diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock index 01002532..0dec7dd8 100644 --- a/Cargo.lock +++ b/Cargo.lock @@ -134,12 +134,12 @@ dependencies = [ [[package]] name = "grep" -version = "0.1.9" +version = "0.2.0" dependencies = [ - "log 0.4.3 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", - "memchr 2.0.1 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", - "regex 1.0.2 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", - "regex-syntax 0.6.2 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", + "grep-matcher 0.0.1", + "grep-printer 0.0.1", + "grep-regex 0.0.1", + "grep-searcher 0.0.1", ] [[package]] @@ -192,16 +192,6 @@ dependencies = [ "regex 1.0.2 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", ] -[[package]] -name = "grep2" -version = "0.2.0" -dependencies = [ - "grep-matcher 0.0.1", - "grep-printer 0.0.1", - "grep-regex 0.0.1", - "grep-searcher 0.0.1", -] - [[package]] name = "ignore" version = "0.4.3" @@ -339,19 +329,12 @@ name = "ripgrep" version = "0.9.0" dependencies = [ "atty 0.2.11 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", - "bytecount 0.3.1 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", "clap 2.32.0 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", - "encoding_rs 0.8.4 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", - "encoding_rs_io 0.1.1 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", "globset 0.4.1", - "grep 0.1.9", - "grep2 0.2.0", + "grep 0.2.0", "ignore 0.4.3", "lazy_static 1.0.2 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", - "libc 0.2.42 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", "log 0.4.3 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", - "memchr 2.0.1 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", - "memmap 0.6.2 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", "num_cpus 1.8.0 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", "regex 1.0.2 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", "same-file 1.0.2 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)", diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml index b919e0e2..5253d115 100644 --- a/Cargo.toml +++ b/Cargo.toml @@ -35,23 +35,15 @@ path = "tests/tests.rs" members = [ "grep", "globset", "ignore", "grep-matcher", "grep-printer", "grep-regex", "grep-searcher", - "grep2", ] [dependencies] atty = "0.2.11" -bytecount = "0.3.1" -encoding_rs = "0.8" -encoding_rs_io = "0.1" globset = { version = "0.4.0", path = "globset" } -grep = { version = "0.1.8", path = "grep" } -grep2 = { version = "0.2.0", path = "grep2" } +grep = { version = "0.2.0", path = "grep" } ignore = { version = "0.4.0", path = "ignore" } lazy_static = "1" -libc = "0.2" log = "0.4" -memchr = "2" -memmap = "0.6" num_cpus = "1" regex = "1" same-file = "1" @@ -75,15 +67,8 @@ default-features = false features = ["suggestions", "color"] [features] -avx-accel = [ - "bytecount/avx-accel", - "grep2/avx-accel", -] -simd-accel = [ - "bytecount/simd-accel", - "encoding_rs/simd-accel", - "grep2/simd-accel", -] +avx-accel = ["grep/avx-accel"] +simd-accel = ["grep/simd-accel"] [profile.release] debug = true diff --git a/grep/Cargo.toml b/grep/Cargo.toml index 562bde1e..afd0d40e 100644 --- a/grep/Cargo.toml +++ b/grep/Cargo.toml @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ [package] name = "grep" -version = "0.1.9" #:version +version = "0.2.0" #:version authors = ["Andrew Gallant "] description = """ Fast line oriented regex searching as a library. @@ -13,7 +13,11 @@ keywords = ["regex", "grep", "egrep", "search", "pattern"] license = "Unlicense/MIT" [dependencies] -log = "0.4" -memchr = "2" -regex = "1" -regex-syntax = "0.6" +grep-matcher = { version = "0.0.1", path = "../grep-matcher" } +grep-printer = { version = "0.0.1", path = "../grep-printer" } +grep-regex = { version = "0.0.1", path = "../grep-regex" } +grep-searcher = { version = "0.0.1", path = "../grep-searcher" } + +[features] +avx-accel = ["grep-searcher/avx-accel"] +simd-accel = ["grep-searcher/simd-accel"] diff --git a/grep/src/data/sherlock.txt b/grep/src/data/sherlock.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c4c31305..00000000 --- a/grep/src/data/sherlock.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13052 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net - - -Title: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - -Author: Arthur Conan Doyle - -Posting Date: April 18, 2011 [EBook #1661] -First Posted: November 29, 2002 - -Language: English - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES *** - - - - -Produced by an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer and Jose Menendez - - - - - - - - - -THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES - -by - -SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE - - - - I. A Scandal in Bohemia - II. The Red-headed League - III. A Case of Identity - IV. The Boscombe Valley Mystery - V. The Five Orange Pips - VI. The Man with the Twisted Lip - VII. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle -VIII. The Adventure of the Speckled Band - IX. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb - X. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor - XI. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet - XII. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches - - - - -ADVENTURE I. A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA - -I. - -To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman. I have seldom heard -him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses -and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt -any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that -one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but -admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect -reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a -lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never -spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They -were admirable things for the observer--excellent for drawing the -veil from men's motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner -to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely -adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which -might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a -sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power -lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a -nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman to him, and -that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable -memory. - -I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us -away from each other. My own complete happiness, and the -home-centred interests which rise up around the man who first -finds himself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to -absorb all my attention, while Holmes, who loathed every form of -society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in -Baker Street, buried among his old books, and alternating from -week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the -drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature. He was still, -as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his -immense faculties and extraordinary powers of observation in -following out those clues, and clearing up those mysteries which -had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From time -to time I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons -to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder, of his clearing up -of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee, -and finally of the mission which he had accomplished so -delicately and successfully for the reigning family of Holland. -Beyond these signs of his activity, however, which I merely -shared with all the readers of the daily press, I knew little of -my former friend and companion. - -One night--it was on the twentieth of March, 1888--I was -returning from a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to -civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I -passed the well-remembered door, which must always be associated -in my mind with my wooing, and with the dark incidents of the -Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes -again, and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers. -His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw -his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against -the blind. He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head -sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him. To me, who -knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their -own story. He was at work again. He had risen out of his -drug-created dreams and was hot upon the scent of some new -problem. I rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which -had formerly been in part my own. - -His manner was not effusive. It seldom was; but he was glad, I -think, to see me. With hardly a word spoken, but with a kindly -eye, he waved me to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars, -and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he -stood before the fire and looked me over in his singular -introspective fashion. - -"Wedlock suits you," he remarked. "I think, Watson, that you have -put on seven and a half pounds since I saw you." - -"Seven!" I answered. - -"Indeed, I should have thought a little more. Just a trifle more, -I fancy, Watson. And in practice again, I observe. You did not -tell me that you intended to go into harness." - -"Then, how do you know?" - -"I see it, I deduce it. How do I know that you have been getting -yourself very wet lately, and that you have a most clumsy and -careless servant girl?" - -"My dear Holmes," said I, "this is too much. You would certainly -have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. It is true -that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful -mess, but as I have changed my clothes I can't imagine how you -deduce it. As to Mary Jane, she is incorrigible, and my wife has -given her notice, but there, again, I fail to see how you work it -out." - -He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands -together. - -"It is simplicity itself," said he; "my eyes tell me that on the -inside of your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it, -the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they -have been caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round -the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it. -Hence, you see, my double deduction that you had been out in vile -weather, and that you had a particularly malignant boot-slitting -specimen of the London slavey. As to your practice, if a -gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of iodoform, with a black -mark of nitrate of silver upon his right forefinger, and a bulge -on the right side of his top-hat to show where he has secreted -his stethoscope, I must be dull, indeed, if I do not pronounce -him to be an active member of the medical profession." - -I could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained his -process of deduction. "When I hear you give your reasons," I -remarked, "the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously -simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each -successive instance of your reasoning I am baffled until you -explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good -as yours." - -"Quite so," he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing -himself down into an armchair. "You see, but you do not observe. -The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen -the steps which lead up from the hall to this room." - -"Frequently." - -"How often?" - -"Well, some hundreds of times." - -"Then how many are there?" - -"How many? I don't know." - -"Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is -just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, -because I have both seen and observed. By-the-way, since you are -interested in these little problems, and since you are good -enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences, you -may be interested in this." He threw over a sheet of thick, -pink-tinted note-paper which had been lying open upon the table. -"It came by the last post," said he. "Read it aloud." - -The note was undated, and without either signature or address. - -"There will call upon you to-night, at a quarter to eight -o'clock," it said, "a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a -matter of the very deepest moment. Your recent services to one of -the royal houses of Europe have shown that you are one who may -safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which -can hardly be exaggerated. This account of you we have from all -quarters received. Be in your chamber then at that hour, and do -not take it amiss if your visitor wear a mask." - -"This is indeed a mystery," I remarked. "What do you imagine that -it means?" - -"I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before -one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit -theories, instead of theories to suit facts. But the note itself. -What do you deduce from it?" - -I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was -written. - -"The man who wrote it was presumably well to do," I remarked, -endeavouring to imitate my companion's processes. "Such paper -could not be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly -strong and stiff." - -"Peculiar--that is the very word," said Holmes. "It is not an -English paper at all. Hold it up to the light." - -I did so, and saw a large "E" with a small "g," a "P," and a -large "G" with a small "t" woven into the texture of the paper. - -"What do you make of that?" asked Holmes. - -"The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather." - -"Not at all. The 'G' with the small 't' stands for -'Gesellschaft,' which is the German for 'Company.' It is a -customary contraction like our 'Co.' 'P,' of course, stands for -'Papier.' Now for the 'Eg.' Let us glance at our Continental -Gazetteer." He took down a heavy brown volume from his shelves. -"Eglow, Eglonitz--here we are, Egria. It is in a German-speaking -country--in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad. 'Remarkable as being -the scene of the death of Wallenstein, and for its numerous -glass-factories and paper-mills.' Ha, ha, my boy, what do you -make of that?" His eyes sparkled, and he sent up a great blue -triumphant cloud from his cigarette. - -"The paper was made in Bohemia," I said. - -"Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German. Do you -note the peculiar construction of the sentence--'This account of -you we have from all quarters received.' A Frenchman or Russian -could not have written that. It is the German who is so -uncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discover -what is wanted by this German who writes upon Bohemian paper and -prefers wearing a mask to showing his face. And here he comes, if -I am not mistaken, to resolve all our doubts." - -As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses' hoofs and -grating wheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at the -bell. Holmes whistled. - -"A pair, by the sound," said he. "Yes," he continued, glancing -out of the window. "A nice little brougham and a pair of -beauties. A hundred and fifty guineas apiece. There's money in -this case, Watson, if there is nothing else." - -"I think that I had better go, Holmes." - -"Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without my -Boswell. And this promises to be interesting. It would be a pity -to miss it." - -"But your client--" - -"Never mind him. I may want your help, and so may he. Here he -comes. Sit down in that armchair, Doctor, and give us your best -attention." - -A slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairs and -in the passage, paused immediately outside the door. Then there -was a loud and authoritative tap. - -"Come in!" said Holmes. - -A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet six -inches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules. His -dress was rich with a richness which would, in England, be looked -upon as akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed -across the sleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat, while -the deep blue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined -with flame-coloured silk and secured at the neck with a brooch -which consisted of a single flaming beryl. Boots which extended -halfway up his calves, and which were trimmed at the tops with -rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence -which was suggested by his whole appearance. He carried a -broad-brimmed hat in his hand, while he wore across the upper -part of his face, extending down past the cheekbones, a black -vizard mask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment, -for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lower -part of the face he appeared to be a man of strong character, -with a thick, hanging lip, and a long, straight chin suggestive -of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy. - -"You had my note?" he asked with a deep harsh voice and a -strongly marked German accent. "I told you that I would call." He -looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to -address. - -"Pray take a seat," said Holmes. "This is my friend and -colleague, Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me -in my cases. Whom have I the honour to address?" - -"You may address me as the Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman. -I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honour -and discretion, whom I may trust with a matter of the most -extreme importance. If not, I should much prefer to communicate -with you alone." - -I rose to go, but Holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me -back into my chair. "It is both, or none," said he. "You may say -before this gentleman anything which you may say to me." - -The Count shrugged his broad shoulders. "Then I must begin," said -he, "by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at -the end of that time the matter will be of no importance. At -present it is not too much to say that it is of such weight it -may have an influence upon European history." - -"I promise," said Holmes. - -"And I." - -"You will excuse this mask," continued our strange visitor. "The -august person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to -you, and I may confess at once that the title by which I have -just called myself is not exactly my own." - -"I was aware of it," said Holmes dryly. - -"The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution -has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense -scandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning families of -Europe. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House -of Ormstein, hereditary kings of Bohemia." - -"I was also aware of that," murmured Holmes, settling himself -down in his armchair and closing his eyes. - -Our visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at the languid, -lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him -as the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe. -Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his -gigantic client. - -"If your Majesty would condescend to state your case," he -remarked, "I should be better able to advise you." - -The man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room in -uncontrollable agitation. Then, with a gesture of desperation, he -tore the mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground. "You -are right," he cried; "I am the King. Why should I attempt to -conceal it?" - -"Why, indeed?" murmured Holmes. "Your Majesty had not spoken -before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich -Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, and -hereditary King of Bohemia." - -"But you can understand," said our strange visitor, sitting down -once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, "you -can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in -my own person. Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not -confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power. I -have come incognito from Prague for the purpose of consulting -you." - -"Then, pray consult," said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more. - -"The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a -lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the well-known -adventuress, Irene Adler. The name is no doubt familiar to you." - -"Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor," murmured Holmes without -opening his eyes. For many years he had adopted a system of -docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it -was difficult to name a subject or a person on which he could not -at once furnish information. In this case I found her biography -sandwiched in between that of a Hebrew rabbi and that of a -staff-commander who had written a monograph upon the deep-sea -fishes. - -"Let me see!" said Holmes. "Hum! Born in New Jersey in the year -1858. Contralto--hum! La Scala, hum! Prima donna Imperial Opera -of Warsaw--yes! Retired from operatic stage--ha! Living in -London--quite so! Your Majesty, as I understand, became entangled -with this young person, wrote her some compromising letters, and -is now desirous of getting those letters back." - -"Precisely so. But how--" - -"Was there a secret marriage?" - -"None." - -"No legal papers or certificates?" - -"None." - -"Then I fail to follow your Majesty. If this young person should -produce her letters for blackmailing or other purposes, how is -she to prove their authenticity?" - -"There is the writing." - -"Pooh, pooh! Forgery." - -"My private note-paper." - -"Stolen." - -"My own seal." - -"Imitated." - -"My photograph." - -"Bought." - -"We were both in the photograph." - -"Oh, dear! That is very bad! Your Majesty has indeed committed an -indiscretion." - -"I was mad--insane." - -"You have compromised yourself seriously." - -"I was only Crown Prince then. I was young. I am but thirty now." - -"It must be recovered." - -"We have tried and failed." - -"Your Majesty must pay. It must be bought." - -"She will not sell." - -"Stolen, then." - -"Five attempts have been made. Twice burglars in my pay ransacked -her house. Once we diverted her luggage when she travelled. Twice -she has been waylaid. There has been no result." - -"No sign of it?" - -"Absolutely none." - -Holmes laughed. "It is quite a pretty little problem," said he. - -"But a very serious one to me," returned the King reproachfully. - -"Very, indeed. And what does she propose to do with the -photograph?" - -"To ruin me." - -"But how?" - -"I am about to be married." - -"So I have heard." - -"To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the -King of Scandinavia. You may know the strict principles of her -family. She is herself the very soul of delicacy. A shadow of a -doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end." - -"And Irene Adler?" - -"Threatens to send them the photograph. And she will do it. I -know that she will do it. You do not know her, but she has a soul -of steel. She has the face of the most beautiful of women, and -the mind of the most resolute of men. Rather than I should marry -another woman, there are no lengths to which she would not -go--none." - -"You are sure that she has not sent it yet?" - -"I am sure." - -"And why?" - -"Because she has said that she would send it on the day when the -betrothal was publicly proclaimed. That will be next Monday." - -"Oh, then we have three days yet," said Holmes with a yawn. "That -is very fortunate, as I have one or two matters of importance to -look into just at present. Your Majesty will, of course, stay in -London for the present?" - -"Certainly. You will find me at the Langham under the name of the -Count Von Kramm." - -"Then I shall drop you a line to let you know how we progress." - -"Pray do so. I shall be all anxiety." - -"Then, as to money?" - -"You have carte blanche." - -"Absolutely?" - -"I tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom -to have that photograph." - -"And for present expenses?" - -The King took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak -and laid it on the table. - -"There are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in -notes," he said. - -Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note-book and -handed it to him. - -"And Mademoiselle's address?" he asked. - -"Is Briony Lodge, Serpentine Avenue, St. John's Wood." - -Holmes took a note of it. "One other question," said he. "Was the -photograph a cabinet?" - -"It was." - -"Then, good-night, your Majesty, and I trust that we shall soon -have some good news for you. And good-night, Watson," he added, -as the wheels of the royal brougham rolled down the street. "If -you will be good enough to call to-morrow afternoon at three -o'clock I should like to chat this little matter over with you." - - -II. - -At three o'clock precisely I was at Baker Street, but Holmes had -not yet returned. The landlady informed me that he had left the -house shortly after eight o'clock in the morning. I sat down -beside the fire, however, with the intention of awaiting him, -however long he might be. I was already deeply interested in his -inquiry, for, though it was surrounded by none of the grim and -strange features which were associated with the two crimes which -I have already recorded, still, the nature of the case and the -exalted station of his client gave it a character of its own. -Indeed, apart from the nature of the investigation which my -friend had on hand, there was something in his masterly grasp of -a situation, and his keen, incisive reasoning, which made it a -pleasure to me to study his system of work, and to follow the -quick, subtle methods by which he disentangled the most -inextricable mysteries. So accustomed was I to his invariable -success that the very possibility of his failing had ceased to -enter into my head. - -It was close upon four before the door opened, and a -drunken-looking groom, ill-kempt and side-whiskered, with an -inflamed face and disreputable clothes, walked into the room. -Accustomed as I was to my friend's amazing powers in the use of -disguises, I had to look three times before I was certain that it -was indeed he. With a nod he vanished into the bedroom, whence he -emerged in five minutes tweed-suited and respectable, as of old. -Putting his hands into his pockets, he stretched out his legs in -front of the fire and laughed heartily for some minutes. - -"Well, really!" he cried, and then he choked and laughed again -until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the -chair. - -"What is it?" - -"It's quite too funny. I am sure you could never guess how I -employed my morning, or what I ended by doing." - -"I can't imagine. I suppose that you have been watching the -habits, and perhaps the house, of Miss Irene Adler." - -"Quite so; but the sequel was rather unusual. I will tell you, -however. I left the house a little after eight o'clock this -morning in the character of a groom out of work. There is a -wonderful sympathy and freemasonry among horsey men. Be one of -them, and you will know all that there is to know. I soon found -Briony Lodge. It is a bijou villa, with a garden at the back, but -built out in front right up to the road, two stories. Chubb lock -to the door. Large sitting-room on the right side, well -furnished, with long windows almost to the floor, and those -preposterous English window fasteners which a child could open. -Behind there was nothing remarkable, save that the passage window -could be reached from the top of the coach-house. I walked round -it and examined it closely from every point of view, but without -noting anything else of interest. - -"I then lounged down the street and found, as I expected, that -there was a mews in a lane which runs down by one wall of the -garden. I lent the ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses, -and received in exchange twopence, a glass of half and half, two -fills of shag tobacco, and as much information as I could desire -about Miss Adler, to say nothing of half a dozen other people in -the neighbourhood in whom I was not in the least interested, but -whose biographies I was compelled to listen to." - -"And what of Irene Adler?" I asked. - -"Oh, she has turned all the men's heads down in that part. She is -the daintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet. So say the -Serpentine-mews, to a man. She lives quietly, sings at concerts, -drives out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for -dinner. Seldom goes out at other times, except when she sings. -Has only one male visitor, but a good deal of him. He is dark, -handsome, and dashing, never calls less than once a day, and -often twice. He is a Mr. Godfrey Norton, of the Inner Temple. See -the advantages of a cabman as a confidant. They had driven him -home a dozen times from Serpentine-mews, and knew all about him. -When I had listened to all they had to tell, I began to walk up -and down near Briony Lodge once more, and to think over my plan -of campaign. - -"This Godfrey Norton was evidently an important factor in the -matter. He was a lawyer. That sounded ominous. What was the -relation between them, and what the object of his repeated -visits? Was she his client, his friend, or his mistress? If the -former, she had probably transferred the photograph to his -keeping. If the latter, it was less likely. On the issue of this -question depended whether I should continue my work at Briony -Lodge, or turn my attention to the gentleman's chambers in the -Temple. It was a delicate point, and it widened the field of my -inquiry. I fear that I bore you with these details, but I have to -let you see my little difficulties, if you are to understand the -situation." - -"I am following you closely," I answered. - -"I was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab -drove up to Briony Lodge, and a gentleman sprang out. He was a -remarkably handsome man, dark, aquiline, and moustached--evidently -the man of whom I had heard. He appeared to be in a -great hurry, shouted to the cabman to wait, and brushed past the -maid who opened the door with the air of a man who was thoroughly -at home. - -"He was in the house about half an hour, and I could catch -glimpses of him in the windows of the sitting-room, pacing up and -down, talking excitedly, and waving his arms. Of her I could see -nothing. Presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than -before. As he stepped up to the cab, he pulled a gold watch from -his pocket and looked at it earnestly, 'Drive like the devil,' he -shouted, 'first to Gross & Hankey's in Regent Street, and then to -the Church of St. Monica in the Edgeware Road. Half a guinea if -you do it in twenty minutes!' - -"Away they went, and I was just wondering whether I should not do -well to follow them when up the lane came a neat little landau, -the coachman with his coat only half-buttoned, and his tie under -his ear, while all the tags of his harness were sticking out of -the buckles. It hadn't pulled up before she shot out of the hall -door and into it. I only caught a glimpse of her at the moment, -but she was a lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for. - -"'The Church of St. Monica, John,' she cried, 'and half a -sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes.' - -"This was quite too good to lose, Watson. I was just balancing -whether I should run for it, or whether I should perch behind her -landau when a cab came through the street. The driver looked -twice at such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he could -object. 'The Church of St. Monica,' said I, 'and half a sovereign -if you reach it in twenty minutes.' It was twenty-five minutes to -twelve, and of course it was clear enough what was in the wind. - -"My cabby drove fast. I don't think I ever drove faster, but the -others were there before us. The cab and the landau with their -steaming horses were in front of the door when I arrived. I paid -the man and hurried into the church. There was not a soul there -save the two whom I had followed and a surpliced clergyman, who -seemed to be expostulating with them. They were all three -standing in a knot in front of the altar. I lounged up the side -aisle like any other idler who has dropped into a church. -Suddenly, to my surprise, the three at the altar faced round to -me, and Godfrey Norton came running as hard as he could towards -me. - -"'Thank God,' he cried. 'You'll do. Come! Come!' - -"'What then?' I asked. - -"'Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal.' - -"I was half-dragged up to the altar, and before I knew where I was -I found myself mumbling responses which were whispered in my ear, -and vouching for things of which I knew nothing, and generally -assisting in the secure tying up of Irene Adler, spinster, to -Godfrey Norton, bachelor. It was all done in an instant, and -there was the gentleman thanking me on the one side and the lady -on the other, while the clergyman beamed on me in front. It was -the most preposterous position in which I ever found myself in my -life, and it was the thought of it that started me laughing just -now. It seems that there had been some informality about their -license, that the clergyman absolutely refused to marry them -without a witness of some sort, and that my lucky appearance -saved the bridegroom from having to sally out into the streets in -search of a best man. The bride gave me a sovereign, and I mean -to wear it on my watch-chain in memory of the occasion." - -"This is a very unexpected turn of affairs," said I; "and what -then?" - -"Well, I found my plans very seriously menaced. It looked as if -the pair might take an immediate departure, and so necessitate -very prompt and energetic measures on my part. At the church -door, however, they separated, he driving back to the Temple, and -she to her own house. 'I shall drive out in the park at five as -usual,' she said as she left him. I heard no more. They drove -away in different directions, and I went off to make my own -arrangements." - -"Which are?" - -"Some cold beef and a glass of beer," he answered, ringing the -bell. "I have been too busy to think of food, and I am likely to -be busier still this evening. By the way, Doctor, I shall want -your co-operation." - -"I shall be delighted." - -"You don't mind breaking the law?" - -"Not in the least." - -"Nor running a chance of arrest?" - -"Not in a good cause." - -"Oh, the cause is excellent!" - -"Then I am your man." - -"I was sure that I might rely on you." - -"But what is it you wish?" - -"When Mrs. Turner has brought in the tray I will make it clear to -you. Now," he said as he turned hungrily on the simple fare that -our landlady had provided, "I must discuss it while I eat, for I -have not much time. It is nearly five now. In two hours we must -be on the scene of action. Miss Irene, or Madame, rather, returns -from her drive at seven. We must be at Briony Lodge to meet her." - -"And what then?" - -"You must leave that to me. I have already arranged what is to -occur. There is only one point on which I must insist. You must -not interfere, come what may. You understand?" - -"I am to be neutral?" - -"To do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small -unpleasantness. Do not join in it. It will end in my being -conveyed into the house. Four or five minutes afterwards the -sitting-room window will open. You are to station yourself close -to that open window." - -"Yes." - -"You are to watch me, for I will be visible to you." - -"Yes." - -"And when I raise my hand--so--you will throw into the room what -I give you to throw, and will, at the same time, raise the cry of -fire. You quite follow me?" - -"Entirely." - -"It is nothing very formidable," he said, taking a long cigar-shaped -roll from his pocket. "It is an ordinary plumber's smoke-rocket, -fitted with a cap at either end to make it self-lighting. -Your task is confined to that. When you raise your cry of fire, -it will be taken up by quite a number of people. You may then -walk to the end of the street, and I will rejoin you in ten -minutes. I hope that I have made myself clear?" - -"I am to remain neutral, to get near the window, to watch you, -and at the signal to throw in this object, then to raise the cry -of fire, and to wait you at the corner of the street." - -"Precisely." - -"Then you may entirely rely on me." - -"That is excellent. I think, perhaps, it is almost time that I -prepare for the new role I have to play." - -He disappeared into his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in -the character of an amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist -clergyman. His broad black hat, his baggy trousers, his white -tie, his sympathetic smile, and general look of peering and -benevolent curiosity were such as Mr. John Hare alone could have -equalled. It was not merely that Holmes changed his costume. His -expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every -fresh part that he assumed. The stage lost a fine actor, even as -science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in -crime. - -It was a quarter past six when we left Baker Street, and it still -wanted ten minutes to the hour when we found ourselves in -Serpentine Avenue. It was already dusk, and the lamps were just -being lighted as we paced up and down in front of Briony Lodge, -waiting for the coming of its occupant. The house was just such -as I had pictured it from Sherlock Holmes' succinct description, -but the locality appeared to be less private than I expected. On -the contrary, for a small street in a quiet neighbourhood, it was -remarkably animated. There was a group of shabbily dressed men -smoking and laughing in a corner, a scissors-grinder with his -wheel, two guardsmen who were flirting with a nurse-girl, and -several well-dressed young men who were lounging up and down with -cigars in their mouths. - -"You see," remarked Holmes, as we paced to and fro in front of -the house, "this marriage rather simplifies matters. The -photograph becomes a double-edged weapon now. The chances are -that she would be as averse to its being seen by Mr. Godfrey -Norton, as our client is to its coming to the eyes of his -princess. Now the question is, Where are we to find the -photograph?" - -"Where, indeed?" - -"It is most unlikely that she carries it about with her. It is -cabinet size. Too large for easy concealment about a woman's -dress. She knows that the King is capable of having her waylaid -and searched. Two attempts of the sort have already been made. We -may take it, then, that she does not carry it about with her." - -"Where, then?" - -"Her banker or her lawyer. There is that double possibility. But -I am inclined to think neither. Women are naturally secretive, -and they like to do their own secreting. Why should she hand it -over to anyone else? She could trust her own guardianship, but -she could not tell what indirect or political influence might be -brought to bear upon a business man. Besides, remember that she -had resolved to use it within a few days. It must be where she -can lay her hands upon it. It must be in her own house." - -"But it has twice been burgled." - -"Pshaw! They did not know how to look." - -"But how will you look?" - -"I will not look." - -"What then?" - -"I will get her to show me." - -"But she will refuse." - -"She will not be able to. But I hear the rumble of wheels. It is -her carriage. Now carry out my orders to the letter." - -As he spoke the gleam of the side-lights of a carriage came round -the curve of the avenue. It was a smart little landau which -rattled up to the door of Briony Lodge. As it pulled up, one of -the loafing men at the corner dashed forward to open the door in -the hope of earning a copper, but was elbowed away by another -loafer, who had rushed up with the same intention. A fierce -quarrel broke out, which was increased by the two guardsmen, who -took sides with one of the loungers, and by the scissors-grinder, -who was equally hot upon the other side. A blow was struck, and -in an instant the lady, who had stepped from her carriage, was -the centre of a little knot of flushed and struggling men, who -struck savagely at each other with their fists and sticks. Holmes -dashed into the crowd to protect the lady; but just as he reached -her he gave a cry and dropped to the ground, with the blood -running freely down his face. At his fall the guardsmen took to -their heels in one direction and the loungers in the other, while -a number of better-dressed people, who had watched the scuffle -without taking part in it, crowded in to help the lady and to -attend to the injured man. Irene Adler, as I will still call her, -had hurried up the steps; but she stood at the top with her -superb figure outlined against the lights of the hall, looking -back into the street. - -"Is the poor gentleman much hurt?" she asked. - -"He is dead," cried several voices. - -"No, no, there's life in him!" shouted another. "But he'll be -gone before you can get him to hospital." - -"He's a brave fellow," said a woman. "They would have had the -lady's purse and watch if it hadn't been for him. They were a -gang, and a rough one, too. Ah, he's breathing now." - -"He can't lie in the street. May we bring him in, marm?" - -"Surely. Bring him into the sitting-room. There is a comfortable -sofa. This way, please!" - -Slowly and solemnly he was borne into Briony Lodge and laid out -in the principal room, while I still observed the proceedings -from my post by the window. The lamps had been lit, but the -blinds had not been drawn, so that I could see Holmes as he lay -upon the couch. I do not know whether he was seized with -compunction at that moment for the part he was playing, but I -know that I never felt more heartily ashamed of myself in my life -than when I saw the beautiful creature against whom I was -conspiring, or the grace and kindliness with which she waited -upon the injured man. And yet it would be the blackest treachery -to Holmes to draw back now from the part which he had intrusted -to me. I hardened my heart, and took the smoke-rocket from under -my ulster. After all, I thought, we are not injuring her. We are -but preventing her from injuring another. - -Holmes had sat up upon the couch, and I saw him motion like a man -who is in need of air. A maid rushed across and threw open the -window. At the same instant I saw him raise his hand and at the -signal I tossed my rocket into the room with a cry of "Fire!" The -word was no sooner out of my mouth than the whole crowd of -spectators, well dressed and ill--gentlemen, ostlers, and -servant-maids--joined in a general shriek of "Fire!" Thick clouds -of smoke curled through the room and out at the open window. I -caught a glimpse of rushing figures, and a moment later the voice -of Holmes from within assuring them that it was a false alarm. -Slipping through the shouting crowd I made my way to the corner -of the street, and in ten minutes was rejoiced to find my -friend's arm in mine, and to get away from the scene of uproar. -He walked swiftly and in silence for some few minutes until we -had turned down one of the quiet streets which lead towards the -Edgeware Road. - -"You did it very nicely, Doctor," he remarked. "Nothing could -have been better. It is all right." - -"You have the photograph?" - -"I know where it is." - -"And how did you find out?" - -"She showed me, as I told you she would." - -"I am still in the dark." - -"I do not wish to make a mystery," said he, laughing. "The matter -was perfectly simple. You, of course, saw that everyone in the -street was an accomplice. They were all engaged for the evening." - -"I guessed as much." - -"Then, when the row broke out, I had a little moist red paint in -the palm of my hand. I rushed forward, fell down, clapped my hand -to my face, and became a piteous spectacle. It is an old trick." - -"That also I could fathom." - -"Then they carried me in. She was bound to have me in. What else -could she do? And into her sitting-room, which was the very room -which I suspected. It lay between that and her bedroom, and I was -determined to see which. They laid me on a couch, I