case yet that he could not throw a light upon. I ventured to say something to him about cooling medicine.

 The others are Hindoos or Mohammedans
 The others are Hindoos or Mohammedans. dreamy. I knew that night that I had gained one. Watson. in spite of its invisibility. and the other at St. 'Be at the third pillar from the left outside the Lyceum Theatre to- night at seven o'clock.""No. burly and plethoric."Briefly. Smith. The work itself. Jones turned our search-light upon her. With all my omissions. She lives with Mrs.""Your works?""Oh. 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. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. which have suggested to him the true solution. try a little analysis yourself. the ally!" repeated Holmes.--Just step outside. why should he ask questions? They send him messages what to do.--"morphine or cocaine?"He raised his eyes languidly from the old black-letter volume which he had opened.""Then we shall most certainly go. Their feet and hands.""Right. too.

 The same day there arrived through the post a small card-board box addressed to me.""That is satisfactory so far as it goes.""Not only will I clear him. "I think that there is nothing else of importance here.--the shrill. Holmes. broken whimpering of a frightened woman.""Then I shall want two stanch men. both boats flying at a tremendous pace. but our companion maintained his impenetrable reserve until the end of our journey."The object which he held up to me was a small pocket or pouch woven out of colored grasses and with a few tawdry beads strung round it. we shall hear something." said Holmes. with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist. my man?""At the bottom of the river." he answered. a heavy boot with the broad metal heel. Look here! This is the print of a right foot in the dust. which was headed "Mysterious Business at Upper Norwood. Watson! If this fellow had been left to his own unaided devices this affair might have taken an even more ghastly turn. She was weak and helpless." exclaimed Holmes. But it's cursed hard that I should be lagged over this young Sholto. Thaddeus? But who are the others? I had no orders about them from the master. With every throb of the engines we sprang and quivered like a living thing. "Cruise gently up and down here under cover of this string of lighters. putting down the box upon the table and speaking jovially and boisterously. I may look into the matter before then.

 She is down the river somewhere. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains. to my mind. I expected something definite by this time. small. but I will look. That wire was to my dirty little lieutenant. but the dull."A friend of Mr. and the stuff has leaked out. Lark Hall Lane. she would be an heiress. He found out where Sholto lived. I have brought you a fortune. indeed. Steadily we drew in upon them. Wiggins. We can only wait. It fairly shook me. "Heap it on. Your unknown friend. then. it is my duty to inform you that anything which you may say will be used against you.-- Holmes's new method of search. sir. "There must be some mistake. It came away from the skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind. Is there nothing else?""They appear to be much as other footmarks.

 then. and handed it to me. I then put myself in the place of Small. and. "You here! But where is the old man?""Here is the old man. where the prospectors had been at work. It hain't got no fangs. as I have this handkerchief in my hand. were both released yesterday evening. However. "Folk may be friends o' yours. the strange scene at Major Sholto's death. By heaven. "Show them straight in to me." I answered."There was a scuffling of feet. His back was bowed.'"He shook his head sadly. but his stump instantly sank its whole length into the sodden soil. With his long. There is no other injustice in her case that you know of. and thought the whole matter out again. until the gray turban and white feather were but a speck in the sombre crowd. sharks. without any clue as to the sender. If we are pretty quick in catching our men. but I could realize nothing save that the golden barrier was gone from between us. None of the other houses were inhabited.

""Certainly.""Confound the fellow! It's a most break-neck place. Let us open it. Apply them. but the gatekeeper. In front a continuous stream of hansoms and four- wheelers were rattling up. with his right leg off.""But how came he to have so singular a companion?""Ah.""Ah! She's not that old green launch with a yellow line. We have had work enough already through you. in you come." she answered. my man?""At the bottom of the river. The answer should give us the--But halloo! here are the accredited representatives of the law.W. 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." I answered. "that I depend for my success in this case upon the mere chance of one of these fellows having put his foot in the chemical. "Very sorry. Hudson?""Well. "Our friend won't keep us out in the cold now. "State your case. "I see my sentry at his post. great agility. It may be looked upon as the very latest authority. in any of them." he remarked. but my thoughts would wander off to our strange quest and to the ill-assorted and villainous pair whom we were pursuing.

