Hetookthetime（Pacific）byhiswatch，correctingitforlocaltime。
Hepacedoffthedistancefromthecabinsitetothecorpse，andcorrectedthatfortidaldifferentiation。Hetookthealtitudewithapocket—aneroid，andthetemperaturewithapocket—thermometer。Finallyhesaid，withastatelybow:
\"Itisfinished。Shallwereturn，gentlemen？\"
Hetookupthelineofmarchforthetavern，andthecrowdfellintohiswake，earnestlydiscussingandadmiringtheExtraordinaryMan，andinterlardingguessesastotheoriginofthetragedyandwhotheauthorofitmighthe。
\"My，butit’sgrandluckhavinghimhere——hey，boys？\"saidFerguson。
\"It’sthebiggestthingofthecentury，\"saidHamSandwich。\"It’llgoallovertheworld;youmarkmywords。\"
\"Youbet！\"saidJakeParker，theblacksmith。\"It’llboomthiscamp。
Ain’titso，Wells—Fargo？\"
\"Well，asyouwantmyopinion——ifit’sanysignofhowIthinkaboutit，Icantellyouthis:yesterdayIwasholdingtheStraightFlushclaimattwodollarsafoot;I’dliketoseethemanthatcangetitatsixteento—day。\"
\"Rightyouare，Wells—Fargo！It’sthegrandestluckanewcampeverstruck。Say，didyouseehimcollarthemlittleragsanddirtandthings？Whataneye！Hejustcan’toverlookaclue——’tain’tinhim。\"
\"That’sso。Andtheywouldn’tmeanathingtoanybodyelse;buttohim，why，they’rejustabook——largeprintatthat。\"
\"Sure’syou’reborn！Themoddsandendshavegottheirlittleoldsecret，andtheythinkthereain’tanybodycanpullit;but，land！whenhesetshisgriptherethey’vegottosqueal，anddon’tyouforgetit。\"
\"Boys，Iain’tsorry，now，thathewasn’theretoroustoutthechild;
thisisabiggerthing，byalongsight。Yes，sir，andmoretangledupandscientificandintellectual。\"
\"Ireckonwe’reallofusgladit’sturnedoutthisway。Glad？’George！
itain’tanynameforit。Dontchuknow，Archycould’velearntsomethingifhe’dhadthenoustostandbyandtakenoticeofhowthatmanworksthesystem。Butno;hewentpokingupintothechaparralandjustmissedthewholething。\"
\"It’strueasgospel;Iseenitmyself。Well，Archy’syoung。He’llknowbetteroneofthesedays。\"
\"Say，boys，whodoyoureckondoneit？\"
Thatwasadifficultquestion，andbroughtoutaworldofunsatisfyingconjecture。Variousmenwerementionedaspossibilities，butonebyonetheywerediscardedasnotbeingeligible。NoonebutyoungHillyerhadbeenintimatewithFlintBuckner;noonehadreallyhadaquarrelwithhim;hehadaffrontedeverymanwhohadtriedtomakeuptohim，althoughnotquiteoffensivelyenoughtorequirebloodshed。Therewasonenamethatwasuponeverytonguefromthestart，butitwasthelasttogetutterance——FetlockJones’s。ItwasPatRileythatmentionedit。
\"Oh，well，\"theboyssaid，\"ofcoursewe’veallthoughtofhim，becausehehadamillionrightstokillFlintBuckner，anditwasjusthisplaindutytodoit。Butallthesamethere’stwothingswecan’tgetaround:
foronething，hehasn’tgotthesand;andforanother，hewasn’tanywhereneartheplacewhenithappened。\"
\"Iknowit，\"saidPat。\"Hewasthereinthebilliard—roomwithuswhenithappened。\"
\"Yes，andwasthereallthetimeforanhourbeforeithappened。\"
\"It’sso。Andluckyforhim，too。He’dhavebeensuspectedinaminuteifithadn’tbeenforthat。\"
III
Thetaverndining—roomhadbeenclearedofallitsfurnituresaveonesix—footpinetableandachair。Thistablewasagainstoneendoftheroom;thechairwasonit;SherlockHolmes，stately，imposing，impressive，satinthechair。Thepublicstood。Theroomwasfull。Thetobacco—smokewasdense，thestillnessprofound。
TheExtraordinaryManraisedhishandtocommandadditionalsilence;helditintheairafewmoments;then，inbrief，crisptermsheputforwardquestionafterquestion，andnotedtheanswerswith\"Um—ums，\"nodsofthehead，andsoon。BythisprocesshelearnedallaboutFlintBuckner，hischaracter，conduct，andhabits，thatthepeoplewereabletotellhim。ItthustranspiredthattheExtraordinaryMan’snephewwastheonlypersoninthecampwhohadakilling—grudgeagainstFlintBuckner。
