Fbniry 12, 1B0G.
TIIE OMAITA ILLUSTRATED BEE.
Return of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of the Empty House
f5Tw
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(Copyright, 19?. bv A. Conaa Doyle and
Collier's Weekly.)
(Copyright. 1906. by McClure. Phillip & Co.)
T WAJ3 In the spring of the year
1894 that all London waa Inter
ested, and the fashionable world
dismayed, by tb murder of the
Honorable Ronald Adair under
moat unusual and Inexplicable circumstan
ces. The public haa already learned those
particular! of the crime which came out In
the police Investigation, but & good deal
was suppressed upon that occasion, since
the case for the prosecution was so over
whelmingly strong that It was not neces
sary to bring forward all the facts. Only
now, at the end of nearly ten years, an I
allowed to supply those missing links which
make up the whole of that remarkable
chain. The crime was of Interest In itself,
but that Interest was a nothing to me
compared to the Inconceivable sequel,
" which afforded me the greatest shock and
surprise of any event In my adventurous
life, liven now, after this long Interval,
I And myself thrilling as I think of It, and
feeling once more that sudden flood of
Joy, amassment and Incredulity which ut
terly submerged my mind. Let me say to
that public, which has shown some interest
In those glimpses which I have occasionally
given them of the thoughts and actions
of a very remarkable man, that they are
not to blame me If I have not shared my
knowledge with them, for 1 should haye
considered It my first duty to have done
so, had I not been barred by a positive
prohibition from his own lips, which was
only withdrawn upon the third of last
month.
It can be Imagined that my close Inti
macy with Bherlock Holmes hsd Inter
ested me deeply In crime, and .that after
his disappearance I never failed to read
with care the various problems which came
before the public. And I even attempted,
more than once, for my own private satis
faction, to employ his methods In their
solution, though with Indifferent success.
.There was none, however, which appealed
to mo like this tragedy of Ronald Adair.
As I read the evidence at the Inquest,
which led up to a verdict of , willful murder
' against some person or persona unknown,
1 realised more clearly than I hat ever
done the loss which the community had
sustslned by the death of Bherlock Holmes.
There were points about this strange busi
ness which would, I was sure, have spe
cially sppealed to him, and the efforts of
the police would have been supplemented,
or more probably anticipated, by the
trained observation and tpe alert . mind
of the first criminal agent In Europe. All
day, alt I drove upon my round, I turned ,
over the case In my mind, itx found no
explanation which appeared to me to be
adequate. At the risk of telling a twioe
told tale. I will recapitulate the facts as
they were known .to the public at the
conclusion of the Inquest.
The Honorable Ronald Adair was the' sec
ond son of the earl of Maynooth, at that
time governor of one of the Australian
colonic. Adair's mother had returned
from Australia to undergo the operation
for cataract, snd she, her son Ronald and
her daughter Hilda, were living together at
427 Park Lane. The youth moved
In the beat society had, so far as
was known, no enemies, and no
particular vices. He had been engaged to
MIm Edith Woodley of Carstalrs. but the
engagement had been broken off by mu
tual consent some months before, and '
there was no sign that it had left any
very profound feeling behind It. For the
rest tho man's life moved in a narrow and
conventional circle, for his 118118 were
quiet and his nature unemotional. Yet
It waa upon this easy going young arlsto-
' crat that death came, in most strange and
unexpected, form", betweeir the hours of 10
and '11 :M on the .night of March 80. 1894.
Ronald Adair was fond of cards playing
. continually, but never for such stakes as
Would hurt him. Ho was a member of the
Baldwin, the Cavendish and the Bagatelle
card clubs. It was shown that, after din
ner on the day of his death, he had played
a rubber of whist at the latter club. He
had also played there in the afternoon.
