Part 1 of the Adventure of the Empty House, from the Return of Sherlock Holmes. It was in the spring of the year 1874 that all London was interested, and the fashionable world dismayed by the murder of the honourable Ronald Adair under most unusual and inexplicable circumstances. The public has already learned those particulars of the crime which came out in the police investigation, but a good deal was suppressed upon that occasion, since the case for the prosecution was so overwhelmingly strong that it was not necessary to bring forward all the facts. Only now, at the end of nearly ten years, am I allowed to supply those missing links which make up the whole of that remarkable chain. The crime was of interest in itself, but that interest was as nothing to me compared to the inconceivable sequel which afforded me the greatest shock and surprise of any event in my adventurous life. Even now, after this long interval, I find myself thrilling as I think of it, and feeling once more that sudden flood of joy, amazement, and incredulity which utterly submerged my mind. Let me say that to the public which has shown some interest in those glimpses which I have occasionally given them, of the thoughts and actions of a very remarkable man, that they are not to blame me if I have not shared my knowledge with them, for I should have considered it my first duty to do so had I not been barred by a positive prohibition from his own lips, which was only withdrawn upon the third of last month. It can be imagined that my close intimacy with Sherlock Holmes had interested me deeply in crime, and that after his disappearance I never failed to read with care the various problems which came before the public. And I even attempted more than once for my own private satisfaction to employ his methods in their solution, though with indifferent success. There was none, however, which appealed to me like this tragedy of Ronald Adair. As I read the evidence at the inquest, which led up to a verdict of willful murder against some person or persons unknown, I realized more clearly than I had ever done the loss which the community had sustained by the death of Sherlock Holmes. There were points about this strange business which would, I was sure, have especially appealed to him, and the efforts of the police would have been supplemented, or more probably anticipated, by the trained observation and the alert mind of the first criminal agent in Europe. All day as I drove upon my round I turned over the case in my mind and found no explanation which appeared to me to be adequate. At the risk of telling a twice-told tale I will recapitulate the facts as they were known to the public at the conclusion of the inquest. The Honorable Ronald Adair was the second son of the Earl of Manus. At that time, Governor of one of the Australian colonies, Adair's mother had returned from Australia to undergo the operation for cataract, and she, her son Ronald, and her daughter Hilda were living together at 427 Park Lane. The youth moved in the best society, had, so far as was known, no enemies and no particular vices. He had been engaged to Miss Edith Woodley of Carstairs, but the engagement had been broken off by mutual consent some months before, and there was no sign that it had left any very profound feeling behind it. For the rest the man's life moved in a narrow and conventional circle, for his habits were quiet and his nature unemotional. Yet it was upon this easygoing young aristocrat that death came in most strange and unexpected form between the hours of ten and eleven thirty on the night of March 30th, 1894. Ronald Adair was fond of cards, playing continually but never for such stakes as would hurt him. He was a member of the Baldwin, the Cavendish, and the Bagatelle card clubs. It was shown that, after dinner on the day of his death, he had played a rubber of whist at the latter club. He had also played there in the afternoon. The evidence of those who had played with him, Mr. Murray, Sir John Hardy, and Colonel Moran, showed that the game was whist, and that there was a fairly equal fall of the cards. Adair might have lost five pounds, but not more. His fortune was a considerable one, and such a loss could not in any way affect him. He had played nearly every day at one club or other, but he was a cautious player and usually rose a winner. It came out in evidence that, in partnership with Colonel Moran, he had actually won as much as four hundred and twenty pounds in a sitting, some weeks before, from Godfrey Milner and Lord Balmoral. So much for his recent history as it came out at the inquest. On the evening of the crime he returned from the club exactly at ten. His mother and sister were out spending the evening with a relation. The servant deposed that she heard him enter the front room on the second floor, generally used as his sitting room. He had lit a fire there, and as it smoked she had opened the window. No sound was heard from the room until eleven-twenty, the hour of the return of Laini Maynooth and her daughter. Desiring to say good night she attempted to enter her son's room. The door was locked on the inside, and no answer could be got to their cries and knocking. Help was obtained, and the door forced. The unfortunate young man was found lying near the table. His head had been horribly mutilated by an expanding revolver bullet, but no weapon of any sort was to be found in the room. On the table lay two banknotes for ten pounds each and seventeen pounds ten in silver and gold. The money arranged in little piles of varying amount. There were some figures also upon a sheet of paper with the names of some club friends opposite to them, from which it was conjectured that before his death he was endeavouring to make out his losses or winnings at cards. A minute examination of the circumstances served only to make the case more complex. In the first place no reason could be given why the young man should have fastened the door upon the inside. There was the possibility that the murderer had done this and had afterwards escaped by the window. The drop was at least twenty feet, however, and a bed of crocuses and full bloom lay beneath. Neither the flowers nor the earth showed any sign of having been disturbed nor were there any marks upon the narrow strip of grass which separated the house from the road. Apparently therefore it was the young man himself who had fastened the door. But how did he come by his death? No one could have climbed up to the window without leaving traces. Suppose a man had fired through the window he would indeed be a remarkable shot, who could, with a revolver, inflict so deadly a wound. Again Park Lane is a frequented thoroughfare. There is a cab stand within a hundred yards of the house. No one had heard a shot. And yet there was the dead man and there was the revolver bullet which had mushroomed out as soft-nosed bullets will, and so inflicted a wound which must have caused instantaneous death. Such were the circumstances of the Park Lane mystery which were further complicated by entire absence of motive, since, as I have said, young Adair was not known to have any enemy, and no attempt had been made to remove the money or valuables in the room. All day I turned these facts over in my mind, endeavoring to hit upon some theory which could reconcile them all, and to find that line of least resistance which my poor friend had declared to be the starting point of every investigation. I confessed that I made little progress. In the evening I strolled across the park and found myself about six o'clock at the Oxford Street end of Park Lane. A group of loafers upon the pavements, all staring up at a particular window, directed me to the house which I had come to see. A tall, thin man with colored glasses, whom I strongly suspected of being a plain clothes detective, was pointing out some theory of his own while the others crowded round to listen to what he said. I got as near him as I could, but his observations seemed to me to be absurd, so I withdrew again in some disgust. As I did so I struck against an elderly-deformed man who had been behind me, and I knocked down several books which he was carrying. I remember that as I picked them up I observed the title of one of them, The Origin of Tree Worship, and it struck me that the fellow must be some poor bibliophile, who, either as a trade or as a hobby, was a collector of obscure volumes. I endeavored to apologize for the accident, but it was evident that these books which I had so unfortunately maltreated were very precious objects in the eyes of their owner. With a snarl of contempt he turned upon his heel, and I saw his curved back and white side whiskers disappear among the throng. My observations of number 427 Park Lane did little to clear up the problem in which I was interested. The house was separated from the street by a low wall and railing, the whole not more than five feet high. It was perfectly easy, therefore, for anyone to get into the garden, but the window was entirely inaccessible, since there was no water-pipe or anything which could help the most active man to climb it. More puzzled than ever I retraced my steps to Kensington. I had not been in my study five minutes when the maid entered to say that a person desired to see me. To my astonishment it was none other than my strange old book-collector, his sharp, wizened face peering out from a frame of white hair, and his precious volumes, a dozen of them at least, wedged under his right arm. Your surprise to see me, sir, said he in a strange, croaking voice. I acknowledged that I was. Well, I have a conscious, sir, and when I chance to see you go into this house as I came hobbling after you, I thought to myself, I'll just step in and see that kind gentleman and tell him that if I was a bit gruff in my manner there was not any harm meant and that I am much obliged to him for picking up my books. You make too much of a trifle, said I. May I ask how you knew who I was? Well, sir, if it isn't too great a liberty I am a neighbor of yours, for you'll find my little book-shop at the corner of Church Street, and very happy to see you, I'm sure. Maybe you collect yourself, sir. Here's British birds, and Catalysts, and the Holy War, a bargain every one of them. With five volumes you could just fill that gap on that second shelf. It looks untidy, does it not, sir? I moved my head to look at the cabinet behind me. When I turned again, Sherlock Holmes was standing smiling at me across my study-table. I rose to my feet, stared at him for some seconds in utter amazement, and then it appears that I must have fainted for the first and the last time in my life. Certainly a gray mist swirled before my eyes, and when it cleared I found my collar ends undone and the tingling aftertaste of brandy upon my lips. Holmes was bending over my chair, his flask in his hand. My dear Watson, said the well-remembered voice, I owe you a thousand apologies. I had no idea that you would be so affected. I gripped him by the arms. Holmes, I cried, is it really you? Can it indeed be that you are alive? Is it possible that you succeeded in climbing out of that awful abyss? Wait a moment, said he. Are you sure that you are really fit to discuss things? I have given you a serious shock by my unnecessarily dramatic reappearance. I am all right, but indeed Holmes I can hardly believe my eyes. Good heavens!  