The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ~ Full Audiobook
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i fear that mr sherlock holmes may become like one of those popular tenors who having outlived their time are still tempted to make repeated farewell bows to their indulgent audiences this must cease and he must go the way of all flesh material or imaginary

one likes to think that there is some fantastic limbo for the children of imagination some strange impossible place where the beau of fielding may still make love to the bells of richardson where scott's heroes still may strut dickens delightful cockney still raise a laugh and thackeray's worldlings continue to carry on their reprehensible careers

Perhaps in some humble corner of such a Valhalla, Sherlock and his Watson may, for a time, find a place, while some more astute sleuth, with some even less astute comrade, may fill the stage which they have vacated. His career has been a long one, though it is possible to exaggerate it.

decrepit gentlemen who approach me and declare that his adventures form the reading of their boyhood do not meet the response from me which they seem to expect one is not anxious to have one's personal dates handled so unkindly as a matter of cold fact holmes made his debut in a study in scarlet and in the sign of four two small booklets which appeared between eighteen eighty seven and eighteen eighty nine

It was in 1891 that A Scandal in Bohemia, the first of the long series of short stories, appeared in The Strand magazine. The public seemed appreciative and desirous of more, so that from that date thirty-six years ago they have been produced in a broken series which now contains no fewer than fifty-six stories, republished in The Adventures, The Memoirs, The Return, and His Last Bow.

and there remain these twelve published during the last few years, which are here produced under the title of The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.

he began his adventures in the very heart of the later victorian era carried it through the all too short reign of edward and has managed to hold his own little niche even in these feverish days thus it would be true to say that those who first read of him as young men have lived to see their own grown-up children following the same adventures in the same magazine it is a striking example of the patience and loyalty of the british public

i had fully determined at the conclusion of the memoirs to bring holmes to an end as i felt that my literary energies should not be directed too much into one channel that pale clear-cut face and loose-limbed figure were taking up an undue share of my imagination i did the deed

but fortunately no coroner had pronounced upon the remains and so after a long interval it was not difficult for me to respond to the flattering demand and to explain my rash act away

i have never regretted it for i have not in actual practice found that these lighter sketches have prevented me from exploring and finding my limitations in such varied branches of literature as history poetry historical novels psychic research and the drama had holmes never existed i could not have done more though he may perhaps have stood a little in the way of the recognition of my more serious literary work

and so dear reader farewell to sherlock holmes i thank you for your past constancy and can but hope that some return has been made in the shape of that distraction from the worries of life and stimulating change of thought which can only be found in the fairy kingdom of romance arthur conan doyle end of preface

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was Mr. Sherlock Holmes's comment when, for the tenth time in as many years, I asked his leave to reveal the following narrative. So it was that at last I obtained permission to put on record what was, in some ways, the supreme moment of my friend's career. Both Holmes and I had a weakness for the Turkish bath. It was over a smoke in the pleasant lassitude of the drawing-room that I found him less reticent and more human than anywhere else.

On the upper floor of the Northumberland Avenue establishment, there is an isolated corner where two couches lie side by side, and it was on these that we lay upon September 3, 1902, the day when my narrative begins. I had asked him whether anything was stirring, and for answer he had shot his long, thin, nervous arm out of the sheets which enveloped him and had drawn an envelope from the inside pocket of the coat which hung beside him.

"'It may be some fussy, self-important fool. It may be a matter of life or death,' said he, as he handed me the note. "'I know no more than this message tells me. It was from the Carlton Club, and dated the evening before. This is what I read. Sir James Damery presents his compliments to Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and will call upon him at four-thirty tomorrow,'

"'Sir James begs to say that the matter upon which he desires to consult Mr. Holmes is very delicate and also very important. He trusts, therefore, that Mr. Holmes will make every effort to grant this interview, and that he will confirm it over the telephone to the Carlton Club.' "'I need not say that I have confirmed it, Watson,' said Holmes as I returned the paper. "'Do you know anything of this man, Damery? Only that his name is a household word in society?'

"'Well, I can tell you a little more than that. "'He has rather a reputation for arranging delicate matters "'which are to be kept out of the papers. "'You may remember his negotiations with Sir George Lewis "'over the Hammerford Will case. "'He is a man of the world with a natural turn for diplomacy. "'I am bound, therefore, to hope that it is not a false scent "'and that he has some real need for our assistance. "'Our? Well, if you will be so good, Watson.'

"'I shall be honored.' "'Then you have the hour.' "'Four-thirty. Until then, we can put the matter out of our heads. I was living in my own rooms in Queen Anne Street at the time, but I was round at Baker Street before the time named. Sharp to the half-hour, Colonel Sir James Damery was announced.'

It is hardly necessary to describe him, for many will remember that large, bluff, honest personality, that broad, clean-shaven face, above all, that pleasant, mellow voice. Frankness shone from his gray Irish eyes, and good humor played round his mobile, smiling lips.

His lucent top hat, his dark frock coat, indeed, every detail from the pearl pin in the black satin cravat to the lavender spats over the varnished shoes spoke of the meticulous care and dress for which he was famous. The big masterful aristocrat dominated the little room. Of course, I was prepared to find Dr. Watson, he remarked with a courteous bow.

"'His collaboration may be very necessary, for we are dealing on this occasion, Mr. Holmes, with a man to whom violence is familiar and who will, literally, stick at nothing. I should say that there is no more dangerous man in Europe. I have had several opponents to whom that flattering term has been applied,' said Holmes with a smile. "'Don't you smoke? Then you will excuse me if I light my pipe.'

If your man is more dangerous than the late Professor Moriarty, or than the living Colonel Sebastian Morin, then he is indeed worth meeting. May I ask his name? Have you ever heard of Baron Gruner? You mean the Austrian murderer? Colonel Damery threw up his kid-gloved hands with a laugh. There is no getting past you, Mr. Holmes. Wonderful. So you have already sized him up as a murderer.

It is my business to follow the details of continental crime. Who could possibly have read what happened at Prague and have any doubts as to the man's guilt? It was a purely technical legal point, and the suspicious death of a witness that saved him. I am as sure that he killed his wife when the so-called accident happened in the Spergen Pass as if I had seen him do it.

"'I knew also that he had come to England, and had a presentiment that sooner or later he would find me some work to do. Well, what has Baron Gruner been up to? I presume it is not his old tragedy which has come up again?' "'No, it is more serious than that. To revenge crime is important, but to prevent it is more so. It is a terrible thing, Mr. Holmes.'

to see a dreadful event, an atrocious situation, preparing itself before your eyes to clearly understand whither it will lead, and yet to be utterly unable to avert it. Can a human being be placed in a more trying position? Perhaps not. Then you will sympathize with the client in whose interests I am acting. I did not understand that you were merely an intermediary. Who is the principal?'

"'Mr. Holmes, I must beg you not to press that question. It is important that I should be able to assure him that his honored name has been in no way dragged into the matter. His motives are, to the last degree, honorable and chivalrous, but he prefers to remain unknown. I need not say that your fees will be assured, and that you will be given a perfectly free hand. Surely the actual name of your client is immaterial? I am sorry?'

said Holmes. I am accustomed to have mystery at one end of my cases, but to have it at both ends is too confusing. I fear, Sir James, that I must decline to act. Our visitor was greatly disturbed. His large, sensitive face was darkened with emotion and disappointment. You hardly realize the effect of your own action, Mr. Holmes, said he. You place me in a most serious dilemma.

for I am perfectly certain that you would be proud to take over the case if I could give you the facts. And yet, a promise forbids me from revealing them all. May I at least lay all that I can before you, by all means, so long as it is understood that I commit myself to nothing. That is understood. In the first place, you have no doubt heard of General de Merville. De Merville of Khyber fame? Yes, I have heard of him. He has a daughter.

"'Violet de Merville, young, rich, beautiful, accomplished, a wonder-woman in every way. "'It is this daughter, this lovely, innocent girl, whom we are endeavoring to save from the clutches of a fiend.' "'Baron Gruner has some hold over her then. "'The strongest of all holds where a woman is concerned, the hold of love.'

"'The fellow is, as you may have heard, extraordinarily handsome, "'with a most fascinating manner, a gentle voice, "'and that air of romance and mystery which means so much to a woman. "'He is said to have the whole sex at his mercy "'and to have made ample use of the fact. "'But how came such a man to meet a lady of the standing of Miss Violet de Merville? "'It was on a Mediterranean yachting voyage. "'The company, though select, paid their own passages.'

"'No doubt the promoters hardly realized "'the Baron's true character until it was too late. "'The villain attached himself to the lady, "'and with such effect that he has completely "'and absolutely won her heart. "'To say that she loves him hardly expresses it. "'She dotes upon him, she is obsessed by him. "'Outside of him there is nothing on earth. "'She will not hear one word against him. "'Everything has been done to cure her of her madness, "'but in vain.'

To sum up, she proposes to marry him next month. As she is of age and has a will of iron, it is hard to know how to prevent her. Does she know about the Austrian episode? The cunning devil has told her every unsavory public scandal of his past life, but always in such a way as to make himself out to be an innocent martyr. She absolutely accepts his version and will listen to no other. Dear me.

"'But surely you have inadvertently let out the name of your client?' "'It is no doubt General de Merville.' Our visitor fidgeted in his chair. "'I could deceive you by saying so, Mr. Holmes, but it would not be true. De Merville is a broken man. The strong soldier has been utterly demoralized by this incident.'

"'He has lost the nerve which never failed him on the battlefield "'and has become a weak, doddering old man, "'utterly incapable of contending with a brilliant, "'forceful rascal like this Austrian. "'My client, however, is an old friend, "'one who has known the general intimately for many years "'and taken a paternal interest in this young girl "'since she wore short frocks. "'He cannot see this tragedy consummated "'without some attempt to stop it. "'There is nothing in which Scotland Yard can act.'

"'It was his own suggestion that you should be called in, "'but it was, as I have said, on the express stipulation "'that he should not be personally involved in the matter. "'I have no doubt, Mr. Holmes. "'With your great powers, "'you could easily trace my client back through me, "'but I must ask you, as a point of honour, "'to refrain from doing so, "'and not to break in upon his incognito.' "'Holmes gave a whimsical smile.'

"'I think I may safely promise that,' said he. "'I may add that your problem interests me, and that I shall be prepared to look into it. How shall I keep in touch with you? The Carlton Club will find me, but in case of emergency, there is a private telephone call. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vernon Lodge, near Kingston. It is a large house, he has been fortunate in some rather shady speculations, and is a rich man, which naturally makes him a more dangerous antagonist. Is he at home at present? Yes. Apart from what you have told me, can you give me any further information about the man?

"'He has expensive tastes. He is a horse fancier. For a short time he played polo at Hurlingham, but then this Prague affair got noised about and he had to leave. He collects books and pictures. He is a man with a considerable artistic side to his nature. He is, I believe, a recognized authority upon Chinese pottery and has written a book upon the subject.' "'A complex mind,' said Holmes. "'All great criminals have that.'

My old friend, Charlie Peace, was a violin virtuoso. Wainwright was no mean artist. I could quote many more. Well, Sir James, you will inform your client that I am turning my mind upon Baron Gruner. I can say no more. I have some sources of information of my own, and dare say we may find some means of opening the matter up.

"'When our visitor had left us, Holmes sat so long in deep thought "'that it seemed to me that he had forgotten my presence. "'At last, however, he came briskly back to earth. "'Well, Watson, any views?' he asked. "'I should think you had better see the young lady yourself. "'My dear Watson, if her poor old broken father cannot move her, "'how shall I, a stranger, prevail? "'And yet there is something in the suggestion if all else fails.'

But I think we must begin from a different angle. I rather fancy that Shinwell Johnson might be a help. I have not had occasion to mention Shinwell Johnson in these memoirs because I have seldom drawn my cases from the latter phases of my friend's career. During the first years of the century, he became a valuable assistant. Johnson, I grieve to say, made his name first as a very dangerous villain and served two terms at Parkhurst—

Finally, he repented and allied himself to Holmes, acting as his agent in the huge criminal underworld of London and obtaining information which often proved to be of vital importance. Had Johnson been a narc of the police, he would soon have been exposed, but as he dealt with cases which never came directly into the courts, his activities were never realized by his companions.

With the glamour of his two convictions upon him, he had the entree of every nightclub, dosshouse, and gambling den in the town, and his quick observation and active brain made him an ideal agent for gathering information. It was to him that Sherlock Holmes now proposed to turn.

"'It is not possible for me to follow the immediate steps taken by my friend, "'for I had some pressing professional business of my own. "'But I met him by appointment that evening at Simpson's, "'where, sitting at a small table in the front window "'and looking down at the rushing stream of life in the strand, "'he told me something of what had passed.'

"'Johnson is on the prowl,' said he. "'He may pick up some garbage in the darker recesses of the underworld, for it is down there, amid the black roots of crime, that we must hunt for this man's secrets. But if the lady will not accept what is already known, why should any fresh discovery of yours turn her from her purpose? Who knows, Watson? Woman's heart and mind are insoluble puzzles to the male.'

Murder might be condoned or explained, and yet some smaller offense might rankle. Baron Gruner remarked to me, "'He remarked to you? Oh, to be sure. I have not told you of my plans. Well, Watson, I love to come to close grips with my man. I like to meet him eye to eye and read for myself the stuff that he is made of. When I had given Johnson his instructions, I took a cab out to Kingston and found the Baron in a most affable mood.'

Did he recognize you? There was no difficulty about that, for I simply sent in my card. He is an excellent antagonist, cool as ice, silky-voiced and soothing as one of your fashionable consultants, and poisonous as a cobra. He has Breed in him, a real aristocrat of crime, with a superficial suggestion of afternoon tea and all the cruelty of the grave behind it.

Yes, I am glad to have had my attention called to Baron Adelbert Gruner. You say he was affable? A purring cat who thinks he sees prospective mice. Some people's affability is more deadly than the violence of coarser souls. His greeting was characteristic. I rather thought I should see you sooner or later, Mr. Holmes, said he.

"'You have been engaged, no doubt, by General de Merville to endeavor to stop my marriage with his daughter Violet. That is so, is it not?' I acquiesced. "'My dear man,' said he, "'you will only ruin your own well-deserved reputation. It is not a case in which you can possibly succeed.'

"'You will have barren work, to say nothing of incurring some danger. "'Let me very strongly advise you to draw off at once.' "'It is curious,' I answered. "'But that was the very advice which I had intended to give you. "'I have a respect for your brains, Baron, "'and the little which I have seen of your personality has not lessened it. "'Let me put it to you as man to man.'

"'No one wants to rake up your past and make you unduly uncomfortable. "'It is over, and you are now in smooth waters. "'But if you persist in this marriage, "'you will raise up a swarm of powerful enemies "'who will never leave you alone until they have made England too hot to hold you. "'Is the game worth it? "'Surely you would be wiser if you left the lady alone. "'It would not be pleasant for you "'if these facts of your past were brought to her notice.'

"'The Baron has little waxed tips of hair under his nose, "'like the short antenna of an insect. "'These quivered with amusement as he listened, "'and he finally broke into a gentle chuckle. "'Excuse my amusement, Mr. Holmes,' said he, "'but it is really funny to see you trying to play a hand with no cards in it. "'I don't think anyone could do it better, "'but it is rather pathetic all the same.'

"'Not a color card there, Mr. Holmes. Nothing but the smallest of the small.' "'So you think, so I know. Let me make the thing clear to you, for my own hand is so strong that I can afford to show it. I have been fortunate enough to win the entire affection of this lady. This was given to me in spite of the fact that I told her very clearly of all the unhappy incidents in my past life.'

I also told her that certain wicked and designing persons, I hope you recognize yourself, would come to her and tell her these things, and I warned her how to treat them. You have heard of post-hypnotic suggestion, Mr. Holmes? Well, you will see how it works, for a man of personality can use hypnotism without any vulgar passes or tomfoolery.'

"'So she is ready for you, and I have no doubt would give you an appointment, "'for she is quite amenable to her father's will, save only in the one little matter. "'Well, Watson, there seemed to be no more to say, "'so I took my leave with as much cold dignity as I could summon, "'but as I had my hand on the door-handle, he stopped me. "'By the way, Mr. Holmes,' said he, "'did you know Lebrun, the French agent?'

"'Yes,' said I. "'Do you know what befell him?' "'I heard that he was beaten by some Apaches in the Montmartre district and crippled for life.' "'Quite true, Mr. Holmes. By a curious coincidence, he had been inquiring into my affairs only a week before. Don't do it, Mr. Holmes. It's not a lucky thing to do. Several have found that out.'

My last word to you is, go your own way and let me go mine. Goodbye. So there you are, Watson. You are up to date now. The fellow seems dangerous. Mighty dangerous. I disregard the blusterer, but this is the sort of man who says rather less than he means. Must you interfere? Does it really matter if he marries the girl?

"'Considering that he undoubtedly murdered his last wife, "'I should say it mattered very much. "'Besides the client. "'Well, well, we need not discuss that. "'When you have finished your coffee, "'you had best come home with me, "'for the blithe Shinwell will be there with his report. "'We found him, sure enough, "'a huge, coarse, red-faced, scorbutic man "'with a pair of vivid black eyes "'which were the only external sign "'of the very cunning mind within.'

"'It seems that he had dived down into what was peculiarly his kingdom, "'and beside him on the settee was a brand which he had brought up "'in the shape of a slim, flame-like young woman, "'with a pale, intense face, youthful, "'and yet so worn with sin and sorrow "'that one read the terrible years which had left their leprous mark upon her. "'This is Miss Kitty Winter.'

said Shinwell Johnson, waving his fat hand as an introduction. What she don't know? Well, there, she'll speak for herself. Put my hand right on her, Mr. Holmes, within an hour of your message. I'm easy to find, said the young woman. Hell, London gets me every time. Same address for Porky Shinwell. We're old mates, Porky, you and I.

But by gripes, there is another who ought to be down in a lower hell than we if there was any justice in the world. That is the man you are after, Mr. Holmes. Holmes smiled. I gather we have your good wishes, Miss Winter. If I can help to put him where he belongs, I'm yours to the rattle, said our visitor with fierce energy.

There was an intensity of hatred in her white-set face, and her blazing eyes, such as woman seldom and man never can attain. "'You needn't go into my past, Mr. Holmes. That's neither here nor there. But what I am, a Delbert Gruner made me. If I could pull him down!' She clutched frantically with her hands into the air. "'Oh, if I could only pull him into the pit where he has pushed so many!' "'You know how the matter stands?'

"'Porky Shinwell has been telling me. He's after some other poor fool and wants to marry her this time. You want to stop it. Well, you surely know enough about this devil to prevent any decent girl in her senses wanting to be in the same parish with him. She is not in her senses. She is madly in love. She has been told all about him. She cares nothing. Told about the murder? Yes. My Lord, she must have a nerve!'

She puts them all down as slanders. "'Couldn't you lay proofs before her silly eyes?' "'Well, can you help us do so?' "'Ain't I a proof myself? If I stood before her and told her how he used me—' "'Would you do this?' "'Would I? Would I not?' "'Well, it might be worth trying. But he has told her most of his sins and had pardon from her, and I understand she will not reopen the question.'

"'I'll lay he didn't tell her all,' said Miss Winter. "'I caught a glimpse of one or two murders besides the one that made such a fuss. He would speak of someone in his velvet way and then look at me with a steady eye and say, "'He died within a month.' It wasn't hot air either, but I took little notice. You see, I loved him myself at that time. Whatever he did went with me, same as with this poor fool.'

There was just one thing that shook me. Yes, by gripes. If it had not been for his poisonous, lying tongue that explains and soothes, I'd have left him that very night. It's a book he has, a brown leather book with a lock and his arms in gold on the outside. I think he was a bit drunk that night or he would not have shown it to me. What was it then?

"'I tell you, Mr. Holmes, this man collects women "'and takes a pride in his collection "'as some men collect moths or butterflies. "'He had it all in that book. "'Snapshot photographs, names, details, everything about them. "'It was a beastly book, a book no man, "'even if he had come from the gutter, could have put together. "'But it was a Delbert Gruner's book all the same.'

"'Souls I have ruined. He could have put that on the outside if he had been so minded. However, that's neither here nor there, for the book would not serve you, and if it would, you can't get it. Where is it?' "'How can I tell you where it is now? It's more than a year since I left him. I know where he kept it then. He's a precise tidy cat of a man in many of his ways, so maybe it is still in the pigeonhole of the old bureau in the inner study. Do you know his house?'

"'I've been in the study,' said Holmes. "'Have you, though? You haven't been slow on the job if you only started this morning. Maybe dear Adelbert has met his match this time. The outer study is the one with the Chinese crockery in it, big glass cupboard between the windows. Then behind his desk is the door that leads to the inner study, a small room where he keeps papers and things. Is he not afraid of burglars?'

A Delbert is no coward. His worst enemy couldn't say that of him. He can look after himself. There's a burglar alarm at night. Besides, what is there for a burglar unless they got away with all this fancy crockery? No good, said Shinwell Johnson, with the decided voice of the expert. No fence wants stuff of that sort that you can neither melt nor sell.

"'Quite so,' said Holmes. "'Well, now, Miss Winter, if you will call here tomorrow evening at five, I would consider in the meanwhile whether your suggestion of seeing this lady personally may not be arranged. I am exceedingly obliged to you for your cooperation. I need not say that my clients will consider liberally.' "'None of that, Mr. Holmes,' cried the young woman.'

"'I am not out for money. "'Let me see this man in the mud, and I've got all I worked for. "'In the mud, with my foot on his cursed face. "'That's my price. "'I'm with you tomorrow or any other day so long as you are on his track. "'Porky here can tell you always where to find me.' "'I did not see Holmes again until the following evening, "'when we dined once more at our Strand restaurant. "'He shrugged his shoulders when I asked him what luck he had had in his interview.'

then he told the story which i would repeat in this way his hard dry statement needs some little editing to soften it into the terms of real life there was no difficulty at all about the appointment said holmes for the girl glories in showing abject filial obedience in all secondary things in an attempt to atone for her flagrant breach of it in her engagement

The general phoned that all was ready, and the fiery Miss W. turned up according to schedule, so that at half-past five, a cab deposited us outside 104 Berkeley Square, where the old soldier resides, one of those awful grey London castles which would make a church seem frivolous.

A footman showed us into a great yellow-curtained drawing room, and there was the lady awaiting us, demure, pale, self-contained, as inflexible and remote as a snow image on a mountain. I don't quite know how to make her clear to you, Watson. Perhaps you may meet her before we are through, and you can use your own gift of words. She is beautiful.

but with the ethereal otherworld beauty of some fanatic whose thoughts are set on high. I have seen such faces in the pictures of the old masters of the Middle Ages. How a beast man could have laid his vile paws upon such a being of the beyond, I cannot imagine. You may have noticed how extremes call to each other, the spiritual to the animal, the caveman to the angel. You never saw a worse case than this.

"'She knew what we had come for, of course. "'That villain had lost no time in poisoning her mind against us. "'Miss Winter's advent rather amazed her, I think, "'but she waved us into our respective chairs "'like a reverend abbess receiving two rather leprous mendicants. "'If your head is inclined to swell, my dear Watson, "'take a course of Miss Violet de Merville.' "'Well, sir,' said she, in a voice like the wind from an iceberg.'

"'Your name is familiar to me. You have called, as I understand, to malign my fiancée, Baron Gruner. It is only by my father's request that I see you at all, and I warn you in advance that anything you can say could not possibly have the slightest effect upon my mind. I was sorry for her, Watson. I thought of her for the moment as I would have thought of a daughter of my own. I am not often eloquent. I use my head, not my heart.'

But I really did plead with her with all the warmth of words that I could find in my nature. I pictured to her the awful position of a woman who only wakes to a man's character after she is his wife, a woman who has to submit to be caressed by bloody hands and lecherous lips. I spared her nothing. The shame, the fear, the agony, the hopelessness of it all.

"'All my hot words could not bring one tinge of color to those ivory cheeks "'or one gleam of emotion to those abstracted eyes. "'I thought of what the rascal had said about a post-hypnotic influence. "'One could really believe that she was living above the earth in some ecstatic dream. "'Yet there was nothing indefinite in her replies. "'I have listened to you with patience, Mr. Holmes,' said she. "'The effect upon my mind is exactly as predicted.'

"'I am aware that Delbert, that my fiancée, has had a stormy life in which he has incurred bitter hatreds and most unjust aspersions. You are only the last of a series who have brought their slanders before me. Possibly you mean well, though I learn that you are a paid agent who would have been equally willing to act for the Baron as against him.'

"'But in any case, I wish you to understand once for all "'that I love him, and that he loves me, "'and that the opinion of all the world is no more to me "'than the twitter of those birds outside the window. "'If his noble nature has ever for an instant fallen, "'it may be that I have been specially sent "'to raise it to its true and lofty level. "'I am not clear.' "'Here she turned her eyes upon my companion.'

"'Who this young lady may be?' I was about to answer when the girl broke in like a whirlwind. "'If ever you saw flame and ice face to face, it was those two women. "'I'll tell you who I am!' She cried, springing out of her chair, her mouth all twisted with passion.

"'I am his last mistress. "'I am one of a hundred that he has tempted and used and ruined "'and thrown into the refuse heap, as he will you also. "'Your refuse heap is more likely to be a grave, and maybe that's the best. "'I tell you, you foolish woman, if you marry this man, he'll be the death of you. "'It may be a broken heart, or it may be a broken neck, "'but he'll have you one way or the other. "'It's not out of love for you I'm speaking.'

"'I don't care a tinker's curse whether you live or die. It's out of hate for him and to spite him and to get back on him for what he did to me. But it's all the same, and you needn't look at me like that, my fine lady, for you may be lower than I am before you are through with it.' "'I should prefer not to discuss such matters,' said Mr. Merville coldly."

"'Let me say once for all that I am aware of three passages in my fiancé's life "'in which he became entangled with designing women, "'and that I am assured of his hearty repentance for any evil that he may have done.' "'Three passages!' screamed my companion. "'You fool! You unutterable fool!' "'Mr. Holmes, I beg that you will bring this interview to an end,' said the icy voice."

"'I have obeyed my father's wish in seeing you, but I am not compelled to listen to the ravings of this person.' With an oath Miss Winter darted forward, and if I had not caught her wrist, she would have clutched this maddening woman by the hair. I dragged her towards the door, and was lucky to get her back into the cab without a public scene, for she was beside herself with rage. In a cold way, I felt pretty furious myself, Watson.'

for there was something indescribably annoying in the calm aloofness and supreme self-complacence of the woman whom we were trying to save. So now, once again, you know exactly how we stand, and it is clear that I must plan some fresh opening move, for this gambit won't work.

"'I'll keep in touch with you, Watson, for it is more than likely that you will have your part to play, though it is just possible that the next move may lie with them rather than with us.' And it did. Their blow fell, or his blow rather, for never could I believe that the lady was privy to it. I think I could show you the very paving stone upon which I stood when my eyes fell upon the placard and a pang of horror passed through my very soul.'

It was between the Grand Hotel and Taring Cross Station, where a one-legged news vendor displayed his evening papers. The date was just two days after the last conversation. There, black upon yellow, was the terrible news sheet. Murderous attack upon Sherlock Holmes. I think I stood stunned for some moments.

"'Then I have a confused recollection of snatching at a paper, of the remonstrance of the man whom I had not paid, and, finally, of standing in the doorway of a chemist's shop, while I turned up the fateful paragraph. This was how it ran. We learn with regret that Mr. Sherlock Holmes, the well-known private detective, was the victim this morning of a murderous assault which has left him in a precarious position.'

There are no exact details to hand, but the event seems to have occurred about 12 o'clock in Regent Street, outside the Café Royal. The attack was made by two men armed with sticks, and Mr. Holmes was beaten about the head and body, receiving injuries which the doctors describe as most serious. He was carried to Charing Cross Hospital, and afterwards insisted upon being taken to his rooms in Baker Street.

"'The miscreants who attacked him appear to have been "'respectably dressed men, who escaped from the bystanders "'by passing through the Café Royal "'and out into Glass House Street behind it. "'No doubt they belonged to that criminal fraternity "'which has so often had occasion to bewail the activity "'and ingenuity of the injured man. "'I need not say that my eyes had hardly glanced over the paragraph "'before I had sprung into a handsome "'and was on my way to Baker Street.'

I found Sir Leslie Oakeshott, the famous surgeon in the hall, and his broom waiting at the curb. No immediate danger, was his report. Two lacerated scalp wounds and some considerable bruises. Several stitches have been necessary. Morphine has been injected and quiet is essential. But an interview of a few minutes would not be absolutely forbidden. With this permission, I stole into the darkened room. The sufferer was wide awake, and I heard my name in a hoarse whisper.

The blind was three-quarters down, but one ray of sunlight slanted through and struck the bandaged head of the injured man. A crimson patch had soaked through the white linen compress. I sat beside him and bent my head. All right, Watson. Don't look so scared, he muttered in a very weak voice. It's not as bad as it seems. Thank God for that. I'm a bit of a single-stick expert, as you know,

I took most of them on my guard. It was the second man that was too much for me. "'What can I do, Holmes?' "'Of course, it was that damned fellow who set them on. I'll go and thrash the hide off him if you give the word.' "'Good old Watson. No, we can do nothing there unless the police lay their hands on the men. But their getaway had been well prepared, we may be sure of that. Wait a little. I have my plans.'

The first thing is to exaggerate my injuries. They'll come to you for news. Put it on thick, Watson. Lucky if I live the week out. Concussion. Delirium. What do you like? You can't overdo it. But Sir Leslie Oakeshott? Oh, he's all right. He shall see the worst side of me. I'll look after that. Anything else? Yes.

"'Tell Shinwell Johnson to get that girl out of the way. Those beauties will be after her now. They know, of course, that she was with me in the case. If they dared to do me in, it is not likely they will neglect her. That is urgent. Do it tonight. I'll go now. Anything more? Put my pipe on the table and the tobacco slipper. Right.'

"'Come in each morning, and we will plan our campaign.' I arranged with Johnson that evening to take Miss Winter to a quiet suburb and see that she lay low until the danger was passed. For six days the public was under the impression that Holmes was at the door of death. The bulletins were very grave, and there were sinister paragraphs in the papers. My continual visits assured me that it was not so bad as that. His wiry constitution and his determined will were working wonders.'

He was recovering fast, and I had suspicions at times that he was really finding himself faster than he pretended, even to me. There was a curious secretive streak in the man, which led to many dramatic effects, but left even his closest friend guessing as to what his exact plans might be. He pushed to an extreme the axiom that the only safe plotter was he who plotted alone.

i was nearer him than any one else and yet i was always conscious of the gap between on the seventh day the stitches were taken out in spite of which there was a report of erysipelas in the evening papers the same evening papers had an announcement which i was bound sick or well to carry to my friend

It was simply that among the passengers on the Cunard boat Ruritania, starting from Liverpool on Friday, was the Baron Adelbert Gruner, who had some important financial business to settle in the States before his impending wedding to Miss Violet de Merville, only daughter of etc., etc. Holmes listened to the news with a cold, concentrated look upon his pale face, which told me that it hit him hard. "'Friday!' he cried."

Only three clear days. I believe the rascal wants to put himself out of danger's way, but he won't, Watson. By the Lord Harry, he won't. Now, Watson, I want you to do something for me. I am here to be used, Holmes. Well, then, spend the next twenty-four hours in an intensive study of Chinese pottery. He gave no explanations, and I asked for none. By long experience, I had learned the wisdom of obedience—

But when I had left his room, I walked down Baker Street, revolving in my head how on earth I was to carry out so strange an order. Finally, I drove to the London Library in St. James Square, put the matter to my friend Lomax, the sub-librarian, and departed to my rooms with a goodly volume under my arm.

"'It is said that the barrister who crams up a case with such care that he can examine an expert witness upon the Monday has forgotten all his forced knowledge before the Saturday. Certainly I should not like now to pose as an authority upon ceramics, and yet all that evening and all that night with a short interval for rest, and all next morning, I was sucking in knowledge and committing names to memory.'

There I learned of the hallmarks of the great artist-decorators, of the mystery of cyclical dates, the marks of the Heung-Wu and the beauties of the Heung-Lo, the writings of Tang Ying, and the glories of the primitive period of the Sun and the Yuan. I was charged with all this information when I called upon Holmes next evening. He was out of bed now, though you would not have guessed it from the published reports.'

and he sat with his much-bandaged head resting upon his hand in the depth of his favorite armchair. "'Why, Holmes,' I said, "'if one believe the papers, you are dying.' "'That,' said he, "'is the very impression which I intended to convey. And now, Watson, have you learned your lessons?' "'At least I have tried to.' "'Good. You could keep up an intelligent conversation on the subject?' "'I believe I could.'

"'Then hand me that little box from the mantelpiece.' He opened the lid and took out a small object, most carefully wrapped in some fine eastern silk. This he unfolded and disclosed a delicate little saucer of the most beautiful deep blue color. "'It needs careful handling, Watson. This is the real eggshell pottery of the Ming dynasty. No finer piece ever passed through Christie's. A complete set of this would be worth a king's ransom.'

"'In fact, it is doubtful if there is a complete set outside the Imperial Palace of Peking. The sight of this would drive a real connoisseur wild. What am I to do with it?' Holmes handed me a card upon which was printed. "'Dr. Hill Barton, 369 Half Moon Street. That is your name for the evening, Watson. You will call upon Baron Gruner. I know something of his habits, and at half-past eight he will probably be disengaged.'

"'A note will tell him in advance that you are about to call, "'and you will say that you are bringing him a specimen "'of an absolutely unique set of Ming China. "'You may as well be a medical man, "'since that is a part which you can play without duplicity. "'You are a collector. "'This set has come your way. "'You have heard of the Baron's interest in the subject, "'and you are not averse to selling at a price.' "'What price?' "'Well,' asked Watson. "'You would certainly fall down badly "'if you did not know the value of your own wares.'

"'This saucer was got for me by Sir James and comes, I understand, from the collection of his client. You will not exaggerate if you say that it could hardly be matched in the world. I could perhaps suggest that the set should be valued by an expert.' "'Excellent, Watson! You scintillate today. Suggest Christie or Sotherby. Your delicacy prevents your putting a price for yourself.' "'But if he won't see me?'

"'Oh, yes, he will see you. He has the collection mania in its most acute form, and especially on this subject, on which he is an acknowledged authority. Sit down, Watson, and I will dictate the letter. No answer needed. You will merely say that you are coming, and why. It was an admirable document, short, courteous, and stimulating to the curiosity of the connoisseur. A district messenger was duly dispatched with it.'

On the same evening, with the precious saucer in my hand and the card of Dr. Hill Barton in my pocket, I set off on my own adventure. The beautiful house and grounds indicated that Baron Gruner was, as Sir James had said, a man of considerable wealth. A long winding drive, with banks of rare shrubs on either side, opened out into a great graveled square adorned with statues,

"'The place had been built by a South African gold king "'in the days of the Great Boom, "'and the long, low house with the turrets at the corners, "'though an architectural nightmare, "'was imposing in its size and solidity. "'A butler, who would have adorned a bench of bishops, "'showed me in and handed me over to a plush-clad footman "'who ushered me into the Baron's presence.'

"'He was standing at the open front of a great case "'which stood between the windows, "'and which contained part of his Chinese collection. "'He turned as I entered with a small brown vase in his hand. "'Pray sit down, doctor,' said he. "'I was looking over my own treasures, "'and wondering whether I could really afford to add to them "'this little Tang specimen, "'which dates from the seventh century, "'would probably interest you. "'I am sure you never saw finer workmanship "'or a richer glaze.'

"'Have you the Ming saucer with you, of which you spoke?' I carefully unpacked it and handed it to him. He seated himself at his desk, pulled over the lamp, for it was growing dark, and set himself to examine it. As he did so the yellow light beat upon his features, and I was able to study them at my ease. He was certainly a remarkably handsome man. His European reputation for beauty was fully deserved. In figure he was not more than of middle size.'

but it was built upon graceful and active lines. His face was swarthy, almost oriental, with large, dark, languorous eyes, which might easily hold an irresistible fascination for women. His hair and mustache were raven black, the latter short, pointed, and carefully waxed. His features were regular and pleasing, save only his straight, thin-lipped mouth."

If ever I saw a murderer's mouth, it was there, a cruel, hard gash in the face, compressed, inexorable, and terrible. He was ill-advised to train his mustache away from it, for it was nature's danger signal, set as a warning to his victims. His voice was engaging and his manners perfect. In age, I should have put him a little over thirty, though his record afterwards showed that he was forty-two.

"'Very fine. Very fine indeed,' he said at last. "'And you say you have a set of six to correspond. What puzzles me is that I should not have heard of such magnificent specimens. I only know of one in England to match this, and it is certainly not likely to be in the market. Would it be indiscreet if I were to ask you, Dr. Hill-Barton, how you obtained this? Does it really matter?'

I asked, with as careless an air as I could muster. "'You can see that the piece is genuine, and as to the value, I am content to take an expert's valuation.' "'Very mysterious,' said he, with a quick suspicious flash of his dark eyes. "'In dealing with objects of such value, one naturally wishes to know all about the transaction.'

That the piece is genuine is certain. I have no doubts at all about that. But suppose I am bound to take every possibility into account, that it should prove afterwards that you had no right to sell. I would guarantee you against any claim of the sort. That, of course, would open up the question as to what your guarantee was worth. My bankers would answer that.

"'Quite so, and yet the whole transaction strikes me as rather unusual.' "'You can do business or not,' said I with indifference. "'I have given you the first offer, as I understood that you were a connoisseur, but I shall have no difficulty in other quarters.' "'Who told you I was a connoisseur?' "'I was aware that you had written a book upon the subject.' "'Have you read the book?' "'No.'

"'Dear me, this becomes more and more difficult for me to understand. You are a connoisseur and collector with a very valuable piece in your collection, and yet you have never troubled to consult the one book which would have told you of the real meaning and value of what you held. How do you explain that? I am a very busy man. I am a doctor in practice.'

"'That is no answer. If a man has a hobby, he follows it up, whatever his other pursuits may be. You said in your note that you were a connoisseur. So I am. Might I ask you a few questions to test you? I am obliged to tell you, doctor, if you are indeed a doctor, that the incident becomes more and more suspicious.'

"'I would ask you, what do you know of the Emperor Shomu, and how do you associate him with the Shosu Inn near Nara? Tell me, does that puzzle you? Tell me a little about the Northern Wei Dynasty and its place in the history of ceramics.' I sprang from my chair in simulated anger. "'This is intolerable, sir,' said I. "'I came here to do you a favor, and not to be examined as if I were a schoolboy.'

"'My knowledge on these subjects may be second only to your own, but I certainly shall not answer questions which have been put in so offensive a way.' He looked at me steadily. The languor had gone from his eyes. They suddenly glared. There was a gleam of teeth from between those cruel lips. "'What is the game? You are here as a spy. You are an emissary of Holmes. This is a trick that you are playing upon me.'

"'The fellow is dying, I hear. So he sends his tools to keep watch upon me. You've made your way in here without leave, and by God, you may find it harder to get out than to get in.' He had sprung to his feet, and I stepped back, bracing myself for an attack, for the man was beside himself with rage. He may have suspected me from the first. Certainly this cross-examination had shown him the truth, but it was clear that I could not hope to deceive him.'

he dived his hand into a side drawer and rummaged furiously then something struck upon his ear for he stood listening intently he cried and dashed into the room behind him two steps took me to the open door and my mind will ever carry a clear picture of the scene within the window leading out to the garden was wide open

Beside it, looking like some terrible ghost, his head girt with bloody bandages, his face drawn and white, stood Sherlock Holmes. The next instant he was through the gap, and I heard the crash of his body among the laurel bushes outside. With a howl of rage, the master of the house rushed after him to the open window,

And then, it was done in an instant and yet I clearly saw it. An arm, a woman's arm, shot out from among the leaves. At the same instant, the Baron uttered a horrible cry, a yell which will always ring in my memory. He clapped his two hands to his face and rushed round the room, beating his head horribly against the walls.

Then he fell upon the carpet, rolling and writhing, while scream after scream resounded through the house. Water! For God's sake, water! was his cry. I seized a carafe from a side table and rushed to his aid. At the same moment, the butler and several footmen ran in from the hall. I remember that one of them fainted as I knelt by the injured man and turned that awful face to the light of the lamp.

The vitriol was eating into it everywhere and dripping from the eyes and the chin. One eye was already white and glazed. The other was red and inflamed. The features, which I had admired a few minutes before, were now like some beautiful painting over which the artist had passed a wet and foul sponge. They were blurred, discolored, inhuman, terrible.

in a few words i explained exactly what had occurred so far as the vitriol attack was concerned some had climbed through the window and others had rushed out on to the lawn but it was dark and it had begun to rain between his screams the victim raged and raved against the avenger

It was that hellcat, Kitty Winter, he cried. Oh, the she-devil, she shall pay for it, she shall pay. Oh, God in heaven, this pain is more than I can bear. I bathed his face in oil, put cotton wadding on the raw surfaces, and administered a hypodermic of morphia. All suspicion of me had passed from his mind in the presence of this shock and

and he clung to my hands as if I might have the power even yet to clear those dead fish eyes which gazed up at me. I could have wept over the ruin had I not remembered very clearly the vile life which had led up to so hideous a change. It was loathsome to feel the pawing of his burning hands, and I was relieved when his family surgeon, closely followed by a specialist, came to relieve me of my charge.

an inspector of police had also arrived and to him i handed my real card it would have been useless as well as foolish to do otherwise for i was nearly as well known by sight at the yard as holmes himself then i left that house of gloom and terror within an hour i was at baker street

Holmes was seated in his familiar chair, looking very pale and exhausted. Apart from his injuries, even his iron nerves had been shocked by the events of the evening, and he listened with horror to my account of the Baron's transformation. "'The wages of sin, Watson, the wages of sin,' said he. "'Sooner or later it will always come. God knows there was sin enough,' he added, taking up a brown volume from the table.'

"'Here is the book the woman talked of. "'If this will not break off the marriage, nothing ever could. "'But it will, Watson, it must. "'No self-respecting woman could stand it. "'It is his love diary, or his lust diary, call it what you will. "'The moment the woman told us of it, "'I realized what a tremendous weapon was there, "'if we could but lay our hands on it. "'I said nothing at the time, to indicate my thoughts, "'for this woman might have given it away.'

but I brooded over it. Then this assault upon me gave me the chance of letting the Baron think that no precautions need be taken against me. That was all to the good. I would have waited a little longer, but his visit to America forced my hand. He would never have left so compromising a document behind him. Therefore we had to act at once. Burglary at night is impossible. He takes precautions.'

