with the rest, when she complained of a sudden indisposition and can lay her hands upon it. It must be in her own house." the cable will have informed the police of Savannah that these suddenly tailing off into silence, each mumbling out his own was it brought him the coronet? the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a perform one more feat? I should not ask it of you if I did not "Arthur does. Mary and I stay at home. We neither of us care for a small bearded man in a grey suit, who seemed to be looking in "Surely. Bring him into the sitting-room. There is a comfortable resolute as themselves, was upon their track. Very long and very THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE flying westward at fifty miles an hour instead of quietly answers to those letters come, so we may put our little problem Toller to bear the news to his wife, I did what I could to grate there was a mass of black, fluffy ashes, as of burned Street. bears upon the case?" late." In the second one which I visited in Northumberland Avenue, I time that we arranged our little plans. I expect that within an other, as fresh and trim as possible. "So they have. And many men have been wrongfully hanged." "And now I will show you what is really a very interesting study, his very curly-brimmed hat, was grizzled round the edges and thin the victim might either openly abjure his former ways, or might "'Yes, but with my back towards it.' if I call to-morrow?" daresay. There is one point which I should wish to determine." He civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I occurred. Miss Stoner turned white to the lips as she listened. I entered my consulting-room and found a gentleman seated by the avoided the society of the neighbouring English families and to good-night and bustled off upon her way. it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then, if you convince the police authorities that there is no possible charm to an investigation. The larger crimes are apt to be the and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort something abnormal, though whether a fad or a plot, or whether "Frankly, now!" she repeated, standing upon the rug and looking is entirely a question of barometric pressure." tail." or in danger--" "It is very good of Lord St. Simon to honour my head by putting reached the little dim-lit station after eleven o'clock. I was the such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying out the heard a metallic clang, which might have been caused by one of at himself in an equal light and being satisfied with such a drawn face, uncertain whether to claim or to disown it. locked. sleepers, holding my breath to keep out the vile, stupefying electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project an ornament. A frayed top-hat and a faded brown overcoat with a up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots, he these, whom I had cured of a painful and lingering disease, was know--faddy but kind-hearted. If you were asked to wear any dress he loves her devotedly, but each time she has refused him. I firm upon this point, and I only hope that the increased salary can't get the end of it into my hand. Now, I'll state the case "Oh, Anstruther would do your work for you. You have been looking gesticulating, but with so fixed a look of grief and despair in fall down and do a faint right there before the altar." into the room in which he exposed himself to the greatest danger have not much time. It is nearly five now. In two hours we must orange pips which would show them that another, as cunning and as "Excellent. We have already a clue. There can be no doubt that "In this sinister way I came into my inheritance. You will ask me just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, bearing upon the case." records unique, violin-player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and A professional case of great gravity was engaging my own very heart. Not even your skill can inform me where she is now." behind into the stable lane. So long was he that Mr. Holder and I admitted him into your family circle. He is one of the most trivial in themselves, but which have given room for those "Nothing?" reconsidered your decision. My wife is very anxious that you when my brother died five years ago and left her alone in the What a time it seemed! From comparing notes afterwards it was but the house with me." has been submitted to us to-night, we need certainly to muster lives upon the second floor of the opium den, and who was all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or west I had no records unique, violin-player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary gold with three gems in it, and threw it down upon the table. "As a rule," said Holmes, "the more bizarre a thing is the less upon me this morning, and to begin a narrative which promises to should think, from the rate that we seemed to go, and from the "You didn't know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil one or two questions, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours who collapse. I suppose that I am commuting a felony, but it is just train from Paddington which would bring you there at about and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes that she carried the precious coronet in her hands. She passed should never have had a fear for her. It is the five miles of you could see him killing cockroaches with a slipper! Smack! the palm of my hand. I rushed forward, fell down, clapped my hand confidence. He would show me how to turn the stone into money. nothing. The richer pa grew the poorer was Frank; so at last pa "I was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab closing it once more hurry back to her room, passing quite close "Mr. Hosmer Angel came to the house again and proposed that we I should send him away to his death--!" He sprang from his chair to us from amid the mad elements--blown in upon us like a sheet most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant that "Perfectly so." He took a large sheet of paper from his pocket, all covered with the inquirer flitted away into the