holmes interposed, “your statement is, i foresee, one of\nthe most remarkable to which i have ever listened. let me have the date\nof the reception by your uncle of the letter, and the date of his\nsupposed suicide.”\n\n“the letter arrived on march 10, 1883. his death was seven weeks later,\nupon the night of may 2nd.”\n\n“thank you. pray proceed.”\n\n“when my father took over the horsham property, he, at my request, made\na careful examination of the attic, which had been always locked up. we\nfound the brass box there, although its contents had been destroyed. on\nthe inside of the cover was a paper label, with the initials of k. k.\nk. repeated upon it, and ‘letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register’\nwritten beneath. these, we presume, indicated the nature of the papers\nwhich had been destroyed by colonel openshaw. for the rest, there was\nnothing of much importance in the attic save a great many scattered\npapers and note-books bearing upon my uncle’s life in america. some of\nthem were of the war time and showed that he had done his duty well and\nhad borne the repute of a brave soldier. others were of a date during\nthe reconstruction of the southern states, and were mostly concerned\nwith politics, for he had evidently taken a strong part in opposing the\ncarpet-bag politicians who had been sent down from the north.\n\n“well, it was the beginning of ’84 when my father came to live at\nhorsham, and all went as well as possible with us until the january of\n’85. on the fourth day after the new year i heard my father give a\nsharp cry of surprise as we sat together at the breakfast-table. there\nhe was, sitting with a newly opened envelope in one hand and five dried\norange pips in the outstretched palm of the other one. he had always\nlaughed at what he called my cock-and-bull story about the colonel, but\nhe looked very scared and puzzled now that the same thing had come upon\nhimself.\n\n“‘why, what on earth does this mean, john?’ he stammered.\n\n“my heart had turned to lead. ‘it is k. k. k.,’ said i.\n\n“he looked inside the envelope. ‘so it is,’ he cried. ‘here are the\nvery letters. but what is this written above them?’\n\n“‘put the papers on the sundial,’ i read, peeping over his shoulder.\n\n“‘what papers? what sundial?’ he asked.\n\n“‘the sundial in the garden. there is no other,’ said i; ‘but the\npapers must be those that are destroyed.’\n\n“‘pooh!’ said he, gripping hard at his courage. ‘we are in a civilised\nland here, and we can’t have tomfoolery of this kind. where does the\nthing come from?’\n\n“‘from dundee,’ i answered, glancing at the postmark.\n\n“‘some preposterous practical joke,’ said he. ‘what have i to do with\nsundials and papers? i shall take no notice of such nonsense.’\n\n“‘i should certainly speak to the police,’ i said.\n\n“‘and be laughed at for my pains. nothing of the sort.’\n\n“‘then let me do so?’\n\n“‘no, i forbid you. i won’t have a fuss made about such nonsense.’\n\n“it was in vain to argue with him, for he was a very obstinate man. i\nwent about, however, with a heart which was full of forebodings.\n\n“on the third day after the coming of the letter my father went from\nhome to visit an old friend of his, major freebody, who is in command\nof one of the forts upon portsdown hill. i was glad that he should go,\nfor it seemed to me that he was farther from danger when he was away\nfrom home. in that, however, i was in error. upon the second day of his\nabsence i received a telegram from the major, imploring me to come at\nonce. my father had fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits which abound\nin the neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a shattered skull.\ni hurried to him, but he passed away without having ever recovered his\nconsciousness. he had, as it appears, been returning from fareham in\nthe twilight, and as the country was unknown to him, and the chalk-pit\nunfenced, the jury had no hesitation in bringing in a verdict of ‘death\nfrom accidental causes.’ carefully as i examined every fact connected\nwith his death, i was unable to find anything which could suggest the\nidea of murder. there were no signs of violence, no footmarks, no\nrobbery, no record of strangers having been seen upon the roads. and\nyet i need not tell you that my mind was far from at ease, and that i\nwas well-nigh certain that some foul plot had been woven round him.\n\n“in this sinister way i came into my inheritance. you will ask me why i\ndid not dispose of it? i answer, because i was well convinced that our\ntroubles were in some way dependent upon an incident in my uncle’s\nlife, and that the danger would be as pressing in one house as in\nanother.\n\n“it was in january, ’85, that my poor father met his end, and two years\nand eight months have elapsed since then. during that time i have lived\nhappily at horsham, and i had begun to hope that this curse had passed\naway from the family, and that it had ended with the last generation. i\nhad begun to take comfort too soon, however; yesterday morning the blow\nfell in the very shape in which it had come upon my father.”\n\nthe young man took from his waistcoat a crumpled envelope, and turning\nto the table he shook out upon it five little dried orange pips.\n\n“this is the envelope,” he continued. “the postmark is london—eastern\ndivision. within are the very words which were upon my father’s last\nmessage: ‘k. k. k.’; and then ‘put the papers on the sundial.’”\n\n“what have you done?” asked holmes.\n\n“nothing.”\n\n“nothing?”\n\n“to tell the truth”—he sank his face into his thin, white hands—“i have\nfelt helpless. i have felt like one of those poor rabbits when the\nsnake is writhing towards it. i seem to be in the grasp of some\nresistless, inexorable evil, which no foresight and no precautions can\nguard against.”\n\n“tut! tut!” cried sherlock holmes. “you must act, man, or you are lost.\nnothing but energy can save you. this is no time for despair.”\n\n“i have seen the police.”\n\n“ah!”\n\n“but they listened to my story with a smile. i am convinced that the\ninspector has formed the opinion that the letters are all practical\njokes, and that the deaths of my relations were really accidents, as\nthe jury stated, and were not to be connected with the warnings.”\n\nholmes shook his clenched hands in the air. “incredible imbecility!” he\ncried.\n\n“they have, however, allowed me a policeman, who may remain in the\nhouse with me.”\n\n“has he come with you to-night?”\n\n“no. his orders were to stay in the house.”\n\nagain holmes raved in the air.\n\n“why did you come to me?” he said, “and, above all, why did you not\ncome at once?”\n\n“i did not know. it was only to-day that i spoke to major prendergast\nabout my troubles and was advised by him to come to you.”\n\n“it is really two days since you had the letter. we should have acted\nbefore this. you have no further evidence, i suppose, than that which\nyou have placed before us—no suggestive detail which might help us?”\n\n“there is one thing,” said john openshaw. he rummaged in his coat\npocket, and, drawing out a piece of discoloured, blue-tinted paper, he\nlaid it out upon the table. “i have some remembrance,” said he, “that\non the day when my uncle burned the papers i observed that the small,\nunburned margins which lay amid the ashes were of this particular\ncolour. i found this single sheet upon the floor of his room, and i am\ninclined to think that it may be one of the papers which has, perhaps,\nfluttered out from among the others, and in that way has escaped\ndestruction. beyond the mention of pips, i do not see that it helps us\nmuch. i think myself that it is a page from some private diary. the\nwriting is undoubtedly my uncle’s.”\n\nholmes moved the lamp, and we both bent over the sheet of paper, which\nshowed by its ragged edge that it had indeed been torn from a book. it\nwas headed, “march, 1869,” and beneath were the following enigmatical\nnotices:\n\n“4th. hudson came. same old platform.\n\n“7th. set the pips on mccauley, paramore, and john swain of st.\naugustine.\n\n“9th. mccauley cleared.\n\n“10th. john swain cleared.\n\n“12th. visited paramore. all well.”\n\n“thank you!” said holmes, folding up the paper and returning it to our\nvisitor. “and now you must on no account lose another instant. we\ncannot spare time even to discuss what you have told me. you must get\nhome instantly and act.”\n\n“what shall i do?”\n\n“there is but one thing to do. it must be done at once. you must put\nthis piece of paper which you have shown us into the brass box which\nyou have described. you must also put in a note to say that all the\nother papers were burned by your uncle, and that this is the only one\nwhich remains. you must assert that in such words as will carry\nconviction with them. having done this, you must at once put the box\nout upon the sundial, as directed. do you understand?”\n\n“entirely.”\n\n“do not think of revenge, or anything of the sort, at present. i think\nthat we may gain that by means of the law; but we have our web to\nweave, while theirs is already woven. the first consideration is to\nremove the pressing danger which threatens you. the second is to clear\nup the mystery and to punish the guilty parties.”\n\n“i thank you,” said the young man, rising and pulling on his overcoat.\n“you have given me fresh life and hope. i shall certainly do as you\nadvise.”\n\n“do not lose an instant. and, above all, take care of yourself in the\nmeanwhile, for i do not think that there can be a doubt that you are\nthreatened by a very real and imminent danger. how do you go back?”\n\n“by train from waterloo.”\n\n“it is not yet nine. the streets will be crowded, so i trust that you\nmay be in safety. and yet you cannot guard yourself too closely.”\n\n“i am armed.”\n\n“that is well. to-morrow i shall set to work upon your case.”\n\n“i shall see you at horsham, then?”\n\n“no, your secret lies in london. it is there that i shall seek it.”\n\n“then i shall call upon you in a day, or in two days, with news as to\nthe box and the papers. i shall take your advice in every particular.”\nhe shook hands with us and took his leave. outside the wind still\nscreamed and the rain splashed and pattered against the windows. this\nstrange, wild story seemed to have come to us from amid the mad\nelements—blown in upon us like a sheet of sea-weed in a gale—and now to\nhave been reabsorbed by them once more.\n\nsherlock holmes sat for some time in silence, with his head sunk\nforward and his eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire. then he lit\nhis pipe, and leaning back in his chair he watched the blue smoke-rings\nas they chased each other up to the ceiling.\n\n“i think, watson,” he remarked at last, “that of all our cases we have\nhad none more fantastic than this.”\n\n“save, perhaps, the sign of four.”\n\n“well, yes. save, perhaps, that. and yet this john openshaw seems to me\nto be walking amid even greater perils than did the sholtos.”\n\n“but have you,” i asked, “formed any definite conception as to what\nthese perils are?”\n\n“there can be no question as to their nature,” he answered.\n\n“then what are they? who is this k. k. k., and why does he pursue this\nunhappy family?”\n\nsherlock holmes closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon the arms of\nhis chair, with his finger-tips together. “the ideal reasoner,” he\nremarked, “would, when he had once been shown a single fact in all its\nbearings, deduce from it not only all the chain of events which led up\nto it but also all the results which would follow from it. as cuvier\ncould correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation of a\nsingle bone, so the observer who has thoroughly understood one link in\na series of incidents should be able to accurately state all the other\nones, both before and after. we have not yet grasped the results which\nthe reason alone can attain to. problems may be solved in the study\nwhich have baffled all those who have sought a solution by the aid of\ntheir senses. to carry the art, however, to its highest pitch, it is\nnecessary that the reasoner should be able to utilise all the facts\nwhich have come to his knowledge; and this in itself implies, as you\nwill readily see, a possession of all knowledge, which, even in these\ndays of free education and encyclopædias, is a somewhat rare\naccomplishment. it is not so impossible, however, that a man should\npossess all knowledge which is likely to be useful to him in his work,\nand this i have endeavoured in my case to do. if i remember rightly,\nyou on one occasion, in the early days of our friendship, defined my\nlimits in a very precise fashion.”\n\n“yes,” i answered, laughing. “it was a singular document. philosophy,\nastronomy, and politics were marked at zero, i remember. botany\nvariable, geology profound as regards the mud-stains from any region\nwithin fifty miles of town, chemistry eccentric, anatomy unsystematic,\nsensational literature and crime records unique, violin-player, boxer,\nswordsman, lawyer, and self-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco. those, i\nthink, were the main points of my analysis.”\n\nholmes grinned at the last item. “well,” he said, “i say now, as i said\nthen, that a man should keep his little brain-attic stocked with all\nthe furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in\nthe lumber-room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it.\nnow, for such a case as the one which has been submitted to us\nto-night, we need certainly to muster all our resources. kindly hand me\ndown the letter k of the _american encyclopædia_ which stands upon the\nshelf beside you. thank you. now let us consider the situation and see\nwhat may be deduced from it. in the first place, we may start with a\nstrong presumption that colonel openshaw had some very strong reason\nfor leaving america. men at his time of life do not change all their\nhabits and exchange willingly the charming climate of florida for the\nlonely life of an english provincial town. his extreme love of solitude\nin england suggests the idea that he was in fear of someone or\nsomething, so we may assume as a working hypothesis that it was fear of\nsomeone or something which drove him from america. as to what it was he\nfeared, we can only deduce that by considering the formidable letters\nwhich were received by himself and his successors. did you remark the\npostmarks of those letters?”\n\n“the first was from pondicherry, the second from dundee, and the third\nfrom london.”\n\n“from east london. what do you deduce from that?”\n\n“they are all seaports. that the writer was on board of a ship.”\n\n“excellent. we have already a clue. there can be no doubt that the\nprobability—the strong probability—is that the writer was on board of a\nship. and now let us consider another point. in the case of\npondicherry, seven weeks elapsed between the threat and its fulfilment,\nin dundee it was only some three or four days. does that suggest\nanything?”\n\n“a greater distance to travel.”\n\n“but the letter had also a greater distance to come.”\n\n“then i do not see the point.”\n\n“there is at least a presumption that the vessel in which the man or\nmen are is a sailing-ship. it looks as if they always send their\nsingular warning or token before them when starting upon their mission.\nyou see how quickly the deed followed the sign when it came from\ndundee. if they had come from pondicherry in a steamer they would have\narrived almost as soon as their letter. but, as a matter of fact, seven\nweeks elapsed. i think that those seven weeks represented the\ndifference between the mail-boat which brought the letter and the\nsailing vessel which brought the writer.”\n\n“it is possible.”\n\n“more than that. it is probable. and now you see the deadly urgency of\nthis new case, and why i urged young openshaw to caution. the blow has\nalways fallen at the end of the time which it would take the senders to\ntravel the distance. but this one comes from london, and therefore we\ncannot count upon delay.”\n\n“good god!” i cried. “what can it mean, this relentless persecution?”\n\n“the papers which openshaw carried are obviously of vital importance to\nthe person or persons in the sailing-ship. i think that it is quite\nclear that there must be more than one of them. a single man could not\nhave carried out two deaths in such a way as to deceive a coroner’s\njury. there must have been several in it, and they must have been men\nof resource and determination. their papers they mean to have, be the\nholder of them who it may. in this way you see k. k. k. ceases to be\nthe initials of an individual and becomes the badge of a society.”\n\n“but of what society?”\n\n“have you never—” said sherlock holmes, bending forward and sinking his\nvoice—“have you never heard of the ku klux klan?”\n\n“i never have.”\n\nholmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee. “here it is,”\nsaid he presently:\n\n“‘ku klux klan. a name derived from the fanciful resemblance to the\nsound produced by cocking a rifle. this terrible secret society was\nformed by some ex-confederate soldiers in the southern states after the\ncivil war, and it rapidly formed local branches in different parts of\nthe country, notably in tennessee, louisiana, the carolinas, georgia,\nand florida. its power was used for political purposes, principally for\nthe terrorising of the negro voters and the murdering and driving from\nthe country of those who were opposed to its views. its outrages were\nusually preceded by a warning sent to the marked man in some fantastic\nbut generally recognised shape—a sprig of oak-leaves in some parts,\nmelon seeds or orange pips in others. on receiving this the victim\nmight either openly abjure his former ways, or might fly from the\ncountry. if he braved the matter out, death would unfailingly come upon\nhim, and usually in some strange and unforeseen manner. so perfect was\nthe organisation of the society, and so systematic its methods, that\nthere is hardly a case upon record where any man succeeded in braving\nit with impunity, or in which any of its outrages were traced home to\nthe perpetrators. for some years the organisation flourished in spite\nof the efforts of the united states government and of the better\nclasses of the community in the south. eventually, in the year 1869,\nthe movement rather suddenly collapsed, although there have been\nsporadic outbreaks of the same sort since that date.’\n\n“you will observe,” said holmes, laying down the volume, “that the\nsudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the disappearance\nof openshaw from america with their papers. it may well have been cause\nand effect. it is no wonder that he and his family have some of the\nmore implacable spirits upon their track. you can understand that this\nregister and diary may implicate some of the first men in the south,\nand that there may be many who will not sleep easy at night until it is\nrecovered.”\n\n“then the page we have seen—”\n\n“is such as we might expect. it ran, if i remember right, ‘sent the\npips to a, b, and c’—that is, sent the society’s warning to them. then\nthere are successive entries that a and b cleared, or left the country,\nand finally that c was visited, with, i fear, a sinister result for c.\nwell, i think, doctor, that we may let some light into this dark place,\nand i believe that the only chance young openshaw has in the meantime\nis to do what i have told him. there is nothing more to be said or to\nbe done to-night, so hand me over my violin and let us try to forget\nfor half an hour the miserable weather and the still more miserable\nways of our fellow men.”\n\nit had cleared in the morning, and the sun was shining with a subdued\nbrightness through the dim veil which hangs over the great city.\nsherlock holmes was already at breakfast when i came down.\n\n“you will excuse me for not waiting for you,” said he; “i have, i\nforesee, a very busy day before me in looking into this case of young\nopenshaw’s.”\n\n“what steps will you take?” i asked.\n\n“it will very much depend upon the results of my first inquiries. i may\nhave to go down to horsham, after all.”\n\n“you will not go there first?”\n\n“no, i shall commence with the city. just ring the bell and the maid\nwill bring up your coffee.”\n\nas i waited, i lifted the unopened newspaper from the table and glanced\nmy eye over it. it rested upon a heading which sent a chill to my\nheart.\n\n“holmes,” i cried, “you are too late.”\n\n“ah!” said he, laying down his cup, “i feared as much. how was it\ndone?” he spoke calmly, but i could see that he was deeply moved.\n\n“my eye caught the name of openshaw, and the heading ‘tragedy near\nwaterloo bridge.’ here is the account:\n\n“‘between nine and ten last night police-constable cook, of the h\ndivision, on duty near waterloo bridge, heard a cry for help and a\nsplash in the water. the night, however, was extremely dark and stormy,\nso that, in spite of the help of several passers-by, it was quite\nimpossible to effect a rescue. the alarm, however, was given, and, by\nthe aid of the water-police, the body was eventually recovered. it\nproved to be that of a young gentleman whose name, as it appears from\nan envelope which was found in his pocket, was john openshaw, and whose\nresidence is near horsham. it is conjectured that he may have been\nhurrying down to catch the last train from waterloo station, and that\nin his haste and the extreme darkness he missed his path and walked\nover the edge of one of the small landing-places for river steamboats.\nthe body exhibited no traces of violence, and there can be no doubt\nthat the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident, which\nshould have the effect of calling the attention of the authorities to\nthe condition of the riverside landing-stages.’”\n\nwe sat in silence for some minutes, holmes more depressed and shaken\nthan i had ever seen him.\n\n“that hurts my pride, watson,” he said at last. “it is a petty feeling,\nno doubt, but it hurts my pride. it becomes a personal matter with me\nnow, and, if god sends me health, i shall set my hand upon this gang.\nthat he should come to me for help, and that i should send him away to\nhis death—!” he sprang from his chair and paced about the room in\nuncontrollable agitation, with a flush upon his sallow cheeks and a\nnervous clasping and unclasping of his long thin hands.\n\n“they must be cunning devils,” he exclaimed at last. “how could they\nhave decoyed him down there? the embankment is not on the direct line\nto the station. the bridge, no doubt, was too crowded, even on such a\nnight, for their purpose. well, watson, we shall see who will win in\nthe long run. i am going out now!”\n\n“to the police?”\n\n“no; i shall be my own police. when i have spun the web they may take\nthe flies, but not before.”\n\nall day i was engaged in my professional work, and it was late in the\nevening before i returned to baker street. sherlock holmes had not come\nback yet. it was nearly ten o’clock before he entered, looking pale and\nworn. he walked up to the sideboard, and tearing a piece from the loaf\nhe devoured it voraciously, washing it down with a long draught of\nwater.\n\n“you are hungry,” i remarked.\n\n“starving. it had escaped my memory. i have had nothing since\nbreakfast.”\n\n“nothing?”\n\n“not a bite. i had no time to think of it.”\n\n“and how have you succeeded?”\n\n“well.”\n\n“you have a clue?”\n\n“i have them in the hollow of my hand. young openshaw shall not long\nremain unavenged. why, watson, let us put their own devilish trade-mark\nupon them. it is well thought of!”\n\n“what do you mean?”\n\nhe took an orange from the cupboard, and tearing it to pieces he\nsqueezed out the pips upon the table. of these he took five and thrust\nthem into an envelope. on the inside of the flap he wrote “s. h. for j.\no.” then he sealed it and addressed it to “captain james calhoun,\nbarque _lone star_, savannah, georgia.”\n\n“that will await him when he enters port,” said he, chuckling. “it may\ngive him a sleepless night. he will find it as sure a precursor of his\nfate as openshaw did before him.”\n\n“and who is this captain calhoun?”\n\n“the leader of the gang. i shall have the others, but he first.”\n\n“how did you trace it, then?”\n\nhe took a large sheet of paper from his pocket, all covered with dates\nand names.\n\n“i have spent the whole day,” said he, “over lloyd’s registers and\nfiles of the old papers, following the future career of every vessel\nwhich touched at pondicherry in january and february in ’83. there were\nthirty-six ships of fair tonnage which were reported there during those\nmonths. of these, one, the _lone star_, instantly attracted my\nattention, since, although it was reported as having cleared from\nlondon, the name is that which is given to one of the states of the\nunion.”\n\n“texas, i think.”\n\n“i was not and am not sure which; but i knew that the ship must have an\namerican origin.”\n\n“what then?”\n\n“i searched the dundee records, and when i found that the barque _lone\nstar_ was there in january, ’85, my suspicion became a certainty. i\nthen inquired as to the vessels which lay at present in the port of\nlondon.”\n\n“yes?”\n\n“the _lone star_ had arrived here last week. i went down to the albert\ndock and found that she had been taken down the river by the early tide\nthis morning, homeward bound to savannah. i wired to gravesend and\nlearned that she had passed some time ago, and as the wind is easterly\ni have no doubt that she is now past the goodwins and not very far from\nthe isle of wight.”\n\n“what will you do, then?”\n\n“oh, i have my hand upon him. he and the two mates, are as i learn, the\nonly native-born americans in the ship. the others are finns and\ngermans. i know, also, that they were all three away from the ship last\nnight. i had it from the stevedore who has been loading their cargo. by\nthe time that their sailing-ship reaches savannah the mail-boat will\nhave carried this letter, and the cable will have informed the police\nof savannah that these three gentlemen are badly wanted here upon a\ncharge of murder.”\n\nthere is ever a flaw, however, in the best laid of human plans, and the\nmurderers of john openshaw were never to receive the orange pips which\nwould show them that another, as cunning and as resolute as themselves,\nwas upon their track. very long and very severe were the equinoctial\ngales that year. we waited long for news of the _lone star_ of\nsavannah, but none ever reached us. we did at last hear that somewhere\nfar out in the atlantic a shattered stern-post of a boat was seen\nswinging in the trough of a wave, with the letters “l. s.” carved upon\nit, and that is all which we shall ever know of the fate of the _lone\nstar_.\n\n\n\nvi. the man with the twisted lip\n\nisa whitney, brother of the late elias whitney, d.d., principal of the\ntheological college of st. george’s, was much addicted to opium. the\nhabit grew upon him, as i understand, from some foolish freak when he\nwas at college; for having read de quincey’s description of his dreams\nand sensations, he had drenched his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt\nto produce the same effects. he found, as so many more have done, that\nthe practice is easier to attain than to get rid of, and for many years\nhe continued to be a slave to the drug, an object of mingled horror and\npity to his friends and relatives. i can see him now, with yellow,\npasty face, drooping lids, and pin-point pupils, all huddled in a\nchair, the wreck and ruin of a noble man.\n\none night—it was in june, ’89—there came a ring to my bell, about the\nhour when a man gives his first yawn and glances at the clock. i sat up\nin my chair, and my wife laid her needle-work down in her lap and made\na little face of disappointment.\n\n“a patient!” said she. “you’ll have to go out.”\n\ni groaned, for i was newly come back from a weary day.\n\nwe heard the door open, a few hurried words, and then quick steps upon\nthe linoleum. our own door flew open, and a lady, clad in some\ndark-coloured stuff, with a black veil, entered the room.\n\n“you will excuse my calling so late,” she began, and then, suddenly\nlosing her self-control, she ran forward, threw her arms about my\nwife’s neck, and sobbed upon her shoulder. “oh, i’m in such trouble!”\nshe cried; “i do so want a little help.”\n\n“why,” said my wife, pulling up her veil, “it is kate whitney. how you\nstartled me, kate! i had not an idea who you were when you came in.”\n\n“i didn’t know what to do, so i came straight to you.” that was always\nthe way. folk who were in grief came to my wife like birds to a\nlighthouse.\n\n“it was very sweet of you to come. now, you must have some wine and\nwater, and sit here comfortably and tell us all about it. or should you\nrather that i sent james off to bed?”\n\n“oh, no, no! i want the doctor’s advice and help, too. it’s about isa.\nhe has not been home for two days. i am so frightened about him!”\n\nit was not the first time that she had spoken to us of her husband’s\ntrouble, to me as a doctor, to my wife as an old friend and school\ncompanion. we soothed and comforted her by such words as we could find.\ndid she know where her husband was? was it possible that we could bring\nhim back to her?\n\nit seems that it was. she had the surest information that of late he\nhad, when the fit was on him, made use of an opium den in the farthest\neast of the city. hitherto his orgies had always been confined to one\nday, and he had come back, twitching and shattered, in the evening. but\nnow the spell had been upon him eight-and-forty hours, and he lay\nthere, doubtless among the dregs of the docks, breathing in the poison\nor sleeping off the effects. there he was to be found, she was sure of\nit, at the bar of gold, in upper swandam lane. but what was she to do?\nhow could she, a young and timid woman, make her way into such a place\nand pluck her husband out from among the ruffians who surrounded him?\n\nthere was the case, and of course there was but one way out of it.\nmight i not escort her to this place? and then, as a second thought,\nwhy should she come at all? i was isa whitney’s medical adviser, and as\nsuch i had influence over him. i could manage it better if i were\nalone. i promised her on my word that i would send him home in a cab\nwithin two hours if he were indeed at the address which she had given\nme. and so in ten minutes i had left my armchair and cheery\nsitting-room behind me, and was speeding eastward in a hansom on a\nstrange errand, as it seemed to me at the time, though the future only\ncould show how strange it was to be.\n\nbut there was no great difficulty in the first stage of my adventure.\nupper swandam lane is a vile alley lurking behind the high wharves\nwhich line the north side of the river to the east of london bridge.\nbetween a slop-shop and a gin-shop, approached by a steep flight of\nsteps leading down to a black gap like the mouth of a cave, i found the\nden of which i was in search. ordering my cab to wait, i passed down\nthe steps, worn hollow in the centre by the ceaseless tread of drunken\nfeet; and by the light of a flickering oil-lamp above the door i found\nthe latch and made my way into a long, low room, thick and heavy with\nthe brown opium smoke, and terraced with wooden berths, like the\nforecastle of an emigrant ship.\n\nthrough the gloom one could dimly catch a glimpse of bodies lying in\nstrange fantastic poses, bowed shoulders, bent knees, heads thrown\nback, and chins pointing upward, with here and there a dark,\nlack-lustre eye turned upon the newcomer. out of the black shadows\nthere glimmered little red circles of light, now bright, now faint, as\nthe burning poison waxed or waned in the bowls of the metal pipes. the\nmost lay silent, but some muttered to themselves, and others talked\ntogether in a strange, low, monotonous voice, their conversation coming\nin gushes, and then suddenly tailing off into silence, each mumbling\nout his own thoughts and paying little heed to the words of his\nneighbour. at the farther end was a small brazier of burning charcoal,\nbeside which on a three-legged wooden stool there sat a tall, thin old\nman, with his jaw resting upon his two fists, and his elbows upon his\nknees, staring into the fire.\n\nas i entered, a sallow malay attendant had hurried up with a pipe for\nme and a supply of the drug, beckoning me to an empty berth.\n\n“thank you. i have not come to stay,” said i. “there is a friend of\nmine here, mr. isa whitney, and i wish to speak with him.”\n\nthere was a movement and an exclamation from my right, and peering\nthrough the gloom, i saw whitney, pale, haggard, and unkempt, staring\nout at me.\n\n“my god! it’s watson,” said he. he was in a pitiable state of reaction,\nwith every nerve in a twitter. “i say, watson, what o’clock is it?”\n\n“nearly eleven.”\n\n“of what day?”\n\n“of friday, june 19th.”\n\n“good heavens! i thought it was wednesday. it is wednesday. what d’you\nwant to frighten a chap for?” he sank his face onto his arms and began\nto sob in a high treble key.\n\n“i tell you that it is friday, man. your wife has been waiting this two\ndays for you. you should be ashamed of yourself!”\n\n“so i am. but you’ve got mixed, watson, for i have only been here a few\nhours, three pipes, four pipes—i forget how many. but i’ll go home with\nyou. i wouldn’t frighten kate—poor little kate. give me your hand! have\nyou a cab?”\n\n“yes, i have one waiting.”\n\n“then i shall go in it. but i must owe something. find what i owe,\nwatson. i am all off colour. i can do nothing for myself.”\n\ni walked down the narrow passage between the double row of sleepers,\nholding my breath to keep out the vile, stupefying fumes of the drug,\nand looking about for the manager. as i passed the tall man who sat by\nthe brazier i felt a sudden pluck at my skirt, and a low voice\nwhispered, “walk past me, and then look back at me.” the words fell\nquite distinctly upon my ear. i glanced down. they could only have come\nfrom the old man at my side, and yet he sat now as absorbed as ever,\nvery thin, very wrinkled, bent with age, an opium pipe dangling down\nfrom between his knees, as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude\nfrom his fingers. i took two steps forward and looked back. it took all\nmy self-control to prevent me from breaking out into a cry of\nastonishment. he had turned his back so that none could see him but i.\nhis form had filled out, his wrinkles were gone, the dull eyes had\nregained their fire, and there, sitting by the fire and grinning at my\nsurprise, was none other than sherlock holmes. he made a slight motion\nto me to approach him, and instantly, as he turned his face half round\nto the company once more, subsided into a doddering, loose-lipped\nsenility.\n\n“holmes!” i whispered, “what on earth are you doing in this den?”\n\n“as low as you can,” he answered; “i have excellent ears. if you would\nhave the great kindness to get rid of that sottish friend of yours i\nshould be exceedingly glad to have a little talk with you.”\n\n“i have a cab outside.”\n\n“then pray send him home in it. you may safely trust him, for he\nappears to be too limp to get into any mischief. i should recommend you\nalso to send a note by the cabman to your wife to say that you have\nthrown in your lot with me. if you will wait outside, i shall be with\nyou in five minutes.”\n\nit was difficult to refuse any of sherlock holmes’ requests, for they\nwere always so exceedingly definite, and put forward with such a quiet\nair of mastery. i felt, however, that when whitney was once confined in\nthe cab my mission was practically accomplished; and for the rest, i\ncould not wish anything better than to be associated with my friend in\none of those singular adventures which were the normal condition of his\nexistence. in a few minutes i had written my note, paid whitney’s bill,\nled him out to the cab, and seen him driven through the darkness. in a\nvery short time a decrepit figure had emerged from the opium den, and i\nwas walking down the street with sherlock holmes. for two streets he\nshuffled along with a bent back and an uncertain foot. then, glancing\nquickly round, he straightened himself out and burst into a hearty fit\nof laughter.\n\n“i suppose, watson,” said he, “that you imagine that i have added\nopium-smoking to cocaine injections, and all the other little\nweaknesses on which you have favoured me with your medical views.”\n\n“i was certainly surprised to find you there.”\n\n“but not more so than i to find you.”\n\n“i came to find a friend.”\n\n“and i to find an enemy.”\n\n“an enemy?”\n\n“yes; one of my natural enemies, or, shall i say, my natural prey.\nbriefly, watson, i am in the midst of a very remarkable inquiry, and i\nhave hoped to find a clue in the incoherent ramblings of these sots, as\ni have done before now. had i been recognised in that den my life would\nnot have been worth an hour’s purchase; for i have used it before now\nfor my own purposes, and the rascally lascar who runs it has sworn to\nhave vengeance upon me. there is a trap-door at the back of that\nbuilding, near the corner of paul’s wharf, which could tell some\nstrange tales of what has passed through it upon the moonless nights.”\n\n“what! you do not mean bodies?”\n\n“ay, bodies, watson. we should be rich men if we had £ 1000 for every\npoor devil who has been done to death in that den. it is the vilest\nmurder-trap on the whole riverside, and i fear that neville st. clair\nhas entered it never to leave it more. but our trap should be here.” he\nput his two forefingers between his teeth and whistled shrilly—a signal\nwhich was answered by a similar whistle from the distance, followed\nshortly by the rattle of wheels and the clink of horses’ hoofs.\n\n“now, watson,” said holmes, as a tall dog-cart dashed up through the\ngloom, throwing out two golden tunnels of yellow light from its side\nlanterns. “you’ll come with me, won’t you?”\n\n“if i can be of use.”\n\n“oh, a trusty comrade is always of use; and a chronicler still more so.\nmy room at the cedars is a double-bedded one.”\n\n“the cedars?”\n\n“yes; that is mr. st. clair’s house. i am staying there while i conduct\nthe inquiry.”\n\n“where is it, then?”\n\n“near lee, in kent. we have a seven-mile drive before us.”\n\n“but i am all in the dark.”\n\n“of course you are. you’ll know all about it presently. jump up here.\nall right, john; we shall not need you. here’s half a crown. look out\nfor me to-morrow, about eleven. give her her head. so long, then!”\n\nhe flicked the horse with his whip, and we dashed away through the\nendless succession of sombre and deserted streets, which widened\ngradually, until we were flying across a broad balustraded bridge, with\nthe murky river flowing sluggishly beneath us. beyond lay another dull\nwilderness of bricks and mortar, its silence broken only by the heavy,\nregular footfall of the policeman, or the songs and shouts of some\nbelated party of revellers. a dull wrack was drifting slowly across the\nsky, and a star or two twinkled dimly here and there through the rifts\nof the clouds. holmes drove in silence, with his head sunk upon his\nbreast, and the air of a man who is lost in thought, while i sat beside\nhim, curious to learn what this new quest might be which seemed to tax\nhis powers so sorely, and yet afraid to break in upon the current of\nhis thoughts. we had driven several miles, and were beginning to get to\nthe fringe of the belt of suburban villas, when he shook himself,\nshrugged his shoulders, and lit up his pipe with the air of a man who\nhas satisfied himself that he is acting for the best.\n\n“you have a grand gift of silence, watson,” said he. “it makes you\nquite invaluable as a companion. ’pon my word, it is a great thing for\nme to have someone to talk to, for my own thoughts are not\nover-pleasant. i was wondering what i should say to this dear little\nwoman to-night when she meets me at the door.”\n\n“you forget that i know nothing about it.”\n\n“i shall just have time to tell you the facts of the case before we get\nto lee. it seems absurdly simple, and yet, somehow i can get nothing to\ngo upon. there’s plenty of thread, no doubt, but i can’t get the end of\nit into my hand. now, i’ll state the case clearly and concisely to you,\nwatson, and maybe you can see a spark where all is dark to me.”\n\n“proceed, then.”\n\n“some years ago—to be definite, in may, 1884—there came to lee a\ngentleman, neville st. clair by name, who appeared to have plenty of\nmoney. he took a large villa, laid out the grounds very nicely, and\nlived generally in good style. by degrees he made friends in the\nneighbourhood, and in 1887 he married the daughter of a local brewer,\nby whom he now has two children. he had no occupation, but was\ninterested in several companies and went into town as a rule in the\nmorning, returning by the 5:14 from cannon street every night. mr. st.\nclair is now thirty-seven years of age, is a man of temperate habits, a\ngood husband, a very affectionate father, and a man who is popular with\nall who know him. i may add that his whole debts at the present moment,\nas far as we have been able to ascertain, amount to £ 88 10_s_., while\nhe has £ 220 standing to his credit in the capital and counties bank.\nthere is no reason, therefore, to think that money troubles have been\nweighing upon his mind.\n\n“last monday mr. neville st. clair went into town rather earlier than\nusual, remarking before he started that he had two important\ncommissions to perform, and that he would bring his little boy home a\nbox of bricks. now, by the merest chance, his wife received a telegram\nupon this same monday, very shortly after his departure, to the effect\nthat a small parcel of considerable value which she had been expecting\nwas waiting for her at the offices of the aberdeen shipping company.\nnow, if you are well up in your london, you will know that the office\nof the company is in fresno street, which branches out of upper swandam\nlane, where you found me to-night. mrs. st. clair had her lunch,\nstarted for the city, did some shopping, proceeded to the company’s\noffice, got her packet, and found herself at exactly 4:35 walking\nthrough swandam lane on her way back to the station. have you followed\nme so far?”\n\n“it is very clear.”\n\n“if you remember, monday was an exceedingly hot day, and mrs. st. clair\nwalked slowly, glancing about in the hope of seeing a cab, as she did\nnot like the neighbourhood in which she found herself. while she was\nwalking in this way down swandam lane, she suddenly heard an\nejaculation or cry, and was struck cold to see her husband looking down\nat her and, as it seemed to her, beckoning to her from a second-floor\nwindow. the window was open, and she distinctly saw his face, which she\ndescribes as being terribly agitated. he waved his hands frantically to\nher, and then vanished from the window so suddenly that it seemed to\nher that he had been plucked back by some irresistible force from\nbehind. one singular point which struck her quick feminine eye was that\nalthough he wore some dark coat, such as he had started to town in, he\nhad on neither collar nor necktie.\n\n“convinced that something was amiss with him, she rushed down the\nsteps—for the house was none other than the opium den in which you\nfound me to-night—and running through the front room she attempted to\nascend the stairs which led to the first floor. at the foot of the\nstairs, however, she met this lascar scoundrel of whom i have spoken,\nwho thrust her back and, aided by a dane, who acts as assistant there,\npushed her out into the street. filled with the most maddening doubts\nand fears, she rushed down the lane and, by rare good-fortune, met in\nfresno street a number of constables with an inspector, all on their\nway to their beat. the inspector and two men accompanied her back, and\nin spite of the continued resistance of the proprietor, they made their\nway to the room in which mr. st. clair had last been seen. there was no\nsign of him there. in fact, in the whole of that floor there was no one\nto be found save a crippled wretch of hideous aspect, who, it seems,\nmade his home there. both he and the lascar stoutly swore that no one\nelse had been in the front room during the afternoon. so determined was\ntheir denial that the inspector was staggered, and had almost come to\nbelieve that mrs. st. clair had been deluded when, with a cry, she\nsprang at a small deal box which lay upon the table and tore the lid\nfrom it. out there fell a cascade of children’s bricks. it was the toy\nwhich he had promised to bring home.\n\n“this discovery, and the evident confusion which the cripple showed,\nmade the inspector realise that the matter was serious. the rooms were\ncarefully examined, and results all pointed to an abominable crime. the\nfront room was plainly furnished as a sitting-room and led into a small\nbedroom, which looked out upon the back of one of the wharves. between\nthe wharf and the bedroom window is a narrow strip, which is dry at low\ntide but is covered at high tide with at least four and a half feet of\nwater. the bedroom window was a broad one and opened from below. on\nexamination traces of blood were to be seen upon the windowsill, and\nseveral scattered drops were visible upon the wooden floor of the\nbedroom. thrust away behind a curtain in the front room were all the\nclothes of mr. neville st. clair, with the exception of his coat. his\nboots, his socks, his hat, and his watch—all were there. there were no\nsigns of violence upon any of these garments, and there were no other\ntraces of mr. neville st. clair. out of the window he must apparently\nhave gone for no other exit could be discovered, and the ominous\nbloodstains upon the sill gave little promise that he could save\nhimself by swimming, for the tide was at its very highest at the moment\nof the tragedy.\n\n“and now as to the villains who seemed to be immediately implicated in\nthe matter. the lascar was known to be a man of the vilest antecedents,\nbut as, by mrs. st. clair’s story, he was known to have been at the\nfoot of the stair within a very few seconds of her husband’s appearance\nat the window, he could hardly have been more than an accessory to the\ncrime. his defence was one of absolute ignorance, and he protested that\nhe had no knowledge as to the doings of hugh boone, his lodger, and\nthat he could not account in any way for the presence of the missing\ngentleman’s clothes.\n\n“so much for the lascar manager. now for the sinister cripple who lives\nupon the second floor of the opium den, and who was certainly the last\nhuman being whose eyes rested upon neville st. clair. his name is hugh\nboone, and his hideous face is one which is familiar to every man who\ngoes much to the city. he is a professional beggar, though in order to\navoid the police regulations he pretends to a small trade in wax\nvestas. some little distance down threadneedle street, upon the\nleft-hand side, there is, as you may have remarked, a small angle in\nthe wall. here it is that this creature takes his daily seat,\ncross-legged with his tiny stock of matches on his lap, and as he is a\npiteous spectacle a small rain of charity descends into the greasy\nleather cap which lies upon the pavement beside him. i have watched the\nfellow more than once before ever i thought of making his professional\nacquaintance, and i have been surprised at the harvest which he has\nreaped in a short time. his appearance, you see, is so remarkable that\nno one can pass him without observing him. a shock of orange hair, a\npale face disfigured by a horrible scar, which, by its contraction, has\nturned up the outer edge of his upper lip, a bulldog chin, and a pair\nof very penetrating dark eyes, which present a singular contrast to the\ncolour of his hair, all mark him out from amid the common crowd of\nmendicants and so, too, does his wit, for he is ever ready with a reply\nto any piece of chaff which may be thrown at him by the passers-by.\nthis is the man whom we now learn to have been the lodger at the opium\nden, and to have been the last man to see the gentleman of whom we are\nin quest.”\n\n“but a cripple!” said i. “what could he have done single-handed against\na man in the prime of life?”\n\n“he is a cripple in the sense that he walks with a limp; but in other\nrespects he appears to be a powerful and well-nurtured man. surely your\nmedical experience would tell you, watson, that weakness in one limb is\noften compensated for by exceptional strength in the others.”\n\n“pray continue your narrative.”\n\n“mrs. st. clair had fainted at the sight of the blood upon the window,\nand she was escorted home in a cab by the police, as her presence could\nbe of no help to them in their investigations. inspector barton, who\nhad charge of the case, made a very careful examination of the\npremises, but without finding anything which threw any light upon the\nmatter. one mistake had been made in not arresting boone instantly, as\nhe was allowed some few minutes during which he might have communicated\nwith his friend the lascar, but this fault was soon remedied, and he\nwas seized and searched, without anything being found which could\nincriminate him. there were, it is true, some blood-stains upon his\nright shirt-sleeve, but he pointed to his ring-finger, which had been\ncut near the nail, and explained that the bleeding came from there,\nadding that he had been to the window not long before, and that the\nstains which had been observed there came doubtless from the same\nsource. he denied strenuously having ever seen mr. neville st. clair\nand swore that the presence of the clothes in his room was as much a\nmystery to him as to the police. as to mrs. st. clair’s assertion that\nshe had actually seen her husband at the window, he declared that she\nmust have been either mad or dreaming. he was removed, loudly\nprotesting, to the police-station, while the inspector remained upon\nthe premises in the hope that the ebbing tide might afford some fresh\nclue.\n\n“and it did, though they hardly found upon the mud-bank what they had\nfeared to find. it was neville st. clair’s coat, and not neville st.\nclair, which lay uncovered as the tide receded. and what do you think\nthey found in the pockets?”\n\n“i cannot imagine.”\n\n“no, i don’t think you would guess. every pocket stuffed with pennies\nand half-pennies—421 pennies and 270 half-pennies. it was no wonder\nthat it had not been swept away by the tide. but a human body is a\ndifferent matter. there is a fierce eddy between the wharf and the\nhouse. it seemed likely enough that the weighted coat had remained when\nthe stripped body had been sucked away into the river.”\n\n“but i understand that all the other clothes were found in the room.\nwould the body be dressed in a coat alone?”\n\n“no, sir, but the facts might be met speciously enough. suppose that\nthis man boone had thrust neville st. clair through the window, there\nis no human eye which could have seen the deed. what would he do then?\nit would of course instantly strike him that he must get rid of the\ntell-tale garments. he would seize the coat, then, and be in the act of\nthrowing it out, when it would occur to him that it would swim and not\nsink. he has little time, for he has heard the scuffle downstairs when\nthe wife tried to force her way up, and perhaps he has already heard\nfrom his lascar confederate that the police are hurrying up the street.\nthere is not an instant to be lost. he rushes to some secret hoard,\nwhere he has accumulated the fruits of his beggary, and he stuffs all\nthe coins upon which he can lay his hands into the pockets to make sure\nof the coat’s sinking. he throws it out, and would have done the same\nwith the other garments had not he heard the rush of steps below, and\nonly just had time to close the window when the police appeared.”\n\n“it certainly sounds feasible.”\n\n“well, we will take it as a working hypothesis for want of a better.\nboone, as i have told you, was arrested and taken to the station, but\nit could not be shown that there had ever before been anything against\nhim. he had for years been known as a professional beggar, but his life\nappeared to have been a very quiet and innocent one. there the matter\nstands at present, and the questions which have to be solved—what\nneville st. clair was doing in the opium den, what happened to him when\nthere, where is he now, and what hugh boone had to do with his\ndisappearance—are all as far from a solution as ever. i confess that i\ncannot recall any case within my experience which looked at the first\nglance so simple and yet which presented such difficulties.”\n\nwhile sherlock holmes had been detailing this singular series of\nevents, we had been whirling through the outskirts of the great town\nuntil the last straggling houses had been left behind, and we rattled\nalong with a country hedge upon either side of us. just as he finished,\nhowever, we drove through two scattered villages, where a few lights\nstill glimmered in the windows.\n\n“we are on the outskirts of lee,” said my companion. “we have touched\non three english counties in our short drive, starting in middlesex,\npassing over an angle of surrey, and ending in kent. see that light\namong the trees? that is the cedars, and beside that lamp sits a woman\nwhose anxious ears have already, i have little doubt, caught the clink\nof our horse’s feet.”\n\n“but why are you not conducting the case from baker street?” i asked.\n\n“because there are many inquiries which must be made out here. mrs. st.\nclair has most kindly put two rooms at my disposal, and you may rest\nassured that she will have nothing but a welcome for my friend and\ncolleague. i hate to meet her, watson, when i have no news of her\nhusband. here we are. whoa, there, whoa!”\n\nwe had pulled up in front of a large villa which stood within its own\ngrounds. a stable-boy had run out to the horse’s head, and springing\ndown, i followed holmes up the small, winding gravel-drive which led to\nthe house. as we approached, the door flew open, and a little blonde\nwoman stood in the opening, clad in some sort of light mousseline de\nsoie, with a touch of fluffy pink chiffon at her neck and wrists. she\nstood with her figure outlined against the flood of light, one hand\nupon the door, one half-raised in her eagerness, her body slightly\nbent, her head and face protruded, with eager eyes and parted lips, a\nstanding question.\n\n“well?” she cried, “well?” and then, seeing that there were two of us,\nshe gave a cry of hope which sank into a groan as she saw that my\ncompanion shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.\n\n“no good news?”\n\n“none.”\n\n“no bad?”\n\n“no.”\n\n“thank god for that. but come in. you must be weary, for you have had a\nlong day.”\n\n“this is my friend, dr. watson. he has been of most vital use to me in\nseveral of my cases, and a lucky chance has made it possible for me to\nbring him out and associate him with this investigation.”\n\n“i am delighted to see you,” said she, pressing my hand warmly. “you\nwill, i am sure, forgive anything that may be wanting in our\narrangements, when you consider the blow which has come so suddenly\nupon us.”\n\n“my dear madam,” said i, “i am an old campaigner, and if i were not i\ncan very well see that no apology is needed. if i can be of any\nassistance, either to you or to my friend here, i shall be indeed\nhappy.”\n\n“now, mr. sherlock holmes,” said the lady as we entered a well-lit\ndining-room, upon the table of which a cold supper had been laid out,\n“i should very much like to ask you one or two plain questions, to\nwhich i beg that you will give a plain answer.”\n\n“certainly, madam.”\n\n“do not trouble about my feelings. i am not hysterical, nor given to\nfainting. i simply wish to hear your real, real opinion.”\n\n“upon what point?”\n\n“in your heart of hearts, do you think that neville is alive?”\n\nsherlock holmes seemed to be embarrassed by the question. “frankly,\nnow!” she repeated, standing upon the rug and looking keenly down at\nhim as he leaned back in a basket-chair.\n\n“frankly, then, madam, i do not.”\n\n“you think that he is dead?”\n\n“i do.”\n\n“murdered?”\n\n“i don’t say that. perhaps.”\n\n“and on what day did he meet his death?”\n\n“on monday.”\n\n“then perhaps, mr. holmes, you will be good enough to explain how it is\nthat i have received a letter from him to-day.”\n\nsherlock holmes sprang out of his chair as if he had been galvanised.\n\n“what!” he roared.\n\n“yes, to-day.” she stood smiling, holding up a little slip of paper in\nthe air.\n\n“may i see it?”\n\n“certainly.”\n\nhe snatched it from her in his eagerness, and smoothing it out upon the\ntable he drew over the lamp and examined it intently. i had left my\nchair and was gazing at it over his shoulder. the envelope was a very\ncoarse one and was stamped with the gravesend postmark and with the\ndate of that very day, or rather of the day before, for it was\nconsiderably after midnight.\n\n“coarse writing,” murmured holmes. “surely this is not your husband’s\nwriting, madam.”\n\n“no, but the enclosure is.”\n\n“i perceive also that whoever addressed the envelope had to go and\ninquire as to the address.”\n\n“how can you tell that?”\n\n“the name, you see, is in perfectly black ink, which has dried itself.\nthe rest is of the greyish colour, which shows that blotting-paper has\nbeen used. if it had been written straight off, and then blotted, none\nwould be of a deep black shade. this man has written the name, and\nthere has then been a pause before he wrote the address, which can only\nmean that he was not familiar with it. it is, of course, a trifle, but\nthere is nothing so important as trifles. let us now see the letter.\nha! there has been an enclosure here!”\n\n“yes, there was a ring. his signet-ring.”\n\n“and you are sure that this is your husband’s hand?”\n\n“one of his hands.”\n\n“one?”\n\n“his hand when he wrote hurriedly. it is very unlike his usual writing,\nand yet i know it well.”\n\n“‘dearest do not be frightened. all will come well. there is a huge\nerror which it may take some little time to rectify. wait in\npatience.—neville.’ written in pencil upon the fly-leaf of a book,\noctavo size, no water-mark. hum! posted to-day in gravesend by a man\nwith a dirty thumb. ha! and the flap has been gummed, if i am not very\nmuch in error, by a person who had been chewing tobacco. and you have\nno doubt that it is your husband’s hand, madam?”\n\n“none. neville wrote those words.”\n\n“and they were posted to-day at gravesend. well, mrs. st. clair, the\nclouds lighten, though i should not venture to say that the danger is\nover.”\n\n“but he must be alive, mr. holmes.”\n\n“unless this is a clever forgery to put us on the wrong scent. the\nring, after all, proves nothing. it may have been taken from him.”\n\n“no, no; it is, it is his very own writing!”\n\n“very well. it may, however, have been written on monday and only\nposted to-day.”\n\n“that is possible.”\n\n“if so, much may have happened between.”\n\n“oh, you must not discourage me, mr. holmes. i know that all is well\nwith him. there is so keen a sympathy between us that i should know if\nevil came upon him. on the very day that i saw him last he cut himself\nin the bedroom, and yet i in the dining-room rushed upstairs instantly\nwith the utmost certainty that something had happened. do you think\nthat i would respond to such a trifle and yet be ignorant of his\ndeath?”\n\n“i have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman may be\nmore valuable than the conclusion of an analytical reasoner. and in\nthis letter you certainly have a very strong piece of evidence to\ncorroborate your view. but if your husband is alive and able to write\nletters, why should he remain away from you?”\n\n“i cannot imagine. it is unthinkable.”\n\n“and on monday he made no remarks before leaving you?”\n\n“no.”\n\n“and you were surprised to see him in swandam lane?”\n\n“very much so.”\n\n“was the window open?”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“then he might have called to you?”\n\n“he might.”\n\n“he only, as i understand, gave an inarticulate cry?”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“a call for help, you thought?”\n\n“yes. he waved his hands.”\n\n“but it might have been a cry of surprise. astonishment at the\nunexpected sight of you might cause him to throw up his hands?”\n\n“it is possible.”\n\n“and you thought he was pulled back?”\n\n“he disappeared so suddenly.”\n\n“he might have leaped back. you did not see anyone else in the room?”\n\n“no, but this horrible man confessed to having been there, and the\nlascar was at the foot of the stairs.”\n\n“quite so. your husband, as far as you could see, had his ordinary\nclothes on?”\n\n“but without his collar or tie. i distinctly saw his bare throat.”\n\n“had he ever spoken of swandam lane?”\n\n“never.”\n\n“had he ever showed any signs of having taken opium?”\n\n“never.”\n\n“thank you, mrs. st. clair. those are the principal points about which\ni wished to be absolutely clear. we shall now have a little supper and\nthen retire, for we may have a very busy day to-morrow.”