The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Part 21 (1/2)
”Ah!” said he, laying down his cup, ”I feared as much Hoas it done?” He spoke calmly, but I could see that he was deeply ht the nae' Here is the account:
”Between nine and ten last night Police-Constable Cook, of the H Division, on duty near Waterloo Bridge, heard a cry for help and a splash in the water The night, however, was extremely dark and stormy, so that, in spite of the help of several passers-by, it was quite iiven, and, by the aid of the water-police, the body was eventually recovered It proved to be that of a young gentleman whose name, as it appears from an envelope which was found in his pocket, was John Openshaw, and whose residence is near Horsha down to catch the last train from Waterloo Station, and that in his haste and the extree of one of the s-places for river steamboats The body exhibited no traces of violence, and there can be no doubt that the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident, which should have the effect of calling the attention of the authorities to the condition of the riverside landing-stages”
We sat in silence for some minutes, Holmes more depressed and shaken than I had ever seen him
”That hurts , no doubt, but it hurts my pride It becomes a personal matter with me now, and, if God sendsThat he should come to me for help, and that I should send hi froitation, with a flush upon his sallow cheeks and a nervous clasping and unclasping of his long thin hands
”Theydevils,” he exclaimed at last ”How could they have decoyed him down there? The Ee, no doubt, was too crowded, even on such a night, for their purpose Well, Watson, we shall see in in the long run I a out now!”
”To the police?”
”No; I shall be my own police When I have spun the web they ed inbefore I returned to Baker Street Sherlock Holmes had not come back yet It was nearly ten o'clock before he entered, looking pale and worn He walked up to the sideboard, and tearing a piece fro it doith a long draught of water
”You are hungry,” I re It had escaped ?”
”Not a bite I had no time to think of it”
”And how have you succeeded?”
”Well”
”You have a clue?”
”I have the reed Why, Watson, let us put their own devilish trade-ht of!”
”What do youit to pieces he squeezed out the pips upon the table Of these he took five and thrust them into an envelope On the inside of the flap he wrote ”S H for J O” Then he sealed it and addressed it to ”Captain Jaia”
”That will await hiive hiht He will find it as sure a precursor of his fate as Openshaw did before him”
”And who is this Captain Calhoun?”
”The leader of the gang I shall have the others, but he first”
”How did you trace it, then?”
He took a large sheet of paper from his pocket, all covered with dates and names
”I have spent the whole day,” said he, ”over Lloyd's registers and files of the old papers, following the future career of every vessel which touched at Pondicherry in January and February in '83 There were thirty-six shi+ps of fair tonnage which were reported there during those months Of these, one, the 'Lone Star,'