No. 5 The Five Orange Pips by Arthur Conan Doyle
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of death, had much ado to_persuade myself that he had gone out of_his way to meet it . the matter passed, however, and my father entered into possession of_the estate, and of some 14,000 pounds, which lay to_his credit at_the bank ."

" one moment," Holmes interposed, " your statement is, I foresee, one_of_the_most remarkable to_which I_have ever lis- tened . let me have the date of_the reception by your uncle of_the letter, and_the date of_his supposed suicide ."

" the letter arrived on march 10, 1883 . his death was seven weeks later, upon_the night of may 2d ."

" thank_you . pray proceed ."

" when my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my request, made a careful examination of_the attic, which had_been always locked up . we_found the brass box there, although its contents had_been destroyed . on_the inside of_the cover was a paper label, with_the initials of K .K .K .repeated upon it, and 'Letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register' written beneath . these, we presume, indicated the nature of_the papers which had_been destroyed by colonel Openshaw . for_the rest, there_was nothing of much importance in_the attic save a great_many scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in America . some_of_them were of_the war time and showed that he had done his duty well and had borne the repute of a brave soldier .Others were of a date during the reconstruction of_the southern states, and were mostly concerned with politics, for he had evidently taken a strong part in opposing the carpet- bag politicians who had_been sent down from_the north .

" well, it was_the beginning of '84 when my father came to live at Horsham, and all went as_well as possible with_us until the January of '85 . on_the fourth day after_the new year I heard my father give a sharp cry of surprise as_we sat together at_the breakfast- table . there he_was, sitting with a newly opened enve- lope in one hand and five dried orange pips in_the outstretched palm of_the other one . he had always laughed at what he_called my cock- and- bull story about_the colonel, but he looked very scared and puzzled now that_the same thing had come upon himself .

" ' why, what on earth does this mean, John ? ' he stammered .

" my heart had turned to lead .' it_is K .K .K .,' said I .

" he looked inside the envelope .' so it_is,' he cried .' here are the very letters . but what_is this written above them ? '

" ' put the papers on_the sundial,' I_read, peeping over his shoulder .

" ' what papers ? what sundial ? ' he asked .

" ' the sundial in_the garden . there_is no other,' said I; ' but the papers must_be those that_are destroyed .'

" 'Pooh ! ' said he, gripping hard at his courage .' we_are in a civilized land here, and we_can't have tomfoolery of_this kind . where does the thing come from ? '

" ' from Dundee,' I answered, glancing at_the postmark .

" ' some preposterous practical joke,' said he .' what have I to_do with sundials and papers ? I_shall take no notice of_such nonsense .'

" ' i_should certainly speak to_the police,' I_said .

" ' and be laughed at for_my pains . nothing of_the sort .'

" ' then let me do_so ? '

" ' no, I forbid you .I won't have a fuss made about such nonsense .'

" it_was in vain to argue with_him, for he_was a very obstinate man .I went about, however, with a heart which_was full of forebodings .

" on_the third day after_the coming of_the letter my father went from home to visit an old friend of_his, major Freebody, who_is in command of one_of_the forts upon Portsdown hill . i_was glad that he_should go, for_it seemed to_me that he_was farther from danger when he_was away from home . in_that, however, i_was in error . upon_the second day of_his absence I received a telegram from_the major, imploring me to_come at once . my father had fallen over one_of_the deep chalk-pits which abound in_the neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a shattered skull .I hurried to him, but he passed away without having ever recov- ered his consciousness . he had, as it appears, been returning from Fareham in_the twilight, and as_the country was unknown to him, and_the chalk- pit unfenced, the jury had no hesitation in bringing in a verdict of ' death from accidental causes .' carefully as I examined every fact connected with_his death, i_was unable to_find anything which could suggest the idea of murder . there were no signs of violence, no footmarks, no robbery, no record of strangers having been seen upon_the roads . and yet I_need not tell you that my mind was far from at ease, and_that i_was well- nigh certain that some foul plot had_been woven round him .

" in_this sinister way I_came into my inheritance . you_will ask me why I_did_not dispose of it ? I answer, because i_was well convinced that_our troubles were in some way dependent upon an incident in my uncle's life, and_that the danger would_be as pressing in one house as in another .

" it_was in January, '85, that my poor father met his end, and two years and eight months have elapsed since then . during that_time I_have lived happily at Horsham, and I had begun to hope that_this curse had passed way from_the family, and_that it had ended with_the last generation .I had begun to_take comfort too soon, however; yesterday morning the blow fell in_the very shape in_which it had come upon my father ."

the young man took from_his waistcoat a crumpled envelope, and turning to_the table he shook out upon it five little dried orange pips .

" this_is_the envelope," he continued ." the postmark is London -- eastern division . within are the very words which were upon my father's last message: 'K .K .K .'; and then ' put the papers on_the sundial .' "

" what have_you done ? asked Holmes .

" nothing ."

" nothing ? "

" to_tell the truth" -- he sank his face into his thin, white hands -- " I_have felt helpless . I_have felt like one of_those poor rabbits when_the snake is writhing towards it .I seem_to_be in_the grasp of some resistless, inexorable evil, which no foresight and no precautions can guard against ."

"Tut ! tut ! " cried Sherlock Holmes ." you_must act, man, or you_are lost . nothing but energy can save you . this_is no time for despair ."

" I_have_seen the police ."

"Ah ! "

" but they listened to my story with a smile . I_am convinced that_the inspector has formed the opinion that_the letters are all practical jokes, and_that the deaths of_my relations were really accidents, as_the jury stated, and were_not to_be connected with_the warnings ."

Holmes shook his clenched hands in_the air ." incredible imbecility ! " he cried .

