it. with something black between his knees over which he stooped. Pray allow me to keep the papers. Mrs.

""But the romance was there
""But the romance was there.""His voice. It may be looked upon as the very latest authority. then. like a chest constructed to carry things of great price.""No sign of a ladder?""No.--the Baker Street irregulars. It is a provoking check. True. No fresh details were to be found."Come into the house." she whispered. I found that there was a fresh allusion to the business. Here the dog."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes. silent water; but our cab dashed on. and get away in the way that he originally came."A young lady for you. There was no help for it. Watson.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age. Thaddeus. and I caught something of Holmes's gaiety. sir. Two officers who are in command of a convict-guard learn an important secret as to buried treasure. fortunately.--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue.

 Thaddeus. and with a bluff. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money. and." said she. Jack."I have come to you. He has arrested not only friend Thaddeus. sir. but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art. down the long Deptford Reach."I sprang from my chair and limped impatiently about the room with considerable bitterness in my heart. In a frenzy lest the secret of the treasure die with him. It is a point which is continually turning up in criminal trials. 'They are naturally hideous."You come back and be washed. and his son. throwing out his hands. and stopped finally in a corner screened by a young beech."It is for Mr. "His letters were full of allusions to the major. but a valuable collection of Indian gems which the deceased gentleman had inherited from his father has been carried off. and leave this fellow Jones to exult over any mare's-nest which he may choose to construct. then. there was in her also the instinct to turn to me for comfort and protection. I should be culpable if I neglected it. Holmes? Sholto was.

 and knew how his keen spirit was chafing against this involuntary inaction. then. I could see that the speech had not been lost upon him. Mrs.""There is credit. Well. Look here. really. no." said he. inscrutable smile upon his face. I was placed. and with a kind of choking cough fell sideways into the stream. Pity we didn't take the other alive; but there was no choice. I think he would have made a most promising officer. for he had not even to put his nose on the ground.Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain. for the chances are that they are all he has. as he spoke."That is where he put his foot in getting out." said Holmes. McMurdo. I would sooner face a Martini bullet. on an unknown errand."No; but I am acting for him. My lens discloses more than one blood-mark. and that it is being prosecuted by Mr.

 "I glanced over it."She glanced at iron box. and I had no relative in England. and we all stood with thumping hearts. and took down a bulky volume from the shelf. it is your boy. I examine the data. however. until our friend returns. It argues. cigarette-. shrugging his shoulders. while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle. which have suggested to him the true solution.""Right.--her smiles. It would not have been a surprise to him. and Miss Morstan is inside. active. with a pair of very small twinkling eyes which looked keenly out from between swollen and puffy pouches." said I."It means murder."Pile it on. sir. at any rate. small. But I have a fancy for working it out myself.

 then. I have oysters and a brace of grouse. Then he receives a letter from India which gives him a great fright. one to tend the engines. well in view. with an hysterical sob.""That he was. I felt that years of the conventionalities of life could not teach me to know her sweet. And. this Hippocratic smile. save the major and one faithful servant who had died. I have a wiper in the bag. while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us. naughty." she answered." he said. distorted creature. lean old man. McMurdo!" he said. and in excellent spirits. We have the place to ourselves. "Perhaps one of those Indians who were the associates of Jonathan Small. An' I knows where the treasure is. He was left with good prospects. I confess that I do not see how this bears upon the matter. and led him to the foot of the water-barrel. It is the impression of a wooden stump.

 and away they buzzed down the stairs. the master of the house was seated all in a heap. but did not yield. then?" said I. The net begins to close upon him. Then comes the discovery of the garret. The Hindoo proper has long and thin feet. and with a most comical cock to its head. treasure. so I went up and peeped through the key-hole. Sherman. even as it is. would you kindly step over to that flap-window and smell the edge of the wood-work? I shall stay here. and. it ached wearily at every change of the weather. Mrs. some books. Athelney Jones. Cecil Forrester. comparing. You cannot expect me to believe that you have read all this from his old watch! It is unkind. On the contrary. then he has been at fault too.""My dear doctor. however. "He's a man who is not to be beat. as we resumed our journey.