The evidence of those who had played with
him Mr. Murray, Sir John Hardy and
Colonel Moran showed that the game was
whist, snd that there was a fairly equal
.fall of the cards. Adair might, have lost
5, but not more. His fortune was a con
siderable N one, and such a loss could not
In any way affect him. He had played
nearly every' day at one club or other, but
he wes a cautious player, rtnd usually rose
a winner. It came out In evidence that, In
partnership with Colonel Moran, he hod
actually won as much as 430 in a sitting,
some weeks before, from Godfrey Mllntr
and Lord Balmoral. So much for his re
cent history as It came out at the inquest.
On the evening of the crime, he returned
from the club exactly ot 10. His mother
and sister were out spending the evening
with a relation. The servant deposed that
she heurd him enter the front room on
tho seooud floor, generally used as his sit
ting room. She had lit a tire there, and
lis It smoked she had opened the window.
No sound was heard from the room until
11:20. the hour of the return of Lady May
nooth snd her daughter. Desiring to say
goodnight, she attempted to enter her son's
room. The door was locked on the Inside,
and no answer could be got to tliolr cries
and knocking. Help was obtained and the
door forced. Tho unfortunate young man
wa. fouud lying near the table. Ills head
had been ' horribly mmlluted by an ex
panding revolver bullet, but no weapon of
any sort waa to be found In the room. On
the table lay two bank notes for 10 each
and 17 10 In silver and gold, ths money
arranged In little piles of varying amount.
There were some figures slso upon a sheet
of paper, with the names of some club
friends opposite to them, from which It
was conjectured that before his death he
was endeavoring to make out his losses or
winnings at cards.
A minute examination of the circum
stances served only to make the case more
complex. In the flrst place, no reason
could be given why the young man should
have fastened the door upon the- inside.
There was tho possibility that the murderer
had done this, and had afterwards escaped
)y the window. Tbn drop was at least
twenty feet, however, and a bed of cro
rrnifi In full bloom lay beneath. Neither
the f)owcra nor the earth showed any sign
of having been disturbed, nor were there
sny marks upon tho narrow strip of grass
which separated the house from the road.
Apparently, therefore, it waa the young
man himself who had fastened the door.
, But how did he come by Ills -death T No one
.. could have climbed up to the window
without leaving traces. Suppose a man
had flrcd through the window, ha would
indeed be a remarkable shot who could
with a revolver Indict so deadly a wound.
Again, Park Lane is a frequented thor
oughfare; there is a cab stand within
100 yards of the house. No one
had heard a shot. And yet there
was the dead man, and there the revolver
bullets, which had mushroomed out, as soft
noued bullets will, and so inflicted a wound
which must have caused Instantaneous
death. Such were the circumstances of
' the Park I-ane mystery, which were further
complicated by the entire absence of mo-
live, since, as I have said, young Adair
waa not known to have any enemy and no
attempt had been made to remove the
money or valuables In the room.
All day I turned these fscts over in my
1 mind, endeavoring to hit upon- some theory
which mould reconcile them all and to tlnd
that line of least resistance which tay poor
friend had declared to be the starting point
of every Investigation. I confess that I
made little progress. In the evening I
strolled acmes tho park and found myself,
about o'clock, at tho Oxford street end of
Park line. A group of loafers upon the
pavements, all staring up at a particular
window, directed me to the house Which I
had come to see. A tall, thin man with col
ored glasses, whom I strongly suspected of
being a plain clothes detective, was point
ing out some theory of his own, while the
others crowded round to listen to what he
sold. I got as near him as I could, but
his observations seemed to me to be absurd,
so I withdrew again In disgust. As I did
so I struck against an elderly, deformed
man, who had been behind me, and I
knocked down several books which he was
carrying. I remember that as I picked
them up I observed the title of one of
them, "The Origin of Tree Worship," and
It struck me that the follow must be some
poor bibliophile, who, either as a trade or
as a hobby, was a collector of obscure vol
umes. I endeavored to apologise for the
accident, but It was evident that these
hooks whloh I hod so unfortunately mal
treated were very precious objects In the
eyes of their owner. With a snarl of
contempt he turned upon his heel, and I
saw his curWd back and white side whisk
ers disappear among the throng.
