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or was it a quick imperative voice without demanding the latter blushing she turned from the mirror ashamed to be detected in such a contemplation and went quickly forward as the door opened it was not bolted you need not have waited the handle is stiff that is all oh it is a pity that you are dressed s eyes were raised in gentle wonder a pity she had let them fall on the ground modestly awaiting the glance which perhaps even her eldest sister might to such a toilet and she could not understand that her cares and pains should produce only a pity mamma will tell you i think she wishes to see you at once i am in a hurry said with a haste that was curious all things considered i cannot stop to talk is gone to our room what is it but was gone the gloves and handkerchief just gathered into her sister s hand fell beneath the table something of evil and even that something was enough it was an effort to collect herself and go down stairs you are dressed that is a pity i was afraid the history of an evening you would be said mrs using almost the same words as her daughter had done but in a tone of more regret i am really sorry you should have had the trouble my dear for on second thoughts i think it right to my permission for you to go this evening it had been agreed on during the council that no reason was to be given that nothing about at least was to be said i had not fully considered the question continued the speaker kindly and yet with a definite purpose and strength in her present resolution that had not been apparent in the former i was taken by surprise seized upon all at once taken advantage of oh mamma well well my dear i did not mean hy you it was s fault and your aunt s and and altogether i seemed to have no choice your sisters when they came in were quite astonished to find that i had been prevailed on to consent they thought it quite unwise and though i wish that you had not had all the trouble of making ready looking so nice too she could not resist adding still i am afraid my love i must send you to take off your things again she paused for a reply but in front of her stood a marble statue dumb and motionless do you not understand pursued mrs with a touch of irritation aunt murmured for on this ma ttie rock she had built for security what would she say will explain it to her both your sisters think that i ought not to be left alone on such a evening they will show that it was natural i should not think of my own comfort said the invalid with the complacency of one who considered herself in that respect and you are so young no one would expect you to be as thoughtful for me as the two who have been more at home and know what a poor broken down creature i am broken down in every way even this wind tries my nerves almost more than i can bear putting her hand to her forehead twice her to speak and twice the trembling lips refused their office but at length a low sound caught the parent s ear well she said mamma well my dear well what is it i hear you let me go this once mrs stared this was in plain terms more than she had for it had been hitherto so easy to govern and direct this child that the idea of the child ever suggesting far less on a thing for itself had never for a moment entered any one s head what did you say she inquired let me go this once if you please mamma that i shall not said her mother with the history of an evening i dear mamma the eyes were swimming and one large drop slipped from the lash on which it hung and stole down the cheek no more could be spoken at such a moment to cry for this to make so much of such a paltry sacrifice i am really hurt it is the last thing i should have expected many a sick parent has to urge her children to leave her side for the sake of their own health but mine require to be to stay with me just this once dear mamma don t speak like that you know i like to sit with you and read to you and play to you and you know i never did think it any sacrifice but to night i want oh i want to go why should you want to go what is there about an ordinary dinner party to make it an object of desire to any one am not going and though of course i should like as well as others to do as they do and take part in what they enjoy you do not see me making a fuss and complaining that i cannot if you would allow me i will not allow you after this after your showing so much and self will in the matter i should consider myself quite to blame if i gave way now you need not stand there any longer i am not going to have any on the matter it is for me to decide on such a point and your duty is to obey without hesitation go at once and take off your things ie mamma really i could not have believed it of you i desire you to go and you stand as still as a stone i never would have	4
thought that you of all people would be the one to whom i should have to speak twice i shall say no more but i am much disappointed by the way in which you have behaved to night then left mrs had seldom in her life been so with any one she was as has before been hinted a feeble minded person who was seldom interested in much beyond her own petty comforts or complaints timid by nature yet jealous of maintaining such power over the family and household as she could by any means keep within her grasp she was neither unkind nor selfish provided it cost no effort she could agree to a request cheerfully and listen to an account with patience but the moment an adverse wind blew she yielded to its blast she was at the mercy of any dominant power it had been distasteful to her beyond measure to find that there had been passages scenes between the cousins whereof she had known nothing a of this sort was precisely what she could smart under and moreover the consciousness of not having herself behaved with strict integrity of having been and during the interview with the elder sisters had found vent in an extra display of authority when she had the history of an evening been called on anew to face the younger they should one and all set her at as they had done she would have one at least under her maternal sway and though and had as usual made this sway their cat s could not know she flattered herself that they had done so we may be allowed to suspect knew very well but that is not to our purpose and then mrs was really vexed by what she had heard sir might of course had he so chosen have sought an alliance with his cousins it would have been perhaps satisfactory if he had done so but since nothing of the kind had ever been attempted and since up to the present time they had all got on so together it was really too tiresome of a of a school girl to come home and introduce an element of discord between the sober what should she know of in three months and had been intimate with him for years had stayed at his hunting box where lady presided during the spring months and met him every other night in town for several seasons yet to them he was only an escort a good humoured influential cousin good for tickets to shows and a man whom they liked to be seen with but whom they had not the smallest ambition to be with unless they were seen they tried to believe that he admired them and was proud of them but there was sufficient uncertainty on the point to provoke effort to a ttie make them more than ordinarily particular as to their appearance and manners when he was present at least however he should not amuse himself with he had never attempted anything of the sort with either of the grown up miss and they had no idea of his paying their sister the compliment of gallantry that meant nothing if there a secret of jealousy at her having attracted an attention even a passing attention which their charms had failed to inspire at least the fair did not themselves suspect as much they felt that they had done the right thing as to the point now at issue and attired themselves for the evening with the peaceful consciousness that the desired end had been attained but we need not say anything to your father observed mrs to the first who came down after the interview above it chanced to be in and ribbons and jewels more ample fuller blown than ever and as she spoke the mother surveyed the finery doubtfully had looked different to be sure what suited would hardly have been the thing for and the simple folds of a white frock which did well for slim eighteen were not perhaps calculated to set off the form of robust five and twenty there was so much of this particular five and twenty moreover such a neck and bust and arms and shoulders that the fully trimmed and the history of an evening ling train could not be said to be but nevertheless the effect was not so pleasing as it ought to have been had necessity compelled the mother to desire that it and all its should be it is certain that she would not have ejaculated that looking so nice too which escaped ere she was aware when passing the decree upon her youngest no fears nor doubts however disturbed the herself satisfaction shone in her eye showed itself in the tones of her voice and even influenced the tenor of her reply she agreed with her mother and spoke of her sister as poor i went to her room just now she said and she was so quiet that i should not have thought she had minded only i saw that she had thrown all her things her nice white muslin and all in a heap on the floor and her hair was loose over her shoulders that was temper there was no need to have touched her hair she might at least have let me have the pleasure of seeing it nicely arranged she need not have thought it wasted you did not give any reason for stopping her mamma none whatever i said exactly what you and told me nothing that she could have minded nothing at least that she ought to have minded i could not believe my ears when she actually tried to make me alter my decision afterwards ttie did she do that she did indeed what did she say mamma she begged to go that was all quite enough	4
too for one who never asks to be taken anywhere it showed me immediately that i was right that you and were right in me to put a stop to it i am really sorry for her mamma don t say any more about it it will do no good and i am sure have had enough of the subject i wish now you would all get away as quickly as possible and let us settle down to our quiet evening i we shall be quite happy together your father has brought in the parcel from the library it was kind of him to call for it and it will be quite an interest to to see what we have got i am looking forward to her reading aloud it will keep the dismal howling of the wind out of my ears already she was impatient to begin i do wish you were all out of the way now she proceeded could you not go down to the drawing room and wait there the going in and out and the talking of many people in this little room always me very well mamma i will go down with the very next person that appears but i may stay till some one does may i not this room is so nice and warm with a little shiver have you enough quite mamma thank you the history of an evening you will not get blown about at either house that is one good thing the entrance to is as well sheltered as our own better at least it was better until papa built up that oh we shall be quite out of the wind going in and out of the but i wish we had not to drive along the shore road the tide is so high to night that the waves are breaking right over the rocks indeed said mrs languidly she was not going to drive along the shore road herself and the waves seemed a good way from her pillows oh here are papa and at last now then good bye go down to the drawing room everybody what is the carriage there that s right then do shut the door the cold air coming in from the passage one all over put your on girls quickly but where is inquired her husband she will be here directly as soon as you are gone we shall have our little dinner together is she not going with us not to night she will go another night i wish her to go to night said mr decidedly call your sister and say we are waiting papa paused looking round for support and at the look a voice was raised from the sofa it is impossible my dear said the mother if i had known that you wished it before but ma ttie now it is too late she is not thinking of going she is not dressed nor nor anything then she must dress and tell her to be quick the carriage is at the door it can wait a few minutes do as i desire you to such a tone even must submit and without a word she left the room but who shall describe the shock of mingled feelings which that message gave oh how bitterly did now repent her ill advised haste her passionate weeping get ready to go now when every single part of her attire would have to be put on afresh when her hair all as it was would in itself require care pains attention and when the flowers lay broken on the floor now was she dreaming her trembling feet refused their office as she rose in bewildered consternation and down upon the chair she sank again could she ever with such a beating heart and such fingers begin from the beginning once more and herself within the time permitted seemed an age in coming and oh miss cried the maid take a good half hour your hair alone and there s your dress to lace and the bows to tie and even then bless me bless me which latter murmured under the speaker s breath was called forth by a vision of the pale tear stained face beside her as contrasted with its glowing freshness when last seen so short a time before the history of an evening i can be ready indeed i can oh what need to brush my hair all over put it up as it was or or any way you can oh my flowers my pretty flowers oh why did mamma change so often why did she insist on my as she did tell papa i will be ready immediately dear kind papa please and my gloves i had them one minute ago another messenger in haste and breathless a voice at the door saying if miss s ready she is to come if not miss is to come immediately coachman sa rs the tide is still rising and the horses will be frightened if the waves come too near master says he can t wait another minute it s of use miss said with the calmness of despair we couldn t be ready not if we tried never so for a quarter of an hour i must go you see added hurriedly don t go on trying it is of no use i wish papa had let it alone get on get on whispered the youthful mistress to her maid as the two were left behind never mind what they say i shall be in time yet are you nearly done oh this dreadful gown how far have you got you must be half way i can be collecting my things if you jump about like that miss i can t find the holes well but tell me the moment you reach the what is that v it	4
seen these new prints the polite host covered his defeat we have only just got the book my mother is taken with them in fact lady had already inflicted the volume on all present and it had at length been made over to die girls they bad gone through the whole set and everything that could be said had already been exhausted between them but under sir s guidance to be sure they were nothing to commence the task afresh he was bent on finding entertainment for both directing his attentions to but keeping by the other s side yet he scarcely spoke to leaning across her even to point out beauties to her companion and she began at last to wonder whether she was really happy or wretched and to with herself as to whether she had not better take the first opportunity of rising and leaving a seat which although by her cousin s side yet brought her no closer to him at length the sounds of music ceased miss is tired said shutting the book briskly and she is not in voice to night we must not allow her to be again now it is your turn and he rose resolutely addressing naturally she stood up also a table which had been drawn in front of the for the heavy book to lie upon was pushed aside by the gentleman pushed right in front of his cousin that miss might pass by the more conveniently and in the movement a clumsy accident occurred a valuable of lady s was thrown down and broken oh dear cried both the horror stricken in consternation pray go on implored the more hardened of the history of an evening don t stop or it will be noticed i will pick up the pieces in the name of charity miss rush to the piano and save me from my mother miss obeyed and the coast was clear at last said very softly help me will you she stooped in search of the fragments and he like a took the same moment for stooping also at the risk of the two heads crashing together was it that which made her start and the china fall from her hand again no it was not a blow but a whisper from her cousin i must see you for a moment alone i must speak to you tonight the song began go into my mother s little room said with his back to the company and his head still bent over the broken jar go out at this door and no one can see you won t refuse me wait till you hear i will be with you immediately how she got out or whether she were really unobserved or not as she stole away never knew declared afterwards that she did it admirably but then he allowed at the same time that he had neither looked nor cared he knew she went and that was enough for him he found his own way out by the principal entrance at the other end of the room taking as it were a casual stroll towards it with a word here and s a word there to one and another of the company whom chance threw m his way and then his opportunity to escape when all were engaged within a very few minutes he was keeping his but the light was so partial in the little room only a single bar of having shot through the window that to the first survey no figure was anywhere within he stopped short i am here she was nearly hidden from his view by the curtain even when her voice directed him where to look her dress might have been one of its folds in the deep shadow where she stood i am here but she did not turn round nor move towards him the waves were over the rocks below but there was no longer the angry roar of a flowing tide to aid their the wind had subsided with its ebb and a sullen swell had succeeded to the tumult of the waters even so was s breast heaving with departed passions and bitterness all these were over now she scarcely trembled she was calm solemn wrapped in a sort of trance a sense of wondering awe held her still and the beating of her heart what had happened or what was going to happen she could but dimly realize yet was she neither confused nor bewildered only conscious of a deep strange peace and then of a voice in her ear a presence by her side some the history of an one holding her in his aims why my darling did not away she only turned very white and sank gently forwards before she was caught and and ce even fainting people can do without water when it is not to be had it is to be presumed that considered this to be a case in which that mi t be with he did not go in search of it he tried other means and so successful were these that tears were flowing and cheeks were blushing rosy red again long ere he had done and so much had to be said and vowed and sworn and the speaker was so fervent and impetuous in his mode of saying it and so resolute in claiming his right to add appropriate accompanying actions that his fair companion was in no danger of reality for again but indeed you gave me a fright when first i saw you to night said at last i could not understand that pale sorrowful face i thought we had dragged you here against your will why did your father not tell you all about it my father said raising her eyes who else did he did you not know i him this afternoon got his consent	4
im the last man with whom one would care to take anything approaching to a liberty his great powers his manner and the experience which i had had of his many extraordinary qualities all made me and backward in crossing him yet that afternoon whether it was the which i had taken with my lunch the science of or the additional produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner i suddenly felt that i could hold out no longer which is it to day i asked or he raised his eyes languidly from the old black letter volume which he had opened it is he said a seven per cent solution would you care to try it no indeed i answered my constitution has not got over the campaign yet i cannot afford to throw any extra strain upon it he smiled at my vehemence perhaps you are right he said i suppose that its influence is physically a bad one i find it however so and to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment but consider t i said earnestly count the cost your brain may as you say be i the sign of four roused and excited but it is a and morbid process which increased change and may at last leave a permanent weakness you know too what a black reaction comes upon you surely the game is hardly worth the candle why should you for a mere passing pleasure risk the loss of those great powers with which you have been endowed remember that i speak not only as one comrade to another but as a medical man to one for whose constitution he is to some extent he did not seem offended on the contrary he put his finger tips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of his chair like one who has a relish for conversation my mind he said at give me problems give me work give me the most or the most intricate analysis and i am in my own proper atmosphere i can dispense then with the science of artificial but i the dull routine of existence i for mental exaltation that is why i have chosen my own particular profession or rather created it for i am the only one in the world the only i said raising my eyebrows the only consulting he answered i am the last and highest court of appeal in detection when or or jones are out of their depths which by the way is their normal state the matter is laid before me i examine the as an expert and pronounce a s opinion i claim no credit in such cases my name figures in no newspaper the work itself the pleasure of finding a field for my peculiar powers is my highest reward but you have yourself had some experience of my methods of work in the hope case the sign of four yes indeed said i cordially i was never so struck by anything in my life even embodied it in a small with the somewhat fantastic title of a study in scarlet he shook his head sadly i glanced over it said he honestly i cannot congratulate you upon it detection is or ought to be an exact science and should be treated in the same cold and manner you have attempted to tinge it with which produces much the same effect as if you worked a or an into the fifth proposition of but the romance was there i remonstrated i could not with the facts some facts should be suppressed or at least a just sense of proportion should be observed in treating them the only point in the case which deserved mention was the the science of curious reasoning from effects to causes by which i succeeded in it i was annoyed at this criticism of a work which had been specially designed to please him i confess too that i was irritated by the which seemed to demand that every line of my should be devoted to his own special doings more than once during the years that i had lived with him in baker street i had observed that a small vanity my companion s quiet and manner i made no remark however but sat nursing my wounded leg i had had a bullet through it some time before and though it did not prevent me from walking it ached wearily at every change of the weather my practice has extended recently to the continent said after awhile filling up his old root pipe i was consulted the sign of four last week by le who as you probably know has come rather to the front lately in the french service he has all the power of quick but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher of his art the case was concerned with a will and possessed some features of interest i was able to refer him to two parallel cases the one at in and the other at st louis in which have suggested to him the true solution here is the letter which i had this morning acknowledging my assistance he tossed over as he spoke a sheet of foreign i glanced my eyes down it catching a profusion of notes of admiration with stray and de force all to the ardent admiration of the frenchman the science of he speaks as a pupil to his master said i oh he my assistance too highly said lightly he has considerable gifts himself he possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal he has the power of observation and that of he is only wanting in knowledge and that may come in time he is now my small works into french your works i oh didn t you know he cried laughing	4
yes i have been guilty of several they are all upon subjects here for example is one upon the distinction between the ashes of the various in it i a hundred and forty forms of cigar and pipe tobacco with coloured plates the difference in the ash it is a point which is lo the sign of four continually turning up in criminal trials and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue if you can say definitely for example that some murder had been done by a man who was smoking an indian it obviously your field of search to the trained eye there is as much difference between the black ash of a and the white of bird s eye as there is between a and a you have an extraordinary genius for i remarked i appreciate their importance here is my upon the tracing of footsteps with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of paris as a of here too is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand with of the hands of sailors cork and diamond that is a matter of great the science of ii practical interest to the scientific especially in cases of bodies or in discovering the of but i weary you with my not at all i answered earnestly it is of the greatest interest to me especially since i have had the opportunity of observing your practical application of it but you spoke just now of observation and surely the one to some extent the other why hardly he answered leaning back in his and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe for example observation shows me that you have been to the street post office this morning but lets me know that when there you despatched a right i said i right on both points but i confess that i don t see how you arrived at it it was a sudden impulse upon the sign of four my part and i have mentioned it to no one it is simplicity itself he remarked at my surprise so simple that an explanation is superfluous and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of observation tells me that you have a little mould to your just opposite the street office they have taken up the pavement and thrown up some earth which lies in such a way that it is difficult to avoid treading in it in entering the earth is of this peculiar tint which is found as far as i know nowhere else in the neighbourhood so much is observation the rest is i how then did you the why of course i knew that you had not written a letter since i sat opposite to you i the science of all morning i see also in your open desk there that you have a sheet of and a thick bundle of what could you go into the post office for then but to send a wire all other and the one which remains must be the truth in this case it certainly is so i replied after a little thought the thing however is as you say of the simplest would you think me impertinent if i were to put your theories to a more severe test on the contrary he answered it would prevent me from taking a second dose of i should be delighted to look into any problem which you might submit to me i have heard you say that it is difficult for a man to have any object in daily use without leaving the impress of his individuality upon it in such a way that a trained observer might read it now i have here a watch which has recently come into my possession would you the sign of four have the kindness to let me have an opinion upon the character or habits of the late owner i handed him over the watch with some slight feeling of amusement in my heart for the test was as i thought an impossible one and i intended it as a lesson against the somewhat tone which he occasionally assumed he balanced the watch in his hand gazed hard at the dial opened the back and examined the works first with his naked eyes and then with a powerful i could hardly keep from smiling at his face when he finally snapped the case to and handed it back there are hardly any he remarked the watch has been recently cleaned which me of my most suggestive facts you are right i answered it was cleaned before being sent to me in my heart i accused my companion of putting forward a most lame and impotent m the science of excuse to cover his failure what could he expect from an watch though unsatisfactory my has not been entirely barren he observed staring up at the ceiling with dreamy eyes subject to your i should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother who inherited it from your father that you gather no doubt from the h w upon the back quite so the w suggests your own name the date of the watch is nearly fifty years back and the are as old as the watch so it was made for the last generation usually to the eldest son and he is most likely to have the same name as the father your father has if i remember right been dead many years it has therefore been in the hands of your eldest brother i the sign of four right so far said i anything else he was a man of habits very and careless he was left with good prospects but he threw away his chances lived for some time in poverty with occasional short intervals of prosperity and finally taking to	4
drink he died that is all i can gather i sprang from my chair and impatiently about the room with considerable bitterness in my heart this is unworthy of you i said i could not have believed that you would have descended to this you have made inquiries into the history of my unhappy brother and you now pretend to this knowledge in some fanciful way you cannot expect me to believe that you have read all this from his old watch it is unkind and to speak plainly has a touch of in it u i i the science of my dear doctor said he kindly pray accept my apologies the matter as an abstract problem i had forgotten how personal and painful a thing it might be to you i assure you however that i never even knew that you had a brother until you handed me the watch then how in the name of all that is wonderful did you get these facts they are absolutely correct in every particular ah that is good luck i could only say what was the balance of probability i did not at all expect to be so accurate but it was not mere guess work no no i never guess it is a shocking habit destructive to the logical faculty what seems strange to you is only so because you do not follow my train of thought or observe the small facts upon which large may depend for example i began by stating that your i i the sign of four brother was careless when you observe the lower part of that watch case you notice that it is not only in two places but it is cut and marked all over from the habit of keeping other hard objects such as j or keys in the same pocket surely it is no great feat to assume that a man who treats a fifty guinea watch so must be a careless man neither is it a very that a man who one article of such value is pretty well provided for in other respects i nodded to show that i followed his reasoning it is very customary for in england when they take a watch to scratch the number of the ticket with a pin point upon the inside of the case it is more handy than a as there is no risk of the number being lost or there f are no less than four such numbers visible the science of to my on the inside of this case that your brother was often at low water secondary that he had occasional bursts of prosperity or he could not have the pledge finally i ask you to look at the inner plate which contains the look at the thousands of all round the hole marks where the key has slipped what sober man s key could have those but you will never see a s watch without them he winds it at night and he leaves these traces of his unsteady hand where is the mystery in all this it is as clear as daylight i answered i regret the injustice which i did you i should have had more faith in your marvellous faculty may i ask whether you have any professional inquiry on foot at present none hence the i cannot live without brain work what else is there the sign of four to live for stand at the window here was ever such a dreary dismal world see how the yellow fog down the street and across the houses what could be more hopelessly and material what is the use of having powers doctor when one has no field upon which to exert them crime is commonplace existence is commonplace and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth i had opened my mouth to reply to this when with a crisp knock our landlady entered bearing a card upon the brass a young lady for you sir she said addressing my companion miss mary he read hum i have no recollection of the name ask the young lady to step up mrs don t go doctor i should prefer that you remain n chapter ii the statement of the case miss entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner she was a young lady small dainty well and dressed in the most perfect taste there was however a and simplicity about her costume which bore with it a suggestion of limited means the dress was a sombre and and she wore a small of the same dull hue relieved only by a suspicion of white feather in the side her face had neither regularity of feature nor beauty of complexion but her expression was sweet and amiable and her the sign of four large blue eyes were singularly spiritual and sympathetic in an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate i have never looked upon a face which gave a clearer promise of a refined and sensitive nature i could not but observe that as she took the seat which placed for her her lip trembled her hand quivered and she showed every sign of intense inward agitation i have come to you mr she said because you once enabled my employer mrs to a little domestic she was much impressed by your kindness and skill mrs he repeated thoughtfully i believe that i was of some slight service to her the case however as i remember it was a very simple one she did not think so but at least you cannot say the same of mine i can hardly the statement of the case imagine anything more strange more utterly inexplicable than the situation in which i find myself rubbed his hands and his eyes he leaned forward in his chair with an expression	4
of extraordinary upon his clear cut hawk like features state your case said he in brisk business tones i felt that my position was an embarrassing one you will i am sure excuse me i said rising from my chair to my surprise the young lady held up her hand to detain me if your friend she said would be good enough to stop he might be of service to me i into my chair briefly she continued the facts are these my father was an officer in an indian the sign of four ment who sent me home when i was quite a child my mother was dead and i had no relative in england i was placed however in a comfortable boarding establishment at and there i remained until i was seventeen years of age in the year my father who was senior captain of his regiment obtained twelve months leave and came home he to me from london that he had arrived all safe and directed me to come down at once giving the hotel as his address his message as i remember was full of kindness and love on reaching london i drove to the and informed that captain was staying there but that he had gone out the night before and had not returned i waited all day without news of him that night on the advice of the manager of the hotel i communicated with the police and next morning we advertised the statement of the case in all the papers our inquiries led to no result and from that day to this no word has ever been heard of my unfortunate father he came home with his heart full of hope to find some peace some comfort and instead she put her hand to her throat and a choking sob cut short the sentence the date asked opening his note book he disappeared upon the rd of december nearly ten years ago his luggage remained at the hotel there was nothing in it to suggest a clue some clothes some books and a considerable number of from the islands he had been one of the officers in charge of the guard there had he any friends in town only one that we know of major the sign of four of his own regiment the th the major had retired some little time before and lived at upper we communicated with him of course but he did not even know that his brother officer was in england a singular case remarked i have not yet described to you the most singular part about six years ago to be exact upon the th of may an advertisement appeared in the times asking for the address of miss mary and stating that it would be to her advantage to come forward there was no name or address i had at that time just entered the family of mrs in the capacity of by her advice i published my address in the advertisement column the same day there arrived through the post a small box addressed to me which i found to contain a the statement of the case very large and pearl no word of writing was enclosed since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box containing a similar pearl without any clue as to the they have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value you can see for yourselves that they are very handsome she opened a flat box as she spoke and showed me six of the finest pearls that i had ever seen your statement is most interesting said has anything else occurred to you yes and no later than to day that is why i have come to you this morning i received this letter which you will perhaps read for yourself thank you said the envelope too please post mark london s w the sign of four date july hum man s thumb mark on corner probably best quality paper at sixpence a packet particular man in his no address be at the third pillar from the left outside the theatre to night at seven o clock if you are bring two friends you are a wronged woman and shall have justice do not bring police if you do all will be in vain your unknown friend well really this is a very pretty little mystery i what do you intend to do miss that is what i want to ask you then we shall most certainly go you and i and yes why dr is the very man your correspondent says two friends he and i have worked together before but would he come she asked with something appealing in her voice and expression the statement of the case i shall be proud and happy said i fervently if i can be of any service you are both very kind she answered i have led a retired life and have no friends whom i could appeal to if i am here at six it will do i suppose you must not be later said there is one other point however is this handwriting the same as that upon the addresses i have them here she answered producing half a dozen pieces of paper you are certainly a model you have the correct let us see now he spread out the papers upon the table and gave little darting glances from one to the other they are disguised hands except the letter he said presently but there can be no question as to the see how the irrepressible greek e will break out and see the of the final s they are the sign of four undoubtedly by the same person i should not like to suggest false hopes but is there any resemblance between this hand and	4
readily answered the few additional questions which put to her major was a very particular friend of papa s she said his letters were full of allusions tp the major he and papa were in command of the troops at the islands so they were thrown a great deal together by the way a curious paper was found in papa s desk which no one could understand i don t suppose that it is of the slightest importance but i thought you might care to see it so i brought it with me it is here unfolded the paper carefully and the sign of four smoothed it out upon his knee he then very examined it all over with his double it is paper of native indian manufacture he remarked it has at some time been pinned to a board the upon it appears to be a plan of part of a large building with numerous halls and passages at one point is a small cross done in red ink and above it is from left in faded pencil writing in the corner is a curious like four crosses in a line with their arms touching beside it is written in very rough and coarse characters the sign of the four small dost no i confess that i do not see how this bears upon the matter yet it is evidently a document of importance it has been kept carefully in a pocket book for the one side is as clean as the other in quest of a solution it was in his pocket book that we found it preserve it carefully then miss for it may prove to be of use to us i begin to suspect that this matter may turn out to be much deeper and more subtle than i at first supposed i must my ideas he leaned back in the cab and i could see by his drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking intently miss and i in an about our present expedition and its possible but our companion maintained his impenetrable reserve until the end of our journey it was a september evening and not yet seven o clock but the day had been a dreary one and a dense fog lay low upon the great city mud coloured clouds drooped sadly over the muddy streets down the strand the lamps were but misty of the sign of four diffused light which threw a feeble circular glimmer upon the pavement the yellow glare from the shop windows streamed out into the air and threw a shifting radiance across the crowded i there was to my mind something and ghost like in the endless procession of faces which flitted across these narrow bars of light sad faces and glad haggard and merry like all human kind they flitted from the gloom into the light and so back into the gloom once more i am not subject to impressions but the dull heavy evening with the strange business upon which we were engaged combined to make me nervous and depressed i could see from miss s manner that she was suffering from the same feeling alone could rise superior to petty influences he held his open upon his knee and from time to time he down figures in quest of a solution and in the light of his at the theatre the crowds were already thick at the side in front a continuous stream of and were rattling up their of shirt men and be be women we had hardly reached the third pillar which was our before a small dark brisk man in the dress of a coachman us are you the parties who come with miss he asked i am miss and these two gentlemen are my friends said she he bent a pair of wonderfully penetrating and questioning eyes upon us you will excuse me miss he said with a certain dogged manner but i was to ask you to give me your word that neither of your companions is a police officer the sign of four i give you my word on that she answered he gave a shrill whistle on which a street led across a four and opened the door the man who had addressed us mounted to the box while we took our places inside we had hardly done so before the driver whipped up his horse and we plunged away at a furious pace through the streets the situation was a curious one we were driving to an unknown place on an unknown errand yet our invitation was either a complete which was an inconceivable or else we had good reason to think that important issues might hang upon our journey miss was as resolute and collected as ever i endeavoured to cheer and amuse her by reminiscences of my adventures in but to tell the truth i was myself so excited at our situation and so curious as to in quest of a solution our destination that my stories were slightly involved to this day she declares that i told her one moving anecdote as to how a looked into my tent at the dead of night and how i fired a double tiger at it at first i had some idea as to the direction in which we were driving but soon what with our pace the fog and my own limited knowledge of london i lost my bearings and knew nothing save that we seemed to be going a very long way was never at fault however and he muttered the names as the cab rattled through squares and in and out by by streets row said he now square now we come out on the bridge road we are making for the side apparently yes i thought so now we are on the bridge you can catch glimpses of the river the sign of four we	4
have no objection to tobacco smoke to the of the eastern tobacco i am a little nervous and i find my an invaluable he applied a to the great bowl and the smoke merrily through the we sat all three in a with our heads advanced and our upon our hands while the strange little fellow with his high shining head puffed uneasily in the centre when i first determined to make this communication to you said he i might have given you my address but i feared that you might disregard my request and bring unpleasant people with you i took the liberty therefore of making an h the sign of four ment in such a way that my man might be able to see you first i have complete confidence in his discretion and he had orders if he were dissatisfied to proceed no in the matter you will excuse these precautions but i am a man of somewhat retiring and i might even say refined tastes and there is nothing more than a policeman i have a natural shrinking from all forms of rough i seldom come in contact with the rough crowd i live as you see with some little atmosphere of elegance around me i may call myself a patron of the arts it is my weakness the landscape is a genuine and though a might perhaps throw a doubt upon that there cannot be the least question about the i am partial to the modern french school you will excuse me mr said miss but i am here at your i the story of the bald headed man request to learn something which you desire to tell me it is very late and i should desire the interview to be as short as possible at the best it must take some time he answered for we shall certainly have to go to and see brother we shall all go and try if we can get the better of brother he is very angry with me for taking the course which has seemed right to me i had quite high words with him last night you cannot imagine what a terrible fellow he is when he is angry if we are to go to it would perhaps be as well to start at once i ventured to remark he laughed until his ears were quite red that would hardly do he cried i don t know what he would say if i brought you in that sudden way no i must prepare you the sign of four by showing you how we all stand to each other in the first place i must tell you that there are several points in the story of which i am myself ignorant i can only lay the facts before you as far as i know them myself my father was as you may have guessed major john once of the indian army he retired some eleven years ago and came to live at lodge in upper he had in india and brought back with him a considerable sum of money a large collection of valuable and a staff of native servants with these advantages he bought himself a house and lived in great luxury my and i were the only children i very well remember the sensation which was caused by the disappearance of captain we read the details in the papers the story of the bald headed man and knowing that he had been a friend of our father s we discussed the case freely in his presence he used to join in our speculations as to what could have happened never for an instant did we suspect that he had the whole secret hidden in his own breast that of all men he alone knew the fate of arthur we did know however that some mystery some positive danger our father he was very fearful of going out alone and he always employed two prize to act as at lodge who drove you to night was one of them he was once light weight champion of england our father would never tell us what it was he feared but he had a most marked aversion to men with wooden legs on one occasion he actually fired his revolver at a wooden legged man who proved to be a harmless for orders the sign of four we had to pay a large sum to hush the matter up my brother and i used to think this a mere whim of my father s but events have since led us to change our opinion early in my father received a letter from india which was a great shock to him he nearly fainted at the breakfast table when he opened it and from that day he to his death what was in the letter we could never discover but i could see as he held it that it was short and written in a hand he had suffered for years from an enlarged but he now became rapidly worse and towards the end of april we were informed that he was beyond all hope and that he w shed to make a last communication to us when we entered his room he was propped up with pillows and breathing heavily he us to lock the door and j r to come upon either side of the bed then i the story of the bald headed man grasping our hands he made a remarkable statement to us in a voice which was broken as much by emotion as by pain i shall try and give it to you in his own very words i have only one thing he said which upon my mind at this supreme moment it is my treatment of poor s orphan the cursed which has been my sin through life has withheld from her the treasure half at least of which should have	4
been hers and yet i have made no use of it myself so blind and foolish a thing is the mere feeling of possession has been so dear to me that i could not bear to share it with another see that tipped with pearls beside the bottle even that i could not bear to part with although i had got it out with the design of sending it to her you my sons will give her a fair share of the treasure but send her nothing not even the sign of four the until i am gone after all men have been as bad as this and have recovered i will tell you how died he continued he had suffered for years from a weak heart but he concealed it from every one i alone knew it when in india he and i through a remarkable chain of circumstances came into possession of a considerable treasure i brought it over to england and on the night of s arrival he came straight over here to claim his share he walked over from the station and was admitted by my faithful old lai who is now dead and i had a difference of opinion as to the division of the treasure and we came to heated words had sprung out of his chair in a of anger when he suddenly pressed his hand to his side his face turned a dusky hue and he fell backwards cutting his head the story of the bald headed man against the corner of the treasure chest when i stooped over him i found to my horror that he was dead for a long time i sat half distracted wondering what i should do my first impulse was of course to call for assistance but i could not but recognise that there was every chance that i would be accused of his murder his death at the moment of a quarrel and the in his head would be black against me again an official inquiry could not be made without bringing out some facts about the treasure which i was particularly anxious to keep secret he had told me that no soul upon earth knew where he had gone there seemed to be no necessity why any soul ever should know i was still pondering over the matter when looking up i saw my servant lai in the doorway he stole in and bolted the door behind him do not fear o the sign of four he said no one need know that you have killed him let us hide him away and who is the wiser i did not kill him said i lai shook his head and smiled i heard it all said he i heard you quarrel and i heard the blow but my lips are sealed all are asleep in the house let us put him away together that was enough to decide me if own servant could not believe my innocence how could i hope to make it good before twelve foolish in a jury box lai and i disposed of the body that night and within a few days the london papers were full of the mysterious disappearance of captain you will see from what i say that i can hardly be blamed in the matter my fault lies in the fact that we concealed not only the body but also the treasure and that i have clung to s share as well as to my own i wish you therefore to make put the story of the bald headed man i your ears down to my mouth the treasure is hidden in at this instant a horrible change came over his expression his eyes stared wildly his jaw dropped and he in a voice which i can never forget keep him out i for christ s sake keep him out we both stared round at the window behind us upon which his gaze was fixed a face was looking in at us out of the darkness we could see the of the nose where it was pressed against the glass it was a bearded hairy face with wild cruel eyes and an expression of concentrated my brother and i rushed towards the window but the man was gone when we returned to my father his head had dropped and his pulse had ceased to beat we searched the garden that night but found no sign of the intruder save that just under the window a single was the sign of four visible in the flower bed but for that one trace we might have thought that our had up that wild fierce face we soon however had another and a more striking proof that there were secret at work all round us the window of my father s room was found open in the morning his and boxes had been and upon his chest was fixed a torn piece of paper with the words the sign of the four across it what the phrase meant or who our secret visitor may have been we never knew as far as we can judge none of my father s property had been actually stolen though everything had been turned out my brother and i naturally associated this peculiar incident with the fear which haunted my father during his life but it is still a complete mystery to us the little man stopped to his and puffed thoughtfully for a few the story of the bald headed man moments we had all sat absorbed listening to his extraordinary narrative at the short account of her father s death miss had turned deadly white and for a moment i feared that she was to faint she rallied however on drinking a glass of water which i quietly poured our for her from a upon the side table leaned back in his chair with an abstracted expression and the drawn	4
him against the great danger of taking more than two drops of oil while i recommended in large as a however that may be i was certainly relieved when our cab pulled up with a jerk and the coachman sprang down to open the door this miss is lodge said mr as he handed her out chapter v the tragedy of lodge it was nearly eleven o clock when we reached this final stage of our night s adventures we had left the damp fog of the great city behind us and the night was fairly fine a warm wind blew from the westward and heavy clouds moved slowly across the sky with half a moon peeping occasionally through the it was to see for some distance but took down one of the from the carriage to give us a better light upon our way lodge stood in its own grounds and was round with a very high the sign of four stone wall with broken glass a single narrow iron door formed the only means of entrance on this our guide knocked with a peculiar like rat who is there cried a voice from within it is i you surely know my knock by this time there was a grumbling sound and a and of keys the door swung heavily back and a short man stood in the opening with the yellow light of the lantern shining upon his face and twinkling eyes that you mr but who are the others i had no orders about them from the master no you surprise me i told my brother last night that i should bring some friends the tragedy of lodge he t been out o his room to day mr and i have no orders you know very well that i must stick to i can let you in but your friends they must just stop where they are this was an unexpected obstacle looked about him in a perplexed and helpless manner this is too bad of you he said i them that is enough for you there is the young lady too she cannot wait on the public road at this hour very sorry mr said the porter folk may be friends o yours and yet no friends o the master s he pays me well to do my duty and my duty i ll do i don t know none o your friends oh yes you do cried i don t think you can have forgotten me don t you remember the amateur who fought three the sign of four rounds with you at s rooms on the night of your benefit four years back not mr roared the prize god s truth how could i have you if instead o there so quiet you had just stepped up and given me that cross hit of yours under the jaw i d ha known you without a question ah you re one that has wasted your gifts you have you might have aimed high if you had joined the fancy you see if all else fails me i have still one of the scientific professions open to me said laughing our friend won t keep us out in the cold now i am sure in you come sir in you come you and your friends he answered very sorry mr but orders are very strict had to be certain of your friends before i let them in the tragedy of lodge inside a gravel path wound through desolate grounds to a huge of a house square and all plunged in shadow save where a struck one corner and in a garret window the vast size of the building with its gloom and its silence struck a chill to the heart even seemed ill at ease and the lantern quivered and rattled in his hand i cannot understand it he said there must be some mistake i distinctly told that we should be here and yet there is no light in his window i do not know what to make of it does he always guard the premises in this way asked yes he has followed my father s custom he was the favourite son you know and i sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me that the sign of four is s window up there where the strikes it is quite bright but there is no light from within i think none said but i see the of a light in that little window beside the door ah that is the housekeeper s room that is where old mrs sits she can tell us all about it but perhaps you would not mind waiting here for a minute or two for if we all go in together and she has had no word of our coming she may be alarmed but hush what is that he held up the lantern and his hand shook until the circles of light and wavered all round us miss seized my wrist and we all stood with hearts straining our ears from the great black house there sounded through the silent night the and most pitiful of sounds the tragedy of lodge the shrill broken of a frightened woman it is mrs said she is the only woman in the house wait here i shall be back in a moment he hurried for the door and knocked in his peculiar way we could see a tall old woman admit him and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him oh mr sir i am so glad you have come i am so glad you have come mr sir we heard her until the door was closed and her voice died away into a muffled our guide had left us the lantern swung it slowly round and peered keenly at the house and at the great rubbish heaps which the	4
