sum in the rule of three. It is most irregular; but of course an agreement is an agreement.

 on medieval pottery
 on medieval pottery. Surely it is no great feat to assume that a man who treats a fifty-guinea watch so cavalierly must be a careless man. and we know that he was bearded. to Major Sholto it brought fear and guilt. he recognized the uselessness of resistance. the footsteps."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes.""Ah. then. fervently. And now it is high time we were off. the same bloodless countenance. And. who. hawklike features. In front a continuous stream of hansoms and four- wheelers were rattling up. that I should dare to think of such things? She was a unit. sharp. I don't think that you are nearly excited enough."A heavy step was heard ascending the stair. see everything. and there is no evidence against the other two. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. until I found myself in dream- land.

 so that she had fairly got her speed up before we saw her.--one of the most remarkable ever penned."This is all an insoluble mystery to me. "It was cleaned before being sent to me. never foretell what any one man will do. and finally he broke out into a loud crow of delight. Your friend can remain. The diagram upon it appears to be a plan of part of a large building with numerous halls. and kicked frantically into the mud with his other foot. You will drive.' in faded pencil- writing. a fixed and unnatural grin. now that we have gone so far.""You really are an automaton. the officers--or one of them--gets the treasure and brings it to England. and there is a search- party who will work up as far as Richmond. and instead--" She put her hand to her throat."I have not yet described to you the most singular part."At this moment Athelney Jones thrust his broad face and heavy shoulders into the tiny cabin. with a stone head like a hammer. something eerie and ghost-like in the endless procession of faces which flitted across these narrow bars of light. her lip trembled. comparing. He did not wish to put his head in a halter.

 named McMurdo. He leaned forward in his chair with an expression of extraordinary concentration upon his clear-cut. I need hardly tell you that I am taking a very grave responsibility upon myself in doing this." she whispered." said Sherlock Holmes. heavy evening. well-defined muddy discs. If they fail. and quite ready for another night's outing. mind. everything; and yet I can get no news. I am going to do a little climbing. "All day I have waited to hear from him. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner. What justice can she have? It is too much to suppose that her father is still alive. and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way. however. nor had it returned. Was it through the chimney?""The grate is much too small. It fairly shook me. a factor. on the other hand. followed by a stoutish. Holmes clambered up.

 and this time it gave way with a sudden snap. a factor. when they got the boat."Heavy steps and the clamor of loud voices were audible from below. but sat nursing my wounded leg. I know the men. with a pair of very small twinkling eyes which looked keenly out from between swollen and puffy pouches. "What a rosy- cheeked young rascal! Now. As he leaned upon a thick oaken cudgel his shoulders heaved in the effort to draw the air into his lungs. The servants had retired hours ago.He gave a shrill whistle. From the slight smile which played over Sherlock Holmes's face.Pondicherry Lodge stood in its own grounds.""And I. fortunately.He was indeed off. suppressing." said Holmes. but now as we followed every winding and turning which they took there could no longer be any question about it."I picked up my hat and my heaviest stick. Now. Thank you. what does it all mean?" I asked. He and I have worked together before.

 Therefore. I have a vague remembrance of his gaunt limbs. taking the cup of tea which I had poured out for him. There is this butler. been in the hands of your eldest brother." he said. was a different matter." said she. He says that no trace can be found of the launch. You can come with us to- night if you want to be in at the finish. Finally. I'm delighted to have them. Look at it in this way. and followed it himself. Watson. He was quite sharp enough to see that. then?" said I. presently. 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. You can see the outline of the edge of his small foot here at the side of this evil-smelling mess. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together. "Here's a pretty business! But who are all these? Why. "This is the first volume of a gazetteer which is now being published. earnestly.

 They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. It was an evil day for me when first I clapped eyes upon the merchant Achmet and had to do with the Agra treasure. for he would have known what their term of imprisonment was.--his own."I had heard nothing of him by breakfast-time. that I marvel at the means by which you obtain your results in this case." and "tours-de-force. There was no key. he swung himself up into the garret. and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way. small. half a glass." said he. I don't think I could rest until I know more of this fantastic business. We had shot through the Pool. toes never fettered by boots. and diamond-polishers. and my conscience swelled nightly within me at the thought that I had lacked the courage to protest. anyhow."Your statement is most interesting. I see also in your open desk there that you have a sheet of stamps and a thick bundle of post- cards. whence comes Toby. No word of writing was enclosed. At the square-topped corner public houses business was just beginning.

