”Yousee，Watson，”heremarked，”oureveninghasbeenbynomeanswasted。SomeofmymostinterestingcaseshavecometomeinthiswaythroughMycroft。Theproblemwhichwehavejustlistenedto，althoughitcanadmitofbutoneexplanation，hasstillsomedistinguishingfeatures。””Youhavehopesofsolvingit?””Well，knowingasmuchaswedo，itwillbesingularindeedifwefailtodiscovertherest。Youmustyourselfhaveformedsometheorywhichwillexplainthefactstowhichwehavelistened。””Inavagueway，yes。””Whatwasyouridea，then?””ITseemedtometobeobviousthatthisGreekgirlhadbeencarriedoffbytheyoungEnglishmannamedHaroldLatimer。””Carriedofffromwhere?””Athens，perhaps。”SherlockHolmesshookhishead。”ThisyoungmancouldnottalkawordofGreek。TheladycouldtalkEnglishfairlywell。Inference——thatshehadbeeninEnglandsomelittletime，buthehadnotbeeninGreece。””Well，then，wewillpresumethatshehadcomeonavisittoEngland，andthatthisHaroldhadpersuadedhertoflywithhim。””Thatismoreprobable。””Thenthebrother——forthat，Ifancy，mustbetherelationship——comesoverfromGreecetointerfere。Heimprudentlyputshimselfintothepoweroftheyoungmanandhisolderassociate。Theyseizehimanduseviolencetowardshiminordertomakehimsignsomepaperstomakeoverthegirl’sfortune——ofwhichhemaybetrustee——tothem。Thisherefusestodo。Inordertonegotiatewithhimtheyhavetogetaninterpreter，andtheypitchuponthisMr。Melas，havingusedsomeotheronebefore。Thegirlisnottoldofthearrivalofherbrother，andfindsitoutbythemerestaccident。””Excellent，Watson！”criedHolmes。”Ireallyfancythatyouarenotfarfromthetruth。Youseethatweholdallthecards，andwehaveonlytofearsomesuddenactofviolenceontheirpart。Iftheygiveustimewemusthavethem。””Buthowcanwefindwherethishouselies?””Well，ifourconjectureiscorrectandthegirl’snameisorwasSophyKratides，weshouldhavenodifficultyintracingher。Thatmustbeourmainhope，forthebrotheris，ofcourse，acompletestranger。ItisclearthatsometimehaselapsedsincethisHaroldestablishedtheserelationswiththegirl——someweeks，atanyrate——sincethebrotherinGreecehashadtimetohearofitandcomeacross。Iftheyhavebeenlivinginthesameplaceduringthistime，itisprobablethatweshallhavesomeanswertoMycroft’sadvertisement。”
WehadreachedourhouseinBakerStreetwhilewehadbeentalking。Holmesascendedthestairfirst，andasheopenedthedoorofourroomhegaveastartofsurprise。Lookingoverhisshoulder，Iwasequallyastonished。HisbrotherMycroftwassittingsmokinginthearm-chair。”Comein，Sherlock！Comein，sir，”saidheblandly，smilingatoursurprisedfaces。”Youdon’texpectsuchenergyfromme，doyou，Sherlock?Butsomehowthiscaseattractsme。””Howdidyougethere?””Ipassedyouinahansom。””Therehasbeensomenewdevelopment?””Ihadananswertomyadvertisement。””Ah！””Yes，itcamewithinafewminutesofyourleaving。””Andtowhateffect?”
