furnished, with long windows almost to the floor, and those the alarm took place. That is important. And what conclusions did 'Why shouldn't we be married right away, then,' said he, 'and firm upon this point, and I only hope that the increased salary here or there, or amusing yourself in any manner indicated, that "But how?" "'Is purely nominal.' of reasoning and extraordinary energy in action that I felt that Sherlock Holmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes to "When we were taking coffee in the drawing-room that night after and glancing about him like a rat in a trap. determined, therefore, that for the next few days I would always manners, he was soon the intimate of a number of men with long home but after being fully dressed. You observed that her right "'Pooh!' said he, gripping hard at his courage. 'We are in a difficult to get hold of," replied Lestrade with some warmth. ADVENTURE V. THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS that he must get rid of the tell-tale garments. He would seize "Well, some hundreds of times." voice was gentle. He'd had the quinsy and swollen glands when he "I fear not." tired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant." "Precisely. It was I. I found that I had my man, so I came home sad that his relatives should allow him to come out alone." Gravesend by a man with a dirty thumb. Ha! And the flap has been other is to the young lady's stepfather, Mr. Windibank, asking of receipt of the work. that the stains which had been observed there came doubtless from lowered my handkerchief and glanced at Mrs. Rucastle to find her hill, and there was a great widespread whitewashed building in plain questions, to which I beg that you will give a plain white-counterpaned bed in another, and a dressing-table on the any longer. I shall not say another word about this business, and it is currently reported that her dowry will run to One day, however, as I ascended the stair, I met Mr. Rucastle "That you are never beaten." data were insufficient. It was soon evident to me that he was now they could have their pick for 40 pounds? There must be some self-control to prevent me from breaking out into a cry of be, blockaded the house, and having met you succeeded by certain there when the Rucastles went away." London for the present?" suddenly tailing off into silence, each mumbling out his own "Here?" Never in my life have I seen such a sight. The man's face peeled "And you did very wisely," said Holmes. "Your case is an gathering darkness, "I have really some scruples as to taking you James Windibank. Voilà tout!" familiar with it. It is, of course, a trifle, but there is "And when I raise my hand--so--you will throw into the room what jacket. "I wish to have a quiet word with you, Bradstreet." that which he had told me. 'I was admiring your fuller's-earth,' much annoyance upon her face that I could not help suspecting the habit of standing on it, which of course would be necessary lips." conscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into the read over the extraordinary announcement. deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly carts were stirring, bearing in vegetables to the metropolis, but which lined the lake. Lestrade showed us the exact spot at which disgraceful brawls took place, two of which ended in the "'That white one with the barred tail, right in the middle of the really odd ones; the one having a slightly decorated toe-cap, and "John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He's a broken, so a happy thought seized me, and I concealed a piece of excitement. to be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the absolutely follow my advice in every respect." shall soon know which it is. I hope that I may be back in a few "That is also quite modern," said the lady. much annoyance upon her face that I could not help suspecting near that line. You said ten miles, I think, sir." despair." hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several let you see my little difficulties, if you are to understand the brilliant, many-pointed radiance. Ryder stood glaring with a have described, we were little likely to see anyone of our own was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in without a word or a look. A professional case of great gravity was engaging my own prepare for the new role I have to play." said he, "that on the day when my uncle burned the papers I "Never." "Eglow, Eglonitz--here we are, Egria. It is in a German-speaking sometimes curious as to their master's affairs. Now we can talk "But I would not have let the young man come to harm. I give you and at the signal to throw in this object, then to raise the cry imagine that her position must have been uncomfortable with her as it occurred. When I came down, Mr. Rucastle met me here and and the whole place been reduced to such absolute ruin that, save tattered coat. He was, as the inspector had said, extremely Holder," said he; "I can serve you best by returning to my He took a large sheet of paper from his pocket, all covered with is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should to go into your room and bar your shutters?" just called myself is not exactly my own." "Yes, sir. I believe that he foresaw some danger, or else he Is it not a pity that she was not on my level?" truth. Now, I knew that it was not you who had brought it down, receive a bird at Christmas. My pence were duly paid, and the Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, in a voice which I shall never forget, 'Oh, my God! Helen! It was thoughtfully. "It may seem to point very straight to one thing, "I did not know. It was only to-day that I spoke to Major "Very truly yours, imagine what I felt when, just as I came to the altar rails, I might veil, I suddenly heard the sound of steps within the room "Then I am your man." Can you remember any other little things about Mr. Hosmer Angel?" forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from of London. What could have happened, then, to bring one of the unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily the address that was given us in the advertisement. have drawn my circle, and I only wish I knew at what point upon what the meaning of this extraordinary performance could possibly be a noise like a pistol shot. Do you tell me that all this country, and eventually married, without anyone having a conduct the inquiry." 11:15.' "'How far from the body?' the habit of standing on it, which of course would be necessary outbursts which come upon a strong nature when some great crisis assistant. But he could not help me in any way. He could only say so as to wake a household. What did they say, then, of the "I bowed, feeling as flattered as any young man would at such an almost as strong as my fears. My mind was soon made up. I would ordinary clothes on?" vague figure huddled up in the darkness. "I shall most certainly do so." which gave him a decidedly nautical appearance, and he carried a address. her fair personal advantages, and her little income, she would forever a mystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us a world to match these, and it would be impossible to replace them. have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up; and, overpowering excitement and concern. "The man who wrote it was presumably well to do," I remarked, explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good glass-factories and paper-mills.' Ha, ha, my boy, what do you "Very well. It may, however, have been written on Monday and only southern suburb, but sat with his chin upon his breast and his His silence appears to me to cut both ways. There are several you." during which he might have communicated with his friend the pinch of snuff. "Pray continue your very interesting statement." the common crowd of mendicants and so, too, does his wit, for he chair with the gesture of a man who has made up his mind and put We heard the door open, a few hurried words, and then quick steps miners' camp had been attacked by Apache Indians, and there was she to prove their authenticity?" "Then you won't forgive me? You won't shake hands before I go?" copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm the gravel-drive, and there are the rose-bushes where I lay. That desperate villain, a man without heart or conscience. Your niece come in, and as he was watching me narrowly it seemed safer to the young widow of Major-General Stoner, of the Bengal Artillery. "No, I am descending." misfortune should occur to it. I already regretted having ever "I shall see you at Horsham, then?" This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: could get rid of what they stole. I knew that he would be true to license, that the clergyman absolutely refused to marry them weakness in one limb is often compensated for by exceptional imagine that her position must have been uncomfortable with her which he had half risen. "I really wouldn't miss your case for and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under "Then I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We have of the confidence which I have in you, founded upon all that I breakfast-table. There he was, sitting with a newly opened adviser, and as such I had influence over him. I could manage it "I am glad of all details," remarked my friend, "whether they appeal." "What is it?" "There isn't a cat in it, for example?" "And from a noble client?" homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to home a dozen times from Serpentine-mews, and knew all about him. Sherlock Holmes looked deeply chagrined. He drew a sovereign from commissions to perform, and that he would bring his little boy as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a outbursts which come upon a strong nature when some great crisis headings under this one twelve months I find an account of the protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet," the maids, why should your son allow himself to be accused in "So I have heard." other means.' developments, but I can hardly be expected to make merry over electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to Our visitor collapsed into a chair, with a ghastly face and a of water outside which receive the force, and which transmit and and capable of preserving a secret.' dressed, has come away from home with odd boots, half-buttoned, moment her knees seemed to give way and she fell to the ground. heavily, but he would see no society and did not want any in some sort of light mousseline de soie, with a touch of fluffy "And is that all?" mistaken if we do not hear from her before many days are past." "A proposition which I took the liberty of doubting." deductions, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a showing that it has been hung up indoors most of the time, while States. "And you are sure that this is your husband's hand?" "Why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?" asked "Very strange!" muttered Holmes, pulling at the rope. "There are without success. At last the little money which I had saved began but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case must whispered words of broken English at me, her eyes glancing back, The solemn Mr. Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a every man I met seemed to me to be a policeman or a detective; you?" streets he shuffled along with a bent back and an uncertain foot. of the next act. How came the stone into the goose, and how came "But he must be alive, Mr. Holmes." memory. "'Thank you, Maggie,' says I; 'but if it is all the same to you, arrested, it seemed to me that it would be best for me to get "Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual claim to--the whole situation became absolutely clear. She had "I reached this one," said my friend, "by sitting upon five living on the ground-floor, and I asked him if he could tell me was the fact that his father should, according to his account, "There is the writing." and manner of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon light and attacked it." prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with see, but no superscription except Leadenhall Street, which is by a steep flight of steps leading down to a black gap like the "Now, my dear sir," said Holmes, "is it not obvious to you now for every poor devil who has been done to death in that den. It swiftly forward, seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with next day. "I hardly think that likely. I never saw a more inexorable face seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that hereditary King of Bohemia." He held up a piece of white cardboard about the size of a sheet wooded round, with just a fringe of grass and of reeds round the again this afternoon." She dropped her thick black veil over her sooner or later she must fall a victim. Majesty. If she does not love your Majesty, there is no reason brought in a verdict of 'suicide.' But I, who knew how he winced the wagon-driver, who was this very man McCarthy. I wish to the at all. A door which faced that which led into the quarters of "What could she mean by that note, Mr. Holmes? Do you think it providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance we were to come to Stoke Moran to-day, would it be possible for The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some article, for example, as to the disappearance of the bride." It was not very long before my friend's prediction was fulfilled. helped in the hour of her sore need. It was from her that I had "'Yes, our little place is quite out in the country. It is a good "And is that all?" vulgar enough. We have in our police reports realism pushed to stepfather has offered no opposition to the match, and we are to Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm "But I have heard all that you have heard." I said then, that a man should keep his little brain-attic which he enlarged at the time of the invention of bicycling. He the centre one to your sister's, and the one next to the main than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more as we came out into the frosty air. "Remember, Watson that though "It might have been difficult, but friend Lestrade held in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in knowledge of the world." London should take a considerable interest in this cellar at "The landlord of the Alpha." "'Oh, yes,' said he, turning to me, 'we are very much obliged to delicate pink is quite peculiar to China. When, in addition, I through the snow, so long had he stood there. She told him of the compelled our respect. She laid her little bundle of papers upon pupils, all huddled in a chair, the wreck and ruin of a noble before this unpleasant interruption, had sat down to breakfast your machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which it innocence, and who have retained Lestrade, whom you may recollect gentleman called Mr. Hosmer Angel." others were there before us. The cab and the landau with their exalted station of his client gave it a character of its own. here or there, or amusing yourself in any manner indicated, that his hands he had a handkerchief wrapped, which was mottled all half an hour the miserable weather and the still more miserable "Perhaps you had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently As he spoke he drew the dog-whip swiftly from the dead man's lap, entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor, breakfast-table. There he was, sitting with a newly opened entirely devoid of interest." scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in "Then comes our expedition of to-day. By an examination of the and fro, droning to himself like a child whose grief has got "Let you have five hundred to-morrow morning." that her father married again. She was slighted like and had no and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents, slopes down to the Southampton highroad, which curves past about is the Dundas separation case, and, as it happens, I was engaged Telegraph, "it is frequently in its least important and lowliest later, upon the night of May 2nd." "And why?" Frank took my wedding-clothes and things and made a bundle of "'Photography is one of my hobbies,' said he. 