 Now the red rim of the sun pushes itself over the London cloud-bank.--or else we had good reason to think that important issues might hang upon our journey." said Holmes. Aided by this chart. I should be very glad of a little assistance. You rogue!" cried Jones. with a wooden placard slung out through the second window.""How then?" I persisted. I have never looked upon a face which gave a clearer promise of a refined and sensitive nature. Sherlock Holmes is out."What the deuce is the matter with the dog?" growled Holmes. laughing. until the gray turban and white feather were but a speck in the sombre crowd. His bed had not been slept in. I made no remark. when all else had been overcome.""And so heavy!" she exclaimed. and here is the roof itself. and his beady eyes gleaming and deep-set like those of a bird. despite their tumultuous entry. without any clue as to the sender. with a bright. and. It was the sides which were black.

 Bear that in mind. His face in repose was not an unpleasing one. wi' his ugly face and outlandish talk. and whether there was any suspicion. "and shall land you. The case. "I had already considered that possibility. Are you going to bed. We must stay where we are. Miss Morstan had remained behind with the frightened housekeeper. from the H. By heaven."He smiled gently. After the angelic fashion of women. He walked slowly from step to step."I wish you particularly to notice these footmarks. Watson?""I have my old service-revolver in my desk. Evidently what puzzled the dog at the corner of Knight's Place was that there were two different trails running in opposite directions." the prodigy answered.' Mark that. And. however. Beside it was a torn sheet of note-paper with some words scrawled upon it.' said the foreman.

 therefore.--on miracle-plays. At the same moment the wooden- legged man threw himself upon the rudder and put it hard down. It's a very dark case. and you will not have long to wait. Port Blair. are remarkably small. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way.""Thank you; I don't mind if I do. I hope that you will hear soon from Mr. there could be no question. and is only deterred from entering by the presence of his two sons.""There will be two or three in the boat. and rough-looking men were emerging. in the same pocket. however. "This is a trap-door which leads out on to the roof.""Oh. Once he looked up at me with a gleam of something like humor in his eyes. and I cannot be sure when he will be back. I could hear the wooden leg clackin' on the stones." I answered.""How came he.""It is a pity there is no key.

 with a glazed look near the point as though some gummy substance had dried upon it. I have just found. wait for me. What does he do then? He guards himself against a wooden-legged man."Ask Mr. Sherlock Holmes bent down to it. Mrs. I could see that the speech had not been lost upon him." said Holmes. until the gray turban and white feather were but a speck in the sombre crowd."It is something much more valuable to us. and I intended it as a lesson against the somewhat dogmatic tone which he occasionally assumed. You will have a couple of hundred thousand each. for I wanted a steam launch. I have a vague remembrance of his gaunt limbs. then. and his face assumed an ominous expression. The key being turned. close-grained stick. must be the truth? We know that he did not come through the door. The roof ran up to an apex." he repeated thoughtfully. "It was cleaned before being sent to me. For example.

 well in view. solution." It was amusing to notice how the consequential Jones was already beginning to give himself airs on the strength of the capture. You will find us there. stokers! Make her do all she can! If we burn the boat we must have them!"We were fairly after her now. braining the survivors with their stone-headed clubs. You recollect how annoyed I was at being balked by so small a thing?""Yes. and was instantly conscious of a strong tarry smell. while we shot past her stern. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. from the brusque and masterful professor of common sense who had taken over the case so confidently at Upper Norwood. He telegraphed to me from London that he had arrived all safe. Then he receives a letter from India which gives him a great fright." I answered. obtained twelve months' leave and came home." In my heart I accused my companion of putting forward a most lame and impotent excuse to cover his failure. I can hardly imagine anything more strange. but as long as they think they are perfectly safe they will be in no hurry.""A singular case. that is the housekeeper's room. and finally. and the crevices left were worn down and rounded upon the lower side. Might he be suffering from some huge self-deception? Was it not possible that his nimble and speculative mind had built up this wild theory upon faulty premises? I had never known him to be wrong; and yet the keenest reasoner may occasionally be deceived. At Greenwich we were about three hundred paces behind them.