Again I gripped him by the sleeve and felt the thin, sinewy arm beneath it. Well, you're not a spirit anyhow, I said. My dear chap, I'm overjoyed to see you sit down and tell me how you came alive out of that dreadful chasm. He sat opposite to me and lit a cigarette in his old, nonchalant manner. He was dressed in the seedy frock coat of the book merchant, but the rest of that individual lay in a pile of white hair and old books upon the table. Holmes looked even thinner and keener than of old, but there was a dead white tinge in his aquiline face which told me that his life recently had not been a healthy one. I'm glad to stretch myself, Watson, said he. It is no joke when a tall man has to take a foot off his stature for several hours on end. Now my dear fellow, in the manner of these explanations, we have, if I may ask for your cooperation, a hard and dangerous night's work in front of us. Perhaps it would be better if I gave you an account of the whole situation when that work is finished. I am full of curiosity. I should much prefer to hear now. You'll come with me tonight? When you like and where you like. This is indeed like the old days. We shall have a time for a mouthful of dinner before we need go. Well then, about that chasm, I had no serious difficulty in getting out of it for the very simple reason that I was never in it. You never were in it? No, Watson. I never was in it. My note to you was absolutely genuine. I had little doubt that I had come to the end of my career when I perceived the somewhat sinister figure of the late Professor Moriarty standing upon the narrow pathway which led to safety. I read an inexorable purpose in his grey eyes. I exchanged some remarks with him, therefore, and obtained his courteous permission to write the short note which you afterwards received. I left it, with my cigarette-box and my stick, and I walked along the pathway, Moriarty still at my heels. When I reached the end I stood at bay. He drew no weapon, but he rushed at me and threw his long arms around me. He knew that his own game was up and was only anxious to revenge himself upon me. We tottered together upon the brink of the fall. I have some knowledge, however, of Baritsu or the Japanese system of wrestling which has more than once been very useful to me. I slipped through his grip and he, with a horrible scream, kicked madly for a few seconds and clawed the air with both his hands, but for all his efforts he could not get his balance and over he went. With my face over the brink I saw him fall for a long way. Then he struck a rock, bound it off, and splashed into the water. I listened with amazement to this explanation which Holmes delivered between puffs of his cigarette. But the tracks, I cried, I saw with my own eyes that two went down the path and none returned. It came about this way. The instant that the professor had disappeared, it struck me what a really extraordinarily lucky chance fate had placed in my way. I knew that Moriarty was not the only man who had sworn my death. There were at least three others whose desire for vengeance upon me would only be increased by the death of their leader. They were all most dangerous men. One or other would certainly get me. On the other hand, if all the world was convinced that I was dead they would take liberties these men, they would soon lay themselves open, and sooner or later I could destroy them. Then it would be time for me to announce that I was still in the land of the living. So rapidly does the brain act that I believe I had thought this all out before Professor Moriarty had reached the bottom of the Reichenbach fall. I stood up and examined the rocky wall behind me. In your picturesque account of the matter which I read with great interest some months later you assert that the wall was sheer. That was not literally true. A few small footholds presented themselves, and there was some indication of a ledge. The cliff is so high that to climb it all was an obvious impossibility, and it was equally impossible to make my way along the wet path without leaving some tracks. I might, it is true, have reversed my boots as I have done on similar occasions, but the sight of three sets of tracks in one direction would certainly have suggested a deception. On the hull, then, it was best that I should risk the climb. It was not a pleasant business, Watson, the fall roared beneath me. I am not a fanciful person, but I give you my word that I seem to hear Moriarty's voice screaming at me out of the abyss. A mistake would have been fatal. More than once as tufts of grass came out in my hand or my foot slipped in the wet notches of the rock I thought that I was gone. But I struggled upwards, and at last I reached a ledge several feet deep and covered with soft green moss where I could lie unseen in the most perfect comfort. There I was stretched when you, my dear Watson, and all your following were investigating in the most sympathetic and inefficient manner the circumstances of my death. At last, when you had all formed your inevitable and totally erroneous conclusions, you departed for the hotel and I was left alone. I had imagined that I had reached the end of my adventures, but a very unexpected occurrence showed me that there were surprises still in store for me. A huge rock falling from above boomed past me, struck the path and bounded over into the chasm. For an instant I thought that it was an accident, but a moment later, looking up, I saw a man's head against the darkening sky, and another stone struck the very ledge upon which I was stretched, within a foot of my head. Of course the meaning of this was obvious. Moriarty had not been alone. A confederate, and even that one glance I told me how dangerous a man that confederate was, had kept guard while the professor had attacked me. From a distance unseen by me he had been a witness of his friend's death and of my escape. He had waited, and then making his way round to the top of the cliff, had endeavored to succeed where his comrade had failed. I did not take long to think about it, Watson. Again I saw that grim face look over the cliff, and I knew that it was the precursor of another stone. I scrambled down onto the path. I don't think I could have done it in cold blood. It was a hundred times more difficult than getting up. But I had no time to think of the danger, for another stone sang past me as I hung my hands from the edge of the ledge. Halfway down I slipped, but by the blessing of God I landed, torn and bleeding upon the path. I took to my heels, did ten miles over the mountains in the darkness, and a week later I found myself in Florence, with the certainty that no one in the world knew what had become of me. I had only one confidant, my brother Mycroft. I owe you many apologies, my dear Watson, but it was all important that it should be thought that I was dead. And it is quite certain that you would not have written so convincing an account of my unhappy end had you not yourself thought that it was true.  For that reason I turned away from you this evening when you have set my books, for I was in danger at the time, and any show of surprise and emotion upon your part might have drawn attention to my identity, and led to the most deplorable and irreparable results. As to Mycroft I had to confide in him in order to obtain the money which I needed. The course of events in London did not run so well as I had hoped. For the trial of the Moriarty gang left two of its most dangerous members, my own most vindictive enemies, at liberty. I traveled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhasa, and spending some days with the head lama. You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend. I then passed through Persia, looked in at Mecca, and paid a short but interesting visit to the Califa at Khartoum, the result of which I have communicated to the Foreign Office. Returning to France I spent some months in a research into the Coltard derivatives which I conducted in a laboratory at Montpellier in the south of France. Having concluded this to my satisfaction and learning that only one of my enemies was now left in London, I was about to return when my movements were hastened by the news of this very remarkable Park Lane mystery, which not only appealed to me by its own merits, but which seemed to offer some most peculiar personal opportunities. I came over at once to London, called in my own person at Baker Street, threw Mrs. Hudson into violent hysterics, and found that my Croft had preserved my rooms and my papers exactly as they had always been. So it was, my dear Watson, that at two o'clock to-day I found myself in my old armchair in my old room, and only wishing that I could have seen my old friend Watson in the other chair which he has so often adorned. Such was the remarkable narrative to which I listened on that April evening, a narrative which would have been utterly incredible to me had it not been confirmed by the actual sight of the tall, spare figure and the keen, eager face which I had never thought to see again. In some manner he had learned of my own sad bereavement, and his sympathy was shown in his manner rather than in his words. Work is the best antidote to sorrow, my dear Watson, said he, and I have a piece of work for us both tonight, which if we can bring it to a successful conclusion will in itself justify a man's life on this planet. In vain I begged him to tell me more. You will hear and see enough before morning, he answered. We have three years of the past to discuss. But that suffice until half-past nine when we start upon the notable adventure of the empty house. It was indeed like old times when, at that hour, I found myself seated beside him in a handsome, my revolver in my pocket and the thrill of adventure in my heart. Holmes was cold and stern and silent. As the gleam of the street lamps flashed upon his austere features I saw that his brows were drawn down in thought and his thin lips compressed. I knew not what wild beast we were about to hunt down in the dark jungle of criminal London, but I was well assured from the bearing of this master huntsman that the adventure was a most grave one, while the sardonic smile which occasionally broke through his ascetic gloom boated little good for the object of our quest. I had imagined that we were bound for Baker Street, but Holmes stopped the cab at the corner of Cavendish Square. I observed that as he stepped out he gave a most searching glance to right and left, and at every subsequent street corner he took the utmost pains to assure that he was not followed. Our route was certainly a singular one. Holmes's knowledge of the by-ways of London was extraordinary, and on this occasion he passed rapidly and with an assured step through a network of muse and stables, the very existence of which I had never known. We emerged at last into a small road lined with old gloomy houses which led us into Manchester Street, and so to Blandford Street. Here he turned swiftly down a narrow passage, passed through a wooden gate into a deserted yard, and then opened with a key the back door of a house. We entered together, and he closed it behind us. The place was pitch dark, but it was evident to me that it was an empty house. Our feet creaked and crackled over the bare planking, and my outstretched hand touched a wall from which the paper was hanging in ribbons. Holmes's cold, thin fingers closed round my wrist and led me forward down a long hall, until I dimly saw the murky fanlight over the door. Here Holmes turned suddenly to the right, and we found ourselves in a large, square, empty room, heavily shadowed in the corners, but faintly lit in the centre from the lights of the street beyond. There was no lamp near, and the window was thick with dust so that we could only just discern each other's figures within. My companion put his hand upon my shoulder and his lips close to my ear. �Do you know where we are?� he whispered. �Surely that is Baker Street,� I answered, staring through the dim window. �Exactly. We are in Camden House, which stands opposite to our own old quarters. But why are we here? Because it commands so excellent a view of that picturesque pile. Might I trouble you, my dear Watson, to draw a little nearer to the window, taking every precaution not to show yourself, and then to look up at our old rooms, the starting point of so many of your little fairy tales? We will see if my three years of absence have entirely taken away my power to surprise you. End of The Adventure of the Empty House, Part 1 Part 2 of The Adventure of the Empty House, from the return of Sherlock Holmes. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventure of the Empty House, Part 2 I crept forward and looked across at the familiar window. As my eyes fell upon it I gave a gasp and a cry of amazement. The blind was down and a strong light was burning in the room. The shadow of a man who was seated in a chair within was thrown in hard black outline upon the luminous screen of the window. There was no mistaking the poise of the head, the squareness of the shoulders, the sharpness of the features. The face was turned half round and the effect was that of one of those black silhouettes which our grandparents loved to frame. So amazed was I that I threw out my hand to make sure that the man himself was standing beside me. He was quivering with silent laughter. Well, said he, good heavens, I cried, it is marvellous. I trust that age doth not wither nor custom stale my infinite variety, said he. And I recognized in his voice the joy and pride which the artist takes in his own creation. It really is rather like me, is it not? I should be prepared to swear that it was you. The credit of the execution is due to Monsieur Oscar Menier of Grenoble, who spent some days in doing the molding. It is a bust in wax. The rest I arranged myself during my visit to Baker Street this afternoon. But why? Because, my dear Watson, I had the strongest possible reason for wishing certain people to think that I was there when I was really elsewhere. And you thought the rooms were watched? I knew that they were watched. By whom? By my old enemies, Watson. By the charming society whose leader lies in the Reichenbach Fall. You must remember that they knew, and only they knew, that I was still alive. Sooner or later they believed that I should come back to my rooms. They watched them continuously, and this morning they saw me arrive. How do you know? Because I recognized their sentinel when I glanced out of my window. He is a harmless enough fellow, Parker by name, a garter by trade, and a remarkable performer upon the Jew's heart. I cared nothing for him. But I cared a great deal for the much more formidable person who was behind him, the bosom friend of Moriarty, the man who dropped the rocks over the cliff, the most cunning and dangerous criminal in London. That is the man who is after me tonight, Watson, and that is the man who is quite unaware that we are after him. My friends' plans were gradually revealing themselves. From this convenient retreat the watchers were being watched and the trackers tracked. That angular shadow up yonder was the bait, and we were the hunters. In silence we stood together in the darkness and watched the hurrying figures who passed and repast in front of us. Holmes was silent and motionless, but I could tell that he was keenly alert, and that his eyes were fixed intently upon the stream of passers-by. It was a bleak and boisterous night, and the wind whistled shrilly down the long street. Many people were moving to and fro, most of them muffled in their coats and cravats. Less or twice it seemed to me that I had seen the same figure before, and I especially noticed two men who appeared to be sheltering themselves from the wind in the doorway of a house, some distance up the street. I tried to draw my companion's attention to them, but he gave a little ejaculation of impatience and continued to stare into the street.  It was evident to me that he was becoming uneasy and that his plans were not working out altogether as he had hoped. At last as midnight approached and the street gradually cleared, he paced up and down the room in uncontrollable agitation. I was about to make some remark to him when I raised my eyes to the lighted window and again experienced almost as great a surprise as before. I clutched Holmes's arm and pointed upwards. "'The shadow has moved,' I cried. It was indeed no longer the profile but the back which was turned toward us. Three years had certainly not smoothed the asperities of his temper or his impatience with a less active intelligent than his own. "'Of course it has moved,' said he. Am I such a farcical bungler, Watson, that I should erect an obvious dummy and expect that some of the sharpened men in Europe would be deceived by it? We have been in this room two hours, and Mrs. Hudson has made some change in that figure eight times, or once in every quarter of an hour. She works it from the front so that her shadow may never be seen. Ah! He drew in his breath with a shrill excited intake. In the dim light I saw his head thrown forward, his whole attitude rigid with attention. Outside the street was absolutely deserted. Those two men might still be crouching in the doorway, but I could no longer see them.  Again in the utter silence I heard that thin, sibilant note which spoke of intense, suppressed excitement. An instant later he pulled me back into the blackest corner of the room, and I felt his warning hand upon my lips. The fingers which clutched me were quivering. Never had I known my friend more moved, and yet the dark street still stretched lonely and motionless before us. But suddenly I was aware of that which his keener senses had already distinguished. A loath, stealthy sound came to my ears, not from the direction of Baker Street, but from the back of the very house in which we lay concealed. A door opened and shut. An instant later steps crept down the passage, steps which were meant to be silent, but which reverberated harshly through the empty house. Homes crouched back against the wall, and I did the same, my hand closing upon the handle of my revolver. Peering through the gloom I saw the vague outline of a man, a shade blacker than the blackness of the open door. He stood for an instant, and then he crept forward, crouching, menacing into the room. He was within three yards of us, this sinister figure, and I had braced myself to meet his spring, before I realized that he had no idea of our presence. He passed close beside us, stole over to the window, and very softly and noiselessly raised it for half a foot. As he sank to the level of this opening the light of the street no longer dimmed by the dusty glass fell full upon his face. The man seemed to be beside himself with excitement. His two eyes shone like stars, and his features were working convulsively. He was an elderly man with a thin projecting nose, a high bald forehead, and a huge grizzled moustache. An opera hat was pushed to the back of his head, and an evening dress shirt front gleamed out through his open overcoat. His face was gaunt and swarthy, scored with deep, savage lines. In his hand he carried what appeared to be a stick, but as he laid it down upon the floor it gave a metallic clang. Even from the pocket of his overcoat he drew a bulky object, and he busied himself in some task which ended with a loud, sharp click, as if a spring or bolt had fallen into its place. Still kneeling upon the floor he bent forward and threw all his weight and strength upon some lever, with the result that there came a long, whirling, grinding noise, ending once more in a powerful click. He straightened himself then, and I saw what he held in his hand was a sort of gun, with a curiously misshapen butt. He opened it at the breach, put something in, and snapped the breach lock. Then crouching down he rested the end of the barrel upon the ledge of the open window, and I saw his long moustache droop over the stock and his eye gleam as it peered along the sights. I heard a little sigh of satisfaction as he cuddled the butt into his shoulder, and saw that amazing target, the black man on the yellow ground, standing clear at the end of his foresight. For an instant he was rigid and motionless. Then his finger tightened on the trigger. There was a strange, loud whiz and a long, silvery tinkle of broken glass.    There was the clatter of running feet upon the pavement, and two policemen in uniform, with one plain-clothes detective rest through the front entrance and into the room. "'That you, Lestrade,' said Holmes. "'Yes, Mr. Holmes. I took the job myself. It's good to see you back in London, sir.' "'I think you want a little unofficial help. Three undetected murders in one year won't do, Lestrade. But you handled the Mosley mystery with less than your usual—that's to say—you handled it fairly well. We had all risen to our feet, our prisoner breathing hard with a stalwart constable on each side of him. Already a few loiters had begun to collect in the street. Holmes stepped up to the window, closed it, and dropped the blinds. Lestrade had produced two candles, and the policemen had uncovered their lanterns. I was able at last to have a good look at our prisoner. It was a tremendously virile and yet sinister face which was turned towards us. With the brow of a philosopher above and the jaw of a sensualist below, the man must have started with great capacities for good or for evil. But one could not look upon his cool blue eyes with their drooping, cynical lids, or upon the fierce, aggressive nose and the threatening, deep-set brow, without reading nature's plainest danger-signals. He took no heed of any of us, but his eyes were fixed upon Holmes's face with an expression in which hatred and amazement were equally blended. "'You fiend,' he kept on muttering, "'you clever, clever fiend!' "'Ah, Colonel,' said Holmes, arranging his rumpled collar. Journeys end in lovers' meetings, as the old play says. I don't think I've had the pleasure of seeing you since you favored me with all those attentions as I lay on the ledge above the Reichenbach fall.' The Colonel still stared at my friend like a man in a trance. "'You cunning, cunning fiend,' was all that he could say. "'I have not introduced you yet,' said Holmes. This gentleman is Colonel Sebastian Moran, once of Her Majesty's Indian army, and the best heavy game shot that our eastern empire has ever produced. I believe I am correct, Colonel, in saying that your bag of tigers still remains unrivaled.' The fierce old man said nothing but still glared at my companion. With his savage eyes and bristling moustache he was wonderfully like a tiger himself. "'I wonder that my very simple stratagem could deceive so old a shakari,' said Holmes. "'It must be very familiar to you. Have you not tethered a young kid under a tree, laying above it with your rifle, and waited for the bait to bring up your tiger? This empty house is my tree, and you are my tiger. You have possibly had other guns in reserve, in case there should be several tigers, or in the unlikely subsition of your own aim failing you. These,' he pointed out, are my other guns. The parallel is exact. Colonel Moran sprang forward with a snarl of rage, but the constables dragged him back. The fury upon his face was terrible to look at. "'I confess that you had one small surprise for me,' said Holmes. "'I did not anticipate that you would yourself make use of this empty house and this convenient front window. I had imagined you as operating from the street, where my friend Lestrade and his merry men were awaiting you. With that exception all has gone as I expected.' Colonel Moran turned to the official detective. "'You may or may not have just caused for arresting me,' said he. "'But at least there can be no reason why I should submit to the jives of this person. If I am in the hands of the law, let things be done in a legal way.' "'Well, that's reasonable enough,' said Lestrade. "'Nothing further you have to say, Mr. Holmes, before we go?' Holmes had picked up the powerful air-gun from the floor and was examining its mechanism. "'An admirable and unique weapon,' said