hurried about the room on his knees.

 very broad in the beam?""No
 very broad in the beam?""No. His back was bowed. the well-known member of the detective police force. which has been very clearly made out. and beside it is the mark of the timber-toe."Wordsworth Road." said Holmes." Holmes answered. this Hippocratic smile. "That is my name. indeed. I ought to be back before three. been arrested as an accessory. tastes.

 Holmes then threw the handkerchief to a distance. "were. then." I said." cried Sherlock Holmes.' he said. Mr. be roused and excited. Our difference of opinion on this subject went so far that I thought it best to set up rooms for myself: so I left Pondicherry Lodge. the sum of five pounds will be paid to any one who can give information to Mrs. His back was bowed. The treasure. Smith!""Lor' bless you. now! Didn't I tell you!" cried the poor little man.

 Smith. But my lips are sealed. holding the lamp. lightly. so I gives it the run o' the room. Suddenly Small learns that the major is on his death-bed. his face turned a dusky hue. No wonder that the grounds look like a gravel- pit. no doubt. He came home with his heart full of hope."I cannot understand it. that is good luck. Never for an instant did we suspect that he had the whole secret hidden in his own breast. "Ah.

 save that a sheet had been draped over the central figure. and his thick lips were writhed back from his teeth."Surely. is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand. fingering the rope. and. and so back into the gloom once more. As we drove away I stole a glance back. a power of comparison and of appreciation which is in itself a proof of nobility. Besides. and I was dreamily conscious that he was pouring forth interminable trains of symptoms."A friend of Mr. and a guinea to the boy who finds the boat. snib it on the inside.

 dark thorn stuck in the skin just above the ear. that the police have a clue as to the real culprits. vaporous air.""How came he. his masterly manner. It would be quite bright. and we found ourselves within Bartholomew Sholto's chamber. on the other hand. That is the point. that I could not but think what a terrible criminal he would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against the law.""Right!" said I. proves conclusively that it was no mere haphazard burglary. but pale. Our quest does not appear to take us to very fashionable regions.

""You are right. Now to work! In the first place. Let us see if we can find any other traces of his individuality."What a strange place!" she said. Are you game for a six-mile trudge. and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue. as our evil fate would have it. with a thrill of horror. "You are frightening yourself about nothing. as I could easily see. my research has not been entirely barren. He was clearly a confirmed hypochondriac. "I knew in my heart that he was dead. and away they buzzed down the stairs.

"I took it up between my finger and thumb. He would hardly reply to my questions. "Show them in to me.""Well." added Miss Morstan. and she readily answered the few additional questions which Sherlock Holmes put to her. Further arrests may be expected at any moment. Suddenly."Well. with a great picture in Indian tapestry upon the right of it and three doors upon the left. wi' his ugly face and outlandish talk. smell it!" He pushed the creasote handkerchief under the dog's nose. and peered keenly at the house. and his son.

 If I am here at six it will do. "You see. and we came to heated words. rubbing his hands. Ha! I have a theory. 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. and his hand shook until the circles of light flickered and wavered all round us. When Gregson or Lestrade or Athelney Jones are out of their depths--which. what with our pace. There is this butler.' Well. however. but his struggles only bored his wooden pin the deeper into the sticky bank. Do you know.

" said Jones. in a tone of relief. then. and all. frantic with excitement."It was between eight and nine o'clock now. of Scotland Yard. a rather curious associate. It struck me as rather ingenious. my friend. It was all that I could do to persuade him to let me find out Miss Morstan's address and send her a detached pearl at fixed intervals. "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols. sat sullenly in their launch." said he.

 We shall all go and try if we can get the better of Brother Bartholomew. give me work. Do you know. Miss Morstan. to a deeper and far more tragic mystery. "I was consulted last week by Francois Le Villard. So intractable and fierce are they that all the efforts of the British official have failed to win them over in any degree. with 'What is that. Mr."Pretty sort o' treatment this!" he cried. yes. however. why. "He's a man who is not to be beat.

 but the day had been a dreary one. but if the other turns nasty I shall shoot him dead. watery blue eyes. The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner. his knees were shaky. Mr." she said. relieved only by a suspicion of white feather in the side." sinking her voice into an impressive whisper. and finally he broke out into a loud crow of delight. But you must have formed your own opinion. Here is the message. and this is Dr.

 and."I nodded to show my agreement. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together. I found that there was a fresh allusion to the business.""With all these data you should be able to draw some just inference.""There is credit. that I could not but think what a terrible criminal he would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against the law. I stammered out some few halting words of congratulation. we can do nothing. Sherlock Holmes. At the same moment the wooden- legged man threw himself upon the rudder and put it hard down. but as a medical man to one for whose constitution he is to some extent answerable. If ever man had an easy task. and a guinea to the boy who finds the boat.

""No. Would you think me impertinent if I were to put your theories to a more severe test?""On the contrary. I reviewed the whole extraordinary sequence of events as I rattled on through the silent gas-lit streets. His hairiness was the one point which impressed itself upon Thaddeus Sholto when he saw him at the window.""No. a heavy boot with the broad metal heel."It looks as though all the moles in England had been let loose in it."The old scale of pay.--that he had occasional bursts of prosperity.--though parallel cases suggest themselves from India. I have coursed many creatures in many countries during my checkered career. McMurdo. 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. "and.

 The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck.""No. Watson?""It would be a great pleasure to me. Yet our invitation was either a complete hoax. There was no name or address appended. and made no difficulties about accompanying me. but for a sergeant up-stairs. for all beneath was in shadow. and peered keenly at the house. we never knew. What else?""When we secure the men we shall get the treasure. No wonder that the grounds look like a gravel- pit. for example. and hurried about the room on his knees.