It was nine o'clock at night upon the second of August -- the most terrible August in the history of the world . One might have thought already that God's curse hung heavy over a degenerate world , for there was an awesome hush and a feeling of vague expectancy in the sultry and stagnant air . The sun had long set , but one blood-red gash like an open wound lay low in the distant west . Above , the stars were shining brightly , and below , the lights of the shipping glimmered in the bay . The two famous Germans stood beside the stone parapet of the garden walk , with the long , low , heavily gabled house behind them , and they looked down upon the broad sweep of the beach at the foot of the great chalk cliff on which Von Bork , like some wandering eagle , had perched himself four years before . They stood with their heads close together , talking in low , confidential tones . From below the two glowing ends of their cigars might have been the smouldering eyes of some malignant fiend looking down in the darkness .

A remarkable man this Von Bork -- a man who could hardly be matched among all the devoted agents of the Kaiser . It was his talents which had first recommended him for the English mission , the most important mission of all , but since he had taken it over those talents had become more and more manifest to the half-dozen people in the world who were really in touch with the truth . One of these was his present companion , Baron Von Herling , the chief secretary of the legation , whose huge 100-horse-power Benz car was blocking the country lane as it waited to waft its owner back to London .

" So far as I can judge the trend of events , you will probably be back in Berlin within the week , " the secretary was saying . " When you get there , my dear Von Bork , I think you will be surprised at the welcome you will receive . I happen to know what is thought in the highest quarters of your work in this country . " He was a huge man , the secretary , deep , broad , and tall , with a slow , heavy fashion of speech which had been his main asset in his political career .

Von Bork laughed .

" They are not very hard to deceive , " he remarked . " A more docile , simple folk could not be imagined . "

" I don't know about that , " said the other thoughtfully . " They have strange limits and one must learn to observe them . It is that surface simplicity of theirs which makes a trap for the stranger . One's first impression is that they are entirely soft . Then one comes suddenly upon something very hard , and you know that you have reached the limit and must adapt yourself to the fact . They have , for example , their insular conventions which simply must be observed . "

" Meaning , ' good form ' and that sort of thing ? " Von Bork sighed as one who had suffered much .

" Meaning British prejudice in all its queer manifestations . As an example I may quote one of my own worst blunders -- I can afford to talk of my blunders , for you know my work well enough to be aware of my successes . It was on my first arrival . I was invited to a week-end gathering at the country house of a cabinet minister . The conversation was amazingly indiscreet . "

Von Bork nodded . " I've been there , " said he dryly .

" Exactly . Well , I naturally sent a resume of the information to Berlin . Unfortunately our good chancellor is a little heavy-handed in these matters , and he transmitted a remark which showed that he was aware of what had been said . This , of course , took the trail straight up to me . You've no idea the harm that it did me . There was nothing soft about our British hosts on that occasion , I can assure you . I was two years living it down . Now you , with this sporting pose of yours -- "

" No , no , don't call it a pose . A pose is an artificial thing . This is quite natural . I am a born sportsman . I enjoy it . "

" Well , that makes it the more effective . You yacht against them , you hunt with them , you play polo , you match them in every game , your four-in-hand takes the prize at Olympia . I have even heard that you go the length of boxing with the young officers . What is the result ? Nobody takes you seriously . You are a ' good old sport , ' ' quite a decent fellow for a German , ' a hard-drinking , night-club , knock-about-town , devil-may-care young fellow . And all the time this quiet country house of yours is the centre of half the mischief in England , and the sporting squire the most astute secret-service man in Europe . Genius , my dear Von Bork , genius ! "

" You flatter me , Baron . But certainly I may claim that my four years in this country have not been unproductive . I've never shown you my little store . Would you mind stepping in for a moment ? "

The door of the study opened straight on to the terrace . Von Bork pushed it back , and , leading the way , he clicked the switch of the electric light . He then closed the door behind the bulky form which followed him and carefully adjusted the heavy curtain over the latticed window . Only when all these precautions had been taken and tested did he turn his sunburned aquiline face to his guest .

" Some of my papers have gone , " said he . " When my wife and the household left yesterday for Flushing they took the less important with them . I must , of course , claim the protection of the embassy for the others . "

" Your name has already been filed as one of the personal suite . There will be no difficulties for you or your baggage . Of course , it is just possible that we may not have to go . England may leave France to her fate . We are sure that there is no binding treaty between them . "

" And Belgium ? "

" Yes , and Belgium , too . "

Von Bork shook his head . " I don't see how that could be . There is a definite treaty there . She could never recover from such a humiliation . "

" She would at least have peace for the moment . "

" But her honour ? "

" Tut , my dear sir , we live in a utilitarian age . Honour is a mediaeval conception . Besides England is not ready . It is an inconceivable thing , but even our special war tax of fifty million , which one would think made our purpose as clear as if we had advertised it on the front page of the Times , has not roused these people from their slumbers . Here and there one hears a question . It is my business to find an answer . Here and there also there is an irritation . It is my business to soothe it . But I can assure you that so far as the essentials go -- the storage of munitions , the preparation for submarine attack , the arrangements for making high explosives -- nothing is prepared . How , then , can England come in , especially when we have stirred her up such a devil's brew of Irish civil war , window-breaking Furies , and God knows what to keep her thoughts at home . "

" She must think of her future . "

" Ah , that is another matter . I fancy that in the future we have our own very definite plans about England , and that your information will be very vital to us . It is to-day or to-morrow with Mr. John Bull . If he prefers to-day we are perfectly ready . If it is to-morrow we shall be more ready still . I should think they would be wiser to fight with allies than without them , but that is their own affair . This week is their week of destiny . But you were speaking of your papers . " He sat in the armchair with the light shining upon his broad bald head , while he puffed sedately at his cigar .

The large oak-panelled , book-lined room had a curtain hung in the further corner . When this was drawn it disclosed a large , brass-bound safe . Von Bork detached a small key from his watch chain , and after some considerable manipulation of the lock he swung open the heavy door .

" Look ! " said he , standing clear , with a wave of his hand .

The light shone vividly into the opened safe , and the secretary of the embassy gazed with an absorbed interest at the rows of stuffed pigeon-holes with which it was furnished . Each pigeonhole had its label , and his eyes as he glanced along them read a long series of such titles as " Fords , " " Harbour-defences , " " Aeroplanes , " " Ireland , " " Egypt , " " Portsmouth forts , " " The Channel , " " Rosythe , " and a score of others . Each compartment was bristling with papers and plans .

" Colossal ! " said the secretary . Putting down his cigar he softly clapped his fat hands .

" And all in four years , Baron . Not such a bad show for the hard-drinking , hard-riding country squire . But the gem of my collection is coming and there is the setting all ready for it . " He pointed to a space over which " Naval Signals " was printed .

" But you have a good dossier there already . "

" Out of date and waste paper . The Admiralty in some way got the alarm and every code has been changed . It was a blow , Baron -- the worst setback in my whole campaign . But thanks to my check-book and the good Altamont all will be well to-night . "

The Baron looked at his watch and gave a guttural exclamation of disappointment .

" Well , I really can wait no longer . You can imagine that things are moving at present in Carlton Terrace and that we have all to be at our posts . I had hoped to be able to bring news of your great coup . Did Altamont name no hour ? "

Von Bork pushed over a telegram .

Will come without fail to-night and bring new sparking plugs . ALTAMONT .

" Sparking plugs , eh ? "

" You see he poses as a motor expert and I keep a full garage . In our code everything likely to come up is named after some spare part . If he talks of a radiator it is a battleship , of an oil pump a cruiser , and so on . Sparking plugs are naval signals . "

" From Portsmouth at midday , " said the secretary , examining the superscription . " By the way , what do you give him ? "

" Five hundred pounds for this particular job . Of course he has a salary as well . "

" The greedy rogue . They are useful , these traitors , but I grudge them their blood money . "

" I grudge Altamont nothing . He is a wonderful worker . If I pay him well , at least he delivers the goods , to use his own phrase . Besides he is not a traitor . I assure you that our most pan-Germanic Junker is a sucking dove in his feelings towards England as compared with a real bitter Irish-American . "

" Oh , an Irish-American ? "

" If you heard him talk you would not doubt it . Sometimes I assure you I can hardly understand him . He seems to have declared war on the King's English as well as on the English king . Must you really go ? He may be here any moment . "

" No . I'm sorry , but I have already overstayed my time . We shall expect you early to-morrow , and when you get that signal book through the little door on the Duke of York's steps you can put a triumphant finis to your record in England . What ! Tokay ! "

He indicated a heavily sealed dust-covered bottle which stood with two high glasses upon a salver .

" May I offer you a glass before your journey ? "

" No , thanks . But it looks like revelry . "

" Altamont has a nice taste in wines , and he took a fancy to my Tokay . He is a touchy fellow and needs humouring in small things . I have to study him , I assure you . " They had strolled out on to the terrace again , and along it to the further end where at a touch from the Baron's chauffeur the great car shivered and chuckled . " Those are the lights of Harwich , I suppose , " said the secretary , pulling on his dust coat . " How still and peaceful it all seems . There may be other lights within the week , and the English coast a less tranquil place ! The heavens , too , may not be quite so peaceful if all that the good Zeppelin promises us comes true . By the way , who is that ? "

Only one window showed a light behind them ; in it there stood a lamp , and beside it , seated at a table , was a dear old ruddy-faced woman in a country cap . She was bending over her knitting and stopping occasionally to stroke a large black cat upon a stool beside her .

" That is Martha , the only servant I have left . "

The secretary chuckled .

" She might almost personify Britannia , " said he , " with her complete self-absorption and general air of comfortable somnolence . Well , au revoir , Von Bork ! " With a final wave of his hand he sprang into the car , and a moment later the two golden cones from the headlights shot forward through the darkness . The secretary lay back in the cushions of the luxurious limousine , with his thoughts so full of the impending European tragedy that he hardly observed that as his car swung round the village street it nearly passed over a little Ford coming in the opposite direction .

Von Bork walked slowly back to the study when the last gleams of the motor lamps had faded into the distance . As he passed he observed that his old housekeeper had put out her lamp and retired . It was a new experience to him , the silence and darkness of his widespread house , for his family and household had been a large one . It was a relief to him , however , to think that they were all in safety and that , but for that one old woman who had lingered in the kitchen , he had the whole place to himself . There was a good deal of tidying up to do inside his study and he set himself to do it until his keen , handsome face was flushed with the heat of the burning papers . A leather valise stood beside his table , and into this he began to pack very neatly and systematically the precious contents of his safe . He had hardly got started with the work , however , when his quick ears caught the sound of a distant car . Instantly he gave an exclamation of satisfaction , strapped up the valise , shut the safe , locked it , and hurried out on to the terrace . He was just in time to see the lights of a small car come to a halt at the gate . A passenger sprang out of it and advanced swiftly towards him , while the chauffeur , a heavily built , elderly man with a gray moustache , settled down like one who resigns himself to a long vigil .

" Well ? " asked Von Bork eagerly , running forward to meet his visitor .

For answer the man waved a small brown-paper parcel triumphantly above his head .

" You can give me the glad hand to-night , mister , " he cried . " I'm bringing home the bacon at last . "

" The signals ? "

" Same as I said in my cable . Every last one of them , semaphore , lamp code , Marconi -- a copy , mind you , not the original . That was too dangerous . But it's the real goods , and you can lay to that . " He slapped the German upon the shoulder with a rough familiarity from which the other winced .

" Come in , " he said . " I'm all alone in the house . I was only waiting for this . Of course a copy is better than the original . If an original were missing they would change the whole thing . You think it's all safe about the copy ? "

The Irish-American had entered the study and stretched his long limbs from the armchair . He was a tall , gaunt man of sixty , with clear-cut features and a small goatee beard which gave him a general resemblance to the caricatures of Uncle Sam . A halfsmoked , sodden cigar hung from the corner of his mouth , and as he sat down he struck a match and relit it . " Making ready for a move ? " he remarked as he looked round him . " Say , mister , " he added , as his eyes fell upon the safe from which the curtain was now removed , " you don't tell me you keep your papers in that ? "

" Why not ? "

" Gosh , in a wide-open contraption like that ! And they reckon you to be some spy . Why , a Yankee crook would be into that with a can-opener . If I'd known that any letter of mine was goin' to lie loose in a thing like that I'd have been a mug to write to you at all . "

" It would puzzle any crook to force that safe , " Von Bork answered . " You won't cut that metal with any tool . "

" But the lock ? "

" No , it's a double combination lock . You know what that is ? "

" Search me , " said the American .

" Well , you need a word as well as a set of figures before you can get the lock to work . " He rose and showed a doubleradiating disc round the keyhole . " This outer one is for the letters , the inner one for the figures . "

" Well , well , that's fine . "

" So it's not quite as simple as you thought . It was four years ago that I had it made , and what do you think I chose for the word and figures ? "

" It's beyond me . "

" Well , I chose August for the word , and 1914 for the figures , and here we are . "

The American's face showed his surprise and admiration .

" My , but that was smart ! You had it down to a fine thing . "

" Yes , a few of us even then could have guessed the date . Here it is , and I'm shutting down to-morrow morning . "

" Well , I guess you'll have to fix me up also . I'm not staying in this gol-darned country all on my lonesome . In a week or less , from what I see , John Bull will be on his hind legs and fair ramping . I'd rather watch him from over the water . "

" But you're an American citizen ? "

" Well , so was Jack James an American citizen , but he's doing time in Portland all the same . It cuts no ice with a British copper to tell him you're an American citizen . ' It's British law and order over here , ' says he . By the way , mister , talking of Jack James , it seems to me you don't do much to cover your men . "

" What do you mean ? " Von Bork asked sharply .

" Well , you are their employer , ain't you ? It's up to you to see that they don't fall down . But they do fall down , and when did you ever pick them up ? There's James -- "

" It was James's own fault . You know that yourself . He was too self-willed for the job . "

" James was a bonehead -- I give you that . Then there was Hollis . "

" The man was mad . "

" Well , he went a bit woozy towards the end . It's enough to make a man bughouse when he has to play a part from morning to night with a hundred guys all ready to set the coppers wise to him . But now there is Steiner -- "

Von Bork started violently , and his ruddy face turned a shade paler .

" What about Steiner ? "

" Well , they've got him , that's all . They raided his store last night , and he and his papers are all in Portsmouth jail . You'll go off and he , poor devil , will have to stand the racket , and lucky if he gets off with his life . That's why I want to get over the water as soon as you do . "

Von Bork was a strong , self-contained man , but it was easy to see that the news had shaken him .

" How could they have got on to Steiner ? " he muttered . " That's the worst blow yet . "

" Well , you nearly had a worse one , for I believe they are not far off me . "

" You don't mean that ! "

" Sure thing . My landlady down Fratton way had some inquiries , and when I heard of it I guessed it was time for me to hustle . But what I want to know , mister , is how the coppers know these things ? Steiner is the fifth man you've lost since I signed on with you , and I know the name of the sixth if I don't get a move on . How do you explain it , and ain't you ashamed to see your men go down like this ? "

Von Bork flushed crimson .

" How dare you speak in such a way ! "

" If I didn't dare things , mister , I wouldn't be in your service . But I'll tell you straight what is in my mind . I've heard that with you German politicians when an agent has done his work you are not sorry to see him put away . "

Von Bork sprang to his feet .

" Do you dare to suggest that I have given away my own agents ! "

" I don't stand for that , mister , but there's a stool pigeon or a cross somewhere , and it's up to you to find out where it is . Anyhow I am taking no more chances . It's me for little Holland , and the sooner the better . "

Von Bork had mastered his anger .

" We have been allies too long to quarrel now at the very hour of victory , " he said . " You've done splendid work and taken risks , and I can't forget it . By all means go to Holland , and you can get a boat from Rotterdam to New York . No other line will be safe a week from now . I'll take that book and pack it with the rest . "

The American held the small parcel in his hand , but made no motion to give it up .

" What about the dough ? " he asked .

" The what ? "

" The boodle . The reward . The 500 pounds . The gunner turned damned nasty at the last , and I had to square him with an extra hundred dollars or it would have been nitsky for you and me . ' Nothin' doin' ! ' says he , and he meant it , too , but the last hundred did it . It's cost me two hundred pound from first to last , so it isn't likely I'd give it up without gettin' my wad . "

Von Bork smiled with some bitterness . " You don't seem to have a very high opinion of my honour , " said he , " you want the money before you give up the book . "

" Well , mister , it is a business proposition . "

" All right . Have your way . " He sat down at the table and scribbled a check , which he tore from the book , but he refrained from handing it to his companion . " After all , since we are to be on such terms , Mr. Altamont , " said he , " I don't see why I should trust you any more than you trust me . Do you understand ? " he added , looking back over his shoulder at the American . " There's the check upon the table . I claim the right to examine that parcel before you pick the money up . "

The American passed it over without a word . Von Bork undid a winding of string and two wrappers of paper . Then he sat gazing for a moment in silent amazement at a small blue book which lay before him . Across the cover was printed in golden letters Practical Handbook of Bee Culture . Only for one instant did the master spy glare at this strangely irrelevant inscription . The next he was gripped at the back of his neck by a grasp of iron , and a chloroformed sponge was held in front of his writhing face .

" Another glass , Watson ! " said Mr. Sherlock Holmes as he extended the bottle of Imperial Tokay .

The thickset chauffeur , who had seated himself by the table pushed forward his glass with some eagerness .

" It is a good wine , Holmes . "

" A remarkable wine , Watson . Our friend upon the sofa has assured me that it is from Franz Josef's special cellar at the Schoenbrunn Palace . Might I trouble you to open the window for chloroform vapour does not help the palate . "

The safe was ajar , and Holmes standing in front of it was removing dossier after dossier , swiftly examining each , and then packing it neatly in Von Bork's valise . The German lay upon the sofa sleeping stertorously with a strap round his upper arms and another round his legs . " We need not hurry ourselves , Watson . We are safe from interruption . Would you mind touching the bell ? There is no one in the house except old Martha , who has played her part to admiration . I got her the situation here when first I took the matter up . Ah , Martha , you will be glad to hear that all is well . "

The pleasant old lady had appeared in the doorway . She curtseyed with a smile to Mr. Holmes , but glanced with some apprehension at the figure upon the sofa .

" It is all right , Martha . He has not been hurt at all . "

" I am glad of that , Mr. Holmes . According to his lights he has been a kind master . He wanted me to go with his wife to Germany yesterday , but that would hardly have suited your plans , would it , sir ? "

" No , indeed , Martha . So long as you were here I was easy in my mind . We waited some time for your signal to-night . "

" It was the secretary , sir . "

" I know . His car passed ours . "

" I thought he would never go . I knew that it would not suit your plans , sir , to find him here . "

" No , indeed . Well , it only meant that we waited half an hour or so until I saw your lamp go out and knew that the coast was clear . You can report to me to-morrow in London , Martha , at Claridge's Hotel . "

" Very good , sir . "

" I suppose you have everything ready to leave . "

" Yes , sir . He posted seven letters to-day . I have the addresses as usual . "

" Very good , Martha . I will look into them to-morrow . Good-night . These papers , " he continued as the old lady vanished , " are not of very great importance , for , of course , the information which they represent has been sent off long ago to the German government . These are the originals which could not safely be got out of the country . "

" Then they are of no use . "

" I should not go so far as to say that , Watson . They will at least show our people what is known and what is not . I may say that a good many of these papers have come through me , and I need not add are thoroughly untrustworthy . It would brighten my declining years to see a German cruiser navigating the Solent according to the mine-field plans which I have furnished . But you , Watson " -- he stopped his work and took his old friend by the shoulders -- " I've hardly seen you in the light yet . How have the years used you ? You look the same blithe boy as ever . "

" I feel twenty years younger , Holmes . I have seldom felt so happy as when I got your wire asking me to meet you at Harwich with the car . But you , Holmes -- you have changed very little -- save for that horrible goatee . "

" These are the sacrifices one makes for one's country , Watson , " said Holmes , pulling at his little tuft . " To-morrow it will be but a dreadful memory . With my hair cut and a few other superficial changes I shall no doubt reappear at Claridge's tomorrow as I was before this American stunt -- I beg your pardon , Watson , my well of English seems to be permanently defiled -- before this American job came my way . "

" But you have retired , Holmes . We heard of you as living the life of a hermit among your bees and your books in a small farm upon the South Downs . "

" Exactly , Watson . Here is the fruit of my leisured ease , the magnum opus of my latter years ! " He picked up the volume from the table and read out the whole title , Practical Handbook of Bee Culture , with Some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen . " Alone I did it . Behold the fruit of pensive nights and laborious days when I watched the little working gangs as once I watched the criminal world of London . "

" But how did you get to work again ? "

" Ah , I have often marvelled at it myself . The Foreign Minister alone I could have withstood , but when the Premier also deigned to visit my humble roof ! The fact is , Watson , that this gentleman upon the sofa was a bit too good for our people . He was in a class by himself . Things were going wrong , and no one could understand why they were going wrong . Agents were suspected or even caught , but there was evidence of some strong and secret central force . It was absolutely necessary to expose it . Strong pressure was brought upon me to look into the matter . It has cost me two years , Watson , but they have not been devoid of excitement . When I say that I started my pilgrimage at Chicago , graduated in an Irish secret society at Buffalo , gave serious trouble to the constabulary at Skibbareen , and so eventually caught the eye of a subordinate agent of Von Bork , who recommended me as a likely man , you will realize that the matter was complex . Since then I have been honoured by his confidence , which has not prevented most of his plans going subtly wrong and five of his best agents being in prison . I watched them , Watson , and I picked them as they ripened . Well , sir , I hope that you are none the worse ! "

The last remark was addressed to Von Bork himself , who after much gasping and blinking had lain quietly listening to Holmes's statement . He broke out now into a furious stream of German invective , his face convulsed with passion . Holmes continued his swift investigation of documents while his prisoner cursed and swore .

" Though unmusical , German is the most expressive of all languages , " he observed when Von Bork had stopped from pure exhaustion . " Hullo ! Hullo ! " he added as he looked hard at the corner of a tracing before putting it in the box . " This should put another bird in the cage . I had no idea that the paymaster was such a rascal , though I have long had an eye upon him . Mister Von Bork , you have a great deal to answer for . "

The prisoner had raised himself with some difficulty upon the sofa and was staring with a strange mixture of amazement and hatred at his captor . I shall get level with you , Altamont , " he said , speaking with slow deliberation . " If it takes me all my life I shall get level with you ! "

" The old sweet song , " said Holmes . " How often have I heard it in days gone by . It was a favourite ditty of the late lamented Professor Moriarty . Colonel Sebastian Moran has also been known to warble it . And yet I live and keep bees upon the South Downs . "

" Curse you , you double traitor ! " cried the German , straining against his bonds and glaring murder from his furious eyes .

