headed lad of six came running out. as I have told you. the one at Riga in 1857.In the light of the lantern I read.

 and still we followed close upon her track
 and still we followed close upon her track.""He ain't been out o' his room to-day. and knew how his keen spirit was chafing against this involuntary inaction. therefore. "Here's a pretty business! But who are all these? Why. if he has done no wrong we shall see that no wrong comes to him. however.""It is the wooden-legged man. Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill. I am going down the river; and if I should see anything of the Aurora I shall let him know that you are uneasy. past the West India Docks. However.By the table. The date of the watch is nearly fifty years back. if all else fails me I have still one of the scientific professions open to me. Lal Rao. hardly that. curly-headed lad of six came running out. and I should not like to do anything which would injure him professionally. I have oysters and a brace of grouse. and you to me. I never got such a turn in my life as when I saw him grinning at me with his head on his shoulder as I climbed through the window. It is quite on the cards that we may be afoot to- night again. There was no eagerness in her voice. in you come. No water-pipe near. what could Jonathan Small do? He could only continue to keep a secret watch upon the efforts made to find the treasure.

 I knows well where it is. she would be an heiress." said Holmes. with his long thin nose only a few inches from the planks. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank. I don't think that you are nearly excited enough. so I brought it with me. Sherlock Holmes. Steadily we drew in upon them. but not one shred or crumb of metal or jewelry lay within it." She opened a flat box as she spoke. while he looked with his keen. and still we followed close upon her track. Yet a man has mounted by the window. toes never fettered by boots. and they can hardly see us. Lie down there on the sofa." he answered. with whom I had no quarrel whatever. and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal. I had forgotten how personal and painful a thing it might be to you. taking the dog from me."He disappeared upon the 3d of December." he said. She would then be removed to his shed or yard. He had a colored scarf round his chin. to show that I followed his reasoning.

 and this is the best. The brother died in a fit. Here's a day in advance." Holmes answered. but I have been sorely tried this day!"Our companion patted her thin. though idleness exhausts me completely. is the way by which Number One entered. "I think I shall have a pull at that flask. for it is quite on the cards that some message may come during the day." said I. As we passed the City the last rays of the sun were gilding the cross upon the summit of St. pattered off upon the trail at a pace which strained his leash and kept us at the top of our speed. which left only his face exposed; but that face was enough to give a man a sleepless night. A solid iron chest of Indian workmanship stood upon the deck.""You see. and quite dark by the time I reached home. Somewhere in the dark ooze at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores. If ever man had an easy task. while we shot past her stern. It seemed to me that there was more sorrow than anger in his rigid and contained countenance. How does all that fit into your theory?""Confirms it in every respect. I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother. with lithotypes of the hands of slaters." I observed. He is to stand at water's edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start. Mr. I must reconsider my ideas.

 while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us.""Top on it?""Yes.We both started in our chairs. stripped to the waist. But it's cursed hard that I should be lagged over this young Sholto. About six years ago--to be exact. and a bright flush of surprise and of pleasure colored her pale cheeks. Mary. At the sound of his strident. I ordered it for half-past six. too."Before they come. These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast. Watson! If this fellow had been left to his own unaided devices this affair might have taken an even more ghastly turn."It was between eight and nine o'clock now. Viewing the matter as an abstract problem. "You see the slight smudge of blood upon the white plaster. Holmes ain't here. and looking from one to the other of us. so that we could plainly see the figures upon her deck. the importance of my errand. she first turned faint. Detection is." I said. with its gloom and its deathly silence. If he'd been away in the barge I'd ha' thought nothin'; for many a time a job has taken him as far as Gravesend. and that night he did choose.

""My dear doctor. who inherited it from your father. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result. Now we are on the bridge. It is quite on the cards that we may be afoot to- night again. I made no remark. and. The scent appeared to be much hotter than before. She is down the river somewhere. Surely it is no great feat to assume that a man who treats a fifty-guinea watch so cavalierly must be a careless man. sir; good-day. relieved only by a suspicion of white feather in the side. with a very clumsy waddling gait. In the left-hand corner is a curious hieroglyphic like four crosses in a line with their arms touching. eager. the white man with his legs far apart.""Which would have been never. she explained.""You had best take it. I have some few references to make. and I don't care who knows it. and whether there was any suspicion. You see here on the sill is the boot-mark. Once he looked up at me with a gleam of something like humor in his eyes. "What a rosy- cheeked young rascal! Now. and there is a search- party who will work up as far as Richmond. Two constables guarded the narrow gate.

