Theyoungladyresumedherseatwithanairofdispleasure。Herbrother，however，hadjoinedusandwesetoffallfourtogether。Wepassedroundthelawntotheoutsideoftheyoungdiplomatist’swindow。
Therewere，ashehadsaid，marksuponthebed，buttheywerehopelesslyblurredandvague。Holmesstoppedoverthemforaninstant，andthenroseshrugginghisshoulders。”Idon’tthinkanyonecouldmakemuchofthis，”saidhe。”Letusgoroundthehouseandseewhythisparticularroomwaschosebytheburglar。Ishouldhavethoughtthoselargerwindowsofthedrawing-roomanddining-roomwouldhavehadmoreattractionsforhim。””Theyaremorevisiblefromtheroad，”suggestedMr。
JosephHarrison。”Ah，yes，ofcourse。Thereisadoorherewhichhemighthaveattempted。Whatisitfor?””Itisthesideentrancefortrades-people。Ofcourseitislockedatnight。””Haveyoueverhadanalarmlikethisbefore?””Never，”saidourclient。”Doyoukeepplateinthehouse，oranythingtoattractburglars?””Nothingofvalue。”
Holmesstrolledroundthehousewithhishandsinhispocketsandanegligentairwhichwasunusualwithhim。”Bytheway，”saidhetoJosephHarrison，”youfoundsomeplace，Iunderstand，wherethefellowscaledthefence。Letushavealookatthat！”
Theplumpyoungmanledustoaspotwherethetopofoneofthewoodenrailshadbeencracked。Asmallfragmentofthewoodwashangingdown。Holmespulleditoffandexamineditcritically。”Doyouthinkthatwasdonelastnight?Itlooksratherold，doesitnot?””Well，possiblyso。””Therearenomarksofanyonejumpingdownupontheotherside。No，Ifancyweshallgetnohelphere。
Letusgobacktothebedroomandtalkthematterover。”
PercyPhelpswaswalkingveryslowly，leaninguponthearmofhisfuturebrother-in-law。Holmeswalkedswiftlyacrossthelawn，andwewereattheopenwindowofthebedroomlongbeforetheotherscameup。”MissHarrison，”saidHolmes，speakingwiththeutmostintensityofmanner，”youmuststaywhereyouareallday。Letnothingpreventyoufromstayingwhereyouareallday。Itisoftheutmostimportance。””Certainly，ifyouwishit，Mr。Holmes，”saidthegirlinastonishment。”Whenyougotobedlockthedoorofthisroomontheoutsideandkeepthekey。Promisetodothis。””ButPercy?””HewillcometoLondonwithus。””AndamItoremainhere?””Itisforhissake。Youcanservehim。Quick！
Promise！”
Shegaveaquicknodofassentjustastheothertwocameup。”Whydoyousitmopingthere，Annie?”criedherbrother。”Comeoutintothesunshine！””No，thankyou，Joseph。Ihaveaslightheadacheandthisroomisdeliciouslycoolandsoothing。””Whatdoyouproposenow，Mr。Holmes?”askedourclient。”Well，ininvestigatingthisminoraffairwemustnotlosesightofourmaininquiry。ItwouldbeaverygreathelptomeifyouwouldcomeuptoLondonwithus。””Atonce?””Well，assoonasyouconvenientlycan。Sayinanhour。””Ifeelquitestrongenough，ifIcanreallybeofanyhelp。””Thegreatestpossible。””Perhapsyouwouldlikemethestaythereto-night?””Iwasjustgoingtoproposeit。””Then，ifmyfriendofthenightcomestorevisitme，hewillfindthebirdflown。Weareallinyourhands，Mr。Holmes，andyoumusttellusexactlywhatyouwouldlikedone。PerhapsyouwouldpreferthatJosephcamewitussoastolookafterme?””Oh，no；myfriendWatsonisamedicalman，youknow，andhe’lllookafteryou。We’llhaveourlunchhere，ifyouwillpermitus，andthenweshallalthreesetofffortowntogether。”