"'But there was a chance in the evening "'if I could only be sure that his attention was engaged. "'That was where you and your blue saucer came in. "'But I had to be sure of the position of the book, "'and I knew I had only a few minutes in which to act, "'for my time was limited by your knowledge of Chinese pottery. "'Therefore, I gathered the girl up at the last moment. "'How could I guess what the little packet was "'that she carried so carefully under her cloak? "'I thought she had come altogether on my business.'

but it seemed she had some of her own. He guessed that I came from you. I feared he would. But you held him in play just long enough for me to get the book, though not long enough for an unobserved escape. Ah, Sir James, I am very glad you have come. Our courtly friend had appeared in answer to a previous summons. He listened with the deepest attention to Holmes's account of what had occurred.

"'You have done wonders, wonders!' he cried when he had heard the narrative. "'But if these injuries are as terrible as Dr. Watson describes, then surely our purpose of thwarting the marriage is sufficiently gained without the use of this horrible book.' Holmes shook his head. "'Women of the de Merville type do not act like that,'

"'She would love him the more as a disfigured martyr. "'No, no. "'It is his moral side, not his physical, which we have to destroy. "'That book will bring her back to earth, and I know nothing else that could. "'It is in his own writing. "'She cannot get past it.' "'Sir James carried away both it and the precious saucer. "'As I was myself overdue, I went down with him into the street.'

A broom was waiting for him. He sprang in, gave a hurried order to the cockaded coachman, and drove swiftly away. He flung his overcoat half out of the window to cover the armorial bearings upon the panel. But I had seen them in the glare of our fan light nonetheless. I gasped with surprise. Then I turned back and ascended the stair to Holmes' room. I have found out who our client is! I cried, bursting with my great news. Why, Holmes, it is—

"'It is a loyal friend and a chivalrous gentleman,' said Holmes, holding up a restraining hand. "'Let that now and forever be enough for us. I do not know how the incriminating book was used. Sir James may have managed it, or it is more probable that so delicate a task was entrusted to the young lady's father. The effect at any rate was all that could be desired.'

Three days later appeared a paragraph in the Morning Post to say that the marriage between Baron Adelbert Gruner and Miss Violet de Merville would not take place. The same paper had the first police court hearing of the proceedings against Miss Kitty Winter on the grave charge of vitriol throwing. Such extenuating circumstances came out in the trial that the sentence, as will be remembered, was the lowest that was possible for such an offense.

Sherlock Holmes was threatened with a prosecution for burglary, but when an object is good and a client is sufficiently illustrious, even the rigid British law becomes human and elastic. My friend has not yet stood in the dock. End of section 1.

Welcome to It Takes Energy, presented by Energy Transfer, where we talk all things oil and natural gas. Oil and gas drive our economy, ensure our country's security, and open pathways to brighter futures.

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All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Alyssa Williams. The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier. The ideas of my friend Watson, though limited, are exceedingly pertinacious. For a long time he has worried me to write an experience of my own,

"Perhaps I have rather invited this persecution, since I have often had occasion to point out to him how superficial are his own accounts, and to accuse him of pandering to popular taste instead of confining himself rigidly to facts and figures. Try it yourself, Holmes," he has retorted, "and I am compelled to admit that, having taken my pen in my hand, I do begin to realize that the matter must be presented in such a way as may interest the reader.

the following case can hardly fail to do so as it is among the strangest happenings in my collection though it chanced that watson had no note of it in his collection

"'Speaking of my old friend and biographer, I would take this opportunity to remark that, if I burden myself with a companion in my various little inquiries, it is not done out of sentiment or caprice, but it is that Watson has some remarkable characteristics of his own, to which, in his modesty, he has given small attention amid his exaggerated estimates of my own performances.'

A confederate who foresees your conclusions and course of action is always dangerous, but one to whom each development comes as a perpetual surprise, and to whom the future is always a closed book, is indeed an ideal helpmate. I find from my notebook that it was in January 1903, just after the conclusion of the Boer War, that I had my visit from Mr. James M. Dodd, a big, fresh, sunburned, upstanding Briton,

The good Watson had at that time deserted me for a wife, the only selfish action which I can recall in our association. I was alone. It is my habit to sit with my back to the window and to place my visitors in the opposite chair, where the light falls full upon them. Mr. James M. Dodd seemed somewhat at a loss how to begin the interview. I did not attempt to help him, for his silence gave me more time for observation.

I have found it wise to impress clients with a sense of power, and so I gave him some of my conclusions. "'From South Africa, sir,' I perceive. "'Yes, sir,' he answered with some surprise. "'Imperial yeomanry, I fancy?' "'Exactly.' "'Middlesex Corps, no doubt.' "'That is so. Mr. Holmes, you are a wizard!' I smiled at his bewildered expression."

"'When a gentleman of virile appearance enters my room "'with such tan upon his face as an English sun could never give, "'and with his handkerchief in his sleeve instead of in his pocket, "'it is not difficult to place him. "'You wear a short beard, which shows that you are not a regular. "'You have the cut of a riding man. "'As to middle sex, your card has already shown me "'that you are a stockbroker from Throgmorton Street. "'What other regiment would you join? "'You see everything.'

"'Well, I see no more than you, but I have trained myself to notice what I see. However, Mr. Dodd, it was not to discuss the science of observation that you called upon me this morning. What has been happening at Tuxbury Old Park?' "'Mr. Holmes! My dear sir, there is no mystery. Your letter came with that heading, and as you fixed this appointment in very pressing terms, it was clear that something sudden and important had occurred.'

"'Oh, yes, indeed. But the letter was written in the afternoon, and a good deal has happened since then. If Colonel Emsworth had not kicked me out—' "'Kicked you out?' "'Well, that was what it amounted to.' "'He's a hard nail, is Colonel Emsworth. The greatest martinet in the army in his day. And it was a day of rough language, too. I couldn't have stuck the Colonel if it had not been for Godfrey's sake.' I lit my pipe and leaned back in my chair.'

Perhaps you will explain what you are talking about. My client grinned mischievously. I had got into the way of supposing that you knew everything without being told, said he. But I will give you the facts, and I hope to God that you will be able to tell me what they mean. I've been awake all night puzzling my brain, and the more I think, the more incredible does it become.

When I joined up in January 1901, just two years ago, young Godfrey Emsworth had joined the same squadron. He was Colonel Emsworth's only son, Emsworth the Crimean VC, and he had the fighting blood in him, so it is no wonder he volunteered. There was not a finer lad in the regiment. We formed a friendship, the sort of friendship which can only be made when one lives the same life and shares the same joys and sorrows.

He was my mate, and that means a good deal in the army. We took the rough and the smooth together for a year of hard fighting. Then, he was hit with a bullet from an elephant gun in the action near Diamond Hill, outside Pretoria. I got one letter from the hospital at Cape Town, and one from Southampton. Since then, not a word. Not one word, Mr. Holmes, for six months and more. And he my closest pal. Well...

When the war was over, and we all got back, I wrote to his father and asked where Godfrey was. No answer. I waited a bit, and then I wrote again. This time, I had a reply. Short and gruff. Godfrey had gone on a voyage around the world, and it was not likely that he would be back for a year. That was all. I wasn't satisfied, Mr. Holmes. The whole thing seemed to me so damned unnatural.

He was a good lad, and he would not drop a pal like that. It was not like him. Then again, I happened to know that he was heir to a lot of money, and also that his father and he did not always hit it off too well. The old man was sometimes a bully, and young Godfrey had too much spirit to stand it. No, I wasn't satisfied, and I determined that I would get to the root of the matter.

"'It happened, however, that my own affairs needed a lot of straightening out after two years' absence, and so it is only this week that I have been able to take up Godfrey's case again. But since I have taken it up, I mean to drop everything in order to see it through. Mr. James M. Dodd appeared to be the sort of person whom it would be better to have as a friend than as an enemy. His blue eyes were stern, and his square jaw had set hard as he spoke. "'Well, what have you done?' I asked.'

"'My first move was to get down to his home, Tuxbury Old Park, near Bedford, and to see for myself how the ground lay. I wrote to the mother, therefore. I had had quite enough of the curmudgeon of a father, and I made a clean frontal attack. Godfrey was my chum. I had a great deal of interest which I might tell her of our common experiences. I should be in the neighborhood, would there be any objection, etc.?

In reply, I had quite an amiable answer from her, and an offer to put me up for the night. That was what took me down on Monday. Tuxbury Old Hall is... inaccessible. Five miles from anywhere. There was no trap at the station, so I had to walk, carrying my suitcase, and it was nearly dark before I arrived. It is a great wandering house, standing in a considerable park.

I should judge it was of all sorts of ages and styles, starting on a half-timbered Elizabethan foundation and ending in a Victorian portico. Inside, it was all paneling and tapestry and half-effaced old pictures. A house of shadows and mystery. There was a butler, Old Ralph, who seemed about the same age as the house. And there was his wife, who might have been older.

She had been Godfrey's nurse, and I had heard him speak of her as second only to his mother and his affections, so I was drawn to her in spite of her queer appearance. The mother I liked also. A gentle little white mouse of a woman. It was only the Colonel himself whom I barred. We had a bit of a barney right away, and I should have walked back to the station if I had not felt that it might be playing its game for me to do so.

I was shown straight into his study, and there I found him, a huge, bow-backed man with a smoky skin and a straggling grey beard, seated behind his littered desk, a red-veined nose jetted out like a vulture's beak, and two fierce grey eyes glared at me from under tufted brows. I could understand now why Godfrey seldom spoke of his father. "'Well, sir,' said he in a rasping voice,

"'I should be interested to know the real reasons for this visit.' I answered that I had explained them in my letter to his wife. "'Yes, yes. You said that you had known Godfrey in Africa. We have, of course, only your word for that. I have his letters to me in my pocket. Kindly let me see them.' He glanced at the two which I handed him, and then he tossed them back at me. "'Well, what then?' he asked. "'I was fond of your son Godfrey, sir.'

Many ties and memories united us. Is it not natural that I should wonder at his sudden silence and should wish to know what has become of him? I have some recollection, sir, that I had already corresponded with you and had told you what had become of him. He has gone upon a voyage round the world. His health was in a poor way after his African experiences, and both his mother and I were of opinion that complete rest and change were needed.

"Kindly pass that explanation on to any other friends who may be interested in the matter?" "Oh, certainly," I answered. "But perhaps you would have the goodness to let me have the name of the steamer and of the line by which he sailed, together with a date. I have no doubt that I should be able to get a letter through to him." My request seemed both to puzzle and to irritate my host. His great eyebrows came down over his eyes and he tapped his fingers impatiently on the table.

He looked up at last with the expression of one who has seen his adversary make a dangerous move at chess, and has decided how to meet it. "'Many people, Mr. Dodd,' said he, "'would take offense at your infernal pertinacity, and would think that this insistence had reached the point of damned impertinence. You must put it down, sir, to my real love for your son.' "'Exactly. I have already made every allowance upon that score.'

I must ask you, however, to drop these inquiries. Every family has its own inner knowledge and its own motives, which cannot always be made clear to outsiders, however well-intentioned. My wife is anxious to hear something of Godfrey's past, which you are in a position to tell her, but I would ask you to let the present and the future alone. Such inquiries serve no useful purpose, sir, and place us in a delicate and difficult position.

So? I came to a dead end, Mr. Holmes. There was no getting past it. I could only pretend to accept the situation and register a vow inwardly that I would never rest until my friend's fate had been cleared up. It was a dull evening. We dined quietly, the three of us, in a gloomy, faded old room. The lady questioned me eagerly about her son, but the old man seemed morose and depressed.

i was so bored by the whole proceeding that i made an excuse as soon as i decently could and retired to my bedroom it was a large bare room on the ground floor as gloomy as the rest of the house but after a year of sleeping upon the veldt mr holmes one is not too particular about one's quarters i opened the curtains and looked out into the garden remarking that it was a fine night with a bright half-moon

Then, I sat down by the roaring fire with a lamp on a table beside me, and endeavored to distract my mind with a novel. I was interrupted, however, by Ralph, the old butler, who came in with a fresh supply of coals. "'I thought you might run short in the night-time, sir. It is bitter weather, and these rooms are cold.' He hesitated before leaving the room, and when I looked round he was standing facing me with a wistful look upon his wrinkled face.'

"'Beg your pardon, sir, but I could not help hearing what you said of young Master Godfrey at dinner. You know, sir, that my wife nursed him, and so I may say I am his foster father. It's natural we should take an interest.' "'And you say he carried himself well, sir? There was no braver man in the regiment. He pulled me out once from under the rifles of the Boers, or maybe I should not be here.' The old butler rubbed his skinny hands.'

"'Yes, sir, yes. That is Master Godfrey all over. He was always courageous. There is not a tree in the park, sir, that he has not climbed. Nothing would stop him. He was a fine boy, and—' "'Oh, sir, he was a fine man.' I sprang to my feet. "'Look here!' I cried. "'You say he was. You speak as if he were dead. What is all this mystery? What has become of Godfrey Emsworth?'

I gripped the old man by the shoulder, but he shrank away. "'I don't know what you mean, sir. Ask the master about Master Godfrey. He knows. It is not for me to interfere.' He was leaving the room, but I held his arm. "'Listen,' I said. "'You are going to answer one question before you leave, if I have to hold you all night. Is Godfrey dead?' He could not face my eyes. He was like a man hypnotized.'

The answer was dragged from his lips. It was a terrible and unexpected one. "'I wish to God he was!' he cried, and tearing himself free, he dashed from the room. "'You will think, Mr. Holmes, that I returned to my chair in no very happy state of mind. The old man's words seemed to me to bear only one interpretation.'

Clearly, my poor friend had become involved in some criminal, or at the least disreputable transaction which had touched the family honor. That stern old man had sent his son away and hidden him from the world lest some scandal should come to light. Godfrey was a reckless fellow. He was easily influenced by those around him. No doubt he had fallen into bad hands and been misled to his ruin. It was a piteous business, if it was indeed so,

but even now it was my duty to hunt him out and see if I could aid him. I was anxiously pondering the matter when I looked up and there was Godfrey Emsworth standing before me. My client had paused as one in deep emotion. "'Pray continue,' I said. "'Your problem presents some very unusual features.' He was outside the window, Mr. Holmes, with his face pressed against the glass. "'I have told you that I looked out at the night,'

When I did so, I left the curtains partly open. His figure was framed in this gap. The window came down to the ground and I could see the whole length of it. But it was his face which held my gaze. He was deadly pale. Never have I seen a man so white. I reckon ghosts may look like that, but his eyes met mine and they were the eyes of a living man. He sprang back when he saw that I was looking at him and he vanished into the darkness.

There was something shocking about the man, Mr. Holmes. It wasn't merely that ghastly face glimmering as white as cheese in the darkness. It was more subtle than that. Something slinking. Something furtive. Something guilty. Something very unlike the frank, manly lad that I had known. It left a feeling of horror in my mind.

But when a man has been soldiering for a year or two with Brother Boar as a playmate, he keeps his nerve and acts quickly. Godfrey had hardly vanished before I was at the window. There was an awkward catch and I was some little time before I could throw it up. Then I nipped through and ran down the garden path in the direction that I thought he might have taken. It was a long path, and the light was not very good, but it seemed to me something was moving ahead of me.

I ran on and called his name, but it was no use. When I got to the end of the path, there were several others branching in different directions to various outhouses. I stood hesitating, and as I did so, I heard distinctly the sound of a closing door. It was not behind me in the house, but ahead of me, somewhere in the darkness. That was enough, Mr. Holmes, to assure me that what I had seen was not a vision,

Godfrey had run away from me, and he had shut a door behind him. Of that I was certain. There was nothing more I could do, and I spent an uneasy night turning the matter over in my mind and trying to find some theory which would cover the facts. Next day, I found the Colonel rather more conciliatory, and as his wife remarked that there were some places of interest in the neighborhood, it gave me an opening to ask whether my presence for one more night would incommode them.

A somewhat grudging acquiescence from the old man gave me a clear day in which to make my observations. I was already perfectly convinced that Godfrey was in hiding somewhere near, but where and why remained to be solved. The house was so large and so rambling that a regiment might be hid away in it and no one the wiser. If the secret lay there, it was difficult for me to penetrate it. But the door which I had heard close was certainly not in the house. I must explore the garden and see what I could find.

There was no difficulty in the way, for the old people were busy in their own fashion and left me to my own devices. There were several small outhouses, but at the end of the garden there was a detached building of some size, large enough for a gardener's or a gamekeeper's residence. Could this be the place once the sound of that shutting door had come? I approached it in a careless fashion, as though I were strolling aimlessly round the grounds.

As I did so, a small, brisk, bearded man in a black coat and a bowler hat, not at all the gardener type, came out of the door. To my surprise, he locked it after him and put the key in his pocket. Then he looked at me with some surprise on his face. "'Are you a visitor here?' he asked. I explained that I was and that I was a friend of Godfrey's. "'What a pity that he should be away on his travels, for he would have so liked to see me,' I continued."

"Quite so, exactly," said he, with a rather guilty air. "No doubt you will renew your visit at some more propitious time." He passed on, but when I turned, I observed that he was standing, watching me, half concealed by the laurels at the far end of the garden. I had a good look at the little house as I passed it, but the windows were heavily curtained, and so far as one could see, it was empty.

I might spoil my own game, and even be ordered off the premises if I were too audacious, for I was still conscious that I was being watched. Therefore, I strolled back to the house and waited for night before I went on with my inquiry. When all was dark and quiet, I slipped out of my window and made my way as silently as possible to the mysterious lodge. I have said that it was heavily curtained, but now I found that the windows were shuttered as well.

Some light, however, was breaking through one of them, so I concentrated my attention upon this. I was in luck, for the curtain had not been quite closed and there was a crack in the shutter so that I could see the inside of the room. It was a cheery place enough, a bright lamp and a blazing fire. Opposite to me was seated the little man whom I had seen in the morning. He was smoking a pipe and reading a paper. "'What paper?' I asked."

my client seemed annoyed at the interruption of his narrative can it matter he asked it is most essential i really took no notice possibly you observed whether it was a broad-leafed paper or of that smaller type which one associates with weeklies now that you mention it it was not large

"'It might have been the spectator. "'However, I had little thought to spare upon such details, "'for a second man was seated with his back to the window, "'and I could swear that this second man was Godfrey. "'I could not see his face, but I knew the familiar slope of his shoulders. "'He was leaning upon his elbow in an attitude of great melancholy. "'His body turned toward the fire. "'I was hesitating as to what I should do when there was a sharp tap on my shoulder, "'and there was Colonel Emsworth beside me.'

"'This way, sir,' said he in a low voice. He had walked in silence to the house, and I followed him into my own bedroom. He had picked up a timetable in the hall. "'There's a train to London at 8.30,' said he. "'The trap will be at the door at 8.'

He was white with rage, and indeed I felt myself in so difficult a position that I could only stammer out a few incoherent apologies, in which I tried to excuse myself by urging my anxiety for my friend. "The matter will not bear discussion," said he abruptly. "You have made a most damnable intrusion into the privacy of our family. You were here as a guest, and you have become a spy.

i have nothing more to say sir save that i have no wish ever to see you again at this i lost my temper mr holmes and i spoke with some warmth i have seen your son and i am convinced that for some reason of your own you are concealing him from the world

I have no idea what your motives are in cutting him off in this fashion, but I am sure that he is no longer a free agent. I warn you, Colonel Emsworth, that until I am assured as to the safety and well-being of my friend, I shall never desist in my efforts to get to the bottom of the mystery, and I shall certainly not allow myself to be intimidated by anything which you may say or do. The old fellow looked diabolical, and I really thought he was about to attack me.

"'I have said that he was a gaunt, fierce old giant, "'and though I am no weakling, "'I might have been hard put to it to hold my own against him. "'However, after a long glare of rage, "'he turned upon his heel and walked out of the room. "'For my part, I took the appointed train in the morning, "'with the full intention of coming straight to you "'and asking for your advice and assistance "'at the appointment for which I had already written. "'Such was the problem which my visitor laid before me.'

It presented, as the astute reader will have already perceived, few difficulties in solution, for a very limited choice of alternatives must get to the root of the matter. Still, elementary as it was, there were points of interest and novelty about it which may excuse my placing it upon record. I now proceeded, using my familiar method of logical analysis, to narrow down the possible solutions. "'The servants,' I asked. "'How many were in the house?'

To the best of my belief, they were only the old butler and his wife. They seemed to live in the simplest fashion. There was no servant, then, in the detached house? None, unless the little man with the beard acted as such. He seemed, however, to be quite a superior person. That seems very suggestive. Had you any indication that food was conveyed from the one house to the other?

"'Now that you mention it, I did see old Ralph carrying a basket down the garden walk and going in the direction of this house. The idea of food did not occur to me at the moment. Did you make any local inquiries?' "'Yes, I did. I spoke to the stationmaster and also to the innkeeper in the village. I simply asked if they knew anything of my old comrade, Godfrey Emsworth. Both of them assured me that he had gone for a voyage round the world. He had come home and then had almost at once started off again.'

The story was evidently universally accepted. But you said nothing of your suspicions. Nothing. Oh, that was very wise. The matter should certainly be inquired into. I will go back with you to Tuxbury Old Park. Today? It happened that at the moment I was clearing up the case which my friend Watson has described as that of the Abbey School, in which the Duke of Greyminster was so deeply involved,

i had also a commission from the sultan of turkey which called for immediate action as political consequences of the gravest kind might arise from its neglect therefore it was not until the beginning of the next week as my diary records that i was able to start forth on my mission to bedfordshire in company with mr james m dodd as we drove to euston we picked up a grave and taciturn gentleman of iron-grey aspect with whom i had made the necessary arrangements

"'This is an old friend,' said I to Dodd. "'It is possible that his presence may be entirely unnecessary, and on the other hand, it may be essential. It is not necessary at the present stage to go further into the matter. The narratives of Watson have accustomed the reader, no doubt, to the fact that I do not waste words or disclose my thoughts while a case is actually under consideration.' Dodd seemed surprised, but nothing more was said, and the three of us continued our journey together.'

In the train, I asked Dodd one more question which I wished our companion to hear. You say that you saw your friend's face quite clearly at the window. So clearly that you are sure of his identity. Well, I have no doubt about it, whatever. His nose was pressed against the glass. The lamplight shone full upon him. It could not have been somebody resembling him. No, no, it was he. But you say he was changed. Only in color. His face was...

"'How shall I describe it? "'It was of a fish-belly whiteness. "'It was bleached. "'Was it equally pale all over? "'I think not. "'It was his brow which I saw so clearly "'as it was pressed against the window. "'Did you call to him? "'I was too startled and horrified for the moment. "'Then I pursued him, as I have told you, "'but without result. "'My case was practically complete, "'and there was only one small incident "'needed to round it off.'

When, after a considerable drive, we arrived at the strange, old, rambling house which my client had described, it was Ralph, the elderly butler, who opened the door. I had requisitioned the carriage for the day, and had asked my elderly friend to remain within it unless we should summon him. Ralph, a little wrinkled old fellow, was in the conventional costume of black coat and pepper-and-salt trousers, with only one curious variant.

He wore brown leather gloves, which at sight of us he instantly shuffled off, laying them down on the hall table as we passed in. I have, as my friend Watson may have remarked, an abnormally acute set of senses, and a faint but incisive scent was apparent. It seemed to center on the hall table.

I turned, placed my hat there, knocked it off, stooped to pick it up, and contrived to bring my nose within a foot of the gloves. Yes, it was undoubtedly from them that the curious, tarry odor was oozing. I passed on into the study with my case complete. Alas, that I should have to show my hand so when I tell my own story. It was by concealing such links in the chain that Watson was enabled to produce his meretricious finales.

Colonel Emsworth was not in his room, but he came quickly enough on receipt of Ralph's message. We heard his quick, heavy step in the passage. The door was flung open, and he rushed in with bristling beard and twisted features, as terrible an old man as ever I have seen. He held her cards in his hand, and he tore them up and stamped on the fragments. "'Have I not told you, you infernal busybody, that you are warned off the premises?'

"'Never dare to show your damned face here again. If you enter again without my leave, I shall be within my rights if I use violence. I'll shoot you, sir. By God, I will. As to you, sir,' turning upon me, "'I extend the same warning to you. I am familiar with your ignoble profession, but you must take your reputed talents to some other field. There is no opening for them here.'

"'I cannot leave here,' said my client firmly, "'until I hear from Godfrey's own lips that he is under no restraint.' Our involuntary host rang the bell. "'Ralph,' he said, "'telephone down to the county police and ask the inspector to send up two constables. Tell them there are burglars in the house.' "'One moment,' said I.'

"'You must be aware, Mr. Dodd, that Colonel Emsworth is within his rights and that we have no legal status within his house. On the other hand, he should recognize that your action is prompted entirely by solicitude for his son. I venture to hope that, if I were allowed to have five minutes' conversation with Colonel Emsworth, I could certainly alter his view of the matter.' "'I am not so easily altered,' said the old soldier.'

"'Ralph, do what I have told you. What the devil are you waiting for? Ring up the police!' "'Nothing of the sort,' I said, putting my back to the door. "'Any police interference would bring about the very catastrophe which you dread.' I took out my notebook and scribbled one word upon a loose sheet. "'That,' said I, as I handed it to Colonel Emsworth, "'is what brought us here.'

He stared at the writing with a face from which every expression save amazement had vanished. "How do you know?" he gasped, sitting down heavily in his chair. "It is my business to know things. That is my trade." He sat in deep thought, his gaunt hand tugging at his straggling beard. Then he made a gesture of resignation. "Well, if you wish to see Godfrey, you shall.

"'It is no doing of mine, but you have forced my hand. Ralph, tell Mr. Godfrey and Mr. Kent that, in five minutes, we shall be with them.' At the end of that time, we passed down the garden path and found ourselves in front of the mystery house at the end. A small bearded man stood at the door with a look of considerable astonishment upon his face. "'This is very sudden, Colonel Emsworth,' said he. "'This will disarrange all our plans.'

"'I can't help it, Mr. Kent. Our hands have been forced. Can Mr. Godfrey see us?' "'Yes, he is waiting inside.' He turned and led us into a large, plainly furnished front room. A man was standing with his back to the fire, and at the sight of him, my client sprang forward with outstretched hand. "'Why, Godfrey, old man, this is fine!' But the other waved him back. "'Don't touch me, Jimmy. Keep your distance.'

"'Yes, you may well stare. I don't quite look like the smart Lance Corporal Emsworth of B Squadron, do I?' His appearance was certainly extraordinary. One could see that he had indeed been a handsome man, with clear-cut features sunburned by an African sun, but mottled in patches over this darker surface were curious whitish patches which had bleached his skin. "'That's why I don't court visitors,' said he."

"I don't mind you, Jimmy, but I could have done without your friend. I suppose there is some good reason for it, but you have me at a disadvantage. I wanted to be sure that all was well with you, Godfrey. I saw you that night when you looked into my window, and I could not let the matter rest till I had cleared things up. Old Ralph told me you were there, and I couldn't help taking a peep at you. I hoped you would not have seen me, and I had to run to my burrow when I heard the window go up. But what in heaven's name is the matter?"

"'Well, it's not a long story to tell,' said he, lighting a cigarette. "'You remember that morning fight, at Buffalo Spruitt, outside Pretoria, on the Eastern Railway line? You heard I was hit.' "'Yes, I heard that, but I never got particulars. Three of us got separated from the others. It was very broken country, and you may remember, there was Simpson, the fellow we called Baldy Simpson, and Anderson, and I.'

We were clearing Brother Boar, but he lay low and got the three of us. The other two were killed. I got an elephant bullet through my shoulder. I stuck onto my horse, however, and he galloped several miles before I fainted and rolled off the saddle. When I came to myself, it was nightfall, and I raised myself up, feeling very weak and ill. To my surprise, there was a house close beside me. A fairly large house, with a broad stoop and many windows. It was deadly cold,

"'You remember the kind of numb cold which used to come at evening? "'A deadly, sickening sort of cold, "'very different from a crisp, healthy frost. "'Well, I was chilled to the bone, "'and my only hope seemed to lie in reaching that house. "'I staggered to my feet and dragged myself along, "'hardly conscious of what I did.'

I have a dim memory of slowly ascending the steps, entering a wide open door, passing into a large room which contained several beds, and throwing myself down with a gasp of satisfaction upon one of them. It was unmade, but that troubled me not at all. I drew the clothes over my shivering body and, in a moment, I was in a deep sleep.

It was morning when I wakened, and it seemed to me that, instead of coming out into a world of sanity, I had emerged into some extraordinary nightmare. The African sun flooded through the big, curtainless windows, and every detail of the great, bare, whitewashed dormitory stood out hard and clear.

In front of me was standing a small dwarf-like man with a huge bulbous head who was jabbering excitedly in Dutch, waving two horrible hands which looked to me like brown sponges. Behind him stood a group of people who seemed to be intensely amused by the situation, but a chill came over me as I looked at them. Not one of them was a normal human being. Every one was twisted or swollen or disfigured in some strange way.

The laughter of these strange monstrosities was a dreadful thing to hear. It seemed that none of them could speak English, but the situation wanted clearing up, for the creature with the big head was growing furiously angry, and uttering wild beast cries, he had laid his deformed hands upon me and was dragging me out of bed, regardless of the fresh flow of blood from my wound.

The little monster was as strong as a bull, and I don't know what he might have done to me had not an elderly man who was clearly in authority been attracted to the room by the hubbub. He said a few stern words in Dutch and my persecutor shrank away. Then he turned upon me, gazing at me in the utmost amazement. "How in the world did you come here?" he asked in amazement. "Wait a bit. I see that you are tired out, and that wounded shoulder of yours wants looking after.

"I am a doctor, and I'll soon have you tied up. But, man alive, you are in far greater danger here than ever you were on the battlefield. You are in the leper hospital, and you have slept in a leper's bed. Need I tell you more, Jimmy? It seems that in view of the approaching battle, all these poor creatures had been evacuated the day before.

Then, as the British advanced, they had been brought back by this, their medical superintendent, who assured me that, though he believed he was immune to the disease, he would nonetheless never have dared to do what I had done. He put me in a private room, treated me kindly, and within a week or so I was removed to the general hospital at Pretoria. So, there you have my tragedy.

I hoped against hope, but it was not until I had reached home that the terrible signs which you see upon my face told me that I had not escaped. What was I to do? I was in this lonely house. We had two servants whom we could utterly trust. There was a house where I could live. Under pledge of secrecy, Mr. Kent, who is a surgeon, was prepared to stay with me. It seemed simple enough on those lines. The alternative was a dreadful one.

Segregation for life among strangers was never a hope of release. But absolute secrecy was necessary, or even in this quiet countryside there would have been an outcry, and I should have been dragged to my horrible doom. Even you, Jimmy, even you had to be kept in the dark. Why my father has relented I cannot imagine. Colonel Emsworth pointed to me. "This is the gentleman who forced my hand.

"'He unfolded the scrap of paper on which I had written the word, "'Leprosy. "'It seemed to me that, if he knew so much as that, "'it was safer that he should know all. "'And so it was,' said I. "'Who knows but good may come of it? "'I understand that only Mr. Kent has seen the patient. "'May I ask, sir, if you are an authority on such complaints, "'which are, I understand, tropical or semi-tropical in their nature?'

"'I have the ordinary knowledge of the educated medical man,' he observed, with some stiffness. "'I have no doubt, sir, that you are fully competent, but I am sure that you will agree that in such a case a second opinion is valuable. You have avoided this, I understand, for fear that pressure should be put upon you to segregate the patient.' "'That is so,' said Colonel Emsworth. "'I foresaw this situation,' I explained.'

and I have brought with me a friend whose discretion may absolutely be trusted. I was able once to do him a professional service, and he is ready to advise as a friend rather than as a specialist. His name is Sir James Saunders." The prospect of an interview with Lord Roberts would not have excited greater wonder and pleasure in a raw subaltern than was now reflected upon the face of Mr. Kent. "I shall indeed be proud," he murmured.

"'Well, then I will ask Sir James to step this way. He is at present in the carriage outside the door. Meanwhile, Colonel Emsworth, we may perhaps assemble in your study, where I could give the necessary explanations. And here it is that I miss my Watson. By cunning questions and ejaculations of wonder, he could elevate my simple art, which is but systematized common sense, into a prodigy. When I tell my own story, I have no such aid.'

and yet i will give my process of thought even as i gave it to my small audience which included godfrey's mother in the study of colonel emsworth that process said i starts upon the supposition that when you have eliminated all which is impossible then whatever remains however improbable must be the truth

It may well be that several explanations remain, in which case one tries test after test until one or the other of them has a convincing amount of support. We will now apply this principle to the case in point. As it was first presented to me, there were three possible explanations of the seclusion or incarceration of this gentleman in an outhouse of his father's mansion. There was the explanation that he was in hiding for a crime,

or that he was mad and that they wished to avoid an asylum, or that he had some disease which caused his segregation. I could think of no other adequate solutions. These, then, had to be sifted and balanced against each other. The criminal solution would not bear inspection. No unsolved crime had been reported from that district. I was sure of that.

If it were some crime not yet discovered, then clearly it would be to the interest of the family to get rid of the delinquent and send him abroad rather than keep him concealed at home. I could see no explanation for such a line of conduct. Insanity was more plausible. The presence of the second person in the outhouse suggested a keeper. The fact that he locked the door when he came out strengthened the supposition and gave the idea of constraint. On the other hand...

this constraint could not be severe or the young man could not have got loose and come down to have a look at his friend you will remember mr dodd that i felt round for points asking you for example about the paper which mr kent was reading had it been the lancet or the british medical journal it would have helped me

It is not illegal, however, to keep a lunatic upon private premises so long as there is a qualified person in attendance and that the authorities have been duly notified. Why, then, all this desperate desire for secrecy? Once again I could not get the theory to fit the facts. There remained the third possibility, into which, rare and unlikely as it was, everything seemed to fit. Leprosy is not uncommon in South Africa.

By some extraordinary chance, this youth might have contracted it. His people would be placed in a very dreadful position, since they would desire to save him from segregation. Great secrecy would be needed to prevent rumors from getting about and subsequent interference by the authorities.

a devoted medical man if sufficiently paid would easily be found to take charge of the sufferer there would be no reason why the latter should not be allowed freedom after dark bleaching of the skin is a common result of the disease the case was a strong one so strong that i determined to act as if it were actually proved

When, on arriving here, I noticed that Ralph, who carries out the meals, had gloves which are impregnated with disinfectants, my last doubts were removed. A single word showed you, sir, that your secret was discovered, and if I wrote rather than said it, it was to prove to you that my discretion was to be trusted. I was finishing this little analysis of the case when the door was opened and the austere figure of the great dermatologist was ushered in.

But for once, his sphinx-like features had relaxed, and there was a warm humanity in his eyes. He strode up to Colonel Emsworth and shook him by the hand. "'It is often my lot to bring ill tidings, and seldom good,' said he. "'This occasion is the more welcome. It is not leprosy.' A well-marked case of pseudo-leprosy, or ichthyosis, a scale-like affection of the skin,

unsightly, obstinate, but possibly curable, and certainly non-infective. Yes, Mr. Holmes, the coincidence is a remarkable one. But is it coincidence? Are there not subtle forces at work of which we know little? Are we assured that the apprehension from which this young man has no doubt suffered terribly since his exposure to its contagion may not produce a physical effect which simulates that which it fears?

At any rate, I pledge my professional reputation. But the lady has fainted. I think that Mr. Kent had better be with her until she recovers from this joyous shock. End of section two. You're listening to Classic Audiobook Collection. Give us five stars and share with a friend who likes free audiobooks as much as we do. Now back to the show. Section three of the Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone It was pleasant to Dr. Watson to find himself once more in the untidy room of the first floor in Baker Street, which had been the starting point to so many remarkable adventures.

He looked round him at the scientific charts upon the wall, the acid-charred bench of chemicals, the violin case leaning in the corner, the coal scuttle which contained of old the pipes and tobacco. Finally his eyes came round to the fresh and smiling face of Billy, the young but very wise and tactful page who had helped a little to fill up the gap of loneliness and isolation which surrounded the saturnine figure of the great detective. It all seems very unchanged, Billy.

You don't change either. I hope the same can be said of him." Billy glanced, with some solicitude, at the closed door of the bedroom. "I think he's in bed and asleep," he said. It was seven in the evening of a lovely summer's day, but Dr. Watson was sufficiently familiar with the irregularity of his old friend's hours to feel no surprise at the idea. "That means the case, I suppose?" "Yes, sir. He is very hard at it just now. I'm frightened for his health.

He gets paler and thinner, and he eats nothing. "When will you be pleased to dine, Mr. Holmes?" Mrs. Hudson asked. "Seven-thirty the day after tomorrow," said he. "You know his way when he is keen on a case." "Yes, Billy, I know. He's following someone. Yesterday he was out as a workman looking for a job. Today he was an old woman. Fairly took me in, he did, and I ought to know his ways by now." Billy pointed with a grin to a very baggy parasol which leaned against the sofa.

"That's part of the old woman's outfit," he said. "But what is it all about, Billy?" Billy sank his voice as one who discusses great secrets of state. "I don't mind telling you, sir, but it should go no farther. It's this case of the crown diamond." "What, the hundred-thousand-pound burglary?" "Yes, sir." "They must get it back, sir." "Why, we had the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary both sitting on that very sofa. Mr. Holmes was very nice to them. He soon put them at their ease and promised he would do all he could.

"Then there is Lord Cantlemere." "Yes, sir, you know what that means." "He's a stiff'un, sir, if I may say so. I can get along with the Prime Minister, and I've nothing against the Home Secretary, who seemed a civil obliging sort of man, but I can't stand his Lordship." "Neither can Mr. Holmes, sir. You see, he don't believe in Mr. Holmes and he was against employing him. He'd rather he failed." "And Mr. Holmes knows it?" "Mr. Holmes always knows whatever there is to know.

Well, we'll hope he won't fail and that Lord Cantlemere will be confounded. But I say, Billy, what is that curtain for across the window? Mr. Holmes had it put up there three days ago. We've got something funny behind it. Billy advanced and drew away the drapery which screened the alcove of the bow window. Dr. Watson could not restrain a cry of amazement.

There was a facsimile of his old friend, dressing gown and all, the face turned three-quarters toward the window and downwards, as though reading an invisible book, while the body was sunk deep in an armchair. Billy detached the head and held it in the air. We put it at different angles so that it may seem more lifelike. I wouldn't dare touch it if the blind were not down. But when it's up you can see this from across the way. We used something of the sort once before.

"Before my time," said Billy. He drew the window curtains apart and looked out into the street. "There are folk who watch us from over yonder. I can see a fellow now at the window. Have a look for yourself." Watson had taken a step forward when the bedroom door opened and the long thin form of Holmes emerged, his face pale and drawn, but his step and bearing as active as ever. With a single spring he was at the window, and had drawn the blind once more. "That will do, Billy," said he.

"You are in danger of your life then, my boy, and I can't do without you just yet." "Well, Watson, it is good to see you in your old quarters once again. You come at a critical moment." "So I gather." "You can go, Billy." "That boy is a problem, Watson. How far am I justified in allowing him to be in danger?" "Danger of what, Holmes?" "Of sudden death. I'm expecting something this evening." "Expecting what?" "To be murdered, Watson." "No, no, you are joking, Holmes.

Even my limited sense of humour could evolve a better joke than that. But we may be comfortable in the meantime, may we not? Is alcohol permitted? The gas, the gin and cigars are in the old place. Let me see you once more in the customary armchair. You have not, I hope, learned to despise my pipe and my lamentable tobacco. It has to take the place of food these days. But why not eat? Because the faculties become refined when you starve them.

"Why, surely as a doctor, my dear Watson, you must admit that what your digestion gains in the way of blood supply is so much loss to the brain. I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix. Therefore it is the brain I must consider." "But this danger, Holmes?" "Ah, yes. In case it should come off, it would perhaps be as well that you should burden your memory with the name and address of the murderer. You can give it to Scotland Yard with my love and a parting blessing.

"Silvius is the name. Count Negretto Silvius." "Write it down, man, write it down!" "136 Moorside Gardens N.W. Got it?" Watson's honest face was twitching with anxiety. He knew only too well the immense risks taken by Holmes, and was well aware that what he said was more likely to be understatement than exaggeration. Watson was always the man of action, and he rose to the occasion. "Count me in, Holmes. I have nothing to do for a day or two.

"Your morals don't improve, Watson. You have added fibbing to your other vices. You bear every sign of the busy medical man with calls on him every hour. Not such important ones. But can't you have this fellow arrested?" "Yes, Watson, I could. That's what worries him so." "But why don't you?" "Because I don't know where the diamond is." "Ah, Billy told me. The missing crown jewel." "Yes, the great yellow mazarin stone. I've cast my net and I have fish."

But I have not got the stone. What is the use of taking them? We can make the world a better place by laying them by the heels. But that is not what I am out for. It's the stone I want. And is this Count Silvius one of your fish? Yes, and he's a shark. He bites. The other is Sam Merton, the boxer. Not a bad fellow, Sam, but the Count has used him. Sam's not a shark. He is a great big silly bull-headed gudgeon, but he is flopping about in my net all the same.

"Where is this Count Silvius?" "I've been at his very elbow all the morning." "You see me as an old lady, Watson. I was never more convincing. He actually picked up my parasol for me once." "Buy your leave, madam," he said, "half Italian, you know, and what the southern graces of manner win in the mood, but a devil incarnate in the other mood. Life is full of whimsical happenings, Watson." "It might have been a tragedy." "Well, perhaps it might. I followed him to old Straubensee's workshop in the minarees.

"Straubensy made the air gun, a very pretty bit of work as I understand, and I rather fancy it is in the opposite window at the present moment. Have you seen the dummy?" "Of course. Billy showed it to you. Well, it may get a bullet through its beautiful head at any moment." "Ah, Billy, what is it?" The boy had reappeared in the room with a card upon a tray. Holmes glanced at it with raised eyebrows and an amused smile. "The man himself! I had hardly expected this.

"Grasp the nettle, Watson! A man of nerve! Possibly you have heard of his reputation as a shooter of big game. It would indeed be a triumphant ending to his excellent sporting record if he added me to his bag. This is a proof that he feels my toe very close behind his heel. Send for the police." "I probably shall, but not just yet. Would you glance carefully out of the window, Watson, and see if anyone is hanging about in the street?" Watson looked warily round the edge of the curtain. "Yes, there is one rough fellow near the door.

