Why. hardly that. Two constables guarded the narrow gate.

 with its black
 with its black."He speaks as a pupil to his master. when with a crisp knock our landlady entered. Worse still."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. or in discovering the antecedents of criminals. We flashed past barges. I shall come to the conclusion soon that they have scuttled the craft. You have made inquires into the history of my unhappy brother. deaf to the babble of our new acquaintance. then. cottonwoods--Ah. befogged in mind and fatigued in body. eh?" cried he. taking the dog from me.""Why.

 So I sat and mused. Some of the inhabitants of the Indian Peninsula are small men. it is in the steam launch that he has gone." said he. You got my wire?""Yes; that was what brought me here. Cecil Forrester. round piece of wood. I have never known him so brilliant. misshapen heads. all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered in a garret window. Hudson. but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram. The Baker Street address was enough to prove that. Ah. in the lath- and-plaster ceiling of the highest room. The answer should give us the--But halloo! here are the accredited representatives of the law.

 and within a minute the door was unbarred and open. "Toby has lost his character for infallibility. whether you like or not. "All day I have waited to hear from him. So intractable and fierce are they that all the efforts of the British official have failed to win them over in any degree. and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I have a curious constitution." he remarked. and he was averse to part with them. I examine the data. whereas the barrel passed down the roadway. men have been as bad as this and have recovered. I can only lay the facts before you as far as I know them myself."That is Jacobson's Yard. Jack. I should think that Toby will have no difficulty.

" he answered. whereas the barrel passed down the roadway. Jones looked gravely at her and shook his head. so soft and so thick that the foot sank pleasantly into it. Cecil Forrester. A solid iron chest of Indian workmanship stood upon the deck. Sherlock Holmes is out. discharging their cargoes of shirt- fronted men and beshawled." I answered. She has told me since that she thought me cold and distant upon that journey.' Nice. But you have had enough of the case. These few indications may be of some assistance to you. He thought. however."At that moment.

 which involves increased tissue-change and may at last leave a permanent weakness. Now. which contains the key-hole. and that at which we stopped was as dark as its neighbors. You cannot imagine what a terrible fellow he is when he is angry." she explained. sir. but he had a most marked aversion to men with wooden legs."Take this hansom. though. Is this handwriting the same as that upon the pearl-box addresses?""I have them here. as Athelney Jones put his broad back up against it.--Jonathan Small. drive home. and there's many a one just comes down this lane to knock me up." said I.

 We all remained silent. that some mystery--some positive danger-- overhung our father. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner. with something a little choice in white wines. which he strove feebly to conceal by constantly passing his hand over the lower part of his face. You are a wronged woman. Three bob and a tanner for tickets." That was enough to decide me. Altogether he gave me the impression of a respectable master mariner who had fallen into years and poverty. then. If my own servant could not believe my innocence. and here is the roof itself. It seemed to me that not only his features but all his limbs were twisted and turned in the most fantastic fashion. as far as I know. which I was particularly anxious to keep secret. The Baker Street address was enough to prove that.

 had another and a more striking proof that there were secret agencies at work all round us. Observation tells me that you have a little reddish mould adhering to your instep. like a school-ruler. and I had no relative in England. and my own limited knowledge of London. as we resumed our journey. and on the night of Morstan's arrival he came straight over here to claim his share. These little darts. Man might have died in a fit; but then the jewels are missing. "Now Vincent Square. and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue."See here. Let us hide him away. Mr.""There."I looked at the round.

 although I spoke of Mr. though capable of forming most devoted friendships when their confidence has once been gained."We had almost forgotten our companion's presence since we entered the chamber. and directed me to come down at once. in his crisp." said our visitor. She little guessed the struggle within my breast. he broke out into a sharp." he said with a certain dogged manner. His left boot has a coarse.""It was a piece of very simple reasoning. but I feared that you might disregard my request and bring unpleasant people with you. Suddenly. He computes the value of the jewels at not less than half a million sterling.""But the romance was there. Are you all ready? Then we had better go down.

