fashion nova kensington set
adventure ix.the greek interpreter during my long and intimate acquaintancewith mr. sherlock holmes i had never heard him refer to his relations, and hardly everto his own early life. this reticence upon his part had increasedthe somewhat inhuman effect which he produced upon me, until sometimes i foundmyself regarding him as an isolated phenomenon, a brain without a heart, as deficient in human sympathy as he was pre-eminent in intelligence. his aversion to women and hisdisinclination to form new friendships were both typical of his unemotional character,but not more so than his complete
suppression of every reference to his ownpeople. i had come to believe that he was an orphanwith no relatives living, but one day, to my very great surprise, he began to talk tome about his brother. it was after tea on a summer evening, andthe conversation, which had roamed in a desultory, spasmodic fashion from golfclubs to the causes of the change in the obliquity of the ecliptic, came round at last to the question of atavism andhereditary aptitudes. the point under discussion was, how far anysingular gift in an individual was due to his ancestry and how far to his own earlytraining.
"in your own case," said i, "from all thatyou have told me, it seems obvious that your faculty of observation and yourpeculiar facility for deduction are due to your own systematic training." "to some extent," he answered,thoughtfully. "my ancestors were country squires, whoappear to have led much the same life as is natural to their class. but, none the less, my turn that way is inmy veins, and may have come with my grandmother, who was the sister of vernet,the french artist. art in the blood is liable to take thestrangest forms."
"but how do you know that it ishereditary?" "because my brother mycroft possesses it ina larger degree than i do." this was news to me indeed. if there were another man with suchsingular powers in england, how was it that neither police nor public had heard of him? i put the question, with a hint that it wasmy companion's modesty which made him acknowledge his brother as his superior.holmes laughed at my suggestion. "my dear watson," said he, "i cannot agreewith those who rank modesty among the virtues.
to the logician all things should be seenexactly as they are, and to underestimate one's self is as much a departure fromtruth as to exaggerate one's own powers. when i say, therefore, that mycroft hasbetter powers of observation than i, you may take it that i am speaking the exactand literal truth." "is he your junior?" "seven years my senior.""how comes it that he is unknown?" "oh, he is very well known in his owncircle." "where, then?" "well, in the diogenes club, for example."i had never heard of the institution, and
my face must have proclaimed as much, forsherlock holmes pulled out his watch. "the diogenes club is the queerest club inlondon, and mycroft one of the queerest men.he's always there from quarter to five to twenty to eight. it's six now, so if you care for a strollthis beautiful evening i shall be very happy to introduce you to two curiosities."five minutes later we were in the street, walking towards regent's circus. "you wonder," said my companion, "why it isthat mycroft does not use his powers for detective work.he is incapable of it."
"but i thought you said--" "i said that he was my superior inobservation and deduction. if the art of the detective began and endedin reasoning from an arm-chair, my brother would be the greatest criminal agent thatever lived. but he has no ambition and no energy. he will not even go out of his way toverify his own solutions, and would rather be considered wrong than take the troubleto prove himself right. again and again i have taken a problem tohim, and have received an explanation which has afterwards proved to be the correctone.
and yet he was absolutely incapable ofworking out the practical points which must be gone into before a case could be laidbefore a judge or jury." "it is not his profession, then?" "by no means.what is to me a means of livelihood is to him the merest hobby of a dilettante. he has an extraordinary faculty forfigures, and audits the books in some of the government departments. mycroft lodges in pall mall, and he walksround the corner into whitehall every morning and back every evening.
from year's end to year's end he takes noother exercise, and is seen nowhere else, except only in the diogenes club, which isjust opposite his rooms." "i cannot recall the name." "very likely not.there are many men in london, you know, who, some from shyness, some frommisanthropy, have no wish for the company of their fellows. yet they are not averse to comfortablechairs and the latest periodicals. it is for the convenience of these that thediogenes club was started, and it now contains the most unsociable and unclubablemen in town.
no member is permitted to take the leastnotice of any other one. save in the stranger's room, no talking is,under any circumstances, allowed, and three offences, if brought to the notice of thecommittee, render the talker liable to expulsion. my brother was one of the founders, and ihave myself found it a very soothing atmosphere." we had reached pall mall as we talked, andwere walking down it from the st. james's end. sherlock holmes stopped at a door somelittle distance from the carlton, and,
cautioning me not to speak, he led the wayinto the hall. through the glass paneling i caught aglimpse of a large and luxurious room, in which a considerable number of men weresitting about and reading papers, each in his own little nook. holmes showed me into a small chamber whichlooked out into pall mall, and then, leaving me for a minute, he came back witha companion whom i knew could only be his brother. mycroft holmes was a much larger andstouter man than sherlock. his body was absolutely corpulent, but hisface, though massive, had preserved
something of the sharpness of expressionwhich was so remarkable in that of his his eyes, which were of a peculiarly light,watery gray, seemed to always retain that far-away, introspective look which i hadonly observed in sherlock's when he was exerting his full powers. "i am glad to meet you, sir," said he,putting out a broad, fat hand like the flipper of a seal."i hear of sherlock everywhere since you became his chronicler. by the way, sherlock, i expected to see youround last week, to consult me over that manor house case.i thought you might be a little out of your
depth." "no, i solved it," said my friend, smiling."it was adams, of course." "yes, it was adams.""i was sure of it from the first." the two sat down together in the bow-windowof the club. "to any one who wishes to study mankindthis is the spot," said mycroft. "look at the magnificent types! look at these two men who are comingtowards us, for example." "the billiard-marker and the other?""precisely. what do you make of the other?"
the two men had stopped opposite thewindow. some chalk marks over the waistcoat pocketwere the only signs of billiards which i could see in one of them. the other was a very small, dark fellow,with his hat pushed back and several packages under his arm."an old soldier, i perceive," said sherlock. "and very recently discharged," remarkedthe brother. "served in india, i see.""and a non-commissioned officer." "royal artillery, i fancy," said sherlock.
"and a widower.""but with a child." "children, my dear boy, children.""come," said i, laughing, "this is a little too much." "surely," answered holmes, "it is not hardto say that a man with that bearing, expression of authority, and sunbaked skin,is a soldier, is more than a private, and is not long from india." "that he has not left the service long isshown by his still wearing his ammunition boots, as they are called," observedmycroft. "he had not the cavalry stride, yet he worehis hat on one side, as is shown by the
lighter skin of that side of his brow.his weight is against his being a sapper. he is in the artillery." "then, of course, his complete mourningshows that he has lost some one very dear. the fact that he is doing his own shoppinglooks as though it were his wife. he has been buying things for children, youperceive. there is a rattle, which shows that one ofthem is very young. the wife probably died in childbed. the fact that he has a picture-book underhis arm shows that there is another child to be thought of."
i began to understand what my friend meantwhen he said that his brother possessed even keener faculties that he did himself.he glanced across at me and smiled. mycroft took snuff from a tortoise-shellbox, and brushed away the wandering grains from his coat front with a large, red silkhandkerchief. "by the way, sherlock," said he, "i havehad something quite after your own heart--a most singular problem--submitted to myjudgment. i really had not the energy to follow it upsave in a very incomplete fashion, but it gave me a basis for some pleasingspeculation. if you would care to hear the facts--"
"my dear mycroft, i should be delighted."the brother scribbled a note upon a leaf of his pocket-book, and, ringing the bell, hehanded it to the waiter. "i have asked mr. melas to step across,"said he. "he lodges on the floor above me, and ihave some slight acquaintance with him, which led him to come to me in hisperplexity. mr. melas is a greek by extraction, as iunderstand, and he is a remarkable linguist. he earns his living partly as interpreterin the law courts and partly by acting as guide to any wealthy orientals who mayvisit the northumberland avenue hotels.
i think i will leave him to tell his veryremarkable experience in his own fashion." a few minutes later we were joined by ashort, stout man whose olive face and coal- black hair proclaimed his southern origin,though his speech was that of an educated englishman. he shook hands eagerly with sherlockholmes, and his dark eyes sparkled with pleasure when he understood that thespecialist was anxious to hear his story. "i do not believe that the police creditme--on my word, i do not," said he in a wailing voice. "just because they have never heard of itbefore, they think that such a thing cannot
be. but i know that i shall never be easy in mymind until i know what has become of my poor man with the sticking-plaster upon hisface." "i am all attention," said sherlock holmes. "this is wednesday evening," said mr.melas. "well then, it was monday night--only twodays ago, you understand--that all this happened. i am an interpreter, as perhaps my neighborthere has told you. i interpret all languages--or nearly all--but as i am a greek by birth and with a
grecian name, it is with that particulartongue that i am principally associated. for many years i have been the chief greekinterpreter in london, and my name is very well known in the hotels. "it happens not unfrequently that i am sentfor at strange hours by foreigners who get into difficulties, or by travelers whoarrive late and wish my services. i was not surprised, therefore, on mondaynight when a mr. latimer, a very fashionably dressed young man, came up tomy rooms and asked me to accompany him in a cab which was waiting at the door. a greek friend had come to see him uponbusiness, he said, and as he could speak
nothing but his own tongue, the services ofan interpreter were indispensable. he gave me to understand that his house wassome little distance off, in kensington, and he seemed to be in a great hurry,bustling me rapidly into the cab when we had descended to the street. "i say into the cab, but i soon becamedoubtful as to whether it was not a carriage in which i found myself. it was certainly more roomy than theordinary four-wheeled disgrace to london, and the fittings, though frayed, were ofrich quality. mr. latimer seated himself opposite to meand we started off through charing cross
and up the shaftesbury avenue. we had come out upon oxford street and ihad ventured some remark as to this being a roundabout way to kensington, when my wordswere arrested by the extraordinary conduct of my companion. "he began by drawing a most formidable-looking bludgeon loaded with lead from his pocket, and switching it backward andforward several times, as if to test its weight and strength. then he placed it without a word upon theseat beside him. having done this, he drew up the windows oneach side, and i found to my astonishment
that they were covered with paper so as toprevent my seeing through them. "'i am sorry to cut off your view, mr.melas,' said he. 'the fact is that i have no intention thatyou should see what the place is to which we are driving. it might possibly be inconvenient to me ifyou could find your way there again.' "as you can imagine, i was utterly takenaback by such an address. my companion was a powerful, broad-shouldered young fellow, and, apart from the weapon, i should not have had theslightest chance in a struggle with him. "'this is very extraordinary conduct, mr.latimer,' i stammered.
'you must be aware that what you are doingis quite illegal.' "'it is somewhat of a liberty, no doubt,'said he, 'but we'll make it up to you. i must warn you, however, mr. melas, thatif at any time to-night you attempt to raise an alarm or do anything which isagainst my interests, you will find it a very serious thing. i beg you to remember that no one knowswhere you are, and that, whether you are in this carriage or in my house, you areequally in my power.' "his words were quiet, but he had a raspingway of saying them which was very menacing. i sat in silence wondering what on earthcould be his reason for kidnapping me in
this extraordinary fashion. whatever it might be, it was perfectlyclear that there was no possible use in my resisting, and that i could only wait tosee what might befall. "for nearly two hours we drove without myhaving the least clue as to where we were going. sometimes the rattle of the stones told ofa paved causeway, and at others our smooth, silent course suggested asphalt; but, saveby this variation in sound, there was nothing at all which could in the remotest way help me to form a guess as to where wewere.
the paper over each window was impenetrableto light, and a blue curtain was drawn across the glass work in front. it was a quarter-past seven when we leftpall mall, and my watch showed me that it was ten minutes to nine when we at lastcame to a standstill. my companion let down the window, and icaught a glimpse of a low, arched doorway with a lamp burning above it. as i was hurried from the carriage it swungopen, and i found myself inside the house, with a vague impression of a lawn and treeson each side of me as i entered. whether these were private grounds,however, or bona-fide country was more than
i could possibly venture to say. "there was a colored gas-lamp inside whichwas turned so low that i could see little save that the hall was of some size andhung with pictures. in the dim light i could make out that theperson who had opened the door was a small, mean-looking, middle-aged man with roundedshoulders. as he turned towards us the glint of thelight showed me that he was wearing glasses."'is this mr. melas, harold?' said he. "'yes.' "'well done, well done!no ill-will, mr. melas, i hope, but we
could not get on without you. if you deal fair with us you'll not regretit, but if you try any tricks, god help you!' he spoke in a nervous, jerky fashion, andwith little giggling laughs in between, but somehow he impressed me with fear more thanthe other. "'what do you want with me?' i asked."'only to ask a few questions of a greek gentleman who is visiting us, and to let ushave the answers. but say no more than you are told to say,or--' here came the nervous giggle again--
'you had better never have been born.' "as he spoke he opened a door and showedthe way into a room which appeared to be very richly furnished, but again the onlylight was afforded by a single lamp half- turned down. the chamber was certainly large, and theway in which my feet sank into the carpet as i stepped across it told me of itsrichness. i caught glimpses of velvet chairs, a highwhite marble mantel-piece, and what seemed to be a suit of japanese armor at one sideof it. there was a chair just under the lamp, andthe elderly man motioned that i should sit
in it. the younger had left us, but he suddenlyreturned through another door, leading with him a gentleman clad in some sort of loosedressing-gown who moved slowly towards us. as he came into the circle of dim lightwhich enables me to see him more clearly i was thrilled with horror at his appearance. he was deadly pale and terribly emaciated,with the protruding, brilliant eyes of a man whose spirit was greater than hisstrength. but what shocked me more than any signs ofphysical weakness was that his face was grotesquely criss-crossed with sticking-plaster, and that one large pad of it was
fastened over his mouth. "'have you the slate, harold?' cried theolder man, as this strange being fell rather than sat down into a chair.'are his hands loose? now, then, give him the pencil. you are to ask the questions, mr. melas,and he will write the answers. ask him first of all whether he is preparedto sign the papers?' "the man's eyes flashed fire. "'never!' he wrote in greek upon the slate."'on no condition?' i asked, at the bidding of our tyrant."'only if i see her married in my presence
by a greek priest whom i know.' "the man giggled in his venomous way."'you know what awaits you, then?' "'i care nothing for myself.' "these are samples of the questions andanswers which made up our strange half- spoken, half-written conversation.again and again i had to ask him whether he would give in and sign the documents. again and again i had the same indignantreply. but soon a happy thought came to me. i took to adding on little sentences of myown to each question, innocent ones at
first, to test whether either of ourcompanions knew anything of the matter, and then, as i found that they showed no signsi played a more dangerous game. our conversation ran something like this:"'you can do no good by this obstinacy. who are you?' "'i care not.i am a stranger in london.' "'your fate will be upon your own head.how long have you been here?' "'let it be so. three weeks.'"'the property can never be yours. what ails you?'"'it shall not go to villains.