\n\na large and comfortable double-bedded room had been placed at our\ndisposal, and i was quickly between the sheets, for i was weary after\nmy night of adventure. sherlock holmes was a man, however, who, when he\nhad an unsolved problem upon his mind, would go for days, and even for\na week, without rest, turning it over, rearranging his facts, looking\nat it from every point of view until he had either fathomed it or\nconvinced himself that his data were insufficient. it was soon evident\nto me that he was now preparing for an all-night sitting. he took off\nhis coat and waistcoat, put on a large blue dressing-gown, and then\nwandered about the room collecting pillows from his bed and cushions\nfrom the sofa and armchairs. with these he constructed a sort of\neastern divan, upon which he perched himself cross-legged, with an\nounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches laid out in front of him. in\nthe dim light of the lamp i saw him sitting there, an old briar pipe\nbetween his lips, his eyes fixed vacantly upon the corner of the\nceiling, the blue smoke curling up from him, silent, motionless, with\nthe light shining upon his strong-set aquiline features. so he sat as i\ndropped off to sleep, and so he sat when a sudden ejaculation caused me\nto wake up, and i found the summer sun shining into the apartment. the\npipe was still between his lips, the smoke still curled upward, and the\nroom was full of a dense tobacco haze, but nothing remained of the heap\nof shag which i had seen upon the previous night.\n\n“awake, watson?” he asked.\n\n“yes.”\n\n“game for a morning drive?”\n\n“certainly.”\n\n“then dress. no one is stirring yet, but i know where the stable-boy\nsleeps, and we shall soon have the trap out.” he chuckled to himself as\nhe spoke, his eyes twinkled, and he seemed a different man to the\nsombre thinker of the previous night.\n\nas i dressed i glanced at my watch. it was no wonder that no one was\nstirring. it was twenty-five minutes past four. i had hardly finished\nwhen holmes returned with the news that the boy was putting in the\nhorse.\n\n“i want to test a little theory of mine,” said he, pulling on his\nboots. “i think, watson, that you are now standing in the presence of\none of the most absolute fools in europe. i deserve to be kicked from\nhere to charing cross. but i think i have the key of the affair now.”\n\n“and where is it?” i asked, smiling.\n\n“in the bathroom,” he answered. “oh, yes, i am not joking,” he\ncontinued, seeing my look of incredulity. “i have just been there, and\ni have taken it out, and i have got it in this gladstone bag. come on,\nmy boy, and we shall see whether it will not fit the lock.”\n\nwe made our way downstairs as quietly as possible, and out into the\nbright morning sunshine. in the road stood our horse and trap, with the\nhalf-clad stable-boy waiting at the head. we both sprang in, and away\nwe dashed down the london road. a few country carts were stirring,\nbearing in vegetables to the metropolis, but the lines of villas on\neither side were as silent and lifeless as some city in a dream.\n\n“it has been in some points a singular case,” said holmes, flicking the\nhorse on into a gallop. “i confess that i have been as blind as a mole,\nbut it is better to learn wisdom late than never to learn it at all.”\n\nin town the earliest risers were just beginning to look sleepily from\ntheir windows as we drove through the streets of the surrey side.\npassing down the waterloo bridge road we crossed over the river, and\ndashing up wellington street wheeled sharply to the right and found\nourselves in bow street. sherlock holmes was well known to the force,\nand the two constables at the door saluted him. one of them held the\nhorse’s head while the other led us in.\n\n“who is on duty?” asked holmes.\n\n“inspector bradstreet, sir.”\n\n“ah, bradstreet, how are you?” a tall, stout official had come down the\nstone-flagged passage, in a peaked cap and frogged jacket. “i wish to\nhave a quiet word with you, bradstreet.”\n\n“certainly, mr. holmes. step into my room here.”\n\nit was a small, office-like room, with a huge ledger upon the table,\nand a telephone projecting from the wall. the inspector sat down at his\ndesk.\n\n“what can i do for you, mr. holmes?”\n\n“i called about that beggarman, boone—the one who was charged with\nbeing concerned in the disappearance of mr. neville st. clair, of lee.”\n\n“yes. he was brought up and remanded for further inquiries.”\n\n“so i heard. you have him here?”\n\n“in the cells.”\n\n“is he quiet?”\n\n“oh, he gives no trouble. but he is a dirty scoundrel.”\n\n“dirty?”\n\n“yes, it is all we can do to make him wash his hands, and his face is\nas black as a tinker’s. well, when once his case has been settled, he\nwill have a regular prison bath; and i think, if you saw him, you would\nagree with me that he needed it.”\n\n“i should like to see him very much.”\n\n“would you? that is easily done. come this way. you can leave your\nbag.”\n\n“no, i think that i’ll take it.”\n\n“very good. come this way, if you please.” he led us down a passage,\nopened a barred door, passed down a winding stair, and brought us to a\nwhitewashed corridor with a line of doors on each side.\n\n“the third on the right is his,” said the inspector. “here it is!” he\nquietly shot back a panel in the upper part of the door and glanced\nthrough.\n\n“he is asleep,” said he. “you can see him very well.”\n\nwe both put our eyes to the grating. the prisoner lay with his face\ntowards us, in a very deep sleep, breathing slowly and heavily. he was\na middle-sized man, coarsely clad as became his calling, with a\ncoloured shirt protruding through the rent in his tattered coat. he\nwas, as the inspector had said, extremely dirty, but the grime which\ncovered his face could not conceal its repulsive ugliness. a broad\nwheal from an old scar ran right across it from eye to chin, and by its\ncontraction had turned up one side of the upper lip, so that three\nteeth were exposed in a perpetual snarl. a shock of very bright red\nhair grew low over his eyes and forehead.\n\n“he’s a beauty, isn’t he?” said the inspector.\n\n“he certainly needs a wash,” remarked holmes. “i had an idea that he\nmight, and i took the liberty of bringing the tools with me.” he opened\nthe gladstone bag as he spoke, and took out, to my astonishment, a very\nlarge bath-sponge.\n\n“he! he! you are a funny one,” chuckled the inspector.\n\n“now, if you will have the great goodness to open that door very\nquietly, we will soon make him cut a much more respectable figure.”\n\n“well, i don’t know why not,” said the inspector. “he doesn’t look a\ncredit to the bow street cells, does he?” he slipped his key into the\nlock, and we all very quietly entered the cell. the sleeper half\nturned, and then settled down once more into a deep slumber. holmes\nstooped to the water-jug, moistened his sponge, and then rubbed it\ntwice vigorously across and down the prisoner’s face.\n\n“let me introduce you,” he shouted, “to mr. neville st. clair, of lee,\nin the county of kent.”\n\nnever in my life have i seen such a sight. the man’s face peeled off\nunder the sponge like the bark from a tree. gone was the coarse brown\ntint! gone, too, was the horrid scar which had seamed it across, and\nthe twisted lip which had given the repulsive sneer to the face! a\ntwitch brought away the tangled red hair, and there, sitting up in his\nbed, was a pale, sad-faced, refined-looking man, black-haired and\nsmooth-skinned, rubbing his eyes and staring about him with sleepy\nbewilderment. then suddenly realising the exposure, he broke into a\nscream and threw himself down with his face to the pillow.\n\n“great heavens!” cried the inspector, “it is, indeed, the missing man.\ni know him from the photograph.”\n\nthe prisoner turned with the reckless air of a man who abandons himself\nto his destiny. “be it so,” said he. “and pray what am i charged with?”\n\n“with making away with mr. neville st.— oh, come, you can’t be charged\nwith that unless they make a case of attempted suicide of it,” said the\ninspector with a grin. “well, i have been twenty-seven years in the\nforce, but this really takes the cake.”\n\n“if i am mr. neville st. clair, then it is obvious that no crime has\nbeen committed, and that, therefore, i am illegally detained.”\n\n“no crime, but a very great error has been committed,” said holmes.\n“you would have done better to have trusted your wife.”\n\n“it was not the wife; it was the children,” groaned the prisoner. “god\nhelp me, i would not have them ashamed of their father. my god! what an\nexposure! what can i do?”\n\nsherlock holmes sat down beside him on the couch and patted him kindly\non the shoulder.\n\n“if you leave it to a court of law to clear the matter up,” said he,\n“of course you can hardly avoid publicity. on the other hand, if you\nconvince the police authorities that there is no possible case against\nyou, i do not know that there is any reason that the details should\nfind their way into the papers. inspector bradstreet would, i am sure,\nmake notes upon anything which you might tell us and submit it to the\nproper authorities. the case would then never go into court at all.”\n\n“god bless you!” cried the prisoner passionately. “i would have endured\nimprisonment, ay, even execution, rather than have left my miserable\nsecret as a family blot to my children.\n\n“you are the first who have ever heard my story. my father was a\nschoolmaster in chesterfield, where i received an excellent education.\ni travelled in my youth, took to the stage, and finally became a\nreporter on an evening paper in london. one day my editor wished to\nhave a series of articles upon begging in the metropolis, and i\nvolunteered to supply them. there was the point from which all my\nadventures started. it was only by trying begging as an amateur that i\ncould get the facts upon which to base my articles. when an actor i\nhad, of course, learned all the secrets of making up, and had been\nfamous in the green-room for my skill. i took advantage now of my\nattainments. i painted my face, and to make myself as pitiable as\npossible i made a good scar and fixed one side of my lip in a twist by\nthe aid of a small slip of flesh-coloured plaster. then with a red head\nof hair, and an appropriate dress, i took my station in the business\npart of the city, ostensibly as a match-seller but really as a beggar.\nfor seven hours i plied my trade, and when i returned home in the\nevening i found to my surprise that i had received no less than 26_s_.\n4_d_.\n\n“i wrote my articles and thought little more of the matter until, some\ntime later, i backed a bill for a friend and had a writ served upon me\nfor £ 25. i was at my wit’s end where to get the money, but a sudden\nidea came to me. i begged a fortnight’s grace from the creditor, asked\nfor a holiday from my employers, and spent the time in begging in the\ncity under my disguise. in ten days i had the money and had paid the\ndebt.\n\n“well, you can imagine how hard it was to settle down to arduous work\nat £ 2 a week when i knew that i could earn as much in a day by\nsmearing my face with a little paint, laying my cap on the ground, and\nsitting still. it was a long fight between my pride and the money, but\nthe dollars won at last, and i threw up reporting and sat day after day\nin the corner which i had first chosen, inspiring pity by my ghastly\nface and filling my pockets with coppers. only one man knew my secret.\nhe was the keeper of a low den in which i used to lodge in swandam\nlane, where i could every morning emerge as a squalid beggar and in the\nevenings transform myself into a well-dressed man about town. this\nfellow, a lascar, was well paid by me for his rooms, so that i knew\nthat my secret was safe in his possession.\n\n“well, very soon i found that i was saving considerable sums of money.\ni do not mean that any beggar in the streets of london could earn £ 700\na year—which is less than my average takings—but i had exceptional\nadvantages in my power of making up, and also in a facility of\nrepartee, which improved by practice and made me quite a recognised\ncharacter in the city. all day a stream of pennies, varied by silver,\npoured in upon me, and it was a very bad day in which i failed to take\n£ 2.\n\n“as i grew richer i grew more ambitious, took a house in the country,\nand eventually married, without anyone having a suspicion as to my real\noccupation. my dear wife knew that i had business in the city. she\nlittle knew what.\n\n“last monday i had finished for the day and was dressing in my room\nabove the opium den when i looked out of my window and saw, to my\nhorror and astonishment, that my wife was standing in the street, with\nher eyes fixed full upon me. i gave a cry of surprise, threw up my arms\nto cover my face, and, rushing to my confidant, the lascar, entreated\nhim to prevent anyone from coming up to me. i heard her voice\ndownstairs, but i knew that she could not ascend. swiftly i threw off\nmy clothes, pulled on those of a beggar, and put on my pigments and\nwig. even a wife’s eyes could not pierce so complete a disguise. but\nthen it occurred to me that there might be a search in the room, and\nthat the clothes might betray me. i threw open the window, reopening by\nmy violence a small cut which i had inflicted upon myself in the\nbedroom that morning. then i seized my coat, which was weighted by the\ncoppers which i had just transferred to it from the leather bag in\nwhich i carried my takings. i hurled it out of the window, and it\ndisappeared into the thames. the other clothes would have followed, but\nat that moment there was a rush of constables up the stair, and a few\nminutes after i found, rather, i confess, to my relief, that instead of\nbeing identified as mr. neville st. clair, i was arrested as his\nmurderer.\n\n“i do not know that there is anything else for me to explain. i was\ndetermined to preserve my disguise as long as possible, and hence my\npreference for a dirty face. knowing that my wife would be terribly\nanxious, i slipped off my ring and confided it to the lascar at a\nmoment when no constable was watching me, together with a hurried\nscrawl, telling her that she had no cause to fear.”\n\n“that note only reached her yesterday,” said holmes.\n\n“good god! what a week she must have spent!”\n\n“the police have watched this lascar,” said inspector bradstreet, “and\ni can quite understand that he might find it difficult to post a letter\nunobserved. probably he handed it to some sailor customer of his, who\nforgot all about it for some days.”\n\n“that was it,” said holmes, nodding approvingly; “i have no doubt of\nit. but have you never been prosecuted for begging?”\n\n“many times; but what was a fine to me?”\n\n“it must stop here, however,” said bradstreet. “if the police are to\nhush this thing up, there must be no more of hugh boone.”\n\n“i have sworn it by the most solemn oaths which a man can take.”\n\n“in that case i think that it is probable that no further steps may be\ntaken. but if you are found again, then all must come out. i am sure,\nmr. holmes, that we are very much indebted to you for having cleared\nthe matter up. i wish i knew how you reach your results.”\n\n“i reached this one,” said my friend, “by sitting upon five pillows and\nconsuming an ounce of shag. i think, watson, that if we drive to baker\nstreet we shall just be in time for breakfast.”\n\n\n\nvii. the adventure of the blue carbuncle\n\ni had called upon my friend sherlock holmes upon the second morning\nafter christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments of\nthe season. he was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing-gown, a\npipe-rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of crumpled\nmorning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand. beside the couch\nwas a wooden chair, and on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and\ndisreputable hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in\nseveral places. a lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair\nsuggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the\npurpose of examination.\n\n“you are engaged,” said i; “perhaps i interrupt you.”\n\n“not at all. i am glad to have a friend with whom i can discuss my\nresults. the matter is a perfectly trivial one”—he jerked his thumb in\nthe direction of the old hat—“but there are points in connection with\nit which are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction.”\n\ni seated myself in his armchair and warmed my hands before his\ncrackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows were\nthick with the ice crystals. “i suppose,” i remarked, “that, homely as\nit looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to it—that it is\nthe clue which will guide you in the solution of some mystery and the\npunishment of some crime.”\n\n“no, no. no crime,” said sherlock holmes, laughing. “only one of those\nwhimsical little incidents which will happen when you have four million\nhuman beings all jostling each other within the space of a few square\nmiles. amid the action and reaction of so dense a swarm of humanity,\nevery possible combination of events may be expected to take place, and\nmany a little problem will be presented which may be striking and\nbizarre without being criminal. we have already had experience of\nsuch.”\n\n“so much so,” i remarked, “that of the last six cases which i have\nadded to my notes, three have been entirely free of any legal crime.”\n\n“precisely. you allude to my attempt to recover the irene adler papers,\nto the singular case of miss mary sutherland, and to the adventure of\nthe man with the twisted lip. well, i have no doubt that this small\nmatter will fall into the same innocent category. you know peterson,\nthe commissionaire?”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“it is to him that this trophy belongs.”\n\n“it is his hat.”\n\n“no, no, he found it. its owner is unknown. i beg that you will look\nupon it not as a battered billycock but as an intellectual problem.\nand, first, as to how it came here. it arrived upon christmas morning,\nin company with a good fat goose, which is, i have no doubt, roasting\nat this moment in front of peterson’s fire. the facts are these: about\nfour o’clock on christmas morning, peterson, who, as you know, is a\nvery honest fellow, was returning from some small jollification and was\nmaking his way homeward down tottenham court road. in front of him he\nsaw, in the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and\ncarrying a white goose slung over his shoulder. as he reached the\ncorner of goodge street, a row broke out between this stranger and a\nlittle knot of roughs. one of the latter knocked off the man’s hat, on\nwhich he raised his stick to defend himself and, swinging it over his\nhead, smashed the shop window behind him. peterson had rushed forward\nto protect the stranger from his assailants; but the man, shocked at\nhaving broken the window, and seeing an official-looking person in\nuniform rushing towards him, dropped his goose, took to his heels, and\nvanished amid the labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of\ntottenham court road. the roughs had also fled at the appearance of\npeterson, so that he was left in possession of the field of battle, and\nalso of the spoils of victory in the shape of this battered hat and a\nmost unimpeachable christmas goose.”\n\n“which surely he restored to their owner?”\n\n“my dear fellow, there lies the problem. it is true that ‘for mrs.\nhenry baker’ was printed upon a small card which was tied to the bird’s\nleft leg, and it is also true that the initials ‘h. b.’ are legible\nupon the lining of this hat, but as there are some thousands of bakers,\nand some hundreds of henry bakers in this city of ours, it is not easy\nto restore lost property to any one of them.”\n\n“what, then, did peterson do?”\n\n“he brought round both hat and goose to me on christmas morning,\nknowing that even the smallest problems are of interest to me. the\ngoose we retained until this morning, when there were signs that, in\nspite of the slight frost, it would be well that it should be eaten\nwithout unnecessary delay. its finder has carried it off, therefore, to\nfulfil the ultimate destiny of a goose, while i continue to retain the\nhat of the unknown gentleman who lost his christmas dinner.”\n\n“did he not advertise?”\n\n“no.”\n\n“then, what clue could you have as to his identity?”\n\n“only as much as we can deduce.”\n\n“from his hat?”\n\n“precisely.”\n\n“but you are joking. what can you gather from this old battered felt?”\n\n“here is my lens. you know my methods. what can you gather yourself as\nto the individuality of the man who has worn this article?”\n\ni took the tattered object in my hands and turned it over rather\nruefully. it was a very ordinary black hat of the usual round shape,\nhard and much the worse for wear. the lining had been of red silk, but\nwas a good deal discoloured. there was no maker’s name; but, as holmes\nhad remarked, the initials “h. b.” were scrawled upon one side. it was\npierced in the brim for a hat-securer, but the elastic was missing. for\nthe rest, it was cracked, exceedingly dusty, and spotted in several\nplaces, although there seemed to have been some attempt to hide the\ndiscoloured patches by smearing them with ink.\n\n“i can see nothing,” said i, handing it back to my friend.\n\n“on the contrary, watson, you can see everything. you fail, however, to\nreason from what you see. you are too timid in drawing your\ninferences.”\n\n“then, pray tell me what it is that you can infer from this hat?”\n\nhe picked it up and gazed at it in the peculiar introspective fashion\nwhich was characteristic of him. “it is perhaps less suggestive than it\nmight have been,” he remarked, “and yet there are a few inferences\nwhich are very distinct, and a few others which represent at least a\nstrong balance of probability. that the man was highly intellectual is\nof course obvious upon the face of it, and also that he was fairly\nwell-to-do within the last three years, although he has now fallen upon\nevil days. he had foresight, but has less now than formerly, pointing\nto a moral retrogression, which, when taken with the decline of his\nfortunes, seems to indicate some evil influence, probably drink, at\nwork upon him. this may account also for the obvious fact that his wife\nhas ceased to love him.”\n\n“my dear holmes!”\n\n“he has, however, retained some degree of self-respect,” he continued,\ndisregarding my remonstrance. “he is a man who leads a sedentary life,\ngoes out little, is out of training entirely, is middle-aged, has\ngrizzled hair which he has had cut within the last few days, and which\nhe anoints with lime-cream. these are the more patent facts which are\nto be deduced from his hat. also, by the way, that it is extremely\nimprobable that he has gas laid on in his house.”\n\n“you are certainly joking, holmes.”\n\n“not in the least. is it possible that even now, when i give you these\nresults, you are unable to see how they are attained?”\n\n“i have no doubt that i am very stupid, but i must confess that i am\nunable to follow you. for example, how did you deduce that this man was\nintellectual?”\n\nfor answer holmes clapped the hat upon his head. it came right over the\nforehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. “it is a question of\ncubic capacity,” said he; “a man with so large a brain must have\nsomething in it.”\n\n“the decline of his fortunes, then?”\n\n“this hat is three years old. these flat brims curled at the edge came\nin then. it is a hat of the very best quality. look at the band of\nribbed silk and the excellent lining. if this man could afford to buy\nso expensive a hat three years ago, and has had no hat since, then he\nhas assuredly gone down in the world.”\n\n“well, that is clear enough, certainly. but how about the foresight and\nthe moral retrogression?”\n\nsherlock holmes laughed. “here is the foresight,” said he putting his\nfinger upon the little disc and loop of the hat-securer. “they are\nnever sold upon hats. if this man ordered one, it is a sign of a\ncertain amount of foresight, since he went out of his way to take this\nprecaution against the wind. but since we see that he has broken the\nelastic and has not troubled to replace it, it is obvious that he has\nless foresight now than formerly, which is a distinct proof of a\nweakening nature. on the other hand, he has endeavoured to conceal some\nof these stains upon the felt by daubing them with ink, which is a sign\nthat he has not entirely lost his self-respect.”\n\n“your reasoning is certainly plausible.”\n\n“the further points, that he is middle-aged, that his hair is grizzled,\nthat it has been recently cut, and that he uses lime-cream, are all to\nbe gathered from a close examination of the lower part of the lining.\nthe lens discloses a large number of hair-ends, clean cut by the\nscissors of the barber. they all appear to be adhesive, and there is a\ndistinct odour of lime-cream. this dust, you will observe, is not the\ngritty, grey dust of the street but the fluffy brown dust of the house,\nshowing that it has been hung up indoors most of the time, while the\nmarks of moisture upon the inside are proof positive that the wearer\nperspired very freely, and could therefore, hardly be in the best of\ntraining.”\n\n“but his wife—you said that she had ceased to love him.”\n\n“this hat has not been brushed for weeks. when i see you, my dear\nwatson, with a week’s accumulation of dust upon your hat, and when your\nwife allows you to go out in such a state, i shall fear that you also\nhave been unfortunate enough to lose your wife’s affection.”\n\n“but he might be a bachelor.”\n\n“nay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to his wife.\nremember the card upon the bird’s leg.”\n\n“you have an answer to everything. but how on earth do you deduce that\nthe gas is not laid on in his house?”\n\n“one tallow stain, or even two, might come by chance; but when i see no\nless than five, i think that there can be little doubt that the\nindividual must be brought into frequent contact with burning\ntallow—walks upstairs at night probably with his hat in one hand and a\nguttering candle in the other. anyhow, he never got tallow-stains from\na gas-jet. are you satisfied?”\n\n“well, it is very ingenious,” said i, laughing; “but since, as you said\njust now, there has been no crime committed, and no harm done save the\nloss of a goose, all this seems to be rather a waste of energy.”\n\nsherlock holmes had opened his mouth to reply, when the door flew open,\nand peterson, the commissionaire, rushed into the apartment with\nflushed cheeks and the face of a man who is dazed with astonishment.\n\n“the goose, mr. holmes! the goose, sir!” he gasped.\n\n“eh? what of it, then? has it returned to life and flapped off through\nthe kitchen window?” holmes twisted himself round upon the sofa to get\na fairer view of the man’s excited face.\n\n“see here, sir! see what my wife found in its crop!” he held out his\nhand and displayed upon the centre of the palm a brilliantly\nscintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but of\nsuch purity and radiance that it twinkled like an electric point in the\ndark hollow of his hand.\n\nsherlock holmes sat up with a whistle. “by jove, peterson!” said he,\n“this is treasure trove indeed. i suppose you know what you have got?”\n\n“a diamond, sir? a precious stone. it cuts into glass as though it were\nputty.”\n\n“it’s more than a precious stone. it is _the_ precious stone.”\n\n“not the countess of morcar’s blue carbuncle!” i ejaculated.\n\n“precisely so. i ought to know its size and shape, seeing that i have\nread the advertisement about it in _the times_ every day lately. it is\nabsolutely unique, and its value can only be conjectured, but the\nreward offered of £ 1000 is certainly not within a twentieth part of\nthe market price.”\n\n“a thousand pounds! great lord of mercy!” the commissionaire plumped\ndown into a chair and stared from one to the other of us.\n\n“that is the reward, and i have reason to know that there are\nsentimental considerations in the background which would induce the\ncountess to part with half her fortune if she could but recover the\ngem.”\n\n“it was lost, if i remember aright, at the hotel cosmopolitan,” i\nremarked.\n\n“precisely so, on december 22nd, just five days ago. john horner, a\nplumber, was accused of having abstracted it from the lady’s\njewel-case. the evidence against him was so strong that the case has\nbeen referred to the assizes. i have some account of the matter here, i\nbelieve.” he rummaged amid his newspapers, glancing over the dates,\nuntil at last he smoothed one out, doubled it over, and read the\nfollowing paragraph:\n\n“hotel cosmopolitan jewel robbery. john horner, 26, plumber, was\nbrought up upon the charge of having upon the 22nd inst., abstracted\nfrom the jewel-case of the countess of morcar the valuable gem known as\nthe blue carbuncle. james ryder, upper-attendant at the hotel, gave his\nevidence to the effect that he had shown horner up to the dressing-room\nof the countess of morcar upon the day of the robbery in order that he\nmight solder the second bar of the grate, which was loose. he had\nremained with horner some little time, but had finally been called\naway. on returning, he found that horner had disappeared, that the\nbureau had been forced open, and that the small morocco casket in\nwhich, as it afterwards transpired, the countess was accustomed to keep\nher jewel, was lying empty upon the dressing-table. ryder instantly\ngave the alarm, and horner was arrested the same evening; but the stone\ncould not be found either upon his person or in his rooms. catherine\ncusack, maid to the countess, deposed to having heard ryder’s cry of\ndismay on discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room,\nwhere she found matters as described by the last witness. inspector\nbradstreet, b division, gave evidence as to the arrest of horner, who\nstruggled frantically, and protested his innocence in the strongest\nterms. evidence of a previous conviction for robbery having been given\nagainst the prisoner, the magistrate refused to deal summarily with the\noffence, but referred it to the assizes. horner, who had shown signs of\nintense emotion during the proceedings, fainted away at the conclusion\nand was carried out of court.”\n\n“hum! so much for the police-court,” said holmes thoughtfully, tossing\naside the paper. “the question for us now to solve is the sequence of\nevents leading from a rifled jewel-case at one end to the crop of a\ngoose in tottenham court road at the other. you see, watson, our little\ndeductions have suddenly assumed a much more important and less\ninnocent aspect. here is the stone; the stone came from the goose, and\nthe goose came from mr. henry baker, the gentleman with the bad hat and\nall the other characteristics with which i have bored you. so now we\nmust set ourselves very seriously to finding this gentleman and\nascertaining what part he has played in this little mystery. to do\nthis, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie undoubtedly\nin an advertisement in all the evening papers. if this fail, i shall\nhave recourse to other methods.”\n\n“what will you say?”\n\n“give me a pencil and that slip of paper. now, then: ‘found at the\ncorner of goodge street, a goose and a black felt hat. mr. henry baker\ncan have the same by applying at 6:30 this evening at 221b, baker\nstreet.’ that is clear and concise.”\n\n“very. but will he see it?”\n\n“well, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to a poor man,\nthe loss was a heavy one. he was clearly so scared by his mischance in\nbreaking the window and by the approach of peterson that he thought of\nnothing but flight, but since then he must have bitterly regretted the\nimpulse which caused him to drop his bird. then, again, the\nintroduction of his name will cause him to see it, for everyone who\nknows him will direct his attention to it. here you are, peterson, run\ndown to the advertising agency and have this put in the evening\npapers.”\n\n“in which, sir?”\n\n“oh, in the _globe_, _star_, _pall mall_, _st. james’s gazette_,\n_evening news_, _standard_, _echo_, and any others that occur to you.”\n\n“very well, sir. and this stone?”\n\n“ah, yes, i shall keep the stone. thank you. and, i say, peterson, just\nbuy a goose on your way back and leave it here with me, for we must\nhave one to give to this gentleman in place of the one which your\nfamily is now devouring.”\n\nwhen the commissionaire had gone, holmes took up the stone and held it\nagainst the light. “it’s a bonny thing,” said he. “just see how it\nglints and sparkles. of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime.\nevery good stone is. they are the devil’s pet baits. in the larger and\nolder jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. this stone is not\nyet twenty years old. it was found in the banks of the amoy river in\nsouthern china and is remarkable in having every characteristic of the\ncarbuncle, save that it is blue in shade instead of ruby red. in spite\nof its youth, it has already a sinister history. there have been two\nmurders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought\nabout for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal.\nwho would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows\nand the prison? i’ll lock it up in my strong box now and drop a line to\nthe countess to say that we have it.”\n\n“do you think that this man horner is innocent?”\n\n“i cannot tell.”\n\n“well, then, do you imagine that this other one, henry baker, had\nanything to do with the matter?”\n\n“it is, i think, much more likely that henry baker is an absolutely\ninnocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he was carrying was\nof considerably more value than if it were made of solid gold. that,\nhowever, i shall determine by a very simple test if we have an answer\nto our advertisement.”\n\n“and you can do nothing until then?”\n\n“nothing.”\n\n“in that case i shall continue my professional round. but i shall come\nback in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for i should like\nto see the solution of so tangled a business.”\n\n“very glad to see you. i dine at seven. there is a woodcock, i believe.\nby the way, in view of recent occurrences, perhaps i ought to ask mrs.\nhudson to examine its crop.”\n\ni had been delayed at a case, and it was a little after half-past six\nwhen i found myself in baker street once more. as i approached the\nhouse i saw a tall man in a scotch bonnet with a coat which was\nbuttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the bright semicircle which\nwas thrown from the fanlight. just as i arrived the door was opened,\nand we were shown up together to holmes’ room.\n\n“mr. henry baker, i believe,” said he, rising from his armchair and\ngreeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he could so\nreadily assume. “pray take this chair by the fire, mr. baker. it is a\ncold night, and i observe that your circulation is more adapted for\nsummer than for winter. ah, watson, you have just come at the right\ntime. is that your hat, mr. baker?”\n\n“yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat.”\n\nhe was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and a broad,\nintelligent face, sloping down to a pointed beard of grizzled brown. a\ntouch of red in nose and cheeks, with a slight tremor of his extended\nhand, recalled holmes’ surmise as to his habits. his rusty black\nfrock-coat was buttoned right up in front, with the collar turned up,\nand his lank wrists protruded from his sleeves without a sign of cuff\nor shirt. he spoke in a slow staccato fashion, choosing his words with\ncare, and gave the impression generally of a man of learning and\nletters who had had ill-usage at the hands of fortune.\n\n“we have retained these things for some days,” said holmes, “because we\nexpected to see an advertisement from you giving your address. i am at\na loss to know now why you did not advertise.”\n\nour visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh. “shillings have not been so\nplentiful with me as they once were,” he remarked. “i had no doubt that\nthe gang of roughs who assaulted me had carried off both my hat and the\nbird. i did not care to spend more money in a hopeless attempt at\nrecovering them.”\n\n“very naturally. by the way, about the bird, we were compelled to eat\nit.”\n\n“to eat it!” our visitor half rose from his chair in his excitement.\n\n“yes, it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so. but i\npresume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is about the\nsame weight and perfectly fresh, will answer your purpose equally\nwell?”\n\n“oh, certainly, certainly,” answered mr. baker with a sigh of relief.\n\n“of course, we still have the feathers, legs, crop, and so on of your\nown bird, so if you wish—”\n\nthe man burst into a hearty laugh. “they might be useful to me as\nrelics of my adventure,” said he, “but beyond that i can hardly see\nwhat use the _disjecta membra_ of my late acquaintance are going to be\nto me. no, sir, i think that, with your permission, i will confine my\nattentions to the excellent bird which i perceive upon the sideboard.”\n\nsherlock holmes glanced sharply across at me with a slight shrug of his\nshoulders.\n\n“there is your hat, then, and there your bird,” said he. “by the way,\nwould it bore you to tell me where you got the other one from? i am\nsomewhat of a fowl fancier, and i have seldom seen a better grown\ngoose.”\n\n“certainly, sir,” said baker, who had risen and tucked his newly gained\nproperty under his arm. “there are a few of us who frequent the alpha\ninn, near the museum—we are to be found in the museum itself during the\nday, you understand. this year our good host, windigate by name,\ninstituted a goose club, by which, on consideration of some few pence\nevery week, we were each to receive a bird at christmas. my pence were\nduly paid, and the rest is familiar to you. i am much indebted to you,\nsir, for a scotch bonnet is fitted neither to my years nor my gravity.”\nwith a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and\nstrode off upon his way.\n\n“so much for mr. henry baker,” said holmes when he had closed the door\nbehind him. “it is quite certain that he knows nothing whatever about\nthe matter. are you hungry, watson?”\n\n“not particularly.”\n\n“then i suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow up\nthis clue while it is still hot.”\n\n“by all means.”\n\nit was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped cravats\nabout our throats. outside, the stars were shining coldly in a\ncloudless sky, and the breath of the passers-by blew out into smoke\nlike so many pistol shots. our footfalls rang out crisply and loudly as\nwe swung through the doctors’ quarter, wimpole street, harley street,\nand so through wigmore street into oxford street. in a quarter of an\nhour we were in bloomsbury at the alpha inn, which is a small\npublic-house at the corner of one of the streets which runs down into\nholborn. holmes pushed open the door of the private bar and ordered two\nglasses of beer from the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord.\n\n“your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese,” said\nhe.\n\n“my geese!” the man seemed surprised.\n\n“yes. i was speaking only half an hour ago to mr. henry baker, who was\na member of your goose club.”\n\n“ah! yes, i see. but you see, sir, them’s not _our_ geese.”\n\n“indeed! whose, then?”\n\n“well, i got the two dozen from a salesman in covent garden.”\n\n“indeed? i know some of them. which was it?”\n\n“breckinridge is his name.”\n\n“ah! i don’t know him. well, here’s your good health landlord, and\nprosperity to your house. good-night.”\n\n“now for mr. breckinridge,” he continued, buttoning up his coat as we\ncame out into the frosty air. “remember, watson that though we have so\nhomely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain, we have at the\nother a man who will certainly get seven years’ penal servitude unless\nwe can establish his innocence. it is possible that our inquiry may but\nconfirm his guilt; but, in any case, we have a line of investigation\nwhich has been missed by the police, and which a singular chance has\nplaced in our hands. let us follow it out to the bitter end. faces to\nthe south, then, and quick march!”\n\nwe passed across holborn, down endell street, and so through a zigzag\nof slums to covent garden market. one of the largest stalls bore the\nname of breckinridge upon it, and the proprietor a horsey-looking man,\nwith a sharp face and trim side-whiskers was helping a boy to put up\nthe shutters.\n\n“good-evening. it’s a cold night,” said holmes.\n\nthe salesman nodded and shot a questioning glance at my companion.\n\n“sold out of geese, i see,” continued holmes, pointing at the bare\nslabs of marble.\n\n“let you have five hundred to-morrow morning.”\n\n“that’s no good.”\n\n“well, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare.”\n\n“ah, but i was recommended to you.”\n\n“who by?”\n\n“the landlord of the alpha.”\n\n“oh, yes; i sent him a couple of dozen.”\n\n“fine birds they were, too. now where did you get them from?”\n\nto my surprise the question provoked a burst of anger from the\nsalesman.\n\n“now, then, mister,” said he, with his head cocked and his arms akimbo,\n“what are you driving at? let’s have it straight, now.”\n\n“it is straight enough. i should like to know who sold you the geese\nwhich you supplied to the alpha.”\n\n“well then, i shan’t tell you. so now!”\n\n“oh, it is a matter of no importance; but i don’t know why you should\nbe so warm over such a trifle.”\n\n“warm! you’d be as warm, maybe, if you were as pestered as i am. when i\npay good money for a good article there should be an end of the\nbusiness; but it’s ‘where are the geese?’ and ‘who did you sell the\ngeese to?’ and ‘what will you take for the geese?’ one would think they\nwere the only geese in the world, to hear the fuss that is made over\nthem.”\n\n“well, i have no connection with any other people who have been making\ninquiries,” said holmes carelessly. “if you won’t tell us the bet is\noff, that is all. but i’m always ready to back my opinion on a matter\nof fowls, and i have a fiver on it that the bird i ate is country\nbred.”\n\n“well, then, you’ve lost your fiver, for it’s town bred,” snapped the\nsalesman.\n\n“it’s nothing of the kind.”\n\n“i say it is.”\n\n“i don’t believe it.”\n\n“d’you think you know more about fowls than i, who have handled them\never since i was a nipper? i tell you, all those birds that went to the\nalpha were town bred.”\n\n“you’ll never persuade me to believe that.”\n\n“will you bet, then?”\n\n“it’s merely taking your money, for i know that i am right. but i’ll\nhave a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be obstinate.”\n\nthe salesman chuckled grimly. “bring me the books, bill,” said he.\n\nthe small boy brought round a small thin volume and a great\ngreasy-backed one, laying them out together beneath the hanging lamp.\n\n“now then, mr. cocksure,” said the salesman, “i thought that i was out\nof geese, but before i finish you’ll find that there is still one left\nin my shop. you see this little book?”\n\n“well?”\n\n“that’s the list of the folk from whom i buy. d’you see? well, then,\nhere on this page are the country folk, and the numbers after their\nnames are where their accounts are in the big ledger. now, then! you\nsee this other page in red ink? well, that is a list of my town\nsuppliers. now, look at that third name. just read it out to me.”\n\n“mrs. oakshott, 117, brixton road—249,” read holmes.\n\n“quite so. now turn that up in the ledger.”\n\nholmes turned to the page indicated. “here you are, ‘mrs. oakshott,\n117, brixton road, egg and poultry supplier.’”\n\n“now, then, what’s the last entry?”\n\n“‘december 22nd. twenty-four geese at 7_s_. 6_d_.’”\n\n“quite so. there you are. and underneath?”\n\n“‘sold to mr. windigate of the alpha, at 12_s_.’”\n\n“what have you to say now?”\n\nsherlock holmes looked deeply chagrined. he drew a sovereign from his\npocket and threw it down upon the slab, turning away with the air of a\nman whose disgust is too deep for words. a few yards off he stopped\nunder a lamp-post and laughed in the hearty, noiseless fashion which\nwas peculiar to him.\n\n“when you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the ‘pink ’un’\nprotruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet,” said\nhe. “i daresay that if i had put £ 100 down in front of him, that man\nwould not have given me such complete information as was drawn from him\nby the idea that he was doing me on a wager. well, watson, we are, i\nfancy, nearing the end of our quest, and the only point which remains\nto be determined is whether we should go on to this mrs. oakshott\nto-night, or whether we should reserve it for to-morrow. it is clear\nfrom what that surly fellow said that there are others besides\nourselves who are anxious about the matter, and i should—”\n\nhis remarks were suddenly cut short by a loud hubbub which broke out\nfrom the stall which we had just left. turning round we saw a little\nrat-faced fellow standing in the centre of the circle of yellow light\nwhich was thrown by the swinging lamp, while breckinridge, the\nsalesman, framed in the door of his stall, was shaking his fists\nfiercely at the cringing figure.\n\n“i’ve had enough of you and your geese,” he shouted. “i wish you were\nall at the devil together. if you come pestering me any more with your\nsilly talk i’ll set the dog at you. you bring mrs. oakshott here and\ni’ll answer her, but what have you to do with it? did i buy the geese\noff you?”\n\n“no; but one of them was mine all the same,” whined the little man.\n\n“well, then, ask mrs. oakshott for it.”\n\n“she told me to ask you.”\n\n“well, you can ask the king of proosia, for all i care. i’ve had enough\nof it. get out of this!” he rushed fiercely forward, and the inquirer\nflitted away into the darkness.\n\n“ha! this may save us a visit to brixton road,” whispered holmes. “come\nwith me, and we will see what is to be made of this fellow.” striding\nthrough the scattered knots of people who lounged round the flaring\nstalls, my companion speedily overtook the little man and touched him\nupon the shoulder. he sprang round, and i could see in the gas-light\nthat every vestige of colour had been driven from his face.\n\n“who are you, then? what do you want?” he asked in a quavering voice.\n\n“you will excuse me,” said holmes blandly, “but i could not help\noverhearing the questions which you put to the salesman just now. i\nthink that i could be of assistance to you.”\n\n“you? who are you? how could you know anything of the matter?”\n\n“my name is sherlock holmes. it is my business to know what other\npeople don’t know.”\n\n“but you can know nothing of this?”\n\n“excuse me, i know everything of it. you are endeavouring to trace some\ngeese which were sold by mrs. oakshott, of brixton road, to a salesman\nnamed breckinridge, by him in turn to mr. windigate, of the alpha, and\nby him to his club, of which mr. henry baker is a member.”\n\n“oh, sir, you are the very man whom i have longed to meet,” cried the\nlittle fellow with outstretched hands and quivering fingers. “i can\nhardly explain to you how interested i am in this matter.”\n\nsherlock holmes hailed a four-wheeler which was passing. “in that case\nwe had better discuss it in a cosy room rather than in this wind-swept\nmarket-place,” said he. “but pray tell me, before we go farther, who it\nis that i have the pleasure of assisting.”\n\nthe man hesitated for an instant. “my name is john robinson,” he\nanswered with a sidelong glance.\n\n“no, no; the real name,” said holmes sweetly. “it is always awkward\ndoing business with an alias.”\n\na flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger. “well then,” said\nhe, “my real name is james ryder.”\n\n“precisely so. head attendant at the hotel cosmopolitan. pray step into\nthe cab, and i shall soon be able to tell you everything which you\nwould wish to know.”\n\nthe little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with\nhalf-frightened, half-hopeful eyes, as one who is not sure whether he\nis on the verge of a windfall or of a catastrophe. then he stepped into\nthe cab, and in half an hour we were back in the sitting-room at baker\nstreet. nothing had been said during our drive, but the high, thin\nbreathing of our new companion, and the claspings and unclaspings of\nhis hands, spoke of the nervous tension within him.\n\n“here we are!” said holmes cheerily as we filed into the room. “the\nfire looks very seasonable in this weather. you look cold, mr. ryder.\npray take the basket-chair. i will just put on my slippers before we\nsettle this little matter of yours. now, then! you want to know what\nbecame of those geese?”\n\n“yes, sir.”\n\n“or rather, i fancy, of that goose. it was one bird, i imagine in which\nyou were interested—white, with a black bar across the tail.”\n\nryder quivered with emotion. “oh, sir,” he cried, “can you tell me\nwhere it went to?”\n\n“it came here.”\n\n“here?”\n\n“yes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. i don’t wonder that you\nshould take an interest in it. it laid an egg after it was dead—the\nbonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen. i have it here\nin my museum.”\n\nour visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece with his\nright hand. holmes unlocked his strong-box and held up the blue\ncarbuncle, which shone out like a star, with a cold, brilliant,\nmany-pointed radiance. ryder stood glaring with a drawn face, uncertain\nwhether to claim or to disown it.\n\n“the game’s up, ryder,” said holmes quietly. “hold up, man, or you’ll\nbe into the fire! give him an arm back into his chair, watson. he’s not\ngot blood enough to go in for felony with impunity. give him a dash of\nbrandy. so! now he looks a little more human. what a shrimp it is, to\nbe sure!”\n\nfor a moment he had staggered and nearly fallen, but the brandy brought\na tinge of colour into his cheeks, and he sat staring with frightened\neyes at his accuser.\n\n“i have almost every link in my hands, and all the proofs which i could\npossibly need, so there is little which you need tell me. still, that\nlittle may as well be cleared up to make the case complete. you had\nheard, ryder, of this blue stone of the countess of morcar’s?”\n\n“it was catherine cusack who told me of it,” said he in a crackling\nvoice.\n\n“i see—her ladyship’s waiting-maid. well, the temptation of sudden\nwealth so easily acquired was too much for you, as it has been for\nbetter men before you; but you were not very scrupulous in the means\nyou used. it seems to me, ryder, that there is the making of a very\npretty villain in you. you knew that this man horner, the plumber, had\nbeen concerned in some such matter before, and that suspicion would\nrest the more readily upon him. what did you do, then? you made some\nsmall job in my lady’s room—you and your confederate cusack—and you\nmanaged that he should be the man sent for. then, when he had left, you\nrifled the jewel-case, raised the alarm, and had this unfortunate man\narrested. you then—”\n\nryder threw himself down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my\ncompanion’s knees. “for god’s sake, have mercy!” he shrieked. “think of\nmy father! of my mother! it would break their hearts. i never went\nwrong before! i never will again. i swear it. i’ll swear it on a bible.\noh, don’t bring it into court! for christ’s sake, don’t!”\n\n“get back into your chair!” said holmes sternly. “it is very well to\ncringe and crawl now, but you thought little enough of this poor horner\nin the dock for a crime of which he knew nothing.”\n\n“i will fly, mr. holmes. i will leave the country, sir. then the charge\nagainst him will break down.”\n\n“hum! we will talk about that. and now let us hear a true account of\nthe next act. how came the stone into the goose, and how came the goose\ninto the open market? tell us the truth, for there lies your only hope\nof safety.”\n\nryder passed his tongue over his parched lips. “i will tell you it just\nas it happened, sir,” said he. “when horner had been arrested, it\nseemed to me that it would be best for me to get away with the stone at\nonce, for i did not know at what moment the police might not take it\ninto their heads to search me and my room. there was no place about the\nhotel where it would be safe. i went out, as if on some commission, and\ni made for my sister’s house. she had married a man named oakshott, and\nlived in brixton road, where she fattened fowls for the market. all the\nway there every man i met seemed to me to be a policeman or a\ndetective; and, for all that it was a cold night, the sweat was pouring\ndown my face before i came to the brixton road. my sister asked me what\nwas the matter, and why i was so pale; but i told her that i had been\nupset by the jewel robbery at the hotel. then i went into the back yard\nand smoked a pipe and wondered what it would be best to do.\n\n“i had a friend once called maudsley, who went to the bad, and has just\nbeen serving his time in pentonville. one day he had met me, and fell\ninto talk about the ways of thieves, and how they could get rid of what\nthey stole. i knew that he would be true to me, for i knew one or two\nthings about him; so i made up my mind to go right on to kilburn, where\nhe lived, and take him into my confidence. he would show me how to turn\nthe stone into money. but how to get to him in safety? i thought of the\nagonies i had gone through in coming from the hotel. i might at any\nmoment be seized and searched, and there would be the stone in my\nwaistcoat pocket. i was leaning against the wall at the time and\nlooking at the geese which were waddling about round my feet, and\nsuddenly an idea came into my head which showed me how i could beat the\nbest detective that ever lived.\n\n“my sister had told me some weeks before that i might have the pick of\nher geese for a christmas present, and i knew that she was always as\ngood as her word. i would take my goose now, and in it i would carry my\nstone to kilburn. there was a little shed in the yard, and behind this\ni drove one of the birds—a fine big one, white, with a barred tail. i\ncaught it, and prying its bill open, i thrust the stone down its throat\nas far as my finger could reach. the bird gave a gulp, and i felt the\nstone pass along its gullet and down into its crop. but the creature\nflapped and struggled, and out came my sister to know what was the\nmatter. as i turned to speak to her the brute broke loose and fluttered\noff among the others.\n\n“‘whatever were you doing with that bird, jem?’ says she.\n\n“‘well,’ said i, ‘you said you’d give me one for christmas, and i was\nfeeling which was the fattest.’\n\n“‘oh,’ says she, ‘we’ve set yours aside for you—jem’s bird, we call it.\nit’s the big white one over yonder. there’s twenty-six of them, which\nmakes one for you, and one for us, and two dozen for the market.’\n\n“‘thank you, maggie,’ says i; ‘but if it is all the same to you, i’d\nrather have that one i was handling just now.’\n\n“‘the other is a good three pound heavier,’ said she, ‘and we fattened\nit expressly for you.’\n\n“‘never mind. i’ll have the other, and i’ll take it now,’ said i.\n\n“‘oh, just as you like,’ said she, a little huffed. ‘which is it you\nwant, then?’\n\n“‘that white one with the barred tail, right in the middle of the\nflock.’\n\n“‘oh, very well. kill it and take it with you.’\n\n“well, i did what she said, mr. holmes, and i carried the bird all the\nway to kilburn. i told my pal what i had done, for he was a man that it\nwas easy to tell a thing like that to. he laughed until he choked, and\nwe got a knife and opened the goose. my heart turned to water, for\nthere was no sign of the stone, and i knew that some terrible mistake\nhad occurred. i left the bird, rushed back to my sister’s, and hurried\ninto the back yard. there was not a bird to be seen there.\n\n“‘where are they all, maggie?’ i cried.\n\n“‘gone to the dealer’s, jem.’\n\n“‘which dealer’s?’\n\n“‘breckinridge, of covent garden.’\n\n“‘but was there another with a barred tail?’ i asked, ‘the same as the\none i chose?’\n\n“‘yes, jem; there were two barred-tailed ones, and i could never tell\nthem apart.’\n\n“well, then, of course i saw it all, and i ran off as hard as my feet\nwould carry me to this man breckinridge; but he had sold the lot at\nonce, and not one word would he tell me as to where they had gone. you\nheard him yourselves to-night. well, he has always answered me like\nthat. my sister thinks that i am going mad. sometimes i think that i am\nmyself. and now—and now i am myself a branded thief, without ever\nhaving touched the wealth for which i sold my character. god help me!\ngod help me!” he burst into convulsive sobbing, with his face buried in\nhis hands.\n\nthere was a long silence, broken only by his heavy breathing and by the\nmeasured tapping of sherlock holmes’ finger-tips upon the edge of the\ntable. then my friend rose and threw open the door.\n\n“get out!” said he.\n\n“what, sir! oh, heaven bless you!”\n\n“no more words. get out!”\n\nand no more words were needed. there was a rush, a clatter upon the\nstairs, the bang of a door, and the crisp rattle of running footfalls\nfrom the street.\n\n“after all, watson,” said holmes, reaching up his hand for his clay\npipe, “i am not retained by the police to supply their deficiencies. if\nhorner were in danger it would be another thing; but this fellow will\nnot appear against him, and the case must collapse. i suppose that i am\ncommuting a felony, but it is just possible that i am saving a soul.\nthis fellow will not go wrong again; he is too terribly frightened.\nsend him to gaol now, and you make him a gaol-bird for life. besides,\nit is the season of forgiveness. chance has put in our way a most\nsingular and whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward. if\nyou will have the goodness to touch the bell, doctor, we will begin\nanother investigation, in which, also a bird will be the chief\nfeature.”\n\n\n\nviii. the adventure of the speckled band\n\non glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which i have\nduring the last eight years studied the methods of my friend sherlock\nholmes, i find many tragic, some comic, a large number merely strange,\nbut none commonplace; for, working as he did rather for the love of his\nart than for the acquirement of wealth, he refused to associate himself\nwith any investigation which did not tend towards the unusual, and even\nthe fantastic. of all these varied cases, however, i cannot recall any\nwhich presented more singular features than that which was associated\nwith the well-known surrey family of the roylotts of stoke moran. the\nevents in question occurred in the early days of my association with\nholmes, when we were sharing rooms as bachelors in baker street. it is\npossible that i might have placed them upon record before, but a\npromise of secrecy was made at the time, from which i have only been\nfreed during the last month by the untimely death of the lady to whom\nthe pledge was given. it is perhaps as well that the facts should now\ncome to light, for i have reasons to know that there are widespread\nrumours as to the death of dr. grimesby roylott which tend to make the\nmatter even more terrible than the truth.\n\nit was early in april in the year ’83 that i woke one morning to find\nsherlock holmes standing, fully dressed, by the side of my bed. he was\na late riser, as a rule, and as the clock on the mantelpiece showed me\nthat it was only a quarter-past seven, i blinked up at him in some\nsurprise, and perhaps just a little resentment, for i was myself\nregular in my habits.\n\n“very sorry to knock you up, watson,” said he, “but it’s the common lot\nthis morning. mrs. hudson has been knocked up, she retorted upon me,\nand i on you.”\n\n“what is it, then—a fire?”\n\n“no; a client. it seems that a young lady has arrived in a considerable\nstate of excitement, who insists upon seeing me. she is waiting now in\nthe sitting-room. now, when young ladies wander about the metropolis at\nthis hour of the morning, and knock sleepy people up out of their beds,\ni presume that it is something very pressing which they have to\ncommunicate. should it prove to be an interesting case, you would, i am\nsure, wish to follow it from the outset. i thought, at any rate, that i\nshould call you and give you the chance.”\n\n“my dear fellow, i would not miss it for anything.”\n\ni had no keener pleasure than in following holmes in his professional\ninvestigations, and in admiring the rapid deductions, as swift as\nintuitions, and yet always founded on a logical basis with which he\nunravelled the problems which were submitted to him. i rapidly threw on\nmy clothes and was ready in a few minutes to accompany my friend down\nto the sitting-room. a lady dressed in black and heavily veiled, who\nhad been sitting in the window, rose as we entered.\n\n“good-morning, madam,” said holmes cheerily. “my name is sherlock\nholmes. this is my intimate friend and associate, dr. watson, before\nwhom you can speak as freely as before myself. ha! i am glad to see\nthat mrs. hudson has had the good sense to light the fire. pray draw up\nto it, and i shall order you a cup of hot coffee, for i observe that\nyou are shivering.”\n\n“it is not cold which makes me shiver,” said the woman in a low voice,\nchanging her seat as requested.\n\n“what, then?”\n\n“it is fear, mr. holmes. it is terror.” she raised her veil as she\nspoke, and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of\nagitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless frightened eyes,\nlike those of some hunted animal. her features and figure were those of\na woman of thirty, but her hair was shot with premature grey, and her\nexpression was weary and haggard. sherlock holmes ran her over with one\nof his quick, all-comprehensive glances.