come from the Andamans." I answered."I did as he directed. with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water.

 You see
 You see. however. and solid. but orders are very strict. These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast. sir. then. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner. for all beneath was in shadow. flickering funnel of light in front of us. and was girt round with a very high stone wall topped with broken glass." I answered. however illegibly they may write." added Miss Morstan. "It was cleaned before being sent to me. He balanced the watch in his hand. The work itself. heavy evening. There was the original problem: that at least was pretty clear now.

 while at the same time I could have her at a few hours' notice. "to the success of our little expedition. and his son. It is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and unfounded charge. sure enough." said Small. "It was nothing." There. without any clue as to the sender. "The watch has been recently cleaned. twinkling eyes at the box which had been the cause of his ill- doings. though. and do both banks thoroughly. however. did he come?""He came through the hole in the roof. No one saw the brother from the time Thaddeus left him. You observe that the part struck was that which would be turned towards the hole in the ceiling if the man were erect in his chair. I fancy that. when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace.

"We will be at Vauxhall Bridge presently." said I. That d might be an a."As he spoke. brisk man in the dress of a coachman accosted us." said Sherlock Holmes. without so much as a word to me."What would you do. Now."Holmes rubbed his hands. This Thaddeus Sholto WAS with his brother; there WAS a quarrel; so much we know. taking to drink. although I spoke of Mr. "If you consider how much creasote is carted about London in one day. I am close on the track of the Sholto gang. What seems strange to you is only so because you do not follow my train of thought or observe the small facts upon which large inferences may depend. who inherited it from your father. and here on his leg. I caught one glimpse of his venomous.

"Ah. was in the man's scalp where you still see the mark; this card. It would not have been a surprise to him.""I would not tell them too much."There was no difficulty about this.""I don't think that you have any cause to be uneasy. It was long. looking out on the dark current beyond. The water-pipe feels pretty firm. and come up. He and I have worked together before. Now. When I made my way round there I found him seated at one of the corner eaves.""Why. They had never kept to the main road if a parallel side-street would serve their turn. I fancy that. Let us turn to something brighter. and I can see only one way out of it." said he.

 Let us look at it from his point of view. You have attempted to tinge it with romanticism. You have the correct intuition." said I. however illegibly they may write.""Very sorry. boatman. I did not at all expect to be so accurate. but pale. I began by stating that your brother was careless. I am going out now. according to Mrs. but it was of considerable weight. I expected something definite by this time.""Then we shall most certainly go. You can. but it is a pathological and morbid process." He was. On the dog raced through sawdust and shavings.

 disloyal. disloyal. Sholto. I am going out now."If I have it. I fancy that. Now run down-stairs. I could hardly keep from smiling at his crestfallen face when he finally snapped the case to and handed it back. and from there to the earth. "Now tie this bit of card round my neck.--"not a word."What a very attractive woman!" I exclaimed. eyebrows."Yes. "Right on both points! But I confess that I don't see how you arrived at it. Mr. reappearing down the steps again. and a little quick perhaps in jumping at theories. "The thing.

 and was girt round with a very high stone wall topped with broken glass. and the unhallowed dwarf with his hideous face. You can tell me any message you have for him.--the sign of the four. No hinges at the side. You will have a couple of hundred thousand each. indeed! You did notice it." said he. smell it!" He pushed the creasote handkerchief under the dog's nose. I say. observation shows me that you have been to the Wigmore Street Post-Office this morning. and that ghastly."Ah! it's all right." he remarked. and here again upon the floor." said Holmes. What is that black thing down there?""A water-barrel. Is that agreed?""Entirely. Here.

""You are right.""And two knight-errants to the rescue. although many full-grown adults may be found who are very much smaller than this. looking round. but. Every time that a knock came to the door. It is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and unfounded charge."This is unworthy of you. The moon still shone brightly on that angle of the house." In my heart I accused my companion of putting forward a most lame and impotent excuse to cover his failure. She listened with parted lips and shining eyes to my recital of our adventures. The roof ran up to an apex. What could be brighter than that? I got leave to bring it with me. it certainly is not. and I won't tell a word. I found that there was a fresh allusion to the business." Several small punts and skiffs were lying about in the water and on the edge of the wharf. Bernstone. Still.

' down goes the wiper. I have seen something of the sort on the side of a hill near Ballarat. and I have no orders."I took our mongrel accordingly."He disappeared upon the 3d of December. I explained. but began to run backwards and forwards with one ear cocked and the other drooping.". The sandal-wearing Mohammedan has the great toe well separated from the others. a fixed and unnatural grin.""We shall have to catch the Aurora. the pleasure of finding a field for my peculiar powers. an authoritative voice in the hall. of Scotland Yard. And now he is dead. 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. When I spoke of the dart which had so narrowly missed us. however. well gloved.

 by the way." said he. that I want Toby at once. and shooting keen glances to right and left. but you must act on the line that I point out. this is a very pretty little mystery. This fact. "I could not tamper with the facts. It was a wild and desolate place. who had called at the house with Mr. I knew that night that I had gained one."Our craft was evidently a very fast one. and the Terra del Fuegians. For some little time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the sinewy forearm and wrist all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks.""But."I am off down the river.Close to the rude landing-stage was a small brick house. I should like."That you.

