A Study in Scarlet

was bound for the Nevada Mountains, he entrusted him with his message to Jefferson Hope. In it he told the young man of the imminent danger which

ing-room. One, with a long pale face, was leaning back in the rocking-chair, with his feet cocked up upon the stove. The other, a bull-necked youth with coarse bloated features, was standi

ber, and I'm Joseph Stangerson, who travelled with you in the desert wh

od time," said the other in a nasal voice

ldly. He had guessed

your daughter for whichever of us may seem good to you and to her. As I have but four wiv

is not how many wives we have, but how many we can keep. My fat

Lord removes my father, I shall have his tanning yard and his lea

oung Drebber, smirking at his own reflection in t

uming in the doorway, hardly able to keep his

, "when my daughter summons you, you can come, bu

ir eyes this competition between them for the maiden's h

ed Ferrier; "there is the door, and there

eatening, that his visitors sprang to their feet and beat a

e settled which it is to

ith rage. "You have defied the Prophet and the Counci

avy upon you," cried young Drebbe

irs for his gun had not Lucy seized him by the arm and restrained him. Before he could

erspiration from his forehead; "I would sooner see you

e answered, with spirit; "but

mes. The sooner the better, for we do

shed 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 va

ken, though it came in an unlooked-for manner. Upon rising next morning he found, to his surprise, a small square

re given you for am

en 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.

ing 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

appeared upon the walls, sometimes 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 proceeded. A horror which

ed 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. Single-handed, 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 a

d 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 o

nd then the low insidious sound was repeated. Someone was evidently tapping very gently upon one of the panels of the door. Was it some midnight assassin who had come to carry out the murderous orders of the secret tribunal? Or was it some

ded 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, unti

trate 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 ser

r. "How you scared me! Whateve

He flung himself upon the 21 cold meat and bread which were still lying upon the table from his host's s

know the danger," h

why I crawled my way up to it. They may be darned sharp, bu

seized the young man's leathery hand and wrung it cordially. "You're a man to be proud

one in this business I'd think twice before I put my head into such a hornet's nest. It's Lucy that b

are we

night you are lost. I have a mule and two horses wa

llars in gold, a

for Carson City through the mountains. You had best wake Luc

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 ret

as steeled his heart to meet it. "The front and back entrances are watched, but with caution we may get away through the side window and across the

re stopped,"

t of his tunic. "If they are too many for us we shall take t

rifice, however, and the thought of the honour and happiness of his daughter outweighed any regret at his ruined fortunes. All looked so peaceful and happy, the rustling trees and the broad silent stretch of grain-land, that

aited 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 t

g 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 shado

who appeared to be in authority. "When

d the other. "Shall I

nd from him to the ot

sign and countersign. The instant that their footsteps had died away in the distance, Jefferson Hope sprang to his feet, and helping his companions

o time. "We are through the line of sentine

gged peaks loomed above them through the darkness, and the defile which led between them was the Eagle Ca?on in which the horses were awaiting them. With unerring instinct Jefferson Hope picked his way among the great boulders and along the bed of a dried-up watercourse, u

the ribs of some petrified monster. On the other hand a wild chaos of boulders and debris 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 prac

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, th

ferson Hope, with his hand upon t

gering his gun, and peering down at t

permission

n experiences had taught him that that was t

even," cried

Hope promptly, remembering the counter

e horses were able to break into a trot. Looking back, they could see the solitary watcher leaning upon his