\n\n“you must not fear,” said he soothingly, bending forward and patting\nher forearm. “we shall soon set matters right, i have no doubt. you\nhave come in by train this morning, i see.”\n\n“you know me, then?”\n\n“no, but i observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm of\nyour left glove. you must have started early, and yet you had a good\ndrive in a dog-cart, along heavy roads, before you reached the\nstation.”\n\nthe lady gave a violent start and stared in bewilderment at my\ncompanion.\n\n“there is no mystery, my dear madam,” said he, smiling. “the left arm\nof your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven places. the\nmarks are perfectly fresh. there is no vehicle save a dog-cart which\nthrows up mud in that way, and then only when you sit on the left-hand\nside of the driver.”\n\n“whatever your reasons may be, you are perfectly correct,” said she. “i\nstarted from home before six, reached leatherhead at twenty past, and\ncame in by the first train to waterloo. sir, i can stand this strain no\nlonger; i shall go mad if it continues. i have no one to turn to—none,\nsave only one, who cares for me, and he, poor fellow, can be of little\naid. i have heard of you, mr. holmes; i have heard of you from mrs.\nfarintosh, whom you helped in the hour of her sore need. it was from\nher that i had your address. oh, sir, do you not think that you could\nhelp me, too, and at least throw a little light through the dense\ndarkness which surrounds me? at present it is out of my power to reward\nyou for your services, but in a month or six weeks i shall be married,\nwith the control of my own income, and then at least you shall not find\nme ungrateful.”\n\nholmes turned to his desk and, unlocking it, drew out a small\ncase-book, which he consulted.\n\n“farintosh,” said he. “ah yes, i recall the case; it was concerned with\nan opal tiara. i think it was before your time, watson. i can only say,\nmadam, that i shall be happy to devote the same care to your case as i\ndid to that of your friend. as to reward, my profession is its own\nreward; but you are at liberty to defray whatever expenses i may be put\nto, at the time which suits you best. and now i beg that you will lay\nbefore us everything that may help us in forming an opinion upon the\nmatter.”\n\n“alas!” replied our visitor, “the very horror of my situation lies in\nthe fact that my fears are so vague, and my suspicions depend so\nentirely upon small points, which might seem trivial to another, that\neven he to whom of all others i have a right to look for help and\nadvice looks upon all that i tell him about it as the fancies of a\nnervous woman. he does not say so, but i can read it from his soothing\nanswers and averted eyes. but i have heard, mr. holmes, that you can\nsee deeply into the manifold wickedness of the human heart. you may\nadvise me how to walk amid the dangers which encompass me.”\n\n“i am all attention, madam.”\n\n“my name is helen stoner, and i am living with my stepfather, who is\nthe last survivor of one of the oldest saxon families in england, the\nroylotts of stoke moran, on the western border of surrey.”\n\nholmes nodded his head. “the name is familiar to me,” said he.\n\n“the family was at one time among the richest in england, and the\nestates extended over the borders into berkshire in the north, and\nhampshire in the west. in the last century, however, four successive\nheirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition, and the family ruin\nwas eventually completed by a gambler in the days of the regency.\nnothing was left save a few acres of ground, and the\ntwo-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under a heavy\nmortgage. the last squire dragged out his existence there, living the\nhorrible life of an aristocratic pauper; but his only son, my\nstepfather, seeing that he must adapt himself to the new conditions,\nobtained an advance from a relative, which enabled him to take a\nmedical degree and went out to calcutta, where, by his professional\nskill and his force of character, he established a large practice. in a\nfit of anger, however, caused by some robberies which had been\nperpetrated in the house, he beat his native butler to death and\nnarrowly escaped a capital sentence. as it was, he suffered a long term\nof imprisonment and afterwards returned to england a morose and\ndisappointed man.\n\n“when dr. roylott was in india he married my mother, mrs. stoner, the\nyoung widow of major-general stoner, of the bengal artillery. my sister\njulia and i were twins, and we were only two years old at the time of\nmy mother’s re-marriage. she had a considerable sum of money—not less\nthan £ 1000 a year—and this she bequeathed to dr. roylott entirely\nwhile we resided with him, with a provision that a certain annual sum\nshould be allowed to each of us in the event of our marriage. shortly\nafter our return to england my mother died—she was killed eight years\nago in a railway accident near crewe. dr. roylott then abandoned his\nattempts to establish himself in practice in london and took us to live\nwith him in the old ancestral house at stoke moran. the money which my\nmother had left was enough for all our wants, and there seemed to be no\nobstacle to our happiness.\n\n“but a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time.\ninstead of making friends and exchanging visits with our neighbours,\nwho had at first been overjoyed to see a roylott of stoke moran back in\nthe old family seat, he shut himself up in his house and seldom came\nout save to indulge in ferocious quarrels with whoever might cross his\npath. violence of temper approaching to mania has been hereditary in\nthe men of the family, and in my stepfather’s case it had, i believe,\nbeen intensified by his long residence in the tropics. a series of\ndisgraceful brawls took place, two of which ended in the police-court,\nuntil at last he became the terror of the village, and the folks would\nfly at his approach, for he is a man of immense strength, and\nabsolutely uncontrollable in his anger.\n\n“last week he hurled the local blacksmith over a parapet into a stream,\nand it was only by paying over all the money which i could gather\ntogether that i was able to avert another public exposure. he had no\nfriends at all save the wandering gipsies, and he would give these\nvagabonds leave to encamp upon the few acres of bramble-covered land\nwhich represent the family estate, and would accept in return the\nhospitality of their tents, wandering away with them sometimes for\nweeks on end. he has a passion also for indian animals, which are sent\nover to him by a correspondent, and he has at this moment a cheetah and\na baboon, which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the\nvillagers almost as much as their master.\n\n“you can imagine from what i say that my poor sister julia and i had no\ngreat pleasure in our lives. no servant would stay with us, and for a\nlong time we did all the work of the house. she was but thirty at the\ntime of her death, and yet her hair had already begun to whiten, even\nas mine has.”\n\n“your sister is dead, then?”\n\n“she died just two years ago, and it is of her death that i wish to\nspeak to you. you can understand that, living the life which i have\ndescribed, we were little likely to see anyone of our own age and\nposition. we had, however, an aunt, my mother’s maiden sister, miss\nhonoria westphail, who lives near harrow, and we were occasionally\nallowed to pay short visits at this lady’s house. julia went there at\nchristmas two years ago, and met there a half-pay major of marines, to\nwhom she became engaged. my stepfather learned of the engagement when\nmy sister returned and offered no objection to the marriage; but within\na fortnight of the day which had been fixed for the wedding, the\nterrible event occurred which has deprived me of my only companion.”\n\nsherlock holmes had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed\nand his head sunk in a cushion, but he half opened his lids now and\nglanced across at his visitor.\n\n“pray be precise as to details,” said he.\n\n“it is easy for me to be so, for every event of that dreadful time is\nseared into my memory. the manor-house is, as i have already said, very\nold, and only one wing is now inhabited. the bedrooms in this wing are\non the ground floor, the sitting-rooms being in the central block of\nthe buildings. of these bedrooms the first is dr. roylott’s, the second\nmy sister’s, and the third my own. there is no communication between\nthem, but they all open out into the same corridor. do i make myself\nplain?”\n\n“perfectly so.”\n\n“the windows of the three rooms open out upon the lawn. that fatal\nnight dr. roylott had gone to his room early, though we knew that he\nhad not retired to rest, for my sister was troubled by the smell of the\nstrong indian cigars which it was his custom to smoke. she left her\nroom, therefore, and came into mine, where she sat for some time,\nchatting about her approaching wedding. at eleven o’clock she rose to\nleave me, but she paused at the door and looked back.\n\n“‘tell me, helen,’ said she, ‘have you ever heard anyone whistle in the\ndead of the night?’\n\n“‘never,’ said i.\n\n“‘i suppose that you could not possibly whistle, yourself, in your\nsleep?’\n\n“‘certainly not. but why?’\n\n“‘because during the last few nights i have always, about three in the\nmorning, heard a low, clear whistle. i am a light sleeper, and it has\nawakened me. i cannot tell where it came from—perhaps from the next\nroom, perhaps from the lawn. i thought that i would just ask you\nwhether you had heard it.’\n\n“‘no, i have not. it must be those wretched gipsies in the plantation.’\n\n“‘very likely. and yet if it were on the lawn, i wonder that you did\nnot hear it also.’\n\n“‘ah, but i sleep more heavily than you.’\n\n“‘well, it is of no great consequence, at any rate.’ she smiled back at\nme, closed my door, and a few moments later i heard her key turn in the\nlock.”\n\n“indeed,” said holmes. “was it your custom always to lock yourselves in\nat night?”\n\n“always.”\n\n“and why?”\n\n“i think that i mentioned to you that the doctor kept a cheetah and a\nbaboon. we had no feeling of security unless our doors were locked.”\n\n“quite so. pray proceed with your statement.”\n\n“i could not sleep that night. a vague feeling of impending misfortune\nimpressed me. my sister and i, you will recollect, were twins, and you\nknow how subtle are the links which bind two souls which are so closely\nallied. it was a wild night. the wind was howling outside, and the rain\nwas beating and splashing against the windows. suddenly, amid all the\nhubbub of the gale, there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified\nwoman. i knew that it was my sister’s voice. i sprang from my bed,\nwrapped a shawl round me, and rushed into the corridor. as i opened my\ndoor i seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described, and a\nfew moments later a clanging sound, as if a mass of metal had fallen.\nas i ran down the passage, my sister’s door was unlocked, and revolved\nslowly upon its hinges. i stared at it horror-stricken, not knowing\nwhat was about to issue from it. by the light of the corridor-lamp i\nsaw my sister appear at the opening, her face blanched with terror, her\nhands groping for help, her whole figure swaying to and fro like that\nof a drunkard. i ran to her and threw my arms round her, but at that\nmoment her knees seemed to give way and she fell to the ground. she\nwrithed as one who is in terrible pain, and her limbs were dreadfully\nconvulsed. at first i thought that she had not recognised me, but as i\nbent over her she suddenly shrieked out in a voice which i shall never\nforget, ‘oh, my god! helen! it was the band! the speckled band!’ there\nwas something else which she would fain have said, and she stabbed with\nher finger into the air in the direction of the doctor’s room, but a\nfresh convulsion seized her and choked her words. i rushed out, calling\nloudly for my stepfather, and i met him hastening from his room in his\ndressing-gown. when he reached my sister’s side she was unconscious,\nand though he poured brandy down her throat and sent for medical aid\nfrom the village, all efforts were in vain, for she slowly sank and\ndied without having recovered her consciousness. such was the dreadful\nend of my beloved sister.”\n\n“one moment,” said holmes, “are you sure about this whistle and\nmetallic sound? could you swear to it?”\n\n“that was what the county coroner asked me at the inquiry. it is my\nstrong impression that i heard it, and yet, among the crash of the gale\nand the creaking of an old house, i may possibly have been deceived.”\n\n“was your sister dressed?”\n\n“no, she was in her night-dress. in her right hand was found the\ncharred stump of a match, and in her left a match-box.”\n\n“showing that she had struck a light and looked about her when the\nalarm took place. that is important. and what conclusions did the\ncoroner come to?”\n\n“he investigated the case with great care, for dr. roylott’s conduct\nhad long been notorious in the county, but he was unable to find any\nsatisfactory cause of death. my evidence showed that the door had been\nfastened upon the inner side, and the windows were blocked by\nold-fashioned shutters with broad iron bars, which were secured every\nnight. the walls were carefully sounded, and were shown to be quite\nsolid all round, and the flooring was also thoroughly examined, with\nthe same result. the chimney is wide, but is barred up by four large\nstaples. it is certain, therefore, that my sister was quite alone when\nshe met her end. besides, there were no marks of any violence upon\nher.”\n\n“how about poison?”\n\n“the doctors examined her for it, but without success.”\n\n“what do you think that this unfortunate lady died of, then?”\n\n“it is my belief that she died of pure fear and nervous shock, though\nwhat it was that frightened her i cannot imagine.”\n\n“were there gipsies in the plantation at the time?”\n\n“yes, there are nearly always some there.”\n\n“ah, and what did you gather from this allusion to a band—a speckled\nband?”\n\n“sometimes i have thought that it was merely the wild talk of delirium,\nsometimes that it may have referred to some band of people, perhaps to\nthese very gipsies in the plantation. i do not know whether the spotted\nhandkerchiefs which so many of them wear over their heads might have\nsuggested the strange adjective which she used.”\n\nholmes shook his head like a man who is far from being satisfied.\n\n“these are very deep waters,” said he; “pray go on with your\nnarrative.”\n\n“two years have passed since then, and my life has been until lately\nlonelier than ever. a month ago, however, a dear friend, whom i have\nknown for many years, has done me the honour to ask my hand in\nmarriage. his name is armitage—percy armitage—the second son of mr.\narmitage, of crane water, near reading. my stepfather has offered no\nopposition to the match, and we are to be married in the course of the\nspring. two days ago some repairs were started in the west wing of the\nbuilding, and my bedroom wall has been pierced, so that i have had to\nmove into the chamber in which my sister died, and to sleep in the very\nbed in which she slept. imagine, then, my thrill of terror when last\nnight, as i lay awake, thinking over her terrible fate, i suddenly\nheard in the silence of the night the low whistle which had been the\nherald of her own death. i sprang up and lit the lamp, but nothing was\nto be seen in the room. i was too shaken to go to bed again, however,\nso i dressed, and as soon as it was daylight i slipped down, got a\ndog-cart at the crown inn, which is opposite, and drove to leatherhead,\nfrom whence i have come on this morning with the one object of seeing\nyou and asking your advice.”\n\n“you have done wisely,” said my friend. “but have you told me all?”\n\n“yes, all.”\n\n“miss roylott, you have not. you are screening your stepfather.”\n\n“why, what do you mean?”\n\nfor answer holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which fringed the\nhand that lay upon our visitor’s knee. five little livid spots, the\nmarks of four fingers and a thumb, were printed upon the white wrist.\n\n“you have been cruelly used,” said holmes.\n\nthe lady coloured deeply and covered over her injured wrist. “he is a\nhard man,” she said, “and perhaps he hardly knows his own strength.”\n\nthere was a long silence, during which holmes leaned his chin upon his\nhands and stared into the crackling fire.\n\n“this is a very deep business,” he said at last. “there are a thousand\ndetails which i should desire to know before i decide upon our course\nof action. yet we have not a moment to lose. if we were to come to\nstoke moran to-day, would it be possible for us to see over these rooms\nwithout the knowledge of your stepfather?”\n\n“as it happens, he spoke of coming into town to-day upon some most\nimportant business. it is probable that he will be away all day, and\nthat there would be nothing to disturb you. we have a housekeeper now,\nbut she is old and foolish, and i could easily get her out of the way.”\n\n“excellent. you are not averse to this trip, watson?”\n\n“by no means.”\n\n“then we shall both come. what are you going to do yourself?”\n\n“i have one or two things which i would wish to do now that i am in\ntown. but i shall return by the twelve o’clock train, so as to be there\nin time for your coming.”\n\n“and you may expect us early in the afternoon. i have myself some small\nbusiness matters to attend to. will you not wait and breakfast?”\n\n“no, i must go. my heart is lightened already since i have confided my\ntrouble to you. i shall look forward to seeing you again this\nafternoon.” she dropped her thick black veil over her face and glided\nfrom the room.\n\n“and what do you think of it all, watson?” asked sherlock holmes,\nleaning back in his chair.\n\n“it seems to me to be a most dark and sinister business.”\n\n“dark enough and sinister enough.”\n\n“yet if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls are\nsound, and that the door, window, and chimney are impassable, then her\nsister must have been undoubtedly alone when she met her mysterious\nend.”\n\n“what becomes, then, of these nocturnal whistles, and what of the very\npeculiar words of the dying woman?”\n\n“i cannot think.”\n\n“when you combine the ideas of whistles at night, the presence of a\nband of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor, the\nfact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has an\ninterest in preventing his stepdaughter’s marriage, the dying allusion\nto a band, and, finally, the fact that miss helen stoner heard a\nmetallic clang, which might have been caused by one of those metal bars\nthat secured the shutters falling back into its place, i think that\nthere is good ground to think that the mystery may be cleared along\nthose lines.”\n\n“but what, then, did the gipsies do?”\n\n“i cannot imagine.”\n\n“i see many objections to any such theory.”\n\n“and so do i. it is precisely for that reason that we are going to\nstoke moran this day. i want to see whether the objections are fatal,\nor if they may be explained away. but what in the name of the devil!”\n\nthe ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that our\ndoor had been suddenly dashed open, and that a huge man had framed\nhimself in the aperture. his costume was a peculiar mixture of the\nprofessional and of the agricultural, having a black top-hat, a long\nfrock-coat, and a pair of high gaiters, with a hunting-crop swinging in\nhis hand. so tall was he that his hat actually brushed the cross bar of\nthe doorway, and his breadth seemed to span it across from side to\nside. a large face, seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with\nthe sun, and marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the\nother of us, while his deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high, thin,\nfleshless nose, gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old bird\nof prey.\n\n“which of you is holmes?” asked this apparition.\n\n“my name, sir; but you have the advantage of me,” said my companion\nquietly.\n\n“i am dr. grimesby roylott, of stoke moran.”\n\n“indeed, doctor,” said holmes blandly. “pray take a seat.”\n\n“i will do nothing of the kind. my stepdaughter has been here. i have\ntraced her. what has she been saying to you?”\n\n“it is a little cold for the time of the year,” said holmes.\n\n“what has she been saying to you?” screamed the old man furiously.\n\n“but i have heard that the crocuses promise well,” continued my\ncompanion imperturbably.\n\n“ha! you put me off, do you?” said our new visitor, taking a step\nforward and shaking his hunting-crop. “i know you, you scoundrel! i\nhave heard of you before. you are holmes, the meddler.”\n\nmy friend smiled.\n\n“holmes, the busybody!”\n\nhis smile broadened.\n\n“holmes, the scotland yard jack-in-office!”\n\nholmes chuckled heartily. “your conversation is most entertaining,”\nsaid he. “when you go out close the door, for there is a decided\ndraught.”\n\n“i will go when i have had my say. don’t you dare to meddle with my\naffairs. i know that miss stoner has been here. i traced her! i am a\ndangerous man to fall foul of! see here.” he stepped swiftly forward,\nseized the poker, and bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands.\n\n“see that you keep yourself out of my grip,” he snarled, and hurling\nthe twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the room.\n\n“he seems a very amiable person,” said holmes, laughing. “i am not\nquite so bulky, but if he had remained i might have shown him that my\ngrip was not much more feeble than his own.” as he spoke he picked up\nthe steel poker and, with a sudden effort, straightened it out again.\n\n“fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official\ndetective force! this incident gives zest to our investigation,\nhowever, and i only trust that our little friend will not suffer from\nher imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her. and now, watson, we\nshall order breakfast, and afterwards i shall walk down to doctors’\ncommons, where i hope to get some data which may help us in this\nmatter.”\n\nit was nearly one o’clock when sherlock holmes returned from his\nexcursion. he held in his hand a sheet of blue paper, scrawled over\nwith notes and figures.\n\n“i have seen the will of the deceased wife,” said he. “to determine its\nexact meaning i have been obliged to work out the present prices of the\ninvestments with which it is concerned. the total income, which at the\ntime of the wife’s death was little short of £ 1,100, is now, through\nthe fall in agricultural prices, not more than £ 750. each daughter can\nclaim an income of £ 250, in case of marriage. it is evident,\ntherefore, that if both girls had married, this beauty would have had a\nmere pittance, while even one of them would cripple him to a very\nserious extent. my morning’s work has not been wasted, since it has\nproved that he has the very strongest motives for standing in the way\nof anything of the sort. and now, watson, this is too serious for\ndawdling, especially as the old man is aware that we are interesting\nourselves in his affairs; so if you are ready, we shall call a cab and\ndrive to waterloo. i should be very much obliged if you would slip your\nrevolver into your pocket. an eley’s no. 2 is an excellent argument\nwith gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots. that and a\ntooth-brush are, i think, all that we need.”\n\nat waterloo we were fortunate in catching a train for leatherhead,\nwhere we hired a trap at the station inn and drove for four or five\nmiles through the lovely surrey lanes. it was a perfect day, with a\nbright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the heavens. the trees and\nwayside hedges were just throwing out their first green shoots, and the\nair was full of the pleasant smell of the moist earth. to me at least\nthere was a strange contrast between the sweet promise of the spring\nand this sinister quest upon which we were engaged. my companion sat in\nthe front of the trap, his arms folded, his hat pulled down over his\neyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast, buried in the deepest thought.\nsuddenly, however, he started, tapped me on the shoulder, and pointed\nover the meadows.\n\n“look there!” said he.\n\na heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, thickening into\na grove at the highest point. from amid the branches there jutted out\nthe grey gables and high roof-tree of a very old mansion.\n\n“stoke moran?” said he.\n\n“yes, sir, that be the house of dr. grimesby roylott,” remarked the\ndriver.\n\n“there is some building going on there,” said holmes; “that is where we\nare going.”\n\n“there’s the village,” said the driver, pointing to a cluster of roofs\nsome distance to the left; “but if you want to get to the house, you’ll\nfind it shorter to get over this stile, and so by the footpath over the\nfields. there it is, where the lady is walking.”\n\n“and the lady, i fancy, is miss stoner,” observed holmes, shading his\neyes. “yes, i think we had better do as you suggest.”\n\nwe got off, paid our fare, and the trap rattled back on its way to\nleatherhead.\n\n“i thought it as well,” said holmes as we climbed the stile, “that this\nfellow should think we had come here as architects, or on some definite\nbusiness. it may stop his gossip. good-afternoon, miss stoner. you see\nthat we have been as good as our word.”\n\nour client of the morning had hurried forward to meet us with a face\nwhich spoke her joy. “i have been waiting so eagerly for you,” she\ncried, shaking hands with us warmly. “all has turned out splendidly.\ndr. roylott has gone to town, and it is unlikely that he will be back\nbefore evening.”\n\n“we have had the pleasure of making the doctor’s acquaintance,” said\nholmes, and in a few words he sketched out what had occurred. miss\nstoner turned white to the lips as she listened.\n\n“good heavens!” she cried, “he has followed me, then.”\n\n“so it appears.”\n\n“he is so cunning that i never know when i am safe from him. what will\nhe say when he returns?”\n\n“he must guard himself, for he may find that there is someone more\ncunning than himself upon his track. you must lock yourself up from him\nto-night. if he is violent, we shall take you away to your aunt’s at\nharrow. now, we must make the best use of our time, so kindly take us\nat once to the rooms which we are to examine.”\n\nthe building was of grey, lichen-blotched stone, with a high central\nportion and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab, thrown out on\neach side. in one of these wings the windows were broken and blocked\nwith wooden boards, while the roof was partly caved in, a picture of\nruin. the central portion was in little better repair, but the\nright-hand block was comparatively modern, and the blinds in the\nwindows, with the blue smoke curling up from the chimneys, showed that\nthis was where the family resided. some scaffolding had been erected\nagainst the end wall, and the stone-work had been broken into, but\nthere were no signs of any workmen at the moment of our visit. holmes\nwalked slowly up and down the ill-trimmed lawn and examined with deep\nattention the outsides of the windows.\n\n“this, i take it, belongs to the room in which you used to sleep, the\ncentre one to your sister’s, and the one next to the main building to\ndr. roylott’s chamber?”\n\n“exactly so. but i am now sleeping in the middle one.”\n\n“pending the alterations, as i understand. by the way, there does not\nseem to be any very pressing need for repairs at that end wall.”\n\n“there were none. i believe that it was an excuse to move me from my\nroom.”\n\n“ah! that is suggestive. now, on the other side of this narrow wing\nruns the corridor from which these three rooms open. there are windows\nin it, of course?”\n\n“yes, but very small ones. too narrow for anyone to pass through.”\n\n“as you both locked your doors at night, your rooms were unapproachable\nfrom that side. now, would you have the kindness to go into your room\nand bar your shutters?”\n\nmiss stoner did so, and holmes, after a careful examination through the\nopen window, endeavoured in every way to force the shutter open, but\nwithout success. there was no slit through which a knife could be\npassed to raise the bar. then with his lens he tested the hinges, but\nthey were of solid iron, built firmly into the massive masonry. “hum!”\nsaid he, scratching his chin in some perplexity, “my theory certainly\npresents some difficulties. no one could pass these shutters if they\nwere bolted. well, we shall see if the inside throws any light upon the\nmatter.”\n\na small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which the\nthree bedrooms opened. holmes refused to examine the third chamber, so\nwe passed at once to the second, that in which miss stoner was now\nsleeping, and in which her sister had met with her fate. it was a\nhomely little room, with a low ceiling and a gaping fireplace, after\nthe fashion of old country-houses. a brown chest of drawers stood in\none corner, a narrow white-counterpaned bed in another, and a\ndressing-table on the left-hand side of the window. these articles,\nwith two small wicker-work chairs, made up all the furniture in the\nroom save for a square of wilton carpet in the centre. the boards round\nand the panelling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old\nand discoloured that it may have dated from the original building of\nthe house. holmes drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat silent,\nwhile his eyes travelled round and round and up and down, taking in\nevery detail of the apartment.\n\n“where does that bell communicate with?” he asked at last pointing to a\nthick bell-rope which hung down beside the bed, the tassel actually\nlying upon the pillow.\n\n“it goes to the housekeeper’s room.”\n\n“it looks newer than the other things?”\n\n“yes, it was only put there a couple of years ago.”\n\n“your sister asked for it, i suppose?”\n\n“no, i never heard of her using it. we used always to get what we\nwanted for ourselves.”\n\n“indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there. you\nwill excuse me for a few minutes while i satisfy myself as to this\nfloor.” he threw himself down upon his face with his lens in his hand\nand crawled swiftly backward and forward, examining minutely the cracks\nbetween the boards. then he did the same with the wood-work with which\nthe chamber was panelled. finally he walked over to the bed and spent\nsome time in staring at it and in running his eye up and down the wall.\nfinally he took the bell-rope in his hand and gave it a brisk tug.\n\n“why, it’s a dummy,” said he.\n\n“won’t it ring?”\n\n“no, it is not even attached to a wire. this is very interesting. you\ncan see now that it is fastened to a hook just above where the little\nopening for the ventilator is.”\n\n“how very absurd! i never noticed that before.”\n\n“very strange!” muttered holmes, pulling at the rope. “there are one or\ntwo very singular points about this room. for example, what a fool a\nbuilder must be to open a ventilator into another room, when, with the\nsame trouble, he might have communicated with the outside air!”\n\n“that is also quite modern,” said the lady.\n\n“done about the same time as the bell-rope?” remarked holmes.\n\n“yes, there were several little changes carried out about that time.”\n\n“they seem to have been of a most interesting character—dummy\nbell-ropes, and ventilators which do not ventilate. with your\npermission, miss stoner, we shall now carry our researches into the\ninner apartment.”\n\ndr. grimesby roylott’s chamber was larger than that of his\nstep-daughter, but was as plainly furnished. a camp-bed, a small wooden\nshelf full of books, mostly of a technical character, an armchair\nbeside the bed, a plain wooden chair against the wall, a round table,\nand a large iron safe were the principal things which met the eye.\nholmes walked slowly round and examined each and all of them with the\nkeenest interest.\n\n“what’s in here?” he asked, tapping the safe.\n\n“my stepfather’s business papers.”\n\n“oh! you have seen inside, then?”\n\n“only once, some years ago. i remember that it was full of papers.”\n\n“there isn’t a cat in it, for example?”\n\n“no. what a strange idea!”\n\n“well, look at this!” he took up a small saucer of milk which stood on\nthe top of it.\n\n“no; we don’t keep a cat. but there is a cheetah and a baboon.”\n\n“ah, yes, of course! well, a cheetah is just a big cat, and yet a\nsaucer of milk does not go very far in satisfying its wants, i daresay.\nthere is one point which i should wish to determine.” he squatted down\nin front of the wooden chair and examined the seat of it with the\ngreatest attention.\n\n“thank you. that is quite settled,” said he, rising and putting his\nlens in his pocket. “hullo! here is something interesting!”\n\nthe object which had caught his eye was a small dog lash hung on one\ncorner of the bed. the lash, however, was curled upon itself and tied\nso as to make a loop of whipcord.\n\n“what do you make of that, watson?”\n\n“it’s a common enough lash. but i don’t know why it should be tied.”\n\n“that is not quite so common, is it? ah, me! it’s a wicked world, and\nwhen a clever man turns his brains to crime it is the worst of all. i\nthink that i have seen enough now, miss stoner, and with your\npermission we shall walk out upon the lawn.”\n\ni had never seen my friend’s face so grim or his brow so dark as it was\nwhen we turned from the scene of this investigation. we had walked\nseveral times up and down the lawn, neither miss stoner nor myself\nliking to break in upon his thoughts before he roused himself from his\nreverie.\n\n“it is very essential, miss stoner,” said he, “that you should\nabsolutely follow my advice in every respect.”\n\n“i shall most certainly do so.”\n\n“the matter is too serious for any hesitation. your life may depend\nupon your compliance.”\n\n“i assure you that i am in your hands.”\n\n“in the first place, both my friend and i must spend the night in your\nroom.”\n\nboth miss stoner and i gazed at him in astonishment.\n\n“yes, it must be so. let me explain. i believe that that is the village\ninn over there?”\n\n“yes, that is the crown.”\n\n“very good. your windows would be visible from there?”\n\n“certainly.”\n\n“you must confine yourself to your room, on pretence of a headache,\nwhen your stepfather comes back. then when you hear him retire for the\nnight, you must open the shutters of your window, undo the hasp, put\nyour lamp there as a signal to us, and then withdraw quietly with\neverything which you are likely to want into the room which you used to\noccupy. i have no doubt that, in spite of the repairs, you could manage\nthere for one night.”\n\n“oh, yes, easily.”\n\n“the rest you will leave in our hands.”\n\n“but what will you do?”\n\n“we shall spend the night in your room, and we shall investigate the\ncause of this noise which has disturbed you.”\n\n“i believe, mr. holmes, that you have already made up your mind,” said\nmiss stoner, laying her hand upon my companion’s sleeve.\n\n“perhaps i have.”\n\n“then, for pity’s sake, tell me what was the cause of my sister’s\ndeath.”\n\n“i should prefer to have clearer proofs before i speak.”\n\n“you can at least tell me whether my own thought is correct, and if she\ndied from some sudden fright.”\n\n“no, i do not think so. i think that there was probably some more\ntangible cause. and now, miss stoner, we must leave you for if dr.\nroylott returned and saw us our journey would be in vain. good-bye, and\nbe brave, for if you will do what i have told you, you may rest assured\nthat we shall soon drive away the dangers that threaten you.”\n\nsherlock holmes and i had no difficulty in engaging a bedroom and\nsitting-room at the crown inn. they were on the upper floor, and from\nour window we could command a view of the avenue gate, and of the\ninhabited wing of stoke moran manor house. at dusk we saw dr. grimesby\nroylott drive past, his huge form looming up beside the little figure\nof the lad who drove him. the boy had some slight difficulty in undoing\nthe heavy iron gates, and we heard the hoarse roar of the doctor’s\nvoice and saw the fury with which he shook his clinched fists at him.\nthe trap drove on, and a few minutes later we saw a sudden light spring\nup among the trees as the lamp was lit in one of the sitting-rooms.\n\n“do you know, watson,” said holmes as we sat together in the gathering\ndarkness, “i have really some scruples as to taking you to-night. there\nis a distinct element of danger.”\n\n“can i be of assistance?”\n\n“your presence might be invaluable.”\n\n“then i shall certainly come.”\n\n“it is very kind of you.”\n\n“you speak of danger. you have evidently seen more in these rooms than\nwas visible to me.”\n\n“no, but i fancy that i may have deduced a little more. i imagine that\nyou saw all that i did.”\n\n“i saw nothing remarkable save the bell-rope, and what purpose that\ncould answer i confess is more than i can imagine.”\n\n“you saw the ventilator, too?”\n\n“yes, but i do not think that it is such a very unusual thing to have a\nsmall opening between two rooms. it was so small that a rat could\nhardly pass through.”\n\n“i knew that we should find a ventilator before ever we came to stoke\nmoran.”\n\n“my dear holmes!”\n\n“oh, yes, i did. you remember in her statement she said that her sister\ncould smell dr. roylott’s cigar. now, of course that suggested at once\nthat there must be a communication between the two rooms. it could only\nbe a small one, or it would have been remarked upon at the coroner’s\ninquiry. i deduced a ventilator.”\n\n“but what harm can there be in that?”\n\n“well, there is at least a curious coincidence of dates. a ventilator\nis made, a cord is hung, and a lady who sleeps in the bed dies. does\nnot that strike you?”\n\n“i cannot as yet see any connection.”\n\n“did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed?”\n\n“no.”\n\n“it was clamped to the floor. did you ever see a bed fastened like that\nbefore?”\n\n“i cannot say that i have.”\n\n“the lady could not move her bed. it must always be in the same\nrelative position to the ventilator and to the rope—or so we may call\nit, since it was clearly never meant for a bell-pull.”\n\n“holmes,” i cried, “i seem to see dimly what you are hinting at. we are\nonly just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible crime.”\n\n“subtle enough and horrible enough. when a doctor does go wrong he is\nthe first of criminals. he has nerve and he has knowledge. palmer and\npritchard were among the heads of their profession. this man strikes\neven deeper, but i think, watson, that we shall be able to strike\ndeeper still. but we shall have horrors enough before the night is\nover; for goodness’ sake let us have a quiet pipe and turn our minds\nfor a few hours to something more cheerful.”\n\nabout nine o’clock the light among the trees was extinguished, and all\nwas dark in the direction of the manor house. two hours passed slowly\naway, and then, suddenly, just at the stroke of eleven, a single bright\nlight shone out right in front of us.\n\n“that is our signal,” said holmes, springing to his feet; “it comes\nfrom the middle window.”\n\nas we passed out he exchanged a few words with the landlord, explaining\nthat we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance, and that it was\npossible that we might spend the night there. a moment later we were\nout on the dark road, a chill wind blowing in our faces, and one yellow\nlight twinkling in front of us through the gloom to guide us on our\nsombre errand.\n\nthere was little difficulty in entering the grounds, for unrepaired\nbreaches gaped in the old park wall. making our way among the trees, we\nreached the lawn, crossed it, and were about to enter through the\nwindow when out from a clump of laurel bushes there darted what seemed\nto be a hideous and distorted child, who threw itself upon the grass\nwith writhing limbs and then ran swiftly across the lawn into the\ndarkness.\n\n“my god!” i whispered; “did you see it?”\n\nholmes was for the moment as startled as i. his hand closed like a vice\nupon my wrist in his agitation. then he broke into a low laugh and put\nhis lips to my ear.\n\n“it is a nice household,” he murmured. “that is the baboon.”\n\ni had forgotten the strange pets which the doctor affected. there was a\ncheetah, too; perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders at any\nmoment. i confess that i felt easier in my mind when, after following\nholmes’ example and slipping off my shoes, i found myself inside the\nbedroom. my companion noiselessly closed the shutters, moved the lamp\nonto the table, and cast his eyes round the room. all was as we had\nseen it in the daytime. then creeping up to me and making a trumpet of\nhis hand, he whispered into my ear again so gently that it was all that\ni could do to distinguish the words:\n\n“the least sound would be fatal to our plans.”\n\ni nodded to show that i had heard.\n\n“we must sit without light. he would see it through the ventilator.”\n\ni nodded again.\n\n“do not go asleep; your very life may depend upon it. have your pistol\nready in case we should need it. i will sit on the side of the bed, and\nyou in that chair.”\n\ni took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table.\n\nholmes had brought up a long thin cane, and this he placed upon the bed\nbeside him. by it he laid the box of matches and the stump of a candle.\nthen he turned down the lamp, and we were left in darkness.\n\nhow shall i ever forget that dreadful vigil? i could not hear a sound,\nnot even the drawing of a breath, and yet i knew that my companion sat\nopen-eyed, within a few feet of me, in the same state of nervous\ntension in which i was myself. the shutters cut off the least ray of\nlight, and we waited in absolute darkness.\n\nfrom outside came the occasional cry of a night-bird, and once at our\nvery window a long drawn catlike whine, which told us that the cheetah\nwas indeed at liberty. far away we could hear the deep tones of the\nparish clock, which boomed out every quarter of an hour. how long they\nseemed, those quarters! twelve struck, and one and two and three, and\nstill we sat waiting silently for whatever might befall.\n\nsuddenly there was the momentary gleam of a light up in the direction\nof the ventilator, which vanished immediately, but was succeeded by a\nstrong smell of burning oil and heated metal. someone in the next room\nhad lit a dark-lantern. i heard a gentle sound of movement, and then\nall was silent once more, though the smell grew stronger. for half an\nhour i sat with straining ears. then suddenly another sound became\naudible—a very gentle, soothing sound, like that of a small jet of\nsteam escaping continually from a kettle. the instant that we heard it,\nholmes sprang from the bed, struck a match, and lashed furiously with\nhis cane at the bell-pull.\n\n“you see it, watson?” he yelled. “you see it?”\n\nbut i saw nothing. at the moment when holmes struck the light i heard a\nlow, clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashing into my weary eyes\nmade it impossible for me to tell what it was at which my friend lashed\nso savagely. i could, however, see that his face was deadly pale and\nfilled with horror and loathing. he had ceased to strike and was gazing\nup at the ventilator when suddenly there broke from the silence of the\nnight the most horrible cry to which i have ever listened. it swelled\nup louder and louder, a hoarse yell of pain and fear and anger all\nmingled in the one dreadful shriek. they say that away down in the\nvillage, and even in the distant parsonage, that cry raised the\nsleepers from their beds. it struck cold to our hearts, and i stood\ngazing at holmes, and he at me, until the last echoes of it had died\naway into the silence from which it rose.\n\n“what can it mean?” i gasped.\n\n“it means that it is all over,” holmes answered. “and perhaps, after\nall, it is for the best. take your pistol, and we will enter dr.\nroylott’s room.”\n\nwith a grave face he lit the lamp and led the way down the corridor.\ntwice he struck at the chamber door without any reply from within. then\nhe turned the handle and entered, i at his heels, with the cocked\npistol in my hand.\n\nit was a singular sight which met our eyes. on the table stood a\ndark-lantern with the shutter half open, throwing a brilliant beam of\nlight upon the iron safe, the door of which was ajar. beside this\ntable, on the wooden chair, sat dr. grimesby roylott clad in a long\ngrey dressing-gown, his bare ankles protruding beneath, and his feet\nthrust into red heelless turkish slippers. across his lap lay the short\nstock with the long lash which we had noticed during the day. his chin\nwas cocked upward and his eyes were fixed in a dreadful, rigid stare at\nthe corner of the ceiling. round his brow he had a peculiar yellow\nband, with brownish speckles, which seemed to be bound tightly round\nhis head. as we entered he made neither sound nor motion.\n\n“the band! the speckled band!” whispered holmes.\n\ni took a step forward. in an instant his strange headgear began to\nmove, and there reared itself from among his hair the squat\ndiamond-shaped head and puffed neck of a loathsome serpent.\n\n“it is a swamp adder!” cried holmes; “the deadliest snake in india. he\nhas died within ten seconds of being bitten. violence does, in truth,\nrecoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he\ndigs for another. let us thrust this creature back into its den, and we\ncan then remove miss stoner to some place of shelter and let the county\npolice know what has happened.”\n\nas he spoke he drew the dog-whip swiftly from the dead man’s lap, and\nthrowing the noose round the reptile’s neck he drew it from its horrid\nperch and, carrying it at arm’s length, threw it into the iron safe,\nwhich he closed upon it.\n\nsuch are the true facts of the death of dr. grimesby roylott, of stoke\nmoran. it is not necessary that i should prolong a narrative which has\nalready run to too great a length by telling how we broke the sad news\nto the terrified girl, how we conveyed her by the morning train to the\ncare of her good aunt at harrow, of how the slow process of official\ninquiry came to the conclusion that the doctor met his fate while\nindiscreetly playing with a dangerous pet. the little which i had yet\nto learn of the case was told me by sherlock holmes as we travelled\nback next day.\n\n“i had,” said he, “come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which\nshows, my dear watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from\ninsufficient data. the presence of the gipsies, and the use of the word\n‘band,’ which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to explain the\nappearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of by the light of\nher match, were sufficient to put me upon an entirely wrong scent. i\ncan only claim the merit that i instantly reconsidered my position\nwhen, however, it became clear to me that whatever danger threatened an\noccupant of the room could not come either from the window or the door.\nmy attention was speedily drawn, as i have already remarked to you, to\nthis ventilator, and to the bell-rope which hung down to the bed. the\ndiscovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to the\nfloor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was there as\na bridge for something passing through the hole and coming to the bed.\nthe idea of a snake instantly occurred to me, and when i coupled it\nwith my knowledge that the doctor was furnished with a supply of\ncreatures from india, i felt that i was probably on the right track.\nthe idea of using a form of poison which could not possibly be\ndiscovered by any chemical test was just such a one as would occur to a\nclever and ruthless man who had had an eastern training. the rapidity\nwith which such a poison would take effect would also, from his point\nof view, be an advantage. it would be a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who\ncould distinguish the two little dark punctures which would show where\nthe poison fangs had done their work. then i thought of the whistle. of\ncourse he must recall the snake before the morning light revealed it to\nthe victim. he had trained it, probably by the use of the milk which we\nsaw, to return to him when summoned. he would put it through this\nventilator at the hour that he thought best, with the certainty that it\nwould crawl down the rope and land on the bed. it might or might not\nbite the occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but\nsooner or later she must fall a victim.\n\n“i had come to these conclusions before ever i had entered his room. an\ninspection of his chair showed me that he had been in the habit of\nstanding on it, which of course would be necessary in order that he\nshould reach the ventilator. the sight of the safe, the saucer of milk,\nand the loop of whipcord were enough to finally dispel any doubts which\nmay have remained. the metallic clang heard by miss stoner was\nobviously caused by her stepfather hastily closing the door of his safe\nupon its terrible occupant. having once made up my mind, you know the\nsteps which i took in order to put the matter to the proof. i heard the\ncreature hiss as i have no doubt that you did also, and i instantly lit\nthe light and attacked it.”\n\n“with the result of driving it through the ventilator.”\n\n“and also with the result of causing it to turn upon its master at the\nother side. some of the blows of my cane came home and roused its\nsnakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person it saw. in this\nway i am no doubt indirectly responsible for dr. grimesby roylott’s\ndeath, and i cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my\nconscience.”\n\n\n\nix. the adventure of the engineer’s thumb\n\nof all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, mr.\nsherlock holmes, for solution during the years of our intimacy, there\nwere only two which i was the means of introducing to his notice—that\nof mr. hatherley’s thumb, and that of colonel warburton’s madness. of\nthese the latter may have afforded a finer field for an acute and\noriginal observer, but the other was so strange in its inception and so\ndramatic in its details that it may be the more worthy of being placed\nupon record, even if it gave my friend fewer openings for those\ndeductive methods of reasoning by which he achieved such remarkable\nresults. the story has, i believe, been told more than once in the\nnewspapers, but, like all such narratives, its effect is much less\nstriking when set forth _en bloc_ in a single half-column of print than\nwhen the facts slowly evolve before your own eyes, and the mystery\nclears gradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which\nleads on to the complete truth. at the time the circumstances made a\ndeep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly served\nto weaken the effect.\n\nit was in the summer of ’89, not long after my marriage, that the\nevents occurred which i am now about to summarise. i had returned to\ncivil practice and had finally abandoned holmes in his baker street\nrooms, although i continually visited him and occasionally even\npersuaded him to forgo his bohemian habits so far as to come and visit\nus. my practice had steadily increased, and as i happened to live at no\nvery great distance from paddington station, i got a few patients from\namong the officials. one of these, whom i had cured of a painful and\nlingering disease, was never weary of advertising my virtues and of\nendeavouring to send me on every sufferer over whom he might have any\ninfluence.\n\none morning, at a little before seven o’clock, i was awakened by the\nmaid tapping at the door to announce that two men had come from\npaddington and were waiting in the consulting-room. i dressed\nhurriedly, for i knew by experience that railway cases were seldom\ntrivial, and hastened downstairs. as i descended, my old ally, the\nguard, came out of the room and closed the door tightly behind him.\n\n“i’ve got him here,” he whispered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder;\n“he’s all right.”\n\n“what is it, then?” i asked, for his manner suggested that it was some\nstrange creature which he had caged up in my room.\n\n“it’s a new patient,” he whispered. “i thought i’d bring him round\nmyself; then he couldn’t slip away. there he is, all safe and sound. i\nmust go now, doctor; i have my dooties, just the same as you.” and off\nhe went, this trusty tout, without even giving me time to thank him.\n\ni entered my consulting-room and found a gentleman seated by the table.\nhe was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with a soft cloth cap\nwhich he had laid down upon my books. round one of his hands he had a\nhandkerchief wrapped, which was mottled all over with bloodstains. he\nwas young, not more than five-and-twenty, i should say, with a strong,\nmasculine face; but he was exceedingly pale and gave me the impression\nof a man who was suffering from some strong agitation, which it took\nall his strength of mind to control.\n\n“i am sorry to knock you up so early, doctor,” said he, “but i have had\na very serious accident during the night. i came in by train this\nmorning, and on inquiring at paddington as to where i might find a\ndoctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me here. i gave the maid a\ncard, but i see that she has left it upon the side-table.”\n\ni took it up and glanced at it. “mr. victor hatherley, hydraulic\nengineer, 16a, victoria street (3rd floor).” that was the name, style,\nand abode of my morning visitor. “i regret that i have kept you\nwaiting,” said i, sitting down in my library-chair. “you are fresh from\na night journey, i understand, which is in itself a monotonous\noccupation.”\n\n“oh, my night could not be called monotonous,” said he, and laughed. he\nlaughed very heartily, with a high, ringing note, leaning back in his\nchair and shaking his sides. all my medical instincts rose up against\nthat laugh.\n\n“stop it!” i cried; “pull yourself together!” and i poured out some\nwater from a caraffe.\n\nit was useless, however. he was off in one of those hysterical\noutbursts which come upon a strong nature when some great crisis is\nover and gone. presently he came to himself once more, very weary and\npale-looking.\n\n“i have been making a fool of myself,” he gasped.\n\n“not at all. drink this.” i dashed some brandy into the water, and the\ncolour began to come back to his bloodless cheeks.\n\n“that’s better!” said he. “and now, doctor, perhaps you would kindly\nattend to my thumb, or rather to the place where my thumb used to be.”\n\nhe unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. it gave even my\nhardened nerves a shudder to look at it. there were four protruding\nfingers and a horrid red, spongy surface where the thumb should have\nbeen. it had been hacked or torn right out from the roots.\n\n“good heavens!” i cried, “this is a terrible injury. it must have bled\nconsiderably.”\n\n“yes, it did. i fainted when it was done, and i think that i must have\nbeen senseless for a long time. when i came to i found that it was\nstill bleeding, so i tied one end of my handkerchief very tightly round\nthe wrist and braced it up with a twig.”\n\n“excellent! you should have been a surgeon.”\n\n“it is a question of hydraulics, you see, and came within my own\nprovince.”\n\n“this has been done,” said i, examining the wound, “by a very heavy and\nsharp instrument.”\n\n“a thing like a cleaver,” said he.\n\n“an accident, i presume?”\n\n“by no means.”\n\n“what! a murderous attack?”\n\n“very murderous indeed.”\n\n“you horrify me.”\n\ni sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it, and finally covered it\nover with cotton wadding and carbolised bandages. he lay back without\nwincing, though he bit his lip from time to time.\n\n“how is that?” i asked when i had finished.\n\n“capital! between your brandy and your bandage, i feel a new man. i was\nvery weak, but i have had a good deal to go through.”\n\n“perhaps you had better not speak of the matter. it is evidently trying\nto your nerves.”\n\n“oh, no, not now. i shall have to tell my tale to the police; but,\nbetween ourselves, if it were not for the convincing evidence of this\nwound of mine, i should be surprised if they believed my statement, for\nit is a very extraordinary one, and i have not much in the way of proof\nwith which to back it up; and, even if they believe me, the clues which\ni can give them are so vague that it is a question whether justice will\nbe done.”\n\n“ha!” cried i, “if it is anything in the nature of a problem which you\ndesire to see solved, i should strongly recommend you to come to my\nfriend, mr. sherlock holmes, before you go to the official police.”\n\n“oh, i have heard of that fellow,” answered my visitor, “and i should\nbe very glad if he would take the matter up, though of course i must\nuse the official police as well. would you give me an introduction to\nhim?”\n\n“i’ll do better. i’ll take you round to him myself.”\n\n“i should be immensely obliged to you.”\n\n“we’ll call a cab and go together. we shall just be in time to have a\nlittle breakfast with him. do you feel equal to it?”\n\n“yes; i shall not feel easy until i have told my story.”\n\n“then my servant will call a cab, and i shall be with you in an\ninstant.” i rushed upstairs, explained the matter shortly to my wife,\nand in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with my new\nacquaintance to baker street.\n\nsherlock holmes was, as i expected, lounging about his sitting-room in\nhis dressing-gown, reading the agony column of _the times_ and smoking\nhis before-breakfast pipe, which was composed of all the plugs and\ndottles left from his smokes of the day before, all carefully dried and\ncollected on the corner of the mantelpiece. he received us in his\nquietly genial fashion, ordered fresh rashers and eggs, and joined us\nin a hearty meal. when it was concluded he settled our new acquaintance\nupon the sofa, placed a pillow beneath his head, and laid a glass of\nbrandy and water within his reach.\n\n“it is easy to see that your experience has been no common one, mr.\nhatherley,” said he. “pray, lie down there and make yourself absolutely\nat home. tell us what you can, but stop when you are tired and keep up\nyour strength with a little stimulant.”\n\n“thank you,” said my patient, “but i have felt another man since the\ndoctor bandaged me, and i think that your breakfast has completed the\ncure. i shall take up as little of your valuable time as possible, so i\nshall start at once upon my peculiar experiences.”\n\nholmes sat in his big armchair with the weary, heavy-lidded expression\nwhich veiled his keen and eager nature, while i sat opposite to him,\nand we listened in silence to the strange story which our visitor\ndetailed to us.\n\n“you must know,” said he, “that i am an orphan and a bachelor, residing\nalone in lodgings in london. by profession i am a hydraulic engineer,\nand i have had considerable experience of my work during the seven\nyears that i was apprenticed to venner & matheson, the well-known firm,\nof greenwich. two years ago, having served my time, and having also\ncome into a fair sum of money through my poor father’s death, i\ndetermined to start in business for myself and took professional\nchambers in victoria street.\n\n“i suppose that everyone finds his first independent start in business\na dreary experience. to me it has been exceptionally so. during two\nyears i have had three consultations and one small job, and that is\nabsolutely all that my profession has brought me. my gross takings\namount to £ 27 10_s_. every day, from nine in the morning until four in\nthe afternoon, i waited in my little den, until at last my heart began\nto sink, and i came to believe that i should never have any practice at\nall.\n\n“yesterday, however, just as i was thinking of leaving the office, my\nclerk entered to say there was a gentleman waiting who wished to see me\nupon business. he brought up a card, too, with the name of ‘colonel\nlysander stark’ engraved upon it. close at his heels came the colonel\nhimself, a man rather over the middle size, but of an exceeding\nthinness. i do not think that i have ever seen so thin a man. his whole\nface sharpened away into nose and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was\ndrawn quite tense over his outstanding bones. yet this emaciation\nseemed to be his natural habit, and due to no disease, for his eye was\nbright, his step brisk, and his bearing assured. he was plainly but\nneatly dressed, and his age, i should judge, would be nearer forty than\nthirty.\n\n“‘mr. hatherley?’ said he, with something of a german accent. ‘you have\nbeen recommended to me, mr. hatherley, as being a man who is not only\nproficient in his profession but is also discreet and capable of\npreserving a secret.’\n\n“i bowed, feeling as flattered as any young man would at such an\naddress. ‘may i ask who it was who gave me so good a character?’\n\n“‘well, perhaps it is better that i should not tell you that just at\nthis moment. i have it from the same source that you are both an orphan\nand a bachelor and are residing alone in london.’\n\n“‘that is quite correct,’ i answered; ‘but you will excuse me if i say\nthat i cannot see how all this bears upon my professional\nqualifications. i understand that it was on a professional matter that\nyou wished to speak to me?’