" No , no , it is not so bad as that , " said Holmes , smiling . " As my speech surely shows you , Mr. Altamont of Chicago had no existence in fact . I used him and he is gone . "

" Then who are you ? "

" It is really immaterial who I am , but since the matter seems to interest you , Mr. Von Bork , I may say that this is not my first acquaintance with the members of your family . I have done a good deal of business in Germany in the past and my name is probably familiar to you . "

" I would wish to know it , " said the Prussian grimly .

" It was I who brought about the separation between Irene Adler and the late King of Bohemia when your cousin Heinrich was the Imperial Envoy . It was I also who saved from murder , by the Nihilist Klopman , Count Von und Zu Grafenstein , who was your mother's elder brother . It was I -- "

Von Bork sat up in amazement .

" There is only one man , " he cried .

" Exactly , " said Holmes .

Von Bork groaned and sank back on the sofa . " And most of that information came through you , " he cried . " What is it worth ? What have I done ? It is my ruin forever ! "

" It is certainly a little untrustworthy , " said Holmes . " It will require some checking and you have little time to check it . Your admiral may find the new guns rather larger than he expects , and the cruisers perhaps a trifle faster . "

Von Bork clutched at his own throat in despair .

" There are a good many other points of detail which will , no doubt , come to light in good time . But you have one quality which is very rare in a German , Mr. Von Bork : you are a sportsman and you will bear me no ill-will when you realize that you , who have outwitted so many other people , have at last been outwitted yourself . After all , you have done your best for your country , and I have done my best for mine , and what could be more natural ? Besides , " he added , not unkindly , as he laid his hand upon the shoulder of the prostrate man , " it is better than to fall before some more ignoble foe . These papers are now ready . Watson . If you will help me with our prisoner , I think that we may get started for London at once . "

It was no easy task to move Von Bork , for he was a strong and a desperate man . Finally , holding either arm , the two friends walked him very slowly down the garden walk which he had trod with such proud confidence when he received the congratulations of the famous diplomatist only a few hours before . After a short , final struggle he was hoisted , still bound hand and foot , into the spare seat of the little car . His precious valise was wedged in beside him .

" I trust that you are as comfortable as circumstances permit , " said Holmes when the final arrangements were made . " Should I be guilty of a liberty if I lit a cigar and placed it between your lips ? "

But all amenities were wasted upon the angry German .

" I suppose you realize , Mr. Sherlock Holmes , " said he , " that if your government bears you out in this treatment it becomes an act of war . "

" What about your government and all this treatment ? " said Holmes , tapping the valise .

" You are a private individual . You have no warrant for my arrest . The whole proceeding is absolutely illegal and outrageous . "

" Absolutely , " said Holmes .

" Kidnapping a German subject . "

" And stealing his private papers . "

" Well , you realize your position , you and your accomplice here . If I were to shout for help as we pass through the village -- "

" My dear sir , if you did anything so foolish you would probably enlarge the two limited titles of our village inns by giving us ' The Dangling Prussian ' as a signpost . The Englishman is a patient creature , but at present his temper is a little inflamed , and it would be as well not to try him too far . No , Mr. Von Bork , you will go with us in a quiet , sensible fashion to Scotland Yard , whence you can send for your friend , Baron Von Herling , and see if even now you may not fill that place which he has reserved for you in the ambassadorial suite . As to you , Watson , you are joining us with your old service , as I understand , so London won't be out of your way . Stand with me here upon the terrace , for it may be the last quiet talk that we shall ever have . "

The two friends chatted in intimate converse for a few minutes , recalling once again the days of the past , while their prisoner vainly wriggled to undo the bonds that held him . As they turned to the car Holmes pointed back to the moonlit sea and shook a thoughtful head .

" There's an east wind coming , Watson . "

" I think not , Holmes . It is very warm . "

" Good old Watson ! You are the one fixed point in a changing age . There's an east wind coming all the same , such a wind as never blew on England yet . It will be cold and bitter , Watson and a good many of us may wither before its blast . But it's God's own wind none the less , and a cleaner , better , stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared . Start her up , Watson , for it's time that we were on our way . I have a check for five hundred pounds which should be cashed early , for the drawer is quite capable of stopping it if he can . "

In the third week of November , in the year 1895 , a dense yellow fog settled down upon London . From the Monday to the Thursday I doubt whether it was ever possible from our windows in Baker Street to see the loom of the opposite houses . The first day Holmes had spent in cross-indexing his huge book of references . The second and third had been patiently occupied upon a subject which he had recently made his hobby -- the music of the Middle Ages . But when , for the fourth time , after pushing back our chairs from breakfast we saw the greasy , heavy brown swirl still drifting past us and condensing in oily drops upon the window-panes , my comrade's impatient and active nature could endure this drab existence no longer . He paced restlessly about our sitting-room in a fever of suppressed energy , biting his nails , tapping the furniture , and chafing against inaction .

" Nothing of interest in the paper , Watson ? " he said .

I was aware that by anything of interest , Holmes meant anything of criminal interest . There was the news of a revolution , of a possible war , and of an impending change of government ; but these did not come within the horizon of my companion . I could see nothing recorded in the shape of crime which was not commonplace and futile . Holmes groaned and resumed his restless meanderings .

" The London criminal is certainly a dull fellow , " said he in the querulous voice of the sportsman whose game has failed him . " Look out of this window , Watson . See how the figures loom up , are dimly seen , and then blend once more into the cloud-bank . The thief or the murderer could roam London on such a day as the tiger does the jungle , unseen until he pounces , and then evident only to his victim . "

" There have , " said I , " been numerous petty thefts . "

Holmes snorted his contempt .

" This great and sombre stage is set for something more worthy than that , " said he . " It is fortunate for this community that I am not a criminal . "

" It is , indeed ! " said I heartily .

" Suppose that I were Brooks or Woodhouse , or any of the fifty men who have good reason for taking my life , how long could I survive against my own pursuit ? A summons , a bogus appointment , and all would be over . It is well they don't have days of fog in the Latin countries -- the countries of assassination . By Jove ! here comes something at last to break our dead monotony . "

It was the maid with a telegram . Holmes tore it open and burst out laughing .

" Well , well ! What next ? " said he . " Brother Mycroft is coming round . "

" Why not ? " I asked .

" Why not ? It is as if you met a tram-car coming down a country lane . Mycroft has his rails and he runs on them . His Pall Mall lodgings , the Diogenes Club , Whitehall -- that is his cycle . Once , and only once , he has been here . What upheaval can possibly have derailed him ? "

" Does he not explain ? "

Holmes handed me his brother's telegram .

Must see you over Cadogan West . Coming at once . MYCROFT .

" Cadogan West ? I have heard the name . "

" It recalls nothing to my mind . But that Mycroft should break out in this erratic fashion ! A planet might as well leave its orbit . By the way , do you know what Mycroft is ? "

I had some vague recollection of an explanation at the time of the Adventure of the Greek Interpreter .

" You told me that he had some small office under the British government . "

Holmes chuckled .

" I did not know you quite so well in those days . One has to be discreet when one talks of high matters of state . You are right in thinking that he is under the British government . You would also be right in a sense if you said that occasionally he is the British government . "

" My dear Holmes ! "

" I thought I might surprise you . Mycroft draws four hundred and fifty pounds a year , remains a subordinate , has no ambitions of any kind , will receive neither honour nor title , but remains the most indispensable man in the country . "

" But how ? "

" Well , his position is unique . He has made it for himself . There has never been anything like it before , nor will be again . He has the tidiest and most orderly brain , with the greatest capacity for storing facts , of any man living . The same great powers which I have turned to the detection of crime he has used for this particular business . The conclusions of every department are passed to him , and he is the central exchange , the clearing-house , which makes out the balance . All other men are specialists , but his specialism is omniscience . We will suppose that a minister needs information as to a point which involves the Navy , India , Canada and the bimetallic question ; he could get his separate advices from various departments upon each , but only Mycroft can focus them all , and say offhand how each factor would affect the other . They began by using him as a short-cut , a convenience ; now he has made himself an essential . In that great brain of his everything is pigeon-holed and can be handed out in an instant . Again and again his word has decided the national policy . He lives in it . He thinks of nothing else save when , as an intellectual exercise , he unbends if I call upon him and ask him to advise me on one of my little problems . But Jupiter is descending to-day . What on earth can it mean ? Who is Cadogan West , and what is he to Mycroft ? "

" I have it , " I cried , and plunged among the litter of papers upon the sofa . " Yes , yes , here he is , sure enough ! Cadogan West was the young man who was found dead on the Underground on Tuesday morning . "

Holmes sat up at attention , his pipe halfway to his lips .

" This must be serious , Watson . A death which has caused my brother to alter his habits can be no ordinary one . What in the world can he have to do with it ? The case was featureless as I remember it . The young man had apparently fallen out of the train and killed himself . He had not been robbed , and there was no particular reason to suspect violence . Is that not so ? "

" There has been an inquest , " said I , " and a good many fresh facts have come out . Looked at more closely , I should certainly say that it was a curious case . "

" Judging by its effect upon my brother , I should think it must be a most extraordinary one . " He snuggled down in his armchair . " Now , Watson , let us have the facts . "

" The man's name was Arthur Cadogan West . He was twenty-seven years of age , unmarried , and a clerk at Woolwich Arsenal . "

" Government employ . Behold the link with Brother Mycroft ! "

" He left Woolwich suddenly on Monday night . Was last seen by his fiancee , Miss Violet Westbury , whom he left abruptly in the fog about 7:30 that evening . There was no quarrel between them and she can give no motive for his action . The next thing heard of him was when his dead body was discovered by a plate-layer named Mason , just outside Aldgate Station on the Underground system in London . "

" When ? "

" The body was found at six on the Tuesday morning . It was lying wide of the metals upon the left hand of the track as one goes eastward , at a point close to the station , where the line emerges from the tunnel in which it runs . The head was badly crushed -- an injury which might well have been caused by a fall from the train . The body could only have come on the line in that way . Had it been carried down from any neighbouring street , it must have passed the station barriers , where a collector is always standing . This point seems absolutely certain . "

" Very good . The case is definite enough . The man , dead or alive , either fell or was precipitated from a train . So much is clear to me . Continue . "

" The trains which traverse the lines of rail beside which the body was found are those which run from west to east , some being purely Metropolitan , and some from Willesden and outlying junctions . It can be stated for certain that this young man when he met his death , was travelling in this direction at some late hour of the night , but at what point he entered the train it is impossible to state . "

" His ticket , of course , would show that . "

" There was no ticket in his pockets . "

" No ticket ! Dear me , Watson , this is really very singular . According to my experience it is not possible to reach the platform of a Metropolitan train without exhibiting one's ticket . Presumably , then , the young man had one . Was it taken from him in order to conceal the station from which he came ? It is possible . Or did he drop it in the carriage ? That also is possible . But the point is of curious interest . I understand that there was no sign of robbery ? "

" Apparently not . There is a list here of his possessions . His purse contained two pounds fifteen . He had also a check-book on the Woolwich branch of the Capital and Counties Bank . Through this his identity was established . There were also two dress-circle tickets for the Woolwich Theatre , dated for that very evening . Also a small packet of technical papers . "

Holmes gave an exclamation of satisfaction .

" There we have it at last , Watson ! British government -- Woolwich . Arsenal -- technical papers -- Brother Mycroft , the chain is complete . But here he comes , if I am not mistaken , to speak for himself . "

A moment later the tall and portly form of Mycroft Holmes was ushered into the room . Heavily built and massive , there was a suggestion of uncouth physical inertia in the figure , but above this unwieldy frame there was perched a head so masterful in its brow , so alert in its steel-gray , deep-set eyes , so firm in its lips , and so subtle in its play of expression , that after the first glance one forgot the gross body and remembered only the dominant mind .

At his heels came our old friend Lestrade , of Scotland Yard -- thin and austere . The gravity of both their faces foretold some weighty quest . The detective shook hands without a word . Mycroft Holmes struggled out of his overcoat and subsided into an armchair .

" A most annoying business , Sherlock , " said he . " I extremely dislike altering my habits , but the powers that be would take no denial . In the present state of Siam it is most awkward that I should be away from the office . But it is a real crisis . I have never seen the Prime Minister so upset . As to the Admiralty -- it is buzzing like an overturned bee-hive . Have you read up the case ? "

" We have just done so . What were the technical papers ? "

" Ah , there's the point ! Fortunately , it has not come out . The press would be furious if it did . The papers which this wretched youth had in his pocket were the plans of the Bruce-Partington submarine . "

Mycroft Holmes spoke with a solemnity which showed his sense of the importance of the subject . His brother and I sat expectant .

" Surely you have heard of it ? I thought everyone had heard of it . "

" Only as a name . "

" Its importance can hardly be exaggerated . It has been the most jealously guarded of all government secrets . You may take it from me that naval warfare becomes impossible within the radius of a Bruce-Partington's operation . Two years ago a very large sum was smuggled through the Estimates and was expended in acquiring a monopoly of the invention . Every effort has been made to keep the secret . The plans , which are exceedingly intricate , comprising some thirty separate patents , each essential to the working of the whole , are kept in an elaborate safe in a confidential office adjoining the arsenal , with burglarproof doors and windows . Under no conceivable circumstances were the plans to be taken from the office . If the chief constructor of the Navy desired to consult them , even he was forced to go to the Woolwich office for the purpose . And yet here we find them in the pocket of a dead junior clerk in the heart of London . From an official point of view it's simply awful . "

" But you have recovered them ? "

" No , Sherlock , no ! That's the pinch . We have not . Ten papers were taken from Woolwich . There were seven in the pocket of Cadogan West . The three most essential are gone -- stolen , vanished . You must drop everything , Sherlock . Never mind your usual petty puzzles of the police-court . It's a vital international problem that you have to solve . Why did Cadogan West take the papers , where are the missing ones , how did he die , how came his body where it was found , how can the evil be set right ? Find an answer to all these questions , and you will have done good service for your country . "

" Why do you not solve it yourself , Mycroft ? You can see as far as I . "

" Possibly , Sherlock . But it is a question of getting details . Give me your details , and from an armchair I will return you an excellent expert opinion . But to run here and run there , to cross-question railway guards , and lie on my face with a lens to my eye -- it is not my metier . No , you are the one man who can clear the matter up . If you have a fancy to see your name in the next honours list -- "

My friend smiled and shook his head .

" I play the game for the game's own sake , " said he . " But the problem certainly presents some points of interest , and I shall be very pleased to look into it . Some more facts , please . "

" I have jotted down the more essential ones upon this sheet of paper , together with a few addresses which you will find of service . The actual official guardian of the papers is the famous government expert , Sir James Walter , whose decorations and sub-titles fill two lines of a book of reference . He has grown gray in the service , is a gentleman , a favoured guest in the most exalted houses , and , above all , a man whose patriotism is beyond suspicion . He is one of two who have a key of the safe . I may add that the papers were undoubtedly in the office during working hours on Monday , and that Sir James left for London about three o'clock taking his key with him . He was at the house of Admiral Sinclair at Barclay Square during the whole of the evening when this incident occurred . "

" Has the fact been verified ? "

" Yes ; his brother , Colonel Valentine Walter , has testified to his departure from Woolwich , and Admiral Sinclair to his arrival in London ; so Sir James is no longer a direct factor in the problem . "

" Who was the other man with a key ? "

" The senior clerk and draughtsman , Mr. Sidney Johnson . He is a man of forty , married , with five children . He is a silent , morose man , but he has , on the whole , an excellent record in the public service . He is unpopular with his colleagues , but a hard worker . According to his own account , corroborated only by the word of his wife , he was at home the whole of Monday evening after office hours , and his key has never left the watch-chain upon which it hangs . "

" Tell us about Cadogan West . "

" He has been ten years in the service and has done good work . He has the reputation of being hot-headed and impetuous , but a straight , honest man . We have nothing against him . He was next to Sidney Johnson in the office . His duties brought him into daily , personal contact with the plans . No one else had the handling of them . "

" Who locked the plans up that night ? "

" Mr. Sidney Johnson , the senior clerk . "

" Well , it is surely perfectly clear who took them away . They are actually found upon the person of this junior clerk , Cadogan West . That seems final , does it not ? "

" It does , Sherlock , and yet it leaves so much unexplained . In the first place , why did he take them ? "

" I presume they were of value ? "

" He could have got several thousands for them very easily . "

" Can you suggest any possible motive for taking the papers to London except to sell them ? "

" No , I cannot . "

" Then we must take that as our working hypothesis . Young West took the papers . Now this could only be done by having a false key -- "

" Several false keys . He had to open the building and the room . "

" He had , then , several false keys . He took the papers to London to sell the secret , intending , no doubt , to have the plans themselves back in the safe next morning before they were missed . While in London on this treasonable mission he met his end . "

" How ? "

" We will suppose that he was travelling back to Woolwich when he was killed and thrown out of the compartment . "

" Aldgate , where the body was found , is considerably past the station for London Bridge , which would be his route to Woolwich . "

" Many circumstances could be imagined under which he would pass London Bridge . There was someone in the carriage , for example , with whom he was having an absorbing interview . This interview led to a violent scene in which he lost his life . Possibly he tried to leave the carriage , fell out on the line , and so met his end . The other closed the door . There was a thick fog , and nothing could be seen . "

" No better explanation can be given with our present knowledge ; and yet consider , Sherlock , how much you leave untouched . We will suppose , for argument's sake , that young Cadogan West had determined to convey these papers to London . He would naturally have made an appointment with the foreign agent and kept his evening clear . Instead of that he took two tickets for the theatre , escorted his fiancee halfway there , and then suddenly disappeared . "

" A blind , " said Lestrade , who had sat listening with some impatience to the conversation .

" A very singular one . That is objection No. 1 . Objection No. 2 : We will suppose that he reaches London and sees the foreign agent . He must bring back the papers before morning or the loss will be discovered . He took away ten . Only seven were in his pocket . What had become of the other three ? He certainly would not leave them of his own free will . Then , again , where is the price of his treason ? One would have expected to find a large sum of money in his pocket . "

" It seems to me perfectly clear , " said Lestrade . " I have no doubt at all as to what occurred . He took the papers to sell them . He saw the agent . They could not agree as to price . He started home again , but the agent went with him . In the train the agent murdered him , took the more essential papers , and threw his body from the carriage . That would account for everything , would it not ? "

" Why had he no ticket ? "

" The ticket would have shown which station was nearest the agent's house . Therefore he took it from the murdered man's pocket . "

" Good , Lestrade , very good , " said Holmes . " Your theory holds together . But if this is true , then the case is at an end . On the one hand , the traitor is dead . On the other , the plans of the Bruce-Partington submarine are presumably already on the Continent . What is there for us to do ? "

" To act , Sherlock -- to act ! " cried Mycroft , springing to his feet . " All my instincts are against this explanation . Use your powers ! Go to the scene of the crime ! See the people concerned ! Leave no stone unturned ! In all your career you have never had so great a chance of serving your country . "

" Well , well ! " said Holmes , shrugging his shoulders . " Come , Watson ! And you , Lestrade , could you favour us with your company for an hour or two ? We will begin our investigation by a visit to Aldgate Station . Good-bye , Mycroft . I shall let you have a report before evening , but I warn you in advance that you have little to expect . "

An hour later Holmes , Lestrade and I stood upon the Underground railroad at the point where it emerges from the tunnel immediately before Aldgate Station . A courteous red-faced old gentleman represented the railway company .

" This is where the young man's body lay , " said he , indicating a spot about three feet from the metals . " It could not have fallen from above , for these , as you see , are all blank walls . Therefore , it could only have come from a train , and that train , so far as we can trace it , must have passed about midnight on Monday . "

" Have the carriages been examined for any sign of violence ? "

" There are no such signs , and no ticket has been found . "

" No record of a door being found open ? "

" None . "

" We have had some fresh evidence this morning , " said Lestrade . " A passenger who passed Aldgate in an ordinary Metropolitan train about 11:40 on Monday night declares that he heard a heavy thud , as of a body striking the line , just before the train reached the station . There was dense fog , however , and nothing could be seen . He made no report of it at the time . Why whatever is the matter with Mr. Holmes ? "

My friend was standing with an expression of strained intensity upon his face , staring at the railway metals where they curved out of the tunnel . Aldgate is a junction , and there was a network of points . On these his eager , questioning eyes were fixed , and I saw on his keen , alert face that tightening of the lips , that quiver of the nostrils , and concentration of the heavy tufted brows which I knew so well .

" Points , " he muttered , " the points . "

" What of it ? What do you mean ? "

" I suppose there are no great number of points on a system such as this ? "

" No ; there are very few . "

" And a curve , too . Points , and a curve . By Jove ! if it were only so . "

" What is it , Mr. Holmes ? Have you a clue ? "

" An idea -- an indication , no more . But the case certainly grows in interest . Unique , perfectly unique , and yet why not ? I do not see any indications of bleeding on the line . "

" There were hardly any . "

" But I understand that there was a considerable wound . "

" The bone was crushed , but there was no great external injury . "

" And yet one would have expected some bleeding . Would it be possible for me to inspect the train which contained the passenger who heard the thud of a fall in the fog ? "

" I fear not , Mr. Holmes . The train has been broken up before now , and the carriages redistributed . "

" I can assure you , Mr. Holmes , " said Lestrade , " that every carriage has been carefully examined . I saw to it myself . "

It was one of my friend's most obvious weaknesses that he was impatient with less alert intelligences than his own .

" Very likely , " said he , turning away . " As it happens , it was not the carriages which I desired to examine . Watson , we have done all we can here . We need not trouble you any further , Mr. Lestrade . I think our investigations must now carry us to Woolwich . "

At London Bridge , Holmes wrote a telegram to his brother , which he handed to me before dispatching it . It ran thus :

See some light in the darkness , but it may possibly flicker out . Meanwhile , please send by messenger , to await return at Baker Street , a complete list of all foreign spies or international agents known to be in England , with full address . SHERLOCK .