they are starving me.' "'you shall go free if you sign.what house is this?' "'i will never sign.i do not know.' "'you are not doing her any service. what is your name?'"'let me hear her say so. kratides.'"'you shall see her if you sign. where are you from?' "'then i shall never see her.athens.' "another five minutes, mr. holmes, and ishould have wormed out the whole story
under their very noses. my very next question might have clearedthe matter up, but at that instant the door opened and a woman stepped into the room. i could not see her clearly enough to knowmore than that she was tall and graceful, with black hair, and clad in some sort ofloose white gown. "'harold,' said she, speaking english witha broken accent. 'i could not stay away longer.it is so lonely up there with only--oh, my god, it is paul!' "these last words were in greek, and at thesame instant the man with a convulsive
effort tore the plaster from his lips, andscreaming out 'sophy! sophy!' rushed into the woman's arms. their embrace was but for an instant,however, for the younger man seized the woman and pushed her out of the room, whilethe elder easily overpowered his emaciated victim, and dragged him away through theother door. for a moment i was left alone in the room,and i sprang to my feet with some vague idea that i might in some way get a clue towhat this house was in which i found myself. fortunately, however, i took no steps, forlooking up i saw that the older man was
standing in the door-way with his eyesfixed upon me. "'that will do, mr. melas,' said he. 'you perceive that we have taken you intoour confidence over some very private business. we should not have troubled you, only thatour friend who speaks greek and who began these negotiations has been forced toreturn to the east. it was quite necessary for us to find someone to take his place, and we were fortunate in hearing of your powers.'"i bowed. "'there are five sovereigns here,' said he,walking up to me, 'which will, i hope, be a
sufficient fee. but remember,' he added, tapping me lightlyon the chest and giggling, 'if you speak to a human soul about this--one human soul,mind--well, may god have mercy upon your soul!" "i cannot tell you the loathing and horrorwith which this insignificant-looking man inspired me.i could see him better now as the lamp- light shone upon him. his features were peaky and sallow, and hislittle pointed beard was thready and ill- nourished.
he pushed his face forward as he spoke andhis lips and eyelids were continually twitching like a man with st. vitus'sdance. i could not help thinking that his strange,catchy little laugh was also a symptom of some nervous malady. the terror of his face lay in his eyes,however, steel gray, and glistening coldly with a malignant, inexorable cruelty intheir depths. "'we shall know if you speak of this,' saidhe. 'we have our own means of information.now you will find the carriage waiting, and my friend will see you on your way.'
"i was hurried through the hall and intothe vehicle, again obtaining that momentary glimpse of trees and a garden. mr. latimer followed closely at my heels,and took his place opposite to me without a word. in silence we again drove for aninterminable distance with the windows raised, until at last, just after midnight,the carriage pulled up. "'you will get down here, mr. melas,' saidmy companion. 'i am sorry to leave you so far from yourhouse, but there is no alternative. any attempt upon your part to follow thecarriage can only end in injury to
yourself.' "he opened the door as he spoke, and i hadhardly time to spring out when the coachman lashed the horse and the carriage rattledaway. i looked around me in astonishment. i was on some sort of a heathy commonmottled over with dark clumps of furze- bushes.far away stretched a line of houses, with a light here and there in the upper windows. on the other side i saw the red signal-lamps of a railway. "the carriage which had brought me wasalready out of sight.
i stood gazing round and wondering where onearth i might be, when i saw some one coming towards me in the darkness.as he came up to me i made out that he was a railway porter. "'can you tell me what place this is?'i asked. "'wandsworth common,' said he."'can i get a train into town?' "'if you walk on a mile or so to claphamjunction,' said he, 'you'll just be in time for the last to victoria.'"so that was the end of my adventure, mr. holmes. i do not know where i was, nor whom i spokewith, nor anything save what i have told
you. but i know that there is foul play goingon, and i want to help that unhappy man if i can. i told the whole story to mr. mycroftholmes next morning, and subsequently to the police." we all sat in silence for some little timeafter listening to this extraordinary narrative.then sherlock looked across at his brother. "any steps?" he asked. mycroft picked up the daily news, which waslying on the side-table.
"'anybody supplying any information to thewhereabouts of a greek gentleman named paul kratides, from athens, who is unable tospeak english, will be rewarded. a similar reward paid to any one givinginformation about a greek lady whose first name is sophy.x 2473.' that was in all the dailies. no answer.""how about the greek legation?" "i have inquired.they know nothing." "a wire to the head of the athens police,then?" "sherlock has all the energy of thefamily," said mycroft, turning to me.
"well, you take the case up by all means,and let me know if you do any good." "certainly," answered my friend, risingfrom his chair. "i'll let you know, and mr. melas also. in the meantime, mr. melas, i shouldcertainly be on my guard, if i were you, for of course they must know through theseadvertisements that you have betrayed them." as we walked home together, holmes stoppedat a telegraph office and sent off several wires."you see, watson," he remarked, "our evening has been by no means wasted.
some of my most interesting cases have cometo me in this way through mycroft. the problem which we have just listened to,although it can admit of but one explanation, has still some distinguishingfeatures." "you have hopes of solving it?" "well, knowing as much as we do, it will besingular indeed if we fail to discover the rest. you must yourself have formed some theorywhich will explain the facts to which we have listened.""in a vague way, yes." "what was your idea, then?"
"it seemed to me to be obvious that thisgreek girl had been carried off by the young englishman named harold latimer.""carried off from where?" "athens, perhaps." sherlock holmes shook his head."this young man could not talk a word of greek.the lady could talk english fairly well. inference--that she had been in englandsome little time, but he had not been in greece." "well, then, we will presume that she hadcome on a visit to england, and that this harold had persuaded her to fly with him.""that is more probable."
"then the brother--for that, i fancy, mustbe the relationship--comes over from greece to interfere.he imprudently puts himself into the power of the young man and his older associate. they seize him and use violence towards himin order to make him sign some papers to make over the girl's fortune--of which hemay be trustee--to them. this he refuses to do. in order to negotiate with him they have toget an interpreter, and they pitch upon this mr. melas, having used some other onebefore. the girl is not told of the arrival of herbrother, and finds it out by the merest
accident.""excellent, watson!" cried holmes. "i really fancy that you are not far fromthe truth. you see that we hold all the cards, and wehave only to fear some sudden act of violence on their part. if they give us time we must have them.""but how can we find where this house lies?" "well, if our conjecture is correct and thegirl's name is or was sophy kratides, we should have no difficulty in tracing her.that must be our main hope, for the brother is, of course, a complete stranger.
it is clear that some time has elapsedsince this harold established these relations with the girl--some weeks, at anyrate--since the brother in greece has had time to hear of it and come across. if they have been living in the same placeduring this time, it is probable that we shall have some answer to mycroft'sadvertisement." we had reached our house in baker streetwhile we had been talking. holmes ascended the stair first, and as heopened the door of our room he gave a start of surprise. looking over his shoulder, i was equallyastonished.
his brother mycroft was sitting smoking inthe arm-chair. "come in, sherlock! come in, sir," said he blandly, smiling atour surprised faces. "you don't expect such energy from me, doyou, sherlock? but somehow this case attracts me." "how did you get here?""i passed you in a hansom." "there has been some new development?""i had an answer to my advertisement." "ah!" "yes, it came within a few minutes of yourleaving."
"and to what effect?"mycroft holmes took out a sheet of paper. "here it is," said he, "written with a jpen on royal cream paper by a middle-aged man with a weak constitution. 'sir,' he says, 'in answer to youradvertisement of to-day's date, i beg to inform you that i know the young lady inquestion very well. if you should care to call upon me i couldgive you some particulars as to her painful history.she is living at present at the myrtles, beckenham. yours faithfully, j. davenport.'"he writes from lower brixton," said
mycroft holmes. "do you not think that we might drive tohim now, sherlock, and learn these particulars?""my dear mycroft, the brother's life is more valuable than the sister's story. i think we should call at scotland yard forinspector gregson, and go straight out to beckenham.we know that a man is being done to death, and every hour may be vital." "better pick up mr. melas on our way," isuggested. "we may need an interpreter.""excellent," said sherlock holmes.
"send the boy for a four-wheeler, and weshall be off at once." he opened the table-drawer as he spoke, andi noticed that he slipped his revolver into his pocket. "yes," said he, in answer to my glance; "ishould say from what we have heard, that we are dealing with a particularly dangerousgang." it was almost dark before we foundourselves in pall mall, at the rooms of mr. melas.a gentleman had just called for him, and he was gone. "can you tell me where?" asked mycroftholmes.
"i don't know, sir," answered the woman whohad opened the door; "i only know that he drove away with the gentleman in acarriage." "did the gentleman give a name?" "no, sir.""he wasn't a tall, handsome, dark young man?""oh, no, sir. he was a little gentleman, with glasses,thin in the face, but very pleasant in his ways, for he was laughing all the time thathe was talking." "come along!" cried sherlock holmes,abruptly. "this grows serious," he observed, as wedrove to scotland yard.
"these men have got hold of melas again. he is a man of no physical courage, as theyare well aware from their experience the other night.this villain was able to terrorize him the instant that he got into his presence. no doubt they want his professionalservices, but, having used him, they may be inclined to punish him for what they willregard as his treachery." our hope was that, by taking train, wemight get to beckenham as soon or sooner than the carriage. on reaching scotland yard, however, it wasmore than an hour before we could get
inspector gregson and comply with the legalformalities which would enable us to enter the house. it was a quarter to ten before we reachedlondon bridge, and half past before the four of us alighted on the beckenhamplatform. a drive of half a mile brought us to themyrtles--a large, dark house standing back from the road in its own grounds.here we dismissed our cab, and made our way up the drive together. "the windows are all dark," remarked theinspector. "the house seems deserted.""our birds are flown and the nest empty,"
said holmes. "why do you say so?""a carriage heavily loaded with luggage has passed out during the last hour."the inspector laughed. "i saw the wheel-tracks in the light of thegate-lamp, but where does the luggage come in?""you may have observed the same wheel- tracks going the other way. but the outward-bound ones were very muchdeeper--so much so that we can say for a certainty that there was a veryconsiderable weight on the carriage." "you get a trifle beyond me there," saidthe inspector, shrugging his shoulder.
"it will not be an easy door to force, butwe will try if we cannot make some one hear us." he hammered loudly at the knocker andpulled at the bell, but without any success.holmes had slipped away, but he came back in a few minutes. "i have a window open," said he. "it is a mercy that you are on the side ofthe force, and not against it, mr. holmes," remarked the inspector, as he noted theclever way in which my friend had forced back the catch.
"well, i think that under the circumstanceswe may enter without an invitation." one after the other we made our way into alarge apartment, which was evidently that in which mr. melas had found himself. the inspector had lit his lantern, and byits light we could see the two doors, the curtain, the lamp, and the suit of japanesemail as he had described them. on the table lay two glasses, and emptybrandy-bottle, and the remains of a meal. "what is that?" asked holmes, suddenly.we all stood still and listened. a low moaning sound was coming fromsomewhere over our heads. holmes rushed to the door and out into thehall.
the dismal noise came from upstairs. he dashed up, the inspector and i at hisheels, while his brother mycroft followed as quickly as his great bulk would permit. three doors faced up upon the second floor,and it was from the central of these that the sinister sounds were issuing, sinkingsometimes into a dull mumble and rising again into a shrill whine. it was locked, but the key had been left onthe outside. holmes flung open the door and rushed in,but he was out again in an instant, with his hand to his throat.
"it's charcoal," he cried."give it time. it will clear." peering in, we could see that the onlylight in the room came from a dull blue flame which flickered from a small brasstripod in the centre. it threw a livid, unnatural circle upon thefloor, while in the shadows beyond we saw the vague loom of two figures whichcrouched against the wall. from the open door there reeked a horriblepoisonous exhalation which set us gasping and coughing. holmes rushed to the top of the stairs todraw in the fresh air, and then, dashing
into the room, he threw up the window andhurled the brazen tripod out into the garden. "we can enter in a minute," he gasped,darting out again. "where is a candle?i doubt if we could strike a match in that atmosphere. hold the light at the door and we shall getthem out, mycroft, now!" with a rush we got to the poisoned men anddragged them out into the well-lit hall. both of them were blue-lipped andinsensible, with swollen, congested faces and protruding eyes.
indeed, so distorted were their featuresthat, save for his black beard and stout figure, we might have failed to recognizein one of them the greek interpreter who had parted from us only a few hours beforeat the diogenes club. his hands and feet were securely strappedtogether, and he bore over one eye the marks of a violent blow. the other, who was secured in a similarfashion, was a tall man in the last stage of emaciation, with several strips ofsticking-plaster arranged in a grotesque pattern over his face. he had ceased to moan as we laid him down,and a glance showed me that for him at
least our aid had come too late. mr. melas, however, still lived, and inless than an hour, with the aid of ammonia and brandy i had the satisfaction of seeinghim open his eyes, and of knowing that my hand had drawn him back from that darkvalley in which all paths meet. it was a simple story which he had to tell,and one which did but confirm our own deductions. his visitor, on entering his rooms, haddrawn a life-preserver from his sleeve, and had so impressed him with the fear ofinstant and inevitable death that he had kidnapped him for the second time.
indeed, it was almost mesmeric, the effectwhich this giggling ruffian had produced upon the unfortunate linguist, for he couldnot speak of him save with trembling hands and a blanched cheek. he had been taken swiftly to beckenham, andhad acted as interpreter in a second interview, even more dramatic than thefirst, in which the two englishmen had menaced their prisoner with instant deathif he did not comply with their demands. finally, finding him proof against everythreat, they had hurled him back into his prison, and after reproaching melas withhis treachery, which appeared from the newspaper advertisement, they had stunned
him with a blow from a stick, and heremembered nothing more until he found us bending over him. and this was the singular case of thegrecian interpreter, the explanation of which is still involved in some mystery. we were able to find out, by communicatingwith the gentleman who had answered the advertisement, that the unfortunate younglady came of a wealthy grecian family, and that she had been on a visit to somefriends in england. while there she had met a young man namedharold latimer, who had acquired an ascendancy over he and had eventuallypersuaded her to fly with him.