My observations' of No. 427 Park Lane did
little to clear ,ip the problem In which I
was Interested. . The house was separated
from the street by a low wall and railing,
the whole not more than five feet high.
It waa perfectly easy, therefore, for anyone
to get Into the garden, but tho window was
entirely inaccessible, since there was no
water pipe or anything which could help
the most active man to climb It. More
puzzled than ever, I retraced my steps to
Kensington. I hod not been' In my study
Ave minutes when the maid entered to say
that a person desired to see me. To my
astonishment It was none other than my
strange old book collector, his sharp,
wizened face peering out from a frame of
white hair and his precious volumes, a
dozen of them, at least, wedged under his
right arm.
"You're surprised to see me, sir," said
he. In a strange, croaking voice.
I acknowledged that I was.
"Well, I've a conscience, sir, and when I
chanced to. see you go Into this house as I
came hobbling after you, I thought to my
self, I'll Just step In and see that kind gen
tleman and tell him that If I was a bit
gruff In my manner there was not any harm
meant and that I am obliged to him for
picking up my books." (
"You make too much of a trifle," said I.
"May I ask how you knew who I wast"
"Well, sir, if it isn't too groat a liberty,
I am a neighbor of yours, for you'll find
tny little bookshop at the corner of Church
street, an very happy to see you, I am
sure. Maybe you collect yourtrelf, sir.
Here's 'British Birds,' and 'Catullus,' and
'The Holy War' a bargain, every one of
tbem. With ' five- volumes you could Just
fill that gap on that second shelf. It looks
untidy, does It not, sir""
I moved my head to look at the cabinet
behind me. When I turned again, Sher
lock Holmes was standing smiling at me
across my study table. I rose to my feet,
stared at him for some seconds In utter
amazement, and then it appears that I
must have fainted for the first and the last
time in my life. Certainly a gray mist
swirled before my eyes, and when it cleared
I found my oollar-enda undone and the
tingling aftertaste of brandy upon my lips.
Holmes was bending over my chair, his
flask In his hand, . , . i ...
"My dear Watson," said the well-remembered
voice,, "I owe you a thousand
THE STRANGE OLD BOOK COLLICCTOR.
apologies. I had no I0ea that you would
be so affected."
' I gripped him by the arms.
"Holmes!" I cried. "Is It really you?
Can it Indeed bo that you are alive? Is It
possible thnt you succeeded In climbing out
of that awful abyss?" ,
"Walt a Vnoment," said he. "Are you
sure that you are really fit to discuss
things? I havo given you a serious shock
by my unnecessarily dramatic reappear
ance." "I am all right, but .Indeed, Holmes, I
can hardly believe my eyes. Good heav
ens! to think that you you of all men
should he standing In my study." Again I
gripped him by the sleeve, and felt the
thin, sinewy arm beneath it. "Well, you're
not a spirit, anyhow," said I. "My dear
chap, I'm overjoyed to see you. Sit down
and tell me how you came alive out of that
dreadful chasm."
Ha sat opposite to me and lit a cigarette
in his old, nonchalant manner. He was
dressed in the seedy frockcoat of the book
merchant, but the rest of that Individual
lay In a pile of white hair .and old books
upon the table. Holmes looked even thin
ner and keener than of old, but there was
a dead-white tinge In his aquiline face
which told mo that his life recently had
not been a healthy one.
"I am glad to stretch myself, Watson,"
said he. "It is no Joke when a tall man
has to take a foot off his stature for sev
eral hours on end. Now, my dear fellow.
In the matter of these explanations, we
have. If I may ask for your co-operation,
a hard and dangerous night's work In front
of us. Perhaps It would bs better If I gave
you an account of the whole situation when
that work Is finished."