motioned for -air, they were compelled to open the window, and you had your -chance." - -"How did that help you?" - -"It was all-important. When a woman thinks that her house is on -fire, her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she -values most. It is a perfectly overpowering impulse, and I have -more than once taken advantage of it. In the case of the -Darlington substitution scandal it was of use to me, and also in -the Arnsworth Castle business. A married woman grabs at her baby; -an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box. Now it was clear to -me that our lady of to-day had nothing in the house more precious -to her than what we are in quest of. She would rush to secure it. -The alarm of fire was admirably done. The smoke and shouting were -enough to shake nerves of steel. She responded beautifully. The -photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the -right bell-pull. She was there in an instant, and I caught a -glimpse of it as she half-drew it out. When I cried out that it -was a false alarm, she replaced it, glanced at the rocket, rushed -from the room, and I have not seen her since. I rose, and, making -my excuses, escaped from the house. I hesitated whether to -attempt to secure the photograph at once; but the coachman had -come in, and as he was watching me narrowly it seemed safer to -wait. A little over-precipitance may ruin all." - -"And now?" I asked. - -"Our quest is practically finished. I shall call with the King -to-morrow, and with you, if you care to come with us. We will be -shown into the sitting-room to wait for the lady, but it is -probable that when she comes she may find neither us nor the -photograph. It might be a satisfaction to his Majesty to regain -it with his own hands." - -"And when will you call?" - -"At eight in the morning. She will not be up, so that we shall -have a clear field. Besides, we must be prompt, for this marriage -may mean a complete change in her life and habits. I must wire to -the King without delay." - -We had reached Baker Street and had stopped at the door. He was -searching his pockets for the key when someone passing said: - -"Good-night, Mister Sherlock Holmes." - -There were several people on the pavement at the time, but the -greeting appeared to come from a slim youth in an ulster who had -hurried by. - -"I've heard that voice before," said Holmes, staring down the -dimly lit street. "Now, I wonder who the deuce that could have -been." - - -III. - -I slept at Baker Street that night, and we were engaged upon our -toast and coffee in the morning when the King of Bohemia rushed -into the room. - -"You have really got it!" he cried, grasping Sherlock Holmes by -either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face. - -"Not yet." - -"But you have hopes?" - -"I have hopes." - -"Then, come. I am all impatience to be gone." - -"We must have a cab." - -"No, my brougham is waiting." - -"Then that will simplify matters." We descended and started off -once more for Briony Lodge. - -"Irene Adler is married," remarked Holmes. - -"Married! When?" - -"Yesterday." - -"But to whom?" - -"To an English lawyer named Norton." - -"But she could not love him." - -"I am in hopes that she does." - -"And why in hopes?" - -"Because it would spare your Majesty all fear of future -annoyance. If the lady loves her husband, she does not love your -Majesty. If she does not love your Majesty, there is no reason -why she should interfere with your Majesty's plan." - -"It is true. And yet--Well! I wish she had been of my own -station! What a queen she would have made!" He relapsed into a -moody silence, which was not broken until we drew up in -Serpentine Avenue. - -The door of Briony Lodge was open, and an elderly woman stood -upon the steps. She watched us with a sardonic eye as we stepped -from the brougham. - -"Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I believe?" said she. - -"I am Mr. Holmes," answered my companion, looking at her with a -questioning and rather startled gaze. - -"Indeed! My mistress told me that you were likely to call. She -left this morning with her husband by the 5:15 train from Charing -Cross for the Continent." - -"What!" Sherlock Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and -surprise. "Do you mean that she has left England?" - -"Never to return." - -"And the papers?" asked the King hoarsely. "All is lost." - -"We shall see." He pushed past the servant and rushed into the -drawing-room, followed by the King and myself. The furniture was -scattered about in every direction, with dismantled shelves and -open drawers, as if the lady had hurriedly ransacked them before -her flight. Holmes rushed at the bell-pull, tore back a small -sliding shutter, and, plunging in his hand, pulled out a -photograph and a letter. The photograph was of Irene Adler -herself in evening dress, the letter was superscribed to -"Sherlock Holmes, Esq. To be left till called for." My friend -tore it open and we all three read it together. It was dated at -midnight of the preceding night and ran in this way: - -"MY DEAR MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES,--You really did it very well. You -took me in completely. Until after the alarm of fire, I had not a -suspicion. But then, when I found how I had betrayed myself, I -began to think. I had been warned against you months ago. I had -been told that if the King employed an agent it would certainly -be you. And your address had been given me. Yet, with all this, -you made me reveal what you wanted to know. Even after I became -suspicious, I found it hard to think evil of such a dear, kind -old clergyman. But, you know, I have been trained as an actress -myself. Male costume is nothing new to me. I often take advantage -of the freedom which it gives. I sent John, the coachman, to -watch you, ran up stairs, got into my walking-clothes, as I call -them, and came down just as you departed. - -"Well, I followed you to your door, and so made sure that I was -really an object of interest to the celebrated Mr. Sherlock -Holmes. Then I, rather imprudently, wished you good-night, and -started for the Temple to see my husband. - -"We both thought the best resource was flight, when pursued by -so formidable an antagonist; so you will find the nest empty when -you call to-morrow. As to the photograph, your client may rest in -peace. I love and am loved by a better man than he. The King may -do what he will without hindrance from one whom he has cruelly -wronged. I keep it only to safeguard myself, and to preserve a -weapon which will always secure me from any steps which he might -take in the future. I leave a photograph which he might care to -possess; and I remain, dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes, - - "Very truly yours, - "IRENE NORTON, née ADLER." - -"What a woman--oh, what a woman!" cried the King of Bohemia, when -we had all three read this epistle. "Did I not tell you how quick -and resolute she was? Would she not have made an admirable queen? -Is it not a pity that she was not on my level?" - -"From what I have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a -very different level to your Majesty," said Holmes coldly. "I am -sorry that I have not been able to bring your Majesty's business -to a more successful conclusion." - -"On the contrary, my dear sir," cried the King; "nothing could be -more successful. I know that her word is inviolate. The -photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire." - -"I am glad to hear your Majesty say so." - -"I am immensely indebted to you. Pray tell me in what way I can -reward you. This ring--" He slipped an emerald snake ring from -his finger and held it out upon the palm of his hand. - -"Your Majesty has something which I should value even more -highly," said Holmes. - -"You have but to name it." - -"This photograph!" - -The King stared at him in amazement. - -"Irene's photograph!" he cried. "Certainly, if you wish it." - -"I thank your Majesty. Then there is no more to be done in the -matter. I have the honour to wish you a very good-morning." He -bowed, and, turning away without observing the hand which the -King had stretched out to him, he set off in my company for his -chambers. - -And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom -of Bohemia, and how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were -beaten by a woman's wit. He used to make merry over the -cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. And -when he speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her -photograph, it is always under the honourable title of the woman. - - - -ADVENTURE II. THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE - -I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the -autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a -very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair. -With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when -Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door -behind me. - -"You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear -Watson," he said cordially. - -"I was afraid that you were engaged." - -"So I am. Very much so." - -"Then I can wait in the next room." - -"Not at all. This gentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner and -helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no -doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also." - -The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of -greeting, with a quick little questioning glance from his small -fat-encircled eyes. - -"Try the settee," said Holmes, relapsing into his armchair and -putting his fingertips together, as was his custom when in -judicial moods. "I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love -of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum -routine of everyday life. You have shown your relish for it by -the enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle, and, if you -will excuse my saying so, somewhat to embellish so many of my own -little adventures." - -"Your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me," I -observed. - -"You will remember that I remarked the other day, just before we -went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary -Sutherland, that for strange effects and extraordinary -combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more -daring than any effort of the imagination." - -"A proposition which I took the liberty of doubting." - -"You did, Doctor, but none the less you must come round to my -view, for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you -until your reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to -be right. Now, Mr. Jabez Wilson here has been good enough to call -upon me this morning, and to begin a narrative which promises to -be one of the most singular which I have listened to for some -time. You have heard me remark that the strangest and most unique -things are very often connected not with the larger but with the -smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for -doubt whether any positive crime has been committed. As far as I -have heard it is impossible for me to say whether the present -case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events is -certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to. -Perhaps, Mr. Wilson, you would have the great kindness to -recommence your narrative. I ask you not merely because my friend -Dr. Watson has not heard the opening part but also because the -peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to have every -possible detail from your lips. As a rule, when I have heard some -slight indication of the course of events, I am able to guide -myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my -memory. In the present instance I am forced to admit that the -facts are, to the best of my belief, unique." - -The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some -little pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the -inside pocket of his greatcoat. As he glanced down the -advertisement column, with his head thrust forward and the paper -flattened out upon his knee, I took a good look at the man and -endeavoured, after the fashion of my companion, to read the -indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance. - -I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor -bore every mark of being an average commonplace British -tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy grey -shepherd's check trousers, a not over-clean black frock-coat, -unbuttoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy -Albert chain, and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as -an ornament. A frayed top-hat and a faded brown overcoat with a -wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him. Altogether, -look as I would, there was nothing remarkable about the man save -his blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and -discontent upon his features. - -Sherlock Holmes' quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook -his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances. -"Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual -labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has -been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of -writing lately, I can deduce nothing else." - -Mr. Jabez Wilson started up in his chair, with his forefinger -upon the paper, but his eyes upon my companion. - -"How, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, Mr. -Holmes?" he asked. "How did you know, for example, that I did -manual labour. It's as true as gospel, for I began as a ship's -carpenter." - -"Your hands, my dear sir. Your right hand is quite a size larger -than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more -developed." - -"Well, the snuff, then, and the Freemasonry?" - -"I won't insult your intelligence by telling you how I read that, -especially as, rather against the strict rules of your order, you -use an arc-and-compass breastpin." - -"Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?" - -"What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for -five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the -elbow where you rest it upon the desk?" - -"Well, but China?" - -"The fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right -wrist could only have been done in China. I have made a small -study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature -of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes' scales of a -delicate pink is quite peculiar to China. When, in addition, I -see a Chinese coin hanging from your watch-chain, the matter -becomes even more simple." - -Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily. "Well, I never!" said he. "I -thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see -that there was nothing in it, after all." - -"I begin to think, Watson," said Holmes, "that I make a mistake -in explaining. 'Omne ignotum pro magnifico,' you know, and my -poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I -am so candid. Can you not find the advertisement, Mr. Wilson?" - -"Yes, I have got it now," he answered with his thick red finger -planted halfway down the column. "Here it is. This is what began -it all. You just read it for yourself, sir." - -I took the paper from him and read as follows: - -"TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE: On account of the bequest of the late -Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U. S. A., there is now -another vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a -salary of 4 pounds a week for purely nominal services. All -red-headed men who are sound in body and mind and above the age -of twenty-one years, are eligible. Apply in person on Monday, at -eleven o'clock, to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the League, 7 -Pope's Court, Fleet Street." - -"What on earth does this mean?" I ejaculated after I had twice -read over the extraordinary announcement. - -Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when -in high spirits. "It is a little off the beaten track, isn't it?" -said he. "And now, Mr. Wilson, off you go at scratch and tell us -all about yourself, your household, and the effect which this -advertisement had upon your fortunes. You will first make a note, -Doctor, of the paper and the date." - -"It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two months -ago." - -"Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson?" - -"Well, it is just as I have been telling you, Mr. Sherlock -Holmes," said Jabez Wilson, mopping his forehead; "I have a small -pawnbroker's business at Coburg Square, near the City. It's not a -very large affair, and of late years it has not done more than -just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two assistants, -but now I only keep one; and I would have a job to pay him but -that he is willing to come for half wages so as to learn the -business." - -"What is the name of this obliging youth?" asked Sherlock Holmes. - -"His name is Vincent Spaulding, and he's not such a youth, -either. It's hard to say his age. I should not wish a smarter -assistant, Mr. Holmes; and I know very well that he could better -himself and earn twice what I am able to give him. But, after -all, if he is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his head?" - -"Why, indeed? You seem most fortunate in having an employé who -comes under the full market price. It is not a common experience -among employers in this age. I don't know that your assistant is -not as remarkable as your advertisement." - -"Oh, he has his faults, too," said Mr. Wilson. "Never was such a -fellow for photography. Snapping away with a camera when he ought -to be improving his mind, and then diving down into the cellar -like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures. That is his -main fault, but on the whole he's a good worker. There's no vice -in him." - -"He is still with you, I presume?" - -"Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple -cooking and keeps the place clean--that's all I have in the -house, for I am a widower and never had any family. We live very -quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our heads -and pay our debts, if we do nothing more. - -"The first thing that put us out was that advertisement. -Spaulding, he came down into the office just this day eight -weeks, with this very paper in his hand, and he says: - -"'I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.' - -"'Why that?' I asks. - -"'Why,' says he, 'here's another vacancy on the League of the -Red-headed Men. It's worth quite a little fortune to any man who -gets it, and I understand that there are more vacancies than -there are men, so that the trustees are at their wits' end what -to do with the money. If my hair would only change colour, here's -a nice little crib all ready for me to step into.' - -"'Why, what is it, then?' I asked. You see, Mr. Holmes, I am a -very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of -my having to go to it, I was often weeks on end without putting -my foot over the door-mat. In that way I didn't know much of what -was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news. - -"'Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?' he -asked with his eyes open. - -"'Never.' - -"'Why, I wonder at that, for you are eligible yourself for one -of the vacancies.' - -"'And what are they worth?' I asked. - -"'Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight, -and it need not interfere very much with one's other -occupations.' - -"Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears, -for the business has not been over-good for some years, and an -extra couple of hundred would have been very handy. - -"'Tell me all about it,' said I. - -"'Well,' said he, showing me the advertisement, 'you can see for -yourself that the League has a vacancy, and there is the address -where you should apply for particulars. As far as I can make out, -the League was founded by an American millionaire, Ezekiah -Hopkins, who was very peculiar in his ways. He was himself -red-headed, and he had a great sympathy for all red-headed men; -so when he died it was found that he had left his enormous -fortune in the hands of trustees, with instructions to apply the -interest to the providing of easy berths to men whose hair is of -that colour. From all I hear it is splendid pay and very little to -do.' - -"'But,' said I, 'there would be millions of red-headed men who -would apply.' - -"'Not so many as you might think,' he answered. 'You see it is -really confined to Londoners, and to grown men. This American had -started from London when he was young, and he wanted to do the -old town a good turn. Then, again, I have heard it is no use your -applying if your hair is light red, or dark red, or anything but -real bright, blazing, fiery red. Now, if you cared to apply, Mr. -Wilson, you would just walk in; but perhaps it would hardly be -worth your while to put yourself out of the way for the sake of a -few hundred pounds.' - -"Now, it is a fact, gentlemen, as you may see for yourselves, -that my hair is of a very full and rich tint, so that it seemed -to me that if there was to be any competition in the matter I -stood as good a chance as any man that I had ever met. Vincent -Spaulding seemed to know so much about it that I thought he might -prove useful, so I just ordered him to put up the shutters for -the day and to come right away with me. He was very willing to -have a holiday, so we shut the business up and started off for -the address that was given us in the advertisement. - -"I never hope to see such a sight as that again, Mr. Holmes. From -north, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of red in -his hair had tramped into the city to answer the advertisement. -Fleet Street was choked with red-headed folk, and Pope's Court -looked like a coster's orange barrow. I should not have thought -there were so many in the whole country as were brought together -by that single advertisement. Every shade of colour they -were--straw, lemon, orange, brick, Irish-setter, liver, clay; -but, as Spaulding said, there were not many who had the real -vivid flame-coloured tint. When I saw how many were waiting, I -would have given it up in despair; but Spaulding would not hear -of it. How he did it I could not imagine, but he pushed and -pulled and butted until he got me through the crowd, and right up -to the steps which led to the office. There was a double stream -upon the stair, some going up in hope, and some coming back -dejected; but we wedged in as well as we could and soon found -ourselves in the office." - -"Your experience has been a most entertaining one," remarked -Holmes as his client paused and refreshed his memory with a huge -pinch of snuff. "Pray continue your very interesting statement." - -"There was nothing in the office but a couple of wooden chairs -and a deal table, behind which sat a small man with a head that -was even redder than mine. He said a few words to each candidate -as he came up, and then he always managed to find some fault in -them which would disqualify them. Getting a vacancy did not seem -to be such a very easy matter, after all. However, when our turn -came the little man was much more favourable to me than to any of -the others, and he closed the door as we entered, so that he -might have a private word with us. - -"'This is Mr. Jabez Wilson,' said my assistant, 'and he is -willing to fill a vacancy in the League.' - -"'And he is admirably suited for it,' the other answered. 'He has -every requirement. I cannot recall when I have seen anything so -fine.' He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side, and -gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful. Then suddenly he -plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly on my -success. - -"'It would be injustice to hesitate,' said he. 'You will, -however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.' -With that he seized my hair in both his hands, and tugged until I -yelled with the pain. 'There is water in your eyes,' said he as -he released me. 'I perceive that all is as it should be. But we -have to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and -once by paint. I could tell you tales of cobbler's wax which -would disgust you with human nature.' He stepped over to the -window and shouted through it at the top of his voice that the -vacancy was filled. A groan of disappointment came up from below, -and the folk all trooped away in different directions until there -was not a red-head to be seen except my own and that of the -manager. - -"'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of -the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. Are -you a married man, Mr. Wilson? Have you a family?' - -"I answered that I had not. - -"His face fell immediately. - -"'Dear me!' he said gravely, 'that is very serious indeed! I am -sorry to hear you say that. The fund was, of course, for the -propagation and spread of the red-heads as well as for their -maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate that you should be a -bachelor.' - -"My face lengthened at this, Mr. Holmes, for I thought that I was -not to have the vacancy after all; but after thinking it over for -a few minutes he said that it would be all right. - -"'In the case of another,' said he, 'the objection might be -fatal, but we must stretch a point in favour of a man with such a -head of hair as yours. When shall you be able to enter upon your -new duties?' - -"'Well, it is a little awkward, for I have a business already,' -said I. - -"'Oh, never mind about that, Mr. Wilson!' said Vincent Spaulding. -'I should be able to look after that for you.' - -"'What would be the hours?' I asked. - -"'Ten to two.' - -"Now a pawnbroker's business is mostly done of an evening, Mr. -Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just -before pay-day; so it would suit me very well to earn a little in -the mornings. Besides, I knew that my assistant was a good man, -and that he would see to anything that turned up. - -"'That would suit me very well,' said I. 'And the pay?' - -"'Is 4 pounds a week.' - -"'And the work?' - -"'Is purely nominal.' - -"'What do you call purely nominal?' - -"'Well, you have to be in the office, or at least in the -building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole -position forever. The will is very clear upon that point. You -don't comply with the conditions if you budge from the office -during that time.' - -"'It's only four hours a day, and I should not think of leaving,' -said I. - -"'No excuse will avail,' said Mr. Duncan Ross; 'neither sickness -nor business nor anything else. There you must stay, or you lose -your billet.' - -"'And the work?' - -"'Is to copy out the "Encyclopaedia Britannica." There is the first -volume of it in that press. You must find your own ink, pens, and -blotting-paper, but we provide this table and chair. Will you be -ready to-morrow?' - -"'Certainly,' I answered. - -"'Then, good-bye, Mr. Jabez Wilson, and let me congratulate you -once more on the important position which you have been fortunate -enough to gain.' He bowed me out of the room and I went home with -my assistant, hardly knowing what to say or do, I was so pleased -at my own good fortune. - -"Well, I thought over the matter all day, and by evening I was in -low spirits again; for I had quite persuaded myself that the -whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what its -object might be I could not imagine. It seemed altogether past -belief that anyone could make such a will, or that they would pay -such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying out the -'Encyclopaedia Britannica.' Vincent Spaulding did what he could to -cheer me up, but by bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the -whole thing. However, in the morning I determined to have a look -at it anyhow, so I bought a penny bottle of ink, and with a -quill-pen, and seven sheets of foolscap paper, I started off for -Pope's Court. - -"Well, to my surprise and delight, everything was as right as -possible. The table was set out ready for me, and Mr. Duncan Ross -was there to see that I got fairly to work. He started me off -upon the letter A, and then he left me; but he would drop in from -time to time to see that all was right with me. At two o'clock he -bade me good-day, complimented me upon the amount that I had -written, and locked the door of the office after me. - -"This went on day after day, Mr. Holmes, and on Saturday the -manager came in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my -week's work. It was the same next week, and the same the week -after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every afternoon I -left at two. By degrees Mr. Duncan Ross took to coming in only -once of a morning, and then, after a time, he did not come in at -all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave the room for an -instant, for I was not sure when he might come, and the billet -was such a good one, and suited me so well, that I would not risk -the loss of it. - -"Eight weeks passed away like this, and I had written about -Abbots and Archery and Armour and Architecture and Attica, and -hoped with diligence that I might get on to the B's before very -long. It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty nearly -filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole -business came to an end." - -"To an end?" - -"Yes, sir. And no later than this morning. I went to my work as -usual at ten o'clock, but the door was shut and locked, with a -little square of cardboard hammered on to the middle of the -panel with a tack. Here it is, and you can read for yourself." - -He held up a piece of white cardboard about the size of a sheet -of note-paper. It read in this fashion: - - THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE - - IS - - DISSOLVED. - - October 9, 1890. - -Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the -rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so -completely overtopped every other consideration that we both -burst out into a roar of laughter. - -"I cannot see that there is anything very funny," cried our -client, flushing up to the roots of his flaming head. "If you can -do nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere." - -"No, no," cried Holmes, shoving him back into the chair from -which he had half risen. "I really wouldn't miss your case for -the world. It is most refreshingly unusual. But there is, if you -will excuse my saying so, something just a little funny about it. -Pray what steps did you take when you found the card upon the -door?" - -"I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do. Then I called -at the offices round, but none of them seemed to know anything -about it. Finally, I went to the landlord, who is an accountant -living on the ground-floor, and I asked him if he could tell me -what had become of the Red-headed League. He said that he had -never heard of any such body. Then I asked him who Mr. Duncan -Ross was. He answered that the name was new to him. - -"'Well,' said I, 'the gentleman at No. 4.' - -"'What, the red-headed man?' - -"'Yes.' - -"'Oh,' said he, 'his name was William Morris. He was a solicitor -and was using my room as a temporary convenience until his new -premises were ready. He moved out yesterday.' - -"'Where could I find him?' - -"'Oh, at his new offices. He did tell me the address. Yes, 17 -King Edward Street, near St. Paul's.' - -"I started off, Mr. Holmes, but when I got to that address it was -a manufactory of artificial knee-caps, and no one in it had ever -heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross." - -"And what did you do then?" asked Holmes. - -"I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice of my -assistant. But he could not help me in any way. He could only say -that if I waited I should hear by post. But that was not quite -good enough, Mr. Holmes. I did not wish to lose such a place -without a struggle, so, as I had heard that you were good enough -to give advice to poor folk who were in need of it, I came right -away to you." - -"And you did very wisely," said Holmes. "Your case is an -exceedingly remarkable one, and I shall be happy to look into it. -From what you have told me I think that it is possible that -graver issues hang from it than might at first sight appear." - -"Grave enough!" said Mr. Jabez Wilson. "Why, I have lost four -pound a week." - -"As far as you are personally concerned," remarked Holmes, "I do -not see that you have any grievance against this extraordinary -league. On the contrary, you are, as I understand, richer by some -30 pounds, to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you have -gained on every subject which comes under the letter A. You have -lost nothing by them." - -"No, sir. But I want to find out about them, and who they are, -and what their object was in playing this prank--if it was a -prank--upon me. It was a pretty expensive joke for them, for it -cost them two and thirty pounds." - -"We shall endeavour to clear up these points for you. And, first, -one or two questions, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours who -first called your attention to the advertisement--how long had he -been with you?" - -"About a month then." - -"How did he come?" - -"In answer to an advertisement." - -"Was he the only applicant?" - -"No, I had a dozen." - -"Why did you pick him?" - -"Because he was handy and would come cheap." - -"At half-wages, in fact." - -"Yes." - -"What is he like, this Vincent Spaulding?" - -"Small, stout-built, very quick in his ways, no hair on his face, -though he's not short of thirty. Has a white splash of acid upon -his forehead." - -Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement. "I thought -as much," said he. "Have you ever observed that his ears are -pierced for earrings?" - -"Yes, sir. He told me that a gipsy had done it for him when he -was a lad." - -"Hum!" said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. "He is still -with you?" - -"Oh, yes, sir; I have only just left him." - -"And has your business been attended to in your absence?" - -"Nothing to complain of, sir. There's never very much to do of a -morning." - -"That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an -opinion upon the subject in the course of a day or two. To-day is -Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we may come to a conclusion." - -"Well, Watson," said Holmes when our visitor had left us, "what -do you make of it all?" - -"I make nothing of it," I answered frankly. "It is a most -mysterious business." - -"As a rule," said Holmes, "the more bizarre a thing is the less -mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless -crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is -the most difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this -matter." - -"What are you going to do, then?" I asked. - -"To smoke," he answered. "It is quite a three pipe problem, and I -beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes." He curled -himself up in his chair, with his thin knees drawn up to his -hawk-like nose, and there he sat with his eyes closed and his -black clay pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird. -I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped asleep, and -indeed was nodding myself, when he suddenly sprang out of his -chair with the gesture of a man who has made up his mind and put -his pipe down upon the mantelpiece. - -"Sarasate plays at the St. James's Hall this afternoon," he -remarked. "What do you think, Watson? Could your patients spare -you for a few hours?" - -"I have nothing to do to-day. My practice is never very -absorbing." - -"Then put on your hat and come. I am going through the City -first, and we can have some lunch on the way. I observe that -there is a good deal of German music on the programme, which is -rather more to my taste than Italian or French. It is -introspective, and I want to introspect. Come along!" - -We travelled by the Underground as far as Aldersgate; and a short -walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the singular -story which we had listened to in the morning. It was a poky, -little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy -two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in -enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded -laurel-bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and -uncongenial atmosphere. Three gilt balls and a brown board with -"JABEZ WILSON" in white letters, upon a corner house, announced -the place where our red-headed client carried on his business. -Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side -and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly between -puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down -again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses. Finally -he returned to the pawnbroker's, and, having thumped vigorously -upon the pavement with his stick two or three times, he went up -to the door and knocked. It was instantly opened by a -bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him to step -in. - -"Thank you," said Holmes, "I only wished to ask you how you would -go from here to the Strand." - -"Third right, fourth left," answered the assistant promptly, -closing the door. - -"Smart fellow, that," observed Holmes as we walked away. "He is, -in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring -I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third. I have known -something of him before." - -"Evidently," said I, "Mr. Wilson's assistant counts for a good -deal in this mystery of the Red-headed League. I am sure that you -inquired your way merely in order that you might see him." - -"Not him." - -"What then?" - -"The knees of his trousers." - -"And what did you see?" - -"What I expected to see." - -"Why did you beat the pavement?" - -"My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. We -are spies in an enemy's country. We know something of Saxe-Coburg -Square. Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it." - -The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the -corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a -contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back. It was -one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City -to the north and west. The roadway was blocked with the immense -stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward, -while the footpaths were black with the hurrying swarm of -pedestrians. It was difficult to realise as we looked at the line -of fine shops and stately business premises that they really -abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant square -which we had just quitted. - -"Let me see," said Holmes, standing at the corner and glancing -along the line, "I should like just to remember the order of the -houses here. It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of -London. There is Mortimer's, the tobacconist, the little -newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, -the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane's carriage-building -depot. That carries us right on to the other block. And now, -Doctor, we've done our work, so it's time we had some play. A -sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where -all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no -red-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums." - -My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a -very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit. All -the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect -happiness, gently waving his long, thin fingers in time to the -music, while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes -were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound, Holmes the -relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was -possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual nature -alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and -astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction -against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally -predominated in him. The swing of his nature took him from -extreme languor to devouring energy; and, as I knew well, he was -never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been -lounging in his armchair amid his improvisations and his -black-letter editions. Then it was that the lust of the chase -would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant reasoning -power would rise to the level of intuition, until those who were -unacquainted with his methods would look askance at him as on a -man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals. When I saw him -that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James's Hall I -felt that an evil time might be coming upon those whom he had set -himself to hunt down. - -"You want to go home, no doubt, Doctor," he remarked as we -emerged. - -"Yes, it would be as well." - -"And I have some business to do which will take some hours. This -business at Coburg Square is serious." - -"Why serious?" - -"A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to -believe that we shall be in time to stop it. But to-day being -Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall want your help -to-night." - -"At what time?" - -"Ten will be early enough." - -"I shall be at Baker Street at ten." - -"Very well. And, I say, Doctor, there may be some little danger, -so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket." He waved his -hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the -crowd. - -I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was -always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings -with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had heard, I had -seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that -he saw clearly not only what had happened but what was about to -happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and -grotesque. As I drove home to my house in Kensington I thought -over it all, from the extraordinary story of the red-headed -copier of the "Encyclopaedia" down to the visit to Saxe-Coburg -Square, and the ominous words with which he had parted from me. -What was this nocturnal expedition, and why should I go armed? -Where were we going, and what were we to do? I had the hint from -Holmes that this smooth-faced pawnbroker's assistant was a -formidable man--a man who might play a deep game. I tried to -puzzle it out, but gave it up in despair and set the matter aside -until night should bring an explanation. - -It was a quarter-past nine when I started from home and made my -way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to Baker -Street. Two hansoms were standing at the door, and as I entered -the passage I heard the sound of voices from above. On entering -his room I found Holmes in animated conversation with two men, -one of whom I recognised as Peter Jones, the official police -agent, while the other was a long, thin, sad-faced man, with a -very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-coat. - -"Ha! Our party is complete," said Holmes, buttoning up his -pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. -"Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let me -introduce you to Mr. Merryweather, who is to be our companion in -to-night's adventure." - -"We're hunting in couples again, Doctor, you see," said Jones in -his consequential way. "Our friend here is a wonderful man for -starting a chase. All he wants is an old dog to help him to do -the running down." - -"I hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our chase," -observed Mr. Merryweather gloomily. - -"You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir," said -the police agent loftily. "He has his own little methods, which -are, if he won't mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical -and fantastic, but he has the makings of a detective in him. It -is not too much to say that once or twice, as in that business of -the Sholto murder and the Agra treasure, he has been more nearly -correct than the official force." - -"Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right," said the -stranger with deference. "Still, I confess that I miss my rubber. -It is the first Saturday night for seven-and-twenty years that I -have not had my rubber." - -"I think you will find," said Sherlock Holmes, "that you will -play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet, and -that the play will be more exciting. For you, Mr. Merryweather, -the stake will be some 30,000 pounds; and for you, Jones, it will -be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands." - -"John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He's a -young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his -profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on -any criminal in London. He's a remarkable man, is young John -Clay. His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been -to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and -though we meet signs of him at every turn, we never know where to -find the man himself. He'll crack a crib in Scotland one week, -and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. -I've been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him -yet." - -"I hope that I may have the pleasure of introducing you to-night. -I've had one or two little turns also with Mr. John Clay, and I -agree with you that he is at the head of his profession. It is -past ten, however, and quite time that we started. If you two -will take the first hansom, Watson and I will follow in the -second." - -Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive -and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which he had heard in -the afternoon. We rattled through an endless labyrinth of gas-lit -streets until we emerged into Farrington Street. - -"We are close there now," my friend remarked. "This fellow -Merryweather is a bank director, and personally interested in the -matter. I thought it as well to have Jones with us also. He is -not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession. -He has one positive virtue. He is as brave as a bulldog and as -tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we -are, and they are waiting for us." - -We had reached the same crowded thoroughfare in which we had -found ourselves in the morning. Our cabs were dismissed, and, -following the guidance of Mr. Merryweather, we passed down a -narrow passage and through a side door, which he opened for us. -Within there was a small corridor, which ended in a very massive -iron gate. This also was opened, and led down a flight of winding -stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gate. Mr. -Merryweather stopped to light a lantern, and then conducted us -down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a -third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which was piled all -round with crates and massive boxes. - -"You are not very vulnerable from above," Holmes remarked as he -held up the lantern and gazed about him. - -"Nor from below," said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick upon -the flags which lined the floor. "Why, dear me, it sounds quite -hollow!" he remarked, looking up in surprise. - -"I must really ask you to be a little more quiet!" said Holmes -severely. "You have already imperilled the whole success of our -expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit -down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere?" - -The solemn Mr. Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a -very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell upon his -knees upon the floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens, -began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones. A few -seconds sufficed to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again -and put his glass in his pocket. - -"We have at least an hour before us," he remarked, "for they can -hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed. -Then they will not lose a minute, for the sooner they do their -work the longer time they will have for their escape. We are at -present, Doctor--as no doubt you have divined--in the cellar of -the City branch of one of the principal London banks. Mr. -Merryweather is the chairman of directors, and he will explain to -you that there are reasons why the more daring criminals of -London should take a considerable interest in this cellar at -present." - -"It is our French gold," whispered the director. "We have had -several warnings that an attempt might be made upon it." - -"Your French gold?" - -"Yes. We had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources -and borrowed for that purpose 30,000 napoleons from the Bank of -France. It has become known that we have never had occasion to -unpack the money, and that it is still lying in our cellar. The -crate upon which I sit contains 2,000 napoleons packed between -layers of lead foil. Our reserve of bullion is much larger at -present than is usually kept in a single branch office, and the -directors have had misgivings upon the subject." - -"Which were very well justified," observed Holmes. "And now it is -time that we arranged our little plans. I expect that within an -hour matters will come to a head. In the meantime Mr. -Merryweather, we must put the screen over that dark lantern." - -"And sit in the dark?" - -"I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and -I thought that, as we were a partie carrée, you might have your -rubber after all. But I see that the enemy's preparations have -gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light. And, -first of all, we must choose our positions. These are daring men, -and though we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do us -some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand behind this crate, -and do you conceal yourselves behind those. Then, when I flash a -light upon them, close in swiftly. If they fire, Watson, have no -compunction about shooting them down." - -I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden case -behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide across the front -of his lantern and left us in pitch darkness--such an absolute -darkness as I have never before experienced. The smell of hot -metal remained to assure us that the light was still there, ready -to flash out at a moment's notice. To me, with my nerves worked -up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something depressing and -subduing in the sudden gloom, and in the cold dank air of the -vault. - -"They have but one retreat," whispered Holmes. "That is back -through the house into Saxe-Coburg Square. I hope that you have -done what I asked you, Jones?" - -"I have an inspector and two officers waiting at the front door." - -"Then we have stopped all the holes. And now we must be silent -and wait." - -What a time it seemed! From comparing notes afterwards it was but -an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the night must -have almost gone and the dawn be breaking above us. My limbs -were weary and stiff, for I feared to change my position; yet my -nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension, and my -hearing was so acute that I could not only hear the gentle -breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish the deeper, -heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin, sighing note -of the bank director. From my position I could look over the case -in the direction of the floor. Suddenly my eyes caught the glint -of a light. - -At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Then -it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then, -without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a hand -appeared, a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about in the -centre of the little area of light. For a minute or more the -hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor. Then -it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark -again save the single lurid spark which marked a chink between -the stones. - -Its disappearance, however, was but momentary. With a rending, -tearing sound, one of the broad, white stones turned over upon -its side and left a square, gaping hole, through which streamed -the light of a lantern. Over the edge there peeped a clean-cut, -boyish face, which looked keenly about it, and then, with a hand -on either side of the aperture, drew itself shoulder-high and -waist-high, until one knee rested upon the edge. In another -instant he stood at the side of the hole and was hauling after -him a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a pale face -and a shock of very red hair. - -"It's all clear," he whispered. "Have you the chisel and the -bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!" - -Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the -collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of -rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. The light flashed -upon the barrel of a revolver, but Holmes' hunting crop came -down on the man's wrist, and the pistol clinked upon the stone -floor. - -"It's no use, John Clay," said Holmes blandly. "You have no -chance at all." - -"So I see," the other answered with the utmost coolness. "I fancy -that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his -coat-tails." - -"There are three men waiting for him at the door," said Holmes. - -"Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very completely. I -must compliment you." - -"And I you," Holmes answered. "Your red-headed idea was very new -and effective." - -"You'll see your pal again presently," said Jones. "He's quicker -at climbing down holes than I am. Just hold out while I fix the -derbies." - -"I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands," -remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists. -"You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins. Have -the goodness, also, when you address me always to say 'sir' and -'please.'" - -"All right," said Jones with a stare and a snigger. "Well, would -you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry -your Highness to the police-station?" - -"That is better," said John Clay serenely. He made a sweeping bow -to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the -detective. - -"Really, Mr. Holmes," said Mr. Merryweather as we followed them -from the cellar, "I do not know how the bank can thank you or -repay you. There is no doubt that you have detected and defeated -in the most complete manner one of the most determined attempts -at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience." - -"I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr. -John Clay," said Holmes. "I have been at some small expense over -this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond -that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in -many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of -the Red-headed League." - - -"You see, Watson," he explained in the early hours of the morning -as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker Street, "it -was perfectly obvious from the first that the only possible -object of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement of -the League, and the copying of the 'Encyclopaedia,' must be to get -this not over-bright pawnbroker out of the way for a number of -hours every day. It was a curious way of managing it, but, -really, it would be difficult to suggest a better. The method was -no doubt suggested to Clay's ingenious mind by the colour of his -accomplice's hair. The 4 pounds a week was a lure which must draw -him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands? -They put in the advertisement, one rogue has the temporary -office, the other rogue incites the man to apply for it, and -together they manage to secure his absence every morning in the -week. From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for -half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive -for securing the situation." - -"But how could you guess what the motive was?" - -"Had there been women in the house, I should have suspected a -mere vulgar intrigue. That, however, was out of the question. The -man's business was a small one, and there was nothing in his -house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and -such an expenditure as they were at. It must, then, be something -out of the house. What could it be? I thought of the assistant's -fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the -cellar. The cellar! There was the end of this tangled clue. Then -I made inquiries as to this mysterious assistant and found that I -had to deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals in -London. He was doing something in the cellar--something which -took many hours a day for months on end. What could it be, once -more? I could think of nothing save that he was running a tunnel -to some other building. - -"So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I -surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick. I was -ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind. -It was not in front. Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the -assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but we had -never set eyes upon each other before. I hardly looked at his -face. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have -remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were. They spoke of -those hours of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they -were burrowing for. I walked round the corner, saw the City and -Suburban Bank abutted on our friend's premises, and felt that I -had solved my problem. When you drove home after the concert I -called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank -directors, with the result that you have seen." - -"And how could you tell that they would make their attempt -to-night?" I asked. - -"Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign that -they cared no longer about Mr. Jabez Wilson's presence--in other -words, that they had completed their tunnel. But it was essential -that they should use it soon, as it might be discovered, or the -bullion might be removed. Saturday would suit them better than -any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. -For all these reasons I expected them to come to-night." - -"You reasoned it out beautifully," I exclaimed in unfeigned -admiration. "It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings -true." - -"It saved me from ennui," he answered, yawning. "Alas! I already -feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort -to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little -problems help me to do so." - -"And you are a benefactor of the race," said I. - -He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, perhaps, after all, it is of -some little use," he remarked. "'L'homme c'est rien--l'oeuvre -c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand." - - - -ADVENTURE III. A CASE OF IDENTITY - -"My dear fellow," said Sherlock Holmes as we sat on either side -of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, "life is infinitely -stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We -would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere -commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window -hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the -roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the -strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the -wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and -leading to the most outré results, it would make all fiction with -its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and -unprofitable." - -"And yet I am not convinced of it," I answered. "The cases which -come to light in the papers are, as a rule, bald enough, and -vulgar enough. We have in our police reports realism pushed to -its extreme limits, and yet the result is, it must be confessed, -neither fascinating nor artistic." - -"A certain selection and discretion must be used in producing a -realistic effect," remarked Holmes. "This is wanting in the -police report, where more stress is laid, perhaps, upon the -platitudes of the magistrate than upon the details, which to an -observer contain the vital essence of the whole matter. Depend -upon it, there is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace." - -I smiled and shook my head. "I can quite understand your thinking -so," I said. "Of course, in your position of unofficial adviser -and helper to everybody who is absolutely puzzled, throughout -three continents, you are brought in contact with all that is -strange and bizarre. But here"--I picked up the morning paper -from the ground--"let us put it to a practical test. Here is the -first heading upon which I come. 'A husband's cruelty to his -wife.' There is half a column of print, but I know without -reading it that it is all perfectly familiar to me. There is, of -course, the other woman, the drink, the push, the blow, the -bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. The crudest of -writers could invent nothing more crude." - -"Indeed, your example is an unfortunate one for your argument," -said Holmes, taking the paper and glancing his eye down it. "This -is the Dundas separation case, and, as it happens, I was engaged -in clearing up some small points in connection with it. The -husband was a teetotaler, there was no other woman, and the -conduct complained of was that he had drifted into the habit of -winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling -them at his wife, which, you will allow, is not an action likely -to occur to the imagination of the average story-teller. Take a -pinch of snuff, Doctor, and acknowledge that I have scored over -you in your example." - -He held out his snuffbox of old gold, with a great amethyst in -the centre of the lid. Its splendour was in such contrast to his -homely ways and simple life that I could not help commenting upon -it. - -"Ah," said he, "I forgot that I had not seen you for some weeks. -It is a little souvenir from the King of Bohemia in return for my -assistance in the case of the Irene Adler papers." - -"And the ring?" I asked, glancing at a remarkable brilliant which -sparkled upon his finger. - -"It was from the reigning family of Holland, though the matter in -which I served them was of such delicacy that I cannot confide it -even to you, who have been good enough to chronicle one or two of -my little problems." - -"And have you any on hand just now?" I asked with interest. - -"Some ten or twelve, but none which present any feature of -interest. They are important, you understand, without being -interesting. Indeed, I have found that it is usually in -unimportant matters that there is a field for the observation, -and for the quick analysis of cause and effect which gives the -charm to an investigation. The larger crimes are apt to be the -simpler, for the bigger the crime the more obvious, as a rule, is -the motive. In these cases, save for one rather intricate matter -which has been referred to me from Marseilles, there is nothing -which presents any features of interest. It is possible, however, -that I may have something better before very many minutes are -over, for this is one of my clients, or I am much mistaken." - -He had risen from his chair and was standing between the parted -blinds gazing down into the dull neutral-tinted London street. -Looking over his shoulder, I saw that on the pavement opposite -there stood a large woman with a heavy fur boa round her neck, -and a large curling red feather in a broad-brimmed hat which was -tilted in a coquettish Duchess of Devonshire fashion over her -ear. From under this great panoply she peeped up in a nervous, -hesitating fashion at our windows, while her body oscillated -backward and forward, and her fingers fidgeted with her glove -buttons. Suddenly, with a plunge, as of the swimmer who leaves -the bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp -clang of the bell. - -"I have seen those symptoms before," said Holmes, throwing his -cigarette into the fire. "Oscillation upon the pavement always -means an affaire de coeur. She would like advice, but is not sure -that the matter is not too delicate for communication. And yet -even here we may discriminate. When a woman has been seriously -wronged by a man she no longer oscillates, and the usual symptom -is a broken bell wire. Here we may take it that there is a love -matter, but that the maiden is not so much angry as perplexed, or -grieved. But here she comes in person to resolve our doubts." - -As he spoke there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons -entered to announce Miss Mary Sutherland, while the lady herself -loomed behind his small black figure like a full-sailed -merchant-man behind a tiny pilot boat. Sherlock Holmes welcomed -her with the easy courtesy for which he was remarkable, and, -having closed the door and bowed her into an armchair, he looked -her over in the minute and yet abstracted fashion which was -peculiar to him. - -"Do you not find," he said, "that with your short sight it is a -little trying to do so much typewriting?" - -"I did at first," she answered, "but now I know where the letters -are without looking." Then, suddenly realising the full purport -of his words, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fear -and astonishment upon her broad, good-humoured face. "You've -heard about me, Mr. Holmes," she cried, "else how could you know -all that?" - -"Never mind," said Holmes, laughing; "it is my business to know -things. Perhaps I have trained myself to see what others -overlook. If not, why should you come to consult me?" - -"I came to you, sir, because I heard of you from Mrs. Etherege, -whose husband you found so easy when the police and everyone had -given him up for dead. Oh, Mr. Holmes, I wish you would do as -much for me. I'm not rich, but still I have a hundred a year in -my own right, besides the little that I make by the machine, and -I would give it all to know what has become of Mr. Hosmer Angel." - -"Why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?" asked -Sherlock Holmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes to -the ceiling. - -Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of Miss -Mary Sutherland. "Yes, I did bang out of the house," she said, -"for it made me angry to see the easy way in which Mr. -Windibank--that is, my father--took it all. He would not go to -the police, and he would not go to you, and so at last, as he -would do nothing and kept on saying that there was no harm done, -it made me mad, and I just on with my things and came right away -to you." - -"Your father," said Holmes, "your stepfather, surely, since the -name is different." - -"Yes, my stepfather. I call him father, though it sounds funny, -too, for he is only five years and two months older than myself." - -"And your mother is alive?" - -"Oh, yes, mother is alive and well. I wasn't best pleased, Mr. -Holmes, when she married again so soon after father's death, and -a man who was nearly fifteen years younger than herself. Father -was a plumber in the Tottenham Court Road, and he left a tidy -business behind him, which mother carried on with Mr. Hardy, the -foreman; but when Mr. Windibank came he made her sell the -business, for he was very superior, being a traveller in wines. -They got 4700 pounds for the goodwill and interest, which wasn't -near as much as father could have got if he had been alive." - -I had expected to see Sherlock Holmes impatient under this -rambling and inconsequential narrative, but, on the contrary, he -had listened with the greatest concentration of attention. - -"Your own little income," he asked, "does it come out of the -business?" - -"Oh, no, sir. It is quite separate and was left me by my uncle -Ned in Auckland. It is in New Zealand stock, paying 4 1/2 per -cent. Two thousand five hundred pounds was the amount, but I can -only touch the interest." - -"You interest me extremely," said Holmes. "And since you draw so -large a sum as a hundred a year, with what you earn into the -bargain, you no doubt travel a little and indulge yourself in -every way. I believe that a single lady can get on very nicely -upon an income of about 60 pounds." - -"I could do with much less than that, Mr. Holmes, but you -understand that as long as I live at home I don't wish to be a -burden to them, and so they have the use of the money just while -I am staying with them. Of course, that is only just for the -time. Mr. Windibank draws my interest every quarter and pays it -over to mother, and I find that I can do pretty well with what I -earn at typewriting. It brings me twopence a sheet, and I can -often do from fifteen to twenty sheets in a day." - -"You have made your position very clear to me," said Holmes. -"This is my friend, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak as -freely as before myself. Kindly tell us now all about your -connection with Mr. Hosmer Angel." - -A flush stole over Miss Sutherland's face, and she picked -nervously at the fringe of her jacket. "I met him first at the -gasfitters' ball," she said. "They used to send father tickets -when he was alive, and then afterwards they remembered us, and -sent them to mother. Mr. Windibank did not wish us to go. He -never did wish us to go anywhere. He would get quite mad if I -wanted so much as to join a Sunday-school treat. But this time I -was set on going, and I would go; for what right had he to -prevent? He said the folk were not fit for us to know, when all -father's friends were to be there. And he said that I had nothing -fit to wear, when I had my purple plush that I had never so much -as taken out of the drawer. At last, when nothing else would do, -he went off to France upon the business of the firm, but we went, -mother and I, with Mr. Hardy, who used to be our foreman, and it -was there I met Mr. Hosmer Angel." - -"I suppose," said Holmes, "that when Mr. Windibank came back from -France he was very annoyed at your having gone to the ball." - -"Oh, well, he was very good about it. He laughed, I remember, and -shrugged his shoulders, and said there was no use denying -anything to a woman, for she would have her way." - -"I see. Then at the gasfitters' ball you met, as I understand, a -gentleman called Mr. Hosmer Angel." - -"Yes, sir. I met him that night, and he called next day to ask if -we had got home all safe, and after that we met him--that is to -say, Mr. Holmes, I met him twice for walks, but after that father -came back again, and Mr. Hosmer Angel could not come to the house -any more." - -"No?" - -"Well, you know father didn't like anything of the sort. He -wouldn't have any visitors if he could help it, and he used to -say that a woman should be happy in her own family circle. But -then, as I used to say to mother, a woman wants her own circle to -begin with, and I had not got mine yet." - -"But how about Mr. Hosmer Angel? Did he make no attempt to see -you?" - -"Well, father was going off to France again in a week, and Hosmer -wrote and said that it would be safer and better not to see each -other until he had gone. We could write in the meantime, and he -used to write every day. I took the letters in in the morning, so -there was no need for father to know." - -"Were you engaged to the gentleman at this time?" - -"Oh, yes, Mr. Holmes. We were engaged after the first walk that -we took. Hosmer--Mr. Angel--was a cashier in an office in -Leadenhall Street--and--" - -"What office?" - -"That's the worst of it, Mr. Holmes, I don't know." - -"Where did he live, then?" - -"He slept on the premises." - -"And you don't know his address?" - -"No--except that it was Leadenhall Street." - -"Where did you address your letters, then?" - -"To the Leadenhall Street Post Office, to be left till called -for. He said that if they were sent to the office he would be -chaffed by all the other clerks about having letters from a lady, -so I offered to typewrite them, like he did his, but he wouldn't -have that, for he said that when I wrote them they seemed to come -from me, but when they were typewritten he always felt that the -machine had come between us. That will just show you how fond he -was of me, Mr. Holmes, and the little things that he would think -of." - -"It was most suggestive," said Holmes. "It has long been an axiom -of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important. -Can you remember any other little things about Mr. Hosmer Angel?" - -"He was a very shy man, Mr. Holmes. He would rather walk with me -in the evening than in the daylight, for he said that he hated to -be conspicuous. Very retiring and gentlemanly he was. Even his -voice was gentle. He'd had the quinsy and swollen glands when he -was young, he told me, and it had left him with a weak throat, -and a hesitating, whispering fashion of speech. He was always -well dressed, very neat and plain, but his eyes were weak, just -as mine are, and he wore tinted glasses against the glare." - -"Well, and what happened when Mr. Windibank, your stepfather, -returned to France?" - -"Mr. Hosmer Angel came to the house again and proposed that we -should marry before father came back. He was in dreadful earnest -and made me swear, with my hands on the Testament, that whatever -happened I would always be true to him. Mother said he was quite -right to make me swear, and that it was a sign of his passion. -Mother was all in his favour from the first and was even fonder -of him than I was. Then, when they talked of marrying within the -week, I began to ask about father; but they both said never to -mind about father, but just to tell him afterwards, and mother -said she would make it all right with him. I didn't quite like -that, Mr. Holmes. It seemed funny that I should ask his leave, as -he was only a few years older than me; but I didn't want to do -anything on the sly, so I wrote to father at Bordeaux, where the -company has its French offices, but the letter came back to me on -the very morning of the wedding." - -"It missed him, then?" - -"Yes, sir; for he had started to England just before it arrived." - -"Ha! that was unfortunate. Your wedding was arranged, then, for -the Friday. Was it to be in church?" - -"Yes, sir, but very quietly. It was to be at St. Saviour's, near -King's Cross, and we were to have breakfast afterwards at the St. -Pancras Hotel. Hosmer came for us in a hansom, but as there were -two of us he put us both into it and stepped himself into a -four-wheeler, which happened to be the only other cab in the -street. We got to the church first, and when the four-wheeler -drove up we waited for him to step out, but he never did, and -when the cabman got down from the box and looked there was no one -there! The cabman said that he could not imagine what had become -of him, for he had seen him get in with his own eyes. That was -last Friday, Mr. Holmes, and I have never seen or heard anything -since then to throw any light upon what became of him." - -"It seems to me that you have been very shamefully treated," said -Holmes. - -"Oh, no, sir! He was too good and kind to leave me so. Why, all -the morning he was saying to me that, whatever happened, I was to -be true; and that even if something quite unforeseen occurred to -separate us, I was always to remember that I was pledged to him, -and that he would claim his pledge sooner or later. It seemed -strange talk for a wedding-morning, but what has happened since -gives a meaning to it." - -"Most certainly it does. Your own opinion is, then, that some -unforeseen catastrophe has occurred to him?" - -"Yes, sir. I believe that he foresaw some danger, or else he -would not have talked so. And then I think that what he foresaw -happened." - -"But you have no notion as to what it could have been?" - -"None." - -"One more question. How did your mother take the matter?" - -"She was angry, and said that I was never to speak of the matter -again." - -"And your father? Did you tell him?" - -"Yes; and he seemed to think, with me, that something had -happened, and that I should hear of Hosmer again. As he said, -what interest could anyone have in bringing me to the doors of -the church, and then leaving me? Now, if he had borrowed my -money, or if he had married me and got my money settled on him, -there might be some reason, but Hosmer was very independent about -money and never would look at a shilling of mine. And yet, what -could have happened? And why could he not write? Oh, it drives me -half-mad to think of it, and I can't sleep a wink at night." She -pulled a little handkerchief out of her muff and began to sob -heavily into it. - -"I shall glance into the case for you," said Holmes, rising, "and -I have no doubt that we shall reach some definite result. Let the -weight of the matter rest upon me now, and do not let your mind -dwell upon it further. Above all, try to let Mr. Hosmer Angel -vanish from your memory, as he has done from your life." - -"Then you don't think I'll see him again?" - -"I fear not." - -"Then what has happened to him?" - -"You will leave that question in my hands. I should like an -accurate description of him and any letters of his which you can -spare." - -"I advertised for him in last Saturday's Chronicle," said she. -"Here is the slip and here are four letters from him." - -"Thank you. And your address?" - -"No. 31 Lyon Place, Camberwell." - -"Mr. Angel's address you never had, I understand. Where is your -father's place of business?" - -"He travels for Westhouse & Marbank, the great claret importers -of Fenchurch Street." - -"Thank you. You have made your statement very clearly. You will -leave the papers here, and remember the advice which I have given -you. Let the whole incident be a sealed book, and do not allow it -to affect your life." - -"You are very kind, Mr. Holmes, but I cannot do that. I shall be -true to Hosmer. He shall find me ready when he comes back." - -For all the preposterous hat and the vacuous face, there was -something noble in the simple faith of our visitor which -compelled our respect. She laid her little bundle of papers upon -the table and went her way, with a promise to come again whenever -she might be summoned. - -Sherlock Holmes sat silent for a few minutes with his fingertips -still pressed together, his legs stretched out in front of him, -and his gaze directed upward to the ceiling. Then he took down -from the rack the old and oily clay pipe, which was to him as a -counsellor, and, having lit it, he leaned back in his chair, with -the thick blue cloud-wreaths spinning up from him, and a look of -infinite languor in his face. - -"Quite an interesting study, that maiden," he observed. "I found -her more interesting than her little problem, which, by the way, -is rather a trite one. You will find parallel cases, if you -consult my index, in Andover in '77, and there was something of -the sort at The Hague last year. Old as is the idea, however, -there were one or two details which were new to me. But the -maiden herself was most instructive." - -"You appeared to read a good deal upon her which was quite -invisible to me," I remarked. - -"Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to -look, and so you missed all that was important. I can never bring -you to realise the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of -thumb-nails, or the great issues that may hang from a boot-lace. -Now, what did you gather from that woman's appearance? Describe -it." - -"Well, she had a slate-coloured, broad-brimmed straw hat, with a -feather of a brickish red. Her jacket was black, with black beads -sewn upon it, and a fringe of little black jet ornaments. Her -dress was brown, rather darker than coffee colour, with a little -purple plush at the neck and sleeves. Her gloves were greyish and -were worn through at the right forefinger. Her boots I didn't -observe. She had small round, hanging gold earrings, and a -general air of being fairly well-to-do in a vulgar, comfortable, -easy-going way." - -Sherlock Holmes clapped his hands softly together and chuckled. - -"'Pon my word, Watson, you are coming along wonderfully. You have -really done very well indeed. It is true that you have missed -everything of importance, but you have hit upon the method, and -you have a quick eye for colour. Never trust to general -impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details. My -first glance is always at a woman's sleeve. In a man it is -perhaps better first to take the knee of the trouser. As you -observe, this woman had plush upon her sleeves, which is a most -useful material for showing traces. The double line a little -above the wrist, where the typewritist presses against the table, -was beautifully defined. The sewing-machine, of the hand type, -leaves a similar mark, but only on the left arm, and on the side -of it farthest from the thumb, instead of being right across the -broadest part, as this was. I then glanced at her face, and, -observing the dint of a pince-nez at either side of her nose, I -ventured a remark upon short sight and typewriting, which seemed -to surprise her." - -"It surprised me." - -"But, surely, it was obvious. I was then much surprised and -interested on glancing down to observe that, though the boots -which she was wearing were not unlike each other, they were -really odd ones; the one having a slightly decorated toe-cap, and -the other a plain one. One was buttoned only in the two lower -buttons out of five, and the other at the first, third, and -fifth. Now, when you see that a young lady, otherwise neatly -dressed, has come away from home with odd boots, half-buttoned, -it is no great deduction to say that she came away in a hurry." - -"And what else?" I asked, keenly interested, as I always was, by -my friend's incisive reasoning. - -"I noted, in passing, that she had written a note before leaving -home but after being fully dressed. You observed that her right -glove was torn at the forefinger, but you did not apparently see -that both glove and finger were stained with violet ink. She had -written in a hurry and dipped her pen too deep. It must have been -this morning, or the mark would not remain clear upon the finger. -All this is amusing, though rather elementary, but I must go back -to business, Watson. Would you mind reading me the advertised -description of Mr. Hosmer Angel?" - -I held the little printed slip to the light. - -"Missing," it said, "on the morning of the fourteenth, a gentleman -named Hosmer Angel. About five ft. seven in. in height; -strongly built, sallow complexion, black hair, a little bald in -the centre, bushy, black side-whiskers and moustache; tinted -glasses, slight infirmity of speech. Was dressed, when last seen, -in black frock-coat faced with silk, black waistcoat, gold Albert -chain, and grey Harris tweed trousers, with brown gaiters over -elastic-sided boots. Known to have been employed in an office in -Leadenhall Street. Anybody bringing--" - -"That will do," said Holmes. "As to the letters," he continued, -glancing over them, "they are very commonplace. Absolutely no -clue in them to Mr. Angel, save that he quotes Balzac once. There -is one remarkable point, however, which will no doubt strike -you." - -"They are typewritten," I remarked. - -"Not only that, but the signature is typewritten. Look at the -neat little 'Hosmer Angel' at the bottom. There is a date, you -see, but no superscription except Leadenhall Street, which is -rather vague. The point about the signature is very suggestive--in -fact, we may call it conclusive." - -"Of what?" - -"My dear fellow, is it possible you do not see how strongly it -bears upon the case?" - -"I cannot say that I do unless it were that he wished to be able -to deny his signature if an action for breach of promise were -instituted." - -"No, that was not the point. However, I shall write two letters, -which should settle the matter. One is to a firm in the City, the -other is to the young lady's stepfather, Mr. Windibank, asking -him whether he could meet us here at six o'clock tomorrow -evening. It is just as well that we should do business with the -male relatives. And now, Doctor, we can do nothing until the -answers to those letters come, so we may put our little problem -upon the shelf for the interim." - -I had had so many reasons to believe in my friend's subtle powers -of reasoning and extraordinary energy in action that I felt that -he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy -demeanour with which he treated the singular mystery which he had -been called upon to fathom. Once only had I known him to fail, in -the case of the King of Bohemia and of the Irene Adler -photograph; but when I looked back to the weird business of the -Sign of Four, and the extraordinary circumstances connected with -the Study in Scarlet, I felt that it would be a strange tangle -indeed which he could not unravel. - -I left him then, still puffing at his black clay pipe, with the -conviction that when I came again on the next evening I would -find that he held in his hands all the clues which would lead up -to the identity of the disappearing bridegroom of Miss Mary -Sutherland. - -A professional case of great gravity was engaging my own -attention at the time, and the whole of next day I was busy at -the bedside of the sufferer. It was not until close upon six -o'clock that I found myself free and was able to spring into a -hansom and drive to Baker Street, half afraid that I might be too -late to assist at the dénouement of the little mystery. I found -Sherlock Holmes alone, however, half asleep, with his long, thin -form curled up in the recesses of his armchair. A formidable -array of bottles and test-tubes, with the pungent cleanly smell -of hydrochloric acid, told me that he had spent his day in the -chemical work which was so dear to him. - -"Well, have you solved it?" I asked as I entered. - -"Yes. It was the bisulphate of baryta." - -"No, no, the mystery!" I cried. - -"Oh, that! I thought of the salt that I have been working upon. -There was never any mystery in the matter, though, as I said -yesterday, some of the details are of interest. The only drawback -is that there is no law, I fear, that can touch the scoundrel." - -"Who was he, then, and what was his object in deserting Miss -Sutherland?" - -The question was hardly out of my mouth, and Holmes had not yet -opened his lips to reply, when we heard a heavy footfall in the -passage and a tap at the door. - -"This is the girl's stepfather, Mr. James Windibank," said -Holmes. "He has written to me to say that he would be here at -six. Come in!" - -The man who entered was a sturdy, middle-sized fellow, some -thirty years of age, clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a -bland, insinuating manner, and a pair of wonderfully sharp and -penetrating grey eyes. He shot a questioning glance at each of -us, placed his shiny top-hat upon the sideboard, and with a -slight bow sidled down into the nearest chair. - -"Good-evening, Mr. James Windibank," said Holmes. "I think that -this typewritten letter is from you, in which you made an -appointment with me for six o'clock?" - -"Yes, sir. I am afraid that I am a little late, but I am not -quite my own master, you know. I am sorry that Miss Sutherland -has troubled you about this little matter, for I think it is far -better not to wash linen of the sort in public. It was quite -against my wishes that she came, but she is a very excitable, -impulsive girl, as you may have noticed, and she is not easily -controlled when she has made up her mind on a point. Of course, I -did not mind you so much, as you are not connected with the -official police, but it is not pleasant to have a family -misfortune like this noised abroad. Besides, it is a useless -expense, for how could you possibly find this Hosmer Angel?" - -"On the contrary," said Holmes quietly; "I have every reason to -believe that I will succeed in discovering Mr. Hosmer Angel." - -Mr. Windibank gave a violent start and dropped his gloves. "I am -delighted to hear it," he said. - -"It is a curious thing," remarked Holmes, "that a typewriter has -really quite as much individuality as a man's handwriting. Unless -they are quite new, no two of them write exactly alike. Some -letters get more worn than others, and some wear only on one -side. Now, you remark in this note of yours, Mr. Windibank, that -in every case there