福爾摩斯一聲不響地坐了好幾個鐘頭了。他彎着瘦長的身子，埋頭盯住他面前的一隻化學試管，試管裏正煮着一種特別惡臭的化合物。他腦袋垂在胸前的樣子，從我這裏望去，就象一隻瘦長的怪鳥，全身披着深灰的羽毛，頭上的冠毛卻是黑的。
　　 他忽然說：“華生，原來你不打算在南非投資了，是不是？”
　　 我吃了一驚。雖然我已習慣了福爾摩斯的各種奇特本領，但他這樣突然道破我的心事，仍令我無法解釋。
　　 “你怎麽會知道？"我問他。
　　 他在圓凳上轉過身來，手裏拿着那支冒氣的試管。從他深陷的眼睛裏，微微露出想笑出來的樣子。
　　 “現在，華生，你承認你是吃驚了，"他說。
　　 “我是吃驚了。”
　　 “我應該叫你把這句話寫下來，簽上你的名字。”
　　 “為什麽？”
　　 “因為過了五分鐘，你又會說這太簡單了。”
　　 “我一定不說。”
　　 “你要知道，我親愛的華生，"他把試管放回架子上去，開始用教授對他班上的學生講課的口氣往下說，“作出一串推理來，並且使每個推理取决於它前面的那個推理而本身又簡單明了，實際上這並不難。然後，衹要把中間的推理統統去掉，對你的聽衆僅僅宣佈起點和結論，就可以得到驚人的、也可能是虛誇的效果。所以，我看了你左手的虎口，就覺得有把握說你沒有打算把你那一小筆資本投到金礦中去，這真的不難推斷出來。”
　　 “我看不出有什麽關係。”
　　 “似乎沒有，但是我可以馬上告訴你這一密切的關係。這一根非常簡單的鏈條中缺少的環節是：第一，昨晚你從俱樂部回來，你左手虎口上有白粉；第二，衹有在打臺球的時候，為了穩定球桿，你纔在虎口上抹白粉；第三，沒有瑟斯頓作伴，你從不打臺球；第四，你在四個星期以前告訴過我，瑟斯頓有購買某項南非産業的特權，再有一個月就到期了，他很想你跟他共同使用；第五，你的支票簿鎖在我的抽屜裏，你一直沒跟我要過鑰匙；第六，你不打算把錢投資在南非。”
　　 “這太簡單了！"我叫起來了。
　　 “正是這樣！"他有點不高興地說，"每個問題，一旦給你解釋過，就變得很簡單。這裏有個還不明白的問題。你看看怎樣能解釋它，我的朋友。"他把一張紙條扔在桌上，又開始做他的分析。
　　 我看見紙條上畫着一些荒誕無稽的符號，十分詫異。
　　 “嘿，福爾摩斯，這是一張小孩子的畫。”
　　 “噢，那是你的想法。”
　　 “難道會是別的嗎？”
　　 “這正是希爾頓·丘比特先生急着想弄明白的問題。他住在諾福剋郡馬場村莊園。這個小謎語是今天早班郵車送來的，他本人準備乘第二班火車來這兒。門鈴響了，華生。如果來的人就是他，我不會感到意外。”
　　 樓梯上響起一陣沉重的腳步聲，不一會兒走進來一個身材高大、體格健壯、臉颳得很幹淨的紳士。明亮的眼睛，紅潤的面頰，說明他生活在一個遠離貝剋街的霧氣的地方。他進門的時候，似乎帶來了少許東海岸那種濃郁、新鮮、涼爽的空氣。他跟我們握過手，正要坐下來的時候，目光落在那張畫着奇怪符號的紙條上，那是我剛纔仔細看過以後放在桌上的。
　　 “福爾摩斯先生，您怎麽解釋它呢？"他大聲說，"他們告訴我您喜歡離奇古怪的東西，我看再找不到比這更離奇的了。我把這張紙條先寄來，是為了讓您在我來以前有時間研究它。”
　　 “的確是一件很難看懂的作品，"福爾摩斯說，"乍一看就象孩子們開的玩笑，在紙上橫着畫了些在跳舞的奇形怪狀的小人。您怎麽會重視一張這樣怪的畫呢？”
　　 “我是决不會的，福爾摩斯先生。可是我妻子很重視。這張畫嚇得她要命。她什麽也不說，但是我能從她眼裏看出來她很害怕。這就是我要把這件事徹底弄清楚的原因。”
　　 福爾摩斯把紙條舉起來，讓太陽光照着它。那是從記事本上撕下來的一頁，上面那些跳舞的人是用鉛筆畫的，排列成這樣：
　　 （圖一：twd1.gif）
　　 福爾摩斯仔細看了一會兒，然後很小心地把紙條疊起來，放進他的皮夾子裏。
　　 “這可能成為一件最有趣、最不平常的案子，"他說，"您在信上告訴了我一些細節，希爾頓·丘比特先生。但是我想請您再給我的朋友華生醫生講一遍。”
　　 “我不是很會講故事的人，"這位客人說。他那雙大而有力的手，神經質地一會兒緊握，一會兒放開。"如果有什麽講得不清楚的地方，您儘管問我好了。我要從去年我結婚前後開始，但是我想先說一下，雖然我不是個有錢的人，我們這一傢住在馬場村大約有五百年了，在諾福剋郡也沒有比我們一傢更出名的。去年，我到倫敦參加維多利亞女王即位六十周年紀念，住在羅素廣場一傢公寓裏，因為我們教區的帕剋牧師住的就是這傢公寓。在這傢公寓裏還住了一個年輕的美國小姐，她姓帕特裏剋，全名是埃爾茜·帕特裏剋。於是我們成了朋友。還沒有等到我在倫敦住滿一個月，我已經愛她愛到極點了。我們悄悄在登記處結了婚，然後作為夫婦回到了諾福剋。您會覺得一個名門子弟，竟然以這種方式娶一個身世不明的妻子，簡直是發瘋吧，福爾摩斯先生。不過您要是見過她、認識她的話，那就能幫助您理解這一點。
　　 “當時她在這一點上很直爽。埃爾茜的確是直爽的。我不能說她沒給我改變主意的機會，但是我從沒有想到要改變主意。她對我說：'我一生中跟一些可恨的人來往過，現在衹想把他們都忘掉。我不願意再提過去，因為這會使我痛苦。如果你娶我的話，希爾頓，你會娶到一個沒有做過任何使自己感到羞愧的事的女人。但是，你必須滿足於我的保證，並且允許我對在嫁給你以前我的一切經歷保持沉默。要是這些條件太苛刻了，那你就回諾福剋去，讓我照舊過我的孤寂生活吧。'就在我們結婚的前一天，她對我說了這些話。我告訴她我願意依她的條件娶她，我也一直遵守着我的諾言。
　　 “我們結婚到現在已經一年了，一直過得很幸福。可是，大約一個月以前，就在六月底，我第一次看見了煩惱的預兆。那天我妻子接到一封美國寄來的信。我看到上面貼了美國郵票。她臉變得煞白，把信讀完就扔進火裏燒了。後來她不提這件事，我也沒提，因為我必須遵守諾言。從那時候起，她就沒有過片刻的安寧，臉上總帶着恐懼的樣子，好象她在等待着什麽。但是，除非她開口，我什麽都不便說。請註意，福爾摩斯先生，她是一個老實人。不論她過去在生活中有過什麽不幸的事，那也不會是她自己的過錯。我不過是個諾福剋的普通鄉紳，但是在英國再沒有別人的家庭聲望能高過我的了。她很明白這一點，而且在沒有跟我結婚之前，她就很清楚。她决不願意給我們一傢的聲譽帶來任何污點，這我完全相信。
　　 “好，現在我談這件事可疑的地方。大概一個星期以前，就是上星期二，我發現在一個窗臺上畫了一些跳舞的滑稽小人，跟那張紙上的一模一樣，是粉筆畫的。我以為是小馬倌畫的，可是他發誓說他一點都不知道。不管怎樣，那些滑稽小人是在夜裏畫上去的。我把它們刷掉了，後來纔跟我妻子提到這件事。使我驚奇的是，她把這件事看得很嚴重，而且求我如果再有這樣的畫出現，讓她看一看。連着一個星期，什麽也沒出現。到昨天早晨，我在花園日晷儀上找到這張紙條。我拿給埃爾茜一看，她立刻昏倒了。以後她就象在做夢一樣，精神恍惚，眼睛裏一直充滿了恐懼。就在那個時候，福爾摩斯先生，我寫了一封信，連那張紙條一起寄給了您。我不能把這張紙條交給，因為他們準要笑我，但是您會告訴我怎麽辦。我並不富有，但萬一我妻子有什麽禍事臨頭，我願意傾傢蕩産來保護她。”
　　 他是個在英國本土長大的漂亮男子——純樸、正直、文雅，有一雙誠實的藍眼睛和一張清秀的臉。從他的面容中，可以看出他對妻子的鐘愛和信任。福爾摩斯聚精會神地聽他講完了這段經過以後，坐着沉思了一會兒。
　　 “你不覺得，丘比特先生，"他終於說，"最好的辦法還是直接求你妻子把她的秘密告訴您？”
　　 希爾頓·丘比特搖了搖頭。
　　 “諾言總是諾言，福爾摩斯先生。假如埃爾茜願意告訴我，她就會告訴我的。假如她不願意，我不強迫她說出來。不過，我自己想辦法總可以吧。我一定得想辦法。”
　　 “那麽我很願意幫助您。首先，您聽說您傢來過陌生人沒有？”
　　 “沒有。”
　　 “我猜你那一帶是個很平靜的地方，任何陌生面孔出現都會引人註意，是嗎？”
　　 “在很鄰近的地方是這樣的。但是，離我們那兒不太遠，有好幾個飲牲口的地方，那裏的農民經常留外人住宿。”
　　 “這些難懂的符號顯然有其含義。假如是隨意畫的，咱們多半解釋不了。從另一方面看，假如是有係統的，我相信咱們會把它徹底弄清楚。但是，僅有的這一張太簡短，使我無從着手。您提供的這些情況又太模糊，不能作為調查的基礎。我建議你回諾福剋去，密切註視，把可能出現任何新的跳舞的人照原樣臨摹下來。非常可惜的是，早先那些用粉筆畫在窗臺上的跳舞的人，咱們沒有一張復製的。您還要細心打聽一下，附近來過什麽陌生人。您幾時收集到新的證據，就再來這兒。我現在能給您的就是這些建議了。如果有什麽緊急的新發展，我隨時可以趕到諾福剋您傢裏去。”
　　 這一次的面談使福爾摩斯變得非常沉默。一連數天，我幾次見他從筆記本中取出那張紙條，久久地仔細研究上面寫的那些古怪符號。可是，他絶口不提這件事。一直到差不多兩個星期以後，有一天下午我正要出去，他把我叫住了。
　　 “華生，你最好別走。”
　　 “怎麽啦？”
　　 “因為早上我收到希爾頓·丘比特的一份電報。你還記得他和那些跳舞的人嗎？他應該在一點二十分到利物浦街，隨時可能到這兒。從他的電報中，我推測已經出現了很重要的新情況。”
　　 我們沒有等多久，這位諾福剋的紳士坐馬車直接從車站趕來了。他象是又焦急又沮喪，目光倦乏，滿額皺紋。
　　 “這件事真叫我受不了，福爾摩斯先生，"他說着，就象個精疲力盡的人一屁股坐進椅子裏。“當你感覺到無形中被人包圍，又不清楚在算計你的是誰，這就夠糟心的了。加上你又看見這件事正在一點一點地折磨自己的妻子，那就不是血肉之軀所能忍受的。她給折磨得消瘦了，我眼見她瘦下去。”
　　 “她說了什麽沒有？”
　　 “沒有，福爾摩斯先生。她還沒說。不過，有好幾回這個可憐的人想要說，又鼓不起勇氣來開這個頭。我也試着來幫助她，大概我做得很笨，反而嚇得她不敢說了。她講到過我的古老家庭、我們在全郡的名片和引以為自豪的清白聲譽，這時候我總以為她就會說到要點上來了，但是不知怎麽，話還沒有講到那兒就岔開了。”
　　 “但是你自己有所發現嗎？”
　　 “可不少，福爾摩斯先生。我給您帶來了幾張新的畫，更重要的是我看到那個傢夥了。”
