so dear to me that I could not bear to share it with another. See
that chaplet dipped with pearls beside the quinine-bottle. Even that
I could not bear to part with, although I had got it out with the
design of sending it to her. You, my sons, will give her a fair share
of the Agra treasure. But send her nothing--not even the
chaplet--until I am gone. After all, men have been as bad as this and
have recovered.
"'I will tell you how Morstan died,' he continued. 'He had suffered
for years from a weak heart, but he concealed it from every one. I
alone knew it. When in India, he and I, through a remarkable chain of
circumstances, came into possession of a considerable treasure. I
brought it over to England, and on the night of Morstan's arrival he
came straight over here to claim his share. He walked over from the
station, and was admitted by my faithful Lal Chowdar, who is now
dead. Morstan and I had a difference of opinion as to the division of
the treasure, and we came to heated words. Morstan had sprung out of
his chair in a paroxysm of anger, when he suddenly pressed his hand
to his side, his face turned a dusky hue, and he fell backwards,
cutting his head against the corner of the treasure-chest. When I
stooped over him I found, to my horror, that he was dead.
"'For a long time I sat half distracted, wondering what I should do.
My first impulse was, of course, to call for assistance; but I could
not but recognize that there was every chance that I would be accused
of his murder. His death at the moment of a quarrel, and the gash in
his head, would be black against me. Again, an official inquiry could
not be made without bringing out some facts about the treasure, which
I was particularly anxious to keep secret. He had told me that no
soul upon earth knew where he had gone. There seemed to be no
necessity why any soul ever should know.
"'I was still pondering over the matter, when, looking up, I saw my
servant, Lal Chowdar, in the doorway. He stole in and bolted the door
behind him. "Do not fear, Sahib," he said. "No one need know that you
have killed him. Let us hide him away, and who is the wiser?" "I did
not kill him," said I. Lal Chowdar shook his head and smiled. "I
heard it all, Sahib," said he. "I heard you quarrel, and I heard the
blow. But my lips are sealed. All are asleep in the house. Let us put
him away together." That was enough to decide met. If my own servant
could not believe my innocence, how could I hope to make it good
before twelve foolish tradesmen in a jury-box? Lal Chowdar and I
disposed of the body that night, and within a few days the London
papers were full of the mysterious disappearance of Captain Morstan.
You will see from what I say that I can hardly be blamed in the
matter. My fault lies in the fact that we concealed not only the
body, but also the treasure, and that I have clung to Morstan's share
as well as to my own. I wish you, therefore, to make restitution. Put
your ears down to my mouth. The treasure is hidden in--At this
instant a horrible change came over his expression; his eyes stared
wildly, his jaw dropped, and he yelled, in a voice which I can never
forget, 'Keep him out! For Christ's sake keep him out'! We both
stared round at the window behind us upon which his gaze was fixed. A
face was looking in at us out of the darkness. We could see the
whitening of the nose where it was pressed against the glass. It was
a bearded, hairy face, with wild cruel eyes and an expression of
concentrated malevolence. My brother and I rushed towards the window,
but the man was gone. When we returned to my father his head had
dropped and his pulse had ceased to beat.
"We searched the garden that night, but found no sign of the
intruder, save that just under the window a single footmark was
visible in the flower-bed. But for that one trace, we might have
thought that our imaginations had conjured up that wild, fierce face.
We soon, however, had another and a more striking proof that there
were secret agencies at work all round us. The window of my father's
room was found open in the morning, his cupboards and boxes had been
rifled, and upon his chest was fixed a torn piece of paper, with the
words 'The sign of the four' scrawled across it. What the phrase
meant, or who our secret visitor may have been, we never knew. As far
as we can judge, none of my father's property had been actually
stolen, though everything had been turned out. My brother and I
naturally associated this peculiar incident with the fear which
haunted my father during his life; but it is still a complete mystery
to us."
The little man stopped to relight his hookah and puffed thoughtfully
for a few moments. We had all sat absorbed, listening to his
extraordinary narrative. At the short account of her father's death
Miss Morstan had turned deadly white, and for a moment I feared that
she was about to faint. She rallied however, on drinking a glass of
water which I quietly poured out for her from a Venetian carafe upon
the side-table. Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his chair with an
abstracted expression and the lids drawn low over his glittering
eyes. As I glanced at him I could not but think how on that very day
he had complained bitterly of the commonplaceness of life. Here at
least was a problem which would tax his sagacity to the utmost. Mr.
Thaddeus Sholto looked from one to the other of us with an obvious
pride at the effect which his story had produced, and then continued
between the puffs of his overgrown pipe.
"My brother and I," said he, "were, as you may imagine, much excited
as to the treasure which my father had spoken of. For weeks and for
months we dug and delved in every part of the garden, without
discovering its whereabouts. It was maddening to think that the
hiding-place was on his very lips at the moment that he died. We
could judge the splendor of the missing riches by the chaplet which
he had taken out. Over this chaplet my brother Bartholomew and I had
some little discussion. The pearls were evidently of great value, and
he was averse to part with them, for, between friends, my brother was
himself a little inclined to my father's fault. He thought, too, that
if we parted with the chaplet it might give rise to gossip and
finally bring us into trouble. It was all that I could do to persuade
him to let me find out Miss Morstan's address and send her a detached
pearl at fixed intervals, so that at least she might never feel
destitute."