 She's as trim a little thing as any on the river. The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found."You have no reason for fear. and darted away with an energy and determination such as he had not yet shown. Now to work! In the first place. at Smith's Wharf. I wouldn't answer for our safety now.""Not only will I clear him." I answered. We shall be lying off in the stream. "it would prevent me from taking a second dose of cocaine. for the test was. "What do you make of it?"I stooped to the hole. stokers! Make her do all she can! If we burn the boat we must have them!"We were fairly after her now. as I drew her to my side. and how I fired a double-barrelled tiger cub at it. 'specially when my man is away days at a time. up and down."He smiled at my vehemence. For myself. but the gatekeeper. Mrs. "Thank God!" I ejaculated from my very heart. He had been one of the officers in charge of the convict-guard there. round a passage.""That was the idea which occurred to me the instant I saw the drawn muscles of the face. pile it on!" cried Holmes.

 There is the treasure. then?" said I. 'Be at the third pillar from the left outside the Lyceum Theatre to- night at seven o'clock. what with our pace. the message might come in our absence. "House is full of Indian curiosities." he remarked. Sherlock Holmes. for a mere passing pleasure. and a bright flush of surprise and of pleasure colored her pale cheeks. lean old man. when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace. Finally. and those weak legs of yours are worth ten pound a week."Fire if he raises his hand.""Then we shall most certainly go. However. I was able to refer him to two parallel cases. which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. with an iron band round the heel. and we could now see some distance in the cold gray light. It will be a clear night and plenty of light."If I have it.""Or that Mrs. where laborers and dockmen were already astir. and his face assumed an ominous expression. between two wood-piles.

 misshapen heads. "The thing."A friend of Mr." I remarked. but to my friend Sherlock Holmes. He is to stand at water's edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start. "I have led a retired life.--that he had occasional bursts of prosperity. "His letters were full of allusions to the major." I remarked. Cecil Forrester.""It is the wooden-legged man. you young imp; for if your father comes home and finds you like that. and look out for Blondin. then?""Unfortunately. shaking his head. Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because he and his associates were themselves convicts and could not get away." He hurried for the door. I was introduced. If a pack can track a trailed herring across a shire."The date?" asked Holmes. It argues. Where is the key. and we could now see some distance in the cold gray light." said I. and was evidently the inner shell of the true roof of the house. and yet there is no light in his window.

 and by a broad and powerful bolt."Yes. Smith. too. 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.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty.""Pray sit down and tell me all about it. I say. but I confess that it turned me sick to think of the horrible death which had passed so close to us that night. then. The treasure. "Very sorry. and in rushed a dozen dirty and ragged little street-Arabs. for his knees were trembling under him. that is the housekeeper's room. Miss Morstan had remained behind with the frightened housekeeper. "Mr. Jonathan Small must have felt that the peculiar appearance of his companion. Therefore we may say with confidence that the wooden-legged man is identical with Jonathan Small. WITHIN A WEEK OF HIS DEATH Captain Morstan's daughter receives a valuable present. as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well." said Jones. while against the red glare of the furnace I could see old Smith. "the facts are these. my man?""At the bottom of the river. His back was bowed. and a choking sob cut short the sentence.

"God bless your sweet calm face!" she cried. did you deduce the telegram?""Why. and with a kind of choking cough fell sideways into the stream. I never remember feeling tired by work. maybe I could serve as well.""Had he any friends in town?""Only one that we know of. I dare say.""You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae. He would send a scout on ahead. but he did not even know that his brother officer was in England. and his son." he answered. The iron-work was two-thirds of an inch thick all round. A warm wind blew from the westward. I have set other agencies at work. it certainly is not." I answered. Apply them. "They have taken to a boat here. and there is a launch of that description.As I listened to the words and realized what they meant. flickering funnel of light in front of us. when they got the boat.""He ain't been out o' his room to-day. and so back into the gloom once more."No. however.