grounds miss and i stood together and her hand was in mine a wondrous subtle thing is love for the sign of four here were we two who had never seen each other before that day between whom no word or even look of affection had ever passed and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other i have at it since but at the time it seemed the most natural thing that i should go out to her so and as she has often told me there was in her also the instinct to turn to me for comfort and protection so we stood hand in hand like two children and there was peace in our hearts for all the dark things that surrounded us what a strange place t she said looking round it looks as though all the in england had been let loose in it i have seen something of the sort on the side of a hill near where the had been at work and from the same cause said the tragedy of lodge these are the traces of the treasure you must remember that they were six years looking for it no wonder that the grounds look like a gravel pit at that moment the door of the house burst open and came running out with his hands thrown forward and terror in his eyes there is something amiss with he cried i am frightened my nerves cannot stand it he was indeed half with fear and his feeble face peeping out from the great collar had the helpless appealing expression of a terrified child come into the house said in his crisp firm way yes do pleaded i really do not feel equal to giving directions we all followed him into the housekeeper s o the sign of four room which stood upon the left hand side of the passage the old woman was pacing up and down with a scared look and restless picking fingers but the sight of miss appeared to have a soothing effect upon her god bless your sweet calm face she cried with an hysterical sob it does me good to see you oh but i have been sorely tried this day p our companion patted her thin work worn hand and murmured some few words of kindly womanly comfort which brought the colour back into the other s cheeks master has locked himself in and will not answer me she explained all day i have waited to hear from him for he often likes to be alone but an hour ago i feared that something was amiss so i went up and peeped through the you must go up mr you must go up and look the tragedy of lodge i for yourself i have seen mr in joy and in sorrow for ten long years but i never saw him with such a face on him as that took the lamp and led the way for s teeth were chattering in his head so shaken was he that i had to pass my hand under his arm as we went up the stairs for his knees were trembling under him twice as we ascended whipped his out of his pocket and carefully examined marks which appeared to me to be mere of dust upon the which served as a stair carpet he walked slowly from step to step holding the lamp low and shooting keen glances to right and left miss had remained behind with the frightened housekeeper the third flight of stairs ended in a straight passage of some length with a great picture the sign of four in indian upon the right of it and three doors upon the left advanced along it in the same slow and way while we kept close at his heels with our long black shadows streaming backwards down the corridor the third door was that which we were seeking knocked without receiving any answer and then tried to turn the handle and force it open it was locked on the inside however and by a broad and powerful bolt as we could see when we set our lamp up against it the key being turned however the hole was not entirely closed bent down to it and instantly rose again with a sharp of the breath there is something devilish in this said he more moved than i had ever before seen him what do you make of it i stooped to the hole and in the tragedy of lodge horror moonlight was streaming into the room and it was bright with a vague and radiance looking straight at me and suspended as it were in the air for all beneath was in shadow there hung a face the very face of our companion there was the same high shining head the same circular of red hair the same countenance the features were set however in a horrible smile a fixed and unnatural grin which in that still and room was more to the nerves than any or so like was the face to that of our little friend that i looked round at him to make sure that he was indeed with us then i recalled to mind that he had mentioned to us that his brother and he were this is terrible i said to what is to be done the door must come down he answered the sign of four and springing against it he put all his weight upon the lock it and groaned but did not yield together we flung ourselves upon it once more and this time it gave way with a sudden snap and we found ourselves within s chamber it appeared to have been fitted up as a a double line of bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door and the table was over with test and in the	4
answered without aid it is so but suppose you had a friend up here who lowered you this good stout rope which i see in the corner securing one end of it to this great hook in the wall then i think if you were an active man you might swarm up wooden leg and all you would depart of course in the same fashion and your ally would draw up the sign of four the rope it from the hook shut the window it on the inside and get away in the way that he originally came as a minor point it may be noted he continued the rope that our wooden legged friend though a fair was not a professional sailor his hands were far from my more than one blood mark especially towards the end of the rope from which i gather that he slipped down with such that he took the skin off his hand this is all very well said i but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever how about this mysterious ally how came he into the room yes the ally repeated there are features of interest about this ally he lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace i fancy that this ally breaks fresh ground in the annals of crime in this gives a demonstration country though parallel cases suggest themselves from india and if my memory serves me from how came he then the door is locked the window is inaccessible was it through the chimney the grate is much too small he answered i had already considered that possibility how then i persisted you will not apply my he said shaking his head how often have i said to you that when you have the impossible whatever remains however improbable must be the truth we know that he did not come through the door the window or the chimney we also know that he could not have been concealed in the room as there is no concealment possible whence then did he come he came the hole in the roof i cried the sign of four of course he did he must have done so if you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me we shall now extend our to the room above the secret room in which the treasure was found he mounted the steps and seizing a with either hand he swung himself up into the garret then lying on his face he reached down for the lamp and held it while i followed him the chamber in which we found ourselves was about ten feet one way and six the other the floor was formed by the with thin and plaster between so that in walking one had to step from beam to beam the roof ran up to an and was evidently the inner shell of the true roof of the house there was no furniture of any sort and the accumulated dust of years lay thick upon the floor here you are you see said gives a demonstration putting his hand against the sloping wall this is a which leads out on to the roof i can press it back and here is the roof itself sloping at a gentle angle this then is the way by which number one entered let us see if we can find some other traces of his individuality he held down the lamp to the floor and as he did so i saw for the second time that night a startled surprised look come over his face for myself as i followed his gaze my skin was cold under my clothes the floor was covered thickly with the prints of a naked foot clear well defined perfectly formed but scarce half the size of those of an ordinary man i said in a whisper a child has done this horrid thing he had recovered his self possession in an instant i was staggered for the moment he said the sign of four but the thing is quite natural my memory failed me or i should have been able to it there is nothing more to be learned here let us go down what is your theory then as to those i asked eagerly when we had regained the lower room once more my dear try a little analysis yourself said he with a touch of impatience you know my methods apply them and it will be instructive to compare results i cannot conceive anything which will cover the facts i answered it will be clear enough to you soon he said in an off hand way i think that there is nothing else of importance here but i will look he whipped out his and a measure and hurried about the room on his knees measuring comparing examining with his long thin nose only a few inches gives a demonstration from the and his eyes gleaming and deep set like those of a bird so swift silent and were his movements like those of a trained picking out a scent that i could not but think what a terrible criminal he would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against the law instead of them in its defence as he hunted about he kept muttering to himself and finally he broke out into a loud crow of delight we are certainly in luck said he we ought to have very little trouble now number one has had the misfortune to tread in the you can see the outline of the edge of his small foot here at the side of this evil smelling mess the has been cracked you see and the stuff has out what then i asked why we have got him that s all said the sign of four he i know a dog that would follow that scent to the world s end	4
theories after all my view of the case is confirmed there is a trap door communicating with the roof and it is partly open it was i who opened it oh indeed you did notice it then he seemed a little at the discovery well whoever noticed it it shows how our gentleman got away yes sir from the passage ask mr to step this way mr it is my duty to inform you that anything which you may say will be used against you i arrest you in the queen s name as being concerned in the death of your brother there now didn t i tell you cried the poor little man throwing out his hands and looking from one to the other of us io the sign of four don t trouble yourself about it mr said i think that i can engage to clear you of the charge don t promise too much mr don t promise too much snapped the you may find it a harder matter than you think not only will i clear him mr jones but i will make you a free present of the name and description of one of the two people who were in this room last night his name i have every reason to believe is small he is a poorly educated man small active with his right leg off and wearing a wooden stump which is worn away upon the inner side his left boot has a coarse square sole with an iron band round the heel he is a middle aged man much and has been a these few indications may be of some assistance to you coupled with the fact that there is a good deal gives a demonstration of skin missing from the palm of his hand the other man ah i the other man asked jones in a voice but impressed none the less as i could easily see by the precision of the other s manner is a rather curious person said turning upon his heel i hope before very long to be able to introduce you to the pair of them a word with you he led me out to the head of the stair this unexpected occurrence he said has caused us rather to lose sight of the original purpose of our journey i have just been thinking so i answered it is not right that miss should remain in this stricken house no you must escort her home she lives with mrs in lower so it is not very far i will wait io the sign of four for you here if you will drive out again or perhaps you are too tired by no means i don t think i could rest until i know more of this fantastic business i have seen something of the rough side of life but i give you my word that this quick succession of strange surprises to night has shaken my nerve completely i should like however to see the matter through with you now that i have got so far your presence will be of great service to me he answered we shall work the case out and leave this fellow jones to over any mare s nest which he may choose to when you have dropped miss i wish you to go on to no lane down near the water s edge at the third house on the right hand side is a bird s is the name you will see a holding a young rabbit in the window knock old gives a demonstration up and tell him with my compliments that i want at once you will bring back in the cab with you a dog i suppose yes a queer with a most amazing power of scent i would rather have s help than that of the whole force of london i shall bring him then said i it is one now i ought to be back before three if i can get a fresh horse and i said shall see what i can learn from mrs and from the indian servant who mr tells me sleeps in the next garret then i shall study the great jones s methods and listen to his not too delicate die was is always chapter vii the episode of the barrel the police had brought a cab with them and in this i escorted miss back to her home after the fashion of women she had borne trouble with a calm face as long as there was weaker than herself to support and i had found her bright and placid by the side of the frightened housekeeper in the cab however she first turned faint and then burst into a passion of weeping so sorely had she been tried by the adventures of the night she has told me since that she thought me cold and distant upon that journey she little guessed the struggle within my breast or the effort of self the episode of the barrel iii restraint which held me back my sympathies and my love went out to her even as my hand had in the garden i felt that years of the of life could not teach me to know her sweet brave nature as had this one day of strange experiences yet there were two thoughts which sealed the words of affection upon my lips she was weak and helpless shaken in mind and nerve it was to take her at a disadvantage to love upon her at such a time worse still she was rich if s were successful she would be an was it fair was it honourable that a half pay surgeon should take such advantage of an intimacy which chance had brought about might she not look upon me as a mere vulgar fortune i could not bear to risk that such a thought should cross her mind	4
this treasure like an barrier between us the sign of four it was nearly two o clock when we reached mrs s the servants had retired hours ago but mrs had been so interested by the strange message which miss had received that she had sat up in the hope of her return she opened the door herself a middle aged graceful woman and it gave me joy to see how tenderly her arm stole round the other s waist and how was the voice in which she greeted her she was clearly no mere paid but an honoured friend i was introduced and mrs earnestly begged me to step in and to tell her our adventures i explained however the importance of my errand and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which we might make with the case as we drove away i stole a glance back and i still seem to see that little group on the step the two graceful clinging figures the half opened the episode of the barrel door the hall light shining through stained glass the and the bright it was soothing to catch even that passing glimpse of a tranquil english home in the midst of the wild dark business which had absorbed us and the more i thought of what had happened the and darker it grew i the whole extraordinary of events as i rattled on through the silent streets there was the original problem that at least was pretty clear now the death of captain the sending of the pearls the advertisement the letter we had had light upon all those events they had only led us however to a deeper and far more tragic mystery the indian treasure the curious plan found among s baggage the strange scene at major s death the of the treasure immediately followed by the murder of the dis the sign of four the very singular to the crime the footsteps the remarkable weapons the words upon the card corresponding with those upon captain s here was indeed a in which a man less singularly endowed than my might well despair of ever finding the clue lane was a row of shabby brick houses in the lower quarter of i had to knock for some time at no before i could make any impression at last however there was the of a candle behind the blind and a face looked out at the upper window go on you drunken said the face if you kick up any more row tu open the and let out forty three dogs upon you if you ll let one out it s just what i have come for said i the episode of the barrel go on the voice so help me gracious i have a in this bag an i ll drop it on your if you don t hook it but i want a dog i cried i won t be argued with shouted mr now stand clear for when i say three down goes the mr i began but the words had a most effect for the window instantly down and within a minute the door was and open mr was a lean old man with stooping shoulders a neck and glasses a friend of mr is always welcome said he step in sir keep clear of the for he ah naughty naughty would you take a at the gentleman this to a which thrust its wicked head and red eyes between the bars ii the sign of four of its cage don t mind that sir it s only a it t got no so i gives it the run o the room for it keeps the down you must not mind my bein just a little short wi you at first for i m at by the children and there s many a one just comes down this lane to knock me up what was it that mr wanted sir he wanted a dog of yours ah that would be yes was the name lives at no on the left here he moved slowly forward with his candle among the queer animal family which he had gathered round him in the uncertain shadowy light i could see dimly that there were glancing glimmering eyes peeping down at us from every and corner even the above our heads were lined by solemn fowls who lazily shifted their weight the episode of the barrel from one leg to the other as our voices disturbed their proved to be an ugly long haired creature half and half brown and white in colour with a very clumsy gait it accepted after some hesitation a lump of sugar which the old handed to me and having thus sealed an alliance it followed me to the cab and made no difficulties about accompanying me it had just struck three on the palace clock when i found myself back once more at lodge the ex had i found been arrested as an and both he and mr had been marched off to the station two guarded the narrow gate but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the s name was standing on the with his hands in his pockets smoking his pipe ii the sign of four ah you have him there said he good dog then jones has gone we have had an immense display of energy since you left he has arrested not only friend but the the housekeeper and the indian servant we have the place to ourselves but for a upstairs leave the dog here and come up we tied to the hall table and the stairs the room was as we had left it save that a sheet had been draped over the central figure a weary looking police in the corner lend me your bull s eye said my companion now tie this	4
bit of card round my neck so as to hang it in front of me thank you now i must kick off my boots and stockings just you carry them down with you i am going to do a little climbing and dip my handkerchief the episode of the barrel into the that will do now come up into the garret with me for a moment we up through the hole turned his light once more upon the footsteps in the dust i wish you particularly to notice these he said do you observe anything about them they belong i said to a child or a small woman apart from their size though is there nothing else they appear to be much as other not at all look here this is the print of a right foot in the dust now i make one with my naked foot beside it what is the chief difference your toes are all cramped together the other print has each toe distinctly divided quite so that is the point bear that the sign of four in mind now would you kindly step over to that window and smell the edge of the wood work i shall stay over here as i have this handkerchief in my hand i did as he directed and was instantly conscious of a strong smell that is where he put his foot in getting out u you can trace him i should think that will have no difficulty now run downstairs loose the dog and look out for by the time that i got out into the grounds was on the roof and i could see him like an enormous glow worm crawling very slowly along the ridge i lost sight of him behind a of chimneys but he presently reappeared and then vanished once more upon the opposite side when i made my way round there i found him seated at one of the corner that you he cried the episode of the barrel yes this is the place what is that black thing down there a water barrel top on it yes no sign of a ladder no confound the fellow it s a most place i ought to be able to come down where he could climb up the feels pretty firm here goes anyhow there was a of feet and the lantern began to come steadily down the side of the wall then with a light spring he came on to the barrel and from there to the earth it was easy to follow him he said drawing on his stockings and boots were loosened the whole way along and in his the sign of four hurry he had dropped this it my as you doctors express it the object which he held up to me was a small pocket or woven out of coloured and with a few beads strung round it in shape and size it was not unlike a case inside were half a dozen of dark wood sharp at one end and rounded at the other like that which had struck they are things said he look out that you don t yourself i m delighted to have them for the chances are that they are all he has there is the less fear of you or me finding one in our skin before long i would sooner face a bullet myself are you game for a six mile certainly i answered your leg will stand it oh yes the episode of the barrel here you are good old smell it smell it he pushed the handkerchief under the dogs nose while the creature stood with its legs separated and with a most cock to its head like a the of a famous then threw the handkerchief to a distance fastened a stout cord to the s collar and led him to the foot of the water barrel the creature instantly broke into a succession of high tremulous and with his nose on the ground and his tail in the air off upon the trail at a pace which strained his and kept us at the top of our speed the east had been gradually and we could now see some distance in the cold gray light the square massive house with its black empty windows and high bare walls up sad and forlorn behind us our course led right across the grounds the sign of four in and out among the and with which they were and the whole place with its scattered dirt heaps and ill grown shrubs had a look which with the black tragedy which hung over it on reaching the boundary wall ran along eagerly underneath its shadow and stopped finally in a corner by a young where the two walls joined several bricks had been loosened and the left were worn down and rounded upon the lower side as though they had frequently been used as a ladder up and taking the dog from me he dropped it over upon the other side there s the print of wooden leg s hand he remarked as i mounted up beside him you see the slight of blood upon the white plaster what a lucky thing it is the episode of the barrel that we have had no very heavy rain since yesterday the scent will lie upon the road in spite of their eight and twenty hours start i confess that i had my doubts myself when i reflected upon the great traffic which had passed along the london road in the interval my fears were soon appeased however never hesitated or but on in his peculiar rolling fashion clearly the smell of the rose high above all other do not imagine said that i depend for my success in this case upon the mere chance of one of these fellows having put his foot in the i have knowledge now which would enable me to	4
trace them in many different ways this however is the and since fortune has put it into our hands i should be if i neglected it it has however prevented the case from becoming the pretty little the sign of four intellectual problem which it at one time promised to be there might have been some credit to be gained out of it but for this too palpable clue there is credit and to spare said i i assure you that i marvel at the means by which you obtain your results in this case even more than i did in the hope murder the thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable how for example could you describe with such confidence the wooden legged man my dear boy it was simplicity itself i don t wish to be theatrical it is all patent and above board two officers who are in command of a guard learn an important secret as to buried treasure a map is drawn for them by an englishman named small you remember that we saw the name upon the in captain s possession he had signed it in the episode of the barrel behalf of himself and his associates the sign of the four as he somewhat called it aided by this the officers or one of them gets the treasure and brings it to england leaving we will suppose some condition under which he received it now then why did not small get the treasure himself the answer is obvious the is dated at a time when was brought into close association with small did not get the treasure because he and his associates were themselves and could not get away but this is mere speculation said i it is more than that it is the only which covers the facts let us see how it fits in with the major remains at peace for some years happy in the possession of his treasure then he receives a letter from india which ia the sign of four gives him a great fright what was that a letter to say that the men whom he had wronged had been set free or had escaped that is much more likely for he would have known what their term of imprisonment was it would not have been a surprise to him what does he do then he guards himself against a wooden legged a white man mark you for he mistakes a white for him and actually fires a pistol at him now only one white man s name is on the the others are or there is no other white man therefore we may say with confidence that the man is identical with small does the reasoning strike you as being no it is clear and well now let us put ourselves in the the episode of the barrel place of small let us look at it from his point of view he comes to england with the double idea of what he would consider to be his rights and of having his revenge upon the man who had wronged him he found out where lived and very possibly he established communications with some one inside the house there is this butler lai whom we have not seen mrs gives him far from a good character small could not find out however where the treasure was hid for no one ever knew save the major and one faithful servant who had died suddenly small that the major is on his in a frenzy lest the secret of the treasure die with him he runs the of the guards makes his way to the dying man s window and is only from entering by the presence of his two sons mad with hate however against the dead the sign of four man he enters the room that night his private papers in the hope of discovering some relating to the treasure and finally leaves a of his visit in the short inscription upon the card he had doubtless planned beforehand that should he the major he would leave some such record upon the body as a sign that it was not a common murder but from the point of view of the four associates something in the nature of an act of justice and of this kind are common enough in the annals of crime and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal do you follow all this very clearly now what could small do he could only continue to keep a secret watch upon the efforts made to find the treasure possibly he leaves england and only comes back at intervals then comes the episode of the barrel r the discovery of the garret and he is instantly informed of it we again trace the presence of some in the household with his wooden leg is utterly unable to reach the lofty room of he takes with him however a rather curious associate who gets over this difficulty but his naked foot into whence come and a limp for a half pay officer with a but it was the associate and not who committed the crime quite so and rather to s disgust to judge by the way he stamped about f when he got into the room he bore no grudge against and would have preferred if he could have been simply bound and he did not wish to put his head in a there was no help for it however the savage instincts of the sign of four his companion had broken out and the poison had done its work so small left his record lowered the treasure box to the ground and followed it himself that was the train of events as far as i can them of course as to his personal appearance he must be middle aged and must be after serving	4
his time in such an oven as the his height is readily calculated from the length of his stride and we know that he was bearded his was the one point which impressed itself upon when he saw him at the window i don t know that there is anything else the associate ah well there is no great mystery in that but you will know all about it soon enough how sweet the morning air is see how that one little cloud like a pink feather from some gigantic the episode of the barrel now the red rim of the sun itself over the london cloud bank it shines on a good many folk but on none i dare bet who are on a stranger errand than you and i how i small we feel with our petty and in the presence of the great forces of nature are you well up in your paul fairly so i worked back to him through y that was like following the brook to the parent lake he makes one curious but profound remark it is that the chief proof of man s real greatness lies in his perception of his own it you see a it power of comparison and of appreciation which is in itself a proof of nobility there is much food for thought in you have not a pistol have you i have my stick it is just possible that we may need the sign of four something of the sort if we get to their i shall leave to you but if the other turns nasty i shall shoot him dead he took out his revolver as he spoke and having loaded two of the chambers he put it back into the right hand pocket of his jacket we had during this time been following the guidance of down the half rural villa lined roads which lead to the metropolis now however we were beginning to come among continuous streets where and were already and women were taking down shutters and brushing door steps at the corner public houses business was i just beginning and rough looking men were emerging rubbing their sleeves across their after their morning wet strange dogs sauntered up and stared at us as we passed but our j the episode of the barrel looked neither to the right or to the left but trotted with his nose to the ground and an occasional eager which spoke of a hot scent we had traversed and now found ourselves in lane having borne away through the side streets to the east of the oval the men whom we pursued seemed to have taken a curiously road with the idea probably of escaping observation they had never kept to the main road if a parallel side street would serve their turn at the foot of lane they had edged away to the left through bond street and miles street where the latter street turns into knight s place ceased to advance but began to run backwards and forwards with one ear cocked and the other drooping the very picture of then he round in circles the sign of four looking up to us from time to time as if to ask for sympathy in his embarrassment what the deuce is the matter with the dog growled they surely would not take a cab or go off in a perhaps they stood here for some time i suggested ah it s all right he s off again said my companion in a tone of relief he was indeed off for after round again he suddenly made up his mind and darted away with an energy and determination such as he had not yet shown the scent appeared to be much than before for he had not even to put his nose on the ground but at his and tried to break into a run i could see by the gleam in s eyes that he thought we were the end of our journey our course now ran down nine elms until we came to and s large the episode of the barrel timber yard just past the white eagle tavern here the dog frantic with excitement turned down through the side gate into the where the were already at work on the dog through and down an alley round a passage between two wood piles and finally with a triumphant sprang upon a large barrel which still stood upon the hand on which it had been brought with tongue and eyes stood upon the looking from one to the other of us for some sign of appreciation the of the barrel and the wheels of the were with a dark liquid and the whole air was heavy with the smell of and i looked at each other and then burst simultaneously into an fit of laughter chapter viii the baker street what now i asked has lost his character for he acted according to his lights said lifting him down from the barrel and walking him out of the timber yard if you consider how much is about london in one day it is no great wonder that our trail should have been crossed it is much used now especially for the of wood poor is not to blame we must get on the main scent again i suppose yes and fortunately we have no the baker street distance to go evidently what puzzled the dog at the corner of knight s place was that there were two different running in opposite directions we took the wrong one it only remains to follow the other there was no difficulty about this on leading to the place where he had committed his fault he cast about in a wide circle and finally dashed off in a fresh direction we must take care that he does not now bring us to the place where the barrel	4
came from i observed i had thought of that but you notice that he keeps on the pavement whereas the barrel passed down the no we are on the true scent now it tended down towards the river side running through place and prince s street at the end of broad street it ran right down to the water s edge where there the sign of four j was a small wooden wharf led us to i the very edge of this and there stood ing looking out on the dark we are out of luck said they i have taken to a boat here i several small and were lying about in the water and on the edge of the wharf we took round to each in turn but though he earnestly he no sign close to the rude landing stage was a small brick house with a wooden out through the second window smith was printed across it in large letters and underneath boats to hire by the hour or day a second inscription above the door informed us that a steam was kept a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of upon the looked slowly round and his face assumed an ominous expression the baker street this looks bad said he these fellows are than i expected they seem to have covered their tracks there has i fear been management here he was approaching the door of the house when it opened and a little curly headed lad of six came running out followed by a red faced woman with a large in her hand you come back and be washed jack she shouted come back you young for if your father comes home and finds you like that he ll let us hear of it dear little chap said what a rosy young rascal now jack is there anything you would like the youth pondered for a moment rd like a said he nothing you would like better rd like two better the answered after some thought the sign of four here you are then catch i a fine child mrs smith lor bless you sir he is that and forward he gets a most too much for me to manage specially when my man is away days at a time away is he said in a disappointed voice i am sorry for that for wanted to speak to mr smith he s been away since yesterday morning sir and truth to tell i am to feel frightened about him but if it was about a boat sir maybe i could serve as well i wanted to hire his steam why bless you sir it is in the steam that he has gone that s what me for i know there ain t more coals in her than would take her to about and back if he d been away in the i d ha thought for many a time a job has taken him as far as graves the baker street end and then if there was much there he might ha stayed over but what good is a steam without coals he might have bought some at a wharf down the river he might sir but it weren t his way many a time heard him call out at the prices they charge for a few odd bags besides i don t like that wooden legged man wi his ugly face and talk what did he want always knock in about here for a wooden legged man said with bland surprise yes sir a brown monkey faced chap that s called more n once for my old man it was him that roused him up and what s more my man knew he was for he had steam up in the i tell you straight sir i don t feel easy in my mind about it but my dear mrs smith said the sign of four his shoulders you are yourself about nothing how could you possibly tell that it was the wooden legged man who came in the night i don t quite understand how you can be so sure his voice sir i knew his voice which is kind o thick and he tapped at the about three it would be show a leg says he time to turn out guard my old man woke up jim that s my eldest and away they went without so much as a word to me i could hear the wooden leg on the stones and was this wooden legged man alone couldn t say i am sure sir i didn t hear no one else i am sorry mrs smith for i wanted a steam and i have heard good reports of the let me see her name the sir the baker street ah she s not that old green with a yellow line very broad in the beam no indeed she s as trim a little thing as any on the river she s been fresh painted black with two red streaks thanks i hope that you will hear soon from mr smith i am going down the river and if i should see anything of the i shall let him know that you are uneasy a black you say no sir black with a white band ah of course it was the sides which were black good morning mrs smith there is a here with a we shall take it and cross the river the main thing with people of that sort said as we sat in the sheets of the is never to let them think that their information can be of the slightest importance to you if you do they will instantly shut up like an if you listen to them the sign of four under protest as it were you are very likely to get what you want our course now seems	4
pretty clear said i what would you do then i would engage a and go down the river on the track of the my dear fellow it would be a colossal task she may have touched at any wharf on either side of the stream between here and below the bridge there is a perfect of landing places for miles it would take you days and days to them if you set about it alone employ the police then no i shall probably call jones in at the last moment he is not a bad fellow and i should not like to do anything which would injure him but i have a fancy for working it out myself now that we have gone so far the baker street w could we then asking for information from worse and worse our men would know that the chase was hot at their heels and they would be off out of the country as it is they are likely enough to leave but as long as they think they are perfectly safe they will be in no hurry jones s energy will be of use to us there for his view of the case is sure to push itself into the daily press and the will think that is off on the wrong scent what are we to do then i asked as we landed near take this drive home have some breakfast and get an hour s sleep it is quite on the cards that we may be to night again stop at a telegraph office we will keep for he may be of use to us yet we pulled up at the great peter street the sign of four post office and despatched his wire whom do you think that is to he asked as we resumed our journey i am sure i don t know you remember the baker street division of the police force whom i employed in the hope case well said i laughing this is just the case where they might be invaluable if they fail i have other resources but i shall try them first that wire was to my dirty little lieutenant and i expect that he and his gang will be with us before we have finished our breakfast it was between eight and nine o clock now and i was conscious of a strong reaction after the successive of the night i was limp and weary in mind and fatigued in body i had not the professional enthusiasm which carried my companion on the baker street nor could i look at the matter as a mere abstract intellectual problem as far as the death of went i had heard little good of him and could feel no intense to his the treasure however was a different matter that or part of it belonged to miss while there was a chance of recovering it i was ready to devote my life to the one object true if i found it it would probably put her for ever beyond my reach yet it would be a petty and selfish love which would be influenced by such a thought as that if could work to find the i had a stronger reason to urge me on to find the treasure a bath at baker street and a complete change me up wonderfully when i came down to our room i found the breakfast laid and pouring out the coffee here it is said he laughing and pointing iso the sign of four to an open newspaper the energetic jones and the have fixed it up between them but you have had enough of the case better have your ham and eggs first i took the paper from him and read the short notice which was headed mysterious business at upper about twelve o clock last night said the mr of lodge upper was found dead in his room under circumstances which point to foul play as far as we can learn no actual traces of violence were found upon mr s person but a valuable collection of indian gems which the deceased gentleman had inherited from his father has been carried off the discovery was first made by mr and dr who had called at the house with mr brother of the de the baker street ceased by a singular piece of good fortune mr jones the well known member of the police force happened to be at the police station and was on the ground within half an hour of the first alarm his trained and experienced faculties were at once directed towards the detection of the with the gratifying result that the brother has already been arrested together with the housekeeper mrs an indian butler named lai and a porter or named it is quite certain that the thief or thieves were well acquainted with the house for mr jones s well known knowledge and his powers of minute observation have enabled him to prove that the could not have entered by the door or by the window but must have made their way across the roof of the building and so through a trap door into a room which the sign of four communicated with that in which the body was found this fact which has been very clearly made out proves that it was no mere the prompt and energetic action of the officers of the law shows the great advantage of the presence on such occasions of a single vigorous and mind we cannot but think that it supplies an argument to those who would wish to see our more and so brought into closer and more effective touch with the cases which it is their duty to investigate isn t it gorgeous said grinning over his coffee cup what do you think of it i think that we have had a close ourselves of being arrested for the crime so	4
do i i wouldn t answer for our safety now if he should happen to have another of his attacks of energy the baker street at this moment there was a loud ring at the bell and i could hear mrs our landlady raising her voice in a wail of and dismay by heavens i said half rising i believe that they are really after us no it s not quite so bad as that it is the force the baker street as he spoke there came a swift of naked feet upon the stairs a clatter of high voices and in rushed a dozen dirty and ragged little street there was some show of discipline among them despite their tumultuous entry for they instantly drew up in line and stood facing us with expectant faces one of their number taller and older than the others stood forward with an air of lounging superiority which was very funny in such a little the sign of four got your message sir said he and brought em on sharp three bob and a for tickets here you are said producing some silver in future they can report to you and you to me i cannot have the house invaded in this way however it is just as well that you should all hear the instructions i want to find the whereabouts of a steam called the owner smith black with two red streaks black with a white band she is down the river somewhere i want one boy to be at smith s landing stage opposite to say if the boat comes back you must divide it out among yourselves and do both banks thoroughly let me know the moment you have news is that all clear t yes nor said the old scale of pay and a guinea to the the baker street boy who finds the boat here s a day in advance now off you go he handed them a shilling each and away they down the stairs and i saw them a moment later streaming down the street if the is above water they will find her said as he rose from the table and lit his pipe they can go everywhere see everything i expect to hear before evening that they have spotted her in the meanwhile we can do nothing but await results we cannot pick up the broken trail until we find either the or mr smith could eat these scraps i dare say are you going to bed no i am not tired i have a curious constitution i never remember feeling tired by work though idleness me completely i am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair the sign of four has introduced us if ever man had an easy task this of ours ought to be wooden legged men are not so common but the other man must i should think be absolutely unique that other man again i have no wish to make a mystery of him to you anyway but you must have formed your own opinion now do consider the toes never by boots naked feet stone headed wooden great small poisoned what do you make of all this a savage i exclaimed perhaps one of those indians who were the associates of small hardly that said he when first i saw signs of strange weapons i was inclined to think so but the remarkable character of the caused me to my views some of the inhabitants of the indian the baker street are small men but none could have left such marks as that the proper has long and thin feet the wearing has the great toe well separated from the others because the is commonly passed between these little too could only be shot in one way they are from a blow pipe now then where are we to find our savage south american i he stretched his hand up and took down a volume from the shelf this is the first volume of a which is now being published it may be looked upon as the very latest authority what have we here islands situated miles to the north of in the bay of hum hum what s all this moist climate coral port island cotton woods ah here we are i the the sign of four of the islands may perhaps claim the distinction of being the smallest race upon this earth though some prefer the of africa the indians of america and the the average height is rather below four feet although many full grown may be found who are very much smaller than this they are a fierce and people though capable of forming most devoted when their confidence has once been gained mark that now then listen to this they are naturally hideous having large heads small fierce eyes and distorted features their feet and hands however are remarkably small so and fierce are they that all the efforts of the british officials have failed to win them over in any degree they have always been a terror to the the baker street with their stone headed clubs or shooting them with their poisoned arrows these are invariably concluded by a feast nice amiable people if this fellow had been left to his own devices this affair might have taken an even more ghastly turn i fancy that even as it is small would give a good deal not to have employed him but how came he to have so singular a companion ah that is more than i can tell since however we had already determined that small had come from the it is not so very wonderful that this should be with him no doubt we shall know all about it in time look here you look regularly done lie down there on the sofa and see if i can put you	4
to sleep i o the sign of four he took up his from the corner and as i stretched myself out he began to play some low dreamy melodious air his own no doubt for he had a remarkable gift for i have a vague remembrance of his gaunt limbs his earnest face and the rise and fall of his bow then i seemed to be floated peacefully away upon a soft sea of sound until i found myself in with the sweet face of mary looking down upon me chapter ix a break in the chain it was late in the afternoon before i woke strengthened and refreshed still sat exactly as i had left him save that he had laid aside his and was deep in a book he looked across at me as i stirred and i noticed that his face was dark and troubled you have slept soundly he said i feared that our talk would wake you i heard nothing i answered have you had fr sh news then unfortunately no i confess that i am surprised and disappointed i expected something definite by this time has ii i the sign of four just been up to report he says that no trace can be found of the it is a provoking check for every hour is of importance can i do anything i am perfectly fresh now and quite ready for another night s no we can do nothing we can only wait if we go ourselves the message might come in our absence and delay be caused you can do what will but i must remain on guard then i shall run over to and call upon mrs she asked me to yesterday on mrs asked with the twinkle of a smile in his eyes well of course on miss too they were anxious to hear what happened i would not tell them too much said a break in the chain women are never to be entirely trusted not the best of them i did not pause to argue over this sentiment i shall be back in an hour or two i remarked ah right good luck but i say if you are crossing the river you may as well return for i don t think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now i took our accordingly and left him together with a half sovereign at the old s in lane at i found miss a little weary after her night s adventures but very eager to hear the news mrs too was full of curiosity i told them all that we had done however the more dreadful parts of the tragedy thus although i spoke of mr s death i ii i the sign of four said nothing of the exact manner and method of it with all my however there was enough to and them it is a romance t cried mrs an injured lady half a million in treasure a black and a wooden legged they take the place of the conventional or wicked earl and two knight to the rescue added miss with a bright glance at me why mary your fortune depends upon the issue of this search i don t think that you are nearly excited enough just imagine what it must be to be so rich and to have the world at your feet it sent a little thrill of joy to my heart to notice that she showed no sign of at the prospect on the contrary she gave a toss of her head as though the a break in the chain matter were one in which she took small interest it is for mr that i am anxious she said nothing else is of any consequence but i that he has behaved most kindly and throughout it is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and charge it was evening before i left and quite dark by the time i reached home my companion s book and pipe lay by his chair but he had disappeared i looked about in the hope of seeing a note but there was none i suppose that mr has gone out i said to mrs as she came up to lower the blinds no sir he has gone to his room sir do you know sir sinking her voice into an impressive whisper i am afraid for his health i the sign of four why so mrs well he s that strange sir after you was gone he walked and he walked up and down and up and down until i was weary of the sound his footstep then i heard him talking to himself muttering and every time the bell rang out he came on the stair head with what is that mrs and now he has off to his room but i can hear him walking away the same as ever i hope he s not going to be ill sir i ventured to say something to him about medicine but he turned on me sir with such a look that i don t know how ever i got out of the room i don t think that you have any cause to be uneasy mrs i answered i have seen him like this before he has some small matter upon his mind which makes him restless i tried to speak lightly to our worthy j a break in the chain landlady but i was myself somewhat uneasy when through the long night i still from time to time heard the dull sound of his tread and knew how his keen spirit was against this involuntary at breakfast time he looked worn and haggard with a little of feverish colour upon either cheek you are knocking yourself up old man i remarked i heard you marching about in the night no i could not	4
sleep he answered this infernal problem is me it is too much to be by so petty an obstacle when all else had been overcome i know the men the everything and yet i can get no news i have set other at work and used every means at my disposal the whole river has been searched on either side but there is no news nor has mrs smith heard of her i the sign of four husband i shall come to the conclusion soon that they have the craft but there are objections to that or that mrs smith has put us on a wrong scent no i think that may be dismissed i had inquiries made and there is a of that description could it have gone up the river i have considered that possibility too and there is a search party who will work up as far as if no news comes to day i shall start off myself to morrow and go for the men rather than the boat but surely surely we shall hear something we did not however not a word came to us either from or from the other there were articles in most of the papers upon the tragedy they all appeared to be rather hostile to the unfortunate no fresh i a break in the chain details were to be found however in any of them save that an was to be held upon the following day i walked over to in the evening to report our ill success to the ladies and on my return i found dejected and somewhat he would hardly reply to my questions and busied himself all the evening in an analysis which involved much of and of ending at last in a smell which fairly drove me out of the apartment up to the small hours of the morning i could hear the of his test which told me that he was still engaged in his experiment in the early dawn i woke with a start and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside clad in a rude sailor dress with a jacket and a coarse red round his neck i the sign of four l am off down the river said he i have been turning it over in my mind and i can see only one way out of it it is worth trying at all events surely i can come with you then said i no you can be much more useful if you will remain here as my representative i am to go for it is quite on the cards that some message may come during the day though was about it last night i want you to open all notes and and to act on your own judgment if any news should come can i rely upon you most certainly i am afraid that you will not be able to wire to me for i can hardly tell yet where i may find myself if i am in luck however i may not be gone so very long i shall have news of some sort or other before i get back a break in the chain i had heard nothing of him by breakfast time on opening the standard however i found that there was a fresh allusion to the business with reference to the upper tragedy it remarked we have reason to believe that the matter promises to be even more complex and mysterious than was originally supposed fresh evidence has shown that it is quite impossible that mr could have been in any way concerned in the matter he and the housekeeper mrs were both released yesterday evening it is believed however that the police have a clue as to the real and that it is being by mr jones of scotland yard with all his energy and sagacity further may be expected at any moment that is satisfactory so far as it goes thought i friend is safe at any the sign of four rate i wonder what the fresh clue may be though it seems to be a form whenever the police have made a blunder i tossed the paper down upon the table but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column it ran in this way lost whereas smith and his son jim left smith s wharf at or about three o clock last tuesday morning in the steam black with two red black with a white band the sum of five pounds will be paid to anyone who can give information to mrs smith at wharf or at baker street as to the whereabouts of the said smith and the this was clearly s doing the baker street address was enough to prove that it struck me as rather ingenious because it might be read by the a break in the chain without their seeing in it more than the natural anxiety of a wife for her missing husband it was a long day every time that a knock came to the door or a sharp step passed in the street i imagined that it was either returning or an answer to his advertisement i tried to read but my thoughts would wander off to our strange quest and to the ill and pair whom we were pursuing could there be i wondered some radical flaw in my companion s reasoning might he not be suffering from some huge self deception was it not possible that his and mind had built up this wild theory upon premises i had never known him to be wrong yet the keenest may occasionally be deceived he was likely i thought to fall into error through the over refinement of his logic his pre the sign of four for a subtle and explanation when a and more common place one lay ready to his hand yet on the other	4
hand i had myself seen the evidence and i had heard the reasons for his when i looked back on the long chain of curious circumstances many of them trivial in themselves but all tending in the same direction i could not disguise from myself that even if s explanation were the true theory must be equally and startling at three o clock in the afternoon there was a loud peal at the bell an voice in the hall and to my surprise no less a person than mr jones was shown up to me very different was he however from the and professor of common sense who had taken over the case so confidently at upper his expression was downcast a break in the chain and his bearing meek and even good day sir good day said he mr is out i understand yes and i cannot be sure when he will be back but perhaps you would care to wait take that chair and try one of these cigars thank you i don t mind if i do said he his face with a red handkerchief and a and well half a glass it is very hot for the time of year and i have had a good deal to worry and try me you know my theory about this case i remember that you expressed one well i have been obliged to it i had my net drawn tightly round mr sir when pop he went through a hole in the middle of it he was able to the sign of four prove an which could not be shaken from the time that he left his brother s room he was never out of sight of or other so it could not be he who climbed over roofs and through trap doors it s a very dark case and my professional credit is at stake i should be very glad of a little assistance we all need help sometimes said l your friend mr is a wonderful man sir said he in a and confidential voice he s a man who is not to be beat i have known that young man go into a good many cases but never saw the case yet that he could not throw a light upon he is irregular in his methods and a little quick perhaps in jumping at theories but on the whole i think he would have made a most promising officer and i don t care who knows it i have had a wire from him this morning by which i understand a break in the chain that he has got some clue to this business here is his message he took the out of his pocket and handed it to me it was dated from at twelve o clock go to baker street at once it said if i have not returned wait for me i am close on the track of the gang you can come with us to night if you want to be in at the finish this sounds well he has evidently picked up the scent again said i ah then he has been at fault too exclaimed jones with evident satisfaction even the best of us are thrown off sometimes of course this may prove to be a false alarm but it is my duty as an officer of the law to allow no chance to slip but there is at the door perhaps this is he a heavy step was heard ascending the stair with a great and rattling as from a man who was sorely put to it for the sign of four i breath once or twice he stopped as though the climb were too much for him but at last he made his way to our door and entered his appearance to the sounds which we had heard he was an aged man clad in garb with an old jacket up to his throat his back was bowed his knees were and his breathing was painfully as he leaned upon a thick his shoulders heaved in the effort to draw the j air into his lungs he had a coloured round his chin and i could see little of his face save a pair of keen dark eyes by white brows and long gray altogether he gave me the im of a respectable master who had fallen into years and poverty what is it my man i asked he looked about him in the slow fashion of old age a break in the chain is mr here said he no but i am acting for him you can tell me any message you have for him it was to him himself i was to tell it said he but i tell you that i am acting for him was it about smith s boat yes i knows well where it is an i knows where the men he is after are an i knows where the treasure is i knows all about it then tell me and i shall let him know it was to him i was to tell it he repeated with the obstinacy of a very old man well you must wait for him no no i ain t goin to lose a whole day to please no one if mr ain t here then mr must find it all out for himself i don t care about the look of either of you and i won t tell a word i o the sign of four he towards the door but jones got in front of him wait a bit my friend said he you have important information and you must not walk off we shall keep you whether you like or not until our friend returns the old man made a little run towards the door but as jones put his broad back up against it he recognised the of	4
