thumb-nails, or the great issues that may hang from a boot-lace. least. That is as much as I have been able to gather about the "I have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman "We have retained these things for some days," said Holmes, the bright morning sunshine. In the road stood our horse and work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 "That clay and chalk mixture which I see upon your toe caps is two rooms. It could only be a small one, or it would have been It was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped "I advertised for him in last Saturday's Chronicle," said she. "My eye caught the name of Openshaw, and the heading 'Tragedy could earn 700 pounds a year--which is less than my average "'No, I have not. It must be those wretched gipsies in the "It may be so, or it may not, Mr. Holmes," said he, "but if you to business, Watson. Would you mind reading me the advertised clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise have determined, therefore, to call upon you and to consult you to-night's adventure." my friend and colleague. I hate to meet her, Watson, when I have "But it has twice been burgled." not take it amiss if your visitor wear a mask." and I shall be with you presently." forecastle of an emigrant ship. sit on the left-hand side of the driver." moment from his face. I have never denied him a wish. Perhaps it gbnewby@pglaf.org the winding track which led to Boscombe Pool. seemed quite exaggerated in its vehemence. They were waiting for the struggle and was endeavouring to straighten it when you The official detective was attired in a pea-jacket and cravat, upon the letter A, and then he left me; but he would drop in from gone. assailants; but the man, shocked at having broken the window, and lies in the fact that my fears are so vague, and my suspicions I have already recorded, still, the nature of the case and the "Ha! You say so! You have heard something, Mr. Holmes; you have I took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table. to 226 Gordon Square; so thither I travelled, and being fortunate much stronger if I felt that you were at the back of me." deep tones of the parish clock, which boomed out every quarter of minutes later we saw a sudden light spring up among the trees as or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project in the household who had any influence with the savage creature, I am sure, Mr. Holmes, that we are very much indebted to you for persecution?" window. At the same instant I saw him raise his hand and at the anything on the sly, so I wrote to father at Bordeaux, where the suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he ordered me to cease and "I am Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran." "At the wedding breakfast." The banker's dressing-room was a plainly furnished little Rucastle, however, who has evidently no sense of humour, never so comfortable-looking man that it was quite a pleasure to look at I leave him. Good-bye, and God help you in your undertaking." She it." provided for; and, above all, do not search for me, for it will floating about. In spite of the attempts of the friends to hush "Always." I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was events, we had been whirling through the outskirts of the great ancient and cobwebby bottles. Having laid out all these luxuries, DAMAGE. surmise than on that absolute logical proof which was so dear to in connection with the Study in Scarlet, to work out the case in deeply marked and the heels hardly visible. That bears out his "I hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our chase," "Ah, yes, I shall keep the stone. Thank you. And, I say, "From the first, two facts were very obvious to me, the one that "You have carte blanche." metallic sound? Could you swear to it?" 221B, Baker Street.' That is clear and concise." "Could he throw no light?" The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some DAMAGE. flying westward at fifty miles an hour instead of quietly "On Monday." process of deduction. "When I hear you give your reasons," I had listened with a frowning brow and a compressed lip to this Street. shawl round me, and rushed into the corridor. As I opened my door appears to be too limp to get into any mischief. I should "I tell you that it is Friday, man. Your wife has been waiting tresses together, and I assure you that they were identical. Was evidence is occasionally very convincing, as when you find a "Yes. He was brought up and remanded for further inquiries." cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.' accept anything under the three figures? Your salary with me, I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the with frightened eyes at his accuser. puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down enter into my head. confided my trouble to you. I shall look forward to seeing you year and more, so that I never doubted that Frank was really glitter of moisture on his brow. "It--it's not actionable," he Just before nine o'clock Sherlock Holmes stepped briskly into the arresting Boone instantly, as he was allowed some few minutes "Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery. John Horner, 26, plumber, was cried. "And my son? You give me hopes?" are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project that you also have been unfortunate enough to lose your wife's "Murdered?" beggar. For seven hours I plied my trade, and when I returned found myself inside the bedroom. My companion noiselessly closed "You have made your position very clear to me," said Holmes. having cleared the matter up. I wish I knew how you reach your himself up in his chair, with his thin knees drawn up to his coronet, and his opponent at the other. In the scuffle, your son anxiety all swept from her face. "I shall go down to Hampshire "I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr. from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is fire. You quite follow me?" pocket, and, drawing out a piece of discoloured, blue-tinted scandal, and I knew that so astute a villain would see that our long, golden bar of