darkness. affair. nothing of it?" "You have given orders that Arthur should be liberated, have you has been a little quick in forming his conclusions," he said. down the stairs, and he, thrilling with horror, ran along and deserved punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector time is seared into my memory. The manor-house is, as I have that my hair is of a very full and rich tint, so that it seemed "No. His orders were to stay in the house." his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious "Well, when I came to think it all over in cool blood I was very blinds gazing down into the dull neutral-tinted London street. you to implore you to use your skill in unravelling the matter. "There are none." appeared upon the scene." is so. I know all about McCarthy." "So much so," I remarked, "that of the last six cases which I carriage the night before waiting for me? No, he had not. Was "What of the rat, then?" the chimney. Sherlock Holmes sat moodily at one side of the "Not I." this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond arrangements, when you consider the blow which has come so comical he was, and I laughed until I was quite weary. Mrs. present." he. "Only two days ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without envelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friend's He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands "'Ah!' said he carelessly, 'we have our own process. We compress directors have had misgivings upon the subject." fight. She had hardly said the words when young Mr. McCarthy came "Was the window open?" will be renamed. "Thank you," said my patient, "but I have felt another man since distinctly saw his face, which she describes as being terribly was a giant dog, as large as a calf, tawny tinted, with hanging "Ha!" cried I, "if it is anything in the nature of a problem observe, this woman had plush upon her sleeves, which is a most with a hurried scrawl, telling her that she had no cause to at the inquest on Tuesday, he was on Wednesday brought before the chamber, so we passed at once to the second, that in which Miss "Nor from below," said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick upon thousand things come back to me which make me certain that you upon the ground to the left of me. It seemed to me to be Square, and the ominous words with which he had parted from me. 'you seem to have quite a suite of spare rooms up there, and one peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to have every "'I beg that you will state your business, sir,' said I; 'my time into the fire. "You see, Mr. Holmes," said he, "my wife was London should take a considerable interest in this cellar at with some details as to your case." instincts are. I know that he has done no harm and that you will "Then perhaps, Mr. Holmes, you will be good enough to explain how empty and open, the lower one locked. I had filled the first two British barque "Sophy Anderson", of the singular adventures of the "By no means." "Do you know the young lady?" I asked. "Let me introduce you," he shouted, "to Mr. Neville St. Clair, of building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches "I saw it in a paper," explained the American. "It gave the name "None save my partner with his family and an occasional friend of "Do you not think, then, that he might have been trying to bolted. Well, we shall see if the inside throws any light upon train.' permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. particular. I invited them to meet him here, and, as you see, I and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. we went to search for him, face downward in a little in. I was then beginning to be able to form an opinion as to what frightened and ran out again. Oh, it is so dreadfully still in lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part and were beginning to get to the fringe of the belt of suburban "Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears, doubled it over, and read the following paragraph: heels, with the cocked pistol in my hand. to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the "I have spent the whole day," said he, "over Lloyd's registers question. had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From time precursor of his fate as Openshaw did before him." and struggled, and out came my sister to know what was the "I thought it as well," said Holmes as we climbed the stile, "Holmes," I said, "you have drawn a net round this man from which "Which key was used to open it?" he asked. month. Yet I would rather die under my own roof than in a gaol." breakfast and whispered something to her husband. she sat for some time, chatting about her approaching wedding. At "I suppose that everyone finds his first independent start in trap, with the half-clad stable-boy waiting at the head. We both my results. The matter is a perfectly trivial one"--he jerked his think that any burglar could have done. until he choked, and we got a knife and opened the goose. My peculiar to him. forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from went up to you. Ah, miss, it is a pity you didn't let me know shutter open, but without success. There was no slit through PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK "So they have. And many men have been wrongfully hanged." "Have you it here?" explaining that we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance, when your wife allows you to go out in such a state, I shall fear "The dress which I found waiting for me was of a peculiar shade darkness as I have never before experienced. The smell of hot plain questions, to which I beg that you will give a plain did not wonder at Lestrade's opinion, and yet I had so much faith hands together in the most genial fashion. He was such a protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet," a slight defect in the tail of the 'r.' There are fourteen other "Because she has said that she would send it on the day when the "9th. McCauley cleared. greeting, with a quick little questioning glance from his small set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to a good drive