The Sign of the Four Read online

  Chapter XI

  The Great Agra Treasure

  Our captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had doneso much and waited so long to gain. He was a sunburned, reckless-eyedfellow, with a net-work of lines and wrinkles all over his mahoganyfeatures, which told of a hard, open-air life. There was a singularprominence about his bearded chin which marked a man who was not to beeasily turned from his purpose. His age may have been fifty orthereabouts, for his black, curly hair was thickly shot with gray. Hisface in repose was not an unpleasing one, though his heavy brows andaggressive chin gave him, as I had lately seen, a terrible expressionwhen moved to anger. He sat now with his handcuffed hands upon hislap, and his head sunk upon his breast, while he looked with his keen,twinkling eyes at the box which had been the cause of his ill-doings.It seemed to me that there was more sorrow than anger in his rigid andcontained countenance. Once he looked up at me with a gleam ofsomething like humor in his eyes.

  "Well, Jonathan Small," said Holmes, lighting a cigar, "I am sorry thatit has come to this."

  "And so am I, sir," he answered, frankly. "I don't believe that I canswing over the job. I give you my word on the book that I never raisedhand against Mr. Sholto. It was that little hell-hound Tonga who shotone of his cursed darts into him. I had no part in it, sir. I was asgrieved as if it had been my blood-relation. I welted the little devilwith the slack end of the rope for it, but it was done, and I could notundo it again."

  "Have a cigar," said Holmes; "and you had best take a pull out of myflask, for you are very wet. How could you expect so small and weak aman as this black fellow to overpower Mr. Sholto and hold him while youwere climbing the rope?"

  "You seem to know as much about it as if you were there, sir. The truthis that I hoped to find the room clear. I knew the habits of the housepretty well, and it was the time when Mr. Sholto usually went down tohis supper. I shall make no secret of the business. The best defencethat I can make is just the simple truth. Now, if it had been the oldmajor I would have swung for him with a light heart. I would havethought no more of knifing him than of smoking this cigar. But it'scursed hard that I should be lagged over this young Sholto, with whom Ihad no quarrel whatever."

  "You are under the charge of Mr. Athelney Jones, of Scotland Yard. Heis going to bring you up to my rooms, and I shall ask you for a trueaccount of the matter. You must make a clean breast of it, for if youdo I hope that I may be of use to you. I think I can prove that thepoison acts so quickly that the man was dead before ever you reachedthe room."

  "That he was, sir. I never got such a turn in my life as when I sawhim grinning at me with his head on his shoulder as I climbed throughthe window. It fairly shook me, sir. I'd have half killed Tonga forit if he had not scrambled off. That was how he came to leave hisclub, and some of his darts too, as he tells me, which I dare sayhelped to put you on our track; though how you kept on it is more thanI can tell. I don't feel no malice against you for it. But it doesseem a queer thing," he added, with a bitter smile, "that I who have afair claim to nigh upon half a million of money should spend the firsthalf of my life building a breakwater in the Andamans, and am like tospend the other half digging drains at Dartmoor. It was an evil dayfor me when first I clapped eyes upon the merchant Achmet and had to dowith the Agra treasure, which never brought anything but a curse yetupon the man who owned it. To him it brought murder, to Major Sholtoit brought fear and guilt, to me it has meant slavery for life."

  At this moment Athelney Jones thrust his broad face and heavy shouldersinto the tiny cabin. "Quite a family party," he remarked. "I think Ishall have a pull at that flask, Holmes. Well, I think we may allcongratulate each other. Pity we didn't take the other alive; butthere was no choice. I say, Holmes, you must confess that you cut itrather fine. It was all we could do to overhaul her."

  "All is well that ends well," said Holmes. "But I certainly did notknow that the Aurora was such a clipper."

  "Smith says she is one of the fastest launches on the river, and thatif he had had another man to help him with the engines we should neverhave caught her. He swears he knew nothing of this Norwood business."

  "Neither he did," cried our prisoner,--"not a word. I chose his launchbecause I heard that she was a flier. We told him nothing, but we paidhim well, and he was to get something handsome if we reached ourvessel, the Esmeralda, at Gravesend, outward bound for the Brazils."

  "Well, if he has done no wrong we shall see that no wrong comes to him.If we are pretty quick in catching our men, we are not so quick incondemning them." It was amusing to notice how the consequential Joneswas already beginning to give himself airs on the strength of thecapture. From the slight smile which played over Sherlock Holmes'sface, I could see that the speech had not been lost upon him.

  "We will be at Vauxhall Bridge presently," said Jones, "and shall landyou, Dr. Watson, with the treasure-box. I need hardly tell you that Iam taking a very grave responsibility upon myself in doing this. It ismost irregular; but of course an agreement is an agreement. I must,however, as a matter of duty, send an inspector with you, since youhave so valuable a charge. You will drive, no doubt?"

  "Yes, I shall drive."

  "It is a pity there is no key, that we may make an inventory first.You will have to break it open. Where is the key, my man?"

  "At the bottom of the river," said Small, shortly.

  "Hum! There was no use your giving this unnecessary trouble. We havehad work enough already through you. However, doctor, I need not warnyou to be careful. Bring the box back with you to the Baker Streetrooms. You will find us there, on our way to the station."

  They landed me at Vauxhall, with my heavy iron box, and with a bluff,genial inspector as my companion. A quarter of an hour's drive broughtus to Mrs. Cecil Forrester's. The servant seemed surprised at so latea visitor. Mrs. Cecil Forrester was out for the evening, sheexplained, and likely to be very late. Miss Morstan, however, was inthe drawing-room: so to the drawing-room I went, box in hand, leavingthe obliging inspector in the cab.

  She was seated by the open window, dressed in some sort of whitediaphanous material, with a little touch of scarlet at the neck andwaist. The soft light of a shaded lamp fell upon her as she leanedback in the basket chair, playing over her sweet, grave face, andtinting with a dull, metallic sparkle the rich coils of her luxurianthair. One white arm and hand drooped over the side of the chair, andher whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy. At thesound of my foot-fall she sprang to her feet, however, and a brightflush of surprise and of pleasure colored her pale cheeks.

  "I heard a cab drive up," she said. "I thought that Mrs. Forrester hadcome back very early, but I never dreamed that it might be you. Whatnews have you brought me?"

  "I have brought something better than news," said I, putting down thebox upon the table and speaking jovially and boisterously, though myheart was heavy within me. "I have brought you something which isworth all the news in the world. I have brought you a fortune."

  She glanced at the iron box. "Is that the treasure, then?" she asked,coolly enough.

  "Yes, this is the great Agra treasure. Half of it is yours and half isThaddeus Sholto's. You will have a couple of hundred thousand each.Think of that! An annuity of ten thousand pounds. There will be fewricher young ladies in England. Is it not glorious?"

