No. 5 The Adventure of the Gloria Scott by Arthur Conan Doyle
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. from a grove upon our left I_could already see the high chimneys and_the flag- staff which marked the squire's dwelling .

"' my father made the fellow gardener,' said my companion, ' and then, as_that did_not satisfy him, he_was promoted to_be butler . the house seemed to_be at his mercy, and he wandered about and did what he chose in_it . the maids complained of_his drunken habits and_his vile language . the dad raised their wages all round to recompense them for_the annoyance . the fellow would take_the boat and my father's best gun and treat himself to little shooting trips . and all this with_such asneering, leering, insolent face that i_would_have knocked him down twenty times over if he had_been a man of_my own age .I tell you, Holmes, I_have_had to_keep a tight hold upon myself all this_time; and now I_am asking myself whether, if I had let myself go a little more, I might_not have_been a wiser man .

"' well, matters went from bad to worse with_us, and this animal Hudson became more and more intrusive, until at last, on making some insolent reply to my father in my presence one day, i_took him by_the shoulders and turned him out_of_the room . he slunk away with a livid face and two venomous eyes which uttered more threats than his tongue could do .I don't know what passed between_the poor dad and him after_that, but the dad came to_me next_day and asked me whether i_would mind apologising to Hudson .I refused, as_you_can imagine, and asked my father how he_could allow such a wretch to_take such liberties with himself and_his household .

"'"Ah, my boy," said he, " it_is all very_well to_talk, but you don't know how I_am placed . but you shall know, victor .I'll see that you shall know, come what may . you wouldn't believe harm of your poor old father, would you, lad ? " he_was very_much moved, and shut himself up in_the study all day, where I could_see through_the window that he_was writing busily .

"' that evening there came what seemed to_me to_be a grand release, for Hudson told us that he_was going to leave us . he walked into_the dining- room as_we sat after dinner, and announced his intention in_the thick voice of a half- drunken man .

"'"I've had enough of Norfolk," said he ."I'll run down to Mr Beddoes in Hampshire . he'll be as glad_to_see me as_you were, I dare say ."

"'" you're not going away in any kind of spirit, Hudson, I_hope," said my father, with a tameness which mad my blood boil .

"'"I've not had my 'pology," said he sulkily, glancing in my direction .

"'" victor, you_will acknowledge that you_have used this worthy fellow rather roughly," said the dad, turning to_me .

"'" on_the contrary, i_think that we_have both shown extraordinary patience towards him," I answered .

"'"Oh, you_do, do_you ? " he snarls ." very_good, mate . we'll see about_that ! "

"' he slouched out_of_the room, and half an hour afterwards left the house, leaving my father in a state of pitiable nervousness . night after night I heard him pacing his room, and it_was just as he_was recovering his confidence that_the blow did at last fall .'

"' and how ? ' I asked eagerly .

"' in a most extraordinary fashion .a letter arrived for_my father yesterday evening, bearing the Fordingbridge post- mark . my father read it, clapped both his hands to_his head, and began running round the room in little circles like a man who has_been driven out of_his senses . when I at last drew him down on to_the sofa, his mouth and eyelids were all puckered on one side, and I_saw that he had a stroke .Dr .Fordham came over at once . we put him to bed; but the paralysis has spread, he has shown no sign of returning consciousness, and i_think that we_shall hardly find him alive .'

"' you horrify me, Trevor ! ' I cried .' what then could_have_been in_this letter to cause so dreadful a result ? '

"' nothing . there lies the inexplicable part of it . the message was absurd and trivial .Ah, my god, it_is as I feared ! '

" as he spoke we came round the curve of_the avenue, and saw in_the fading light that every blind in_the house had_been drawn down . as_we dashed up_to_the door, my friend's face convulsed with grief, a gentleman in black emerged from_it .

"' when did it happen, doctor ? ' asked Trevor .

"' almost immediately after you left .'

"' did he recover consciousness ? '

"' for an instant before_the end .'

"' any message for_me .'

"' only that_the papers were in_the back drawer of_the Japanese cabinet .'

