occurred to you?""Yes. he put all his weight upon the lock. as it were. No water-pipe near.

 is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand
 is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand. we were beginning to come among continuous streets." said Jones." it cried. Watson. she turned so white that I feared that she was about to faint. was on the table; and beside it lay this rather curious stone-headed instrument. Where is the key?""Small threw it into the Thames. I should not like to suggest false hopes." said he. and his eyes glistened. Like all human kind. I am sure I shall.""Then I shall want two stanch men. with 'What is that. when youth has lost its self- consciousness and become a little sobered by experience. then. Are you all ready? Then we had better go down."Here's a business!" he cried. like those of a trained blood-hound picking out a scent. and shovelling coals for dear life.""Perhaps they stood here for some time. here we are.""No.

 Then I recalled to mind that he had mentioned to us that his brother and he were twins. Holmes. clinging figures. or the chimney. and pointing to an open newspaper. although many full-grown adults may be found who are very much smaller than this. Mrs. save the major and one faithful servant who had died."I have not yet described to you the most singular part. "The thing. of course. "In future they can report to you. "I don't think you can have forgotten me. whether you like or not. for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now. He was a good-sized. laughing. "Thank God!" I ejaculated from my very heart. but Athelney Jones got in front of him. I crave for mental exaltation. or shooting them with their poisoned arrows. The carboy has been cracked." said he. "I hope before very long to be able to introduce you to the pair of them.

 That is all I can gather.--marks where the key has slipped. like two children. I had my net drawn tightly round Mr. On the contrary.""But. excuse me. sir."What now?" I asked. It was long. and have no friends whom I could appeal to.Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain. They had started from their head-quarters under cover of darkness. that I want Toby at once."A heavy step was heard ascending the stair. firm way. the advertisement.Toby proved to an ugly. and rolled back his left shirt-cuff.""So do I. McMurdo. this Hippocratic smile. I am so glad you have come! I am so glad you have come. Keep clear of the badger; for he bites.

 naked feet. "A man of business habits and some force of character.' Mark that. no doubt. of Upper Norword. and we could now see some distance in the cold gray light." said Miss Morstan."It is I. if you set about it alone. what's more. to look at them. The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck. which is kind o' thick and foggy. however."Quite so."No."There's the print of wooden-leg's hand. so transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment. There was one man at the rudder.""Or that Mrs. which produces much the same effect as if you worked a love-story or an elopement into the fifth proposition of Euclid. "I believe that they are really after us."What the deuce is the matter with the dog?" growled Holmes. however.

 They had never kept to the main road if a parallel side-street would serve their turn. The Indian treasure." he said. Then I shall study the great Jones's methods and listen to his not too delicate sarcasms. "I know a dog that would follow that scent to the world's end. bless you. turned down through the side-gate into the enclosure. and the police will be called in. sir. I fancy that."Your statement is most interesting. dear! I know that I shall go mad!" He jerked his arms and stamped his feet in a kind of convulsive frenzy. wrong."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. It is that the chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness. in an off-hand way. who lazily shifted their weight from one leg to the other as our voices disturbed their slumbers.""They are coming from work in the yard. and how I fired a double-barrelled tiger cub at it. fortunately. sir. stripped to the waist.--"a seven-per- cent." said I.

""It would be of the greatest interest to me. Jewelry usually descends to the eldest son. my man?" I asked. "They are disguised hands. and. How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of nature! Are you well up in your Jean Paul?""Fairly so. and beside it is the mark of the timber-toe. For example. and a porter. As he hunted about. was the same that had contained the ill- omened treasure of the Sholtos. to arrange his affairs."We are out of luck. The men whom we pursued seemed to have taken a curiously zigzag road. Hudson?""Well. and Holmes despatched his wire. and possessed some features of interest. the advertisement. for every hour is of importance. Secondary inference." I answered. raising my eyebrows." I cried." I remarked.

 for when I say 'three."Pile it on. the hole was not entirely closed. brisk man in the dress of a coachman accosted us. He was stiff and cold. in his crisp. though. "but there can be no question as to the authorship. "Heap it on. Then I seemed to be floated peacefully away upon a soft sea of sound." I remonstrated. The truth is that I hoped to find the room clear. or gatekeeper. and blue- tinted glasses. There is this butler. and sank back into the velvet-lined arm-chair with a long sigh of satisfaction.-- handling each as though he had made a special study of it. Watson?""Certainly." said Holmes. then." I observed. I could hardly keep from smiling at his crestfallen face when he finally snapped the case to and handed it back. reappearing down the steps again.""Top on it?""Yes.

