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TAUCHNITZ EDITION
COLLECTION OF BRITISH AND AMERICAN AUTHORS

VOL. 2812 Rüdaan mitinds

A STUDY IN SCARLET
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BY 三
A. CONAN DOYLE
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vol.7
LEIPZIG : BERNHARD TAUCHNITZ

PARIS: LIBRAIRIE HENRI GAULON, 39, RUE MADAME

A complete catalogue of the Tauchnitz Edition, with a list of the latest

additions on page 1, is attached to this volume
Katalog
COLLECTION OF BRITISH AND
AMERICAN AUTHORS

VOL. 2812

7,

BIBLIO
ATS-
IT
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IV

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UN

BASEL
 TAUCHNITZ EDITION

By the same Author

Vol .
THE SIGN OF FOUR . I vol. •
2698
MICAH CLARKE . 2 vols. •
2740. 41
THE CAPTAIN OF THE POLE-STAR. I vol. 2762
THE WHITE COMPANY . 2 vols. 2787.88
A STUDY IN SCARLET . I vol . 2812

THE GREAT SHADOW, AND BEYOND THE CITY . I vol . 2886

THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES . 2 vols. 2896. 97
THE REFUGEES . 2 vols. 2919. 20
THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES . 2 vols. 2972.73
ROUND THE RED LAMP . I vol . 3040
THE EXPLOITS OF BRIGADIER GERARD . I vol. 3122
UNCLE BERNAC . I vol . 3222
THE TRAGEDY OF THE KOROSKO. I vol. 3262
A DUET . I vol. 3354
THE GREEN FLAG, ETC. I vol. 3425
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES . I vol. 3571
ADVENTURES OF GERARD . I vol. 3700
THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES . 2 vols. 3796.97
THROUGH THE MAGIC DOOR , I vol. 4008
ROUND THE FIRE STORIES . I vol . 4077
THE MYSTERY OF CLOOMBER . I vol . 4138
THE LAST GALLEY . I vol . : 4260
THE LOST WORLD . I vol. 4370
THE POISON BELT . I vol. :
4452
THE LAND OF MIST . I vol. 4728
THE CASE- BOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES . I vol. 4790
THE MARACOT DEEP. ETC. I vol. 4905
 A

STUDY IN SCARLET

BY

A. CONAN DOYLE
AUTHOR OF

" MICAH CLARKE, " " THE SIGN OF FOUR," ETC.

COPYRIGHT EDITION BIBLIO

TATS -
IV ERSI
UN

BASEL

A OM 435 Vil7.
LEIPZIG

BERNHARD TAUCHNITZ

¥38,1855
 CONTENTS.

PART I.

(Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of JOHN H.

WATSON, M.D., late oftheArmy MedicalDepartment ).
Page
CHAPTER I. Mr. Sherlock Holmes •
7

II. The Science of Deduction •

25
III. The Lauriston Gardens Mystery •
47
-

IV. What John Rance had to tell •

72

V. Our Advertisement brings a Visitor. 88

VI. Tobias Gregson shows what he

cando 104
-

VII. Light in the Darkness •

125

PART II.

The Country of the Saints.

CHAPTER I. On the Great Alkali Plain • • • 146
II. The Flower of Utah • •
169
6 CONTENTS.

Page
CHAPTER III. John Ferrier talks with the Prophet 185
IV. A Flight for Life . 197
V. The Avenging Angels 218
-

VI. A Continuation of the Reminis-

cences ofJohn Watson, M.D. 240

VII. The Conclusion 266
 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

PART I.

(Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of JOHN H.

WATSON, M.D. , late of the Army Medical Depart-
ment.)
CHAPTER I.

MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES.

In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor

of Medicine of the University of London, and
proceeded to Netley to go through the course
prescribed for surgeons in the army. Having
completed my studies there, I was duly attached
to the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers as As-

sistant Surgeon. The regiment was stationed in

India at the time, and before I could join it, the
8 STUDY IN SCARLET.

second Afghan war had broken out. On landing

at Bombay, I learned that my corps had ad-
vanced through the passes, and was already deep
in the enemy's country. I followed, however,
with many other officers who were in the same
situation as myself, and succeeded in reaching
Candahar in safety, where I found my regiment,
and at once entered upon my new duties.
The campaign brought honours and promo-
tion to many, but for me it had nothing but mis-
fortune and disaster. I was removed from my
brigade and attached to the Berkshires, with
whom I served at the fatal battle of Maiwand.

There I was struck on the shoulder by a Jezail

bullet, which shattered the bone and grazed the
subclavian artery. I should have fallen into the
hands of the murderous Ghazis had it not been

for the devotion and courage shown by Murray,

my orderly, who threw me across a pack-horse,
and succeeded in bringing me safely to the British
lines.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 9

Worn with pain, and weak from the prolonged

hardships which I had undergone, I was removed,
with a great train of wounded sufferers, to the
base hospital at Peshawur. Here I rallied, and
had already improved so far as to be able to
walk about the wards, and even to bask a little
upon the verandah, when I was struck down by
enteric fever, that curse of our Indian possessions.
For months my life was despaired of, and when
at last I came to myself and became convalescent,
I was so weak and emaciated that a medical

board determined that not a day should be lost

in sending me back to England. I was despatched,
accordingly, in the troopship Orontes, and landed
amonth later on Portsmouth jetty, with my health
irretrievably ruined, but with permission from a
paternal government to spend the next nine
months in attempting to improve it.
I had neither kith nor kin in England, and
was therefore as free as air-or as free as an in-

come of eleven shillings and sixpence a day will

 10 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

permit a man to be. Under such circumstances

I naturally gravitated to London, that great cess-
pool into which all the loungers and idlers of the
Empire are irresistibly drained. There I stayed
for some time at a private hotel in the Strand,
leading a comfortless, meaningless existence, and
spending such money as I had, considerably more
freely than I ought. So alarming did the state
of my finances become, that I soon realized that
I must either leave the metropolis and rusticate
somewhere in the country, or that I must make
a complete alteration in my style of living.
Choosing the latter alternative, I began by mak-
ing up my mind to leave the hotel, and to take
up my quarters in some less pretentious and less
expensive domicile.
On the very day that I had come to this
conclusion, I was standing at the Criterion Bar,
when some one tapped me on the shoulder, and
turning round I recognised young Stamford, who
had been a dresser under me at Barts. The
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. II

sight of a friendly face in the great wilderness of

London is a pleasant thing indeed to a lonely
man. In old days Stamford had never been a
particular crony of mine, but now I hailed him
with enthusiasm, and he, in his turn, appeared to
be delighted to see me. In the exuberance of
my joy, I asked him to lunch with me at the
Holborn, and we started off together in a hansom.
"Whatever have you been doing with your-
self, Watson?" he asked in undisguised wonder,
as we rattled through the crowded London streets.
"You are as thin as a lath and as brown as
a nut."

I gave him a short sketch of my adventures,

and had hardly concluded it by the time that we
reached our destination.

"Poor devil! " he said, commiseratingly, after

he had listened to my misfortunes. "What are
you up to now?"
"Looking for lodgings," I answered. "Trying
12 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

to solve the problem as to whether it is possible

to get comfortable rooms at a reasonable price."
"That's a strange thing," remarked my com-
panion; "you are the second man to-day that has
used that expression to me."
"And who was the first?" I asked.

"A fellow who is working at the chemical

laboratory up at the hospital. He was bemoaning
himself this morning because he could not get
some one to go halves with him in some nice
rooms which he had found, and which were too
much for his purse."
"By Jove! " I cried; "if he really wants some
one to share the rooms and the expense, I am the
very man for him. I should prefer having a partner
to being alone."
Young Stamford looked rather strangely at me
over his wine-glass. " You don't know Sherlock
Holmes yet," he said; "perhaps you would not
care for him as a constant companion."
"Why, what is there against him?"
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 13

"Oh, I didn't say there was anything against

him. He is a little queer in his ideas-an en-
thusiast in some branches of science. As far as

I know he is a decent fellow enough."

"A medical student, I suppose?" said L.
"No---I have no idea what he intends to go
in for. I believe he is well up in anatomy, and
he is a first-class chemist; but, as far as I know,
he has never taken out any systematic medical
classes. His studies are very desultory and
eccentric, but he has amassed a lot of out-of-the-
way knowledge which would astonish his profes-
sors."

"Did you never ask him what he was going

in for?" I asked.

"No; he is not a man that it is easy to draw

out, though he can be communicative enough
when the fancy seizes him."
"I should like to meet him," I said. “ If I
am to lodge with any one, I should prefer a
man of studious and quiet habits. I am not
14 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

strong enough yet to stand much noise or ex-

citement. I had enough of both in Afghanistan
to last me for the remainder of my natural
existence. How could I meet this friend of

yours?"
"He is sure to be at the laboratory," returned
my companion. "He either avoids the place for
weeks, or else he works there from morning till
night. If you like, we shall drive round together
after luncheon."

"Certainly," I answered, and the conversation

drifted away into other channels.
As we made our way to the hospital after
leaving the Holborn, Stamford gave me a few
more particulars about the gentleman whom I
proposed to take as a fellow-lodger.
"You mustn't blame me if you don't get
on with him," he said; "I know nothing more
of him than I have learned from meeting him
occasionally in the laboratory. You proposed
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 15

this arrangement, so you must not hold me re-

sponsible."
"If we don't get on it will be easy to part
company," I answered. "It seems to me, Stam-
ford," I added, looking hard at my companion,
"that you have some reason for washing your
hands of the matter. Is this fellow's temper so
formidable, or what is it? Don't be mealy mouthed
about it."

"It is not easy to express the inexpressible,"

he answered with a laugh. "Holmes is a little
too scientific for my tastes-it approaches to
cold-bloodedness. I could imagine his giving a
friend a little pinch of the latest vegetable
alkaloid, not out of malevolence, you understand,
but simply out of a spirit of inquiry in order
‫م‬

to have an accurate idea of the effects. To

do him justice, I think that he would take it

himself with the same readiness. He appears
to have a passion for definite and exact know-
ledge."
16 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"Very right too."

"Yes, but it may be pushed to excess. When
it comes to beating the subjects in the dissecting-
rooms with a stick, it is certainly taking rather a
bizarre shape."
"Beating the subjects! "
"Yes, to verify how far bruises may be pro-
duced after death. I saw him at it with my own
eyes."
"And yet you say he is not a medical
student?"

"No. Heaven knows what the objects of his

studies are. But here we are, and you must form
your own impressions about him." As he spoke,
we turned down a narrow lane and passed through
a small side-door, which opened into a wing of
the great hospital. It was familiar ground to me,
and I needed no guiding as we ascended the
bleak stone staircase and made our way down the
long corridor with its vista of whitewashed wall
and dun-coloured doors. Near the farther end a
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 17

low arched passage branched away from it and

led to the chemical laboratory.
This was a lofty chamber, lined and littered
with countless bottles. Broad, low tables were
scattered about, which bristled with retorts, test-
tubes, and little Bunsen lamps, with their blue
flickering flames. There was only one student in
the room, who was bending over a distant table
absorbed in his work. At the sound of our steps
he glanced round and sprang to his feet with a
cry of pleasure. "I've found it! I've found it,"
he shouted to my companion, running towards us
with a test-tube in his hand, " I have found a re-
agent which is precipitated by hemoglobin, and
by nothing else." Had he discovered agold mine,
greater delight could not have shone upon his
features.

" Dr. Watson, Mr. Sherlock Holmes ," said

1

Stamford, introducing us.

"How are you?" he said cordially, gripping
my hand with a strength for which I should hardly
2
A Study in Scarlet.
18 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

have given him credit. " You have been in

Afghanistan, I perceive."
"How on earth did you know that?" I asked
in astonishment.

"Never mind," said he, chuckling to himself.

"The question now is about hemoglobin. No
doubt you see the significance of this discovery
of mine?"

"It is interesting, chemically, no doubt," I an-

swered, " but practically--"
"Why, man, it is the most practical medico-
legal discovery for years. Don't you see that it
gives us an infallible test for blood stains. Come
over here now!" He seized me by the coat-sleeve
in his eagerness, and drew me over to the table
at which he had been working. "Let us have
some fresh blood," he said, digging a long bodkin
into his finger, and drawing off the resulting drop
of blood in a chemical pipette. "Now, I add this
small quantity of blood to a litre of water. You
perceive that the resulting mixture has the ap-
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 19

pearance of pure water. The proportion of blood

cannot be more than one in a million. I have no

doubt, however, that we shall be able to obtain

the characteristic reaction." As he spoke, he
threw into the vessel a few white crystals , and
then added some drops of a transparent fluid. In
an instant the contents assumed a dull mahogany
colour, and a brownish dust was precipitated to
the bottom of the glass jar.
"Ha! ha!" he cried, clapping his hands, and
looking as delighted as a child with a new toy.
"What do you think of that?"
"It seems to be a very delicate test," I re-
marked.

"Beautiful! beautiful! The old guaiacum test

was very clumsy and uncertain. So is the micro-
scopic examination for blood corpuscles. The
latter is valueless if the stains are a few hours

old. Now, this appears to act as well whether

the blood is old or new. Had this test been

invented, there are hundreds of men now walking

2*
20 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

the earth who would long ago have paid the

penalty of their crimes."
" Indeed! " I murmured.

"Criminal cases are continually hinging upon

that one point. A man is suspected of a crime
months perhaps after it has been committed. His
linen or clothes are examined and brownish stains

discovered upon them. Are they blood stains, or

mud stains, or rust stains, or fruit stains, or what
are they? That is a question which has puzzled
many an expert, and why? Because there was
no reliable test. Now we have the Sherlock

Holmes' test, and there will no longer be any

difficulty."
His eyes fairly glittered as he spoke, and he
put his hand over his heart and bowed as if
to some applauding crowd conjured up by his
imagination.
"You are to be congratulated," I remarked,
considerably surprised at his enthusiasm.
"There was the case of Von Bischoff at Frank-
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 21

fort last year. He would certainly have been

hung had this test been in existence. Then there
was Mason of Bradford, and the notorious Muller,
and Lefevre of Montpellier, and Samson of New
Orleans. I could name a score of cases in which
it would have been decisive."

"You seem to be a walking calendar of crime,"

said Stamford with a laugh. " You might start a
paper on those lines. Call it the 'Police News of
the Past.'"

"Very interesting reading it might be made,

too," remarked Sherlock Holmes, sticking a small
piece of plaster over the prick on his finger. " I
have to be careful," he continued, turning to me
with a smile, " for I dabble with poisons a good
deal." He held out his hand as he spoke, and I
noticed that it was all mottled over with similar

pieces of plaster, and discoloured with strong

acids.

"We came here on business," said Stamford,

sitting down on a high three-legged stool, and
22 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

pushing another one in my direction with his foot.

"My friend here wants to take diggings; and as
you were complaining that you could get no one
to go halves with you, I thought that I had better
bring you together."
Sherlock Holmes seemed delighted at the idea
of sharing his rooms with me. "I have my eye
on a suite in Baker Street," he said, "which
would suit us down to the ground. You don't
mind the smell of strong tobacco, I hope? "
"I always smoke 'ship's' myself," I answered.
"That's good enough. I generally have chemi-
cals about, and occasionally do experiments.
Would that annoy you?"
"By no means."
" Let me see-what are my other shortcomings.
I get in the dumps at times, and don't open my
mouth for days on end. You must not think I
am sulky when I do that. Just let me alone, and
I'll soon be right. What have you to confess
now? It's just as well for two fellows to know
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 23

the worst of one another before they begin to

live together."
I laughed at this cross-examination. " I keep
a bull pup," I said, " and I object to rows be-
cause my nerves are shaken, and I get up at all
sorts of ungodly hours, and I am extremely lazy.
I have another set of vices when I'm well, but
those are the principal ones at present."
"Do you include violin playing in your cate-
gory of rows?" he asked, anxiously.
"It depends on the player," I answered. "A
well-played violin is a treat for the gods-a badly-
played one ”
"Oh, that's all right," he cried, with a merry
laugh. " I think we may consider the thing as
settled that is, if the rooms are agreeable toyou."
"When shall we see them?"
"Call for me here at noon to-morrow, and we'll
go together and settle everything," he answered.
"All right--noon exactly," said I, shaking his
hand.
24 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

We left him working among his chemicals,

and we walked together towards my hotel.
"By the way," I asked suddenly, stopping and
turning upon Stamford, "how the deuce did he
know that I had come from Afghanistan?"
My companion smiled an enigmatical smile.
"That's just his little peculiarity," he said. "A
good many people have wanted to know how he
finds things out."
"Oh! a mystery is it?" I cried, rubbing my
hands. "This is very piquant. I am much obliged
to you for bringing us together. 'The proper study
of mankind is man,' you know."
"You must study him, then," Stamford said,
as he bade me good-bye. "You'll find him a
knotty problem, though. I'll wager he learns
more about you than you about him. Good-bye."
"Good-bye," I answered, and strolled on to my
hotel, considerably interested in my new acquaint-
ance.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 25

CHAPTER II .

THE SCIENCE OF DEDUCTION .

We met next day as he had arranged, and

inspected the rooms at No. 221B, Baker Street,
of which he had spoken at our meeting. They
consisted of a couple of comfortable bedrooms
and a single large airy sitting-room , cheerfully
furnished, and illuminated by two broad windows.
So desirable in every way were the apartments,
and so moderate did the terms seem when divided

between us, that the bargain was concluded upon

the spot, and we at once entered into possession.
That very evening I moved my things round from
the hotel, and on the following morning Sherlock
Holmes followed me with several boxes and port-
manteaus. For a day or two we were busily
employed in unpacking and laying out our pro
26 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

perty to the best advantage. That done, we

gradually began to settle down and to accom-
modate ourselves to our new surroundings.
Holmes was certainly not a difficult man to
live with. He was quiet in his ways, and his
habits were regular. It was rare for him to be
up after ten at night, and he had invariably
breakfasted and gone out before I rose in the
morning. Sometimes he spent his day at the
chemical laboratory, sometimes in the dissecting
rooms, and occasionally in long walks , which ap-
peared to take him into the lowest portions of
the city. Nothing could exceed his energy when
the working fit was upon him; but now and again
a reaction would seize him, and for days on end
he would lie upon the sofa in the sitting room,
hardly uttering a word or moving a muscle from
morning to night. On these occasions I have
noticed such a dreamy, vacant expression in his
eyes, that I might have suspected him of being
addicted to the use of some narcotic, had not the
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 27

temperance and cleanliness of his whole life for-

bidden such a notion.

As the weeks went by, my interest in him

and my curiosity as to his aims in life gradually
deepened and increased. His very person and
appearance were such as to strike the attention of
the most casual observer. In height he was rather
over six feet, and so excessively lean that he
seemed to be considerably taller. His eyes were
sharp and piercing, save during those intervals of
torpor to which I have alluded; and his thin,
hawk-like nose gave his whole expression an air
of alertness and decision. His chin, too, had the
prominence and squareness which mark the man
of determination. His hands were invariably
blotted with ink and stained with chemicals , yet
he was possessed of extraordinary delicacy of
touch , as I frequently had occasion to observe
when I watched him manipulating his fragile
philosophical instruments.
The reader may set me down as a hopeless
28 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

busybody, when I confess how much this man

stimulated my curiosity, and how often I en-
deavoured to break through the reticence which
he showed on all that concerned himself. Before

pronouncing judgment, however, be it remem-

bered, how objectless was my life, and how little
there was to engage my attention. My health
forbade me from venturing out unless the weather
was exceptionally genial, and I had no friends
who would call upon me and break the monotony
of my daily existence. Under these circumstances,
I eagerly hailed the little mystery which hung
around my companion, and spent much of my
time in endeavouring to unravel it.
He was not studying medicine. He had him-
self, in reply to a question, confirmed Stamford's
opinion upon that point. Neither did he appear
to have pursued any course of reading which
might fit him for a degree in science or any
other recognised portal which would give him an
entrance into the learned world. Yet his zeal
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 29

for certain studies was remarkable, and within

eccentric limits his knowledge was so extra-
ordinarily ample and minute that his observations
have fairly astounded me. Surely no man would
work so hard or attain such precise information
unless he had some definite end in view. Desul-

tory readers are seldom remarkable for the ex-

actness of their learning. No man burdens his
mind with small matters unless he has some very
good reason for doing so.
His ignorance was as remarkable as his know-
ledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy
and politics he appeared to know next to no-
thing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he
enquired in the naïvest way who he might be
and what he had done. My surprise reached a
climax , however, when I found incidentally that
he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and
of the composition of the Solar System. That
any civilized human being in this nineteenth cen-
tury should not be aware that the earth travelled
30 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

round the sun appeared to be to me such an ex-

traordinary fact that I could hardly realize it.
"You appear to be astonished," he said, smil-
ing at my expression of surprise. "Now that I do
know it I shall do my best to forget it."
"To forget it!"
"You see," he explained, " I consider that a
man's brain originally is like a little empty attic,
and you have to stock it with such furniture as
you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of
every sort that he comes across, so that the know-
ledge which might be useful to him gets crowded
out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other
things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his
hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very
careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-

attic. He will have nothing but the tools which

may help him in doing his work, but of these he
has a large assortment, and all in the most per-
fect order. It is a mistake to think that that
little room has elastic walls and can distend to
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 31

any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time

when for every addition of knowledge you forget
something that you knew before. It is of the
highest importance, therefore, not to have useless
facts elbowing out the useful ones."
"But the Solar System! " I protested.
"What the deuce is it to me?" he interrupted
impatiently: "you say that we go round the
sun. If we went round the moon it would not

make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my

work."

I was on the point of asking him what that

work might be, but something in his manner
showed me that the question would be an un-
welcome one. I pondered over our short con-
versation, however, and endeavoured to draw my
deductions from it. He said that he would ac-

quire no knowledge which did not bear upon his

object. Therefore all the knowledge which he
possessed was such as would be useful to him.
I enumerated in my own mind all the various
32 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

points upon which he had shown me that he was

exceptionally well-informed. I even took a pencil
and jotted them down. I could not help smiling
at the document when I had completed it. It
ran in this way:-

SHERLOCK HOLMES-his limits.

1. Knowledge of Literature.-Nil.
2. " " Philosophy.-Nil.
3. Astronomy.-Nil.
4. ‫وو‬ " Politics . Feeble.
5. " "
Botany. Variable. Well up inbella-
donna, opium, and poisons
generally. Knows nothing
ofpractical gardening.
6. " " Geology.-Practical, but limited. Tells
at a glance different soils
from each other. After
walks has shown me
splashes upon his trousers,
and told meby their colour
and consistence in what
part of London he had
received them .
7- " " Chemistry.-Profound.
४. " "
Anatomy.-Accurate, but unsystem-
atic.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 33

9. Knowledge of Sensational Literature.-Immense. He

appears to

know every
detailofevery
horror perpe-
trated in the

century.
10. Plays the violin well.
11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman.
12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.

When I had got so far in my list I threw it

into the fire in despair. "If I can only find
what the fellow is driving at by reconciling all
these accomplishments , and discovering a calling
which needs them all," I said to myself, "I may
as well give up the attempt at once."
I see that I have alluded above to his powers
upon the violin. These were very remarkable,
but as eccentric as all his other accomplishments.
That he could play pieces, and difficult pieces, I
knew well , because at my request he has played
me some of Mendelssohn's Lieder, and other
favourites. When left to himself, however, he
A Study in Scarlet. 3
34 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

would seldom produce any music or attempt any

recognised air. Leaning back in his arm-chair of
an evening, he would close his eyes and scrape
carelessly at the fiddle which was thrown across
his knee. Sometimes the chords were sonorous

and melancholy. Occasionally they were fantastic

and cheerful. Clearly they reflected the thoughts
which possessed him, but whether the music
aided those thoughts, or whether the playing
was simply the result of a whim or fancy, was
more than I could determine. I might have re-
belled against these exasperating solos had it not
been that he usually terminated them by playing
in quick succession a whole series of my favourite
airs as a slight compensation for the trial upon
my patience.
During the first week or so we had no callers,
and I had begun to think that my companion was
as friendless a man as I was myself. Presently,
however, I found that he had many acquaintances,
and those in the most different classes of society.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 35

There was one little sallow, rat-faced, dark-eyed

fellow, who was introduced to me as Mr. Lestrade,
and who came three or four times in a single
week. One morning a young girl called, fashion-
ably dressed, and stayed for half an hour or more.
The same afternoon brought a grey-headed, seedy
visitor, looking like a Jew pedlar, who appeared
to me to be much excited, and who was closely
followed by a slip-shod elderly woman. On an-
other occasion an old white-haired gentleman had
an interview with my companion; and on another,
a railway porter in his velveteen uniform. When
any of these nondescript individuals put in an
appearance, Sherlock Holmes used to beg for the
use of the sitting-room, and I would retire to my
bed-room. He always apologised to me for
putting me to this inconvenience. "I have to use
this room as a place of business," he said, " and
these people are my clients." Again I had an
opportunity of asking him a point-blank question,
and again my delicacy prevented me from forcing
3*
36 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

another man to confide in me. I imagined at

the time that he had some strong reason for not
alluding to it, but he soon dispelled the idea
by coming round to the subject of his own
accord.

It was upon the 4th of March, as I have good

reason to remember, that I rose somewhat earlier
than usual, and found that Sherlock Holmes had
not yet finished his breakfast. The landlady had
become so accustomed to my late habits that my
place had not been laid nor my coffee prepared.
With the unreasonable petulance of mankind I
rang the bell and gave a curt intimation that I
was ready. Then I picked up a magazine from
the table and attempted to while away the time
with it, while my companion munched silently at
his toast. One of the articles had a pencil mark
at the heading, and I naturally began to run my
eye through it.
Its somewhat ambitious title was "The Book

of Life," and it attempted to show how much an

 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 37

observant man might learn by an accurate and

systematic examination of all that came in his
way. It struck me as being a remarkable mixture
of shrewdness and of absurdity. The reasoning
was close and intense, but the deductions ap-
peared to me to be far-fetched and exaggerated.
The writer claimed by a momentary expression,
a twitch of a muscle or a glance of an eye, to
fathom a man's inmost thoughts. Deceit, accord-
ing to him, was an impossibility in the case of
one trained to observation and analysis. His con-
clusions were as infallible as so many propositions
of Euclid. So startling would his results appear
to the uninitiated that until they learned the pro-
cesses by which he had arrived at them they
might well consider him as a necromancer.
"From a drop of water," said the writer, " a
logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic
or a Niagara without having seen or heard of one
or the other. So all life is a great chain, the
nature of which is known whenever we are shown
38 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

a single link of it. Like all other arts, the Science

of Deduction and Analysis is one which can only
be acquired by long and patient study, nor is life
long enough to allow any mortal to attain the
highest possible perfection in it. Before turning
to those moral and mental aspects of the matter
which present the greatest difficulties, let the in-
quirer begin by mastering more elementary
problems. Let him, on meeting a fellow-mortal,
learn at a glance to distinguish the history of the
man, and the trade or profession to which he
belongs. Puerile as such an exercise may seem,
it sharpens the faculties of observation , and
teaches one where to look and what to look for.