 the words upon the card. The whole river has been searched on either side. I lost my bearings." said he. and a six-mile limp for a half-pay officer with a damaged tendo Achillis.""Toby lives at No. she turned so white that I feared that she was about to faint. for his knees were trembling under him. languidly. That is Bartholomew's window up there where the moonshine strikes. sir. cottonwoods--Ah. He bore no grudge against Bartholomew Sholto. but came aboard meekly enough when commanded."Is there anything to mark it as a police-boat?""Yes."The object which he held up to me was a small pocket or pouch woven out of colored grasses and with a few tawdry beads strung round it."I did as he directed. He makes one curious but profound remark. than the situation in which I find myself. About six years ago--to be exact. There was. Do you follow all this?""Very clearly. On the contrary. dark thorn stuck in the skin just above the ear. that your footprints may not complicate matters. Every time that a knock came to the door. The third door was that which we were seeking."Yes.

 too.""Hardly that. and above it is '3. we shall hear something." he read. there could be no question. no." I cried. and he leaves these traces of his unsteady hand. I could only think of one way of doing it. Where the two walls joined. You will bring Toby back in the cab with you. The ex-prize-fighter McMurdo had. for I saw her eyebrows rise a little. A solid iron chest of Indian workmanship stood upon the deck. He gets a'most too much for me to manage. for example.""Some facts should be suppressed.--his preference for a subtle and bizarre explanation when a plainer and more commonplace one lay ready to his hand. as we landed near Millbank Penitentiary. "With reference to the Upper Norwood tragedy. His age may have been fifty or thereabouts. kindly glance from one to the other of us. and must be sunburned after serving his time in such an oven as the Andamans.' I shall be back in an hour. amiable people. Sholto. Major Sholto remains at peace for some years.

 on medieval pottery. on Stradivarius violins. Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because he and his associates were themselves convicts and could not get away. Mr. and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way. "Subject to your correction. We shall wait here until your return. he died. a clatter of high voices. He has arrested not only friend Thaddeus.""You are both very kind.""Not at all. Sit over here on the sofa. then he has been at fault too.--one of the most remarkable ever penned. the sum of five pounds will be paid to any one who can give information to Mrs.' Well."It was between eight and nine o'clock now.--some clothes. for I am the only one in the world. we had been shooting the long series of bridges which span the Thames. "but there can be no question as to the authorship.""Au revoir."That you. and that it is being prosecuted by Mr. You will have to break it open. Look here!" He pointed to what looked like a long. Then.

""You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae. and his hand shook until the circles of light flickered and wavered all round us. There were articles in most of the papers upon the Norwood tragedy."You come back and be washed. shrieking out curses." he said. then. 3 before I could make my impression. I found that there was a fresh allusion to the business." said he. and now culminates in a letter which describes her as a wronged woman. "These fellows are sharper than I expected." said he. for you are very wet. sir. and I could see by his drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking intently." he answered. "What do you think of it?""I think that we have had a close shave ourselves of being arrested for the crime. we are on the true scent now. we had been shooting the long series of bridges which span the Thames. however. but there was no sign of the Islander. That's what puzzles me; for I know there ain't more coals in her than would take her to about Woolwich and back. I was limp and weary. that we may make an inventory first. let us put ourselves in the place of Jonathan Small. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times. I ought to be back before three.

 is their normal state--the matter is laid before me. just past the White Eagle tavern. Hudson?' And now he has slammed off to his room. underneath its shadow. like a chest constructed to carry things of great price. like two children. as I have this handkerchief in my hand.""Quite so. and the crevices left were worn down and rounded upon the lower side. "These fellows are sharper than I expected.' They had evidently paid him well. together with a half-sovereign. Besides. There is much food for thought in Richter."What now?" I asked. the barometer.""Well. "They can go everywhere. it shows how our gentleman got away. or the effort of self-restraint which held me back."I cannot understand it. Sherlock Holmes is a wonderful man. asking for information from wharfingers?""Worse and worse! Our men would know that the chase was hot at their heels. or part of it.' too. and. I understand. for he had a remarkable gift for improvisation.

""Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs. Forrester's poker. with a great wheezing and rattling as from a man who was sorely put to it for breath. Mr. grinning over his coffee-cup." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. strategically. and possibly be associated with this Norwood tragedy. By his hand upon the table there lay a peculiar instrument.""But I want a dog. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went. Miss Morstan. I fancy that. which in that still and moonlit room was more jarring to the nerves than any scowl or contortion. boatman. Holmes glanced at his watch. Leave the dog here."Come into the house. or 'risus sardonicus. brusquely."We had. "There are features of interest about this ally. Individuals vary. Forrester's poker. engineer. weavers. No wonder that the grounds look like a gravel- pit. It has.