Itwasarrangedashesuggested，thoughMissHarrisonexcusedherselffromleavingthebedroom，inaccordancewithHolmes’ssuggestion。Whattheobjectofmyfriend’smanoeuvreswasIcouldnotconceive，unlessitweretokeeptheladyawayfromPhelps，who，rejoicedbyhisreturninghealthandbytheprospectofaction，lunchedwithusinthedining-room。Holmeshadstillmorestartlingsurpriseforus，however，for，afteraccompanyingusdowntothestationandseeingusintoourcarriage，hecalmlyannouncedthathehadnointentionofleavingWoking。”ThereareoneortwosmallpointswhichIshoulddesiretoclearupbeforeIgo，”saidhe。”Yourabsence，Mr。Phelps，willinsomewaysratherassistme。Watson，whenyoureachLondonyouwouldobligemebydrivingatoncetoBakerStreetwithourfriendhere，andremainingwithhimuntilIseeyouagain。
Itisfortunatethatyouareoldschool-fellows，asyoumusthavemuchtotalkover。Mr。Phelpscanhavethesparebedroomto-night，andIwillbewithyouintimeforbreakfast，forthereisatrainwhichwilltakemeintoWaterlooateight。””ButhowaboutourinvestigationinLondon?”askedPhelps，ruefully。”Wecandothatto-morrow。IthinkthatjustatpresentIcanbeofmoreimmediateusehere。””YoumighttellthematBriarbraethatIhopetobebackto-morrownight，”criedPhelps，aswebegantomovefromtheplatform。”IhardlyexpecttogobacktoBriarbrae，”answeredHolmes，andwavedhishandtouscheerilyasweshotoutfromthestation。
PhelpsandItalkeditoveronourjourney，butneitherofuscoulddeviseasatisfactoryreasonforthisnewdevelopment。”Isupposehewantstofindoutsomeclueastotheburglarylastnight，ifaburglaritwas。Formyself，Idon’tbelieveitwasanordinarythief。””Whatisyourownidea，then?””Uponmyword，youmayputitdowntomyweaknervesornot，butIbelievethereissomedeeppoliticalintriguegoingonaroundme，andthatforsomereasonthatpassesmyunderstandingmylifeisaimedatbytheconspirators。Itsoundshigh-flownandabsurd，butconsiderthefats！Whyshouldathieftrytobreakinatabedroomwindow，wheretherecouldbenohopeofanyplunder，andwhyshouldhecomewithalongknifeinhishand?””Youaresureitwasnotahouse-breaker’sjimmy?””Oh，no，itwasaknife。Isawtheflashofthebladequitedistinctly。””Butwhyonearthshouldyoubepursuedwithsuchanimosity?””Ah，thatisthequestion。””Well，ifHolmestakesthesameview，thatwouldaccountforhisaction，woulditnot?Presumingthatyourtheoryiscorrect，ifhecanlayhishandsuponthemanwhothreatenedyoulastnighthewillhavegonealongwaytowardsfindingwhotookthenavaltreaty。Itisabsurdtosupposethatyouhavetwoenemies，oneofwhomrobsyou，whiletheotherthreatensyourlife。””ButHolmessaidthathewasnotgoingtoBriarbrae。””Ihaveknownhimforsometime，”saidI，”butIneverknewhimdoanythingyetwithoutaverygoodreason，”
andwiththatourconversationdriftedoffontoothertopics。
Butitwasawearydayforme。Phelpswasstillweakafterhislongillness，andhismisfortunemadehimquerulousandnervous。InvainIendeavoredtointeresthiminAfghanistan，inIndia，insocialquestions，inanythingwhichmighttakehismindoutofthegroove。Hewouldalwayscomebacktohislosttreaty，wondering，guessing，speculating，astowhatHolmeswasdoing，whatstepsLordHoldhurstwastaking，whatnewsweshouldhaveinthemorning。Astheeveningworeonhisexcitementbecamequitepainful。”YouhaveimplicitfaithinHolmes?”heasked。”Ihaveseenhimdosomeremarkablethings。””Butheneverbroughtlightintoanythingquitesodarkasthis?””Oh，yes；Ihaveknownhimsolvequestionswhichpresentedfewercluesthanyours。””Butnotwheresuchlargeinterestsareatstake?”