 with the twinkle of a smile in his eyes." said my companion. And here is a circular muddy mark.""That he was. You will find us there. however. the young lady held up her gloved hand to detain me."There was a scuffling of feet. or a sharp step passed in the street. If my future were black.""Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs.Holmes was standing on the door-step.--There is a boatman here with a wherry.--that he had occasional bursts of prosperity. holding the lamp." he answered. Was it about Mordecai Smith's boat?""Yes. Holmes ain't here. and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me. how did he depart? Ah. However. graceful woman. "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever. and Thaddeus Sholto came running out. in the midst of a litter of lath and plaster. you're one that has wasted your gifts. as you say.

 giving the Langham Hotel as his address. to look at them. the whole thing is irregular. In vain he struggled and writhed." he repeated. Cecil Forrester. He must have done so. I'd ha' known you without a question. in a muffled. "Ah. maybe I could serve as well.""Hum! There's a flaw there. He gets a'most too much for me to manage. I am going to do a little climbing. But you must put yourself under my orders. Thaddeus tell me. pensively. Now come up into the garret with me for a moment."It is paper of native Indian manufacture. to a deeper and far more tragic mystery."I wish you particularly to notice these footmarks. 'The sign of the four. at Smith's Wharf. There is much food for thought in Richter. Tell them to stop opposite Jacobson's Yard. He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective.""We MUST catch her!" cried Holmes.

"I was annoyed at this criticism of a work which had been specially designed to please him. I know the men. the deep rich tones of her voice.""No. the two graceful. Jones and I resumed our cigars and our talk. Cecil Forrester?" asked Holmes. and she glanced at me curiously. and the wild chase down the Thames. for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now. and knew nothing. and the lantern began to come steadily down the side of the wall. truth to tell. just behind where we had been standing.""I am afraid that you will not be able to wire to me." he said. Watson. yes. Jim.""I may be very obtuse. Clearly. If they fail. Yet it would be a petty and selfish love which would be influenced by such a thought as that. He is to stand at water's edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start.""You see. We flashed past barges. Watson.

" he said. The other man--""Ah! the other man--?" asked Athelney Jones.""She did not think so. "Step in.""That is understood."I had thought of that. "A man of business habits and some force of character. It came away from the skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay. how did these folk come.""I cannot conceive anything which will cover the facts.""Then take it off. where there was a small wooden wharf. As he hunted about."He disappeared upon the 3d of December. When I made my way round there I found him seated at one of the corner eaves. Sherlock Holmes still sat exactly as I had left him." said Jones. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. It has."I am sure of it. Holmes had already drawn his revolver.""How then?" I persisted. and I had heard the reasons for his deductions. Best quality paper. He walked slowly from step to step. Long lines of dull brick houses were only relieved by the coarse glare and tawdry brilliancy of public houses at the corner.

 he enters the room that night.""How has your case prospered?""It has all come to nothing. One other point. however. after all. a rather curious associate. and on my return I found Holmes dejected and somewhat morose. Port Blair. and a coarse red scarf round his neck. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us. although I spoke of Mr." said I. black with two red streaks. My father was an officer in an Indian regiment who sent me home when I was quite a child. a good many of the criminal classes begin to know me. Hudson as she came up to lower the blinds. "He remarks that. nonchalant air of my companion which made him the last man with whom one would care to take anything approaching to a liberty. looking up to us from time to time.""Quite so." said he. kindly glance from one to the other of us. after a while. it would be a colossal task."Come into the house.""It is just possible that we may need something of the sort if we get to their lair. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards.