MycroftHolmestookoutasheetofpaper。”Hereitis，”saidhe，”writtenwithaJpenonroyalcreampaperbyamiddle-agedmanwithaweakconstitution。’Sir，’hesays，’inanswertoyouradvertisementofto-day’sdate，Ibegtoinformyouthatknowtheyoungladyinquestionverywell。IfyoushouldcaretocalluponmeIcouldgiveyousomeparticularsastoherpainfulhistory。SheislivingatpresentatTheMyrtles，Beckenham。Yoursfaithfully，J。Davenport。’”HewritesfromLowerBrixton，”saidMycroftHolmes。”Doyounotthinkthatwemightdrivetohimnow，Sherlock，andlearntheseparticulars?””MydearMycroft，thebrother’slifeismorevaluablethanthesister’sstory。IthinkweshouldcallatScotlandYardforInspectorGregson，andgostraightouttoBeckenham。Weknowthatamanisbeingdonetodeath，andeveryhourmaybevital。””BetterpickupMr。Melasonourway，”Isuggested。”Wemayneedaninterpreter。””Excellent，”saidSherlockHolmes。”Sendtheboyforafour-wheeler，andweshallbeoffatonce。”Heopenedthetable-drawerashespoke，andInoticedthatheslippedhisrevolverintohispocket。”Yes，”
saidhe，inanswertomyglance；”Ishouldsayfromwhatwehaveheard，thatwearedealingwithaparticularlydangerousgang。”
ItwasalmostdarkbeforewefoundourselvesinPallMall，attheroomsofMr。Melas。Agentlemanhadjustcalledforhim，andhewasgone。”Canyoutellmewhere?”askedMycroftHolmes。”Idon’tknow，sir，”answeredthewomanwhohadopenedthedoor；”Ionlyknowthathedroveawaywiththegentlemaninacarriage。””Didthegentlemangiveaname?””No，sir。””Hewasn’tatall，handsome，darkyoungman?””Oh，nor，sir。Hewasalittlegentleman，withglasses，thinintheface，butverypleasantinhisways，forhewaslaughingalthetimethathewastalking。””Comealong！”criedSherlockHolmes，abruptly。”Thisgrowsserious，”heobserved，aswedrovetoScotlandYard。”ThesemenhavegotholdofMelasagain。Heisamanofnophysicalcourage，astheyarewellawarefromtheirexperiencetheothernight。Thisvillainwasabletoterrorizehimtheinstantthathegotintohispresence。Nodoubttheywanthisprofessionalservices，but，havingusedhim，theymaybeinclinedtopunishhimforwhattheywillregardashistreachery。”
Ourhopewasthat，bytakingtrain，wemightgettoBeckenhamassoonorsoonerthanthecarriage。OnreachingScotlandYard，however，itwasmorethananhourbeforewecouldgetInspectorGregsonandcomplywiththelegalformalitieswhichwouldenableustoenterthehouse。ItwasaquartertotenbeforewereachedLondonBridge，andhalfpastbeforethefourofusalightedontheBeckenhamplatform。AdriveofhalfamilebroughtustoTheMyrtles——alarge，darkhousestandingbackfromtheroadinitsowngrounds。
Herewedismissedourcab，andmadeourwayupthedrivetogether。”Thewindowsarealldark，”remarkedtheinspector。”Thehouseseemsdeserted。””Ourbirdsareflownandthenestempty，”saidHolmes。”Whydoyousayso?””Acarriageheavilyloadedwithluggagehaspassedoutduringthelasthour。”
Theinspectorlaughed。”Isawthewheel-tracksinthelightofthegate-lamp，butwheredoestheluggagecomein?””Youmayhaveobservedthesamewheel-tracksgoingtheotherway。Buttheoutward-boundoneswereverymuchdeeper——somuchsothatwecansayforacertaintythattherewasaveryconsiderableweightonthecarriage。””Yougetatriflebeyondmethere，”saidtheinspector，shrugginghisshoulder。”Itwillnotbeaneasydoortoforce，butwewilltryifwecannotmakesomeonehearus。”
Hehammeredloudlyattheknockerandpulledatthebell，butwithoutanysuccess。Holmeshadslippedaway，buthecamebackinafewminutes。”Ihaveawindowopen，”saidhe。”Itisamercythatyouareonthesideoftheforce，andnotagainstit，Mr。Holmes，”remarkedtheinspector，ashenotedthecleverwayinwhichmyfriendhadforcedbackthecatch。”Well，Ithinkthatunderthecircumstanceswemayenterwithoutaninvitation。”
Oneaftertheotherwemadeourwayintoalargeapartment，whichwasevidentlythatinwhichMr。Melashadfoundhimself。Theinspectorhadlithislantern，andbyitslightwecouldseethetwodoors，thecurtain，thelamp，andthesuitofJapanesemailashehaddescribedthem。Onthetablelaytwoglasses，andemptybrandy-bottle，andtheremainsofameal。”Whatisthat?”askedHolmes，suddenly。
Weallstoodstillandlistened。Alowmoaningsoundwascomingfromsomewhereoverourheads。Holmesrushedtothedoorandoutintothehall。Thedismalnoisecamefromupstairs。Hedashedup，theinspectorandIathisheels，whilehisbrotherMycroftfollowedasquicklyashisgreatbulkwouldpermit。
Threedoorsfacedupuponthesecondfloor，anditwasfromthecentralofthesethatthesinistersoundswereissuing，sinkingsometimesintoadullmumbleandrisingagainintoashrillwhine。Itwaslocked，butthekeyhadbeenleftontheoutside。Holmesflungopenthedoorandrushedin，buthewasoutagaininaninstant，withhishandtohisthroat。”