a study in scarlet part i being a reprint from the reminiscences of john h watson md late of the army medical department chapter i mr sherlock holmes in the year i took my degree of doctor of medicine of the university of london and proceeded to netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the army having completed my studies there i was duly attached to the fifth northumberland fusiliers as assistant surgeon the regiment was stationed in india at the time and before i could join it the second afghan war had broken out on landing at bombay i learned that my corps had advanced through the passes and was already deep in the enemys country i followed however with many other officers who were in the same situation as myself and succeeded in reaching candahar in safety where i found my regiment and at once entered upon my new duties the campaign brought honours and promotion to many but for me it had nothing but misfortune and disaster i was removed from my brigade and attached to the berkshires with whom i served at the fatal battle of maiwand there i was struck on the shoulder by a jezail bullet which shattered the bone and grazed the subclavian artery i should have fallen into the hands of the murderous ghazis had it not been for the devotion and courage shown by murray my orderly who threw me across a packhorse and succeeded in bringing me safely to the british lines worn with pain and weak from the prolonged hardships which i had undergone i was removed with a great train of wounded sufferers to the base hospital at peshawar here i rallied and had already improved so far as to be able to walk about the wards and even to bask a little upon the verandah when i was struck down by enteric fever that curse of our indian possessions for months my life was despaired of and when at last i came to myself and became convalescent i was so weak and emaciated that a medical board determined that not a day should be lost in sending me back to england i was dispatched accordingly in the troopship orontes and landed a month later on portsmouth jetty with my health irretrievably ruined but with permission from a paternal government to spend the next nine months in attempting to improve it i had neither kith nor kin in england and was therefore as free as air or as free as an income of eleven shillings and sixpence a day will permit a man to be under such circumstances i naturally gravitated to london that great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the empire are irresistibly drained there i stayed for some time at a private hotel in the strand leading a comfortless meaningless existence and spending such money as i had considerably more freely than i ought so alarming did the state of my finances become that i soon realized that i must either leave the metropolis and rusticate somewhere in the country or that i must make a complete alteration in my style of living choosing the latter alternative i began by making up my mind to leave the hotel and to take up my quarters in some less pretentious and less expensive domicile on the very day that i had come to this conclusion i was standing at the criterion bar when some one tapped me on the shoulder and turning round i recognized young stamford who had been a dresser under me at barts the sight of a friendly face in the great wilderness of london is a pleasant thing indeed to a lonely man in old days stamford had never been a particular crony of mine but now i hailed him with enthusiasm and he in his turn appeared to be delighted to see me in the exuberance of my joy i asked him to lunch with me at the holborn and we started off together in a hansom whatever have you been doing with yourself watson he asked in undisguised wonder as we rattled through the crowded london streets you are as thin as a lath and as brown as a nut i gave him a short sketch of my adventures and had hardly concluded it by the time that we reached our destination poor devil he said commiseratingly after he had listened to my misfortunes what are you up to now looking for lodgings i answered trying to solve the problem as to whether it is possible to get comfortable rooms at a reasonable price thats a strange thing remarked my companion you are the second man today that has used that expression to me and who was the first i asked a fellow who is working at the chemical laboratory up at the hospital he was bemoaning himself this morning because he could not get someone to go halves with him in some nice rooms which he had found and which were too much for his purse by jove i cried if he really wants someone to share the rooms and the expense i am the very man for him i should prefer having a partner to being alone young stamford looked rather strangely at me over his wineglass you dont know sherlock holmes yet he said perhaps you would not care for him as a constant companion why what is there against him oh i didnt say there was anything against him he is a little queer in his ideas an enthusiast in some branches of science as far as i know he is a decent fellow enough a medical student i suppose said i no i have no idea what he intends to go in for i believe he is well up in anatomy and he is a firstclass chemist but as far as i know he has never taken out any systematic medical classes his studies are very desultory and eccentric but he has amassed a lot of outofthe way knowledge which would astonish his professors did you never ask him what he was going in for i asked no he is not a man that it is easy to draw out though he can be communicative enough when the fancy seizes him i should like to meet him i said if i am to lodge with anyone i should prefer a man of studious and quiet habits i am not strong enough yet to stand much noise or excitement i had enough of both in afghanistan to last me for the remainder of my natural existence how could i meet this friend of yours he is sure to be at the laboratory returned my companion he either avoids the place for weeks or else he works there from morning to night if you like we shall drive round together after luncheon certainly i answered and the conversation drifted away into other channels as we made our way to the hospital after leaving the holborn stamford gave me a few more particulars about the gentleman whom i proposed to take as a fellowlodger you mustnt blame me if you dont get on with him he said i know nothing more of him than i have learned from meeting him occasionally in the laboratory you proposed this arrangement so you must not hold me responsible if we dont get on it will be easy to part company i answered it seems to me stamford i added looking hard at my companion that you have some reason for washing your hands of the matter is this fellows temper so formidable or what is it dont be mealymouthed about it it is not easy to express the inexpressible he answered with a laugh holmes is a little too scientific for my tastes it approaches to coldbloodedness i could imagine his giving a friend a little pinch of the latest vegetable alkaloid not out of malevolence you understand but simply out of a spirit of inquiry in order to have an accurate idea of the effects to do him justice i think that he would take it himself with the same readiness he appears to have a passion for definite and exact knowledge very right too yes but it may be pushed to excess when it comes to beating the subjects in the dissectingrooms with a stick it is certainly taking rather a bizarre shape beating the subjects yes to verify how far bruises may be produced after death i saw him at it with my own eyes and yet you say he is not a medical student no heaven knows what the objects of his studies are but here we are and you must form your own impressions about him as he spoke we turned down a narrow lane and passed through a small sidedoor which opened into a wing of the great hospital it was familiar ground to me and i needed no guiding as we ascended the bleak stone staircase and made our way down the long corridor with its vista of whitewashed wall and duncoloured doors near the further end a low arched passage branched away from it and led to the chemical laboratory this was a lofty chamber lined and littered with countless bottles broad low tables were scattered about which bristled with retorts testtubes and little bunsen lamps with their blue flickering flames there was only one student in the room who was bending over a distant table absorbed in his work at the sound of our steps he glanced round and sprang to his feet with a cry of pleasure ive found it ive found it he shouted to my companion running towards us with a testtube in his hand i have found a reagent which is precipitated by hoemoglobin and by nothing else had he discovered a gold mine greater delight could not have shone upon his features dr watson mr sherlock holmes said stamford introducing us how are you he said cordially gripping my hand with a strength for which i should hardly have given him credit you have been in afghanistan i perceive how on earth did you know that i asked in astonishment never mind said he chuckling to himself the question now is about hoemoglobin no doubt you see the significance of this discovery of mine it is interesting chemically no doubt i answered but practically why man it is the most practical medicolegal discovery for years dont you see that it gives us an infallible test for blood stains come over here now he seized me by the coatsleeve in his eagerness and drew me over to the table at which he had been working let us have some fresh blood he said digging a long bodkin into his finger and drawing off the resulting drop of blood in a chemical pipette now i add this small quantity of blood to a litre of water you perceive that the resulting mixture has the appearance of pure water the proportion of blood cannot be more than one in a million i have no doubt however that we shall be able to obtain the characteristic reaction as he spoke he threw into the vessel a few white crystals and then added some drops of a transparent fluid in an instant the contents assumed a dull mahogany colour and a brownish dust was precipitated to the bottom of the glass jar ha ha he cried clapping his hands and looking as delighted as a child with a new toy what do you think of that it seems to be a very delicate test i remarked beautiful beautiful the old guiacum test was very clumsy and uncertain so is the microscopic examination for blood corpuscles the latter is valueless if the stains are a few hours old now this appears to act as well whether the blood is old or new had this test been invented there are hundreds of men now walking the earth who would long ago have paid the penalty of their crimes indeed i murmured criminal cases are continually hinging upon that one point a man is suspected of a crime months perhaps after it has been committed his linen or clothes are examined and brownish stains discovered upon them are they blood stains or mud stains or rust stains or fruit stains or what are they that is a question which has puzzled many an expert and why because there was no reliable test now we have the sherlock holmes test and there will no longer be any difficulty his eyes fairly glittered as he spoke and he put his hand over his heart and bowed as if to some applauding crowd conjured up by his imagination you are to be congratulated i remarked considerably surprised at his enthusiasm there was the case of von bischoff at frankfort last year he would certainly have been hung had this test been in existence then there was mason of bradford and the notorious muller and lefevre of montpellier and samson of new orleans i could name a score of cases in which it would have been decisive you seem to be a walking calendar of crime said stamford with a laugh you might start a paper on those lines call it the police news of the past very interesting reading it might be made too remarked sherlock holmes sticking a small piece of plaster over the prick on his finger i have to be careful he continued turning to me with a smile for i dabble with poisons a good deal he held out his hand as he spoke and i noticed that it was all mottled over with similar pieces of plaster and discoloured with strong acids we came here on business said stamford sitting down on a high threelegged stool and pushing another one in my direction with his foot my friend here wants to take diggings and as you were complaining that you could get no one to go halves with you i thought that i had better bring you together sherlock holmes seemed delighted at the idea of sharing his rooms with me i have my eye on a suite in baker street he said which would suit us down to the ground you dont mind the smell of strong tobacco i hope i always smoke ships myself i answered thats good enough i generally have chemicals about and occasionally do experiments would that annoy you by no means let me see what are my other shortcomings i get in the dumps at times and dont open my mouth for days on end you must not think i am sulky when i do that just let me alone and ill soon be right what have you to confess now its just as well for two fellows to know the worst of one another before they begin to live together i laughed at this crossexamination i keep a bull pup i said and i object to rows because my nerves are shaken and i get up at all sorts of ungodly hours and i am extremely lazy i have another set of vices when im well but those are the principal ones at present do you include violinplaying in your category of rows he asked anxiously it depends on the player i answered a wellplayed violin is a treat for the gods a badlyplayed one oh thats all right he cried with a merry laugh i think we may consider the thing as settled that is if the rooms are agreeable to you when shall we see them call for me here at noon tomorrow and well go together and settle everything he answered all right noon exactly said i shaking his hand we left him working among his chemicals and we walked together towards my hotel by the way i asked suddenly stopping and turning upon stamford how the deuce did he know that i had come from afghanistan my companion smiled an enigmatical smile thats just his little peculiarity he said a good many people have wanted to know how he finds things out oh a mystery is it i cried rubbing my hands this is very piquant i am much obliged to you for bringing us together the proper study of mankind is man you know you must study him then stamford said as he bade me goodbye youll find him a knotty problem though ill wager he learns more about you than you about him goodbye goodbye i answered and strolled on to my hotel considerably interested in my new acquaintance chapter ii the science of deduction we met next day as he had arranged and inspected the rooms at no b baker street of which he had spoken at our meeting they consisted of a couple of comfortable bedrooms and a single large airy sittingroom cheerfully furnished and illuminated by two broad windows so desirable in every way were the apartments and so moderate did the terms seem when divided between us that the bargain was concluded upon the spot and we at once entered into possession that very evening i moved my things round from the hotel and on the following morning sherlock holmes followed me with several boxes and portmanteaus for a day or two we were busily employed in unpacking and laying out our property to the best advantage that done we gradually began to settle down and to accommodate ourselves to our new surroundings holmes was certainly not a difficult man to live with he was quiet in his ways and his habits were regular it was rare for him to be up after ten at night and he had invariably breakfasted and gone out before i rose in the morning sometimes he spent his day at the chemical laboratory sometimes in the dissectingrooms and occasionally in long walks which appeared to take him into the lowest portions of the city nothing could exceed his energy when the working fit was upon him but now and again a reaction would seize him and for days on end he would lie upon the sofa in the sittingroom hardly uttering a word or moving a muscle from morning to night on these occasions i have noticed such a dreamy vacant expression in his eyes that i might have suspected him of being addicted to the use of some narcotic had not the temperance and cleanliness of his whole life forbidden such a notion as the weeks went by my interest in him and my curiosity as to his aims in life gradually deepened and increased his very person and appearance were such as to strike the attention of the most casual observer in height he was rather over six feet and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller his eyes were sharp and piercing save during those intervals of torpor to which i have alluded and his thin hawklike nose gave his whole expression an air of alertness and decision his chin too had the prominence and squareness which mark the man of determination his hands were invariably blotted with ink and stained with chemicals yet he was possessed of extraordinary delicacy of touch as i frequently had occasion to observe when i watched him manipulating his fragile philosophical instruments the reader may set me down as a hopeless busybody when i confess how much this man stimulated my curiosity and how often i endeavoured to break through the reticence which he showed on all that concerned himself before pronouncing judgment however be it remembered how objectless was my life and how little there was to engage my attention my health forbade me from venturing out unless the weather was exceptionally genial and i had no friends who would call upon me and break the monotony of my daily existence under these circumstances i eagerly hailed the little mystery which hung around my companion and spent much of my time in endeavouring to unravel it he was not studying medicine he had himself in reply to a question confirmed stamfords opinion upon that point neither did he appear to have pursued any course of reading which might fit him for a degree in science or any other recognized portal which would give him an entrance into the learned world yet his zeal for certain studies was remarkable and within eccentric limits his knowledge was so extraordinarily ample and minute that his observations have fairly astounded me surely no man would work so hard or attain such precise information unless he had some definite end in view desultory readers are seldom remarkable for the exactness of their learning no man burdens his mind with small matters unless he has some very good reason for doing so his ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge of contemporary literature philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing upon my quoting thomas carlyle he inquired in the naivest way who he might be and what he had done my surprise reached a climax however when i found incidentally that he was ignorant of the copernican theory and of the composition of the solar system that any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to be to me such an extraordinary fact that i could hardly realize it you appear to be astonished he said smiling at my expression of surprise now that i do know it i shall do my best to forget it to forget it you see he explained i consider that a mans brain originally is like a little empty attic and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose a fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brainattic he will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work but of these he has a large assortment and all in the most perfect order it is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before it is of the highest importance therefore not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones but the solar system i protested what the deuce is it to me he interrupted impatiently you say that we go round the sun if we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work i was on the point of asking him what that work might be but something in his manner showed me that the question would be an unwelcome one i pondered over our short conversation however and endeavoured to draw my deductions from it he said that he would acquire no knowledge which did not bear upon his object therefore all the knowledge which he possessed was such as would be useful to him i enumerated in my own mind all the various points upon which he had shown me that he was exceptionally wellinformed i even took a pencil and jotted them down i could not help smiling at the document when i had completed it it ran in this way sherlock holmes his limits knowledge of literature nil philosophy nil astronomy nil politics feeble botany variable well up in belladonna opium and poisons generally knows nothing of practical gardening geology practical but limited tells at a glance different soils from each other after walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of london he had received them chemistry profound anatomy accurate but unsystematic sensational literature immense he appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century plays the violin well is an expert singlestick player boxer and swordsman has a good practical knowledge of british law when i had got so far in my list i threw it into the fire in despair if i can only find what the fellow is driving at by reconciling all these accomplishments and discovering a calling which needs them all i said to myself i may as well give up the attempt at once i see that i have alluded above to his powers upon the violin these were very remarkable but as eccentric as all his other accomplishments that he could play pieces and difficult pieces i knew well because at my request he has played me some of mendelssohns lieder and other favourites when left to himself however he would seldom produce any music or attempt any recognized air leaning back in his armchair of an evening he would close his eyes and scrape carelessly at the fiddle which was thrown across his knee sometimes the chords were sonorous and melancholy occasionally they were fantastic and cheerful clearly they reflected the thoughts which possessed him but whether the music aided those thoughts or whether the playing was simply the result of a whim or fancy was more than i could determine i might have rebelled against these exasperating solos had it not been that he usually terminated them by playing in quick succession a whole series of my favourite airs as a slight compensation for the trial upon my patience during the first week or so we had no callers and i had begun to think that my companion was as friendless a man as i was myself presently however i found that he had many acquaintances and those in the most different classes of society there was one little sallow ratfaced darkeyed fellow who was introduced to me as mr lestrade and who came three or four times in a single week one morning a young girl called fashionably dressed and stayed for half an hour or more the same afternoon brought a greyheaded seedy visitor looking like a jew pedlar who appeared to me to be much excited and who was closely followed by a slipshod elderly woman on another occasion an old whitehaired gentleman had an interview with my companion and on another a railway porter in his velveteen uniform when any of these nondescript individuals put in an appearance sherlock holmes used to beg for the use of the sittingroom and i would retire to my bedroom he always apologized to me for putting me to this inconvenience i have to use this room as a place of business he said and these people are my clients again i had an opportunity of asking him a point blank question and again my delicacy prevented me from forcing another man to confide in me i imagined at the time that he had some strong reason for not alluding to it but he soon dispelled the idea by coming round to the subject of his own accord it was upon the th of march as i have good reason to remember that i rose somewhat earlier than usual and found that sherlock holmes had not yet finished his breakfast the landlady had become so accustomed to my late habits that my place had not been laid nor my coffee prepared with the unreasonable petulance of mankind i rang the bell and gave a curt intimation that i was ready then i picked up a magazine from the table and attempted to while away the time with it while my companion munched silently at his toast one of the articles had a pencil mark at the heading and i naturally began to run my eye through it its somewhat ambitious title was the book of life and it attempted to show how much an observant man might learn by an accurate and systematic examination of all that came in his way it struck me as being a remarkable mixture of shrewdness and of absurdity the reasoning was close and intense but the deductions appeared to me to be farfetched and exaggerated the writer claimed by a momentary expression a twitch of a muscle or a glance of an eye to fathom a mans inmost thoughts deceit according to him was an impossibility in the case of one trained to observation and analysis his conclusions were as infallible as so many propositions of euclid so startling would his results appear to the uninitiated that until they learned the processes by which he had arrived at them they might well consider him as a necromancer from a drop of water said the writer a logician could infer the possibility of an atlantic or a niagara without having seen or heard of one or the other so all life is a great chain the nature of which is known whenever we are shown a single link of it like all other arts the science of deduction and analysis is one which can only be acquired by long and patient study nor is life long enough to allow any mortal to attain the highest possible perfection in it before turning to those moral and mental aspects of the matter which present the greatest difficulties let the enquirer begin by mastering more elementary problems let him on meeting a fellowmortal learn at a glance to distinguish the history of the man and the trade or profession to which he belongs puerile as such an exercise may seem it sharpens the faculties of observation and teaches one where to look and what to look for by a mans finger nails by his coatsleeve by his boot by his trouser knees by the callosities of his forefinger and thumb by his expression by his shirt cuffs by each of these things a mans calling is plainly revealed that all united should fail to enlighten the competent enquirer in any case is almost inconceivable what ineffable twaddle i cried slapping the magazine down on the table i never read such rubbish in my life what is it asked sherlock holmes why this article i said pointing at it with my egg spoon as i sat down to my breakfast i see that you have read it since you have marked it i dont deny that it is smartly written it irritates me though it is evidently the theory of some armchair lounger who evolves all these neat little paradoxes in the seclusion of his own study it is not practical i should like to see him clapped down in a third class carriage on the underground and asked to give the trades of all his fellowtravellers i would lay a thousand to one against him you would lose your money sherlock holmes remarked calmly as for the article i wrote it myself you yes i have a turn both for observation and for deduction the theories which i have expressed there and which appear to you to be so chimerical are really extremely practical so practical that i depend upon them for my bread and cheese and how i asked involuntarily well i have a trade of my own i suppose i am the only one in the world im a consulting detective if you can understand what that is here in london we have lots of government detectives and lots of private ones when these fellows are at fault they come to me and i manage to put them on the right scent they lay all the evidence before me and i am generally able by the help of my knowledge of the history of crime to set them straight there is a strong family resemblance about misdeeds and if you have all the details of a thousand at your finger ends it is odd if you cant unravel the thousand and first lestrade is a wellknown detective he got himself into a fog recently over a forgery case and that was what brought him here and these other people they are mostly sent on by private inquiry agencies they are all people