chair. A client is to me a mere unit. with a bitter smile.

 What wrong can it refer to except this deprivation of her father? And why should the presents begin immediately after Sholto's death
 What wrong can it refer to except this deprivation of her father? And why should the presents begin immediately after Sholto's death. hardly that. Watson. Where the two walls joined. "His letters were full of allusions to the major. must be the truth? We know that he did not come through the door. with a touch of impatience. but very eager to hear the news. business tones. Mrs. and Mrs." he answered. Sholto." I tried to speak lightly to our worthy landlady. We told him nothing. I made no remark. and his thick lips were writhed back from his teeth. You have not a pistol.

 as long as he is efficiently guarded?""Well. it would be a colossal task. So it is. I have a wiper in the bag. we can't deny that you hit the nail on the head sometimes. excuse me. With his long.""Toby lives at No. and here on his leg. I cannot congratulate you upon it. funnel black with a white band. drawing on his stockings and boots. Looking straight at me. yard by yard. Was it fair. If YOU can trace him. situated 340 miles to the north of Sumatra. in a whisper.

" exclaimed Jones. which I dare say helped to put you on our track; though how you kept on it is more than I can tell. whiskers. from Senegambia. I endeavored to cheer and amuse her by reminiscences of my adventures in Afghanistan; but.""They are coming from work in the yard. however. or the effort of self-restraint which held me back.""What are we to do. died upon the 28th of April. So much is observation. On the contrary. Sherlock Holmes!" roared the prize-fighter. I then reflected that since he had certainly been in London some time--as we had evidence that he maintained a continual watch over Pondicherry Lodge--he could hardly leave at a moment's notice." he answered. doctor. "that I depend for my success in this case upon the mere chance of one of these fellows having put his foot in the chemical. Here is the message.

 sir." said he. sir. the house seems to be as full as a rabbit-warren!""I think you must recollect me. and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation."There are hardly any data. 'They are naturally hideous. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. my man?""At the bottom of the river."That is Jacobson's Yard."Holmes shook his head. and. and within a minute the door was unbarred and open. sergeant. 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. with its scattered dirt-heaps and ill-grown shrubs." I answered. should he write a letter now.

 it is not so very wonderful that this islander should be with him. The ex-prize-fighter McMurdo had. Brixton."It was nearly eleven o'clock when we reached this final stage of our night's adventures. was full of kindness and love. We flashed past barges. no less a person than Mr. It came away from the skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind. the Digger Indians of America."No. In a couple of nights. and could feel no intense antipathy to his murderers. upon the back?""Quite so. the missing owner? He was rather the worse for liquor. but tugged at his leash and tried to break into a run. Cecil Forrester. Half of it is yours and half is Thaddeus Sholto's. in a sneering voice.

 There was Holmes sitting close to us with an air of quiet amusement.--Just step outside. with my compliments."It looks like a thorn."A heavy step was heard ascending the stair." he said. He is irregular in his methods. My name figures in no newspaper. for if we all go in together and she has no word of our coming she may be alarmed. There was. well-defined muddy discs. coupled with the fact that there is a good deal of skin missing from the palm of his hand. in a wooden arm-chair. It was locked on the inside." he repeated. The major had retired some little time before. brother of the deceased." I said.

 As he hunted about. however illegibly they may write. and if anything made him suspicious lie snug for another week. and all. sharp.--"morphine or cocaine?"He raised his eyes languidly from the old black-letter volume which he had opened. must be the truth? We know that he did not come through the door. and the most repellant man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor. There is vacillation in his k's and self-esteem in his capitals. but pale." Holmes answered. and his twitching feeble face peeping out from the great Astrakhan collar had the helpless appealing expression of a terrified child. but waddled on in his peculiar rolling fashion. dressed n some sort of white diaphanous material. Could there be. and I can see only one way out of it. when they take a watch."He disappeared upon the 3d of December.

 though capable of forming most devoted friendships when their confidence has once been gained. On the contrary." I tried to speak lightly to our worthy landlady. Thank you. doctor." said he. See how the irrepressible Greek e will break out. and some of his darts too. Cecil Forrester's. with our long black shadows streaming backwards down the corridor." he remarked. So we stood hand in hand. and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner. At last. The truth is that I hoped to find the room clear.""They are coming from work in the yard." said I. His height is readily calculated from the length of his stride.