That will be Sam Merton, the faithful but rather fatuous Sam. Where is this gentleman, Billy? In the waiting room, sir. Show him up when I ring. Yes, sir. If I am not in the room, show him in all the same. Yes, sir. Watson waited until the door was closed and then he turned earnestly to his companion. Look here, Holmes, this is simply impossible. This is a desperate man who sticks at nothing. He may have come to murder you. I should not be surprised. I insist upon staying with you.

you would be horribly in the way. In his way? No, my dear fellow, in my way. Well, I can't possibly leave you. Yes, you can, Watson, and you will, for you have never failed to play the game. I am sure you will play it to the end. This man has come for his own purpose, but he may stay for mine. Holmes took out his notebook and scribbled a few lines. Take a cab to Scotland Yard and give this to Yoel of the CID. Come back with the police. The fellow's arrest will follow.

"I'll do that with joy. Before you return I may have just time enough to find out where the stone is." He touched the bell. "I think we will go out through the bedroom. This second exit is exceedingly useful. I rather want to see my shark without his seeing me, and I have, as you will remember, my own way of doing it." It was therefore an empty room into which Billy, a minute later, ushered Count Silvius.

The famous game-shot sportsman and man about town was a big swarthy fellow with a formidable dark mustache shading a cruel thin-lipped mouth, and surmounted by a long curved nose, like the beak of an eagle. He was well dressed, but his brilliant necktie, shining pin, and glittering rings were flamboyant in their effect. As the door closed behind him he looked round him with fierce startled eyes, like one who suspects a trap at every turn.

Then he gave a violent start as he saw the impassive head and the collar of the dressing-gown which projected above the arm-chair in the window. At first his expression was one of pure amazement. Then the light of a horrible hope gleamed in his dark murderous eyes. He took one more glance round to see that there were no witnesses, and then, on tiptoe, his thick stick half raised, he approached the silent figure. He was crouching for his final spring and blow when a cool sardonic voice greeted him from the open bedroom door.

"Don't break it, Count! Don't break it!" The assassin staggered back, amazement in his convulsed face. For an instant he half raised his loaded cane once more, as if he would turn his violence from the effigy to the original. But there was something in that steady gray eye and mocking smile which caused his hand to sink to his side. "It's a pretty little thing," said Holmes, advancing towards the image. "Tavernier, the French modeler, made it. He is as good at waxworks as your friend Straubensee is at air guns."

"Arrogant, sir? What do you mean?" "Put your hat and stick on the side table." "Thank you." "Pray take a seat. Would you care to put your revolver out also?" "Very good, if you prefer to sit upon it. Your visit is really most opportune, for I wanted badly to have a few minutes chat with you." The Count scowled with heavy threatening eyebrows. "I, too, wish to have some words with you, Holmes. That is why I am here. I won't deny that I intended to assault you just now.

Holmes swung his leg on the edge of the table. "'I rather gathered that you had some idea of the sword in your head,' said he. "'But why these personal attentions?' "'Because you have gone out of your way to annoy me. Because you have put your creatures upon my track.' "'My creatures? I assure you, no.' "'Nonsense. I have had them followed. Two can play at that game, Holmes. It is a small point, Count Silvius, but perhaps you would kindly give me my prefix when you address me.'

You can understand that with my routine of work I should find myself on familiar turns with half the rogue's gallery, and you will agree that exceptions are invidious. Well, Mr. Holmes, then. Excellent. But I assure you you are mistaken about my alleged agents. Count Silvius laughed contemptuously. Other people can observe as well as you. Yesterday there was an old sporting man. Today it was an elderly woman. They held me in view all day. Really, sir, you compliment me.

Old Baron Dowson said the night before he was hanged that in my case what the law had gained the stage had lost. And now you give my little impersonations your kindly praise. It was you? You yourself? Holmes shrugged his shoulders. You can see in the corner the parasol which you so politely handed to me in the minories before you began to suspect. If I had known, you might never have seen this humble home again. I was well aware of it.

We all have neglected opportunities to deplore. As it happens, you did not know. So here we are." The Count's knotted brows gathered more heavily over his menacing eyes. "What you say only makes the matter worse. It was not your agents, but your play-acting, busybody self. You admit that you have dogged me. Why? Come now, Count. You used to shoot lions in Algeria. Well, but why? Why? The sport, the excitement, the danger.

"And no doubt to free the country from a pest?" "Exactly." "My reasons in a nutshell." The Count sprang to his feet, and his hand involuntarily moved back to his hip pocket. "Sit down, sir. Sit down." There was another more practical reason. "I want that yellow diamond." Count Silvius lay back in his chair with an evil smile. "Upon my word," said he, "you knew that I was after you for that."

The real reason why you are here tonight is to find out how much I know about the matter and how far my removal is absolutely essential. Well, I should say that from your point of view it is absolutely essential, for I know all about it, save only one thing, which you are about to tell me." "Oh, indeed!" "And pray, what is this missing fact?" "Where the crown diamond now is." The Count looked sharply at his companion.

"Oh, you want to know that, do you? How the devil should I be able to tell you where it is? You can and you will." "Indeed." "You can't bluff me, Count Silvius." Holmes' eyes, as he gazed at him, contracted and lightened until they were like two menacing points of steel. "You are absolutely plate-glass. I see to the very back of your mind. Then of course you see where the diamond is." Holmes clapped his hands with amusement and then pointed a derisive finger.

"And you do know? You have admitted it?" "I admit nothing." "Now, Count, if you will be reasonable, we can do business. If not, you will get hurt." Count Silvius threw up his eyes to the ceiling. "And you talk about bluff," said he. Holmes looked at him thoughtfully, like a master chess-player who meditates his crowning move. Then he threw open the table drawer and drew out a squat notebook. "Do you know what I keep in this book?" "No, sir, I do not." "You?" "Me?"

"Yes, sir, you. You are all here. Every action of your vile and dangerous life." "Damn you, Holmes!" cried the Count, with blazing eyes. "There are limits to my patience." "It's all here, Count. The real facts as to the death of old Mrs. Harold, who left you the Blymer estate which you so rapidly gambled away." "You are dreaming." "And the complete life history of Miss Minnie Warrander. Touch, you will make nothing of that."

"Plenty more here, Count. Here is the robbery in the train deluxe to the Riviera on February 13th, 1892. Here is the forged cheque in the same year on the Crédit Léonin's." "No, you're wrong there." "Then I am right on the others." "Now, Count, you are a card-player. When the other fellow has all the trumps, it saves time to throw down your hand." "What has all this talk to do with the jewel of which you spoke?" "Gently, Count. Restrain that eager mind."

Let me get to the points in my own humdrum fashion. I have all this against you, but above all, I have a clear case against both you and your fighting bully in the case of the crown diamond. Indeed. I have the cabman who took you to Whitehall and the cabman who brought you away. I have the commissionaire who saw you near the case. I have Ikey Sanders, who refused to cut it up for you. Ikey has peached, and the game is up.

The vein stood out on the Count's forehead. His dark hairy hands were clenched in a convulsion of restrained emotion. He tried to speak, but the words would not shape themselves. "That's the hand I play from," said Holmes. "I put it all upon the table. But one card is missing. It's the King of Diamonds. I don't know where the stone is." "You never shall know." "No?" "Now be reasonable, Count. Consider the situation.

You are going to be locked up for twenty years. So is Sam Merton. What good are you going to get out of your diamond? None in the world. But if you hand it over, well, I'll compound a felony. We don't want you or Sam. We want the stone. Give that up, and so far as I am concerned you can go free so long as you behave yourself in the future. If you make another slip, well, it will be the last. But this time my commission is to get the stone, not you. But if I refuse?

"Why, then alas, it must be you and not the stone." Billy had appeared and answered to a ring. "I think, Count, that it would be as well to have your friend Sam at this conference. After all, his interests should be represented. Billy, you will see a large and ugly gentleman outside the front door. Ask him to come up." "If he won't come, sir?" "No violence, Billy. Don't be rough with him. If you tell him that Count Silvius wants him, he will certainly come." "What are you going to do now?" asked the Count, as Billy disappeared.

"My friend Watson was with me just now. I told him that I had a shark and a gudgeon in my net. Now I am drawing the net and up they come together." The Count had risen from his chair, and his hand was behind his back. Holmes held something half protruding from the pocket of his dressing gown. "You won't die in your bed, Holmes. I have often had the same idea. Does it matter very much? After all, Count, your own exit is more likely to be perpendicular than horizontal.

But these anticipations of the future are morbid. Why not give ourselves up to the unrestrained enjoyment of the present?" A sudden wild beast light sprang up in the dark, menacing eyes of the master criminal. Holmes' figure seemed to grow taller as he grew tense and ready. "It is no use your fingering your revolver, my friend," he said in a quiet voice. "You know perfectly well that you dare not use it, even if I give you time to draw it. Nasty, noisy things revolvers count. Better stick to air guns."

"Ah, I think I hear the fairy footstep of your estimable partner. Good day, Mr. Merton. Rather dull in the street, is it not?" The prize-fighter, a heavily built young man with a stupid, obstinate, slab-sided face, stood awkwardly at the door, looking about him with a puzzled expression. Holmes' debonair manner was a new experience, and though he vaguely felt that it was hostile, he did not know how to counter it. He turned to his more astute comrade for help.

"What's the game now, Count? What's this fellow want? What's up?" His voice was deep and raucous. The Count shrugged his shoulders and it was Holmes who answered. "If I may put it in a nutshell, Mr. Merton, I should say it was all up." The boxer still addressed his remarks to his associate. "Is this cove trying to be funny or what?" "I'm not in the funny mood myself." "No, I expect not," said Holmes. "I think I can promise you that you will feel even less humorous as the evening advances."

Now look here, Count Silvius. I'm a busy man and I can't waste time. I'm going into that bedroom. Pray make yourselves quite at home in my absence. You can explain to your friend how the matter lies without the restraint of my presence. I shall try over the Hoffman bark or roll upon my violin. In five minutes I shall return for your final answer. You quite grasp the alternative, do you not? Shall we take you, or shall we have the stone? Holmes withdrew, picking up his violin from the corner as he passed.

A few moments later the long-drawn wailing notes of that most haunting of tunes came faintly through the closed door of the bedroom. "What is it, then?" asked Merton anxiously as his companion turned to him. "Does he know about the stone?" "He knows a damn sight too much about it. I'm not sure that he doesn't know all about it." "Good Lord!" The boxer's sallow face turned a shade whiter. "Ikey Sanders has split on us." "He has, has he?" "I'll do him down a thicken for that if I swing for it."

"That won't help us much. We've got to make up our minds what to do." "Half a moe," said the boxer, looking suspiciously at the bedroom door. "He's a leery cove that wants watching." "I suppose he's not listening." "How can he be listening with that music going?" "That's right. Maybe somebody's behind a curtain." "Too many curtains in this room." As he looked round he suddenly saw for the first time the effigy in the window, and stood staring and pointing, too amazed for words. "Tut, it's only a dummy," said the count.

"A fake, is it? Well, strike me. Madame Tussaud ain't in it. It's the living spit of him, gown and all. But them curtains count. Oh, confound the curtains! We are wasting our time, and there is none too much. He can lag us over this stone. The deuce he can. But he'll let us slip if we only tell him where the swag is. What? Give it up? Give up a hundred thousand quid? It's one or the other." Merton scratched the short-cropped pate.

"He's alone in there. Let's do him in." "If his light were out we should have nothing to fear." The Count shook his head. "He is armed and ready. If we shot him we could hardly get away in a place like this. Besides, it's likely enough that the police know whatever evidence he has got." "Hullo, what was that?" There was a vague sound which seemed to come from the window. Both men sprang round, but all was quiet. Save for the one strange figure seated in the chair, the room was certainly empty.

"Something in the street," said Merton. "Now look here, governor, you've got the brains. Surely you can think a way out of it. If slugging is no use then it's up to you." "I fool better men than he," the Count answered. "The stone is here in my secret pocket. I take no chances leaving it about. It can be out of England tonight and cut into four pieces in Amsterdam before Sunday. He knows nothing of Van Setter. I thought Van Setter was going next week. He was. But now he must get off by the next boat.

"One or other of us must slip round with the stone to Lime Street and tell him. But the false bottom ain't ready. Well, he must take it as it is and chance it. There's not a moment to lose." Again with the sense of danger which becomes an instinct with the sportsman, he paused and looked hard at the window. Yes, it was surely from the street that the faint sound had come. "As to Holmes," he continued, "we can fool him easily enough. You see, the damn fool won't arrest us if he can get the stone." "Well, we'll promise him the stone."

We'll put him on the wrong track about it, and before he finds that it is the wrong track, it will be in Holland and we out of the country." "That sounds good to me," cried Sam Merton with a grin. "You go on and tell the Dutchman to get a move on him. I'll see this sucker and fill him up with a bogus confession. I'll tell him that the stone is in Liverpool." "Con-found that whining music! It gets on my nerves!" "By the time he finds it isn't in Liverpool, it will be in Quarters and we on the Blue Water."

"Come back here, out of line with that keyhole. Here is the stone. I wonder you dare carry it? Where could I have it safer? If we could take it out of Whitehall someone else could surely take it out of my lodgings. Let's have a look at it." Count Silvius cast a somewhat unflattering glance at his associate and disregarded the unwashed hand which was extended towards him. "What, do you think I'm going to snatch it off you? See here, mister, I'm getting a bit tired of your ways."

"Well, well, no offense, Sam. We can't afford to quarrel. Come over to the window if you want to see the beauty properly. Now hold it to the light. Here." "Thank you!" With a single spring Holmes had leapt from the dummy's chair and had grasped the precious jewel. He held it now in one hand, while his other pointed a revolver at the Count's head. The two villains staggered back in utter amazement. Before they had recovered, Holmes had pressed the electric bell.

"No violence, gentlemen, no violence, I beg of you. Consider the future. It must be very clear to you that your position is an impossible one. The police are waiting below." The Count's bewilderment overmastered his rage and fear. "But how the deuce?" he gasped. "Your surprise is very natural. You are not aware that a second door from my bedroom leads behind that curtain. I fancy that you must have heard me when I displaced the figure, but luck was on my side.

It gave me a chance of listening to your racy conversation which would have been painfully constrained had you been aware of my presence." The Count gave a gesture of resignation. "We give you best, Holmes. I believe you are the devil himself." "Not far from him at any rate," Holmes answered with a polite smile. Sam Merton's slow intellect had only gradually appreciated the situation. Now as the sound of heavy steps came from the stairs outside, he broke silence at last.

"A fair cop," said he. "But I say, what about that bloomin' fiddle? I hear it yet." "Tut, tut," Holmes answered. "You are perfectly right. Let it play. These modern gramophones are a remarkable invention." There was an inrush of police. The handcuffs clipped and the criminals were led to the waiting cab. Watson lingered with Holmes, congratulating him upon this fresh leaf added to his laurels. Once more their conversation was interrupted by the imperturbable billy with his car-tray.

lord cantilmere sir show him up billy this is the eminent peer who represents the very highest interests said holmes he is an excellent and loyal person but rather of the old regime shall we make him unbend dare we venture upon a slight liberty he knows we may conjecture nothing of what has occurred

The door opened to admit a thin, austere figure, with a hatchet face and drooping mid-Victorian whiskers of a glossy blackness which hardly corresponded with the rounded shoulders and feeble gait. Holmes advanced affably and shook an unresponsive hand. "How do you do, Lord Cantlemere? It is chilly for the time of year, but rather warm indoors. May I take your overcoat?" "No, I thank you. I will not take it off." Holmes laid his hand insistently upon the sleeve.

"Pray allow me!" My friend Dr. Wasson would assure you that these changes of temperature are most insidious. His Lordship shook himself free with some impatience. "I am quite comfortable, sir. I have no need to stay. I have simply looked in to know how your self-appointed task was progressing. It is difficult, very difficult. I feared that you would find it so." There was a distinct sneer in the old courtier's words and manner.

"Every man finds his limitations, Mr. Holmes, but at least it cures us of the weakness of self-satisfaction." "Yes, sir, I have been much perplexed." "No doubt." "Especially upon one point. Possibly you could help me upon it?" "You apply for my advice rather late in the day. I thought that you had your own all-sufficient methods. Still, I am ready to help you. You see, Lord Cancelmere, we can no doubt frame a case against the actual thieves." "When you have caught them?"

"Exactly. But the question is, how shall we proceed against the Receiver? Is this not rather premature?" "It is as well to have our plans ready. Now what would you regard as final evidence against the Receiver?" "The actual possession of the stone." "You would arrest him upon that?" "Most undoubtedly." Holmes seldom laughed, but he got as near as it is his old friend Watson could remember. "In that case, my dear sir, I shall be under the painful necessity of advising your arrest.

Lord Cantlemere was very angry. Some of the ancient fires flickered up into his sallow cheeks. "You take a great liberty, Mr. Holmes. In fifty years of official life I cannot recall such a case. I am a busy man, sir, engaged upon important affairs, and I have no time or taste for foolish jokes. I may tell you frankly, sir, that I have never been a believer in your powers, and that I have always been of the opinion that the matter was far safer in the hands of the regular police force.

Your conduct confirms all my conclusions. I have the honour, sir, to wish you good evening." Holmes had swiftly changed his position and was between the pier and the door. "One moment, sir," said he. "To actually go off with the mazarin stone would be a more serious offence than to be found in temporary possession of it." "Sir, this is intolerable. Let me pass." "Put your hand in the right-hand pocket of your overcoat." "What do you mean, sir?" "Come, come, do what I ask."

An instant later the amazed peer was standing, blinking and stammering, with a great yellow stone on his shaking palm. "What, what, how is this, Mr. Holmes?" "Too bad, Lord Cantlemere, too bad," cried Holmes. "My old friend here will tell you that I have an impish habit of practical joking, also that I can never resist a dramatic situation. I took the liberty, the very great liberty, I admit, of putting the stone into your pocket at the beginning of our interview.

The old peer stared from the stone to the smiling face before him. "Sir, I am bewildered." "But, yes, it is indeed the Mazarin Stone." "We are greatly your debtors, Mr. Holmes. Your sense of humour may, as you admit, be somewhat perverted, and its exhibition remarkably untimely. But at least I withdraw any reflection I have made upon your amazing professional powers." "But how?" "The case is but half finished. The details can wait."

no doubt lord cantlemere your pleasure in telling of this successful result in the exalted circle to which you return will be some small atonement for my practical joke billy you will show his lordship out and tell mrs hudson that i should be glad if she would send up dinner for two as soon as possible end of section three

THE ADVENTURE OF THE THREE GABLES

i don't think that any of my adventures with mr sherlock holmes opened quite so abruptly or so dramatically as that which i associate with the three gables i had not seen holmes for some days and had no idea of the new channel into which his activities had been directed

he was in a chatty mood that morning however and had just settled me into the well-worn low arm-chair on one side of the fire while he had curled down with his pipe in his mouth upon the opposite chair when our visitor arrived

if i had said that a mad bull had arrived it would give a clearer impression of what occurred the door had flown open and a huge negro had burst into the room he would have been a comic figure if he had not been terrific for he was dressed in a very loud gray check suit with a flowing salmon-colored tie

his broad face and flattened nose were thrust forward as his sullen dark eyes with a smouldering gleam of malice in them turned from one of us to the other which of you gentlemen is mas'r holmes he asked

holmes raised his pipe with a languid smile oh it's you is it said our visitor coming with an unpleasant stealthy step round the angle of the table see here messer holmes you keep your hands out of other folks business leave folks to manage their own affairs got that messer holmes keep on talking said holmes it's fine

oh it's fine is it growled the savage it won't be so damn fine if i have to trim you up a bit i've handled your kind before now and they didn't look fine when i was through with them look at that master holmes he swung a huge knotted lump of a fist under my friend's nose holmes examined it closely with an air of great interest were you born so he asked or did it come by degrees

it may have been the icy coolness of my friend or it may have been the slight clatter which i made as i picked up the poker in any case our visitor's manner became less flamboyant

well i've given you fair warnin said he i've a friend that's interested out par away you know what i meanin and he don't intend to have no button in by you got that you ain't the law and i ain't the law either and if you come in i'll be on hand also don't you forget it i've wanted to meet you for some time said holmes

i won't ask you to sit down for i don't like the smell of you but aren't you steve dixie the bruiser

that's my name master holmes and you'll get put through it for sure if you give me any lip it is certainly the last thing you need said holmes staring at our visitor's hideous mouth but it was the killing of young perkins outside the holborn bar what you're not going the negro had sprung back and his face was leaden i won't listen to no such talk said he what have i to do with this erb perkins master holmes

i was trainin at the bull ring in birmingham when this boy done gone get into trouble yes you'll tell the magistrate about it steve said holmes i've been watching you and barney stockdale so help me the lord master holmes that's enough get out of it i'll pick you up when i want you

good mornin mas'r holmes i hope there ain't no hard feelin's about this ere visit there will be unless you tell me who sent you why there ain't no secret about that mas'r holmes it was that same gentleman that you have just done gone mention and who sent him on to it

s'help me i don't know mas'r holmes he just say steve you go see mr holmes and tell him his life ain't safe if he go down hereaway that's the whole truth without waiting for any further questioning our visitor bolted out of the room almost as precipitately as he had entered holmes knocked out the ashes of his pipe with a quiet chuckle

i am glad you were not forced to break his woolly head watson i observed your manoeuvres with the poker but he is really rather a harmless fellow a great muscular foolish blustering baby and easily cowed as you have seen

he is one of the spencer john gang and has taken part in some dirty work of late which i may clear up when i have time his immediate principal barney is a more astute person they specialize in assaults intimidation and the like

what i want to know is who is at the back of them on this particular occasion but why do they want to intimidate you it is this harold weald case it decides me to look into the matter for if it is worth anyone's while to take so much trouble there must be something in it but what is it

i was going to tell you when we had this comic interlude here is mrs maberly's note if you care to come with me we will wire her and go out at once dear mr sherlock holmes i read i have had a succession of strange incidents occur to me in connection with this house and i should much value your advice you would find me at home any time to-morrow the house is within a short walk of the weald station

i believe that my late husband mortimer maberly was one of your early clients yours faithfully mary maberly the address was three gables harrow weald so that's that said holmes and now if you can spare the time watson we will get upon our way

a short railway journey and a shorter drive brought us to the house a brick and timber villa standing in its own acre of undeveloped grassland three small projections above the upper windows made a feeble attempt to justify its name

behind was a grove of melancholy half-grown pines and the whole aspect of the place was poor and depressing none the less we found the house to be well furnished and the lady who received us was a most engaging elderly person who bore every mark of refinement and culture i remember your husband well madam said holmes though it is some years since he used my services in some trifling matter

probably you would be more familiar with the name of my son douglas holmes looked at her with great interest dear me are you the mother of douglas maberly i knew him slightly but of course all london knew him what a magnificent creature he was where is he now

dead mr holmes dead he was attach at rome and he died there of pneumonia last month i am sorry what could not connect death with such a man i have never known anyone so vitally alive he lived intensely every fibre of him

too intensely mr holmes that was the ruin of him you remember him as he was debonair and splendid you did not see the moody morose brooding creature into which he developed his heart was broken in a single month i seemed to see my gallant boy turn into a worn-out cynical man a love affair a woman

or a fiend well it was not to talk of my poor lad that i asked you to come mr holmes dr watson and i are at your service

there have been some very strange happenings i have been in this house more than a year now and as i wish to lead a retired life i have seen little of my neighbors three days ago i had a call from a man who said that he was a house agent he said that this house would exactly suit a client of his and that if i would part with it money would be no object

it seemed to me very strange as there are several empty houses on the market which appear to be equally eligible but naturally i was interested in what he said i therefore named a price which was five hundred pounds more than i gave he at once closed with the offer but added that his client desired to buy the furniture as well and would i put a price upon it

some of this furniture is from my old home and it is as you see very good so that i named a good round sum to this also he at once agreed i had always wanted to travel and the bargain was so good a one that it really seemed that i should be my own mistress for the rest of my life

yesterday the man arrived with the agreement all drawn out luckily i showed it to mr sutro my lawyer who lives in hero he said to me this is a very strange document are you aware that if you sign it you could not legally take anything out of the house not even your own private possessions when the man came again in the evening i pointed this out and i said that i meant only to sell the furniture

no no everything said he but my clothes my jewels well well some concession might be made for your personal effects but nothing shall go out of the house unchecked my client is a very liberal man but he has his fads and his own way of doing things it is everything or nothing with him

then it must be nothing said i and there the matter was left but the whole thing seemed to me to be so unusual that i thought here we had a very extraordinary interruption

Holmes raised his hand for silence. Then he strode across the room, flung open the door, and dragged in a great gaunt woman whom he had seized by the shoulder. She entered with ungainly struggles like some huge awkward chicken torn squawking out of its coop. "'Leave me alone! What are you doing of?' she screeched. "'Why, Susan, what is this?'

well ma'am i was comin in to ask if the visitors would stand for lunch when this man jumped out at me i have been listening to her for the last five minutes but did not wish to interrupt your most interesting narrative just a little wheezy susan are you not you breathe too heavily for that kind of work susan turned a sulky but amazed face upon her captor who be you anyhow and what right have you a pullin me about like this

it was merely that i wished to ask a question in your presence did you mrs maberly mention to anyone that you were going to write to me and consult me no mr holmes i did not who posted your letter susan did exactly now susan to whom was it that you wrote or sent a message to say that your mistress was asking advice from me it's a lie i sent no message

now susan wheezy people may not live long you know it's a wicked thing to tell fibs whom did you tell susan cried her mistress i believe you are a bad treacherous woman i remember now that i saw you speaking to some one over the hedge

that was my own business said the woman sullenly suppose i tell you that it was barney stockdale to whom you spoke said holmes well if you know what do you want to ask for i was not sure but i know now well now susan it will be worth ten pounds to you if you will tell me who is at the back of barney someone that could lay down a thousand pounds for every ten you have in the world so a rich man

no you smiled a rich woman now we have got so far you may as well give the name and earn the tenor

i'll see you in hell first oh susan language i am clearing out of here i've had enough of you all i'll send for my box to-morrow she flounced for the door good-bye susan perigoric is the stuff now he continued turning suddenly from lively to severe when the door had closed behind the flushed and angry woman

this gang means business look how close they play the game your letter to me had the ten p m postmark and yet susan passes the word to barney barney has time to go to his employer and get instructions he or she i incline to the latter from susan's grin when she thought i had blundered forms a plan black steve is called in and i am warned off by eleven o'clock next morning that's quick work you know

but what do they want yes that's the question who had the house before you a retired sea-captain called ferguson anything remarkable about him

not that ever i heard of i was wondering whether he could have buried something of course when people bury treasure nowadays they do it in the post-office but there are always some lunatics about it would be a dull world without them at first i thought of some buried valuable but why in that case should they want your furniture you don't happen to have a raphael or a first folio shakespeare without knowing it

No, I don't think I have anything rarer than a Crown Derby tea set.

that would hardly justify all this mystery besides why should they not openly state what they want if they covet your tea set they can surely offer a price for it without buying you out lock stock and barrel no as i read it there is something which you do not know that you have and which you would not give up if you did know that is how i read it said i dr watson agrees so that settles it well mr holmes what can it be

let us see whether by this purely mental analysis we can get it to a finer point you have been in this house a year nearly two all the better during this long period no one wants anything from you now suddenly within three or four days you have urgent demands what would you gather from that it can only mean said i that the object whatever it may be has only just come into the house

Settled once again, said Holmes. Now, Mrs. Maberly, has any object just arrived?

no i have bought nothing new this year indeed that is very remarkable well i think we had best let matters develop a little further until we have clear data is that lawyer of yours a capable man mr sutro is most capable have you another maid or was the fair susan who just banged your front door alone i have a young girl

try and get sutro to spend a night or two in the house you might possibly want protection against whom who knows the matter is certainly obscure if i can't find what they are after i must approach the matter from the other end and try to get at the principal did this house agent man give any address simply his card and occupation haines johnson auctioneer and valuer

i don't think we shall find him in the directory honest business men don't conceal their place of business well you will let me know any fresh development i have taken up your case and you may rely upon it that i shall see it through

as we passed through the hall holmes's eyes which missed nothing lighted upon several trunks and cases which were piled in the corner the labels shone out upon them milano lucerne these are from italy they are poor douglass's things you have not unpacked them how long have you had them they arrived last week

but you said why surely this might be the missing link how do we know that there is not something of value there there could not possibly be mr holmes poor douglas had only his pay and a small annuity what could he have of value

holmes was lost in thought delay no longer mrs maberly he said at last have these things taken upstairs to your bedroom examine them as soon as possible and see what they contain i will come tomorrow and hear your report it was quite evident that the three gables was under very close surveillance for as we came round the high hedge at the end of the lane there was the negro prize-fighter standing in the shadow

we came on him quite suddenly and a grim and menacing figure he looked in that lonely place holmes clapped his hand to his pocket

Looking for your gun, Master Holmes? No, for my scent bottle, Steve. You are funny, Master Holmes, ain't you? It won't be funny for you, Steve, if I get after you. I gave you fair warning this morning. Well, Master Holmes, I done think over what you said, and I don't want no more talk about that affair of Master Perkins. Suppose I can help you, Master Holmes, I will.

well then tell me who is behind you on this job so help me the lord mas'r holmes i told you the truth before i don't know my boss barney gives me orders and that's all well just bear in mind steve that the lady in that house and everything under that roof is under my protection don't you forget it all right mas'r holmes i'll remember

i've got him thoroughly frightened for his own skin watson holmes remarked as we walked on i think he would double-cross his employer if he knew who he was it was lucky i had some knowledge of the spencer john crowd and that steve was one of them now watson this is a case for langdale pike and i am going to see him now when i get back i may be clearer in the matter

i saw no more of holmes during the day but i could well imagine how he spent it for langdale pike was his human book of reference upon all matters of social scandal

this strange languid creature spent his waking hours in the bow window of a st james street club and was the receiving station as well as the transmitter for all the gossip of the metropolis he made it was said a four-figure income by the paragraphs which he contributed every week to the garbage papers which cater for an inquisitive public

if ever far down in the turbid depths of london life there was some strange swirl or eddy it was marked with automatic exactness by this human dial upon the surface

holmes discreetly helped langdale to knowledge and on occasion was helped in turn when i met my friend in his room early next morning i was conscious from his bearing that all was well but none the less a most unpleasant surprise was awaiting us it took the shape of the following telegram please come out at once client's house burgled in the night police in possession

Holmes whistled. The drama has come to a crisis, and quicker than I had expected. There is a great driving power at the back of this business, Watson, which does not surprise me after what I have heard. This Sutro, of course, is her lawyer. I made a mistake, I fear, in not asking you to spend the night on guard. This fellow has clearly proved a broken reed. Well, there is nothing for it but another journey to Harrow Weald.

we found the three gables a very different establishment to the orderly household of the previous day a small group of idlers had assembled at the garden gate while a couple of constables were examining the windows and the geranium beds within we met a gray old gentleman who introduced himself as the lawyer together with a bustling rubicund inspector who greeted holmes as an old friend

well mr holmes no chance for you in this case i'm afraid just a common ordinary burglary and well within the capacity of the poor old police no experts need apply

i am sure the case is in very good hands said holmes merely a common burglary you say quite so we know pretty well who the men are and where to find them it is that gang of barney stockdale with the big nigger in it they've been seen about here excellent what did they get well they don't seem to have got much mrs maberly was chloroformed and the house was ah here's the lady herself

our friend of yesterday looking very pale and ill had entered the room leaning upon a little maid-servant you gave me good advice mr holmes said she smiling ruefully alas i did not take it i did not wish to trouble mr sutro and so i was unprotected i only heard of it this morning the lawyer explained

mr holmes advised me to have some friend in the house i neglected his advice and i have paid for it you look wretchedly ill said holmes perhaps you are hardly equal to telling me what occurred it is all here said the inspector tapping a bulky notebook still if the lady is not too exhausted

there is really so little to tell i have no doubt that wicked susan had planned an entrance for them they must have known the house to an inch i was conscious for a moment of the chloroform rag which was thrust over my mouth but i have no notion how long i may have been senseless

when i woke one man was at the bedside and another was rising with a bundle in his hand from among my son's baggage which was partially opened and littered over the floor before he could get away i sprang up and seized him

you took a big risk said the inspector i clung to him but he shook me off and the other may have struck me for i can remember no more mary the maid heard the noise and began screaming out of the window that brought the police but the rascals had got away what did they take well i don't think there is anything of value missing i am sure there was nothing in my son's trunks did the men leave no clue

There was one sheet of paper which I may have torn from the man that I grasped. It was lying all crumpled on the floor. It is in my son's handwriting. Which means that it is not of much use, said the inspector. Now, if it had been in the burglar's... Exactly, said Holmes. What rugged common sense! Nonetheless, I should be curious to see it.

the inspector drew a folded sheet of foolscap from his pocket-book i never pass anything however trifling said he with some pomposity that is my advice to you mr holmes in twenty-five years experience i have learned my lesson there is always the chance of finger-marks or something holmes inspected the sheet of paper what do you make of it inspector

seems to be the end of some queer novel so far as i can see it may certainly prove to be the end of a queer tale said holmes you have noticed the number on the top of the page it is two hundred and forty-five where are the odd two hundred and forty-four pages well i suppose the burglars got those much good may it do them

it seems a queer thing to break into a house in order to steal such papers as that does it suggest anything to you inspector yes sir it suggests that in their hurry the rascals just grabbed at what came first to hand i wish them joy of what they got why should they go to my son's things asked mrs maberly

well they found nothing valuable downstairs so they tried their luck upstairs that is how i read it what do you make of it mr holmes

i must think it over inspector come to the window watson then as we stood together he read over the fragment of paper it began in the middle of a sentence and ran like this face bled considerably from the cuts and blows but it was nothing to the bleeding of his heart as he saw that lovely face

the face for which he had been prepared to sacrifice his very life looking out at his agony and humiliation she smiled yes by heaven she smiled like the heartless fiend she was as he looked up at her it was at that moment that love died and hate was born

man must live for something if it is not for your embrace my lady then it shall surely be for your undoing and my complete revenge

queer grammar said holmes with a smile as he handed the paper back to the inspector did you notice how the he suddenly changed to my the writer was so carried away by his own story that he imagined himself at the supreme moment to be the hero it seemed mighty poor stuff said the inspector as he replaced it in his book

what are you off mr holmes i don't think there is anything more for me to do now that the case is in such capable hands by the way mrs maberly did you say you wished to travel it has always been my dream mr holmes

where would you like to go cairo madeira the riviera oh if i had the money i would go round the world quite so round the world well good morning i may drop you a line in the evening as we passed the window i caught a glimpse of the inspector's smile and shake of the head these clever fellows have always a touch of madness that was what i read in the inspector's smile

now watson we are at the last lap of our little journey said holmes when we were back in the roar of central london once more i think we had best clear the matter up at once and it would be well that you should come with me for it is safer to have a witness when you are dealing with such a lady as isadora

we had taken a cab and were speeding to some address in grosvenor square holmes had been sunk in thought but he roused himself suddenly by the way watson i suppose you see it all clearly no i can't say that i do i only gather that we are going to see the lady who is behind all this mischief

exactly but does the name isidora klein convey nothing to you she was of course the celebrated beauty there was never a woman to touch her she is pure spanish the real blood of the masterful conquistadors and her people have been leaders in pernambuco for generations

she married the aged german sugar king klein and presently found herself the richest as well as the most lovely widow upon earth then there was an interval of adventure when she pleased her own tastes

she had several lovers and douglas maberly one of the most striking men in london was one of them it was by all accounts more than an adventure with him he was not a society butterfly but a strong proud man who gave and expected all

but she is the peldame sans merci of affliction when her caprice is satisfied the matter is ended and if the other party in the matter can't take her word for it she knows how to bring it home to him

then that was his own story ah you are piecing it together now i hear that she is about to marry the young duke of lomond who might also be her son his grace's ma might overlook the age but a big scandal would be a different matter so it is imperative ah here we are

it was one of the finest corner houses of the west end a machine-like footman took up our cards and returned with word that the lady was not at home then we shall wait until she is said holmes cheerfully the machine broke down not at home means not at home to you said the footman good holmes answered that means that we shall not have to wait kindly give this note to your mistress

he scribbled three or four words upon a sheet of his notebook folded it and handed it to the man what did you say holmes i asked i simply wrote shall it be the police then i think that should pass us in it did with amazing celerity

a minute later we were in an arabian night's drawing-room vast and wonderful in a half gloom picked out with an occasional pink electric light the lady had come i felt to that time of life when even the proudest beauty finds the half-light more welcome

she rose from a settee as we entered tall queenly a perfect figure a lovely mask-like face with two wonderful spanish eyes which looked murder at us both

what is this intrusion and this insulting message she asked holding up the slip of paper i need not explain madame i have too much respect for your intelligence to do so though i confess that intelligence has been surprisingly at fault of late how so sir

by supposing that your hired bullies could frighten me from my work surely no man would take up my profession if it were not that danger attracts him it was you then who forced me to examine the case of young maberlee i have no idea what you are talking about what have i to do with hired bullies

Holmes turned away wearily. Yes, I have underrated your intelligence. Well, good afternoon. Stop. Where are you going? To Scotland Yard. We had not got halfway to the door before she had overtaken us and was holding his arm. She had turned in a moment from steel to velvet.

come and sit down gentlemen let us talk this matter over i feel that i may be frank with you mr holmes you have the feelings of a gentleman how quick a woman's instinct is to find it out i will treat you as a friend i cannot promise to reciprocate madame i am not the law but i represent justice so far as my feeble powers go i am ready to listen and then i will tell you how i will act

no doubt it was foolish of me to threaten a brave man like yourself what was really foolish madame is that you have placed yourself in the power of a band of rascals who may blackmail or give you away no no i am not so simple since i have promised to be frank i may say that no one save barney stockdale and susan his wife have the least idea who their employer is as to them well it is not the first

she smiled and nodded with a charming coquettish intimacy i see you've tested them before they are good hounds who run silent such hounds have a way sooner or later of biting the hand that feeds them they will be arrested for this burglary the police are already after them

they will take what comes to them that is what they are paid for i shall not appear in the matter unless i bring you into it no no you would not you are a gentleman it is a woman's secret in the first place you must give back this manuscript she broke into a ripple of laughter and walked to the fireplace there was a calcined mass which she broke up with the poker

shall i give this back she asked so roguish and exquisite did she look as she stood before us with a challenging smile that i felt of all holmes's criminals this was the one whom he would find it hardest to face however he was immune from sentiment that seals your fate he said coldly you are very prompt in your actions madame but you have overdone it on this occasion she threw the poker down with a clatter

how hard you are she cried may i tell you the whole story i fancy i could tell it to you but you must look at it with my eyes mr holmes you must realize it from the point of view of a woman who sees all her life's ambitions about to be ruined at the last moment is such a woman to be blamed if she protects herself the original sin was yours

yes yes i admit it he was a dear boy douglas but it so chanced that he could not fit into my plans he wanted marriage marriage mr holmes with a penniless commoner nothing less would serve him then he became pertinacious

because i had given he seemed to think that i still must give and to him only it was intolerable at last i had to make him realize it by hiring ruffians to beat him under your own window

"'You do indeed seem to know everything. "'Well, it is true. "'Barney and the boys drove him away "'and were, I admit, a little rough in doing so. "'But what did he do then? "'Could I have believed that a gentleman would do such an act? "'He wrote a book in which he described his own story. "'I, of course, was the wolf, he the lamb. "'It was all there under different names, of course, "'but who in all London would have failed to recognize it?'

what do you say to that mr holmes well he was within his rights it was as if the air of italy had got into his blood and brought with it the old cruel italian spirit he wrote to me and sent me a copy of his book that i might have the torture of anticipation there were two copies he said one for me one for his publisher how did you know the publishers had not reached him

i knew who his publisher was it is not his only novel you know i found out that he had not heard from italy then came douglas's sudden death

so long as that other manuscript was in the world there was no safety for me of course it must be among his effects and these would be returned to his mother i set the gang at work one of them got into the house as servant i wanted to do the thing honestly i really and truly did i was ready to buy the house and everything in it i offered any price she cared to ask

i only tried the other way when everything else had failed now mr holmes granting that i was too hard on douglas and god knows i am sorry for it what else could i do with my whole future at stake sherlock holmes shrugged his shoulders well well said he i suppose i shall have to compound a felony as usual how much does it cost to go round the world in first-class style

the lady stared in amazement could it be done on five thousand pounds well i should think so indeed very good i think you will sign me a cheque for that and i will see that it comes to mrs maberly you owe her a little change of air meantime lady he wagged a cautionary forefinger have a care have a care you can't play with edge tools for ever without cutting those dainty hands

End of section four.

Holmes had read carefully a note which the last post had brought him. Then, with the dry chuckle, which was his nearest approach to a laugh, he tossed it over to me. "'For a mixture of the modern and the medieval, of the practical and of the wildly fanciful. I think this is surely the limit,' said he. "'What do you make of it, Watson?'

I read as follows: 46 Old Jewry November 19th R.E. Vampires Sir, our client Mr. Robert Ferguson of Ferguson & Muirhead Tea Brokers of Mincing Lane has made some inquiry from us in a communication of even date concerning vampires. As our firm specializes entirely upon the assessment of machinery

The matter hardly comes within our purview, and we have therefore recommended Mr. Ferguson to call upon you and lay the matter before you. We have not forgotten your successful action in the case of Matilda Briggs. We are, sir, faithfully yours, Morrison, Morrison, and Dodd, per E.J.C.

"'Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson,' said Holmes in a reminiscent voice. "'It was a ship, which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared. But what do we know about vampires? Does it come within our purview either? Anything is better than stagnation. But really, we seem to have been switched on to a Grimm's fairy tale.'

"'Make a long arm, Watson, and see what V has to say.' I leaned back and took down the great index volume to which he referred. Holmes balanced it on his knee, and his eyes moved slowly and lovingly over the record of old cases, mixed with the accumulated information of a lifetime. "'Voyage of the Glorious Scott,' he read. "'That was a bad business.'

I have some recollection that you made a record of it, Watson, though I was unable to congratulate you upon the result. Victor Lynch, the forger, venomous lizard, or gila, remarkable case of that, Vitoria, the circus bell, Vanderbilt, and the yegman, vipers, vigor, the hammersmith wonder,

Hello, hello, good old index. You can't beat it. Listen to this, Watson. Vampirism in Hungary. And again, vampires in Transylvania. He turned over the pages with eagerness, but after a short, intent perusal, he threw down the great book with a snarl of disappointment.