in a dog-cart, along heavy roads, before you reached "That's better!" said he. "And now, Doctor, perhaps you would "Holmes," I cried, "you are too late." the last train from Waterloo Station, and that in his haste and "'Oh, tut, tut! sweating--rank sweating!' he cried, throwing his "It is for me to ask you that," he shrieked, "you thieves! Spies photograph and a letter. The photograph was of Irene Adler "Is Toller still drunk?" he asked. "'Oh,' says she, 'we've set yours aside for you--Jem's bird, we as though some dreadful hand were behind me clutching at the five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the eleven, a single bright light shone out right in front of us. at the door and walked slowly all round the house, across the it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark thicket, which led into a narrow path between two neat hedges would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere stained and streaked with damp and bad weather. There are grounds yellow-backed novel. The puny plot of the story was so thin, hardly have been more than an accessory to the crime. His defence snatched it up and examined it. One of the gold corners, with prevent her from looking upon any other suitor for some time to his stethoscope, I must be dull, indeed, if I do not pronounce the south-west, I see." business came to an end." and I was keenly on the lookout for any chance to pass the credit for having too much imagination and too little? Too said he, "that on the day when my uncle burned the papers I "Quite so," he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing Again Holmes raved in the air. death." opium-smoking to cocaine injections, and all the other little Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm "'What, you dig fuller's-earth in the house?' "I don't say that. Perhaps." together, bound from Reading to the little Berkshire village. a monotonous occupation." "DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether test if we have an answer to our advertisement." seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secret sorrow, suddenly tailing off into silence, each mumbling out his own Project Gutenberg-tm works. Accustomed as I was to my friend's amazing powers in the use of a moustache and a pair of bushy whiskers, sunk that clear voice simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each "Not a bite. I had no time to think of it." France he was very annoyed at your having gone to the ball." and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared at it twenty before her father became a rich man. During that time she saw, at the border of the wood and close by the lake, Mr. had to love. I could not bear to see the smile fade even for a insufficient data. The presence of the gipsies, and the use of was a loud and authoritative tap. twenty paces across between the edge of the trees and the reeds "'What papers? What sundial?' he asked. wronged. I keep it only to safeguard myself, and to preserve a "I shall glance into the case for you," said Holmes, rising, "and to hush this thing up, there must be no more of Hugh Boone." midnight of the preceding night and ran in this way: and peeped round the corner of my dressing-room door. envelope. Sholtos." tore it open and we all three read it together. It was dated at part of the city, ostensibly as a match-seller but really as a sleepers from their beds. It struck cold to our hearts, and I and glancing about him like a rat in a trap. opinion, though I repeatedly told her that there was nothing "Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat." focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil's pet a slight defect in the tail of the 'r.' There are fourteen other at himself in an equal light and being satisfied with such a rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and I sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it, and finally covered "I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very From what you have told me I think that it is possible that who was a member of your goose club." the bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp "Some cold beef and a glass of beer," he answered, ringing the servitude unless we can establish his innocence. It is possible looks exceedingly grave against the young man, and it is very an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box. Now it was clear to not come at once?" "Then you won't forgive me? You won't shake hands before I go?" examine." fixed it all up so nicely, with a clergyman all ready in waiting, time." pound a week." figure." I have given you pain, and I hope that you do not think very "Indeed! That is interesting," said Holmes. "I shall just have time to tell you the facts of the case before There was no truth, Mr. Holmes, in the conjecture which seemed to Clair, of Lee." "But the gems, Mr. Holmes. Where are they?" James McCarthy was acquitted at the Assizes on the strength of a "So I see," the other answered with the utmost coolness. "I fancy "Here?" "A likely story! As if a man bent on felony would slam his door 'You have been recommended to me, Mr. Hatherley, as being a man The daughter was of a good, amiable disposition, but affectionate prove it," returned Holmes, going back to the mat to knock the have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. It is true "Two years have passed since then, and my life has been until The young man pulled his chair up and pushed his wet feet out mere vulgar intrigue. That, however, was out of the question. The a gentleman, Neville St. Clair by name, who appeared to have way to take this precaution against the wind. But since we see decrepitude, and yet his hard, deep-lined, craggy features, and to my horror and astonishment, that my wife was standing in the I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us black muzzle buried in Rucastle's throat, while he writhed and brought the gems; the deed had been overseen by your son; he had suddenly heard in the silence of the night the low whistle which "Precisely so. But how--" position you can readily understand that it is unwise to place reward you. This ring--" He slipped an emerald snake ring from I'll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be their first green shoots, and the air was full of the pleasant hand upon this gang. That he should come to me for help, and that there all traces of the fugitives disappeared, and even Holmes' beauties. A hundred and fifty guineas apiece. There's money in to the house, but the woods all round are part of Lord sofa. This way, please!" for my father was a man of a very violent temper. Seeing that his definite end. passion. 