resistance pretty sort o treatment this he cried stamping his stick i come here to see a gentleman and you two who i never saw in my life seize me and treat me in this fashion you will be none the worse i said we shall you for the loss of your time sit over here on the sofa and you will not have long to wait he came across sullenly enough and seated himself with his face resting on his hands jones and i resumed our cigars and a break in the chain i i our talk suddenly however s voice broke in upon us i think that you might offer me a ci r too he said we both started in our chairs there as sitting close to us with an air of quiet amusement f i exclaimed you here but where is the old man here is the old man said he holding out a heap of white hair here he is wig whiskers eyebrows and all i thought my disguise was pretty good but i hardly expected that it would stand that test ah you rogue t cried jones highly delighted you would have made an actor and a rare one you had the proper cough and those weak legs of yours are worth ten pound a week i thought i knew the of your eye though you didn t get away from us so easily you see the sign of four i have been working in that get up all day said he lighting his cigar you see a good many of the criminal classes begin to know me especially since our friend here took to some of my c so i can only go on the war path under some simple disguise like this you got my wire yes that was what brought me here how has your case it has all come to nothing i have had to release two of my prisoners and there is no evidence against the other two never mind we shall give you two others in the place of them but you must put yourself under my orders you are welcome to all the official credit but you must act on the lines that i point out is that agreed entirely if you will help me to the men well then in the first place i shall want a fast police boat a steam to be at the westminster stairs at seven o clock a break in the chain s that is easily managed there is always one about there but i can step across the road and to make sure then i shall want two men in case of resistance there will be two or three in the boat what else when we secure the men we shall get the treasure i think that it would be a pleasure to my friend here to take the box round to the young lady to whom half of it belongs let her be the first to open it eh it would be a great pleasure to me rather an irregular proceeding said jones shaking his head however the whole thing is irregular and i suppose we must wink at it the treasure must afterwards be handed over to the authorities until after the official investigation certainly that is easily managed one i the sign of four other point i should much like to have a few details about this matter from the lips of small himself you know i like to work the details of mv cases out there is no objection to my having an interview with him either here in my rooms or elsewhere as long as he is guarded t well you are master of the situation i have had no proof yet of the existence of this small however if you can catch him i don t see how i can refuse you an interview with him that is understood then t perfectly is there anything else only that i insist upon your dining with us it will be ready in half an hour i have and a brace of with something a little choice in white you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper chapter x the end of the our meal was a merry one could talk exceedingly well when he chose and that night he did choose he appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation i have never known him so brilliant he spoke on a quick succession of subjects on miracle plays on on on the of and on the of the future handling each as though he had made a special study of it his bright humour marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days jones proved to be a soul in his hours of and faced his dinner with the sign of four the air of a on for myself i felt elated at the thought that we were the end of our task and i caught something of s gaiety none of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together when the cloth was cleared glanced at his watch and filled up three glasses with port one said he to the success of our little expedition and now it is high time we were off have you a pistol i have my old service revolver in my desk you had best take it then it is well to be prepared i see that the cab is at the door i ordered it for half past six it was a little past seven before we reached the westminster wharf and found our awaiting us eyed it i the end of the is there anything to mark it as a yes that green lamp at the side then take it off the small change was made we stepped on board and the	4
ropes were cast off jones and i sat in the stern there was one man at the one to tend the engines and two police forward where to asked jones to the tower tell them to stop opposite to s yard our craft was evidently a very fast one we shot past the long lines of loaded as though they were stationary smiled with satisfaction as we a river steamer and left her behind us we ought to be able to catch anything on the river he said well hardly that but there are not many to beat us the sign of four we shall have to catch the and she has a name for being a i will tell you how the land lies you recollect how annoyed i was at being by so small a thing yes well i gave my mind a thorough rest by plunging into a analysis one of our greatest has said that a change of work is the best rest so it is when i had succeeded in the which i was at work at i came back to our problem of the and thought the whole matter out again my boys had been up the river and down the river without result the was not at any or wharf nor had it returned yet it could hardly have been to hide their traces though that always remained as a possible if all else failed i knew that this man small had a certain degree of the end of the low cunning but i did not think him capable of anything in the nature of delicate that is usually a product of higher education i then reflected that since he had certainly been in london some time as we had evidence that he maintained a continual watch over lodge he could hardly leave at a moment s notice but would need some little time if it were only a day to arrange his affairs that was the balance of probability at any rate it seems to me to be a little weak said i it is more probable that he had arranged his affairs before ever he set out upon his expedition no i hardly think so this of his would be too valuable a retreat in case of need for him to give it up until he was sure that he could do without it but a second consideration struck me small must have felt that the peculiar appearance the sign of four of his companion however much he may have top him would give rise to gossip and possibly be associated with this tragedy he was quite sharp enough to see that they had started from their under cover of darkness and he would wish to get back before it was broad light now it was past three o clock according to mrs smith when they got the boat it would be quite bright and people would be about in an hour or so therefore i argued they did not go very far they paid smith well to hold his tongue reserved his for the final escape and hurried to their lodgings with the treasure box in a couple of nights when they had time to see what view the papers took and whether there was any suspicion they would make their way under cover of darkness to some ship at or in the downs where no doubt they had the end of the already arranged for passages to america or the colonies but the they could not have taken that to their lodgings quite so i argued that the must be no great way off in spite of its i then put myself in the place of small and looked at it as a man of his capacity would he would probably consider that to send back the or to keep it at a wharf would make pursuit easy if the police did happen to get on his track how then could he conceal the and yet have her at hand when wanted i wondered what i should do myself if i were in his shoes i could only think of one way of doing it i might hand the over to some or with directions to make a trifling change in her she would then be removed to his shed or yard and so be effectually concealed while at the the sign of four same time i could have her at a few hours notice that seems simple enough it is just these very simple things which are extremely liable to be overlooked however i determined to act on the idea i started at once in this harmless seaman s and inquired at all the yards down the river i drew blank at fifteen but at the sixteenth s i learned that the had been handed over to them two days ago by a wooden legged man with some trivial directions as to her there ain t naught amiss with her said the there she lies with the red streaks at that moment who should come down but smith the missing owner he was rather the worse for liquor i should not of course have known him but he out his name and the name of his i want her to night at eight the end of the o clock said he eight o clock sharp mind for i have two gentlemen who won t be kept waiting they had evidently paid him well he was very flush of money shillings about to the men i followed him some distance but he subsided into an so i went back to the yard and happening to pick up one of my boys on the way i stationed him as a over the he is to stand at the waters edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start we shall be lying off	4
in the stream and it will be a strange thing if we do not take men treasure and all you have planned it all very neatly whether they are the right men or not said jones but if the affair were in my hands i should have had a body of police in s yard and arrested them when they came down which would have been never this man the sign of four small is a pretty shrewd fellow he would send a on ahead and if anything made him suspicious he would lie snug for another week but you might have stuck to smith and so been led to their hiding place said i in that case i should have wasted my day i think that it is a hundred to one against smith knowing where they live as long as he has liquor and good pay why should he ask questions they send him messages what to do no i thought over every possible course and this is the best while this conversation had been proceeding we had been shooting the long series of bridges which span the thames as we passed the city the last rays of the sun were the cross upon the summit of st paul s it was twilight before we reached the tower the end of the that is s yard said pointing to a of and on the side gently up and down here under cover of this string of he took a pair of night glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore see my at his post he remarked but no sign of a handkerchief suppose we go down stream a short way and lie in wait for them said jones eagerly we were all eager by this time even the and who had a very vague idea of what was going forward we have no right to take anything for granted answered it is certainly ten to one that they go down stream but we cannot be certain from this point we can see the entrance of the yard and they can hardly see us it will be a clear night and plenty of light we must stay where we are the sign of four see how the folk swarm over yonder in the they are coming from work in the yard dirty looking but i suppose every one has some little immortal spark concealed about him you would not think it to look at them there is no a probability about it a strange is man calls him a soul concealed in an animal i suggested is good upon the subject said he remarks that while the individual man is an puzzle in the he becomes a certainty you can for example never what any one man will do but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to individuals vary but remain constant so says the but do i see a handkerchief surely there is a white flutter over yonder the end of the yes it is your boy i cried i can see him plainly and there is the exclaimed and going like the devil full speed ahead engineer make after that with the yellow light by heaven i shall never forgive myself if she proves to have the heels of us she had slipped unseen through the and passed behind two or three small craft so that she had fairly got her speed up before we saw her now she was flying down the stream near in to the shore going at a tremendous rate jones looked gravely at her and shook his head she is very fast he said i doubt if we shall catch her we catch her cried between his teeth heap it on make her do all she can if we burn the boat we must have them the sign of four we were fairly after her now the roared and the powerful engines and like a great heart her sharp steep cut through the still river water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us with every throb of the engines we sprang and quivered like a living thing one great yellow lantern in our bows threw a long flickering of light in front of us right ahead a dark upon the water showed where the lay and the of white foam behind her spoke of the pace at which she was going we flashed past merchant vessels in and out behind this one and round the other voices hailed us out of the darkness but still the thundered on and still we followed close upon her track pile it on men pile it on cried looking down into the engine room while the the end of the fierce glow from below beat upon his eager face get every pound of steam you can i think we gain a little said jones with his eyes on the i am sure of it said i we shall be up with her in a very few minutes at that moment however as our evil fate would have it a with three in tow in between us it was only by putting our hard down that we avoided a collision and before we could round them and recover our way the had gained a good two hundred yards she was still however well in view and the uncertain twilight was settling into a clear night our were strained to their utmost and the frail shell and the fierce energy which was driving us along we had shot through the pool past the west india down the the sign of four long reach and up again after the isle of dogs the dull in front of us resolved itself now clearly enough into the dainty jones turned our search light upon her so that we could plainly see the figures upon her	4
deck one man sat by the stern with something black between his knees over which he stooped beside him lay a dark mass which looked like a dog the boy held the while against the red glare of the furnace i could see old smith stripped to the waist and coals for dear life they may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them but now as we followed every winding and turning which they took there could no longer be any question about it at we were about three hundred paces behind them at black wall we could not have been more than two hundred and fifty i have the end of the loi many creatures in many countries during my career but never did sport give me such a wild thrill as this mad flying down the thames steadily we drew in upon them yard by yard in the silence of the night we could hear the panting and of their machinery the man in the stern still crouched upon the deck and his arms were moving as though he were busy while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us nearer we came and nearer jones to them to stop we were not more than four boat behind them both boats flying at a tremendous pace it was a clear reach of the river with barking level upon one side and the melancholy upon the other at our hail the man in the stern sprang up from the deck and shook his two clenched fists at us cursing the while in a the sign of four high cracked voice he was a good sized powerful man and as he stood himself with legs i could see that from the downwards there was but a wooden stump upon the right side at the sound of his angry cries there was movement in the huddled bundle upon the deck it straightened itself into a little black man the smallest i have even seen with a great head and a shock of tangled hair had already drawn his revolver and i whipped out mine at the sight of this savage distorted creature he was wrapped in some sort of dark or blanket which left only his face exposed but that face was enough to give a man a sleepless night never have i seen features so deeply marked with all and cruelty his small eyes glowed and burned with a sombre light and his thick lips were back from his teeth which the end of the grinned and at us with half animal fury fire if he raises his hand said quietly we were within a boat s length by this time and almost within touch of our i can see the two of them now as they stood the white man with his legs far apart shrieking out curses and the dwarf with his hideous face and his strong yellow teeth at us in the light of our lantern it was well that we had so clear a view of him even as we looked he plucked out from under his covering a short round piece of wood like a school ruler and clapped it to his lips our pistols rang out together he whirled round threw up his arms and with a kind of choking cough fell sideways into the stream i caught one glimpse of his menacing eyes amid the white the sign of four of the waters at the same moment the wooden legged man threw himself upon the and put it hard down so that his boat made straight in for the southern bank while we shot past her stern only clearing her by a few feet we were round after her in an instant but she was already nearly at the bank it was a wild and desolate place where the moon upon a wide expanse of marsh land with pools of water and beds of vegetation the with a dull ran up upon the mud bank with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water the fugitive sprang out but his stump instantly sank its whole length into the soil in vain he struggled and not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards he in impotent rage and kicked into the mud with his other foot but his struggles only bored his wooden the end of the pin the deeper into the bank when we brought our alongside he was so firmly that it was only by throwing the end of a rope over his shoulders that we were able to haul him out and to drag him like some evil fish over our side the two father and son sat sullenly in their but came aboard meekly enough when commanded the herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern a solid iron chest of indian stood upon the deck this there could be no question was the same that had contained the ill treasure of the there was no key but it was of considerable weight so we transferred it carefully to our own little cabin as we slowly up stream again we flashed our in every direction but there was no sign of the somewhere in the dark at bottom of the thames lie o the sign of four the bones of that strange visitor to our shores see here said pointing to the wooden we were hardly quick enough with our pistols there sure enough just behind where we had been standing stuck one of those which we knew so well it must have between us at the instant we fired smiled at it and shrugged his shoulders in his easy fashion but i confess that it turned me sick to think of the horrible death which had passed so close to	4
see that the speech had not been lost upon him we will be at bridge presently said jones and shall land you dr with the treasure box i need hardly tell you that i am taking a very grave responsibility upon myself in doing this it is most irregular but of course an agreement is an agreement i must however as a matter of duty send an with you since you have so valuable a charge you will drive no doubt yes i shall drive it is a pity there is no key that we may make an first you will have to break it open where is the key my man ai the sign of four at the bottom of the river said small shortly hum i there was no use your giving this unnecessary trouble we have had work enough already through you however doctor i need not warn you to be careful bring the box back with you to the baker street rooms you will find us there on our way to the station they landed me at with my heavy iron box and with a bluff genial as my companion a quarter of an hour s drive brought us to mrs s the servant seemed surprised at so late a visitor mrs was out for the evening she explained and likely to be very late miss however was in the drawing room so to the drawing room i went box in hand leaving the obliging in the cab she was seated by the open window the great treasure dressed in some sort of white material with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist the soft light of a shaded lamp fell upon her as she leaned back in the basket chair playing over her sweet grave face and with a dull sparkle the rich of her luxuriant hair one white arm and hand drooped over the side of the chair and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy at the sound of my she sprang to her feet however and a bright flush of surprise and of pleasure coloured her pale cheeks i heard a cab drive up she said i thought that mrs had come back very early but i never dreamed that it might be you what news have you brought me i have brought something better than news said i putting down the box upon the table and speaking and though my heart was heavy within me i i the sign of four have brought you something which is worth all the news in the world i have brought you a fortune she glanced at the iron box is that the treasure then she asked coolly enough yes this is the great treasure half of it is yours and half is s you will have a couple of hundred thousand each think of that an of ten thousand pounds there will be few richer young ladies in england is it not glorious i i think that i must have been rather my delight and that she detected a hollow ring in my congratulations for i saw her eyebrows rise a little and she glanced at me curiously if i have it said she i owe it to you no no i answered not to me but to my friend with all the the great treasure will in the world i could never have followed up a clue which has even his genius as it was we very nearly lost it at the last moment pray sit down and tell me all about it dr said she i briefly what had occurred since i had seen her last s new method of search the discovery of the the appearance of jones our expedition in the evening and the wild chase down the thames she listened with parted lips and shining eyes to my recital of our adventures when i spoke of the dart which had so narrowly missed us she turned so white that i feared that she was about to faint mt is nothing she said as i hastened to pour her out some water i am all right again it was a shock to me to hear that i had placed my friends in such horrible peril that is all over i answered it was i the sign of four nothing i will tell you no more gloomy details let us turn to something brighter there is the treasure what could be brighter than that i got leave to bring it with me thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it it would be of the greatest interest to me she said there was no eagerness in her voice however it had struck her doubtless that it might seem upon her part to be indifferent to a prize which had cost so much to win what a pretty box she said stooping over it this is indian work i suppose yes it is metal work and so heavy she exclaimed trying to raise it the box alone must be of some value where is the key small threw it into the thames i answered i must borrow mrs s the great treasure there was in the front a thick and broad wrought in the image of a sitting under this i thrust the end of the and twisted it outward as a the sprang open with a loud snap with trembling fingers i flung back the lid we both stood gazing in astonishment the box was empty i no wonder that it was heavy the was two thirds of an inch thick all round it was massive well made and solid like a chest constructed to carry things of great price but not one or of metal or lay within it it was absolutely and completely empty the treasure is lost said miss calmly as i listened to the words and	4
realized what they meant a great shadow seemed to pass from my soul i did not know how this treasure had weighed me down until the sign of four now that it was finally removed it was selfish no doubt wrong but i could realize nothing save that the golden barrier was gone from between us thank god i ejaculated from my very heart she looked at me with a quick questioning smile why do you say that she asked because you are within my reach again i said taking her hand she did not withdraw it because i love you mary as truly as ever a man loved a woman because this treasure these riches sealed my lips now that they are gone i can tell you how i love you that is why i said thank god then i say thank god too she whispered as i drew her to my side whoever had lost a treasure i knew that night that i had gained one chapter xii the strange story of small a very patient man was that in the cab for it was a weary time before i rejoined him his face clouded over when i showed him the empty box there goes the reward said he gloomily where there is no money there is no pay this night s work would have been worth a each to sam brown and me if the treasure had been there mr is a rich man i said he will see that you are rewarded treasure or no the shook his head however the sign of four it s a bad job he repeated and so mr jones will think his proved to be correct for the looked blank enough when i got to baker street and showed him the empty box they had only just arrived the prisoner and he for they had changed their plans so far as to report themselves at a station upon the way my companion in his arm chair with his usual expression while small sat opposite to him with his wooden leg cocked over his sound one as i exhibited the empty box he leaned back in his chair and laughed aloud this is your doing small said jones angrily yes i have put it away where you shall never lay hand upon it he cried it is my treasure and if i can t have the i ll take good care that no one strange story of small else does i tell you that no living man has any right to it unless it is three men who are in the and myself i know now that i cannot have the use of it and i know that they cannot i have acted all through for them as much as for myself it s been the sign of four with us always well i know that they would have had me do just what i have done and throw the treasure into the thames rather than let it go to or kin of or it was not to make them rich that we did for you ll find the treasure where the key is and where little is when i saw that your must catch us i put the away in a safe place there are no for you this journey you are deceiving us small said jones sternly if you had wished to throw the treasure into the thames it would j the sign of four have been easier for you to have thrown box and all easier for me to throw and easier for you to recover he answered with a shrewd look the man that was clever enough to hunt me down is clever enough to pick an iron box from the bottom of a river now that they are scattered over five miles or so it may be a harder job it went to my heart to do it though i was half mad when you came up with us however there s no good over it had in my life and ive had downs but i ve learned not to cry over milk this is a very serious matter small said the if you had helped justice instead of it in this way you would have had a better chance at your trial justice r the ex a pretty justice whose is this if it is not ours where is the justice that i should strange story of small give it up to those who have never earned it look how i have earned it twenty long years in that fever ridden swamp all day at work under the tree all night chained up in the filthy huts bitten by with by every cursed black faced policeman who loved to take it out of a white man that was how i earned the treasure and you talk to me of justice because i cannot bear to feel that i have paid this price only that another may enjoy it i would rather swing a score of times or have one of s in my hide than live in a s cell and feel that another man is at his ease in a palace with the money that should be mine small had dropped his mask of and all this came out in a wild whirl of words while his eyes blazed and the together with the impassioned movement of his hands i could understand as i the sign of four saw the fury and the passion of the man that it was no or unnatural terror which had possessed major when he first learned that the injured was upon his track you forget that we know nothing of all this said quietly we have not heard your story and we cannot tell how far justice may originally have been on your side well sir you have been very fair spoken to me though i can see	4
that i have you to thank that i have these upon my wrists still i bear no grudge for that it is all fair and above board if you want to hear my story i have no wish to hold it back what i say to you is god s truth every word of it thank you you can put the glass beside me here and til put my lips to it if i am dry i am a man myself born strange story of small near i dare say you would find a heap of living there now if you were to look i have often thought of taking a look round there but the truth is that i was never much of a credit to the family and i doubt if they would be so very glad to see me they were all steady chapel going folk small farmers well known and respected over the country side while i was always a bit of a at last however when i was about eighteen i gave them no more trouble for i got into a mess over a girl and could only get out of it again by taking the queen s shilling and joining the rd which was just starting for india i wasn t destined to do much however i had just got past the goose step and learned to handle my when i was fool enough to go swimming in the luckily for me my company john was in the water at the sign of four the same time and he was one of the finest in the service a took me just as i was half way across and off my right leg as clean as a surgeon could have done it just above the knee what with the shock and the loss of blood i fainted and should have been drowned if had not caught hold of me and for the bank i was five months in hospital over it and when at last i was able to limp out of it with this timber toe to my stump i found myself out of the army and for any active occupation i was as you can imagine pretty down on my luck at this time for i was a useless though not yet in my twentieth year however my misfortune soon proved to be a blessing in disguise a man named white who had come out there as an wanted an to look strange story of small after his and keep them up to their work he happened to be a friend of our colonel s who had taken an interest in me since the accident to make a long story short the colonel recommended me strongly for the post and as the work was mostly to be done on horseback my leg was no great obstacle for i had enough knee left to keep a good grip on the saddle what i had to do was to ride over the plantation to keep an eye on the men as they worked and to report the the pay was fair i had comfortable quarters and altogether i was content to spend the remainder of my life in planting mr white was a kind man and he would often drop into my little and smoke a pipe with me for white folk out there feel their hearts warm to each other as they never do here at home well i was never in luck s way long the sign of four suddenly without a note of warning the great broke upon us one month india lay as still and peaceful to all appearance as or the next there were two hundred thousand black devils let loose and the country was a perfect hell of course you know all about it gentlemen a deal more than i do very like since reading is not in my line i only know what i saw with my own eyes our plantation was at a place called near the border of the north west provinces night after night the whole sky was alight with the burning and day after day we had small companies of passing through our estate with their wives and children on their way to where were the nearest troops mr white was an obstinate man he had it in his head that the affair had been exaggerated and that it would blow over as suddenly as it had strange story of small sprung up there he sat on his drinking and smoking while the country was in a blaze about him of course we stuck by him i and who with his wife used to do the and the managing well one fine day the crash came i had been away on a distant plantation and was riding slowly home in the evening when my eye fell upon something all huddled together at the bottom of a steep i rode down to see what it was and the cold struck through my heart when i found it was s wife all cut into ribbons and half eaten by and native dogs a little farther up the road himself was lying on his face quite dead with an empty revolver in his hand and four lying across each other in front of him i up my horse wondering which way i should turn but at that moment i saw thick smoke curling up from the sign of four white s and the flames beginning to burst through the roof i knew then that i could do my employer no good but would only throw my own life away if i in the matter from where i stood i could see hundreds of the black with their red coats still on their backs dancing and howling round the burning house some of them pointed at me and a couple of bullets sang past my head	4
so i broke away across the fields and found myself late at night safe within the walls at as it proved however there was no great safety there either the whole country was up like a swarm of bees wherever the english could collect in little bands they held just the ground that their guns commanded everywhere else they were helpless it was a fight of the millions against the hundreds and the strange story of small part of it was that these men that we fought against foot horse and were our own picked troops whom we had taught and trained handling our own weapons and blowing our own calls at there were the rd some two troops of horse and a battery of a corps of clerks and merchants had been formed and this i joined wooden leg and all we went out to meet the at early in july and we beat them back for a time but our powder gave out and we had to fall back upon the city nothing but the worst news came to us from every side which is not to be wondered at for if you look at the map you will see that we were right in the heart of it is rather better than a hundred miles to the east and about as far to the south from every point sign of four on the compass there was nothing but torture and murder and outrage the city of is a great place with and fierce of all sorts our handful of men were lost among the narrow winding streets our leader moved across the river therefore and took up his position in the old fort of i don t know if any of you gentlemen have ever read or heard anything of that old fort it is a very queer that ever i was in and i have been in some rum corners too first of all it is enormous in size i should think that the must be acres and acres there is a modern part which took all our garrison women children stores and everything else with plenty of room over but the modern part is nothing like the size of the old quarter where nobody goes and which is given over to the and the strange story of small it is all full of great deserted halls and winding passages and long twisting in and out so that it is easy enough for folk to get lost in it for this reason it was seldom that anyone went into it though now and again a party with might go exploring the river along the front of the old fort and so it but on the sides and behind there are many doors and these had to be guarded of course in the old quarter as well as in that which was actually held by our troops we were short handed with hardly men enough to man the angles of the building and to serve the guns it was impossible for us therefore to station a strong guard at every one of the innumerable gates what we did was to a central guard house in the middle of the fort and to leave each gate under the charge of one white man and two or three natives i the sign of four was selected to take charge during certain hours of the night of a small isolated door upon the south west side of the building two were placed under my command and i was instructed if anything went wrong to fire my when i might rely upon help coming at once from the central guard as the guard was a good two hundred paces away however and as the space between was cut up into a of passages and i had great doubts as to whether they could arrive in time to be of any use in case of an actual attack well i was pretty proud at having this small command given me since i was a raw and a game legged one at that for two nights i kept the watch with my they were tall fierce looking and by name both old fighting men who had strange story of small borne arms against us at they could talk english pretty well but i could get little out of them they preferred to stand together and all night in their queer for myself i used to stand outside the looking down on the broad winding river and on the twinkling lights of the great city the beating of drums the rattle of and the and of the drunk with and with bang were enough to remind us all night of our dangerous neighbours across the stream every two hours the officer of the night used to come round to all the posts to make sure that all was well the third night of my watch was dark and dirty with a small driving rain it was dreary work standing in the hour after hour in such weather i tried again and again to make my talk but without much success at two in the morning the the sign of four rounds passed and broke for a moment the weariness of the night finding that my companions would not be led into conversation i took out my pipe and laid down my to strike the match in an instant the two were upon me one of them snatched my up and it at my head while the other held a great knife to my throat and swore between his teeth that he would plunge it into me if i moved a step my first thought was that these fellows were in league with the and that this was the beginning of an assault if our door were in the hands of the the place must fall and the women and children be treated as	4
man seems a great and a sacred thing but it is very different when there is fire and blood all round you and you have been used to meeting death at every turn whether the strange story of small merchant lived or died was a thing as light as air to me but at the talk about the treasure my heart turned to it and i thought of what i might do in the old country with it and how my folk would stare when they saw their ne er do coming back with his pockets full of gold i had therefore already made up my mind however thinking that i hesitated pressed the matter more closely consider said he that if this man is taken by the he will be hung or shot and his jewels taken by the government so that no man will be a the better for them now since we do the taking of him why should we not do the rest as well the jewels will be as well with us as in the company s there will be enough to make of us rich men and great chiefs no one can know about the matter for here we are cut off from j the sign of four all men what could be better for the purpose say again then whether you are with us or if we must look upon you as an enemy i am with you heart and soul said i it is well he answered handing me back my you see that we trust you for your word like ours is not to be broken we have now only to wait for my brother and the merchant does your brother know then of what you will do i asked the plan is his he has devised it we will go to the gate and share the watch with the rain was still falling steadily for it was just the beginning of the wet season brown heavy clouds were drifting across the sky and it was hard to see more than a a deep moat lay in front of our door but the water was in places nearly dried up strange story of small and it could easily be crossed it was strange to me to be standing there with those two wild waiting for the man who was coming to his death suddenly my eye caught the of a shaded lantern at the other side of the moat it vanished among the mound heaps and then appeared again coming slowly in our direction here they are i i exclaimed you will challenge him as usual whispered give him no cause for fear send us in with him and we shall do the rest while you stay here on guard have the lantern ready to that we may be sure that it is indeed the man the light had now stopping and now advancing until i could see two dark figures upon the other side of the moat i let them scramble down the sloping bank splash through the mire and the sign of four climb half way up to the gate before i them who goes there said i in a subdued voice friends came the answer i uncovered my lantern and threw a flood of light upon them the first was an enormous with a black beard which swept nearly down to his outside of a show i have never seen so tall a man the other was a little fat round fellow with a great yellow and a bundle in his hand done up in a shawl he seemed to be all in a quiver with fear for his hands as if he had the and his head kept turning to left and right with two bright little twinkling eyes like a mouse when he out from his hole it gave me the to think of killing him but i thought of the treasure and my heart set as hard as a flint within me when he saw my white face he gave a little strange story of small of joy and came running up towards me your protection he panted your protection for the unhappy merchant i have travelled across that i might seek the shelter of the fort at i have been robbed and beaten and abused because i have been the friend of the company it is a blessed night this when i am once more in safety i and my poor possessions what have you in the bundle i asked an iron box he answered which contains one or two little family matters which are of no value to others but which i should be sorry to lose yet i am not a beggar and i shall reward you young and your governor also if he will give me the shelter i ask i could not trust myself to speak longer with the man the more i looked at his fat the sign of four frightened face the harder did it seem that we should him in cold blood it was best to get it over take him to the main guard said i the two closed in upon him on each side and the giant walked behind while they marched in through the dark never was a man so round with death i remained at the with the lantern i could hear the measured tramp of their footsteps sounding through the lonely suddenly it ceased and i heard voices and a with the sound of blows a moment later there came to my horror a rush of footsteps coming in my direction with a loud breathing of a running man i turned my lantern down the long straight passage and there was the fat man running like the wind with a of blood across his face and close at his heels bounding like a tiger strange story of small the great black	4
bearded with a knife flashing in his hand i have never seen a man run so fast as that little merchant he was gaining on the and i could see that if he once passed me and got to the open air he would save himself yet my heart softened to him but again the thought of his treasure turned me hard and bitter i cast my between his legs as he past and he rolled twice over like a shot rabbit ere he could to his feet the was upon him and buried his knife twice in his side the man never uttered moan nor moved muscle but lay where he had fallen i think myself that he may have broken his neck with the fall you see gentlemen that i am keeping my promise i am telling you every word of the business just exactly as it happened whether it is in my favour or not he stopped and held out his hands for the and water which the sign of four had for him for myself i confess that i had now conceived the utmost horror of the man not only for this cold blooded business in which he had been concerned but even more for the somewhat and careless way in which he it whatever punishment was in store for him i felt that he might expect no sympathy from me and jones sat with their hands upon their knees deeply interested in the story but with the same disgust written upon their faces he may have observed it for there was a touch of defiance in his voice and manner as he proceeded it was all very bad no doubt said he i should like to know how many fellows in my shoes would have refused a share of this when they knew that they would have their throats c it for their pains besides it was my life or his when once he was in the strange story of small fort if he had got out the whole business would come to light and i should have been court and shot as likely as not for people were not very at a time like that go on with your story said shortly well we carried him in and i a fine weight he was too for all that he was so short was left to guard the door we took him to a place which the had already prepared it was some distance off where a winding passage leads to a great empty hall the brick walls of which were all crumbling to pieces the earth floor had sunk in at one place making a natural grave so we left the merchant there having first covered him over with loose bricks this done we all went back to the treasure it lay where he had dropped it when he the sign of four was first attacked the box was the same which now lies open upon your table a hung by a silken cord to that carved handle upon the top we opened it and the light of the lantern gleamed upon a collection of gems such as i have read of and thought about when i was a little lad at it was blinding to look upon them when we had our eyes we took them all out and made a list of them there were one hundred and forty three diamonds of the first water including one which has been called i believe the great and is said to be the second largest stone in existence then there were ninety seven very fine and one hundred and seventy some of which however were small there were forty two hundred and ten sixty one and a great quantity of cats eyes and other stones the very names of which j did strange story of small not know at the time though i have become more familiar with them since besides this there were nearly three hundred very fine pearls twelve of which were set in a gold by the way these last had been taken out of the chest and were not there when i recovered it after we had counted our treasures we put them back into the chest and carried them to the to show them to then we solemnly renewed our oath to stand by each other and be true to our secret we agreed to conceal our in a safe place until the country should be at peace again and then to divide it equally among ourselves there was no use dividing it at present for if gems of value were found upon us it would cause suspicion and there was no privacy in the fort nor any place where we could keep them we carried the box therefore into the same the sign of four hall where we had buried the body and there under certain bricks in the best preserved wall we made a hollow and put our treasure we made careful note of the place and next day i drew four plans one for each of us and put the sign of the four of us at the bottom for we had sworn that we should each always act for all so that none might take advantage that is an oath that i can put my hand to my heart and swear that i have never broken well there s no use my telling you gentlemen what came of the indian after took and sir relieved the back of the business was broken fresh troops came pouring in and made himself scarce over the frontier a flying column under colonel came round to and cleared the away from it peace seemed to be settling upon the country and we four strange story of small were beginning to hope that the time was at hand when we might safely go off with our shares of the plunder	4
in a moment however our hopes were shattered by our being arrested as the of it came about in this way when the put his jewels into the hands of he did it because he knew that he was a man they are suspicious folk in the east however so what does this do but take a second even more servant and set him to play the spy upon the first this second man was ordered never to let out of his sight and he followed him like his shadow he went after him that night and saw him pass through the doorway of course he thought he had taken refuge in the fort and applied for admission there himself next day but could find no trace of this seemed to him so strange that he spoke about it to a s the sign of four of guides who brought it to the ears of the a thorough search was quickly made and the body was discovered thus at the very moment that we thought that all was safe we were all four seized and brought to trial on a charge of murder three of us because we had held the gate that night and the fourth because he was known to have been in the company of the murdered man not a word about the jewels came out at the trial for the had been and driven out of india so no one had any particular interest in them the murder however was clearly made out and it was certain that we must all have been concerned in it the three got for life and i was condemned to death though my sentence was into the same as the others it was rather a queer position that we found ourselves in then there we were all strange story of small four tied by the leg and with precious little chance of ever getting out again while we each held a secret which might have put each of us in a palace if we could only have made use of it it was enough to make a man eat his heart out to have to stand the kick and the of every petty jack in office to have rice to eat and water to drink when that gorgeous fortune was ready for him outside just waiting to be picked up it might have driven me mad but i was always a pretty stubborn one so i just held on and my time at last it seemed to me to have come i was changed from to and from there to island in the there are very few white at this settlement and as i had behaved well from the first i soon found myself a sort of privileged person i was given a hut in hope town which is a small place on the slopes of o the sign of four mount and i was left pretty much to myself it is a dreary fever stricken place and all beyond our little was with wild natives who were ready enough to blow a poisoned dart at us if they saw a chance there was digging and and planting and a dozen other things to be done so we were busy enough all day though in the evening we had a little time to ourselves among other things i learned to dispense for the surgeon and picked up a of his knowledge all the time i was on the look out for a chance of escape but it is hundreds of miles from any other land and there is little or no wind in those seas so it was a terribly difficult job to get away the surgeon dr was a fast sporting young chap and the other young officers would meet in his rooms of an evening and play cards the where i strange story of small used to make up my was next to his sitting room with a small window between us often if i felt i used to turn out the lamp in the and then standing there i could hear their talk and watch their play i am fond of a hand at cards myself and it was almost as good as having one to watch the others there was major captain and lieutenant brown who were in command of the native troops and there was the surgeon himself and two or three prison officials old hands who played a nice sly safe game a very snug little party they used to make well there was one thing which very soon struck me and that was that the soldiers used always to lose and the to win mind t say there was anything unfair but so it was these prison had done little else than play cards ever since they had been the sign of four at the and they knew each other s game to a point while the others just played to pass the time and threw their cards down anyhow night after night the soldiers got up poorer men and the poorer they got the more keen they were to play major was the hardest hit he used to pay in notes and gold at first but soon it came to notes of hand and for big sums he sometimes would win for a few just to give him heart and then the luck would set in against him worse than ever all day he would wander about as black as thunder and he took to drinking a deal more than was good for him one night he lost even more heavily than usual i was sitting in my hut when he and captain came stumbling along on the way to their quarters they were bosom friends those two and never far apart the major was about his losses strange story of small it s all up he was saying as	4
they passed my hut i shall have to send in my papers i am a ruined man nonsense old chap said the other him upon the shoulder had a nasty myself but that was all i could hear but it was enough to set me thinking a couple of days later major was strolling on the beach so i took the chance of speaking to him i wish to have your advice major said i well small what is it he asked taking his from his lips i wanted to ask you sir said i who is the proper person to whom hidden treasure should be handed over i know where half a million worth lies and as i cannot use it myself i thought perhaps the best thing that i could do would be to hand it over to the the sign of four proper authorities and then perhaps they would get my sentence for me half a million small he gasped looking hard at me to see if i was in earnest quite that sir in jewels and pearls it lies there ready for anyone and the queer thing about it is that the real owner is and cannot hold property so that it belongs to the first comer to government small he stammered to government but he said it in a halting fashion and i knew in my heart that i had got him you think then sir that i should give the information to the governor general said i quietly well well you must not do anything rash or that you might repent let me hear all about it small give me the facts i told him the whole story with small changes so that he could not identify the strange story of small places when i had finished he stood stock still and full of thought i could see by the of his lip that there was a struggle going on within him this is a very important matter small he said at last you must not say a word to anyone about it and i shall see you again soon two nights later he and his friend captain tan came to my hut in the dead of the night with a lantern i want you just to let captain hear that story from your own lips small said he i repeated it as i had told it before it rings true eh said he it s good enough to act upon captain nodded look here small said the major we have been talking it over my friend here and i and we have come to the con the sign of four that this secret of yours is hardly a government matter after all but is a private concern of your own which of course you have the power of of as you think best now the question is what price would you ask for it we might be inclined to take it up and at least look into it if we could agree as to terms he tried to speak in a cool careless way but his eyes were shining with excitement and why as to that gentlemen i answered trying also to be cool but feeling as excited as he did there is only one bargain which a man in my position can make i shall want you to help me to my freedom and to help my three companions to theirs we shall then take you into and give you a fifth share to divide between you hum said he a fifth share that is not very tempting strange story of small it would come to fifty thousand apiece said i but how can we gain your freedom you know very well that you ask an impossibility nothing of the sort i answered i have thought it all out to the last detail the only bar to our escape is that we can get no boat fit for the voyage and no provisions to last us for so long a time there are plenty of little and at or which would serve our turn well do you bring one over we shall engage to get aboard her by night and if you will drop us on any part of the indian coast you will have done your part of the bargain if there were only one he said none or all i answered we have sworn it the four of us must always act together you see said he small is a the sign of four man of his word he does not from his friends i think we may very well trust him it s a dirty business the other answered yet as you say the money will save our handsomely well small said the major we must i suppose try and meet you we must first of course test the truth of your story tell me where the box is hid and i shall get leave of absence and go back to india in the monthly relief boat to inquire into the affair not so fast said i growing colder as he got hot i must have the consent of my three comrades i tell you that it is four or none with us nonsense he broke in what have three black fellows to do with our agreement black or blue said i they are in with me and we all go together strange story of small well the matter ended by a second meeting at which and dost were all present we talked the matter over again and at last we came to an arrangement we were to provide both the officers with of the part of the fort and mark the place in the wall where the treasure was hid major was to go to india to test our story if he found the box he was to leave it there to send out a small	4
for a voyage which was to lie off island and to which we were to make our way and finally to return to his duties captain was then to apply for leave of absence to meet us at and there we were to have a final division of the treasure he taking the share as well as his own all this we sealed by the most solemn oaths that the mind could think or the lips utter i sat up all night with paper and ink the sign of four and by the morning i had the two all ready signed with the sign of four that is of and myself well gentlemen i weary you with my long story and i know that my friend mr jones is impatient to get me safely in i ll make it as short as i can the villain went off to india but he never came back again captain showed me his name among a list of passengers in one of the mail boats very shortly afterwards his uncle had died leaving him a fortune and he had left the army yet he could stoop to treat five men as he had treated us went over to shortly afterwards and found as we expected that the treasure was indeed gone the scoundrel had stolen it all without carrying out one of the conditions on which we had sold him the secret from that day i lived only for strange story of small vengeance i though of it by day and i nursed it by night it became an overpowering absorbing passion with me i cared nothing for the law nothing for the gallows to escape to track down to have my hand upon his throat that was my one thought even the treasure had come to be a smaller thing in my mind than the of well i have set my mind on many things in this life and never one which i did not carry out but it was weary years before my time came i have told you that i had picked up something of medicine one day when dr was down with a fever a little was picked up by a gang in the woods he was sick to death and had gone to a lonely place to die i took him in hand though he was as as a young snake and after a couple of months i got the sign of four him all right and able to walk he took a kind of fancy to me then and would hardly go back to his woods but was always hanging about my hut i learned a little of his from him and this made him all the of me for that was his name was a fine and owned a big of his own when i found that he was devoted to me and would do anything to serve me i saw my chance of escape i talked it over with him he was to bring his boat round on a certain night to an old wharf which was never guarded and there he was to pick me up i gave him directions to have several of water and a lot of nuts and sweet potatoes he was and true was little no man ever had a more faithful mate at the night named he had his boat at the wharf as it chanced however there was strange story of small one of the guard down there a vile who had never missed a chance of insulting and me i had always vowed vengeance and now i had my chance it was as if fate had placed him in my way that i might pay my debt before i left the island he stood on the bank with his back to me and his on his shoulder i looked about for a stone to beat out his brains with but none could i see then a queer thought came into my head and showed me where i could lay my hand on a weapon i sat down in the darkness and my wooden leg with three long i was on him he put his to his shoulder but i struck him full and knocked the whole front of his skull in you can see the split in the wood now where i hit him we both went down together for i could not keep my balance but when i got up i found him still lying the sign of four quiet enough i made for the boat and in an hour we were well out at sea had brought all his earthly possessions with him his arms and his gods among other things he had a long spear and some nut with which i made a sort of a sail for ten days we were beating about trusting to luck and on the we were picked up by a which was going from to with a cargo of they were a rum crowd and and i soon managed to settle down among them they had one very good quality they let you alone and asked no questions well if i were to tell you all the adventures that my little and i went through you would not thank me for i would have you here until the sun was shining here and there we drifted about the world some strange story of small thing always turning up to keep us from london all the time however i never lost sight of my purpose i would dream of at night a hundred times i have killed him in my sleep at last however some three or four years ago we found ourselves in england i had no great difficulty in finding where lived and i set to work to discover whether he had realized the treasure or if he still had it	4