Rubbish, Watson, rubbish! What have we to do with walking corpses who can only be held in their grave by stakes driven through their hearts? It's pure lunacy. But surely, said I, the vampire was not necessarily a dead man. A living person might have the habit. I have read, for example, of the old sucking the blood of the young in order to retain their youth.

You are right, Watson. It mentions the legend in one of these references. But are we to give serious attention to such things? This agency stands flat-footed upon the ground. There it must remain. The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply. I fear that we cannot take Mr. Robert Ferguson very seriously. Possibly this note may be from him, and may throw some light upon what is worrying him.

He took up a second letter which had lain unnoticed upon the table whilst he had been absorbed with the first. This he began to read with a smile of amusement upon his face which gradually faded away into an expression of intense interest and concentration. When he had finished he sat for some little time, lost in thought, with the letter dangling from his fingers,

Finally, with a start, he aroused himself from his reverie. Cheesemans, Lamberly. Where is Lamberly, Watson? It is in Sussex, south of Horsham. Not very far, eh? And Cheesemans? I know that country, Holmes. It is full of old houses which are named after the men who built them centuries ago. You get Oldleys and Harveys and Carrotons.

"'The folks are forgotten, but their names live in their houses.' "'Precisely,' said Holmes coldly. "'It was one of the peculiarities of his proud, self-contained nature "'that, though he docketed any fresh information very quickly and accurately in his brain, "'he seldom made any acknowledgment to the giver. "'I rather fancy we shall know a good deal more about Cheeseman's Lamberly before we are through.'

the letter is as i had hoped from robert ferguson by the way he claims acquaintance with you with me you had better read it he handed the letter across he was headed with the address quoted dear mr holmes it said i have been recommended to you by my lawyers

But indeed the matter is so extraordinarily delicate that it is most difficult to discuss. It concerns a friend for whom I am acting. This gentleman married some five years ago a Peruvian lady, the daughter of a Peruvian merchant, whom he had met in connection with the importation of nitrates.

The lady was very beautiful, but the fact of her foreign birth and of her alien religion always caused a separation of interests and of feelings between husband and wife, so that after a time his love may have cooled towards her, and he may have come to regard their union as a mistake. He felt there were sides of her character which he could never explore or understand.

this was the more painful as she was as loving a wife as a man could have to all appearance absolutely devoted now for the point which i will make more plain when we meet

Indeed, this note is merely to give you a general idea of the situation, and to ascertain whether you would care to interest yourself in the matter. The lady began to show some curious traits quite alien to her ordinarily sweet and gentle disposition. The gentleman had been married twice, and he had one son by the first wife. This boy was now fifteen.

a very charming and affectionate youth though unhappily injured through an accident in childhood twice the wife was caught in the act of assaulting this poor lad in the most unprovoked way once she struck him with a stick and left a great wheel on his arm

This was a small matter, however, compared with her conduct to her own child, a dear boy just under one year of age. On one occasion, about a month ago, this child had been left by its nurse for a few minutes. A loud cry from the baby, as of pain, called the nurse back.

as she ran into the room she saw her employer the lady leaning over the baby and apparently biting his neck there was a small wound in the neck from which a stream of blood had escaped

The nurse was so horrified that she wished to call the husband, but the lady implored her not to do so, and actually gave her five pounds as a price for her silence. No explanation was ever given, and for the moment the matter was passed over. It left, however, a terrible impression upon the nurse's mind.

and from that time she began to watch her mistress closely, and to keep a closer guard upon the baby, whom she tenderly loved.

It seemed to her that even as she watched the mother, so the mother watched her, and that every time she was compelled to leave the baby alone, the mother was waiting to get at it. Day and night the nurse covered the child, and day and night the silent, watchful mother seemed to be lying in wait as a wolf waits for a lamb. It must read most incredible to you, and yet I beg you to take it seriously."

for a child's life and a man's sanity may depend upon it at last there came one dreadful day when the facts could no longer be concealed from the husband the nurse's nerve had given way she could stand the strain no longer and she made a clean breast of it all to the man to him it seemed as wild a tale as it may now seem to you

He knew his wife to be a loving wife, and, save for the assaults upon her stepson, a loving mother. Why, then, should she wound her own dear little baby? He told the nurse that she was dreaming, that her suspicions were those of a lunatic, and that such libels upon her mistress were not to be tolerated. Whilst they were talking, a sudden cry of pain was heard. Nurse and master rushed together to the nursery.

Imagine his feelings, Mr. Holmes, as he saw his wife rise from a kneeling position beside the cot, and saw blood upon the child's exposed neck and upon the sheet. With a cry of horror he turned his wife's face to the light, and saw blood all round her lips. It was she, she beyond all question, who had drunk the poor baby's blood. So the matter stands.

She is now confined to her room. There has been no explanation. The husband is half demented. He knows, and I know, little of vampirism beyond the name. We had thought it was some wild tale of foreign parts. Yet here in the very heart of the English Sussex, well, all this can be discussed with you in the morning. Will you see me?

Will you use your great powers in aiding a distracted man? If so, kindly wire to Ferguson, Cheeseman's, Lamberly, and I will be at your rooms by ten o'clock. Yours faithfully, Robert Ferguson. P.S. I believe your friend Watson played rugby for Blackheath when I was a three-quarter for Richmond. It is only a personal introduction which I can give.

Of course I remember him, said I, as I laid down the letter. Big Bob Ferguson, the finest three-quarter Richmond ever had. He was always a good-natured chap. It's like him to be so concerned over a friend's case. Holmes looked at me thoughtfully and shook his head. I never get your limits, Watson, said he. There are unexplored possibilities about you.

take a wire down like a good fellow we'll examine your case with pleasure your case we must not let him think that this agency is a home for the weak-minded of course it is his case send him that wire and let the matter rest till morning promptly at ten o'clock next morning ferguson strode into our room

I had remembered him as a long, slab-sided man, with loose limbs and a fine turn of speed, which had carried him round many an opposing back. There is surely nothing in life more painful than to meet the wreck of a fine athlete whom one has known in his prime. His great frame had fallen in, his flaxen hair was scanty, and his shoulders were bowed. I fear that I aroused corresponding emotions in him.

"'Hello, Watson,' said he, and his voice was still deep and hearty. "'You don't look quite the man you did when I threw you over the ropes into the crowd at the old deer park. I expect I have changed a bit also, but it's this last day or two that has aged me. I see by your telegram, Mr. Holmes, that it is no use my pretending to be anyone's deputy. It is simpler to deal direct,' said Holmes. "'Of course it is.'

But you can imagine how difficult it is when you are speaking of the one woman whom you are bound to protect and help. What can I do? How am I to go to the police with such a story? Yet the kiddies have got to be protected. Is it madness, Mr. Holmes? Is it something in the blood? Have you any similar case in your experience? For God's sake, give me some advice, for I am at my wit's end.

"'Very naturally, Mr. Ferguson. Now sit here and pull yourself together and give me a few clear answers. I can assure you that I am very far from being at my wit's end, that I am confident we shall find some solution. First of all, tell me what steps you have taken. Is your wife still near the children?' "'We had a dreadful scene. She is a most loving woman, Mr. Holmes.'

If ever a woman loved a man with all her heart and soul, she loves me. She was cut to the heart that I should have discovered this horrible, this incredible secret. She would not even speak. She gave no answer to my reproaches, save to gaze at me with a sort of wild, despairing look in her eyes. Then she rushed to her room and locked herself in. Since then, she has refused to see me.

She has a maid who was with her before her marriage, Dolores by name, a friend rather than a servant. She takes her food to her. Then the child is in no immediate danger? Mrs. Mason, the nurse, has sworn that she will not leave it night or day. I can absolutely trust her. I am more uneasy about poor little Jack, for, as I told you in my note, he has twice been assaulted by her.

"'But never wounded?' "'No. She struck him savagely. "'It is the more terrible, as he is a poor little, inoffensive cripple.' Ferguson's gaunt features softened as he spoke of his boy. "'You would think that the dear lad's condition would soften anyone's heart. "'A fallen childhood and a twisted spine, Mr. Holmes. "'But the dearest, most loving heart within—'

Holmes had picked up the letter of yesterday, and was reading it over. "'What other inmates are there in your house, Mr. Ferguson? Two servants who have not been long with us, one stable hand, Michael, who sleeps in the house, my wife, myself, my boy Jack, baby, Dolores, and Mrs. Mason, that is all. I gather that you do not know your wife well at the time of your marriage?' "'I had only known her a few weeks,'

how long had this maid dolores been with her some years then your wife's character would really be better known by dolores than by you yes you may say so holmes made a note i fancy said he that i may be of more use at lamberley than here it is eminently a case for personal investigation

If the lady remains in her room, our presence could not annoy or inconvenience her. Of course, we would stay at the inn. Ferguson gave a gesture of relief. It is what I hoped, Mr. Holmes. There is an excellent train at two from Victoria, if you could come. Of course we could come. There is a lull at present. I can give you my undivided energies. Watson, of course, comes with me.

but there are one or two points upon which i wish to be very sure before i start this unhappy lady as i understand it has appeared to assault both the children her own baby and your little son that is so but the assaults take different forms do they not she has beaten your son once with a stick and once very savagely with her hands did she give no explanation why she struck him

none save that she hated him again and again she said so well that is not unknown among stepmothers a posthumous jealousy we will say is the lady jealous by nature yes she is very jealous jealous with all the strength of her fiery tropical love

"'But the boy, he is fifteen, I understand, and probably very developed in mind, since his body has been circumscribed in action. Did he give you no explanation of these assaults?' "'No.' "'He declared there was no reason. Were they good friends at other times?' "'No. There was never any love between them. Yet you say he is affectionate. Never in the world could there be so devoted a son.'

my life is his life he is absorbed in what i say or do once again holmes made a note for some time he sat lost in thought no doubt you and the boy were great comrades before the second marriage you were thrown very close together were you not very much so and the boy having so affectionate a nature was devoted no doubt to the memory of his mother most devoted

He would certainly seem to be a most interesting lad. There is one other point about these assaults, where the strange attacks upon the baby and the assaults upon your son had the same period. In the first case it was so. It was as if some frenzy had seized her, and she had vented her rage upon both. In the second case it was only Jack who suffered. Mrs. Mason had no complaint to make about the baby."

that certainly complicates matters i don't quite follow you mr holmes possibly not one forms provisional theories and waits for time or fuller knowledge to explode them a bad habit mr ferguson but human nature is weak i fear that your old friend here has given an exaggerated view of my scientific methods

however i will only say at the present stage that your problem does not appear to me to be insoluble and that you may expect to find us at victoria at two o'clock it was evening of a dull foggy november day when having left our bags at the checkers lamberly we drove through the sussex clay of a long winding lane

and finally reached the isolated and ancient farmhouse which Ferguson dwelt. It was a large, straggling building, very old in the center,

very new but the wings with towering tudor chimneys and a lichen spotted high-pitched roof of horsham slabs the doorsteps were worn into curves and the ancient tiles which lined the porch were marked with the rebus of a cheese and a man after the original builder

Within, the ceilings were corrugated with heavy oaken beams, and the uneven floors sagged into sharp curves. An odor of age and decay pervaded the whole crumbling building. There was one very large central room into which Ferguson led us. Here, in a huge, old-fashioned fireplace, with an iron screen behind it dated 1670, there blazed and spluttered a splendid log fire.

The room, as I gazed round, was the most singular mixture of dates and of places. The half-paneled walls may well have belonged to the original yeoman farmer of the seventeenth century. They were ornamented, however, on the lower part by a line of well-chosen modern watercolors, well above where yellow plaster took the place of oak.

there was hung a fine collection of south american utensils and weapons which had been brought no doubt by the peruvian lady upstairs holmes rose with that quick curiosity which sprang from his eager mind and examined them with some care he returned with his eyes full of thought hullo he cried

A spaniel had lain in a basket in the corner. It came slowly forward towards its master, walking with difficulty. Its hind legs moved irregularly, and its tail was on the ground. It licked Ferguson's hand. "'What is it, Mr. Holmes?' "'The dog.' "'What's the matter with it?' "'That's what puzzled the vet. A sort of paralysis.' "'Spinal meningitis,' he thought. "'But it is passing.'

we'll be all right soon won't you carlo a shiver of assent passed through the drooping tail the dog's mournful eyes passed from one of us to the other he knew that we were discussing his case did it come on suddenly in a single night how long ago it may have been four months ago very remarkable very suggestive what do you see in it mr holmes a confirmation of what i had already thought

"'For God's sake, what do you think, Mr. Holmes? It may be a mere intellectual puzzle to you, but it is life and death to me. My wife, a would-be murderer, my child in constant danger. Don't play with me, Mr. Holmes. It is too terribly serious.' The big rugby three-quarter was trembling all over. Holmes put his hand soothingly upon his arm.

I fear that there is pain for you, Mr. Ferguson, whatever the solution may be, said he. I would spare you all I can. I cannot say more for the instant, but before I leave this house, I hope I may have something definite. Please God you may. If you will excuse me, gentlemen, I will go up to my wife's room and see if there has been any change.

He was away some minutes, during which Holmes resumed his examination of the curiosities upon the wall. When our host returned, it was clear from his downcast face that he had made no progress. He brought with him a tall, slim, brown-faced girl. "'The tea is ready, Dolores,' said Ferguson. "'See that your mistress has everything she can wish.'

"'She very ill,' cried the girl, looking with indignant eyes at her master. "'She no ask for food. She very ill. She need doctor. I frighten stay alone with her, without doctor.' Perkison looked at me with a question in his eyes. "'I should be so glad if I could be of use. Would your mistress see Dr. Watson?' "'I take him. I no ask leave. She needs doctor.'

then i'll come with you at once i followed the girl who was quivering with strong emotion up the staircase and down an ancient corridor at the end was an iron clamped and massive door it struck me as i looked at it that if fergusson tried to force his way to his wife he would find it no easy matter the girl drew a key from her pocket and the heavy oaken planks creaked upon their old hinges

i passed in and she swiftly followed fastening the door behind her on the bed a woman was lying who was clearly in a high fever she was only half conscious but as i entered she raised a pair of frightened but beautiful eyes and glared at me in apprehension

Seeing a stranger, she appeared to be relieved, and sank back with a sigh upon the pillow. I stepped up to her with a few reassuring words, and she lay still while I took her pulse and temperature. Both were high, and yet my impression was that the condition was rather that of mental and nervous excitement than of any actual seizure. "'She lied like that one day, two day. I afraid she die,' said the girl."

The woman turned her flushed and handsome face towards me. "'Where is my husband?' "'He is below, and would wish to see you.' "'I will not see him. I will not see him.' Then she seemed to wander off into delirium. "'A fiend! A fiend! Oh, what shall I do with this devil?' "'Can I help you in any way?'

no no one can help it is finished all is destroyed do what i will all is destroyed the woman must have some strange delusion i could not see honest bob ferguson in the character of fiend or devil madam i said your husband loves you dearly he is deeply grieved at this happening

Again she turned on me, those glorious eyes. "'He loves me, yes. But do I not love him? Do I not love him even to sacrifice myself, rather than break his dear heart? That is how I love him. Here he could think of me. He could speak of me so. He is full of grief, but he cannot understand. No, he cannot understand. But he should trust.'

"'Will you not see him?' I suggested. "'No, no! I cannot forget those terrible words, nor the look upon his face. I will not see him. Go now. You can do nothing for me. Tell him only one thing. I want my child. I have a right to my child. That is the only message I can send him.' He turned her face to the wall and would say no more.

I returned to the room downstairs, where Ferguson and Holmes still sat by the fire. Ferguson listened moodily to my account of the interview. "'How can I send her the child?' he said. "'How do I know what strange impulse might come upon her? How can I ever forget how she rose from beside it with its blood upon her lips?'

he shuddered at the recollection the child is safe with mrs mason and there he must remain a smart maid the only modern thing which we had seen in the house had brought in some tea as she was serving it the door opened and a youth entered the room

He was a remarkable lad, pale-faced and fair-haired, with excitable light-blue eyes, which blazed into a sudden flame of emotion and joy as they rested upon his father. He rushed forward and threw his arms round his neck with the abandon of a loving girl. "'Oh, Daddy!' he cried. "'I did not know that you were two yet!'

"'I should have been here to meet you. Oh, I am so glad to see you!' Ferguson gently disengaged himself from the embrace of some little show of embarrassment. "'Dear old chap,' said he, patting the flaxen head with a very tender hand, "'I came early because my friends, Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson, "'have been persuaded to come down and spend an evening with us.'

is that mr holmes the detective yes the youth looked at us with a very penetrating and as it seemed to me unfriendly gaze what about your other child mr ferguson asked holmes might we make the acquaintance of the baby ask mrs mason to bring baby down said ferguson

The boy went off with a curious, shambling gait, which told my surgical eyes that he was suffering from a weak spine. Presently he returned. Behind him came a tall, gaunt woman, bearing in her arms a very beautiful child, dark-eyed, golden-haired, a wonderful mixture of the Saxon and the Latin. Ferguson was evidently devoted to it, for he took it into his arms and fondled it most tenderly.

"Fancy anyone having the heart to hurt him," he muttered, as he glanced down at the small, angry red pucker upon the cherub throat. It was at this moment that I chanced to glance at Holmes, and saw a most singular intentness in his expression. His face was as set as if it had been carved out of old ivory.

and his eyes which had glanced for a moment at father and child were now fixed with eager curiosity upon something at the other side of the room following his gaze i could only guess that he was looking out through the window at the melancholy dripping garden it is true the shutter had half closed outside and obstructed the view but none the less it was certainly at the window that holmes was fixing his concentrated attention

Then he smiled, and his eyes came back to the baby. On its chubbied neck there was a small pucker mark. Without speaking, Holmes examined it with care. Finally he shook one of the dimpled fists which waved in front of him. "'Good-bye, little man. You have made a strange start in life. Nurse, I should wish to have a word with you in private.'

He took her aside and spoke earnestly for a few minutes. I only heard the last words, which were, "'Your anxiety will soon, I hope, be set at rest.' The woman, seemed to be a sour, silent kind of creature, withdrew with the child. "'What is Mrs. Mason like?' asked Holmes. "'Not very prepossessing externally, as you can see, but a heart of gold and devoted to the child.'

Do you like her, Jack? Holmes turned suddenly upon the boy. His expressive, mobile face shadowed over, and he shook his head. Jackie has very strong likes and dislikes, said Ferguson, putting his arm round the boy. Luckily I am one of his likes. The boy cooed and nestled his head upon his father's breast. Ferguson gently disengaged him.

"'Run away, little Jackie,' said he, and he watched his son with loving eyes until he disappeared. "'Now, Mr. Holmes,' he continued when the boy was gone, "'I really feel that I have brought you on a fool's errand. What can you possibly do, save give me your sympathy? It must be an exceedingly delicate and complex affair, and complex affair from your point of view.'

"'It is certainly delicate,' said my friend, with an amused smile. "'But I have not been struck up to now with its complexity.'

it has been a case for intellectual deduction but when this original intellectual deduction is confirmed point by point by quite a number of independent incidents then the subjective becomes objective and we can say confidently that we have reached our goal i had in fact reached it before we left baker street and the rest has merely been observation and confirmation ferguson put his big hand to his furrowed forehead

"'For heaven's sake, Holmes,' he said hoarsely, "'if you can see the truth in this matter, do not keep me in suspense. How do I stand? What shall I do? I care nothing as to how you have found your facts, so long as you have really got them. Certainly I owe you an explanation, and you shall have it, but you will permit me to handle the matter in my own way.'

"'Is the lady capable of seeing us, Watson?' "'She is ill, but she is quite rational.' "'Very good. It is only in her presence that we can clear the matter up. Let us go up to her.' "'She will not see me,' cried Ferguson. "'Oh, yes, she will,' said Holmes. He scribbled a few lines upon a sheet of paper. "'You at least have the entree, Watson. Will you have the goodness to give the lady this note?'

I ascended again and handed the note to Dolores, who cautiously opened the door. A minute later I heard a cry from within, a cry in which joy and surprise seemed to be blended. Dolores looked out. "'She will see them. She will listen,' said she. At my summons, Ferguson and Holmes came up. As we entered the room, Ferguson took a step or two towards his wife, who had raised herself in the bed.

but she held out her hand to repulse him he sank into an arm-chair while holmes seated beside him after bowing to the lady looked at him with wide-eyed amazement i think we can dispense with dolores said holmes

"'Oh, very well, madam. If you would rather she stayed, I can see no objection. Now, Mr. Ferguson, I am a busy man with many calls, and my methods have to be short and direct. The swiftest surgery is the least painful. Let me first say what will ease your mind. Your wife is a very good, a very loving, and a very ill-used woman.' Ferguson sat up with a cry of joy.'

"'Prove that, Mr. Holmes, and I am your debtor for ever.' "'I will do so. But in doing so I must wound you deeply in another direction. I care nothing so long as you clear my wife. Everything on earth is insignificant compared to that. Let me tell you, then, the train of reasoning which passed through my mind in Baker Street. The idea of a vampire was to me absurd.'

"'Such things do not happen in criminal practice in England, and yet your observation was precise. You had seen the lady rise from beside the child's cot, with the blood upon her lips.' "'I did.' "'Did it not occur to you that a bleeding wound may be sucked for some other purpose than to draw the blood from it? Was there not a queen in English history who sucked such a wound to draw poison from it?' "'Poison?'

a south american household my instinct felt the presence of those weapons upon the wall before my eyes ever saw them it might have been other poison but that was what occurred to me when i saw that little empty quiver beside the small bird-bow it was just what i expected to see

If the child were pricked with one of those arrows, dipped in curare, or some other devilish drug, it would mean death if the venom were not sucked out. And the dog! If one were to use such a poison, would one not try it first in order to see that it had not lost its power? I did not foresee the dog, but at least I understood him, and he fitted into my reconstruction. Now do you understand? Your wife feared such an attack.

She saw it made and saved the child's life, and yet she shrank from telling you all the truth, for she knew how you loved the boy and feared lest it break your heart. "'Jackie?' I watched him as you fondled the child just now. His face was clearly reflected in the glass of the window where the shutter formed a background. I saw such jealousy, such cruel hatred as I have seldom seen in a human face. "'My Jackie!'

"'You have to face it, Mr. Ferguson. It is the more painful, because it is a distorted love, a maniacal, exaggerated love for you, and possibly for his dead mother, which has prompted his action. His very soul is consumed with hatred for this splendid child, whose health and beauty are a contrast to his own weakness.' "'Good God! It is incredible!' "'Have I spoken the truth, madam?'

The lady was sobbing, with her face buried in the pillows. Now she turned to her husband. "'How could I tell you, Bob? I felt the blow it would be to you. It was better that I should wait, and that it should come from some other lips than mine. When this gentleman, who seemed to have powers of magic, wrote that he knew all, I was glad.'

"'I think a year at sea would be my prescription for Master Jackie,' said Holmes, rising from his chair. "'Only one thing is still clouded, madame. We can quite understand your attacks upon Master Jackie. There is a limit to a mother's patience. But how did you dare to leave the child these last two days?' I had told Mrs. Mason. She knew.' "'Exactly. So I imagined.'

ferguson was standing by the bed choking his hands outstretched and quivering this i fancy is the time for our exit watson said holmes in a whisper if you will take one elbow of the two faithful dolores i will take the other there now he added as he closed the door behind him i think we may leave them to settle the rest among themselves

i have only one further note of this case it is the letter which holmes wrote in final answer to that with which the narrative begins it ran thus baker street november twenty first r e vampires

Sir, referring to your letter of the 19th, I beg to state that I have looked into the inquiry of your client, Mr. Robert Ferguson, of Ferguson and Muirhead, tea-brokers of Mincing Lane, and that the matter has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion, with thanks for your recommendation. I am, sir, faithfully yours, Sherlock Holmes. End of Section 5

Read by Greg Giordano, Newport Ritchie, Florida.

it may have been a comedy or it may have been a tragedy it cost one man his reason it cost me a blood-letting and it cost yet another man the penalties of the law yet there was certainly an element of comedy well you shall judge for yourselves

I remember the date very well, for it was in the same month that Holmes refused a knighthood for services which may perhaps some day be described. I only refer to the matter in passing, for in my position of partner and confidant I am obliged to be particularly careful to avoid any indiscretion. I repeat, however, that this enables me to fix the date, which was the latter end of June 1902, shortly after the conclusion of the South African War.

Holmes had spent several days in bed, as was his habit from time to time, but he emerged that morning with a long foolscap document in his hand and a twinkle of amusement in his austere grey eyes.

"'There is a chance for you to make some money, friend Watson,' said he. "'Have you ever heard the name of Garideb?' I admitted that I had not. "'Well, if you can lay your hand upon a Garideb, there's money in it.' "'Why?' "'Ah, that's a long story, rather a whimsical one, too. I don't think in all our explorations of human complexities we have ever come upon anything more singular. The fellow will be here presently for cross-examination, so I won't open the matter up till he comes, but meanwhile that's the name we want.'

"'The telephone directory lay on the table beside me, and I turned over the pages in a rather hopeless quest. But to my amazement there was this strange name in its due place. I gave a cry of triumph. "'Here you are, Holmes! Here it is!' Holmes took the book from my hand. "'Garideb N,' he read. "'136 Little Rider Street, W. "'Sorry to disappoint you, my dear Watson, but this is the man himself. That is the address upon his letter. We want another to match him.'

"'Mrs. Hudson had come in with a card upon a tray. I took it up and glanced at it. "'Why, here it is!' I cried in amazement. "'This is a different initial. John Garrideb, Councillor at Law, Moorville, Kansas, U.S.A.' Holmes smiled as he looked at the card. "'I am afraid you must make yet another effort, Watson,' said he. "'This gentleman is also in the plot already, though I certainly did not expect to see him this morning. However, he is in a position to tell us a good deal which I want to know.'

a moment later he was in the room mr john garadab counsellor at law was a short powerful man with the round fresh clean-shaven face characteristic of so many american men of affairs

The general effect was chubby and rather childlike, so that one received the impression of quite a young man, with a broad-set smile upon his face. His eyes, however, were arresting. Seldom in any human head have I seen a pair which bespoke a more intense inward life. So bright were they, so alert, so responsive to every change of thought. His accent was American, but was not accompanied by any eccentricity of speech."

"'Mr. Holmes?' he asked, glancing from one to the other. "'Ah, yes. Your pictures are not unlike you, sir, if I may say so. I believe you have had a letter from my namesake, Mr. Nathan Garrideb, have you not?' "'Price it down,' said Sherlock Holmes. "'We shall, I fancy, have a good deal to discuss.' He took up his sheets of foolscap. "'You are, of course, the Mr. John Garrideb mentioned in this document, but surely you have been in England some time?'

"'Why do you say that, Mr. Holmes?' I seemed to read sudden suspicion in those expressive eyes. "'Your whole outfit is English.' Mr. Garadab forced a laugh. "'I've read of your tricks, Mr. Holmes, but I never thought I would be the subject of them. Where do you read that?'

"'The shoulder-cut of your coat, the toes of your boots—could anyone doubt it?' "'Well, well, I had no idea I was so obvious a Britisher. But business brought me over here some time ago, and so, as you say, my outfit is nearly all London. However, I guess your time is of value, and we did not meet to talk about the cut of my socks. What about getting down to that paper you hold in your hand?'

Holmes had in some way ruffled our visitor, whose chubby face had assumed a far less amiable expression. "'Patience, patience, Mr. Garrideb,' said my friend in a soothing voice. "'Dr. Watson would tell you that these little digressions of mine sometimes prove in the end to have some bearing on the matter. But why did Mr. Nathan Garrideb not come with you?'

"'Why did he ever drag you into it at all?' asked our visitor, with a sudden outflame of anger. "'What in thunder had you to do with it? Here was a bit of professional business between two gentlemen, and one of them must needs call in a detective. I saw him this morning, and he told me this fool-trick he had played me, and that's why I am here. But I feel bad about it all the same.'

there was no reflection upon you mr garideb it was simply zeal upon his part to gain your end an end which is i understand equally vital for both of you he knew that i had means of getting information and therefore it was very natural that he should apply to me our visitor's angry face gradually cleared well that puts it different said he

"'When I went to see him this morning, and he told me he had sent to a detective, I just asked for your address and came right away. I don't want police butting into a private matter, but if you are content just to help us find the man, there can be no harm in that.' "'Well, that is just how it stands,' said Holmes. "'And now, sir, since you are here, we had best have a clear account from your own lips. My friend here knows nothing of the details.' Mr. Garrideb surveyed me with not too friendly a gaze. "'Need he know?' he asked. "'We usually work together.'

"'Well, there's no reason it should be kept a secret. I'll give you the facts as short as I can make them. If you came from Kansas I would not need to explain to you who Alexander Hamilton Garrideb was. He made his money in real estate, and afterwards in the wheat-pit at Chicago, but he spent it in buying up as much land as would make one of your counties, lying along the Arkansas River, west of Fort Dodge. It's grazing-land and lumber-land and arable-land and mineralized-land, and just every sort of land that brings dollars to the man that owns it.'

he had no kith nor kin or if he had i never heard of it but he took a kind of pride in the queerness of his name that was what brought us together i was in the law at topeka and one day i had a visit from the old man and he was tickled to death to meet another man with his own name it was his pet fad and he was dead set to find out if there were any more garridebs in the world find me another said he

i told him i was a busy man and could not spend my life hiking round the world in search of garridabes none the less said he that is just what you will do if things pan out as i plan them i thought he was joking but there was a powerful lot of meaning in the words as i was soon to discover for he died within a year of saying them and he left a will behind him it was the queerest will that has ever been filed in the state of kansas

"'His property was divided into three parts, and I was to have one on condition that I found two Garidebs who would share the remainder. It's five million dollars for each if it is a cent, but we can't lay a finger on it until we all three stand in a row. It was so big a chance that I just let my legal practice slide and I set forth looking for Garidebs. There is not one in the United States. I went through it, sir, with a fine-toothed comb, and never a Garideb could I catch.'

then i tried the old country sure enough there was the name in the london telephone directory i went after him two days ago and explained the whole matter to him but he is a lone man like myself with some women relations but no men it says three adult men in the will so you see we still have a vacancy and if you can help to fill it we will be very ready to pay your charges

"'Well, Watson,' said Holmes, with a smile, "'I said it was rather whimsical, did I not? I should have thought, sir, that your obvious way was to advertise in the agony columns of the papers.' "'I have done that, Mr. Holmes. No replies. Dear me, well, it is certainly a most curious little problem. I may take a glance at it in my leisure. By the way, it is curious that you should have come from Topeka. I used to have a correspondent—he is dead now—old Dr. Lysander Starr, who was mayor in 1890.'

"'Good old Dr. Starr,' said our visitor. "'His name is still honoured. Well, Mr. Holmes, I suppose all we can do is to report to you and let you know how we progress. I reckon you will hear within a day or two.' With this assurance our American bowed and departed. Holmes had lit his pipe, and he sat for some time with a curious smile upon his face. "'Well?' I asked at last. "'I am wondering, Watson—just wondering.' "'At what?' Holmes took his pipe from his lips."

i was wondering watson what on earth could be the object of this man in telling us such a rigmarole of lies i nearly asked him so for there are times when a brutal frontal attack is the best policy but i judged it better to let him think he had fooled us here is a man with an english coat frayed at the elbow and trousers bagged at the knee with a year's wear and yet by this document and by his own account he is a provincial american lately landed in london

There have been no advertisements in the agony columns. You know that I missed nothing there. They are my favourite covert for putting up a bird, and I would never have overlooked such a cock pheasant as that.

"'I never knew a Dr. Lysander Starr of Topeka. Touch him where you would, he was false. I think the fellow is really an American, but he has worn his accent smooth with years of London. What is his game, then, and what motive lies behind this preposterous search for Gary Debs? It's worth our attention, for, granting that the man is a rascal, he is certainly a complex and ingenious one. We must now find out if our other correspondent is a fraud also. Just ring him up, Watson.'

i did so and heard a thin quavering voice at the other end of the line yes yes i am mr nathan garrideb is mr holmes there i should very much like to have a word with mr holmes my friend took the instrument and i heard the usual syncopated dialogue

"Yes, he has been here. I understand that you don't know him." "How long?" "Only two days." "Yes, yes, of course. It is a most captivating prospect. Will you be at home this evening?" "I suppose your namesake will not be there." "Very good. We will come then, for I would rather have a chat without him. Dr. Watson will come with me." "I understood from your note that you did not go out often." "Well, we shall be round about six. You need not mention it to the American lawyer." "Very good. Good-bye."

it was twilight of a lovely spring evening and even little rider street one of the smaller offshoots from the edgeware road within a stone cast of old tyburn tree of evil memory looked golden and wonderful in the slanting rays of the setting sun

the particular house to which we were directed was a large old-fashioned early georgian edifice with a flat brick face broken only by two deep bay windows on the ground floor it was on this ground floor that our client lived and indeed the low windows proved to be the front of the huge room in which he spent his waking hours holmes pointed as we passed to the small brass plate which bore the curious name up some years watson he remarked indicating its discoloured surface it's his real name anyhow and that is something to note

the house had a common stair and there were a number of names painted in the hall some indicating offices and some private chambers it was not a collection of residential flats but rather the abode of bohemian bachelors our client opened the door for us himself and apologised by saying that the woman in charge left at four o'clock

Mr. Nathan Garradab proved to be a very tall, loose-jointed, round-backed person, gaunt and bald, some sixty-odd years of age. He had a cadaverous face with the dull dead skin of a man to whom exercise was unknown. Large round spectacles and a small projecting goat's beard combined with his stooping attitude to give him an expression of peering curiosity. The general effect, however, was amiable, though eccentric.

The room was as curious as its occupant. It looked like a small museum. It was both broad and deep, with cupboards and cabinets all round, crowded with specimens, geological and anatomical. Cases of butterflies and moths flanked each side of the entrance. A large table in the centre was littered with all sorts of debris, while the tall brass tube of a powerful microscope bristled up amongst them.

"'As I glanced round I was surprised at the universality of the man's interests. "'Here was a case of ancient coins, there was a cabinet of flint instruments, "'behind his central table was a large cupboard of fossil bones, "'above was a line of plaster skulls, with such names as Neanderthal, Heidelberg, "'Chromanion, printed beneath them. "'It was clear that he was a student of many subjects. "'As he stood in front of us now, he held a piece of chamois leather in his right hand "'with which he was polishing a coin.'

"'Syracusan, of the best period,' he explained, holding it up. "'They degenerated greatly towards the end. "'At their best I hold them supreme, though some prefer the Alexandrian school. "'You will find a chair here, Mr. Holmes. "'Pray allow me to clear these bones. "'And you, sir—ah, yes, Dr. Watson, "'if you would have the goodness to put the Japanese vase to one side. "'You see round me my little interests in life. "'My doctor lectures me about never going out, "'but why should I go out when I have so much to hold me here?'

i can assure you that the adequate cataloguing of one of those cabinets would take me three good months holmes looked round him with curiosity but do you tell me that you never go out he said

"'Now and again I drive down to Sotheby's or Christie's. Otherwise I very seldom leave my room. I am not too strong, and my research is a very absorbing. But you can imagine, Mr. Holmes, what a terrific shock—pleasant, but terrific—it was for me when I heard of this unparalleled good fortune. It only needs one more Garadab to complete the matter, and surely we can find one. I had a brother, but he is dead, and female relatives are disqualified. But there

but there must surely be others in the world i had heard that you handled strange cases and that was why i sent to you of course this american gentleman is quite right and i should have taken his advice first but i acted for the best i think you acted very wisely indeed said holmes but are you really anxious to acquire an estate in america

"'Certainly not, sir. Nothing would induce me to leave my collection. But this gentleman has assured me that he will buy me out as soon as we have established our claim. Five million dollars was the sum named. There are a dozen specimens in the market at the present moment which fill gaps in my collection, and which I am unable to purchase for want of a few hundred pounds. Just think what I could do with five million dollars! Why, I have the nucleus of a national collection. I shall be the Hans Sloane of my age!'

"'His eyes gleamed behind his great spectacles. "'It was very clear that no pains would be spared "'by Mr Nathan Garradab in finding a namesake.'

"'I merely called to make your acquaintance, and there is no reason why I should interrupt your studies,' said Holmes. "'I prefer to establish personal touch with those with whom I do business. There are few questions I need ask, for I have your very clear narrative in my pocket, and I filled up the blanks when this American gentleman called. I understand that up to this week you were unaware of his existence.' "'That is so. He called last Tuesday.' "'Did he tell you of our interview to-day?' "'Yes. He came straight back to me. He had been very angry.'

"'Why should he be angry? He seemed to think it was some reflection on his honour, but he was quite cheerful again when he returned. Did he suggest any course of action?' "'No, sir, he did not.' "'Has he had or asked for any money from you?' "'No, sir, never.' "'You see no possible object he has in view?' "'None, except what he states.' "'Did you tell him of our telephone appointment?' "'Yes, sir, I did.' Holmes was lost in thought. I could see that he was puzzled.'

have you any articles of great value in your collection no sir i am not a rich man it is a good collection but not a very valuable one you have no fear of burglars not the least how long have you been in these rooms nearly five years

Holmes's cross-examination was interrupted by an imperative knocking at the door. No sooner had our client unlatched it than the American lawyer burst excitedly into the room. "'Here you are!' he cried, waving a paper over his head. "'I thought I should be in time to get you. Mr. Nathan Garrideb, my congratulations! You are a rich man, sir. Our business is happily finished, and all is well. As to you, Mr. Holmes, we can only say we are sorry if we have given you any useless trouble.'

"'He handed over the paper to our client, who stood staring at a marked advertisement. "'Holmes and I leaned forward and read it over his shoulder. "'This is how it ran. "'Howard Garadeb, Constructor of Agricultural Machinery. "'Binders, reapers, steam and hand-ploughs, drills, harrows, farmer's carts, buckboards, and all other appliances. "'Estimates for artesian wells. "'Apply Grosvenor Buildings, Aston.' "'Glorious!' gasped our host. "'That makes our third man!'

i had opened up inquiries in birmingham said the american and my agent there has sent me this advertisement from a local paper we must hustle and put the thing through i have written to this man and told him that you will see him in his office to-morrow afternoon at four o'clock you want me to see him

"'What do you say, Mr. Holmes? Don't you think it would be wiser? Here am I, a wandering American with a wonderful tale. Why should he believe what I tell him? But you are a Britisher with solid references, and he is bound to take notice of what you say. I would go with you if you wished, but I have a very busy day to-morrow, and I could always follow you if you were in any trouble.'

"'Well, I have not made such a journey for years.' "'It is nothing, Mr. Garrideb. I have figured out your connections. You leave at twelve, and should be there soon after two. Then you can be back the same night. All you have to do is to see this man, explain the matter, and get an affidavit of his existence.' "'By the Lord!' he added hotly. "'Considering I have come all the way from the centre of America, it is surely little enough if you go a hundred miles in order to put this matter through.' "'Quite so,' said Holmes. "'I think what this gentleman says is very true.'

Mr. Nathan Garrideb shrugged his shoulders with a disconsolate air. "'Well, if you insist I shall go,' said he. "'It is certainly hard for me to refuse you anything, considering the glory of hope that you have brought into my life.' "'Then that is agreed,' said Holmes. "'And no doubt you will let me have a report as soon as you can.' "'I'll see to that,' said the American. "'Well,' he added, looking at his watch, "'I'll have to get on. I'll call to-morrow, Mr. Nathan, and see you off to Birmingham. Coming my way, Mr. Holmes?'

Well then, goodbye and we may have good news for you tomorrow night.

I noticed that my friend's face cleared when the American left the room, and the look of thoughtful perplexity had vanished. "'I wish I could look over your collection, Mr. Garideb,' said he. "'In my profession all sorts of odd knowledge comes useful, and this room of yours is a storehouse of it.' Our client shone with pleasure, and his eyes gleamed from behind his big glasses. "'I had always heard, sir, that you were a very intelligent man,' said he. "'I could take you round now, if you have the time.'

unfortunately i have not but these specimens are so well labelled and classified that they hardly need your personal explanation if i should be able to look in to-morrow i presume that there would be no objection to my glancing over them none at all you are most welcome the place will of course be shut up but mrs saunders is in the basement up to four o'clock and would let you in with her key

"'Well, I happen to be clear to-morrow afternoon. If you would say a word to Mrs. Saunders it would be quite in order. By the way, who is your house-agent?' Our client was amazed at the sudden question. "'Holloway and Steele in the Edgware Road. But why?' "'I am a bit of an archaeologist myself when it comes to houses,' said Holmes, laughing. "'I was wondering if this was Queen Anne or Georgian.'

george and beyond doubt really i should have thought a little earlier however it is easily ascertained well good-bye mr garrideb and may you have every success in your birmingham journey the house agent's was close by but we found that it was closed for the day so we made our way back to baker street it was not till after dinner that holmes reverted to the subject our little problem draws to a close said he no doubt you have outlined the solution in your own mind

"'I can make neither head nor tail of it. "'The head is surely clear enough, and the tail we should see to-morrow. "'Did you notice nothing curious about that advertisement?'

"'I saw that the word plough was misspelt. Oh, you did notice that, did you? Come, Watson, you improve all the time. Yes, it was bad English, but good American. The printer had set it up as received. Then the buckboards—that is American also. And artesian wells are commoner with them than with us. It was a typical American advertisement, but purporting to be from an English firm. What do you make of that?' "'I can only suppose that this American lawyer put it in himself. What his object was I fail to understand.'

"'Well, there are alternative explanations. Anyhow, he wanted to get this good old fossil up to Birmingham. That is very clear. I might have told him that he was clearly going on a wild goose-chase, but, on second thoughts, it seemed better to clear the stage by letting him go. Tomorrow, Watson, well, tomorrow will speak for itself. Holmes was up and out early. When he returned at lunch-time I noticed that his face was very grave.'

"'This is a more serious matter than I had expected, Watson,' said he. "'It is fair to tell you so, though I know it will only be an additional reason to you for running your head into danger. I should know my Watson by now. But there is danger, and you should know it. Well, it is not the first we have shared, Holmes. I hope it may not be the last. What is the particular danger this time?' "'We are up against a very hard case. I have identified Mr. John Garrideb, counsellor at law. He is none other than Killer Evans, of sinister and murderous reputation.'

"'I fear I am none the wiser. Ah, it is not part of your profession to carry about a portable Newgate calendar in your memory. I have been down to see friend Lestrade at the yard. There may be an occasional want of imaginative intuition down there, but they lead the world for thoroughness and method. I had an idea that we might get on the track of our American friend in their records. Sure enough, I found his chubby face smiling up at me from the rogues' portrait gallery. James Winter, alias Moorcroft, alias Killer Evans, was the inscription below.'

