No. 3 The Adventure of the Dancing Men by Arthur Conan Doyle
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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:--

" 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":--

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 .

" tell me," said Holmes -- and I could_see by his eyes that he_was much excited -- " was_this amere 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 ahiding 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 enclosed a copy of it, which_is here reproduced .

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 realisation 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

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