  I think that I must have been rather overacting my delight, and thatshe detected a hollow ring in my congratulations, for I saw hereyebrows rise a little, and she glanced at me curiously.

  "If I have it," said she, "I owe it to you."

  "No, no," I answered, "not to me, but to my friend Sherlock Holmes.With all the will in the world, I could never have followed up a cluewhich has taxed even his analytical genius. As it was, we very nearlylost it at the last moment."

  "Pray sit down and tell me all about it, Dr. Watson," said she.

  I narrated briefly what had occurred since I had seen herlast,--Ho
lmes's new method of search, the discovery of the Aurora, theappearance of Athelney Jones, our expedition in the evening, and thewild chase down the Thames. She listened with parted lips and shiningeyes to my recital of our adventures. When I spoke of the dart whichhad so narrowly missed us, she turned so white that I feared that shewas about to faint.

  "It is nothing," she said, as I hastened to pour her out some water."I am all right again. It was a shock to me to hear that I had placedmy friends in such horrible peril."

  "That is all over," I answered. "It was nothing. I will tell you nomore gloomy details. Let us turn to something brighter. There is thetreasure. What could be brighter than that? I got leave to bring itwith me, thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it."

  "It would be of the greatest interest to me," she said. There was noeagerness in her voice, however. It had struck her, doubtless, that itmight seem ungracious upon her part to be indifferent to a prize whichhad cost so much to win.

  "What a pretty box!" she said, stooping over it. "This is Indian work,I suppose?"

  "Yes; it is Benares metal-work."

  "And so heavy!" she exclaimed, trying to raise it. "The box alone mustbe of some value. Where is the key?"

  "Small threw it into the Thames," I answered. "I must borrow Mrs.Forrester's poker." There was in the front a thick and broad hasp,wrought in the image of a sitting Buddha. Under this I thrust the endof the poker and twisted it outward as a lever. The hasp sprang openwith a loud snap. With trembling fingers I flung back the lid. Weboth stood gazing in astonishment. The box was empty!

  No wonder that it was heavy. The iron-work was two-thirds of an inchthick all round. It was massive, well made, and solid, like a chestconstructed to carry things of great price, but not one shred or crumbof metal or jewelry lay within it. It was absolutely and completelyempty.

  "The treasure is lost," said Miss Morstan, calmly.

  As I listened to the words and realized what they meant, a great shadowseemed to pass from my soul. I did not know how this Agra treasure hadweighed me down, until now that it was finally removed. It wasselfish, no doubt, disloyal, wrong, but I could realize nothing savethat the golden barrier was gone from between us. "Thank God!" Iejaculated from my very heart.

  She looked at me with a quick, questioning smile. "Why do you saythat?" she asked.

  "Because you are within my reach again," I said, taking her hand. Shedid not withdraw it. "Because I love you, Mary, as truly as ever a manloved a woman. Because this treasure, these riches, sealed my lips.Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you. That is why Isaid, 'Thank God.'"

  "Then I say, 'Thank God,' too," she whispered, as I drew her to myside. Whoever had lost a treasure, I knew that night that I had gainedone.

  Chapter XII

  The Strange Story of Jonathan Small

  A very patient man was that inspector in the cab, for it was a wearytime before I rejoined him. His face clouded over when I showed himthe empty box.

  "There goes the reward!" said he, gloomily. "Where there is no moneythere is no pay. This night's work would have been worth a tenner eachto Sam Brown and me if the treasure had been there."

  "Mr. Thaddeus Sholto is a rich man," I said. "He will see that you arerewarded, treasure or no."

  The inspector shook his head despondently, however. "It's a bad job,"he repeated; "and so Mr. Athelney Jones will think."

  His forecast proved to be correct, for the detective looked blankenough when I got to Baker Street and showed him the empty box. Theyhad only just arrived, Holmes, the prisoner, and he, for they hadchanged their plans so far as to report themselves at a station uponthe way. My companion lounged in his arm-chair with his usual listlessexpression, while Small sat stolidly opposite to him with his woodenleg cocked over his sound one. As I exhibited the empty box he leanedback in his chair and laughed aloud.

  "This is your doing, Small," said Athelney Jones, angrily.

  "Yes, I have put it away where you shall never lay hand upon it," hecried, exultantly. "It is my treasure; and if I can't have the lootI'll take darned good care that no one else does. I tell you that noliving man has any right to it, unless it is three men who are in theAndaman convict-barracks and myself. I know now that I cannot have theuse of it, and I know that they cannot. I have acted all through forthem as much as for myself. It's been the sign of four with us always.Well I know that they would have had me do just what I have done, andthrow the treasure into the Thames rather than let it go to kith or kinof Sholto or of Morstan. It was not to make them rich that we did forAchmet. You'll find the treasure where the key is, and where littleTonga is. When I saw that your launch must catch us, I put the lootaway in a safe place. There are no rupees for you this journey."

  "You are deceiving us, Small," said Athelney Jones, sternly. "If youhad wished to throw the treasure into the Thames it would have beeneasier for you to have thrown box and all."

  "Easier for me to throw, and easier for you to recover," he answered,with a shrewd, sidelong look. "The man that was clever enough to huntme down is clever enough to pick an iron box from the bottom of ariver. Now that they are scattered over five miles or so, it may be aharder job. It went to my heart to do it, though. I was half mad whenyou came up with us. However, there's no good grieving over it. I'vehad ups in my life, and I've had downs, but I've learned not to cryover spilled milk."

  "This is a very serious matter, Small," said the detective. "If youhad helped justice, instead of thwarting it in this way, you would havehad a better chance at your trial."

  "Justice!" snarled the ex-convict. "A pretty justice! Whose loot isthis, if it is not ours? Where is the justice that I should give it upto those who have never earned it? Look how I have earned it! Twentylong years in that fever-ridden swamp, all day at work under themangrove-tree, all night chained up in the filthy convict-huts, bittenby mosquitoes, racked with ague, bullied by every cursed black-facedpoliceman who loved to take it out of a white man. That was how Iearned the Agra treasure; and you talk to me of justice because Icannot bear to feel that I have paid this price only that another mayenjoy it! I would rather swing a score of times, or have one ofTonga's darts in my hide, than live in a convict's cell and feel thatanother man is at his ease in a palace with the money that should bemine." Small had dropped his mask of stoicism, and all this came out ina wild whirl of words, while his eyes blazed, and the handcuffs clankedtogether with the impassioned movement of his hands. I couldunderstand, as I saw the fury and the passion of the man, that it wasno groundless or unnatural terror which had possessed Major Sholto whenhe first learned that the injured convict was upon his track.

  "You forget that we know nothing of all this," said Holmes quietly."We have not heard your story, and we cannot tell how far justice mayoriginally have been on your side."