her friends, shocked at the event, hadcontented themselves with informing her brother at athens, and had then washedtheir hands of the matter. the brother, on his arrival in england, hadimprudently placed himself in the power of latimer and of his associate, whose namewas wilson kemp--a man of the foulest antecedents. these two, finding that through hisignorance of the language he was helpless in their hands, had kept him a prisoner,and had endeavored by cruelty and starvation to make him sign away his ownand his sister's property. they had kept him in the house without thegirl's knowledge, and the plaster over the
face had been for the purpose of makingrecognition difficult in case she should ever catch a glimpse of him. her feminine perception, however, hadinstantly seen through the disguise when, on the occasion of the interpreter's visit,she had seen him for the first time. the poor girl, however, was herself aprisoner, for there was no one about the house except the man who acted as coachman,and his wife, both of whom were tools of the conspirators. finding that their secret was out, and thattheir prisoner was not to be coerced, the two villains with the girl had fled away ata few hours' notice from the furnished
house which they had hired, having first, as they thought, taken vengeance both uponthe man who had defied and the one who had betrayed them.months afterwards a curious newspaper cutting reached us from buda-pesth. it told how two englishmen who had beentraveling with a woman had met with a tragic end. they had each been stabbed, it seems, andthe hungarian police were of opinion that they had quarreled and had inflicted mortalinjuries upon each other. holmes, however, is, i fancy, of adifferent way of thinking, and holds to
this day that, if one could find thegrecian girl, one might learn how the wrongs of herself and her brother came tobe avenged. > adventure x.the naval treaty the july which immediately succeeded mymarriage was made memorable by three cases of interest, in which i had the privilegeof being associated with sherlock holmes and of studying his methods. i find them recorded in my notes under theheadings of "the adventure of the second stain," "the adventure of the navaltreaty," and "the adventure of the tired
captain." the first of these, however, deals withinterest of such importance and implicates so many of the first families in thekingdom that for many years it will be impossible to make it public. no case, however, in which holmes wasengaged has ever illustrated the value of his analytical methods so clearly or hasimpressed those who were associated with him so deeply. i still retain an almost verbatim report ofthe interview in which he demonstrated the true facts of the case to monsieur dubugueof the paris police, and fritz von
waldbaum, the well-known specialist of dantzig, both of whom had wasted theirenergies upon what proved to be side- issues.the new century will have come, however, before the story can be safely told. meanwhile i pass on to the second on mylist, which promised also at one time to be of national importance, and was marked byseveral incidents which give it a quite unique character. during my school-days i had been intimatelyassociated with a lad named percy phelps, who was of much the same age as myself,though he was two classes ahead of me.
he was a very brilliant boy, and carriedaway every prize which the school had to offer, finished his exploits by winning ascholarship which sent him on to continue his triumphant career at cambridge. he was, i remember, extremely wellconnected, and even when we were all little boys together we knew that his mother'sbrother was lord holdhurst, the great conservative politician. this gaudy relationship did him little goodat school. on the contrary, it seemed rather a piquantthing to us to chevy him about the playground and hit him over the shins witha wicket.
but it was another thing when he came outinto the world. i heard vaguely that his abilities and theinfluences which he commanded had won him a good position at the foreign office, andthen he passed completely out of my mind until the following letter recalled hisexistence: briarbrae, woking. my dear watson,--i have no doubt that youcan remember "tadpole" phelps, who was in the fifth form when you were in the third. it is possible even that you may have heardthat through my uncle's influence i obtained a good appointment at the foreignoffice, and that i was in a situation of
trust and honor until a horrible misfortunecame suddenly to blast my career. there is no use writing of the details ofthat dreadful event. in the event of your acceding to my requestit is probably that i shall have to narrate them to you. i have only just recovered from nine weeksof brain-fever, and am still exceedingly weak.do you think that you could bring your friend mr. holmes down to see me? i should like to have his opinion of thecase, though the authorities assure me that nothing more can be done.do try to bring him down, and as soon as
possible. every minute seems an hour while i live inthis state of horrible suspense. assure him that if i have not asked hisadvice sooner it was not because i did not appreciate his talents, but because i havebeen off my head ever since the blow fell. now i am clear again, though i dare notthink of it too much for fear of a relapse. i am still so weak that i have to write, asyou see, by dictating. do try to bring him. your old school-fellow,percy phelps. there was something that touched me as iread this letter, something pitiable in the
reiterated appeals to bring holmes. so moved was i that even had it been adifficult matter i should have tried it, but of course i knew well that holmes lovedhis art, so that he was ever as ready to bring his aid as his client could be toreceive it. my wife agreed with me that not a momentshould be lost in laying the matter before him, and so within an hour of breakfast-time i found myself back once more in the old rooms in baker street. holmes was seated at his side-table clad inhis dressing-gown, and working hard over a chemical investigation.
a large curved retort was boiling furiouslyin the bluish flame of a bunsen burner, and the distilled drops were condensing into atwo-litre measure. my friend hardly glanced up as i entered,and i, seeing that his investigation must be of importance, seated myself in an arm-chair and waited. he dipped into this bottle or that, drawingout a few drops of each with his glass pipette, and finally brought a test-tubecontaining a solution over to the table. in his right hand he held a slip of litmus-paper. "you come at a crisis, watson," said he."if this paper remains blue, all is well. if it turns red, it means a man's life."
he dipped it into the test-tube and itflushed at once into a dull, dirty crimson. "hum! i thought as much!" he cried."i will be at your service in an instant, watson. you will find tobacco in the persianslipper." he turned to his desk and scribbled offseveral telegrams, which were handed over to the page-boy. then he threw himself down into the chairopposite, and drew up his knees until his fingers clasped round his long, thin shins."a very commonplace little murder," said he.
"you've got something better, i fancy.you are the stormy petrel of crime, watson. what is it?"i handed him the letter, which he read with the most concentrated attention. "it does not tell us very much, does it?"he remarked, as he handed it back to me. "hardly anything.""and yet the writing is of interest." "but the writing is not his own." "precisely.it is a woman's." "a man's surely," i cried."no, a woman's, and a woman of rare character.
you see, at the commencement of aninvestigation it is something to know that your client is in close contact with someone who, for good or evil, has an exceptional nature. my interest is already awakened in thecase. if you are ready we will start at once forwoking, and see this diplomatist who is in such evil case, and the lady to whom hedictates his letters." we were fortunate enough to catch an earlytrain at waterloo, and in a little under an hour we found ourselves among the fir-woodsand the heather of woking. briarbrae proved to be a large detachedhouse standing in extensive grounds within
a few minutes' walk of the station. on sending in our cards we were shown intoan elegantly appointed drawing-room, where we were joined in a few minutes by a ratherstout man who received us with much hospitality. his age may have been nearer forty thanthirty, but his cheeks were so ruddy and his eyes so merry that he still conveyedthe impression of a plump and mischievous boy. "i am so glad that you have come," said he,shaking our hands with effusion. "percy has been inquiring for you allmorning.
ah, poor old chap, he clings to any straw! his father and his mother asked me to seeyou, for the mere mention of the subject is very painful to them.""we have had no details yet," observed "i perceive that you are not yourself amember of the family." our acquaintance looked surprised, andthen, glancing down, he began to laugh. "of course you saw the j h monogram on mylocket," said he. "for a moment i thought you had donesomething clever. joseph harrison is my name, and as percy isto marry my sister annie i shall at least be a relation by marriage.
you will find my sister in his room, forshe has nursed him hand-and-foot this two months back.perhaps we'd better go in at once, for i know how impatient he is." the chamber in which we were shown was onthe same floor as the drawing-room. it was furnished partly as a sitting andpartly as a bedroom, with flowers arranged daintily in every nook and corner. a young man, very pale and worn, was lyingupon a sofa near the open window, through which came the rich scent of the garden andthe balmy summer air. a woman was sitting beside him, who rose aswe entered.
"shall i leave, percy?" she asked.he clutched her hand to detain her. "how are you, watson?" said he, cordially. "i should never have known you under thatmoustache, and i dare say you would not be prepared to swear to me.this i presume is your celebrated friend, mr. sherlock holmes?" i introduced him in a few words, and weboth sat down. the stout young man had left us, but hissister still remained with her hand in that of the invalid. she was a striking-looking woman, a littleshort and thick for symmetry, but with a
beautiful olive complexion, large, dark,italian eyes, and a wealth of deep black hair. her rich tints made the white face of hercompanion the more worn and haggard by the contrast."i won't waste your time," said he, raising himself upon the sofa. "i'll plunge into the matter withoutfurther preamble. i was a happy and successful man, mr.holmes, and on the eve of being married, when a sudden and dreadful misfortunewrecked all my prospects in life. "i was, as watson may have told you, in theforeign office, and through the influences
of my uncle, lord holdhurst, i rose rapidlyto a responsible position. when my uncle became foreign minister inthis administration he gave me several missions of trust, and as i always broughtthem to a successful conclusion, he came at last to have the utmost confidence in myability and tact. "nearly ten weeks ago--to be more accurate,on the 23d of may--he called me into his private room, and, after complimenting meon the good work which i had done, he informed me that he had a new commission oftrust for me to execute. "'this,' said he, taking a gray roll ofpaper from his bureau, 'is the original of that secret treaty between england anditaly of which, i regret to say, some
rumors have already got into the publicpress. it is of enormous importance that nothingfurther should leak out. the french or the russian embassy would payan immense sum to learn the contents of these papers. they should not leave my bureau were it notthat it is absolutely necessary to have them copied.you have a desk in your office?" "'yes, sir.' "'then take the treaty and lock it upthere. i shall give directions that you may remainbehind when the others go, so that you may
copy it at your leisure without fear ofbeing overlooked. when you have finished, relock both theoriginal and the draft in the desk, and hand them over to me personally to-morrowmorning.' "i took the papers and--" "excuse me an instant," said holmes."were you alone during this conversation?" "absolutely.""in a large room?" "thirty feet each way." "in the centre?""yes, about it." "and speaking low?""my uncle's voice is always remarkably low.
i hardly spoke at all." "thank you," said holmes, shutting hiseyes; "pray go on." "i did exactly what he indicated, andwaited until the other clerks had departed. one of them in my room, charles gorot, hadsome arrears of work to make up, so i left him there and went out to dine.when i returned he was gone. i was anxious to hurry my work, for i knewthat joseph--the mr. harrison whom you saw just now--was in town, and that he wouldtravel down to woking by the eleven-o'clock train, and i wanted if possible to catchit. "when i came to examine the treaty i saw atonce that it was of such importance that my
uncle had been guilty of no exaggeration inwhat he had said. without going into details, i may say thatit defined the position of great britain towards the triple alliance, and fore-shadowed the policy which this country would pursue in the event of the french fleet gaining a complete ascendancy overthat of italy in the mediterranean. the questions treated in it were purelynaval. at the end were the signatures of the highdignitaries who had signed it. i glanced my eyes over it, and then settleddown to my task of copying. "it was a long document, written in thefrench language, and containing twenty-six
separate articles. i copied as quickly as i could, but at nineo'clock i had only done nine articles, and it seemed hopeless for me to attempt tocatch my train. i was feeling drowsy and stupid, partlyfrom my dinner and also from the effects of a long day's work.a cup of coffee would clear my brain. a commissionnaire remains all night in alittle lodge at the foot of the stairs, and is in the habit of making coffee at hisspirit-lamp for any of the officials who may be working over time. i rang the bell, therefore, to summon him."to my surprise, it was a woman who
answered the summons, a large, coarse-faced, elderly woman, in an apron. she explained that she was thecommissionnaire's wife, who did the charing, and i gave her the order for thecoffee. "i wrote two more articles and then,feeling more drowsy than ever, i rose and walked up and down the room to stretch mylegs. my coffee had not yet come, and i wonderedwhat was the cause of the delay could be. opening the door, i started down thecorridor to find out. there was a straight passage, dimlylighted, which led from the room in which i had been working, and was the only exitfrom it.
it ended in a curving staircase, with thecommissionnaire's lodge in the passage at the bottom. half way down this staircase is a smalllanding, with another passage running into it at right angles. this second one leads by means of a secondsmall stair to a side door, used by servants, and also as a short cut by clerkswhen coming from charles street. here is a rough chart of the place." "thank you.i think that i quite follow you," said sherlock holmes."it is of the utmost importance that you
should notice this point. i went down the stairs and into the hall,where i found the commissionnaire fast asleep in his box, with the kettle boilingfuriously upon the spirit-lamp. i took off the kettle and blew out thelamp, for the water was spurting over the floor. then i put out my hand and was about toshake the man, who was still sleeping soundly, when a bell over his head rangloudly, and he woke with a start. "'mr. phelps, sir!' said he, looking at mein bewilderment. "'i came down to see if my coffee wasready.'
"'i was boiling the kettle when i fellasleep, sir.' he looked at me and then up at the stillquivering bell with an ever-growing astonishment upon his face. "'if you was here, sir, then who rang thebell?' he asked. "'the bell!'i cried. 'what bell is it?' "'it's the bell of the room you wereworking in.' "a cold hand seemed to close round myheart. some one, then, was in that room where myprecious treaty lay upon the table.
i ran frantically up the stair and alongthe passage. there was no one in the corridors, mr.holmes. there was no one in the room. all was exactly as i left it, save onlythat the papers which had been committed to my care had been taken from the desk onwhich they lay. the copy was there, and the original wasgone." holmes sat up in his chair and rubbed hishands. i could see that the problem was entirelyto his heart. "pray, what did you do then?" he murmured.
"i recognized in an instant that the thiefmust have come up the stairs from the side door.of course i must have met him if he had come the other way." "you were satisfied that he could not havebeen concealed in the room all the time, or in the corridor which you have justdescribed as dimly lighted?" "it is absolutely impossible. a rat could not conceal himself either inthe room or the corridor. there is no cover at all.""thank you. pray proceed."
