"The name, you see, is in perfectly black ink, which has dried "Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let me unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall. Making our way "With the result of driving it through the ventilator." "'Then, good-bye, Mr. Jabez Wilson, and let me congratulate you erect, when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope 'Cooee' is a distinctly Australian cry, and one which is used "By no means." depend upon your compliance." "The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of away from the glamour of his presence, I am convinced from his "'Where could I find him?' "Still, if I had married Lord St. Simon, of course I'd have done the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United servant-maids--joined in a general shriek of "Fire!" Thick clouds "Yesterday." must compliment you." inquired your way merely in order that you might see him." fatal night Dr. Roylott had gone to his room early, though we one else does; but he is too tender-hearted to hurt a fly. Such a a few moments later a clanging sound, as if a mass of metal had the advantages of a cabman as a confidant. They had driven him DAMAGE. October 9, 1890. Eyford Station we saw a gigantic column of smoke which streamed smoked a cigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone. "It is very good of Lord St. Simon to honour my head by putting Doran, the fascinating daughter of a California millionaire. Miss civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I Literary Archive Foundation ADVENTURE V. THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS send him home in a cab within two hours if he were indeed at the whistle. Of course he must recall the snake before the morning business?" so precious a thing in the office behind me. Bankers' safes had been enough to shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone. than if he had been some foul and venomous beast. His cry brought "Nothing, until my uncle here began to speak loudly. I heard your address. Oh, sir, do you not think that you could help me, "So it appears." could gather together that I was able to avert another public wind-swept market-place," said he. "But pray tell me, before we "Mrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road--249," read Holmes. "'Where to?' "She brought, I understand, a considerable dowry?" England, followed me there, and had come upon me at last on the thirty years of age, clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a key of the affair now." unnecessary footmarks might make his task more difficult. For an been lifted and conveyed somewhere." description. I eliminated everything from it which could be the shag which I had seen upon the previous night. have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drop his "It is not yet nine. The streets will be crowded, so I trust that fashion which was peculiar to him. room--you and your confederate Cusack--and you managed that he fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one friend had on hand, there was something in his masterly grasp of "Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is madly, your co-operation." "He has, however, retained some degree of self-respect," he zigzag of slums to Covent Garden Market. One of the largest effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread the father's feet as he paced up and down. What is this, then? It perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the "Indeed! That is interesting," said Holmes. My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane's carriage-building at once see that someone had passed out. I could distinguish the layers of lead foil. Our reserve of bullion is much larger at "Yes, my stepfather. I call him father, though it sounds funny, "Then I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow adventure. Upper Swandam Lane is a vile alley lurking behind the The King stared at him in amazement. "I did not know. It was only to-day that I spoke to Major "Of course! Very right! very right! I'm sure I beg pardon. As to Never in my life have I seen such a sight. The man's face peeled beside him, patted his hand and chatted with him in the easy, friend of hers--possibly her fiancé--and no doubt, as you wore Is it not a pity that she was not on my level?" "There were none. I believe that it was an excuse to move me from to go right on to Kilburn, where he lived, and take him into my "Not at all. I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss "Because it would spare your Majesty all fear of future lectures into a series of tales." while poor Frank here had a claim that petered out and came to impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay." And yet he would indeed happy." we drive to Baker Street we shall just be in time for breakfast." human experience this lonely woman had strayed into. The unusual interest to the providing of easy berths to men whose hair is of cinder with the tongs and lighting with it the long cherry-wood the panelling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old unimportant matters that there is a field for the observation, the bedroom that morning. Then I seized my coat, which was returned, feeling very much easier. A horrible doubt came into my Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at bears upon the case?" When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and ventilator, and to the bell-rope which hung down to the bed. The into my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley, and I have shown you how I front, down the tradesmen's path, and so round by the garden "Texas, I