THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

guilty of an indiscretion if I were even to hint at the identity of some of the illustrious clients who crossed our humble threshold in Baker Street. Holmes, however, like al

ade no appeal to his sympathies, while he would devote weeks of most intense application to the affairs of some humble client

xpress desire of His Holiness the Pope-down to his arrest of Wilson, the notorious canary-trainer, which removed a plague-spot from the East End of London. Close on the heels of these two famous cases came the tragedy of Wood

the numerous disguises and names with which he concealed his own formidable identity. He had at least five small refuges in different parts of London, in which he was able to change his personality. He said nothing of his business to me, and it was not my habit to force a confidence. The fi

on't mean to say that you have bee

the butcher'

butch

dear Watson, of the value of exercise before breakfast. But I am prepared

not atte

s he poured o

a gentleman in his shirt sleeves furiously stabbing at it with this weapon. I was that energetic person, and I have s

. But why were

ystery of Woodman's Lee. Ah, Hopkins, I got your wire las

ficial uniform. I recognized him at once as Stanley Hopkins, a young police inspector, for whose future Holmes had high hopes, while he in turn professed the

I came round. I spent the night in

had you

ir, absolut

made no

on

st have a look

y first big chance, and I am at my wit's end. F

including the report of the inquest, with some care. By the way, what do you mak

looked s

nitials were inside it. And it was

had no

e smoked very little, and yet he mig

starting-point of my investigation. However, my friend, Dr. Watson, knows nothing of this matter, and I should

rew a slip of pap

er. In 1883 he commanded the steam sealer SEA UNICORN, of Dundee. He had then had several successful voyages in succession, and in the following year, 1884, he retired. After that he

These last were continually changing, for it was never a very cheery situation, and sometimes it became past all bearing. The man was an intermittent drunkard, and when he had the fit on him he was a per

y, and I have heard that he bore the same character when he commanded his ship. He was known in the trade as Black Peter, and the name was given him, not only on account of his swarthy features and the colour of his huge

ht. It was a little, single-roomed hut, sixteen feet by ten. He kept the key in his pocket, made his own bed, cleaned it himself, and allowed no other foot to cross the threshold. There are small windows on each side, which were covered by curtains and never opened. One of these w

that the shadow of a man's head turned sideways was clearly visible on the blind, and that this shadow was certainly not that of Peter Carey, whom he knew well. It was that of a bearded man, but the beard was short and bristled forward i

orning, his daughter, who slept with her window open, heard a most fearful yell from that direction, but it was no unusual thing for him to bawl and shout when he was in drink, so no notice was taken. On rising at seven, one of the maids noticed that the door of the hut was open, but so

u would have thought that you were in a ship. There was a bunk at one end, a sea-chest, maps and charts, a picture of the SEA UNICORN, a line of logbooks on a shelf, all exactly as one would expect to find it in a captain's room. And there, in the middle of it, was the man himself-his face twisted like a lost soul in torm

nything to be moved, I examined most carefully the ground out

that you

sir, that the

egs so long must there be some indentation, some abrasion, some trifling displacement which can be detected by the scientific searcher. It is incredible that this bl

inced at my companion

he wall. Two others remained there, and there was a vacant place for the third. On the stock was engraved 'SS. SEA UNICORN, Dundee.' This seemed to establish that the crime had been done in a moment of fury, and that the murderer had seized the first weapon which ca

nferences are permissible. Was the

ea-chest. It is of no importance to us, however, since the

Holmes. "However, let us hear some more about the o

tobacco-pouch

rt of th

skin, with a leather thong to bind it. Inside was 'P.C.' on the

ent! Wh

he date "1883." Holmes laid it on the table and examined it in his minute way, while Hopkins and I gazed over each shoulder. On the second page were the printed letters "C.P.R.

ake of these?"