  "Well, sir, you have been very fair-spoken to me, though I can see thatI have you to thank that I have these bracelets upon my wrists. Still,I bear no grudge for that. It is all fair and above-board. If youwant to hear my story I have no wish to hold it back. What I say to youis God's truth, every word of it. Thank you; you can put the glassbeside me here, and I'll put my lips to it if I am dry.

  "I am a Worcestershire man myself,--born near Pershore. I dare say youwould find a heap of Smalls living there now if you were to look. Ihave often thought of taking a look round there, but the truth is thatI was never much of a credit to the family, and I doubt if they wouldbe so very glad to see me. They were all steady, chapel-going folk,small farmers, well known and respected over the country-side, while Iwas always a bit of a rover. At last, however, when I was abouteighteen, I gave them no more trouble, for I got into a mess over agirl, and could only get out of it again by taking the queen's shillingand joining the 3d Buffs, which was just starting for India.

  "I wasn't destined to do much soldiering, however. I had just got pastthe goose-step, and learned to handle my musket, when I was foo
l enoughto go swimming in the Ganges. Luckily for me, my company sergeant,John Holder, was in the water at the same time, and he was one of thefinest swimmers in the service. A crocodile took me, just as I washalf-way across, and nipped off my right leg as clean as a surgeoncould have done it, just above the knee. What with the shock and theloss of blood, I fainted, and should have drowned if Holder had notcaught hold of me and paddled for the bank. I was five months inhospital over it, and when at last I was able to limp out of it withthis timber toe strapped to my stump I found myself invalided out ofthe army and unfitted for any active occupation.

  "I was, as you can imagine, pretty down on my luck at this time, for Iwas a useless cripple though not yet in my twentieth year. However, mymisfortune soon proved to be a blessing in disguise. A man namedAbelwhite, who had come out there as an indigo-planter, wanted anoverseer to look after his coolies and keep them up to their work. Hehappened to be a friend of our colonel's, who had taken an interest inme since the accident. To make a long story short, the colonelrecommended me strongly for the post and, as the work was mostly to bedone on horseback, my leg was no great obstacle, for I had enough kneeleft to keep good grip on the saddle. What I had to do was to rideover the plantation, to keep an eye on the men as they worked, and toreport the idlers. The pay was fair, I had comfortable quarters, andaltogether I was content to spend the remainder of my life inindigo-planting. Mr. Abelwhite was a kind man, and he would often dropinto my little shanty and smoke a pipe with me, for white folk outthere feel their hearts warm to each other as they never do here athome.

  "Well, I was never in luck's way long. Suddenly, without a note ofwarning, the great mutiny broke upon us. One month India lay as stilland peaceful, to all appearance, as Surrey or Kent; the next there weretwo hundred thousand black devils let loose, and the country was aperfect hell. Of course you know all about it, gentlemen,--a deal morethan I do, very like, since reading is not in my line. I only knowwhat I saw with my own eyes. Our plantation was at a place calledMuttra, near the border of the Northwest Provinces. Night after nightthe whole sky was alight with the burning bungalows, and day after daywe had small companies of Europeans passing through our estate withtheir wives and children, on their way to Agra, where were the nearesttroops. Mr. Abelwhite was an obstinate man. He had it in his headthat the affair had been exaggerated, and that it would blow over assuddenly as it had sprung up. There he sat on his veranda, drinkingwhiskey-pegs and smoking cheroots, while the country was in a blazeabout him. Of course we stuck by him, I and Dawson, who, with hiswife, used to do the book-work and the managing. Well, one fine daythe crash came. I had been away on a distant plantation, and wasriding slowly home in the evening, when my eye fell upon something allhuddled together at the bottom of a steep nullah. I rode down to seewhat it was, and the cold struck through my heart when I found it wasDawson's wife, all cut into ribbons, and half eaten by jackals andnative dogs. A little further up the road Dawson himself was lying onhis face, quite dead, with an empty revolver in his hand and fourSepoys lying across each other in front of him. I reined up my horse,wondering which way I should turn, but at that moment I saw thick smokecurling up from Abelwhite's bungalow and the flames beginning to burstthrough the roof. I knew then that I could do my employer no good, butwould only throw my own life away if I meddled in the matter. Fromwhere I stood I could see hundreds of the black fiends, with their redcoats still on their backs, dancing and howling round the burninghouse. Some of them pointed at me, and a couple of bullets sang pastmy head; so I broke away across the paddy-fields, and found myself lateat night safe within the walls at Agra.

  "As it proved, however, there was no great safety there, either. Thewhole country was up like a swarm of bees. Wherever the English couldcollect in little bands they held just the ground that their gunscommanded. Everywhere else they were helpless fugitives. It was afight of the millions against the hundreds; and the cruellest part ofit was that these men that we fought against, foot, horse, and gunners,were our own picked troops, whom we had taught and trained, handlingour own weapons, and blowing our own bugle-calls. At Agra there werethe 3d Bengal Fusiliers, some Sikhs, two troops of horse, and a batteryof artillery. A volunteer corps of clerks and merchants had beenformed, and this I joined, wooden leg and all. We went out to meet therebels at Shahgunge early in July, and we beat them back for a time,but our powder gave out, and we had to fall back upon the city.Nothing but the worst news came to us from every side,--which is not tobe wondered at, for if you look at the map you will see that we wereright in the heart of it. Lucknow is rather better than a hundredmiles to the east, and Cawnpore about as far to the south. From everypoint on the compass there was nothing but torture and murder andoutrage.

  "The city of Agra is a great place, swarming with fanatics and fiercedevil-worshippers of all sorts. Our handful of men were lost among thenarrow, winding streets. Our leader moved across the river, therefore,and took up his position in the old fort at Agra. I don't know if anyof you gentlemen have ever read or heard anything of that old fort. Itis a very queer place,--the queerest that ever I was in, and I havebeen in some rum corners, too. First of all, it is enormous in size.I should think that the enclosure must be acres and acres. There is amodern part, which took all our garrison, women, children, stores, andeverything else, with plenty of room over. But the modern part isnothing like the size of the old quarter, where nobody goes, and whichis given over to the scorpions and the centipedes. It is all full ofgreat deserted halls, and winding passages, and long corridors twistingin and out, so that it is easy enough for folk to get lost in it. Forthis reason it was seldom that any one went into it, though now andagain a party with torches might go exploring.

  "The river washes along the front of the old fort, and so protects it,but on the sides and behind there are many doors, and these had to beguarded, of course, in the old quarter as well as in that which wasactually held by our troops. We were short-handed, with hardly menenough to man the angles of the building and to serve the guns. It wasimpossible for us, therefore, to station a strong guard at every one ofthe innumerable gates. What we did was to organize a centralguard-house in the middle of the fort, and to leave each gate under thecharge of one white man and two or three natives. I was selected totake charge during certain hours of the night of a small isolated doorupon the southwest side of the building. Two Sikh troopers were placedunder my command, and I was instructed if anything went wrong to firemy musket, when I might rely upon help coming at once from the centralguard. As the guard was a good two hundred paces away, however, and asthe space between was cut up into a labyrinth of passages andcorridors, I had great doubts as to whether they could arrive in timeto be of any use in case of an actual attack.

