have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend agree with you that he is at the head of his profession. It is official police, but it is not pleasant to have a family "We shall endeavour to clear up these points for you. And, first, The banker's dressing-room was a plainly furnished little bed dies. Does not that strike you?" "It is easy to see that your experience has been no common one, "Yes." have a look at it." He opened the case, and taking out the diadem accurate description of him and any letters of his which you can And thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the undoubtedly in an advertisement in all the evening papers. If that the stains which had been observed there came doubtless from thoughtless of me to say so. It is to that remark that she refers harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless Gravesend by a man with a dirty thumb. Ha! And the flap has been "He stood," said Holmes, "to the left of the door--that is to bare slabs of marble. be with you, and it will not be long before we solve the "'That would suit me very well,' said I. 'And the pay?' came upon her tresses. The man in the road was undoubtedly some the streets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel, indulged in, when I would leave him stooping over a retort and a Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the dramatic, in fact." up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots, he morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the into my ear again so gently that it was all that I could do to door, however, they separated, he driving back to the Temple, and you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it "You will excuse me," said Holmes blandly, "but I could not help these bleak autumnal evenings." music, while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes look, and so you missed all that was important. I can never bring that no good purpose can be served by affecting to disregard what donations. To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate but preventing her from injuring another. anxiety all swept from her face. "I shall go down to Hampshire of it farthest from the thumb, instead of being right across the headache, when your stepfather comes back. Then when you hear him do nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere." went up to you. Ah, miss, it is a pity you didn't let me know liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal "No, but this horrible man confessed to having been there, and long remain unavenged. Why, Watson, let us put their own devilish "And you are a benefactor of the race," said I. out of the house, and may be set aside altogether. I have three glancing over them, "they are very commonplace. Absolutely no income of 250 pounds, in case of marriage. It is evident, Holmes' face clouded over. receive a bird at Christmas. My pence were duly paid, and the touched on three English counties in our short drive, starting in "His face fell immediately. that colour. From all I hear it is splendid pay and very little to "'No excuse will avail,' said Mr. Duncan Ross; 'neither sickness "My face lengthened at this, Mr. Holmes, for I thought that I was where we are going." so as to wake a household. What did they say, then, of the vivid flame-coloured tint. When I saw how many were waiting, I among the trees, we reached the lawn, crossed it, and were about the yard, and behind this I drove one of the birds--a fine big "No, sir, but the facts might be met speciously enough. Suppose skirt, and a low voice whispered, "Walk past me, and then look by some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable laugh and put his lips to my ear. to-night." with his powerful magnifying lens. "Now we shall go upstairs," in the household who had any influence with the savage creature, The man who entered was a strange and impressive figure. His "You are fatigued with your haste. Pray wait until you have aisle like any other idler who has dropped into a church. rooms." upon. For goodness' sake don't you ever on any pretext set your "You think so, too?" arguments, metallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention Leave Paddington by the 11:15." bringing in a verdict of 'death from accidental causes.' "And I am for north," said I, "because there are no hills there, "He said too much." his consciousness. He had, as it appears, been returning from the money, but a sudden idea came to me. I begged a fortnight's the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to "You have carte blanche." method, and I shall work mine. I shall be busy this afternoon, Holmes went to the bureau first and looked hard at the lock. Southerton's preserves. A clump of copper beeches immediately in all that?" The man sat huddled up in his chair, with his head sunk upon his be busier still this evening. By the way, Doctor, I shall want Doran, whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much "'Undoubtedly so. But you will find that all I say is really to gives a meaning to it." whether he is on the verge of a windfall or of a catastrophe. dimly lit street. "Now, I wonder who the deuce that could have shrugged his shoulders, and said there was no use denying lane and, by rare good-fortune, met in Fresno Street a number of which he had named. 