Camford on that day. Meanwhile, the general position is undeniably
unpleasant, and if Miss Presbury can prolong her visit--"
"That is easy."
"Then let her stay till we can assure her that all danger is past.
Meanwhile, let him have his way and do not cross him. So long as he
is in a good humour all is well."
"There he is!" said Bennett in a startled whisper. Looking between
the branches we saw the tall, erect figure emerge from the hall door
and look around him. He stood leaning forward, his hands swinging
straight before him, his head turning from side to side. The
secretary with a last wave slipped off among the trees, and we saw
him presently rejoin his employer, the two entering the house
together in what seemed to be animated and even excited conversation.
"I expect the old gentleman has been putting two and two together,"
said Holmes as we walked hotelward. "He struck me as having a
particularly clear and logical brain from the little I saw of him.
Explosive, no doubt, but then from his point of view he has something
to explode about if detectives are put on his track and he suspects
his own household of doing it. I rather fancy that friend Bennett is
in for an uncomfortable time."
Holmes stopped at a post-office and sent off a telegram on our way.
The answer reached us in the evening, and he tossed it across to me.
Have visited the Commercial Road and seen Dorak. Suave person,
Bohemian, elderly. Keeps large general store.
Mercer.
"Mercer is since your time," said Holmes. "He is my general utility
man who looks up routine business. It was important to know something
of the man with whom our professor was so secretly corresponding. His
nationality connects up with the Prague visit."
"Thank goodness that something connects with something," said I. "At
present we seem to be faced by a long series of inexplicable
incidents with no bearing upon each other. For example, what possible
connection can there be between an angry wolfhound and a visit to
Bohemia, or either of them with a man crawling down a passage at
night? As to your dates, that is the biggest mystification of all."
Holmes smiled and rubbed his hands. We were, I may say, seated in the
old sitting-room of the ancient hotel, with a bottle of the famous
vintage of which Holmes had spoken on the table between us.
"Well, now, let us take the dates first," said he, his finger-tips
together and his manner as if he were addressing a class. "This
excellent young man's diary shows that there was trouble upon July
2d, and from then onward it seems to have been at nine-day intervals,
with, so far as I remember, only one exception. Thus the last
outbreak upon Friday was on September 3d, which also falls into the
series, as did August 26th, which preceded it. The thing is beyond
coincidence."
I was forced to agree.
"Let us, then, form the provisional theory that every nine days the
professor takes some strong drug which has a passing but highly
poisonous effect. His naturally violent nature is intensified by it.
He learned to take this drug while he was in Prague, and is now
supplied with it by a Bohemian intermediary in London. This all hangs
together, Watson!"
"But the dog, the face at the window, the creeping man in the
passage?"
"Well, well, we have made a beginning. I should not expect any fresh
developments until next Tuesday. In the meantime we can only keep in
touch with friend Bennett and enjoy the amenities of this charming
town."
In the morning Mr. Bennett slipped round to bring us the latest
report. As Holmes had imagined, times had not been easy with him.
Without exactly accusing him of being responsible for our presence,
the professor had been very rough and rude in his speech, and
evidently felt some strong grievance. This morning he was quite
himself again, however, and had delivered his usual brilliant lecture
to a crowded class. "Apart from his queer fits," said Bennett, "he
has actually more energy and vitality than I can ever remember, nor
was his brain ever clearer. But it's not he--it's never the man whom
we have known."
"I don't think you have anything to fear now for a week at least,"
Holmes answered. "I am a busy man, and Dr. Watson has his patients to
attend to. Let us agree that we meet here at this hour next Tuesday,
and I shall be surprised if before we leave you again we are not able
to explain, even if we cannot perhaps put an end to, your troubles.
Meanwhile, keep us posted in what occurs."
I saw nothing of my friend for the next few days, but on the
following Monday evening I had a short note asking me to meet him
next day at the train. From what he told me as we travelled up to
Camford all was well, the peace of the professor's house had been
unruffled, and his own conduct perfectly normal. This also was the
report which was given us by Mr. Bennett himself when he called upon
us that evening at our old quarters in the Chequers. "He heard from
his London correspondent to-day. There was a letter and there was a
small packet, each with the cross under the stamp which warned me not
to touch them. There has been nothing else."
"That may prove quite enough," said Holmes grimly. "Now, Mr. Bennett,
we shall, I think, come to some conclusion to-night. If my deductions
are correct we should have an opportunity of bringing matters to a
head. In order to do so it is necessary to hold the professor under
observation. I would suggest, therefore, that you remain awake and on
the lookout. Should you hear him pass your door, do not interrupt
him, but follow him as discreetly as you can. Dr. Watson and I will
not be far off. By the way, where is the key of that little box of
which you spoke?"
"Upon his watch-chain."
"I fancy our researches must lie in that direction. At the worst the
lock should not be very formidable. Have you any other able-bodied
man on the premises?"
"There is the coachman, Macphail."
"Where does he sleep?"
"Over the stables."
"We might possibly want him. Well, we can do no more until we see how
things develop. Good-bye--but I expect that we shall see you before
morning."