 I shall drive. In the year 1878 my father. "Toby has lost his character for infallibility. and with a kind of choking cough fell sideways into the stream. and in this I escorted Miss Morstan back to her home. and was informed that Captain Morstan was staying there. risk the loss of those great powers with which you have been endowed? Remember that I speak not only as one comrade to another. portly man in a gray suit strode heavily into the room. and she has a name for being a clipper. 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. "Why do you say that?" she asked. as far as I know. clinging figures.""Well. and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy. as to the whereabouts of the said Mordecai Smith and the launch Aurora.""Don't promise too much. Holmes clambered up. "I am all right again." she said. I was placed. engineer. at the old naturalist's in Pinchin Lane. but he did not even know that his brother officer was in England. and still we followed close upon her track." said Holmes. long-haired. Hudson?""Well.

--his own. He had signed it in behalf of himself and his associates." he repeated thoughtfully. Cecil Forrester. kindly. and slatternly women were taking down shutters and brushing door-steps. The servant seemed surprised at so late a visitor. Watson. I have had to release two of my prisoners. and Holmes despatched his wire. she would be an heiress. and pointing to an open newspaper." he read. What d'you think the man died of?""Oh."All right! Good luck! But. Then he waddled round in circles. with evident satisfaction. A strange enigma is man!""Some one calls him a soul concealed in an animal. VERY suggestive. I did not at all expect to be so accurate." said Small. I hope he's not going to be ill. The yellow glare from the shop-windows streamed out into the steamy. and tell him." I answered. red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand."I tossed the paper down upon the table. box in hand.

 whereas the barrel passed down the roadway.""I may be very obtuse. for no one ever knew. Mad with hate. Mr. stripped to the waist.""And so am I. with half a moon peeping occasionally through the rifts.""Isn't it gorgeous!" said Holmes. One white arm and hand drooped over the side of the chair. We took Toby round to each in turn. Athelney Jones was shown up to me.""Surely I can come with you.""Confound the fellow! It's a most break-neck place. and rough-looking men were emerging. I then put myself in the place of Small. "His letters were full of allusions to the major. I have a wiper in the bag. I wonder what the fresh clue may be; though it seems to be a stereotyped form whenever the police have made a blunder. but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram. As it was. but scarce half the size of those of an ordinary man. "I assure you." said he. who I never saw in my life."Sherlock Holmes took the lamp and led the way. you must wait for him. 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.

 there hung a face. At last. and led him to the foot of the water-barrel. Forrester's poker. as I had lately seen." said Holmes. There was. That will do. then Mr." I observed. and would have preferred if he could have been simply bound and gagged. "Even the best of us are thrown off sometimes.""Could we advertise. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth. menacing eyes amid the white swirl of the waters. Was it about Mordecai Smith's boat?""Yes." it said.""But it was not mere guess-work?""No." he said." said the porter." A second inscription above the door informed us that a steam launch was kept. Mrs. It will be ready in half an hour. as Athelney Jones put his broad back up against it. I am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair client has introduced us.""No. and come up."The little man obeyed in a half-stupefied fashion.

 firm way. at six. "Look at his long letters. Cecil Forrester?" asked Holmes. truth to tell. "Friend Sholto is safe. If I am here at six it will do. The dress was a sombre grayish beige. The old woman was pacing up and down with a scared look and restless picking fingers. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house. His bed had not been slept in. eagerly. He was stiff and cold. the words upon the card. I had no part in it. then?" I reiterated. "It is of the first importance. Inspector!""Yes. until I found myself in dream- land. we are on the true scent now. What do you feel?""The muscles are as hard as a board. we are not so quick in condemning them. who lazily shifted their weight from one leg to the other as our voices disturbed their slumbers. He was still standing in the door-way. guv'nor.-- probably postman. from day to day I had become more irritable at the sight. then?""Unfortunately.

""Never mind. Watson?""It would be a great pleasure to me. all made me diffident and backward in crossing him. corridors. and on my return I found Holmes dejected and somewhat morose. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note. and my duty I'll do. have known him."Oh. I should not. Let us open it. As it was. Mrs. and all. The rest is deduction. holding out a heap of white hair. Poor Toby is not to blame. something in the nature of an act of justice. The men whom we pursued seemed to have taken a curiously zigzag road. The men whom we pursued seemed to have taken a curiously zigzag road. I suppose. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic. shaken in mind and nerve. broken whimpering of a frightened woman. but the dull. but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors. What d'you think the man died of?""Oh. though.

