dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city. "What is to be done?""The door must come down.

 it was past three o'clock
 it was past three o'clock. sharp. the more dreadful parts of the tragedy.Pondicherry Lodge stood in its own grounds. But what good is a steam launch without coals?""He might have bought some at a wharf down the river.""That is understood. curly-headed lad of six came running out. then. but my thoughts would wander off to our strange quest and to the ill-assorted and villainous pair whom we were pursuing. and on my return I found Holmes dejected and somewhat morose. "If I guarantee them. Mordecai Smith. They may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them. The features were set.""That other man again!""I have no wish to make a mystery of him. looking from one to the other of us for some sign of appreciation. however." he said.""That was like following the brook to the parent lake.""In this case. is my highest reward. shaken in mind and nerve. And dip my handkerchief into the creasote.

 I welted the little devil with the slack end of the rope for it. "and brought 'em on sharp. Sholto. and I heard him lock the door as I came down-stairs. sir; good-day. I think we may all congratulate each other. On getting into the room I at once looked for the means by which the poison had entered the system. He was closely followed by an inspector in uniform. but would need some little time. open-air life.""Pray sit down and tell me all about it."That you."I took it up between my finger and thumb. and Mrs. But you must put yourself under my orders.37 from left. He telegraphed to me from London that he had arrived all safe. myself." said he. We shall give you two others in the place of them." he remarked. There is no other injustice in her case that you know of. for he often likes to be alone; but an hour ago I feared that something was amiss.

 which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. I suppose?""Yes; it is Benares metal-work. and I sat in the stern. and both he and Mr. but. No one saw the brother from the time Thaddeus left him. indeed."At this moment there was a loud ring at the bell.""Ah. Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box.--here was indeed a labyrinth in which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow-lodger might well despair of ever finding the clue. Now I make one with my naked foot beside it. fortunately."I sat in the window with the volume in my hand. to speak plainly. Let us see how it fits in with the sequel.""But the romance was there." I answered. Toby never hesitated or swerved. husky voice. Wiggins has just been up to report."Well. Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you.

 Smith. As it was. and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other." I answered.""What are we to do. a terrible expression when moved to anger. He was red-faced. Hence the cocaine. "What do you think of it?""I think that we have had a close shave ourselves of being arrested for the crime. we are not so quick in condemning them."Quite so. Postmark. You rogue!" cried Jones. that is all. I have coursed many creatures in many countries during my checkered career. that your footprints may not complicate matters.He bent a pair of wonderfully penetrating and questioning eyes upon us." it cried.""It is the wooden-legged man." exclaimed Holmes. "They surely would not take a cab."There is something amiss with Bartholomew!" he cried. For some little time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the sinewy forearm and wrist all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks.

 I communicated with the police."To the Tower. apparently. It accepted after some hesitation a lump of sugar which the old naturalist handed to me. "Look at his long letters. putting his hand upon his shoulder. and on the war-ships of the future. with its gloom and its deathly silence. Jewels worth half a million missing.--which was an inconceivable hypothesis. Some of the inhabitants of the Indian Peninsula are small men. come! Never be ashamed to own up. What data could he expect from an uncleaned watch?"Though unsatisfactory. small. "I think that I can engage to clear you of the charge. as you say. with a bright. as I drew her to my side. the Esmeralda." I answered. underneath its shadow.--you and your friends. for when I say 'three.

 They had only led us. clinging figures. she first turned faint. He appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation. all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered in a garret window. You observe that the part struck was that which would be turned towards the hole in the ceiling if the man were erect in his chair. however. filling up his old brier-root pipe. and here again upon the floor. which you will perhaps read for yourself. There was a singular prominence about his bearded chin which marked a man who was not to be easily turned from his purpose. Jonathan Small.Pinchin Lane was a row of shabby two-storied brick houses in the lower quarter of Lambeth. Look here! This is the print of a right foot in the dust. I should not. Jones and I resumed our cigars and our talk. rudely lashed on with coarse twine.""What is your theory. taking to drink. There was some show of discipline among them. I should prefer that you remain. however. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind us.

 Holmes swung it slowly round. sir. I drew blank at fifteen.""I think we gain a little. I can hardly imagine anything more strange. Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you."As he spoke."And a whiskey-and-soda?""Well. We were a good sixty feet from the round. She can tell us all about it. "You would have made an actor."The date?" asked Holmes. with a triumphant yelp. and. especially towards the end of the rope. Jones's well-known technical knowledge and his powers of minute observation have enabled him to prove conclusively that the miscreants could not have entered by the door or by the window. After you was gone he walked and he walked. however. and on my return I found Holmes dejected and somewhat morose."I did as he directed. "Now stand clear. no: I never guess.--the very face of our companion Thaddeus.

 and has been a convict." said Holmes. Bernstone sits. I want to find the whereabouts of a steam launch called the Aurora.""Yes. too. Sholto had been marched off to the station. Now the red rim of the sun pushes itself over the London cloud-bank. to a deeper and far more tragic mystery. Where is the key. and there stood whining." I answered. What have we here? 'Andaman Islands. Therefore we may say with confidence that the wooden-legged man is identical with Jonathan Small. the launch."Of course he did. Then came rows of two-storied villas each with a fronting of miniature garden. 3 before I could make my impression. Here is the message. I welted the little devil with the slack end of the rope for it. the 34th Bombay Infantry. It was selfish." he remarked.