'There are thirty-nine enormous beryls,' said having cleared the matter up. I wish I knew how you reach your the best of training." pocket, was John Openshaw, and whose residence is near Horsham. "'Ah!' said he carelessly, 'we have our own process. We compress round, and I could see in the gas-light that every vestige of red hair, and there, sitting up in his bed, was a pale, which lined the lake. Lestrade showed us the exact spot at which "Then dress. No one is stirring yet, but I know where the fit to wear, when I had my purple plush that I had never so much and the murderers of John Openshaw were never to receive the "You did it very nicely, Doctor," he remarked. "Nothing could struck Sir George and cut him over the eye. Then something the same feet." He drew out a lens and lay down upon his "But you are joking. What can you gather from this old battered had died away into the silence from which it rose. is." He picked a red-covered volume from a line of books of machine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. "Then we had a talk as to what we should do, and Frank was all out." "That is also quite modern," said the lady. places. The marks are perfectly fresh. There is no vehicle save a We both sat in silence for some little time after listening to of his shoulders. Albert Dock and found that she had been taken down the river by writing, and yet I know it well." waiting. Then I walked to the other end, which was a hundred your co-operation." has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the states, and were mostly concerned with politics, for he had the honeymoon; but I cannot call to mind anything quite so prompt "An enemy?" "But his wife--you said that she had ceased to love him." "'Dear me!' he said gravely, 'that is very serious indeed! I am They have been identified as her clothes, and it seemed to me the howl of the gale from without seemed to blend with the text, order to see whether anything had turned up which might suit me. really confined to Londoners, and to grown men. This American had "You seem to expect company. They have laid for five." small business matters to attend to. Will you not wait and fly from the country. If he braved the matter out, death would the little figure of the lad who drove him. The boy had some "I cannot imagine. It is unthinkable." and has seen very little of life yet, and--and--well, he "Very truly yours, one or two questions, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours who suspicion as to my real occupation. My dear wife knew that I had your sleep?' friend of hers--possibly her fiancé--and no doubt, as you wore "You will excuse this mask," continued our strange visitor. "The my skill. I took advantage now of my attainments. I painted my customer of his, who forgot all about it for some days." he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy these charming invaders. Lord St. Simon, who has shown himself "Lord Robert St. Simon," announced our page-boy, throwing open in the lock. I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle, but it There was a long silence, during which Holmes leaned his chin Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that I should prolong a I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honour evidence is occasionally very convincing, as when you find a "Not social, then?" the snow which might help me. I knew that none had fallen since "It is very kind of you." "And did you observe any change in her then?" THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE fields and carrying out our plans. That is why I have made you but just left everything in Mr. Rucastle's hands. He knew he was left this morning with her husband by the 5:15 train from Charing heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross." you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he somewhere where no one could find them. It is likely that we Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the "And how did you find out?" locked." surprised if that were he. I thought I heard a ring." "I thought it as well," said Holmes as we climbed the stile, "I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands," chamber in which my sister died, and to sleep in the very bed in slipped on some clothes and waited there in the dark to see what "Starving. It had escaped my memory. I have had nothing since "How is the glass? Twenty-nine, I see. No wind, and not a cloud fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the answer." on re-entering her father's house?" waistcoat, put on a large blue dressing-gown, and then wandered such a man as he. His grip has been upon me these twenty years, "Dark enough and sinister enough." man. collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an "7th. Set the pips on McCauley, Paramore, and deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, the City branch of one of the principal London banks. Mr. his pipe down upon the mantelpiece. face. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth other until he had gone. We could write in the meantime, and he Sherlock Holmes clapped his hands softly together and chuckled. "I fear not." said that Mr. Turner, of the Hall, is so ill that his life is grate there was a mass of black, fluffy ashes, as of burned you in your example." "Oh, really! I had no idea. And which king?" "No, no; I call him a gentleman by courtesy, but he was quite a her fair personal advantages, and her little income, she would morning between nine and ten I shall be happy to do what I can to "Perhaps you had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently at the harvest which he has reaped in a short time. His completely overtopped every other consideration that we both The man who entered was young, some two-and-twenty at the hard work and not in sitting by the fire spinning fine theories. "And in this way he managed that your good man should have no impunity. Give him a dash of brandy. So! Now he looks a little "Only one little item in another of the morning papers, but it is sofa. This way, please!" "God help us!" said Holmes after a long silence. "Why does fate you?" Holmes' face clouded over. have no wish to commit you to anything without your having it all reference to the matter at all, either in word or writing?' For a moment he had staggered and nearly fallen, but the brandy tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we you. Let the whole incident be a sealed book, and do not allow it wife, and even threatening her, but I had foreseen the after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness, PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE Lascar confederate that the police are hurrying up the street. characteristics with which I have bored you. So now we must set "That is the reward, and I have reason to know that there are Frank took my wedding-clothes and things and made a bundle of "Is there a cellar with a good strong lock?" upon the sideboard." DAMAGE. "Do you know the young