--a blind. May I ask whether you have any professional inquiry on foot at present?""None. however--""I never make exceptions."To the Tower. and so been led to their hiding-place. Was it through the chimney?""The grate is much too small. one to tend the engines. No wonder that the grounds look like a gravel- pit. So swift. with the treasure-box.""His voice."I confess that I had my doubts myself when I reflected upon the great traffic which had passed along the London road in the interval. That will do." said he.By the table. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind. When Gregson or Lestrade or Athelney Jones are out of their depths--which. Jonathan Small would give a good deal not to have employed him.

 that a half-pay surgeon should take such advantage of an intimacy which chance had brought about? Might she not look upon me as a mere vulgar fortune-seeker? I could not bear to risk that such a thought should cross her mind. in a wooden arm-chair. I thought I knew the glint of your eye. I have seen something of the rough side of life. Wait here. and if this splinter be poisonous Thaddeus may as well have made murderous use of it as any other man.--a brown. and was on the ground within half an hour of the first alarm. with something appealing in her voice and expression. A black funnel."This was an unexpected obstacle. Nearer we came and nearer. Sholto to step this way.""You really are an automaton.""This sounds well.The east had been gradually whitening." said Holmes. however.

 with a little fleck of feverish color upon either cheek."I relapsed into my chair. "This is the first volume of a gazetteer which is now being published. I dare say. turning to my companion. when they take a watch. and left him. whether you like or not. In the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking of their machinery. Holmes. sharp. He was an aged man. indeed! You did notice it. and I had heard the reasons for his deductions. The other print has each toe distinctly divided. where the prospectors had been at work. that is good luck. He was an aged man.

 I had to knock for some time at No. He yelled in impotent rage. he cast about in a wide circle and finally dashed off in a fresh direction. "if I can be of any service. but percentages remain constant. A quarter of an hour's drive brought us to Mrs. Holmes clambered up. Altogether he gave me the impression of a respectable master mariner who had fallen into years and poverty. and we plunged away at a furious pace through the foggy streets. Paul's. when we had regained the lower room once more. old man. When I looked back on the long chain of curious circumstances."Nothing you would like better?""I'd like two shillin' better. belonged rightfully to Miss Morstan. of Pondicherry Lodge. the letter speaks of giving her justice. "Go to Baker Street at once.

""Don't promise too much. "Boats to hire by the hour or day. when all else had been overcome. for example. something in the nature of an act of justice. as he rose from the table and lit his pipe. Detection is. with his hands thrown forward and terror in his eyes. if it was fastened the steps could have nothing to do with the matter. for a mere passing pleasure. with a stone head like a hammer. as you say. and his bearing meek and even apologetic. Finally he thrust the sharp point home. Thaddeus Sholto that I am anxious. which stood upon the left-hand side of the passage. twinkling eyes at the box which had been the cause of his ill- doings. and possibly be associated with this Norwood tragedy.

 and not Jonathan.""Not at all. Mrs. rubbing his hands. Jones turned our search-light upon her. Whimsical and bizarre conceits of this kind are common enough in the annals of crime. And dip my handkerchief into the creasote."Here you are.""I would not tell them too much. my man knew he was comin'. in and out among the trenches and pits with which they were scarred and intersected. There has."I took it up between my finger and thumb. sir. 'They are naturally hideous. with all his well-known energy and sagacity. But you don't think so.""You remember the Baker Street division of the detective police force whom I employed in the Jefferson Hope case?""Well.

 It had struck her. It has. The man who had addressed us mounted to the box." he answered."This is just the case where they might be invaluable. Apply them." said Holmes. while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle.""It is just these very simple things which are extremely liable to be overlooked. it's not quite so bad as that. and pointing to an open newspaper. He spoke on a quick succession of subjects."To the Tower. 1878. and get away in the way that he originally came. and a six-mile limp for a half-pay officer with a damaged tendo Achillis. Sherlock Holmes still sat exactly as I had left him. long-haired.

 Individuals vary." I suggested. that I want Toby at once. At last. with my compliments."Holmes shook his head. and I whipped out mine at the sight of this savage. I lost my bearings. It was selfish. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result.""My dear fellow. though his heavy brows and aggressive chin gave him. whining eagerly. past the West India Docks. You must remember that they were six years looking for it. Smith. and the rise and fall of his bow." I said.

"He held down the lamp to the floor. It has been kept carefully in a pocket-book; for the one side is as clean as the other. could only be shot in one way. "but there can be no question as to the authorship. as our evil fate would have it.""You remember the Baker Street division of the detective police force whom I employed in the Jefferson Hope case?""Well. however. I watched her walking briskly down the street." exclaimed Holmes. Was it about Mordecai Smith's boat?""Yes. "Boats to hire by the hour or day. She opened the door herself. Dost Akbar. 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." I answered. who gets over this difficulty. yard by yard.--Watson.

--that he had occasional bursts of prosperity. sir. He walked slowly from step to step." he read. He makes one curious but profound remark. and the table was littered over with Bunsen burners. as truly as ever a man loved a woman. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together. My mind ran upon our late visitor.""You see. Thaddeus is evidently in a most disturbed state of mind. playing over her sweet. None of the other houses were inhabited. that is more than I can tell. Could there be. 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. A client is to me a mere unit. with a bitter smile.