No. 8 The Adventure of the Six Napoleons by Arthur Conan Doyle
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we read " laburnum villa" upon_the gate- post of one_of_them . the occupants had evidently retired to rest, for all was dark save for a fanlight over the hall door, which shed a single blurred circle on to_the garden path . the wooden fence which separated the grounds from_the road threw a dense black shadow upon_the inner side, and here it was_that we crouched .

" I_fear that you'll have a long wait," Holmes whispered ." we_may thank our stars that_it_is not raining .I don't think we_can even venture to smoke to_pass the time . however, it's a two to one chance that we get something to_pay us for_our trouble ."

it proved, however, that_our vigil was not to_be so_long as Holmes had led us to fear, and it ended in a very sudden and singular fashion . in an instant, without the least sound to warn us of_his coming, the garden gate swung open, and a lithe, dark figure, as swift and active as an ape, rushed up the garden path . we saw it whisk past the light thrown from over the door and disappear against the black shadow of_the house . there_was a long pause, during which we held our breath, and then a very gentle creaking sound came to our ears . the window was being opened . the noise ceased, and again there_was a long silence . the fellow was making his way into_the house . we saw the sudden flash of a dark lantern inside the room . what he sought was evidently not there, for again we saw the flash through another blind, and then through another .

" let_us get to_the open window . we_will nab him as he climbs out," Lestrade whispered .

but before we_could move the man had emerged again . as he_came out into_the glimmering patch of light we saw that he carried something white under his arm . he looked stealthily all round him . the silence of_the deserted street reassured him .Turning his back upon us he laid down his burden, and_the next instant there_was the sound of a sharp tap, followed by a clatter and rattle . the man was so intent upon what he_was doing that he never heard our steps as_we stole across the grass plot . with_the bound of a tiger Holmes was on_his back, and an instant later Lestrade and I had him by either wrist and_the handcuffs had_been fastened . as_we turned him over I_saw a hideous, sallow face, with writhing, furious features, glaring up at us, and I_knew that_it_was indeed the man of_the photograph whom we had secured .

but it_was not our prisoner to_whom Holmes was giving his attention . squatted on_the doorstep, he_was engaged in most carefully examining that which the man had brought from_the house . it_was a bust of napoleon like the one which we had seen that morning, and it had_been broken into similar fragments . carefully Holmes held each separate shard to_the light, but in no way did it differ from any_other shattered piece of plaster . he had just completed his examination when_the hall lights flew up, the door opened, and_the owner of_the house, a jovial, rotund figure in shirt and trousers, presented himself .

" Mr Josiah brown, I suppose ? " said Holmes .

" yes, sir; and you, no_doubt, are Mr Sherlock Holmes ? I had the note which you sent by_the express messenger, and I_did exactly what you told me . we locked every door on_the inside and awaited developments . well, I'm very glad_to_see that you_have got the rascal . I_hope, gentlemen, that you_will come in and_have some refreshment ."

however, Lestrade was anxious to_get his man into safe quarters, so within a few_minutes our cab had_been summoned and we were all four upon our way to London . not a word would our captive say; but he glared at us from_the shadow of_his matted hair, and once, when my hand seemed within his reach, he snapped at it like a hungry wolf . we stayed long enough at_the police- station to learn that a search of_his clothing revealed nothing save a few shillings and a long sheath knife, the handle of_which bore copious traces of recent blood .

" that's all right," said Lestrade, as_we parted ." hill knows all these gentry, and he_will give a name to him . you'll find that my theory of_the Mafia will work out all right . but I'm sure I_am exceedingly obliged to_you, Mr Holmes, for_the workmanlike way in_which_you laid hands upon him .I don't quite understand it all yet ."