i made friends with who could help me i name no names for i don t want to get anyone else in a hole and i soon found that he still had the jewels then i tried to get at him in many ways but he was pretty sly and had always two prize besides his sons and his on guard over him one day however i got word that he was dying i hurried at once to the garden mad that he should slip out of my like that and looking through the window the sign of four i saw him lying in his bed with his sons on each side of him i d have come through and taken my chance with the three of them only even as i looked at him his jaw dropped and i knew that he was gone i got into his room that same night though and i searched his papers to see if there was any record of where he had hidden our jewels there was not a line however so i came away bitter and savage as a man could be before i left i me that if i ever met my friends again it would be a satisfaction to know that i had left some mark of our hatred so i down the sign of the four of us as it had been on the and i pinned it on his bosom it was too much that he should be taken to the grave without some token from the men whom he had robbed and we earned a living at this time by my exhibiting poor at and other such strange story of small places as the black he would eat raw meat and dance his war dance so we always had a of after a day s work i still heard all the news from lodge and for some years there was no news to hear except that they were hunting for the treasure at last however came what we had waited for so long the treasure had been found it was up at the top of the house in mr s i came at once and had a look at the place but i could not see how with my wooden leg i was to make my way up to it i learned however about a trap door in the roof and also about mr s supper hour it seemed to me that i could manage the thing easily through i brought him out with me with a long rope wound round his waist he could climb like a cat and he soon made his way through the roof but as ill luck would have the sign of j our it was still in the room to his cost thought he had done something very clever in killing him for when i came up by the rope i found him about as proud as a very much surprised was he when i made at him with the rope s end and cursed him for a little i took the treasure box and let it down and then slid down myself having first left the sign of the four upon the table to show that the jewels had come back at last to those who had most right to them then pulled up the rope closed the window and made off the way that he had come i don t know that i have anything else to tell you i had heard a speak of the speed of smith s the so i thought she would be a handy craft for our escape i engaged with old smith and was to give him a big sum if he got us safe to our strange story of small ship he knew no doubt that there was some screw loose but he was not in our secrets all this is the truth and if i tell it to you gentlemen it is not to amuse you for you have not done me a very good turn but it is because i believe the best defence i can make is just to hold back nothing but let all the world know how badly i have myself been served by major and how innocent i am of the death of his son a very remarkable account said a fitting wind up to an extremely interesting case there is nothing at all new to me in the latter part of your narrative except that you brought your own rope that i did not know by the way i had hoped that had lost all his yet he managed to shoot one at us in the boat he had lost them all sir except the one which was in his blow pipe at the time o the sign of four ah of course said i had not thought of that is there any other point which you would like to ask about asked the i think not thank you my companion answered well said jones you are a man to be humoured and we all know that you are a of crime but duty is duty and i have gone rather far in doing what you and your friend asked me i shall feel more at ease when we have our here safe under lock and key the cab still waits and there are two downstairs i am much obliged to you both for your assistance of course you will be wanted at the trial good night to you good night gentlemen both said small you first small remarked the wary jones as they left the room til take strange story of small particular care that you don t club me with your wooden leg whatever you may have done to the gentleman at the well and there is the end of our little drama i remarked after we	4
thej captain of the and other tales by a author of etc london green and co and new york east w street all rights reserved z z o l mar to my friend major general a w as a slight token of my admiration for his great and as yet services to little volume is preface for the use of some of the following tales i am indebted to the courtesy of the of temple bar london society and the boys own paper a con an m d contents the captain of the pole star j s statement the great experiment the man from that little square box john s a literary john the parson of s the ring of i io the captain of the pole star being an extract from the singular journal of john m ray student of medicine september ii a si n long e still lying to amid enormous ice fields the one which stretches away to the north of us and to which our ice anchor is attached cannot be smaller than an english county to the right and left unbroken sheets extend to the horizon this morning the mate reported that there were signs of pack ice to the southward should this form of sufficient thickness to bar our return we shall be in a position of danger as the food i hear is already running somewhat short it is late in the season and the nights are beginning to this morning i saw a star twinkling just over the fore yard the first since the beginning of may there is considerable discontent among the crew many of whom are anxious to get back home to be in time for the season when labour always commands a high price upon the scotch coast as yet their displeasure is only signified by sullen countenances and black looks but i heard from the second mate this afternoon that the captain op the pole star they contemplated sending a to the captain to explain their grievance i much doubt how he will receive it as he is a man of fierce temper and very sensitive about anything approaching to an of his rights i shall venture after dinner to say a few words to him upon the subject i have always found that he will from me what he would resent from any other member of the crew island at the north west corner of is visible upon our quarter a rugged line of rocks by white which represent it is curious to think that at the present moment there is probably no human being nearer to us than the in the south of a good nine hundred miles as the crow flies a captain takes a great responsibility upon himself when he risks his vessel under such circumstances no has ever remained in these till so advanced a period of the year p m l have spoken to captain and though the result has been hardly satisfactory i am bound to say that he listened to what i had to say very quietly and even when i had finished he put on that air of determination which i have frequently observed upon his face and paced rapidly backwards and forwards across the narrow cabin for some minutes at first i feared that i had seriously offended him but he the idea by sitting down again and putting his hand upon my arm with a gesture which almost amounted to a caress there was the captain of the pole star depth of tenderness too in his wild dark eyes which surprised me considerably look here doctor he said i m sorry i ever took i am indeed and i would give fifty pounds this minute to see you standing safe upon the it s hit or miss with me this time there are fish to the north of us how dare you shake your head sir when i tell you i saw them blowing from the this in a sudden burst of fury though i was not conscious of having shown any signs of doubt two and twenty fish in as many minutes as i am a living man and not under ten foot now doctor do you think i can leave the country when there is only one infernal strip of ice between me and my fortune if it came on to blow from the north to morrow we could fill the ship and be away before the frost could catch us if it came on to blow from the south well i suppose the men are paid for their lives and as for myself it matters but little to me for i have more to bind me to the other world than to this one i confess that i am sorry for you though i wish i had old who was with me last voyage for he was a man that would never be missed and you you said once that you were engaged did you not yes i answered snapping the spring of the which hung from my watch chain and holding up the little of curse you he springing out of his seat a whale is measured among not by the length of its body but by the length of its the captain of the pole star with his very beard with passion what is your happiness to me what have i to do with her that you must her photograph before my eyes i almost thought that he was about to strike me in the frenzy of his rage but with another he dashed open the door of the cabin and rushed out upon deck leaving me considerably astonished at his extraordinary violence it is the first time that he has ever shown me anything but courtesy and kindness i can hear him pacing excitedly up	4
and down overhead as i write these lines i should like to give a sketch of the character of this man but it seems to attempt such a thing upon paper when the idea in my own mind is at best a vague and uncertain one several times i have thought that i grasped the clue which might explain it but only to be disappointed by his presenting in some new light which would upset all my conclusions it may be that no human eye but my own shall ever rest upon these lines yet as a study i shall attempt to leave some record of captain a man s outer case generally gives some indication of the soul within the captain is tall and with dark handsome face and a curious way of his limbs which may arise from or be simply an of his excessive energy his jaw and whole cast of countenance is manly and resolute but the eyes are the feature of his face they are of the very darkest bright and the captain of the pole star j eager with a singular mixture of in their expression and of something else which i have sometimes thought was more allied with horror than any other emotion generally the former but on occasions and more particularly when he was thoughtfully inclined the look of fear would spread and until it imparted a new character to his whole countenance it is at these times that he is most subject to fits of anger and he seems to be aware of it for i have known him lock himself up so that no one might approach him until his dark hour was passed he sleeps badly and i have heard him shouting during the night but his cabin is some little distance from mine and i could never distinguish the words which he said this is one phase of his character and the most disagreeable one it is only through my close association with him thrown together as we are day after day that i have observed it otherwise he is an agreeable companion well read and entertaining and as gallant a seaman as ever trod a deck i shall not easily forget the way in which he handled the ship when we were caught by a gale among the loose ice at the beginning of april i have never seen him so cheerful and even as he was that night as he paced backwards and forwards upon the bridge amid the flashing of the lightning and the howling of the wind he has told me several times that the thought of death was a pleasant one to him which is a sad thing for a young man to say he cannot be the captain of the pole star much more than thirty though his hair and moustache are already slightly some great sorrow must have overtaken him and his whole life perhaps i should be the same if i lost my god knows i think if it were not for her that i should care very little whether the wind blew from the north or the south to morrow there i hear him come down the companion and he has locked himself up in his room which shows that he is still in an mood and so to bed as old would say for the candle is burning down we have to use them now since the nights are closing in and the steward has turned in so there are no hopes of another one september i th calm clear day and still lying in the same position what wind there is comes from the south east but it is very slight captain is in a better humour and to me at breakfast for his he still looks somewhat however and that wild look in his eyes which in a would mean that he was at least so our chief engineer remarked to me and he has some reputation among the portion of our crew as a and of it is strange that superstition should have obtained such mastery over this hard headed and practical race i could not have believed to what an extent it is carried had i not observed it for myself we have had a perfect of it this voyage until i have felt inclined to serve out of and with the saturday allowance of the first the captain of the pole star symptom of it was that shortly after leaving the men at the wheel used to that they heard plaintive cries and screams in the wake of the ship as if something were following it and were unable to overtake it this fiction has been kept up during the whole voyage and on dark nights at the beginning of the seal fishing it was only with great difficulty that men could be induced to do their spell no doubt what they heard was either the creaking of the chains or the cry of some passing sea bird i have been fetched out of bed several times to listen to it but i need hardly say that i was never able to distinguish anything unnatural the men however are so positive upon the subject that it is hopeless to argue with them i mentioned the matter to the captain once but to my surprise he took it very gravely and indeed appeared to be considerably dis by what i told him i should have thought that he at least would have been above such vulgar all this upon superstition leads me up to the fact that mr our second mate saw a ghost last night or at least says that he did which of course is the same thing it is quite refreshing to have some new topic of conversation after the eternal routine of bears and which has served us for so many months the ship is	4
eye can reach on every side there is one wide expanse of white only broken by an occasional or the dark shadow of a to the south there is the narrow lane of blue water which is our sole means of escape and which is closing up every day the captain is taking a heavy responsibility upon himself i hear that the of potatoes has been finished and even the are running short but he preserves the same countenance and the greater part of the day at the crow s nest sweeping the horizon with his glass his manner is very and he seems to avoid my society but there has been no repetition of the violence which he showed the other night p m my deliberate opinion is that we are commanded by a madman nothing else can account for the extraordinary of captain it is fortunate that i have kept this journal of our voyage s it will serve to justify us in case we have to put him the captain of the pole star under any sort of restraint a step which i should only consent to as a last resource curiously enough it was he himself who suggested and not mere as the secret of his strange conduct he was standing upon the bridge about an hour ago peering as usual through his glass while i was walking up and down the the majority of the men were below at their tea for the watches have not been regularly kept of late tired of walking i leaned against the and admired the mellow glow cast by the sinking sun upon the great ice fields which surround us i was suddenly aroused from the reverie into which i had fallen by a hoarse voice at my elbow and starting round i found that the captain had descended and was standing by my side he was staring out over the ice with an expression in which horror surprise and something approaching to joy were for the mastery in spite of the cold great drops of perspiration were down his forehead and he was evidently fearfully excited his limbs like those of a man upon the verge of an fit and the lines about his mouth were drawn and hard look he gasped seizing me by the wrist but still keeping his eyes upon the distant ice and moving his head slowly in a direction as if following some object which was moving across the field of vision look i there man there between the now coming out from behind the far one i you see her ou see her there still i the captain of the pole star j flying from me by god flying from me and gone he uttered the last two words in a whisper of concentrated agony which shall never fade from my remembrance clinging to the he endeavoured to climb up upon the top of the as if in the hope of obtaining a last glance at the departing object his strength was not equal to the attempt however and he staggered back against the saloon where he leaned panting and exhausted his face was so livid that i expected him to become unconscious so lost no time in leading him down the companion and stretching him upon one of the in the cabin i then poured him out some brandy which i held to his lips and which had a wonderful effect upon him bringing the blood back into his white face and his poor shaking limbs he raised himself up upon his elbow and looking round to see that we were alone he beckoned to me to come and sit beside him you saw it didn t you he asked still in the same subdued tone so foreign to the nature of the man no i saw nothing his head sank back again upon the cushions no he wouldn t without the glass he murmured he couldn t it was the glass that showed her to me and then the eyes of love the eyes of love i say don t let the steward in i he ll think i m mad just bolt the door will you the captain of the pole star r i rose and did what he had commanded he lay quiet for a while lost in thought apparently and then raised himself up upon his elbow again and asked for some more brandy you don t think i am do you he asked as i was putting the bottle back into the after tell me now as man to man do you think that i am mad i think you have something on your mind i answered which is exciting you and doing you a good deal of harm right there lad he cried his eyes sparkling from the effects of the brandy plenty on my mind plenty i but i can work out the latitude and the and i can handle my and manage my you couldn t prove me mad in a court of law could you now it was curious to hear the man lying back and coolly arguing out the question of his own perhaps not i said but still i think you would be wise to get home as soon as you can and settle down to a quiet life for a while get home eh he muttered with a sneer upon his face one word for me and two for yourself lad settle down with pretty little are bad dreams signs of madness sometimes i answered what else what would be the first symptoms pains in the head noises in the ears flashes before the eyes the c apt am of the pole star ah what about them he interrupted what would you call a delusion seeing a thing which is not there is a delusion but she was there he groaned to himself	4
she was there and rising he the door and walked with slow and uncertain steps to his own cabin where i have no doubt that he will remain until to morrow morning his system seems to have received a terrible shock whatever it may have been that he imagined himself to have seen the man becomes a greater mystery every day though i fear that the solution which he has himself suggested is the correct one and that his reason is affected i do not think that a guilty conscience has anything to do with his behaviour the idea is a popular one among the officers and i believe the crew but i have seen nothing to support it he has not the air of a guilty man but of one who has had terrible usage at the hands of fortune and who should be regarded as a martyr rather than a criminal the wind is round to the south to night god help us if it blocks that narrow pass which is our only to safety situated as we are on the edge of the main pack or the barrier as it is called by the any wind from the north has the effect of out the ice around us and allowing our escape while a wind from the south blows up all the loose ice behind us and us in between two god help us i say again i ih sunday and a day of rest my i the captain of the pole star fears have been con firm ed and the thin strip of blue water has disappeared from the southward nothing but the great motionless ice fields around us with their weird and fantastic there is a silence over their wide expanse which is horrible no of the waves now no cries of or straining of sails one deep universal silence in which the murmurs of the and the of their boots upon the white shining deck seem and out of place our only visitor was an fox a rare animal upon the pack though common enough upon the land he did not come near the ship however but after surveying us from a distance fled rapidly across the ice this was curious conduct as they generally know nothing of man and being of an inquisitive nature become so familiar that they are easily captured incredible as it may seem even this little incident produced a bad effect upon the crew yon ay an sees nor you nor me i was the comment of one of the leading and the others nodded their acquiescence it is vain to attempt to argue against such superstition they have made up their minds that there is a curse upon the ship and nothing will ever persuade them to the contrary the captain remained in seclusion all day except for about half an hour in the afternoon when he came out upon the i observed that he kept his eye fixed upon the spot where the vision of yesterday had appeared and was quite prepared for another outburst the captain of the pole star but none such came he did not seem to see me although i was standing close beside him divine service was read as usual by the chief engineer it is a curious thing that in vessels the church of england prayer book is always employed although there is never a member of that church among either officers or crew our men are all roman or the former since a is used which is foreign to both neither can complain that the other is preferred to them and they listen with all attention and devotion so that the system has something to recommend it a glorious sunset which made the great fields of ice look like a lake of blood i have never seen a finer and at the same time more weird effect wind is round if it will blow twenty four hours from the north all will yet be well september i ih to day is s birthday dear it is well that she cannot see her boy as she used to call me shut up among the ice fields with a crazy captain and a few weeks provisions no doubt she the shipping list in the every morning to see if we are reported from i have to set an example to the men and look cheery and but god knows my heart is very heavy at times the is at nineteen to day there is but little wind and what there is comes from an quarter captain is in an excellent humour i think he he has seen some other omen or vision poor fellow during the night for he b i the captain of the pole star or came into my room early in the morning and down over my whispered it wasn t a delusion it s all right i after breakfast he asked me to find out how much food was left which the second mate and i proceeded to do it is even less than w e had expected forward they have half a full of three barrels of salt meat and a very limited supply of coffee beans and sugar in the after hold and there are a good many luxuries such as salmon mutton c but they will go a very short way among a crew of fifty men there are two barrels of flour in the store room and an unlimited supply of tobacco altogether there is about enough to keep the men on half for eighteen or twenty days certainly not more when we reported the state of things to the captain he ordered all hands to be and addressed them from the i never saw him to better advantage with his tall well knit figure and dark animated face he seemed a man born to command and he discussed	4
not accustomed to their ways there are many of the matter but the sum total of them all is that something has been flitting round the ship all night and that m of and peter of saw it as also did mr on the bridge so having three witnesses they can make a better case of it than the second mate did i spoke to after breakfast and told him that he should be above such nonsense and that as an officer he ought to set the men a better example he shook his head but answered with characteristic caution aye na doctor he said i ca it a i say i my faith in sea an the like though there s a as claims to ha seen a that and i m no easy feared but maybe your ain would run a bit if instead o it in ye were wi me last night an seed an like shape white an here there an it and ca ing in the darkness like a bit that lost its ye would na be ready to the captain of the pole star put it a to wives then i m i saw it was hopeless to reason with him so contented myself with begging him as a personal favour to call me up the next time the appeared a request to which he with many expressive of his hopes that such an opportunity might never arise as i had hoped the white desert behind us has become broken by many thin streaks of water which it in all directions our latitude to day was n which shows that there is a strong drift upon the pack should the wind continue favourable it will break up as rapidly as it formed at present we can do nothing but smoke and wait and hope for the best i am rapidly becoming a when dealing with such uncertain as wind and ice a man can be nothing else perhaps it was the wind and sand of the deserts which gave the minds of the original followers of their tendency to bow to these have a very bad effect upon the captain i feared that it might excite his sensitive mind and endeavoured to conceal the absurd story from him but unfortunately he overheard one of the men making an allusion to it and insisted upon being informed about it as i had expected it brought out all his latent in an exaggerated form can hardly believe that this is the same man who philosophy last night with the most critical and judgment he is pacing backwards and forwards the captain op the pole star j upon the like a tiger stopping now and again to throw out his hands with a yearning gesture and stare out over the ice he keeps up a continual to himself and once he called out but a little time love but a little time i poor fellow it is sad to see a gallant seaman and accomplished gentleman reduced to such a pass and to think that imagination and delusion can cow a mind to which real danger was but the salt of life was ever a man in such a position as i between a captain and a ghost seeing mate i sometimes think i am the only really sane man aboard the vessel except perhaps the second engineer who is a kind of and would care nothing for all the in the red sea so long as they would leave him alone and not his tools the ice is still opening rapidly and there is every probability of being able to make a start to morrow morning they will think i am when i tell them at home all the strange things that have befallen me p m i have been a good deal startled though i feel now thanks to a stiff glass of brandy i am hardly myself yet however as this handwriting will testify the fact is that i have gone through a very strange experience and am beginning to doubt whether i was justified in every one on board as because they professed to have seen things which did not seem reasonable to my understanding i am a fool to let such a trifle me the captain of the pole and yet coming as it does after all these it has an additional significance for i cannot doubt either mr s story or that of the mate now that i have experienced that which i used formerly to at after all it was nothing very alarming a mere sound and that was all i cannot expect that any one reading this if any one ever should read it will with my feelings or the effect which it produced upon me at the time supper was over and i had gone on deck to have a quiet pipe before turning in the night was very dark so dark that standing under the quarter boat i was unable to see the officer upon the bridge i think i have already mentioned the extraordinary silence which in these frozen seas in other parts of the world be they ever so barren there is some slight of the air some faint hum be it from the distant haunts of men or from the leaves of the trees or the wings of the birds or even the faint rustle of the grass that covers the ground one may not perceive the sound and yet if it were withdrawn it would be missed it is only here in these seas that stillness itself upon you in all its reality you find your straining to catch some little murmur and eagerly upon every accidental sound within the vessel in this state i was leaning against the when there arose from the ice almost directly underneath me a cry sharp and shrill upon	4
i shall at least make a point of remaining on deck as long as he stays up mr my fears and says it is on the s little way he himself takes a very rosy view of the situation according to him we shall be but of the ice by the day after to morrow pass two days after that and sight in little more than a week i hope he may not be too sanguine his opinion may be fairly balanced against the gloomy precautions of the captain for he is an old and experienced seaman and his words well before uttering them the long impending catastrophe has come at last i hardly know what to write about it the captain is gone he may come back to us again alive but i fear me i fear me it is now seven o clock of the morning of the th of september i have spent the the captain of the pole star whole night the great ice in front of us with a party of in the hope of coming upon some trace of him but in vain i shall try to give some account of the circumstances which attended upon his disappearance should any one ever chance to read the words which i put down i trust they will remember that i do not write from conjecture or from but that i a sane and educated man am describing accurately what actually occurred before my very eyes my are my own but i shall be for the facts the captain remained in excellent spirits after the conversation which i have recorded he appeared to be nervous and impatient however frequently changing his position and moving his limbs in an way which is characteristic of him at times in a quarter of an hour he went upon deck seven times only to descend after a few hurried paces i followed him each time for there was something about his face which confirmed my resolution of not letting him out of my sight he seemed to observe the effect which his movements had produced for he endeavoured by an over done laughing at the very smallest of jokes to quiet my apprehensions after supper he went on to the once more and i with him the night was dark and very still save for the melancholy of the wind among the a thick cloud was coming up from the and the ragged which it threw out in front of it were drifting across the face of the moon the captain of the pole star which only shone now and again through a in the the captain paced rapidly backwards and forwards and then seeing me still him he came across and hinted that he thought i should be better below which i need hardly say had the effect of my resolution to remain on deck i think he forgot about my presence after this for he stood silently leaning over the and peering out across the great desert of snow part of which lay in shadow while part glittered in the moonlight several times i could see by his movements that he was referring to his watch and once he muttered a short sentence of which i could only catch the one word ready i confess to having felt an feeling creeping over me as i watched the loom of his tall figure through the darkness and noted how completely he fulfilled the idea of a man who is keeping a a with whom some vague perception began to dawn upon me as i one fact with another but i was utterly unprepared for the by the sudden intensity of his attitude i felt that he saw something i crept up behind him he was staring with an eager questioning gaze at what seemed to be a wreath of mist blown swiftly in a line with the ship it was a dim body devoid of shape sometimes more sometimes less apparent as the light fell on it the moon was in its brilliancy at the moment by a of cloud like the of an coming coming cried the in a voice tub captain of the pole star of tenderness and compassion like one who a beloved one by some favour long looked for and as pleasant to bestow as to receive what followed happened in an instant i had no power to interfere he gave one spring to the top of the and another which took him on to the ice almost to the feet of the pale misty figure he held out his hands as if to clasp it and so ran into the darkness with outstretched arms and loving words i still stood rigid and motionless straining my eyes after his retreating form until his voice died away in the distance i never thought to see him again but at that moment the moon shone out brilliantly through a in the cloudy heaven and illuminated the great field of ice then i saw his dark figure already a very long way off running with prodigious speed across the frozen plain that was the last glimpse which we caught of him perhaps the last we ever shall a party was to follow him and i accompanied them but the men s hearts were not in the work and nothing was found another will be formed within a few hours i can hardly believe have not been dreaming or suffering from some hideous nightmare as write these things down p m just returned dead beat and utterly tired out from a second unsuccessful search for the captain the is of enormous extent for though we have traversed at least twenty miles of its surface there has been no sign of its coming to an end the frost has been so severe of late that the snow is frozen the	4
captain of the pole star as hard as granite otherwise we might have had the footsteps to guide us the crew are anxious that we should cast off and steam round the and so to the southward for the ice has opened up during the night and the sea is visible upon the horizon they argue that captain is certainly dead and that we are all our lives to no purpose by remaining when we have an opportunity of escape mr and i have had the greatest difficulty in persuading them to wait until to morrow night and have been compelled to promise that we will not under any circumstances delay our departure longer than that we propose therefore to take a few hours sleep and then to start upon a final search september th evening i crossed the ice this morning with a party of men exploring the southern part of the while mr went off in a direction we pushed on for ten or twelve miles without seeing a trace of any living thing except a single bird which fluttered a great way over our heads and which by its flight i should judge to have been a the southern extremity of the ice field away into a long narrow spit which projected out into the sea when we came to the base of this the men halted but i begged them to continue to the extreme end of it that we might have the satisfaction of knowing that no possible chance had been neglected we had hardly gone a hundred yards before m of cried out that he saw something in front c the captain of the pole star of us and began to run we all got a glimpse of it and ran too at first it was only a vague darkness against the white ice but as we along together it took the shape of a man and eventually of the man of whom we in search he was lying face downwards upon a frozen bank many little of ice and feathers of snow bad drifted on to him as he lay and sparkled upon his dark seaman s jacket as we came up some wandering puff of wind caught these tiny in its and they whirled up into the air partially descended again and caught once more in the current sped rapidly away in the direction of the sea to my eyes it seemed but a snow drift but many of my companions that it started up in the shape of a woman stooped over the corpse and kissed it and then hurried away across the i have learned never to ridicule any man s opinion however strange it may seem sure it is that captain had met with no painful end for there was a bright smile upon his blue pinched features and his hands were still outstretched as though grasping at the strange visitor which had summoned him away into the dim world that lies beyond the grave we buried him the same afternoon with the ship s around him and a thirty two pound shot at his feet i read the burial service while the rough sailors wept like children for there were many who owed much to his kind heart and who showed now the affection which his strange ways had during the captain of the pole star his lifetime he went off the grating with a dull sullen and as i looked into the green water saw him go down down down until he was but a little flickering patch of white hanging upon the outskirts of eternal darkness then even that faded away and he was gone there he shall lie with his secret and his sorrows and his mystery all still buried in his breast until that great day when the sea shall give up its dead and come out from among the ice with the smile upon his face and his arms outstretched in greeting i pray that his lot may be a happier one in that life than it has been in this i shall not continue my journal our road to home lies plain and clear before us and the great ice field will soon be but a remembrance of the past it will be some time before i get over the shock produced by recent events when i began this record of our voyage i little thought of how i should be compelled to finish it i am writing these final words in the lonely cabin still starting at times and i hear the quick nervous step of the dead man upon the deck above me entered his cabin to night as was my duty to make a list of his effects in order that they might be entered in the official log all was as it had been upon my previous visit save that the picture which i have described as having hung at the end of his bed had been cut out of its frame as with a knife and was gone with this last link in a strange chain of evidence i close my of the voyage of the the captain of the pole star note by dr john m ray senior i have read over the strange events connected with the death of the captain of the pole as in the journal of my son that everything occurred exactly as he describes it i have the fullest confidence and indeed the most positive certainty for i know him to be a strong and man with the regard for still the story is on the face of it so vague and so improbable that i was long opposed to its publication within the last few days however i have had independent testimony upon the subject which throws a new light upon it i had run down to to attend a meeting of the british medical association when	4
i chanced to come across dr p an old college of mine now at in upon my telling him of this experience of my son s he declared to me that he was familiar with the man and proceeded to my no small surprise to give me a description of him which remarkably well with that given in the journal except that he depicted him as a younger man according to his account he had been engaged to a young lady of singular beauty upon the coast during his absence at sea his had died under circumstances of peculiar horror j s statement in the month of december in the year the british ship into having in tow the which had been picked up in latitude w there were several circumstances in connection with the condition and appearance of this abandoned vessel which excited considerable comment at the time and aroused a curiosity which has never been satisfied what these circumstances were was up in an able article which appeared in the the curious can find it in the issue for january unless my memory me for the benefit of those however who may be unable to refer to the paper in question i shall a few which touch upon the leading features of the case we have ourselves says the writer in the been over the and have closely questioned the officers of the on every point which might throw light on the affair they are of opinion that she had been abandoned several days or perhaps weeks before being picked up the official log which was found in the cabin states that the vessel sailed from boston to j s statement starting upon october it is however most imperfectly kept and affords little information there is no reference to rough weather and indeed the state of the vessel s paint and the idea that she was abandoned for any such reason she is perfectly no signs of a struggle or of violence are to be detected and there is absolutely nothing to account for the disappearance of the crew there are several indications that a lady was present on board a sewing machine being found in the cabin and some articles of female attire these probably belonged to the captain s wife who is mentioned in the log as having accompanied her husband as an instance of the of the weather it may be remarked that a of silk was found standing upon the sewing machine though the least roll of the vessel would have it to the floor the boats were and upon the and the cargo consisting of and american was untouched an old fashioned sword of curious was discovered among some lumber in the and this weapon is said to exhibit a on the steel as if it had been recently wiped it has been placed in the hands of the police and submitted to dr the for inspection the result of his examination has not yet been published we may remark in conclusion that captain of the an able and intelligent seaman is of opinion that the may have been abandoned a considerable distance from the spot y s statement at which she was picked up since a powerful current runs up in that latitude from the african coast he his inability however to advance any which can reconcile all the facts of the case in the utter absence of a clue or grain of evidence it is to be feared that the fate of the crew of the mane will be added to those numerous mysteries of the deep which will never be solved until the great day when the sea shall give up its dead if crime has been committed as is much to be suspected there is little hope of bringing the to justice i shall this extract from the by quoting a from boston which went the round of the english papers and represented the total amount of information which had been collected about the she was it said a of tons burden and belonged to white white wine of this city captain j w was an old servant of the firm and was a man of known ability and tried he was accompanied by his wife aged thirty one and their youngest child five years old the crew consisted of seven hands including two coloured and a boy there were three passengers one of whom was the well known on consumption dr who was a distinguished for in the early days of the movement and whose where is thy brother exercised a strong influence on public opinion before the war the other passengers were mr j j ha k s statement a writer in the employ of the firm and mr a half caste gentleman from new all have failed to throw any light upon the fate of these fourteen human beings the loss of dr will be felt both in political and scientific circles have here for the benefit of the public all that has been hitherto known concerning the and her crew for the past ten years have not in any way helped to the mystery i have now taken up my pen with the intention of telling all that i know of the ill fated voyage i consider that it is a duty which i owe to society for symptoms which i am familiar with in others lead me to believe that before many months my tongue and hand may be alike incapable of conveying information let me remark as a preface to my narrative that i am joseph doctor of medicine of the university of and ex consulting physician of the hospital of many will doubtless wonder why i have not proclaimed myself before and why i have suffered so many conjectures and to pass could the ends of justice have been served in any way by my revealing the facts in my	4
possession i should have done so it seemed to me however that there was no possibility of such a result and i attempted after the occurrence to state my case to an english official i was met with such offensive incredulity that i determined never again to y s statement expose myself to the chance of such an can excuse the of the liverpool magistrate however when i reflect upon the treatment which i received at the hands of my own relatives who though they knew my character listened to my statement with an indulgent smile as if the delusion of a this upon my led to a quarrel between myself and john the brother of my wife and confirmed me in my resolution to let the matter sink into oblivion a determination which i have only altered through my son s in order to make my narrative intelligible i must run lightly over one or two incidents in my former life which throw light upon subsequent events my father william k was a preacher of the called brethren and was one of the most respected citizens of like most of the other of new england he was a determined opponent to slavery and it was from his lips that i received those lessons which tinged every action of my life while i was studying medicine at university i had already made a mark as an advanced and when after taking my degree i bought a third share of the practice of dr of i managed in spite of my professional duties to devote a considerable time to the cause which i had at heart my where is thy brother co considerable attention y statement when the war broke out i left and accompanied the th new york regiment through the campaign i was present at the second battle of bull s run and at the battle of finally i was severely wounded at and would probably have perished on the field had it not been for the kindness of a gentleman named who had me carried to his house and provided me with every comfort thanks to his charity and to the nursing which i received from his black i was soon able to get about the plantation with the help of a stick it was during this period of that an occurred which is closely connected with my story among the most of the who had watched my couch during my illness there was one old who appeared to exert considerable authority over the others she was exceedingly attentive to me and i gathered from the few words that passed between us that she had heard of me and that she was grateful to me for her oppressed race one day as i was sitting alone in the in the sun and whether i should grant s army i was surprised to see this old creature towards me after looking cautiously around to see that we were alone she in the front of her dress and produced a small leather bag which was hung round her neck by a white cord she said bending down and the words into my ear me die soon me very old y s statement woman not stay long on s plantation you may live a long time yet i answered you know i am a doctor if you feel ill let me know about it and i will try to cure you no wish to live wish to die i m to join the heavenly host here she into one of those half in which indulge but me have one thing must leave behind me when i go no able to take it with me across the that one thing very precious more precious and more holy than all thing else in the world me a poor old black woman have this because my people very great people they was back in the old country but you cannot understand this same as black folk could my give it me and his give it him but now who shall i give it to poor no child no relation nobody all round i see black man very bad man black woman very stupid woman nobody worthy of the stone and so i say is who write books and fight for coloured folk he must be good man and he shall have it though he is white and can know what it mean or where it came from here the old woman in the leather bag and pulled out a black stone with a hole through the middle of it here take it she said pressing it into my hand take it no harm come from anything good keep it safe lose it and with a warning gesture the old away in y son s statement the same cautious way as she had come looking from side to side to see if we had been observed i was more amused than impressed by the old woman s earnestness and was only prevented from laughing during her by the fear of her feelings when she was gone i took a good look at the stone which she had given me it was intensely black of extreme hardness and oval in shape just such a flat stone as one would pick up on the if one wished to throw a long way it was about three inches long and an inch and a half broad at the middle but rounded off at the the most curious part about it were several well marked which ran in over its surface and gave it exactly the appearance of a human ear altogether i was rather interested in my new possession and determined to submit it as a specimen to my friend professor of the new york upon the earliest opportunity in the meantime i thrust it into my pocket and rising from my chair	4
started off for a short stroll in the the incident from my mind as my wound had nearly healed by this time i took my leave of mr shortly afterwards the union armies were everywhere victorious and on so that my assistance seemed unnecessary and i returned to there i resumed my practice and married the second daughter of the well known wood in the course of a few years i built up a good connection and j s statement acquired considerable reputation in the treatment of complaints i still kept the old black stone in my pocket and frequently told the story of the dramatic way in which i had become possessed of it i also kept my resolution of showing it to professor who was much interested both by the anecdote and the specimen he pronounced it to be a piece of stone and drew my attention to the fact that its resemblance to an ear was not accidental but that it was most carefully worked into that shape a dozen little points showed that the had been as accurate as he was skilful i should not wonder said the professor if it were broken off from some larger statue though how such hard material could be so perfectly worked is more than i can understand if there is a statue to correspond i should like to see it so i thought at the time but i have changed my opinion since the next seven or eight years of my life were quiet and summer followed spring and spring followed winter without any in my duties as the practice increased i admitted j s as partner be to have one fourth of the profits the continued strain had told upon my constitution however and i became at last so that my wife insisted upon my consulting dr smith who was my at the hospital that gentleman examined me and pronounced the of my left to be in a state of me at the same time to go through a j ha ba st a course of medical and to take a long my own disposition which is naturally restless me strongly in favour of the latter piece of advice and the matter was by my meeting young of the firm of white white who offered me a passage in one of his father s ships the which was just starting from boston she is a snug little ship he said and the captain is an excellent fellow there is nothing like a sailing ship for an invalid i was very much of the same opinion myself so i closed with the offer on the spot my original plan wa that my wife should accompany me on my travels she has always been a very poor sailor however and there were strong family reasons against her exposing herself to any risk at the time so we determined that she should remain at home i am not a religious or an man y but oh thank god for that i as to leaving my practice i was easily reconciled to it as my partner was a and hard working man i arrived in boston on october and proceeded immediately to the office of the firm in order to thank them for their courtesy as i was sitting in the counting house waiting until they should be at liberty to see me the words suddenly attracted my attention looked round and saw a very tall gaunt man who was leaning across the polished mahogany counter asking some questions of the clerk j statement at the other side his face was turned half towards me and i could see that he had a strong dash of negro blood in him being probably a or even nearer akin to the black his curved nose and straight hair showed the white strain but the dark restless eye mouth and gleaming teeth all told of his african origin his complexion was of a sickly yellow and as his face was deeply with small the general impression was so as to be almost when he spoke however it was in a soft melodious voice and in well chosen words and he was evidently a man of some education i wished to ask a few questions about the he repeated leaning across to the clerk she sails the day after to morrow does she not yes sir said the young clerk awed into unusual politeness by the glimmer of a large diamond in the stranger s shirt front where is she bound for how many of a crew seven sir passengers yes two one of our young gentlemen and a doctor from new york no gentleman from the south asked the stranger eagerly no none sir is there room for another passenger y s accommodation for three more answered the clerk i ll go said the i ll go i ll engage my passage at once put it down will you mr of new the clerk filled up a form and handed it over to the stranger pointing to a blank space at the bottom as f mr stooped over to sign it i was to observe that the fingers of his right hand had been off and that he was holding the pen between his thumb and the palm i have seen thousands slain in battle and assisted at every conceivable operation but i cannot recall any sight which gave me such a thrill of disgust as that great brown like hand with the single member from it he used it enough however for dashing off his signature he nodded to the clerk and strolled out of the office just as mr white sent out word that he was ready to receive me i went down to the that evening and looked over my berth which was extremely comfortable considering the small size of the vessel mr whom i had seen in the morning	4
played with mrs after supper and gave us a couple of tunes on the october the gloomy of last night were not fulfilled as the wind died away again and we are lying now in a long greasy swell here and there by a fleeting which is insufficient to fill the sails the air is colder than it was yesterday and i have put on one of the thick which my wife for me came into my cabin in the morning and we had a cigar together he sa s that he remembers having seen in in he was it appears a mystery then as now wandering about without any visible employment and extremely on his own affairs the man interests me as a study at breakfast this morning i suddenly had that vague feeling of uneasiness which comes over some people when closely stared at and looking quickly up i met his eyes bent upon me with an intensity which amounted to ferocity though their j s statement expression instantly softened as he made some conventional remark upon the weather curiously enough says that he had a very similar experience yesterday upon deck i observe that frequently talks to the coloured as he about a trait which i rather admire as it is common to find their dark strain and treat their black with greater than a white man would do his little page is devote d to him apparently which speaks well for his treatment of him altogether the man is a curious mixture of qualities and unless i am deceived in him will give me food for observation during the voyage the captain is grumbling about his which do not register exactly the same time he says it is the first time that they have ever we were unable to get a observation on account of the haze by dead reckoning we have done about a hundred and seventy miles in the twenty four hours the dark have proved as the to be very inferior hands but as they can both manage the wheel well they are kept and so leave the more experienced men to work the ship these details are trivial enough but a small thing serves as food for gossip aboard ship the appearance of a whale in the evening caused quite a flutter among us from its sharp back and tail i should pronounce it to have been a or as they are called by the october t wind was cold so i remained j s statement in my cabin all day only creeping out for dinner lying in my i can without moving reach my books pipes or anything else i may want which is one advantage of a small apartment my old wound began to ache a little to day probably from the cold read s essays and nursed myself came in in the afternoon with the captain s child and the himself followed so that i held quite a reception october and still cold with a continual of rain and i have not been able to leave the cabin this confinement makes me feel weak and depressed came in to see me but his company did not tend to cheer me up much as he hardly uttered a word but contented himself with staring at me in a peculiar and rather manner he then got up and stole out of the cabin without saying anything am beginning to suspect that the man is a lunatic i think i mentioned that his cabin is next to mine the two are simply divided by a thin wooden which is cracked in many places some of the cracks being so large that i can hardly avoid as i lie in my observing his motions in the adjoining room without any wish to play the spy i see him continually stooping over what appears to be a and working with a pencil and i have remarked the interest he in matters connected with but i am surprised that he should take the trouble to work out the course of the ship however it is a harmless amusement enough and y s statement ne he his results by those of the captain i wish the man did not run in my thoughts so much i had a nightmare on the night of the th in which i thought my was a coffin that i was laid out in it and that was endeavouring to nail up the lid which i was pushing away even when i woke up i could hardly persuade myself that i was not in a coffin as a medical man i know that a nightmare is simply a of the and yet in my weak state i cannot shake off the morbid impression which it produces october a fine day with hardly a cloud in the sky and a fresh breeze from the sou west which us gaily on our way there has evidently been some heavy weather near us as there is a tremendous swell on and the ship until the end of the fore yard nearly touches the water had a refreshing walk up and down the quarter deck though i have hardly found my sea legs yet several small birds i think perched in the p m while i was on deck this morning i heard a sudden explosion from the direction of my cabin and hurrying down found that i had very nearly met with a serious accident was cleaning a revolver it seems in his cabin when one of the barrels which he thought was went off the ball passed through the side and itself in the in the exact place where my head usually rests i have been under fire too often to j s statement trifles but there is no doubt that if i had been in the it must have killed me poor fellow did	4
