Capsuleswithhundredsofbrightlittleseedsineach，outofwhichwillspringthewise，betterEnglandofthefuture。IsupposethatmanPhelpsdoesnotdrink?””Ishouldnotthinkso。””NorshouldI，butweareboundtotakeeverypossibilityintoaccount。Thepoordevilhascertainlygothimselfintoverydeepwater，andit’saquestionwhetherweshalleverbeabletogethimashore。WhatdidyouthinkofMissHarrison?””Agirlofstrongcharacter。””Yes，butsheisagoodsort，orIammistaken。Sheandherbrotheraretheonlychildrenofaniron-mastersomewhereupNorthumberlandway。Hegotengagedtoherwhentravelinglastwinter，andshecamedowntobeintroducedtohispeople，withherbrotherasescort。Thencamethesmash，andshestayedontonurseherlover，whilebrotherJoseph，findinghimselfprettysnug，stayedontoo。I’vebeenmakingafewindependentinquiries，yousee。Butto-daymustbeadayofinquiries。””Mypractice——”Ibegan。”Oh，ifyoufindyourowncasesmoreinterestingthanmine——”saidHolmes，withsomeasperity。”Iwasgoingtosaythatmypracticecouldgetalongverywellforadayortwo，sinceitistheslackesttimeintheyear。””Excellent，”saidhe，recoveringhisgood-humor。”Thenwe’lllookintothismattertogether。IthinkthatweshouldbeginbeseeingForbes。Hecanprobablytellusallthedetailswewantuntilweknowfromwhatsidethecaseistobeapproached。”Yousaidyouhadaclue?””Well，wehaveseveral，butwecanonlytesttheirvaluebyfurtherinquiry。Themostdifficultcrimetotrackistheonewhichispurposeless。Nowthisisnotpurposeless。Whoisitwhoprofitsbyit?ThereistheFrenchambassador，thereistheRussian，thereiswho-evermightsellittoeitherofthese，andthereisLordHoldhurst。””LordHoldhurst！””Well，itisjustconceivablethatastatesmanmightfindhimselfinapositionwherehewasnotsorrytohavesuchadocumentaccidentallydestroyed。””NotastatesmanwitthehonorablerecordofLordHoldhurst?””Itisapossibilityandwecannotaffordtodisregardit。Weshallseethenoblelordto-dayandfindoutifhecantellusanything。MeanwhileIhavealreadysetinquiriesonfoot。””Already?””Yes，IsentwiresfromWokingstationtoeveryeveningpaperinLondon。Thisadvertisementwillappearineachofthem。”
Hehandedoverasheettornfromanote-book。Onitwasscribbledinpencil：”L10reward。ThenumberofthecabwhichdroppedafareatoraboutthedooroftheForeignOfficeinCharlesStreetatquartertotenintheeveningofMay23d。Apply221B，BakerStreet。””Youareconfidentthatthethiefcameinacab?””Ifnot，thereisnoharmdone。ButifMr。Phelpsiscorrectinstatingthatthereisnohiding-placeeitherintheroomorthecorridors，thenthepersonmusthavecomefromoutside。Ifhecamefromoutsideonsowetanight，andyetleftnotraceofdampuponthelinoleum，whichwasexaminedwithinafewminutesofhispassing，thenitisexceedingprobablythathecameinacab。Yes，Ithinkthatwemaysafelydeduceacab。””Itsoundsplausible。””ThatisoneofthecluesofwhichIspoke。Itmayleadustosomething。Andthen，ofcourse，thereisthebell——whichisthemostdistinctivefeatureofthecase。Whyshouldthebellring?Wasitthethiefwhodiditoutofbravado?Orwasitsomeonewhowaswiththethiefwhodiditinordertopreventthecrime?Orwasitanaccident?Orwasit——?”Hesankbackintothestateofintenseandsilentthoughtfromwhichhehademerged；butitseemedtome，accustomedasIwastohiseverymood，thatsomenewpossibilityhaddawnedsuddenlyuponhim。
Itwastwentypastthreewhenwereachedourterminus，andafterahastyluncheonatthebuffetwepushedonatoncetoScotlandYard。HolmeshadalreadywiredtoForbes，andwefoundhimwaitingtoreceiveus——asmall，foxymanwithasharpbutbynomeansamiableexpression。Hewasdecidedlyfrigidinhismannertous，especiallywhenheheardtheerranduponwhichwehadcome。”I’veheardofyourmethodsbeforenow，Mr。Holmes，”