who are in trouble about something and want a little enlightening i listen to their story they listen to my comments and then i pocket my fee but do you mean to say i said that without leaving your room you can unravel some knot which other men can make nothing of although they have seen every detail for themselves quite so i have a kind of intuition that way now and again a case turns up which is a little more complex then i have to bustle about and see things with my own eyes you see i have a lot of special knowledge which i apply to the problem and which facilitates matters wonderfully those rules of deduction laid down in that article which aroused your scorn are invaluable to me in practical work observation with me is second nature you appeared to be surprised when i told you on our first meeting that you had come from afghanistan you were told no doubt nothing of the sort i knew you came from afghanistan from long habit the train of thoughts ran so swiftly through my mind that i arrived at the conclusion without being conscious of intermediate steps there were such steps however the train of reasoning ran here is a gentleman of a medical type but with the air of a military man clearly an army doctor then he has just come from the tropics for his face is dark and that is not the natural tint of his skin for his wrists are fair he has undergone hardship and sickness as his haggard face says clearly his left arm has been injured he holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner where in the tropics could an english army doctor have seen much hardship and got his arm wounded clearly in afghanistan the whole train of thought did not occupy a second i then remarked that you came from afghanistan and you were astonished it is simple enough as you explain it i said smiling you remind me of edgar allen poes dupin i had no idea that such individuals did exist outside of stories sherlock holmes rose and lit his pipe no doubt you think that you are complimenting me in comparing me to dupin he observed now in my opinion dupin was a very inferior fellow that trick of his of breaking in on his friends thoughts with an apropos remark after a quarter of an hours silence is really very showy and superficial he had some analytical genius no doubt but he was by no means such a phenomenon as poe appeared to imagine have you read gaboriaus works i asked does lecoq come up to your idea of a detective sherlock holmes sniffed sardonically lecoq was a miserable bungler he said in an angry voice he had only one thing to recommend him and that was his energy that book made me positively ill the question was how to identify an unknown prisoner i could have done it in twentyfour hours lecoq took six months or so it might be made a textbook for detectives to teach them what to avoid i felt rather indignant at having two characters whom i had admired treated in this cavalier style i walked over to the window and stood looking out into the busy street this fellow may be very clever i said to myself but he is certainly very conceited there are no crimes and no criminals in these days he said querulously what is the use of having brains in our profession i know well that i have it in me to make my name famous no man lives or has ever lived who has brought the same amount of study and of natural talent to the detection of crime which i have done and what is the result there is no crime to detect or at most some bungling villainy with a motive so transparent that even a scotland yard official can see through it i was still annoyed at his bumptious style of conversation i thought it best to change the topic i wonder what that fellow is looking for i asked pointing to a stalwart plainlydressed individual who was walking slowly down the other side of the street looking anxiously at the numbers he had a large blue envelope in his hand and was evidently the bearer of a message you mean the retired sergeant of marines said sherlock holmes brag and bounce thought i to myself he knows that i cannot verify his guess the thought had hardly passed through my mind when the man whom we were watching caught sight of the number on our door and ran rapidly across the roadway we heard a loud knock a deep voice below and heavy steps ascending the stair for mr sherlock holmes he said stepping into the room and handing my friend the letter here was an opportunity of taking the conceit out of him he little thought of this when he made that random shot may i ask my lad i said in the blandest voice what your trade may be commissionaire sir he said gruffly uniform away for repairs and you were i asked with a slightly malicious glance at my companion a sergeant sir royal marine light infantry sir no answer right sir he clicked his heels together raised his hand in a salute and was gone chapter iii the lauriston garden mystery i confess that i was considerably startled by this fresh proof of the practical nature of my companions theories my respect for his powers of analysis increased wondrously there still remained some lurking suspicion in my mind however that the whole thing was a prearranged episode intended to dazzle me though what earthly object he could have in taking me in was past my comprehension when i looked at him he had finished reading the note and his eyes had assumed the vacant lacklustre expression which showed mental abstraction how in the world did you deduce that i asked deduce what said he petulantly why that he was a retired sergeant of marines i have no time for trifles he answered brusquely then with a smile excuse my rudeness you broke the thread of my thoughts but perhaps it is as well so you actually were not able to see that that man was a sergeant of marines no indeed it was easier to know it than to explain why i knew it if you were asked to prove that two and two made four you might find some difficulty and yet you are quite sure of the fact even across the street i could see a great blue anchor tattooed on the back of the fellows hand that smacked of the sea he had a military carriage however and regulation side whiskers there we have the marine he was a man with some amount of selfimportance and a certain air of command you must have observed the way in which he held his head and swung his cane a steady respectable middleaged man too on the face of him all facts which led me to believe that he had been a sergeant wonderful i ejaculated commonplace said holmes though i thought from his expression that he was pleased at my evident surprise and admiration i said just now that there were no criminals it appears that i am wrong look at this he threw me over the note which the commissionaire had brought why i cried as i cast my eye over it this is terrible it does seem to be a little out of the common he remarked calmly would you mind reading it to me aloud this is the letter which i read to him my dear mr sherlock holmes there has been a bad business during the night at lauriston gardens off the brixton road our man on the beat saw a light there about two in the morning and as the house was an empty one suspected that something was amiss he found the door open and in the front room which is bare of furniture discovered the body of a gentleman well dressed and having cards in his pocket bearing the name of enoch j drebber cleveland ohio usa there had been no robbery nor is there any evidence as to how the man met his death there are marks of blood in the room but there is no wound upon his person we are at a loss as to how he came into the empty house indeed the whole affair is a puzzler if you can come round to the house any time before twelve you will find me there i have left everything in statu quo until i hear from you if you are unable to come i shall give you fuller details and would esteem it a great kindness if you would favour me with your opinion yours faithfully tobias gregson gregson is the smartest of the scotland yarders my friend remarked he and lestrade are the pick of a bad lot they are both quick and energetic but conventional shockingly so they have their knives into one another too they are as jealous as a pair of professional beauties there will be some fun over this case if they are both put upon the scent i was amazed at the calm way in which he rippled on surely there is not a moment to be lost i cried shall i go and order you a cab im not sure about whether i shall go i am the most incurably lazy devil that ever stood in shoe leather that is when the fit is on me for i can be spry enough at times why it is just such a chance as you have been longing for my dear fellow what does it matter to me supposing i unravel the whole matter you may be sure that gregson lestrade and co will pocket all the credit that comes of being an unofficial personage but he begs you to help him yes he knows that i am his superior and acknowledges it to me but he would cut his tongue out before he would own it to any third person however we may as well go and have a look i shall work it out on my own hook i may have a laugh at them if i have nothing else come on he hustled on his overcoat and bustled about in a way that showed that an energetic fit had superseded the apathetic one get your hat he said you wish me to come yes if you have nothing better to do a minute later we were both in a hansom driving furiously for the brixton road it was a foggy cloudy morning and a duncoloured veil hung over the housetops looking like the reflection of the mudcoloured streets beneath my companion was in the best of spirits and prattled away about cremona fiddles and the difference between a stradivarius and an amati as for myself i was silent for the dull weather and the melancholy business upon which we were engaged depressed my spirits you dont seem to give much thought to the matter in hand i said at last interrupting holmes musical disquisition no data yet he answered it is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence it biases the judgment you will have your data soon i remarked pointing with my finger this is the brixton road and that is the house if i am not very much mistaken so it is stop driver stop we were still a hundred yards or so from it but he insisted upon our alighting and we finished our journey upon foot number lauriston gardens wore an illomened and minatory look it was one of four which stood back some little way from the street two being occupied and two empty the latter looked out with three tiers of vacant melancholy windows which were blank and dreary save that here and there a to let card had developed like a cataract upon the bleared panes a small garden sprinkled over with a scattered eruption of sickly plants separated each of these houses from the street and was traversed by a narrow pathway yellowish in colour and consisting apparently of a mixture of clay and of gravel the whole place was very sloppy from the rain which had fallen through the night the garden was bounded by a threefoot brick wall with a fringe of wood rails upon the top and against this wall was leaning a stalwart police constable surrounded by a small knot of loafers who craned their necks and strained their eyes in the vain hope of catching some glimpse of the proceedings within i had imagined that sherlock holmes would at once have hurried into the house and plunged into a study of the mystery nothing appeared to be further from his intention with an air of nonchalance which under the circumstances seemed to me to border upon affectation he lounged up and down the pavement and gazed vacantly at the ground the sky the opposite houses and the line of railings having finished his scrutiny he proceeded slowly down the path or rather down the fringe of grass which flanked the path keeping his eyes riveted upon the ground twice he stopped and once i saw him smile and heard him utter an exclamation of satisfaction there were many marks of footsteps upon the wet clayey soil but since the police had been coming and going over it i was unable to see how my companion could hope to learn anything from it still i had had such extraordinary evidence of the quickness of his perceptive faculties that i had no doubt that he could see a great deal which was hidden from me at the door of the house we were met by a tall whitefaced flaxenhaired man with a notebook in his hand who rushed forward and wrung my companions hand with effusion it is indeed kind of you to come he said i have had everything left untouched except that my friend answered pointing at the pathway if a herd of buffaloes had passed along there could not be a greater mess no doubt however you had drawn your own conclusions gregson before you permitted this i have had so much to do inside the house the detective said evasively my colleague mr lestrade is here i had relied upon him to look after this holmes glanced at me and raised his eyebrows sardonically with two such men as yourself and lestrade upon the ground there will not be much for a third party to find out he said gregson rubbed his hands in a selfsatisfied way i think we have done all that can be done he answered its a queer case though and i knew your taste for such things you did not come here in a cab asked sherlock holmes no sir nor lestrade no sir then let us go and look at the room with which inconsequent remark he strode on into the house followed by gregson whose features expressed his astonishment a short passage bare planked and dusty led to the kitchen and offices two doors opened out of it to the left and to the right one of these had obviously been closed for many weeks the other belonged to the diningroom which was the apartment in which the mysterious affair had occurred holmes walked in and i followed him with that subdued feeling at my heart which the presence of death inspires it was a large square room looking all the larger from the absence of all furniture a vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls but it was blotched in places with mildew and here and there great strips had become detached and hung down exposing the yellow plaster beneath opposite the door was a showy fireplace surmounted by a mantelpiece of imitation white marble on one corner of this was stuck the stump of a red wax candle the solitary window was so dirty that the light was hazy and uncertain giving a dull grey tinge to everything which was intensified by the thick layer of dust which coated the whole apartment all these details i observed afterwards at present my attention was centred upon the single grim motionless figure which lay stretched upon the boards with vacant sightless eyes staring up at the discoloured ceiling it was that of a man about fortythree or fortyfour years of age middlesized broad shouldered with crisp curling black hair and a short stubbly beard he was dressed in a heavy broadcloth frock coat and waistcoat with lightcoloured trousers and immaculate collar and cuffs a top hat well brushed and trim was placed upon the floor beside him his hands were clenched and his arms thrown abroad while his lower limbs were interlocked as though his death struggle had been a grievous one on his rigid face there stood an expression of horror and as it seemed to me of hatred such as i have never seen upon human features this malignant and terrible contortion combined with the low forehead blunt nose and prognathous jaw gave the dead man a singularly simious and apelike appearance which was increased by his writhing unnatural posture i have seen death in many forms but never has it appeared to me in a more fearsome aspect than in that dark grimy apartment which looked out upon one of the main arteries of suburban london lestrade lean and ferretlike as ever was standing by the doorway and greeted my companion and myself this case will make a stir sir he remarked it beats anything i have seen and i am no chicken there is no clue said gregson none at all chimed in lestrade sherlock holmes approached the body and kneeling down examined it intently you are sure that there is no wound he asked pointing to numerous gouts and splashes of blood which lay all round positive cried both detectives then of course this blood belongs to a second individual presumably the murderer if murder has been committed it reminds me of the circumstances attendant on the death of van jansen in utrecht in the year do you remember the case gregson no sir read it up you really should there is nothing new under the sun it has all been done before as he spoke his nimble fingers were flying here there and everywhere feeling pressing unbuttoning examining while his eyes wore the same faraway expression which i have already remarked upon so swiftly was the examination made that one would hardly have guessed the minuteness with which it was conducted finally he sniffed the dead mans lips and then glanced at the soles of his patent leather boots he has not been moved at all he asked no more than was necessary for the purposes of our examination you can take him to the mortuary now he said there is nothing more to be learned gregson had a stretcher and four men at hand at his call they entered the room and the stranger was lifted and carried out as they raised him a ring tinkled down and rolled across the floor lestrade grabbed it up and stared at it with mystified eyes theres been a woman here he cried its a womans weddingring he held it out as he spoke upon the palm of his hand we all gathered round him and gazed at it there could be no doubt that that circlet of plain gold had once adorned the finger of a bride this complicates matters said gregson heaven knows they were complicated enough before youre sure it doesnt simplify them observed holmes theres nothing to be learned by staring at it what did you find in his pockets we have it all here said gregson pointing to a litter of objects upon one of the bottom steps of the stairs a gold watch no by barraud of london gold albert chain very heavy and solid gold ring with masonic device gold pin bulldogs head with rubies as eyes russian leather cardcase with cards of enoch j drebber of cleveland corresponding with the e j d upon the linen no purse but loose money to the extent of seven pounds thirteen pocket edition of boccaccios decameron with name of joseph stangerson upon the flyleaf two letters one addressed to e j drebber and one to joseph stangerson at what address american exchange strand to be left till called for they are both from the guion steamship company and refer to the sailing of their boats from liverpool it is clear that this unfortunate man was about to return to new york have you made any inquiries as to this man stangerson i did it at once sir said gregson i have had advertisements sent to all the newspapers and one of my men has gone to the american exchange but he has not returned yet have you sent to cleveland we telegraphed this morning how did you word your inquiries we simply detailed the circumstances and said that we should be glad of any information which could help us you did not ask for particulars on any point which appeared to you to be crucial i asked about stangerson nothing else is there no circumstance on which this whole case appears to hinge will you not telegraph again i have said all i have to say said gregson in an offended voice sherlock holmes chuckled to himself and appeared to be about to make some remark when lestrade who had been in the front room while we were holding this conversation in the hall reappeared upon the scene rubbing his hands in a pompous and selfsatisfied manner mr gregson he said i have just made a discovery of the highest importance and one which would have been overlooked had i not made a careful examination of the walls the little mans eyes sparkled as he spoke and he was evidently in a state of suppressed exultation at having scored a point against his colleague come here he said bustling back into the room the atmosphere of which felt clearer since the removal of its ghastly inmate now stand there he struck a match on his boot and held it up against the wall look at that he said triumphantly i have remarked that the paper had fallen away in parts in this particular corner of the room a large piece had peeled off leaving a yellow square of coarse plastering across this bare space there was scrawled in bloodred letters a single word rache what do you think of that cried the detective with the air of a showman exhibiting his show this was overlooked because it was in the darkest corner of the room and no one thought of looking there the murderer has written it with his or her own blood see this smear where it has trickled down the wall that disposes of the idea of suicide anyhow why was that corner chosen to write it on i will tell you see that candle on the mantelpiece it was lit at the time and if it was lit this corner would be the brightest instead of the darkest portion of the wall and what does it mean now that you have found it asked gregson in a depreciatory voice mean why it means that the writer was going to put the female name rachel but was disturbed before he or she had time to finish you mark my words when this case comes to be cleared up you will find that a woman named rachel has something to do with it its all very well for you to laugh mr sherlock holmes you may be very smart and clever but the old hound is the best when all is said and done i really beg your pardon said my companion who had ruffled the little mans temper by bursting into an explosion of laughter you certainly have the credit of being the first of us to find this out and as you say it bears every mark of having been written by the other participant in last nights mystery i have not had time to examine this room yet but with your permission i shall do so now as he spoke he whipped a tape measure and a large round magnifying glass from his pocket with these two implements he trotted noiselessly about the room sometimes stopping occasionally kneeling and once lying flat upon his face so engrossed was he with his occupation that he appeared to have forgotten our presence for he chattered away to himself under his breath the whole time keeping up a running fire of exclamations groans whistles and little cries suggestive of encouragement and of hope as i watched him i was irresistibly reminded of a pureblooded welltrained foxhound as it dashes backwards and forwards through the covert whining in its eagerness until it comes across the lost scent for twenty minutes or more he continued his researches measuring with the most exact care the distance between marks which were entirely invisible to me and occasionally applying his tape to the walls in an equally incomprehensible manner in one place he gathered up very carefully a little pile of grey dust from the floor and packed it away in an envelope finally he examined with his glass the word upon the wall going over every letter of it with the most minute exactness this done he appeared to be satisfied for he replaced his tape and his glass in his pocket they say that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains he remarked with a smile its a very bad definition but it does apply to detective work gregson and lestrade had watched the manoeuvres of their amateur companion with considerable curiosity and some contempt they evidently failed to appreciate the fact which i had begun to realize that sherlock holmes smallest actions were all directed towards some definite and practical end what do you think of it sir they both asked it would be robbing you of the credit of the case if i was to presume to help you remarked my friend you are doing so well now that it would be a pity for anyone to interfere there was a world of sarcasm in his voice as he spoke if you will let me know how your investigations go he continued i shall be happy to give you any help i can in the meantime i should like to speak to the constable who found the body can you give me his name and address lestrade glanced at his notebook john rance he said he is off duty now you will find him at audley court kennington park gate holmes took a note of the address come along doctor he said we shall go and look him up ill tell you one thing which may help you in the case he continued turning to the two detectives there has been murder done and the murderer was a man he was more than six feet high was in the prime of life had small feet for his height wore coarse squaretoed boots and smoked a trichinopoly cigar he came here with his victim in a fourwheeled cab which was drawn by a horse with three old shoes and one new one on his off fore leg in all probability the murderer had a florid face and the fingernails of his right hand were remarkably long these are only a few indications but they may assist you lestrade and gregson glanced at each other with an incredulous smile if this man was murdered how was it done asked the former poison said sherlock holmes curtly and strode off one other thing lestrade he added turning round at the door rache is the german for revenge so dont lose your time looking for miss rachel with which parthian shot he walked away leaving the two rivals openmouthed behind him chapter iv what john rance had to tell it was one oclock when we left no lauriston gardens sherlock holmes led me to the nearest telegraph office whence he dispatched a long telegram he then hailed a cab and ordered the driver to take us to the address given us by lestrade there is nothing like first hand evidence he remarked as a matter of fact my mind is entirely made up upon the case but still we may as well learn all that is to be learned you amaze me holmes said i surely you are not as sure as you pretend to be of all those particulars which you gave theres no room for a mistake he answered the very first thing which i observed on arriving there was that a cab had made two ruts with its wheels close to the curb now up to last night we have had no rain for a week so that those wheels which left such a deep impression must have been there during the night there were the marks of the horses hoofs too the outline of one of which was far more clearly cut than that of the other three showing that that was a new shoe since the cab was there after the rain began and was not there at any time during the morning i have gregsons word for that it follows that it must have been there during the night and therefore that it brought those two individuals to the house that seems simple enough said i but how about the other mans height why the height of a man in nine cases out of ten can be told from the length of his stride it is a simple calculation enough though there is no use my boring you with figures i had this fellows stride both on the clay outside and on the dust within then i had a way of checking my calculation when a man writes on a wall his instinct leads him to write about the level of his own eyes now that writing was just over six feet from the ground it was childs play and his age i asked well if a man can stride four and ahalf feet without the smallest effort he cant be quite in the sere and yellow that was the breadth of a puddle on the garden walk which he had evidently walked across patentleather boots had gone round and squaretoes had hopped over there is no mystery about it at all i am simply applying to ordinary life a few of those precepts of observation and deduction which i advocated in that article is there anything else that puzzles you the finger nails and the trichinopoly i suggested the writing on the wall was done with a mans forefinger dipped in blood my glass allowed me to observe that the plaster was slightly scratched in doing it which would not have been the case if the mans nail had been trimmed i gathered up some scattered ash from the floor it was dark in colour and flakey such an ash as is only made by a trichinopoly i have made a special study of cigar ashes in fact i have written a monograph upon the subject i flatter myself that i can distinguish at a glance the ash of any known brand either of cigar or of tobacco it is just in such details that the skilled detective differs from the gregson and lestrade type and the florid face i asked ah that was a more daring shot though i have no doubt that i was right you must not ask me that at the present state of the affair i passed my hand over my brow my head is in a whirl i remarked the more one thinks of it the more mysterious it grows how came these two men if there