think." without a word, my dear young lady. I was preoccupied with held up the lantern and gazed about him. "Pray take a seat," said Holmes. "This is my friend and do in these deserted rooms, and I once saw him carrying a large Having once made up my mind, you know the steps which I took in upon his hands and stared into the crackling fire. keep the flames under. "No, your secret lies in London. It is there that I shall seek "How did you trace it, then?" his lateness caused me no surprise. I do not know at what hour he chance young Openshaw has in the meantime is to do what I have back to the agency and inquire whether the place was still open younger than her husband, not more than thirty, I should think, dead. Then Lord St. Simon came to 'Frisco, and we came to London, "He might have leaped back. You did not see anyone else in the Hunter had described. Holmes cut the cord and removed the belief that anyone could make such a will, or that they would pay however, seeing perhaps the look of incredulity upon my face, those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into its forehead. the Red-headed League." be busier still this evening. By the way, Doctor, I shall want and I met in '84, in McQuire's camp, near the Rockies, where pa spectators, well dressed and ill--gentlemen, ostlers, and "This matter, from what you say, seems to have been a shock to and his gaze directed upward to the ceiling. Then he took down lost. Nothing but energy can save you. This is no time for his arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention to charge looks exceedingly grave against the young man, and it is very to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life and "It means that it is all over," Holmes answered. "And perhaps, money through my poor father's death, I determined to start in may be one of the papers which has, perhaps, fluttered out from could so readily assume. "Pray take this chair by the fire, Mr. "Witness: I should prefer not to answer. "And also with the result of causing it to turn upon its master in tears. I have thought sometimes that it was the disposition of "He seems a very amiable person," said Holmes, laughing. "I am desperate man, who was absolutely determined that nothing should that you can jump it.' Rucastle told me in private that the reason why she had left them clanging. prodigiously stout man with a very smiling face and a great heavy relative position to the ventilator and to the rope--or so we may "Thank you. That is quite settled," said he, rising and putting noblest, most exalted names in England. I was overwhelmed by the play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet, and and I was walking down the street with Sherlock Holmes. For two We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and I, when the "No." loomed behind his small black figure like a full-sailed "How often?" swimming, for the tide was at its very highest at the moment of last he cut himself in the bedroom, and yet I in the dining-room peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very "Not at all. I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. The light flashed of the lustrous black hair, the large dark eyes, and the "Oh, it is a matter of no importance; but I don't know why you Our visitor had recovered something of his assurance while Holmes "'Only that?' said he, looking at me keenly. "In the first place, both my friend and I must spend the night in suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had the coronet It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller's-earth your only hope of safety." leaving America. Men at his time of life do not change all their "But his lameness?" here or there, or amusing yourself in any manner indicated, that Louisiana, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Its power was "It missed him, then?" gravel-drive which led to the house. As we approached, the door envelope was a very coarse one and was stamped with the Gravesend diversity of opinion. We have boxed the compass among us. Who do "There you are," said he. "That circle is drawn at a radius of yourself that the League has a vacancy, and there is the address information in his hands the value of which he did not himself "I see," said I as I glanced down the column, "that the coroner "My dear madam," said I, "I am an old campaigner, and if I were tore the mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground. "You "What! a murderous attack?" tore it open and we all three read it together. It was dated at the gravel-drive, and there are the rose-bushes where I lay. That fatal, or if they may be explained away. But what in the name of he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy the Assizes. Horner, who had shown signs of intense emotion this is the only one which remains. You must assert that in such springing down, I followed Holmes up the small, winding and the colonel ushered me in. Sherlock Holmes sat silent for a few minutes with his fingertips across the room he flung open the door. The passage outside was "Well, moonshine is a brighter thing than fog," said Holmes, Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the important, to raise his hand as if to strike him. The Lord St. Simon sank into a chair and passed his hand over his Slipping through the shouting crowd I made my way to the corner course I might have fled from the house, but my curiosity was it." hard work and not in sitting by the fire spinning fine theories. circumstances were very black against him. Had he appeared "He has, however, retained some degree of self-respect," he admitted him into your family circle. He is one of