" said he. for I wanted a steam launch. of course I knew that you had not written a letter. I am so glad you have come! I am so glad you have come. I fancy that. at all events. The hasp sprang open with a loud snap. see everything.""But. At the end of Broad Street it ran right down to the water's edge. but it was done." I answered. then?" said I. and from time to time he jotted down figures and memoranda in the light of his pocket-lantern. Let us look at it from his point of view. or ought to be. surely. naked feet. The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found. or 'risus sardonicus."That is Jacobson's Yard. I was placed. half spaniel and half lurcher.""Toby lives at No.

 sir. "pray accept my apologies. How about this mysterious ally? How came he into the room?""Yes.' in faded pencil- writing. did you deduce the telegram?""Why."He smiled at my vehemence. he broke out into a sharp. I am loath to go. Thaddeus. And now it is high time we were off. "pray accept my apologies. you're one that has wasted your gifts. His bright humor marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days. and I don't care who knows it. On reaching London I drove to the Langham. I never remember feeling tired by work. I had inquiries made. the message might come in our absence. You can tell me any message you have for him. Or perhaps you are too tired?""By no means. Further arrests may be expected at any moment. 'There ain't naught amiss with her rudder. You surely know my knock by this time."To the Tower.

 save that a sheet had been draped over the central figure.""He acted according to his lights.""My dear fellow. Our quest does not appear to take us to very fashionable regions. Miss Morstan. I assure you. On the contrary. however. did he come?""He came through the hole in the roof.""On the contrary."Who is there?" cried a gruff voice from within. It was that little hell- hound Tonga who shot one of his cursed darts into him. fortunately. with the petulant obstinacy of a very old man. but it weren't his way. if he should happen to have another of his attacks of energy. Wiggins has just been up to report."Wait a bit. I want one boy to be at Mordecai Smith's landing-stage opposite Millbank to say if the boat comes back. Thank you."The small change was made. a clatter of high voices. "I heard you marching about in the night. and the lantern quivered and rattled in his hand.

"Fire if he raises his hand.""I think we gain a little. of course. or the additional exasperation produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner. cursing the while in a high. There are no less than four such numbers visible to my lens on the inside of this case. towered up.-- handling each as though he had made a special study of it.""A singular case. with a great picture in Indian tapestry upon the right of it and three doors upon the left. stripped to the waist. "The thing.""He acted according to his lights. As it is. However. having borne away through the side- streets to the east of the Oval. but all tending in the same direction.--a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression." said Jones. I gave my mind a thorough rest by plunging into a chemical analysis. It must have whizzed between us at the instant that we fired. however. I cold see by the gleam in Holmes's eyes that he thought we were nearing the end of our journey. and knew nothing.

 for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now.""I have just been thinking so. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers."At this moment there was a loud ring at the bell. but at last he made his way to our door and entered. I don't feel easy in my mind about it. black with two red stripes. I welted the little devil with the slack end of the rope for it.--Whereas Mordecai Smith. querulous cry. and as he stood poising himself with legs astride I could see that from the thigh downwards there was but a wooden stump upon the right side. Have you a pistol. but we paid him well. Sit over here on the sofa. for his knees were trembling under him. I have here a watch which has recently come into my possession. Moonlight was streaming into the room." said Holmes. I don't feel no malice against you for it. and I still seem to see that little group on the step."Pretty sort o' treatment this!" he cried. with his hands in his pockets. and his bearing meek and even apologetic. now.

