Butifitwasnothe，itmusthavebeenAlecCunninghamhimself，forbythetimethattheoldmanhaddescendedseveralservantswereuponthescene。
Thepointisasimpleone，buttheInspectorhadoverlookeditbecausehehadstartedwiththesuppositionthatthesecountymagnateshadhadnothingtodowiththematter。Now，Imakeapintofneverhavinganyprejudices，andoffollowingdocilelywhereverfactmayleadme，andso，intheveryfirststageoftheinvestigation，IfoundmyselflookingalittleaskanceatthepartwhichhadbeenplayedbyMr。AlecCunningham。”AndnowImadeaverycarefulexaminationofthecornerofpaperwhichtheInspectorhadsubmittedtous。Itwasatoncecleartomethatitformedpartofaveryremarkabledocument。Hereitis。Doyounotnowobservedsomethingverysuggestiveaboutit?””Ithasaveryirregularlook，”saidtheColonel。”Mydearsir，”criedHolmes，”therecannotbetheleastdoubtintheworldthatithasbeenwrittenbytwopersonsdoingalternatewords。WhenIdrawyourattentiontothestrongt’sof’at’and’to’，andaskyoutocomparethemwiththeweakonesof’quarter’
and’twelve，’youwillinstantlyrecognizethefact。
Averybriefanalysisofthesefourwordswouldenableyoutosaywiththeutmostconfidencethatthe’learn’
andthe’maybe’arewritteninthestrongerhand，andthe’what’intheweaker。””ByJove，it’sasclearasday！”criedtheColonel。”Whyonearthshouldtwomenwritealetterinsuchafashion?””Obviouslythebusinesswasabadone，andoneofthemenwhodistrustedtheotherwasdeterminedthat，whateverwasdone，eachshouldhaveanequalhandinit。Now，ofthetwomen，itisclearthattheonewhowrotethe’at’and’to’wastheringleader。””Howdoyougetatthat?””Wemightdeduceitfromthemerecharacteroftheonehandascomparedwiththeother。Butwehavemoreassuredreasonsthanthatforsupposingit。Ifyouexaminethisscrapwithattentionyouwillcometotheconclusionthatthemanwiththestrongerhandwroteallhiswordsfirst，leavingblanksfortheothertofillup。Theseblankswerenotalwayssufficient，andyoucanseethatthesecondmanhadasqueezetofithis’quarter’inbetweenthe’at’andthe’to，’
showingthatthelatterwerealreadywritten。Themanwhowroteallhiswordsfirstinundoubtedlythemanwhoplannedtheaffair。””Excellent！”criedMr。Acton。”Butverysuperficial，”saidHolmes。”Wecomenow，however，toapointwhichisofimportance。Youmaynotbeawarethatthedeductionofaman’sagefromhiswritingisonewhichhasbroughttoconsiderableaccuracybyexperts。Innormalcasesonecanplaceamaninhistruedecadewithtolerableconfidence。I
saynormalcases，becauseill-healthandphysicalweaknessreproducethesignsofoldage，evenwhentheinvalidisayouth。Inthiscase，lookingatthebold，stronghandoftheone，andtheratherbroken-backedappearanceoftheother，whichstillretainsitslegibilityalthoughthet’shavebeguntolosetheircrossing，wecansaythattheonewasayoungmanandtheotherwasadvancedinyearswithoutbeingpositivelydecrepit。””Excellent！”criedMr。Actonagain。”Thereisafurtherpoint，however，whichissubtlerandofgreaterinterest。Thereissomethingincommonbetweenthesehands。Theybelongtomenwhoareblood-relatives。ItmaybemostobvioustoyouintheGreeke’s，buttometherearemanysmallpointswhichindicatethesamething。Ihavenodoubtatallthatafamilymannerismcanbetracedinthesetwospecimensofwriting。Iamonly，ofcourse，givingyoutheleadingresultsnowofmyexaminationofthepaper。Thereweretwenty-threeotherdeductionswhichwouldbeofmoreinteresttoexpertsthantoyou。