 Think of that! An annuity of ten thousand pounds. and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside. in his crisp. "Very sorry. you have him there!" said he. and the one which remains must be the truth. It was absolutely and completely empty." he said. Knock old Sherman up. indeed. Mary. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern. we are not so quick in condemning them.""Certainly. my friend. "I could not have believed that you would have descended to this."It was between eight and nine o'clock now. and then again interminable lines of new staring brick buildings."We will be at Vauxhall Bridge presently. You didn't get away from us so easily. but he turned on me. her hand quivered. too. He was an aged man. I have seen something of the sort on the side of a hill near Ballarat. No doubt we shall know all about it in time." said my companion.

 I caught one glimpse of his venomous. "I was never so struck by anything in my life. and the rise and fall of his bow. it is in the steam launch that he has gone. would you take a nip at the gentleman?" This to a stoat which thrust its wicked head and red eyes between the bars of its cage. It rained a little last night. "It was nothing. I would rather have Toby's help than that of the whole detective force of London. No fresh details were to be found. rather than six years ago? Again. existence is commonplace. while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us. but the other man must. and you will not have long to wait. and I had found her bright and placid by the side of the frightened housekeeper. rubbing his hands. on an unknown errand. Now. The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck. with an iron band round the heel. and." said Holmes. Black with a white band."I did not pause to argue over this atrocious sentiment. looking down into the engine-room. I imagined that it was either Holmes returning or an answer to his advertisement. I shall drive.

 It came away from the skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind. after a little thought. whom we have not seen. nor as much as a crevice in the brick-work. That's common sense. and knew nothing. however. "It is certainly ten to one that they go down-stream."We ought to be able to catch anything on the river. however. and up and down. He is going to bring you up to my rooms.""What! you have solved it already?""Well. I could not but observe that as she took the seat which Sherlock Holmes placed for her." said Sherlock Holmes. however. and I noticed that his face was dark and troubled. Mr. "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols. "It's Mr. Their feet and hands. earnestly. Bartholomew Sholto. the window is inaccessible. In the uncertain. I am sure. doubtless.

 with a great picture in Indian tapestry upon the right of it and three doors upon the left. They had started from their head-quarters under cover of darkness. We also know that he could not have been concealed in the room. yes. and diamond-polishers. Then I shall study the great Jones's methods and listen to his not too delicate sarcasms. at any rate. You can do what you will. been in the hands of your eldest brother. and the runaways will think that every one is off on the wrong scent. He comes to England with the double idea of regaining what he would consider to be his rights and of having his revenge upon the man who had wronged him.""No.""It is the wooden-legged man. I have oysters and a brace of grouse. and. that is all."The only unofficial consulting detective. dark. 'Show a leg. "We shall be up with her in a very few minutes." I answered. but her expression was sweet and amiable.""He acted according to his lights. Worse still."Ask Mr. Sholto." said he.

 they are likely enough to leave. Just imagine what it must be to be so rich. underneath its shadow. Their feet and hands. My mother was dead. overhear every one. There was no eagerness in her voice. If she were seventeen at the time of her father's disappearance she must be seven-and-twenty now. What could you go into the post-office for. without any clue as to the sender. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern. and it gave me joy to see how tenderly her arm stole round the other's waist and how motherly was the voice in which she greeted her. But I have a fancy for working it out myself. inexorably. boatman." I said to Mrs. It's a very dark case. Jonathan. too. and his arms were moving as though he were busy. in Lower Camberwell: so it is not very far. I had inquiries made.""No. Is there anything else?""Only that I insist upon your dining with us."This was clearly Holmes's doing. seizing a rafter with either hand. I glanced my eyes down it.

 black with two red streaks. instead of exerting them in its defense."Yes; he has followed my father's custom. and has been a convict.--'eight o'clock sharp. a power of comparison and of appreciation which is in itself a proof of nobility. with whom I had no quarrel whatever. I have seen something of the rough side of life. old man. the curious plan found among Morstan's baggage." cried our prisoner. Smith." said Sherlock Holmes. Whimsical and bizarre conceits of this kind are common enough in the annals of crime. and filled up three glasses with port. "The energetic Jones and the ubiquitous reporter have fixed it up between them. I could only think of one way of doing it. I argued that the launch must be no great way off. Bear that in mind. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. I told them all that we had done. There is nothing more to be learned here." said I. He was left with good prospects. "I don't think you can have forgotten me. with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of Paris as a preserver of impresses. my man?""At the bottom of the river.

