“Well, that is part of the risk. There is no other possible way ofregaining these letters. The unfortunate lady has not the money,and there are none of her people in whom she could confide. Tomorrowis the last day of grace, and unless we can get the lettersto-night, this villain will be as good as his word and will bringabout her ruin. I must, therefore, abandon my client to her fateor I must play this last card. Between ourselves, Watson, it’s asporting duel between this fellow Milverton and me. He had, asyou saw, the best of the first exchanges, but my self-respect andmy reputation are concerned to fight it to a finish.”
“Well, I don’t like it, but I suppose it must be,” said I. “Whendo we start?”
“You are not coming.”
“Then you are not going,” said I. “I give you my word ofhonour—and I never broke it in my life—that I will take a cabstraight to the police-station and give you away, unless you let meshare this adventure with you.”
“You can’t help me.”
Anyway, my resolution is taken. Other people besides you haveself-respect, and even reputations.”
Holmes had looked annoyed, but his brow cleared, and heclapped me on the shoulder.
“Well, well, my dear fellow, be it so. We have shared this sameroom for some years, and it would be amusing if we ended bysharing the same cell. You know, Watson, I don’t mind confessingto you that I have always had an idea that I would have madea highly efficient criminal. This is the chance of my lifetime inthat direction. See here!” He took a neat little leather case outof a drawer, and opening it he exhibited a number of shininginstruments. “This is a first-class, up-to-date burgling kit, withnickel-plated jemmy, diamond-tipped glass-cutter, adaptable keys,and every modern improvement which the march of civilizationdemands. Here, too, is my dark lantern. Everything is in order.
Have you a pair of silent shoes?”
“I have rubber-soled tennis shoes.”
“Excellent! And a mask?”
“I can make a couple out of black silk.”
“I can see that you have a strong, natural turn for this sort ofthing. Very good, do you make the masks. We shall have some coldsupper before we start. It is now nine-thirty. At eleven we shalldrive as far as Church Row. It is a quarter of an hour’s walk fromthere to Appledore Towers. We shall be at work before midnight.
Milverton is a heavy sleeper, and retires punctually at ten-thirty.
With any luck we should be back here by two, with the Lady Eva’sletters in my pocket.”
Holmes and I put on our dress-clothes, so that we might appear tobe two theatre-goers homeward bound. In Oxford Street we pickedup a hansom and drove to an address in Hampstead. Here we paid offour cab, and with our great coats buttoned up, for it was bitterly cold,and the wind seemed to blow through us, we walked along the edgeof the heath.
“It’s a business that needs delicate treatment,” said Holmes.
“These documents are contained in a safe in the fellow’s study,and the study is the ante-room of his bed-chamber. On the otherhand, like all these stout, little men who do themselves well, he isa plethoric sleeper. Agatha—that’s my fiancee—says it is a joke inthe servants’ hall that it’s impossible to wake the master. He has asecretary who is devoted to his interests, and never budges fromthe study all day. That’s why we are going at night. Then he has abeast of a dog which roams the garden. I met Agatha late the lasttwo evenings, and she locks the brute up so as to give me a clearrun. This is the house, this big one in its own grounds. Through974 The Complete Sherlock Holmes the gate—now to the right among the laurels. We might put onour masks here, I think. You see, there is not a glimmer of light inany of the windows, and everything is working splendidly.”
With our black silk face-coverings, which turned us into twoof the most truculent figures in London, we stole up to the silent,gloomy house. A sort of tiled veranda extended along one side ofit, lined by several windows and two doors.
“That’s his bedroom,” Holmes whispered. “This door opensstraight into the study. It would suit us best, but it is bolted as wellas locked, and we should make too much noise getting in. Comeround here. There’s a greenhouse which opens into the drawingroom.”
The place was locked, but Holmes removed a circle of glassand turned the key from the inside. An instant afterwards he hadclosed the door behind us, and we had become felons in the eyesof the law. The thick, warm air of the conservatory and the rich,choking fragrance of exotic plants took us by the throat. He seizedmy hand in the darkness and led me swiftly past banks of shrubswhich brushed against our faces. Holmes had remarkable powers,carefully cultivated, of seeing in the dark. Still holding my handin one of his, he opened a door, and I was vaguely conscious thatwe had entered a large room in which a cigar had been smokednot long before. He felt his way among the furniture, openedanother door, and closed it behind us. Putting out my hand I feltseveral coats hanging from the wall, and I understood that I wasin a passage. We passed along it and Holmes very gently openeddoor upon the right-hand side. Something rushed out at us andmy heart sprang into my mouth, but I could have laughed when Irealized that it was the cat. A fire was burning in this new room,and again the air was heavy with tobacco smoke. Holmes enteredon tiptoe, waited for me to follow, and then very gently closed thedoor. We were in Milverton’s study, and a portiere at the fartherside showed the entrance to his bedroom.