”Onewouldthinkthatwewerethecriminals。Letushavehimarrestedonhisarrival。””Itwouldbetoruintheworkofthreemonths。Weshouldgetthebigfish，butthesmallerwoulddartrightandleftoutofthenet。OnMondayweshouldhavethemall。No，anarrestisinadmissible。””Whatthen?””WeshallgetoutatCanterbury。””Andthen?””Well，thenwemustmakeacross-countryjourneytoNewhaven，andsoovertoDieppe。MoriartywillagaindowhatIshoulddo。HewillgetontoParis，markdownourluggage，andwaitfortwodaysatthedepot。Inthemeantimeweshalltreatourselvestoacoupleofcarpet-bags，encouragethemanufacturesofthecountriesthroughwhichwetravel，andmakeourwayatourleisureintoSwitzerland，viaLuxembourgandBasle。”
　　AtCanterbury，therefore，wealighted，onlytofindthatweshouldhavetowaitanhourbeforewecouldgetatraintoNewhaven。
　　Iwasstilllookingratherruefullyaftertherapidlydisappearingluggage-vanwhichcontainedmywardrobe，whenHolmespulledmysleeveandpointeduptheline。”Already，yousee，”saidhe。
　　Faraway，fromamongtheKentishwoodsthereroseathinsprayofsmoke。Aminutelateracarriageandenginecouldbeseenflyingalongtheopencurvewhichleadstothestation。Wehadhardlytimetotakeourplacebehindapileofluggagewhenitpassedwitharattleandaroar，beatingablastofhotairintoourfaces。”Therehegoes，”saidHolmes，aswewatchedthecarriageswingandrockoverthepoint。”Therearelimits，yousee，toourfriend’sintelligence。Itwouldhavebeenacoup-de-ma顃rehadhededucedwhatI
　　woulddeduceandactedaccordingly。””Andwhatwouldhehavedonehadheovertakenus?””Therecannotbetheleastdoubtthathewouldhavemadeamurderousattackuponme。Itis，however，agameatwhichtwomayplay。Thequestion，nowiswhetherweshouldtakeaprematurelunchhere，orrunourchanceofstarvingbeforewereachthebuffetatNewhaven。”
　　WemadeourwaytoBrusselsthatnightandspenttwodaysthere，movingonuponthethirddayasfarasStrasburg。OntheMondaymorningHolmeshadtelegraphedtotheLondonpolice，andintheeveningwefoundareplywaitingforusatourhotel。Holmestoreitopen，andthenwithabittercursehurleditintothegrate。”Imighthaveknownit！”hegroaned。”Hehasescaped！””Moriarty?””Theyhavesecuredthewholegangwiththeexceptionofhim。Hehasgiventhemtheslip。Ofcourse，whenIhadleftthecountrytherewasnoonetocopewithhim。ButIdidthinkthatIhadputthegameintheirhands。IthinkthatyouhadbetterreturntoEngland，Watson。””Why?””Becauseyouwillfindmeadangerouscompanionnow。
　　Thisman’soccupationisgone。HeislostifhereturnstoLondon。IfIreadhischaracterrighthewilldevotehiswholeenergiestorevenginghimselfuponme。Hesaidasmuchinourshortinterview，andIfancythathemeantit。Ishouldcertainlyrecommendyoutoreturntoyourpractice。”
　　Itwashardlyanappealtobesuccessfulwithonewhowasanoldcampaigneraswellasanoldfriend。WesatintheStrasburgsalle-?mangerarguingthequestionforhalfanhour，butthesamenightwehadresumedourjourneyandwerewellonourwaytoGeneva。
　　ForacharmingweekwewandereduptheValleyoftheRhone，andthen，branchingoffatLeuk，wemadeourwayovertheGemmiPass，stilldeepinsnow，andso，bywayofInterlaken，toMeiringen。Itwasalovelytrip，thedaintygreenofthespringbelow，thevirginwhiteofthewinterabove；butitwascleartomethatneverforoneinstantdidHolmesforgettheshadowwhichlayacrosshim。InthehomelyAlpinevillagesorinthelonelymountainpasses，Icouldtellbyhisquickglancingeyesandhissharpscrutinyofeveryfacethatpassedus，thathewaswellconvincedthat，walkwherewewould，wecouldnotwalkourselvesclearofthedangerwhichwasdoggingourfootsteps。
　　Once，Iremember，aswepassedovertheGemmi，andwalkedalongtheborderofthemelancholyDaubensee，alargerockwhichhadbeendislodgedfromtheridgeuponourrightclattereddownandroaredintothelakebehindus。InaninstantHolmeshadracedupontotheridge，and，standinguponaloftypinnacle，cranedhisneckineverydirection。Itwasinvainthatourguideassuredhimthatafallofstoneswasacommonchanceinthespring-timeatthatspot。Hesaidnothing，buthesmiledatmewiththeairofamanwhoseesthefulfillmentofthatwhichhehadexpected。