is some little slurring over of the 'e,' and -a slight defect in the tail of the 'r.' There are fourteen other -characteristics, but those are the more obvious." - -"We do all our correspondence with this machine at the office, -and no doubt it is a little worn," our visitor answered, glancing -keenly at Holmes with his bright little eyes. - -"And now I will show you what is really a very interesting study, -Mr. Windibank," Holmes continued. "I think of writing another -little monograph some of these days on the typewriter and its -relation to crime. It is a subject to which I have devoted some -little attention. I have here four letters which purport to come -from the missing man. They are all typewritten. In each case, not -only are the 'e's' slurred and the 'r's' tailless, but you will -observe, if you care to use my magnifying lens, that the fourteen -other characteristics to which I have alluded are there as well." - -Mr. Windibank sprang out of his chair and picked up his hat. "I -cannot waste time over this sort of fantastic talk, Mr. Holmes," -he said. "If you can catch the man, catch him, and let me know -when you have done it." - -"Certainly," said Holmes, stepping over and turning the key in -the door. "I let you know, then, that I have caught him!" - -"What! where?" shouted Mr. Windibank, turning white to his lips -and glancing about him like a rat in a trap. - -"Oh, it won't do--really it won't," said Holmes suavely. "There -is no possible getting out of it, Mr. Windibank. It is quite too -transparent, and it was a very bad compliment when you said that -it was impossible for me to solve so simple a question. That's -right! Sit down and let us talk it over." - -Our visitor collapsed into a chair, with a ghastly face and a -glitter of moisture on his brow. "It--it's not actionable," he -stammered. - -"I am very much afraid that it is not. But between ourselves, -Windibank, it was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in a -petty way as ever came before me. Now, let me just run over the -course of events, and you will contradict me if I go wrong." - -The man sat huddled up in his chair, with his head sunk upon his -breast, like one who is utterly crushed. Holmes stuck his feet up -on the corner of the mantelpiece and, leaning back with his hands -in his pockets, began talking, rather to himself, as it seemed, -than to us. - -"The man married a woman very much older than himself for her -money," said he, "and he enjoyed the use of the money of the -daughter as long as she lived with them. It was a considerable -sum, for people in their position, and the loss of it would have -made a serious difference. It was worth an effort to preserve it. -The daughter was of a good, amiable disposition, but affectionate -and warm-hearted in her ways, so that it was evident that with -her fair personal advantages, and her little income, she would -not be allowed to remain single long. Now her marriage would -mean, of course, the loss of a hundred a year, so what does her -stepfather do to prevent it? He takes the obvious course of -keeping her at home and forbidding her to seek the company of -people of her own age. But soon he found that that would not -answer forever. She became restive, insisted upon her rights, and -finally announced her positive intention of going to a certain -ball. What does her clever stepfather do then? He conceives an -idea more creditable to his head than to his heart. With the -connivance and assistance of his wife he disguised himself, -covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses, masked the face with -a moustache and a pair of bushy whiskers, sunk that clear voice -into an insinuating whisper, and doubly secure on account of the -girl's short sight, he appears as Mr. Hosmer Angel, and keeps off -other lovers by making love himself." - -"It was only a joke at first," groaned our visitor. "We never -thought that she would have been so carried away." - -"Very likely not. However that may be, the young lady was very -decidedly carried away, and, having quite made up her mind that -her stepfather was in France, the suspicion of treachery never -for an instant entered her mind. She was flattered by the -gentleman's attentions, and the effect was increased by the -loudly expressed admiration of her mother. Then Mr. Angel began -to call, for it was obvious that the matter should be pushed as -far as it would go if a real effect were to be produced. There -were meetings, and an engagement, which would finally secure the -girl's affections from turning towards anyone else. But the -deception could not be kept up forever. These pretended journeys -to France were rather cumbrous. The thing to do was clearly to -bring the business to an end in such a dramatic manner that it -would leave a permanent impression upon the young lady's mind and -prevent her from looking upon any other suitor for some time to -come. Hence those vows of fidelity exacted upon a Testament, and -hence also the allusions to a possibility of something happening -on the very morning of the wedding. James Windibank wished Miss -Sutherland to be so bound to Hosmer Angel, and so uncertain as to -his fate, that for ten years to come, at any rate, she would not -listen to another man. As far as the church door he brought her, -and then, as he could go no farther, he conveniently vanished -away by the old trick of stepping in at one door of a -four-wheeler and out at the other. I think that was the chain of -events, Mr. Windibank!" - -Our visitor had recovered something of his assurance while Holmes -had been talking, and he rose from his chair now with a cold -sneer upon his pale face. - -"It may be so, or it may not, Mr. Holmes," said he, "but if you -are so very sharp you ought to be sharp enough to know that it is -you who are breaking the law now, and not me. I have done nothing -actionable from the first, but as long as you keep that door -locked you lay yourself open to an action for assault and illegal -constraint." - -"The law cannot, as you say, touch you," said Holmes, unlocking -and throwing open the door, "yet there never was a man who -deserved punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a -friend, he ought to lay a whip across your shoulders. By Jove!" -he continued, flushing up at the sight of the bitter sneer upon -the man's face, "it is not part of my duties to my client, but -here's a hunting crop handy, and I think I shall just treat -myself to--" He took two swift steps to the whip, but before he -could grasp it there was a wild clatter of steps upon the stairs, -the heavy hall door banged, and from the window we could see Mr. -James Windibank running at the top of his speed down the road. - -"There's a cold-blooded scoundrel!" said Holmes, laughing, as he -threw himself down into his chair once more. "That fellow will -rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and -ends on a gallows. The case has, in some respects, been not -entirely devoid of interest." - -"I cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning," I -remarked. - -"Well, of course it was obvious from the first that this Mr. -Hosmer Angel must have some strong object for his curious -conduct, and it was equally clear that the only man who really -profited by the incident, as far as we could see, was the -stepfather. Then the fact that the two men were never together, -but that the one always appeared when the other was away, was -suggestive. So were the tinted spectacles and the curious voice, -which both hinted at a disguise, as did the bushy whiskers. My -suspicions were all confirmed by his peculiar action in -typewriting his signature, which, of course, inferred that his -handwriting was so familiar to her that she would recognise even -the smallest sample of it. You see all these isolated facts, -together with many minor ones, all pointed in the same -direction." - -"And how did you verify them?" - -"Having once spotted my man, it was easy to get corroboration. I -knew the firm for which this man worked. Having taken the printed -description. I eliminated everything from it which could be the -result of a disguise--the whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and I -sent it to the firm, with a request that they would inform me -whether it answered to the description of any of their -travellers. I had already noticed the peculiarities of the -typewriter, and I wrote to the man himself at his business -address asking him if he would come here. As I expected, his -reply was typewritten and revealed the same trivial but -characteristic defects. The same post brought me a letter from -Westhouse & Marbank, of Fenchurch Street, to say that the -description tallied in every respect with that of their employé, -James Windibank. Voilà tout!" - -"And Miss Sutherland?" - -"If I tell her she will not believe me. You may remember the old -Persian saying, 'There is danger for him who taketh the tiger -cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.' -There is as much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as much -knowledge of the world." - - - -ADVENTURE IV. THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY - -We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and I, when the -maid brought in a telegram. It was from Sherlock Holmes and ran -in this way: - -"Have you a couple of days to spare? Have just been wired for from -the west of England in connection with Boscombe Valley tragedy. -Shall be glad if you will come with me. Air and scenery perfect. -Leave Paddington by the 11:15." - -"What do you say, dear?" said my wife, looking across at me. -"Will you go?" - -"I really don't know what to say. I have a fairly long list at -present." - -"Oh, Anstruther would do your work for you. You have been looking -a little pale lately. I think that the change would do you good, -and you are always so interested in Mr. Sherlock Holmes' cases." - -"I should be ungrateful if I were not, seeing what I gained -through one of them," I answered. "But if I am to go, I must pack -at once, for I have only half an hour." - -My experience of camp life in Afghanistan had at least had the -effect of making me a prompt and ready traveller. My wants were -few and simple, so that in less than the time stated I was in a -cab with my valise, rattling away to Paddington Station. Sherlock -Holmes was pacing up and down the platform, his tall, gaunt -figure made even gaunter and taller by his long grey -travelling-cloak and close-fitting cloth cap. - -"It is really very good of you to come, Watson," said he. "It -makes a considerable difference to me, having someone with me on -whom I can thoroughly rely. Local aid is always either worthless -or else biassed. If you will keep the two corner seats I shall -get the tickets." - -We had the carriage to ourselves save for an immense litter of -papers which Holmes had brought with him. Among these he rummaged -and read, with intervals of note-taking and of meditation, until -we were past Reading. Then he suddenly rolled them all into a -gigantic ball and tossed them up onto the rack. - -"Have you heard anything of the case?" he asked. - -"Not a word. I have not seen a paper for some days." - -"The London press has not had very full accounts. I have just -been looking through all the recent papers in order to master the -particulars. It seems, from what I gather, to be one of those -simple cases which are so extremely difficult." - -"That sounds a little paradoxical." - -"But it is profoundly true. Singularity is almost invariably a -clue. The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more -difficult it is to bring it home. In this case, however, they -have established a very serious case against the son of the -murdered man." - -"It is a murder, then?" - -"Well, it is conjectured to be so. I shall take nothing for -granted until I have the opportunity of looking personally into -it. I will explain the state of things to you, as far as I have -been able to understand it, in a very few words. - -"Boscombe Valley is a country district not very far from Ross, in -Herefordshire. The largest landed proprietor in that part is a -Mr. John Turner, who made his money in Australia and returned -some years ago to the old country. One of the farms which he -held, that of Hatherley, was let to Mr. Charles McCarthy, who was -also an ex-Australian. The men had known each other in the -colonies, so that it was not unnatural that when they came to -settle down they should do so as near each other as possible. -Turner was apparently the richer man, so McCarthy became his -tenant but still remained, it seems, upon terms of perfect -equality, as they were frequently together. McCarthy had one son, -a lad of eighteen, and Turner had an only daughter of the same -age, but neither of them had wives living. They appear to have -avoided the society of the neighbouring English families and to -have led retired lives, though both the McCarthys were fond of -sport and were frequently seen at the race-meetings of the -neighbourhood. McCarthy kept two servants--a man and a girl. -Turner had a considerable household, some half-dozen at the -least. That is as much as I have been able to gather about the -families. Now for the facts. - -"On June 3rd, that is, on Monday last, McCarthy left his house at -Hatherley about three in the afternoon and walked down to the -Boscombe Pool, which is a small lake formed by the spreading out -of the stream which runs down the Boscombe Valley. He had been -out with his serving-man in the morning at Ross, and he had told -the man that he must hurry, as he had an appointment of -importance to keep at three. From that appointment he never came -back alive. - -"From Hatherley Farm-house to the Boscombe Pool is a quarter of a -mile, and two people saw him as he passed over this ground. One -was an old woman, whose name is not mentioned, and the other was -William Crowder, a game-keeper in the employ of Mr. Turner. Both -these witnesses depose that Mr. McCarthy was walking alone. The -game-keeper adds that within a few minutes of his seeing Mr. -McCarthy pass he had seen his son, Mr. James McCarthy, going the -same way with a gun under his arm. To the best of his belief, the -father was actually in sight at the time, and the son was -following him. He thought no more of the matter until he heard in -the evening of the tragedy that had occurred. - -"The two McCarthys were seen after the time when William Crowder, -the game-keeper, lost sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is thickly -wooded round, with just a fringe of grass and of reeds round the -edge. A girl of fourteen, Patience Moran, who is the daughter of -the lodge-keeper of the Boscombe Valley estate, was in one of the -woods picking flowers. She states that while she was there she -saw, at the border of the wood and close by the lake, Mr. -McCarthy and his son, and that they appeared to be having a -violent quarrel. She heard Mr. McCarthy the elder using very -strong language to his son, and she saw the latter raise up his -hand as if to strike his father. She was so frightened by their -violence that she ran away and told her mother when she reached -home that she had left the two McCarthys quarrelling near -Boscombe Pool, and that she was afraid that they were going to -fight. She had hardly said the words when young Mr. McCarthy came -running up to the lodge to say that he had found his father dead -in the wood, and to ask for the help of the lodge-keeper. He was -much excited, without either his gun or his hat, and his right -hand and sleeve were observed to be stained with fresh blood. On -following him they found the dead body stretched out upon the -grass beside the pool. The head had been beaten in by repeated -blows of some heavy and blunt weapon. The injuries were such as -might very well have been inflicted by the butt-end of his son's -gun, which was found lying on the grass within a few paces of the -body. Under these circumstances the young man was instantly -arrested, and a verdict of 'wilful murder' having been returned -at the inquest on Tuesday, he was on Wednesday brought before the -magistrates at Ross, who have referred the case to the next -Assizes. Those are the main facts of the case as they came out -before the coroner and the police-court." - -"I could hardly imagine a more damning case," I remarked. "If -ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal it does so -here." - -"Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing," answered Holmes -thoughtfully. "It may seem to point very straight to one thing, -but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it -pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something -entirely different. It must be confessed, however, that the case -looks exceedingly grave against the young man, and it is very -possible that he is indeed the culprit. There are several people -in the neighbourhood, however, and among them Miss Turner, the -daughter of the neighbouring landowner, who believe in his -innocence, and who have retained Lestrade, whom you may recollect -in connection with the Study in Scarlet, to work out the case in -his interest. Lestrade, being rather puzzled, has referred the -case to me, and hence it is that two middle-aged gentlemen are -flying westward at fifty miles an hour instead of quietly -digesting their breakfasts at home." - -"I am afraid," said I, "that the facts are so obvious that you -will find little credit to be gained out of this case." - -"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact," he -answered, laughing. "Besides, we may chance to hit upon some -other obvious facts which may have been by no means obvious to -Mr. Lestrade. You know me too well to think that I am boasting -when I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by -means which he is quite incapable of employing, or even of -understanding. To take the first example to hand, I very clearly -perceive that in your bedroom the window is upon the right-hand -side, and yet I question whether Mr. Lestrade would have noted -even so self-evident a thing as that." - -"How on earth--" - -"My dear fellow, I know you well. I know the military neatness -which characterises you. You shave every morning, and in this -season you shave by the sunlight; but since your shaving is less -and less complete as we get farther back on the left side, until -it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the -jaw, it is surely very clear that that side is less illuminated -than the other. I could not imagine a man of your habits looking -at himself in an equal light and being satisfied with such a -result. I only quote this as a trivial example of observation and -inference. Therein lies my métier, and it is just possible that -it may be of some service in the investigation which lies before -us. There are one or two minor points which were brought out in -the inquest, and which are worth considering." - -"What are they?" - -"It appears that his arrest did not take place at once, but after -the return to Hatherley Farm. On the inspector of constabulary -informing him that he was a prisoner, he remarked that he was not -surprised to hear it, and that it was no more than his deserts. -This observation of his had the natural effect of removing any -traces of doubt which might have remained in the minds of the -coroner's jury." - -"It was a confession," I ejaculated. - -"No, for it was followed by a protestation of innocence." - -"Coming on the top of such a damning series of events, it was at -least a most suspicious remark." - -"On the contrary," said Holmes, "it is the brightest rift which I -can at present see in the clouds. However innocent he might be, -he could not be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that the -circumstances were very black against him. Had he appeared -surprised at his own arrest, or feigned indignation at it, I -should have looked upon it as highly suspicious, because such -surprise or anger would not be natural under the circumstances, -and yet might appear to be the best policy to a scheming man. His -frank acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocent -man, or else as a man of considerable self-restraint and -firmness. As to his remark about his deserts, it was also not -unnatural if you consider that he stood beside the dead body of -his father, and that there is no doubt that he had that very day -so far forgotten his filial duty as to bandy words with him, and -even, according to the little girl whose evidence is so -important, to raise his hand as if to strike him. The -self-reproach and contrition which are displayed in his remark -appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind rather than of a -guilty one." - -I shook my head. "Many men have been hanged on far slighter -evidence," I remarked. - -"So they have. And many men have been wrongfully hanged." - -"What is the young man's own account of the matter?" - -"It is, I am afraid, not very encouraging to his supporters, -though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive. -You will find it here, and may read it for yourself." - -He picked out from his bundle a copy of the local Herefordshire -paper, and having turned down the sheet he pointed out the -paragraph in which the unfortunate young man had given his own -statement of what had occurred. I settled myself down in the -corner of the carriage and read it very carefully. It ran in this -way: - -"Mr. James McCarthy, the only son of the deceased, was then called -and gave evidence as follows: 'I had been away from home for -three days at Bristol, and had only just returned upon the -morning of last Monday, the 3rd. My father was absent from home at -the time of my arrival, and I was informed by the maid that he -had driven over to Ross with John Cobb, the groom. Shortly after -my return I heard the wheels of his trap in the yard, and, -looking out of my window, I saw him get out and walk rapidly out -of the yard, though I was not aware in which direction he was -going. I then took my gun and strolled out in the direction of -the Boscombe Pool, with the intention of visiting the rabbit -warren which is upon the other side. On my way I saw William -Crowder, the game-keeper, as he had stated in his evidence; but -he is mistaken in thinking that I was following my father. I had -no idea that he was in front of me. When about a hundred yards -from the pool I heard a cry of "Cooee!" which was a usual signal -between my father and myself. I then hurried forward, and found -him standing by the pool. He appeared to be much surprised at -seeing me and asked me rather roughly what I was doing there. A -conversation ensued which led to high words and almost to blows, -for my father was a man of a very violent temper. Seeing that his -passion was becoming ungovernable, I left him and returned -towards Hatherley Farm. I had not gone more than 150 yards, -however, when I heard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me -to run back again. I found my father expiring upon the ground, -with his head terribly injured. I dropped my gun and held him in -my arms, but he almost instantly expired. I knelt beside him for -some minutes, and then made my way to Mr. Turner's lodge-keeper, -his house being the nearest, to ask for assistance. I saw no one -near my father when I returned, and I have no idea how he came by -his injuries. He was not a popular man, being somewhat cold and -forbidding in his manners, but he had, as far as I know, no -active enemies. I know nothing further of the matter.' - -"The Coroner: Did your father make any statement to you before -he died? - -"Witness: He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some -allusion to a rat. - -"The Coroner: What did you understand by that? - -"Witness: It conveyed no meaning to me. I thought that he was -delirious. - -"The Coroner: What was the point upon which you and your father -had this final quarrel? - -"Witness: I should prefer not to answer. - -"The Coroner: I am afraid that I must press it. - -"Witness: It is really impossible for me to tell you. I can -assure you that it has nothing to do with the sad tragedy which -followed. - -"The Coroner: That is for the court to decide. I need not point -out to you that your refusal to answer will prejudice your case -considerably in any future proceedings which may arise. - -"Witness: I must still refuse. - -"The Coroner: I understand that the cry of 'Cooee' was a common -signal between you and your father? - -"Witness: It was. - -"The Coroner: How was it, then, that he uttered it before he saw -you, and before he even knew that you had returned from Bristol? - -"Witness (with considerable confusion): I do not know. - -"A Juryman: Did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions -when you returned on hearing the cry and found your father -fatally injured? - -"Witness: Nothing definite. - -"The Coroner: What do you mean? - -"Witness: I was so disturbed and excited as I rushed out into -the open, that I could think of nothing except of my father. Yet -I have a vague impression that as I ran forward something lay -upon the ground to the left of me. It seemed to me to be -something grey in colour, a coat of some sort, or a plaid perhaps. -When I rose from my father I looked round for it, but it was -gone. - -"'Do you mean that it disappeared before you went for help?' - -"'Yes, it was gone.' - -"'You cannot say what it was?' - -"'No, I had a feeling something was there.' - -"'How far from the body?' - -"'A dozen yards or so.' - -"'And how far from the edge of the wood?' - -"'About the same.' - -"'Then if it was removed it was while you were within a dozen -yards of it?' - -"'Yes, but with my back towards it.' - -"This concluded the examination of the witness." - -"I see," said I as I glanced down the column, "that the coroner -in his concluding remarks was rather severe upon young McCarthy. -He calls attention, and with reason, to the discrepancy about his -father having signalled to him before seeing him, also to his -refusal to give details of his conversation with his father, and -his singular account of his father's dying words. They are all, -as he remarks, very much against the son." - -Holmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out upon -the cushioned seat. "Both you and the coroner have been at some -pains," said he, "to single out the very strongest points in the -young man's favour. Don't you see that you alternately give him -credit for having too much imagination and too little? Too -little, if he could not invent a cause of quarrel which would -give him the sympathy of the jury; too much, if he evolved from -his own inner consciousness anything so outré as a dying -reference to a rat, and the incident of the vanishing cloth. No, -sir, I shall approach this case from the point of view that what -this young man says is true, and we shall see whither that -hypothesis will lead us. And now here is my pocket Petrarch, and -not another word shall I say of this case until we are on the -scene of action. We lunch at Swindon, and I see that we shall be -there in twenty minutes." - -It was nearly four o'clock when we at last, after passing through -the beautiful Stroud Valley, and over the broad gleaming Severn, -found ourselves at the pretty little country-town of Ross. A -lean, ferret-like man, furtive and sly-looking, was waiting for -us upon the platform. In spite of the light brown dustcoat and -leather-leggings which he wore in deference to his rustic -surroundings, I had no difficulty in recognising Lestrade, of -Scotland Yard. With him we drove to the Hereford Arms where a -room had already been engaged for us. - -"I have ordered a carriage," said Lestrade as we sat over a cup -of tea. "I knew your energetic nature, and that you would not be -happy until you had been on the scene of the crime." - -"It was very nice and complimentary of you," Holmes answered. "It -is entirely a question of barometric pressure." - -Lestrade looked startled. "I do not quite follow," he said. - -"How is the glass? Twenty-nine, I see. No wind, and not a cloud -in the sky. I have a caseful of cigarettes here which need -smoking, and the sofa is very much superior to the usual country -hotel abomination. I do not think that it is probable that I -shall use the carriage to-night." - -Lestrade laughed indulgently. "You have, no doubt, already formed -your conclusions from the newspapers," he said. "The case is as -plain as a pikestaff, and the more one goes into it the plainer -it becomes. Still, of course, one can't refuse a lady, and such a -very positive one, too. She has heard of you, and would have your -opinion, though I repeatedly told her that there was nothing -which you could do which I had not already done. Why, bless my -soul! here is her carriage at the door." - -He had hardly spoken before there rushed into the room one of the -most lovely young women that I have ever seen in my life. Her -violet eyes shining, her lips parted, a pink flush upon her -cheeks, all thought of her natural reserve lost in her -overpowering excitement and concern. - -"Oh, Mr. Sherlock Holmes!" she cried, glancing from one to the -other of us, and finally, with a woman's quick intuition, -fastening upon my companion, "I am so glad that you have come. I -have driven down to tell you so. I know that James didn't do it. -I know it, and I want you to start upon your work knowing it, -too. Never let yourself doubt upon that point. We have known each -other since we were little children, and I know his faults as no -one else does; but he is too tender-hearted to hurt a fly. Such a -charge is absurd to anyone who really knows him." - -"I hope we may clear him, Miss Turner," said Sherlock Holmes. -"You may rely upon my doing all that I can." - -"But you have read the evidence. You have formed some conclusion? -Do you not see some loophole, some flaw? Do you not yourself -think that he is innocent?" - -"I think that it is very probable." - -"There, now!" she cried, throwing back her head and looking -defiantly at Lestrade. "You hear! He gives me hopes." - -Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. "I am afraid that my colleague -has been a little quick in forming his conclusions," he said. - -"But he is right. Oh! I know that he is right. James never did -it. And about his quarrel with his father, I am sure that the -reason why he would not speak about it to the coroner was because -I was concerned in it." - -"In what way?" asked Holmes. - -"It is no time for me to hide anything. James and his father had -many disagreements about me. Mr. McCarthy was very anxious that -there should be a marriage between us. James and I have always -loved each other as brother and sister; but of course he is young -and has seen very little of life yet, and--and--well, he -naturally did not wish to do anything like that yet. So there -were quarrels, and this, I am sure, was one of them." - -"And your father?" asked Holmes. "Was he in favour of such a -union?" - -"No, he was averse to it also. No one but Mr. McCarthy was in -favour of it." A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as -Holmes shot one of his keen, questioning glances at her. - -"Thank you for this information," said he. "May I see your father -if I call to-morrow?" - -"I am afraid the doctor won't allow it." - -"The doctor?" - -"Yes, have you not heard? Poor father has never been strong for -years back, but this has broken him down completely. He has taken -to his bed, and Dr. Willows says that he is a wreck and that his -nervous system is shattered. Mr. McCarthy was the only man alive -who had known dad in the old days in Victoria." - -"Ha! In Victoria! That is important." - -"Yes, at the mines." - -"Quite so; at the gold-mines, where, as I understand, Mr. Turner -made his money." - -"Yes, certainly." - -"Thank you, Miss Turner. You have been of material assistance to -me." - -"You will tell me if you have any news to-morrow. No doubt you -will go to the prison to see James. Oh, if you do, Mr. Holmes, do -tell him that I know him to be innocent." - -"I will, Miss Turner." - -"I must go home now, for dad is very ill, and he misses me so if -I leave him. Good-bye, and God help you in your undertaking." She -hurried from the room as impulsively as she had entered, and we -heard the wheels of her carriage rattle off down the street. - -"I am ashamed of you, Holmes," said Lestrade with dignity after a -few minutes' silence. "Why should you raise up hopes which you -are bound to disappoint? I am not over-tender of heart, but I -call it cruel." - -"I think that I see my way to clearing James McCarthy," said -Holmes. "Have you an order to see him in prison?" - -"Yes, but only for you and me." - -"Then I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We have -still time to take a train to Hereford and see him to-night?" - -"Ample." - -"Then let us do so. Watson, I fear that you will find it very -slow, but I shall only be away a couple of hours." - -I walked down to the station with them, and then wandered through -the streets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel, -where I lay upon the sofa and tried to interest myself in a -yellow-backed novel. The puny plot of the story was so thin, -however, when compared to the deep mystery through which we were -groping, and I found my attention wander so continually from the -action to the fact, that I at last flung it across the room and -gave myself up entirely to a consideration of the events of the -day. Supposing that this unhappy young man's story were -absolutely true, then what hellish thing, what absolutely -unforeseen and extraordinary calamity could have occurred between -the time when he parted from his father, and the moment when, -drawn back by his screams, he rushed into the glade? It was -something terrible and deadly. What could it be? Might not the -nature of the injuries reveal something to my medical instincts? -I rang the bell and called for the weekly county paper, which -contained a verbatim account of the inquest. In the surgeon's -deposition it was stated that the posterior third of the left -parietal bone and the left half of the occipital bone had been -shattered by a heavy blow from a blunt weapon. I marked the spot -upon my own head. Clearly such a blow must have been struck from -behind. That was to some extent in favour of the accused, as when -seen quarrelling he was face to face with his father. Still, it -did not go for very much, for the older man might have turned his -back before the blow fell. Still, it might be worth while to call -Holmes' attention to it. Then there was the peculiar dying -reference to a rat. What could that mean? It could not be -delirium. A man dying from a sudden blow does not commonly become -delirious. No, it was more likely to be an attempt to explain how -he met his fate. But what could it indicate? I cudgelled my -brains to find some possible explanation. And then the incident -of the grey cloth seen by young McCarthy. If that were true the -murderer must have dropped some part of his dress, presumably his -overcoat, in his flight, and must have had the hardihood to -return and to carry it away at the instant when the son was -kneeling with his back turned not a dozen paces off. What a -tissue of mysteries and improbabilities the whole thing was! I -did not wonder at Lestrade's opinion, and yet I had so much faith -in Sherlock Holmes' insight that I could not lose hope as long -as every fresh fact seemed to strengthen his conviction of young -McCarthy's innocence. - -It was late before Sherlock Holmes returned. He came back alone, -for Lestrade was staying in lodgings in the town. - -"The glass still keeps very high," he remarked as he sat down. -"It is of importance that it should not rain before we are able -to go over the ground. On the other hand, a man should be at his -very best and keenest for such nice work as that, and I did not -wish to do it when fagged by a long journey. I have seen young -McCarthy." - -"And what did you learn from him?" - -"Nothing." - -"Could he throw no light?" - -"None at all. I was inclined to think at one time that he knew -who had done it and was screening him or her, but I am convinced -now that he is as puzzled as everyone else. He is not a very -quick-witted youth, though comely to look at and, I should think, -sound at heart." - -"I cannot admire his taste," I remarked, "if it is indeed a fact -that he was averse to a marriage with so charming a young lady as -this Miss Turner." - -"Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is madly, -insanely, in love with her, but some two years ago, when he was -only a lad, and before he really knew her, for she had been away -five years at a boarding-school, what does the idiot do but get -into the clutches of a barmaid in Bristol and marry her at a -registry office? No one knows a word of the matter, but you can -imagine how maddening it must be to him to be upbraided for not -doing what he would give his very eyes to do, but what he knows -to be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort -which made him throw his hands up into the air when his father, -at their last interview, was goading him on to propose to Miss -Turner. On the other hand, he had no means of supporting himself, -and his father, who was by all accounts a very hard man, would -have thrown him over utterly had he known the truth. It was with -his barmaid wife that he had spent the last three days in -Bristol, and his father did not know where he was. Mark that -point. It is of importance. Good has come out of evil, however, -for the barmaid, finding from the papers that he is in serious -trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him over utterly and -has written to him to say that she has a husband already in the -Bermuda Dockyard, so that there is really no tie between them. I -think that that bit of news has consoled young McCarthy for all -that he has suffered." - -"But if he is innocent, who has done it?" - -"Ah! who? I would call your attention very particularly to two -points. One is that the murdered man had an appointment with -someone at the pool, and that the someone could not have been his -son, for his son was away, and he did not know when he would -return. The second is that the murdered man was heard to cry -'Cooee!' before he knew that his son had returned. Those are the -crucial points upon which the case depends. And now let us talk -about George Meredith, if you please, and we shall leave all -minor matters until to-morrow." - -There was no rain, as Holmes had foretold, and the morning broke -bright and cloudless. At nine o'clock Lestrade called for us with -the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe -Pool. - -"There is serious news this morning," Lestrade observed. "It is -said that Mr. Turner, of the Hall, is so ill that his life is -despaired of." - -"An elderly man, I presume?" said Holmes. - -"About sixty; but his constitution has been shattered by his life -abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. This -business has had a very bad effect upon him. He was an old friend -of McCarthy's, and, I may add, a great benefactor to him, for I -have learned that he gave him Hatherley Farm rent free." - -"Indeed! That is interesting," said Holmes. - -"Oh, yes! In a hundred other ways he has helped him. Everybody -about here speaks of his kindness to him." - -"Really! Does it not strike you as a little singular that this -McCarthy, who appears to have had little of his own, and to have -been under such obligations to Turner, should still talk of -marrying his son to Turner's daughter, who is, presumably, -heiress to the estate, and that in such a very cocksure manner, -as if it were merely a case of a proposal and all else would -follow? It is the more strange, since we know that Turner himself -was averse to the idea. The daughter told us as much. Do you not -deduce something from that?" - -"We have got to the deductions and the inferences," said -Lestrade, winking at me. "I find it hard enough to tackle facts, -Holmes, without flying away after theories and fancies." - -"You are right," said Holmes demurely; "you do find it very hard -to tackle the facts." - -"Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you seem to find it -difficult to get hold of," replied Lestrade with some warmth. - -"And that is--" - -"That McCarthy senior met his death from McCarthy junior and that -all theories to the contrary are the merest moonshine." - -"Well, moonshine is a brighter thing than fog," said Holmes, -laughing. "But I am very much mistaken if this is not Hatherley -Farm upon the left." - -"Yes, that is it." It was a widespread, comfortable-looking -building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches -of lichen upon the grey walls. The drawn blinds and the smokeless -chimneys, however, gave it a stricken look, as though the weight -of this horror still lay heavy upon it. We called at the door, -when the maid, at Holmes' request, showed us the boots which her -master wore at the time of his death, and also a pair of the -son's, though not the pair which he had then had. Having measured -these very carefully from seven or eight different points, Holmes -desired to be led to the court-yard, from which we all followed -the winding track which led to Boscombe Pool. - -Sherlock Holmes was transformed when he was hot upon such a scent -as this. Men who had only known the quiet thinker and logician of -Baker Street would have failed to recognise him. His face flushed -and darkened. His brows were drawn into two hard black lines, -while his eyes shone out from beneath them with a steely glitter. -His face was bent downward, his shoulders bowed, his lips -compressed, and the veins stood out like whipcord in his long, -sinewy neck. His nostrils seemed to dilate with a purely animal -lust for the chase, and his mind was so absolutely concentrated -upon the matter before him that a question or remark fell -unheeded upon his ears, or, at the most, only provoked a quick, -impatient snarl in reply. Swiftly and silently he made his way -along the track which ran through the meadows, and so by way of -the woods to the Boscombe Pool. It was damp, marshy ground, as is -all that district, and there were marks of many feet, both upon -the path and amid the short grass which bounded it on either -side. Sometimes Holmes would hurry on, sometimes stop dead, and -once he made quite a little detour into the meadow. Lestrade and -I walked behind him, the detective indifferent and contemptuous, -while I watched my friend with the interest which sprang from the -conviction that every one of his actions was directed towards a -definite end. - -The Boscombe Pool, which is a little reed-girt sheet of water -some fifty yards across, is situated at the boundary between the -Hatherley Farm and the private park of the wealthy Mr. Turner. -Above the woods which lined it upon the farther side we could see -the red, jutting pinnacles which marked the site of the rich -landowner's dwelling. On the Hatherley side of the pool the woods -grew very thick, and there was a narrow belt of sodden grass -twenty paces across between the edge of the trees and the reeds -which lined the lake. Lestrade showed us the exact spot at which -the body had been found, and, indeed, so moist was the ground, -that I could plainly see the traces which had been left by the -fall of the stricken man. To Holmes, as I could see by his eager -face and peering eyes, very many other things were to be read -upon the trampled grass. He ran round, like a dog who is picking -up a scent, and then turned upon my companion. - -"What did you go into the pool for?" he asked. - -"I fished about with a rake. I thought there might be some weapon -or other trace. But how on earth--" - -"Oh, tut, tut! I have no time! That left foot of yours with its -inward twist is all over the place. A mole could trace it, and -there it vanishes among the reeds. Oh, how simple it would all -have been had I been here before they came like a herd of buffalo -and wallowed all over it. Here is where the party with the -lodge-keeper came, and they have covered all tracks for six or -eight feet round the body. But here are three separate tracks of -the same feet." He drew out a lens and lay down upon his -waterproof to have a better view, talking all the time rather