" That should be helpful , Watson , " he remarked as we took our seats in the Woolwich train . " We certainly owe Brother Mycroft a debt for having introduced us to what promises to be a really very remarkable case . "

His eager face still wore that expression of intense and high-strung energy , which showed me that some novel and suggestive circumstance had opened up a stimulating line of thought . See the foxhound with hanging ears and drooping tail as it lolls about the kennels , and compare it with the same hound as , with gleaming eyes and straining muscles , it runs upon a breast-high scent -- such was the change in Holmes since the morning . He was a different man from the limp and lounging figure in the mouse-coloured dressing-gown who had prowled so restlessly only a few hours before round the fog-girt room .

" There is material here . There is scope , " said he . " I am dull indeed not to have understood its possibilities . "

" Even now they are dark to me . "

" The end is dark to me also , but I have hold of one idea which may lead us far . The man met his death elsewhere , and his body was on the roof of a carriage . "

" On the roof ! "

" Remarkable , is it not ? But consider the facts . Is it a coincidence that it is found at the very point where the train pitches and sways as it comes round on the points ? Is not that the place where an object upon the roof might be expected to fall off ? The points would affect no object inside the train . Either the body fell from the roof , or a very curious coincidence has occurred . But now consider the question of the blood . Of course , there was no bleeding on the line if the body had bled elsewhere . Each fact is suggestive in itself . Together they have a cumulative force . "

" And the ticket , too ! " I cried .

" Exactly . We could not explain the absence of a ticket . This would explain it . Everything fits together . "

" But suppose it were so , we are still as far as ever from unravelling the mystery of his death . Indeed , it becomes not simpler but stranger . "

" Perhaps , " said Holmes thoughtfully , " perhaps . " He relapsed into a silent reverie , which lasted until the slow train drew up at last in Woolwich Station . There he called a cab and drew Mycroft's paper from his pocket .

" We have quite a little round of afternoon calls to make , " said he . " I think that Sir James Walter claims our first attention . "

The house of the famous official was a fine villa with green lawns , stretching down to the Thames . As we reached it the fog was lifting , and a thin , watery sunshine was breaking through . A butler answered our ring .

" Sir James , sir ! " said he with solemn face . " Sir James died this morning . "

" Good heavens ! " cried Holmes in amazement . " How did he die ? "

" Perhaps you would care to step in , sir , and see his brother , Colonel Valentine ? "

" Yes , we had best do so . "

We were ushered into a dim-lit drawing-room , where an instant later we were joined by a very tall , handsome , light-bearded man of fifty , the younger brother of the dead scientist . His wild eyes , stained cheeks , and unkempt hair all spoke of the sudden blow which had fallen upon the household . He was hardly articulate as he spoke of it .

" It was this horrible scandal , " said he . " My brother , Sir James , was a man of very sensitive honour , and he could not survive such an affair . It broke his heart . He was always so proud of the efficiency of his department , and this was a crushing blow . "

" We had hoped that he might have given us some indications which would have helped us to clear the matter up . "

" I assure you that it was all a mystery to him as it is to you and to all of us . He had already put all his knowledge at the disposal of the police . Naturally he had no doubt that Cadogan West was guilty . But all the rest was inconceivable . "

" You cannot throw any new light upon the affair ? "

" I know nothing myself save what I have read or heard . I have no desire to be discourteous , but you can understand , Mr. Holmes , that we are much disturbed at present , and I must ask you to hasten this interview to an end . "

" This is indeed an unexpected development , " said my friend when we had regained the cab . " I wonder if the death was natural , or whether the poor old fellow killed himself ! If the latter , may it be taken as some sign of self-reproach for duty neglected ? We must leave that question to the future . Now we shall turn to the Cadogan Wests . "

A small but well-kept house in the outskirts of the town sheltered the bereaved mother . The old lady was too dazed with grief to be of any use to us , but at her side was a white-faced young lady , who introduced herself as Miss Violet Westbury , the fiancee of the dead man , and the last to see him upon that fatal night .

" I cannot explain it , Mr. Holmes , " she said . " I have not shut an eye since the tragedy , thinking , thinking , thinking , night and day , what the true meaning of it can be . Arthur was the most single-minded , chivalrous , patriotic man upon earth . He would have cut his right hand off before he would sell a State secret confided to his keeping . It is absurd , impossible , preposterous to anyone who knew him . "

" But the facts , Miss Westbury ? "

" Yes , yes I admit I cannot explain them . "

" Was he in any want of money ? "

" No ; his needs were very simple and his salary ample . He had saved a few hundreds , and we were to marry at the New Year . "

" No signs of any mental excitement ? Come , Miss Westbury , be absolutely frank with us . "

The quick eye of my companion had noted some change in her manner . She coloured and hesitated .

" Yes , " she said at last , " I had a feeling that there was something on his mind . "

" For long ? "

" Only for the last week or so . He was thoughtful and worried . Once I pressed him about it . He admitted that there was something , and that it was concerned with his official life . ' It is too serious for me to speak about , even to you , ' said he . I could get nothing more . "

Holmes looked grave .

" Go on , Miss Westbury . Even if it seems to tell against him , go on . We cannot say what it may lead to . "

" Indeed , I have nothing more to tell . Once or twice it seemed to me that he was on the point of telling me something . He spoke one evening of the importance of the secret , and I have some recollection that he said that no doubt foreign spies would pay a great deal to have it . "

My friend's face grew graver still .

" Anything else ? "

" He said that we were slack about such matters -- that it would be easy for a traitor to get the plans . "

" Was it only recently that he made such remarks ? "

" Yes , quite recently . "

" Now tell us of that last evening . "

" We were to go to the theatre . The fog was so thick that a cab was useless . We walked , and our way took us close to the office . Suddenly he darted away into the fog . "

" Without a word ? "

" He gave an exclamation ; that was all . I waited but he never returned . Then I walked home . Next morning , after the office opened , they came to inquire . About twelve o'clock we heard the terrible news . Oh , Mr. Holmes , if you could only , only save his honour ! It was so much to him . "

Holmes shook his head sadly .

" Come , Watson , " said he , " our ways lie elsewhere . Our next station must be the office from which the papers were taken .

" It was black enough before against this young man , but our inquiries make it blacker , " he remarked as the cab lumbered off . " His coming marriage gives a motive for the crime . He naturally wanted money . The idea was in his head , since he spoke about it . He nearly made the girl an accomplice in the treason by telling her his plans . It is all very bad . "

" But surely , Holmes , character goes for something ? Then , again , why should he leave the girl in the street and dart away to commit a felony ? "

" Exactly ! There are certainly objections . But it is a formidable case which they have to meet . "

Mr. Sidney Johnson , the senior clerk , met us at the office and received us with that respect which my companion's card always commanded . He was a thin , gruff , bespectacled man of middle age , his cheeks haggard , and his hands twitching from the nervous strain to which he had been subjected .

" It is bad , Mr. Holmes , very bad ! Have you heard of the death of the chief ? "

" We have just come from his house . "

" The place is disorganized . The chief dead , Cadogan West dead , our papers stolen . And yet , when we closed our door on Monday evening , we were as efficient an office as any in the government service . Good God , it's dreadful to think of ! That West , of all men , should have done such a thing ! "

" You are sure of his guilt , then ? "

" I can see no other way out of it . And yet I would have trusted him as I trust myself . "

" At what hour was the office closed on Monday ? "

" At five . "

" Did you close it ? "

" I am always the last man out . "

" Where were the plans ? "

" In that safe . I put them there myself . "

" Is there no watchman to the building ? "

" There is , but he has other departments to look after as well . He is an old soldier and a most trustworthy man . He saw nothing that evening . Of course the fog was very thick . "

" Suppose that Cadogan West wished to make his way into the building after hours ; he would need three keys , would he not , before he could reach the papers ? "

" Yes , he would . The key of the outer door , the key of the office , and the key of the safe . "

" Only Sir James Walter and you had those keys ? "

" I had no keys of the doors -- only of the safe . "

" Was Sir James a man who was orderly in his habits ? "

" Yes , I think he was . I know that so far as those three keys are concerned he kept them on the same ring . I have often seen them there . "

" And that ring went with him to London ? "

" He said so . "

" And your key never left your possession ? "

" Never . "

" Then West , if he is the culprit , must have had a duplicate . And yet none was found upon his body . One other point : if a clerk in this office desired to sell the plans , would it not be simpler to copy the plans for himself than to take the originals , as was actually done ? "

" It would take considerable technical knowledge to copy the plans in an effective way . "

" But I suppose either Sir James , or you , or West had that technical knowledge ? "

" No doubt we had , but I beg you won't try to drag me into the matter , Mr. Holmes . What is the use of our speculating in this way when the original plans were actually found on West ? "

" Well , it is certainly singular that he should run the risk of taking originals if he could safely have taken copies , which would have equally served his turn . "

" Singular , no doubt -- and yet he did so . "

" Every inquiry in this case reveals something inexplicable . Now there are three papers still missing . They are , as I understand , the vital ones . "

" Yes , that is so . "

" Do you mean to say that anyone holding these three papers and without the seven others , could construct a Bruce-Partington submarine ? "

" I reported to that effect to the Admiralty . But to-day I have been over the drawings again , and I am not so sure of it . The double valves with the automatic self-adjusting slots are drawn in one of the papers which have been returned . Until the foreigners had invented that for themselves they could not make the boat . Of course they might soon get over the difficulty . "

" But the three missing drawings are the most important ? "

" Undoubtedly . "

" I think , with your permission , I will now take a stroll round me premises . I do not recall any other question which I desired to ask . "

He examined the lock of the safe , the door of the room , and finally the iron shutters of the window . It was only when we were on the lawn outside that his interest was strongly excited . There was a laurel bush outside the window , and several of the branches bore signs of having been twisted or snapped . He examined them carefully with his lens , and then some dim and vague marks upon the earth beneath . Finally he asked the chief clerk to close the iron shutters , and he pointed out to me that they hardly met in the centre , and that it would be possible for anyone outside to see what was going on within the room .

" The indications are ruined by the three days' delay . They may mean something or nothing . Well , Watson , I do not think that Woolwich can help us further . It is a small crop which we have gathered . Let us see if we can do better in London . "

Yet we added one more sheaf to our harvest before we left Woolwich Station . The clerk in the ticket office was able to say with confidence that he saw Cadogan West -- whom he knew well by sight -- upon the Monday night , and that he went to London by the 8:15 to London Bridge . He was alone and took a single third-class ticket . The clerk was struck at the time by his excited and nervous manner . So shaky was he that he could hardly pick up his change , and the clerk had helped him with it . A reference to the timetable showed that the 8:15 was the first train which it was possible for West to take after he had left the lady about 7:30 .

" Let us reconstruct , Watson , " said Holmes after half an hour of silence . " I am not aware that in all our joint researches we have ever had a case which was more difficult to get at . Every fresh advance which we make only reveals a fresh ridge beyond . And yet we have surely made some appreciable progress .

" The effect of our inquiries at Woolwich has in the main been against young Cadogan West ; but the indications at the window would lend themselves to a more favourable hypothesis . Let us suppose , for example , that he had been approached by some foreign agent . It might have been done under such pledges as would have prevented him from speaking of it , and yet would have affected his thoughts in the direction indicated by his remarks to his fiancee . Very good . We will now suppose that as he went to the theatre with the young lady he suddenly , in the fog , caught a glimpse of this same agent going in the direction of the office . He was an impetuous man , quick in his decisions . Everything gave way to his duty . He followed the man , reached the window , saw the abstraction of the documents , and pursued the thief . In this way we get over the objection that no one would take originals when he could make copies . This outsider had to take originals . So far it holds together . "

" What is the next step ? "

" Then we come into difficulties . One would imagine that under such circumstances the first act of young Cadogan West would be to seize the villain and raise the alarm . Why did he not do so ? Could it have been an official superior who took the papers ? That would explain West's conduct . Or could the chief have given West the slip in the fog , and West started at once to London to head him off from his own rooms , presuming that he knew where the rooms were ? The call must have been very pressing , since he left his girl standing in the fog and made no effort to communicate with her . Our scent runs cold here , and there is a vast gap between either hypothesis and the laying of West's body , with seven papers in his pocket , on the roof of a Metropolitan train . My instinct now is to work from the other end . If Mycroft has given us the list of addresses we may be able to pick our man and follow two tracks instead of one . "

Surely enough , a note awaited us at Baker Street . A government messenger had brought it post-haste . Holmes glanced at it and threw it over to me .

There are numerous small fry , but few who would handle so big an affair . The only men worth considering are Adolph Meyer , of 13 Great George Street , Westminster ; Louis La Rothiere , of Campden Mansions , Notting Hill ; and Hugo Oberstein , 13 Caulfield Gardens , Kensington . The latter was known to be in town on Monday and is now reported as having left . Glad to hear you have seen some light . The Cabinet awaits your final report with the utmost anxiety . Urgent representations have arrived from the very highest quarter . The whole force of the State is at your back if you should need it . MYCROFT .

" I'm afraid , " said Holmes , smiling , " that all the queen's horses and all the queen's men cannot avail in this matter . " He had spread out his big map of London and leaned eagerly over it . " Well , well , " said he presently with an exclamation of satisfaction , " things are turning a little in our direction at last . Why Watson , I do honestly believe that we are going to pull it off , after all . " He slapped me on the shoulder with a sudden burst of hilarity . " I am going out now . It is only a reconnaissance . I will do nothing serious without my trusted comrade and biographer at my elbow . Do you stay here , and the odds are that you will see me again in an hour or two . If time hangs heavy get foolscap and a pen , and begin your narrative of how we saved the State . "

I felt some reflection of his elation in my own mind , for I knew well that he would not depart so far from his usual austerity of demeanour unless there was good cause for exultation . All the long November evening I waited , filled with impatience for his return . At last , shortly after nine o'clock , there arrived a messenger with a note :

Am dining at Goldini's Restaurant , Gloucester Road , Kensington . Please come at once and join me there . Bring with you a jemmy , a dark lantern , a chisel , and a revolver . S. H .

It was a nice equipment for a respectable citizen to carry through the dim , fog-draped streets . I stowed them all discreetly away in my overcoat and drove straight to the address given . There sat my friend at a little round table near the door of the garish Italian restaurant .

" Have you had something to eat ? Then join me in a coffee and curacao . Try one of the proprietor's cigars . They are less poisonous than one would expect . Have you the tools ? "

" They are here , in my overcoat . "

" Excellent . Let me give you a short sketch of what I have done , with some indication of what we are about to do . Now it must be evident to you , Watson , that this young man's body was placed on the roof of the train . That was clear from the instant that I determined the fact that it was from the roof , and not from a carriage , that he had fallen . "

" Could it not have been dropped from a bridge ? "

" I should say it was impossible . If you examine the roofs you will find that they are slightly rounded , and there is no railing round them . Therefore , we can say for certain that young Cadogan West was placed on it . "

" How could he be placed there ? "

" That was the question which we had to answer . There is only one possible way . You are aware that the Underground runs clear of tunnels at some points in the West End . I had a vague memory that as I have travelled by it I have occasionally seen windows just above my head . Now , suppose that a train halted under such a window , would there be any difficulty in laying a body upon the roof ? "

" It seems most improbable . "

" We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail , whatever remains , however improbable , must be the truth . Here all other contingencies have failed . When I found that the leading international agent , who had just left London , lived in a row of houses which abutted upon the Underground , I was so pleased that you were a little astonished at my sudden frivolity . "

" Oh , that was it , was it ? "

" Yes , that was it . Mr. Hugo Oberstein , of 13 Caulfield Gardens , had become my objective . I began my operations at Gloucester Road Station , where a very helpful official walked with me along the track and allowed me to satisfy myself not only that the back-stair windows of Caulfield Gardens open on the line but the even more essential fact that , owing to the intersection of one of the larger railways , the Underground trains are frequently held motionless for some minutes at that very spot . "

" Splendid , Holmes ! You have got it ! "

" So far -- so far , Watson . We advance , but the goal is afar . Well , having seen the back of Caulfield Gardens , I visited the front and satisfied myself that the bird was indeed flown . It is a considerable house , unfurnished , so far as I could judge , in the upper rooms . Oberstein lived there with a single valet , who was probably a confederate entirely in his confidence . We must bear in mind that Oberstein has gone to the Continent to dispose of his booty , but not with any idea of flight ; for he had no reason to fear a warrant , and the idea of an amateur domiciliary visit would certainly never occur to him . Yet that is precisely what we are about to make . "

" Could we not get a warrant and legalize it ? "

" Hardly on the evidence . "

" What can we hope to do ? "

" We cannot tell what correspondence may be there . "

" I don't like it , Holmes . "

" My dear fellow , you shall keep watch in the street . I'll do the criminal part . It's not a time to stick at trifles . Think of Mycroft's note , of the Admiralty , the Cabinet , the exalted person who waits for news . We are bound to go . "

My answer was to rise from the table .

" You are right , Holmes . We are bound to go . "

He sprang up and shook me by the hand .

" I knew you would not shrink at the last , " said he , and for a moment I saw something in his eyes which was nearer to tenderness than I had ever seen . The next instant he was his masterful , practical self once more .

" It is nearly half a mile , but there is no hurry . Let us walk , " said he . " Don't drop the instruments , I beg . Your arrest as a suspicious character would be a most unfortunate complication . "

Caulfield Gardens was one of those lines of flat-faced , pillared , and porticoed houses which are so prominent a product of the middle Victorian epoch in the West End of London . Next door there appeared to be a children's party , for the merry buzz of young voices and the clatter of a piano resounded through the night . The fog still hung about and screened us with its friendly shade . Holmes had lit his lantern and flashed it upon the massive door .

" This is a serious proposition , " said he . " It is certainly bolted as well as locked . We would do better in the area . There is an excellent archway down yonder in case a too zealous policeman should intrude . Give me a hand , Watson , and I'll do the same for you . "

A minute later we were both in the area . Hardly had we reached the dark shadows before the step of the policeman was heard in the fog above . As its soft rhythm died away , Holmes set to work upon the lower door . I saw him stoop and strain until with a sharp crash it flew open . We sprang through into the dark passage , closing the area door behind us . Holmes led the way up the curving , uncarpeted stair . His little fan of yellow light shone upon a low window .

" Here we are , Watson -- this must be the one . " He threw it open , and as he did so there was a low , harsh murmur , growing steadily into a loud roar as a train dashed past us in the darkness . Holmes swept his light along the window-sill . It was thickly coated with soot from the passing engines , but the black surface was blurred and rubbed in places .

" You can see where they rested the body . Halloa , Watson ! what is this ? There can be no doubt that it is a blood mark . " He was pointing to faint discolourations along the woodwork of the window . " Here it is on the stone of the stair also . The demonstration is complete . Let us stay here until a train stops . "

We had not long to wait . The very next train roared from the tunnel as before , but slowed in the open , and then , with a creaking of brakes , pulled up immediately beneath us . It was not four feet from the window-ledge to the roof of the carriages . Holmes softly closed the window .

" So far we are justified , " said he . " What do you think of it , Watson ? "

" A masterpiece . You have never risen to a greater height . "

" I cannot agree with you there . From the moment that I conceived the idea of the body being upon the roof , which surely was not a very abstruse one , all the rest was inevitable . If it were not for the grave interests involved the affair up to this point would be insignificant . Our difficulties are still before us . But perhaps we may find something here which may help us . "

We had ascended the kitchen stair and entered the suite of rooms upon the first floor . One was a dining-room , severely furnished and containing nothing of interest . A second was a bedroom , which also drew blank . The remaining room appeared more promising , and my companion settled down to a systematic examination . It was littered with books and papers , and was evidently used as a study . Swiftly and methodically Holmes turned over the contents of drawer after drawer and cupboard after cupboard , but no gleam of success came to brighten his austere face . At the end of an hour he was no further than when he started .

" The cunning dog has covered his tracks , " said he . " He has left nothing to incriminate him . His dangerous correspondence has been destroyed or removed . This is our last chance . "

It was a small tin cash-box which stood upon the writing-desk . Holmes pried it open with his chisel . Several rolls of paper were within , covered with figures and calculations , without any note to show to what they referred . The recurring words " water pressure " and " pressure to the square inch " suggested some possible relation to a submarine . Holmes tossed them all impatiently aside . There only remained an envelope with some small newspaper slips inside it . He shook them out on the table , and at once I saw by his eager face that his hopes had been raised .

" What's this , Watson ? Eh ? What's this ? Record of a series of messages in the advertisements of a paper . Daily Telegraph agony column by the print and paper . Right-hand top corner of a page . No dates -- but messages arrange themselves . This must be the first :

" Hoped to hear sooner . Terms agreed to . Write fully to address given on card . PIERROT .

" Next comes :

" Too complex for description . Must have full report . Stuff awaits you when goods delivered . PIERROT .

" Then comes :

" Matter presses . Must withdraw offer unless contract completed . Make appointment by letter . Will confirm by advertisement . PIERROT .

" Finally :

" Monday night after nine . Two taps . Only ourselves . Do not be so suspicious . Payment in hard cash when goods delivered . PIERROT .

" A fairly complete record , Watson ! If we could only get at the man at the other end ! " He sat lost in thought , tapping his fingers on the table . Finally he sprang to his feet .

" Well , perhaps it won't be so difficult , after all . There is nothing more to be done here , Watson . I think we might drive round to the offices of the Daily Telegraph , and so bring a good day's work to a conclusion . "

Mycroft Holmes and Lestrade had come round by appointment after breakfast next day and Sherlock Holmes had recounted to them our proceedings of the day before . The professional shook his head over our confessed burglary .

" We can't do these things in the force , Mr. Holmes , " said he . " No wonder you get results that are beyond us . But some of these days you'll go too far , and you'll find yourself and your friend in trouble . "

" For England , home and beauty -- eh , Watson ? Martyrs on the altar of our country . But what do you think of it , Mycroft ? "

" Excellent , Sherlock ! Admirable ! But what use will you make of it ? "

Holmes picked up the Daily Telegraph which lay upon the table .

" Have you seen Pierrot's advertisement to-day ? "

" What ? Another one ? "

" Yes , here it is :

" To-night . Same hour . Same place . Two taps . Most vitally important . Your own safety at stake . PIERROT .