were two men into an empty house what has become of the cabman who drove them how could one man compel another to take poison where did the blood come from what was the object of the murderer since robbery had no part in it how came the womans ring there above all why should the second man write up the german word rache before decamping i confess that i cannot see any possible way of reconciling all these facts my companion smiled approvingly you sum up the difficulties of the situation succinctly and well he said there is much that is still obscure though i have quite made up my mind on the main facts as to poor lestrades discovery it was simply a blind intended to put the police upon a wrong track by suggesting socialism and secret societies it was not done by a german the a if you noticed was printed somewhat after the german fashion now a real german invariably prints in the latin character so that we may safely say that this was not written by one but by a clumsy imitator who overdid his part it was simply a ruse to divert inquiry into a wrong channel im not going to tell you much more of the case doctor you know a conjuror gets no credit when once he has explained his trick and if i show you too much of my method of working you will come to the conclusion that i am a very ordinary individual after all i shall never do that i answered you have brought detection as near an exact science as it ever will be brought in this world my companion flushed up with pleasure at my words and the earnest way in which i uttered them i had already observed that he was as sensitive to flattery on the score of his art as any girl could be of her beauty ill tell you one other thing he said patent leathers and squaretoes came in the same cab and they walked down the pathway together as friendly as possible arminarm in all probability when they got inside they walked up and down the room or rather patentleathers stood still while squaretoes walked up and down i could read all that in the dust and i could read that as he walked he grew more and more excited that is shown by the increased length of his strides he was talking all the while and working himself up no doubt into a fury then the tragedy occurred ive told you all i know myself now for the rest is mere surmise and conjecture we have a good working basis however on which to start we must hurry up for i want to go to halles concert to hear norman neruda this afternoon this conversation had occurred while our cab had been threading its way through a long succession of dingy streets and dreary byways in the dingiest and dreariest of them our driver suddenly came to a stand thats audley court in there he said pointing to a narrow slit in the line of deadcoloured brick youll find me here when you come back audley court was not an attractive locality the narrow passage led us into a quadrangle paved with flags and lined by sordid dwellings we picked our way among groups of dirty children and through lines of discoloured linen until we came to number the door of which was decorated with a small slip of brass on which the name rance was engraved on enquiry we found that the constable was in bed and we were shown into a little front parlour to await his coming he appeared presently looking a little irritable at being disturbed in his slumbers i made my report at the office he said holmes took a halfsovereign from his pocket and played with it pensively we thought that we should like to hear it all from your own lips he said i shall be most happy to tell you anything i can the constable answered with his eyes upon the little golden disk just let us hear it all in your own way as it occurred rance sat down on the horsehair sofa and knitted his brows as though determined not to omit anything in his narrative ill tell it ye from the beginning he said my time is from ten at night to six in the morning at eleven there was a fight at the white hart but bar that all was quiet enough on the beat at one oclock it began to rain and i met harry murcher him who has the holland grove beat and we stood together at the corner of henrietta street atalkin presently maybe about two or a little after i thought i would take a look round and see that all was right down the brixton road it was precious dirty and lonely not a soul did i meet all the way down though a cab or two went past me i was a strollin down thinkin between ourselves how uncommon handy a four of gin hot would be when suddenly the glint of a light caught my eye in the window of that same house now i knew that them two houses in lauriston gardens was empty on account of him that owns them who wont have the drains seen to though the very last tenant what lived in one of them died o typhoid fever i was knocked all in a heap therefore at seeing a light in the window and i suspected as something was wrong when i got to the door you stopped and then walked back to the garden gate my companion interrupted what did you do that for rance gave a violent jump and stared at sherlock holmes with the utmost amazement upon his features why thats true sir he said though how you come to know it heaven only knows ye see when i got up to the door it was so still and so lonesome that i thought id be none the worse for some one with me i aint afeared of anything on this side o the grave but i thought that maybe it was him that died o the typhoid inspecting the drains what killed him the thought gave me a kind o turn and i walked back to the gate to see if i could see murchers lantern but there wasnt no sign of him nor of anyone else there was no one in the street not a livin soul sir nor as much as a dog then i pulled myself together and went back and pushed the door open all was quiet inside so i went into the room where the light was aburnin there was a candle flickerin on the mantelpiece a red wax one and by its light i saw yes i know all that you saw you walked round the room several times and you knelt down by the body and then you walked through and tried the kitchen door and then john rance sprang to his feet with a frightened face and suspicion in his eyes where was you hid to see all that he cried it seems to me that you knows a deal more than you should holmes laughed and threw his card across the table to the constable dont get arresting me for the murder he said i am one of the hounds and not the wolf mr gregson or mr lestrade will answer for that go on though what did you do next rance resumed his seat without however losing his mystified expression i went back to the gate and sounded my whistle that brought murcher and two more to the spot was the street empty then well it was as far as anybody that could be of any good goes what do you mean the constables features broadened into a grin ive seen many a drunk chap in my time he said but never anyone so cryin drunk as that cove he was at the gate when i came out aleanin up agin the railings and asingin at the pitch o his lungs about columbines newfangled banner or some such stuff he couldnt stand far less help what sort of a man was he asked sherlock holmes john rance appeared to be somewhat irritated at this digression he was an uncommon drunk sort o man he said hed ha found hisself in the station if we hadnt been so took up his face his dress didnt you notice them holmes broke in impatiently i should think i did notice them seeing that i had to prop him up me and murcher between us he was a long chap with a red face the lower part muffled round that will do cried holmes what became of him wed enough to do without lookin after him the policeman said in an aggrieved voice ill wager he found his way home all right how was he dressed a brown overcoat had he a whip in his hand a whip no he must have left it behind muttered my companion you didnt happen to see or hear a cab after that no theres a halfsovereign for you my companion said standing up and taking his hat i am afraid rance that you will never rise in the force that head of yours should be for use as well as ornament you might have gained your sergeants stripes last night the man whom you held in your hands is the man who holds the clue of this mystery and whom we are seeking there is no use of arguing about it now i tell you that it is so come along doctor we started off for the cab together leaving our informant incredulous but obviously uncomfortable the blundering fool holmes said bitterly as we drove back to our lodgings just to think of his having such an incomparable bit of good luck and not taking advantage of it i am rather in the dark still it is true that the description of this man tallies with your idea of the second party in this mystery but why should he come back to the house after leaving it that is not the way of criminals the ring man the ring that was what he came back for if we have no other way of catching him we can always bait our line with the ring i shall have him doctor ill lay you two to one that i have him i must thank you for it all i might not have gone but for you and so have missed the finest study i ever came across a study in scarlet eh why shouldnt we use a little art jargon theres the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life and our duty is to unravel it and isolate it and expose every inch of it and now for lunch and then for norman neruda her attack and her bowing are splendid whats that little thing of chopins she plays so magnificently tralalaliraliralay leaning back in the cab this amateur bloodhound carolled away like a lark while i meditated upon the manysidedness of the human mind chapter v our advertisement brings a visitor our mornings exertions had been too much for my weak health and i was tired out in the afternoon after holmes departure for the concert i lay down upon the sofa and endeavoured to get a couple of hours sleep it was a useless attempt my mind had been too much excited by all that had occurred and the strangest fancies and surmises crowded into it every time that i closed my eyes i saw before me the distorted baboonlike countenance of the murdered man so sinister was the impression which that face had produced upon me that i found it difficult to feel anything but gratitude for him who had removed its owner from the world if ever human features bespoke vice of the most malignant type they were certainly those of enoch j drebber of cleveland still i recognized that justice must be done and that the depravity of the victim was no condonment in the eyes of the law the more i thought of it the more extraordinary did my companions hypothesis that the man had been poisoned appear i remembered how he had sniffed his lips and had no doubt that he had detected something which had given rise to the idea then again if not poison what had caused the mans death since there was neither wound nor marks of strangulation but on the other hand whose blood was that which lay so thickly upon the floor there were no signs of a struggle nor had the victim any weapon with which he might have wounded an antagonist as long as all these questions were unsolved i felt that sleep would be no easy matter either for holmes or myself his quiet selfconfident manner convinced me that he had already formed a theory which explained all the facts though what it was i could not for an instant conjecture he was very late in returning so late that i knew that the concert could not have detained him all the time dinner was on the table before he appeared it was magnificent he said as he took his seat do you remember what darwin says about music he claims that the power of producing and appreciating it existed among the human race long before the power of speech was arrived at perhaps that is why we are so subtly influenced by it there are vague memories in our souls of those misty centuries when the world was in its childhood thats rather a broad idea i remarked ones ideas must be as broad as nature if they are to interpret nature he answered whats the matter youre not looking quite yourself this brixton road affair has upset you to tell the truth it has i said i ought to be more casehardened after my afghan experiences i saw my own comrades hacked to pieces at maiwand without losing my nerve i can understand there is a mystery about this which stimulates the imagination where there is no imagination there is no horror have you seen the evening paper no it gives a fairly good account of the affair it does not mention the fact that when the man was raised up a womans wedding ring fell upon the floor it is just as well it does not why look at this advertisement he answered i had one sent to every paper this morning immediately after the affair he threw the paper across to me and i glanced at the place indicated it was the first announcement in the found column in brixton road this morning it ran a plain gold wedding ring found in the roadway between the white hart tavern and holland grove apply dr watson b baker street between eight and nine this evening excuse my using your name he said if i used my own some of these dunderheads would recognize it and want to meddle in the affair that is all right i answered but supposing anyone applies i have no ring oh yes you have said he handing me one this will do very well it is almost a facsimile and who do you expect will answer this advertisement why the man in the brown coat our florid friend with the square toes if he does not come himself he will send an accomplice would he not consider it as too dangerous not at all if my view of the case is correct and i have every reason to believe that it is this man would rather risk anything than lose the ring according to my notion he dropped it while stooping over drebbers body and did not miss it at the time after leaving the house he discovered his loss and hurried back but found the police already in possession owing to his own folly in leaving the candle burning he had to pretend to be drunk in order to allay the suspicions which might have been aroused by his appearance at the gate now put yourself in that mans place on thinking the matter over it must have occurred to him that it was possible that he had lost the ring in the road after leaving the house what would he do then he would eagerly look out for the evening papers in the hope of seeing it among the articles found his eye of course would light upon this he would be overjoyed why should he fear a trap there would be no reason in his eyes why the finding of the ring should be connected with the murder he would come he will come you shall see him within an hour and then i asked oh you can leave me to deal with him then have you any arms i have my old service revolver and a few cartridges you had better clean it and load it he will be a desperate man and though i shall take him unawares it is as well to be ready for anything i went to my bedroom and followed his advice when i returned with the pistol the table had been cleared and holmes was engaged in his favourite occupation of scraping upon his violin the plot thickens he said as i entered i have just had an answer to my american telegram my view of the case is the correct one and that is i asked eagerly my fiddle would be the better for new strings he remarked put your pistol in your pocket when the fellow comes speak to him in an ordinary way leave the rest to me dont frighten him by looking at him too hard it is eight oclock now i said glancing at my watch yes he will probably be here in a few minutes open the door slightly that will do now put the key on the inside thank you this is a queer old book i picked up at a stall yesterday de jure inter gentes published in latin at liege in the lowlands in charles head was still firm on his shoulders when this little brownbacked volume was struck off who is the printer philippe de croy whoever he may have been on the flyleaf in very faded ink is written ex libris guliolmi whyte i wonder who william whyte was some pragmatical seventeenth century lawyer i suppose his writing has a legal twist about it here comes our man i think as he spoke there was a sharp ring at the bell sherlock holmes rose softly and moved his chair in the direction of the door we heard the servant pass along the hall and the sharp click of the latch as she opened it does dr watson live here asked a clear but rather harsh voice we could not hear the servants reply but the door closed and some one began to ascend the stairs the footfall was an uncertain and shuffling one a look of surprise passed over the face of my companion as he listened to it it came slowly along the passage and there was a feeble tap at the door come in i cried at my summons instead of the man of violence whom we expected a very old and wrinkled woman hobbled into the apartment she appeared to be dazzled by the sudden blaze of light and after dropping a curtsey she stood blinking at us with her bleared eyes and fumbling in her pocket with nervous shaky fingers i glanced at my companion and his face had assumed such a disconsolate expression that it was all i could do to keep my countenance the old crone drew out an evening paper and pointed at our advertisement its this as has brought me good gentlemen she said dropping another curtsey a gold wedding ring in the brixton road it belongs to my girl sally as was married only this time twelvemonth which her husband is steward aboard a union boat and what hed say if he come ome and found her without her ring is more than i can think he being short enough at the best o times but more especially when he has the drink if it please you she went to the circus last night along with is that her ring i asked the lord be thanked cried the old woman sally will be a glad woman this night thats the ring and what may your address be i inquired taking up a pencil duncan street houndsditch a weary way from here the brixton road does not lie between any circus and houndsditch said sherlock holmes sharply the old woman faced round and looked keenly at him from her little redrimmed eyes the gentleman asked me for my address she said sally lives in lodgings at mayfield place peckham and your name is my name is sawyer hers is dennis which tom dennis married her and a smart clean lad too as long as hes at sea and no steward in the company more thought of but when on shore what with the women and what with liquor shops here is your ring mrs sawyer i interrupted in obedience to a sign from my companion it clearly belongs to your daughter and i am glad to be able to restore it to the rightful owner with many mumbled blessings and protestations of gratitude the old crone packed it away in her pocket and shuffled off down the stairs sherlock holmes sprang to his feet the moment that she was gone and rushed into his room he returned in a few seconds enveloped in an ulster and a cravat ill follow her he said hurriedly she must be an accomplice and will lead me to him wait up for me the hall door had hardly slammed behind our visitor before holmes had descended the stair looking through the window i could see her walking feebly along the other side while her pursuer dogged her some little distance behind either his whole theory is incorrect i thought to myself or else he will be led now to the heart of the mystery there was no need for him to ask me to wait up for him for i felt that sleep was impossible until i heard the result of his adventure it was close upon nine when he set out i had no idea how long he might be but i sat stolidly puffing at my pipe and skipping over the pages of henri murgers vie de bohme ten oclock passed and i heard the footsteps of the maid as they pattered off to bed eleven and the more stately tread of the landlady passed my door bound for the same destination it was close upon twelve before i heard the sharp sound of his latchkey the instant he entered i saw by his face that he had not been successful amusement and chagrin seemed to be struggling for the mastery until the former suddenly carried the day and he burst into a hearty laugh i wouldnt have the scotland yarders know it for the world he cried dropping into his chair i have chaffed them so much that they would never have let me hear the end of it i can afford to laugh because i know that i will be even with them in the long run what is it then i asked oh i dont mind telling a story against myself that creature had gone a little way when she began to limp and show every sign of being footsore presently she came to a halt and hailed a fourwheeler which was passing i managed to be close to her so as to hear the address but i need not have been so anxious for she sang it out loud enough to be heard at the other side of the street drive to duncan street houndsditch she cried this begins to look genuine i thought and having seen her safely inside i perched myself behind thats an art which every detective should be an expert at well away we rattled and never drew rein until we reached the street in question i hopped off before we came to the door and strolled down the street in an easy lounging way i saw the cab pull up the driver jumped down and i saw him open the door and stand expectantly nothing came out though when i reached him he was groping about frantically in the empty cab and giving vent to the finest assorted collection of oaths that ever i listened to there was no sign or trace of his passenger and i fear it will be some time before he gets his fare on inquiring at number we found that the house belonged to a respectable paperhanger named keswick and that no one of the name either of sawyer or dennis had ever been heard of there you dont mean to say i cried in amazement that that tottering feeble old woman was able to get out of the cab while it was in motion without either you or the driver seeing her old woman be damned said sherlock holmes sharply we were the old women to be so taken in it must have been a young man and an active one too besides being an incomparable actor the getup was inimitable he saw that he was followed no doubt and used this means of giving me the slip it shows that the man we are after is not as lonely as i imagined he was but has friends who are ready to risk something for him now doctor you are looking doneup take my advice and turn in i was certainly feeling very weary so i obeyed his injunction i left holmes seated in front of the smouldering fire and long into the watches of the night i heard the low melancholy wailings of his violin and knew that he was still pondering over the strange problem which he had set himself to unravel chapter vi tobias gregson shows what he can do the papers next day were full of the brixton mystery as they termed it each had a long account of the affair and some had leaders upon it in addition there was some information in them which was new to me i still retain in my scrapbook numerous clippings and extracts bearing upon the case here is a condensation of a few of them the daily telegraph remarked that in the history of crime there had seldom been a tragedy which presented stranger features the german name of the victim the absence of all other motive and the sinister inscription on the wall all pointed to its perpetration by political refugees and revolutionists the socialists had many branches in america and the deceased had no doubt infringed their unwritten laws and been tracked down by them after alluding airily to the vehmgericht aqua tofana carbonari the marchioness de brinvilliers the darwinian theory the principles of malthus and the ratcliff highway murders the article concluded by admonishing the government and advocating a closer watch over foreigners in england the standard commented upon the fact that lawless outrages of the sort usually occurred under a liberal administration they arose from the unsettling of the minds of the masses and the consequent weakening of all authority the deceased was an american gentleman who had been residing for some weeks in the metropolis he had stayed at the boardinghouse of madame charpentier in torquay terrace camberwell he was accompanied in his travels by his private secretary mr joseph stangerson the two bade adieu to their landlady upon tuesday the th inst and departed to euston station with the avowed intention of catching the liverpool express they were afterwards seen together upon the platform nothing more is known of them until mr drebbers body was as recorded discovered in an empty house in the brixton road many miles from euston how he came there or how he met his fate are questions which are still involved in mystery nothing is known of the whereabouts of stangerson we are glad to learn that mr lestrade and mr gregson of scotland yard are both engaged upon the case and it is confidently anticipated that these wellknown officers will speedily throw light upon the matter the daily news observed that there was no doubt as to the crime being a political one the despotism and hatred of liberalism which animated the continental governments had had the effect of driving to our shores a number of men who might have made excellent citizens were they not soured by the recollection of all that they had undergone among these men there was a stringent code of honour any infringement of which was punished by death every effort should be made to find the secretary stangerson and to ascertain some particulars of the habits of the deceased a great step had been gained by the discovery of the address of the house at which he had boarded a result which was entirely due to the acuteness and energy of mr gregson of scotland yard sherlock holmes and i read these notices over together at breakfast and they appeared to afford him considerable amusement i told you that whatever happened lestrade and gregson would be sure to score that depends on how it turns out oh bless you it doesnt matter in the least if the man is caught it will be on account of their exertions if he escapes it will be in spite of their exertions its heads i win and tails you lose whatever they do they will have followers un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui ladmire what on earth is this i cried for at this moment there came the pattering of many steps in the hall and on the stairs accompanied by audible expressions of disgust upon the part of our landlady its the baker street division of the detective police force said my companion gravely and as he spoke there rushed into the room half a dozen of the dirtiest and most ragged street arabs that ever i clapped eyes on tention cried holmes in a sharp tone and the six dirty little scoundrels stood in a line like so many disreputable statuettes in future you shall send up wiggins alone to report and the rest of you must wait in the street have you found it wiggins no sir we haint said one of the youths i hardly expected you would you must keep on until you do here are your wages he handed each of them a shilling now off you go and come back with a better report next time he waved his hand and they scampered away downstairs like so many rats and we heard their shrill voices next moment in the street theres more work to be got out of one of those little beggars than out of a dozen of the force holmes remarked the mere sight of an officiallooking person seals mens lips these youngsters however go everywhere and hear everything they are as sharp as needles too all they want is organisation is it on this brixton case that you are employing them i asked yes there is a point which i wish to ascertain it is merely a matter of time hullo we are going to hear some news now with a vengeance here is gregson coming down the road with beatitude written upon every feature of his face bound for us i know yes he is stopping there he is there was a violent peal at the bell and in a few seconds the fairhaired detective came up the stairs three steps at a time and burst into our sittingroom my dear fellow he cried wringing holmes unresponsive hand congratulate me i have made the whole thing as clear as day a shade of anxiety seemed to me to cross my companions expressive face do you mean that you are on the right track he asked the right track why sir we have the man under lock and key and his name is arthur charpentier sublieutenant in her majestys navy cried gregson pompously rubbing his fat hands and inflating his chest sherlock holmes gave a sigh of relief and relaxed into a smile take a seat and try one of these cigars he said we are anxious to know how you managed it will you have some