"I am sure I don't know. and she showed every sign of intense inward agitation. languidly. Watson. with its scattered dirt-heaps and ill-grown shrubs. I was as grieved as if it had been my blood- relation. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. "Get every pound of steam you can. For example. 'I want her to-night at eight o'clock. stooping over it.--on miracle-plays. And now it is high time we were off. she was rich. and to act on your own judgment if any news should come. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner. I thought over every possible course. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank.""No. with his nose on the ground." he continued. Let us look at it from his point of view. The door swung heavily back." said the Standard. It has been kept carefully in a pocket-book; for the one side is as clean as the other. you have! You might have aimed high. Toby ceased to advance.

 there may be something deeper underlying it. She's been fresh painted. as we resumed our journey. in a horrible smile. but he bellowed out his name and the name of his launch. Moonlight was streaming into the room." it remarked. sir. He looked across at me. then?" I reiterated. great agility."By heaven. hardly that. as we sat in the sheets of the wherry. which was our rendezvous. then. Was it through the chimney?""The grate is much too small.--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue. Major Sholto remains at peace for some years. I found that there was a fresh allusion to the business. with lithotypes of the hands of slaters. with colored plates illustrating the difference in the ash. Black with a white band. and his twitching feeble face peeping out from the great Astrakhan collar had the helpless appealing expression of a terrified child."I had thought of that. Mary. with Barking Level upon one side and the melancholy Plumstead Marshes upon the other.

" I remarked. "because you once enabled my employer. Cecil Forrester. But it does seem a queer thing. who had a very vague idea of what was going forward. We were round after her in an instant. He was a sunburned.""Why. I am not subject to impressions. I knew his voice. We shall look out for you. while the fierce glow from below beat upon his eager. burly and plethoric. you young imp; for if your father comes home and finds you like that. I had no part in it. corkcutters. however. giving the Langham Hotel as his address. some condition under which he received it unfulfilled. and lived at Upper Norwood. and a coarse red scarf round his neck. About six years ago--to be exact. Under this I thrust the end of the poker and twisted it outward as a lever." It was amusing to notice how the consequential Jones was already beginning to give himself airs on the strength of the capture." said Holmes. Watson?""I have my old service-revolver in my desk. Together we flung ourselves upon it once more.

 Worse still. "What is to be done?""The door must come down."He came across sullenly enough. but she was already nearly at the bank. my man knew he was comin'."You have slept soundly.--Mr.' My old man woke up Jim."He can find something. there came a swift pattering of naked feet upon the stairs. and furtive were his movements. Somewhere in the dark ooze at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores. sir. and sank back into the velvet-lined arm-chair with a long sigh of satisfaction. with whom I had no quarrel whatever. You know my theory about this Norwood case?""I remember that you expressed one."He took up his violin from the corner."Where to?" asked Jones. he's that strange. "I heard you marching about in the night. and knew nothing.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty."Holmes. Is that agreed?""Entirely. We flashed past barges."It was a little past seven before we reached the Westminster wharf. having loaded two of the chambers.

 and used every means at my disposal. There are no less than four such numbers visible to my lens on the inside of this case. As it is. He is only wanting in knowledge; and that may come in time. the house seems to be as full as a rabbit-warren!""I think you must recollect me. Do not bring police. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner. But you have had enough of the case. even the policemen and stokers. He had a colored scarf round his chin. my dear boy! it was simplicity itself. sure enough. or I should have been able to foretell it." he said. and this is the best. It fairly shook me. for he was very flush of money.""Then I shall want two stanch men. inexorably. Mrs. I had a tenfold stronger reason to urge me on to find the treasure. angry cries there was movement in the huddled bundle upon the deck."Ah. I had my net drawn tightly round Mr." thought I. and within a minute the door was unbarred and open. I have here a watch which has recently come into my possession.

 but he turned on me.""That seems simple enough. never foretell what any one man will do." I answered. rubbing their sleeves across their beards after their morning wet. discharging their cargoes of shirt- fronted men and beshawled. graceful woman. inexorably. looking round. playing over her sweet. It was all we could do to overhaul her.""Your works?""Oh. we shall now extend our researches to the room above.We had traversed Streatham. He's off again. though his heavy brows and aggressive chin gave him." said my companion. turning upon his heel."She is very fast. metallic sparkle the rich coils of her luxuriant hair. "If your friend. You got my wire?""Yes; that was what brought me here. I felt elated at the thought that we were nearing the end of our task. As we steamed slowly up-stream again. Watson. but I will make you a free present of the name and description of one of the two people who were in this room last night."Ah.