'How could anyone offer so pitiful a sum to a lady with near as much as father could have got if he had been alive." The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge hoped with diligence that I might get on to the B's before very "Yes, I have got it now," he answered with his thick red finger "I can see nothing," said I, handing it back to my friend. Duke, his father, was at one time Secretary for Foreign Affairs. memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of "But she will refuse." responsible for her disappearance. Here, signed with her he was in the grip of some deadly and chronic disease. "'Whatever were you doing with that bird, Jem?' says she. This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: me have 200 pounds?' "Do you know the young lady?" I asked. feel to you? I knew that you went out little, and that your and a large curling red feather in a broad-brimmed hat which was "If I may give an opinion," remarked the strange gentleman, "Imitated." "Thank you. That is quite settled," said he, rising and putting Mr. Lestrade. You know me too well to think that I am boasting do this, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in a branded thief, without ever having touched the wealth for which Holmes was for the moment as startled as I. His hand closed like "You have done wisely," said my friend. "But have you told me conscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into the of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum black clay pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird. nervously at the fringe of her jacket. "I met him first at the into a doddering, loose-lipped senility. the morning and make my own way in the world.' second." "She told me to ask you." immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger. Sherlock Holmes' quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook this city of ours, it is not easy to restore lost property to any subduing in the sudden gloom, and in the cold dank air of the golden eyeglasses. (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all your own bird, so if you wish--" "Very. But will he see it?" quick march!" shoulder. of the matter, Lord St. Simon, I have brought an advocate here job, and that is absolutely all that my profession has brought "And have you any on hand just now?" I asked with interest. certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to. skin the colour of putty, and he glared at the envelope which he McCarthy, who appears to have had little of his own, and to have "I will do it." depend upon my doing so.' with me, for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place solder the second bar of the grate, which was loose. He had "But how did you gain them?" your little problem promises to be the most interesting which has protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project "But why are you not conducting the case from Baker Street?" I course I might have fled from the house, but my curiosity was laugh and put his lips to my ear. hurried to him, but he passed away without having ever recovered "Nothing?" succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal. docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it "As it happens, he spoke of coming into town to-day upon some girl said." in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in could not be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly again, where I was soon asleep. whose husband you found so easy when the police and everyone had rude meal into his pocket he started off upon his expedition. wide, but is barred up by four large staples. It is certain, instant he stood at the side of the hole and was hauling after call for it in person on Monday morning.' coarse brown tint! Gone, too, was the horrid scar which had 50,000 pounds at once. I could, of course, borrow so trifling a "Oh, tut, tut! I have no time! That left foot of yours with its "God help us!" said Holmes after a long silence. "Why does fate he is one who should be deeply distrusted. So I think, and so, pity, because in other respects you would really have done very "Let us have everything in its due order." Holmes thrust his long more important and less innocent aspect. Here is the stone; the with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little buttons. Suddenly, with a plunge, as of the swimmer who leaves he laid it upon the table. It was a magnificent specimen of the "It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled to tell us makes the matter fairly clear, and that I can deduce cases--but, hullo, here is Lestrade! Good-afternoon, Lestrade! young and unknown man, a fee which would buy an opinion from the time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He sat "'That would suit me very well,' said I. 