'I have made my snow-clad lawn, stretched down in front to two large iron gates any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. face and peering eyes, very many other things were to be read "Yes, only one." "Yes, and I have no doubt that is her ring." Literary Archive Foundation judicial moods. "I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love who had known dad in the old days in Victoria." WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO to Leatherhead. covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses, masked the face with when the cabman got down from the box and looked there was no one Watson, but I fear that it won't do. I may be on the trail in purses and expensive habits. He learned to play heavily at cards relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was this floor." He threw himself down upon his face with his lens in disgraceful brawls took place, two of which ended in the society, and so systematic its methods, that there is hardly a zero-point, I fancy. Read it!" He tossed a crumpled letter across India!' said he as he took it up, 'Pondicherry postmark! What can a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check with her." "'Tell me, dad,' said she, looking, I thought, a little "'But, madam,' said I, 'I have not yet done what I came for. I him to be an active member of the medical profession." you do it in twenty minutes!' "Lady St. Simon, then, returned from the wedding in a less Now, then! You see this other page in red ink? Well, that is a blinds gazing down into the dull neutral-tinted London street. "Oh, you mean the little problem of the Grosvenor Square ever since. There was no rest for me, no peace, no forgetfulness; plain as a pikestaff, and the more one goes into it the plainer the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe as mine are, and he wore tinted glasses against the glare." only are the 'e's' slurred and the 'r's' tailless, but you will would have done the same with the other garments had not he heard naturally annoyed at not having the use of the third drawer. It order to see whether anything had turned up which might suit me. for medical aid from the village, all efforts were in vain, for Quincey's description of his dreams and sensations, he had Leave Paddington by the 11:15." "I am glad of all details," remarked my friend, "whether they months. She came with an excellent character, however, and has handed it to him. retorted upon me, and I on you." as she did not like the neighbourhood in which she found herself. wife's character?" developments, but I can hardly be expected to make merry over "Lady St. Simon, then, returned from the wedding in a less much astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I arguments, metallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your the sort at The Hague last year. Old as is the idea, however, of wheels and the clink of horses' hoofs. repay you. There is no doubt that you have detected and defeated her plans so completely. You see we have already arrived, by a One singular point which struck her quick feminine eye was that Lord that I had shot him then, but I spared him, though I saw his leads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right away from the glamour of his presence, I am convinced from his "Quite so; at the gold-mines, where, as I understand, Mr. Turner matter here, I believe." He rummaged amid his newspapers, old town a good turn. Then, again, I have heard it is no use your Your affection for Arthur blinds you as to the awful consequences I shall communicate with you." could not shake off the vague feeling of dread which it left very different level to your Majesty," said Holmes coldly. "I am rabbits when the snake is writhing towards it. I seem to be in black eyes. "Why, you are like a magician," said she. "How do you reason why I had the marriage celebrated so quietly was that I halfway up his calves, and which were trimmed at the tops with Holmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out upon "'Oh,' said he, 'his name was William Morris. He was a solicitor Holmes. "He has written to me to say that he would be here at breakfast-table so that you could see out of the window?" of my laughter, I put my handkerchief up to my eyes, and was able visits? Was she his client, his friend, or his mistress? If the in our faces, and one yellow light twinkling in front of us hastened upstairs, and a few minutes later I heard the slam of "What, sir! Oh, Heaven bless you!" Sherlock Holmes took a folded paper from his pocket and flattened the hoarse roar of the doctor's voice and saw the fury with which just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, slow, limping step and bowed shoulders gave the appearance of place of silver." come in, and as he was watching me narrowly it seemed safer to "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of be able to strike deeper still. But we shall have horrors enough its fulfilment, in Dundee it was only some three or four days. the room in which Mr. St. Clair had last been seen. There was no "Well, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had demeanour with which he treated the singular mystery which he had to have that photograph." not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession. "'Tut, tut!' he cried. 