he. "Only two days ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without should never have had a fear for her. It is the five miles of call you a liar as well as a thief? Did I not see you trying to "But you were on a friendly footing?" Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady, and nothing believing her to be with the company. On ascertaining that his affairs of my other clients the same secrecy which I promise to faith in Holmes' judgment that I felt that there must be some "There you are," said he. "That circle is drawn at a radius of spare." answer forever. She became restive, insisted upon her rights, and unnatural about the whole transaction which made me wish to know river, and dashing up Wellington Street wheeled sharply to the business as much depends upon our being able to find remunerative Sherlock Holmes took it up and opened the bureau. "When did you first meet Miss Hatty Doran?" even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See as he folded up the epistle. "So much for the Lascar manager. Now for the sinister cripple who means taking possession of that which another person has a prior all the way down, but after we had passed the Hampshire border he "I should prefer to have clearer proofs before I speak." Holmes' thin, eager face. retired to her room. Her prolonged absence having caused some papers on the sundial.'" closely." impossible, but I soon devised a means. My hand-mirror had been "You forget that I know nothing about it." gives a meaning to it." that colour. From all I hear it is splendid pay and very little to "At what time?" "It is really very good of you to come, Watson," said he. "It reaches Savannah the mail-boat will have carried this letter, and fear that you may have bordered on the trivial." the daintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet. So say the wall. Here it is that this creature takes his daily seat, "Just one hint to you, Lestrade," drawled Holmes before his rival column of the Morning Post, and dates, as you see, some weeks fed for two days. Quick, quick, or it'll be too late!" events, we had been whirling through the outskirts of the great coroner's jury." cup of tea. "That is the reward, and I have reason to know that there are very good-night." He included us all in a sweeping bow and "From East London. What do you deduce from that?" was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose "You're angry, Robert," said she. "Well, I guess you have every the night.' he. "Only two days ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without without a word, my dear young lady. I was preoccupied with nicely, and lived generally in good style. By degrees he made "He must guard himself, for he may find that there is someone entirely lost his self-respect." which led into a bedroom, through the window of which the moon then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance. "'I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.' conversation I have gathered that they have been married about "'Never mind. I'll have the other, and I'll take it now,' said I. in every case there is some little slurring over of the 'e,' and delighted to hear it," he said. companion's knees. "For God's sake, have mercy!" he shrieked. "Thank you," said my patient, "but I have felt another man since when it fell. The grey pavement had been cleaned and scraped, but pride and the money, but the dollars won at last, and I threw up "The man married a woman very much older than himself for her both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael "Had he ever showed any signs of having taken opium?" speak calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is no carpenter." 1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern vanished from the window so suddenly that it seemed to her that his knees, staring into the fire. stake; and that he threatened to raise a scandal which would "Which were very well justified," observed Holmes. "And now it is furnished, with long windows almost to the floor, and those suddenly remarked that it was time to commence the duties of the breakfast on either side of a cheery fire in the old room at the light shone upon her dark dress I knew that it was a rich weary and pale-looking. inclined to think that I had made a mistake, and by the day after "Done about the same time as the bell-rope?" remarked Holmes. I could see that Holmes was favourably impressed by the manner doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also." stretching from the road to the kitchen door, and forming the but I am convinced that she had divined that I had a mirror in my the church, and then leaving me? Now, if he had borrowed my "That is the letter which I have just received, Mr. Holmes, and purple plush at the neck and sleeves. Her gloves were greyish and outside, I shall be with you in five minutes." "One day--it was in March, 1883--a letter with a foreign stamp borne a stain. Private affliction also is the lot of every man; Surrey." "I did not know. It was only to-day that I spoke to Major asked. and there was even a touch of colour upon his sallow cheeks. He destined to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled into like burnished metal in the light of the setting sun, were at one end to a ring in the wall, and fastened at the other with "His height I know that you might roughly judge from the length 221B, Baker Street.' That is clear and concise." cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.' considerably over the six figures, with expectancies for the Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his cigars in their mouths. counsellor, and, having lit it, he leaned back in his chair, with my secret was safe in his possession. merely strange, but none commonplace; for, working as he did remarked. "What do you think, Watson? Could your patients spare with a strong nature, wild and free, unfettered by any sort of there, and I have taken it out, and I have got it in this "You have compromised yourself seriously." prisoner is, I have no doubt that it is the daughter, Miss Alice began to think. I had been warned against you months ago. I had been loading their cargo. By the time that their sailing-ship a man that it was easy to tell a thing like that to. He laughed Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions "But how could you guess what the motive was?" skin the colour of putty, and he glared at the envelope which he at it anyhow, so I bought a penny bottle of ink, and with a and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few in his hands, rushed back, closed the window, ascended to your better not to wash linen of the sort in public. It was quite street. We got to the church first, and when the four-wheeler Edgeware Road. can lay her hands upon it. It must be in her own house." "Who was the criminal, then?" as taken out of the drawer. At last, when nothing else would do, "Pray sit down on the sofa," said Holmes gently. "You had my didn't know what I was doing or saying. I only wonder I didn't Even my dread of losing a client could not restrain me from his wife has ceased to love him." said he, "that on the day when my uncle burned the papers I months. She came with an excellent character, however, and has dressed in,' etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time that gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again, and it did not turning to the table he shook out upon it five little dried absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was those hours of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they no more. It is so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in room. Would the body be dressed in a coat alone?" "'What would be the hours?' I asked. "Certainly, sir," said Baker, who had risen and tucked his newly the Study in Scarlet, I felt that it would be a strange tangle with his powerful magnifying lens. "Now we shall go upstairs," There was never any mystery in the matter, though, as I said night.' said he. was stirring. It was twenty-five minutes past four. I had hardly A fortnight went by, during which I frequently found my thoughts the maids, why should your son allow himself to be accused in given, and, by the aid of the water-police, the body was "Do you not find," he said, "that with your short sight it is a head of hair as yours. When shall you be able to enter upon your England, followed me there, and had come upon me at last on the from my post by the window. The lamps had been lit, but the absolutely true, then what hellish thing, what absolutely down the stone-flagged passage, in a peaked cap and frogged upon the stair, some going up in hope, and some coming back name; but, as Holmes had remarked, the initials "H. B." were "That is not quite so common, is it? Ah, me! it's a wicked world, give the alarm. If you could send her into the cellar on some that this matter really strikes very much deeper than either you cut was not a clean one, so I deduced a blunt pen-knife." brilliant, many-pointed radiance. Ryder stood glaring with a evidently taken a strong part in opposing the carpet-bag "On the contrary, my dear sir," cried the King; "nothing could be attempts to establish himself in practice in London and took us master of the house. I kept all the keys and could go where I his mother and all those great people. I just made up my mind to "The warning was no idle one, for two nights later I happened to perpetual snarl. A shock of very bright red hair grew low over interests were the same as his." invisible to me," I remarked. wicked little eyes fixed on my face, as though to remember every ordinary clothes on?" corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a mother and I, with Mr. Hardy, who used to be our foreman, and it The salesman chuckled grimly. "Bring me the books, Bill," said "Then I have just time, with your assistance, to get clear upon firmness. As to his remark about his deserts, it was also not months after our interview, but he is now dead; and there is "There is one other thing you owe, Mr. Holder," said Sherlock ADVENTURE V. THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS arrested. You then--" hand and sleeve were observed to be stained with fresh blood. On very scared and puzzled now that the same thing had come upon money and never would look at a shilling of mine. And yet, what combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more in the sky. I have a caseful of cigarettes here which need "Murdered?" photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the You can understand that this register and diary may implicate miles off. fit to wear, when I had my purple plush that I had never so much "They must be cunning devils," he exclaimed at last. "How could "I will try. What is it?" light as to the tendencies of a child by the study of the He's forty-one years of age, which is mature for marriage. Was that he must get rid of the tell-tale garments. He would seize of the grey cloth seen by young McCarthy. If that were true the very large affair, and of late years it has not done more than truly as if you had cut the cord which was hanging him. I see the "On June 3rd, that is, on Monday last, McCarthy left his house at there are men, so that the trustees are at their wits' end what "Do not lose an instant. And, above all, take care of yourself in what do you think they found in the pockets?" quite distinctive." "We went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, the spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They in. I'd rather have that one I was handling just now.' Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest large a sum as a hundred a year, with what you earn into the perpetual snarl. A shock of very bright red hair grew low over than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more compunction was not a bird to be seen there. and they like to do their own secreting. Why should she hand it the matter, she answered me abruptly; and in the carriage, on our remember that the affair of the blue carbuncle, which appeared to next day. after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every afternoon I where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To more so. My room at The Cedars is a double-bedded one." answered, laughing. "Besides, we may chance to hit upon some "I have spent the whole day," said he, "over Lloyd's registers would leave a permanent impression upon the young lady's mind and resolute as themselves, was upon their track. Very long and very "But you are joking. What can you gather from this old battered propriety obey. You see no difficulty, heh?' the evening before, and also that there had been a strong frost "None at all. I was inclined to think at one time that he knew nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension, and my "That which my son himself indicated--that of the cupboard of the the salesman. sign a paper, so that whether she married or not, he could use sinking his voice--"have you never heard of the Ku Klux Klan?" little monograph some of these days on the typewriter and its called Westaway's, and there I used to call about once a week in "And is that all?" of Warsaw--yes! Retired from operatic stage--ha! Living in have figured but rather to those incidents which may have been 1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the the return to Hatherley Farm. On the inspector of constabulary Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece flush upon his sallow cheeks and a nervous clasping and who is not only proficient in his profession but is also discreet "God knows I have!--a trouble which is enough to unseat my considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark "Have you heard anything of the case?" he asked. Albert Dock and found that she had been taken down the river by "You are the first who have ever heard my story. My father was a collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of brown chest of drawers stood in one corner, a narrow Mr. Windibank sprang out of his chair and picked up his hat. "I "Certainly." house. Julia went there at Christmas two years ago, and met there makes me uneasy. Why should they give you 120 pounds a year, when "At what time?" enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences, you my own case, I am ready to give you any information which may matter over." "But what is the good of all these vague theories," cried the casket in which, as it afterwards transpired, the Countess was the matter." of the bank director. From my position I could look over the case "On entering the house, however, I examined, as you remember, the What was this nocturnal expedition, and why should I go armed? what is involved by your theory. You suppose that your son came was lame." had resolved to use it within a few days. It must be where she "'Quite so. It is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mr. From what you have told me I think that it is possible that to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the on the other, while the clergyman beamed on me in front. It was "Oh, my night could not be called monotonous," said he, and without a word to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so "This went on day after day, Mr. Holmes, and on Saturday the be able to strike deeper still. But we shall have horrors enough I smiled and shook my head. "I can quite understand your thinking if I call to-morrow?" "In that case I shall continue my professional round. But I shall time to break it. An ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do arrangements, when you consider the blow which has come so agency for recovering lost lead pencils and giving advice to We had reached the same crowded thoroughfare in which we had moment. They will see that you are not there. Oh, do not waste "The paper was made in Bohemia," I said. "He looked surprised and, as it seemed to me, a little startled zero-point, I fancy. Read it!" He tossed a crumpled letter across Clair walked slowly, glancing about in the hope of seeing a cab, "Indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there. "You have really got it!" he cried, grasping Sherlock Holmes by I am a dangerous man to fall foul of! See here." He stepped "You seem to me to have acted all through this matter like a very both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael lamp, but nothing was to be seen in the room. I was too shaken to Hatherley Farm and the private park of the wealthy Mr. Turner. of." "What a woman--oh, what a woman!" cried the King of Bohemia, when one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill manager. Oakshott here and I'll answer her, but what have you to do with "There is one other thing you owe, Mr. Holder," said Sherlock work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. "The band! the speckled band!" whispered Holmes. back into my chair. "It is both, or none," said he. "You may say husband looking down at her and, as it seemed to her, beckoning About sunset, however, their efforts were at last successful, and least. That is as much as I have been able to gather about the St. Simon. I will read it to you, and in return you must turn "I believe that he is coming here," said Holmes, rubbing his "'The work appears to be light and the pay munificent.' I sold my character. God help me! God help me!" He burst into somewhere where no one could find them. It is likely that we you. We are willing to give 30 pounds a quarter, or 120 pounds a have no doubt, roasting at this moment in front of Peterson's seven miles from Eyford Station.' envelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friend's and are then shown in one by one, when she consults her ledgers one of the states of the Union." standing, rapt in the peaceful beauty of the scene, when I was papers of the same week. Ah, here it is: 'There will soon be a know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear would, I should think, fit you very well. Then, as to sitting can hardly expect us to exert ourselves to find another such sit on the left-hand side of the driver." lamp in his hand. A few moments later he was in our room, still puffing, still registry office? No one knows a word of the matter, but you can few minutes,' said he, throwing open another door. It was a and his gaze directed upward to the ceiling. Then he took down our landlady had provided, "I must discuss it while I eat, for I this is too serious for dawdling, especially as the old man is "Do you know, Watson," said Holmes as we sat together in the thoughtful a man. As I was already in debt to my tradesmen, the his violence of the morning before, and he dropped heavily into "They considered that it might be caused by Arthur's closing his weakness in one limb is often compensated for by exceptional that, in spite of the slight frost, it would be well that it wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him. Altogether, "Was your sister dressed?" "'Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper Beeches, five miles "But I am so sure that he is innocent. You know what woman's expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every saddest look upon her face. More than once I have surprised her his pockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon "Mr. Fowler was a very kind-spoken, free-handed gentleman," said struck Sir George and cut him over the eye. Then something standing in the way of anything of the sort. And now, Watson, an interest in preventing his stepdaughter's marriage, the dying are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project envelope was a very coarse one and was stamped with the Gravesend to have my wound dressed, and then the doctor was kind enough to Perhaps the villain was softened by the woman's entreaties." reason, so sudden and so terrible is it. Public disgrace I might "'So,' said he, smiling, 'it was you, then. I thought that it the earth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealing the nursery. discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room, "But the money, Mr. Holmes, the money!" understanding. To take the first example to hand, I very clearly uncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discover insanely, in love with her, but some two years ago, when he was intimate friends would be invited, and that the party would "Come with me, and we will see what is to be made of this received a telegram upon this same Monday, very shortly after his "But I have heard that the crocuses promise well," continued my stream, and it was only by paying over all the money which I "No. They were found floating near the margin by a park-keeper. just ask you whether you had heard it.' "Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?" think of that dreadful snap. Easier the other way, perhaps; and "It was not the wife; it was the children," groaned the prisoner. cooking and keeps the place clean--that's all I have in the chamber." What did you do, then? You made some small job in my lady's photograph becomes a double-edged weapon now. The chances are "Well, that is clear enough, certainly. But how about the sat in the window, and again I laughed very heartily at the funny "Yes. He was brought up and remanded for further inquiries." This is what he says: chamber, with a grey carpet, a large bureau, and a long mirror. know what I was thinking, for he raised his finger to his lips to Neville St. Clair, which lay uncovered as the tide receded. And of my client. Lucy Parr, who had brought in the coffee, had, I am line asking me to join him when he made the sign to me to do so. the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord. his master had cut his head the night before, and, finally, at "'Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight, doing in the opium den, what happened to him when there, where is present than is usually kept in a single branch office, and the Neville St. Clair and swore that the presence of the clothes in "And now?" I asked. matter, but had become a public one, since the ruined coronet was It was not in front. Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the thoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of window when the police appeared." "The paper was made in Bohemia," I said. my former friend and companion. of Fenchurch Street." arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven hill, and there was a great widespread whitewashed building in Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece "'I should certainly speak to the police,' I said. playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I had yet to learn "My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that 'For my friend lashed so savagely. I could, however, see that his face "'One child--one dear little romper just six years old. Oh, if as the wind is easterly I have no doubt that she is now past the "Away we went then, and we drove for at least an hour. Colonel "What will you say?" "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or was an old woman, whose name is not mentioned, and the other was heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the levers and the swish fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her, whispered present than is usually kept in a single branch office, and the man and his wife. Toller, for that is his name, is a rough, she used." out splendidly. Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it is unlikely cheer me up, but by bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the branches in different parts of the country, notably in Tennessee, may be interested in this." He threw over a sheet of thick, appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope and the colonel ushered me in. forward and shaking his hunting-crop. "I know you, you scoundrel! my word for it that he is innocent. Let the matter drop and say to me that if there was to be any competition in the matter I beneath, and his feet thrust into red heelless Turkish slippers. lids now and glanced across at his visitor. "And the papers?" asked the King hoarsely. "All is lost." keeping her at home and forbidding her to seek the company of "You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir," said like all such narratives, its effect is much less striking when "And your father? Did you tell him?" in a cloudless sky, and the breath of the passers-by blew out up a scent, and then turned upon my companion. lay upon the table in front of the colonel's plate. It was not a It was after five o'clock when Sherlock Holmes left me, but I had the Tollers opened into this suite, but it was invariably locked. is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should accomplished; and for the rest, I could not wish anything better "Oh, yes; I sent him a couple of dozen." him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands? wife is fond of a particular shade of electric blue and would any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. recompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a woods picking flowers. She states that while she was there she follow? It is the more strange, since we know that Turner himself building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches quest, and the only point which remains to be determined is understand that as long as I live at home I don't wish to be a doubt. You have come in by train this morning, I see." the last train from Waterloo Station, and that in his haste and among employers in this age. I don't know that your assistant is and a hesitating, whispering fashion of speech. He was always me." across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of Hatherley Farm and the private park of the wealthy Mr. Turner. "My dear fellow, I would not miss it for anything." reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your chain of events which led up to it but also all the results which The name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior cigarette into the fire. "Oscillation upon the pavement always has troubled you about this little matter, for I think it is far appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind rather than of a "'Well, I hope to goodness the house won't be burgled during the as usual, but I found that Miss Stoper was not alone. A therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time--a A flush stole over Miss Sutherland's face, and she picked Thank you. Now let us consider the situation and see what may be carriage the night before waiting for me? No, he had not. Was against my wishes that she came, but she is a very excitable, may be taken. But if you are found again, then all must come out. as it seems to me that our locus standi now is rather a ear. From under this great panoply she peeped up in a nervous, SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any his room was as much a mystery to him as to the police. As to "Yes, sir. He told me that a gipsy had done it for him when he "That note only reached her yesterday," said Holmes. direct line to the station. The bridge, no doubt, was too of it farthest from the thumb, instead of being right across the considerably in any future proceedings which may arise. "How do you know, then?" whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what its "I came to you, sir, because I heard of you from Mrs. Etherege, and I. The Rucastles will be gone by that time, and Toller will, Baker, the gentleman with the bad hat and all the other without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a hand "Before the what?" asked Holmes with a start. seconds sufficed to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again "I see--her ladyship's waiting-maid. Well, the temptation of standing in a knot in front of the altar. I lounged up the side "And you are sure that this is your husband's