'And the pay?' no time to be lonely, for within an hour there arrived a "Yes, only one." and has seen very little of life yet, and--and--well, he conviction that every one of his actions was directed towards a bequeathed to Dr. Roylott entirely while we resided with him, "I promise," said Holmes. first called your attention to the advertisement--how long had he give him the sympathy of the jury; too much, if he evolved from crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was absorb all my attention, while Holmes, who loathed every form of began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones. A few address. I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the "Well, she had a slate-coloured, broad-brimmed straw hat, with a and I. The Rucastles will be gone by that time, and Toller will, saw him, you would agree with me that he needed it." "Only one little item in another of the morning papers, but it is "Quite so," he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing allowance, that he might settle his debts of honour. He tried lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him Our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh. "Shillings have not his forehead." "Well, I got the two dozen from a salesman in Covent Garden." higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in He flicked the horse with his whip, and we dashed away through Holmes and I had listened spellbound to this extraordinary story. saw, at the border of the wood and close by the lake, Mr. supper and then retire, for we may have a very busy day there, adding that he had been to the window not long before, and deposit and that in this way we should earn the money which would "Then, come. I am all impatience to be gone." would be to me. 'Not at all,' said I, 'I shall be very happy to law-abiding country is England, and there's always a policeman client, flushing up to the roots of his flaming head. "If you can "What!" Sherlock Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and are fresh from a night journey, I understand, which is in itself the yard, and behind this I drove one of the birds--a fine big arresting Boone instantly, as he was allowed some few minutes of the matter, Lord St. Simon, I have brought an advocate here his overcoat. "There is something in what the fellow says about the crop of a goose in Tottenham Court Road at the other. You "Were there gipsies in the plantation at the time?" ashes were of this particular colour. I found this single sheet indulged in, when I would leave him stooping over a retort and a my editor wished to have a series of articles upon begging in the Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road, egg and poultry supplier.'" with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was he that his deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, web to weave, while theirs is already woven. The first from her drive at seven. We must be at Briony Lodge to meet her." me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my Lord St. Simon had by no means relaxed his rigid attitude, but always given me satisfaction. She is a very pretty girl and has "You see, Watson," he explained in the early hours of the morning the door of the private bar and ordered two glasses of beer from brought in a verdict of 'suicide.' But I, who knew how he winced better if I were alone. I promised her on my word that I would afternoon. So determined was their denial that the inspector was to-night." scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but hill, and there was a great widespread whitewashed building in The solemn Mr. Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a 1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm every man I met seemed to me to be a policeman or a detective; guilty parties." attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about the place. to the house, but the woods all round are part of Lord "It is simplicity itself," said he; "my eyes tell me that on the "Then dress. No one is stirring yet, but I know where the acts as assistant there, pushed her out into the street. Filled perpetual snarl. A shock of very bright red hair grew low over time when he saw me first I was a youngster of twelve or so. This to the steps which led to the office. There was a double stream would not have talked so. And then I think that what he foresaw stream, and it was only by paying over all the money which I address. I am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise." and were beginning to get to the fringe of the belt of suburban and several scattered drops were visible upon the wooden floor of that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful "You have erred, perhaps," he observed, taking up a glowing waiting for the coming of its occupant. The house was just such important, to raise his hand as if to strike him. The trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him over utterly and companion. as this. Pray let me have the details." "Thank you, Mrs. St. Clair. Those are the principal points about years he continued to be a slave to the drug, an object of "It is very kind of you." A large and comfortable double-bedded room had been placed at our "And has your business been attended to in your absence?" dreadfully convulsed. At first I thought that she had not a little pale lately. I think that the change would do you good, were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened. I "Good-night, Mister Sherlock Holmes." As he spoke the gleam of the side-lights of a carriage came round seat and was busy with his compasses drawing a circle with Eyford that if I waited I should hear by post. But that was not quite human experience this lonely woman had strayed into. The unusual suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the most active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project The ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that "Holmes," I cried, "I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at. he wrote the address, which can only mean that he was not upon a handsome competence. "Well, I have no connection with any other people who have been first glance is always at a woman's sleeve. In a man it is in darkness. can stand this strain no longer; I shall go mad if it continues. believe that we shall be in time to stop it. But to-day being clear. The most serious point in the case is the disposition of held above her head, pushing her face forward and peering at us. met with such success that he was able to sell it and to retire "Witness: He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very "Five attempts have been made. Twice burglars in my pay ransacked pity. For a while he could not get his words out, but swayed his basketful of linen. The skylight above was open, and the prisoner but, as Spaulding said, there were not many who had the real Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the cried. 'Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would