"the commissionnaire, seeing by my paleface that something was to be feared, had followed me upstairs. now we both rushed along the corridor anddown the steep steps which led to charles street.the door at the bottom was closed, but unlocked. we flung it open and rushed out.i can distinctly remember that as we did so there came three chimes from a neighboringclock. it was quarter to ten." "that is of enormous importance," saidholmes, making a note upon his shirt-cuff.
"the night was very dark, and a thin, warmrain was falling. there was no one in charles street, but agreat traffic was going on, as usual, in whitehall, at the extremity. we rushed along the pavement, bare-headedas we were, and at the far corner we found a policeman standing."'a robbery has been committed,' i gasped. 'a document of immense value has beenstolen from the foreign office. has any one passed this way?' "'i have been standing here for a quarterof an hour, sir,' said he; 'only one person has passed during that time--a woman, talland elderly, with a paisley shawl.'
"'ah, that is only my wife,' cried thecommissionnaire; 'has no one else passed?' "'no one.' "'then it must be the other way that thethief took,' cried the fellow, tugging at my sleeve. "'but i was not satisfied, and the attemptswhich he made to draw me away increased my suspicions."'which way did the woman go?' i cried. "'i don't know, sir.i noticed her pass, but i had no special reason for watching her.she seemed to be in a hurry.'
"'how long ago was it?' "'oh, not very many minutes.'"'within the last five?' "'well, it could not be more than five.' "'you're only wasting your time, sir, andevery minute now is of importance,' cried the commissionnaire; 'take my word for itthat my old woman has nothing to do with it, and come down to the other end of thestreet. well, if you won't, i will.'and with that he rushed off in the other direction. "but i was after him in an instant andcaught him by the sleeve.
"'where do you live?' said i."'16 ivy lane, brixton,' he answered. 'but don't let yourself be drawn away upona false scent, mr. phelps. come to the other end of the street and letus see if we can hear of anything.' "nothing was to be lost by following hisadvice. with the policeman we both hurried down,but only to find the street full of traffic, many people coming and going, butall only too eager to get to a place of safety upon so wet a night. there was no lounger who could tell us whohad passed. "then we returned to the office, andsearched the stairs and the passage without
result. the corridor which led to the room was laiddown with a kind of creamy linoleum which shows an impression very easily.we examined it very carefully, but found no outline of any footmark." "had it been raining all evening?""since about seven." "how is it, then, that the woman who cameinto the room about nine left no traces with her muddy boots?" "i am glad you raised the point.it occurred to me at the time. the charwomen are in the habit of takingoff their boots at the commissionnaire's
office, and putting on list slippers." "that is very clear.there were no marks, then, though the night was a wet one?the chain of events is certainly one of extraordinary interest. what did you do next?"we examined the room also. there is no possibility of a secret door,and the windows are quite thirty feet from the ground. both of them were fastened on the inside.the carpet prevents any possibility of a trap-door, and the ceiling is of theordinary whitewashed kind.
i will pledge my life that whoever stole mypapers could only have come through the door.""how about the fireplace?" "they use none. there is a stove.the bell-rope hangs from the wire just to the right of my desk.whoever rang it must have come right up to the desk to do it. but why should any criminal wish to ringthe bell? it is a most insoluble mystery.""certainly the incident was unusual. what were your next steps?
you examined the room, i presume, to see ifthe intruder had left any traces--any cigar-end or dropped glove or hairpin orother trifle?" "there was nothing of the sort." "no smell?""well, we never thought of that." "ah, a scent of tobacco would have beenworth a great deal to us in such an investigation." "i never smoke myself, so i think i shouldhave observed it if there had been any smell of tobacco.there was absolutely no clue of any kind. the only tangible fact was that thecommissionnaire's wife--mrs. tangey was the
name--had hurried out of the place. he could give no explanation save that itwas about the time when the woman always went home. the policeman and i agreed that our bestplan would be to seize the woman before she could get rid of the papers, presuming thatshe had them. "the alarm had reached scotland yard bythis time, and mr. forbes, the detective, came round at once and took up the casewith a great deal of energy. we hired a hansom, and in half an hour wewere at the address which had been given to us.a young woman opened the door, who proved
to be mrs. tangey's eldest daughter. her mother had not come back yet, and wewere shown into the front room to wait. "about ten minutes later a knock came atthe door, and here we made the one serious mistake for which i blame myself. instead of opening the door ourselves, weallowed the girl to do so. we heard her say, 'mother, there are twomen in the house waiting to see you,' and an instant afterwards we heard the patterof feet rushing down the passage. forbes flung open the door, and we both raninto the back room or kitchen, but the woman had got there before us.
she stared at us with defiant eyes, andthen, suddenly recognizing me, an expression of absolute astonishment cameover her face. "'why, if it isn't mr. phelps, of theoffice!' she cried. "'come, come, who did you think we werewhen you ran away from us?' asked my companion. "'i thought you were the brokers,' saidshe, 'we have had some trouble with a tradesman.'"'that's not quite good enough,' answered forbes. 'we have reason to believe that you havetaken a paper of importance from the
foreign office, and that you ran in here todispose of it. you must come back with us to scotland yardto be searched.' "it was in vain that she protested andresisted. a four-wheeler was brought, and we allthree drove back in it. we had first made an examination of thekitchen, and especially of the kitchen fire, to see whether she might have madeaway with the papers during the instant that she was alone. there were no signs, however, of any ashesor scraps. when we reached scotland yard she washanded over at once to the female searcher.
i waited in an agony of suspense until shecame back with her report. there were no signs of the papers."then for the first time the horror of my situation came in its full force. hitherto i had been acting, and action hadnumbed thought. i had been so confident of regaining thetreaty at once that i had not dared to think of what would be the consequence if ifailed to do so. but now there was nothing more to be done,and i had leisure to realize my position. it was horrible.watson there would tell you that i was a nervous, sensitive boy at school.
it is my nature.i thought of my uncle and of his colleagues in the cabinet, of the shame which i hadbrought upon him, upon myself, upon every one connected with me. what though i was the victim of anextraordinary accident? no allowance is made for accidents wherediplomatic interests are at stake. i was ruined, shamefully, hopelesslyruined. i don't know what i did.i fancy i must have made a scene. i have a dim recollection of a group ofofficials who crowded round me, endeavoring to soothe me.one of them drove down with me to waterloo,
and saw me into the woking train. i believe that he would have come all theway had it not been that dr. ferrier, who lives near me, was going down by that verytrain. the doctor most kindly took charge of me,and it was well he did so, for i had a fit in the station, and before we reached homei was practically a raving maniac. "you can imagine the state of things herewhen they were roused from their beds by the doctor's ringing and found me in thiscondition. poor annie here and my mother were broken-hearted. dr. ferrier had just heard enough from thedetective at the station to be able to give
an idea of what had happened, and his storydid not mend matters. it was evident to all that i was in for along illness, so joseph was bundled out of this cheery bedroom, and it was turned intoa sick-room for me. here i have lain, mr. holmes, for over nineweeks, unconscious, and raving with brain- fever. if it had not been for miss harrison hereand for the doctor's care i should not be speaking to you now. she has nursed me by day and a hired nursehas looked after me by night, for in my mad fits i was capable of anything.
slowly my reason has cleared, but it isonly during the last three days that my memory has quite returned.sometimes i wish that it never had. the first thing that i did was to wire tomr. forbes, who had the case in hand. he came out, and assures me that, thougheverything has been done, no trace of a clue has been discovered. the commissionnaire and his wife have beenexamined in every way without any light being thrown upon the matter. the suspicions of the police then restedupon young gorot, who, as you may remember, stayed over time in the office that night.
his remaining behind and his french namewere really the only two points which could suggest suspicion; but, as a matter offact, i did not begin work until he had gone, and his people are of huguenot extraction, but as english in sympathy andtradition as you and i are. nothing was found to implicate him in anyway, and there the matter dropped. i turn to you, mr. holmes, as absolutely mylast hope. if you fail me, then my honor as well as myposition are forever forfeited." the invalid sank back upon his cushions,tired out by this long recital, while his nurse poured him out a glass of somestimulating medicine.
holmes sat silently, with his head thrownback and his eyes closed, in an attitude which might seem listless to a stranger,but which i knew betokened the most intense self-absorption. "you statement has been so explicit," saidhe at last, "that you have really left me very few questions to ask.there is one of the very utmost importance, however. did you tell any one that you had thisspecial task to perform?" "no one.""not miss harrison here, for example?" "no. i had not been back to woking betweengetting the order and executing the
commission.""and none of your people had by chance been to see you?" "none.""did any of them know their way about in the office?""oh, yes, all of them had been shown over it." "still, of course, if you said nothing toany one about the treaty these inquiries are irrelevant.""i said nothing." "do you know anything of thecommissionnaire?" "nothing except that he is an old soldier.""what regiment?"
"oh, i have heard--coldstream guards." "thank you.i have no doubt i can get details from the authorities are excellent at amassingfacts, though they do not always use them to advantage.what a lovely thing a rose is!" he walked past the couch to the openwindow, and held up the drooping stalk of a moss-rose, looking down at the dainty blendof crimson and green. it was a new phase of his character to me,for i had never before seen him show any keen interest in natural objects. "there is nothing in which deduction is sonecessary as in religion," said he, leaning
with his back against the shutters."it can be built up as an exact science by the reasoner. our highest assurance of the goodness ofprovidence seems to me to rest in the flowers. all other things, our powers our desires,our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance.but this rose is an extra. its smell and its color are anembellishment of life, not a condition of it. it is only goodness which gives extras, andso i say again that we have much to hope
from the flowers." percy phelps and his nurse looked at holmesduring this demonstration with surprise and a good deal of disappointment written upontheir faces. he had fallen into a reverie, with themoss-rose between his fingers. it had lasted some minutes before the younglady broke in upon it. "do you see any prospect of solving thismystery, mr. holmes?" she asked, with a touch of asperity in her voice."oh, the mystery!" he answered, coming back with a start to the realities of life. "well, it would be absurd to deny that thecase is a very abstruse and complicated
one, but i can promise you that i will lookinto the matter and let you know any points which may strike me." "do you see any clue?""you have furnished me with seven, but, of course, i must test them before i canpronounce upon their value." "you suspect some one?" "i suspect myself.""what!" "of coming to conclusions too rapidly.""then go to london and test your conclusions." "your advice is very excellent, missharrison," said holmes, rising.
"i think, watson, we cannot do better.do not allow yourself to indulge in false hopes, mr. phelps. the affair is a very tangled one.""i shall be in a fever until i see you again," cried the diplomatist. "well, i'll come out by the same train to-morrow, though it's more than likely that my report will be a negative one.""god bless you for promising to come," cried our client. "it gives me fresh life to know thatsomething is being done. by the way, i have had a letter from lordholdhurst."
"ha! what did he say?" "he was cold, but not harsh.i dare say my severe illness prevented him from being that. he repeated that the matter was of theutmost importance, and added that no steps would be taken about my future--by which hemeans, of course, my dismissal--until my health was restored and i had anopportunity of repairing my misfortune." "well, that was reasonable andconsiderate," said holmes. "come, watson, for we have a good day'swork before us in town." mr. joseph harrison drove us down to thestation, and we were soon whirling up in a
portsmouth train. holmes was sunk in profound thought, andhardly opened his mouth until we had passed clapham junction. "it's a very cheery thing to come intolondon by any of these lines which run high, and allow you to look down upon thehouses like this." i thought he was joking, for the view wassordid enough, but he soon explained himself. "look at those big, isolated clumps ofbuilding rising up above the slates, like brick islands in a lead-colored sea.""the board-schools."
"light-houses, my boy! beacons of the future!capsules with hundreds of bright little seeds in each, out of which will spring thewise, better england of the future. i suppose that man phelps does not drink?" "i should not think so.""nor should i, but we are bound to take every possibility into account. the poor devil has certainly got himselfinto very deep water, and it's a question whether we shall ever be able to get himashore. what did you think of miss harrison?"
"a girl of strong character.""yes, but she is a good sort, or i am mistaken. she and her brother are the only childrenof an iron-master somewhere up northumberland way. he got engaged to her when traveling lastwinter, and she came down to be introduced to his people, with her brother as escort. then came the smash, and she stayed on tonurse her lover, while brother joseph, finding himself pretty snug, stayed on too.i've been making a few independent inquiries, you see.
but to-day must be a day of inquiries.""my practice--" i began. "oh, if you find your own cases moreinteresting than mine--" said holmes, with some asperity. "i was going to say that my practice couldget along very well for a day or two, since it is the slackest time in the year.""excellent," said he, recovering his good- humor. "then we'll look into this matter together.i think that we should begin by seeing he can probably tell us all the details wewant until we know from what side the case is to be approached.""you said you had a clue?"
"well, we have several, but we can onlytest their value by further inquiry. the most difficult crime to track is theone which is purposeless. now this is not purposeless. who is it who profits by it?there is the french ambassador, there is the russian, there is whoever might sell itto either of these, and there is lord holdhurst." "lord holdhurst!""well, it is just conceivable that a statesman might find himself in a positionwhere he was not sorry to have such a document accidentally destroyed."
