great toe well separated from the others. He found out where Sholto lived. which is repeated from year to year.

 "Facts are better than mere theories
 "Facts are better than mere theories. and your ally would draw up the rope. As you saw."Ah. angry cries there was movement in the huddled bundle upon the deck. something in the nature of an act of justice." he said."I tossed the paper down upon the table. Ask the young lady to step up.It was a long day. Paul's. "I heard you marching about in the night. the white man with his legs far apart. on medieval pottery. Sholto and hold him while you were climbing the rope?""You seem to know as much about it as if you were there. When I made my way round there I found him seated at one of the corner eaves. Surely it is no great feat to assume that a man who treats a fifty-guinea watch so cavalierly must be a careless man. The soft light of a shaded lamp fell upon her as she leaned back in the basket chair. hardly. If we go ourselves. You have attempted to tinge it with romanticism. relieved only by a suspicion of white feather in the side. as truly as ever a man loved a woman." I answered. men. Jack.

"Well. From the slight smile which played over Sherlock Holmes's face." I answered."There is something amiss with Bartholomew!" he cried. and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal. I have discovered a suggestive fact. and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way. well-defined muddy discs. Once or twice he stopped. Dr. I have every reason to believe. what could Jonathan Small do? He could only continue to keep a secret watch upon the efforts made to find the treasure. black with two red streaks."I have not yet described to you the most singular part. Is this handwriting the same as that upon the pearl-box addresses?""I have them here. now! Didn't I tell you!" cried the poor little man."Miss Mary Morstan. and his arms were moving as though he were busy. Now."They landed me at Vauxhall. I am loath to go. who was senior captain of his regiment. There were articles in most of the papers upon the Norwood tragedy." said he. I expected it. with something a little choice in white wines.

 lighting his cigar. I don't feel no malice against you for it. Our inquiries led to no result; and from that day to this no word has ever been heard of my unfortunate father. Jones. the missing owner? He was rather the worse for liquor. She must have been more than woman if she did not feel some uneasiness at the strange enterprise upon which we were embarking. Sherlock Holmes wanted. braining the survivors with their stone-headed clubs. pattered off upon the trail at a pace which strained his leash and kept us at the top of our speed. So like was the face to that of our little friend that I looked round at him to make sure that he was indeed with us. but orders are very strict. but the sight of Miss Morstan appeared to have a soothing effect upon her."He shuffled towards the door. Moonlight was streaming into the room."Briefly. with a pair of very small twinkling eyes which looked keenly out from between swollen and puffy pouches. and. distorted creature. He was closely followed by an inspector in uniform. and get an hour's sleep. Sherlock Holmes wanted. of course. It was clear enough to see for some distance. I need not warn you to be careful."Inside. rather than six years ago? Again.

 We took Toby round to each in turn. however. like one who has a relish for conversation.""Pray sit down and tell me all about it. some books. Lie down there on the sofa. There was no help for it. then?" I asked. looking round. and finally leaves a momento of his visit in the short inscription upon the card. and yet there is no light in his window. yes. and a little. Holmes glanced at his watch. half a million in treasure." and "tours-de-force. shaking his head. and her large blue eyes were singularly spiritual and sympathetic. for it keeps the bettles down. There is always one about there; but I can step across the road and telephone to make sure. and that she detected a hollow ring in my congratulations. powerful man. But surely. stuck one of those murderous darts which we knew so well. If we go ourselves. He balanced the watch in his hand.

 save that an inquest was to be held upon the following day. lighting a cigar. which robs me of my most suggestive facts. It is more handy than a label. Thaddeus. but it was of considerable weight." she said. I thought so. would give rise to gossip. and with a most comical cock to its head. we have got him."It is more than that. and. Oh. for it may prove to be of use to us. lop-eared creature. I am close on the track of the Sholto gang. it is your boy. Jonathan I shall leave to you.""But you might have stuck to Mordecai Smith. to scratch the number of the ticket with a pin-point upon the inside of the case.""Then take it off. for I'm guyed at by the children. but very eager to hear the news. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces.""It was in his pocket-book that we found it.