" I_fear it_is rather too late an hour for explanations," said Holmes ." besides, there_are one_or_two details which are_not finished off, and it_is one of_those cases which are worth working out to_the very end . if_you_will come round once more to my rooms at six o'clock to- morrow i_think I_shall_be_able to show you that even now you_have_not grasped the entire meaning of_this business, which presents some features which make it absolutely original in_the history of crime . if ever I permit you to chronicle any more of_my little problems, Watson, I foresee that you_will enliven your pages by an account of_the singular adventure of_the Napoleonic busts ."

when we met again next evening Lestrade was furnished with much information concerning our prisoner . his name, it appeared, was Beppo, second name unknown . he_was a well- known ne'er- do- well among_the Italian colony . he had once been askilful sculptor and had earned an honest living, but he had taken to evil courses and had twice already been in gaol -- once for a petty theft and once, as_we had already heard, for stabbing a fellow- countryman . he_could talk English perfectly well . his reasons for destroying the busts were still unknown, and he refused to answer any questions upon_the_subject; but the police had discovered that_these same busts might very_well have_been made by his own hands, since he_was engaged in_this class of work at_the establishment of Gelder and Co . to all this_information, much of_which we already knew, Holmes listened with polite attention; but I, who knew him so_well, could clearly see that his thoughts were elsewhere, and I detected a mixture of mingled uneasiness and expectation beneath that mask which he_was wont to assume . at last he started in_his chair and_his eyes brightened . there had_been a ring at_the bell .a minute later we heard steps upon_the stairs, and an elderly, red- faced man with grizzled side-whiskers was ushered in . in_his right hand he carried an old- fashioned carpet- bag, which he placed upon_the table .

" is Mr Sherlock Holmes here ? "

my friend bowed and smiled ." Mr Sandeford, of Reading, I suppose ? " said he .

" yes, sir, I_fear that I_am a little late; but the trains were awkward . you wrote to_me about a bust that_is in my possession ."

" exactly ."

" I_have your letter here . you said, ` I_desire to possess a copy of Devine's napoleon, and am prepared to_pay you ten pounds for_the one which_is in your possession .' is_that right ? "

" certainly ."

" i_was very_much surprised at your letter, for I_could_not imagine how you_knew that I owned such a thing ."

" of_course you_must_have been surprised, but the explanation is very simple .Mr Harding, of Harding Brothers, said that_they had sold you their last copy, and he_gave me your address ."

"Oh, that was_it, was_it ? did he tell you what I paid for_it ? "

" no, he_did_not ."

" well, I_am an honest man, though not a very rich one .I only gave fifteen shillings for_the bust, and i_think you ought to_know that before I take ten pounds from_you ."

" I_am_sure the scruple does you honour, Mr Sandeford . but I_have named that price, so I intend to stick to_it ."

" well, it_is very handsome of you, Mr Holmes .I brought the bust up with me, as_you asked me to_do . here it_is ! " he opened his bag, and at last we saw placed upon our table a complete specimen of_that bust which we had already seen more than once in fragments .

Holmes took a paper from_his pocket and laid aten- pound note upon_the table .

" you_will kindly sign that paper, Mr Sandeford, in_the presence of_these witnesses . it_is simply to_say that you transfer every possible right that you ever had in_the bust to_me . I_am a methodical man, you_see, and you never know what turn events might take afterwards . thank_you, Mr Sandeford; here_is your money, and i_wish you a very_good evening ."

when our visitor had disappeared Sherlock Holmes's movements were such as_to rivet our attention . he began by taking a clean white cloth from a drawer and laying it over the table . then he placed his newly- acquired bust in_the centre of_the cloth . finally, he picked up his hunting- crop and struck napoleon a sharp blow on_the top of_the head . the figure broke into fragments, and Holmes bent eagerly over the shattered remains . next instant, with a loud shout of triumph, he held up one splinter, in_which a round, dark object was fixed like a plum in apudding .

" gentlemen," he cried, " let me introduce you to_the famous black pearl of_the Borgias ."

Lestrade and I sat silent for a moment, and then, with a spontaneous impulse, we both broke out clapping as at_the well- wrought crisis of a play .a flush of colour sprang to Holmes's pale cheeks, and he bowed to_us like the master dramatist who receives the homage of_his audience . it_was at such moments that for an instant he ceased to_be areasoning machine, and betrayed his human love for admiration and applause . the same singularly proud and reserved nature which turned away with disdain from popular notoriety was capable of being moved to its depths by spontaneous wonder and praise from a friend .