By a man's finger-nails, by his coat-sleeve, by his

boot, by his trouser-knees, by the callosities of his
forefinger and thumb, by his expression, by his
shirt-cuffs-by each of these things a man's call-
ing is plainly revealed That all united should
fail to enlighten the competent inquirer in any
case is almost inconceivable."
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 39

"What ineffable twaddle!" I cried, slapping

the magazine down on the table; "I never read
such rubbish in my life."
"What is it?" asked Sherlock Holmes.

"Why, this article," I said, pointing at it with

my egg-spoon as I sat down to my breakfast. "I
see that you have read it since you have marked
it. I don't deny that it is smartly written. It
irritates me though. It is evidently the theory of
some arm-chair lounger who evolves all these neat
little paradoxes in the seclusion of his own study.
It is not practical. I should like to see him
clapped down in a third-class carriage on the
Underground, and asked to give the trades of all
his fellow-travellers. I would lay a thousand to
one against him."

"You would lose your money," Holmes re-

marked calmly. "As for the article, I wrote it
myself."
"You!"
40 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"Yes; I have a turn both for observation and

for deduction. The theories which I have ex-

pressed there , and which appear to you to be so

chimerical, are really extremely practical-so
practical that I depend upon them for my bread
and cheese."

"And how?" I asked involuntarily.

"Well, I have a trade of my own. I suppose
I am the only one in the world. I'm a consult-
ing detective, if you can understand what that is.
Here in London we have lots of Government de-
tectives and lots of private ones. When these
fellows are at fault, they come to me, and I
manage to put them on the right scent. They
lay all the evidence before me, and I am generally
able, by the help of my knowledge of the history
of crime, to set them straight. There is a strong
family resemblance about misdeeds, and if you
have all the details of a thousand at your finger
ends, it is odd if you can't unravel the thousand
and first. Lestrade is a well-known detective.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 41

He got himself into a fog recently over a forgery

case, and that was what brought him here."
"And these other people ?"
"They are mostly sent on by private inquiry
agencies. They are all people who are in trouble
about something, and want a little enlightening.
I listen to their story, they listen to my comments,
and then I pocket my fee."
"But do you mean to say," I said, "that with-
out leaving your room you can unravel some knot
which other men can make nothing of, although
they have seen every detail for themselves?"
"Quite so. I have a kind of intuition that
way. Now and again a case turns up which is a
little more complex. Then I have to bustle about
and see things with my own eyes. You see I
have a lot of special knowledge which I apply to
the problem, and which facilitates matters wonder-
fully. Those rules of deduction laid down in that
article which aroused your scorn are invaluable to
me in practical work. Observation with me is
42 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

second nature. You appeared to be surprised

when I told you, on our first meeting, that you
had come from Afghanistan."
"You were told, no doubt."
"Nothing of the sort. I knew you came from
Afghanistan. From long habit the train of thoughts
ran so swiftly through my mind that I arrived at
the conclusion without being conscious of inter-
mediate steps. There were such steps, however.
The train of reasoning ran , 'Here is a gentleman
of a medical type, but with the air of a military
man. Clearly an army doctor, then. He has
just come from the tropics, for his face is dark,
and that is not the natural tint of his skin , for
his wrists are fair. He has undergone hardship
and sickness , as his haggard face says clearly.
His left arm has been injured. He holds it in a
stiff and unnatural manner. Where in the tropics
could an English army doctor have seen much
hardship and got his arm wounded? Clearly in
Afghanistan.' The whole train of thought did
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 43

not occupy a second. I then remarked that

you came from Afghanistan, and you were
astonished."

"It is simple enough as you explain it," I

said, smiling. "You remind me of Edgar Allen
Poe's Dupin. I had no idea that such individuals
did exist outside of stories."

Sherlock Holmes rose and lit his pipe. "No

doubt you think that you are complimenting me
in comparing me to Dupin," he observed. "Now,
in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow.
That trick of his of breaking in on his friends'
thoughts with an apropos remark after a quarter
of an hour's silence is really very showy and
superficial. He had some analytical genius, no
doubt; but he was by no means such a
phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine."
"Have you read Gaboriau's works?" I asked.
"Does Lecoq come up to your idea of a de-
tective?"

Sherlock Holmes sniffed sardonically. " Lecoq

44 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

was a miserable bungler," he said, in an angry

voice; "he had only one thing to recommend him,
and that was his energy. That book made me
positively ill. The question was how to identify
an unknown prisoner. I could have done it in
twenty-four hours. Lecoq took six months or so.
It might be made a text-book for detectives to
teach them what to avoid."

I felt rather indignant at having two characters

whom I had admired treated in this cavalier style.
I walked over to the window, and stood looking
out into the busy street. " This fellow may be
very clever," I said to myself, "but he is certainly
very conceited."
"There are no crimes and no criminals in

these days," he said, querulously. "What is the

use of having brains in our profession. I know
well that I have it in me to make my name
famous. No man lives or has ever lived who has

brought the same amount of study and of natural

talent to the detection of crime which I have
 A STUDY IN SCARLET . 45

done. And what is the result? There is no

crime to detect, or, at most, some bungling

villainy with a motive so transparent that even a
Scotland Yard official can see through it."
I was still annoyed at his bumptious style of
conversation. I thought it best to change the
topic.
"I wonder what that fellow is looking for?"
I asked, pointing to a stalwart, plainly-dressed
individual who was walking slowly down the other
side of the street, looking anxiously at the numbers.
He had a large blue envelope in his hand, and
was evidently the bearer of a message.
"You mean the retired sergeant of Marines,"
said Sherlock Holmes.

"Brag and bounce!" thought I to myself.

"He knows that I cannot verify his guess."
The thought had hardly passed through my
mind when the man whom we were watching
caught sight of the number on our door, and ran
rapidly across the roadway. We heard a loud
46 A STUDY IN SCARLET .

knock, a deep voice below, and heavy steps

ascending the stair.
"For Mr. Sherlock Holmes," he said, stepping
into the room and handing my friend the letter.
Here was an opportunity of taking the conceit
out of him. He little thought of this when he
made that random shot. “May I ask, my lad," I
said, in the blandest voice, "what your trade may
be?"

"Commissionaire, sir," he said, gruffly. " Uni-

form away for repairs."
"And you were?" I asked, with a slightly
malicious glance at my companion.
"A sergeant, sir, Royal Marine Light Infantry,
sir. No answer? Right, sir."
He clicked his heels together, raised his hand
in a salute, and was gone.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 47

CHAPTER III.

THE LAURISTON GARDEN MYSTERY.

I CONFESS that I was considerably startled by

this fresh proof of the practical nature of my
companion's theories. My respect for his powers
of analysis increased wondrously. There still
remained some lurking suspicion in my mind,
however, that the whole thing was a pre-arranged
episode, intended to dazzle me, though what
earthly object he could have in taking me in was
past my comprehension. When I looked at him,
he had finished reading the note, and his eyes
had assumed the vacant, lack-lustre expression
which showed mental abstraction.

"How in the world did you deduce that?" I

asked.

"Deduce what?" said he, petulantly.

 Y LET
48 A STUD IN SCAR .

"Why, that he was a retired sergeant of

Marines."

" I have no time for trifles ," he answered,

brusquely; then with a smile, "Excuse my rude-
ness. You broke the thread of my thoughts;
but perhaps it is as well. So you actually were
not able to see that that man was a sergeant of
Marines ?"

"No, indeed."
"It was easier to know it than to explain why
I know it. If you were asked to prove that two
and two made four, you might find some diffi-
culty, and yet you are quite sure of the fact.
Even across the street I could see a great blue
anchor tattooed on the back of the fellow's hand.
That smacked of the sea. He had a military
carriage, however, and regulation side whiskers.
There we have the marine. He was a man with

some amount of self-importance and a certain air

of command. You must have observed the way
in which he held his head and swung his cane.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 49

A steady, respectable, middle-aged man, too, on

the face of him-all facts which led me to believe

that he had been a sergeant."

"Wonderful!" I ejaculated.
"Commonplace," said Holmes, though I thought
from his expression that he was pleased at my
evident surprise and admiration. " I said just
now that there were no criminals. It appears that
I am wrong-look at this!" He threw me over
the note which the commissionaire had brought.
"Why," I cried, as I cast my eye over it,
"this is terrible ! "
"It does seem to be a little out of the com-

mon," he remarked , calmly. " Would you mind

reading it to me aloud?"
This is the letter which I read to him,-

"MY DEAR MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES,

"There has been a bad business during the
night at 3 , Lauriston Gardens, off the Brixton
Road. Our man on the beat saw a light there
A Study in Scarlet. 4
50 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

about two in the morning, and as the house was

an empty one , suspected that something was
amiss. He found the door open , and in the
front room , which is bare of furniture, discovered
the body of a gentleman, well dressed, and hav-
ing cards in his pocket bearing the name of
'Enoch J. Drebber, Cleveland, Ohio , U.S.A.'
There had been no robbery, nor is there any
evidence as to how the man met his death. There

are marks of blood in the room, but there is no

wound upon his person. We are at a loss as to
how he came into the empty house; indeed, the
whole affair is a puzzler. If you can come round
to the house any time before twelve, you will find
me there. I have left everything in statu quo
until I hear from you. If you are unable to come,
I shall give you fuller details, and would esteem
it a great kindness if you would favour me with
your opinion.
"Yours faithfully,
"TOBIAS GREGSON."
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 51

"Gregson is the smartest of the Scotland

Yarders," my friend remarked; "he and Lestrade
are the pick of a bad lot. They are both quick
and energetic, but conventional-shockingly so.
They have their knives into one another, too.
They are as jealous as a pair of professional
beauties. There will be some fun over this case

if they are both upon the scent."

I was amazed at the calm way in which he
rippled on. "Surely there is not a moment to
be lost," I cried; "shall I go and order you a
cab?"

"I'm not sure about whether I shall go. I am

the most incurably lazy devil that ever stood in
shoe leather-that is, when the fit is on me, for
I can be spry enough at times."
"Why, it is just such a chance as you have
been longing for."
"My dear fellow, what does it matter to me?
Supposing I unravel the whole matter, you may
be sure that Gregson, Lestrade, and Co. will
4*
52 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

pocket all the credit. That comes of being an

unofficial personage."
"But he begs you to help him."
"Yes. He knows that I am his superior, and
acknowledges it to me; but he would cut his
tongue out before he would own it to any third
person. However, we may as well go and have a
look. I shall work it out on my own hook. I
may have a laugh at them, if I have nothing else.
Come on!"

He hustled on his overcoat, and bustled about

in a way that showed that an energetic fit had
superseded the apathetic one.
"Get your hat," he said.
"You wish me to come ?"

"Yes, if you have nothing better to do." A

minute later we were both in a hansom, driving
furiously for the Brixton Road.
It was a foggy, cloudy morning, and a dun-
coloured veil hung over the house-tops , looking
like the reflection of the mud-coloured streets
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 53

beneath. My companion was in the best of

spirits, and prattled away about Cremona fiddles,
and the difference between a Stradivarius and an

Amati. As for myself, I was silent, for the dull

weather and the melancholy business upon which
we were engaged, depressed my spirits.
"You don't seem to give much thought to the
matter in hand," I said at last, interrupting Holmes'
musical disquisition.
"No data yet," he answered. "It is a capital
mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence.
It biases the judgment."
"You will have your data soon," I remarked,
pointing with my finger; "this is the Brixton
Road, and that is the house, if I am not very
much mistaken."

"So it is. Stop, driver, stop !" We were still

a hundred yards or so from it, but he insisted
upon our alighting, and we finished our journey
upon foot.
Number 3 , Lauriston Gardens wore an ill-
54 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

omened and minatory look. It was one of four

which stood back some little way from the street,
two being occupied and two empty. The latter
looked out with three tiers of vacant melancholy
windows, which were blank and dreary, save that
here and there a "To Let❞ card had developed
like a cataract upon the bleared panes. A small
garden sprinkled over with a scattered eruption
of sickly plants separated each of these houses
from the street, and was traversed by a narrow
pathway, yellowish in colour, and consisting ap-
parently of a mixture of clay and of gravel. The
whole place was very sloppy from the rain which
had fallen through the night. The garden was
bounded by a three-foot brick wall with a fringe
of wood rails upon the top, and against this wall
was leaning a stalwart police constable, surrounded
by a small knot of loafers, who craned their necks
and strained their eyes in the vain hope of
catching some glimpse of the proceedings within.
I had imagined that Sherlock Holmes would
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 55

at once have hurried into the house and plunged

into a study of the mystery. Nothing appeared
to be further from his intention. With an air

of nonchalance which, under the circumstances,

seemed to me to border upon affectation, he lounged
up and down the pavement, and gazed vacantly
at the ground, the sky, the opposite houses and
the line of railings. Having finished his scrutiny,
he proceeded slowly down the path, or rather
down the fringe of grass which flanked the path,
keeping his eyes riveted upon the ground. Twice
he stopped, and once I saw him smile, and heard
him utter an exclamation of satisfaction. There

were many marks of footsteps upon the wet clayey

soil; but since the police had been coming and
going over it, I was unable to see how my com-
panion could hope to learn anything from it. Still
I had had such extraordinary evidence of the
quickness of his perceptive faculties, that I had
no doubt that he could see a great deal which
was hidden from me.
56 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

At the door of the house we were met by a

tall, white-faced, flaxen-haired man, with a note-
book in his hand, who rushed forward and wrung
my companion's hand with effusion. "It is indeed
kind of you to come," he said, "I have had every-
thing left untouched."
"Except that! " my friend answered, pointing
at the pathway. "If a herd of buffaloes had
passed along there could not be a greater mess.
No doubt, however, you had drawn your own
conclusions, Gregson, before you permitted this."
"I have had so much to do inside the house,"
the detective said evasively. " My colleague, Mr.
Lestrade, is here. I had relied upon him to look
after this."

Holmes glanced at me and raised his eye-

brows sardonically. " With two such men as your-
self and Lestrade upon the ground, there will
not be much for a third party to find out," he
said.

Gregson rubbed his hands in a self-satisfied

 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 57

way. " I think we have done all that can be

done," he answered; "it's a queer case though,

and I knew your taste for such things."
"You did not come here in a cab ?" asked
Sherlock Holmes .

"No, sir."
"Nor Lestrade ?"

"No, sir."
"Then let us go and look at the room." With
which inconsequent remark he strode on into the
house, followed by Gregson, whose features ex-
pressed his astonishment.
A short passage, bare-planked and dusty, led
to the kitchen and offices. Two doors opened out
of it to the left and to the right. One of these
had obviously been closed for many weeks. The
other belonged to the dining-room, which was the
apartment in which the mysterious affair had
occurred. Holmes walked in, and I followed him
with that subdued feeling at my heart which the
presence of death inspires.
58 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

It was a large square room, looking all the

larger from the absence of all furniture. A vulgar
flaring paper adorned the walls, but it was blotched
in places with mildew, and here and there great
strips had become detached and hung down, ex-
posing the yellow plaster beneath. Opposite the
door was a showy fireplace, surmounted by a
mantel-piece of imitation white marble. On one
corner of this was stuck the stump of a red wax
candle. The solitary window was so dirty that
the light was hazy and uncertain, giving a dull
grey tinge to everything, which was intensified by
the thick layer of dust which coated the whole
apartment.
All these details I observed afterwards. At

present my attention was centred upon the single,

grim, motionless figure which lay stretched upon
the boards, with vacant, sightless eyes staring up
at the discoloured ceiling. It was that of a man
about forty-three or forty-four years of age, middle-
sized, broad-shouldered, with crisp curling black
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 59

hair, and a short, stubbly beard. He was dressed

in a heavy broadcloth frock coat and waistcoat,
with light-coloured trousers, and immaculate collar
and cuffs. A top hat, well brushed and trim, was
placed upon the floor beside him. His hands
were clenched and his arms thrown abroad, while
his lower limbs were interlocked, as though his
death struggle had been a grievous one. On his
rigid face there stood an expression of horror,
and, as it seemed to me, of hatred, such as I
have never seen upon human features. This
malignant and terrible contortion, combined with
the low forehead, blunt nose, and prognathous
jaw, gave the dead man a singularly simious and
ape-like appearance, which was increased by his
writhing, unnatural posture. I have seen death
in many forms, but never has it appeared to me
in a more fearsome aspect than in that dark,
grimy apartment, which looked out upon one of
the main arteries of suburban London.

Lestrade, lean and ferret-like as ever, was

60 A STUDY IN SCARLET .

standing by the doorway, and greeted my com-

panion and myself.
"This case will make a stir, sir," he remarked.
" It beats anything I have seen, and I am no
chicken."

"There is no clue," said Gregson.

"None at all," chimed in Lestrade.
Sherlock Holmes approached the body, and,
kneeling down, examined it intently. " You are
sure that there is no wound?" he asked, pointing
to numerous gouts and splashes of blood which
lay all round.
"Positive! " cried both detectives.

"Then, of course, this blood belongs to a

second individual-presumably the murderer, if
murder has been committed. It reminds me of
the circumstances attendant on the death of Van

Jansen, in Utrecht, in the year '34. Do you

remember the case, Gregson ?"
"No, sir."
"Read it up-you really should. There is
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 61

nothing new under the sun. It has all been done

before."

As he spoke, his nimble fingers were flying

here, there, and everywhere, feeling, pressing, un-
buttoning, examining, while his eyes wore the
same far-away expression which I have already
remarked upon. So swiftly was the examination
made, that one would hardly have guessed the
minuteness with which it was conducted. Finally,
he sniffed the dead man's lips, and then glanced
at the soles of his patent leather boots.
"He has not been moved at all?" he asked.

"No more than was necessary for the purposes

of our examination."

"You can take him to the mortuary now," he

said. " There is nothing more to be learned."
Gregson had a stretcher and four men at
hand. At his call they entered the room, and
the stranger was lifted and carried out. As they
raised him, a ring tinkled down and rolled across
62 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

the floor. Lestrade grabbed it up and stared at

it with mystified eyes.
"There's been a woman here," he cried. " It's
a woman's wedding-ring."
He held it out, as he spoke, upon the palm
of his hand. We all gathered round him and
gazed at it. There could be no doubt that that
circlet of plain gold had once adorned the finger
of a bride.

"This complicates matters," said Gregson.

"Heaven knows, they were complicated enough
before."

"You're sure it doesn't simplify them?" ob-

served Holmes. "There's nothing to be learned
by staring at it. What did you find in his
pockets?"
"We have it all here," said Gregson, pointing
to a litter of objects upon one of the bottom steps
of the stairs. "A gold watch, No. 97163, by
Barraud, of London. Gold Albert chain, very
heavy and solid. Gold ring, with masonic device.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 63

Gold pin-bull-dog's head, with rubies as eyes.

Russian leather card-case, with cards of Enoch
J. Drebber of Cleveland, corresponding with the
E. J. D. upon the linen. No purse, but loose
money to the extent of seven pounds thirteen.
Pocket edition of Boccaccio's 'Decameron,' with
name ofJoseph Stangerson upon the fly-leaf. Two
letters-one addressed to E. J. Drebber and one
to Joseph Stangerson."
"At what address ?"

"American Exchange, Strand-to be left till

called for. They are both from the Guion Steam-
ship Company, and refer to the sailing of their
boats from Liverpool. It is clear that this un-
fortunate man was about to return to New York."

"Have you made any inquiries as to this man

Stangerson?"
"I did it at once, sir," said Gregson. " I have
had advertisements sent to all the newspapers,
and one of my men has gone to the American
Exchange, but he has not returned yet."
64 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"Have you sent to Cleveland?"

"We telegraphed this morning."
"How did you word your inquiries ?"
"We simply detailed the circumstances , and
said that we should be glad of any information
which could help us."
"You did not ask for particulars on any point
which appeared to you to be crucial?"
" I asked about Stangerson."
"Nothing else? Is there no circumstance on
which this whole case appears to hinge? Will
you not telegraph again?"
"I have said all I have to say," said Gregson,
in an offended voice.

Sherlock Holmes chuckled to himself, and

appeared to be about to make some remark,
when Lestrade, who had been in the front room
while we were holding this conversation in the
hall , reappeared upon the scene, rubbing his
hands in a pompous and self-satisfied manner.
"Mr. Gregson," he said, "I have just made a
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 65

discovery of the highest importance, and one

which would have been overlooked had I not
made a careful examination of the walls."

The little man's eyes sparkled as he spoke,

and he was evidently in a state of suppressed
exultation at having scored a point against his
colleague.
"Come here," he said, bustling back into the
room, the atmosphere of which felt clearer since
the removal of its ghastly inmate. "Now, stand
there!"

He struck a match on his boot and held it up

against the wall.
"Look at that! " he said, triumphantly.
I have remarked that the paper had fallen
away in parts. In this particular corner of the
room a large piece had peeled off, leaving a yel-
low square of coarse plastering. Across this bare
space there was scrawled in blood-red letters a
single word-
RACHE .

A Study in Scarlet. 5
66 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"What do you think of that?" cried the

detective, with the air of a showman exhibiting
his show. " This was overlooked because it was
in the darkest corner of the room, and no one
thought of looking there. The murderer has
written it with his or her own blood. See this
smear where it has trickled down the wall ! That

disposes of the idea of suicide anyhow. Why

was that corner chosen to write it on? I will tell

you. See that candle on the mantelpiece. It was

lit at the time, and if it was lit this corner would
be the brightest instead of the darkest portion of
the wall."

"And what does it mean now that you have

found it?" asked Gregson in a depreciatory voice.
"Mean? Why, it means that the writer was
going to put the female name Rachel, but was
disturbed before he or she had time to finish.

You mark my words, when this case comes to be

cleared up, you will find that a woman named
Rachel has something to do with it. It's all very
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 67

well for you to laugh, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. You

may be very smart and clever, but the old hound
is the best, when all is said and done."

"I really beg your pardon! " said my com-

panion, who had ruffled the little man's temper
by bursting into an explosion of laughter. "You
certainly have the credit of being the first of us
to find this out and , as you say, it bears every
mark of having been written by the other par-
ticipant in last night's mystery. I have not had
time to examine this room yet, but with your
permission I shall do so now."

As he spoke, he whipped a tape measure and

a large round magnifying glass from his pocket.
With these two implements he trotted noiselessly
about the room, sometimes stopping, occasionally
kneeling, and once lying flat upon his face. So
engrossed was he with his occupation that he ap-
peared to have forgotten our presence, for he
chattered away to himself under his breath the
5*
68 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

whole time, keeping up a running fire of exclama-

tions, groans, whistles, and little cries suggestive
of encouragement and of hope. As I watched
him I was irresistibly reminded of a pure-blooded,
well-trained foxhound as it dashes backwards and

forwards through the covert, whining in its eager-

ness, until it comes across the lost scent. For
twenty minutes or more he continued his re-
searches, measuring with the most exact care the
distance between marks which were entirely in-
visible to me, and occasionally applying his tape
to the walls in an equally incomprehensible man-
ner. In one place he gathered up very carefully
a little pile ofgrey dust from the floor, and packed
it away in an envelope. Finally he examined with
his glass the word upon the wall, going over every
letter of it with the most minute exactness. This
done, he appeared to be satisfied, for he replaced
his tape and his glass in his pocket.
"They say that genius is an infinite capacity
for taking pains," he remarked with a smile. " It's
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 69

a very bad definition, but it does apply to de-

tective work."

Gregson and Lestrade had watched the

manœuvres of their amateur companion with con-
siderable curiosity and some contempt. They
evidently failed to appreciate the fact, which I
had begun to realize, that Sherlock Holmes'
smallest actions were all directed towards some

definite and practical end.

"What do you think of it, sir?" they both
asked.

"It would be robbing you of the credit of the

case if I was to presume to help you," remarked
my friend. "You are doing so well now that it
would be a pity for any one to interfere." There
was a world of sarcasm in his voice as he spoke.
"If you will let me know how your investigations
go," he continued, "I shall be happy to give you
any help I can. In the meantime I should like
to speak to the constable who found the body.
Can you give me his name and address?"
70 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

Lestrade glanced at his note-book. "John

Rance," he said. "He is off duty now. You will find
him at 46, Audley Court, Kennington Park Gate."
Holmes took a note of the address.

"Come along, Doctor," he said; "we shall go

and look him up. I'll tell you one thing which
may help you in the case," he continued turning
to the two detectives. " There has been murder
done, and the murderer was a man. He was
more than six feet high, was in the prime of life,
had small feet for his height, wore coarse, square-
toed boots and smoked a Trichinopoly cigar. He
came here with his victim in a four-wheeled cab,
which was drawn by a horse with three old shoes
and one new one on his off fore-leg. In all
probability the murderer had a florid face, and
the finger-nails of his right hand were remarkably
long. These are only a few indications, but they
may assist you."
Lestrade and Gregson glanced at each other
with an incredulous smile.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 71

"If this man was murdered, how was it

done? " asked the former.
"Poison," said Sherlock Holmes curtly, and
strode off. " One other thing, Lestrade," he
added, turning round at the door: "" Rache,' is
the German for 'revenge'; so don't lose your
time looking for Miss Rachel."
With which Parthian shot he walked away,
leaving the two rivals open-mouthed behind him.
72 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

CHAPTER IV.