\n\n“‘undoubtedly so. but you will find that all i say is really to the\npoint. i have a professional commission for you, but absolute secrecy\nis quite essential—absolute secrecy, you understand, and of course we\nmay expect that more from a man who is alone than from one who lives in\nthe bosom of his family.’\n\n“‘if i promise to keep a secret,’ said i, ‘you may absolutely depend\nupon my doing so.’\n\n“he looked very hard at me as i spoke, and it seemed to me that i had\nnever seen so suspicious and questioning an eye.\n\n“‘do you promise, then?’ said he at last.\n\n“‘yes, i promise.’\n\n“‘absolute and complete silence before, during, and after? no reference\nto the matter at all, either in word or writing?’\n\n“‘i have already given you my word.’\n\n“‘very good.’ he suddenly sprang up, and darting like lightning across\nthe room he flung open the door. the passage outside was empty.\n\n“‘that’s all right,’ said he, coming back. ‘i know that clerks are\nsometimes curious as to their master’s affairs. now we can talk in\nsafety.’ he drew up his chair very close to mine and began to stare at\nme again with the same questioning and thoughtful look.\n\n“a feeling of repulsion, and of something akin to fear had begun to\nrise within me at the strange antics of this fleshless man. even my\ndread of losing a client could not restrain me from showing my\nimpatience.\n\n“‘i beg that you will state your business, sir,’ said i; ‘my time is of\nvalue.’ heaven forgive me for that last sentence, but the words came to\nmy lips.\n\n“‘how would fifty guineas for a night’s work suit you?’ he asked.\n\n“‘most admirably.’\n\n“‘i say a night’s work, but an hour’s would be nearer the mark. i\nsimply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine which has\ngot out of gear. if you show us what is wrong we shall soon set it\nright ourselves. what do you think of such a commission as that?’\n\n“‘the work appears to be light and the pay munificent.’\n\n“‘precisely so. we shall want you to come to-night by the last train.’\n\n“‘where to?’\n\n“‘to eyford, in berkshire. it is a little place near the borders of\noxfordshire, and within seven miles of reading. there is a train from\npaddington which would bring you there at about 11:15.’\n\n“‘very good.’\n\n“‘i shall come down in a carriage to meet you.’\n\n“‘there is a drive, then?’\n\n“‘yes, our little place is quite out in the country. it is a good seven\nmiles from eyford station.’\n\n“‘then we can hardly get there before midnight. i suppose there would\nbe no chance of a train back. i should be compelled to stop the night.’\n\n“‘yes, we could easily give you a shake-down.’\n\n“‘that is very awkward. could i not come at some more convenient hour?’\n\n“‘we have judged it best that you should come late. it is to recompense\nyou for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a young and\nunknown man, a fee which would buy an opinion from the very heads of\nyour profession. still, of course, if you would like to draw out of the\nbusiness, there is plenty of time to do so.’\n\n“i thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful they would be\nto me. ‘not at all,’ said i, ‘i shall be very happy to accommodate\nmyself to your wishes. i should like, however, to understand a little\nmore clearly what it is that you wish me to do.’\n\n“‘quite so. it is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which we have\nexacted from you should have aroused your curiosity. i have no wish to\ncommit you to anything without your having it all laid before you. i\nsuppose that we are absolutely safe from eavesdroppers?’\n\n“‘entirely.’\n\n“‘then the matter stands thus. you are probably aware that\nfuller’s-earth is a valuable product, and that it is only found in one\nor two places in england?’\n\n“‘i have heard so.’\n\n“‘some little time ago i bought a small place—a very small place—within\nten miles of reading. i was fortunate enough to discover that there was\na deposit of fuller’s-earth in one of my fields. on examining it,\nhowever, i found that this deposit was a comparatively small one, and\nthat it formed a link between two very much larger ones upon the right\nand left—both of them, however, in the grounds of my neighbours. these\ngood people were absolutely ignorant that their land contained that\nwhich was quite as valuable as a gold-mine. naturally, it was to my\ninterest to buy their land before they discovered its true value, but\nunfortunately i had no capital by which i could do this. i took a few\nof my friends into the secret, however, and they suggested that we\nshould quietly and secretly work our own little deposit and that in\nthis way we should earn the money which would enable us to buy the\nneighbouring fields. this we have now been doing for some time, and in\norder to help us in our operations we erected a hydraulic press. this\npress, as i have already explained, has got out of order, and we wish\nyour advice upon the subject. we guard our secret very jealously,\nhowever, and if it once became known that we had hydraulic engineers\ncoming to our little house, it would soon rouse inquiry, and then, if\nthe facts came out, it would be good-bye to any chance of getting these\nfields and carrying out our plans. that is why i have made you promise\nme that you will not tell a human being that you are going to eyford\nto-night. i hope that i make it all plain?’\n\n“‘i quite follow you,’ said i. ‘the only point which i could not quite\nunderstand was what use you could make of a hydraulic press in\nexcavating fuller’s-earth, which, as i understand, is dug out like\ngravel from a pit.’\n\n“‘ah!’ said he carelessly, ‘we have our own process. we compress the\nearth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealing what they\nare. but that is a mere detail. i have taken you fully into my\nconfidence now, mr. hatherley, and i have shown you how i trust you.’\nhe rose as he spoke. ‘i shall expect you, then, at eyford at 11:15.’\n\n“‘i shall certainly be there.’\n\n“‘and not a word to a soul.’ he looked at me with a last long,\nquestioning gaze, and then, pressing my hand in a cold, dank grasp, he\nhurried from the room.\n\n“well, when i came to think it all over in cool blood i was very much\nastonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission which had\nbeen intrusted to me. on the one hand, of course, i was glad, for the\nfee was at least tenfold what i should have asked had i set a price\nupon my own services, and it was possible that this order might lead to\nother ones. on the other hand, the face and manner of my patron had\nmade an unpleasant impression upon me, and i could not think that his\nexplanation of the fuller’s-earth was sufficient to explain the\nnecessity for my coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest i\nshould tell anyone of my errand. however, i threw all fears to the\nwinds, ate a hearty supper, drove to paddington, and started off,\nhaving obeyed to the letter the injunction as to holding my tongue.\n\n“at reading i had to change not only my carriage but my station.\nhowever, i was in time for the last train to eyford, and i reached the\nlittle dim-lit station after eleven o’clock. i was the only passenger\nwho got out there, and there was no one upon the platform save a single\nsleepy porter with a lantern. as i passed out through the wicket gate,\nhowever, i found my acquaintance of the morning waiting in the shadow\nupon the other side. without a word he grasped my arm and hurried me\ninto a carriage, the door of which was standing open. he drew up the\nwindows on either side, tapped on the wood-work, and away we went as\nfast as the horse could go.”\n\n“one horse?” interjected holmes.\n\n“yes, only one.”\n\n“did you observe the colour?”\n\n“yes, i saw it by the side-lights when i was stepping into the\ncarriage. it was a chestnut.”\n\n“tired-looking or fresh?”\n\n“oh, fresh and glossy.”\n\n“thank you. i am sorry to have interrupted you. pray continue your most\ninteresting statement.”\n\n“away we went then, and we drove for at least an hour. colonel lysander\nstark had said that it was only seven miles, but i should think, from\nthe rate that we seemed to go, and from the time that we took, that it\nmust have been nearer twelve. he sat at my side in silence all the\ntime, and i was aware, more than once when i glanced in his direction,\nthat he was looking at me with great intensity. the country roads seem\nto be not very good in that part of the world, for we lurched and\njolted terribly. i tried to look out of the windows to see something of\nwhere we were, but they were made of frosted glass, and i could make\nout nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light. now and\nthen i hazarded some remark to break the monotony of the journey, but\nthe colonel answered only in monosyllables, and the conversation soon\nflagged. at last, however, the bumping of the road was exchanged for\nthe crisp smoothness of a gravel-drive, and the carriage came to a\nstand. colonel lysander stark sprang out, and, as i followed after him,\npulled me swiftly into a porch which gaped in front of us. we stepped,\nas it were, right out of the carriage and into the hall, so that i\nfailed to catch the most fleeting glance of the front of the house. the\ninstant that i had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily\nbehind us, and i heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage\ndrove away.\n\n“it was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled about\nlooking for matches and muttering under his breath. suddenly a door\nopened at the other end of the passage, and a long, golden bar of light\nshot out in our direction. it grew broader, and a woman appeared with a\nlamp in her hand, which she held above her head, pushing her face\nforward and peering at us. i could see that she was pretty, and from\nthe gloss with which the light shone upon her dark dress i knew that it\nwas a rich material. she spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a\ntone as though asking a question, and when my companion answered in a\ngruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly fell from\nher hand. colonel stark went up to her, whispered something in her ear,\nand then, pushing her back into the room from whence she had come, he\nwalked towards me again with the lamp in his hand.\n\n“‘perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a few\nminutes,’ said he, throwing open another door. it was a quiet, little,\nplainly furnished room, with a round table in the centre, on which\nseveral german books were scattered. colonel stark laid down the lamp\non the top of a harmonium beside the door. ‘i shall not keep you\nwaiting an instant,’ said he, and vanished into the darkness.\n\n“i glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my ignorance of\ngerman i could see that two of them were treatises on science, the\nothers being volumes of poetry. then i walked across to the window,\nhoping that i might catch some glimpse of the country-side, but an oak\nshutter, heavily barred, was folded across it. it was a wonderfully\nsilent house. there was an old clock ticking loudly somewhere in the\npassage, but otherwise everything was deadly still. a vague feeling of\nuneasiness began to steal over me. who were these german people, and\nwhat were they doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? and\nwhere was the place? i was ten miles or so from eyford, that was all i\nknew, but whether north, south, east, or west i had no idea. for that\nmatter, reading, and possibly other large towns, were within that\nradius, so the place might not be so secluded, after all. yet it was\nquite certain, from the absolute stillness, that we were in the\ncountry. i paced up and down the room, humming a tune under my breath\nto keep up my spirits and feeling that i was thoroughly earning my\nfifty-guinea fee.\n\n“suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the utter\nstillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. the woman was\nstanding in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind her, the\nyellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager and beautiful face. i\ncould see at a glance that she was sick with fear, and the sight sent a\nchill to my own heart. she held up one shaking finger to warn me to be\nsilent, and she shot a few whispered words of broken english at me, her\neyes glancing back, like those of a frightened horse, into the gloom\nbehind her.\n\n“‘i would go,’ said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, to speak\ncalmly; ‘i would go. i should not stay here. there is no good for you\nto do.’\n\n“‘but, madam,’ said i, ‘i have not yet done what i came for. i cannot\npossibly leave until i have seen the machine.’\n\n“‘it is not worth your while to wait,’ she went on. ‘you can pass\nthrough the door; no one hinders.’ and then, seeing that i smiled and\nshook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and made a step\nforward, with her hands wrung together. ‘for the love of heaven!’ she\nwhispered, ‘get away from here before it is too late!’\n\n“but i am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready to engage\nin an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. i thought of my\nfifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of the unpleasant night\nwhich seemed to be before me. was it all to go for nothing? why should\ni slink away without having carried out my commission, and without the\npayment which was my due? this woman might, for all i knew, be a\nmonomaniac. with a stout bearing, therefore, though her manner had\nshaken me more than i cared to confess, i still shook my head and\ndeclared my intention of remaining where i was. she was about to renew\nher entreaties when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several\nfootsteps was heard upon the stairs. she listened for an instant, threw\nup her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and as\nnoiselessly as she had come.\n\n“the newcomers were colonel lysander stark and a short thick man with a\nchinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double chin, who was\nintroduced to me as mr. ferguson.\n\n“‘this is my secretary and manager,’ said the colonel. ‘by the way, i\nwas under the impression that i left this door shut just now. i fear\nthat you have felt the draught.’\n\n“‘on the contrary,’ said i, ‘i opened the door myself because i felt\nthe room to be a little close.’\n\n“he shot one of his suspicious looks at me. ‘perhaps we had better\nproceed to business, then,’ said he. ‘mr. ferguson and i will take you\nup to see the machine.’\n\n“‘i had better put my hat on, i suppose.’\n\n“‘oh, no, it is in the house.’\n\n“‘what, you dig fuller’s-earth in the house?’\n\n“‘no, no. this is only where we compress it. but never mind that. all\nwe wish you to do is to examine the machine and to let us know what is\nwrong with it.’\n\n“we went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, the fat\nmanager and i behind him. it was a labyrinth of an old house, with\ncorridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little low doors,\nthe thresholds of which were hollowed out by the generations who had\ncrossed them. there were no carpets and no signs of any furniture above\nthe ground floor, while the plaster was peeling off the walls, and the\ndamp was breaking through in green, unhealthy blotches. i tried to put\non as unconcerned an air as possible, but i had not forgotten the\nwarnings of the lady, even though i disregarded them, and i kept a keen\neye upon my two companions. ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent\nman, but i could see from the little that he said that he was at least\na fellow-countryman.\n\n“colonel lysander stark stopped at last before a low door, which he\nunlocked. within was a small, square room, in which the three of us\ncould hardly get at one time. ferguson remained outside, and the\ncolonel ushered me in.\n\n“‘we are now,’ said he, ‘actually within the hydraulic press, and it\nwould be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were to turn\nit on. the ceiling of this small chamber is really the end of the\ndescending piston, and it comes down with the force of many tons upon\nthis metal floor. there are small lateral columns of water outside\nwhich receive the force, and which transmit and multiply it in the\nmanner which is familiar to you. the machine goes readily enough, but\nthere is some stiffness in the working of it, and it has lost a little\nof its force. perhaps you will have the goodness to look it over and to\nshow us how we can set it right.’\n\n“i took the lamp from him, and i examined the machine very thoroughly.\nit was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of exercising enormous\npressure. when i passed outside, however, and pressed down the levers\nwhich controlled it, i knew at once by the whishing sound that there\nwas a slight leakage, which allowed a regurgitation of water through\none of the side cylinders. an examination showed that one of the\nindia-rubber bands which was round the head of a driving-rod had shrunk\nso as not quite to fill the socket along which it worked. this was\nclearly the cause of the loss of power, and i pointed it out to my\ncompanions, who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several\npractical questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. when\ni had made it clear to them, i returned to the main chamber of the\nmachine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. it was\nobvious at a glance that the story of the fuller’s-earth was the merest\nfabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose that so powerful an\nengine could be designed for so inadequate a purpose. the walls were of\nwood, but the floor consisted of a large iron trough, and when i came\nto examine it i could see a crust of metallic deposit all over it. i\nhad stooped and was scraping at this to see exactly what it was when i\nheard a muttered exclamation in german and saw the cadaverous face of\nthe colonel looking down at me.\n\n“‘what are you doing there?’ he asked.\n\n“i felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as that\nwhich he had told me. ‘i was admiring your fuller’s-earth,’ said i; ‘i\nthink that i should be better able to advise you as to your machine if\ni knew what the exact purpose was for which it was used.’\n\n“the instant that i uttered the words i regretted the rashness of my\nspeech. his face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in his grey\neyes.\n\n“‘very well,’ said he, ‘you shall know all about the machine.’ he took\na step backward, slammed the little door, and turned the key in the\nlock. i rushed towards it and pulled at the handle, but it was quite\nsecure, and did not give in the least to my kicks and shoves. ‘hullo!’\ni yelled. ‘hullo! colonel! let me out!’\n\n“and then suddenly in the silence i heard a sound which sent my heart\ninto my mouth. it was the clank of the levers and the swish of the\nleaking cylinder. he had set the engine at work. the lamp still stood\nupon the floor where i had placed it when examining the trough. by its\nlight i saw that the black ceiling was coming down upon me, slowly,\njerkily, but, as none knew better than myself, with a force which must\nwithin a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp. i threw myself,\nscreaming, against the door, and dragged with my nails at the lock. i\nimplored the colonel to let me out, but the remorseless clanking of the\nlevers drowned my cries. the ceiling was only a foot or two above my\nhead, and with my hand upraised i could feel its hard, rough surface.\nthen it flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend\nvery much upon the position in which i met it. if i lay on my face the\nweight would come upon my spine, and i shuddered to think of that\ndreadful snap. easier the other way, perhaps; and yet, had i the nerve\nto lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering down upon me?\nalready i was unable to stand erect, when my eye caught something which\nbrought a gush of hope back to my heart.\n\n“i have said that though the floor and ceiling were of iron, the walls\nwere of wood. as i gave a last hurried glance around, i saw a thin line\nof yellow light between two of the boards, which broadened and\nbroadened as a small panel was pushed backward. for an instant i could\nhardly believe that here was indeed a door which led away from death.\nthe next instant i threw myself through, and lay half-fainting upon the\nother side. the panel had closed again behind me, but the crash of the\nlamp, and a few moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal,\ntold me how narrow had been my escape.\n\n“i was recalled to myself by a frantic plucking at my wrist, and i\nfound myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor, while a\nwoman bent over me and tugged at me with her left hand, while she held\na candle in her right. it was the same good friend whose warning i had\nso foolishly rejected.\n\n“‘come! come!’ she cried breathlessly. ‘they will be here in a moment.\nthey will see that you are not there. oh, do not waste the so-precious\ntime, but come!’\n\n“this time, at least, i did not scorn her advice. i staggered to my\nfeet and ran with her along the corridor and down a winding stair. the\nlatter led to another broad passage, and just as we reached it we heard\nthe sound of running feet and the shouting of two voices, one answering\nthe other from the floor on which  we were and from the one beneath. my\nguide stopped and looked about her like one  who is at her wit’s end.\nthen she threw open a door which led into a bedroom, through the window\nof which the moon was shining brightly.\n\n“‘it is your only chance,’ said she. ‘it is high, but it may be that\nyou can jump it.’\n\n“as she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the\npassage, and i saw the lean figure of colonel lysander stark rushing\nforward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a butcher’s\ncleaver in the other. i rushed across the bedroom, flung open the\nwindow, and looked out. how quiet and sweet and wholesome the garden\nlooked in the moonlight, and it could not be more than thirty feet\ndown. i clambered out upon the sill, but i hesitated to jump until i\nshould have heard what passed between my saviour and the ruffian who\npursued me. if she were ill-used, then at any risks i was determined to\ngo back to her assistance. the thought had hardly flashed through my\nmind before he was at the door, pushing his way past her; but she threw\nher arms round him and tried to hold him back.\n\n“‘fritz! fritz!’ she cried in english, ‘remember your promise after the\nlast time. you said it should not be again. he will be silent! oh, he\nwill be silent!’\n\n“‘you are mad, elise!’ he shouted, struggling to break away from her.\n‘you will be the ruin of us. he has seen too much. let me pass, i say!’\nhe dashed her to one side, and, rushing to the window, cut at me with\nhis heavy weapon. i had let myself go, and was hanging by the hands to\nthe sill, when his blow fell. i was conscious of a dull pain, my grip\nloosened, and i fell into the garden below.\n\n“i was shaken but not hurt by the fall; so i picked myself up and\nrushed off among the bushes as hard as i could run, for i understood\nthat i was far from being out of danger yet. suddenly, however, as i\nran, a deadly dizziness and sickness came over me. i glanced down at my\nhand, which was throbbing painfully, and then, for the first time, saw\nthat my thumb had been cut off and that the blood was pouring from my\nwound. i endeavoured to tie my handkerchief round it, but there came a\nsudden buzzing in my ears, and next moment i fell in a dead faint among\nthe rose-bushes.\n\n“how long i remained unconscious i cannot tell. it must have been a\nvery long time, for the moon had sunk, and a bright morning was\nbreaking when i came to myself. my clothes were all sodden with dew,\nand my coat-sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded thumb. the\nsmarting of it recalled in an instant all the particulars of my night’s\nadventure, and i sprang to my feet with the feeling that i might hardly\nyet be safe from my pursuers. but to my astonishment, when i came to\nlook round me, neither house nor garden were to be seen. i had been\nlying in an angle of the hedge close by the highroad, and just a little\nlower down was a long building, which proved, upon my approaching it,\nto be the very station at which i had arrived upon the previous night.\nwere it not for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had passed during\nthose dreadful hours might have been an evil dream.\n\n“half dazed, i went into the station and asked about the morning train.\nthere would be one to reading in less than an hour. the same porter was\non duty, i found, as had been there when i arrived. i inquired of him\nwhether he had ever heard of colonel lysander stark. the name was\nstrange to him. had he observed a carriage the night before waiting for\nme? no, he had not. was there a police-station anywhere near? there was\none about three miles off.\n\n“it was too far for me to go, weak and ill as i was. i determined to\nwait until i got back to town before telling my story to the police. it\nwas a little past six when i arrived, so i went first to have my wound\ndressed, and then the doctor was kind enough to bring me along here. i\nput the case into your hands and shall do exactly what you advise.”\n\nwe both sat in silence for some little time after listening to this\nextraordinary narrative. then sherlock holmes pulled down from the\nshelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in which he placed his\ncuttings.\n\n“here is an advertisement which will interest you,” said he. “it\nappeared in all the papers about a year ago. listen to this: ‘lost, on\nthe 9th inst., mr. jeremiah hayling, aged twenty-six, a hydraulic\nengineer. left his lodgings at ten o’clock at night, and has not been\nheard of since. was dressed in,’ etc., etc. ha! that represents the\nlast time that the colonel needed to have his machine overhauled, i\nfancy.”\n\n“good heavens!” cried my patient. “then that explains what the girl\nsaid.”\n\n“undoubtedly. it is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and\ndesperate man, who was absolutely determined that nothing should stand\nin the way of his little game, like those out-and-out pirates who will\nleave no survivor from a captured ship. well, every moment now is\nprecious, so if you feel equal to it we shall go down to scotland yard\nat once as a preliminary to starting for eyford.”\n\nsome three hours or so afterwards we were all in the train together,\nbound from reading to the little berkshire village. there were sherlock\nholmes, the hydraulic engineer, inspector bradstreet, of scotland yard,\na plain-clothes man, and myself. bradstreet had spread an ordnance map\nof the county out upon the seat and was busy with his compasses drawing\na circle with eyford for its centre.\n\n“there you are,” said he. “that circle is drawn at a radius of ten\nmiles from the village. the place we want must be somewhere near that\nline. you said ten miles, i think, sir.”\n\n“it was an hour’s good drive.”\n\n“and you think that they brought you back all that way when you were\nunconscious?”\n\n“they must have done so. i have a confused memory, too, of having been\nlifted and conveyed somewhere.”\n\n“what i cannot understand,” said i, “is why they should have spared you\nwhen they found you lying fainting in the garden. perhaps the villain\nwas softened by the woman’s entreaties.”\n\n“i hardly think that likely. i never saw a more inexorable face in my\nlife.”\n\n“oh, we shall soon clear up all that,” said bradstreet. “well, i have\ndrawn my circle, and i only wish i knew at what point upon it the folk\nthat we are in search of are to be found.”\n\n“i think i could lay my finger on it,” said holmes quietly.\n\n“really, now!” cried the inspector, “you have formed your opinion!\ncome, now, we shall see who agrees with you. i say it is south, for the\ncountry is more deserted there.”\n\n“and i say east,” said my patient.\n\n“i am for west,” remarked the plain-clothes man. “there are several\nquiet little villages up there.”\n\n“and i am for north,” said i, “because there are no hills there, and\nour friend says that he did not notice the carriage go up any.”\n\n“come,” cried the inspector, laughing; “it’s a very pretty diversity of\nopinion. we have boxed the compass among us. who do you give your\ncasting vote to?”\n\n“you are all wrong.”\n\n“but we can’t all be.”\n\n“oh, yes, you can. this is my point.” he placed his finger in the\ncentre of the circle. “this is where we shall find them.”\n\n“but the twelve-mile drive?” gasped hatherley.\n\n“six out and six back. nothing simpler. you say yourself that the horse\nwas fresh and glossy when you got in. how could it be that if it had\ngone twelve miles over heavy roads?”\n\n“indeed, it is a likely ruse enough,” observed bradstreet thoughtfully.\n“of course there can be no doubt as to the nature of this gang.”\n\n“none at all,” said holmes. “they are coiners on a large scale, and\nhave used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the place of\nsilver.”\n\n“we have known for some time that a clever gang was at work,” said the\ninspector. “they have been turning out half-crowns by the thousand. we\neven traced them as far as reading, but could get no farther, for they\nhad covered their traces in a way that showed that they were very old\nhands. but now, thanks to this lucky chance, i think that we have got\nthem right enough.”\n\nbut the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not destined\nto fall into the hands of justice. as we rolled into eyford station we\nsaw a gigantic column of smoke which streamed up from behind a small\nclump of trees in the neighbourhood and hung like an immense ostrich\nfeather over the landscape.\n\n“a house on fire?” asked bradstreet as the train steamed off again on\nits way.\n\n“yes, sir!” said the station-master.\n\n“when did it break out?”\n\n“i hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse, and\nthe whole place is in a blaze.”\n\n“whose house is it?”\n\n“dr. becher’s.”\n\n“tell me,” broke in the engineer, “is dr. becher a german, very thin,\nwith a long, sharp nose?”\n\nthe station-master laughed heartily. “no, sir, dr. becher is an\nenglishman, and there isn’t a man in the parish who has a better-lined\nwaistcoat. but he has a gentleman staying with him, a patient, as i\nunderstand, who is a foreigner, and he looks as if a little good\nberkshire beef would do him no harm.”\n\nthe station-master had not finished his speech before we were all\nhastening in the direction of the fire. the road topped a low hill, and\nthere was a great widespread whitewashed building in front of us,\nspouting fire at every chink and window, while in the garden in front\nthree fire-engines were vainly striving to keep the flames under.\n\n“that’s it!” cried hatherley, in intense excitement. “there is the\ngravel-drive, and there are the rose-bushes where i lay. that second\nwindow is the one that i jumped from.”\n\n“well, at least,” said holmes, “you have had your revenge upon them.\nthere can be no question that it was your oil-lamp which, when it was\ncrushed in the press, set fire to the wooden walls, though no doubt\nthey were too excited in the chase after you to observe it at the time.\nnow keep your eyes open in this crowd for your friends of last night,\nthough i very much fear that they are a good hundred miles off by now.”\n\nand holmes’ fears came to be realised, for from that day to this no\nword has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, the sinister\ngerman, or the morose englishman. early that morning a peasant had met\na cart containing several people and some very bulky boxes driving\nrapidly in the direction of reading, but there all traces of the\nfugitives disappeared, and even holmes’ ingenuity failed ever to\ndiscover the least clue as to their whereabouts.\n\nthe firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements which\nthey had found within, and still more so by discovering a newly severed\nhuman thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor. about sunset,\nhowever, their efforts were at last successful, and they subdued the\nflames, but not before the roof had fallen in, and the whole place been\nreduced to such absolute ruin that, save some twisted cylinders and\niron piping, not a trace remained of the machinery which had cost our\nunfortunate acquaintance so dearly. large masses of nickel and of tin\nwere discovered stored in an out-house, but no coins were to be found,\nwhich may have explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have\nbeen already referred to.\n\nhow our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed from the garden to the\nspot where he recovered his senses might have remained forever a\nmystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us a very plain\ntale. he had evidently been carried down by two persons, one of whom\nhad remarkably small feet and the other unusually large ones. on the\nwhole, it was most probable that the silent englishman, being less bold\nor less murderous than his companion, had assisted the woman to bear\nthe unconscious man out of the way of danger.\n\n“well,” said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to return once\nmore to london, “it has been a pretty business for me! i have lost my\nthumb and i have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what have i gained?”\n\n“experience,” said holmes, laughing. “indirectly it may be of value,\nyou know; you have only to put it into words to gain the reputation of\nbeing excellent company for the remainder of your existence.”\n\n\n\nx. the adventure of the noble bachelor\n\nthe lord st. simon marriage, and its curious termination, have long\nceased to be a subject of interest in those exalted circles in which\nthe unfortunate bridegroom moves. fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and\ntheir more piquant details have drawn the gossips away from this\nfour-year-old drama. as i have reason to believe, however, that the\nfull facts have never been revealed to the general public, and as my\nfriend sherlock holmes had a considerable share in clearing the matter\nup, i feel that no memoir of him would be complete without some little\nsketch of this remarkable episode.\n\nit was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when i was\nstill sharing rooms with holmes in baker street, that he came home from\nan afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table waiting for him. i\nhad remained indoors all day, for the weather had taken a sudden turn\nto rain, with high autumnal winds, and the jezail bullet which i had\nbrought back in one of my limbs as a relic of my afghan campaign\nthrobbed with dull persistence. with my body in one easy-chair and my\nlegs upon another, i had surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers\nuntil at last, saturated with the news of the day, i tossed them all\naside and lay listless, watching the huge crest and monogram upon the\nenvelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friend’s noble\ncorrespondent could be.\n\n“here is a very fashionable epistle,” i remarked as he entered. “your\nmorning letters, if i remember right, were from a fish-monger and a\ntide-waiter.”\n\n“yes, my correspondence has certainly the charm of variety,” he\nanswered, smiling, “and the humbler are usually the more interesting.\nthis looks like one of those unwelcome social summonses which call upon\na man either to be bored or to lie.”\n\nhe broke the seal and glanced over the contents.\n\n“oh, come, it may prove to be something of interest, after all.”\n\n“not social, then?”\n\n“no, distinctly professional.”\n\n“and from a noble client?”\n\n“one of the highest in england.”\n\n“my dear fellow, i congratulate you.”\n\n“i assure you, watson, without affectation, that the status of my\nclient is a matter of less moment to me than the interest of his case.\nit is just possible, however, that that also may not be wanting in this\nnew investigation. you have been reading the papers diligently of late,\nhave you not?”\n\n“it looks like it,” said i ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in the\ncorner. “i have had nothing else to do.”\n\n“it is fortunate, for you will perhaps be able to post me up. i read\nnothing except the criminal news and the agony column. the latter is\nalways instructive. but if you have followed recent events so closely\nyou must have read about lord st. simon and his wedding?”\n\n“oh, yes, with the deepest interest.”\n\n“that is well. the letter which i hold in my hand is from lord st.\nsimon. i will read it to you, and in return you must turn over these\npapers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter. this is what he\nsays:\n\n    “‘my dear mr. sherlock holmes,—lord backwater tells me that i may\n    place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion. i have\n    determined, therefore, to call upon you and to consult you in\n    reference to the very painful event which has occurred in\n    connection with my wedding. mr. lestrade, of scotland yard, is\n    acting already in the matter, but he assures me that he sees no\n    objection to your co-operation, and that he even thinks that it\n    might be of some assistance. i will call at four o’clock in the\n    afternoon, and, should you have any other engagement at that time,\n    i hope that you will postpone it, as this matter is of paramount\n    importance. yours faithfully,\n\n\n    “‘robert st. simon.’\n\n\n“it is dated from grosvenor mansions, written with a quill pen, and the\nnoble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink upon the outer\nside of his right little finger,” remarked holmes as he folded up the\nepistle.\n\n“he says four o’clock. it is three now. he will be here in an hour.”\n\n“then i have just time, with your assistance, to get clear upon the\nsubject. turn over those papers and arrange the extracts in their order\nof time, while i take a glance as to who our client is.” he picked a\nred-covered volume from a line of books of reference beside the\nmantelpiece. “here he is,” said he, sitting down and flattening it out\nupon his knee. “‘lord robert walsingham de vere st. simon, second son\nof the duke of balmoral.’ hum! ‘arms: azure, three caltrops in chief\nover a fess sable. born in 1846.’ he’s forty-one years of age, which is\nmature for marriage. was under-secretary for the colonies in a late\nadministration. the duke, his father, was at one time secretary for\nforeign affairs. they inherit plantagenet blood by direct descent, and\ntudor on the distaff side. ha! well, there is nothing very instructive\nin all this. i think that i must turn to you watson, for something more\nsolid.”\n\n“i have very little difficulty in finding what i want,” said i, “for\nthe facts are quite recent, and the matter struck me as remarkable. i\nfeared to refer them to you, however, as i knew that you had an inquiry\non hand and that you disliked the intrusion of other matters.”\n\n“oh, you mean the little problem of the grosvenor square furniture van.\nthat is quite cleared up now—though, indeed, it was obvious from the\nfirst. pray give me the results of your newspaper selections.”\n\n“here is the first notice which i can find. it is in the personal\ncolumn of the _morning post_, and dates, as you see, some weeks back:\n‘a marriage has been arranged,’ it says, ‘and will, if rumour is\ncorrect, very shortly take place, between lord robert st. simon, second\nson of the duke of balmoral, and miss hatty doran, the only daughter of\naloysius doran. esq., of san francisco, cal., u.s.a.’ that is all.”\n\n“terse and to the point,” remarked holmes, stretching his long, thin\nlegs towards the fire.\n\n“there was a paragraph amplifying this in one of the society papers of\nthe same week. ah, here it is: ‘there will soon be a call for\nprotection in the marriage  market, for the present free-trade\nprinciple appears to tell heavily against our home product. one by one\nthe management of the noble houses of great britain is passing into the\nhands of our fair cousins from across the atlantic. an important\naddition has been made during the last week to the list of the prizes\nwhich have been borne away by these charming invaders. lord st. simon,\nwho has shown himself for over twenty years proof against the little\ngod’s arrows, has now definitely announced his approaching marriage\nwith miss hatty doran, the fascinating daughter of a california\nmillionaire. miss doran, whose graceful figure and striking face\nattracted much attention at the westbury house festivities, is an only\nchild, and it is currently reported that her dowry will run to\nconsiderably over the six figures, with expectancies for the future. as\nit is an open secret that the duke of balmoral has been compelled to\nsell his pictures within the last few years, and as lord st. simon has\nno property of his own save the small estate of birchmoor, it is\nobvious that the californian heiress is not the only gainer by an\nalliance which will enable her to make the easy and common transition\nfrom a republican lady to a british peeress.’”\n\n“anything else?” asked holmes, yawning.\n\n“oh, yes; plenty. then there is another note in the _morning post_ to\nsay that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet one, that it would\nbe at st. george’s, hanover square, that only half a dozen intimate\nfriends would be invited, and that the party would return to the\nfurnished house at lancaster gate which has been taken by mr. aloysius\ndoran. two days later—that is, on wednesday last—there is a curt\nannouncement that the wedding had taken place, and that the honeymoon\nwould be passed at lord backwater’s place, near petersfield. those are\nall the notices which appeared before the disappearance of the bride.”\n\n“before the what?” asked holmes with a start.\n\n“the vanishing of the lady.”\n\n“when did she vanish, then?”\n\n“at the wedding breakfast.”\n\n“indeed. this is more interesting than it promised to be; quite\ndramatic, in fact.”\n\n“yes; it struck me as being a little out of the common.”\n\n“they often vanish before the ceremony, and occasionally during the\nhoneymoon; but i cannot call to mind anything quite so prompt as this.\npray let me have the details.”\n\n“i warn you that they are very incomplete.”\n\n“perhaps we may make them less so.”\n\n“such as they are, they are set forth in a single article of a morning\npaper of yesterday, which i will read to you. it is headed, ‘singular\noccurrence at a fashionable wedding’:\n\n“‘the family of lord robert st. simon has been thrown into the greatest\nconsternation by the strange and painful episodes which have taken\nplace in connection with his wedding. the ceremony, as shortly\nannounced in the papers of yesterday, occurred on the previous morning;\nbut it is only now that it has been possible to confirm the strange\nrumours which have been so persistently floating about. in spite of the\nattempts of the friends to hush the matter up, so much public attention\nhas now been drawn to it that no good purpose can be served by\naffecting to disregard what is a common subject for conversation.\n\n“‘the ceremony, which was performed at st. george’s, hanover square,\nwas a very quiet one, no one being present save the father of the\nbride, mr. aloysius doran, the duchess of balmoral, lord backwater,\nlord eustace and lady clara st. simon (the younger brother and sister\nof the bridegroom), and lady alicia whittington. the whole party\nproceeded afterwards to the house of mr. aloysius doran, at lancaster\ngate, where breakfast had been prepared. it appears that some little\ntrouble was caused by a woman, whose name has not been ascertained, who\nendeavoured to force her way into the house after the bridal party,\nalleging that she had some claim upon lord st. simon. it was only after\na painful and prolonged scene that she was ejected by the butler and\nthe footman. the bride, who had fortunately entered the house before\nthis unpleasant interruption, had sat down to breakfast with the rest,\nwhen she complained of a sudden indisposition and retired to her room.\nher prolonged absence having caused some comment, her father followed\nher, but learned from her maid that she had only come up to her chamber\nfor an instant, caught up an ulster and bonnet, and hurried down to the\npassage. one of the footmen declared that he had seen a lady leave the\nhouse thus apparelled, but had refused to credit that it was his\nmistress, believing her to be with the company. on ascertaining that\nhis daughter had disappeared, mr. aloysius doran, in conjunction with\nthe bridegroom, instantly put themselves in communication with the\npolice, and very energetic inquiries are being made, which will\nprobably result in a speedy clearing up of this very singular business.\nup to a late hour last night, however, nothing had transpired as to the\nwhereabouts of the missing lady. there are rumours of foul play in the\nmatter, and it is said that the police have caused the arrest of the\nwoman who had caused the original disturbance, in the belief that, from\njealousy or some other motive, she may have been concerned in the\nstrange disappearance of the bride.’”\n\n“and is that all?”\n\n“only one little item in another of the morning papers, but it is a\nsuggestive one.”\n\n“and it is—”\n\n“that miss flora millar, the lady who had caused the disturbance, has\nactually been arrested. it appears that she was formerly a _danseuse_\nat the allegro, and that she has known the bridegroom for some years.\nthere are no further particulars, and the whole case is in your hands\nnow—so far as it has been set forth in the public press.”\n\n“and an exceedingly interesting case it appears to be. i would not have\nmissed it for worlds. but there is a ring at the bell, watson, and as\nthe clock makes it a few minutes after four, i have no doubt that this\nwill prove to be our noble client. do not dream of going, watson, for i\nvery much prefer having a witness, if only as a check to my own\nmemory.”\n\n“lord robert st. simon,” announced our page-boy, throwing open the\ndoor. a gentleman entered, with a pleasant, cultured face, high-nosed\nand pale, with something perhaps of petulance about the mouth, and with\nthe steady, well-opened eye of a man whose pleasant lot it had ever\nbeen to command and to be obeyed. his manner was brisk, and yet his\ngeneral appearance gave an undue impression of age, for he had a slight\nforward stoop and a little bend of the knees as he walked. his hair,\ntoo, as he swept off his very curly-brimmed hat, was grizzled round the\nedges and thin upon the top. as to his dress, it was careful to the\nverge of foppishness, with high collar, black frock-coat, white\nwaistcoat, yellow gloves, patent-leather shoes, and light-coloured\ngaiters. he advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from left\nto right, and swinging in his right hand the cord which held his golden\neyeglasses.\n\n“good-day, lord st. simon,” said holmes, rising and bowing. “pray take\nthe basket-chair. this is my friend and colleague, dr. watson. draw up\na little to the fire, and we will talk this matter over.”\n\n“a most painful matter to me, as you can most readily imagine, mr.\nholmes. i have been cut to the quick. i understand that you have\nalready managed several delicate cases of this sort, sir, though i\npresume that they were hardly from the same class of society.”\n\n“no, i am descending.”\n\n“i beg pardon.”\n\n“my last client of the sort was a king.”\n\n“oh, really! i had no idea. and which king?”\n\n“the king of scandinavia.”\n\n“what! had he lost his wife?”\n\n“you can understand,” said holmes suavely, “that i extend to the\naffairs of my other clients the same secrecy which i promise to you in\nyours.”\n\n“of course! very right! very right! i’m sure i beg pardon. as to my own\ncase, i am ready to give you any information which may assist you in\nforming an opinion.”\n\n“thank you. i have already learned all that is in the public prints,\nnothing more. i presume that i may take it as correct—this article, for\nexample, as to the disappearance of the bride.”\n\nlord st. simon glanced over it. “yes, it is correct, as far as it\ngoes.”\n\n“but it needs a great deal of supplementing before anyone could offer\nan opinion. i think that i may arrive at my facts most directly by\nquestioning you.”\n\n“pray do so.”\n\n“when did you first meet miss hatty doran?”\n\n“in san francisco, a year ago.”\n\n“you were travelling in the states?”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“did you become engaged then?”\n\n“no.”\n\n“but you were on a friendly footing?”\n\n“i was amused by her society, and she could see that i was amused.”\n\n“her father is very rich?”\n\n“he is said to be the richest man on the pacific slope.”\n\n“and how did he make his money?”\n\n“in mining. he had nothing a few years ago. then he struck gold,\ninvested it, and came up by leaps and bounds.”\n\n“now, what is your own impression as to the young lady’s—your wife’s\ncharacter?”\n\nthe nobleman swung his glasses a little faster and stared down into the\nfire. “you see, mr. holmes,” said he, “my wife was twenty before her\nfather became a rich man. during that time she ran free in a mining\ncamp and wandered through woods or mountains, so that her education has\ncome from nature rather than from the schoolmaster. she is what we call\nin england a tomboy, with a strong nature, wild and free, unfettered by\nany sort of traditions. she is impetuous—volcanic, i was about to say.\nshe is swift in making up her mind and fearless in carrying out her\nresolutions. on the other hand, i would not have given her the name\nwhich i have the honour to bear”—he gave a little stately cough—“had i\nnot thought her to be at bottom a noble woman. i believe that she is\ncapable of heroic self-sacrifice and that anything dishonourable would\nbe repugnant to her.”\n\n“have you her photograph?”\n\n“i brought this with me.” he opened a locket and showed us the full\nface of a very lovely woman. it was not a photograph but an ivory\nminiature, and the artist had brought out the full effect of the\nlustrous black hair, the large dark eyes, and the exquisite mouth.\nholmes gazed long and earnestly at it. then he closed the locket and\nhanded it back to lord st. simon.\n\n“the young lady came to london, then, and you renewed your\nacquaintance?”\n\n“yes, her father brought her over for this last london season. i met\nher several times, became engaged to her, and have now married her.”\n\n“she brought, i understand, a considerable dowry?”\n\n“a fair dowry. not more than is usual in my family.”\n\n“and this, of course, remains to you, since the marriage is a _fait\naccompli_?”\n\n“i really have made no inquiries on the subject.”\n\n“very naturally not. did you see miss doran on the day before the\nwedding?”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“was she in good spirits?”\n\n“never better. she kept talking of what we should do in our future\nlives.”\n\n“indeed! that is very interesting. and on the morning of the wedding?”\n\n“she was as bright as possible—at least until after the ceremony.”\n\n“and did you observe any change in her then?”\n\n“well, to tell the truth, i saw then the first signs that i had ever\nseen that her temper was just a little sharp. the incident however, was\ntoo trivial to relate and can have no possible bearing upon the case.”\n\n“pray let us have it, for all that.”\n\n“oh, it is childish. she dropped her bouquet as we went towards the\nvestry. she was passing the front pew at the time, and it fell over\ninto the pew. there was a moment’s delay, but the gentleman in the pew\nhanded it up to her again, and it did not appear to be the worse for\nthe fall. yet when i spoke to her of the matter, she answered me\nabruptly; and in the carriage, on our way home, she seemed absurdly\nagitated over this trifling cause.”\n\n“indeed! you say that there was a gentleman in the pew. some of the\ngeneral public were present, then?”\n\n“oh, yes. it is impossible to exclude them when the church is open.”\n\n“this gentleman was not one of your wife’s friends?”\n\n“no, no; i call him a gentleman by courtesy, but he was quite a\ncommon-looking person. i hardly noticed his appearance. but really i\nthink that we are wandering rather far from the point.”\n\n“lady st. simon, then, returned from the wedding in a less cheerful\nframe of mind than she had gone to it. what did she do on re-entering\nher father’s house?”\n\n“i saw her in conversation with her maid.”\n\n“and who is her maid?”\n\n“alice is her name. she is an american and came from california with\nher.”\n\n“a confidential servant?”\n\n“a little too much so. it seemed to me that her mistress allowed her to\ntake great liberties. still, of course, in america they look upon these\nthings in a different way.”\n\n“how long did she speak to this alice?”\n\n“oh, a few minutes. i had something else to think of.”\n\n“you did not overhear what they said?”\n\n“lady st. simon said something about ‘jumping a claim.’ she was\naccustomed to use slang of the kind. i have no idea what she meant.”\n\n“american slang is very expressive sometimes. and what did your wife do\nwhen she finished speaking to her maid?”\n\n“she walked into the breakfast-room.”\n\n“on your arm?”\n\n“no, alone. she was very independent in little matters like that. then,\nafter we had sat down for ten minutes or so, she rose hurriedly,\nmuttered some words of apology, and left the room. she never came\nback.”\n\n“but this maid, alice, as i understand, deposes that she went to her\nroom, covered her bride’s dress with a long ulster, put on a bonnet,\nand went out.”\n\n“quite so. and she was afterwards seen walking into hyde park in\ncompany with flora millar, a woman who is now in custody, and who had\nalready made a disturbance at mr. doran’s house that morning.”\n\n“ah, yes. i should like a few particulars as to this young lady, and\nyour relations to her.”\n\nlord st. simon shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows. “we have\nbeen on a friendly footing for some years—i may say on a _very_\nfriendly footing. she used to be at the allegro. i have not treated her\nungenerously, and she had no just cause of complaint against me, but\nyou know what women are, mr. holmes. flora was a dear little thing, but\nexceedingly hot-headed and devotedly attached to me. she wrote me\ndreadful letters when she heard that i was about to be married, and, to\ntell the truth, the reason why i had the marriage celebrated so quietly\nwas that i feared lest there might be a scandal in the church. she came\nto mr. doran’s door just after we returned, and she endeavoured to push\nher way in, uttering very abusive expressions towards my wife, and even\nthreatening her, but i had foreseen the possibility of something of the\nsort, and i had two police fellows there in private clothes, who soon\npushed her out again. she was quiet when she saw that there was no good\nin making a row.”\n\n“did your wife hear all this?”\n\n“no, thank goodness, she did not.”\n\n“and she was seen walking with this very woman afterwards?”\n\n“yes. that is what mr. lestrade, of scotland yard, looks upon as so\nserious. it is thought that flora decoyed my wife out and laid some\nterrible trap for her.”\n\n“well, it is a possible supposition.”\n\n“you think so, too?”\n\n“i did not say a probable one. but you do not yourself look upon this\nas likely?”\n\n“i do not think flora would hurt a fly.”\n\n“still, jealousy is a strange transformer of characters. pray what is\nyour own theory as to what took place?”\n\n“well, really, i came to seek a theory, not to propound one. i have\ngiven you all the facts. since you ask me, however, i may say that it\nhas occurred to me as possible that the excitement of this affair, the\nconsciousness that she had made so immense a social stride, had the\neffect of causing some little nervous disturbance in my wife.”\n\n“in short, that she had become suddenly deranged?”\n\n“well, really, when i consider that she has turned her back—i will not\nsay upon me, but upon so much that many have aspired to without\nsuccess—i can hardly explain it in any other fashion.”\n\n“well, certainly that is also a conceivable hypothesis,” said holmes,\nsmiling. “and now, lord st. simon, i think that i have nearly all my\ndata. may i ask whether you were seated at the breakfast-table so that\nyou could see out of the window?”\n\n“we could see the other side of the road and the park.”\n\n“quite so. then i do not think that i need to detain you longer. i\nshall communicate with you.”\n\n“should you be fortunate enough to solve this problem,” said our\nclient, rising.\n\n“i have solved it.”\n\n“eh? what was that?”\n\n“i say that i have solved it.”\n\n“where, then, is my wife?”\n\n“that is a detail which i shall speedily supply.”\n\nlord st. simon shook his head. “i am afraid that it will take wiser\nheads than yours or mine,” he remarked, and bowing in a stately,\nold-fashioned manner he departed.\n\n“it is very good of lord st. simon to honour my head by putting it on a\nlevel with his own,” said sherlock holmes, laughing. “i think that i\nshall have a whisky and soda and a cigar after all this\ncross-questioning. i had formed my conclusions as to the case before\nour client came into the room.”\n\n“my dear holmes!”\n\n“i have notes of several similar cases, though none, as i remarked\nbefore, which were quite as prompt. my whole examination served to turn\nmy conjecture into a certainty. circumstantial evidence is occasionally\nvery convincing, as when you find a trout in the milk, to quote\nthoreau’s example.”\n\n“but i have heard all that you have heard.”\n\n“without, however, the knowledge of pre-existing cases which serves me\nso well. there was a parallel instance in aberdeen some years back, and\nsomething on very much the same lines at munich the year after the\nfranco-prussian war. it is one of these cases—but, hullo, here is\nlestrade! good-afternoon, lestrade! you will find an extra tumbler upon\nthe sideboard, and there are cigars in the box.”\n\nthe official detective was attired in a pea-jacket and cravat, which\ngave him a decidedly nautical appearance, and he carried a black canvas\nbag in his hand. with a short greeting he seated himself and lit the\ncigar which had been offered to him.\n\n“what’s up, then?” asked holmes with a twinkle in his eye. “you look\ndissatisfied.”\n\n“and i feel dissatisfied. it is this infernal st. simon marriage case.\ni can make neither head nor tail of the business.”\n\n“really! you surprise me.”\n\n“who ever heard of such a mixed affair? every clue seems to slip\nthrough my fingers. i have been at work upon it all day.”\n\n“and very wet it seems to have made you,” said holmes laying his hand\nupon the arm of the pea-jacket.\n\n“yes, i have been dragging the serpentine.”\n\n“in heaven’s name, what for?”\n\n“in search of the body of lady st. simon.”\n\nsherlock holmes leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily.\n\n“have you dragged the basin of trafalgar square fountain?” he asked.\n\n“why? what do you mean?”\n\n“because you have just as good a chance of finding this lady in the one\nas in the other.”\n\nlestrade shot an angry glance at my companion. “i suppose you know all\nabout it,” he snarled.\n\n“well, i have only just heard the facts, but my mind is made up.”\n\n“oh, indeed! then you think that the serpentine plays no part in the\nmatter?”\n\n“i think it very unlikely.”\n\n“then perhaps you will kindly explain how it is that we found this in\nit?” he opened his bag as he spoke, and tumbled onto the floor a\nwedding-dress of watered silk, a pair of white satin shoes and a\nbride’s wreath and veil, all discoloured and soaked in water. “there,”\nsaid he, putting a new wedding-ring upon the top of the pile. “there is\na little nut for you to crack, master holmes.”\n\n“oh, indeed!” said my friend, blowing blue rings into the air. “you\ndragged them from the serpentine?”\n\n“no. they were found floating near the margin by a park-keeper. they\nhave been identified as her clothes, and it seemed to me that if the\nclothes were there the body would not be far off.”\n\n“by the same brilliant reasoning, every man’s body is to be found in\nthe neighbourhood of his wardrobe. and pray what did you hope to arrive\nat through this?”\n\n“at some evidence implicating flora millar in the disappearance.”\n\n“i am afraid that you will find it difficult.”\n\n“are you, indeed, now?” cried lestrade with some bitterness. “i am\nafraid, holmes, that you are not very practical with your deductions\nand your inferences. you have made two blunders in as many minutes.\nthis dress does implicate miss flora millar.”\n\n“and how?”\n\n“in the dress is a pocket. in the pocket is a card-case. in the\ncard-case is a note. and here is the very note.” he slapped it down\nupon the table in front of him. “listen to this: ‘you will see me when\nall is ready. come at once. f. h. m.’ now my theory all along has been\nthat lady st. simon was decoyed away by flora millar, and that she,\nwith confederates, no doubt, was responsible for her disappearance.\nhere, signed with her initials, is the very note which was no doubt\nquietly slipped into her hand at the door and which lured her within\ntheir reach.”\n\n“very good, lestrade,” said holmes, laughing. “you really are very fine\nindeed. let me see it.” he took up the paper in a listless way, but his\nattention instantly became riveted, and he gave a little cry of\nsatisfaction. “this is indeed important,” said he.