  "Well, I was pretty proud at having this small command given me, sinceI was a raw recruit, and a game-legged one at that. For two nights Ikept the watch with my Punjaubees. They were tall, fierce-lookingchaps, Mahomet Singh and Abdullah Khan by name, both old fighting-menwho had borne arms against us at Chilian-wallah. They could talkEnglish pretty well, but I could get little out of them. Theypreferred to stand together and jabber all night in their queer Sikhlingo. For myself, I used to stand outside the gate-way, looking downon the broad, winding river and on the twinkling lights of the greatcity. The beating of drums, the rattle of tomtoms, and the yells andhowls of the rebels, drunk with opium and with bang, were enough toremind us all night of our dangerous neighbors across the stream.Every two hours the officer of the night used to come round to all theposts, to make sure that all was well.

  "The third night of my watch was dark and dirty, with a small, drivingrain. It was dreary work standing in the gate-way hour after hour insuch weather. I tried again and again to make my Sikhs talk, butwithout much success. At two in the morning the rounds passed, andbroke for a moment the weariness of the night. Finding that mycompanions would not be led into conversation, I took out my pipe, andlaid down my musket to strike the mat
ch. In an instant the two Sikhswere upon me. One of them snatched my firelock up and levelled it atmy head, while the other held a great knife to my throat and sworebetween his teeth that he would plunge it into me if I moved a step.

  "My first thought was that these fellows were in league with therebels, and that this was the beginning of an assault. If our doorwere in the hands of the Sepoys the place must fall, and the women andchildren be treated as they were in Cawnpore. Maybe you gentlementhink that I am just making out a case for myself, but I give you myword that when I thought of that, though I felt the point of the knifeat my throat, I opened my mouth with the intention of giving a scream,if it was my last one, which might alarm the main guard. The man whoheld me seemed to know my thoughts; for, even as I braced myself to it,he whispered, 'Don't make a noise. The fort is safe enough. There areno rebel dogs on this side of the river.' There was the ring of truthin what he said, and I knew that if I raised my voice I was a dead man.I could read it in the fellow's brown eyes. I waited, therefore, insilence, to see what it was that they wanted from me.

  "'Listen to me, Sahib,' said the taller and fiercer of the pair, theone whom they called Abdullah Khan. 'You must either be with us now oryou must be silenced forever. The thing is too great a one for us tohesitate. Either you are heart and soul with us on your oath on thecross of the Christians, or your body this night shall be thrown intothe ditch and we shall pass over to our brothers in the rebel army.There is no middle way. Which is it to be, death or life? We can onlygive you three minutes to decide, for the time is passing, and all mustbe done before the rounds come again.'

  "'How can I decide?' said I. 'You have not told me what you want ofme. But I tell you now that if it is anything against the safety ofthe fort I will have no truck with it, so you can drive home your knifeand welcome.'

  "'It is nothing against the fort,' said he. 'We only ask you to dothat which your countrymen come to this land for. We ask you to berich. If you will be one of us this night, we will swear to you uponthe naked knife, and by the threefold oath which no Sikh was ever knownto break, that you shall have your fair share of the loot. A quarterof the treasure shall be yours. We can say no fairer.'

  "'But what is the treasure, then?' I asked. 'I am as ready to be richas you can be, if you will but show me how it can be done.'

  "'You will swear, then,' said he, 'by the bones of your father, by thehonor of your mother, by the cross of your faith, to raise no hand andspeak no word against us, either now or afterwards?'

  "'I will swear it,' I answered, 'provided that the fort is notendangered.'

  "'Then my comrade and I will swear that you shall have a quarter of thetreasure which shall be equally divided among the four of us.'

  "'There are but three,' said I.

  "'No; Dost Akbar must have his share. We can tell the tale to youwhile we await them. Do you stand at the gate, Mahomet Singh, and givenotice of their coming. The thing stands thus, Sahib, and I tell it toyou because I know that an oath is binding upon a Feringhee, and thatwe may trust you. Had you been a lying Hindoo, though you had sworn byall the gods in their false temples, your blood would have been uponthe knife, and your body in the water. But the Sikh knows theEnglishman, and the Englishman knows the Sikh. Hearken, then, to whatI have to say.

  "'There is a rajah in the northern provinces who has much wealth,though his lands are small. Much has come to him from his father, andmore still he has set by himself, for he is of a low nature and hoardshis gold rather than spend it. When the troubles broke out he would befriends both with the lion and the tiger,--with the Sepoy and with theCompany's Raj. Soon, however, it seemed to him that the white men'sday was come, for through all the land he could hear of nothing but oftheir death and their overthrow. Yet, being a careful man, he madesuch plans that, come what might, half at least of his treasure shouldbe left to him. That which was in gold and silver he kept by him inthe vaults of his palace, but the most precious stones and the choicestpearls that he had he put in an iron box, and sent it by a trustyservant who, under the guise of a merchant, should take it to the fortat Agra, there to lie until the land is at peace. Thus, if the rebelswon he would have his money, but if the Company conquered his jewelswould be saved to him. Having thus divided his hoard, he threw himselfinto the cause of the Sepoys, since they were strong upon his borders.By doing this, mark you, Sahib, his property becomes the due of thosewho have been true to their salt.

  "'This pretended merchant, who travels under the name of Achmet, is nowin the city of Agra, and desires to gain his way into the fort. He haswith him as travelling-companion my foster-brother Dost Akbar, whoknows his secret. Dost Akbar has promised this night to lead him to aside-postern of the fort, and has chosen this one for his purpose.Here he will come presently, and here he will find Mahomet Singh andmyself awaiting him. The place is lonely, and none shall know of hiscoming. The world shall know of the merchant Achmet no more, but thegreat treasure of the rajah shall be divided among us. What say you toit, Sahib?'

  "In Worcestershire the life of a man seems a great and a sacred thing;but it is very different when there is fire and blood all round you andyou have been used to meeting death at every turn. Whether Achmet themerchant lived or died was a thing as light as air to me, but at thetalk about the treasure my heart turned to it, and I thought of what Imight do in the old country with it, and how my folk would stare whenthey saw their ne'er-do-well coming back with his pockets full of goldmoidores. I had, therefore, already made up my mind. Abdullah Khan,however, thinking that I hesitated, pressed the matter more closely.