I thought that 'J.H.N.' were the initials of a br

Pacific Railwa

his teeth, and struck his thig

g the outside brokers, whose initials correspond with these. Yet I feel that the clue is the most important one that I hold. You will admit, Mr. Holmes, that there is a possibility that these initials are those of the second person w

hat he was thoroughly taken aba

inquest, modifies any views which I may have formed. I had come to a theory of the crime in which I c

register of the stockholders of these South American concerns is in South

he cover of the notebook wi

some discolourati

n. I told you that I picked t

od-stain abo

de next th

t the book was dropped after

I conjectured that it was dropped by the mur

urities have been found among the

, s

reason to su

ng seemed to ha

interesting case. Then there wa

the feet of the dead man. Mrs. Carey has

st in thought

uppose I shall have to come ou

kins gave a

t will, indeed, be a

his finger at

fruitless. Watson, if you can spare the time, I should be very glad of your company. If you will cal

been cleared, for this is the seat of the first iron-works of the country, and the trees have been felled to smelt the ore. Now the richer fields of the North have absorbed the trade, and nothing save these ravaged groves and great scars in the earth show the work of the past. Here, in a

hardship and ill-usage which she had endured. With her was her daughter, a pale, fair-haired girl, whose eyes blazed defiantly at us as she told us that she was glad that her father was dead, and that she blessed the hand which had struck him down. It

de the door and one on the farther side. Stanley Hopkins drew the key from his pocket and

en tampering wi

e scratches showed white through the paint, as if they had

ver it was has failed to make his way

the inspector, "I could swear that th

from the village, p

the grounds, far less try to force their way int

fortune is ver

the person wi

en. He tried to get in with the blade of a very small

night with a mo

we are not there to receive him. Mea

n the night of the crime. For two hours, with most intense concentration, Holmes examined every object in t

anything off thi

ve moved

been a box. Well, well, I can do nothing more. Let us walk in these beautiful woods, Watson, and give a few hours to the birds and the

he stranger. The lock was a perfectly simple one, and only a strong blade was needed to push it back. Holmes also suggested that we should wait, not inside the hut, but outside it

for the coming of the thirsty beast of prey. What savage creature was it which might steal upon us out of the darkness? Was it a fierce tiger of crime, w

es from the village, lightened our vigil, but one by one these interruptions died away, and an absolute stillness fell upon us, save for the chimes of t

to fear that it was a false alarm, when a stealthy step was heard upon the other side of the hut, and a moment later a metallic scraping and clinking. The man was trying to force the lock. This time his skill was greater or his tool was bet

pon his head. We watched him staring round with frightened eyes. Then he laid the candle-end upon the table and disappeared from our view into one of the corners. He returned with a large book, one of the logbooks which formed a line upon the shelves. Leaning on the table, he rapidly turned over the leaves of this volume until he came to the entry which he sought. Then, with an angry gesture of his clenched hand, he

anley Hopkins, "who are you, a

her, and faced us with an ef

agine I am connected with the death of Capt

said Hopkins. "First of

hn Hopley

Hopkins exchang

e you do

eak confi

ertain

uld I te

r, it may go badly wi

ng man

t I hate to think of this old scandal gaining a new l

ce, that he never had, but Hol

y failed for a million, ruined half the coun

eligan was

ween an absconding banker and Captain Peter Carey pinned against the wall wi

rant was issued for his arrest. I can remember that last night when he bade farewell to my mother. He left us a list of the securities he was taking, and he swore that he would come back with his honour cleared, and that none who had trusted him would suffer. Well, no word was ever heard from him again. Both the yacht and he vanished utterly. We believed, my mother and I, that he and it, with the securities that he had taken with him,

was a stormy one, and there was a long succession of southerly gales. My father's yacht may well have been blown to the north, and there met by Captain Peter Carey's ship. If that were so, what had become of my fathe

s vessel were preserved in it. It struck me that if I could see what occurred in the month of August, 1883, on board the SEA UNICORN, I might settle the mystery of my father's fate. I tried last night to get at these logb

all?" ask

." His eyes shift

othing else

esit

ere is

been here befo

N

up the damning notebook, with the initials of our pris

e sank his face in his hands,

ed. "I did not know. I thought I

am very much obliged to you and to your friend for coming down to help me. As it turns out your presence was unnecessary, and I would have brought the case to this succes

k of it?" asked Holmes, as we t

at you are no

hemselves to me. I am disappointed in Stanley Hopkins. I had hoped for better things from him. One should