\n\n“ha! you find it so?”\n\n“extremely so. i congratulate you warmly.”\n\nlestrade rose in his triumph and bent his head to look. “why,” he\nshrieked, “you’re looking at the wrong side!”\n\n“on the contrary, this is the right side.”\n\n“the right side? you’re mad! here is the note written in pencil over\nhere.”\n\n“and over here is what appears to be the fragment of a hotel bill,\nwhich interests me deeply.”\n\n“there’s nothing in it. i looked at it before,” said lestrade. “‘oct.\n4th, rooms 8_s_., breakfast 2_s_. 6_d_., cocktail 1_s_., lunch 2_s_.\n6_d_., glass sherry, 8_d_.’ i see nothing in that.”\n\n“very likely not. it is most important, all the same. as to the note,\nit is important also, or at least the initials are, so i congratulate\nyou again.”\n\n“i’ve wasted time enough,” said lestrade, rising. “i believe in hard\nwork and not in sitting by the fire spinning fine theories. good-day,\nmr. holmes, and we shall see which gets to the bottom of the matter\nfirst.” he gathered up the garments, thrust them into the bag, and made\nfor the door.\n\n“just one hint to you, lestrade,” drawled holmes before his rival\nvanished; “i will tell you the true solution of the matter. lady st.\nsimon is a myth. there is not, and there never has been, any such\nperson.”\n\nlestrade looked sadly at my companion. then he turned to me, tapped his\nforehead three times, shook his head solemnly, and hurried away.\n\nhe had hardly shut the door behind him when holmes rose to put on his\novercoat. “there is something in what the fellow says about outdoor\nwork,” he remarked, “so i think, watson, that i must leave you to your\npapers for a little.”\n\nit was after five o’clock when sherlock holmes left me, but i had no\ntime to be lonely, for within an hour there arrived a confectioner’s\nman with a very large flat box. this he unpacked with the help of a\nyouth whom he had brought with him, and presently, to my very great\nastonishment, a quite epicurean little cold supper began to be laid out\nupon our humble lodging-house mahogany. there were a couple of brace of\ncold woodcock, a pheasant, a _pâté de foie gras_ pie with a group of\nancient and cobwebby bottles. having laid out all these luxuries, my\ntwo visitors vanished away, like the genii of the arabian nights, with\nno explanation save that the things had been paid for and were ordered\nto this address.\n\njust before nine o’clock sherlock holmes stepped briskly into the room.\nhis features were gravely set, but there was a light in his eye which\nmade me think that he had not been disappointed in his conclusions.\n\n“they have laid the supper, then,” he said, rubbing his hands.\n\n“you seem to expect company. they have laid for five.”\n\n“yes, i fancy we may have some company dropping in,” said he. “i am\nsurprised that lord st. simon has not already arrived. ha! i fancy that\ni hear his step now upon the stairs.”\n\nit was indeed our visitor of the afternoon who came bustling in,\ndangling his glasses more vigorously than ever, and with a very\nperturbed expression upon his aristocratic features.\n\n“my messenger reached you, then?” asked holmes.\n\n“yes, and i confess that the contents startled me beyond measure. have\nyou good authority for what you say?”\n\n“the best possible.”\n\nlord st. simon sank into a chair and passed his hand over his forehead.\n\n“what will the duke say,” he murmured, “when he hears that one of the\nfamily has been subjected to such humiliation?”\n\n“it is the purest accident. i cannot allow that there is any\nhumiliation.”\n\n“ah, you look on these things from another standpoint.”\n\n“i fail to see that anyone is to blame. i can hardly see how the lady\ncould have acted otherwise, though her abrupt method of doing it was\nundoubtedly to be regretted. having no mother, she had no one to advise\nher at such a crisis.”\n\n“it was a slight, sir, a public slight,” said lord st. simon, tapping\nhis fingers upon the table.\n\n“you must make allowance for this poor girl, placed in so unprecedented\na position.”\n\n“i will make no allowance. i am very angry indeed, and i have been\nshamefully used.”\n\n“i think that i heard a ring,” said holmes. “yes, there are steps on\nthe landing. if i cannot persuade you to take a lenient view of the\nmatter, lord st. simon, i have brought an advocate here who may be more\nsuccessful.” he opened the door and ushered in a lady and gentleman.\n“lord st. simon,” said he “allow me to introduce you to mr. and mrs.\nfrancis hay moulton. the lady, i think, you have already met.”\n\nat the sight of these newcomers our client had sprung from his seat and\nstood very erect, with his eyes cast down and his hand thrust into the\nbreast of his frock-coat, a picture of offended dignity. the lady had\ntaken a quick step forward and had held out her hand to him, but he\nstill refused to raise his eyes. it was as well for his resolution,\nperhaps, for her pleading face was one which it was hard to resist.\n\n“you’re angry, robert,” said she. “well, i guess you have every cause\nto be.”\n\n“pray make no apology to me,” said lord st. simon bitterly.\n\n“oh, yes, i know that i have treated you real bad and that i should\nhave spoken to you before i went; but i was kind of rattled, and from\nthe time when i saw frank here again i just didn’t know what i was\ndoing or saying. i only wonder i didn’t fall down and do a faint right\nthere before the altar.”\n\n“perhaps, mrs. moulton, you would like my friend and me to leave the\nroom while you explain this matter?”\n\n“if i may give an opinion,” remarked the strange gentleman, “we’ve had\njust a little too much secrecy over this business already. for my part,\ni should like all europe and america to hear the rights of it.” he was\na small, wiry, sunburnt man, clean-shaven, with a sharp face and alert\nmanner.\n\n“then i’ll tell our story right away,” said the lady. “frank here and i\nmet in ’84, in mcquire’s camp, near the rockies, where pa was working a\nclaim. we were engaged to each other, frank and i; but then one day\nfather struck a rich pocket and made a pile, while poor frank here had\na claim that petered out and came to nothing. the richer pa grew the\npoorer was frank; so at last pa wouldn’t hear of our engagement lasting\nany longer, and he took me away to ’frisco. frank wouldn’t throw up his\nhand, though; so he followed me there, and he saw me without pa knowing\nanything about it. it would only have made him mad to know, so we just\nfixed it all up for ourselves. frank said that he would go and make his\npile, too, and never come back to claim me until he had as much as pa.\nso then i promised to wait for him to the end of time and pledged\nmyself not to marry anyone else while he lived. ‘why shouldn’t we be\nmarried right away, then,’ said he, ‘and then i will feel sure of you;\nand i won’t claim to be your husband until i come back?’ well, we\ntalked it over, and he had fixed it all up so nicely, with a clergyman\nall ready in waiting, that we just did it right there; and then frank\nwent off to seek his fortune, and i went back to pa.\n\n“the next i heard of frank was that he was in montana, and then he went\nprospecting in arizona, and then i heard of him from new mexico. after\nthat came a long newspaper story about how a miners’ camp had been\nattacked by apache indians, and there was my frank’s name among the\nkilled. i fainted dead away, and i was very sick for months after. pa\nthought i had a decline and took me to half the doctors in ’frisco. not\na word of news came for a year and more, so that i never doubted that\nfrank was really dead. then lord st. simon came to ’frisco, and we came\nto london, and a marriage was arranged, and pa was very pleased, but i\nfelt all the time that no man on this earth would ever take the place\nin my heart that had been given to my poor frank.\n\n“still, if i had married lord st. simon, of course i’d have done my\nduty by him. we can’t command our love, but we can our actions. i went\nto the altar with him with the intention to make him just as good a\nwife as it was in me to be. but you may imagine what i felt when, just\nas i came to the altar rails, i glanced back and saw frank standing and\nlooking at me out of the first pew. i thought it was his ghost at\nfirst; but when i looked again there he was still, with a kind of\nquestion in his eyes, as if to ask me whether i were glad or sorry to\nsee him. i wonder i didn’t drop. i know that everything was turning\nround, and the words of the clergyman were just like the buzz of a bee\nin my ear. i didn’t know what to do. should i stop the service and make\na scene in the church? i glanced at him again, and he seemed to know\nwhat i was thinking, for he raised his finger to his lips to tell me to\nbe still. then i saw him scribble on a piece of paper, and i knew that\nhe was writing me a note. as i passed his pew on the way out i dropped\nmy bouquet over to him, and he slipped the note into my hand when he\nreturned me the flowers. it was only a line asking me to join him when\nhe made the sign to me to do so. of course i never doubted for a moment\nthat my first duty was now to him, and i determined to do just whatever\nhe might direct.\n\n“when i got back i told my maid, who had known him in california, and\nhad always been his friend. i ordered her to say nothing, but to get a\nfew things packed and my ulster ready. i know i ought to have spoken to\nlord st. simon, but it was dreadful hard before his mother and all\nthose great people. i just made up my mind to run away and explain\nafterwards. i hadn’t been at the table ten minutes before i saw frank\nout of the window at the other side of the road. he beckoned to me and\nthen began walking into the park. i slipped out, put on my things, and\nfollowed him. some woman came talking something or other about lord st.\nsimon to me—seemed to me from the little i heard as if he had a little\nsecret of his own before marriage also—but i managed to get away from\nher and soon overtook frank. we got into a cab together, and away we\ndrove to some lodgings he had taken in gordon square, and that was my\ntrue wedding after all those years of waiting. frank had been a\nprisoner among the apaches, had escaped, came on to ’frisco, found that\ni had given him up for dead and had gone to england, followed me there,\nand had come upon me at last on the very morning of my second wedding.”\n\n“i saw it in a paper,” explained the american. “it gave the name and\nthe church but not where the lady lived.”\n\n“then we had a talk as to what we should do, and frank was all for\nopenness, but i was so ashamed of it all that i felt as if i should\nlike to vanish away and never see any of them again—just sending a line\nto pa, perhaps, to show him that i was alive. it was awful to me to\nthink of all those lords and ladies sitting round that breakfast-table\nand waiting for me to come back. so frank took my wedding-clothes and\nthings and made a bundle of them, so that i should not be traced, and\ndropped them away somewhere where no one could find them. it is likely\nthat we should have gone on to paris to-morrow, only that this good\ngentleman, mr. holmes, came round to us this evening, though how he\nfound us is more than i can think, and he showed us very clearly and\nkindly that i was wrong and that frank was right, and that we should be\nputting ourselves in the wrong if we were so secret. then he offered to\ngive us a chance of talking to lord st. simon alone, and so we came\nright away round to his rooms at once. now, robert, you have heard it\nall, and i am very sorry if i have given you pain, and i hope that you\ndo not think very meanly of me.”\n\nlord st. simon had by no means relaxed his rigid attitude, but had\nlistened with a frowning brow and a compressed lip to this long\nnarrative.\n\n“excuse me,” he said, “but it is not my custom to discuss my most\nintimate personal affairs in this public manner.”\n\n“then you won’t forgive me? you won’t shake hands before i go?”\n\n“oh, certainly, if it would give you any pleasure.” he put out his hand\nand coldly grasped that which she extended to him.\n\n“i had hoped,” suggested holmes, “that you would have joined us in a\nfriendly supper.”\n\n“i think that there you ask a little too much,” responded his lordship.\n“i may be forced to acquiesce in these recent developments, but i can\nhardly be expected to make merry over them. i think that with your\npermission i will now wish you all a very good-night.” he included us\nall in a sweeping bow and stalked out of the room.\n\n“then i trust that you at least will honour me with your company,” said\nsherlock holmes. “it is always a joy to meet an american, mr. moulton,\nfor i am one of those who believe that the folly of a monarch and the\nblundering of a minister in far-gone years will not prevent our\nchildren from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country\nunder a flag which shall be a quartering of the union jack with the\nstars and stripes.”\n\n“the case has been an interesting one,” remarked holmes when our\nvisitors had left us, “because it serves to show very clearly how\nsimple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight seems\nto be almost inexplicable. nothing could be more natural than the\nsequence of events as narrated by this lady, and nothing stranger than\nthe result when viewed, for instance, by mr. lestrade of scotland\nyard.”\n\n“you were not yourself at fault at all, then?”\n\n“from the first, two facts were very obvious to me, the one that the\nlady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony, the other\nthat she had repented of it within a few minutes of returning home.\nobviously something had occurred during the morning, then, to cause her\nto change her mind. what could that something be? she could not have\nspoken to anyone when she was out, for she had been in the company of\nthe bridegroom. had she seen someone, then? if she had, it must be\nsomeone from america because she had spent so short a time in this\ncountry that she could hardly have allowed anyone to acquire so deep an\ninfluence over her that the mere sight of him would induce her to\nchange her plans so completely. you see we have already arrived, by a\nprocess of exclusion, at the idea that she might have seen an american.\nthen who could this american be, and why should he possess so much\ninfluence over her? it might be a lover; it might be a husband. her\nyoung womanhood had, i knew, been spent in rough scenes and under\nstrange conditions. so far i had got before i ever heard lord st.\nsimon’s narrative. when he told us of a man in a pew, of the change in\nthe bride’s manner, of so transparent a device for obtaining a note as\nthe dropping of a bouquet, of her resort to her confidential maid, and\nof her very significant allusion to claim-jumping—which in miners’\nparlance means taking possession of that which another person has a\nprior claim to—the whole situation became absolutely clear. she had\ngone off with a man, and the man was either a lover or was a previous\nhusband—the chances being in favour of the latter.”\n\n“and how in the world did you find them?”\n\n“it might have been difficult, but friend lestrade held information in\nhis hands the value of which he did not himself know. the initials\nwere, of course, of the highest importance, but more valuable still was\nit to know that within a week he had settled his bill at one of the\nmost select london hotels.”\n\n“how did you deduce the select?”\n\n“by the select prices. eight shillings for a bed and eightpence for a\nglass of sherry pointed to one of the most expensive hotels. there are\nnot many in london which charge at that rate. in the second one which i\nvisited in northumberland avenue, i learned by an inspection of the\nbook that francis h. moulton, an american gentleman, had left only the\nday before, and on looking over the entries against him, i came upon\nthe very items which i had seen in the duplicate bill. his letters were\nto be forwarded to 226 gordon square; so thither i travelled, and being\nfortunate enough to find the loving couple at home, i ventured to give\nthem some paternal advice and to point out to them that it would be\nbetter in every way that they should make their position a little\nclearer both to the general public and to lord st. simon in particular.\ni invited them to meet him here, and, as you see, i made him keep the\nappointment.”\n\n“but with no very good result,” i remarked. “his conduct was certainly\nnot very gracious.”\n\n“ah, watson,” said holmes, smiling, “perhaps you would not be very\ngracious either, if, after all the trouble of wooing and wedding, you\nfound yourself deprived in an instant of wife and of fortune. i think\nthat we may judge lord st. simon very mercifully and thank our stars\nthat we are never likely to find ourselves in the same position. draw\nyour chair up and hand me my violin, for the only problem we have still\nto solve is how to while away these bleak autumnal evenings.”\n\n\n\nxi. the adventure of the beryl coronet\n\n“holmes,” said i as i stood one morning in our bow-window looking down\nthe street, “here is a madman coming along. it seems rather sad that\nhis relatives should allow him to come out alone.”\n\nmy friend rose lazily from his armchair and stood with his hands in the\npockets of his dressing-gown, looking over my shoulder. it was a\nbright, crisp february morning, and the snow of the day before still\nlay deep upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the wintry sun. down\nthe centre of baker street it had been ploughed into a brown crumbly\nband by the traffic, but at either side and on the heaped-up edges of\nthe footpaths it still lay as white as when it fell. the grey pavement\nhad been cleaned and scraped, but was still dangerously slippery, so\nthat there were fewer passengers than usual. indeed, from the direction\nof the metropolitan station no one was coming save the single gentleman\nwhose eccentric conduct had drawn my attention.\n\nhe was a man of about fifty, tall, portly, and imposing, with a\nmassive, strongly marked face and a commanding figure. he was dressed\nin a sombre yet rich style, in black frock-coat, shining hat, neat\nbrown gaiters, and well-cut pearl-grey trousers. yet his actions were\nin absurd contrast to the dignity of his dress and features, for he was\nrunning hard, with occasional little springs, such as a weary man gives\nwho is little accustomed to set any tax upon his legs. as he ran he\njerked his hands up and down, waggled his head, and writhed his face\ninto the most extraordinary contortions.\n\n“what on earth can be the matter with him?” i asked. “he is looking up\nat the numbers of the houses.”\n\n“i believe that he is coming here,” said holmes, rubbing his hands.\n\n“here?”\n\n“yes; i rather think he is coming to consult me professionally. i think\nthat i recognise the symptoms. ha! did i not tell you?” as he spoke,\nthe man, puffing and blowing, rushed at our door and pulled at our bell\nuntil the whole house resounded with the clanging.\n\na few moments later he was in our room, still puffing, still\ngesticulating, but with so fixed a look of grief and despair in his\neyes that our smiles were turned in an instant to horror and pity. for\na while he could not get his words out, but swayed his body and plucked\nat his hair like one who has been driven to the extreme limits of his\nreason. then, suddenly springing to his feet, he beat his head against\nthe wall with such force that we both rushed upon him and tore him away\nto the centre of the room. sherlock holmes pushed him down into the\neasy-chair and, sitting beside him, patted his hand and chatted with\nhim in the easy, soothing tones which he knew so well how to employ.\n\n“you have come to me to tell your story, have you not?” said he. “you\nare fatigued with your haste. pray wait until you have recovered\nyourself, and then i shall be most happy to look into any little\nproblem which you may submit to me.”\n\nthe man sat for a minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting against\nhis emotion. then he passed his handkerchief over his brow, set his\nlips tight, and turned his face towards us.\n\n“no doubt you think me mad?” said he.\n\n“i see that you have had some great trouble,” responded holmes.\n\n“god knows i have!—a trouble which is enough to unseat my reason, so\nsudden and so terrible is it. public disgrace i might have faced,\nalthough i am a man whose character has never yet borne a stain.\nprivate affliction also is the lot of every man; but the two coming\ntogether, and in so frightful a form, have been enough to shake my very\nsoul. besides, it is not i alone. the very noblest in the land may\nsuffer unless some way be found out of this horrible affair.”\n\n“pray compose yourself, sir,” said holmes, “and let me have a clear\naccount of who you are and what it is that has befallen you.”\n\n“my name,” answered our visitor, “is probably familiar to your ears. i\nam alexander holder, of the banking firm of holder & stevenson, of\nthreadneedle street.”\n\nthe name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior partner\nin the second largest private banking concern in the city of london.\nwhat could have happened, then, to bring one of the foremost citizens\nof london to this most pitiable pass? we waited, all curiosity, until\nwith another effort he braced himself to tell his story.\n\n“i feel that time is of value,” said he; “that is why i hastened here\nwhen the police inspector suggested that i should secure your\nco-operation. i came to baker street by the underground and hurried\nfrom there on foot, for the cabs go slowly through this snow. that is\nwhy i was so out of breath, for i am a man who takes very little\nexercise. i feel better now, and i will put the facts before you as\nshortly and yet as clearly as i can.\n\n“it is, of course, well known to you that in a successful banking\nbusiness as much depends upon our being able to find remunerative\ninvestments for our funds as upon our increasing our connection and the\nnumber of our depositors. one of our most lucrative means of laying out\nmoney is in the shape of loans, where the security is unimpeachable. we\nhave done a good deal in this direction during the last few years, and\nthere are many noble families to whom we have advanced large sums upon\nthe security of their pictures, libraries, or plate.\n\n“yesterday morning i was seated in my office at the bank when a card\nwas brought in to me by one of the clerks. i started when i saw the\nname, for it was that of none other than—well, perhaps even to you i\nhad better say no more than that it was a name which is a household\nword all over the earth—one of the highest, noblest, most exalted names\nin england. i was overwhelmed by the honour and attempted, when he\nentered, to say so, but he plunged at once into business with the air\nof a man who wishes to hurry quickly through a disagreeable task.\n\n“‘mr. holder,’ said he, ‘i have been informed that you are in the habit\nof advancing money.’\n\n“‘the firm does so when the security is good.’ i answered.\n\n“‘it is absolutely essential to me,’ said he, ‘that i should have £\n50,000 at once. i could, of course, borrow so trifling a sum ten times\nover from my friends, but i much prefer to make it a matter of business\nand to carry out that business myself. in my position you can readily\nunderstand that it is unwise to place one’s self under obligations.’\n\n“‘for how long, may i ask, do you want this sum?’ i asked.\n\n“‘next monday i have a large sum due to me, and i shall then most\ncertainly repay what you advance, with whatever interest you think it\nright to charge. but it is very essential to me that the money should\nbe paid at once.’\n\n“‘i should be happy to advance it without further parley from my own\nprivate purse,’ said i, ‘were it not that the strain would be rather\nmore than it could bear. if, on the other hand, i am to do it in the\nname of the firm, then in justice to my partner i must insist that,\neven in your case, every businesslike precaution should be taken.’\n\n“‘i should much prefer to have it so,’ said he, raising up a square,\nblack morocco case which he had laid beside his chair. ‘you have\ndoubtless heard of the beryl coronet?’\n\n“‘one of the most precious public possessions of the empire,’ said i.\n\n“‘precisely.’ he opened the case, and there, imbedded in soft,\nflesh-coloured velvet, lay the magnificent piece of jewellery which he\nhad named. ‘there are thirty-nine enormous beryls,’ said he, ‘and the\nprice of the gold chasing is incalculable. the lowest estimate would\nput the worth of the coronet at double the sum which i have asked. i am\nprepared to leave it with you as my security.’\n\n“i took the precious case into my hands and looked in some perplexity\nfrom it to my illustrious client.\n\n“‘you doubt its value?’ he asked.\n\n“‘not at all. i only doubt—’\n\n“‘the propriety of my leaving it. you may set your mind at rest about\nthat. i should not dream of doing so were it not absolutely certain\nthat i should be able in four days to reclaim it. it is a pure matter\nof form. is the security sufficient?’\n\n“‘ample.’\n\n“‘you understand, mr. holder, that i am giving you a strong proof of\nthe confidence which i have in you, founded upon all that i have heard\nof you. i rely upon you not only to be discreet and to refrain from all\ngossip upon the matter but, above all, to preserve this coronet with\nevery possible precaution because i need not say that a great public\nscandal would be caused if any harm were to befall it. any injury to it\nwould be almost as serious as its complete loss, for there are no\nberyls in the world to match these, and it would be impossible to\nreplace them. i leave it with you, however, with every confidence, and\ni shall call for it in person on monday morning.’\n\n“seeing that my client was anxious to leave, i said no more but,\ncalling for my cashier, i ordered him to pay over fifty £ 1000 notes.\nwhen i was alone once more, however, with the precious case lying upon\nthe table in front of me, i could not but think with some misgivings of\nthe immense responsibility which it entailed upon me. there could be no\ndoubt that, as it was a national possession, a horrible scandal would\nensue if any misfortune should occur to it. i already regretted having\never consented to take charge of it. however, it was too late to alter\nthe matter now, so i locked it up in my private safe and turned once\nmore to my work.\n\n“when evening came i felt that it would be an imprudence to leave so\nprecious a thing in the office behind me. bankers’ safes had been\nforced before now, and why should not mine be? if so, how terrible\nwould be the position in which i should find myself! i determined,\ntherefore, that for the next few days i would always carry the case\nbackward and forward with me, so that it might never be really out of\nmy reach. with this intention, i called a cab and drove out to my house\nat streatham, carrying the jewel with me. i did not breathe freely\nuntil i had taken it upstairs and locked it in the bureau of my\ndressing-room.\n\n“and now a word as to my household, mr. holmes, for i wish you to\nthoroughly understand the situation. my groom and my page sleep out of\nthe house, and may be set aside altogether. i have three maid-servants\nwho have been with me a number of years and whose absolute reliability\nis quite above suspicion. another, lucy parr, the second waiting-maid,\nhas only been in my service a few months. she came with an excellent\ncharacter, however, and has always given me satisfaction. she is a very\npretty girl and has attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about\nthe place. that is the only drawback which we have found to her, but we\nbelieve her to be a thoroughly good girl in every way.\n\n“so much for the servants. my family itself is so small that it will\nnot take me long to describe it. i am a widower and have an only son,\narthur. he has been a disappointment to me, mr. holmes—a grievous\ndisappointment. i have no doubt that i am myself to blame. people tell\nme that i have spoiled him. very likely i have. when my dear wife died\ni felt that he was all i had to love. i could not bear to see the smile\nfade even for a moment from his face. i have never denied him a wish.\nperhaps it would have been better for both of us had i been sterner,\nbut i meant it for the best.\n\n“it was naturally my intention that he should succeed me in my\nbusiness, but he was not of a business turn. he was wild, wayward, and,\nto speak the truth, i could not trust him in the handling of large sums\nof money. when he was young he became a member of an aristocratic club,\nand there, having charming manners, he was soon the intimate of a\nnumber of men with long purses and expensive habits. he learned to play\nheavily at cards and to squander money on the turf, until he had again\nand again to come to me and implore me to give him an advance upon his\nallowance, that he might settle his debts of honour. he tried more than\nonce to break away from the dangerous company which he was keeping, but\neach time the influence of his friend, sir george burnwell, was enough\nto draw him back again.\n\n“and, indeed, i could not wonder that such a man as sir george burnwell\nshould gain an influence over him, for he has frequently brought him to\nmy house, and i have found myself that i could hardly resist the\nfascination of his manner. he is older than arthur, a man of the world\nto his finger-tips, one who had been everywhere, seen everything, a\nbrilliant talker, and a man of great personal beauty. yet when i think\nof him in cold blood, far away from the glamour of his presence, i am\nconvinced from his cynical speech and the look which i have caught in\nhis eyes that he is one who should be deeply distrusted. so i think,\nand so, too, thinks my little mary, who has a woman’s quick insight\ninto character.\n\n“and now there is only she to be described. she is my niece; but when\nmy brother died five years ago and left her alone in the world i\nadopted her, and have looked upon her ever since as my daughter. she is\na sunbeam in my house—sweet, loving, beautiful, a wonderful manager and\nhousekeeper, yet as tender and quiet and gentle as a woman could be.\nshe is my right hand. i do not know what i could do without her. in\nonly one matter has she ever gone against my wishes. twice my boy has\nasked her to marry him, for he loves her devotedly, but each time she\nhas refused him. i think that if anyone could have drawn him into the\nright path it would have been she, and that his marriage might have\nchanged his whole life; but now, alas! it is too late—forever too late!\n\n“now, mr. holmes, you know the people who live under my roof, and i\nshall continue with my miserable story.\n\n“when we were taking coffee in the drawing-room that night after\ndinner, i told arthur and mary my experience, and of the precious\ntreasure which we had under our roof, suppressing only the name of my\nclient. lucy parr, who had brought in the coffee, had, i am sure, left\nthe room; but i cannot swear that the door was closed. mary and arthur\nwere much interested and wished to see the famous coronet, but i\nthought it better not to disturb it.\n\n“‘where have you put it?’ asked arthur.\n\n“‘in my own bureau.’\n\n“‘well, i hope to goodness the house won’t be burgled during the\nnight.’ said he.\n\n“‘it is locked up,’ i answered.\n\n“‘oh, any old key will fit that bureau. when i was a youngster i have\nopened it myself with the key of the box-room cupboard.’\n\n“he often had a wild way of talking, so that i thought little of what\nhe said. he followed me to my room, however, that night with a very\ngrave face.\n\n“‘look here, dad,’ said he with his eyes cast down, ‘can you let me\nhave £ 200?’\n\n“‘no, i cannot!’ i answered sharply. ‘i have been far too generous with\nyou in money matters.’\n\n“‘you have been very kind,’ said he, ‘but i must have this money, or\nelse i can never show my face inside the club again.’\n\n“‘and a very good thing, too!’ i cried.\n\n“‘yes, but you would not have me leave it a dishonoured man,’ said he.\n‘i could not bear the disgrace. i must raise the money in some way, and\nif you will not let me have it, then i must try other means.’\n\n“i was very angry, for this was the third demand during the month. ‘you\nshall not have a farthing from me,’ i cried, on which he bowed and left\nthe room without another word.\n\n“when he was gone i unlocked my bureau, made sure that my treasure was\nsafe, and locked it again. then i started to go round the house to see\nthat all was secure—a duty which i usually leave to mary but which i\nthought it well to perform myself that night. as i came down the stairs\ni saw mary herself at the side window of the hall, which she closed and\nfastened as i approached.\n\n“‘tell me, dad,’ said she, looking, i thought, a little disturbed, ‘did\nyou give lucy, the maid, leave to go out to-night?’\n\n“‘certainly not.’\n\n“‘she came in just now by the back door. i have no doubt that she has\nonly been to the side gate to see someone, but i think that it is\nhardly safe and should be stopped.’\n\n“‘you must speak to her in the morning, or i will if you prefer it. are\nyou sure that everything is fastened?’\n\n“‘quite sure, dad.’\n\n“‘then, good-night.’ i kissed her and went up to my bedroom again,\nwhere i was soon asleep.\n\n“i am endeavouring to tell you everything, mr. holmes, which may have\nany bearing upon the case, but i beg that you will question me upon any\npoint which i do not make clear.”\n\n“on the contrary, your statement is singularly lucid.”\n\n“i come to a part of my story now in which i should wish to be\nparticularly so. i am not a very heavy sleeper, and the anxiety in my\nmind tended, no doubt, to make me even less so than usual. about two in\nthe morning, then, i was awakened by some sound in the house. it had\nceased ere i was wide awake, but it had left an impression behind it as\nthough a window had gently closed somewhere. i lay listening with all\nmy ears. suddenly, to my horror, there was a distinct sound of\nfootsteps moving softly in the next room. i slipped out of bed, all\npalpitating with fear, and peeped round the corner of my dressing-room\ndoor.\n\n“‘arthur!’ i screamed, ‘you villain! you thief! how dare you touch that\ncoronet?’\n\n“the gas was half up, as i had left it, and my unhappy boy, dressed\nonly in his shirt and trousers, was standing beside the light, holding\nthe coronet in his hands. he appeared to be wrenching at it, or bending\nit with all his strength. at my cry he dropped it from his grasp and\nturned as pale as death. i snatched it up and examined it. one of the\ngold corners, with three of the beryls in it, was missing.\n\n“‘you blackguard!’ i shouted, beside myself with rage. ‘you have\ndestroyed it! you have dishonoured me forever! where are the jewels\nwhich you have stolen?’\n\n“‘stolen!’ he cried.\n\n“‘yes, thief!’ i roared, shaking him by the shoulder.\n\n“‘there are none missing. there cannot be any missing,’ said he.\n\n“‘there are three missing. and you know where they are. must i call you\na liar as well as a thief? did i not see you trying to tear off another\npiece?’\n\n“‘you have called me names enough,’ said he, ‘i will not stand it any\nlonger. i shall not say another word about this business, since you\nhave chosen to insult me. i will leave your house in the morning and\nmake my own way in the world.’\n\n“‘you shall leave it in the hands of the police!’ i cried half-mad with\ngrief and rage. ‘i shall have this matter probed to the bottom.’\n\n“‘you shall learn nothing from me,’ said he with a passion such as i\nshould not have thought was in his nature. ‘if you choose to call the\npolice, let the police find what they can.’\n\n“by this time the whole house was astir, for i had raised my voice in\nmy anger. mary was the first to rush into my room, and, at the sight of\nthe coronet and of arthur’s face, she read the whole story and, with a\nscream, fell down senseless on the ground. i sent the housemaid for the\npolice and put the investigation into their hands at once. when the\ninspector and a constable entered the house, arthur, who had stood\nsullenly with his arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention to\ncharge him with theft. i answered that it had ceased to be a private\nmatter, but had become a public one, since the ruined coronet was\nnational property. i was determined that the law should have its way in\neverything.\n\n“‘at least,’ said he, ‘you will not have me arrested at once. it would\nbe to your advantage as well as mine if i might leave the house for\nfive minutes.’\n\n“‘that you may get away, or perhaps that you may conceal what you have\nstolen,’ said i. and then, realising the dreadful position in which i\nwas placed, i implored him to remember that not only my honour but that\nof one who was far greater than i was at stake; and that he threatened\nto raise a scandal which would convulse the nation. he might avert it\nall if he would but tell me what he had done with the three missing\nstones.\n\n“‘you may as well face the matter,’ said i; ‘you have been caught in\nthe act, and no confession could make your guilt more heinous. if you\nbut make such reparation as is in your power, by telling us where the\nberyls are, all shall be forgiven and forgotten.’\n\n“‘keep your forgiveness for those who ask for it,’ he answered, turning\naway from me with a sneer. i saw that he was too hardened for any words\nof mine to influence him. there was but one way for it. i called in the\ninspector and gave him into custody. a search was made at once not only\nof his person but of his room and of every portion of the house where\nhe could possibly have concealed the gems; but no trace of them could\nbe found, nor would the wretched boy open his mouth for all our\npersuasions and our threats. this morning he was removed to a cell, and\ni, after going through all the police formalities, have hurried round\nto you to implore you to use your skill in unravelling the matter. the\npolice have openly confessed that they can at present make nothing of\nit. you may go to any expense which you think necessary. i have already\noffered a reward of £ 1000. my god, what shall i do! i have lost my\nhonour, my gems, and my son in one night. oh, what shall i do!”\n\nhe put a hand on either side of his head and rocked himself to and fro,\ndroning to himself like a child whose grief has got beyond words.\n\nsherlock holmes sat silent for some few minutes, with his brows knitted\nand his eyes fixed upon the fire.\n\n“do you receive much company?” he asked.\n\n“none save my partner with his family and an occasional friend of\narthur’s. sir george burnwell has been several times lately. no one\nelse, i think.”\n\n“do you go out much in society?”\n\n“arthur does. mary and i stay at home. we neither of us care for it.”\n\n“that is unusual in a young girl.”\n\n“she is of a quiet nature. besides, she is not so very young. she is\nfour-and-twenty.”\n\n“this matter, from what you say, seems to have been a shock to her\nalso.”\n\n“terrible! she is even more affected than i.”\n\n“you have neither of you any doubt as to your son’s guilt?”\n\n“how can we have when i saw him with my own eyes with the coronet in\nhis hands.”\n\n“i hardly consider that a conclusive proof. was the remainder of the\ncoronet at all injured?”\n\n“yes, it was twisted.”\n\n“do you not think, then, that he might have been trying to straighten\nit?”\n\n“god bless you! you are doing what you can for him and for me. but it\nis too heavy a task. what was he doing there at all? if his purpose\nwere innocent, why did he not say so?”\n\n“precisely. and if it were guilty, why did he not invent a lie? his\nsilence appears to me to cut both ways. there are several singular\npoints about the case. what did the police think of the noise which\nawoke you from your sleep?”\n\n“they considered that it might be caused by arthur’s closing his\nbedroom door.”\n\n“a likely story! as if a man bent on felony would slam his door so as\nto wake a household. what did they say, then, of the disappearance of\nthese gems?”\n\n“they are still sounding the planking and probing the furniture in the\nhope of finding them.”\n\n“have they thought of looking outside the house?”\n\n“yes, they have shown extraordinary energy. the whole garden has\nalready been minutely examined.”\n\n“now, my dear sir,” said holmes, “is it not obvious to you now that\nthis matter really strikes very much deeper than either you or the\npolice were at first inclined to think? it appeared to you to be a\nsimple case; to me it seems exceedingly complex. consider what is\ninvolved by your theory. you suppose that your son came down from his\nbed, went, at great risk, to your dressing-room, opened your bureau,\ntook out your coronet, broke off by main force a small portion of it,\nwent off to some other place, concealed three gems out of the\nthirty-nine, with such skill that nobody can find them, and then\nreturned with the other thirty-six into the room in which he exposed\nhimself to the greatest danger of being discovered. i ask you now, is\nsuch a theory tenable?”\n\n“but what other is there?” cried the banker with a gesture of despair.\n“if his motives were innocent, why does he not explain them?”\n\n“it is our task to find that out,” replied holmes; “so now, if you\nplease, mr. holder, we will set off for streatham together, and devote\nan hour to glancing a little more closely into details.”\n\nmy friend insisted upon my accompanying them in their expedition, which\ni was eager enough to do, for my curiosity and sympathy were deeply\nstirred by the story to which we had listened. i confess that the guilt\nof the banker’s son appeared to me to be as obvious as it did to his\nunhappy father, but still i had such faith in holmes’ judgment that i\nfelt that there must be some grounds for hope as long as he was\ndissatisfied with the accepted explanation. he hardly spoke a word the\nwhole way out to the southern suburb, but sat with his chin upon his\nbreast and his hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought.\nour client appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of\nhope which had been presented to him, and he even broke into a\ndesultory chat with me over his business affairs. a short railway\njourney and a shorter walk brought us to fairbank, the modest residence\nof the great financier.\n\nfairbank was a good-sized square house of white stone, standing back a\nlittle from the road. a double carriage-sweep, with a snow-clad lawn,\nstretched down in front to two large iron gates which closed the\nentrance. on the right side was a small wooden thicket, which led into\na narrow path between two neat hedges stretching from the road to the\nkitchen door, and forming the tradesmen’s entrance. on the left ran a\nlane which led to the stables, and was not itself within the grounds at\nall, being a public, though little used, thoroughfare. holmes left us\nstanding at the door and walked slowly all round the house, across the\nfront, down the tradesmen’s path, and so round by the garden behind\ninto the stable lane. so long was he that mr. holder and i went into\nthe dining-room and waited by the fire until he should return. we were\nsitting there in silence when the door opened and a young lady came in.\nshe was rather above the middle height, slim, with dark hair and eyes,\nwhich seemed the darker against the absolute pallor of her skin. i do\nnot think that i have ever seen such deadly paleness in a woman’s face.\nher lips, too, were bloodless, but her eyes were flushed with crying.\nas she swept silently into the room she impressed me with a greater\nsense of grief than the banker had done in the morning, and it was the\nmore striking in her as she was evidently a woman of strong character,\nwith immense capacity for self-restraint. disregarding my presence, she\nwent straight to her uncle and passed her hand over his head with a\nsweet womanly caress.\n\n“you have given orders that arthur should be liberated, have you not,\ndad?” she asked.\n\n“no, no, my girl, the matter must be probed to the bottom.”\n\n“but i am so sure that he is innocent. you know what woman’s instincts\nare. i know that he has done no harm and that you will be sorry for\nhaving acted so harshly.”\n\n“why is he silent, then, if he is innocent?”\n\n“who knows? perhaps because he was so angry that you should suspect\nhim.”\n\n“how could i help suspecting him, when i actually saw him with the\ncoronet in his hand?”\n\n“oh, but he had only picked it up to look at it. oh, do, do take my\nword for it that he is innocent. let the matter drop and say no more.\nit is so dreadful to think of our dear arthur in prison!”\n\n“i shall never let it drop until the gems are found—never, mary! your\naffection for arthur blinds you as to the awful consequences to me. far\nfrom hushing the thing up, i have brought a gentleman down from london\nto inquire more deeply into it.”\n\n“this gentleman?” she asked, facing round to me.\n\n“no, his friend. he wished us to leave him alone. he is round in the\nstable lane now.”\n\n“the stable lane?” she raised her dark eyebrows. “what can he hope to\nfind there? ah! this, i suppose, is he. i trust, sir, that you will\nsucceed in proving, what i feel sure is the truth, that my cousin\narthur is innocent of this crime.”\n\n“i fully share your opinion, and i trust, with you, that we may prove\nit,” returned holmes, going back to the mat to knock the snow from his\nshoes. “i believe i have the honour of addressing miss mary holder.\nmight i ask you a question or two?”\n\n“pray do, sir, if it may help to clear this horrible affair up.”\n\n“you heard nothing yourself last night?”\n\n“nothing, until my uncle here began to speak loudly. i heard that, and\ni came down.”\n\n“you shut up the windows and doors the night before. did you fasten all\nthe windows?”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“were they all fastened this morning?”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“you have a maid who has a sweetheart? i think that you remarked to\nyour uncle last night that she had been out to see him?”\n\n“yes, and she was the girl who waited in the drawing-room, and who may\nhave heard uncle’s remarks about the coronet.”\n\n“i see. you infer that she may have gone out to tell her sweetheart,\nand that the two may have planned the robbery.”\n\n“but what is the good of all these vague theories,” cried the banker\nimpatiently, “when i have told you that i saw arthur with the coronet\nin his hands?”\n\n“wait a little, mr. holder. we must come back to that. about this girl,\nmiss holder. you saw her return by the kitchen door, i presume?”\n\n“yes; when i went to see if the door was fastened for the night i met\nher slipping in. i saw the man, too, in the gloom.”\n\n“do you know him?”\n\n“oh, yes! he is the greengrocer who brings our vegetables round. his\nname is francis prosper.”\n\n“he stood,” said holmes, “to the left of the door—that is to say,\nfarther up the path than is necessary to reach the door?”\n\n“yes, he did.”\n\n“and he is a man with a wooden leg?”\n\nsomething like fear sprang up in the young lady’s expressive black\neyes. “why, you are like a magician,” said she. “how do you know that?”\nshe smiled, but there was no answering smile in holmes’ thin, eager\nface.\n\n“i should be very glad now to go upstairs,” said he. “i shall probably\nwish to go over the outside of the house again. perhaps i had better\ntake a look at the lower windows before i go up.”\n\nhe walked swiftly round from one to the other, pausing only at the\nlarge one which looked from the hall onto the stable lane. this he\nopened and made a very careful examination of the sill with his\npowerful magnifying lens. “now we shall go upstairs,” said he at last.\n\nthe banker’s dressing-room was a plainly furnished little chamber, with\na grey carpet, a large bureau, and a long mirror. holmes went to the\nbureau first and looked hard at the lock.\n\n“which key was used to open it?” he asked.\n\n“that which my son himself indicated—that of the cupboard of the\nlumber-room.”\n\n“have you it here?”\n\n“that is it on the dressing-table.”\n\nsherlock holmes took it up and opened the bureau.\n\n“it is a noiseless lock,” said he. “it is no wonder that it did not\nwake you. this case, i presume, contains the coronet. we must have a\nlook at it.” he opened the case, and taking out the diadem he laid it\nupon the table. it was a magnificent specimen of the jeweller’s art,\nand the thirty-six stones were the finest that i have ever seen. at one\nside of the coronet was a cracked edge, where a corner holding three\ngems had been torn away.\n\n“now, mr. holder,” said holmes, “here is the corner which corresponds\nto that which has been so unfortunately lost. might i beg that you will\nbreak it off.”\n\nthe banker recoiled in horror. “i should not dream of trying,” said he.\n\n“then i will.” holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it, but without\nresult. “i feel it give a little,” said he; “but, though i am\nexceptionally strong in the fingers, it would take me all my time to\nbreak it. an ordinary man could not do it. now, what do you think would\nhappen if i did break it, mr. holder? there would be a noise like a\npistol shot. do you tell me that all this happened within a few yards\nof your bed and that you heard nothing of it?”\n\n“i do not know what to think. it is all dark to me.”\n\n“but perhaps it may grow lighter as we go. what do you think, miss\nholder?”\n\n“i confess that i still share my uncle’s perplexity.”\n\n“your son had no shoes or slippers on when you saw him?”\n\n“he had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt.”\n\n“thank you. we have certainly been favoured with extraordinary luck\nduring this inquiry, and it will be entirely our own fault if we do not\nsucceed in clearing the matter up. with your permission, mr. holder, i\nshall now continue my investigations outside.”\n\nhe went alone, at his own request, for he explained that any\nunnecessary footmarks might make his task more difficult. for an hour\nor more he was at work, returning at last with his feet heavy with snow\nand his features as inscrutable as ever.\n\n“i think that i have seen now all that there is to see, mr. holder,”\nsaid he; “i can serve you best by returning to my rooms.”\n\n“but the gems, mr. holmes. where are they?”\n\n“i cannot tell.”\n\nthe banker wrung his hands. “i shall never see them again!” he cried.\n“and my son? you give me hopes?”\n\n“my opinion is in no way altered.”\n\n“then, for god’s sake, what was this dark business which was acted in\nmy house last night?”\n\n“if you can call upon me at my baker street rooms to-morrow morning\nbetween nine and ten i shall be happy to do what i can to make it\nclearer. i understand that you give me _carte blanche_ to act for you,\nprovided only that i get back the gems, and that you place no limit on\nthe sum i may draw.”\n\n“i would give my fortune to have them back.”\n\n“very good. i shall look into the matter between this and then.\ngood-bye; it is just possible that i may have to come over here again\nbefore evening.”\n\nit was obvious to me that my companion’s mind was now made up about the\ncase, although what his conclusions were was more than i could even\ndimly imagine. several times during our homeward journey i endeavoured\nto sound him upon the point, but he always glided away to some other\ntopic, until at last i gave it over in despair. it was not yet three\nwhen we found ourselves in our rooms once more. he hurried to his\nchamber and was down again in a few minutes dressed as a common loafer.\nwith his collar turned up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and\nhis worn boots, he was a perfect sample of the class.\n\n“i think that this should do,” said he, glancing into the glass above\nthe fireplace. “i only wish that you could come with me, watson, but i\nfear that it won’t do. i may be on the trail in this matter, or i may\nbe following a will-o’-the-wisp, but i shall soon know which it is. i\nhope that i may be back in a few hours.” he cut a slice of beef from\nthe joint upon the sideboard, sandwiched it between two rounds of\nbread, and thrusting this rude meal into his pocket he started off upon\nhis expedition.\n\ni had just finished my tea when he returned, evidently in excellent\nspirits, swinging an old elastic-sided boot in his hand. he chucked it\ndown into a corner and helped himself to a cup of tea.\n\n“i only looked in as i passed,” said he. “i am going right on.”\n\n“where to?”\n\n“oh, to the other side of the west end. it may be some time before i\nget back. don’t wait up for me in case i should be late.”\n\n“how are you getting on?”\n\n“oh, so so. nothing to complain of. i have been out to streatham since\ni saw you last, but i did not call at the house. it is a very sweet\nlittle problem, and i would not have missed it for a good deal.\nhowever, i must not sit gossiping here, but must get these disreputable\nclothes off and return to my highly respectable self.”\n\ni could see by his manner that he had stronger reasons for satisfaction\nthan his words alone would imply. his eyes twinkled, and there was even\na touch of colour upon his sallow cheeks. he hastened upstairs, and a\nfew minutes later i heard the slam of the hall door, which told me that\nhe was off once more upon his congenial hunt.\n\ni waited until midnight, but there was no sign of his return, so i\nretired to my room. it was no uncommon thing for him to be away for\ndays and nights on end when he was hot upon a scent, so that his\nlateness caused me no surprise. i do not know at what hour he came in,\nbut when i came down to breakfast in the morning there he was with a\ncup of coffee in one hand and the paper in the other, as fresh and trim\nas possible.\n\n“you will excuse my beginning without you, watson,” said he, “but you\nremember that our client has rather an early appointment this morning.”\n\n“why, it is after nine now,” i answered. “i should not be surprised if\nthat were he. i thought i heard a ring.”\n\nit was, indeed, our friend the financier. i was shocked by the change\nwhich had come over him, for his face which was naturally of a broad\nand massive mould, was now pinched and fallen in, while his hair seemed\nto me at least a shade whiter. he entered with a weariness and lethargy\nwhich was even more painful than his violence of the morning before,\nand he dropped heavily into the armchair which i pushed forward for\nhim.\n\n“i do not know what i have done to be so severely tried,” said he.\n“only two days ago i was a happy and prosperous man, without a care in\nthe world. now i am left to a lonely and dishonoured age. one sorrow\ncomes close upon the heels of another. my niece, mary, has deserted\nme.”\n\n“deserted you?”\n\n“yes. her bed this morning had not been slept in, her room was empty,\nand a note for me lay upon the hall table. i had said to her last\nnight, in sorrow and not in anger, that if she had married my boy all\nmight have been well with him. perhaps it was thoughtless of me to say\nso. it is to that remark that she refers in this note:\n\n    “‘my dearest uncle,—i feel that i have brought trouble upon you,\n    and that if i had acted differently this terrible misfortune might\n    never have occurred. i cannot, with this thought in my mind, ever\n    again be happy under your roof, and i feel that i must leave you\n    forever. do not worry about my future, for that is provided for;\n    and, above all, do not search for me, for it will be fruitless\n    labour and an ill-service to me. in life or in death, i am ever\n    your loving,\n\n\n    “‘mary.’\n\n\n“what could she mean by that note, mr. holmes? do you think it points\nto suicide?”\n\n“no, no, nothing of the kind. it is perhaps the best possible solution.\ni trust, mr. holder, that you are nearing the end of your troubles.”\n\n“ha! you say so! you have heard something, mr. holmes; you have learned\nsomething! where are the gems?”\n\n“you would not think £ 1000 apiece an excessive sum for them?”\n\n“i would pay ten.”\n\n“that would be unnecessary. three thousand will cover the matter. and\nthere is a little reward, i fancy. have you your cheque-book? here is a\npen. better make it out for £ 4000.”\n\nwith a dazed face the banker made out the required check. holmes walked\nover to his desk, took out a little triangular piece of gold with three\ngems in it, and threw it down upon the table.\n\nwith a shriek of joy our client clutched it up.\n\n“you have it!” he gasped. “i am saved! i am saved!”\n\nthe reaction of joy was as passionate as his grief had been, and he\nhugged his recovered gems to his bosom.\n\n“there is one other thing you owe, mr. holder,” said sherlock holmes\nrather sternly.\n\n“owe!” he caught up a pen. “name the sum, and i will pay it.”\n\n“no, the debt is not to me. you owe a very humble apology to that noble\nlad, your son, who has carried himself in this matter as i should be\nproud to see my own son do, should i ever chance to have one.”\n\n“then it was not arthur who took them?”\n\n“i told you yesterday, and i repeat to-day, that it was not.”\n\n“you are sure of it! then let us hurry to him at once to let him know\nthat the truth is known.”\n\n“he knows it already. when i had cleared it all up i had an interview\nwith him, and finding that he would not tell me the story, i told it to\nhim, on which he had to confess that i was right and to add the very\nfew details which were not yet quite clear to me. your news of this\nmorning, however, may open his lips.”\n\n“for heaven’s sake, tell me, then, what is this extraordinary mystery!”\n\n“i will do so, and i will show you the steps by which i reached it. and\nlet me say to you, first, that which it is hardest for me to say and\nfor you to hear: there has been an understanding between sir george\nburnwell and your niece mary. they have now fled together.”\n\n“my mary? impossible!”\n\n“it is unfortunately more than possible; it is certain. neither you nor\nyour son knew the true character of this man when you admitted him into\nyour family circle. he is one of the most dangerous men in england—a\nruined gambler, an absolutely desperate villain, a man without heart or\nconscience. your niece knew nothing of such men. when he breathed his\nvows to her, as he had done to a hundred before her, she flattered\nherself that she alone had touched his heart. the devil knows best what\nhe said, but at least she became his tool and was in the habit of\nseeing him nearly every evening.”\n\n“i cannot, and i will not, believe it!” cried the banker with an ashen\nface.\n\n“i will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night. your\nniece, when you had, as she thought, gone to your room, slipped down\nand talked to her lover through the window which leads into the stable\nlane. his footmarks had pressed right through the snow, so long had he\nstood there. she told him of the coronet. his wicked lust for gold\nkindled at the news, and he bent her to his will. i have no doubt that\nshe loved you, but there are women in whom the love of a lover\nextinguishes all other loves, and i think that she must have been one.\nshe had hardly listened to his instructions when she saw you coming\ndownstairs, on which she closed the window rapidly and told you about\none of the servants’ escapade with her wooden-legged lover, which was\nall perfectly true.\n\n“your boy, arthur, went to bed after his interview with you but he\nslept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts. in the\nmiddle of the night he heard a soft tread pass his door, so he rose\nand, looking out, was surprised to see his cousin walking very\nstealthily along the passage until she disappeared into your\ndressing-room. petrified with astonishment, the lad slipped on some\nclothes and waited there in the dark to see what would come of this\nstrange affair. presently she emerged from the room again, and in the\nlight of the passage-lamp your son saw that she carried the precious\ncoronet in her hands. she passed down the stairs, and he, thrilling\nwith horror, ran along and slipped behind the curtain near your door,\nwhence he could see what passed in the hall beneath. he saw her\nstealthily open the window, hand out the coronet to someone in the\ngloom, and then closing it once more hurry back to her room, passing\nquite close to where he stood hid behind the curtain.\n\n“as long as she was on the scene he could not take any action without a\nhorrible exposure of the woman whom he loved. but the instant that she\nwas gone he realised how crushing a misfortune this would be for you,\nand how all-important it was to set it right. he rushed down, just as\nhe was, in his bare feet, opened the window, sprang out into the snow,\nand ran down the lane, where he could see a dark figure in the\nmoonlight. sir george burnwell tried to get away, but arthur caught\nhim, and there was a struggle between them, your lad tugging at one\nside of the coronet, and his opponent at the other. in the scuffle,\nyour son struck sir george and cut him over the eye. then something\nsuddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had the coronet in his\nhands, rushed back, closed the window, ascended to your room, and had\njust observed that the coronet had been twisted in the struggle and was\nendeavouring to straighten it when you appeared upon the scene.”\n\n“is it possible?” gasped the banker.