find edges
查找边缘；找寻边缘
查找边缘（Find Edges）：通过强化色块边缘的过度像素，来形成边缘效果。在白色背景的图像 上显示黑色的边缘；在黑色背景的图片上显示白色边缘。
基于1025个网页-
圈定边缘 ( Find Edges )：使素材剪辑产生边缘强化，模拟素描或底片效果。
基于325个网页-
可使素材片段影像中的某种指定颜sè保持不变 ... Emboss浮雕 Find Edges描边 Mosaic马赛克 ...
基于89个网页-
查找边缘滤镜
Find Edges(查找边缘滤镜)：用相对于白色背景的深色线条来勾画图像的边缘,得到图像的大致轮廓。
基于79个网页-
&2,447,543篇论文数据，部分数据来源于
This algorithm can find alike edges accurately, is rotationally invariant.
该算法具有识别相似边准确和旋转不变性的特点。
Find all the edges from the newest vertex to other vertices that aren't in the tree. Put these edges in the priority queue.
找到从最新的顶点到其他顶点的所有边，这些顶点不能在树的集合中。把这些边加入优先级队列。
One set of algorithms could help find the edges of an object in the image. Another set of algorithm could then find corners, while another set define contours.
一套算法能有助于影像中某个物体的边，而另一套算法可以找到物体的角，其间，还有一套算法可以定出物体的轮廓。
In short, you'll be hard-pressed to find any hard edges.
He said Ubuntu makes it quicker and easier to find apps and content than other smartphones by swiping from the screen edges rather than going in and out with the home button to find and switch applications.
Take a tour around the edges and you'll find two USB 2.0 ports (no USB 3.0), a Gigabit Ethernet jack and an HDMI socket.
$firstVoiceSent
- 来自原声例句
请问您想要如何调整此模块？
感谢您的反馈，我们会尽快进行适当修改！
请问您想要如何调整此模块？
感谢您的反馈，我们会尽快进行适当修改！You are here: > ,
> 【AE插件】含枪火特效的插件套装集 FXhome Ignite Pro .6227 CE
/ 评论关闭
【插件介绍】
请注意：该插件支持Win平台下的After Effects CS6-CC 2017，以及Adobe Premiere Pro CS6-CC 2017，敬请留意。
利用HitFilm Pro插件的强大功能来为你的软件“充电”吧！
由FXhome出品的Ignite Pro 2017提供了总共超过150种强大实用的插件，可实现超过500种不同的视觉效果，还包含了许多预设、色彩分析以及校正工具，并且无需切换软件即可实用。
部分功能特性介绍：
1、Professional keying – 专业的键控技术
利用Ignite Pro的插件可以将绿幕或蓝幕背景抠除得非常干净，对边缘的细节控制、以及色彩校正和高级溢出等都可以进行有效控制。
2、Neon path – 霓虹灯光路径
可以创建出效果非常不错的霓虹灯图案，提高工作效率。使用4点自动将灯光进行定位，有效调节前景背景之间的差异等。
3、Lens flare toolkit – 镜头光晕工具包
有非常易于使用的镜头灯光效果，可自动识别并应用耀斑到图层中的亮点处。Ignite Pro甚至可以模拟镜面高光、相机噪点以及变形条纹等接近现实的不完美镜头效果。
除此之外，还有模拟溢出、蒙版清除、粒子、破碎、火焰、扭曲、科幻、闪电等超多工具和特效，当然还有大家都非常熟悉的枪火插件“Gunfire”（以前叫MuzzlePlug）。
以下是该套装集中包含的所有插件一览：
包含插件列表：
360° video
360° Text
360° Video Transform
360° Video Viewer
Bilateral Blur
Motion Blur
Radial Blur
Channel Blur
Channel Mixer
Channel Swapper
Channel Time Shift
Color correction
Auto Color
Auto Contrast
Auto Levels
Color Temperature
Crush Blacks & Whites
Custom Gray
Pro Skin Retouch
White Balance
Color grading
Bleach Bypass
Cine Style
Color Vibrance
Day for Night
Grading Transfer
Hue Colorize
Shadows & Highlights
Three Strip Color
Two Strip Color
Vignette Exposure
Find Edges
Glow Darks
Leave Color
Motion Trails
Time Displacement
Time Reverse
Chromenator
Displacement
Energy Distortion
Fluid Distortion
Heat Distortion
Insect Vision
Smoke Distortion
Witness Protection
3D Extrusion
Animated Lasers
Audio Spectrum
Audio Waveform
Auto Volumetrics
Dimension Rift
Drop Shadow
End Credits Crawl
Fractal Noise
Heat Distortion
Hyperdrive
Lightsword (Glow)
Lightsword (2-point Auto)
Lightsword (4-point Manual)
Lightsword Ultra (Glow)
Lightsword Ultra (2-Point Auto)
Lightsword Ultra (4-Point Manual)
Neon Path (Path)
Pond Ripple
Pulp Sci-fi Title Crawl
Radio Waves
Reflection
Split Screen Masking
Film Damage
Film Grain
Half Tone Color
Scan Lines
Gradients & fills
4-point Color Gradient
Color Gradient
Radial Gradient
Chroma Key
Chroma UV Blur
Color Difference Key
Difference Key
Hue & RGB Key
Luminance Key
Lights & flares
Auto Light Flares
Anamorphic Lens Flares
Light Flares
Light Leak
Light Rays
Light Streaks
Matte enhancement
Alpha Brightness & Contrast
Crush Blacks & Whites Alpha
Erode White
Invert Alpha
Light Wrap
Matte Cleaner
Remove Color Matting
Spill Removal
Particles & simulation
Atomic Particles
Blood Spray
Lightning & Electricity
Rain on Glass
Video clean-up
Clone Stamp
Grain Removal
Rolling Shutter
Action Cam Crop
Action Cam Lens Distort
Bezier Warp
Lens Distort
Perspective Warp
Polar Warp
Spherical Warp
Vortex Displacement Warp
【插件下载地址】
文件大小：11.6M
【安装说明】
双击“exe”文件一键安装即可
感谢Team VR.
本文由新CG儿数字视觉分享平台整理
声明：新CG儿整理分享的该AE插件仅供学习交流之用，请勿作商业用途。如需商用至/ignite-pro官网购买正版，谢谢大家支持。[03/54] [abbrv] incubator-ignite git commit: # ignite-63
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[03/54] [abbrv] incubator-ignite git commit: # ignite-63
http://git-wip-us.apache.org/repos/asf/incubator-ignite/blob/afd94f76/modules/hadoop/src/test/java/org/gridgain/grid/hadoop/books/sherlock-holmes.txt
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diff --git a/modules/hadoop/src/test/java/org/gridgain/grid/hadoop/books/sherlock-holmes.txt b/modules/hadoop/src/test/java/org/gridgain/grid/hadoop/books/sherlock-holmes.txt
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-Project Gutenberg's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.