" my friend ascended with_the doctor to_the chamber of death, while I remained in_the study, turning the whole matter over and over in my head, and feeling as sombre as ever I had done in my life . what_was the past of_this Trevor, pugilist, traveller, and gold-digger, and how had he placed himself in_the power of_this acid- faced seaman ? why, too, should he faint at an allusion to_the half-effaced initials upon his arm, and die of fright when he had a letter from Fordingham ? then I remembered that Fordingham was in Hampshire, and that_this Mr Beddoes, whom the seaman had gone to visit and presumably to blackmail, had also been mentioned as living in Hampshire . the letter, then, might either come from Hudson, the seaman, saying that he had betrayed the guilty secret which appeared to exist, or it might come from Beddoes, warning an old confederate that such a betrayal was imminent . so_far it seemed clear enough . but then how could this letter be trivial and grotesque, as describe by_the son ? he_must_have misread it . if_so, it must_have been one of_those ingenious secret codes which mean one_thing while they seem to mean another . I_must see this letter . if there were a hidden meaning in_it, i_was confident that I_could pluck it forth . for an hour I sat pondering over it in_the gloom, until at last aweeping maid brought in a lamp, and close at her heels came my friend Trevor, pale but composed, with_these very papers which lie upon my knee held in_his grasp . he sat down opposite to_me, drew the lamp to_the edge of_the table, and handed me a short note scribbled, as you_see, upon a single sheet of grey paper ." the supply of game for London is going steadily up,' it ran .' head- keeper Hudson, we believe, has_been now told to receive all orders for fly- paper and for preservation of you hen- pheasant's life .'

"I dare say my face looked as bewildered as_your did just now when first I_read this message . then I reread it very carefully . it_was evidently as I had thought, and some secret meaning must lie buried in_this strange combination of words . or could it be that there_was aprearranged significance to such phrases as ' fly- paper' and hen- pheasant' ? such ameaning would_be arbitrary and could_not_be deduced in any_way . and yet i_was loath to_believe that_this was_the case, and_the presence of_the word Hudson seemed to show that_the subject of_the message was as I had guessed, and that_it_was from Beddoes rather than_the sailor .I tried it backwards, but the combination ' life pheasant's hen' was not encouraging . then I tried alternate words, but neither ' the of for' nor ' supply game London' promised to throw any light upon it .

" and then in an instant the key of_the riddle was in my hands, and I_saw that every third word, beginning with_the first, would give a message which might well drive old Trevor to despair .

" it_was short and terse, the warning, as I now read it to my companion:

"' the game is up . Hudson has told all . fly for your life .'

" victor Trevor sank his face into his shaking hands, ' it must_be that, I suppose,' said he ." this_is worse than death, for_it means disgrace as_well . but what_is the meaning of_these " head-keepers" and "hen-pheasants" ?

"' it means nothing to_the message, but it might mean a good_deal to_us if_we had no other means of discovering the sender . you_see that he has begun by writing " the .. . game .. . is," and so on .Afterwards he had, to fulfil the prearranged cipher, to_fill in any two words in each space . he_would naturally use the first words which came to_his mind, and if there were so_many which referred to sport among them, you_may_be tolerably sure that he_is either an ardent shot or interested in breeding . do_you_know anything of_this Beddoes ? '

"' why, now that you mention it,' said he, 'I remember that my poor father used to_have an invitation from_him to shoot over his preserves every autumn .'

"' then it_is undoubtedly from_him that_the note comes,' said I .' it only remains for_us to_find out what this secret was which the sailor Hudson seems to_have held over the heads of_these two wealthy and respected men .'

"' alas, Holmes, I_fear that_it_is one of sin and shame ! ' cried my friend .' but from_you I_shall_have no secrets . here_is_the statement which_was drawn up by my father when he_knew that_the danger from Hudson had become imminent . I_found it in_the Japanese cabinet, as he_told the doctor . take it and read it to_me, for I_have neither the strength nor the courage to_do_it myself .'