"I am full of curiosity. I should much
prefer to hear now."
"You'll come with me tonight?"
"When you like and where you like."
"This I Indeed, like the old days. We'
shall have time for a mouthful of dinner
before we need go. Well, then, about that
chasm. I had no serious difficulty in get
ting out of it, for the very simple reason
that I never was in it."
"You never were In lit"
"No. Watson, I never waa In It. My note
to you, waa absolutely genuine, I had Uttle
doubt that I had come to the end of my
career when I perceived the somewhat sin
ister figure of the late Prof, Morlsrty
standing upon the narrow pathway which
led to safety. I read an Inexorable purpose
In his gray eyea I exchanged some re-
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"COL. MORAN SPRANG FORWARD WITH A SNARL OP RAGE."
marks with him, therefore, and obtained
his courteous permission to write the' short
n6te whloh you afterward received. I left
It with my cigarette box and my stick, and
I walked along the pathway, Morlarty still
at my heels. When I reached the end I
stood at bay. He drew no weapon, but
he rushed at me and threw his long
arms around me. He knew that his own
game was up, and was only anxloua to
revenge himself Upon me. We tootered to
gether upon the brink of the fall. I have
aome knowledge, however, of batitsu, or
the Japanese system of wrestling, which
has more than once been very useful to
me. I slipped through his grip, and he
with a horrible scream kicked madly for
a few seconds, and clawed the air with
both his hands. But for all his efforts he
could not get his balance, and over he
went With my face over the brink, I
saw him fall for a long way. Then he
struck a rock, bounded off and splashed
Into the water."
I listened with amazement to this ex
planation, which Holmes delivered between
the puffs of his cigarette.
"But the tracks'," I cried. "I saw, with
my own eyes, that two went down the path
and none returned."
"It came about in this way. The Instant
that the professor had disappeared, it
struck me what a really extraordinarily
lucky chance Pate had placed In my way.
I knew that Morlarty was not the only
man who had sworn my death. There
were at least three others whose desire
for vengeanca upon mo would only be In
creased by the death of their leader. They
were all most dangerous men. Oie or the
other would certainly get me. On the
other hand, if all the world was convinced
that I was dead they would take liberties,
thee men," they would soon lay themselves
open, and sooner or later I could destroy
them. Then It would be time for me to
announce that I was still In the land of
the living. So rapidly does the brain act
that I bellove I hud thought this all out
before Prof. Morlarty hud reached the bot
tom of the Relchenbuch fall.
"I stood up and examined the rock wall
behind me. In your picturesque account
of the matter, which I read with great
Interest some months later, you assert that
the wall was sheer. That was not literally
true. A few Somali footholds presented
themselves, and there was some indica
tion of a ledge. The cliff la so higlt that
to climb it all waa an obvious impossibil
ity, and it was equally Impossible to moke
my way along the wet path without leav
ing some tracks. I might, It is true, have
reversed my boots, as I hove done on
similar occasions, but the sight of throe
sets of tracks In one direction would cer
tainly have suggested a deception. On the
whole, then, It was best that I should
risk the climb. It was not a pleasant
business, Watson. The fall roared beneath
me. I am nut a fanciful person, but I
give you my word that I seemed to hear
Morlarty's voice screaming at me out of
the abyss. A mistake iwould have been
fatal. More than once, as tufts of grass
came out In my hand or my foot slipped
In the wet notches 'of the rock, I thought
that I was gone. But I struggled upward,
and at lust I reached a ledge several feet
deep and covered with soft green moss,
where I could be unseen in the most perfect
comfort. There I was stretched, when you,
my dear Watson, and all your following
were Investigating inthe most sympathetic
and inefficient' manner the circumstances
of my death.