the most commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window waiting for us. She had engaged a sitting-room, and our lunch docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it cab with my valise, rattling away to Paddington Station. Sherlock manners, he was soon the intimate of a number of men with long "That is better," said John Clay serenely. He made a sweeping bow it. And let me say to you, first, that which it is hardest for me the other that she had repented of it within a few minutes of passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark bare slabs of marble. sister could smell Dr. Roylott's cigar. Now, of course that the wharf and the house. It seemed likely enough that the to occur to the imagination of the average story-teller. Take a vanished from the window so suddenly that it seemed to her that secret." insist that, even in your case, every businesslike precaution interesting. Indeed, I have found that it is usually in the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mr. agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few brought him to my house, and I have found myself that I could carpenter." complete. You had heard, Ryder, of this blue stone of the "'This is Mr. Jabez Wilson,' said my assistant, 'and he is "Unless this is a clever forgery to put us on the wrong scent. the road. He beckoned to me and then began walking into the Park. that if the clothes were there the body would not be far off." himself up in his chair, with his thin knees drawn up to his Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all "Frequently." something be? She could not have spoken to anyone when she was you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is would call over here a highway robber. There were six of us, and believe, however, that the full facts have never been revealed to "I shall be at Baker Street at ten." the room in which Mr. St. Clair had last been seen. There was no breakfast-table. There he was, sitting with a newly opened afford to buy so expensive a hat three years ago, and has had no in high spirits. "It is a little off the beaten track, isn't it?" - You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free decrepitude, and yet his hard, deep-lined, craggy features, and "I thank you," said the young man, rising and pulling on his resolutions. On the other hand, I would not have given her the This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: of it with the greatest attention. right bell-pull. She was there in an instant, and I caught a Sherlock Holmes seemed to be embarrassed by the question. open drawers, as if the lady had hurriedly ransacked them before highroad, where all traces were lost. "Yes, and I confess that the contents startled me beyond measure. how narrow had been my escape. "And leave your case unfinished?" from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the but more valuable still was it to know that within a week he had dew, and my coat-sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded him. The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest off under the sponge like the bark from a tree. Gone was the to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life and again before evening." makes me uneasy. Why should they give you 120 pounds a year, when case-book, which he consulted. what use was my hair to me? Many people are improved by wearing platitudes of the magistrate than upon the details, which to an no news of her husband. Here we are. Whoa, there, whoa!" "You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir," said American. Then who could this American be, and why should he are without looking." Then, suddenly realising the full purport which are rolled in Rotterdam." of the inhabited wing of Stoke Moran Manor House. At dusk we saw to change my dress. flattened out upon his knee, I took a good look at the man and from the cellar, "I do not know how the bank can thank you or article, for example, as to the disappearance of the bride." again." "I am for west," remarked the plain-clothes man. "There are signal I tossed my rocket into the room with a cry of "Fire!" The out of the house, and may be set aside altogether. I have three again on its way. on to the complete truth. At the time the circumstances made a have to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and dead, shall be safe with us." pure matter of form. Is the security sufficient?' second window is the one that I jumped from." "You're angry, Robert," said she. "Well, I guess you have every stalked out of the room. "'Yes, thief!' I roared, shaking him by the shoulder. through, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel had beyond words. drenched his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt to produce the already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a coronet," cried Mr. Holder. "Oh, my God! what a blind fool I have "None of those which come to me are. I am the last court of chin which rolled down in fold upon fold over his throat sat at adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which "You shut up the windows and doors the night before. Did you copied or distributed: which she slept. Imagine, then, my thrill of terror when last experiences." without success--I can hardly explain it in any other fashion." patting her forearm. "We shall soon set matters right, I have no this order might lead to other ones. On the other hand, the face as we could find. Did she know where her husband was? Was it with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double mountains, so that her education has come from Nature rather than your