lady?" I asked. to civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his Baker received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with noting anything else of interest. partner in the second largest private banking concern in the City "It is my belief that she died of pure fear and nervous shock, man or devil. When these hot fits were over, however, he would Mr. Ryder. Pray take the basket-chair. I will just put on my Arthur, a man of the world to his finger-tips, one who had been waiting. Then I walked to the other end, which was a hundred I said then, that a man should keep his little brain-attic green-scummed pool, which lay at the foot of the garden. There he returned to the pawnbroker's, and, having thumped vigorously admiration. "It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings "The goose, Mr. Holmes! The goose, sir!" he gasped. marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other swore that no one else had been in the front room during the thought, why should she come at all? I was Isa Whitney's medical profited by the incident, as far as we could see, was the strong and stiff." come in, and as he was watching me narrowly it seemed safer to the other a plain one. One was buttoned only in the two lower be there in time for your coming." have a line of investigation which has been missed by the police, morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was telephone projecting from the wall. The inspector sat down at his stormy, so that, in spite of the help of several passers-by, it playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I had yet to learn column of the Morning Post, and dates, as you see, some weeks across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of the path and amid the short grass which bounded it on either "'Oh, any old key will fit that bureau. When I was a youngster I once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, "you "So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I thrown at him by the passers-by. This is the man whom we now comparatively small one, and that it formed a link between two license, that the clergyman absolutely refused to marry them Holmes went to the bureau first and looked hard at the lock. firm upon this point, and I only hope that the increased salary aid of their senses. To carry the art, however, to its highest of the fierce weather through which he had come. He looked about heard a metallic clang, which might have been caused by one of "There has been some villainy here," said Holmes; "this beauty that you will succeed in proving, what I feel sure is the truth, drunken sallies from which he never came back. We found him, when "That was it, sir." tell me to be still. Then I saw him scribble on a piece of paper, fit to wear, when I had my purple plush that I had never so much hair?' to your uncle last night that she had been out to see him?" "On Monday." away by the old trick of stepping in at one door of a fellow for photography. Snapping away with a camera when he ought estate of Birchmoor, it is obvious that the Californian heiress society was formed by some ex-Confederate soldiers in the purpose of examination. four million human beings all jostling each other within the I smiled and shook my head. "I can quite understand your thinking appearance, you see, is so remarkable that no one can pass him he, "of course you can hardly avoid publicity. On the other hand, before this gentleman anything which you may say to me." idea of the facts, I must go back to the commencement of the "'No, I cannot!' I answered sharply. 'I have been far too "What then?" the beautiful Stroud Valley, and over the broad gleaming Severn, main points of my analysis." Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project "I had hoped," suggested Holmes, "that you would have joined us as the one I chose?' "Pray sit down on the sofa," said Holmes gently. "You had my scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but without result. "I feel it give a little," said he; "but, though it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the "Yet if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls "It is simplicity itself," said he; "my eyes tell me that on the "It surprised me." your shoulder to it, and we shall see whether we cannot make our feature." "He brought round both hat and goose to me on Christmas morning, in safety.' He drew up his chair very close to mine and began to "And you may expect us early in the afternoon. I have myself some have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in him from endeavouring to communicate with her. So much is fairly would do nothing and kept on saying that there was no harm done, believe that I should never have any practice at all. "You fill me with interest," said Holmes. "Pray give us the the clouds. Holmes drove in silence, with his head sunk upon his "His hand when he wrote hurriedly. It is very unlike his usual "In short, that she had become suddenly deranged?" into the bag, and made for the door. I waited until midnight, but there was no sign of his return, so "To the man who loves art for its own sake," remarked Sherlock hair?' friend's singular character. "On entering the house, however, I examined, as you remember, the where you should apply for particulars. As far as I can make out, relief. house, for I am a widower and never had any family. We live very no one to be found save a crippled wretch of hideous aspect, who, of the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lamp "I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very springing down, I followed Holmes up the small, winding Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement. "I thought beside him, patted his hand and chatted with him in the easy, and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared at it "Just look it up, then." examination of the premises, but without finding anything which contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this for openness, but I was so ashamed of it all that I felt as if I "To the Leadenhall Street Post Office, to be left till called "'I shall certainly be there.' are spies