WHAT JOHN RANCE HAD TO TELL.

It was one o'clock when we left No. 3, Lauris-

ton Gardens. Sherlock Holmes led me to the

nearest telegraph office, whence he despatched a

long telegram. He then hailed a cab, and ordered
the driver to take us to the address given us by
Lestrade.

"There is nothing like first-hand evidence,"

he remarked; "as a matter of fact, my mind is
entirely made up upon the case, but still we may
as well learn all that is to be learned."

"You amaze me, Holmes," said L. " Surely

you are not as sure as you pretend to be of all
those particulars which you gave."
"There's no room for a mistake," he an-
swered. "The very first thing which I observed
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 73

on arriving there was that a cab had made two

ruts with its wheels close to the curb. Now, up
to last night, we have had no rain for a week, so
that those wheels which left such a deep im-
pression must have been there during the night.
There were the marks of the horse's hoofs, too,
the outline of one of which was far more clearly
cut than that of the other three, showing that
that was a new shoe. Since the cab was there

after the rain began, and was not there at any

time during the morning-I have Gregson's word
for that it follows that it must have been there

during the night, and, therefore, that it brought

those two individuals to the house."

"That seems simple enough," said I; "but

how about the other man's height?"
"Why, the height of a man, in nine cases out
of ten, can be told from the length of his stride.
It is a simple calculation enough, though there is
no use my boring you with figures. I had this
fellow's stride both on the clay outside and on
74 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

the dust within. Then I had a way of checking

my calculation. When a man writes on a wall,
his instinct leads him to write about the level of

his own eyes. Now that writing was just over

six feet from the ground. It was child's play."
"And his age?" I asked.
"Well, if a man can stride four and a-half
feet without the smallest effort, he can't be quite
in the sere and yellow. That was the breadth of
a puddle on the garden walk which he had
evidently walked across. Patent-leather boots had
gone round, and Square-toes had hopped over.
There is no mystery about it at all. I am simply
applying to ordinary life a few of those precepts
of observation and deduction which I advocated

in that article. Is there anything else that puzzles

you?"
"The finger-nails and the Trichinopoly," I
suggested.
"The writing on the wall was done with a
man's fore-finger dipped in blood. My glass
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 75

allowed me to observe that the plaster was

slightly scratched in doing it, which would not
have been the case if the man's nail had been

trimmed. I gathered up some scattered ash from

the floor. It was dark in colour and flakey-
such an ash as is only made by a Trichinopoly.
I have made a special study of cigar ashes-in
fact, I have written a monograph upon the sub-
ject. I flatter myself that I can distinguish at a
glance the ash of any known brand either of
cigar or of tobacco. It is just in such details
that the skilled detective differs from the Gregson
and Lestrade type."
"And the florid face?" I asked.

"Ah, that was a more daring shot, though I

have no doubt that I was right. You must not
ask me that at the present state of the affair."
Ipassed my hand over my brow. "My head
is in a whirl," I remarked; " the more one thinks
of it the more mysterious it grows. How came
these two men if there were two men into an
76 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

empty house? What has become of the cabman

who drove them? How could one man compel
another to take poison? Where did the blood
come from? What was the object of the murderer,
since robbery had no part in it? How came the
woman's ring there? Above all, why should the
second man write up the German word RACHE
before decamping? I confess that I cannot see
any possible way of reconciling all these facts."
My companion smiled approvingly.
"You sum up the difficulties of the situation
succinctly and well," he said. "There is much
that is still obscure, though I have quite made
up my mind on the main facts. As to poor
Lestrade's discovery, it was simply a blind in-
tended to put the police upon a wrong track, by
suggesting Socialism and secret societies. It was
not done by a German. The A, if you noticed,
was printed somewhat after the German fashion.
Now, a real German invariably prints in the Latin
character , so that we may safely say that this
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 77

was not written by one, but by a clumsy imitator

who overdid his part. It was simply a ruse to
divert inquiry into a wrong channel. I'm not
going to tell you much more of the case, Doctor.
You know a conjuror gets no credit when once
he has explained his trick; and if I show you
too much of my method of working, you will
come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary
individual after all."

"I shall never do that," I answered; "you

have brought detection as near an exact science
as it ever will be brought in this world."
My companion flushed up with pleasure at my
words, and the earnest way in which I uttered
them. I had already observed that he was as
sensitive to flattery on the score of his art as any
girl could be of her beauty.
"I'll tell you one other thing," he said.
"Patent-leathers and Square-toes came in the
same cab , and they walked down the pathway
78 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

together as friendly as possible--arm-in-arm , in

all probability. When they got inside, they walked
up and down the room-or rather, Patent-leathers
stood still while Square-toes walked up and down.
I could read all that in the dust; and I could
read that as he walked he grew more and more
excited. That is shown by the increased length
of his strides. He was talking all the while, and
working himself up, no doubt, into a fury. Then
the tragedy occurred. I've told you all I know
myself now, for the rest is mere surmise and con-
jecture. We have a good working basis, however,
on which to start. We must hurry up, for I want
to go to Hallé's concert to hear Norman Neruda
this afternoon."

This conversation had occurred while our cab

had been threading its way through a long suc-

cession of dingy streets and dreary byways. In
the dingiest and dreariest of them our driver
suddenly came to a stand. "That's Audley Court
in there," he said, pointing to a narrow slit in the
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 79

line of dead-coloured brick. " You'll find me here

when you come back."
Audley Court was not an attractive locality.
The narrow passage led us into a quadrangle
paved with flags and lined by sordid dwellings.
We picked our way among groups of dirty chil-
dren, and through lines of discoloured linen, until
we came to Number 46, the door of which was
decorated with a small slip of brass on which
the name Rance was engraved. On inquiry we
found that the constable was in bed, and we
were shown into a little front parlour to await
his coming.
He appeared presently, looking a little irritable
at being disturbed in his slumbers. "I made my
report at the office," he said.
Holmes took a half-sovereign from his pocket
and played with it pensively. " We thought that
we should like to hear it all from your own lips,"
he said.

" I shall be most happy to tell you anything I

 80 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

can," the constable answered, with his eyes upon

the little golden disk.
"Just let us hear it all in your own way as it
occurred."

Rance sat down on the horsehair sofa, and

knitted his brows, as though determined not to
omit anything in his narrative.
"I'll tell it ye from the beginning," he said.
"My time is from ten at night to six in the morn-
ing. At eleven there was a fight at the 'White
Hart'; but bar that all was quiet enough on the
beat. At one o'clock it began to rain, and I met
Harry Murcher-him who has the Holland Grove
beat-and we stood together at the corner of
Henrietta Street a-talkin'. Presently-maybe about
two or a little after-I thought I would take a
look round and see that all was right down the
Brixton Road. It was precious dirty and lonely.
Not a soul did I meet all the way down, though
a cab or two went past me. I was a-strollin'
down, thinkin' between ourselves how uncommon
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 81

handy a four of gin hot would be, when suddenly

the glint of a light caught my eye in the window
of that same house. Now, I knew that them two
houses in Lauriston Gardens was empty on ac-
count of him that owns them who won't have the

drains seed too, though the very last tenant what

lived in one of them died o' typhoid fever. I
was knocked all in a heap, therefore, at seeing a
light in the window, and I suspected as some-
thing was wrong. When I got to the door --"
"You stopped, and then walked back to the
garden gate," my companion interrupted. " What
did you do that for?"
Rance gave a violent jump, and stared at
Sherlock Holmes with the utmost amazement

upon his features.

"Why, that's true, sir," he said; " though how
you come to know it, Heaven only knows. Ye
see, when I got up to the door, it was so still and
so lonesome, that I thought I'd be none the worse
for some one with me. I ain't afeard of anything
A Study in Scarlet. 6
82 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

on this side o' the grave; but I thought that

maybe it was him that died o' the typhoid in-
specting the drains what killed him. The thought
gave me a kind o' turn , and I walked back to
the gate to see if I could see Murcher's lantern,
but there wasn't no sign of him nor of any one
else."

"There was no one in the street?"

"Not a livin' soul, sir, nor as much as a dog.

Then I pulled myself together and went back and
pushed the door open. All was quiet inside, so I
went into the room where the light was a-burnin'
There was a candle flickerin' on the mantelpiece
-a red wax one-and by its light I saw--"
"Yes, I know all that you saw. You walked
round the room several times, and you knelt down
by the body, and then you walked through and
tried the kitchen door, and then--"
John Rance sprang to his feet with a frightened
face and suspicion in his eyes. " Where was you
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 83

hid to see all that?" he cried. "It seems to me

that you knows a deal more than you should."

Holmes laughed and threw his card across the
table to the constable. "Don't get arresting me
for the murder," he said. " I am one of the hounds
and not the wolf; Mr. Gregson or Mr. Lestrade
will answer for that. Go on, though. What did
you do next?"
Rance resumed his seat, without, however,
losing his mystified expression. "I went back to
the gate and sounded my whistle. That brought
Murcher and two more to the spot."
"Was the street empty then?"
"Well, it was, as far as anybody that could
be of any good goes."
"What do you mean?"
The constable's features broadened into a grin.
"I've seen many a drunk chap in my time," he
said, "but never any one so cryin' drunk as that
cove. He was at the gate when I came out,
a-leanin' up ag'in the railings, and a-singin' at the
6*
84 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

pitch o' his lungs about Columbine's New-fangled

Banner, or some such stuff. He couldn't stand,
far less help."
"What sort of a man was he?" asked Sherlock
Holmes.

John Rance appeared to be somewhat irritated

at this digression. "He was an uncommon drunk
sort o' man," he said. " He'd ha' found hisself in
the station if we hadn't been so took up."
"His face-his dress-didn't you notice
them? " Holmes broke in impatiently.
"I should think I did notice them, seeing that
I had to prop him up-me and Murcher between
us. He was a long chap, with a red face, the
lower part muffled round "
"That will do," cried Holmes. " What became
of him?"

"We'd enough to do without lookin' after

him," the policeman said, in an aggrieved voice.
"I'll wager he found his way home all right."
"How was he dressed?"
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 85

"A brown overcoat."

"Had he a whip in his hand?"

"A whip-no."
"He must have left it behind," muttered my
companion. " You didn't happen to see or hear
a cab after that?"
No."

"There's a half-sovereign for you ," my com-

panion said, standing up and taking his hat. " I
am afraid, Rance, that you will never rise in the
force. That head of yours should be for use as
well as ornament. You might have gained your
sergeant's stripes last night. The man whom you
held in your hands is the man who holds the clue
of this mystery, and whom we are seeking. There
is no use of arguing about it now; I tell you that
it is so. Come along, Doctor."
We started off for the cab together, leaving our
informant incredulous, but obviously uncom-
fortable.

"The blundering fool! " Holmes said, bitterly,

86 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

as we drove back to our lodgings. "Just to think

of his having such an incomparable bit of good
luck and not taking advantage of it."
" I am rather in the dark still. It is true that

the description of this man tallies with your idea

of the second party in this mystery. But why
should he come back to the house after leaving
it? That is not the way of criminals."
"The ring, man, the ring: that was what he
came back for. If we have no other way of
catching him, we can always bait our line with
the ring. I shall have him, Doctor-I'll lay you
two to one that I have him. I must thank you
for it all. I might not have gone but for you,
and so have missed the finest study I ever came
across: a study in scarlet, eh? Why shouldn't
we use a little art jargon. There's the scarlet
thread of murder running through the colourless
skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and
isolate it, and expose every inch of it. And now
for lunch , and then for Norman Neruda. Her
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 87

attack and her bowing are splendid. What's that

little thing of Chopin's she plays so magnificently:
Tra-la-la-lira-lira-lay."
Leaning back in the cab, this amateur blood-
hound carolled away like a lark while I meditated
upon the manysidedness of the human mind.
88 A STUDY IN SCARLET .

CHAPTER V.

OUR ADVERTISEMENT BRINGS A VISITOR.

OUR morning's exertions had been too much

for my weak health , and I was tired out in the
afternoon. After Holmes' departure for the con-
cert, I lay down upon the sofa and endeavoured
to get a couple of hours' sleep. It was a useless
attempt. My mind had been too much excited
by all that had occurred, and the strangest fancies
and surmises crowded into it. Every time that
I closed my eyes I saw before me the distorted,
baboon-like countenance of the murdered man.

So sinister was the impression which that face had

produced upon me that I found it difficult to feel
anything but gratitude for him who had removed
its owner from the world. If ever human features

bespoke vice of the most malignant type, they

were certainly those of Enoch J Drebber , of
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 89

Cleveland. Still I recognised that justice must

be done, and that the depravity of the victim was
no condonement in the eyes of the law.
The more I thought of it the more extra-
ordinary did my companion's hypothesis, that the
man had been poisoned, appear. I remembered
how he had sniffed his lips, and had no doubt
that he had detected something which had given
rise to the idea. Then, again, if not poison, what
had caused the man's death, since there was neither
wound nor marks of strangulation? But, on the
other hand, whose blood was that which lay so
thickly upon the floor? There were no signs of
a struggle, nor had the victim any weapon with
which he might have wounded an antagonist. As
long as all these questions were unsolved, I felt
that sleep would be no easy matter, either for
Holmes or myself. His quiet, self-confident manner
convinced me that he had already formed a theory
which explained all the facts, though what it was
I could not for an instant conjecture.
90 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

He was very late in returning-so late that I

knew that the concert could not have detained
him all the time. Dinner was on the table before

he appeared.
"It was magnificent," he said, as he took his
seat. "Do you remember what Darwin says about
music? He claims that the power of producing
and appreciating it existed among the human race
long before the power of speech was arrived at.
Perhaps that is why we are so subtly influenced
by it. There are vague memories in our souls of
those misty centuries when the world was in its
childhood."

"That's rather a broad idea," I remarked.

" One's ideas must be as broad as Nature if

they are to interpret Nature," he answered.

"What's the matter? You're not looking quite
yourself. This Brixton Road affair has upset
you."
"To tell the truth, it has," I said. "I ought
to be more case-hardened after my Afghan ex
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 91

periences. I saw my own comrades hacked to

pieces at Maiwand without losing my nerve."
"I can understand. There is a mystery about
this which stimulates the imagination; where there
is no imagination there is no horror. Have you
seen the evening paper?"
"No."

"It gives a fairly good account of the affair.

It does not mention the fact that when the man

was raised up a woman's wedding ring fell upon

the floor. It is just as well it does not."
"Why?"
"Look at this advertisement," he answered.
"I had one sent to every paper this morning im-
mediately after the affair."
He threw the paper across to me and I glanced
at the place indicated It was the first announce-
ment in the " Found" column. " In Brixton Road,
this morning," it ran, " a plain gold wedding ring,
found in the roadway between the White Hart
Tavern and Holland Grove. Apply Dr. Watson,
92 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

221B, Baker Street, between eight and nine this

evening."
"Excuse my using your name," he said. "If
I used my own, some of these dunderheads would
recognise it, and want to meddle in the affair."
"That is all right," I answered. "But sup-
posing any one applies, I have no ring."
"Oh yes, you have," said he, handing me one.
"This will do very well. It is almost a facsimile."
"And who do you expect will answer this ad-
vertisement."

"Why, the man in the brown coat-our florid

friend with the square toes. If he does not come
himself, he will send an accomplice."
"Would he not consider it as too dangerous?"
"Not at all. If my view of the case is correct,
and I have every reason to believe that it is, this
man would rather risk anything than lose the ring.
According to my notion he dropped it while stoop-
ing over Drebber's body, and did not miss it at
the time. After leaving the house he discovered
 A STUDY IN SCARLET . 93

his loss and hurried back, but found the police

already in possession, owing to his own folly in
leaving the candle burning. He had to pretend
to be drunk in order to allay the suspicions which
might have been aroused by his appearance at
the gate. Now put yourself in that man's place.
On thinking the matter over, it must have occurred
to him that it was possible that he had lost the
ring in the road after leaving the house. What
would he do then? He would eagerly look out
for the evening papers in the hope of seeing it
among the articles found. His eye, of course,
would light upon this. He would be overjoyed.
Why should he fear a trap? There would be no
reason in his eyes why the finding of the ring
should be connected with the murder. He would
come. He will come. You shall see him within
an hour?"
"And then?" I asked.

"Oh, you can leave me to deal with him then.

Have you any arms ?"
94 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"I have my old service revolver and a few

cartridges."
"You had better clean it and load it. He

will be a desperate man; and though I shall take

him unawares, it is as well to be ready for any-
thing."
I went to my bedroom and followed his ad-
vice. When I returned with the pistol, the table
had been cleared, and Holmes was engaged in
his favourite occupation of scraping upon his
violin.

"The plot thickens," he said, as I entered; " I

have just had an answer to my American tele-
gram. My view of the case is the correct one."
"And that is?" I asked eagerly.
"My fiddle would be the better for new
strings," he remarked. "Put your pistol in your
pocket. When the fellow comes, speak to him
in an ordinary way. Leave the rest to me. Don't
frighten him by looking at him too hard."
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 95

"It is eight o'clock now," I said, glancing at

my watch.
"Yes. He will probably be here in a few
minutes. Open the door slightly. That will do.
Now put the key on the inside. Thank you !
This is a queer old book I picked up at a stall
yesterday-'De Jure inter Gentes'-published in
Latin at Liege in the Lowlands, in 1642. Charles's
head was still firm on his shoulders when this
little brown-backed volume was struck off."

"Who is the printer?"

"Philippe de Croy, whoever he may have
been. On the fly-leaf, in very faded ink, is written
'Ex libris Guliolmi Whyte.' I wonder who Wil-
liam Whyte was. Some pragmatical seventeenth
century lawyer, I suppose. His writing has a legal
twist about it. Here comes our man, I think."

As he spoke there was a sharp ring at the

bell. Sherlock Holmes rose softly and moved his
chair in the direction of the door. We heard the
90 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

servant pass along the hall, and the sharp click

of the latch as she opened it.
"Does Dr. Watson live here?" asked a clear
but rather harsh voice. We could not hear the

servant's reply, but the door closed, and some

one began to ascend the stairs. The footfall was
an uncertain and shuffling one. A look of sur-
prise passed over the face of my companion as
he listened to it. It came slowly along the pas-
sage, and there was a feeble tap at the door.
" Come in," I cried.
At my summons, instead of the man of
violence whom we expected, a very old and
wrinkled woman hobbled into the apartment.
She appeared to be dazzled by the sudden blaze
of light, and after dropping a curtsey, she stood
blinking at us with her bleared eyes and fum-
bling in her pocket with nervous, shaky fingers.
I glanced at my companion, and his face had
assumed such a disconsolate expression that it
was all I could do to keep my countenance.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 97

The old crone drew out an evening paper,

and pointed at our advertisement. "It's this as
has brought me, good gentlemen," she said, drop-
ping another curtsey; " a gold wedding ring in
the Brixton Road. It belongs to my girl Sally,
as was married only this time twelvemonth, which
her husband is steward aboard a Union boat,
and what he'd say if he come 'ome and found
her without her ring is more than I can think,
he being short enough at the best o' times, but
more especially when he has the drink. If it
please you , she went to the circus last night
along with "
"Is that her ring?" I asked.
"The Lord be thanked! " cried the old woman ;
"Sally will be a glad woman this night. That's
the ring."
"And what may your address be?" I inquired,
taking up a pencil.
" 13 , Duncan Street, Houndsditch. A weary
way from here."
A Study in Scarlet. 7
98 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"The Brixton Road does not lie between any

circus and Houndsditch," said Sherlock Holmes
sharply.
The old woman faced round and looked

keenly at him from her little red-rimmed eyes.

"The gentleman asked me for my address," she
said. "Sally lives in lodgings at 3 , Mayfield
Place, Peckham."
"And your name is--?"
"My name is Sawyer-hers is Dennis, which
Tom Dennis married her and a smart , clean
lad, too, as long as he's at sea, and no steward
in the company more thought of; but when on
shore, what with the women and what with liquor
shops--"
"Here is your ring, Mrs. Sawyer," I interrupted,
in obedience to a sign from my companion; " it
clearly belongs to your daughter, and I am glad
to be able to restore it to the rightful owner."
With many mumbled blessings and protesta-
tions of gratitude the old crone packed it away
 A STUDY IN SCARLET . 99

in her pocket, and shuffled off down the stairs.

Sherlock Holmes sprang to his feet the moment
that she was gone and rushed into his room. He
returned in a few seconds enveloped in an ulster
and a cravat. "I'll follow her," he said, hur-
riedly; " she must be an accomplice, and will
lead me to him. Wait up for me." The hall
door had hardly slammed behind our visitor be-
fore Holmes had descended the stair. Looking
through the window I could see her walking
feebly along the other side, while her pursuer
dogged her some little distance behind. "Either
his whole theory is incorrect," I thought to my-
self," or else he will be led now to the heart of
the mystery." There was no need for him to ask
me to wait up for him, for I felt that sleep was
impossible until I heard the result of his ad-
venture.

It was close upon nine when he set out. I

had no idea how long he might be, but I sat
stolidly puffing at my pipe and skipping over the
7*
100 A STUDY IN SCARLET .

pages of Henri Murger's "Vie de Bohème." Ten

o'clock passed, and I heard the footsteps of the
maid as they pattered off to bed. Eleven, and
the more stately tread of the landlady passed my
door, bound for the same destination. It was
close upon twelve before I heard the sharp
sound of his latch-key. The instant he entered
I saw by his face that he had not been success-
ful. Amusement and chagrin seemed to be
struggling for the mastery, until the former sud-
denly carried the day, and he burst into a hearty
laugh.
" I wouldn't have the Scotland Yarders know

it for the world," he cried, dropping into his

chair; "I have chaffed them so much that they
would never have let me hear the end of it. I

can afford to laugh, because I know that I will be

even with them in the long run."
"What is it then?" I asked.

"Oh , I don't mind telling a story against my-

self. That creature had gone a little way when
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 101

she began to limp and show every sign of being

footsore. Presently she came to a halt, and hailed
a four-wheeler which was passing. I managed to
be close to her so as to hear the address , but I
need not have been so anxious, for she sang it
out loud enough to be heard at the other side of
the street , ' Drive to 13, Duncan Street, Hounds-
ditch,' she cried. This begins to look genuine, I
thought, and having seen her safely inside, I
perched myself behind. That's an art which
every detective should be an expert at. Well,
away we rattled, and never drew rein until we
reached the street in question. I hopped off be-
fore we came to the door, and strolled down the
street in an easy, lounging way. I saw the cab
pull up. The driver jumped down, and I saw him
open the door and stand expectantly. Nothing
came out though. When I reached him, he was
groping about frantically in the empty cab , and
giving vent to the finest assorted collection of
oaths that ever I listened to. There was no sign
102 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

or trace of his passenger, and I fear it will be

some time before he gets his fare. On inquiring
at Number 13 we found that the house belonged
to a respectable paperhanger, named Keswick,
and that no one of the name either of Sawyer or
Dennis had ever been heard of there."

"You don't mean to say," I cried, in amaze-

ment, "that that tottering, feeble old woman was
able to get out of the cab while it was in motion,
without either you or the driver seeing her?"
"Old woman be damned! " said Sherlock

Holmes, sharply. " We were the old women to

be so taken in. It must have been a young man,
and an active one, too, besides being an incom-
parable actor. The get-up was inimitable. He
saw that he was followed, no doubt, and used
this means of giving me the slip. It shows that
the man we are after is not as lonely as I
imagined he was, but has friends who are ready
to risk something for him. Now, Doctor, you are
looking done-up. Take my advice and turn in."
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 103

Iwas certainly feeling very weary, so I obeyed

his injunction. I left Holmes seated in front of
the smouldering fire, and long into the watches
of the night I heard the low, melancholy wailings
of his violin, and knew that he was still ponder-
ing over the strange problem which he had set
himself to unravel.
104 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

CHAPTER VI.

TOBIAS GREGSON SHOWS WHAT HE CAN DO .

THE papers next day were full of the "Brixton

Mystery," as they termed it. Each had a long
account of the affair, and some had leaders upon
it in addition. There was some information in
them which was new to me. I still retain in my
scrap-book numerous clippings and extracts bear-
ing upon the case. Here is a condensation of a
few of them:-

The Daily Telegraph remarked that in the

history of crime there had seldom been a tragedy
which presented stranger features. The German
name of the victim , the absence of all other mo-
tive, and the sinister inscription on the wall , all
pointed to its perpetration by political refugees
and revolutionists. The Socialists had many
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 105

branches in America, and the deceased had , no

doubt, infringed their unwritten laws , and been
tracked down by them. After alluding airily to
the Vehmgericht, aqua tofana, Carbonari , the
Marchioness de Brinvilliers, the Darwinian theory,
the principles of Malthus, and the Ratcliff High-
way murders, the article concluded by admonish-
ing the Government and advocating a closer watch
over foreigners in England.
The Standard commented upon the fact that
lawless outrages of the sort usually occurred under
a Liberal Administration. They arose from the
unsettling of the minds of the masses , and the
consequent weakening of all authority. The de-
ceased was an American gentleman who had been
residing for some weeks in the Metropolis. He
had stayed at the boarding-house of Madame
Charpentier, in Torquay Terrace, Camberwell. He
was accompanied in his travels by his private
secretary , Mr. Joseph Stangerson. The two bade
adieu to their landlady upon Tuesday, the 4th
106 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

inst. , and departed to Euston Station with the

avowed intention of catching the Liverpool express.
They were afterwards seen together upon the plat-
form. Nothing more is known of them until Mr.
Drebber's body was, as recorded, discovered in an
empty house in the Brixton Road, many miles
from Euston. How he came there, or how he
met his fate, are questions which are still involved
in mystery. Nothing is known of the whereabouts
of Stangerson. We are glad to learn that Mr.
Lestrade and Mr. Gregson, of Scotland Yard, are
both engaged upon the case, and it is confidently
anticipated that these well-known officers will
speedily throw light upon the matter.
The Daily News observed that there was no
doubt as to the crime being a political one. The
despotism and hatred of Liberalism which animated
the Continental Governments had had the effect

of driving to our shores a number of men who

might have made excellent citizens were they not
soured by the recollection of all that they had
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 107

undergone. Among these men there was a stringent

code of honour, any infringement of which was
punished by death. Every effort should be made
to find the secretary, Stangerson, and to ascertain
some particulars of the habits of the deceased.
A great step had been gained by the discovery
of the address of the house at which he had

boarded-a result which was entirely due to the

acuteness and energy of Mr. Gregson of Scotland
Yard.

