for him, and in the scuffle he receives his own

death-wound. how is that, mr. sherlock holmes?"

holmes clapped his hands approvingly.

"excellent, lestrade, excellent!" he cried. "but i didn't

quite follow your explanation of the destruction of the

busts."

"the busts! you never can get those busts out of your

head. after all, that is nothing; petty larceny, six

months at the most. it is the murder that we are really

investigating, and i tell you that i am gathering all the

threads into my hands."

"and the next stage?"

"is a very simple one. i shall go down with hill to the

italian quarter, find the man whose photograph we have got,

and arrest him on the charge of murder. will you come with us?"

"i think not. i fancy we can attain our end in a simpler way.

i can't say for certain, because it all depends -- well,

it all depends upon a factor which is completely

outside our control. but i have great hopes -- in fact,

the betting is exactly two to one -- that if you will come

with us to-night i shall be able to help you to lay him by

the heels."

"in the italian quarter?"

"no; i fancy chiswick is an address which is more likely to

find him. if you will come with me to chiswick to-night,

lestrade, i'll promise to go to the italian quarter with

you to-morrow, and no harm will be done by the delay. and

now i think that a few hours' sleep would do us all good,

for i do not propose to leave before eleven o'clock, and it

is unlikely that we shall be back before morning. you'll

dine with us, lestrade, and then you are welcome to the

sofa until it is time for us to start. in the meantime,

watson, i should be glad if you would ring for an express

messenger, for i have a letter to send, and it is important

that it should go at once."

holmes spent the evening in rummaging among the files of

the old daily papers with which one of our lumber-rooms was

packed. when at last he descended it was with triumph in

his eyes, but he said nothing to either of us as to the

result of his researches. for my own part, i had followed

step by step the methods by which he had traced the various

windings of this complex case, and, though i could not yet

perceive the goal which we would reach, i understood

clearly that holmes expected this grotesque criminal to

make an attempt upon the two remaining busts, one of which,

i remembered, was at chiswick. no doubt the object of our

journey was to catch him in the very act, and i could not

but admire the cunning with which my friend had inserted a

wrong clue in the evening paper, so as to give the fellow

the idea that he could continue his scheme with impunity.

i was not surprised when holmes suggested that i should

take my revolver with me. he had himself picked up the

loaded hunting-crop which was his favourite weapon.

a four-wheeler was at the door at eleven, and in it we

drove to a spot at the other side of hammersmith bridge.

here the cabman was directed to wait. a short walk brought

us to a secluded road fringed with pleasant houses, each

standing in its own grounds. in the light of a street lamp

we read "laburnum villa" upon the gate-post of one of them.

the occupants had evidently retired to rest, for all was

dark save for a fanlight over the hall door, which shed a

single blurred circle on to the garden path. the wooden

fence which separated the grounds from the road threw a

dense black shadow upon the inner side, and here it was

that we crouched.

"i fear that you'll have a long wait," holmes whispered.

"we may thank our stars that it is not raining. i don't

think we can even venture to smoke to pass the time.

however, it's a two to one chance that we get something to

pay us for our trouble."

it proved, however, that our vigil was not to be so long as

holmes had led us to fear, and it ended in a very sudden

and singular fashion. in an instant, without the least

sound to warn us of his coming, the garden gate swung open,

and a lithe, dark figure, as swift and active as an ape,

rushed up the garden path. we saw it whisk past the light

thrown from over the door and disappear against the black

shadow of the house. there was a long pause, during which

we held our breath, and then a very gentle creaking sound

came to our ears. the window was being opened. the noise

ceased, and again there was a long silence. the fellow was

making his way into the house. we saw the sudden flash of

a dark lantern inside the room. what he sought was

evidently not there, for again we saw the flash through

another blind, and then through another.

"let us get to the open window. we will nab him as he

climbs out," lestrade whispered.

but before we could move the man had emerged again.

as he came out into the glimmering patch of light we saw

that he carried something white under his arm. he looked