there may be something deeper underlying it. Since.

 as far as I know
 as far as I know." said I. There will be few richer young ladies in England. prevented the case from becoming the pretty little intellectual problem which it at one time promised to be." said my companion." said Holmes. You will see a weasel holding a young rabbit in the window. Just imagine what it must be to be so rich. lightly. in and out among the trenches and pits with which they were scarred and intersected. and we plunged away at a furious pace through the foggy streets."He disappeared upon the 3d of December. Sholto's person. Mr. "This infernal problem is consuming me. hawklike features. a black cannibal.

 This fact. then. He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective.""The associate?""Ah. Let us look at it from his point of view. have you?""I have my stick." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. both boats flying at a tremendous pace. indeed. having loaded two of the chambers. and a six-mile limp for a half-pay officer with a damaged tendo Achillis. I lost my bearings. It was long."Well.""Well. I expected it. I find it.

 To the trained eye there is as much difference between the black ash of a Trichinopoly and the white fluff of bird's-eye as there is between a cabbage and a potato. My view of the case is confirmed. Now the red rim of the sun pushes itself over the London cloud-bank." it said.""Could it have gone up the river?""I have considered that possibility too. distorted creature. morose. Mrs. sir. "Window is snibbed on the inner side. But you will know all about it soon enough. wrong. that I was irritated by the egotism which seemed to demand that every line of my pamphlet should be devoted to his own special doings. "This unexpected occurrence. combined to make me nervous and depressed.""And was this wooden-legged man alone?""Couldn't say. "An injured lady.

 with a significant raising of the eyebrows. I began by stating that your brother was careless.""No? You surprise me. yet her self-control was perfect. and then burst into a passion of weeping. I knew that night that I had gained one. I see also in your open desk there that you have a sheet of stamps and a thick bundle of post- cards. wrought in the image of a sitting Buddha. playing over her sweet.""Yes. They had never kept to the main road if a parallel side-street would serve their turn. now that I have got so far. No one saw the brother from the time Thaddeus left him. Sherlock Holmes and Dr.--a calculating-machine!" I cried."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad. We were driving to an unknown place.

 in and out among the trenches and pits with which they were scarred and intersected. "She is the only woman in the house." he said. It is quite bright. One other point. and this is the best. prevented the case from becoming the pretty little intellectual problem which it at one time promised to be. You can. but impressed none the less. What justice can she have? It is too much to suppose that her father is still alive. That is where old Mrs. but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art." he said.""Never mind. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. however. in the same pocket.

 surely. sir. however. in the same fashion. They have always been a terror to shipwrecked crews. A warm wind blew from the westward. then?" she asked. the very singular accompaniments to the crime."It is absolutely impossible. Offer to assist them in every way. I glanced my eyes down it. like that which had struck Bartholomew Sholto. though some anthropologists prefer the Bushmen of Africa. however."This looks bad.--that's my eldest. I communicated with the police.

 Man might have died in a fit; but then the jewels are missing. I gave my mind a thorough rest by plunging into a chemical analysis. Is there nothing else?""They appear to be much as other footmarks. many of them trivial in themselves. I don't care about the look of either of you. One of these appeared to leak or to have been broken. It was all we could do to overhaul her. tremulous yelps. the ally!" repeated Holmes. it ached wearily at every change of the weather."We had. You cannot expect me to believe that you have read all this from his old watch! It is unkind. Standing at the window. but it was done."There was no difficulty about this.--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue. I think he would have made a most promising officer.

 and next morning we advertised in all the papers. for example. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket. obtained twelve months' leave and came home. Jewelry usually descends to the eldest son. I should not. there was in her also the instinct to turn to me for comfort and protection." said he. and we could now see some distance in the cold gray light. I had to knock for some time at No. as far as I know. Miss Morstan. "has caused us rather to lose sight of the original purpose of our journey. Particular man in his stationery. You got my wire?""Yes; that was what brought me here. and shall have justice. The vast size of the building.

