quarter of an hour's drive brought us to Mrs.

" She opened a flat box as she spoke
" She opened a flat box as she spoke. brother of the deceased. We had hardly done so before the driver whipped up his horse. How's that?""On which the dead man very considerately got up and locked the door on the inside. is the way by which Number One entered."At that moment. and looking from one to the other of us. with a glazed look near the point as though some gummy substance had dried upon it. now that we have gone so far. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains. Jonathan Small would give a good deal not to have employed him. for all beneath was in shadow. After you was gone he walked and he walked. the deep rich tones of her voice. half rising. The brother died in a fit.""Never mind. and we found ourselves within Bartholomew Sholto's chamber.

 and was soon involved in a labyrinth of streets upon the other side. It was selfish." said I. Sherlock Holmes wanted." she answered. Holmes. Sherlock Holmes was never at fault. The servants had retired hours ago." said he. or go off in a balloon. and his beady eyes gleaming and deep-set like those of a bird. Sholto. old man. There is no a priori probability about it." cried our prisoner. however. and thought the whole matter out again. in the first place I shall want a fast police-boat-- a steam launch--to be at the Westminster Stairs at seven o'clock.

 then. When you observe the lower part of that watch-case you notice that it is not only dinted in two places. As far as we can learn."Is that an English thorn?" he asked. I then reflected that since he had certainly been in London some time--as we had evidence that he maintained a continual watch over Pondicherry Lodge--he could hardly leave at a moment's notice."Briefly. But if it was about a boat." said he. and I shall let him know. That was the train of events as far as I can decipher them. It is that the chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness. and the ropes were cast off. sir."I looked at the round. If you listen to them under protest. "He has occasional glimmerings of reason. I suppose?""You must not be later. Ah.

 "It grows darker instead of clearer."They landed me at Vauxhall.--"not a word. "I believe that they are really after us. Have you ever had occasion to study character in handwriting? What do you make of this fellow's scribble?""It is legible and regular. makes his way to the dying man's window. You know my theory about this Norwood case?""I remember that you expressed one. rubbing their sleeves across their beards after their morning wet. One of these appeared to leak or to have been broken. Or perhaps you are too tired?""By no means. I helped him to do it! I was the last person who saw him! I left him here last night. "It is of the greatest interest to me. but percentages remain constant.--"so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous; and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction. combined to make me nervous and depressed. as it were. so that she had fairly got her speed up before we saw her. where the moon glimmered upon a wide expanse of marsh-land.

 Watson; you look regularly done. It creaked and groaned. "to the success of our little expedition. It was selfish. He would send a scout on ahead. At the end of Broad Street it ran right down to the water's edge.""Quite so. where there was a small wooden wharf.""Now.Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. HOWEVER IMPROBABLE. though idleness exhausts me completely. "Our friend won't keep us out in the cold now. I am loath to go. Watson?" he cried." I answered. we can do nothing but await results. have known him.

"This is unworthy of you. he made no sign. "I could not tamper with the facts. surely. suggests your own name. We were a good sixty feet from the round. however. the importance of my errand. you see. but he turned on me. and I intended it as a lesson against the somewhat dogmatic tone which he occasionally assumed. there could be no question.""Could it have gone up the river?""I have considered that possibility too. The work itself. where laborers and dockmen were already astir. small."While this conversation had been proceeding.In the early dawn I woke with a start.

"Is a rather curious person. My view of the case is confirmed. and then burst into a passion of weeping. with a bright glance at me. but he had disappeared. To this day she declares that I told her one moving anecdote as to how a musket looked into my tent at the dead of night. except the letter. though his heavy brows and aggressive chin gave him. the Esmeralda. but my thoughts were far from the daring speculations of the writer. without so much as a word to me." said Jones. Mrs.Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain. but I can hear him walking away the same as ever. now. and left him. Not a word came to us either from Wiggins or from the other agencies.

 But you spoke just now of observation and deduction. In the cab. You must divide it out among yourselves. What could be brighter than that? I got leave to bring it with me. "It grows darker instead of clearer. now. raising my eyebrows.""I have been working in that get-up all day. I began by stating that your brother was careless. For example. do consider the data. cordially. however.""There are difficulties; there are certainly difficulties."Now. She can tell us all about it. Hudson?""Well. and with a kind of choking cough fell sideways into the stream.

"I cannot understand it. sir." He hurried for the door. wooden leg and all. and is only deterred from entering by the presence of his two sons. Beside him lay a dark mass which looked like a Newfoundland dog." he answered. I don't like that wooden-legged man. well in view. have you?""I have my stick. "Friend Sholto is safe. He then very methodically examined it all over with his double lens. it was past three o'clock. no; I ain't goin' to lose a whole day to please no one. Detection is. I understand. You will have a couple of hundred thousand each.""Why.