whiskey and water i dont mind if i do the detective answered the tremendous exertions which i have gone through during the last day or two have worn me out not so much bodily exertion you understand as the strain upon the mind you will appreciate that mr sherlock holmes for we are both brainworkers you do me too much honour said holmes gravely let us hear how you arrived at this most gratifying result the detective seated himself in the armchair and puffed complacently at his cigar then suddenly he slapped his thigh in a paroxysm of amusement the fun of it is he cried that that fool lestrade who thinks himself so smart has gone off upon the wrong track altogether he is after the secretary stangerson who had no more to do with the crime than the babe unborn i have no doubt that he has caught him by this time the idea tickled gregson so much that he laughed until he choked and how did you get your clue ah ill tell you all about it of course doctor watson this is strictly between ourselves the first difficulty which we had to contend with was the finding of this americans antecedents some people would have waited until their advertisements were answered or until parties came forward and volunteered information that is not tobias gregsons way of going to work you remember the hat beside the dead man yes said holmes by john underwood and sons camberwell road gregson looked quite crestfallen i had no idea that you noticed that he said have you been there no ha cried gregson in a relieved voice you should never neglect a chance however small it may seem to a great mind nothing is little remarked holmes sententiously well i went to underwood and asked him if he had sold a hat of that size and description he looked over his books and came on it at once he had sent the hat to a mr drebber residing at charpentiers boarding establishment torquay terrace thus i got at his address smart very smart murmured sherlock holmes i next called upon madame charpentier continued the detective i found her very pale and distressed her daughter was in the room too an uncommonly fine girl she is too she was looking red about the eyes and her lips trembled as i spoke to her that didnt escape my notice i began to smell a rat you know the feeling mr sherlock holmes when you come upon the right scent a kind of thrill in your nerves have you heard of the mysterious death of your late boarder mr enoch j drebber of cleveland i asked the mother nodded she didnt seem able to get out a word the daughter burst into tears i felt more than ever that these people knew something of the matter at what oclock did mr drebber leave your house for the train i asked at eight oclock she said gulping in her throat to keep down her agitation his secretary mr stangerson said that there were two trains one at and one at he was to catch the first and was that the last which you saw of him a terrible change came over the womans face as i asked the question her features turned perfectly livid it was some seconds before she could get out the single word yes and when it did come it was in a husky unnatural tone there was silence for a moment and then the daughter spoke in a calm clear voice no good can ever come of falsehood mother she said let us be frank with this gentleman we did see mr drebber again god forgive you cried madame charpentier throwing up her hands and sinking back in her chair you have murdered your brother arthur would rather that we spoke the truth the girl answered firmly you had best tell me all about it now i said halfconfidences are worse than none besides you do not know how much we know of it on your head be it alice cried her mother and then turning to me i will tell you all sir do not imagine that my agitation on behalf of my son arises from any fear lest he should have had a hand in this terrible affair he is utterly innocent of it my dread is however that in your eyes and in the eyes of others he may appear to be compromised that however is surely impossible his high character his profession his antecedents would all forbid it your best way is to make a clean breast of the facts i answered depend upon it if your son is innocent he will be none the worse perhaps alice you had better leave us together she said and her daughter withdrew now sir she continued i had no intention of telling you all this but since my poor daughter has disclosed it i have no alternative having once decided to speak i will tell you all without omitting any particular it is your wisest course said i mr drebber has been with us nearly three weeks he and his secretary mr stangerson had been travelling on the continent i noticed a copenhagen label upon each of their trunks showing that that had been their last stopping place stangerson was a quiet reserved man but his employer i am sorry to say was far otherwise he was coarse in his habits and brutish in his ways the very night of his arrival he became very much the worse for drink and indeed after twelve oclock in the day he could hardly ever be said to be sober his manners towards the maidservants were disgustingly free and familiar worst of all he speedily assumed the same attitude towards my daughter alice and spoke to her more than once in a way which fortunately she is too innocent to understand on one occasion he actually seized her in his arms and embraced her an outrage which caused his own secretary to reproach him for his unmanly conduct but why did you stand all this i asked i suppose that you can get rid of your boarders when you wish mrs charpentier blushed at my pertinent question would to god that i had given him notice on the very day that he came she said but it was a sore temptation they were paying a pound a day each fourteen pounds a week and this is the slack season i am a widow and my boy in the navy has cost me much i grudged to lose the money i acted for the best this last was too much however and i gave him notice to leave on account of it that was the reason of his going well my heart grew light when i saw him drive away my son is on leave just now but i did not tell him anything of all this for his temper is violent and he is passionately fond of his sister when i closed the door behind them a load seemed to be lifted from my mind alas in less than an hour there was a ring at the bell and i learned that mr drebber had returned he was much excited and evidently the worse for drink he forced his way into the room where i was sitting with my daughter and made some incoherent remark about having missed his train he then turned to alice and before my very face proposed to her that she should fly with him you are of age he said and there is no law to stop you i have money enough and to spare never mind the old girl here but come along with me now straight away you shall live like a princess poor alice was so frightened that she shrunk away from him but he caught her by the wrist and endeavoured to draw her towards the door i screamed and at that moment my son arthur came into the room what happened then i do not know i heard oaths and the confused sounds of a scuffle i was too terrified to raise my head when i did look up i saw arthur standing in the doorway laughing with a stick in his hand i dont think that fine fellow will trouble us again he said i will just go after him and see what he does with himself with those words he took his hat and started off down the street the next morning we heard of mr drebbers mysterious death this statement came from mrs charpentiers lips with many gasps and pauses at times she spoke so low that i could hardly catch the words i made shorthand notes of all that she said however so that there should be no possibility of a mistake its quite exciting said sherlock holmes with a yawn what happened next when mrs charpentier paused the detective continued i saw that the whole case hung upon one point fixing her with my eye in a way which i always found effective with women i asked her at what hour her son returned i do not know she answered not know no he has a latchkey and he let himself in after you went to bed yes when did you go to bed about eleven so your son was gone at least two hours yes possibly four or five yes what was he doing during that time i do not know she answered turning white to her very lips of course after that there was nothing more to be done i found out where lieutenant charpentier was took two officers with me and arrested him when i touched him on the shoulder and warned him to come quietly with us he answered us as bold as brass i suppose you are arresting me for being concerned in the death of that scoundrel drebber he said we had said nothing to him about it so that his alluding to it had a most suspicious aspect very said holmes he still carried the heavy stick which the mother described him as having with him when he followed drebber it was a stout oak cudgel what is your theory then well my theory is that he followed drebber as far as the brixton road when there a fresh altercation arose between them in the course of which drebber received a blow from the stick in the pit of the stomach perhaps which killed him without leaving any mark the night was so wet that no one was about so charpentier dragged the body of his victim into the empty house as to the candle and the blood and the writing on the wall and the ring they may all be so many tricks to throw the police on to the wrong scent well done said holmes in an encouraging voice really gregson you are getting along we shall make something of you yet i flatter myself that i have managed it rather neatly the detective answered proudly the young man volunteered a statement in which he said that after following drebber some time the latter perceived him and took a cab in order to get away from him on his way home he met an old shipmate and took a long walk with him on being asked where this old shipmate lived he was unable to give any satisfactory reply i think the whole case fits together uncommonly well what amuses me is to think of lestrade who had started off upon the wrong scent i am afraid he wont make much of why by jove heres the very man himself it was indeed lestrade who had ascended the stairs while we were talking and who now entered the room the assurance and jauntiness which generally marked his demeanour and dress were however wanting his face was disturbed and troubled while his clothes were disarranged and untidy he had evidently come with the intention of consulting with sherlock holmes for on perceiving his colleague he appeared to be embarrassed and put out he stood in the centre of the room fumbling nervously with his hat and uncertain what to do this is a most extraordinary case he said at last a most incomprehensible affair ah you find it so mr lestrade cried gregson triumphantly i thought you would come to that conclusion have you managed to find the secretary mr joseph stangerson the secretary mr joseph stangerson said lestrade gravely was murdered at hallidays private hotel about six oclock this morning chapter vii light in the darkness the intelligence with which lestrade greeted us was so momentous and so unexpected that we were all three fairly dumfoundered gregson sprang out of his chair and upset the remainder of his whiskey and water i stared in silence at sherlock holmes whose lips were compressed and his brows drawn down over his eyes stangerson too he muttered the plot thickens it was quite thick enough before grumbled lestrade taking a chair i seem to have dropped into a sort of council of war are you are you sure of this piece of intelligence stammered gregson i have just come from his room said lestrade i was the first to discover what had occurred we have been hearing gregsons view of the matter holmes observed would you mind letting us know what you have seen and done i have no objection lestrade answered seating himself i freely confess that i was of the opinion that stangerson was concerned in the death of drebber this fresh development has shown me that i was completely mistaken full of the one idea i set myself to find out what had become of the secretary they had been seen together at euston station about halfpast eight on the evening of the third at two in the morning drebber had been found in the brixton road the question which confronted me was to find out how stangerson had been employed between and the time of the crime and what had become of him afterwards i telegraphed to liverpool giving a description of the man and warning them to keep a watch upon the american boats i then set to work calling upon all the hotels and lodginghouses in the vicinity of euston you see i argued that if drebber and his companion had become separated the natural course for the latter would be to put up somewhere in the vicinity for the night and then to hang about the station again next morning they would be likely to agree on some meetingplace beforehand remarked holmes so it proved i spent the whole of yesterday evening in making enquiries entirely without avail this morning i began very early and at eight oclock i reached hallidays private hotel in little george street on my enquiry as to whether a mr stangerson was living there they at once answered me in the affirmative no doubt you are the gentleman whom he was expecting they said he has been waiting for a gentleman for two days where is he now i asked he is upstairs in bed he wished to be called at nine i will go up and see him at once i said it seemed to me that my sudden appearance might shake his nerves and lead him to say something unguarded the boots volunteered to show me the room it was on the second floor and there was a small corridor leading up to it the boots pointed out the door to me and was about to go downstairs again when i saw something that made me feel sickish in spite of my twenty years experience from under the door there curled a little red ribbon of blood which had meandered across the passage and formed a little pool along the skirting at the other side i gave a cry which brought the boots back he nearly fainted when he saw it the door was locked on the inside but we put our shoulders to it and knocked it in the window of the room was open and beside the window all huddled up lay the body of a man in his nightdress he was quite dead and had been for some time for his limbs were rigid and cold when we turned him over the boots recognized him at once as being the same gentleman who had engaged the room under the name of joseph stangerson the cause of death was a deep stab in the left side which must have penetrated the heart and now comes the strangest part of the affair what do you suppose was above the murdered man i felt a creeping of the flesh and a presentiment of coming horror even before sherlock holmes answered the word rache written in letters of blood he said that was it said lestrade in an awestruck voice and we were all silent for a while there was something so methodical and so incomprehensible about the deeds of this unknown assassin that it imparted a fresh ghastliness to his crimes my nerves which were steady enough on the field of battle tingled as i thought of it the man was seen continued lestrade a milk boy passing on his way to the dairy happened to walk down the lane which leads from the mews at the back of the hotel he noticed that a ladder which usually lay there was raised against one of the windows of the second floor which was wide open after passing he looked back and saw a man descend the ladder he came down so quietly and openly that the boy imagined him to be some carpenter or joiner at work in the hotel he took no particular notice of him beyond thinking in his own mind that it was early for him to be at work he has an impression that the man was tall had a reddish face and was dressed in a long brownish coat he must have stayed in the room some little time after the murder for we found bloodstained water in the basin where he had washed his hands and marks on the sheets where he had deliberately wiped his knife i glanced at holmes on hearing the description of the murderer which tallied so exactly with his own there was however no trace of exultation or satisfaction upon his face did you find nothing in the room which could furnish a clue to the murderer he asked nothing stangerson had drebbers purse in his pocket but it seems that this was usual as he did all the paying there was eighty odd pounds in it but nothing had been taken whatever the motives of these extraordinary crimes robbery is certainly not one of them there were no papers or memoranda in the murdered mans pocket except a single telegram dated from cleveland about a month ago and containing the words j h is in europe there was no name appended to this message and there was nothing else holmes asked nothing of any importance the mans novel with which he had read himself to sleep was lying upon the bed and his pipe was on a chair beside him there was a glass of water on the table and on the windowsill a small chip ointment box containing a couple of pills sherlock holmes sprang from his chair with an exclamation of delight the last link he cried exultantly my case is complete the two detectives stared at him in amazement i have now in my hands my companion said confidently all the threads which have formed such a tangle there are of course details to be filled in but i am as certain of all the main facts from the time that drebber parted from stangerson at the station up to the discovery of the body of the latter as if i had seen them with my own eyes i will give you a proof of my knowledge could you lay your hand upon those pills i have them said lestrade producing a small white box i took them and the purse and the telegram intending to have them put in a place of safety at the police station it was the merest chance my taking these pills for i am bound to say that i do not attach any importance to them give them here said holmes now doctor turning to me are those ordinary pills they certainly were not they were of a pearly grey colour small round and almost transparent against the light from their lightness and transparency i should imagine that they are soluble in water i remarked precisely so answered holmes now would you mind going down and fetching that poor little devil of a terrier which has been bad so long and which the landlady wanted you to put out of its pain yesterday i went downstairs and carried the dog upstair in my arms its laboured breathing and glazing eye showed that it was not far from its end indeed its snowwhite muzzle proclaimed that it had already exceeded the usual term of canine existence i placed it upon a cushion on the rug i will now cut one of these pills in two said holmes and drawing his penknife he suited the action to the word one half we return into the box for future purposes the other half i will place in this wine glass in which is a teaspoonful of water you perceive that our friend the doctor is right and that it readily dissolves this may be very interesting said lestrade in the injured tone of one who suspects that he is being laughed at i cannot see however what it has to do with the death of mr joseph stangerson patience my friend patience you will find in time that it has everything to do with it i shall now add a little milk to make the mixture palatable and on presenting it to the dog we find that he laps it up readily enough as he spoke he turned the contents of the wine glass into a saucer and placed it in front of the terrier who speedily licked it dry sherlock holmes earnest demeanour had so far convinced us that we all sat in silence watching the animal intently and expecting some startling effect none such appeared however the dog continued to lie stretched upon the cushion breathing in a laboured way but apparently neither the better nor the worse for its draught holmes had taken out his watch and as minute followed minute without result an expression of the utmost chagrin and disappointment appeared upon his features he gnawed his lip drummed his fingers upon the table and showed every other symptom of acute impatience so great was his emotion that i felt sincerely sorry for him while the two detectives smiled derisively by no means displeased at this check which he had met it cant be a coincidence he cried at last springing from his chair and pacing wildly up and down the room it is impossible that it should be a mere coincidence the very pills which i suspected in the case of drebber are actually found after the death of stangerson and yet they are inert what can it mean surely my whole chain of reasoning cannot have been false it is impossible and yet this wretched dog is none the worse ah i have it i have it with a perfect shriek of delight he rushed to the box cut the other pill in two dissolved it added milk and presented it to the terrier the unfortunate creatures tongue seemed hardly to have been moistened in it before it gave a convulsive shiver in every limb and lay as rigid and lifeless as if it had been struck by lightning sherlock holmes drew a long breath and wiped the perspiration from his forehead i should have more faith he said i ought to know by this time that when a fact appears to be opposed to a long train of deductions it invariably proves to be capable of bearing some other interpretation of the two pills in that box one was of the most deadly poison and the other was entirely harmless i ought to have known that before ever i saw the box at all this last statement appeared to me to be so startling that i could hardly believe that he was in his sober senses there was the dead dog however to prove that his conjecture had been correct it seemed to me that the mists in my own mind were gradually clearing away and i began to have a dim vague perception of the truth all this seems strange to you continued holmes because you failed at the beginning of the inquiry to grasp the importance of the single real clue which was presented to you i had the good fortune to seize upon that and everything which has occurred since then has served to confirm my original supposition and indeed was the logical sequence of it hence things which have perplexed you and made the case more obscure have served to enlighten me and to strengthen my conclusions it is a mistake to confound strangeness with mystery the most commonplace crime is often the most mysterious because it presents no new or special features from which deductions may be drawn this murder would have been infinitely more difficult to unravel had the body of the victim been simply found lying in the roadway without any of those outr and sensational accompaniments which have rendered it remarkable these strange details far from making the case more difficult have really had the effect of making it less so mr gregson who had listened to this address with considerable impatience could contain himself no longer look here mr sherlock holmes he said we are all ready to acknowledge that you are a smart man and that you have your own methods of working we want something more than mere theory and preaching now though it is a case of taking the man i have made my case out and it seems i was wrong young charpentier could not have been engaged in this second affair lestrade went after his man stangerson and it appears that he was wrong too you have thrown out hints here and hints there and seem to know more than we do but the time has come when we feel that we have a right to ask you straight how much you do know of the business can you name the man who did it i cannot help feeling that gregson is right sir remarked lestrade we have both tried and we have both failed you have remarked more than once since i have been in the room that you had all the evidence which you require surely you will not withhold it any longer any delay in arresting the assassin i observed might give him time to perpetrate some fresh atrocity thus pressed by us all holmes showed signs of irresolution he continued to walk up and down the room with his head sunk on his chest and his brows drawn down as was his habit when lost in thought there will be no more murders he said at last stopping abruptly and facing us you can put that consideration out of the question you have asked me if i know the name of the assassin i do the mere knowing of his name is a small thing however compared with the power of laying our hands upon him this i expect very shortly to do i have good hopes of managing it through my own arrangements but it is a thing which needs delicate handling for we have a shrewd and desperate man to deal with who is supported as i have had occasion to prove by another who is as clever as himself as long as this man has no idea that anyone can have a clue there is some chance of securing him but if he had the slightest suspicion he would change his name and vanish in an instant among the four million inhabitants of this great city without meaning to hurt either of your feelings i am bound to say that i consider these men to be more than a match for the official force and that is why i have not asked your assistance if i fail i shall of course incur all the blame due to this omission but that i am prepared for at present i am ready to promise that the instant that i can communicate with you without endangering my own combinations i shall do so gregson and lestrade seemed to be far from satisfied by this assurance or by the depreciating allusion to the detective police the former had flushed up to the roots of his flaxen hair while the others beady eyes glistened with curiosity and resentment neither of them had time to speak however before there was a tap at the door and the spokesman of the street arabs young wiggins introduced his insignificant and unsavoury person please sir he said touching his forelock i have the cab downstairs good boy said holmes blandly why dont you introduce this pattern at scotland yard he continued taking a pair of steel handcuffs from a drawer see how beautifully the spring works they fasten in an instant the old pattern is good enough remarked lestrade if we can only find the man to put them on very good very good said holmes smiling the cabman may as well help me with my boxes just ask him to step up wiggins i was surprised to find my companion speaking as though he were about to set out on a journey since he had not said anything to me about it there was a small portmanteau in the room and this he pulled out and began to strap he was busily engaged at it when the cabman entered the room just give me a help with this buckle cabman he said kneeling over his task and never turning his head the fellow came forward with a somewhat sullen defiant air and put down his hands to assist at that instant there was a sharp click the jangling of metal and sherlock holmes sprang to his feet again gentlemen he cried with flashing eyes let me introduce you to mr jefferson hope the murderer of enoch drebber and of joseph stangerson the whole thing occurred in a moment so quickly that i had no time to realize it i have a vivid recollection of that instant of holmes triumphant expression and the ring of his voice of the cabmans dazed savage face as he glared at the glittering handcuffs which had appeared as if by magic upon his wrists for a second or two we might have been a group of statues then with an inarticulate roar of fury the prisoner wrenched himself free from holmess grasp and hurled himself through the window woodwork and glass gave way before him but before he got quite through gregson lestrade and holmes sprang upon him like so many staghounds he was dragged back into the room and then commenced a terrific conflict so powerful and so fierce was he that the four of us were shaken off again and again he appeared to have the convulsive strength of a man in an epileptic fit his face and hands were terribly mangled by his passage through the glass but loss of blood had no effect in diminishing his resistance it was not until lestrade succeeded in getting his hand inside his neckcloth and halfstrangling him that we made him realize that his struggles were of no avail and even then we felt no security until we had pinioned his feet as well as his hands that done we rose to our feet breathless and panting we have his cab said sherlock holmes it will serve to take him to scotland yard and now gentlemen he continued with a pleasant smile we have reached the end of our little mystery you are very