\n\n“you then roused his anger by calling him names at a moment when he\nfelt that he had deserved your warmest thanks. he could not explain the\ntrue state of affairs without betraying one who certainly deserved\nlittle enough consideration at his hands. he took the more chivalrous\nview, however, and preserved her secret.”\n\n“and that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw the coronet,”\ncried mr. holder. “oh, my god! what a blind fool i have been! and his\nasking to be allowed to go out for five minutes! the dear fellow wanted\nto see if the missing piece were at the scene of the struggle. how\ncruelly i have misjudged him!”\n\n“when i arrived at the house,” continued holmes, “i at once went very\ncarefully round it to observe if there were any traces in the snow\nwhich might help me. i knew that none had fallen since the evening\nbefore, and also that there had been a strong frost to preserve\nimpressions. i passed along the tradesmen’s path, but found it all\ntrampled down and indistinguishable. just beyond it, however, at the\nfar side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood and talked with a man,\nwhose round impressions on one side showed that he had a wooden leg. i\ncould even tell that they had been disturbed, for the woman had run\nback swiftly to the door, as was shown by the deep toe and light heel\nmarks, while wooden-leg had waited a little, and then had gone away. i\nthought at the time that this might be the maid and her sweetheart, of\nwhom you had already spoken to me, and inquiry showed it was so. i\npassed round the garden without seeing anything more than random\ntracks, which i took to be the police; but when i got into the stable\nlane a very long and complex story was written in the snow in front of\nme.\n\n“there was a double line of tracks of a booted man, and a second double\nline which i saw with delight belonged to a man with naked feet. i was\nat once convinced from what you had told me that the latter was your\nson. the first had walked both ways, but the other had run swiftly, and\nas his tread was marked in places over the depression of the boot, it\nwas obvious that he had passed after the other. i followed them up and\nfound they led to the hall window, where boots had worn all the snow\naway while waiting. then i walked to the other end, which was a hundred\nyards or more down the lane. i saw where boots had faced round, where\nthe snow was cut up as though there had been a struggle, and, finally,\nwhere a few drops of blood had fallen, to show me that i was not\nmistaken. boots had then run down the lane, and another little smudge\nof blood showed that it was he who had been hurt. when he came to the\nhighroad at the other end, i found that the pavement had been cleared,\nso there was an end to that clue.\n\n“on entering the house, however, i examined, as you remember, the sill\nand framework of the hall window with my lens, and i could at once see\nthat someone had passed out. i could distinguish the outline of an\ninstep where the wet foot had been placed in coming in. i was then\nbeginning to be able to form an opinion as to what had occurred. a man\nhad waited outside the window; someone had brought the gems; the deed\nhad been overseen by your son; he had pursued the thief; had struggled\nwith him; they had each tugged at the coronet, their united strength\ncausing injuries which neither alone could have effected. he had\nreturned with the prize, but had left a fragment in the grasp of his\nopponent. so far i was clear. the question now was, who was the man and\nwho was it brought him the coronet?\n\n“it is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible,\nwhatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. now, i knew\nthat it was not you who had brought it down, so there only remained\nyour niece and the maids. but if it were the maids, why should your son\nallow himself to be accused in their place? there could be no possible\nreason. as he loved his cousin, however, there was an excellent\nexplanation why he should retain her secret—the more so as the secret\nwas a disgraceful one. when i remembered that you had seen her at that\nwindow, and how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again, my\nconjecture became a certainty.\n\n“and who could it be who was her confederate? a lover evidently, for\nwho else could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must feel to\nyou? i knew that you went out little, and that your circle of friends\nwas a very limited one. but among them was sir george burnwell. i had\nheard of him before as being a man of evil reputation among women. it\nmust have been he who wore those boots and retained the missing gems.\neven though he knew that arthur had discovered him, he might still\nflatter himself that he was safe, for the lad could not say a word\nwithout compromising his own family.\n\n“well, your own good sense will suggest what measures i took next. i\nwent in the shape of a loafer to sir george’s house, managed to pick up\nan acquaintance with his valet, learned that his master had cut his\nhead the night before, and, finally, at the expense of six shillings,\nmade all sure by buying a pair of his cast-off shoes. with these i\njourneyed down to streatham and saw that they exactly fitted the\ntracks.”\n\n“i saw an ill-dressed vagabond in the lane yesterday evening,” said mr.\nholder.\n\n“precisely. it was i. i found that i had my man, so i came home and\nchanged my clothes. it was a delicate part which i had to play then,\nfor i saw that a prosecution must be avoided to avert scandal, and i\nknew that so astute a villain would see that our hands were tied in the\nmatter. i went and saw him. at first, of course, he denied everything.\nbut when i gave him every particular that had occurred, he tried to\nbluster and took down a life-preserver from the wall. i knew my man,\nhowever, and i clapped a pistol to his head before he could strike.\nthen he became a little more reasonable. i told him that we would give\nhim a price for the stones he held—£ 1000 apiece. that brought out the\nfirst signs of grief that he had shown. ‘why, dash it all!’ said he,\n‘i’ve let them go at six hundred for the three!’ i soon managed to get\nthe address of the receiver who had them, on promising him that there\nwould be no prosecution. off i set to him, and after much chaffering i\ngot our stones at £ 1000 apiece. then i looked in upon your son, told\nhim that all was right, and eventually got to my bed about two o’clock,\nafter what i may call a really hard day’s work.”\n\n“a day which has saved england from a great public scandal,” said the\nbanker, rising. “sir, i cannot find words to thank you, but you shall\nnot find me ungrateful for what you have done. your skill has indeed\nexceeded all that i have heard of it. and now i must fly to my dear boy\nto apologise to him for the wrong which i have done him. as to what you\ntell me of poor mary, it goes to my very heart. not even your skill can\ninform me where she is now.”\n\n“i think that we may safely say,” returned holmes, “that she is\nwherever sir george burnwell is. it is equally certain, too, that\nwhatever her sins are, they will soon receive a more than sufficient\npunishment.”\n\n\n\nxii. the adventure of the copper beeches\n\n“to the man who loves art for its own sake,” remarked sherlock holmes,\ntossing aside the advertisement sheet of _the daily telegraph_, “it is\nfrequently in its least important and lowliest manifestations that the\nkeenest pleasure is to be derived. it is pleasant to me to observe,\nwatson, that you have so far grasped this truth that in these little\nrecords of our cases which you have been good enough to draw up, and, i\nam bound to say, occasionally to embellish, you have given prominence\nnot so much to the many _causes célèbres_ and sensational trials in\nwhich i have figured but rather to those incidents which may have been\ntrivial in themselves, but which have given room for those faculties of\ndeduction and of logical synthesis which i have made my special\nprovince.”\n\n“and yet,” said i, smiling, “i cannot quite hold myself absolved from\nthe charge of sensationalism which has been urged against my records.”\n\n“you have erred, perhaps,” he observed, taking up a glowing cinder with\nthe tongs and lighting with it the long cherry-wood pipe which was wont\nto replace his clay when he was in a disputatious rather than a\nmeditative mood—“you have erred perhaps in attempting to put colour and\nlife into each of your statements instead of confining yourself to the\ntask of placing upon record that severe reasoning from cause to effect\nwhich is really the only notable feature about the thing.”\n\n“it seems to me that i have done you full justice in the matter,” i\nremarked with some coldness, for i was repelled by the egotism which i\nhad more than once observed to be a strong factor in my friend’s\nsingular character.\n\n“no, it is not selfishness or conceit,” said he, answering, as was his\nwont, my thoughts rather than my words. “if i claim full justice for my\nart, it is because it is an impersonal thing—a thing beyond myself.\ncrime is common. logic is rare. therefore it is upon the logic rather\nthan upon the crime that you should dwell. you have degraded what\nshould have been a course of lectures into a series of tales.”\n\nit was a cold morning of the early spring, and we sat after breakfast\non either side of a cheery fire in the old room at baker street. a\nthick fog rolled down between the lines of dun-coloured houses, and the\nopposing windows loomed like dark, shapeless blurs through the heavy\nyellow wreaths. our gas was lit and shone on the white cloth and\nglimmer of china and metal, for the table had not been cleared yet.\nsherlock holmes had been silent all the morning, dipping continuously\ninto the advertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last,\nhaving apparently given up his search, he had emerged in no very sweet\ntemper to lecture me upon my literary shortcomings.\n\n“at the same time,” he remarked after a pause, during which he had sat\npuffing at his long pipe and gazing down into the fire, “you can hardly\nbe open to a charge of sensationalism, for out of these cases which you\nhave been so kind as to interest yourself in, a fair proportion do not\ntreat of crime, in its legal sense, at all. the small matter in which i\nendeavoured to help the king of bohemia, the singular experience of\nmiss mary sutherland, the problem connected with the man with the\ntwisted lip, and the incident of the noble bachelor, were all matters\nwhich are outside the pale of the law. but in avoiding the sensational,\ni fear that you may have bordered on the trivial.”\n\n“the end may have been so,” i answered, “but the methods i hold to have\nbeen novel and of interest.”\n\n“pshaw, my dear fellow, what do the public, the great unobservant\npublic, who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a compositor by\nhis left thumb, care about the finer shades of analysis and deduction!\nbut, indeed, if you are trivial, i cannot blame you, for the days of\nthe great cases are past. man, or at least criminal man, has lost all\nenterprise and originality. as to my own little practice, it seems to\nbe degenerating into an agency for recovering lost lead pencils and\ngiving advice to young ladies from boarding-schools. i think that i\nhave touched bottom at last, however. this note i had this morning\nmarks my zero-point, i fancy. read it!” he tossed a crumpled letter\nacross to me.\n\nit was dated from montague place upon the preceding evening, and ran\nthus:\n\n    “dear mr. holmes,—i am very anxious to consult you as to whether i\n    should or should not accept a situation which has been offered to\n    me as governess. i shall call at half-past ten to-morrow if i do\n    not inconvenience you. yours faithfully,\n\n\n    “violet hunter.”\n\n\n“do you know the young lady?” i asked.\n\n“not i.”\n\n“it is half-past ten now.”\n\n“yes, and i have no doubt that is her ring.”\n\n“it may turn out to be of more interest than you think. you remember\nthat the affair of the blue carbuncle, which appeared to be a mere whim\nat first, developed into a serious investigation. it may be so in this\ncase, also.”\n\n“well, let us hope so. but our doubts will very soon be solved, for\nhere, unless i am much mistaken, is the person in question.”\n\nas he spoke the door opened and a young lady entered the room. she was\nplainly but neatly dressed, with a bright, quick face, freckled like a\nplover’s egg, and with the brisk manner of a woman who has had her own\nway to make in the world.\n\n“you will excuse my troubling you, i am sure,” said she, as my\ncompanion rose to greet her, “but i have had a very strange experience,\nand as i have no parents or relations of any sort from whom i could ask\nadvice, i thought that perhaps you would be kind enough to tell me what\ni should do.”\n\n“pray take a seat, miss hunter. i shall be happy to do anything that i\ncan to serve you.”\n\ni could see that holmes was favourably impressed by the manner and\nspeech of his new client. he looked her over in his searching fashion,\nand then composed himself, with his lids drooping and his finger-tips\ntogether, to listen to her story.\n\n“i have been a governess for five years,” said she, “in the family of\ncolonel spence munro, but two months ago the colonel received an\nappointment at halifax, in nova scotia, and took his children over to\namerica with him, so that i found myself without a situation. i\nadvertised, and i answered advertisements, but without success. at last\nthe little money which i had saved began to run short, and i was at my\nwit’s end as to what i should do.\n\n“there is a well-known agency for governesses in the west end called\nwestaway’s, and there i used to call about once a week in order to see\nwhether anything had turned up which might suit me. westaway was the\nname of the founder of the business, but it is really managed by miss\nstoper. she sits in her own little office, and the ladies who are\nseeking employment wait in an anteroom, and are then shown in one by\none, when she consults her ledgers and sees whether she has anything\nwhich would suit them.\n\n“well, when i called last week i was shown into the little office as\nusual, but i found that miss stoper was not alone. a prodigiously stout\nman with a very smiling face and a great heavy chin which rolled down\nin fold upon fold over his throat sat at her elbow with a pair of\nglasses on his nose, looking very earnestly at the ladies who entered.\nas i came in he gave quite a jump in his chair and turned quickly to\nmiss stoper.\n\n“‘that will do,’ said he; ‘i could not ask for anything better.\ncapital! capital!’ he seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his hands\ntogether in the most genial fashion. he was such a comfortable-looking\nman that it was quite a pleasure to look at him.\n\n“‘you are looking for a situation, miss?’ he asked.\n\n“‘yes, sir.’\n\n“‘as governess?’\n\n“‘yes, sir.’\n\n“‘and what salary do you ask?’\n\n“‘i had £ 4 a month in my last place with colonel spence munro.’\n\n“‘oh, tut, tut! sweating—rank sweating!’ he cried, throwing his fat\nhands out into the air like a man who is in a boiling passion. ‘how\ncould anyone offer so pitiful a sum to a lady with such attractions and\naccomplishments?’\n\n“‘my accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,’ said i. ‘a\nlittle french, a little german, music, and drawing—’\n\n“‘tut, tut!’ he cried. ‘this is all quite beside the question. the\npoint is, have you or have you not the bearing and deportment of a\nlady? there it is in a nutshell. if you have not, you are not fitted\nfor the rearing of a child who may some day play a considerable part in\nthe history of the country. but if you have why, then, how could any\ngentleman ask you to condescend to accept anything under the three\nfigures? your salary with me, madam, would commence at £ 100 a year.’\n\n“you may imagine, mr. holmes, that to me, destitute as i was, such an\noffer seemed almost too good to be true. the gentleman, however, seeing\nperhaps the look of incredulity upon my face, opened a pocket-book and\ntook out a note.\n\n“‘it is also my custom,’ said he, smiling in the most pleasant fashion\nuntil his eyes were just two little shining slits amid the white\ncreases of his face, ‘to advance to my young ladies half their salary\nbeforehand, so that they may meet any little expenses of their journey\nand their wardrobe.’\n\n“it seemed to me that i had never met so fascinating and so thoughtful\na man. as i was already in debt to my tradesmen, the advance was a\ngreat convenience, and yet there was something unnatural about the\nwhole transaction which made me wish to know a little more before i\nquite committed myself.\n\n“‘may i ask where you live, sir?’ said i.\n\n“‘hampshire. charming rural place. the copper beeches, five miles on\nthe far side of winchester. it is the most lovely country, my dear\nyoung lady, and the dearest old country-house.’\n\n“‘and my duties, sir? i should be glad to know what they would be.’\n\n“‘one child—one dear little romper just six years old. oh, if you could\nsee him killing cockroaches with a slipper! smack! smack! smack! three\ngone before you could wink!’ he leaned back in his chair and laughed\nhis eyes into his head again.\n\n“i was a little startled at the nature of the child’s amusement, but\nthe father’s laughter made me think that perhaps he was joking.\n\n“‘my sole duties, then,’ i asked, ‘are to take charge of a single\nchild?’\n\n“‘no, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,’ he cried.\n‘your duty would be, as i am sure your good sense would suggest, to\nobey any little commands my wife might give, provided always that they\nwere such commands as a lady might with propriety obey. you see no\ndifficulty, heh?’\n\n“‘i should be happy to make myself useful.’\n\n“‘quite so. in dress now, for example. we are faddy people, you\nknow—faddy but kind-hearted. if you were asked to wear any dress which\nwe might give you, you would not object to our little whim. heh?’\n\n“‘no,’ said i, considerably astonished at his words.\n\n“‘or to sit here, or sit there, that would not be offensive to you?’\n\n“‘oh, no.’\n\n“‘or to cut your hair quite short before you come to us?’\n\n“i could hardly believe my ears. as you may observe, mr. holmes, my\nhair is somewhat luxuriant, and of a rather peculiar tint of chestnut.\nit has been considered artistic. i could not dream of sacrificing it in\nthis offhand fashion.\n\n“‘i am afraid that that is quite impossible,’ said i. he had been\nwatching me eagerly out of his small eyes, and i could see a shadow\npass over his face as i spoke.\n\n“‘i am afraid that it is quite essential,’ said he. ‘it is a little\nfancy of my wife’s, and ladies’ fancies, you know, madam, ladies’\nfancies must be consulted. and so you won’t cut your hair?’\n\n“‘no, sir, i really could not,’ i answered firmly.\n\n“‘ah, very well; then that quite settles the matter. it is a pity,\nbecause in other respects you would really have done very nicely. in\nthat case, miss stoper, i had best inspect a few more of your young\nladies.’\n\n“the manageress had sat all this while busy with her papers without a\nword to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so much annoyance\nupon her face that i could not help suspecting that she had lost a\nhandsome commission through my refusal.\n\n“‘do you desire your name to be kept upon the books?’ she asked.\n\n“‘if you please, miss stoper.’\n\n“‘well, really, it seems rather useless, since you refuse the most\nexcellent offers in this fashion,’ said she sharply. ‘you can hardly\nexpect us to exert ourselves to find another such opening for you.\ngood-day to you, miss hunter.’ she struck a gong upon the table, and i\nwas shown out by the page.\n\n“well, mr. holmes, when i got back to my lodgings and found little\nenough in the cupboard, and two or three bills upon the table, i began\nto ask myself whether i had not done a very foolish thing. after all,\nif these people had strange fads and expected obedience on the most\nextraordinary matters, they were at least ready to pay for their\neccentricity. very few governesses in england are getting £ 100 a year.\nbesides, what use was my hair to me? many people are improved by\nwearing it short and perhaps i should be among the number. next day i\nwas inclined to think that i had made a mistake, and by the day after i\nwas sure of it. i had almost overcome my pride so far as to go back to\nthe agency and inquire whether the place was still open when i received\nthis letter from the gentleman himself. i have it here and i will read\nit to you:\n\n“‘the copper beeches, near winchester.\n\n    “‘dear miss hunter,—miss stoper has very kindly given me your\n    address, and i write from here to ask you whether you have\n    reconsidered your decision. my wife is very anxious that you should\n    come, for she has been much attracted by my description of you. we\n    are willing to give £ 30 a quarter, or £ 120 a year, so as to\n    recompense you for any little inconvenience which our fads may\n    cause you. they are not very exacting, after all. my wife is fond\n    of a particular shade of electric blue and would like you to wear\n    such a dress indoors in the morning. you need not, however, go to\n    the expense of purchasing one, as we have one belonging to my dear\n    daughter alice (now in philadelphia), which would, i should think,\n    fit you very well. then, as to sitting here or there, or amusing\n    yourself in any manner indicated, that need cause you no\n    inconvenience. as regards your hair, it is no doubt a pity,\n    especially as i could not help remarking its beauty during our\n    short interview, but i am afraid that i must remain firm upon this\n    point, and i only hope that the increased salary may recompense you\n    for the loss. your duties, as far as the child is concerned, are\n    very light. now do try to come, and i shall meet you with the\n    dog-cart at winchester. let me know your train. yours faithfully,\n\n\n    “‘jephro rucastle.’\n\n\n“that is the letter which i have just received, mr. holmes, and my mind\nis made up that i will accept it. i thought, however, that before\ntaking the final step i should like to submit the whole matter to your\nconsideration.”\n\n“well, miss hunter, if your mind is made up, that settles the\nquestion,” said holmes, smiling.\n\n“but you would not advise me to refuse?”\n\n“i confess that it is not the situation which i should like to see a\nsister of mine apply for.”\n\n“what is the meaning of it all, mr. holmes?”\n\n“ah, i have no data. i cannot tell. perhaps you have yourself formed\nsome opinion?”\n\n“well, there seems to me to be only one possible solution. mr. rucastle\nseemed to be a very kind, good-natured man. is it not possible that his\nwife is a lunatic, that he desires to keep the matter quiet for fear\nshe should be taken to an asylum, and that he humours her fancies in\nevery way in order to prevent an outbreak?”\n\n“that is a possible solution—in fact, as matters stand, it is the most\nprobable one. but in any case it does not seem to be a nice household\nfor a young lady.”\n\n“but the money, mr. holmes, the money!”\n\n“well, yes, of course the pay is good—too good. that is what makes me\nuneasy. why should they give you £ 120 a year, when they could have\ntheir pick for £ 40? there must be some strong reason behind.”\n\n“i thought that if i told you the circumstances you would understand\nafterwards if i wanted your help. i should feel so much stronger if i\nfelt that you were at the back of me.”\n\n“oh, you may carry that feeling away with you. i assure you that your\nlittle problem promises to be the most interesting which has come my\nway for some months. there is something distinctly novel about some of\nthe features. if you should find yourself in doubt or in danger—”\n\n“danger! what danger do you foresee?”\n\nholmes shook his head gravely. “it would cease to be a danger if we\ncould define it,” said he. “but at any time, day or night, a telegram\nwould bring me down to your help.”\n\n“that is enough.” she rose briskly from her chair with the anxiety all\nswept from her face. “i shall go down to hampshire quite easy in my\nmind now. i shall write to mr. rucastle at once, sacrifice my poor hair\nto-night, and start for winchester to-morrow.” with a few grateful\nwords to holmes she bade us both good-night and bustled off upon her\nway.\n\n“at least,” said i as we heard her quick, firm steps descending the\nstairs, “she seems to be a young lady who is very well able to take\ncare of herself.”\n\n“and she would need to be,” said holmes gravely. “i am much mistaken if\nwe do not hear from her before many days are past.”\n\nit was not very long before my friend’s prediction was fulfilled. a\nfortnight went by, during which i frequently found my thoughts turning\nin her direction and wondering what strange side-alley of human\nexperience this lonely woman had strayed into. the unusual salary, the\ncurious conditions, the light duties, all pointed to something\nabnormal, though whether a fad or a plot, or whether the man were a\nphilanthropist or a villain, it was quite beyond my powers to\ndetermine. as to holmes, i observed that he sat frequently for half an\nhour on end, with knitted brows and an abstracted air, but he swept the\nmatter away with a wave of his hand when i mentioned it. “data! data!\ndata!” he cried impatiently. “i can’t make bricks without clay.” and\nyet he would always wind up by muttering that no sister of his should\never have accepted such a situation.\n\nthe telegram which we eventually received came late one night just as i\nwas thinking of turning in and holmes was settling down to one of those\nall-night chemical researches which he frequently indulged in, when i\nwould leave him stooping over a retort and a test-tube at night and\nfind him in the same position when i came down to breakfast in the\nmorning. he opened the yellow envelope, and then, glancing at the\nmessage, threw it across to me.\n\n“just look up the trains in bradshaw,” said he, and turned back to his\nchemical studies.\n\nthe summons was a brief and urgent one.\n\n“please be at the black swan hotel at winchester at midday to-morrow,”\nit said. “do come! i am at my wit’s end.\n\n\n“hunter.”\n\n\n“will you come with me?” asked holmes, glancing up.\n\n“i should wish to.”\n\n“just look it up, then.”\n\n“there is a train at half-past nine,” said i, glancing over my\nbradshaw. “it is due at winchester at 11:30.”\n\n“that will do very nicely. then perhaps i had better postpone my\nanalysis of the acetones, as we may need to be at our best in the\nmorning.”\n\nby eleven o’clock the next day we were well upon our way to the old\nenglish capital. holmes had been buried in the morning papers all the\nway down, but after we had passed the hampshire border he threw them\ndown and began to admire the scenery. it was an ideal spring day, a\nlight blue sky, flecked with little fleecy white clouds drifting across\nfrom west to east. the sun was shining very brightly, and yet there was\nan exhilarating nip in the air, which set an edge to a man’s energy.\nall over the countryside, away to the rolling hills around aldershot,\nthe little red and grey roofs of the farm-steadings peeped out from\namid the light green of the new foliage.\n\n“are they not fresh and beautiful?” i cried with all the enthusiasm of\na man fresh from the fogs of baker street.\n\nbut holmes shook his head gravely.\n\n“do you know, watson,” said he, “that it is one of the curses of a mind\nwith a turn like mine that i must look at everything with reference to\nmy own special subject. you look at these scattered houses, and you are\nimpressed by their beauty. i look at them, and the only thought which\ncomes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with\nwhich crime may be committed there.”\n\n“good heavens!” i cried. “who would associate crime with these dear old\nhomesteads?”\n\n“they always fill me with a certain horror. it is my belief, watson,\nfounded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in london\ndo not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and\nbeautiful countryside.”\n\n“you horrify me!”\n\n“but the reason is very obvious. the pressure of public opinion can do\nin the town what the law cannot accomplish. there is no lane so vile\nthat the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of a drunkard’s blow,\ndoes not beget sympathy and indignation among the neighbours, and then\nthe whole machinery of justice is ever so close that a word of\ncomplaint can set it going, and there is but a step between the crime\nand the dock. but look at these lonely houses, each in its own fields,\nfilled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the\nlaw. think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which\nmay go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser. had\nthis lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in winchester, i\nshould never have had a fear for her. it is the five miles of country\nwhich makes the danger. still, it is clear that she is not personally\nthreatened.”\n\n“no. if she can come to winchester to meet us she can get away.”\n\n“quite so. she has her freedom.”\n\n“what _can_ be the matter, then? can you suggest no explanation?”\n\n“i have devised seven separate explanations, each of which would cover\nthe facts as far as we know them. but which of these is correct can\nonly be determined by the fresh information which we shall no doubt\nfind waiting for us. well, there is the tower of the cathedral, and we\nshall soon learn all that miss hunter has to tell.”\n\nthe black swan is an inn of repute in the high street, at no distance\nfrom the station, and there we found the young lady waiting for us. she\nhad engaged a sitting-room, and our lunch awaited us upon the table.\n\n“i am so delighted that you have come,” she said earnestly. “it is so\nvery kind of you both; but indeed i do not know what i should do. your\nadvice will be altogether invaluable to me.”\n\n“pray tell us what has happened to you.”\n\n“i will do so, and i must be quick, for i have promised mr. rucastle to\nbe back before three. i got his leave to come into town this morning,\nthough he little knew for what purpose.”\n\n“let us have everything in its due order.” holmes thrust his long thin\nlegs out towards the fire and composed himself to listen.\n\n“in the first place, i may say that i have met, on the whole, with no\nactual ill-treatment from mr. and mrs. rucastle. it is only fair to\nthem to say that. but i cannot understand them, and i am not easy in my\nmind about them.”\n\n“what can you not understand?”\n\n“their reasons for their conduct. but you shall have it all just as it\noccurred. when i came down, mr. rucastle met me here and drove me in\nhis dog-cart to the copper beeches. it is, as he said, beautifully\nsituated, but it is not beautiful in itself, for it is a large square\nblock of a house, whitewashed, but all stained and streaked with damp\nand bad weather. there are grounds round it, woods on three sides, and\non the fourth a field which slopes down to the southampton highroad,\nwhich curves past about a hundred yards from the front door. this\nground in front belongs to the house, but the woods all round are part\nof lord southerton’s preserves. a clump of copper beeches immediately\nin front of the hall door has given its name to the place.\n\n“i was driven over by my employer, who was as amiable as ever, and was\nintroduced by him that evening to his wife and the child. there was no\ntruth, mr. holmes, in the conjecture which seemed to us to be probable\nin your rooms at baker street. mrs. rucastle is not mad. i found her to\nbe a silent, pale-faced woman, much younger than her husband, not more\nthan thirty, i should think, while he can hardly be less than\nforty-five. from their conversation i have gathered that they have been\nmarried about seven years, that he was a widower, and that his only\nchild by the first wife was the daughter who has gone to philadelphia.\nmr. rucastle told me in private that the reason why she had left them\nwas that she had an unreasoning aversion to her stepmother. as the\ndaughter could not have been less than twenty, i can quite imagine that\nher position must have been uncomfortable with her father’s young wife.\n\n“mrs. rucastle seemed to me to be colourless in mind as well as in\nfeature. she impressed me neither favourably nor the reverse. she was a\nnonentity. it was easy to see that she was passionately devoted both to\nher husband and to her little son. her light grey eyes wandered\ncontinually from one to the other, noting every little want and\nforestalling it if possible. he was kind to her also in his bluff,\nboisterous fashion, and on the whole they seemed to be a happy couple.\nand yet she had some secret sorrow, this woman. she would often be lost\nin deep thought, with the saddest look upon her face. more than once i\nhave surprised her in tears. i have thought sometimes that it was the\ndisposition of her child which weighed upon her mind, for i have never\nmet so utterly spoiled and so ill-natured a little creature. he is\nsmall for his age, with a head which is quite disproportionately large.\nhis whole life appears to be spent in an alternation between savage\nfits of passion and gloomy intervals of sulking. giving pain to any\ncreature weaker than himself seems to be his one idea of amusement, and\nhe shows quite remarkable talent in planning the capture of mice,\nlittle birds, and insects. but i would rather not talk about the\ncreature, mr. holmes, and, indeed, he has little to do with my story.”\n\n“i am glad of all details,” remarked my friend, “whether they seem to\nyou to be relevant or not.”\n\n“i shall try not to miss anything of importance. the one unpleasant\nthing about the house, which struck me at once, was the appearance and\nconduct of the servants. there are only two, a man and his wife.\ntoller, for that is his name, is a rough, uncouth man, with grizzled\nhair and whiskers, and a perpetual smell of drink. twice since i have\nbeen with them he has been quite drunk, and yet mr. rucastle seemed to\ntake no notice of it. his wife is a very tall and strong woman with a\nsour face, as silent as mrs. rucastle and much less amiable. they are a\nmost unpleasant couple, but fortunately i spend most of my time in the\nnursery and my own room, which are next to each other in one corner of\nthe building.\n\n“for two days after my arrival at the copper beeches my life was very\nquiet; on the third, mrs. rucastle came down just after breakfast and\nwhispered something to her husband.\n\n“‘oh, yes,’ said he, turning to me, ‘we are very much obliged to you,\nmiss hunter, for falling in with our whims so far as to cut your hair.\ni assure you that it has not detracted in the tiniest iota from your\nappearance. we shall now see how the electric-blue dress will become\nyou. you will find it laid out upon the bed in your room, and if you\nwould be so good as to put it on we should both be extremely obliged.’\n\n“the dress which i found waiting for me was of a peculiar shade of\nblue. it was of excellent material, a sort of beige, but it bore\nunmistakable signs of having been worn before. it could not have been a\nbetter fit if i had been measured for it. both mr. and mrs. rucastle\nexpressed a delight at the look of it, which seemed quite exaggerated\nin its vehemence. they were waiting for me in the drawing-room, which\nis a very large room, stretching along the entire front of the house,\nwith three long windows reaching down to the floor. a chair had been\nplaced close to the central window, with its back turned towards it. in\nthis i was asked to sit, and then mr. rucastle, walking up and down on\nthe other side of the room, began to tell me a series of the funniest\nstories that i have ever listened to. you cannot imagine how comical he\nwas, and i laughed until i was quite weary. mrs. rucastle, however, who\nhas evidently no sense of humour, never so much as smiled, but sat with\nher hands in her lap, and a sad, anxious look upon her face. after an\nhour or so, mr. rucastle suddenly remarked that it was time to commence\nthe duties of the day, and that i might change my dress and go to\nlittle edward in the nursery.\n\n“two days later this same performance was gone through under exactly\nsimilar circumstances. again i changed my dress, again i sat in the\nwindow, and again i laughed very heartily at the funny stories of which\nmy employer had an immense _répertoire_, and which he told inimitably.\nthen he handed me a yellow-backed novel, and moving my chair a little\nsideways, that my own shadow might not fall upon the page, he begged me\nto read aloud to him. i read for about ten minutes, beginning in the\nheart of a chapter, and then suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he\nordered me to cease and to change my dress.\n\n“you can easily imagine, mr. holmes, how curious i became as to what\nthe meaning of this extraordinary performance could possibly be. they\nwere always very careful, i observed, to turn my face away from the\nwindow, so that i became consumed with the desire to see what was going\non behind my back. at first it seemed to be impossible, but i soon\ndevised a means. my hand-mirror had been broken, so a happy thought\nseized me, and i concealed a piece of the glass in my handkerchief. on\nthe next occasion, in the midst of my laughter, i put my handkerchief\nup to my eyes, and was able with a little management to see all that\nthere was behind me. i confess that i was disappointed. there was\nnothing. at least that was my first impression. at the second glance,\nhowever, i perceived that there was a man standing in the southampton\nroad, a small bearded man in a grey suit, who seemed to be looking in\nmy direction. the road is an important highway, and there are usually\npeople there. this man, however, was leaning against the railings which\nbordered our field and was looking earnestly up. i lowered my\nhandkerchief and glanced at mrs. rucastle to find her eyes fixed upon\nme with a most searching gaze. she said nothing, but i am convinced\nthat she had divined that i had a mirror in my hand and had seen what\nwas behind me. she rose at once.\n\n“‘jephro,’ said she, ‘there is an impertinent fellow upon the road\nthere who stares up at miss hunter.’\n\n“‘no friend of yours, miss hunter?’ he asked.\n\n“‘no, i know no one in these parts.’\n\n“‘dear me! how very impertinent! kindly turn round and motion to him to\ngo away.’\n\n“‘surely it would be better to take no notice.’\n\n“‘no, no, we should have him loitering here always. kindly turn round\nand wave him away like that.’\n\n“i did as i was told, and at the same instant mrs. rucastle drew down\nthe blind. that was a week ago, and from that time i have not sat again\nin the window, nor have i worn the blue dress, nor seen the man in the\nroad.”\n\n“pray continue,” said holmes. “your narrative promises to be a most\ninteresting one.”\n\n“you will find it rather disconnected, i fear, and there may prove to\nbe little relation between the different incidents of which i speak. on\nthe very first day that i was at the copper beeches, mr. rucastle took\nme to a small outhouse which stands near the kitchen door. as we\napproached it i heard the sharp rattling of a chain, and the sound as\nof a large animal moving about.\n\n“‘look in here!’ said mr. rucastle, showing me a slit between two\nplanks. ‘is he not a beauty?’\n\n“i looked through and was conscious of two glowing eyes, and of a vague\nfigure huddled up in the darkness.\n\n“‘don’t be frightened,’ said my employer, laughing at the start which i\nhad given. ‘it’s only carlo, my mastiff. i call him mine, but really\nold toller, my groom, is the only man who can do anything with him. we\nfeed him once a day, and not too much then, so that he is always as\nkeen as mustard. toller lets him loose every night, and god help the\ntrespasser whom he lays his fangs upon. for goodness’ sake don’t you\never on any pretext set your foot over the threshold at night, for it’s\nas much as your life is worth.’\n\n“the warning was no idle one, for two nights later i happened to look\nout of my bedroom window about two o’clock in the morning. it was a\nbeautiful moonlight night, and the lawn in front of the house was\nsilvered over and almost as bright as day. i was standing, rapt in the\npeaceful beauty of the scene, when i was aware that something was\nmoving under the shadow of the copper beeches. as it emerged into the\nmoonshine i saw what it was. it was a giant dog, as large as a calf,\ntawny tinted, with hanging jowl, black muzzle, and huge projecting\nbones. it walked slowly across the lawn and vanished into the shadow\nupon the other side. that dreadful sentinel sent a chill to my heart\nwhich i do not think that any burglar could have done.\n\n“and now i have a very strange experience to tell you. i had, as you\nknow, cut off my hair in london, and i had placed it in a great coil at\nthe bottom of my trunk. one evening, after the child was in bed, i\nbegan to amuse myself by examining the furniture of my room and by\nrearranging my own little things. there was an old chest of drawers in\nthe room, the two upper ones empty and open, the lower one locked. i\nhad filled the first two with my linen, and as i had still much to pack\naway i was naturally annoyed at not having the use of the third drawer.\nit struck me that it might have been fastened by a mere oversight, so i\ntook out my bunch of keys and tried to open it. the very first key\nfitted to perfection, and i drew the drawer open. there was only one\nthing in it, but i am sure that you would never guess what it was. it\nwas my coil of hair.\n\n“i took it up and examined it. it was of the same peculiar tint, and\nthe same thickness. but then the impossibility of the thing obtruded\nitself upon me. how could my hair have been locked in the drawer? with\ntrembling hands i undid my trunk, turned out the contents, and drew\nfrom the bottom my own hair. i laid the two tresses together, and i\nassure you that they were identical. was it not extraordinary? puzzle\nas i would, i could make nothing at all of what it meant. i returned\nthe strange hair to the drawer, and i said nothing of the matter to the\nrucastles as i felt that i had put myself in the wrong by opening a\ndrawer which they had locked.\n\n“i am naturally observant, as you may have remarked, mr. holmes, and i\nsoon had a pretty good plan of the whole house in my head. there was\none wing, however, which appeared not to be inhabited at all. a door\nwhich faced that which led into the quarters of the tollers opened into\nthis suite, but it was invariably locked. one day, however, as i\nascended the stair, i met mr. rucastle coming out through this door,\nhis keys in his hand, and a look on his face which made him a very\ndifferent person to the round, jovial man to whom i was accustomed. his\ncheeks were red, his brow was all crinkled with anger, and the veins\nstood out at his temples with passion. he locked the door and hurried\npast me without a word or a look.\n\n“this aroused my curiosity, so when i went out for a walk in the\ngrounds with my charge, i strolled round to the side from which i could\nsee the windows of this part of the house. there were four of them in a\nrow, three of which were simply dirty, while the fourth was shuttered\nup. they were evidently all deserted. as i strolled up and down,\nglancing at them occasionally, mr. rucastle came out to me, looking as\nmerry and jovial as ever.\n\n“‘ah!’ said he, ‘you must not think me rude if i passed you without a\nword, my dear young lady. i was preoccupied with business matters.’\n\n“i assured him that i was not offended. ‘by the way,’ said i, ‘you seem\nto have quite a suite of spare rooms up there, and one of them has the\nshutters up.’\n\n“he looked surprised and, as it seemed to me, a little startled at my\nremark.\n\n“‘photography is one of my hobbies,’ said he. ‘i have made my dark room\nup there. but, dear me! what an observant young lady we have come upon.\nwho would have believed it? who would have ever believed it?’ he spoke\nin a jesting tone, but there was no jest in his eyes as he looked at\nme. i read suspicion there and annoyance, but no jest.\n\n“well, mr. holmes, from the moment that i understood that there was\nsomething about that suite of rooms which i was not to know, i was all\non fire to go over them. it was not mere curiosity, though i have my\nshare of that. it was more a feeling of duty—a feeling that some good\nmight come from my penetrating to this place. they talk of woman’s\ninstinct; perhaps it was woman’s instinct which gave me that feeling.\nat any rate, it was there, and i was keenly on the lookout for any\nchance to pass the forbidden door.\n\n“it was only yesterday that the chance came. i may tell you that,\nbesides mr. rucastle, both toller and his wife find something to do in\nthese deserted rooms, and i once saw him carrying a large black linen\nbag with him through the door. recently he has been drinking hard, and\nyesterday evening he was very drunk; and when i came upstairs there was\nthe key in the door. i have no doubt at all that he had left it there.\nmr. and mrs. rucastle were both downstairs, and the child was with\nthem, so that i had an admirable opportunity. i turned the key gently\nin the lock, opened the door, and slipped through.\n\n“there was a little passage in front of me, unpapered and uncarpeted,\nwhich turned at a right angle at the farther end. round this corner\nwere three doors in a line, the first and third of which were open.\nthey each led into an empty room, dusty and cheerless, with two windows\nin the one and one in the other, so thick with dirt that the evening\nlight glimmered dimly through them. the centre door was closed, and\nacross the outside of it had been fastened one of the broad bars of an\niron bed, padlocked at one end to a ring in the wall, and fastened at\nthe other with stout cord. the door itself was locked as well, and the\nkey was not there. this barricaded door corresponded clearly with the\nshuttered window outside, and yet i could see by the glimmer from\nbeneath it that the room was not in darkness. evidently there was a\nskylight which let in light from above. as i stood in the passage\ngazing at the sinister door and wondering what secret it might veil, i\nsuddenly heard the sound of steps within the room and saw a shadow pass\nbackward and forward against the little slit of dim light which shone\nout from under the door. a mad, unreasoning terror rose up in me at the\nsight, mr. holmes. my overstrung nerves failed me suddenly, and i\nturned and ran—ran as though some dreadful hand were behind me\nclutching at the skirt of my dress. i rushed down the passage, through\nthe door, and straight into the arms of mr. rucastle, who was waiting\noutside.\n\n“‘so,’ said he, smiling, ‘it was you, then. i thought that it must be\nwhen i saw the door open.’\n\n“‘oh, i am so frightened!’ i panted.\n\n“‘my dear young lady! my dear young lady!’—you cannot think how\ncaressing and soothing his manner was—‘and what has frightened you, my\ndear young lady?’\n\n“but his voice was just a little too coaxing. he overdid it. i was\nkeenly on my guard against him.\n\n“‘i was foolish enough to go into the empty wing,’ i answered. ‘but it\nis so lonely and eerie in this dim light that i was frightened and ran\nout again. oh, it is so dreadfully still in there!’\n\n“‘only that?’ said he, looking at me keenly.\n\n“‘why, what did you think?’ i asked.\n\n“‘why do you think that i lock this door?’\n\n“‘i am sure that i do not know.’\n\n“‘it is to keep people out who have no business there. do you see?’ he\nwas still smiling in the most amiable manner.\n\n“‘i am sure if i had known—’\n\n“‘well, then, you know now. and if you ever put your foot over that\nthreshold again’—here in an instant the smile hardened into a grin of\nrage, and he glared down at me with the face of a demon—‘i’ll throw you\nto the mastiff.’\n\n“i was so terrified that i do not know what i did. i suppose that i\nmust have rushed past him into my room. i remember nothing until i\nfound myself lying on my bed trembling all over. then i thought of you,\nmr. holmes. i could not live there longer without some advice. i was\nfrightened of the house, of the man, of the woman, of the servants,\neven of the child. they were all horrible to me. if i could only bring\nyou down all would be well. of course i might have fled from the house,\nbut my curiosity was almost as strong as my fears. my mind was soon\nmade up. i would send you a wire. i put on my hat and cloak, went down\nto the office, which is about half a mile from the house, and then\nreturned, feeling very much easier. a horrible doubt came into my mind\nas i approached the door lest the dog might be loose, but i remembered\nthat toller had drunk himself into a state of insensibility that\nevening, and i knew that he was the only one in the household who had\nany influence with the savage creature, or who would venture to set him\nfree. i slipped in in safety and lay awake half the night in my joy at\nthe thought of seeing you. i had no difficulty in getting leave to come\ninto winchester this morning, but i must be back before three o’clock,\nfor mr. and mrs. rucastle are going on a visit, and will be away all\nthe evening, so that i must look after the child. now i have told you\nall my adventures, mr. holmes, and i should be very glad if you could\ntell me what it all means, and, above all, what i should do.”\n\nholmes and i had listened spellbound to this extraordinary story. my\nfriend rose now and paced up and down the room, his hands in his\npockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon his face.\n\n“is toller still drunk?” he asked.\n\n“yes. i heard his wife tell mrs. rucastle that she could do nothing\nwith him.”\n\n“that is well. and the rucastles go out to-night?”\n\n“yes.”\n\n“is there a cellar with a good strong lock?”\n\n“yes, the wine-cellar.”\n\n“you seem to me to have acted all through this matter like a very brave\nand sensible girl, miss hunter. do you think that you could perform one\nmore feat? i should not ask it of you if i did not think you a quite\nexceptional woman.”\n\n“i will try. what is it?”\n\n“we shall be at the copper beeches by seven o’clock, my friend and i.\nthe rucastles will be gone by that time, and toller will, we hope, be\nincapable. there only remains mrs. toller, who might give the alarm. if\nyou could send her into the cellar on some errand, and then turn the\nkey upon her, you would facilitate matters immensely.”\n\n“i will do it.”\n\n“excellent! we shall then look thoroughly into the affair. of course\nthere is only one feasible explanation. you have been brought there to\npersonate someone, and the real person is imprisoned in this chamber.\nthat is obvious. as to who this prisoner is, i have no doubt that it is\nthe daughter, miss alice rucastle, if i remember right, who was said to\nhave gone to america. you were chosen, doubtless, as resembling her in\nheight, figure, and the colour of your hair. hers had been cut off,\nvery possibly in some illness through which she has passed, and so, of\ncourse, yours had to be sacrificed also. by a curious chance you came\nupon her tresses. the man in the road was undoubtedly some friend of\nhers—possibly her _fiancé_—and no doubt, as you wore the girl’s dress\nand were so like her, he was convinced from your laughter, whenever he\nsaw you, and afterwards from your gesture, that miss rucastle was\nperfectly happy, and that she no longer desired his attentions. the dog\nis let loose at night to prevent him from endeavouring to communicate\nwith her. so much is fairly clear. the most serious point in the case\nis the disposition of the child.”\n\n“what on earth has that to do with it?” i ejaculated.\n\n“my dear watson, you as a medical man are continually gaining light as\nto the tendencies of a child by the study of the parents. don’t you see\nthat the converse is equally valid. i have frequently gained my first\nreal insight into the character of parents by studying their children.\nthis child’s disposition is abnormally cruel, merely for cruelty’s\nsake, and whether he derives this from his smiling father, as i should\nsuspect, or from his mother, it bodes evil for the poor girl who is in\ntheir power.”\n\n“i am sure that you are right, mr. holmes,” cried our client. “a\nthousand things come back to me which make me certain that you have hit\nit. oh, let us lose not an instant in bringing help to this poor\ncreature.”\n\n“we must be circumspect, for we are dealing with a very cunning man. we\ncan do nothing until seven o’clock. at that hour we shall be with you,\nand it will not be long before we solve the mystery.”\n\nwe were as good as our word, for it was just seven when we reached the\ncopper beeches, having put up our trap at a wayside public-house. the\ngroup of trees, with their dark leaves shining like burnished metal in\nthe light of the setting sun, were sufficient to mark the house even\nhad miss hunter not been standing smiling on the door-step.\n\n“have you managed it?” asked holmes.\n\na loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs. “that is mrs.\ntoller in the cellar,” said she. “her husband lies snoring on the\nkitchen rug. here are his keys, which are the duplicates of mr.\nrucastle’s.”\n\n“you have done well indeed!” cried holmes with enthusiasm. “now lead\nthe way, and we shall soon see the end of this black business.”\n\nwe passed up the stair, unlocked the door, followed on down a passage,\nand found ourselves in front of the barricade which miss hunter had\ndescribed. holmes cut the cord and removed the transverse bar. then he\ntried the various keys in the lock, but without success. no sound came\nfrom within, and at the silence holmes’ face clouded over.\n\n“i trust that we are not too late,” said he. “i think, miss hunter,\nthat we had better go in without you. now, watson, put your shoulder to\nit, and we shall see whether we cannot make our way in.”\n\nit was an old rickety door and gave at once before our united strength.\ntogether we rushed into the room. it was empty. there was no furniture\nsave a little pallet bed, a small table, and a basketful of linen. the\nskylight above was open, and the prisoner gone.\n\n“there has been some villainy here,” said holmes; “this beauty has\nguessed miss hunter’s intentions and has carried his victim off.”\n\n“but how?”\n\n“through the skylight. we shall soon see how he managed it.” he swung\nhimself up onto the roof. “ah, yes,” he cried, “here’s the end of a\nlong light ladder against the eaves. that is how he did it.”\n\n“but it is impossible,” said miss hunter; “the ladder was not there\nwhen the rucastles went away.”\n\n“he has come back and done it. i tell you that he is a clever and\ndangerous man. i should not be very much surprised if this were he\nwhose step i hear now upon the stair. i think, watson, that it would be\nas well for you to have your pistol ready.”\n\nthe words were hardly out of his mouth before a man appeared at the\ndoor of the room, a very fat and burly man, with a heavy stick in his\nhand. miss hunter screamed and shrunk against the wall at the sight of\nhim, but sherlock holmes sprang forward and confronted him.\n\n“you villain!” said he, “where’s your daughter?”\n\nthe fat man cast his eyes round, and then up at the open skylight.\n\n“it is for me to ask you that,” he shrieked, “you thieves! spies and\nthieves! i have caught you, have i? you are in my power. i’ll serve\nyou!” he turned and clattered down the stairs as hard as he could go.\n\n“he’s gone for the dog!” cried miss hunter.\n\n“i have my revolver,” said i.\n\n“better close the front door,” cried holmes, and we all rushed down the\nstairs together. we had hardly reached the hall when we heard the\nbaying of a hound, and then a scream of agony, with a horrible worrying\nsound which it was dreadful to listen to. an elderly man with a red\nface and shaking limbs came staggering out at a side door.\n\n“my god!” he cried. “someone has loosed the dog. it’s not been fed for\ntwo days. quick, quick, or it’ll be too late!”\n\nholmes and i rushed out and round the angle of the house, with toller\nhurrying behind us. there was the huge famished brute, its black muzzle\nburied in rucastle’s throat, while he writhed and screamed upon the\nground. running up, i blew its brains out, and it fell over with its\nkeen white teeth still meeting in the great creases of his neck. with\nmuch labour we separated them and carried him, living but horribly\nmangled, into the house. we laid him upon the drawing-room sofa, and\nhaving dispatched the sobered toller to bear the news to his wife, i\ndid what i could to relieve his pain. we were all assembled round him\nwhen the door opened, and a tall, gaunt woman entered the room.\n\n“mrs. toller!” cried miss hunter.\n\n“yes, miss. mr. rucastle let me out when he came back before he went up\nto you. ah, miss, it is a pity you didn’t let me know what you were\nplanning, for i would have told you that your pains were wasted.”\n\n“ha!” said holmes, looking keenly at her. “it is clear that mrs. toller\nknows more about this matter than anyone else.”\n\n“yes, sir, i do, and i am ready enough to tell what i know.”\n\n“then, pray, sit down, and let us hear it for there are several points\non which i must confess that i am still in the dark.”\n\n“i will soon make it clear to you,” said she; “and i’d have done so\nbefore now if i could ha’ got out from the cellar. if there’s\npolice-court business over this, you’ll remember that i was the one\nthat stood your friend, and that i was miss alice’s friend too.\n\n“she was never happy at home, miss alice wasn’t, from the time that her\nfather married again. she was slighted like and had no say in anything,\nbut it never really became bad for her until after she met mr. fowler\nat a friend’s house. as well as i could learn, miss alice had rights of\nher own by will, but she was so quiet and patient, she was, that she\nnever said a word about them but just left everything in mr. rucastle’s\nhands. he knew he was safe with her; but when there was a chance of a\nhusband coming forward, who would ask for all that the law would give\nhim, then her father thought it time to put a stop on it. he wanted her\nto sign a paper, so that whether she married or not, he could use her\nmoney. when she wouldn’t do it, he kept on worrying her until she got\nbrain-fever, and for six weeks was at death’s door. then she got better\nat last, all worn to a shadow, and with her beautiful hair cut off; but\nthat didn’t make no change in her young man, and he stuck to her as\ntrue as man could be.”\n\n“ah,” said holmes, “i think that what you have been good enough to tell\nus makes the matter fairly clear, and that i can deduce all that\nremains. mr. rucastle then, i presume, took to this system of\nimprisonment?”\n\n“yes, sir.”\n\n“and brought miss hunter down from london in order to get rid of the\ndisagreeable persistence of mr. fowler.”\n\n“that was it, sir.”\n\n“but mr. fowler being a persevering man, as a good seaman should be,\nblockaded the house, and having met you succeeded by certain arguments,\nmetallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your interests were the\nsame as his.”\n\n“mr. fowler was a very kind-spoken, free-handed gentleman,” said mrs.\ntoller serenely.\n\n“and in this way he managed that your good man should have no want of\ndrink, and that a ladder should be ready at the moment when your master\nhad gone out.”\n\n“you have it, sir, just as it happened.”\n\n“i am sure we owe you an apology, mrs. toller,” said holmes, “for you\nhave certainly cleared up everything which puzzled us. and here comes\nthe country surgeon and mrs. rucastle, so i think, watson, that we had\nbest escort miss hunter back to winchester, as it seems to me that our\n_locus standi_ now is rather a questionable one.”\n\nand thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the copper\nbeeches in front of the door. mr. rucastle survived, but was always a\nbroken man, kept alive solely through the care of his devoted wife.\nthey still live with their old servants, who probably know so much of\nrucastle’s past life that he finds it difficult to part from them. mr.\nfowler and miss rucastle were married, by special license, in\nsouthampton the day after their flight, and he is now the holder of a\ngovernment appointment in the island of mauritius. as to miss violet\nhunter, my friend holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no\nfurther interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of\none of his problems, and she is now the head of a private school at\nwalsall, where i believe that she has met with considerable success.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nend of the project gutenberg ebook of the adventures of sherlock holmes, by \narthur conan doyle\n\n*** end of this project gutenberg ebook the adventures of sherlock holmes ***\n\n***** this file should be named 1661-0.txt or 1661-0.zip *****\nthis and all associated files of various formats will be found in:\n        http://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/6/1661/\n\nproduced by an anonymous project gutenberg volunteer and jose menendez\n\nupdated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will\nbe renamed.\n\ncreating the works from print editions not protected by u.s. copyright\nlaw means that no one 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#Importing RegexTeokenizer module from NLTK library
from nltk.tokenize import RegexpTokenizer

