A very patient man was that inspector in the cab, for it was aweary time before I rejoined him. His face clouded over when Ishowed him the empty box.

"There goes the reward!" said he gloomily. "Where there isno money there is no pay. This night's work would have beenworth a tenner each to Sam Brown and me if the treasure hadbeen there."

"Mr. Thaddeus Sholto is a rich man," I said; "he will seethat you are rewarded, treasure or no."

The inspector shook his head despondently, however.

"It's a bad job," he repeated; "and so Mr. Athelney Joneswill think."

His forecast proved to be correct, for the detective lookedblank enough when I got to Baker Street and showed him theempty box. They had only just arrived, Holmes, the prisoner,and he, for they had changed their plans so far as to reportthemselves at a station upon the way. My companion lounged inhis armchair with his usual listless expression, while Small satstolidly opposite to him with his wooden leg cocked over hissound one. As I exhibited the empty box he leaned back in hischair and laughed aloud.

"This is your doing, Small," said Athelney Jones angrily.

"Yes, I have put it away where you shall never lay hand uponit," he cried exultantly. "It is my treasure, and if I can't havethe loot I'll take darned good care that no one else does. I tellyou that no living man has any right to it, unless it is three menwho are in the Andaman convict-barracks and myself. I knownow that I cannot have the use of it, and I know that they cannot.I have acted all through for them as much as for myself. It'sbeen the sign of four with us always. Well, I know that theywould have had me do just what I have done, and throw thetreasure into the Thames rather than let it go to kith or kin ofSholto or Morstan. It was not to make them rich that we did forAchmet. You'll find the treasure where the key is and wherelittle Tonga is. When I saw that your launch must catch us, I putthe loot away in a safe place. There are no rupees for you thisjourney."

"You are deceiving us, Small," said Athelney Jones sternly;"if you had wished to throw the treasure into the Thames, itwould have been easier for you to have thrown box and all."

"Easier for me to throw and easier for you to recover," heanswered with a shrewd, side-long look. "The man that wasclever enough to hunt me down is clever enough to pick an ironbox from the bottom of a river. Now that they are scattered overfive miles or so, it may be a harder job. It went to my heart to doit though. I was half mad when you came up with us. However,there's no good grieving over it. I've had ups in my life, andI've had downs, but I've learned not to cry over spilled milk."

"This is a very serious matter, Small," said the detective. "Ifyou had helped justice, instead of thwarting it in this way, youwould have had a better chance at your trial."

"Justice!" snarled the ex-convict. "A pretty justice! Whoseloot is this, if it is not ours? Where is the justice that I shouldgive it up to those who have never earned it? Look how I haveearned it! Twenty long years in that fever-ridden swamp, all dayat work under the mangrove-tree, all night chained up in thefilthy convict-huts, bitten by mosquitoes, racked with ague,bullied by every cursed black-faced policeman who loved to takeit out of a white man. That was how I earned the Agra treasure,and you talk to me of justice because I cannot bear to feel that Ihave paid this price only that another may enjoy it! I wouldrather swing a score of times, or have one of Tonga's darts in myhide, than live in a convict's cell and feel that another man is athis ease in a palace with the money that should be mine."

Small had dropped his mask of stoicism, and all this came outin a wild whirl of words, while his eyes blazed, and the hand-cuffs clanked together with the impassioned movement of hishands. I could understand, as I saw the fury and the passion ofthe man, that it was no groundless or unnatural terror which hadpossessed Major Sholto when he first learned that the injuredconvict was upon his track.

"You forget that we know nothing of all this," said Holmesquietly. "We have not heard your story, and we cannot tell howfar justice may originally have been on your side."

"Well, sir, you have been very fair-spoken to me, though Ican see that I have you to thank that I have these bracelets uponmy wrists. Still, I bear no grudge for that. It is all fair andabove-board. If you want to hear my story, I have no wish tohold it back. What I say to you is God's truth, every word of it.Thank you, you can put the glass beside me here, and I'll put mylips to it if I am dry.

"I am a Worcestershire man myself, born near Pershore. Idare say you would find a heap of Smalls living there now if youwere to look. I have often thought of taking a look round there,but the truth is that I was never much of a credit to the family,and I doubt if they would be so very glad to see me. They wereall steady, chapel-going folk, small farmers, well known andrespected over the countryside, while I was always a bit of arover. At last, however, when I was about eighteen, I gave themno more trouble, for I got into a mess over a girl and could onlyget out of it again by taking the Queen's shilling and joining theThird Buffs, which was just starting for India.

"I wasn't destined to do much soldiering, however. I had justgot past the goose-step and learned to handle my musket, when Iwas fool enough to go swimming in the Ganges. Luckily for me,my company sergeant, John Holder, was in the water at the sametime, and he was one of the finest swimmers in the service. Acrocodile took me just as I was halfway across and nipped offmy right leg as clean as a surgeon could have done it, just abovethe knee. What with the shock and the loss of blood, I fainted,and should have been drowned if Holder had not caught hold ofme and paddled for the bank. I was five months in hospital overit, and when at last I was able to limp out of it with this timbertoe strapped to my stump, I found myself invalided out of theArmy and unfitted for any active occupation.