Mr。Holmessmiledcompassionatelyuponthewitness，andasked，languidly:
\"DoanyofyougentlemenchancetoknowwheretheladFetlockJoneswasatthetimeoftheexplosion？\"
Athunderousresponsefollowed:
\"Inthebilliard—roomofthishouse！\"
\"Ah。Andhadhejustcomein？\"
\"Beenthereallofanhour！\"
\"Ah。Itisabout——about——well，abouthowfarmightitbetothesceneoftheexplosions\"
\"Allofamile！\"
\"Ah。Itisn’tmuchofanalibi，’tistrue，but——\"
Astorm—burstoflaughter，mingledwithshoutsof\"Byjiminy，buthe’schain—lightning！\"and\"Ain’tyousorryyouspoke，Sandy？\"shutofftherestofthesentence，andthecrushedwitnessdroopedhisblushingfaceinpatheticshame。Theinquisitorresumed:
\"TheladJones’ssomewhatdistantconnectionwiththecase\"（laughter）
\"havingbeendisposedof，letusnowcalltheeye—witnessesofthetragedy，andlistentowhattheyhavetosay。\"
Hegotouthisfragmentarycluesandarrangedthemonasheetofcardboardonhisknee。Thehousehelditsbreathandwatched。
\"Wehavethelongitudeandthelatitude，correctedformagneticvariation，andthisgivesustheexactlocationofthetragedy。Wehavethealtitude，thetemperature，andthedegreeofhumidityprevailing——
inestimablyvaluable，sincetheyenableustoestimatewithprecisionthedegreeofinfluencewhichtheywouldexerciseuponthemoodanddispositionoftheassassinatthattimeofthenight。\"
（Buzzofadmiration;mutteredremark，\"ByGeorge，buthe’sdeep。\"）Hefingeredhisclues。\"Andnowletusaskthesemutewitnessestospeaktous。
\"Herewehaveanemptylinenshot—bag。Whatisitsmessage？This:thatrobberywasthemotive，notrevenge。Whatisitsfurthermessage？This:
thattheassassinwasofinferiorintelligence——shallwesaylight—
witted，orperhapsapproachingthat？Howdoweknowthis？BecauseapersonofsoundintelligencewouldnothaveproposedtorobthemanBuckner，whoneverhadmuchmoneywithhim。Buttheassassinmighthavebeenastranger？Letthebagspeakagain。Itakefromitthisarticle。
Itisabitofsilver—bearingquartz。Itispeculiar。Examineit，please——you——andyou——andyou。Nowpassitback，please。Thereisbutonelodeonthiscoastwhichproducesjustthatcharacterandcolorofquartz;andthatisalodewhichcropsoutfornearlytwomilesonastretch，andinmyopinionisdestined，atnodistantday，toconferuponitslocalityaglobe—girdlingcelebrity，anduponitstwohundredownersrichesbeyondthedreamsofavarice。Namethatlode，please。\"
\"TheConsolidatedChristianScienceandMaryAnn！\"wasthepromptresponse。
Awildcrashofhurrahsfollowed，andeverymanreachedforhisneighbor’shandandwrungit，withtearsinhiseyes;andWells—FargoFergusonshouted，\"TheStraightFlushisonthelode，andupshegoestoahunchedandfiftyafoot——youhearme！\"
Whenquietfell，Mr。Holmesresumed:
\"Weperceive，then，thatthreefactsareestablished，towit:theassassinwasapproximatelylight—witted;hewasnotastranger;hismotivewasrobbery，notrevenge。Letusproceed。Iholdinmyhandasmallfragmentoffuse，withtherecentsmelloffireuponit。Whatisitstestimony？Takenwiththecorroborativeevidenceofthequartz，itrevealstousthattheassassinwasaminer。Whatdoesittellusfurther？This，gentlemen:thattheassassinationwasconsummatedbymeansofanexplosive。Whatelsedoesitsay？This:thattheexplosivewaslocatedagainstthesideofthecabinnearesttheroad——thefrontside——forwithinsixfeetofthatspotIfoundit。
