Arthur Conan Doyle Chapter 1 The Adventure of the Empty House It was in the spring of the year that all London was inter - ested, and the fashionable world dismayed, by the murder of the Honourable Ronald Adair under most unusual and inexplic - able circumstances. The public has already learned those par - ticulars of the crime which came out in the police investiga - tion; but a good deal was suppressed upon that occasion, since the case for the prosecution was so overwhelmingly strong that it was not necessary to bring forward all the facts. Only ...Read More

Chapter 2 The Adventure of the Norwood Builder "From the point of view of the criminal expert," said Mr. Holmes, "London has become a singularly uninteresting city since the death of the late lamented Professor Moriarty." "I can hardly think that you would find many decent citizens to agree with you," I answered. "Well, well, I must not be selfish," sai d he, with a smile, as he pushed back his chair from the breakfast -table. "The com- munity is certainly the gainer, and no one the loser, save the poor out-of-work specialist, whose occupation has gone. With that ...Read More

Chapter 3 The Adventure of the Dancing Men Holmes had been seated for some hours in silence with his thin back curved over a chemical vessel in which he was brewing a particularly malodorous product. His head was sunk upon his breast, and he looked from my point of view like a strange, lank bird, with dull grey plumage and a black top-knot. "So, Watson," said he, suddenly, "you do not propose to in-vest in South African securities?" I gave a start of astonishment. Accustomed as I was to Holmes's curious faculties, this sudden intrusion into my most intimate ...Read More

Chapter 4 The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist From the years 1894 to 1901 inclusive Mr. Sherlock Holmes was very busy man. It is safe to say that there was no public case of any difficulty in which he was not consulted during those eight years, and there were hundreds of private cases, some of them of the most intricate and extraordinary charac - ter, in which he played a prominent part. Many startling suc - cesses and a few unavoidable fai lures were the outcome of this long period of continuous work. As I have preserved very full ...Read More

Chapter 5 The Adventure of the Priory School We have had some dramatic entrances and exits upon our small at Baker Street, but I cannot recollect anything more sudden and startling than the first appearance of Thor - neycroft Huxtable, M. A., Ph. D., etc. His card, which seemed too small to carry the weight of his academic distinctions, pre-ceded him by a few seconds, and then he entered himself — so large, so pompous, and so dignified that he was the very embodiment of self-possession and solidity. And yet his first action when the door had closed behind ...Read More

Chapter 6 The Adventure of Black Peter I have never known my friend to be in better form, both and physical, than in the year '95 . His increasing fam e had brought with it an immense practice, and I should be guilty of an indiscretion if I were even to hint at the identity of some of the i llustrious clients who crossed our humble threshold in Baker Street. Holmes, however, like all great artists, lived for his art 's sake, and, save in the case of the Duke of Holder - nesse, I have seldom known him ...Read More

Chapter 7 The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton It is years since the incidents of which I speak took and yet it is with diffidence that I allude to them. For a long time, even with the utmost discretion and reticence, it would have been impossible to make the facts public; but now the principal person concerned is beyond the reach of human law, and with due suppression the story may be told in such fashion as to in - jure no one. It records an absolutely unique experience in the career both of Mr. Sherlock Holmes and of ...Read More

Chapter 8 The Adventure of the Six Napoleons It was no very unusual thing for Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland to look in upon us of an evening, and his visits were wel - come to Sherlock Holmes, for they enabled him to keep in touch with all that was going on at the police head -quarters. In return for the news which Lestrade would bring, Holmes was always ready to listen with attention to the details of any case upon which the detective was engaged, and was able occasion-ally, without any active interference, to give some hint or suggestion ...Read More

Chapter 9 The Adventure of the Three Students It was in the year '95 that a combination of events, which I need not enter, caused Mr. Sherlock Holmes and myself to spend some weeks in one of our great University towns, and it was during this t ime that the small but instructive adventure which I am about to relate befell us. It will be obvious that any details which would help the reader to exactly identify the col - lege or the criminal would be injudicious and offensive. So painful a scandal may well be allowed to die ...Read More

Chapter 10 The Adventure of the Golden Pince - Nez When I look at the three massive manuscript volumes contain our work for the year 1894 I confess that it is very diffi - cult for me, out of such a wealth of material, to select the cases which are most interesting in themselves and at the same time most conducive to a display of those peculiar powers for which my friend was famous. As I turn over the pages I see my notes upon the repulsive story of the red leech and the terrible death of Crosby the ...Read More

Chapter 11 The Adventure of the Missing Three - Quarter We were fairly accustomed to receive weird telegrams at Street, but I have a particular recollection of one which reached us on a gloomy February morning some seven or eight years ago and gave Mr. Sherlock Holmes a puzzled quarter of an hour. It was addressed to him, and ran thus: — "Please await me. Terrible misfortune. Right wing three-quarter missing; indispensable to morrow. — Overton." "Strand post-mark and dispatched ten -thirty-six," said Holmes, reading it over and over. "Mr. Overton was evidently considerably excited when he sent it, ...Read More

Chapter 12 The Adventure of the Abbey Grange It was on a bitterly cold and frosty morning, towards the of the winter of '97, that I was awakened by a tugging at my shoulder. It was Holmes. The candle in his hand shone upon his eager, stooping face, and told me at a glance that something was amiss. "Come, Watson, come!" he cried. "The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!" Ten minutes later we were both in a cab, and rattling through the silent streets on our way to Charing Cross Station. The first ...Read More

Chapter 13 The Adventure of the Second Stain I had intended "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange" to be last of those exploits of my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, which I should ever communicate to the public. This resolution of mine was not due to any lack of material, since I have notes of many hundreds of cases to which I have never alluded, nor was it caused by any waning interest on the part of my readers in the singular personality and unique methods of this remark-able man. The real reason lay in the reluctance which Mr. Holmes ...Read More