  "'Consider, Sahib,' said he, 'that if this man is taken by thecommandant he will be hung or shot, and his jewels taken by thegovernment, so that no man will be a rupee the better for them. Now,since we do the taking of him, why should we not do the rest as well?The jewels will be as well with us as in the Company's coffers. Therewill be enough to make every one of us rich men and great chiefs. Noone can know about the matter, for here we are cut off from all men.What could be better for the purpose? Say again, then, Sahib, whetheryou are with us, or if we must look upon you as an enemy.'

  "'I am with you heart and soul,' said I.

  "'It is well,' he answered, handing me back my firelock. 'You see thatwe trust you, for your word, like ours, is not to be broken. We havenow only to wait for my brother and the merchant.'

  "'Does your brother know, then, of what you will do?' I asked.

  "'The plan is his. He has devised it. We will go to the gate andshare the watch with Mahomet Singh.'

  "The rain was still falling steadily, for it was just the beginning ofthe wet season. Brown, heavy clouds were drifting across the sky, andit was hard to see more than a stone-cast. A deep moat lay in front ofour door, but the water was in places nearly dried up, and it couldeasily be crossed. It was strange to me to be standing there withthose two wild Punjaubees waiting for the man who was coming to hisdeath.

  "Suddenly my eye caught the glint of a shaded lantern at the other sideof the moat. It vanished among the mound-heaps, and then appearedagain coming slowly in our direction.

  "'Here they are!' I exclaimed.

  "'You will challenge him, Sahib, as usual,' whispered Abdullah. 'Givehim no cause for fear. Send us in with him, and we shall do the restwhile you stay here on guard. Have the lantern ready to uncover, thatwe may be sure that it is indeed the man.'

  "The light had flickered onwards, now stopping and now advancing, untilI could see two dark figures upon the other side of the moat. I letthem scramble down the sloping bank, splash through the mire, and climbhalf-way up to the gate, before I challenged them.

  "'Who goes there?' said I, in a subdued voice.

  "'Friends,' came the answer. I uncovered my lantern and threw a floodof light upon them. The first was an enormous Sikh, with a black beardwhich swept nearly down to his cummerbund. Outside of a show I havenever seen so tall a man. The other was a little, fat, round fellow,with a grea
t yellow turban, and a bundle in his hand, done up in ashawl. He seemed to be all in a quiver with fear, for his handstwitched as if he had the ague, and his head kept turning to left andright with two bright little twinkling eyes, like a mouse when heventures out from his hole. It gave me the chills to think of killinghim, but I thought of the treasure, and my heart set as hard as a flintwithin me. When he saw my white face he gave a little chirrup of joyand came running up towards me.

  "'Your protection, Sahib,' he panted,--'your protection for the unhappymerchant Achmet. I have travelled across Rajpootana that I might seekthe shelter of the fort at Agra. I have been robbed and beaten andabused because I have been the friend of the Company. It is a blessednight this when I am once more in safety,--I and my poor possessions.'

  "'What have you in the bundle?' I asked.

  "'An iron box,' he answered, 'which contains one or two little familymatters which are of no value to others, but which I should be sorry tolose. Yet I am not a beggar; and I shall reward you, young Sahib, andyour governor also, if he will give me the shelter I ask.'

  "I could not trust myself to speak longer with the man. The more Ilooked at his fat, frightened face, the harder did it seem that weshould slay him in cold blood. It was best to get it over.

  "'Take him to the main guard,' said I. The two Sikhs closed in uponhim on each side, and the giant walked behind, while they marched inthrough the dark gate-way. Never was a man so compassed round withdeath. I remained at the gate-way with the lantern.

  "I could hear the measured tramp of their footsteps sounding throughthe lonely corridors. Suddenly it ceased, and I heard voices, and ascuffle, with the sound of blows. A moment later there came, to myhorror, a rush of footsteps coming in my direction, with the loudbreathing of a running man. I turned my lantern down the long,straight passage, and there was the fat man, running like the wind,with a smear of blood across his face, and close at his heels, boundinglike a tiger, the great black-bearded Sikh, with a knife flashing inhis hand. I have never seen a man run so fast as that little merchant.He was gaining on the Sikh, and I could see that if he once passed meand got to the open air he would save himself yet. My heart softenedto him, but again the thought of his treasure turned me hard andbitter. I cast my firelock between his legs as he raced past, and herolled twice over like a shot rabbit. Ere he could stagger to his feetthe Sikh was upon him, and buried his knife twice in his side. The mannever uttered moan nor moved muscle, but lay were he had fallen. Ithink myself that he may have broken his neck with the fall. You see,gentlemen, that I am keeping my promise. I am telling you every workof the business just exactly as it happened, whether it is in my favoror not."

  He stopped, and held out his manacled hands for the whiskey-and-waterwhich Holmes had brewed for him. For myself, I confess that I had nowconceived the utmost horror of the man, not only for this cold-bloodedbusiness in which he had been concerned, but even more for the somewhatflippant and careless way in which he narrated it. Whatever punishmentwas in store for him, I felt that he might expect no sympathy from me.Sherlock Holmes and Jones sat with their hands upon their knees, deeplyinterested in the story, but with the same disgust written upon theirfaces. He may have observed it, for there was a touch of defiance inhis voice and manner as he proceeded.

  "It was all very bad, no doubt," said he. "I should like to know howmany fellows in my shoes would have refused a share of this loot whenthey knew that they would have their throats cut for their pains.Besides, it was my life or his when once he was in the fort. If he hadgot out, the whole business would come to light, and I should have beencourt-martialled and shot as likely as not; for people were not verylenient at a time like that."

  "Go on with your story," said Holmes, shortly.

  "Well, we carried him in, Abdullah, Akbar, and I. A fine weight hewas, too, for all that he was so short. Mahomet Singh was left toguard the door. We took him to a place which the Sikhs had alreadyprepared. It was some distance off, where a winding passage leads to agreat empty hall, the brick walls of which were all crumbling topieces. The earth floor had sunk in at one place, making a naturalgrave, so we left Achmet the merchant there, having first covered himover with loose bricks. This done, we all went back to the treasure.

  "It lay where he had dropped it when he was first attacked. The boxwas the same which now lies open upon your table. A key was hung by asilken cord to that carved handle upon the top. We opened it, and thelight of the lantern gleamed upon a collection of gems such as I haveread of and thought about when I was a little lad at Pershore. It wasblinding to look upon them. When we had feasted our eyes we took themall out and made a list of them. There were one hundred andforty-three diamonds of the first water, including one which has beencalled, I believe, 'the Great Mogul' and is said to be the secondlargest stone in existence. Then there were ninety-seven very fineemeralds, and one hundred and seventy rubies, some of which, however,were small. There were forty carbuncles, two hundred and tensapphires, sixty-one agates, and a great quantity of beryls, onyxes,cats'-eyes, turquoises, and other stones, the very names of which I didnot know at the time, though I have become more familiar with themsince. Besides this, there were nearly three hundred very fine pearls,twelve of which were set in a gold coronet. By the way, these last hadbeen taken out of the chest and were not there when I recovered it.