You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
-Title: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
-Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
-Posting Date: April 18, 2011 [EBook #1661]
-First Posted: November 29, 2002
-Language: English
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES ***
-Produced by an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer and Jose Menendez
-THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
-SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
I. A Scandal in Bohemia
II. The Red-headed League
- III. A Case of Identity
IV. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
V. The Five Orange Pips
VI. The Man with the Twisted Lip
- VII. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
-VIII. The Adventure of the Speckled Band
IX. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
X. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
XI. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
- XII. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
-ADVENTURE I. A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA
-To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman. I have seldom heard
-him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses
-and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt
-any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that
-one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but
-admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect
-reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a
-lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never
-spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They
-were admirable things for the observer--excellent for drawing the
-veil from men's motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner
-to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely
-adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which
-might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a
-sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power
-lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a
-nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman to him, and
-that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable
-I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us
-away from each other. My own complete happiness, and the
-home-centred interests which rise up around the man who first
-finds himself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to
-absorb all my attention, while Holmes, who loathed every form of
-society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in
-Baker Street, buried among his old books, and alternating from
-week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the
-drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature. He was still,
-as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his
-immense faculties and extraordinary powers of observation in
-following out those clues, and clearing up those mysteries which
-had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From time
-to time I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons
-to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder, of his clearing up
-of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee,
-and finally of the mission which he had accomplished so
-delicately and successfully for the reigning family of Holland.
-Beyond these signs of his activity, however, which I merely
-shared with all the readers of the daily press, I knew little of
-my former friend and companion.
-One night--it was on the twentieth of March, 1888--I was
-returning from a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to
-civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I
-passed the well-remembered door, which must always be associated
-in my mind with my wooing, and with the dark incidents of the
-Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes
-again, and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers.
-His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw
-his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against
-the blind. He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head
-sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him. To me, who
-knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their
-own story. He was at work again. He had risen out of his
-drug-created dreams and was hot upon the scent of some new
-problem. I rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which
-had formerly been in part my own.
-His manner was not effusive. I but he was glad, I
-think, to see me. With hardly a word spoken, but with a kindly
-eye, he waved me to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars,
-and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he
-stood before the fire and looked me over in his singular
-introspective fashion.
-"Wedlock suits you," he remarked. "I think, Watson, that you have
-put on seven and a half pounds since I saw you."
-"Seven!" I answered.
-"Indeed, I should have thought a little more. Just a trifle more,
-I fancy, Watson. And in practice again, I observe. You did not
-tell me that you intended to go into harness."
-"Then, how do you know?"
-"I see it, I deduce it. How do I know that you have been getting
-yourself very wet lately, and that you have a most clumsy and
-careless servant girl?"
-"My dear Holmes," said I, "this is too much. You would certainly
-have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. It is true
-that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful
-mess, but as I have changed my clothes I can't imagine how you
-deduce it. As to Mary Jane, she is incorrigible, and my wife has
-given her notice, but there, again, I fail to see how you work it
-He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands
-together.
-"It is simplicity itself," "my eyes tell me that on the
-inside of your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it,
-the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they
-have been caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round
-the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it.
-Hence, you see, my double deduction that you had been out in vile
-weather, and that you had a particularly malignant boot-slitting
-specimen of the London slavey. As to your practice, if a
-gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of iodoform, with a black
-mark of nitrate of silver upon his right forefinger, and a bulge
-on the right side of his top-hat to show where he has secreted
-his stethoscope, I must be dull, indeed, if I do not pronounce
-him to be an active member of the medical profession."
-I could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained his
-process of deduction. "When I hear you give your reasons," I
-remarked, "the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously
-simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each
-successive instance of your reasoning I am baffled until you
-explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good
-as yours."
-"Quite so," he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing
-himself down into an armchair. "You see, but you do not observe.
-The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen
-the steps which lead up from the hall to this room."
-"Frequently."
-"How often?"
-"Well, some hundreds of times."
-"Then how many are there?"
-"How many? I don't know."
-"Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is
-just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps,
-because I have both seen and observed. By-the-way, since you are
-interested in these little problems, and since you are good
-enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences, you
-may be interested in this." He threw over a sheet of thick,
-pink-tinted note-paper which had been lying open upon the table.
-"It came by the last post," said he. "Read it aloud."
-The note was undated, and without either signature or address.
-"There will call upon you to-night, at a quarter to eight
-o'clock," it said, "a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a
-matter of the very deepest moment. Your recent services to one of
-the royal houses of Europe have shown that you are one who may
-safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which
-can hardly be exaggerated. This account of you we have from all
-quarters received. Be in your chamber then at that hour, and do
-not take it amiss if your visitor wear a mask."
-"This is indeed a mystery," I remarked. "What do you imagine that
-it means?"
-"I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before
-one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit
-theories, instead of theories to suit facts. But the note itself.
-What do you deduce from it?"
-I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was
-"The man who wrote it was presumably well to do," I remarked,
-endeavouring to imitate my companion's processes. "Such paper
-could not be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly
-strong and stiff."
-"Peculiar--that is the very word," said Holmes. "It is not an
-English paper at all. Hold it up to the light."
-I did so, and saw a large "E" with a small "g," a "P," and a
-large "G" with a small "t" woven into the texture of the paper.
-"What do you make of that?" asked Holmes.
-"The name of the maker, or his monogram, rather."
-"Not at all. The 'G' with the small 't' stands for
-'Gesellschaft,' which is the German for 'Company.' It is a
-customary contraction like our 'Co.' 'P,' of course, stands for
-'Papier.' Now for the 'Eg.' Let us glance at our Continental
-Gazetteer." He took down a heavy brown volume from his shelves.
-"Eglow, Eglonitz--here we are, Egria. It is in a German-speaking
-country--in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad. 'Remarkable as being
-the scene of the death of Wallenstein, and for its numerous
-glass-factories and paper-mills.' Ha, ha, my boy, what do you
-make of that?" His eyes sparkled, and he sent up a great blue
-triumphant cloud from his cigarette.
-"The paper was made in Bohemia," I said.
