The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge* by Arthur Conan Doyle
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my only desire is to help the law in every possible way ."

" I_am_sure of it Mr Scott Eccles- I_am_sure of it," said inspector Gregson in a very amiable tone ." I_am bound to_say that everything which you_have said agrees very closely with_the facts as_they_have come to our notice . for example, there_was that note which arrived during dinner . did you chance to observe what became of it ? "

" yes, I_did .Garcia rolled it up and threw it into_the fire ."

" what do_you say to_that, Mr Baynes ? "

the country detective was a stout, puffy, red man, whose face was only redeemed from grossness by two extraordinarily bright eyes, almost hidden behind the heavy creases of cheek and brow . with a slow smile he drew a folded and discoloured scrap of paper from_his pocket .

" it_was a dog- grate, Mr Holmes, and he overpitched it .I picked this out unburned from_the back of it ."

Holmes smiled his appreciation .

" you_must_have examined the house very carefully to_find a single pellet of paper ."

" I_did, Mr Holmes . it's my way . shall I_read it, Mr Gregson ? "

the Londoner nodded .

" the note is written upon ordinary cream-laid paper without watermark . it_is a quarter- sheet . the paper is cut off in two snips with a short-bladed scissors . it_has_been folded over three times and sealed with purple wax, put on hurriedly and pressed down with some flat oval object . it_is addressed to Mr Garcia, wisteria lodge . it says:

" our own colours, green and white . green open, white shut . main stair, first corridor, seventh right, green baize .Godspeed .D . it_is a woman's writing, done with a sharp- pointed pen, but the address is either done with another pen or by someone else . it_is thicker and bolder, as you_see ."

"A very remarkable note," said Holmes, glancing it over ." I_must compliment you, Mr Baynes, upon your attention to detail in your examination of it .a few trifling points might perhaps be added . the oval seal is undoubtedly a plain sleeve- link- what else is of_such a shape ? the scissors were bent nail scissors . short as_the two snips are, you_can distinctly see the same slight curve in each ."

the country detective chuckled .

" i_thought I had squeezed all the juice out of it, but I_see there_was a little over," he_said ."I'm bound to_say that I make nothing of_the note except that there_was something on hand, and_that a woman, as usual, was at_the bottom of it ."

Mr Scott Eccles had fidgeted in_his seat during this conversation .

" I_am_glad you found the note, since it corroborates my story," said he ." but I beg to point out that I_have_not_yet heard what has happened to Mr Garcia, nor what has become of_his household ."

" as_to Garcia," said Gregson, " that_is easily answered . he_was found dead this_morning upon Oxshott common, nearly a mile from_his home . his head had_been smashed to pulp by heavy blows of a sandbag or some such instrument, which had crushed rather than wounded . it_is a lonely corner, and there_is no house within a quarter of a mile of_the spot . he had apparently been struck down first from behind, but his assailant had gone on beating him long after he_was dead . it_was a most furious assault . there_are no footsteps nor any clue to_the criminals ."

" robbed ? "

" no, there_was no attempt at robbery ."

" this_is very painful- very painful and terrible," said Mr Scott Eccles in a querulous voice, " but it_is really uncommonly hard upon me .I had nothing to_do with my host going off upon a nocturnal excursion and meeting so sad an end . how do I come to_be mixed up with_the case ? "

" very simply, sir," inspector Baynes answered ." the only document found in_the pocket of_the deceased was a letter from_you saying that you_would_be with_him on_the night of_his death . it was_the envelope of_this letter which gave_us the dead man's name and address . it_was after nine this_morning when we reached his house and found neither you nor anyone else inside it .I wired to Mr Gregson to run you down in London while I examined wisteria lodge . then I_came into town, joined Mr Gregson, and here we_are ."

" i_think now," said Gregson, rising, " we had best put this_matter into an official shape . you_will come round with_us to_the station, Mr Scott Eccles, and let_us_have your statement in writing ."

