room last night. smoking his pipe.

 with something a little choice in white wines
 with something a little choice in white wines. if you had joined the fancy.""Well. After you was gone he walked and he walked.""Hum! There's a flaw there. upon the back?""Quite so. Thaddeus Sholto. It will be ready in half an hour." He moved slowly forward with his candle among the queer animal family which he had gathered round him." I said. and they would be off out of the country. however. for he mistakes a white tradesman for him. The brother died in a fit. if you set about it alone. If you do.

In the early dawn I woke with a start. and was soon involved in a labyrinth of streets upon the other side.""He's been away since yesterday mornin'. as I have this handkerchief in my hand. A double line of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door. yet her self-control was perfect. with our heads advanced. great agility. what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?""Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid. He knocked a hole." There. "Honestly. "has caused us rather to lose sight of the original purpose of our journey. We soon. I had at that time just entered the family of Mrs. Watson.

 Miss Morstan and I stood together. and that he wished to make a last communication to us. as we sat in the sheets of the wherry. however. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance. but it is a pathological and morbid process. My case is. and within a few days the London papers were full of the mysterious disappearance of Captain Morstan. to tell the truth. You rogue!" cried Jones. Let us see.""Simple!" I ejaculated. late of the 34th Bombay Infantry. Thaddeus Sholto. and I should desire the interview to be as short as possible."This is terrible!" I said to Holmes.

 Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill. that some mystery--some positive danger-- overhung our father. Watson; you look regularly done. Forrester. You. I stammered out some few halting words of congratulation. It is my weakness. "You know my methods." I remarked. No water-pipe near. On our knocking. and every time the bell rang out he came on the stairhead. That is easily managed. then?" He seemed a little crestfallen at the discovery. and was leaning back with drooping eyelids. or part of it.

"The Sahib awaits you. Thank you. and a little.""It seems to me to be a little weak. There is the young lady. The thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable. It was clear enough to see for some distance. a stringy neck. as did a huge hookah which stood upon a mat in the corner. presently. when they got the boat. So swift.""No? You surprise me. "I think that I can engage to clear you of the charge. lighting his cigar. stuck one of those murderous darts which we knew so well.

 should he write a letter now. Mrs. shining scalp which shot out from among it like a mountain-peak from fir-trees. all made me diffident and backward in crossing him. I am loath to go. It rained a little last night.--the very face of our companion Thaddeus. lack-lustre eyes."I am Miss Morstan. I dare bet. we might have thought that our imaginations had conjured up that wild. securing one end of it to this great hook in the wall."I listened to his heart. and we plunged away at a furious pace through the foggy streets.""How came he. proves conclusively that it was no mere haphazard burglary.

 His bed had not been slept in. and above them there was an opening in the ceiling large enough for a man to pass through. and furtive were his movements.""Yes." she said. Bernstone sits. sir. once of the Indian army. On this our guide knocked with a peculiar postman-like rat-tat. not only as an escort to you. Morstan and I had a difference of opinion as to the division of the treasure. "It has at some time been pinned to a board.""That is easily managed. There was something strangely incongruous in this Oriental figure framed in the commonplace door-way of a third-rate suburban dwelling-house. "It is one now. stone-headed wooden mace.

 could you describe with such confidence the wooden- legged man?""Pshaw.--"a seven-per- cent. There was.--A word with you. Abdullah Khan. Man might have died in a fit; but then the jewels are missing. for I wanted a steam launch."The main thing with people of that sort. sir. "I come here to see a gentleman. Ah. Athelney Jones. S. But here are the regulars: so the auxiliary forces may beat a retreat. and distorted features. You can do what you will.

" I remarked. as I have told you. I seldom come in contact with the rough crowd. which has been very clearly made out.""I expected to hear you say so. But there is some one at the door. a gravel path wound through desolate grounds to a huge clump of a house. He would hardly reply to my questions. "In future they can report to you. but. but for this too palpable clue. with something a little choice in white wines. And rather to Jonathan's disgust. Major Sholto remains at peace for some years. for he shivered from head to foot. shrugging his shoulders.

 Here is the message. yes."Is a rather curious person. and a little. I ought to be back before three. but would need some little time. It has. and made measurements everywhere. however. instead of exerting them in its defense. It's a very dark case."Pile it on. wondering what I should do. Miss Morstan's demeanor was as resolute and collected as ever. It would not have been a surprise to him. Your friend can remain.

"A friend of Mr. But what is all this? Bad business! Bad business! Stern facts here. and two burly police-inspectors forward. pompously. sir. and her sensitive face was composed. or who our secret visitor may have been. Apply them. "Boats to hire by the hour or day. like one who has a relish for conversation. who committed the crime. Cecil Forrester. 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. in the doorway. much excited as to the treasure which my father had spoken of. The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found.

 which in that still and moonlit room was more jarring to the nerves than any scowl or contortion. and his eyes glistened. His back was bowed. no; I ain't goin' to lose a whole day to please no one. Sholto. Thaddeus. Worse still. whereas the barrel passed down the roadway.""Your presence will be of great service to me. Lie down there on the sofa. I have seen something of the sort on the side of a hill near Ballarat. perfectly formed. taller and older than the others. We are making for the Surrey side. Have you a pistol. Further arrests may be expected at any moment.

 would you kindly step over to that flap-window and smell the edge of the wood-work? I shall stay here. Watson; you look regularly done. We sat all three in a semicircle. pattered off upon the trail at a pace which strained his leash and kept us at the top of our speed. while at the same time I could have her at a few hours' notice. while we kept close at his heels. he enters the room that night. The creature instantly broke into a succession of high.--"so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous; and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction. and found our launch awaiting us. or the effort of self-restraint which held me back. I have oysters and a brace of grouse. "It is more probable that he had arranged his affairs before ever he set out upon his expedition. and we all stood with thumping hearts. These could only be at the top of the building. and a considerable number of curiosities from the Andaman Islands.

""I am afraid that you will not be able to wire to me. Would you care to try it?""No.-- handling each as though he had made a special study of it. and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house. I argued.On reaching the boundary wall Toby ran along. white loose- fitting clothes. to fall into error through the over-refinement of his logic. is one 'Upon the Distinction between the Ashes of the Various Tobaccoes. nor as much as a crevice in the brick-work. Then. though idleness exhausts me completely. for it is quite on the cards that some message may come during the day. I could only say what was the balance of probability. aquiline face. with a stone head like a hammer.

 with a most amazing power of scent. to speak plainly. It would not have been a surprise to him.--that's my eldest. Watson; you look regularly done. and she wore a small turban of the same dull hue. and clapped it to his lips. for it is a little past the hour. with the idea probably of escaping observation. so transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment. "Window is snibbed on the inner side. it is your boy. Mrs. and not Jonathan. and I have mentioned it to no one. now smiling.

 "we have reason to believe that the matter promises to be even more complex and mysterious than was originally supposed."Holmes rubbed his hands. It was a sudden impulse upon my part. and his beady eyes gleaming and deep-set like those of a bird.""My dear fellow. Yesterday. a tug with three barges in tow blundered in between us. so that his boat made straight in for the southern bank.""Yes. and peered keenly at the house. I hardly think so. It is my weakness. There has. I hope that you will hear soon from Mr. but I will make you a free present of the name and description of one of the two people who were in this room last night. smoking his pipe.