#Tokenizing the data and converting to tokens
tokenizer = RegexpTokenizer(r'\w+')
#lowering the case
wo = text.lower() 
words = tokenizer.tokenize(wo)
print(words)

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'site', 'www', 'gutenberg', 'org', 'you', 'must', 'at', 'no', 'additional', 'cost', 'fee', 'or', 'expense', 'to', 'the', 'user', 'provide', 'a', 'copy', 'a', 'means', 'of', 'exporting', 'a', 'copy', 'or', 'a', 'means', 'of', 'obtaining', 'a', 'copy', 'upon', 'request', 'of', 'the', 'work', 'in', 'its', 'original', 'plain', 'vanilla', 'ascii', 'or', 'other', 'form', 'any', 'alternate', 'format', 'must', 'include', 'the', 'full', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'tm', 'license', 'as', 'specified', 'in', 'paragraph', '1', 'e', '1', '1', 'e', '7', 'do', 'not', 'charge', 'a', 'fee', 'for', 'access', 'to', 'viewing', 'displaying', 'performing', 'copying', 'or', 'distributing', 'any', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'tm', 'works', 'unless', 'you', 'comply', 'with', 'paragraph', '1', 'e', '8', 'or', '1', 'e', '9', '1', 'e', '8', 'you', 'may', 'charge', 'a', 'reasonable', 'fee', 'for', 'copies', 'of', 'or', 'providing', 'access', 'to', 'or', 'distributing', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'tm', 'electronic', 'works', 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'section', '4', 'information', 'about', 'donations', 'to', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'you', 'provide', 'a', 'full', 'refund', 'of', 'any', 'money', 'paid', 'by', 'a', 'user', 'who', 'notifies', 'you', 'in', 'writing', 'or', 'by', 'e', 'mail', 'within', '30', 'days', 'of', 'receipt', 'that', 's', 'he', 'does', 'not', 'agree', 'to', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'the', 'full', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'tm', 'license', 'you', 'must', 'require', 'such', 'a', 'user', 'to', 'return', 'or', 'destroy', 'all', 'copies', 'of', 'the', 'works', 'possessed', 'in', 'a', 'physical', 'medium', 'and', 'discontinue', 'all', 'use', 'of', 'and', 'all', 'access', 'to', 'other', 'copies', 'of', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'tm', 'works', 'you', 'provide', 'in', 'accordance', 'with', 'paragraph', '1', 'f', '3', 'a', 'full', 'refund', 'of', 'any', 'money', 'paid', 'for', 'a', 'work', 'or', 'a', 'replacement', 'copy', 'if', 'a', 'defect', 'in', 'the', 'electronic', 'work', 'is', 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'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'the', 'owner', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'tm', 'trademark', 'and', 'any', 'other', 'party', 'distributing', 'a', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'tm', 'electronic', 'work', 'under', 'this', 'agreement', 'disclaim', 'all', 'liability', 'to', 'you', 'for', 'damages', 'costs', 'and', 'expenses', 'including', 'legal', 'fees', 'you', 'agree', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'no', 'remedies', 'for', 'negligence', 'strict', 'liability', 'breach', 'of', 'warranty', 'or', 'breach', 'of', 'contract', 'except', 'those', 'provided', 'in', 'paragraph', '1', 'f', '3', 'you', 'agree', 'that', 'the', 'foundation', 'the', 'trademark', 'owner', 'and', 'any', 'distributor', 'under', 'this', 'agreement', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'liable', 'to', 'you', 'for', 'actual', 'direct', 'indirect', 'consequential', 'punitive', 'or', 'incidental', 'damages', 'even', 'if', 'you', 'give', 'notice', 'of', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'such', 'damage', '1', 'f', '3', 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'agreement', 'the', 'agreement', 'shall', 'be', 'interpreted', 'to', 'make', 'the', 'maximum', 'disclaimer', 'or', 'limitation', 'permitted', 'by', 'the', 'applicable', 'state', 'law', 'the', 'invalidity', 'or', 'unenforceability', 'of', 'any', 'provision', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'shall', 'not', 'void', 'the', 'remaining', 'provisions', '1', 'f', '6', 'indemnity', 'you', 'agree', 'to', 'indemnify', 'and', 'hold', 'the', 'foundation', 'the', 'trademark', 'owner', 'any', 'agent', 'or', 'employee', 'of', 'the', 'foundation', 'anyone', 'providing', 'copies', 'of', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'tm', 'electronic', 'works', 'in', 'accordance', 'with', 'this', 'agreement', 'and', 'any', 'volunteers', 'associated', 'with', 'the', 'production', 'promotion', 'and', 'distribution', 'of', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'tm', 'electronic', 'works', 'harmless', 'from', 'all', 'liability', 'costs', 'and', 'expenses', 'including', 'legal', 'fees', 'that', 'arise', 'directly', 'or', 'indirectly', 'from', 'any', 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'prohibition', 'against', 'accepting', 'unsolicited', 'donations', 'from', 'donors', 'in', 'such', 'states', 'who', 'approach', 'us', 'with', 'offers', 'to', 'donate', 'international', 'donations', 'are', 'gratefully', 'accepted', 'but', 'we', 'cannot', 'make', 'any', 'statements', 'concerning', 'tax', 'treatment', 'of', 'donations', 'received', 'from', 'outside', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'u', 's', 'laws', 'alone', 'swamp', 'our', 'small', 'staff', 'please', 'check', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'web', 'pages', 'for', 'current', 'donation', 'methods', 'and', 'addresses', 'donations', 'are', 'accepted', 'in', 'a', 'number', 'of', 'other', 'ways', 'including', 'checks', 'online', 'payments', 'and', 'credit', 'card', 'donations', 'to', 'donate', 'please', 'visit', 'www', 'gutenberg', 'org', 'donate', 'section', '5', 'general', 'information', 'about', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'tm', 'electronic', 'works', 'professor', 'michael', 's', 'hart', 'was', 'the', 'originator', 'of', 'the', 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#Extracting the unique words using the np.unique function
unique_words = np.unique(words)
unique_word_index = dict((c, i) for i, c in enumerate(unique_words))

