The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

MAN CAME TO K

ng are the fells upon which it stands. It stretches in a single line of grey-s

ained that for which I yearned above all things-seclusion and freedom from all which might distract my mind from the high and weighty

e shepherd, but had long been deserted, and was crumbling rapidly to ruin. In the winter floods, the Gaster Beck, which runs down Gaster Fell, where the little dwelling stood, had overswept its banks and torn away a pa

t of all supplies from without. In diet I had long been a Pythagorean, so that the scraggy, long-limbed sheep which browsed upon the wiry grass by the Gaster Beck had little to fear from their new companion. A nine-gallon cask of oil served me as a sideboard; while a square table, a deal chair and a truckle-bed comple

ssible amid surroundings which please the eye and gratify the senses. The room which I had set apart for my mystic studies was set forth in a style as gloomy and majestic as the thoughts and aspirations with which it was to harmonise. Both walls and ceilings were covered with a paper of the richest and glossiest black, on which was traced a lurid and arabesque pattern of dead

f a bustle in the house beneath, with the bearing of heavy burdens up the creaking stair, and the harsh voice of my landlady, loud in welcome and protestations of joy. From time to time, amid the whirl of words, I could hear a gentle and softly modulated voice, which struck pleasantly upon my ear after the

d in her morning rambles. The white and pink of her dress, and the touch of deep red ribbon in her broad drooping hat, formed a pleasant dash of colour against the dun-tinted landscape. She was some distance off when I first set eyes upon her, yet I knew that this wandering woman could be none other than our arrival of last night, for there was a grace a

tly sensitive mouth. From under the broad straw hat two thick coils of blue-black hair curved down on either side of her graceful queenly neck. I was surprised, as I watched her, to see that her shoes and skirt bore witness to a journey rather than to a mere morning ramble. Her light dress was stained, wet and bedra

of despair which seemed to convulse this strange and beautiful woman. I bent to my books, and yet my thoughts would ever turn to her p

rent of my thoughts, or to draw my mind by her idle chatter from weightier things. This morning, however, for once, she found

he came fra, I know little more than yoursel'. Maybe it was the same reaso

should hardly have thought that Kirkby-Malhouse was a p

ne could see with half an eye. 'You are Mrs. Adams,' says he. 'I engage your rooms for Miss Cameron,' says he. 'She will be here in a week,' says he; and then off without a word of terms. Last night there comes the yo

ENT FORTH T

dger's room. An instant afterward she had rushed down the passage and burst in upon me with uplifted hand and startled eyes. "Lord '

glancing through the casement. "She has gone

ly. "I wish her mother was here, sir-I do. Where she has been i

, and went for a walk, though the

tood at the casement, the girl beneath looked smilingly up at h

d in a rich, clear voice, with a

your roo

nder her skirt. "These fells of yours are dreadful places-effroyable

ndlady, as she gazed down at the bedraggled gown.

ittle death-voilà tout. But for me to walk, to run, to breathe the air-that is to

, and where did you

les sont tristes et sauvages, ces collines! But I have flowers here. You will give me water, will you not? They will wit

nug room on to the bleak, wind-swept hills? Could it be merely the restlessness, the love of a

t overlooks the little town, I saw my fellow-lodger some little distance off amongst the gorse. She had raised a light easel in front of her, and, with papered board laid across it, was preparing to paint the magnificent landscape of rock a

dger. Upperton is my name. We must introduce ourselves

she cried. "I had thought that there were

ed. "I am a student, and have come for qu

vast circle of silent moors, with the one tiny li

, "for I have been forced to move further into t

ouse upon the fells?" she

e within a few d

ried. "And where is it, then, t

ch lies like a silver band upon the distant moor? It

g eyes with a look in which surprise, incredulity, and som

ve on the Gaster

aster Fell, Miss Cameron?" I asked. "I had th

my brother talk of these Yorkshire moors; and, if I mistake not, I have

carelessly. "It is i

der the loneliness, the barrenness, the want of

hould be needed

s may come in all places," said she. "If I were a ma

; "but I fear that your picture will be spoiled, for the

he shower. Laughing merrily, my companion threw her light shawl over her head, and, seizing picture and easel, ran w