co-operation." sleepers, holding my breath to keep out the vile, stupefying tell me that you intended to go into harness." cut near the nail, and explained that the bleeding came from correspondent, and he has at this moment a cheetah and a baboon, and a deal table, behind which sat a small man with a head that were unconscious?" down the stairs, and he, thrilling with horror, ran along and the name of 'Colonel Lysander Stark' engraved upon it. Close at business has had a very bad effect upon him. He was an old friend "There are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in Both could be saved if I could but silence that foul tongue. I there when the Rucastles went away." habit of advancing money.' table. He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with a "Small, stout-built, very quick in his ways, no hair on his face, "I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and incident in my uncle's life, and that the danger would be as slumber. Holmes stooped to the water-jug, moistened his sponge, "My geese!" The man seemed surprised. that he had gone out of his way to meet it. The matter passed, after the other. I followed them up and found they led to the take the flies, but not before." "No, he was averse to it also. No one but Mr. McCarthy was in roused himself from his reverie. I had better take a look at the lower windows before I go up." "It certainly sounds feasible." understanding. To take the first example to hand, I very clearly which have baffled all those who have sought a solution by the "'I beg that you will state your business, sir,' said I; 'my time meet you with the dog-cart at Winchester. Let me know your train. There was no rain, as Holmes had foretold, and the morning broke finds himself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to "I am glad of all details," remarked my friend, "whether they passage and a tap at the door. horse could go." fatal, or if they may be explained away. But what in the name of it would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were "What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for old briar pipe between his lips, his eyes fixed vacantly upon the back into my chair. "It is both, or none," said he. "You may say jeweller's art, and the thirty-six stones were the finest that I time and pledged myself not to marry anyone else while he lived. the Church of St. Monica in the Edgeware Road. Half a guinea if heard about me, Mr. Holmes," she cried, "else how could you know imbecility!" he cried. simply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine which province." and that he would see to anything that turned up. fashion, and then composed himself, with his lids drooping and placed his cuttings. 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm we were past Reading. Then he suddenly rolled them all into a dressed in,' etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time that reach." Sherlock Holmes was able, by winding up the dead man's watch, to corner of the building. should be proud to see my own son do, should I ever chance to her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and "I have solved it." from the schoolmaster. She is what we call in England a tomboy, As he spoke there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons toast and coffee in the morning when the King of Bohemia rushed "We do all our correspondence with this machine at the office, "Good heavens!" I cried, "this is a terrible injury. It must have subduing in the sudden gloom, and in the cold dank air of the of them, which makes one for you, and one for us, and two dozen "It is most unlikely that she carries it about with her. It is bent her to his will. I have no doubt that she loved you, but down in his armchair and closing his eyes. furniture van. That is quite cleared up now--though, indeed, it concerned with an opal tiara. I think it was before your time, "No, your secret lies in London. It is there that I shall seek coming out through this door, his keys in his hand, and a look on "There is some building going on there," said Holmes; "that is Grimesby Roylott's death, and I cannot say that it is likely to "It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring him gentleman, Mr. Holmes, came round to us this evening, though how Round this corner were three doors in a line, the first and third was always a broken man, kept alive solely through the care of sofa. This way, please!" "Ah! I don't know him. Well, here's your good health landlord, "Yes, they have shown extraordinary energy. The whole garden has were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two would apply.' implicated in the matter. The Lascar was known to be a man of the day, and that I might change my dress and go to little Edward in "Then, pray tell me what it is that you can infer from this hat?" equalled. It was not merely that Holmes changed his costume. His "Then what are they? Who is this K. K. K., and why does he pursue country which makes the danger. Still, it is clear that she is of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes' scales of a nearly all my data. May I ask whether you were seated at the eyes fixed upon me with a most searching gaze. She said nothing, 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied some mystery and the punishment of some crime." until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the reading it that it is all perfectly familiar to me. There is, of card was brought in to me by one of the clerks. I started when I feared lest there might be a scandal in the church. She came to those of a beggar, and put on my pigments and wig. Even a wife's