#Finding the previous and next words
LENGTH = 5
prev = []
next= []
for i in range(len(words) - LENGTH):
    prev.append(words[i:i + LENGTH])
    next.append(words[i + LENGTH])
#Printing the previous and next words
print("Previous :",prev[0])
print("Next :",next[0])

Previous : ['project', 'gutenberg', 's', 'the', 'adventures']
Next : of

#Creating the array with number of zeros
X = np.zeros((len(prev), LENGTH, len(unique_words)), dtype=bool)
Y = np.zeros((len(next), len(unique_words)), dtype=bool)

#Properly indexing the previous and next words
for i, each_words in enumerate(prev):
    for j, word in enumerate(each_words):
        X[i, j, unique_word_index[word]] = 1
    Y[i, unique_word_index[next[i]]] = 1

print(X[0][0])

[False False False ... False False False]

print(Y[0][0])

False

#Importing the Keras library for models and model operations
from keras.models import Sequential, load_model
from keras.layers import LSTM
from keras.layers.core import Dense, Activation
from keras.optimizers import RMSprop

#Selecting the Sequential model 
model = Sequential()
model.add(LSTM(128, input_shape=(LENGTH, len(unique_words))))
model.add(Dense(len(unique_words)))
#setting Softmax Activation function
model.add(Activation('softmax'))
#setting the RMSprop Optimizer
optimizer = RMSprop(learning_rate=0.01)

#Compiling the model
model.compile(loss='categorical_crossentropy', optimizer=optimizer, metrics=['accuracy'])

#Training the model.
history = model.fit(X, Y, validation_split=0.05, batch_size=128, epochs=2, shuffle=True).history

Epoch 1/2

2023-01-11 23:27:55.287391: W tensorflow/tsl/platform/profile_utils/cpu_utils.cc:128] Failed to get CPU frequency: 0 Hz

811/811 [==============================] - 48s 58ms/step - loss: 6.0023 - accuracy: 0.1076 - val_loss: 7.0134 - val_accuracy: 0.1005
Epoch 2/2
811/811 [==============================] - 47s 58ms/step - loss: 5.7683 - accuracy: 0.1483 - val_loss: 7.8971 - val_accuracy: 0.1020

#Saving the model as h5 file
model.save('next_word_model.h5')
pickle.dump(history, open("history.p", "wb"))
#Loading the model
model = load_model('next_word_model.h5')
history = pickle.load(open("history.p", "rb"))

#Defining a function to prepare input for using in model
def prep(text):
    x = np.zeros((1, LENGTH, len(unique_words)))
    for a, word in enumerate(text.split()):
        print(word)
        x[0, a, unique_word_index[word]] = 1
    return x

#using the prep funtion we are transforming the data
prep("It is not a lack".lower())

it
is
not
a
lack

array([[[0., 0., 0., ..., 0., 0., 0.],
        [0., 0., 0., ..., 0., 0., 0.],
        [0., 0., 0., ..., 0., 0., 0.],
        [0., 0., 0., ..., 0., 0., 0.],
        [0., 0., 0., ..., 0., 0., 0.]]])

#Defining a function called sample
def sample(preds, top_n=3):
    preds = np.asarray(preds).astype('float64')
    preds = np.log(preds)
    exp_preds = np.exp(preds)
    preds = exp_preds / np.sum(exp_preds)
    return heapq.nlargest(top_n, range(len(preds)), preds.take)

#Defining a function predict_completion to predict the data using model
def completion(text):
    original_text = text
    generated = text
    completion = ''
    indices_char={}
    while True:
        x = prep(text)
        preds = model.predict(x, verbose=0)[0]
        next_index = sample(preds, top_n=1)[0]
        next_char = indices_char[next_index]
        text = text[1:] + next_char
        completion += next_char
        if len(original_text + completion) + 2 > len(original_text) and next_char == ' ':
            return completion
def completions(text, n=3):
    x = prep(text)
    preds = model.predict(x, verbose=0)[0]
    next_indices = sample(preds, n)
    return [unique_words[idx] + completion(text[1:] + completion[idx]) for idx in next_indices]

def predict_completions(text, n=3):
    if text == "":
        return("0")
    x = prep(text)
    preds = model.predict(x, verbose=0)[0]
    next_indices = sample(preds, n)
    return [unique_words[idx] for idx in next_indices]

q =  "Your life will never be the same again"
print("correct sentence: ",q)
seq = " ".join(tokenizer.tokenize(q.lower())[0:5])
print("Sequence: ",seq)
print("next possible words: ", predict_completions(seq, 5))

correct sentence:  Your life will never be the same again
Sequence:  your life will never be
your
life
will
never
be
next possible words:  ['a', 'no', 'of', 'so', 'the']