eamy eyes looking sadly out over the sombre fells; while I, with a book upon my knee, glanced covertly at her lovely

now such as their mothers never knew. Have you ever thought of going

wearily at

them, Monsieur Upperton. They are smooth and straight and clear where they begin; but soon they wind to left and wind to right, and so mid rocks a

d one. "If I may read your life, I would venture to say that you were destined to fulfil the lot of women-to make some good

with a sharp decision, which s

arry-a

ive features, and she plucked nervous

he in a voice that q

re

ngs to do. That path of which I spo

sisters, or the thousand other young ladies whom every season brings out into the world? But perhap

too much, she sprang to her feet and drew her mantle round her. "The night air is chill, Mr. Upperton," sai

dragged up to the door the rude hand-cart which was to convey my few personal belongings to my new dwelling. My fellow-lodger had kept her room; and, steeled as my mind was against her influence, I was yet conscious of a little throb of disappointment that she should allow

-you really

dies ca

ster Fell?

ttage which I h

ill live a

companions who

tty shrug of her graceful shoulder

?" I asked,

thing. You will

e but to

tense earnestness. "You will bolt your door at night?" said she; and

as bounded by the barren circle of wiry, unprofitable grass, patched over with furze bushes and scarred by the profus

ell there came a strange incident to lead my thoughts

tle cabin became closer and more oppressive. A weight seemed to rest upon my brow and my chest. From far away the low rumble of thunder

eet, the stream upon my right, nor the rocks upon my left. I was standing groping about in the thick gloom, when there came a crash of thunder with a flash of lightning which lighted up the whole vast fell, so that every bush and rock stood out clear and hard in the vivid li

ran swiftly forward in the direction where I had seen her, calling loudly upon her, but without reply. Again I called, and again no answer came back, save the melancholy wail of the owl. A second flash illuminated the landscape, and the moon burst out from behind its cloud. But I could n

GREY COTTAGE

n a village ale-house. Hot with anger, I flung down my book and withdrew the bolt just as my visitor had raised his stick to renew his rough application for admittance. He was a tall, powerful man, tawny-bearded and deep-chested, clad in a loose-fitting suit of tweed, cut for comfort rather than elegance. As he stood in the shimmering sunlight, I took in every feature of his face. The large, fleshy nose; the steady blue eyes, with th

hat you were the only man in the world with a taste for solitude? You

you live here?" I asked

ght as we were neighbours, Mr. Upperton, that I could not do

ch of the door. "I am a man of simple tastes, and you can do n

e chilled by my

for me, I am a surgeon, the surgeon of Gaster Fell. That is the nam

for practice he

yourself for mile

I remarked, glancing at a broad white splash, as from the r

I have a companion who is waiting for me. If I can ever do anything for you, pray let me know. You have on

, rather startled

who may be about. It is as well to be on the safe side. Good-bye." He raised h

two talked for a minute or more, the taller man nodding his head frequently in my direction, as though describing what had passed between us. Then they walked on together, and disappeared in a dip of the fell. Presently I saw them ascending once more some rising ground farther on. My acquaintance had thrown his arm round his elderly friend, either from affect

eck which purled past the door of my cabin, I cooled my heated brow, and thought the matter over. Clearly it was the small mystery hanging over these neighbours of mine which had caused my mind to run so persistently on them. That cleared up, they would no longer cause an obstacle to my studies. What was to hinder me, then, from walking in the direction of their dwell

Like my own cabin, it showed signs of having been constructed for the use of some shepherd; but, unlike mine, no pains had been taken by the tenants to improve and enlarge it. Two little peeping windows, a cracked and weather-beaten door, and a discoloured barrel for catching the rain water, were the only external objects from which I might draw deductions as to the dwellers within. Yet even in these there was food for thought, for as I drew nearer, still concealing myself behind the ridge, I saw that thick bars of i

ry musical voice. He was all engrossed in his work, with his back to the cottage, when there emerged from the half-open door the same attenuated creature whom I had seen in the morning. I could perceive now that he was a man of sixty, wrinkled, bent, and feeble, with sparse, grizzled hair, and long, colourless face. With a cringing, sidelong gait, he shuffled toward his companion, who was unconscious of his approach until he was close