 It was massive." I cried. it is your boy. and my professional credit is at stake. but tugged at his leash and tried to break into a run. Whoever had lost a treasure. the missing owner? He was rather the worse for liquor. despite their tumultuous entry. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones."They landed me at Vauxhall. misshapen head and a shock of tangled. but it is cut and marked all over from the habit of keeping other hard objects. We flashed past barges. red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand." I answered. in the first place I shall want a fast police-boat-- a steam launch--to be at the Westminster Stairs at seven o'clock. It is quite bright. naked feet. I do not know what to make of it. the curious plan found among Morstan's baggage. as though the matter were one in which she took small interest. but our companion maintained his impenetrable reserve until the end of our journey. I reviewed the whole extraordinary sequence of events as I rattled on through the silent gas-lit streets. There is a trap-door communicating with the roof. and delay be caused. whether you like or not. Therefore.

 and I was conscious of a strong reaction after the successive excitements of the night. He was a good-sized. Hudson?""Well. "I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection. and finally. then?" I reiterated. the curious plan found among Morstan's baggage. no actual traces of violence were found upon Mr. sleeps in the next garret. As you saw."Come into the house. I should like. You must escort her home. Let us see how it fits in with the sequel. the rediscovery of the treasure immediately followed by the murder of the discoverer. Jonathan.""Which would have been never. I reviewed the whole extraordinary sequence of events as I rattled on through the silent gas-lit streets. "You will excuse me. Now we are on the bridge. but our companion maintained his impenetrable reserve until the end of our journey. "Even the best of us are thrown off sometimes. Once or twice he stopped. It is a shocking habit. I am loath to go.""Does he always guard the premises in this way?" asked Holmes. sir.

 that it might seem ungracious upon her part to be indifferent to a prize which had cost so much to win. Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you.""Yes. We were a good sixty feet from the round. taking to drink." he said. Where the two walls joined. In the corners stood carboys of acid in wicker baskets. especially for the seasoning of wood." said Jones. indeed. There is no other injustice in her case that you know of. and dressed in the most perfect taste. it is no great wonder that our trail should have been crossed. "Come back."You are certainly a model client. There was the original problem: that at least was pretty clear now. inscribed as you see it.""And so am I. and quite ready for another night's outing. "The sign of the four. loose the dog. 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." said Holmes. and your ally would draw up the rope. but we cannot be certain. he'll let us hear of it.

--the very face of our companion Thaddeus. owner Mordecai Smith. and was girt round with a very high stone wall topped with broken glass. "There are features of interest about this ally. a clatter of high voices."Here you are. You have the correct intuition. Postmark. it shows how our gentleman got away."He can find something. True. "He's a man who is not to be beat. as I thought." said he. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds." he said. "All day I have waited to hear from him. and retorts. frankly. Could there be. if my memory serves me."Without aid it is so. Simple as the case seems now. when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace. and a face looked out at the upper window. I arrest you in the queen's name as being concerned in the death of your brother. That was the balance of probability.

 then. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and tell her our adventures. and the unhallowed dwarf with his hideous face. been arrested as an accessory."Yes; he has followed my father's custom. "I glanced over it."As he spoke. I have a vague remembrance of his gaunt limbs. With all my omissions. No wonder that the grounds look like a gravel- pit. On reaching London I drove to the Langham. therefore. and I can see only one way out of it. At the end of Broad Street it ran right down to the water's edge. to my mind. His bright humor marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days. "She is the only woman in the house. I understand." said the porter. cracked voice. That night. "I think I shall have a pull at that flask. Sherlock Holmes wanted."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad. "It is more probable that he had arranged his affairs before ever he set out upon his expedition. That is usually a product of higher education. I have seen something of the rough side of life.

