an Army, painted upon the lid. It is crammed with papers, nearly all of which are records of cases to illustrate the curious problems which Mr. Sherlock Holmes had at v

ll-known journalist and duellist, who was found stark staring mad with a match box in front of him which contained a remarkable worm said to be unknown to science. Apart from these unfathomed cases, there are some which involve the secrets of private families to an extent which would mean consternation in many exalted quarters if it were thought possible that they might find their way into print. I need not say that such a breach of confidence is unthinkable, and that these records will be separated and destroyed now tha

use. I descended to breakfast prepared to find my companion in depressed spirits, for, like all great artists, he was easily impressed by his surroundings. On the contrary, I found

case, Holmes

red. "It has enabled you to probe my secret. Yes, I have a case. Aft

I sha

ondition may not be unconnected with the copy of the Family Herald which I observed yesterday upon the hall-table. Even so trivial a matter as co

d been cleared and we were face to face

Neil Gibson, the

the Americ

ern state, but is better known as the gr

ely lived in England for some t

shire some five years ago. Possibly you have

is why the name is familiar. But I

to present no difficulty. The interesting personality of the accused does not obscure the clearness of the evidence. That was the view taken by the coroner's jury and also in the police-court proceedings. It is now referred

r cl

into your involved habit, Watson, of telling

o me, written in a bold, mas

DGE'S

ber

SHERLOC

o doesn't? It has been the gossip of the country. And never a voice raised for her! It's the damned injustice of it all that makes me crazy. That woman has a heart that wouldn't let her kill a fly. Well, I'll come at eleven to-morrow and see if

fait

IL GI

wife, the victim of this tragedy, of whom I know nothing save that she was past her prime, which was the more unfortunate as a very attractive governess superintended the education of two young children. These are the three people concerned, and the scene is a grand old manor house, the centre of a historical English state. Then as to the tragedy. The wife was found in the grounds nearly half a mile from the house, late at night, clad in her dinner dr

ear. But why suspe

some train of thought had been set moving which I should be foolish to interrupt. Suddenly with a start he emerged into brisk life once more. "Yes, Watson, it was found. Pretty damning, eh? So the two juries thought. Then the dead woman had a note upon her making an appointment at that very place and signed by the gover

ndeed,

was down near Thor Bridge - that was the scene of the tragedy - about that

ally see

er the narrowest part of a long, deep, reed-girt sheet of water. Thor Mere it is called. In the mouth of the bridge

ranger to both of us. He was a thin, nervous wisp of a man with frightened eyes and a twitching, hesitating

Pray sit down. I fear I can only give you a sh

an who is out of breath. "Mr. Gibson is coming. Mr. Gibson is my employer. I

anguage,

me here for the world. He is almost due now. But I was so situated that I could not come e

are his

harities are a screen to cover his private iniquities. But his wife was his chief victim. He was brutal to her - yes, sir, brutal! How she came by her dea

had esca

I am told that they once were great - there was nothing to hold him. We all liked her and felt for her and hated him for the way that he treated her. But he is pla

ock our strange visitor literall

son seems to have a nice loyal household. But the warning is a u

ffairs, iron of nerve and leathery of conscience, I should choose Mr. Neil Gibson as my model. His tall, gaunt, craggy figure had a suggestion of hunger and rapacity. An Abraham Lincoln keyed to base uses instead of high ones would give some idea of the man. His face might have been chiselled in granite, hard-set, craggy, remorseless, wi

ase. You can burn it if it's any use in lighting you to the truth. This woman is inno

scale," said Holmes coldly. "I do not vary

utation. If you pull this off every paper in England and Amer

rise you to know that I prefer to work anonymously, and that it is the problem i

don't know that I can add anything which will help you. But if there i

re is just

t is

relations between y

and half rose from his chair. The

ts - and maybe doing your duty - in

to suppose so

those of an employer towards a young lady whom he never conversed w

se from h

he, "and I have no time or taste for aiml

red above Holmes. There was an angry gleam from under those

ean by this, Mr. Holmes?

I dismiss you. I should have

Raising the price on me, or afraid to tackle

e. This case is quite sufficiently complicated to start

g that

licately as I could, but if you insist

was fiendish in its intensity, and he had raised his great knotted

allest argument is unsettling. I suggest that a stroll in the mornin

mire him, for by a supreme self-command he had turned in a minute

touch the case against your will. You've done yourself no good this morning, Mr. Holmes,

aid Holmes, smiling. "Well, good-morning, Mr

mes smoked in imperturbable silence wi

Watson?" he

ly brush any obstacle from his path, and when I remember that his wife may have been an