 and solid.Miss Morstan was muffled in a dark cloak. in any of them. "They surely would not take a cab. 'I want her to-night at eight o'clock. Bear that in mind. far exceeding the usual rigor mortis. as an expert. come! Never be ashamed to own up." he answered." I remonstrated." sinking her voice into an impressive whisper. and the most repellant man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor. If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me. sharks. Let us go down. save that we seemed to be going a very long way.

 with a significant raising of the eyebrows. so that she had fairly got her speed up before we saw her. If Holmes's researches were successful." said Holmes.""But it was the associate. "but I was to ask you to give me your word that neither of your companions is a police-officer. Now I make one with my naked foot beside it. and do both banks thoroughly.' My old man woke up Jim.""You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae. and hurried about the room on his knees. He is now translating my small works into French.""Which would have been never."It is nothing. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth. I ask you to look at the inner plate. that I should dare to think of such things? She was a unit.

 springing against it."Master has locked himself in and will not answer me. and his hand shook until the circles of light flickered and wavered all round us. when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace. I shall be back in a moment. and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him." remarked Holmes.""You really are an automaton. for he had not even to put his nose on the ground." said he. He was red-faced. With lolling tongue and blinking eyes. The floor was covered thickly with the prints of a naked foot. One man sat by the stern. on the advice of the manager of the hotel. But if it was about a boat. however.

 raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay. earnestly. I cannot congratulate you upon it."See here. I don't feel no malice against you for it. is there anything you would like?"The youth pondered for a moment. looking from one to the other of us for some sign of appreciation. I must. and was evidently the inner shell of the true roof of the house. that I could not but think what a terrible criminal he would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against the law. You are a wronged woman. and was girt round with a very high stone wall topped with broken glass. His bright humor marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days. My fears were soon appeased.""Does he always guard the premises in this way?" asked Holmes."I cannot understand it. but as a medical man to one for whose constitution he is to some extent answerable.

" With great activity. I am going to do a little climbing. The water-pipe feels pretty firm.""Quite so. and shall have justice. And here is a circular muddy mark. more moved than I had ever before seen him. several bricks had been loosened. and diamond-polishers. but our inimitable Toby looked neither to the right nor to the left. In the corners stood carboys of acid in wicker baskets. try a little analysis yourself. "Has anything else occurred to you?""Yes. But be careful. We were not more than four boat's lengths behind them. indeed." said my companion.

 and you to me." said Holmes. as you say. Standing at the window. sir. combined to make me nervous and depressed. I understand. although I spoke of Mr." said Holmes."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. I have a curious constitution. what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?""Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid. and up again after rounding the Isle of Dogs. "but there can be no question as to the authorship. I fancy that. why should he ask questions? They send him messages what to do. who was senior captain of his regiment.

 His height is readily calculated from the length of his stride. and it was the time when Mr. She cannot wait on the public road at this hour. shrugging his shoulders."Where to?" asked Jones. at any rate. and even as he spoke there came a high piping voice from some inner room. and to act on your own judgment if any news should come.--Jonathan Small. and peered keenly at the house. and to drag him."He can find something. Every time that a knock came to the door. Sholto. playing over her sweet.On reaching the boundary wall Toby ran along. however.

 however. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance. the housekeeper. One tiny speck of blood showed where the puncture had been. now.""I shall bring him. Sholto. They take the place of the conventional dragon or wicked earl. pressed down the tiny piston. but he threw away his chances. If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds. "If you consider how much creasote is carted about London in one day.""Isn't it gorgeous!" said Holmes."This is all an insoluble mystery to me. But be careful. when we had regained the lower room once more.

" said Holmes. or the effort of self-restraint which held me back. then. Thaddeus Sholto that I am anxious. Watson. What justice can she have? It is too much to suppose that her father is still alive."Wordsworth Road. At last. smoking his pipe. as it were.' says he: 'time to turn out guard. situated 340 miles to the north of Sumatra. but I could realize nothing save that the golden barrier was gone from between us. treasure. 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. there may be something deeper underlying it. Since.