" By George ! " cried Lestrade . " If he answers that we've got him ! "

" That was my idea when I put it in . I think if you could both make it convenient to come with us about eight o'clock to Caulfield Gardens we might possibly get a little nearer to a solution . "

One of the most remarkable characteristics of Sherlock Holmes was his power of throwing his brain out of action and switching all his thoughts on to lighter things whenever he had convinced himself that he could no longer work to advantage . I remember that during the whole of that memorable day he lost himself in a monograph which he had undertaken upon the Polyphonic Motets of Lassus . For my own part I had none of this power of detachment , and the day , in consequence , appeared to be interminable . The great national importance of the issue , the suspense in high quarters , the direct nature of the experiment which we were trying -- all combined to work upon my nerve . It was a relief to me when at last , after a light dinner , we set out upon our expedition . Lestrade and Mycroft met us by appointment at the outside of Gloucester Road Station . The area door of Oberstein's house had been left open the night before , and it was necessary for me , as Mycroft Holmes absolutely and indignantly declined to climb the railings , to pass in and open the hall door . By nine o'clock we were all seated in the study , waiting patiently for our man .

An hour passed and yet another . When eleven struck , the measured beat of the great church clock seemed to sound the dirge of our hopes . Lestrade and Mycroft were fidgeting in their seats and looking twice a minute at their watches . Holmes sat silent and composed , his eyelids half shut , but every sense on the alert . He raised his head with a sudden jerk .

" He is coming , " said he .

There had been a furtive step past the door . Now it returned . We heard a shuffling sound outside , and then two sharp taps with the knocker . Holmes rose , motioning to us to remain seated . The gas in the hall was a mere point of light . He opened the outer door , and then as a dark figure slipped past him he closed and fastened it . " This way ! " we heard him say , and a moment later our man stood before us . Holmes had followed him closely , and as the man turned with a cry of surprise and alarm he caught him by the collar and threw him back into the room . Before our prisoner had recovered his balance the door was shut and Holmes standing with his back against it . The man glared round him , staggered , and fell senseless upon the floor . With the shock , his broad-brimmed hat flew from his head , his cravat slipped down from his lips , and there were the long light beard and the soft , handsome delicate features of Colonel Valentine Walter .

Holmes gave a whistle of surprise .

" You can write me down an ass this time , Watson , " said he . " This was not the bird that I was looking for . "

" Who is he ? " asked Mycroft eagerly .

" The younger brother of the late Sir James Walter , the head of the Submarine Department . Yes , yes ; I see the fall of the cards . He is coming to . I think that you had best leave his examination to me . "

We had carried the prostrate body to the sofa . Now our prisoner sat up , looked round him with a horror-stricken face , and passed his hand over his forehead , like one who cannot believe his own senses .

" What is this ? " he asked . " I came here to visit Mr. Oberstein . "

" Everything is known , Colonel Walter , " said Holmes . " How an English gentleman could behave in such a manner is beyond my comprehension . But your whole correspondence and relations with Oberstein are within our knowledge . So also are the circumstances connected with the death of young Cadogan West . Let me advise you to gain at least the small credit for repentance and confession , since there are still some details which we can only learn from your lips . "

The man groaned and sank his face in his hands . We waited , but he was silent .

" I can assure you , " said Holmes , " that every essential is already known . We know that you were pressed for money ; that you took an impress of the keys which your brother held ; and that you entered into a correspondence with Oberstein , who answered your letters through the advertisement columns of the Daily Telegraph . We are aware that you went down to the office in the fog on Monday night , but that you were seen and followed by young Cadogan West , who had probably some previous reason to suspect you . He saw your theft , but could not give the alarm , as it was just possible that you were taking the papers to your brother in London . Leaving all his private concerns , like the good citizen that he was , he followed you closely in the fog and kept at your heels until you reached this very house . There he intervened , and then it was , Colonel Walter , that to treason you added the more terrible crime of murder . "

" I did not ! I did not ! Before God I swear that I did not ! " cried our wretched prisoner .

" Tell us , then , how Cadogan West met his end before you laid him upon the roof of a railway carriage . "

" I will . I swear to you that I will . I did the rest . I confess it . It was just as you say . A Stock Exchange debt had to be paid . I needed the money badly . Oberstein offered me five thousand . It was to save myself from ruin . But as to murder , I am as innocent as you . "

" What happened , then ? "

" He had his suspicions before , and he followed me as you describe . I never knew it until I was at the very door . It was thick fog , and one could not see three yards . I had given two taps and Oberstein had come to the door . The young man rushed up and demanded to know what we were about to do with the papers . Oberstein had a short life-preserver . He always carried it with him . As West forced his way after us into the house Oberstein struck him on the head . The blow was a fatal one . He was dead within five minutes . There he lay in the hall , and we were at our wit's end what to do . Then Oberstein had this idea about the trains which halted under his back window . But first he examined the papers which I had brought . He said that three of them were essential , and that he must keep them . ' You cannot keep them , ' said I . ' There will be a dreadful row at Woolwich if they are not returned . ' ' I must keep them , ' said he , ' for they are so technical that it is impossible in the time to make copies . ' ' Then they must all go back together tonight , ' said I . He thought for a little , and then he cried out that he had it . ' Three I will keep , ' said he . ' The others we will stuff into the pocket of this young man . When he is found the whole business will assuredly be put to his account . I could see no other way out of it , so we did as he suggested . We waited half an hour at the window before a train stopped . It was so thick that nothing could be seen , and we had no difficulty in lowering West's body on to the train . That was the end of the matter so far as I was concerned . "

" And your brother ? "

" He said nothing , but he had caught me once with his keys , and I think that he suspected . I read in his eyes that he suspected . As you know , he never held up his head again . "

There was silence in the room . It was broken by Mycroft Holmes .

" Can you not make reparation ? It would ease your conscience , and possibly your punishment . "

" What reparation can I make ? "

" Where is Oberstein with the papers ? "

" I do not know . "

" Did he give you no address ? "

" He said that letters to the Hotel du Louvre , Paris , would eventually reach him . "

" Then reparation is still within your power , " said Sherlock Holmes .

" I will do anything I can . I owe this fellow no particular good-will . He has been my ruin and my downfall . "

" Here are paper and pen . Sit at this desk and write to my dictation . Direct the envelope to the address given . That is right . Now the letter :

" DEAR SIR : " With regard to our transaction , you will no doubt have observed by now that one essential detail is missing . I have a tracing which will make it complete . This has involved me in extra trouble , however , and I must ask you for a further advance of five hundred pounds . I will not trust it to the post , nor will I take anything but gold or notes . I would come to you abroad , but it would excite remark if I left the country at present . Therefore I shall expect to meet you in the smoking-room of the Charing Cross Hotel at noon on Saturday . Remember that only English notes , or gold , will be taken .

That will do very well . I shall be very much surprised if it does not fetch our man . "

And it did ! It is a matter of history -- that secret history of a nation which is often so much more intimate and interesting than its public chronicles -- that Oberstein , eager to complete the coup of his lifetime , came to the lure and was safely engulfed for fifteen years in a British prison . In his trunk were found the invaluable Bruce-Partington plans , which he had put up for auction in all the naval centres of Europe .

Colonel Walter died in prison towards the end of the second year of his sentence . As to Holmes , he returned refreshed to his monograph upon the Polyphonic Motets of Lassus , which has since been printed for private circulation , and is said by experts to be the last word upon the subject . Some weeks afterwards I learned incidentally that my friend spent a day at Windsor , whence he returned with a remarkably fine emerald tie-pin . When I asked him if he had bought it , he answered that it was a present from a certain gracious lady in whose interests he had once been fortunate enough to carry out a small commission . He said no more , but I fancy that I could guess at that lady's august name , and I have little doubt that the emerald pin will forever recall to my friend's memory the adventure of the Bruce-Partington plans .

In recording from time to time some of the curious experiences and interesting recollections which I associate with my long and intimate friendship with Mr. Sherlock Holmes , I have continually been faced by difficulties caused by his own aversion to publicity . To his sombre and cynical spirit all popular applause was always abhorrent , and nothing amused him more at the end of a successful case than to hand over the actual exposure to some orthodox official , and to listen with a mocking smile to the general chorus of misplaced congratulation . It was indeed this attitude upon the part of my friend and certainly not any lack of interesting material which has caused me of late years to lay very few of my records before the public . My participation in some of his adventures was always a privilege which entailed discretion and reticence upon me .

It was , then , with considerable surprise that I received a telegram from Holmes last Tuesday -- he has never been known to write where a telegram would serve -- in the following terms :

Why not tell them of the Cornish horror -- strangest case I have handled .

I have no idea what backward sweep of memory had brought the matter fresh to his mind , or what freak had caused him to desire that I should recount it ; but I hasten , before another cancelling telegram may arrive , to hunt out the notes which give me the exact details of the case and to lay the narrative before my readers .

It was , then , in the spring of the year 1897 that Holmes's iron constitution showed some symptoms of giving way in the face of constant hard work of a most exacting kind , aggravated , perhaps , by occasional indiscretions of his own . In March of that year Dr. Moore Agar , of Harley Street , whose dramatic introduction to Holmes I may some day recount , gave positive injunctions that the famous private agent lay aside all his cases and surrender himself to complete rest if he wished to avert an absolute breakdown . The state of his health was not a matter in which he himself took the faintest interest , for his mental detachment was absolute , but he was induced at last , on the threat of being permanently disqualified from work , to give himself a complete change of scene and air . Thus it was that in the early spring of that year we found ourselves together in a small cottage near Poldhu Bay , at the further extremity of the Cornish peninsula .

It was a singular spot , and one peculiarly well suited to the grim humour of my patient . From the windows of our little whitewashed house , which stood high upon a grassy headland , we looked down upon the whole sinister semicircle of Mounts Bay , that old death trap of sailing vessels , with its fringe of black cliffs and surge-swept reefs on which innumerable seamen have met their end . With a northerly breeze it lies placid and sheltered , inviting the storm-tossed craft to tack into it for rest and protection .

Then come the sudden swirl round of the wind , the blustering gale from the south-west , the dragging anchor , the lee shore , and the last battle in the creaming breakers . The wise mariner stands far out from that evil place .

On the land side our surroundings were as sombre as on the sea . It was a country of rolling moors , lonely and dun-coloured , with an occasional church tower to mark the site of some oldworld village . In every direction upon these moors there were traces of some vanished race which had passed utterly away , and left as its sole record strange monuments of stone , irregular mounds which contained the burned ashes of the dead , and curious earthworks which hinted at prehistoric strife . The glamour and mystery of the place , with its sinister atmosphere of forgotten nations , appealed to the imagination of my friend , and he spent much of his time in long walks and solitary meditations upon the moor . The ancient Cornish language had also arrested his attention , and he had , I remember , conceived the idea that it was akin to the Chaldean , and had been largely derived from the Phoenician traders in tin . He had received a consignment of books upon philology and was settling down to develop this thesis when suddenly , to my sorrow and to his unfeigned delight , we found ourselves , even in that land of dreams , plunged into a problem at our very doors which was more intense , more engrossing , and infinitely more mysterious than any of those which had driven us from London . Our simple life and peaceful , healthy routine were violently interrupted , and we were precipitated into the midst of a series of events which caused the utmost excitement not only in Cornwall but throughout the whole west of England . Many of my readers may retain some recollection of what was called at the time " The Cornish Horror , " though a most imperfect account of the matter reached the London press . Now , after thirteen years , I will give the true details of this inconceivable affair to the public .

I have said that scattered towers marked the villages which dotted this part of Cornwall . The nearest of these was the hamlet of Tredannick Wollas , where the cottages of a couple of hundred inhabitants clustered round an ancient , moss-grown church . The vicar of the parish , Mr. Roundhay , was something of an archeologist , and as such Holmes had made his acquaintance . He was a middle-aged man , portly and affable , with a considerable fund of local lore . At his invitation we had taken tea at the vicarage and had come to know , also , Mr. Mortimer Tregennis , an independent gentleman , who increased the clergyman's scanty resources by taking rooms in his large , straggling house . The vicar , being a bachelor , was glad to come to such an arrangement , though he had little in common with his lodger , who was a thin , dark , spectacled man , with a stoop which gave the impression of actual , physical deformity . I remember that during our short visit we found the vicar garrulous , but his lodger strangely reticent , a sad-faced , introspective man , sitting with averted eyes , brooding apparently upon his own affairs .

These were the two men who entered abruptly into our little sitting-room on Tuesday , March the 16th , shortly after our breakfast hour , as we were smoking together , preparatory to our daily excursion upon the moors .

" Mr. Holmes , " said the vicar in an agitated voice , " the most extraordinary and tragic affair has occurred during the night . It is the most unheard-of business . We can only regard it as a special Providence that you should chance to be here at the time , for in all England you are the one man we need . "

I glared at the intrusive vicar with no very friendly eyes ; but Holmes took his pipe from his lips and sat up in his chair like an old hound who hears the view-halloa . He waved his hand to the sofa , and our palpitating visitor with his agitated companion sat side by side upon it . Mr. Mortimer Tregennis was more selfcontained than the clergyman , but the twitching of his thin hands and the brightness of his dark eyes showed that they shared a common emotion .

" Shall I speak or you ? " he asked of the vicar .

" Well , as you seem to have made the discovery , whatever it may be , and the vicar to have had it second-hand , perhaps you had better do the speaking , " said Holmes .

I glanced at the hastily clad clergyman , with the formally dressed lodger seated beside him , and was amused at the surprise which Holmes's simple deduction had brought to their faces .

" Perhaps I had best say a few words first , " said the vicar , " and then you can judge if you will listen to the details from Mr. Tregennis , or whether we should not hasten at once to the scene of this mysterious affair . I may explain , then , that our friend here spent last evening in the company of his two brothers , Owen and George , and of his sister Brenda , at their house of Tredannick Wartha , which is near the old stone cross upon the moor . He left them shortly after ten o'clock , playing cards round the dining-room table , in excellent health and spirits . This morning , being an early riser , he walked in that direction before breakfast and was overtaken by the carriage of Dr. Richards , who explained that he had just been sent for on a most urgent call to Tredannick Wartha . Mr. Mortimer Tregennis naturally went with him . When he arrived at Tredannick Wartha he found an extraordinary state of things . His two brothers and his sister were seated round the table exactly as he had left them , the cards still spread in front of them and the candles burned down to their sockets . The sister lay back stone-dead in her chair , while the two brothers sat on each side of her laughing , shouting , and singing , the senses stricken clean out of them . All three of them , the dead woman and the two demented men , retained upon their faces an expression of the utmost horror -- a convulsion of terror which was dreadful to look upon . There was no sign of the presence of anyone in the house , except Mrs. Porter , the old cook and housekeeper , who declared that she had slept deeply and heard no sound during the night . Nothing had been stolen or disarranged , and there is absolutely no explanation of what the horror can be which has frightened a woman to death and two strong men out of their senses . There is the situation , Mr. Holmes , in a nutshell , and if you can help us to clear it up you will have done a great work . "

I had hoped that in some way I could coax my companion back into the quiet which had been the object of our journey ; but one glance at his intense face and contracted eyebrows told me how vain was now the expectation . He sat for some little time in silence , absorbed in the strange drama which had broken in upon our peace .

" I will look into this matter , " he said at last . " On the face of it , it would appear to be a case of a very exceptional nature . Have you been there yourself , Mr. Roundhay ? "

" No , Mr. Holmes . Mr. Tregennis brought back the account to the vicarage , and I at once hurried over with him to consult you . "

" How far is it to the house where this singular tragedy occurred ? "

" About a mile inland . "

" Then we shall walk over together . But before we start I must ask you a few questions , Mr. Mortimer Tregennis . "

The other had been silent all this time , but I had observed that his more controlled excitement was even greater than the obtrusive emotion of the clergyman . He sat with a pale , drawn face , his anxious gaze fixed upon Holmes , and his thin hands clasped convulsively together . His pale lips quivered as he listened to the dreadful experience which had befallen his family , and his dark eyes seemed to reflect something of the horror of the scene .

" Ask what you like , Mr. Holmes , " said he eagerly . " It is a bad thing to speak of , but I will answer you the truth . "

" Tell me about last night . "

" Well , Mr. Holmes , I supped there , as the vicar has said , and my elder brother George proposed a game of whist afterwards . We sat down about nine o'clock . It was a quarter-past ten when I moved to go . I left them all round the table , as merry as could be . "

" Who let you out ? "

" Mrs. Porter had gone to bed , so I let myself out . I shut the hall door behind me . The window of the room in which they sat was closed , but the blind was not drawn down . There was no change in door or window this morning , nor any reason to think that any stranger had been to the house . Yet there they sat , driven clean mad with terror , and Brenda lying dead of fright , with her head hanging over the arm of the chair . I'll never get the sight of that room out of my mind so long as I live . "

" The facts , as you state them , are certainly most remarkable , " said Holmes . " I take it that you have no theory yourself which can in any way account for them ? "

" It's devilish , Mr. Holmes , devilish ! " cried Mortimer Tregennis . " It is not of this world . Something has come into that room which has dashed the light of reason from their minds . What human contrivance could do that ? "

" I fear , " said Holmes , " that if the matter is beyond humanity it is certainly beyond me . Yet we must exhaust all natural explanations before we fall back upon such a theory as this . As to yourself , Mr. Tregennis , I take it you were divided in some way from your family , since they lived together and you had rooms apart ? "

" That is so , Mr. Holmes , though the matter is past and done with . We were a family of tin-miners at Redruth , but we sold out our venture to a company , and so retired with enough to keep us . I won't deny that there was some feeling about the division of the money and it stood between us for a time , but it was all forgiven and forgotten , and we were the best of friends together . "

" Looking back at the evening which you spent together , does anything stand out in your memory as throwing any possible light upon the tragedy ? Think carefully , Mr. Tregennis , for any clue which can help me . "

" There is nothing at all , sir . "

" Your people were in their usual spirits ? "

" Never better . "

" Were they nervous people ? Did they ever show any apprehension of coming danger ? "

" Nothing of the kind . "

" You have nothing to add then , which could assist me ? "

Mortimer Tregennis considered earnestly for a moment .

" There is one thing occurs to me , " said he at last . " As we sat at the table my back was to the window , and my brother George , he being my partner at cards , was facing it . I saw him once look hard over my shoulder , so I turned round and looked also . The blind was up and the window shut , but I could just make out the bushes on the lawn , and it seemed to me for a moment that I saw something moving among them . I couldn't even say if it was man or animal , but I just thought there was something there . When I asked him what he was looking at , he told me that he had the same feeling . That is all that I can say . "

" Did you not investigate ? "

" No ; the matter passed as unimportant . "

" You left them , then , without any premonition of evil ? "

" None at all . "

" I am not clear how you came to hear the news so early this morning . "

" I am an early riser and generally take a walk before breakfast . This morning I had hardly started when the doctor in his carriage overtook me . He told me that old Mrs. Porter had sent a boy down with an urgent message . I sprang in beside him and we drove on . When we got there we looked into that dreadful room . The candles and the fire must have burned out hours before , and they had been sitting there in the dark until dawn had broken . The doctor said Brenda must have been dead at least six hours . There were no signs of violence . She just lay across the arm of the chair with that look on her face . George and Owen were singing snatches of songs and gibbering like two great apes . Oh , it was awful to see ! I couldn't stand it , and the doctor was as white as a sheet . Indeed , he fell into a chair in a sort of faint , and we nearly had him on our hands as well . "

" Remarkable -- most remarkable ! " said Holmes , rising and taking his hat . " I think , perhaps , we had better go down to Tredannick Wartha without further delay . I confess that I have seldom known a case which at first sight presented a more singular problem . "

Our proceedings of that first morning did little to advance the investigation . It was marked , however , at the outset by an incident which left the most sinister impression upon my mind . The approach to the spot at which the tragedy occurred is down a narrow , winding , country lane . While we made our way along it we heard the raffle of a carriage coming towards us and stood aside to let it pass . As it drove by us I caught a glimpse through the closed window of a horribly contorted , grinning face glaring out at us . Those staring eyes and gnashing teeth flashed past us like a dreadful vision .

" My brothers ! " cried Mortimer Tregennis , white to his lips . " They are taking them to Helston . "

We looked with horror after the black carriage , lumbering upon its way . Then we turned our steps towards this ill-omened house in which they had met their strange fate .

It was a large and bright dwelling , rather a villa than a cottage , with a considerable garden which was already , in that Cornish air , well filled with spring flowers . Towards this garden the window of the sitting-room fronted , and from it , according to Mortimer Tregennis , must have come that thing of evil which had by sheer horror in a single instant blasted their minds . Holmes walked slowly and thoughtfully among the flower-plots and along the path before we entered the porch . So absorbed was he in his thoughts , I remember , that he stumbled over the watering-pot , upset its contents , and deluged both our feet and the garden path . Inside the house we were met by the elderly Cornish housekeeper , Mrs. Porter , who , with the aid of a young girl , looked after the wants of the family . She readily answered all Holmes's questions . She had heard nothing in the night . Her employers had all been in excellent spirits lately , and she had never known them more cheerful and prosperous . She had fainted with horror upon entering the room in the morning and seeing that dreadful company round the table . She had , when she recovered , thrown open the window to let the morning air in and had run down to the lane , whence she sent a farm-lad for the doctor . The lady was on her bed upstairs if we cared to see her . It took four strong men to get the brothers into the asylum carriage . She would not herself stay in the house another day and was starting that very afternoon to rejoin her family at St. Ives .

We ascended the stairs and viewed the body . Miss Brenda Tregennis had been a very beautiful girl , though now verging upon middle age . Her dark , clear-cut face was handsome , even in death , but there still lingered upon it something of that convulsion of horror which had been her last human emotion . From her bedroom we descended to the sitting-room , where this strange tragedy had actually occurred . The charred ashes of the overnight fire lay in the grate . On the table were the four guttered and burned-out candles , with the cards scattered over its surface . The chairs had been moved back against the walls , but all else was as it had been the night before . Holmes paced with light , swift steps about the room ; he sat in the various chairs , drawing them up and reconstructing their positions . He tested how much of the garden was visible ; he examined the floor , the ceiling , and the fireplace ; but never once did I see that sudden brightening of his eyes and tightening of his lips which would have told me that he saw some gleam of light in this utter darkness .

" Why a fire ? " he asked once . " Had they always a fire in this small room on a spring evening ? "

Mortimer Tregennis explained that the night was cold and damp . For that reason , after his arrival , the fire was lit . " What are you going to do now , Mr. Holmes ? " he asked .