"At last, when you had all formed your
Inevitable and totally erroneous conclu
sions, you departed for the hotel, and I
was left alone. I had imagined .that I
had reached the end of my adventures,
but a very unexpected occurrence showed
me that there Were surplses still In store
for. me. A huge rock, falling from above,
boomed past me, struck the path and
bounded over the chasm. For an Instant
I thought that It was an accident, but a
moment later, looking up, saw a
man's head against the darkening
sky, and ' another stone struck the
very ledge upon which I was
stretched, within a ' foot of my head.
Of course, the meaning of this was obvious.
Morlarty had not been alone. A confed
erateand even that' one glance had told
me how dangeroua a man that confederate
was had kept guard while the professor
had attacked me. From a distance, un
seen by me, be had been a witness of his
friend's death and of my escape. He hsd
walttd, and then making bis way round to
the top of the cliff, he had endeavored to
succeed where his comrade had failed.
"I did not take long to think about It,
Watsnfi. Again I aaw that grim face look
over ttia cliff and I knew that It was the
precursor of another atone. I scrambled
down on to the pat!), t don't think I could
have done It In cold blood. It waa a hun
dred times more difficult than getting up.
But I had no time to think of the danger,
for another stone sang past me as I hung
by my hands from the edge of the ledge.
Half-way down I slipped, but,, by the bles
sing of God, I landed, torn and bleeding,
upon the path. I Took to my heels, did ten
miles over the mountains In the darkness,
and a week later I found myself In Flor
ence, with the certainty that no one In the
world knew what had become' of me.
"I had only one confidant my brother
Mycroft. I owe you many apologies, my
dear Watson, but it was all-Important that
It should be thought I was dead, and it U
quite certain that you would not have writ
ten so convincing an account of my un
happy end had y6"u not yourself thought It
was true. Several times during the last
three years I have taken up my pen to
write to you, but always I feared lest your
affectionate regard for me should tempt
you to some indiscretion which would be
tray my secret. For that reason I turned
away from you this evening when you up
set my books, for I was in danger athe
time, and any show of surprise and emotion
upon your part might have drawn attention
to my, identity and led to the most deplor
able and Irreparable results. As to Mycroft,
I had to confide in htm in order to obtain
the money which I needed. The course of
events in Londou did not run so well as i
had hoped, for the trial of the Morlarty
gang left two of Its most dangerous mem
bers, my own most vindictive enemies, at
liberty. I traveled for two years In Thibet,
therefore, and amused myself by visiting
Lhassa and apending some days with the
head Llama. You may have read of the
remarkable explorations of a Norweglun
named Slgermm, but I am sure that it never
occurred to you that you were receiving
news of your friend. I then passed through
Persia, looked in at Mecca, and paid a short
but Interesting visit to the khalifa at Khar
toum, the results of which I have com
municated to the Foreign office. Returning
to France, I spent some months In a re
search Into the coal tar derivatives, which
I conducted In a laboratory at Montpellier,
In the south of France. Having concluded
this to my satisfaction, and learning that
only one of my enemies was now left In
London, I waa about to return when my
movements were hastened by the news of
this very remarkable Park Lane mystery,
which not only appealed to mo by Its own
merits, but which seemed to offer some
most peculiar personal opportunities. I
came over at once to London, called In my
own person at Baker street, threw Mrs.
Hudson Into violent hysterics and found
that Mycroft had preserved my rooms and
my papers exactly as they had always been.
So It was, my dear Watson, that at 2
o'clock today I found myself in my old
armchair in my own old room, and only
wishing that I could have seen my old
friend Watson In the other chair which he
haa bo often adorned."
Hurh was the marvelous narrative to
which I listened on that April evening a
narrative which would have been utterly
incredible to me had It not been con
firmed by tho ui'luul sight of a tall, spare
tlgure and the keen, eager face, which I
had never thought to see again. In somt
manner he had learned of my own sad
bereavement, and his sympathy was shown
In his manner rather than in his words.
"Work Is the best antidote to sorrow, my
dear Watson," said he; "and I have a
piece of work for us both tonight which.