to -himself than to us. "These are young McCarthy's feet. Twice he -was walking, and once he ran swiftly, so that the soles are -deeply marked and the heels hardly visible. That bears out his -story. He ran when he saw his father on the ground. Then here are -the father's feet as he paced up and down. What is this, then? It -is the butt-end of the gun as the son stood listening. And this? -Ha, ha! What have we here? Tiptoes! tiptoes! Square, too, quite -unusual boots! They come, they go, they come again--of course -that was for the cloak. Now where did they come from?" He ran up -and down, sometimes losing, sometimes finding the track until we -were well within the edge of the wood and under the shadow of a -great beech, the largest tree in the neighbourhood. Holmes traced -his way to the farther side of this and lay down once more upon -his face with a little cry of satisfaction. For a long time he -remained there, turning over the leaves and dried sticks, -gathering up what seemed to me to be dust into an envelope and -examining with his lens not only the ground but even the bark of -the tree as far as he could reach. A jagged stone was lying among -the moss, and this also he carefully examined and retained. Then -he followed a pathway through the wood until he came to the -highroad, where all traces were lost. - -"It has been a case of considerable interest," he remarked, -returning to his natural manner. "I fancy that this grey house on -the right must be the lodge. I think that I will go in and have a -word with Moran, and perhaps write a little note. Having done -that, we may drive back to our luncheon. You may walk to the cab, -and I shall be with you presently." - -It was about ten minutes before we regained our cab and drove -back into Ross, Holmes still carrying with him the stone which he -had picked up in the wood. - -"This may interest you, Lestrade," he remarked, holding it out. -"The murder was done with it." - -"I see no marks." - -"There are none." - -"How do you know, then?" - -"The grass was growing under it. It had only lain there a few -days. There was no sign of a place whence it had been taken. It -corresponds with the injuries. There is no sign of any other -weapon." - -"And the murderer?" - -"Is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg, wears -thick-soled shooting-boots and a grey cloak, smokes Indian -cigars, uses a cigar-holder, and carries a blunt pen-knife in his -pocket. There are several other indications, but these may be -enough to aid us in our search." - -Lestrade laughed. "I am afraid that I am still a sceptic," he -said. "Theories are all very well, but we have to deal with a -hard-headed British jury." - -"Nous verrons," answered Holmes calmly. "You work your own -method, and I shall work mine. I shall be busy this afternoon, -and shall probably return to London by the evening train." - -"And leave your case unfinished?" - -"No, finished." - -"But the mystery?" - -"It is solved." - -"Who was the criminal, then?" - -"The gentleman I describe." - -"But who is he?" - -"Surely it would not be difficult to find out. This is not such a -populous neighbourhood." - -Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. "I am a practical man," he said, -"and I really cannot undertake to go about the country looking -for a left-handed gentleman with a game leg. I should become the -laughing-stock of Scotland Yard." - -"All right," said Holmes quietly. "I have given you the chance. -Here are your lodgings. Good-bye. I shall drop you a line before -I leave." - -Having left Lestrade at his rooms, we drove to our hotel, where -we found lunch upon the table. Holmes was silent and buried in -thought with a pained expression upon his face, as one who finds -himself in a perplexing position. - -"Look here, Watson," he said when the cloth was cleared "just sit -down in this chair and let me preach to you for a little. I don't -know quite what to do, and I should value your advice. Light a -cigar and let me expound." - - "Pray do so." - -"Well, now, in considering this case there are two points about -young McCarthy's narrative which struck us both instantly, -although they impressed me in his favour and you against him. One -was the fact that his father should, according to his account, -cry 'Cooee!' before seeing him. The other was his singular dying -reference to a rat. He mumbled several words, you understand, but -that was all that caught the son's ear. Now from this double -point our research must commence, and we will begin it by -presuming that what the lad says is absolutely true." - -"What of this 'Cooee!' then?" - -"Well, obviously it could not have been meant for the son. The -son, as far as he knew, was in Bristol. It was mere chance that -he was within earshot. The 'Cooee!' was meant to attract the -attention of whoever it was that he had the appointment with. But -'Cooee' is a distinctly Australian cry, and one which is used -between Australians. There is a strong presumption that the -person whom McCarthy expected to meet him at Boscombe Pool was -someone who had been in Australia." - -"What of the rat, then?" - -Sherlock Holmes took a folded paper from his pocket and flattened -it out on the table. "This is a map of the Colony of Victoria," -he said. "I wired to Bristol for it last night." He put his hand -over part of the map. "What do you read?" - -"ARAT," I read. - -"And now?" He raised his hand. - -"BALLARAT." - -"Quite so. That was the word the man uttered, and of which his -son only caught the last two syllables. He was trying to utter -the name of his murderer. So and so, of Ballarat." - -"It is wonderful!" I exclaimed. - -"It is obvious. And now, you see, I had narrowed the field down -considerably. The possession of a grey garment was a third point -which, granting the son's statement to be correct, was a -certainty. We have come now out of mere vagueness to the definite -conception of an Australian from Ballarat with a grey cloak." - -"Certainly." - -"And one who was at home in the district, for the pool can only -be approached by the farm or by the estate, where strangers could -hardly wander." - -"Quite so." - -"Then comes our expedition of to-day. By an examination of the -ground I gained the trifling details which I gave to that -imbecile Lestrade, as to the personality of the criminal." - -"But how did you gain them?" - -"You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of -trifles." - -"His height I know that you might roughly judge from the length -of his stride. His boots, too, might be told from their traces." - -"Yes, they were peculiar boots." - -"But his lameness?" - -"The impression of his right foot was always less distinct than -his left. He put less weight upon it. Why? Because he limped--he -was lame." - -"But his left-handedness." - -"You were yourself struck by the nature of the injury as recorded -by the surgeon at the inquest. The blow was struck from -immediately behind, and yet was upon the left side. Now, how can -that be unless it were by a left-handed man? He had stood behind -that tree during the interview between the father and son. He had -even smoked there. I found the ash of a cigar, which my special -knowledge of tobacco ashes enables me to pronounce as an Indian -cigar. I have, as you know, devoted some attention to this, and -written a little monograph on the ashes of 140 different -varieties of pipe, cigar, and cigarette tobacco. Having found the -ash, I then looked round and discovered the stump among the moss -where he had tossed it. It was an Indian cigar, of the variety -which are rolled in Rotterdam." - -"And the cigar-holder?" - -"I could see that the end had not been in his mouth. Therefore he -used a holder. The tip had been cut off, not bitten off, but the -cut was not a clean one, so I deduced a blunt pen-knife." - -"Holmes," I said, "you have drawn a net round this man from which -he cannot escape, and you have saved an innocent human life as -truly as if you had cut the cord which was hanging him. I see the -direction in which all this points. The culprit is--" - -"Mr. John Turner," cried the hotel waiter, opening the door of -our sitting-room, and ushering in a visitor. - -The man who entered was a strange and impressive figure. His -slow, limping step and bowed shoulders gave the appearance of -decrepitude, and yet his hard, deep-lined, craggy features, and -his enormous limbs showed that he was possessed of unusual -strength of body and of character. His tangled beard, grizzled -hair, and outstanding, drooping eyebrows combined to give an air -of dignity and power to his appearance, but his face was of an -ashen white, while his lips and the corners of his nostrils were -tinged with a shade of blue. It was clear to me at a glance that -he was in the grip of some deadly and chronic disease. - -"Pray sit down on the sofa," said Holmes gently. "You had my -note?" - -"Yes, the lodge-keeper brought it up. You said that you wished to -see me here to avoid scandal." - -"I thought people would talk if I went to the Hall." - -"And why did you wish to see me?" He looked across at my -companion with despair in his weary eyes, as though his question -was already answered. - -"Yes," said Holmes, answering the look rather than the words. "It -is so. I know all about McCarthy." - -The old man sank his face in his hands. "God help me!" he cried. -"But I would not have let the young man come to harm. I give you -my word that I would have spoken out if it went against him at -the Assizes." - -"I am glad to hear you say so," said Holmes gravely. - -"I would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl. It -would break her heart--it will break her heart when she hears -that I am arrested." - -"It may not come to that," said Holmes. - -"What?" - -"I am no official agent. I understand that it was your daughter -who required my presence here, and I am acting in her interests. -Young McCarthy must be got off, however." - -"I am a dying man," said old Turner. "I have had diabetes for -years. My doctor says it is a question whether I shall live a -month. Yet I would rather die under my own roof than in a gaol." - -Holmes rose and sat down at the table with his pen in his hand -and a bundle of paper before him. "Just tell us the truth," he -said. "I shall jot down the facts. You will sign it, and Watson -here can witness it. Then I could produce your confession at the -last extremity to save young McCarthy. I promise you that I shall -not use it unless it is absolutely needed." - -"It's as well," said the old man; "it's a question whether I -shall live to the Assizes, so it matters little to me, but I -should wish to spare Alice the shock. And now I will make the -thing clear to you; it has been a long time in the acting, but -will not take me long to tell. - -"You didn't know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil -incarnate. I tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of -such a man as he. His grip has been upon me these twenty years, -and he has blasted my life. I'll tell you first how I came to be -in his power. - -"It was in the early '60's at the diggings. I was a young chap -then, hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at -anything; I got among bad companions, took to drink, had no luck -with my claim, took to the bush, and in a word became what you -would call over here a highway robber. There were six of us, and -we had a wild, free life of it, sticking up a station from time -to time, or stopping the wagons on the road to the diggings. -Black Jack of Ballarat was the name I went under, and our party -is still remembered in the colony as the Ballarat Gang. - -"One day a gold convoy came down from Ballarat to Melbourne, and -we lay in wait for it and attacked it. There were six troopers -and six of us, so it was a close thing, but we emptied four of -their saddles at the first volley. Three of our boys were killed, -however, before we got the swag. I put my pistol to the head of -the wagon-driver, who was this very man McCarthy. I wish to the -Lord that I had shot him then, but I spared him, though I saw his -wicked little eyes fixed on my face, as though to remember every -feature. We got away with the gold, became wealthy men, and made -our way over to England without being suspected. There I parted -from my old pals and determined to settle down to a quiet and -respectable life. I bought this estate, which chanced to be in -the market, and I set myself to do a little good with my money, -to make up for the way in which I had earned it. I married, too, -and though my wife died young she left me my dear little Alice. -Even when she was just a baby her wee hand seemed to lead me down -the right path as nothing else had ever done. In a word, I turned -over a new leaf and did my best to make up for the past. All was -going well when McCarthy laid his grip upon me. - -"I had gone up to town about an investment, and I met him in -Regent Street with hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his -foot. - -"'Here we are, Jack,' says he, touching me on the arm; 'we'll be -as good as a family to you. There's two of us, me and my son, and -you can have the keeping of us. If you don't--it's a fine, -law-abiding country is England, and there's always a policeman -within hail.' - -"Well, down they came to the west country, there was no shaking -them off, and there they have lived rent free on my best land -ever since. There was no rest for me, no peace, no forgetfulness; -turn where I would, there was his cunning, grinning face at my -elbow. It grew worse as Alice grew up, for he soon saw I was more -afraid of her knowing my past than of the police. Whatever he -wanted he must have, and whatever it was I gave him without -question, land, money, houses, until at last he asked a thing -which I could not give. He asked for Alice. - -"His son, you see, had grown up, and so had my girl, and as I was -known to be in weak health, it seemed a fine stroke to him that -his lad should step into the whole property. But there I was -firm. I would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine; not that -I had any dislike to the lad, but his blood was in him, and that -was enough. I stood firm. McCarthy threatened. I braved him to do -his worst. We were to meet at the pool midway between our houses -to talk it over. - -"When I went down there I found him talking with his son, so I -smoked a cigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone. -But as I listened to his talk all that was black and bitter in -me seemed to come uppermost. He was urging his son to marry my -daughter with as little regard for what she might think as if she -were a slut from off the streets. It drove me mad to think that I -and all that I held most dear should be in the power of such a -man as this. Could I not snap the bond? I was already a dying and -a desperate man. Though clear of mind and fairly strong of limb, -I knew that my own fate was sealed. But my memory and my girl! -Both could be saved if I could but silence that foul tongue. I -did it, Mr. Holmes. I would do it again. Deeply as I have sinned, -I have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it. But that my girl -should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more -than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more compunction -than if he had been some foul and venomous beast. His cry brought -back his son; but I had gained the cover of the wood, though I -was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dropped in -my flight. That is the true story, gentlemen, of all that -occurred." - -"Well, it is not for me to judge you," said Holmes as the old man -signed the statement which had been drawn out. "I pray that we -may never be exposed to such a temptation." - -"I pray not, sir. And what do you intend to do?" - -"In view of your health, nothing. You are yourself aware that you -will soon have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the -Assizes. I will keep your confession, and if McCarthy is -condemned I shall be forced to use it. If not, it shall never be -seen by mortal eye; and your secret, whether you be alive or -dead, shall be safe with us." - -"Farewell, then," said the old man solemnly. "Your own deathbeds, -when they come, will be the easier for the thought of the peace -which you have given to mine." Tottering and shaking in all his -giant frame, he stumbled slowly from the room. - -"God help us!" said Holmes after a long silence. "Why does fate -play such tricks with poor, helpless worms? I never hear of such -a case as this that I do not think of Baxter's words, and say, -'There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes.'" - -James McCarthy was acquitted at the Assizes on the strength of a -number of objections which had been drawn out by Holmes and -submitted to the defending counsel. Old Turner lived for seven -months after our interview, but he is now dead; and there is -every prospect that the son and daughter may come to live happily -together in ignorance of the black cloud which rests upon their -past. - - - -ADVENTURE V. THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS - -When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes -cases between the years '82 and '90, I am faced by so many which -present strange and interesting features that it is no easy -matter to know which to choose and which to leave. Some, however, -have already gained publicity through the papers, and others have -not offered a field for those peculiar qualities which my friend -possessed in so high a degree, and which it is the object of -these papers to illustrate. Some, too, have baffled his -analytical skill, and would be, as narratives, beginnings without -an ending, while others have been but partially cleared up, and -have their explanations founded rather upon conjecture and -surmise than on that absolute logical proof which was so dear to -him. There is, however, one of these last which was so remarkable -in its details and so startling in its results that I am tempted -to give some account of it in spite of the fact that there are -points in connection with it which never have been, and probably -never will be, entirely cleared up. - -The year '87 furnished us with a long series of cases of greater -or less interest, of which I retain the records. Among my -headings under this one twelve months I find an account of the -adventure of the Paradol Chamber, of the Amateur Mendicant -Society, who held a luxurious club in the lower vault of a -furniture warehouse, of the facts connected with the loss of the -British barque "Sophy Anderson", of the singular adventures of the -Grice Patersons in the island of Uffa, and finally of the -Camberwell poisoning case. In the latter, as may be remembered, -Sherlock Holmes was able, by winding up the dead man's watch, to -prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that -therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time--a -deduction which was of the greatest importance in clearing up the -case. All these I may sketch out at some future date, but none of -them present such singular features as the strange train of -circumstances which I have now taken up my pen to describe. - -It was in the latter days of September, and the equinoctial gales -had set in with exceptional violence. All day the wind had -screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows, so that -even here in the heart of great, hand-made London we were forced -to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life and -to recognise the presence of those great elemental forces which -shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilisation, like -untamed beasts in a cage. As evening drew in, the storm grew -higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in -the chimney. Sherlock Holmes sat moodily at one side of the -fireplace cross-indexing his records of crime, while I at the -other was deep in one of Clark Russell's fine sea-stories until -the howl of the gale from without seemed to blend with the text, -and the splash of the rain to lengthen out into the long swash of -the sea waves. My wife was on a visit to her mother's, and for a -few days I was a dweller once more in my old quarters at Baker -Street. - -"Why," said I, glancing up at my companion, "that was surely the -bell. Who could come to-night? Some friend of yours, perhaps?" - -"Except yourself I have none," he answered. "I do not encourage -visitors." - -"A client, then?" - -"If so, it is a serious case. Nothing less would bring a man out -on such a day and at such an hour. But I take it that it is more -likely to be some crony of the landlady's." - -Sherlock Holmes was wrong in his conjecture, however, for there -came a step in the passage and a tapping at the door. He -stretched out his long arm to turn the lamp away from himself and -towards the vacant chair upon which a newcomer must sit. - -"Come in!" said he. - -The man who entered was young, some two-and-twenty at the -outside, well-groomed and trimly clad, with something of -refinement and delicacy in his bearing. The streaming umbrella -which he held in his hand, and his long shining waterproof told -of the fierce weather through which he had come. He looked about -him anxiously in the glare of the lamp, and I could see that his -face was pale and his eyes heavy, like those of a man who is -weighed down with some great anxiety. - -"I owe you an apology," he said, raising his golden pince-nez to -his eyes. "I trust that I am not intruding. I fear that I have -brought some traces of the storm and rain into your snug -chamber." - -"Give me your coat and umbrella," said Holmes. "They may rest -here on the hook and will be dry presently. You have come up from -the south-west, I see." - -"Yes, from Horsham." - -"That clay and chalk mixture which I see upon your toe caps is -quite distinctive." - -"I have come for advice." - -"That is easily got." - -"And help." - -"That is not always so easy." - -"I have heard of you, Mr. Holmes. I heard from Major Prendergast -how you saved him in the Tankerville Club scandal." - -"Ah, of course. He was wrongfully accused of cheating at cards." - -"He said that you could solve anything." - -"He said too much." - -"That you are never beaten." - -"I have been beaten four times--three times by men, and once by a -woman." - -"But what is that compared with the number of your successes?" - -"It is true that I have been generally successful." - -"Then you may be so with me." - -"I beg that you will draw your chair up to the fire and favour me -with some details as to your case." - -"It is no ordinary one." - -"None of those which come to me are. I am the last court of -appeal." - -"And yet I question, sir, whether, in all your experience, you -have ever listened to a more mysterious and inexplicable chain of -events than those which have happened in my own family." - -"You fill me with interest," said Holmes. "Pray give us the -essential facts from the commencement, and I can afterwards -question you as to those details which seem to me to be most -important." - -The young man pulled his chair up and pushed his wet feet out -towards the blaze. - -"My name," said he, "is John Openshaw, but my own affairs have, -as far as I can understand, little to do with this awful -business. It is a hereditary matter; so in order to give you an -idea of the facts, I must go back to the commencement of the -affair. - -"You must know that my grandfather had two sons--my uncle Elias -and my father Joseph. My father had a small factory at Coventry, -which he enlarged at the time of the invention of bicycling. He -was a patentee of the Openshaw unbreakable tire, and his business -met with such success that he was able to sell it and to retire -upon a handsome competence. - -"My uncle Elias emigrated to America when he was a young man and -became a planter in Florida, where he was reported to have done -very well. At the time of the war he fought in Jackson's army, -and afterwards under Hood, where he rose to be a colonel. When -Lee laid down his arms my uncle returned to his plantation, where -he remained for three or four years. About 1869 or 1870 he came -back to Europe and took a small estate in Sussex, near Horsham. -He had made a very considerable fortune in the States, and his -reason for leaving them was his aversion to the negroes, and his -dislike of the Republican policy in extending the franchise to -them. He was a singular man, fierce and quick-tempered, very -foul-mouthed when he was angry, and of a most retiring -disposition. During all the years that he lived at Horsham, I -doubt if ever he set foot in the town. He had a garden and two or -three fields round his house, and there he would take his -exercise, though very often for weeks on end he would never leave -his room. He drank a great deal of brandy and smoked very -heavily, but he would see no society and did not want any -friends, not even his own brother. - -"He didn't mind me; in fact, he took a fancy to me, for at the -time when he saw me first I was a youngster of twelve or so. This -would be in the year 1878, after he had been eight or nine years -in England. He begged my father to let me live with him and he -was very kind to me in his way. When he was sober he used to be -fond of playing backgammon and draughts with me, and he would -make me his representative both with the servants and with the -tradespeople, so that by the time that I was sixteen I was quite -master of the house. I kept all the keys and could go where I -liked and do what I liked, so long as I did not disturb him in -his privacy. There was one singular exception, however, for he -had a single room, a lumber-room up among the attics, which was -invariably locked, and which he would never permit either me or -anyone else to enter. With a boy's curiosity I have peeped -through the keyhole, but I was never able to see more than such a -collection of old trunks and bundles as would be expected in such -a room. - -"One day--it was in March, 1883--a letter with a foreign stamp -lay upon the table in front of the colonel's plate. It was not a -common thing for him to receive letters, for his bills were all -paid in ready money, and he had no friends of any sort. 'From -India!' said he as he took it up, 'Pondicherry postmark! What can -this be?' Opening it hurriedly, out there jumped five little -dried orange pips, which pattered down upon his plate. I began to -laugh at this, but the laugh was struck from my lips at the sight -of his face. His lip had fallen, his eyes were protruding, his -skin the colour of putty, and he glared at the envelope which he -still held in his trembling hand, 'K. K. K.!' he shrieked, and -then, 'My God, my God, my sins have overtaken me!' - -"'What is it, uncle?' I cried. - -"'Death,' said he, and rising from the table he retired to his -room, leaving me palpitating with horror. I took up the envelope -and saw scrawled in red ink upon the inner flap, just above the -gum, the letter K three times repeated. There was nothing else -save the five dried pips. What could be the reason of his -overpowering terror? I left the breakfast-table, and as I -ascended the stair I met him coming down with an old rusty key, -which must have belonged to the attic, in one hand, and a small -brass box, like a cashbox, in the other. - -"'They may do what they like, but I'll checkmate them still,' -said he with an oath. 'Tell Mary that I shall want a fire in my -room to-day, and send down to Fordham, the Horsham lawyer.' - -"I did as he ordered, and when the lawyer arrived I was asked to -step up to the room. The fire was burning brightly, and in the -grate there was a mass of black, fluffy ashes, as of burned -paper, while the brass box stood open and empty beside it. As I -glanced at the box I noticed, with a start, that upon the lid was -printed the treble K which I had read in the morning upon the -envelope. - -"'I wish you, John,' said my uncle, 'to witness my will. I leave -my estate, with all its advantages and all its disadvantages, to -my brother, your father, whence it will, no doubt, descend to -you. If you can enjoy it in peace, well and good! If you find you -cannot, take my advice, my boy, and leave it to your deadliest -enemy. I am sorry to give you such a two-edged thing, but I can't -say what turn things are going to take. Kindly sign the paper -where Mr. Fordham shows you.' - -"I signed the paper as directed, and the lawyer took it away with -him. The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest -impression upon me, and I pondered over it and turned it every -way in my mind without being able to make anything of it. Yet I -could not shake off the vague feeling of dread which it left -behind, though the sensation grew less keen as the weeks passed -and nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives. I -could see a change in my uncle, however. He drank more than ever, -and he was less inclined for any sort of society. Most of his -time he would spend in his room, with the door locked upon the -inside, but sometimes he would emerge in a sort of drunken frenzy -and would burst out of the house and tear about the garden with a -revolver in his hand, screaming out that he was afraid of no man, -and that he was not to be cooped up, like a sheep in a pen, by -man or devil. When these hot fits were over, however, he would -rush tumultuously in at the door and lock and bar it behind him, -like a man who can brazen it out no longer against the terror -which lies at the roots of his soul. At such times I have seen -his face, even on a cold day, glisten with moisture, as though it -were new raised from a basin. - -"Well, to come to an end of the matter, Mr. Holmes, and not to -abuse your patience, there came a night when he made one of those -drunken sallies from which he never came back. We found him, when -we went to search for him, face downward in a little -green-scummed pool, which lay at the foot of the garden. There -was no sign of any violence, and the water was but two feet deep, -so that the jury, having regard to his known eccentricity, -brought in a verdict of 'suicide.' But I, who knew how he winced -from the very thought of death, had much ado to persuade myself -that he had gone out of his way to meet it. The matter passed, -however, and my father entered into possession of the estate, and -of some 14,000 pounds, which lay to his credit at the bank." - -"One moment," Holmes interposed, "your statement is, I foresee, -one of the most remarkable to which I have ever listened. Let me -have the date of the reception by your uncle of the letter, and -the date of his supposed suicide." - -"The letter arrived on March 10, 1883. His death was seven weeks -later, upon the night of May 2nd." - -"Thank you. Pray proceed." - -"When my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my -request, made a careful examination of the attic, which had been -always locked up. We found the brass box there, although its -contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a -paper label, with the initials of K. K. K. repeated upon it, and -'Letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register' written beneath. -These, we presume, indicated the nature of the papers which had -been destroyed by Colonel Openshaw. For the rest, there was -nothing of much importance in the attic save a great many -scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in -America. Some of them were of the war time and showed that he had -done his duty well and had borne the repute of a brave soldier. -Others were of a date during the reconstruction of the Southern -states, and were mostly concerned with politics, for he had -evidently taken a strong part in opposing the carpet-bag -politicians who had been sent down from the North. - -"Well, it was the beginning of '84 when my father came to live at -Horsham, and all went as well as possible with us until the -January of '85. On the fourth day after the new year I heard my -father give a sharp cry of surprise as we sat together at the -breakfast-table. There he was, sitting with a newly opened -envelope in one hand and five dried orange pips in the -outstretched palm of the other one. He had always laughed at what -he called my cock-and-bull story about the colonel, but he looked -very scared and puzzled now that the same thing had come upon -himself. - -"'Why, what on earth does this mean, John?' he stammered. - -"My heart had turned to lead. 'It is K. K. K.,' said I. - -"He looked inside the envelope. 'So it is,' he cried. 'Here are -the very letters. But what is this written above them?' - -"'Put the papers on the sundial,' I read, peeping over his -shoulder. - -"'What papers? What sundial?' he asked. - -"'The sundial in the garden. There is no other,' said I; 'but the -papers must be those that are destroyed.' - -"'Pooh!' said he, gripping hard at his courage. 'We are in a -civilised land here, and we can't have tomfoolery of this kind. -Where does the thing come from?' - -"'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing at the postmark. - -"'Some preposterous practical joke,' said he. 'What have I to do -with sundials and papers? I shall take no notice of such -nonsense.' - -"'I should certainly speak to the police,' I said. - -"'And be laughed at for my pains. Nothing of the sort.' - -"'Then let me do so?' - -"'No, I forbid you. I won't have a fuss made about such -nonsense.' - -"It was in vain to argue with him, for he was a very obstinate -man. I went about, however, with a heart which was full of -forebodings. - -"On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went -from home to visit an old friend of his, Major Freebody, who is -in command of one of the forts upon Portsdown Hill. I was glad -that he should go, for it seemed to me that he was farther from -danger when he was away from home. In that, however, I was in -error. Upon the second day of his absence I received a telegram -from the major, imploring me to come at once. My father had -fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits which abound in the -neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a shattered skull. I -hurried to him, but he passed away without having ever recovered -his consciousness. He had, as it appears, been returning from -Fareham in the twilight, and as the country was unknown to him, -and the chalk-pit unfenced, the jury had no hesitation in -bringing in a verdict of 'death from accidental causes.' -Carefully as I examined every fact connected with his death, I -was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea of -murder. There were no signs of violence, no footmarks, no -robbery, no record of strangers having been seen upon the roads. -And yet I need not tell you that my mind was far from at ease, -and that I was well-nigh certain that some foul plot had been -woven round him. - -"In this sinister way I came into my inheritance. You will ask me -why I did not dispose of it? I answer, because I was well -convinced that our troubles were in some way dependent upon an -incident in my uncle's life, and that the danger would be as -pressing in one house as in another. - -"It was in January, '85, that my poor father met his end, and two -years and eight months have elapsed since then. During that time -I have lived happily at Horsham, and I had begun to hope that -this curse had passed away from the family, and that it had ended -with the last generation. I had begun to take comfort too soon, -however; yesterday morning the blow fell in the very shape in -which it had come upon my father." - -The young man took from his waistcoat a crumpled envelope, and -turning to the table he shook out upon it five little dried -orange pips. - -"This is the envelope," he continued. "The postmark is -London--eastern division. Within are the very words which were -upon my father's last message: 'K. K. K.'; and then 'Put the -papers on the sundial.'" - -"What have you done?" asked Holmes. - -"Nothing." - -"Nothing?" - -"To tell the truth"--he sank his face into his thin, white -hands--"I have felt helpless. I have felt like one of those poor -rabbits when the snake is writhing towards it. I seem to be in -the grasp of some resistless, inexorable evil, which no foresight -and no precautions can guard against." - -"Tut! tut!" cried Sherlock Holmes. "You must act, man, or you are -lost. Nothing but energy can save you. This is no time for -despair." - -"I have seen the police." - -"Ah!" - -"But they listened to my story with a smile. I am convinced that -the inspector has formed the opinion that the letters are all -practical jokes, and that the deaths of my relations were really -accidents, as the jury stated, and were not to be connected with -the warnings." - -Holmes shook his clenched hands in the air. "Incredible -imbecility!" he cried. - -"They have, however, allowed me a policeman, who may remain in -the house with me." - -"Has he come with you to-night?" - -"No. His orders were to stay in the house." - -Again Holmes raved in the air. - -"Why did you come to me," he cried, "and, above all, why did you -not come at once?" - -"I did not know. It was only to-day that I spoke to Major -Prendergast about my troubles and was advised by him to come to -you." - -"It is really two days since you had the letter. We should have -acted before this. You have no further evidence, I suppose, than -that which you have placed before us--no suggestive detail which -might help us?" - -"There is one thing," said John Openshaw. He rummaged in his coat -pocket, and, drawing out a piece of discoloured, blue-tinted -paper, he laid it out upon the table. "I have some remembrance," -said he, "that on the day when my uncle burned the papers I -observed that the small, unburned margins which lay amid the -ashes were of this particular colour. I found this single sheet -upon the floor of his room, and I am inclined to think that it -may be one of the papers which has, perhaps, fluttered out from -among the others, and in that way has escaped destruction. Beyond -the mention of pips, I do not see that it helps us much. I think -myself that it is a page from some private diary. The writing is -undoubtedly my uncle's." - -Holmes moved the lamp, and we both bent over the sheet of paper, -which showed by its ragged edge that it had indeed been torn from -a book. It was headed, "March, 1869," and beneath were the -following enigmatical notices: - -"4th. Hudson came. Same old platform. - -"7th. Set the pips on McCauley, Paramore, and - John Swain, of St. Augustine. - -"9th. McCauley cleared. - -"10th. John Swain cleared. - -"12th. Visited Paramore. All well." - -"Thank you!" said Holmes, folding up the paper and returning it -to our visitor. "And now you must on no account lose another -instant. We cannot spare time even to discuss what you have told -me. You must get home instantly and act." - -"What shall I do?" - -"There is but one thing to do. It must be done at once. You must -put this piece of paper which you have shown us into the brass -box which you have described. You must also put in a note to say -that all the other papers were burned by your uncle, and that -this is the only one which remains. You must assert that in such -words as will carry conviction with them. Having done this, you -must at once put the box out upon the sundial, as directed. Do -you understand?" - -"Entirely." - -"Do not think of revenge, or anything of the sort, at present. I -think that we may gain that by means of the law; but we have our -web to weave, while theirs is already woven. The first -consideration is to remove the pressing danger which threatens -you. The second is to clear up the mystery and to punish the -guilty parties." - -"I thank you," said the young man, rising and pulling on his -overcoat. "You have given me fresh life and hope. I shall -certainly do as you advise." - -"Do not lose an instant. And, above all, take care of yourself in -the meanwhile, for I do not think that there can be a doubt that -you are threatened by a very real and imminent danger. How do you -go back?" - -"By train from Waterloo." - -"It is not yet nine. The streets will be crowded, so I trust that -you may be in safety. And yet you cannot guard yourself too -closely." - -"I am armed." - -"That is well. To-morrow I shall set to work upon your case." - -"I shall see you at Horsham, then?" - -"No, your secret lies in London. It is there that I shall seek -it." - -"Then I shall call upon you in a day, or in two days, with news -as to the box and the papers. I shall take your advice in every -particular." He shook hands with us and took his leave. Outside -the wind still screamed and the rain splashed and pattered -against the windows. This strange, wild story seemed to have come -to us from amid the mad elements--blown in upon us like a sheet -of sea-weed in a gale--and now to have been reabsorbed by them -once more. - -Sherlock Holmes sat for some time in silence, with his head sunk -forward and his eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire. Then he -lit his pipe, and leaning back in his chair he watched the blue -smoke-rings as they chased each other up to the ceiling. - -"I think, Watson," he remarked at last, "that of all our cases we -have had none more fantastic than this." - -"Save, perhaps, the Sign of Four." - -"Well, yes. Save, perhaps, that. And yet this John Openshaw seems -to me to be walking amid even greater perils than did the -Sholtos." - -"But have you," I asked, "formed any definite conception as to -what these perils are?" - -"There can be no question as to their nature," he answered. - -"Then what are they? Who is this K. K. K., and why does he pursue -this unhappy family?" - -Sherlock Holmes closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon the -arms of his chair, with his finger-tips together. "The ideal -reasoner," he remarked, "would, when he had once been shown a -single fact in all its bearings, deduce from it not only all the -chain of events which led up to it but also all the results which -would follow from it. As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole -animal by the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer who -has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents -should be able to accurately state all the other ones, both -before and after. We have not yet grasped the results which the -reason alone can attain to. Problems may be solved in the study -which have baffled all those who have sought a solution by the -aid of their senses. To carry the art, however, to its highest -pitch, it is necessary that the reasoner should be able to -utilise all the facts which have come to his knowledge; and this -in itself implies, as you will readily see, a possession of all -knowledge, which, even in these days of free education and -encyclopaedias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment. It is not so -impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge -which is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this I have -endeavoured in my case to do. If I remember rightly, you on one -occasion, in the early days of our friendship, defined my limits -in a very precise fashion." - -"Yes," I answered, laughing. "It was a singular document. -Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I -remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the -mud-stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry -eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime -records unique, violin-player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and -self-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco. Those, I think, were the -main points of my analysis." - -Holmes grinned at the last item. "Well," he said, "I say now, as -I said then, that a man should keep his little brain-attic -stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the -rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he -can get it if he wants it. Now, for such a case as the one which -has been submitted to us to-night, we need certainly to muster -all our resources. Kindly hand me down the letter K of the -'American Encyclopaedia' which stands upon the shelf beside you. -Thank you. Now let us consider the situation and see what may be -deduced from it. In the first place, we may start with a strong -presumption that Colonel Openshaw had some very strong reason for -leaving