My friend smiled and laid his hand upon my arm . " I think , Watson , that I shall resume that course of tobacco-poisoning which you have so often and so justly condemned , " said he . " With your permission , gentlemen , we will now return to our cottage , for I am not aware that any new factor is likely to come to our notice here . I will turn the facts over in my mind , Mr. Tregennis , and should anything occur to me I will certainly communicate with you and the vicar . In the meantime I wish you both good-morning . "

It was not until long after we were back in Poldhu Cottage that Holmes broke his complete and absorbed silence . He sat coiled in his armchair , his haggard and ascetic face hardly visible amid the blue swirl of his tobacco smoke , his black brows drawn down , his forehead contracted , his eyes vacant and far away . Finally he laid down his pipe and sprang to his feet .

" It won't do , Watson ! " said he with a laugh . " Let us walk along the cliffs together and search for flint arrows . We are more likely to find them than clues to this problem . To let the brain work without sufficient material is like racing an engine . It racks itself to pieces . The sea air , sunshine , and patience , Watson -- all else will come .

" Now , let us calmly define our position , Watson , " he continued as we skirted the cliffs together . " Let us get a firm grip of the very little which we do know , so that when fresh facts arise we may be ready to fit them into their places . I take it , in the first place , that neither of us is prepared to admit diabolical intrusions into the affairs of men . Let us begin by ruling that entirely out of our minds . Very good . There remain three persons who have been grievously stricken by some conscious or unconscious human agency . That is firm ground . Now , when did this occur ? Evidently , assuming his narrative to be true , it was immediately after Mr. Mortimer Tregennis had left the room . That is a very important point . The presumption is that it was within a few minutes afterwards . The cards still lay upon the table . It was already past their usual hour for bed . Yet they had not changed their position or pushed back their chairs . I repeat then , that the occurrence was immediately after his departure , and not later than eleven o'clock last night .

" Our next obvious step is to check , so far as we can , the movements of Mortimer Tregennis after he left the room . In this there is no difficulty , and they seem to be above suspicion . Knowing my methods as you do , you were , of course , conscious of the somewhat clumsy water-pot expedient by which I obtained a clearer impress of his foot than might otherwise have been possible . The wet , sandy path took it admirably . Last night was also wet , you will remember , and it was not difficult -- having obtained a sample print -- to pick out his track among others and to follow his movements . He appears to have walked away swiftly in the direction of the vicarage .

" If , then , Mortimer Tregennis disappeared from the scene , and yet some outside person affected the cardplayers , how can we reconstruct that person , and how was such an impression of horror conveyed ? Mrs. Porter may be eliminated . She is evidently harmless . Is there any evidence that someone crept up to the garden window and in some manner produced so terrific an effect that he drove those who saw it out of their senses ? The only suggestion in this direction comes from Mortimer Tregennis himself , who says that his brother spoke about some movement in the garden . That is certainly remarkable , as the night was rainy , cloudy , and dark . Anyone who had the design to alarm these people would be compelled to place his very face against the glass before he could be seen . There is a three-foot flowerborder outside this window , but no indication of a footmark . It is difficult to imagine , then , how an outsider could have made so terrible an impression upon the company , nor have we found any possible motive for so strange and elaborate an attempt . You perceive our difficulties , Watson ? "

" They are only too clear , " I answered with conviction .

" And yet , with a little more material , we may prove that they are not insurmountable , " said Holmes . " I fancy that among your extensive archives , Watson , you may find some which were nearly as obscure . Meanwhile , we shall put the case aside until more accurate data are available , and devote the rest of our morning to the pursuit of neolithic man . "

I may have commented upon my friend's power of mental detachment , but never have I wondered at it more than upon that spring morning in Cornwall when for two hours he discoursed upon Celts , arrowheads , and shards , as lightly as if no sinister mystery were waiting for his solution . It was not until we had returned in the afternoon to our cottage that we found a visitor awaiting us , who soon brought our minds back to the matter in hand . Neither of us needed to be told who that visitor was . The huge body , the craggy and deeply seamed face with the fierce eyes and hawk-like nose , the grizzled hair which nearly brushed our cottage ceiling , the beard -- golden at the fringes and white near the lips , save for the nicotin stain from his perpetual cigar -- all these were as well known in London as in Africa , and could only be associated with the tremendous personality of Dr. Leon Sterndale , the great lion-hunter and explorer .

We had heard of his presence in the district and had once or twice caught sight of his tall figure upon the moorland paths . He made no advances to us , however , nor would we have dreamed of doing so to him , as it was well known that it was his love of seclusion which caused him to spend the greater part of the intervals between his journeys in a small bungalow buried in the lonely wood of Beauchamp Arriance . Here , amid his books and his maps , he lived an absolutely lonely life , attending to his own simple wants and paying little apparent heed to the affairs of his neighbours . It was a surprise to me , therefore , to hear him asking Holmes in an eager voice whether he had made any advance in his reconstruction of this mysterious episode . " The county police are utterly at fault , " said he , " but perhaps your wider experience has suggested some conceivable explanation . My only claim to being taken into your confidence is that during my many residences here I have come to know this family of Tregennis very well -- indeed , upon my Cornish mother's side I could call them cousins -- and their strange fate has naturally been a great shock to me . I may tell you that I had got as far as Plymouth upon my way to Africa , but the news reached me this morning , and I came straight back again to help in the inquiry . "

Holmes raised his eyebrows .

" Did you lose your boat through it ? "

" I will take the next . "

" Dear me ! that is friendship indeed . "

" I tell you they were relatives . "

" Quite so -- cousins of your mother . Was your baggage aboard the ship ? "

" Some of it , but the main part at the hotel . "

" I see . But surely this event could not have found its way into the Plymouth morning papers . "

" No , sir ; I had a telegram . "

" Might I ask from whom ? "

A shadow passed over the gaunt face of the explorer .

" You are very inquisitive , Mr. Holmes . "

" It is my business . "

With an effort Dr. Sterndale recovered his ruffled composure .

" I have no objection to telling you , " he said . " It was Mr. Roundhay , the vicar , who sent me the telegram which recalled me . "

" Thank you , " said Holmes . " I may say in answer to your original question that I have not cleared my mind entirely on the subject of this case , but that I have every hope of reaching some conclusion . It would be premature to say more . "

" Perhaps you would not mind telling me if your suspicions point in any particular direction ? "

" No , I can hardly answer that . "

" Then I have wasted my time and need not prolong my visit . " The famous doctor strode out of our cottage in considerable ill-humour , and within five minutes Holmes had followed him . I saw him no more until the evening , when he returned with a slow step and haggard face which assured me that he had made no great progress with his investigation . He glanced at a telegram which awaited him and threw it into the grate .

" From the Plymouth hotel , Watson , " he said . " I learned the name of it from the vicar , and I wired to make certain that Dr. Leon Sterndale's account was true . It appears that he did indeed spend last night there , and that he has actually allowed some of his baggage to go on to Africa , while he returned to be present at this investigation . What do you make of that , Watson ? "

" He is deeply interested . "

" Deeply interested -- yes . There is a thread here which we have not yet grasped and which might lead us through the tangle . Cheer up , Watson , for I am very sure that our material has not yet all come to hand . When it does we may soon leave our difficulties behind us . "

Little did I think how soon the words of Holmes would be realized , or how strange and sinister would be that new development which opened up an entirely fresh line of investigation . I was shaving at my window in the morning when I heard the rattle of hoofs and , looking up , saw a dog-cart coming at a gallop down the road . It pulled up at our door , and our friend , the vicar , sprang from it and rushed up our garden path . Holmes was already dressed , and we hastened down to meet him .

Our visitor was so excited that he could hardly articulate , but at last in gasps and bursts his tragic story came out of him .

" We are devil-ridden , Mr. Holmes ! My poor parish is devilridden ! " he cried . " Satan himself is loose in it ! We are given over into his hands ! " He danced about in his agitation , a ludicrous object if it were not for his ashy face and startled eyes . Finally he shot out his terrible news .

" Mr. Mortimer Tregennis died during the night , and with exactly the same symptoms as the rest of his family . "

Holmes sprang to his feet , all energy in an instant .

" Can you fit us both into your dog-cart ? "

" Yes , I can . "

" Then , Watson , we will postpone our breakfast . Mr. Roundhay , we are entirely at your disposal . Hurry -- hurry , before things get disarranged . "

The lodger occupied two rooms at the vicarage , which were in an angle by themselves , the one above the other . Below was a large sitting-room ; above , his bedroom . They looked out upon a croquet lawn which came up to the windows . We had arrived before the doctor or the police , so that everything was absolutely undisturbed . Let me describe exactly the scene as we saw it upon that misty March morning . It has left an impression which can never be effaced from my mind .

The atmosphere of the room was of a horrible and depressing stuffiness . The servant who had first entered had thrown up the window , or it would have been even more intolerable . This might partly be due to the fact that a lamp stood flaring and smoking on the centre table . Beside it sat the dead man , leaning back in his chair , his thin beard projecting , his spectacles pushed up on to his forehead , and his lean dark face turned towards the window and twisted into the same distortion of terror which had marked the features of his dead sister . His limbs were convulsed and his fingers contorted as though he had died in a very paroxysm of fear . He was fully clothed , though there were signs that his dressing had been done in a hurry . We had already learned that his bed had been slept in , and that the tragic end had come to him in the early morning .

One realized the red-hot energy which underlay Holmes's phlegmatic exterior when one saw the sudden change which came over him from the moment that he entered the fatal apartment . In an instant he was tense and alert , his eyes shining , his face set , his limbs quivering with eager activity . He was out on the lawn , in through the window , round the room , and up into the bedroom , for all the world like a dashing foxhound drawing a cover . In the bedroom he made a rapid cast around and ended by throwing open the window , which appeared to give him some fresh cause for excitement , for he leaned out of it with loud ejaculations of interest and delight . Then he rushed down the stair , out through the open window , threw himself upon his face on the lawn , sprang up and into the room once more , all with the energy of the hunter who is at the very heels of his quarry . The lamp , which was an ordinary standard , he examined with minute care , making certain measurements upon its bowl . He carefully scrutinized with his lens the tale shield which covered the top of the chimney and scraped off some ashes which adhered to its upper surface , putting some of them into an envelope , which he placed in his pocketbook . Finally , just as the doctor and the official police put in an appearance , he beckoned to the vicar and we all three went out upon the lawn .

" I am glad to say that my investigation has not been entirely barren , " he remarked . " I cannot remain to discuss the matter with the police , but I should be exceedingly obliged , Mr. Roundhay , if you would give the inspector my compliments and direct his attention to the bedroom window and to the sittingroom lamp . Each is suggestive , and together they are almost conclusive . If the police would desire further information I shall be happy to see any of them at the cottage . And now , Watson , I think that , perhaps , we shall be better employed elsewhere . "

It may be that the police resented the intrusion of an amateur , or that they imagined themselves to be upon some hopeful line of investigation ; but it is certain that we heard nothing from them for the next two days . During this time Holmes spent some of his time smoking and dreaming in the cottage ; but a greater portion in country walks which he undertook alone , returning after many hours without remark as to where he had been . One experiment served to show me the line of his investigation . He had bought a lamp which was the duplicate of the one which had burned in the room of Mortimer Tregennis on the morning of the tragedy . This he filled with the same oil as that used at the vicarage , and he carefully timed the period which it would take to be exhausted . Another experiment which he made was of a more unpleasant nature , and one which I am not likely ever to forget .

" You will remember , Watson , " he remarked one afternoon , " that there is a single common point of resemblance in the varying reports which have reached us . This concerns the effect of the atmosphere of the room in each case upon those who had first entered it . You will recollect that Mortimer Tregennis , in describing the episode of his last visit to his brother's house , remarked that the doctor on entering the room fell into a chair ? You had forgotten ? Well , I can answer for it that it was so . Now , you will remember also that Mrs. Porter , the housekeeper , told us that she herself fainted upon entering the room and had afterwards opened the window . In the second case -- that of Mortimer Tregennis himself -- you cannot have forgotten the horrible stuffiness of the room when we arrived , though the servant had thrown open the window . That servant , I found upon inquiry , was so ill that she had gone to her bed . You will admit , Watson , that these facts are very suggestive . In each case there is evidence of a poisonous atmosphere . In each case , also , there is combustion going on in the room -- in the one case a fire , in the other a lamp . The fire was needed , but the lamp was lit -- as a comparison of the oil consumed will show -- long after it was broad daylight . Why ? Surely because there is some connection between three things -- the burning , the stuffy atmosphere , and , finally , the madness or death of those unfortunate people . That is clear , is it not ? "

" It would appear so . "

" At least we may accept it as a working hypothesis . We will suppose , then , that something was burned in each case which produced an atmosphere causing strange toxic effects . Very good . In the first instance -- that of the Tregennis family -- this substance was placed in the fire . Now the window was shut , but the fire would naturally carry fumes to some extent up the chimney . Hence one would expect the effects of the poison to be less than in the second case , where there was less escape for the vapour . The result seems to indicate that it was so , since in the first case only the woman , who had presumably the more sensitive organism , was killed , the others exhibiting that temporary or permanent lunacy which is evidently the first effect of the drug . In the second case the result was complete . The facts , therefore , seem to bear out the theory of a poison which worked by combustion .

" With this train of reasoning in my head I naturally looked about in Mortimer Tregennis's room to find some remains of this substance . The obvious place to look was the talc shield or smoke-guard of the lamp . There , sure enough , I perceived a number of flaky ashes , and round the edges a fringe of brownish powder , which had not yet been consumed . Half of this I took , as you saw , and I placed it in an envelope . "

" Why half , Holmes ? "

" It is not for me , my dear Watson , to stand in the way of the official police force . I leave them all the evidence which I found . The poison still remained upon the talc had they the wit to find it . Now , Watson , we will light our lamp ; we will , however , take the precaution to open our window to avoid the premature decease of two deserving members of society , and you will seat yourself near that open window in an armchair unless , like a sensible man , you determine to have nothing to do with the affair . Oh , you will see it out , will you ? I thought I knew my Watson . This chair I will place opposite yours , so that we may be the same distance from the poison and face to face . The door we will leave ajar . Each is now in a position to watch the other and to bring the experiment to an end should the symptoms seem alarming . Is that all clear ? Well , then , I take our powder -- or what remains of it -- from the envelope , and I lay it above the burning lamp . So ! Now , Watson , let us sit down and await developments . "

They were not long in coming . I had hardly settled in my chair before I was conscious of a thick , musky odour , subtle and nauseous . At the very first whiff of it my brain and my imagination were beyond all control . A thick , black cloud swirled before my eyes , and my mind told me that in this cloud , unseen as yet , but about to spring out upon my appalled senses , lurked all that was vaguely horrible , all that was monstrous and inconceivably wicked in the universe . Vague shapes swirled and swam amid the dark cloud-bank , each a menace and a warning of something coming , the advent of some unspeakable dweller upon the threshold , whose very shadow would blast my soul . A freezing horror took possession of me . I felt that my hair was rising , that my eyes were protruding , that my mouth wag opened , and my tongue like leather . The turmoil within my brain was such that something must surely snap . I tried to scream and was vaguely aware of some hoarse croak which was my own voice , but distant and detached from myself . At the same moment , in some effort of escape , I broke through that cloud of despair and had a glimpse of Holmes's face , white , rigid , and drawn with horror -- the very look which I had seen upon the features of the dead . It was that vision which gave me an instant of sanity and of strength . I dashed from my chair , threw my arms round Holmes , and together we lurched through the door , and an instant afterwards had thrown ourselves down upon the grass plot and were lying side by side , conscious only of the glorious sunshine which was bursting its way through the hellish cloud of terror which had girt us in . Slowly it rose from our souls like the mists from a landscape until peace and reason had returned , and we were sitting upon the grass , wiping our clammy foreheads , and looking with apprehension at each other to mark the last traces of that terrific experience which we had undergone .

" Upon my word , Watson ! " said Holmes at last with an unsteady voice , " I owe you both my thanks and an apology . It was an unjustifiable experiment even for one's self , and doubly so for a friend . I am really very sorry . "

" You know , " I answered with some emotion , for I had never seen so much of Holmes's heart before , " that it is my greatest joy and privilege to help you . "

He relapsed at once into the half-humorous , half-cynical vein which was his habitual attitude to those about him . " It would be superfluous to drive us mad , my dear Watson , " said he . " A candid observer would certainly declare that we were so already before we embarked upon so wild an experiment . I confess that I never imagined that the effect could be so sudden and so severe . " He dashed into the cottage , and , reappearing with the burning lamp held at full arm's length , he threw it among a bank of brambles . " We must give the room a little time to clear . I take it , Watson , that you have no longer a shadow of a doubt as to how these tragedies were produced ? "

" None whatever . "

" But the cause remains as obscure as before . Come into the arbour here and let us discuss it together . That villainous stuff seems still to linger round my throat . I think we must admit that all the evidence points to this man , Mortimer Tregennis , having been the criminal in the first tragedy , though he was the victim in the second one . We must remember , in the first place , that there is some story of a family quarrel , followed by a reconciliation . How bitter that quarrel may have been , or how hollow the reconciliation we cannot tell . When I think of Mortimer Tregennis , with the foxy face and the small shrewd , beady eyes behind the spectacles , he is not a man whom I should judge to be of a particularly forgiving disposition . Well , in the next place , you will remember that this idea of someone moving in the garden , which took our attention for a moment from the real cause of the tragedy , emanated from him . He had a motive in misleading us . Finally , if he did not throw this substance into the fire at the moment of leaving the room , who did do so ? The affair happened immediately after his departure . Had anyone else come in , the family would certainly have risen from the table . Besides , in peaceful Cornwall , visitors do not arrive after ten o'clock at night . We may take it , then , that all the evidence points to Mortimer Tregennis as the culprit . "

" Then his own death was suicide ! "

" Well , Watson , it is on the face of it a not impossible supposition . The man who had the guilt upon his soul of having brought such a fate upon his own family might well be driven by remorse to inflict it upon himself . There are , however , some cogent reasons against it . Forturnately , there is one man in England who knows all about it , and I have made arrangements by which we shall hear the facts this afternoon from his own lips . Ah ! he is a little before his time . Perhaps you would kindly step this way , Dr. Leon Sterndale . We have been conducting a chemical experiment indoors which has left our little room hardly fit for the reception of so distinguished a visitor . "

I had heard the click of the garden gate , and now the majestic figure of the great African explorer appeared upon the path . He turned in some surprise towards the rustic arbour in which we sat .

" You sent for me , Mr. Holmes . I had your note about an hour ago , and I have come , though I really do not know why I should obey your summons . "

" Perhaps we can clear the point up before we separate , " said Holmes . " Meanwhile , I am much obliged to you for your courteous acquiescence . You will excuse this informal reception in the open air , but my friend Watson and I have nearly furnished an additional chapter to what the papers call the Cornish Horror , and we prefer a clear atmosphere for the present . Perhaps , since the matters which we have to discuss will affect you personally in a very intimate fashion , it is as well that we should talk where there can be no eavesdropping . "

The explorer took his cigar from his lips and gazed sternly at my companion .

" I am at a loss to know , sir , " he said , " what you can have to speak about which affects me personally in a very intimate fashion . "

" The killing of Mortimer Tregennis , " said Holmes .

For a moment I wished that I were armed . Sterndale's fierce face turned to a dusky red , his eyes glared , and the knotted , passionate veins started out in his forehead , while he sprang forward with clenched hands towards my companion . Then he stopped , and with a violent effort he resumed a cold , rigid calmness , which was , perhaps , more suggestive of danger than his hot-headed outburst .

" I have lived so long among savages and beyond the law , " said he , " that I have got into the way of being a law to myself . You would do well , Mr. Holmes , not to forget it , for I have no desire to do you an injury . "

" Nor have I any desire to do you an injury , Dr. Sterndale . Surely the clearest proof of it is that , knowing what I know , I have sent for you and not for the police . "

Sterndale sat down with a gasp , overawed for , perhaps , the first time in his adventurous life . There was a calm assurance of power in Holmes's manner which could not be withstood . Our visitor stammered for a moment , his great hands opening and shutting in his agitation .

" What do you mean ? " he asked at last . " If this is bluff upon your part , Mr. Holmes , you have chosen a bad man for your experiment . Let us have no more beating about the bush . What do you mean ? "

" I will tell you , " said Holmes , " and the reason why I tell you is that I hope frankness may beget frankness . What my next step may be will depend entirely upon the nature of your own defence . "

" My defence ? "

" Yes , sir . "

" My defence against what ? "

" Against the charge of killing Mortimer Tregennis . "

Sterndale mopped his forehead with his handkerchief . " Upon my word , you are getting on , " said he . " Do all your successes depend upon this prodigious power of bluff ? "

" The bluff , " said Holmes sternly , " is upon your side , Dr. Leon Sterndale , and not upon mine . As a proof I will tell you some of the facts upon which my conclusions are based . Of your return from Plymouth , allowing much of your property to go on to Africa , I will say nothing save that it first informed me that you were one of the factors which had to be taken into account in reconstructing this drama -- "

" I came back -- "

" I have heard your reasons and regard them as unconvincing and inadequate . We will pass that . You came down here to ask me whom I suspected . I refused to answer you . You then went to the vicarage , waited outside it for some time , and finally returned to your cottage . "

" How do you know that ? "

" I followed you . "

" I saw no one . "

" That is what you may expect to see when I follow you . You spent a restless night at your cottage , and you formed certain plans , which in the early morning you proceeded to put into execution . Leaving your door just as day was breaking , you filled your pocket with some reddish gravel that was lying heaped beside your gate . "

Sterndale gave a violent start and looked at Holmes in amazement .

" You then walked swiftly for the mile which separated you from the vicarage . You were wearing , I may remark , the same pair of ribbed tennis shoes which are at the present moment upon your feet . At the vicarage you passed through the orchard and the side hedge , coming out under the window of the lodger Tregennis . It was now daylight , but the household was not yet stirring . You drew some of the gravel from your pocket , and you threw it up at the window above you . "

Sterndale sprang to his feet .

" I believe that you are the devil himself ! " he cried .

Holmes smiled at the compliment . " It took two , or possibly three , handfuls before the lodger came to the window . You beckoned him to come down . He dressed hurriedly and descended to his sitting-room . You entered by the window . There was an interview -- a short one -- during which you walked up and down the room . Then you passed out and closed the window , standing on the lawn outside smoking a cigar and watching what occurred . Finally , after the death of Tregennis , you withdrew as you had come . Now , Dr. Sterndale , how do you justify such conduct , and what were the motives for your actions ? If you prevaricate or trifle with me , I give you my assurance that the matter will pass out of my hands forever . "

Our visitor's face had turned ashen gray as he listened to the words of his accuser . Now he sat for some time in thought with his face sunk in his hands . Then with a sudden impulsive gesture he plucked a photograph from his breast-pocket and threw it on the rustic table before us .