If we can bring It to a successful con
clusion, will In itself Justify a man's life
on this planet." In vain I begged him to
tell me more. "You will hear and see
enough before morning," he answered.
"We have three years of the past to dis
cuss. Let that suffice until 9:30, when we
start upon the notable adventure of the
empty house."
It was indeed like old times when, at
that hour, I found myself seated beside
him In a hansom, my revolver in my
pocket, and the thrill of adventure, in my
heart. Holmes was cold and stern and
silent As the gleam of the street lamps
flashed upon his austere features I saw
that his brows were . drawn down In
thought and his thin lips compressed. I
knew not what wild beast we were about to
hunt down in the dark Jungle of criminal
London, but I was well assured, from the
bearing of this master huntsman, that
the adventure waa a most grave one
while the sardonic smile which occasion
ally broke through his ascetic gloom boded
Mttle good for the object of our quest.
I had imagined that we were bound for
Baker street, but Holmes stopped the cab
at the corner of Cavendish Square. I
observed that as he stepped flut he gave
a most searching glance to right and left,
and at every subsequent corner he took
tho utmost pains to assure that he was
not followed. Our route was certainly a
singular one. Holmes' knowledge of the
byways of London was extraordinary, and
on thls occasion he passed rapidly and
with an assured step through a network
of mews and stables, the very existence
of which I hod never known. We emerged
at last Into a small road, lined with old,
gloomy houses, which led us Into Man
chester street, and so to Blunford street.
Hi-re he turned swiftly down a 'narrow
passage, passed through a wooden gate
Into a deserted yard, and then opened with
a key tho back door of a house. We en
tered together and ho closed It be
hind us.
The place was pitch dark, but It was
evident to me that it was an empty house.
Our feet creaked and crackled over the
bare planking and my outstretched hand
touched a wall from which tho paper was
hanging In ribbons. Holmes' cold, thin
fingers closed round my wrist and led me
forwards down a long hall, until I .dimly
saw tho murky fanlight over the door.
Hero Holmes turned suddenly to tho
right, and we found ourselves In a large,
square, empty room, heavily shadowed In
the corners, but faintly lit In the center
from the lights of the street beyond. There
was no lamp near, and the window was
thick with dust, so that we could only
Just discern each other's fingers within.
My companion put his hand upon my
shoulder and his lips c lose to my ear.
,"Di you know where we are?" he whis
pered. "Surely that Is Baker street," I , an
swered, staring through the dim window.
"Exactly. We are In Camden house,
which stands opposite to our own old quar
ters." y
"But why are we here?" 1
"Because It commands so excellent a
view of that picturesque , pile. Might I
trouble you, my dear Watson, to draw a
little nearer to the window, taking every
precaution not to show yourself, and then
look at our old rooms the starting point
of so many of your little fairy tales? We
will see if my three years of absence have
entirely taken away my power to sur
prise you."
I crept forward and looked across at the
familiar window. As my eyes fell upon
It. I gave a gasp and a cry of amaze
ment. The blind was down, and a strong
light was burning In the room. The shadow
of a man who was seated In a chair within
was thrown In hard, black outline upon
the lumlnoua screen of the window. There
was no mistaking the poise of the head,
the squareness of the shoulders, the sharp
ness of the features. The face was turned
half round, and the effect was that of one
of those black silhouettes which our grand
parents loved to frame. It was a perfect
reproduction of Holmes. So amazed was
I that I threw out my hand to make sure
that the man himself was standing beside
me He was quivering with silent laugh
ter. "Well?" he said.
"Good heavens!" I cried. "It Is mar
vellous." "1 trust, that age doth not wither nor
custom stale my infinite variety," said he,
and I recognized in his voice the Joy and
pride which the artist takes in his own
creation. "It really is rather like mo, 1b
it not?"
"I should be prepared to swear that It
was you."