America. Men at his time of life do not change all their -habits and exchange willingly the charming climate of Florida for -the lonely life of an English provincial town. His extreme love -of solitude in England suggests the idea that he was in fear of -someone or something, so we may assume as a working hypothesis -that it was fear of someone or something which drove him from -America. As to what it was he feared, we can only deduce that by -considering the formidable letters which were received by himself -and his successors. Did you remark the postmarks of those -letters?" - -"The first was from Pondicherry, the second from Dundee, and the -third from London." - -"From East London. What do you deduce from that?" - -"They are all seaports. That the writer was on board of a ship." - -"Excellent. We have already a clue. There can be no doubt that -the probability--the strong probability--is that the writer was -on board of a ship. And now let us consider another point. In the -case of Pondicherry, seven weeks elapsed between the threat and -its fulfilment, in Dundee it was only some three or four days. -Does that suggest anything?" - -"A greater distance to travel." - -"But the letter had also a greater distance to come." - -"Then I do not see the point." - -"There is at least a presumption that the vessel in which the man -or men are is a sailing-ship. It looks as if they always send -their singular warning or token before them when starting upon -their mission. You see how quickly the deed followed the sign -when it came from Dundee. If they had come from Pondicherry in a -steamer they would have arrived almost as soon as their letter. -But, as a matter of fact, seven weeks elapsed. I think that those -seven weeks represented the difference between the mail-boat which -brought the letter and the sailing vessel which brought the -writer." - -"It is possible." - -"More than that. It is probable. And now you see the deadly -urgency of this new case, and why I urged young Openshaw to -caution. The blow has always fallen at the end of the time which -it would take the senders to travel the distance. But this one -comes from London, and therefore we cannot count upon delay." - -"Good God!" I cried. "What can it mean, this relentless -persecution?" - -"The papers which Openshaw carried are obviously of vital -importance to the person or persons in the sailing-ship. I think -that it is quite clear that there must be more than one of them. -A single man could not have carried out two deaths in such a way -as to deceive a coroner's jury. There must have been several in -it, and they must have been men of resource and determination. -Their papers they mean to have, be the holder of them who it may. -In this way you see K. K. K. ceases to be the initials of an -individual and becomes the badge of a society." - -"But of what society?" - -"Have you never--" said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and -sinking his voice--"have you never heard of the Ku Klux Klan?" - -"I never have." - -Holmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee. "Here it -is," said he presently: - -"'Ku Klux Klan. A name derived from the fanciful resemblance to -the sound produced by cocking a rifle. This terrible secret -society was formed by some ex-Confederate soldiers in the -Southern states after the Civil War, and it rapidly formed local -branches in different parts of the country, notably in Tennessee, -Louisiana, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Its power was -used for political purposes, principally for the terrorising of -the negro voters and the murdering and driving from the country -of those who were opposed to its views. Its outrages were usually -preceded by a warning sent to the marked man in some fantastic -but generally recognised shape--a sprig of oak-leaves in some -parts, melon seeds or orange pips in others. On receiving this -the victim might either openly abjure his former ways, or might -fly from the country. If he braved the matter out, death would -unfailingly come upon him, and usually in some strange and -unforeseen manner. So perfect was the organisation of the -society, and so systematic its methods, that there is hardly a -case upon record where any man succeeded in braving it with -impunity, or in which any of its outrages were traced home to the -perpetrators. For some years the organisation flourished in spite -of the efforts of the United States government and of the better -classes of the community in the South. Eventually, in the year -1869, the movement rather suddenly collapsed, although there have -been sporadic outbreaks of the same sort since that date.' - -"You will observe," said Holmes, laying down the volume, "that -the sudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the -disappearance of Openshaw from America with their papers. It may -well have been cause and effect. It is no wonder that he and his -family have some of the more implacable spirits upon their track. -You can understand that this register and diary may implicate -some of the first men in the South, and that there may be many -who will not sleep easy at night until it is recovered." - -"Then the page we have seen--" - -"Is such as we might expect. It ran, if I remember right, 'sent -the pips to A, B, and C'--that is, sent the society's warning to -them. Then there are successive entries that A and B cleared, or -left the country, and finally that C was visited, with, I fear, a -sinister result for C. Well, I think, Doctor, that we may let -some light into this dark place, and I believe that the only -chance young Openshaw has in the meantime is to do what I have -told him. There is nothing more to be said or to be done -to-night, so hand me over my violin and let us try to forget for -half an hour the miserable weather and the still more miserable -ways of our fellow-men." - - -It had cleared in the morning, and the sun was shining with a -subdued brightness through the dim veil which hangs over the -great city. Sherlock Holmes was already at breakfast when I came -down. - -"You will excuse me for not waiting for you," said he; "I have, I -foresee, a very busy day before me in looking into this case of -young Openshaw's." - -"What steps will you take?" I asked. - -"It will very much depend upon the results of my first inquiries. -I may have to go down to Horsham, after all." - -"You will not go there first?" - -"No, I shall commence with the City. Just ring the bell and the -maid will bring up your coffee." - -As I waited, I lifted the unopened newspaper from the table and -glanced my eye over it. It rested upon a heading which sent a -chill to my heart. - -"Holmes," I cried, "you are too late." - -"Ah!" said he, laying down his cup, "I feared as much. How was it -done?" He spoke calmly, but I could see that he was deeply moved. - -"My eye caught the name of Openshaw, and the heading 'Tragedy -Near Waterloo Bridge.' Here is the account: - -"Between nine and ten last night Police-Constable Cook, of the H -Division, on duty near Waterloo Bridge, heard a cry for help and -a splash in the water. The night, however, was extremely dark and -stormy, so that, in spite of the help of several passers-by, it -was quite impossible to effect a rescue. The alarm, however, was -given, and, by the aid of the water-police, the body was -eventually recovered. It proved to be that of a young gentleman -whose name, as it appears from an envelope which was found in his -pocket, was John Openshaw, and whose residence is near Horsham. -It is conjectured that he may have been hurrying down to catch -the last train from Waterloo Station, and that in his haste and -the extreme darkness he missed his path and walked over the edge -of one of the small landing-places for river steamboats. The body -exhibited no traces of violence, and there can be no doubt that -the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident, -which should have the effect of calling the attention of the -authorities to the condition of the riverside landing-stages." - -We sat in silence for some minutes, Holmes more depressed and -shaken than I had ever seen him. - -"That hurts my pride, Watson," he said at last. "It is a petty -feeling, no doubt, but it hurts my pride. It becomes a personal -matter with me now, and, if God sends me health, I shall set my -hand upon this gang. That he should come to me for help, and that -I should send him away to his death--!" He sprang from his chair -and paced about the room in uncontrollable agitation, with a -flush upon his sallow cheeks and a nervous clasping and -unclasping of his long thin hands. - -"They must be cunning devils," he exclaimed at last. "How could -they have decoyed him down there? The Embankment is not on the -direct line to the station. The bridge, no doubt, was too -crowded, even on such a night, for their purpose. Well, Watson, -we shall see who will win in the long run. I am going out now!" - -"To the police?" - -"No; I shall be my own police. When I have spun the web they may -take the flies, but not before." - -All day I was engaged in my professional work, and it was late in -the evening before I returned to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes -had not come back yet. It was nearly ten o'clock before he -entered, looking pale and worn. He walked up to the sideboard, -and tearing a piece from the loaf he devoured it voraciously, -washing it down with a long draught of water. - -"You are hungry," I remarked. - -"Starving. It had escaped my memory. I have had nothing since -breakfast." - -"Nothing?" - -"Not a bite. I had no time to think of it." - -"And how have you succeeded?" - -"Well." - -"You have a clue?" - -"I have them in the hollow of my hand. Young Openshaw shall not -long remain unavenged. Why, Watson, let us put their own devilish -trade-mark upon them. It is well thought of!" - -"What do you mean?" - -He took an orange from the cupboard, and tearing it to pieces he -squeezed out the pips upon the table. Of these he took five and -thrust them into an envelope. On the inside of the flap he wrote -"S. H. for J. O." Then he sealed it and addressed it to "Captain -James Calhoun, Barque 'Lone Star,' Savannah, Georgia." - -"That will await him when he enters port," said he, chuckling. -"It may give him a sleepless night. He will find it as sure a -precursor of his fate as Openshaw did before him." - -"And who is this Captain Calhoun?" - -"The leader of the gang. I shall have the others, but he first." - -"How did you trace it, then?" - -He took a large sheet of paper from his pocket, all covered with -dates and names. - -"I have spent the whole day," said he, "over Lloyd's registers -and files of the old papers, following the future career of every -vessel which touched at Pondicherry in January and February in -'83. There were thirty-six ships of fair tonnage which were -reported there during those months. Of these, one, the 'Lone Star,' -instantly attracted my attention, since, although it was reported -as having cleared from London, the name is that which is given to -one of the states of the Union." - -"Texas, I think." - -"I was not and am not sure which; but I knew that the ship must -have an American origin." - -"What then?" - -"I searched the Dundee records, and when I found that the barque -'Lone Star' was there in January, '85, my suspicion became a -certainty. I then inquired as to the vessels which lay at present -in the port of London." - -"Yes?" - -"The 'Lone Star' had arrived here last week. I went down to the -Albert Dock and found that she had been taken down the river by -the early tide this morning, homeward bound to Savannah. I wired -to Gravesend and learned that she had passed some time ago, and -as the wind is easterly I have no doubt that she is now past the -Goodwins and not very far from the Isle of Wight." - -"What will you do, then?" - -"Oh, I have my hand upon him. He and the two mates, are as I -learn, the only native-born Americans in the ship. The others are -Finns and Germans. I know, also, that they were all three away -from the ship last night. I had it from the stevedore who has -been loading their cargo. By the time that their sailing-ship -reaches Savannah the mail-boat will have carried this letter, and -the cable will have informed the police of Savannah that these -three gentlemen are badly wanted here upon a charge of murder." - -There is ever a flaw, however, in the best laid of human plans, -and the murderers of John Openshaw were never to receive the -orange pips which would show them that another, as cunning and as -resolute as themselves, was upon their track. Very long and very -severe were the equinoctial gales that year. We waited long for -news of the "Lone Star" of Savannah, but none ever reached us. We -did at last hear that somewhere far out in the Atlantic a -shattered stern-post of a boat was seen swinging in the trough -of a wave, with the letters "L. S." carved upon it, and that is -all which we shall ever know of the fate of the "Lone Star." - - - -ADVENTURE VI. THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP - -Isa Whitney, brother of the late Elias Whitney, D.D., Principal -of the Theological College of St. George's, was much addicted to -opium. The habit grew upon him, as I understand, from some -foolish freak when he was at college; for having read De -Quincey's description of his dreams and sensations, he had -drenched his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt to produce the -same effects. He found, as so many more have done, that the -practice is easier to attain than to get rid of, and for many -years he continued to be a slave to the drug, an object of -mingled horror and pity to his friends and relatives. I can see -him now, with yellow, pasty face, drooping lids, and pin-point -pupils, all huddled in a chair, the wreck and ruin of a noble -man. - -One night--it was in June, '89--there came a ring to my bell, -about the hour when a man gives his first yawn and glances at the -clock. I sat up in my chair, and my wife laid her needle-work -down in her lap and made a little face of disappointment. - -"A patient!" said she. "You'll have to go out." - -I groaned, for I was newly come back from a weary day. - -We heard the door open, a few hurried words, and then quick steps -upon the linoleum. Our own door flew open, and a lady, clad in -some dark-coloured stuff, with a black veil, entered the room. - -"You will excuse my calling so late," she began, and then, -suddenly losing her self-control, she ran forward, threw her arms -about my wife's neck, and sobbed upon her shoulder. "Oh, I'm in -such trouble!" she cried; "I do so want a little help." - -"Why," said my wife, pulling up her veil, "it is Kate Whitney. -How you startled me, Kate! I had not an idea who you were when -you came in." - -"I didn't know what to do, so I came straight to you." That was -always the way. Folk who were in grief came to my wife like birds -to a light-house. - -"It was very sweet of you to come. Now, you must have some wine -and water, and sit here comfortably and tell us all about it. Or -should you rather that I sent James off to bed?" - -"Oh, no, no! I want the doctor's advice and help, too. It's about -Isa. He has not been home for two days. I am so frightened about -him!" - -It was not the first time that she had spoken to us of her -husband's trouble, to me as a doctor, to my wife as an old friend -and school companion. We soothed and comforted her by such words -as we could find. Did she know where her husband was? Was it -possible that we could bring him back to her? - -It seems that it was. She had the surest information that of late -he had, when the fit was on him, made use of an opium den in the -farthest east of the City. Hitherto his orgies had always been -confined to one day, and he had come back, twitching and -shattered, in the evening. But now the spell had been upon him -eight-and-forty hours, and he lay there, doubtless among the -dregs of the docks, breathing in the poison or sleeping off the -effects. There he was to be found, she was sure of it, at the Bar -of Gold, in Upper Swandam Lane. But what was she to do? How could -she, a young and timid woman, make her way into such a place and -pluck her husband out from among the ruffians who surrounded him? - -There was the case, and of course there was but one way out of -it. Might I not escort her to this place? And then, as a second -thought, why should she come at all? I was Isa Whitney's medical -adviser, and as such I had influence over him. I could manage it -better if I were alone. I promised her on my word that I would -send him home in a cab within two hours if he were indeed at the -address which she had given me. And so in ten minutes I had left -my armchair and cheery sitting-room behind me, and was speeding -eastward in a hansom on a strange errand, as it seemed to me at -the time, though the future only could show how strange it was to -be. - -But there was no great difficulty in the first stage of my -adventure. Upper Swandam Lane is a vile alley lurking behind the -high wharves which line the north side of the river to the east -of London Bridge. Between a slop-shop and a gin-shop, approached -by a steep flight of steps leading down to a black gap like the -mouth of a cave, I found the den of which I was in search. -Ordering my cab to wait, I passed down the steps, worn hollow in -the centre by the ceaseless tread of drunken feet; and by the -light of a flickering oil-lamp above the door I found the latch -and made my way into a long, low room, thick and heavy with the -brown opium smoke, and terraced with wooden berths, like the -forecastle of an emigrant ship. - -Through the gloom one could dimly catch a glimpse of bodies lying -in strange fantastic poses, bowed shoulders, bent knees, heads -thrown back, and chins pointing upward, with here and there a -dark, lack-lustre eye turned upon the newcomer. Out of the black -shadows there glimmered little red circles of light, now bright, -now faint, as the burning poison waxed or waned in the bowls of -the metal pipes. The most lay silent, but some muttered to -themselves, and others talked together in a strange, low, -monotonous voice, their conversation coming in gushes, and then -suddenly tailing off into silence, each mumbling out his own -thoughts and paying little heed to the words of his neighbour. At -the farther end was a small brazier of burning charcoal, beside -which on a three-legged wooden stool there sat a tall, thin old -man, with his jaw resting upon his two fists, and his elbows upon -his knees, staring into the fire. - -As I entered, a sallow Malay attendant had hurried up with a pipe -for me and a supply of the drug, beckoning me to an empty berth. - -"Thank you. I have not come to stay," said I. "There is a friend -of mine here, Mr. Isa Whitney, and I wish to speak with him." - -There was a movement and an exclamation from my right, and -peering through the gloom, I saw Whitney, pale, haggard, and -unkempt, staring out at me. - -"My God! It's Watson," said he. He was in a pitiable state of -reaction, with every nerve in a twitter. "I say, Watson, what -o'clock is it?" - -"Nearly eleven." - -"Of what day?" - -"Of Friday, June 19th." - -"Good heavens! I thought it was Wednesday. It is Wednesday. What -d'you want to frighten a chap for?" He sank his face onto his -arms and began to sob in a high treble key. - -"I tell you that it is Friday, man. Your wife has been waiting -this two days for you. You should be ashamed of yourself!" - -"So I am. But you've got mixed, Watson, for I have only been here -a few hours, three pipes, four pipes--I forget how many. But I'll -go home with you. I wouldn't frighten Kate--poor little Kate. -Give me your hand! Have you a cab?" - -"Yes, I have one waiting." - -"Then I shall go in it. But I must owe something. Find what I -owe, Watson. I am all off colour. I can do nothing for myself." - -I walked down the narrow passage between the double row of -sleepers, holding my breath to keep out the vile, stupefying -fumes of the drug, and looking about for the manager. As I passed -the tall man who sat by the brazier I felt a sudden pluck at my -skirt, and a low voice whispered, "Walk past me, and then look -back at me." The words fell quite distinctly upon my ear. I -glanced down. They could only have come from the old man at my -side, and yet he sat now as absorbed as ever, very thin, very -wrinkled, bent with age, an opium pipe dangling down from between -his knees, as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude from his -fingers. I took two steps forward and looked back. It took all my -self-control to prevent me from breaking out into a cry of -astonishment. He had turned his back so that none could see him -but I. His form had filled out, his wrinkles were gone, the dull -eyes had regained their fire, and there, sitting by the fire and -grinning at my surprise, was none other than Sherlock Holmes. He -made a slight motion to me to approach him, and instantly, as he -turned his face half round to the company once more, subsided -into a doddering, loose-lipped senility. - -"Holmes!" I whispered, "what on earth are you doing in this den?" - -"As low as you can," he answered; "I have excellent ears. If you -would have the great kindness to get rid of that sottish friend -of yours I should be exceedingly glad to have a little talk with -you." - -"I have a cab outside." - -"Then pray send him home in it. You may safely trust him, for he -appears to be too limp to get into any mischief. I should -recommend you also to send a note by the cabman to your wife to -say that you have thrown in your lot with me. If you will wait -outside, I shall be with you in five minutes." - -It was difficult to refuse any of Sherlock Holmes' requests, for -they were always so exceedingly definite, and put forward with -such a quiet air of mastery. I felt, however, that when Whitney -was once confined in the cab my mission was practically -accomplished; and for the rest, I could not wish anything better -than to be associated with my friend in one of those singular -adventures which were the normal condition of his existence. In a -few minutes I had written my note, paid Whitney's bill, led him -out to the cab, and seen him driven through the darkness. In a -very short time a decrepit figure had emerged from the opium den, -and I was walking down the street with Sherlock Holmes. For two -streets he shuffled along with a bent back and an uncertain foot. -Then, glancing quickly round, he straightened himself out and -burst into a hearty fit of laughter. - -"I suppose, Watson," said he, "that you imagine that I have added -opium-smoking to cocaine injections, and all the other little -weaknesses on which you have favoured me with your medical -views." - -"I was certainly surprised to find you there." - -"But not more so than I to find you." - -"I came to find a friend." - -"And I to find an enemy." - -"An enemy?" - -"Yes; one of my natural enemies, or, shall I say, my natural -prey. Briefly, Watson, I am in the midst of a very remarkable -inquiry, and I have hoped to find a clue in the incoherent -ramblings of these sots, as I have done before now. Had I been -recognised in that den my life would not have been worth an -hour's purchase; for I have used it before now for my own -purposes, and the rascally Lascar who runs it has sworn to have -vengeance upon me. There is a trap-door at the back of that -building, near the corner of Paul's Wharf, which could tell some -strange tales of what has passed through it upon the moonless -nights." - -"What! You do not mean bodies?" - -"Ay, bodies, Watson. We should be rich men if we had 1000 pounds -for every poor devil who has been done to death in that den. It -is the vilest murder-trap on the whole riverside, and I fear that -Neville St. Clair has entered it never to leave it more. But our -trap should be here." He put his two forefingers between his -teeth and whistled shrilly--a signal which was answered by a -similar whistle from the distance, followed shortly by the rattle -of wheels and the clink of horses' hoofs. - -"Now, Watson," said Holmes, as a tall dog-cart dashed up through -the gloom, throwing out two golden tunnels of yellow light from -its side lanterns. "You'll come with me, won't you?" - -"If I can be of use." - -"Oh, a trusty comrade is always of use; and a chronicler still -more so. My room at The Cedars is a double-bedded one." - -"The Cedars?" - -"Yes; that is Mr. St. Clair's house. I am staying there while I -conduct the inquiry." - -"Where is it, then?" - -"Near Lee, in Kent. We have a seven-mile drive before us." - -"But I am all in the dark." - -"Of course you are. You'll know all about it presently. Jump up -here. All right, John; we shall not need you. Here's half a -crown. Look out for me to-morrow, about eleven. Give her her -head. So long, then!" - -He flicked the horse with his whip, and we dashed away through -the endless succession of sombre and deserted streets, which -widened gradually, until we were flying across a broad -balustraded bridge, with the murky river flowing sluggishly -beneath us. Beyond lay another dull wilderness of bricks and -mortar, its silence broken only by the heavy, regular footfall of -the policeman, or the songs and shouts of some belated party of -revellers. A dull wrack was drifting slowly across the sky, and a -star or two twinkled dimly here and there through the rifts of -the clouds. Holmes drove in silence, with his head sunk upon his -breast, and the air of a man who is lost in thought, while I sat -beside him, curious to learn what this new quest might be which -seemed to tax his powers so sorely, and yet afraid to break in -upon the current of his thoughts. We had driven several miles, -and were beginning to get to the fringe of the belt of suburban -villas, when he shook himself, shrugged his shoulders, and lit up -his pipe with the air of a man who has satisfied himself that he -is acting for the best. - -"You have a grand gift of silence, Watson," said he. "It makes -you quite invaluable as a companion. 'Pon my word, it is a great -thing for me to have someone to talk to, for my own thoughts are -not over-pleasant. I was wondering what I should say to this dear -little woman to-night when she meets me at the door." - -"You forget that I know nothing about it." - -"I shall just have time to tell you the facts of the case before -we get to Lee. It seems absurdly simple, and yet, somehow I can -get nothing to go upon. There's plenty of thread, no doubt, but I -can't get the end of it into my hand. Now, I'll state the case -clearly and concisely to you, Watson, and maybe you can see a -spark where all is dark to me." - -"Proceed, then." - -"Some years ago--to be definite, in May, 1884--there came to Lee -a gentleman, Neville St. Clair by name, who appeared to have -plenty of money. He took a large villa, laid out the grounds very -nicely, and lived generally in good style. By degrees he made -friends in the neighbourhood, and in 1887 he married the daughter -of a local brewer, by whom he now has two children. He had no -occupation, but was interested in several companies and went into -town as a rule in the morning, returning by the 5:14 from Cannon -Street every night. Mr. St. Clair is now thirty-seven years of -age, is a man of temperate habits, a good husband, a very -affectionate father, and a man who is popular with all who know -him. I may add that his whole debts at the present moment, as far -as we have been able to ascertain, amount to 88 pounds 10s., while -he has 220 pounds standing to his credit in the Capital and -Counties Bank. There is no reason, therefore, to think that money -troubles have been weighing upon his mind. - -"Last Monday Mr. Neville St. Clair went into town rather earlier -than usual, remarking before he started that he had two important -commissions to perform, and that he would bring his little boy -home a box of bricks. Now, by the merest chance, his wife -received a telegram upon this same Monday, very shortly after his -departure, to the effect that a small parcel of considerable -value which she had been expecting was waiting for her at the -offices of the Aberdeen Shipping Company. Now, if you are well up -in your London, you will know that the office of the company is -in Fresno Street, which branches out of Upper Swandam Lane, where -you found me to-night. Mrs. St. Clair had her lunch, started for -the City, did some shopping, proceeded to the company's office, -got her packet, and found herself at exactly 4:35 walking through -Swandam Lane on her way back to the station. Have you followed me -so far?" - -"It is very clear." - -"If you remember, Monday was an exceedingly hot day, and Mrs. St. -Clair walked slowly, glancing about in the hope of seeing a cab, -as she did not like the neighbourhood in which she found herself. -While she was walking in this way down Swandam Lane, she suddenly -heard an ejaculation or cry, and was struck cold to see her -husband looking down at her and, as it seemed to her, beckoning -to her from a second-floor window. The window was open, and she -distinctly saw his face, which she describes as being terribly -agitated. He waved his hands frantically to her, and then -vanished from the window so suddenly that it seemed to her that -he had been plucked back by some irresistible force from behind. -One singular point which struck her quick feminine eye was that -although he wore some dark coat, such as he had started to town -in, he had on neither collar nor necktie. - -"Convinced that something was amiss with him, she rushed down the -steps--for the house was none other than the opium den in which -you found me to-night--and running through the front room she -attempted to ascend the stairs which led to the first floor. At -the foot of the stairs, however, she met this Lascar scoundrel of -whom I have spoken, who thrust her back and, aided by a Dane, who -acts as assistant there, pushed her out into the street. Filled -with the most maddening doubts and fears, she rushed down the -lane and, by rare good-fortune, met in Fresno Street a number of -constables with an inspector, all on their way to their beat. The -inspector and two men accompanied her back, and in spite of the -continued resistance of the proprietor, they made their way to -the room in which Mr. St. Clair had last been seen. There was no -sign of him there. In fact, in the whole of that floor there was -no one to be found save a crippled wretch of hideous aspect, who, -it seems, made his home there. Both he and the Lascar stoutly -swore that no one else had been in the front room during the -afternoon. So determined was their denial that the inspector was -staggered, and had almost come to believe that Mrs. St. Clair had -been deluded when, with a cry, she sprang at a small deal box -which lay upon the table and tore the lid from it. Out there fell -a cascade of children's bricks. It was the toy which he had -promised to bring home. - -"This discovery, and the evident confusion which the cripple -showed, made the inspector realise that the matter was serious. -The rooms were carefully examined, and results all pointed to an -abominable crime. The front room was plainly furnished as a -sitting-room and led into a small bedroom, which looked out upon -the back of one of the wharves. Between the wharf and the bedroom -window is a narrow strip, which is dry at low tide but is covered -at high tide with at least four and a half feet of water. The -bedroom window was a broad one and opened from below. On -examination traces of blood were to be seen upon the windowsill, -and several scattered drops were visible upon the wooden floor of -the bedroom. Thrust away behind a curtain in the front room were -all the clothes of Mr. Neville St. Clair, with the exception of -his coat. His boots, his socks, his hat, and his watch--all were -there. There were no signs of violence upon any of these -garments, and there were no other traces of Mr. Neville St. -Clair. Out of the window he must apparently have gone for no -other exit could be discovered, and the ominous bloodstains upon -the sill gave little promise that he could save himself by -swimming, for the tide was at its very highest at the moment of -the tragedy. - -"And now as to the villains who seemed to be immediately -implicated in the matter. The Lascar was known to be a man of the -vilest antecedents, but as, by Mrs. St. Clair's story, he was -known to have been at the foot of the stair within a very few -seconds of her husband's appearance at the window, he could -hardly have been more than an accessory to the crime. His defence -was one of absolute ignorance, and he protested that he had no -knowledge as to the doings of Hugh Boone, his lodger, and that he -could not account in any way for the presence of the missing -gentleman's clothes. - -"So much for the Lascar manager. Now for the sinister cripple who -lives upon the second floor of the opium den, and who was -certainly the last human being whose eyes rested upon Neville St. -Clair. His name is Hugh Boone, and his hideous face is one which -is familiar to every man who goes much to the City. He is a -professional beggar, though in order to avoid the police -regulations he pretends to a small trade in wax vestas. Some -little distance down Threadneedle Street, upon the left-hand -side, there is, as you may have remarked, a small angle in the -wall. Here it is that this creature takes his daily seat, -cross-legged with his tiny stock of matches on his lap, and as he -is a piteous spectacle a small rain of charity descends into the -greasy leather cap which lies upon the pavement beside him. I -have watched the fellow more than once before ever I thought of -making his professional acquaintance, and I have been surprised -at the harvest which he has reaped in a short time. His -appearance, you see, is so remarkable that no one can pass him -without observing him. A shock of orange hair, a pale face -disfigured by a horrible scar, which, by its contraction, has -turned up the outer edge of his upper lip, a bulldog chin, and a -pair of very penetrating dark eyes, which present a singular -contrast to the colour of his hair, all mark him out from amid -the common crowd of mendicants and so, too, does his wit, for he -is ever ready with a reply to any piece of chaff which may be -thrown at him by the passers-by. This is the man whom we now -learn to have been the lodger at the opium den, and to have been -the last man to see the gentleman of whom we are in quest." - -"But a cripple!" said I. "What could he have done single-handed -against a man in the prime of life?" - -"He is a cripple in the sense that he walks with a limp; but in -other respects he appears to be a powerful and well-nurtured man. -Surely your medical experience would tell you, Watson, that -weakness in one limb is often compensated for by exceptional -strength in the others." - -"Pray continue your narrative." - -"Mrs. St. Clair had fainted at the sight of the blood upon the -window, and she was escorted home in a cab by the police, as her -presence could be of no help to them in their investigations. -Inspector Barton, who had charge of the case, made a very careful -examination of the premises, but without finding anything which -threw any light upon the matter. One mistake had been made in not -arresting Boone instantly, as he was allowed some few minutes -during which he might have communicated with his friend the -Lascar, but this fault was soon remedied, and he was seized and -searched, without anything being found which could incriminate -him. There were, it is true, some blood-stains upon his right -shirt-sleeve, but he pointed to his ring-finger, which had been -cut near the nail, and explained that the bleeding came from -there, adding that he had been to the window not long before, and -that the stains which had been observed there came doubtless from -the same source. He denied strenuously having ever seen Mr. -Neville St. Clair and swore that the presence of the clothes in -his room was as much a mystery to him as to the police. As to -Mrs. St. Clair's assertion that she had actually seen her husband -at the window, he declared that she must have been either mad or -dreaming. He was removed, loudly protesting, to the -police-station, while the inspector remained upon the premises in -the hope that the ebbing tide might afford some fresh clue. - -"And it did, though they hardly found upon the mud-bank what they -had feared to find. It was Neville St. Clair's coat, and not -Neville St. Clair, which lay uncovered as the tide receded. And -what do you think they found in the pockets?" - -"I cannot imagine." - -"No, I don't think you would guess. Every pocket stuffed with -pennies and half-pennies--421 pennies and 270 half-pennies. It -was no wonder that it had not been swept away by the tide. But a -human body is a different matter. There is a fierce eddy between -the wharf and the house. It seemed likely enough that the -weighted coat had remained when the stripped body had been sucked -away into the river." - -"But I understand that all the other clothes were found in the -room. Would the body be dressed in a coat alone?" - -"No, sir, but the facts might be met speciously enough. Suppose -that this man Boone had thrust Neville St. Clair through the -window, there is no human eye which could have seen the deed. -What would he do then? It would of course instantly strike him -that he must get rid of the tell-tale garments. He would seize -the coat, then, and be in the act of throwing it out, when it -would occur to him that it would swim and not sink. He has little -time, for he has heard the scuffle downstairs when the wife tried -to force her way up, and perhaps he has already heard from his -Lascar confederate that the police are hurrying up the street. -There is not an instant to be lost. He rushes to some secret -hoard, where he has accumulated the fruits of his beggary, and he -stuffs all the coins upon which he can lay his hands into the -pockets to make sure of the coat's sinking. He throws it out, and -would have done the same with the other garments had not he heard -the rush of steps below, and only just had time to close the -window when the police appeared." - -"It certainly sounds feasible." - -"Well, we will take it as a working hypothesis for want of a -better. Boone, as I have told you, was arrested and taken to the -station, but it could not be shown that there had ever before -been anything against him. He had for years been known as a -professional beggar, but his life appeared to have been a very -quiet and innocent one. There the matter stands at present, and -the questions which have to be solved--what Neville St. Clair was -doing in the opium den, what happened to him when there, where is -he now, and what Hugh Boone had to do with his disappearance--are -all as far from a solution as ever. I confess that I cannot -recall any case within my experience which looked at the first -glance so simple and yet which presented such difficulties." - -While Sherlock Holmes had been detailing this singular series of -events, we had been whirling through the outskirts of the great -town until the last straggling houses had been left behind, and -we rattled along with a country hedge upon either side of us. -Just as he finished, however, we drove through two scattered -villages, where a few lights still glimmered in the windows. - -"We are on the outskirts of Lee," said my companion. "We have -touched on three English counties in our short drive, starting in -Middlesex, passing over an angle of Surrey, and ending in Kent. -See that light among the trees? That is The Cedars, and beside -that lamp sits a woman whose anxious ears have already, I have -little doubt, caught the clink of our horse's feet." - -"But why are you not conducting the case from Baker Street?" I -asked. - -"Because there are many inquiries which must be made out here. -Mrs. St. Clair has most kindly put two rooms at my disposal, and -you may rest assured that she will have nothing but a welcome for -my friend and colleague. I hate to meet her, Watson, when I have -no news of her husband. Here we are. Whoa, there, whoa!" - -We had pulled up in front of a large villa which stood within its -own grounds. A stable-boy had run out to the horse's head, and -springing down, I followed Holmes up the small, winding -gravel-drive which led to the house. As we approached, the door -flew open, and a little blonde woman stood in the opening, clad -in some sort of light mousseline de soie, with a touch of fluffy -pink chiffon at her neck and wrists. She stood with her figure -outlined against the flood of light, one hand upon the door, one -half-raised in her eagerness, her body slightly bent, her head -and face protruded, with eager eyes and parted lips, a standing -question. - -"Well?" she cried, "well?" And then, seeing that there were two -of us, she gave a cry of hope which sank into a groan as she saw -that my companion shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. - -"No good news?" - -"None." - -"No bad?" - -"No." - -"Thank God for that. But come in. You must be weary, for you have -had a long day." - -"This is my friend, Dr. Watson. He has been of most vital use to -me in several of my cases, and a lucky chance has made it -possible for me to bring him out and associate him with this -investigation." - -"I am delighted to see you," said she, pressing my hand warmly. -"You will, I am sure, forgive anything that may be wanting in our -arrangements, when you consider the blow which has come so -suddenly upon us." - -"My dear madam," said I, "I am an old campaigner, and if I were -not I can very well see that no apology is needed. If I can be of -any assistance, either to you or to my friend here, I shall be -indeed happy." - -"Now, Mr. Sherlock Holmes," said the lady as we entered a -well-lit dining-room, upon the table of which a cold supper had -been laid out, "I should very much like to ask you one or two -plain questions, to which I beg that you will give a plain -answer." - -"Certainly, madam." - -"Do not trouble about my feelings. I am not hysterical, nor given -to fainting. I simply wish to hear your real, real opinion." - -"Upon what point?" - -"In your heart of hearts, do you think that Neville is alive?" - -Sherlock Holmes seemed to be embarrassed by the question. -"Frankly, now!" she repeated, standing upon the rug and looking -keenly down at him as he leaned back in a basket-chair. - -"Frankly, then, madam, I do not." - -"You think that he is dead?" - -"I do." - -"Murdered?" - -"I don't say that. Perhaps." - -"And on what day did he meet his death?" - -"On Monday." - -"Then perhaps, Mr. Holmes, you will be good enough to explain how -it is that I have received a letter from him to-day." - -Sherlock Holmes sprang out of his chair as if he had been -galvanised. - -"What!" he roared. - -"Yes, to-day." She stood smiling, holding up a little slip of -paper in the air. - -"May I see it?" - -"Certainly." - -He snatched it from her in his eagerness, and smoothing it out -upon the table he drew over the lamp and examined it intently. I -had left my chair and was gazing at it over his shoulder. The -envelope was a very coarse one and was stamped with the Gravesend -postmark and with the date of that very day, or rather of the day -before, for it was considerably after midnight. - -"Coarse writing," murmured Holmes. "Surely this is not your -husband's writing, madam." - -"No, but the enclosure is." - -"I perceive also that whoever addressed the envelope had to go -and inquire as to the address." - -"How can you tell that?" - -"The name, you see, is in perfectly black ink, which has dried -itself. The rest is of the greyish colour, which shows that -blotting-paper has been used. If it had been written straight -off, and then blotted, none would be of a deep black shade. This -man has written the name, and there has then been a pause before -he wrote the address, which can only mean that he was not -familiar with it. It is, of course, a trifle, but there is -nothing so important as trifles. Let us now see the letter. Ha! -there has been an enclosure here!" - -"Yes, there was a ring. His signet-ring." - -"And you are sure that this is your husband's hand?" - -"One of his hands." - -"One?" - -"His hand when he wrote hurriedly. It is very unlike his usual -writing, and yet I know it well." - -"'Dearest do not be frightened. All will come well. There is a -huge error which it may take some little time to rectify. -Wait in patience.