-"Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German. Do you
-note the peculiar construction of the sentence--'This account of
-you we have from all quarters received.' A Frenchman or Russian
-could not have written that. It is the German who is so
-uncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discover
-what is wanted by this German who writes upon Bohemian paper and
-prefers wearing a mask to showing his face. And here he comes, if
-I am not mistaken, to resolve all our doubts."
-As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses' hoofs and
-grating wheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at the
-bell. Holmes whistled.
-"A pair, by the sound," said he. "Yes," he continued, glancing
-out of the window. "A nice little brougham and a pair of
-beauties. A hundred and fifty guineas apiece. There's money in
-this case, Watson, if there is nothing else."
-"I think that I had better go, Holmes."
-"Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without my
-Boswell. And this promises to be interesting. It would be a pity
-to miss it."
-"But your client--"
-"Never mind him. I may want your help, and so may he. Here he
-comes. Sit down in that armchair, Doctor, and give us your best
-attention."
-A slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairs and
-in the passage, paused immediately outside the door. Then there
-was a loud and authoritative tap.
-"Come in!" said Holmes.
-A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet six
-inches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules. His
-dress was rich with a richness which would, in England, be looked
-upon as akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed
-across the sleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat, while
-the deep blue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined
-with flame-coloured silk and secured at the neck with a brooch
-which consisted of a single flaming beryl. Boots which extended
-halfway up his calves, and which were trimmed at the tops with
-rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence
-which was suggested by his whole appearance. He carried a
-broad-brimmed hat in his hand, while he wore across the upper
-part of his face, extending down past the cheekbones, a black
-vizard mask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment,
-for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lower
-part of the face he appeared to be a man of strong character,
-with a thick, hanging lip, and a long, straight chin suggestive
-of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy.
-"You had my note?" he asked with a deep harsh voice and a
-strongly marked German accent. "I told you that I would call." He
-looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to
-"Pray take a seat," said Holmes. "This is my friend and
-colleague, Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me
-in my cases. Whom have I the honour to address?"
-"You may address me as the Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman.
-I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honour
-and discretion, whom I may trust with a matter of the most
-extreme importance. If not, I should much prefer to communicate
-with you alone."
-I rose to go, but Holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me
-back into my chair. "It is both, or none," said he. "You may say
-before this gentleman anything which you may say to me."
-The Count shrugged his broad shoulders. "Then I must begin," said
-he, "by binding you both to absolute s at
-the end of that time the matter will be of no importance. At
-present it is not too much to say that it is of such weight it
-may have an influence upon European history."
-"I promise," said Holmes.
-"You will excuse this mask," continued our strange visitor. "The
-august person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to
-you, and I may confess at once that the title by which I have
-just called myself is not exactly my own."
-"I was aware of it," said Holmes dryly.
-"The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution
-has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense
-scandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning families of
-Europe. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House
-of Ormstein, hereditary kings of Bohemia."
-"I was also aware of that," murmured Holmes, settling himself
-down in his armchair and closing his eyes.
-Our visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at the languid,
-lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him
-as the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe.
-Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his
-gigantic client.
-"If your Majesty would condescend to state your case," he
-remarked, "I should be better able to advise you."
-The man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room in
-uncontrollable agitation. Then, with a gesture of desperation, he
-tore the mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground. "You
-are right," "I am the King. Why should I attempt to
-conceal it?"
-"Why, indeed?" murmured Holmes. "Your Majesty had not spoken
-before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich
-Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, and
-hereditary King of Bohemia."
-"But you can understand," said our strange visitor, sitting down
-once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, "you
-can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in
-my own person. Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not
-confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power. I
-have come incognito from Prague for the purpose of consulting
-"Then, pray consult," said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more.
-"The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a
-lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the well-known
-adventuress, Irene Adler. The name is no doubt familiar to you."
-"Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor," murmured Holmes without
-opening his eyes. For many years he had adopted a system of
-docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it
-was difficult to name a subject or a person on which he could not
-at once furnish information. In this case I found her biography
-sandwiched in between that of a Hebrew rabbi and that of a
-staff-commander who had written a monograph upon the deep-sea
-"Let me see!" said Holmes. "Hum! Born in New Jersey in the year
-1858. Contralto--hum! La Scala, hum! Prima donna Imperial Opera
-of Warsaw--yes! Retired from operatic stage--ha! Living in
-London--quite so! Your Majesty, as I understand, became entangled
-with this young person, wrote her some compromising letters, and
-is now desirous of getting those letters back."
-"Precisely so. But how--"
-"Was there a secret marriage?"
-"No legal papers or certificates?"
-"Then I fail to follow your Majesty. If this young person should
-produce her letters for blackmailing or other purposes, how is
-she to prove their authenticity?"
-"There is the writing."
-"Pooh, pooh! Forgery."
-"My private note-paper."
-"Stolen."
-"My own seal."
-"Imitated."
-"My photograph."
-"Bought."
-"We were both in the photograph."
-"Oh, dear! That is very bad! Your Majesty has indeed committed an
-indiscretion."
-"I was mad--insane."
-"You have compromised yourself seriously."
-"I was only Crown Prince then. I was young. I am but thirty now."
-"It must be recovered."
-"We have tried and failed."
-"Your Majesty must pay. It must be bought."
-"She will not sell."
-"Stolen, then."
-"Five attempts have been made. Twice burglars in my pay ransacked
-her house. Once we diverted her luggage when she travelled. Twice
-she has been waylaid. There has been no result."
-"No sign of it?"
-"Absolutely none."
-Holmes laughed. "It is quite a pretty little problem," said he.
-"But a very serious one to me," returned the King reproachfully.
-"Very, indeed. And what does she propose to do with the
-photograph?"
-"To ruin me."
-"But how?"
-"I am about to be married."
-"So I have heard."
-"To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the
-King of Scandinavia. You may know the strict principles of her
-family. She is herself the very soul of delicacy. A shadow of a
-doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end."
-"And Irene Adler?"
-"Threatens to send them the photograph. And she will do it. I
-know that she will do it. You do not know her, but she has a soul
-of steel. She has the face of the most beautiful of women, and
-the mind of the most resolute of men. Rather than I should marry
-another woman, there are no lengths to which she would not
-go--none."
-"You are sure that she has not sent it yet?"
-"I am sure."
-"And why?"
-"Because she has said that she would send it on the day when the
-betrothal was publicly proclaimed. That will be next Monday."
-"Oh, then we have three days yet," said Holmes with a yawn. "That
-is very fortunate, as I have one or two matters of importance to
-look into just at present. Your Majesty will, of course, stay in
-London for the present?"