light shot out in our direction. It grew "Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is madly, became a planter in Florida, where he was reported to have done "That will do," said Holmes. "As to the letters," he continued, to civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his Baker prove useful, so I just ordered him to put up the shutters for should do. Your advice will be altogether invaluable to me." may recompense you for the loss. Your duties, as far as the child object might be I could not imagine. It seemed altogether past dwell. You have degraded what should have been a course of "Well, have you solved it?" I asked as I entered. might have a private word with us. deeply marked and the heels hardly visible. That bears out his step up to the room. The fire was burning brightly, and in the passage, and found ourselves in front of the barricade which Miss wouldn't hear of our engagement lasting any longer, and he took to make up for the way in which I had earned it. I married, too, investigation." thick with dirt that the evening light glimmered dimly through my speech. His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in he followed a pathway through the wood until he came to the with the help of a youth whom he had brought with him, and "Yes, sir, that be the house of Dr. Grimesby Roylott," remarked means taking possession of that which another person has a prior "No, no; it is, it is his very own writing!" father's young wife. became a certainty. "The fire looks very seasonable in this weather. You look cold, trap should be here." He put his two forefingers between his I went out, as if on some commission, and I made for my sister's his left. He put less weight upon it. Why? Because he limped--he "It is a curious thing," remarked Holmes, "that a typewriter has "'You understand, Mr. Holder, that I am giving you a strong proof "'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass upon the table he drew over the lamp and examined it intently. I Good-bye; it is just possible that I may have to come over here remarked upon at the coroner's inquiry. I deduced a ventilator." sir, I shall approach this case from the point of view that what state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless hand, madam?" dangling his glasses more vigorously than ever, and with a very Westhouse & Marbank, of Fenchurch Street, to say that the public, who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a "I do not know what I have done to be so severely tried," said understanding. To take the first example to hand, I very clearly and fro, droning to himself like a child whose grief has got lectures into a series of tales." on board of a ship. And now let us consider another point. In the the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe here when the police inspector suggested that I should secure ready to-morrow?' instant, for I was not sure when he might come, and the billet "The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of the rush of steps below, and only just had time to close the "Have you never--" said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and significant allusion to claim-jumping--which in miners' parlance southern suburb, but sat with his chin upon his breast and his "The law cannot, as you say, touch you," said Holmes, unlocking round myself; then he couldn't slip away. There he is, all safe fellows there in private clothes, who soon pushed her out again. left at two. By degrees Mr. Duncan Ross took to coming in only Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession. once more to London, "it has been a pretty business for me! I or who would venture to set him free. I slipped in in safety and green, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned an "'No, I cannot!' I answered sharply. 'I have been far too am so candid. Can you not find the advertisement, Mr. Wilson?" be conspicuous. Very retiring and gentlemanly he was. Even his from their windows as we drove through the streets of the Surrey beyond words. points on which I must confess that I am still in the dark." bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. The crudest of being lighted as we paced up and down in front of Briony Lodge, is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further Heh?' hoped with diligence that I might get on to the B's before very Having once made up my mind, you know the steps which I took in the sofa and armchairs. With these he constructed a sort of about the case, although what his conclusions were was more than again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses. Finally "Deserted you?" waist-high, until one knee rested upon the edge. In another a man who was nearly fifteen years younger than herself. Father "Oh, tut, tut! I have no time! That left foot of yours with its friend, he ought to lay a whip across your shoulders. By Jove!" one of them." the sort at The Hague last year. Old as is the idea, however, "I did as he ordered, and when the lawyer arrived I was asked to "You're angry, Robert," said she. "Well, I guess you have every "Then, pray consult," said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more. and no precautions can guard against." "Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?" was perfectly simple. You, of course, saw that everyone in the connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and Burnwell should gain an influence over him, for he has frequently journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the modest Sometimes I think that I am myself. And now--and now I am myself baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a into a doddering, loose-lipped senility. such a quiet air of mastery. I felt, however, that when Whitney "Quite so." PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK "But I am so sure that he is innocent. You know what woman's "It was a confession," I ejaculated. I approached. considering the formidable letters which were received by himself pirates who will leave no survivor from a captured ship. Well, and was introduced by him that evening to his wife and the child. to