Sherlock Holmes and I read these notices over

together at breakfast, and they appeared to afford

him considerable amusement.

" I told you that, whatever happened, Lestrade

and Gregson would be sure to score."
"That depends on how it turns out."
"Oh, bless you, it doesn't matter in the least.
If the man is caught, it will be on account of
their exertions; if he escapes, it will be in spite
of their exertions. It's heads I win and tails

you lose. Whatever they do, they will have fol

108 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

lowers. Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui

l'admire.'"

"What on earth is this?" I cried, for at this

moment there came the pattering of many steps
in the hall and on the stairs, accompanied by
audible expressions of disgust upon the part of
our landlady.
" It's the Baker Street division of the detective

police force," said my companion gravely; and as

he spoke there rushed into the room half a dozen
of the dirtiest and most ragged street Arabs that
ever I clapped eyes on.
" Tention!" cried Holmes, in a sharp tone, and
the six dirty little scoundrels stood in a line like
so many disreputable statuettes. "In future you
shall send up Wiggins alone to report, and the
rest of you must wait in the street. Have you
found it, Wiggins ?"
"No, sir, we hain't," said one of the youths.
"I hardly expected you would. You must
keep on until you do. Here are your wages."
 A STUDY IN SCARLET . 109

He handed each of them a shilling. "Now , off

you go, and come back with a better report next
time."

He waved his hand, and they scampered away

downstairs like so many rats, and we heard their
shrill voices next moment in the street.

"There's more work to be got out of one of

those little beggars than out of a dozen of the
force," Holmes remarked. "The mere sight of an
official-looking person seals men's lips. These
youngsters, however, go everywhere and hear
everything. They are as sharp as needles, too;
all they want is organization."
"Is it on this Brixton case that you are em-
ploying them?" I asked.
"Yes; there is a point which I wish to as-
certain. It is merely a matter of time. Hullo !
we are going to hear some news now with a
vengeance! Here is Gregson coming down the
road with beatitude written upon every feature of
110 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

his face. Bound for us , I know. Yes , he is

stopping. There he is ! "
There was a violent peal at the bell, and in a
few seconds the fair-haired detective came up the
stairs , three steps at a time, and burst into our
sitting-room.
"My dear fellow," he cried, wringing Holmes'
unresponsive hand, " congratulate me! I have
made the whole thing as clear as day."
A shade of anxiety seemed to me to cross my
companion's expressive face.
"Do you mean that you are on the right
track ?" he asked.

"The right track! Why, sir, we have the man

under lock and key."
"And his name is ?"

"Arthur Charpentier, sub-lieutenant in Her

Majesty's navy," cried Gregson pompously rub-
bing his fat hands and inflating his chest.
Sherlock Holmes gave a sigh of relief and re-
laxed into a smile.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. III

"Take a seat, and try one of these cigars,"

he said. "We are anxious to know how you
managed it. Will you have some whiskey and
water?"

"I don't mind if I do," the detective answered.

"The tremendous exertions which I have gone
through during the last day or two have worn me
out. Not so much bodily exertion, you under-
stand, as the strain upon the mind. You will ap-
preciate that, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, for we are
both brain-workers."

"You do me too much honour," said Holmes,

gravely. "Let us hear how you arrived at this
most gratifying result."
The detective seated himself in the arm-chair,
and puffed complacently at his cigar. Then sud-
denly he slapped his thigh in a paroxysm of
amusement.

"The fun of it is," he cried, "that that fool

Lestrade, who thinks himself so smart, has gone
off upon the wrong track altogether. He is
112 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

after the secretary Stangerson, who had no more

to do with the crime than the babe unborn. I

have no doubt that he has caught him by this

time."

The idea tickled Gregson so much that he

laughed until he choked.
"And how did you get your clue?"
"Ah, I'll tell you all about it. Of course,
Doctor Watson, this is strictly between ourselves.
The first difficulty which we had to contend
with was the finding of this American's an-
tecedents. Some people would have waited until
their advertisements were answered, or until
parties came forward and volunteered information.
That is not Tobias Gregson's way of going to
work. You remember the hat beside the dead
man?"

"Yes," said Holmes; "by John Underwood

and Sons, 129, Camberwell Road."
Gregson looked quite crest-fallen.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 113

"I had no idea that you noticed that," he said.

"Have you been there ?"
"No."

"Ha! " cried Gregson, in a relieved voice;

"you should never neglect a chance, however
small it may seem."
"To a great mind, nothing is little," remarked
Holmes, sententiously.
" Well, I went to Underwood , and asked him
if he had sold a hat of that size and descrip-
tion. He looked over his books, and came on
it at once. He had sent the hat to a Mr.

Drebber, residing at Charpentier's Boarding

Establishment, Torquay Terrace. Thus I got at
his address."

" Smart-very smart! " murmured Sherlock

Holmes.

" I next called upon Madame Charpentier,"

continued the detective. " I found her very pale
and distressed. Her daughter was in the room,
too-an uncommonly fine girl she is, too; she
A Study in Scarlet. 8
114 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

was looking red about the eyes and her lips

trembled as I spoke to her. That didn't escape
my notice. I began to smell a rat. You know
the feeling, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, when you come
upon the right scent-a kind of thrill in your
nerves. 'Have you heard of the mysterious death
of your late boarder Mr. Enoch J. Drebber , of
Cleveland ? ' I asked.
"The mother nodded. She didn't seem able

to get out a word. The daughter burst into tears.

I felt more than ever that these people knew
something of the matter.
""At what o'clock did Mr. Drebber leave your
house for the train?' I asked.

""At eight o'clock,' she said, gulping in her

throat to keep down her agitation. 'His secre-
tary, Mr. Stangerson, said that there were two
trains-one at 9.15 and one at II . He was to
catch the first.'

""And was that the last which you saw of

him?'
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 115

"A terrible change came over the woman's

face as I asked the question. Her features turned
perfectly livid. It was some seconds before she
could get out the single word ' Yes' and when it
did come it was in a husky, unnatural tone.
"There was silence for a moment, and then
the daughter spoke in a calm, clear voice.
""No good can ever come of falsehood,
mother ,' she said. ' Let us be frank with this
gentleman. We did see Mr. Drebber again.'
""God forgive you!' cried Madame Char-
pentier, throwing up her hands and sinking back
in her chair. 'You have murdered your brother.'
""Arthur would rather that we spoke the
truth, the girl answered firmly.
""You had best tell me all about it now,' I
said. Half-confidences are worse than none.
Besides, you do not know how much we know
of it.'

""On your head be it, Alice!' cried her

mother; and then, turning to me, 'I will tell you
8*
116 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

all , sir. Do not imagine that my agitation on

behalf of my son arises from any fear lest he
should have had a hand in this terrible affair.

He is utterly innocent of it. My dread is, how-

ever, that in your eyes and in the eyes of others
he may appear to be compromised. That, how-
ever, is surely impossible. His high character,
his profession, his antecedents would all forbid it.'
""Your best way is to make a clean breast
of the facts,' I answered. 'Depend upon it, if
your son is innocent he will be none the worse.'
""Perhaps, Alice, you had better leave us to-
gether,' she said, and her daughter withdrew.
'Now, sir,' she continued, 'I had no intention of
telling you all this, but since my poor daughter
has disclosed it I have no alternative. Having
once decided to speak, I will tell you all without
omitting any particular.'
" It is your wisest course,' said I.
""Mr. Drebber has been with us nearly three
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 117

weeks. He and his secretary, Mr. Stangerson,

had been travelling on the Continent. I noticed
a " Copenhagen" label upon each of their trunks,
showing that that had been their last stopping
place. Stangerson was a quiet, reserved man, but
his employer, I am sorry to say, was far other-
wise. He was coarse in his habits and brutish
in his ways. The very night of his arrival he
became very much the worse for drink, and, in-
deed, after twelve o'clock in the day he could
hardly ever be said to be sober. His manners
towards the maid-servants were disgustingly free
and familiar. Worst of all, he speedily assumed
the same attitude towards my daughter , Alice,
and spoke to her more than once in a way which,
fortunately, she is too innocent to understand.
On one occasion he actually seized her in his
arms and embraced her an outrage which caused
his own secretary to reproach him for his un-
manly conduct.'
""But why did you stand all this?' I asked.
118 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

'I suppose that you can get rid of your boarders

when you wish.'
"Mrs. Charpentier blushed at my pertinent
question. 'Would to God that I had given him
notice on the very day that he came,' she said.
'But it was a sore temptation. They were pay-
ing a pound a day each-fourteen pounds a week,
and this is the slack season. I am a widow,
and my boy in the Navy has cost me much. I
grudged to lose the money. I acted for the best.
This last was too much, however, and I gave him
notice to leave on account of it. That was the

reason of his going.'

""Well?"

""My heart grew light when I saw him drive

away. My son is on leave just now, but I did
not tell him anything of all this, for his temper is
violent, and he is passionately fond of his sister.
When I closed the door behind them a load

seemed to be lifted from my mind. Alas, in less

than an hour there was a ring at the bell, and I
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 119

learned that Mr. Drebber had returned. He was

much excited, and evidently the worse for drink.

He forced his way into the room , where I was
sitting with my daughter, and made some in-
coherent remark about having missed his train.
He then turned to Alice, and before my very
face, proposed to her that she should fly with
him. " You are of age," he said, " and there is
no law to stop you. I have money enough and
to spare. Never mind the old girl here, but come
along with me now straight away. You shall live
like a princess." Poor Alice was so frightened
that she shrunk away from him, but he caught
her by the wrist and endeavoured to draw her
towards the door. I screamed , and at that mo-
ment my son Arthur came into the room. What
happened then I do not know. I heard oaths
and the confused sounds of a scuffle. I was too

terrified to raise my head. When I did look up

I saw Arthur standing in the doorway laughing,
with a stick in his hand. " I don't think that fine
120 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

fellow will trouble us again," he said. "I will just

go after him and see what he does with himself."
With those words he took his hat and started off

down the street. The next morning we heard of

Mr. Drebber's mysterious death.'
"This statement came from Mrs. Charpentier's
lips with many gasps and pauses. At times she
spoke so low that I could hardly catch the words.
I made shorthand notes of all that she said, how-
ever, so that there should be no possibility of a
mistake."

"It's quite exciting," said Sherlock Holmes,

with a yawn. "What happened next?"
"When Mrs. Charpentier paused," the detective
continued, "I saw that the whole case hung upon
one point. Fixing her with my eye in a way
which I always found effective with women , I
asked her at what hour her son returned.

""I do not know,' she answered.

""Not know?'
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 121

""No; he has a latch-key, and he let him-

self in.'
"After you went to bed?'
"
"
"Yes.'

""When did you go to bed?'

"
"About eleven.'
""So your son was gone at least two hours ?'
"
"Yes.'

""Possibly four or five?'

""Yes.'

""What was he doing during that time?'

"" I do not know! ' she answered, turning white
to her very lips.
"Of course after that there was nothing more
to be done. I found out where Lieutenant
Charpentier was, took two officers with me, and
arrested him. When I touched him on the
shoulder and warned him to come quietly with
us , he answered us as bold as brass, 'I suppose
you are arresting me for being concerned in the
death of that scoundrel Drebber,' he said. We
122 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

had said nothing to him about it, so that his

alluding to it had a most suspicious aspect."
"Very," said Holmes.
"He still carried the heavy stick which the
mother described him as having with him when
he followed Drebber. It was a stout oak

cudgel."
"What is your theory, then?"
"Well, my theory is that he followed Drebber
as far as the Brixton Road. When there, a fresh
altercation arose between them, in the course of
which Drebber received a blow from the stick, in
the pit of the stomach perhaps, which killed him
without leaving any mark. The night was so wet
that no one was about, so Charpentier dragged
the body of his victim into the empty house. As
to the candle, and the blood, and the writing
on the wall, and the ring, they may all be so
many tricks to throw the police on to the wrong
scent."

"Well done!" said Holmes in an encouraging

 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 123

voice. "Really, Gregson, you are getting along.

We shall make something of you yet."
" I flatter myself that I have managed it
rather neatly," the detective answered proudly.
"The young man volunteered a statement, in
which he said that after following Drebber some
time, the latter perceived him, and took a cab in
order to get away from him. On his way home
he met an old shipmate, and took a long walk
with him. On being asked where this old ship-
mate lived, he was unable to give any satisfactory
reply. I think the whole case fits together un-
commonly well. What amuses me is to think of
Lestrade, who had started off upon the wrong
scent. I am afraid he won't make much of it.

Why, by Jove, here's the very man himself!"

It was indeed Lestrade, who had ascended
the stairs while we were talking, and who now
entered the room. The assurance and jauntiness
which generally marked his demeanour and dress
were, however, wanting. His face was disturbed
124 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

and troubled, while his clothes were disarranged

and untidy. He had evidently come with the
intention of consulting with Sherlock Holmes, for
on perceiving his colleague he appeared to be
embarrassed and put out. He stood in the
centre of the room, fumbling nervously with his
hat and uncertain what to do. "This is a most

extraordinary case," he said at last-" a most in-

comprehensible affair."
"Ah, you find it so, Mr. Lestrade! " cried
Gregson , triumphantly. "I thought you would
come to that conclusion. Have you managed to
find the secretary, Mr. Joseph Stangerson?"
"The secretary, Mr. Joseph Stangerson," said
Lestrade gravely, " was murdered at Halliday's
Private Hotel about six o'clock this morning."
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 125

CHAPTER VII.

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS.

THE intelligence with which Lestrade greeted

us was so momentous and so unexpected that we
were all three fairly dumbfoundered. Gregson
sprang out of his chair and upset the remainder
of his whiskey and water. I stared in silence at
Sherlock Holmes, whose lips were compressed
and his brows drawn down over his eyes.
"Stangerson too!" he muttered. "The plot
thickens."

"It was quite thick enough before," grumbled

Lestrade, taking a chair. " I seem to have dropped
into a sort of council of war."
"Are you are you sure of this piece of in-
telligence ?" stammered Gregson.
"I have just come from his room," said
126 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

Lestrade. "I was the first to discover what had

occurred."

"We have been hearing Gregson's view of

the matter," Holmes observed. "Would you
mind letting us know what you have seen and
done?"

"I have no objection," Lestrade answered,

seating himself. "I freely confess that I was of
the opinion that Stangerson was concerned in the
death of Drebber. This fresh development has
shown me that I was completely mistaken. Full
of the one idea, I set myself to find out what
had become of the secretary. They had been
seen together at Euston Station about half-past
eight on the evening of the third. At two in
the morning Drebber had been found in the
Brixton Road. The question which confronted
me was to find out how Stangerson had been
employed between 8.30 and the time of the
crime, and what had become of him afterwards.
I telegraphed to Liverpool, giving a description
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 127

of the man, and warning them to keep a watch

upon the American boats. I then set to work
calling upon all the hotels and lodging-houses in
the vicinity of Euston. You see, I argued that
if Drebber and his companion had become
separated, the natural course for the latter would
be to put up somewhere in the vicinity for the
night, and then to hang about the station again
next morning."
"They would be likely to agree on some meet-
ing-place beforehand," remarked Holmes.
"So it proved. I spent the whole of yesterday
evening in making inquiries entirely without avail.
This morning I began very early, and at eight
o'clock I reached Halliday's Private Hotel , in
Little George Street. On my inquiry as to
whether a Mr. Stangerson was living there, they
at once answered me in the affirmative.
""No doubt you are the gentleman whom he
was expecting, they said. He has been waiting
for a gentleman for two days.'
128 A STUDY IN SCARLET .

"" Where is he now?' I asked.

""He is upstairs in bed. He wished to be

called at nine.'

"" I will go up and see him at once,' I said.

" It seemed to me that my sudden appearance
might shake his nerves and lead him to say some-
thing unguarded. The Boots volunteered to show
me the room: it was on the second floor, and
there was a small corridor leading up to it. The
Boots pointed out the door to me, and was about
to go downstairs again when I saw something
that made me feel sickish, in spite of my twenty
years' experience. From under the door there
curled a little red ribbon of blood, which had
meandered across the passage and formed a little
pool along the skirting at the other side. I gave
a cry, which brought the Boots back. He nearly
fainted when he saw it. The door was locked on

the inside, but we put our shoulders to it, and

knocked it in. The window of the room was

open, and beside the window, all huddled up, lay

 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 129

the body of a man in his nightdress. He was

quite dead, and had been for some time, for his
limbs were rigid and cold. When we turned him
over, the Boots recognised him at once as being
the same gentleman who had engaged the room
under the name of Joseph Stangerson. The
cause of death was a deep stab in the left side,
which must have penetrated the heart. And now
comes the strangest part of the affair. What do
you suppose was above the murdered man?"
I felt a creeping of the flesh, and a presenti-
ment of coming horror, even before Sherlock
Holmes answered.

"The word RACHE , written in letters of

blood," he said.
"That was it," said Lestrade, in an awe-struck
voice; and we were all silent for a while.
There was something so methodical and so
incomprehensible about the deeds of this un-
known assassin, that it imparted a fresh ghastli-
A Study in Scarlet. 9
130 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

ness to his crimes. My nerves, which were steady

enough on the field of battle, tingled as I thought
of it.

"The man was seen," continued Lestrade. "A

milk boy, passing on his way to the dairy, hap-
pened to walk down the lane which leads from
the mews at the back of the hotel. He noticed

that a ladder, which usually lay there, was raised

against one of the windows of the second floor,
which was wide open. After passing, he looked
back and saw a man descend the ladder. He

came down so quietly and openly that the boy

imagined him to be some carpenter or joiner at
work in the hotel. He took no particular notice
of him, beyond thinking in his own mind that it
was early for him to be at work. He has an im-
pression that the man was tall, had a reddish
face, and was dressed in a long, brownish coat.
He must have stayed in the room some little time
after the murder, for we found blood-stained water
in the basin, where he had washed his hands,
 A STUDY IN SCARLET . 131

and marks on the sheets where he had deliber-

ately wiped his knife."

I glanced at Holmes on hearing the descrip-
tion of the murderer which tallied so exactly with
his own. There was, however, no trace of exulta-
tion or satisfaction upon his face.
"Did you find nothing in the room which
could furnish a clue to the murderer?" he
asked.

"Nothing. Stangerson had Drebber's purse

in his pocket, but it seems that this was usual,
as he did all the paying. There was eighty odd
pounds in it, but nothing had been taken. What-
ever the motives of these extraordinary crimes,
robbery is certainly not one of them. There were
no papers or memoranda in the murdered man's
pocket, except a single telegram, dated from
Cleveland about a month ago, and containing the
words, 'J. H. is in Europe.' There was no name
appended to this message."
9*
132 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"And there was nothing else?" Holmes

asked.

"Nothing of any importance. The man's

novel, with which he had read himself to sleep,
was lying upon the bed, and his pipe was on a
chair beside him. There was a glass of water on
the table, and on the window-sill a small chip
ointment box containing a couple of pills."
Sherlock Holmes sprang from his chair with
an exclamation of delight.
"The last link," he cried, exultantly. "My
case is complete."
The two detectives stared at him in amaze-
ment.

"I have now in my hands," my companion

said, confidently, "all the threads which have
formed such a tangle. There are, of course,
details to be filled in, but I am as certain of all
the main facts, from the time that Drebber parted
from Stangerson at the station, up to the dis-
covery of the body of the latter, as if I had seen
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 133

them with my own eyes. I will give you a proof

of my knowledge. Could you lay your hand
upon those pills ?"
"I have them," said Lestrade, producing a
small white box; "I took them and the purse and
the telegram, intending to have them put in a
place of safety at the Police Station. It was the
merest chance my taking these pills, for I am
bound to say that I do not attach any importance
to them."

"Give them here," said Holmes. "Now,

Doctor," turning to me, " are those ordinary
pills?"
They certainly were not. They were of pearly
grey colour, small, round, and almost transparent
against the light. "From their lightness and
transparency, I should imagine that they are
soluble in water," I remarked.
"Precisely so," answered Holmes. "Now would
you mind going down and fetching that poor little
devil of a terrier which has been bad so long,
134 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

and which the landlady wanted you to put out of

its pain yesterday."
I went downstairs and carried the dog up-
stairs in my arms. Its laboured breathing and
glazing eye showed that it was not far from its
end. Indeed, its snow-white muzzle proclaimed
that it had already exceeded the usual term of
canine existence. I placed it upon a cushion on
the rug.

"I will now cut one of these pills in two,"

said Holmes , and drawing his penknife he suited
the action to the word. " One half we return

into the box for future purposes. The other half

I will place in this wine glass, in which is a
teaspoonful of water. You perceive that our
friend, the Doctor, is right, and that it readily
dissolves."

"This may be very interesting," said Lestrade,

in the injured tone of one who suspects that he
is being laughed at; " I cannot see, however, what
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 135

it has to do with the death of Mr. Joseph

Stangerson."
"Patience, my friend, patience! You will find
in time that it has everything to do with it. I
shall now add a little milk to make the mixture

palatable, and on presenting it to the dog we find

that he laps it up readily enough."
As he spoke he turned the contents of the
wine glass into a saucer and placed it in front of
the terrier, who speedily licked it dry. Sherlock
Holmes' earnest demeanour had so far convinced

us that we all sat in silence, watching the animal

intently, and expecting some startling effect. None
such appeared, however. The dog continued to
lie stretched upon the cushion, breathing in a
laboured way, but apparently neither the better
nor the worse for its draught.
Holmes had taken out his watch , and as
minute followed minute without result , an ex-
pression of the utmost chagrin and disappoint-
ment appeared upon his features. He gnawed
136 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

his lip , drummed his fingers upon the table, and

showed every other symptom of acute impatience.
So great was his emotion that I felt sincerely
sorry for him, while the two detectives smiled
derisively, by no means displeased at this check
which he had met.

"It can't be a coincidence," he cried, at last

springing from his chair and pacing wildly up
and down the room; "it is impossible that it
should be a mere coincidence. The very pills
which I suspected in the case of Drebber are
actually found after the death of Stangerson.
And yet they are inert. What can it mean?
Surely my whole chain of reasoning cannot have
been false. It is impossible! And yet this wretched
dog is none the worse. Ah, I have it! I have it!"
With a perfect shriek of delight he rushed to the
box, cut the other pill in two, dissolved it, added
milk, and presented it to the terrier. The unfor-
tunate creature's tongue seemed hardly to have
been moistened in it before it gave a convulsive
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 137

shiver in every limb, and lay as rigid and lifeless

as if it had been struck by lightning.
Sherlock Holmes drew a long breath, and
wiped the perspiration from his forehead. " I
should have more faith," he said; "I ought to
know by this time that when a fact appears to
be opposed to a long train of deductions, it in-
variably proves to be capable of bearing some
other interpretation. Of the two pills in that box,
one was of the most deadly poison, and the other
was entirely harmless. I ought to have known
that before ever I saw the box at all."

This last statement appeared to me to be so

startling that I could hardly believe that he was
in his sober senses. There was the dead dog,
however, to prove that his conjecture had been
correct. It seemed to me that the mists in my
own mind were gradually clearing away, and I
began to have a dim, vague perception of the
truth. T

"All this seems strange to you," continued

138 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

Holmes , " because you failed at the beginning of

the inquiry to grasp the importance of the single
real clue which was presented to you. I had the
good fortune to seize upon that, and everything
which has occurred since then has served to con-

firm my original supposition, and, indeed, was the

logical sequence of it. Hence things which have
perplexed you and made the case more obscure
have served to enlighten me and to strengthen
my conclusions. It is a mistake to confound
strangeness with mystery. The most common-
place crime is often the most mysterious, because
it presents no new or special features from which
deductions may be drawn. This murder would
have been infinitely more difficult to unravel had
the body of the victim been simply found lying
in the roadway without any of those outré and
sensational accompaniments which have rendered
it remarkable. These strange details, far from
making the case more difficult, have really had
the effect of making it less so."
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 139

Mr. Gregson, who had listened to this address

with considerable impatience, could contain him-
self no longer. " Look here, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,"
he said, "we are all ready to acknowledge that
you are a smart man, and that you have your
own methods of working. We want something
more than mere theory and preaching now, though.
It is a case of taking the man. I have made my
case out, and it seems I was wrong. Young
Charpentier could not have been engaged in this
second affair. Lestrade went after his man,
Stangerson, and it appears that he was wrong
too. You have thrown out hints here , and hints
there, and seem to know more than we do, but
the time has come when we feel that we have a

right to ask you straight how much you do know

of the business. Can you name the man who
did it?"

"I cannot help feeling that Gregson is right,

sir ," remarked Lestrade. " We have both tried,
and we have both failed. You have remarked
140 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

more than once since I have been in the room

that you had all the evidence which you require.

Surely you will not withhold it any longer."
"Any delay in arresting the assassin," I ob-
served, "might give him time to perpetrate some
fresh atrocity."
Thus pressed by us all, Holmes showed signs
of irresolution. He continued to walk up and
down the room with his head sunk on his chest

and his brows drawn down, as was his habit when

lost in thought.
"There will be no more murders," he said at
last, stopping abruptly and facing us. "You can
put that consideration out of the question. You
have asked me if I know the name of the as-

sassin. I do. The mere knowing of his name is

a small thing, however, compared with the power
of laying our hands upon him. This I expect
very shortly to do. I have good hopes of manag-
ing it through my own arrangements; but it is a
thing which needs delicate handling, for we have
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 141

a shrewd and desperate man to deal with, who is

supported, as I have had occasion to prove, by
another who is as clever as himself. As long as
this man has no idea that any one can have a
clue there is some chance of securing him; but if
he had the slightest suspicion, he would change
his name, and vanish in an instant among the
four million inhabitants of this great city. With-
out meaning to hurt either of your feelings, I am
bound to say that I consider these men to be
more than a match for the official force, and that
is why I have not asked your assistance. If I
fail, I shall, of course, incur all the blame due to
this omission; but that I am prepared for. At
present I am ready to promise that the instant
that I can communicate with you without en-
dangering my own combinations, I shall do so."
Gregson and Lestrade seemed to be far from
satisfied by this assurance, or by the depreciating
allusion to the detective police. The former had
flushed up to the roots of his flaxen hair, while
142 A STUDY IN SCARLET .

the other's beady eyes glistened with curiosity

and resentment. Neither of them had time to

speak , however, before there was a tap at the

door, and the spokesman of the street Arabs,
young Wiggins, introduced his insignificant and
unsavoury person.
"Please, sir," he said, touching his forelock,
"I have the cab downstairs."

