at i take upon myself, but i have

given hopkins an excellent hint, and if he can't avail himself of

it i can do no more. see here, captain croker, we'll do this in

due form of law. you are the prisoner. watson, you are a british

jury, and i never met a man who was more eminently fitted to

represent one. i am the judge. now, gentleman of the jury, you

have heard the evidence. do you find the prisoner guilty or not

guilty?"

"not guilty, my lord," said i.

"vox populi, vox dei. you are acquitted, captain croker. so long

as the law does not find some other victim you are safe from me.

come back to this lady in a year, and may her future and yours

justify us in the judgment which we have pronounced this night."

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{seco, rev 4, 1/17/96 rms, 4th proofing}

{the adventure of the second stain, by arthur conan doyle}

{source: the strand magazine, 28 (dec. 1904)}

{etext prepared by roger squires rsquires@nmia.com}

{braces({}) in the text indicate textual end-notes}

{underscores (_) in the text indicate italics}

xiii. -- the adventure of the second stain.

i had intended "the adventure of the abbey grange" to be the last

of those exploits of my friend, mr. sherlock holmes, which i

should ever communicate to the public. this resolution of mine

was not due to any lack of material, since i have notes of many

hundreds of cases to which i have never alluded, nor was it caused

by any waning interest on the part of my readers in the singular

personality and unique methods of this remarkable man. the real

reason lay in the reluctance which mr. holmes has shown to the

continued publication of his experiences. so long as he was in

actual professional practice the records of his successes were of

some practical value to him; but since he has definitely retired

from london and betaken himself to study and bee-farming on the

sussex downs, notoriety has become hateful to him, and he has

peremptorily requested that his wishes in this matter should be

strictly observed. it was only upon my representing to him that i

had given a promise that "the adventure of the second stain"

should be published when the times were ripe, and pointing out to

him that it is only appropriate that this long series of episodes

should culminate in the most important international case which he

has ever been called upon to handle, that i at last succeeded in

obtaining his consent that a carefully-guarded account of the

incident should at last be laid before the public. if in telling

the story i seem to be somewhat vague in certain details the

public will readily understand that there is an excellent reason

for my reticence.

it was, then, in a year, and even in a decade, that shall be

nameless, that upon one tuesday morning in autumn we found two

visitors of european fame within the walls of our humble room in

baker street. the one, austere, high-nosed, eagle-eyed, and

dominant, was none other than the illustrious lord bellinger,

twice premier of britain. the other, dark, clear-cut, and

elegant, hardly yet of middle age, and endowed with every beauty

of body and of mind, was the right honourable trelawney hope,

secretary for european affairs, and the most rising statesman in

the country. they sat side by side upon our paper-littered

settee, and it was easy to see from their worn and anxious faces

that it was business of the most pressing importance which had

brought them. the premier's thin, blue-veined hands were clasped

tightly over the ivory head of his umbrella, and his gaunt,

ascetic face looked gloomily from holmes to me. the european

secretary pulled nervously at his moustache and fidgeted with the

seals of his watch-chain.

"when i discovered my loss, mr. holmes, which was at eight o'clock

this morning, i at once informed the prime minister. it was at

his suggestion that we have both come to you."

"have you informed the police?"

"no, sir," said the prime minister, with the quick, decisive

manner for which he was famous. "we have not done so, nor is it

possible that we should do so. to inform the police must, in the

long run, mean to inform the public. this is what we particularly

desire to avoid."

"and why, sir?"

"because the document in question is of such immense importance

that its publication might very easily -- i might almost say

probably -- lead to european complications of the utmost moment.

it is not too much to say that peace or war may hang upon the

issue. unless its recovery can be attended with the utmost

secrecy, then it may as well not be recovered at all, for all that

is aimed at by those who have taken it is that its contents should

be general