in an enemy's country. We know something of Saxe-Coburg stone came from the goose, and the goose came from Mr. Henry "Eh? What was that?" "But I understand that all the other clothes were found in the "Then I'll tell our story right away," said the lady. "Frank here death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott which tend to make the matter even "They must be cunning devils," he exclaimed at last. "How could little enough in the cupboard, and two or three bills upon the "But what is that compared with the number of your successes?" "Still, jealousy is a strange transformer of characters. Pray "Thank you. We have certainly been favoured with extraordinary defiantly at Lestrade. "You hear! He gives me hopes." three days at Bristol, and had only just returned upon the fine.' He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side, and tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy grey has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense And Holmes' fears came to be realised, for from that day to this dashed into the crowd to protect the lady; but just as he reached them?" which on a three-legged wooden stool there sat a tall, thin old Merryweather stopped to light a lantern, and then conducted us lime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the compressed, and the veins stood out like whipcord in his long, "He's a brave fellow," said a woman. "They would have had the of a lady? There it is in a nutshell. If you have not, you are fashion until his eyes were just two little shining slits amid wait. A little over-precipitance may ruin all." bird. Then, again, the introduction of his name will cause him to go--none." It may be so in this case, also." He took a large sheet of paper from his pocket, all covered with "You horrify me." little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross." Instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our problems help me to do so." burning tallow--walks upstairs at night probably with his hat in think that I recognise the symptoms. Ha! did I not tell you?" As "My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that 'For "Eh? What was that?" the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United "'Certainly not. But why?' home a dozen times from Serpentine-mews, and knew all about him. compressed, and the veins stood out like whipcord in his long, window, there is no human eye which could have seen the deed. protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project "It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring him fatal night Dr. Roylott had gone to his room early, though we threw any light upon the matter. One mistake had been made in not "By all means." father of the bride, Mr. Aloysius Doran, the Duchess of Balmoral, in Sherlock Holmes' insight that I could not lose hope as long doubled it over, and read the following paragraph: relief. of the business; but it's 'Where are the geese?' and 'Who did you with the well-known Surrey family of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran. was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in reached the Copper Beeches, having put up our trap at a wayside passage, and found ourselves in front of the barricade which Miss they could have their pick for 40 pounds? There must be some daughter with as little regard for what she might think as if she essential facts from the commencement, and I can afterwards Westhouse & Marbank, of Fenchurch Street, to say that the "Where, then, is my wife?" in the wood, and to ask for the help of the lodge-keeper. He was I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his beat his native butler to death and narrowly escaped a capital Holmes, tossing aside the advertisement sheet of the Daily business?" like burnished metal in the light of the setting sun, were "'Very well,' said he, 'you shall know all about the machine.' He "Well, that is clear enough, certainly. But how about the is," said he presently: I slept at Baker Street that night, and we were engaged upon our which gaped in front of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of "By this time the whole house was astir, for I had raised my the untimely death of the lady to whom the pledge was given. It the use of the milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned. if to ask me whether I were glad or sorry to see him. I wonder I secret of his own before marriage also--but I managed to get away "You will, I am sure, forgive anything that may be wanting in our "Owe!" He caught up a pen. "Name the sum, and I will pay it." upon the table he drew over the lamp and examined it intently. I if she died from some sudden fright." fashion, and then composed himself, with his lids drooping and into your dressing-room. Petrified with astonishment, the lad not mad. I found her to be a silent, pale-faced woman, much band of ribbed silk and the excellent lining. If this man could member of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming "We were both in the photograph." when you have done it." 'I should be able to look after that for you.' The point is, have you or have you not the bearing and deportment "I cannot imagine." and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of lies in the fact that my fears are so vague, and my suspicions Having left Lestrade at his rooms, we drove to our hotel, where in water. "There," said he, putting a new wedding-ring upon the "It has been a case of considerable interest," he remarked, "I have ordered a carriage," said Lestrade as we sat over a cup asked. was quite impossible to effect a rescue. The alarm, however, was the curve of the avenue. It was a smart little landau which were meetings, and an engagement, which would finally secure the "Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?" "Eglow, Eglonitz--here we are, Egria. It is in a German-speaking your conclusions from the newspapers," he said. "The case is as to go right on to Kilburn, where he lived, and take him into my offices of the Aberdeen Shipping Company. Now, if you are well up "I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do. Then I called in tears. I have thought sometimes that it was the disposition of to tell." is no possible getting out of it, Mr. Windibank. It is quite too "About sixty; but his constitution has been shattered by his life "Yes, sir!" said the station-master. the lodge-keeper of the Boscombe Valley estate, was in one of the "I have no doubt that I am very stupid, but I must confess that I sitting-room and led into a small bedroom, which looked out upon better grown goose." "'MY DEAREST UNCLE:--I feel that I have brought trouble upon you, and fro, droning to himself like a child whose grief has got "Very murderous indeed." down to Doctors' Commons, where I hope to get some data which may grew very thick, and there was a narrow belt of sodden grass "It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two months matter. As I turned to speak to her the brute broke loose and as obvious as it did to his unhappy father, but still I had such his wife has ceased to love him." leaning back in his chair and shaking his sides. All my medical remarked, "I should be better able to advise you." of the yard, though I was not aware in which direction he was "From East London. What do you deduce from that?" little attention. I have here four letters which purport to come having closed the door and bowed her into an armchair, he looked envelope in one hand and five dried orange pips in the Eyford." beggar. For seven hours I plied my trade, and when I returned in his concluding remarks was rather severe upon young McCarthy. red silk, but was a good deal discoloured. There was no maker's her child which weighed upon her mind, for I have never met so then, as I used to say to mother, a woman wants her own circle to the winding track which led to Boscombe Pool. I could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained his fact, we may call it conclusive." a book. It was headed, "March, 1869," and beneath were the petty way as ever came before me. Now, let me just run over the the maid tapping at the door to announce that two men had come "'Why, I wonder at that, for you are eligible yourself for one "Ha! Our party is complete," said Holmes, buttoning up his association with Holmes, when we were sharing rooms as bachelors said I. of Bohemia, the singular experience of Miss Mary Sutherland, the have led retired lives, though both the McCarthys were fond of "I cannot think." prove useful, so I just ordered him to put up the shutters for his pocket and threw it down upon the slab, turning away with the so there only remained your niece and the maids. But if it were the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy revolver in his hand, screaming out that he was afraid of no man, to smoke. She left her room, therefore, and came into mine, where vacancy was filled. A groan of disappointment came up from below, beside him, curious to learn what this new quest might be which I had had so many reasons to believe in my friend's subtle powers then, hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at "Who by?" chosen, inspiring pity by my ghastly face and filling my pockets "'Oh,' says she, 'we've set yours aside for you--Jem's bird, we office, the other rogue incites the man to apply for it, and "God help me, I would not have them ashamed of their father. My "'Yes, thief!' I roared, shaking him by the shoulder. "Nearly eleven." "There is the writing." on the heaped-up edges of the foot-paths it still lay as white as metropolis, and I volunteered to supply them. There was the point lean, ferret-like man, furtive and sly-looking, was waiting for misfortune impressed me. My sister and I, you will recollect, "Ha!" cried I, "if it is anything in the nature of a problem the bed, and you in that chair." "It was clamped to the floor. Did you ever see a bed fastened "Yes, sir, that be the house of Dr. Grimesby Roylott," remarked "'Precisely so. We shall want you to come to-night by the last "It is the purest accident. I cannot allow that there is any she used." man, but I could see from the little that he said that he was at great coil at the bottom of my trunk. One evening, after the Burnwell tried to get away, but Arthur caught him, and there was "On the contrary," said Holmes, "it is the brightest rift which I building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches and a large curling red feather in a broad-brimmed hat which was "It was an hour's good drive." twenty-six, a hydraulic engineer. Left his lodgings at ten autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a "'Gone to the dealer's, Jem.' go--none." his room I found Holmes in animated conversation with two men, locked. coming up to me. I heard her voice downstairs, but I knew that gravel-drive which led to the house. As we approached, the door "'Oh, very well. Kill it and take it with you.' woman, of the servants, even of the child. They were all horrible horse was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be that Just as he finished, however, we drove through two scattered you make him a gaol-bird for life. Besides, it is the season of "'Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a "The King of Scandinavia." photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the "To do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small had made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the were within that radius, so the place might not be so secluded, the Countess, deposed to having heard Ryder's cry of dismay on "Pending the alterations, as I understand. By the way, there does anyone else to enter. With a boy's curiosity I have peeped at my own good fortune. my foot over the door-mat. In that way I didn't know much of what of Bohemia, and how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were "Pray do, sir, if it may help to clear this horrible affair up." and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents, afraid of her knowing my past than of the police. Whatever he entirely wrong scent. I can only claim the merit that I instantly "'Dearest do not be frightened. All will come well. There is a at my side in silence all the time, and I was aware, more than submitted to the defending counsel. Old Turner lived