The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Part 15 (1/2)
”These are sae half-spoken, half-written conversation Again and again I had to ask hiain and again I had the saht ca on little sentences of my own to each question, innocent ones at first, to test whether either of our co of the ns I played alike this: ”'You can do no good by this obstinacy Who are you?'
”'I care not I aer in London'
”'Your fate will be upon your own head How long have you been here?'
”'Let it be so Three weeks'
”'The property can never be yours What ails you?'
”'It shall not go to villains They are starving n What house is this?'
”'I will never sign I do not know'
”'You are not doing her any service What is your name?'
”'Let me hear her say so Kratides'
”'You shall see her if you sign Where are you from?'
”'Then I shall never see her Athens'
”Another five minutes, Mr Holmes, and I should have wormed out the whole story under their very noses My very next question ht have cleared the matter up, but at that instant the door opened and a woh to know raceful, with black hair, and clad in soown
”'Harold,' said she, speaking English with a broken accent 'I could not stay away longer It is so lonely up there with only--Oh, my God, it is Paul!'
”These last words were in Greek, and at the same instant the man with a convulsive effort tore the plaster fro out 'Sophy! Sophy!' rushed into the woman's arms Their eer man seized the woman and pushed her out of the room, while the elder easily overpowered his eh the other door For ato et a clue to what this house was in which I foundup I saw that the olderin the door-ith his eyes fixed upon me
”'That will do, Mr Melas,' said he 'You perceive that we have taken you into our confidence over some very private business We should not have troubled you, only that our friend who speaks Greek and who began these negotiations has been forced to return to the East It was quite necessary for us to find so of your powers'
”I bowed
”'There are five sovereigns here,' said he, walking up to me, 'which will, I hope, be a sufficient fee But reling, 'if you speak to a human soul about this--one human soul, mind--well, may God haveand horror hich this insignificant-looking ht shone upon him His features were peaky and sallow, and his little pointed beard was thready and ill-nourished He pushed his face forward as he spoke and his lips and eyelids were continually twitching like athat his strange, catchy little laugh was also a symptom of some nervous malady The terror of his face lay in his eyes, however, steel gray, and glistening coldly with a nant, inexorable cruelty in their depths
”'We shall know if you speak of this,' said he 'We have our own , and my friend will see you on your way'
”I was hurried through the hall and into the vehicle, again obtaining that arden Mr Latimer followed closely at my heels, and took his place opposite to ain drove for an interminable distance with the s raised, until at last, just after et down here, Mr Melas,' said my companion 'I am sorry to leave you so far from your house, but there is no alternative Any attee can only end in injury to yourself'
”He opened the door as he spoke, and I had hardly ti out when the coache rattled away I looked around me in astonishment I was on some sort of a heathy common mottled over with dark clumps of furze-bushes Far away stretched a line of houses, with a light here and there in the upper s On the other side I saw the red signal-lahtround and wondering where on earth Itowards me in the darkness As he came up to me I made out that he was a railway porter
”'Can you tell me what place this is?' I asked
”'Wandsworth Coet a train into town?'
”'If you walk on a mile or so to Clapham Junction,' said he, 'you'll just be in time for the last to Victoria'
”So that was the end of my adventure, Mr Holmes I do not knohere I was, nor who save what I have told you But I know that there is foul play going on, and I want to help that unhappy man if I can I told the whole story to Mr Mycroft Hol, and subsequently to the police”
We all sat in silence for so to this extraordinary narrative Then Sherlock looked across at his brother
”Any steps?” he asked
Mycroft picked up the Daily Nehich was lying on the side-table
”'Anybody supplying any inforentleman nalish, will be rewarded A si information about a Greek lady whose first name is Sophy X 2473' That was in all the dailies No answer”
”How about the Greek Legation?”
”I have inquired They know nothing”
”A wire to the head of the Athens police, then?”
”Sherlock has all the energy of the fa to me ”Well, you take the case up by all ood”
”Certainly,” answeredfrom his chair ”I'll let you know, and Mr Melas also In the uard, if I were you, for of course they h these advertisements that you have betrayed theether, Holraph office and sent off several wires
”You see, Watson,” he re has been by nocases have coh Mycroft The probleh it can ad features”
”You have hopes of solving it?”
”Well, knowing as ular indeed if we fail to discover the rest You must yourself have formed some theory which will explain the facts to which we have listened”
”In a vague way, yes”
”What was your idea, then?”
”It seeirl had been carried off by the young Englishman named Harold Latimer”
”Carried off from where?”
”Athens, perhaps”