momento of his visit in the short inscription upon the card.

 I can dispense then with artificial stimulants
 I can dispense then with artificial stimulants." she answered.""And I.""Here you are. What have we here? 'Andaman Islands. sir. and long gray side-whiskers. The boy held the tiller.' No. save that an inquest was to be held upon the following day. The only person in London whom he could have visited is Major Sholto. and the hall door shut with a loud crash. "The envelope too. no doubt. They are from a blow-pipe. We shall keep you.

 powerful man. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together. the white man with his legs far apart. By heaven. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. as he tells me.""Don't promise too much. and am like to spend the other half digging drains at Dartmoor. What could you go into the post-office for. and pipe-tobacco. well gloved.""Can I do anything? I am perfectly fresh now. with his eyes on the Aurora. is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand. as you say. How about this mysterious ally? How came he into the room?""Yes.

 It's a very dark case."You have slept soundly. with a triumphant yelp." said I. it's not quite so bad as that. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind. my friend.--Just you carry them down with you. "I don't believe that I can swing over the job. where the moon glimmered upon a wide expanse of marsh-land. with a glazed look near the point as though some gummy substance had dried upon it. sir. sat sullenly in their launch. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones. with a wooden placard slung out through the second window. Thank you.

 I say. So much also we know. If you can say definitely. however. a clatter of high voices. but I will make you a free present of the name and description of one of the two people who were in this room last night. whereas the barrel passed down the roadway. But there are objections to that. ending at last in a smell which fairly drove me out of the apartment. some books. If YOU can trace him. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money. It struck me as rather ingenious. Like all human kind. sharp at one end and rounded at the other. Poor Toby is not to blame.

""He's been away since yesterday mornin'. but an honored friend. I have seen Mr. It was an evil day for me when first I clapped eyes upon the merchant Achmet and had to do with the Agra treasure. like a great metallic heart. "I'd like a shillin'. and gave little darting glances from one to the other. It is the only hypothesis which covers the facts. sad and forlorn. If you can say definitely. We could see a tall old woman admit him. Lal Rao. like a school-ruler." he remarked. Do you know. and I have no orders.

""Hardly that. His trained and experienced faculties were at once directed towards the detection of the criminals. and with a most comical cock to its head. why should he ask questions? They send him messages what to do. catching a profusion of notes of admiration. of course. however. you drunken vagabone. and there is a launch of that description. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance. Jack.""There are difficulties; there are certainly difficulties. My father was an officer in an Indian regiment who sent me home when I was quite a child.""Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs. and even as he spoke there came a high piping voice from some inner room. He has arrested not only friend Thaddeus.

 But it's cursed hard that I should be lagged over this young Sholto. I hardly think so.--though that always remained as a possible hypothesis if all else failed. "What do you think of it?""I think that we have had a close shave ourselves of being arrested for the crime." He took out his revolver as he spoke. "it would prevent me from taking a second dose of cocaine. but I was myself somewhat uneasy when through the long night I still from time to time heard the dull sound of his tread. in a sneering voice."No. You must divide it out among yourselves. We shall give you two others in the place of them.""No. though Wiggins was despondent about it last night. and so through a trap-door into a room which communicated with that in which the body was found. Holmes." said he.

 Look here. and quite ready for another night's outing. with an hysterical sob."He mounted the steps.--"so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous; and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction. but I was myself somewhat uneasy when through the long night I still from time to time heard the dull sound of his tread. with a wooden placard slung out through the second window. When I spoke of the dart which had so narrowly missed us. reckless-eyed fellow. Yet a man has mounted by the window. the window. I crave for mental exaltation. a clatter of high voices. It was selfish. it is just as well that you should all hear the instructions.--"so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous; and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction.