" certainly, i_will come at once . but I retain your services, Mr Holmes . I_desire you to spare no expense and no pains to_get at_the truth ."

my friend turned to_the country inspector .

"I suppose that you_have no objection to my collaborating with_you, Mr Baynes ? "

" highly honoured, sir, I_am_sure ."

" you appear to_have_been very prompt and business- like in all that you have_done . was there any clue, may I ask, as_to_the exact hour that_the man met his death ? "

" he had_been there since one o'clock . there_was rain about_that_time, and_his death had certainly been before_the rain ."

" but that_is perfectly impossible, Mr Baynes," cried our client ." his voice is unmistakable . I_could swear to_it that_it_was he who addressed me in my bedroom at_that very hour ."

" remarkable, but by no means impossible," said Holmes, smiling .

" you_have aclue ? " asked Gregson .

" on_the face of it the case is_not a very complex one, though it certainly presents some novel and interesting features .a further knowledge of facts is necessary before i_would venture to_give a final and definite opinion . by_the_way, Mr Baynes, did you find anything remarkable besides this note in your examination of_the house ? "

the detective looked at my friend in a singular way .

" there were," said he, " one_or_two very remarkable things . perhaps when I_have finished at_the police- station you_would care to_come out and give_me your opinion of_them ."

" I_am entirely at your service," said Sherlock Holmes, ringing the bell ." you_will show these gentlemen out, Mrs Hudson, and kindly send the boy with_this telegram . he_is to_pay afive-shilling reply ."

we sat for some_time in silence after our visitors had left .Holmes smoked hard, with_his brows drawn down over his keen eyes, and_his head thrust forward in_the eager way characteristic of_the man .

" well, Watson," he asked, turning suddenly upon me, " what do_you make of it ? "

" I_can make nothing of_this mystification of Scott Eccles ."

" but the crime ? "

" well, taken with_the disappearance of_the man's companions, i_should say that_they were in some way concerned in_the murder and had fled from justice ."

" that_is certainly a possible point of view . on_the face of it you_must admit, however, that_it_is very strange that his two servants should_have_been in a conspiracy against him and should_have attacked him on_the one night when he had a guest . they had him alone at their mercy every_other night in_the week ."

" then why did they fly ? "

" quite so . why did they fly ? there_is a big fact . another big fact is_the remarkable experience of_our client, Scott Eccles . now, my dear Watson, is_it beyond the limits of human ingenuity to_furnish an explanation which would cover both these big facts ? if_it were one which would also admit of_the mysterious note with its very curious phraseology, why, then it would_be worth accepting as a temporary hypothesis . if_the fresh facts which come to our knowledge all fit themselves into_the scheme, then our hypothesis may gradually become a solution ."

" but what_is our hypothesis ? "

Holmes leaned back in_his chair with half- closed eyes .

" you_must admit my dear Watson, that_the idea of a joke is impossible . there were grave events afoot . as_the sequel showed, and_the coaxing of Scott Eccles to wisteria lodge had some connection with_them ."

" but what possible connection ? "

" let_us take it link by link . there_is, on_the face of it, something unnatural about_this strange and sudden friendship between_the young Spaniard and Scott Eccles . it was_the former who forced the pace . he_called upon Eccles at_the other end of London on_the very day after he first met him, and he kept in close touch with_him until he got him down to Esher . now, what did he want with Eccles ? what could Eccles supply ? I_see no charm in_the man . he_is_not particularly intelligent- not a man likely to_be congenial to a quick-witted Latin . why, then, was he picked out from all the other people whom Garcia met as particularly suited to_his purpose ? has he any_one outstanding quality ? I_say that he has . he is_the very type of conventional British respectability, and_the very man as a witness to impress another Briton . you saw yourself how neither of_the inspectors dreamed of questioning his statement, extraordinary as it_was ."

" but what_was he to witness ? "

" nothing, as things turned out, but everything had they gone another way . that_is how I_read the matter ."

" I_see, he_might_have proved an alibi ."