Holmes drew an envelope from his pocket. I scribbled down a few points from his dossier. Aged 44, native of Chicago, known to have shot three men in the States, escaped from penitentiary through political influence, came to London in 1893, shot a man over cards in a nightclub in the Waterloo Road in January 1895. Man died, but he was shown to have been the aggressor in the row.

Deadman was identified as Roger Prescott, famous as Forger and Coyner in Chicago. Killer Evans released in 1901. Has been under police supervision since, but so far as known has led an honest life. Very dangerous man. Usually carries arms and is prepared to use them. That is our bird, Watson. A sporting bird, as you must admit. But what is his game?

well it begins to define itself i have been to the house agents our client as he told us has been there five years it was unlet for a year before then the previous tenant was a gentleman at large named waldron waldron's appearance was well remembered at the office he had suddenly vanished and nothing more been heard of him

He was a tall, bearded man with very dark features. Now Prescott, the man whom Killer Evans had shot, was, according to Scotland Yard, a tall, dark man with a beard. As a working hypothesis, I think we may take it that Prescott, the American criminal, used to live in the very room which our innocent friend now devotes to his museum. So at last we get a link, you see. And the next link? Well, we must go now and look for that.'

"'He took a revolver from the drawer and handed it to me. "'I have my old favourite with me. "'If our Wild West friend tries to live up to his nickname, we must be ready for him. "'I'll give you an hour for a siesta, Watson, "'and then I think it will be time for our Rider Street adventure.' "'It was just four o'clock when we reached the curious apartment of Nathan Garrideb. "'Mrs. Saunders, the caretaker, was about to leave, "'but she had no hesitation in admitting us, for the door shut with a spring-lock, "'and Holmes promised to see that all was safe before we left.'

"'Shortly afterwards the outer door closed, her bonnet past the bow window, "'and we knew that we were alone in the lower floor of the house. "'Holmes made a rapid examination of the premises. "'There was one cupboard in a dark corner which stood out a little from the wall. "'It was behind this that we eventually crouched, "'while Holmes in a whisper outlined his intentions. "'He wanted to get our amiable friend out of his room, that is very clear, "'and as the collector never went out, it took some planning to do it. "'The whole of this Garideb invention was apparently for no other end.'

"I must say, Watson, that there is a certain devilish ingenuity about it, even if the queer name of the tenant did give him an opening which he could hardly have expected. He wove his plot with remarkable cunning." "But what did he want?" "Well, that is what we are here to find out. It has nothing whatever to do with our client, so far as I can read the situation. It is something connected with the man he murdered, the man who may have been his confederate in crime. There is some guilty secret in the room. That is how I read it.

at first i thought our friend might have something in his collection more valuable than he knew something worth the attention of a big criminal but the fact that roger prescott of evil memory inhabited these rooms points to some deeper reason well watson we can but possess our souls in patience and see what the hour may bring

That hour was not long in striking. We crouched closer in the shadow as we heard the outer door open and shut. Then came the sharp, metallic snap of a key, and the American was in the room. He closed the door softly behind him, took a sharp glance around him to see that all was safe, threw off his overcoat, and walked up to the central table with the brisk manner of one who knows exactly what he has to do and how to do it.

he pushed the table to one side tore up the square of carpet on which it rested rolled it completely back and then drawing a jemmy from his inside pocket he knelt down and worked vigorously upon the floor presently we heard the sound of sliding boards and an instant later a square had opened in the planks killer evans struck a match lit a stump of candle and vanished from our view

"'Clearly our moment had come. Holmes touched my wrist as a signal, and together we stole across to the open trap-door. Gently as we moved, however, the old floor must have creaked under our feet, for the head of our American, peering anxiously round, emerged suddenly from the open space. His face turned upon us with a glare of baffled rage, which gradually softened into a rather shamefaced grin as he realised that two pistols were pointed at his head.'

"'Well, well,' said he, coolly, as he scrambled to the surface. "'I guess you have been one too many for me, Mr. Holmes. Saw through my game, I suppose, and played me for a sucker from the first. Well, sir, I hand it to you. You have me beat, and—' In an instant he had whisked out a revolver from his breast and had fired two shots. I felt a sudden hot sear as if a red-hot iron had been pressed to my thigh. There was a crash as Holmes's pistol came down on the man's head.

i had a vision of him sprawling upon the floor with blood running down his face while holmes rummaged him for weapons then my friend's wiry arms were round me and he was leading me to a chair you're not hurt watson for god's sake say that you are not hurt

it was worth a wound it was worth many wounds to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask the clear hard eyes were dimmed for a moment and the firm lips were shaking for the one and only time i caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain all my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation it's nothing holmes it's a mere scratch he had ripped up my trousers with his pocket-knife

"'You are right,' he cried, with an immense sigh of relief. "'It is quite superficial.' His face set like flint as he glared at our prisoner, who was sitting up with a dazed face. "'By the Lord, it is as well for you! If you had killed Watson you would not have got out of this room alive. Now, sir, what have you to say for yourself?' He had nothing to say for himself. He only lay and scowled. I leaned on Holmes's arm, and together we looked down into the small cellar which had been disclosed by the secret flap.

it was still illuminated by the candle which evans had taken down with him our eyes fell upon a mass of rusted machinery great rolls of paper a litter of bottles and neatly arranged upon a small table a number of neat little bundles a printing-press a counterfeiters outfit said holmes

"'Yes, sir,' said our prisoner, staggering slowly to his feet and then sinking into the chair. "'The greatest counterfeiter London ever saw. That's Prescott's machine, and those bundles on the table are two thousand of Prescott's notes worth a hundred each and fit to pass anywhere. Help yourselves, gentlemen. Call it a deal and let me beat it.' Holmes laughed. "'We don't do things like that, Mr. Evans. There is no bolt-hole for you in this country. You shot this man Prescott, did you not?'

Yes, sir, and got five years for it, though it was he who pulled on me. Five years, when I should have had a medal the size of a suit-plate. No living man could tell a Prescott from a bank of England, and if I hadn't put him out he would have flooded London with them. I was the only one in the world who knew where he made them. Can you wonder that I wanted to get

to the place, and can you wonder that when I found this crazy boob of a bug-hunter with the queer name squatting right on the top of it, and never quitting his room, I had to do the best I could to shift him. Maybe I would have been wiser if I had put him away. It would have been easy enough, but I'm a soft-hearted guy that can't begin shooting unless the other man has a gun also. But say, Mr. Holmes, what have I done wrong anyhow? I've not used this plant, I've not hurt this old stiff. Where do you get me?"

only attempted murder so far as i can see said holmes but that's not our job they take that at the next stage what we wanted at present was just your sweet self please give the yard a call watson it won't be entirely unexpected

So those were the facts about Killer Evans and his remarkable invention of the three Garidebs. We heard later that our poor old friend never got over the shock of his dissipated dreams. When his castle in the air fell down it buried him beneath the ruins. He was last heard of at a nursing home in Brixton. It was a glad day at the yard when the Prescott outfit was discovered, for, though they knew that it existed, they had never been able, after the death of the man, to find out where it was.

Evans had indeed done great service and caused several worthy C.I.D. men to sleep the sounder, for the counterfeiter stands in a class by himself as a public danger. They would willingly have subscribed to that soup-plate medal of which the criminal had spoken, but an unappreciative bench took a less favourable view, and the killer returned to those shades from which he had just emerged. End of Section 6 Section 7 of the Casebook of Sherlock Holmes

Somewhere in the vaults of the Bank of Cox and Company, at Charing Cross, there is a travel-worn and battered tin dispatch box

with my name, John H. Watson, M.D., late Indian Army, painted upon the lid. It is crammed with papers, nearly all of which are records of cases, to illustrate the curious problems which Mr. Sherlock Holmes had at various times to examine. Some, and not the least interesting, were complete failures, and as such will hardly bear narrating, since no final explanation is forthcoming.

A problem without a solution may interest the student, but can hardly fail to annoy the casual reader. Among these unfinished tales is that of Mr. James Fillimore, who, stepping back into his own house to get his umbrella, was never more seen in this world. No less remarkable is that of the cutter Alicia, which sailed one spring morning into a small patch of mist from where she never again emerged.

nor was anything further ever heard of herself and her crew. A third case worthy of note is that of Isadora Persano, the well-known journalist and duelist, who was found stark staring mad with a matchbox in front of him which contained a remarkable worm, said to be unknown to science.

Apart from these unfathomed cases, there are some which involve the secrets of private families to an extent which would mean consternation in many exalted quarters, if it were thought possible that they might find their way into print. I need not say that such a breach of confidence is unthinkable, and that these records will be separated and destroyed now that my friend has time to turn his energies to the matter.

there remain a considerable residue of cases of greater or lesser interest which i might have edited before had i not feared to give the public a surfeit which might react upon the reputation of the man whom above all others i revere in some i was myself concerned and can speak as an eye-witness while in others i was either not present or played so small a part that they could only be told as by a third person

The following narrative is drawn from my own experience. It was a wild morning in October, and I observed as I was dressing how the last remaining leaves were being rolled from the solitary plane tree which graces the yard behind our house. I descended to breakfast, prepared to find my companion in depressed spirits, for, like all great artists, he was easily impressed by his surroundings.

on the contrary i found that he had nearly finished his meal and that his mood was particularly bright and joyous with that somewhat sinister cheerfulness which is characteristic of his lighter moments you have a case holmes i remarked the faculty of deduction is certainly contagious watson he answered it has enabled you to probe my secret yes i have a case

"'After a month of trivialities and stagnation, the wheels move once more. "'Might I share it? "'There is little to share, but we may discuss it when you have consumed the two hard-boiled eggs with which our new cook has favoured us. "'Their condition may not be unconnected with the copy of the family herald, which I observed yesterday upon the hall table.'

even so trivial a matter as cooking an egg demands an attention which is conscious of the passage of time and incompatible with the love romance in that excellent periodical a quarter of an hour later the table had been cleared and we were face to face he had drawn a letter from his pocket you have heard of neil gibson the gold king he said you mean the american senator

"'Well, he was once senator for some western state, but is better known as the greatest gold-mining magnate in the world. "'Yes, I know of him. He has surely lived in England for some time. His name is very familiar. "'Yes, he bought a considerable estate in Hampshire some five years ago. Possibly you have already heard of the tragic end of his wife?'

ah of course i remember it now that is why the name is familiar but i really know nothing of the details holmes waved his hand towards some papers on a chair i had no idea that the case was coming my way or i should have had my extracts ready said he

the fact is that the problem though exceedingly sensational appeared to present no difficulty the interesting personality of the accused does not obscure the clearness of the evidence that was the view taken by the coroner's jury and also in the police court proceedings it is now referred to the zizzis at winchester i fear it is a thankless business

i can discover facts watson but i cannot change them unless some entirely new and unexpected ones come to light i do not see what my client can hope for your client ah i forgot i had not told you i am getting into your involved habit watson of telling a story backwards you had best read this first the letter which he handed me written in a bold and masterful hand ran as follows

Clergy's Hotel, October 3rd. Dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I can't see the best woman God ever made go to her death without doing all that is possible to save her. I can't explain things. I can't even try to explain them. But I know beyond all doubt that Miss Dunbar is innocent. You know the facts. Who doesn't? It has been the gossip of the country and never a voice raised for her. It is the damned injustice of it all that makes me crazy.

That woman has a heart that wouldn't let her kill a fly. Well, I'll come at 11 tomorrow and see if you can get some ray of light in the dark. Maybe I have a clue and don't know it. Anyhow, all I know and all I have and all I am are for your use. If only you can save her. If ever in your life you showed your powers, put them now into this case. Yours faithfully, J. Neal Gibson.

There you have it, said Sherlock Holmes, knocking out the ashes of his after-breakfast pipe and slowly refilling it. That is the gentleman I await. As to the story, you have hardly time to master all these papers, so I must give it to you in a nutshell if you are to take an intelligent interest in the proceedings. This man is the greatest financial power in the world.

and a man, as I understand, of most violent and formidable character. He married a wife, the victim of this tragedy, of whom I know nothing, save that she was past her prime, which was the more unfortunate, as a very attractive governess superintended the education of two young children.

These are the three people concerned, and the scene is a grand old manor house, the center of an historical English estate. Then, as to the tragedy, the wife was found in the grounds nearly half a mile from the house, late at night, clad in her dinner dress, with a shawl over her shoulders and a revolver bullet through her brain.

"'No weapon was found near her, and there was no local clue as to the murder.' "'No weapon near her, Watson. Mark that. The crime seems to have been committed late in the evening, and the body was found by a gamekeeper about eleven o'clock, when it was examined by the police, and by a doctor before being carried up to the house. Is this too condensed, or can you follow it clearly?'

"'It is all very clear. But why suspect the governess?' "'Well, in the first place there is some very direct evidence. "'A revolver with one discharged chamber and a calibre which corresponded with the bullet "'was found on the floor of her wardrobe. "'His eyes fixed, and he repeated, in broken words, "'On the floor of her wardrobe.' "'Then he sank into silence.'

and I saw that some train of thought had been set moving which I should be foolish to interrupt. Suddenly, with a start, he emerged into brisk life once more. Yes, Watson, it was found. Pretty damning, eh? So the two juries thought. Then the dead woman had a note upon her making an appointment at that very place and signed by the governess. How's that?

Finally, there is the motive. Senator Gibson is an attractive person. If his wife dies, who more likely to succeed her than the young lady who had already, by all accounts, received pressing attentions from her employer? Love, fortune, power, all depending upon one middle-aged life. Ugly, Watson, very ugly. Yes, indeed, Holmes."

Nor could she prove an alibi. On the contrary, she had to admit that she was down near Thor Bridge. That was the scene of the tragedy. About that hour, she couldn't deny it, for some passing villager had seen her there. That really seems final. And yet, Watson, and yet, this bridge, a single broad span of stone with balustraded sides, carries the drive unnoticed.

over the narrowest part of a long deep reed-girt sheet of water thor mere it is called in the mouth of the bridge lay the dead woman such are the main facts but here if i mistake not is our client considerably before his time billy had opened the door but the name which he announced was an unexpected one mr marlow bates was a stranger to both of us

he was a thin nervous wisp of a man with frightened eyes and twitching hesitating manner a man whom my own professional eye would judge to be on the brink of an absolute nervous breakdown you seem agitated mr bates said holmes pray sit down i fear i can only give you a short time for i've an appointment at eleven

"'I know you have,' our visitor gasped, shouting out short sentences like a man who is out of breath. "'Mr. Gibson is coming. Mr. Gibson is my employer. I am manager of his estate. Mr. Holmes, he is a villain, an infernal villain.' "'Strong language, Mr. Bates.' "'I have to be emphatic, Mr. Holmes, for this time is so limited. I would not have him find me here for the world.'

"'He is almost due now, but I was so situated that I could not come earlier. His secretary, Mr. Ferguson, only told me this morning of his appointment with you.' "'And you are his manager?' "'I have given him notice. In a couple of weeks I shall have shaken off his accursed slavery.' "'A hard man, Mr. Holmes, hard to all about him. Those public charities are a screen to cover his private inequities.'

but his wife was his chief victim he was brutal to her yes sir brutal how she came by her death i do not know but i am sure that he had made her life a misery to her she was a creature of the tropics a brazilian by birth as no doubt you know no it had escaped me

tropical by birth and tropical by nature, a child of the sun and of passion. She had loved him as such women can love, but when her own physical charms had faded, I am told that they once were great, there was nothing to hold him. We all liked her and felt for her and hated him for the way that he treated her, but he is plausible and cunning. That is all I have to say to you.

don't take him at his face value there is more behind now i'll go no no don't detain me he is almost due with a frightened look at the clock our strange visitor literally ran to the door and disappeared well well said holmes after an interval of silence mr gibson seems to have a nice loyal household but the warning is a useful one

and now we can only wait till the man himself appears sharp at the hour we heard a heavy step upon the stairs and the famous millionaire was shown into the room as i looked upon him i understood not only the fears and dislike of his manager but also the execrations which so many business rivals have heaped upon his head

If I were a sculptor and desired to idealize the successful man of affairs, iron of nerve and leathery of conscience, I should choose Mr. Neil Gibson as my model. His tall, gaunt, craggy frame had a suggestion of hunger and rapacity. An Abraham Lincoln keyed to base uses instead of high ones would give some idea of the man.

his face might have been chiselled in granite hardset craggy remorseless with deep lines upon it the scars of many a crisis cold grey eyes looking shrewdly out from under bristling brows surveyed us each in turn he bowed in perfunctory fashion as holmes mentioned my name and then with a masterful air of possession he drew a chair up to my companion

and seated himself with his bony knees almost touching him. "'Let me say right here, Mr. Holmes,' he began, "'that money is nothing to me in this case. You can burn it if it's any use in lighting you to the truth. This woman is innocent, and this woman has to be cleared, and it's up to you to do it. Name your figure.' "'My professional charges are upon a fixed scale,' said Holmes coldly."

i do not vary them save when i remit them altogether well if dollars make no difference to you think of the reputation if you pull this off every paper in england and america will be booming you you'll be the talk of two continents thank you mr gibson i do not think that i am in need of booming

It may surprise you to know that I prefer to work anonymously, and that it is the problem itself which attracts me. But we are wasting time. Let us get down to the facts. I think that you will find the main ones in the press reports. I don't know that I can add anything which will help you, but if there is anything you would wish more light upon, well, I am here to give it. Well, there is just one point. What is it?

what were the exact relations between you and miss dunbar the gold king gave a violent start and half rose from his chair then his massive calm came back to him i suppose you are within your rights and may be doing your duty in asking such a question mr holmes we all agree to suppose so said holmes

then i can assure you that our relations were entirely and always those of an employer towards a young lady whom he never conversed with or ever saw save when she was in the company of his children holmes rose from his chair i am a rather busy man mr gibson said he and i have no time or taste for aimless conversations i wish you good morning

Our visitor had risen also, and his great loose figure towered over Holmes. There was an angry gleam from under those bristling brows, and a tinge of color in the sallow cheeks. "'What the devil do you mean by this, Mr. Holmes? Do you dismiss my case?' "'Well, Mr. Gibson, at least I dismiss you. I should have thought my words were plain.'

"'Plain enough. But what's at the back of it? Raising the price on me? Or afraid to tackle it? Or what?' "'I've a right to a plain answer.' "'Well, perhaps you have,' said Holmes. "'I'll give you one. This case is quite sufficiently complicated to start with, without the further difficulty of false information.' "'Meaning that I lie?' "'Well, I was trying to express it as delicately as I could,'

but if you insist upon the word i will not contradict you i sprang to my feet for the expression upon the millionaire's face was fiendish in its intensity and he had raised his great knotted fist holmes smiled languidly and reached his hand out for his pipe don't be noisy mr gibson i find that after breakfast even the smallest argument is unsettling

i suggest that i stroll in the morning air and a little quiet thought will be greatly to your advantage with an effort the gold king mastered his fury i could not but admire him for by a supreme self-command he had turned in a minute from a hot flame of anger to a frigid and contemptuous indifference

"'Well, it's your choice. I guess you know how to run your own business. I can't make you touch the case against your will. You've done yourself no good this morning, Mr. Holmes, for I have broken stronger men than you. No man ever crossed me, and was the better for it. So many have said so, and yet here I am,' said Holmes, smiling. "'Well, good morning, Mr. Gibson. You have a good deal yet to learn.'

Our visitor made a noisy exit, but Holmes smoked in imperturbable silence with dreamy eyes fixed upon the ceiling. "'Any views, Watson?' he asked at last. "'Well, Holmes, I must confess that when I consider that this is a man who would certainly brush any obstacle from his path, and when I remember that his wife may have been an obstacle and an object of dislike, as that man Bates plainly told us, it seems to me—'

"'Exactly. And to me also. But what were his relations with the governess, and how did you discover them?' "'Bluff, Watson, bluff. When I considered the passionate, unconventional, unbusinesslike tone of his letter, and contrasted it with his self-contained manner and appearance, it was pretty clear that there was some deep emotion which centered upon the accused woman rather than upon the victim.'

"'We've got to understand the exact relations of those three people "'if we are to reach the truth. "'You saw the frontal attack which I made upon him "'and how imperturbably he received it. "'Then I bluffed him by giving him the impression "'that I was absolutely certain, "'when in reality I was only extremely suspicious. "'Perhaps he will come back? "'He is sure to come back. "'He must come back.'

"'He can't leave it where it is. Huh, isn't that a ring?' "'Yes, there's his footstep. Well, Mr. Gibson, I was just saying to Dr. Watson that you were somewhat overdue.' The Gold King had re-entered the room in a more chastened mood than he had left it. His wounded pride still showed in his resentful eyes, but his common sense had shown him that he must yield if he would attain his end.

"'I've been thinking it over, Mr. Holmes, and I feel that I have been hasty in taking your remarks amiss. You are justified in getting down to the facts, whatever they may be, and I think the more of you for it. I can assure you, however, that the relations between Miss Dunbar and me don't really touch this case. That is for me to decide, is it not?'

"'Yes, I guess that is so. You're like a surgeon who wants every symptom before he can give his diagnosis.' "'Exactly.' That expresses it. And it is only a patient who has an object in deceiving his surgeon who would conceal the facts of his case.' "'That may be so, but you will admit, Mr. Holmes, that most men would shy off a bit when they are asked point-blank what their relations with a woman may be, if there is really some serious feeling in the case.'

i guess most men have a little private reserve of their own in some corner of their souls where they don't welcome intruders and you burst suddenly into it but the object excuses you since it was to try and save her well the stakes are down and the reserve open and you can explore where you will what is it you want the truth

The Gold King paused for a moment as one who marshals his thoughts. His grim, deep-blind face had become even sadder and more grave. "'I can give it to you in a few words, Mr. Holmes,' said he at last. "'There are some things that are painful as well as difficult to say, so I won't go deeper than is needful. I met my wife when I was gold-hunting in Brazil. Maria Pinto was the daughter of a government official at Manaus, and she was very beautiful.'

I was young and ardent in those days, but even now, as I look back with colder blood and a more critical eye, I can see that she was rare and wonderful in her beauty. It was a deep, rich nature, too, passionate, wholehearted, tropical, ill-balanced, very different from the American woman whom I had known. Well, to make a long story short, I loved her and I married her.

It was only when the romance had passed, and it lingered for years, that I realized that we had nothing, absolutely nothing, in common. My love faded. If hers had faded also, it might have been easier. But you know the wonderful way of women. Do what I might, nothing could turn her from me. If I have been harsh to her, even brutal, as some have said, it has been because I knew that if I could kill her love, or if it turned to hate,

it would be easier for both of us but nothing changed her she adored me in those english woods as she adored me twenty years ago on the banks of the amazon do what i might she was as devoted as ever then came miss grace dunbar she answered our advertisement and became governess to our two children perhaps you have seen her portrait in the papers the whole world has proclaimed that she also is a very beautiful woman

now i make no pretence to be more moral than my neighbours and i will admit to you that i could not live under the same roof with such a woman and in daily contact with her without feeling a passionate regard for her do you blame me mr holmes i do not blame you for feeling it it should blame you if you expressed it since the young lady was in a sense under your protection

"'Well, maybe so,' said the millionaire, though for a moment the reproof had brought the old angry gleam into his eyes. "'I'm not pretending to be any better than I am. I guess all my life I've been a man that reached out his hand for what he wanted, and I never wanted anything more than the love and possession of that woman.' I told her so. "'Oh, you did, did you? Holmes could look very formidable when he was moved.'

i said to her that if i could marry her i would but that it was out of my power i said that money was no object and that all i could do to make her happy and comfortable would be done very generous i am sure said holmes with a sneer see here mr holmes i come to you on a question of evidence not on a question of morals i'm not asking for your criticism

"'It is only for the young lady's sake that I touch your case at all,' said Holmes sternly. "'I don't know that anything she is accused of is really worse than what you have yourself admitted, that you have tried to ruin a defenseless girl who was under your roof. Some of you rich men have to be taught that all the world cannot be bribed into condoning your offences.'

to my surprise the gold king took the reproof with equanimity that's how i feel myself about it now i thank god that my plans did not work out as i intended she would have none of it and she wanted to leave the house instantly why did she not well in the first place others were dependent upon her and it was no light matter for her to let them all down by sacrificing her living

When I had sworn, as I did, that she would never be molested again, she consented to remain. But there was another reason. She knew the influence she had over me, and that it was stronger than any other influence in the world. She wanted to use it for good. Well, she knew something of my affairs. They are large, Mr. Holmes, large beyond the belief of an ordinary man. I can make or break, and it is usually brick.

It wasn't individuals only. It was communities, cities, even nations. Business is a hard game, and the weak go to the wall. I played the game for all it was worth. I never squealed myself, and I never cared if the other fellows squealed. But she saw it different. I guess she was right.

She believed and said that a fortune for one man that was more than he needed should not be built on ten thousand ruined men who were left without the means of life. That was how she saw it, and I guess she could see past the dollars to something that was more lasting. She found that I listened to what she said, and she believed she was serving the world by influencing my actions. So she stayed, and then this came along. "'Can you throw any light upon that?'

the gold king paused for a minute or more his head sunk in his hands lost in deep thought it's very black against her i can't deny that and women lead an inward life and may do things beyond the judgment of a man at first i was so rattled and taken aback that i was ready to think she had been led away in some extraordinary fashion that was clean against her usual nature

One explanation came into my head. I give it to you, Mr. Holmes, for what it is worth. There is no doubt that my wife was bitterly jealous. There is a soul jealousy that can be as frantic as any body jealousy. And though my wife had no cause, and I think she understood this, for the latter, she was aware that this English girl exerted an influence upon my mind and my acts that she herself never had.

It was an influence for good, but that did not mend the matter. She was crazy with hatred, and the heart of the Amazon was always in her blood. She might have planned to murder Miss Dunbar, or we will say to threaten her with a gun, and so frighten her into leaving us. Then there might have been a scuffle, and the gun gone off, and shot the woman who held it.

That possibility had already occurred to me, said Holmes. Indeed, it is the only obvious alternative to deliberate murder. But she utterly denies it. Well, that is not final, is it? One can understand that a woman placed in so awful a position might hurry home, still in her bewilderment, holding the revolver. She might even throw it down among her clothes, hardly knowing what she was doing.

and when it was found she might try to lie her way out by a total denial since all explanation was impossible what is against such a supposition miss dunbar herself well perhaps holmes looked at his watch i have no doubt we can get the necessary permits this morning and reach winchester by the evening train when i have seen this young lady it is very possible that i may be of more use to you in the matter

though i cannot promise that my conclusions will necessarily be such as you desire there was some delay in the official pass and instead of reaching winchester that day we went down to thor place the hampshire estate of mr neale gibson he did not accompany us himself but we had the address of sergeant coventry of the local police who had first examined into the affair

he was a tall thin cadaverous man with a secretive and mysterious manner which conveyed the idea that he knew or suspected a very great deal more than he dared say he had a trick too of suddenly sinking his voice to a whisper as if he had come upon something of vital importance though the information was usually commonplace enough

behind these tricks of manner he soon showed himself to be a decent honest fellow who was not too proud to admit that he was out of his depth and would welcome any help anyhow i'd rather have you than scotland yard mr holmes said he if the yard gets called into a case then the local loses all credit for success and may be blamed for failure now you play straight so i've heard

i need not appear in the matter at all said holmes to the evident relief of our melancholy acquaintance if i can clear it up i don't ask to have my name mentioned well it's very handsome of you i'm sure and your friend dr watson can be trusted i know now mr holmes as we walk down to the place there is one question i should like to ask you i'd breathe it to no soul but you he looked round as though he hardly dare utter the words

"'Don't you think there might be a case against Mr. Neil Gibson himself? I have been considering that. You've not seen Miss Dunbar. She is a wonderful, fine woman in every way. He may well have wished his wife out of the road. And these Americans are readier with pistols than our folk are. It was his pistol, you know. Was that clearly made out?' "'Yes, sir. It was one of a pair that he had.'

one of a pair where is the other well the gentleman has a lot of firearms of one sort and another we never quite matched that particular pistol but the box was made for two if it was one of a pair you should surely be able to match it well we have them all laid out at the house if you would care to look them over later perhaps i think we will walk down together and have a look at the scene of the tragedy

this conversation had taken place in the little front room of sergeant coventry's humble cottage which served as the local police station a walk of half a mile or so across a wind-swept heath all gold and bronze with the fading ferns brought us to a side gate opening into the grounds of the thor place estate

a path led us through the pheasant preserves and then from a clearing we saw the wide-spread half-timbered house half tudor and half georgian upon the crest of the hill beside us there was a long reedy pool constricted in the centre where the main carriage drive passed over a stone bridge but swelling into small lakes on either side our guide paused at the mouth of the bridge and he pointed to the ground that was where miss gibson's body lay

I marked it by that stone. "'I understand that you were there before it was moved?' "'Yes, they sent for me at once.' "'Who did?' "'Mr. Gibson himself. The moment the alarm was given and he had rushed down with others from the house, he insisted that nothing should be moved until the police should arrive.' "'That was sensible. I gathered from the newspaper report that the shot was fired from close quarters.' "'Yes, sir. Very close.' "'Near the right temple?'

"'Just behind it, sir.' "'How did the body lie?' "'On the back, sir. No trace of a struggle. No marks. No weapon.' The short note from Miss Dunbar was clutched in her left hand. "'Clutched,' you say? "'Yes, sir. We could hardly open the fingers.' "'That is of great importance. It excludes the idea that anyone could have placed the note there after death in order to furnish a false clue.' "'Dear me, the note, as I remember, was quite short.'

"'I will be at Thor Bridge at nine o'clock. G. Dunbar. Was that not so?' "'Yes, sir.' "'Did Miss Dunbar admit writing it?' "'Yes, sir.' "'What was her explanation?' "'Her defense was reserved for the Azizis. She would say nothing. The problem is certainly a very interesting one. The point of the letter is very obscure, is it not?'

well sir said the guide it seemed if i may be so bold as to say the only real clear point in the whole case holmes shook his head granting that the letter is genuine and was really written it was certainly received some time before say one hour or two why then was this lady still clasping it in her left hand why should she carry it so carefully she did not need to refer to it in the interview

Does it not seem remarkable? Well, sir, as you put it, perhaps it does. I think I should like to sit quietly for a few minutes and think it out. He seated himself upon the stone ledge of the bridge, and I could see his quick gray eyes darting their questioning glances in every direction. Suddenly he sprang up again and ran across to the opposite parapet, whipped his lens from his pocket, and began to examine the stonework.

"'This is curious,' said he. "'Yes, sir, we saw the chip on the ledge. I expect it's been done by some passer-by. The stonework was grey, but at this one point it showed white for a space not larger than a sixpence. When examined closely, one could see that the surface was chipped as by a sharp blow.' "'It took some violence to do that,' said Holmes thoughtfully. With his cane he struck the ledge several times without leaving a mark.'

yes it was a hard knock and a curious place too it was not from above but from below for you see that is on the lower edge of the parapet but it is at least fifteen feet from the body yes it is fifteen feet from the body it may have nothing to do with the matter but it is a point worth noting i do not think that we have anything more to learn here there were no footsteps you say

the ground was iron hard sir there were no traces at all then we can go we will go up to the house first and look over these weapons of which you speak then we shall get on to winchester for i should desire to see miss dunbar before we go farther mr neil gibson had not returned from town but we saw in the house the neurotic mr bates who had called upon us in the morning

He showed us with a sinister relish the formidable array of firearms of various shapes and sizes which his employer had accumulated in the course of an adventurous life. Mr. Gibson has his enemies as anyone would expect who knew him and his methods, said he. He sleeps with the loaded revolver in the drawer beside his bed. He is a man of violence, sir, and there are times when all of us are afraid of him.

i am sure that the poor lady who has passed was often terrified did you ever witness physical violence toward her no i cannot say that but i have heard words which were nearly as bad words of cold cutting contempt even before the servants our millionaire does not seem to shine in private life remarked holmes as we made our way to the station

well watson we have come on a good many facts some of them new ones and yet i seem some way from my conclusion in spite of the very evident dislike which mr bates has to his employer i gather from him that when the alarm came he was undoubtedly in his library

"'Dinner was over at eight-thirty, and all was normal up to then. It is true that the alarm was somewhat late in the evening, but the tragedy certainly occurred about the hour named in the note. There is no evidence at all that Mr. Gibson had been out of doors since his return from town at five o'clock. On the other hand, Miss Dunbar, as I understand it, admits that she had made an appointment to meet Mrs. Gibson at the bridge.'

Beyond this, she would say nothing, as her lawyer had advised her to reserve her defense. We have several very vital questions to ask that young lady, and my mind will not be easy until we have seen her. I must confess that the case would seem to me to be very black against her, if it were not for one thing. And what is that, Holmes? The finding of the pistol in her wardrobe."

"'Dear me, Holmes!' I cried. "'That seemed to be the most damning incident of all.' "'Not so, Watson. It had struck me even at my first perfunctory reading as very strange. And now that I am in closer touch with the case, it is my only firm ground for hope. We must look for consistency. Where there is a want of it, we must suspect deception. I hardly follow you.'

well now watson suppose for a moment that we visualize you in the character of a woman who in a cold premeditated fashion is about to get rid of a rival you have planned it a note has been written the victim has come you have your weapon the crime is done it has been workmanlike and complete

Do you tell me that after carrying out so crafty a crime, you would now ruin your reputation as a criminal by forgetting to fling your weapon into those adjacent reed beds, which would forever cover it? But you must needs carry it carefully home and put it in your own wardrobe, the very first place that would be searched.

your best friends would hardly call you a schemer watson and yet i could not picture you doing anything so crude as that and the excitement of the moment no no watson i will not admit that it is possible where a crime is coolly premeditated then the means of covering it are coolly premeditated also i hope therefore that we are in the presence of a serious misconception but there is so much to explain

well we shall set about explaining it when once your point of view is changed the very thing which was so damning becomes a clue to the truth for example there is this revolver miss dunbar disclaims all knowledge of it on our new theory she is speaking truth when she says so therefore it was placed in her wardrobe who placed it there someone who wished to incriminate her was not that person the actual criminal

you see how we come at once upon a most fruitful line of inquiry we were compelled to spend the night at winchester as the formalities had not yet been completed but next morning in the company of mr joyce cummings the rising barrister who was entrusted with the defence we were allowed to see the young lady in her cell i had expected from all that we had heard to see a beautiful woman but i can never forget the effect which mustumbar produced upon me

it was no wonder that even the most masterful millionaire had found in her something more powerful than himself something which could control and guide him one felt too as one looked at that strong clear-cut and yet sensitive face that even should she be capable of some impetuous deed none the less there was an innate nobility of character which would make her influence always for the good

she was a brunette tall with a noble figure and commanding presence but her dark eyes had in them the appealing helpless expression of the hunted creature who feels the nets around it but can see no way out from the toils now as she realized the presence and the help of my famous friend there came a touch of color in her wan cheeks and a light of hope began to glimmer in the glance which she turned upon us

"'Perhaps Mr. Neil Gibson has told you of something of what occurred between us?' she asked in a low, agitated voice. "'Yes,' Holmes answered. "'You need not pain yourself by entering into that part of the story. After seeing you, I am prepared to accept Mr. Gibson's statement both as to the influence which you had over him and as to the innocence of your relations with him. But why was the whole situation not brought out in Cole?'

it seemed to me incredible that such a charge could be sustained i thought that if we waited the whole thing must clear itself up without our being compelled to enter into painful details of the inner life of the family but i understand that far from clearing it has become even more serious my dear young lady cried holmes earnestly i beg you to have no illusions upon the point

mr cummings here would assure you that all the cards are at present against us and that we must do everything that is possible if we are to win clear it would be a cruel deception to pretend that you are not in very great danger give me all the help you can then to get at the truth i will conceal nothing tell us then of your true relation with mr gibson's wife

she hated me mr holmes she hated me with all the fervour of her tropical nature she was a woman who would do nothing by halves and the measure of her love for her husband was the measure also of her hatred for me

"'It is probable that she misunderstood our relations. I would not wish to wrong her, but she loved so vividly in a physical sense that she could hardly understand the mental and even spiritual tie which held her husband to me. Ah, imagine that it was only my desire to influence his power to good ends which kept me under his roof. I can see now that I was wrong.'

nothing could justify me in remaining where i was a cause of unhappiness and yet it is certain that the unhappiness would have remained even if i had left the house now mrs dunbar said holmes i beg you to tell us exactly what occurred that evening

i can tell you the truth so far as i know it mr holmes but i am in a position to prove nothing and there are points the most vital points which i can neither explain nor can i imagine any explanation if you will find the facts perhaps others may find the explanation with regard then to my presence at thorbridge that night i received a note from mrs gibson in the morning

It lay on the table of the schoolroom, and it may have been left there by her own hand. It implored me to see her there after dinner, said she had something important to say to me, and asked me to leave an answer on the sundial in the garden, as she desired no one to be in our confidence. I saw no reason for such secrecy, but I did as she asked, accepting the appointment. She asked me to destroy her note, and I burned it in the schoolroom grate.

She was very much afraid of her husband, who treated her with a harshness for which I frequently reproached him, and I could only imagine that she acted in this way because she did not wish him to know of our interview. Yet she kept your reply very carefully. Yes, I was surprised to hear that she had it in her hand when she died. Well, what happened then? I went down as I promised. When I reached the bridge, she was waiting for me.

never did i realize till that moment how this poor creature hated me she was like a mad woman indeed i think she was a mad woman subtly mad with a deep power of deception which insane people may have how else could she have met me with unconcern every day and yet had so raging a hatred of me in her heart i will not say what she said she poured her whole wild fury out in burning and horrible words

I did not even answer. I could not. It was dreadful to see her. I put my hands to my ears and rushed away. When I left her, she was standing still, shrieking out her curses at me in the mouth of the bridge, where she was afterwards found, within a few yards from the spot. And yet, presuming that she meant her death shortly after you left her, you heard no shot

"'No, I heard nothing. But indeed, Mr. Holmes, I was so agitated and horrified by this terrible outbreak that I rushed to get back to the peace of my own room, and I was incapable of noticing anything which happened.' "'You say that you returned to your room. Did you leave it again before next morning?' "'Yes. When the alarm came that the poor creature had met her death, I ran out with the others. Did you see Mr. Gibson?'

Yes, he had just returned from the bridge when I saw him. He had sent for the doctor and the police. Did he seem to you much perturbed? Mr. Gibson is a very strong, self-contained man. I do not think that he would ever show his emotions on the surface, but I, who knew him so well, could see that he was deeply concerned. Then we come to the all-important point. This pistol that was found in your room.

"'Had you ever seen it before?' "'Never, I swear it.' "'When was it found?' "'Next morning, when the police made their search.' "'Among your clothes?' "'Yes, on the floor of my wardrobe, under my dresses.' "'You could not guess how long it had been there?' "'It had not been there the morning before.' "'How do you know?' "'Because I tidied out the wardrobe.'

"'That is final.' Then someone came into your room and placed the pistol there in order to inculpate you. "'It must have been so.' "'And when?' "'It could only have been at mealtime, or else at the hours when I would be in the schoolroom with the children.' "'As you were when you got the note?' "'Yes, from that time onwards for the whole morning.' "'Thank you, Miss Dunbar. Is there any other point which could help me in the investigation?'

i can think of none there was some sign of violence on the stonework of the bridge a perfectly fresh chip just opposite the body could you suggest any possible explanation of that surely it must be a mere coincidence curious miss dunbar very curious why should it appear at the very time of the tragedy and why at the very place

but what would have caused it only great violence could have such an effect holmes did not answer his pale eager face had suddenly assumed the tense far-away expression which i had learned to associate with the supreme manifestations of his genius so evident was the crisis in his mind that none of us dared to speak and we sat barrister prisoner and myself watching him in a concentrated and absorbed silence

suddenly he sprang from his chair vibrating with nervous energy and the pressing need for action come watson come he cried what is it mr holmes never mind my dear lady you will hear from me mr cummings with the help of the god of justice i will give you a case which will make england ring

"'You will get news by tomorrow, Miss Dunbar. "'And meanwhile, take my assurance that the clouds are lifting "'and that I have every hope that the light of truth is breaking through.' "'It was not a long journey from Winchester to Thor Place, "'but it was long to me in my impatience, "'while for Holmes it was evident that it seemed endless, "'for in his nervous restlessness he could not sit still.'

but paced the carriage, our drum with his long, sensitive fingers upon the cushions beside him. Suddenly, however, as we neared our destination, he seated himself opposite to me. We had a first-class carriage to ourselves, and laying a hand upon each of my knees, he looked into my eyes with a peculiarly mischievous gaze which was characteristic of his more imp-like moods.

"'Watson,' said he, "'I have some recollection that you go armed upon these excursions of ours. It was as well for him that I did so, for he took little care for his own safety when his mind was once absorbed by a problem, so that more than once my revolver had been a good friend in need. I reminded him of the fact.'

"'Yes, yes. I am a little absent-minded in such matters. But have you your revolver on you?' I produced it from my hip pocket, a short, handy, but very serviceable little weapon. He undid the catch, shook out the cartridges, and examined it with care. "'It's heavy, remarkably heavy,' said he. "'Yes, it's a solid bit of work.' He mused over it for a minute."

"'Do you know, Watson?' said he, "'I believe your revolver is going to have a very intimate connection with the mystery which we are investigating. My dear Holmes, you are joking. No, Watson, I am very serious. This is a test before us. If the test comes off, all will be clear, and the test will depend upon the conduct of this little weapon.'

one cartridge out now we will replace the other five and put on the safety catch so that increases the weight and makes it a better reproduction i had no glimmer of what was in his mind nor did he enlighten me but sat lost in thought until we pulled up in the little hampshire station we secured a ramshackle trap and in a quarter of an hour were at the house of our confidential friend the sergeant a clue mr holmes what is it

it all depends upon the behavior of dr watson's revolver said my friend here it is now officer can you give me ten yards of string the village shop provided a ball of stout twine i think that is all we will need said holmes now if you please we will get off on what i hope is the last stage of our journey

The sun was setting and turning the rolling Hampshire moor into a wonderful autumnal panorama. The sergeant, with many critical and incredulous glances which showed his deep doubts of the sanity of my companion, lurched along beside us. As we approached the scene of the crime, I could see that my friend, under all his habitual coolness, was in truth deeply agitated.