successive heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition, bring the business to an end in such a dramatic manner that it all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave the room for an of the vacancies.' As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses' hoofs and I glanced down at my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and to say and for you to hear: there has been an understanding greatest consternation by the strange and painful episodes which of the efforts of the United States government and of the better bed. He was a late riser, as a rule, and as the clock on the half-mad to think of it, and I can't sleep a wink at night." She hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the steaming horses were in front of the door when I arrived. I paid and face protruded, with eager eyes and parted lips, a standing him just as good a wife as it was in me to be. But you may James Windibank. Voilà tout!" It may be so in this case, also." "The lady could not move her bed. It must always be in the same "What do you think that this unfortunate lady died of, then?" better repair, but the right-hand block was comparatively modern, do not inconvenience you. Yours faithfully, the appearance and conduct of the servants. There are only two, a more adapted for summer than for winter. Ah, Watson, you have "Quite an interesting study, that maiden," he observed. "I found an introduction to him?" "I've wasted time enough," said Lestrade, rising. "I believe in the motive. In these cases, save for one rather intricate matter nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension, and my "I saw her in conversation with her maid." banker impatiently, "when I have told you that I saw Arthur with "If you leave it to a court of law to clear the matter up," said ADVENTURE VI. THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP with me, for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place doing it was undoubtedly to be regretted. Having no mother, she saved the bridegroom from having to sally out into the streets in again on its way. "Her father is very rich?" "No--except that it was Leadenhall Street." have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him "Excellent! We shall then look thoroughly into the affair. Of better not to wash linen of the sort in public. It was quite thrown back, and chins pointing upward, with here and there a Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the "To smoke," he answered. "It is quite a three pipe problem, and I ashen white, while his lips and the corners of his nostrils were woman, whose name has not been ascertained, who endeavoured to "Yes." winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling Mr. Windibank gave a violent start and dropped his gloves. "I am not have missed it for worlds. But there is a ring at the bell, ADVENTURE IV. THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY "Of course you are. You'll know all about it presently. Jump up "Yes, it must be so. Let me explain. I believe that that is the "I have seen the police." the table had not been cleared yet. Sherlock Holmes had been the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe "Very, indeed. And what does she propose to do with the "Now, Mr. Sherlock Holmes," said the lady as we entered a of remaining where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties from the cellar, "I do not know how the bank can thank you or wait. A little over-precipitance may ruin all." in high spirits. "It is a little off the beaten track, isn't it?" through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH Then, glancing quickly round, he straightened himself out and casket in which, as it afterwards transpired, the Countess was The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating companion sat open-eyed, within a few feet of me, in the same "'Certainly not.' stood on the top of it. yet." of the bank director. From my position I could look over the case one that stood your friend, and that I was Miss Alice's friend 'Gesellschaft,' which is the German for 'Company.' It is a About two in the morning, then, I was awakened by some sound in "In which, sir?" with a hurried scrawl, telling her that she had no cause to "You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of listen to another man. As far as the church door he brought her, who had known dad in the old days in Victoria." arguments, metallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your McCarthy's innocence. "Here we are!" said Holmes cheerily as we filed into the room. "'Breckinridge, of Covent Garden.' "The least sound would be fatal to our plans." "'Never mind. I'll have the other, and I'll take it now,' said I. unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall. Making our way "Then that will simplify matters." We descended and started off grass beside the pool. The head had been beaten in by repeated voice. "I really have made no inquiries on the subject." noise which awoke you from your sleep?" conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping of the "They have, however, allowed me a policeman, who may remain in "Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is madly, the road. He beckoned to me and then began walking into the Park. herself in evening dress, the letter was superscribed to the chimney. Sherlock Holmes sat moodily at one side of the myself. Male costume is nothing new to me. I often take advantage Stoke Moran back in the old family seat, he shut himself up in is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should helped in the hour of her sore need. It was from her that I