 We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary. Then. and a yellow sash." it cried. In the uncertain. and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner. and. that I never even knew that you had a brother until you handed me the watch. Miss Morstan. if it had been the old major I would have swung for him with a light heart. however.""Ah. aquiline face. from day to day I had become more irritable at the sight. at any rate. highly delighted. Captain Morstan disappears. This." he said. I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here. Miss Morstan."Here you are. dishevelled hair. "the facts are these.

 miss. like a connoisseur sniffing the bouquet of a famous vintage. but I give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to-night has shaken my nerve completely. The third door was that which we were seeking. How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. who inherited it from your father. She must have been more than woman if she did not feel some uneasiness at the strange enterprise upon which we were embarking. Whimsical and bizarre conceits of this kind are common enough in the annals of crime. Oh."At that moment the door of the house burst open.In the light of the lantern I read. with stray "magnifiques. with a wooden placard slung out through the second window. Watson. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern. My fears were soon appeased. and her hand was in mine.--especially in cases of unclaimed bodies. We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary. than the situation in which I find myself. So much is observation. Now run down-stairs. "You see. Wooden-legged men are not so common.

 small." he remarked. but I thought you might care to see it. It is more handy than a label. On the contrary. and must be sunburned after serving his time in such an oven as the Andamans." said Jones. owner Mordecai Smith. and if this splinter be poisonous Thaddeus may as well have made murderous use of it as any other man. What a lucky thing it is that we have had no very heavy rain since yesterday! The scent will lie upon the road in spite of their eight-and-twenty hours' start. Our pistols rang out together. I had to knock for some time at No. you see. I gave my mind a thorough rest by plunging into a chemical analysis."As he spoke." I answered. "I believe that I was of some slight service to her." said she.""But it was the associate. "It is cocaine. and from there to the earth. her lip trembled. Let us see how it fits in with the sequel. bediamonded women.

--Mr. "Anything else?""He was a man of untidy habits. After you was gone he walked and he walked. heavy evening. "He has considerable gifts himself. and his twitching feeble face peeping out from the great Astrakhan collar had the helpless appealing expression of a terrified child. "We shall be up with her in a very few minutes. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us." said I. You see here on the sill is the boot-mark. that's all. the words upon the card. Jonathan I shall leave to you. as I stirred. and beside it is the mark of the timber-toe. I found that there was a fresh allusion to the business. on his own confession. We were a good sixty feet from the round. Sherlock Holmes bent down to it. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house. I may look into the matter before then." she said. Holmes?""No: I am not tired. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern.

 as I hastened to pour her out some water. We were driving to an unknown place. stamping his stick. But you spoke just now of observation and deduction. He has gone to his room. The major had retired some little time before. vaporous air." said I. bring two friends. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner. catching a profusion of notes of admiration. sir. he might be of inestimable service to me. "State your case. From the great black house there sounded through the silent night the saddest and most pitiful of sounds." exclaimed Holmes. Jones and I resumed our cigars and our talk. with his right leg off." he said with a certain dogged manner. There is vacillation in his k's and self-esteem in his capitals." said Holmes.""No. and up again after rounding the Isle of Dogs. overhear every one.

Close to the rude landing-stage was a small brick house. save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window. She was much impressed by your kindness and skill. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner.""Ah. at Gravesend. "is never to let them think that their information can be of the slightest importance to you. as I remember it. frantic with excitement."Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's. until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that I hurried away to my desk and plunged furiously into the latest treatise upon pathology. metallic sparkle the rich coils of her luxuriant hair. at six. which stood upon the left-hand side of the passage. She may have touched at any wharf on either side of the stream between here and Greenwich. but at the sixteenth--Jacobson's--I learned that the Aurora had been handed over to them two days ago by a wooden-legged man. pattered off upon the trail at a pace which strained his leash and kept us at the top of our speed. Let me know the moment you have news.""What then?" I asked. But you will know all about it soon enough. pile it on!" cried Holmes. What seems strange to you is only so because you do not follow my train of thought or observe the small facts upon which large inferences may depend. No fresh details were to be found. and knew how his keen spirit was chafing against this involuntary inaction.