on deck in the morning tried to draw out as to his profession and his object in going to europe but the all his questions and gave us no information indeed he seemed to be slightly offended by s and went down into his cabin i wonder why we should both take such an interest in this man i i suppose it is his striking appearance coupled with his apparent wealth which our curiosity has a theory that he is really a that he is after some criminal who has got away to and that he chooses this peculiar way of travelling that he may o j s statement arrive unnoticed and upon his unawares i think the supposition is rather a far fetched one but it upon a book which left on deck and which he picked and glanced over it was a sort of scrap book it seems and contained a large number of newspaper all these related to which had been committed at various times in the states during the last twenty years or so the curious thing which observed about them however was that they were invariably the authors of which had never been brought to justice they varied in every detail he says as to the manner of execution and the social of the victim but hey uniformly wound up with the same that the murderer was still at large though of course the police had every reason to expect his speedy capture certainly the incident seems to support s theory though it may be a mere whim of s or as i suggested to he may be collecting materials for a book which shall de in any case it is no business of ours october wind still fair aud we are making good progress strange how easily a human may drop out of its place and be forgotten i is hardly ever mentioned now has taken possession of his cabin and all goes on as before were it not for mrs s sewing machine upon a side table we might forget that the unfortunate family had ever existed another accident occurred on board to day though fortunately not a very serious one one of j s statement f our white hands had gone down the to fetch up a spare of rope when one of the which he had removed came crashing down on the top of him he saved his life by springing out of the way but one of his feet was terribly crushed and he will be of little use for the remainder of the voyage he attributes the accident to the carelessness of his negro companion who had helped him to shift the the latter however puts it down to the roll of the ship whatever be the cause it our crew still further this run of ill luck seems to be for he has lost his usual good spirits and is the only one who preserves his cheerfulness i see him still working at his in his own cabin his knowledge would be useful should anything happen to which god forbid october still along with a fresh breeze all quiet and nothing of note to chronicle october my weak lungs combined with the exciting of the voyage have shaken my nervous system so much that the most trivial incident affects me i can hardly believe that i am the same man who tied the external an operation requiring the precision under a heavy rifle fire at i am as nervous as a child i was lying half last night about four bells in the middle watch trying in vain to drop into a refreshing sleep there was no light inside my cabin but a single ray of moonlight streamed in through the port j s statement hole throwing a silvery flickering circle upon the door as i lay i kept my drowsy eyes upon this circle and was conscious that it was gradually becoming less as my senses left me when i was suddenly recalled to full by the appearance of a small dark object in the very centre of the luminous i lay quietly and watching it gradually it grew larger and and then i perceived that it was a human hand which had been cautiously inserted through the of the door a hand which as i observed with a thrill of horror was not provided with fingers the door swung cautiously backwards and s head followed his hand it appeared in the centre of the moonlight and was framed as it were in a ghastly uncertain against which his features showed out plainly it seemed to me that i had never seen such an utterly and merciless expression upon a human face his eyes were dilated and glaring his lips drawn back so as to show his white and his straight black hair appeared to over his low forehead like the hood of a the sudden and noiseless apparition had such an effect upon me that i sprang up in bed trembling in every limb and held out my hand towards my revolver i was heartily ashamed of my when he explained the object of his intrusion as he immediately did in the most courteous language he bad been suffering from poor fellow and had come in to beg some knowing that i possessed a medicine y statement as to a sinister expression he is never a beauty and what with my state of nervous and the effect of the shifting moonlight it was easy to up something horrible i gave him twenty drops and he went off again with many expressions of gratitude i can hardly say how much this trivial incident affected me i have felt all day a week s record of our voyage is here omitted as nothing occurred during the time and my log consists merely of a few pages of unimportant gossip november and i	4
on either side was one long line of surf great green rolling in and breaking into a cloud of foam but behind the j statement surf what was there not the green banks nor the high cliffs of the shores of but a great sandy waste which stretched away and away until it blended with the to right and left where you would there was nothing but yellow sand heaped in some places into fantastic some of them hundred feet high while in other parts were long stretches as level apparently as a board and i who had come on deck together looked at each other in astonishment and burst out laughing is exceedingly at the occurrence and that the instruments have been with there is no doubt that this is the of africa and that it was really the peak of which we saw some days ago upon the northern horizon at the time when we saw the land birds we must have been passing some of the islands if we continued on the same course we are now to the north of cape near the country which skirts the great all we can do is to our instruments as far as possible and start afresh for our destination p m have been lying in a calm all day the coast is now about a mile and a half from us has examined the instruments but cannot find any reason for their extraordinary this is the end of my private journal and i must make the remainder of my statement from memory there is little chance of my being mistaken about facts which have themselves into my recollection j s statement that very night the storm which had been so long burst over us and i came to learn whither all those little incidents were tending which i had recorded so blind fool that i was not to have seen it sooner i i shall tell what occurred as precisely as i can i had gone into my cabin about half past eleven and was preparing to go to bed when a tap came at my door on opening it i saw s little black page who told me that his master would like to have a word with me on deck i was rather surprised that he should want me at such a late hour but i went up without hesitation i had hardly put my foot on the quarter deck before i was seized from behind dragged down upon my back and a handkerchief slipped round my mouth i struggled as hard as i could but a of rope was rapidly and firmly wound round me arid i found myself lashed to the of one of the boats utterly powerless to do or say anything while the point of a knife pressed to my throat warned me to cease my struggles the night was so dark that i had been unable hitherto to recognise my but as my eyes became accustomed to the gloom and the moon broke out through the clouds that obscured it i made out that i was surrounded by the two negro sailors the black cook and my fellow passenger another man was crouching on the deck at my feet but he was in the shadow and i could not recognise him all this occurred so rapidly that a minute could hardly have elapsed from the time i mounted the com j s statement until i found myself and powerless it was so sudden that i could scarce bring myself to it or to comprehend what it all meant i heard the gang round me speaking in short fierce whispers to each other and some instinct told me that my life was the question at issue spoke and angrily the others and all together as if his commands then they moved away in a body to the opposite side of the deck where i could still hear them whispering though they were concealed from my view by the saloon all this time the voices of the watch on deck and laughing at the other end of the ship were distinctly audible and i could see them gathered in a group little dreaming of the dark doings which going on within thirty yards of them oh that i could have given them one word of warning even though i had lost my life in doing it but it was impossible the moon was shining through the scattered clouds and i could see the silvery gleam of the and beyond it the vast weird desert with its fantastic sand hills glancing down i saw that the who had been crouching on the deck was still lying there and as i gazed at him a flickering ray of moonlight fell full upon his face great heaven even now when more than twelve years have elapsed my hand as i write that in spite of distorted features and projecting eyes i recognised the face of the cheery young clerk who had been my companion during the voyage it needed no o j s statement m p i m eye to see that he was quite dead while the twisted handkerchief round the neck and the in his mouth showed the silent way in which the hell hounds had done their work the clue which explained every event of our voyage came upon me like a flash of light as i gazed on poor ton s corpse much was dark and but i felt a great dim perception of the truth i heard the striking of a match at the other side of the and then i saw the gaunt figure of standing up on the and holding in his hands what appeared to be a dark lantern he lowered	4
this for a moment over the side of the ship and to my astonishment i saw it answered by a flash among the sand hills on shore which came and went so rapidly that unless i had been following the direction of s gaze i should never have detected it again he lowered the lantern and again it was answered from the shore he then stepped down from the and in doing so slipped making such a noise that for a moment my heart bounded with the thought that the attention of the watch would be directed to his proceedings it was a vain hope the night was calm and the ship motionless so that no idea of duty kept them who after the death of was in command of both watches had gone below to snatch a few hours sleep and the who was left in charge was standing with the other two men at the foot of the powerless speechless with the cutting y s statement into my flesh and the murdered man at my feet i awaited the next act in the tragedy the four were standing up now at the other side of the deck the cook was armed with some sort of a the others had knives and had a revolver they were all leaning against the rail and looking out over the water as if watching for something i saw one of them grasp another s arm and point as if at some object and following the direction i made out the loom of a large moving mass making towards the ship as it emerged from the gloom i saw that it was a great crammed with men and by at least a score of as it shot under our stern the watch caught sight of it also and raising a cry hurried aft they were too late however a swarm of gigantic over the quarter and led by swept down the deck in an irresistible torrent all opposition was overpowered in a moment the watch were knocked over and bound and the dragged out of their and secured in the same manner made an attempt to defend the narrow passage leading to his cabin and i heard a and his voice shouting for assistance there was none to assist however and he was brought on to the with the blood streaming from a deep cut in his forehead he was like the others and a council was held upon our fate by the i saw our black pointing towards me and making some statement which was received with murmurs of astonishment and incredulity j s statement by tne savages one of them then came over to me and plunging his hand into my pocket took out my black stone and held it up he then handed it to a man who appeared to be a chief who examined it as as the light would permit and muttering a few words passed it on to the warrior beside him who also it and passed it on until it had gone from hand to hand round the whole circle the chief then said a few words to in the native tongue on which the addressed me in english at this moment i seem to see the scene the tall of the ship with the moonlight streaming down the yards and bringing the of into hard relief the group of dusky warriors leaning on their the dead man at my feet the line of white faced prisoners and in front of me the half breed looking in his white linen and elegant clothes a strange contrast to his associates you will bear me witness he said in his accents that i am no party to your life if it rested with me you would die as these other men are about to do i have no personal grudge against either you or them but i have devoted my life to the destruction of the white race and you are the first that has ever been in my power and has escaped me you may thank that stone of yours for your life these poor fellows reverence it and indeed if it really be what they think it is they have cause should it prove when we get ashore that they are mistaken and that its shape and material is a mere chance nothing y s statement can save your life in the meantime we wish to treat you well so if there are any of your possessions which you would like to take with you you are at liberty to get them as he finished he gave a sign and a couple of the me though without removing the i was led down into the cabin where i put a few into my pockets together with a and my journal of the voyage they then pushed me over the side into a small which was lying beside the large one and my guards followed me and off began for the shore we had got about a hundred yards or so from the ship when our held up his hand and the paused for a moment and listened then on the silence of the night i heard a sort of dull moaning sound followed by a succession of in the water that is all i know of the fate of my poor almost immediately afterwards the large followed us and the deserted ship was left drifting about a dreary like nothing was taken from her by the savages the whole transaction was carried through as and as though it were a religious the first grey of daylight was visible in the east as we passed through the and reached the shore leaving half a dozen men with the the rest of the set off through the sand hills leading me with them but treating me very gently and respectfully it was difficult walking as we sank	4
over our ankles into the loose shifting sand at every step and mm j s statement i was nearly dead beat by the time we reached the native village or town rather for it was a place of considerable dimensions the houses were not unlike bee and were made of com pressed over with a rude of mortar there being neither stick nor stone upon th coast nor anywhere within many hundreds of miles as we entered the town am enormous crowd of both sexes came out to meet us beating tom and howling and screaming on seeing me they their and assumed a threatening attitude which was instantly by a few words shouted by my escort a of der succeeded the war cries and of the before and the whole dense mass proceeded down the broad central street of the town having my escort and myself ia the centre my statement hitherto may seem so strange as to excite doubt in the minds of those who do not know me but it was the fact which i am now about to relate which caused my own brother in law to insult me by i can but relate the occurrence in the simplest words and trust to chance and time to prove their truth in the centre of this main street there was a large building formed in the same way as the others but towering high above them j a of beautifully polished rails wa planted all round it of the door was formed by two magnificent elephant s sunk in the ground on each side and meeting at the top and y s statement the was closed by a screen of native cloth richly embroidered with gold we made our way to this imposing looking structure but on reaching the opening in the the multitude stopped and down upon their while i was led through into the by a few of the chiefs and elders of the tribe accompanying us and in fact directing the proceedings on reaching the screen which closed the temple for such it evidently was my hat and my shoes were removed and i was then led in a venerable old negro leading the way carrying in his hand my stone which had been taken from my pocket the building was only lit up by a few long in the roof through which the tropical sun poured throwing broad golden bars upon the clay floor with intervals of darkness the interior was even larger than one would have imagined from the outside appearance the walls were hung with native shells and other ornaments but the remainder of the great space was quite empty with the exception of a single object in the centre this was the figure of a colossal negro which i at first thought to be some real king or high priest of size but as i approached it i saw by the way in which the light was reflected from it that it was a statue admirably cut in jet black stone i was led up to this idol for such it seemed to be and looking at it closer i saw that though it was perfect in every other respect one of its ears had been broken short off the grey haired negro who held my mounted upon a small stool and j statement stretching up his arm fitted s black stone on to the jagged surface on the side of the statue s head there could not be a doubt that the one had been broken off from the other the parts together so accurately that when the old man removed his hand the ear stuck in its place for a few seconds before dropping into his open palm the group round me themselves upon the ground at the sight with a cry of reverence while the crowd outside to whom the result was communicated set up a wild and cheering in a moment i found myself converted from a prisoner into a god i was escorted back through the town in triumph the people pressing forward to touch my clothing and to gather up the dust on which my foot had trod one of the largest huts was put at my disposal and a banquet of every native delicacy was served me i still felt however that i was not a free man as several were placed as a guard at the entrance of my hut all day my mind was occupied with plans of escape but none seemed in any way on the one side was the great arid desert stretching away to on the other was a sea by vessels the more i pondered over the problem the more hopeless did it seem i little dreamed how near i was to its solution night had fallen and the of the had died gradually away i was stretched on the couch of skins which had been provided for me and was still meditating over my future when walked stealthily j s statement into the hut my first idea was that he had come to complete his by making away with me the last and i sprang up upon my feet determined to defend myself to the last he smiled when he saw the action and me down again while he seated himself upon the other end of couch what do you think of me was the astonishing question with which he commenced our conversation think of you i almost i think you the most unnatural that ever the earth if we were away from these black devils of yours i would you with my hands i don t speak so loud he said without the slightest appearance of irritation i don t want our chat to be cut short so you would me would you he went on with an amused smile i suppose i am returning good for evil for i	4
course when once we got on the coast the rest was simple i had that all on board should die but that stone of yours upset my plans i also that there should be no plunder no one can say we are we have acted from principle not from any sordid motive i listened in amazement to the summary of his crimes which this strange man gave me all in the and most composed of voices as though incidents of every day occurrence i still seem to see him sitting like a hideous nightmare at the end of my couch with the single rude lamp flickering over his features and now he continued there is no difficulty about your escape these stupid adopted children of mine will say that you have gone back to heaven from whence you came the wind blows off the land i have a boat all ready for you well stored with provisions and water i am anxious to be rid of ou so you may rely that nothing is neglected rise up and follow me i did what he commanded and he led me through the door of the hut the guards had either been withdrawn or had arranged matters with them we passed through the town and across the sandy plain once more i heard the roar of the f y ha ba s st a sea and saw the long white line of th two figures were standing upon the shore arranging the gear of a small boat they were the two sailors who had been with us on the voyage see him safely through the surf said the two men sprang in and pushed off pulling me in after them with and we ran out from the land and passed safely over the bar then my two companions without a word of farewell sprang overboard and i saw their heads like black on the white foam as they made their way back to the shore while i away into the blackness of the night looking back i caught my last glimpse of he was standing upon the summit of a sand hill and the rising moon behind him threw his gaunt figure into hard relief he was waving his arms to and fro it may have been to encourage me on my way but the gestures seemed to me at the time to be threatening ones and i have often thought that it was more likely that his old savage instinct had returned when he that i was out of his power be that as it may it was the last that i ever saw or ever shall see of there is no for me to dwell upon my solitary voyage i as well as i could for the but was picked up upon the fifth day by the british and african steam company s boat let me take this opportunity of my thanks to captain and his officers for the great kindness which they showed me that time till j ha ba k st a they landed me in liverpool where i was enabled to take one of the boats to new york from the day on which i found myself once more in the bosom of my family i have said little of what i have undergone the subject is still an intensely painful one to me and the little which i have dropped has been i now put the facts before the public as they occurred careless how far they may be believed and simply writing them down because my is growing weaker and i feel the responsibility of holding my peace longer i make no vague statement turn to your map of africa there above cape where the land away north and south from the point of the continent there it is that still over his dark subjects unless has overtaken him and there where the long green run swiftly in to roar and hiss upon the hot yellow sand it is there that lies with and the other poor fellows who were done to death in the the great experiment of all the which have puzzled the sons of men none had such an attraction for the learned professor von as those which relate to and the ill defined relations between mind and matter a celebrated a profound and one of the first in europe it was a relief for him to turn from these subjects and to bring his varied knowledge to bear upon the study of the soul and the mysterious relationship of spirits at first when as a young man he began to dip into the secrets of his mind seemed to be wandering in a strange land where all was chaos and darkness save that here and there some great and fact loomed out in front of him as the years passed however and as the worthy professor s stock of knowledge increased for knowledge knowledge as bears interest much which had seemed strange and unaccountable began to take another shape in his eyes new trains of reasoning became familiar to him and he perceived connecting links where all had been incomprehensible and startling by experiments which extended over twenty years he obtained a basis of facts upon which it was his ambition to build up a new exact the great experiment science which should embrace and all subjects in this he was much helped by his intimate knowledge of the more intricate parts of animal which treat of nerve currents and the working of the brain for von was professor of at the university of and had all the resources of the to aid him in his profound professor von was tall and thin with a face and steel grey eyes which were singularly bright and penetrating much thought had his forehead and contracted his heavy eyebrows so that he appeared to wear a perpetual frown which often people as to his	4
character for though austere he was tender hearted he was popular among the students who would gather round him after his lectures and listen eagerly to his strange theories often he would call for from amongst them in order to conduct some experiment so that eventually there was hardly a lad in the class who had not at one time or another been thrown into a trance by his professor of all these young of science there was none who equalled in enthusiasm von it had often seemed strange to his fellow students that wild reckless as dashing a young fellow as ever hailed from the should devote the time and trouble which he did in reading up works and in assisting the professor in his strange experiments the fact was however that was a knowing and the great experiment long headed fellow months before he had lost his heart to young the blue eyed yellow haired daughter of the although he had succeeded in learning from her lips that she was not indifferent to his suit he had never dared to announce himself to her family as a formal hence he would have found it a difficult matter to see his young lady had he not adopted the expedient of making himself useful to the professor by this means he frequently was asked to the old man s house where he willingly submitted to be upon in any way as long as there was a chance of his receiving one bright glance from the eyes of or one touch of her little hand young von was a handsome lad enough there were broad acres too which would descend to him when his father died to many he would have seemed an eligible but madame frowned upon his presence in the house and the professor at times on his allowing such a wolf to around their lamb to tell the truth had an evil name in never was there a riot or a or any other mischief but the young figured as a in it no one used more free and violent language no one drank more no one played cards more habitually no one was m re idle save in the one solitary subject no wonder then that the good gathered her under her wing and resented the attentions of such a as to the worthy great experiment he was too much engrossed by his strange studies to form an opinion upon the subject one way or the other for many years there was one question had continually itself upon his thoughts all his experiments and his theories turned upon a single point a hundred times a day the professor asked himself whether it was possible for the human spirit to exist apart from the body for a time and then to return to it once again when the possibility first suggested itself to him his scientific mind had from it it too violently with ideas and the prejudices of his early training gradually however as he proceeded farther and farther along the pathway of original his mind shook off its old and became ready to face any conclusion which could reconcile the facts there were many things which made him believe that it was possible for mind to exist apart from matter at last it occurred to him that by a daring and original experiment the question might be definitely decided it is evident he remarked in his celebrated article upon invisible which appeared in the medical about this time and which surprised the whole scientific world it is evident that under certain conditions the soul or mind does separate itself from the body in the case of a person the body lies in a condition but the spirit has left it perhaps you reply that the soul is there but in a condition i answer the t experiment that this is not so otherwise how can one account for the condition of which has fallen into through the of certain but which can easily be shown to be an fact i have been able m self with a sensitive subject to obtain an accurate description of what was going on in another room or another house how can such knowledge be accounted for on any save that the soul of the subject has left the body arid is wandering through space for a moment it is recalled by the voice of the and says what it has seen and then wings its way once more through the air since the spirit is by its very nature invisible we cannot see these and but we see their effect in the body of the subject now rigid and now struggling to impressions which could never have come to it by natural means there is only one way which i can see by which the fact can be although we in the flesh are unable to see these spirits yet our own spirits could we separate them from the body would be conscious of the presence of others it is my intention therefore shortly to one of my pupils i shall then myself in a manner which has become easy to me after that if my theory holds good my spirit will have no difficulty in meeting and with the spirit of my pupil both being separated from the body i hope to be able to communicate the result of this interesting experiment in an early number of the the treat experiment when the good professor finally fulfilled his promise and published an account of what occurred the narrative was so extraordinary that it was received with general incredulity the tone of some of the papers was so in their comments upon the matter that the angry declared that he would never open his mouth again or refer to the subject in any way a promise which he has faithfully kept this narrative has been however from	4
he sang he roared he balanced a long tobacco pipe upon his nose nd offered to run a hundred yards against any of the company the and the whispered to each outside the door their astonishment at such proceedings on the part of a professor of the ancient university of they had still more to whisper about afterwards for the learned man cracked the s crown and kissed the behind the kitchen door gentlemen said the professor standing up somewhat at the end of the table and his high old fashioned wine glass in his bony hand i must now explain to you what is the cause of this hear i hear roared the students their beer glasses against the table a speech a speech i silence for a speech the fact is my friends said the professor beaming through his spectacles i hope very soon to be married married cried a student bolder than the others is madame dead then madame who why madame von of course ha ha i laughed the professor i can see then that you know all about my former difficulties no she is not dead but i have reason to believe that she will not my marriage g the great experiment that is very of her remarked one of the company in fact said the professor i hope that she will now be induced to aid me in getting a wife she and i never took to each other very much but now hope all that may be ended and when i marry she will come and stay with me what a happy family exclaimed some wag yes indeed and i hope you will come to my wedding all of you i won t mention names but here is to my little bride i and the professor waved his glass in the air here s to his little bride i roared the with shouts of laughter here s her health soil and so the fun still more fast and furious while each young fellow followed the professor s example and drank a toast to the girl of his heart while all this had been going on at the a very different scene had been elsewhere young von with a solemn face and a reserved manner had after the experiment consulted and adjusted some instruments after which with a few words to the he had walked out into the street and his way slowly in the direction of the house of the professor as he walked he saw von the professor of in front of him and his pace he overtook him i say von he exclaimed tapping him on th sleeve ou were asking me for some information the great experiment the other day concerning the middle coat of the now i find d j shouted von who was old fellow what the deuce do you mean your impertinence i i ll have you up before the for this sir with which threat he turned on his heel and hurried away von was much surprised at this reception it s on account of this failure of my experiment he said to himself and continued on his way fresh surprises were in store for him however he was hurrying along when he was overtaken by two students these youths instead of raising their caps or showing any other sign of respect gave a wild of delight the instant that they saw him and rushing at him seized him by each arm and commenced dragging him along with them in roared von what is the meaning of this insult where are you taking me to crack a bottle of wine with us said the two students come along that is an invitation which you have never refused i never heard of such insolence in my life cried von let go my arms i shall certainly have you for this let me go i say and he kicked furiously at his oh if you choose to turn ill tempered you may go where you like the students said him v wc can very well without you too the great experiment know you til pay you out said von furiously and continued in the direction which he imagined to be his own home much at the two which had occurred to him on the way now madame von who was looking out of the window and wondering why her husband was late for dinner was considerably astonished to see the young student come down the road as already remarked she had a great to him and if ever he ventured into the house it was on and under the protection of the professor still more astonished was she therefore when she beheld him undo the gate and stride up the garden path with the air of one who is master of the situation she could hardly believe her eyes and hastened to the door with all her maternal instincts up in arms from the upper windows the fair had also observed this daring move upon the part of her lover and her heart beat quick with mingled pride and consternation good day sir madame remarked to the intruder as she stood in gloomy majesty in the open doorway a very fine day indeed returned the other now don t stand there like a statue of but bustle about and get the dinner ready for i am well nigh starved dinner ejaculated the lady falling back in astonishment yes dinner dinner howled von the t experiment loi who was becoming irritable is there anything wonderful in that request when a man has been out all day i ll wait in the dining room anything will do and and any little thing that happens to be about there you are standing staring again woman will you or will you not stir your legs this last address delivered with a perfect shriek of rage had the effect of	4
his mind was wont to dwell in an instant his active brain ran over the series of events which had occurred and sprang to the conclusion he fairly under the blow he cried i see it all our souls are in the wrong bodies i am you and you are i my theory is proved but at what an expense i is the most mind in europe to go about with this frivolous exterior oh the labours of a lifetime are ruined and he smote his breast in his despair i say remarked the real von from the body of the professor i quite see the force of your remarks but don t go knocking my body about like that you received it in excellent condition but i perceive that you have wet it and bruised it and snuff over my ruffled shirt front it matters little the other said such as we are so must we stay my theory is triumphantly proved but the cost is terrible if i thought so said the spirit of the student it would be hard indeed what could i do with these stiff old limbs and how could i and persuade her that i was not her father no thank io the great experiment m heaven in spite of the beer which has upset me more than ever it could upset my real self i can see a way out of it how gasped the professor why by repeating the experiment our souls once more and the chances are that they will find their way back into their respective bodies no drowning man could clutch more eagerly at a straw than did von s spirit at this suggestion in feverish haste he dragged his own frame to the side of the road and threw it into a trance he then extracted the crystal ball from the pocket and managed to bring himself into the same condition some students and who chanced to pass during the next hour were much astonished to see the worthy professor of and his favourite student both sitting upon a very muddy bank and both completely insensible before the hour was up quite a crowd had assembled and they were discussing the of sending for an to convey the pair to hospital when the learned opened his eyes and gazed around him for an instant he seemed to forget how he had come there but next moment he astonished his audience by waving his arms above his head and crying out in a voice of rapture i i am myself again i feel i am i nor was the amazement lessened when the student springing to his feet burst into the same cry and the two performed a sort of pas de in the middle of the road the great experiment io for some time after that people had some suspicion of the of both the actors in this strange episode when the professor published his experiences in the as he had promised he was met by an intimation even from his that he would do well to have his mind cared for and that another such publication would certainly him to a the student also found by experience that it was wisest to be silent about the matter when the worthy returned home that night he did not receive the cordial welcome which he might have looked for after his strange adventures on the contrary he was by both his female relatives for smelling of drink and tobacco and also for being absent while a young invaded the house and insulted its occupants it was long before the domestic atmosphere of the s house resumed its normal quiet and longer still before the genial face of von was seen beneath its roof perseverance however every obstacle and the student eventually succeeded in the enraged ladies and in establishing himself upon the old footing he has now no longer any cause to fear the enmity of madame for he is von of the emperor s own and his loving wife has already presented him with two little as a visible sign and token of her affection the man from on the fourth day of march in the year i being at that time in my five and twentieth year i wrote down the following words in my note book the result of much mental and conflict the system amidst a countless number of other systems as large as itself rolls ever silently through space in the direction of the of the great of which it is composed spin and spin through the eternal void and noiselessly of these one of the smallest and most insignificant is that of solid and of liquid which we have named the earth it now as it has done before my birth and will do after my death a revolving mystery coming none know whence and going none know whither upon the outer crust of this moving mass crawl many of whom i john m am one helpless impotent being dragged through space yet such is the state of things amongst us that the little energy and glimmering of reason which i possess is entirely taken up with the labours which are necessary in order to procure certain i the man from wherewith i may purchase the elements necessary to build up my ever wasting and keep a roof over me to shelter me from the of the weather i thus have no thought to upon the vital questions which surround me on every side yet miserable as j am i can still at times feel some degree of happiness and am even save the mark i puffed up occasionally with a sense of my own importance these words as i have said i wrote down in my book and they reflected accurately the thoughts which i found rooted far down in my soul ever present rid unaffected	4
by the passing emotions of the hour at last however came a time when my uncle m of died the same who was at one time of of the house of he divided his great wealth among his many and i found myself with sufficient to provide amply for my wants during the remainder of my life and became at the same time owner of a bleak tract of land upon the coast of which i think the old man must have bestowed upon me in derision for it was sandy and and he had ever a grim sense of humour up to this time i had been an attorney in a town in england now i saw that i could put my thoughts into effect and leaving all petty and sordid aims could my mind by the study of the secrets of nature my departure from my english home was somewhat by the fact that i had nearly slain a man in a quarrel for my temper was fiery and no the man from i was apt to forget my own strength when enraged there was no legal action taken in the matter but the papers at me and folk looked when i met them it ended by my cursing them and their vile smoke town and hurrying to my northern possession where i might at last find peace and an opportunity for solitary study and contemplation j borrowed from my capital before i went and so was able to take with me a choice collection of the most modern philosophical instruments and books together with and such other things as i might need in my retirement the land which i had inherited was a narrow strip consisting mostly of sand and extending for rather over two miles round the coast of bay in ness upon this strip there had been a rambling grey stone building when erected or wherefore none could tell me and this i had repaired so that it made a dwelling quite good enough for one of my simple tastes one room was my another my sitting room and in a third just under the sloping roof i the in which i always slept there were three other rooms but i left them vacant except one which was given over to the old who kept house for me save the and the m who were folk living round at the other side of ness there were no other people for many miles in each direction in front of the house was the great bay behind it two long barren hills by other ones be there was a be the man from m the hills and when the wind was from the land it used to sweep down this with a melancholy and whisper among the branches of the fir trees beneath my window i dislike my fellow mortals justice me to add that they appear for the most part to dislike me i hate their little crawling ways their their their narrow rights and wrongs they take offence at my my disregard for their social laws my impatience of all among my books and my in my lonely den at i could let the great drove of the human race pass with their politics and inventions and and i remained behind and happy not either for i was working in my own little and making progress i have reason to believe that s theory is founded upon error and i know that is not an element during the day i was busy with my and often i forgot my meals and when old summoned me to my tea i found my dinner lying untouched upon the table at night i read bacon all those who have into what is they are all fruitless and empty barren of result but prodigal of reminding me of men who while digging for gold have turned up many worms and then exhibit them as being what they sought at times a restless spirit would come upon me and i would walk thirty and forty miles without rest or the man from breaking fast on these occasions when i used to stalk through the country villages gaunt and the mothers would rush into the road and drag their children indoors and the would swarm out of their pot houses to gaze at me l believe that i was known far and wide as the mad o it was rarely however that i made these into the country for i usually took my exercise upon my own beach where i soothed my spirit with strong black tobacco and made the ocean my friend and my what companion is there like the great restless throbbing sea what human mood is there which it does not match and with there are none so gay but that they may feel when they listen to its merry turmoil and see the long green racing in with the of the in their sparkling but when the grey waves toss their heads in anger and the wind screams above them them on to and more tumultuous efforts then the darkest minded of men feels that there is a melancholy principle in nature which is as gloomy as his own thoughts when it was calm in the bay of the surface would be as clear and bright as a sheet of silver broken only at one spot some little way from the shore where a long black line projected out of the water looking like the jagged back of some sleeping monster this was the top of the dangerous ridge of rocks known to the as the ragged o when the wind blew from the east the the man from waves would break upon it like thunder and the spray would be tossed far over my house and up to the hills behind the bay itself was a bold and noble one but	4
too much exposed to the northern and eastern and too much dreaded for its to be much used by there was something of romance about this lonely spot i have lain in my boat upon a calm day and peering over the edge i have seen far down the flickering ghostly forms of great fish fish as it seemed to me such as never knew and which my imagination transformed into the of that desolate bay once as i stood by the brink of the waters upon a quiet night a great cry as of a woman in hopeless grief rose from the bosom of the deep and swelled out upon the still air now sinking and now rising for a space of thirty seconds this i heard with my own ears in this strange spot with the eternal hills behind me and the eternal sea in front i worked and for more than two years by my fellow men by degrees i had trained my old servant into habits of silence so that she now rarely opened her lips though i doubt not that when twice a year she visited her relations in her tongue during those few days made up for its enforced rest i had come almost to forget that i was a member of the human family and to live entirely with the dead whose books i over when a sudden incident occurred which threw all my thoughts into a new channel three rough days in june had been succeeded by h ri the han one calm and peaceful one there was not a breath of air that evening the sun sank down in the west behind a line of purple clouds and the smooth surface of the bay was with scarlet streaks along the beach the pools left by the tide showed up like of blood against the yellow sand as if some wounded giant had passed that way and had left these red traces of his grievous hurt behind him as the darkness closed in certain ragged clouds which had lain low on the eastern horizon and formed a great irregular the glass was still low and i knew that there was mischief about nine o clock a dull moaning sound came up from the sea as from a creature who much harassed that the hour of suffering has come round again at ten a sharp breeze sprang up from the eastward at eleven it had increased to a gale and by midnight the most furious storm was raging which i ever remember upon that weather beaten coast as i went to bed the and were up against my window and the wind was screaming as though every gust were a lost soul by that time the sounds of the tempest had become a to me i knew that the grey walls of the old house would it out and for what occurred in the world outside i had small concern old was usually as to such things as i was myself it was a surprise to me when about three in the morning i was awoke by the sound of a great knocking at my door and excited cries in the voice of my house the man from keeper i sprang out of my and roughly demanded of her what was the matter eh she screamed in her hateful dialect come come i there s a ship ashore on the and the folks are a and ca in for help and i they ll a be oh m come hold your tongue you i shouted back in a passion what is it to you whether they are drowned or not get back to your bed and leave me alone i turned in again and drew the blankets over me those men out there i said to myself have already gone through half the horrors of death if they be saved they will but have to go through the same once more in the space of a few brief years it is best therefore that they should pass away now since they have suffered that anticipation which is more than the pain of dissolution with this thought in my mind i endeavoured to compose myself to sleep once more for that philosophy which had taught hie to consider death as a small and trivial incident in man s eternal and career had also broken me of much curiosity concerning worldly matters on this occasion i found however that the old still strongly in my soul i tossed from side to side for some minutes endeavouring to beat down the impulses of the moment by the rules of conduct which i had framed during months of thought then i heard a dull roar amid the wild shriek of the gale and i knew that it was the ii the man from sound of a signal gun driven by an impulse i rose dressed and having lit my pipe walked out on to the beach it was pitch dark when i came outside and the wind blew with such violence that i had to put my shoulder against it and push my way along the my face and with the sting of the gravel which was blown against it and the red ashes of my pipe streamed away behind me dancing through the darkness i went down to where the great waves were thundering in and my eyes with my hands to keep off the salt spray i peered out to sea i could distinguish nothing and yet it seemed to me that shouts and great inarticulate cries were borne to me by the suddenly as i gazed i made out the of a light and then the whole bay and the beach were lit up in a moment by a vivid blue glare they were burning a coloured signal light on board of the vessel there she lay on her beam ends right	4
in the centre of the jagged hurled over to such an angle that i could see all the of her deck she was a large two of foreign and lay perhaps a hundred and eighty or two hundred yards from the shore every and rope and piece of showed up hard and clear under the livid light which and from the highest portion of the beyond the doomed ship out of the great darkness came the long rolling lines of black waves never ending never with a of foam here and there upon their hi bi l b l the man from each as it reached the broad circle of unnatural light appeared to gather strength and volume and to hurry on more until with a roar and a crash it sprang upon its victim clinging to the weather i could distinctly see some ten or twelve frightened who when their light revealed my presence turned their white faces towards me and waved their hands i felt my rise against these poor worms why should they presume to the narrow pathway along which all that is great and noble among mankind has travelled there was one there who interested me more than they he was a tall man who stood apart from the others himself upon the swaying wreck as though he to cling to rope or his hands were clasped behind his back and his head was sunk upon his breast but even in that attitude there was a and decision in his pose and in every motion which marked him as a man little likely to yield to despair indeed i could see by his occasional rapid glances up and down and all around him that he was weighing every chance of safety but though he often gazed across the raging surf to where he could see my dark figure upon the beach his self respect or some other reason forbade him from imploring my help in any way he stood dark silent and inscrutable looking down on the black sea and waiting for whatever fortune fate might send him it seemed to me that that problem would very soon be settled as i looked an enormous ii the man from all the others and coming after them like a driver following a flock swept over the vessel her snapped short off and the men who clung to the were brushed away like a swarm of flies with a sound the ship began to split in two where the sharp back of the was into her the solitary man upon the ran rapidly across the deck and seized hold of a white bundle which i had already observed but failed to make out as he lifted it up the light fell upon it and i saw that the object was a woman with a lashed across her body and under her arms in such a way that her head should always rise above water he bore her tenderly to the side and seemed to speak for a minute or so to her as though explaining the impossibility of remaining upon the ship her answer was a singular one i saw her deliberately raise her hand and strike him across the face with it he appeared to be silenced for a moment or so by this but he addressed her again directing her as far as i could gather from his motions how she should behave when in the water she shrank away from him but he caught her in his arms he stooped over her for a moment and seemed to press his lips against her forehead then a great wave came up against the side of the breaking vessel and leaning over he placed her upon the summit of it as gently as a child might be committed to its cradle i saw her white dress flickering among the foam on the crest of the dark and then the light sank gradually lower and the man from the ship and its lonely were hidden from my eyes as i watched those things my manhood overcame my philosophy and i felt a frantic impulse to be up and doing i threw my to one side as a garment which i might don again at leisure and i rushed wildly to my boat and my she was a tub but what then was i who had cast many a wistful doubtful glance at my bottle to begin now to weigh chances and to at danger i dragged her down to the sea with the strength of a and sprang in for a moment or two it was a question whether she could live among the boiling but a dozen frantic strokes took me through it half full of water but still afloat i was out on the unbroken waves now at one time climbing climbing up the broad black breast of one then sinking down down on the other side until looking up i could see the gleam of the foam all around me against the dark heavens far behind me i could hear the wild of old who seeing me start thought no doubt that my madness had come to a climax as i rowed i peered over my shoulder until at last on the belly of a great wave which was sweeping towards me i distinguished the vague white outline of the woman stooping over i seized her as she swept by me and with an effort lifted her all with water into the boat there was no need to row back for the next carried us in and threw us upon the beach i dragged the boat out of danger and then lifting up the the man from woman i carried her to the house followed by my housekeeper loud with and praise now that i had done this thing a reaction set in upon me i felt that my burden lived for i heard the	4
that officials and others would come to me and and peep and chatter a hateful thought it was better to endure her presence than that i soon found that there were fresh troubles in store for me there is no place safe from the restless race of which i am a member in the evening when the sun was dipping down behind the hills casting them into dark shadow but the sands and h man from casting a great glory over the sea i went as is my custom for a stroll along the beach sometimes on these occasions i took my book with me i did so on this night and stretching myself upon a sand i composed myself to read as i lay there i suddenly became aware of a shadow which interposed itself between the sun and myself looking round i saw to my great surprise a very tall powerful man who was standing a few yards off and who instead of looking at me was my existence completely and was gazing over my head with a stern set face at the bay and the black line of the his complexion was dark with black hair and short curling beard a hawk like nose and golden in his ears the general effect being wild and somewhat noble he wore a faded jacket a red flannel shirt and high sea boots coming half way up his i recognised him at a glance as being the same man who had been left on the wreck the night before i said in an voice you got ashore all right then yes he answered in good english it was no doing of mine the waves threw me up i wish to god i had been allowed to drown there was a slight foreign in his accent which was rather pleasing two good who live round yonder point pulled me out and cared for me yet i could not honestly thank them for it ho ho thought i here is a man of my own why do you wish to be drowned i asked the man from iii because he cried throwing out his long arms with a passionate despairing gesture there there in that blue smiling bay lies my soul my treasure everything that i loved and lived for well well i said people are ruined every day but there s no use making a fuss about it let me inform you that this ground on which you walk is my ground and that the sooner you take yourself oft it the better pleased i shall be one of you is quite trouble enough one of us he gasped yes if you could take her off with you i should be still more grateful he gazed at me for a moment as if hardly able to what i said and then with a wild cry he ran away from me with prodigious speed and along the sands towards my house never before or since have i seen a human being run so fast i followed as rapidly as i could furious at this threatened invasion but long before i reached the house he had disappeared through the open door i heard a great scream from the inside and as i came nearer the sound of a man s bass voice speaking rapidly and loudly when i looked in the girl was crouching in a corner away with fear and expressed on her averted face and in every line of her shrinking form the other with his dark eyes flash ing and his outstretched hands quivering with emotion was pouring forth a torrent of passionate pleading words he made a step forward to her as i entered the man from but she still further away and uttered a sharp cry like that of a rabbit when the has him by the throat here i said pulling him back from her this is a pretty to do i what do you mean do think this is a inn or place of public ac oh sir he said excuse me this woman is my wife and i feared that she was drowned you have brought me back to life who are you i asked roughly i am a man from he said simply a russian man what is your name and hers is she is no wife of yours she has no ring we are man and wife in the sight of heaven he said solemnly looking upwards we are bound by higher laws than those of earth as he spoke the girl slipped behind me and caught me by the other hand pressing it as though my protection give me up my wife sir he went on let me take her away from here look here you whatever your name is i said sternly i don t want this here i wish i had never if she died it would be no grief to me but as to handing her over to you when it is clear she fears and hates you i won t do it so now just clear your great body out of this and leave me to the man from i my books hope i may never look upon your face again you won t give her up to me he said hoarsely i ll see you damned first i answered suppose i take her he cried his dark face growing darker ah blood flushed up in a moment i picked up a of wood from beside the fireplace go i said in a low voice go quick or i may do you an injury he looked at me for a moment and then he left the house he came back again in a moment however and stood in the doorway looking in at us have a heed what you do he said the woman is mine and	4
i shall have her when it comes to blows a russian is as good a man as a we shall see that i cried springing forward but he was already gone and i could see his tall form moving away through the gathering darkness for a month or more after this things went smoothly with us i never spoke to the russian girl nor did she ever address me sometimes when i was at work in my she would slip inside the door and sit silently there watching me with her great eyes at first this intrusion annoyed me but by degrees finding that she made no attempt to my attention i suffered her to remain encouraged by this concession she gradually came to move the stool on which she sat nearer and nearer to my table until after gaining a little every day during some weeks she at last the man from worked her way right up to me and used to perch herself beside me whenever i worked in this position she used still without ever her presence in any way to make herself very useful by holding my pens test or bottles and handing me whatever i wanted with never failing sagacity by the fact of her being a human being and looking upon her as a useful machine i accustomed myself to her presence so far as to miss her on the few occasions when she was not at her post i have a habit of talking aloud to myself at times when i work so as to fix my results better in my mind the girl must have had a surprising memory for sounds for she could always repeat the words which i let fall in without of course understanding in the least what they meant i have often been amused at hearing her discharge a of and at old and then burst into a ringing laugh when the would shake her head under the impression no doubt that she was being addressed in russian she never went more than a few yards from the house and indeed never put her foot over the threshold without looking carefully out of each window in order to be sure that there was nobody about by this i knew that she suspected that her fellow was still in the neighbourhood and feared that he might attempt to carry her off she did something else which was significant i had an old revolver with some which had been thrown away the man from among the rubbish she found this one day and at once proceeded to clean it and oil it she hung it up near the door with the in a little bag beside it and whenever i went for a walk she would take it down and insist upon my carrying it with me in my absence she would always bolt the door apart from her apprehensions she seemed fairly happy herself in helping when she was not attending upon me she was wonderfully and in all domestic duties it was not long before i discovered that her suspicions were well founded and that this man from was still lurking in the vicinity being restless one night i rose and peered out of the window the weather was somewhat cloudy and i could barely make out the line of the sea and the loom of my boat upon the beach as i gazed however and my eyes became accustomed to the obscurity i became aware that there was some other dark upon the sands and that in front of my very door where certainly there had been nothing of the sort the preceding night as i stood at my diamond still peering and peeping to make out what this might be a great bank of clouds rolled slowly away from the face of the moon and a flood of cold clear light was poured down upon the silent bay and the long sweep of its desolate shores then i saw what this was which haunted my it was he the russian he there like a gigantic with his legs doubled under him in strange fashion and his eyes fixed i t the man from apparently upon the window of the room in which the young girl and the housekeeper slept the light fell upon his face and i saw once more the hawk like grace of his countenance with the single line of care upon his brow and the beard which marks the passionate nature my first impulse was to shoot him as a but as i gazed my resentment changed into pity and contempt poor fool i said to myself is it then possible that you whom i have seen looking open eyed at present death should have your whole thoughts and ambition upon this wretched slip of a girl a girl too who flies from you and hates you most women would love you were it but for that dark face and great handsome body of yours and yet you must needs after the one in a thousand who will have no traffic with you as i returned to my bed i chuckled much to myself over this thought i knew that my bars were strong and my thick it mattered little to me whether this strange man spent his night at my door or a hundred off so long as he was gone by the morning as i expected when i rose and went out there was no sign of him nor had he left any trace of his midnight it was not long however before i saw him again i had been out for a row one morning for my head was aching partly from prolonged stooping and partly from the effects of a which i had the night before i pulled along the coast some miles and then feeling thirsty i landed at a place where i knew	4
