"Do not lose an instant. And, above all, take care of yourself inthe meanwhile, for I do not think that there can be a doubt thatyou are threatened by a very real and imminent danger. How do yougo back?"
"By train from Waterloo."
"It is not yet nine. The streets will be crowded, so I trust thatyou may be in safety. And yet you cannot guard yourself tooclosely."
"I am armed."
"That is well. To-morrow I shall set to work upon your case."
"I shall see you at Horsham, then?"
"No, your secret lies in London. It is there that I shall seekit."
"Then I shall call upon you in a day, or in two days, with newsas to the box and the papers. I shall take your advice in everyparticular." He shook hands with us and took his leave. Outsidethe wind still screamed and the rain splashed and patteredagainst the windows. This strange, wild story seemed to have cometo us from amid the mad elements--blown in upon us like a sheetof sea-weed in a gale--and now to have been reabsorbed by themonce more.
Sherlock Holmes sat for some time in silence, with his head sunkforward and his eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire. Then helit his pipe, and leaning back in his chair he watched the bluesmoke-rings as they chased each other up to the ceiling.
"I think, Watson," he remarked at last, "that of all our cases wehave had none more fantastic than this."
"Save, perhaps, the Sign of Four."
"Well, yes. Save, perhaps, that. And yet this John Openshaw seemsto me to be walking amid even greater perils than did theSholtos."
"But have you," I asked, "formed any definite conception as towhat these perils are?"
"There can be no question as to their nature," he answered.
"Then what are they? Who is this K. K. K., and why does he pursuethis unhappy family?"
Sherlock Holmes closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon thearms of his chair, with his finger-tips together. "The idealreasoner," he remarked, "would, when he had once been shown asingle fact in all its bearings, deduce from it not only all thechain of events which led up to it but also all the results whichwould follow from it. As Cuvier could correctly describe a wholeanimal by the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer whohas thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidentsshould be able to accurately state all the other ones, bothbefore and after. We have not yet grasped the results which thereason alone can attain to. Problems may be solved in the studywhich have baffled all those who have sought a solution by theaid of their senses. To carry the art, however, to its highestpitch, it is necessary that the reasoner should be able toutilise all the facts which have come to his knowledge; and thisin itself implies, as you will readily see, a possession of allknowledge, which, even in these days of free education andencyclopaedias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment. It is not
soimpossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledgewhich is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this I haveendeavoured in my case to do. If I remember rightly, you on oneoccasion, in the early days of our friendship, defined my limitsin a very precise fashion."
"Yes," I answered, laughing. "It was a singular document.Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, Iremember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards themud-stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistryeccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crimerecords unique, violin-player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, andself-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco. Those, I think, were themain points of my analysis."
Holmes grinned at the last item. "Well," he said, "I say now, asI said then, that a man should keep his little brain-atticstocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and therest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where hecan get it if he wants it. Now, for such a case as the one whichhas been submitted to us to-night, we need certainly to musterall our resources. Kindly hand me down the letter K of the'American Encyclopaedia' which stands upon the shelf beside you.Thank you. Now let us consider the situation and see what may bededuced from it. In the first place, we may start with a strongpresumption that Colonel Openshaw had some very strong reason forleaving America. Men at his time of life do not change all theirhabits and exchange willingly the charming climate of Florida forthe lonely life of an English provincial town. His extreme loveof solitude in England suggests the idea that he was in fear ofsomeone or something, so we may assume as a working hypothesisthat it was fear of someone or something which drove him fromAmerica. As to what it was he feared, we can only deduce that byconsidering the formidable letters which were received by himselfand his successors. Did you remark the postmarks of thoseletters?"
"The first was from Pondicherry, the second from Dundee, and thethird from London."
"From East London. What do you deduce from that?"
"They are all seaports. That the writer was on board of a ship."
"Excellent. We have already a clue. There can be no doubt thatthe probability--the strong probability--is that the writer wason board of a ship. And now let us consider another point. In thecase of Pondicherry, seven weeks elapsed between the threat andits fulfilment, in Dundee it was only some three or four days.Does that suggest anything?"
"A greater distance to travel."
"But the letter had also a greater distance to come."
"Then I do not see the point."
"There is at least a presumption that the vessel in which the manor men are is a sailing-ship. It looks as if they always sendtheir singular warning or token before them when starting upontheir mission. You see how quickly the deed followed the signwhen it came from Dundee. If they had come from Pondicherry in asteamer they would have arrived almost as soon as their letter.But, as a matter of fact, seven weeks elapsed. I think that thoseseven weeks represented the difference between the mail-boat whichbrought the letter and the sailing vessel which brought thewriter."
"It is possible."
"More than that. It is probable. And now you see the deadlyurgency of this new case, and why I urged young Openshaw tocaution. The blow has always fallen at the end of the time whichit would take the senders to travel the distance. But this onecomes from London, and therefore we cannot count upon delay."
"Good God!" I cried. "What can it mean, this relentlesspersecution?"