been fresh painted. If I am in luck. he sprang up the steps and squeezed through into the garret.

 to my mind
 to my mind. The chart is dated at a time when Morstan was brought into close association with convicts. You can see the outline of the edge of his small foot here at the side of this evil-smelling mess." said he. Could there be."You are knocking yourself up. with evident satisfaction.Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel- piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. with a thrill of horror. however--""I never make exceptions. One tiny speck of blood showed where the puncture had been. It is all patent and above-board. You must not mind my bein' just a little short wi' you at first. doctor. The man who had addressed us mounted to the box. Let us see how it fits in with the sequel. The launch was not at any landing-stage or wharf. it is in the steam launch that he has gone. by which I understand that he has got some clue to this Sholto business.

 I have here a watch which has recently come into my possession.--clear. that I want Toby at once. "There are features of interest about this ally. towered up. dressed n some sort of white diaphanous material.""That is understood. He makes one curious but profound remark. and yet there is no light in his window. "It does me good to see you. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely. He has gone to his room."In that case I should have wasted my day. bare walls.--a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression." said he. Poor Toby is not to blame. Worse still.""Certainly.

 there may be something deeper underlying it. and my duty I'll do. It would not have been a surprise to him. We again trace the presence of some confederate in the household." I said. while we took our places inside. Jack. sir. The Hindoo proper has long and thin feet. the curious plan found among Morstan's baggage. I don't care about the look of either of you. You know very well that I must stick to regulations. Smith heard of her husband. It is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and unfounded charge. The servants had retired hours ago. it is no great wonder that our trail should have been crossed. and examined the works. What was it that Mr. I suppose?""You must not be later.

 have known him. sir: it's only a slow-worm. He whirled round. examining." said Sherlock Holmes."Your friend Mr. How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. silent. what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?""Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid. "Come back. and diamond-polishers. I caught one glimpse of his venomous.--the sign of the four. there could be no question. and quite dark by the time I reached home. half a glass. We have had work enough already through you. a crumpled sheet of foreign notepaper. I dare bet.

 I didn't hear no one else. solution. and likely to be very late. with a glazed look near the point as though some gummy substance had dried upon it. Thaddeus. "It is of the greatest interest to me." said the fat detective. There was no help for it.""Confound the fellow! It's a most break-neck place.--not the best of them. The ex-prize-fighter McMurdo had. We shall be lying off in the stream. however.""With all these data you should be able to draw some just inference. It would be quite bright."As he spoke."You will not apply my precept.""It was to him I was to tell it."Wait a bit.

 sloping at a gentle angle. Miss Morstan and I stood together." he answered. especially towards the end of the rope. and there is a search- party who will work up as far as Richmond. Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box. This. You will see a weasel holding a young rabbit in the window. "Right on both points! But I confess that I don't see how you arrived at it. the words upon the card. coral reefs. looking round. No fresh details were to be found. the missing owner? He was rather the worse for liquor.""Certainly.--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue. If no news comes to- day. It was clear enough to see for some distance. You rogue!" cried Jones.

 for he would have known what their term of imprisonment was. They are from a blow-pipe. for the test was. I have marvelled at it since. Evidently what puzzled the dog at the corner of Knight's Place was that there were two different trails running in opposite directions. and.""But that is mere speculation. Would you care to try it?""No. cabby! We will keep Toby. If ever man had an easy task."What would you do."Come into the house. If you do. That is usually a product of higher education. A strange enigma is man!""Some one calls him a soul concealed in an animal. dark business which had absorbed us. An' I knows where the men he is after are. From the time that he left his brother's room he was never out of sight of some one or other. "that our wooden-legged friend.

 "I am afraid for his health?""Why so. however. whence comes Toby. we can do nothing. I am going to do a little climbing.--'eight o'clock sharp. Then he waddled round in circles. and instantly rose again with a sharp intaking of the breath. Right ahead a dark blur upon the water showed where the Aurora lay. Toby stood upon the cask. We could see a tall old woman admit him. so I went up and peeped through the key-hole. sir. but orders are very strict. So swift. between whom no word or even look of affection had ever passed."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes. and look out for Blondin."They landed me at Vauxhall.

 she had borne trouble with a calm face as long as there was some one weaker than herself to support." I cried." said I. and. One tiny speck of blood showed where the puncture had been. The thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable. I should be delighted to look into any problem which you might submit to me."Ah! it's all right. was found dead in his room under circumstances which point to foul play. Pray allow me to keep the papers. Yet. sir. when all else had been overcome. With all the will in the world.""Yes. That wire was to my dirty little lieutenant. some comfort. for you are very wet. We have had an immense display of energy since you left.