-"Certainly. You will find me at the Langham under the name of the
-Count Von Kramm."
-"Then I shall drop you a line to let you know how we progress."
-"Pray do so. I shall be all anxiety."
-"Then, as to money?"
-"You have carte blanche."
-"Absolutely?"
-"I tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom
-to have that photograph."
-"And for present expenses?"
-The King took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak
-and laid it on the table.
-"There are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in
-notes," he said.
-Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note-book and
-handed it to him.
-"And Mademoiselle's address?" he asked.
-"Is Briony Lodge, Serpentine Avenue, St. John's Wood."
-Holmes took a note of it. "One other question," said he. "Was the
-photograph a cabinet?"
-"It was."
-"Then, good-night, your Majesty, and I trust that we shall soon
-have some good news for you. And good-night, Watson," he added,
-as the wheels of the royal brougham rolled down the street. "If
-you will be good enough to call to-morrow afternoon at three
-o'clock I should like to chat this little matter over with you."
-At three o'clock precisely I was at Baker Street, but Holmes had
-not yet returned. The landlady informed me that he had left the
-house shortly after eight o'clock in the morning. I sat down
-beside the fire, however, with the intention of awaiting him,
-however long he might be. I was already deeply interested in his
-inquiry, for, though it was surrounded by none of the grim and
-strange features which were associated with the two crimes which
-I have already recorded, still, the nature of the case and the
-exalted station of his client gave it a character of its own.
-Indeed, apart from the nature of the investigation which my
-friend had on hand, there was something in his masterly grasp of
-a situation, and his keen, incisive reasoning, which made it a
-pleasure to me to study his system of work, and to follow the
-quick, subtle methods by which he disentangled the most
-inextricable mysteries. So accustomed was I to his invariable
-success that the very possibility of his failing had ceased to
-enter into my head.
-It was close upon four before the door opened, and a
-drunken-looking groom, ill-kempt and side-whiskered, with an
-inflamed face and disreputable clothes, walked into the room.
-Accustomed as I was to my friend's amazing powers in the use of
-disguises, I had to look three times before I was certain that it
-was indeed he. With a nod he vanished into the bedroom, whence he
-emerged in five minutes tweed-suited and respectable, as of old.
-Putting his hands into his pockets, he stretched out his legs in
-front of the fire and laughed heartily for some minutes.
-"Well, really!" he cried, and then he choked and laughed again
-until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the
-"What is it?"
-"It's quite too funny. I am sure you could never guess how I
-employed my morning, or what I ended by doing."
-"I can't imagine. I suppose that you have been watching the
-habits, and perhaps the house, of Miss Irene Adler."
-"Q but the sequel was rather unusual. I will tell you,
-however. I left the house a little after eight o'clock this
-morning in the character of a groom out of work. There is a
-wonderful sympathy and freemasonry among horsey men. Be one of
-them, and you will know all that there is to know. I soon found
-Briony Lodge. It is a bijou villa, with a garden at the back, but
-built out in front right up to the road, two stories. Chubb lock
-to the door. Large sitting-room on the right side, well
-furnished, with long windows almost to the floor, and those
-preposterous English window fasteners which a child could open.
-Behind there was nothing remarkable, save that the passage window
-could be reached from the top of the coach-house. I walked round
-it and examined it closely from every point of view, but without
-noting anything else of interest.
-"I then lounged down the street and found, as I expected, that
-there was a mews in a lane which runs down by one wall of the
-garden. I lent the ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses,
-and received in exchange twopence, a glass of half and half, two
-fills of shag tobacco, and as much information as I could desire
-about Miss Adler, to say nothing of half a dozen other people in
-the neighbourhood in whom I was not in the least interested, but
-whose biographies I was compelled to listen to."
-"And what of Irene Adler?" I asked.
-"Oh, she has turned all the men's heads down in that part. She is
-the daintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet. So say the
-Serpentine-mews, to a man. She lives quietly, sings at concerts,
-drives out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for
-dinner. Seldom goes out at other times, except when she sings.
-Has only one male visitor, but a good deal of him. He is dark,
-handsome, and dashing, never calls less than once a day, and
-often twice. He is a Mr. Godfrey Norton, of the Inner Temple. See
-the advantages of a cabman as a confidant. They had driven him
-home a dozen times from Serpentine-mews, and knew all about him.
-When I had listened to all they had to tell, I began to walk up
-and down near Briony Lodge once more, and to think over my plan
-of campaign.
-"This Godfrey Norton was evidently an important factor in the
-matter. He was a lawyer. That sounded ominous. What was the
-relation between them, and what the object of his repeated
-visits? Was she his client, his friend, or his mistress? If the
-former, she had probably transferred the photograph to his
-keeping. If the latter, it was less likely. On the issue of this
-question depended whether I should continue my work at Briony
-Lodge, or turn my attention to the gentleman's chambers in the
-Temple. It was a delicate point, and it widened the field of my
-inquiry. I fear that I bore you with these details, but I have to
-let you see my little difficulties, if you are to understand the
-situation."
-"I am following you closely," I answered.
-"I was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab
-drove up to Briony Lodge, and a gentleman sprang out. He was a
-remarkably handsome man, dark, aquiline, and moustached--evidently
-the man of whom I had heard. He appeared to be in a
-great hurry, shouted to the cabman to wait, and brushed past the
-maid who opened the door with the air of a man who was thoroughly
-"He was in the house about half an hour, and I could catch
-glimpses of him in the windows of the sitting-room, pacing up and
-down, talking excitedly, and waving his arms. Of her I could see
-nothing. Presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than
-before. As he stepped up to the cab, he pulled a gold watch from
-his pocket and looked at it earnestly, 'Drive like the devil,' he
-shouted, 'first to Gross & Hankey's in Regent Street, and then to
-the Church of St. Monica in the Edgeware Road. Half a guinea if
-you do it in twenty minutes!'
-"Away they went, and I was just wondering whether I should not do
-well to follow them when up the lane came a neat little landau,
-the coachman with his coat only half-buttoned, and his tie under
-his ear, while all the tags of his harness were sticking out of
-the buckles. It hadn't pulled up before she shot out of the hall
-door and into it. I only caught a glimpse of her at the moment,
-but she was a lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for.
-"'The Church of St. Monica, John,' she cried, 'and half a
-sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes.'
-"This was quite too good to lose, Watson. I was just balancing
-whether I should run for it, or whether I should perch behind her
-landau when a cab came through the street. The driver looked
-twice at such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he could
-object. 'The Church of St. Monica,' said I, 'and half a sovereign
-if you reach it in twenty minutes.' It was twenty-five minutes to
-twelve, and of course it was clear enough what was in the wind.