"Good boy," said Holmes , blandly. "Why

don't you introduce this pattern at Scotland
Yard?" he continued, taking a pair of steel hand-
cuffs from a drawer. "See how beautifully the
spring works. They fasten in an instant."
"The old pattern is good enough," remarked
Lestrade, "if we can only find the man to put
them on."

"Very good, very good," said Holmes, smiling.

"The cabman may as well help me with my
boxes. Just ask him to step up, Wiggins."
I was surprised to find my companion speak-
ing as though he were about to set out on a
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 143

journey, since he had not said anything to me

about it. There was a small portmanteau in the
room, and this he pulled out and began to strap.
He was busily engaged at it when the cabman
entered the room.

"Just give me a help with this buckle, cab-

man," he said, kneeling over his task, and never
turning his head.
The fellow came forward with a somewhat

sullen, defiant air, and put down his hands to

assist. At that instant there was a sharp click,
thejangling of metal, and Sherlock Holmes sprang
to his feet again.
"Gentlemen," he cried, with flashing eyes, "let
me introduce you to Mr. Jefferson Hope, the
murderer of Enoch Drebber and ofJoseph Stanger-
son."

The whole thing occurred in a moment-so

quickly that I had no time to realize it. I have
a vivid recollection of that instant, of Holmes'
triumphant expression and the ring of his voice,
144 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

of the cabman's dazed, savage face, as he glared

at the glittering handcuffs, which had appeared
as if by magic upon his wrists. For a second or
two we might have been a group of statues. Then
with an inarticulate roar of fury, the prisoner
wrenched himself free from Holmes's grasp, and
hurled himself through the window. Woodwork
and glass gave way before him; but before he
got quite through, Gregson, Lestrade, and Holmes
sprang upon him like so many staghounds. He
was dragged back into the room, and then com-
menced a terrific conflict. So powerful and so
fierce was he that the four of us were shaken off

again and again. He appeared to have the con-

vulsive strength of a man in an epileptic fit. His
face and hands were terribly mangled by his
passage through the glass, but loss of blood had
no effect in diminishing his resistance. It was
not until Lestrade succeeded in getting his hand
inside his neckcloth and half-strangling him that
we made him realize that his struggles were of
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 145

no avail; and even then we felt no security until

we had pinioned his feet as well as his hands.
That done, we rose to our feet breathless and
panting.
"We have his cab ," said Sherlock Holmes.
"It will serve to take him to Scotland Yard.

And now, gentlemen," he continued, with a

pleasant smile, "we have reached the end of our
little mystery. You are very welcome to put
any questions that you like to me now, and there
is no danger that I will refuse to answer them."

ΙΟ
A Study in Scarlet.
 PART II.

The Country of the Saints.

CHAPTER I.

ON THE GREAT ALKALI PLAIN.

In the central portion of the great North

AmericanContinent there lies an arid and repulsive
desert, which for many a long year served as a
barrier against the advance of civilization. From
the Sierra Nevada to Nebraska, and from the
Yellowstone River in the north to the Colorado

upon the south, is a region of desolation and

silence. Nor is Nature always in one mood
throughout this grim district. It comprises snow-
capped and lofty mountains, and dark and gloomy
valleys. There are swift-flowing rivers which dash
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 147

through jagged cañons; and there are enormous

plains, which in winter are white with snow, and
in summer are grey with the saline alkali dust.
They all preserve, however , the common charac-
teristics of barrenness, inhospitality, and misery.
There are no inhabitants of this land of

despair. A band of Pawnees or of Blackfeet may

occasionally traverse it in order to reach other
hunting-grounds, but the hardiest of the braves
are glad to lose sight of those awsome plains,
and to find themselves once more upon their
prairies. The coyote skulks among the scrub,
the buzzard flaps heavily through the air, and the
clumsy grizzly bear lumbers through the dark
ravines, and picks up such sustenance as it can
amongst the rocks. These are the sole dwellers
in the wilderness.
In the whole world there can be no more

dreary view than that from the northern slope of

the Sierra Blanca. As far as the eye can reach
stretches the great flat plain-land, all dusted over
10*
148 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

with patches of alkali, and intersected by clumps

of the dwarfish chapparal bushes. On the ex-
treme verge of the horizon lie a long chain of
mountain peaks, with their rugged summits flecked
with snow. In this great stretch of country there
is no sign of life, nor of anything appertaining to
life. There is no bird in the steel-blue heaven,
no movement upon the dull, grey earth-above
all, there is absolute silence. Listen as one may,
there is no shadow of a sound in all that mighty
wilderness; nothing but silence-complete and
heart-subduing silence.
It has been said there is nothing appertaining
to life upon the broad plain. That is hardly true.
Looking down from the Sierra Blanca, one sees a
pathway traced out across the desert, which winds
away and is lost in the extreme distance. It is
rutted with wheels and trodden down by the feet
of many adventurers. Here and there there are
scattered white objects which glisten in the sun,
and stand out against the dull deposit of alkali.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 149

Approach , and examine them! They are bones:

some large and coarse, others smaller and more
delicate. The former have belonged to oxen, and
the latter to men. For fifteen hundred miles one

may trace this ghastly caravan route by these

scattered remains of those who had fallen by the
wayside.
Looking down on this very scene, there stood
upon the fourth of May, eighteen hundred and
forty-seven , a solitary traveller. His appearance
was such that he might have been the very genius
or demon of the region. An observer would have
found it difficult to say whether he was nearer to
forty or to sixty. His face was lean and haggard,
and the brown parchment-like skin was drawn
tightly over the projecting bones; his long, brown
hair and beard were all flecked and dashed with

white; his eyes were sunken in his head, and

burned with an unnatural lustre; while the hand
which grasped his rifle was hardly more fleshy
than that of a skeleton. As he stood, he leaned
150 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

upon his weapon for support, and yet his tall

figure and the massive framework of his bones
suggested a wiry and vigorous constitution. His
gaunt face, however, and his clothes, which hung
so baggily over his shrivelled limbs, proclaimed
what it was that gave him that senile and de-
crepit appearance. The man was dying-dying
from hunger and from thirst.
He had toiled painfully down the ravine, and
on to this little elevation, in the vain hope of
seeing some signs of water. Now the great salt
plain stretched before his eyes, and the distant
belt of savage mountains, without a sign any-
where of plant or tree, which might indicate the
presence of moisture. In all that broad landscape
there was no gleam of hope. North, and east,
and west he looked with wild, questioning eyes,
and then he realized that his wanderings had
come to an end, and that there, on that barren
crag, he was about to die. " Why not here, as
well as in a feather bed, twenty years hence," he
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 151

muttered, as he seated himself in the shelter of a

boulder.

Before sitting down, he had deposited upon

the ground his useless rifle, and also a large
bundle tied up in a grey shawl, which he had
carried slung over his right shoulder. It appeared
to be somewhat too heavy for his strength , for in
lowering it, it came down on the ground with
some little violence. Instantly there broke from
the grey parcel a little moaning cry, and from it
there protruded a small, scared face, with very
bright brown eyes, and two little speckled, dimpled
fists.

"You've hurt me!" said a childish voice, re-

proachfully.
"Have I though," the man answered penitently;
" I didn't go for to do it." As he spoke he un-
wrapped the grey shawl and extricated a pretty
little girl of about five years of age, whose dainty
shoes and smart pink frock with its little linen
apron, all bespoke a mother's care. The child
152 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

was pale and wan, but her healthy arms and legs
showed that she had suffered less than her com-

panion.
"How is it now?" he answered anxiously, for
she was still rubbing the towsy golden curls which
covered the back of her head.

"Kiss it and make it well ," she said, with

perfect gravity, showing the injured part up to
him. " That's what mother used to do. Where's
mother?"

"Mother's gone. I guess you'll see her before

long."
"Gone, eh! " said the little girl. "Funny, she
didn't say good-bye; she 'most always did if she
was just goin' over to auntie's for tea, and now
she's been away three days. Say, it's awful dry,
ain't it? Ain't there no water nor nothing to
eat?"

"No, there ain't nothing, dearie. You'll just

need to be patient awhile , and then you'll be all
right. Put your head up ag'in me like that, and
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 153

then you'll feel bullier. It ain't easy to talk when

your lips is like leather, but I guess I'd best let
you know how the cards lie. What's that you've
got?"
"Pretty things! fine things!" cried the little
girl enthusiastically, holding up two glittering
fragments of mica. "When we goes back to
home I'll give them to brother Bob."
"You'll see prettier things than them soon,"
said the man confidently. " You just wait a bit.
I was going to tell you though you remember
when we left the river?"

"Oh, yes."
"Well, we reckoned we'd strike another river
soon, d'ye see. But there was somethin' wrong;
compasses, or map , or somethin', and it didn't
turn up. Water ran out. Just except a little
drop for the likes of you, and-and--"
"And you couldn't wash yourself," interrupted
his companion gravely, staring up at his grimy
visage.
154 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"No, nor drink. And Mr. Bender, he was

the fust to go, and then Indian Pete, and then
Mrs. McGregor, and then Johnny Hones , and
then, dearie, your mother."
"Then mother's a deader too," cried the little
girl, dropping her face in her pinafore and sob-
bing bitterly.
"Yes, they all went except you and me. Then
I thought there was some chance of water in this
direction, so I heaved you over my shoulder and
we tramped it together. It don't seem as though
we've improved matters. There's an almighty
small chance for us now !"

"Do you mean that we are going to die too?"

asked the child, checking her sobs, and raising
her tear-stained face.

"I guess that's about the size of it."

"Why didn't you say so before?" she said,
laughing gleefully. "You gave me such a fright.
Why, of course, now as long as we die we'll be
with mother again."
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 155

"Yes, you will, dearie."

"And you too. I'll tell her how awful good
you've been. I'll bet she meets us at the door
of heaven with a big pitcher of water, and a lot
of buckwheat cakes , hot , and toasted on both
sides , like Bob and me was fond of. How long
will it be first?"

"I don't know-not very long." The man's

eyes were fixed upon the northern horizon. In
the blue vault of the heaven there had appeared
three little specks which increased in size every
moment, so rapidly did they approach. They
speedily resolved themselves into three large
brown birds , which circled over the heads of the
two wanderers, and then settled upon some rocks
which overlooked them. They were buzzards,
the vultures of the west, whose coming is the
forerunner of death .

" Cocks and hens," cried the little girl glee-

fully, pointing at their ill-omened forms, and
156 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

clapping her hands to make them rise. "Say,

did God make this country?"
"In course He did," said her companion,
rather startled by this unexpected question.
"He made the country down in Illinois , and
He made the Missouri," the little girl continued.
"I guess somebody else made the country in these
parts. It's not nearly so well done. They forgot
the water and the trees."

"What would ye think of offering up prayer?"

the man asked diffidently.
"It ain't night yet," she answered.
"It don't matter. It ain't quite regular, but
He won't mind that, you bet. You say over
them ones that you used to say every night in
the waggon when we was on the Plains."
"Why don't you say some yourself?" the
child asked, with wondering eyes.
" I disremember them," he answered. "I

hain't said none since I was half the height o'

that gun. I guess it's never too late. You say
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 157

them out, and I'll stand by and come in on the

choruses."

"Then you'll need to kneel down, and me

too," she said, laying the shawl out for that pur-
pose. "You've got to put your hands up like
this. It makes you feel kind of good."
It was a strange sight, had there been any-
thing but the buzzards to see it. Side by side
on the narrow shawl knelt the two wanderers, the
little prattling child and the reckless, hardened
adventurer. Her chubby face and his haggard,
angular visage were both turned up to the cloud-
less heaven in heartfelt entreaty to that dread
Being with whom they were face to face, while
the two voices-the one thin and clear, the other
deep and harsh-united in the entreaty for mercy
and forgiveness. The prayer finished, they re-
sumed their seat in the shadow of the boulder

until the child fell asleep, nestling upon the broad

breast of her protector. He watched over her
slumber for some time, but Nature proved to be
158 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

too strong for him. For three days and three

nights he had allowed himself neither rest nor
repose. Slowly the eyelids drooped over the tired
eyes, and the head sunk lower and lower upon
the breast, until the man's grizzled beard was
mixed with the gold tresses of his companion,
and both slept the same deep and dreamless
slumber.
Had the wanderer remained awake for another

half-hour a strange sight would have met his eyes.

Far away on the extreme verge of the alkali plain
there rose up a little spray of dust, very slight at
first, and hardly to be distinguished from the mists
of the distance, but gradually growing higher and
broader until it formed a solid, well defined cloud.
This cloud continued to increase in size until it

became evident that it could only be raised by a

great multitude of moving creatures. In more
fertile spots the observer would have come to the
conclusion that one of those great herds of bisons
which graze upon the prairie land was approaching
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 159

him. This was obviously impossible in these arid

wilds. As the whirl of dust drew nearer to the

solitary bluff upon which the two castaways were

reposing, the canvas-covered tilts of waggons and
the figures of armed horsemen began to show up
through the haze, and the apparition revealed
itself as being a great caravan upon its journey
for the West. But what a caravan ! When the

head of it had reached the base of the mountains,

the rear was not yet visible on the horizon. Right
across the enormous plain stretched the straggling
array, waggons and carts, men on horseback, and
men on foot. Innumerable women who staggered
along under burdens, and children who toddled
beside the waggons or peeped out from under the
white coverings. This was evidently no ordinary
party of immigrants , but rather some nomad
people who had been compelled from stress of
circumstances to seek themselves a new country.
There rose through the clear air a confused
clattering and rumbling from this great mass of
160 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

humanity, with the creaking of wheels and the

neighing horses. Loud as it was, it was not suf-
ficient to rouse the two tired wayfarers above them.
At the head of the column there rode a score

or more of grave, ironfaced men, clad in sombre

home-spun garments and armed with rifles. On
reaching the base of the bluff they halted, and
held a short council among themselves.
"The wells are to the right, my brothers,"
said one, a hard-lipped, clean-shaven man with
grizzly hair.
"To the right of the Sierra Blanca-so we
shall reach the Rio Grande," said another.
"Fear not for water," cried a third. " He who
could draw it from the rocks will not now abandon

His own chosen people."

"Amen! amen! " responded the whole party.
They were about to resume their journey when
one of the youngest and keenest-eyed uttered an
exclamation and pointed up at the rugged crag
above them. From its summit there fluttered a
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 161

little wisp of pink, showing up hard and bright

against the grey rocks behind. At the sight there
was a general reining up of horses and unslinging
of guns, while fresh horsemen came galloping up
to reinforce the vanguard. The word "Redskins"
was on every lip.
"There can't be any number of Injuns here,"
said the elderly man who appeared to be in
command. "We have passed the Pawnees, and
there are no other tribes until we cross the great
mountains."

"Shall I go forward and see, Brother Stanger-

son," asked one of the band.
"And I," " and I," cried a dozen voices.
"Leave your horses below and we will await
you here," the elder answered. In a moment the
young fellows had dismounted, fastened their
horses, and were ascending the precipitous slope
which led up to the object which had excited
their curiosity. They advanced rapidly and noise-
lessly, with the confidence and dexterity of prac-
A Study in Scarlet. II
162 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

tised scouts. The watchers from the plain below

could see them flit from rock to rock until their

figures stood out against the skyline. The young

man who had first given the alarm was leading
them. Suddenly his followers saw him throw up
his hands, as though overcome with astonishment,
and on joining him they were affected in the
same way by the sight which met their eyes.
On the little plateau which crowned the
barren hill there stood a single giant boulder, and
against this boulder there lay a tall man, long-
bearded and hard-featured, but of an excessive
thinness. His placid face and regular breathing
showed that he was fast asleep. Beside him lay
a little child, with her round white arms encircling
his brown sinewy neck, and her golden-haired
head resting upon the breast of his velveteen
tunic. Her rosy lips were parted, showing the
regular line of snow-white teeth within, and a
playful smile played over her infantile features.
Her plump little white legs, terminating in white
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 163

socks and neat shoes with shining buckles, offered

a strange contrast to the long shrivelled members
of her companion. On the ledge of rock above
this strange couple there stood three solemn
buzzards, who, at the sight of the new comers,
uttered raucous screams of disappointment and
flapped sullenly away.
The cries of the foul birds awoke the two

sleepers, who stared about them in bewilderment.

The man staggered to his feet and looked down
upon the plain which had been so desolate when
sleep had overtaken him , and which was now
traversed by this enormous body of men and of
beasts. His face assumed an expression of in-
credulity as he gazed, and he passed his bony
hand over his eyes. "This is what they call
delirium, I guess," he muttered. The child stood
beside him, holding on to the skirt of his coat,
and said nothing, but looked all round her with
the wondering, questioning gaze of childhood.
The rescuing party were speedily able to con
II*
164 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

vince the two castaways that their appearance

was no delusion. One of them seized the little

girl and hoisted her upon his shoulder, while two

others supported her gaunt companion, and as-
sisted him towards the waggons.
"My name is John Ferrier," the wanderer
explained; " me and that little un are all that's
left o' twenty-one people. The rest is all dead o'
thirst and hunger away down in the south."
"Is she your child?" asked some one.
"I guess she is now," the other cried, de-
fiantly; " she's mine 'cause I saved her. No man
will take her from me. She's Lucy Ferrier from
this day on. Who are you though?" he con-
tinued, glancing with curiosity at his stalwart,
sunburned rescuers; " there seems to be a power-
ful lot of ye."
"Nigh upon ten thousand," said one of the
young men; "we are the persecuted children of
God-the chosen of the Angel Merona."
" I never heard tell on him," said the wan
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 165

derer. " He appears to have chosen a fair crowd

of ye."

"Do not jest at that which is sacred," said

the other sternly. " We are of those who believe
in those sacred writings, drawn in Egyptian letters
on plates of beaten gold, which were handed unto
the holy Joseph Smith at Palmyra. We have
come from Nauvoo, in the State of Illinois, where
we had founded our temple. We have come
to seek a refuge from the violent man and from
the godless, even though it be the heart of the
desert."

The name of Nauvoo evidently recalled recol-

lections to John Ferrier. " I see," he said; "you
are the Mormons."

"We are the Mormons ," answered his com-

panions with one voice.
"And where are you going?"
"We do not know. The hand of God is lead-

ing us under the person of our Prophet. You

166 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

must come before him. He shall say what is to

be done with you."
They had reached the base of the hill by
this time, and were surrounded by crowds of the
pilgrims-pale-faced, meek-looking women; strong,
laughing children; and anxious, earnest-eyed men.
Many were the cries of astonishment and of com-
miseration which arose from them when they per-
ceived the youth of one of the strangers and the
destitution of the other. Their escort did not

halt, however, but pushed on, followed by a great

crowd of Mormons, until they reached a waggon,
which was conspicuous for its great size and for
the gaudiness and smartness of its appearance.
Six horses were yoked to it, whereas the others
were furnished with two, or, at most, four a-piece.
Beside the driver there sat a man who could not

have been more than thirty years of age, but

whose massive head and resolute expression
marked him as a leader. He was reading a
brown-backed volume, but as the crowd approached
 STUDY IN SCARLET. 167

he laid it aside, and listened attentively to an ac-

count of the episode. Then he turned to the two
castaways.
"If we take you with us," he said, in solemn
words, "it can only be as believers in our own
creed. We shall have no wolves in our fold.

Better far that your bones should bleach in this

wilderness than that you should prove to be that
little speck of decay which in time corrupts the
whole fruit. Will you come with us on these
terms?"

"Guess I'll come with you on any terms," said

Ferrier, with such emphasis that the grave Elders
could not restrain a smile. The leader alone re-

tained his stern, impressive expression.

"Take him, Brother Stangerson," he said,
"give him food and drink, and the child likewise.
Let it be your task also to teach him our holy
creed. We have delayed long enough. Forward!
On, on to Zion!"
" On , on to Zion !" cried the crowd of Mor
168 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

mons, and the words rippled down the long

caravan , passing from mouth to mouth until they
died away in a dull murmur in the far distance.
With a cracking of whips and a creaking of
wheels the great waggons got into motion and
soon the whole caravan was winding along once
more. The Elder to whose care the two waifs

had been committed led them to his waggon,

where a meal was already awaiting them.
"You shall remain here," he said. " In a few
days you will have recovered from your fatigues.
In the meantime, remember that now and for ever
you are of our religion. Brigham Young has said
it, and he has spoken with the voice of Joseph
Smith, which is the voice of God."
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 169

CHAPTER II.

THE FLOWER OF UTAH.

THIS is not the place to commemorate the

trials and privations endured by the immigrant
Mormons before they came to their final haven.
From the shores of the Mississippi to the western
slopes of the Rocky Mountains they had struggled
on with a constancy almost unparalleled in history.
The savage man , and the savage beast, hunger,
thirst, fatigue , and disease-every impediment
which Nature could place in the way-had all
been overcome with Anglo-Saxon tenacity. Yet
the long journey and the accumulated terrors had
shaken the hearts of the stoutest among them.
There was not one who did not sink upon his
knees in heartfelt prayer when they saw the broad
valley of Utah bathed in the sunlight beneath
170 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

them, and learned from the lips of their leader

that this was the promised land, and that these
virgin acres were to be theirs for evermore.
Young speedily proved himself to be a skilful
administrator as well as a resolute chief. Maps
were drawn and charts prepared, in which the
future city was sketched out. All around farms
were apportioned and allotted in proportion to the
standing of each individual. The tradesman was
put to his trade and the artisan to his calling. In
the town streets and squares sprang up as if by
magic. In the country there was draining and
hedging, planting and clearing, until the next
summer saw the whole country golden with the
wheat crop. Everything prospered in the strange
settlement. Above all, the great temple which
they had erected in the centre of the city grew
ever taller and larger. From the first blush of
dawn until the closing of the twilight, the clatter
of the hammer and the rasp of the saw were
never absent from the monument which the im
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 171

migrants erected to Him who had led them safe

through many dangers.
The two castaways, John Ferrier and the little
girl, who had shared his fortunes and had been
adopted as his daughter, accompanied the Mor-
mons to the end of their great pilgrimage. Little
Lucy Ferrier was borne along pleasantly enough
in Elder Stangerson's waggon, a retreat which she
shared with the Mormon's three wives and with

his son, a headstrong, forward boy of twelve.

Having rallied, with the elasticity of childhood,
from the shock caused by her mother's death,
she soon became a pet with the women, and re-
conciled herself to this new life in her moving
canvas-covered home. In the meantime Ferrier

having recovered from his privations, distinguished

himself as a useful guide and an indefatigable
hunter. So rapidly did he gain the esteem of his
new companions, that when they reached the end
of their wanderings, it was unanimously agreed
that he should be provided with as large and as
172 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

fertile a tract of land as any of the settlers, with

the exception of Young himself, and of Stangerson,
Kemball , Johnston , and Drebber, who were the
four principal Elders.
On the farm thus acquired John Ferrier built
himself a substantial log-house, which received so
many additions in succeeding years that it grew
into a roomy villa. He was a man of a practical
turn of mind, keen in his dealings and skilful
with his hands. His iron constitution enabled him

to work morning and evening at improving and

tilling his lands. Hence it came about that his
farm and all that belonged to him prospered ex-
ceedingly. In three years he was better off than
his neighbours, in six he was well-to-do, in nine
he was rich, and in twelve there were not half a
dozen men in the whole of Salt Lake City who
could compare with him. From the great in-
land sea to the distant Wahsatch Mountains there

was no name better known than that of John

Ferrier.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 173

There was one way and only one in

which he offended the susceptibilities of his co-
religionists. No argument or persuasion could
ever induce him to set up a female establish-
ment after the manner of his companions. He
never gave reasons for this persistent refusal , but
contented himself by resolutely and inflexibly
adhering to his determination. There were some
who accused him of lukewarmness in his adopted
religion, and others who put it down to greed of
wealth and reluctance to incur expense. Others,
again, spoke of some early love affair, and of a
fair-haired girl who had pined away on the shores
of the Atlantic. Whatever the reason , Ferrier
remained strictly celibate. In every other respect
he conformed to the religion of the young settle-
ment, and gained the name of being an orthodox
and straight-walking man.
Lucy Ferrier grew up within the log-house,
and assisted her adopted father in all his under-
takings. The keen air of the mountains and the
174 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

balsamic odour of the pine trees took the place

of nurse and mother to the young girl. As year
succeeded to year she grew taller and stronger,
her cheek more ruddy and her step more elastic.
Many a wayfarer upon the high road which ran
by Ferrier's farm felt long-forgotten thoughts
revive in their minds as they watched her lithe,
girlish figure tripping through the wheatfields , or
met her mounted upon her father's mustang, and
managing it with all the ease and grace of a true
child of the West. So the bud blossomed into

a flower, and the year which saw her father the

richest of the farmers left her as fair a specimen
of American girlhood as could be found in the
whole Pacific slope.
It was not the father, however, who first dis-
covered that the child had developed into the
woman. It seldom is in such cases. That mys-
terious change is too subtle and too gradual to
be measured by dates. Least of all does the
maiden herself know it until the tone of a voice
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 175

or the touch of a hand sets her heart thrilling

within her, and she learns, with a mixture of
pride and of fear, that a new and a larger nature
has awoke within her. There are few who

cannot recall that day and remember the one

little incident which heralded the dawn of a

new life. In the case of Lucy Ferrier the oc-

casion was serious enough in itself, apart from its
future influence on her destiny and that of many
besides.