" these are the very papers, Watson, which he handed to_me, and_I_will read them to_you, as I_read them in_the old study that night to him . they_are endorsed outside, as you_see, ' some particulars of_the voyage of_the bark Gloria Scott, from her leaving Falmouth on_the 8th October, 1855, to her destruction in N .Lat .15 degrees 20', W . long .25 degrees 14' on Nov .6th .' it_is in_the form of a letter, and runs in_this_way:

"' my dear, dear son, now that approaching disgrace begins to darken the closing years of_my life, I_can write with all truth and honesty that_it_is not the terror of_the law, it_is_not the loss of_my position in_the county, nor is_it my fall in_the eyes of all who_have known me, which cuts me to_the heart; but it_is_the thought that you_should come to blush for_me-- you who love me and who_have seldom, I_hope, had reason to_do other_than respect me . but if_the blow falls which_is forever hanging over me, then i_should wish you to read this, that you_may know straight from me how far I_have_been to blame . on_the other hand, if all should go well ( which_may kind god almighty grant ! ), then if by any chance this paper should_be still undestroyed and should fall into your hands, I conjure you, by all you hold sacred, by_the memory of your dear mother, and by_the love which had_been between_us, to hurl it into_the fire and to never give one thought to_it again .

"' if then your eye goes onto read this line, I_know that I_shall already have_been exposed and dragged from my home, or as is more likely, for you_know that my heart is weak, by lying with my tongue sealed forever in death . in either case the time for suppression is past, and every word which I tell you is_the naked truth, and this I swear as I_hope for mercy .

"' my name, dear lad, is_not Trevor . i_was James Armitage in my younger days, and you_can understand now the shock that_it_was to_me a few weeks_ago when your college friend addressed me in words which seemed to imply that he had surprised my secret . as Armitage it was_that I entered a London banking- house, and as Armitage i_was convicted of breaking my country's laws, and was sentenced to transportation . do_not think very harshly of me, laddie . it_was a debt of honour, so called, which I had to_pay, and I used money which_was not my own to_do_it, in_the certainty that I_could replace it before there could_be any possibility of_its being missed . but the most dreadful ill- luck pursued me . the money which I had reckoned upon never came to hand, and a premature examination of accounts exposed my deficit . the case might_have_been dealt leniently with, but the laws were more harshly administered thirty years_ago than now, and on my twenty- third birthday I_found myself chained as a felon with thirty-seven other convicts in 'tween-decks of_the bark Gloria Scott, bound for Australia .

"' it was_the year '55 when_the Crimean war was at its height, and_the old convict sips had_been largely used as transports in_the black sea . the government was compelled, therefore, to use smaller and less suitable vessels for sending out their prisoners . the Gloria Scott had_been in_the Chinese tea- trade, but she was an old- fashioned, heavy- bowed, broad- beamed craft, and_the new clippers had cut her out . she was afive- hundred- ton boat; and besides her thirty-eight jail-birds, she carried twenty-six of a crew, eighteen soldiers, a captain, three mates, a doctor, a chaplain, and four warders . nearly a hundred souls were in her, all told, when we set said from Falmouth .

"' the partitions between_the cells of_the convicts, instead of being of thick oak, as is usual in convict-ships, were quite thin and frail . the man next to_me, upon_the aft side, was one whom I had particularly noticed when we were led down the quay . he_was a young man with a clear, hairless face, a long, thin nose, and rather nut- cracker jaws . he carried his head very jauntily in_the air, had aswaggering style of walking, and was, above all else, remarkable for_his extraordinary height .I don't think any of_our heads would_have come up to_his shoulder, and I_am_sure that he_could_not have measured less_than six and a half feet . it_was strange among so_many sad and weary faces to_see one which_was full of energy and resolution . the sight of it_was to_me like a fire in a snow- storm . i_was glad, then, to_find that he_was my neighbour, and gladder still when, in_the dead of_the night, I heard a whisper close to my ear, and found that he had managed to cut an opening in_the board which separated us .

"'"Hullo, chummy ! " said he, " what's your_name, and what_are you here for ? "

"'I answered him, and asked in turn who i_was talking with .

"I'm jack Prendergast," said he, " and by god ! you'll learn to bless my name before_you've done with me ."

"'I remembered hearing of_his case, for it_was one which had made an immense sensation throughout_the country some_time before my own arrest . he_was a man of good family and of great ability, but on incurably vicious habits, who had be an ingenious system of fraud obtained

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