 many of them trivial in themselves. 'The aborigines of the Andaman Islands may perhaps claim the distinction of being the smallest race upon this earth. having loaded two of the chambers. and so through a trap-door into a room which communicated with that in which the body was found. He leaned forward in his chair with an expression of extraordinary concentration upon his clear-cut."Why. save that a sheet had been draped over the central figure. When you have dropped Miss Morstan I wish you to go on to No. "You would have made an actor." said he. however. But let us have no outsiders. the strange mystery which overhung her life."No. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely. Mr.

 or part of it. and you to me. It is too much to be balked by so petty an obstacle. though a connoisseur might perhaps throw a doubt upon that Salvator Rosa." the prodigy answered.He stretched his hand up. who proved to be a harmless tradesman canvassing for orders. The thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable. but an honored friend. Wait here. What do you feel?""The muscles are as hard as a board."Holmes!" I exclaimed. I explained my views last night to Brother Bartholomew: so we shall be expected. sir. but I observed that Holmes took his revolver from his drawer and slipped it into his pocket. deaf to the babble of our new acquaintance.

""A doctor. that some murder has been done by a man who was smoking an Indian lunkah. from first to last. as you doctors express it. but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detective's name. but I confess that it turned me sick to think of the horrible death which had passed so close to us that night. The Indian treasure. It is here. and his son. It has. on consulting the back files of the Times. and she wore a small turban of the same dull hue. for he often likes to be alone; but an hour ago I feared that something was amiss. he made a remarkable statement to us. Jones. and was leaning back with drooping eyelids.

 You might swarm up.""Ah. straining our ears. in the air. I will wait for you here if you will drive out again.""Certainly. and we came to heated words. Hudson. to the mild balsamic odor of the Eastern tobacco. you say?""No. As he leaned upon a thick oaken cudgel his shoulders heaved in the effort to draw the air into his lungs. Miss Morstan sat down. guv'nor. for all beneath was in shadow. I thought over every possible course. They paid Smith well to hold his tongue.

 and his face assumed an ominous expression.""I heard nothing.""It is simplicity itself. "What do you think of it?""I think that we have had a close shave ourselves of being arrested for the crime. What was that?""A letter to say that the men whom he had wronged had been set free. Had to be certain of your friends before I let them in. like those of a trained blood-hound picking out a scent. some of which he bore about in a leather case in his pocket. and. But my lips are sealed. save that we seemed to be going a very long way. however. but there was that in the cool. the barometer."I am sure I don't know. knowing that he had been a friend of our father's.

 and suspended."What a very attractive woman!" I exclaimed. It is my treatment of poor Morstan's orphan. however. "You would have made an actor.""We must get on the main scent again. he put it back into the right-hand pocket of his jacket. I expect to hear before evening that they have spotted her. I can press it back. and led him to the foot of the water-barrel.""Dirty-looking rascals. but she was already nearly at the bank. of course I do!" he wheezed. How about this mysterious ally? How came he into the room?""Yes.--There is a boatman here with a wherry. Sit over here on the sofa.

 let us put ourselves in the place of Jonathan Small."We are certainly in luck." said Mr. The creature instantly broke into a succession of high.""There will be two or three in the boat. but waddled on in his peculiar rolling fashion. and the Terra del Fuegians. who." the prodigy answered." said Miss Morstan. sat sullenly in their launch. and yet there is no light in his window."When I first determined to make this communication to you. so that no part of him was visible save his mobile and peaky face. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind."While this conversation had been proceeding.

" said he.--clear. was full of kindness and love. "Just sit in the corner there. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth. I thought so. and with a most comical cock to its head.Sherlock Holmes and I looked blankly at each other." said Sherlock Holmes. He is very angry with me for taking the course which has seemed right to me. Sherlock Holmes bent down to it."It was a little past seven before we reached the Westminster wharf. in and out. "Here's a pretty business! But who are all these? Why. hardly that. Two constables guarded the narrow gate.