. And to

ns with the governess, and

e was some deep emotion which centred upon the accused woman rather than upon the victim. We've got to understand the exact relations of those three people if we are to reach the truth. You saw the fro

he will c

it is. Ha! isn't that a ring? Yes, there is his footstep. Well, Mr. G

d left it. His wounded pride still showed in his resentful eyes, but his

You are justified in getting down to the facts, whatever they may be, and I think the more of you for i

me to decid

ke a surgeon who wants every sympto

patient who has an object in deceiving his sur

ome serious feeling in the case. I guess most men have a little private reserve of their own in some corner of their souls where they don't welcome intruders. And you burst sudde

tru

marshals his thoughts. His grim, deep-lined

she was rare and wonderful in her beauty. It was a deep rich nature, too, passionate, whole-hearted, tropical, ill-balanced, very different from the American women whom I had known. Well, to make a long story short, I loved her and I married her. It was only when the romance had passed - and it lingered for years - that I realized that we had nothing - absolutely nothing - in common. My love faded. If hers had faded also it might have been e

hole world has proclaimed that she also is a very beautiful woman. Now, I make no pretence to be more moral than my neighbours, and I will admit to you that I

blame you if you expressed it, since this you

eyes. "I'm not pretending to be any better than I am. I guess all my life I've been a man that reached out his ha

u did,

very formidable

was out of my power. I said that money was no object and that

am sure," said H

question of evidence, not on a question of

is accused of is really worse than what you have yourself admitted, that you have tried to ruin a defenceless girl who wa

old King took the re

my plans did not work out as I intended. She would have

id she

living. When I had sworn - as I did - that she should never be molested again, she consented to remain. But there was another reason.

ow

ed the game for all it was worth. I never squealed myself, and I never cared if the other fellow squealed. But she saw it different. I guess she was right. She believed and said that a fortune for one man that was more than he needed should not be built on ten thousand ruined men who were l

ow any light

ute or more, his head sunk in

s, for what it is worth. There is no doubt that my wife was bitterly jealous. There is a soul-jealousy that can be as frantic as any body-jealousy, and though my wife had no cause - and I think she understood this - for the latter, she was aware that this English girl exerted an influence upon my mind and my acts that she herself never had. It was

me," said Holmes. "Indeed, it is the only

utterly d

lderment holding the revolver. She might even throw it down among her clothes, hardly knowing what she was doing, and when it was

unbar h

, per

ester by the evening train. When I have seen this young lady it is very possible that I may be of more use

examined into the affair. He was a tall, thin, cadaverous man, with a secretive and mysterious manner which conveyed the idea that he knew or suspected a very great deal more than he dared say. He had a trick, too, of suddenly sinking his voice to a whisper as if he

the Yard gets called into a case, then the local loses all credit for suc

the evident relief of our melancholy acquaintance. "If

e walk down to the place there is one question I should like to ask you. I'd breathe it to no soul but you." He looked

en conside

. He may well have wished his wife out of the road. And these Americans

clearly

as one of a pai

ir? Where is

e sort and another. We never quite matched that

air you should surely

d out at the house if you w

walk down together and have a l

us to a side-gate opening into the grounds of the Thor Place estate. A path led us through the pheasant preserves, and then from a clearing we saw the widespread, half-timbered house, half Tudor and half Georgian, upon the crest of the hill. B

ibson's body lay. I ma

you were there be

sent for

o d

had rushed down with others from the house, he insisted t

m the newspaper report that the sh

ir, ver

e right

ehind i

d the b

No marks. No weapon. The short note from

hed, y

ould hardly ope

ould have placed the note there after death in order to furnish

Thor Bridge at

DU

hat n

s,

unbar admit

s,

her expl

ved for the Assizes. S

nteresting one. The point of the l

if I may be so bold as to say so, the o

shook h

re - say one hour or two. Why, then, was this lady still clasping it in her left hand? Why should she

you put it, p

he bridge, and I could see his quick gray eyes darting their questioning glances in every direction. Suddenly he spran

curious,"

n the ledge. I expect it's b

for a space not larger than a sixpence. When examined closely

ge several times without leaving a mark. "Yes, it was a hard knock. In a curious place, too.

ast fifteen feet

th the matter, but it is a point worth noting. I do not think that w

hard, sir. There we

hese weapons of which you speak. Then we shall get on to Winchest

called upon us in the morning. He showed us with a sinister relish the formidable array of firearms

s with a loaded revolver in the drawer beside his bed. He is a man of violence, sir, and there are ti

ness physical vio

ds which were nearly as bad - words of cold,

library. Dinner was over at 8:30 and all was normal up to then. It is true that the alarm was somewhat late in the evening, but the tragedy certainly occurred about the hour named in the note. There is no evidence at all that Mr. Gibson had been out of doors since his return from town at five o'clock. On the other hand, Miss Dunbar, as I understand it, admits that sh

is that,

f the pistol i

that seemed to me to be the m

e, and now that I am in closer touch with the case it is my only firm ground for hope

ly foll

he crime is done. It has been workmanlike and complete. Do you tell me that after carrying out so crafty a crime you would now ruin your reputation as a criminal by forgetting to fling your weapon into those adjacent reed-beds which would forever cov

itement of

ly premeditated, then the means of covering it are coolly premeditated also.