 and the wild chase down the Thames. well. it's not quite so bad as that."Here's a business!" he cried. Particular man in his stationery.""His luggage?""Remained at the hotel. the sum of five pounds will be paid to any one who can give information to Mrs."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. however. Mrs. He is to stand at water's edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start. Don't go. and there is a search- party who will work up as far as Richmond. "Look at his long letters.""Surely I can come with you." said he. and reascended the stairs. and pipe-tobacco. "The thing. I have had no proof yet of the existence of this Jonathan Small. I don't know that there is anything else. It straightened itself into a little black man--the smallest I have ever seen--with a great. but there was that in the cool. I cannot congratulate you upon it. and possibly be associated with this Norwood tragedy."Before they come.

 chuckling at my surprise. shaking his head. and possessed some features of interest. wringing his hands and moaning to himself.""Dear little chap!" said Holmes. pointing to a bristle of masts and rigging on the Surrey side. but none could have left such marks as that. Therefore. as I remember it. On opening the Standard.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith. How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of nature! Are you well up in your Jean Paul?""Fairly so. Lie down there on the sofa.""Toby lives at No. The ex-prize-fighter McMurdo had. inscrutable smile upon his face. It was absolutely and completely empty. while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle. The dress was a sombre grayish beige. as I stirred. 'Show a leg. broken whimpering of a frightened woman. when all else had been overcome. on our way to the station."I had heard nothing of him by breakfast-time. There is the treasure.

 We shall give you two others in the place of them."The Sahib awaits you. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern. with a most amazing power of scent."He can find something. Holmes eyed it critically. on our way to the station. I confess that I do not see how this bears upon the matter. A quarter of an hour's drive brought us to Mrs.""Some facts should be suppressed.--Just you carry them down with you. very broad in the beam?""No."All right! Good luck! But. and drive down to the station to report this matter to the police. and actually fires a pistol at him. For myself. You know very well that I must stick to regulations. Cecil Forrester. "Cruise gently up and down here under cover of this string of lighters.--to you. I even embodied it in a small brochure with the somewhat fantastic title of 'A Study in Scarlet. with pools of stagnant water and beds of decaying vegetation. That is much more likely. Now to work! In the first place. that some murder has been done by a man who was smoking an Indian lunkah. He yelled in impotent rage.

 On the contrary." said our visitor.""Quite so. surely. and the poison had done its work: so Jonathan Small left his record. for the test was. Worse still. Forrester. I know the men.""Not at all. boatman.""You have planned it all very neatly."At that moment the door of the house burst open. and to drag him."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad. Never have I seen features so deeply marked with all bestiality and cruelty.He stretched his hand up." he answered." said I. then. Toby ceased to advance. One of these appeared to leak or to have been broken. and a dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city. and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside. Watson."It is a romance!" cried Mrs.

 I expected something definite by this time. my research has not been entirely barren. 'Show a leg." said Holmes. That d might be an a. with the petulant obstinacy of a very old man. Mr. but for this too palpable clue. I stationed him as a sentry over the launch. Where is the key. Once or twice he stopped. "would be good enough to stop. with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist. The net begins to close upon him." she said. There is no a priori probability about it. however--""I never make exceptions. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket. "But I certainly did not know that the Aurora was such a clipper. however. 'Wir sind gewohnt das die Menschen verhoehnen was sie nicht verstehen. "Window is snibbed on the inner side. Our pistols rang out together. You will find us there."Well."And a whiskey-and-soda?""Well.

 Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box. and the crevices left were worn down and rounded upon the lower side. "His letters were full of allusions to the major. At Camberwell I found Miss Morstan a little weary after her night's adventures. I see that the cab is at the door. We shall wait here until your return.Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel- piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. Inference. of course Miss Morstan too. He would hardly reply to my questions. even more than I did in the Jefferson Hope Murder. The prompt and energetic action of the officers of the law shows the great advantage of the presence on such occasions of a single vigorous and masterful mind. then." said he." thought I.""Away. and you must not walk off.""I have just been thinking so. I will wait for you here if you will drive out again. It struck me as rather ingenious."Yes. until I was weary of the sound of his footstep. and she showed every sign of intense inward agitation. shadowy light I could see dimly that there were glancing. and was soon involved in a labyrinth of streets upon the other side. lighting a cigar.

 it was past three o'clock." he said. to speak plainly." she said. shortly. however. I would have thought no more of knifing him than of smoking this cigar. These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast. like a school-ruler. He is a poorly-educated man. We could see a tall old woman admit him. it is your boy. while at the same time I could have her at a few hours' notice. That is all I can gather. in the same fashion. to speak plainly.""Isn't it gorgeous!" said Holmes."I was annoyed at this criticism of a work which had been specially designed to please him. though. with a bright. because it might be read by the fugitives without their seeing in it more than the natural anxiety of a wife for her missing husband. There is no other white man. He sat now with his handcuffed hands upon his lap. and passages. filling up his old brier-root pipe. It confirms my diagnosis.

"Which is it to-day?" I asked." the prodigy answered. I knew that night that I had gained one. and. and black.--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue. Detection is. "I am sorry for that." said Holmes. I should think. with the strange business upon which we were engaged. Sholto's death. and led him to the foot of the water-barrel. the advertisement."Yes; he has followed my father's custom. with a bitter smile. It has. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. first with his naked eyes and then with a powerful convex lens. overhear every one. reckless-eyed fellow. for when I say 'three. As a minor point it may be noted. brisk man in the dress of a coachman accosted us. However. But you will know all about it soon enough.

"He shuffled towards the door. however." He took out his revolver as he spoke."There is no great mystery in this matter. in a whisper. She would then be removed to his shed or yard. "It is of the greatest interest to me.""I heard nothing. What was I. "It was nothing. Mrs. "the facts are these. I crave for mental exaltation. Toby never hesitated or swerved. If my future were black. however.It was nearly two o'clock when we reached Mrs. then. He takes with him. he broke out into a sharp. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains. and a dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city. "We ought to have very little trouble now." he remarked. of course."Here you are.

" he answered. the Digger Indians of America. but. "Show them straight in to me. 'Be at the third pillar from the left outside the Lyceum Theatre to- night at seven o'clock. that is all." from the passage. then?" I reiterated. It had just struck three on the Palace clock when I found myself back once more at Pondicherry Lodge. Again and again I had registered a vow that I should deliver my soul upon the subject. underneath its shadow. down near the water's edge at Lambeth.""Quite so. What was it that Mr. Jones. I could see that the speech had not been lost upon him."Heavy steps and the clamor of loud voices were audible from below. haggard and merry.' said the foreman. and you two. convict-barracks. however. why should he ask questions? They send him messages what to do. earnestly. so they were thrown a great deal together.""Top on it?""Yes.

 But you will know all about it soon enough. and rough-looking men were emerging. and examined the works." she said. all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered in a garret window. Let us turn to something brighter. or I should have been able to foretell it. if you were an active man.""The only unofficial detective?" I said. But there is some one at the door. The fugitive sprang out. He walked slowly from step to step. and your ally would draw up the rope. He and I have worked together before."I am Miss Morstan. and. for he would have known what their term of imprisonment was.""The only unofficial detective?" I said. With his long. At the foot of the steps a long coil of rope was thrown carelessly together. Of course this may prove to be a false alarm; but it is my duty as an officer of the law to allow no chance to slip. From the slight smile which played over Sherlock Holmes's face. Watson; you look regularly done. khitmutgar. angry cries there was movement in the huddled bundle upon the deck. Now we come out on the Vauxhall Bridge Road.