"not a statesman with the honorable recordof lord holdhurst?" "it is a possibility and we cannot affordto disregard it. we shall see the noble lord to-day and findout if he can tell us anything. meanwhile i have already set inquiries onfoot." "already?" "yes, i sent wires from woking station toevery evening paper in london. this advertisement will appear in each ofthem." he handed over a sheet torn from a note-book. on it was scribbled in pencil: "l10 reward.
the number of the cab which dropped a fareat or about the door of the foreign office in charles street at quarter to ten in theevening of may 23d. apply 221 b, baker street." "you are confident that the thief came in acab?" "if not, there is no harm done. but if mr. phelps is correct in statingthat there is no hiding-place either in the room or the corridors, then the person musthave come from outside. if he came from outside on so wet a night,and yet left no trace of damp upon the linoleum, which was examined within a fewminutes of his passing, then it is
exceeding probable that he came in a cab. yes, i think that we may safely deduce acab." "it sounds plausible.""that is one of the clues of which i spoke. it may lead us to something. and then, of course, there is the bell--which is the most distinctive feature of the case.why should the bell ring? was it the thief who did it out of bravado? or was it some one who was with the thiefwho did it in order to prevent the crime? or was it an accident?or was it--?"
he sank back into the state of intense andsilent thought from which he had emerged; but it seemed to me, accustomed as i was tohis every mood, that some new possibility had dawned suddenly upon him. it was twenty past three when we reachedour terminus, and after a hasty luncheon at the buffet we pushed on at once to scotlandyard. holmes had already wired to forbes, and wefound him waiting to receive us--a small, foxy man with a sharp but by no meansamiable expression. he was decidedly frigid in his manner tous, especially when he heard the errand upon which we had come."i've heard of your methods before now, mr.
holmes," said he, tartly. "you are ready enough to use all theinformation that the police can lay at your disposal, and then you try to finish thecase yourself and bring discredit on them." "on the contrary," said holmes, "out of mylast fifty-three cases my name has only appeared in four, and the police have hadall the credit in forty-nine. i don't blame you for not knowing this, foryou are young and inexperienced, but if you wish to get on in your new duties you willwork with me and not against me." "i'd be very glad of a hint or two," saidthe detective, changing his manner. "i've certainly had no credit from the caseso far."
"what steps have you taken?" "tangey, the commissionnaire, has beenshadowed. he left the guards with a good characterand we can find nothing against him. his wife is a bad lot, though. i fancy she knows more about this thanappears." "have you shadowed her?""we have set one of our women on to her. mrs. tangey drinks, and our woman has beenwith her twice when she was well on, but she could get nothing out of her.""i understand that they have had brokers in the house?"
"yes, but they were paid off.""where did the money come from?" "that was all right.his pension was due. they have not shown any sign of being infunds." "what explanation did she give of havinganswered the bell when mr. phelps rang for the coffee?" "she said that he husband was very tiredand she wished to relieve him." "well, certainly that would agree with hisbeing found a little later asleep in his chair. there is nothing against them then but thewoman's character.
did you ask her why she hurried away thatnight? her haste attracted the attention of thepolice constable." "she was later than usual and wanted to gethome." "did you point out to her that you and mr.phelps, who started at least twenty minutes after her, got home before her?""she explains that by the difference between a 'bus and a hansom." "did she make it clear why, on reaching herhouse, she ran into the back kitchen?" "because she had the money there with whichto pay off the brokers." "she has at least an answer for everything.
did you ask her whether in leaving she metany one or saw any one loitering about charles street?""she saw no one but the constable." "well, you seem to have cross-examined herpretty thoroughly. what else have you done?""the clerk gorot has been shadowed all these nine weeks, but without result. we can show nothing against him.""anything else?" "well, we have nothing else to go upon--noevidence of any kind." "have you formed a theory about how thatbell rang?" "well, i must confess that it beats me.it was a cool hand, whoever it was, to go
and give the alarm like that." "yes, it was queer thing to do.many thanks to you for what you have told me.if i can put the man into your hands you shall hear from me. come along, watson.""where are we going to now?" i asked, as we left the office. "we are now going to interview lordholdhurst, the cabinet minister and future premier of england." we were fortunate in finding that lordholdhurst was still in his chambers in
downing street, and on holmes sending inhis card we were instantly shown up. the statesman received us with that old-fashioned courtesy for which he is remarkable, and seated us on the twoluxuriant lounges on either side of the fireplace. standing on the rug between us, with hisslight, tall figure, his sharp features, thoughtful face, and curling hairprematurely tinged with gray, he seemed to represent that not too common type, anobleman who is in truth noble. "your name is very familiar to me, mr.holmes," said he, smiling. "and, of course, i cannot pretend to beignorant of the object of your visit.
there has only been one occurrence in theseoffices which could call for your attention. in whose interest are you acting, may iask?" "in that of mr. percy phelps," answeredholmes. "ah, my unfortunate nephew! you can understand that our kinship makesit the more impossible for me to screen him in any way.i fear that the incident must have a very prejudicial effect upon his career." "but if the document is found?""ah, that, of course, would be different."
"i had one or two questions which i wishedto ask you, lord holdhurst." "i shall be happy to give you anyinformation in my power." "was it in this room that you gave yourinstructions as to the copying of the document?" "it was.""then you could hardly have been overheard?""it is out of the question." "did you ever mention to any one that itwas your intention to give any one the treaty to be copied?""never." "you are certain of that?"
"absolutely.""well, since you never said so, and mr. phelps never said so, and nobody else knewanything of the matter, then the thief's presence in the room was purely accidental. he saw his chance and he took it."the statesman smiled. "you take me out of my province there,"said he. holmes considered for a moment. "there is another very important pointwhich i wish to discuss with you," said he. "you feared, as i understand, that verygrave results might follow from the details of this treaty becoming known."
a shadow passed over the expressive face ofthe statesman. "very grave results indeed.""any have they occurred?" "not yet." "if the treaty had reached, let us say, thefrench or russian foreign office, you would expect to hear of it?""i should," said lord holdhurst, with a wry face. "since nearly ten weeks have elapsed, then,and nothing has been heard, it is not unfair to suppose that for some reason thetreaty has not reached them." lord holdhurst shrugged his shoulders.
"we can hardly suppose, mr. holmes, thatthe thief took the treaty in order to frame it and hang it up.""perhaps he is waiting for a better price." "if he waits a little longer he will get noprice at all. the treaty will cease to be secret in a fewmonths." "that is most important," said holmes. "of course, it is a possible suppositionthat the thief has had a sudden illness--" "an attack of brain-fever, for example?"asked the statesman, flashing a swift glance at him. "i did not say so," said holmes,imperturbably.
"and now, lord holdhurst, we have alreadytaken up too much of your valuable time, and we shall wish you good-day." "every success to your investigation, bethe criminal who it may," answered the nobleman, as he bowed us out the door."he's a fine fellow," said holmes, as we came out into whitehall. "but he has a struggle to keep up hisposition. he is far from rich and has many calls.you noticed, of course, that his boots had been resoled. now, watson, i won't detain you from yourlegitimate work any longer.
i shall do nothing more to-day, unless ihave an answer to my cab advertisement. but i should be extremely obliged to you ifyou would come down with me to woking to- morrow, by the same train which we tookyesterday." i met him accordingly next morning and wetraveled down to woking together. he had had no answer to his advertisement,he said, and no fresh light had been thrown upon the case. he had, when he so willed it, the utterimmobility of countenance of a red indian, and i could not gather from his appearancewhether he was satisfied or not with the position of the case.
his conversation, i remember, was about thebertillon system of measurements, and he expressed his enthusiastic admiration ofthe french savant. we found our client still under the chargeof his devoted nurse, but looking considerably better than before.he rose from the sofa and greeted us without difficulty when we entered. "any news?" he asked, eagerly."my report, as i expected, is a negative one," said holmes. "i have seen forbes, and i have seen youruncle, and i have set one or two trains of inquiry upon foot which may lead tosomething."
"you have not lost heart, then?" "by no means.""god bless you for saying that!" cried miss harrison."if we keep our courage and our patience the truth must come out." "we have more to tell you than you have forus," said phelps, reseating himself upon the couch."i hoped you might have something." "yes, we have had an adventure during thenight, and one which might have proved to be a serious one." his expression grew very grave as he spoke,and a look of something akin to fear sprang
up in his eyes. "do you know," said he, "that i begin tobelieve that i am the unconscious centre of some monstrous conspiracy, and that my lifeis aimed at as well as my honor?" "ah!" cried holmes. "it sounds incredible, for i have not, asfar as i know, an enemy in the world. yet from last night's experience i can cometo no other conclusion." "pray let me hear it." "you must know that last night was the veryfirst night that i have ever slept without a nurse in the room.i was so much better that i thought i could
dispense with one. i had a night-light burning, however.well, about two in the morning i had sunk into a light sleep when i was suddenlyaroused by a slight noise. it was like the sound which a mouse makeswhen it is gnawing a plank, and i lay listening to it for some time under theimpression that it must come from that cause. then it grew louder, and suddenly therecame from the window a sharp metallic snick.i sat up in amazement. there could be no doubt what the soundswere now.
the first ones had been caused by some oneforcing an instrument through the slit between the sashes, and the second by thecatch being pressed back. "there was a pause then for about tenminutes, as if the person were waiting to see whether the noise had awakened me.then i heard a gentle creaking as the window was very slowly opened. i could stand it no longer, for my nervesare not what they used to be. i sprang out of bed and flung open theshutters. a man was crouching at the window. i could see little of him, for he was gonelike a flash.
he was wrapped in some sort of cloak whichcame across the lower part of his face. one thing only i am sure of, and that isthat he had some weapon in his hand. it looked to me like a long knife.i distinctly saw the gleam of it as he turned to run." "this is most interesting," said holmes."pray what did you do then?" "i should have followed him through theopen window if i had been stronger. as it was, i rang the bell and roused thehouse. it took me some little time, for the bellrings in the kitchen and the servants all sleep upstairs.
i shouted, however, and that brought josephdown, and he roused the others. joseph and the groom found marks on the bedoutside the window, but the weather has been so dry lately that they found ithopeless to follow the trail across the grass. there's a place, however, on the woodenfence which skirts the road which shows signs, they tell me, as if some one had gotover, and had snapped the top of the rail in doing so. i have said nothing to the local policeyet, for i thought i had best have your opinion first."
this tale of our client's appeared to havean extraordinary effect upon sherlock holmes.he rose from his chair and paced about the room in uncontrollable excitement. "misfortunes never come single," saidphelps, smiling, though it was evident that his adventure had somewhat shaken him."you have certainly had your share," said "do you think you could walk round thehouse with me?" "oh, yes, i should like a little sunshine.joseph will come, too." "and i also," said miss harrison. "i am afraid not," said holmes, shaking hishead.
"i think i must ask you to remain sittingexactly where you are." the young lady resumed her seat with an airof displeasure. her brother, however, had joined us and weset off all four together. we passed round the lawn to the outside ofthe young diplomatist's window. there were, as he had said, marks upon thebed, but they were hopelessly blurred and vague. holmes stopped over them for an instant,and then rose shrugging his shoulders. "i don't think any one could make much ofthis," said he. "let us go round the house and see why thisparticular room was chosen by the burglar.
i should have thought those larger windowsof the drawing-room and dining-room would have had more attractions for him." "they are more visible from the road,"suggested mr. joseph harrison. "ah, yes, of course.there is a door here which he might have attempted. what is it for?""it is the side entrance for trades-people. of course it is locked at night.""have you ever had an alarm like this before?" "never," said our client."do you keep plate in the house, or
anything to attract burglars?""nothing of value." holmes strolled round the house with hishands in his pockets and a negligent air which was unusual with him. "by the way," said he to joseph harrison,"you found some place, i understand, where the fellow scaled the fence.let us have a look at that!" the plump young man led us to a spot wherethe top of one of the wooden rails had been cracked.a small fragment of the wood was hanging down. holmes pulled it off and examined itcritically.
"do you think that was done last night?it looks rather old, does it not?" "well, possibly so." "there are no marks of any one jumping downupon the other side. no, i fancy we shall get no help here.let us go back to the bedroom and talk the matter over." percy phelps was walking very slowly,leaning upon the arm of his future brother- in-law. holmes walked swiftly across the lawn, andwe were at the open window of the bedroom long before the others came up.
"miss harrison," said holmes, speaking withthe utmost intensity of manner, "you must stay where you are all day.let nothing prevent you from staying where you are all day. it is of the utmost importance.""certainly, if you wish it, mr. holmes," said the girl in astonishment."when you go to bed lock the door of this room on the outside and keep the key. promise to do this.""but percy?" "he will come to london with us.""and am i to remain here?" "it is for his sake.
you can serve him.quick! promise!"she gave a quick nod of assent just as the other two came up. "why do you sit moping there, annie?" criedher brother. "come out into the sunshine!""no, thank you, joseph. i have a slight headache and this room isdeliciously cool and soothing." "what do you propose now, mr. holmes?"asked our client. "well, in investigating this minor affairwe must not lose sight of our main inquiry. it would be a very great help to me if youwould come up to london with us."
"at once?" "well, as soon as you conveniently can.say in an hour." "i feel quite strong enough, if i canreally be of any help." "the greatest possible." "perhaps you would like me to stay thereto-night?" "i was just going to propose it.""then, if my friend of the night comes to revisit me, he will find the bird flown. we are all in your hands, mr. holmes, andyou must tell us exactly what you would like done.perhaps you would prefer that joseph came
with us so as to look after me?" "oh, no; my friend watson is a medical man,you know, and he'll look after you. we'll have our lunch here, if you willpermit us, and then we shall all three set off for town together." it was arranged as he suggested, thoughmiss harrison excused herself from leaving the bedroom, in accordance with holmes'ssuggestion. what the object of my friend's manoeuvreswas i could not conceive, unless it were to keep the lady away from phelps, who,rejoiced by his returning health and by the prospect of action, lunched with us in thedining-room.
holmes had a still more startling surprisefor us, however, for, after accompanying us down to the station and seeing us into ourcarriage, he calmly announced that he had no intention of leaving woking. "there are one or two small points which ishould desire to clear up before i go," said he."your absence, mr. phelps, will in some ways rather assist me. watson, when you reach london you wouldoblige me by driving at once to baker street with our friend here, and remainingwith him until i see you again. it is fortunate that you are old school-fellows, as you must have much to talk
over. mr. phelps can have the spare bedroom to-night, and i will be with you in time for breakfast, for there is a train which willtake me into waterloo at eight." "but how about our investigation inlondon?" asked phelps, ruefully. "we can do that to-morrow.i think that just at present i can be of more immediate use here." "you might tell them at briarbrae that ihope to be back to-morrow night," cried phelps, as we began to move from theplatform. "i hardly expect to go back to briarbrae,"answered holmes, and waved his hand to us
cheerily as we shot out from the station. phelps and i talked it over on our journey,but neither of us could devise a satisfactory reason for this newdevelopment. "i suppose he wants to find out some clueas to the burglary last night, if a burglar it was.for myself, i don't believe it was an ordinary thief." "what is your own idea, then?" "upon my word, you may put it down to myweak nerves or not, but i believe there is some deep political intrigue going onaround me, and that for some reason that
passes my understanding my life is aimed atby the conspirators. it sounds high-flown and absurd, butconsider the facts! why should a thief try to break in at abedroom window, where there could be no hope of any plunder, and why should he comewith a long knife in his hand?" "you are sure it was not a house-breaker'sjimmy?" "oh, no, it was a knife.i saw the flash of the blade quite distinctly." "but why on earth should you be pursuedwith such animosity?" "ah, that is the question.""well, if holmes takes the same view, that
would account for his action, would it not? presuming that your theory is correct, ifhe can lay his hands upon the man who threatened you last night he will have gonea long way towards finding who took the naval treaty. it is absurd to suppose that you have twoenemies, one of whom robs you, while the other threatens your life.""but holmes said that he was not going to briarbrae." "i have known him for some time," said i,"but i never knew him do anything yet without a very good reason," and with thatour conversation drifted off on to other
topics. but it was a weary day for me.phelps was still weak after his long illness, and his misfortune made himquerulous and nervous. in vain i endeavored to interest him inafghanistan, in india, in social questions, in anything which might take his mind outof the groove. he would always come back to his losttreaty, wondering, guessing, speculating, as to what holmes was doing, what stepslord holdhurst was taking, what news we should have in the morning. as the evening wore on his excitementbecame quite painful.