he, noiseless and of tremendous power. I knew von Herter, the blind German mechanic, who constructed it to the order of the late Professor Moriarty. For years I have been aware of its existence, though I have never before had the opportunity of handling it. I commend it very specially to your attention, Lestrade, and also the bullets which fit it. "'You can trust us to look after that, Mr. Holmes,' said Lestrade, as the whole party moved towards the door. "'Anything further to say?' "'Only to ask what charge you intend to prefer?' "'What charge, sir? Why, of course, the attempted murder of Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Not so, Lestrade. I do not propose to appear in the matter at all. To you and to you only belongs the credit of the remarkable arrest which you have affected. Yes, Lestrade, I congratulate you. With your usual happy mixture of cunning and audacity you have got him.' "'Got him? Got whom, Mr. Holmes?' The man that the whole force has been seeking in vain. Colonel Sebastian Moran, who shot the honourable Ronald Adair with an expanding bullet from an air-gun through the open window of the second floor front of No. 427 Park Lane upon the thirtieth of last month. That's the charge, Lestrade. And now, Watson, if you can endure the draught from a broken window, I think that half an hour in my study over cigar may afford you some profitable amusement. Our old chambers had been left unchanged through the supervision of mycroft-homes and the immediate care of Mrs. Hudson. As I entered I saw it is true and unwanted tidiness, but the old landmarks were all in their place. There were the chemical corner and the acid-stained, deal-top table. There upon a shelf was the row of formidable scrap-books and books of reference which many of our fellow citizens would have been so glad to burn. The diagrams, the violin case, and the pipe-rack, even the Persian slipper which contained the tobacco, all met my eyes as I glanced round me. There were two occupants of the room, one Mrs. Hudson, who beamed upon us both as we entered, the other the strange dummy which had played so important a part in the evening's adventures. It was a wax-colored model of my friend so admirably done that it was a perfect facsimile. It stood on a small pedestal-table with an old dressing-gown of holnses so draped round it that the illusion from the street was absolutely perfect. I hope you observed all precautions, Mrs. Hudson, said Holmes. I went to it on my knees, sir, just as you told me. Excellent! You carried the thing out very well. Did you observe where the bullet went? Yes, sir. I'm afraid it has spoiled your beautiful bust, for it passed right through the head and flattened itself on the wall. I picked it up from the carpet. Here it is. Holmes held it out to me. A soft revolver bullet as you perceive, Watson. There's genius in that, for who would expect to find such a thing fired from an air-gun? All right, Mrs. Hudson. I am much obliged for your assistance. And now, Watson, let me see you in your old seat once more, for there are several points which I should like to discuss with you. He had thrown off the seedy frock coat, and now he was the holms of old in the mouse-colored dressing-gown which he took from his effigy.  Plumb in the middle of the back of the head and smack through the brain. He was the best shot in India, and I expect that there are few better in London. Have you heard the name? No, I have not. Well well such is fame, but then if I remember right you had not heard the name of Professor James Moriarty, who had one of the great brains of the century. Just give me down my index of biographies from the shelf.  My collection of Ems is a fine one, said he. Moriarty himself is enough to make any letter illustrious, and here is Morgan the Poisoner, and Meridu of Abominable Memory, and Matthews who knocked out my left canine in the waiting-room at Charing Cross, and finally here is our friend of tonight. He handed over the book, and I read. Moran, Sebastian, Colonel, Unemployed, formerly First Bangalore Pioneers, born London, 1840, son of Sir Augustus Moran, CB, once British minister to Persia, educated Eaton and Oxford, served in Joachie Campaign, Afghan Campaign, Terraciab, Dispatches, Sherpur, and Kabul, author of Heavy Game of the Western Himalayas, 1881, Three Months in the Jungle, 1884, address Conduit Street, First the Anglo-Indian, the Tankerville, the Bagatelle Card Club. On the margin was written in Holmes's precise hand, the second most dangerous man in London. "'This is astonishing,' said I, as I handed back the volume. The man's career is that of an honourable soldier.' "'It is true,' Holmes answered, up to a certain point he did well. He was always a man of iron nerve, and the story is still told in India, how he crawled down a drain after a wounded man eating tiger. There are some trees, Watson, which grow to a certain height, and then suddenly develop some unsightly eccentricity. You will see it often in humans. I have a theory that the individual represents in his development the whole procession of his ancestors, and that such a sudden turn to good or evil stands for some strong influence which came into the line of his pedigree. The person becomes, as it were, the epitome of the history of his own family. It is surely rather fanciful. While I don't insist upon it, whatever the cause Colonel Moran began, hot to hold him.  It was at this time that he was sought out by Professor Moriarty, to whom for a time he was chief of the staff. Moriarty supplied him liberally with money, and used him only in one or two very high-class jobs, which no ordinary criminal could have undertaken. You may have some recollection of the death of Mrs. Stewart of Lauder in 1887. Not? Well, I am sure Moran was at the bottom of it, but nothing could be proved. So cleverly was the Colonel concealed that, even when the Moriarty gang was broken up, we could not incriminate him. You remember at that date when I called upon you in your rooms how I put up the shutters for fear of air-guns? No doubt you thought me fanciful. I knew exactly what I was doing, for I knew of the existence of this remarkable gun, and I also knew that one of the best shots in the world would be behind it. When we were in Switzerland he followed us with Moriarty, and it was undoubtedly he who gave me that evil five minutes on the Reichenbach ledge. You may think that I read the papers with some attention during my sojourn in France on the outlook for any chance of laying him by the heels. So long as he was free in London my life would not really have been worth living. Night and day the shadow would have been over me, and sooner or later his chance must have come. What could I do? I could not shoot him at sight or I should myself be in the dock. There was no use appealing to a magistrate. They cannot interfere on the strength of what would appear to them to be a wild suspicion. So I could do nothing. But I watched the criminal news, knowing that sooner or later I should get him. Then came the death of this Ronald Adair. My chance had come at last. Knowing what I did, was it not certain that Colonel Moran had done it? He had played cards with the lad. He had followed him home from the club. He had shot him through the open window. There was not a doubt of it. The bullets alone are enough to put his head in a noose. I came over at once. I was seen by the sentinel who would, I knew, direct the Colonel's attention to my presence. He could not fail to connect my sudden return with his crime and to be terribly alarmed. I was sure that he would make an attempt to get me out of the way at once, and would bring round his murderous weapon for that purpose. I left him an excellent mark in the window and, having warned the police that they might be needed, by the way, Watson, you spotted their presence in that doorway with unerring accuracy. I took up what seemed to me to be a judicious post for observation. They were dreaming that he would choose the same spot for his attack. Now, my dear Watson, does anything remain for me to explain? Yes, said I. You have not made it clear what was Colonel Moran's motive in murdering the honourable Ronald Adair. Ah, my dear Watson, there we come into those realms of conjecture where the most logical mind may be at fault. Each may form his own hypothesis upon the present evidence, and yours is as likely to be correct as mine. You have formed one, then? I think that it is not difficult to explain the facts. It came out in evidence that Colonel Moran and young Adair had between them won a considerable amount of money. Now, Moran undoubtedly played foul. Of that I have long been aware. I believe that on the day of the murder Adair had discovered that Moran was cheating. Very likely he had spoken to him privately and had threatened to expose him unless he voluntarily resigned his membership of the club, and promised not to play cards again. It is unlikely that a youngster like Adair would at once make a hideous scandal by exposing a well-known man so much older than himself. Probably he acted as I suggest. The exclusion from his clubs would mean ruin to Moran who lived by his ill-gotten card-gains. He therefore murdered Adair, who at the time was endeavoring to work out how much money he should himself return, since he could not profit by his partner's foul play. He locked the door lest the lady should surprise him and insist upon knowing what he was doing with these names and coins. Will it pass? I have no doubt that you have hit upon the truth. It will be verified or disproved at the trial. Meanwhile come what may Colonel Moran will trouble us no more. The famous air-gun of Von Herter will embellish the Scotland Yard Museum. And once again Mr. Sherlock Holmes is free to devote his life to examining those interesting little problems which the complex life of London so plentifully presents. End of the Adventure of the Empty House, Part 2. Part 1 of the Adventure of the Norwood Builder from the return of Sherlock Holmes. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Zachary Brewster Geis. The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventure of the Norwood Builder, Part 1. From the point of view of the criminal expert, said Mr. Sherlock Holmes, London has become a singularly uninteresting city since the death of the late lamented Professor Moriarty. I can hardly think that you would find many decent citizens to agree with you, I answered. Well, well, I must not be selfish, said he with a smile as he pushed back his chair from the breakfast table. The community is certainly the gainer and no one the loser. Save the poor out-of-work specialist whose occupation has gone. With that man in the field one's morning paper presented infinite possibilities. Often it was only the smallest trace what's in the faintest indication, and yet it was enough to tell me that the great malignant brain was there, as the gentlest tremors of the edges of the web remind one of the foul spider which lurks in the centre. Prety thefts, wanton assaults, purposeless outrage, to the man who held the clue all could be worked into one connected whole. To the scientific student of the higher criminal world no capital in Europe offered the advantages which London then possessed, but now? He shrugged his shoulders in humorous deprecation of the state of things which he had himself done so much to produce. At the time of which I speak, Holmes had been back for some months, and I at his request had sold my practice and returned to share the old quarters in Baker Street. A young doctor named Werner had purchased my small Kensington practice, and given with astonishingly little to myrrh the highest price that I've entered to ask, an incident which only explained itself some years later when I found that Werner was a distant relation of Holmes's, and that it was my friend who had really found the money. Our months of partnership had not been so uneventful as he had waited, for I find on looking over my notes that this period includes the case of the papers of ex-president Murio, and also the shocking affair of the Dutch steamship Friesland, which so nearly cost us both our lives. His cold and proud nature was always averse, however, to anything in this shape of public applause, and he bound me in the most stringent terms to say no further word of himself, his methods, or his successes, a prohibition which, as I have explained, has only now been removed. Mr. Sherlock Holmes was leaning back in his chair after his whimsical protest, and was unfolding his morning paper in a leisurely fashion, when our attention was arrested by a tremendous ring at the bell followed immediately by a hollow drumming sound, as if someone were beating on the outer door with his fist. As it opened there came a tumultuous rush into the hole, rapid feet clattered up the stair, and an instant later a wild-eyed and frantic young man pale, dishevelled and palpitating burst into the room. He looked from one to the other of us, and under our gaze of inquiry he became conscious that some apology was needed for this unceremonious entry.  