"The credit of the execution is due to
Monsieur Oscar Meunler of Grenoble, who
spent Some days In doing the moulding.
It Is a bust in wax. Ihe rest I arranged
myself during my visit to Baker street this
afternoon."
"But why7"
"Because, my dear Watson, X had the
strongest possible reason for wishing cer
tain people to think that I was there wh?n
I was really elsewhere."
"And you thought the rooms were
watched?"
"I knew that they were watched."
"By whom?"
"By my old enemies, Watson. By the
charming society whose leader lies In tho
ltelchenbach fall. You must remember
that they knew, snd only they knew, that
I wss still ullve. Sooner or latrr they be
lieved that I should come back 4o my
rooms. They watched them continuously,
and this morning they saw me arrive."
"How do you know?''
"Because I recognized their sentinel when
I glanced out of my window. lie is a
harmless enough fellow. Tarkcr by name,
a gorroter by trade, and a remarkable
perform'!' on the Jewsharp. I cared noth
ing for him. Hut I cared a great deal for
the much more formidable jhtsoii who
was behind hlrn, the bosom friend of
? MU'lr ii .-i;aV
HE TURNED OVER THE PAdlS LAZILY, LEANING BACK IN H18 CHAIR.
Morlarty, the man who dropped the reeks
over the cliff, the most cunning and dan
gerous criminal In London. This Is the
man who Is after me tonight, Watson, and
that is the man who Is quite unaware that
we sre after him."
My friend s p'ans were gradually reveal
ing themselves. From this convenient re
treat the watchers were being watched
and the trackers tracked. That angular
shadow up yonder was a bait and we were
the hunters. In silence we stood together
In the darkness and watched the hurrying
figures who passed and repassed In front
of ui. Holmes was silent and motionless;
but I could tell that he was keenly alert
and that his eyes were fixed Intently upon
tho stream of passers-by. It waa a bleak
and boisterous night, and tho wind whis
tled shrilly down tho long streot. Many
people were moving to and fro, most of
thtm muffled In their coats and cra
vats. Once or twice It seemed .to
mo that 1 had seen the same figure
before, end I especially noticed two
men who appeared to be sheltering
themselves from the wind In the doorway
of a house some distance up the street. I
tried to draw my companion's attention to
them, but he gave a little ejaculation of
Impatience, and continued to stare into the
street. More than once he fidgeted with his
feet and tapped rapidly with his fingers
upon the wall. It was evident to m that
he was becoming unehsy, and that his
plans were not working out 'altogether as
he had Wped. At last, as midnight ap
proached and the street gradually cleared,
he paced up and down the room In uncon
t'nllable agltntlnn. I waa about to make
some remark to him. when I raised my eyes
to the lighted window,' and again experi
enced almost as great a surprise as before.
T clutched Holmes' arm and pointed up-
ward.
"The shadow has moved!" I cried.
It was Indeed no longer the profile, but
the back, which was turned toward us.
. Three years had certainly not smoothed
the asperities of his temper or his Im
patience with a less active Intelligence than
his own.
"Of course it has moved," said he. "Am I
such a farcical bungler, Watson, that I
should erect an obvious dummy, and ex
pect that some of the sharpest men In
Kurope would be deceived by It? We have
been In this room two hours and Mrs. Hud
son has made some change In that figure
eight times, or once In every quarter of an
hour. She works It from the front, so that
her shadow may never be seen. Ah!" He
drew In his breath with a shrill, excited In
take. In the dim light I saw his head
thrown forward, his whole attitude rigid
with attention. Outside the street was ab
solutely deserted. Those two men might
still be crouching in the doorway, hut I
could no longer see them. All was still and
dark, save only that brilliant yellow screen
In front of us with the black figure .out
lined upon its center. Agnln In tho utter
silence I heard thnt thin, sibilant note
which spoke of intense suppressed excite
ment. An Instant later he pulled me back
Into the blackest corner of tho room, and I
felt his warning hand upon my Hps. The
fingers which clutched me were quivering.