"I was, as you can imagine, pretty down on my luck at thistime, for I was a useless cripple, though not yet in my twentiethyear. However, my misfortune soon proved to be a blessing indisguise. A man named Abel White, who had come out there asan indigo-planter, wanted an overseer to look after his cooliesand keep them up to their work. He happened to be a friend ofour colonel's, who had taken an interest in me since the acci-dent. To make a long story shon, the colonel recommended mestrongly for the post, and, as the work was mostly to be done onhorseback, my leg was no great obstacle, for I had enough thighleft to keep a good grip on the saddle. What I had to do was toride over the plantation, to keep an eye on the men as theyworked, and to report the idlers. The pay was fair, I had com-fortable quarters, and altogether I was content to spend theremainder of my life in indigo-planting. Mr. Abel White was akind man, and he would often drop into my little shanty andsmoke a pipe with me, for white folk out there feel their heartswarm to each other as they never do here at home.

"Well, I was never in luck's way long. Suddenly, without anote of warning, the great mutiny broke upon us. One monthIndia lay as still and peaceful, to all appearance, as Surrey orKent; the next there were two hundred thousand black devils letloose, and the country was a perfect hell. Of course you know allabout it, gentlemen -- a deal more than I do, very like, sincereading is not in my line. I only know what I saw with my owneyes. Our plantation was at a place called Muttra, near theborder of the Nonhwest Provinces. Night after night the wholesky was alight with the burning bungalows, and day after day wehad small companies of Europeans passing through our estatewith their wives and children, on their way to Agra, where werethe nearest troops. Mr. Abel White was an obstinate man. Hehad it in his head that the affair had been exaggerated, and that itwould blow over as suddenly as it had sprung up. There he saton his veranda, drinking whisky-pegs and smoking cheroots,while the country was in a blaze about him. Of course we stuckby him, I and Dawson, who, with his wife. used to do thebook-work and the managing. Well, one fine day the crashcame. I had been away on a distant plantation and was ridingslowly home in the evening, when my eye fell upon somethingall huddled together at the bottom of a steep nullah. I rode downto see what it was, and the cold struck through my heart when Ifound it was Dawson's wife, all cut into ribbons, and half eatenby jackals and native dogs. A little further up the road Dawsonhimself was lying on his face, quite dead, with an empty re-volver in his hand, and four sepoys lying across each other infront of him. I reined up my horse, wondering which way Ishould turn; but at that moment I saw thick smoke curling upfrom Abel White's bungalow and the flames beginning to burstthrough the roof. I knew then that I could do my employer nogood, but would only throw my own life away if I meddled inthe matter. From where I stood I could see hundreds of the blackfiends, with their red coats still on their backs, dancing andhowling round the burning house. Some of them pointed at me,and a couple of bullets sang past my head: so I broke awayacross the paddy-fields, and found myself late at night safewithin the walls at Agra.

"As it proved, however, there was no great safety there,either. The whole country was up like a swarm of bees. Wher-ever the English could collect in little bands they held just theground that their guns commanded. Everywhere else they werehelpless fugitives. It was a fight of the millions against thehundreds; and the cruellest part of it was that these men that wefought against, foot, horse, and gunners, were our own pickedtroops, whom we had taught and trained, handling our ownweapons and blowing our own bugle-calls. At Agra there werethe Third Bengal Fusiliers, some Sikhs, two troops of horse, anda battery of artillery. A volunteer corps of clerks and merchantshad been formed, and this I joined, wooden leg and all. We wentout to meet the rebels at Shahgunge early in July, and we beatthem back for a time, but our powder gave out, and we had tofall back upon the city.

"Nothing but the worst news came to us from every side -- which is not to be wondered at, for if you look at the map youwill see that we were right in the heart of it. Lucknow is ratherbetter than a hundred miles to the east, and Cawnpore about asfar to the south. From every point on the compass there wasnothing but torture and murder and outrage.

"The city of Agra is a great place, swarming with fanatics andfierce devil-worshippers of all sorts. Our handful of men werelost among the narrow, winding streets. Our leader moved acrossthe river, therefore, and took up his position in the old fort ofAgra. I don't know if any of you gentlemen have ever read orheard anything of that old fort. It is a very queer place -- thequeerest that ever I was in, and I have been in some rum corners,too. First of all it is enormous in size. I should think that theenclosure must be acres and acres. There is a modern part, whichtook all our garrison, women, children, stores, and everythingelse, with plenty of room over. But the modern part is nothinglike the size of the old quarter, where nobody goes, and which isgiven over to the scorpions and the centipedes. It is all full ofgreat deserted halls, and winding passages, and long corridorstwisting in and out, so that it is easy enough for folk to get lostin it. For this reason it was seldom that anyone went into it,though now and again a party with torches might go exploring.

"The river washes along the front of the old fort, and soprotects it, but on the sides and behind there are many doors, andthese had to be guarded, of course, in the old quarter as well asin that which was actually held by our troops. We were short-handed, with hardly men enough to man the angles of thebuilding and to serve the guns. It was impossible for us, there-fore, to station a strong guard at every one of the innumerablegates. What we did was to organize a central guardhouse in themiddle of the fort, and to leave each gate under the charge of onewhite man and two or three natives. I was selected to take chargeduring certain hours of the night of a small isolated door uponthe south-west side of the building. Two Sikh troopers wereplaced under my command, and I was instructed if anythingwent wrong to fire my musket, when I might rely upon helpcoming at once from the central guard. As the guard was a goodtwo hundred paces away, however, and as the space betweenwas cut up into a labyrinth of passages and corridors, I had greatdoubts as to whether they could arrive in time to be of any use incase of an actual attack.