It was a warm June morning, and the Latter

Day Saints were as busy as the bees whose hive
they have chosen for their emblem. In the fields
and in the streets rose the same hum of human

industry. Down the dusty high roads defiled

long streams of heavily-laden mules, all heading
to the west, for the gold fever had broken out in
California, and the overland route lay through
the city of the Elect. There, too, were droves of
sheep and bullocks coming in from the outlying
pasture lands , and trains of tired immigrants,
176 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

men and horses equally weary of their intermin-

able journey. Through all this motley assemblage,
threading her way with the skill of an accom-
plished rider, there galloped Lucy Ferrier, her
fair face flushed with the exercise and her long
chestnut hair floating out behind her. She had
a commission from her father in the city, and
was dashing in as she had done many a time
before, with all the fearlessness of youth, thinking
only of her task and how it was to be performed.
The travel-stained adventurers gazed after her in
astonishment, and even the unemotional Indians,
journeying in with their pelties , relaxed their ac-
customed stoicism as they marvelled at the beauty
of the pale-faced maiden.
She had reached the outskirts of the city
when she found the road blocked by a great
drove of cattle, driven by a half-dozen wild-
looking herdsmen from the plains. In her im-
patience she endeavoured to pass this obstacle
by pushing her horse into what appeared to be a
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 177

gap. Scarcely had she got fairly into it, how-

ever, before the beasts closed in behind her, and
she found herself completely imbedded in the
moving stream of fierce-eyed, long-horned bullocks.
Accustomed as she was to deal with cattle, she
was not alarmed at her situation, but took ad-
vantage of every opportunity to urge her horse
on, in the hopes of pushing her way through the
cavalcade. Unfortunately the horns of one of
the creatures, either by accident or design, came
in violent contact with the flank of the mustang,
and excited it to madness. In an instant it

reared up upon its hind legs with a snort of rage,

and pranced and tossed in a way that would have
unseated any but a skilful rider. The situation
was full of peril. Every plunge of the excited
horse brought it against the horns again, and
goaded it to fresh madness. It was all that the
girl could do to keep herself in the saddle, yet a
slip would mean a terrible death under the hoofs
of the unwieldy and terrified animals. Unaccus-
A Study in Scarlet. 12
178 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

tomed to sudden emergencies, her head began

to swim, and her grip upon the bridle to relax.
Choked by the rising cloud of dust and by the
steam from the struggling creatures, she might
have abandoned her efforts in despair, but for a
kindly voice at her elbow which assured her of
assistance. At the same moment a sinewy brown
hand caught the frightened horse by the curb,
and forcing a way through the drove, soon
brought her to the outskirts.
"You're not hurt, I hope, miss," said her pre-
server, respectfully.
She looked up at his dark, fierce face, and
laughed saucily. "I'm awful frightened," she said,
naïvely; " whoever would have thought that Poncho
would have been so scared by a lot of cows?"
"Thank God you kept your seat," the other
said earnestly. He was a tall, savage-looking
young fellow, mounted on a powerful roan horse,
and clad in the rough dress of a hunter, with a
long rifle slung over his shoulders. "I guess you
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 179

are the daughter of John Ferrier," he remarked;

"I saw you ride down from his house. When
you see him, ask him if he remembers the Jeffer-
son Hopes of St. Louis. If he's the same Ferrier,
my father and he were pretty thick."
"Hadn't you better come and ask yourself?"
she asked, demurely.
The young fellow seemed pleased at the sug-
gestion, and his dark eyes sparkled with pleasure.
"I'll do so," he said; " we've been in the mountains
for two months , and are not over and above in
visiting condition. He must take us as he finds
us."

"He has a good deal to thank you for, and

so have I," she answered, "he's awful fond of me.
If those cows had jumped on me he'd have never
got over it."
"Neither would I," said her companion.
"You! Well, I don't see that it would make
much matter to you, anyhow. You ain't even a
friend of ours."
12
*
180 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

The young hunter's dark face grew so gloomy

over this remark that Lucy Ferrier laughed aloud.
"There , I didn't mean that," she said; " of
course, you are a friend now. You must come
and see us. Now I must push along, or father
won't trust me with his business any more. Good-
bye!"
"Good-bye," he answered, raising his broad
sombrero, and bending over her little hand. She
wheeled her mustang round, gave it a cut with
her riding-whip, and darted away down the broad
road in a rolling cloud of dust.
Young Jefferson Hope rode on with his com-
panions, gloomy and taciturn. He and they had
been among the Nevada Mountains prospecting for
silver, and were returning to Salt Lake City in the
hope of raising capital enough to work some lodes
which they had discovered. He had been as keen
as any of them upon the business until this sudden
incident had drawn his thoughts into another
channel. The sight of the fair young girl , as
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 181

frank and wholesome as the Sierra breezes , had

stirred his volcanic, untamed heart to its very
depths. When she had vanished from his sight,
he realized that a crisis had come in his life, and
that neither silver speculations nor any other ques-
tions could ever be of such importance to him as
this new and all-absorbing one. The love which
had sprung up in his heart was not the sudden,
changeable fancy of a boy, but rather the wild,
fierce passion of a man of strong will and im-
perious temper. He had been accustomed to
succeed in all that he undertook. He swore in
his heart that he would not fail in this if human

effort and human perseverance could render him

successful.

He called on John Ferrier that night, and many

times again, until his face was a familiar one at
the farmhouse. John, cooped up in the valley,
and absorbed in his work, had had little chance of
learning the news of the outside world during the
last twelve years. All this Jefferson Hope was
182 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

able to tell him, and in a style which interested

Lucy as well as her father. He had been a pioneer
in California, and could narrate many a strange
tale of fortunes made and fortunes lost in those

wild, halcyon days. He had been a scout too,

and a trapper, a silver explorer, and a ranchman.
Wherever stirring adventures were to be had,
Jefferson Hope had been there in search of them.
He soon became a favourite with the old farmer,
who spoke eloquently of his virtues. On such
occasions, Lucy was silent, but her blushing cheek
and her bright, happy eyes showed only too
clearly that her young heart was no longer her
own. Her honest father may not have observed
these symptoms, but they were assuredly not thrown
away upon the man who had won her affections.
One summer evening he came galloping down
the road and pulled up at the gate. She was at
the doorway, and came down to meet him. He
threw the bridle over the fence and strode up the
pathway.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 183

" I am off, Lucy," he said, taking her two

hands in his, and gazing tenderly down into her
face; "I won't ask you to come with me now,
but will you be ready to come when I am here
again?"
"And when will that be?" she asked, blushing
and laughing.
"A couple of months at the outside. I will
come and claim you then, my darling. There's
no one who can stand between us."
"And how about father ?" she asked.

"He has given his consent, provided we get

these mines working all right. I have no fear on
that head."

"Oh, well; of course, if you and father have

arranged it all, there's no more to be said," she
whispered, with her cheek against his broad
breast.

"Thank God! " he said, hoarsely, stooping and

kissing her. " It is settled, then. The longer I
stay, the harder it will be to go. They are wait
184 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

ing for me at the cañon. Good-bye, my own

darling-good-bye. In two months you shall see
me."

He tore himself from her as he spoke, and,

flinging himself upon his horse, galloped furiously
away, never even looking round, as though afraid
that his resolution might fail him if he took one
glance at what he was leaving. She stood at the
gate, gazing after him until he vanished from her
sight. Then she walked back into the house, the
happiest girl in all Utah.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 185

CHAPTER III.

JOHN FERRIER TALKS WITH THE PROPHET.

THREE weeks had passed since Jefferson Hope

and his comrades had departed from Salt Lake
City. John Ferrier's heart was sore within him
when he thought of the young man's return, and
of the impending loss of his adopted child. Yet
her bright and happy face reconciled him to the
arrangement more than any argument could have
done. He had always determined, deep down in
his resolute heart, that nothing would ever in-
duce him to allow his daughter to wed a Mor-
mon. Such a marriage he regarded as no mar-
riage at all, but as a shame and a disgrace.
Whatever he might think of the Mormon doc-
trines, upon that one point he was inflexible. He
had to seal his mouth on the subject, however,
186 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

for to express an unorthodox opinion was a

dangerous matter in those days in the Land of
the Saints.

Yes, a dangerous matter-so dangerous that

even the most saintly dared only whisper their
religious opinions with bated breath, lest some-
thing which fell from their lips might be miscon-
strued, and bring down a swift retribution upon
them. The victims of persecution had now turned
persecutors on their own account, and persecutors
of the most terrible description. Not the Inquisi-
tion of Seville, nor the German Vehmgericht, nor
the Secret Societies of Italy, were ever able to
put a more formidable machinery in motion than
that which cast a cloud over the State of Utah.
Its invisibility, and the mystery which was
attached to it, made this organization doubly
terrible. It appeared to be omniscient and omni-
potent, and yet was neither seen nor heard. The
man who held out against the Church vanished
away, and none knew whither he had gone or
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 187

what had befallen him. His wife and his children

awaited him at home, but no father ever returned

to tell them how he had fared at the hands of

his secret judges. A rash word or a hasty act

was followed by annihilation, and yet none knew
what the nature might be of this terrible power
which was suspended over them. No wonder
that men went about in fear and trembling, and
that even in the heart of the wilderness they
dared not whisper the doubts which oppressed
them.

At first this vague and terrible power was

exercised only upon the recalcitrants who, having
embraced the Mormon faith, wished afterwards to
pervert or to abandon it. Soon, however, it took
a wider range. The supply of adult women was
running short, and polygamy without a female
population on which to draw was a barren
doctrine indeed. Strange rumours began to be
bandied about-rumours of murdered immigrants
and rifled camps in regions where Indians had
188 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

never been seen. Fresh women appeared in the

harems of the Elders-women who pined and
wept, and bore upon their faces the traces of an
unextinguishable horror. Belated wanderers upon
the mountains spoke of gangs of armed men,
masked, stealthy, and noiseless, who flitted by
them in the darkness. These tales and rumours

took substance and shape, and were corroborated

and re-corroborated, until they resolved them-
selves into a definite name. To this day, in the
lonely ranches of the West, the name of the
Danite Band, or the Avenging Angels, is a sinister
and an ill-omened one.

Fuller knowledge of the organization which

produced such terrible results served to increase
rather than to lessen the horror which it inspired
in the minds of men. None knew who belonged
to this ruthless society. The names of the
participators in the deeds of blood and violence
done under the name of religion were kept pro-
foundly secret. The very friend to whom you
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 189

communicated your misgivings as to the Prophet

and his mission might be one of those who would
come forth at night with fire and sword to exact
a terrible reparation. Hence every man feared
his neighbour, and none spoke of the things
which were nearest his heart.

One fine morning John Ferrier was about to

set out to his wheat-fields, when he heard the
click of the latch, and, looking through the win-
dow, saw a stout, sandy-haired, middle-aged man
coming up the pathway. His heart leapt to his
mouth, for this was none other than the great
Brigham Young himself. Full of trepidation-for
he knew that such a visit boded him little good
-Ferrier ran to the door to greet the Mormon
chief. The latter, however, received his saluta-
tions coldly, and followed him with a stern face
into the sitting-room.
"Brother Ferrier," he said, taking a seat, and
eyeing the farmer keenly from under his light-
coloured eyelashes, " the true believers have been
190 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

good friends to you. We picked you up when

you were starving in the desert, we shared our
food with you, led you safe to the Chosen Valley,
gave you a goodly share of land, and allowed
you to wax rich under our protection. Is not
this so?"

"It is so," answered John Ferrier.

" In return for all this we asked but one con-

dition: that was, that you should embrace the

true faith, and conform in every way to its usages.
This you promised to do, and this, if common
report says truly, you have neglected."
"And how have I neglected it?" asked
Ferrier, throwing out his hands in expostulation.
"Have I not given to the common fund? Have
I not attended at the Temple? Have I not--?"
"Where are your wives?" asked Young, look-
ing round him. "Call them in, that I may greet
chem."

"It is true that I have not married," Ferrier

answered. "But women were few, and there were
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 191

many who had better claims than I. I was not a

lonely man: I had my daughter to attend to my
wants."

" It is of that daughter that I would speak to

you," said the leader of the Mormons. "She has
grown to be the flower of Utah , and has found
favour in the eyes of many who are high in the
land."

John Ferrier groaned internally.

"There are stories of her which I would fain
disbelieve- stories that she is sealed to some

Gentile. This must be the gossip of idle tongues.

What is the thirteenth rule in the code of the

sainted Joseph Smith? 'Let every maiden of

the true faith marry one of the elect; for if she
wed a Gentile, she commits a grievous sin.' This
being so, it is impossible that you, who profess
the holy creed, should suffer your daughter to
violate it."

John Ferrier made no answer, but he played

nervously with his riding-whip.
192 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"Upon this one point your whole faith shall

be tested-so it has been decided in the Sacred

Council of Four. The girl is young, and we

would not have her wed grey hairs, neither would
we deprive her of all choice. We Elders have
many heifers,* but our children must also be
provided. Stangerson has a son, and Drebber
has a son, and either of them would gladly wel-
come your daughter to their house. Let her
choose between them. They are young and rich,
and of the true faith. What say you to that?"
Ferrier remained silent for some little time
with his brows knitted.

"You will give us time," he said at last. "My

daughter is very young-she is scarce of an age
to marry."
"She shall have a month to choose," said
Young, rising from his seat. "At the end of that
time she shall give her answer."
* Heber C. Kemball, in one of his sermons, alludes to
his hundred wives under this endearing epithet.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 193

He was passing through the door, when he

turned, with flushed face and flashing eyes. "It
were better for you, John Ferrier," he thundered,
"that you and she were now lying blanched
skeletons upon the Sierra Blanca, than that you
should put your weak wills against the orders of
the Holy Four!"
With a threatening gesture of his hand, he
turned from the door, and Ferrier heard his heavy
steps scrunching along the shingly path.
He was still sitting with his elbow upon his
knee, considering how he should broach the
matter to his daughter, when a soft hand was
laid upon his, and looking up, he saw her stand-
ing beside him. One glance at her pale, frightened
face showed him that she had heard what had

passed.
"I could not help it," she said, in answer to
his look. "His voice rang through the house.
Oh, father, father, what shall we do ?"
"Don't you scare yourself," he answered, draw-
A Study in Scarlet. 13
194 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

ing her to him, and passing his broad, rough

hand caressingly over her chestnut hair. "We'll
fix it up somehow or another. You don't find
your fancy kind o' lessening for this chap, do
you?"
A sob and a squeeze of his hand was her
only answer.
"No; of course not. I shouldn't care to hear
you say you did. He's a likely lad, and he's a
Christian, which is more than these folk here, in
spite o' all their praying and preaching. There's
a party starting for Nevada to-morrow, and I'll
manage to send him a message letting him know
the hole we are in. If I know anything o' that
young man, he'll be back here with a speed that
would whip electro-telegraphs."
Lucy laughed through her tears at her father's
description.
"When he comes, he will advise us for the
best. But it is for you that I am frightened,
dear. One hears - one hears such dreadful
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 195

stories about those who oppose the Prophet:

something terrible always happens to them."
"But we haven't opposed him yet," her father
answered. " It will be time to look out for squalls
when we do. We have a clear month before us;
at the end of that, I guess we had best shin out
of Utah."

"Leave Utah ! "

"That's about the size of it."

"But the farm? "

"We will raise as much as we can in money,

and let the rest go. To tell the truth, Lucy, it
isn't the first time I have thought of doing it. I
don't care about knuckling under to any man, as
these folk do to their darned Prophet. I'm a
free-born American, and it's all new to me. Guess
I'm too old to learn. If he comes browsing about
this farm , he might chance to run up against a
charge of buck-shot travelling in the opposite
direction."
13*
196 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"But they won't let us leave," his daughter

objected.
"Wait till Jefferson comes, and we'll soon
manage that. In the meantime, don't you fret
yourself, my dearie, and don't get your eyes
swelled up, else he'll be walking into me when he
sees you. There's nothing to be afeard about,
and there's no danger at all."
John Ferrier uttered these consoling remarks
in a very confident tone, but she could not help
observing that he paid unusual care to the fasten-
ing of the doors that night, and that he carefully
cleaned and loaded the rusty old shot-gun which
hung upon the wall of his bedroom.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 197

CHAPTER IV.

A FLIGHT FOR LIFE.

On the morning which followed his interview

with the Mormon Prophet, John Ferrier went in
to Salt Lake City, and having found his acquaint-
ance, who was bound for the Nevada Mountains,
he entrusted him with his message to Jefferson
Hope. In it he told the young man of the im-
minent danger which threatened them, and how
necessary it was that he should return. Having
done thus he felt easier in his mind, and returned
home with a lighter heart.
As he approached his farm, he was surprised
to see a horse hitched to each of the posts of the
gate. Still more surprised was he on entering to
find two young men in possession of his sitting-
room. One, with a long pale face, was leaning
198 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

back in the rocking-chair, with his feet cocked

up upon the stove. The other, a bull-necked
youth with coarse, bloated features, was standing
in front of the window with his hands in his
pockets whistling a popular hymn. Both of them
nodded to Ferrier as he entered, and the one
in the rocking-chair commenced the conversa-
tion.

"Maybe you don't know us," he said. " This

here is the son of Elder Drebber, and I'm Joseph
Stangerson, who travelled with you in the desert
when the Lord stretched out His hand and
gathered you into the true fold."
"As He will all the nations in His own good
time," said the other in a nasal voice; "He
grindeth slowly but exceeding small."
John Ferrier bowed coldly. He had guessed
who his visitors were.

"We have come," continued Stangerson, " at

the advice of our fathers to solicit the hand of

your daughter for whichever of us may seem

 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 199

good to you and to her. As I have but four

wives and Brother Drebber here has seven , it
appears to me that my claim is the stronger
one."

"Nay, nay, Brother Stangerson," cried the

other; "the question is not how many wives we
have, but how many we can keep. My father
has now given over his mills to me, and I am the
richer man."

"But my prospects are better," said the other,

warmly. " When the Lord removes my father, I
shall have his tanning yard and his leather
factory. Then I am your elder, and am higher
in the Church."
"It will be for the maiden to decide ," re-
joined young Drebber, smirking at his own reflec-
tion in the glass. " We will leave it all to her
decision."

During this dialogue John Ferrier had stood

fuming in the doorway, hardly able to keep his
riding-whip from the backs of his two visitors.
200 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"Look here," he said at last, striding up to

them, "when my daughter summons you, you can
come, but until then I don't want to see your
taces again."
The two young Mormons stared at him in
amazement. In their eyes this competition be-
tween them for the maiden's hand was the highest
of honours both to her and her father.

"There are two ways out of the room," cried

Ferrier; " there is the door, and there is the win-
dow. Which do you care to use?"
His brown face looked so savage, and his
gaunt hands so threatening, that his visitors sprang
to their feet and beat a hurried retreat. The old
farmer followed them to the door.

"Let me know when you have settled which

it is to be," he said, sardonically.
"You shall smart for this!" Stangerson cried,
white with rage. "You have defied the Prophet
and the Council of Four. You shall rue it to the

end of your days."

 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 201

"The hand of the Lord shall be heavy upon

you," cried young Drebber; "He will arise and
smite you! "
"Then I'll start the smiting," exclaimed Ferrier,
furiously, and would have rushed upstairs for his
gun had not Lucy seized him by the arm and
restrained him. Before he could escape from her,
the clatter of horses' hoofs told him that they
were beyond his reach.
"The young canting rascals! " he exclaimed,
wiping the perspiration from his forehead; " I
would sooner see you in your grave, my girl,
than the wife of either of them."

"And so should I, father," she answered, with

spirit; " but Jefferson will soon be here."
"Yes. It will not be long before he comes.
The sooner the better, for we do not know what
their next move may be."
It was, indeed, high time that some one
capable of giving advice and help should come
to the aid of the sturdy old farmer and his adopted
202 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

daughter. In the whole history of the settlement

there had never been such a case of rank dis-

obedience to the authority of the Elders. If minor

errors were punished so sternly, what would be
the fate of this arch rebel. Ferrier knew that his

wealth and position would be of no avail to him.

Others as well known and as rich as himself had

been spirited away before now, and their goods

given over to the Church. He was a brave man,
but he trembled at the vague, shadowy terrors
which hung over him. Any known danger he
could face with a firm lip , but this suspense
was unnerving. He concealed his fears from his
daughter, however, and affected to make light of
the whole matter, though she, with the keen eye
of love, saw plainly that he was ill at ease.
He expected that he would receive some mes-
sage or remonstrance from Young as to his con-
duct, and he was not mistaken, though it came
in an unlooked-for manner. Upon rising next
morning he found, to his surprise, a small square
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 203

of paper pinned on to the coverlet of his bed

just over his chest. On it was printed, in bold,
straggling letters :-
"Twenty-nine days are given you for amend-
ment, and then--"
The dash was more fear-inspiring than any
threat could have been. How this warning came
into his room puzzled John Ferrier sorely, for his
servants slept in an outhouse, and the doors and
windows had all been secured. He crumpled the
paper up and said nothing to his daughter, but
the incident struck a chill into his heart. The

twenty-nine days were evidently the balance of

the month which Young had promised. What
strength or courage could avail against an enemy
armed with such mysterious powers? The hand
which fastened that pin might have struck him
to the heart, and he could never have known who
had slain him.

Still more shaken was he next morning. They

had sat down to their breakfast, when Lucy with
204 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

a cry of surprise pointed upwards. In the centre

of the ceiling was scrawled, with a burned stick
apparently, the number 28. To his daughter it
was unintelligible, and he did not enlighten her.
That night he sat up with his gun and kept watch
and ward. He saw and he heard nothing, and
yet in the morning a great 27 had been painted
upon the outside of his door.
Thus day followed day; and as sure as morn-
ing came he found that his unseen enemies had
kept their register, and had marked up in some
conspicuous position how many days were still
left to him out of the month of grace. Sometimes
the fatal numbers appeared upon the walls, some-
times upon the floors, occasionally they were on
small placards stuck upon the garden gate or the
railings. With all his vigilance John Ferrier could
not discover whence these daily warnings pro-
ceeded. A horror which was almost superstitious
came upon him at the sight of them. He be-
came haggard and restless, and his eyes had the
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 205

troubled look of some hunted creature. He had

but one hope in life now, and that was for the
arrival of the young hunter from Nevada.
Twenty had changed to fifteen, and fifteen to
ten, but there was no news of the absentee. One
by one the numbers dwindled down, and still
there came no sign of him. Whenever a horse-
man clattered down the road, or a driver shouted
at his team, the old farmer hurried to the gate,
thinking that help had arrived at last. At last,
when he saw five give way to four and that again
to three, he lost heart, and abandoned all hope
of escape. Singlehanded, and with his limited
knowledge of the mountains which surrounded
the settlement, he knew that he was powerless.
The more-frequented roads were strictly watched
and guarded , and none could pass along them
without an order from the Council. Turn which

way he would, there appeared to be no avoiding

the blow which hung over him. Yet the old man
never wavered in his resolution to part with life
206 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

itself before he consented to what he regarded as

his daughter's dishonour.
He was sitting alone one evening pondering
deeply over his troubles, and searching vainly for
some way out of them. That morning had shown
the figure 2 upon the wall of his house, and the
next day would be the last of the allotted time.
What was to happen then? All manner of vague
and terrible fancies filled his imagination. And
his daughter-what was to become of her after
he was gone? Was there no escape from the in-
visible net-work which was drawn all round them.

He sank his head upon the table and sobbed at

the thought of his own impotence.
What was that? In the silence he heard a

gentle scratching sound-low, but very distinct in

the quiet of the night. It came from the door of
the house. Ferrier crept into the hall and listened
intently. There was a pause for a few moments,
and then the low, insidious sound was repeated.
Some one was evidently tapping very gently upon
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 207

one of the panels of the door. Was it some mid-

night assassin who had come to carry out the
murderous orders of the secret tribunal? Or was

it some agent who was marking up that the last

day of grace had arrived. John Ferrier felt that
instant death would be better than the suspense
which shook his nerves and chilled his heart.

Springing forward, he drew the bolt and threw

the door open.
Outside all was calm and quiet. The night
was fine, and the stars were twinkling brightly
overhead. The little front garden lay before the
farmer's eyes bounded by the fence and gate, but
neither there nor on the road was any human
being to be seen. With a sigh of relief, Ferrier
looked to right and to left, until , happening to
glance straight down at his own feet, he saw to
his astonishment a man lying flat upon his face
upon the ground, with arms and legs all asprawl.
So unnerved was he at the sight that he
leaned up against the wall with his hand to his
208 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

throat to stifle his inclination to call out. His

first thought was that the prostrate figure was

that of some wounded or dying man, but as he
watched it he saw it writhe along the ground and
into the hall with the rapidity and noiselessness
of a serpent. Once within the house the man
sprang to his feet, closed the door, and revealed
to the astonished farmer the fierce face and reso-

lute expression of Jefferson Hope.

"Good God! " gasped John Ferrier. " How you
scared me! Whatever made you come in like
that."

"Give me food," the other said, hoarsely. “I

have had no time for bit or sup for eight-and-
forty hours." He flung himself upon the cold
meat and bread which were still lying upon the
table from his host's supper, and devoured it
voraciously. "Does Lucy bear up well?" he
asked, when he had satisfied his hunger.
"Yes. She does not know the danger," her
father answered.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 209

"That is well. The house is watched on every

side. That is why I crawled my way up to it.
They may be darned sharp, but they're not quite
sharp enough to catch a Washoe hunter."
John Ferrier felt a different man now that he
realized that he had a devoted ally. He seized
the young man's leathery hand and wrung it cor-
dially. "You're a man to be proud of," he said.
"There are not many who would come to share
our danger and our troubles."
"You've hit it there, pard," the young hunter
answered. "I have a respect for you, but if you
were alone in this business I'd think twice before

I put my head into such a hornet's nest. It's

Lucy that brings me here, and before harm
comes on her I guess there will be one less o' the
Hope family in Utah."
"What are we to do?"

"To-morrow is your last day, and unless you

act to-night you are lost. I have a mule and two
A Study in Scarlet. 14
210 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

horses waiting in the Eagle Ravine. How much

money have you?"
"Two thousand dollars in gold, and five in
notes."