  "After we had counted our treasures we put them back into the chest andcarried them to the gate-way to show them to Mahomet Singh. Then wesolemnly renewed our oath to stand by each other and be true to oursecret. We agreed to conceal our loot in a safe place until thecountry should be at peace again, and then to divide it equally amongourselves. There was no use dividing it at present, for if gems ofsuch value were found upon us it would cause suspicion, and there wasno privacy in the fort nor any place where we could keep them. Wecarried the box, therefore, into the same hall where we had buried thebody, and there, under certain bricks in the best-preserved wall, wemade a hollow and put our treasure. We made careful note of the place,and next day I drew four plans, one for each of us, and put the sign ofthe four of us at the bottom, for we had sworn that we should eachalways act for all, so that none might take advantage. That is an oaththat I can put my hand to my heart and swear that I have never broken.

  "Well, there's no use my telling you gentlemen what came of the Indianmutiny. After Wilson took Delhi and Sir Colin relieved Lucknow theback of the business was broken. Fresh troops came pouring in, andNana Sahib made himself scarce over the frontier. A flying column underColonel Greathed came round to Agra and cleared the Pandies away fromit. Peace seemed to be settling upon the country, and we four werebeginning to hope that the time was at hand when we might safely go offwith our shares of the plunder. In a moment, however, our hopes wereshattered by our being arrested as the murderers of Achmet.

  "It came about in this way. When the rajah put his jewels into thehands of Achmet he did it because he knew that he was a trusty man.They are suspicious folk in the East, however: so what does this rajahdo but take a second even more trusty servant and set him to play thespy upon the first? This second man was ordered never to let Achmetout of his sight, and he followed him like his shadow. He went afterhim that night and saw him pass through the doorway. Of course hethought he had taken refuge in the fort, and applied for admissionthere himself next day, but could find no trace of Achmet. This seemedto him so strange that he spoke about it to a sergeant of guides, whobrought it to the ears of the commandant. A thorough search wasquickly made, and the body was discovered. Thus at the very momentthat we thought that all was safe we were all four seized and broughtto trial on a charge of murder,--three of us because we had held thegate that night, and the fourth because he was known to have been inthe company of the murdered man. Not a word about the jewels came outat the trial, for the rajah had been deposed and driven out of India:so no one had any particular interest in them. The murder, however,was clearly made out, and it was certa
in that we must all have beenconcerned in it. The three Sikhs got penal servitude for life, and Iwas condemned to death, though my sentence was afterwards commuted intothe same as the others.

  "It was rather a queer position that we found ourselves in then. Therewe were all four tied by the leg and with precious little chance ofever getting out again, while we each held a secret which might haveput each of us in a palace if we could only have made use of it. Itwas enough to make a man eat his heart out to have to stand the kickand the cuff of every petty jack-in-office, to have rice to eat andwater to drink, when that gorgeous fortune was ready for him outside,just waiting to be picked up. It might have driven me mad; but I wasalways a pretty stubborn one, so I just held on and bided my time.

  "At last it seemed to me to have come. I was changed from Agra toMadras, and from there to Blair Island in the Andamans. There are veryfew white convicts at this settlement, and, as I had behaved well fromthe first, I soon found myself a sort of privileged person. I wasgiven a hut in Hope Town, which is a small place on the slopes of MountHarriet, and I was left pretty much to myself. It is a dreary,fever-stricken place, and all beyond our little clearings was infestedwith wild cannibal natives, who were ready enough to blow a poisoneddart at us if they saw a chance. There was digging, and ditching, andyam-planting, and a dozen other things to be done, so we were busyenough all day; though in the evening we had a little time toourselves. Among other things, I learned to dispense drugs for thesurgeon, and picked up a smattering of his knowledge. All the time Iwas on the lookout for a chance of escape; but it is hundreds of milesfrom any other land, and there is little or no wind in those seas: soit was a terribly difficult job to get away.

  "The surgeon, Dr. Somerton, was a fast, sporting young chap, and theother young officers would meet in his rooms of an evening and playcards. The surgery, where I used to make up my drugs, was next to hissitting-room, with a small window between us. Often, if I feltlonesome, I used to turn out the lamp in the surgery, and then,standing there, I could hear their talk and watch their play. I amfond of a hand at cards myself, and it was almost as good as having oneto watch the others. There was Major Sholto, Captain Morstan, andLieutenant Bromley Brown, who were in command of the native troops, andthere was the surgeon himself, and two or three prison-officials,crafty old hands who played a nice sly safe game. A very snug littleparty they used to make.

  "Well, there was one thing which very soon struck me, and that was thatthe soldiers used always to lose and the civilians to win. Mind, Idon't say that there was anything unfair, but so it was. Theseprison-chaps had done little else than play cards ever since they hadbeen at the Andamans, and they knew each other's game to a point, whilethe others just played to pass the time and threw their cards downanyhow. Night after night the soldiers got up poorer men, and thepoorer they got the more keen they were to play. Major Sholto was thehardest hit. He used to pay in notes and gold at first, but soon itcame to notes of hand and for big sums. He sometimes would win for afew deals, just to give him heart, and then the luck would set inagainst him worse than ever. All day he would wander about as black asthunder, and he took to drinking a deal more than was good for him.

  "One night he lost even more heavily than usual. I was sitting in myhut when he and Captain Morstan came stumbling along on the way totheir quarters. They were bosom friends, those two, and never farapart. The major was raving about his losses.

  "'It's all up, Morstan,' he was saying, as they passed my hut. 'I shallhave to send in my papers. I am a ruined man.'

  "'Nonsense, old chap!' said the other, slapping him upon the shoulder.'I've had a nasty facer myself, but--' That was all I could hear, butit was enough to set me thinking.

  "A couple of days later Major Sholto was strolling on the beach: so Itook the chance of speaking to him.

  "'I wish to have your advice, major,' said I.

  "'Well, Small, what is it?' he asked, taking his cheroot from his lips.

  "'I wanted to ask you, sir,' said I, 'who is the proper person to whomhidden treasure should be handed over. I know where half a millionworth lies, and, as I cannot use it myself, I thought perhaps the bestthing that I could do would be to hand it over to the properauthorities, and then perhaps they would get my sentence shortened forme.'

  "'Half a million, Small?' he gasped, looking hard at me to see if I wasin earnest.

  "'Quite that, sir,--in jewels and pearls. It lies there ready for anyone. And the queer thing about it is that the real owner is outlawedand cannot hold property, so that it belongs to the first comer.'