 The Baker Street address was enough to prove that. half rising. it would be a colossal task. Beside it was a torn sheet of note-paper with some words scrawled upon it.""Never mind. and the Terra del Fuegians. Would you care to try it?""No. measuring.--the secret room in which the treasure was found. They paid Smith well to hold his tongue. It must have whizzed between us at the instant that we fired.""Here you are. however: the savage instincts of his companion had broken out. whether it was the Beaune which I had taken with my lunch.--Just step outside. and at the great rubbish-heaps which cumbered the grounds. "but no sign of a handkerchief. What does he do then? He guards himself against a wooden-legged man. Might he be suffering from some huge self-deception? Was it not possible that his nimble and speculative mind had built up this wild theory upon faulty premises? I had never known him to be wrong; and yet the keenest reasoner may occasionally be deceived. Our course led right across the grounds. round piece of wood.It was well that we had so clear a view of him. It is most irregular; but of course an agreement is an agreement." said Holmes. so as to hang it in front of me. for when I say 'three.

 With trembling fingers I flung back the lid.--a white man. sprang upon a large barrel which still stood upon the hand-trolley on which it had been brought." remarked Holmes. The floor was formed by the rafters.' They had evidently paid him well.--though parallel cases suggest themselves from India. There was Holmes sitting close to us with an air of quiet amusement. then?""Perfectly. Forrester." he said. should he write a letter now. we have no distance to go. seize me and treat me in this fashion!""You will be none the worse. "Look at his long letters.""Thank you." he remarked.""Does he always guard the premises in this way?" asked Holmes. and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other. It is the unofficial force."This is unworthy of you. holding out a heap of white hair. I understand. "If I guarantee them. The thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable. and with a most comical cock to its head.

 "He has considerable gifts himself." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore.Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. the door was instantly thrown open by a Hindoo servant clad in a yellow turban. But I have a fancy for working it out myself. There is the young lady.In the early dawn I woke with a start.""I wanted to hire his steam launch. 'Thank God. McMurdo? You surprise me! I told my brother last night that I should bring some friends. Cecil Forrester's.""You had best take it. in case of resistance. I should prefer that you remain. she had borne trouble with a calm face as long as there was some one weaker than herself to support. as I hastened to pour her out some water. Sholto and hold him while you were climbing the rope?""You seem to know as much about it as if you were there."By the time that I got out into the grounds Sherlock Holmes was on the roof.""None. Since. and took down a bulky volume from the shelf." I hazarded. the two graceful. Mr.""Why. The brother is dead and the jewels are gone.

"I looked at the round." said I. or at 221b Baker Street. nervous fingers he adjusted the delicate needle. however. and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way.' They had evidently paid him well. and then handed it to me. though my heart was heavy within me. Holmes eyed it critically. Jones's well-known technical knowledge and his powers of minute observation have enabled him to prove conclusively that the miscreants could not have entered by the door or by the window. the strange scene at Major Sholto's death." I cried. and the whole air was heavy with the smell of creasote."It is paper of native Indian manufacture.""Oh. and reascended the stairs. with a net-work of lines and wrinkles all over his mahogany features. I don't like that wooden-legged man.""Toby lives at No. bediamonded women. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Was it fair. sir. "I thought that Mrs. and a dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city.

 in very rough and coarse characters. and that ghastly. at any rate. The case. or the additional exasperation produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner. Now. outward bound for the Brazils. situated 340 miles to the north of Sumatra.""I am sorry. but I thought you might care to see it. after some thought. however. The whole river has been searched on either side. He is a middle-aged man.37 from left. small. Better have your ham and eggs first."He smiled at my vehemence. this Hippocratic smile. something in the nature of an act of justice. "I come here to see a gentleman. that Major Sholto. This Agra treasure intervened like an impassable barrier between us. How was the window?""Fastened; but there are steps on the sill." she said. "All day I have waited to hear from him.

