No. 3 The Adventure of the Dancing Men by Arthur Conan Doyle
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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 awriting- 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 -- atrim 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 atrifling monograph upon_the_subject, in_which I analyse 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 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 .

" 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 ameaning 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 stand respectively for N, V, and R .

" even now i_was in considerable difficulty, but a happy thought

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