　　 “怎麽？是畫這些符號的那個人嗎？”
　　 “就是他，我看見他畫的。還是一切都按順序跟您說吧。上次我來拜訪您以後，回到傢裏的第二天早上，頭一件見到的東西就是一行新的跳舞的人，是用粉筆畫在工具房門上的。這間工具房挨着草坪，正對着前窗。我照樣臨摹了一張，就在這兒。"他打開一張疊着的紙，把它放在桌上。下面就是他臨摹下來的符號：
　　 （圖2：twd2.gif）
　　 “太妙了！"福爾摩斯說。"太妙了！請接着說吧。”
　　 “臨摹完了，我就把門上這些記號擦了，但是過了兩個早上，衹出現了新的。我這兒也有一張臨摹的。”
　　 （圖3：twd3.gif）
　　 福爾摩斯搓着雙手，高興得輕輕笑出聲來。
　　 “咱們的資料積纍得很快呀！"他說。
　　 “過了三天，我在日晷儀上找到一張紙條，上面壓着一塊鵝卵石。紙條上很潦草地畫了一行小人，跟上一次的完全一樣。從那以後，我决定在夜裏守着，於是取出了我的左輪，坐在書房裏不睡，因為從那兒可以望到草坪和花園。大約在凌晨兩點的時候，我聽到後面有腳步聲，原來是我妻子穿着睡衣走來了。她央求我去睡，我就對她明說要瞧瞧誰在這樣捉弄我們。她說這是毫無意義的惡作劇，要我不去理它。
　　 “'假如真叫你生氣的話，希爾頓，咱們倆可以出去旅行，躲開這種討厭的人。'
　　 “'什麽？讓一個惡作劇的傢夥把咱們從這兒攆走？'
　　 “'去睡吧，'她說，'咱們白天再商量。'
　　 “她正說着，在月光下我見她的臉忽然變得更加蒼白，她一隻手緊抓住我的肩膀。就在對過工具房的陰影裏，有什麽東西在移動。我看見個黑糊糊的人影，偷偷繞過墻角走到工具房門前蹲了下來。我抓起手槍正要衝出去，我妻子使勁把我抱住。我用力想甩脫她，她拼命抱住我不放手。最後，我掙脫了。等我打開門跑到工具房前，那傢夥不見了。但是他留下了痕跡，門上又畫了一行跳舞的人，排列跟前兩次的完全相同，我已經把它們臨摹在那張紙上。我把院子各處都找遍了，也沒見到那個傢夥的蹤影。可這件事怪就怪在他並沒有走開，因為早上我再檢查那扇門的時候，發現除了我已經看到過的那行小人以外，又添了幾個新畫的。”
　　 “那些新畫的您有沒有？”
　　 “有，很短，我也照樣臨摹下來了，就是這一張。”
　　 他又拿出一張紙來。他記下的新舞蹈是這樣的：
　　 （圖4：twd4.gif）
　　 “請告訴我，"福爾摩斯說，從他眼神中可以看出他非常興奮，"這是畫在上一行下面的呢，還是完全分開的？”
　　 “是畫在另一塊門板上的。”
　　 “好極了！這一點對咱們的研究來說最重要。我覺得很有希望了。希爾頓·丘比特先生，請繼續講您這一段最有意思的經過吧。”
　　 “再沒有什麽要講的了，福爾摩斯先生，衹是那天夜裏我很生我妻子的氣，因為正在我可能抓住那個偷偷溜進來的流氓的時候，她卻把我拉住了。她說是怕我會遭到不幸。頓時我腦子裏閃過一個念頭：也許她擔心是那個人會遭到不幸，因為我已經懷疑她知道那個人是誰，而且她懂得那些古怪符號是什麽意思。但是，福爾摩斯先生，她的話音、她的眼神都不容置疑。我相信她心裏想的確實是我自己的安全。這就是全部情況，現在我需要您指教我該怎麽辦。我自己想叫五、六個農場的小夥子埋伏在灌木叢裏，等那個傢夥再來就狠狠揍他一頓，他以後就不敢來打攪我們了。”
　　 “這個人過於狡猾，恐怕不是用這樣簡單的辦法可以對付，"福爾摩斯說，"您能在倫敦呆多久？”
　　 “今天我必須回去。我决不放心讓我妻子整夜一個人呆在傢裏。她神經很緊張，也要求我回去。”
　　 “也許您回去是對的。要是您能呆住的話，說不定過一兩天我可以跟您一起回去。您先把這些紙條給我，可能不久我會去拜訪您，幫着解决一下您的難題。”
　　 一直到我們這位客人走了，福爾摩斯始終保持住他那種職業性的沉着。但是我很瞭解他，能很容易地看出來他心裏是十分興奮的。希爾頓·丘比特的寬闊背影剛從門口消失，我的夥伴就急急忙忙跑到桌邊，把所有的紙條都擺在自己面前，開始進行精細復雜的分析。我一連兩小時看着他把畫着小人和寫上字母的紙條，一張接一張地來回掉換。他全神貫註在這項工作上，完全忘了我在旁邊。他幹得順手的時候，便一會兒吹哨，一會兒唱起來；有時給難住了，就好一陣子皺起眉頭、兩眼發呆地望着。最後，他滿意地叫了一聲，從椅子上跳起來，在屋裏走來走去，不住地搓着兩衹手。後來，他在電報紙上寫了一張很長的電報。"華生，如果回電中有我希望得到的答復，你就可以在你的記錄中添上一件非常有趣的案子了，他說，道使他煩惱的原因。”
　　 說實話，我當時非常想問個究竟，但是我知道福爾摩斯喜歡在他選好的時候，以自己的方式來談他的發現。所以我等着，直到他覺得適合嚮我說明一切的那天。
　　 可是，遲遲不見回電。我們耐着性子等了兩天。在這兩天裏，衹要門鈴一響，福爾摩斯就側着耳朵聽。第二天的晚上，來了一封希爾頓·丘比特的信，說他傢裏平靜無事，衹是那天清早又看到一長行跳舞的人畫在日晷儀上。他臨摹了一張，附在信裏寄來了：
　　 （圖5：twd5.gif）
　　 福爾摩斯伏在桌上，對着這張怪誕的圖案看了幾分鐘，猛然站起來，發出一聲驚異、沮喪的喊叫。焦急使他臉色憔悴。
　　 “這件事咱們再不能聽其自然了，"他說，"今天晚上有去北沃爾沙姆的火車嗎？”
　　 我找出了火車時刻表。末班車剛剛開走。
　　 “那末咱們明天提前吃早飯，坐頭班車去，"福爾摩斯說。
　　 “現在非咱們出面不可了。啊，咱們盼着的電報來了。等一等，赫德森太太，也許要拍個回電。不必了，完全不出我所料。看了這封電報，咱們更要趕快讓希爾頓·丘比特知道目前的情況，多耽誤一小時都不應該，因為這位諾福剋的糊塗紳士已經陷入了奇怪而危險的羅網。”
　　 後來證明情況確實如此。現在快到我結束這個當時看來是幼稚可笑、稀奇古怪的故事的時候，我心裏又充滿了我當時所感受到的驚愕和恐怖。雖然我很願意給我的讀者一個多少帶點希望的結尾，但作為事實的記錄，我必須把這一連串的奇怪事件照實講下去，一直講到它們的不幸結局。這些事件的發生，使"馬場村莊園"一度在全英國成了人人皆知的名詞了。
　　 我們在北沃爾沙姆下車，剛一提我們要去的目的地，站長就急忙朝我們走來。"你們兩位是從倫敦來的偵探吧？"他說。
　　 福爾摩斯的臉上有點厭煩的樣子。
　　 “什麽使您想到這個？”
　　 “因為諾威奇的馬丁警長剛打這兒過。也許您二位是外科醫生吧。她還沒死，至少最後的消息是這樣講的。可能你們趕得上救她，但也衹不過是讓她活着上絞架罷了。”
　　 福爾摩斯的臉色陰沉，焦急萬分。
　　 “我們要去馬場村莊園，"他說，"不過我們沒聽說那裏出了什麽事。”
　　 “事情可怕極了，"站長說，"希爾頓·丘比特和他妻子兩個都給槍打了。她拿槍先打丈夫，然後打自己，這是他們傢的傭人說的。男的已經死了，女的也沒有多大希望了。咳，他們原是諾福剋郡最老、最體面的一傢！”
　　 福爾摩斯什麽也沒說，趕緊上了一輛馬車。在這長達七英裏的途中，他就沒有開過口。我很少見他這樣完全失望過。我們從倫敦來的一路上福爾摩斯都心神不安，他仔細地逐頁查看各種早報的時候，我就註意到他是那麽憂心忡忡。現在，他所擔心的最壞情況突然變成事實，使他感到一種茫然的憂鬱。他靠在座位上，默默想着這令人沮喪的變故。然而，這一帶有許多使我們感興趣的東西，因為我們正穿過一個在英國算得上是獨一無二的鄉村，少數分散的農捨表明今天聚居在這一帶的人不多了。四周都可以看到方塔形的教堂，聳立在一片平坦青蔥的景色中，述說着昔日東安格利亞王國的繁榮昌盛。一片藍紫色的日耳曼海終於出現在諾福剋青蔥的岸邊，馬車夫用鞭子指着從小樹林中露出的老式磚木結構的山墻說："那兒就是馬場村莊園。”
　　 馬車一駛到帶圓柱門廊的大門前，我就看見了前面網球場邊那間引起過我們種種奇怪聯想的黑色工具房和那座日晷儀。一個短小精悍、動作敏捷、留着鬍子的人剛從一輛一匹馬拉的馬車上走下來，他介紹自己是諾福剋局的馬丁警長。當他聽到我同伴的名字的時候，露出很驚訝的樣子。
　　 “啊，福爾摩斯先生，這件案子是今天凌晨三點發生的。您在倫敦怎麽聽到的，而且跟我一樣快就趕到了現場？”
　　 “我已經料到了。我來這兒是希望阻止它發生。”
　　 “那您一定掌握了重要的證據，在這方面我們一無所知，因為據說他們是一對最和睦的夫妻。”
　　 “我衹有一些跳舞的人作為物證，"福爾摩斯說，"以後我再嚮您解釋吧。目前，既然沒來得及避免這場悲劇，我非常希望利用我現在掌握的材料來伸張正義。您是願意讓我參加您的調查工作呢，還是寧願讓我自由行動？”
　　 “如果真的我能跟您共同行動的話，我會感到很榮幸，"警長真誠地說。
　　 “這樣的話，我希望馬上聽取證詞，進行檢查，一點也不要耽誤了。”
　　 馬丁警長不失為明智人，他讓我的朋友自行其是，自己則滿足於把結果仔細記下來。本地的外科醫生，是個滿頭白發的老年人，他剛從丘比特太太的臥室下樓來，報告說她的傷勢很嚴重，但不一定致命。子彈是從她的前額打進去的，多半要過一段時間她才能恢復知覺。至於她是被打傷的還是自傷的問題，他不敢冒昧表示明確的意見。這一槍肯定是從離她很近的地方打的。在房間裏衹發現一把手槍，裏面的子彈衹打了兩發。希爾頓·丘比特先生的心髒被子彈打穿。可以設想為希爾頓先開槍打他妻子，也可以設想他妻子是兇手，因為那支左輪就掉在他們正中間的地板上。
　　 “有沒有把他搬動過？”
　　 “沒有，衹把他妻子擡出去了。我們不能讓她傷成那樣還在地板上躺着。”
　　 “您到這兒有多久了，大夫？”
　　 “從四點鐘一直到現在。”
　　 “還有別人嗎？”
　　 “有的，就是這位警長。”
　　 “您什麽都沒有碰吧？”
　　 “沒有。”
　　 “您考慮得很周全。是誰去請您來的？”
　　 “這傢的女僕桑德斯。”
　　 “是她發覺的？”
　　 “她跟廚子金太太兩個。”
　　 “現在她們在哪兒？”
　　 “在廚房裏吧，我想。”
　　 “我看咱們最好馬上聽聽她們怎麽說。”
　　 這間有橡木墻板和高窗戶的古老大廳變成了調查庭。福爾摩斯坐在一把老式的大椅子上，臉色憔悴，他那雙不寬容的眼睛卻閃閃發亮。我能從他眼睛裏看出堅定不移的决心，他準備用畢生的力量來追查這件案子，一直到為這位他沒能搭救的委托人最後報了仇為止。在大廳裏坐着的那一夥奇怪的人當中，還有衣着整齊的馬丁警長，白發蒼蒼的鄉村醫生，我自己和一個呆頭呆腦的本村。