" they_have, however, allowed me a policeman, who_may re- main in_the house with me ."

" has he come with_you to- night ? "

" no . his orders were to stay in_the house ."

again Holmes raved in_the air .

" why did you come to_me," he cried, " and, above all, why did you not come at once ? "

" I_did_not know . it_was only to- day that I spoke to major Prendergast about_my troubles and was advised by him to_come to_you ."

" it_is really two days since you had the letter . we_should_have acted before this . you_have no further evidence, I suppose, than that which you_have placed before_us -- no suggestive detail which might help_us ? "

" there_is one_thing," said John Openshaw . he rummaged in_his coat pocket, and, drawing out a piece of discoloured, blue- tinted paper, he laid it out upon_the table ." I_have some remem- brance," said he, " that on_the day when my uncle burned the papers I observed that_the small, unburned margins which lay amid the ashes were of_this particular colour . I_found this single sheet upon_the floor of_his room, and I_am inclined to_think that_it may_be one_of_the papers which_has, perhaps, fluttered out from among_the others, and in_that way has escaped destruction . beyond the mention of pips, I_do_not_see that_it helps us much . i_think myself that_it_is a page from some private diary . the writing is undoubtedly my uncle's ."

Holmes moved the lamp, and we both bent over the sheet of paper, which showed by its ragged edge that_it had indeed been torn from a book . it_was headed, " march, 1869," and beneath were the following enigmatical notices:

4th . Hudson came . same old platform .

7th . set the pips on McCauley, Paramore, and John swain,

of St .Augustine .

9th .McCauley cleared .

1Oth .John swain cleared .

12th . visited Paramore . all well .

" thank_you ! " said Holmes, folding up the paper and return- ing it to our visitor ." and now you_must on no account lose another instant . we_cannot spare time even to discuss what you_have told me . you_must get home instantly and act ."

" what shall I_do ? "

" there_is but one_thing to_do . it must_be_done at once . you_must put this piece of paper which you_have shown us into_the brass box which you_have described . you_must also put in a note to_say that all the other papers were burned by your uncle, and that_this_is the only_one which remains . you_must assert that in_such words as will carry conviction with_them .Having done this, you_must at once put the box out upon_the sundial, as directed . do_you understand ? "

" entirely ."

" do_not think of revenge, or anything of_the sort, at present . i_think that we_may gain that by_means of_the law; but we_have our web to weave, while theirs is already woven . the first consideration is to remove the pressing danger which threatens you . the second is to clear up the mystery and to punish the guilty parties ."

" i_thank_you," said the young man, rising and pulling on_his overcoat ." you_have given me fresh life and_hope . I_shall certainly do as_you advise ."

" do_not lose an instant . and, above all, take care of yourself in_the meanwhile, for I_do_not_think that there can_be a doubt that you_are threatened by a very real and imminent danger . how do_you go back ?

" by train from Waterloo ."

" it is_not_yet nine . the streets will_be crowded, so l trust that you_may_be in safety . and yet you_cannot guard yourself too closely ."

" I_am armed ."

" that_is well . to- morrow I_shall set to work upon your case ."

" I_shall see you at Horsham, then ? "

" no, your secret lies in London . it is_there that I_shall seek it ."

" then I_shall call upon you in a day, or in two days, with news as_to_the box and_the papers . I_shall take your advice in every particular ." he shook hands with_us and took his leave . outside the wind still screamed and_the rain splashed and pat- tered against the windows . this strange, wild story seemed to_have come to_us from amid the mad elements -- blown in upon us like a sheet of sea- weed in a gale -- and now to_have_been reabsorbed by_them once more .

Sherlock Holmes sat for some_time in silence, with_his head sunk forward and_his eyes bent upon_the red glow of_the fire . then he lit his pipe, and leaning back in_his chair he watched the blue smoke-rings as_they chased each_other up_to_the ceiling .

" i_think, Watson," he remarked at last, " that of all our cases we_have_had none more fantastic than this ." Josef Friedrich, 1906

" save, perhaps, the sign of Four ."

" well, yes . save, perhaps, that . and yet this John Openshaw seems to_me to_be walking amid even greater perils than did the Sholtos ."

" but have_you," I asked, " formed any definite conception as_to what these perils are ? "

" there can_be no question as to_their nature," he answered .

" then what_are they ? who is_this K .K .K ., and why does he pursue this unhappy family ? "

Sherlock Holmes closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon_the arms of_his chair, with_his finger-tips together ." the ideal reasoner," he remarked, " would, when he had once been shown a single fact in all its bearings, deduce from_it not_only all the chain of events which led up to_it but also all the results which would follow from_it . as Cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by_the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer who has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents should_be able to accurately state all the other ones, both before and after . we_have_not_yet grasped the results which the reason alone can attain to .Problems may_be solved in_the study which_have baffled all those who_have sought a solution by_the aid of_their senses . to carry the art, however, to its highest pitch, it_is necessary that_the reasoner should_be able to utilize all the facts which_have come to_his knowledge; and this in itself implies, as_you_will readily see, a possession of all knowledge, which, even in_these days of free education and encyclopaedias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment . it_is_not so impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge which_is likely to_be useful to him in_his work, and this I_have endeav- oured in my case to_do . if I remember rightly, you on one occasion, in_the early days of_our friendship, defined my limits in a very precise fashion ."

" yes," I answered, laughing ." it_was a singular document . philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I remember . botany variable, geology profound as regards the mud-stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime records unique, violin- player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self- poisoner by cocaine and tobacco . those, i_think, were the main points of_my analysis ."

Holmes grinned at_the last item ." well," he_said, " I_say now, as I_said then, that a

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