  "'To government, Small,' he stammered,--'to government.' But he saidit in a halting fashion, and I knew in my heart that I had got him.

  "'You think, then, sir, that I should give the information to theGovernor-General?' said I, quietly.

  "'Well, well, you must not do anything rash, or that you might repent.Let me hear all about it, Small. Give me the facts.'

  "I told him the whole story, with small changes so that he could notidentify the places. When I had finished he stood stock still and fullof thought. I could see by the twitch of his lip that there was astruggle going on within him.

  "'This is a very important matter, Small,' he said, at last. 'You mustnot say a word to any one about it, and I shall see you again soon.'

  "Two nights later he and his friend Captain Morstan came to my hut inthe dead of the night with a lantern.

  "'I want you just to let Captain Morstan hear that story from your ownlips, Small,' said he.

  "I repeated it as I had told it before.

  "'It rings true, eh?' said he. 'It's good enough to act upon?'

  "Captain Morstan nodded.

  "'Look here, Small,' said the major. 'We have been talking it over, myfriend here and I, and we have come to the conclusion that this secretof yours is hardly a government matter, after all, but is a privateconcern of your own, which of course you have the power of disposing ofas you think best. Now, the question is, what price would you ask forit? We might be inclined to take it up, and at least look into it, ifwe could agree as to terms.' He tried to speak in a cool, carelessway, but his eyes were shining with excitement and greed.

  "'Why, as to that, gentlemen,' I answered, trying also to be cool, butfeeling as excited as he did, 'there is only one bargain which a man inmy position can make. I shall want you to help me to my freedom, andto help my three companions to theirs. We shall then take you intopartnership, and give you a fifth share to divide between you.'

  "'Hum!' said he. 'A fifth share! That is not very tempting.'

  "'It would come to fifty thousand apiece,' said I.

  "'But how can we gain your freedom? You know very well that you ask animpossibility.'

  "'Nothing of the sort,' I answered. 'I have thought it all out to thelast detail. The only bar to our escape is that we can get no boat fitfor the voyage, and no provisions to last us for so long a time. Thereare plenty of little yachts and yawls at Calcutta or Madras which wouldserve our turn well. Do you bring one over. We shall engage to getaboard her by night, and if you will drop us on any part of the Indiancoast you will have done your part of the bargain.'

  "'If there were only one,' he said.

  "'None or all,' I answered. 'We have sworn it. The four of us mustalways act together.'

  "'You see, Morstan,' said he, 'Small is a man of his word. He does notflinch from his friend. I think we may very well trust him.'

  "'It's a dirty business,' the other answered. 'Yet, as you say, themoney would save our commissions handsomely.'

  "'Well, Small,' said the major, 'we must, I suppose, try and meet you.We must first, of course, test the truth of your story. Tell me wherethe box is hid, and I shall get leave of absence and go back to Indiain the monthly relief-boat to inquire into the affair.'

  "'Not so fast,' said I, growing colder as he got hot. 'I must have theconsent of my three comrades. I tell you that it is four or none withus.'

 
"'Nonsense!' he broke in. 'What have three black fellows to do withour agreement?'

  "'Black or blue,' said I, 'they are in with me, and we all go together.'

  "Well, the matter ended by a second meeting, at which Mahomet Singh,Abdullah Khan, and Dost Akbar were all present. We talked the matterover again, and at last we came to an arrangement. We were to provideboth the officers with charts of the part of the Agra fort and mark theplace in the wall where the treasure was hid. Major Sholto was to goto India to test our story. If he found the box he was to leave itthere, to send out a small yacht provisioned for a voyage, which was tolie off Rutland Island, and to which we were to make our way, andfinally to return to his duties. Captain Morstan was then to apply forleave of absence, to meet us at Agra, and there we were to have a finaldivision of the treasure, he taking the major's share as well as hisown. All this we sealed by the most solemn oaths that the mind couldthink or the lips utter. I sat up all night with paper and ink, and bythe morning I had the two charts all ready, signed with the sign offour,--that is, of Abdullah, Akbar, Mahomet, and myself.

  "Well, gentlemen, I weary you with my long story, and I know that myfriend Mr. Jones is impatient to get me safely stowed in chokey. I'llmake it as short as I can. The villain Sholto went off to India, buthe never came back again. Captain Morstan showed me his name among alist of passengers in one of the mail-boats very shortly afterwards.His uncle had died, leaving him a fortune, and he had left the army,yet he could stoop to treat five men as he had treated us. Morstanwent over to Agra shortly afterwards, and found, as we expected, thatthe treasure was indeed gone. The scoundrel had stolen it all, withoutcarrying out one of the conditions on which we had sold him the secret.From that day I lived only for vengeance. I thought of it by day and Inursed it by night. It became an overpowering, absorbing passion withme. I cared nothing for the law,--nothing for the gallows. To escape,to track down Sholto, to have my hand upon his throat,--that was my onethought. Even the Agra treasure had come to be a smaller thing in mymind than the slaying of Sholto.

  "Well, I have set my mind on many things in this life, and never onewhich I did not carry out. But it was weary years before my time came.I have told you that I had picked up something of medicine. One daywhen Dr. Somerton was down with a fever a little Andaman Islander waspicked up by a convict-gang in the woods. He was sick to death, andhad gone to a lonely place to die. I took him in hand, though he wasas venomous as a young snake, and after a couple of months I got himall right and able to walk. He took a kind of fancy to me then, andwould hardly go back to his woods, but was always hanging about my hut.I learned a little of his lingo from him, and this made him all thefonder of me.

  "Tonga--for that was his name--was a fine boatman, and owned a big,roomy canoe of his own. When I found that he was devoted to me andwould do anything to serve me, I saw my chance of escape. I talked itover with him. He was to bring his boat round on a certain night to anold wharf which was never guarded, and there he was to pick me up. Igave him directions to have several gourds of water and a lot of yams,cocoa-nuts, and sweet potatoes.

  "He was stanch and true, was little Tonga. No man ever had a morefaithful mate. At the night named he had his boat at the wharf. As itchanced, however, there was one of the convict-guard down there,--avile Pathan who had never missed a chance of insulting and injuring me.I had always vowed vengeance, and now I had my chance. It was as iffate had placed him in my way that I might pay my debt before I leftthe island. He stood on the bank with his back to me, and his carbineon his shoulder. I looked about for a stone to beat out his brainswith, but none could I see. Then a queer thought came into my head andshowed me where I could lay my hand on a weapon. I sat down in thedarkness and unstrapped my wooden leg. With three long hops I was onhim. He put his carbine to his shoulder, but I struck him full, andknocked the whole front of his skull in. You can see the split in thewood now where I hit him. We both went down together, for I could notkeep my balance, but when I got up I found him still lying quietenough. I made for the boat, and in an hour we were well out at sea.Tonga had brought all his earthly possessions with him, his arms andhis gods. Among other things, he had a long bamboo spear, and someAndaman cocoa-nut matting, with which I made a sort of sail. For tendays we were beating about, trusting to luck, and on the eleventh wewere picked up by a trader which was going from Singapore to Jiddahwith a cargo of Malay pilgrims. They were a rum crowd, and Tonga and Isoon managed to settle down among them. They had one very goodquality: they let you alone and asked no questions.