　　 這兩個婦女講得十分清楚。一聲爆炸把她們從睡夢中驚醒了，接着又響了一聲。她們睡在兩間連着的房間裏，金太太這時已經跑到桑德斯的房間裏來了。她們一塊兒下了樓。書房門是敞開的，桌上點着一支蠟燭。主人臉朝下趴在書房正中間，已經死了。他的妻子就在挨近窗戶的地方蜷着、腦袋靠在墻上。她傷得非常重且滿臉是血，大口大口地喘着氣，但是說不出活來。走廊和書房裏滿是煙和火藥味兒。窗戶是關着的，並且從裏面插上了。在這一點上，她們兩人都說得很肯定。她們立即就叫人去找醫生和，然後在馬夫和小馬倌的幫助下，他們把受傷的女主人擡回她的臥室。出事前夫妻兩個已經就寢了，她穿着衣服，他睡衣的外面套着便袍。書房裏的東西，都沒有動過。就她們所知，夫期間從來沒有吵過架。她們一直把他們夫婦看作非常和睦的一對。
　　 這些就是兩個女僕的證詞的要點。在回答馬丁警長的問題時，她們肯定地說所有的門都從裏面門好了，誰也跑不出去。在回答福爾摩斯的問題時，她們都說記得剛從頂樓她們屋裏跑出來就聞到火藥的氣味。福爾摩斯對他的同行馬丁警長說："我請您註意這個事實。現在，我想咱們可以開始徹底檢查那間屋子了。”
　　 原來書房不大，三面靠墻都是書。對着一扇朝花園開的窗戶，放着一張書桌。我們首先註意的是這位不幸紳士的遺體。他那魁偉的身軀四肢攤開地橫躺在屋裏。子彈是從正面對準他射出的，穿過心髒以後就呆在身體裏頭，所以他當時就死了，沒有痛苦。他的便袍上和手上都沒有火藥痕跡。據這位鄉村醫生說，女主人的臉上有火藥痕跡，但是手上沒有。
　　 “沒有火藥痕跡並不說明什麽，要是有的話，情況就完全不同了，"福爾摩斯說，"除非是很不合適的子彈，裏面的火藥會朝後面噴出來，否則打多少槍也不會留下痕跡的。我建議現在不妨把丘比特先生的遺體搬走。大夫，我想您還沒有取出打傷女主人的那顆子彈吧？”
　　 “需要做一次復雜的手術，才能取出子彈來。但是那支左輪裏面還有四發子彈，另兩發已經打出來了，造成了兩處傷口，所以六發子彈都有了下落。”
　　 “好象是這樣，"福爾摩斯說，"也許您也能解釋打在窗戶框上的那顆子彈吧？"他突然轉過身去，用他的細長的指頭，指着離窗戶框底邊一英寸地方的一個小窟窿。
　　 “一點不錯！"警長大聲說，"您怎麽看見的？”
　　 “因為我在找它。”
　　 “驚人的發現！"鄉村醫生說，"您完全對，先生。那就是當時一共放了三槍，因此一定有第三者在場。但是，這能是誰呢？他是怎麽跑掉的？”
　　 “這正是咱們就要解答的問題，"福爾摩斯說，“馬丁警長，您記得在那兩個女僕講到她們一出房門就聞到火藥味兒的時候，我說過這一點極其重要，是不是？”
　　 “是的，先生。但是，坦白說，我當時不大懂您的意思。”
　　 “這就是說在打槍的時候，門窗全都是開着的，否則火藥的煙不會那麽快吹到樓上去。這非得書房裏有穿堂風不行。可是門窗敞開的時間很短。”
　　 “這您怎麽來證明呢？”
　　 “因為那支蠟燭並沒有給風吹得淌下蠟油來。”
　　 “對極了！"警長大聲說，"對極了！”
　　 “我肯定了這場悲劇發生的時候窗戶是敞開的這一點以後，就設想到其中可能有一個第三者，他站在窗外朝屋裏開了一槍。這時候如果從屋裏對準窗外的人開槍，就可能打中窗戶框。我一找，果然那兒有個彈孔。”
　　 “但是窗戶怎麽關上的呢？”
　　 “女主人出於本能的第一個動作當然是關上窗戶。啊，這是什麽？”
　　 那是個鰐魚皮鑲銀邊的女用手提包，小巧精緻，就在桌上放着。福爾摩斯把它打開，將裏面的東西倒了出來。手提包裏衹裝了一捲英國銀行的鈔票，五十鎊一張，一共二十張，用橡皮圈箍在一起，別的沒有。
　　 “這個手提包必須加以保管，它還要出庭作證呢，"福爾摩斯一邊說着一邊把手提包和鈔票交給了警長。“現在咱們必須想法說明這第三顆子彈。從木頭的碎片來看，這顆子彈明明是從屋裏打出去的。我想再問一問他們的廚子金太太。金太太，您說過您是給很響的一聲爆炸驚醒的。您的意思是不是在您聽起來它比第二聲更響？”
　　 “怎麽說，先生，我是睡着了給驚醒的，所以很難分辨。不過當時聽起來是很響。”
　　 “您不覺得可能那是差不多同時放的兩槍的聲音？”
　　 “這我可說不準，先生。”
　　 “我認為那的確是兩槍的聲音。警長，我看這裏沒有什麽還要研究的了。如果您願意同我一起去的話，咱們到花園裏去看看有沒有什麽新的證據可以發現。”
　　 外面有一座花壇一直延伸到書房的窗前。當我們走近花壇的時候，大傢不約而同地驚叫起來。花壇裏的花踩倒了，潮濕的泥土上滿是腳印。那是男人的大腳印，腳指特別細長。福爾摩斯象獵犬找回擊中的鳥那樣在草裏和地上的樹葉裏搜尋。忽然，他高興地叫了一聲，彎下腰撿起來一個銅的小圓筒。
　　 “不出我所料，"他說，"那支左輪有推頂器，這就是第三槍的彈殼。馬丁警長，我想咱們的案子差不多辦完了。”
　　 在這位鄉村警長的臉上，顯出了他對福爾摩斯神速巧妙的偵察感到萬分驚訝。最初他還露出過一點想講講自己的主張的意思，現在卻是不勝欽佩，願意毫無疑問地聽從福爾摩斯。
　　 “您猜想是誰打的呢？"他問。
　　 “我以後再談。在這個問題上，有幾點我還對您解釋不了。既然我已經走到這一步了，我最好照自己的想法進行，然後把這件事一次說個清楚。”
　　 “隨您便，福爾摩斯先生，衹要我們能抓到兇手就可以。”
　　 “我一點不想故弄玄虛，可是正在行動的時候就開始做冗長復雜的解釋，這是做不到的。一切綫索我都有了。即使這位女主人再也不能恢復知覺，咱們仍舊可以把昨天夜裏發生的事情一一設想出來，並且保證使兇手受到法律製裁。首先我想知道附近是否有一傢叫做'埃爾裏奇'的小旅店？”
　　 所有的傭人都問過了，誰也沒有聽說過這麽一傢旅店。在這個問題上，小馬倌幫了點忙，他記起有個叫埃爾裏奇的農場主，住在東羅斯頓那邊，離這裏衹有幾英裏。
　　 “是個偏僻的農場嗎？”
　　 “很偏僻，先生。”
　　 “也許那兒的人還不知道昨晚這裏發生的事情吧？”
　　 “也許不知道，先生。”
　　 “備好一匹馬，我的孩子，"福爾摩斯說，"我要你送封信到埃爾裏奇農場去。”
　　 他從口袋裏取出許多張畫着跳舞小人的紙條，把它們擺在書桌上，坐下來忙了一陣子。最後，他交給小馬倌一封信，囑咐他把信交到收信人手裏，特別記住不要回答收信人可能提出的任何問題。我看見信外面的地址和收信人姓名寫得很零亂，不象福爾摩斯一嚮寫的那種嚴謹的字體。信上寫的是：諾福剋，東羅斯頓，埃爾裏奇農場，阿貝·斯蘭尼先生。
　　 “警長，"福爾摩斯說，“我想您不妨打電報請求派警衛來。因為您可能有一個非常危險的犯人要押送到郡監獄去，如果我估計對了的話。送信的小孩就可以把您的電報帶去發。華生，要是下午有去倫敦的火車，我看咱們就趕這趟車，因為我有一項頗有趣的化學分析要完成，而且這件偵查工作很快就要結束了。”
　　 福爾摩斯打發小馬倌去送信了，然後吩咐所有的傭人：如果有人來看丘比特太太，立刻把客人領到客廳裏，决不能說出丘比特太太的身體情況。他非常認真叮囑傭人記住這些話。最後他領着我們去客廳，一邊說現在的事態不在我們控製之下了，大傢盡量休息一下，等着瞧究竟會發生什麽。鄉村醫生已經離開這裏去看他的病人了，留下來的衹有警長和我。
　　 “我想我能夠用一種有趣又有益的方法，來幫你們消磨一小時，"福爾摩斯一邊說一邊把他的椅子挪近桌子，又把那幾張畫着滑稽小人的紙條在自己面前擺開，"華生，我還欠你一筆債，因為我這麽久不讓你的好奇心得到滿足。至於您呢，警長，這件案子的全部經過也許能吸引您來作一次不平常的業務探討。我必須先告訴您一些有趣的情況，那是希爾頓·丘比特先生兩次來貝剋街找我商量的時候我聽他說的。"他接着就把我前面已經說過的那些情況，簡單扼要地重述了一遍。"在我面前擺着的，就是這些罕見的作品。要不是它們成了這麽可怕的一場悲劇的先兆，那末誰見了也會一笑置之。我比較熟悉各種形式的秘密文字，也寫過一篇關於這個問題的粗淺論文，其中分析了一百六十種不同的密碼。但是這一種我還是第一次見到。想出這一套方法的人，顯然是為了使別人以為它是隨手塗抹的兒童畫，看不出這些符號傳達的信息。然而，衹要一看出了這些符號是代表字母的，再應用秘密文字的規律來分析，就不難找到答案。在交給我的第一張紙條上那句話很短，我衹能稍有把握假定（圖6）代表Ｅ。你們也知道，在英文字母中Ｅ最常見，它出現的次數多到即使在一個短的句子中也是最常見的。第一張紙條上的十五個符號，其中有四個完全一樣，因此把它估計為Ｅ是合乎道理的。這些圖形中，有的還帶一面小旗，有的沒有小旗。從小旗的分佈來看，帶旗的圖形可能是用來把這個句子分成一個一個的單詞。我把這看作一個可以接受的假設，同時記下Ｅ是用（圖6）來代表的。
　　 “可是，現在最難的問題來了。因為，除了Ｅ以外，英文字母出現次數的順序並不很清楚。這種順序，在平常一頁印出的文字裏和一個短句子裏，可能正相反。大致說來，字母按出現次數排列的順序是Ｔ，Ａ，Ｏ，Ｉ，Ｎ，Ｓ，Ｈ，Ｒ，Ｄ，Ｌ；但是Ｔ，Ａ，Ｏ，Ｉ，出現的次數幾乎不相上下。要是把每一種組合都試一遍，直到得出一個意思來，那會是一項無止境的工作。所以，我衹好等來了新材料再說。希爾頓·丘比特先生第二次來訪的時候，果真給了我另外兩個短句子和似乎衹有一個單詞的一句話，就是這幾個不帶小旗的符號。在這個由五個符號組合的單字中，我找出了第二個和第四個都是Ｅ。這個單詞可能是ｓｅｖｅｒ（切斷），也可能是ｌｅｖｅｒ（杠桿），或者ｎｅｖｅｒ（决不）。毫無疑問，使用末了這個詞來回答一項請求的可能性極大，而且種種情況都表明這是丘比特太太寫的答復。假如這個判斷正確，我們現在就可以說，三個符號分別代表ＮＶ、和Ｒ。
　　 “甚至在這個時候我的睏難仍然很大。但是，一個很妙的想法使我知道了另外幾個字母。我想其假如這些懇求是來自一個在丘比特太太年輕時候就跟她親近的人的話，那末一個兩頭是Ｅ，當中有三個別的字母的組合很可能就是ＥＬＳＩＥ（埃爾茜）這個名字。我一檢查，發現這個組合曾經三次構成一句話的結尾。這樣的一句話肯定是對'埃爾茜'提出的懇求。這一來我就找出了Ｌ、Ｓ和Ｉ。可是，究竟懇求什麽呢？在'埃爾茜'前面的一個詞，衹有四個字母，末了的是Ｅ。這個詞必定是Ｃｏｍｅ（來）無疑。我試過其他各種以Ｅ結尾的四個字母，都不符合情況。這樣我就找出了Ｃ、Ｏ和Ｍ，而且現在我可以再來分析第一句話，把它分成單詞，還不知道的字母就用點代替。經過這樣的處理，這句話就成了這種樣子：