　　Andyetforallhiswatchfulnesshewasneverdepressed。Onthecontrary，Icanneverrecollecthavingseenhiminsuchexuberantspirits。AgainandagainherecurredtothefactthatifhecouldbeassuredthatsocietywasfreedfromProfessorMoriartyhewouldcheerfullybringhisowncareertoaconclusion。”IthinkthatImaygosofarastosay，Watson，thatIhavenotlivedwhollyinvain，”heremarked。”Ifmyrecordwereclosedto-nightIcouldstillsurveyitwithequanimity。TheairofLondonisthesweeterformypresence。InoverathousandcasesIamnotawarethatIhaveeverusedmypowersuponthewrongside。
　　OflateIhavebeentemptedtolookintotheproblemsfurnishedbynatureratherthanthosemoresuperficialonesforwhichourartificialstateofsocietyisresponsible。Yourmemoirswilldrawtoanend，Watson，uponthedaythatIcrownmycareerbythecaptureorextinctionofthemostdangerousandcapablecriminalinEurope。”
　　Ishallbebrief，andyetexact，inthelittlewhichremainsformetotell。ItisnotasubjectonwhichIwouldwillinglydwell，andyetIamconsciousthatadutydevolvesuponmetoomitnodetail。
　　Itwasonthe3dofMaythatwereachedthelittlevillageofMeiringen，whereweputupattheEnglischerHof，thenkeptbyPeterSteilertheelder。
　　Ourlandlordwasanintelligentman，andspokeexcellentEnglish，havingservedforthreeyearsaswaiterattheGrosvenorHotelinLondon。Athisadvice，ontheafternoonofthe4thwesetofftogether，withtheintentionofcrossingthehillsandspendingthenightatthehamletofRosenlaui。Wehadstrictinjunctions，however，onnoaccounttopassthefallsofReichenbach，whichareabouthalf-wayupthehill，withoutmakingasmalldetourtoseethem。
　　Itisindeed，afearfulplace。Thetorrent，swollenbythemeltingsnow，plungesintoatremendousabyss，fromwhichthesprayrollsuplikethesmokefromaburninghouse。Theshaftintowhichtheriverhurlsitselfisaimmensechasm，linedbyglisteningcoal-blackrock，andnarrowingintoacreaming，boilingpitofincalculabledepth，whichbrimsoverandshootsthestreamonwardoveritsjaggedlip。Thelongsweepofgreenwaterroaringforeverdown，andthethickflickeringcurtainofsprayhissingforeverupward，turnamangiddywiththeirconstantwhirlandclamor。Westoodneartheedgepeeringdownatthegleamofthebreakingwaterfarbelowusagainsttheblackrocks，andlisteningtothehalf-humanshoutwhichcamboomingupwiththesprayoutoftheabyss。
　　Thepathhasbeencuthalf-wayroundthefalltoaffordacompleteview，butitendsabruptly，andthetravelerhastoreturnashecame。Wehadturnedtodoso，whenwesawaSwissladcomerunningalongitwithaletterinhishand。Itborethemarkofthehotelwhichwehadjustleft，andwasaddressedtomebythelandlord。Itappearedthatwithinaveryfewminutesofourleaving，andEnglishladyhadarrivedwhowasinthelaststageofconsumption。ShehadwinteredatDavosPlatz，andwasjourneyingnowtojoinherfriendsatLucerne，whenasuddenhemorrhagehadovertakenher。Itwasthoughtthatshecouldhardlyliveafewhours，butitwouldbeagreatconsolationtohertoseeanEnglishdoctor，and，ifI
　　wouldonlyreturn，etc。ThegoodSteilerassuredmeinapostscriptthathewouldhimselflookuponmycomplianceasaverygreatfavor，sincetheladyabsolutelyrefusedtoseeaSwissphysician，andhecouldnotbutfeelthathewasincurringagreatresponsibility。
　　Theappealwasonewhichcouldnotbeignored。Itwasimpossibletorefusetherequestofafellow-countrywomandyinginastrangeland。YetI
　　hadmyscruplesaboutleavingHolmes。Itwasfinallyagreed，however，thatheshouldretaintheyoungSwissmessengerwithhimasguideandcompanionwhileI
　　returnedtoMeiringen。Myfriendwouldstaysomelittletimeatthefall，hesaid，andwouldthenwalkslowlyoverthehilltoRosenlaui，whereIwastorejoinhimintheevening。AsIturnedawayIsawHolmes，withhisbackagainstarockandhisarmsfolded，gazingdownattherushofthewaters。ItwasthelastthatIwaseverdestinedtoseeofhiminthisworld。
　　WhenIwasnearthebottomofthedescentIlookedback。Itwasimpossible，fromthatposition，toseethefall，butIcouldseethecurvingpathwhichwindsovertheshoulderofthehillandleadstoit。Alongthisamanwas，Iremember，walkingveryrapidly。
　　Icouldseehisblackfigureclearlyoutlinedagainstthegreenbehindhim。Inotedhim，andtheenergywitwhichhewalkedbuthepassedfrommymindagainasI
　　hurriedonuponmyerrand。