He made the announcement as if the name alone would explain both his visit and its manner, but I could see by my companion's unresponsive face that it meant no more to him than to me. "'Have a cigarette, Mr. MacFarlane,' said he, pushing his case across. I am sure that with your symptoms my friend Dr. Watson here would prescribe a sedative. The weather has been so very warm these last few days. Now if you feel a little more composed I should be glad if you would sit down in that chair and tell us very slowly and quietly who you are and what it is that you want. You mentioned your name as if I should recognize it, but I assure you that beyond the obvious facts that you are a bachelor, a solicitor, a freemason, and an asthmatic, I know nothing whatever about you. Familiar as I was with my friend's methods it was not difficult for me to follow his deductions and to observe the untidiness of attire, the sheaf of legal papers, the watched charm, and the breathing which had prompted them. Our client, however, stared in amazement. Yes, I am all that, Mr. Holmes, and in addition I am the most unfortunate man at this moment in London. For heaven's sake don't abandon me, Mr. Holmes. If they come to arrest me before I have finished my story, make them give me time so that I may tell you the whole truth. I could go to jail happy if I knew that you were working for me outside. Arrest you, said Holmes. This is really most grat- most interesting. On what charge do you expect to be arrested? Upon the charge of murdering Mr. Jonas Oldacre of Lower Norwood. My companion's expressive face showed a sympathy which was not, I am afraid, entirely unmixed with satisfaction. Dear me, said he, it was only this moment at breakfast that I was saying to my friend Dr. Watson that sensational cases had disappeared out of our papers.  If you had looked at it, sir, you would have seen at a glance what the errand is on which I have come to you this morning. I feel as if my name and my misfortune must be in every man's mouth. He turned it over to expose the central page. Here it is, and with your permission I will read it to you. Listen to this, Mr. Holmes. The headlines are, Mysterious Affair at Lower Norwood, Disappearance of a well-known builder, Suspicion of Murder in Arson, a Clue to the Criminal. That is the clue which they are already following, Mr. Holmes, and I know that it leads infallibly to me. I have been followed from London Bridge Station, and I am sure that they are only waiting for the warrant to arrest me. It will break my mother's heart. It will break her heart!" He wrung his hands in an agony of apprehension and swayed backwards and forwards in his chair. I looked with interest upon this man who was accused of being the perpetrator of a crime of violence. He was flaxen-haired and handsome in a washed-out negative fashion, with frightened blue eyes and a clean-shaven face, with a weak, sensitive mouth. His age may have been about twenty-seven, his dress and bearing, that of a gentleman. From the pocket of his light-summer overcoat protruded the bundle of endorsed papers which proclaimed his profession. We must use what time we have, said Holmes. Watson, would you have the kindness to take the paper and to read to me the paragraph in question? Underneath the vigorous headlines which our client had quoted, I read the following suggestive narrative. Late last night, or early this morning, an incident occurred at Lower Norwood which points it is feared to a serious crime. Mr. Jonas Oldacre is a well-known resident of that suburb, where he has carried on his business as a builder for many years. Mr. Oldacre is a bachelor, fifty-two years of age, and lives in Deep Dean House at the syndinum end of the road of that name. He has had the reputation of being a man of eccentric habits, secretive and retiring. For some years he has practically withdrawn from the business in which he is said to have amassed considerable wealth. A small timber-yard still exists, however, at the back of the house, and last night, about twelve o'clock, an alarm was given that one of the stacks was on fire. The engines were soon upon the spot, but the dry wood burned with great fury, and it was impossible to arrest the conflagration until the stack had been entirely consumed. Up to this point the incident bore the appearance of an ordinary accident, but fresh indications seemed to point to serious crime. Surprise was expressed at the absence of the master of the establishment from the scene of the fire, and an inquiry followed which showed that he had disappeared from the house. An examination of his room revealed that the bed had not been slept in, that a safe which stood in it was open, that a number of important papers were scattered about the room, and finally that there were signs of a murderous struggle, slight traces of blood being found within the room, and an oaken walking stick which also showed stains of blood upon the handle. It is known that Mr. Jonas Oldacre had received a late visitor in his bedroom upon that night, and the stick found has been identified as the property of this person, who is a young London solicitor named John Hector McFarland, junior partner of Graham and McFarland of 426 Gresham Buildings, E.C. The police believe that they have evidence in their possession which supplies a very convincing motive for the crime, and altogether it cannot be doubted that sensational developments will follow. Later. It is rumored as we go to press that Mr. John Hector McFarland has actually been arrested on the charge of the murder of Mr. Jonas Oldacre. It is at least certain that a warrant has been issued. There have been further and sinister developments in the investigation at Norwood. Besides the signs of a struggle in the room of the unfortunate builder, it is now known that the French windows of his bedroom, which is on the ground floor, were found to be open, that there were marks as if some bulky object had been dragged across to the woodpile, and finally it is asserted that charred remains have been found among the charcoal ashes of the fire. The police theory is that a most sensational crime has been committed, that the victim was clubbed to death in his own bedroom, his papers rifled, and his dead body dragged across to the wood stack which was then ignited so as to hide all traces of the crime. The conduct of the criminal investigation has been left in the experienced hands of Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, who is following up the clues with his accustomed energy and sagacity. Sherlock Holmes listened with closed eyes and fingertips together to this remarkable account. The case has certainly some points of interest, said he in his languid fashion. May I ask in the first place, Mr. MacFarlane, how it is that you are still at liberty, since there appears to be enough evidence to justify your arrest? I live at Torrington Lodge, Blackheath, with my parents, Mr. Holmes, but last night, having to do business very late with Mr. Jonas Oldacre, I stayed at a hotel in Norwood and came to buy business from there. I knew nothing of this affair until I was in the train, when I read what you have just heard. I at once saw the horrible danger of my position and I hurried to put the case into your hands. I have no doubt that I should have been arrested either at my city office or at my home. A man followed me from London Bridge Station and I have no doubt—Great Heaven, what is that? It was a clang of the bell, followed instantly by heavy steps upon the stair. A moment later our old friend Lestrade appeared in the doorway, over his shoulder I caught a glimpse of one or two uniformed policemen outside. Mr. John Hector McFarlane, said Lestrade, our unfortunate client rose with a ghastly face. I arrest you for the willful murder of Mr. Jonas Oldacre of Lower Norwood. McFarlane turned to us with a gesture of despair and sank into his chair once more like one who was crushed. One moment, Lestrade, said Holmes, half an hour more or less can make no difference to you and the gentleman was about to give us an account of this very interesting affair which might aid us in clearing it up. I think there will be no difficulty in clearing it up, said Lestrade grimly. Nonetheless, with your permission I should be much interested to hear his account. Well, Mr. Holmes, it is difficult for me to refuse you anything for you have been of use to the force once or twice in the past, and we owe you a good turn at Scotland Yard, said Lestrade. At the same time I must remain with my prisoner, and I am bound to warn him that anything he may say will appear in evidence against him. I wish nothing better, said our client. All I ask is that you should hear and recognise the absolute truth. Lestrade looked at his watch. I'll give you half an hour, said he. I must explain first, said MacFarlane, that I knew nothing of Mr. Jonas Oldacre. His name was familiar to me, for many years ago my parents were acquainted with him, but they drifted apart. I was very much surprised, therefore, when yesterday, about three o'clock in the afternoon, he walked into my office in the city. But I was still more astonished when he told me the object of his visit. He had in his hand several sheets of a notebook covered with scribbled writing, here they are, and he laid them on my table. Here is my will, said he. I want you, Mr. MacFarlane, to cast it into proper legal shape. I will sit here while you do so. I set myself to copy it, and you can imagine my astonishment when I found that, with some reservations, he had left all his property to me. He was a strange little ferret-like man with white eyelashes, and when I looked up at him I found his keen gray eyes fixed upon me with an amused expression. I could hardly believe my own senses as I read the terms of the will, but he explained that he was a bachelor with hardly any living relation, that he had known my parents and his youth, and that he had always heard of me as a very deserving young man, and was assured that his money would be in worthy hands. Of course I could only stammer out my thanks. The will was duly finished, signed, and witnessed by my clerk. This is it on the blue paper, and these slips, as I have explained, are the rough draft. Mr. Jonas Oldacre then informed me that there were a number of documents, building leases, title-deeds, mortgages, script, and so forth, which it was necessary that I should see and understand. He said that his mind would not be easy until a whole thing was settled, and he begged me to come out to his house at Norwood that night, bringing the will with me, and to arrange matters. Remember, my