--NEVILLE.' Written in pencil upon the fly-leaf -of a book, octavo size, no water-mark. Hum! Posted to-day in -Gravesend by a man with a dirty thumb. Ha! And the flap has been -gummed, if I am not very much in error, by a person who had been -chewing tobacco. And you have no doubt that it is your husband's -hand, madam?" - -"None. Neville wrote those words." - -"And they were posted to-day at Gravesend. Well, Mrs. St. Clair, -the clouds lighten, though I should not venture to say that the -danger is over." - -"But he must be alive, Mr. Holmes." - -"Unless this is a clever forgery to put us on the wrong scent. -The ring, after all, proves nothing. It may have been taken from -him." - -"No, no; it is, it is his very own writing!" - -"Very well. It may, however, have been written on Monday and only -posted to-day." - -"That is possible." - -"If so, much may have happened between." - -"Oh, you must not discourage me, Mr. Holmes. I know that all is -well with him. There is so keen a sympathy between us that I -should know if evil came upon him. On the very day that I saw him -last he cut himself in the bedroom, and yet I in the dining-room -rushed upstairs instantly with the utmost certainty that -something had happened. Do you think that I would respond to such -a trifle and yet be ignorant of his death?" - -"I have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman -may be more valuable than the conclusion of an analytical -reasoner. And in this letter you certainly have a very strong -piece of evidence to corroborate your view. But if your husband -is alive and able to write letters, why should he remain away -from you?" - -"I cannot imagine. It is unthinkable." - -"And on Monday he made no remarks before leaving you?" - -"No." - -"And you were surprised to see him in Swandam Lane?" - -"Very much so." - -"Was the window open?" - -"Yes." - -"Then he might have called to you?" - -"He might." - -"He only, as I understand, gave an inarticulate cry?" - -"Yes." - -"A call for help, you thought?" - -"Yes. He waved his hands." - -"But it might have been a cry of surprise. Astonishment at the -unexpected sight of you might cause him to throw up his hands?" - -"It is possible." - -"And you thought he was pulled back?" - -"He disappeared so suddenly." - -"He might have leaped back. You did not see anyone else in the -room?" - -"No, but this horrible man confessed to having been there, and -the Lascar was at the foot of the stairs." - -"Quite so. Your husband, as far as you could see, had his -ordinary clothes on?" - -"But without his collar or tie. I distinctly saw his bare -throat." - -"Had he ever spoken of Swandam Lane?" - -"Never." - -"Had he ever showed any signs of having taken opium?" - -"Never." - -"Thank you, Mrs. St. Clair. Those are the principal points about -which I wished to be absolutely clear. We shall now have a little -supper and then retire, for we may have a very busy day -to-morrow." - -A large and comfortable double-bedded room had been placed at our -disposal, and I was quickly between the sheets, for I was weary -after my night of adventure. Sherlock Holmes was a man, however, -who, when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind, would go for -days, and even for a week, without rest, turning it over, -rearranging his facts, looking at it from every point of view -until he had either fathomed it or convinced himself that his -data were insufficient. It was soon evident to me that he was now -preparing for an all-night sitting. He took off his coat and -waistcoat, put on a large blue dressing-gown, and then wandered -about the room collecting pillows from his bed and cushions from -the sofa and armchairs. With these he constructed a sort of -Eastern divan, upon which he perched himself cross-legged, with -an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches laid out in front -of him. In the dim light of the lamp I saw him sitting there, an -old briar pipe between his lips, his eyes fixed vacantly upon the -corner of the ceiling, the blue smoke curling up from him, -silent, motionless, with the light shining upon his strong-set -aquiline features. So he sat as I dropped off to sleep, and so he -sat when a sudden ejaculation caused me to wake up, and I found -the summer sun shining into the apartment. The pipe was still -between his lips, the smoke still curled upward, and the room was -full of a dense tobacco haze, but nothing remained of the heap of -shag which I had seen upon the previous night. - -"Awake, Watson?" he asked. - -"Yes." - -"Game for a morning drive?" - -"Certainly." - -"Then dress. No one is stirring yet, but I know where the -stable-boy sleeps, and we shall soon have the trap out." He -chuckled to himself as he spoke, his eyes twinkled, and he seemed -a different man to the sombre thinker of the previous night. - -As I dressed I glanced at my watch. It was no wonder that no one -was stirring. It was twenty-five minutes past four. I had hardly -finished when Holmes returned with the news that the boy was -putting in the horse. - -"I want to test a little theory of mine," said he, pulling on his -boots. "I think, Watson, that you are now standing in the -presence of one of the most absolute fools in Europe. I deserve -to be kicked from here to Charing Cross. But I think I have the -key of the affair now." - -"And where is it?" I asked, smiling. - -"In the bathroom," he answered. "Oh, yes, I am not joking," he -continued, seeing my look of incredulity. "I have just been -there, and I have taken it out, and I have got it in this -Gladstone bag. Come on, my boy, and we shall see whether it will -not fit the lock." - -We made our way downstairs as quietly as possible, and out into -the bright morning sunshine. In the road stood our horse and -trap, with the half-clad stable-boy waiting at the head. We both -sprang in, and away we dashed down the London Road. A few country -carts were stirring, bearing in vegetables to the metropolis, but -the lines of villas on either side were as silent and lifeless as -some city in a dream. - -"It has been in some points a singular case," said Holmes, -flicking the horse on into a gallop. "I confess that I have been -as blind as a mole, but it is better to learn wisdom late than -never to learn it at all." - -In town the earliest risers were just beginning to look sleepily -from their windows as we drove through the streets of the Surrey -side. Passing down the Waterloo Bridge Road we crossed over the -river, and dashing up Wellington Street wheeled sharply to the -right and found ourselves in Bow Street. Sherlock Holmes was well -known to the force, and the two constables at the door saluted -him. One of them held the horse's head while the other led us in. - -"Who is on duty?" asked Holmes. - -"Inspector Bradstreet, sir." - -"Ah, Bradstreet, how are you?" A tall, stout official had come -down the stone-flagged passage, in a peaked cap and frogged -jacket. "I wish to have a quiet word with you, Bradstreet." -"Certainly, Mr. Holmes. Step into my room here." It was a small, -office-like room, with a huge ledger upon the table, and a -telephone projecting from the wall. The inspector sat down at his -desk. - -"What can I do for you, Mr. Holmes?" - -"I called about that beggarman, Boone--the one who was charged -with being concerned in the disappearance of Mr. Neville St. -Clair, of Lee." - -"Yes. He was brought up and remanded for further inquiries." - -"So I heard. You have him here?" - -"In the cells." - -"Is he quiet?" - -"Oh, he gives no trouble. But he is a dirty scoundrel." - -"Dirty?" - -"Yes, it is all we can do to make him wash his hands, and his -face is as black as a tinker's. Well, when once his case has been -settled, he will have a regular prison bath; and I think, if you -saw him, you would agree with me that he needed it." - -"I should like to see him very much." - -"Would you? That is easily done. Come this way. You can leave -your bag." - -"No, I think that I'll take it." - -"Very good. Come this way, if you please." He led us down a -passage, opened a barred door, passed down a winding stair, and -brought us to a whitewashed corridor with a line of doors on each -side. - -"The third on the right is his," said the inspector. "Here it -is!" He quietly shot back a panel in the upper part of the door -and glanced through. - -"He is asleep," said he. "You can see him very well." - -We both put our eyes to the grating. The prisoner lay with his -face towards us, in a very deep sleep, breathing slowly and -heavily. He was a middle-sized man, coarsely clad as became his -calling, with a coloured shirt protruding through the rent in his -tattered coat. He was, as the inspector had said, extremely -dirty, but the grime which covered his face could not conceal its -repulsive ugliness. A broad wheal from an old scar ran right -across it from eye to chin, and by its contraction had turned up -one side of the upper lip, so that three teeth were exposed in a -perpetual snarl. A shock of very bright red hair grew low over -his eyes and forehead. - -"He's a beauty, isn't he?" said the inspector. - -"He certainly needs a wash," remarked Holmes. "I had an idea that -he might, and I took the liberty of bringing the tools with me." -He opened the Gladstone bag as he spoke, and took out, to my -astonishment, a very large bath-sponge. - -"He! he! You are a funny one," chuckled the inspector. - -"Now, if you will have the great goodness to open that door very -quietly, we will soon make him cut a much more respectable -figure." - -"Well, I don't know why not," said the inspector. "He doesn't -look a credit to the Bow Street cells, does he?" He slipped his -key into the lock, and we all very quietly entered the cell. The -sleeper half turned, and then settled down once more into a deep -slumber. Holmes stooped to the water-jug, moistened his sponge, -and then rubbed it twice vigorously across and down the -prisoner's face. - -"Let me introduce you," he shouted, "to Mr. Neville St. Clair, of -Lee, in the county of Kent." - -Never in my life have I seen such a sight. The man's face peeled -off under the sponge like the bark from a tree. Gone was the -coarse brown tint! Gone, too, was the horrid scar which had -seamed it across, and the twisted lip which had given the -repulsive sneer to the face! A twitch brought away the tangled -red hair, and there, sitting up in his bed, was a pale, -sad-faced, refined-looking man, black-haired and smooth-skinned, -rubbing his eyes and staring about him with sleepy bewilderment. -Then suddenly realising the exposure, he broke into a scream and -threw himself down with his face to the pillow. - -"Great heavens!" cried the inspector, "it is, indeed, the missing -man. I know him from the photograph." - -The prisoner turned with the reckless air of a man who abandons -himself to his destiny. "Be it so," said he. "And pray what am I -charged with?" - -"With making away with Mr. Neville St.-- Oh, come, you can't be -charged with that unless they make a case of attempted suicide of -it," said the inspector with a grin. "Well, I have been -twenty-seven years in the force, but this really takes the cake." - -"If I am Mr. Neville St. Clair, then it is obvious that no crime -has been committed, and that, therefore, I am illegally -detained." - -"No crime, but a very great error has been committed," said -Holmes. "You would have done better to have trusted your wife." - -"It was not the wife; it was the children," groaned the prisoner. -"God help me, I would not have them ashamed of their father. My -God! What an exposure! What can I do?" - -Sherlock Holmes sat down beside him on the couch and patted him -kindly on the shoulder. - -"If you leave it to a court of law to clear the matter up," said -he, "of course you can hardly avoid publicity. On the other hand, -if you convince the police authorities that there is no possible -case against you, I do not know that there is any reason that the -details should find their way into the papers. Inspector -Bradstreet would, I am sure, make notes upon anything which you -might tell us and submit it to the proper authorities. The case -would then never go into court at all." - -"God bless you!" cried the prisoner passionately. "I would have -endured imprisonment, ay, even execution, rather than have left -my miserable secret as a family blot to my children. - -"You are the first who have ever heard my story. My father was a -schoolmaster in Chesterfield, where I received an excellent -education. I travelled in my youth, took to the stage, and -finally became a reporter on an evening paper in London. One day -my editor wished to have a series of articles upon begging in the -metropolis, and I volunteered to supply them. There was the point -from which all my adventures started. It was only by trying -begging as an amateur that I could get the facts upon which to -base my articles. When an actor I had, of course, learned all the -secrets of making up, and had been famous in the green-room for -my skill. I took advantage now of my attainments. I painted my -face, and to make myself as pitiable as possible I made a good -scar and fixed one side of my lip in a twist by the aid of a -small slip of flesh-coloured plaster. Then with a red head of -hair, and an appropriate dress, I took my station in the business -part of the city, ostensibly as a match-seller but really as a -beggar. For seven hours I plied my trade, and when I returned -home in the evening I found to my surprise that I had received no -less than 26s. 4d. - -"I wrote my articles and thought little more of the matter until, -some time later, I backed a bill for a friend and had a writ -served upon me for 25 pounds. I was at my wit's end where to get -the money, but a sudden idea came to me. I begged a fortnight's -grace from the creditor, asked for a holiday from my employers, -and spent the time in begging in the City under my disguise. In -ten days I had the money and had paid the debt. - -"Well, you can imagine how hard it was to settle down to arduous -work at 2 pounds a week when I knew that I could earn as much in -a day by smearing my face with a little paint, laying my cap on -the ground, and sitting still. It was a long fight between my -pride and the money, but the dollars won at last, and I threw up -reporting and sat day after day in the corner which I had first -chosen, inspiring pity by my ghastly face and filling my pockets -with coppers. Only one man knew my secret. He was the keeper of a -low den in which I used to lodge in Swandam Lane, where I could -every morning emerge as a squalid beggar and in the evenings -transform myself into a well-dressed man about town. This fellow, -a Lascar, was well paid by me for his rooms, so that I knew that -my secret was safe in his possession. - -"Well, very soon I found that I was saving considerable sums of -money. I do not mean that any beggar in the streets of London -could earn 700 pounds a year--which is less than my average -takings--but I had exceptional advantages in my power of making -up, and also in a facility of repartee, which improved by -practice and made me quite a recognised character in the City. -All day a stream of pennies, varied by silver, poured in upon me, -and it was a very bad day in which I failed to take 2 pounds. - -"As I grew richer I grew more ambitious, took a house in the -country, and eventually married, without anyone having a -suspicion as to my real occupation. My dear wife knew that I had -business in the City. She little knew what. - -"Last Monday I had finished for the day and was dressing in my -room above the opium den when I looked out of my window and saw, -to my horror and astonishment, that my wife was standing in the -street, with her eyes fixed full upon me. I gave a cry of -surprise, threw up my arms to cover my face, and, rushing to my -confidant, the Lascar, entreated him to prevent anyone from -coming up to me. I heard her voice downstairs, but I knew that -she could not ascend. Swiftly I threw off my clothes, pulled on -those of a beggar, and put on my pigments and wig. Even a wife's -eyes could not pierce so complete a disguise. But then it -occurred to me that there might be a search in the room, and that -the clothes might betray me. I threw open the window, reopening -by my violence a small cut which I had inflicted upon myself in -the bedroom that morning. Then I seized my coat, which was -weighted by the coppers which I had just transferred to it from -the leather bag in which I carried my takings. I hurled it out of -the window, and it disappeared into the Thames. The other clothes -would have followed, but at that moment there was a rush of -constables up the stair, and a few minutes after I found, rather, -I confess, to my relief, that instead of being identified as Mr. -Neville St. Clair, I was arrested as his murderer. - -"I do not know that there is anything else for me to explain. I -was determined to preserve my disguise as long as possible, and -hence my preference for a dirty face. Knowing that my wife would -be terribly anxious, I slipped off my ring and confided it to the -Lascar at a moment when no constable was watching me, together -with a hurried scrawl, telling her that she had no cause to -fear." - -"That note only reached her yesterday," said Holmes. - -"Good God! What a week she must have spent!" - -"The police have watched this Lascar," said Inspector Bradstreet, -"and I can quite understand that he might find it difficult to -post a letter unobserved. Probably he handed it to some sailor -customer of his, who forgot all about it for some days." - -"That was it," said Holmes, nodding approvingly; "I have no doubt -of it. But have you never been prosecuted for begging?" - -"Many times; but what was a fine to me?" - -"It must stop here, however," said Bradstreet. "If the police are -to hush this thing up, there must be no more of Hugh Boone." - -"I have sworn it by the most solemn oaths which a man can take." - -"In that case I think that it is probable that no further steps -may be taken. But if you are found again, then all must come out. -I am sure, Mr. Holmes, that we are very much indebted to you for -having cleared the matter up. I wish I knew how you reach your -results." - -"I reached this one," said my friend, "by sitting upon five -pillows and consuming an ounce of shag. I think, Watson, that if -we drive to Baker Street we shall just be in time for breakfast." - - - -VII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE - -I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second -morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the -compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a -purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the -right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly -studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and -on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable -hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several -places. A lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair -suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the -purpose of examination. - -"You are engaged," said I; "perhaps I interrupt you." - -"Not at all. I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss -my results. The matter is a perfectly trivial one"--he jerked his -thumb in the direction of the old hat--"but there are points in -connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and -even of instruction." - -I seated myself in his armchair and warmed my hands before his -crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows -were thick with the ice crystals. "I suppose," I remarked, "that, -homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to -it--that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of -some mystery and the punishment of some crime." - -"No, no. No crime," said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. "Only one of -those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have -four million human beings all jostling each other within the -space of a few square miles. Amid the action and reaction of so -dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events -may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be -presented which may be striking and bizarre without being -criminal. We have already had experience of such." - -"So much so," I remarked, "that of the last six cases which I -have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any -legal crime." - -"Precisely. You allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler -papers, to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to the -adventure of the man with the twisted lip. Well, I have no doubt -that this small matter will fall into the same innocent category. -You know Peterson, the commissionaire?" - -"Yes." - -"It is to him that this trophy belongs." - -"It is his hat." - -"No, no, he found it. Its owner is unknown. I beg that you will -look upon it not as a battered billycock but as an intellectual -problem. And, first, as to how it came here. It arrived upon -Christmas morning, in company with a good fat goose, which is, I -have no doubt, roasting at this moment in front of Peterson's -fire. The facts are these: about four o'clock on Christmas -morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was -returning from some small jollification and was making his way -homeward down Tottenham Court Road. In front of him he saw, in -the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and -carrying a white goose slung over his shoulder. As he reached the -corner of Goodge Street, a row broke out between this stranger -and a little knot of roughs. One of the latter knocked off the -man's hat, on which he raised his stick to defend himself and, -swinging it over his head, smashed the shop window behind him. -Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his -assailants; but the man, shocked at having broken the window, and -seeing an official-looking person in uniform rushing towards him, -dropped his goose, took to his heels, and vanished amid the -labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of Tottenham -Court Road. The roughs had also fled at the appearance of -Peterson, so that he was left in possession of the field of -battle, and also of the spoils of victory in the shape of this -battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas goose." - -"Which surely he restored to their owner?" - -"My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that 'For -Mrs. Henry Baker' was printed upon a small card which was tied to -the bird's left leg, and it is also true that the initials 'H. -B.' are legible upon the lining of this hat, but as there are -some thousands of Bakers, and some hundreds of Henry Bakers in -this city of ours, it is not easy to restore lost property to any -one of them." - -"What, then, did Peterson do?" - -"He brought round both hat and goose to me on Christmas morning, -knowing that even the smallest problems are of interest to me. -The goose we retained until this morning, when there were signs -that, in spite of the slight frost, it would be well that it -should be eaten without unnecessary delay. Its finder has carried -it off, therefore, to fulfil the ultimate destiny of a goose, -while I continue to retain the hat of the unknown gentleman who -lost his Christmas dinner." - -"Did he not advertise?" - -"No." - -"Then, what clue could you have as to his identity?" - -"Only as much as we can deduce." - -"From his hat?" - -"Precisely." - -"But you are joking. What can you gather from this old battered -felt?" - -"Here is my lens. You know my methods. What can you gather -yourself as to the individuality of the man who has worn this -article?" - -I took the tattered object in my hands and turned it over rather -ruefully. It was a very ordinary black hat of the usual round -shape, hard and much the worse for wear. The lining had been of -red silk, but was a good deal discoloured. There was no maker's -name; but, as Holmes had remarked, the initials "H. B." were -scrawled upon one side. It was pierced in the brim for a -hat-securer, but the elastic was missing. For the rest, it was -cracked, exceedingly dusty, and spotted in several places, -although there seemed to have been some attempt to hide the -discoloured patches by smearing them with ink. - -"I can see nothing," said I, handing it back to my friend. - -"On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail, -however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in -drawing your inferences." - -"Then, pray tell me what it is that you can infer from this hat?" - -He picked it up and gazed at it in the peculiar introspective -fashion which was characteristic of him. "It is perhaps less -suggestive than it might have been," he remarked, "and yet there -are a few inferences which are very distinct, and a few others -which represent at least a strong balance of probability. That -the man was highly intellectual is of course obvious upon the -face of it, and also that he was fairly well-to-do within the -last three years, although he has now fallen upon evil days. He -had foresight, but has less now than formerly, pointing to a -moral retrogression, which, when taken with the decline of his -fortunes, seems to indicate some evil influence, probably drink, -at work upon him. This may account also for the obvious fact that -his wife has ceased to love him." - -"My dear Holmes!" - -"He has, however, retained some degree of self-respect," he -continued, disregarding my remonstrance. "He is a man who leads a -sedentary life, goes out little, is out of training entirely, is -middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the -last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream. These are -the more patent facts which are to be deduced from his hat. Also, -by the way, that it is extremely improbable that he has gas laid -on in his house." - -"You are certainly joking, Holmes." - -"Not in the least. Is it possible that even now, when I give you -these results, you are unable to see how they are attained?" - -"I have no doubt that I am very stupid, but I must confess that I -am unable to follow you. For example, how did you deduce that -this man was intellectual?" - -For answer Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right -over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. "It is -a question of cubic capacity," said he; "a man with so large a -brain must have something in it." - -"The decline of his fortunes, then?" - -"This hat is three years old. These flat brims curled at the edge -came in then. It is a hat of the very best quality. Look at the -band of ribbed silk and the excellent lining. If this man could -afford to buy so expensive a hat three years ago, and has had no -hat since, then he has assuredly gone down in the world." - -"Well, that is clear enough, certainly. But how about the -foresight and the moral retrogression?" - -Sherlock Holmes laughed. "Here is the foresight," said he putting -his finger upon the little disc and loop of the hat-securer. -"They are never sold upon hats. If this man ordered one, it is a -sign of a certain amount of foresight, since he went out of his -way to take this precaution against the wind. But since we see -that he has broken the elastic and has not troubled to replace -it, it is obvious that he has less foresight now than formerly, -which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. On the other -hand, he has endeavoured to conceal some of these stains upon the -felt by daubing them with ink, which is a sign that he has not -entirely lost his self-respect." - -"Your reasoning is certainly plausible." - -"The further points, that he is middle-aged, that his hair is -grizzled, that it has been recently cut, and that he uses -lime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the -lower part of the lining. The lens discloses a large number of -hair-ends, clean cut by the scissors of the barber. They all -appear to be adhesive, and there is a distinct odour of -lime-cream. This dust, you will observe, is not the gritty, grey -dust of the street but the fluffy brown dust of the house, -showing that it has been hung up indoors most of the time, while -the marks of moisture upon the inside are proof positive that the -wearer perspired very freely, and could therefore, hardly be in -the best of training." - -"But his wife--you said that she had ceased to love him." - -"This hat has not been brushed for weeks. When I see you, my dear -Watson, with a week's accumulation of dust upon your hat, and -when your wife allows you to go out in such a state, I shall fear -that you also have been unfortunate enough to lose your wife's -affection." - -"But he might be a bachelor." - -"Nay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to his -wife. Remember the card upon the bird's leg." - -"You have an answer to everything. But how on earth do you deduce -that the gas is not laid on in his house?" - -"One tallow stain, or even two, might come by chance; but when I -see no less than five, I think that there can be little doubt -that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with -burning tallow--walks upstairs at night probably with his hat in -one hand and a guttering candle in the other. Anyhow, he never -got tallow-stains from a gas-jet. Are you satisfied?" - -"Well, it is very ingenious," said I, laughing; "but since, as -you said just now, there has been no crime committed, and no harm -done save the loss of a goose, all this seems to be rather a -waste of energy." - -Sherlock Holmes had opened his mouth to reply, when the door flew -open, and Peterson, the commissionaire, rushed into the apartment -with flushed cheeks and the face of a man who is dazed with -astonishment. - -"The goose, Mr. Holmes! The goose, sir!" he gasped. - -"Eh? What of it, then? Has it returned to life and flapped off -through the kitchen window?" Holmes twisted himself round upon -the sofa to get a fairer view of the man's excited face. - -"See here, sir! See what my wife found in its crop!" He held out -his hand and displayed upon the centre of the palm a brilliantly -scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but -of such purity and radiance that it twinkled like an electric -point in the dark hollow of his hand. - -Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle. "By Jove, Peterson!" said -he, "this is treasure trove indeed. I suppose you know what you -have got?" - -"A diamond, sir? A precious stone. It cuts into glass as though -it were putty." - -"It's more than a precious stone. It is the precious stone." - -"Not the Countess of Morcar's blue carbuncle!" I ejaculated. - -"Precisely so. I ought to know its size and shape, seeing that I -have read the advertisement about it in The Times every day -lately. It is absolutely unique, and its value can only be -conjectured, but the reward offered of 1000 pounds is certainly -not within a twentieth part of the market price." - -"A thousand pounds! Great Lord of mercy!" The commissionaire -plumped down into a chair and stared from one to the other of us. - -"That is the reward, and I have reason to know that there are -sentimental considerations in the background which would induce -the Countess to part with half her fortune if she could but -recover the gem." - -"It was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan," I -remarked. - -"Precisely so, on December 22nd, just five days ago. John Horner, -a plumber, was accused of having abstracted it from the lady's -jewel-case. The evidence against him was so strong that the case -has been referred to the Assizes. I have some account of the -matter here, I believe." He rummaged amid his newspapers, -glancing over the dates, until at last he smoothed one out, -doubled it over, and read the following paragraph: - -"Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery. John Horner, 26, plumber, was -brought up upon the charge of having upon the 22nd inst., -abstracted from the jewel-case of the Countess of Morcar the -valuable gem known as the blue carbuncle. James Ryder, -upper-attendant at the hotel, gave his evidence to the effect -that he had shown Horner up to the dressing-room of the Countess -of Morcar upon the day of the robbery in order that he might -solder the second bar of the grate, which was loose. He had -remained with Horner some little time, but had finally been -called away. On returning, he found that Horner had disappeared, -that the bureau had been forced open, and that the small morocco -casket in which, as it afterwards transpired, the Countess was -accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon the -dressing-table. Ryder instantly gave the alarm, and Horner was -arrested the same evening; but the stone could not be found -either upon his person or in his rooms. Catherine Cusack, maid to -the Countess, deposed to having heard Ryder's cry of dismay on -discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room, -where she found matters as described by the last witness. -Inspector Bradstreet, B division, gave evidence as to the arrest -of Horner, who struggled frantically, and protested his innocence -in the strongest terms. Evidence of a previous conviction for -robbery having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate -refused to deal summarily with the offence, but referred it to -the Assizes. Horner, who had shown signs of intense emotion -during the proceedings, fainted away at the conclusion and was -carried out of court." - -"Hum! So much for the police-court," said Holmes thoughtfully, -tossing aside the paper. "The question for us now to solve is the -sequence of events leading from a rifled jewel-case at one end to -the crop of a goose in Tottenham Court Road at the other. You -see, Watson, our little deductions have suddenly assumed a much -more important and less innocent aspect. Here is the stone; the -stone came from the goose, and the goose came from Mr. Henry -Baker, the gentleman with the bad hat and all the other -characteristics with which I have bored you. So now we must set -ourselves very seriously to finding this gentleman and -ascertaining what part he has played in this little mystery. To -do this, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie -undoubtedly in an advertisement in all the evening papers. If -this fail, I shall have recourse to other methods." - -"What will you say?" - -"Give me a pencil and that slip of paper. Now, then: 'Found at -the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mr. -Henry Baker can have the same by applying at 6:30 this evening at -221B, Baker Street.' That is clear and concise." - -"Very. But will he see it?" - -"Well, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to a poor -man, the loss was a heavy one. He was clearly so scared by his -mischance in breaking the window and by the approach of Peterson -that he thought of nothing but flight, but since then he must -have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drop his -bird. Then, again, the introduction of his name will cause him to -see it, for everyone who knows him will direct his attention to -it. Here you are, Peterson, run down to the advertising agency -and have this put in the evening papers." - -"In which, sir?" - -"Oh, in the Globe, Star, Pall Mall, St. James's, Evening News, -Standard, Echo, and any others that occur to you." - -"Very well, sir. And this stone?" - -"Ah, yes, I shall keep the stone. Thank you. And, I say, -Peterson, just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here -with me, for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place -of the one which your family is now devouring." - -When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and -held it against the light. "It's a bonny thing," said he. "Just -see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and -focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil's pet -baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a -bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found -in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable -in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is -blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has -already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a -vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about -for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. -Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the -gallows and the prison? I'll lock it up in my strong box now and -drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it." - -"Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?" - -"I cannot tell." - -"Well, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had -anything to do with the matter?" - -"It is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an -absolutely innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he -was carrying was of considerably more value than if it were made -of solid gold. That, however, I shall determine by a very simple -test if we have an answer to our advertisement." - -"And you can do nothing until then?" - -"Nothing." - -"In that case I shall continue my professional round. But I shall -come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I -should like to see the solution of so tangled a business." - -"Very glad to see you. I dine at seven. There is a woodcock, I -believe. By the way, in view of recent occurrences, perhaps I -ought to ask Mrs. Hudson to examine its crop." - -I had been delayed at a case, and it was a little after half-past -six when I found myself in Baker Street once more. As I -approached the house I saw a tall man in a Scotch bonnet with a -coat which was buttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the -bright semicircle which was thrown from the fanlight. Just as I -arrived the door was opened, and we were shown up together to -Holmes' room. - -"Mr. Henry Baker, I believe," said he, rising from his armchair -and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he -could so readily assume. "Pray take this chair by the fire, Mr. -Baker. It is a cold night, and I observe that your circulation is -more adapted for summer than for winter. Ah, Watson, you have -just come at the right time. Is that your hat, Mr. Baker?" - -"Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat." - -He was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and a -broad, intelligent face, sloping down to a pointed beard of -grizzled brown. A touch of red in nose and cheeks, with a slight -tremor of his extended hand, recalled Holmes' surmise as to his -habits. His rusty black frock-coat was buttoned right up in -front, with the collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded -from his sleeves without a sign of cuff or shirt. He spoke in a -slow staccato fashion, choosing his words with care, and gave the -impression generally of a man of learning and letters who had had -ill-usage at the hands of fortune. - -"We have retained these things for some days," said Holmes, -"because we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your -address. I am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise." - -Our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh. "Shillings have not -been so plentiful with me as they once were," he remarked. "I had -no doubt that the gang of roughs who assaulted me had carried off -both my hat and the bird. I did not care to spend more money in a -hopeless attempt at recovering them." - -"Very naturally. By the way, about the bird, we were compelled to -eat it." - -"To eat it!" Our visitor half rose from his chair in his -excitement. - -"Yes, it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so. -But I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is -about the same weight and perfectly fresh, will answer your -purpose equally well?" - -"Oh, certainly, certainly," answered Mr. Baker with a sigh of -relief. - -"Of course, we still have the feathers, legs, crop, and so on of -your own bird, so if you wish--" - -The man burst into a hearty laugh. "They might be useful to me as -relics of my adventure," said he, "but beyond that I can hardly -see what use the disjecta membra of my late acquaintance are -going to be to me. No, sir, I think that, with your permission, I -will confine my attentions to the excellent bird which I perceive -upon the sideboard." - -Sherlock Holmes glanced sharply across at me with a slight shrug -of his shoulders. - -"There is your hat, then, and there your bird," said he. "By the -way, would it bore you to tell me where you got the other one -from? I am somewhat of a fowl fancier, and I have seldom seen a -better grown goose." - -"Certainly, sir," said Baker, who had risen and tucked his newly -gained property under his arm. "There are a few of us who -frequent the Alpha Inn, near the Museum--we are to be found in -the Museum itself during the day, you understand. This year our -good host, Windigate by name, instituted a goose club, by which, -on consideration of some few pence every week, we were each to -receive a bird at Christmas. My pence were duly paid, and the -rest is familiar to you. I am much indebted to you, sir, for a -Scotch bonnet is fitted neither to my years nor my gravity." With -a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and -strode off upon his way. - -"So much for Mr. Henry Baker," said Holmes when he had closed the -door behind him. "It is quite certain that he knows nothing -whatever about the matter. Are you hungry, Watson?" - -"Not particularly." - -"Then I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow -up this clue while it is still hot." - -"By all means." - -It was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped -cravats about our throats. Outside, the stars were shining coldly -in a cloudless sky, and the breath of the passers-by blew out -into smoke like so many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang out -crisply and loudly as we swung through the doctors' quarter, -Wimpole Street, Harley Street, and so through Wigmore Street into -Oxford Street. In a quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at -the Alpha Inn, which is a small public-house at the corner of one -of the streets which runs down into Holborn. Holmes pushed open -the door of the private bar and ordered two glasses of beer from -the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord. - -"Your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese," -said he. - -"My geese!" The man seemed surprised. - -"Yes. I was speaking only half an hour ago to Mr. Henry Baker, -who was a member of your goose club." - -"Ah! yes, I see. But you see, sir, them's not our geese." - -"Indeed! Whose, then?" - -"Well, I got the two dozen from a salesman in Covent Garden." - -"Indeed? I know some of them. Which was it?" - -"Breckinridge is his name." - -"Ah! I don't know him. Well, here's your good health landlord, -and prosperity to your house. Good-night." - -"Now for Mr. Breckinridge," he continued, buttoning up his coat -as we came out into the frosty air. "Remember, Watson that though -we have so homely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain, we -have at the other a man who will certainly get seven years' penal -servitude unless we can establish his innocence. It is possible -that our inquiry may but confirm his guilt; but, in any case, we -have a line of investigation which has been missed by the police, -and which a singular chance has placed in our hands. Let us -follow it out to the bitter end. Faces to the south, then, and -quick march!" - -We passed across Holborn, down Endell Street, and so through a -zigzag of slums to Covent Garden Market. One of the largest -stalls bore the name of Breckinridge upon it, and the proprietor -a horsey-looking man, with a sharp face and trim side-whiskers was -helping a boy to put up the shutters. - -"Good-evening. It's a cold night," said Holmes. - -The salesman nodded and shot a questioning glance at my -companion. - -"Sold out of geese, I see," continued Holmes, pointing at the -bare slabs of marble. - -"Let you have five hundred to-morrow morning." - -"That's no