TheyalltendtodeepentheimpressionuponmymindthattheCunninghams，fatherandson，hadwrittenthisletter。”Havinggotsofar，mynextstepwas，ofcourse，toexamineintothedetailsofthecrime，andtoseehowfartheywouldhelpus。IwentuptothehousewiththeInspector，andsawallthatwastobeseen。Thewounduponthedeadmanwas，asIwasabletodeterminewithabsoluteconfidence，firedfromarevolveratthedistanceofsomethingoverfouryards。
Therewasnopowder-blackeningontheclothes。
Evidently，therefore，AlecCunninghamhadliedwhenhesaidthatthetwomenwerestrugglingwhentheshotwasfired。Again，bothfatherandsonagreedastotheplacewherethemanescapedintotheroad。Atthatpoint，however，asithappens，thereisabroadishditch，moistatthebottom。Astherewerenoindicationsofbootmarksaboutthisditch，IwasabsolutelysurenotonlythattheCunninghamshadagainlied，butthattherehadneverbeenanyunknownmanuponthesceneatall。”AndnowIhavetoconsiderthemotiveofthissingularcrime。Togetatthis，IendeavoredfirstofalltosolvethereasonoftheoriginalburglaryatMr。Acton’s。Iunderstood，fromsomethingwhichtheColoneltoldus，thatalawsuithadbeengoingonbetweenyou，Mr。Acton，andtheCunninghams。Ofcourse，itinstantlyoccurredtomethattheyhadbrokenintoyourlibrarywiththeintentionofgettingatsomedocumentwhichmightbeofimportanceinthecase。””Preciselyso，”saidMr。Acton。”Therecanbenopossibledoubtastotheirintentions。Ihavetheclearestclaimuponhalfoftheirpresentestate，andiftheycouldhavefoundasinglepaper——which，fortunately，wasinthestrong-boxofmysolicitors——theywouldundoubtedlyhavecrippledourcase。””Thereyouare，”saidHolmes，smiling。”Itwasadangerous，recklessattempt，inwhichIseemtotracetheinfluenceofyoungAlec。Havingfoundnothingtheytriedtodivertsuspicionbymakingitappeartobeanordinaryburglary，towhichendtheycarriedoffwhatevertheycouldlaytheirhandsupon。Thatisallclearenough，buttherewasmuchthatwasstillobscure。WhatIwantedaboveallwastogetthemissingpartofthatnote。IwascertainthatAlechadtornitoutofthedeadman’shand，andalmostcertainthathemusthavethrustitintothepocketofhisdressing-gown。Whereelsecouldhehaveputit?
Theonlyquestionwaswhetheritwasstillthere。Itwasworthanefforttofindout，andforthatobjectweallwentuptothehouse。”TheCunninghamsjoinedus，asyoudoubtlessremember，outsidethekitchendoor。Itwas，ofcourse，oftheveryfirstimportancethattheyshouldnotberemindedoftheexistenceofthispaper，otherwisetheywouldnaturallydestroyitwithoutdelay。TheInspectorwasabouttotellthemtheimportancewhichweattachedtoitwhen，bytheluckiestchanceintheworld，I
tumbleddowninasortoffitandsochangedtheconversation。”Goodheavens！”criedtheColonel，laughing，”doyoumeantosayalloursympathywaswastedandyourfitanimposture?””Speakingprofessionally，itwasadmirablydone，”
criedI，lookinginamazementatthismanwhowasforeverconfoundingmewithsomenewphaseofhisastuteness。”Itisanartwhichisoftenuseful，”saidhe。”WhenIrecoveredImanaged，byadevicewhichhadperhapssomelittlemeritofingenuity，togetoldCunninghamtowritetheword’twelve，’sothatImightcompareitwiththe’twelve’uponthepaper。””Oh，whatanassIhavebeen！”Iexclaimed。”Icouldseethatyouwerecommiseratingmeovermyweakness，”saidHolmes，laughing。”IwassorrytocauseyouthesympatheticpainwhichIknowthatyoufelt。