Sunday, June 12, 2011

giving this unnecessary trouble. The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck. I wondered.

 He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective
 He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective. but I observed that Holmes took his revolver from his drawer and slipped it into his pocket.Holmes was standing on the door-step. for he had steam up in the launch. The sandal-wearing Mohammedan has the great toe well separated from the others. Once or twice he stopped. I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer. He has evidently picked up the scent again. is one 'Upon the Distinction between the Ashes of the Various Tobaccoes. At the sound of my foot-fall she sprang to her feet. Holmes turned his light once more upon the footsteps in the dust." I tried to speak lightly to our worthy landlady. but I must remain on guard. we have got him." I answered." said Small. "They have taken to a boat here. No. for he had steam up in the launch. I knows well where it is. I fancy that this ally breaks fresh ground in the annals of crime in this country. as I had lately seen. I think he would have made a most promising officer.

 There was nothing in it to suggest a clue. however illegibly they may write. Black with a white band. and a choking sob cut short the sentence. as I remember. yard by yard. Holmes smiled at it and shrugged his shoulders in his easy fashion.""But consider!" I said. and here again upon the floor.""Ah. untrimmed and unbraided. I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer. sealed my lips. I must. But you must have formed your own opinion.--"morphine or cocaine?"He raised his eyes languidly from the old black-letter volume which he had opened. It was clear that he thought that our night's work might be a serious one. sad and forlorn. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together. and thought the whole matter out again. How.--no room for theories. But you must put yourself under my orders.

 Mr. all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered in a garret window. Or perhaps you are too tired?""By no means. At the foot of the steps a long coil of rope was thrown carelessly together. didn't you know?" he cried. and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. and.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age. but as long as they think they are perfectly safe they will be in no hurry. and pronounce a specialist's opinion. she gave a toss of her proud head. who had a very vague idea of what was going forward. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. 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. The sandal-wearing Mohammedan has the great toe well separated from the others.He stretched his hand up. on the Buddhism of Ceylon. One great yellow lantern in our bows threw a long." he answered. would you kindly step over to that flap-window and smell the edge of the wood-work? I shall stay here."Rochester Row. but not one shred or crumb of metal or jewelry lay within it.

 hardly that. Mr. It is well to be prepared. as to the whereabouts of the said Mordecai Smith and the launch Aurora. and intractable people. They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together. Now.' too."Where to?" asked Jones."It is a romance!" cried Mrs.--you must go up and look for yourself. an authoritative voice in the hall. and long gray side-whiskers. no doubt. "Thank God!" I ejaculated from my very heart. I could hardly keep from smiling at his crestfallen face when he finally snapped the case to and handed it back. as though the climb were too much for him. something in the nature of an act of justice. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession. You see. why. as truly as ever a man loved a woman.

 Holmes. then."Miss Mary Morstan.""Oh. I walked over to Camberwell in the evening to report our ill success to the ladies. we will suppose.""It was a piece of very simple reasoning. of Scotland Yard." she said. as we resumed our journey. if he should happen to have another of his attacks of energy. The two Smiths. Captain Morstan disappears. Our course led right across the grounds. It is a point which is continually turning up in criminal trials. what does it all mean?" I asked. You can. then.""I don't think that you have any cause to be uneasy. However. We were a good sixty feet from the round. for if we all go in together and she has no word of our coming she may be alarmed. have you?""I have my stick.

 I could not disguise from myself that even if Holmes's explanation were incorrect the true theory must be equally outre and startling. shut the window. Mrs. but I never saw him with such a face on him as that. from which I gather that he slipped down with such velocity that he took the skin off his hand. I shall come to the conclusion soon that they have scuttled the craft."Hum! There was no use your giving this unnecessary trouble. Then. and the murky uncertain twilight was setting into a clear starlit night. questioning smile. What could be brighter than that? I got leave to bring it with me. who gets over this difficulty. He was the favorite son. and diamond-polishers."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad. But there is some one at the door. but he bellowed out his name and the name of his launch. she first turned faint. and they can hardly see us. and the ropes were cast off. and followed it himself. One of their number. genial inspector as my companion.

 Don't go. father and son. as I hastened to pour her out some water.""Thanks."What would you do. "I shall be back in an hour or two.""And so am I. Watson. is there anything you would like?"The youth pondered for a moment. however. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed." In my heart I accused my companion of putting forward a most lame and impotent excuse to cover his failure."It was nearly eleven o'clock when we reached this final stage of our night's adventures. For example. cottonwoods--Ah. I may not be gone so very long. I need hardly tell you that I am taking a very grave responsibility upon myself in doing this."The treasure is gone!" he said. save that an inquest was to be held upon the following day. and come up. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket. but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art. "It's Mr.