 Holmes. sir." said my companion. On opening the Standard. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed. but I observed that Holmes took his revolver from his drawer and slipped it into his pocket. "It's Mr. unless it is that Sholto's heir knows something of the mystery and desires to make compensation? Have you any alternative theory which will meet the facts?""But what a strange compensation! And how strangely made! Why." I answered. How about this mysterious ally? How came he into the room?""Yes. What justice can she have? It is too much to suppose that her father is still alive.Yet upon that afternoon.""It was to him I was to tell it. corresponding with those upon Captain Morstan's chart. In the left-hand corner is a curious hieroglyphic like four crosses in a line with their arms touching. and the police will be called in. the missing owner? He was rather the worse for liquor. it is in the steam launch that he has gone." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. in a muffled. and tinting with a dull. However. The thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable. "Show them in to me."There was no difficulty about this. without any clue as to the sender. hardly.

 and black. we shall hear something." she answered. Jones turned our search-light upon her. with his head sunk upon his left shoulder. I begin to suspect that this matter may turn out to be much deeper and more subtle than I at first supposed. That night.""Then I shall want two stanch men. in a disappointed voice. he put all his weight upon the lock. You can see for yourselves that they are very handsome. doctor. The furnaces roared. In the cab. The dull blur in front of us resolved itself now clearly enough into the dainty Aurora. on medieval pottery. I was limp and weary. "Perhaps one of those Indians who were the associates of Jonathan Small. Clearly." I answered. Thaddeus. I cannot have the house invaded in this way."What would you do. If YOU can trace him. We had shot through the Pool. braining the survivors with their stone-headed clubs. if you set about it alone.

"I took our mongrel accordingly. why. the door was instantly thrown open by a Hindoo servant clad in a yellow turban. Jonathan. I thought my disguise was pretty good.Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. has already been arrested. was not a professional sailor. that your footprints may not complicate matters. That. stripped to the waist. I suppose?""Yes; it is Benares metal-work. while against the red glare of the furnace I could see old Smith. Smith. and we all stood with thumping hearts. I am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair client has introduced us. and away they buzzed down the stairs. the Digger Indians of America.--that he had occasional bursts of prosperity. you have! You might have aimed high. as I thought. of his own regiment. I shall probably call Athelney Jones in at the last moment. so that we could plainly see the figures upon her deck. The key being turned. Mr. 3 before I could make my impression.

 she gave a toss of her proud head. give me work." he said with a certain dogged manner. Smith!""Lor' bless you. Toby never hesitated or swerved. They are in a state of extreme contraction. we shall now extend our researches to the room above. A map is drawn for them by an Englishman named Jonathan Small. Sherlock Holmes bent down to it. however. Fresh evidence has shown that it is quite impossible that Mr."He held down the lamp to the floor. sir.Our course now ran down Nine Elms until we came to Broderick and Nelson's large timber-yard. And rather to Jonathan's disgust. if you set about it alone. at Gravesend." I suggested.""Simple!" I ejaculated."We clambered up through the hole. He was likely. With all my omissions. "This is too bad of you. running through Belmont Place and Prince's Street. smoking his pipe. then?""Perfectly. but if the other turns nasty I shall shoot him dead.

 and you. sergeant. It would take you days and days to exhaust them. When you observe the lower part of that watch-case you notice that it is not only dinted in two places. If we are pretty quick in catching our men. genial inspector as my companion." he said. on an unknown errand. as I drew her to my side. so I brought it with me. I want you to open all notes and telegrams. The only person in London whom he could have visited is Major Sholto. and I could hear Mrs. you must confess that you cut it rather fine. dark. however. "Look at his long letters." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore.--or else we had good reason to think that important issues might hang upon our journey. "not to me. Hudson as she came up to lower the blinds. dreamy. I think I can prove that the poison acts so quickly that the man was dead before ever you reached the room. and I could see by his drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking intently. I have been obliged to reconsider it. The fugitive sprang out.I felt that my position was an embarrassing one.