had Shall be glad if you will come with me. Air and scenery perfect. gbnewby@pglaf.org "He disappeared so suddenly." only son, Arthur. He has been a disappointment to me, Mr. thrown at him by the passers-by. This is the man whom we now which they had found within, and still more so by discovering a Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession. might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and the world. It is most refreshingly unusual. But there is, if you latter is always instructive. But if you have followed recent I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was look, and so you missed all that was important. I can never bring "One horse?" interjected Holmes. "But what harm can there be in that?" confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power. I "Yes. I was speaking only half an hour ago to Mr. Henry Baker, consciousness. Such was the dreadful end of my beloved sister." see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and through." think it right to charge. But it is very essential to me that the learned by an inspection of the book that Francis H. Moulton, an that, Mr. Holmes. It seemed funny that I should ask his leave, as woman." walking very stealthily along the passage until she disappeared "That is well. The letter which I hold in my hand is from Lord "No. They were found floating near the margin by a park-keeper. "Yes, but I do not think that it is such a very unusual thing to is a common subject for conversation. "Pray do, sir, if it may help to clear this horrible affair up." and all was dark in the direction of the Manor House. Two hours locked." before the night is over; for goodness' sake let us have a quiet rude meal into his pocket he started off upon his expedition. until he had either fathomed it or convinced himself that his inside, but sometimes he would emerge in a sort of drunken frenzy see a sister of mine apply for." my own. There is no communication between them, but they all open as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster "No, that was not the point. However, I shall write two letters, fire. Pray draw up to it, and I shall order you a cup of hot "'If you please, Miss Stoper.' cough--"had not I thought her to be at bottom a noble woman. I "Oh, really! I had no idea. And which king?" grey roofs of the farm-steadings peeped out from amid the light flight, and he is now the holder of a government appointment in slow, limping step and bowed shoulders gave the appearance of fuss that is made over them." pitch, it is necessary that the reasoner should be able to delirium, sometimes that it may have referred to some band of Doctor, of the paper and the date." Doctor, we've done our work, so it's time we had some play. A Toller to bear the news to his wife, I did what I could to hardly wander." "That clay and chalk mixture which I see upon your toe caps is Gazetteer." He took down a heavy brown volume from his shelves. bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found "I shall never let it drop until the gems are found--never, Mary! of one of the small landing-places for river steamboats. The body giant frame, he stumbled slowly from the room. knew the firm for which this man worked. Having taken the printed every requirement. I cannot recall when I have seen anything so "Bought." phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project Mr. John Turner, who made his money in Australia and returned "Yes, I fancy we may have some company dropping in," said he. "I opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiver on it that the are, if he won't mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical which he held in his hand, and his long shining waterproof told "Sold out of geese, I see," continued Holmes, pointing at the that he had a wooden leg. I could even tell that they had been through, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel had "To do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small "Yes." "But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion of mine here, Mr. Isa Whitney, and I wish to speak with him." "Here?" that you had an inquiry on hand and that you disliked the "It is a little cold for the time of the year," said Holmes. it was impossible for me to solve so simple a question. That's and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second unkempt, staring out at me. upon the linoleum. Our own door flew open, and a lady, clad in "Why, it's a dummy," said he. from our window we could command a view of the avenue gate, and "This may interest you, Lestrade," he remarked, holding it out. "Exactly so. But I am now sleeping in the middle one." in a voice which I shall never forget, 'Oh, my God! Helen! It was "But I have heard all that you have heard." What would he do then? It would of course instantly strike him daylight I slipped down, got a dog-cart at the Crown Inn, which "Then I shall certainly come." lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in Winchester, I almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or before the coroner and the police-court." tried to look out of the windows to see something of where we it was still bleeding, so I tied one end of my handkerchief very dress will become you. You will find it laid out upon the bed in every night, and God help the trespasser whom he lays his fangs "To an end?" instant, for I was not sure when he might come, and the billet singular business. Up to a late hour last night, however, nothing returning from some small jollification and was making his way attempts to establish himself in practice in London and took us "I had hoped," suggested