"Well, I was pretty proud at having this small command givenme, since I was a raw recruit, and a game-legged one at that. Fortwo nights I kept the watch with my Punjabees. They were tall,fierce-looking chaps, Mahomet Singh and Abdullah Khan byname, both old fighting men, who had borne arms against us atChilian Wallah. They could talk English pretty well, but I couldget little out of them. They preferred to stand together, andjabber all night in their queer Sikh lingo. For myself, I used tostand outside the gateway, looking down on the broad, windingriver and on the twinkling lights of the great city. The beating ofdrums, the rattle of tomtoms, and the yells and howls of therebels, drunk with opium and with bang, were enough to remindus all night of our dangerous neighbours across the stream.Every two hours the officer of the night used to come round toall the posts to make sure that all was well.

"The third night of my watch was dark and dirty, with a smalldriving rain. It was dreary work standing in the gateway hourafter hour in such weather. I tried again and again to make mySikhs talk, but without much success. At two in the morning therounds passed and broke for a moment the weariness of thenight. Finding that my companions would not be led into conver-sation, I took out my pipe and laid down my musket to strike thematch. In an instant the two Sikhs were upon me. One of themsnatched my firelock up and levelled it at my head, while theother held a great knife to my throat and swore between his teeththat he would plunge it into me if I moved a step.

"My first thought was that these fellows were in league withthe rebels, and that this was the beginning of an assault. If ourdoor were in the hands of the sepoys the place must fall, and thewomen and children be treated as they were in Cawnpore.Maybe you gentlemen think that I am just making out a case formyself, but I give you my word that when I thought of that,though I felt the point of the knife at my throat, I opened mymouth with the intention of giving a scream, if it was my lastone, which might alarm the main guard. The man who held meseemed to know my thoughts; for, even as I braced myself to it,he whispered: 'Don't make a noise. The fort is safe enough.There are no rebel dogs on this side of the river.' There was thering of truth in what he said, and I knew that if I raised my voiceI was a dead man. I could read it in the fellow's brown eyes. Iwaited, therefore, in silence, to see what it was that they wantedfrom me.

" 'Listen to me, sahib,' said the taller and fiercer of the pair,the one whom they called Abdullah Khan. 'You must either bewith us now, or you must be silenced forever. The thing is toogreat a one for us to hesitate. Either you are heart and soul withus on your oath on the cross of the Christians, or your body thisnight shall be thrown into the ditch, and we shall pass over toour brothers in the rebel army. There is no middle way. Which isit to be -- death or life? We can only give you three minutes todecide, for the time is passing, and all must be done before therounds come again.'

" 'How can I decide?' said I. 'You have not told me what youwant of me. But I tell you now that if it is anything against thesafety of the fort I will have no truck with it, so you can drivehome your knife and welcome.'

" 'It is nothing against the fort,' said he. 'We only ask you todo that which your countrymen come to this land for. We askyou to be rich. If you will be one of us this night, we will swearto you upon the naked knife, and by the threefold oath which noSikh was ever known to break, that you shall have your fairshare of the loot. A quarter of the treasure shall be yours. Wecan say no fairer.'

" 'But what is the treasure then?' I asked. 'I am as ready to berich as you can be if you will but show me how it can be done.'

" 'You will swear, then,' said he, 'by the bones of yourfather, by the honour of your mother, by the cross of your faith,to raise no hand and speak no word against us, either now orafterwards?'

" 'I will swear it,' I answered, 'provided that the fort is notendangered.'

" 'Then my comrade and I will swear that you shall have aquarter of the treasure which shall be equally divided among thefour of us.'

" 'There are but three,' said I.

" 'No; Dost Akbar must have his share. We can tell the tale toyou while we wait them. Do you stand at the gate, MahometSingh, and give notice of their coming. The thing stands thus,sahib, and I tell it to you because I know that an oath is bindingupon a Feringhee, and that we may trust you. Had you been alying Hindoo, though you had sworn by all the gods in their falsetemples, your blood would have been upon the knife and yourbody in the water. But the Sikh knows the Englishman, and theEnglishman knows the Sikh. Hearken, then, to what I have tosay.

" 'There is a rajah in the northern provinces who has muchwealth, though his lands are small. Much has come to him fromhis father, and more still he has set by himself, for he is of a lownature and hoards his gold rather than spend it. When thetroubles broke out he would be friends both with the lion and thetiger -- with the sepoy and with the Company's raj. Soon, how-ever, it seemed to him that the white men's day was come, forthrough all the land he could hear of nothing but of their deathand their overthrow. Yet, being a careful man, he made suchplans that, come what might, half at least of his treasure shouldbe left to him. That which was in gold and silver he kept by himin the vaults of his palace, but the most precious stones and thechoicest pearls that he had he put in an iron box and sent it by atrusty servant, who, under the guise of a merchant, should take itto the fort at Agra, there to lie until the land is at peace. Thus, ifthe rebels won he would have his money, but if the Companyconquered, his jewels would be saved to him. Having thusdivided his hoard, he threw himself into the cause of the sepoys,since they were strong upon his borders. By his doing this, markyou, sahib, his property becomes the due of those who have beentrue to their salt.

" 'This pretended merchant, who travels under the name ofAchmet, is now in the city of Agra and desires to gain his wayinto the fort. He has with him as travelling-companion myfoster-brother Dost Akbar, who knows his secret. Dost Akbarhas promised this night to lead him to a side-postern of the fort,and has chosen this one for his purpose. Here he will comepresently, and here he will find Mahomet Singh and myselfawaiting him. The place is lonely, and none shall know of hiscoming. The world shall know the merchant Achmet no more,but the great treasure of the rajah shall be divided among us.What say you to it, sahib?'