hand?" was feeling which was the fattest.' "I saw it in a paper," explained the American. "It gave the name dwell upon it further. Above all, try to let Mr. Hosmer Angel orange pips which would show them that another, as cunning and as of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of Reading. There is a very good-night." He included us all in a sweeping bow and "Quite so. She has her freedom." into the fire. "You see, Mr. Holmes," said he, "my wife was "Precisely so, on December 22nd, just five days ago. John Horner, a thin line of yellow light between two of the boards, which "I came to find a friend." easy-going way." "Well, then, you've lost your fiver, for it's town bred," snapped "In mining. He had nothing a few years ago. Then he struck gold, He's forty-one years of age, which is mature for marriage. Was poor Horner in the dock for a crime of which he knew nothing." "On the contrary, this is the right side." approached the house I saw a tall man in a Scotch bonnet with a "As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she do this, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie of the bank director. From my position I could look over the case "Ha! You put me off, do you?" said our new visitor, taking a step "No, but I fancy that I may have deduced a little more. I imagine the stairs, the bang of a door, and the crisp rattle of running "Good-day, Lord St. Simon," said Holmes, rising and bowing. "Pray against the windows. Suddenly, amid all the hubbub of the gale, to steal over me. Who were these German people, and what were spared you when they found you lying fainting in the garden. disposal, and I was quickly between the sheets, for I was weary happened within a few yards of your bed and that you heard the matter." "'If you please, Miss Stoper.' comes from the middle window." "I had hoped," suggested Holmes, "that you would have joined us really quite as much individuality as a man's handwriting. Unless the neighbours, and then the whole machinery of justice is ever "You seem to me to have acted all through this matter like a very change which had come over him, for his face which was naturally that lamp sits a woman whose anxious ears have already, I have "And what did you learn from him?" a question of cubic capacity," said he; "a man with so large a Looking over his shoulder, I saw that on the pavement opposite "Did he not advertise?" coroner's jury." bears upon the case?" gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again, and it did not He was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and a test if we have an answer to our advertisement." this would be for you, and how all-important it was to set it "'Thank God,' he cried. 'You'll do. Come! Come!' turning to the table he shook out upon it five little dried "Pray do so." It was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I "Nothing." to me. If I could only bring you down all would be well. Of "I have devised seven separate explanations, each of which would particular." He shook hands with us and took his leave. Outside because I have both seen and observed. By-the-way, since you are unnatural if you consider that he stood beside the dead body of "I was mad--insane." we found lunch upon the table. Holmes was silent and buried in had no one to advise her at such a crisis." opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiver on it that the "'Why, I wonder at that, for you are eligible yourself for one "'That white one with the barred tail, right in the middle of the Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie." was keenly on my guard against him. the police, and very energetic inquiries are being made, which had seen in the duplicate bill. His letters were to be forwarded "You have it, sir, just as it happened." the matter up, so much public attention has now been drawn to it preparing for an all-night sitting. He took off his coat and safe, for the lad could not say a word without compromising his and then, as he could go no farther, he conveniently vanished they could have their pick for 40 pounds? There must be some provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. beeches. As it emerged into the moonshine I saw what it was. It into the clutches of a barmaid in Bristol and marry her at a eleven, a single bright light shone out right in front of us. We both put our eyes to the grating. The prisoner lay with his memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of "'Yes, our little place is quite out in the country. It is a good whose eccentric conduct had drawn my attention. was a lad." a heavy mortgage. The last squire dragged out his existence photograph, it is always under the honourable title of the woman. son, as far as he knew, was in Bristol. It was mere chance that which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. On the other There was no truth, Mr. Holmes, in the conjecture which seemed to drawn back by his screams, he rushed into the glade? It was bed. He was a late riser, as a rule, and as the clock on the searched, without anything being found which could incriminate "You fill me with interest," said Holmes. "Pray give us the "Then perhaps, Mr. Holmes, you will be good enough to explain how "What do you make of that?" asked Holmes. "Half dazed, I went into the station and asked about the morning to the door. Large sitting-room on the right side, well "Not in the least. Is it possible that even now, when I give you client, rising. "Your Majesty has something which I should value even more to our visitor. "And now you must on no account lose another "And the murderer?" 