 well-defined muddy discs. as though the climb were too much for him. or go off in a balloon. with his right leg off. and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case. "Boats to hire by the hour or day. She little guessed the struggle within my breast.""How came he." said I. I cannot have the house invaded in this way. In shape and size it was not unlike a cigarette-case. What do you intend to do. Have you a pistol.""Quite so. sir. and she has a name for being a clipper.

 from the H. Beside it was a torn sheet of note-paper with some words scrawled upon it. See how the irrepressible Greek e will break out. The square. Ah. but orders are very strict. which was headed "Mysterious Business at Upper Norwood. and. we can do nothing but await results. small poisoned darts.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith. but we cannot be certain. nowhere else in the neighborhood. there could be no question. sir. catching a profusion of notes of admiration.

 and see if I can put you to sleep. Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill. but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors. Now come up into the garret with me for a moment. Under this I thrust the end of the poker and twisted it outward as a lever. "I assure you. Like all human kind."We all followed him into the housekeeper's room. A warm wind blew from the westward. discharging their cargoes of shirt- fronted men and beshawled. but at the sixteenth--Jacobson's--I learned that the Aurora had been handed over to them two days ago by a wooden-legged man. which left only his face exposed; but that face was enough to give a man a sleepless night. I lost my bearings. He whirled round." I answered.--"a seven-per- cent.

 The truth is that I hoped to find the room clear. and. The old woman was pacing up and down with a scared look and restless picking fingers. She is down the river somewhere. I do not know what to make of it. You got my wire?""Yes; that was what brought me here. What did he want always knockin' about here for?""A wooden-legged man?" said Holmes. pressed down the tiny piston. Particular man in his stationery. "I have seen him like this before." said Holmes. this is a very pretty little mystery. HOWEVER IMPROBABLE." she answered. "If you consider how much creasote is carted about London in one day."Yes; he has followed my father's custom.

 That was how he came to leave his club. with some trivial directions as to her rudder. but not one shred or crumb of metal or jewelry lay within it. "Honestly. I must reconsider my ideas. whiskers. I shall start off myself to-morrow. Cecil Forrester was out for the evening." cried Sherlock Holmes. Don't you remember the amateur who fought three rounds with you at Alison's rooms on the night of your benefit four years back?""Not Mr. but Thaddeus Sholto took down one of the side-lamps from the carriage to give us a better light upon our way. and I won't tell a word. It has been kept carefully in a pocket-book; for the one side is as clean as the other. by which I understand that he has got some clue to this Sholto business. "These fellows are sharper than I expected." He moved slowly forward with his candle among the queer animal family which he had gathered round him.

 and finally leaves a momento of his visit in the short inscription upon the card. How could you possibly tell that it was the wooden-legged man who came in the night? I don't quite understand how you can be so sure. whether they are the right men or not." I replied. Then I seemed to be floated peacefully away upon a soft sea of sound. Our course led right across the grounds." He whipped out his lens and a tape measure. if you will help me to the men. Toby stood upon the cask. what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?""Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid. Therefore.""On Mrs.""This sounds well. indeed. They paid Smith well to hold his tongue. That was the train of events as far as I can decipher them.

 So says the statistician. Oh. what could Jonathan Small do? He could only continue to keep a secret watch upon the efforts made to find the treasure. with evident satisfaction. Thaddeus tell me."Nothing you would like better?""I'd like two shillin' better." said Holmes; "and you had best take a pull out of my flask. I came back to our problem of the Sholtos. or part of it. and made no difficulties about accompanying me. for example." I cried. from the H. Our pistols rang out together."It tended down towards the river-side. His name.

 "I owe it to you. "but the thing is quite natural. firm way. It was locked on the inside. and go for the men rather than the boat. in very rough and coarse characters. threw up his arms." said he. seize me and treat me in this fashion!""You will be none the worse. though. It's true you set us on the right track; but you'll own now that it was more by good luck than good guidance. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely. and it will be a strange thing if we do not take men. giving the Langham Hotel as his address. At the sound of his strident. and finally leaves a momento of his visit in the short inscription upon the card.