It was nearly midnight before we took our station among some bushes
immediately opposite the hall door of the professor. It was a fine
night, but chilly, and we were glad of our warm overcoats. There was
a breeze, and clouds were scudding across the sky, obscuring from
time to time the half-moon. It would have been a dismal vigil were it
not for the expectation and excitement which carried us along, and
the assurance of my comrade that we had probably reached the end of
the strange sequence of events which had engaged our attention.
"If the cycle of nine days holds good then we shall have the
professor at his worst to-night," said Holmes. "The fact that these
strange symptoms began after his visit to Prague, that he is in
secret correspondence with a Bohemian dealer in London, who
presumably represents someone in Prague, and that he received a
packet from him this very day, all point in one direction. What he
takes and why he takes it are still beyond our ken, but that it
emanates in some way from Prague is clear enough. He takes it under
definite directions which regulate this ninth-day system, which was
the first point which attracted my attention. But his symptoms are
most remarkable. Did you observe his knuckles?"
I had to confess that I did not.
"Thick and horny in a way which is quite new in my experience. Always
look at the hands first, Watson. Then cuffs, trouser-knees, and
boots. Very curious knuckles which can only be explained by the mode
of progression observed by--" Holmes paused and suddenly clapped his
hand to his forehead. "Oh, Watson, Watson, what a fool I have been!
It seems incredible, and yet it must be true. All points in one
direction. How could I miss seeing the connection of ideas? Those
knuckles--how could I have passed those knuckles? And the dog! And
the ivy! It's surely time that I disappeared into that little farm of
my dreams. Look out, Watson! Here he is! We shall have the chance of
seeing for ourselves."
The hall door had slowly opened, and against the lamplit background
we saw the tall figure of Professor Presbury. He was clad in his
dressing-gown. As he stood outlined in the doorway he was erect but
leaning forward with dangling arms, as when we saw him last.
Now he stepped forward into the drive, and an extraordinary change
came over him. He sank down into a crouching position and moved along
upon his hands and feet, skipping every now and then as if he were
overflowing with energy and vitality. He moved along the face of the
house and then round the corner. As he disappeared Bennett slipped
through the hall door and softly followed him.
"Come, Watson, come!" cried Holmes, and we stole as softly as we
could through the bushes until we had gained a spot whence we could
see the other side of the house, which was bathed in the light of the
half-moon. The professor was clearly visible crouching at the foot of
the ivy-covered wall. As we watched him he suddenly began with
incredible agility to ascend it. From branch to branch he sprang,
sure of foot and firm of grasp, climbing apparently in mere joy at
his own powers, with no definite object in view. With his
dressing-gown flapping on each side of him, he looked like some huge
bat glued against the side of his own house, a great square dark
patch upon the moonlit wall. Presently he tired of this amusement,
and, dropping from branch to branch, he squatted down into the old
attitude and moved towards the stables, creeping along in the same
strange way as before. The wolfhound was out now, barking furiously,
and more excited than ever when it actually caught sight of its
master. It was straining on its chain and quivering with eagerness
and rage. The professor squatted down very deliberately just out of
reach of the hound and began to provoke it in every possible way. He
took handfuls of pebbles from the drive and threw them in the dog's
face, prodded him with a stick which he had picked up, flicked his
hands about only a few inches from the gaping mouth, and endeavoured
in every way to increase the animal's fury, which was already beyond
all control. In all our adventures I do not know that I have ever
seen a more strange sight than this impassive and still dignified
figure crouching frog-like upon the ground and goading to a wilder
exhibition of passion the maddened hound, which ramped and raged in
front of him, by all manner of ingenious and calculated cruelty.
And then in a moment it happened! It was not the chain that broke,
but it was the collar that slipped, for it had been made for a
thick-necked Newfoundland. We heard the rattle of falling metal, and
the next instant dog and man were rolling on the ground together, the
one roaring in rage, the other screaming in a strange shrill falsetto
of terror. It was a very narrow thing for the professor's life. The
savage creature had him fairly by the throat, its fangs had bitten
deep, and he was senseless before we could reach them and drag the
two apart. It might have been a dangerous task for us, but Bennett's
voice and presence brought the great wolfhound instantly to reason.
The uproar had brought the sleepy and astonished coachman from his
room above the stables. "I'm not surprised," said he, shaking his
head. "I've seen him at it before. I knew the dog would get him
sooner or later."
The hound was secured, and together we carried the professor up to
his room, where Bennett, who had a medical degree, helped me to dress
his torn throat. The sharp teeth had passed dangerously near the
carotid artery, and the haemorrhage was serious. In half an hour the
danger was past, I had given the patient an injection of morphia, and
he had sunk into deep sleep. Then, and only then, were we able to
look at each other and to take stock of the situation.
"I think a first-class surgeon should see him," said I.
"For God's sake, no!" cried Bennett. "At present the scandal is
confined to our own household. It is safe with us. If it gets beyond
these walls it will never stop. Consider his position at the
university, his European reputation, the feelings of his daughter."
"Quite so," said Holmes. "I think it may be quite possible to keep
the matter to ourselves, and also to prevent its recurrence now that
we have a free hand. The key from the watch-chain, Mr. Bennett.
Macphail will guard the patient and let us know if there is any
change. Let us see what we can find in the professor's mysterious
box."
There was not much, but there was enough--an empty phial, another
nearly full, a hypodermic syringe, several letters in a crabbed,