saidhe，tartly。”Youarereadyenoughtousealltheinformationthatthepolicecanlayatyourdisposal，andthenyoutrytofinishthecaseyourselfandbringdiscreditonthem。””Onthecontrary，”saidHolmes，”outofmylastfifty-threecasesmynamehasonlyappearedinfour，andthepolicehavehadallthecreditinforty-nine。
Idon’tblameyoufornotknowingthis，foryouareyoungandinexperienced，butifyouwishtogetoninyournewdutiesyouwillworkwithmeandnotagainstme。””I’dbeverygladofahintortwo，”saidthedetective，changinghismanner。”I’vecertainlyhadnocreditfromthecasesofar。””Whatstepshaveyoutaken?””Tangey，thecommissionnaire，hasbeenshadowed。HelefttheGuardswithagoodcharacterandwecanfindnothingagainsthim。Hiswifeisabadlot，though。
Ifancysheknowsmoreaboutthisthanappears。””Haveyoushadowedher?””Wehavesetoneofourwomenontoher。Mrs。Tangeydrinks，andourwomanhasbeenwithhertwicewhenshewaswellon，butshecouldgetnothingoutofher。””Iunderstandthattheyhavehadbrokersinthehouse?””Yes，buttheywerepaidoff。””Wheredidthemoneycomefrom?””Thatwasallright。Hispensionwasdue。Theyhavenotshownanysignofbeinginfunds。””WhatexplanationdidshegiveofhavingansweredthebellwhenMr。Phelpsrangforthecoffee?””Shesaidthathehusbandwasverytiredandshewishedtorelievehim。””Well，certainlythatwouldagreewithhisbeingfoundalittlelaterasleepinhischair。Thereisnothingagainstthemthenbutthewoman’scharacter。Didyouaskherwhyshehurriedawaythatnight?Herhasteattractedtheattentionofthepoliceconstable。””Shewaslaterthanusualandwantedtogethome。””DidyoupointouttoherthatyouandMr。Phelps，whostartedatleasttwentyminutesafterhe，gothomebeforeher?””Sheexplainsthatbythedifferencebetweena’busandahansom。””Didshemakeitclearwhy，onreachingherhouse，sheranintothebackkitchen?””Becauseshehadthemoneytherewithwhichtopayoffthebrokers。””Shehasatleastananswerforeverything。DidyouaskherwhetherinleavingshemetanyoneorsawanyoneloiteringaboutCharlesStreet?””Shesawnoonebuttheconstable。””Well，youseemtohavecross-examinedherprettythoroughly。Whatelsehaveyoudone?””TheclerkGorothasbeenshadowedallthesenineweeks，butwithoutresult。Wecanshownothingagainsthim。””Anythingelse?””Well，wehavenothingelsetogoupon——noevidenceofanykind。””Haveyouformedatheoryabouthowthatbellrang?””Well，Imustconfessthatitbeatsme。Itwasacoolhand，whoeveritwas，togoandgivethealarmlikethat。””Yes，itwasqueerthingtodo。Manythankstoyouforwhatyouhavetoldme。IfIcanputthemanintoyourhandsyoushallhearfromme。Comealong，Watson。””Wherearewegoingtonow?”Iasked，aswelefttheoffice。”WearenowgoingtointerviewLordHoldhurst，thecabinetministerandfuturepremierofEngland。”
WewerefortunateinfindingthatLordHoldhurstwasstillinhischambersinDowningStreet，andonHolmessendinginhiscardwewereinstantlyshownup。Thestatesmanreceiveduswiththatold-fashionedcourtesyforwhichheisremarkable，andseatedusonthetwoluxuriantloungesoneithersideofthefireplace。
Standingontherunbetweenus，withhisslight，tallfigure，hissharpfeatures，thoughtfulface，andcurlinghairprematurelytingedwithgray，heseemedtorepresentthatnottocommontype，anoblemanwhoisintruthnoble。”Younameisveryfamiliartome，Mr。Holmes，”saidhe，smiling。”And，ofcourse，Icannotpretendtobeignorantoftheobjectofyourvisit。Therehasonlybeenonceoccurrenceintheseofficeswhichcouldcallforyourattention。Inwhoseinterestareyouacting，mayIask?”