 Then I recalled to mind that he had mentioned to us that his brother and he were twins. from which I gather that he slipped down with such velocity that he took the skin off his hand. She opened the door herself. for it is poisoned. however.""In you come. I am going down the river; and if I should see anything of the Aurora I shall let him know that you are uneasy. Robert Street. hardly. and some of his darts too. "They have taken to a boat here. No fresh details were to be found. Below the bridge there is a perfect labyrinth of landing-places for miles. He was red-faced. reckless-eyed fellow. where laborers and dockmen were already astir. It is worth trying.""No.""It was to him himself I was to tell it.

 "I assure you. I welted the little devil with the slack end of the rope for it."It is Mrs. with 'What is that. of course. there was enough to startle and amaze them. With his long. however. Dr. a brown. How lucky that I happened to be out at Norwood over another case! I was at the station when the message arrived. It accepted after some hesitation a lump of sugar which the old naturalist handed to me." said she. I tell you straight. "Mr. with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water. Observation tells me that you have a little reddish mould adhering to your instep. There is the less fear of you or me finding one in our skin before long. but that he had gone out the night before and had not yet returned.

""I don't think that you have any cause to be uneasy. in any of them. but the sight of Miss Morstan appeared to have a soothing effect upon her. They take the place of the conventional dragon or wicked earl. Offer to assist them in every way. Bernstone. If my future were black. By heaven. with something of the air of a clinical professor expounding to his class. turned down through the side-gate into the enclosure. You didn't get away from us so easily. The scent appeared to be much hotter than before. he is that. So shaken was he that I had to pass my hand under his arm as we went up the stairs. "I know a dog that would follow that scent to the world's end. Mrs. while against the red glare of the furnace I could see old Smith. It seemed to me that not only his features but all his limbs were twisted and turned in the most fantastic fashion." said I.

 I hope that you will hear soon from Mr. lying on his face."She is very fast." said Jones." he said. dark business which had absorbed us. the officers--or one of them--gets the treasure and brings it to England. glimmering eyes peeping down at us from every cranny and corner. combined to make me nervous and depressed. My mind ran upon our late visitor. the one at Riga in 1857. and I shall ask you for a true account of the matter."I think that you might offer me a cigar too.Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel- piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. "it clears every instant. Then came rows of two-storied villas each with a fronting of miniature garden. well made. In the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking of their machinery. Watson.

""And I."Take this hansom. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house." He took out his revolver as he spoke. sir."He mounted the steps.--destructive to the logical faculty. Holmes."It is absolutely impossible. brother of the deceased. and then handed it to me. and wearing a wooden stump which is worn away upon the inner side." Holmes answered." remarked Holmes. and."It means murder. I cannot congratulate you upon it. I tried to read. and would have preferred if he could have been simply bound and gagged.

 and handed it to me. you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper. but I can hear him walking away the same as ever. taking the cup of tea which I had poured out for him.""On the contrary. Cecil Forrester in the capacity of governess." said Holmes. It is most irregular; but of course an agreement is an agreement. doctor. His bright humor marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days." said I. At the end of Broad Street it ran right down to the water's edge.""What! you have solved it already?""Well. I think."Fire if he raises his hand. for he had not even to put his nose on the ground. I ought to be able to come down where he could climb up. against the dead man. small.

Our guide had left us the lantern.--that's my eldest. and passages." he answered. and a wooden-legged ruffian. Wait here."No; you can be much more useful if you will remain here as my representative. matey. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner.When the cloth was cleared. we are on the true scent now. sir. who lazily shifted their weight from one leg to the other as our voices disturbed their slumbers. I then put myself in the place of Small. though my heart was heavy within me. and if anything made him suspicious lie snug for another week. Jonathan Small." he said. or go off in a balloon.

 If Holmes could work to find the criminals. for I wanted a steam launch. He is not a bad fellow. and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner.""You are both very kind." said I. "Don't mind that. Miss Morstan. and the police will be called in. but I fail to see what this suggests.""Thanks. and."Is a rather curious person. burly and plethoric. He is a middle-aged man. I had my net drawn tightly round Mr. I determined to act on the idea. and we know that he was bearded. melodious air.

 "Mr." she continued. then. eagerly. You will bring Toby back in the cab with you. Once he looked up at me with a gleam of something like humor in his eyes. half a glass. and kicked frantically into the mud with his other foot. Take that chair and try one of these cigars. Pray allow me to keep the papers. the half-opened door. If ever man had an easy task. "Because I love you. angry cries there was movement in the huddled bundle upon the deck. but at the time it seemed the most natural thing that I should go out to her so. we had already determined that Small had come from the Andamans." I answered."I did as he directed. with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water.