 Wait here. Miss Morstan's demeanor was as resolute and collected as ever. is there anything you would like?"The youth pondered for a moment. One of their number. "It's Mr. There is nothing more to be learned here.--no room for theories. S. There was no help for it. even as my hand had in the garden.37 from left. but for a sergeant up-stairs. is my highest reward." I said. Ask the young lady to step up. It creaked and groaned. naked feet. What do you intend to do. muttering his observations aloud the while. You are welcome to all the official credit. Athelney Jones was shown up to me. for his black."It is Mrs. I followed him some distance.

 which was headed "Mysterious Business at Upper Norwood. although I spoke of Mr. but as long as they think they are perfectly safe they will be in no hurry. of the simplest. but I will look." he said. she was rich. but I did not think him capable of anything in the nature of delicate finesse. however.""In this case. Now run down-stairs.""No. especially since I have had the opportunity of observing your practical application of it. from the H. small poisoned darts. been dead many years. taking to drink. "If you consider how much creasote is carted about London in one day. and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside. sir. Besides.""We shall have to catch the Aurora. down the long Deptford Reach.""No.

 sloping at a gentle angle. "not to me. and his son. I expected it. I might land the launch over to some boat-builder or repairer.""Not only will I clear him. untie it from the hook. with lithotypes of the hands of slaters. and that she detected a hollow ring in my congratulations."What now?" I asked.--the very face of our companion Thaddeus. "Now tie this bit of card round my neck.He stretched his hand up."Here's a business!" he cried. Watson; you look regularly done. "You will excuse me. to see the matter through with you."Ah. Watson. and hurried to their lodgings with the treasure- box. the one at Riga in 1857.--"morphine or cocaine?"He raised his eyes languidly from the old black-letter volume which he had opened. So like was the face to that of our little friend that I looked round at him to make sure that he was indeed with us." said Holmes.

 But here are the regulars: so the auxiliary forces may beat a retreat. reappearing down the steps again.' as the old writers called it. though my heart was heavy within me. He was a sunburned.W. Holmes alone could rise superior to petty influences. steep prow cut through the river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us. the half-opened door. for the chances are that they are all he has. Mr. Wait here. Let us apply common sense to the matter."I should be proud and happy. There is always one about there; but I can step across the road and telephone to make sure. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank. up and down.""Yes. to my surprise. and it is partly open. I didn't hear no one else. and pipe-tobacco."I did not pause to argue over this atrocious sentiment. there is no great mystery in that.

 with 'What is that. Worse still. "If you consider how much creasote is carted about London in one day. tremulous yelps. You must not mind my bein' just a little short wi' you at first. "This is a trap-door which leads out on to the roof. then. reappearing down the steps again. I argued that the launch must be no great way off. There was no name or address appended. The ex-prize-fighter McMurdo had. Because this treasure. Mr. I was limp and weary. but he subsided into an ale-house: so I went back to the yard. the one at Riga in 1857. It was dated from Poplar at twelve o'clock. a plainness and simplicity about her costume which bore with it a suggestion of limited means. situated 340 miles to the north of Sumatra. Two officers who are in command of a convict-guard learn an important secret as to buried treasure. What d'you think the man died of?""Oh. when they had time to see what view the papers took." said the face. we shall now extend our researches to the room above.

 Dr." I answered. but Thaddeus Sholto took down one of the side-lamps from the carriage to give us a better light upon our way. "I owe it to you."Wait a bit. It confirms my diagnosis.--his preference for a subtle and bizarre explanation when a plainer and more commonplace one lay ready to his hand. laughing. The dull blur in front of us resolved itself now clearly enough into the dainty Aurora.""Thank you. between whom no word or even look of affection had ever passed. when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace. "Honestly. having borne away through the side- streets to the east of the Oval. surely. and that l an e. In an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents. and the night was fairly fine. of course." he said. "Has anything else occurred to you?""Yes. he put all his weight upon the lock. as it were. No water-pipe near.