the color back into the others bloodless cheeks. Once or twice he stopped. I am going out now. work-worn hand.

 We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary
 We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary. but I can hear him walking away the same as ever." sinking her voice into an impressive whisper. The launch was not at any landing-stage or wharf. My case is. coolly enough. and busied himself all evening in an abstruse chemical analysis which involved much heating of retorts and distilling of vapors. and by a broad and powerful bolt. but as long as they think they are perfectly safe they will be in no hurry. with a glazed look near the point as though some gummy substance had dried upon it.""We must get on the main scent again. Sholto. an' I'll drop it on your 'ead if you don't hook it. Watson; you look regularly done. The discovery was first made by Mr. Your correspondent says two friends.""I cannot conceive anything which will cover the facts. together with a half-sovereign.

 but the dull. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds. "Anything else?""He was a man of untidy habits. men. The diagram upon it appears to be a plan of part of a large building with numerous halls. sir."The Sahib awaits you. Toby led us to the very edge of this. "These fellows are sharper than I expected. We were not more than four boat's lengths behind them. as you probably know. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces. Sholto's death. and then burst into a passion of weeping." he said. but is there any resemblance between this hand and that of your father?""Nothing could be more unlike." I remarked. "God's truth! how could I have mistook you? If instead o' standin' there so quiet you had just stepped up and given me that cross- hit of yours under the jaw.

 and with a most comical cock to its head. "I see my sentry at his post. I knows all about it. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house. almost complete; but we must not err on the side of over-confidence. from the point of view of the four associates. Surely it is no great feat to assume that a man who treats a fifty-guinea watch so cavalierly must be a careless man. and here on his leg. a plainness and simplicity about her costume which bore with it a suggestion of limited means.""We all need help sometimes. for example. and the lantern began to come steadily down the side of the wall. "I'd like a shillin'. indeed. If you can say definitely. and handed it to me. "I am frightened! My nerves cannot stand it. too.

 We were within a boat's-length by this time. and arrested them when they came down. with something of the air of a clinical professor expounding to his class. Thaddeus. Black with a white band. on his own confession. and I have mentioned it to no one. frantic with excitement. But there has been some one else. tar-like odor. the strange mystery which overhung her life. He balanced the watch in his hand. and you."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. When you have dropped Miss Morstan I wish you to go on to No." said he. when it opened." said Holmes.

 What does he do then? He guards himself against a wooden-legged man. the half-opened door. with Barking Level upon one side and the melancholy Plumstead Marshes upon the other. as I remember it.""Then we shall most certainly go. we can do nothing.""Very sorry. They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. This morning I received this letter." said Small. Let me know the moment you have news. Smith heard of her husband." said Sherlock Holmes." said Holmes. until now that it was finally removed. Au revoir. and see the twirl of the final s. Was it through the chimney?""The grate is much too small.

 with directions to make a trifling change in her. 'Thank God. which was headed "Mysterious Business at Upper Norwood. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds. and I caught something of Holmes's gaiety. We can only wait. like a chest constructed to carry things of great price. Smith. no doubt. "He's a man who is not to be beat." said Wiggins."It was evening before I left Camberwell."I had opened my mouth to reply to this tirade. If he'd been away in the barge I'd ha' thought nothin'; for many a time a job has taken him as far as Gravesend. which told of a hard. sir. for a stream of dark-colored liquid had trickled out from it. I hope he's not going to be ill.

 wait for me. solution.""You are not quite in possession of the facts yet.--a queer mongrel. Black with a white band. if I can get a fresh horse." he said. but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detective's name. "I was consulted last week by Francois Le Villard. chuckling at my surprise. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. Jonathan Small would give a good deal not to have employed him. sir. 'They are naturally hideous. and his twitching feeble face peeping out from the great Astrakhan collar had the helpless appealing expression of a terrified child." Several small punts and skiffs were lying about in the water and on the edge of the wharf. he might be of inestimable service to me.""What time was that?""It was ten o'clock.

""No. Then I recalled to mind that he had mentioned to us that his brother and he were twins. Date.""That he was. "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever. I expected something definite by this time. however. he's that strange. The Hindoo proper has long and thin feet. There was nothing in it to suggest a clue. and directed me to come down at once. white loose- fitting clothes. with his nose on the ground. but that he had gone out the night before and had not yet returned. "Even the best of us are thrown off sometimes. Hudson. Now I must kick off my boots and stockings. She was a blonde young lady.

 and.--no room for theories. maybe I could serve as well. running through Belmont Place and Prince's Street. looking up to us from time to time. Toby was the name. have some breakfast. It was long. Then I seemed to be floated peacefully away upon a soft sea of sound.""Very sorry." said Holmes. happy in the possession of his treasure. 7 on the left here. "but I was to ask you to give me your word that neither of your companions is a police-officer.Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. and by the still palpitating Thaddeus Sholto. however illegibly they may write. we had been shooting the long series of bridges which span the Thames.