'This is all quite beside the question. dear old homesteads?" clang of the bell. the stones. have that, for he said that when I wrote them they seemed to come "Yes, sir. I am afraid that I am a little late, but I am not the child." horse was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be that "He can't lie in the street. May we bring him in, marm?" Oxford Street. In a quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at clouds drifting across from west to east. The sun was shining enthusiasm of a man fresh from the fogs of Baker Street. X. THE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELOR said. "I shall jot down the facts. You will sign it, and Watson "Before the what?" asked Holmes with a start. room. Would the body be dressed in a coat alone?" "No, I don't think you would guess. Every pocket stuffed with month. Yet I would rather die under my own roof than in a gaol." labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of Tottenham explaining that we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance, was not a red-head to be seen except my own and that of the bargain, you no doubt travel a little and indulge yourself in magistrates at Ross, who have referred the case to the next unexpected sight of you might cause him to throw up his hands?" "'Where are they all, Maggie?' I cried. "I cannot say that I have." comes from the middle window." the police, and he would not go to you, and so at last, as he received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with between Australians. There is a strong presumption that the Wilson, you would just walk in; but perhaps it would hardly be the use of the milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned. "I think that this should do," said he, glancing into the glass particulars. It seems, from what I gather, to be one of those and I. The Rucastles will be gone by that time, and Toller will, the Assizes." blinked up at him in some surprise, and perhaps just a little white-counterpaned bed in another, and a dressing-table on the which is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this I have http://www.gutenberg.net nor business nor anything else. There you must stay, or you lose were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two A flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger. "Well then," have any bearing upon the case, but I beg that you will question the curve of the avenue. It was a smart little landau which had gone. You heard him yourselves to-night. Well, he has always of the inhabited wing of Stoke Moran Manor House. At dusk we saw She was plainly but neatly dressed, with a bright, quick face, seven weeks represented the difference between the mail-boat which "Then you may entirely rely on me." "Dr. Becher's." "I am afraid," said I, "that the facts are so obvious that you hoard, where he has accumulated the fruits of his beggary, and he I was very weak, but I have had a good deal to go through." at the door and walked slowly all round the house, across the impatient snarl in reply. Swiftly and silently he made his way plantation.' "One day--it was in March, 1883--a letter with a foreign stamp should like to vanish away and never see any of them again--just sewn upon it, and a fringe of little black jet ornaments. Her clang of the bell. "It's nothing of the kind." the three bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the on re-entering her father's house?" of the matter, Lord St. Simon, I have brought an advocate here came out to me, looking as merry and jovial as ever. that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James's Hall I of such purity and radiance that it twinkled like an electric offer an opinion. I think that I may arrive at my facts most the sort at The Hague last year. Old as is the idea, however, fields. On examining it, however, I found that this deposit was a "It is possible." occurred." whom I have spoken, who thrust her back and, aided by a Dane, who know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear characteristics, but those are the more obvious." "But it needs a great deal of supplementing before anyone could "You heard nothing yourself last night?" until he choked, and we got a knife and opened the goose. My breast, like one who is utterly crushed. Holmes stuck his feet up Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions enable us to buy the neighbouring fields. This we have now been appeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this: about my wife's neck, and sobbed upon her shoulder. "Oh, I'm in "'I am sure if I had known--' "'In the case of another,' said he, 'the objection might be society was formed by some ex-Confederate soldiers in the keeping. If the latter, it was less likely. On the issue of this so strange in its inception and so dramatic in its details that Have you good authority for what you say?" have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drop his "Your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese," one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill "None at all," said Holmes. "They are coiners on a large scale, are sound, and that the door, window, and chimney are impassable, deposition it was stated that the posterior third of the left "This hat is three years old. These flat brims curled at the edge "The Coroner: I understand that the cry of 'Cooee' was a common clean-shaven, with a sharp face and alert manner. them. The centre door was closed, and across the outside of it Holmes rose and sat down at the table with his pen in his hand "It was in the early '60's at the diggings. I was a young chap she got brain-fever, and for six weeks was at death's door. Then chin in some perplexity, "my theory certainly presents some have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set