" That is why I have done it , " said he .

It showed the bust and face of a very beautiful woman . Holmes stooped over it .

" Brenda Tregennis , " said he .

" Yes , Brenda Tregennis , " repeated our visitor . " For years I have loved her . For years she has loved me . There is the secret of that Cornish seclusion which people have marvelled at . It has brought me close to the one thing on earth that was dear to me . I could not marry her , for I have a wife who has left me for years and yet whom , by the deplorable laws of England , I could not divorce . For years Brenda waited . For years I waited . And this is what we have waited for . " A terrible sob shook his great frame , and he clutched his throat under his brindled beard . Then with an effort he mastered himself and spoke on :

" The vicar knew . He was in our confidence . He would tell you that she was an angel upon earth . That was why he telegraphed to me and I returned . What was my baggage or Africa to me when I learned that such a fate had come upon my darling ? There you have the missing clue to my action , Mr. Holmes . "

" Proceed , " said my friend .

Dr. Sterndale drew from his pocket a paper packet and laid it upon the table . On the outside was written " Radix pedis diaboli " with a red poison label beneath it . He pushed it towards me . " I understand that you are a doctor , sir . Have you ever heard of this preparation ? "

" Devil's-foot root ! No , I have never heard of it . "

" It is no reflection upon your professional knowledge , " said he , " for I believe that , save for one sample in a laboratory at Buda , there is no other specimen in Europe . It has not yet found its way either into the pharmacopoeia or into the literature of toxicology . The root is shaped like a foot , half human , half goatlike ; hence the fanciful name given by a botanical missionary . It is used as an ordeal poison by the medicine-men in certain districts of West Africa and is kept as a secret among them . This particular specimen I obtained under very extraordinary circumstances in the Ubangi country . " He opened the paper as he spoke and disclosed a heap of reddish-brown , snuff-like powder .

" Well , sir ? " asked Holmes sternly .

" I am about to tell you , Mr. Holmes , all that actually occurred , for you already know so much that it is clearly to my interest that you should know all . I have already explained the relationship in which I stood to the Tregennis family . For the sake of the sister I was friendly with the brothers . There was a family quarrel about money which estranged this man Mortimer , but it was supposed to be made up , and I afterwards met him as I did the others . He was a sly , subtle , scheming man , and several things arose which gave me a suspicion of him , but I had no cause for any positive quarrel .

" One day , only a couple of weeks ago , he came down to my cottage and I showed him some of my African curiosities . Among other things I exhibited this powder , and I told him of its strange properties , how it stimulates those brain centres which control the emotion of fear , and how either madness or death is the fate of the unhappy native who is subjected to the ordeal by the priest of his tribe . I told him also how powerless European science would be to detect it . How hi took it I cannot say , for I never left the room , but there is no doubt that it was then , while I was opening cabinets and stooping to boxes , that he managed to abstract some of the devil's-foot root . I well remember how he plied me with questions as to the amount and the time that was needed for its effect , but I little dreamed that he could have a personal reason for asking .

" I thought no more of the matter until the vicar's telegram reached me at Plymouth . This villain had thought that I would be at sea before the news could reach me , and that I should be lost for years in Africa . But I returned at once . Of course , I could not listen to the details without feeling assured that my poison had been used . I came round to see you on the chance that some other explanation had suggested itself to you . But there could be none . I was convinced that Mortimer Tregennis was the murderer ; that for the sake of money , and with the idea , perhaps , that if the other members of his family were all insane he would be the sole guardian of their joint property , he had used the devil's-foot powder upon them , driven two of them out of their senses , and killed his sister Brenda , the one human being whom I have ever loved or who has ever loved me . There was his crime ; what was to be his punishment ?

" Should I appeal to the law ? Where were my proofs ? I knew that the facts were true , but could I help to make a jury of countrymen believe so fantastic a story ? I might or I might not . But I could not afford to fail . My soul cried out for revenge . I have said to you once before , Mr. Holmes , that I have spent much of my life outside the law , and that I have come at last to be a law to myself . So it was now . I determined that the fate which he had given to others should be shared by himself . Either that or I would do justice upon him with my own hand . In all England there can be no man who sets less value upon his own life than I do at the present moment .

" Now I have told you all . You have yourself supplied the rest . I did , as you say , after a restless night , set off early from my cottage . I foresaw the difficulty of arousing him , so I gathered some gravel from the pile which you have mentioned , and I used it to throw up to his window . He came down and admitted me through the window of the sitting-room . I laid his offence before him . I told him that I had come both as judge and executioner . The wretch sank into a chair , paralyzed at the sight of my revolver . I lit the lamp , put the powder above it , and stood outside the window , ready to carry out my threat to shoot him should he try to leave the room . In five minutes he died . My God ! how he died ! But my heart was flint , for he endured nothing which my innocent darling had not felt before him . There is my story , Mr. Holmes . Perhaps , if you loved a woman , you would have done as much yourself . At any rate , I am in your hands . You can take what steps you like . As I have already said , there is no man living who can fear death less than I do . "

Holmes sat for some little time in silence .

" What were your plans ? " he asked at last .

" I had intended to bury myself in central Africa . My work there is but half finished . "

" Go and do the other half , " said Holmes . " I , at least , am not prepared to prevent you . "

Dr. Sterndale raised his giant figure , bowed gravely , and walked from the arbour . Holmes lit his pipe and handed me his pouch .

" Some fumes which are not poisonous would be a welcome change , " said he . " I think you must agree , Watson , that it is not a case in which we are called upon to interfere . Our investigation has been independent , and our action shall be so also . You would not denounce the man ? "

" Certainly not , " I answered .

" I have never loved , Watson , but if I did and if the woman I loved had met such an end , I might act even as our lawless lion-hunter has done . Who knows ? Well , Watson , I will not offend your intelligence by explaining what is obvious . The gravel upon the window-sill was , of course , the starting-point of my research . It was unlike anything in the vicarage garden . Only when my attention had been drawn to Dr. Sterndale and his cottage did I find its counterpart . The lamp shining in broad daylight and the remains of powder upon the shield were successive links in a fairly obvious chain . And now , my dear Watson , I think we may dismiss the matter from our mind and go back with a clear conscience to the study of those Chaldean roots which are surely to be traced in the Cornish branch of the great Celtic speech . "

Mrs. Hudson , the landlady of Sherlock Holmes , was a long-suffering woman . Not only was her first-floor flat invaded at all hours by throngs of singular and often undesirable characters but her remarkable lodger showed an eccentricity and irregularity in his life which must have sorely tried her patience . His incredible untidiness , his addiction to music at strange hours , his occasional revolver practice within doors , his weird and often malodorous scientific experiments , and the atmosphere of violence and danger which hung around him made him the very worst tenant in London . On the other hand , his payments were princely . I have no doubt that the house might have been purchased at the price which Holmes paid for his rooms during the years that I was with him .

The landlady stood in the deepest awe of him and never dared to interfere with him , however outrageous his proceedings might seem . She was fond of him , too , for he had a remarkable gentleness and courtesy in his dealings with women . He disliked and distrusted the sex , but he was always a chivalrous opponent . Knowing how genuine was her regard for him , I listened earnestly to her story when she came to my rooms in the second year of my married life and told me of the sad condition to which my poor friend was reduced .

" He's dying , Dr. Watson , " said she . " For three days he has been sinking , and I doubt if he will last the day . He would not let me get a doctor . This morning when I saw his bones sticking out of his face and his great bright eyes looking at me I could stand no more of it . ' With your leave or without it , Mr. Holmes , I am going for a doctor this very hour , ' said I . ' Let it be Watson , then , ' said he . I wouldn't waste an hour in coming to him , sir , or you may not see him alive . "

I was horrified for I had heard nothing of his illness . I need not say that I rushed for my coat and my hat . As we drove back I asked for the details .

" There is little I can tell you , sir . He has been working at a case down at Rotherhithe , in an alley near the river , and he has brought this illness back with him . He took to his bed on Wednesday afternoon and has never moved since . For these three days neither food nor drink has passed his lips . "

" Good God ! Why did you not call in a doctor ? "

" He wouldn't have it , sir . You know how masterful he is . I didn't dare to disobey him . But he's not long for this world , as you'll see for yourself the moment that you set eyes on him . "

He was indeed a deplorable spectacle . In the dim light of a foggy November day the sick room was a gloomy spot , but it was that gaunt , wasted face staring at me from the bed which sent a chill to my heart . His eyes had the brightness of fever , there was a hectic flush upon either cheek , and dark crusts clung to his lips ; the thin hands upon the coverlet twitched incessantly , his voice was croaking and spasmodic . He lay listlessly as I entered the room , but the sight of me brought a gleam of recognition to his eyes .

" Well , Watson , we seem to have fallen upon evil days , " said he in a feeble voice , but with something of his old carelessness of manner .

" My dear fellow ! " I cried , approaching him .

" Stand back ! Stand right back ! " said he with the sharp imperiousness which I had associated only with moments of crisis . " If you approach me , Watson , I shall order you out of the house . "

" But why ? "

" Because it is my desire . Is that not enough ? "

Yes , Mrs. Hudson was right . He was more masterful than ever . It was pitiful , however , to see his exhaustion .

" I only wished to help , " I explained .

" Exactly ! You will help best by doing what you are told . "

" Certainly , Holmes . "

He relaxed the austerity of his manner .

" You are not angry ? " he asked , gasping for breath .

Poor devil , how could I be angry when I saw him lying in such a plight before me ?

" It's for your own sake , Watson , " he croaked .

" For my sake ? "

" I know what is the matter with me . It is a coolie disease from Sumatra -- a thing that the Dutch know more about than we , though they have made little of it up to date . One thing only is certain . It is infallibly deadly , and it is horribly contagious . "

He spoke now with a feverish energy , the long hands twitching and jerking as he motioned me away .

" Contagious by touch , Watson -- that's it , by touch . Keep your distance and all is well . "

" Good heavens , Holmes ! Do you suppose that such a consideration weighs with me for an instant ? It would not affect me in the case of a stranger . Do you imagine it would prevent me from doing my duty to so old a friend ? "

Again I advanced , but he repulsed me with a look of furious anger .

" If you will stand there I will talk . If you do not you must leave the room . "

I have so deep a respect for the extraordinary qualities of Holmes that I have always deferred to his wishes , even when I least understood them . But now all my professional instincts were aroused . Let him be my master elsewhere , I at least was his in a sick room .

" Holmes , " said I , " you are not yourself . A sick man is but a child , and so I will treat you . Whether you like it or not , I will examine your symptoms and treat you for them . "

He looked at me with venomous eyes .

" If I am to have a doctor whether I will or not , let me at least have someone in whom I have confidence , " said he .

" Then you have none in me ? "

" In your friendship , certainly . But facts are facts , Watson , and , after all , you are only a general practitioner with very limited experience and mediocre qualifications . It is painful to have to say these things , but you leave me no choice . "

I was bitterly hurt .

" Such a remark is unworthy of you , Holmes . It shows me very clearly the state of your own nerves . But if you have no confidence in me I would not intrude my services . Let me bring Sir Jasper Meek or Penrose Fisher , or any of the best men in London . But someone you must have , and that is final . If you think that I am going to stand here and see you die without either helping you myself or bringing anyone else to help you , then you have mistaken your man . "

" You mean well , Watson , " said the sick man with something between a sob and a groan . " Shall I demonstrate your own ignorance ? What do you know , pray , of Tapanuli fever ? What do you know of the black Formosa corruption ? "

" I have never heard of either . "

" There are many problems of disease , many strange pathological possibilities , in the East , Watson . " He paused after each sentence to collect his failing strength . " I have learned so much during some recent researches which have a medico-criminal aspect . It was in the course of them that I contracted this complaint . You can do nothing . "

" Possibly not . But I happen to know that Dr. Ainstree , the greatest living authority upon tropical disease , is now in London . All remonstrance is useless , Holmes , I am going this instant to fetch him . " I turned resolutely to the door .

Never have I had such a shock ! In an instant , with a tiger-spring , the dying man had intercepted me . I heard the sharp snap of a twisted key . The next moment he had staggered back to his bed , exhausted and panting after his one tremendous outflame of energy .

" You won't take the key from me by force , Watson . I've got you , my friend . Here you are , and here you will stay until I will otherwise . But I'll humour you . " ( All this in little gasps , with terrible struggles for breath between . ) " You've only my own good at heart . Of course I know that very well . You shall have your way , but give me time to get my strength . Not now , Watson , not now . It's four o'clock . At six you can go . "

" This is insanity , Holmes . "

" Only two hours , Watson . I promise you will go at six . Are you content to wait ? "

" I seem to have no choice . "

" None in the world , Watson . Thank you , I need no help in arranging the clothes . You will please keep your distance . Now , Watson , there is one other condition that I would make . You will seek help , not from the man you mention , but from the one that I choose . "

" By all means . "

" The first three sensible words that you have uttered since you entered this room , Watson . You will find some books over there . I am somewhat exhausted ; I wonder how a battery feels when it pours electricity into a non-conductor ? At six , Watson , we resume our conversation . "

But it was destined to be resumed long before that hour , and in circumstances which gave me a shock hardly second to that caused by his spring to the door . I had stood for some minutes looking at the silent figure in the bed . His face was almost covered by the clothes and he appeared to be asleep . Then , unable to settle down to reading , I walked slowly round the room , examining the pictures of celebrated criminals with which every wall was adorned . Finally , in my aimless perambulation , I came to the mantelpiece . A litter of pipes , tobacco-pouches , syringes , penknives , revolver-cartridges , and other debris was scattered over it . In the midst of these was a small black and white ivory box with a sliding lid . It was a neat little thing , and I had stretched out my hand to examine it more closely when -- It was a dreadful cry that he gave -- a yell which might have been heard down the street . My skin went cold and my hair bristled at that horrible scream . As I turned I caught a glimpse of a convulsed face and frantic eyes . I stood paralyzed , with the little box in my hand .

" Put it down ! Down , this instant , Watson -- this instant , I say ! " His head sank back upon the pillow and he gave a deep sigh of relief as I replaced the box upon the mantelpiece . " I hate to have my things touched , Watson . You know that I hate it . You fidget me beyond endurance . You , a doctor -- you are enough to drive a patient into an asylum . Sit down , man , and let me have my rest ! "

The incident left a most unpleasant impression upon my mind . The violent and causeless excitement , followed by this brutality of speech , so far removed from his usual suavity , showed me how deep was the disorganization of his mind . Of all ruins , that of a noble mind is the most deplorable . I sat in silent dejection until the stipulated time had passed . He seemed to have been watching the clock as well as I , for it was hardly six before he began to talk with the same feverish animation as before .

" Now , Watson , " said he . " Have you any change in your pocket ? "

" Yes . "

" Any silver ? "

" A good deal . "

" How many half-crowns ? "

" I have five . "

" Ah , too few ! Too few ! How very unfortunate , Watson ! However , such as they are you can put them in your watchpocket . And all the rest of your money in your left trouserpocket . Thank you . It will balance you so much better like that . "

This was raving insanity . He shuddered , and again made a sound between a cough and a sob .

" You will now light the gas , Watson , but you will be very careful that not for one instant shall it be more than half on . I implore you to be careful , Watson . Thank you , that is excellent . No , you need not draw the blind . Now you will have the kindness to place some letters and papers upon this table within my reach . Thank you . Now some of that litter from the mantelpiece . Excellent , Watson ! There is a sugar-tongs there . Kindly raise that small ivory box with its assistance . Place it here among the papers . Good ! You can now go and fetch Mr. Culverton Smith , of 13 Lower Burke Street . "

To tell the truth , my desire to fetch a doctor had somewhat weakened , for poor Holmes was so obviously delirious that it seemed dangerous to leave him . However , he was as eager now to consult the person named as he had been obstinate in refusing .

" I never heard the name , " said I .

" Possibly not , my good Watson . It may surprise you to know that the man upon earth who is best versed in this disease is not a medical man , but a planter . Mr. Culverton Smith is a well-known resident of Sumatra , now visiting London . An outbreak of the disease upon his plantation , which was distant from medical aid , caused him to study it himself , with some rather far-reaching consequences . He is a very methodical person , and I did not desire you to start before six , because I was well aware that you would not find him in his study . If you could persuade him to come here and give us the benefit of his unique experience of this disease , the investigation of which has been his dearest hobby , I cannot doubt that he could help me . "

I give Holmes's remarks as a consecutive whole and will not attempt to indicate how they were interrupted by gaspings for breath and those clutchings of his hands which indicated the pain from which he was suffering . His appearance had changed for the worse during the few hours that I had been with him . Those hectic spots were more pronounced , the eyes shone more brightly out of darker hollows , and a cold sweat glimmered upon his brow . He still retained , however , the jaunty gallantry of his speech . To the last gasp he would always be the master .

" You will tell him exactly how you have left me , " said he . " You will convey the very impression which is in your own mind -- a dying man -- a dying and delirious man . Indeed , I cannot think why the whole bed of the ocean is not one solid mass of oysters , so prolific the creatures seem . Ah , I am wandering ! Strange how the brain controls the brain ! What was I saying , Watson ? "

" My directions for Mr. Culverton Smith . "

" Ah , yes , I remember . My life depends upon it . Plead with him , Watson . There is no good feeling between us . His nephew , Watson -- I had suspicions of foul play and I allowed him to see it . The boy died horribly . He has a grudge against me . You will soften him , Watson . Beg him , pray him , get him here by any means . He can save me -- only he ! "

" I will bring him in a cab , if I have to carry him down to it . "

" You will do nothing of the sort . You will persuade him to come . And then you will return in front of him . Make any excuse so as not to come with him . Don't forget , Watson . You won't fail me . You never did fail me . No doubt there are natural enemies which limit the increase of the creatures . You and I , Watson , we have done our part . Shall the world , then , be overrun by oysters ? No , no ; horrible ! You'll convey all that is in your mind . "

I left him full of the image of this magnificent intellect babbling like a foolish child . He had handed me the key , and with a happy thought I took it with me lest he should lock himself in . Mrs. Hudson was waiting , trembling and weeping , in the passage . Behind me as I passed from the flat I heard Holmes's high , thin voice in some delirious chant . Below , as I stood whistling for a cab , a man came on me through the fog .

" How is Mr. Holmes , sir ? " he asked .

It was an old acquaintance , Inspector Morton , of Scotland Yard , dressed in unofficial tweeds .

" He is very ill , " I answered .

He looked at me in a most singular fashion . Had it not been too fiendish , I could have imagined that the gleam of the fanlight showed exultation in his face .

" I heard some rumour of it , " said he .

The cab had driven up , and I left him .

Lower Burke Street proved to be a line of fine houses lying in the vague borderland between Notting Hill and Kensington . The particular one at which my cabman pulled up had an air of smug and demure respectability in its old-fashioned iron railings , its massive folding-door , and its shining brasswork . All was in keeping with a solemn butler who appeared framed in the pink radiance of a tinted electric light behind him .

" Yes , Mr. Culverton Smith is in . Dr. Watson ! Very good , sir , I will take up your card . "

My humble name and title did not appear to impress Mr. Culverton Smith . Through the half-open door I heard a high , petulant , penetrating voice .

" Who is this person ? What does he want ? Dear me , Staples , how often have I said that I am not to be disturbed in my hours of study ? "

There came a gentle flow of soothing explanation from the butler .

" Well , I won't see him , Staples . I can't have my work interrupted like this . I am not at home . Say so . Tell him to come in the morning if he really must see me . "

Again the gentle murmur .

" Well , well , give him that message . He can come in the morning , or he can stay away . My work must not be hindered . "

I thought of Holmes tossing upon his bed of sickness and counting the minutes , perhaps , until I could bring help to him . It was not a time to stand upon ceremony . His life depended upon my promptness . Before the apologetic butler had delivered his message I had pushed past him and was in the room .

With a shrill cry of anger a man rose from a reclining chair beside the fire . I saw a great yellow face , coarse-grained and greasy , with heavy , double-chin , and two sullen , menacing gray eyes which glared at me from under tufted and sandy brows . A high bald head had a small velvet smoking-cap poised coquettishly upon one side of its pink curve . The skull was of enormous capacity , and yet as I looked down I saw to my amazement that the figure of the man was small and frail , twisted in the shoulders and back like one who has suffered from rickets in his childhood .

" What's this ? " he cried in a high , screaming voice . " What is the meaning of this intrusion ? Didn't I send you word that I would see you to-morrow morning ? "

" I am sorry , " said I , " but the matter cannot be delayed . Mr. Sherlock Holmes -- "

The mention of my friend's name had an extraordinary effect upon the little man . The look of anger passed in an instant from his face . His features became tense and alert .

" Have you come from Holmes ? " he asked .

" I have just left him . "

" What about Holmes ? How is he ? "

" He is desperately ill . That is why I have come . "

The man motioned me to a chair , and turned to resume his own . As he did so I caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror over the mantelpiece . I could have sworn that it was set in a malicious and abominable smile . Yet I persuaded myself that it must have been some nervous contraction which I had surprised , for he turned to me an instant later with genuine concern upon his features .

" I am sorry to hear this , " said he . " I only know Mr. Holmes through some business dealings which we have had , but I have every respect for his talents and his character . He is an amateur of crime , as I am of disease . For him the villain , for me the microbe . There are my prisons , " he continued , pointing to a row of bottles and jars which stood upon a side table . " Among those gelatine cultivations some of the very worst offenders in the world are now doing time . "

" It was on account of your special knowledge that Mr. Holmes desired to see you . He has a high opinion of you and thought that you were the one man in London who could help him . "

The little man started , and the jaunty smoking-cap slid to the floor .

" Why ? " he asked . " Why should Mr. Holmes think that I could help him in his trouble ? "

" Because of your knowledge of Eastern diseases . "

" But why should he think that this disease which he has contracted is Eastern ? "

" Because , in some professional inquiry , he has been working among Chinese sailors down in the docks . "

Mr. Culverton Smith smiled pleasantly and picked up his smoking-cap .

" Oh , that's it -- is it ? " said he . " I trust the matter is not so grave as you suppose . How long has he been ill ? "

" About three days . "

" Is he delirious ? "

" Occasionally . "

" Tut , tut ! This sounds serious . It would be inhuman not to answer his call . I very much resent any interruption to my work , Dr. Watson , but this case is certainly exceptional . I will come with you at once . "

I remembered Holmes's injunction .