　　 ．Ｍ．ＥＲＥ．．ＥＳＬＮＥ．。
　　 “現在，第一個字母衹能是Ａ。這是最有幫助的發現，因為它在這個短句中出現了三次。第二個詞的開頭是Ｈ也是顯而易見的。這一句話現在成了：
　　 ＡＭＨＥＲＥＡ．ＥＳＬＡＮＥ。
　　 再把名字中所缺的字母添上：
　　 ＡＭＨＥＲＥＡＢＥＳＬＡＮＥ。
　　 （我已到達。阿貝·斯蘭尼。）
　　 我現在有了這麽多字母，能夠很有把握地解釋第二句話了。這一句讀出來是這樣的：
　　 Ａ．ＥＬＲＩ．ＥＳ。
　　 我看這一句中，我衹能在缺字母的地方加上Ｔ和Ｇ纔有意義（意為：住在埃爾裏奇。），並且假定這個名字是寫信人住的地方或者旅店。”
　　 馬丁警長和我帶着很大的興趣聽我的朋友詳細講他如何找到答案的經過，這把我們的一切疑問都解答了。
　　 “後來你怎麽辦，先生？"警長問。
　　 “我有充分理由猜想阿貝·斯蘭尼是美國人，因為阿貝是個美國式的編寫，而且這些麻煩的起因又是從美國寄來一封信。我也有充分理由認為這件事帶有犯罪的內情。女主人說的那些暗示她的過去的話和她拒絶把實情告訴她丈夫，都使我從這方面去想。所以我纔給紐約局一個叫威爾遜·哈格裏夫的朋友發了一個電報，問他是否知道阿貝·斯蘭尼這個名字。這位朋友不止一次利用過我所知道的有關倫敦的犯罪情況。他的回電說：'此人是芝加哥最危險的騙子。'就在我接到回電的那天晚上，希爾頓·丘比特給我寄來了阿貝·斯蘭尼最後畫的一行小人。用已經知道的這些字母譯出來就成了這樣的一句話：
　　 ＥＬＳＩＥ．ＲＥ．ＡＲＥＴＯＭＥＥＴＴＨＹＧＯ。
　　 再添上Ｐ和Ｄ，這句話就完整了（意為：埃爾茜，準備見上帝。），而且說明了這個流氓已經由勸誘改為恐嚇。對芝加哥的那幫歹徒我很瞭解，所以我想他可能會很快把恐嚇的話付諸行動。我立刻和我的朋友華生醫生來諾福剋，但不幸的是，我們趕到這裏的時候，最壞的情況已經發生了。”
　　 “能跟您一起處理一件案子，使我感到榮幸，"警長很熱情地說，"不過，恕我直言，您衹對您自己負責，我卻要對我的上級負責。假如這個住在埃爾裏奇農場的阿貝·斯蘭尼真是兇手的話，他要是就在我坐在這裏的時候逃跑了，那我準得受嚴厲的處分。”
　　 “您不必擔心，他不會逃跑的。”
　　 “您怎麽知道他不會？”
　　 “逃跑就等於他承認自己是兇手。”
　　 “那就讓我們去逮捕他吧。”
　　 “我想他馬上就會來這兒。”
　　 “他為什麽要來呢？”
　　 “因為我已經寫信請他來。”
　　 “簡直不能相信，福爾摩斯先生！為什麽您請他就得來呢？這不正會引其他懷疑，使他逃走嗎？”
　　 “我不是編出了那封信嗎？"福爾摩斯說，"要是我沒有看錯，這位先生正往這兒來了。就在門外的小路上，有一個身材高大、皮膚黑黑、挺漂亮的傢夥正邁着大步走過來。他穿了一身灰法蘭絨的衣服，戴着一頂巴拿馬草帽，兩撇倒立鬍子，大鷹鈎鼻，一邊走一邊揮動着手杖。
　　 “先生們，"福爾摩斯小聲說，"我看咱們最好都站在門後面。對付一個這樣的傢夥，還得多加小心。警長，您準備好手銬，讓我來同他談。”
　　 我們靜靜地等了片刻，可這是那種永遠不會忘記的片刻。門開了，這人走了進來。福爾摩斯立刻用手槍柄照他的腦袋給了一下，馬丁也把手銬套上了他的腕子。他們的動作是那麽快，那麽熟練，這傢夥還沒明白怎麽回事就無法動彈了。他瞪着一雙黑眼睛，把我們一個個都瞧了瞧，突然苦笑起來。
　　 “先生們，這次你們贏啦。好象是我撞在什麽硬東西上了。我是接到希爾頓·丘比特太太的信纔來的。這裏面不至於有她吧？難道是她幫你們給我設下了這個圈套？”
　　 “希爾頓·丘比特太太受了重傷，現在快要死了。”
　　 這人發出一聲嘶啞的叫喊，響遍了全屋。
　　 “你鬍說！"他拚命嚷着說，"受傷的是希爾頓，不是她。誰忍心傷害小埃爾茜？我可能威脅過她——上帝饒恕我吧！但是我决不會碰她一根頭髮。你收回自己的話！告訴我她沒有受傷！”
　　 “發現的時候，她已經傷得很重，就倒在她丈夫的旁邊。”
　　 他帶着一聲悲傷的往長靠椅上一坐，用銬着的雙手遮住自己的臉，一聲不響。過了五分鐘，他擡起頭來，絶望地說："我沒有什麽要瞞你們的。如果我開槍打一個先嚮我開槍的人，就不是謀殺。如果你們認為我會傷害埃爾茜，那衹是你們不瞭解我，也不瞭解她。世界上確實沒有第二個男人能象我愛她那樣愛一個女人。我有權娶她。很多年以前，她就嚮我保證過。憑什麽這個英國人要來分開我們？我是第一個有權娶她的，我要求的衹是自己的權利。”
　　 “在她發現你是什麽樣的人以後，她就擺脫了你的勢力，”福爾摩斯嚴厲地說，"她逃出美國是為了躲開你，並且在英國同一位體面的紳士結了婚。你緊追着她，使得她很痛苦，你是為了引誘她拋棄她心愛的丈夫，跟你這個她既恨又怕的人逃跑。結果你使一個貴族死於非命，又逼得他的妻子自殺了。這就是你幹的這件事的記錄，阿貝·斯蘭尼先生。你將受到法律的懲處。”
　　 “要是埃爾茜死了，那我就什麽都不在乎了，"這個美國人說。他張開一隻手，看了看團在手心裏的一張信紙。"哎，先生，"他大聲說，眼睛裏露出了一點懷疑。"您不是在嚇唬我吧？如果她您說的傷得那麽重的話，寫這封信的人又是誰呢？"他把信朝着桌子扔了過來。
　　 “是我寫的，就為了把你叫來。”
　　 “是您寫的？除了我們幫裏的人以外，從來沒有人知道跳舞人的秘密。您怎麽寫出來的？”
　　 “有人發明，就有人能看懂。"福爾摩斯說，"就有一輛馬車來把你帶到諾威奇去，阿貝·斯蘭尼先生。現在你還有時間對你所造成的傷害稍加彌補。丘比特太太已經使自己蒙受謀殺丈夫的重大嫌疑，你知道嗎？衹是因為我今天在場和我偶然掌握的材料，纔使她不致受到控告。為了她你至少應該做到嚮大衆說明：對她丈夫的慘死，她沒有任何直接或間接的責任。”
　　 “這正合我意，"這個美國人說，"我相信最能證明我自己有理的辦法，就是把全部事實都說出來。”
　　 “我有責任警告你：這樣做也可能對你不利，"警長本着英國刑法公平對待的嚴肅精神高聲地說。
　　 斯蘭尼聳了聳肩膀。
　　 “我願意冒這個險，"他說，“我首先要告訴你們幾位先生：我從埃爾茜是個孩子的時候就認識她。當時我們一共七個人在芝加哥結成一幫，埃爾茜的父親是我們的頭子。老帕特裏剋是個很聰明的人，他發明了這種秘密文字。除非你懂得這種文字的解法，不然就會當它是小孩亂塗的畫。後來，埃爾茜對我們的事情有所聞，可是她不能容忍這種行當。她自己還有一些正路來的錢，於是她趁我們都不防備的時候溜走，逃到倫敦來了。她已經和我訂婚了。要是我幹的是另外一行，我相信她早就跟我結婚了。她無論如何也不願意沾上任何不正當的職業。在她跟這個英國人結婚以後，我纔知道她在什麽地方。我給她寫過信，但是沒有得到回信。之後，我來到了英國。因為寫信無效，我就把要說的話寫在她能看到的地方。
　　 “我來這裏已經一個月了。我住在那個農莊裏，租到一間樓下的屋子。每天夜裏，我能夠自由進出，誰都不知道。我想盡辦法要把埃爾茜騙走。我知道她看了我寫的那些話，因為她有一次就在其中一句下面寫了回答。於是我急了，便開始威脅她。她就寄給我一封信，懇求我走開，並且說如果真的損害到她丈夫的名譽，那就會使她心碎的。她還說衹要我答應離開這裏，以後不再來纏磨她，她就會在早上三點，等她丈夫睡着了，下樓來在最後面的那扇窗前跟我說幾句話。她下來了，還帶着錢，想買通我走。我氣極了，一把抓住她的胳臂，想從窗戶裏把她拽出來。就在這時候，她丈夫手裏拿着左輪衝進屋來。埃爾茜癱倒在地板上，我們兩個就面對面了。當時我手裏也有槍。我舉起槍想把他嚇跑，讓我逃走。他開了槍，沒有打中我。差不多在同一時刻，我也開了槍，他立刻倒下了。我急忙穿過花園逃走，這時還聽見背後關窗的聲音。先生們，我說的每句話都是真的。後來的事情我都沒有聽說，一直到那個小夥子騎馬送來一封信，使我象個傻瓜似地步行到這兒，把我自己交到你們手裏。”
　　 在這個美國人說這番話的時候，馬車已經到了，裏面坐着兩名穿的。馬丁警長站了起來，用手碰了碰犯人的肩膀。
　　 “我們該走了。”
　　 “我可以先看看她嗎？”
　　 “不成，她還沒有恢復知覺。福爾摩斯先生，下次再碰到重大案子，我還希望碰到您在旁邊的這種好運氣。”
　　 我們站在窗前，望着馬車駛去。我轉過身來，看見犯人扔在桌上的紙團，那就是福爾摩斯曾經用來誘捕他的信。
　　 “華生，你看上面寫的是什麽，"福爾摩斯笑着說。
　　 信上沒有字，衹有這樣一行跳舞的人：
　　 “如果你使用我解釋過的那種密碼，"福爾摩斯說，"你會發現它的意思不過是'馬上到這裏來'。當時我相信這是一個他决不會拒絶的邀請，因為他想不到除了埃爾茜以外，還有別人能寫這樣的信。所以，我親愛的華生，結果我們把這些作惡多端的跳舞小人變成有益的了。我還覺得自己已經履行了我的諾言，給你的筆記本添上一些不平常的材料。我想咱們該乘三點四十分的火車回貝剋街吃晚飯了。”
　　 再說一句關於尾聲的話：在諾威奇鼕季大審判中，美國人阿貝·斯蘭尼被判死刑，但是考慮到一些可以減輕罪行的情況和確實是希爾頓·丘比特先開槍的事實，改判勞役監禁。至於丘比特太太，我衹聽說她後來完全復原了，現在仍舊孀居，用她全部精力幫助窮人和管理她丈夫的傢業。

　　HOLMES had been seated for some hours in silence with his long, thin back curved over a chemical vessel in which he was brewing a particularly malodorous product. His head was sunk upon his breast, and he looked from my point of view like a strange, lank bird, with dull grey plumage and a black top-knot.