\"IholdinmyfingersaburntSwedishmatch——thekindonerubsonasafety—box。Ifounditintheroad，sixhundredandtwenty—twofeetfromtheabolishedcabin。Whatdoesitsay？This:thatthetrainwasfiredfromthatpoint。Whatfurtherdoesittellus？This:thattheassassinwasleft—handed。HowdoIknowthis？Ishouldnotbeabletoexplaintoyou，gentlemen，howIknowit，thesignsbeingsosubtlethatonlylongexperienceanddeepstudycanenableonetodetectthem。Butthesignsarehere，andtheyarereinforcedbyafactwhichyoumusthaveoftennoticedinthegreatdetectivenarratives——thatallassassinsareleft—
handed。\"
\"ByJackson，that’sso。\"saidHamSandwich，bringinghisgreathanddownwitharesoundingslapuponhisthigh;\"blamedifIeverthoughtofitbefore。\"
\"NorI！\"\"NorI！\"criedseveral。\"Oh，therecan’tanythingescapehim——
lookathiseye！\"
\"Gentlemen，distantasthemurdererwasfromhisdoomedvictim，hedidnotwhollyescapeinjury。ThisfragmentofwoodwhichInowexhibittoyoustruckhim。Itdrewblood。Whereverheis，hebearsthetelltalemark。Ipickeditupwherehestoodwhenhefiredthefataltrain，\"
Helookedoutoverthehousefromhishighperch，andhiscountenancebegantodarken;heslowlyraisedhishand，andpointed:
\"Therestandstheassassin！\"
Foramomentthehousewasparalyzedwithamazement;thentwentyvoicesburstoutwith:
\"SammyHillyer？Oh，hell，no！Him？It’spurefoolishness！\"
\"Takecare，gentlemen——benothasty。Observe——hehastheblood—markonhisbrow。\"
Hillyerturnedwhitewithfright。Hewasneartocrying。Heturnedthiswayandthat，appealingtoeveryfaceforhelpandsympathy;andheldouthissupplicatinghandstowardHolmesandbegantoplead:
\"Don’t，oh，don’t！Ineverdidit;IgivemywordIneverdidit。ThewayIgotthishurtonmyforeheadwas——\"
\"Arresthim，constable！\"criedHolmes。\"Iwillswearoutthewarrant。\"
Theconstablemovedreluctantlyforward——hesitated——stopped。
Hillyerbrokeoutwithanotherappeal。\"Oh，Archy，don’tletthemdoit;
itwouldkillmother！YouknowhowIgotthehurt。Tellthem，andsaveme，Archy;saveme！\"
Stillmanworkedhiswaytothefront，andsaid:
\"Yes，I’llsaveyou。Don’tbeafraid。\"Thenhesaidtothehouse，\"Nevermindhowhegotthehurt;ithasn’tanythingtodowiththiscase，andisn’tofanyconsequence。\"
\"Godblessyou，Archy，foratruefriend！\"
\"HurrahforArchy！Goin，boy，andplay’emaknock—downflushtotheirtwopair’n’ajack！\"shoutedthehouse，prideintheirhometalentandapatrioticsentimentofloyaltytoitrisingsuddenlyinthepublicheartandchangingthewholeattitudeofthesituation。
YoungStillmanwaitedforthenoisetocease;thenhesaid:
\"IwillaskTomJeffriestostandbythatdooryonder，andConstableHarristostandbytheotheronehere，andnotletanybodyleavetheroom。
\"Saidanddone。Goon，oldman！\"
\"Thecriminalispresent，Ibelieve。Iwillshowhimtoyoubeforelong，incaseIamrightinmyguess。NowIwilltellyouallaboutthetragedy，fromstarttofinish。Themotivewasn’trobbery;itwasrevenge。Themurdererwasn’tlight—witted。Hedidn’tstandsixhundredandtwenty—twofeetaway。Hedidn’tgethitwithapieceofwood。Hedidn’tplacetheexplosiveagainstthecabin。Hedidn’tbringashot—bagwithhim，andhewasn’tleft—handed。Withtheexceptionoftheseerrors，thedistinguishedguest’sstatementofthecaseissubstantiallycorrect。\"
Acomfortablelaughrippledoverthehouse;friendnoddedtofriend，asmuchastosay，\"That’stheword，withthebarkonit。Goodlad，goodboy。Heain’tloweringhisflagany！\"
Theguest’sserenitywasnotdisturbed。Stillmanresumed:
\"Ialsohavesomewitnesses;andIwillpresentlytellyouwhereyoucanfindsomemore。\"Heheldupapieceofcoarsewire;thecrowdcranedtheirneckstosee。\"Ithasasmoothcoatingofmeltedtallowonit。
Andhereisacandlewhichisburnedhalf—waydown。Theremaininghalfofithasmarkscutuponitaninchapart。SoonIwilltellyouwhereI
foundthesethings。Iwillnowputasidereasonings，guesses，theimpressivehitchingsofoddsandendsofcluestogether，andtheothershowytheatricalsofthedetectivetrade，andtellyouinaplain，straightforwardwayjusthowthisdismalthinghappened。\"