"It was a kindly thought," said our companion, earnestly. "It was
extremely good of you."
The little man waved his hand deprecatingly. "We were your trustees,"
he said. "That was the view which I took of it, though Brother
Bartholomew could not altogether see it in that light. We had plenty
of money ourselves. I desired no more. Besides, it would have been
such bad taste to have treated a young lady in so scurvy a fashion.
'Le mauvais go鹴 m鑞e au crime.' The French have a very neat way of
putting these things. Our difference of opinion on this subject went
so far that I thought it best to set up rooms for myself: so I left
Pondicherry Lodge, taking the old khitmutgar and Williams with me.
Yesterday, however, I learn that an event of extreme importance has
occurred. The treasure has been discovered. I instantly communicated
with Miss Morstan, and it only remains for us to drive out to Norwood
and demand our share. I explained my views last night to Brother
Bartholomew: so we shall be expected, if not welcome, visitors."
Mr. Thaddeus Sholto ceased, and sat twitching on his luxurious
settee. We all remained silent, with our thoughts upon the new
development which the mysterious business had taken. Holmes was the
first to spring to his feet.
"You have done well, sir, from first to last," said he. "It is
possible that we may be able to make you some small return by
throwing some light upon that which is still dark to you. But, as
Miss Morstan remarked just now, it is late, and we had best put the
matter through without delay."
Our new acquaintance very deliberately coiled up the tube of his
hookah, and produced from behind a curtain a very long befrogged
topcoat with Astrakhan collar and cuffs. This he buttoned tightly up,
in spite of the extreme closeness of the night, and finished his
attire by putting on a rabbit-skin cap with hanging lappets which
covered the ears, so that no part of him was visible save his mobile
and peaky face. "My health is somewhat fragile," he remarked, as he
led the way down the passage. "I am compelled to be a
valetudinarian."
Our cab was awaiting us outside, and our programme was evidently
prearranged, for the driver started off at once at a rapid pace.
Thaddeus Sholto talked incessantly, in a voice which rose high above
the rattle of the wheels.
"Bartholomew is a clever fellow," said he. "How do you think he found
out where the treasure was? He had come to the conclusion that it was
somewhere indoors: so he worked out all the cubic space of the house,
and made measurements everywhere, so that not one inch should be
unaccounted for. Among other things, he found that the height of the
building was seventy-four feet, but on adding together the heights of
all the separate rooms, and making every allowance for the space
between, which he ascertained by borings, he could not bring the
total to more than seventy feet. There were four feet unaccounted
for. These could only be at the top of the building. He knocked a
hole, therefore, in the lath-and-plaster ceiling of the highest room,
and there, sure enough, he came upon another little garret above it,
which had been sealed up and was known to no one. In the centre stood
the treasure-chest, resting upon two rafters. He lowered it through
the hole, and there it lies. He computes the value of the jewels at
not less than half a million sterling."
At the mention of this gigantic sum we all stared at one another
open-eyed. Miss Morstan, could we secure her rights, would change
from a needy governess to the richest heiress in England. Surely it
was the place of a loyal friend to rejoice at such news; yet I am
ashamed to say that selfishness took me by the soul, and that my
heart turned as heavy as lead within me. I stammered out some few
halting words of congratulation, and then sat downcast, with my head
drooped, deaf to the babble of our new acquaintance. He was clearly a
confirmed hypochondriac, and I was dreamily conscious that he was
pouring forth interminable trains of symptoms, and imploring
information as to the composition and action of innumerable quack
nostrums, some of which he bore about in a leather case in his
pocket. I trust that he may not remember any of the answers which I
gave him that night. Holmes declares that he overheard me caution him
against the great danger of taking more than two drops of castor oil,
while I recommended strychnine in large doses as a sedative. However
that may be, I was certainly relieved when our cab pulled up with a
jerk and the coachman sprang down to open the door.
"This, Miss Morstan, is Pondicherry Lodge," said Mr. Thaddeus Sholto,
as he handed her out.
CHAPTER V
The Tragedy of Pondicherry Lodge
It was nearly eleven o'clock when we reached this final stage of our
night's adventures. We had left the damp fog of the great city behind
us, and the night was fairly fine. A warm wind blew from the
westward, and heavy clouds moved slowly across the sky, with half a
moon peeping occasionally through the rifts. It was clear enough to
see for some distance, but Thaddeus Sholto took down one of the
side-lamps from the carriage to give us a better light upon our way.
Pondicherry Lodge stood in its own grounds, and was girt round with a
very high stone wall topped with broken glass. A single narrow
iron-clamped door formed the only means of entrance. On this our
guide knocked with a peculiar postman-like rat-tat.
"Who is there?" cried a gruff voice from within.
"It is I, McMurdo. You surely know my knock by this time."
There was a grumbling sound and a clanking and jarring of keys. The
door swung heavily back, and a short, deep-chested man stood in the
opening, with the yellow light of the lantern shining upon his
protruded face and twinkling distrustful eyes.
"That you, Mr. Thaddeus? But who are the others? I had no orders
about them from the master."
"No, McMurdo? You surprise me! I told my brother last night that I
should bring some friends.
"He ain't been out o' his room to-day, Mr. Thaddeus, and I have no
orders. You know very well that I must stick to regulations. I can
let you in, but your friends must just stop where they are."
This was an unexpected obstacle. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in
a perplexed and helpless manner. "This is too bad of you, McMurdo!"