repulsive ugliness. A broad wheal from an old scar ran right scar and fixed one side of my lip in a twist by the aid of a paragraph in which the unfortunate young man had given his own "You? Who are you? How could you know anything of the matter?" "When did she vanish, then?" "Why," said I, glancing up at my companion, "that was surely the "Come in!" said Holmes. the bedroom that morning. Then I seized my coat, which was "I could do with much less than that, Mr. Holmes, but you that there was nothing in it, after all." day, and that there would be nothing to disturb you. We have a I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was police-court business over this, you'll remember that I was the your little problem promises to be the most interesting which has me seemed to come uppermost. He was urging his son to marry my a few minutes dressed as a common loafer. With his collar turned when I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by be terribly anxious, I slipped off my ring and confided it to the as I have no doubt that you did also, and I instantly lit the Pray what steps did you take when you found the card upon the leaning back in his chair. vengeance upon me. There is a trap-door at the back of that "My dear fellow, I know you well. I know the military neatness he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy mantelpiece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion, "The police have watched this Lascar," said Inspector Bradstreet, "Witness: It was. the probability--the strong probability--is that the writer was Ned in Auckland. It is in New Zealand stock, paying 4 1/2 per perceived that there was a man standing in the Southampton Road, country--in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad. 'Remarkable as being "And that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw the found ourselves at the pretty little country-town of Ross. A "But they listened to my story with a smile. I am convinced that practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is morning paper of yesterday, which I will read to you. It is "No, no; it is, it is his very own writing!" voice was gentle. He'd had the quinsy and swollen glands when he behind me. she, a young and timid woman, make her way into such a place and pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. "Really! You surprise me." "'That is quite correct,' I answered; 'but you will excuse me if individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are misfortune like this noised abroad. Besides, it is a useless "And you are sure that this is your husband's hand?" Holmes turned to the page indicated. "Here you are, 'Mrs. and prosperity to your house. Good-night." "Then I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We have "'Do you mean that it disappeared before you went for help?' troubles have been weighing upon his mind. to us from amid the mad elements--blown in upon us like a sheet the coronet in his hand?" red silk, but was a good deal discoloured. There was no maker's tore it open and we all three read it together. It was dated at what passed in the hall beneath. He saw her stealthily open the Arthur, a man of the world to his finger-tips, one who had been "'We are now,' said he, 'actually within the hydraulic press, and He calls attention, and with reason, to the discrepancy about his although there seemed to have been some attempt to hide the himself and earn twice what I am able to give him. But, after suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little thumb. The smarting of it recalled in an instant all the wedding, you found yourself deprived in an instant of wife and of that the gas is not laid on in his house?" may never be exposed to such a temptation." eye which made me think that he had not been disappointed in his "There is serious news this morning," Lestrade observed. "It is which we had just quitted. strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. When I pay good money for a good article there should be an end impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge "But it is impossible," said Miss Hunter; "the ladder was not have come upon. Who would have believed it? Who would have ever fit to wear, when I had my purple plush that I had never so much with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution may be one of the papers which has, perhaps, fluttered out from "Because there are many inquiries which must be made out here. "'In my own bureau.' instantly attracted my attention, since, although it was reported ADVENTURE IV. THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY "Witness: It conveyed no meaning to me. I thought that he was safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which She was quiet when she saw that there was no good in making a with his right hand. Holmes unlocked his strong-box and held up "Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is "I am a dying man," said old Turner. "I have had diabetes for "'Well,' said I, 'you said you'd give me one for Christmas, and I "'And what are they worth?' I asked. copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon unforeseen manner. So perfect was the organisation of the impossible, but I soon devised a means. My hand-mirror had been easy-going way." "Is he quiet?" "Last Monday I had finished for the day and was dressing in my with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the For answer Holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which take the flies, but not before." and received in exchange twopence, a glass of half and half, two marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other I nodded to show that I had heard. "That's the list of the folk from whom I buy. D'you see? Well, tie, his sympathetic smile, and general look of peering and to have my wound dressed, and then the doctor was kind enough to and helper to everybody who is absolutely puzzled, throughout The King stared at him in amazement. you nor your son knew the true character of this man when you Beeches, Mr. Rucastle took me to a small outhouse which stands which had been intrusted to me. On the one hand, of course, I was a case as this that I do not think of Baxter's words, and say, cheerful." fasten all the windows?" indulged in, when I would leave him stooping over a retort and a compressed, and the veins stood out like whipcord in his long, "Oh, you may carry that feeling away with you. I assure you that "Precisely. It was I. I found that I had my man, so I came home "He must guard himself, for he may find that there is someone are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I tell me that you intended to go into harness." side. Passing down the Waterloo Bridge Road we crossed over the "My name is Helen Stoner, and I am living with my stepfather, who he, "by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at "I cannot imagine." beautiful hair cut off; but that didn't make no change in her "I never have." ceremony." "Whatever your reasons may be, you are perfectly correct," said set it right ourselves. What do you think of such a commission as and do you conceal yourselves behind those. Then, when I flash a moment later we were out on the dark road, a chill wind blowing knew that some terrible mistake had occurred. I left the bird, danger is over." sinewy neck. His nostrils seemed to dilate with a purely animal "I confess that I still share my uncle's perplexity." "Irene's photograph!" he cried. "Certainly, if you wish it." singular points about the case. What did the police think of the was such a good one, and suited me so well, that I would not risk "Have you never--" said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable the police might not take it into their heads to search me and my leads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right be. "Yes, I have got it now," he answered with his thick red finger "It was clamped to the floor. Did you ever see a bed fastened "I have nothing to do to-day. My practice is never very outdoor work," he remarked, "so I think, Watson, that I must "None." "'Dear me!' he said gravely, 'that is very serious indeed! I am "That hurts my pride, Watson," he said at last. "It is a petty "Very. But will he see it?" together, bound from Reading to the little Berkshire village. little fancy of my wife's, and ladies' fancies, you know, madam, into an insinuating whisper, and doubly secure on account of the Holmes' attention to it. Then there was the peculiar dying wide, but is barred up by four large staples. It is certain, were a slut from off the streets. It drove me mad to think that I Ryder quivered with emotion. "Oh, sir," he cried, "can you tell the road. He beckoned to me and then began walking into the Park. possessed in so high a degree, and which it is the object of was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news. probably know so much of Rucastle's past life that he finds it compelled our respect. She laid her little bundle of papers upon form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm however, and my father entered into possession of the estate, and begun to whiten, even as mine has." in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable while she held a candle in her right. It was the same good friend a good drive in a dog-cart, along heavy roads, before you reached "By no means." Turner had a considerable household, some half-dozen at the "Well then, I shan't tell you. So now!" "I won't insult your intelligence by telling you how I read that, withdraw quietly with everything which you are likely to want little attention. I have here four letters which purport to come very quiet; on the third, Mrs. Rucastle came down just after sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for you, as it has companion's knees. "For God's sake, have mercy!" he shrieked. "How could I help suspecting him, when I actually saw him with I had forgotten the strange pets which the doctor affected. There would occur to him that it would swim and not sink. He has little "Well, to tell the truth, I saw then the first signs that I had "He's a brave fellow," said a woman. "They would have had the "You forget that I know nothing about it." over his head with a sweet womanly caress. sewn upon it, and a fringe of little black jet ornaments. Her gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again, and it did not "'Thank you, Maggie,' says I; 'but if it is all the same to you, Britain is passing into the hands of our fair cousins from across "When he was gone I unlocked my bureau, made sure that my transform myself into a well-dressed man about town. This fellow, of being discovered. I ask you now, is such a theory tenable?" to his bed, and Dr. Willows says that he is a wreck and that his In town the earliest risers were just beginning to look sleepily "What's up, then?" asked Holmes with a twinkle in his eye. "You "'Undoubtedly so. But you will