boy, not one word to your parents about the affair until everything is settled. We will keep it as a little surprise for them. He was very insistent upon this point and made me promise it faithfully. You can imagine, Mr. Holmes, that I was not in a humor to refuse him anything that he might ask. He was my benefactor, and all my desire was to carry out his wishes in every particular. I sent a telegram home, therefore, to say that I had important business on hand, and that it was impossible for me to say how late I might be. Mr. Oldacre had told me that he would like me to have supper with him at nine, as he might not be home before that hour. I had some difficulty in finding his house, however, and it was nearly half-past before I reached it. I found him— One moment, said Holmes, who opened the door? A middle-aged woman, who was, I suppose, his housekeeper? And it was she, I presume, who mentioned your name? Exactly, said McFarland. Pray proceed. McFarland wiped his damp brow and then continued his narrative. I was shown by this woman into a sitting-room where a frugal supper was laid out. As Mr. Jonas Oldacre led me into his bedroom, in which there stood a heavy safe, this he opened and took out a mass of documents which we went over together. It was between eleven and twelve when we finished. He remarked that we must not disturb the housekeeper. He showed me out through his own French window which had been open all this time. Was the blind down? asked Holmes. I will not be sure, but I believe that it was only half-down. Yes, I remember how he pulled it up in order to swing open the window. I could not find my stick, and he said, Never mind, my boy, I shall see a good deal of you now, I hope, and I will keep your stick until you come back to claim it. I left him there, the safe open and the papers made up in packets upon the table. It was so late that I could not get back to Blackheath, so I spent the night at the Annerley Arms, and I knew nothing more until I read of this horrible affair in the morning. Anything more that you would like to ask, Mr. Holmes? said the straight, whose eyebrows had gone up once or twice during this remarkable explanation. Not until I've been to Blackheath. You mean to Norwood? said the straight. Oh, yes, no doubt that is what I must have meant, said Holmes, with his enigmatic smile. The straight had learned by more experiences than he would care to acknowledge that that razor-like brain could cut through that which was impenetrable to him. I saw him look curiously at my companion. I think I should like to have a word with you presently, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, said he. Now, Mr. McFarlane, two of my constables are at the door, and there is a four-wheeler waiting. The wretched young man arose, and with a latched beseeching glance at us walked from the room. The officers conducted him to the cab, but the straight remained. Holmes had picked up the pages which formed the rough draft of the will, and was looking at them with the keenest interest upon his face. There are some points about that document, the straight. Are there not? said he, pushing them over. The official looked at them with a puzzled expression. I can read the first few lines, and these in the middle of the second page, and one or two at the end. Those are as clear as print, said he. But the writing in between is very bad, and there are three places where I cannot read it at all. What do you make of that? said Holmes. Well, what do you make of it? That it was written in a train. The good writing represents stations, the bad writing movement, and the very bad writing passing over points. A scientific expert would pronounce at once that this was drawn up on a suburban line, since nowhere save in the immediate vicinity of a great city could there be so quick a succession of points, granting that his whole journey was occupied in drawing up the will than the train was an express, only stopping once between Norwood and London Bridge. The straight began to laugh.  How does this bear on the case? Well, it corroborates the young man's story to the extent that the will was drawn up by Jodis Oldacre in his journey yesterday. It is curious, is it not, that a man should draw up so important a document and so haphazard a fashion. It suggests that he did not think it was going to be of much practical importance. If a man drew up a will, which he did not intend ever to be effective, he might do it so. Well, he drew up his own death warrant at the same time, said Lestrade. Oh, you think so? Don't you? Well, it is quite possible. But the case is not clear to me yet. Not clear? Well, if that isn't clear, what could be clear? Here is a young man who learns suddenly that if a certain older man dies he will succeed to a fortune. What does he do? He says nothing to anyone, but he arranges that he shall go out on some pretext to see his client that night. He waits until the only other person in the house is in bed, and then in the solitude of the man's room he murders him, burns his body in the woodpile, and departs to a neighbouring hotel. The blood stains in the room, and also on the stick, are very slight. It is probable that he imagined his crime to be a bloodless one, and hoped that if the body were consumed it would hide all traces of the method of his death, traces which for some reason must have pointed to him. Is all this not obvious? It strikes me, my good Lestrade, as being just a trifle too obvious, said Holmes. You do not add imagination to your other great qualities, but if you could for one moment put yourself in the place of this young man, would you choose the very night after the will had been made to commit your crime? Would it not seem dangerous to you to make so very close a relation between the two incidents? Again would you choose an occasion when you are known to be in the house, when a servant has let you in? And finally would you take the great pains to conceal the body, and yet leave your own stick as a sign that you were the criminal? Confess, Lestrade, that all this is very unlikely. As to the stick, Mr. Holmes, you know as well as I do that a criminal is often flurried, and does things which a cool man would avoid. It was very likely to go back to the room. Give me another theory that would fix the facts. I could very easily give you a half a dozen, said Holmes. Here, for example, is a very possible and even probable one. I make you a free present of it. The older man is showing documents which are of evident value. A passing tramp sees them through the window, the blind of which is only half down. Exit the solicitor, enter the tramp. He sees as a stick, which he observes there, kills Old Agar and departs after burning the body. Why should the tramp burn the body? For the matter of that, why should McFarlane? To hide some evidence. Possibly the tramp wanted to hide that any murder at all had been committed. And why did the tramp take nothing? Because they were papers that he could not negotiate. Lestrade shook his head, though it seemed to me that his manner was less absolutely assured than before. Well, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, you may look for your tramp, and while you are finding him, we will hold on to our man. The future will show which is right. Just notice this point, Mr. Holmes. That so far as we know, none of the papers were removed, and that the prisoner is the one man in the world who had no reason for removing them, since he was heir at law, and would come into them at any case. My friend seemed struck by this remark. I don't mean to deny that the evidence is in some ways very strongly in favour of your theory, said he. I only wish to point out that there are other theories possible. As you say, the future will decide. Good morning! I dare say that in the course of the day I shall drop in at Norwood and see how you are getting on. When the detective departed, my friend rose and made his preparations for the day's work with the alert air of a man who has a congenial task before him. My first movement, Watson, said he as he bustled into his frockcoat. Must, as I said, be in the direction of Blackheath. And why not Norwood? Because we have in this case one singular incident coming close to the heels of another singular incident. The police are making the mistake of concentrating their attention upon the second, because it happens to be the one which is actually criminal. But it is evident to me that the logical way to approach the case is to begin by trying to throw some light upon the first incident. The curious will so suddenly made and to so unexpected an air. It may do something to simplify what followed. No, my dear fellow, I don't think you can help me. There is no prospect of danger, or I should not dream of stirring out without you. I trust that when I see you in the evening I will be able to report that I have been able to do something for this unfortunate youngster who has thrown himself upon my protection. End of The Adventure of the Norwood Builder, Part One. Recording by Zachary Brewster Geis, Greenbelt, Maryland, June 2007. Part Two of The Adventure of the Norwood Builder from the Return of Sherlock Holmes. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Zachary Brewster Geis. The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventure of the Norwood Builder, Part Two. It was late when my friend returned, and I could see by a glance at his haggard and anxious face that the high hopes with which he had started had not been fulfilled. For an hour he droned away upon his violin, endeavouring to soothe his own ruffled spirits. At last he flung down the instrument and plunged into a detailed account of his misadventures. It's all going wrong, Watson, all as wrong as it can go. I kept a bold face before Lestrade, but upon my soul I believe that for once the fellow is on the right track, and we are on the wrong. All my instincts are one way, and all the facts are the other, and I much fear that British juries have not yet attained that pitch of intelligence when they will give the preference to my theories over Lestrade's facts. Did you go to Blackheath? Yes, Watson, I went there, and I found very quickly that the late lamented Oldacre was a pretty considerable blaggard. The father was away in search of his son, the mother was at home, a little fluffy blue-eyed person in a tremor of fear in indignation. Of course she would not admit even the possibility of his guilt, but she would not express either surprise or regret over the fate of Oldacre. On the contrary she spoke of him with such bitterness that she was unconsciously considerably strengthening the case of the police. For, of course, if her son had heard her speak of the man in this fashion it would predispose him towards hatred and violence. He was more like a malignant and cunning ape than a human being, said she, and he always was ever since he was a young man. You knew him at that time, said I? Yes, I knew him well. In fact, he was an old suitor of mine. Thank heaven that I had the sense to turn away from him and to marry a better if a poorer man. I was engaged to him, Mr. Holmes, when I heard a shocking story of how he had turned a cat loose in an aviary, and I was so horrified at his brutal cruelty that I would have nothing more to do with him. She rummaged in a bureau, and presently she produced a photograph of a woman, shamefully defaced and mutilated with a knife. That is my own photograph, she said. He sent it to me in that state, with his curse, upon my wedding morning. Well, said I, at least he has forgiven you now since he has left all his property to your son. Neither my son nor I want anything from Jonas Oldacre dead or alive, she cried, with a proper spirit. There is a God in heaven, Mr. Holmes, and that same God who has punished that wicked man will show in his own good time that my son's hands are guiltless of his blood. Well, I tried one or two leads, but could get at nothing which would help our hypothesis, and several points which would make against it. I gave up at last, and off I went to Norwood.  