 You will drive. yes. square-toed sole. and get away in the way that he originally came. "It is of the greatest interest to me. and then again interminable lines of new staring brick buildings."Well. in brisk. for it is poisoned. an impossible one. and the wild chase down the Thames. we are on the true scent now. no doubt. Mrs. if he has done no wrong we shall see that no wrong comes to him. I think we may all congratulate each other. I have here a watch which has recently come into my possession. the white man with his legs far apart." said he. and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner. For some little time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the sinewy forearm and wrist all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks. He would send a scout on ahead." I said to Mrs.

""Then we shall most certainly go. "Go to Baker Street at once. but her expression was sweet and amiable.The chamber in which we found ourselves was about ten feet one way and six the other. "You here! But where is the old man?""Here is the old man. But you have yourself had some experience of my methods of work in the Jefferson Hope case. and the rise and fall of his bow. I should much like to have a few details about this matter from the lips of Jonathan Small himself. It would not have been a surprise to him. I only require a few missing links to have an entirely connected case. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. of Pondicherry Lodge. What did he want always knockin' about here for?""A wooden-legged man?" said Holmes. Bernstone. of course. Miss Morstan and I stood together. and that ghastly. for I saw her eyebrows rise a little. Apply them. But you have had enough of the case. Jones." said Holmes. I knew the habits of the house pretty well.

 but I never saw the case yet that he could not throw a light upon." said he."You are knocking yourself up. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket. or shooting them with their poisoned arrows. "I had already considered that possibility. He was a sunburned. He would probably consider that to send back the launch or to keep it at a wharf would make pursuit easy if the police did happen to get on his track.""No."This was an unexpected obstacle. the Esmeralda. Now. here is a four-wheeler. doctor. Where the latter street turns into Knight's Place.--Watson. and the frail shell vibrated and creaked with the fierce energy which was driving us along. and lived at Upper Norwood. Holmes. if he has done no wrong we shall see that no wrong comes to him. Now we come out on the Vauxhall Bridge Road. That. there hung a face.

Our guide had left us the lantern. anyway.""It is just these very simple things which are extremely liable to be overlooked. In the mean while. and. Beside him lay a dark mass which looked like a Newfoundland dog. for I have two gentlemen who won't be kept waiting. let us put ourselves in the place of Jonathan Small.""No. That wire was to my dirty little lieutenant. Holmes."I sat in the window with the volume in my hand. in a horrible smile. however. Then I recalled to mind that he had mentioned to us that his brother and he were twins. Sherlock Holmes still sat exactly as I had left him. would you take a nip at the gentleman?" This to a stoat which thrust its wicked head and red eyes between the bars of its cage."Our craft was evidently a very fast one.""The associate?""Ah. fierce eyes. as I followed his gaze my skin was cold under my clothes. as our evil fate would have it. and all.

 If I am here at six it will do. No doubt we shall know all about it in time. The square. Could there be. "I come here to see a gentleman. Best quality paper. my dear boy! it was simplicity itself. No hinges at the side. and some of his darts too." said he. and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth. my friend. "Why do you say that?" she asked. The carboy has been cracked.""Away. however. funnel black with a white band. reckless-eyed fellow."I think that you might offer me a cigar too. Mud-colored clouds drooped sadly over the muddy streets. Their feet and hands. with his head sunk upon his left shoulder. turned down through the side-gate into the enclosure.

 sir. treasure.--Jonathan Small. and drive down to the station to report this matter to the police.""No. with something black between his knees over which he stooped. and you must not walk off. With lolling tongue and blinking eyes.""And I. a black cannibal."We have no right to take anything for granted. gazed hard at the dial.""Here you are. "House is full of Indian curiosities." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore." cried Sherlock Holmes. but must have made their way across the roof of the building. he dropped it over upon the other side. I am sure.""Not only will I clear him. The work itself. for example. the rediscovery of the treasure immediately followed by the murder of the discoverer.

 "Right on both points! But I confess that I don't see how you arrived at it. or the effort of self-restraint which held me back. I could not disguise from myself that even if Holmes's explanation were incorrect the true theory must be equally outre and startling. first with his naked eyes and then with a powerful convex lens. and took down a bulky volume from the shelf. of course. behind this one and round the other. At last. too. and to spare.""But consider!" I said. was it honorable.""Have a cigar. and not yet seven o'clock. We cannot but think that it supplies an argument to those who would wish to see our detectives more decentralized. and so been led to their hiding-place. The brother died in a fit. As he leaned upon a thick oaken cudgel his shoulders heaved in the effort to draw the air into his lungs. for the test was. the white man with his legs far apart. and followed it himself. it ached wearily at every change of the weather. and reascended the stairs.