　　
　　"So, Watson," said he, suddenly, "you do not propose to invest in South African securities?"
　　
　　I gave a start of astonishment. Accustomed as I was to Holmes's curious faculties, this sudden intrusion into my most intimate thoughts was utterly inexplicable.
　　
　　"How on earth do you know that?" I asked.
　　
　　He wheeled round upon his stool, with a steaming test-tube in his hand and a gleam of amusement in his deep-set eyes.
　　
　　"Now, Watson, confess yourself utterly taken aback," said he.
　　
　　"I am."
　　
　　"I ought to make you sign a paper to that effect."
　　
　　"Why?"
　　
　　"Because in five minutes you will say that it is all so absurdly simple."
　　
　　"I am sure that I shall say nothing of the kind."
　　
　　"You see, my dear Watson" -- he propped his test-tube in the rack and began to lecture with the air of a professor addressing his class -- "it is not really difficult to construct a series of inferences, each dependent upon its predecessor and each simple in itself. If, after doing so, one simply knocks out all the central inferences and presents one's audience with the starting-point and the conclusion, one may produce a startling, though possibly a meretricious, effect. Now, it was not really difficult, by an inspection of the groove between your left forefinger and thumb, to feel sure that you did NOT propose to invest your small capital in the goldfields."
　　
　　"I see no connection."
　　
　　"Very likely not; but I can quickly show you a close connection. Here are the missing links of the very simple chain: 1. You had chalk between your left finger and thumb when you returned from the club last night. 2. You put chalk there when you play billiards to steady the cue. 3. You never play billiards except with Thurston. 4. You told me four weeks ago that Thurston had an option on some South African property which would expire in a month, and which he desired you to share with him. 5. Your cheque-book is locked in my drawer, and you have not asked for the key. 6. You do not propose to invest your money in this manner."
　　
　　"How absurdly simple!" I cried.
　　
　　"Quite so!" said he, a little nettled. "Every problem becomes very childish when once it is explained to you. Here is an unexplained one. See what you can make of that, friend Watson." He tossed a sheet of paper upon the table and turned once more to his chemical analysis.
　　
　　I looked with amazement at the absurd hieroglyphics upon the paper.
　　
　　"Why, Holmes, it is a child's drawing," I cried.
　　
　　"Oh, that's your idea!"
　　
　　"What else should it be?"
　　
　　"That is what Mr. Hilton Cubitt, of Riding Thorpe Manor, Norfolk, is very anxious to know. This little conundrum came by the first post, and he was to follow by the next train. There's a ring at the bell, Watson. I should not be very much surprised if this were he."
　　
　　A heavy step was heard upon the stairs, and an instant later there entered a tall, ruddy, clean-shaven gentleman, whose clear eyes and florid cheeks told of a life led far from the fogs of Baker Street. He seemed to bring a whiff of his strong, fresh, bracing, east-coast air with him as he entered. Having shaken hands with each of us, he was about to sit down when his eye rested upon the paper with the curious markings, which I had just examined and left upon the table.
　　
　　"Well, Mr. Holmes, what do you make of these?" he cried. "They told me that you were fond of queer mysteries, and I don't think you can find a queerer one than that. I sent the paper on ahead so that you might have time to study it before I came."
　　
　　"It is certainly rather a curious production," said Holmes. "At first sight it would appear to be some childish prank. It consists of a number of absurd little figures dancing across the paper upon which they are drawn. Why should you attribute any importance to so grotesque an object?"
　　
　　"I never should, Mr. Holmes. But my wife does. It is frightening her to death. She says nothing, but I can see terror in her eyes. That's why I want to sift the matter to the bottom."
　　
　　Holmes held up the paper so that the sunlight shone full upon it. It was a page torn from a note-book. The markings were done in pencil, and ran in this way:--
　　
　　GRAPHIC
　　
　　Holmes examined it for some time, and then, folding it carefully up, he placed it in his pocket-book.
　　
　　"This promises to be a most interesting and unusual case," said he. "You gave me a few particulars in your letter, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, but I should be very much obliged if you would kindly go over it all again for the benefit of my friend, Dr. Watson."
　　
　　"I'm not much of a story-teller," said our visitor, nervously clasping and unclasping his great, strong hands. "You'll just ask me anything that I don't make clear. I'll begin at the time of my marriage last year; but I want to say first of all that, though I'm not a rich man, my people have been at Ridling Thorpe for a matter of five centuries, and there is no better known family in the County of Norfolk. Last year I came up to London for the Jubilee, and I stopped at a boarding-house in Russell Square, because Parker, the vicar of our parish, was staying in it. There was an American young lady there -- Patrick was the name -- Elsie Patrick. In some way we became friends, until before my month was up I was as much in love as a man could be. We were quietly married at a registry office, and we returned to Norfolk a wedded couple. You'll think it very mad, Mr. Holmes, that a man of a good old family should marry a wife in this fashion, knowing nothing of her past or of her people; but if you saw her and knew her it would help you to understand.
　　
　　"She was very straight about it, was Elsie. I can't say that she did not give me every chance of getting out of it if I wished to do so. `I have had some very disagreeable associations in my life,' said she; `I wish to forget all about them. I would rather never allude to the past, for it is very painful to me. If you take me, Hilton, you will take a woman who has nothing that she need be personally ashamed of; but you will have to be content with my word for it, and to allow me to be silent as to all that passed up to the time when I became yours. If these conditions are too hard, then go back to Norfolk and leave me to the lonely life in which you found me.' It was only the day before our wedding that she said those very words to me. I told her that I was content to take her on her own terms, and I have been as good as my word.
　　
　　"Well, we have been married now for a year, and very happy we have been. But about a month ago, at the end of June, I saw for the first time signs of trouble. One day my wife received a letter from America. I saw the American stamp. She turned deadly white, read the letter, and threw it into the fire. She made no allusion to it afterwards, and I made none, for a promise is a promise; but she has never known an easy hour from that moment. There is always a look of fear upon her face -- a look as if she were waiting and expecting. She would do better to trust me. She would find that I was her best friend. But until she speaks I can say nothing. Mind you, she is a truthful woman, Mr. Holmes, and whatever trouble there may have been in her past life it has been no fault of hers. I am only a simple Norfolk squire, but there is not a man in England who ranks his family honour more highly than I do. She knows it well, and she knew it well before she married me. She would never bring any stain upon it -- of that I am sure.
　　
　　"Well, now I come to the queer part of my story. About a week ago -- it was the Tuesday of last week -- I found on one of the window-sills a number of absurd little dancing figures, like these upon the paper. They were scrawled with chalk. I thought that it was the stable-boy who had drawn them, but the lad swore he knew nothing about it. Anyhow, they had come there during the night. I had them washed out, and I only mentioned the matter to my wife afterwards. To my surprise she took it very seriously, and begged me if any more came to let her see them. None did come for a week, and then yesterday morning I found this paper lying on the sun-dial in the garden. I showed it to Elsie, and down she dropped in a dead faint. Since then she has looked like a woman in a dream, half dazed, and with terror always lurking in her eyes. It was then that I wrote and sent the paper to you, Mr. Holmes. It was not a thing that I could take to the police, for they would have laughed at me, but you will tell me what to do. I am not a rich man; but if there is any danger threatening my little woman I would spend my last copper to shield her."
　　
　　He was a fine creature, this man of the old English soil, simple, straight, and gentle, with his great, earnest blue eyes and broad, comely face. His love for his wife and his trust in her shone in his features. Holmes had listened to his story with the utmost attention, and now he sat for some time in silent thought.
　　
　　"Don't you think, Mr. Cubitt," said he, at last, "that your best plan would be to make a direct appeal to your wife, and to ask her to share her secret with you?"
　　
　　Hilton Cubitt shook his massive head.
　　
　　"A promise is a promise, Mr. Holmes. If Elsie wished to tell me she would. If not, it is not for me to force her confidence. But I am justified in taking my own line -- and I will."
　　
　　"Then I will help you with all my heart. In the first place, have you heard of any strangers being seen in your neighbourhood?"
　　
　　"No."
　　
　　"I presume that it is a very quiet place. Any fresh face would cause comment?"
　　
　　"In the immediate neighbourhood, yes. But we have several small watering-places not very far away. And the farmers take in lodgers."