" exactly, my dear Watson; he_might_have proved an alibi . we_will suppose, for arguments sake, that_the household of wisteria lodge are confederates in some design . the attempt, whatever it may_be, is to_come off, we_will say, before one o'clock . by some juggling of_the clocks it_is quite possible that_they may_have got Scott Eccles to bed earlier than he thought but in any case it_is likely that when Garcia went out of_his way to_tell him that_it_was one it_was really not more than twelve . if Garcia could do whatever he had to_do and be back by_the hour mentioned he had evidently a powerful reply to any accusation . here was_this irreproachable Englishman ready to swear in any court of law that_the accused was in_his house all the time . it_was an insurance against the worst ."

" yes, yes, I_see that . but how about_the disappearance of_the others ? "

" I_have_not all my facts yet but I_do_not_think there_are any insuperable difficulties . still, it_is an error to argue in front of your data . you find yourself insensibly twisting them round to fit your theories ."

" and_the message ? "

" how did it run ? ' our own colours, green and white .' Sounds like racing .' green open, white shut .' that_is clearly a signal .' main stair, first corridor, seventh right, green baize .' this_is an assignation . we_may find a jealous husband at_the bottom of it all . it_was clearly a dangerous quest . she_would not have said 'Godspeed' had it not been so .'D'- that should_be a guide ."

" the man was a Spaniard .I suggest_that 'D' stands for Dolores, a common female name in Spain ."

" good, Watson, very_good- but quite inadmissible .a Spaniard would write to a Spaniard in Spanish . the writer of_this note is certainly English . well, we_can only possess our souls in patience until this excellent inspector comes back for_us . meanwhile we_can thank our lucky fate which_has rescued us for a few short hours from_the insufferable fatigues of idleness ."

an answer had arrived to Holmes's telegram before our surrey officer had returned .Holmes read it and was about to_place it in_his notebook when he caught a glimpse of_my expectant face . he tossed it across with a laugh .

" we_are moving in exalted circles," said he .

the telegram was a list of names and addresses:

lord Harringby, the Dingle; sir George Ffolliott, Oxshott Towers; Mr Hynes Hynes, J .P ., Purdey place; Mr James baker Williams, Forton old hall; Mr Henderson, high gable; Rev .Joshua stone, nether Walsling .

" this_is a very obvious way of limiting our field of operations," said Holmes ." no_doubt Baynes, with_his methodical mind, has already adopted some similar plan ."

"I don't quite understand ."

" well, my dear fellow, we_have already arrived at_the conclusion that_the message received by Garcia at dinner was an appointment or an assignation . now, if_the obvious reading of it_is correct and in_order to_keep this tryst one has_to ascend a main stair and seek the seventh door in a corridor, it_is perfectly clear that_the house is a very large one . it_is equally certain that_this house cannot_be more than a mile or two from Oxshott, since Garcia was walking in_that direction and hoped, according to my reading of_the facts, to_be back in wisteria lodge in_time to avail himself of an alibi, which would only be valid up_to one o'clock . as_the number of large houses close to Oxshott must_be limited, I adopted the obvious method of sending to_the agents mentioned by Scott Eccles and obtaining a list of_them . here they_are in_this telegram, and_the other end of_our tangled skein must lie among them ."

it_was nearly six o'clock before we_found ourselves in_the pretty surrey village of Esher, with inspector Baynes as our companion .

Holmes and I had taken things for_the night, and found comfortable quarters at_the bull . finally we set out in_the company of_the detective on_our visit to wisteria lodge . it_was a cold, dark march evening, with a sharp wind and a fine rain beating upon our faces, a fit setting for_the wild common over which our road passed and_the tragic goal to_which it led us .

2 . the tiger of San Pedro

a cold and melancholy walk of a couple of miles brought us to a high wooden gate, which opened into agloomy avenue of chestnuts . the curved and shadowed drive led us to a low, dark house, pitch- black against a slate-coloured sky . from_the front window upon_the left of_the door there peeped a glimmer

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