Peterson，thenew—comer，whisperedsatiricallyinFerguson’sear:
　　"Wonderfulperformancetofindthisplace，wasn’tit？Hardlyworthwhiletocomesofar，though;anyothersupposititiousplacewouldhaveansweredjustaswell——hey？"
　　Fergusonwasnotpleasedwiththeinnuendo。Hesaid，withsomewarmth:
　　"Doyoumeantoinsinuatethatthechildhasn’tbeenhere？Itellyouthechildhasbeenhere！Nowifyouwanttogetyourselfintoastidyalittlefussas——"
　　"Allright！"sangoutStillman。"Come，everybody，andlookatthis！Itwasrightunderournosesallthetime，andwedidn’tseeit。"
　　Therewasageneralplungeforthegroundattheplacewherethechildwasallegedtohaverested，andmanyeyestriedhardandhopefullytoseethethingthatArchy’sfingerwasrestingupon。Therewasapause，thenaseveral—barreledsighofdisappointment。PatRileyandHamSandwichsaid，intheonebreath:
　　"Whatisit，Archy？There’snothinghere。"
　　"Nothing？Doyoucallthatnothing？"andheswiftlytraceduponthegroundaformwithhisfinger。"There——don’tyourecognizeitnow？It’sInjunBilly’strack。He’sgotthechild。"
　　"Godbepraised！"fromthemother。
　　"Takeawaythelantern。I’vegotthedirection。Follow！"
　　Hestartedonarun，racinginandoutamongthesage—bushesamatterofthreehundredyards，anddisappearedoverasand—wave;theothersstruggledafterhim，caughthimup，andfoundhimwaiting。Tenstepsawaywasalittlewickiup，adimandformlessshelterofragsandoldhorse—blankets，adulllightshowingthroughitschinks。
　　"Youlead，Mrs。Hogan，"saidthelad。"It’syourprivilegetobefirst。"
　　Allfollowedthesprintshemadeforthewickiup，andsaw，withher，thepictureitsinteriorafforded。InjunBillywassittingontheground;
　　thechildwasasleepbesidehim。Themotherhuggeditwithawildembrace，whichincludedArchyStillman，thegratefultearsrunningdownherface，andinachokedandbrokenvoiceshepouredoutagoldenstreamofthatwealthofworshipingendearmentswhichhasitshomeinfullrichnessnowherebutintheIrishheart。
　　"Ifindherbymebyitisteno’clock，"Billyexplained。"She’sleepoutyonder，ve’ytired——facewet，beencryin’，’spose;fetchherhome，feedher，sheheapmuchhungry——go’sleep’gin。"
　　Inherlimitlessgratitudethehappymotherwaivedrankandhuggedhimtoo，callinghim"theangelofGodindisguise。"Andheprobablywasindisguiseifhewasthatkindofanofficial。Hewasdressedforthecharacter。
　　Athalfpastoneinthemorningtheprocessionburstintothevillagesinging，"WhenJohnnyComesMarchingHome，"wavingitslanternsandswallowingthedrinksthatwerebroughtoutallalongitscourse。Itconcentratedatthetavern，andmadeanightofwhatwasleftofthemorning。
　　PARTII
　　I
　　Thenextafternoonthevillagewaselectrifiedwithanimmensesensation。
　　Agraveanddignifiedforeignerofdistinguishedbearingandappearancehadarrivedatthetavern，andenteredthisformidablenameupontheregister:
　　SHERLOCKHOLMES
　　Thenewsbuzzedfromcabintocabin，fromclaimtoclaim;toolsweredropped，andthetownswarmedtowardthecenterofinterest。AmanpassingoutatthenorthernendofthevillageshoutedittoPatRiley，whoseclaimwasthenextonetoFlintBuckner’s。AtthattimeFetlockJonesseemedtoturnsick。Hemutteredtohimself:
　　"UncleSherlock！Themeanluckofit！——thatheshouldcomejustwhen……"
　　Hedroppedintoareverie，andpresentlysaidtohimself:"Butwhat’stheuseofbeingafraidofhim？AnybodythatknowshimthewayIdoknowshecan’tdetectacrimeexceptwhereheplansitalloutbeforehandandarrangesthecluesandhiressomefellowtocommititaccordingtoinstructions……Nowthereain’tgoingtobeanycluesthistime——so，whatshowhashegot？Noneatall。No，sir;everything’sready。IfI