-"My cabby drove fast. I don't think I ever drove faster, but the
-others were there before us. The cab and the landau with their
-steaming horses were in front of the door when I arrived. I paid
-the man and hurried into the church. There was not a soul there
-save the two whom I had followed and a surpliced clergyman, who
-seemed to be expostulating with them. They were all three
-standing in a knot in front of the altar. I lounged up the side
-aisle like any other idler who has dropped into a church.
-Suddenly, to my surprise, the three at the altar faced round to
-me, and Godfrey Norton came running as hard as he could towards
-"'Thank God,' he cried. 'You'll do. Come! Come!'
-"'What then?' I asked.
-"'Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal.'
-"I was half-dragged up to the altar, and before I knew where I was
-I found myself mumbling responses which were whispered in my ear,
-and vouching for things of which I knew nothing, and generally
-assisting in the secure tying up of Irene Adler, spinster, to
-Godfrey Norton, bachelor. It was all done in an instant, and
-there was the gentleman thanking me on the one side and the lady
-on the other, while the clergyman beamed on me in front. It was
-the most preposterous position in which I ever found myself in my
-life, and it was the thought of it that started me laughing just
-now. It seems that there had been some informality about their
-license, that the clergyman absolutely refused to marry them
-without a witness of some sort, and that my lucky appearance
-saved the bridegroom from having to sally out into the streets in
-search of a best man. The bride gave me a sovereign, and I mean
-to wear it on my watch-chain in memory of the occasion."
-"This is a very unexpected turn of affairs," said I; "and what
-"Well, I found my plans very seriously menaced. It looked as if
-the pair might take an immediate departure, and so necessitate
-very prompt and energetic measures on my part. At the church
-door, however, they separated, he driving back to the Temple, and
-she to her own house. 'I shall drive out in the park at five as
-usual,' she said as she left him. I heard no more. They drove
-away in different directions, and I went off to make my own
-arrangements."
-"Which are?"
-"Some cold beef and a glass of beer," he answered, ringing the
-bell. "I have been too busy to think of food, and I am likely to
-be busier still this evening. By the way, Doctor, I shall want
-your co-operation."
-"I shall be delighted."
-"You don't mind breaking the law?"
-"Not in the least."
-"Nor running a chance of arrest?"
-"Not in a good cause."
-"Oh, the cause is excellent!"
-"Then I am your man."
-"I was sure that I might rely on you."
-"But what is it you wish?"
-"When Mrs. Turner has brought in the tray I will make it clear to
-you. Now," he said as he turned hungrily on the simple fare that
-our landlady had provided, "I must discuss it while I eat, for I
-have not much time. It is nearly five now. In two hours we must
-be on the scene of action. Miss Irene, or Madame, rather, returns
-from her drive at seven. We must be at Briony Lodge to meet her."
-"And what then?"
-"You must leave that to me. I have already arranged what is to
-occur. There is only one point on which I must insist. You must
-not interfere, come what may. You understand?"
-"I am to be neutral?"
-"To do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small
-unpleasantness. Do not join in it. It will end in my being
-conveyed into the house. Four or five minutes afterwards the
-sitting-room window will open. You are to station yourself close
-to that open window."
-"You are to watch me, for I will be visible to you."
-"And when I raise my hand--so--you will throw into the room what
-I give you to throw, and will, at the same time, raise the cry of
-fire. You quite follow me?"
-"Entirely."
-"It is nothing very formidable," he said, taking a long cigar-shaped
-roll from his pocket. "It is an ordinary plumber's smoke-rocket,
-fitted with a cap at either end to make it self-lighting.
-Your task is confined to that. When you raise your cry of fire,
-it will be taken up by quite a number of people. You may then
-walk to the end of the street, and I will rejoin you in ten
-minutes. I hope that I have made myself clear?"
-"I am to remain neutral, to get near the window, to watch you,
-and at the signal to throw in this object, then to raise the cry
-of fire, and to wait you at the corner of the street."
-"Precisely."
-"Then you may entirely rely on me."
-"That is excellent. I think, perhaps, it is almost time that I
-prepare for the new role I have to play."
-He disappeared into his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in
-the character of an amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist
-clergyman. His broad black hat, his baggy trousers, his white
-tie, his sympathetic smile, and general look of peering and
-benevolent curiosity were such as Mr. John Hare alone could have
-equalled. It was not merely that Holmes changed his costume. His
-expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every
-fresh part that he assumed. The stage lost a fine actor, even as
-science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in
-It was a quarter past six when we left Baker Street, and it still
-wanted ten minutes to the hour when we found ourselves in
-Serpentine Avenue. It was already dusk, and the lamps were just
-being lighted as we paced up and down in front of Briony Lodge,
-waiting for the coming of its occupant. The house was just such
-as I had pictured it from Sherlock Holmes' succinct description,
-but the locality appeared to be less private than I expected. On
-the contrary, for a small street in a quiet neighbourhood, it was
-remarkably animated. There was a group of shabbily dressed men
-smoking and laughing in a corner, a scissors-grinder with his
-wheel, two guardsmen who were flirting with a nurse-girl, and
-several well-dressed young men who were lounging up and down with
-cigars in their mouths.
-"You see," remarked Holmes, as we paced to and fro in front of
-the house, "this marriage rather simplifies matters. The
-photograph becomes a double-edged weapon now. The chances are
-that she would be as averse to its being seen by Mr. Godfrey
-Norton, as our client is to its coming to the eyes of his
-princess. Now the question is, Where are we to find the
-photograph?"
-"Where, indeed?"
-"It is most unlikely that she carries it about with her. It is
-cabinet size. Too large for easy concealment about a woman's
-dress. She knows that the King is capable of having her waylaid
-and searched. Two attempts of the sort have already been made. We
-may take it, then, that she does not carry it about with her."
-"Where, then?"
-"Her banker or her lawyer. There is that double possibility. But
-I am inclined to think neither. Women are naturally secretive,
-and they like to do their own secreting. Why should she hand it
-over to anyone else? She could trust her own guardianship, but
-she could not tell what indirect or political influence might be
-brought to bear upon a business man. Besides, remember that she
-had resolved to use it within a few days. It must be where she
-can lay her hands upon it. It must be in her own house."
-"But it has twice been burgled."
-"Pshaw! They did not know how to look."
-"But how will you look?"
-"I will not look."
-"What then?"
-"I will get her to show me."