"That will do. I have as much more to add

to it. We must push for Carson City through

the mountains. You had best wake Lucy. It
is as well that the servants do not sleep in the
house."
While Ferrier was absent, preparing his
daughter for the approaching journey, Jefferson
Hope packed all the eatables that he could find
into a small parcel, and filled a stoneware jar
with water, for he knew by experience that the
mountain wells were few and far between. He

had hardly completed his arrangements before the

farmer returned with his daughter all dressed
and ready for a start. The greeting between the
lovers was warm, but brief, for minutes were
precious, and there was much to be done.
"We must make our start at once," said
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 211

Jefferson Hope, speaking in a low but resolute

voice, like one who realizes the greatness of the
peril, but has steeled his heart to meet it. "The
front and back entrances are watched, but with
caution we may get away through the side win-
dow and across the fields. Once on the road

we are only two miles from the Ravine where the

horses are waiting. By daybreak we should be
half-way through the mountains."
"What if we are stopped?" asked Ferrier.
Hope slapped the revolver butt which pro-
truded from the front of his tunic. "If they are
too many for us, we shall take two or three of
them with us," he said with a sinister smile.
The lights inside the house had all been ex-
tinguished, and from the darkened window Ferrier
peered over the fields which had been his own,
and which he was now about to abandon for ever.

He had long nerved himself to the sacrifice, how-

ever, and the thought of the honour and happiness
of his daughter outweighed any regret at his
14*
212 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

ruined fortunes. All looked so peaceful and happy,

the rustling trees and the broad silent stretch of
grainland , that it was difficult to realize that the
spirit of murder lurked through it all. Yet the
white face and set expression of the young hunter
showed that in his approach to the house he had
seen enough to satisfy him upon that head.
Ferrier carried the bag of gold and notes,
Jefferson Hope had the scanty provisions and
water, while Lucy had a small bundle containing
a few of her more valued possessions. Opening
the window very slowly and carefully, they waited
until a dark cloud had somewhat obscured the

night, and then one by one passed through

into the little garden. With bated breath and
crouching figures they stumbled across it, and
gained the shelter of the hedge, which they
skirted until they came to the gap which
opened into the cornfield. They had just
reached this point when the young man seized
his two companions and dragged them down
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 213

into the shadow, where they lay silent and

trembling.
It was as well that his prairie training had
given Jefferson Hope the ears of a lynx He and
his friends had hardly crouched down before the
melancholy hooting of a mountain owl was heard
within a few yards of them, which was immediately
answered by another hoot at a small distance. At
the same moment a vague, shadowy figure emerged
from the gap for which they had been making,
and uttered the plaintive signal cry again , on
which a second man appeared out of the ob-
scurity.
"To-morrow at midnight," said the first, who
appeared to be in authority. " When the Whip-
poor-Will calls three times."
"It is well," returned the other. " Shall I tell
Brother Drebber?"
"Pass it on to him, and from him to the
others. Nine to seven!"

"Seven to five!" repeated the other; and the

214 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

two figures flitted away in different directions.

Their concluding words had evidently been some
form of sign and countersign. The instant that
their footsteps had died away in the distance,
Jefferson Hope sprang to his feet, and helping his
companions through the gap, led the way across
the fields at the top of his speed, supporting and
half-carrying the girl when her strength appeared
to fail her.

"Hurry on! hurry on!" he gasped from time

to time. " We are through the line of sentinels.
Everything depends on speed. Hurry on! "
Once on the high road, they made rapid pro-
gress. Only once did they meet any one, and
then they managed to slip into a field, and so
avoid recognition. Before reaching the town the
hunter branched away into a rugged and narrow
footpath which led to the mountains. Two dark,
jagged peaks loomed above them through the
darkness , and the defile which led between them
was the Eagle Cañon in which the horses were
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 215

awaiting them. With unerring instinct Jefferson

Hope picked his way among the great boulders
and along the bed of a dried-up watercourse,
until he came to the retired corner screened with

rocks , where the faithful animals had been

picketed. The girl was placed upon the mule,
and old Ferrier upon one of the horses, with his
money-bag, while Jefferson Hope led the other
along the precipitous and dangerous path.
It was a bewildering route for any one who
was not accustomed to face Nature in her wildest

moods. On the one side a great crag towered

up a thousand feet or more , black, stern, and
menacing, with long basaltic columns upon his
rugged surface like the ribs of some petrified
monster. On the other hand a wild chaos of

boulders and débris made all advance impossible.

Between the two ran the irregular track, so narrow
in places that they had to travel in Indian file,
and so rough that only practised riders could have
traversed it at all. Yet, in spite of all dangers
216 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

and difficulties, the hearts of the fugitives were

light within them, for every step increased the
distance between them and the terrible despotism
from which they were flying.
They soon had a proof, however, that they
were still within the jurisdiction of the Saints.
They had reached the very wildest and most
desolate portion of the pass when the girl gave a
startled cry, and pointed upwards. On a rock
which overlooked the track, showing out dark and
plain against the sky, there stood a solitary
sentinel. He saw them as soon as they perceived
him, and his military challenge of "Who goes
there?" rang through the silent ravine.
"Travellers for Nevada," said Jefferson Hope,
with his hand upon the rifle which hung by his
saddle.

They could see the lonely watcher fingering

his gun, and peering down at them as if dis-
satisfied at their reply.
"By whose permission?" he asked.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 217

"The Holy Four," answered Ferrier. His

Mormon experiences had taught him that that
was the highest authority to which he could refer.
"Nine to seven," cried the sentinel.
"Seven to five," returned Jefferson Hope
promptly, remembering the countersign which he
had heard in the garden.
"Pass, and the Lord go with you ," said the
voice from above. Beyond his post the path
broadened out, and the horses were able to break
into a trot. Looking back, they could see the
solitary watcher leaning upon his gun, and knew
that they had passed the outlying post of the
chosen people, and that freedom lay before them.
218 A STUDY IN SCARLET

CHAPTER V.

THE AVENGING ANGELS.

All night their course lay through intricate

defiles and over irregular and rock-strewn paths.
More than once they lost their way, but Hope's
intimate knowledge of the mountains enabled
them to regain the track once more. When
morning broke, a scene of marvellous though
savage beauty lay before them. In every direc-
tion the great snow-capped peaks hemmed them
in, peeping over each other's shoulders to the
far horizon. So steep were the rocky banks
on either side of them that the larch and the

pine seemed to be suspended over their heads,

and to need only a gust of wind to come hurtling
down upon them. Nor was the fear entirely an
illusion, for the barren valley was thickly strewn
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 219

with trees and boulders which had fallen in a

similar manner. Even as they passed , a great
rock came thundering down with a hoarse rattle
which woke the echoes in the silent gorges, and
startled the weary horses into a gallop.
As the sun rose slowly above the eastern
horizon, the caps of the great mountains lit up one
after the other, like lamps at a festival, until they
were all ruddy and glowing. The magnificent
spectacle cheered the hearts of the three fugitives
and gave them fresh energy. At a wild torrent
which swept out of a ravine they called a halt
and watered their horses, while they partook of a
hasty breakfast. Lucy and her father would fain
have rested longer, but Jefferson Hope was in-
exorable. " They will be upon our track by this
time," he said. "Everything depends upon our
speed. Once safe in Carson, we may rest for the
remainder of our lives."

During the whole of that day they struggled

on through the defiles, and by evening they cal
220 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

culated that they were more than thirty miles

from their enemies. At night-time they chose
the base of a beetling crag, where the rocks
offered some protection from the chill wind , and
there, huddled together for warmth, they enjoyed
a few hours' sleep. Before daybreak, however,
they were up and on their way once more. They
had seen no signs of any pursuers, and Jefferson
Hope began to think that they were fairly out of
the reach of the terrible organization whose en-
mity they had incurred. He little knew how far
that iron grasp could reach, or how soon it was
to close upon them and crush them.
About the middle of the second day of their
flight their scanty store of provisions began to run
out. This gave the hunter little uneasiness, how-
ever, for there was game to be had among the
mountains , and he had frequently before had to
depend upon his rifle for the needs of life.
Choosing a sheltered nook, he piled together a
few dried branches and made a blazing fire, at
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 221

which his companions might warm themselves,

for they were now nearly five thousand feet above
the sea level, and the air was bitter and keen..
Having tethered the horses, and bade Lucy adieu,
he threw his gun over his shoulder, and set out
in search of whatever chance might throw in his
way. Looking back, he saw the old man and
the young girl crouching over the blazing fire,
while the three animals stood motionless in

the background. Then the intervening rocks hid

them from his view.

He walked for a couple of miles through one

ravine after another without success, though, from
the marks upon the bark of the trees, and other
indications, he judged that there were numerous
bears in the vicinity. At last, after two or three
hours' fruitless search, he was thinking of turning
back in despair, when casting his eyes upwards
he saw a sight which sent a thrill of pleasure
through his heart. On the edge of a jutting
pinnacle, three or four hundred feet above him,
222 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

there stood a creature somewhat resembling a

sheep in appearance, but armed with a pair of
gigantic horns. The big-horn-for so it is called
-was acting, probably, as a guardian over a
flock which were invisible to the hunter; but
fortunately it was heading in the opposite direc-
tion, and had not perceived him. Lying on his
face, he rested his rifle upon a rock, and took a
long and steady aim before drawing the trigger.
The animal sprang into the air, tottered for
a moment upon the edge of the precipice,
and then came crashing down into the valley
beneath.

The creature was too unwieldy to lift, so the

hunter contented himself with cutting away one
haunch and part of the flank. With this trophy
over his shoulder, he hastened to retrace his
steps, for the evening was already drawing in.
He had hardly started, however, before he realized
the difficulty which faced him. In his eagerness
he had wandered far past the ravines which were
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 223

known to him, and it was no easy matter to pick

out the path which he had taken. The valley in
which he found himself divided and sub-divided
into many gorges, which were so like each other
that it was impossible to distinguish one from the
other. He followed one for a mile or more until
he came to a mountain torrent which he was sure
that he had never seen before. Convinced that

he had taken the wrong turn, he tried another,

but with the same result. Night was coming on
rapidly, and it was almost dark before he at last
found himself in a defile which was familiar to him.

Even then it was no easy matter to keep to the

right track, for the moon had not yet risen, and
the high cliffs on either side made the obscurity
more profound. Weighed down with his burden,
and weary from his exertions, he stumbled along,
keeping up his heart by the reflection that every
step brought him nearer to Lucy, and that he
carried with him enough to ensure them food
for the remainder of their journey.
224 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

He had now come to the mouth of the very

defile in which he had left them. Even in the

darkness he could recognise the outline of the

cliffs which bounded it. They must, he reflected,
be awaiting him anxiously, for he had been absent
nearly five hours. In the gladness of his heart he
put his hands to his mouth and made the glen
re-echo to a loud halloo as a signal that he was
coming. He paused and listened for an answer.
None came save his own cry, which clattered up
the dreary, silent ravines, and was borne back
to his ears in countless repetitions. Again he
shouted, even louder than before, and again no
whisper came back from the friends whom he
had left such a short time ago. A vague, name-
less dread came over him, and he hurried onwards
frantically, dropping the precious food in his
agitation.
When he turned the corner he came full in

sight of the spot where the fire had been lit.

There was still a glowing pile of wood ashes
 STUDY IN SCARLET. 225

there, but it had evidently not been tended since

his departure. The same dead silence still
reigned all round. With his fears all changed to
convictions, he hurried on. There was no living
creature near the remains of the fire: animals,
man, maiden, all were gone. It was only too
clear that some sudden and terrible disaster had

occurred during his absence-a disaster which

had embraced them all, and yet had left no traces
behind it.

Bewildered and stunned by this blow, Jeffer-

son Hope felt his head spin round, and had to
lean upon his rifle to save himself from falling.
He was essentially a man of action, however, and
speedily recovered from his temporary impotence.
Seizing a half-consumed piece of wood from the
smouldering fire, he blew it into a flame, and
proceeded with its help to examine the little
camp. The ground was all stamped down by
the feet of horses, showing that a large party of
mounted men had overtaken the fugitives, and
A Study in Scarlet. 15
226 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

the direction of their tracks proved that they had

afterwards turned back to Salt Lake City. Had
they carried back both of his companions with
them? Jefferson Hope had almost persuaded
himself that they must have done so, when his
eye fell upon an object which made every nerve
of his body tingle within him. A little way on
one side of the camp was a low-lying heap of
reddish soil, which had assuredly not been there
before. There was no mistaking it for anything
but a newly-dug grave. As the young hunter
approached it, he perceived that a stick had been
planted on it, with a sheet of paper stuck in the
cleft fork of it. The inscription upon the paper
was brief, but to the point: -
JOHN FERRIER,
FORMERLY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

Died August 4th, 1860.

The sturdy old man, whom he had left so short
a time before, was gone, then, and this was all
his epitaph. Jefferson Hope looked wildly round
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 227

to see if there was a second grave, but there was

no sign of one. Lucy had been carried back by
their terrible pursuers to fulfil her original destiny,
by becoming one of the harem of the Elder's son.
As the young fellow realized the certainty of her
fate, and his own powerlessness to prevent it, he
wished that he, too, was lying with the old farmer
in his last silent resting-place.
Again, however, his active spirit shook off the
lethargy which springs from despair. If there
was nothing else left to him, he could at least
devote his life to revenge. With indomitable
patience and perseverance, Jefferson Hope pos-
sessed also a power of sustained vindictiveness,
which he may have learned from the Indians
amongst whom he had lived. As he stood by
the desolate fire, he felt that the only one thing
which could assuage his grief would be thorough
and complete retribution, brought by his own
hand upon his enemies. His strong will and un-
tiring energy should, he determined, be devoted
15*
228 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

to that one end. With a grim, white face, he

retraced his steps to where he had dropped the
food, and having stirred up the smouldering fire,
he cooked enough to last him for a few days. This
he made up into a bundle, and, tired as he was,
he set himself to walk back through the moun-
tains upon the track of the avenging angels.
For five days he toiled footsore and weary
through the defiles which he had already traversed
on horseback. At night he flung himself down
among the rocks, and snatched a few hours of
sleep; but before daybreak he was always well
on his way. On the sixth day, he reached the
Eagle Cañon, from which they had commenced
their ill-fated flight. Thence he could look down
upon the home of the saints. Worn and ex-
hausted, he leaned upon his rifle and shook his
gaunt hand fiercely at the silent widespread city
beneath him. As he looked at it, he observed
that there were flags in some of the principal
streets, and other signs of festivity. He was still
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 229

speculating as to what this might mean when he

heard the clatter of horse's hoofs, and saw a
mounted man riding towards him. As he ap-
proached, he recognised him as a Mormon named
Cowper, to whom he had rendered services at
different times. He therefore accosted him when

he got up to him, with the object of finding out

what Lucy Ferrier's fate had been.

" I am Jefferson Hope," he said. "You re-

member me."

The Mormon looked at him with undisguised

astonishment-indeed, it was difficult to recognise
in this tattered, unkempt wanderer, with ghastly
white face and fierce, wild eyes, the spruce young
hunter of former days. Having, however, at last
satisfied himself as to his identity, the man's sur-
prise changed to consternation.

"You are mad to come here," he cried. "It

is as much as my own life is worth to be seen
talking with you. There is a warrant against you
230 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

from the Holy Four for assisting the Ferriers

away."

" I don't fear them, or their warrant," Hope

said, earnestly. "You must know something of
this matter, Cowper. I conjure you by every-
thing you hold dear to answer a few questions.
We have always been friends. For God's sake,
don't refuse to answer me."

"What is it?" the Mormon asked uneasily.

"Be quick. The very rocks have ears and the
trees eyes."
"What has become of Lucy Ferrier?"
"She was married yesterday to young Drebber.
Hold up, man, hold up; you have no life left in
you."
"Don't mind me," said Hope faintly. He
was white to the very lips, and had sunk down
on the stone against which he had been leaning.
"Married, you say?"
"Married yesterday-that's what those flags
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 231

are for on the Endowment House. There was

some words between young Drebber and young

Stangerson as to which was to have her. They'd
both been in the party that followed them, and
Stangerson had shot her father, which seemed to
give him the best claim; but when they argued
it out in council, Drebber's party was the stronger,
so the Prophet gave her over to him. No one
won't have her very long though, for I saw death
in her face yesterday. She is more like a ghost
than a woman. Are you off, then?"
"Yes, I am off," said Jefferson Hope, who had
risen from his seat. His face might have been
chiselled out of marble, so hard and set was its
expression, while its eyes glowed with a baleful
light.
"Where are you going?"
"Never mind," he answered; and, slinging his
weapon over his shoulder, strode off down the
gorge and so away into the heart of the moun-
tains to the haunts of the wild beasts. Amongst
232 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

them all there was none so fierce and so

dangerous as himself.
The prediction of the Mormon was only too
well fulfilled. Whether it was the terrible death

ofher father or the effects of the hateful marriage

into which she had been forced , poor Lucy
never held up her head again, but pined away
and died within a month. Her sottish husband,
who had married her principally for the sake of
John Ferrier's property, did not affect any great
grief at his bereavement; but his other wives
mourned over her, and sat up with her the night
before the burial, as is the Mormon custom.
They were grouped round the bier in the early
hours of the morning, when, to their inexpressible
fear and astonishment, the door was flung open,
and a savage- looking , weather-beaten man in
tattered garments strode into the room. Without
a glance or a word to the cowering women, he
walked up to the white silent figure which had
once contained the pure soul of Lucy Ferrier.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 233

Stooping over her, he pressed his lips reverently

to her cold forehead, and then, snatching up her
hand, he took the wedding-ring from her finger.
"She shall not be buried in that," he cried with
a fierce snarl, and before an alarm could be
raised sprang down the stairs and was gone. So
strange and so brief was the episode that the
watchers might have found it hard to believe it
themselves or persuade other people of it, had it
not been for the undeniable fact that the circlet

ofgold which marked her as having been a bride

had disappeared.
For some months Jefferson Hope lingered
among the mountains, leading a strange, wild life,
and nursing in his heart the fierce desire for
vengeance which possessed him. Tales were told
in the city of the weird figure which was seen
prowling about the suburbs, and which haunted
the lonely mountain gorges. Once a bullet
whistled through Stangerson's window and flattened
itself upon the wall within a foot of him. On
234 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

another occasion, as Drebber passed under a cliff

a great boulder crashed down on him, and he
only escaped a terrible death by throwing himself
upon his face. The two young Mormons were
not long in discovering the reason of these at-
tempts upon their
the lives, and led repeated ex-
peditions into the mountains in the hope of
capturing or killing their enemy, but always with-
out success. Then they adopted the precaution
of never going out alone or after night-fall, and
of having their houses guarded. After a time
they were able to relax these measures, for no-
thing was either heard or seen of their opponent,
and they hoped that time had cooled his vindictive-
ness.

Far from doing so, it had, if anything,

augmented it. The hunter's mind was of a hard,
unyielding nature, and the predominant idea of
revenge had taken such complete possession of it
that there was no room for any other emotion.
He was, however, above all things, practical. He
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 235

soon realized that even his iron constitution could

not stand the incessant strain which he was

putting upon it. Exposure and want of whole-

some food were wearing him out. If he died
like a dog among the mountains , what was to
become of his revenge then? And yet such a
death was sure to overtake him if he persisted.
He felt that that was to play his enemy's game,
so he reluctantly returned to the old Nevada
mines , there to recruit his health and to amass
money enough to allow him to pursue his object
without privation.
His intention had been to be absent a year
at the most, but a combination of unforeseen
circumstances prevented his leaving the mines for
nearly five. At the end of that time, however,
his memory of his wrongs and his craving for re-
venge were quite as keen as on that memorable
night when he had stood by John Ferrier's grave.
Disguised, and under an assumed name, he re-
turned to Salt Lake City, careless what became
236 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

of his own life, as long as he obtained what he

knew to be justice. There he found evil tidings
awaiting him. There had been a schism among
the Chosen People a few months before, some of
the younger members of the Church having re-
belled against the authority of the Elders, and
the result had been the secession of a certain

number of the malcontents, who had left Utah

and become Gentiles. Among these had been
Drebber and Stangerson; and no one knew
whither they had gone. Rumour reported
that Drebber had managed to convert a large
part of his property into money, and that he
had departed a wealthy man, while his com-
panion, Stangerson, was comparatively poor.
There was no clue at all, however, as to their
whereabouts.

Many a man, however vindictive, would have

abandoned all thought of revenge in the face of
such a difficulty, but Jefferson Hope never faltered
for a moment. With the small competence he
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 237

possessed, eked out by such employment as he

could pick up, he travelled from town to town
through the United States in quest ofhis enemies.
Year passed into year, his black hair turned
grizzled, but still he wandered on, a human blood-
hound, with his mind wholly set upon the one
object to which he had devoted his life. At last
his perseverance was rewarded. It was but a
glance of a face in a window, but that one glance
told him that Cleveland in Ohio possessed the men
whom he was in pursuit of. He returned to his
miserable lodgings with his plan of vengeance all
arranged. It chanced, however, that Drebber, look-
ing from his window, had recognised the vagrant
in the street, and had read murder in his eyes. He
hurried before a justice of the peace, accom-
panied by Stangerson , who had become his
private secretary, and represented to him that
they were in danger of their lives from the
jealousy and hatred of an old rival. That even-
ing Jefferson Hope was taken into custody, and
238 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

not being able to find sureties, was detained for

some weeks. When at last he was liberated it

was only to find that Drebber's house was de-

serted, and that he and his secretary had departed
for Europe.
Again the avenger had been foiled, and again
his concentrated hatred urged him to continue
the pursuit. Funds were wanting , however , and
for some time he had to return to work , saving
every dollar for his approaching journey. At
last, having collected enough to keep life in him,
he departed for Europe, and tracked his enemies
from city to city, working his way in any menial
capacity, but never overtaking the fugitives.
When he reached St. Petersburg, they had de-
parted for Paris; and when he followed them
there, he learned that they had just set off for
Copenhagen. At the Danish capital he was again
a few days late, for they had journeyed on to
London , where he at last succeeded in running
them to earth. As to what occurred there, we
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 239

cannot do better than quote the old hunter's

own account, as duly recorded in Dr. Watson's
Journal, to which we are already under such ob-
ligations.
240 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

CHAPTER VI.

A CONTINUATION OF THE REMINISCENCES OF

JOHN WATSON, M.D.

Our prisoner's furious resistance did not ap

parently indicate any ferocity in his disposition
towards ourselves, for on finding himself power-
less , he smiled in an affable manner, and ex-
pressed his hopes that he had not hurt any of
us in the scuffle. "I guess you're going to take
me to the police-station," he remarked to Sherlock
Holmes. " My cab's at the door. If you'll loose
my legs I'll walk down to it. I'm not so light to
lift as I used to be."
Gregson and Lestrade exchanged glances, as
if they thought this proposition rather a bold
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 241

one; but Holmes at once took the prisoner at his

word, and loosened the towel which we had bound
round his ankles. He rose and stretched his legs,
as though to assure himself that they were free
once more. I remember that I thought to myself,
as I eyed him, that I had seldom seen a more
powerfully built man; and his dark, sunburned
face bore an expression of determination and
energy which was as formidable as his personal
strength.
" If there's a vacant place for a chief of the
police, I reckon you are the man for it," he said,
gazing with undisguised admiration at my fellow-
lodger. " The way you kept on my trail was a
caution."
"You had better come with me," said Holmes
to the two detectives.

" I can drive you," said Lestrade.

"Good! and Gregson can come inside with
me. You too, Doctor. You have taken an interest
in the case, and may as well stick to us."
16
A Study in Scarlet.
242 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

I assented gladly, and we all descended to-

gether. Our prisoner made no attempt at escape,
but stepped calmly into the cab which had been
his, and we followed him. Lestrade mounted the
box, whipped up the horse, and brought us in a
very short time to our destination. We were
ushered into a small chamber, where a police in-
spector noted down our prisoner's name and the
names of the men with whose murder he had

been charged. The official was a white-faced,

unemotional man, who went through his duties in
a dull, mechanical way. "The prisoner will be
put before the magistrates in the course of the
week," he said; "in the meantime, Mr. Jefferson
Hope, have you anything that you wish to say? I
must warn you that your words will be taken
down, and may be used against you."
"I've got a good deal to say," our prisoner said
slowly. " I want to tell you gentlemen all about it."
"Hadn't you better reserve that for your trial ?"
asked the Inspector.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 243

" I may never be tried," he answered. "You

needn't look startled. It isn't suicide I am think-
ing of. Are you a doctor?" He turned his
fierce dark eyes upon me as he asked this last
question.
"Yes, I am," I answered.
"Then put your hand here," he said, with a
smile, motioning with his manacled wrists towards
his chest.

I did so; and became at once conscious of an

extraordinary throbbing and commotion which
was going on inside. The walls of his chest
seemed to thrill and quiver as a frail building
would do inside when some powerful engine was
at work. In the silence of the room I could hear

a dull humming and buzzing noise which pro-

ceeded from the same source.

"Why," I cried, "you have an aortic an-

eurism!"

"That's what they call it," he said, placidly.

"I went to a doctor last week about it, and he
16*
244 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

told me that it is bound to burst before many

days passed. It has been getting worse for years.
I got it from over-exposure and under-feeding
among the Salt Lake Mountains. I've done my
work now, and I don't care how soon I go, but I
should like to leave some account of the business
behind me. I don't want to be remembered as a
common cut-throat."

The inspector and the two detectives had a

hurried discussion as to the advisability of allow-
ing him to tell his story.
"Do you consider, Doctor, that there is imme-
diate danger?" the former asked.
"Most certainly there is," I answered.
"In that case it is clearly our duty, in the in-
terests of justice, to take his statement," said the
inspector. "You are at liberty, sir, to give your
account, which I again warn you will be taken
down."

"I'll sit down, with your leave," the prisoner

said, suiting the action to the word. "This
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 245

aneurism of mine makes me easily tired, and the

tussle we had half an hour ago has not mended
matters. I'm on the brink of the grave, and I am
not likely to lie to you. Every word I say is the
absolute truth, and how you use it is a matter of
no consequence to me."
With these words, Jefferson Hope leaned back
in his chair and began the following remarkable
statement. He spoke in a calm and methodical
manner, as though the events which he narrated
were commonplace enough. I can vouch for the
accuracy of the subjoined account, for I have had
access to Lestrade's note-book, in which the pri-
soner's words were taken down exactly as they
were uttered.