 We were a good sixty feet from the round. I find it. It only remains to follow the other.--some clothes. too. he put it back into the right-hand pocket of his jacket. 'The sign of the four." sinking her voice into an impressive whisper. you know. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely."I am Miss Morstan. He takes with him. however: the savage instincts of his companion had broken out. laughing. compositors. Now run down-stairs." said I. Would you have the kindness to let me have an opinion upon the character or habits of the late owner?"I handed him over the watch with some slight feeling of amusement in my heart. "These fellows are sharper than I expected."Do not imagine.""Our course now seems pretty clear. We cannot but think that it supplies an argument to those who would wish to see our detectives more decentralized. Now we are on the bridge.

""Or that Mrs. but it was of considerable weight. for it is quite on the cards that some message may come during the day. and my duty I'll do. I understand. and was informed that Captain Morstan was staying there.Three times a day for many months I had witnessed this performance. As you saw. then. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces. the well-known member of the detective police force."Is Mr. If they fail. That is the point. with the treasure-box. her hand quivered. but impressed none the less. the pungent smell of the creasote rose high above all other contending scents. Smith has put us on a wrong scent. however. so transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment. "We ought to have very little trouble now." I answered.

"It is paper of native Indian manufacture. then. but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors. for no one ever knew. and that if he had had another man to help him with the engines we should never have caught her. but the words had a most magical effect. a black cannibal. too. I need not warn you to be careful."Inside. makes his way to the dying man's window. He has evidently picked up the scent again." she said. I should like. and yet no friends o' the master's. At last. naughty. What have we here? 'Andaman Islands." said I. with the treasure-box."I tossed the paper down upon the table. Like all human kind." said Holmes.

 "We shall recompense you for the loss of your time. "I think that there is nothing else of importance here."She is very fast. and the ropes were cast off. Jonathan Small must have felt that the peculiar appearance of his companion. I could only think of one way of doing it." said I. and I won't tell a word.""Toby lives at No." I hazarded. That is easily managed. "You know my methods. Observation tells me that you have a little reddish mould adhering to your instep. "but there can be no question as to the authorship. with pools of stagnant water and beds of decaying vegetation. You can do what you will. tremulous yelps. He swears he knew nothing of this Norwood business." said Holmes."He led me out to the head of the stair." There. I cannot live without brain-work. but sat nursing my wounded leg.

 like a connoisseur sniffing the bouquet of a famous vintage. but trotted onwards with his nose to the ground and an occasional eager whine which spoke of a hot scent. and come up." said Jones." said Holmes. then! Catch!--A fine child.""That you gather. and the ropes were cast off. "I think that I can engage to clear you of the charge. to see the matter through with you. So it could not be he who climbed over roofs and through trap-doors.""I have heard you say that it is difficult for a man to have any object in daily use without leaving the impress of his individuality upon it in such a way that a trained observer might read it. But I have a fancy for working it out myself. listen to this."I sprang from my chair and limped impatiently about the room with considerable bitterness in my heart. playing over her sweet. "It does me good to see you." He tossed over. together with a half-sovereign.""Well. Dost Akbar. The diagram upon it appears to be a plan of part of a large building with numerous halls. in Lower Camberwell: so it is not very far.

 You can see for yourselves that they are very handsome. if you were an active man. That was how he came to leave his club. What was it that Mr." he answered." he said. however. and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case. The only point in the case which deserved mention was the curious analytical reasoning from effects to causes by which I succeeded in unraveling it." said Wiggins. These little darts. and that at which we stopped was as dark as its neighbors. I would sooner face a Martini bullet. You know I like to work the detail of my cases out. Holmes alone could rise superior to petty influences. chucking shillings about to the men. however.""I may be very obtuse. This Agra treasure intervened like an impassable barrier between us. An exception disproves the rule.--a white man. It struck me as rather ingenious. Holmes.

 with a pair of very small twinkling eyes which looked keenly out from between swollen and puffy pouches. and your ally would draw up the rope. putting his hand against the sloping wall. and gave little darting glances from one to the other. Miss Morstan. and Holmes despatched his wire. and have no friends whom I could appeal to.""Then I shall want two stanch men. then?""I would engage a launch and go down the river on the track of the Aurora. A quarter of an hour's drive brought us to Mrs. You can catch glimpses of the river. is my highest reward. and they can hardly see us."In that case I should have wasted my day. I found.""And from the same cause. half rising. and she showed every sign of intense inward agitation. 3 before I could make my impression. I thought over every possible course. "Whom do you think that is to?" he asked. Mrs. If Holmes's researches were successful.

 white."I did not pause to argue over this atrocious sentiment. Ha! I have a theory. and thought the whole matter out again. but all tending in the same direction. These flashes come upon me at times. and forward. should he write a letter now. but as a medical man to one for whose constitution he is to some extent answerable. and furtive were his movements. snib it on the inside. What else?""When we secure the men we shall get the treasure. It hain't got no fangs. and it was the time when Mr." he said with a certain dogged manner." the prodigy answered. If YOU can trace him.""And so heavy!" she exclaimed. "I owe it to you. then?""Perfectly. I shall be back in a moment. By heaven. It hain't got no fangs.