　　
　　"These hieroglyphics have evidently a meaning. If it is a purely arbitrary one it may be impossible for us to solve it. If, on the other hand, it is systematic, I have no doubt that we shall get to the bottom of it. But this particular sample is so short that I can do nothing, and the facts which you have brought me are so indefinite that we have no basis for an investigation. I would suggest that you return to Norfolk, that you keep a keen look-out, and that you take an exact copy of any fresh dancing men which may appear. It is a thousand pities that we have not a reproduction of those which were done in chalk upon the window-sill. Make a discreet inquiry also as to any strangers in the neighbourhood. When you have collected some fresh evidence come to me again. That is the best advice which I can give you, Mr. Hilton Cubitt. If there are any pressing fresh developments I shall be always ready to run down and see you in your Norfolk home."
　　
　　The interview left Sherlock Holmes very thoughtful, and several times in the next few days I saw him take his slip of paper from his note-book and look long and earnestly at the curious figures inscribed upon it. He made no allusion to the affair, however, until one afternoon a fortnight or so later. I was going out when he called me back.
　　
　　"You had better stay here, Watson."
　　
　　"Why?"
　　
　　"Because I had a wire from Hilton Cubitt this morning -- you remember Hilton Cubitt, of the dancing men? He was to reach Liverpool Street at one-twenty. He may be here at any moment. I gather from his wire that there have been some new incidents of importance."
　　
　　We had not long to wait, for our Norfolk squire came straight from the station as fast as a hansom could bring him. He was looking worried and depressed, with tired eyes and a lined forehead.
　　
　　"It's getting on my nerves, this business, Mr. Holmes," said he, as he sank, like a wearied man, into an arm-chair. "It's bad enough to feel that you are surrounded by unseen, unknown folk, who have some kind of design upon you; but when, in addition to that, you know that it is just killing your wife by inches, then it becomes as much as flesh and blood can endure. She's wearing away under it -- just wearing away before my eyes."
　　
　　"Has she said anything yet?"
　　
　　"No, Mr. Holmes, she has not. And yet there have been times when the poor girl has wanted to speak, and yet could not quite bring herself to take the plunge. I have tried to help her; but I dare say I did it clumsily, and scared her off from it. She has spoken about my old family, and our reputation in the county, and our pride in our unsullied honour, and I always felt it was leading to the point; but somehow it turned off before we got there."
　　
　　"But you have found out something for yourself?"
　　
　　"A good deal, Mr. Holmes. I have several fresh dancing men pictures for you to examine, and, what is more important, I have seen the fellow."
　　
　　"What, the man who draws them?"
　　
　　"Yes, I saw him at his work. But I will tell you everything in order. When I got back after my visit to you, the very first thing I saw next morning was a fresh crop of dancing men. They had been drawn in chalk upon the black wooden door of the tool-house, which stands beside the lawn in full view of the front windows. I took an exact copy, and here it is." He unfolded a paper and laid it upon the table. Here is a copy of the hieroglyphics:--
　　
　　GRAPHIC
　　
　　"Excellent!" said Holmes. "Excellent! Pray continue."
　　
　　"When I had taken the copy I rubbed out the marks; but two mornings later a fresh inscription had appeared. I have a copy of it here":--
　　
　　GRAPHIC
　　
　　Holmes rubbed his hands and chuckled with delight.
　　
　　"Our material is rapidly accumulating," said he.
　　
　　"Three days later a message was left scrawled upon paper, and placed under a pebble upon the sun-dial. Here it is. The characters are, as you see, exactly the same as the last one. After that I determined to lie in wait; so I got out my revolver and I sat up in my study, which overlooks the lawn and garden. About two in the morning I was seated by the window, all being dark save for the moonlight outside, when I heard steps behind me, and there was my wife in her dressing-gown. She implored me to come to bed. I told her frankly that I wished to see who it was who played such absurd tricks upon us. She answered that it was some senseless practical joke, and that I should not take any notice of it.
　　
　　"`If it really annoys you, Hilton, we might go and travel, you and I, and so avoid this nuisance.'
　　
　　"`What, be driven out of our own house by a practical joker?' said I. `Why, we should have the whole county laughing at us.'
　　
　　"`Well, come to bed,' said she, `and we can discuss it in the morning.'
　　
　　"Suddenly, as she spoke, I saw her white face grow whiter yet in the moonlight, and her hand tightened upon my shoulder. Something was moving in the shadow of the tool-house. I saw a dark, creeping figure which crawled round the corner and squatted in front of the door. Seizing my pistol I was rushing out, when my wife threw her arms round me and held me with convulsive strength. I tried to throw her off, but she clung to me most desperately. At last I got clear, but by the time I had opened the door and reached the house the creature was gone. He had left a trace of his presence, however, for there on the door was the very same arrangement of dancing men which had already twice appeared, and which I have copied on that paper. There was no other sign of the fellow anywhere, though I ran all over the grounds. And yet the amazing thing is that he must have been there all the time, for when I examined the door again in the morning he had scrawled some more of his pictures under the line which I had already seen."
　　
　　"Have you that fresh drawing?"
　　
　　"Yes; it is very short, but I made a copy of it, and here it is."
　　
　　Again he produced a paper. The new dance was in this form:--
　　
　　GRAPHIC
　　
　　"Tell me," said Holmes -- and I could see by his eyes that he was much excited -- "was this a mere addition to the first, or did it appear to be entirely separate?"
　　
　　"It was on a different panel of the door."
　　
　　"Excellent! This is far the most important of all for our purpose. It fills me with hopes. Now, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, please continue your most interesting statement."
　　
　　"I have nothing more to say, Mr. Holmes, except that I was angry with my wife that night for having held me back when I might have caught the skulking rascal. She said that she feared that I might come to harm. For an instant it had crossed my mind that perhaps what she really feared was that HE might come to harm, for I could not doubt that she knew who this man was and what he meant by these strange signals. But there is a tone in my wife's voice, Mr. Holmes, and a look in her eyes which forbid doubt, and I am sure that it was indeed my own safety that was in her mind. There's the whole case, and now I want your advice as to what I ought to do. My own inclination is to put half-a-dozen of my farm lads in the shrubbery, and when this fellow comes again to give him such a hiding that he will leave us in peace for the future."
　　
　　"I fear it is too deep a case for such simple remedies," said Holmes. "How long can you stay in London?"
　　
　　"I must go back to-day. I would not leave my wife alone all night for anything. She is very nervous and begged me to come back."
　　
　　"I dare say you are right. But if you could have stopped I might possibly have been able to return with you in a day or two. Meanwhile you will leave me these papers, and I think that it is very likely that I shall be able to pay you a visit shortly and to throw some light upon your case."
　　
　　Sherlock Holmes preserved his calm professional manner until our visitor had left us, although it was easy for me, who knew him so well, to see that he was profoundly excited. The moment that Hilton Cubitt's broad back had disappeared through the door my comrade rushed to the table, laid out all the slips of paper containing dancing men in front of him, and threw himself into an intricate and elaborate calculation. For two hours I watched him as he covered sheet after sheet of paper with figures and letters, so completely absorbed in his task that he had evidently forgotten my presence. Sometimes he was making progress and whistled and sang at his work; sometimes he was puzzled, and would sit for long spells with a furrowed brow and a vacant eye. Finally he sprang from his chair with a cry of satisfaction, and walked up and down the room rubbing his hands together. Then he wrote a long telegram upon a cable form. "If my answer to this is as I hope, you will have a very pretty case to add to your collection, Watson," said he. "I expect that we shall be able to go down to Norfolk to-morrow, and to take our friend some very definite news as to the secret of his annoyance."
　　
　　I confess that I was filled with curiosity, but I was aware that Holmes liked to make his disclosures at his own time and in his own way; so I waited until it should suit him to take me into his confidence.
　　
　　But there was a delay in that answering telegram, and two days of impatience followed, during which Holmes pricked up his ears at every ring of the bell. On the evening of the second there came a letter from Hilton Cubitt. All was quiet with him, save that a long inscription had appeared that morning upon the pedestal of the sun-dial. He inclosed a copy of it, which is here reproduced:--
　　
　　GRAPHIC
　　
　　Holmes bent over this grotesque frieze for some minutes, and then suddenly sprang to his feet with an exclamation of surprise and dismay. His face was haggard with anxiety.
　　
　　"We have let this affair go far enough," said he. "Is there a train to North Walsham to-night?"
　　
　　I turned up the time-table. The last had just gone.
　　
　　"Then we shall breakfast early and take the very first in the morning," said Holmes. "Our presence is most urgently needed. Ah! here is our expected cablegram. One moment, Mrs. Hudson; there may be an answer. No, that is quite as I expected. This message makes it even more essential that we should not lose an hour in letting Hilton Cubitt know how matters stand, for it is a singular and a dangerous web in which our simple Norfolk squire is entangled."
　　
　　So, indeed, it proved, and as I come to the dark conclusion of a story which had seemed to me to be only childish and bizarre I experience once again the dismay and horror with which I was filled. Would that I had some brighter ending to communicate to my readers, but these are the chronicles of fact, and I must follow to their dark crisis the strange chain of events which for some days made Ridling Thorpe Manor a household word through the length and breadth of England.
　　
　　We had hardly alighted at North Walsham, and mentioned the name of our destination, when the station-master hurried towards us. "I suppose that you are the detectives from London?" said he.
　　
　　A look of annoyance passed over Holmes's face.
　　
　　"What makes you think such a thing?"
　　
　　"Because Inspector Martin from Norwich has just passed through. But maybe you are the surgeons. She's not dead -- or wasn't by last accounts. You may be in time to save her yet -- though it be for the gallows."
　　
　　Holmes's brow was dark with anxiety.
　　
　　"We are going to Ridling Thorpe Manor," said he, "but we have heard nothing of what has passed there."
　　
　　"It's a terrible business," said the station-master. "They are shot, both Mr. Hilton Cubitt and his wife. She shot him and then herself -- so the servants say. He's dead and her life is despaired of. Dear, dear, one of the oldest families in the County of Norfolk, and one of the most honoured."
　　
　　Without a word Holmes hurried to a carriage, and during the long seven miles' drive he never opened his mouth. Seldom have I seen him so utterly despondent. He had been uneasy during all our journey from town, and I had observed that he had turned over the morning papers with anxious attention; but now this sudden realization of his worst fears left him in a blank melancholy. He leaned back in his seat, lost in gloomy speculation. Yet there was much around to interest us, for we were passing through as singular a country-side as any in England, where a few scattered cottages represented the population of to-day, while on every hand enormous square-towered churches bristled up from the flat, green landscape and told of the glory and prosperity of old East Anglia. At last the violet rim of the German Ocean appeared over the green edge of the Norfolk coast, and the driver pointed with his whip to two old brick and timber gables which projected from a grove of trees. "That's Ridling Thorpe Manor," said he.
　　
　　As we drove up to the porticoed front door I observed in front of it, beside the tennis lawn, the black tool-house and the pedestalled sun-dial with which we had such strange associations. A dapper little man, with a quick, alert manner and a waxed moustache, had just descended from a high dog-cart. He introduced himself as Inspector Martin, of the Norfolk Constabulary, and he was considerably astonished when he heard the name of my companion.
　　
　　"Why, Mr. Holmes, the crime was only committed at three this morning. How could you hear of it in London and get to the spot as soon as I?"
　　
　　"I anticipated it. I came in the hope of preventing it."
　　
　　"Then you must have important evidence of which we are ignorant, for they were said to be a most united couple."
　　
　　"I have only the evidence of the dancing men," said Holmes. "I will explain the matter to you later. Meanwhile, since it is too late to prevent this tragedy, I am very anxious that I should use the knowledge which I possess in order to ensure that justice be done. Will you associate me in your investigation, or will you prefer that I should act independently?"
　　
　　"I should be proud to feel that we were acting together, Mr. Holmes," said the inspector, earnestly.