welcome to put any questions that you like to me now and there is no danger that i will refuse to answer them part ii the country of the saints chapter i on the great alkali plain in the central portion of the great north american continent there lies an arid and repulsive desert which for many a long year served as a barrier against the advance of civilisation from the sierra nevada to nebraska and from the yellowstone river in the north to the colorado upon the south is a region of desolation and silence nor is nature always in one mood throughout this grim district it comprises snowcapped and lofty mountains and dark and gloomy valleys there are swiftflowing rivers which dash through jagged caons and there are enormous plains which in winter are white with snow and in summer are grey with the saline alkali dust they all preserve however the common characteristics of barrenness inhospitality and misery there are no inhabitants of this land of despair a band of pawnees or of blackfeet may occasionally traverse it in order to reach other huntinggrounds but the hardiest of the braves are glad to lose sight of those awesome plains and to find themselves once more upon their prairies the coyote skulks among the scrub the buzzard flaps heavily through the air and the clumsy grizzly bear lumbers through the dark ravines and picks up such sustenance as it can amongst the rocks these are the sole dwellers in the wilderness in the whole world there can be no more dreary view than that from the northern slope of the sierra blanco as far as the eye can reach stretches the great flat plainland all dusted over with patches of alkali and intersected by clumps of the dwarfish chaparral bushes on the extreme verge of the horizon lie a long chain of mountain peaks with their rugged summits flecked with snow in this great stretch of country there is no sign of life nor of anything appertaining to life there is no bird in the steelblue heaven no movement upon the dull grey earth above all there is absolute silence listen as one may there is no shadow of a sound in all that mighty wilderness nothing but silence complete and heartsubduing silence it has been said there is nothing appertaining to life upon the broad plain that is hardly true looking down from the sierra blanco one sees a pathway traced out across the desert which winds away and is lost in the extreme distance it is rutted with wheels and trodden down by the feet of many adventurers here and there there are scattered white objects which glisten in the sun and stand out against the dull deposit of alkali approach and examine them they are bones some large and coarse others smaller and more delicate the former have belonged to oxen and the latter to men for fifteen hundred miles one may trace this ghastly caravan route by these scattered remains of those who had fallen by the wayside looking down on this very scene there stood upon the fourth of may eighteen hundred and fortyseven a solitary traveller his appearance was such that he might have been the very genius or demon of the region an observer would have found it difficult to say whether he was nearer to forty or to sixty his face was lean and haggard and the brown parchmentlike skin was drawn tightly over the projecting bones his long brown hair and beard were all flecked and dashed with white his eyes were sunken in his head and burned with an unnatural lustre while the hand which grasped his rifle was hardly more fleshy than that of a skeleton as he stood he leaned upon his weapon for support and yet his tall figure and the massive framework of his bones suggested a wiry and vigorous constitution his gaunt face however and his clothes which hung so baggily over his shrivelled limbs proclaimed what it was that gave him that senile and decrepit appearance the man was dying dying from hunger and from thirst he had toiled painfully down the ravine and on to this little elevation in the vain hope of seeing some signs of water now the great salt plain stretched before his eyes and the distant belt of savage mountains without a sign anywhere of plant or tree which might indicate the presence of moisture in all that broad landscape there was no gleam of hope north and east and west he looked with wild questioning eyes and then he realised that his wanderings had come to an end and that there on that barren crag he was about to die why not here as well as in a feather bed twenty years hence he muttered as he seated himself in the shelter of a boulder before sitting down he had deposited upon the ground his useless rifle and also a large bundle tied up in a grey shawl which he had carried slung over his right shoulder it appeared to be somewhat too heavy for his strength for in lowering it it came down on the ground with some little violence instantly there broke from the grey parcel a little moaning cry and from it there protruded a small scared face with very bright brown eyes and two little speckled dimpled fists youve hurt me said a childish voice reproachfully have i though the man answered penitently i didnt go for to do it as he spoke he unwrapped the grey shawl and extricated a pretty little girl of about five years of age whose dainty shoes and smart pink frock with its little linen apron all bespoke a mothers care the child was pale and wan but her healthy arms and legs showed that she had suffered less than her companion how is it now he answered anxiously for she was still rubbing the towsy golden curls which covered the back of her head kiss it and make it well she said with perfect gravity shoving the injured part up to him thats what mother used to do wheres mother mothers gone i guess youll see her before long gone eh said the little girl funny she didnt say goodbye she most always did if she was just goin over to aunties for tea and now shes been away three days say its awful dry aint it aint there no water nor nothing to eat no there aint nothing dearie youll just need to be patient awhile and then youll be all right put your head up agin me like that and then youll feel bullier it aint easy to talk when your lips is like leather but i guess id best let you know how the cards lie whats that youve got pretty things fine things cried the little girl enthusiastically holding up two glittering fragments of mica when we goes back to home ill give them to brother bob youll see prettier things than them soon said the man confidently you just wait a bit i was going to tell you though you remember when we left the river oh yes well we reckoned wed strike another river soon dye see but there was somethin wrong compasses or map or somethin and it didnt turn up water ran out just except a little drop for the likes of you and and and you couldnt wash yourself interrupted his companion gravely staring up at his grimy visage no nor drink and mr bender he was the fust to go and then indian pete and then mrs mcgregor and then johnny hones and then dearie your mother then mothers a deader too cried the little girl dropping her face in her pinafore and sobbing bitterly yes they all went except you and me then i thought there was some chance of water in this direction so i heaved you over my shoulder and we tramped it together it dont seem as though weve improved matters theres an almighty small chance for us now do you mean that we are going to die too asked the child checking her sobs and raising her tearstained face i guess thats about the size of it why didnt you say so before she said laughing gleefully you gave me such a fright why of course now as long as we die well be with mother again yes you will dearie and you too ill tell her how awful good youve been ill bet she meets us at the door of heaven with a big pitcher of water and a lot of buckwheat cakes hot and toasted on both sides like bob and me was fond of how long will it be first i dont know not very long the mans eyes were fixed upon the northern horizon in the blue vault of the heaven there had appeared three little specks which increased in size every moment so rapidly did they approach they speedily resolved themselves into three large brown birds which circled over the heads of the two wanderers and then settled upon some rocks which overlooked them they were buzzards the vultures of the west whose coming is the forerunner of death cocks and hens cried the little girl gleefully pointing at their illomened forms and clapping her hands to make them rise say did god make this country in course he did said her companion rather startled by this unexpected question he made the country down in illinois and he made the missouri the little girl continued i guess somebody else made the country in these parts its not nearly so well done they forgot the water and the trees what would ye think of offering up prayer the man asked diffidently it aint night yet she answered it dont matter it aint quite regular but he wont mind that you bet you say over them ones that you used to say every night in the waggon when we was on the plains why dont you say some yourself the child asked with wondering eyes i disremember them he answered i haint said none since i was half the height o that gun i guess its never too late you say them out and ill stand by and come in on the choruses then youll need to kneel down and me too she said laying the shawl out for that purpose youve got to put your hands up like this it makes you feel kind o good it was a strange sight had there been anything but the buzzards to see it side by side on the narrow shawl knelt the two wanderers the little prattling child and the reckless hardened adventurer her chubby face and his haggard angular visage were both turned up to the cloudless heaven in heartfelt entreaty to that dread being with whom they were face to face while the two voices the one thin and clear the other deep and harsh united in the entreaty for mercy and forgiveness the prayer finished they resumed their seat in the shadow of the boulder until the child fell asleep nestling upon the broad breast of her protector he watched over her slumber for some time but nature proved to be too strong for him for three days and three nights he had allowed himself neither rest nor repose slowly the eyelids drooped over the tired eyes and the head sunk lower and lower upon the breast until the mans grizzled beard was mixed with the gold tresses of his companion and both slept the same deep and dreamless slumber had the wanderer remained awake for another half hour a strange sight would have met his eyes far away on the extreme verge of the alkali plain there rose up a little spray of dust very slight at first and hardly to be distinguished from the mists of the distance but gradually growing higher and broader until it formed a solid welldefined cloud this cloud continued to increase in size until it became evident that it could only be raised by a great multitude of moving creatures in more fertile spots the observer would have come to the conclusion that one of those great herds of bisons which graze upon the prairie land was approaching him this was obviously impossible in these arid wilds as the whirl of dust drew nearer to the solitary bluff upon which the two castaways were reposing the canvascovered tilts of waggons and the figures of armed horsemen began to show up through the haze and the apparition revealed itself as being a great caravan upon its journey for the west but what a caravan when the head of it had reached the base of the mountains the rear was not yet visible on the horizon right across the enormous plain stretched the straggling array waggons and carts men on horseback and men on foot innumerable women who staggered along under burdens and children who toddled beside the waggons or peeped out from under the white coverings this was evidently no ordinary party of immigrants but rather some nomad people who had been compelled from stress of circumstances to seek themselves a new country there rose through the clear air a confused clattering and rumbling from this great mass of humanity with the creaking of wheels and the neighing of horses loud as it was it was not sufficient to rouse the two tired wayfarers above them at the head of the column there rode a score or more of grave ironfaced men clad in sombre homespun garments and armed with rifles on reaching the base of the bluff they halted and held a short council among themselves the wells are to the right my brothers said one a hardlipped cleanshaven man with grizzly hair to the right of the sierra blanco so we shall reach the rio grande said another fear not for water cried a third he who could draw it from the rocks will not now abandon his own chosen people amen amen responded the whole party they were about to resume their journey when one of the youngest and keenesteyed uttered an exclamation and pointed up at the rugged crag above them from its summit there fluttered a little wisp of pink showing up hard and bright against the grey rocks behind at the sight there was a general reining up of horses and unslinging of guns while fresh horsemen came galloping up to reinforce the vanguard the word redskins was on every lip there cant be any number of injuns here said the elderly man who appeared to be in command we have passed the pawnees and there are no other tribes until we cross the great mountains shall i go forward and see brother stangerson asked one of the band and i and i cried a dozen voices leave your horses below and we will await you here the elder answered in a moment the young fellows had dismounted fastened their horses and were ascending the precipitous slope which led up to the object which had excited their curiosity they advanced rapidly and noiselessly with the confidence and dexterity of practised scouts the watchers from the plain below could see them flit from rock to rock until their figures stood out against the skyline the young man who had first given the alarm was leading them suddenly his followers saw him throw up his hands as though overcome with astonishment and on joining him they were affected in the same way by the sight which met their eyes on the little plateau which crowned the barren hill there stood a single giant boulder and against this boulder there lay a tall man longbearded and hardfeatured but of an excessive thinness his placid face and regular breathing showed that he was fast asleep beside him lay a little child with her round white arms encircling his brown sinewy neck and her golden haired head resting upon the breast of his velveteen tunic her rosy lips were parted showing the regular line of snowwhite teeth within and a playful smile played over her infantile features her plump little white legs terminating in white socks and neat shoes with shining buckles offered a strange contrast to the long shrivelled members of her companion on the ledge of rock above this strange couple there stood three solemn buzzards who at the sight of the new comers uttered raucous screams of disappointment and flapped sullenly away the cries of the foul birds awoke the two sleepers who stared about them in bewilderment the man staggered to his feet and looked down upon the plain which had been so desolate when sleep had overtaken him and which was now traversed by this enormous body of men and of beasts his face assumed an expression of incredulity as he gazed and he passed his boney hand over his eyes this is what they call delirium i guess he muttered the child stood beside him holding on to the skirt of his coat and said nothing but looked all round her with the wondering questioning gaze of childhood the rescuing party were speedily able to convince the two castaways that their appearance was no delusion one of them seized the little girl and hoisted her upon his shoulder while two others supported her gaunt companion and assisted him towards the waggons my name is john ferrier the wanderer explained me and that little un are all thats left o twentyone people the rest is all dead o thirst and hunger away down in the south is she your child asked someone i guess she is now the other cried defiantly shes mine cause i saved her no man will take her from me shes lucy ferrier from this day on who are you though he continued glancing with curiosity at his stalwart sunburned rescuers there seems to be a powerful lot of ye nigh upon ten thousand said one of the young men we are the persecuted children of god the chosen of the angel merona i never heard tell on him said the wanderer he appears to have chosen a fair crowd of ye do not jest at that which is sacred said the other sternly we are of those who believe in those sacred writings drawn in egyptian letters on plates of beaten gold which were handed unto the holy joseph smith at palmyra we have come from nauvoo in the state of illinois where we had founded our temple we have come to seek a refuge from the violent man and from the godless even though it be the heart of the desert the name of nauvoo evidently recalled recollections to john ferrier i see he said you are the mormons we are the mormons answered his companions with one voice and where are you going we do not know the hand of god is leading us under the person of our prophet you must come before him he shall say what is to be done with you they had reached the base of the hill by this time and were surrounded by crowds of the pilgrims palefaced meeklooking women strong laughing children and anxious earnesteyed men many were the cries of astonishment and of commiseration which arose from them when they perceived the youth of one of the strangers and the destitution of the other their escort did not halt however but pushed on followed by a great crowd of mormons until they reached a waggon which was conspicuous for its great size and for the gaudiness and smartness of its appearance six horses were yoked to it whereas the others were furnished with two or at most four apiece beside the driver there sat a man who could not have been more than thirty years of age but whose massive head and resolute expression marked him as a leader he was reading a brownbacked volume but as the crowd approached he laid it aside and listened attentively to an account of the episode then he turned to the two castaways if we take you with us he said in solemn words it can only be as believers in our own creed we shall have no wolves in our fold better far that your bones should bleach in this wilderness than that you should prove to be that little speck of decay which in time corrupts the whole fruit will you come with us on these terms guess ill come with you on any terms said ferrier with such emphasis that the grave elders could not restrain a smile the leader alone retained his stern impressive expression take him brother stangerson he said give him food and drink and the child likewise let it be your task also to teach him our holy creed we have delayed long enough forward on on to zion on on to zion cried the crowd of mormons and the words rippled down the long caravan passing from mouth to mouth until they died away in a dull murmur in the far distance with a cracking of whips and a creaking of wheels the great waggons got into motion and soon the whole caravan was winding along once more the elder to whose care the two waifs had been committed led them to his waggon where a meal was already awaiting them you shall remain here he said in a few days you will have recovered from your fatigues in the meantime remember that now and for ever you are of our religion brigham young has said it and he has spoken with the voice of joseph smith which is the voice of god chapter ii the flower of utah this is not the place to commemorate the trials and privations endured by the immigrant mormons before they came to their final haven from the shores of the mississippi to the western slopes of the rocky mountains they had struggled on with a constancy almost unparalleled in history the savage man and the savage beast hunger thirst fatigue and disease every impediment which nature could place in the way had all been overcome with anglosaxon tenacity yet the long journey and the accumulated terrors had shaken the hearts of the stoutest among them there was not one who did not sink upon his knees in heartfelt prayer when they saw the broad valley of utah bathed in the sunlight beneath them and learned from the lips of their leader that this was the promised land and that these virgin acres were to be theirs for evermore young speedily proved himself to be a skilful administrator as well as a resolute chief maps were drawn and charts prepared in which the future city was sketched out all around farms were apportioned and allotted in proportion to the standing of each individual the tradesman was put to his trade and the artisan to his calling in the town streets and squares sprang up as if by magic in the country there was draining and hedging planting and clearing until the next summer saw the whole country golden with the wheat crop everything prospered in the strange settlement above all the great temple which they had erected in the centre of the city grew ever taller and larger from the first blush of dawn until the closing of the twilight the clatter of the hammer and the rasp of the saw was never absent from the monument which the immigrants erected to him who had led them safe through many dangers the two castaways john ferrier and the little girl who had shared his fortunes and had been adopted as his daughter accompanied the mormons to the end of their great pilgrimage little lucy ferrier was borne along pleasantly enough in elder stangersons waggon a retreat which she shared with the mormons three wives and with his son a headstrong forward boy of twelve having rallied with the elasticity of childhood from the shock caused by her mothers death she soon became a pet with the women and reconciled herself to this new life in her moving canvascovered home in the meantime ferrier having recovered from his privations distinguished himself as a useful guide and an indefatigable hunter so rapidly did he gain the esteem of his new companions that when they reached the end of their wanderings it was unanimously agreed that he should be provided with as large and as fertile a tract of land as any of the settlers with the exception of young himself and of stangerson kemball johnston and drebber who were the four principal elders on the farm thus acquired john ferrier built himself a substantial loghouse which received so many additions in succeeding years that it grew into a roomy villa he was a man of a practical turn of mind keen in his dealings and skilful with his hands his iron constitution enabled him to work morning and evening at improving and tilling his lands hence it came about that his farm and all that belonged to him prospered exceedingly in three years he was better off than his neighbours in six he was welltodo in nine he was rich and in twelve there were not half a dozen men in the whole of salt lake city who could compare with him from the great inland sea to the distant wahsatch mountains there was no name better known than that of john ferrier there was one way and only one in which he offended the susceptibilities of his coreligionists no argument or persuasion could ever induce him to set up a female establishment after the manner of his companions he never gave reasons for this persistent refusal but contented himself by resolutely and inflexibly adhering to his determination there were some who accused him of lukewarmness in his adopted religion and others who put it down to greed of wealth and reluctance to incur expense others again spoke of some early love affair and of a fairhaired girl who had pined away on the shores of the atlantic whatever the reason ferrier remained strictly celibate in every other respect he conformed to the religion of the young settlement and gained the name of being an orthodox and straightwalking man lucy ferrier grew up within the loghouse and assisted her adopted father in all his undertakings the keen air of the mountains and the balsamic odour of the pine trees took the place of nurse and mother to the young girl as year succeeded to year she grew taller and stronger her cheek more rudy and her step more elastic many a wayfarer upon the high road which ran by ferriers farm felt longforgotten thoughts revive in their mind as they watched her lithe girlish figure tripping through the wheatfields or met her mounted upon her fathers mustang and managing it with all the ease and grace of a true child of the west so the bud blossomed into a flower and the year which saw her father the richest of the farmers left her as fair a specimen of american girlhood as could be found in the whole pacific slope it was not the father however who first discovered that the child had developed into the woman it seldom is in such cases that mysterious change is too subtle and too gradual to be measured by dates least of all does the maiden herself know it until the tone of a voice or the touch of a hand sets her heart thrilling within her and she learns with a mixture of pride and of fear that a new and a larger nature has awoken within her there are few who cannot recall that day and remember the one little incident which heralded the dawn of a new life in the case of lucy ferrier the occasion was serious enough in itself apart from its future influence on her destiny and that of many besides it was a warm june morning and the latter day saints were as busy as the bees whose hive they have chosen for their emblem in the fields and in the streets rose the same hum of human industry down the dusty high roads defiled long streams of heavilyladen mules all heading to the west for the gold fever had broken out in california and the overland route lay through the city of the elect there too were droves of sheep and bullocks coming in from the outlying pasture lands and trains of tired immigrants men and horses equally weary of their interminable journey through all this motley assemblage threading her way with the skill of an accomplished rider there galloped lucy ferrier her fair face flushed with the exercise and her long chestnut hair floating out behind her she had a commission from her father in the city and was dashing in as she had done many a time before with all the fearlessness of youth thinking only of her task and how it was to be performed the travelstained adventurers gazed after her in astonishment and even the unemotional indians journeying in with their pelties relaxed their accustomed stoicism as they marvelled at the beauty of the palefaced maiden she had reached the outskirts of the city when she found the road blocked by a great drove of cattle driven by a halfdozen wildlooking herdsmen from the plains in her impatience she endeavoured to pass this obstacle by pushing her horse into what appeared to be a gap scarcely had she got fairly into it however before the beasts closed in behind her and she found herself completely imbedded in the moving stream of fierceeyed longhorned bullocks accustomed as she was to deal with cattle she was not alarmed at her situation but took advantage of every opportunity to urge her horse on in the hopes of pushing her way through the cavalcade unfortunately the horns of one of the creatures either by accident or design came in violent contact with the flank of the mustang and excited it to madness in an instant it reared up upon its hind legs with a snort of rage and pranced and tossed in a way that would have unseated any but a most skilful rider the situation was full of peril every plunge of the excited horse brought it against the horns again and goaded it to fresh madness it was all that the girl could do to keep herself in the saddle yet a slip would mean a terrible death under the hoofs of the unwieldy and terrified animals unaccustomed to sudden emergencies her head began to swim and her grip upon the bridle to relax choked by the rising cloud of dust and by the steam from the struggling creatures she might have abandoned her efforts in despair but for a kindly voice at her elbow which assured her of assistance at the same moment a sinewy brown hand caught the frightened horse by the curb and forcing a way through the drove soon brought her to the outskirts youre not hurt i hope miss said her preserver respectfully she looked up at his dark fierce face and laughed saucily im awful