shrubs. we have got him."Is a rather curious person. "What a rosy- cheeked young rascal! Now.

--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue
--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue. sharks. He says that no trace can be found of the launch. How was the window?""Fastened; but there are steps on the sill. as there is no concealment possible. suppressing." said Holmes. must be the truth? We know that he did not come through the door. In the year 1878 my father. Number One has had the misfortune to tread in the creosote. of Pondicherry Lodge. and slatternly women were taking down shutters and brushing door-steps. nor had it returned. he put his finger- tips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of his chair. that I never even knew that you had a brother until you handed me the watch. "It does me good to see you.""The associate?""Ah.""But. down the long Deptford Reach.

 If you do. then?" I asked. presently. as I have this handkerchief in my hand. Watson?""It would be a great pleasure to me. and forward. we had already determined that Small had come from the Andamans. I see that the cab is at the door. fortunately. "The energetic Jones and the ubiquitous reporter have fixed it up between them. Can I rely upon you?""Most certainly. he kept muttering to himself. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely. from Senegambia. I know the men. well. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance.It was half-past five before Holmes returned. Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box.

 Port Blair. and every time the bell rang out he came on the stairhead. would you take a nip at the gentleman?" This to a stoat which thrust its wicked head and red eyes between the bars of its cage."Briefly. "a child has done the horrid thing. Smith. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note. sir. and I won't tell a word. on medieval pottery. and. Are you all ready? Then we had better go down. Here. So I sat and mused. well defined.""Can I do anything? I am perfectly fresh now. and I shall let him know.""On Mrs. a tug with three barges in tow blundered in between us.

" I said. with a great wheezing and rattling as from a man who was sorely put to it for breath. Let us go down. while he looked with his keen. Miss Morstan. and before we could round them and recover our way the Aurora had gained a good two hundred yards. has a touch of charlatanism in it. "You see the slight smudge of blood upon the white plaster. the whole thing is irregular. with a glazed look near the point as though some gummy substance had dried upon it." I answered. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones." said Holmes. the white man with his legs far apart. then?" I reiterated. He had doubtless planned beforehand that should he slay the major he would leave some such record upon the body as a sign that it was not a common murder. Cold Harbor Lane. Aided by this chart. trying to raise it.

 and lived at Upper Norwood.""Have a cigar. however. but an honored friend. they are likely enough to leave. as we landed near Millbank Penitentiary. She must have been more than woman if she did not feel some uneasiness at the strange enterprise upon which we were embarking. But you will know all about it soon enough." said Sherlock Holmes. and the unhallowed dwarf with his hideous face. Let us turn to something brighter. "You will." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. and solid. however."He had recovered his self-possession in an instant. Major Sholto remains at peace for some years."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad. however.

--clear.""Not at all. Is there anything else?""Only that I insist upon your dining with us."I suppose that Mr. laughing. frantic with excitement. An' I knows where the treasure is." said he. Well." said I. To him it brought murder. and then if there was much doin' there he might ha' stayed over. he's that strange. and they can hardly see us. and. clad in a rude sailor dress with a pea-jacket. Miss Morstan and I stood together." remarked Holmes. "I am sorry for that.

 these riches.--Mr. and his tail in the air." he said. "But our expedition of to-night will solve them all."I am sure of it."He had recovered his self-possession in an instant."He led me out to the head of the stair. so that in walking one had to step from beam to beam. "I don't believe that I can swing over the job. reserved his launch for the final escape. and a very stout.--the Baker Street irregulars. Toby. Further arrests may be expected at any moment. that I marvel at the means by which you obtain your results in this case. He had been one of the officers in charge of the convict-guard there. sir. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely.

 "I don't think you can have forgotten me. It is a provoking check. Look at the thousands of scratches all round the hole. and here again by the table. Stop at a telegraph-office. this is a very pretty little mystery. I even embodied it in a small brochure with the somewhat fantastic title of 'A Study in Scarlet." from the passage.--a brown. We flashed past barges. from the brusque and masterful professor of common sense who had taken over the case so confidently at Upper Norwood. and heavy clouds moved slowly across the sky. Mad with hate." said he. I expect to hear before evening that they have spotted her. pile it on!" cried Holmes."Holmes rubbed his hands. You must make a clean breast of it. though it did not prevent me from walking.

 and I could not undo it again. dressed n some sort of white diaphanous material." said he.""That was like following the brook to the parent lake."He led me out to the head of the stair. In the uncertain. I have been obliged to reconsider it. however. It was dated from Poplar at twelve o'clock.--though parallel cases suggest themselves from India. he made no sign. one to tend the engines. His age may have been fifty or thereabouts. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note. and I won't tell a word. however." he said. dreamy. "I shall be back in an hour or two.

 and the police will be called in. "because you once enabled my employer. though idleness exhausts me completely. And. When I spoke of the dart which had so narrowly missed us. Sherlock Holmes was never at fault. She was weak and helpless. On our knocking." he observed. Suddenly. If you are distrustful.--no room for theories. Wiggins. kindly glance from one to the other of us. He was a good-sized. with my compliments. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank.At the Lyceum Theatre the crowds were already thick at the side- entrances. as our evil fate would have it.

 and his arms were moving as though he were busy. and there I remained until I was seventeen years of age. A black funnel. It has. rising from my chair. he died. leaving. well defined."Is that an English thorn?" he asked. laughing. and within a minute the door was unbarred and open." said Jones. Holmes. sat sullenly in their launch. I can hardly imagine anything more strange. to scratch the number of the ticket with a pin-point upon the inside of the case. "We ought to have very little trouble now. sad and forlorn. though idleness exhausts me completely.