　　
　　"In that case I should be glad to hear the evidence and to examine the premises without an instant of unnecessary delay."
　　
　　Inspector Martin had the good sense to allow my friend to do things in his own fashion, and contented himself with carefully noting the results. The local surgeon, an old, white-haired man, had just come down from Mrs. Hilton Cubitt's room, and he reported that her injuries were serious, but not necessarily fatal. The bullet had passed through the front of her brain, and it would probably be some time before she could regain consciousness. On the question of whether she had been shot or had shot herself he would not venture to express any decided opinion. Certainly the bullet had been discharged at very close quarters. There was only the one pistol found in the room, two barrels of which had been emptied. Mr. Hilton Cubitt had been shot through the heart. It was equally conceivable that he had shot her and then himself, or that she had been the criminal, for the revolver lay upon the floor midway between them.
　　
　　"Has he been moved?" asked Holmes.
　　
　　"We have moved nothing except the lady. We could not leave her lying wounded upon the floor."
　　
　　"How long have you been here, doctor?"
　　
　　"Since four o'clock."
　　
　　"Anyone else?"
　　
　　"Yes, the constable here."
　　
　　"And you have touched nothing?"
　　
　　"Nothing."
　　
　　"You have acted with great discretion. Who sent for you?"
　　
　　"The housemaid, Saunders."
　　
　　"Was it she who gave the alarm?"
　　
　　"She and Mrs. King, the cook."
　　
　　"Where are they now?"
　　
　　"In the kitchen, I believe."
　　
　　"Then I think we had better hear their story at once."
　　
　　The old hall, oak-panelled and high-windowed, had been turned into a court of investigation. Holmes sat in a great, old-fashioned chair, his inexorable eyes gleaming out of his haggard face. I could read in them a set purpose to devote his life to this quest until the client whom he had failed to save should at last be avenged. The trim Inspector Martin, the old, grey-headed country doctor, myself, and a stolid village policeman made up the rest of that strange company.
　　
　　The two women told their story clearly enough. They had been aroused from their sleep by the sound of an explosion, which had been followed a minute later by a second one. They slept in adjoining rooms, and Mrs. King had rushed in to Saunders. Together they had descended the stairs. The door of the study was open and a candle was burning upon the table. Their master lay upon his face in the centre of the room. He was quite dead. Near the window his wife was crouching, her head leaning against the wall. She was horribly wounded, and the side of her face was red with blood. She breathed heavily, but was incapable of saying anything. The passage, as well as the room, was full of smoke and the smell of powder. The window was certainly shut and fastened upon the inside. Both women were positive upon the point. They had at once sent for the doctor and for the constable. Then, with the aid of the groom and the stable-boy, they had conveyed their injured mistress to her room. Both she and her husband had occupied the bed. She was clad in her dress -- he in his dressing-gown, over his night clothes. Nothing had been moved in the study. So far as they knew there had never been any quarrel between husband and wife. They had always looked upon them as a very united couple.
　　
　　These were the main points of the servants' evidence. In answer to Inspector Martin they were clear that every door was fastened upon the inside, and that no one could have escaped from the house. In answer to Holmes they both remembered that they were conscious of the smell of powder from the moment that they ran out of their rooms upon the top floor. "I commend that fact very carefully to your attention," said Holmes to his professional colleague. "And now I think that we are in a position to undertake a thorough examination of the room."
　　
　　The study proved to be a small chamber, lined on three sides with books, and with a writing-table facing an ordinary window, which looked out upon the garden. Our first attention was given to the body of the unfortunate squire, whose huge frame lay stretched across the room. His disordered dress showed that he had been hastily aroused from sleep. The bullet had been fired at him from the front, and had remained in his body after penetrating the heart. His death had certainly been instantaneous and painless. There was no powder-marking either upon his dressing-gown or on his hands. According to the country surgeon the lady had stains upon her face, but none upon her hand.
　　
　　"The absence of the latter means nothing, though its presence may mean everything," said Holmes. "Unless the powder from a badly-fitting cartridge happens to spurt backwards, one may fire many shots without leaving a sign. I would suggest that Mr. Cubitt's body may now be removed. I suppose, doctor, you have not recovered the bullet which wounded the lady?"
　　
　　"A serious operation will be necessary before that can be done. But there are still four cartridges in the revolver. Two have been fired and two wounds inflicted, so that each bullet can be accounted for."
　　
　　"So it would seem," said Holmes. "Perhaps you can account also for the bullet which has so obviously struck the edge of the window?"
　　
　　He had turned suddenly, and his long, thin finger was pointing to a hole which had been drilled right through the lower window-sash about an inch above the bottom.
　　
　　"By George!" cried the inspector. "How ever did you see that?"
　　
　　"Because I looked for it."
　　
　　"Wonderful!" said the country doctor. "You are certainly right, sir. Then a third shot has been fired, and therefore a third person must have been present. But who could that have been and how could he have got away?"
　　
　　"That is the problem which we are now about to solve," said Sherlock Holmes. "You remember, Inspector Martin, when the servants said that on leaving their room they were at once conscious of a smell of powder I remarked that the point was an extremely important one?"
　　
　　"Yes, sir; but I confess I did not quite follow you."
　　
　　"It suggested that at the time of the firing the window as well as the door of the room had been open. Otherwise the fumes of powder could not have been blown so rapidly through the house. A draught in the room was necessary for that. Both door and window were only open for a very short time, however."
　　
　　"How do you prove that?"
　　
　　"Because the candle has not guttered."
　　
　　"Capital!" cried the inspector. "Capital!"
　　
　　"Feeling sure that the window had been open at the time of the tragedy I conceived that there might have been a third person in the affair, who stood outside this opening and fired through it. Any shot directed at this person might hit the sash. I looked, and there, sure enough, was the bullet mark!"
　　
　　"But how came the window to be shut and fastened?"
　　
　　"The woman's first instinct would be to shut and fasten the window. But, halloa! what is this?"
　　
　　It was a lady's hand-bag which stood upon the study table -- a trim little hand-bag of crocodile-skin and silver. Holmes opened it and turned the contents out. There were twenty fifty-pound notes of the Bank of England, held together by an india-rubber band -- nothing else.
　　
　　"This must be preserved, for it will figure in the trial," said Holmes, as he handed the bag with its contents to the inspector. "It is now necessary that we should try to throw some light upon this third bullet, which has clearly, from the splintering of the wood, been fired from inside the room. I should like to see Mrs. King, the cook, again. You said, Mrs. King, that you were awakened by a LOUD explosion. When you said that, did you mean that it seemed to you to be louder than the second one?"
　　
　　"Well, sir, it wakened me from my sleep, and so it is hard to judge. But it did seem very loud."
　　
　　"You don't think that it might have been two shots fired almost at the same instant?"
　　
　　"I am sure I couldn't say, sir."
　　
　　"I believe that it was undoubtedly so. I rather think, Inspector Martin, that we have now exhausted all that this room can teach us. If you will kindly step round with me, we shall see what fresh evidence the garden has to offer."
　　
　　A flower-bed extended up to the study window, and we all broke into an exclamation as we approached it. The flowers were trampled down, and the soft soil was imprinted all over with footmarks. Large, masculine feet they were, with peculiarly long, sharp toes. Holmes hunted about among the grass and leaves like a retriever after a wounded bird. Then, with a cry of satisfaction, he bent forward and picked up a little brazen cylinder.
　　
　　"I thought so," said he; "the revolver had an ejector, and here is the third cartridge. I really think, Inspector Martin, that our case is almost complete."
　　
　　The country inspector's face had shown his intense amazement at the rapid and masterful progress of Holmes's investigation. At first he had shown some disposition to assert his own position; but now he was overcome with admiration and ready to follow without question wherever Holmes led.
　　
　　"Whom do you suspect?" he asked.
　　
　　"I'll go into that later. There are several points in this problem which I have not been able to explain to you yet. Now that I have got so far I had best proceed on my own lines, and then clear the whole matter up once and for all."
　　
　　"Just as you wish, Mr. Holmes, so long as we get our man."
　　
　　"I have no desire to make mysteries, but it is impossible at the moment of action to enter into long and complex explanations. I have the threads of this affair all in my hand. Even if this lady should never recover consciousness we can still reconstruct the events of last night and ensure that justice be done. First of all I wish to know whether there is any inn in this neighbourhood known as `Elrige's'?"
　　
　　The servants were cross-questioned, but none of them had heard of such a place. The stable-boy threw a light upon the matter by remembering that a farmer of that name lived some miles off in the direction of East Ruston.
　　
　　"Is it a lonely farm?"
　　
　　"Very lonely, sir."
　　
　　"Perhaps they have not heard yet of all that happened here during the night?"
　　
　　"Maybe not, sir."
　　
　　Holmes thought for a little and then a curious smile played over his face.
　　
　　"Saddle a horse, my lad," said he. "I shall wish you to take a note to Elrige's Farm."
　　
　　He took from his pocket the various slips of the dancing men. With these in front of him he worked for some time at the study-table. Finally he handed a note to the boy, with directions to put it into the hands of the person to whom it was addressed, and especially to answer no questions of any sort which might be put to him. I saw the outside of the note, addressed in straggling, irregular characters, very unlike Holmes's usual precise hand. It was consigned to Mr. Abe Slaney, Elrige's Farm, East Ruston, Norfolk.
　　
　　"I think, inspector," Holmes remarked, "that you would do well to telegraph for an escort, as, if my calculations prove to be correct, you may have a particularly dangerous prisoner to convey to the county gaol. The boy who takes this note could no doubt forward your telegram. If there is an afternoon train to town, Watson, I think we should do well to take it, as I have a chemical analysis of some interest to finish, and this investigation draws rapidly to a close."
　　
　　When the youth had been dispatched with the note, Sherlock Holmes gave his instructions to the servants. If any visitor were to call asking for Mrs. Hilton Cubitt no information should be given as to her condition, but he was to be shown at once into the drawing-room. He impressed these points upon them with the utmost earnestness. Finally he led the way into the drawing-room with the remark that the business was now out of our hands, and that we must while away the time as best we might until we could see what was in store for us. The doctor had departed to his patients, and only the inspector and myself remained.
　　
　　"I think that I can help you to pass an hour in an interesting and profitable manner," said Holmes, drawing his chair up to the table and spreading out in front of him the various papers upon which were recorded the antics of the dancing men. "As to you, friend Watson, I owe you every atonement for having allowed your natural curiosity to remain so long unsatisfied. To you, inspector, the whole incident may appeal as a remarkable professional study. I must tell you first of all the interesting circumstances connected with the previous consultations which Mr. Hilton Cubitt has had with me in Baker Street." He then shortly recapitulated the facts which have already been recorded. "I have here in front of me these singular productions, at which one might smile had they not proved themselves to be the fore-runners of so terrible a tragedy. I am fairly familiar with all forms of secret writings, and am myself the author of a trifling monograph upon the subject, in which I analyze one hundred and sixty separate ciphers; but I confess that this is entirely new to me. The object of those who invented the system has apparently been to conceal that these characters convey a message, and to give the idea that they are the mere random sketches of children.
　　
　　"Having once recognised, however, that the symbols stood for letters, and having applied the rules which guide us in all forms of secret writings, the solution was easy enough. The first message submitted to me was so short that it was impossible for me to do more than to say with some confidence that the symbol XXX stood for E. As you are aware, E is the most common letter in the English alphabet, and it predominates to so marked an extent that even in a short sentence one would expect to find it most often. Out of fifteen symbols in the first message four were the same, so it was reasonable to set this down as E. It is true that in some cases the figure was bearing a flag and in some cases not, but it was probable from the way in which the flags were distributed that they were used to break the sentence up into words. I accepted this as a hypothesis, and noted that E was represented by XXX.
