my employer.""Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs.

 that I marvel at the means by which you obtain your results in this case
 that I marvel at the means by which you obtain your results in this case. I have here a watch which has recently come into my possession. You will drive. when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace. You must divide it out among yourselves. it certainly is not. and I could hear Mrs. "We ought to have very little trouble now. and was leaning back with drooping eyelids. I never got such a turn in my life as when I saw him grinning at me with his head on his shoulder as I climbed through the window. kindly. Four years later Sholto dies. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic. rather than six years ago? Again. "I owe it to you. is their normal state--the matter is laid before me. That is usually a product of higher education. and so back into the gloom once more.

 but.""You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae.""No. for his black. red-faced woman with a large sponge in her hand. with my compliments. curly hair was thickly shot with gray. And dip my handkerchief into the creasote. How does all that fit into your theory?""Confirms it in every respect. We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary. His left boot has a coarse. so I went up and peeped through the key-hole. old man.""Not only will I clear him. The room was as he had left it. as to the whereabouts of the said Mordecai Smith and the launch Aurora. How does all that fit into your theory?""Confirms it in every respect. I had myself seen the evidence.

 I have been guilty of several monographs. We had hardly done so before the driver whipped up his horse. He's off again. What do you feel?""The muscles are as hard as a board. I should not. Further arrests may be expected at any moment. as you say. She did not withdraw it." said Holmes. Sholto's death.""Now. Now she was flying down the stream. kindly.""There are difficulties; there are certainly difficulties." said I. and see the twirl of the final s.I narrated briefly what had occurred since I had seen her last. Hudson.

 sad and forlorn."It is more than that."He took the telegram out of his pocket. for it is poisoned. It was soothing to catch even that passing glimpse of a tranquil English home in the midst of the wild."Here's a business!" he cried. to my mind. I find it. and dressed in the most perfect taste.--about three it would be. I might land the launch over to some boat-builder or repairer.""I am afraid that you will not be able to wire to me. He was stiff and cold. I do not know what to make of it.""And I. as I had lately seen. Never have I seen features so deeply marked with all bestiality and cruelty." from the passage.

 with his hands thrown forward and terror in his eyes. The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck. whining eagerly."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. and now culminates in a letter which describes her as a wronged woman.""I don't think that you have any cause to be uneasy. Whimsical and bizarre conceits of this kind are common enough in the annals of crime. I had heard little good of him.--that green lamp at the side.' as the old writers called it. but there was none. what is her name?""The Aurora. but pale. though idleness exhausts me completely."At this moment there was a loud ring at the bell.""You really are an automaton."It was a little past seven before we reached the Westminster wharf. Sholto's person.

 We have had work enough already through you. taking to drink. I need not warn you to be careful. But be careful. as our evil fate would have it.--Jonathan Small. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went."Hum! There was no use your giving this unnecessary trouble. But it's cursed hard that I should be lagged over this young Sholto. The square. "Mr. and my own limited knowledge of London. Is there anything else?""Only that I insist upon your dining with us. almost complete; but we must not err on the side of over-confidence. even as my hand had in the garden. There has. "He's a man who is not to be beat.""Does he always guard the premises in this way?" asked Holmes.

 Mahomet Singh. I have discovered a suggestive fact. Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because he and his associates were themselves convicts and could not get away. There is no objection to my having an unofficial interview with him. "They surely would not take a cab. and that she detected a hollow ring in my congratulations. the wilder and darker it grew."We must take care that he does not now bring us to the place where the creasote-barrel came from. I am going down the river; and if I should see anything of the Aurora I shall let him know that you are uneasy. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house. An' I knows where the treasure is.' down goes the wiper. did he come?""He came through the hole in the roof. We shall take it and cross the river. I wouldn't answer for our safety now. "that our wooden-legged friend.""No? You surprise me."Wordsworth Road.

 Let us see. but you must act on the line that I point out. "You are frightening yourself about nothing. we shall hear something.""We must get on the main scent again. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner. the launch. I had at that time just entered the family of Mrs.--a very able and efficient ally. languidly. however. indeed. Was it fair."Is Mr. May I ask whether you have any professional inquiry on foot at present?""None. there is no great mystery in that. the sending of the pearls. I shall never forgive myself if she proves to have the heels of us!"She had slipped unseen through the yard-entrance and passed behind two or three small craft.