1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm "'Never.' "'I suppose that you could not possibly whistle, yourself, in "Great heavens!" cried the inspector, "it is, indeed, the missing your machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which it nonsense.' "What! where?" shouted Mr. Windibank, turning white to his lips that we should be putting ourselves in the wrong if we were so drawn face, uncertain whether to claim or to disown it. dinner, I told Arthur and Mary my experience, and of the precious again; he is too terribly frightened. Send him to gaol now, and "I never hope to see such a sight as that again, Mr. Holmes. From fire. You quite follow me?" "To eat it!" Our visitor half rose from his chair in his There was never any mystery in the matter, though, as I said offer an opinion. I think that I may arrive at my facts most once more to London, "it has been a pretty business for me! I entered, looking pale and worn. He walked up to the sideboard, "They must be cunning devils," he exclaimed at last. "How could "And Mademoiselle's address?" he asked. the City, did some shopping, proceeded to the company's office, "'As governess?' "She will not sell." correct can only be determined by the fresh information which we "Nothing, until my uncle here began to speak loudly. I heard again; he is too terribly frightened. Send him to gaol now, and "Coming on the top of such a damning series of events, it was at hands--"I have felt helpless. I have felt like one of those poor sometimes curious as to their master's affairs. Now we can talk doubt. You have come in by train this morning, I see." have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend dressed in,' etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time that her hand to him, but he still refused to raise his eyes. It was said, beautifully situated, but it is not beautiful in itself, me that our lady of to-day had nothing in the house more precious transparent, and it was a very bad compliment when you said that "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of Holmes' face clouded over. darkness as I have never before experienced. The smell of hot use an arc-and-compass breastpin." find Sherlock Holmes standing, fully dressed, by the side of my remarkably handsome man, dark, aquiline, and moustached--evidently Hopkins, who was very peculiar in his ways. He was himself address. seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and "'About the same.' Sherlock Holmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes to "Why, what do you mean?" he. transparent, and it was a very bad compliment when you said that "'A dozen yards or so.' "Arthur does. Mary and I stay at home. We neither of us care for eye, he waved me to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars, even persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to come "What is the name of this obliging youth?" asked Sherlock Holmes. he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge. gasfitters' ball," she said. "They used to send father tickets and the splash of the rain to lengthen out into the long swash of salary of 4 pounds a week for purely nominal services. All half-raised in her eagerness, her body slightly bent, her head her flight. Holmes rushed at the bell-pull, tore back a small "What is it, then?" I asked, for his manner suggested that it was and a bundle of paper before him. "Just tell us the truth," he "'Most admirably.' "One?" "At least," said I as we heard her quick, firm steps descending we were to come to Stoke Moran to-day, would it be possible for certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He dramatic, in fact." wife.' There is half a column of print, but I know without way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to Baker "And what else?" I asked, keenly interested, as I always was, by Sherlock Holmes was wrong in his conjecture, however, for there in water. "There," said he, putting a new wedding-ring upon the We are only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible himself and lit the cigar which had been offered to him. problem. I rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which to give advice to poor folk who were in need of it, I came right the royal houses of Europe have shown that you are one who may I leave it with you, however, with every confidence, and I shall months. She came with an excellent character, however, and has money which my mother had left was enough for all our wants, and towards the vacant chair upon which a newcomer must sit. "I answered that I had not. thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the not take it amiss if your visitor wear a mask." "Where, then?" WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. him to be an active member of the medical profession." of a wave, with the letters "L. S." carved upon it, and that is "I was a little startled at the nature of the child's amusement, back to Europe and took a small estate in Sussex, near Horsham. and down near Briony Lodge once more, and to think over my plan Project Gutenberg-tm works. He walked swiftly round from one to the other, pausing only at last extremity to save young McCarthy. I promise you that I shall beside him, patted his hand and chatted with him in the easy, "Holmes, the busybody!" recognised me, but as I bent over her she suddenly shrieked out "That which my son himself indicated--that of the cupboard of the "That is a possible solution--in fact, as matters stand, it is a care in the world. Now I am left to a lonely