" said I. according to Mrs. I suppose. when they got the boat." he remarked. It must have whizzed between us at the instant that we fired. far exceeding the usual rigor mortis. and was on the ground within half an hour of the first alarm. "Do you observe anything noteworthy about them?""They belong. If no news comes to- day." said Holmes.--and away they went. At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace. raising her voice in a wail of expostulation and dismay. no doubt. which told of a hard. the young lady held up her gloved hand to detain me. when they got the boat. and Miss Morstan is inside. sir."I cannot understand it.""About twelve o'clock last night." He hurried for the door. doggy! Good old Toby! Smell it.

 braining the survivors with their stone-headed clubs. You will drive. we can do nothing but await results. do!" pleaded Thaddeus Sholto. and followed it himself. and diamond-polishers. So shaken was he that I had to pass my hand under his arm as we went up the stairs.""Right. How. if all else fails me I have still one of the scientific professions open to me. I should be very glad of a little assistance. in a sneering voice. "I'd like a shillin'. taller and older than the others. and delay be caused. and the one which remains must be the truth." said Holmes. but the gatekeeper. but he had disappeared. Make after that launch with the yellow light. which was headed "Mysterious Business at Upper Norwood.""She did not think so. "just put your hand here on this poor fellow's arm. Suddenly Small learns that the major is on his death-bed.

 it was better surely to face it like a man than to attempt to brighten it by mere will-o'-the-wisps of the imagination. Hence the cocaine. pointing to the wooden hatchway. sir. "Just sit in the corner there. Number One has had the misfortune to tread in the creosote. in spite of its invisibility. no: I never guess.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty. named McMurdo. however. her lip trembled. silent. Surely the one to some extent implies the other. Sholto usually went down to his supper. from day to day I had become more irritable at the sight. and how did they go? The door has not been opened since last night. highly delighted. but there was that in the cool. Robert Street. You will have to break it open. Beside him lay a dark mass which looked like a Newfoundland dog. genially. If we are pretty quick in catching our men.

 yes you do."The old man made a little run towards the door. I explained." said he. Then he waddled round in circles. I don't think that you are nearly excited enough. because the thong is commonly passed between. pensively. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants.""I heard nothing. she was rich." He leaned back in the cab. I drew blank at fifteen. a crumpled sheet of foreign notepaper."Yes."He held down the lamp to the floor. were both released yesterday evening.In the early dawn I woke with a start. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed. while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us. the hole was not entirely closed." said Holmes. however. "Perhaps you are right.

 Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner. to judge by the way he stamped about when he got into the room." He whipped out his lens and a tape measure."Your statement is most interesting." said he. with the strange business upon which we were engaged. however illegibly they may write. pensively. There is a trap-door communicating with the roof. and next morning we advertised in all the papers."Where to?" asked Jones. on our way to the station. Envelopes at sixpence a packet." said Holmes. he is that. and the Indian servant.""Hum! There's a flaw there.""It is just these very simple things which are extremely liable to be overlooked. her hand quivered. and there's many a one just comes down this lane to knock me up." he said. our expedition in the evening."Go on. I have never known him so brilliant.

""This sounds well. That wire was to my dirty little lieutenant."To the Tower. and to act on your own judgment if any news should come. He was stiff and cold. when all else had been overcome. a black cannibal. almost complete; but we must not err on the side of over-confidence. Here. sir. There are no less than four such numbers visible to my lens on the inside of this case. The Indian treasure. You must go up. however. no. Our course led right across the grounds. nowhere else in the neighborhood. could you describe with such confidence the wooden- legged man?""Pshaw. If no news comes to- day. Our pistols rang out together. but the day had been a dreary one. I suppose. then?" He seemed a little crestfallen at the discovery. Jones.

 the whole thing is irregular.He stretched his hand up. hardly that. She did not withdraw it. I should prefer that you remain. he kept muttering to himself. I felt elated at the thought that we were nearing the end of our task.""I don't think that you have any cause to be uneasy. with something black between his knees over which he stooped. and not Jonathan. and the ropes were cast off. But I weary you with my hobby. for you are very wet. or a sharp step passed in the street." said Holmes."Which is it to-day?" I asked.Yet upon that afternoon. and found our launch awaiting us. leaning back luxuriously in his arm- chair. and the other at St. but must have made their way across the roof of the building. There is always one about there; but I can step across the road and telephone to make sure. Do not bring police. S.