"you have implicit faith in holmes?" heasked. "i have seen him do some remarkablethings." "but he never brought light into anythingquite so dark as this?" "oh, yes; i have known him solve questionswhich presented fewer clues than yours." "but not where such large interests are atstake?" "i don't know that. to my certain knowledge he has acted onbehalf of three of the reigning houses of europe in very vital matters.""but you know him well, watson. he is such an inscrutable fellow that inever quite know what to make of him.
do you think he is hopeful?do you think he expects to make a success of it?" "he has said nothing.""that is a bad sign." "on the contrary, i have noticed that whenhe is off the trail he generally says so. it is when he is on a scent and is notquite absolutely sure yet that it is the right one that he is most taciturn. now, my dear fellow, we can't help mattersby making ourselves nervous about them, so let me implore you to go to bed and so befresh for whatever may await us to-morrow." i was able at last to persuade my companionto take my advice, though i knew from his
excited manner that there was not much hopeof sleep for him. indeed, his mood was infectious, for i laytossing half the night myself, brooding over this strange problem, and inventing ahundred theories, each of which was more impossible than the last. why had holmes remained at woking?why had he asked miss harrison to remain in the sick-room all day? why had he been so careful not to informthe people at briarbrae that he intended to remain near them? i cudgelled my brains until i fell asleepin the endeavor to find some explanation
which would cover all these facts. it was seven o'clock when i awoke, and iset off at once for phelps's room, to find him haggard and spent after a sleeplessnight. his first question was whether holmes hadarrived yet. "he'll be here when he promised," said i,"and not an instant sooner or later." and my words were true, for shortly aftereight a hansom dashed up to the door and our friend got out of it. standing in the window we saw that his lefthand was swathed in a bandage and that his face was very grim and pale.he entered the house, but it was some
little time before he came upstairs. "he looks like a beaten man," cried phelps.i was forced to confess that he was right. "after all," said i, "the clue of thematter lies probably here in town." phelps gave a groan. "i don't know how it is," said he, "but ihad hoped for so much from his return. but surely his hand was not tied up likethat yesterday. what can be the matter?" "you are not wounded, holmes?"i asked, as my friend entered the room. "tut, it is only a scratch through my ownclumsiness," he answered, nodding his good-
mornings to us. "this case of yours, mr. phelps, iscertainly one of the darkest which i have ever investigated.""i feared that you would find it beyond you." "it has been a most remarkable experience.""that bandage tells of adventures," said i. "won't you tell us what has happened?""after breakfast, my dear watson. remember that i have breathed thirty milesof surrey air this morning. i suppose that there has been no answerfrom my cabman advertisement? well, well, we cannot expect to score everytime."
the table was all laid, and just as i wasabout to ring mrs. hudson entered with the tea and coffee. a few minutes later she brought in threecovers, and we all drew up to the table, holmes ravenous, i curious, and phelps inthe gloomiest state of depression. "mrs. hudson has risen to the occasion,"said holmes, uncovering a dish of curried chicken. "her cuisine is a little limited, but shehas as good an idea of breakfast as a scotch-woman.what have you here, watson?" "ham and eggs," i answered.
"good!what are you going to take, mr. phelps-- curried fowl or eggs, or will you helpyourself?" "thank you. i can eat nothing," said phelps."oh, come! try the dish before you.""thank you, i would really rather not." "well, then," said holmes, with amischievous twinkle, "i suppose that you have no objection to helping me?" phelps raised the cover, and as he did sohe uttered a scream, and sat there staring with a face as white as the plate uponwhich he looked.
across the centre of it was lying a littlecylinder of blue-gray paper. he caught it up, devoured it with his eyes,and then danced madly about the room, pressing it to his bosom and shrieking outin his delight. then he fell back into an arm-chair so limpand exhausted with his own emotions that we had to pour brandy down his throat to keephim from fainting. "there! there!" said holmes, soothing,patting him upon the shoulder. "it was too bad to spring it on you likethis, but watson here will tell you that i never can resist a touch of the dramatic." phelps seized his hand and kissed it."god bless you!" he cried.
"you have saved my honor.""well, my own was at stake, you know," said "i assure you it is just as hateful to meto fail in a case as it can be to you to blunder over a commission."phelps thrust away the precious document into the innermost pocket of his coat. "i have not the heart to interrupt yourbreakfast any further, and yet i am dying to know how you got it and where it was." sherlock holmes swallowed a cup of coffee,and turned his attention to the ham and eggs.then he rose, lit his pipe, and settled himself down into his chair.
"i'll tell you what i did first, and how icame to do it afterwards," said he. "after leaving you at the station i wentfor a charming walk through some admirable surrey scenery to a pretty little villagecalled ripley, where i had my tea at an inn, and took the precaution of filling my flask and of putting a paper of sandwichesin my pocket. there i remained until evening, when i setoff for woking again, and found myself in the high-road outside briarbrae just aftersunset. "well, i waited until the road was clear--it is never a very frequented one at any time, i fancy--and then i clambered overthe fence into the grounds."
"surely the gate was open!" ejaculatedphelps. "yes, but i have a peculiar taste in thesematters. i chose the place where the three fir-treesstand, and behind their screen i got over without the least chance of any one in thehouse being able to see me. i crouched down among the bushes on theother side, and crawled from one to the other--witness the disreputable state of mytrouser knees--until i had reached the clump of rhododendrons just opposite toyour bedroom window. there i squatted down and awaiteddevelopments. "the blind was not down in your room, and icould see miss harrison sitting there
reading by the table.it was quarter-past ten when she closed her book, fastened the shutters, and retired. "i heard her shut the door, and felt quitesure that she had turned the key in the lock.""the key!" ejaculated phelps. "yes; i had given miss harrisoninstructions to lock the door on the outside and take the key with her when shewent to bed. she carried out every one of my injunctionsto the letter, and certainly without her cooperation you would not have that paperin you coat-pocket. she departed then and the lights went out,and i was left squatting in the
rhododendron-bush."the night was fine, but still it was a very weary vigil. of course it has the sort of excitementabout it that the sportsman feels when he lies beside the water-course and waits forthe big game. it was very long, though--almost as long,watson, as when you and i waited in that deadly room when we looked into the littleproblem of the speckled band. there was a church-clock down at wokingwhich struck the quarters, and i thought more than once that it had stopped. at last however about two in the morning, isuddenly heard the gentle sound of a bolt
being pushed back and the creaking of akey. a moment later the servants' door wasopened, and mr. joseph harrison stepped out into the moonlight.""joseph!" ejaculated phelps. "he was bare-headed, but he had a blackcoat thrown over his shoulder so that he could conceal his face in an instant ifthere were any alarm. he walked on tiptoe under the shadow of thewall, and when he reached the window he worked a long-bladed knife through the sashand pushed back the catch. then he flung open the window, and puttinghis knife through the crack in the shutters, he thrust the bar up and swungthem open.
"from where i lay i had a perfect view ofthe inside of the room and of every one of his movements. he lit the two candles which stood upon themantelpiece, and then he proceeded to turn back the corner of the carpet in theneighborhood of the door. presently he stopped and picked out asquare piece of board, such as is usually left to enable plumbers to get at thejoints of the gas-pipes. this one covered, as a matter of fact, thet joint which gives off the pipe which supplies the kitchen underneath. out of this hiding-place he drew thatlittle cylinder of paper, pushed down the
board, rearranged the carpet, blew out thecandles, and walked straight into my arms as i stood waiting for him outside thewindow. "well, he has rather more viciousness thani gave him credit for, has master joseph. he flew at me with his knife, and i had tograsp him twice, and got a cut over the knuckles, before i had the upper hand ofhim. he looked murder out of the only eye hecould see with when we had finished, but he listened to reason and gave up the papers. having got them i let my man go, but iwired full particulars to forbes this morning.if he is quick enough to catch his bird,
well and good. but if, as i shrewdly suspect, he finds thenest empty before he gets there, why, all the better for the government. i fancy that lord holdhurst for one, andmr. percy phelps for another, would very much rather that the affair never got asfar as a police-court. "my god!" gasped our client. "do you tell me that during these long tenweeks of agony the stolen papers were within the very room with me all the time?""so it was." "and joseph!
joseph a villain and a thief!""hum! i am afraid joseph's character is a rather deeper and more dangerous one thanone might judge from his appearance. from what i have heard from him thismorning, i gather that he has lost heavily in dabbling with stocks, and that he isready to do anything on earth to better his fortunes. being an absolutely selfish man, when achance presented itself he did not allow either his sister's happiness or yourreputation to hold his hand." percy phelps sank back in his chair. "my head whirls," said he."your words have dazed me."
"the principal difficulty in your case,"remarked holmes, in his didactic fashion, "lay in the fact of there being too muchevidence. what was vital was overlaid and hidden bywhat was irrelevant. of all the facts which were presented to uswe had to pick just those which we deemed to be essential, and then piece themtogether in their order, so as to reconstruct this very remarkable chain ofevents. i had already begun to suspect joseph, fromthe fact that you had intended to travel home with him that night, and thattherefore it was a likely enough thing that he should call for you, knowing the foreignoffice well, upon his way.
when i heard that some one had been soanxious to get into the bedroom, in which no one but joseph could have concealedanything--you told us in your narrative how you had turned joseph out when you arrived with the doctor--my suspicions all changedto certainties, especially as the attempt was made on the first night upon which thenurse was absent, showing that the intruder was well acquainted with the ways of thehouse." "how blind i have been!" "the facts of the case, as far as i haveworked them out, are these: this joseph harrison entered the office through thecharles street door, and knowing his way he
walked straight into your room the instantafter you left it. finding no one there he promptly rang thebell, and at the instant that he did so his eyes caught the paper upon the table. a glance showed him that chance had put inhis way a state document of immense value, and in an instant he had thrust it into hispocket and was gone. a few minutes elapsed, as you remember,before the sleepy commissionnaire drew your attention to the bell, and those were justenough to give the thief time to make his escape. "he made his way to woking by the firsttrain, and having examined his booty and
assured himself that it really was ofimmense value, he had concealed it in what he thought was a very safe place, with the intention of taking it out again in a dayor two, and carrying it to the french embassy, or wherever he thought that a longprice was to be had. then came your sudden return. he, without a moment's warning, was bundledout of his room, and from that time onward there were always at least two of you thereto prevent him from regaining his treasure. the situation to him must have been amaddening one. but at last he thought he saw his chance.he tried to steal in, but was baffled by
your wakefulness. you remember that you did not take yourusual draught that night." "i remember." "i fancy that he had taken steps to makethat draught efficacious, and that he quite relied upon your being unconscious. of course, i understood that he wouldrepeat the attempt whenever it could be done with safety.your leaving the room gave him the chance he wanted. i kept miss harrison in it all day so thathe might not anticipate us.
then, having given him the idea that thecoast was clear, i kept guard as i have described. i already knew that the papers wereprobably in the room, but i had no desire to rip up all the planking and skirting insearch of them. i let him take them, therefore, from thehiding-place, and so saved myself an infinity of trouble.is there any other point which i can make clear?" "why did he try the window on the firstoccasion," i asked, "when he might have entered by the door?""in reaching the door he would have to pass
seven bedrooms. on the other hand, he could get out on tothe lawn with ease. anything else?""you do not think," asked phelps, "that he had any murderous intention? the knife was only meant as a tool.""it may be so," answered holmes, shrugging his shoulders. "i can only say for certain that mr. josephharrison is a gentleman to whose mercy i should be extremely unwilling to trust." adventure xi.the final problem
it is with a heavy heart that i take up mypen to write these the last words in which i shall ever record the singular gifts bywhich my friend mr. sherlock holmes was distinguished. in an incoherent and, as i deeply feel, anentirely inadequate fashion, i have endeavored to give some account of mystrange experiences in his company from the chance which first brought us together at the period of the "study in scarlet," up tothe time of his interference in the matter of the "naval treaty"--an interferencewhich had the unquestionable effect of preventing a serious internationalcomplication.
it was my intention to have stopped there,and to have said nothing of that event which has created a void in my life whichthe lapse of two years has done little to fill. my hand has been forced, however, by therecent letters in which colonel james moriarty defends the memory of his brother,and i have no choice but to lay the facts before the public exactly as they occurred. i alone know the absolute truth of thematter, and i am satisfied that the time has come when no good purpose is to beserved by its suppression. as far as i know, there have been onlythree accounts in the public press: that in
the journal de geneve on may 6th, 1891, thereuter's despatch in the english papers on may 7th, and finally the recent letter towhich i have alluded. of these the first and second wereextremely condensed, while the last is, as i shall now show, an absolute perversion ofthe facts. it lies with me to tell for the first timewhat really took place between professor moriarty and mr. sherlock holmes. it may be remembered that after mymarriage, and my subsequent start in private practice, the very intimaterelations which had existed between holmes and myself became to some extent modified.