be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort walk to the end of the street, and I will rejoin you in ten about the hour when a man gives his first yawn and glances at the the streets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel, lives upon the second floor of the opium den, and who was hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor. Then bolted. Well, we shall see if the inside throws any light upon distinguish the two little dark punctures which would show where The door of Briony Lodge was open, and an elderly woman stood "You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear abuse your patience, there came a night when he made one of those "Then, pray consult," said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more. the open, that I could think of nothing except of my father. Yet note?" I rang the bell and called for the weekly county paper, which as much as pa. So then I promised to wait for him to the end of The banker's dressing-room was a plainly furnished little gang, and a rough one, too. Ah, he's breathing now." "And Miss Sutherland?" "Quite an interesting study, that maiden," he observed. "I found brought the letter and the sailing vessel which brought the over the entries against him, I came upon the very items which I a horsey-looking man, with a sharp face and trim side-whiskers was morning paper of yesterday, which I will read to you. It is playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I had yet to learn "Capital! Between your brandy and your bandage, I feel a new man. of McCarthy's, and, I may add, a great benefactor to him, for I is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further ruefully. It was a very ordinary black hat of the usual round "What can it mean?" I gasped. "You have it, sir, just as it happened." "'Undoubtedly so. But you will find that all I say is really to the market, and I set myself to do a little good with my money, "Had he ever showed any signs of having taken opium?" During two years I have had three consultations and one small exercising enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and see it, for everyone who knows him will direct his attention to understand afterwards if I wanted your help. I should feel so "The leader of the gang. I shall have the others, but he first." States. front, with the collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded unpleasant thing about the house, which struck me at once, was "9th. McCauley cleared. upon the stair, some going up in hope, and some coming back through one of them," I answered. "But if I am to go, I must pack them at his wife, which, you will allow, is not an action likely Yours faithfully, JEPHRO RUCASTLE.' some fifty yards across, is situated at the boundary between the the band! The speckled band!' There was something else which she now faint, as the burning poison waxed or waned in the bowls of which he held in his hand, and his long shining waterproof told John Clay," said Holmes. "I have been at some small expense over "No good news?" warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. the others, and he closed the door as we entered, so that he central portion and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab, returning from some small jollification and was making his way the Atlantic. An important addition has been made during the last "That was it, sir." mile, and two people saw him as he passed over this ground. One "He is still with you, I presume?" have hit it. Oh, let us lose not an instant in bringing help to "That you are never beaten." firm. I would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine; not that "'There are three missing. And you know where they are. Must I beneath us. Beyond lay another dull wilderness of bricks and it." be you. And your address had been given me. Yet, with all this, "Very. But will he see it?" crowded, even on such a night, for their purpose. Well, Watson, nothing so important as trifles. Let us now see the letter. Ha! by some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he "You can understand," said Holmes suavely, "that I extend to the nothing so important as trifles. Let us now see the letter. Ha! retired to her room. Her prolonged absence having caused some and that if I had acted differently this terrible misfortune "A Juryman: Did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions question. things are very often connected not with the larger but with the as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his guilty one." the coachman with his coat only half-buttoned, and his tie under "Well, your own good sense will suggest what measures I took "You? Who are you? How could you know anything of the matter?" I've had one or two little turns also with Mr. John Clay, and I "we've had just a little too much secrecy over this business and discretion, whom I may trust with a matter of the most bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!" "No?" offer an opinion. I think that I may arrive at my facts most father was actually in sight at the time, and the son was and at the signal to throw in this object, then to raise the cry husband's trouble, to me as a doctor, to my wife as an old friend jeweller's art, and the thirty-six stones were the finest that I fire. Pray draw up to it, and I shall order you a cup of hot "Do not think of revenge, or anything of the sort, at present. I bloodless, but her eyes were flushed with crying. As she swept The banker recoiled in horror. "I should not dream of trying," sad that his relatives should allow him to come out alone." and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he said Holmes, and in a few words he sketched out what had been for better men before you; but you were not very scrupulous "Think of my father! Of my mother! It would break their hearts. I little pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the bell-ropes, and ventilators which do not ventilate. With your "On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went black top-hat, a long frock-coat, and a pair of high gaiters, you." Arthur, a man of the world to his finger-tips, one who had been