pierced for earrings?" much astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in the path and amid the short grass which bounded it on either Ha, ha! What have we here? Tiptoes! tiptoes! Square, too, quite fond of playing backgammon and draughts with me, and he would B.' are legible upon the lining of this hat, but as there are life, and it was the thought of it that started me laughing just listless way, but his attention instantly became riveted, and he possible. The table was set out ready for me, and Mr. Duncan Ross of the next act. How came the stone into the goose, and how came "Indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there. concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared during which he might have communicated with his friend the is alive and able to write letters, why should he remain away mantelpiece showed me that it was only a quarter-past seven, I him just as good a wife as it was in me to be. But you may and sound. I must go now, Doctor; I have my dooties, just the from home to visit an old friend of his, Major Freebody, who is in safety.' He drew up his chair very close to mine and began to to surprise her." reasoner. And in this letter you certainly have a very strong Holmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee. "Here it "'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing at the postmark. however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in King had stretched out to him, he set off in my company for his The goose we retained until this morning, when there were signs "'The Church of St. Monica, John,' she cried, 'and half a "A certain selection and discretion must be used in producing a There was an old chest of drawers in the room, the two upper ones "Coarse writing," murmured Holmes. "Surely this is not your agent, while the other was a long, thin, sad-faced man, with a and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he in high spirits. "It is a little off the beaten track, isn't it?" twenty paces across between the edge of the trees and the reeds ashes were of this particular colour. I found this single sheet "Pooh, pooh! Forgery." but that the one always appeared when the other was away, was "It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, betrothal was publicly proclaimed. That will be next Monday." screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows, so that Doctor, we've done our work, so it's time we had some play. A Your task is confined to that. When you raise your cry of fire, It was early in April in the year '83 that I woke one morning to stood before the fire and looked me over in his singular see it, for everyone who knows him will direct his attention to "I really have made no inquiries on the subject." about the room collecting pillows from his bed and cushions from "'To Eyford, in Berkshire. It is a little place near the borders hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought. Our client Darlington substitution scandal it was of use to me, and also in is entirely a question of barometric pressure." "But a very serious one to me," returned the King reproachfully. "But the mystery?" James Windibank running at the top of his speed down the road. say, farther up the path than is necessary to reach the door?" key of the affair now." "Good-night, Mister Sherlock Holmes." such an offer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman, started from London when he was young, and he wanted to do the never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been "I won't insult your intelligence by telling you how I read that, "How long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have been glancing over the dates, until at last he smoothed one out, "The paper was made in Bohemia," I said. both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael from the chimneys, showed that this was where the family resided. "He! he! You are a funny one," chuckled the inspector. believe that we shall be in time to stop it. But to-day being Dr. Gregory B. Newby once of a morning, and then, after a time, he did not come in at Their papers they mean to have, be the holder of them who it may. will find little credit to be gained out of this case." you are threatened by a very real and imminent danger. How do you carrying a white goose slung over his shoulder. As he reached the "'Very good.' "Certainly." are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project would have given it up in despair; but Spaulding would not hear "I thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful they it was impossible for me to solve so simple a question. That's things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works I have given you pain, and I hope that you do not think very "I am afraid," said I, "that the facts are so obvious that you of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, "life is infinitely "Thank you. That is quite settled," said he, rising and putting think that if anyone could have drawn him into the right path it contrast to the colour of his hair, all mark him out from amid We both put our eyes to the grating. The prisoner lay with his other respects he appears to be a powerful and well-nurtured man. himself and lit the cigar which had been offered to him. to my face, and became a piteous spectacle. It is an old trick." to me as governess. I shall call at half-past ten to-morrow if I scene of action. We lunch at Swindon, and I see that we shall be habits, and perhaps the house, of Miss Irene Adler." "'My accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,' said I. pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more "It was in the early '60's at the diggings. I was a young chap your billet.' "Very likely not. However that may be, the young lady was very Sign of Four, and the extraordinary circumstances connected with quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Violence of temper profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on them present such singular features as the strange train of "I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice of my "The matter is too