To the right, and some distance back from the road, was the timber yard which had been the scene of the fire. Here's a rough plan on a leaf of my notebook. This window on the left is the one which opens into Oldacre's room. You can look into it from the road, you see. That is about the only bit of consolation I've had today. Lestrade was not there, but his head constable did the honors. They had just made a great treasure-trove. They had spent the morning raking among the ashes of the burned woodpile, and besides the charred organic remains they had secured several disc-colored metal discs. I examined them with care, and there was no doubt that they were trouser-buttons. I even distinguished that one of them was marked with the name of Hyams, who was Oldacre's tailor. I then worked the lawn very carefully for signs and traces, but this drought has made everything as hard as iron. Nothing was to be seen save that some body or bundle had been dragged through a low-private hedge, which is in a line with the woodpile. All that, of course, fits in with the official theory. I crawled about the lawn with an august sun on my back, but I got up at the end of an hour no wiser than before. Well, after this fiasco, I went into the bedroom and examined that also. The bloodstains were very slight, mere smears and discolorations, but undoubtedly fresh. The stick had been removed, but there also the marks were slight. There is no doubt about the stick belonging to our client. He admits it. Footmarks of both men could be made out on the carpet, but none of any third person, which, again, is a trick for the other side. They were piling up their score all the time, and we were at a standstill. Only one little gleam of hope did I get, and yet it amounted to nothing. I examined the contents of the safe, most of which had been taken out and left on the table. The papers had been made up into sealed envelopes, one or two of which had been opened by the police. They were not so far as I could judge of any great value, nor did the bank book show that Mr. Oldacre was in such very affluent circumstances. But it seemed to me that all the papers were not there. There were allusions to some deeds, possibly the more valuable, which I could not find. This, of course, if we could definitely prove it, would turn Lestrade's argument against himself, for who would steal a thing if he knew that he would shortly inherit it? Finally having drawn every other cover and picked up no scent, I tried my luck with the housekeeper. Mrs. Lexington is her name, a little dark, silent person with suspicious and side-long eyes. She could tell us something if she would, I am convinced of it. But she was as close as wax. Yes, she had let Mr. McFarlane in at half-past nine. She wished her hand had withered before she had done so. She had gone to bed at half-past ten. Her room was at the other end of the house, and she could hear nothing of what passed. Mr. McFarlane had left his hat and to the best of her belief his stick in the hall. She had been awakened by the alarm of fire. Her poor dear master had certainly been murdered. Had he any enemies? Well every man had enemies, but Mr. Oldacre kept himself very much to himself and only met people in the way of business. She had seen the buttons, and was sure that they belonged to the clothes which he had worn last night. The woodpile was very dry, for it had not rained for a month. It burned like tinder, and by the time she reached the spot nothing could be seen but flames. She and all the firemen smelled the burned flesh from inside it. She knew nothing of the papers nor of Mr. Oldacre's private affairs. So my dear Watson, there's my report of a failure. And yet—and yet—he clenched his thin hands in a paroxysm of conviction. I know it's all wrong. I feel it in my bones. There is something that has not come out, and that housekeeper knows it. There was a sort of sulky defiance in her eyes which only goes with guilty knowledge. However, there's no good talking any more about it, Watson. But unless some lucky chance comes our way I fear that the Norwood disappearance case will not figure in that chronicle of our successes, which I foresee that a patient public will sooner or later have to endure. Surely, said I, the man's appearance would go far with any jury. That is a dangerous argument, my dear Watson.  Was there ever a more mild-mannered Sunday school young man? It is true. Unless we succeed in establishing an alternative theory, this man is lost. You can hardly find a flaw in the case which can now be presented against him, and all further investigation has served to strengthen it. By the way, there is one curious little point about those papers which may serve us as the starting point for an inquiry. On looking over the bank-book I found that the low state of the balance was principally due to large checks which have been made out during the last year to Mr. Cornelius. I confess that I should be interested to know who this Mr. Cornelius may be, with whom a retired builder has such very large transactions. Is it possible that he has had a hand in the affair? Cornelius might be a broker, but we have found no script to correspond with these large payments. Failing any other indication, my researchers must now take the direction of an inquiry at the bank for the gentleman who is cashed these checks. But I fear, my dear fellow, that our case will end ingloriously by Lestrade hanging our client, which will certainly be a triumph for Scotland Yard. I do not know how far Sherlock Holmes took any sleep that night, but when I came down to breakfast I found him pale and harassed, his bright eyes the brighter for the dark shadows round them. The carpet round his chair was littered with cigarette ends and with the early editions of the morning papers, an open telegram lay upon the table. What do you think of this, Watson? he asked, tossing it across. It was from Norwood and ran as follows. With fresh evidence to hand, MacFarlane's guilt definitely established, advise you to abandon Case, Lestrade. This sounds serious, said I. It is Lestrade's little cock-a-doodle of victory, Holmes answered with a bitter smile, and yet it may be premature to abandon the case. After all, important fresh evidence is a two-edged thing and may possibly cut in a very different direction to that which Lestrade imagines. It's your breakfast, Watson, and we will go out together and see what we can do. I feel as if I shall need your company and your moral support today. My friend had no breakfast himself, for it was one of his peculiarities that in his more intense moments he would permit himself no food, and I have known him presume upon his iron strength until he has fainted from pure ininition. At present I cannot spare energy and nerve force for digestion, he would say, in answer to my medical remonstrances. I was not surprised, therefore, when this morning he left his untouched meal behind him and started with me for Norwood. A crowd of morbid sightseers were still gathered round Deep Dean House, which was just such a suburban villa as I had pictured. Within the gates Lestrade met us, his face flushed with victory, his manner grossly triumphant. Well, Mr. Holmes, have you proved us to be wrong yet? Have you found your tramp? he cried. I have formed no conclusion, whatever, my companion answered. But we formed ours yesterday, and now it proves to be correct, so you must acknowledge that we have been a little in front of you this time, Mr. Holmes. You certainly have the air of something unusual having occurred, said Holmes. Lestrade laughed loudly. You don't like being beaten any more than the rest of us do, said he. A man can't expect always to have his own way, can he, Dr. Watson? Step this way, if you please, gentlemen, and I think I can convince you once and for all that it was John MacFarlane who did this crime. He led us through the passage and out into a dark hall beyond. This is where young MacFarlane must have come out to get his hat after the crime was done, said he. Now look at this. With dramatic suddenness he struck a match and by its light exposed a stain of blood upon the whitewashed wall. As he held the match nearer I saw that it was more than a stain. It was the well-marked print of a thumb. Look at that with your magnifying glass, Mr. Holmes. Yes, I am doing so.  I have heard something of the kind. Well, then, will you please compare that print with this wax impression of young MacFarlane's right thumb taken by my orders this morning? As he held the wax and print close to the bloodstain it did not take a magnifying glass to see that the two were undoubtedly from the same thumb. It was evident to me that our unfortunate client was lost. That is final, said the Strait. Yes, that is final, I involuntarily echoed. It is final, said Holmes. Something in his tone caught my ear and I turned to look at him. An extraordinary change had come over his face. It was writhing with inward merriment. His two eyes were shining like stars. It seemed to me that he was making desperate efforts to restrain a convulsive attack of laughter. Dear me, dear me, he said at last. Well now, who would have thought it? And how deceptive appearances may be, to be sure. Such a nice young man to look at. It is a lesson to us not to trust our own judgment. Is it not the Strait? Yes, some of us are a little too much inclined to be cock-sure, Mr. Holmes. said the Strait. The man's insolence was maddening, but we could not resent it. What a providential thing that this young man should press his right thumb against the wall in taking his hat from the peg. Such a very natural action, too, if you come to think of it. Holmes was outwardly calm, but his whole body gave a wriggle of suppressed excitement as he spoke. By the way, the Strait, who made this remarkable discovery? It was the housekeeper, Mrs. Lexington, who drew the Knight Constable's attention to it. Where was the Knight Constable? He remained on guard in the bedroom where the quime was committed so as to see that nothing was touched. But why didn't the police see this mark yesterday? Well, we had no particular reason to make a careful examination of the hall. Besides, it's not in a very prominent place as you seek. No, no, of course not. I suppose there is no doubt that the mark was there yesterday. The Strait looked at Holmes as if he thought he was going out of his mind. I confess that I was myself surprised both at his hilarious manner and at his rather wild observation. I don't know whether you think that McFarlane came out of jail and then dead of the night in order to strengthen the evidence against himself, said the Strait. I leave it to any expert in the world whether that is not the mark of his thumb. It is unquestionably the mark of his thumb. There, that's enough, said the Strait. I'm a practical man, Mr. Holmes, and when I have got my evidence, I come to my conclusions. If you have anything to say, you will find me writing my report in the sitting room. Holmes had recovered his equanimity, though I still seem to detect gleams of amusement in his expression. Dear me, this is a very sad development, Watson, is it not, said he, and yet there are singular points about it which hold out some hopes for our client. I'm delighted to hear it, said I heartily. I was afraid it was all up with him. I would hardly go so far as to say that, my dear Watson. The fact is that there is one really serious flaw in this evidence to which our friend attaches so much importance. Indeed, Holmes, what is it? Only this, that I know that that mark was not there when I examined the hall yesterday. And now, Watson, let us have a