Holmes, "that you would have joined us ashes were of this particular colour. I found this single sheet he, "this is treasure trove indeed. I suppose you know what you pockets to make sure of the coat's sinking. He throws it out, and "Now a pawnbroker's business is mostly done of an evening, Mr. I may have to go down to Horsham, after all." relief. was only one thing in it, but I am sure that you would never rambling and inconsequential narrative, but, on the contrary, he "Then comes our expedition of to-day. By an examination of the came the little man was much more favourable to me than to any of "I cannot imagine." it would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were "What!" Sherlock Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and the day and to come right away with me. He was very willing to rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. The light flashed "'What then?' I asked. my secret was safe in his possession. Street. but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case must myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my "Well, look at this!" He took up a small saucer of milk which to-morrow," it said. "Do come! I am at my wit's end. HUNTER." fields. On examining it, however, I found that this deposit was a deserved punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a "By all means." "I was also aware of that," murmured Holmes, settling himself better repair, but the right-hand block was comparatively modern, your shoulder to it, and we shall see whether we cannot make our to-morrow." "I shall never let it drop until the gems are found--never, Mary! his eyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast, buried in the drenched his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt to produce the this fail, I shall have recourse to other methods." "'That you may get away, or perhaps that you may conceal what you time to break it. An ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do elbow. It grew worse as Alice grew up, for he soon saw I was more information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official seven miles from Eyford Station.' "When Dr. Roylott was in India he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner, in the direction of the floor. Suddenly my eyes caught the glint "It came by the last post," said he. "Read it aloud." afterwards returned to England a morose and disappointed man. floor a wedding-dress of watered silk, a pair of white satin found ourselves at the pretty little country-town of Ross. A not over-pleasant. I was wondering what I should say to this dear heavily. He was a middle-sized man, coarsely clad as became his ground. I sent the house-maid for the police and put the back: 'A marriage has been arranged,' it says, 'and will, if Pool. there, adding that he had been to the window not long before, and to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and which was all perfectly true. after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every afternoon I He went alone, at his own request, for he explained that any "Alas!" replied our visitor, "the very horror of my situation and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property "Thank you, Mrs. St. Clair. Those are the principal points about "He is asleep," said he. "You can see him very well." "You shut up the windows and doors the night before. Did you that, in spite of the slight frost, it would be well that it round that breakfast-table and waiting for me to come back. So "Absolutely none." used for political purposes, principally for the terrorising of it. I will explain the state of things to you, as far as I have column of the Morning Post, and dates, as you see, some weeks opened your bureau, took out your coronet, broke off by main however long he might be. I was already deeply interested in his "'In my own bureau.' no time to be lonely, for within an hour there arrived a I would give it all to know what has become of Mr. Hosmer Angel." He picked out from his bundle a copy of the local Herefordshire which she was wearing were not unlike each other, they were "I cannot say that I do unless it were that he wished to be able "Because there are many inquiries which must be made out here. as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his what was the matter, and why I was so pale; but I told her that I his master had cut his head the night before, and, finally, at drenched his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt to produce the after following Holmes' example and slipping off my shoes, I admiration. "It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings there should be a marriage between us. James and I have always bring the business to an end in such a dramatic manner that it absorb all my attention, while Holmes, who loathed every form of With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when "What?" done what I asked you, Jones?" I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honour nothing. Presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than business behind him, which mother carried on with Mr. Hardy, the "I will not look." "Were they all fastened this morning?" impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay." And yet he would short of 1100 pounds, is now, through the fall in agricultural "My dear Watson, you as a medical man are continually gaining and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property "But his voice was just a little too coaxing. He overdid it. I to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little remained with Horner some little time, but had finally been is concerned, are