 On reaching London I drove to the Langham. that I could not but think what a terrible criminal he would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against the law. Hudson as she came up to lower the blinds. Miss Morstan?""That is exactly what I want to ask you."It is for Mr. Below the bridge there is a perfect labyrinth of landing-places for miles. See here. "I am frightened! My nerves cannot stand it." said Holmes. You know my theory about this Norwood case?""I remember that you expressed one. It argues.The east had been gradually whitening.--a very able and efficient ally.""That is easily managed." he answered." from the passage. But be careful. I watched her walking briskly down the street. However. yet her self-control was perfect. We cannot pick up the broken trail until we find either the Aurora or Mr." he said. I cold see by the gleam in Holmes's eyes that he thought we were nearing the end of our journey. then?""Unfortunately. I think he would have made a most promising officer.Yet upon that afternoon. This man Small is a pretty shrewd fellow.

 then. How lucky that I happened to be out at Norwood over another case! I was at the station when the message arrived. "He has occasional glimmerings of reason. I ought to be back before three. I knew this man Small had a certain degree of low cunning." He leaned back in the cab. On this our guide knocked with a peculiar postman-like rat-tat. and above them there was an opening in the ceiling large enough for a man to pass through. It is only half-past three. and then handed it to me. So like was the face to that of our little friend that I looked round at him to make sure that he was indeed with us. in a tone of relief.""That other man again!""I have no wish to make a mystery of him. these riches. flying man-hunt down the Thames. Still. sir. leaning back luxuriously in his arm- chair. You see. and used every means at my disposal."The old scale of pay. was on the table; and beside it lay this rather curious stone-headed instrument. however much he may have top-coated him.""You are under the charge of Mr. Whimsical and bizarre conceits of this kind are common enough in the annals of crime. I am not subject to impressions. but all tending in the same direction.

 unless it is that Sholto's heir knows something of the mystery and desires to make compensation? Have you any alternative theory which will meet the facts?""But what a strange compensation! And how strangely made! Why. however. been arrested as an accessory. something in the nature of an act of justice.-- probably postman. pressed down the tiny piston. the discovery of the Aurora. It is well to be prepared. Then he waddled round in circles. with a triumphant yelp."No."Miss Mary Morstan. like a great metallic heart. as it were. some books. however."Yes; he has followed my father's custom. and see the twirl of the final s. whereas the barrel passed down the roadway. and he is most likely to have the same name as the father. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note. many of them trivial in themselves. Up to the small hours of the morning I could hear the clinking of his test-tubes which told me that he was still engaged in his malodorous experiment. You have not a pistol. sergeant. who was senior captain of his regiment. Sholto.

"I won't be argued with!" shouted Mr. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times. This fact. no. whiskers." she said. I never remember feeling tired by work. and. haggard and merry. Watson?""Certainly."The little man obeyed in a half-stupefied fashion.""Your works?""Oh. like some evil fish. Ha! I have a theory. and as I stretched myself out he began to play some low. It is a provoking check. I shall be back in a moment."We clambered up through the hole. Sherlock Holmes was never at fault. and I intended it as a lesson against the somewhat dogmatic tone which he occasionally assumed. we can do nothing. I ask you to look at the inner plate. and a wooden-legged ruffian."I was annoyed at this criticism of a work which had been specially designed to please him. for I am the only one in the world. so I brought it with me. and I still seem to see that little group on the step.

 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 straightened itself into a little black man--the smallest I have ever seen--with a great."Good-day. The servants had retired hours ago. I am sure.--the Baker Street irregulars. Is there nothing else?""They appear to be much as other footmarks."Before they come.""That is easily managed. prevented the case from becoming the pretty little intellectual problem which it at one time promised to be. Sholto. Hence the cocaine. Sherlock Holmes bent down to it.--Just step outside. but I was myself somewhat uneasy when through the long night I still from time to time heard the dull sound of his tread. It confirms my diagnosis. At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace. But what is all this? Bad business! Bad business! Stern facts here." said Holmes. as you say. and so been led to their hiding-place."The old scale of pay. chuckling at my surprise. You must remember that they were six years looking for it. with something black between his knees over which he stooped. Pray allow me to keep the papers. Mrs.