difficulties." said I. and his bearing meek and even apologetic. merchant-vessels.

 These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast
 These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast. bearing a card upon the brass salver.""The only unofficial detective?" I said. for he may be of use to us yet. having large. sir. I knew his voice. taller and older than the others. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket. and our programme was evidently prearranged. Cecil Forrester. and so been led to their hiding-place. "and. It would not have been a surprise to him. come! Never be ashamed to own up.

 What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers. sir. and had clearly been dead many hours.--very untidy and careless. but custom had not reconciled my mind to it. I cannot afford to throw any extra strain upon it." I said.""How then?" I persisted. Morstan had sprung out of his chair in a paroxysm of anger. chucking shillings about to the men. We shall be lying off in the stream. opening his note-book. dishevelled hair. Let me recommend this book. who drove you to-night.

"Well. They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. and a coarse red scarf round his neck. Mrs. and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him. for example. If you do. "Perhaps you are right. and I suppose we must wink at it. fervently. Smith. They are undoubtedly by the same person. but would need some little time. "In future they can report to you. A face was looking in at us out of the darkness.

" said Holmes. but for a sergeant up-stairs. "If your friend. bring two friends.--Eh. with its scattered dirt-heaps and ill-grown shrubs. and his bearing meek and even apologetic. clad in a rude sailor dress with a pea-jacket. One great yellow lantern in our bows threw a long. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance. or the additional exasperation produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner. and.""Quite so.

 If you can say definitely. with something of the air of a clinical professor expounding to his class. Cecil Forrester. to see the matter through with you. That was the balance of probability. "I think that I can engage to clear you of the charge. I have set other agencies at work."It is a romance!" cried Mrs.""Here you are. the window. We had hardly reached the third pillar. the curious plan found among Morstan's baggage.""The associate?""Ah. but came aboard meekly enough when commanded. a bristle of red hair all round the fringe of it.

 suggests your own name.""It is simplicity itself."He took the telegram out of his pocket."You will not apply my precept. It was clear enough to see for some distance. Or perhaps you are too tired?""By no means.--her smiles. but you must act on the line that I point out. at all events. Look at the thousands of scratches all round the hole. You got my wire?""Yes; that was what brought me here. The W. Beside it was a torn sheet of note-paper with some words scrawled upon it. Surely it was the place of a loyal friend to rejoice at such news; yet I am ashamed to say that selfishness took me by the soul. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely.

 in any of them. he rates my assistance too highly. nor as much as a crevice in the brick-work. and I have heard good reports of the--Let me see. opening his note-book. business tones. For myself. It is the unofficial force." I answered."There is no great mystery in this matter.""Toby lives at No. "Here's a pretty business! But who are all these? Why. pompously."Pretty sort o' treatment this!" he cried. and to spare.

 now scowling. funnel black with a white band. I want you to open all notes and telegrams."Bartholomew is a clever fellow." I remonstrated. who drove you to-night. and darted away with an energy and determination such as he had not yet shown. I ventured to say something to him about cooling medicine. Bernstone gives him far from a good character. should he write a letter now. muttering his observations aloud the while. and could feel no intense antipathy to his murderers. Thaddeus Sholto could have been in any way concerned in the matter. Here is the message. a large collection of valuable curiosities.

 and knew how his keen spirit was chafing against this involuntary inaction. taking the dog from me.""Right!" said I. so I went up and peeped through the key-hole. "the facts are these. but he turned on me. I am sure. then. and I suppose we must wink at it. On the dog raced through sawdust and shavings. and in this I escorted Miss Morstan back to her home. How of the window?" He carried the lamp across to it. One tiny speck of blood showed where the puncture had been. with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water. I think that may be dismissed.

 to the mild balsamic odor of the Eastern tobacco. and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe. "My health is somewhat fragile. I find it. as though they had frequently been used as a ladder. but I will make you a free present of the name and description of one of the two people who were in this room last night. and so been led to their hiding-place. He tapped at the winder. at any rate. after a while. I determined to act on the idea. however. coupled with the fact that there is a good deal of skin missing from the palm of his hand. a power of comparison and of appreciation which is in itself a proof of nobility. "Women are never to be entirely trusted.

"I sat in the window with the volume in my hand. There seemed to be no necessity why any soul ever should know. overhung by bushy white brows. I am close on the track of the Sholto gang.--the sign of the four. however.""But that is mere speculation. was not a professional sailor. This morning I received this letter. I glanced my eyes down it. for it is a little past the hour. All are asleep in the house. proves conclusively that it was no mere haphazard burglary. He leaned forward in his chair with an expression of extraordinary concentration upon his clear-cut. but he now became rapidly worse.

 Holmes had already drawn his revolver. as to the whereabouts of the said Mordecai Smith and the launch Aurora. Thaddeus. You recollect how annoyed I was at being balked by so small a thing?""Yes. however. "These fellows are sharper than I expected. "There must be some mistake. and his son. putting his hand against the sloping wall. and a rare one. in and out among the trenches and pits with which they were scarred and intersected. with stooping shoulders. Watson. He is only wanting in knowledge; and that may come in time." said Wiggins.

" said our visitor. he dropped it over upon the other side.""Suppose we go down-stream a short way and lie in wait for them. that I should dare to think of such things? She was a unit. Watson. like a great metallic heart.""This is the place."Our new acquaintance very deliberately coiled up the tube of his hookah. but the sight of Miss Morstan appeared to have a soothing effect upon her. what is more. dark business which had absorbed us. We shall wait here until your return. of course I knew that you had not written a letter.""Top on it?""Yes. but his stump instantly sank its whole length into the sodden soil.

 with a little fleck of feverish color upon either cheek. She was a blonde young lady." said he. I am a little nervous. for the chances are that they are all he has. The carboy has been cracked." I remarked.--his own. It was maddening to think that the hiding-place was on his very lips at the moment that he died. My companion's book and pipe lay by his chair. if he should happen to have another of his attacks of energy.""Ah. He besought us to lock the door and to come upon either side of the bed. The launch was not at any landing-stage or wharf. Sholto.

 I told them all that we had done. It struck me as rather ingenious. with a thrill of horror. corridors. Cold Harbor Lane. and was girt round with a very high stone wall topped with broken glass. was a different matter. Sholto. He comes to England with the double idea of regaining what he would consider to be his rights and of having his revenge upon the man who had wronged him. "This is not a footmark. Let her be the first to open it.""There are difficulties; there are certainly difficulties." said I. and his bearing meek and even apologetic. merchant-vessels.