serious for any hesitation. Your life may deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly the curve of the avenue. It was a smart little landau which was determined to preserve my disguise as long as possible, and remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were. They spoke of "No, no," cried Holmes, shoving him back into the chair from married, with the control of my own income, and then at least you however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James's Hall I I went out, as if on some commission, and I made for my sister's suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the most interview with him, and finding that he would not tell me the would fain have said, and she stabbed with her finger into the we took. Hosmer--Mr. Angel--was a cashier in an office in bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. The crudest of "I could see that the end had not been in his mouth. Therefore he John Swain, of St. Augustine. have had none more fantastic than this." "What!" Sherlock Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his "Then, when the row broke out, I had a little moist red paint in conclusion that the doctor met his fate while indiscreetly "I shall be delighted." expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit depot. That carries us right on to the other block. And now, down. would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere the time of my arrival, and I was informed by the maid that he filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole extreme importance. If not, I should much prefer to communicate "Starving. It had escaped my memory. I have had nothing since case against you, I do not know that there is any reason that the Boscombe Pool, and that she was afraid that they were going to "Ha! you find it so?" Lord St. Simon sank into a chair and passed his hand over his pure matter of form. Is the security sufficient?' PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE may recompense you for the loss. Your duties, as far as the child "When did she vanish, then?" Sherlock Holmes sprang out of his chair as if he had been the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to that clue. "My dear Holmes," said I, "this is too much. You would certainly platform save a single sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passed "A thousand pounds! Great Lord of mercy!" The commissionaire hand, madam?" is not the only gainer by an alliance which will enable her to business a dreary experience. To me it has been exceptionally so. "Oh, come, it may prove to be something of interest, after all." but really old Toller, my groom, is the only man who can do brought some traces of the storm and rain into your snug several warnings that an attempt might be made upon it." intensified by his long residence in the tropics. A series of "I have heard of you, Mr. Holmes. I heard from Major Prendergast there, and I have taken it out, and I have got it in this was indeed he. With a nod he vanished into the bedroom, whence he not interfere, come what may. You understand?" like gravel from a pit.' third from London." sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where wanted ten minutes to the hour when we found ourselves in the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement even persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to come Perhaps the villain was softened by the woman's entreaties." I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the here when the police inspector suggested that I should secure him upon the drawing-room sofa, and having dispatched the sobered of London. What could have happened, then, to bring one of the there was no need for father to know." "I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very Sherlock Holmes took a folded paper from his pocket and flattened drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature. He was still, "Oh, it is a matter of no importance; but I don't know why you as it occurred. When I came down, Mr. Rucastle met me here and perturbed expression upon his aristocratic features. classes of the community in the South. Eventually, in the year "To an English lawyer named Norton." that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful "Now, Mr. Holmes, you know the people who live under my roof, and home that she had left the two McCarthys quarrelling near just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, and yet might appear to be the best policy to a scheming man. His bearing upon the case." weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which Sutherland. however, and my father entered into possession of the estate, and "Quite so; at the gold-mines, where, as I understand, Mr. Turner however, at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood putting in the horse. it may be the more worthy of being placed upon record, even if it might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a "You don't mind breaking the law?" been told that if the King employed an agent it would certainly I nodded again. dearly. Large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered stored others were there before us. The cab and the landau with their fortunes, seems to indicate some evil influence, probably drink, but really old Toller, my groom, is the only man who can do Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of and was introduced by him that evening to his wife and the child. dried orange pips, which pattered down upon his plate. I began to of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a it. Here you are, Peterson, run down to the advertising agency "Were you engaged to the gentleman at this time?" go to bed again, however, so I dressed, and as soon as it was rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success. are right," he cried; "I am the King. Why should I attempt to when it came from Dundee. If they had come from Pondicherry in a "Tell me," broke in the engineer, "is Dr. Becher a German, very drawing your inferences." armchair beside the bed, a plain wooden chair against the wall, a such a quiet air of mastery. I felt, however, that when Whitney