she would consent to marry me in england or in france for days and days we sailed we saw the north cape die away behind us and we skirted the grey coast but still in spite of every attention she would not forgive me for tearing her from that pale faced lover of hers then came this cursed storm which shattered both my ship and my hopes and has deprived me even of the sight of the woman for whom i have risked sa much perhaps she may learn to love me yet you sir he said wistfully look like one who has seen much of the world do you not think that she may come to forget this man and to love me i am tired of your story i said turning away for my part i think you are a great fool if you imagine that this love of yours will pass away ou had best amuse yourself as best you can until it does if on the other the man from hand it is a fixed thing you cannot do better than cut your throat for that is the shortest way out of it i have no more time to waste on the matter with this i hurried away and walked down to the boat i never looked round but i heard the dull sounds of his feet upon the sands as he followed me i have told you the beginning of my story he said and you shall know the end some day you would do well to let the girl go i never answered him but pushed the boat off when i had rowed some distance out i looked back and saw his tall figure upon the yellow sand as he stood gazing thoughtfully after me when i looked again some minutes later he had disappeared for a long time after this my life was as regular and as monotonous as it had been before the at times i hoped that the man from had gone away altogether but certain footsteps which i saw upon sand and more particularly a little pile of ash which i found one day behind a from which a view of the house might be obtained warned me that though invisible he was still in the vicinity my relations with the russian girl remained the same as before old had been somewhat jealous of her presence at first and seemed to fear that what little authority she had would be taken away from her by degrees however as she came to my utter indifference she became reconciled to the situation and as i have said before by it as our visitor performed much of the domestic work the man and now i am coming near the end of this narrative of mine which i have written a great deal more for my own amusement than for that of any one else the termination of the strange episode in which these two had played a part was as wild and as sudden as the commencement the events of one single night freed me from all my troubles and left me once more alone with my books and my studies as i had been before their intrusion let me endeavour to describe how this came about i had had a long day of heavy and work so that in the evening i determined upon taking a long walk when i emerged from the house my attention was attracted by the appearance of the sea it lay like a sheet of glass so that never a ripple disturbed its surface yet the air was filled with that indescribable moaning sound which i have alluded to before a sound as though the spirits of all those who lay beneath those treacherous waters were sending a sad warning of coming troubles to their brethren in the flesh the s wives along that coast know the sound and look anxiously across the waters for the brown sails making for the land when i heard it i stepped back into the house and looked at the glass it was down below then i knew that a wild night was coming upon us underneath the hills where i walked that evening it was dull and chill but their were rosy red and the sea was brightened by the sinking sun there were no clouds of importance in the sky yet the dull the man from groaning of the sea grew louder and stronger i saw far to the eastward a beating up for with a in her it was evident that her captain had read the signs of nature as i had done behind her a long lurid haze lay low upon the water concealing the horizon i had better push on i thought to myself or the wind may rise before i can get back i suppose i must have been at least half a mile from the house when i suddenly stopped and listened my ears were so accustomed to the noises of nature the sighing of the breeze and the sob of the waves that any other sound made itself heard at a great distance i waited listening with all my ears yes there it was again a long drawn shrill cry of despair ringing over the sands and echoed back from the hills behind me a piteous appeal for aid it came from the direction of my house i turned and ran back at the top of my speed through the sand racing over the in my mind there was a great dim perception of what had occurred about a quarter of a mile from the house there is a high sand hill from which the whole country round is visible when i reached the top of this i paused for a moment there was the old grey building there the boat everything seemed to be as i had	4
left it even as i gazed however the shrill scream was repeated louder than before and the next moment a tall figure emerged from my door the figure of the russian the man sailor over his shoulder was the white form of the young girl and even in his haste he seemed to bear her tenderly and with gentle reverence i could hear wild cries and see her desperate struggles to break away from him behind the couple came my old housekeeper and true as the aged dog who can no longer bite still with at the intruder she staggered feebly along at the heels of the waving her long thin arms and no doubt of scotch curses and at his head i saw at a glance that he was making for the boat a sudden hope sprang up in my soul that i might be in time to him i ran for the beach at the top of my speed as i ran i slipped a into my revolver this i determined should be the last of these i was too late by the time i reached the water s edge he was a hundred yards away making the boat spring with every stroke of his powerful arms i uttered a wild cry of impotent anger and stamped up and down the sands like a returned and saw me rising from his seat he made me a graceful bow and waved his hand to me it was not a triumphant or a gesture even my furious and mind recognised it as being a solemn and courteous leave taking then he settled down to his oars once more and the little shot away out over the bay the sun had gone down now leaving a single dull red streak upon the water which stretched away until it blended with the purple haze on the horizon the man from gradually the grew smaller and smaller as it sped across this lurid band until the shades of night gathered round it and it became a mere upon the lonely sea then this vague loom died away also and darkness settled over it a darkness which should never more be raised and why did i pace the solitary shore hot and as a wolf whose has been torn from it was it that i loved this girl no a thousand times no i am not one who for the sake of a white skin or a blue eye would my own life and change the whole tenor of my thoughts and existence my heart was untouched but my pride ah there i had been cruelly wounded to think that i had been unable to afford protection to the helpless one who it of me and who relied on me it was that which made my heart sick and sent the blood through my ears that night a great wind rose up from the sea and the wild waves shrieked upon the shore as though they would tear it back with them into the ocean the turmoil and the uproar were congenial to my vexed spirit all night i wandered up and down wet with spray and rain watching the gleam of the white and listening to the of the storm my heart was bitter against the russian i joined my feeble pipe to the screaming of the gale if he would but come back again i cried with clenched hands if he would but come back he came back when the grey light of morning i the man from spread over the eastern sky and lit tip the great waste of yellow tossing waters with the brown clouds drifting swiftly over them then i saw him once again a few hundred yards off along the sand there lay a long dark object cast up by the fury of the waves it was my boat much shattered and a little further on a vague something was washing to and fro in the shallow water all mixed with and with i saw at a glance that it was the russian face downwards and dead i rushed into the water and dragged him up on to the beach it was only when i turned him over that i discovered that she was beneath him his dead arms her his body still intervening between her and the fury of the storm it seemed that the fierce german sea might beat the life from him but with all its strength it was unable to tear this one idea d man from the woman whom he loved there were signs which led me to believe that during that awful night the woman s mind had come at last to learn the worth of the true heart and strong arm which struggled for her and guarded her so tenderly why else should her little head be so lovingly on his broad breast while her yellow hair itself with his flowing beard why too should there be that bright smile of happiness and triumph which death itself had not had power to banish from his dusky face i fancy that death had been brighter to him than life had ever been and i buried them there on the shores of the the man from desolate northern sea they lie in one grave deep down beneath the yellow sand strange things may happen in the world around them may rise and may fall may perish great wars may come and go but heedless of it all those two shall embrace each other for ever and aye in their lonely shrine by the side of the sounding ocean i sometimes have thought that their spirits like shadowy over the wild waters of the bay no cross or symbol marks their resting place but old puts wild flowers upon it at times and when i pass on my daily walk and see the fresh blossoms scattered over the sand i think	4
of the strange couple who came from afar and broke for a little space the dull tenor of my sombre life that little square box all aboard said the captain all aboard sir said the mate then stand by to let her go it was nine o clock on a wednesday morning the good ship was lying off boston with her cargo under her passengers and everything prepared for a start the warning whistle had been sounded twice the final bell had been rung her was turned towards england and the hiss of escaping steam showed that all was ready for her run of three thousand miles she strained at the that held her like a at its i have the misfortune to be a very nervous man a literary life has helped to increase the morbid love of solitude which even in my boyhood was one of my characteristics as i stood upon the quarter deck of the steamer i bitterly cursed the necessity which drove me back to the land of my forefathers the shouts of the sailors the rattle of the the of my fellow passengers and the cheers of the mob each and all upon my sensitive nature i felt sad too an indescribable feeling as of some impending a that little square box calamity seemed to haunt me the sea was calm and the breeze light there was nothing to disturb the of the most confirmed of yet i felt as if i stood upon the verge of a great though danger i have noticed that such occur often in men of my peculiar temperament and that they are not uncommonly fulfilled there is a theory that it arises from a species of second sight a subtle spiritual communication with the future i well remember that the eminent remarked on one occasion that i was the most sensitive subject as regards supernatural phenomena that he had ever encountered in the whole of his wide experience be that as it may i certainly felt far from happy as i my way among the weeping cheering groups which dotted the white decks of the good ship had i known the experience which awaited me in the course of the next twelve hours i should even then at the last moment have sprung upon the shore and made my escape from the accursed vessel time s up said the captain closing his with a snap and it in his pocket time s up i said the mate there was a last wail from the whistle a rush of friends and relatives upon the land one was loosened the was being pushed away when there was a shout from the bridge and two men appeared running rapidly down the they were waving their hands and making frantic gestures apparently with the intention of stopping the ship look sharp i shouted the crowd that little square box hold hard i cried the captain ease her stop her i up with the i and the two men sprang aboard just as the second parted and a throb of the engine shot us clear of the shore there was a cheer from the deck another from the a mighty fluttering of handkerchiefs and the great vessel its way out of the harbour and away across the placid bay we were fairly started upon our fortnight s voyage there was a general among the passengers in quest of and luggage while a of in the saloon proved that more than one traveller was artificial means for drowning the pangs of separation i glanced round the deck and took a running of my de voyage they presented the usual types met with upon these occasions there was no striking face among them i speak as a for faces are a of mine i upon a characteristic feature as a does on a flower and bear it away with me to at my leisure and and it in my little museum there was nothing worthy of me here twenty types of young america going to a few respectable middle aged couples as an a of and professional men young ladies british and all the of an ocean going steamer i turned away from them and gazed back at the receding shores of america and as a cloud of rose before me my heart warmed towards the land of that little square box t s my a pile of and luggage chanced to be lying on one side of the deck awaiting their turn to be taken below with my usual love for solitude i walked behind these and sitting on a of rope between them and the vessel s side i indulged in a melancholy reverie i was aroused from this by a whisper behind me here s a quiet place said the voice sit down and we can talk it over in safety glancing through a between two colossal i saw that the passengers who had joined us at the last moment were standing at the other side of the pile they had evidently failed to see me as i crouched in the shadow of the boxes the one who had spoken was a tall and very thin man with a beard and a face his manner was nervous and excited his companion was a short pier little fellow with a brisk and resolute air he had a cigar in his mouth and a large over his left arm they both glanced round uneasily as if to ascertain whether they were alone this is just the place i heard the other say they sat down on a of goods with their backs turned towards me and i found myself much against my will playing the unpleasant part of to their conversation well said the taller of the two we ve got it aboard right enough yes assented the man whom he had addressed as it s safe aboard it was rather a near go	4
k that little square box it was that it wouldn t have done to have missed the ship no it would have put our plans out ruined them entirely said the little man and furiously at his cigar for some minutes ive got it here he said at last let me see it is no one looking no they are nearly all below we can t be too careful where so much is at stake said as he the which hung over his arm and disclosed a dark object which he laid upon the deck one glance at it was enough to cause me to spring to my feet with an exclamation of horror luckily they were so engrossed in the matter on hand that neither of them observed me had they turned their heads they would have seen my pale face glaring at them over the pile of boxes from the first moment of their conversation a horrible had come over me it seemed more than confirmed as i gazed at what lay before me it was a little square box made of some dark wood and with brass i suppose it was about the size of a foot it reminded me of a pistol case only it was higher there was an to it on which my eyes were and which suggested the pistol itself rather than its this was a like arrangement upon the lid to which a of string was attached beside this there was a small square through the tha t little ua re box wood the tall man as his companion called him applied his eye to this and peered in for several minutes with an expression of intense anxiety upon his face it seems right enough he said at last i tried not to shake it said his companion such delicate things need delicate treatment put in some of the needful the shorter man in his pocket for some time and then produced a small paper packet he opened this and took out of it half a handful of which he poured down through the hole a curious noise followed from the inside of the box and both the men smiled in a satisfied way nothing much wrong there said right as a answered his companion look out here s some one coming take it down to our berth it wouldn t do to have any one suspecting what our game is or worse still have them with it and letting it off by mistake well it would come to the same whoever let it off said they d be rather astonished if they pulled the said the taller with a sinister laugh ha ha fancy their faces it s not a bad bit of i flatter myself no said i hear it is your own design every bit of it isn t it yes the spring and the sliding are my own that little square box we should take out a patent and the two men laughed again with a cold harsh laugh as they took up the little brass bound and concealed it in s overcoat come down and we ll it in our berth said we won t need it until to night and it will be safe there his companion assented and the two went arm along the deck and disappeared down the bearing the mysterious little box away with them the last words i heard were a muttered from to carry it carefully and avoid knocking it against the how long i remained sitting on that of rope i shall never know the horror of the conversation i had just overheard was by the first sinking of sea sickness the long roll of the atlantic was beginning to assert itself over both ship and passengers i felt in mind and in body and fell into a state of from which i was finally aroused by the hearty voice of our worthy do you mind moving out of that sir he said we want to get this lumber cleared off the deck his bluff manner and ruddy healthy face seemed to be a positive insult to me in my present condition had i been a courageous or a muscular man i could have struck him as it was i treated the honest sailor to a which seemed to cause him no small astonishment and strode past him to the that little square box other side of the deck solitude was what i wanted solitude in which i could brood over the frightful crime which was being before my very eyes one of the quarter boats was hanging rather low down upon the an idea struck me and climbing on the i stepped into the empty boat and lay down in the bottom of it stretched on my back with nothing but the blue sky above me and an view of the as the vessel rolled i was at least alone with my sickness and my thoughts i tried to recall the words which had been spoken in the terrible dialogue i had overheard would they admit of any construction but the one which stared me in the face my reason forced me to confess that they would not i endeavoured to array the various facts which formed the chain of evidence and to find a flaw in it but no not a link was missing there was the strange way in which our passengers had come aboard them to any examination of their luggage the very name of of while suggested nothing but and murder then their mysterious manner their remark that their plans would have been ruined had they missed the ship their fear of being observed last but not least the evidence in the production of the little square box with the and their grim joke about the face of the man who should let it off by mistake could these facts lead to any	4
conclusion other than that they were the desperate of some body political or b that little square box otherwise who intended to sacrifice themselves their fellow passengers and the ship in one great the which i had seen one of them pour into the box formed no doubt a or train for it i had myself heard a sound come from it which might have from some delicate piece of machinery but what did they mean by their allusion to to night could it be that they contemplated putting their horrible design into execution on the very first evening of our voyage the mere thought of it sent a cold shudder over me and made me for a moment superior even to the agonies of sea sickness i have remarked that i am a physical coward i am a moral one also it is seldom that the two defects are united to such a degree in the one character i have known many men who were most sensitive to bodily danger and yet were distinguished for the independence and strength of their minds in my own case however i regret to say that my quiet and retiring habits had a nervous dread of doing anything remarkable or making myself conspicuous which exceeded if possible my fear of personal peril an ordinary mortal placed under the circumstances in which i now found myself would have gone at once to the captain confessed his fears and put the matter into his hands to me however constituted as i am the idea was most the thought of becoming the observed of all cross questioned by a stranger and confronted with two desperate in the character of a de that little square box was hateful to me might it not by some remote possibility prove that i was mistaken what would be my feelings if there should turn out ta be no grounds for my accusation no i would pro i would keep my eye on the two and dog them at every turn anything was better than the possibility of being wrong then it struck me that even at that moment some new phase of the conspiracy might be developing itself the nervous excitement seemed to have driven away my attack of sickness for i was able to stand up and lower myself from the boat without any return of it i staggered along the deck with the intention of descending into the cabin and finding how my acquaintances of the morning were occupying themselves just as i had my hand on the i was astonished by receiving a hearty slap on the back which nearly shot me down the steps with haste than dignity is that you said a voice which i seemed to recognise bless me i said as i turned round it can t be dick i why how are you old man this was an unexpected piece of luck in the midst of my dick was just the man i wanted kindly and shrewd in his nature and prompt in his actions i should have no difficulty in telling him my suspicions and could rely upon his sound sense to point out the best course to pursue since i was a little lad in the second form at dick had i that little square box been my adviser and protector he saw at a glance that something had gone wrong with me he said in his kindly way what s put you about you look as white as a sheet mai de eh no not that altogether said i walk up and down with me dick i want to speak to you give me your arm supporting myself on dick s frame i along by his side but it was some time before i could muster resolution to speak have a cigar said he breaking the silence no thanks said i dick we shall be all to night that s no reason against your having a cigar how said dick in his cool way but looking hard at me from under his shaggy eyebrows as he spoke he evidently thought that my intellect was a little gone no i continued it s no laughing matter and i speak in sober earnest i assure you i have discovered an infamous conspiracy dick to destroy this ship and every soul that is in her and i then proceeded and in order to lay before him the chain of evidence which i had collected there dick i said as i concluded what do you think of that and above all what am i to do to my astonishment he burst into a hearty fit of laughter i d be frightened he said if any fellow but you had told me as much you always had a way ham tha t little ua re box of discovering nests i like to see the old traits breaking out again do you remember at school how you swore there was a ghost m the long room and how it turned out to be your own reflection in the mirror why man he continued what object would any one have in destroying this ship we have no great political guns aboard on the contrary the majority of the passengers are americans besides in this sober nineteenth century the most stop at including themselves among their victims depend upon it you have misunderstood them and have mistaken a or something equally innocent for an infernal machine nothing of the sort sir said i rather you will learn to your cost i fear that i have neither exaggerated nor a word as to the box i have certainly never before seen one like it it contained delicate machinery of that i am convinced from the way in which the men handled it and spoke of it you d make out every packet of goods to be a said dick if that is to be your only test	4
the man s name was i continued i don t think that would go very far in a court of law said dick but come i have finished my cigar suppose we go down together and split a bottle of you can point out these two to me if they are still in the cabin all right i answered i am determined not to that little square box lose sight of them all day don t look hard at them though for i don t want them to think that they are being watched trust me said dick i ll look as unconscious and as a lamb and with that we passed down the companion and into the saloon a good many passengers were scattered about the great central table some with carpet bags and rug some having their luncheon and a few reading and otherwise amusing themselves the objects of our quest were not there we passed down the room and peered into every berth but there was no sign of them heavens thought j perhaps at this very moment they are beneath our feet in the hold or engine room preparing their contrivance it was better to know the worst than to remain in such suspense steward said dick are there any other gentlemen about there s two in the smoking room sir answered the steward the smoking room was a little fitted up and adjoining the we pushed the door open and entered a sigh of relief escaped from my bosom the very first object on which my eye rested was the face of with its hard set mouth and eye his companion sat opposite to him they were both drinking and a pile of cards lay upon the table they were engaged in playing as we entered i dick to show him that little square box that we had found our and we sat down beside them with as an air as possible the two seemed to take little notice of our presence i watched them both narrowly the game at which they were playing was napoleon both were at it and i could not help admiring the nerve of men who with such a secret at their hearts could devote their minds to the of a long suit or the of a queen money changed hands rapidly but the run of luck seemed to be all against the taller of the two players at last he threw down his cards on the table with an oath and refused to go on no tm hanged if i do he said i haven t had more than two of a suit for five hands never mind said his comrade as he gathered up his a few dollars one way or the other won t go very far after to night s work i was astonished at the rascal s audacity but took care to keep my eyes fixed upon the ceiling and drank my wine in as unconscious a manner as possible i felt that was looking towards me with his eyes to see if i had noticed the allusion he whispered something to his companion which i failed to catch it was a caution i suppose for the other answered rather angrily nonsense why shouldn t i say what i like over caution is just what would ruin us i believe you want it not to come off that little square box you believe nothing of the sort said the other speaking rapidly and loudly you know as well as i do that when i play for a stake i like to win it but i won t have my words and cut short by you or any other man i have as much interest in our success as you have more i hope he was quite hot about it and puffed furiously at his cigar for some minutes the eyes of the other wandered alternately from dick to myself i knew that i was in the presence of a desperate man that a quiver of my lip might be the signal for him to plunge a weapon into my heart but i betrayed more self command than i should have given myself credit for under such trying circumstances as to dick he was as immovable and apparently as unconscious as the egyptian there was silence for some time in the broken only by the crisp rattle of the cards as the man them up before them in his pocket he still seemed to be somewhat flushed and irritable throwing the end of his cigar into the he glanced at his companion and turned towards me can you tell me sir he said when this ship will be heard of again they were both looking at me but though my face may have turned a trifle paler my voice was as steady as ever as i answered i presume sir that it will be heard of first when it enters harbour that little square box ts ha ha laughed the angry little man i knew you would say that don t you kick me under the table i won t stand it i know what i am doing you are wrong sir he continued turning to me utterly wrong some passing ship perhaps suggested dick no nor that either the weather is fine i said why should we not be heard of at our destination i didn t say we shouldn t be heard of at our destination possibly we may not and in any case that is not where we shall be heard of first where then asked dick that you shall never know suffice it that a rapid and mysterious agency will signal our whereabouts and that before the day is out ha ha and he chuckled once again come on deck growled his comrade you have drunk too much of that brandy it has loosened your tongue come away and	4
taking him by the arm he half led him half forced him out of the smoking room and we heard them stumbling up the companion together and on to the deck well what do you think now i gasped as i turned towards dick he was as as ever think he said why i think what his companion thinks that we have been listening to the of a half drunken man the fellow of brandy that little square box nonsense dick you saw how the other tried to stop his tongue of course he did he didn t want his friend to make a fool of himself before strangers maybe the short one is a lunatic and the other his private keeper it s quite possible o dick dick i cried how can you be so blind don t you see that every word confirmed our previous suspicion man i said dick you re working yourself into a state of nervous excitement why what the devil do you make of all that nonsense about a mysterious agent which would signal our whereabouts i ll tell you what he meant dick i said bending forward and grasping my friend s arm he meant a sudden glare and a flash seen far out at sea by some lonely off the american coast that s what he meant i didn t think you were such a fool said dick if you try to fix a literal meaning on the that every drunken man talks you will come to some queer conclusions let us follow their example and go on deck you need fresh air i think depend upon it your liver is out of order a sea voyage will do you a world of good if ever i see the end of this one i groaned i ll promise never to venture on another they are laying the cloth so it s hardly worth while my going up i ll stay below and my things that little square box i hope dinner will find you in a more pleasant state of mind said dick and he went out leaving me to my thoughts until the of the great to the saloon my appetite i need hardly say had not been improved by the incidents which had occurred during the day i sat down however mechanically at the table and listened to the talk which was going on around me there were nearly a hundred first class passengers and as the wine began to their voices combined with the clash of the dishes to form a perfect i found myself seated between a very stout and nervous old lady and a little clergyman and as neither made any advances retired into my shell and spent my time in observing the appearance of my fellow i could see dick in the dim distance dividing his attentions between a fowl in front of him and a self possessed young lady at his side captain was doing the honours at my end while the surgeon of the vessel was seated at the other i was glad to notice that was placed almost opposite to me as long as i had him before my eyes i knew that for the time at least we were safe he was sitting with what was meant to be a smile on his grim face it did not escape me that he drank largely of wine so largely that even before the appeared his voice had become decidedly his friend was seated a few places lower down he ate little and appeared to be nervous and restless now ladies said our genial captain i trust that i o that little square box you will consider yourselves at home aboard my vessel i have no fears for the gentlemen a bottle of steward here s to a fresh breeze and a quick passage i i trust our friends in america will hear of our safe arrival in eight days or in nine at the very latest i looked up quick as was the glance which passed between and his i was able to it there was an evil smile upon the former s thin lips the conversation on politics the sea amusements religion each was in turn discussed remained a silent though an interested listener it struck me that no harm could be done by introducing the subject which was ever in my mind it could be managed in an off hand way and would at least have the effect of turning the captain s thoughts in that direction i could watch too what effect it would have upon the faces of the there was a sudden lull in the conversation the ordinary subjects of interest appeared to be exhausted the opportunity was a favourable one may i ask captain i said bending forward and speaking very distinctly what you think of the captain s ruddy face became a shade darker from honest indignation they are poor cowardly things he said as silly as they are wicked the impotent threats of a set of f p that little square box i i said a looking old gentleman beside him o captain said the fat lady at my side you don t really think they would blow up a ship i have no doubt they would if they could but i am very sure they shall never blow up mine may i ask what precautions are taken against them asked an elderly man at the end of the table ah goods sent aboard the ship are strictly examined said captain but suppose a man brought aboard with him i suggested they are too cowardly to risk their own lives in that way during this conversation had not betrayed the slightest interest in what was going on he his head now and looked at the captain don t you think you are rather them he said every secret society	4
has produced desperate men why shouldn t the have them too many men think it a privilege to die in the service of a cause which seems right in their eyes though others may think it wrong murder cannot be right in anybody s eyes said the little clergyman the of paris was nothing else said yet the whole world agreed to look on with folded arms and change the ugly word murder into the more one of war it l that little square box right enough to german eyes why shouldn t seem so to the at any rate their empty have led to nothing as yet said the captain excuse me returned but is there not some room for doubt yet as to the fate of the i have met men in america who asserted from their own personal knowledge that there was a coal aboard that vessel then they lied said the captain it was proved at the court martial to have arisen from an explosion of coal gas but we had better change the subject or we may cause the ladies to have a restless night and the conversation once more drifted back into its original channel during this little discussion had argued his point with a gentlemanly deference and a quiet power for which i had not given him credit i could not help admiring a man who on the eve of a desperate enterprise could courteously argue upon a point which must touch him so nearly he had as i have already mentioned of a considerable quantity of wine but though there was a slight flush upon his pale cheek his manner was as reserved as ever he did not join in the conversation again but seemed to be lost in thought a whirl of conflicting ideas was in my own mind what was i to do should i stand up now and them before both passengers and captain should i demand a few minutes conversation that little square box with the latter in his own cabin and reveal it all for an instant i was half resolved to do it but then the old constitutional timidity came back with force after all there might be some mistake dick had heard the evidence and had refused to believe in it i determined to let things go on their course a strange reckless feeling came over me why should i help men who were blind to their own danger surely it was the duty of the officers to protect us not ours to give warning to them i drank off a couple of glasses of wine and staggered upon deck with the determination of keeping my secret locked in my own bosom it was a glorious evening even in my excited state of mind i could not help leaning against the and enjoying the refreshing breeze away to the westward a solitary sail stood out as a dark speck against the great sheet of flame left by the setting sun i shuddered as i looked at it it was grand but appalling a single star was twinkling faintly above our but a thousand seemed to gleam in the water below with every stroke of our the only blot in the fair scene was the great trail of smoke which stretched away behind us like a black upon a crimson curtain it was hard to believe that the great peace which hung over all nature could be by a poor miserable mortal after all i thought as i gazed into the blue depths beneath me if the worst comes to the worst it is better to die here than to linger in agony upon a sick bed on land a man s life seems a very paltry l that little square box thing amid the great forces of nature all my philosophy could not prevent my shuddering however when i turned my head and saw two shadowy figures at the other side of the deck which i had no difficulty in they seemed to be earnestly but i had no opportunity of what was said so i contented myself with pacing up and down and keeping a watch upon their movements it was a relief to me when dick came on ven an incredulous is better than none at all well old man he said giving me a dig in the ribs we ve not been blown up yet no not yet said i but that s no proof that we are not going to be nonsense man said dick i can t conceive what has put this extraordinary idea into your head i have been talking to one of your supposed and he seems a pleasant fellow enough quite a sporting character i should think from the way he speaks dick i said i am as certain that those men have an infernal machine and that we are on the verge of eternity as if i saw them putting the match to the well if you really think so said dick half awed for the moment by the earnestness of my manner it is your duty to let the captain know of your suspicions that little square box you are right i said i will my absurd timidity has prevented my doing so sooner i be our lives can only be saved by laying the whole matter before him well go and do it now said dick but for goodness sake don t mix me up ill the matter ril speak to him when he comes off the bridge i answered and in the meantime i don t mean to lose sight them let me know of the result said my companion and with a nod he strolled away in search i fancy of his partner at the dinner table left to myself i me of my retreat of the morning and climbing on the i mounted into the quarter boat and	4
lay down there in it i could my course of action and by raising my head was able at any time to get a view of my disagreeable neighbours an hour passed and the captain was still on the bridge he was talking to one of the passengers a retired naval officer and the two were deep in debate concerning some point in i could see the red tips of their cigars from where i lay it was dark now so dark that i could hardly make out the figures of and his they were still standing in the position which they had taken up after dinner a few of the passengers were scattered about the deck but had gone below a strange stillness seemed to the air the l that little square box voices of the watch and the rattle of the wheel were the only sounds which broke the silence another half hour passed the captain was still upon the bridge it seemed as if he would never come down my nerves were in a state of unnatural so much so that the sound of two steps upon the deck made me start up in a quiver of excitement i peered over the edge of the boat and saw that our suspicious passengers had crossed from the other side and were standing almost directly beneath me the light of a fell full upon the ghastly face of the even in that short glance i saw that had the whose use i knew so well loosely over his arm i sank back with a groan it seemed that my fatal had sacrificed two hundred innocent lives i had read of the vengeance which awaited a spy i knew that men with their lives in their hands would stick at nothing all i could do was to at the bottom of the boat and listen silently to their whispered talk below this place will do said a voice yes the side is best i wonder if the will act am sure it will we were to let it off at ten were we not yes at ten sharp we have eight minutes yet there was a pause then the voice began again they ll hear the drop of the won t they that little square box it doesn t matter it will be too late for any one to prevent its going off that s true there will be some excitement among those we have left behind won t there rather how long do reckon it will be before they hear of us the first news will get in at about midnight at earliest that will be my doing no mine ha ha we ll settle that there was a pause here then i heard s voice in a ghastly whisper there s only five minutes more how the moments seemed to pass i i could count them by the throbbing of my heart it ll make a sensation on land said a voice yes it will make a noise in the newspapers i raised my head and peered over the side of the boat there seemed no hope no help death stared me in the face whether i did or did not give the alarm the captain had at last left the bridge the deck was deserted save for those two dark figures crouching in the shadow of the boat had a watch lying open in his hand three minutes more he said put it down upon the deck no put it here on the it was the little square box i knew by the sound that they had placed it near the and almost exactly under my head i that little square box r looked over again was pouring something out of a paper into his hand it was white and the same that i had seen him use in the morning it was meant as a no doubt for he it into the little box and i heard the strange noise which had previously arrested my attention a minute and a half more he said shall you or i pull the string i will pull it said he was kneeling down and holding the end in his hand stood behind with his arms folded and an air of grim resolution upon his face i could stand it no longer my nervous system seemed to give way in a moment stop i screamed springing to my feet stop and men i they both staggered backwards i fancy they thought i was a spirit with the moonlight streaming down upon my pale face i was brave enough now i had gone too far to retreat was damned i cried and he but one would you have the blood of two hundred upon your souls v he s mad said time s up let it off i sprang down upon the deck you shan t do it i i said by what right do you prevent us by every right human and divine m l a p n ii i p i w i w w i b that little square box it s no business of yours clear out of this never i said i confound the fellow i there s too much at stake to stand on ceremony til hold him while you pull the next moment i was struggling in the grasp of the resistance was useless i was a child in his hands he pinned me up against the side of the vessel and held me there now he said look sharp he can t prevent us i felt that i was standing on the verge of eternity half in the arms of the taller i saw the other approach the fatal box he stooped over it and seized the string i breathed one er when i saw his grasp upon it then came a sharp snap a strange noise the	4
had fallen the side of the box flew out and let off two grey little more need be said it is not a subject on which i care to dwell the whole thing is too utterly disgusting and absurd the best thing i can do is to retire gracefully from the scene and let the sporting correspondent of the new york herald fill my unworthy place here is an extract from its columns shortly after our departure from america pigeon flying extraordinary a novel match ha been brought off last week between the birds of john h of boston and a well that little square known citizen of both men have devoted much time and attention to an improved breed of bird and the challenge is an old standing one the were backed to a large amount and there was considerable local interest in the result the start was from the deck of the at ten o clock on the evening of the day of starting the vessel being then reckoned to be about a hundred miles from the land the bird which reached home first was to be declared the considerable caution had we believe to be observed as some captains have a prejudice against the bringing off of sporting events aboard their vessels in spite of some little difficulty at the last moment the trap was sprung almost exactly at ten o clock s bird arrived in in an extreme state of exhaustion on the following morning while s has not been heard of the of the latter have the satisfaction of knowing however that the whole has been by extreme the were confined in a specially invented trap which could only be opened by the spring it was thus possible to feed them through an in the top but any with their wings was quite out of the question a few such matches would go far towards in america and form an agreeable variety to the morbid of human endurance which have assumed such proportions during the last few years john s strange it is and wonderful to mark how upon this planet of ours the smallest and most insignificant of events set a train of consequences in motion which act and until their final results are and set a force however small and who can say where it shall end or what it may lead to trifles develop into and the of one day into the catastrophe of the next an throws out a to surround a grain of sand and so a pearl comes into being a pearl fishes it up a merchant it and it to a who of it to a customer the customer is robbed of it by two who quarrel over the one the other and himself upon the here is a direct chain of events with a sick for its first link and a gallows for its last one had that grain of sand not chanced to wash in between the shells of the two living breathing beings with all their for good and for evil would not have been blotted out from among their fellows who shall undertake to judge what is really small and what is great thus when in the year don x john s him that if it paid the in england to import the bark of his cork oaks it would pay him also to found a factory by which the might be cut and sent out ready made surely at first sight no very vital human interests would appear to be affected yet there were poor folk who would suffer and suffer women who would weep and men who would become sallow and hungry looking and dangerous in places of which the don had never heard and all on account of that one idea which had flashed across him as he beneath the grateful shadow of his so crowded is this old globe of ours and so our interests that one can not think a new thought without some poor devil being the better or the worse for it don was a and the ab thought soon took the form of a great square building wherein a couple of hundred of his countrymen worked with fi at a rate of pay which no english could have accepted within a few months the result of this new competition was an abrupt fall of prices in the trade which was serious for the largest fi and disastrous for the smaller ones a few old established houses held on as they were others reduced their and cut down their expenses while one or two put up their shutters and confessed themselves beaten in this last unfortunate was the ancient and respected firm of brothers of s several causes had led up to this disaster though don s as a had brought matters to a head when a couple of generations back the original had founded the business was a little fishing town with no outlet or occupation for her superfluous population men were glad to have safe and continuous work upon any terms all this was altered now for the town was into the centre of a large district in the west and the demand for labour and its had increased again in the old days when carriage was and communication slow the of and of were glad to buy their from their neighbour of but now the large london houses sent down their travellers who with each other to gain the local custom until profits were cut down to the vanishing point for a long time the firm had been in a precarious position but this further drop in prices settled the matter and compelled mr charles the acting manager to close his establishment it was a saturday afternoon in november when the hands were paid for the last time and the old building was to be finally abandoned mr an anxious	4
faced sorrow worn man stood on a raised by the while he handed the little pile of hardly earned shillings and to each successive workman as the long procession filed past his table it was usual with the to clatter away the instant that they had been paid like john s so many children let out of school but to day they waited forming little groups over the great dreary room and discussing in subdued voices the which had come upon their and the future which awaited themselves when the last pile of had been handed across the table and the last name checked by the the whole throng faced silently round to the man who had been their master and waited for any words which he might have to say to them mr charles had not expected this and it embarrassed him he had waited as a matter of routine duty until the wages were paid but he was a slow man and he had not foreseen this sudden call upon his powers he his thin cheek nervously with his long white fingers and looked down with weak watery eyes at the of serious faces i am sorry that we have to part my men he said at last in a voice it s a bad day for all of us and for too for three years we have been losing money over the works we held on in the hope of a change coming but matters are going from bad to worse there s nothing for it but to give it up before the balance of our fortune is swallowed up i hope you may all be able to get work of some sort before very long good bye and god bless you i god bless you sir god bless you cried a chorus of rough voices three cheers for mr charles i shouted a bright eyed smart young fellow john springing up upon a bench and waving his cap in the air the crowd responded to the call but their wanted the true ring which only a joyous heart can give then they began to flock out into the sunlight looking back as they went at the long deal tables and the cork strewn floor above all at the sad faced solitary man whose cheeks were with colour at the rough cordiality of their farewell said the touching on the shoulder the young fellow who had led the cheering the governor wants to speak to you the workman turned back and stood swinging his cap awkwardly in front of his ex employer while the crowd pushed on until the doorway was clear and the heavy fog wreaths rolled into the deserted factory ah john said mr coming suddenly out of his reverie and taking up a letter from the table you have been in my service since you were a boy and you have shown that you the trust which i have placed in you from what i have heard think i am right in saying that this sudden want of work will affect your plans more than it will many of my other hands i was to be married at the man answered tracing a pattern upon the table with his forefinger i ll have to find work first and work my poor fellow is by no means easy to find you see you have been in this all your life and are unfit for anything else it s true john you ve been my but even that won t help you for the all over england are hands and there s not a to be had it s a bad outlook for you and such as you what would you advise then sir asked john that s what i was coming to i have a letter here from and of asking for a good hand to take charge of a if you think it will suit you you can go out by the next boat the wages are far in excess of anything which i have been able to give you why sir this is real kind of you the young workman said earnestly she my girl mary will be as grateful to you as i am i know what you say is right and that if i had to look for work i should be likely to spend the little that i have laid by towards housekeeping before i found it but sir with your leave i d like to speak to her about it before i made up my mind could you leave it open for a few hours the mail goes out to morrow mr answered if you decide to accept you can write tonight here is their letter which will give you their address john took the precious paper with a grateful heart an hour ago his future had been all black but now this of light had broken in the west giving promise of better things he would have liked to have said something expressive of his feelings to his em john s but the english nature is not and he could not get beyond a few choking awkward words which were as awkwardly received by his benefactor with a scrape and a bow he turned on his heel and plunged out into the street so thick was the that the houses over the way were only a vague loom but the hurried on with steps through side streets and winding lanes past walls where the s were drying and over of until he reached a modest line of cottages the sea at the door of one of these the young man tapped and then without waiting for a response pressed down the latch and walked in an old silvery haired woman and a young girl hardly out of her were sitting on either side of the fire and the latter sprang to her feet as	4
he entered youve got some good news john she cried putting her hands upon his shoulders and looking into his eyes i can tell it from your step mr is going to carry on after all no dear not so good as that john answered back her rich brown hair but i have an offer of a place in canada with good money and if you think as i do i shall go out to it and you can follow with the whenever i have made all straight for you at the other side what say you to that my why surely john what you think is right must m john be for the best said the girl quietly with trust and confidence in her pale plain face and loving eyes but poor how is she to cross the seas oh never mind about me the old woman broke in cheerfully til be no drag on you if you want s not too old to travel and if you don t want her why she can look after the cottage and have an english home ready for you whenever you turn back to the old country of course we shall need you john ford said with a cheery laugh fancy leaving behind i that would never do mary but if you both come out and if we are married all snug and proper at we ll look through the whole city until we find a house something like this one and we ll have on the outside just the same and when the doors are shut and we sit round the fire on the winter s nights i m hanged if we ll be able to tell that we re not at home besides mary it s the same speech out there and the same king and the same flag it s not like a foreign country no of course not mary answered with conviction she was an orphan with no living relation save her old grandmother and no thought in life but to make a and worthy wife to the man she loved where these two were she could not fail to find happiness if john went to canada then canada became home to her for what had to offer when he was gone i m to write to night then and accept the young john s man asked i knew you would both be of the same mind as myself but f course i couldn t close with the offer until we had talked it over i can get started in a week or two and then in a couple of months i ll have all ready for you on the other side it will be a wear weary time until we hear from you dear john said mary clasping his hand but it s god s will and we must be patient here s pen and ink you can sit at the table and write the letter which is to take the three of us across the atlantic strange how don s thoughts were human lives in the little village the acceptance was duly despatched and john began immediately to prepare for his departure for the firm had intimated that the was a certainty and that the chosen man might come out without delay to take over his duties in a very few days his scanty was completed and he started off in a vessel for liverpool where he was to catch the passenger ship for remember john mary whispered as he pressed her to his heart upon the the cottage is our own and come what may we have always that to fall back upon if things should chance to turn out badly over there we have always a roof to cover us there you will find me until you send word to us to come and that will be very soon my he answered cheerfully with a last embrace good bye good bye the ship was a mile and more from the i o john s land before he lost sight of the figures of the straight slim girl and her old companion who stood watching and waving to him from the end of the grey stone it was with a sinking heart and a vague feeling of impending disaster that he saw them at last as minute in the distance walking town ward and disappearing amid the crowd who lined the beach from liverpool the old woman and her received a letter from john announcing that he was just starting in the st and six weeks afterwards a second longer informed them of his safe arrival at and gave them his first impressions of the country after that a long unbroken silence set in week after week and month after month passed by and never a word came from across the seas a year went over their heads and yet another but no news of the and were written to and replied that though john s letter had reached them he had never presented himself and they had been forced to fill up the as best they could still mary and her grandmother hoped against hope and looked out for the letter every morning with such eagerness that the kind hearted man would often make a rather than pass the two pale anxious faces which peered at him from the cottage window at last three years after the young s disappearance old died and mary was left alone a broken sorrowful woman living as best she might on a small which had descended to her and eating her john s i i heart out as she over the mystery which hung over the fate of her lover among the shrewd west country neighbours there had long however ceased to be any mystery in the matter arrived safely in canada so much was proved by his letter had he met with his end	4