he still came to me from time to time whenhe desired a companion in his investigation, but these occasions grewmore and more seldom, until i find that in the year 1890 there were only three casesof which i retain any record. during the winter of that year and theearly spring of 1891, i saw in the papers that he had been engaged by the frenchgovernment upon a matter of supreme importance, and i received two notes from holmes, dated from narbonne and from nimes,from which i gathered that his stay in france was likely to be a long one. it was with some surprise, therefore, thati saw him walk into my consulting-room upon
the evening of april 24th.it struck me that he was looking even paler and thinner than usual. "yes, i have been using myself up rathertoo freely," he remarked, in answer to my look rather than to my words; "i have beena little pressed of late. have you any objection to my closing yourshutters?" the only light in the room came from thelamp upon the table at which i had been reading. holmes edged his way round the wall andflinging the shutters together, he bolted them securely."you are afraid of something?"
i asked. "well, i am.""of what?" "of air-guns.""my dear holmes, what do you mean?" "i think that you know me well enough,watson, to understand that i am by no means a nervous man. at the same time, it is stupidity ratherthan courage to refuse to recognize danger when it is close upon you.might i trouble you for a match?" he drew in the smoke of his cigarette as ifthe soothing influence was grateful to him. "i must apologize for calling so late,"said he, "and i must further beg you to be
so unconventional as to allow me to leaveyour house presently by scrambling over your back garden wall." "but what does it all mean?"i asked. he held out his hand, and i saw in thelight of the lamp that two of his knuckles were burst and bleeding. "it is not an airy nothing, you see," saidhe, smiling. "on the contrary, it is solid enough for aman to break his hand over. is mrs. watson in?" "she is away upon a visit.""indeed!
you are alone?""quite." "then it makes it the easier for me topropose that you should come away with me for a week to the continent.""where?" "oh, anywhere. it's all the same to me."there was something very strange in all this. it was not holmes's nature to take anaimless holiday, and something about his pale, worn face told me that his nerveswere at their highest tension. he saw the question in my eyes, and,putting his finger-tips together and his
elbows upon his knees, he explained thesituation. "you have probably never heard of professormoriarty?" said he. "never.""aye, there's the genius and the wonder of the thing!" he cried. "the man pervades london, and no one hasheard of him. that's what puts him on a pinnacle in therecords of crime. i tell you, watson, in all seriousness,that if i could beat that man, if i could free society of him, i should feel that myown career had reached its summit, and i should be prepared to turn to some moreplacid line in life.
between ourselves, the recent cases inwhich i have been of assistance to the royal family of scandinavia, and to thefrench republic, have left me in such a position that i could continue to live in the quiet fashion which is most congenialto me, and to concentrate my attention upon my chemical researches. but i could not rest, watson, i could notsit quiet in my chair, if i thought that such a man as professor moriarty werewalking the streets of london unchallenged." "what has he done, then?""his career has been an extraordinary one.
he is a man of good birth and excellenteducation, endowed by nature with a phenomenal mathematical faculty. at the age of twenty-one he wrote atreatise upon the binomial theorem, which has had a european vogue. on the strength of it he won themathematical chair at one of our smaller universities, and had, to all appearances,a most brilliant career before him. but the man had hereditary tendencies ofthe most diabolical kind. a criminal strain ran in his blood, which,instead of being modified, was increased and rendered infinitely more dangerous byhis extraordinary mental powers.
dark rumors gathered round him in theuniversity town, and eventually he was compelled to resign his chair and to comedown to london, where he set up as an army coach. so much is known to the world, but what iam telling you now is what i have myself discovered. "as you are aware, watson, there is no onewho knows the higher criminal world of london so well as i do. for years past i have continually beenconscious of some power behind the malefactor, some deep organizing powerwhich forever stands in the way of the law,
and throws its shield over the wrong-doer. again and again in cases of the mostvarying sorts--forgery cases, robberies, murders--i have felt the presence of thisforce, and i have deduced its action in many of those undiscovered crimes in whichi have not been personally consulted. for years i have endeavored to breakthrough the veil which shrouded it, and at last the time came when i seized my threadand followed it, until it led me, after a thousand cunning windings, to ex-professormoriarty of mathematical celebrity. "he is the napoleon of crime, watson. he is the organizer of half that is eviland of nearly all that is undetected in
this great city.he is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. he has a brain of the first order.he sits motionless, like a spider in the center of its web, but that web has athousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them. he does little himself.he only plans. but his agents are numerous and splendidlyorganized. is there a crime to be done, a paper to beabstracted, we will say, a house to be rifled, a man to be removed--the word ispassed to the professor, the matter is
organized and carried out. the agent may be caught.in that case money is found for his bail or his defence. but the central power which uses the agentis never caught--never so much as suspected. this was the organization which i deduced,watson, and which i devoted my whole energy to exposing and breaking up. "but the professor was fenced round withsafeguards so cunningly devised that, do what i would, it seemed impossible to getevidence which would convict in a court of
law. you know my powers, my dear watson, and yetat the end of three months i was forced to confess that i had at last met anantagonist who was my intellectual equal. my horror at his crimes was lost in myadmiration at his skill. but at last he made a trip--only a little,little trip--but it was more than he could afford when i was so close upon him. i had my chance, and, starting from thatpoint, i have woven my net round him until now it is all ready to close. in three days--that is to say, on mondaynext--matters will be ripe, and the
professor, with all the principal membersof his gang, will be in the hands of the police. then will come the greatest criminal trialof the century, the clearing up of over forty mysteries, and the rope for all ofthem; but if we move at all prematurely, you understand, they may slip out of ourhands even at the last moment. "now, if i could have done this without theknowledge of professor moriarty, all would have been well. but he was too wily for that.he saw every step which i took to draw my toils round him.again and again he strove to break away,
but i as often headed him off. i tell you, my friend, that if a detailedaccount of that silent contest could be written, it would take its place as themost brilliant bit of thrust-and-parry work in the history of detection. never have i risen to such a height, andnever have i been so hard pressed by an opponent.he cut deep, and yet i just undercut him. this morning the last steps were taken, andthree days only were wanted to complete the i was sitting in my room thinking thematter over, when the door opened and professor moriarty stood before me.
"my nerves are fairly proof, watson, but imust confess to a start when i saw the very man who had been so much in my thoughtsstanding there on my threshhold. his appearance was quite familiar to me. he is extremely tall and thin, his foreheaddomes out in a white curve, and his two eyes are deeply sunken in his head. he is clean-shaven, pale, and ascetic-looking, retaining something of the professor in his features. his shoulders are rounded from much study,and his face protrudes forward, and is forever slowly oscillating from side toside in a curiously reptilian fashion.
he peered at me with great curiosity in hispuckered eyes. "'you have less frontal development than ishould have expected,' said he, at last. 'it is a dangerous habit to finger loadedfirearms in the pocket of one's dressing- gown.' "the fact is that upon his entrance i hadinstantly recognized the extreme personal danger in which i lay.the only conceivable escape for him lay in silencing my tongue. in an instant i had slipped the revolverfrom the drawer into my pocket, and was covering him through the cloth.at his remark i drew the weapon out and
laid it cocked upon the table. he still smiled and blinked, but there wassomething about his eyes which made me feel very glad that i had it there."'you evidently don't know me,' said he. "'on the contrary,' i answered, 'i think itis fairly evident that i do. pray take a chair.i can spare you five minutes if you have anything to say.' "'all that i have to say has alreadycrossed your mind,' said he. "'then possibly my answer has crossedyours,' i replied. "'you stand fast?'
"'absolutely.'"he clapped his hand into his pocket, and i raised the pistol from the table.but he merely drew out a memorandum-book in which he had scribbled some dates. "'you crossed my path on the 4th ofjanuary,' said he. 'on the 23d you incommoded me; by themiddle of february i was seriously inconvenienced by you; at the end of marchi was absolutely hampered in my plans; and now, at the close of april, i find myself placed in such a position through yourcontinual persecution that i am in positive danger of losing my liberty.the situation is becoming an impossible
one.' "'have you any suggestion to make?'i asked. "'you must drop it, mr. holmes,' said he,swaying his face about. 'you really must, you know.' "'after monday,' said i."'tut, tut,' said he. 'i am quite sure that a man of yourintelligence will see that there can be but one outcome to this affair. it is necessary that you should withdraw.you have worked things in such a fashion that we have only one resource left.
it has been an intellectual treat to me tosee the way in which you have grappled with this affair, and i say, unaffectedly, thatit would be a grief to me to be forced to take any extreme measure. you smile, sir, but i assure you that itreally would.' "'danger is part of my trade,' i remarked."'that is not danger,' said he. 'it is inevitable destruction. you stand in the way not merely of anindividual, but of a mighty organization, the full extent of which you, with all yourcleverness, have been unable to realize. you must stand clear, mr. holmes, or betrodden under foot.'
"'i am afraid,' said i, rising, 'that inthe pleasure of this conversation i am neglecting business of importance whichawaits me elsewhere.' "he rose also and looked at me in silence,shaking his head sadly. "'well, well,' said he, at last.'it seems a pity, but i have done what i could. i know every move of your game.you can do nothing before monday. it has been a duel between you and me, mr.holmes. you hope to place me in the dock. i tell you that i will never stand in thedock.
you hope to beat me.i tell you that you will never beat me. if you are clever enough to bringdestruction upon me, rest assured that i shall do as much to you.'"'you have paid me several compliments, mr. moriarty,' said i. 'let me pay you one in return when i saythat if i were assured of the former eventuality i would, in the interests ofthe public, cheerfully accept the latter.' "'i can promise you the one, but not theother,' he snarled, and so turned his rounded back upon me, and went peering andblinking out of the room. "that was my singular interview withprofessor moriarty.
i confess that it left an unpleasant effectupon my mind. his soft, precise fashion of speech leavesa conviction of sincerity which a mere bully could not produce. of course, you will say: 'why not takepolice precautions against him?' the reason is that i am well convinced that it is fromhis agents the blow will fall. i have the best proofs that it would beso." "you have already been assaulted?" "my dear watson, professor moriarty is nota man who lets the grass grow under his feet.i went out about mid-day to transact some
business in oxford street. as i passed the corner which leads frombentinck street on to the welbeck street crossing a two-horse van furiously drivenwhizzed round and was on me like a flash. i sprang for the foot-path and saved myselfby the fraction of a second. the van dashed round by marylebone lane andwas gone in an instant. i kept to the pavement after that, watson,but as i walked down vere street a brick came down from the roof of one of thehouses, and was shattered to fragments at my feet. i called the police and had the placeexamined.
there were slates and bricks piled up onthe roof preparatory to some repairs, and they would have me believe that the windhad toppled over one of these. of course i knew better, but i could provenothing. i took a cab after that and reached mybrother's rooms in pall mall, where i spent the day. now i have come round to you, and on my wayi was attacked by a rough with a bludgeon. i knocked him down, and the police have himin custody; but i can tell you with the most absolute confidence that no possibleconnection will ever be traced between the gentleman upon whose front teeth i have
barked my knuckles and the retiringmathematical coach, who is, i dare say, working out problems upon a black-board tenmiles away. you will not wonder, watson, that my firstact on entering your rooms was to close your shutters, and that i have beencompelled to ask your permission to leave the house by some less conspicuous exitthan the front door." i had often admired my friend's courage,but never more than now, as he sat quietly checking off a series of incidents whichmust have combined to make up a day of horror. "you will spend the night here?"i said.
"no, my friend, you might find me adangerous guest. i have my plans laid, and all will be well. matters have gone so far now that they canmove without my help as far as the arrest goes, though my presence is necessary for aconviction. it is obvious, therefore, that i cannot dobetter than get away for the few days which remain before the police are at liberty toact. it would be a great pleasure to me,therefore, if you could come on to the continent with me.""the practice is quiet," said i, "and i have an accommodating neighbor.
i should be glad to come.""and to start to-morrow morning?" "if necessary.""oh yes, it is most necessary. then these are your instructions, and ibeg, my dear watson, that you will obey them to the letter, for you are now playinga double-handed game with me against the cleverest rogue and the most powerfulsyndicate of criminals in europe. now listen! you will dispatch whatever luggage youintend to take by a trusty messenger unaddressed to victoria to-night. in the morning you will send for a hansom,desiring your man to take neither the first
nor the second which may present itself. into this hansom you will jump, and youwill drive to the strand end of the lowther arcade, handing the address to the cabmanupon a slip of paper, with a request that he will not throw it away. have your fare ready, and the instant thatyour cab stops, dash through the arcade, timing yourself to reach the other side ata quarter-past nine. you will find a small brougham waitingclose to the curb, driven by a fellow with a heavy black cloak tipped at the collarwith red. into this you will step, and you will reachvictoria in time for the continental
express.""where shall i meet you?" "at the station. the second first-class carriage from thefront will be reserved for us." "the carriage is our rendezvous, then?""yes." it was in vain that i asked holmes toremain for the evening. it was evident to me that he thought hemight bring trouble to the roof he was under, and that that was the motive whichimpelled him to go. with a few hurried words as to our plansfor the morrow he rose and came out with me into the garden, clambering over the wallwhich leads into mortimer street, and
immediately whistling for a hansom, inwhich i heard him drive away. in the morning i obeyed holmes'sinjunctions to the letter. a hansom was procured with such precautionas would prevent its being one which was placed ready for us, and i droveimmediately after breakfast to the lowther arcade, through which i hurried at the topof my speed. a brougham was waiting with a very massivedriver wrapped in a dark cloak, who, the instant that i had stepped in, whipped upthe horse and rattled off to victoria station. on my alighting there he turned thecarriage, and dashed away again without so
much as a look in my direction.so far all had gone admirably. my luggage was waiting for me, and i had nodifficulty in finding the carriage which holmes had indicated, the less so as it wasthe only one in the train which was marked "engaged." my only source of anxiety now was the non-appearance of holmes. the station clock marked only seven minutesfrom the time when we were due to start. in vain i searched among the groups oftravellers and leave-takers for the lithe figure of my friend.there was no sign of him. i spent a few minutes in assisting avenerable italian priest, who was
endeavoring to make a porter understand, inhis broken english, that his luggage was to be booked through to paris. then, having taken another look round, ireturned to my carriage, where i found that the porter, in spite of the ticket, hadgiven me my decrepit italian friend as a traveling companion. it was useless for me to explain to himthat his presence was an intrusion, for my italian was even more limited than hisenglish, so i shrugged my shoulders resignedly, and continued to look outanxiously for my friend. a chill of fear had come over me, as ithought that his absence might mean that
some blow had fallen during the night. already the doors had all been shut and thewhistle blown, when-- "my dear watson," said a voice, "you havenot even condescended to say good-morning." i turned in uncontrollable astonishment. the aged ecclesiastic had turned his facetowards me. for an instant the wrinkles were smoothedaway, the nose drew away from the chin, the lower lip ceased to protrude and the mouthto mumble, the dull eyes regained their fire, the drooping figure expanded. the next the whole frame collapsed again,and holmes had gone as quickly as he had
come."good heavens!" i cried; "how you startled me!" "every precaution is still necessary," hewhispered. "i have reason to think that they are hotupon our trail. ah, there is moriarty himself." the train had already begun to move asholmes spoke. glancing back, i saw a tall man pushing hisway furiously through the crowd, and waving his hand as if he desired to have the trainstopped. it was too late, however, for we wererapidly gathering momentum, and an instant
later had shot clear of the station. "with all our precautions, you see that wehave cut it rather fine," said holmes, laughing. he rose, and throwing off the black cassockand hat which had formed his disguise, he packed them away in a hand-bag."have you seen the morning paper, watson?" "no." "you haven't' seen about baker street,then?" "baker street?""they set fire to our rooms last night. no great harm was done."
