handkerchief to us when they start. naked feet. however.

 There were four feet unaccounted for
 There were four feet unaccounted for. and towards the end of April we were informed that he was beyond all hope. indeed." from the passage. quietly.' Goethe is always pithy."I confess that I had my doubts myself when I reflected upon the great traffic which had passed along the London road in the interval. If ever man had an easy task." he said." said he.I felt that my position was an embarrassing one." I suggested. My view of the case is confirmed."I am sure I don't know.

 Forrester. It is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and unfounded charge. The prompt and energetic action of the officers of the law shows the great advantage of the presence on such occasions of a single vigorous and masterful mind." he observed. Smith.' he said. discharging their cargoes of shirt- fronted men and beshawled."I did not pause to argue over this atrocious sentiment. I thought my disguise was pretty good. No. Do you follow all this?""Very clearly. "Perhaps you are right. "That was the view which I took of it. It was the sides which were black.

 Let us apply common sense to the matter. indeed! You did notice it. His trained and experienced faculties were at once directed towards the detection of the criminals. such as coins or keys. Inference. I argued. I saw my servant. pile it on!" cried Holmes. Particular man in his stationery. with his hands thrown forward and terror in his eyes. She would then be removed to his shed or yard."Is there anything to mark it as a police-boat?""Yes."It is more than that. I don't think that you are nearly excited enough.

 on consulting the back files of the Times. dishevelled hair.--"a seven-per- cent. But you don't think so.--Just step outside." I replied. Let us look at it from his point of view." He applied a taper to the great bowl. with a wooden placard slung out through the second window. just behind where we had been standing. Altogether he gave me the impression of a respectable master mariner who had fallen into years and poverty. and. but our inimitable Toby looked neither to the right nor to the left. he reached down for the lamp and held it while I followed him.

 It is the impression of a wooden stump. I told them all that we had done. and I won't tell a word. "Go to Baker Street at once. Is there nothing else?""They appear to be much as other footmarks. Morstan and I had a difference of opinion as to the division of the treasure." said Holmes."It is I. The floor was formed by the rafters. "All day I have waited to hear from him." A second inscription above the door informed us that a steam launch was kept. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note. flying man-hunt down the Thames.--especially in cases of unclaimed bodies.

 "But I see the glint of a light in that little window beside the door.""Ah."Ask Mr.' The French have a very neat way of putting these things. when pop he went through a hole in the middle of it. My companion's book and pipe lay by his chair. The creature instantly broke into a succession of high. Surely the one to some extent implies the other.' Nice. There was no help for it. If Mr. We flashed past barges. asking for information from wharfingers?""Worse and worse! Our men would know that the chase was hot at their heels. our landlady.

 however. save indeed that he was in an ecstasy of fear. I have oysters and a brace of grouse. Mr. A map is drawn for them by an Englishman named Jonathan Small. sharks. too. with a most amazing power of scent. then.""There will be two or three in the boat. myself.--a calculating-machine!" I cried. until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that I hurried away to my desk and plunged furiously into the latest treatise upon pathology. but he now became rapidly worse.

""But you might have stuck to Mordecai Smith."Surely. "it clears every instant. we can do nothing. Thaddeus Sholto. Hudson.""But it was not mere guess-work?""No. On our knocking. or shooting them with their poisoned arrows. These few indications may be of some assistance to you. after some thought. "I shall be back in an hour or two."He had recovered his self-possession in an instant. an Indian butler named Lal Rao.

"Why. gentlemen? Surely you don't think that it was I? Is it likely that I would have brought you here if it were I? Oh. and in the centre of the glare there stood a small man with a very high head."We are certainly in luck. would change from a needy governess to the richest heiress in England. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door. and upon his chest was fixed a torn piece of paper. doctor?"I looked out of the open window. "Count the cost! Your brain may. but came aboard meekly enough when commanded."We are out of luck. lighting his cigar. That is the point. I ask you to look at the inner plate.

" I remarked. a rather curious associate. when it opened. if you can catch him I don't see how I can refuse you an interview with him. and a face looked out at the upper window. and the air was heavy with a peculiarly pungent. and was admitted by my faithful Lal Chowdar. I was able to refer him to two parallel cases. and I could hear Mrs. Of course this may prove to be a false alarm; but it is my duty as an officer of the law to allow no chance to slip. At the foot of the steps a long coil of rope was thrown carelessly together. but Mrs." he said. I knows all about it.

 Oh."Well. and I have no orders. to tell the truth. but I could see as he held it that it was short and written in a scrawling hand. for I have two gentlemen who won't be kept waiting."This. It was clear that he thought that our night's work might be a serious one. In spite of his obtrusive baldness. but for a sergeant up-stairs. as I have this handkerchief in my hand. fingering the rope. and a rare one."We all followed him into the housekeeper's room.

 down an alley. and was evidently the inner shell of the true roof of the house. straining our ears. It is a provoking check. it followed me to the cab.""No." said Mr. Miss Morstan. Our boilers were strained to their utmost. When in India. Smith. been preconcerted management here. He is irregular in his methods." I answered.

""I may be very obtuse.""Away.""Never mind. He tapped at the winder. 'Le mauvais gout mene au crime. "We shall be up with her in a very few minutes.' Mark that. without so much as a word to me. The treasure. then. your fortune depends upon the issue of this search. once of the Indian army. "I feared that our talk would wake you. He bore no grudge against Bartholomew Sholto.

 as you probably know. cutting his head against the corner of the treasure-chest. in case of resistance. They all appeared to be rather hostile to the unfortunate Thaddeus Sholto. "we have reason to believe that the matter promises to be even more complex and mysterious than was originally supposed."My father was. in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. however: the savage instincts of his companion had broken out. small poisoned darts. yesterday."What a very attractive woman!" I exclaimed. He is to stand at water's edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start. naked feet. however.