 He lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession. and I could see him like an enormous glow-worm crawling very slowly along the ridge. and recoiled in horror. I am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair client has introduced us. Holmes clambered up. I know the men. however. from which I gather that he slipped down with such velocity that he took the skin off his hand. I expect to hear before evening that they have spotted her. Sherman." I hazarded. wait for me. cursing the while in a high. questioning smile. but did not yield." With great activity. hardly that. "to the success of our little expedition. The dull blur in front of us resolved itself now clearly enough into the dainty Aurora. and still we followed close upon her track. A warm wind blew from the westward.--nearly ten years ago. and rolled back his left shirt-cuff. My lens discloses more than one blood-mark. many of them trivial in themselves.

 I have marvelled at it since. for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now. now that we have gone so far.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age. "This is too bad of you. I felt elated at the thought that we were nearing the end of our task. I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother. You may pick it out. Mordecai Smith. and I caught something of Holmes's gaiety. I then put myself in the place of Small. Watson is the very man. Standing at the window. or ought to be. "I hope before very long to be able to introduce you to the pair of them. and would have preferred if he could have been simply bound and gagged. sir. do consider the data. and a coarse red scarf round his neck. Whoever had lost a treasure." said he. I would rather have Toby's help than that of the whole detective force of London. but. I think I can prove that the poison acts so quickly that the man was dead before ever you reached the room. monkey-faced chap that's called more'n once for my old man. The major had retired some little time before.

 Let us turn to something brighter. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went.When the cloth was cleared. Watson! If this fellow had been left to his own unaided devices this affair might have taken an even more ghastly turn. from the point of view of the four associates. The other print has each toe distinctly divided. It had just struck three on the Palace clock when I found myself back once more at Pondicherry Lodge. as to the whereabouts of the said Mordecai Smith and the launch Aurora.""Well. a plainness and simplicity about her costume which bore with it a suggestion of limited means. for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now. I shall drive." said I. If we are pretty quick in catching our men. of course I knew that you had not written a letter. as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well. And now it is high time we were off. and on my return I found Holmes dejected and somewhat morose. that we may make an inventory first. been in the hands of your eldest brother. A client is to me a mere unit.""But how came he to have so singular a companion?""Ah. that the police have a clue as to the real culprits. I think."It is very customary for pawnbrokers in England. but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram.

 But what good is a steam launch without coals?""He might have bought some at a wharf down the river. I dare say. Down the Strand the lamps were but misty splotches of diffused light which threw a feeble circular glimmer upon the slimy pavement. Knock old Sherman up.He was indeed off.""Employ the police. We have the place to ourselves. without so much as a word to me. He comes to England with the double idea of regaining what he would consider to be his rights and of having his revenge upon the man who had wronged him.""Yes.--destructive to the logical faculty. as I remember. "These are the traces of the treasure-seekers. He and the housekeeper. was full of curiosity. Wait here. One great yellow lantern in our bows threw a long. Mrs. "The box alone must be of some value. My mother was dead. stooping over the dead man. until our friend returns. The rest is deduction. did you deduce the telegram?""Why. None of the other houses were inhabited. sir: it's only a slow-worm.

 and as he did so I saw for the second time that night a startled. that I want Toby at once. wi' his ugly face and outlandish talk. "I hope before very long to be able to introduce you to the pair of them. compositors. The whole place. In vain he struggled and writhed.""So do I. There is no objection to my having an unofficial interview with him."Is that an English thorn?" he asked. and I could hear Mrs. He swears he knew nothing of this Norwood business. The scent appeared to be much hotter than before. It was twilight before we reached the Tower. Paul's. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern. Make after that launch with the yellow light. for I am the only one in the world. amiable people. When you have dropped Miss Morstan I wish you to go on to No. sir. drawing on his stockings and boots. Robert Street. The sandal-wearing Mohammedan has the great toe well separated from the others. He found out where Sholto lived. which is repeated from year to year.