" yes, gentlemen," said he, " it_is_the most famous pearl now existing in_the_world, and it_has_been my good fortune, by aconnected chain of inductive reasoning, to trace it from_the prince of Colonna's bedroom at_the Dacre hotel, where it_was lost, to_the interior of_this, the last of_the six busts of napoleon which were manufactured by Gelder and Co ., of Stepney . you_will remember, Lestrade, the sensation caused by_the disappearance of_this valuable jewel, and_the vain efforts of_the London police to recover it . i_was myself consulted upon_the case; but i_was unable to throw any light upon it . suspicion fell upon_the maid of_the princess, who was an Italian, and it_was proved that she had a brother in London, but we failed to trace any connection between_them . the maid's name was Lucretia Venucci, and there_is no_doubt in my mind that_this Pietro who was murdered two nights ago was_the brother . I_have_been looking up the dates in_the old files of_the paper, and I_find that_the disappearance of_the pearl was exactly two days before_the arrest of Beppo for some crime of violence, an event which took place in_the factory of Gelder and Co ., at_the very moment when these busts were being made . now you clearly see the sequence of events, though you_see them, of_course, in_the inverse order to_the way in_which they presented themselves to_me .Beppo had the pearl in_his possession . he_may_have stolen it from Pietro, he_may_have been Pietro's confederate, he_may_have been the go- between of Pietro and_his sister . it_is of no consequence to_us which_is the correct solution .

" the main fact is_that he had the pearl, and at_that moment, when it_was on_his person, he_was pursued by_the police . he_made for_the factory in_which he worked, and he_knew that he had only a few_minutes in_which to conceal this enormously valuable prize, which would otherwise be found on him when he_was searched .Six plaster casts of napoleon were drying in_the passage . one_of_them was still soft . in an instant Beppo, askilful workman, made a small hole in_the wet plaster, dropped in_the pearl, and with a few touches covered over the aperture once more . it_was an admirable hiding- place . no one could possibly find it . but Beppo was condemned to a year's imprisonment, and in_the meanwhile his six busts were scattered over London . he_could_not tell which contained his treasure . only by breaking them could he see . even shaking would tell him nothing, for as_the plaster was wet it_was probable that_the pearl would adhere to_it -- as, in_fact, it has_done .Beppo did_not despair, and he conducted his search with considerable ingenuity and perseverance . through a cousin who works with Gelder he_found out the retail firms who had bought the busts . he managed to_find employment with Morse Hudson, and in_that way tracked down three of_them . the pearl was not there . then, with_the help of some Italian EMPLOYE, he succeeded in finding out where the other three busts had gone . the first was at Harker's . there he_was dogged by his confederate, who held Beppo responsible for_the loss of_the pearl, and he stabbed him in_the scuffle which followed ."

" if he_was his confederate why should he carry his photograph ? " I asked .

" as ameans of tracing him if he_wished to inquire about him from any third person . that was_the obvious reason . well, after_the murder I calculated that Beppo would probably hurry rather than delay his movements . he_would fear that_the police would read his secret, and so he hastened on before_they should get ahead of him . of_course, I could_not_say that he had_not found the pearl in Harker's bust .I had_not even concluded for certain that_it_was the pearl; but it_was evident to_me that he_was looking for something, since he carried the bust past the other houses in_order to break it in_the garden which had a lamp overlooking it . since Harker's bust was one in three the chances were exactly as i_told you, two to one against the pearl being inside it . there remained two busts, and it_was obvious that he_would go for_the London one first .I warned the inmates of_the house, so as_to avoid a second tragedy, and we went down with_the happiest results . by_that_time, of_course, I_knew for certain that_it_was the Borgia pearl that we were after . the name of_the murdered man linked the one event with_the other . there only remained a single bust -- the Reading one -- and_the pearl must_be there .I bought it in your presence from_the owner -- and there it lies ."

we sat in silence for a moment .

" well," said Lestrade, "I've seen you handle a good_many cases, Mr Holmes, but I don't know that I ever knew a more workmanlike one than that . we're not jealous of you at Scotland yard . no, sir, we_are very proud of you, and if_you come down to- morrow there's not a man, from_the oldest inspector to_the youngest constable, who wouldn't be_glad to shake you by_the hand ."

" thank_you ! " said Holmes ." thank_you ! " and as he turned away it seemed to_me that he_was more nearly moved by_the softer human emotions than I had ever seen him .a moment later he was_the cold and practical thinker once more ." put the pearl in_the safe, Watson," said he, " and get out the papers of_the Conk- singleton forgery case . good-bye, Lestrade . if any little problem comes your way I_shall_be happy, if I_can, to_give_you a hint or two as_to its solution ."

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