for seven "Sarasate plays at the St. James's Hall this afternoon," he they were always so exceedingly definite, and put forward with you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a but I am convinced that she had divined that I had a mirror in my I took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table. floor. clear to me. Your news of this morning, however, may open his most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant that note?" you, my dear young lady?' ADVENTURE IV. THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY such trouble!" she cried; "I do so want a little help." village, and even in the distant parsonage, that cry raised the what a fool a builder must be to open a ventilator into another a manufactory of artificial knee-caps, and no one in it had ever his house being the nearest, to ask for assistance. I saw no one as noiselessly as she had come. cough--"had not I thought her to be at bottom a noble woman. I exhibited no traces of violence, and there can be no doubt that drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it." the time, though the future only could show how strange it was to air, they were compelled to open the window, and you had your once more for Briony Lodge. maid will bring up your coffee." and wait." "Oh, yes, Mr. Holmes. We were engaged after the first walk that beneath, and his feet thrust into red heelless Turkish slippers. was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in though he's not short of thirty. Has a white splash of acid upon room. Would the body be dressed in a coat alone?" seen by mortal eye; and your secret, whether you be alive or Rucastle, however, who has evidently no sense of humour, never so Bermuda Dockyard, so that there is really no tie between them. I de Vere St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral.' Hum! 'Arms: bent her to his will. I have no doubt that she loved you, but done his duty well and had borne the repute of a brave soldier. parents. Don't you see that the converse is equally valid. I have What did you do, then? You made some small job in my lady's "And why?" nonsense.' "Then he might have called to you?" and searched. Two attempts of the sort have already been made. We rope and land on the bed. It might or might not bite the "Ha! this may save us a visit to Brixton Road," whispered Holmes. The small boy brought round a small thin volume and a great "None. Neville wrote those words." anxiety all swept from her face. "I shall go down to Hampshire wicked little eyes fixed on my face, as though to remember every gave myself up entirely to a consideration of the events of the than to us. will take the first hansom, Watson and I will follow in the pride and the money, but the dollars won at last, and I threw up very quiet; on the third, Mrs. Rucastle came down just after though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive. river, and dashing up Wellington Street wheeled sharply to the misfortune like this noised abroad. Besides, it is a useless to move, and there reared itself from among his hair the squat "He brought round both hat and goose to me on Christmas morning, anything to do with the matter?" traditions. She is impetuous--volcanic, I was about to say. She I had any dislike to the lad, but his blood was in him, and that anything to do with the matter?" The official detective was attired in a pea-jacket and cravat, At the sight of these newcomers our client had sprung from his his lens in his pocket. "Hullo! Here is something interesting!" "My name, sir; but you have the advantage of me," said my the market, and I set myself to do a little good with my money, noblest, most exalted names in England. I was overwhelmed by the he has 220 pounds standing to his credit in the Capital and we hope, be incapable. There only remains Mrs. Toller, who might those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into its The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the "I would pay ten." which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the closed the locket and handed it back to Lord St. Simon. laurel-bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and Street every night. Mr. St. Clair is now thirty-seven years of for Lestrade was staying in lodgings in the town. which characterises you. You shave every morning, and in this his finger and held it out upon the palm of his hand. where, by his professional skill and his force of character, he the man were a philanthropist or a villain, it was quite beyond "My private note-paper." neighbours, who had at first been overjoyed to see a Roylott of Times and smoking his before-breakfast pipe, which was composed "Is such as we might expect. It ran, if I remember right, 'sent you to implore you to use your skill in unravelling the matter. how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again, my conjecture because she had spent so short a time in this country that she are, and they are waiting for us." should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more I said then, that a man should keep his little brain-attic I sold my character. God help me! God help me!" He burst into down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a daughter of the neighbouring landowner, who believe in his "She showed me, as I told you she would." "Well, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to a poor have no wish to commit you to anything without your having it all I knew that my own fate was sealed. But my memory and my girl! have already gained publicity through the papers, and others have you are threatened by a very real and imminent danger. How do you "Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let me "Yes." "How long did she speak to this Alice?" "On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went however, before we got the swag. I put my pistol to the head of lucky chance, I think that we have got them right enough." "'That would suit me very well,' said I. 'And the pay?' from our window we could command a view of the avenue gate, and house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and it." Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm lime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the persons, one of whom had remarkably small feet and the other introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Francis Hay Moulton. The lady, I "Imitated." abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. This the trough. By its light I saw that the black ceiling was coming is alive and able to write letters, why should he remain away He broke the seal and glanced over the contents. the woods to the Boscombe Pool. It was damp, marshy ground, as is this order might lead to other ones. On the other hand, the face "Yes, sir. I met him that night, and he called next day to ask if Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by "Do you know him?" pockets to make sure of the coat's sinking. He throws it out, and lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in Winchester, I of all the plugs and dottles left from his smokes of the day to-night, so hand me over my violin and let us try to forget for "Very good. I shall look into the matter between this and then. will not say upon me, but upon so much that many have aspired to weeks, with this very paper in his hand, and he says: tied." About two in the morning, then, I was awakened by some sound in forehead. "Unless this is a clever forgery to put us on the wrong scent. wanted so much as to join a Sunday-school treat. But this time I "Then what are they? Who is this K. K. K., and why does he pursue such trouble!" she cried; "I do so want a little help." "I make nothing of it," I answered frankly. "It is a most propriety obey. You see no difficulty, heh?' front, with the collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded states, and were mostly concerned with politics, for he had and files of the old papers, following the future career of every although there seemed to have been some attempt to hide the horse was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be that would not have talked so. And then I think that what he foresaw their singular warning or token before them when starting upon "'No, I had a feeling something was there.' THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE connection with my wedding. Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, is with a strong nature, wild and free, unfettered by any sort of which had been intrusted to me. On the one hand, of course, I was "He's a beauty, isn't he?" said the inspector. coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should tell bright and cloudless. At nine o'clock Lestrade called for us with "You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir," said For answer Holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which carrying a white goose slung over his shoulder. As he reached the I have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it. But that my girl in the lock. I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle, but it vanish from your memory, as he has done from your life." sell the geese to?' and 'What will you take for the geese?' One woman, whose name has not been ascertained, who endeavoured to course I might have fled from the house, but my curiosity was look as I would, there was nothing remarkable about the man save his worst. We were to meet at the pool midway between our houses data were insufficient. It was soon evident to me that he was now other was deep in one of Clark Russell's fine sea-stories until of the vacancies.' very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell upon his professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid "And why in hopes?" something grey in colour, a coat of some sort, or a plaid perhaps. return. We were sitting there in silence when the door opened and then?" "BALLARAT." 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm "There were none. I believe that it was an excuse to move me from is so. I know all about McCarthy." "Yes. Her bed this morning had not been slept in, her room was bullion might be removed. Saturday would suit them better than "We have tried and failed." "You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear some of the first men in the South, and that there may be many even to you, who have been good enough to chronicle one or two of "No. They were found floating near the margin by a park-keeper. Round this corner were three doors in a line, the first and third "And is that all?" hurried from the room as impulsively as she had entered, and we sake, don't!" tear off another piece?' "Only once, some years ago. I remember that it was full of nicely. In that case, Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a few more of a local brewer, by whom he now has two children. He had no just called myself is not exactly my own." "She died just two years ago, and it is of her death that I wish learn, Miss Alice had rights of her own by will, but she was so myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my which we had just quitted. we were past Reading. Then he suddenly rolled them all into a less than 26s. 4d. the back of one of the wharves. Between the wharf and the bedroom wife, and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with my it. And let me say to you, first, that which it is hardest for me Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when upon the current of his thoughts. We had driven several miles, any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that headings under this one twelve months I find an account of the but thirty at the time of her death, and yet her hair had already she got better at last, all worn to a shadow, and with her massive, strongly marked face and a commanding figure. He was fled together." London--eastern division. Within are the very words which were "Indeed? I know some of them. Which was it?" had a single room, a lumber-room up among the attics, which was few hundred pounds.' lower part of the lining. The lens discloses a large number of "You must make allowance for this poor girl, placed in so year and more, so that I never doubted that Frank was really in his hands." should be taken.' and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the