No. 8 The Adventure of the Crooked Man by Arthur Conan Doyle
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numerous curiosities in_the house it_is possible that_it may have_been overlooked . nothing else of importance was discovered in_the room by_the police, save the inexplicable fact that neither upon Mrs Barclay's person nor upon that of_the victim nor in any part of_the room was_the missing key to_be found . the door had eventually to_be opened by a locksmith from Aldershot .

" that was_the state of things, Watson, when upon_the Tuesday morning I, at_the request of major Murphy, went down to Aldershot to supplement the efforts of_the police . i_think that you_will acknowledge that_the problem was already one of interest, but my observations soon made me realise that_it_was in truth much more extraordinary than would at first sight appear .

" before examining the room I cross-questioned the servants, but only succeeded in eliciting the facts which I_have already stated . one other detail of interest was remembered by Jane Stewart, the housemaid . you_will remember that on hearing the sound of_the quarrel she descended and returned with_the other servants . on_that first occasion, when she was alone, she says that_the voices of her master and mistress were sunk so low that she_could hear hardly anything, and judged by their tones rather tan their words that_they had fallen out . on my pressing her, however, she remembered that she heard the word David uttered twice by_the lady . the point is of_the utmost importance as guiding us towards the reason of_the sudden quarrel . the colonel's name, you remember, was James .

" there_was one_thing in_the case which had made the deepest impression both upon_the servants and_the police . this_was the contortion of_the colonel's face . it had set, according to_their account, into_the most dreadful expression of fear and horror which a human countenance is capable of assuming . more than one person fainted at_the mere sight of him, so terrible was_the effect . it_was quite certain that he had foreseen his fate, and_that it had caused him the utmost horror . this, of_course, fitted in well enough with_the police theory, if_the colonel could_have seen his wife making a murderous attack upon him . nor was_the fact of_the wound being on_the back of_his head a fatal objection to_this, as he_might_have turned to avoid the blow . no information could_be got from_the lady herself, who was temporarily insane from an acute attack of brain- fever .

" from_the police I learned that miss Morrison, who you remember went out that evening with Mrs Barclay, denied having any knowledge of what it_was which had caused the ill-humour in_which her companion had returned .

"Having gathered these facts, Watson, I smoke several pipes over them, trying to separate those which were crucial from others which were merely incidental . there could_be no question that_the most distinctive and suggestive point in_the case was_the singular disappearance of_the door- key .a most careful search had failed to discover it in_the room . therefore it must_have been taken from_it . but neither the colonel nor the colonel's wife could_have taken it . that was perfectly clear . therefore a third person must_have entered the room . and_that third person could only have come in through_the window . it seemed to_me that a careful examination of_the room and_the lawn might possibly reveal some traces of_this mysterious individual . you_know my methods, Watson . there_was not one_of_them which I_did_not apply to_the inquiry . and ones from those which I had expected . there had_been a man in_the room, and he had crossed the lawn coming from_the road . i_was able to obtain five very clear impressions of_his foot-marks: one in_the roadway itself, at_the point where he had climbed the low wall, two on_the lawn, and two very faint ones upon_the stained boards near the window where he had entered . he had apparently rushed across the lawn, for_his toe-marks were much deeper than his heels . but it_was not the man who surprised me . it_was his companion ."

" his companion ! "

Holmes pulled a large sheet of tissue- paper out of_his pocket and carefully unfolded it upon his knee .

" what do_you make of_that ? " he asked .

the paper was covered with he tracings of_the foot-marks of some small animal . it had five well- marked foot-pads, an indication of long nails, and_the whole print might_be nearly as large as a dessert- spoon .

" it's a dog," said I .

" did you ever hear of a dog running up a curtain ? I_found distinct traces that_this creature had done so ."

"A monkey, then ? "

" but it_is_not the print of a monkey ."

" what can it be, then ? "

" neither dog nor cat nor monkey nor any creature that we_are familiar with . I_have_tried to reconstruct it from_the measurements . here are four prints where the beast has_been standing motionless . you_see that_it_is no less_than fifteen inches from fore- foot to hind . add to that_the length of neck and head, and you get a creature not much less_than two feet long-- probably more if_there_is any tail . but now observe this other measurement . the animal has_been moving, and we_have the length of_its stride . in each_case it_is only about three inches . you_have an indication, you_see, of a long body with very short legs attached to_it . it has_not_been considerate enough to leave any of_its hair behind it . but its general shape must_be what I_have indicated, and it can run up a curtain, and it_is carnivorous ."

" how do_you deduce that ? "

" because it ran up the curtain .a canary's cage was hanging in_the window, and its aim seems to_have_been to_get at_the bird ."

" then what_was the beast ? "

"Ah, if I_could give it a name it might go a long way towards solving the case . on_the whole, it_was probably some creature of_the weasel and stoat tribe-- and yet it_is larger than any of_these that I_have_seen ."

" but what had it to_do with_the crime ? "

" that, also, is still obscure . but we_have learned a good_deal, you perceive . we_know that a man stood in_the road looking at_the quarrel between_the Barclays-- the blinds were up and_the room lighted . we_know, also, that he ran across the lawn, entered the room, accompanied by a strange animal, and_that he either struck the colonel or, as is equally possible, that_the colonel fell down from sheer fright at_the sight of him, and cut his head on_the corner of_the fender . finally, we_have the curious fact that_the intruder carried away the key with_him when he left ."