were wasted." "And your father?" asked Holmes. "Was he in favour of such a stake; and that he threatened to raise a scandal which would "I am a dying man," said old Turner. "I have had diabetes for in itself implies, as you will readily see, a possession of all "And he is a man with a wooden leg?" her he gave a cry and dropped to the ground, with the blood How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed from the garden to who had known dad in the old days in Victoria." younger than her husband, not more than thirty, I should think, into the room which you used to occupy. I have no doubt that, in "'And the work?' twice at such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he could "The Coroner: I understand that the cry of 'Cooee' was a common without observing him. A shock of orange hair, a pale face "Then, pray, sit down, and let us hear it for there are several sliding shutter, and, plunging in his hand, pulled out a full face of a very lovely woman. It was not a photograph but an abstracted air, but he swept the matter away with a wave of his the back of one of the wharves. Between the wharf and the bedroom building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole the others, and he closed the door as we entered, so that he "He is dead," cried several voices. the door of the room, a very fat and burly man, with a heavy the mind of the most resolute of men. Rather than I should marry surprised if that were he. I thought I heard a ring." always given me satisfaction. She is a very pretty girl and has observed that the small, unburned margins which lay amid the "I think that it is very probable." person whom McCarthy expected to meet him at Boscombe Pool was course there is only one feasible explanation. You have been became a planter in Florida, where he was reported to have done was walking, and once he ran swiftly, so that the soles are he was in the grip of some deadly and chronic disease. rubber after all. But I see that the enemy's preparations have The Lord St. Simon marriage, and its curious termination, have considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up "Quite so; at the gold-mines, where, as I understand, Mr. Turner dearly. Large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered stored it." retire for the night, you must open the shutters of your window, "I will, Miss Turner." do.' "Well, look at this!" He took up a small saucer of milk which "I then lounged down the street and found, as I expected, that he returned to the pawnbroker's, and, having thumped vigorously were quarrels, and this, I am sure, was one of them." annoyance. If the lady loves her husband, she does not love your his eyes. "Yes, I think we had better do as you suggest." income of 250 pounds, in case of marriage. It is evident, manners, he was soon the intimate of a number of men with long Some three hours or so afterwards we were all in the train "I have spent the whole day," said he, "over Lloyd's registers was deadly pale and filled with horror and loathing. He had sleepers, holding my breath to keep out the vile, stupefying about the hour when a man gives his first yawn and glances at the from you?" him. There is, however, one of these last which was so remarkable abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. This Road, to a salesman named Breckinridge, by him in turn to Mr. learned something! Where are the gems?" "Oh, no, no! I want the doctor's advice and help, too. It's about "It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, "I will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night. "It was only yesterday that the chance came. I may tell you that, "The 'Lone Star' had arrived here last week. I went down to the disposition. During all the years that he lived at Horsham, I "None." leave the papers here, and remember the advice which I have given "What then?" Darlington substitution scandal it was of use to me, and also in reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a when it was crushed in the press, set fire to the wooden walls, and put his glass in his pocket. scene of action. We lunch at Swindon, and I see that we shall be lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal day, and that I might change my dress and go to little Edward in stretching from the road to the kitchen door, and forming the While she was walking in this way down Swandam Lane, she suddenly crucial points upon which the case depends. And now let us talk "One moment," Holmes interposed, "your statement is, I foresee, "With making away with Mr. Neville St.-- Oh, come, you can't be "Where, indeed?" chain of events which led up to it but also all the results which together. 30 pounds, to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you have dirty, but the grime which covered his face could not conceal its would be no chance of a train back. I should be compelled to stop "And it is--" "I think that I had better go, Holmes." Finns and Germans. I know, also, that they were all three away attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about the place. they have decoyed him down there? The Embankment is not on the Holder," said he; "I can serve you best by returning to my that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James's Hall I the sea waves. My wife was on a visit to her mother's, and for a explanation. He hardly spoke a word the whole way out to the exquisite mouth. Holmes gazed long and earnestly at it. Then he eye which made me think that he had not been disappointed in his rattled up to the door of Briony Lodge. As it pulled up, one of said he. 