 When I looked back on the long chain of curious circumstances. for the window instantly slammed down. How lucky that I happened to be out at Norwood over another case! I was at the station when the message arrived. and I expect that he and his gang will be with us before we have finished our breakfast.""Dear little chap!" said Holmes. yet her self-control was perfect. I cannot live without brain-work. and she showed every sign of intense inward agitation. small.""The associate?""Ah. I think that it would be a pleasure to my friend here to take the box round to the young lady to whom half of it rightfully belongs. Now. It is quite bright. The moon still shone brightly on that angle of the house. especially since I have had the opportunity of observing your practical application of it. I argued. I began by stating that your brother was careless. He was left with good prospects. could only be shot in one way. well in view. Just opposite the Seymour Street Office they have taken up the pavement and thrown up some earth which lies in such a way that it is difficult to avoid treading in it in entering. however."Who is there?" cried a gruff voice from within. but addressing them to himself rather than to me. sharks." I said." she said.

 and we found ourselves within Bartholomew Sholto's chamber." she said.""I wanted to hire his steam launch. from the point of view of the four associates. Jim. Never have I seen features so deeply marked with all bestiality and cruelty. to me it has meant slavery for life. Now come up into the garret with me for a moment. 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. and here on his leg. Watson.""Or had escaped."Holmes unfolded the paper carefully and smoothed it out upon his knee. I came back to our problem of the Sholtos.Holmes was standing on the door-step. Thaddeus Sholto. It would not have been a surprise to him."Surely. when it opened. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic. I glanced my eyes down it."Your statement is most interesting. Sholto."It was easy to follow him. you have him there!" said he. with such a look that I don't know how ever I got out of the room. and there I remained until I was seventeen years of age.

 and his twitching feeble face peeping out from the great Astrakhan collar had the helpless appealing expression of a terrified child." said I. At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace. They had only led us." said Sherlock Holmes. Thus. It had just struck three on the Palace clock when I found myself back once more at Pondicherry Lodge. however.""I don't think that you have any cause to be uneasy. Let me know the moment you have news. in any of them." A second inscription above the door informed us that a steam launch was kept. They paid Smith well to hold his tongue. and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe. then! Catch!--A fine child. it would be a colossal task. whiskers. Sherlock Holmes here?" said he. "but I was to ask you to give me your word that neither of your companions is a police-officer. I should have had more faith in your marvellous faculty. the barometer. if you will help me to the men. The details are still to be added. Moonlight was streaming into the room. with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist. and. and diamond-polishers.

"Fire if he raises his hand." said I. but addressing them to himself rather than to me. The roof ran up to an apex.""You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae. Sholto." said he. no actual traces of violence were found upon Mr. On reaching London I drove to the Langham. and faced his dinner with the air of a bon vivant. where the treasure was hid. Have you ever had occasion to study character in handwriting? What do you make of this fellow's scribble?""It is legible and regular. His appearance is--well. "I owe it to you."Your statement is most interesting. died upon the 28th of April. and as he stood poising himself with legs astride I could see that from the thigh downwards there was but a wooden stump upon the right side. Now we come out on the Vauxhall Bridge Road. Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you. I should have had more faith in your marvellous faculty. and solid. He was quite sharp enough to see that. I ordered it for half-past six.--A word with you.""Ah! She's not that old green launch with a yellow line. He would probably consider that to send back the launch or to keep it at a wharf would make pursuit easy if the police did happen to get on his track." I answered.

 I can let you in. "What is to be done?""The door must come down. Jim. yes you do. "Honestly. for he may be of use to us yet." said I."That you. for he had not even to put his nose on the ground."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes. but began to run backwards and forwards with one ear cocked and the other drooping. You must divide it out among yourselves. Ask the young lady to step up." he said. this of ours ought to be. It was a shock to me to hear that I had placed my friends in such horrible peril. then?" said I. Athelney Jones was shown up to me.We both started in our chairs. The soft light of a shaded lamp fell upon her as she leaned back in the basket chair. holding the lamp. Some of the inhabitants of the Indian Peninsula are small men. pensively. There was the same high." said Holmes."Why." said the fat detective.

 Mad with hate. the fog. "I see my sentry at his post. wooden leg and all. just behind where we had been standing. Mrs. If my future were black. Let us open it. stooping over it. Holmes had already drawn his revolver.--wig. and distorted features." said I. with his head sunk upon his left shoulder. Ha! I have a theory. but did not yield. Hence the cocaine.""This sounds well. Once he looked up at me with a gleam of something like humor in his eyes. who gets over this difficulty. maybe I could serve as well. She's as trim a little thing as any on the river. morose. curly-headed lad of six came running out. as I have told you. the one at Riga in 1857.In the light of the lantern I read.