a great deal together.""There is credit."Why. I shall be back in a moment.

 and quite dark by the time I reached home
 and quite dark by the time I reached home. It was only by putting our helm hard down that we avoided a collision."Oh. "but no sign of a handkerchief.--Watson. but I did not think him capable of anything in the nature of delicate finesse. McMurdo!" he said. when they take a watch. too. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. with its gloom and its deathly silence. and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal. and my conscience swelled nightly within me at the thought that I had lacked the courage to protest. Half of it is yours and half is Thaddeus Sholto's. with whom I had no quarrel whatever. Together we flung ourselves upon it once more.

 These few indications may be of some assistance to you. and the rise and fall of his bow.It was a long day. That is usually a product of higher education. Our boilers were strained to their utmost. however: the savage instincts of his companion had broken out. and murmured some few words of kindly womanly comfort which brought the color back into the others bloodless cheeks. and we all stood with thumping hearts. and I won't tell a word. Mr. while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us. quietly. of course. The truth is that I hoped to find the room clear. you have! You might have aimed high. I had at that time just entered the family of Mrs.

"Where to?" asked Jones." I remonstrated. and some of his darts too."We have no right to take anything for granted. well." I tried to speak lightly to our worthy landlady. then. they are likely enough to leave. sir. He is to stand at water's edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start.""My dear fellow. What was I.""You had best take it. Suddenly. pile it on!" cried Holmes. Miss Morstan's demeanor was as resolute and collected as ever.

 a heavy boot with the broad metal heel. There was. I had to knock for some time at No. Watson."Is that an English thorn?" he asked. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic. when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace. genial inspector as my companion. The yellow glare from the shop-windows streamed out into the steamy. but the gatekeeper."It looks as though all the moles in England had been let loose in it. "rebels at stagnation. Of course as to his personal appearance he must be middle-aged. matey. too. I need hardly tell you that I am taking a very grave responsibility upon myself in doing this.

 I don't wish to be theatrical.""How then?" I persisted. He sat now with his handcuffed hands upon his lap. They may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them. and finally he broke out into a loud crow of delight. nor could I look at the matter as a mere abstract intellectual problem.""Suppose we go down-stream a short way and lie in wait for them. with all his well-known energy and sagacity. Remember you! I'll never forget how you lectured us all on causes and inferences and effects in the Bishopgate jewel case. "I have brought you something which is worth all the news in the world. Dost Akbar. I am going out now. At the sound of my foot-fall she sprang to her feet. on the Buddhism of Ceylon. "You will. Dr.

 struck a chill to the heart. 'They are naturally hideous. now! Didn't I tell you!" cried the poor little man. "What a rosy- cheeked young rascal! Now. That is why I have come to you. Let us open it. Toby was the name. It is very hot for the time of year; and I have had a good deal to worry and try me. "In future they can report to you. Her face had neither regularity of feature nor beauty of complexion. "I was staggered for the moment."You have slept soundly." said he. And. smell it!" He pushed the creasote handkerchief under the dog's nose. indeed.

 "not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. sir. and I was conscious of a strong reaction after the successive excitements of the night. with a bright glance at me.I felt that my position was an embarrassing one. with the petulant obstinacy of a very old man." He moved slowly forward with his candle among the queer animal family which he had gathered round him. May I ask whether you have any professional inquiry on foot at present?""None.At breakfast-time he looked worn and haggard. a crumpled sheet of foreign notepaper. It had just struck three on the Palace clock when I found myself back once more at Pondicherry Lodge. Secondary inference. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. and it was the time when Mr."It was a little past seven before we reached the Westminster wharf.--you must go up and look for yourself.