  "Well, if I were to tell you all the adventures that my little chum andI went through, you would not thank me, for I would have you here untilthe sun was shining. Here and there we drifted about the world,something always turning up to keep us from London. All the time,however, I never lost sight of my purpose. I would dream of Sholto atnight. A hundred times I have killed him in my sleep. At last,however, some three or four years ago, we found ourselves in England.I had no great difficulty in finding where Sholto lived, and I set towork to discover whether he had realized the treasure, or if he stillhad it. I made friends with someone who could help me,--I name nonames, for I don't want to get any one else in a hole,--and I soonfound that he still had the jewels. Then I tried to get at him in manyways; but he was pretty sly, and had always two prize-fighters, besideshis sons and his khitmutgar, on guard over him.

  "One day, however, I got word that he was dying. I hurried at once tothe garden, mad that he should slip out of my clutches like that, and,looking through the window, I saw him lying in his bed, with his sonson each side of him. I'd have come through and taken my chance withthe three of them, only even as I looked at him his jaw dropped, and Iknew that he was gone. I got into his room that same night, though,and I searched his papers to see if there was any record of where hehad hidden our jewels. There was not a line, however: so I came away,bitter and savage as a man could be. Before I left I bethought me thatif I ever met my Sikh friends again it would be a satisfaction to knowthat I had left some mark of our hatred: so I scrawled down the signof the four of us, as it had been on the chart, and I pinned it on hisbosom. It was too much that he should be taken to the grave withoutsome token from the men whom he had robbed and befooled.

  "We earned a living at this time by my exhibiting poor Tonga at fairsand other such places as the black cannibal. He would eat raw meat anddance his war-dance: so we always had a hatful of pennies after aday's work. I still heard all the news from Pondicherry Lodge, and forsome years there was no news to hear, except that they were hunting forthe treasure. At last, however, came what we had waited for so long.The treasure had been found. It was up at the top of the house, in Mr.Bartholomew Sholto's chemical laboratory. I came at once and had alook at the place, but I could not see how with my wooden leg I was tomake my way up to it. I learned, however, about a trap-door in theroof, and also about Mr. Sholto's supper-hour. It seemed to me that Icould manage the thing easily through Tonga. I brought him out with mewith a long rope wound round his waist. He could climb like a cat, andhe soon made his way through the roof, but, as ill luck would have it,Bartholomew Sholto was still in the room, to his cost. Tonga thoughthe had done something very clever in killing him, for when I came up bythe rope I found him strutting about as proud as a peacock. Very muchsurprised was he when I made at him with the rope's end and cursed himfor a little blood-thirsty imp. I took the treasure-box and let itdown, and then slid down myself, having first left the sign of the fourupon the table, to show that the jewels had come back at last to thosewho had most right to them. Tonga then pulled up the rope, closed thewindow, and made off the way that he had come.

  "I don't know that I have anything else to tell you. I had heard awaterman speak of the speed of Smith's launch the Aurora, so I thoughtshe would be a handy craft for our escape. I engaged with old Smith,and was to give him a big sum if he got us safe to our ship. He knew,no doubt, that there was some screw loos
e, but he was not in oursecrets. All this is the truth, and if I tell it to you, gentlemen, itis not to amuse you,--for you have not done me a very good turn,--butit is because I believe the best defence I can make is just to holdback nothing, but let all the world know how badly I have myself beenserved by Major Sholto, and how innocent I am of the death of his son."

  "A very remarkable account," said Sherlock Holmes. "A fitting wind-upto an extremely interesting case. There is nothing at all new to me inthe latter part of your narrative, except that you brought your ownrope. That I did not know. By the way, I had hoped that Tonga hadlost all his darts; yet he managed to shoot one at us in the boat."

  "He had lost them all, sir, except the one which was in his blow-pipeat the time."

  "Ah, of course," said Holmes. "I had not thought of that."

  "Is there any other point which you would like to ask about?" asked theconvict, affably.

  "I think not, thank you," my companion answered.

  "Well, Holmes," said Athelney Jones, "You are a man to be humored, andwe all know that you are a connoisseur of crime, but duty is duty, andI have gone rather far in doing what you and your friend asked me. Ishall feel more at ease when we have our story-teller here safe underlock and key. The cab still waits, and there are two inspectorsdown-stairs. I am much obliged to you both for your assistance. Ofcourse you will be wanted at the trial. Good-night to you."

  "Good-night, gentlemen both," said Jonathan Small.

  "You first, Small," remarked the wary Jones as they left the room."I'll take particular care that you don't club me with your wooden leg,whatever you may have done to the gentleman at the Andaman Isles."

  "Well, and there is the end of our little drama," I remarked, after wehad set some time smoking in silence. "I fear that it may be the lastinvestigation in which I shall have the chance of studying yourmethods. Miss Morstan has done me the honor to accept me as a husbandin prospective."

  He gave a most dismal groan. "I feared as much," said he. "I reallycannot congratulate you."

  I was a little hurt. "Have you any reason to be dissatisfied with mychoice?" I asked.

  "Not at all. I think she is one of the most charming young ladies Iever met, and might have been most useful in such work as we have beendoing. She had a decided genius that way: witness the way in which shepreserved that Agra plan from all the other papers of her father. Butlove is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed tothat true cold reason which I place above all things. I should nevermarry myself, lest I bias my judgment."

  "I trust," said I, laughing, "that my judgment may survive the ordeal.But you look weary."

  "Yes, the reaction is already upon me. I shall be as limp as a rag fora week."

  "Strange," said I, "how terms of what in another man I should calllaziness alternate with your fits of splendid energy and vigor."

  "Yes," he answered, "there are in me the makings of a very fine loaferand also of a pretty spry sort of fellow. I often think of those linesof old Goethe,--

  Schade dass die Natur nur EINEN Mensch aus Dir schuf, Denn zum wuerdigen Mann war und zum Schelmen der Stoff.

  "By the way, a propos of this Norwood business, you see that they had,as I surmised, a confederate in the house, who could be none other thanLal Rao, the butler: so Jones actually has the undivided honor ofhaving caught one fish in his great haul."

  "The division seems rather unfair," I remarked. "You have done all thework in this business. I get a wife out of it, Jones gets the credit,pray what remains for you?"

  "For me," said Sherlock Holmes, "there still remains thecocaine-bottle." And he stretched his long white hand up for it.

 
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