" I have another appointment , " said I .

" Very good . I will go alone . I have a note of Mr. Holmes's address . You can rely upon my being there within half an hour at most . "

It was with a sinking heart that I reentered Holmes's bedroom . For all that I knew the worst might have happened in my absence . To my enormous relief , he had improved greatly in the interval . His appearance was as ghastly as ever , but all trace of delirium had left him and he spoke in a feeble voice , it is true , but with even more than his usual crispness and lucidity .

" Well , did you see him , Watson ? "

" Yes ; he is coming . "

" Admirable , Watson ! Admirable ! You are the best of messengers . "

" He wished to return with me . "

" That would never do , Watson . That would be obviously impossible . Did he ask what ailed me ? "

" I told him about the Chinese in the East End . "

" Exactly ! Well , Watson , you have done all that a good friend could . You can now disappear from the scene . "

" I must wait and hear his opinion , Holmes . "

" Of course you must . But I have reasons to suppose that this opinion would be very much more frank and valuable if he imagines that we are alone . There is just room behind the head of my bed , Watson . "

" My dear Holmes ! "

" I fear there is no alternative , Watson . The room does not lend itself to concealment , which is as well , as it is the less likely to arouse suspicion . But just there , Watson , I fancy that it could be done . " Suddenly he sat up with a rigid intentness upon his haggard face . " There are the wheels , Watson . Quick , man , if you love me ! And don't budge , whatever happens -- whatever happens , do you hear ? Don't speak ! Don't move ! Just listen with all your ears . " Then in an instant his sudden access of strength departed , and his masterful , purposeful talk droned away into the low , vague murmurings of a semi-delirious man .

From the hiding-place into which I had been so swiftly hustled I heard the footfalls upon the stair , with the opening and the closing of the bedroom door . Then , to my surprise , there came a long silence , broken only by the heavy breathings and gaspings of the sick man . I could imagine that our visitor was standing by the bedside and looking down at the sufferer . At last that strange hush was broken .

" Holmes ! " he cried . " Holmes ! " in the insistent tone of one who awakens a sleeper . " Can't you hear me , Holmes ? " There was a rustling , as if he had shaken the sick man roughly by the shoulder .

" Is that you , Mr. Smith ? " Holmes whispered . " I hardly dared hope that you would come . "

The other laughed .

" I should imagine not , " he said . " And yet , you see , I am here . Coals of fire , Holmes -- coals of fire ! "

" It is very good of you -- very noble of you . I appreciate your special knowledge . "

Our visitor sniggered .

" You do . You are , fortunately , the only man in London who does . Do you know what is the matter with you ? "

" The same , " said Holmes .

" Ah ! You recognize the symptoms ? "

" Only too well . "

" Well , I shouldn't be surprised , Holmes . I shouldn't be surprised if it were the same . A bad lookout for you if it is . Poor Victor was a dead man on the fourth day -- a strong , hearty young fellow . It was certainly , as you said , very surprising that he should have contracted an out-of-the-way Asiatic disease in the heart of London -- a disease , too , of which I had made such a very special study . Singular coincidence , Holmes . Very smart of you to notice it , but rather uncharitable to suggest that it was cause and effect . "

" I knew that you did it . "

" Oh , you did , did you ? Well , you couldn't prove it , anyhow . But what do you think of yourself spreading reports about me like that , and then crawling to me for help the moment you are in trouble ? What sort of a game is that -- eh ? "

I heard the rasping , laboured breathing of the sick man . " Give me the water ! " he gasped .

" You're precious near your end , my friend , but I don't want you to go till I have had a word with you . That's why I give you water . There , don't slop it about ! That's right . Can you understand what I say ? "

Holmes groaned .

" Do what you can for me . Let bygones be bygones , " he whispered . " I'll put the words out of my head -- I swear I will . Only cure me , and I'll forget it . "

" Forget what ? "

" Well , about Victor Savage's death . You as good as admitted just now that you had done it . I'll forget it . "

" You can forget it or remember it , just as you like . I don't see you in the witness-box . Quite another shaped box , my good Holmes , I assure you . It matters nothing to me that you should know how my nephew died . It's not him we are talking about . It's you . "

" Yes , yes . "

" The fellow who came for me -- I've forgotten his name -- said that you contracted it down in the East End among the sailors . "

" I could only account for it so . "

" You are proud of your brains , Holmes , are you not ? Think yourself smart , don't you ? You came across someone who was smarter this time . Now cast your mind back , Holmes . Can you think of no other way you could have got this thing ? "

" I can't think . My mind is gone . For heaven's sake help me ! "

" Yes , I will help you . I'll help you to understand just where you are and how you got there . I'd like you to know before you die . "

" Give me something to ease my pain . "

" Painful , is it ? Yes , the coolies used to do some squealing towards the end . Takes you as cramp , I fancy . "

" Yes , yes ; it is cramp . "

" Well , you can hear what I say , anyhow . Listen now ! Can you remember any unusual incident in your life just about the time your symptoms began ? "

" No , no ; nothing . "

" Think again . "

" I'm too ill to think . "

" Well , then , I'll help you . Did anything come by post ? "

" By post ? "

" A box by chance ? "

" I'm fainting -- I'm gone ! "

" Listen , Holmes ! " There was a sound as if he was shaking the dying man , and it was all that I could do to hold myself quiet in my hiding-place . " You must hear me . You shall hear me . Do you remember a box -- an ivory box ? It came on Wednesday . You opened it -- do you remember ? "

" Yes , yes , I opened it . There was a sharp spring inside it . Some joke -- "

" It was no joke , as you will find to your cost . You fool , you would have it and you have got it . Who asked you to cross my path ? If you had left me alone I would not have hurt you . "

" I remember , " Holmes gasped . " The spring ! It drew blood . This box -- this on the table . "

" The very one , by George ! And it may as well leave the room in my pocket . There goes your last shred of evidence . But you have the truth now , Holmes , and you can die with the knowledge that I killed you . You knew too much of the fate of Victor Savage , so I have sent you to share it . You are very near your end , Holmes . I will sit here and I will watch you die . "

Holmes's voice had sunk to an almost inaudible whisper .

" What is that ? " said Smith . " Turn up the gas ? Ah , the shadows begin to fall , do they ? Yes , I will turn it up , that I may see you the better . " He crossed the room and the light suddenly brightened . " Is there any other little service that I can do you , my friend ? "

" A match and a cigarette . "

I nearly called out in my joy and my amazement . He was speaking in his natural voice -- a little weak , perhaps , but the very voice I knew . There was a long pause , and I felt that Culverton Smith was standing in silent amazement looking down at his companion .

" What's the meaning of this ? " I heard him say at last in a dry , rasping tone .

" The best way of successfully acting a part is to be it , " said Holmes . " I give you my word that for three days I have tasted neither food nor drink until you were good enough to pour me out that glass of water . But it is the tobacco which I find most irksome . Ah , here are some cigarettes . " I heard the striking of a match . " That is very much better . Halloa ! halloa ! Do I hear the step of a friend ? "

There were footfalls outside , the door opened , and Inspector Morton appeared .

" All is in order and this is your man , " said Holmes .

The officer gave the usual cautions .

" I arrest you on the charge of the murder of one Victor Savage , " he concluded .

" And you might add of the attempted murder of one Sherlock Holmes , " remarked my friend with a chuckle . " To save an invalid trouble , Inspector , Mr. Culverton Smith was good enough to give our signal by turning up the gas . By the way , the prisoner has a small box in the right-hand pocket of his coat which it would be as well to remove . Thank you . I would handle it gingerly if I were you . Put it down here . It may play its part in the trial . "

There was a sudden rush and a scuffle , followed by the clash of iron and a cry of pain .

" You'll only get yourself hurt , " said the inspector . " Stand still , will you ? " There was the click of the closing handcuffs .

" A nice trap ! " cried the high , snarling voice . " It will bring you into the dock , Holmes , not me . He asked me to come here to cure him . I was sorry for him and I came . Now he will pretend , no doubt , that I have said anything which he may invent which will corroborate his insane suspicions . You can lie as you like , Holmes . My word is always as good as yours . "

" Good heavens ! " cried Holmes . " I had totally forgotten him . My dear Watson , I owe you a thousand apologies . To think that I should have overlooked you ! I need not introduce you to Mr. Culverton Smith , since I understand that you met somewhat earlier in the evening . Have you the cab below ? I will follow you when I am dressed , for I may be of some use at the station .

" I never needed it more , " said Holmes as he refreshed himself with a glass of claret and some biscuits in the intervals of his toilet . " However , as you know , my habits are irregular , and such a feat means less to me than to most men . It was very essential that I should impress Mrs. Hudson with the reality of my condition , since she was to convey it to you , and you in turn to him . You won't be offended , Watson ? You will realize that among your many talents dissimulation finds no place , and that if you had shared my secret you would never have been able to impress Smith with the urgent necessity of his presence , which was the vital point of the whole scheme . Knowing his vindictive nature , I was perfectly certain that he would come to look upon his handiwork . "

" But your appearance , Holmes -- your ghastly face ? "

" Three days of absolute fast does not improve one's beauty , Watson . For the rest , there is nothing which a sponge may not cure . With vaseline upon one's forehead , belladonna in one's eyes , rouge over the cheek-bones , and crusts of beeswax round one's lips , a very satisfying effect can be produced . Malingering is a subject upon which I have sometimes thought of writing a monograph . A little occasional talk about half-crowns , oysters- , or any other extraneous subject produces a pleasing effect of delirium . "

" But why would you not let me near you , since there was in truth no infection ? "

" Can you ask , my dear Watson ? Do you imagine that I have no respect for your medical talents ? Could I fancy that your astute judgment would pass a dying man who , however weak , had no rise of pulse or temperature ? At four yards , I could deceive you . If I failed to do so , who would bring my Smith within my grasp ? No , Watson , I would not touch that box . You can just see if you look at it sideways where the sharp spring like a viper's tooth emerges as you open it . I dare say it was by some such device that poor Savage , who stood between this monster and a reversion , was done to death . My correspondence , however , is , as you know , a varied one , and I am somewhat upon my guard against any packages which reach me . It was clear to me , however , that by pretending that he had really succeeded in his design I might surprise a confession . That pretence I have carried out with the thoroughness of the true artist . Thank you , Watson , you must help me on with my coat . When we have finished at the police-station I think that something nutritious at Simpson's would not be out of place . "

" But why Turkish ? " asked Mr. Sherlock Holmes , gazing fixedly at my boots . I was reclining in a cane-backed chair at the moment , and my protruded feet had attracted his ever-active attention .

" English , " I answered in some surprise . " I got them at Latimer's , in Oxford Street . "

Holmes smiled with an expression of weary patience .

" The bath ! " he said ; " the bath ! Why the relaxing and expensive Turkish rather than the invigorating home-made article ? "

" Because for the last few days I have been feeling rheumatic and old . A Turkish bath is what we call an alterative in medicine -- a fresh starting-point , a cleanser of the system .

" By the way , Holmes , " I added , " I have no doubt the connection between my boots and a Turkish bath is a perfectly self-evident one to a logical mind , and yet I should be obliged to you if you would indicate it . "

" The train of reasoning is not very obscure , Watson , " said Holmes with a mischievous twinkle . " It belongs to the same elementary class of deduction which I should illustrate if I were to ask you who shared your cab in your drive this morning . "

" I don't admit that a fresh illustration is an explanation , " said I with some asperity .

" Bravo , Watson ! A very dignified and logical remonstrance . Let me see , what were the points ? Take the last one first -- the cab . You observe that you have some splashes on the left sleeve and shoulder of your coat . Had you sat in the centre of a hansom you would probably have had no splashes , and if you had they would certainly have been symmetrical . Therefore it is clear that you sat at the side . Therefore it is equally clear that you had a companion . "

" That is very evident . "

" Absurdly commonplace , is it not ? "

" But the boots and the bath ? "

" Equally childish . You are in the habit of doing up your boots in a certain way . I see them on this occasion fastened with an elaborate double bow , which is not your usual method of tying them . You have , therefore , had them off . Who has tied them ? A bootmaker -- or the boy at the bath . It is unlikely that it is the bootmaker , since your boots are nearly new . Well , what remains ? The bath . Absurd , is it not ? But , for all that , the Turkish bath has served a purpose . "

" What is that ? "

" You say that you have had it because you need a change . Let me suggest that you take one . How would Lausanne do , my dear Watson -- first-class tickets and all expenses paid on a princely scale ? "

" Splendid ! But why ? "

Holmes leaned back in his armchair and took his notebook from his pocket .

" One of the most dangerous classes in the world , " said he , " is the drifting and friendless woman . She is the most harmless and often the most useful of mortals , but she is the inevitable inciter of crime in others . She is helpless . She is migratory . She has sufficient means to take her from country to country and from hotel to hotel . She is lost , as often as not , in a maze of obscure pensions and boarding-houses . She is a stray chicken in a world of foxes . When she is gobbled up she is hardly missed . I much fear that some evil has come to the Lady Frances Carfax . "

I was relieved at this sudden descent from the general to the particular . Holmes consulted his notes .

" Lady Frances , " he continued , " is the sole survivor of the direct family of the late Earl of Rufton . The estates went , as you may remember , in the male line . She was left with limited means , but with some very remarkable old Spanish jewellery of silver and curiously cut diamonds to which she was fondly attached -- too attached , for she refused to leave them with her banker and always carried them about with her . A rather pathetic figure , the Lady Frances , a beautiful woman , still in fresh middle age , and yet , by a strange chance , the last derelict of what only twenty years ago was a goodly fleet . "

" What has happened to her , then ? "

" Ah , what has happened to the Lady Frances ? Is she alive or dead ? There is our problem . She is a lady of precise habits , and for four years it has been her invariable custom to write every second week to Miss Dobney , her old governess , who has long retired and lives in Camberwell . It is this Miss Dobney who has consulted me . Nearly five weeks have passed without a word . The last letter was from the Hotel National at Lausanne . Lady Frances seems to have left there and given no address . The family are anxious , and as they are exceedingly wealthy no sum will be spared if we can clear the matter up . "

" Is Miss Dobney the only source of information ? Surely she had other correspondents ? "

" There is one correspondent who is a sure draw , Watson . That is the bank . Single ladies must live , and their passbooks are compressed diaries . She banks at Silvester's . I have glanced over her account . The last check but one paid her bill at Lausanne but it was a large one and probably left her with cash in hand . Only one check has been drawn since . "

" To whom , and where ? "

" To Miss Marie Devine . There is nothing to show where the check was drawn . It was cashed at the Credit Lyonnais at Montpellier less than three weeks ago . The sum was fifty pounds . "

" And who is Miss Marie Devine ? "

" That also I have been able to discover . Miss Marie Devine was the maid of Lady Frances Carfax . Why she should have paid her this check we have not yet determined . I have no doubt , however , that your researches will soon clear the matter up . "

" My researches ! "

" Hence the health-giving expedition to Lausanne . You know that I cannot possibly leave London while old Abrahams is in such mortal terror of his life . Besides , on general principles it is best that I should not leave the country . Scotland Yard feels lonely without me , and it causes an unhealthy excitement among the criminal classes . Go , then , my dear Watson , and if my humble counsel can ever be valued at so extravagant a rate as two pence a word , it waits your disposal night and day at the end of the Continental wire . "

Two days later found me at the Hotel National at Lausanne , where I received every courtesy at the hands of M. Moser , the well-known manager . Lady Frances , as he informed me , had stayed there for several weeks . She had been much liked by all who met her . Her age was not more than forty . She was still handsome and bore every sign of having in her youth been a very lovely woman . M. Moser knew nothing of any valuable jewellery , but it had been remarked by the servants that the heavy trunk in the lady's bedroom was always scrupulously locked . Marie Devine , the maid , was as popular as her mistress . She was actually engaged to one of the head waiters in the hotel , and there was no difficulty in getting her address . It was 11 Rue de Trajan , Montpellier . All this I jotted down and felt that Holmes himself could not have been more adroit in collecting his facts .

Only one corner still remained in the shadow . No light which I possessed could clear up the cause for the lady's sudden departure . She was very happy at Lausanne . There was every reason to believe that she intended to remain for the season in her luxurious rooms overlooking the lake . And yet she had left at a single day's notice , which involved her in the useless payment of a week's rent . Only Jules Vibart , the lover of the maid , had any suggestion to offer . He connected the sudden departure with the visit to the hotel a day or two before of a tall , dark , bearded man . " Un sauvage -- un veritable sauvage ! " cried Jules Vibart . The man had rooms somewhere in the town . He had been seen talking earnestly to Madame on the promenade by the lake . Then he had called . She had refused to see him . He was English , but of his name there was no record . Madame had left the place immediately afterwards . Jules Vibart , and , what was of more importance , Jules Vibart's sweetheart , thought that this call and this departure were cause and effect . Only one thing Jules would not discuss . That was the reason why Marie had left her mistress . Of that he could or would say nothing . If I wished to know , I must go to Montpellier and ask her .

So ended the first chapter of my inquiry . The second was devoted to the place which Lady Frances Carfax had sought when she left Lausanne . Concerning this there had been some secrecy , which confirmed the idea that she had gone with the intention of throwing someone off her track . Otherwise why should not her luggage have been openly labelled for Baden ? Both she and it reached the Rhenish spa by some circuitous route . This much I gathered from the manager of Cook's local office . So to Baden I went , after dispatching to Holmes an account of all my proceedings and receiving in reply a telegram of half-humorous commendation .

At Baden the track was not difficult to follow . Lady Frances had stayed at the Englischer Hof for a fortnight . While there she had made the acquaintance of a Dr. Shlessinger and his wife , a missionary from South America . Like most lonely ladies , Lady Frances found her comfort and occupation in religion . Dr. Shlessinger's remarkable personality , his whole-hearted devotion , and the fact that he was recovering from a disease contracted in the exercise of his apostolic duties affected her deeply . She had helped Mrs. Shlessinger in the nursing of the convalescent saint . He spent his day , as the manager described it to me , upon a lounge-chair on the veranda , with an attendant lady upon either side of him . He was preparing a map of the Holy Land , with special reference to the kingdom of the Midianites , upon which he was writing a monograph . Finally , having improved much in health , he and his wife had returned to London , and Lady Frances had started thither in their company . This was just three weeks before , and the manager had heard nothing since . As to the maid , Marie , she had gone off some days beforehand in floods of tears , after informing the other maids that she was leaving service forever . Dr. Shlessinger had paid the bill of the whole party before his departure .

" By the way , " said the landlord in conclusion , " you are not the only friend of Lady Frances Carfax who is inquiring after her just now . Only a week or so ago we had a man here upon the same errand . "

" Did he give a name ? " I asked .

" None ; but he was an Englishman , though of an unusual type . "

" A savage ? " said I , linking my facts after the fashion of my illustrious friend .

" Exactly . That describes him very well . He is a bulky , bearded , sunburned fellow , who looks as if he would be more at home in a farmers' inn than in a fashionable hotel . A hard , fierce man , I should think , and one whom I should be sorry to offend . "

Already the mystery began to define itself , as figures grow clearer with the lifting of a fog . Here was this good and pious lady pursued from place to place by a sinister and unrelenting figure . She feared him , or she would not have fled from Lausanne . He had still followed . Sooner or later he would overtake her . Had he already overtaken her ? Was that the secret of her continued silence ? Could the good people who were her companions not screen her from his violence or his blackmail ? What horrible purpose , what deep design , lay behind this long pursuit ? There was the problem which I had to solve .

To Holmes I wrote showing how rapidly and surely I had got down to the roots of the matter . In reply I had a telegram asking for a description of Dr. Shlessinger's left ear . Holmes's ideas of humour are strange and occasionally offensive , so I took no notice of his ill-timed jest -- indeed , I had already reached Montpellier in my pursuit of the maid , Marie , before his message came .

I had no difficulty in finding the ex-servant and in learning all that she could tell me . She was a devoted creature , who had only left her mistress because she was sure that she was in good hands , and because her own approaching marriage made a separation inevitable in any case . Her mistress had , as she confessed with distress , shown some irritability of temper towards her during their stay in Baden , and had even questioned her once as if she had suspicions of her honesty , and this had made the parting easier than it would otherwise have been . Lady Frances had given her fifty pounds as a wedding-present . Like me , Marie viewed with deep distrust the stranger who had driven her mistress from Lausanne . With her own eyes she had seen him seize the lady's wrist with great violence on the public promenade by the lake . He was a fierce and terrible man . She believed that it was out of dread of him that Lady Frances had accepted the escort of the Shlessingers to London . She had never spoken to Marie about it , but many little signs had convinced the maid that her mistress lived in a state of continual nervous apprehension . So far she had got in her narrative , when suddenly she sprang from her chair and her face was convulsed with surprise and fear . " See ! " she cried . " The miscreant follows still ! There is the very man of whom I speak . "

Through the open sitting-room window I saw a huge , swarthy man with a bristling black beard walking slowly down the centre of the street and staring eagerly at the numbers of the houses . It was clear that , like myself , he was on the track of the maid . Acting upon the impulse of the moment , I rushed out and accosted him .

" You are an Englishman , " I said .

" What if I am ? " he asked with a most villainous scowl .

" May I ask what your name is ? "

" No , you may not , " said he with decision .

The situation was awkward , but the most direct way is often the best .

" Where is the Lady Frances Carfax ? " I asked .

He stared at me in amazement .

" What have you done with her ? Why have you pursued her ? I insist upon an answer ! " said I .

The fellow gave a bellow of anger and sprang upon me like a tiger . I have held my own in many a struggle , but the man had a grip of iron and the fury of a fiend . His hand was on my throat and my senses were nearly gone before an unshaven French ouvrier in a blue blouse darted out from a cabaret opposite , with a cudgel in his hand , and struck my assailant a sharp crack over the forearm , which made him leave go his hold . He stood for an instant fuming with rage and uncertain whether he should not renew his attack . Then , with a snarl of anger , he left me and entered the cottage from which I had just come . I turned to thank my preserver , who stood beside me in the roadway .

" Well , Watson , " said he , " a very pretty hash you have made of it ! I rather think you had better come back with me to London by the night express . "

An hour afterwards , Sherlock Holmes , in his usual garb and style , was seated in my private room at the hotel . His explanation of his sudden and opportune appearance was simplicity itself , for , finding that he could get away from London , he determined to head me off at the next obvious point of my travels . In the disguise of a workingman he had sat in the cabaret waiting for my appearance .