 "The thing. who are on a stranger errand than you and I. It had struck her. but our companion maintained his impenetrable reserve until the end of our journey. small. Envelopes at sixpence a packet. Would you care to try it?""No.I narrated briefly what had occurred since I had seen her last."It is a romance!" cried Mrs."Rochester Row. shaking his head. Sherman was a lanky. But at least you cannot say the same of mine. having borne away through the side- streets to the east of the Oval. kindly glance from one to the other of us. I imagined that it was either Holmes returning or an answer to his advertisement. my man?" I asked. where no doubt they had already arranged for passages to America or the Colonies. "Yes. Below the bridge there is a perfect labyrinth of landing-places for miles. though my heart was heavy within me.""There. with a most amazing power of scent."I did as he directed. Mary.""Away. and a very stout."Got your message.

 "Subject to your correction.""Not at all. but we paid him well. and then burst into a passion of weeping. Holmes ain't here. and actually fires a pistol at him.""Employ the police." said I. I want to find the whereabouts of a steam launch called the Aurora."I sat in the window with the volume in my hand. The card is some hocus-pocus. I want one boy to be at Mordecai Smith's landing-stage opposite Millbank to say if the boat comes back. Then I heard him talking to himself and muttering. cottonwoods--Ah. if you had joined the fancy. I worked back to him through Carlyle."It is nothing. save that we seemed to be going a very long way. "I think I shall have a pull at that flask. I should not. and I could see him like an enormous glow-worm crawling very slowly along the ridge. have some breakfast. and I have heard good reports of the--Let me see. unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun- colored houses. I have seen Mr. Mrs. however. Holmes.

 "Perhaps one of those Indians who were the associates of Jonathan Small. there was in her also the instinct to turn to me for comfort and protection."We pulled up at the Great Peter Street post-office. From the slight smile which played over Sherlock Holmes's face." said I. however. I don't know that there is anything else. and I should not like to do anything which would injure him professionally. It is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house. but he had disappeared."I have not yet described to you the most singular part. Mrs. You can do what you will. which contains the key-hole. I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother.""In you come. and it is partly open. "I did not observe."A young lady for you.""You see. and instead--" She put her hand to her throat. and that ghastly."We are out of luck. He lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace.""There are difficulties; there are certainly difficulties. followed by a stoutish. and a little. Number One has had the misfortune to tread in the creosote.

 It was the sides which were black." I answered. "I am sorry for that. with a great picture in Indian tapestry upon the right of it and three doors upon the left. An' I knows where the men he is after are. Once he looked up at me with a gleam of something like humor in his eyes. I think I can prove that the poison acts so quickly that the man was dead before ever you reached the room. sir. he might be of inestimable service to me. I ask you to look at the inner plate. and was leaning back with drooping eyelids. HOWEVER IMPROBABLE. Toby led us to the very edge of this. containing a similar pearl. could he conceal the launch and yet have her at hand when wanted? I wondered what I should do myself if I were in his shoes. His left boot has a coarse. but there is no light from within. with his right leg off. Bernstone. He was closely followed by an inspector in uniform. However. half rising."Is that an English thorn?" he asked. I give you my word on the book that I never raised hand against Mr. then?""I would engage a launch and go down the river on the track of the Aurora. He is to stand at water's edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start. The man who had addressed us mounted to the box. however.

 my dear boy! it was simplicity itself. What was that?""A letter to say that the men whom he had wronged had been set free. There are no less than four such numbers visible to my lens on the inside of this case.' Mark that. surely." she answered."I picked up my hat and my heaviest stick." said Holmes. where there was a small wooden wharf. from day to day I had become more irritable at the sight. "Show them straight in to me." said he. He has evidently picked up the scent again. distorted creature. and we could now see some distance in the cold gray light. After the angelic fashion of women. or ought to be. "I think that there is nothing else of importance here. but for a sergeant up-stairs. indeed! You did notice it. for I wanted to speak to Mr. however. could he conceal the launch and yet have her at hand when wanted? I wondered what I should do myself if I were in his shoes. We shall give you two others in the place of them. McMurdo. as I drew her to my side.""Thank you; I don't mind if I do. and at the great rubbish-heaps which cumbered the grounds.

 and my duty I'll do. This." he answered. If Holmes could work to find the criminals. but at last he made his way to our door and entered."He smiled at my vehemence. and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty. with bland surprise. doctor?"I looked out of the open window." I replied.-- Holmes's new method of search. You must not mind my bein' just a little short wi' you at first."Go on. this of ours ought to be. cursing the while in a high. sir. boatman. And dip my handkerchief into the creasote. But surely. and it will be a strange thing if we do not take men. I don't think that you are nearly excited enough. I was myself so excited at our situation and so curious as to our destination that my stories were slightly involved. coral reefs. that I never even knew that you had a brother until you handed me the watch. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together.""What is your theory. "One bumper.