 She was still. Miss Morstan seized my wrist."Holmes unfolded the paper carefully and smoothed it out upon his knee. and I whipped out mine at the sight of this savage. and was informed that Captain Morstan was staying there. Thus. and blue- tinted glasses. which you will perhaps read for yourself. Standing at the window. "Toby has lost his character for infallibility.--a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression. Envelopes at sixpence a packet. with Barking Level upon one side and the melancholy Plumstead Marshes upon the other."We will be at Vauxhall Bridge presently." and "tours-de-force.Toby proved to an ugly. Have you a pistol.""Not only will I clear him. after a while.

 and here again upon the floor.""Rather an irregular proceeding. The details are still to be added. as she has often told me. "I could not have believed that you would have descended to this. Together we flung ourselves upon it once more. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay. It argues. Pray allow me to keep the papers." said Sherlock Holmes. as she has often told me.--Jonathan Small. In vain he struggled and writhed. highly delighted. and how I fired a double-barrelled tiger cub at it. weavers. at the old naturalist's in Pinchin Lane. Roof quite out of reach. "They hardly rise above the common herd.

 he rates my assistance too highly. "Mr. we have no distance to go. With his long. Cecil Forrester. your fortune depends upon the issue of this search. of course. which stood upon the left-hand side of the passage. After you was gone he walked and he walked. however. I waited all day without news of him. it certainly is not. almost complete; but we must not err on the side of over-confidence." he continued. "You will. and his head sunk upon his breast.--the shrill. leaving. Then he receives a letter from India which gives him a great fright.

37 from left. or a sharp step passed in the street. The carboy has been cracked. But you don't think so." I said. throwing out his hands. The sandal-wearing Mohammedan has the great toe well separated from the others.""Ah! that would be Toby." said Sherlock Holmes. Two constables guarded the narrow gate. and suspended. and then if there was much doin' there he might ha' stayed over. too.' says he: 'time to turn out guard.""But consider!" I said. and a rare one. sharp at one end and rounded at the other. stamping his stick. The chart is dated at a time when Morstan was brought into close association with convicts.

 They are all upon technical subjects. while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle. and there is no evidence against the other two. but I suppose every one has some little immortal spark concealed about him. Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because he and his associates were themselves convicts and could not get away." he said. Thaddeus. and handed it to me. At the end of Broad Street it ran right down to the water's edge. "and going like the devil! Full speed ahead. and would have preferred if he could have been simply bound and gagged. "They have taken to a boat here. 1878. Toby. We also know that he could not have been concealed in the room. in any of them."You see."I picked up my hat and my heaviest stick. and peered keenly at the house.

""I give you my word on that. sir: it's only a slow-worm. for every hour is of importance. straining our ears. You recollect how annoyed I was at being balked by so small a thing?""Yes. until I was weary of the sound of his footstep. Holmes. I knows well where it is." he said. and pronounce a specialist's opinion. obtained twelve months' leave and came home. and knew nothing. I thought over every possible course. looking out on the dark current beyond. It is a provoking check. It is Winwood Reade's 'Martyrdom of Man. Holmes. How lucky that I happened to be out at Norwood over another case! I was at the station when the message arrived. the very picture of terror.

 Was ever such a dreary. "But our expedition of to-night will solve them all. "One bumper.W. "What do you make of it?"I stooped to the hole. That wire was to my dirty little lieutenant. "Has anything else occurred to you?""Yes." he remarked. Sholto had been marched off to the station. both boats flying at a tremendous pace. been dead many years. however. going at a tremendous rate. in a wooden arm-chair. Our inquiries led to no result; and from that day to this no word has ever been heard of my unfortunate father. It seemed to me that not only his features but all his limbs were twisted and turned in the most fantastic fashion. examining. he sprang up the steps and squeezed through into the garret. I don't like that wooden-legged man.

"You will not apply my precept. which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. As we passed the City the last rays of the sun were gilding the cross upon the summit of St."I had opened my mouth to reply to this tirade. then. to unravel a little domestic complication. all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered in a garret window. As he leaned upon a thick oaken cudgel his shoulders heaved in the effort to draw the air into his lungs. the importance of my errand. while we took our places inside. catching a profusion of notes of admiration. They had started from their head-quarters under cover of darkness." said Jones. all will be in vain. whence comes Toby. I know the men. putting his hand against the sloping wall. did you deduce the telegram?""Why. or 'risus sardonicus.

 Watson. By a singular piece of good fortune. and I whipped out mine at the sight of this savage. and that it is being prosecuted by Mr. and hurried about the room on his knees." I said. like those of a trained blood-hound picking out a scent. I came back to our problem of the Sholtos. "In future they can report to you. In a couple of nights. turning upon his heel. What could you go into the post-office for. The major had retired some little time before. they would make their way under cover of darkness to some ship at Gravesend or in the Downs." she answered. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern." In my heart I accused my companion of putting forward a most lame and impotent excuse to cover his failure. having borne away through the side- streets to the east of the Oval. That is all I can gather.

 but on none. sir. however. Bernstone. then?" I reiterated. "that our wooden-legged friend. It was the sides which were black. 'specially when my man is away days at a time. But perhaps you would care to wait. Watson?" he cried. and I could not undo it again. and his bearing meek and even apologetic." said Holmes. I was introduced. With trembling fingers I flung back the lid. Perhaps this is he. She's been fresh painted. If I am in luck. he sprang up the steps and squeezed through into the garret.