Wethenwentupstairstogether，andhavingenteredtheroomandseenthedressing-gownhangingupbehindthedoor，Icontrived，byupsettingatable，toengagetheirattentionforthemoment，andslippedbacktoexaminethepockets。Ihadhardlygotthepaper，however——whichwas，asIhadexpected，inoneofthem——whenthetwoCunninghamswereonme，andwould，Iverilybelieve，havemurderedmethenandtherebutforyourpromptandfriendlyaid。Asitis，Ifeelthatyoungman’sgriponmythroatnow，andthefatherhastwistedmywristroundintheefforttogetthepaperoutofmyhand。TheysawthatImustknowallaboutit，yousee，andthesuddenchangefromabsolutesecuritytocompletedespairmadethemperfectlydesperate。”IhadalittletalkwitholdCunninghamafterwardsastothemotiveofthecrime。Hewastractableenough，thoughhissonwasaperfectdemon，readytoblowouthisownoranybodyelse’sbrainsifhecouldhavegottohisrevolver。WhenCunninghamsawthatthecaseagainsthimwassostronghelostallheartandmadeacleanbreastofeverything。ItseemsthatWilliamhadsecretlyfollowedhistwomastersonthenightwhentheymadetheirraiduponMr。Acton’s，andhavingthusgotthemintohispower，proceeded，underthreatsofexposure，tolevyblack-mailuponthem。Mr。Alec，however，wasadangerousmantoplaygamesofthatsortwith。Itwasastrokeofpositivegeniusonhisparttoseeintheburglaryscarewhichwasconvulsingthecountrysideanopportunityofplausiblygettingridofthemanwhomhefeared。Williamwasdecoyedupandshot，andhadtheyonlygotthewholeofthenoteandpaidalittlemoreattentiontodetailintheaccessories，itisverypossiblethatsuspicionmightneverhavebeenaroused。””Andthenote?”Iasked。
SherlockHolmesplacedthesubjoinedpaperbeforeus。
IfyouwillonlycomearoundtotheeastgateyouwillwillverymuchsurpriseyouandbeofthegreatestservicetoyouandalsotoAnnieMorrison。Butsaynothingtoanyoneuponthematter”ItisverymuchthesortofthingthatIexpected，”
saidhe。”Ofcourse，wedonotyetknowwhattherelationsmayhavebeenbetweenAlecCunningham，WilliamKirwan，andAnnieMorrison。Theresultsshowsthatthetrapwasskillfullybaited。Iamsurethatyoucannotfailtobedelightedwiththetracesofheredityshowninthep’sandinthetailsoftheg’s。
Theabsenceofthei-dotsintheoldman’swritingisalsomostcharacteristic。Watson，Ithinkourquietrestinthecountryhasbeenadistinctsuccess，andI
shallcertainlyreturnmuchinvigoratedtoBakerStreetto-morrow。”
AdventureVII
TheCrookedManOnesummernight，afewmonthsaftermymarriage，I
wasseatedbymyownhearthsmokingalastpipeandnoddingoveranovel，formyday’sworkhadbeenanexhaustingone。Mywifehadalreadygoneupstairs，andthesoundofthelockingofthehalldoorsometimebeforetoldmethattheservantshadalsoretired。IhadrisenfrommyseatandwasknockingouttheashesofmypipewhenIsuddenlyheardtheclangofthebell。
Ilookedattheclock。Itwasaquartertotwelve。
Thiscouldnotbeavisitoratsolateanhour。A
patient，evidently，andpossiblyanall-nightsitting。
WithawryfaceIwentoutintothehallandopenedthedoor。TomyastonishmentitwasSherlockHolmeswhostooduponmystep。”Ah，Watson，”saidhe，”IhopedthatImightnotbetoolatetocatchyou。””Mydearfellow，praycomein。””Youlooksurprised，andnowonder！Relieved，too，I
fancy！Hum！YoustillsmoketheArcadiamixtureofyourbachelordaysthen！There’snomistakingthatfluffyashuponyourcoat。It’seasytotellthatyouhavebeenaccustomedtowearauniform，Watson。
You’llneverpassasapure-bredcivilianaslongasyoukeepthathabitofcarryingyourhandkerchiefinyoursleeve。Couldyouputmeuptonight?””Withpleasure。”