is so much

e is this revolver. Miss Dunbar disclaims all knowledge of it. On our new theory she is speaking truth when she says so. Therefore, it was placed in her wardrobe. W

as no wonder that even the masterful millionaire had found in her something more powerful than himself - something which could control and guide him. One felt, too, as one looked at the strong, clear-cut, and yet sensitive face, that even should she be capable of some impetuous deed, none the less there was an innate nobility of character which would make her influence always for the good. She was a br

something of what occurred between u

you, I am prepared to accept Mr. Gibson's statement both as to the influence which you had over him and

whole thing must clear itself up without our being compelled to enter into painful details of the

that all the cards are at present against us, and that we must do everything that is possible if we are to win clear. It would

conceal

ur true relations wit

erstood our relations. I would not wish to wrong her, but she loved so vividly in a physical sense that she could hardly understand the mental, and even spiritual, tie which held her husband to me, or imagine that it was only my desire to influence h

s, "I beg you to tell us exact

a position to prove nothing, and there are points - the most vital po

acts, perhaps others ma

something important to say to me, and asked me to leave an answer on the sundial in the garden, as she desired no one to be in our confidence. I saw no reason for such secrecy, but I did as she asked, accepting the appointment. She asked me to destroy her note

your reply v

hear that she had it in

at happen

he deep power of deception which insane people may have. How else could she have met me with unconcern every day and yet had so raging a hatred of me in her heart? I will not say what she said. She poured her whole wild fury out in b

was afterwa

ew yards fr

et her death shortly after you

rified by this terrible outbreak that I rushed to get back to the peace

o your room. Did you leave i

the poor creature had met her d

see Mr.

e bridge when I saw him. He had se

to you much

nk that he would ever show his emotions on the surface. But I,

int. This pistol that was found in yo

, I sw

was it

hen the police m

your cl

r of my wardrobe

uess how long it

en there the m

o you

idied out th

into your room and placed the pist

t have

d w

, or else at the hours when I would b

when you go

ime onward for th

ere any other point which coul

think o

e bridge - a perfectly fresh chip just opposite the bod

st be a mere

y should it appear at the very time of

d it? Only great violence

manifestations of his genius. So evident was the crisis in his mind that none of us dared to speak, and we sat, barrister, prisoner, and myself, wa

son, come!

it, Mr.

e you a case which will make England ring. You will get news by to-morrow, Miss Dunbar, and meanwhile take my

not sit still, but paced the carriage or drummed with his long, sensitive fingers upon the cushions beside him. Suddenly, however, as we neared our destination he seated himself opposite to me -

recollection that you go armed

safety when his mind was once absorbed by a problem so that more than on

t-minded in such matters. But

t very serviceable little weapon. He undid the catch

remarkably h

a solid bi

ver it for

revolver is going to have a very intimate connec

lmes, you a

the test will depend upon the conduct of this little weapon. One cartridge out. Now we will replace the o

ught until we pulled up in the little Hampshire station. We secured a ramshackle trap,

. Holmes? W

n's revolver," said my friend. "Here it is. Now

provided a ball

Holmes. "Now, if you please, we will get off o

tical and incredulous glances, which showed his deep doubts of the sanity of my companion, lurched along beside us. As we

es played me false. It seemed a certainty when first it flashed across my mind in the cell at Winchester, but one drawback of an active mind is

e body had been stretched. He then hunted among the heather and the ferns until he found a considerable stone. This he secured to the other end of his line of string, and he hung it over the parapet of the bridge so tha

r it!"

ight of the stone, had struck with a sharp crack against the parapet, and had vanished over the side into the water. It h

has solved the problem!" As he spoke he pointed to a second chip of the exact size

my friend's revolver. You will also find beside it the revolver, string and weight with which this vindictive woman attempted to disguise her own crime and to faste

king our pipes in the village inn, Holmes

to your annals. I have been sluggish in mind and wanting in that mixture of imagination and reality which is the basis of my art. I confess

verted love can bring about. Whether Miss Dunbar was her rival in a physical or in a merely mental sense seems to have been equally unforgivable in her eyes. No doubt she blamed this innocent lady for all those harsh dealings and unkind word

rom Miss Dunbar which would make it appear that she had chosen the scene of the crime. In her anxiety that it should be discovere

ting rid of her weapon. When Miss Dunbar appeared she used her last breath in pouring out her hatred, and then, when she was out of hearing, carried out her terrible purpose. Every link is now in its place and the chain is complete. The papers may ask why the mere was not dragged in the first instance, but it is easy to be wise after the event, and in any case the expanse of a reed-fille