Never had I known rty friend more moved,
and yet the dark street still stretched lonely
and motionless before us.
But suddenly I ws aware of that which
.his keener senses had already distinguished.
A low, stealthy sound came to my ears, not
from the direction of Baker street, but from
the back of the very house In which we lay
concealed. A door opened and shut. An
Instant later steps crep down the passage
steps which were meant to be silent, but
which reverberated .harshly through the
empty house. Holmes crouched back against .
the wall and I did the same, my hand clos- j
Ing upon the handle of my revolver. Peer,
lug through the gloom I saw the vague out
line of a man, a shade blacker than the
blackness of the open door. He stood for
an Instant, and then he crept forward,
crouching, menacing, Into the room. Ha
was within three yards of us, this sinister
figure, and I had braced myself to meet his
spring, before I realized that he hod no
Idea of our presence. He passed close be
side us, stole over to the window, and very
softy and noiselessly raised It fer half a
foot. As ho sank to the level of this Open
ing, the light of the street, no longer
dimmed by the dusty glass, fell full upon
his face. The man seemed to be beside
hlmrelf with excitement. His two eyes
shone like stars, and his features were
working convulsively. He was an elderly
man, with a thin, projecting nose, a high,
bald forehead and a huge grizzled mous
tache. An opera hat was pushed to the
back of his hend, and an evening
dress shirt-front gleamed out through
his open overcoat. His face was gaunt
and swarthy, scored . with deep, savage
lines. In his hand he carried what ap
peared to be a stick, but as he laid It
down upon the floor It gave a metallic
clang. Then from the pocket of his over
coat he drew a bulky object, and he busied
himself In some task which ended with a
loud, sharp click, as If a spring or bolt
hud fallen Into Its place. Still kneeling
upon the floor he bent forward and threw
all his weight and strength upon soma
lever, with the result that there came a
long, whirling, grinding noise, ending onoe
moro in a powerful click. He straightened
himself then, and I. saw that what he held
in his hand was a sort of gun, with a
curiously misshapen butt. He opened it
at the breech, put something In and
snapped the breech block. Then, crouch
ing down, he rested the end of the barrel
upon the ledge of the open window, and
I saw his long moustache droop over the
stock and '.his eye gleam as it peered
along the sights. I heard a little sigh of
satisfaction us he cuddled the butt Into
his shoulder, and saw that amazing tar
get, the black man on the yellow ground,
standing clear at the end of his foresight
For un instant he was rigid and motion
less. Then his linger tightened on the
trigger. There was a strange, loud whls
and a long, silvery tinkle of broken glass.
At that Instant Holmes sprang like a Ugar
on to the marksman's hack and hurled him
flat upon his face. He was up again In
a moment, and with convulsive strength
he seized Holmes by the throat, but I
struck him on tho head with the butt of
my revolver, and he dropped again upon
the floor. I fell upon him, and as I held
him my comrade blew a shrill call upon a
whistle. There wus the clatter of running
feet upon the pavement, and two police
men In uniform, with one plain clothes
detective, rushed through the front en
trance, and Into the room.
"That you, Lcstrade?" said Holmes.
"Yes, Mr. Hohnes. I took the Job my
self. It's good to see you back in London,
sir."
"I think you want a little unofficial help.
Three undetected murders In one year
won't do, Lcstrade. Uul you handled the
Molesey mystery with less than your usual
that's to say, you handled It fairly well."
We had all risen to our feet, our pris
oner breathing hard, with a stalwart non
stable on each side of him. Already a
few loiterers had begun to collect In the
street. Holmn stepped up to the window,
rioted It and dropped the Minds. Leetrade
had produced two candles, and the police
man had uncovered their lanterna I waa
able at last to have a good look at our
prisoner.
It waa a tremendously ' virile an! yet
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