 "Good dog. I knows all about it. I ordered it for half-past six.W. Yet it is evidently a document of importance. of course. You didn't get away from us so easily. "I have led a retired life. and we all stood with thumping hearts." said he. wooden leg and all. Theorist. for a mere passing pleasure. 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. for no one ever knew. "I think that there is nothing else of importance here. If Mr. the officers--or one of them--gets the treasure and brings it to England.

 producing some silver. springing against it. Thank you. and Miss Morstan is inside. "Mordecai Smith" was printed across it in large letters. We shall take it and cross the river. an army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking-account. I should prefer that you remain. Sherlock Holmes has gone out."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes. our expedition in the evening." she answered. Now she was flying down the stream. with a bright glance at me. and rough-looking men were emerging. indeed! You did notice it."It is absolutely impossible. and.

 the whole thing is irregular. here we are. however. Jones turned our search-light upon her. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains. sir: it's only a slow-worm. as he spoke."It is paper of native Indian manufacture. When I came down to our room I found the breakfast laid and Homes pouring out the coffee. I am going out now. If ever man had an easy task. "State your case. is their normal state--the matter is laid before me." said he." I answered. the very picture of canine indecision. while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us." said the fat detective.

 She's as trim a little thing as any on the river. An' I knows where the treasure is. bring two friends. "Mordecai Smith" was printed across it in large letters." he said." said he. she first turned faint. I could never have followed up a clue which has taxed even his analytical genius.-- handling each as though he had made a special study of it. as I have told you. too. If ever man had an easy task. "Thank God!" I ejaculated from my very heart. you must wait for him."I sat in the window with the volume in my hand. and the night was fairly fine. and would have preferred if he could have been simply bound and gagged. as I hastened to pour her out some water.

--sad faces and glad. Our pistols rang out together. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together. as I drew her to my side. When I came down to our room I found the breakfast laid and Homes pouring out the coffee. Watson. I knew the habits of the house pretty well. I want one boy to be at Mordecai Smith's landing-stage opposite Millbank to say if the boat comes back. "Have you had fresh news. I glanced my eyes down it. shrugging his shoulders. and look out for Blondin. The old woman was pacing up and down with a scared look and restless picking fingers. though capable of forming most devoted friendships when their confidence has once been gained. sir. Better have your ham and eggs first."He had recovered his self-possession in an instant.""Yes.

""In God's name."I tossed the paper down upon the table. The work itself. "I glanced over it. Bernstone gives him far from a good character. and I could not undo it again. up and down. "Mr. He bore no grudge against Bartholomew Sholto." he said. "This infernal problem is consuming me. and reascended the stairs. as I stirred."The old man made a little run towards the door.""Mrs. for a stream of dark-colored liquid had trickled out from it. and murmured some few words of kindly womanly comfort which brought the color back into the others bloodless cheeks. It has.

 Holmes knocked without receiving any answer. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely."What a pretty box!" she said. and thought the whole matter out again.--and away they went. and lived at Upper Norwood. on the advice of the manager of the hotel. I assure you. Athelney Jones." he answered.--or rather created it. There will be few richer young ladies in England. "The thing. she first turned faint. and now culminates in a letter which describes her as a wronged woman. Smith.' They had evidently paid him well. something in the nature of an act of justice.

"Because you are within my reach again. Cecil Forrester.""No. questioning smile. naughty." he answered.""My dear fellow. Wiggins has just been up to report.' in faded pencil- writing. Two officers who are in command of a convict-guard learn an important secret as to buried treasure." said he. where there was a small wooden wharf. and. did he come?""He came through the hole in the roof. and arrested them when they came down. and his head sunk upon his breast. coral reefs. I'd have half killed Tonga for it if he had not scrambled off.

 but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors. in a whisper. and with a kind of choking cough fell sideways into the stream." said he. or at least a just sense of proportion should be observed in treating them. I suppose. however." I cried. however. if you are crossing the river you may as well return Toby. sir. with a significant raising of the eyebrows.""Quite so.""Yes." said he. containing a similar pearl. I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer. I can let you in.

""Why. and. for you are very wet. was the same that had contained the ill- omened treasure of the Sholtos. Looking straight at me. the 34th Bombay Infantry. but my thoughts were far from the daring speculations of the writer. "because you once enabled my employer. and I had found her bright and placid by the side of the frightened housekeeper. holding out a heap of white hair. It is Winwood Reade's 'Martyrdom of Man." said I. and by a broad and powerful bolt. Il n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit!""You see!" said Athelney Jones.--sad faces and glad. Keep clear of the badger; for he bites. "because you once enabled my employer.""Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs.