and aromatic odor.

" she said
" she said. which was headed "Mysterious Business at Upper Norwood." said he. high voice. So it could not be he who climbed over roofs and through trap-doors. with the strange business upon which we were engaged. "I have been turning it over in my mind. so I brought it with me."I had heard nothing of him by breakfast-time.""Now."It looks as though all the moles in England had been let loose in it. But you have yourself had some experience of my methods of work in the Jefferson Hope case. fierce face. was the same that had contained the ill- omened treasure of the Sholtos.

 he'll let us hear of it.""Your works?""Oh. Miss Morstan." said Holmes. She was still. the deep rich tones of her voice. You must divide it out among yourselves. Major Sholto remains at peace for some years. for example." he said. as we sat in the sheets of the wherry. cordially. Forrester. which robs me of my most suggestive facts.

""Top on it?""Yes. Now. The treasure must afterwards be handed over to the authorities until after the official investigation. The blunt end had been trimmed and rounded off with a knife. they did not go very far. and see the twirl of the final s. Where the latter street turns into Knight's Place. and slatternly women were taking down shutters and brushing door-steps. "whatever you may choose to say will go no further. She may have touched at any wharf on either side of the stream between here and Greenwich. Mr."'I will tell you how Morstan died. There was Holmes sitting close to us with an air of quiet amusement. "Show them in to me.

 The door swung heavily back. who inherited it from your father. and you to me.""There is credit. brave nature as had this one day of strange experiences."If the launch is above water they will find her." said he. doggy! Good old Toby! Smell it. she replaced her pearl-box in her bosom and hurried away. while we took our places inside. I think that it is a hundred to one against Smith knowing where they live. or the effort of self-restraint which held me back. It was a wild and desolate place. after a little thought.

" Holmes answered. I trust that he may not remember any of the answers which I gave him that night. and I intended it as a lesson against the somewhat dogmatic tone which he occasionally assumed. and get an hour's sleep. Hudson?""Well. A set of steps stood at one side of the room."My father was."I did not pause to argue over this atrocious sentiment. save indeed that he was in an ecstasy of fear. "I assure you. and her face grew white to the lips. like a great metallic heart.' Mark that."We had almost forgotten our companion's presence since we entered the chamber.

 the same circular bristle of red hair. Forrester had been so interested by the strange message which Miss Morstan had received that she had sat up in the hope of her return. but at last he made his way to our door and entered. When I stooped over him I found. and his tail in the air." she said. but Thaddeus Sholto took down one of the side-lamps from the carriage to give us a better light upon our way. and blue- tinted glasses. Do not bring police. smell it!" He pushed the creasote handkerchief under the dog's nose. At Blackwall we could not have been more than two hundred and fifty. and the rise and fall of his bow. You remember that we saw the name upon the chart in Captain Morstan's possession. yesterday.

 Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because he and his associates were themselves convicts and could not get away. Sholto.--the sign of the four. he made a remarkable statement to us. The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found. Watson! If this fellow had been left to his own unaided devices this affair might have taken an even more ghastly turn. I begin to suspect that this matter may turn out to be much deeper and more subtle than I at first supposed. he runs the gauntlet of the guards. but if the other turns nasty I shall shoot him dead.""That seems simple enough. Now. he'll let us hear of it. "Yes. and filled up three glasses with port.

 Watson. and her sensitive face was composed. on drinking a glass of water which I quietly poured out for her from a Venetian carafe upon the side-table. some books. and you will not have long to wait. and the police will be called in. A face was looking in at us out of the darkness. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds. as we resumed our journey. and the air was heavy with a peculiarly pungent. Looking straight at me. WITHIN A WEEK OF HIS DEATH Captain Morstan's daughter receives a valuable present. A client is to me a mere unit. Here.

 He is now translating my small works into French.""Quite so. with his head sunk upon his left shoulder. though it did not prevent me from walking.--Just you carry them down with you.He gave a shrill whistle. however." said Holmes."You have no reason for fear. Mr. At the square-topped corner public houses business was just beginning. As a minor point it may be noted.""Oh. The treasure.

' Mark that. You rogue!" cried Jones.""But how came he to have so singular a companion?""Ah. and her face grew white to the lips. and the rise and fall of his bow. raising my eyebrows. I am a little nervous. Mahomet Singh. The third door was that which we were seeking."Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel- piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. Cecil Forrester's. Miss Morstan. here we are. securing one end of it to this great hook in the wall.

" I said. coral reefs."Where to?" asked Jones." said Holmes. But here are the regulars: so the auxiliary forces may beat a retreat." said Holmes. then. As far as we can judge." said he. old man. and the night was fairly fine.--not the best of them. "Here's a pretty business! But who are all these? Why. She opened the door herself.

 Bartholomew Sholto. to arrange his affairs. how did these folk come. Lal Rao. "This is the first volume of a gazetteer which is now being published. and within a minute the door was unbarred and open. The average height is rather below four feet. "My constitution has not got over the Afghan campaign yet. The launch was not at any landing-stage or wharf. "They surely would not take a cab. but at the sixteenth--Jacobson's--I learned that the Aurora had been handed over to them two days ago by a wooden-legged man. with its scattered dirt-heaps and ill-grown shrubs. We had all sat absorbed."She is very fast.

 Sherlock Holmes. They may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them. because the thong is commonly passed between. They are all upon technical subjects. What is the chief difference?""Your toes are all cramped together. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us. past the West India Docks. but he subsided into an ale-house: so I went back to the yard. and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue. "He has considerable gifts himself. or shooting them with their poisoned arrows. something in the nature of an act of justice."This looks bad. no actual traces of violence were found upon Mr.

 and. having thus sealed an alliance. He was a good-sized. What data could he expect from an uncleaned watch?"Though unsatisfactory. There is nothing more to be learned here. and two burly police-inspectors forward. with Barking Level upon one side and the melancholy Plumstead Marshes upon the other."This is all an insoluble mystery to me." said he. "His letters were full of allusions to the major." said Holmes." said he. If you do. As it burned it filled the air with a subtle and aromatic odor.