"In Worcestershire the life of a man seems a great and asacred thing; but it is very different when there is fire and bloodall round you, and you have been used to meeting death at everyturn. Whether Achmet the merchant lived or died was a thing aslight as air to me, but at the talk about the treasure my heartturned to it, and I thought of what I might do in the old countrywith it, and how my folk would stare when they saw theirne'er-do-well coming back with his pockets full of gold moi-dores. I had, therefore, already made up my mind. AbdullahKhan, however, thinking that I hesitated, pressed the mattermore closely.

" 'Consider, sahib,' said he, 'that if this man is taken by thecommandant he will be hung or shot, and his jewels taken by thegovernment, so that no man will be a rupee the better for them.Now, since we do the taking of him, why should we not do therest as well? The jewels will be as well with us as in theCompany's coffers. There will be enough to make every one ofus rich men and great chiefs. No one can know about the matter,for here we are cut off from all men. What could be better forthe purpose? Say again, then, sahib, whether you are with us, orif we must look upon you as an enemy.'

" 'I am with you heart and soul,' said I.

" 'It is well,' he answered, handing me back my firelock.'You see that we trust you, for your word, like ours, is not to bebroken. We have now only to wait for my brother and themerchant.'

" 'Does your brother know, then, of what you will do?' Iasked.

" 'The plan is his. He has devised it. We will go to the gateand share the watch with Mahomet Singh.'

"The rain was still falling steadily, for it was just the begin-ning of the wet season. Brown, heavy clouds were driftingacross the sky, and it was hard to see more than a stonecast. Adeep moat lay in front of our door, but the water was in placesnearly dried up, and it could easily be crossed. It was strange tome to be standing there with those two wild Punjabees waitingfor the man who was coming to his death.

"Suddenly my eye caught the glint of a shaded lantern at theother side of the moat. It vanished among the mound-heaps, andthen appeared again coming slowly in our direction.

" 'Here they are!' I exclaimed.

" 'You will challenge him, sahib, as usual,' whispered Abdul-lah. 'Give him no cause for fear. Send us in with him, and weshall do the rest while you stay here on guard. Have the lanternready to uncover, that we may be sure that it is indeed the man.'

"The light had flickered onward, now stopping and nowadvancing, until I could see two dark figures upon the other sideof the moat. I let them scramble down the sloping bank, splashthrough the mire, and climb halfway up to the gate before Ichallenged them.

" 'Who goes there?' said I in a subdued voice.

" 'Friends,' came the answer. I uncovered my lantern andthrew a flood of light upon them. The first was an enormousSikh with a black beard which swept nearly down to his cum-merbund. Outside of a show I have never seen so tall a man. Theother was a little fat, round fellow with a great yellow turban anda bundle in his hand, done up in a shawl. He seemed to be all ina quiver with fear, for his hands twitched as if he had the ague,and his head kept turning to left and right with two bright littletwinkling eyes, like a mouse when he ventures out from his hole.It gave me the chills to think of killing him, but I thought of thetreasure, and my heart set as hard as a flint within me. When hesaw my white face he gave a little chirrup of joy and camerunning up towards me.

" 'Your protection, sahib,' he panted, 'your protection for theunhappy merchant Achmet. I have travelled across Rajpootana,that I might seek the shelter of the fort at Agra. I have beenrobbed and beaten and abused because I have been the friend ofthe Company. It is a blessed night this when I am once more insafety -- I and my poor possessions.'

" 'What have you in the bundle?' I asked.

" 'An iron box,' he answered, 'which contains one or twolittle family matters which are of no value to others but which Ishould be sorry to lose. Yet I am not a beggar; and I shall rewardyou, young sahib, and your governor also if he will give me theshelter I ask.'

"I could not trust myself to speak longer with the man. Themore I looked at his fat, frightened face, the harder did it seemthat we should slay him in cold blood. It was best to get it over.

" 'Take him to the main guard,' said I. The two Sikhs closedin upon him on each side, and the giant walked behind, whilethey marched in through the dark gateway. Never was a man socompassed round with death. I remained at the gateway with thelantern.

"I could hear the measured tramp of their footsteps soundingthrough the lonely corridors. Suddenly it ceased, and I heardvoices and a scuffle, with the sound of blows. A moment laterthere came, to my horror, a rush of footsteps coming in mydirection, with a loud breathing of a running man. I turned mylantern down the long straight passage, and there was the fatman, running like the wind, with a smear of blood across hisface, and close at his heels, bounding like a tiger, the greatblack-bearded Sikh, with a knife flashing in his hand. I havenever seen a man run so fast as that little merchant. He wasgaining on the Sikh, and I could see that if he once passed meand got to the open air he would save himself yet. My heartsoftened to him, but again the thought of his treasure turned mehard and bitter. I cast my firelock between his legs as he racedpast, and he rolled twice over like a shot rabbit. Ere he couldstagger to his feet the Sikh was upon him and buried his knifetwice in his side. The man never uttered moan nor moved musclebut lay where he had fallen. I think myself that he may havebroken his neck with the fall. You see, gentlemen, that I amkeeping my promise. I am telling you every word of the businessjust exactly as it happened, whether it is in my favour or not."

He stopped and held out his manacled hands for the whiskyand water which Holmes had brewed for him. For myself, Iconfess that I had now conceived the utmost horror of the mannot only for this cold-blooded business in which he had beenconcerned but even more for the somewhat flippant and carelessway in which he narrated it. Whatever punishment was in storefor him, I felt that he might expect no sympathy from me.Sherlock Holmes and Jones sat with their hands upon theirknees, deeply interested in the story but with the same disgustwritten upon their faces. He may have observed it, for there wasa touch of defiance in his voice and manner as he proceeded.