in any sudden way during the journey between and there must have been some official inquiry and his luggage would have to have established his identity yet the police had been communicated with and had returned a positive answer that no had been held or any body found which could by any possibility be that of the young englishman the only alternative appeared to be that he had taken the first opportunity to break all the old ties and had slipped away to the or to the states to commence life anew under an altered name why he should do this no one professed to know but that he had done it appeared only too probable from the facts hence many a deep growl of righteous anger rose from the when mary with her pale face and sorrow sunken head passed along the on her way to her daily and it is more than likely that if the missing man had turned up in he might have met with some rough words or usage unless he could give some very good reason for his strange conduct this popular view of the case never however occurred to the simple trusting heart of the lonely girl and as years rolled by her grief and her suspense were never i john for an instant tinged with a doubt as to the good faith of the missing man from youth she grew into middle age and from that into the autumn of her life patient long suffering and faithful doing good as far as lay in her power and waiting humbly until fate should restore either in this world or the next that which it had so mysteriously deprived her of in the meantime neither the opinion held by the that john was dead nor that of the majority which pronounced him to be represented the true state of the case still alive and of honour he had yet been out by fortune as her victim in one of those strange which are of such rare occurrence and so beyond the general experience that they might be put by as incredible had we not the most evidence of their occasional possibility landing at with his heart full of hope and courage john selected a dingy room in a back street where the terms were less than elsewhere and conveyed thither the two boxes which contained his worldly goods after taking up his quarters there he had half a mind to change again for the landlady and the fellow were by no means to his taste but the coach started within a day or two and he consoled himself by the thought that the discomfort would only last for that short time having written home to mary to announce his safe arrival he ed himself in seeing as much of the town as john s was possible walking about all day and only returning to his room at night it happened however that the house on which the unfortunate youth had pitched was one which was notorious for the character of its inmates he had been directed to it by a who found regular employment in hanging about the and new comers to this den the fellow s manner and proffered civility had led the simple hearted west into the toils and though his instinct told him that he was in company he refrained unfortunately from at once making his escape he contented himself with staying out all day and as little as possible with the other inmates from the few words which he did let drop however the landlady gathered that he was a stranger without a single friend in the country to inquire after him should misfortune overtake him the house had an evil reputation for the of sailors which was done not only for the purpose of them but also to supply ships with the men being carried on board insensible and not coming to until the ship was well down the st this trade caused the wretches who followed it to be in the use of and they determined to practise their arts upon their so as to have an opportunity of his effects and of seeing what it might be worth their while to during the day he invariably locked his door and carried oflf the key in s his pocket but if they could render him insensible for the night they could examine his boxes at their leisure and deny afterwards that he had ever brought with him the articles which he missed it happened therefore upon the eve of s departure from that he found upon returning to his lodgings that his landlady and her two ill favoured sons who assisted her in her trade were waiting up for him over a bowl of punch which they cordially invited him to share it was a bitterly cold night and the fragrant steam overpowered any suspicions which the young englishman may have entertained so he drained off a and then retiring to his bedroom threw himself upon his bed without and fell straight into a slumber in which he still lay when the three crept into his chamber and having opened his boxes began to investigate his effects it may have been that the speedy action of the caused its effect to be or perhaps that the strong constitution of the victim threw it off with unusual rapidity whatever the cause it is certain that john suddenly came to himself and found the foul round their which they were dividing into the two of what was of value and should be taken and what was and might therefore be left with a bound he sprang out of bed and seizing the fellow nearest him by the collar he him through the open doorway his brother rushed at him but the young man met him with such a that he dropped jn a heap john s upon the ground unfortunately	4
the violence of the blow caused him to himself and over his prostrate he came down heavily upon his face before he could rise the old sprang upon his back and clung to him shrieking to her son to bring the john managed to shake himself clear of them both but before he could stand on his guard he was from behind by a crashing blow from an iron bar which stretched him senseless upon the floor you ve hit too hard joe said the old woman looking down at the prostrate figure i heard the bone go if i hadn t fetched him down he d ha been too many for us said the young villain still you might ha done it without killing him clumsy said his mother she had had a large experience of such scenes and knew the difference between a blow and a fatal one he s still breathing the other said examining him the back o his head s like a bag o though the skull s all he can t last what are we to do he ll never come to himself again the other brother remarked him right look at my face let s see mother who s in the house only four drunk sailors they wouldn t turn out for any noise it s all quiet in the street let s carry him down a bit joe and leave him there he can die there and no one think the worse of us john take all the papers out of his pocket then the mother suggested they might help the police to trace him his i too and his money g odd better than nothing now carry him softly and don t slip kicking oflf their shoes the two brothers carried the dying man down stairs and along the deserted street for a couple of hundred yards there they laid him among the snow where he was found by the night who carried him on a to the hospital he was duly examined by the resident who bound up the wounded head but gave it as his opinion that the man could not possibly live for more than twelve hours twelve hours passed however and yet another twelve but john still struggled hard for his life when at the end of three days he was found to be still breathing the interest of the doctors became aroused at his extraordinary vitality and they him as the fashion was in those days and surrounded his shattered head with it may have been on account of these measures or it may have been in spite of them but at the end of a week s deep trance the nurse in charge was astonished to hear a noise and to find the stranger sitting up upon the couch and staring about him with wistful wondering eyes the were summoned to behold the phenomenon and warmly congratulated each other upon the success of their treatment you have been on the brink of the grave my man s is said one of them pressing the head back on to the pillow you must not excite yourself what is your name no answer save a wild stare where do you come from again no answer he is mad one suggested or a foreigner said another there were no papers on him when he came in his linen is marked j h let us try him in french and german they tested him with as many tongues as they could muster among them but were compelled at last to give the matter over and to leave their silent patient still staring up wild at the hospital ceiling for many weeks john lay in the hospital and for many weeks efforts were made to gain some clue as to his but in vain he showed as the time rolled by not only by his but also by the intelligence with which he began to pick up fragments of sentences like a clever child learning to talk that his mind was strong enough in the present though it was a complete blank as to the past the man s memory of his whole life before the fatal blow was entirely and absolutely he neither knew his name his language his home his business nor anything else the doctors held learned upon him and upon the centre of memory and depressed tables nerve and but all their began and ended at the fact that the man s memory was gone and that it was john s the power of science to restore it during the weary of his he picked up reading and writing but with the return of his strength came no return of his former life england mary the words brought no recollection to his mind ah was absolute darkness at last he was discharged a man without a past and with very little to look to in the future his very name was altered for it had been necessary to invent one john had passed away and john hardy took his place among mankind here was a strange of a spanish gentleman s tobacco inspired meditations john s case had aroused some discussion and curiosity in so that he was not suffered to drift into utter helplessness upon emerging from the hospital a scotch named m found him a post as porter in his establishment and for a long time he worked at seven dollars a week at the and of in the course of years it was noticed however that his memory however as to the past was extremely and accurate when concerned with anything which had occurred since his accident from the factory he was promoted into the house and the year found him a junior clerk at a salary of a year steadily and surely john hardy fought his way upward from post to post with his whole heart and mind devoted to the	4
business in he was third clerk in he was second and in he became manager of the whole vast john s establishment and second only to mr m himself there were few who john this rapid ad for it was obviously due to neither chance nor but entirely to his marvellous powers of application and industry from early morning until late in the night he hard in the service of his employer checking overlooking setting an example to all of cheerful devotion to duty as he rose from one post to another his salary increased but it caused no alteration in his mode of living save that it enabled him to be more open handed to the poor he his promotion to the by a of i x to the hospital in which he had been treated a quarter of a century before the remainder of his he allowed to in the business drawing a small sum for his and still in the humble dwelling which he had occupied when he was a porter in spite of his success he was a sad silent man solitary in his habits and possessed always of a vague yearning a dull feeling of dissatisfaction and of craving which never abandoned him often he would strive with his poor crippled brain to pierce the curtain which divided him from the past and to solve the of his youthful existence but though he sat many a time by the fire until his head with his efforts john hardy could never recall the least glimpse of john history i john s on one occasion he had in the interests of the firm to journey to and to visit the very cork factory which had tempted him to leave england strolling through the with the john and without knowing what he was doing picked up a square piece of the bark and fashioned it with two or three cuts of his into a smooth cork his companion picked it out of his hand and examined it with the eye of an expert this is not the first cork which you have cut by many a hundred mr hardy he remarked indeed you are wrong john answered smiling i never cut one before in my life impossible i cried the here s another bit of cork try again john did his best to repeat the performance but the brains of the manager interfered with the trained muscles of the the latter had not forgotten their cunning but they needed to be left to themselves and not directed by a mind which knew nothing of the matter instead of the smooth graceful shape he could produce nothing but rough clumsy it must have been chance said the but i could have sworn that it was the work of an old hand as the years passed john s smooth english skin had and until he was as brown and as as a his hair too after many years of iron grey had finally become as white as the of his adopted yet he was a hale and upright old man and when he at last retired from the manager john ship of the firm with which he had been so long connected he bore the weight of his seventy years h and bravely he was in the peculiar position himself of not knowing his own age as it was impossible for him to do more than guess at how old he was at the time of his accident the german war came round and while the two great rivals were destroying each other their more peaceful neighbours were quietly them out of their and their commerce many english ports by this condition of things but none more than it had long ceased to be a fishing village but was now a large and prosperous town with a great in place of the on which mary had stood and a of and grand hotels where all the of the west country came when they were in need of a change all these had made the centre of a busy trade and her ships found their way into every harbour in the world hence it was no wonder especially in that very busy year of that several vessels were lying in the river and alongside the of one day john hardy who found time hang a little on his hands since his retirement from business strolled along by the water s edge listening to the of the steam and watching the great barrels and cases as they were swung ashore and piled upon the wharf he had observed the coming in of a great ocean steamer and having waited until john s she was safely he was turning away when a few words fell upon his ear uttered by some one on board a little weather beaten close by him it was only some commonplace order that was out but the sound fell upon the old man s ears with a strange mixture of and familiarity he stood by the vessel and heard the at their work all speaking with the same broad pleasant accent why did it send such a thrill through his nerves to listen to it he sat down upon a of rope and pressed his hands to his temples drinking in the long forgotten dialect and trying to piece together in his mind the thousand half formed recollections which were up in it then he and walking along to the stern he read the name of the ship the sunlight again that flush and through every nerve why was that word and the men s speech so familiar to him he walked home and all night he lay tossing and sleepless pursuing a shadowy something which was ever within his reach and yet which ever him early next morning he was up and down on the wharf listening to the talk of the west country sailors every word	4
they spoke seemed to him to revive his memory and bring him nearer to the light from time to time they paused in their work and seeing the white haired stranger sitting so silently and attentively they laughed at him and broke little upon him and even these had a familiar sound to the exile m they very well might seeing that they were the john s same which he had heard in his youth for no one ever makes a new joke in england so he sat through the long day bathing himself in the west country speech and waiting for the light to break and it happened that when the sailors broke off for their mid day meal one of them either out of curiosity or good nature came over to the old and greeted him so john asked him to be seated on a log by his side and began to put many questions to him about the country from which he came and the town all which the man answered enough for there is nothing in the world that a sailor loves to talk of so much as of his native place for it pleases him to show that he is no mere wanderer but that he has a home to receive him whenever he shall choose to settle down to a quiet life so the seaman away about the town hall and the tower and the and street and the high street until his companion suddenly shot out a long eager arm and caught him by the wrist look here man he said in a low quick whisper answer me as you hope for mercy are not the streets that out of the high street fox street street and george street in the order named they are the sailor answered shrinking away from the wild flashing eyes and at that moment john s memory came back to him and he saw clear and dis his life as it had been and as it should have been with every detail traced as in letters of fire too stricken to cry out too stricken to weep he could n warn s only hurry away wildly and hurry as fast as his aged limbs would carry him as if poor soul there were some chance yet of catching up the fifty years which had gone by staggering and tremulous he hastened on until a seemed to gather over his eyes and throwing his arms into the air with a great cry oh mary mary oh my lost lost life he fell senseless upon the pavement the storm of emotion which had passed through him and the mental shock which he had undergone would have sent many a man into a raging fever but john was too strong willed and too practical to allow his strength to be wasted at the very time when he needed it most within a few days he a portion of his property and starting for new york caught the first mail steamer to england day and night and day he trod the quarter deck until the hardy sailors watched the old man with astonish ment and how any human being could do much upon so little sleep it was only by this exercise by wearing down his vitality until fatigue brought that he could prevent himself from falling into a very frenzy of despair he hardly dared ask himself what was the object of this wild journey what did he expect would mary be still alive she must be a very old woman if he could but see her and mingle his tears with hers he would be content let her only know that it had been no fault of his and that they had both been victims to the same cruel fate the cottage was her own and i john s hi a she had said that she would wait for him there until she heard from him poor she had never reckoned on such a wait as this at last the irish lights were sighted and passed land s end lay like a blue fog upon the water and the steamer its way along the bold coast until it dropped its anchor in bay john hurried to the railway station and within a few hours he found himself back once more in his native town which he had quitted a poor half a century before but was it the same town were it not for the name engraved all over the station and on the hotels john might have found a difficulty in believing it the broad well paved streets with the lines laid down the centre were very different from the narrow winding which he could remember the spot upon which the station had been built was now the very centre of the town but in the old days it would have been far out in the fields in every direction lines of luxurious away in streets and bearing names which were new to the exile great and long rows of shops with glittering fronts showed him how had increased in wealth as well as in dimensions it was only when he came upon the old high street that john began to feel at home it was much altered but still it was and some few of the buildings were just as he had left them there was the place where s cork works had been it was now occupied by a great john ford s brand new hotel and there was the old grey town hall the wanderer turned down beside it and made his way with eager steps but a sinking heart in the direction of the line of cottages which he used to know so well it was not difficult for him to find where they had been the sea at least was as of old and from it he could tell where the cottages had	4
stood but alas where were they now in their place an imposing of high stone houses reared their tall front to the beach john walked wearily down past their feeling heart sore and despairing when suddenly a thrill shot through him followed by a warm glow of excitement and of hope for standing a little back from the line and looking as much out of place as a a was an old cottage with wooden porch and walls bright with creeping plants he rubbed his eyes and stared again but there it stood with its diamond windows and white muslin curtains the very same down to the smallest details as it had been on the day when he last saw it brown hair had become white and fishing had changed into cities but busy hands and a faithful heart had kept s cottage unchanged and ready for the wanderer and now when he had reached his very haven of rest john s mind became more filled with apprehension than ever and he came over so deadly sick that he had to sit down upon one of the beach benches which faced the cottage an old was perched w i i y w g j ii wi i i l im john s at one end of it smoking his black clay pipe and he remarked upon the wan face and sad eyes of the stranger you have yourself he said it doesn t do for old like you and me to forget our years tm better now thank you john answered can you tell me friend how that one cottage came among all those fine houses why said the old fellow his upon the ground that cottage belongs to the most obstinate woman in all england that woman if you ll believe me has been offered the price of the cottage ten times over and yet she won t part with it they have even promised to remove it stone by stone and put it up on some more convenient place and pay her a good round sum into the bargain but god bless you i she wouldn t so much as hear of it and why was that asked john well that s just the funny part of it it s all on account of a mistake you see her spark went away when i was a and she s got it into her head that he may come back some day and that he won t know where to go unless the cottage is there why if the fellow were alive he would be as old as you but i ve no doubt he s dead long ago she s well quit of him for he must have been a to abandon her as he did oh he abandoned her did he yes went off to the states and never so much as sent a word to bid her good bye it was a cruel s shame it was for the girl has been a waiting and a for him ever since it s my belief that it s fifty years weeping that blinded her she is blind i cried john half rising to his feet worse than that said the she s mortal ill and not expected to live why look ye there s the doctor s carriage a waiting at her door at this evil tidings old john sprang up and hurried over to the cottage where he met the physician returning to his how is your patient doctor he asked in a trembling voice very bad very bad said the man of medicine if she continues to sink she will be in great danger but if on the other hand she takes a turn it is possible that she may recover with which answer he drove away in a cloud of dust john was still hesitating at the doorway not knowing how to announce himself or how far a shock might be dangerous to the sufferer when a gentleman in black came bustling up can you tell me my man if this is where the sick woman is he asked john nodded and the clergyman passed in leaving the door half open the wanderer waited until he had gone into the inner room and then slipped into the front parlour where he had spent so many happy hours all was the same as ever down to the smallest ornaments for mary had been in the habit whenever anything was broken of it with a s so that there might be no change in the room he stood looking about him until he heard a woman s voice from the inner chamber and stealing to the door he peeped in the invalid was upon a couch propped up with pillows and her face was turned full towards john as he looked round the door he could have cried out as his eyes rested upon it for there were mary s pale plain sweet homely features as smooth and as unchanged as though she were still the half child half woman whom he had pressed to his heart on the her calm unselfish life had left none of those rude traces upon her countenance which are the outward of internal conflict and an soul a melancholy had refined and softened her expression and her loss of sight had been for by that which comes upon the faces of the blind with her silvery hair peeping out beneath her snow white cap and a bright smile upon her sympathetic face she was the old mary im proved and developed with something ethereal and you will keep a tenant in the cottage she was saying to the clergyman who sat with his back turned to the observer choose some poor deserving folk in the parish who will be glad of a home free and when he comes you will	4
tell him that i have waited for him until i have been forced to go on but that he will find me on the other side still faithful and true there s a little money too only a few pounds but i should like him to have it when he comes for he may need it and then you will tell the folk you put in to be kind to him for he will be grieved poor lad and to tell him that i was cheerful and happy up to the end don t let him know that i ever fretted or he may fret too now john listened quietly to all this from behind the door and more than once he had to put his hand to his throat but when she had finished and when he thought of her long innocent life and saw the dear face looking straight at him and yet unable to see him it became too much for his manhood and he burst out into an irrepressible choking sob which shook his very frame and then occurred a strange thing for though he had spoken no word the old woman stretched out her arms to him and cried oh i oh dear dear you have come back to me again and before the parson could at all understand what had happened those two faithful lovers were in each other s arms weeping over each other and patting each other s silvery heads with their hearts so full of joy that it almost for all that weary fifty years of waiting it is hard to say how long they rejoiced together it seemed a very short time to them and a very long one to the reverend gentleman who was thinking at last of stealing away when mary recollected his presence and the courtesy which was due to him my heart is full of joy sir she said it is god s will that i should not see my but i can call his image up as clear as if i had my eyes now stand up s john and i will let the gentleman see how well i remember you he is as tall sir as the second shelf as straight as an arrow his face brown and his eyes bright and clear his hair is well nigh black and his moustache the same i shouldn t wonder if he had whiskers as well by this time now sir don t you think i can do without my sight the clergyman listened to her description and looking at the battered white haired man before him he hardly knew whether to laugh or to cry but it all proved to be a laughing matter in the end for whether it was that her illness had taken some natural turn or that john s return had startled it away it is certain that from that day mary steadily improved until she was as well as ever no special license for me john had said it looks as if we were ashamed of what we are doing as though we hadn t the best right to be married of any two folk in the parish so the were put up accordingly and three times it was announced that john bachelor was going to be united to mary after which no one they were duly married accordingly we may not have very long in this world said old john but at least we shall start fair and square in the next john s share in the business was sold out and gave rise to a very interesting legal question as to whether knowing that his name was he could still sign that of hardy as was necessary for the completion of the business it was decided however that on his producing two witnesses to his identity all would be right so the property was duly and produced a very handsome fortune part of this john devoted to building a pretty villa just outside and the heart of the proprietor of beach terrace leaped within him when he learned that the cottage was at last to be abandoned and that it would no longer break the and the effect of his row of aristocratic and there in their snug new home sitting out on the lawn in the summer time and on either side of the in the winter that worthy old couple continued for many years to live as innocently and as happily as two children those who knew them well say that there was never a shadow between them and that the love which burned in their aged hearts was as high and as holy as that of any young couple who ever went to the altar and through all the country round if ever man or woman were in distress and fighting against hard times they had only to go up to the villa to receive help and that sympathy which is more precious than help so when at last john and mary fell asleep in their ripe old age within a few hours of each other they had all the poor and the and the of the parish among their and in talking over the troubles which these two had faced so bravely they learned that their own miseries also were but passing things and that faith and truth can never either in this existence or the next wells a literary from my boyhood i have had an intense and overwhelming conviction that my real lay in the direction of literature i have however had a most unaccountable difficulty in getting any responsible person to share my views it is true that private friends have sometimes after listening to my gone the length of remarking really smith that s not half bad i or you take my advice old boy and send that to some magazine i but i have never on	4
these occasions had the moral courage to inform my adviser that the article in question had been sent to well nigh every in london and had come back again with a rapidity and precision which spoke well for the of our arrangements had my been paper they could not have returned with greater accuracy to their unhappy oh the and utter degradation of the moment when the stale little of closely written pages which seemed so fresh and full of promise a few days ago is handed in by a and what moral shines wells through the editor s ridiculous plea of want of space but the subject is a painful one and a from the plain statement of facts which i originally contemplated from the age of seventeen to that of three and twenty i was a literary in a constant state of poems and tales articles and nothing came amiss to my pen from the great sea serpent to the i was ready to write on anything or everything i can safely say that i seldom handled a subject without throwing new lights upon it poetry and romance however had always the greatest attractions for me how i have wept over the pathos of my and laughed at the of my alas i could find no one to join me in my appreciation and solitary admiration for one s self however genuine becomes after a time my father remonstrated with me too on the score of expense and loss of time so that i was finally compelled to my dreams of literary independence and to become a clerk in a firm connected with the west african trade even when condemned to the duties which fell to my lot in the office i continued faithful to my first love i have introduced pieces of word painting into the most commonplace business letters which have i am told considerably astonished the my refined sarcasm has made and occasionally like the great i would drop into poetry and so raise the whole tone wells of the correspondence thus what could be more elegant than my rendering of the firm s instructions to the captain of one of their vessels it ran in this way from england captain you must steer a course directly to land the of beef then away to pray be careful cool and wary with the merchants of when you leave them make the most of the trade winds to the coast down it vou shall sail as far as the land of and from there you ll onward go to and po and so on for four pages the captain instead of up this little called at the office next day and demanded with quite unnecessary warmth what the thing meant and i was compelled to it all back into prose on this as on other similar occasions my employer took me severely to task for he was you see a man entirely devoid of all pretensions to literary taste all this however is a mere and leads up to the fact that after ten years or so of i inherited a which though small was sufficient to satisfy my simple wants finding myself independent i a quiet house removed from the uproar and bustle of london and there i settled down with the o wells intention of producing some at work which should single me out from the family of the and render my name immortal to this end i laid in several of a box of pens and a bottle of ink and having given my housekeeper to deny me to all visitors i proceeded to look round for a suitable subject i was looking round for some weeks at the end of that time i found that i had by constant devoured a large number of the and had spread the ink out to such advantage what with and that there appeared to be some everywhere except in the bottle as to the story itself however the facility of my youth had deserted me completely and my mind remained a complete blank nor could i do what i would excite my imagination to up a single incident or character in this strait i determined to devote my leisure to running rapidly through the works of the leading english from daniel to the present day in the hope of my latent ideas and of getting a good grasp of the general tendency of literature for some time past i had avoided opening any work of fiction because one of the greatest faults of my youth had been that i invariably and unconsciously the style of the last author whom i had happened to read now however i made up my mind to seek safety in a multitude and by consulting all the english to avoid the danger of one too closely i wells had just accomplished the task of reading through the majority of the standard novels at the time when my narrative it was then about twenty minutes to ten on the night of the fourth of june eighteen hundred and eighty six that after of a pint of beer and a for my supper i seated myself in my arm chair cocked my feet upon a tool and lit my pipe as was my custom both my pulse and my temperature were as far as i know normal at the time i would give the state of the but that unlucky instrument had experienced an fall of forty two inches from a nail to the ground and was not in a condition we live in a scientific age and i flatter myself that i move with the times whilst in that comfortable condition which both and by i suddenly became aware of the extraordinary fact that little drawing room had into a great and that my humble table had increased in proportion round this colossal mahogany were seated	4
a great number of people who were talking earnestly together and the surface in front of them was strewn with books and i could not help observing that these persons were dressed in a most extraordinary mixture of for those at the end nearest to me wore swords and all the fashions of two centuries back those about the centre had tight knee breeches high and heavy of while among those at the far o over wells the majority were dressed in the most modem style and among them i saw to my surprise several eminent men of letters whom i had the honour of knowing there were two or three women in the company i should have risen to my feet to greet these unexpected guests but all power of motion appeared to have deserted me and i could only lie still and listen to their conversation which i soon perceived to be all about myself exclaimed a rough weather beaten man who was smoking a long pipe at my end of the table my heart for him why we ve been in the same straits ourselves never did mother feel more concern for her eldest born than i when random went out to make his own way in the world right right i cried another man seated at my very elbow by my i lost more flesh over poor robin on his island than had i the sickness twice told the tale was well nigh done when in my lord of a merry gallant and one whose word in matters literary might make or mar how now he hast a tale on hand even so your i returned a right merry one i trust he discourse unto me concerning thy heroine a comely dan or i mistake nay i replied there is no heroine in the matter split not your phrases he thou every word like a attorney speak to me of thy principal female character be she heroine or wells m m m no my lord i answered there is no female character then out upon and thy book tool he cried thou best burn it i and so out in great whilst i fell to mourning over my poor romance which was thus as it were to death before its birth yet there are a thousand now who have read of robin and his man friday to one has heard of my lord of very true said a genial looking man in a red waistcoat who was sitting at the modern end of the table bat all this won t help our good friend smith in making a start at his story which i believe was the reason why we assembled the it is stammered a little man beside him and everybody laughed especially the genial man who cried out lamb lamb you ll never alter you would make a if you were hanged for it that would be a case of returned the other on which everybody laughed again by this time i had begun to dimly in my confused brain the enormous honour which had been done me the greatest masters of fiction in every age of english letters had apparently made a beneath my roof in order to assist me in my difficulties there were many faces at the table whom i was unable to identify but when i looked hard at others i often found them to be very familiar to me whether from paintings or from mere description thus between the first two who had betrayed themselves as w no wells and there sat a dark old man with harsh prominent features who i was sure could be none other than the famous author of there were several others of whom i was not so sure sitting at the other side pf the table but i conjecture that both and were among them and i could swear to the lantern jaws and of higher up i could see among the crowd the high forehead of sir walter scott the masculine features of george and the nose of while amongst the living i recognised james walter the lady known as robert louis and several of lesser note never before probably had such an of choice spirits gathered under one roof well said sir walter scott speaking with a very pronounced accent ye the or as the border sang black wi his ten might the heart turn but when he s a is ten the were one of the families second cousins of the and connected by marriage to perhaps sir walter interrupted you would take the responsibility off our hands by yourself the commencement of a story to this young literary wells na na cried sir walter tu do my share but there s over there as full o as a radical s full o treason he s the to give a cheery to it was shaking his head and apparently about to refuse the honour when a voice from among the i could not see who it was for the aid suppose we begin at the end the table and work round any one a little as the fancy him agreed i agreed i cried the whole company and every eye was turned on who seemed very uneasy and filled his pipe from a great tobacco box in front of him nay he said there are others more worthy but he was interrupted by loud cries of no i no i from the whole table and shouted out stand to it dan stand to it i you and i and the dean here will make three short just to fetch her out of harbour and then she may drift where she pleases thus encouraged cleared his throat and began in this way talking between the of his pipe my	4
father was a well to do of named but marrying about the he assumed the name of his wife s family which was wells and thus i their eldest son was named wells the farm was a very fertile one and contained some of the best land in those wells so that my father was enabled to lay by money to the extent of a thousand crowns which he laid out in an adventure to the indies with such surprising success that in less than three years it had increased thus encouraged he bought a part share of the and fitting her out once more with such as were most in demand old and besides glasses needles and the like he placed me on board as to look after his interests and despatched us upon our voyage we had a fair wind as far as cape de and there getting into the north west trade winds made good progress down the african coast beyond a once our were in sad distress counting themselves already as little better than slaves we had good luck until we had come within a hundred of the cape of good hope when the wind round to the southward and blew exceeding hard while the sea rose to such a height that the end of the dipped into the water and i heard the master say that though he had been at sea for five and thirty years he had never seen the like of it and that he had little expectation of riding through it on this i fell to wringing my hands and myself until the mast going by the board with a crash thought that the ship had struck and with terror falling into the and lying like one dead which was the saving of me as will appear in the for the giving up all hope of saving the ship and being in wells momentary expectation that she would founder pushed off in the long boat whereby i fear that they met the fate which they hoped to avoid since i have never from that day heard anything of them for my own part on recovering from the into which i had fallen i found that by the mercy of providence the sea had gone down and that i was alone in the vessel at which last discovery i was so terror struck that i but stand wringing my hands and my sad fate until at last taking heart fell to comparing my lot with that of my unhappy on which i became more cheerful and descending to the cabin made a meal off such as were in the captain s having got so far remarked that he thought he had given them a fair start and handed over the story to dean swift who after that he feared he would find himself as much at sea as master wells continued in this way for two days i drifted about in great distress fearing that there should be a return of the gale and keeping an eager look out for my late companions upon the third day towards evening i observed to my extreme surprise that the ship was under the influence of a very powerful current which ran to the north east with such violence that she was carried now bows on now stern on and occasionally drifting sideways like a at a rate which i cannot at less than twelve or fifteen knots an hour for several weeks i was borne away in this manner until one morning to wells my joy i sighted an island upon the quarter the current would however have carried me past it had i not made shift though to set he flying so as to turn her bows and then clapping on the sail sail and fore sail i up the upon the port side and put the wheel down hard a the wind being at the time north east half east at the description of this i observed that grinned and a gentleman sitting higher up the table in the uniform of the royal navy and who i guessed to be captain became very uneasy and in his seat by this means i got clear of the current and to steer within a quarter of a mile of the beach which indeed i might have approached still nearer by i making another tack but being an excellent i deemed it best to leave the vessel which was almost and to make the best of my way to the shore i had had my doubts hitherto as to whether this new found country was inhabited or no but as i approached nearer to it being on the summit of a great wave i perceived a number of figures on the beach engaged apparently in watching me and my vessel my joy however was considerably lessened when on reaching the land i found that the figures consisted of a vast of animals of various sorts who were in groups and who hurried down to the water s edge to meet me i had scarce put my foot upon the n o wells sand before i was surrounded by an eager crowd of deer dogs wild and other creatures none of whom showed the least fear either of me or of each other but on the contrary were animated by a common feeling of curiosity as well as it would appear by some degree of disgust a second edition whispered to his neighbour served up cold did you speak sir asked the dean very sternly having evidently overheard the remark my words were not addressed to you sir answered looking rather frightened they were none the less insolent roared the dean your reverence would fain make a sentimental journey of the narrative i doubt not and find pathos in a dead donkey though faith no man can blame thee for mourning over thy	4
own and kin better that than to in all the of land returned warmly and a quarrel would certainly have ensued but for the of the remainder of die company as it was the dean refused indignantly to have any further hand in the story and also stood out of it remarking with a sneer that he was loth to fit a good blade on to a poor handle under these circumstances some further might have occurred had not rapidly taken up the narrative continuing it in the third instead of the first our hero being considerably alarmed at this strange reception lost little time in plunging into th i wells sea again and his vessel being convinced that the worst which might befall him from the elements would be as nothing compared to the dangers o this mysterious island it was as well that he took this course for before nightfall his ship was and he himself picked up by a british man of war the lightning then returning from the west indies where it had formed part of the fleet under the command of admiral young wells being a likely lad enough well spoken and high spirited was at once entered on the books as officer s servant in which capacity he both gained great popularity on account of the freedom of his manners and found an opportunity for indulging in those practical for which he had all his life been famous among the of the lightning there was one named whose appearance was so remarkable that it quickly attracted the attention of our hero he was a man of about fifty dark with exposure to the weather and so tall that as he came along the decks he had to bend himself nearly double the most striking peculiarity of this individual was however that in his boyhood some evil minded person had eyes all over his countenance with such marvellous skill that it was difficult at a short distance to pick out his real ones among so many on this strange personage master determined to exercise his talents for mischief the more so as he learned that he was extremely superstitious and also that he had left behind him in ports i m m wells mouth a strong minded of whom he stood in mortal terror with this object he secured one of the sheep which were kept on board for the officers table and pouring a can of down its throat reduced it to a state of utter he then conveyed it to s berth and with the assistance of some other as mischievous as himself dressed it up in a high and gown and covered it over with the when the came down from his watch our hero met him at the door of his berth with an agitated face mr said he can it be that your wife is on board wife roared the astonished sailor ye white faced what d ye mean if she s not here in the ship it must be her ghost said shaking his head gloomily in the how in thunder could she get into the ship why master i believe as how you re weak in the upper works d ye see to as much as think o such a thing my is head and behind the point at more n two thousand mile away upon my word said our hero very earnestly i saw a female look out of your cabin not five minutes ago ay ay mr joined in several of the we all saw her a looking craft with a dead light mounted on one side sure enough said staggered by this of evidence my s eye was for ever by long sue of the hard but if so be as she be there i must see her be i k wells she ghost or quick with which the honest sailor in much and trembling in every limb began to forward into the cabin holding the light well in front of him it chanced however that the unhappy sheep which was quietly engaged in sleeping off the effects of its unusual was awakened by the noise of this approach and finding herself in such an unusual position sprang out of the bed and rushed furiously for the door wildly and rolling about like a in a partly from and partly from the night dress which her movements as saw this extraordinary apparition bearing down upon him he uttered a yell and fell flat upon his face convinced that he had to do with a supernatural visitor the more so ai the heightened the effect by a chorus of most ghastly groans and cries the joke had nearly gone beyond what was originally intended for the lay as one dead and it was only with the greatest difficulty that he could be brought to to the end of the voyage he stoutly asserted that he had seen the distant mrs remark ing with many oaths that though he was too scared to take much note of the features there was no the strong smell of rum which was characteristic of his better half it chanced shortly after this to be the king s birthday an event which was aboard the light by the death of the commander under singular circumstances this officer who was a real fair wells weather jack hardly knowing the ship s from her had obtained his position through interest and used it with such tyranny and cruelty that he was universally so was he that when a plot was entered into by the whole crew to punish his with death he had not a among six hundred souls to warn him of his danger it was the custom on board the king s ships that upon his birthday the entire ship s company should be drawn up upon deck and that at a signal they should discharge their into the	4
air in honour of his majesty on this occasion word had been secretly passed round for every man to slip a into his instead of the blank provided on the blowing his whistle the men upon deck and formed line whilst the captain standing well in front of them delivered a few words to them when i give the word he concluded you shall discharge your pieces and by thunder if any man is a second before or a second after his fellows i shall him up to the weather with these words he roared fire on which every man his straight at his head and pulled the so accurate was the aim and so short the distance that more than five hundred bullets struck him blowing away his head and a large portion of his body there were so many concerned in this matter and it was so hopeless to trace it to any individual that the officers were unable to punish any one for the affair the readily as the captain s wells haughty ways and heartless conduct had made him quite as hateful to them as to the men whom they commanded by his and the natural charm of his manners our hero so far won the good wishes of the ship s company that they parted with infinite regret upon their arrival in england filial duty however urged him to return home and report himself to his father with which object he posted from to london intending to proceed thence to as it chanced however one of the horses his off while passing through and as no change could be obtained found himself compelled to put up at the crown and bull for the night continued laughing i never could pass a comfortable without stopping and so with your permission i ll e en stop here and whoever wills may lead friend to his further adventures do you sir walter give us a touch of the of the north with these words produced a pipe and filling it at s tobacco pot waited patiently for the of the story if i must i must remarked the illustrious taking a pinch of snuff but i must beg leave to put mr wells back a few hundred years for of all things i love the true to proceed then our hero being anxious to continue his journey and learning that it would be some time before any wells conveyance would be ready determined to push on alone mounted on his gallant grey travelling was particularly dangerous at that time for besides the usual perils which beset the southern parts of england were in a lawless and disturbed state which bordered on the young man however having loosened his sword in his so as to be ready for every galloped cheerily upon his way guiding himself to the best of his ability by the light of the rising moon he had not gone far before he that the which had been impressed upon him by the landlord and which he had been inclined to look upon as self interested advice were only too well justified at a spot the road was particularly rough and ran across some marsh land he perceived a short distance from him a dark shadow which his practised eye detected at once as a body of crouching men up his horse within a few yards of the he wrapped his cloak round his bridle arm and summoned the party to stand forth what ho my masters i he cried are beds so scarce then that ye must the high road of the king with your bodies now by st of there be those who might think that birds who fly o nights were after higher game than the or the i blades and comrades exclaimed a tall powerful man springing into the centre of the road with several companions and standing in front of the wells frightened horse who is this summons his majesty s from their repose a very o truth hark ye sir or my lord or thy grace or whatsoever title your honour s honour may be pleased to approve thou must thy tongue play or by the seven of thou may find in but a sorry plight i then that thou wilt to me who and what ye are our hero and whether your purpose be such as an honest man may approve of as to your threats they turn from my mind as your weapons would shiver upon my from nay interrupted one of the party address him who seemed to be their leader this is a lad of and such a one as our honest jack long but we not with empty hands look ye sir there is game which it may need such bold hunters as to follow come with us and take a of and we will find better work for that of thine than getting its owner into and for by my i or no if my axe do but ring against that of thine it will be an ill day for thy father s son for a our hero hesitated as to whether it would best become his traditions to himself against his enemies or whether it might not be better to obey their prudence mingled with a large share of curiosity eventually carried the day and from his horse he intimated that he was ready to follow his ca wells spoken like a man cried he whom they as jack will be right glad of such a blood and but thou hast the of a ox and i swear by the of my sword that it might have gone ill with some of us thou not listened to reason nay not so good not so a very small man who had remained in the background while there was any prospect of a but who now came pushing to the front thou been	4
alone it might indeed have been so perchance but an dan at pleasure such a one as this young knight well i remember in the how i to the even such another the baron von he struck at me look ye so but i with and blade did as one might say it and then in i returned in and so st save us who comes here the apparition which frightened the little man was sufficiently strange to cause a even in the bosom of the knight through the darkness there loomed a figure which appeared to be of gigantic size and a hoarse voice issuing apparently some distance above the heads of the party broke roughly on the silence of the night now out upon thee thomas and foul be thy fate if thou hast abandoned thy post without good and sufficient cause by st of the holy grove thou best have never been born than rouse my this night wherefore is it that you wells and your men are trailing over the like a flock of when is near good captain said his bonnet an example followed by others of the band we have captured a goodly youth who was it along the london road that some word of thanks were meet reward for such service rather than or threat nay take it not to heart bold exclaimed their leader who was none other than the great jack himself thou of old that my temper is somewhat and my tongue not with that which the mouths of the lip serving lords of the land and you he continued turning suddenly upon our hero are you ready to join the great cause which will make england what it was when the learned alfred reigned in the land man speak out and pick not your phrases i am ready to do aught which may become a knight and a gentleman said the soldier stoutly taxes shall be swept away cried excitedly the and the the and the hundred tax the poor man s salt box and flour bin shall be as free as the nobleman s cellar ha what thou it is but just said our hero ay but they give us such justice as the gives the roared the orator down with them i say down with every man of them noble and judge priest and king down with them all t wells j nay said sir wells drawing himself up to his full height and laying his hand upon the of his sword there i cannot follow thee but must rather defy thee as traitor and seeing that thou art no true man but one who would the rights of our master the king whom may the virgin protect at these bold words and the defiance which they conveyed the seemed for a moment utterly bewildered but encouraged by the hoarse shout of their leader they their weapons and prepared to fall upon the knight who placed himself in a posture for defence and awaited their attack there now cried sir walter rubbing his hands and put the in a pretty warm corner and we ll see which of you can take him o t ne er a word more will ye get me ta help him one way or the other you try your hand james cried several voices and the author in question had got so far as to an allusion to a solitary who was approaching when he was interrupted by a tall gentleman a little farther down with a slight and a very nervous manner excuse me he said but i fancy that i may be able to do something here some of my humble productions have been said to sir walter at his best and i was undoubtedly stronger all round i could picture modern society as well as ancient and as to my plays why shakespeare never came near the wells lady of for popularity there is this little thing here he among a great pile of papers in front of him ah that s a report of mine when i was in india i here it is no this is one of my speeches in the house and this is my criticism didn t i warm up i can t find what i wanted but of course you have read them all and and the last of the every knows them by heart as poor would have said allow me to give you a in spite of the gallant knight s resistance the combat was too unequal to be sustained his sword was broken by a from a brown bill and he was borne to the ground he expected immediate death but such did not seem to be the intention of the who had captured him he was placed upon the back of his own and borne bound hand and foot over the in the of which the themselves in the depths of these there stood a stone building which had once been a farm house but having been for some reason abandoned had fallen into ruin and had now become the of and his men a large near the farm had been as sleeping quarters and some rough attempts had been made to shield the principal room of the main building from the weather by stopping up the gaping in th walls in this apartment was spread out a rough meal for the returning and wells our hero was thrown still bound into an empty there to await his fate sir walter had been listening with the greatest impatience to s narrative but when it had reached this point he broke in impatiently we want a touch of your own style man he said the animal hysterical sort of story is all your own but at present you are just a poor copy of myself and nothing more there was a murmur	4
he led a solitary life avoiding female society and reading with great diligence he was one of the foremost men of his year taking the senior for and the prize for t john cow how well i can recollect the first time we met her often and often i have recalled the circumstances and tried to remember what the exact impression was which she produced on my mind at the time after we came to know her my judgment was so that i an curious to recollect what my instincts were it is hard however to the feelings which reason or prejudice afterwards raised in me it was at the opening of the royal academy in the spring of my poor friend was passionately attached to art in every form and a pleasing in music or a delicate effect upon canvas would give exquisite pleasure to his highly strung nature we had gone together to see the pictures and were standing in the grand central when i noticed an beautiful woman standing at the other side of the room in my whole life i have never seen such a perfect countenance it was the real greek type the forehead broad very low and as white as marble with a of delicate locks round it the nose straight and clean cut the lips inclined to the chin and lower jaw beautifully rounded off and yet sufficiently developed to promise unusual strength of character but those eyes those wonderful eyes if i could but give some faint idea of their varying moods their hardness their feminine softness their power of command their penetrating intensity suddenly melt ing away into an expression of womanly weakness but i am speaking now of future impressions i was a tall yellow haired with this lady whom i at once recognised as a law with whom i had a slight acquaintance for that was his name was a dashing handsome young fellow and had at one time been a in every university but of late i had seen little of him and the report was that he was engaged to be married his companion was then i presumed his i seated myself upon the velvet in the centre of the room and watched the couple from behind my catalogue the more i looked at her the more her beauty grew upon me she was somewhat short in stature it is true but her figure was perfection and she bore her self in such a fashion that it was only by actual com that one would have known her to be under the medium height as i kept my eyes upon them was called away for some reason and the young lady was left alone turning her back to the pictures she passed the time until the return of her escort in taking a deliberate survey of the company without paying the least heed to the fact that a dozen pair of eyes attracted by her elegance and beauty were bent curiously upon her with one of her hands holding the red silk cord which off the pictures she stood languidly moving her eyes from face to face i john a ton co with as little self consciousness as if she were looking at the canvas creatures behind her suddenly as i watched her i saw her gaze become fixed and as it were intense i followed the direction of her looks wondering what could have attracted her so strongly john was standing before a picture one i think by i know that the subject was a noble and ethereal one his was turned towards us and never have i seen him to such advantage i have said that he was a strikingly handsome man but at that moment he looked absolutely magnificent it was evident that he had forgotten his surroundings and that his whole soul was in sympathy with the picture before him his eyes sparkled and a dusky pink shone through his clear olive cheeks she continued to watch him with a look of interest upon her face until he came out of his reverie with a start and turned abruptly round so that his gaze met hers she glanced away at once but his eyes remained fixed upon her for some moments the picture was forgotten already and his soul had come down to earth once more we caught sight of her once or twice before we left and each time i noticed my friend look after hen he made no remark however until we got out into the open air and were walking arm in arm along princes street did you notice that beautiful woman in the dark dress with the white fur he asked yes i saw her i answered do you know her he asked eagerly have you any idea who she is i don t know her personally i replied but i have no doubt i could find out all about her for i believe she is engaged to young and he and i have a lot of mutual friends engaged ejaculated why my dear boy i said laughing you don t mean to say you are so susceptible that the fact that a girl to whom you never spoke in your life is engaged is enough to upset you well not exactly to upset me he answered forcing a laugh but i don t mind telling you that i never was so taken by any one in my life it wasn t the mere beauty of the though that was perfect but it was the character and the intellect upon it i hope if she is engaged that it is to some man who will be worthy of her why i remarked speak quite it is a clear case of love at first sight jack however to put your spirit at rest i ll make a point of finding out all about	4