"'Yes,' he said in answer to my remark. "'You have seen me miss my mark before, Watson. I have an instinct for such things, and yet it has sometimes played me false. It seemed a certainty when first it flashed across my mind in the cell at Winchester, but one drawback of an active mind is that the one can always conceive alternative explanations which would make our scent a false one. And yet—'

and yet well watson we can but try as he walked he had firmly tied one end of the string to the handle of the revolver we had now reached the scene of the tragedy with great care he marked out under the guidance of the policeman the exact spot where the body had been stretched he then hunted among the heather and the ferns until he found a considerable stone this he secured to the other end of his line of string

and he hung it over the parapet of the bridge so that it swung clear above the water he then stood on the fatal spot some distance from the edge of the bridge with my revolver in his hand the string being taught between the weapon and the heavy stone on the farther side now for it he cried at the words he raised the pistol to his head and then let go his grip

and in an instant it had been whisked away by the weight of the stone had struck with a sharp crack against the parapet and had vanished over the side into the water it had hardly gone before holmes was kneeling beside the stonework and a joyous cry showed that he had found what he expected was there ever a more exact demonstration he cried see watson your revolver has solved the problem

as he spoke he pointed to a second chip of the exact size and shape of the first which had appeared on the under edge of the stone balustrade we'll stay at the inn to-night he continued as he rose and faced the astonished sergeant you will of course get a grappling hook and you will easily restore my friend's revolver

you will also find beside it the revolver string and weight with which this vindictive woman attempted to disguise her own crime and to fasten a charge of murder upon an innocent victim you can let mr gibson know that i will see him in the morning when steps can be taken for miss dunbar's vindication late that evening as we sat together smoking our pipes in the village inn holmes gave me a brief review of what had passed

"I fear, Watson," said he, "that you will not improve any reputation which I may have acquired by adding the case of the Thorbridge mystery to your annals. I have been sluggish in mind and wanting in that mixture of imagination and reality which is the basis of my art. I confess that the chip in the stonework was a sufficient clue to suggest the true solution, and that I blame myself for not having attained it sooner."

it must be admitted that the workings of this unhappy woman's mind were deep and subtle so that it was no very simple matter to unravel her plot i do not think that in our adventures we have ever come across a stranger example of what perverted love can bring about whether miss dunbar was her rival in a physical or in a merely mental sense seems to have been equally unforgivable in her eyes

no doubt she blamed this innocent lady for all those harsh dealings and unkind words with which her husband tried to repel her too demonstrative affection her first resolution was to end her own life her second was to do it in such a way as to involve her victim in a fate which was worse far than any sudden death could be

We can follow the various steps quite clearly, and they show a remarkable subtlety of mind. A note was extracted very cleverly from Miss Dunbar, which would make it appear that she had chosen the scene of the crime. In her anxiety that it should be discovered, she somewhat overdid it by holding it in her hand to the last. This alone should have excited my suspicions earlier than it did.

Then she took one of her husband's revolvers. There was, as you saw, an arsenal in the house, and kept it for her own use. A similar one she concealed that morning in Miss Dunbar's wardrobe after discharging one barrel, which she could easily do in the woods without attracting attention. She then went down to the bridge, where she had contrived this exceedingly ingenious method for getting rid of her weapon,

when miss dunbar appeared she used her last breath in pouring out her hatred and then when she was out of hearing carried out her terrible purpose every link is now in its place and the chain is complete the papers may ask why the mirror was not dragged in the first instance but it is easy to be wise after the event

and in any case the expanse of a reed-filled lake is no easy matter to drag unless you have a clear perception of what you are looking for and where well watson we have helped a remarkable woman and also a formidable man

should they in the future join their forces as seems not unlikely the financial world may find that mr neil gibson has learned something in the schoolroom of sorrow where our earthly lessons are taught end of section seven read by david only portland oregon april first twenty twenty three section eight of the case book of sherlock holmes

CHAPTER VIII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE CREEPING MAN

mr sherlock holmes was always of opinion that i should publish the singular facts connected with professor presbrey if only to dispel once for all the ugly rumours which some twenty years ago agitated the university and were echoed in the learned societies of london

there were however certain obstacles in the way and the true history of this curious case remained entombed in the tin box which contains so many records of my friend's adventures now we have at last obtained permission to ventilate the facts which formed one of the very last cases handled by holmes before his retirement from practice even now a certain reticence and discretion have to be observed in laying the matter before the public

it was one sunday evening early in september of the year nineteen o three that i received one of holmes's laconic messages come at once if convenient if inconvenient come all the same s h the relations between us in those latter days were peculiar

he was a man of habits narrow and concentrated habits and i had become one of them as an institution i was like the violin the shag tobacco the old black pipe the index books and others perhaps less excusable when it was a case of active work and a comrade was needed upon whose nerve he could place some reliance my role was obvious

but apart from this i had uses i was a whetstone for his mind i stimulated him he liked to think aloud in my presence his remarks could hardly be said to be made to me many of them would have been as appropriately addressed to his bedstead but none the less having formed the habit it had become in some way helpful that i should register and interject if i irritated him by a certain methodical slowness in my mentality

That irritation served only to make his own flame-like intuitions and impressions flash up the more vividly and swiftly. Such was my humble role in our alliance.

when i arrived at baker street i found him huddled up in his arm-chair with updrawn knees his pipe in his mouth and his brow furrowed with thought it was clear that he was in the throes of some vexatious problem with a wave of his hand he indicated my old arm-chair but otherwise for half an hour he gave no sign that he was aware of my presence then with a start he seemed to come from his reverie and with his usual whimsical smile he greeted me back to what had once been my home

you will excuse a certain abstraction of mind my dear watson said he some curious facts have been submitted to me within the last twenty-four hours and they in turn have given rise to some speculations of a more general character i have serious thoughts of writing a small monograph upon the uses of dogs in the work of the detective

but surely holmes this has been explored said i bloodhounds sleuth-hounds no no watson that side of the matter is of course obvious but there is another which is far more subtle you may recollect that in the case which you in your sensational way coupled with the copper beeches i was able by watching the mind of the child to form a deduction as to the criminal habits of the very smug and respectable father yes i remember it well

My line of thoughts about dogs is analogous. A dog reflects the family life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a sad dog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs. Dangerous people have dangerous ones. And their passing moods may reflect the passing moods of others. I shook my head. "Surely, Holmes, this is a little far-fetched," said I. He had refilled his pipe and resumed his seat, taking no notice of my comment.

the practical application of what i have said is very close to the problem which i am investigating it is a tangled skein you understand and i am looking for a loose end one possible loose end lies in the question why does professor presbrey's faithful wolfhound roy endeavour to bite him i sank back in my chair in some disappointment was it for so trivial a question as this that i had been summoned from my work holmes glanced across at me

the same old watson said he you never learn that the gravest issues may depend upon the smallest things but is it not in the face of it strange that a staid elderly philosopher you have heard of presbury of course the famous camford physiologist that such a man whose friend has been his devoted wolfhound should now have been twice attacked by his own dog what do you make of it the dog is ill well that has to be considered

but he attacks no one else nor does he apparently molest his master save on very special occasions curious watson very curious but young mr bennett is before his time if that is his ring i had hoped to have a longer chat with you before he came there was a quick step on the stairs a sharp tap at the door and a moment later the new client presented himself

he was a tall handsome youth about thirty well dressed and elegant but with something in his bearing which suggested the shyness of the student rather than the self-possession of the man of the world he shook hands with holmes and then looked with some surprise at me this matter is very delicate mr holmes he said consider the relation in which i stand to professor presbrey both privately and publicly i really can hardly test upon myself if i speak before any third person

have no fear mr bennett dr watson is the very soul of discretion and i can assure you that this is a matter in which i am very likely to need an assistant as you like mr holmes you will i am sure understand my having some reserves in the matter you will appreciate it watson when i tell you that this gentleman mr trevor bennett is a professional assistant to the great scientist lives under his roof and is engaged to his only daughter

certainly we must agree that the professor has every claim upon his loyalty and devotion but i may best be shown by taking the necessary steps to clear up this strange mystery i hope so mr holmes that is my one object does dr watson know the situation i have not had time to explain it then perhaps i had better go over the ground again before explaining some fresh developments

i will do so myself said holmes in order to show that i have the events in their due order the professor watson is a man of european reputation his life has been academic there has never been a breath of scandal he is a widower with one daughter edith he is i gather a man of very virile and positive one might almost say combative character so the matter stood until a very few months ago

then the current of his life was broken he is sixty-one years of age but he became engaged to the daughter of professor morphy his colleague in the chair of comparative anatomy it was not as i understand the reasoned courting of an elderly man but rather the passionate frenzy of youth for no one could have shown himself a more devoted lover

the lady alice morphy was a very perfect girl both in mind and body so that there was every excuse for the professor's infatuation none the less he did not meet with full approval in his own family we thought it rather excessive said our visitor exactly excessive and a little violent and unnatural

professor presbury was rich however and there was no objection upon the part of the father the daughter however had other views and there were already several candidates for her hand who if they were as eligible from a worldly point of view were at least more of an age the girl seemed to like the professor in spite of his eccentricities it was only age which stood in the way about this time a little mystery suddenly clouded the normal routine of the professor's life

he did what he had never done before he left home and gave no indication where he was going he was away a fortnight and returned looking rather travel-worn he made no allusion to where he had been although he was usually the frankest of men it chanced however that our client here mr bennett received a letter from a fellow-student in prague who said that he was glad to have seen professor presbrey there although he had not been able to talk to him only in this way did his own household learn where he had been

now comes the point from that time onwards a curious change came over the professor he became furtive and sly those around him had always the feeling that he was not the man they had known but that he was under some shadow which had darkened his higher qualities his intellect was not affected his lectures were as brilliant as ever but always there was something new something sinister and unexpected

his daughter who was devoted to him tried again and again to resume the old relations and to penetrate this mask which her father seemed to have put on you sir as i understand did the same but all was in vain and now mr bennett tell in your own words the incident of the letters you must understand dr watson that the professor had no secrets from me if i were his son or his younger brother i could not have more completely enjoyed his confidence

as his secretary i handled every paper which came to him and i opened and subdivided his letters shortly after his return all this was changed

"'He told me that certain letters might come to him from London, "'which would be marked by a cross under the stamp. "'These were to be set aside for his own eyes only. "'I may say that several of these did pass through my hands, "'that they had the EC mark, and were in an illiterate handwriting. "'If he answered them at all, the answers did not pass through my hands, "'nor into the letter-basket in which our correspondence was collected.' "'And the box?' said Holmes.'

ah yes the box the professor brought back a little wooden box from his travels it was the one thing which suggested a continental tour for it was one of those quaint carved things which one associates with germany this he placed in his instrument cupboard one day in looking for a canola i took up the box to my surprise he was very angry and reproved me in words which were quite savage for my curiosity it was the first time such a thing had happened and i was deeply hurt

i endeavoured to explain that it was a mere accident that i had touched the box but all the evening i was conscious that he looked at me harshly and that the incident was rankling in his mind mr bennett drew a little diary-book from his pocket that was on july too said he you are certainly an admirable witness said holmes i may need some of these dates which you have noted i learned method among other things from my great teacher

From the time that I observed abnormality in his behavior, I felt that it was my duty to study his case. Thus I have it here that it was on that very day, July 2, that Roy attacked the professor as he came from his study into the hall. Again on July 11, there was a scene of the same sort, and then I have a note of yet another upon July 20. After that, we had to banish Roy to the stables. He was a dear, affectionate animal, but I fear I weary you.

mr bennett spoke in a tone of reproach for it was very clear that holmes was not listening his face was rigid and his eyes glazed abstractedly at the ceiling with an effort he recovered himself singular most singular he murmured these details were new to me mr bennett i think we have now fairly gone over the old ground have we not but you spoke of some fresh developments

the pleasant open face of our visitor clouded over shadowed by some grim remembrance what i speak of occurred the night before last said he i was lying awake about two in the morning when i was aware of a dull muffled sound coming from the passage i opened my door and peeped out i should explain that the professor sleeps at the end of the passage the date being asked holmes our visitor was clearly annoyed at so irrelevant an interruption

"'I have said, sir, that it was the night before last, that is, September 4th.' Holmes nodded and smiled. "'Pray continue,' said he. "'He sleeps at the end of the passage, and would have to pass my door in order to reach the staircase. It was a really terrifying experience, Mr. Holmes. I think that I am as strong-nerved as my neighbors, but I was shaken by what I saw. The passage was dark, save that one window halfway along it threw a patch of light.'

"'I could see that something was coming along the passage, "'something dark and crouching. "'Then suddenly it emerged into the light, "'and I saw that it was he. "'He was crawling, Mr. Holmes, crawling. "'He was not quite on his hands and knees, "'I should rather say on his hands and feet, "'with his face sunk between his hands. "'Yet he seemed to move with ease. "'I was so paralyzed by the sight "'that it was not until he had reached my door "'that I was able to step forward and ask if I could assist him. "'His answer was extraordinary.'

he sprang up spat out some atrocious word at me and hurried on past me and down the staircase i waited about for an hour but he did not come back it must have been daylight before he regained his room well watson what do you make of that asked holmes with the air of the pathologist who presents a rare specimen lumbago possibly i have known a severe attack make a man walk in just such a way nothing would be more trying to the temper

"'Good, Watson. You always keep us flat-footed on the ground, but we can hardly accept Lamego, since he was able to stand erect in a moment.' "'He was never better in health,' said Bennett. "'In fact, he is stronger than I have known him for years. But there are the facts, Mr. Holmes. It is not a case in which we can consult the police, and yet we are utterly at our wits' end as to what to do, and we feel in some strange way that we are drifting towards disaster.'

edith miss presbury feels as i do that we cannot wait passively any longer it is certainly a very curious and suggestive case what do you think watson speaking as a medical man said i it appears to be a case for an alienist the old gentleman's cerebral processes were disturbed by the love affair he made a journey abroad in the hope of breaking himself of the passion

his letters in the box may be connected with some other private transaction a loan perhaps or share of certificates which are in the box and the wolf howe no doubt disapproved of the financial bargain no no watson there is more in it than this now i can only suggest what sherlock holmes was about to suggest will never be known for at this moment the door opened and a young lady was shown into the room

as she appeared mr bennett sprang up with a cry and ran forward with his hands out to meet those which she had herself outstretched edith dear nothing the matter i hope i felt i must follow you oh jack i have been so dreadfully frightened it is awful to be there alone mr holmes this is the young lady i spoke of this is my fiancee we were gradually coming to that conclusion were we not watson holmes answered with a smile

i take it miss presbrey that there is some fresh development in the case that you thought we should know our new visitor a bright handsome girl of a conventional english type smiled back at holmes as she seated herself beside mr bennett when i found mr bennett had left his hotel i thought i should probably find him here of course he had told me that he would consult you but oh mr holmes can you do nothing for my poor father

"'I have hopes, Miss Pressburg, but the case is still obscure. Perhaps what you have to say may throw some fresh light upon it.' "'It was last night, Mr. Holmes. He had been very strange all day. I am sure that there are times when he has no recollection of what he does. He lives as in a strange dream. Yesterday was such a day. It was not my father with whom I lived. His outward shell was there, but it was not really he. Tell me what happened?'

I was awakened in the night by the dog barking most furiously. Poor Roy, he is chained down near the stable.

"'I may say that I always sleep with my door locked, "'for as Jack, as Mr. Bennet, will tell you, "'we all have a feeling of impending danger. "'My room was on the second floor. "'It happened that the blind was up in my window, "'and there was bright moonlight outside. "'As I lay with my eyes fixed upon the square of light, "'listening to the frenzied barkings of the dog, "'I was amazed to see my father's face looking in at me. "'Mr. Holmes, I nearly died of surprise and horror.'

"'There it was pressed against the window pane, and one hand seemed to be raised as if to push up the window. "'If that window had opened, I think I should have gone mad. "'It was no delusion, Mr. Holmes. Don't deceive yourself by thinking so. "'I dare say it was twenty seconds or so that I lay paralyzed and watched the face. "'Then it vanished. But I could not spring out of bed and look out after it. "'I lay cold and shivering till morning.'

at breakfast he was sharp and fierce in manner and made no allusion to the adventure of the night neither did i but i gave an excuse for coming to town here i am holmes looked thoroughly surprised at miss presbrey's narrative my dear young lady you say that your room is on the second floor is there a long ladder in the garden no mr holmes that is the amazing part of it there is no possible way of reaching the window and yet he was there

"'The date being September 5,' said Holmes. "'That certainly complicates matters.' "'It was the young lady's turn to look surprised.' "'This is the second time that you have alluded to the date, Mr. Holmes,' said Bennet. "'Is it possible that it has any bearing upon the case?' "'It is possible, very possible, and yet I have not my full material at present.' "'Possibly you are thinking of the connection between insanity and phases of the moon?'

No, I assure you, it was quite a different line of thought. Possibly you can leave your notebook with me and I will check the dates. Now I think, Watson, that our line of action is perfectly clear. This young lady has informed us, and I have the greatest confidence in her intuition, that her father remembers little or nothing which occurs upon certain dates. We will therefore call upon him as if he had given us an appointment upon such a date. He will put it down to his own lack of memory. Thus, we will open our campaign by having a good close view of him.

"'That is excellent,' said Mr. Bennet. "'I warn you, however, that the professor is irascible and violent at times.' Holmes smiled. "'There are reasons why we should come at once. Very cogent reasons, if my theory is all good. Tomorrow, Mr. Bennet will certainly see us in Camford. There is, if I remember right, a name called the Chequers, where the port used to be above mediocrity, and the linen was above reproach.'

i think watson and our lot for the next few days might lie in less pleasant places monday morning found us on our way to the famous university town an easy effort on the part of holmes who had no roots to pull up but one which involved frantic planning and hurrying on my part as my practice was by this time not inconsiderable holmes made no allusion to the case until after we had deposited our suitcases at the ancient hostel of which he had spoken

i think watson that we can catch the professor just before lunch he lectures at eleven and should have an interval at home what possible excuse have we for calling holmes glanced at his notebook there was a period of excitement upon august twenty sixth we will assume that he is a little hazy as to what he does at such times if we insist that we are there by appointment i think he will hardly venture to contradict us have you the effrontery necessary to put it through we can but try

excellent watson compound of the busy bee and excelsior we can but try the motto of the firm a friendly native will surely guide us such as one on the back of a smart hansom swept us past a row of ancient colleges and finally turning into a tree-lined drive pulled up at the door of a charming house girt round with lawns and covered with purple wistaria professor presbrey was certainly surrounded with every sign not only of comfort but of luxury

even as we pulled up a grizzled head appeared at the front window and we were aware of a pair of keen eyes from under shaggy brows which surveyed us through large horned glasses a moment later we were actually in the sanctum and the mysterious scientist whose vagaries had brought us from london was standing before us

there was certainly no sign of eccentricity either in his manner or appearance for he was a portly large-featured man grave tall and frock-coated with the dignity of bearing which a lecturer needs his eyes were his most remarkable feature keen observant and clever to the verge of cunning he looked at our cards pray sit down gentlemen what can i do for you mr holmes smiled amiably it was the question which i was about to put to you professor to me sir

possibly there is some mistake i heard through a second person that professor presbrey of camford had need of my services oh indeed it seemed to me that there was a malicious sparkle in the intense gray eyes you heard that did you may i ask the name of your informant i am sorry professor but the matter was rather confidential if i have made a mistake there is no harm done i can only express my regret

not at all i should wish to go further into this matter it interests me have you any scrap of writing any letter or telegram to bear out your assertion no i have not i presume that you do not go so far as to assert that i summoned you i would rather answer no questions said holmes no i dare say not said the professor with asperity however that particular one can be answered very easily without your aid he walked across the room to the bell our london friend mr bennet answered the call

"'Come in, Mr. Bennet. These two gentlemen have come from London under the impression that they have been summoned. You handle all my correspondence. Have you a note of anything going to a person named Holmes?' "'No, sir,' Bennet answered with a flush. "'That is conclusive,' said the professor, glaring angrily at my companion. "'Now, sir,' he leaned forward with his two hands upon the table, "'it seems to me that your position is a very questionable one.' Holmes shrugged his shoulders."

"'I can only repeat that I am sorry that we have made a needless intrusion.' "'Hardly enough, Mr. Holmes!' the old man cried in a high screaming voice, with extraordinary malignancy upon his face. He got between us and the door as he spoke, and he shook his two hands at us with furious passion. "'You can hardly get out of it so easily as that!' His face was convulsed, and he grinned and gibbered at us in his senseless rage. "'I am convinced that we should have had to fight our way out of the room if Mr. Bennett had not intervened.'

"'My dear professor,' he cried, "'consider your position. Consider the scandal at the university. Mr. Holmes is a well-known man. You could not possibly treat him with such discourtesy.' Sokoli, our host, if I may call him so, cleared the path to the door. We were glad to find ourselves outside the house, and in the quiet of the tree-lined drive. Holmes seemed greatly amused by the episode."

Our learned friend's nerves are somewhat out of order, said he. Perhaps our intrusion was a little crude, and yet we have gained that personal contact which I desired. But, dear me, Watson, you're surely at our heels. The villain still pursues us. There were the sounds of running feet behind, but it was, to my relief, not the formidable professor, but his assistant who appeared round the curve of the drive. He came panting up to us.

"'I am so sorry, Mr. Holmes. I wish to apologize.' "'My dear sir, there is no need. It is all in the way of professional experience.' "'I have never seen him in a more dangerous mood, but he grows more sinister. You can understand now why his daughter and I are alarmed. And yet his mind is perfectly clear.' "'Too clear,' said Holmes. "'That was my miscalculation. It is evident that his memory is much more reliable than I had thought. By the way, can we, before we go, see the window of Miss Presbury's room?'

mr bennett pushed his way through some shrubs and we had a view of the side of the house it is there the second on the left dear me it seems hardly accessible and yet you will observe that there is a creeper below and a water-pipe above which gives some foothold i cannot climb it myself said mr bennett very likely it would certainly be a dangerous exploit for any normal man

there was one other thing i wished to tell you mr holmes i have the address of the man in london to whom the professor writes he seems to have written this morning and i got it from his blotting-paper it is an ignomable position for a trusted secretary but what else can i do holmes glanced at the paper and put it into his pocket a curious name slavonic i imagine well it is an important link in the chain

we return to london this afternoon mr bennett i see no good purpose to be served by our remaining we cannot arrest the professor because he has done no crime nor can we place him under constraint for he cannot be proved to be mad no action is as yet possible then what on earth are we to do a little patience mr bennett things will soon develop unless i am mistaken next tuesday may mark a crisis

certainly we shall be in camford on that day meanwhile the general position is undeniably unpleasant and if miss presbrey can prolong her visit that is easy then let her stay till we can assure her that all danger is past meanwhile let him have his way and do not cross him so long as he is in good humour all is well there he is said bennet in a startled whisper

"'Looking between the branches, we saw the tall, erect figure emerge from the hall door and look around him. "'He stood leaning forward, his hands swinging straight before him, his head turning from side to side. "'The secretary, with a last wave, slipped off among the trees, "'and we saw him presently rejoin his employer, the two entering the house together, "'in what seemed to be animated and even excited conversation. "'I expect the old gentleman has been putting two and two together,' said Holmes as we walked hotelwards.'

he struck me as having a particularly clear and logical brain from the little i saw of him explosive no doubt but then from his point of view he has something to explode about if detectives are put on his track and he suspects his own household of doing it i rather fancy that friend bennett is in for an uncomfortable time holmes stopped at a post-office and sent off a telegram on our way the answer reached us in the evening and he tossed it across to me

have visited the commercial road and seen doroak suave person bohemian elderly keeps large general store mercer mercer has sent your time said holmes he is my general utility man who looks up routine business it was important to know something of the man with whom our professor was so secretly corresponding his nationality connects up with the prague visit thank goodness that something connects with something said i

at present we seem to be faced by a long series of inexplicable incidents with no bearing upon each other for example what possible connection can there be between an angry wolfhound and a visit to bohemia or either of them with a man crawling down a passage at night as to your dates that is the biggest mystification of all

holmes smiled and rubbed his hands we were i may say seated in the old sitting-room of the ancient hotel with a bottle of the famous vintage of which holmes had spoken on the table between us

well now let us take the dates first said he his finger-tips together and his manner as if he were addressing a class this excellent young man's diary shows that there was trouble upon july two and from then onwards it seemed to have been at nine-day intervals with so far as i remember only one exception thus the last outbreak upon friday is on september three which also falls into the series as did august twenty sixth which preceded it the thing is beyond coincidence i was forced to agree

let us then form the provisional theory that every nine days the professor takes some strong drug which has a passing but highly poisonous effect his naturally violent nature is intensified by it he learned to take this drug while he was in prague and is now supplied with it by a bohemian intermediary in london this all hangs together watson but the dog the face at the window the creeping man on the passage

well well we have made a beginning i should not expect any fresh developments until next tuesday in the meantime we can only keep in touch with friend bennett and enjoy the amenities of this charming town in the morning mr bennett slipped round to bring us the latest report as holmes had imagined times had not been easy with him without exactly accusing him of being responsible for our presence the professor had been very rough and rude in his speech and evidently felt some strong grievance

"'This morning he was quite himself again, however, "'and had delivered his usual brilliant lecture to a crowded class. "'Apart from his queer fits,' said Bennet, "'he has actually more energy and vitality than I can ever remember, "'nor was his brain ever clearer. "'But it's not he, it's never the man whom we have known.' "'I don't think you have anything to fear now, for a week at least,' Holmes answered."

i am a busy man and dr watson has his patients to attend to let us agree that we meet here at this hour next tuesday and i shall be surprised if before we leave you again we are not able to explain even if we cannot perhaps put an end to your troubles meanwhile keep us posted in what occurs i saw nothing of my friend for the next few days but on the following monday evening i had a short note asking me to meet him next day at the train

from what he told me as we travelled up to camford all was well the peace of the professor's house had been unruffled and his own conduct perfectly normal this also was the report which was given us by mr bennett himself when he called upon us that evening at our old quarters in the chukkas he heard from his london correspondent to-day there was a letter and there was a small packet each with the cross under the stamp which warned me not to touch them there has been nothing else

that may prove quite enough said holmes grimly now mr bennet we shall i think come to some conclusion to-night if my deductions are correct we should have an opportunity of bringing matters to a head in order to do so it is necessary to hold the professor under observation i would suggest therefore that you remain awake and on the lookout

should you hear him pass your door do not interrupt him but follow him as discreetly as you can dr watson and i will not be far off by the way where is the key of that little box of which you spoke upon his watch-chain i fancy our researches must lie in that direction at the worst the lock should not be very formidable have you any other able-bodied man on the premises there's the coachman macphail where does he sleep over the stables we might possibly want him

well we can do no more until we see how things develop good-bye but i expect that we shall see you before morning it was nearly midnight before we took our station among some bushes immediately opposite the hall door of the professor it was a fine night but chilly and we were glad of our warm overcoats there was a breeze and clouds were scuttling across the sky obscuring from time to time the half-moon

it would have been a dismal vigil were it not for the expectation and excitement which carried us along and the assurance of my comrade that we had probably reached the end of the strange sequence of events which had engaged our attention if the cycle of nine days holds good then we shall have the professor at his worst to-night said holmes

the fact that these strange symptoms began after his visit to prague that he is in secret correspondence with a bohemian dealer in london who presumably represents someone in prague and that he received a packet from him this very day all pointing one direction what he takes and why he takes it are still beyond our ken but that it emanates in some way from prague is clear enough

he takes it under definite directions which regulate this ninth day system which was the first point which attracted my attention but his symptoms are most remarkable did you observe his knuckles i had to confess that i did not thick and horny in a way which is quite new in my experience always look at the hands first watson then cuffs trouser-knees and boots

very curious knuckles which can only be explained by the mode of progression observed by holmes paused and suddenly clapped his hand to his forehead oh watson watson what a fool i have been it seems incredible and yet it must be true all points in one direction how could i miss seeing the connection of ideas those knuckles how could i have passed those knuckles

and the dog and the ivy it's surely time i disappeared into that little farm of my dreams look out watson here he is we shall have the chance of seeing for ourselves the hall door had slowly opened and against the lamp-lit background we saw the tall figure of professor presbrey he was clad in his dressing-gown as he stood outlined in the doorway he was erect but leaning forward with dangling arms as when we saw him last

Now he stepped forward into the drive, and an extraordinary change came over him. He sank down into a crouching position and moved along upon his hands and feet, skipping every now and then, as if he were overflowing with energy and vitality. He moved along the face of the house and then round the corner. As he disappeared, Bennett slipped through the hall door and softly followed him.

come watson come cried holmes and we stole as softly as we could through the bushes until we had gained a spot whence we could see the other side of the house which was bathed in the light of the half-moon the professor was clearly visible crouching at the foot of the ivy-covered wall as we watched him he suddenly began with incredible agility to ascend it from branch to branch he sprang sure of foot and firm of grasp climbing apparently in mere joy at his own powers with no definite object in view

With his dressing gown flapping on each side of him, he looked like some huge bat glued against the side of his own house, a great square dark patch upon a moonlit wall.

presently he tired of this amusement and dropping from branch to branch he squatted down into the old attitude and moved toward the stables creeping along in the same strange way as before the wolf-hound was out now barking furiously and more excited than ever when it actually caught sight of its master it was straining on its chain and quivering with eagerness and rage the professor squatted down very deliberately just out of reach of the hound and began to provoke it in every possible way

he took handfuls of pebbles from the drive and threw them in the dog's face prodded him with a stick which he had picked up flicked his hands about only a few inches from the gaping mouth and endeavored in every way to increase the animal's fury which was already beyond all control

in all our adventures i do not know that i have ever seen a more strange sight than this impassive and still dignified figure crouching frog-like upon the ground and goading to a wilder exhibition of passion the mad down which ramped and raged in front of him by all manner of ingenious and calculated cruelty and then in a moment it happened it was not the chain that broke but it was the collar that slipped for it had been made for a thick-necked newfoundland

we heard the rattle of falling metal and the next instant dog and man were rolling on the ground together the one roaring in rage the other screaming in a strange shrill falsetto of terror it was a very narrow thing for the professor's life the savage creature had him fairly by the throat its fangs had bitten deep and he was senseless before we could reach them and drag the two apart

it might have been a dangerous task for us but bennett's voice and presence brought the great wolfhound instantly to reason the uproar had brought the sleepy and astonished coachman from his room above the stables i'm not surprised said he shaking his head i've seen him at it before i knew the dog would get him sooner or later

the hound was secured and together we carried the professor up to his room where bennett who had a medical degree helped me to dress his torn throat the sharp teeth had passed dangerously near the carotid artery and the hemorrhage was serious in half an hour the danger was past i had given the patient an injection of morphia and he had sunk into deep sleep then and only then were we able to look at each other and take stock of the situation i think a first-class surgeon should see him said i

for god's sake no cried bennett at present the scandal is confined to our own household it is safe with us if it gets beyond these walls it will never stop consider his position at the university his european reputation the feelings of his daughter quite so said holmes

i think it may be quite possible to keep the matter to ourselves and also prevent a severe occurrence now that we have a free hand the key from the watch-chain mr bennett macphail will guard the patient and let us know if there is any change let us see what we can find in the professor's mysterious box there was not much but there was enough an empty phial another nearly full a hypodermic syringe several letters in a crabbed foreign hand

the marks on the envelopes showed that they were those which had disturbed the routine of the secretary and each was dated from the commercial road and signed a dorak they were mere invoices to say that a fresh bottle was being sent to professor presbrey for receipts to acknowledge money there was one other envelope however in a more educated hand bearing the austrian stamp with the postmark of prague here we have our material cried holmes as he tore out the enclosure

Honored colleague, he ran, since your esteemed visit I have thought much of your case, and though in your circumstances there are some special reasons for the treatment, I would nonetheless enjoin caution, as my results have shown that it is not without danger of a kind. It is possible that the serum of anthropoid would have been better. I have, as I explained to you, used black-faced languor because the specimen was accessible.

Langer is, of course, a crawler and a climber, while Anthropoid walks erect and isn't always nearer. I beg you to take every possible precaution that there be no premature revelation of the process. I have one other client in England, and Doric is my agent for both. Weekly reports will oblige. Yours with high esteem, H. Lowenstein.

"Lohenstein." The name brought back to me the memory of some snippet from a newspaper which spoke of an obscure scientist who was striving in some unknown way for the secret of rejuvenescence and the elixir of life. "Lohenstein of Prague." "Lohenstein with the wondrous strength-giving serum." Tabooed by the profession because he refused to reveal its source. In a few words I said what I remembered. Bennett had taken a manual of zoology from the shelves.

langur he read the great black-faced monkey of the himalayan slopes biggest and most human of climbing monkeys many details are added well thanks to you mr holmes it is very clear that we have traced the evil to a source

the real source said holmes lies of course in that untimely love affair which gave our impetuous professor the idea that he could only gain his wish by turning himself into a younger man when one tries to rise above nature one is liable to fall below it the highest type of man may revert to the animal if he leaves the straight road of destiny he sat musing for a little with the vial in his hand looking at the clear liquid within

when i have written to this man and told him that i hold him criminally responsible for the poisons which he circulates we will have no more trouble but it may reoccur others may find a better way there is danger there a very real danger to humanity consider watson that the material the sensual the worldly would all prolong their worthless lives the spiritual would not avoid the call to something higher it would be the survival of the least fit

what sort of cesspool may not our poor world become suddenly the dreamer disappeared and holmes the man of action sprang from his chair i think there is nothing more to be said mr bennett the various incidents will now fit themselves easily into the general scheme the dog of course was aware of the change far more quickly than you his smell would ensure that it was the monkey not the professor whom roy attacked just as it was the monkey who teased roy

climbing was a joy to the creature and was a mere chance i take it that the pastime brought him to the young lady's window there is an early train to town watson but i think we shall just have time for a cup of tea at the chekahs before we catch it the case book of sherlock holmes this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by George. The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventure of the Lion's Mane.

it is a most singular thing that a problem which was certainly as abstruse and unusual as any which i have faced in my long professional career should have come to me after my retirement and be brought as it were to my very door

It occurred after my withdrawal to my little Sussex home, when I had given myself up entirely to that soothing life of nature for which I had so often yearned during the long years spent amid the gloom of London.

at this period of my life the good watson had passed almost beyond my ken an occasional weekend visit was the most that i ever saw of him thus i must act as my own chronicler ah had he but been with me how much he might have made of so wonderful a happening and of my eventual triumph against every difficulty

As it is, however, I must needs tell my tale in my own plain way, showing by my words each step upon the difficult road which lay before me as I searched for the mystery of the Lion's Mane. My villa is situated upon the southern slope of the Downs, commanding a great view of the Channel.

At this point, the coastline is entirely of chalk cliffs, which can only be descended by a single, long, tortuous path, which is steep and slippery.

at the bottom of the path lie a hundred yards of pebbles and shingle even when the tide is at full here and there however there are curves and hollows which make splendid swimming pools filled afresh with each flow

This admirable beach extends for some miles in each direction, save only at one point where the little cove and village of Fullworth break the line. My house is lonely. I, my old housekeeper, and my bees have the estate all to ourselves. Half a mile off, however, is Harold Stackhurst's well-known coaching establishment.

the gables quite a large place which contained some score of young fellows preparing for various professions with a staff of several masters stackhurst himself was a well-known rowing blue in his day and an excellent all-round scholar

He and I were always friendly from the day I came to the coast, and he was the one man who was on such terms with me that we could drop in on each other in the evenings without an invitation.

Towards the end of July 1907, there was a severe gale, the wind blowing up channel, heaping the seas to the base of the cliffs, and leaving a lagoon at the turn of the tide. On the morning of which I speak, the wind had abated, and all nature was newly washed and fresh.

It was impossible to work upon so delightful a day, and I strolled out before breakfast to enjoy the exquisite air. I walked along the cliff path which led to the steep descent to the beach. As I walked, I heard a shout behind me, and there was Harold Stackhurst waving his hand in cheery greeting.

"'What a morning, Mr. Holmes. I thought I should see you out.' "'Going for a swim, I see. At your old tricks again,' he laughed, patting his bulging pocket. "'Yes, Macpherson started early, and I expect I may find him there. Fitzroy Macpherson was the science master, a fine, upstanding young fellow whose life had been crippled by heart trouble following rheumatic fever.'

he was a natural athlete however and excelled in every game which did not throw too great a strain upon him summer and winter he went for his swim and as i am a swimmer myself i have often joined him

At this moment we saw the man himself. His head showed above the edge of the cliff, where the path ends. Then his whole figure appeared at the top, staggering like a drunken man. The next instant he threw up his hands and, with a terrible cry, fell upon his face.

Stackhurst and I rushed forward. It may have been fifty yards, and turned him on his back. He was obviously dying. Those glazed, sunken eyes and dreadful livid cheeks could mean nothing else.

One glimmer of life came into his face for an instant, and he uttered two or three words with an eager air of warning. They were slurred and indistinct, but to my ear the last of them, which burst in a shriek from his lips, were, The lion's mane.

It was utterly irrelevant and unintelligible, and yet I could twist the sound into no other sense. Then he half raised himself from the ground, threw his arms into the air, and fell forward on his side. He was dead. My companion was paralyzed by the sudden horror of it, but I, as may well be imagined, had every sense on the alert.

and i had need for it was speedily evident that we were in the presence of an extraordinary case the man was dressed only in his burberry overcoat his trousers and an unlaced pair of canvas shoes

as he fell over his burberry which had been simply thrown round his shoulders slipped off exposing his trunk we stared at it in amazement his back was covered with dark red lines as though he had been terribly flogged by a thin wire scourge

The instrument with which this punishment had been inflicted was clearly flexible, for the long, angry wheels curved round his shoulders and ribs. There was blood dripping down his chin, for he had bitten through his lower lip in the paroxysm of his agony. His drawn and distorted face told how terrible that agony had been.

I was kneeling and Stackhurst standing by the body when a shadow fell across us, and we found that Ian Murdoch was by our side. Murdoch was the mathematical coach at the establishment, a tall, dark, thin man, so taciturn and aloof that none can be said to have been his friend.

He seemed to live in some high, abstract region of surds and conic sections, with little to connect him with ordinary life. He was looked upon as an oddity by the students, and would have been there but there was some strange outlandish blood in the man, which showed itself not only in his coal-black eyes and swarthy face,

but also in occasional outbreaks of temper which could only be described as ferocious. On one occasion, being plagued by a little dog belonging to Macpherson, he had caught the creature up and hurled it through the plate-glass window, an action for which Stackhurst would certainly have given him his dismissal had he not been a very valuable teacher.

Such was the strange, complex man who now appeared beside us. He seemed to be honestly shocked at the sight before him, though the incident of the dog may show that there was no great sympathy between the dead man and himself. Poor fellow! Poor fellow! What can I do? How can I help?

were you with him can you tell us what has happened no no i was late this morning i was not on the beach at all i have come straight from the gables what can i do you can hurry to the police station at folworth report the matter at once without a word he made off at top speed and i proceeded to take the matter in hand while stackhurst dazed at this tragedy remained by the body

My first task, naturally, was to note who was on the beach. From the top of the path I could see the whole sweep of it, and it was absolutely deserted, save that two or three dark figures could be seen far away moving towards the village of Fullworth.

Having satisfied myself upon this point, I walked slowly down the path. There was clay or soft marrow mixed with the chalk, and every here and there I saw the same footstep, both ascending and descending. No one else had gone down to the beach by this track that morning. At one place I observed the print of an open hand with the fingers towards the incline.

this could only mean that poor mcpherson had fallen as he ascended there were rounded depressions too which suggested that he had come down upon his knees more than once at the bottom of the path was the considerable lagoon left by the retreating tide at the side of it mcpherson had undressed for there lay his towel on a rock

It was folded and dry, so that it would seem that after all he had never entered the water. Once or twice, as I hunted round amid the hard shingle, I came on little patches of sand where the print of his canvas shoe and also of his naked foot could be seen. The latter fact proved that he had made all ready to bathe, though the towel indicated that he had not actually done so.

and here was the problem clearly defined as strange a one as had ever confronted me the man had not been on the beach more than a quarter of an hour at the most stackhurst had followed him from the gables so there could be no doubt about that

he had gone to bathe and had stripped as the naked footsteps showed then he had suddenly huddled on his clothes again they were all dishevelled and unfastened and he had returned without bathing or at any rate without drawing himself

and the reason for his change of purpose had been that he had been scourged in some savage inhuman fashion tortured until he bit his lip through in his agony and was left with only strength enough to crawl away and to die who had done this barbarous deed

There were, it is true, small grottoes and caves in the base of the cliffs, but the low sun shone directly into them, and there was no place for concealment.

Then again there were those distant figures on the beach. They seemed too far away to have been connected with the crime, and the broad lagoon in which Macpherson had intended to bathe lay between him and them, lapping up to the rocks. On the sea two or three fishing-boats were at no great distance. Their occupants might be examined at our leisure.

There were several roads for inquiry, but none which led to any very obvious goal.

When I at last returned to the body, I found that a little group of wandering folk had gathered round it. Stackhurst was, of course, still there, and Ian Murdock had just arrived with Anderson, the village constable, a big, ginger-moustached man of the slow, solid Sussex breed, a breed which covers much good sense under a heavy, silent exterior. He

he listened to everything took note of all we said and finally drew me aside i'd be glad of your advice mr holmes this is a big thing for me to handle and you'll hear of it from lewis if i go wrong

I advised him to send for his immediate superior and for a doctor, also to allow nothing to be moved, and as few fresh footmarks as possible to be made, until they came. In the meantime, I searched the dead man's pockets. There were his handkerchief, a large knife, and a small folding card case.

from this projected a slip of paper which i enfolded and handed to the constable there was written on it in a scrawling feminine hand i will be there you may be sure maudie it read like a love-affair an assignation though when and where were a blank

the constable replaced it in the card-case and returned it with the other things to the pockets of the burberry then as nothing more suggested itself i walked back to my house for breakfast having first arranged that the base of the cliffs should be thoroughly searched

Stackhurst was round in an hour or two to tell me that the body had been removed to the gables where the inquest would be held. He brought with him some serious and definite news. As I expected, nothing had been found in the small caves below the cliff, but he had examined the papers in Macpherson's desk, and there were several which showed an intimate correspondence with a certain Miss Maude Vellamy of Fullworth.

We had then established the identity of the writer of the note. The police have the letters, he explained. I could not bring them. But there is no doubt that it was a serious love affair. I see no reason, however, to connect it with that horrible happening, save, indeed, that the lady had made an appointment with him. But hardly at a bathing pool, which all of you were in the habit of using, I remarked.

