for him, and in the scuffle he receives his own
death-wound. how is that, mr. sherlock holmes?"
holmes clapped his hands approvingly.
"excellent, lestrade, excellent!" he cried. "but i didn't
quite follow your explanation of the destruction of the
busts."
"the busts! you never can get those busts out of your
head. after all, that is nothing; petty larceny, six
months at the most. it is the murder that we are really
investigating, and i tell you that i am gathering all the
threads into my hands."
"and the next stage?"
"is a very simple one. i shall go down with hill to the
italian quarter, find the man whose photograph we have got,
and arrest him on the charge of murder. will you come with us?"
"i think not. i fancy we can attain our end in a simpler way.
i can't say for certain, because it all depends -- well,
it all depends upon a factor which is completely
outside our control. but i have great hopes -- in fact,
the betting is exactly two to one -- that if you will come
with us to-night i shall be able to help you to lay him by
the heels."
"in the italian quarter?"
"no; i fancy chiswick is an address which is more likely to
find him. if you will come with me to chiswick to-night,
lestrade, i'll promise to go to the italian quarter with
you to-morrow, and no harm will be done by the delay. and
now i think that a few hours' sleep would do us all good,
for i do not propose to leave before eleven o'clock, and it
is unlikely that we shall be back before morning. you'll
dine with us, lestrade, and then you are welcome to the
sofa until it is time for us to start. in the meantime,
watson, i should be glad if you would ring for an express
messenger, for i have a letter to send, and it is important
that it should go at once."
holmes spent the evening in rummaging among the files of
the old daily papers with which one of our lumber-rooms was
packed. when at last he descended it was with triumph in
his eyes, but he said nothing to either of us as to the
result of his researches. for my own part, i had followed
step by step the methods by which he had traced the various
windings of this complex case, and, though i could not yet
perceive the goal which we would reach, i understood
clearly that holmes expected this grotesque criminal to
make an attempt upon the two remaining busts, one of which,
i remembered, was at chiswick. no doubt the object of our
journey was to catch him in the very act, and i could not
but admire the cunning with which my friend had inserted a
wrong clue in the evening paper, so as to give the fellow
the idea that he could continue his scheme with impunity.
i was not surprised when holmes suggested that i should
take my revolver with me. he had himself picked up the
loaded hunting-crop which was his favourite weapon.
a four-wheeler was at the door at eleven, and in it we
drove to a spot at the other side of hammersmith bridge.
here the cabman was directed to wait. a short walk brought
us to a secluded road fringed with pleasant houses, each
standing in its own grounds. in the light of a street lamp
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
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