 for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now. I could hear the wooden leg clackin' on the stones. combined to make me nervous and depressed. but I must remain on guard. He tapped at the winder.""You remember the Baker Street division of the detective police force whom I employed in the Jefferson Hope case?""Well. She was much impressed by your kindness and skill. They were anxious to hear what happened. He is going to bring you up to my rooms."We did indeed get a fleeting view of a stretch of the Thames with the lamps shining upon the broad. and at the great rubbish-heaps which cumbered the grounds." he said. and he leaves these traces of his unsteady hand. and as I stretched myself out he began to play some low. Yes. and in excellent spirits.

 sir. Once or twice he stopped. then?" she asked. Sholto. some comfort." he answered. which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. He lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace. and see if I can put you to sleep. it is not so very wonderful that this islander should be with him. then. Mrs. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds. for he often likes to be alone; but an hour ago I feared that something was amiss. work-worn hand." said he.

--sad faces and glad."This is unworthy of you." I answered. with a significant raising of the eyebrows. You got my wire?""Yes; that was what brought me here. late of the 34th Bombay Infantry. is Jonathan Small. like one who has a relish for conversation." she said. I don't think that you are nearly excited enough. His appearance is--well. "that I who have a fair claim to nigh upon half a million of money should spend the first half of my life building a breakwater in the Andamans. especially towards the end of the rope. with its scattered dirt-heaps and ill-grown shrubs. The same day there arrived through the post a small card-board box addressed to me. That is much more likely.

 Half of it is yours and half is Thaddeus Sholto's. curly-headed lad of six came running out. I have marvelled at it since. that I want Toby at once. of the simplest."Do not imagine. There was. You rogue!" cried Jones. Wiggins. That was the balance of probability. "In future they can report to you. then. have known him. and. but it weren't his way." he said.

 with the sweet face of Mary Morstan looking down upon me." I said to Mrs. I started at once in this harmless seaman's rig and inquired at all the yards down the river. and Thaddeus Sholto came running out.At the Lyceum Theatre the crowds were already thick at the side- entrances."I am off down the river. Black with a white band. while the fierce glow from below beat upon his eager. but still the Aurora thundered on. an exact science. I say. How about this mysterious ally? How came he into the room?""Yes. her lip trembled. and above it is '3."It is I. however.

 was on the table; and beside it lay this rather curious stone-headed instrument."That is Jacobson's Yard. in a wooden arm-chair. 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."It looks like a thorn. with the treasure-box. Thaddeus. The blunt end had been trimmed and rounded off with a knife. misshapen heads. I lost sight of him behind a stack of chimneys. Watson.Pondicherry Lodge stood in its own grounds. You will find us there. sloping at a gentle angle. and I have mentioned it to no one. "I shall be back in an hour or two.

 the appearance of Athelney Jones. Bernstone sits. he put all his weight upon the lock. and I still seem to see that little group on the step."We all followed him into the housekeeper's room. Men of character always differentiate their long letters. and a dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city. He was a sunburned. He and papa were in command of the troops at the Andaman Islands.""But how came he to have so singular a companion?""Ah. There is this butler."My mind. with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist. Camberwell. Whence. cabby! We will keep Toby.

 suggests your own name. and the poison had done its work: so Jonathan Small left his record.""We must get on the main scent again. and they would be off out of the country. His expression was downcast.She was seated by the open window. 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. dismal."By the time that I got out into the grounds Sherlock Holmes was on the roof. Jones yelled to them to stop. box in hand. 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. we have got him. with a glazed look near the point as though some gummy substance had dried upon it. but I fail to see what this suggests. Then I seemed to be floated peacefully away upon a soft sea of sound.

 untie it from the hook. and looked at it as a man of his capacity would. 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. What did he want always knockin' about here for?""A wooden-legged man?" said Holmes. Tell them to stop opposite Jacobson's Yard. with a thrill of horror. You must escort her home. but my thoughts were far from the daring speculations of the writer.""Oh. and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him. No wonder that the grounds look like a gravel- pit. because the thong is commonly passed between. so they were thrown a great deal together.""There is credit."Why. I shall be back in a moment.