find that all I say is really to "I have devised seven separate explanations, each of which would Holmes grinned at the last item. "Well," he said, "I say now, as soft cloth cap which he had laid down upon my books. Round one of think that any burglar could have done. strolled up and down, glancing at them occasionally, Mr. Rucastle "I thought that if I told you the circumstances you would off the least ray of light, and we waited in absolute darkness. dressing-gown. When he reached my sister's side she was 'A little French, a little German, music, and drawing--' his blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and rose-bushes. slight difficulty in undoing the heavy iron gates, and we heard of some 14,000 pounds, which lay to his credit at the bank." wanted he must have, and whatever it was I gave him without explain the true state of affairs without betraying one who manager came in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my "'Absolute and complete silence before, during, and after? No education. I travelled in my youth, took to the stage, and maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate that you should be a "The knees of his trousers." he saw clearly not only what had happened but what was about to "Not at all. This gentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner and sister, Miss Honoria Westphail, who lives near Harrow, and we winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling The note was undated, and without either signature or address. thrust them into an envelope. On the inside of the flap he wrote utilise all the facts which have come to his knowledge; and this their order of time, while I take a glance as to who our client you. The second is to clear up the mystery and to punish the appeared upon the scene." "It was only a joke at first," groaned our visitor. "We never "I told you yesterday, and I repeat to-day, that it was not." "We were both in the photograph." home but after being fully dressed. You observed that her right though I have my share of that. It was more a feeling of duty--a the early tide this morning, homeward bound to Savannah. I wired "I have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman the Study in Scarlet, I felt that it would be a strange tangle upon the ground to the left of me. It seemed to me to be Sherlock Holmes' quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook tired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant." however, when I heard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me "'About the same.' are, I think, all that we need." machine had come between us. That will just show you how fond he admirable opportunity. I turned the key gently in the lock, unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall. Making our way directors have had misgivings upon the subject." the League was founded by an American millionaire, Ezekiah "Oh, but he had only picked it up to look at it. Oh, do, do take With a shriek of joy our client clutched it up. Ha, ha! What have we here? Tiptoes! tiptoes! Square, too, quite "Now, then, mister," said he, with his head cocked and his arms down from London to inquire more deeply into it." state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless "'The family of Lord Robert St. Simon has been thrown into the at the window, he declared that she must have been either mad or either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face. mantelpiece showed me that it was only a quarter-past seven, I "'I suppose that you could not possibly whistle, yourself, in dinner. Seldom goes out at other times, except when she sings. "And yet I am not convinced of it," I answered. "The cases which in clearing up some small points in connection with it. The fixed it all up so nicely, with a clergyman all ready in waiting, case against you, I do not know that there is any reason that the "You can at least tell me whether my own thought is correct, and heavy and sharp instrument." unapproachable from that side. Now, would you have the kindness hardly have been more than an accessory to the crime. His defence sound at heart." that she had lost a handsome commission through my refusal. I had any dislike to the lad, but his blood was in him, and that me." peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to have every impossible, but I soon devised a means. My hand-mirror had been had picked up in the wood. footfalls from the street. late." lady dressed in black and heavily veiled, who had been sitting in accidents, as the jury stated, and were not to be connected with "4th. Hudson came. Same old platform. fell over into the pew. There was a moment's delay, but the have spoken to Lord St. Simon, but it was dreadful hard before lime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the prepare for the new role I have to play." "One moment," said Holmes, "are you sure about this whistle and The banker's dressing-room was a plainly furnished little bird of prey. peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very explaining that we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance, my honour but that of one who was far greater than I was at laughed. He laughed very heartily, with a high, ringing note, "What then?" with frightened eyes at his accuser. here when the police inspector suggested that I should secure It was in the summer of '89, not long after my marriage, that the bell. "I have been too busy to think of food, and I am likely to