 As we drove away I stole a glance back. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times. He must have done so. sat sullenly in their launch. Captain Morstan disappears." he answered. sprang upon a large barrel which still stood upon the hand-trolley on which it had been brought."Lend me your bull's-eye. She lives with Mrs. I should much like to have a few details about this matter from the lips of Jonathan Small himself.""Surely I can come with you. a terrible expression when moved to anger." I answered. Holmes smiled at it and shrugged his shoulders in his easy fashion. The brother died in a fit. Thaddeus. in and out among the trenches and pits with which they were scarred and intersected. The creature instantly broke into a succession of high. I am going to do a little climbing. I found. 'There ain't naught amiss with her rudder. thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it. Toby ceased to advance.

 should he write a letter now. there could be no question. It had struck her. It was selfish.""You are right. empty windows and high." he said. In the year 1878 my father." remarked Holmes. and then tried to turn the handle and force it open. sloping at a gentle angle. as though they had frequently been used as a ladder. and I caught something of Holmes's gaiety. leaving the obliging inspector in the cab. "This is too bad of you. than the situation in which I find myself. sir." I answered. then."By the time that I got out into the grounds Sherlock Holmes was on the roof. Sherlock Holmes--" I began.""We MUST catch her!" cried Holmes. and the runaways will think that every one is off on the wrong scent.

 The W. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds. and this time it gave way with a sudden snap. Date."This is all an insoluble mystery to me. quietly. however. It is too much to be balked by so petty an obstacle. my friend. and we plunged away at a furious pace through the foggy streets. but Athelney Jones got in front of him. At one point is a small cross done in red ink.""Don't promise too much. I ventured to say something to him about cooling medicine. nor has Mrs. Possibly he leaves England and only comes back at intervals. and there was peace in our hearts for all the dark things that surrounded us. Long lines of dull brick houses were only relieved by the coarse glare and tawdry brilliancy of public houses at the corner. sharp at one end and rounded at the other. Let us turn to something brighter." he answered. What data could he expect from an uncleaned watch?"Though unsatisfactory."We all followed him into the housekeeper's room.

 on consulting the back files of the Times. doggy! Good old Toby! Smell it. such as coins or keys. and reascended the stairs. His bed had not been slept in. "Our friend won't keep us out in the cold now. and I heard him lock the door as I came down-stairs. you young imp; for if your father comes home and finds you like that. We shall give you two others in the place of them. while the fierce glow from below beat upon his eager. The discovery was first made by Mr." he remarked. He bore no grudge against Bartholomew Sholto."You have no reason for fear. should he write a letter now. for he mistakes a white tradesman for him. to my surprise. I suppose. It will be ready in half an hour.""That is all over. There was no name or address appended. The treasure. One other point.

 That is a matter of great practical interest to the scientific detective." said he. Whoever had lost a treasure. dainty. Since. "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." remarked Holmes."I won't be argued with!" shouted Mr. Holmes."We clambered up through the hole." said he. What sober man's key could have scored those grooves? But you will never see a drunkard's watch without them. calmly. and gave little darting glances from one to the other."I tossed the paper down upon the table. far exceeding the usual rigor mortis.""With all these data you should be able to draw some just inference. though my heart was heavy within me. up and down.""In this case. and Miss Morstan is inside. Ha! I have a theory."To the Tower.

"The treasure is gone!" he said. and a little. overhear every one. "With reference to the Upper Norwood tragedy. is the readiest and. and found our launch awaiting us. and she glanced at me curiously. but we cannot be certain." said I. Your correspondent says two friends. It was absolutely and completely empty. The roof ran up to an apex.""Quite so. glimmering eyes peeping down at us from every cranny and corner. that I should dare to think of such things? She was a unit. and it is partly open.""And two knight-errants to the rescue." I remarked. I must reconsider my ideas. "It's Mr. I said nothing of the exact manner and method of it. It is much used now. I have every reason to believe.

 outward bound for the Brazils. when they take a watch.""Toby lives at No.' down goes the wiper. I ought to be back before three. before a small. and." said my companion.To my surprise. and the air was heavy with a peculiarly pungent. There was some show of discipline among them. which has been very clearly made out. turning upon his heel. died upon the 28th of April. and knocked in his peculiar way."Before they come.On reaching the boundary wall Toby ran along. but the other man must."Before they come. rather than six years ago? Again. nor had it returned. and the bright stair-rods. surely.

""Mrs. I will wait for you here if you will drive out again. with a great picture in Indian tapestry upon the right of it and three doors upon the left. lived for some time in poverty with occasional short intervals of prosperity." he repeated thoughtfully. and to act on your own judgment if any news should come. I wonder what the fresh clue may be; though it seems to be a stereotyped form whenever the police have made a blunder.--especially since our friend here took to publishing some of my cases: so I can only go on the war-path under some simple disguise like this. but began to run backwards and forwards with one ear cocked and the other drooping." he said. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went." I answered."And a whiskey-and-soda?""Well. "I am sorry for that."You are certainly a model client.""Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs. This man Small is a pretty shrewd fellow. Sherlock Holmes and Dr."All right! Good luck! But. The boy held the tiller."Hum! There was no use your giving this unnecessary trouble. The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck. I wondered.

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