"It was all very bad, no doubt," said he. "I should like toknow how many fellows in my shoes would have refused a shareof this loot when they knew that they would have their throatscut for their pains. Besides, it was my life or his when once hewas in the fort. If he had got out, the whole business wouldcome to light, and I should have been court-martialled and shotas likely as not; for people were not very lenient at a time likethat."

"Go on with your story," said Holmes shortly.

"Well, we carried him in, Abdullah, Akbar, and I. A fineweight he was, too, for all that he was so shorrt. Mahomet Singhwas left to guard the door. We took him to a place which theSikhs had already prepared. It was some distance off, where awinding passage leads to a great empty hall, the brick walls ofwhich were all crumbling to pieces. The earth floor had sunk inat one place, making a natural grave, so we left Achmet themerchant there, having first covered him over with loose bricks.This done, we all went back to the treasure.

"It lay where he had dropped it when he was first attacked.The box was the same which now lies open upon your table. Akey was hung by a silken cord to that carved handle upon thetop. We opened it, and the light of the lantern gleamed upon acollection of gems such as I have read of and thought aboutwhen I was a little lad at Pershore. It was blinding to lookupon them. When we had feasted our eyes we took them all outand made a list of them. There were one hundred and forty-three diamonds of the first water, including one which has beencalled, I believe, 'the Great Mogul,' and is said to be the secondlargest stone in existence. Then there were ninety-seven veryfine emeralds, and one hundred and seventy rubies, some ofwhich, however, were small. There were forty carbuncles, twohundred and ten sapphires, sixty-one agates, and a great quantityof beryls, onyxes, cats'-eyes, turquoises, and other stones, thevery names of which I did not know at the time, though I havebecome more familiar with them since. Besides this, there werenearly three hundred very fine pearls, twelve of which were setin a gold coronet. By the way, these last had been taken out ofthe chest, and were not there when I recovered it.

"After we had counted our treasures we put them back intothe chest and carried them to the gateway to show them toMahomet Singh. Then we solemnly renewed our oath to stand byeach other and be true to our secret. We agreed to conceal ourloot in a safe place until the country should be at peace again,and then to divide it equally among ourselves. There was no usedividing it at present, for if gems of such value were found uponus it would cause suspicion, and there was no privacy in the fortnor any place where we could keep them. We carried the box,therefore, into the same hall where we had buried the body, andthere, under certain bricks in the best-preserved wall, we made ahollow and put our treasure. We made careful note of the place,and next day I drew four plans, one for each of us, and put thesign of the four of us at the bottom, for we had sworn that weshould each always act for all, so that none might take advan-tage. That is an oath that I can put my hand to my heart andswear that I have never broken.

"Well, there's no use my telling you gentlemen what came ofthe Indian mutiny. After Wilson took Delhi and Sir Colin re-lieved Lucknow the back of the business was broken. Freshtroops came pouring in, and Nana Sahib made himself scarce overthe frontier. A flying column under Colonel Greathed cameround to Agra and cleared the Pandies away from it. Peaceseemed to be settling upon the country, and we four werebeginning to hope that the time was at hand when we mightsafely go off with our shares of the plunder. In a moment,however, our hopes were shattered by our being arrested as themurderers of Achmet.

"It came about in this way. When the rajah put his jewels intothe hands of Achmet he did it because he knew that he was atrusty man. They are suspicious folk in the East, however: sowhat does this rajah do but take a second even more trustyservant and set him to play the spy upon the first. This secondman was ordered never to let Achmet out of his sight, and hefollowed him like his shadow. He went after him that night andsaw him pass through the doorway. Of course he thought he hadtaken refuge in the fort and applied for admission there himselfnext day, but could find no trace of Achmet. This seemed to himso strange that he spoke about it to a sergeant of guides, whobrought it to the ears of the commandant. A thorough search wasquickly made, and the body was discovered. Thus at the verymoment that we thought that all was safe we were all four seizedand brought to trial on a charge of murder -- three of us becausewe had held the gate that night, and the fourth because he wasknown to have been in the company of the murdered man. Not aword about the jewels came out at the trial, for the rajah hadbeen deposed and driven out of India: so no one had anyparticular interest in them. The murder, however, was clearlymade out, and it was certain that we must all have been con-cerned in it. The three Sikhs got penal servitude for life, and Iwas condemned to death, though my sentence was afterwardscommuted to the same as the others.

"It was rather a queer position that we found ourselves inthen. There we were all four tied by the leg and with preciouslittle chance of ever getting out again, while we each held asecret which might have put each of us in a palace if we couldonly have made use of it. It was enough to make a man eat hisheart out to have to stand the kick and the cuff of every pettyjack-in-office. to have rice to eat and water to drink, when thatgorgeous fortune was ready for him outside, just waiting to bepicked up. It might have driven me mad; but I was always apretty stubborn one, so I just held on and bided my time.

"At last it seemed to me to have come. I was changed fromAgra to Madras, and from there to Blair Island in the Andamans.There are very few white convicts at this settlement, and, as Ihad behaved well from the first, I soon found myself a son ofprivileged person. I was given a hut in Hope Town, which is asmall place on the slopes of Mount Harriet, and I was left prettymuch to myself. It is a dreary, fever-stricken place, and allbeyond our little clearings was infested with wild cannibal na-tives, who were ready enough to blow a poisoned dart at us ifthey saw a chance. There was digging and ditching and yam-planting, and a dozen other things to be done, so we were busyenough all day; though in the evening we had a little time toourselves. Among other things, I, learned to dispense drugs forthe surgeon, and picked up a smattering of his knowledge. Allthe time I was on the lookout for a chance to escape; but it ishundreds of miles from any other land, and there is little or nowind in those seas: so it was a terribly difficult job to get away.