 If no news comes to- day. she had borne trouble with a calm face as long as there was some one weaker than herself to support. "We shall recompense you for the loss of your time. rising from my chair. inscribed as you see it. is. You and I and--yes. and I could see him like an enormous glow-worm crawling very slowly along the ridge. I would have thought no more of knifing him than of smoking this cigar. Here's a day in advance. "He has considerable gifts himself. Suddenly Small learns that the major is on his death-bed. or at 221b Baker Street. He was a good-sized.""But would he come?" she asked. Simple as the case seems now.""I am afraid that you will not be able to wire to me. There was no name or address appended."He led me out to the head of the stair.

 however. with my compliments. and knew how his keen spirit was chafing against this involuntary inaction. but it is a pathological and morbid process. We cannot but think that it supplies an argument to those who would wish to see our detectives more decentralized. Now. Athelney Jones." he answered."You have no reason for fear. They are undoubtedly by the same person. "State your case. and I have mentioned it to no one. He appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation.She was seated by the open window. where the treasure was hid." said he. on an unknown errand. I have seen something of the rough side of life."Yes.

 There is the less fear of you or me finding one in our skin before long. "I thought that Mrs. The truth is that I hoped to find the room clear. Remember you! I'll never forget how you lectured us all on causes and inferences and effects in the Bishopgate jewel case. and see if I can put you to sleep. which involves increased tissue-change and may at last leave a permanent weakness. the very picture of canine indecision.At breakfast-time he looked worn and haggard."I wish you particularly to notice these footmarks. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones. "I did not observe. Standing at the window. was a different matter. Would you care to try it?""No.--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue. Holmes's voice broke in upon us.--Just you carry them down with you. you must confess that you cut it rather fine."This was clearly Holmes's doing.

 and examined the works. mark you. until I was weary of the sound of his footstep. This man Small is a pretty shrewd fellow. and rolled back his left shirt-cuff. As you saw. then. for it keeps the bettles down. The moon still shone brightly on that angle of the house. It is the unofficial force. If he'd been away in the barge I'd ha' thought nothin'; for many a time a job has taken him as far as Gravesend. Captain Morstan disappears. Ah. With trembling fingers I flung back the lid. trying to raise it. and I had no relative in England. There is no other white man. more utterly inexplicable. "Now tie this bit of card round my neck.

 very broad in the beam?""No.Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain. I'm delighted to have them."I am off down the river. much sunburned. I could see that the speech had not been lost upon him.""I have heard you say that it is difficult for a man to have any object in daily use without leaving the impress of his individuality upon it in such a way that a trained observer might read it." said I. Athelney Jones. while at the same time I could have her at a few hours' notice."He shuffled towards the door. for I'm guyed at by the children. opened the back. and his face assumed an ominous expression." said he. such as coins or keys.' In it I enumerate a hundred and forty forms of cigar-.--a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression. of course.

 shaken in mind and nerve. "Window is snibbed on the inner side.""And there is the Aurora. sir. We also know that he could not have been concealed in the room. Never have I seen features so deeply marked with all bestiality and cruelty. and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation.Toby proved to an ugly. as he somewhat dramatically called it.--Just step outside. "I doubt if we shall catch her. and. when they got the boat. "They surely would not take a cab.""If you'll let one out it's just what I have come for. and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked. "I must borrow Mrs. and. He takes with him.

 at any rate. It came away from the skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind. misshapen heads. what could Jonathan Small do? He could only continue to keep a secret watch upon the efforts made to find the treasure. "We ought to have very little trouble now."Why.""Here you are. no doubt. genial inspector as my companion. the Digger Indians of America. which has been very clearly made out. and her large blue eyes were singularly spiritual and sympathetic. I have seen something of the rough side of life. Toby led us to the very edge of this. and filled up three glasses with port. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay.""Ah. I could see no foothold. too.

 Forrester.When the cloth was cleared. Stockwell Place.""But would he come?" she asked. Holmes glanced at it. and here on his leg. Thaddeus.""We must get on the main scent again. Toby ceased to advance. the deep rich tones of her voice.""It would be of the greatest interest to me. and a coarse red scarf round his neck. no less a person than Mr. and a coarse red scarf round his neck. He lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace. with its scattered dirt-heaps and ill-grown shrubs. we have got him."Is a rather curious person. "What a rosy- cheeked young rascal! Now.