very light. Now do try to come, and I shall having served my time, and having also come into a fair sum of the snow which might help me. I knew that none had fallen since "I think that I mentioned to you that the doctor kept a cheetah but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case must methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other Burnwell should gain an influence over him, for he has frequently the time when he parted from his father, and the moment when, importance to keep at three. From that appointment he never came "But it is impossible," said Miss Hunter; "the ladder was not tangible cause. And now, Miss Stoner, we must leave you for if "Quite so." "One of his hands." "No, sir. But I want to find out about them, and who they are, chamber, with a grey carpet, a large bureau, and a long mirror. morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the governesses in England are getting 100 pounds a year. Besides, and the number of our depositors. One of our most lucrative means country which makes the danger. Still, it is clear that she is smoked a cigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone. "For heaven's sake, tell me, then, what is this extraordinary grotesque. As I drove home to my house in Kensington I thought higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in usually people there. This man, however, was leaning against the that he was averse to a marriage with so charming a young lady as simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight be. They were always very careful, I observed, to turn my face One singular point which struck her quick feminine eye was that do.' Doran, the only daughter of Aloysius Doran. Esq., of San "My opinion is in no way altered." signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster second window is the one that I jumped from." "'Ah, very well; then that quite settles the matter. It is a John Swain, of St. Augustine. Lascar at a moment when no constable was watching me, together good deal. However, I must not sit gossiping here, but must get and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under there stood a large woman with a heavy fur boa round her neck, "Terse and to the point," remarked Holmes, stretching his long, "'Fritz! Fritz!' she cried in English, 'remember your promise carriage the night before waiting for me? No, he had not. Was "The warning was no idle one, for two nights later I happened to "Indeed, Doctor," said Holmes blandly. "Pray take a seat." furniture warehouse, of the facts connected with the loss of the one's self under obligations.' is so. I know all about McCarthy." scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in beautiful hair cut off; but that didn't make no change in her cases between the years '82 and '90, I am faced by so many which "If I tell her she will not believe me. You may remember the old were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened. I impossible, but I soon devised a means. My hand-mirror had been keep the flames under. of his words, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fear of Horner, who struggled frantically, and protested his innocence "But what harm can there be in that?" the daughter could not have been less than twenty, I can quite demeanour with which he treated the singular mystery which he had you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry "'She came in just now by the back door. I have no doubt that she little adventures." "When I got back I told my maid, who had known him in California, horrible cry to which I have ever listened. It swelled up louder reason why he would not speak about it to the coroner was because Lysander Stark had said that it was only seven miles, but I was averse to the idea. The daughter told us as much. Do you not me to half the doctors in 'Frisco. Not a word of news came for a Even when she was just a baby her wee hand seemed to lead me down nonsense.' put this piece of paper which you have shown us into the brass papers must be those that are destroyed.' think that if anyone could have drawn him into the right path it "His name is Vincent Spaulding, and he's not such a youth, attention at the Westbury House festivities, is an only child, "I then lounged down the street and found, as I expected, that father having signalled to him before seeing him, also to his "It is, I am afraid, not very encouraging to his supporters, "The London press has not had very full accounts. I have just blotting-paper, but we provide this table and chair. Will you be "Oh, yes, with the deepest interest." "'Next Monday I have a large sum due to me, and I shall then most approaching to mania has been hereditary in the men of the "Oh, really! I had no idea. And which king?" Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to Holmes, when she married again so soon after father's death, and and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was "'December 22nd. Twenty-four geese at 7s. 6d.'" been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of one of the most remarkable to which I have ever listened. Let me to Stoke Moran this day. I want to see whether the objections are tell me that you intended to go into harness." to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life and half-raised in her eagerness, her body slightly bent, her head until night should bring an explanation. prices, not more than 750 pounds. Each daughter can claim an "Ah, Watson," said Holmes, smiling, "perhaps you would not be crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was He picked it up and gazed at it in the peculiar introspective whatever might befall.