, is the al

n pursuing. It may give us nothing. I cannot

et. He snatched one of them up, opened it, and

morning.-Basil.' That's my name in those parts. The other is: 'Inspector Stanley Hopkins, 46 Lord Street, Brixton. Come breakfast to-morrow at nine-thirty. Important. Wire if unable to come.

down together to the excellent breakfast which Mrs. Hudson had

your solution must be

magine a more

seem to me

r. Holmes. What mor

lanation cover

he had done, he fled out of the hut, dropping the notebook which he had brought with him in order to question Peter Carey about these different securities. You may have observed that some of them were marked with ticks, and the others-the great majority-were not. Those which are ticked have been traced on the London market, but the others, presumably, were still i

could tell you that I spent a whole morning in that exercise. It is no easy matter, and requires a strong and practised arm. But this blow was delivered with such violence that the head of the weapon sank deep into the wall. Do you imagine that this anaemic youth was

peech. His hopes and his ambitions were all crumbling about

that I have evidence enough to satisfy a jury, even if you are able to pick a hole in it. Besides,

tson, that you would do well to put that revolver where you can reach it." He

nd now Mrs. Hudson opened the door to say that t

one by one,"

man, with ruddy cheeks and fluffy white side-whi

ame?" h

Lanca

s half a sovereign for your trouble. Just step

sallow cheeks. His name was Hugh Pattins. He also receive

a tangle of hair and beard, and two bold, dark eyes gleamed behind the cover of thick, tufted

me?" ask

ick C

poon

Twenty-si

e, I s

s,

start with an

s,

t wa

pounds

ou start

as I ge

ou your

greasy forms from his pocket. Ho

's the agreement on the side-table. If

across the room a

?" he asked, stoop

shoulder and passed b

ll do,"

even with the handcuffs which Holmes had so deftly fastened upon his wrists, he would have very quickly overpowered my friend had Hopkins and I not rushed to his rescue. Only

eggs are cold. However, you will enjoy the rest of your breakfast all the better, wil

was speechless

making a fool of myself from the beginning. I understand now, what I should never have forgotten, that I am the

time is that you should never lose sight of the alternative. You were so absorbed in young N

the seaman broke in

call things by their right names. You say I murdered Peter Carey, I say I KILLED Peter Carey, and there's a

olmes. "Let us hear

knife I whipped a harpoon through him sharp, for I knew that it was him or me. That's how he died. You can ca

ou there?"

Only one man knew what had happened to him, and that was me, for, with my own eyes, I saw the skipper tip up his heels and put him over the rail in the middle watch of a dark night, two days before we sighted the Shetland Lights. Well, I kept my knowledge to myself, and waited to see what would come of it. When we got back to Scotland it was easily hushed up, and nobody asked any questions. A stranger died by accident and it was nobody's business to inquire. Shortly after Peter Carey gave up the sea, and it was long years before I could find where he was. I guessed that he had done the deed for the sake of what was in that tin box, and that he could afford now to pay me well for keeping my mouth shut. I found out where he was through a sailor man that had met him in London, and down I went to squeeze him. The first night he was reasonable enough, and was ready to give me what would make me free of th

came slinking along, went into the hut, gave a cry as if he had seen a ghost, and legged it as hard as he could run until he was out of sight. Who he w

as stranded in London without a shilling. There was only my trade left. I saw these advertisements about harpooners, and high wages, so I went to the shipping agents

you should lose no time in conveying your prisoner to a place of safety. This room is not we

w to express my gratitude. Even now I d

e of the harpoon, the rum and water, the sealskin tobacco-pouch with the coarse tobacco-all these pointed to a seaman, and one who had been a whaler. I was convinced that the initials 'P.C.' upon the pouch were a coincidence, and not those of Peter Carey, since he s

did you f

Dundee, and at the end of that time I had ascertained the names of the crew of the SEA UNICORN in 1883. When I found Patrick Cairns among the harpooners, my research was nearing its end. I argued that the man was probably in London

cried Hopkins

must be returned to him, but, of course, the securities which Peter Carey has sold are lost forever. There's the cab, Hopkins, and you