" And a singularly consistent investigation you have made , my dear Watson , " said he . " I cannot at the moment recall any possible blunder which you have omitted . The total effect of your proceeding has been to give the alarm everywhere and yet to discover nothing . "

" Perhaps you would have done no better , " I answered bitterly .

" There is no ' perhaps ' about it . I have done better . Here is the Hon. Philip Green , who is a fellow-lodger with you in this hotel , and we may find him the starting-point for a more successful investigation . "

A card had come up on a salver , and it was followed by the same bearded ruffian who had attacked me in the street . He started when he saw me .

" What is this , Mr. Holmes ? " he asked . " I had your note and I have come . But what has this man to do with the matter ? "

" This is my old friend and associate , Dr. Watson , who is helping us in this affair . "

The stranger held out a huge , sunburned hand , with a few words of apology .

" I hope I didn't harm you . When you accused me of hurting her I lost my grip of myself . Indeed , I'm not responsible in these days . My nerves are like live wires . But this situation is beyond me . What I want to know , in the first place , Mr. Holmes , is , how in the world you came to hear of my existence at all . "

" I am in touch with Miss Dobney , Lady Frances's governess . "

" Old Susan Dobney with the mob cap ! I remember her well . "

" And she remembers you . It was in the days before -- before you found it better to go to South Africa . "

" Ah , I see you know my whole story . I need hide nothing from you . I swear to you , Mr. Holmes , that there never was in this world a man who loved a woman with a more wholehearted love than I had for Frances . I was a wild youngster , I know -- not worse than others of my class . But her mind was pure as snow . She could not bear a shadow of coarseness . So , when she came to hear of things that I had done , she would have no more to say to me . And yet she loved me -- that is the wonder of it ! -- loved me well enough to remain single all her sainted days just for my sake alone . When the years had passed and I had made my money at Barberton I thought perhaps I could seek her out and soften her . I had heard that she was still unmarried . I found her at Lausanne and tried all I knew . She weakened , I think , but her will was strong , and when next I called she had left the town . I traced her to Baden , and then after a time heard that her maid was here . I'm a rough fellow , fresh from a rough life , and when Dr. Watson spoke to me as he did I lost hold of myself for a moment . But for God's sake tell me what has become of the Lady Frances . "

" That is for us to find out , " said Sherlock Holmes with peculiar gravity . " What is your London address , Mr. Green ? "

" The Langham Hotel will find me . "

" Then may I recommend that you return there and be on hand in case I should want you ? I have no desire to encourage false hopes , but you may rest assured that all that can be done will be done for the safety of Lady Frances . I can say no more for the instant . I will leave you this card so that you may be able to keep in touch with us . Now , Watson , if you will pack your bag I will cable to Mrs. Hudson to make one of her best efforts for two hungry travellers at 7:30 to-morrow . "

A telegram was awaiting us when we reached our Baker Street rooms , which Holmes read with an exclamation of interest and threw across to me . " Jagged or torn , " was the message , and the place of origin , Baden .

" What is this ? " I asked .

" It is everything , " Holmes answered . " You may remember my seemingly irrelevant question as to this clerical gentleman's left ear . You did not answer it . "

" I had left Baden and could not inquire . "

" Exactly . For this reason I sent a duplicate to the manager of the Englischer Hof , whose answer lies here . "

" What does it show ? "

" It shows , my dear Watson , that we are dealing with an exceptionally astute and dangerous man . The Rev. Dr. Shlessinger , missionary from South America , is none other than Holy Peters , one of the most unscrupulous rascals that Australia has ever evolved -- and for a young country it has turned out some very finished types . His particular specialty is the beguiling of lonely ladies by playing upon their religious feelings , and his so-called wife , an Englishwoman named Fraser , is a worthy helpmate . The nature of his tactics suggested his identity to me , and this physical peculiarity -- he was badly bitten in a saloon-fight at Adelaide in '89 -- confirmed my suspicion . This poor lady is in the hands of a most infernal couple , who will stick at nothing , Watson . That she is already dead is a very likely supposition . If not , she is undoubtedly in some sort of confinement and unable to write to Miss Dobney or her other friends . It is always possible that she never reached London , or that she has passed through it , but the former is improbable , as , with their system of registration , it is not easy for foreigners to play tricks with the Continental police ; and the latter is also unlikely , as these rogues could not hope to find any other place where it would be as easy to keep a person under restraint . All my instincts tell me that she is in London , but as we have at present no possible means of telling where , we can only take the obvious steps , eat our dinner , and possess our souls in patience . Later in the evening I will stroll down and have a word with friend Lestrade at Scotland Yard . "

But neither the official police nor Holmes's own small but very efficient organization sufficed to clear away the mystery . Amid the crowded millions of London the three persons we sought were as completely obliterated as if they had never lived . Advertisements were tried , and failed . Clues were followed , and led to nothing . Every criminal resort which Shlessinger might frequent was drawn in vain . His old associates were watched but they kept clear of him . And then suddenly , after a week of helpless suspense , there came a flash of light . A silver-and-brilliant pendant of old Spanish design had been pawned at Bovington's , in Westminster Road . The pawner was a large clean-shaven man of clerical appearance . His name and address were demonstrably false . The ear had escaped notice , but the description was surely that of Shlessinger .

Three times had our bearded friend from the Langham called for news -- the third time within an hour of this fresh development . His clothes were getting looser on his great body . He seemed to be wilting away in his anxiety . " If you will only give me something to do ! " was his constant wail . At last Holmes could oblige him .

" He has begun to pawn the jewels . We should get him now . "

" But does this mean that any harm has befallen the Lady Frances ? "

Holmes shook his head very gravely .

" Supposing that they have held her prisoner up to now , it is clear that they cannot let her loose without their own destruction . We must prepare for the worst . "

" What can I do ? "

" These people do not know you by sight ? "

" No . "

" It is possible that he will go to some other pawnbroker in the future . In that case , we must begin again . On the other hand , he has had a fair price and no questions asked , so if he is in need of ready-money he will probably come back to Bovington's . I will give you a note to them , and they will let you wait in the shop . If the fellow comes you will follow him home . But no indiscretion and , above all , no violence . I put you on your honour that you will take no step without my knowledge and consent . "

For two days the Hon. Philip Green ( he was , I may mention the son of the famous admiral of that name who commanded the Sea of Azof fleet in the Crimean War ) brought us no news . On the evening of the third he rushed into our sitting-room , pale , trembling , with every muscle of his powerful frame quivering with excitement .

" We have him ! We have him ! " he cried .

He was incoherent in his agitation . Holmes soothed him with a few words and thrust him into an armchair .

" Come , now , give us the order of events , " said he .

" She came only an hour ago . It was the wife , this time , but the pendant she brought was the fellow of the other . She is a tall , pale woman , with ferret eyes . "

" That is the lady , " said Holmes .

" She left the office and I followed her . She walked up the Kennington Road , and I kept behind her . Presently she went into a shop . Mr. Holmes , it was an undertaker's . "

My companion started . " Well ? " he asked in that vibrant voice which told of the fiery soul behind the cold gray face .

" She was talking to the woman behind the counter . I entered as well . ' It is late , ' I heard her say , or words to that effect . The woman was excusing herself . ' It should be there before now , ' she answered . ' It took longer , being out of the ordinary . ' They both stopped and looked at me , so I asked some question and then left the shop . "

" You did excellently well . What happened next ? "

" The woman came out , but I had hid myself in a doorway . Her suspicions had been aroused , I think , for she looked round her . Then she called a cab and got in . I was lucky enough to get another and so to follow her . She got down at last at No. 36 Poultney Square , Brixton . I drove past , left my cab at the corner of the square , and watched the house . "

" Did you see anyone ? "

" The windows were all in darkness save one on the lower floor . The blind was down , and I could not see in . I was standing there , wondering what I should do next , when a covered van drove up with two men in it . They descended , took something out of the van , and carried it up the steps to the hall door . Mr. Holmes , it was a coffin . "

" Ah ! "

" For an instant I was on the point of rushing in . The door had been opened to admit the men and their burden . It was the woman who had opened it . But as I stood there she caught a glimpse of me , and I think that she recognized me . I saw her start , and she hastily closed the door . I remembered my promise to you , and here I am . "

" You have done excellent work , " said Holmes , scribbling a few words upon a half-sheet of paper . " We can do nothing legal without a warrant , and you can serve the cause best by taking this note down to the authorities and getting one . There may be some difficulty , but I should think that the sale of the jewellery should be sufficient . Lestrade will see to all details . "

" But they may murder her in the meanwhile . What could the coffin mean , and for whom could it be but for her ? "

" We will do all that can be done , Mr. Green . Not a moment will be lost . Leave it in our hands . Now , Watson , " he added as our client hurried away , " he will set the regular forces on the move . We are , as usual , the irregulars , and we must take our own line of action . The situation strikes me as so desperate that the most extreme measures are justified . Not a moment is to be lost in getting to Poultney Square .

" Let us try to reconstruct the situation , " said he as we drove swiftly past the Houses of Parliament and over Westminster Bridge . " These villains have coaxed this unhappy lady to London , after first alienating her from her faithful maid . If she has written any letters they have been intercepted . Through some confederate they have engaged a furnished house . Once inside it , they have made her a prisoner , and they have become possessed of the valuable jewellery which has been their object from the first . Already they have begun to sell part of it , which seems safe enough to them , since they have no reason to think that anyone is interested in the lady's fate . When she is released she will , of course , denounce them . Therefore , she must not be released . But they cannot keep her under lock and key forever . So murder is their only solution . "

" That seems very clear . "

" Now we will take another line of reasoning . When you follow two separate chains of thought , Watson , you will find some point of intersection which should approximate to the truth . We will start now , not from the lady but from the coffin and argue backward . That incident proves , I fear , beyond all doubt that the lady is dead . It points also to an orthodox burial with proper accompaniment of medical certificate and official sanction . Had the lady been obviously murdered , they would have buried her in a hole in the back garden . But here all is open and regular . What does that mean ? Surely that they have done her to death in some way which has deceived the doctor and simulated a natural end -- poisoning , perhaps . And yet how strange that they should ever let a doctor approach her unless he were a confederate , which is hardly a credible proposition . "

" Could they have forged a medical certificate ? "

" Dangerous , Watson , very dangerous . No , I hardly see them doing that . Pull up , cabby ! This is evidently the undertaker's , for we have just passed the pawnbroker's . Would you go in , Watson ? Your appearance inspires confidence . Ask what hour the Poultney Square funeral takes place to-morrow . "

The woman in the shop answered me without hesitation that it was to be at eight o'clock in the morning . " You see , Watson , no mystery ; everything aboveboard ! In some way the legal forms have undoubtedly been complied with , and they think that they have little to fear . Well , there's nothing for it now but a direct frontal attack . Are you armed ? "

" My stick ! "

" Well , well , we shall be strong enough . ' Thrice is he armed who hath his quarrel just . ' We simply can't afford to wait for the police or to keep within the four corners of the law . You can drive off , cabby . Now , Watson , we'll just take our luck together , as we have occasionally done in the past . "

He had rung loudly at the door of a great dark house in the centre of Poultney Square . It was opened immediately , and the figure of a tall woman was outlined against the dim-lit hall .

" Well , what do you want ? " she asked sharply , peering at us through the darkness .

" I want to speak to Dr. Shlessinger , " said Holmes .

" There is no such person here , " she answered , and tried to close the door , but Holmes had jammed it with his foot .

" Well , I want to see the man who lives here , whatever he may call himself , " said Holmes firmly .

She hesitated . Then she threw open the door . " Well , come in ! " said she . " My husband is not afraid to face any man in the world . " She closed the door behind us and showed us into a sitting-room on the right side of the hall , turning up the gas as she left us . " Mr. Peters will be with you in an instant , " she said .

Her words were literally true , for we had hardly time to look around the dusty and moth-eaten apartment in which we found ourselves before the door opened and a big , clean-shaven bald-headed man stepped lightly into the room . He had a large red face , with pendulous cheeks , and a general air of superficial benevolence which was marred by a cruel , vicious mouth .

" There is surely some mistake here , gentlemen , " he said in an unctuous , make-everything-easy voice . " I fancy that you have been misdirected . Possibly if you tried farther down the street -- "

" That will do ; we have no time to waste , " said my companion firmly . " You are Henry Peters , of Adelaide , late the Rev. Dr. Shlessinger , of Baden and South America . I am as sure of that as that my own name is Sherlock Holmes . "

Peters , as I will now call him , started and stared hard at his formidable pursuer . " I guess your name does not frighten me , Mr. Holmes , " said he coolly . " When a man's conscience is easy you can't rattle him . What is your business in my house ? "

" I want to know what you have done with the Lady Frances Carfax , whom you brought away with you from Baden . "

" I'd be very glad if you could tell me where that lady may be , " Peters answered coolly . " I've a bill against her for nearly a hundred pounds , and nothing to show for it but a couple of trumpery pendants that the dealer would hardly look at . She attached herself to Mrs. Peters and me at Baden -- it is a fact that I was using another name at the time -- and she stuck on to us until we came to London . I paid her bill and her ticket . Once in London , she gave us the slip , and , as I say , left these out-of-date jewels to pay her bills . You find her , Mr. Holmes , and I'm your debtor . "

" I mean to find her , " said Sherlock Holmes . " I'm going through this house till I do find her . "

" Where is your warrant ? "

Holmes half drew a revolver from his pocket . " This will have to serve till a better one comes . "

" Why , you are a common burglar . "

" So you might describe me , " said Holmes cheerfully . " My companion is also a dangerous ruffian . And together we are going through your house . "

Our opponent opened the door .

" Fetch a policeman , Annie ! " said he . There was a whisk of feminine skirts down the passage , and the hall door was opened and shut .

" Our time is limited , Watson , " said Holmes . " If you try to stop us , Peters , you will most certainly get hurt . Where is that coffin which was brought into your house ? "

" What do you want with the coffin ? It is in use . There is a body in it . "

" I must see that body . "

" Never with my consent . "

" Then without it . " With a quick movement Holmes pushed the fellow to one side and passed into the hall . A door half opened stood immediately before us . We entered . It was the dining-room . On the table , under a half-lit chandelier , the coffin was lying . Holmes turned up the gas and raised the lid . Deep down in the recesses of the coffin lay an emaciated figure . The glare from the lights above beat down upon an aged and withered face . By no possible process of cruelty , starvation , or disease could this worn-out wreck be the still beautiful Lady Frances . Holmes's face showed his amazement , and also his relief .

" Thank God ! " he muttered . " It's someone else . "

" Ah , you've blundered badly for once , Mr. Sherlock Holmes , " said Peters , who had followed us into the room .

" Who is this dead woman ? "

" Well , if you really must know , she is an old nurse of my wife's , Rose Spender by name , whom we found in the Brixton Workhouse Infirmary . We brought her round here , called in Dr. Horsom , of 13 Firbank Villas -- mind you take the address , Mr. Holmes -- and had her carefully tended , as Christian folk should . On the third day she died -- certificate says senile decay -- but that's only the doctor's opinion , and of course you know better . We ordered her funeral to be carried out by Stimson and Co. , of the Kennington Road , who will bury her at eight o'clock tomorrow morning . Can you pick any hole in that , Mr. Holmes ? You've made a silly blunder , and you may as well own up to it . I'd give something for a photograph of your gaping , staring face when you pulled aside that lid expecting to see the Lady Frances Carfax and only found a poor old woman of ninety . "

Holmes's expression was as impassive as ever under the jeers of his antagonist , but his clenched hands betrayed his acute annoyance .

" I am going through your house , " said he .

" Are you , though ! " cried Peters as a woman's voice and heavy steps sounded in the passage . " We'll soon see about that . This way , officers , if you please . These men have forced their way into my house , and I cannot get rid of them . Help me to put them out . "

A sergeant and a constable stood in the doorway . Holmes drew his card from his case .

" This is my name and address . This is my friend , Dr. Watson . "

" Bless you , sir , we know you very well , " said the sergeant , " but you can't stay here without a warrant . "

" Of course not . I quite understand that . "

" Arrest him ! " cried Peters .

" We know where to lay our hands on this gentleman if he is wanted , " said the sergeant majestically , " but you'll have to go , Mr. Holmes . "

" Yes , Watson , we shall have to go . "

A minute later we were in the street once more . Holmes was as cool as ever , but I was hot with anger and humiliation . The sergeant had followed us .

" Sorry , Mr. Holmes , but that's the law . "

" Exactly , Sergeant , you could not do otherwise . "

" I expect there was good reason for your presence there . If there is anything I can do -- "

" It's a missing lady , Sergeant , and we think she is in that house . I expect a warrant presently . "

" Then I'll keep my eye on the parties , Mr. Holmes . If anything comes along , I will surely let you know . "

It was only nine o'clock , and we were off full cry upon the trail at once . First we drove to Brixton Workhouse Infirmary , where we found that it was indeed the truth that a charitable couple had called-some days before , that they had claimed an imbecile old woman as a former servant , and that they had obtained permission to take her away with them . No surprise was expressed at the news that she had since died .

The doctor was our next goal . He had been called in , had found the woman dying of pure senility , had actually seen her pass away , and had signed the certificate in due form . " I assure you that everything was perfectly normal and there was no room for foul play in the matter , " said he . Nothing in the house had struck him as suspicious save that for people of their class it was remarkable that they should have no servant . So far and no farther went the doctor .

Finally we found our way to Scotland Yard . There had been difficulties of procedure in regard to the warrant . Some delay was inevitable . The magistrate's signature might not be obtained until next morning . If Holmes would call about nine he could go down with Lestrade and see it acted upon . So ended the day , save that near midnight our friend , the sergeant , called to say that he had seen flickering lights here and there in the windows of the great dark house , but that no one had left it and none had entered . We could but pray for patience and wait for the morrow .

Sherlock Holmes was too irritable for conversation and too restless for sleep . I left him smoking hard , with his heavy , dark brows knotted together , and his long , nervous fingers tapping upon the arms of his chair , as he turned over in his mind every possible solution of the mystery . Several times in the course of the night I heard him prowling about the house . Finally , just after I had been called in the morning , he rushed into my room . He was in his dressing-gown , but his pale , hollow-eyed face told me that his night had been a sleepless one .

" What time was the funeral ? Eight , was it not ? " he asked eagerly . " Well , it is 7:20 now . Good heavens , Watson , what has become of any brains that God has given me ? Quick , man , quick ! It's life or death -- a hundred chances on death to one on life . I'll never forgive myself , never , if we are too late ! "

Five minutes had not passed before we were flying in a hansom down Baker Street . But even so it was twenty-five to eight as we passed Big Ben , and eight struck as we tore down the Brixton Road . But others were late as well as we . Ten minutes after the hour the hearse was still standing at the door of the house , and even as our foaming horse came to a halt the coffin , supported by three men , appeared on the threshold . Holmes darted forward and barred their way .

" Take it back ! " he cried , laying his hand on the breast of the foremost . " Take it back this instant ! "

" What the devil do you mean ? Once again I ask you , where is your warrant ? " shouted the furious Peters , his big red face glaring over the farther end of the coffin .

" The warrant is on its way . This coffin shall remain in the house until it comes . "

The authority in Holmes's voice had its effect upon the bearers . Peters had suddenly vanished into the house , and they obeyed these new orders . " Quick , Watson , quick ! Here is a screw-driver ! " he shouted as the coffin was replaced upon the table . " Here's one for you , my man ! A sovereign if the lid comes off in a minute ! Ask no questions -- work away ! That's good ! Another ! And another ! Now pull all together ! It's giving ! It's giving ! Ah , that does it at last . "

With a united effort we tore off the coffin-lid . As we did so there came from the inside a stupefying and overpowering smell of chloroform . A body lay within , its head all wreathed in cotton-wool , which had been soaked in the narcotic . Holmes plucked it off and disclosed the statuesque face of a handsome and spiritual woman of middle age . In an instant he had passed his arm round the figure and raised her to a sitting position .

" Is she gone , Watson ? Is there a spark left ? Surely we are not too late ! "

For half an hour it seemed that we were . What with actual suffocation , and what with the poisonous fumes of the chloroform , the Lady Frances seemed to have passed the last point of recall . And then , at last , with artificial respiration , with injected ether , with every device that science could suggest , some flutter of life , some quiver of the eyelids , some dimming of a mirror , spoke of the slowly returning life . A cab had driven up , and Holmes , parting the blind , looked out at it . " Here is Lestrade with his warrant , " said he . " He will find that his birds have flown . And here , " he added as a heavy step hurried along the passage , " is someone who has a better right to nurse this lady than we have . Good morning , Mr. Green ; I think that the sooner we can move the Lady Frances the better . Meanwhile , the funeral may proceed , and the poor old woman who still lies in that coffin may go to her last resting-place alone . "

" Should you care to add the case to your annals , my dear Watson , " said Holmes that evening , " it can only be as an example of that temporary eclipse to which even the best-balanced mind may be exposed . Such slips are common to all mortals , and the greatest is he who can recognize and repair them . To this modified credit I may , perhaps , make some claim . My night was haunted by the thought that somewhere a clue , a strange sentence , a curious observation , had come under my notice and had been too easily dismissed . Then , suddenly , in the gray of the morning , the words came back to me . It was the remark of the undertaker's wife , as reported by Philip Green . She had said , ' It should be there before now . It took longer , being out of the ordinary . ' It was the coffin of which she spoke . It had been out of the ordinary . That could only mean that it had been made to some special measurement . But why ? Why ? Then in an instant I remembered the deep sides , and the little wasted figure at the bottom . Why so large a coffin for so small a body ? To leave room for another body . Both would be buried under the one certificate . It had all been so clear , if only my own sight had not been dimmed . At eight the Lady Frances would be buried . Our one chance was to stop the coffin before it left the house .

" It was a desperate chance that we might find her alive , but it was a chance , as the result showed . These people had never , to my knowledge , done a murder . They might shrink from actual violence at the last . They could bury her with no sign of how she met her end , and even if she were exhumed there was a chance for them . I hoped that such considerations might prevail with them . You can reconstruct the scene well enough . You saw the horrible den upstairs , where the poor lady had been kept so long . They rushed in and overpowered her with their chloroform , carried her down , poured more into the coffin to insure against her waking , and then screwed down the lid . A clever device , Watson . It is new to me in the annals of crime . If our ex-missionary friends escape the clutches of Lestrade , I shall expect to hear of some brilliant incidents in their future career . "