Hepausedamoment，foreffect——toallowsilenceandsuspensetointensifyandconcentratethehouse’sinterest;thenhewenton:
\"Theassassinstudiedouthisplanwithagooddealofpains。Itwasagoodplan，veryingenious，andshowedanintelligentmind，notafeebleone。Itwasaplanwhichwaswellcalculatedtowardoffallsuspicionfromitsinventor。Inthefirstplace，hemarkedacandleintospacesaninchapart，andlititandtimedit。Hefoundittookthreehourstoburnfourinchesofit。Itrieditmyselfforhalfanhour，awhileago，up—stairshere，whiletheinquiryintoFlintBuckner’scharacterandwayswasbeingconductedinthisroom，andIarrivedinthatwayattherateofacandle’sconsumptionwhenshelteredfromthewind。Havingprovedhistrialcandle’srate，heblewitout——Ihavealreadyshownittoyou——
andputhisinch—marksonafreshone。
\"Heputthefreshoneintoatincandlestick。Thenatthefive—hourmarkheboredaholethroughthecandlewithared—hotwire。Ihavealreadyshownyouthewire，withasmoothcoatoftallowonit——tallowthathadbeenmeltedandhadcooled。
\"Withlabor——veryhardlabor，Ishouldsay——hestruggledupthroughthestiffchaparralthatclothesthesteephillsidebackofFlintBuckner’splace，tugginganemptyflour—barrelwithhim。Heplaceditinthatabsolutelysecurehiding—place，andinthebottomofithesetthecandlestick。Thenhemeasuredoffaboutthirty—fivefeetoffuse——thebarrel’sdistancefromthebackofthecabin。Heboredaholeinthesideofthebarrel——hereisthelargegimlethediditwith。Hewentonandfinishedhiswork;andwhenitwasdone，oneendofthefusewasinBuckner’scabin，andtheotherend，withanotchchippedinittoexposethepowder，wasintheholeinthecandle——timedtoblowtheplaceupatoneo’clockthismorning，providedthecandlewaslitabouteighto’clockyesterdayevening——whichIambettingitwas——andprovidedtherewasanexplosiveinthecabinandconnectedwiththatendofthefuse——whichI
amalsobettingtherewas，thoughIcan’tproveit。Boys，thebarrelisthereinthechaparral，thecandle’sremainsareinitinthetinstick;
theburnt—outfuseisinthegimlet—hole，theotherendisdownthehillwherethelatecabinstood。Isawthemallanhourortwoago，whentheProfessorherewasmeasuringoffunimplicatedvacanciesandcollectingrelicsthathadn’tanythingtodowiththecase。\"
Hepaused。Thehousedrewalong，deepbreath，shookitsstrainedcordsandmusclesfreeandburstintocheers。\"Danghim！\"saidHamSandwich，\"that’swhyhewassnoopingaroundinthechaparral，insteadofpickinguppointsoutoftheP’fessor’sgame。Lookyhere——heain’tnofool，boys。\"
\"No，sir！Why，greatScott——\"
ButStillmanwasresuming:
\"Whilewewereoutyonderanhourortwoago，theownerofthegimletandthetrialcandletookthemfromaplacewherehehadconcealedthem——itwasnotagoodplace——andcarriedthemtowhatheprobablythoughtwasabetterone，twohundredyardsupinthepinewoods，andhidthemthere，coveringthemoverwithpineneedles。ItwastherethatIfoundthem。
Thegimletexactlyfitstheholeinthebarrel。Andnow——\"
TheExtraordinaryManinterruptedhim。Hesaid，sarcastically:
\"Wehavehadaveryprettyfairytale，gentlemen——veryprettyindeed。
NowIwouldliketoaskthisyoungmanaquestionortwo。\"
Someoftheboyswinced，andFergusonsaid:
\"I’mafraidArchy’sgoingtocatchitnow。\"
Theotherslosttheirsmilesandsobereddown。Mr。Holmessaid:
\"Letusproceedtoexamineintothisfairytaleinaconsecutiveandorderlyway——bygeometricalprogression，sotospeak——linkingdetailtodetailinasteadilyadvancingandremorselesslyconsistentandunassailablemarchuponthistinseltoyfortressoferror，thedreamfabricofacallowimagination。Tobeginwith，youngsir，Idesiretoaskyoubutthreequestionsatpresent——atpresent。DidIunderstandyoutosayitwasyouropinionthatthesupposititiouscandlewaslightedatabouteighto’clockyesterdayevening？\"