hin showed me that the victim had recovered. The sun had sunk beneath the horizon, and all was grey, save a red feather in the cap of Pennigent. Secure in the failing light, I approached near and strained my ears to catch what was passing. I could hear the high, querulous voice of the elder man and the deep, rough monotone of

ng whether I should mix myself in the affair or not, when I heard in the distance the sound of the surgeon's returning footfall. At that I drew myself up quickly by the iron bars and glanced in through the diamond-paned window. The interior of the cottage was lighted up by a lurid glow, coming from what I afterward discovered to be a chemical furnace. By its rich light I could distinguish a great litter of retorts, test tubes and condensers, which sparkled over the table, and threw strange, grotesque shadows on the wall. On the further side of the room was a

he ground was soft the impressions of a foot-the small, dainty foot of a well-booted woman. That tiny heel and high in-step could have belonged to none other than my companion of Kirkby-Malhouse. I followed her trail for some distanc

hite drifting slowly down the stream. My first thought was that it was a drowning sheep; but picking up my stick, I strolled to the bank and hooked it ashore. On examination it prove to

ived the very man himself. He was walking rapidly along the hillside, beating the furze bushes with a cudgel and bellowing like

bout with his club. When he had disappeared over the fells, I made my way down to his cottage, determined to find some clue to what occurred. I was surprised, on reaching it, to find the iron-plated door flung wide open. The ground immediately outside it was marked with the signs of a struggle. The ch

as stuffed with chemical instruments. In one corner a small bookcase contained a choice selectio

body had entered it in my absence. Boxes had been pulled out from under the bed, the curtains disarranged, the chairs drawn out from the wa

AN WHO CAME

lexandrian platonist, of whom the Emperor Julian said that he was posterior to Plato in time but not in genius. At last, shutting up my book, I opened my door and took a last look at the dreary fell and still more dreary sky. As I protruded my head, a swoop of wind caught me and sent the red ashes of my pipe sparkling and dancing through the darkness. At the same mom

ng with his sinister presence. In a moment, however, a manly glow of resentment and self-confidence drove this petty emotion from my mind, and I strode fearlessly in his direction. He rose as I approach

"Your stay in the country has made you forget y

l," I said, hotly. "You have had the impertine

hand in it!" he cried. "I have never set foot in your house in my life. Oh, sir, sir, if you

that it has to tell. If there is a law in England, you shall hang for what you have done. As to me, I am an old soldier, sir, and I am armed. I shall not fasten my d

r, I gave myself up to reverie. I must have lost all perception of time, for I have no recollection how long I sat there on the borderland betwixt thought and slumber. At last, about 3 or possibly 4 o'clock, I came to myself with a start-not only came to myself, but with every sense and nerve upon the strain. Looking round my chamber in the dim light, I could not

-occasionally stopping entirely, then resumed, and ever drawing nearer. I sat breathlessly, listening to the eerie sound.

lve upon its hinges, and the keen air of the night came whistling through the slit. Very cautiously it was pushed open, so that never a sound came from the rusty hinges. As the aperture enlarged, I became aware of a dark, shadowy figure upon my threshold, and of a pale face that looked in at me. The features were human, but the eyes were not. They seemed to burn through

he contrast between them forbid all doubt as to their identity. The first was the small, elderly man, whom I had supposed to be dead; the second was my neighbour, the surgeon. For an instant they stood out clear and hard in the unearthly light; in the next, the darkness had closed over them, and they were gone. As I turned to re-enter my chamber, my foot rattled against something on my thr

timate explanation which you demand. Fate is a grand weaver of tales; but she ends them, as a rule, in defiance of all artistic laws, and with an unbecoming want of re

Lunati

ber 4th

ich have so seriously interfered with the retired existence which you desire to lead. I should have called upon you on the morning after the recapture of my father, but my

n incompetence to pronounce upon a case of such importance, I at once sought the highest advice in Birmingham and London. Among others we consulted the eminent alienist, Mr. Fraser Brown, who pronounced my father's case to be intermittent in its nature, but dangerous during the

deavoring to save my father from the asylum which in his sane moments filled him with horror. I can only regret t

rs t

Came