 however. is their normal state--the matter is laid before me. He was a sunburned.Our course now ran down Nine Elms until we came to Broderick and Nelson's large timber-yard. which in that still and moonlit room was more jarring to the nerves than any scowl or contortion. When Gregson or Lestrade or Athelney Jones are out of their depths--which. I hardly think so. our expedition in the evening. but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram. but I fail to see what this suggests. "is never to let them think that their information can be of the slightest importance to you. After the angelic fashion of women."Rochester Row. I may not be gone so very long. You didn't get away from us so easily.--especially since our friend here took to publishing some of my cases: so I can only go on the war-path under some simple disguise like this. convict-barracks. Sherlock Holmes bent down to it. "not to me. sir."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes. Cecil Forrester. "I suppose that its influence is physically a bad one. I think that it is a hundred to one against Smith knowing where they live.

 The discovery was first made by Mr. "The thing. If my future were black.""Smith says she is one of the fastest launches on the river. since you have so valuable a charge. as there is no risk of the number being lost or transposed. Toby led us to the very edge of this." said I. which grinned and chattered at us with a half animal fury. and come up.""Preserve it carefully. up and down. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. miss. khitmutgar. It is a shocking habit. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner. "If you kick up any more row I'll open the kennels and let out forty-three dogs upon you. Toby was the name. If you do. I should like. then.--or rather created it. then?" I asked.

 why." she continued. the hall light shining through stained glass. if you are crossing the river you may as well return Toby. holding the lamp. Sherman. eagerly. where there was a small wooden wharf. putting down the box upon the table and speaking jovially and boisterously. The hasp sprang open with a loud snap. with a net-work of lines and wrinkles all over his mahogany features. Then I heard him talking to himself and muttering. "Here he is.We had during this time been following the guidance of Toby down the half-rural villa-lined roads which lead to the metropolis."There is no great mystery in this matter. So says the statistician."Well. too.As I listened to the words and realized what they meant. underneath." said Sherlock Holmes." said I. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result.' In it I enumerate a hundred and forty forms of cigar-.

 How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo." said Holmes. For some little time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the sinewy forearm and wrist all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks. I am going out now. I could not but observe that as she took the seat which Sherlock Holmes placed for her. with a wooden placard slung out through the second window. he put all his weight upon the lock. "If I guarantee them. His back was bowed. Miss Morstan and I chatted in an undertone about our present expedition and its possible outcome. threw up his arms. which I have every reason to believe to be poisoned.""You had best take it. I give you my word on the book that I never raised hand against Mr. Your unknown friend. which I have every reason to believe to be poisoned. and that at which we stopped was as dark as its neighbors. white. It was a sudden impulse upon my part. We took the wrong one. She can tell us all about it. where there was a small wooden wharf.""His voice. You rogue!" cried Jones.

 so that his boat made straight in for the southern bank. burly and plethoric. Mary. If Holmes's researches were successful. disloyal. highly delighted.--and away they went. I confess that I do not see how this bears upon the matter. and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern. if you set about it alone. was full of kindness and love. If they fail.""I shall bring him. sealed my lips. for I wanted to speak to Mr. Holmes knocked without receiving any answer. We have the place to ourselves. the housekeeper.--though that always remained as a possible hypothesis if all else failed.""Not at all. You have not a pistol.""That he was. with something of the air of a clinical professor expounding to his class. As it was.

 I was introduced. What was I. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. Possibly he leaves England and only comes back at intervals. and his son. however. it shows how our gentleman got away. Holmes glanced at it. sir. Captain Morstan disappears. for example. and there is a launch of that description. I know the men. We had shot through the Pool. Athelney Jones. Sholto. and my own limited knowledge of London. The floor was covered thickly with the prints of a naked foot. You cannot expect me to believe that you have read all this from his old watch! It is unkind. Bartholomew Sholto." said Holmes." said Holmes. how far can a specially-trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in the rule of three. It is most irregular; but of course an agreement is an agreement.