-"But she will refuse."
-"She will not be able to. But I hear the rumble of wheels. It is
-her carriage. Now carry out my orders to the letter."
-As he spoke the gleam of the side-lights of a carriage came round
-the curve of the avenue. It was a smart little landau which
-rattled up to the door of Briony Lodge. As it pulled up, one of
-the loafing men at the corner dashed forward to open the door in
-the hope of earning a copper, but was elbowed away by another
-loafer, who had rushed up with the same intention. A fierce
-quarrel broke out, which was increased by the two guardsmen, who
-took sides with one of the loungers, and by the scissors-grinder,
-who was equally hot upon the other side. A blow was struck, and
-in an instant the lady, who had stepped from her carriage, was
-the centre of a little knot of flushed and struggling men, who
-struck savagely at each other with their fists and sticks. Holmes
-dashed into the crowd but just as he reached
-her he gave a cry and dropped to the ground, with the blood
-running freely down his face. At his fall the guardsmen took to
-their heels in one direction and the loungers in the other, while
-a number of better-dressed people, who had watched the scuffle
-without taking part in it, crowded in to help the lady and to
-attend to the injured man. Irene Adler, as I will still call her,
but she stood at the top with her
-superb figure outlined against the lights of the hall, looking
-back into the street.
-"Is the poor gentleman much hurt?" she asked.
-"He is dead," cried several voices.
-"No, no, there's life in him!" shouted another. "But he'll be
-gone before you can get him to hospital."
-"He's a brave fellow," said a woman. "They would have had the
-lady's purse and watch if it hadn't been for him. They were a
-gang, and a rough one, too. Ah, he's breathing now."
-"He can't lie in the street. May we bring him in, marm?"
-"Surely. Bring him into the sitting-room. There is a comfortable
-sofa. This way, please!"
-Slowly and solemnly he was borne into Briony Lodge and laid out
-in the principal room, while I still observed the proceedings
-from my post by the window. The lamps had been lit, but the
-blinds had not been drawn, so that I could see Holmes as he lay
-upon the couch. I do not know whether he was seized with
-compunction at that moment for the part he was playing, but I
-know that I never felt more heartily ashamed of myself in my life
-than when I saw the beautiful creature against whom I was
-conspiring, or the grace and kindliness with which she waited
-upon the injured man. And yet it would be the blackest treachery
-to Holmes to draw back now from the part which he had intrusted
-to me. I hardened my heart, and took the smoke-rocket from under
-my ulster. After all, I thought, we are not injuring her. We are
-but preventing her from injuring another.
-Holmes had sat up upon the couch, and I saw him motion like a man
-who is in need of air. A maid rushed across and threw open the
-window. At the same instant I saw him raise his hand and at the
-signal I tossed my rocket into the room with a cry of "Fire!" The
-word was no sooner out of my mouth than the whole crowd of
-spectators, well dressed and ill--gentlemen, ostlers, and
-servant-maids--joined in a general shriek of "Fire!" Thick clouds
-of smoke curled through the room and out at the open window. I
-caught a glimpse of rushing figures, and a moment later the voice
-of Holmes from within assuring them that it was a false alarm.
-Slipping through the shouting crowd I made my way to the corner
-of the street, and in ten minutes was rejoiced to find my
-friend's arm in mine, and to get away from the scene of uproar.
-He walked swiftly and in silence for some few minutes until we
-had turned down one of the quiet streets which lead towards the
-Edgeware Road.
-"You did it very nicely, Doctor," he remarked. "Nothing could
-have been better. It is all right."
-"You have the photograph?"
-"I know where it is."
-"And how did you find out?"
-"She showed me, as I told you she would."
-"I am still in the dark."
-"I do not wish to make a mystery," said he, laughing. "The matter
-was perfectly simple. You, of course, saw that everyone in the
-street was an accomplice. They were all engaged for the evening."
-"I guessed as much."
-"Then, when the row broke out, I had a little moist red paint in
-the palm of my hand. I rushed forward, fell down, clapped my hand
-to my face, and became a piteous spectacle. It is an old trick."
-"That also I could fathom."
-"Then they carried me in. She was bound to have me in. What else
-could she do? And into her sitting-room, which was the very room
-which I suspected. It lay between that and her bedroom, and I was
-determined to see which. They laid me on a couch, I motioned for
-air, they were compelled to open the window, and you had your
-"How did that help you?"
-"It was all-important. When a woman thinks that her house is on
-fire, her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she
-values most. It is a perfectly overpowering impulse, and I have
-more than once taken advantage of it. In the case of the
-Darlington substitution scandal it was of use to me, and also in
-the Arnsworth Castle business. A married wom
-an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box. Now it was clear to
-me that our lady of to-day had nothing in the house more precious
-to her than what we are in quest of. She would rush to secure it.
-The alarm of fire was admirably done. The smoke and shouting were
-enough to shake nerves of steel. She responded beautifully. The
-photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the
-right bell-pull. She was there in an instant, and I caught a
-glimpse of it as she half-drew it out. When I cried out that it
-was a false alarm, she replaced it, glanced at the rocket, rushed
-from the room, and I have not seen her since. I rose, and, making
-my excuses, escaped from the house. I hesitated whether to
-attempt to secure th but the coachman had
-come in, and as he was watching me narrowly it seemed safer to
-wait. A little over-precipitance may ruin all."
-"And now?" I asked.
-"Our quest is practically finished. I shall call with the King
-to-morrow, and with you, if you care to come with us. We will be
-shown into the sitting-room to wait for the lady, but it is
-probable that when she comes she may find neither us nor the
-photograph. It might be a satisfaction to his Majesty to regain
-it with his own hands."
-"And when will you call?"
-"At eight in the morning. She will not be up, so that we shall
-have a clear field. Besides, we must be prompt, for this marriage
-may mean a complete change in her life and habits. I must wire to
-the King without delay."
-We had reached Baker Street and had stopped at the door. He was
-searching his pockets for the key when someone passing said:
-"Good-night, Mister Sherlock Holmes."
-There were several people on the pavement at the time, but the
-greeting appeared to come from a slim youth in an ulster who had
-hurried by.
-"I've heard that voice before," said Holmes, staring down the
-dimly lit street. "Now, I wonder who the deuce that could have
-I slept at Baker Street that night, and we were engaged upon our
-toast and coffee in the morning when the King of Bohemia rushed
-into the room.
-"You have really got it!" he cried, grasping Sherlock Holmes by
-either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face.
-"Not yet."
-"But you have hopes?"
-"I have hopes."