"It don't much matter to you why I hated

these men," he said; "it's enough that they were
guilty of the death of two human beings-a father
and a daughter- and that they had, therefore,
forfeited their own lives. After the lapse of time
that has passed since their crime, it was impos
246 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

sible for me to secure a conviction against them

in any court. I knew of their guilt though, and
I determined that I should be judge, jury, and
executioner all rolled into one. You'd have done

the same, ifyou have any manhood in you, ifyou

had been in my place.
"That girl that I spoke of was to have mar-
ried me twenty years ago. She was forced into
marrying that same Drebber, and broke her heart
over it. I took the marriage ring from her dead
finger, and I vowed that his dying eyes should
rest upon that very ring, and that his last thoughts
should be of the crime for which he was punished.
I have carried it about with me, and have fol-
lowed him and his accomplice over two continents
until I caught them. They thought to tire me
out, but they could not do it. If I die tomorrow,
as is likely enough, I die knowing that my work
in this world is done, and well done. They have
perished, and by my hand. There is nothing left
for me to hope for, or to desire.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 247

"They were rich and I was poor, so that it

was no easy matter for me to follow them. When
I got to London my pocket was about empty, and
I found that I must turn my hand to something
for my living. Driving and riding are as natural
to me as walking, so I applied at a cab-owner's
office, and soon got employment. I was to bring
a certain sum a week to the owner, and whatever
was over that I might keep for myself. There
was seldom much over, but I managed to scrape
along somehow. The hardest job was to learn
my way about, for I reckon that of all the mazes
that ever were contrived, this city is the most
confusing. I had a map beside me though , and
when once I had spotted the principal hotels and
stations, I got on pretty well.
"It was some time before I found out where

my two gentlemen were living; but I inquired and

inquired until at last I dropped across them.
They were at a boarding-house at Camberwell,
over on the other side of the river. When once
248 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

I found them out, I knew that I had them at my

mercy. I had grown my beard, and there was
no chance of their recognising me. I would dog
them and follow them until I saw my opportunity.
I was determined that they should not escape me
again.
"They were very near doing it for all that.
Go where they would about London, I was always
at their heels. Sometimes I followed them on my
cab, and sometimes on foot, but the former was
the best, for then they could not get away from
me. It was only early in the morning or late at
night that I could earn anything, so that I began
to get behindhand with my employer. I did not
mind that, however, as long as I could lay my
hand upon the men I wanted.
"They were very cunning, though. They must
have thought that there was some chance of their
being followed, for they would never go out
alone, and never after nightfall. During two
weeks I drove behind them every day, and never
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 249

once saw them separate. Drebber himself was

drunk half the time, but Stangerson was not to
be caught napping. I watched them late and
early, but never saw the ghost of a chance; but I
was not discouraged, for something told me that
the hour had almost come. My only fear was
that this thing in my chest might burst a little
too soon and leave my work undone.
"At last, one evening I was driving up and
down Torquay Terrace, as the street was called
in which they boarded, when I saw a cab drive
up to their door. Presently some luggage was
brought out, and after a time Drebber and
Stangerson followed it, and drove off. I whipped
up my horse and kept within sight of them, feel-
ing very ill at ease, for I feared that they were
going to shift their quarters. At Euston Station
they got out, and I left a boy to hold my horse
and followed them on to the platform. I heard
them ask for the Liverpool train, and the guard
answer that one had just gone, and there would
250 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

not be another for some hours. Stangerson seemed

to be put out at that, but Drebber was rather
pleased than otherwise. I got so close to them
in the bustle that I could hear every word that
passed between them. Drebber said that he had
a little business of his own to do, and that if the
other would wait for him he would soon rejoin
him. His companion remonstrated with him, and
reminded him that they had resolved to stick to-
gether. Drebber answered that the matter was a
delicate one, and that he must go alone. I could
not catch what Stangerson said to that, but the
other burst out swearing, and reminded him that
he was nothing more than his paid servant, and
that he must not presume to dictate to him. On
that the secretary gave it up as a bad job, and
simply bargained with him that if he missed the
last train he should rejoin him at Halliday's
Private Hotel; to which Drebber answered that
he would be back on the platform before eleven,
and made his way out of the station.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 251

"The moment for which I had waited so long

had at last come. I had my enemies within my
power. Together they could protect each other,
but singly they were at my mercy. I did not
act, however, with undue precipitation. My plans
were already formed. There is no satisfaction in
vengeance unless the offender has time to realize
who it is that strikes him, and why retribution
has come upon him. I had my plans arranged
by which I should have the opportunity of making
the man who had wronged me understand that
his old sin had found him out. It chanced that

some days before a gentleman who had been

engaged in looking over some houses in the
Brixton Road had dropped the key of one of
them in my carriage. It was claimed that same
evening, and returned; but in the interval I had
taken a moulding of it, and had a duplicate con-
structed. By means of this I had access to at
least one spot in this great city where I could
rely upon being free from interruption. How to
252 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

get Drebber to that house was the difficult

problem which I had now to solve.
"He walked down the road and went into one

or two liquor shops, staying for nearly half an

hour in the last of them. When he came out,
he staggered in his walk, and was evidently pretty
well on. There was a hansom just in front of
me, and he hailed it. I followed it so close that
the nose of my horse was within a yard of his
driver the whole way. We rattled across Waterloo
Bridge and through miles of streets , until , to my
astonishment , we found ourselves back in the
terrace in which he had boarded. I could not

imagine what his intention was in returning there;

but I went on and pulled up my cab a hundred
yards or so from the house. He entered it, and
his hansom drove away. Give me a glass of
water, if you please. My mouth gets dry with
the talking."
I handed him the glass, and he drank it
down.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 253

" That's better," he said. "Well, I waited for

a quarter of an hour, or more, when suddenly
there came a noise like people struggling inside
the house. Next moment the door was flung
open and two men appeared, one of whom was
Drebber, and the other was a young chap whom
I had never seen before. This fellow had

Drebber by the collar, and when they came to

the head of the steps he gave him a shove and
a kick which sent him half across the road.

'You hound! ' he cried, shaking his stick at him;

'I'll teach you to insult an honest girl!' He was
so hot that I think he would have thrashed

Drebber with his cudgel, only that the cur stag-

gered away down the road as fast as his legs
would carry him. He ran as far as the corner,
and then seeing my cab, he hailed me and
jumped in. 'Drive me to Halliday's Private
Hotel,' said he.
"When I had him fairly inside my cab , my
heart jumped so with joy that I feared lest at this
254 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

last moment my aneurism might go wrong. I

drove along slowly, weighing in my own mind
what it was best to do. I might take him right
out into the country, and there in some deserted
lane have my last interview with him. I had
almost decided upon this , when he solved the
problem for me. The craze for drink had seized
him again, and he ordered me to pull up out-
side a gin palace. He went in, leaving word
that I should wait for him. There he remained

until closing time, and when he came out he was

so far gone that I knew the game was in my own
hands.

"Don't imagine that I intended to kill him in

cold blood. It would only have been rigid justice
if I had done so, but I could not bring myself to
do it. I had long determined that he should have
a show for his life if he chose to take advantage
of it. Among the many billets which I have
filled in America during my wandering life, I was
once janitor and sweeper-out of the laboratory at
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 255

York College. One day the professor was lecturing

on poisons , and he showed his students some
alkaloid, as he called it, which he had extracted
from some South American arrow poison, and
which was so powerful that the least grain meant
instant death. I spotted the bottle in which this
preparation was kept, and when they were all
gone, I helped myself to a little of it. I was a
fairly good dispenser, so I worked this alkaloid
into small, soluble pills , and each pill I put in a
box with a similar pill made without the poison.
I determined at the time that when I had my
chance my gentlemen should each have a draw
out of one of these boxes, while I ate the pill
that remained. It would be quite as deadly and
a good deal less noisy than firing across a hand-
kerchief. From that day I had always my pill
boxes about with me, and the time had now come
when I was to use them.

" It was nearer one than twelve, and a wild,

bleak night, blowing hard and raining in torrents.
256 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

Dismal as it was outside, I was glad within-so

glad that I could have shouted out from pure
exultation. If any of you gentlemen have ever
pined for a thing, and longed for it during twenty
long years, and then suddenly found it within
your reach, you would understand my feelings. I
lit a cigar, and puffed at it to steady my nerves,
but my hands were trembling and my temples
throbbing with excitement. As I drove, I could
see old John Ferrier and sweet Lucy looking at
me out of the darkness and smiling at me, just
as plain as I see you all in this room. All the
way they were ahead of me, one on each side of
the horse until I pulled up at the house in the
Brixton Road.

"There was not a soul to be seen, nor a

sound to be heard, except the dripping of the
rain. When I looked in at the window, I found
Drebber all huddled together in a drunken sleep.
I shook him by the arm, " It's time to get out," I
said.
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 257

""All right, cabby,' said he.

"I suppose he thought we had come to the
hotel that he had mentioned, for he got out with-
out another word, and followed me down the
garden. I had to walk beside him to keep him
steady, for he was still a little top-heavy. When
we came to the door, I opened it, and led him
into the front room. I give you my word that all
the way, the father and the daughter were walk-
ing in front of us.
" It's infernally dark,' said he, stamping
about.

""We'll soon have a light,' I said, striking a

match and putting it to a wax candle which I
had brought with me. 'Now, Enoch Drebber,' I
continued, turning to him, and holding the light
to my own face, 'who am I?'
"He gazed at me with bleared, drunken eyes
for a moment, and then I saw a horror spring up
in them, and convulse his whole features, which
showed me that he knew me. He staggered back
A Study in Scarlet. 17
258 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

with a livid face, and I saw the perspiration break

out upon his brow, while his teeth chattered in
his head. At the sight I leaned my back against
the door and laughed loud and long. I had
always known that vengeance would be sweet, but
I had never hoped for the contentment of soul
which now possessed me.
""You dog! " I said; 'I have hunted you from
Salt Lake City to St. Petersburg, and you have
always escaped me. Now, at last your wander-
ings have come to an end, for either you or I
shall never see to-morrow's sun rise.' He shrunk

still farther away as I spoke, and I could see on

his face that he thought I was mad. So I was
for the time. The pulses in my temples beat like
sledge-hammers , and I believe I would have had
a fit of some sort if the blood had not gushed
from my nose and relieved me.
""What do you think of Lucy Ferrier now?'
I cried, locking the door, and shaking the key in
his face. 'Punishment has been slow in coming,
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 259

but it has overtaken you at last.' I saw his coward

lips tremble as I spoke. He would have begged
for his life, but he knew well that it was useless.
""Would you murder me?' he stammered.
""There is no murder,' I answered. Who
talks of murdering a mad dog? What mercy had
you upon my poor darling, when you dragged her
from her slaughtered father, and bore her away
to your accursed and shameless harem.'
" It was not I who killed her father ,' he
cried.

""But it was you who broke her innocent

heart,' I shrieked, thrusting the box before him.
'Let the high God judge between us. Choose
and eat. There is death in one and life in the
other. I shall take what you leave. Let us see
if there is justice upon the earth, or if we are
ruled by chance.'
"He cowered away with wild cries and prayers
for mercy, but I drew my knife and held it to his
17*
260 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

throat until he had obeyed me. Then I swal-

lowed the other, and we stood facing one an-
other in silence for a minute or more, waiting to
see which was to live and which was to die.

Shall I ever forget the look which came over his

face when the first warning pangs told him that
the poison was in his system? I laughed as I
saw it, and held Lucy's marriage ring in front of
his eyes. It was but for a moment, for the action
of the alkaloid is rapid. A spasm of pain con-
torted his features; he threw his hands out in
front of him, staggered, and then, with a hoarse
cry, fell heavily upon the floor. I turned him
over with my foot, and placed my hand upon
his heart. There was no movement. He was
dead!

"The blood had been streaming from my

nose, but I had taken no notice of it. I don't
know what it was that put it into my head to
write upon the wall with it. Perhaps it was some
mischievous idea of setting the police upon a
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 261

wrong track, for I felt light-hearted and cheerful.

I remembered a German being found in New
York with RACHE written up above him, and it
was argued at the time in the newspapers that the
secret societies must have done it. I guessed that
what puzzled the New Yorkers would puzzle the
Londoners , so I dipped my finger in my own
blood and printed it on a convenient place on
the wall. Then I walked down to my cab and
found that there was nobody about, and that the
night was still very wild. I had driven some dis-
tance, when I put my hand into the pocket in
which I usually kept Lucy's ring, and found that
it was not there. I was thunderstruck at this, for
it was the only memento that I had of her.
Thinking that I might have dropped it when I
stooped over Drebber's body, I drove back, and
leaving my cab in a side street, I went boldly
up to the house for I was ready to dare any-
thing rather than lose the ring. When I arrived
there, I walked right into the arms of a police
262 A STUDY IN SCARLET .

officer who was coming out, and only managed

to disarm his suspicions by pretending to be hope-
lessly drunk.
"That was how Enoch Drebber came to his
end. All I had to do then was to do as much

for Stangerson, and so pay off John Ferrier's

debt. I knew that he was staying at Halliday's
Private Hotel, and I hung about all day, but he
never came out. I fancy that he suspected some-
thing whenDrebber failed to put in an appearance.
He was cunning, was Stangerson, and always on
his guard. If he thought he could keep me off
by staying indoors he was very much mistaken.
I soon found out which was the window of his

bedroom, and early next morning I took ad-

vantage of some ladders which were lying in the
lane behind the hotel, and so made my way into
his room in the grey of the dawn. I woke him
up and told him that the hour had come when
he was to answer for the life he had taken so

long before. I described Drebber's death to him,

 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 263

and I gave him the same choice of the poisoned

pills. Instead of grasping at the chance of safety
which that offered him, he sprang from his bed
and flew at my throat. In self-defence I stabbed
him to the heart. It would have been the same

in any case, for Providence would never have al-

lowed his guilty hand to pick out anything but
the poison.
"I have little more to say, and it's as well,
for I am about done up. I went on cabbing it
for a day or so, intending to keep at it until I
could save enough to take me back to America.
Iwas standing in the yard when a ragged youngster
asked if there was a cabby there called Jefferson
Hope, and said that his cab was wanted by a
gentleman at 221 B, Baker Street. I went round
suspecting no harm, and the next thing I knew,
this young man here had the bracelets on my
wrists, and as neatly snackled as ever I saw in
my life. That's the whole of my story, gentle-
men. You may consider me to be a murderer;
264 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

but I hold that I am just as much an officer of

justice as you are."

So thrilling had the man's narrative been and

his manner was so impressive that we had sat
silent and absorbed. Even the professional de-
tectives, blasé as they were in every detail of
crime, appeared to be keenly interested in the
man's story. When he finished, we sat for some
minutes in a stillness which was only broken by
the scratching of Lestrade's pencil as he gave
the finishing touches to his shorthand account.
"There is only one point on which I should
like a little more information," Sherlock Holmes
said at last. "Who was your accomplice who
came for the ring which I advertised?"
The prisoner winked at my friend jocosely.
"I can tell my own secrets," he said, "but I don't
get other people into trouble. I saw your ad-
vertisement, and I thought it might be a plant, or
it might be the ring which I wanted. My friend
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 265

volunteered to go and see. I think you'll own he

did it smartly."
"Not a doubt of that," said Holmes heartily.
"Now, gentleman," the inspector remarked,
gravely, " the forms of the law must be complied
with. On Thursday the prisoner will be brought
before the magistrates, and your attendance will
be required. Until then I will be responsible for
him." He rang the bell as he spoke, and Jefferson
Hope was led off by a couple of warders, while
my friend and I made our way out of the station
and took a cab back to Baker Street.
266 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

CHAPTER VII.

THE CONCLUSION.

We had all been warned to appear before

the magistrates upon the Thursday; but when the
Thursday came there was no occasion for our
testimony. A higher Judge had taken the matter
in hand, and Jefferson Hope had been summoned
before a tribunal where strict justice would be
meted out to him. On the very night after his
capture the aneurism burst, and he was found in
the morning stretched upon the floor of the cell,
with a placid smile upon his face, as though he
had been able in his dying moments to look back
upon a useful life, and on work well done.
"Gregson and Lestrade will be wild about his
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 267

death," Holmes remarked, as we chatted it over

next evening. "Where will their grand advertise-
ment be now?"
"I don't see that they had very much to do
with his capture," I answered.
"What you do in this world is a matter of no
consequence," returned my companion, bitterly.
"The question is, what can you make people be-
lieve that you have done. Never mind," he con-
tinued, more brightly, after a pause. "I would
not have missed the investigation for anything.
There has been no better case within my recol-
lection. Simple as it was, there were several
most instructive points about it.
"Simple!" I ejaculated.
" Well, really, it can hardly be described as
otherwise," said Sherlock Holmes, smiling at my
surprise. "The proof of its intrinsic simplicity is,
that without any help save a few very ordinary
deductions I was able to lay my hand upon the
criminal within three days."
268 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

"That is true," said I.

"I have already explained to you that what is
out of the common is usually a guide rather than
a hindrance. In solving a problem of this sort,
the grand thing is to be able to reason backwards.
That is a very useful accomplishment, and a very
easy one, but people do not practise it much. In
the every-day affairs of life it is more useful to
reason forwards, and so the other comes to be
neglected. There are fifty who can reason
synthetically for one who can reason analytically.
" I confess," said I, " that I do not quite follow
you."
" I hardly expected that you would. Let me
see if I can make it clearer. Most people, if you
describe a train of events to them, will tell you
what the result would be. They can put those
events together in their minds, and argue from
them that something will come to pass. There
are few people, however, who, if you told them
a result, would be able to evolve from their own
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 269

inner consciousness what the steps were which

led up to that result. This power is what I
mean when I talk of reasoning backwards, or
analytically."
" I understand," said L.
"Now this was a case in which you were
given the result and had to find everything else
for yourself. Now let me endeavour to show you
the different steps in my reasoning. To begin at
the beginning. I approached the house, as you
know, on foot, and with my mind entirely free
from all impressions. I naturally began by
examining the roadway, and there, as I have
already explained to you, I saw clearly the marks
of a cab, which, I ascertained by inquiry, must
have been there during the night. I satisfied
myself that it was a cab and not a private car-
riage by the narrow gauge of the wheels. The
ordinary London growler is considerably less wide
than a gentleman's brougham.
"This was the first point gained. I then
270 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

walked slowly down the garden path, which hap-

pened to be composed of a clay soil, peculiarly
suitable for taking impressions. No doubt it
appeared to you to be a mere trampled line of
slush, but to my trained eyes every mark upon
its surface had a meaning. There is no branch
of detective science which is so important and so
much neglected as the art of tracing footsteps.
Happily, I have always laid great stress upon it,
and much practice has made it second nature to
me. I saw the heavy footmarks of the constables,
but I saw also the track of the two men who had

first passed through the garden. It was easy to

tell that they had been before the others, because
in places their marks had been entirely obliterated
by the others coming upon the top of them.
In this way my second link was formed , which
told me that the nocturnal visitors were two in
number, one remarkable for his height (as
I calculated from the length of his stride),
and the other fashionably dressed, to judge
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 27 I

from the small and elegant impression left by his

boots.

"On entering the house this last inference was

confirmed. My well-booted man lay before me.
The tall one, then, had done the murder, if
murder there was. There was no wound upon
the dead man's person, but the agitated expression
upon his face assured me that he had foreseen
his fate before it came upon him. Men who die
from heart disease, or any sudden natural cause,
never by any chance exhibit agitation upon their
features. Having sniffed the dead man's lips, I
detected a slightly sour smell, and I came to the
conclusion that he had had poison forced upon
him. Again, I argued that it had been forced upon
him from the hatred and fear expressed upon his
face. By the method of exclusion, I had arrived
at this result, for no other hypothesis would meet
the facts. Do not imagine that it was a very
unheard-of idea. The forcible administration of

poison is by no means a new thing in criminal

272 A STUDY IN SCARLET .

annals. The cases of Dolsky in Odessa, and of

Leturier in Montpellier, will occur at once to any
toxicologist.
"And now came the great question as to the
reason why. Robbery had not been the object
of the murder, for nothing was taken. Was it
politics, then, or was it a woman? That was the
question which confronted me. I was inclined
from the first to the latter supposition. Political
assassins are only too glad to do their work and
to fly. This murder had, on the contrary, been
done most deliberately, and the perpetrator had
left his tracks all over the room, showing that he
had been there all the time. It must have been

a private wrong, and not a political one, which

called for such a methodical revenge. When the
inscription was discovered upon the wall, I was
more inclined than ever to my opinion. The
thing was too evidently a blind. When the ring
was found, however, it settled the question.
Clearly the murderer had used it to remind his
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 273

victim of some dead or absent woman. It was

at this point that I asked Gregson whether he had

inquired in his telegram to Cleveland as to any
particular point in Mr. Drebber's former career.
He answered, you remember, in the negative.
"I then proceeded to make a careful examina-
tion of the room, which confirmed me in my
opinion as to the murderer's height, and furnished
me with the additional details as to the Trichi-

nopoly cigar and the length of his nails. I had

already come to the conclusion, since there were
no signs of a struggle, that the blood which
covered the floor had burst from the murderer's

nose in his excitement. I could perceive that the

track of blood coincided with the track of his

feet. It is seldom that any man, unless he is

very full-blooded, breaks out in this way through
emotion, so I hazarded the opinion that the
criminal was probably a robust and ruddy-faced
man. Events proved that I had judged correctly.
"Having left the house, I proceeded to do
A Study in Scarlet. 18
274 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

what Gregson had neglected. I telegraphed to

the head of the police at Cleveland, limiting my
inquiry to the circumstances connected with the
marriage of Enoch Drebber. The answer was
conclusive. It told me that Drebber had already
applied for the protection of the law against an
old rival in love, named Jefferson Hope, and that
this same Hope was at present in Europe. I
knew now that I held the clue to the mystery in
my hand, and all that remained was to secure the
murderer.

"I had already determined in my own mind

that the man who had walked into the house
with Drebber was none other than the man who
had driven the cab. The marks in the road
showed me that the horse had wandered on in a
way which would have been impossible had there
been any one in charge of it. Where, then, could
the driver be, unless he were inside the house?
Again, it is absurd to suppose that any sane man
would carry out a deliberate crime under the
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 275

very eyes, as it were, of a third person, who was

sure to betray him. Lastly, supposing one man
wished to dog another through London, what
better means could he adopt than to turn cab-
driver. All these considerations led me to the

irresistible conclusion that Jefferson Hope was to

be found among the jarveys of the Metropolis.
" If he had been one, there was no reason to
believe that he had ceased to be. On the con-

trary, from his point of view, any sudden change

would be likely to draw attention to himself. He
would probably, for a time at least, continue to
perform his duties. There was no reason to sup-
pose that he was going under an assumed name.
Why should he change his name in a country
where no one knew his original one? I therefore
organized my Street Arab detective corps, and
sent them systematically to every cab proprietor
in London until they ferreted out the man that I
wanted. How well they succeeded, and how
quickly I took advantage of it, are still fresh in
18*
276 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

your recollection. The murder of Stangerson was

an incident which was entirely unexpected, but
which could hardly in any case have been pre-
vented. Through it, as you know, I came into
possession of the pills, the existence of which I
had already surmised. You see, the whole thing
is a chain of logical sequences without a break
or flaw."

"It is wonderful!" I cried. "Your merits

should be publicly recognised. You should publish
an account of the case. If you won't, I will for
you."
"You may do what you like, Doctor," he an-
swered. "See here!" he continued, handing a
paper over to me, "look at this!"
It was the Echo for the day, and the para-
graph to which he pointed was devoted to the
case in question.
"The public," it said, "have lost a sensational
treat through the sudden death of the man Hope,
who was suspected of the murder of Mr. Enoch
 A STUDY IN SCARLET. 277

Drebber and of Mr. Joseph Stangerson. The

details of the case will probably be never known
now, though we are informed upon good authority
that the crime was the result of an old-standing
and romantic feud, in which love and Mormonism
bore a part. It seems that both the victims be-
longed, in their younger days, to the Latter Day
Saints, and Hope, the deceased prisoner, hails
also from Salt Lake City. If the case has had
no other effect, it, at least, brings out in the most
striking manner the efficiency of our detective
police force, and will serve as a lesson to all
foreigners that they will do wisely to settle their
feuds at home, and not to carry them on to
British soil. It is an open secret that the credit
of this smart capture belongs entirely to the well-
known Scotland Yard officials , Messrs. Lestrade
and Gregson. The man was apprehended, it
appears, in the rooms of a certain Mr. Sherlock
Holmes, who has himself, as an amateur, shown
some talent in the detective line, and who , with
278 A STUDY IN SCARLET.

such instructors, may hope in time to attain to

some degree of their skill. It is expected that a
testimonial of some sort will be presented to the
two officers as a fitting recognition of their ser-
vices."

"Didn't I tell you so when we started?" cried

Sherlock Holmes with a laugh. "That's the result
of all our Study in Scarlet: to get them a testi-
monial!"

"Never mind," I answered; "I have all the

facts in my journal, and the public shall know
them. In the meantime you must make yourself
contented by the consciousness of success , like
the Roman miser-

" " Populus me sibilat, at mihi plaudo

Ipse domi simul ac nummos contemplar in arca. "

THE END.
 Tauchnitz Edition
Latest Volumes
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March 1929
4874. Meet Mr. Mulliner. By P. G. Wodehouse.
4872.73. Point Counter Point. By Aldous Huxley.
4871. The World Does Move. By Booth Tarkington.
4870. Accident. By Arnold Bennett.
4869. " Skin o' My Tooth." By Baroness Orczy.
4868. Spook Stories. By E. F. Benson.
4867. Mrs. Dalloway. By Virginia Woolf.
4866. Orlando. By Virginia Woolf.
4865. The Squeaker. By Edgar Wallace.
4864. What is Love? By E. M. Delafield.
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4862. Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island. By
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4861. The Silver Thorn. By Hugh Walpole.
4860. The Forest, and Six Short Plays. By John
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4848. A Damsel in Distress. By P. G. Wodehouse.
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4846. Search Will Find It Out. By B. Harraden.
4845. We Forget Because We Must. By W. В.
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