" you discoveries seem to_have left the business more obscure that_it_was before," said I .

" quite so . they undoubtedly showed that_the affair was much deeper than was at first conjectured . i_thought the matter over, and I_came to_the conclusion that I_must approach the case from another aspect . but really, Watson, I_am keeping you up, and I_might just as_well tell you all this on_our way to Aldershot to- morrow ."

" thank_you, you have_gone rather too far to stop ."

" it_is quite certain that when Mrs Barclay left the house at half- past seven she was on good terms with her husband . she was never, as i_think I_have said, ostentatiously affectionate, but she was heard by_the coachman chatting with_the colonel in a friendly fashion . now, it_was equally certain that, immediately on her return, she had gone to_the room in_which she was least likely to_see her husband, had flown to tea as an agitated woman will, and finally, on_his coming in to her, had broken into violent recriminations . therefore something had occurred between seven-thirty and nine o'clock which had completely altered her feelings towards him . but miss Morrison had_been with her during the whole of_that hour and a half . it_was absolutely certain, therefore, in_spite of her denial, that she_must know something of_the matter .

" my first conjecture was, that possibly there had_been some passages between this young lady and_the old soldier, which the former had now confessed to_the wife . that_would account for_the angry return, and also for_the girl's denial that anything had occurred . nor would it be entirely incompatible with most of_the words overhead . but there_was the reference to David, and there_was the known affection of_the colonel for_his wife, to weigh against it, to_say nothing of_the tragic intrusion of_this other man, which might, of_course, be entirely disconnected with what had gone before . it_was not easy to pick one's steps, but, on_the whole, i_was inclined to dismiss the idea that there had_been anything between_the colonel and miss Morrison, but more than ever convinced that_the young lady held the clue as_to what it_was which had turned Mrs Barclay to hatred of her husband . i_took the obvious course, therefore, of calling upon miss M ., of explaining to her that i_was perfectly certain that she held the facts in her possession, and of assuring her that her friend, Mrs Barclay, might find herself in_the dock upon a capital charge unless the matter were cleared up .

" miss Morrison is a little ethereal slip of a girl, with timid eyes and blond hair, but I_found her by no means wanting in shrewdness and common- sense . she sat thinking for some_time after I had spoken, and then, turning to_me with a brisk air of resolution, she broke into a remarkable statement which i_will condense for your benefit .

"'I promised my friend that i_would say nothing of_the matter, and a promise is a promise,; said she; ' but if I_can really help her when so serious a charge is laid against her, and when her own mouth, poor darling, is closed by illness, then i_think I_am absolved from my promise . i_will tell you exactly what happened upon Monday evening .

"' we were returning from_the watt street mission about a quarter to nine o'clock . on_our way we had to_pass through Hudson street, which_is a very quiet thoroughfare . there_is only_one lamp in_it, upon_the left- hand side, and as_we approached this lamp I_saw a man coming towards us with is back very bent, and something like a box slung over one of_his shoulders . he appeared to_be deformed, for he carried his head low and walked with_his knees bent . we were passing him when he raised his face to look at us in_the circle of light thrown by_the lamp, and as he_did so he stopped and screamed out in a dreadful voice, " my god, it's Nancy ! " Mrs Barclay turned as white as death, and would_have fallen down had the dreadful- looking creature not caught hold of her . i_was going to_call for_the police, but she, to my surprise, spoke quite civilly to_the fellow .

" ' " i_thought you had_been dead this thirty years, Henry," said she, in ashaking voice .

" ' " so I_have," said he, and it_was awful to hear the tones that he_said it in . he had a very dark, fearsome face, and a gleam in_his eyes that comes back to_me in my dreams . his hair and whiskers were shot with grey, and_his face was all crinkled and puckered like a withered apple .

" ' " just walk on a little way, dear," said Mrs Barclay; " i_want to_have a word with_this man . there_is nothing to_be afraid of ." she tried to_speak boldly, but she was still deadly pale and could hardly get her words out for_the trembling of her lips .

" ' I_did as she asked me, and_they talked together for_a_few_minutes . then she came down the street with her eyes blazing, and I_saw the crippled wretch standing by_the lamp- post and shaking his clenched fists in_the air as_if he were made with rage . she never said a word until we were at_the door here, when she took me by_the hand and begged me to_tell no one what had happened .

" ' " it's an old acquaintance of_mine who has_come down in_the_world," said she . when I promised her i_would say nothing she kissed me, and I_have never seen her since . I_have told you now the whole truth, and if I withheld it from_the police it_is because I_did_not realise then the danger in_which my dear friend stood . I_know that_it can only be to her advantage that everything should_be known .'

" there_was her statement, Watson, and to_me, as_you_can imagine, it_was like a light on a dark night . everything which had_been disconnected before began at once to assume its true place, and I had a shadowy presentiment of_the whole sequence of events . my next step obviously was to_find the man who had produced such a remarkable impression upon Mrs Barclay . if he were still in Aldershot it should_not_be a very difficult matter . there_are not such a very great number of civilians, and a deformed man was sure to_have attracted attention .I spent a day in_the search, and by evening-- this very evening, Watson--I had run him down . the man's name is Henry wood, and he lives in lodgings in_this same street in_which_the ladies met him . he has only been five days in_the place . in_the character of a registration- agent I had a most interesting gossip with_his landlady . the man is by trade a conjurer and performer, going

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