　　wastoriskputtingitoff——No，Iwon’trunanyrisklikethat。FlintBucknergoesoutofthisworldto—night，forsure。"Thenanothertroublepresenteditself。"UncleSherlock’llbewantingtotalkhomematterswithmethisevening，andhowamIgoingtogetridofhim？forI’vegottobeatmycabinaminuteortwoabouteighto’clock。"Thiswasanawkwardmatter，andcosthimmuchthought。Buthefoundawaytobeatthedifficulty。"We’llgoforawalk，andI’llleavehimintheroadaminute，sothathewon’tseewhatitisIdo:thebestwaytothrowadetectiveoffthetrack，anyway，istohavehimalongwhenyouarepreparingthething。Yes，that’sthesafest——I’lltakehimwithme。"
　　Meantimetheroadinfrontofthetavernwasblockedwithvillagerswaitingandhopingforaglimpseofthegreatman。Buthekepthisroom，anddidnotappear。NonebutFerguson，JakeParkertheblacksmith，andHamSandwichhadanyluck。Theseenthusiasticadmirersofthegreatscientificdetectivehiredthetavern’sdetained—baggagelockup，whichlookedintothedetective’sroomacrossalittlealleywaytenortwelvefeetwide，ambushedthemselvesinit，andcutsomepeep—holesinthewindow—blind。Mr。Holmes’sblindsweredown;butbyandbyheraisedthem。Itgavethespiesahair—liftingbutpleasurablethrilltofindthemselvesfacetofacewiththeExtraordinaryManwhohadfilledtheworldwiththefameofhismorethanhumaningenuities。Therehesat——notamyth，notashadow，butreal，alive，compactofsubstance，andalmostwithintouchingdistancewiththehand。
　　"Lookatthathead！"saidFerguson，inanawedvoice。"Bygracious！
　　that’sahead！"
　　"Youbet！"saidtheblacksmith，withdeepreverence。"Lookathisnose！
　　lookathiseyes！Intellect？Justabatteryofit！"
　　"Andthatpaleness，"saidHamSandwich。"Comesfromthought——that’swhatitcomesfrom。Hell！dufferslikeusdon’tknowwhatrealthoughtis。"
　　"Nomorewedon’t，"saidFerguson。"Whatwetakeforthinkingisjustblubber—and—slush。"
　　"Rightyouare，Wells—Fargo。Andlookatthatfrown——that’sdeepthinking——awaydown，down，fortyfathomintothebowelsofthings。He’sonthetrackofsomething。"
　　"Well，heis，anddon’tyouforgetit。Say——lookatthatawfulgravity——
　　lookatthatpallidsolemness——thereain’tanycorpsecanlayoverit。"
　　"No，sir，notfordollars！Andit’shis’nbyhereditaryrights，too;
　　he’sbeendeadfourtimesa’ready，andthere’shistoryforit。Threetimesnatural，oncebyaccident。I’veheardsayhesmellsdampandcold，likeagrave。Andhe——"
　　"’Sh！Watchhim！There——he’sgothisthumbonthebumponthenearcornerofhisforehead，andhisforefingerontheoffone。Histhink—
　　worksisjusta—grindingnow，youbetyourothershirt。"
　　"That’sso。Andnowhe’sgazinguptowardheavenandstrokinghismustacheslow，and——"
　　"Nowhehasroseupstanding，andisputtinghiscluestogetheronhisleftfingerswithhisrightfinger。See？hetouchestheforefinger——nowmiddlefinger——nowring—finger——"
　　"Stuck！"
　　"Lookathimscowl！Hecan’tseemtomakeoutthatclue。Sohe——"
　　"Seehimsmile！——likeatiger——andtallyofftheotherfingerslikenothing！He’sgotit，boys;he’sgotitsure！"
　　"Well，Ishouldsay！I’dhatetobeinthatman’splacethathe’safter。"
　　Mr。Holmesdrewatabletothewindow，satdownwithhisbacktothespies，andproceededtowrite。Thespieswithdrewtheireyesfromthepeep—holes，littheirpipes，andsettledthemselvesforacomfortablesmokeandtalk。Fergusonsaid，withconviction:
　　"Boys，it’snousetalking，he’sawonder！He’sgotthesignsofitalloverhim。"
　　"Youhain’teversaidatruerwordthanthat，Wells—Fargo，"saidJakeParker。"Say，wouldn’tit’a’beennutsifhe’da—beenherelastnight？"
　　"Oh，byGeorge，butwouldn’tit！"saidFerguson。"Thenwe’dhaveseenscientificwork。Intellect——justpureintellect——awayupontheupperlevels，dontchuknow。Archyisallright，anditdon’tbecomeanybodytobelittlehim，Icantellyou。Buthisgiftisonlyjusteyesight，sharpasanowl’s，asnearasIcanmakeitoutjustagrandnaturalanimaltalent，nomore，noless，andprimeasfarasitgoes，butnointellectinit，andforawfulnessandmarvelousnessnomoretobecomparedtowhatthismandoesthan——than——Why，letmetellyouwhathe’dhavedone。He’dhavesteppedovertoHogan’sandglanced——justglanced，that’sall——atthepremises，andthat’senough。Seeeverything？Yes，sir，tothelastlittledetail;andhe’llknowmoreaboutthatplacethantheHoganswouldknowinsevenyears。Next，hewouldsitdownonthebunk，justasca’m，andsaytoMrs。Hogan——Say，Ham，considerthatyouareMrs。Hogan。I’llaskthequestions;youanswerthem。"