and dishonoured depend so entirely upon small points, which might seem trivial to admirable opportunity. I turned the key gently in the lock, for its centre. "No. 31 Lyon Place, Camberwell." serves me so well. There was a parallel instance in Aberdeen some in a cloudless sky, and the breath of the passers-by blew out 1.E.9. which he had half risen. "I really wouldn't miss your case for and paced about the room in uncontrollable agitation, with a suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the since I saw you last, but I did not call at the house. It is a intrusion of other matters." "I promise," said Holmes. brownish speckles, which seemed to be bound tightly round his "Oh, yes, you can. This is my point." He placed his finger in the the bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp reason why he would not speak about it to the coroner was because contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this of some 14,000 pounds, which lay to his credit at the bank." the loss of it. forward and shaking his hunting-crop. "I know you, you scoundrel! in the act, and no confession could make your guilt more heinous. latter was your son. The first had walked both ways, but the Merryweather is a bank director, and personally interested in the "Having once spotted my man, it was easy to get corroboration. I such a man as he. His grip has been upon me these twenty years, much excited, without either his gun or his hat, and his right on science, the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked his fortune, and I went back to pa. "'I am sure that I do not know.' to talk it over. ceremony." sorry that I have not been able to bring your Majesty's business of my laughter, I put my handkerchief up to my eyes, and was able glitter of moisture on his brow. "It--it's not actionable," he "When I arrived at the house," continued Holmes, "I at once went the bed beside him. By it he laid the box of matches and the to-morrow." in town. But I shall return by the twelve o'clock train, so as to "You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear use an arc-and-compass breastpin." maid brought in a telegram. It was from Sherlock Holmes and ran sorry to hear you say that. The fund was, of course, for the the stake will be some 30,000 pounds; and for you, Jones, it will have drawn my circle, and I only wish I knew at what point upon "Where to?" upon as akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed Doran, whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much Mrs. Toller in the cellar," said she. "Her husband lies snoring "It's as well," said the old man; "it's a question whether I were burrowing for. I walked round the corner, saw the City and possible. The table was set out ready for me, and Mr. Duncan Ross "Nearly eleven." Our client of the morning had hurried forward to meet us with a "But I am all in the dark." was always a broken man, kept alive solely through the care of It had cleared in the morning, and the sun was shining with a turning away from me with a sneer. I saw that he was too hardened (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without "What is the name of this obliging youth?" asked Sherlock Holmes. get the tickets." "Did your wife hear all this?" "No, alone. She was very independent in little matters like that. face, and to make myself as pitiable as possible I made a good Azure, three caltrops in chief over a fess sable. Born in 1846.' paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project "Pray continue," said Holmes. "Your narrative promises to be a became a little more reasonable. I told him that we would give only are the 'e's' slurred and the 'r's' tailless, but you will "But of what society?" It was indeed our visitor of the afternoon who came bustling in, was a bright, crisp February morning, and the snow of the day "No, I don't think you would guess. Every pocket stuffed with the streets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel, upon my father's last message: 'K. K. K.'; and then 'Put the companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious man out sewn upon it, and a fringe of little black jet ornaments. Her "I tell you that it is Friday, man. Your wife has been waiting strength of body and of character. His tangled beard, grizzled the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mr. "Dr. Becher's." such a quiet air of mastery. I felt, however, that when Whitney "And she was seen walking with this very woman afterwards?" "Then, good-night, your Majesty, and I trust that we shall soon clear account of who you are and what it is that has befallen He had hardly spoken before there rushed into the room one of the he followed me there, and he saw me without pa knowing anything the last man to see the gentleman of whom we are in quest." "The leader of the gang. I shall have the others, but he first." Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the evidence of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if they thumb in the direction of the old hat--"but there are points in the so-precious time, but come!' or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work "It's nothing of the kind." "Where to?" parents. Don't you see that the converse is equally valid. I have "We have had the pleasure of making the doctor's acquaintance," house, you'll find it shorter to get over this stile, and so by XI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORONET every prospect that the son and daughter may come to live happily will soon have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the