little stroll round in the sunshine, with a confused brain, but with a heart into which some warps of hope was returning, I accompanied my friend in a walk round the garden. Holmes took each face of the house in turn and examined it with great interest. He then led the way inside and went over the whole building from basement to attics. Most of the rooms were unfurnished, but nonetheless Holmes inspected them all minutely. Finally on the top corridor, which ran outside three untenanted bedrooms, he again was seized with a spasm of merriment. There are really some very unique features about this case, Watson, said he. I think it is time now that we took our friend the straight into our confidence. He has had his little smile at our expense, and perhaps we may do as much by him if my reading of this problem proves to be correct. Yes, yes, I think I see how we should approach it. The Scotland Yard Inspector was still writing in the parlor when Holmes interrupted him. I understood that you were writing a report of this case, said he. So I am. Don't you think it may be a little premature? I can't help thinking that your evidence is not complete. Lestrade knew my friend too well to disregard his words. He laid down his pen and looked curiously at him. What do you mean, Mr. Holmes? Only that there is an important witness whom you have not seen. Can you produce him? I think I can. Then do so. I will do my best. How many constables have you? There are three within call. Excellent, said Holmes. May I ask if they are all large, able-bodied men with powerful voices? I have no doubt that they are, though I fail to see what their voices have to do with it. Perhaps I can help you to see that and one or two other things as well, said Holmes. Kindly summon your men, and I will try. Five minutes later three policemen had assembled in the hall. In the outhouse you will find a considerable quantity of straw, said Holmes. I will ask you to carry in two bundles of it. I think it will be of the greatest assistance in producing the witness whom I require. Thank you very much. I believe you have some matches in your pocket, Watson. Now, Mr. Lestrade, I will ask you all to accompany me to the top landing. As I have said there was a broad corridor there which ran outside three empty bedrooms. At one end of the corridor we were all marshaled by Sherlock Holmes, the constables grinning in the straits staring at my friend with amazement, expectation, and arisen chasing each other across his features. Holmes stood before us with the air of a conjurer who was performing a trick. Would you kindly send one of your constables for two buckets of water? Put the straw on the floor here free from the wall on either side, now I think that we are all ready. Lestrade's face had begun to grow red and angry. I don't know whether you are playing a game with us, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, said he. If you know anything, you can surely say it without all this tomfoolery. I assure you, my good Lestrade, that I have an excellent reason for everything that I do. You may possibly remember that you chaffed me a little some hours ago when the sun seemed on your side of the hedge, so you must not grudge me a little pomp and ceremony now. Might I ask you, Watson, to open that window and then to put a match to the edge of the straw? I did so, and, driven by the draught, a coil of gray smoke swirl down the corridor while the dry straw crackled and flamed. Now we must see if we can find this witness for you, Lestrade. Might I ask you all to join in the cry of fire? Now then, one, two, three, fire! we all yelled. Thank you, I will trouble you once again, fire! Just once, gentlemen, and all together, fire! The shout must have rung over Norwood. It had hardly died away when an amazing thing happened. A door suddenly flew open out of what appeared to be solid wall at the end of the corridor, and a little wiser man darted out of it like a rabbit out of its burrow. Capital, said Holmes calmly, Watson, the bucket of water over the straw, that will do. Lestrade, allow me to present you with your principal missing witness, Mr. Jonas Oldacre. The detective stared at the newcomer with blank amazement. The latter was blinking in the bright light of the corridor, and peering at us and at the smoldering fire. It was an odious face, crafty, vicious, malignant, with shifty light gray eyes and white eyelashes. What's this, then? said Lestrade at last. What have you been doing all this time, eh? Oldacre gave an uneasy laugh, shrinking back from the furious red face of the angry detective. I have done no harm. No harm? You've done your best to get an innocent man hanged. If it wasn't for this gentleman here, I am not sure that you would not have succeeded. The wretched creature began to whimper. I am sure, sir, it was only my practical joke. Oh, a joke, was it?  Take him down and keep him in the sitting-oom until I come. Mr. Ohms, he continued when they had gone, I could not speak before the constables, but I don't mind saying, in the presence of Dr. Watson, that this is the brightest thing that you have done yet, though it is a mystery to me how you did it. You have saved an innocent man's life, and you have prevented a very grave scandal which would have ruined my reputation in the force. Mr. Ohms smiled and clapped the strait upon the shoulder. Instead of being ruined, my good sir, you will find that your reputation has been enormously enhanced. Just make a few alterations in that report which you are writing, and they will understand how hard it is to throw dust in the eyes of Inspector the Strait. And you don't want your name to appear? Not at all. The work is its own reward. Perhaps I shall get the credit also at some distant day when I permit my zealous historian to lay out his fool's cap once more. Hey, Watson! Well now, let us see where this rat has been lurking. A lathen plaster partition had been run across the passage six feet from the end, with the door cunningly concealed in it. It was lit within by slits under the eaves. A few articles of furniture and a supply of food and water were within, together with a number of books and papers. There's the advantage of being a builder, said Holmes, as we came out. He was able to fix up his own little hiding-place without any Confederate save, of course, that precious housekeeper of his, whom I should lose no time in adding to your bag, Lestrade. I'll take your advice. But how did you know of this place, Mr. Holmes? I made up my mind that the fellow was in hiding in the house. When I paced one corridor and found it six feet shorter than the corresponding one below, it was pretty clear where he was. I thought he had not the nerve to lie quiet before an alarm from a fire. We could, of course, have gone in and taken him, but it mused me to make him reveal himself. Besides, I owed you a little mystification, Lestrade, for your chaff in the morning. Well, sir, you certainly got equal with me on that. But how in the world did you know that he was in the house at all? The thumb-mark, Lestrade. You said it was final, and so it was in a very different sense. I knew it had not been there the day before. I pay a good deal of attention to matters of detail, as you may have observed, and I had examined the hall and was sure that the wall was clear. Therefore it had been put on during the night. But how? Very simply. When those packets were sealed up, Jonas Oldacre got McFarlane to secure one of the seals by putting his thumb upon soft wax. It would be done so quickly and so naturally that I daresay the young man himself has no recollection of it. Very likely it just so happened, and Oldacre had himself no notion of the use he would put it to. Brooding over the case and that den of his, it suddenly struck him what absolutely damning evidence he could make against McFarlane by using that thumb-mark. It was the simplest thing in the world for him to take a wax impression from the seal, to moisten it in as much blood as he could get for a pin-prick, and to put the mark upon the wall during the night, either with his own hand or with that of his housekeeper. If you examine among those documents which he took with him into his retreat, I will lay you a wager that you find the seal with the thumb-mark upon it. Wonderful, said Lestrade. Wonderful! It's all clear as crystal as you put it, but what is the object of this deep deception, Mr. Holmes? It was amusing to me to see how the detective's overbearing manner had changed suddenly to that of a child asking questions of its teacher. Well, I don't think that is very hard to explain. A very deep, malicious, vindictive person is the gentleman who is now awaiting us downstairs. You know that he was once refused by McFarlane's mother? You don't! I told you that you should go to Blackheath first and know it afterwards. Well this injury, as he would consider it, has wrinkled in his wicked scheming brain and all his life he has longed for vengeance but never seen his chance. During the last year or so things have gone against him, secret speculation, I think, and he finds himself in a bad way. He determines to swindle his creditors, and for this purpose he pays large checks to a certain Mr. Cornelius, who is, I imagine, himself under another name. I have not traced these checks yet, but I have no doubt that they were banked under that name at some provincial town where Old Baker from time to time led a double existence. He intended to change his name altogether, draw this money, and vanish, starting life again elsewhere. Well, that's likely enough. It would strike him that in disappearing he might throw all pursuit off his track, and at the same time have an ample and crushing revenge upon his old sweetheart if he could give the impression that he had been murdered by her only child. It was a masterpiece of villainy, and he carried it out like a master. The idea of the will, which would give an obvious motive for the crime, the secret visit unknown to his own parents, the retention of the stick, the blood and the animal remains and buttons in the woodpile, all were admirable. It was a net from which it seemed to me a few hours ago that there was no possible escape. But he had not that supreme gift of the artist, the knowledge of when to stop. He wished to improve that which was already perfect, to draw the rope tighter yet round the neck of his unfortunate victim, and so he ruined all. Let us descend, Lestrade, there are just one or two questions that I would ask him. The malignant creature was seated in his own parlour with a policeman upon each side of him. It was a joke, my good sir, a practical joke, nothing more, he whined incessantly. I assure you, sir, that I simply concealed myself in order to see the effect of my disappearance, and I am sure that you would not be so unjust as to imagine that I would have allowed any harm to befall poor young Mr. MacFarlane. That's for a jury to decide, said Lestrade. Anyhow we shall have you on a charge of conspiracy if not for attempted murder. And you'll probably find that your creditors will impound the banking account of Mr. Cornelius, said Holmes. The little man started and turned his malignant eyes upon my friend. I have to thank you for a good deal, said he. Perhaps I'll pay my debt some day. Holmes smiled indulgently. I fancy that for some few years you will find your time very fully occupied, said he. By the way, what was it that you put into the woodpile besides your old trousers? A dead dog or rabbits or what? You won't tell. Dear me, how very unkind of you. Well, well, I dare say that a couple of rabbits would account both for the blood and for the charred ashes. If you ever write an account, Watson, you can make rabbits serve your turn. End of The Adventure of the Norwood Builder, part two. Recording by Zachary Brewstergeist, Greenbelt Maryland, June 2007.