frightened she said naively whoever would have thought that poncho would have been so scared by a lot of cows thank god you kept your seat the other said earnestly he was a tall savagelooking young fellow mounted on a powerful roan horse and clad in the rough dress of a hunter with a long rifle slung over his shoulders i guess you are the daughter of john ferrier he remarked i saw you ride down from his house when you see him ask him if he remembers the jefferson hopes of st louis if hes the same ferrier my father and he were pretty thick hadnt you better come and ask yourself she asked demurely the young fellow seemed pleased at the suggestion and his dark eyes sparkled with pleasure ill do so he said weve been in the mountains for two months and are not over and above in visiting condition he must take us as he finds us he has a good deal to thank you for and so have i she answered hes awful fond of me if those cows had jumped on me hed have never got over it neither would i said her companion you well i dont see that it would make much matter to you anyhow you aint even a friend of ours the young hunters dark face grew so gloomy over this remark that lucy ferrier laughed aloud there i didnt mean that she said of course you are a friend now you must come and see us now i must push along or father wont trust me with his business any more goodbye goodbye he answered raising his broad sombrero and bending over her little hand she wheeled her mustang round gave it a cut with her ridingwhip and darted away down the broad road in a rolling cloud of dust young jefferson hope rode on with his companions gloomy and taciturn he and they had been among the nevada mountains prospecting for silver and were returning to salt lake city in the hope of raising capital enough to work some lodes which they had discovered he had been as keen as any of them upon the business until this sudden incident had drawn his thoughts into another channel the sight of the fair young girl as frank and wholesome as the sierra breezes had stirred his volcanic untamed heart to its very depths when she had vanished from his sight he realized that a crisis had come in his life and that neither silver speculations nor any other questions could ever be of such importance to him as this new and allabsorbing one the love which had sprung up in his heart was not the sudden changeable fancy of a boy but rather the wild fierce passion of a man of strong will and imperious temper he had been accustomed to succeed in all that he undertook he swore in his heart that he would not fail in this if human effort and human perseverance could render him successful he called on john ferrier that night and many times again until his face was a familiar one at the farmhouse john cooped up in the valley and absorbed in his work had had little chance of learning the news of the outside world during the last twelve years all this jefferson hope was able to tell him and in a style which interested lucy as well as her father he had been a pioneer in california and could narrate many a strange tale of fortunes made and fortunes lost in those wild halcyon days he had been a scout too and a trapper a silver explorer and a ranchman wherever stirring adventures were to be had jefferson hope had been there in search of them he soon became a favourite with the old farmer who spoke eloquently of his virtues on such occasions lucy was silent but her blushing cheek and her bright happy eyes showed only too clearly that her young heart was no longer her own her honest father may not have observed these symptoms but they were assuredly not thrown away upon the man who had won her affections it was a summer evening when he came galloping down the road and pulled up at the gate she was at the doorway and came down to meet him he threw the bridle over the fence and strode up the pathway i am off lucy he said taking her two hands in his and gazing tenderly down into her face i wont ask you to come with me now but will you be ready to come when i am here again and when will that be she asked blushing and laughing a couple of months at the outside i will come and claim you then my darling theres no one who can stand between us and how about father she asked he has given his consent provided we get these mines working all right i have no fear on that head oh well of course if you and father have arranged it all theres no more to be said she whispered with her cheek against his broad breast thank god he said hoarsely stooping and kissing her it is settled then the longer i stay the harder it will be to go they are waiting for me at the caon goodbye my own darling goodbye in two months you shall see me he tore himself from her as he spoke and flinging himself upon his horse galloped furiously away never even looking round as though afraid that his resolution might fail him if he took one glance at what he was leaving she stood at the gate gazing after him until he vanished from her sight then she walked back into the house the happiest girl in all utah chapter iii john ferrier talks with the prophet three weeks had passed since jefferson hope and his comrades had departed from salt lake city john ferriers heart was sore within him when he thought of the young mans return and of the impending loss of his adopted child yet her bright and happy face reconciled him to the arrangement more than any argument could have done he had always determined deep down in his resolute heart that nothing would ever induce him to allow his daughter to wed a mormon such a marriage he regarded as no marriage at all but as a shame and a disgrace whatever he might think of the mormon doctrines upon that one point he was inflexible he had to seal his mouth on the subject however for to express an unorthodox opinion was a dangerous matter in those days in the land of the saints yes a dangerous matter so dangerous that even the most saintly dared only whisper their religious opinions with bated breath lest something which fell from their lips might be misconstrued and bring down a swift retribution upon them the victims of persecution had now turned persecutors on their own account and persecutors of the most terrible description not the inquisition of seville nor the german vehmgericht nor the secret societies of italy were ever able to put a more formidable machinery in motion than that which cast a cloud over the state of utah its invisibility and the mystery which was attached to it made this organization doubly terrible it appeared to be omniscient and omnipotent and yet was neither seen nor heard the man who held out against the church vanished away and none knew whither he had gone or what had befallen him his wife and his children awaited him at home but no father ever returned to tell them how he had fared at the hands of his secret judges a rash word or a hasty act was followed by annihilation and yet none knew what the nature might be of this terrible power which was suspended over them no wonder that men went about in fear and trembling and that even in the heart of the wilderness they dared not whisper the doubts which oppressed them at first this vague and terrible power was exercised only upon the recalcitrants who having embraced the mormon faith wished afterwards to pervert or to abandon it soon however it took a wider range the supply of adult women was running short and polygamy without a female population on which to draw was a barren doctrine indeed strange rumours began to be bandied about rumours of murdered immigrants and rifled camps in regions where indians had never been seen fresh women appeared in the harems of the elders women who pined and wept and bore upon their faces the traces of an unextinguishable horror belated wanderers upon the mountains spoke of gangs of armed men masked stealthy and noiseless who flitted by them in the darkness these tales and rumours took substance and shape and were corroborated and recorroborated until they resolved themselves into a definite name to this day in the lonely ranches of the west the name of the danite band or the avenging angels is a sinister and an illomened one fuller knowledge of the organization which produced such terrible results served to increase rather than to lessen the horror which it inspired in the minds of men none knew who belonged to this ruthless society the names of the participators in the deeds of blood and violence done under the name of religion were kept profoundly secret the very friend to whom you communicated your misgivings as to the prophet and his mission might be one of those who would come forth at night with fire and sword to exact a terrible reparation hence every man feared his neighbour and none spoke of the things which were nearest his heart one fine morning john ferrier was about to set out to his wheatfields when he heard the click of the latch and looking through the window saw a stout sandyhaired middleaged man coming up the pathway his heart leapt to his mouth for this was none other than the great brigham young himself full of trepidation for he knew that such a visit boded him little good ferrier ran to the door to greet the mormon chief the latter however received his salutations coldly and followed him with a stern face into the sittingroom brother ferrier he said taking a seat and eyeing the farmer keenly from under his lightcoloured eyelashes the true believers have been good friends to you we picked you up when you were starving in the desert we shared our food with you led you safe to the chosen valley gave you a goodly share of land and allowed you to wax rich under our protection is not this so it is so answered john ferrier in return for all this we asked but one condition that was that you should embrace the true faith and conform in every way to its usages this you promised to do and this if common report says truly you have neglected and how have i neglected it asked ferrier throwing out his hands in expostulation have i not given to the common fund have i not attended at the temple have i not where are your wives asked young looking round him call them in that i may greet them it is true that i have not married ferrier answered but women were few and there were many who had better claims than i i was not a lonely man i had my daughter to attend to my wants it is of that daughter that i would speak to you said the leader of the mormons she has grown to be the flower of utah and has found favour in the eyes of many who are high in the land john ferrier groaned internally there are stories of her which i would fain disbelieve stories that she is sealed to some gentile this must be the gossip of idle tongues what is the thirteenth rule in the code of the sainted joseph smith let every maiden of the true faith marry one of the elect for if she wed a gentile she commits a grievous sin this being so it is impossible that you who profess the holy creed should suffer your daughter to violate it john ferrier made no answer but he played nervously with his ridingwhip upon this one point your whole faith shall be tested so it has been decided in the sacred council of four the girl is young and we would not have her wed grey hairs neither would we deprive her of all choice we elders have many heifers but our children must also be provided stangerson has a son and drebber has a son and either of them would gladly welcome your daughter to their house let her choose between them they are young and rich and of the true faith what say you to that ferrier remained silent for some little time with his brows knitted you will give us time he said at last my daughter is very young she is scarce of an age to marry she shall have a month to choose said young rising from his seat at the end of that time she shall give her answer he was passing through the door when he turned with flushed face and flashing eyes it were better for you john ferrier he thundered that you and she were now lying blanched skeletons upon the sierra blanco than that you should put your weak wills against the orders of the holy four with a threatening gesture of his hand he turned from the door and ferrier heard his heavy step scrunching along the shingly path he was still sitting with his elbows upon his knees considering how he should broach the matter to his daughter when a soft hand was laid upon his and looking up he saw her standing beside him one glance at her pale frightened face showed him that she had heard what had passed i could not help it she said in answer to his look his voice rang through the house oh father father what shall we do dont you scare yourself he answered drawing her to him and passing his broad rough hand caressingly over her chestnut hair well fix it up somehow or another you dont find your fancy kind o lessening for this chap do you a sob and a squeeze of his hand was her only answer no of course not i shouldnt care to hear you say you did hes a likely lad and hes a christian which is more than these folk here in spite o all their praying and preaching theres a party starting for nevada tomorrow and ill manage to send him a message letting him know the hole we are in if i know anything o that young man hell be back here with a speed that would whip electrotelegraphs lucy laughed through her tears at her fathers description when he comes he will advise us for the best but it is for you that i am frightened dear one hears one hears such dreadful stories about those who oppose the prophet something terrible always happens to them but we havent opposed him yet her father answered it will be time to look out for squalls when we do we have a clear month before us at the end of that i guess we had best shin out of utah leave utah thats about the size of it but the farm we will raise as much as we can in money and let the rest go to tell the truth lucy it isnt the first time i have thought of doing it i dont care about knuckling under to any man as these folk do to their darned prophet im a freeborn american and its all new to me guess im too old to learn if he comes browsing about this farm he might chance to run up against a charge of buckshot travelling in the opposite direction but they wont let us leave his daughter objected wait till jefferson comes and well soon manage that in the meantime dont you fret yourself my dearie and dont get your eyes swelled up else hell be walking into me when he sees you theres nothing to be afeared about and theres no danger at all john ferrier uttered these consoling remarks in a very confident tone but she could not help observing that he paid unusual care to the fastening of the doors that night and that he carefully cleaned and loaded the rusty old shotgun which hung upon the wall of his bedroom chapter iv a flight for life on the morning which followed his interview with the mormon prophet john ferrier went in to salt lake city and having found his acquaintance who was bound for the nevada mountains he entrusted him with his message to jefferson hope in it he told the young man of the imminent danger which threatened them and how necessary it was that he should return having done thus he felt easier in his mind and returned home with a lighter heart as he approached his farm he was surprised to see a horse hitched to each of the posts of the gate still more surprised was he on entering to find two young men in possession of his sittingroom one with a long pale face was leaning back in the rockingchair with his feet cocked up upon the stove the other a bullnecked youth with coarse bloated features was standing in front of the window with his hands in his pocket whistling a popular hymn both of them nodded to ferrier as he entered and the one in the rockingchair commenced the conversation maybe you dont know us he said this here is the son of elder drebber and im joseph stangerson who travelled with you in the desert when the lord stretched out his hand and gathered you into the true fold as he will all the nations in his own good time said the other in a nasal voice he grindeth slowly but exceeding small john ferrier bowed coldly he had guessed who his visitors were we have come continued stangerson at the advice of our fathers to solicit the hand of your daughter for whichever of us may seem good to you and to her as i have but four wives and brother drebber here has seven it appears to me that my claim is the stronger one nay nay brother stangerson cried the other the question is not how many wives we have but how many we can keep my father has now given over his mills to me and i am the richer man but my prospects are better said the other warmly when the lord removes my father i shall have his tanning yard and his leather factory then i am your elder and am higher in the church it will be for the maiden to decide rejoined young drebber smirking at his own reflection in the glass we will leave it all to her decision during this dialogue john ferrier had stood fuming in the doorway hardly able to keep his ridingwhip from the backs of his two visitors look here he said at last striding up to them when my daughter summons you you can come but until then i dont want to see your faces again the two young mormons stared at him in amazement in their eyes this competition between them for the maidens hand was the highest of honours both to her and her father there are two ways out of the room cried ferrier there is the door and there is the window which do you care to use his brown face looked so savage and his gaunt hands so threatening that his visitors sprang to their feet and beat a hurried retreat the old farmer followed them to the door let me know when you have settled which it is to be he said sardonically you shall smart for this stangerson cried white with rage you have defied the prophet and the council of four you shall rue it to the end of your days the hand of the lord shall be heavy upon you cried young drebber he will arise and smite you then ill start the smiting exclaimed ferrier furiously and would have rushed upstairs for his gun had not lucy seized him by the arm and restrained him before he could escape from her the clatter of horses hoofs told him that they were beyond his reach the young canting rascals he exclaimed wiping the perspiration from his forehead i would sooner see you in your grave my girl than the wife of either of them and so should i father she answered with spirit but jefferson will soon be here yes it will not be long before he comes the sooner the better for we do not know what their next move may be it was indeed high time that someone capable of giving advice and help should come to the aid of the sturdy old farmer and his adopted daughter in the whole history of the settlement there had never been such a case of rank disobedience to the authority of the elders if minor errors were punished so sternly what would be the fate of this arch rebel ferrier knew that his wealth and position would be of no avail to him others as well known and as rich as himself had been spirited away before now and their goods given over to the church he was a brave man but he trembled at the vague shadowy terrors which hung over him any known danger he could face with a firm lip but this suspense was unnerving he concealed his fears from his daughter however and affected to make light of the whole matter though she with the keen eye of love saw plainly that he was ill at ease he expected that he would receive some message or remonstrance from young as to his conduct and he was not mistaken though it came in an unlookedfor manner upon rising next morning he found to his surprise a small square of paper pinned on to the coverlet of his bed just over his chest on it was printed in bold straggling letters twentynine days are given you for amendment and then the dash was more fearinspiring than any threat could have been how this warning came into his room puzzled john ferrier sorely for his servants slept in an outhouse and the doors and windows had all been secured he crumpled the paper up and said nothing to his daughter but the incident struck a chill into his heart the twentynine days were evidently the balance of the month which young had promised what strength or courage could avail against an enemy armed with such mysterious powers the hand which fastened that pin might have struck him to the heart and he could never have known who had slain him still more shaken was he next morning they had sat down to their breakfast when lucy with a cry of surprise pointed upwards in the centre of the ceiling was scrawled with a burned stick apparently the number to his daughter it was unintelligible and he did not enlighten her that night he sat up with his gun and kept watch and ward he saw and he heard nothing and yet in the morning a great had been painted upon the outside of his door thus day followed day and as sure as morning came he found that his unseen enemies had kept their register and had marked up in some conspicuous position how many days were still left to him out of the month of grace sometimes the fatal numbers appeared upon the walls sometimes upon the floors occasionally they were on small placards stuck upon the garden gate or the railings with all his vigilance john ferrier could not discover whence these daily warnings proceeded a horror which was almost superstitious came upon him at the sight of them he became haggard and restless and his eyes had the troubled look of some hunted creature he had but one hope in life now and that was for the arrival of the young hunter from nevada twenty had changed to fifteen and fifteen to ten but there was no news of the absentee one by one the numbers dwindled down and still there came no sign of him whenever a horseman clattered down the road or a driver shouted at his team the old farmer hurried to the gate thinking that help had arrived at last at last when he saw five give way to four and that again to three he lost heart and abandoned all hope of escape singlehanded and with his limited knowledge of the mountains which surrounded the settlement he knew that he was powerless the morefrequented roads were strictly watched and guarded and none could pass along them without an order from the council turn which way he would there appeared to be no avoiding the blow which hung over him yet the old man never wavered in his resolution to part with life itself before he consented to what he regarded as his daughters dishonour he was sitting alone one evening pondering deeply over his troubles and searching vainly for some way out of them that morning had shown the figure upon the wall of his house and the next day would be the last of the allotted time what was to happen then all manner of vague and terrible fancies filled his imagination and his daughter what was to become of her after he was gone was there no escape from the invisible network which was drawn all round them he sank his head upon the table and sobbed at the thought of his own impotence what was that in the silence he heard a gentle scratching sound low but very distinct in the quiet of the night it came from the door of the house ferrier crept into the hall and listened intently there was a pause for a few moments and then the low insidious sound was repeated someone was evidently tapping very gently upon one of the panels of the door was it some midnight assassin who had come to carry out the murderous orders of the secret tribunal or was it some agent who was marking up that the last day of grace had arrived john ferrier felt that instant death would be better than the suspense which shook his nerves and chilled his heart springing forward he drew the bolt and threw the door open outside all was calm and quiet the night was fine and the stars were twinkling brightly overhead the little front garden lay before the farmers eyes bounded by the fence and gate but neither there nor on the road was any human being to be seen with a sigh of relief ferrier looked to right and to left until happening to glance straight down at his own feet he saw to his astonishment a man lying flat upon his face upon the ground with arms and legs all asprawl so unnerved was he at the sight that he leaned up against the wall with his hand to his throat to stifle his inclination to call out his first thought was that the prostrate figure was that of some wounded or dying man but as he watched it he saw it writhe along the ground and into the hall with the rapidity and noiselessness of a serpent once within the house the man sprang to his feet closed the door and revealed to the astonished farmer the fierce face and resolute expression of jefferson hope good god gasped john ferrier how you scared me whatever made you come in like that give me food the other said hoarsely i have had no time for bite or sup for eightandforty hours he flung himself upon the cold meat and bread which were still lying upon the table from his hosts supper and devoured it voraciously does lucy bear up well he asked when he had satisfied his hunger yes she does not know the danger her father answered that is well the house is watched on every side that is why i crawled my way up to it they may be darned sharp but theyre not quite sharp enough to catch a washoe hunter john ferrier felt a different man now that he realized that he had a devoted ally he seized the young mans leathery hand and wrung it cordially youre a man to be proud of he said there are not many who would come to share our danger and our troubles youve hit it there pard the young hunter answered i have a respect for you but if you were alone in this business id think twice before i put my head into such a hornets nest its lucy that brings me here and before harm comes on her i guess there will be one less o the hope family in utah what are we to do tomorrow is your last day and unless you act tonight you are lost i have a mule and two horses waiting in the eagle ravine how much money have you two thousand dollars in gold and five in notes that will do i have as much more to add to it we must push for carson city through the mountains you had best wake lucy it is as well that the servants do not sleep in the house while ferrier was absent preparing his daughter for the approaching journey jefferson hope packed all the eatables that he could find into a small parcel and filled a stoneware jar with water for he knew by experience that the mountain wells were few and far between he had hardly completed his arrangements before the farmer returned with his daughter all dressed and ready for a start the greeting between the lovers was warm but brief for minutes were precious and there was much to be done we must make our start at once said jefferson hope speaking in a low but resolute voice like one who realizes the greatness of the peril but has steeled his heart to meet it the front and back entrances are watched but with caution we may get away through the side window and across the fields once on the road we are only two miles from the ravine where the horses are waiting by daybreak we should be halfway through the mountains what if we are stopped asked ferrier hope slapped the revolver butt which protruded from the front of his tunic if they are too many for us we shall take two or three of them with us he said with a sinister smile the lights inside the house had all been extinguished and from the darkened window ferrier peered over the fields which had been his own and which he was now about to abandon for ever he had long nerved himself to the sacrifice however and the thought of the honour and happiness of his daughter outweighed any regret at his ruined fortunes all looked so peaceful and happy the rustling trees and the broad silent stretch of grainland that it was difficult to realize that the spirit of murder lurked through it all yet the white face and set expression of the young hunter showed that in his approach to the house he had seen enough to satisfy him upon that head ferrier carried the bag of gold and notes jefferson hope had the scanty provisions and water while lucy had a small bundle containing a few of her more valued possessions opening the window very slowly and carefully they waited until a dark cloud had somewhat obscured the night and then one by one passed through into the little garden with bated breath and crouching figures they stumbled across it and gained the shelter of the hedge which they skirted until they