"'It is mere chance,' said he, "'that several of the students were not with Macpherson. "'Was it mere chance?' "'Stackhurst knit his brows and thought. "'Ian Murdoch held them back,' said he. "'He would insist upon some algebraic demonstration before breakfast. "'Poor chap! He is dreadfully cut up about it all. "'And yet I gather that they were not friends. "'At one time they were not.'

But for a year or more Murdock has been as near to Macpherson as he could ever be to anyone. He is not of a very sympathetic disposition by nature. So I understand. I seem to remember your telling me once about a quarrel over the ill usage of a dog. That blew over all right, but left some vindictive feeling perhaps. No, no, I am sure they were real friends.

Well then, we must explore the matter of the girl. Do you know her? Everyone knows her. She is the beauty of the neighborhood, a real beauty, Holmes, who would draw attention everywhere. I knew that Macpherson was attracted by her, but I had no notion that it had gone so far as these letters would seem to indicate. But who is she?

She is the daughter of old Tom Bellamy, who owns all the boats and bathing cuts at Fullworth. He was a fisherman to start with, but is now a man of some substance. He and his son William run the business. Shall we walk into Fullworth and see them? On what pretext? Oh, we can easily find a pretext. After all, this poor man did not ill-use himself in this outrageous way.

Some human hand was on the handle of that scourge, if indeed it was a scourge which inflicted the injuries.

His circle of acquaintances in this lonely place was surely limited. Let us follow it up in every direction, and we can hardly fail to come upon the motive, which in turn should lead us to the criminal. It would have been a pleasant walk across the time-scented downs had our minds not been poisoned by the tragedy we had witnessed.

The village of Falworth lies in a hollow curving in a semicircle round the bay. Behind the old-fashioned hamlet, several modern houses have been built upon the rising ground. It was to one of these that Stackhurst guided me. That's the haven, as Bellamy called it, the one with the corner tower and slate roof.

Not bad for a man who started with nothing but, by Jove, look at that! The garden gate of the haven had opened and a man had emerged.

There was no mistaking that tall, angular, straggling figure. It was Ian Murdock, the mathematician. A moment later, we confronted him upon the road. "'Hello?' said Stackhurst. The man nodded, gave us a sideways glance from his curious dark eyes, and would have passed us, but his principal pulled him up. "'What were you doing there?' he asked."

Murdoch's face flushed with anger. I am your subordinate, sir, under your roof. I am not aware that I owe you any account of my private actions. Stacker's nerves were near the surface after all he had endured. Otherwise, perhaps, he would have waited. Now he'd lost his temper completely. In the circumstances, your answer is pure impertinence, Mr. Murdoch.

your own question might perhaps come under the same heading this is not the first time that i have had to overlook your insubordinate ways it will certainly be the last you will kindly make fresh arrangements for your future as speedily as you can

I had intended to do so. I have lost today the only person who made the gables habitable. He strode off upon his way, while Stackhurst, with angry eyes, stood glaring after him. Is he not an impossible, intolerable man? he

he cried the one thing that impressed itself forcibly upon my mind was that mr ian murdock was taking the first chance to open a path of escape from the scene of the crime

Suspicion, vague and nebulous, was now beginning to take outline in my mind. Perhaps the visit to the Balaemys might throw some further light upon the matter. Stackhurst pulled himself together and we went forward to the house. Mr. Balaemy proved to be a middle-aged man with a flaming red beard. He seemed to be in a very angry mood, and his face was soon as florid as his hair.

no sir i do not desire any particulars my son here indicating a powerful young man with a heavy sullen face in the corner of the sitting-room is of one mind with me that mr mcpherson's attentions to maud were insulting yes sir the word marriage was never mentioned and yet there are letters and meetings and a great deal more of which neither of us could approve

she has no mother and we are her only guardians we are determined but the words were taken from his mouth by the appearance of the lady herself there was no gainsaying that she would have graced any assembly in the world

Who could have imagined that so rare a flower would grow from such a root and in such an atmosphere? Women have seldom been an attraction to me, for my brain has always governed my heart, but I could not look upon her perfect clear-cut face with all the soft freshness of the downlands in her delicate colouring without realising that no young man would cross her path unscathed.

Such was the girl who had pushed open the door and stood now, wide-eyed and intense, in front of Harold Stockhurst. I know already that Fitzroy is dead, she said. Do not be afraid to tell me the particulars.

this other gentleman of yours let us know the news explained the father there is no reason why my sister should be brought into the matter growled the younger man the sister turned a sharp fierce look upon him this is my business william kindly leave me to manage it in my own way by all accounts there has been a crime committed

If I can help to show who did it, it is the least I can do for him who is gone. She listened to a short account from my companion with a composed concentration which showed me that she possessed strong character as well as great beauty. Maude Bellamy will always remain in my memory as a most complete and remarkable woman.

It seems that she already knew me by sight, for she turned to me at the end. Bring them to justice, Mr. Holmes. You have my sympathy and my help, whoever they may be. It seemed to me that she glanced defiantly at her father and brother as she spoke. Thank you, said I. I value a woman's instinct in such matters. You use the word they,

You think that more than one was concerned? I knew Mr. Macpherson well enough to be aware that he was a brave and a strong man. No single person could ever have inflicted such an outrage upon him. Might I have one word with you alone? I tell you, Maude, not to mix yourself up in the matter, cried her father angrily. She looked at me helplessly. What can I do?

The whole world will know the facts presently, so there can be no harm if I discuss them here, said I. I should have preferred privacy, but if your father will not allow it, he must share the deliberations. Then I spoke of the note which had been found in the dead man's pocket. It is sure to be produced at the inquest. May I ask you to throw any light upon it that you can?

i see no reason for mystery she answered we were engaged to be married and we only kept it secret because fitzroy's uncle who was very old and said to be dying might have disinherited him if he had married against his wish

There was no other reason. You could have told us, growled Mr. Bellamy. So I would, father, if you had ever shown sympathy. I object to my girl picking up with men outside her own station. It was your prejudice against him which prevented us from telling you. As to this appointment, she fumbled in her dress and produced a crumpled note. It was an answer to this.

Dearest, ran the message. The old place on the beach, just after sunset on Tuesday. It is the only time I can get away. F.M. Tuesday was today, and I had meant to meet him tonight. I turned over the paper. This never came by post. How did you get it? I would rather not answer that question. It has really nothing to do with the matter which you are investigating.

But anything which bears upon that I will most freely answer. She was as good as her word, but there was nothing which was helpful in our investigation. She had no reason to think that her fiancé had any hidden enemy, but she admitted that she had had several warm admirers. May I ask if Mr. Ian Murdock was one of them? She blushed and seemed confused.

There was a time when I thought he was, but that was all changed when he understood the relations between Fitzroy and myself. Again, the shadow round this strange man seemed to me to be taking more definite shape. His record must be examined. His rooms must be privately searched. Stackhurst was a willing collaborator, for in his mind also suspicions were forming.

We returned from our visit to the haven, with the hope that one free end of this tangled skein was already in our hands. A week passed. The inquest had thrown no light upon the matter, and had been adjourned for further evidence. Stackhurst had made discreet inquiry about his subordinate, and there had been a superficial search of his room, but without result.

Personally, I had gone over the whole ground again, both physically and mentally, but with no new conclusions.

In all my chronicles the reader will find no case which brought me so completely to the limit of my powers. Even my imagination could conceive no solution to the mystery. And then there came the incident of the dog. It was my old housekeeper who heard of it first by that strange wireless by which such people collect the news of the countryside.

sad story this sir about mr mcpherson's dog said she one evening i do not encourage such conversations but the words arrested my attention what of mr mcpherson's dog dead sir died of grief for its master who told you this why sir every one is talking of it it took on terrible and has eaten nothing for a week

then to-day two of the young gentlemen from the gables found it dead down on the beach sir at the very place its master met his end at the very place the word stood out clear in my memory some dim perception that the matter was vital rose in my mind

That the dog should die was after the beautiful, faithful nature of dogs. But in the very place? Why should this lonely beach be fatal to it? Was it possible that it also had been sacrificed to some revengeful feud? Was it possible? Yes, the perception was dim, but already something was building up in my mind.

in a few minutes i was on my way to the gables where i found stackhurst in his study at my request he sent for sudberry and blount the two students who had found the dog yes it lay on the very edge of the pool said one of them it must have followed the trail of its dead master i saw the faithful little creature an airedale terrier laid out upon the mat in the hall

The body was stiff and rigid, the eyes projecting, and the limbs contorted. There was agony in every line of it. From the gables I walked down to the bathing pool. The sun had sunk, and the shadow of the great cliff lay black across the water, which glimmered dully like a sheet of lead. The place was deserted, and there was no sign of life, save for two seabirds circling and screaming overhead.

in the fading light i could dimly make out the little dog's spoor upon the sand round the very rock on which his master's towel had been laid for a long time i stood in deep meditation while the shadows grew darker around me

My mind was filled with racing thoughts. You have known what it was to be in a nightmare in which you feel that there is some all-important thing for which you search and which you know is there, though it remains forever just beyond your reach. That was how I felt that evening as I stood alone by that place of death. Then at last I turned and walked slowly homewards.

I had just reached the top of the path when it came to me. Like a flash, I remembered the thing for which I had so eagerly and vainly grasped.

You will know, or Watson has written in vain, that I hold a vast store of out-of-the-way knowledge, without scientific system, but very available for the needs of my work. My mind is like a crowded box-room with packets of all sorts stowed away therein, so many that I may well have but a vague perception of what was there.

I had known that there was something which might bear upon this matter. It was still vague, but at least I knew how I could make it clear. It was monstrous, incredible, and yet it was always a possibility. I would test it to the full. There is a great garret in my little house which is stuffed with books. It was into this that I plunged and rummaged for an hour.

At the end of that time I emerged with a little chocolate and silver volume. Eagerly I turned up the chapter of which I had a dim remembrance. Yes, it was indeed a far-fetched and unlikely proposition, and yet I could not be at rest until I had made sure if it might indeed be so.

It was late when I retired, with my mind eagerly awaiting the work of the morrow. But that work met with an annoying interruption. I had hardly swallowed my early cup of tea and was starting for the beach when I had a call from Inspector Barty of the Sussex Constabulary, a steady, solid, bovine man with thoughtful eyes which looked at me now with a very troubled expression.

I know your immense experience, sir, said he. This is quite unofficial, of course, and need go no farther. But I am fairly up against it in this Macpherson case. The question is, shall I make an arrest or shall I not? Meaning Mr. Ian Murdock?

yes sir there is really no one else when you come to think of it that's the advantage of this solitude we narrow it down to a very small compass if he did not do it then who did what have you against him

He had gleaned along the same furrows as I had. There was Murdoch's character and the mystery which seemed to hang round the man. His furious bursts of temper as shown in the incident of the dog. The fact that he had quarrelled with Macpherson in the past and that there was some reason to think that he might have resented his attentions to Miss Bellamy.

He had all my points, but no fresh ones, save that Murdoch seemed to be making every preparation for departure. What would my position be if I let him slip away with all this evidence against him? The burly, phlegmatic man was sorely troubled in his mind. Consider, I said, all the essential gaps in your case. On the morning of the crime he can surely prove an alibi.

He had been with his scholars to the last moment, and within a few minutes of Macpherson's appearance he came upon us from behind. Then bear in mind the absolute impossibility that he could single-handed have inflicted this outrage upon a man quite as strong as himself. Finally, there is this question of the instrument with which these injuries were inflicted.

What could it be but a scourge or flexible whip of some sort? Have you examined the marks? I asked. I have seen them. So has the doctor. But I have examined them very carefully with a lens. They have peculiarities. What are they, Mr. Holmes? I stepped to my bureau and brought out an enlarged photograph. This is my method in such cases, I explained.

You certainly do things thoroughly, Mr. Holmes. I should hardly be what I am if I did not.

Now let us consider this wheel which extends round the right shoulder. Do you observe nothing remarkable? I can't say I do. Surely it is evident that it is unequal in its intensity. There is a dot of extravasated blood here and another there. There are similar indications in this other wheel down here. What can that mean? I have no idea. Have you?

Perhaps I have. Perhaps I haven't. I may be able to say more soon. Anything which will define what made that mark will bring us a long way towards the criminal. It is, of course, an absurd idea, said the policeman. But if a red-hot net of wire had been laid across the back, then these better-marked points would represent where the meshes crossed each other.

A most ingenious comparison, or shall we say a very stiff cattle-nine-tails with small hard knots upon it? By Jove, Mr. Holmes, I think you have hit it. Or there may be some very different cause, Mr. Barty, but your case is far too weak for an arrest. Besides, we have those last words. Lion's mane.

I have wondered whether Ian... Yes, I have considered that. If the second word had borne any resemblance to Murdoch, but it did not, he gave it almost in a shriek. I am sure that it was Maine. Have you no alternative, Mr. Holmes? Perhaps I have, but I do not care to discuss it until there is something more solid to discuss. And when will that be?

In an hour, possibly less, the inspector rubbed his chin and looked at me with dubious eyes. I wish I could see what was in your mind, Mr. Holmes. Perhaps it's those fishing boats. No, no, they were too far out. Well then, it is Balaamie and that big son of his. They were not too sweet upon Mr. Macpherson. Could they have done him a mischief?

"'No, no, you won't draw me until I am ready,' said I with a smile. "'Now, Inspector, we each have our own work to do. Perhaps if you were to meet me here at midday?'

So far we had got when there came the tremendous interruption which was the beginning of the end. My outer door was flung open, there were blundering footsteps in the passage, and Ian Murdock staggered into the room, pallid, dishevelled, his clothes in wild disorder, clawing with his bony hands at the furniture to hold himself erect. Brandy!

"'Brandy!' he gasped and felt groaning upon the sofa. He was not alone. Behind him came Stackhurst, hatless and panting, almost as distrait as his companion. "'Yes, yes, Brandy!' he cried. "'The man is at his last gasp. It was all I could do to bring him here. He fated twice upon the way.' Half a tumbler of the raw spirit brought about a wondrous change. He

He pushed himself up on one arm and swung his coat from off his shoulders. For God's sake, oil, opium, morphia, he cried. Anything to ease this infernal agony. The inspector and I cried out at the sight. There, crisscrossed upon the man's naked shoulder, was the same strange reticulated pattern of red inflamed lines which had been the death mark of Fitzroy Macpherson.

The pain was evidently terrible and was more than local, for the sufferer's breathing would stop for a time, his face would turn black, and then, with loud gasps, he would clap his hand to his heart while his brow dropped beads of sweat. At any moment he might die.

More and more brandy was poured down his throat, each fresh dose bringing him back to life. Pads of cotton wool soaked in salad oil seemed to take the agony from the strange wounds. At last his head fell heavily upon the cushion. Exhausted nature had taken refuge in its last storehouse of vitality.

it was half a sleep and half a faint but at least it was ease from pain to question him had been impossible but the moment we were assured of his condition stackhurst turned upon me my god he cried what is it holmes what is it

where did you find him down on the beach exactly where poor mcpherson met his end if this man's heart had been weak as mcpherson's was he would not be here now more than once i thought he was gone as i brought him up it was too far to the gables so i made for you

Did you see him on the beach? I was walking on the cliff when I heard his cry. He was at the edge of the water, reeling about like a drunken man. I ran down, threw some clothes about him, and brought him up. For heaven's sake, Holmes, use all the powers you have, and spare no pains to lift the curse from this place, for life is becoming unendurable.

Can you, with all your worldwide reputation, do nothing for us? I think I can, Stackhurst. Come with me now. And you, Inspector, come along. We will see if we cannot deliver this murderer into your hands. Leaving the unconscious man in the charge of my housekeeper, we all three went down to the deadly lagoon.

On the shingle there was piled a little heap of towels and clothes left by the stricken man. Slowly I walked round the edge of the water, my comrades in Indian file behind me. Most of the pool was quite shallow, but under the cliff where the beach was hollowed out it was four or five feet deep.

It was to this part that a swimmer would naturally go, for it formed a beautiful, pellucid green pool as clear as crystal. A line of rocks lay above it at the base of the cliff, and along this I led the way, peering eagerly into the depths below me. I had reached the deepest and stillest pool when my eyes caught that for which they were searching, and I burst into a shout of triumph.

"'Cyanea!' I cried. "'Cyanea! Behold, the lion's mane!' The strange object at which I pointed did indeed look like a tangled mass torn from the mane of a lion. It lay upon a rocky shelf some three feet under the water, a curious, waving, vibrating, hairy creature with streaks of silver among its yellow tresses.'

It pulsated with a slow, heavy dilation and contraction. "'It has done mischief enough. Its day is over,' I cried. "'Help me, Stackhurst. Let us end the murderer forever.' There was a big boulder just above the ledge, and we pushed it until it fell with a tremendous splash into the water."

When the ripples had cleared, we saw that it had settled upon the ledge below. One flapping edge of yellow membrane showed that our victim was beneath it. A thick, oily scum oozed out from below the stone and stained the water round, rising slowly to the surface. Well, this gets me, cried the inspector.

what was it mr holmes i'm born and bred in these parts but i never saw such a thing it don't belong to sussex just as well for sussex i remarked it may have been the southwest gale that brought it up

Come back to my house, both of you, and I will give you the terrible experience of one who has good reason to remember his own meeting with the same peril of the seas. When we reached my study, we found that Murdoch was so far recovered that he could sit up. He was dazed in mind, and every now and then was shaken by a paroxysm of pain.

In broken words, he explained that he had no notion what had occurred to him, save that terrific pangs had suddenly shot through him, and that it had taken all his fortitude to reach the bank. Here's a book, I said, taking up the little volume, which first brought light into what might have been forever dark. It is Out of Doors, by the famous observer J. G. Wood.

would himself very nearly perish from contact with this vile creature. So he wrote, with a very full knowledge, Cyanea capuleta is the miscreant's full name, and he can be as dangerous to life as, and far more painful than, the bite of the cobra. Let me briefly give this extract.

If the bather should see a loose, roundish mass of tawny membranes and fibers, something like very large handfuls of lion's mane and silver paper, let him beware, for this is the fearful stinger, Cyanea capillata. Could our sinister acquaintance be more clearly described?

He goes on to tell his own encounter with one when swimming off the coast of Kent. He found that the creature radiated almost invisible filaments to the distance of 50 feet, and that anyone within that circumference from the deadly center was in danger of death. Even at distance, the effect upon wood was almost fatal.

The multitudinous threads caused light scarlet lines upon the skin, which, on closer examination, resolved into minute dots or pustules, each dot charged, as it were, with a red-hot needle making its way through the nerves. The local pain was, as he explains, the least part of the exquisite torment, pangs shot through the chest causing me to fall as if struck by a bullet.

The pulsation would cease, and then the heart would give six or seven leaps, as if it would force its way through the chest. It nearly killed him, although he had only been exposed to it in the disturbed ocean and not in the narrow calm waters of a bathing pool. He says that he could hardly recognize himself afterwards, so white, wrinkled, and shriveled was his face.

he gulped down brandy a whole bottle full and it seems to have saved his life there is the book inspector i leave it with you and you cannot doubt that it contains a full explanation of the tragedy of poor macpherson

and incidentally exonerates me, remarked Ian Murdock with a wry smile. I do not blame you, Inspector, nor you, Mr. Holmes, for your suspicions were natural. I feel that on the very eve of my arrest I have only cleared myself by sharing the fate of my poor friend.

"'No, Mr. Murdoch, I was already upon the track, and had I been out as early as I intended, I might well have saved you from this terrific experience.' "'But how did you know, Mr. Holmes?' "'I am an omnivorous reader with a strangely retentive memory for trifles. That phrase, Lion's Mane, haunted my mind. I knew that I had seen it somewhere in an unexpected context.'

You have seen that it does describe the creature. I have no doubt that it was floating on the water when Macpherson saw it, and that this phrase was the only one by which he could convey to us a warning as to the creature which had been his death. Then I at least am cleared, said Murdoch, rising slowly to his feet.

there are one or two words of explanation which i should give for i know the direction in which your inquiries have run it is true that i love this lady but from the day when she chose my friend macpherson my one desire was to help her to happiness

I was well content to stand aside and act as their go-between. Often I carried their messages, and it was because I was in their confidence, and because she was so dear to me, that I hastened to tell her of my friend's death, lest someone should forestall me in a more sudden and heartless manner.

She would not tell you, sir, of our relations, lest you should disapprove and I might suffer. But with your leave I must try to get back to the Gables, for my bed will be very welcome. Stackhurst held out his hand. Our nerves have all been at concert pitch, said he. Forgive what has passed, Murdoch. We shall understand each other better in the future.

They passed out together, with their arms linked in friendly fashion. The inspector remained, staring at me in silence with his ox-like eyes. "'Well, you've done it,' he cried at last. "'I had read of you, but I never believed it. It's wonderful.' I was forced to shake my head. To accept such praise was to lower one's own standards.'

I was slow at the outset, culpably slow. Had the body been found in the water, I could hardly have missed it. It was the towel which misled me. The poor fellow had never thought to draw himself, and so I in turn was led to believe that he had never been in the water. Why then should the attack of any water creature suggest itself to me? That was where I went astray.

Well, well, Inspector, I often ventured to chaff you gentlemen of the police force, but Cyania Capuleta very nearly avenged Scotland Yard.

Read by George The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger When one considers that Mr. Sherlock Holmes was in active practice for twenty-three years, and that during seventeen of these I was allowed to cooperate with him and to keep notes of his doings, it will be clear that I have a mass of material at my command.

The problem has always been not to find, but to choose. There is the long row of yearbooks which fill a shelf, and there are the dispatch cases filled with documents, a perfect query for the student, not only of crime, but of the social and official scandals of the late Victorian era.

Concerning these latter, I may say that the writers of agonized letters, who beg that the honor of their families or the reputation of famous forebears may not be touched, have nothing to fear. The discretion and high sense of professional honor, which have always distinguished my friend, are still at work in the choice of these memoirs, and no confidence will be abused.

I deprecate, however, in the strongest way the attempts which have been made lately to get at and to destroy these papers. The source of these outrages is known, and if they are repeated, I have Mr. Holmes' authority for saying that the whole story concerning the politician, the lighthouse, and the trained cormorant will be given to the public. There is at least one reader who will understand.

It is not reasonable to suppose that every one of these cases gave Holmes the opportunity of showing those curious gifts of instinct and observation which I have endeavoured to set forth in these memoirs. Sometimes he had with much effort to pick the fruit, sometimes it fell easily into his lap,

but the most terrible human tragedies were often involved in these cases which brought him the fewest personal opportunities and it is one of these which i now desire to record in telling it i have made a slight change of name and place but otherwise the facts are as stated

One forenoon, it was late in 1896, I received a hurried note from Holmes asking for my attendance. When I arrived, I found him seated in a smoke-laden atmosphere with an elderly motherly woman of the buxom landlady type in the corresponding chair in front of him. "'This is Mrs. Merrillow of South Brixton,' said my friend with a wave of the hand.'

"'Mrs. Merlot does not object to tobacco, Watson, if you wish to indulge your filthy habits. Mrs. Merlot has an interesting story to tell, which may well lead to further developments in which your presence may be useful. Anything I can do, you will understand, Mrs. Merlot, that if I come to Mrs. Ronder, I should prefer to have a witness.'

"'You will make her understand that before we arrive.' "'Lord bless you, Mr. Holmes,' said our visitor. "'She is that anxious to see you that you might bring the whole parish at your heels. "'Then we shall come early in the afternoon. "'Let us see that we have our fox correct before we start. "'If we go over them, it will help Dr. Watson to understand the situation.'

"'You say that Mrs. Ronder has been your lodger for seven years, and that you have only once seen her face.' "'And I wish to God I had not,' said Mrs. Merrillow. "'It was, I understand, terribly mutilated.'

well mr holmes you would hardly say it was a face at all that's how it looked our milkman got a glimpse of her once peeping out of the upper window and he dropped his tin and the milk all over the front garden

That is the kind of face it is. When I saw her, I happened on her unawares. She covered up quick, and then she said, Now, Mrs. Merrillow, you know at last why it is that I never raise my veil. Do you know anything about her history? Nothing at all. Did she give references when she came?

"'No, sir, but she gave hard cash, and plenty of it. "'A quarter's rent, right down on the table in advance, "'and no arguing about terms. "'In these times a poor woman like me "'can't afford to turn down a chance like that. "'Did she give any reason for choosing your house? "'Mine stands well back from the road, "'and is more private than most. "'Then, again, I only take the one, "'and I have no family of my own.'

I reckon she had tried others and found that mine suited her best. It's privacy she is after, and she is ready to pay for it. You say that? She never showed her face from first to last, save on the one accidental occasion. Well, it is a very remarkable story. Most remarkable. And I don't wonder that you want it examined.

"'I don't, Mr. Holmes. I am quite satisfied so long as I get my rent. You could not have a quieter lodger or one who gives less trouble than what has brought matters to a head.'

"'Her health, Mr. Holmes, she seems to be wasting away, and there's something terrible on her mind. "'Murder!' she cries. "'Murder!' And once I heard her, "'You cruel beast! You monster!' she cried. "'It was in the night, and it fair rang through the house, and sent the shivers through me. "'So I went to her in the morning.'

Mrs. Ronder, I says, if you have anything that is troubling your soul, there's the clergy, I says, and there's the police. Between them, you should get some help. For God's sake, not the police, says she, and the clergy can't change what has passed. And yet...

She says, It would ease my mind if someone knew the truth before I died. Well, says I, if you won't have the regulars, there is this detective man what we read about. Begging your pardon, Mr. Holmes. And she, she fair jumped at it. That's the man, says she. I wonder I never thought of it before. Bring him here, Mrs. Merrillow, and if he won't come—

"'Tell him I am the wife of Rhondor's wild beast show. "'Say that and give him the name Abbas Parva. "'Here it is as she wrote it, Abbas Parva. "'That will bring him, if he's the man I think he is.' "'And it will, too,' remarked Holmes. "'Very good, Mrs. Merrillow. "'I should like to have a little chat with Dr. Watson. "'That will carry us till lunchtime.'

About three o'clock you may expect to see us at your house in Brixton.

Our visitor had no sooner waddled out of the room, no other verb can describe Mrs. Merrillow's method of progression, than Sherlock Holmes threw himself with fierce energy upon the pile of commonplace books in the corner. For a few minutes there was a constant swish of the leaves, and then, with a grunt of satisfaction, he came upon what he sought.

So excited was he that he did not rise, but sat upon the floor like some strange Buddha, with crossed legs, the huge books all round him, and one open upon his knees. "'The case worried me at the time, Watson. Here are my marginal notes to prove it. I confess that I could make nothing of it, and yet I was convinced that the coroner was wrong.'

Have you no recollection of the Abbas Parvath tragedy? None, Holmes. And yet you were with me then. But certainly my own impression was very superficial, for there was nothing to go by, and none of the parties had engaged my services. Perhaps you would care to read the papers? Could you not give me the points? That is very easily done.

it will probably come back to your memory as i talk ronder of course was a household word he was the rival of wombwell and of sanger one of the greatest showmen of his day

there is evidence however that he took to drink and that both he and his show were on the downgrade at the time of the great tragedy the caravan had halted for the night at abbas parva which is a small village in berkshire when this horror occurred

They were on their way to Wimbledon, travelling by road, and they were simply camping and not exhibiting, as the place is so small a one that it would not have paid them to open. They had among their exhibits a very fine North African lion. Sahara King was its name, and it was the habit both of Roger and his wife to give exhibitions inside its cage.

here you see is a photograph of the performance by which you will perceive that ronder was a huge porcine person and that his wife was a very magnificent woman it was deposed at the inquest that there had been some signs that the lion was dangerous but as usual familiarity begat contempt and no notice was taken of the fact

It was usual for either Ronder or his wife to feed the lion at night. Sometimes one went, sometimes both, but they never allowed anyone else to do it, for they believed that so long as they were the food carriers, he would regard them as benefactors and would never molest them.

On this particular night, seven years ago, they both went, and a very terrible happening followed, the details of which have never been made clear. It seems that the whole camp was roused near midnight by the roars of the animal and the screams of the woman.

The different grooms and employees rushed from their tents carrying lanterns, and by their light an awful sight was revealed. Ronder lay with the back of his head crushed in and deep claw marks across his scalp, some ten yards from the cage, which was open. Close to the door of the cage lay Mrs. Ronder upon her back with the creature squatting and snarling above her,

It had torn her face in such a fashion that it was never thought that she could live. Several of the circus men, headed by Leonardo the Strongman and Griggs the Clown, drove the creature off with poles, upon which it sprang back into the cage and was at once locked in. How it had got loose was a mystery.

It was conjectured that the pair intended to enter the cage, but that when the door was loosed, the creature bounded out upon them. There was no other point of interest in the evidence, save that the woman, in a delirium of agony, kept screaming, "'Coward! Coward!' as she was carried back to the van in which they lived."

it was six months before she was fit to give evidence but the inquest was duly held with the obvious verdict of death from misadventure what alternative could be conceived said i

You may well say so. And yet there were one or two points which worried young Edmonds of the Berkshire Constabulary. A smart lad that, he was sent later to Allahabad. That was how I came into the matter, for he dropped in and smoked a pipe or two over it.

A thin, yellow-haired man? Exactly. I was sure you would pick up the trail presently. But what worried him? Well, we were both worried. It was so deucedly difficult to reconstruct the affair. Look at it from the lion's point of view. He is liberated. What does he do? He takes half a dozen bounds forward, which brings him to Ronder,

Runder turns to fly. The claw marks were on the back of his head, but the lion strikes him down. Then, instead of bounding on and escaping, he returns to the woman, who is close to the cage, and he knocks her over and chews her face up.

then again those cries of hers would seem to imply that her husband had in some way failed her what could the poor devil have done to help her you see the difficulty quite and then there was another thing it comes back to me now as i think it over

There was some evidence that, just at the time the lion roared and the woman screamed, a man began shouting in terror. This man Rhondr, no doubt. Well, if his skull was smashed in, you would hardly expect to hear from him again. There were at least two witnesses who spoke of the cries of a man being mingled with those of a woman.

I should think the whole camp was crying out by then. As to the other points, I think I could suggest a solution. I should be glad to consider it. The two were together ten yards from the cage when the line got loose. The man turned and was struck down. The woman conceived the idea of getting into the cage and shutting the door. It was her only refuge.

she made for it and just as she reached it the beast bounded after her and knocked her over she was angry with her husband for having encouraged the beast's rage by turning if they had faced it they might have cowed it hence her cries of coward brilliant watson only one flaw in your diamond what is the flaw holmes if they were both ten paces from the cage

How came the beast to get loose? It is possible they had some enemy who loosed it, and why should it attack them savagely when it was in the habit of playing with them and doing tricks with them inside the cage? Possibly the same enemy had done something to enrage it. Holmes looked thoughtful and remained in silence for some moments. Well, Watson, there is this to be said for your theory.

Rhondra was a man of many enemies. Edmunds told me that in his cups he was horrible. A huge bully of a man, he cursed and slashed at everyone who came in his way. I expect those cries about a monster, of which our visitor has spoken, were doctrinal reminiscences of the dear departed.

However, our speculations are futile until we have all the facts. There is a cult partridge on the sideboard, Watson, and a bottle of Montrachet. Let us renew our energies before we make a fresh call upon them.

when our hansom deposited us at the house of mrs merrillow we found that plump lady blocking up the open door of her humble but retired abode it was very clear that her chief preoccupation was lest she should lose a valuable lodger and she implored us before showing us up to say and do nothing which could lead to so undesirable an end

then having reassured her we followed her up the straight badly carpeted staircase and were shown into the room of the mysterious lodger

It was a close, musty, ill-ventilated place, as might be expected, since its inmate seldom left it. From keeping beasts in a cage, the woman seemed, by some retribution of fate, to have become herself a beast in a cage. She sat now in a broken armchair in the shadowy corner of the room.

long years of inaction had coarsened the lines of her figure but at some period it must have been beautiful and was still full and voluptuous a thick dark veil covered her face but it was cut off close at her upper lip and disclosed a perfectly shaped mouth and a delicately rounded chin i could well conceive that she had indeed been a very remarkable woman

Her voice, too, was well modulated and pleasing. "'My name is not unfamiliar to you, Mr. Holmes,' said she. "'I thought that it would bring you.' "'That is so, madam, though I do not know how you are aware that I was interested in your case.' "'I learned it when I had recovered my health and was examined by Mr. Edmonds, the county detective. I fear I lied to him.'

Perhaps it would have been wiser had I told the truth. It is usually wiser to tell the truth. But why did you lie to him? Because the fate of someone else depended upon it. I know that he was a very worthless being, and yet I would not have his destruction upon my conscience. We had been so close, so close. But has this impediment been removed?

"'Yes, sir. The person that I allude to is dead.' "'Then why should you not now tell the police anything you know?' "'Because there is another person to be considered. That other person is myself. I could not stand the scandal and publicity which would come from a police examination.'

i have not long to live but i wish to die undisturbed and yet i wanted to find one man of judgment to whom i could tell my terrible story so that when i am gone all might be understood

"'You compliment me, madam. At the same time, I am a responsible person. I do not promise you that when you have spoken, I may not myself think it my duty to refer the case to the police.' "'I think not, Mr. Holmes. I know your character and methods too well, for I have followed your work for some years.'

reading is the only pleasure which fate has left me and i miss little which passes in the world but in any case i will take my chance of the use which you may make of my tragedy it will ease my mind to tell it my friend and i would be glad to hear it the woman rose and took from a drawer the photograph of a man

He was clearly a professional acrobat, a man of magnificent physique, taken with his huge arms folded across his swollen chest and a smile breaking from under his heavy mustache, the self-satisfied smile of the man of many conquests. That is Leonardo, she said. Leonardo, the strongman who gave evidence?

the same and this-this is my husband it was a dreadful face a human pig or rather a human wild boar for it was formidable in its bestiality one could imagine that vile mouth champing and foaming in its rage and one could conceive those small vicious eyes darting pure malignancy as they looked forth upon the world

Ruffian, bully, beast. It was all written on that heavy gelled face. Those two pictures will help you, gentlemen, to understand the story.

i was a poor circus girl brought up on the sawdust and doing springs through the hoop before i was ten when i became a woman this man loved me if such lust as his can be called love and in an evil moment i became his wife from that day i was in hell and he the devil who tormented me there was no one in the show who did not know of his treatment

he deserted me for others he tied me down and lashed me with his riding-whip when i complained they all pitied me and they all loathed him but what could they do they feared him one and all for he was terrible at all times and murderous when he was drunk again and again he was had for assault and for cruelty to the beasts

but he had plenty of money and the fines were nothing to him the best men all left us and the show began to go down hill it was only leonardo and i who kept it up with little jimmy griggs the clown

poor devil he had not much to be funny about but he did what he could to hold things together then leonardo came more and more into my life you see what he was like i know now the poor spirit that was hidden in that splendid body but compared to my husband he seemed like the angel gabrielle

he pitied me and helped me till at last our intimacy turned to love deep deep passionate love such love as i had dreamed of but never hoped to feel my husband suspected it but i think that he was a coward as well as a bully and that leonardo was the one man that he was afraid of

he took revenge in his own way by torturing me more than ever one night my cries brought leonardo to the door of our van we were near tragedy that night and soon my lover and i understood that it could not be avoided my husband was not fit to live we planned that he should die

leonardo had a clever scheming brain it was he who planned it i do not say that to blame him for i was ready to go with him every inch of the way but i should never have had the wit to think of such a plan we made a club leonardo made it and in the leaden head he fastened five long steel nails the points outwards with just such a spread as the lion's paw

this was to give my husband his death-blow and yet to leave the evidence that it was the lion which we would loose who had done the deed it was a pitch-dark night when my husband and i went down as was our custom to feed the beast we carried with us the raw meat in a zinc pail leonardo was waiting at the corner of the big van which we should have to pass before we reached the cage

He was too slow, and we walked past him before he could strike. But he followed us on tiptoe, and I heard the crash as the club smashed my husband's skull. My heart leaped with joy at the sound. I sprang forward, and I undid the catch which held the door of the great lion's cage. And then the terrible thing happened.

you may have heard how quick these creatures are to scent human blood and how it excites them some strange instinct had told the creature in one instant that a human being had been slain as i slipped the bars it bounded out and was on me in an instant leonardo could have saved me if he had rushed forward and struck the beast with his club he might have cowed it

but the man lost his nerve i heard him shout in his terror and then i saw him turn and fly at the same instant the teeth of the lion met in my face its hot filthy breath had already poisoned me and i was hardly conscious of pain

With the palms of my hands, I tried to push the great, steaming, blood-stained jaws away from me, and I screamed for help. I was conscious that the camp was stirring, and then dimly I remember a group of men, Leonardo, Griggs, and others, dragging me from under the creature's paws. That was my last memory, Mr. Holmes, for many a weary month.

when i came to myself and saw myself in the mirror i cursed that lion oh how i cursed him not because he had torn away my beauty but because he had not torn away my life

i had but one desire mr holmes and i had enough money to gratify it it was that i should cover myself so that my poor face should be seen by none and that i should dwell where none whom i had ever known should find me that was all that was left me to do and that is what i have done a poor wounded beast that has crawled into its hole to die

That is the end of Eugenia Ronder. We sat in silence for some time after the unhappy woman had told her story. Then Holmes stretched out his long arm and patted her hand with such a show of sympathy as I had seldom known him to exhibit. "'Poor girl,' he said. "'Poor girl. The ways of fate are indeed hard to understand.'

if there is not some compensation hereafter then the world is a cruel jest but what of this man leonardo i never saw him or heard from him again perhaps i have been wrong to feel so bitterly against him he might as soon have loved one of the freaks whom we carried round the country as the thing which the lion had left but a woman's love is not so easily set aside

he had left me under the beast's claws he had deserted me in my need and yet i could not bring myself to give him to the gallows for myself i cared nothing what became of me what could be more dreadful than my actual life but i stood between leonardo and his fate and he is dead he was drowned last month when bathing near margate i saw his death in the paper

"'And what did he do with this five-clawed club, which is the most singular and ingenious part of all your story?' "'I cannot tell, Mr. Holmes. There is a chalk-pit by the camp, with a deep green pool at the base of it, perhaps in the depths of that pool.' "'Well, well, it is of little consequence now. The case is closed.' "'Yes,' said the woman.'

The case is closed. We had risen to go, but there was something in the woman's voice which arrested Holmes' attention. He turned swiftly upon her. Your life is not your own, he said. Keep your hands off it. What use is it to anyone? How can you tell? The example of patient suffering is in itself the most precious of all lessons to an impatient world.

The woman's answer was a terrible one. She raised her veil and stepped forward into the light. "'I wonder if you would bear it,' she said. It was horrible. No words can describe the framework of a face when the face itself is gone. Two living and beautiful brown eyes looking sadly out from that grisly ruin did but make the view more awful.'

Holmes held up his hand in a gesture of pity and protest, and together we left the room. Two days later, when I called upon my friend, he pointed with some pride to a small blue bottle upon his mantelpiece. I picked it up. There was a red poison label. A pleasant almondy odor rose when I opened it. "'Prussic acid,' said I. "'Exactly. It came by post.'

I send you my temptation. I will follow your advice. That was the message. I think, Watson, we can guess the name of the brave woman who sent it. End of section 10.