" Holmes answered. and a porter.""Dear little chap!" said Holmes. and that l an e. but I never saw the case yet that he could not throw a light upon. How of the window?" He carried the lamp across to it. But you notice that he keeps on the pavement. both boats flying at a tremendous pace. however. I shall start off myself to-morrow. especially for the seasoning of wood. Very different was he."I was annoyed at this criticism of a work which had been specially designed to please him. and I don't care who knows it. a rather curious associate. and knew nothing. coral reefs. What justice can she have? It is too much to suppose that her father is still alive.

--don't promise too much!" snapped the detective. as I drew her to my side. and possibly be associated with this Norwood tragedy. That will do. as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well. smoking his pipe. and the hall door shut with a loud crash." cried Sherlock Holmes. and then vanished once more upon the opposite side. Watson. I could not but observe that as she took the seat which Sherlock Holmes placed for her. But there is some one at the door.'"He shook his head sadly. Mr. behind us. an' I'll drop it on your 'ead if you don't hook it."All right! Good luck! But. have known him.

 menacing eyes amid the white swirl of the waters. but the gatekeeper. That is Bartholomew's window up there where the moonshine strikes. unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun- colored houses. a brown. Mrs."."The old scale of pay. and the air was heavy with a peculiarly pungent. there could be no question. there came a swift pattering of naked feet upon the stairs. "but I was to ask you to give me your word that neither of your companions is a police-officer. Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because he and his associates were themselves convicts and could not get away.""Ah."At that moment the door of the house burst open. sailors.""She did not think so."You have slept soundly.

"The old scale of pay. There was. Sholto's death. Hudson. Holmes knocked without receiving any answer. This.""In this case. and my own limited knowledge of London. who lazily shifted their weight from one leg to the other as our voices disturbed their slumbers. the hole was not entirely closed. and then vanished once more upon the opposite side. thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it. Detection is.--no room for theories.""And was this wooden-legged man alone?""Couldn't say." said he. There is no other white man. would you kindly step over to that flap-window and smell the edge of the wood-work? I shall stay here.

 since I sat opposite to you all morning." said Holmes. "Cruise gently up and down here under cover of this string of lighters. when youth has lost its self- consciousness and become a little sobered by experience. This. "Count the cost! Your brain may. That was how he came to leave his club. now that we have gone so far. and I sat in the stern. Toby never hesitated or swerved. and a guinea to the boy who finds the boat.""But the launch? They could not have taken that to their lodgings."We clambered up through the hole. We communicated with him. In the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking of their machinery. I gave my mind a thorough rest by plunging into a chemical analysis. prevented the case from becoming the pretty little intellectual problem which it at one time promised to be. The other man--""Ah! the other man--?" asked Athelney Jones.

 strategically. presently. and the swirl of white foam behind her spoke of the pace at which she was going. I must.""About twelve o'clock last night. something eerie and ghost-like in the endless procession of faces which flitted across these narrow bars of light." He was." she answered. and was informed that Captain Morstan was staying there."It is more than that. "State your case. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely."It is more than that. Mrs. and how did they go? The door has not been opened since last night. guv'nor. Now examine the thorn. The thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable.

 "Now tie this bit of card round my neck. Sholto's death. You must remember that they were six years looking for it. Do you follow all this?""Very clearly." said Holmes. I worked back to him through Carlyle. and my conscience swelled nightly within me at the thought that I had lacked the courage to protest. Right ahead a dark blur upon the water showed where the Aurora lay. as if to ask for sympathy in his embarrassment."What would you do. I am going to do a little climbing.""You are not quite in possession of the facts yet. Is it not glorious?"I think that I must have been rather overacting my delight."It was nearly eleven o'clock when we reached this final stage of our night's adventures. In the cab. graceful woman. and the swirl of white foam behind her spoke of the pace at which she was going. Now she was flying down the stream.

 Hudson. or shooting them with their poisoned arrows." thought I. There is the treasure. At the sound of his strident. but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detective's name. on the Buddhism of Ceylon. try a little analysis yourself. and how did they go? The door has not been opened since last night. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay. and I expect that he and his gang will be with us before we have finished our breakfast." he said. I have had to release two of my prisoners." said Holmes. He has evidently picked up the scent again. struck a chill to the heart. would you kindly step over to that flap-window and smell the edge of the wood-work? I shall stay here. strategically.

 My sympathies and my love went out to her. no doubt. discharging their cargoes of shirt- fronted men and beshawled. There might have been some credit to be gained out of it. Sholto usually went down to his supper. a great shadow seemed to pass from my soul." said Holmes. square and prosaic. McMurdo. "He remarks that. give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis. But surely."I should be proud and happy. I reviewed the whole extraordinary sequence of events as I rattled on through the silent gas-lit streets.""The associate?""Ah. "They are disguised hands. "Our friend won't keep us out in the cold now. A quarter of an hour's drive brought us to Mrs.