came to the gap which opened into the cornfields they had just reached this point when the young man seized his two companions and dragged them down into the shadow where they lay silent and trembling it was as well that his prairie training had given jefferson hope the ears of a lynx he and his friends had hardly crouched down before the melancholy hooting of a mountain owl was heard within a few yards of them which was immediately answered by another hoot at a small distance at the same moment a vague shadowy figure emerged from the gap for which they had been making and uttered the plaintive signal cry again on which a second man appeared out of the obscurity tomorrow at midnight said the first who appeared to be in authority when the whippoorwill calls three times it is well returned the other shall i tell brother drebber pass it on to him and from him to the others nine to seven seven to five repeated the other and the two figures flitted away in different directions their concluding words had evidently been some form of sign and countersign the instant that their footsteps had died away in the distance jefferson hope sprang to his feet and helping his companions through the gap led the way across the fields at the top of his speed supporting and halfcarrying the girl when her strength appeared to fail her hurry on hurry on he gasped from time to time we are through the line of sentinels everything depends on speed hurry on once on the high road they made rapid progress only once did they meet anyone and then they managed to slip into a field and so avoid recognition before reaching the town the hunter branched away into a rugged and narrow footpath which led to the mountains two dark jagged peaks loomed above them through the darkness and the defile which led between them was the eagle caon in which the horses were awaiting them with unerring instinct jefferson hope picked his way among the great boulders and along the bed of a driedup watercourse until he came to the retired corner screened with rocks where the faithful animals had been picketed the girl was placed upon the mule and old ferrier upon one of the horses with his moneybag while jefferson hope led the other along the precipitous and dangerous path it was a bewildering route for anyone who was not accustomed to face nature in her wildest moods on the one side a great crag towered up a thousand feet or more black stern and menacing with long basaltic columns upon its rugged surface like the ribs of some petrified monster on the other hand a wild chaos of boulders and debris made all advance impossible between the two ran the irregular track so narrow in places that they had to travel in indian file and so rough that only practised riders could have traversed it at all yet in spite of all dangers and difficulties the hearts of the fugitives were light within them for every step increased the distance between them and the terrible despotism from which they were flying they soon had a proof however that they were still within the jurisdiction of the saints they had reached the very wildest and most desolate portion of the pass when the girl gave a startled cry and pointed upwards on a rock which overlooked the track showing out dark and plain against the sky there stood a solitary sentinel he saw them as soon as they perceived him and his military challenge of who goes there rang through the silent ravine travellers for nevada said jefferson hope with his hand upon the rifle which hung by his saddle they could see the lonely watcher fingering his gun and peering down at them as if dissatisfied at their reply by whose permission he asked the holy four answered ferrier his mormon experiences had taught him that that was the highest authority to which he could refer nine from seven cried the sentinel seven from five returned jefferson hope promptly remembering the countersign which he had heard in the garden pass and the lord go with you said the voice from above beyond his post the path broadened out and the horses were able to break into a trot looking back they could see the solitary watcher leaning upon his gun and knew that they had passed the outlying post of the chosen people and that freedom lay before them chapter v the avenging angels all night their course lay through intricate defiles and over irregular and rockstrewn paths more than once they lost their way but hopes intimate knowledge of the mountains enabled them to regain the track once more when morning broke a scene of marvellous though savage beauty lay before them in every direction the great snowcapped peaks hemmed them in peeping over each others shoulders to the far horizon so steep were the rocky banks on either side of them that the larch and the pine seemed to be suspended over their heads and to need only a gust of wind to come hurtling down upon them nor was the fear entirely an illusion for the barren valley was thickly strewn with trees and boulders which had fallen in a similar manner even as they passed a great rock came thundering down with a hoarse rattle which woke the echoes in the silent gorges and startled the weary horses into a gallop as the sun rose slowly above the eastern horizon the caps of the great mountains lit up one after the other like lamps at a festival until they were all ruddy and glowing the magnificent spectacle cheered the hearts of the three fugitives and gave them fresh energy at a wild torrent which swept out of a ravine they called a halt and watered their horses while they partook of a hasty breakfast lucy and her father would fain have rested longer but jefferson hope was inexorable they will be upon our track by this time he said everything depends upon our speed once safe in carson we may rest for the remainder of our lives during the whole of that day they struggled on through the defiles and by evening they calculated that they were more than thirty miles from their enemies at nighttime they chose the base of a beetling crag where the rocks offered some protection from the chill wind and there huddled together for warmth they enjoyed a few hours sleep before daybreak however they were up and on their way once more they had seen no signs of any pursuers and jefferson hope began to think that they were fairly out of the reach of the terrible organization whose enmity they had incurred he little knew how far that iron grasp could reach or how soon it was to close upon them and crush them about the middle of the second day of their flight their scanty store of provisions began to run out this gave the hunter little uneasiness however for there was game to be had among the mountains and he had frequently before had to depend upon his rifle for the needs of life choosing a sheltered nook he piled together a few dried branches and made a blazing fire at which his companions might warm themselves for they were now nearly five thousand feet above the sea level and the air was bitter and keen having tethered the horses and bade lucy adieu he threw his gun over his shoulder and set out in search of whatever chance might throw in his way looking back he saw the old man and the young girl crouching over the blazing fire while the three animals stood motionless in the background then the intervening rocks hid them from his view he walked for a couple of miles through one ravine after another without success though from the marks upon the bark of the trees and other indications he judged that there were numerous bears in the vicinity at last after two or three hours fruitless search he was thinking of turning back in despair when casting his eyes upwards he saw a sight which sent a thrill of pleasure through his heart on the edge of a jutting pinnacle three or four hundred feet above him there stood a creature somewhat resembling a sheep in appearance but armed with a pair of gigantic horns the bighorn for so it is called was acting probably as a guardian over a flock which were invisible to the hunter but fortunately it was heading in the opposite direction and had not perceived him lying on his face he rested his rifle upon a rock and took a long and steady aim before drawing the trigger the animal sprang into the air tottered for a moment upon the edge of the precipice and then came crashing down into the valley beneath the creature was too unwieldy to lift so the hunter contented himself with cutting away one haunch and part of the flank with this trophy over his shoulder he hastened to retrace his steps for the evening was already drawing in he had hardly started however before he realized the difficulty which faced him in his eagerness he had wandered far past the ravines which were known to him and it was no easy matter to pick out the path which he had taken the valley in which he found himself divided and subdivided into many gorges which were so like each other that it was impossible to distinguish one from the other he followed one for a mile or more until he came to a mountain torrent which he was sure that he had never seen before convinced that he had taken the wrong turn he tried another but with the same result night was coming on rapidly and it was almost dark before he at last found himself in a defile which was familiar to him even then it was no easy matter to keep to the right track for the moon had not yet risen and the high cliffs on either side made the obscurity more profound weighed down with his burden and weary from his exertions he stumbled along keeping up his heart by the reflection that every step brought him nearer to lucy and that he carried with him enough to ensure them food for the remainder of their journey he had now come to the mouth of the very defile in which he had left them even in the darkness he could recognize the outline of the cliffs which bounded it they must he reflected be awaiting him anxiously for he had been absent nearly five hours in the gladness of his heart he put his hands to his mouth and made the glen reecho to a loud halloo as a signal that he was coming he paused and listened for an answer none came save his own cry which clattered up the dreary silent ravines and was borne back to his ears in countless repetitions again he shouted even louder than before and again no whisper came back from the friends whom he had left such a short time ago a vague nameless dread came over him and he hurried onwards frantically dropping the precious food in his agitation when he turned the corner he came full in sight of the spot where the fire had been lit there was still a glowing pile of wood ashes there but it had evidently not been tended since his departure the same dead silence still reigned all round with his fears all changed to convictions he hurried on there was no living creature near the remains of the fire animals man maiden all were gone it was only too clear that some sudden and terrible disaster had occurred during his absence a disaster which had embraced them all and yet had left no traces behind it bewildered and stunned by this blow jefferson hope felt his head spin round and had to lean upon his rifle to save himself from falling he was essentially a man of action however and speedily recovered from his temporary impotence seizing a halfconsumed piece of wood from the smouldering fire he blew it into a flame and proceeded with its help to examine the little camp the ground was all stamped down by the feet of horses showing that a large party of mounted men had overtaken the fugitives and the direction of their tracks proved that they had afterwards turned back to salt lake city had they carried back both of his companions with them jefferson hope had almost persuaded himself that they must have done so when his eye fell upon an object which made every nerve of his body tingle within him a little way on one side of the camp was a lowlying heap of reddish soil which had assuredly not been there before there was no mistaking it for anything but a newlydug grave as the young hunter approached it he perceived that a stick had been planted on it with a sheet of paper stuck in the cleft fork of it the inscription upon the paper was brief but to the point john ferrier formerly of salt lake city died august th the sturdy old man whom he had left so short a time before was gone then and this was all his epitaph jefferson hope looked wildly round to see if there was a second grave but there was no sign of one lucy had been carried back by their terrible pursuers to fulfil her original destiny by becoming one of the harem of the elders son as the young fellow realized the certainty of her fate and his own powerlessness to prevent it he wished that he too was lying with the old farmer in his last silent restingplace again however his active spirit shook off the lethargy which springs from despair if there was nothing else left to him he could at least devote his life to revenge with indomitable patience and perseverance jefferson hope possessed also a power of sustained vindictiveness which he may have learned from the indians amongst whom he had lived as he stood by the desolate fire he felt that the only one thing which could assuage his grief would be thorough and complete retribution brought by his own hand upon his enemies his strong will and untiring energy should he determined be devoted to that one end with a grim white face he retraced his steps to where he had dropped the food and having stirred up the smouldering fire he cooked enough to last him for a few days this he made up into a bundle and tired as he was he set himself to walk back through the mountains upon the track of the avenging angels for five days he toiled footsore and weary through the defiles which he had already traversed on horseback at night he flung himself down among the rocks and snatched a few hours of sleep but before daybreak he was always well on his way on the sixth day he reached the eagle caon from which they had commenced their illfated flight thence he could look down upon the home of the saints worn and exhausted he leaned upon his rifle and shook his gaunt hand fiercely at the silent widespread city beneath him as he looked at it he observed that there were flags in some of the principal streets and other signs of festivity he was still speculating as to what this might mean when he heard the clatter of horses hoofs and saw a mounted man riding towards him as he approached he recognized him as a mormon named cowper to whom he had rendered services at different times he therefore accosted him when he got up to him with the object of finding out what lucy ferriers fate had been i am jefferson hope he said you remember me the mormon looked at him with undisguised astonishment indeed it was difficult to recognize in this tattered unkempt wanderer with ghastly white face and fierce wild eyes the spruce young hunter of former days having however at last satisfied himself as to his identity the mans surprise changed to consternation you are mad to come here he cried it is as much as my own life is worth to be seen talking with you there is a warrant against you from the holy four for assisting the ferriers away i dont fear them or their warrant hope said earnestly you must know something of this matter cowper i conjure you by everything you hold dear to answer a few questions we have always been friends for gods sake dont refuse to answer me what is it the mormon asked uneasily be quick the very rocks have ears and the trees eyes what has become of lucy ferrier she was married yesterday to young drebber hold up man hold up you have no life left in you dont mind me said hope faintly he was white to the very lips and had sunk down on the stone against which he had been leaning married you say married yesterday thats what those flags are for on the endowment house there was some words between young drebber and young stangerson as to which was to have her theyd both been in the party that followed them and stangerson had shot her father which seemed to give him the best claim but when they argued it out in council drebbers party was the stronger so the prophet gave her over to him no one wont have her very long though for i saw death in her face yesterday she is more like a ghost than a woman are you off then yes i am off said jefferson hope who had risen from his seat his face might have been chiselled out of marble so hard and set was its expression while its eyes glowed with a baleful light where are you going never mind he answered and slinging his weapon over his shoulder strode off down the gorge and so away into the heart of the mountains to the haunts of the wild beasts amongst them all there was none so fierce and so dangerous as himself the prediction of the mormon was only too well fulfilled whether it was the terrible death of her father or the effects of the hateful marriage into which she had been forced poor lucy never held up her head again but pined away and died within a month her sottish husband who had married her principally for the sake of john ferriers property did not affect any great grief at his bereavement but his other wives mourned over her and sat up with her the night before the burial as is the mormon custom they were grouped round the bier in the early hours of the morning when to their inexpressible fear and astonishment the door was flung open and a savagelooking weatherbeaten man in tattered garments strode into the room without a glance or a word to the cowering women he walked up to the white silent figure which had once contained the pure soul of lucy ferrier stooping over her he pressed his lips reverently to her cold forehead and then snatching up her hand he took the weddingring from her finger she shall not be buried in that he cried with a fierce snarl and before an alarm could be raised sprang down the stairs and was gone so strange and so brief was the episode that the watchers might have found it hard to believe it themselves or persuade other people of it had it not been for the undeniable fact that the circlet of gold which marked her as having been a bride had disappeared for some months jefferson hope lingered among the mountains leading a strange wild life and nursing in his heart the fierce desire for vengeance which possessed him tales were told in the city of the weird figure which was seen prowling about the suburbs and which haunted the lonely mountain gorges once a bullet whistled through stangersons window and flattened itself upon the wall within a foot of him on another occasion as drebber passed under a cliff a great boulder crashed down on him and he only escaped a terrible death by throwing himself upon his face the two young mormons were not long in discovering the reason of these attempts upon their lives and led repeated expeditions into the mountains in the hope of capturing or killing their enemy but always without success then they adopted the precaution of never going out alone or after nightfall and of having their houses guarded after a time they were able to relax these measures for nothing was either heard or seen of their opponent and they hoped that time had cooled his vindictiveness far from doing so it had if anything augmented it the hunters mind was of a hard unyielding nature and the predominant idea of revenge had taken such complete possession of it that there was no room for any other emotion he was however above all things practical he soon realized that even his iron constitution could not stand the incessant strain which he was putting upon it exposure and want of wholesome food were wearing him out if he died like a dog among the mountains what was to become of his revenge then and yet such a death was sure to overtake him if he persisted he felt that that was to play his enemys game so he reluctantly returned to the old nevada mines there to recruit his health and to amass money enough to allow him to pursue his object without privation his intention had been to be absent a year at the most but a combination of unforeseen circumstances prevented his leaving the mines for nearly five at the end of that time however his memory of his wrongs and his craving for revenge were quite as keen as on that memorable night when he had stood by john ferriers grave disguised and under an assumed name he returned to salt lake city careless what became of his own life as long as he obtained what he knew to be justice there he found evil tidings awaiting him there had been a schism among the chosen people a few months before some of the younger members of the church having rebelled against the authority of the elders and the result had been the secession of a certain number of the malcontents who had left utah and become gentiles among these had been drebber and stangerson and no one knew whither they had gone rumour reported that drebber had managed to convert a large part of his property into money and that he had departed a wealthy man while his companion stangerson was comparatively poor there was no clue at all however as to their whereabouts many a man however vindictive would have abandoned all thought of revenge in the face of such a difficulty but jefferson hope never faltered for a moment with the small competence he possessed eked out by such employment as he could pick up he travelled from town to town through the united states in quest of his enemies year passed into year his black hair turned grizzled but still he wandered on a human bloodhound with his mind wholly set upon the one object upon which he had devoted his life at last his perseverance was rewarded it was but a glance of a face in a window but that one glance told him that cleveland in ohio possessed the men whom he was in pursuit of he returned to his miserable lodgings with his plan of vengeance all arranged it chanced however that drebber looking from his window had recognized the vagrant in the street and had read murder in his eyes he hurried before a justice of the peace accompanied by stangerson who had become his private secretary and represented to him that they were in danger of their lives from the jealousy and hatred of an old rival that evening jefferson hope was taken into custody and not being able to find sureties was detained for some weeks when at last he was liberated it was only to find that drebbers house was deserted and that he and his secretary had departed for europe again the avenger had been foiled and again his concentrated hatred urged him to continue the pursuit funds were wanting however and for some time he had to return to work saving every dollar for his approaching journey at last having collected enough to keep life in him he departed for europe and tracked his enemies from city to city working his way in any menial capacity but never overtaking the fugitives when he reached st petersburg they had departed for paris and when he followed them there he learned that they had just set off for copenhagen at the danish capital he was again a few days late for they had journeyed on to london where he at last succeeded in running them to earth as to what occurred there we cannot do better than quote the old hunters own account as duly recorded in dr watsons journal to which we are already under such obligations chapter vi a continuation of the reminiscences of john watson md our prisoners furious resistance did not apparently indicate any ferocity in his disposition towards ourselves for on finding himself powerless he smiled in an affable manner and expressed his hopes that he had not hurt any of us in the scuffle i guess youre going to take me to the policestation he remarked to sherlock holmes my cabs at the door if youll loose my legs ill walk down to it im not so light to lift as i used to be gregson and lestrade exchanged glances as if they thought this proposition rather a bold one but holmes at once took the prisoner at his word and loosened the towel which we had bound round his ancles he rose and stretched his legs as though to assure himself that they were free once more i remember that i thought to myself as i eyed him that i had seldom seen a more powerfully built man and his dark sunburned face bore an expression of determination and energy which was as formidable as his personal strength if theres a vacant place for a chief of the police i reckon you are the man for it he said gazing with undisguised admiration at my fellowlodger the way you kept on my trail was a caution you had better come with me said holmes to the two detectives i can drive you said lestrade good and gregson can come inside with me you too doctor you have taken an interest in the case and may as well stick to us i assented gladly and we all descended together our prisoner made no attempt at escape but stepped calmly into the cab which had been his and we followed him lestrade mounted the box whipped up the horse and brought us in a very short time to our destination we were ushered into a small chamber where a police inspector noted down our prisoners name and the names of the men with whose murder he had been charged the official was a whitefaced unemotional man who went through his duties in a dull mechanical way the prisoner will be put before the magistrates in the course of the week he said in the mean time mr jefferson hope have you anything that you wish to say i must warn you that your words will be taken down and may be used against you ive got a good deal to say our prisoner said slowly i want to tell you gentlemen all about it hadnt you better reserve that for your trial asked the inspector i may never be tried he answered you neednt look startled it isnt suicide i am thinking of are you a doctor he turned his fierce dark eyes upon me as he asked this last question yes i am i answered then put your hand here he said with a smile motioning with his manacled wrists towards his chest i did so and became at once conscious of an extraordinary throbbing and commotion which was going on inside the walls of his chest seemed to thrill and quiver as a frail building would do inside when some powerful engine was at work in the silence of the room i could hear a dull humming and buzzing noise which proceeded from the same source why i cried you have an aortic aneurism thats what they call it he said placidly i went to a doctor last week about it and he told me that it is bound to burst before many days passed it has been getting worse for years i got it from overexposure and underfeeding among the salt lake mountains ive done my work now and i dont care how soon i go but i should like to leave some account of the business behind me i dont want to be remembered as a common cutthroat the inspector and the two detectives had a hurried discussion as to the advisability of allowing him to tell his story do you consider doctor that there is immediate danger the former asked most certainly there is i answered in that case it is clearly our duty in the interests of justice to take his statement said the inspector you are at liberty sir to give your account which i again warn you will be taken down ill sit down with your leave the prisoner said suiting the action to the word this aneurism of mine makes me easily tired and the tussle we had half an hour ago has not mended matters im on the brink of the grave and i am not likely to lie to you every word i say is the absolute truth and how you use it is a matter of no consequence to me with these words jefferson hope leaned back in his chair and began the following remarkable statement he spoke in a calm and methodical manner as though the events which he narrated were commonplace enough i can vouch for the accuracy of the subjoined account for i have had access to lestrades notebook in which the prisoners words were taken down exactly as they were uttered it dont much matter to you why i hated these men he said its enough that they were guilty of the death of two human beings a father and a daughter and that they had therefore forfeited their own lives after the lapse of time that has passed since their crime it was impossible for me to secure a conviction against them in any court i knew of their guilt though and i determined that i should be judge jury and executioner all rolled into one youd have done the same if you have any manhood in you if you had been in my place that girl that i spoke of was to have married me twenty years ago she was forced into marrying that same drebber and broke her heart over it i took the