"The surgeon, Dr. Somerton, was a fast, sporting youngchap, and the other young officers would meet in his rooms of anevening and play cards. The surgery, where I used to make upmy drugs, was next to his sitting-room, with a small windowbetween us. Often, if I felt lonesome, I used to turn out the lampin the surgery, and then, standing there, I could hear their talkand watch their play. I am fond of a hand at cards myself, and itwas almost as good as having one to watch the others. There wasMajor Sholto, Captain Morstan, and Lieutenant Bromley Brown,who were in command of the native troops, and there was thesurgeon himself, and two or three prison-officials, crafty oldhands who played a nice sly safe game. A very snug little partythey used to make.

"Well, there was one thing which very soon struck me, andthat was that the soldiers used always to lose and the civilians towin. Mind, I don't say there was anything unfair, but so it was.These prison-chaps had done little else than play cards ever sincethey had been at the Andamans, and they knew each other'sgame to a point, while the others just played to pass the time andthrew their cards down anyhow. Night after night the soldiers gotup poorer men, and the poorer they got the more keen they wereto play. Major Sholto was the hardest hit. He used to pay innotes and gold at first, but soon it came to notes of hand and forbig sums. He sometimes would win for a few deals just to givehim heart, and then the luck would set in against him worse thanever. All day he would wander about as black as thunder, and hetook to drinking a deal more than was good for him.

"One night he lost even more heavily than usual. I was sittingin my hut when he and Captain Morstan came stumbling alongon the way to their quarters. They were bosom friends, thosetwo, and never far apart. The major was raving about his losses.

" 'It's all up, Morstan,' he was saying as they passed my hut.'I shall have to send in my papers. I am a ruined man.'

" 'Nonsense, old chap!' said the other, slapping him upon theshoulder. ~I've had a nasty facer myself. but --' That was all Icould hear, but it was enough to set me thinking.

"A couple of days later Major Sholto was strolling on thebeach: so I took the chance of speaking to him.

" 'I wish to have your advice, Major,' said I.

" 'Well, Small, what is it?' he asked, taking his cheroot fromhis lips.

" 'I wanted to ask you, sir,' said I, 'who is the proper personto whom hidden treasure should be handed over. I know wherehalf a million worth lies, and, as I cannot use it myself, I thoughtperhaps the best thing that I could do would be to hand it over tothe proper authorities, and then perhaps they would get mysentence shortened for me.'

" 'Half a million, Small?' he gasped, looking hard at me tosee if I was in earnest.

" 'Quite that, sir -- in jewels and pearls. It lies there ready foranyone. And the queer thing about it is that the real owner isoutlawed and cannot hold property, so that it belongs to the firstcomer.'

" 'To government, Small,' he stammered, 'to government.'But he said it in a halting fashion, and I knew in my heart that Ihad got him.

" 'You think, then, sir, that I should give the information tothe governor-general?' said I quietly.

" 'Well, well, you must not do anything rash, or that youmight repent. Let me hear all about it, Small. Give me the facts.'

"I told him the whole story, with small changes, so that hecould not identify the places. When I had finished he stood stockstill and full of thought. I could see by the twitch of his lip thatthere was a struggle going on within him.

" 'This is a very important matter, Small,' he said at last.'You must not say a word to anyone about it, and I shall see youagain soon.'

"Two nights later he and his friend, Captain Morstan, cameto my hut in the dead of the night with a lantern.

" 'I want you just to let Captain Morstan hear that story fromyour own lips, Small,' said he.

"I repeated it as I had told it before.

" 'It rings true, eh?' said he. 'It's good enough to act upon?'

"Captain Morstan nodded.

" 'Look here, Small,' said the major. 'We have been talkingit over, my friend here and I, and we have come to the conclu-sion that this secret of yours is hardly a government matter, afterall, but is a private concern of your own, which of course youhave the power of disposing of as you think best. Now thequestion is, What price would you ask for it? We might beinclined to take it up, and at least look into it, if we could agreeas to terms.' He tried to speak in a cool, careless way, but hiseyes were shining with excitement and greed.

" 'Why, as to that, gentlemen,' I answered, trying also to becool but feeling as excited as he did, 'there is only one bargainwhich a man in my position can make. I shall want you to helpme to my freedom, and to help my three companions to theirs.We shall then take you into partnership and give you a fifth shareto divide between you.'

" 'Hum!' said he. 'A fifth share! That is not very tempting.'

" 'It would come to fifty thousand apiece,' said I.

" 'But how can we gain your freedom? You know very wellthat you ask an impossibility.'

" 'Nothing of the sort,' I answered. 'I have thought it all outto the last detail. The only bar to our escape is that we can get noboat fit for the voyage, and no provisions to last us for so long atime. There are plenty of little yachts and yawls at Calcutta orMadras which would serve our turn well. Do you bring one over.We shall engage to get aboard her by night, and if you will dropus on any part of the Indian coast you will have done your partof the bargain.'

" 'If there were only one,' he said.

" 'None or all,' I answered. 'We have sworn it. The four ofus must always act together.'

" 'You see, Morstan,' said he, 'Small is a man of his word.He does not flinch from his friends. I think we may very welltrust him.'

" 'It's a dirty business,' the other answered. 'Yet, as you say,the money will save our commissions handsomely.'