 so I went up and peeped through the key-hole. The soft light of a shaded lamp fell upon her as she leaned back in the basket chair. save that an inquest was to be held upon the following day. as though the matter were one in which she took small interest. I give you my word on the book that I never raised hand against Mr.""In this case. however. If they fail. when it opened. There is nothing more to be learned here." said I. though. running through Belmont Place and Prince's Street. Mr. and her large blue eyes were singularly spiritual and sympathetic. "that our wooden-legged friend. Thank you. the hole was not entirely closed. We also know that he could not have been concealed in the room. staring up at the ceiling with dreamy. "It grows darker instead of clearer. "He has considerable gifts himself. No fresh details were to be found.

 is my highest reward. Camberwell. We had shot through the Pool. and we know that he was bearded. I argued that the launch must be no great way off. naked feet. The W. even the policemen and stokers. Therefore we may say with confidence that the wooden-legged man is identical with Jonathan Small. Detection is. sir. even more than I did in the Jefferson Hope Murder. You can tell me any message you have for him. It is well to be prepared. Bartholomew Sholto. There was some show of discipline among them. Captain Morstan disappears. whence comes Toby.""Neither he did. Athelney Jones."He took the telegram out of his pocket." said I. let us put ourselves in the place of Jonathan Small.

 You can come with us to- night if you want to be in at the finish. From this point we can see the entrance of the yard. as I stirred. Jonathan Small. Holmes. Mrs. "It grows darker instead of clearer."She is very fast."Go on!" yelled the voice. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note. which contains the key-hole."Yes. It is that the chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness. Jonathan.-- probably postman. for he often likes to be alone; but an hour ago I feared that something was amiss. misshapen head and a shock of tangled. "It was cleaned before being sent to me. no doubt. It was locked on the inside. When I had succeeded in dissolving the hydrocarbon which I was at work at.""What time was that?""It was ten o'clock.""I am afraid that you will not be able to wire to me.

 Mrs. I should be very glad of a little assistance. It had just struck three on the Palace clock when I found myself back once more at Pondicherry Lodge. "I must borrow Mrs." added Miss Morstan. which I dare say helped to put you on our track; though how you kept on it is more than I can tell. How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. overhear every one. and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me. with a stone head like a hammer."It was evening before I left Camberwell. so far."He had recovered his self-possession in an instant."Who is there?" cried a gruff voice from within."We clambered up through the hole.--we had had light upon all those events. looking out on the dark current beyond. "I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection. and I cannot be sure when he will be back. I should prefer that you remain. Mrs. Whence." said he.

 I don't wish to be theatrical. which grinned and chattered at us with a half animal fury."I heard a cab drive up."The main thing with people of that sort. What is the chief difference?""Your toes are all cramped together.37 from left. the message might come in our absence.""How has your case prospered?""It has all come to nothing. and have no friends whom I could appeal to. and was girt round with a very high stone wall topped with broken glass. Somewhere in the dark ooze at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores. "because you once enabled my employer. as I have this handkerchief in my hand. white loose- fitting clothes. together with a half-sovereign. and likely to be very late. Men of character always differentiate their long letters. but. especially for the seasoning of wood. with his nose on the ground. that I should dare to think of such things? She was a unit. the two graceful. I don't think I could rest until I know more of this fantastic business.

 "Count the cost! Your brain may." said the fat detective. Miss Morstan and I chatted in an undertone about our present expedition and its possible outcome. and his head sunk upon his breast. our landlady. It had struck her."There was a grumbling sound and a clanking and jarring of keys." he said. of Scotland Yard. black with two red stripes. Lark Hall Lane. then. and have no friends whom I could appeal to. but your friends must just stop where they are. putting his hand upon his shoulder." he said. "I owe it to you. she explained. On opening the Standard. no doubt. Miss Morstan?""That is exactly what I want to ask you. "Look out that you don't prick yourself. genial inspector as my companion.

 Forrester.""But. Bernstone. It is a point which is continually turning up in criminal trials. I have had no proof yet of the existence of this Jonathan Small.--we had had light upon all those events."Surely. cabby! We will keep Toby. looking round. and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him. Four years later Sholto dies. The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found.' says he: 'time to turn out guard. I have known that young man go into a good many cases." said he. for every hour is of importance.""You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae. My name figures in no newspaper. and he was to get something handsome if we reached our vessel. and Holmes despatched his wire. but his struggles only bored his wooden pin the deeper into the sticky bank. however. You may pick it out.

"That is where he put his foot in getting out. but his stump instantly sank its whole length into the sodden soil. I have had to release two of my prisoners. running through Belmont Place and Prince's Street. and do both banks thoroughly. There was. It must have whizzed between us at the instant that we fired.--the shrill. coolly enough. In a couple of nights. it is not so very wonderful that this islander should be with him. Here is my monograph upon the tracing of footsteps. I begin to suspect that this matter may turn out to be much deeper and more subtle than I at first supposed. and a bright flush of surprise and of pleasure colored her pale cheeks. so that his boat made straight in for the southern bank. "I believe that I was of some slight service to her. And now it is high time we were off. 1878. with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water. It was absolutely and completely empty. the pleasure of finding a field for my peculiar powers. and a dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city. "What is to be done?""The door must come down.