marriage ring from her dead finger and i vowed that his dying eyes should rest upon that very ring and that his last thoughts should be of the crime for which he was punished i have carried it about with me and have followed him and his accomplice over two continents until i caught them they thought to tire me out but they could not do it if i die tomorrow as is likely enough i die knowing that my work in this world is done and well done they have perished and by my hand there is nothing left for me to hope for or to desire they were rich and i was poor so that it was no easy matter for me to follow them when i got to london my pocket was about empty and i found that i must turn my hand to something for my living driving and riding are as natural to me as walking so i applied at a cabowners office and soon got employment i was to bring a certain sum a week to the owner and whatever was over that i might keep for myself there was seldom much over but i managed to scrape along somehow the hardest job was to learn my way about for i reckon that of all the mazes that ever were contrived this city is the most confusing i had a map beside me though and when once i had spotted the principal hotels and stations i got on pretty well it was some time before i found out where my two gentlemen were living but i inquired and inquired until at last i dropped across them they were at a boardinghouse at camberwell over on the other side of the river when once i found them out i knew that i had them at my mercy i had grown my beard and there was no chance of their recognizing me i would dog them and follow them until i saw my opportunity i was determined that they should not escape me again they were very near doing it for all that go where they would about london i was always at their heels sometimes i followed them on my cab and sometimes on foot but the former was the best for then they could not get away from me it was only early in the morning or late at night that i could earn anything so that i began to get behind hand with my employer i did not mind that however as long as i could lay my hand upon the men i wanted they were very cunning though they must have thought that there was some chance of their being followed for they would never go out alone and never after nightfall during two weeks i drove behind them every day and never once saw them separate drebber himself was drunk half the time but stangerson was not to be caught napping i watched them late and early but never saw the ghost of a chance but i was not discouraged for something told me that the hour had almost come my only fear was that this thing in my chest might burst a little too soon and leave my work undone at last one evening i was driving up and down torquay terrace as the street was called in which they boarded when i saw a cab drive up to their door presently some luggage was brought out and after a time drebber and stangerson followed it and drove off i whipped up my horse and kept within sight of them feeling very ill at ease for i feared that they were going to shift their quarters at euston station they got out and i left a boy to hold my horse and followed them on to the platform i heard them ask for the liverpool train and the guard answer that one had just gone and there would not be another for some hours stangerson seemed to be put out at that but drebber was rather pleased than otherwise i got so close to them in the bustle that i could hear every word that passed between them drebber said that he had a little business of his own to do and that if the other would wait for him he would soon rejoin him his companion remonstrated with him and reminded him that they had resolved to stick together drebber answered that the matter was a delicate one and that he must go alone i could not catch what stangerson said to that but the other burst out swearing and reminded him that he was nothing more than his paid servant and that he must not presume to dictate to him on that the secretary gave it up as a bad job and simply bargained with him that if he missed the last train he should rejoin him at hallidays private hotel to which drebber answered that he would be back on the platform before eleven and made his way out of the station the moment for which i had waited so long had at last come i had my enemies within my power together they could protect each other but singly they were at my mercy i did not act however with undue precipitation my plans were already formed there is no satisfaction in vengeance unless the offender has time to realize who it is that strikes him and why retribution has come upon him i had my plans arranged by which i should have the opportunity of making the man who had wronged me understand that his old sin had found him out it chanced that some days before a gentleman who had been engaged in looking over some houses in the brixton road had dropped the key of one of them in my carriage it was claimed that same evening and returned but in the interval i had taken a moulding of it and had a duplicate constructed by means of this i had access to at least one spot in this great city where i could rely upon being free from interruption how to get drebber to that house was the difficult problem which i had now to solve he walked down the road and went into one or two liquor shops staying for nearly halfanhour in the last of them when he came out he staggered in his walk and was evidently pretty well on there was a hansom just in front of me and he hailed it i followed it so close that the nose of my horse was within a yard of his driver the whole way we rattled across waterloo bridge and through miles of streets until to my astonishment we found ourselves back in the terrace in which he had boarded i could not imagine what his intention was in returning there but i went on and pulled up my cab a hundred yards or so from the house he entered it and his hansom drove away give me a glass of water if you please my mouth gets dry with the talking i handed him the glass and he drank it down thats better he said well i waited for a quarter of an hour or more when suddenly there came a noise like people struggling inside the house next moment the door was flung open and two men appeared one of whom was drebber and the other was a young chap whom i had never seen before this fellow had drebber by the collar and when they came to the head of the steps he gave him a shove and a kick which sent him half across the road you hound he cried shaking his stick at him ill teach you to insult an honest girl he was so hot that i think he would have thrashed drebber with his cudgel only that the cur staggered away down the road as fast as his legs would carry him he ran as far as the corner and then seeing my cab he hailed me and jumped in drive me to hallidays private hotel said he when i had him fairly inside my cab my heart jumped so with joy that i feared lest at this last moment my aneurism might go wrong i drove along slowly weighing in my own mind what it was best to do i might take him right out into the country and there in some deserted lane have my last interview with him i had almost decided upon this when he solved the problem for me the craze for drink had seized him again and he ordered me to pull up outside a gin palace he went in leaving word that i should wait for him there he remained until closing time and when he came out he was so far gone that i knew the game was in my own hands dont imagine that i intended to kill him in cold blood it would only have been rigid justice if i had done so but i could not bring myself to do it i had long determined that he should have a show for his life if he chose to take advantage of it among the many billets which i have filled in america during my wandering life i was once janitor and sweeper out of the laboratory at york college one day the professor was lecturing on poisions and he showed his students some alkaloid as he called it which he had extracted from some south american arrow poison and which was so powerful that the least grain meant instant death i spotted the bottle in which this preparation was kept and when they were all gone i helped myself to a little of it i was a fairly good dispenser so i worked this alkaloid into small soluble pills and each pill i put in a box with a similar pill made without the poison i determined at the time that when i had my chance my gentlemen should each have a draw out of one of these boxes while i ate the pill that remained it would be quite as deadly and a good deal less noisy than firing across a handkerchief from that day i had always my pill boxes about with me and the time had now come when i was to use them it was nearer one than twelve and a wild bleak night blowing hard and raining in torrents dismal as it was outside i was glad within so glad that i could have shouted out from pure exultation if any of you gentlemen have ever pined for a thing and longed for it during twenty long years and then suddenly found it within your reach you would understand my feelings i lit a cigar and puffed at it to steady my nerves but my hands were trembling and my temples throbbing with excitement as i drove i could see old john ferrier and sweet lucy looking at me out of the darkness and smiling at me just as plain as i see you all in this room all the way they were ahead of me one on each side of the horse until i pulled up at the house in the brixton road there was not a soul to be seen nor a sound to be heard except the dripping of the rain when i looked in at the window i found drebber all huddled together in a drunken sleep i shook him by the arm its time to get out i said all right cabby said he i suppose he thought we had come to the hotel that he had mentioned for he got out without another word and followed me down the garden i had to walk beside him to keep him steady for he was still a little topheavy when we came to the door i opened it and led him into the front room i give you my word that all the way the father and the daughter were walking in front of us its infernally dark said he stamping about well soon have a light i said striking a match and putting it to a wax candle which i had brought with me now enoch drebber i continued turning to him and holding the light to my own face who am i he gazed at me with bleared drunken eyes for a moment and then i saw a horror spring up in them and convulse his whole features which showed me that he knew me he staggered back with a livid face and i saw the perspiration break out upon his brow while his teeth chattered in his head at the sight i leaned my back against the door and laughed loud and long i had always known that vengeance would be sweet but i had never hoped for the contentment of soul which now possessed me you dog i said i have hunted you from salt lake city to st petersburg and you have always escaped me now at last your wanderings have come to an end for either you or i shall never see tomorrows sun rise he shrunk still further away as i spoke and i could see on his face that he thought i was mad so i was for the time the pulses in my temples beat like sledgehammers and i believe i would have had a fit of some sort if the blood had not gushed from my nose and relieved me what do you think of lucy ferrier now i cried locking the door and shaking the key in his face punishment has been slow in coming but it has overtaken you at last i saw his coward lips tremble as i spoke he would have begged for his life but he knew well that it was useless would you murder me he stammered there is no murder i answered who talks of murdering a mad dog what mercy had you upon my poor darling when you dragged her from her slaughtered father and bore her away to your accursed and shameless harem it was not i who killed her father he cried but it was you who broke her innocent heart i shrieked thrusting the box before him let the high god judge between us choose and eat there is death in one and life in the other i shall take what you leave let us see if there is justice upon the earth or if we are ruled by chance he cowered away with wild cries and prayers for mercy but i drew my knife and held it to his throat until he had obeyed me then i swallowed the other and we stood facing one another in silence for a minute or more waiting to see which was to live and which was to die shall i ever forget the look which came over his face when the first warning pangs told him that the poison was in his system i laughed as i saw it and held lucys marriage ring in front of his eyes it was but for a moment for the action of the alkaloid is rapid a spasm of pain contorted his features he threw his hands out in front of him staggered and then with a hoarse cry fell heavily upon the floor i turned him over with my foot and placed my hand upon his heart there was no movement he was dead the blood had been streaming from my nose but i had taken no notice of it i dont know what it was that put it into my head to write upon the wall with it perhaps it was some mischievous idea of setting the police upon a wrong track for i felt lighthearted and cheerful i remembered a german being found in new york with rache written up above him and it was argued at the time in the newspapers that the secret societies must have done it i guessed that what puzzled the new yorkers would puzzle the londoners so i dipped my finger in my own blood and printed it on a convenient place on the wall then i walked down to my cab and found that there was nobody about and that the night was still very wild i had driven some distance when i put my hand into the pocket in which i usually kept lucys ring and found that it was not there i was thunderstruck at this for it was the only memento that i had of her thinking that i might have dropped it when i stooped over drebbers body i drove back and leaving my cab in a side street i went boldly up to the house for i was ready to dare anything rather than lose the ring when i arrived there i walked right into the arms of a policeofficer who was coming out and only managed to disarm his suspicions by pretending to be hopelessly drunk that was how enoch drebber came to his end all i had to do then was to do as much for stangerson and so pay off john ferriers debt i knew that he was staying at hallidays private hotel and i hung about all day but he never came out fancy that he suspected something when drebber failed to put in an appearance he was cunning was stangerson and always on his guard if he thought he could keep me off by staying indoors he was very much mistaken i soon found out which was the window of his bedroom and early next morning i took advantage of some ladders which were lying in the lane behind the hotel and so made my way into his room in the grey of the dawn i woke him up and told him that the hour had come when he was to answer for the life he had taken so long before i described drebbers death to him and i gave him the same choice of the poisoned pills instead of grasping at the chance of safety which that offered him he sprang from his bed and flew at my throat in selfdefence i stabbed him to the heart it would have been the same in any case for providence would never have allowed his guilty hand to pick out anything but the poison i have little more to say and its as well for i am about done up i went on cabbing it for a day or so intending to keep at it until i could save enough to take me back to america i was standing in the yard when a ragged youngster asked if there was a cabby there called jefferson hope and said that his cab was wanted by a gentleman at b baker street i went round suspecting no harm and the next thing i knew this young man here had the bracelets on my wrists and as neatly snackled as ever i saw in my life thats the whole of my story gentlemen you may consider me to be a murderer but i hold that i am just as much an officer of justice as you are so thrilling had the mans narrative been and his manner was so impressive that we had sat silent and absorbed even the professional detectives blas as they were in every detail of crime appeared to be keenly interested in the mans story when he finished we sat for some minutes in a stillness which was only broken by the scratching of lestrades pencil as he gave the finishing touches to his shorthand account there is only one point on which i should like a little more information sherlock holmes said at last who was your accomplice who came for the ring which i advertised the prisoner winked at my friend jocosely i can tell my own secrets he said but i dont get other people into trouble i saw your advertisement and i thought it might be a plant or it might be the ring which i wanted my friend volunteered to go and see i think youll own he did it smartly not a doubt of that said holmes heartily now gentlemen the inspector remarked gravely the forms of the law must be complied with on thursday the prisoner will be brought before the magistrates and your attendance will be required until then i will be responsible for him he rang the bell as he spoke and jefferson hope was led off by a couple of warders while my friend and i made our way out of the station and took a cab back to baker street chapter vii the conclusion we had all been warned to appear before the magistrates upon the thursday but when the thursday came there was no occasion for our testimony a higher judge had taken the matter in hand and jefferson hope had been summoned before a tribunal where strict justice would be meted out to him on the very night after his capture the aneurism burst and he was found in the morning stretched upon the floor of the cell with a placid smile upon his face as though he had been able in his dying moments to look back upon a useful life and on work well done gregson and lestrade will be wild about his death holmes remarked as we chatted it over next evening where will their grand advertisement be now i dont see that they had very much to do with his capture i answered what you do in this world is a matter of no consequence returned my companion bitterly the question is what can you make people believe that you have done never mind he continued more brightly after a pause i would not have missed the investigation for anything there has been no better case within my recollection simple as it was there were several most instructive points about it simple i ejaculated well really it can hardly be described as otherwise said sherlock holmes smiling at my surprise the proof of its intrinsic simplicity is that without any help save a few very ordinary deductions i was able to lay my hand upon the criminal within three days that is true said i i have already explained to you that what is out of the common is usually a guide rather than a hindrance in solving a problem of this sort the grand thing is to be able to reason backwards that is a very useful accomplishment and a very easy one but people do not practise it much in the everyday affairs of life it is more useful to reason forwards and so the other comes to be neglected there are fifty who can reason synthetically for one who can reason analytically i confess said i that i do not quite follow you i hardly expected that you would let me see if i can make it clearer most people if you describe a train of events to them will tell you what the result would be they can put those events together in their minds and argue from them that something will come to pass there are few people however who if you told them a result would be able to evolve from their own inner consciousness what the steps were which led up to that result this power is what i mean when i talk of reasoning backwards or analytically i understand said i now this was a case in which you were given the result and had to find everything else for yourself now let me endeavour to show you the different steps in my reasoning to begin at the beginning i approached the house as you know on foot and with my mind entirely free from all impressions i naturally began by examining the roadway and there as i have already explained to you i saw clearly the marks of a cab which i ascertained by inquiry must have been there during the night i satisfied myself that it was a cab and not a private carriage by the narrow gauge of the wheels the ordinary london growler is considerably less wide than a gentlemans brougham this was the first point gained i then walked slowly down the garden path which happened to be composed of a clay soil peculiarly suitable for taking impressions no doubt it appeared to you to be a mere trampled line of slush but to my trained eyes every mark upon its surface had a meaning there is no branch of detective science which is so important and so much neglected as the art of tracing footsteps happily i have always laid great stress upon it and much practice has made it second nature to me i saw the heavy footmarks of the constables but i saw also the track of the two men who had first passed through the garden it was easy to tell that they had been before the others because in places their marks had been entirely obliterated by the others coming upon the top of them in this way my second link was formed which told me that the nocturnal visitors were two in number one remarkable for his height as i calculated from the length of his stride and the other fashionably dressed to judge from the small and elegant impression left by his boots on entering the house this last inference was confirmed my wellbooted man lay before me the tall one then had done the murder if murder there was there was no wound upon the dead mans person but the agitated expression upon his face assured me that he had foreseen his fate before it came upon him men who die from heart disease or any sudden natural cause never by any chance exhibit agitation upon their features having sniffed the dead mans lips i detected a slightly sour smell and i came to the conclusion that he had had poison forced upon him again i argued that it had been forced upon him from the hatred and fear expressed upon his face by the method of exclusion i had arrived at this result for no other hypothesis would meet the facts do not imagine that it was a very unheard of idea the forcible administration of poison is by no means a new thing in criminal annals the cases of dolsky in odessa and of leturier in montpellier will occur at once to any toxicologist and now came the great question as to the reason why robbery had not been the object of the murder for nothing was taken was it politics then or was it a woman that was the question which confronted me i was inclined from the first to the latter supposition political assassins are only too glad to do their work and to fly this murder had on the contrary been done most deliberately and the perpetrator had left his tracks all over the room showing that he had been there all the time it must have been a private wrong and not a political one which called for such a methodical revenge when the inscription was discovered upon the wall i was more inclined than ever to my opinion the thing was too evidently a blind when the ring was found however it settled the question clearly the murderer had used it to remind his victim of some dead or absent woman it was at this point that i asked gregson whether he had enquired in his telegram to cleveland as to any particular point in mr drebbers former career he answered you remember in the negative i then proceeded to make a careful examination of the room which confirmed me in my opinion as to the murderers height and furnished me with the additional details as to the trichinopoly cigar and the length of his nails i had already come to the conclusion since there were no signs of a struggle that the blood which covered the floor had burst from the murderers nose in his excitement i could perceive that the track of blood coincided with the track of his feet it is seldom that any man unless he is very fullblooded breaks out in this way through emotion so i hazarded the opinion that the criminal was probably a robust and ruddyfaced man events proved that i had judged correctly having left the house i proceeded to do what gregson had neglected i telegraphed to the head of the police at cleveland limiting my enquiry to the circumstances connected with the marriage of enoch drebber the answer was conclusive it told me that drebber had already applied for the protection of the law against an old rival in love named jefferson hope and that this same hope was at present in europe i knew now that i held the clue to the mystery in my hand and all that remained was to secure the murderer i had already determined in my own mind that the man who had walked into the house with drebber was none other than the man who had driven the cab the marks in the road showed me that the horse had wandered on in a way which would have been impossible had there been anyone in charge of it where then could the driver be unless he were inside the house again it is absurd to suppose that any sane man would carry out a deliberate crime under the very eyes as it were of a third person who was sure to betray him lastly supposing one man wished to dog another through london what better means could he adopt than to turn cabdriver all these considerations led me to the irresistible conclusion that jefferson hope was to be found among the jarveys of the metropolis if he had been one there was no reason to believe that he had ceased to be on the contrary from his point of view any sudden change would be likely to draw attention to himself he would probably for a time at least continue to perform his duties there was no reason to suppose that he was going under an assumed name why should he change his name in a country where no one knew his original one i therefore organized my street arab detective corps and sent them systematically to every cab proprietor in london until they ferreted out the man that i wanted how well they succeeded and how quickly i took advantage of it are still fresh in your recollection the murder of stangerson was an incident which was entirely unexpected but which could hardly in any case have been prevented through it as you know i came into possession of the pills the existence of which i had already surmised you see the whole thing is a chain of logical sequences without a break or flaw it is wonderful i cried your merits should be publicly recognized you should publish an account of the case if you wont i will for you you may do what you like doctor he answered see here he continued handing a paper over to me look at this it was the echo for the day and the paragraph to which he pointed was devoted to the case in question the public it said have lost a sensational treat through the sudden death of the man hope who was suspected of the murder of mr enoch drebber and of mr joseph stangerson the details of the case will probably be never known now though we are informed upon good authority that the crime was the result of an old standing and romantic feud in which love and mormonism bore a part it seems that both the victims belonged in their younger days to the latter day saints and hope the deceased prisoner hails also from salt lake city if the case has had no other effect it at least brings out in the most striking manner the efficiency of our detective police force and will serve as a lesson to all foreigners that they will do wisely to settle their feuds at home and not to carry them on to british soil it is an open secret that the credit of this smart capture belongs entirely to the wellknown scotland yard officials messrs lestrade and gregson the man was apprehended it appears in the rooms of a certain mr sherlock holmes who has himself as an amateur shown some talent in the detective line and who with such instructors may hope in time to attain to some degree of their skill it is expected that a testimonial of some sort will be presented to the two officers as a fitting recognition of their services didnt i tell you so when we started cried sherlock holmes with a laugh thats the result of all our study in scarlet to get them a testimonial never mind i answered i have all the facts in my journal and the public shall know them in the meantime you must make yourself contented by the consciousness of success like the roman miser populus me sibilat at mihi plaudo ipse domi simul ac nummos contemplor in arca