" 'Well, Small,' said the major, 'we must, I suppose, try andmeet you. We must first, of course, test the truth of your story.Tell me where the box is hid, and I shall get leave of absenceand go back to India in the monthly relief-boat to inquire into theaffair.'

" 'Not so fast,' said I, growing colder as he got hot. 'I musthave the consent of my three comrades. I tell you that it is fouror none with us.'

" 'Nonsense!' he broke in. 'What have three black fellows todo with our agreement?'

" 'Black or blue,' said I, 'they are in with me, and we all gotogether.'

"Well, the matter ended by a second meeting, at whichMahomet Singh, Abdullah Khan, and Dost Akbar were all pres-ent. We talked the matter over again, and at last we came to anarrangement. We were to provide both the officers with charts ofthe part of the Agra fort, and mark the place in the wall wherethe treasure was hid. Major Sholto was to go to India to test ourstory. If he found the box he was to leave it there, to send out asmall yacht provisioned for a voyage, which was to lie offRutland Island, and to which we were to make our way, andfinally to return to his duties. Captain Morstan was then to applyfor leave of absence, to meet us at Agra, and there we were tohave a final division of the treasure, he taking the major's shareas well as his own. All this we sealed by the most solemn oathsthat the mind could think or the lips utter. I sat up all night withpaper and ink, and by the morning I had the two charts all ready,signed with the sign of four -- that is, of Abdullah, Akbar,Mahomet, and myself.

"Well, gentlemen, I weary you with my long story, and Iknow that my friend Mr. Jones is impatient to get me safelystowed in chokey. I'll make it as short as I can. The villainSholto went off to India, but he never came back again. CaptainMorstan showed me his name among a list of passengers in oneof the mail-boats very shortly afterwards. His uncle had died,leaving him a fortune, and he had left the Army; yet he couldstoop to treat five men as he had treated us. Morstan went overto Agra shortly afterwards and found, as we expected, that thetreasure was indeed gone. The scoundrel had stolen it all withoutcarrying out one of the conditions on which we had sold him thesecret. From that I lived only for vengeance. I thought of it byday and I nursed it by night. It became an overpowering, absorb-ing passion with me. I cared nothing for the law -- nothing for thegallows. To escape, to track down Sholto, to have my hand uponhis throat -- that was my one thought. Even the Agra treasure hadcome to be a smaller thing in my mind than the slaying ofSholto.

"Well, I have set my mind on many things in this life, andnever one which I did not carry out. But it was weary yearsbefore my time came. I have told you that I had picked upsomething of medicine. One day when Dr. Somerton was downwith a fever a little Andaman Islander was picked up by aconvict-gang in the woods. He was sick to death and had gone toa lonely place to die. I took him in hand, though he was asvenomous as a young snake, and after a couple of months I gothim all right and able to walk. He took a kind of fancy to methen, and would hardly go back to his woods, but was alwayshanging about my hut. I learned a little of his lingo from him,and this made him all the fonder of me.

"Tonga -- for that was his name -- was a fine boatman andowned a big, roomy canoe of his own. When I found that he wasdevoted to me and would do anything to serve me, I saw mychance of escape. I talked it over with him. He was to bring hisboat round on a certain night to an old wharf which was neverguarded, and there he was to pick me up. I gave him directionsto have several gourds of water and a lot of yams, cocoanuts,and sweet potatoes.

"He was staunch and true, was little Tonga. No man ever hada more faithful mate. At the night named he had his boat at thewharf. As it chanced, however, there was one of the convict-guard down there -- a vile Pathan who had never missed a chanceof insulting and injuring me. I had always vowed vengeance, andnow I had my chance. It was as if fate had placed him in my waythat I might pay my debt before I left the island. He stood on thebank with his back to me, and his carbine on his shoulder. Ilooked about for a stone to beat out his brains with, but nonecould I see.

"Then a queer thought came into my head and showed mewhere I could lay my hand on a weapon. I sat down in thedarkness and unstrapped my wooden leg. With three long hops Iwas on him. He put his carbine to his shoulder, but I struck himfull, and knocked the whole front of his skull in. You can see thesplit in the wood now where I hit him. We both went downtogether, for I could not keep my balance; but when I got up Ifound him still lying quiet enough. I made for the boat, and in anhour we were well out at sea. Tonga had brought all his earthlypossessions with him, his arms and his gods. Among otherthings, he had a long bamboo spear, and some Andaman cocoa-nut matting, with which I made a sort of a sail. For ten days wewere beating about, trusting to luck, and on the eleventh wewere picked up by a trader which was going from Singapore toJiddah with a cargo of Malay pilgrims. They were a rum crowd,and Tonga and I soon managed to settle down among them.They had one very good quality: they let you alone and asked noquestions.

"Well, if I were to tell you all the adventures that my littlechum and I went through, you would not thank me, for I wouldhave you here until the sun was shining. Here and there wedrifted about the world, something always turning up to keep usfrom London. All the time, however, I never lost sight of mypurpose. I would dream of Sholto at night. A hundred times Ihave killed him in my sleep. At last, however, some three orfour years ago, we found ourselves in England. I had no greatdifficulty in finding where Sholto lived, and I set to work todiscover whether he had realized on the treasure, or if he stillhad it. I made friends with someone who could help me -- I nameno names, for I don't want to get anyone else in a hole -- and Isoon found that he still had the jewels. Then I tried to get at himin many ways; but he was pretty sly and had always two prize-fighters, besides his sons and his khitmutgar, on guard over him.