"good heavens, holmes! this isintolerable." "they must have lost my track completelyafter their bludgeon-man was arrested. otherwise they could not have imagined thati had returned to my rooms. they have evidently taken the precaution ofwatching you, however, and that is what has brought moriarty to victoria. you could not have made any slip incoming?" "i did exactly what you advised.""did you find your brougham?" "yes, it was waiting." "did you recognize your coachman?""no."
"it was my brother mycroft. it is an advantage to get about in such acase without taking a mercenary into your confidence.but we must plan what we are to do about moriarty now." "as this is an express, and as the boatruns in connection with it, i should think we have shaken him off very effectively." "my dear watson, you evidently did notrealize my meaning when i said that this man may be taken as being quite on the sameintellectual plane as myself. you do not imagine that if i were thepursuer i should allow myself to be baffled
by so slight an obstacle.why, then, should you think so meanly of him?" "what will he do?""what i should do?" "what would you do, then?""engage a special." "but it must be late." "by no means.this train stops at canterbury; and there is always at least a quarter of an hour'sdelay at the boat. he will catch us there." "one would think that we were thecriminals.
let us have him arrested on his arrival.""it would be to ruin the work of three months. we should get the big fish, but the smallerwould dart right and left out of the net. on monday we should have them all.no, an arrest is inadmissible." "what then?" "we shall get out at canterbury.""and then?" "well, then we must make a cross-countryjourney to newhaven, and so over to dieppe. moriarty will again do what i should do. he will get on to paris, mark down ourluggage, and wait for two days at the
depot. in the meantime we shall treat ourselves toa couple of carpet-bags, encourage the manufactures of the countries through whichwe travel, and make our way at our leisure into switzerland, via luxembourg andbasle." at canterbury, therefore, we alighted, onlyto find that we should have to wait an hour before we could get a train to newhaven. i was still looking rather ruefully afterthe rapidly disappearing luggage-van which contained my wardrobe, when holmes pulledmy sleeve and pointed up the line. "already, you see," said he.
far away, from among the kentish woodsthere rose a thin spray of smoke. a minute later a carriage and engine couldbe seen flying along the open curve which leads to the station. we had hardly time to take our place behinda pile of luggage when it passed with a rattle and a roar, beating a blast of hotair into our faces. "there he goes," said holmes, as we watchedthe carriage swing and rock over the points."there are limits, you see, to our friend's intelligence. it would have been a coup-de-maitre had hededuced what i would deduce and acted
accordingly.""and what would he have done had he overtaken us?" "there cannot be the least doubt that hewould have made a murderous attack upon me. it is, however, a game at which two mayplay. the question now is whether we should takea premature lunch here, or run our chance of starving before we reach the buffet atnewhaven." we made our way to brussels that night andspent two days there, moving on upon the third day as far as strasburg. on the monday morning holmes hadtelegraphed to the london police, and in
the evening we found a reply waiting for usat our hotel. holmes tore it open, and then with a bittercurse hurled it into the grate. "i might have known it!" he groaned."he has escaped!" "moriarty?" "they have secured the whole gang with theexception of him. he has given them the slip.of course, when i had left the country there was no one to cope with him. but i did think that i had put the game intheir hands. i think that you had better return toengland, watson."
"why?" "because you will find me a dangerouscompanion now. this man's occupation is gone.he is lost if he returns to london. if i read his character right he willdevote his whole energies to revenging himself upon me.he said as much in our short interview, and i fancy that he meant it. i should certainly recommend you to returnto your practice." it was hardly an appeal to be successfulwith one who was an old campaigner as well as an old friend.
we sat in the strasburg salle-ã -mangerarguing the question for half an hour, but the same night we had resumed our journeyand were well on our way to geneva. for a charming week we wandered up thevalley of the rhone, and then, branching off at leuk, we made our way over the gemmipass, still deep in snow, and so, by way of interlaken, to meiringen. it was a lovely trip, the dainty green ofthe spring below, the virgin white of the winter above; but it was clear to me thatnever for one instant did holmes forget the shadow which lay across him. in the homely alpine villages or in thelonely mountain passes, i could tell by his
quick glancing eyes and his sharp scrutinyof every face that passed us, that he was well convinced that, walk where we would, we could not walk ourselves clear of thedanger which was dogging our footsteps. once, i remember, as we passed over thegemmi, and walked along the border of the melancholy daubensee, a large rock whichhad been dislodged from the ridge upon our right clattered down and roared into thelake behind us. in an instant holmes had raced up on to theridge, and, standing upon a lofty pinnacle, craned his neck in every direction. it was in vain that our guide assured himthat a fall of stones was a common chance
in the spring-time at that spot. he said nothing, but he smiled at me withthe air of a man who sees the fulfillment of that which he had expected.and yet for all his watchfulness he was never depressed. on the contrary, i can never recollecthaving seen him in such exuberant spirits. again and again he recurred to the factthat if he could be assured that society was freed from professor moriarty he wouldcheerfully bring his own career to a conclusion. "i think that i may go so far as to say,watson, that i have not lived wholly in
vain," he remarked."if my record were closed to-night i could still survey it with equanimity. the air of london is the sweeter for mypresence. in over a thousand cases i am not awarethat i have ever used my powers upon the wrong side. of late i have been tempted to look intothe problems furnished by nature rather than those more superficial ones for whichour artificial state of society is responsible. your memoirs will draw to an end, watson,upon the day that i crown my career by the
capture or extinction of the most dangerousand capable criminal in europe." i shall be brief, and yet exact, in thelittle which remains for me to tell. it is not a subject on which i wouldwillingly dwell, and yet i am conscious that a duty devolves upon me to omit nodetail. it was on the 3d of may that we reached thelittle village of meiringen, where we put up at the englischer hof, then kept bypeter steiler the elder. our landlord was an intelligent man, andspoke excellent english, having served for three years as waiter at the grosvenorhotel in london. at his advice, on the afternoon of the 4thwe set off together, with the intention of
crossing the hills and spending the nightat the hamlet of rosenlaui. we had strict injunctions, however, on noaccount to pass the falls of reichenbach, which are about half-way up the hill,without making a small detour to see them. it is indeed, a fearful place. the torrent, swollen by the melting snow,plunges into a tremendous abyss, from which the spray rolls up like the smoke from aburning house. the shaft into which the river hurls itselfis an immense chasm, lined by glistening coal-black rock, and narrowing into acreaming, boiling pit of incalculable depth, which brims over and shoots thestream onward over its jagged lip.
the long sweep of green water roaringforever down, and the thick flickering curtain of spray hissing forever upward,turn a man giddy with their constant whirl and clamor. we stood near the edge peering down at thegleam of the breaking water far below us against the black rocks, and listening tothe half-human shout which came booming up with the spray out of the abyss. the path has been cut half-way round thefall to afford a complete view, but it ends abruptly, and the traveler has to return ashe came. we had turned to do so, when we saw a swisslad come running along it with a letter in
his hand. it bore the mark of the hotel which we hadjust left, and was addressed to me by the landlord. it appeared that within a very few minutesof our leaving, an english lady had arrived who was in the last stage of consumption. she had wintered at davos platz, and wasjourneying now to join her friends at lucerne, when a sudden hemorrhage hadovertaken her. it was thought that she could hardly live afew hours, but it would be a great consolation to her to see an englishdoctor, and, if i would only return, etc.
the good steiler assured me in a postscriptthat he would himself look upon my compliance as a very great favor, since thelady absolutely refused to see a swiss physician, and he could not but feel thathe was incurring a great responsibility. the appeal was one which could not beignored. it was impossible to refuse the request ofa fellow-countrywoman dying in a strange land.yet i had my scruples about leaving holmes. it was finally agreed, however, that heshould retain the young swiss messenger with him as guide and companion while ireturned to meiringen. my friend would stay some little time atthe fall, he said, and would then walk
slowly over the hill to rosenlaui, where iwas to rejoin him in the evening. as i turned away i saw holmes, with hisback against a rock and his arms folded, gazing down at the rush of the waters.it was the last that i was ever destined to see of him in this world. when i was near the bottom of the descent ilooked back. it was impossible, from that position, tosee the fall, but i could see the curving path which winds over the shoulder of thehill and leads to it. along this a man was, i remember, walkingvery rapidly. i could see his black figure clearlyoutlined against the green behind him.
i noted him, and the energy with which hewalked but he passed from my mind again as i hurried on upon my errand.it may have been a little over an hour before i reached meiringen. old steiler was standing at the porch ofhis hotel. "well," said i, as i came hurrying up, "itrust that she is no worse?" a look of surprise passed over his face,and at the first quiver of his eyebrows my heart turned to lead in my breast."you did not write this?" i said, pulling the letter from my pocket. "there is no sick englishwoman in thehotel?"
"certainly not!" he cried."but it has the hotel mark upon it! ha, it must have been written by that tallenglishman who came in after you had gone. he said--"but i waited for none of the landlord's explanations. in a tingle of fear i was already runningdown the village street, and making for the path which i had so lately descended.it had taken me an hour to come down. for all my efforts two more had passedbefore i found myself at the fall of reichenbach once more. there was holmes's alpine-stock stillleaning against the rock by which i had
left him.but there was no sign of him, and it was in vain that i shouted. my only answer was my own voicereverberating in a rolling echo from the cliffs around me.it was the sight of that alpine-stock which turned me cold and sick. he had not gone to rosenlaui, then.he had remained on that three-foot path, with sheer wall on one side and sheer dropon the other, until his enemy had overtaken him. the young swiss had gone too.he had probably been in the pay of
moriarty, and had left the two mentogether. and then what had happened? who was to tell us what had happened then?i stood for a minute or two to collect myself, for i was dazed with the horror ofthe thing. then i began to think of holmes's ownmethods and to try to practise them in reading this tragedy.it was, alas, only too easy to do. during our conversation we had not gone tothe end of the path, and the alpine-stock marked the place where we had stood. the blackish soil is kept forever soft bythe incessant drift of spray, and a bird
would leave its tread upon it. two lines of footmarks were clearly markedalong the farther end of the path, both leading away from me.there were none returning. a few yards from the end the soil was allploughed up into a patch of mud, and the branches and ferns which fringed the chasmwere torn and bedraggled. i lay upon my face and peered over with thespray spouting up all around me. it had darkened since i left, and now icould only see here and there the glistening of moisture upon the blackwalls, and far away down at the end of the shaft the gleam of the broken water.
i shouted; but only the same half-human cryof the fall was borne back to my ears. but it was destined that i should after allhave a last word of greeting from my friend and comrade. i have said that his alpine-stock had beenleft leaning against a rock which jutted on to the path. from the top of this bowlder the gleam ofsomething bright caught my eye, and, raising my hand, i found that it came fromthe silver cigarette-case which he used to carry. as i took it up a small square of paperupon which it had lain fluttered down on to
unfolding it, i found that it consisted ofthree pages torn from his note-book and addressed to me. it was characteristic of the man that thedirection was a precise, and the writing as firm and clear, as though it had beenwritten in his study. my dear watson [it said], i write these fewlines through the courtesy of mr. moriarty, who awaits my convenience for the finaldiscussion of those questions which lie between us. he has been giving me a sketch of themethods by which he avoided the english police and kept himself informed of ourmovements.
they certainly confirm the very highopinion which i had formed of his abilities. i am pleased to think that i shall be ableto free society from any further effects of his presence, though i fear that it is at acost which will give pain to my friends, and especially, my dear watson, to you. i have already explained to you, however,that my career had in any case reached its crisis, and that no possible conclusion toit could be more congenial to me than this. indeed, if i may make a full confession toyou, i was quite convinced that the letter from meiringen was a hoax, and i allowedyou to depart on that errand under the
persuasion that some development of thissort would follow. tell inspector patterson that the paperswhich he needs to convict the gang are in pigeonhole m., done up in a blue envelopeand inscribed "moriarty." i made every disposition of my propertybefore leaving england, and handed it to my brother mycroft.pray give my greetings to mrs. watson, and believe me to be, my dear fellow, very sincerely yours,sherlock holmes a few words may suffice to tell the littlethat remains. an examination by experts leaves littledoubt that a personal contest between the
two men ended, as it could hardly fail toend in such a situation, in their reeling over, locked in each other's arms. any attempt at recovering the bodies wasabsolutely hopeless, and there, deep down in that dreadful caldron of swirling waterand seething foam, will lie for all time the most dangerous criminal and the foremost champion of the law of theirgeneration. the swiss youth was never found again, andthere can be no doubt that he was one of the numerous agents whom moriarty kept inthis employ. as to the gang, it will be within thememory of the public how completely the
evidence which holmes had accumulatedexposed their organization, and how heavily the hand of the dead man weighed upon them. of their terrible chief few details cameout during the proceedings, and if i have now been compelled to make a clearstatement of his career it is due to those injudicious champions who have endeavored to clear his memory by attacks upon himwhom i shall ever regard as the best and the wisest man whom i have ever known.
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