-- especially if he has disappeared since last night -- we

will have some indication as to where the document has gone."

"why should he be missing?" asked the european secretary. "he

would take the letter to an embassy in london, as likely as not."

"i fancy not. these agents work independently, and their

relations with the embassies are often strained."

the prime minister nodded his acquiescence.

"i believe you are right, mr. holmes. he would take so valuable a

prize to head-quarters with his own hands. i think that your

course of action is an excellent one. meanwhile, hope, we cannot

neglect all our other duties on account of this one misfortune.

should there be any fresh developments during the day we shall

communicate with you, and you will no doubt let us know the

results of your own inquiries."

the two statesmen bowed and walked gravely from the room.

when our illustrious visitors had departed holmes lit his pipe in

silence, and sat for some time lost in the deepest thought. i had

opened the morning paper and was immersed in a sensational crime

which had occurred in london the night before, when my friend gave

an exclamation, sprang to his feet, and laid his pipe down upon

the mantelpiece.

"yes," said he, "there is no better way of approaching it. the

situation is desperate, but not hopeless. even now, if we could

be sure which of them has taken it, it is just possible that it

has not yet passed out of his hands. after all, it is a question

of money with these fellows, and i have the british treasury

behind me. if it's on the market i'll buy it -- if it means

another penny on the income-tax. it is conceivable that the

fellow might hold it back to see what bids come from this side

before he tries his luck on the other. there are only those three

capable of playing so bold a game; there are oberstein, la

rothiere, and eduardo lucas. i will see each of them."

i glanced at my morning paper.

"is that eduardo lucas of godolphin street?"

"yes."

"you will not see him."

"why not?"

"he was murdered in his house last night."

my friend has so often astonished me in the course of our

adventures that it was with a sense of exultation that i realized

how completely i had astonished him. he stared in amazement, and

then snatched the paper from my hands. this was the paragraph

which i had been engaged in reading when he rose from his chair:--

"murder in westminster.

"a crime of mysterious character was committed last night at 16,

godolphin street, one of the old-fashioned and secluded rows of

eighteenth-century houses which lie between the river and the

abbey, almost in the shadow of the great tower of the houses of

parliament. this small but select mansion has been inhabited for

some years by mr. eduardo lucas, well known in society circles

both on account of his charming personality and because he has the

well-deserved reputation of being one of the best amateur tenors

in the country. mr. lucas is an unmarried man, thirty-four years

of age, and his establishment consists of mrs. pringle, an elderly

housekeeper, and of mitton, his valet. the former retires early

and sleeps at the top of the house. the valet was out for the

evening, visiting a friend at hammersmith. from ten o'clock

onwards mr. lucas had the house to himself. what occurred during

that time has not yet transpired, but at a quarter to twelve

police-constable barrett, passing along godolphin street, observed

that the door of no. 16 was ajar. he knocked, but received no

answer. perceiving a light in the front room he advanced into the

passage and again knocked, but without reply. he then pushed open

the door and entered. the room was in a state of wild disorder,

the furniture being all swept to one side, and one chair lying on

its back in the centre. beside this chair, and still grasping one

of its legs, lay the unfortunate tenant of the house. he had been

stabbed to the heart and must have died instantly. the knife with

which the crime had been committed was a curved indian dagger,

plucked down from a trophy of oriental arms which adorned one of

the walls. robbery does not appear to have been the motive of the

crime, for there had been no attempt to remove the valuable

contents of the room. mr. eduardo lucas was so well known and

popular that his violent and mysterious fate will arouse painful

interest and intense sympathy in a wide-spread circle of friends."

"well, watson, what do you make of this?" asked holmes, after a

long pause.

"it is an amazing coincidence."

"a coincidence! here is one of the three men whom we had named as

possible actors in this drama, and he meets a violent death during

the very hours when we know that that drama was being enacted.

the odds are enormous against its being coincidence. no figures

c