her whenever i meet any fellow who is likely to know thanked me and the conversation drifted off into other channels for several days neither of us made any allusion to the subject though my companion was perhaps a little more dreamy and than usual the incident had almost vanished from my remembrance when one day young john who is a second cousin of mine came up to me on the university steps with the f ce of a bearer of tidings i say he began you know don t you yes what of him his engagement is off i cried why i only learned the other day that it was on oh yes it s all off his brother told me so mean of you know if he has backed out of it for she was an uncommonly nice girl i ve seen her i said but i don t know her name she is a miss and live with an old aunt of hers in place nobody knows anything about her people or where she comes anyhow she is about the most unlucky girl in the world poor soul why unlucky well you know this was her second engagement said young who had a marvellous of knowing everything about everybody she was engaged to william who died that was a very sad affair the wedding day was fixed and the whole thing looked as straight as a die when the came what i asked with some dim recollection of the circumstances why s death he came to place one night and stayed very late no one know john cow exactly when he left but about one in the morning a fellow who knew him met him walking rapidly in the direction of the queen s park he bade him good night but hurried on without him and that was the last time he was ever seen alive three days afterwards his body was found floating in st margaret s under st s chapel no one could ever understand it but of course the verdict brought it in as temporary insanity it was very strange i remarked yes and rough on the poor girl said now that this other blow has come it will quite crush her so gentle and she is too you know her personally then i i asked oh yes i know her i have met her several times i could easily manage that you should be introduced to her well i answered it s not so much for my own sake as for a friend of mine however i don t suppose she will go out much for some little time after this when she does i will take advantage of your we shook hands on this and i thought no more of the matter for some time the next incident which i have to relate as bearing at all upon the question of miss is an unpleasant one yet i must detail it as accurately as possible since it may throw some light upon the one cold night several months after the conversation with my second cousin which i have quoted above i was walking down one of the lowest streets in the john city on my way back from a case which i had attending it was very late and i was picking my way among the dirty who were round the doors of a great gin palace when a man staggered out from among them and held out his hand to me with a drunken the fell full upon his face and to my intense astonishment i recognised in the degraded creature before me my former acquaintance young who had once been famous as one of the most and particular men in the whole college i was so utterly surprised that for a moment i almost doubted the evidence of my own senses but there was no those features which though with drink still retained something of their former i was determined to rescue him for one night at least from the company into which he had fallen i said come along with me i m going in your direction he muttered some apology for his condition and took my arm as i supported him towards his lodgings i could see that he was not only suffering from the effects of a recent but that a long course of had affected his nerves and his brain his hand when i touched it was dry and feverish and he started from every shadow which fell upon the pavement he in his speech too in a manner which suggested the delirium of disease rather than the talk of a john when i got him to his lodgings i partially him and laid him upon his bed his pulse at this time was very high and he was evidently extremely feverish he seemed to have sunk into a and i was about to steal out of the room to warn his landlady of his condition when he started up and caught me by the sleeve of my coat don t go he cried i feel better when you are here i am safe from her then from her i said from whom her her he answered ah you don t know her she is the devil beautiful beautiful but the devil you are feverish and excited i said try and get a little sleep you will wake better sleep he groaned how am i to sleep when i see her sitting down yonder at the foot of the bed with her great eyes watching and watching hour after hour i tell you it all the strength and manhood out of me that s what makes me drink god help me i m half drunk now you are very ill i said putting some to his temples and you are you don t know what you say yes i do he	4
interrupted sharply looking up at me i know very well what i say i brought it upon myself it is my own choice but i couldn t no by heaven i couldn t accept the alternative i couldn t keep my faith to her it was more than man could do john i sat by the side of the bed holding one of his burning hands in mine and wondering over his strange words he lay still for some time and then raising his eyes to me said in a most plaintive voice why did she not give me warning sooner why did she wait until i had learned to love her so f he repeated this question several times rolling his feverish head from side to side and then he dropped into troubled sleep i crept out of the room and having seen that he would be properly cared for left the house his words however rang in my ears for days afterwards and assumed a deeper significance when taken with what was to come my friend had been away for his summer holidays and i had heard nothing of him for several months when the winter came on however i received a from him asking me to secure the old rooms in street for him and telling me the train by which he would arrive i went down to meet him and was delighted to find him looking wonderfully hearty and well by the way he said suddenly that night as we sat in our chairs by the fire talking over the events of the holidays you have never congratulated me yet on what my boy i asked what do you mean to say you have not heard of my engagement engagement i no i answered however i am delighted to hear it and congratulate you with all my heart wonder it didn t come to your ears he said it was the thing you remember that girl whom we both admired so much at the academy what i cried with a vague feeling of apprehension at my heart you don t mean to say that you are engaged to her i thought you would be surprised v he d when i was staying with an old aunt of in in the happened to come there on a visit and as we had mutual friends we soon met i found out that it was a false alarm about her being engaged and then well you know what it is when you are thrown into the society of such a girl in a place like not mind you he added that i consider i did a foolish or hasty thing i have never regretted it for a moment the more i know the more i admire her and love her how ever you must be introduced to her and then you will form your own opinion i expressed my pleasure at the prospect and endeavoured to speak as lightly as i could to upon the subject but i felt depressed and anxious at heart the words of and the unhappy fate of young to my recollection and though i could no reason for it a vague dim fear and distrust of the woman took possession of me it may be that this was foolish prejudice and superstition upon my part and that i involuntarily her future q u john doings and sayings to fit into some half formed wild theory of my own this has been suggested to me by others as an explanation of my narrative they are welcome to their opinion if they can reconcile it with the facts which i have to tell i went round with my friend a few days afterwards to call upon miss i remember that as we went down place our attention attracted by the shrill of a dog which noise proved eventually to come from the house to which we were hound we were shown upstairs where i was introduced to old mrs miss s aunt and to the young lady herself she looked as beautiful as ever and i could not wonder at my friend s her face was a little more flushed than usual and she held in her hand a heavy dog whip with which she had been a small scotch whose cries we had heard in the street the poor brute was up against the wall and evidently completely so said my friend after we had taken our seats you have been falling out with again only a very little quarrel this time she said smiling he is a dear good old fellow but he needs now and then then turning to me we all do that mr don t we what a capital thing if instead of receiving a punishment at the end of our lives we were to have one at once as the dogs do when we did anything wicked it would make us more careful wouldn t it john f i acknowledged that it would supposing that every time a man himself a gigantic hand were to seize him and he were lashed with a whip until he fainted she clenched her white fingers as she spoke and cut out with the dog whip it would do more to keep him good than any number of high minded theories of morality why s id my friend you are quite savage to day no jack she laughed i m only a theory for mr s consideration the two began to chat together about some and i had time to observe mrs who had remained silent our short conversation she was a very strange looking old lady what attracted attention most in her appearance was the utter want of colour which she exhibited her hair was snow white and her face extremely pale her lips were and even her eyes	4
were of such a light tinge of blue that they hardly relieved the general her dress was a grey silk which with her general appearance she had a peculiar expression of countenance which i was unable at the moment to refer to its proper cause she was working at some old fashioned piece of ornamental and as she moved her arms her dress gave forth a dry melancholy rustling like the sound of leaves in the autumn there was something mournful and in the sight of her i john moved my chair a little nearer and asked her how she liked and whether she had been there long when i spoke to her she started and looked up at me with a scared look on her face then i saw in a moment what the expression was which i had observed there it was one of fear intense and overpowering fear it was so marked that i could have my life on the woman before me having at some period of her life been subjected to some terrible experience or dreadful misfortune oh yes i like it she said in a soft timid voice and we have been here long that is not very long we move about a great deal she spoke with hesitation as if afraid of committing herself you are a native of scotland i presume i said no that is not entirely we are not natives of any place we are you know she glanced round in the direction of miss as she spoke but the two were still together near the window then she suddenly bent forward to me with a look of intense earnestness upon her face and said don t talk to me any more please she does not like it and i shall suffer for it afterwards please don t do it i was about to ask her the reason for this strange request but when she saw i was going to address her she rose and walked slowly out of the room as she did so i perceived that the lovers had ceased to talk john j and that miss was looking at me with her keen grey eyes you must excuse my aunt mr she said she is odd and easily fatigued come over and look at my we spent some time examining the portraits miss s father and mother were apparently ordinary mortals enough and i could not detect in either of them any traces of the character which showed itself in their daughter s face there was one old however which arrested my attention it represented a man of about the age of forty and strikingly handsome he was clean shaven and extraordinary power was expressed upon his prominent lower jaw and firm straight mouth his eyes were somewhat deeply set in his head however and there was a snake like at the upper part of his forehead which from his appearance i almost involuntarily when i saw the head pointed to it and exclaimed there is your in your family miss do you think so she said i am afraid you are paying me a very bad compliment uncle was always considered the black sheep of the family indeed i answered my remark was an unfortunate one then oh don t mind that she said i always thought myself that he was worth all of them put together he was an officer in the forty first regiment and he john was killed in action during the war so he died nobly at any rate that s the sort of death i should like to die said his dark eyes flashing as they would when he was excited i often wish i had taken to my father s profession instead of this vile come jack you are not going to die any sort of death yet she said tenderly taking his hand in hers i could not understand the woman there was such an extraordinary mixture of masculine decision and womanly tenderness about her with the consciousness of something all her own in the background that she fairly puzzled me i hardly knew therefore how to answer when as we walked down the street together he asked the comprehensive question well what do you think of her i think she is wonderfully beautiful i answered that of course he replied you knew that before you came i think she is very clever too i remarked walked on for some time and then he suddenly turned on me with the strange question do you think she is cruel do you think she is the sort of girl who would take a pleasure in pain well really i answered i have hardly had time to form an opinion we then walked on for some time in silence john i she is an old fool at length muttered who is i asked why that old woman that aunt of s mrs or whatever her name is then i knew that my poor friend had been speaking to but he never said anything more as to the nature of her communication my companion went to bed early that night and i sat up a long time by the fire thinking over all that i had seen and heard i felt that there was some mystery about the girl some dark so strange as to defy conjecture i thought of s interview with her before their marriage and the fatal termination of it i coupled it with poor drunken plaintive cry why did she not tell me sooner and with the other words he had spoken then my mind ran over mrs s warning to me reference to her and even the episode of the whip and the dog the whole effect of my recollections was unpleasant to a degree arid yet there was no charge	4
developed will than any of the rest of the human family there is no reason why he should not be able to rule over them all and to reduce his fellow creatures to the condition of happily there is such a dead level of mental power or rather of mental weakness among us that such a catastrophe is not likely to occur but still within our small john compass there are variations which produce surprising i shall now single out one of the audience and endeavour by the mere power of will to compel him to come upon the platform and do and say what i wish let me assure you that there is no and that the subject whom i may select is at perfect liberty to resent to the any impulse which i may communicate to him with these words the came to the front of the platform and glanced over the first few rows of the no doubt dark skin and bright eyes marked him out as a man of a highly nervous temperament for the picked him out in a moment and fixed his eyes upon him i saw my friend give a start of surprise and then settle down in his chair as if to express his determination not to yield to the influence of the was not a man whose head any great brain power but his gaze was singularly intense and penetrating under the influence of it made one or two motions of his hands as if to grasp the sides of his seat and then half rose but only to sink down again though with an evident effort i was watching the scene with intense interest when i happened to catch a glimpse of miss s face she was sitting with her eyes fixed intently upon the and with such an of concentrated power upon her features as i have never seen on any other human countenance her jaw was firmly set her lips compressed and her ace as hard as if it were a beautiful cut out john ba co of the marble her eyebrows were drawn down however and from beneath them her grey eyes seemed to sparkle and gleam with a cold light i looked at again expecting every moment to see him rise and obey the s wishes when there came from the platform a short gasping cry as of a man utterly worn out and by a prolonged struggle was leaning against the table his hand to his forehead and the perspiration down his face i won t go on he cried addressing the audience f there is a stronger will than mine acting against me you must excuse me for to night the man was evidently ill and utterly unable to proceed so the curtain was lowered and the audience dispersed with comments upon the s sudden i waited outside the hall until my friend and the ladies came out was laughing over his recent experience he didn t succeed with me bob he cried triumphantly as he shook my hand i think he caught a that time yes said miss i think that jack ought to be very proud of his strength of mind don t you mr it took me all my time though my friend said seriously you can t conceive what a strange feeling i had once or twice all the strength seemed to have gone out of me especially t before he himself john i walked round with in order to see the ladies home he walked in front with mrs and i found myself behind with the young lady for a minute or so i walked beside her without making any remark and then i suddenly out in a manner which must have seemed somewhat to her you did that miss did what she asked sharply why the i suppose that is the best way of describing the transaction what a strange idea she said laughing you give me credit for a strong will then yes i said for a strong one why dangerous she asked in a tone of surprise i think i answered that any will which can exercise such power is dangerous for there is always a chance of its being turned to bad uses you would make me out a very dreadful individual mr she said and then looking up suddenly in my face you have never liked me you are suspicious of me and distrust me though i have never given you cause the accusation was so sudden and so true that i was unable to find any reply to it she paused for a moment and then said in a voice which was hard and cold don t let your prejudice lead you to interfere with me however or say anything to your friend mr john s which might lead to a difference between us you would find that to be very bad policy there was something in the way she spoke which gave an indescribable air of a threat to these few words i have no power i said to interfere with your plans for the future i cannot help however from what i have seen and heard having fears for my friend fears i she repeated scornfully pray what have you seen and heard something from mr perhaps i believe he is another of your friends he never mentioned your name to me i answered enough you will be sorry to hear that he is dying as i said it we passed by a lighted window and i glanced down to see what effect my words had upon her she was laughing there was no doubt of it she was laughing quietly to herself i could see merriment in every feature of her face i feared and the woman from that moment more than ever we said little more that night	4
to speak of her as she is i love her too much now he lay still for some time and i had hoped that the brandy had had the effect of sending him to sleep when he suddenly turned his face towards me did you ever read of wolves he asked i answered that i had there is a story he said thoughtfully in one of s books about a beautiful woman who took the form of a wolf at night and devoured her own children i wonder what put that idea into s head he pondered for some minutes and then he cried out for some more brandy there was a small bottle of upon the table and i managed by upon helping him myself to mix about half a with the spirits he drank it off and sank his head once more upon the pillow anything better than that he groaned death is better than that crime and cruelty cruelty and crime anything is better than that and so on with the monotonous refrain until at john in that sentence which followed he had theories of the power of the human will and of the effect of mind upon matter i remember having once read a quaint which i had imagined to be mere at the time of the power of certain human minds and of effects produced by them at a distance was endowed with some exceptional power of the sort the idea grew upon me and very shortly i had evidence which convinced me of the truth of the supposition it happened that at the very time when my mind was dwelling upon this subject i saw a notice in the paper that our town was to be visited by dr the well known medium and was a man whose performance such as it was had been again and again pronounced to be genuine by competent judges he was far above and had the reputation of being the living authority upon the strange of animal and determined therefore to see what the human will could do even against all the of glaring and a public platform i took a ticket for the first night of the performance and went with several student friends we had secured one of the side boxes and did not arrive until after the performance had begun i had hardly taken my seat before i recognised with his and old mrs sitting in the third or fourth row of the they caught sight of me at almost the same moment and we john bowed to each other the first portion of the lecture was somewhat commonplace the giving tricks of pure with one or two of performed upon a subject whom he had brought with him he gave us an exhibition of too throwing his subject into a trance and then demanding particulars as to the movements of absent friends and the whereabouts of hidden objects all of which appeared to be answered satisfactorily i had seen all this before however what i wanted to see now was the effect of the s will when exerted upon some independent member of the audience he came round to that as the concluding exhibition in his performance i have shown you he said that a subject is entirely by the will of the he loses all power of and his very thoughts are such as are suggested to him by the master mind the same end may be attained without any preliminary process a strong will can simply by virtue of its strength take possession of a weaker one even at a distance and can the impulses and the actions of the owner of it if there was one man in the world who had a very much more highly developed will than any of the rest of the human family there is no reason why he should not be able to rule over them all and to reduce his fellow creatures to the condition of happily there is such a dead level of mental power or rather of mental weakness among us that such a catastrophe is not likely to occur but still within our small john it promised to be for the clouds were up in the north west and the dark was drifting across the face of the moon throwing alternate of light and shade upon the rugged surface of the island and the restless sea beyond we were standing talking close by the door of the cottage and i was thinking to myself that my friend was more cheerful than he had been since his illness when he gave a sudden sharp cry and looking round at him i saw by the light of the moon an expression of unutterable horror come over his features his eyes became fixed and staring as if upon some approaching object and he extended his long thin forefinger which quivered as he pointed look there he cried it is she i it is she i you see her there coming down the side of the he me by the wrist as he spoke there she is coming towards us who i cried straining my eyes into the darkness he screamed she has come for me hold me fast old friend don t let me go hold up old man i said clapping him on the shoulder pull yourself together you are dreaming there is nothing to fear she is gone he cried with a gasp of relief no by heaven there she is again and nearer coming nearer she told me she would come for me and she keeps her word come into the house i said his hand as i grasped it was as cold as ice ah i knew it i he shouted there she is waving her arms she is to me it is the signal i must go i am coming i am coming i i threw	4
which nothing escapes his master writes the and hands it across the table don t get on the drink he says no fear of that master and the slips the into his leather and within an hour b he is off upon his long horse on his hundred mile journey to town now has to pass some six or eight of the above mentioned roadside in his day s ride and experience has taught him that if he once breaks his accustomed total the unwonted has an overpowering effect upon his brain shakes his head as he that no earthly consideration will induce him to partake of any liquor until his business is over his only chance is to avoid temptation so knowing that there is the first of these houses c half mile ahead he into a through the bush which will lead him out at the other side is riding resolutely along this narrow path himself upon a danger escaped when he becomes of a black bearded man who is leaning against a tree beside the track this is none other than the keeper who having observed s in the distance has taken a short cut through the bush in order to him morning he cries as the comes up to him morning mate morning where are ye off to to day then off to town says no now are you though you ll have bully times down there for a bit come round and have a drink at my place just by way of luck no says i don t want a drink as b just a little damp i tell ye i don t want one says the angrily well ye needn t be so short about it it s to me whether you drinks or not good good says and has ridden on about twenty yards when he hears the other calling on him to stop see here he says him again if you ll do me a kindness when you re up in town i d be obliged what is it it s a letter jim as i wants posted it s an important one too an i wouldn t trust it with every one but i knows you and if you ll take charge on it it ll be a powerful weight off my mind give it here says i t got it here it s round in my come round for it with me it ain t more n quarter of a mile reluctantly when they reach the tumble down hut the keeper asks him cheerily to and to come in give me the letter says it ain t altogether wrote yet but you sit down here for a minute and it ll be right and so the is into the at last the letter is ready and handed over now says the keeper one drink at my expense before you go s b not a taste says oh that s it is it the other says in an tone youve too damned proud to drink with a poor like me here give us back that letter cursed if tu accept a favour from a man whose too almighty big to have a drink with me well well mate don t turn says jim give us one drink an i m off the keeper out about half a of raw rum and hands it to the the moment he smells the old familiar smell his longing for it returns and he it off at a his e es shine more brightly and his face becomes flushed the keeper watches him narrowly you can go now jim he says steady mate steady says the i m as good a man as you if you stand a drink i can stand one too i suppose so the is and s eyes shine brighter still now one last drink for the good of the house says the keeper and then it s time you were off the has a third from the and with it all his scruples and good resolutions vanish for ever look here he says somewhat taking his out of his you take this mate whoever comes along this road ask em what they ll have and tell them it s my shout let me know when the money s done so the idea of ever getting to as b town and for three weeks or a month he lies about the in a state of extreme and every upon the road to the same condition at last one fine morning the keeper comes to him the coin s done he says it s about time you made some more so has a good wash to sober him his blanket and his to his back and rides off through the bush to the she where he has another year of in another month of all this though typical of the happy go lucky manners of the inhabitants has no direct bearing upon s so we must return to that settlement additions to the population there were not numerous and such as came about the time of which i speak were even and than the original inhabitants in particular there came a brace of named and who rode into camp one day and started a claim upon the other side of the stream they the in the and of their in the of their speech and manner and in their reckless disregard of all social laws they claimed to have come from and there were some amongst us who wished that the jim was on the track once more as long as he would close it to such visitors as these after their arrival the nightly proceedings at the bar and at the gambling hell behind it became more than ever violent quarrels frequently ending in were of constant occur as b the more of the bar began to talk seriously	4
was used to him but all with the same want of success soon it was found that there was a method in his proceedings when silence reigned or when the conversation was of an innocent nature the reading a single word of however set it going again and it would on for a quarter of an hour or so when it stopped only to be renewed upon similar provocation the reading was pretty continuous during that second night for the language of the opposition was still considerably free at least it was an improvement upon the night before for more than a month b carried on this campaign there he would sit night after night with the open book upon his knee and at the slightest provocation off he would go like a musical box when the spring is touched the monotonous became but it could only be avoided by to the parson s code a came to be looked upon with by the community since the punishment of his fell upon all at the end of a fortnight the reader was silent more than half the time and at the end of the month his position was a never was a moral revolution brought about more rapidly and more completely our parson carried his principle into private life i have seen him on hearing an word from some in the rush across bible in hand and himself upon as b i the heap of red clay which surmounted the s claim through the tree at the commencement of the new testament in a most earnest and impressive manner as though it were especially appropriate to the occasion in time an oath became a rare thing amongst us was on the too casual travellers passing through the used to marvel at our state of grace and of it went as far as and excited much comment therein there were points about our which made him especially fitted for the work which he had undertaken a man entirely without vices would have had no common basis on which to work and no means of gaining the sympathy of his flock as we came to know b better we discovered that in spite of his piety there was a of old adam in him and that he had certainly known days he was no on the contrary he could choose his liquor with and lower it in an able manner he played a hand at and there were few who could touch him at cut throat he and the two and used to play for hours in perfect harmony except when the fall of the cards an oath from one of his companions at the first of these the parson would put on a pained smile and gaze reproachfully at the at the second he would reach for his bible and the game was over for the evening he showed us he was a good as b revolver shot too for when we were at an empty brandy bottle outside bar he took up a friend s pistol and hit it in the centre at paces there were few he took up that he could not make a show at apparently except and at that he was the alive it was pitiful to see the little canvas bag with his name printed across it lying placid and empty upon the shelf at s store while all the other bags were increasing daily and some had assumed quite a of form for the weeks were slipping by and it was almost time for the gold train to start off for we reckoned that the amount which we had stored at the time represented the greatest sum which had ever been taken by a single out of s although b appeared to derive a certain quiet satisfaction from the wonderful change which he had effected in the camp his joy was not yet rounded and complete there was one thing for which he still he opened his heart to us about it one evening we d have a blessing on the camp boys he said if we only had a service o some sort on the lord s day it s a o providence to go on in this way without any notice of it except that maybe there s more drunk and more card than on any other day we t got no parson objected one of the crowd as b ye fool growled another t we got a man as is worth any three and can splash around like clay out o a cradle what more d ye want we t got no church i urged the same have it in the open air one suggested or in s store said another or in saloon the last proposal was received with a of approval which showed that it was considered the most appropriate locality saloon was a substantial wooden building in the rear of the bar which was used partly for liquor and partly for a gambling saloon it was strongly built of rough logs the proprietor rightly judging in the days of s that of brandy and rum were which had best be secured under lock and key a strong door opened into each end of the saloon and the interior was spacious enough when the table and lumber were cleared away to accommodate the whole population the spirit barrels were heaped together at one end by their owner so as to make a very fair imitation of a pulpit at first the took but a mild interest in the proceedings but when it became known that b intended after reading the service to address the audience the settlement began to warm up to the occasion a real sermon was a novelty to all of them and one coming from their own parson was as b so rumour announced that it would be with local and that the moral would be	4
pointed by men began to fear that they would be unable to gain seats and many were made to the brothers it was only when shown that the saloon could contain them all with a margin that the camp settled down into calm it was as well that the building was of such a size for the assembly upon the sunday morning was the largest which had ever occurred in the annals of s at first it was thought that the whole population was present but a little reflection showed that this was not so and had gone on a journey among the hills and had not returned as yet and the gold keeper was unable to leave his store having a very large quantity of the precious metal under his charge he stuck to his post feeling that the responsibility was too great to trifle with with these three exceptions the whole of the with clean red shirts and such other additions to their toilet as the occasion demanded sauntered in a straggling line along the pathway which led up to the saloon the interior of the building had been provided with rough benches and the parson with his quiet smile was standing at the door to welcome them good morning boys he cried cheerily as each group came lounging up pass in pass in you ll find this is as good a morning s work as any as b you ve done leave your pistols in this barrel outside the door as you pass you can pick them out as you come out again but it isn t the thing to carry weapons into the house of peace his request was complied with and before the last of the congregation filed in there was a strange of knives and in this when all had assembled the doors were shut and the service began the first and the last which was ever performed at s the weather was and the room close yet the listened with patience there was a sense of novelty in the situation which had its attractions to some it was entirely new others were back by it to another land and other days beyond a disposition which was exhibited by the to at the end of certain prayers by way of showing that they with the sentiments expressed no audience could have behaved better there was a murmur of interest however when b looking down on the congregation from his of began his address he had attired himself with care in honour of the occasion he wore a round the waist with a of china silk a pair of trousers and held his tree hat in his left hand he began speaking in a low tone and it was noticed at the time that he frequently glanced through the small which served for a window which was placed above the heads of those who sat beneath him as b ive put you straight now he said in the course of his address i ve got you in the right if you will but stick in it here he looked very hard out of the window for some seconds you ve learned and industry and with those things you can always make up any loss you may sustain i guess there isn t one of ye that won t remember my visit to this camp he paused for a moment and three revolver shots rang out upon the quiet summer air keep your seats damn ye roared our preacher as his audience rose in excitement if a man of ye moves down he goes i the door s locked on the outside so ye can t get out anyhow your seats ye chuckle headed fools i down with ye ye dogs or i ll fire among ye i astonishment and fear brought us back into our seats and we sat staring at our and each other b whose whole face and even figure appeared to have undergone an extraordinary alteration looked fiercely down on us from his commanding position with a contemptuous smile on his stern face i have your lives in my hands he remarked and we noticed as he spoke that he held a heavy revolver in his hand and that the butt of another one from his i am armed and you are not if one of you moves or speaks he is a dead man if not i shall not harm you you must wait here for an hour why you fools this with a hiss of contempt which rang in our ears for many a long day do you know as b who it is that has stuck you up do you know who it is that has been playing it upon you for months as a parson and a saint jim the ye and and were my two right hand men they re off into the hills with your gold ha would ye this to some member of the audience who down instantly before the fierce eye and the ready weapon of the in an hour they will be clear of any pursuit and i advise you to make the best of it and not to follow or you may lose more than your money my horse is outside this door behind me when the time is up i shall pass through it lock it on the outside and be off then you may break your way out as best you can i have no more to say to you except that ye are the most cursed set of that ever trod in boot leather we had time to mentally this opinion during the long sixty minutes which followed we were powerless before the resolute it is true that if we made a rush we might bear him down at the cost of eight or ten of our number but how could such a rush be without speaking and	4
who would attempt it without a previous agreement that he would be supported there was nothing for it but submission it seemed three hours at the least before the snapped up his watch stepped down from the barrel walked backwards still covering us with his weapon to the door behind him and then passed rapidly through it we heard the creaking of as b the rusty lock and the clatter of his horse s hoofs as he galloped away it has been remarked that an oath had for the last few weeks been a rare thing in the camp we made up for our temporary during the next never was heard such and when at last we succeeded in getting the door off its hinges all sight of both and treasure had disappeared nor have we ever caught sight of either the one or the other since poor true to his trust lay shot through the head across the threshold of his empty store the had descended upon the camp the instant that we had been into the trap murdered the keeper loaded up a small cart with the boot and got safe away to some wild among the mountains where they were joined by their leader s recovered from this blow and is now a flourishing social are not in request there however and morality is at a it is said that an has been held lately upon an stranger who chanced to remark that in so large a place it would be advisable to have some form of sunday service the memory of their one and only is still green among the inhabitants and will be for many a long year to come the ring of mr john smith f r s of a street was a man whose energy of purpose and clearness of thought might have placed him in the very first rank of scientific he was the victim however of a universal ambition which prompted him to aim at distinction in many subjects rather than in one in his early days he had shown an for and for which caused his friends to look upon him as a second but when a was almost within his reach he had suddenly his studies and turned his whole attention to here his upon the of the had won him his fellowship in the royal society but again he played the with his subject and after a year s absence from the he joined the oriental society and delivered a paper on the and of el thus giving a crowning example both of the and of the of his talents the most of however is apt to be caught at last and so it was with john smith the more he his way into the more impressed he became by the vast field t the ring op which it opened to the and by the extreme importance of a subject which promised to throw a light upon the first of human and the origin of the greater part of our arts and so struck was mr smith that he straightway married an young lady who had written upon the sixth and having thus secured a sound base of operations he set himself to collect materials for a work which should unite the of and the ingenuity of the preparation of this many hurried visits to the magnificent egyptian of the upon the last of which no longer ago than the middle of last october he became involved in a most strange and adventure the trains had been slow and the channel had been rough so that the student arrived in paris in a somewhat and feverish condition on reaching the hotel de france in the he had thrown himself upon a sofa for a couple of hours but finding that he was unable to sleep he determined in spite of his fatigue to make his way to the settle the point which he had come to decide and take the evening train back to having come to this conclusion he his for it was a raw rainy day and made his way across the des and down the avenue de once in the he was on familiar ground and he speedily made his way to the collection of which it was his intention to consult the ring of the warmest admirers of john smith could hardly claim for him that he was a handsome man his high nose and prominent chin had something of the same acute and character which distinguished his intellect he held his head in a fashion and too was the motion with which in conversation he threw out his objections and as he stood with the high collar of his raised to his ears he might have seen from the reflection in the glass case before him that his appearance was a singular one yet it came upon him as a sudden jar when an english voice behind him exclaimed in very audible tones what a queer looking mortal the student had a large amount of petty vanity in his composition which manifested itself by an and disregard of all personal considerations he straightened his lips and looked rigidly at the roll of while his heart filled with bitterness against the whole race of travelling yes said another voice he really is an extraordinary fellow do you know said the first speaker one could almost believe that by the continual contemplation of the chap has become half a himself he has certainly an egyptian cast of countenance said the other john smith spun round upon his heel with the intention of his countrymen by a remark or two to his surprise and relief i the ring of the two young fellows who had been conversing had their shoulders turned towards him and were gazing at one of the attendants who was some brass work at the other side of the room will be	4
waiting for us at the royal said one to the other glancing at his watch and they away leaving the student to his labours i wonder what these call an egyptian cast of countenance thought john smith and he moved his position slightly in order to catch a glimpse of the man s face he started as his eyes fell upon it it was indeed the very face with which his studies had made him familiar the regular features broad brow well rounded chin and dusky complexion were the exact of the innumerable statues cases and pictures which adorned the walls of the apartment the thing was beyond all coincidence the man must be an egyptian the national of the shoulders and of the were alone sufficient to identify him john smith towards the attendant with some intention of addressing him he was not light of touch in conversation and found it difficult to strike the happy mean between the of the superior and the of the equal as he came nearer the man presented his side face to him but kept his gaze still bent upon his work smith fixing his eyes upon the fellow s skin was conscious of a sudden impression that there was something the ring of ig and about its appearance over the temple and cheek bone it was as glazed and as shiny as there was no suggestion of one could not fancy a drop of moisture upon that arid surface from brow to chin however it was cross by a million delicate wrinkles which shot and as though nature in some mood had tried how wild and intricate a pattern she could devise oil est la collection de asked the student with the awkward air of a man who is a question merely for the purpose of opening a conversation replied the man nodding his head at the other side of the room un n est ce pas asked the englishman the attendant looked up and turned his strange dark eyes upon his they were with a misty dry such as smith had never seen in a human head before as he gazed into them he saw some strong emotion gather in their depths which rose and deepened until it broke into a look of something akin both to horror and to hatred non je the man turned abruptly and bent low over his the student gazed at him for a moment in astonishment and then turning to a chair in a retired corner behind one of the doors he proceeded to make notes of his among the his thoughts however refused to ri g of return into their natural they would run upon the attendant with the like face and the skin where have i seen such eyes said smith to himself there is something about them something there s the of the he mused himself of his studies it gives a shiny effect but there was something more here there was a sense of power of wisdom so i read them and of weariness utter weariness and despair it may be all imagination but i never had so strong an impression by jove i must have another look at them he rose and paced round the egyptian rooms but the man who had excited his curiosity had disappeared the student sat down again in his quiet corner and continued to work at his notes he had gained the information which he required from the and it only remained to write it down while it was still fresh in his memory for a time his pencil travelled rapidly over the paper but soon the lines became less level the words more and finally the pencil down upon the floor and the head of the student dropped heavily forward upon his chest tired out by his journey he slept so soundly in his lonely post behind the door that neither the civil guard nor the footsteps of nor even the loud hoarse bell which gives the signal for closing were sufficient to arouse him j the ring of twilight deepened into darkness the bustle from the de and then distant dame out the hour of midnight and still the dark and lonely figure sat silently in the shadow it was not until close upon one in the morning that with a sudden gasp and an of the breath smith returned to consciousness for a moment it flashed upon him that he had dropped asleep in his study chair at home the moon was shining through the window however and as his eye ran along the lines of and the endless array of polished cases he remembered clearly where he was and how he came there the student was not a nervous man he possessed that love of a novel situation which is peculiar to his race stretching out his cramped limbs he looked at his watch and burst into a chuckle as he observed the hour the episode would make an admirable anecdote to be introduced into his next paper as a relief to the graver and heavier speculations he was a little cold but wide awake and much refreshed it was no wonder that the had overlooked him for the door threw its heavy black shadow right across him the complete silence was impressive neither outside nor inside was there a or a murmur he was alone with the dead men of a dead what though the outer city of the nineteenth century in all this chamber there was scarce an article from the ear of wheat to the the ring of box of the painter which had not held its own against four thousand years here was the and washed up by the great ocean of time from that far off empire from stately from from the great temples of from a hundred these relics had been brought the student glanced round at the long silent figures who	4
been unfortunate enough to fall asleep behind this door and you have been watching me the other asked in english with a most look on his corpse like face the student was a man of i confess said he that i have noticed your movements and that they have aroused my curiosity and interest in the highest degree the man drew a long knife from his bosom you have had a very narrow escape he said had i seen you ten minutes ago i should have driven this through your heart as it is if you touch me or interfere with me in any way you are a dead man i have no wish to interfere with you the student answered my presence here is entirely accidental all i ask is that you will have the extreme kindness to show me out through some side door he spoke with great for the man was still pressing the tip of his dagger against the palm of his left hand as though to assure himself of its while his face preserved its malignant expression if i thought said he but no perhaps it is as well what is your name the englishman gave it i ml the ring of smith the other repeated are you the same smith who gave a paper in london upon el i saw a report of it your knowledge of the subject is contemptible sir cried the yet it is superior to that of many who make even greater pretensions the whole of our old life in egypt was not the or monuments of which you make so much but was our philosophy and mystic knowledge of which you say little or nothing our old life repeated the scholar wide eyed and then suddenly good god look at the s face i the strange man turned and flashed his light upon the dead woman uttering a long cry as he did so the action of the air had already undone all the art of the the skin had fallen away the eyes had sunk the lips had away from the yellow teeth and the brown mark upon the forehead alone showed that it was indeed the same face which had shown such youth and beauty a few short minutes before the man his hands together in grief and horror then himself by a strong effort he turned his hard eyes once more upon the englishman it does not matter he said in a shaking voice it does not really matter i came here to night with the fixed determination to do something it is now done all else is as nothing i have found my quest the ring of the old curse is broken i can her what matter about her shell so long as her spirit is awaiting me at the other side of the veil these are wild words said smith he was becoming more and more convinced that he had to do with a madman time presses and i must go continued the other the moment is at hand for which i have waited this weary time but i must show you out first come with me taking up the lamp he turned from the disordered chamber and led the student swiftly through the long series of the egyptian and apartments at the end of the latter he pushed open a small door let into the wall and descended a winding stone stair the englishman felt the cold fresh air of the night upon his brow there was a door opposite him which appeared to communicate with the street to the right of this another door stood throwing a of yellow light across the passage come in here said the attendant shortly smith hesitated he had hoped that he had come to the end of his adventure yet his curiosity was strong within him he could not leave the matter so he followed his strange companion into the lighted chamber it was a small room such as is devoted to a a wood fire sparkled in the grate at one side stood a bed and at the other a coarse wooden chair with a round table in the centre which bore the remains the ring of of a meal as he visitor s eye glanced round he could not but remark with an ever thrill that all the small details of the room were of the most quaint design and antique the the upon the chimney piece the fire irons the ornaments upon the walls were all such as he had been wont to associate with the remote past the man sat himself down upon the edge of the bed and his guest into the chair there may be design in this he said still speaking excellent english it may be that i should leave some account behind as a warning to all rash mortals who would set their wits up against workings of nature i leave it with you make such use as you will of it i speak to you now with my feet upon the threshold of the other world i am as you an egyptian not one of the down trodden race of slaves who now the of the but a of that and harder people who tamed the hebrew drove the back into the southern deserts and built those mighty works which have been the envy and the wonder of all after generations it was in the reign of sixteen hundred years before the birth of christ that i first saw the light you shrink away from me wait and you will see that i am more to be pitied than to be feared my name was my father had been the chief priest of in the great temple of which stood in those days upon the branch of the the ring of i was brought up in the temple end was trained in all those	4
mystic arts which are spoken of in your own bible i was an apt pupil before i was sixteen i had learned all which the wisest priest could teach me from that time on i studied nature s secrets for myself and shared my knowledge with no man of all the questions which attracted me there were none over which i so long as over those which concern themselves with the nature of life i deeply into the vital principle the aim of medicine had been to drive away disease when it appeared it seemed to me that a method might be devised which should so the body as to prevent weakness or death from ever taking hold of it it is useless that i should my you would scarce comprehend them if i did they were carried out partly upon animals partly upon slaves and partly on myself suffice it that their result was to furnish me with a substance which when into the blood would the body with strength to resist the effects of time of violence or of disease it would not indeed confer immortality but its would endure for many thousands of years i used it upon a cat and afterwards the creature with the most deadly that cat is alive in lower egypt at the present moment there was nothing of mystery or magic in the matter it was simply a discovery which may well be made again love of life runs high in the young it seemed to me that i had broken away from all human care now the ring of that i had pain and driven death to such a distance with a light heart i poured the accursed stuff into my veins then i looked for some one whom i could benefit there was a young priest of by name who had won my by his earnest nature and his devotion to his studies to him i whispered my secret and at his request i him with my i should now i reflected never be without a companion of the same age as myself after this grand discovery i relaxed my studies to some extent but continued his with energy every day i could see him working with his and his in the temple of but he said little to me as to the result of his labours for my own part i used to walk through the city and look around me with exultation as i reflected that all this was destined to pass away and that only i should remain the people would bow to me as they passed me for the fame of my knowledge had gone abroad there was war at this time and the great king had sent down his soldiers to the eastern boundary to drive away the a governor too was sent to that he might hold it for the king i had heard much of the beauty of the daughter of this governor but one day as i walked out with we met her borne upon the shoulders of her slaves i was struck with love as with lightning my heart went out from me i could have thrown myself beneath the feet of her this was my woman life without her was impossible i swore by the head u c the ring op of that she should be mine i swore it to the priest of he turned away from me with a brow which was as black as midnight there is no need to tell you of our she came to love me even as i loved her i learned that had seen her before i did and had shown her that he too loved her but i could smile at his passion for i knew that her heart was mine the white plague had come upon the city and many were stricken but i laid my hands upon the sick and nursed them without fear or she at my daring then i told her my secret and begged her that she would let me use my art upon her your flower shall then be i said other things may pass away but you and i and our great love for each other shall the tomb of king but she was full of timid objections was it right she asked was it not a of the will of the gods if the great had wished that our years should be so long would he not himself have brought it about with fond and loving words i overcame her doubts and yet she hesitated it was a great question she said she would think it over for this one night in the morning i should know her resolution surely one night was not too much to ask she wished to pray to for help in her decision with a sinking heart and a sad of evil left her with her in the morning when the ring of j the early sacrifice was over i hurried to her house a slave met me upon the steps her mistress was ill she said very ill in a frenzy i broke my way through the attendants and rushed through hall and corridor to my s chamber she lay upon her couch her head high upon the pillow with a pallid face and a glazed eye on her forehead there blazed a single angry purple patch i knew that hell mark of old it was the of the white plague the of death why should i speak of that terrible time for months i was mad and yet i die never did an thirst after the sweet wells as i longed after death could poison or steel have the thread of my existence i should soon have rejoined my love in the land with the narrow i tried but it was of no avail the accursed influence was too strong upon me one night	4

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