-"Then, come. I am all impatience to be gone."
-"We must have a cab."
-"No, my brougham is waiting."
-"Then that will simplify matters." We descended and started off
-once more for Briony Lodge.
-"Irene Adler is married," remarked Holmes.
-"Married! When?"
-"Yesterday."
-"But to whom?"
-"To an English lawyer named Norton."
-"But she could not love him."
-"I am in hopes that she does."
-"And why in hopes?"
-"Because it would spare your Majesty all fear of future
-annoyance. If the lady loves her husband, she does not love your
-Majesty. If she does not love your Majesty, there is no reason
-why she should interfere with your Majesty's plan."
-"It is true. And yet--Well! I wish she had been of my own
-station! What a queen she would have made!" He relapsed into a
-moody silence, which was not broken until we drew up in
-Serpentine Avenue.
-The door of Briony Lodge was open, and an elderly woman stood
-upon the steps. She watched us with a sardonic eye as we stepped
-from the brougham.
-"Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I believe?" said she.
-"I am Mr. Holmes," answered my companion, looking at her with a
-questioning and rather startled gaze.
-"Indeed! My mistress told me that you were likely to call. She
-left this morning with her husband by the 5:15 train from Charing
-Cross for the Continent."
-"What!" Sherlock Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and
-surprise. "Do you mean that she has left England?"
-"Never to return."
-"And the papers?" asked the King hoarsely. "All is lost."
-"We shall see." He pushed past the servant and rushed into the
-drawing-room, followed by the King and myself. The furniture was
-scattered about in every direction, with dismantled shelves and
-open drawers, as if the lady had hurriedly ransacked them before
-her flight. Holmes rushed at the bell-pull, tore back a small
-sliding shutter, and, plunging in his hand, pulled out a
-photograph and a letter. The photograph was of Irene Adler
-herself in evening dress, the letter was superscribed to
-"Sherlock Holmes, Esq. To be left till called for." My friend
-tore it open and we all three read it together. It was dated at
-midnight of the preceding night and ran in this way:
-"MY DEAR MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES,--You really did it very well. You
-took me in completely. Until after the alarm of fire, I had not a
-suspicion. But then, when I found how I had betrayed myself, I
-began to think. I had been warned against you months ago. I had
-been told that if the King employed an agent it would certainly
-be you. And your address had been given me. Yet, with all this,
-you made me reveal what you wanted to know. Even after I became
-suspicious, I found it hard to think evil of such a dear, kind
-old clergyman. But, you know, I have been trained as an actress
-myself. Male costume is nothing new to me. I often take advantage
-of the freedom which it gives. I sent John, the coachman, to
-watch you, ran up stairs, got into my walking-clothes, as I call
-them, and came down just as you departed.
-"Well, I followed you to your door, and so made sure that I was
-really an object of interest to the celebrated Mr. Sherlock
-Holmes. Then I, rather imprudently, wished you good-night, and
-started for the Temple to see my husband.
-"We both thought the best resource was flight, when pursued by
-so form so you will find the nest empty when
-you call to-morrow. As to the photograph, your client may rest in
-peace. I love and am loved by a better man than he. The King may
-do what he will without hindrance from one whom he has cruelly
-wronged. I keep it only to safeguard myself, and to preserve a
-weapon which will always secure me from any steps which he might
-take in the future. I leave a photograph which he might care to
- and I remain, dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes,
"Very truly yours,
"IRENE NORTON, n?e ADLER."
-"What a woman--oh, what a woman!" cried the King of Bohemia, when
-we had all three read this epistle. "Did I not tell you how quick
-and resolute she was? Would she not have made an admirable queen?
-Is it not a pity that she was not on my level?"
-"From what I have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a
-very different level to your Majesty," said Holmes coldly. "I am
-sorry that I have not been able to bring your Majesty's business
-to a more successful conclusion."
-"On the contrary, my dear sir," cried the K "nothing could be
-more successful. I know that her word is inviolate. The
-photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire."
-"I am glad to hear your Majesty say so."
-"I am immensely indebted to you. Pray tell me in what way I can
-reward you. This ring--" He slipped an emerald snake ring from
-his finger and held it out upon the palm of his hand.
-"Your Majesty has something which I should value even more
-highly," said Holmes.
-"You have but to name it."
-"This photograph!"
-The King stared at him in amazement.
-"Irene's photograph!" he cried. "Certainly, if you wish it."
-"I thank your Majesty. Then there is no more to be done in the
-matter. I have the honour to wish you a very good-morning." He
-bowed, and, turning away without observing the hand which the
-King had stretched out to him, he set off in my company for his
-chambers.
-And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom
-of Bohemia, and how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were
-beaten by a woman's wit. He used to make merry over the
-cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. And
-when he speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her
-photograph, it is always under the honourable title of the woman.
-ADVENTURE II. THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE
-I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the
-autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a
-very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair.
-With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when
-Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door
-behind me.
-"You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear
-Watson," he said cordially.
-"I was afraid that you were engaged."
-"So I am. Very much so."
-"Then I can wait in the next room."
-"Not at all. This gentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner and
-helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no
-doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also."
-The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of
-greeting, with a quick little questioning glance from his small
-fat-encircled eyes.
-"Try the settee," said Holmes, relapsing into his armchair and
-putting his fingertips together, as was his custom when in
-judicial moods. "I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love
-of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum
-routine of everyday life. You have shown your relish for it by
-the enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle, and, if you
-will excuse my saying so, somewhat to embellish so many of my own
-little adventures."
-"Your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me," I
-observed.
-"You will remember that I remarked the other day, just before we
-went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary
-Sutherland, that for strange effects and extraordinary
-combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more
-daring than any effort of the imagination."
-"A proposition which I took the liberty of doubting."
-"You did, Doctor, but none the less you must come round to my
-view, for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you
-until your reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to
-be right. Now, Mr. Jabez Wilson here has been good enough to call
-upon me this morning, and to begin a narrative which promises to
-be one of the most singular which I have listened to for some
-time. You have heard me remark that the strangest and most unique
-things are very often connected not with the larger but with the
-smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for
-doubt whether any positive crime has been committed. As far as I
-have heard it is impossible for me to say whether the present
-case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events is
-certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to.
-Perhaps, Mr. Wilson, you would have the great kindness to
-recommence your narrative. I ask you not merely because my friend
-Dr. Watson has not heard the opening part but also because the
-peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to have every
-possible detail from your lips. As a rule, when I have heard some
-slight indication of the course of events, I am able to guide
-myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my
-memory. In the present instance I am forced to admit that the
-facts are, to the best of my belief, unique."