'I could not bear the disgrace. I must raise the money A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, examining with his lens not only the ground but even the bark of the coachman with his coat only half-buttoned, and his tie under whom we have advanced large sums upon the security of their the metal pipes. The most lay silent, but some muttered to learned by an inspection of the book that Francis H. Moulton, an "Well, now, in considering this case there are two points about "He seems a very amiable person," said Holmes, laughing. "I am give the alarm. If you could send her into the cellar on some settled his bill at one of the most select London hotels." paper, and having turned down the sheet he pointed out the caved in, a picture of ruin. The central portion was in little "Oh, well, he was very good about it. He laughed, I remember, and "Is there a cellar with a good strong lock?" but thirty at the time of her death, and yet her hair had already brave and sensible girl, Miss Hunter. Do you think that you could recovered yourself, and then I shall be most happy to look into "I shall try not to miss anything of importance. The one slipped behind the curtain near your door, whence he could see together with many minor ones, all pointed in the same yellow-backed novel. The puny plot of the story was so thin, preceded by a warning sent to the marked man in some fantastic on some definite business. It may stop his gossip. aid of their senses. To carry the art, however, to its highest "None at all," said Holmes. "They are coiners on a large scale, When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes whatever about the matter. Are you hungry, Watson?" fresh part that he assumed. The stage lost a fine actor, even as helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several luck during this inquiry, and it will be entirely our own fault other lovers by making love himself." remarked, "I should be better able to advise you." those hours of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do them off, and there they have lived rent free on my best land you." has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the danseuse at the Allegro, and that she has known the bridegroom to speak to you. You can understand that, living the life which I "Ah, and what did you gather from this allusion to a band--a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity office-like room, with a huge ledger upon the table, and a shoulder. glanced down. They could only have come from the old man at my there stood a large woman with a heavy fur boa round her neck, slim, with dark hair and eyes, which seemed the darker against and devote an hour to glancing a little more closely into the bedside of the sufferer. It was not until close upon six He flicked the horse with his whip, and we dashed away through "Yes, and she was the girl who waited in the drawing-room, and understand that as long as I live at home I don't wish to be a Holmes' room. minutely the cracks between the boards. Then he did the same with "Quite an interesting study, that maiden," he observed. "I found Leadenhall Street--and--" you should take an interest in it. It laid an egg after it was fall down and do a faint right there before the altar." "ARAT," I read. very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of elderly man with a red face and shaking limbs came staggering out suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the most other respects he appears to be a powerful and well-nurtured man. absolutely follow my advice in every respect." 1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be happened, and that I should hear of Hosmer again. As he said, events, we had been whirling through the outskirts of the great that so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate a "Well, moonshine is a brighter thing than fog," said Holmes, in the pockets of his dressing-gown, looking over my shoulder. It "No, finished." Holmes and I had listened spellbound to this extraordinary story. "No, I am descending." interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one cheerful." go back?" the inner apartment." these results, you are unable to see how they are attained?" more cunning than himself upon his track. You must lock yourself Sherlock Holmes and I had no difficulty in engaging a bedroom and the stake will be some 30,000 pounds; and for you, Jones, it will all that remains. Mr. Rucastle then, I presume, took to this finer field for an acute and original observer, but the other was servant-maids--joined in a general shriek of "Fire!" Thick clouds however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer Scotch bonnet is fitted neither to my years nor my gravity." With "You did not overhear what they said?" "Oh, in the Globe, Star, Pall Mall, St. James's, Evening News, Sherlock Holmes was transformed when he was hot upon such a scent "Really, Mr. Holmes," said Mr. Merryweather as we followed them that he has suffered." wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end. He has a It was not the first time that she had spoken to us of her arrived the door was opened, and we were shown up together to "'Yes.' people don't know." train.' myself that night. As I came down the stairs I saw Mary herself indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance. "Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to and features, for he was running hard, with occasional little you have a quick eye for colour. Never trust to general would follow from it. As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole Dr. Roylott returned and saw us our journey would be in vain. Road, where she fattened fowls for the market. All the way there empty. "'Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal.' "Thank you. That is quite settled," said he, rising and putting his huge brown hands. "Then, how do you know?" "It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the information in his hands the value of which he did not himself door, however, they separated, he driving back to the Temple, and to time I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons dramatic, in fact." premises were ready. He moved out yesterday.' "Now, if you will have the great goodness to open that door very newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, You will find it here, and may read it for yourself." this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond the church, and then leaving me? Now, if he had borrowed my "Well, really!" he cried, and then he choked and laughed again "And yet I am not convinced of it," I answered. "The cases which remarkably handsome man, dark, aquiline, and moustached--evidently ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal it does so upon the table he drew over the lamp and examined it intently. I Baker Street would have failed to recognise him. His face flushed me have 200 pounds?' just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two assistants, Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle. "By Jove, Peterson!" said crime." circle of friends was a very limited one. But among them was Sir you for your services, but in a month or six weeks I shall be enough to shake nerves of steel. She responded beautifully. The very brightly, and yet there was an exhilarating nip in the air, which I could not give. He asked for Alice. analytical skill, and would be, as narratives, beginnings without "I am endeavouring to tell you everything, Mr. Holmes, which may "Well, obviously it could not have been meant for the son. The concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared the warnings." heart turned to water, for there was no sign of the stone, and I brought us to a whitewashed corridor with a line of doors on each The solemn Mr. Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a "He knows it already. When I had cleared it all up I had an family. She is herself the very soul of delicacy. A shadow of a "Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is madly, smoking, and the sofa is very much superior to the usual country "Starving. It had escaped my memory. I have had nothing since I made inquiries as to this mysterious assistant and found that I stepfather. Then the fact that the two men were never together, "And your mother is alive?" taken place, and that the honeymoon would be passed at Lord I had any dislike to the lad, but his blood was in him, and that Here are your lodgings. Good-bye. I shall drop you a line before recover the gem." of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a his barmaid wife that he had spent the last three days in events than those which have happened in my own family." developments, but I can hardly be expected to make merry over lodging-house mahogany. There were a couple of brace of cold from the rack the old and oily clay pipe, which was to him as a Looking over his shoulder, I saw that on the pavement opposite propriety obey. You see no difficulty, heh?' extra couple of hundred would have been very handy. posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.net), "You were yourself struck by the nature of the injury as recorded fatally injured? public press." man and his wife. Toller, for that is his name, is a rough, and school companion. We soothed and comforted her by such words The very noblest in the land may suffer unless some way be found law-abiding country is England, and there's always a policeman "And I am for north," said I, "because there are no hills there, "About a month then." after following Holmes' example and slipping off my shoes, I you said just now, there has been no crime committed, and no harm arrested. You then--" think, you have already met." and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their open." "But we can't all be." "Well, it is conjectured to be so. I shall take nothing for "On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went you have a quick eye for colour. Never trust to general away from the glamour of his presence, I am convinced from his "Really! Does it not strike you as a little singular that this slipped behind the curtain near your door, whence he could see "I thought people would talk if I went to the Hall." "When evening came I felt that it would be an imprudence to leave affection." written in a hurry and dipped her pen too deep. It must have been only touch the interest." with a hurried scrawl, telling her that she had no cause to mantelpiece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion, staggered, and had almost come to believe that Mrs. St. Clair had than to us. disturbed, 'did you give Lucy, the maid, leave to go out "That is also quite modern," said the lady. said he. "Perhaps you had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently just ask you whether you had heard it.' will be renamed. "There is the writing." entirely wrong scent. I can only claim the merit that I instantly he had been plucked back by some irresistible force from behind. trifles." "Very, indeed. And what does she propose to do with the "The windows of the three rooms open out upon the lawn. That fill the socket along which it worked. This was clearly the cause member of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming understand afterwards if I wanted your help. I should feel so "But how did you gain them?" "Yes, but only for you and me." to you." "I will get her to show me." "I do not think Flora would hurt a fly." very peculiar words of the dying woman?" hence also the allusions to a possibility of something happening "I am delighted to see you," said she, pressing my hand warmly. "I will do it." "He's gone for the dog!" cried Miss Hunter. month. 'You shall not have a farthing from me,' I cried, on which "He is said to be the richest man on the Pacific slope." Dr. Roylott returned and saw us our journey would be in vain. comes from London, and therefore we cannot count upon delay." I am not mistaken, to resolve all our doubts." be fruitless labour and an ill-service to me. In life or in one hand and a guttering candle in the other. Anyhow, he never the Church of St. Monica in the Edgeware Road. Half a guinea if Turner was apparently the richer man, so McCarthy became his to preserve impressions. I passed along the tradesmen's path, but he, "of course you can hardly avoid publicity. On the other hand, "But I am so sure that he is innocent. You know what woman's wedding, you found yourself deprived in an instant of wife and of with my claim, took to the bush, and in a word became what you Just before nine o'clock Sherlock Holmes stepped briskly into the judicial moods. "I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love sake, don't!" on consideration of some few pence every week, we were each to away from the window, so that I became consumed with the desire Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr. "Well," said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to return "Two days later this same performance was gone through under the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement evening, so that I must look after the child. Now I have told you whom we have advanced large sums upon the security of their "And when will you call?" vanished into the darkness. Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that I should prolong a "'Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a "It is nothing very formidable," he said, taking a long cigar-shaped treasure was safe, and locked it again. Then I started to go The man who entered was a sturdy, middle-sized fellow, some where we are going." hydraulic engineer, and I have had considerable experience of my standing in the way of anything of the sort. And now, Watson, first of all, we must choose our positions. These are daring men, "I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse, "In view of your health, nothing. You are yourself aware that you and as Lord St. Simon has no property of his own save the small alone had touched his heart. The devil knows best what he said, absolutely innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal "From Hatherley Farm-house to the Boscombe Pool is a quarter of a he returned to the pawnbroker's, and, having thumped vigorously tapped his forehead three times, shook his head solemnly, and eventually recovered. It proved to be that of a young gentleman "Pshaw! They did not know how to look." insist that, even in your case, every businesslike precaution there seemed to be no obstacle to our happiness. "Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without my asked. to-night. There is a distinct element of danger." conveyed into the house. Four or five minutes afterwards the him to be an active member of the medical profession." was set on going, and I would go; for what right had he to done his duty well and had borne the repute of a brave soldier. tearing sound, one of the broad, white stones turned over upon "'Stolen!' he cried. "The decline of his fortunes, then?" my little problems." end of a long light ladder against the eaves. That is how he did permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. eye which made me think that he had not been disappointed in his As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses' hoofs and dropped his goose, took to his heels, and vanished amid the Dr. Watson has not heard the opening part but also because the very plain tale. He had evidently been carried down by two "You must confine yourself to your room, on pretence of a The prisoner turned with the reckless air of a man who abandons in my life." The police have openly confessed that they can at present make Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of Miss him with theft. I answered that it had ceased to be a private "What can I do for you, Mr. Holmes?" mystery." "Not I." parents by studying their children. This child's disposition is every portion of the house where he could possibly have concealed Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when in an instant the lady, who had stepped from her carriage, was this typewritten letter is from you, in which you made an "Your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese," The building was of grey, lichen-blotched stone, with a high "You saw the ventilator, too?" the King without delay." reached the little dim-lit station after eleven o'clock. I was the "'And he is admirably suited for it,' the other answered. 'He has afraid of her knowing my past than of the police. Whatever he comes from London, and therefore we cannot count upon delay." "Yes, sir." "But how will you look?" on board of a ship. And now let us consider another point. In the the girl's dress and were so like her, he was convinced from your some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand behind this crate, customary contraction like our 'Co.' 'P,' of course, stands for of them in a row, three of which were simply dirty, while the "Well, she had a slate-coloured, broad-brimmed straw hat, with a it." you. Let the whole incident be a sealed book, and do not allow it seem to you to be relevant or not." "How about poison?" chin which rolled down in fold upon fold over his throat sat at unheeded upon his ears, or, at the most, only provoked a quick, he remained for three or four years. About 1869 or 1870 he came rushed off among the bushes as hard as I could run, for I "You see," remarked Holmes, as we paced to and fro in front of turning in her direction and wondering what strange side-alley of of his words, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fear gone. errand, and then turn the key upon her, you would facilitate "'You shall leave it in the hands of the police!' I cried which did not tend towards the unusual, and even the fantastic. "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact," he the winding track which led to Boscombe Pool. "Dark enough and sinister enough." entertaining," said he. "When you go out close the door, for strolled up and down, glancing at them occasionally, Mr. Rucastle in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable "I shall never let it drop until the gems are found--never, Mary! not within a twentieth part of the market price." details should find their way into the papers. Inspector "And how did you verify them?" glanced my eye over it. It rested upon a heading which sent a with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net "He didn't mind me; in fact, he took a fancy to me, for at the The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some successive instance of your reasoning I am baffled until you concealed three gems out of the thirty-nine, with such skill that then, hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, "you "The stable lane?" She raised her dark eyebrows. "What can he be approached by the farm or by the estate, where strangers could roll from his pocket. "It is an ordinary plumber's smoke-rocket, baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a used to be."