　　"Allright;goon。"
　　"’Madam，ifyouplease——attention——donotletyourmindwander。Now，then——sexofthechild？’
　　"’Female，yourHonor。’
　　"’Um——female。Verygood，verygood。Age？’
　　"’Turnedsix，yourHonor。’
　　"’Um——young，weak——twomiles。Wearinesswillovertakeitthen。Itwillsinkdownandsleep。Weshallfindittwomilesaway，orless。Teeth？’
　　"’Five，yourHonor，andonea—coming。’
　　"’Verygood，verygood，verygood，indeed。’Yousee，boys，heknowsacluewhenheseesit，whenitwouldn’tmeanadernthingtoanybodyelse。
　　’Stockings，madam？Shoes？’
　　"’Yes，yourHonor——both。’
　　"’Yarn，perhaps？Morocco？’
　　"’Yarn，yourHonor。Andkip。’
　　"’Um——kip。Thiscomplicatesthematter。However，letitgo——weshallmanage。Religion？’
　　"’Catholic，yourHonor。’
　　"’Verygood。Snipmeabitfromthebedblanket，please。Ah，thanks。
　　Partwool——foreignmake。Verywell。Asnipfromsomegarmentofthechild’s，please。Thanks。Cotton。Showswear。Anexcellentclue，excellent。Passmeapalletofthefloordirt，ifyou’llbesokind。
　　Thanks，manythanks。Ah，admirable，admirable！Nowweknowwhereweare，Ithink。’Yousee，boys，he’sgotalltheclueshewantsnow;hedon’tneedanythingmore。Now，then，whatdoesthisExtraordinaryMando？Helaysthosesnipsandthatdirtoutonthetableandleansoverthemonhiselbows，andputsthemtogethersidebysideandstudiesthem——mumblestohimself，’Female’;changesthemaround——mumbles，’Sixyearsold’;changesthemthiswayandthat——againmumbles:’Fiveteeth——onea—
　　coming——Catholic——yarn——cotton——kip——damnthatkip。’Thenhestraightensupandgazestowardheaven，andplowshishandsthroughhishair——plowsandplows，muttering，’Damnthatkip！’Thenhestandsupandfrowns，andbeginstotallyoffhiscluesonhisfingers——andgetsstuckatthering—
　　finger。Butonlyjustaminute——thenhisfaceglaresallupinasmilelikeahouseafire，andhestraightensupstatelyandmajestic，andsaystothecrowd，’Takealantern，acoupleofyou，andgodowntoInjunBilly’sandfetchthechild——therestofyougo’longhometobed;good—
　　night，madam;good—night，gents。’AndhebowsliketheMatterhorn，andpullsoutforthetavern。That’shisstyle，andtheOnly——scientific，intellectual——alloverinfifteenminutes——nopokingaroundalloverthesage—brushrangeanhourandahalfinamass—meetingcrowdforhim，boys——youhearme！"
　　"ByJackson，it’sgrand！"saidHamSandwich。"Wells—Fargo，you’vegothimdowntoadot。Heain’tpaintedupanyexactertothelifeinthebooks。ByGeorge，Icanjustseehim——can’tyou，boys？"
　　"Youbetyou！It’sjustaphotograft，that’swhatitis。"
　　Fergusonwasprofoundlypleasedwithhissuccess，andgrateful。Hesatsilentlyenjoyinghishappinessalittlewhile，thenhemurmured，withadeepaweinhisvoice，"IwonderifGodmadehim？"
　　Therewasnoresponseforamoment;thenHamSandwichsaid，reverently:
　　"Notallatonetime，Ireckon。"
　　VII
　　Ateighto’clockthateveningtwopersonsweregropingtheirwaypastFlintBuckner’scabininthefrostygloom。TheywereSherlockHolmesandhisnephew。
　　"Stophereintheroadamoment，uncle，"saidFetlock，"whileIruntomycabin;Iwon’tbegoneaminute。"
　　Heaskedforsomething——theunclefurnishedit——thenhedisappearedinthedarkness，butsoonreturned，andthetalking—walkwasresumed。Bynineo’clocktheyhadwanderedbacktothetavern。Theyworkedtheirwaythroughthebilliard—room，whereacrowdhadgatheredinthehopeofgettingaglimpseoftheExtraordinaryMan。Aroyalcheerwasraised。
　　Mr。Holmesacknowledgedthecomplimentwithaseriesofcourtlybows，andashewaspassingouthisnephewsaidtotheassemblage:
　　"UncleSherlock’sgotsomeworktodo，gentlemen，that’llkeephimtilltwelveorone;buthe’llbedownagainthen，orearlierifhecan，andhopessomeofyou’llbelefttotakeadrinkwithhim。"
　　"ByGeorge，he’sjustaduke，boys！ThreecheersforSherlockHolmes，thegreatestmanthateverlived！"shoutedFerguson。"Hip，hip，hip——"
　　"Hurrah！hurrah！hurrah！Tiger！"
　　Theuproarshookthebuilding，soheartywasthefeelingtheboysputintotheirwelcome。Up—stairstheunclereproachedthenephewgently，saying:
　　"Whatdidyougetmeintothatengagementfor？"
　　"Ireckonyoudon’twanttobeunpopular，doyou，uncle？Well，then，don’tyouputonanyexclusivenessinamining—camp，that’sall。Theboysadmireyou;butifyouwastoleavewithouttakingadrinkwiththem，they’dsetyoudownforasnob。Andbesides，yousaidyouhadhometalkenoughinstocktokeepusupandatithalfthenight。"
　　Theboywasright，andwise——theuncleacknowledgedit。Theboywaswiseinanotherdetailwhichhedidnotmention——excepttohimself:"Uncleandtheotherswillcomehandy——inthewayofnailinganalibiwhereitcan’tbebudged。"
　　Heandhisuncletalkeddiligentlyaboutthreehours。Then，aboutmidnight，Fetlocksteppeddown—stairsandtookapositioninthedarkadozenstepsfromthetavern，andwaited。FiveminuteslaterFlintBucknercamerockingoutofthebilliard—roomandalmostbrushedhimashepassed。
　　"I’vegothim！"mutteredtheboy。Hecontinuedtohimself，lookingaftertheshadowyform:"Good—by——good—byforgood，FlintBuckner;youcalledmymothera——well，nevermindwhat:it’sallright，now;you’retakingyourlastwalk，friend。"
　　Hewentmusingbackintothetavern。"Fromnowtilloneisanhour。
　　We’llspenditwiththeboys;it’sgoodforthealibi。"
　　HebroughtSherlockHolmestothebilliard—room，whichwasjammedwitheagerandadmiringminers;theguestcalledthedrinks，andthefunbegan。Everybodywashappy;everybodywascomplimentary;theicewassoonbroken，songs，anecdotes，andmoredrinksfollowed，andthepregnantminutesflew。Atsixminutestoone，whenthejollitywasatitshighest——
　　BOOM！！
　　Therewassilenceinstantly。Thedeepsoundcamerollingandrumblingfrownpeaktopeakupthegorge，thendieddown，andceased。Thespellbroke，then，andthemenmadearushforthedoor，saying:
　　"Something’sblownup！"
　　Outside，avoiceinthedarknesssaid，"It’sawaydownthegorge;Isawtheflash。"
　　Thecrowdpoureddownthecanyon——Holmes，Fetlock，ArchyStillman，everybody。Theymadethemileinafewminutes。BythelightofalanterntheyfoundthesmoothandsoliddirtfloorofFlintBuckner’scabin;ofthecabinitselfnotavestigeremained，notaragnorasplinter。NoranysignofFlint。Search—partiessoughthereandthereandyonder，andpresentlyacrywentup。
　　"Hereheis！"
　　Itwastrue。Fiftyyardsdownthegulchtheyhadfoundhim——thatis，theyhadfoundacrushedandlifelessmasswhichrepresentedhim。
　　FetlockJoneshurriedthitherwiththeothersandlooked。
　　Theinquestwasafifteen—minuteaffair。HamSandwich，foremanofthejury，handeduptheverdict，whichwasphrasedwithacertainunstudiedliterarygrace，andclosedwiththisfinding，towit:that"deceasedcametohisdeathbyhisownactorsomeotherpersonorpersonsunknowntothisjurynotleavinganyfamilyorsimilareffectsbehindbuthiscabinwhichwasblownawayandGodhavemercyonhissoulamen。"
　　Thentheimpatientjuryrejoinedthemaincrowd，forthestorm—centerofinterestwasthere——SherlockHolmes。Theminersstoodsilentandreverentinahalf—circle，inclosingalargevacantspacewhichincludedthefrontexposureofthesiteofthelatepremises。InthisconsiderablespacetheExtraordinaryManwasmovingabout，attendedbyhisnephewwithalantern。Withatapehetookmeasurementsofthecabinsite;ofthedistancefromthewallofchaparraltotheroad;oftheheightofthechaparralbushes;alsovariousothermeasurements。Hegatheredaraghere，asplinterthere，andapinchofearthyonder，inspectedthemprofoundly，andpreservedthem。Hetookthe"lay"oftheplacewithapocket—compass，allowingtwosecondsformagneticvariation。