-The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some
-little pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the
-inside pocket of his greatcoat. As he glanced down the
-advertisement column, with his head thrust forward and the paper
-flattened out upon his knee, I took a good look at the man and
-endeavoured, after the fashion of my companion, to read the
-indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance.
-I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor
-bore every mark of being an average commonplace British
-tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy grey
-shepherd's check trousers, a not over-clean black frock-coat,
-unbuttoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy
-Albert chain, and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as
-an ornament. A frayed top-hat and a faded brown overcoat with a
-wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him. Altogether,
-look as I would, there was nothing remarkable about the man save
-his blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and
-discontent upon his features.
-Sherlock Holmes' quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook
-his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances.
-"Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual
-labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has
-been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of
-writing lately, I can deduce nothing else."
-Mr. Jabez Wilson started up in his chair, with his forefinger
-upon the paper, but his eyes upon my companion.
-"How, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, Mr.
-Holmes?" he asked. "How did you know, for example, that I did
-manual labour. It's as true as gospel, for I began as a ship's
-carpenter."
-"Your hands, my dear sir. Your right hand is quite a size larger
-than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more
-developed."
-"Well, the snuff, then, and the Freemasonry?"
-"I won't insult your intelligence by telling you how I read that,
-especially as, rather against the strict rules of your order, you
-use an arc-and-compass breastpin."
-"Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?"
-"What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for
-five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the
-elbow where you rest it upon the desk?"
-"Well, but China?"
-"The fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right
-wrist could only have been done in China. I have made a small
-study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature
-of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes' scales of a
-delicate pink is quite peculiar to China. When, in addition, I
-see a Chinese coin hanging from your watch-chain, the matter
-becomes even more simple."
-Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily. "Well, I never!" said he. "I
-thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see
-that there was nothing in it, after all."
-"I begin to think, Watson," said Holmes, "that I make a mistake
-in explaining. 'Omne ignotum pro magnifico,' you know, and my
-poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I
-am so candid. Can you not find the advertisement, Mr. Wilson?"
-"Yes, I have got it now," he answered with his thick red finger
-planted halfway down the column. "Here it is. This is what began
-it all. You just read it for yourself, sir."
-I took the paper from him and read as follows:
-"TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE: On account of the bequest of the late
-Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U. S. A., there is now
-another vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a
-salary of 4 pounds a week for purely nominal services. All
-red-headed men who are sound in body and mind and above the age
-of twenty-one years, are eligible. Apply in person on Monday, at
-eleven o'clock, to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the League, 7
-Pope's Court, Fleet Street."
-"What on earth does this mean?" I ejaculated after I had twice
-read over the extraordinary announcement.
-Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when
-in high spirits. "It is a little off the beaten track, isn't it?"
-said he. "And now, Mr. Wilson, off you go at scratch and tell us
-all about yourself, your household, and the effect which this
-advertisement had upon your fortunes. You will first make a note,
-Doctor, of the paper and the date."
-"It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two months
-"Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson?"
-"Well, it is just as I have been telling you, Mr. Sherlock
-Holmes," said Jabez Wilson,
"I have a small
-pawnbroker's business at Coburg Square, near the City. It's not a
-very large affair, and of late years it has not done more than
-just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two assistants,
-but now I and I would have a job to pay him but
-that he is willing to come for half wages so as to learn the
-business."
-"What is the name of this obliging youth?" asked Sherlock Holmes.
-"His name is Vincent Spaulding, and he's not such a youth,
-either. It's hard to say his age. I should not wish a smarter
-assistant, Mr. H and I know very well that he could better
-himself and earn twice what I am able to give him. But, after
-all, if he is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his head?"
-"Why, indeed? You seem most fortunate in having an employ? who
-comes under the full market price. It is not a common experience
-among employers in this age. I don't know that your assistant is
-not as remarkable as your advertisement."
-"Oh, he has his faults, too," said Mr. Wilson. "Never was such a
-fellow for photography. Snapping away with a camera when he ought
-to be improving his mind, and then diving down into the cellar
-like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures. That is his
-main fault, but on the whole he's a good worker. There's no vice
-"He is still with you, I presume?"
-"Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple
-cooking and keeps the place clean--that's all I have in the
-house, for I am a widower and never had any family. We live very
-quietly, sir, and we keep a roof over our heads
-and pay our debts, if we do nothing more.
-"The first thing that put us out was that advertisement.
-Spaulding, he came down into the office just this day eight
-weeks, with this very paper in his hand, and he says:
-"'I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.'
-"'Why that?' I asks.
-"'Why,' says he, 'here's another vacancy on the League of the
-Red-headed Men. It's worth quite a little fortune to any man who
-gets it, and I understand that there are more vacancies than
-there are men, so that the trustees are at their wits' end what
-to do with the money. If my hair would only change colour, here's
-a nice little crib all ready for me to step into.'
-"'Why, what is it, then?' I asked. You see, Mr. Holmes, I am a
-very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of
-my having to go to it, I was often weeks on end without putting
-my foot over the door-mat. In that way I didn't know much of what
-was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news.
-"'Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?' he
-asked with his eyes open.
-"'Never.'
-"'Why, I wonder at that, for you are eligible yourself for one
-of the vacancies.'
-"'And what are they worth?' I asked.
-"'Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight,
-and it need not interfere very much with one's other
-occupations.'
-"Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears,
-for the business has not been over-good for some years, and an
-extra couple of hundred would have been very handy.
-"'Tell me all about it,' said I.
-"'Well,' said he, showing me the advertisement, 'you can see for
-yourself that the League has a vacancy, and there is the address
-where you should apply for particulars. As far as I can make out,
-the League was founded by an American millionaire, Ezekiah
-Hopkins, who was very peculiar in his ways. He was himself
-red-headed, and he had a great sympathy for all red-
-so when he died it was found that he had left his enormous
-fortune in the hands of trustees, with instructions to apply the
-interest to the providing of easy berths to men whose hair is of
-that colour. From all I hear it is splendid pay and very little to
-"'But,' said I, 'there would be millions of red-headed men who
-would apply.'
-"'Not so many as you might think,' he answered. 'You see it is
-really confined to Londoners, and to grown men. This American had
-started from London when he was young, and he wanted to do the
-old town a good turn. Then, again, I have heard it is no use your
-applying if your hair is light red, or dark red, or anything but
-real bright, blazing, fiery red. Now, if you cared to apply, Mr.
-Wilson, yo but perhaps it would hardly be
-worth your while to put yours