lothes detective,
rushed through the front entrance and into the room.
"that you, lestrade?" said holmes.
"yes, mr. holmes. i took the job myself. it's good to see
you back in london, sir."
"i think you want a little unofficial help. three
undetected murders in one year won't do, lestrade. but you
handled the molesey mystery with less than your usual --
that's to say, you handled it fairly well."
we had all risen to our feet, our prisoner breathing hard,
with a stalwart constable on each side of him. already a
few loiterers had begun to collect in the street. holmes
stepped up to the window, closed it, and dropped the
blinds. lestrade had produced two candles and the
policemen had uncovered their lanterns. i was able at last
to have a good look at our prisoner.
it was a tremendously virile and yet sinister face which
was turned towards us. with the brow of a philosopher
above and the jaw of a sensualist below, the man must have
started with great capacities for good or for evil. but
one could not look upon his cruel blue eyes, with their
drooping, cynical lids, or upon the fierce, aggressive nose
and the threatening, deep-lined brow, without reading
nature's plainest danger-signals. he took no heed of any
of us, but his eyes were fixed upon holmes's face with an
expression in which hatred and amazement were equally
blended. "you fiend!" he kept on muttering. "you clever,
clever fiend!"
"ah, colonel!" said holmes, arranging his rumpled collar;
"'journeys end in lovers' meetings,' as the old play says.
i don't think i have had the pleasure of seeing you since
you favoured me with those attentions as i lay on the ledge
above the reichenbach fall."
the colonel still stared at my friend like a man in a
trance. "you cunning, cunning fiend!" was all that he
could say.
"i have not introduced you yet," said holmes. "this,
gentlemen, is colonel sebastian moran, once of her
majesty's indian army, and the best heavy game shot that
our eastern empire has ever produced. i believe i am
correct, colonel, in saying that your bag of tigers still
remains unrivalled?"
the fierce old man said nothing, but still glared at my
companion; with his savage eyes and bristling moustache he
was wonderfully like a tiger himself.
"i wonder that my very simple stratagem could deceive so
old a shikari," said holmes. "it must be very familiar to
you. have you not tethered a young kid under a tree, lain
above it with your rifle, and waited for the bait to bring
up your tiger? this empty house is my tree and you are my
tiger. you have possibly had other guns in reserve in case
there should be several tigers, or in the unlikely
supposition of your own aim failing you. these," he
pointed around, "are my other guns. the parallel is
exact."
colonel moran sprang forward, with a snarl of rage, but the
constables dragged him back. the fury upon his face was
terrible to look at.
"i confess that you had one small surprise for me," said
holmes. "i did not anticipate that you would yourself make
use of this empty house and this convenient front window.
i had imagined you as operating from the street, where
my friend lestrade and his merry men were awaiting you.
with that exception all has gone as i expected."
colonel moran turned to the official detective.
"you may or may not have just cause for arresting me," said
he, "but at least there can be no reason why i should
submit to the gibes of this person. if i am in the hands
of the law let things be done in a legal way."
"well, that's reasonable enough," said lestrade. "nothing
further you have to say, mr. holmes, before we go?"
holmes had picked up the powerful air-gun from the floor
and was examining its mechanism.
"an admirable and unique weapon," said he, "noiseless and
of tremendous power. i knew von herder, the blind german
mechanic, who constructed it to the order of the late
professor moriarty. for years i have been aware of its
existence, though i have never before had an opportunity
of handling it. i commend it very specially to your
attention, lestrade, and also the bullets which fit it."
"you can trust us to look after that, mr. holmes," said
lestrade, as the whole party moved towards the door.
"anything further to say?"
"only to ask what charge you intend to prefer?"
"what charge, sir? why, of course, the attempted murder of
mr. sherlock holmes."
"not so, lestrade. i do not propose to appear in the
matter at all. to you, and to you only, belongs the credit
of the remarkable arrest which you have effected. yes,
lestrade, i congratulate you! with your usual happy
mixture of cunning and audacity you have got him."
"got him! got whom, mr. holmes?"
"the man that the whole force has been seeking in vain --
colonel sebastian moran, who shot the honourable ro
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