　　
　　"But now came the real difficulty of the inquiry. The order of the English letters after E is by no means well marked, and any preponderance which may be shown in an average of a printed sheet may be reversed in a single short sentence. Speaking roughly, T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R, D, and L are the numerical order in which letters occur; but T, A, O, and I are very nearly abreast of each other, and it would be an endless task to try each combination until a meaning was arrived at. I, therefore, waited for fresh material. In my second interview with Mr. Hilton Cubitt he was able to give me two other short sentences and one message, which appeared -- since there was no flag -- to be a single word. Here are the symbols. Now, in the single word I have already got the two E's coming second and fourth in a word of five letters. It might be `sever,' or `lever,' or `never.' There can be no question that the latter as a reply to an appeal is far the most probable, and the circumstances pointed to its being a reply written by the lady. Accepting it as correct, we are now able to say that the symbols XXX stand respectively for N, V, and R.
　　
　　"Even now I was in considerable difficulty, but a happy thought put me in possession of several other letters. It occurred to me that if these appeals came, as I expected, from someone who had been intimate with the lady in her early life, a combination which contained two E's with three letters between might very well stand for the name `ELSIE.' On examination I found that such a combination formed the termination of the message which was three times repeated. It was certainly some appeal to `Elsie.' In this way I had got my L, S, and I. But what appeal could it be? There were only four letters in the word which preceded `Elsie,' and it ended in E. Surely the word must be `COME.' I tried all other four letters ending in E, but could find none to fit the case. So now I was in possession of C, O, and M, and I was in a position to attack the first message once more, dividing it into words and putting dots for each symbol which was still unknown. So treated it worked out in this fashion:--
　　
　　.M .ERE ..E SL.NE.
　　
　　"Now the first letter CAN only be A, which is a most useful discovery, since it occurs no fewer than three times in this short sentence, and the H is also apparent in the second word. Now it becomes:--
　　
　　AM HERE A.E SLANE.
　　
　　Or, filling in the obvious vacancies in the name:--
　　
　　AM HERE ABE SLANEY.
　　
　　I had so many letters now that I could proceed with considerable confidence to the second message, which worked out in this fashion:--
　　
　　A. ELRI.ES.
　　
　　Here I could only make sense by putting T and G for the missing letters, and supposing that the name was that of some house or inn at which the writer was staying."
　　
　　Inspector Martin and I had listened with the utmost interest to the full and clear account of how my friend had produced results which had led to so complete a command over our difficulties.
　　
　　"What did you do then, sir?" asked the inspector.
　　
　　"I had every reason to suppose that this Abe Slaney was an American, since Abe is an American contraction, and since a letter from America had been the starting-point of all the trouble. I had also every cause to think that there was some criminal secret in the matter. The lady's allusions to her past and her refusal to take her husband into her confidence both pointed in that direction. I therefore cabled to my friend, Wilson Hargreave, of the New York Police Bureau, who has more than once made use of my knowledge of London crime. I asked him whether the name of Abe Slaney was known to him. Here is his reply: `The most dangerous crook in Chicago.' On the very evening upon which I had his answer Hilton Cubitt sent me the last message from Slaney. Working with known letters it took this form:--
　　
　　ELSIE .RE.ARE TO MEET THY GO.
　　
　　The addition of a P and a D completed a message which showed me that the rascal was proceeding from persuasion to threats, and my knowledge of the crooks of Chicago prepared me to find that he might very rapidly put his words into action. I at once came to Norfolk with my friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, but, unhappily, only in time to find that the worst had already occurred."
　　
　　"It is a privilege to be associated with you in the handling of a case," said the inspector, warmly. "You will excuse me, however, if I speak frankly to you. You are only answerable to yourself, but I have to answer to my superiors. If this Abe Slaney, living at Elrige's, is indeed the murderer, and if he has made his escape while I am seated here, I should certainly get into serious trouble."
　　
　　"You need not be uneasy. He will not try to escape."
　　
　　"How do you know?"
　　
　　"To fly would be a confession of guilt."
　　
　　"Then let us go to arrest him."
　　
　　"I expect him here every instant."
　　
　　"But why should he come?"
　　
　　"Because I have written and asked him."
　　
　　"But this is incredible, Mr. Holmes! Why should he come because you have asked him? Would not such a request rather rouse his suspicions and cause him to fly?"
　　
　　"I think I have known how to frame the letter," said Sherlock Holmes. "In fact, if I am not very much mistaken, here is the gentleman himself coming up the drive."
　　
　　A man was striding up the path which led to the door. He was a tall, handsome, swarthy fellow, clad in a suit of grey flannel, with a Panama hat, a bristling black beard, and a great, aggressive hooked nose, and flourishing a cane as he walked. He swaggered up the path as if the place belonged to him, and we heard his loud, confident peal at the bell.
　　
　　"I think, gentlemen," said Holmes, quietly, "that we had best take up our position behind the door. Every precaution is necessary when dealing with such a fellow. You will need your handcuffs, inspector. You can leave the talking to me."
　　
　　We waited in silence for a minute -- one of those minutes which one can never forget. Then the door opened and the man stepped in. In an instant Holmes clapped a pistol to his head and Martin slipped the handcuffs over his wrists. It was all done so swiftly and deftly that the fellow was helpless before he knew that he was attacked. He glared from one to the other of us with a pair of blazing black eyes. Then he burst into a bitter laugh.
　　
　　"Well, gentlemen, you have the drop on me this time. I seem to have knocked up against something hard. But I came here in answer to a letter from Mrs. Hilton Cubitt. Don't tell me that she is in this? Don't tell me that she helped to set a trap for me?"
　　
　　"Mrs. Hilton Cubitt was seriously injured and is at death's door."
　　
　　The man gave a hoarse cry of grief which rang through the house.
　　
　　"You're crazy!" he cried, fiercely. "It was he that was hurt, not she. Who would have hurt little Elsie? I may have threatened her, God forgive me, but I would not have touched a hair of her pretty head. Take it back -- you! Say that she is not hurt!"
　　
　　"She was found badly wounded by the side of her dead husband."
　　
　　He sank with a deep groan on to the settee and buried his face in his manacled hands. For five minutes he was silent. Then he raised his face once more, and spoke with the cold composure of despair.
　　
　　"I have nothing to hide from you, gentlemen," said he. "If I shot the man he had his shot at me, and there's no murder in that. But if you think I could have hurt that woman, then you don't know either me or her. I tell you there was never a man in this world loved a woman more than I loved her. I had a right to her. She was pledged to me years ago. Who was this Englishman that he should come between us? I tell you that I had the first right to her, and that I was only claiming my own."
　　
　　"She broke away from your influence when she found the man that you are," said Holmes, sternly. "She fled from America to avoid you, and she married an honourable gentleman in England. You dogged her and followed her and made her life a misery to her in order to induce her to abandon the husband whom she loved and respected in order to fly with you, whom she feared and hated. You have ended by bringing about the death of a noble man and driving his wife to suicide. That is your record in this business, Mr. Abe Slaney, and you will answer for it to the law."
　　
　　"If Elsie dies I care nothing what becomes of me," said the American. He opened one of his hands and looked at a note crumpled up in his palm. "See here, mister, he cried, with a gleam of suspicion in his eyes, "you're not trying to scare me over this, are you? If the lady is hurt as bad as you say, who was it that wrote this note?" He tossed it forwards on to the table.
　　
　　"I wrote it to bring you here."
　　
　　"You wrote it? There was no one on earth outside the Joint who knew the secret of the dancing men. How came you to write it?"
　　
　　"What one man can invent another can discover," said Holmes. There is a cab coming to convey you to Norwich, Mr. Slaney. But, meanwhile, you have time to make some small reparation for the injury you have wrought. Are you aware that Mrs. Hilton Cubitt has herself lain under grave suspicion of the murder of her husband, and that it was only my presence here and the knowledge which I happened to possess which has saved her from the accusation? The least that you owe her is to make it clear to the whole world that she was in no way, directly or indirectly, responsible for his tragic end."
　　
　　"I ask nothing better," said the American. "I guess the very best case I can make for myself is the absolute naked truth."
　　
　　"It is my duty to warn you that it will be used against you," cried the inspector, with the magnificent fair-play of the British criminal law.
　　
　　Slaney shrugged his shoulders.
　　
　　"I'll chance that," said he. "First of all, I want you gentlemen to understand that I have known this lady since she was a child. There were seven of us in a gang in Chicago, and Elsie's father was the boss of the Joint. He was a clever man, was old Patrick. It was he who invented that writing, which would pass as a child's scrawl unless you just happened to have the key to it. Well, Elsie learned some of our ways; but she couldn't stand the business, and she had a bit of honest money of her own, so she gave us all the slip and got away to London. She had been engaged to me, and she would have married me, I believe, if I had taken over another profession; but she would have nothing to do with anything on the cross. It was only after her marriage to this Englishman that I was able to find out where she was. I wrote to her, but got no answer. After that I came over, and, as letters were no use, I put my messages where she could read them.
　　
　　"Well, I have been here a month now. I lived in that farm, where I had a room down below, and could get in and out every night, and no one the wiser. I tried all I could to coax Elsie away. I knew that she read the messages, for once she wrote an answer under one of them. Then my temper got the better of me, and I began to threaten her. She sent me a letter then, imploring me to go away and saying that it would break her heart if any scandal should come upon her husband. She said that she would come down when her husband was asleep at three in the morning, and speak with me through the end window, if I would go away afterwards and leave her in peace. She came down and brought money with her, trying to bribe me to go. This made me mad, and I caught her arm and tried to pull her through the window. At that moment in rushed the husband with his revolver in his hand. Elsie had sunk down upon the floor, and we were face to face. I was heeled also, and I held up my gun to scare him off and let me get away. He fired and missed me. I pulled off almost at the same instant, and down he dropped. I made away across the garden, and as I went I heard the window shut behind me. That's God's truth, gentlemen, every word of it, and I heard no more about it until that lad came riding up with a note which made me walk in here, like a jay, and give myself into your hands."
　　
　　A cab had driven up whilst the American had been talking. Two uniformed policemen sat inside. Inspector Martin rose and touched his prisoner on the shoulder.
　　
　　"It is time for us to go."
　　
　　"Can I see her first?"
　　
　　"No, she is not conscious. Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I only hope that if ever again I have an important case I shall have the good fortune to have you by my side."
　　
　　We stood at the window and watched the cab drive away. As I turned back my eye caught the pellet of paper which the prisoner had tossed upon the table. It was the note with which Holmes had decoyed him.
　　
　　"See if you can read it, Watson," said he, with a smile.
　　
　　It contained no word, but this little line of dancing men:--
　　
　　GRAPHIC
　　
　　"If you use the code which I have explained," said Holmes, "you will find that it simply means `Come here at once.' I was convinced that it was an invitation which he would not refuse, since he could never imagine that it could come from anyone but the lady. And so, my dear Watson, we have ended by turning the dancing men to good when they have so often been the agents of evil, and I think that I have fulfilled my promise of giving you something unusual for your note-book. Three-forty is our train, and I fancy we should be back in Baker Street for dinner.
　　
　　Only one word of epilogue. The American, Abe Slaney, was condemned to death at the winter assizes at Norwich; but his penalty was changed to penal servitude in consideration of mitigating circumstances, and the certainty that Hilton Cubitt had fired the first shot. Of Mrs. Hilton Cubitt I only know that I have heard she recovered entirely, and that she still remains a widow, devoting her whole life to the care of the poor and to the administration of her husband's estate.