But hardly had the woman rushed from the room when Holmes,with swift, silent steps, was over at the other door. He turned thekey in the lock. At the same instant we heard voices in the houseand the sound of hurrying feet. The revolver shots had roused thehousehold. With perfect coolness Holmes slipped across to thesafe, filled his two arms with bundles of letters, and poured themall into the fire. Again and again he did it, until the safe was empty.
Someone turned the handle and beat upon the outside of thedoor. Holmes looked swiftly round. The letter which had been themessenger of death for Milverton lay, all mottled with his blood,upon the table. Holmes tossed it in among the blazing papers.
Then he drew the key from the outer door, passed through afterme, and locked it on the outside. “This way, Watson,” said he, “wecan scale the garden wall in this direction.”
The Return of Sherlock Holmes 979 I could not have believed that an alarm could have spread soswiftly. Looking back, the huge house was one blaze of light. Thefront door was open, and figures were rushing down the drive.
The whole garden was alive with people, and one fellow raised aview-halloa as we emerged from the veranda and followed hard atour heels. Holmes seemed to know the grounds perfectly, and hethreaded his way swiftly among a plantation of small trees, I closeat his heels, and our foremost pursuer panting behind us. It wasa six-foot wall which barred our path, but he sprang to the topand over. As I did the same I felt the hand of the man behind megrab at my ankle, but I kicked myself free and scrambled over agrass-strewn coping. I fell upon my face among some bushes, butHolmes had me on my feet in an instant, and together we dashedaway across the huge expanse of Hampstead Heath. We had runtwo miles, I suppose, before Holmes at last halted and listenedintently. All was absolute silence behind us. We had shaken off ourpursuers and were safe.
We had breakfasted and were smoking our morning pipe on theday after the remarkable experience which I have recorded, whenMr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, very solemn and impressive, wasushered into our modest sitting-room.
“Good-morning, Mr. Holmes,” said he; “good-morning. May Iask if you are very busy just now?”
“Not too busy to listen to you.”
“I thought that, perhaps, if you had nothing particular on hand,you might care to assist us in a most remarkable case, whichoccurred only last night at Hampstead.”
“Dear me!” said Holmes. “What was that?”
“A murder—a most dramatic and remarkable murder. I knowhow keen you are upon these things, and I would take it as a greatfavour if you would step down to Appledore Towers, and give usthe benefit of your advice. It is no ordinary crime. We have hadour eyes upon this Mr. Milverton for some time, and, betweenourselves, he was a bit of a villain. He is known to have held paperswhich he used for blackmailing purposes. These papers have allbeen burned by the murderers. No article of value was taken, as itis probable that the criminals were men of good position, whosesole object was to prevent social exposure.”
“Criminals?” said Holmes. “Plural?”
“Yes, there were two of them. They were as nearly as possiblecaptured red-handed. We have their footmarks, we have theirdeion, it’s ten to one that we trace them. The first fellow wasa bit too active, but the second was caught by the under-gardener,and only got away after a struggle. He was a middle-sized, strongly980 The Complete Sherlock Holmes
built man—square jaw, thick neck, moustache, a mask over hiseyes.”
“That’s rather vague,” said Sherlock Holmes. “My, it might be adeion of Watson!”
“It’s true,” said the inspector, with amusement. “It might be adeion of Watson.”
“Well, I’m afraid I can’t help you, Lestrade,” said Holmes.
The fact is that I knew this fellow Milverton, that I consideredhim one of the most dangerous men in London, and that I thinkthere are certain crimes which the law cannot touch, and whichtherefore, to some extent, justify private revenge. No, it’s no usearguing. I have made up my mind. My sympathies are with thecriminals rather than with the victim, and I will not handle thiscase.”
Holmes had not said one word to me about the tragedy whichwe had witnessed, but I observed all the morning that he was inhis most thoughtful mood, and he gave me the impression, fromhis vacant eyes and his abstracted manner, of a man who is strivingto recall something to his memory. We were in the middle of ourlunch, when he suddenly sprang to his feet. “By Jove, Watson, I’vegot it!” he cried. “Take your hat! Come with me!” He hurried athis top speed down Baker Street and along Oxford Street, until wehad almost reached Regent Circus. Here, on the left hand, therestands a shop window filled with photographs of the celebritiesand beauties of the day. Holmes’s eyes fixed themselves upon oneof them, and following his gaze I saw the picture of a regal andstately lady in Court dress, with a high diamond tiara upon hernoble head. I looked at that delicately curved nose, at the markedeyebrows, at the straight mouth, and the strong little chin beneathit. Then I caught my breath as I read the time-honoured title ofthe great nobleman and statesman whose wife she had been. Myeyes met those of Holmes, and he put his finger to his lips as weturned away from the window.
The Adventure of the Six NapoleonsIt was no very unusual thing for Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard,to look in upon us of an evening, and his visits were welcome toSherlock Holmes, for they enabled him to keep in touch with allthat was going on at the police headquarters. In return for thenews which Lestrade would bring, Holmes was always ready tolisten with attention to the details of any case upon which thedetective was engaged, and was able occasionally, without anyThe Return of Sherlock Holmes 981
active interference, to give some hint or suggestion drawn fromhis own vast knowledge and experience.