"One day, however, I got word that he was dying. I hurried atonce to the garden, mad that he should slip out of my clutcheslike that, and, looking through the window, I saw him lying inhis bed, with his sons on each side of him. I'd have comethrough and taken my chance with the three of them, only evenas I looked at him his jaw dropped, and I knew that he was gone.I got into his room that same night, though, and I searched hispapers to see if there was any record of where he had hidden ourjewels. There was not a line, however, so I came away, bitterand savage as a man could be. Before I left I bethought me thatif I ever met my Sikh friends again it would be a satisfaction toknow that I had left some mark of our hatred; so I scrawleddown the sign of the four of us, as it had been on the chart, and Ipinned it on his bosom. It was too much that he should be takento the grave without some token from the men whom he hadrobbed and befooled.

"We earned a living at this time by my exhibiting poor Tongaat fairs and other such places as the black cannibal. He would eatraw meat and dance his war-dance: so we always had a hatful ofpennies after a day's work. I still heard all the news fromPondicherry Lodge, and for some years there was no news tohear, except that they were hunting for the treasure. At last,however, came what we had waited for so long. The treasure hadbeen found. It was up at the top of the house in Mr. BanholomewSholto's chemical laboratory. I came at once and had a look at theplace, but I could not see how, with my wooden leg, I was tomake my way up to it. I learned, however, about a trapdoor inthe roof, and also about Mr. Sholto's supper-hour. It seemed tome that I could manage the thing easily through Tonga. I broughthim out with me with a long rope wound round his waist. Hecould climb like a cat, and he soon made his way through theroof, but, as ill luck would have it, Bartholomew Sholto was stillin the room, to his cost. Tonga thought he had done somethingvery clever in killing him, for when I came up by the rope Ifound him strutting about as proud as a peacock. Very muchsurprised was he when I made at him with the rope's end andcursed him for a little bloodthirsty imp. I took the treasure boxand let it down, and then slid down myself, having first left thesign of the four upon the table to show that the jewels had comeback at last to those who had most right to them. Tonga thenpulled up the rope, closed the window, and made off the waythat he had come

"I don't know that I have anything else to tell you. I hadheard a waterman speak of the speed of Smith's launch, theAurora, so l thought she would be a handy craft for our escapewith old Smith, and was to give him a big sum if he got us safeto our ship. He knew, no doubt, that there was some screwloose, but he was not in our secrets. All this is the truth, and if Itell it to you, gentlemen, it is not to amuse you -- for you havenot done me a very good turn -- but it is because I believe thebest defence I can make is just to hold back nothing, but let allthe world know how badly I have myself been served by MajorSholto, and how innocent I am of the death of his son."

"A very remarkable account," said Sherlock Holmes. "Afitting windup to an extremely interesting case. There is nothingat all new to me in the latter part of your narrative except that youbrought your own rope. That I did not know. By the way, I hadhoped that Tonga had lost all his darts; yet he managed to shootone at us in the boat."

"He had lost them all, sir, except the one which was in hisblow-pipe at the time."

"Ah, of course," said Holmes. "I had not thought of that."

"Is there any other point which you would like to ask about?"asked the convict affably.

"I think not, thank you," my companion answered.

"Well, Holmes," said Athelney Jones, "you are a man to behumoured, and we all know that you are a connoisseur of crime;but duty is duty, and I have gone rather far in doing what youand your friend asked me. I shall feel more at ease when wehave our story-teller here safe under lock and key. The cab stillwaits, and there are two inspectors downstairs. I am muchobliged to you both for your assistance. Of course you will bewanted at the trial. Good-night to you."

"Good-night, gentlemen both," said Jonathan Small.

"You first, Small," remarked the wary, Jones as they left theroom. "I'll take particular care that you don't club me with yourwooden leg, whatever you may have done to the gentleman atthe Andaman Isles."

"Well, and there is the end of our little drama," I remarkedafter we had sat some time smoking in silence. "I fear that itmay be the last investigation in which I shall have the chance ofstudying your methods. Miss Morstan has done me the honour toaccept me as a husband in prospective."

He gave a most dismal groan.

"I feared as much," said he. "I really cannot congratulateyou."

I was a little hurt.

"Have you any reason to be dissatisfied with my choice?" Iasked.

"Not at all. I think she is one of the most charming youngladies I ever met and might have been most useful in such workas we have been doing. She had a decided genius that waywitness the way in which she preserved that Agra plan from alithe other papers of her father. But love is an emotional thing,and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reasonwhich I place above all things. I should never marry myself, lestI bias my judgment."

"I trust," said I, laughing, "that my judgment may survivethe ordeal. But you look weary."

"Yes, the reaction is already upon me. I shall be as limp as arag for a week."

"Strange," said I, "how terms of what in another man Ishould call laziness alternate with your fits of splendid energyand vigour."

"Yes," he answered, "there are in me the makings of a veryfine loafer, and also of a pretty spry, sort of a fellow. I oftenthink of those lines of old Goethe:

"Schade dass die Natur nur einen Mensch aus dir schuf,

Denn zum wurdigen Mann war und zum Schelmen der Stoff.

By the way, apropos of this Norwood business, you see that theyhad, as I surmised, a confederate in the house, who could benone other than Lal Rao, the butler: so Jones actually has theundivided honour of having caught one fish in his great haul."

"The division seems rather unfair," I remarked. "You havedone all the work in this business. I get a wife out of it, Jonesgets the credit, pray what remains for you?"

"For me," said Sherlock Holmes, "there still remains thecocaine-bottle." And he stretched his long white hand up for it.