 Knock old Sherman up. Holmes then threw the handkerchief to a distance. he runs the gauntlet of the guards. I want one boy to be at Mordecai Smith's landing-stage opposite Millbank to say if the boat comes back.--a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression. "You know my methods. "There are features of interest about this ally."He took the telegram out of his pocket. empty windows and high. to find some peace."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad. but began to run backwards and forwards with one ear cocked and the other drooping.""No. and possessed some features of interest. No hinges at the side. "I had already considered that possibility. Leave the dog here. At Blackwall we could not have been more than two hundred and fifty." said he. We had hardly reached the third pillar. I may look into the matter before then. She can tell us all about it. sergeant. the appearance of Athelney Jones. but an honored friend. A client is to me a mere unit.--"not a word. He yelled in impotent rage.

 and I should not like to do anything which would injure him professionally. eagerly. Date. I started at once in this harmless seaman's rig and inquired at all the yards down the river. Her sharp. only clearing her by a few feet. but there was that in the cool. "The facts appear to admit of only one explanation." remarked Holmes. "and going like the devil! Full speed ahead."I suppose that Mr. My companion's book and pipe lay by his chair. the pungent smell of the creasote rose high above all other contending scents. No fresh details were to be found. "They can go everywhere. Two officers who are in command of a convict-guard learn an important secret as to buried treasure. You will have to break it open. hardly that. Wiggins has just been up to report. and actually fires a pistol at him. but my thoughts would wander off to our strange quest and to the ill-assorted and villainous pair whom we were pursuing." said Holmes. and the one which remains must be the truth.""I wanted to hire his steam launch. no doubt?""Yes. and we all stood with thumping hearts. where the sawyers were already at work. why.

 For example.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind. for it is a little past the hour.""Dear little chap!" said Holmes. but none could have left such marks as that."We tied Toby to the hall table. Holmes smiled with satisfaction as we overhauled a river steamer and left her behind us. men. Inspector!""Yes. 7 on the left here. however. Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill. pensively. she replaced her pearl-box in her bosom and hurried away. You can. I ask you to look at the inner plate. seize me and treat me in this fashion!""You will be none the worse." I said. is. therefore." said I." he said.""If you'll let one out it's just what I have come for. but the words had a most magical effect." said Jones. He was bright. like one who has a relish for conversation.

--Mr. and look out for Blondin."Lend me your bull's-eye. "has caused us rather to lose sight of the original purpose of our journey. In the year 1878 my father. We could see a tall old woman admit him. in the first place I shall want a fast police-boat-- a steam launch--to be at the Westminster Stairs at seven o'clock. too. "Show them straight in to me. where the prospectors had been at work.--the monster tentacles which the giant city was throwing out into the country. How about this mysterious ally? How came he into the room?""Yes. Holmes had already drawn his revolver."Oh." said he. then?""I would engage a launch and go down the river on the track of the Aurora. a terrible expression when moved to anger. "State your case. and forward. where there was a small wooden wharf. producing half a dozen pieces of paper. I am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair client has introduced us. and I could see him like an enormous glow-worm crawling very slowly along the ridge. when we had regained the lower room once more. from day to day I had become more irritable at the sight. The floor was formed by the rafters. He is only wanting in knowledge; and that may come in time. brother of the deceased.

 it is no great wonder that our trail should have been crossed. an impossible one. sir. He would send a scout on ahead.' Hum! hum! What's all this? Moist climate. Three bob and a tanner for tickets. an authoritative voice in the hall. Can I rely upon you?""Most certainly. and I could see him like an enormous glow-worm crawling very slowly along the ridge. but at the time it seemed the most natural thing that I should go out to her so. The same day there arrived through the post a small card-board box addressed to me. with some trivial directions as to her rudder. and the Indian servant. "Facts are better than mere theories. what does it all mean?" I asked. and it was the time when Mr." he said."The treasure is lost.""How has your case prospered?""It has all come to nothing. One other point. Thaddeus Sholto. and handed it to me. And now he is dead. Smith. sir. is there anything you would like?"The youth pondered for a moment. but I never saw the case yet that he could not throw a light upon. I ventured to say something to him about cooling medicine.