The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventure of Shoscombe Alt Place. Sherlock Holmes had been bending for a long time over a low-power microscope. Now he straightened himself up and looked round at me in triumph. "'It is glue, Watson,' he said. "'Unquestionably it is glue. Have a look at these scattered objects in the field.' I stooped to the eyepiece and focused for my vision. "'Those hairs are threads from a tweed coat,'

the irregular grey masses are dust their epithelial scales on the left those brown blobs in the centre are undoubtedly glue well i said laughing i am prepared to take your word for it does anything depend upon it it is a very fine demonstration he answered in the simpancreas case you may remember that a cap was found beside the dead policeman

The accused man denies that it is his. But he is a picture-frame maker who habitually handles glue. Is it one of your cases? No. My friend Merivale of the yard asked me to look into the case. Since I ran down that coiner by the zinc and copper filings in the seam of his cuff, they have begun to realize the importance of the microscope. He looked impatiently at his watch. He had a new client calling, but he is overdue. By the way, Watson, you know something of racing?

i ought to i pay for it with that half my wound pension then i shall make you my handy guide to the turf what about sir robert norberton does the name recall anything well i should say so he lives at shoskemold place and i know it well for my summer quarters were down there once norberton nearly came within your province once how was that it was when he horsewhip'd sam

the well-known curzon street money-lender on newmarket heath nearly killed the man ah it sounds interesting does he often indulge in that way well he has the name of being a dangerous man he is but the most dare-devil rider in england second in the grand national a few years back he is one of those men who have overshot their true generation

he should have been a buck in the days of the regency a boxer an athlete a plunderer on the turf a lover of fair ladies and by all accounts so far down queer street that he may never find his way back again capital watson a thumb-nail sketch i seem to know the man now can you give me some idea of shoscombe old place only that it is in the centre of shoscombe park and that the famous shoscombe stud and training quarters are to be found there

and the head trainer said holmes is john mason you need not look surprised at my knowledge watson for this is a letter from him which i am unfolding let us have some more about shoskem i seem to have struck a rich fame there are the shoskem spaniels i said you hear of them at every dog-show the most exclusive breed in england they are the special pride of the lady of shoskem old place

sir robert norberton's wife i presume sir robert has never married just as well i think considering his prospects he lives with his widowed sister lady beatrice falder you mean that she lives with him no no the place belonged to her late husband sir james norberton has no claim on it at all it is only a life interest and reverts to her husband's brother meantime she draws the rents every year

and brother robert i suppose spends the said rents that's about the size of it he's a devil of a fellow and must live a most uneasy life yet i have heard that she is devoted to him what does it miss at shoskyn d-da that is just what i want to know and here i expect is the man who can tell us the door had opened and the page had shone on a tall clean-shaven man with a firm austere expression which is only seen upon those who have to control horses or boys

mr john mason had many of both under his sway and he looked equal to the task he bowed with cold self-possession and seated himself upon the chair to which holmes had waved him you add my note mr holmes yes but it explained nothing it was too delicate a thing for me to put the details on paper and too complicated it was only face to face i could do it well we are at your disposal

first of all mr holmes i think that my employer sir robert has gone mad holmes raised his eyebrows this is baker street not harley street said he but why do you say so well sir when a man does one queer thing or two queer things there may be a meaning to it but when everything he does is queer then you begin to wonder i believe shosken prince and the derby have turned his brain that is a cult you are running

the best in england mr holmes and i should know if any one does and i'll be plain with you for i know you a gentleman of honour and that it won't go beyond the room sir robert has got to win this derby he's up to the neck and it's his last chance everything he could raise or borrow was on the horse and at fine odds too he can get forties now but it was nearer the hundred when he began to back him how's that if the horse is so good

The public don't know how good he is. Sir Robert has been too clever for the touts. He is the prince's half-brother out for spins. He can't tell them apart. But there are two lengths and a furlong between them when it comes to a gallop. He thinks of nothing but the horse and the race. His whole life is on it. He's holding off the Jews till then. The prince fails him. He's done. It seems a rather desperate gamble. Where does the madness come in? Well, first of all, you only have to look at him.

i don't believe he sleeps at night he's down at the stables at all hours his eyes are wild it's been all too much for his nerves then there is his conduct to lady beatrice ah what is that they have always been the best of friends

he had the same tastes the two of them and she loved the horses as much as he did every day at the same hour she would drive down to see him and above all she loved the prince he would prick up his ears when he heard the wheels on the gravel and he would trot out each morning to the carriage to get his lump of sugar that's all over now why well she seems to have lost all interest in the horses for a week now she has driven past the stables without so much as a good morning

You think there has been a quarrel? And a bitter, savage, spiteful quarrel at that. Why else would he give away her pet spaniel that she loved as if he were a child? He gave it a few days ago to old Barnes, what keeps the green dragon, three miles off at Crandall. That certainly did seem strange. Of course, with her weak heart and dropsy, one couldn't expect that she could get about with him. But he spent two hours every evening in her room. He might well do what he could, for she has been a rare good friend to him.

that's all over too he never goes nearer she takes it to heart she is brooding and sulking and drinking mr ohmes drinking like a fish did she drink before this estrangement well she took her glass but now it's often a whole bottle of an evening so stephens the butler told me it's all changed mr ohmes there is something damned rotten about it

but then again what is master doing down at the old church crypt at night and who is the man that meets him there holmes rubbed his hands go on mr mason you get more and more interesting it was the butler who saw him go twelve o'clock at night in rainey yard so next night i was up at the ouse and sure enough master was off again

Stephens and I went after him, but it was jumpy work. Would have been a bad job if he had seen us. He's a terrible man with his fists if he gets started, and no respecter of persons. So we were shy of getting too near, but we marked him down all right. It was the haunted crypt that he was making for, and there was a man waiting for him there. What is this haunted crypt? Well, sir, there's an old ruined chapel in the park. It is so old that nobody could fix its date.

and under it there's a crypt which has a bad name among us it's a dark damp lonely place by day but there are few in that county who would have the nerve to go near it at night but master's not afraid and never feared anything in his life but what is he doing there in the night-time wait a bit said holmes you say there is another man there must be one of your own stable-men or someone from the house surely you have only to spot who it is and question him if it's no one i know

"'How can you say that?' "'Because I've seen him, Mr. Holmes. "'He was on that second night. "'Sir Robert turned and passed us, "'me and Stephens, quaking in the bushes like two bunny rabbits, "'for there was a bit of moon that night, "'but we could hear the other moving about behind. "'We were not afraid of him, "'so we up when Sir Robert was gone "'and pretended we was just having a walk like in the moonlight. "'And so we came right on him, as casual and innocent as you please. "'Hello, mate. Who may you be?' says I.'

i guess he had not heard us coming so we looked over his shoulder with a face as if he had seen the devil coming out of hell he let out a yell and away he went as hard as he could lick it in the darkness he could run i'll give him that in a minute he was out of sight and hearing and who he was or what he was we never found but you saw him clearly in the moonlight yes i could swear to his yellow face a mean dog i should say what could he have in common with sir robert

Holmes sat for some time lost in thought. "'Who keeps Lady Beatrice Forde a company?' he asked at last. "'There is her maid, Kerry Evans. She has been with her these five years. It is no doubt devoted,' Mr Mason shuffled uncomfortably. "'She's devoted enough,' he answered at last. "'But I won't say to whom.' "'Ah,' said Holmes, "'I can't tell tales out of school.'

i quite understand mr mason of course the situation is clear enough from dr watson's description of sir robert i can realize that no woman is safe from him don't you think the quarrel between brother and sister may lie there well the scandal has been pretty clear for a long time but she may not have seen it before

do you not suppose that she has suddenly found it out she wants to get rid of the woman her brother will not permit it the invalid with her weak heart and inability to get about has no means of enforcing her will the hated maid is still tied to her the lady refuses to speak sulks takes to drink her robot in anger takes her pet spaniel away from her does not all this hang together well it might do as far as it goes exactly as far as it goes

how would all that bear upon the visits by night to the old crypt can't fit that into our plot no sir and something more than i can't fit in why should sir robert want to dig up a dead body holmes sat up abruptly we only found it out yesterday after i had written to you yesterday sir robert had gone to london so stephens and i went down to the crypt it was all in order sir except that one corner was a bit of a human body

you informed the police i suppose our visitor smiled grimly well sir i think it would hardly interest them it was just the head and a few bones of a mummy it may have been a thousand years old but it wasn't there before that i'll swear and so was stephen's it had been stowed away in a corner and covered over with a board but that corner has always been empty before what did you do with it

well we just left it there that was wise we say sir robert was away yesterday has he returned we expect him back to-day when did sir robert give away his sister's dog it was just a week ago to-day the creature was howling outside the old well-house and sir robert was in one of his tantrums that morning he caught it up and i thought he would have killed it and gave it to sandy bayne the jockey told him to take the dog to old barnes at the green dragon for he never wished to see it again

holmes sat for some time in silent thought he lit the oldest and foulest of his pipes i am not yet clear what you want me to do in this matter mr mason he said at last can't you make it more definite perhaps this will make it more definite mr holmes said our visitor he took a paper from his pocket and unwrapping it carefully he exposed a charred fragment of bone holmes examined it with interest where did you get it

there is a central heating furnace in the cellar under lady beatrice's room it has been off for some time sir robert complained of cold and had it on again harvey runs it he is one of my lads this very morning he came to me with this which he found raking out the cinders he didn't like the look of it nor do i said holmes what do you make of it watson it was burned to a black cinder but there could be no question of its anatomical significance

it's the upper condyle of human femur said i exactly holmes had become very serious when does this lad tend to the furnace he makes it up every evening and then leaves it then any one could visit it during the night yes sir can you enter it from outside there is one door from outside there is another which leads up by a stair to the passage in which lady beatrice's room is situated these are deep waters mr mason deep and rather dirty

you say that sir robert was not at home last night no sir and whoever was burning bones it was not he that's true sir what is the name of that inn you spoke of the green dragon is there good fishing in that part of berkshire the honest trainer showed very clearly upon his face that he was convinced that yet another lunatic had come into his harassed life

well sir i've heard that there are trout in the mill stream and pike in the whole lake that's good enough watson and i are famous fishermen are we not watson you may address us in future at the green dragon we should reach it to-night i need not say that we don't want to see you mr mason but a note will reach us and no doubt i could find you if i want you when we have gone a little farther into the matter i will let you have a considered opinion

thus it was on a bright may evening holmes and i found ourselves alone in a first-class carriage and bound for the little halt on demand station of shoscombe the rack above us was covered with a formidable litter of rods reels and baskets reaching our destination a short drive took us to an old-fashioned tavern where a sporting host josiah barnes entered eagerly into our plans for the extirpation of the fish of the neighbourhood

what about the whole lake and the chance of a pike said holmes the face of the innkeeper clouded that wouldn't do sir you might chance to find yourself in the lake before you were through who's that then it's sir robert sir he's terrible jealous of touts if you two strangers were as near as his training quarters as that he'd be after you as sure as fate he ain't takin no chances sir robert ain't i've heard he has a horse entered for the derby

yes and a good colt too carries all our money for the race and all sir robert's into the bargain by the way he looked at us with thoughtful eyes i suppose you ain't on the turf yourselves no indeed just two weary londoners who badly need some good berkshire air

well you're in the right place for that there's a good deal of it lying about but mind what i've told you about sir robert he's the sort that strikes first and speaks afterward keep clear of the park surely mr barnes we certainly shall by the way that was a most beautiful spaniel that was waning in the hall or i should say it was that's the real shoscombe breed there ain't a better in england

i'm a dog fancier myself said holmes now if it was a fair question what would a prize dog like that cost more than i could pay sir it was sir robert himself who gave me this one that's why i have to keep it on a lead it would be off to the all in a jiffy if i gave it its end we are getting some cards in our hand watson said holmes when the landlord had left us it's not an easy one to play but we may see our way in a day or two

by the way sir robert is still in london i hear we might perhaps enter the sacred domain to-night without fear of bodily assault there are one or two points on which i should like reassurance have you any theory holmes only this watson that something happened a week or so ago which has cut deep into the life of the shoscombe household what is that something we can only guess at it from its effects it seemed to be of a curiously mixed character

that should surely help us it is only the colourless uneventful case which is hopeless let us consider our daughter the brother no longer visits the beloved invalid sister he gives away her favourite dog her dog watson does that suggest nothing to you

nothing but the brother's spite well it might be so or well there is an alternative now to continue our review of the situation from the time that the quarrel if there is a quarrel began the lady keeps her room alters her habits and is not seen save when she drives out with her maid refuses to stop at the stables to greet her favourite horse and apparently takes to drink that covers the case does it not save for the business and the crypt that is another line of thought

there are two and i beg you will not tangle them line a which concerns lady beatrice has a vaguely sinister flavour has it not i can make nothing of it well now let us take up line b which concerns sir robert is mad keen on winning the derby he is in the hands of the jews and may at any moment be sold up and his racing-stable seized by his creditors he is a daring desperate man he derives his income from his sister

his sister's maid is his willing tool so far we seem to be on fairly safe ground do we not but the crypt ah yes the crypt but i suppose watson it is merely a scandalous supposition a hypothesis put forward for argument's sake that sir robert has done away with his sister my dear holmes it is out of the question very possibly watson sir robert is a man of honourable stock but you do occasionally find a carrying crow among the eagles

let us for a moment argue upon this supposition he could not fly the country until he had realized his fortune and that fortune could only be realized by bringing off this coup with the shofskan prince therefore he still has to stand his ground to do that he would have to dispose of the body of his victim and he would have to find a substitute who would impersonate her

the maid is his confidante that would not be impossible the woman's body might be conveyed to the crypt which is a place so seldom visited and it might be discreetly destroyed at night in the furnace leaving behind it such evidence as we have already seen what say you to that watson well it is all possible if you grant the original monstrous supposition i think there is a small experiment which we may try to-morrow watson in order to throw some light on the matter

meanwhile if we mean to keep up our characters i suggest we have our host in for a glass of his own wine and hold some high converse upon eels and dace which seems to be the straight road to his affections we might chance to come upon some useful local gossip in the process in the morning holmes discovered that we had come without our spoon bait for jack which absolved us from fishing for the day

about eleven o'clock we started for a walk and he obtained leave to take the black spaniel with us this is the place said he as we came to two high park gates with heraldic griffins towering over them about midday mr barnes informs me the old lady takes a drive and the carriage must slow down while the gates are open when it comes through and before it gathers speed i want you watson to stop the coachman with some question

never mind me i shall stand behind this holly bush and see what i can see it was not a long vigil within a quarter of an hour we saw the big open yellow barouche coming down the long avenue with two splendid high-stepping grey carriage-horses in the shafts holmes crouched behind his bush with the dog i stood unconcernedly swinging the cane in the roadway the keeper ran out and the gates swung open the carriage had slowed to a walk and i was able to get a good look at the occupants

a highly-coloured young woman with flaxen hair and impudent eyes sat on the left at her right was an elderly person with rounded back and a huddle of shawls about her face and shoulders which proclaimed the invalid when the horses reached the high-road i held up my hand with an authoritative gesture and as the coachman pulled up i inquired if sir robert was at shoskemold place at the same moment holmes stepped out and released the spaniel

with a joyous cry it dashed forward to the carriage and sprang upon the step then in a moment its eager greeting changed to furious rage and it snapped at the black skirt above it drive on shrieked a harsh voice the coachman lashed the horses and we were left standing in the roadway well watson that's done it said holmes as he fastened the lead to the neck of the excited spaniel

he thought it was his mistress and he found it was a stranger dogs don't make mistakes but it was the voice of a man i cried exactly we have added one card to our hand watson but it needs careful playing all the same my companion seemed to have no further plans for the day and we did actually use our fishing tackle in the mill stream with the result that we had a dish of trout for our supper it was only after that meal that holmes showed signs of renewed activity

once more we found ourselves upon the same road as in the morning which led us to the park gates a tall dark figure was awaiting us there who proved to be our london acquaintance mr john mason the trainer good evening gentlemen said he i got your note mr holmes sir robert is not returned yet but i hear that he is expected to-night how far is this crypt from the house asked holmes a good quarter of a mile then i think we can disregard him altogether

i can't afford to do that mr ohmes the moment he arrives you'll want to see me to get the latest news of shoskim prince i see in that case we must work without you mr mason you can show us the crypt and then leave us it was pitch dark and without a moon but mason led us over the grasslands until a dark mass loomed up in front of us which proved to be the ancient chapel

We entered the broken gap, which was once the porch, and our guide, stumbling among heaps of loose masonry, picked his way to the corner of the building, where a steep stair led down into the crypt. Striking a match, he illuminated the melancholy place, dismal and evil-smelling, with ancient crumbling walls of rough-hewn stone and piles of coffins, some of lead and some of stone, extending upon one side right up to the arched and groined roof, which lost itself in the shadows above our heads.

holmes had lit his lantern which shot a tiny tunnel of vivid yellow light upon the mournful scene its rays were reflected back from the coffin plates many of them adorned with the griffin and coronet of this old family which carried its honours even to the gate of death you spoke of some bones mr mason could you show them before you go they are here in this corner

the trainer strode across and then stood in silent surprise as our light was turned upon the place they are gone said he so i expected said holmes chuckling i fancy the ashes of them might even now be found in that oven which had already consumed a part but why in the world would any one want to burn the bones of a man who has been dead a thousand years asked mr mason that is what we are here to find out said

it may mean a long search and we need not detain you i fancy that we shall get our solution before morning when john mason had left us holmes set to work making a very careful examination of the graves ranging from a very ancient one which appeared to be saxon in the centre through a long line of norman hugos and odo's until we reached the sir william and sir denis forder of the eighteenth century it was an hour or more before holmes came to a leaden coffin standing on end before the entrance to the vault

i heard his little cry of satisfaction and was aware from his hurried but purposeful movements that he had reached a goal with his lens he was eagerly examining the edges of the heavy lid then he drew from his pocket a short jimmy a box-opener which he thrust into a chink levering back the whole front which seemed to be secured by only a couple of claps there was a rending tearing sound as it gave way

but it had hardly hinged back and partly revealed the contents before we had an unforeseen interruption someone was walking in the chapel above it was the firm rapid step of one who came with a definite purpose and knew well the ground upon which he walked a light streamed down the stairs and an instant later the man who bore it was framed in the gothic archway he was a terrible figure huge in stature and fierce in manner

A large stable lantern which he held in front of him shone upwards upon a strong, heavily moustached face and angry eyes, which glared round him into every recess of the vault, finally fixing themselves in the deadly stare upon my companion and myself. Who the devil are you? he thundered. And what are you doing upon my property? Then, as Holmes returned no answer, he took a couple of steps forward and raised a heavy stick which he carried.

Do you hear me? he cried. Who are you? What are you doing here? His cudgel quivered in the air, but instead of shrinking, Holmes advanced to meet him. I also have a question to ask you, Sir Robert, he said in a sternest tone. Who is this, and what is it doing here? He turned and tore open the coffin lid behind him.

in the glare of the lantern i saw a body swathed in a sheet from head to foot with dreadful witch-like features all nose and chin projecting at one end the dim glazed eyes staring from the discoloured and crumbling face the baronet had staggered back with a cry and supported himself against a stone sarcophagus how came you to know of this he cried and then with some return of his truculent manner what business is it of yours

my name is sherlock holmes said my companion forcibly it is familiar to you in any case my business is that of every other good citizen who uphold the law seems to me that you have much to answer for sir robert glared a moment but holmes quiet voice and cool assured manner had their effect for god mr holmes it's all right said he appearances are against me i'll admit but i could act no otherwise

i should be happy to think so but a fair explanation must be for the police sir robert shrugged his broad shoulders well if it must be it must go up to the house and you can judge for yourself how the matter stands quarter of an hour later we found ourselves in what i judge from the lines of polished barrels behind glass covers to be the gun-room of the old house it was comfortably furnished and here sir robert left us for a few moments

when he returned he had two companions with him the one the florid young woman whom he had seen in the carriage the other a small rat-faced man with a disagreeably furtive manner these two wore an appearance of utter bewilderment which showed that the baronet had not yet had time to explain to him the turn events had taken there said sir robert with a wave of his hand a mystery mrs

"'Mrs. Norlott, under her maiden name of Evans, has for some years been my sister's confidential maid. I have brought them here because I feel that my best course is to explain the true position to you, and they are the two people upon earth who can substantiate what I say.' "'Is this necessary, Sir Robert? Have you thought what you are doing?' cried the woman. "'As to me, I entirely disclaim all responsibility,' said her husband.'

Sir Robert gave him a glance of contempt. "'I would take all responsibility,' said he. "'Now, Mr. Holmes, listen to a plain statement of the facts. You have clearly gone pretty deeply into my affairs, or I should not have found you where I did. Therefore you know already, in all probability, that I am running a dark horse for the derby, that everything depends upon my success. If I win, all is easy. If I lose, well, I dare not think of that.' "'I understand the position,' said Holmes.'

i depended upon my sister lady beatrice for everything but it is well known that her interest in the estate is for her own life only for myself i am deeply in the hands of the jews and i have always known that if my sister were to die my creditors would be on my estate like a flock of vultures and everything would be seized my stable my horses everything well mr holmes my sister did die just a week ago and you told no one

What could I do? Absolute ruin faced me. If I could stave things off for three weeks, all would be well. Her maid's husband, this man here, is an actor. It came into our heads, it came into my head, that he could, for the short period, personate my sister. It was but a case of appearing daily in the carriage, for no one need enter her room except the maid. It was not difficult to arrange. My sister died of the dropsy which had long afflicted her.

that will be for a coroner to decide her doctor would certify that for months her symptoms have threatened such an end well what did you do her body could not remain there the first night norlatt and i carried it out to the old well-house which is now never used

We were followed, however, by her pet spaniel, which yapped continually at the door, so I felt some safer place was needed. We got rid of the spaniel, we carried the body to the crypt of the church. There was no indignity or irreverence, Mr. Holmes. I do not feel that I have wronged the dead. Your conduct seems to me inexcusable, Sir Robert. The baronet shook his head impatiently.

it is easy to preach said he perhaps you would have felt differently if you had been in my position one cannot see all one's hopes and all one's plans shattered at the last moment and make no effort to save them it seemed to me that it would be no unworthy resting-place if we put her for the time in one of the coffins of her husband's ancestors lying on what is still consecrated ground we opened such a coffin removed the contents and placed her as you have seen her as to the old relics which we took out we could not leave them on the floor of the crypt

norlatt and i removed them he descended at night and burnt them in the central furnace fair is my story mr holmes though how you have forced my hand so that i have to tell it is more than i can say holmes sat for some time lost in thought there is one flaw in your narrative sir robert he said at last your bets on the race and therefore your hopes for the future would hold good even if your creditors seized your estate

horse would be part of the estate what if they cared for my bets likely as not they would not run em at all my chief creditor is unhappily my most bitter enemy your rascally fellow sam brewer whom i was once compelled to horsewhip on newmarket heath do you suppose that he would try to save me

Well, Sir Robert, said Holmes, rising, this matter must, of course, be referred to the police. It was my duty to bring the facts to light, and there I must leave it. As to the morality or decency of your own conduct, it is not for me to express an opinion. It is nearly midnight, Watson, and I think we may make our way back to our humble abode. It is generally known now that this singular episode ended on a happier note than Sir Robert's actions deserved.

joskin prince did win the derby the sporting owner did net eighty thousand pounds in bets and creditors did hold their hand until the race was over when they were paid in full and enough was left to re-establish sir robert in a fair position in life

Both police and coroner took a lenient view of the transaction, and beyond a mild censure for the delay in registering the lady's decease, the lucky owner got away scatheless from the strange incident in a career which has now outlived its shadows and promises to end in an honoured old age. End of section 11. Section 12 of the Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.

This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventure of the Retired Colorman Sherlock Holmes was in a melancholy and philosophic mood that morning. His alert, practical nature was subject to such reactions. "'Did you see him?' he asked."

you mean the old fellow who has just gone out precisely yes i met him at the door what did you think of him a pathetic futile broken creature

Exactly, Watson, pathetic and futile. But is not all life pathetic and futile? Is not his story a microcosm of the whole? We reach, we grasp, and what is left in our hands at the end? A shadow, or worse than a shadow, misery. Is he one of your clients?

"'Well, I suppose I may call him so. He has been sent on by the yard. Just as medical men occasionally send their incurables to a quack, they argue that they can do nothing more, and that whatever happens, the patient can be no worse than he is. What is the matter?' Holmes took a rather soiled card from the table.

Josiah Amberley. He says he was junior partner of Brickfall and Amberley, who are manufacturers of artistic materials. You will see their names upon paint boxes. He made his little pile, retired from business at the age of sixty-one, bought a house at Lewisham, and settled down to rest after a life of ceaseless grind. One would think his future was tolerably assured. Yes, indeed.

Holmes glanced over some notes which he had scribbled upon the back of an envelope.

Retired in 1896, Watson, early in 1897, he married a woman twenty years younger than himself, a good-looking woman, too, if the photograph does not flatter. A competence, a wife, leisure, it seemed a straight road which lay before him. And yet, within two years, he is, as you have seen, as broken and miserable a creature as crawls beneath the sun. But what has happened?'

The old story, Watson. A treacherous friend and a fickle wife. It would appear that Amberley has one hobby in life, and it is chess. Not far from him at Lewisham there lives a young doctor who is also a chess player. I have noted his name as Dr. Ray Ernest.

ernest was frequently in the house and an intimacy between him and mrs amberley was a natural sequence for you must admit that our unfortunate client has few outward graces whatever his inner virtues may be

The couple went off together last week, destination untraced. What is more, the faithless spouse carried off the old man's deed box as her personal luggage with a good part of his life savings within. Can we find the lady? Can we save the money? A commonplace problem so far as it has developed, and yet a vital one for Josiah Amberley. What will you do about it?

"'Well, the immediate question, my dear Watson, happens to be, what will you do, if you will be good enough to understudy me? You know that I am preoccupied with this case of the two Coptic patriarchs, which should come to a head to-day. I really have not time to go out to Lewisham, and yet evidence taken on the spot has a special value.'

the old fellow was quite insistent that i should go but i explained my difficulty he is prepared to meet a representative by all means i answered i confess i don't see that i can be of much service but i am willing to do my best and so it was that on a summer afternoon i set forth to lewisham little dreaming that within a week the affair in which i was engaging would be the eager debate of all england

It was late that evening before I returned to Baker Street and gave an account of my mission.

Holmes lay with his gaunt figure stretched in his deep chair, his pipe curling forth slow wreaths of acrid tobacco, while his eyelids drooped over his eyes so lazily that he might almost have been asleep, were it not that at any halt or questionable passage of my narrative they half lifted, and two grey eyes, as bright and keen as rapiers, transfixed me with their searching glance.

the haven is the name of mr josiah amberley's house i explained i think it would interest you holmes it is like some penurious patrician who has sunk into the company of his inferiors you know that particular quarter the monotonous brick streets the weary suburban highways

right in the middle of them a little island of ancient culture and comfort lies this old home surrounded by high sun-baked wall modelled with lichens and topped with moss the sort of wall cut out the poetry watson said holmes severely i note that it was a high brick wall exactly i should not have known which was the haven had i not asked a lounger who was smoking in the street

i have a reason for mentioning him he was a tall dark heavily moustached rather military-looking man he nodded in answer to my inquiry and gave me a curiously questioning glance which came back to my memory a little later

I had hardly entered the gateway before I saw Mr. Amberley coming down the drive. I only had a glimpse of him this morning, and he certainly gave me the impression of a strange creature. But when I saw him in full light, his appearance was even more abnormal. I have, of course, studied it, and yet I should be interested to have your impression,' said Holmes.'

He seemed to me like a man who was literally bowed down by care. His back was curved as though he carried a heavy burden. Yet he was not the weakling that I had at first imagined, for his shoulders and chest have the framework of a giant, though his figure tapers away into a pair of spindled legs. Left shoe wrinkled, right one smooth. I did not observe that.'

no you wouldn't i spotted his artificial limb but proceed i was struck by the snaky locks of grizzled hair which curled from under his old straw hat and his face with its fierce eager expression and the deeply lined features very good watson what did he say

He began pouring out the story of his grievances. We walked down the drive together, and of course I took a good look round. I have never seen a worse kept place. The garden was all running to seed, giving me an impression of wild neglect in which the plants had been allowed to find the way of nature rather than of art. How any decent woman could have tolerated such a state of things I don't know.

the house too was slatternly to the last degree but the poor man seemed himself to be aware of it and to be trying to remedy it for a great pot of green paint stood in the centre of the hall and he was carrying a thick brush in his left hand he had been working on the woodwork he took me into his dingy sanctum and we had a long chat of course he was disappointed that you had not come yourself

i hardly expected he said that so humble an individual as myself especially after my heavy financial loss could obtain the complete attention of so famous a man as mr sherlock holmes i assured him that the financial question did not arise

no of course it is art for art's sake with him said he but even on the artistic side of crime he might have found something here to study and human nature dr watson the black ingratitude of it all when did i ever refuse one of her requests

was ever a woman so pampered and that young man he might have been my own son he had the run of my house and yet see how they have treated me oh dr watson it is a dreadful dreadful world that was the burden of his song for an hour or more

he had it seems no suspicion of an intrigue they lived alone save for a woman who comes in by the day and leaves every evening at six on that particular evening old amberley wishing to give his wife a treat had taken two upper-circle seats at the haymarket theatre at the last moment she had complained of a headache and had refused to go he had gone alone

there seemed to be no doubt about the fact for he produced the unused ticket which he had taken for his wife that is remarkable most remarkable said holmes whose interest in the case seemed to be rising pray continue watson i find your narrative most arresting did you personally examine this ticket you did not perchance take the number

it so happens that i did i answered with some pride it chanced to be my old school number thirty one and so it stuck in my head excellent watson his seat then was either thirty or thirty-two quite so i answered with some mystification and on b row that is most satisfactory what else did he tell you

he showed me his strong room as he called it it really is a strong room like a bank with iron door and shutter burglar proof as he claimed however the woman seems to have had a duplicate key and between them they had carried off some seven thousand pounds worth of cash and securities securities how could they dispose of those

He said that he had given the police a list and that he hoped they would be unsaleable. He had got back from the theatre about midnight and found the place plundered, the door and window open and the fugitives gone. There was no letter or message, nor has he heard a word since. He at once gave the alarm to the police. Holmes brooded for some minutes. "'You say he was painting. What was he painting?'

well he was painting the passage but he had already painted the door and woodwork of this room i spoke of does it not strike you as a strange occupation in the circumstances

"'One must do something to ease an aching heart. That was his own explanation. It was eccentric, no doubt, but he is clearly an eccentric man. He tore up one of his wife's photographs in my presence, tore it up furiously in a tempest of passion. I never wish to see her damned face again!' He shrieked. "'Anything more, Watson?'

yes one thing which struck me more than anything else i had driven to the blackheath station and had caught my train there when just as it was starting i saw a man dart into the carriage next to my own you know that i have a quick eye for faces holmes it was undoubtedly the tall dark man whom i had addressed in the street

i saw him once more at london bridge and then i lost him in the crowd but i am convinced that he was following me no doubt no doubt said holmes a tall dark heavily moustached man you say with grey-tinted sunglasses holmes you are a wizard i did not say so but he had grey-tinted sunglasses and a masonic tie-pin holmes

quite simple my dear watson but let us get down to what is practical i must admit to you that the case which seemed to me to be so absurdly simple as to be hardly worth my notice is rapidly assuming a very different aspect it is true that though in your mission you have missed everything of importance yet even those things which have obtruded themselves upon your notice give rise to serious thought what have i missed

"'Don't be hurt, my dear fellow. You know that I am quite impersonal. No one else would have done better, some possibly not so well. But clearly you have missed some vital points. What is the opinion of the neighbors about this man Amberley and his wife? That surely is of importance. What of Dr. Ernest? Was he the gay Lothario one would expect?'

with your natural advantages watson every lady is your helper and accomplice what about the girl at the post-office or the wife of the greengrocer i can picture you whispering soft nothings with the young lady at the blue anchor and receiving hard somethings in exchange all this you have left undone it can still be done

it has been done thanks to the telephone and the help of the yard i can usually get my essentials without leaving this room as a matter of fact my information confirms the man's story he has the local repute of being a miser as well as a harsh and exacting husband that he had a large sum of money in that strong room of his is certain

so also is it that young dr ernest an unmarried man played chess with amberley and probably played the fool with his wife all this seems plain sailing and one would think that there was no more to be said and yet and yet where lies the difficulty

in my imagination perhaps well leave it there watson let us escape from this weary workaday world by the side door of music corinna sings to-night at the albert hall and we will have time to dress dine and enjoy in the morning i was up betimes but some toast-crumbs and two empty egg-shells told me that my companion was earlier still i found a scribbled note upon the table

dear watson there are one or two points of contact which i should wish to establish with mr josiah amberley when i have done so we can dismiss the case or not i would only ask you to be on hand about three o'clock as i conceive it possible that i may want you s h

i saw nothing of holmes all day but at the hour named he returned grave preoccupied and aloof at such times it is wiser to leave him to himself has amberley been here yet no ah i am expecting him he was not disappointed for presently the old fellow arrived with a very worried and puzzled expression upon his austere face

i've had a telegram mr holmes i can make nothing of it he handed it over and holmes read it aloud come at once without fail can give you information as to your recent loss elman the vicarage

"'Dispatched at two-ten from Little Turlington,' said Holmes. "'Little Turlington is in Essex, I believe. Not far from Frinton.' "'Well, of course you will start at once. This is evidently from a responsible person, the vicar of the place. Where is my Crockford?' "'Yes, here we have him. J. C. Allman, M. A., living of Mossmore-cum-Little-Perlington. Look up the trains, Watson.'

there is one at five twenty from liverpool street excellent you had best go with him watson he may need help or advice clearly we have come to a crisis in this affair but our client seemed by no means eager to start it's perfectly absurd mr holmes he said what can this man possibly know of what has occurred it is a waste of time and money

"'He would not have telegraphed to you if he did not know something. Why are you at once that you are coming?' "'I don't think I shall go.' Holmes assumed his sternest aspect. "'It would make the worst possible impression both on the police and upon myself, Mr. Amberley, if, when so obvious a clue arose, you should refuse to follow it up. We should feel that you were not really in earnest in this investigation.'

our client seemed horrified at the suggestion why of course i shall go if you look at it that way said he on the face of it it seems absurd to suppose that this parson knows anything but if you think

i do think said holmes with emphasis and so we were launched upon our journey holmes took me aside before we left the room and gave me one word of counsel which showed that he considered the matter to be of importance

whatever you do see that he really does go said he should he break away or return get to the nearest telephone exchange and send the single word bolted i will arrange here that it shall reach me wherever i am

little purlington is not an easy place to reach for it is on a branch line my remembrance of the journey is not a pleasant one for the weather was hot the train slow and my companion sullen and silent hardly talking at all save to make an occasional sardonic remark as to the futility of our proceedings

when we at last reached the little station it was a two-mile drive before we came to the vicarage where a big solemn rather pompous clergyman received us in his study our telegram lay before him well gentlemen he asked what can i do for you we came i explained in answer to your wire my wire i sent no wire

i mean the wire which you sent to mr josiah amberley about his wife and his money if this is a joke sir it is a very questionable one said the vicar angrily i have never heard of the gentleman you name and i have not sent a wire to any one our client and i looked at each other in amazement

"'Perhaps there is some mistake,' said I. "'Are there perhaps two vicarages? Here is the wire itself, signed Elman, and dated from the vicarage. There is only one vicarage, sir, and only one vicar, and this wire is a scandalous forgery, the origin of which shall certainly be investigated by the police. Meanwhile, I can see no possible object in prolonging this interview.'

so mr amberley and i found ourselves on the roadside in what seemed to me to be the most primitive village in england we made for the telegraph office but it was already closed there was a telephone however at the little railway arms and by it i got into touch with holmes who shared in our amazement at the result of our journey

"'Most singular,' said the distant voice. "'Most remarkable. I much fear, my dear Watson, that there is no return train to-night. I have unwittingly condemned you to the horrors of a country inn. However, there is always Nature, Watson, Nature and Josiah Amberley. You can be in close commune with both.' I heard his dry chuckle as he turned away."

it was soon apparent to me that my companion's reputation as a miser was not undeserved he had grumbled at the expense of the journey had insisted upon travelling third class and was now clamorous in his objections to the hotel bill next morning when we did at last arrive in london it was hard to say which of us was in the worse humour

you had best take baker street as we pass said i mr holmes may have fresh instructions if they are not worth more than the last ones they are not of much use said amberley with a malevolent scowl none the less he kept me company i had already warned holmes by telegram of the hour of our arrival but we found a message waiting that he was at lewisham and would expect us there

that was a surprise but an even greater one was to find that he was not alone in the sitting-room of our client a stern-looking impassive man sat beside him a dark man with gray-tinted glasses and a large masonic pin projecting from his tie

"'This is my friend, Mr. Barker,' said Holmes. "'He has been interesting himself also in your business, Mr. Josiah Amberley, though we have been working independently. But we both have the same question to ask you.' Mr. Amberley sat down heavily. He sensed impending danger. I read it in his straining eyes and his twitching features. "'What is the question, Mr. Holmes?'

"'Only this. What did you do with the bodies?' The man sprang to his feet with a hoarse scream. He clawed into the air with his bony hands. His mouth was open, and for the instant he looked like some horrible bird of prey. In a flash we got a glimpse of the real Josiah Amberly, a misshapen demon with a soul as distorted as his body.'

as he fell back into his chair he clapped his hand to his lips as if to stifle a cough holmes sprang at his throat like a tiger and twisted his face towards the ground a white pellet fell from between his gasping lips no short cuts josiah amberley things must be done decently and in order what about it barker i have a cab at the door said our taciturn companion

it is only a few hundred yards to the station we will go together you can stay here watson i shall be back within half an hour the old color man had the strength of a lion in that great trunk of his but he was helpless in the hands of the two experienced manhandlers wriggling and twisting he was dragged to the waiting cab and i was left to my solitary vigil in the ill-omened house

In less time than he had named, however, Holmes was back, in company with a smart young police inspector. "'I've left Barker to look after the formalities,' said Holmes. "'You had not met Barker, Watson. He is my hated rival upon the Surrey shore. When you set a tall dark man, it was not difficult for me to complete the picture. He has several good cases to his credit, has he not, Inspector?'

He has certainly interfered several times. The inspector answered, with reserve, His methods are irregular, no doubt, like my own. The irregulars are useful sometimes, you know. You, for example, with your compulsory warning about whatever he said being used against him, could never have bluffed this rascal into what is virtually a confession.'

perhaps not but we get there all the same mr holmes don't imagine that we had not formed our own views of this case and that we would not have laid our hands on our man you will excuse us for feeling sore when you jump in with methods which we cannot use and so rob us of the credit

there shall be no such robbery mccannon i assure you that i efface myself from now onwards and as to barker he has done nothing save what i told him the inspector seemed considerably relieved that is very handsome of you mr holmes praise or blame can matter little to you but it is very different to us when the newspapers begin to ask questions

Quite so. But they are pretty sure to ask questions anyhow, so it would be as well to have answers. What will you say, for example, when the intelligent and enterprising reporter asks you what the exact points were which aroused your suspicion, and finally gave you a certain conviction as to the real facts? The inspector looked puzzled.

"'We don't seem to have got any real facts yet, Mr. Holmes. You say that the prisoner, in the presence of three witnesses, practically confessed, by trying to commit suicide, that he had murdered his wife and her lover. What other facts have you? Have you arranged for a search? There are three constables on their way.'

then you will soon get the clearest fact of all the bodies cannot be far away try the cellars and the garden it should not take long to dig up the likely places this house is older than the water pipes there must be a disused well somewhere try your luck there but how did you know of it and how was it done

I'll show you first how it was done, and then I will give the explanation which is due to you, and even more to my long-suffering friend here, who has been invaluable throughout. But first, I would like to give you an insight into this man's mentality. It is a very unusual one, so much so that I think his destination is more likely to be Broadmoor than the scaffold.'

he has to a high degree the sort of mind which one associates with the medival italian nature rather than with the modern britain he was a miserable miser who made his wife so wretched by his niggardly ways that she was a ready prey for any adventurer such a one came upon the scene in the person of this chess-playing doctor amberley excelled at chess one mark watson of a scheming mind

Like all misers, he was a jealous man, and his jealousy became a frantic mania. Rightly or wrongly, he suspected an intrigue. He determined to have his revenge, and he planned it with diabolical cleverness. "'Come here!' Holmes led us along the passage with as much certainty as if he had lived in the house, and halted at the open door of the strong room.

what an awful smell of paint cried the inspector that was our first clue said holmes you can thank dr watson's observation for that though he failed to draw the inference it set my foot upon the trail why should this man at such a time be filling his house with strong odors

obviously to cover some other smell which he wished to conceal some guilty smell which would suggest suspicions then came the idea of a room such as you see here with iron door and shutter a hermetically sealed room put those two facts together and whither do they lead i could only determine that by examining the house myself

I was already certain that the case was serious, for I had examined the box-office chart at the Haymarket Theatre, another of Dr. Watson's bull's-eyes, and ascertained that neither B. 30 nor 32 of the upper circle had been occupied that night. Therefore, Amberley had not been to the theatre, and his alibi fell to the ground.

he made a bad slip when he allowed my astute friend to notice the number of the seat taken for his wife the question now arose how i might be able to examine the house i sent an agent to the most impossible village i could think of and summoned my man to it at such an hour when he could not possibly get back

to prevent any miscarriage dr watson accompanied him the good vicar's name i took of course out of my crockford do i make it all clear to you it is masterly said the inspector in an odd voice

there being no fear of interruption i proceeded to burgle the house burglary has always been an alternative profession had i cared to adopt it and i have little doubt that i should have come to the front

Observe what I found. You see the gas pipe along the skirting here. Very good. It rises in the angle of the wall, and there is a tap here in the corner. The pipe runs out into the strong room, as you can see, and ends in that plaster rose in the center of the ceiling, where it is concealed by the ornamentation.

that end is wide open at any moment by turning the outside tap the room could be flooded with gas with door and shutter closed and the tap full on i would not give two minutes of conscious sensation to any one shut up in that little chamber by what devilish device he decoyed them there i do not know but once inside the door they were at his mercy

the inspector examined the pipe with interest one of our officers mentioned the smell of gas said he but of course the window and door were open then and the paint or some of it was already about he had begun the work of painting the day before according to his story but what next mr holmes well then came an incident which was rather unexpected to myself

i was slipping through the pantry window in the early dawn when i felt a hand inside my collar and a voice said now you rascal what are you doing in there when i could twist my head round i looked into the tinted spectacles of my friend and rival mr barker

it was a curious foregathering and set us both smiling it seems that he had been engaged by dr ray ernest's family to make some investigations and had come to the same conclusion as to foul play he had watched the house for some days and had spotted dr watson as one of the obviously suspicious characters who had called there

He could hardly arrest Watson, but when he saw a man actually climbing out of the pantry window, there came a limit to his restraint. Of course, I told him how matters stood, and we continued the case together. Why him? Why not us? Because it was in my mind to put that little test, which answered so admirably. I fear you would not have gone so far. The inspector smiled.

"'Well, maybe not. I understand that I have your word, Mr. Holmes, that you step right out of the case now, and that you turn all your results over to us.' "'Certainly. That is always my custom.' "'Well, in the name of the Force, I thank you. It seems a clear case, as you put it, and there can't be much difficulty over the bodies. I'll show you a grim little bit of evidence,' said Holmes, and I am sure Amberley himself never observed it.'

You'll get results, Inspector, by always putting yourself in the other fellow's place and thinking what you would do yourself. It takes some imagination, but it pays. Now, we will suppose that you were shut up in this little room, had not two minutes to live, but wanted to get even with the fiend who was probably mocking at you from the other side of the door. What would you do? Write a message."

exactly you would like to tell people how you died no use writing on paper that would be seen if you wrote on the wall some eye might rest upon it now look here just above the skirting is scribbled with a purple indelible pencil we w that's all what do you make of that

"'Well, it's only a foot above the ground. The poor devil was on the floor and dying when he wrote it. He lost his senses before he could finish. He was writing, we were murdered. That's how I read it. If you find an indelible pencil on the body, we'll look out for it, you may be sure. But those securities? Clearly there was no robbery at all. And yet he did possess those bonds. We verified that.'

you may be sure he has hidden them in a safe place when the whole elopement had passed into history he would suddenly discover them and announce that the guilty couple had relented and sent back the plunder or had dropped it on the way you certainly seem to have met every difficulty said the inspector of course he was bound to call us in but why he should have gone to you i can't understand

"'Pure swank,' Holmes answered. He felt so clever and so sure of himself that he imagined no one could touch him. He could say to any suspicious neighbor, "'Look at the steps I have taken. I have consulted not only the police, but even Sherlock Holmes.' The inspector laughed. "'We must forgive you your even, Mr. Holmes,' said he. "'It's as workmanlike a job as I can remember.'

A couple of days later, my friend tossed across to me a copy of the bi-weekly North Surrey Observer. Under a series of flaming headlines, which began with, "'The Haven Horror,' and ended with, "'Brilliant Police Investigation,' there was a packed column of print which gave the first consecutive account of the affair. The concluding paragraph is typical of the whole. It ran thus,

the remarkable acumen by which inspector mckinnon deduced from the smell of paint that some other smell that of gas for example might be concealed the bold deduction that the strong room might also be the death chamber and the subsequent inquiry which led to the discovery of the bodies in a disused well cleverly concealed by a dog-kennel

should live in the history of crime as a standing example of the intelligence of our professional detectives well well mckinnon is a good fellow said holmes with a tolerant smile you can file it in our archives watson some day the true story may be told end of the case book of sherlock holmes by sir arthur conan doyle

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