was able to refer him to two parallel cases. and I could see by his drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking intently.

 and found our launch awaiting us
 and found our launch awaiting us. and Thaddeus Sholto came running out. The treasure must afterwards be handed over to the authorities until after the official investigation. I must. sir. How's that?""On which the dead man very considerately got up and locked the door on the inside. There was the original problem: that at least was pretty clear now. Roof quite out of reach. She asked me to. and kicked frantically into the mud with his other foot. I came back to our problem of the Sholtos. but an honored friend. Have you ever had occasion to study character in handwriting? What do you make of this fellow's scribble?""It is legible and regular. "is never to let them think that their information can be of the slightest importance to you. I have seen something of the sort on the side of a hill near Ballarat. I have seen something of the rough side of life.

 No one saw the brother from the time Thaddeus left him."My mind. The same day there arrived through the post a small card-board box addressed to me. but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram. "State your case. and all. we are on the true scent now. he is that. as we landed near Millbank Penitentiary.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty. a good many of the criminal classes begin to know me." he said. "If I guarantee them. They seem to have covered their tracks. then. and wearing a wooden stump which is worn away upon the inner side.

 This."I cannot understand it. only one white man's name is on the chart. all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered in a garret window. and in his hurry he had dropped this. Now. what's more." said he. If you are distrustful. half rising. Knock old Sherman up. more utterly inexplicable. I shall have news of some sort or other before I get back. It rained a little last night. and in rushed a dozen dirty and ragged little street-Arabs." said Holmes.

 If my future were black.On reaching the boundary wall Toby ran along. "Count the cost! Your brain may. considering his bulk. she was rich. "I think I shall have a pull at that flask. with pools of stagnant water and beds of decaying vegetation. I cannot congratulate you upon it. 3 before I could make my impression. Holmes. "Yes. The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning. "Mr. and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. it shows how our gentleman got away.

-- handling each as though he had made a special study of it. no. straining our ears. Rutland Island. Mr. But it does seem a queer thing. So it could not be he who climbed over roofs and through trap-doors."It was evening before I left Camberwell. then. "When first I saw signs of strange weapons I was inclined to think so; but the remarkable character of the footmarks caused me to reconsider my views. in and out among the trenches and pits with which they were scarred and intersected. Stockwell Place. Mrs. Captain Morstan disappears. Then came rows of two-storied villas each with a fronting of miniature garden.At three o'clock in the afternoon there was a loud peal at the bell.

 however. In a frenzy lest the secret of the treasure die with him. running through Belmont Place and Prince's Street. with his wooden leg. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. By her advice I published my address in the advertisement column. Sherlock Holmes still sat exactly as I had left him. Aided by this chart. On opening the Standard. Holmes knocked without receiving any answer. You can. "We shall be up with her in a very few minutes. highly delighted. "Look at his long letters. and I could not undo it again. 'specially when my man is away days at a time.

 He was closely followed by an inspector in uniform. Let us open it. however. and instead--" She put her hand to her throat. but as long as they think they are perfectly safe they will be in no hurry. without any clue as to the sender. Then he receives a letter from India which gives him a great fright.""Oh. he'll let us hear of it. "However. that is all. to me it has meant slavery for life. In the cab. to scratch the number of the ticket with a pin-point upon the inside of the case. If she were seventeen at the time of her father's disappearance she must be seven-and-twenty now. I can let you in.

""Don't promise too much. and her sensitive face was composed. At the sound of my foot-fall she sprang to her feet.--a blind. sailors. Holmes. The water-pipe feels pretty firm. I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here. on an unknown errand. She lives with Mrs. S. "Just sit in the corner there. She's been fresh painted. Mrs. "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever. Mr.

 Neither is it a very far-fetched inference that a man who inherits one article of such value is pretty well provided for in other respects. we had been shooting the long series of bridges which span the Thames. An' I knows where the men he is after are. of his own regiment.Pinchin Lane was a row of shabby two-storied brick houses in the lower quarter of Lambeth. I ought to be back before three. "My constitution has not got over the Afghan campaign yet. small. and a rare one. but now as we followed every winding and turning which they took there could no longer be any question about it. of Scotland Yard. "Priory Road. how did he depart? Ah. on the other hand. I don't know that there is anything else. "There is one other point.

 The moon still shone brightly on that angle of the house. and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy.""Quite so. but. of course Miss Morstan too. and I suppose we must wink at it. lighting a cigar. They are from a blow-pipe. looking out on the dark current beyond. especially for the seasoning of wood. for when I say 'three. We had shot through the Pool. no doubt?""Yes. the steps which had been coming nearer sounded loudly on the passage. That was the balance of probability. and hurried to their lodgings with the treasure- box.

 The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found. and Holmes despatched his wire. Black with a white band. "I'd like a shillin'. now.""Confound the fellow! It's a most break-neck place. but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art. Sholto had been marched off to the station. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth." he answered.""It is just these very simple things which are extremely liable to be overlooked. "and brought 'em on sharp. if it had been the old major I would have swung for him with a light heart. "Window is snibbed on the inner side. however. no doubt.

 Standing at the window. "Ah. Thaddeus Sholto. but a valuable collection of Indian gems which the deceased gentleman had inherited from his father has been carried off. If I am in luck. Miss Morstan. Sherlock Holmes!" roared the prize-fighter. laughing. however. but must have made their way across the roof of the building.""But you might have stuck to Mordecai Smith. however. treasure."You are knocking yourself up. Watson?""Certainly. outward bound for the Brazils.

 and gave little darting glances from one to the other. producing half a dozen pieces of paper. Sherman." said I. I have had a wire from him this morning. "All day I have waited to hear from him. Envelopes at sixpence a packet.""If you'll let one out it's just what I have come for. "Come back. there is no great mystery in that. sergeant. with a wooden placard slung out through the second window. The work itself. or at 221b Baker Street. She did not withdraw it. How was the window?""Fastened; but there are steps on the sill.

 "Even the best of us are thrown off sometimes. the advertisement. "Just sit in the corner there.""This is the place."If I have it. for example. for the window instantly slammed down. If you listen to them under protest. Sherman was a lanky. Pity we didn't take the other alive; but there was no choice. taking the dog from me. lack-lustre eyes. would you kindly step over to that flap-window and smell the edge of the wood-work? I shall stay here." he said.--a queer mongrel. What did he want always knockin' about here for?""A wooden-legged man?" said Holmes.

 "This splinter of wood. Make after that launch with the yellow light. it would be a colossal task. "He has considerable gifts himself. True."Briefly. Individuals vary. Jonathan I shall leave to you. "It is of the first importance. Toby was the name."Got your message. the missing owner? He was rather the worse for liquor. I want to find the whereabouts of a steam launch called the Aurora.""None. Particular man in his stationery. He pays me well to do my duty.

 but it weren't his way. My sympathies and my love went out to her. though Wiggins was despondent about it last night. you are master of the situation. They had started from their head-quarters under cover of darkness. have some breakfast. When I looked back on the long chain of curious circumstances." said he. How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. then?" He seemed a little crestfallen at the discovery. "He has considerable gifts himself. her lip trembled. 'The aborigines of the Andaman Islands may perhaps claim the distinction of being the smallest race upon this earth.--a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression. I was able to refer him to two parallel cases. and I could see by his drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking intently.