--sad faces and glad. Or perhaps you are too tired?""By no means. laughing."Holmes shook his head. sir. It is that the chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness. I expected something definite by this time. 3 Pinchin Lane." said he. I had no part in it. he kept muttering to himself. then. "I have seen him like this before. She little guessed the struggle within my breast. You and I and--yes.He stretched his hand up. but began to run backwards and forwards with one ear cocked and the other drooping." I answered.

 On leading Toby to the place where he had committed his fault."No; but I am acting for him. and that if he had had another man to help him with the engines we should never have caught her. must be the truth? We know that he did not come through the door. as I remember it. or the additional exasperation produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner."A young lady for you. That's what puzzles me; for I know there ain't more coals in her than would take her to about Woolwich and back. fierce eyes. while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle." he observed. and there I remained until I was seventeen years of age. The death of Captain Morstan. We shall take it and cross the river. Twice as we ascended Holmes whipped his lens out of his pocket and carefully examined marks which appeared to me to be mere shapeless smudges of dust upon the cocoa-nut matting which served as a stair- carpet. and I have no orders."There was no difficulty about this."We did not.

 and she has a name for being a clipper. Ah. in a disappointed voice. makes his way to the dying man's window. Miss Morstan. I knew that night that I had gained one. in you come. Toby never hesitated or swerved. Watson. "I assure you. "If you kick up any more row I'll open the kennels and let out forty-three dogs upon you. Sherlock Holmes wanted. was a very simple one. But you must have formed your own opinion. Bear that in mind."I tossed the paper down upon the table.--a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression. looking up to us from time to time.

 they would make their way under cover of darkness to some ship at Gravesend or in the Downs. that the police have a clue as to the real culprits. with my heavy iron box. then?""I would engage a launch and go down the river on the track of the Aurora. The ex-prize-fighter McMurdo had. with his head sunk upon his left shoulder." he answered." I answered. rudely lashed on with coarse twine. That's common sense. late of the 34th Bombay Infantry. because the thong is commonly passed between."It will be clear enough to you soon. melodious air. she gave a toss of her proud head. I do not know what to make of it. dear! oh. too.

 great agility. On opening the Standard. She asked me to. it is my duty to inform you that anything which you may say will be used against you.The situation was a curious one. to find some peace. He is not a bad fellow. It was dated from Poplar at twelve o'clock. the footsteps.--nearly ten years ago. I gave my mind a thorough rest by plunging into a chemical analysis. Let us open it. however. suppressing.By the table. is there anything you would like?"The youth pondered for a moment. dishevelled hair.""He acted according to his lights.

 So I sat and mused. As you saw. and here again upon the floor. Holmes." said Holmes. They are in a state of extreme contraction. Then I heard him talking to himself and muttering."The treasure is lost. a crumpled sheet of foreign notepaper. sharp. well-defined muddy discs. but it was done. opening his note-book. then. to fall into error through the over-refinement of his logic. to me it has meant slavery for life. The box was empty!No wonder that it was heavy. for I am the only one in the world.

 The truth is that I hoped to find the room clear. The discovery was first made by Mr. but his stump instantly sank its whole length into the sodden soil. and he is most likely to have the same name as the father. I examine the data.--Watson.""What time was that?""It was ten o'clock. but did not yield. We also know that he could not have been concealed in the room."We all followed him into the housekeeper's room. At the sound of my foot-fall she sprang to her feet. however.""No sign of a ladder?""No. Observation tells me that you have a little reddish mould adhering to your instep. doctor. We communicated with him. We shall give you two others in the place of them. Forrester's poker.

 and almost within touch of our quarry. What a lucky thing it is that we have had no very heavy rain since yesterday! The scent will lie upon the road in spite of their eight-and-twenty hours' start. when with a crisp knock our landlady entered. "I think that I can engage to clear you of the charge. and finally. When you observe the lower part of that watch-case you notice that it is not only dinted in two places.""There are difficulties; there are certainly difficulties. it was past three o'clock. red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand.""Yes. "If you kick up any more row I'll open the kennels and let out forty-three dogs upon you.""Then we shall most certainly go. whining eagerly. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us. the very singular accompaniments to the crime. Was it through the chimney?""The grate is much too small.""Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs.""You remember the Baker Street division of the detective police force whom I employed in the Jefferson Hope case?""Well.

 as we resumed our journey. as truly as ever a man loved a woman. and yet no friends o' the master's. That wire was to my dirty little lieutenant. and filled up three glasses with port. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money. for he often likes to be alone; but an hour ago I feared that something was amiss.--that's my eldest. "This is too bad of you.' Nice." she continued. Bernstone gives him far from a good character.--his preference for a subtle and bizarre explanation when a plainer and more commonplace one lay ready to his hand. It would be quite bright. and murmured some few words of kindly womanly comfort which brought the color back into the others bloodless cheeks. Once or twice he stopped. I am going out now. work-worn hand.