good." - -"Well, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare." - -"Ah, but I was recommended to you." - -"Who by?" - -"The landlord of the Alpha." - -"Oh, yes; I sent him a couple of dozen." - -"Fine birds they were, too. Now where did you get them from?" - -To my surprise the question provoked a burst of anger from the -salesman. - -"Now, then, mister," said he, with his head cocked and his arms -akimbo, "what are you driving at? Let's have it straight, now." - -"It is straight enough. I should like to know who sold you the -geese which you supplied to the Alpha." - -"Well then, I shan't tell you. So now!" - -"Oh, it is a matter of no importance; but I don't know why you -should be so warm over such a trifle." - -"Warm! You'd be as warm, maybe, if you were as pestered as I am. -When I pay good money for a good article there should be an end -of the business; but it's 'Where are the geese?' and 'Who did you -sell the geese to?' and 'What will you take for the geese?' One -would think they were the only geese in the world, to hear the -fuss that is made over them." - -"Well, I have no connection with any other people who have been -making inquiries," said Holmes carelessly. "If you won't tell us -the bet is off, that is all. But I'm always ready to back my -opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiver on it that the -bird I ate is country bred." - -"Well, then, you've lost your fiver, for it's town bred," snapped -the salesman. - -"It's nothing of the kind." - -"I say it is." - -"I don't believe it." - -"D'you think you know more about fowls than I, who have handled -them ever since I was a nipper? I tell you, all those birds that -went to the Alpha were town bred." - -"You'll never persuade me to believe that." - -"Will you bet, then?" - -"It's merely taking your money, for I know that I am right. But -I'll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be -obstinate." - -The salesman chuckled grimly. "Bring me the books, Bill," said -he. - -The small boy brought round a small thin volume and a great -greasy-backed one, laying them out together beneath the hanging -lamp. - -"Now then, Mr. Cocksure," said the salesman, "I thought that I -was out of geese, but before I finish you'll find that there is -still one left in my shop. You see this little book?" - -"Well?" - -"That's the list of the folk from whom I buy. D'you see? Well, -then, here on this page are the country folk, and the numbers -after their names are where their accounts are in the big ledger. -Now, then! You see this other page in red ink? Well, that is a -list of my town suppliers. Now, look at that third name. Just -read it out to me." - -"Mrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road--249," read Holmes. - -"Quite so. Now turn that up in the ledger." - -Holmes turned to the page indicated. "Here you are, 'Mrs. -Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road, egg and poultry supplier.'" - -"Now, then, what's the last entry?" - -"'December 22nd. Twenty-four geese at 7s. 6d.'" - -"Quite so. There you are. And underneath?" - -"'Sold to Mr. Windigate of the Alpha, at 12s.'" - -"What have you to say now?" - -Sherlock Holmes looked deeply chagrined. He drew a sovereign from -his pocket and threw it down upon the slab, turning away with the -air of a man whose disgust is too deep for words. A few yards off -he stopped under a lamp-post and laughed in the hearty, noiseless -fashion which was peculiar to him. - -"When you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the 'Pink 'un' -protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet," -said he. "I daresay that if I had put 100 pounds down in front of -him, that man would not have given me such complete information -as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a -wager. Well, Watson, we are, I fancy, nearing the end of our -quest, and the only point which remains to be determined is -whether we should go on to this Mrs. Oakshott to-night, or -whether we should reserve it for to-morrow. It is clear from what -that surly fellow said that there are others besides ourselves -who are anxious about the matter, and I should--" - -His remarks were suddenly cut short by a loud hubbub which broke -out from the stall which we had just left. Turning round we saw a -little rat-faced fellow standing in the centre of the circle of -yellow light which was thrown by the swinging lamp, while -Breckinridge, the salesman, framed in the door of his stall, was -shaking his fists fiercely at the cringing figure. - -"I've had enough of you and your geese," he shouted. "I wish you -were all at the devil together. If you come pestering me any more -with your silly talk I'll set the dog at you. You bring Mrs. -Oakshott here and I'll answer her, but what have you to do with -it? Did I buy the geese off you?" - -"No; but one of them was mine all the same," whined the little -man. - -"Well, then, ask Mrs. Oakshott for it." - -"She told me to ask you." - -"Well, you can ask the King of Proosia, for all I care. I've had -enough of it. Get out of this!" He rushed fiercely forward, and -the inquirer flitted away into the darkness. - -"Ha! this may save us a visit to Brixton Road," whispered Holmes. -"Come with me, and we will see what is to be made of this -fellow." Striding through the scattered knots of people who -lounged round the flaring stalls, my companion speedily overtook -the little man and touched him upon the shoulder. He sprang -round, and I could see in the gas-light that every vestige of -colour had been driven from his face. - -"Who are you, then? What do you want?" he asked in a quavering -voice. - -"You will excuse me," said Holmes blandly, "but I could not help -overhearing the questions which you put to the salesman just now. -I think that I could be of assistance to you." - -"You? Who are you? How could you know anything of the matter?" - -"My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other -people don't know." - -"But you can know nothing of this?" - -"Excuse me, I know everything of it. You are endeavouring to -trace some geese which were sold by Mrs. Oakshott, of Brixton -Road, to a salesman named Breckinridge, by him in turn to Mr. -Windigate, of the Alpha, and by him to his club, of which Mr. -Henry Baker is a member." - -"Oh, sir, you are the very man whom I have longed to meet," cried -the little fellow with outstretched hands and quivering fingers. -"I can hardly explain to you how interested I am in this matter." - -Sherlock Holmes hailed a four-wheeler which was passing. "In that -case we had better discuss it in a cosy room rather than in this -wind-swept market-place," said he. "But pray tell me, before we -go farther, who it is that I have the pleasure of assisting." - -The man hesitated for an instant. "My name is John Robinson," he -answered with a sidelong glance. - -"No, no; the real name," said Holmes sweetly. "It is always -awkward doing business with an alias." - -A flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger. "Well then," -said he, "my real name is James Ryder." - -"Precisely so. Head attendant at the Hotel Cosmopolitan. Pray -step into the cab, and I shall soon be able to tell you -everything which you would wish to know." - -The little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with -half-frightened, half-hopeful eyes, as one who is not sure -whether he is on the verge of a windfall or of a catastrophe. -Then he stepped into the cab, and in half an hour we were back in -the sitting-room at Baker Street. Nothing had been said during -our drive, but the high, thin breathing of our new companion, and -the claspings and unclaspings of his hands, spoke of the nervous -tension within him. - -"Here we are!" said Holmes cheerily as we filed into the room. -"The fire looks very seasonable in this weather. You look cold, -Mr. Ryder. Pray take the basket-chair. I will just put on my -slippers before we settle this little matter of yours. Now, then! -You want to know what became of those geese?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Or rather, I fancy, of that goose. It was one bird, I imagine in -which you were interested--white, with a black bar across the -tail." - -Ryder quivered with emotion. "Oh, sir," he cried, "can you tell -me where it went to?" - -"It came here." - -"Here?" - -"Yes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. I don't wonder that -you should take an interest in it. It laid an egg after it was -dead--the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen. -I have it here in my museum." - -Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece -with his right hand. Holmes unlocked his strong-box and held up -the blue carbuncle, which shone out like a star, with a cold, -brilliant, many-pointed radiance. Ryder stood glaring with a -drawn face, uncertain whether to claim or to disown it. - -"The game's up, Ryder," said Holmes quietly. "Hold up, man, or -you'll be into the fire! Give him an arm back into his chair, -Watson. He's not got blood enough to go in for felony with -impunity. Give him a dash of brandy. So! Now he looks a little -more human. What a shrimp it is, to be sure!" - -For a moment he had staggered and nearly fallen, but the brandy -brought a tinge of colour into his cheeks, and he sat staring -with frightened eyes at his accuser. - -"I have almost every link in my hands, and all the proofs which I -could possibly need, so there is little which you need tell me. -Still, that little may as well be cleared up to make the case -complete. You had heard, Ryder, of this blue stone of the -Countess of Morcar's?" - -"It was Catherine Cusack who told me of it," said he in a -crackling voice. - -"I see--her ladyship's waiting-maid. Well, the temptation of -sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for you, as it has -been for better men before you; but you were not very scrupulous -in the means you used. It seems to me, Ryder, that there is the -making of a very pretty villain in you. You knew that this man -Horner, the plumber, had been concerned in some such matter -before, and that suspicion would rest the more readily upon him. -What did you do, then? You made some small job in my lady's -room--you and your confederate Cusack--and you managed that he -should be the man sent for. Then, when he had left, you rifled -the jewel-case, raised the alarm, and had this unfortunate man -arrested. You then--" - -Ryder threw himself down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my -companion's knees. "For God's sake, have mercy!" he shrieked. -"Think of my father! Of my mother! It would break their hearts. I -never went wrong before! I never will again. I swear it. I'll -swear it on a Bible. Oh, don't bring it into court! For Christ's -sake, don't!" - -"Get back into your chair!" said Holmes sternly. "It is very well -to cringe and crawl now, but you thought little enough of this -poor Horner in the dock for a crime of which he knew nothing." - -"I will fly, Mr. Holmes. I will leave the country, sir. Then the -charge against him will break down." - -"Hum! We will talk about that. And now let us hear a true account -of the next act. How came the stone into the goose, and how came -the goose into the open market? Tell us the truth, for there lies -your only hope of safety." - -Ryder passed his tongue over his parched lips. "I will tell you -it just as it happened, sir," said he. "When Horner had been -arrested, it seemed to me that it would be best for me to get -away with the stone at once, for I did not know at what moment -the police might not take it into their heads to search me and my -room. There was no place about the hotel where it would be safe. -I went out, as if on some commission, and I made for my sister's -house. She had married a man named Oakshott, and lived in Brixton -Road, where she fattened fowls for the market. All the way there -every man I met seemed to me to be a policeman or a detective; -and, for all that it was a cold night, the sweat was pouring down -my face before I came to the Brixton Road. My sister asked me -what was the matter, and why I was so pale; but I told her that I -had been upset by the jewel robbery at the hotel. Then I went -into the back yard and smoked a pipe and wondered what it would -be best to do. - -"I had a friend once called Maudsley, who went to the bad, and -has just been serving his time in Pentonville. One day he had met -me, and fell into talk about the ways of thieves, and how they -could get rid of what they stole. I knew that he would be true to -me, for I knew one or two things about him; so I made up my mind -to go right on to Kilburn, where he lived, and take him into my -confidence. He would show me how to turn the stone into money. -But how to get to him in safety? I thought of the agonies I had -gone through in coming from the hotel. I might at any moment be -seized and searched, and there would be the stone in my waistcoat -pocket. I was leaning against the wall at the time and looking at -the geese which were waddling about round my feet, and suddenly -an idea came into my head which showed me how I could beat the -best detective that ever lived. - -"My sister had told me some weeks before that I might have the -pick of her geese for a Christmas present, and I knew that she -was always as good as her word. I would take my goose now, and in -it I would carry my stone to Kilburn. There was a little shed in -the yard, and behind this I drove one of the birds--a fine big -one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill -open, I thrust the stone down its throat as far as my finger -could reach. The bird gave a gulp, and I felt the stone pass -along its gullet and down into its crop. But the creature flapped -and struggled, and out came my sister to know what was the -matter. As I turned to speak to her the brute broke loose and -fluttered off among the others. - -"'Whatever were you doing with that bird, Jem?' says she. - -"'Well,' said I, 'you said you'd give me one for Christmas, and I -was feeling which was the fattest.' - -"'Oh,' says she, 'we've set yours aside for you--Jem's bird, we -call it. It's the big white one over yonder. There's twenty-six -of them, which makes one for you, and one for us, and two dozen -for the market.' - -"'Thank you, Maggie,' says I; 'but if it is all the same to you, -I'd rather have that one I was handling just now.' - -"'The other is a good three pound heavier,' said she, 'and we -fattened it expressly for you.' - -"'Never mind. I'll have the other, and I'll take it now,' said I. - -"'Oh, just as you like,' said she, a little huffed. 'Which is it -you want, then?' - -"'That white one with the barred tail, right in the middle of the -flock.' - -"'Oh, very well. Kill it and take it with you.' - -"Well, I did what she said, Mr. Holmes, and I carried the bird -all the way to Kilburn. I told my pal what I had done, for he was -a man that it was easy to tell a thing like that to. He laughed -until he choked, and we got a knife and opened the goose. My -heart turned to water, for there was no sign of the stone, and I -knew that some terrible mistake had occurred. I left the bird, -rushed back to my sister's, and hurried into the back yard. There -was not a bird to be seen there. - -"'Where are they all, Maggie?' I cried. - -"'Gone to the dealer's, Jem.' - -"'Which dealer's?' - -"'Breckinridge, of Covent Garden.' - -"'But was there another with a barred tail?' I asked, 'the same -as the one I chose?' - -"'Yes, Jem; there were two barred-tailed ones, and I could never -tell them apart.' - -"Well, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my -feet would carry me to this man Breckinridge; but he had sold the -lot at once, and not one word would he tell me as to where they -had gone. You heard him yourselves to-night. Well, he has always -answered me like that. My sister thinks that I am going mad. -Sometimes I think that I am myself. And now--and now I am myself -a branded thief, without ever having touched the wealth for which -I sold my character. God help me! God help me!" He burst into -convulsive sobbing, with his face buried in his hands. - -There was a long silence, broken only by his heavy breathing and -by the measured tapping of Sherlock Holmes' finger-tips upon the -edge of the table. Then my friend rose and threw open the door. - -"Get out!" said he. - -"What, sir! Oh, Heaven bless you!" - -"No more words. Get out!" - -And no more words were needed. There was a rush, a clatter upon -the stairs, the bang of a door, and the crisp rattle of running -footfalls from the street. - -"After all, Watson," said Holmes, reaching up his hand for his -clay pipe, "I am not retained by the police to supply their -deficiencies. If Horner were in danger it would be another thing; -but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case must -collapse. I suppose that I am commuting a felony, but it is just -possible that I am saving a soul. This fellow will not go wrong -again; he is too terribly frightened. Send him to gaol now, and -you make him a gaol-bird for life. Besides, it is the season of -forgiveness. Chance has put in our way a most singular and -whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward. If you -will have the goodness to touch the bell, Doctor, we will begin -another investigation, in which, also a bird will be the chief -feature." - - - -VIII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE SPECKLED BAND - -On glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which I -have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend -Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number -merely strange, but none commonplace; for, working as he did -rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of -wealth, he refused to associate himself with any investigation -which did not tend towards the unusual, and even the fantastic. -Of all these varied cases, however, I cannot recall any which -presented more singular features than that which was associated -with the well-known Surrey family of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran. -The events in question occurred in the early days of my -association with Holmes, when we were sharing rooms as bachelors -in Baker Street. It is possible that I might have placed them -upon record before, but a promise of secrecy was made at the -time, from which I have only been freed during the last month by -the untimely death of the lady to whom the pledge was given. It -is perhaps as well that the facts should now come to light, for I -have reasons to know that there are widespread rumours as to the -death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott which tend to make the matter even -more terrible than the truth. - -It was early in April in the year '83 that I woke one morning to -find Sherlock Holmes standing, fully dressed, by the side of my -bed. He was a late riser, as a rule, and as the clock on the -mantelpiece showed me that it was only a quarter-past seven, I -blinked up at him in some surprise, and perhaps just a little -resentment, for I was myself regular in my habits. - -"Very sorry to knock you up, Watson," said he, "but it's the -common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she -retorted upon me, and I on you." - -"What is it, then--a fire?" - -"No; a client. It seems that a young lady has arrived in a -considerable state of excitement, who insists upon seeing me. She -is waiting now in the sitting-room. Now, when young ladies wander -about the metropolis at this hour of the morning, and knock -sleepy people up out of their beds, I presume that it is -something very pressing which they have to communicate. Should it -prove to be an interesting case, you would, I am sure, wish to -follow it from the outset. I thought, at any rate, that I should -call you and give you the chance." - -"My dear fellow, I would not miss it for anything." - -I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his -professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid -deductions, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a -logical basis with which he unravelled the problems which were -submitted to him. I rapidly threw on my clothes and was ready in -a few minutes to accompany my friend down to the sitting-room. A -lady dressed in black and heavily veiled, who had been sitting in -the window, rose as we entered. - -"Good-morning, madam," said Holmes cheerily. "My name is Sherlock -Holmes. This is my intimate friend and associate, Dr. Watson, -before whom you can speak as freely as before myself. Ha! I am -glad to see that Mrs. Hudson has had the good sense to light the -fire. Pray draw up to it, and I shall order you a cup of hot -coffee, for I observe that you are shivering." - -"It is not cold which makes me shiver," said the woman in a low -voice, changing her seat as requested. - -"What, then?" - -"It is fear, Mr. Holmes. It is terror." She raised her veil as -she spoke, and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable -state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless -frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal. Her features -and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot -with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard. -Sherlock Holmes ran her over with one of his quick, -all-comprehensive glances. - -"You must not fear," said he soothingly, bending forward and -patting her forearm. "We shall soon set matters right, I have no -doubt. You have come in by train this morning, I see." - -"You know me, then?" - -"No, but I observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm -of your left glove. You must have started early, and yet you had -a good drive in a dog-cart, along heavy roads, before you reached -the station." - -The lady gave a violent start and stared in bewilderment at my -companion. - -"There is no mystery, my dear madam," said he, smiling. "The left -arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven -places. The marks are perfectly fresh. There is no vehicle save a -dog-cart which throws up mud in that way, and then only when you -sit on the left-hand side of the driver." - -"Whatever your reasons may be, you are perfectly correct," said -she. "I started from home before six, reached Leatherhead at -twenty past, and came in by the first train to Waterloo. Sir, I -can stand this strain no longer; I shall go mad if it continues. -I have no one to turn to--none, save only one, who cares for me, -and he, poor fellow, can be of little aid. I have heard of you, -Mr. Holmes; I have heard of you from Mrs. Farintosh, whom you -helped in the hour of her sore need. It was from her that I had -your address. Oh, sir, do you not think that you could help me, -too, and at least throw a little light through the dense darkness -which surrounds me? At present it is out of my power to reward -you for your services, but in a month or six weeks I shall be -married, with the control of my own income, and then at least you -shall not find me ungrateful." - -Holmes turned to his desk and, unlocking it, drew out a small -case-book, which he consulted. - -"Farintosh," said he. "Ah yes, I recall the case; it was -concerned with an opal tiara. I think it was before your time, -Watson. I can only say, madam, that I shall be happy to devote -the same care to your case as I did to that of your friend. As to -reward, my profession is its own reward; but you are at liberty -to defray whatever expenses I may be put to, at the time which -suits you best. And now I beg that you will lay before us -everything that may help us in forming an opinion upon the -matter." - -"Alas!" replied our visitor, "the very horror of my situation -lies in the fact that my fears are so vague, and my suspicions -depend so entirely upon small points, which might seem trivial to -another, that even he to whom of all others I have a right to -look for help and advice looks upon all that I tell him about it -as the fancies of a nervous woman. He does not say so, but I can -read it from his soothing answers and averted eyes. But I have -heard, Mr. Holmes, that you can see deeply into the manifold -wickedness of the human heart. You may advise me how to walk amid -the dangers which encompass me." - -"I am all attention, madam." - -"My name is Helen Stoner, and I am living with my stepfather, who -is the last survivor of one of the oldest Saxon families in -England, the Roylotts of Stoke Moran, on the western border of -Surrey." - -Holmes nodded his head. "The name is familiar to me," said he. - -"The family was at one time among the richest in England, and the -estates extended over the borders into Berkshire in the north, -and Hampshire in the west. In the last century, however, four -successive heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition, -and the family ruin was eventually completed by a gambler in the -days of the Regency. Nothing was left save a few acres of ground, -and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under -a heavy mortgage. The last squire dragged out his existence -there, living the horrible life of an aristocratic pauper; but -his only son, my stepfather, seeing that he must adapt himself to -the new conditions, obtained an advance from a relative, which -enabled him to take a medical degree and went out to Calcutta, -where, by his professional skill and his force of character, he -established a large practice. In a fit of anger, however, caused -by some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he -beat his native butler to death and narrowly escaped a capital -sentence. As it was, he suffered a long term of imprisonment and -afterwards returned to England a morose and disappointed man. - -"When Dr. Roylott was in India he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner, -the young widow of Major-General Stoner, of the Bengal Artillery. -My sister Julia and I were twins, and we were only two years old -at the time of my mother's re-marriage. She had a considerable -sum of money--not less than 1000 pounds a year--and this she -bequeathed to Dr. Roylott entirely while we resided with him, -with a provision that a certain annual sum should be allowed to -each of us in the event of our marriage. Shortly after our return -to England my mother died--she was killed eight years ago in a -railway accident near Crewe. Dr. Roylott then abandoned his -attempts to establish himself in practice in London and took us -to live with him in the old ancestral house at Stoke Moran. The -money which my mother had left was enough for all our wants, and -there seemed to be no obstacle to our happiness. - -"But a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time. -Instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our -neighbours, who had at first been overjoyed to see a Roylott of -Stoke Moran back in the old family seat, he shut himself up in -his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious -quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Violence of temper -approaching to mania has been hereditary in the men of the -family, and in my stepfather's case it had, I believe, been -intensified by his long residence in the tropics. A series of -disgraceful brawls took place, two of which ended in the -police-court, until at last he became the terror of the village, -and the folks would fly at his approach, for he is a man of -immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger. - -"Last week he hurled the local blacksmith over a parapet into a -stream, and it was only by paying over all the money which I -could gather together that I was able to avert another public -exposure. He had no friends at all save the wandering gipsies, -and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few -acres of bramble-covered land which represent the family estate, -and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents, -wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end. He has a -passion also for Indian animals, which are sent over to him by a -correspondent, and he has at this moment a cheetah and a baboon, -which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the -villagers almost as much as their master. - -"You can imagine from what I say that my poor sister Julia and I -had no great pleasure in our lives. No servant would stay with -us, and for a long time we did all the work of the house. She was -but thirty at the time of her death, and yet her hair had already -begun to whiten, even as mine has." - -"Your sister is dead, then?" - -"She died just two years ago, and it is of her death that I wish -to speak to you. You can understand that, living the life which I -have described, we were little likely to see anyone of our own -age and position. We had, however, an aunt, my mother's maiden -sister, Miss Honoria Westphail, who lives near Harrow, and we -were occasionally allowed to pay short visits at this lady's -house. Julia went there at Christmas two years ago, and met there -a half-pay major of marines, to whom she became engaged. My -stepfather learned of the engagement when my sister returned and -offered no objection to the marriage; but within a fortnight of -the day which had been fixed for the wedding, the terrible event -occurred which has deprived me of my only companion." - -Sherlock Holmes had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes -closed and his head sunk in a cushion, but he half opened his -lids now and glanced across at his visitor. - -"Pray be precise as to details," said he. - -"It is easy for me to be so, for every event of that dreadful -time is seared into my memory. The manor-house is, as I have -already said, very old, and only one wing is now inhabited. The -bedrooms in this wing are on the ground floor, the sitting-rooms -being in the central block of the buildings. Of these bedrooms -the first is Dr. Roylott's, the second my sister's, and the third -my own. There is no communication between them, but they all open -out into the same corridor. Do I make myself plain?" - -"Perfectly so." - -"The windows of the three rooms open out upon the lawn. That -fatal night Dr. Roylott had gone to his room early, though we -knew that he had not retired to rest, for my sister was troubled -by the smell of the strong Indian cigars which it was his custom -to smoke. She left her room, therefore, and came into mine, where -she sat for some time, chatting about her approaching wedding. At -eleven o'clock she rose to leave me, but she paused at the door -and looked back. - -"'Tell me, Helen,' said she, 'have you ever heard anyone whistle -in the dead of the night?' - -"'Never,' said I. - -"'I suppose that you could not possibly whistle, yourself, in -your sleep?' - -"'Certainly not. But why?' - -"'Because during the last few nights I have always, about three -in the morning, heard a low, clear whistle. I am a light sleeper, -and it has awakened me. I cannot tell where it came from--perhaps -from the next room, perhaps from the lawn. I thought that I would -just ask you whether you had heard it.' - -"'No, I have not. It must be those wretched gipsies in the -plantation.' - -"'Very likely. And yet if it were on the lawn, I wonder that you -did not hear it also.' - -"'Ah, but I sleep more heavily than you.' - -"'Well, it is of no great consequence, at any rate.' She smiled -back at me, closed my door, and a few moments later I heard her -key turn in the lock." - -"Indeed," said Holmes. "Was it your custom always to lock -yourselves in at night?" - -"Always." - -"And why?" - -"I think that I mentioned to you that the doctor kept a cheetah -and a baboon. We had no feeling of security unless our doors were -locked." - -"Quite so. Pray proceed with your statement." - -"I could not sleep that night. A vague feeling of impending -misfortune impressed me. My sister and I, you will recollect, -were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two -souls which are so closely allied. It was a wild night. The wind -was howling outside, and the rain was beating and splashing -against the windows. Suddenly, amid all the hubbub of the gale, -there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified woman. I knew -that it was my sister's voice. I sprang from my bed, wrapped a -shawl round me, and rushed into the corridor. As I opened my door -I seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described, and -a few moments later a clanging sound, as if a mass of metal had -fallen. As I ran down the passage, my sister's door was unlocked, -and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared at it -horror-stricken, not knowing what was about to issue from it. By -the light of the corridor-lamp I saw my sister appear at the -opening, her face blanched with terror, her hands groping for -help, her whole figure swaying to and fro like that of a -drunkard. I ran to her and threw my arms round her, but at that -moment her knees seemed to give way and she fell to the ground. -She writhed as one who is in terrible pain, and her limbs were -dreadfully convulsed. At first I thought that she had not -recognised me, but as I bent over her she suddenly shrieked out -in a voice which I shall never forget, 'Oh, my God! Helen! It was -the band! The speckled band!' There was something else which she -would fain have said, and she stabbed with her finger into the -air in the direction of the doctor's room, but a fresh convulsion -seized her and choked her words. I rushed out, calling loudly for -my stepfather, and I met him hastening from his room in his -dressing-gown. When he reached my sister's side she was -unconscious, and though he poured brandy down her throat and sent -for medical aid from the village, all efforts were in vain, for -she slowly sank and died without having recovered her -consciousness. Such was the dreadful end of my beloved sister." - -"One moment," said Holmes, "are you sure about this whistle and -metallic sound? Could you swear to it?" - -"That was what the county coroner asked me at the inquiry. It is -my strong impression that I heard it, and yet, among the crash of -the gale and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly have -been deceived." - -"Was your sister dressed?" - -"No, she was in her night-dress. In her right hand was found the -charred stump of a match, and in her left a match-box." - -"Showing that she had struck a light and looked about her when -the alarm took place. That is important. And what conclusions did -the coroner come to?" - -"He investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott's -conduct had long been notorious in the county, but he was unable -to find any satisfactory cause of death. My evidence showed that -the door had been fastened upon the inner side, and the windows -were blocked by old-fashioned shutters with broad iron bars, -which were secured every night. The walls were carefully sounded, -and were shown to be quite solid all round, and the flooring was -also thoroughly examined, with the same result. The chimney is -wide, but is barred up by four large staples. It is certain, -therefore, that my sister was quite alone when she met her end. -Besides, there were no marks of any violence upon her." - -"How about poison?" - -"The doctors examined her for it, but without success." - -"What do you think that this unfortunate lady died of, then?" - -"It is my belief that she died of pure fear and nervous shock, -though what it was that frightened her I cannot imagine." - -"Were there gipsies in the plantation at the time?" - -"Yes, there are nearly always some there." - -"Ah, and what did you gather from this allusion to a band--a -speckled band?" - -"Sometimes I have thought that it was merely the wild talk of -delirium, sometimes that it may have referred to some band of -people, perhaps to these very gipsies in the plantation. I do not -know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear -over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which -she used." - -Holmes shook his head like a man who is far from being satisfied. - -"These are very deep waters," said he; "pray go on with your -narrative." - -"Two years have passed since then, and my life has been until -lately lonelier than ever. A month ago, however, a dear friend, -whom I have known for many years, has done me the honour to ask -my hand in marriage. His name is Armitage--Percy Armitage--the -second son of Mr. Armitage, of Crane Water, near Reading. My -stepfather has offered no opposition to the match, and we are to -be married in the course of the spring. Two days ago some repairs -were started in the west wing of the building, and my bedroom -wall has been pierced, so that I have had to move into the -chamber in which my sister died, and to sleep in the very bed in -which she slept. Imagine, then, my thrill of terror when last -night, as I lay awake, thinking over her terrible fate, I -suddenly heard in the silence of the night the low whistle which -had been the herald of her own death. I sprang up and lit the -lamp, but nothing was to be seen in the room. I was too shaken to -go to bed again, however, so I dressed, and as soon as it was -daylight I slipped down, got a dog-cart at the Crown Inn, which -is opposite, and drove to Leatherhead, from whence I have come on -this morning with the one object of seeing you and asking your -advice." - -"You have done wisely," said my friend. "But have you told me -all?" - -"Yes, all." - -"Miss Roylott, you have not. You are screening your stepfather." - -"Why, what do you mean?" - -For answer Holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which -fringed the hand that lay upon our visitor's knee. Five little -livid spots, the marks of four fingers and a thumb, were printed -upon the white wrist. - -"You have been cruelly used," said Holmes. - -The lady coloured deeply and covered over her injured wrist. "He -is a hard man," she said, "and perhaps he hardly knows his own -strength." - -There was a long silence, during which Holmes leaned his chin -upon his hands and stared into the crackling fire. - -"This is a very deep business," he said at last. "There are a -thousand details which I should desire to know before I decide -upon our course of action. Yet we have not a moment to lose. If -we were to come to Stoke Moran to-day, would it be possible for -us to see over these rooms without the knowledge of your -stepfather?" - -"As it happens, he spoke of coming into town to-day upon some -most important business. It is probable that he will be away all -day, and that there would be nothing to disturb you. We have a -housekeeper now, but she is old and foolish, and I could easily -get her out of the way." - -"Excellent. You are not averse to this trip, Watson?" - -"By no means." - -"Then we shall both come. What are you going to do yourself?" - -"I have one or two things which I would wish to do now that I am -in town. But I shall return by the twelve o'clock train, so as to -be there in time for your coming." - -"And you may expect us early in the afternoon. I have myself some -small business matters to attend to. Will you not wait and -breakfast?" - -"No, I must go. My heart is lightened already since I have -confided my trouble to you. I shall look forward to seeing you -again this afternoon." She dropped her thick black veil over her -face and glided from the room. - -"And what do you think of it all, Watson?" asked Sherlock Holmes, -leaning back in his chair. - -"It seems to me to be a most dark and sinister business." - -"Dark enough and sinister enough." - -"Yet if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls -are sound, and that the door, window, and chimney are impassable, -then her sister must have been undoubtedly alone when she met her -mysterious end." - -"What becomes, then, of these nocturnal whistles, and what of the -very peculiar words of the dying woman?" - -"I cannot think." - -"When you combine the ideas of whistles at night, the presence of -a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor, -the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has -an interest in preventing his stepdaughter's marriage, the dying -allusion to a band, and, finally, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner -heard a metallic clang, which might have been caused by one of -those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into its -place, I think that there is good ground to think that the -mystery may be cleared along those lines." - -"But what, then, did the gipsies do?" - -"I cannot imagine." - -"I see many objections to any such theory." - -"And so do I. It is precisely for that reason that we are going -to Stoke Moran this day. I want to see whether the objections are -fatal, or if they may be explained away. But what in the name of -the devil!" - -The ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that -our door had been suddenly dashed open, and that a huge man had -framed himself in the aperture. His costume was a peculiar -mixture of the professional and of the agricultural, having a -black top-hat, a long frock-coat, and a pair of high gaiters, -with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was he that his -hat actually brushed the cross bar of the doorway, and his -breadth seemed to span it across from side to side. A large face, -seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and -marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other -of us, while his deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high, thin, -fleshless nose, gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old -bird of prey. - -"Which of you is Holmes?" asked this apparition. - -"My name, sir; but you have the advantage of me," said my -companion quietly. - -"I am Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran." - -"Indeed, Doctor," said Holmes blandly. "Pray take a seat." - -"I will do nothing of the kind. My stepdaughter has been here. I -have traced her. What has she been saying to you?" - -"It is a little cold for the time of the year," said Holmes. - -"What has she been saying to you?" screamed the old man -furiously. - -"But I have heard that the crocuses promise well," continued my -companion imperturbably. - -"Ha! You put me off, do you?" said our new visitor, taking a step -forward and shaking his hunting-crop. "I know you, you scoundrel! -I have heard of you before. You are Holmes, the meddler." - -My friend smiled. - -"Holmes, the busybody!" - -His smile broadened. - -"Holmes, the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!" - -Holmes chuckled heartily. "Your conversation is most -entertaining," said he. "When you go out close the door, for -there is a decided draught." - -"I will go when I have said my say. Don't you dare to meddle with -my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her! -I am a dangerous man to fall foul of! See here." He stepped -swiftly forward, seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with -his huge brown hands. - -"See that you keep yourself out of my grip," he snarled, and -hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the -room. - -"He seems a very amiable person," said Holmes, laughing. "I am -not quite so bulky, but if he had remained I might have shown him -that my grip was not much more feeble than his own." As he spoke -he picked up the steel poker and, with a sudden effort, -straightened it out again. - -"Fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official -detective force! This incident gives zest to our investigation, -however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer -from her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her. And now, -Watson, we shall order breakfast, and afterwards I shall walk -down to Doctors' Commons, where I hope to get some data which may -help us in this matter." - - -It was nearly one o'clock when Sherlock Holmes returned from his -excursion. He held in his hand a sheet of blue paper, scrawled -over with notes and figures. - -"I have seen the will of the deceased wife," said he. "To -determine its exact meaning I have been obliged to work out the -present prices of the investments with which it is concerned. The -total income, which at the time of the wife's death was little -short of 1100 pounds, is now, through the fall in agricultural -prices, not more than 750 pounds. Each daughter can claim an -income of 250 pounds, in case of marriage. It is evident, -therefore, that if both girls had married, this beauty would have -had a mere pittance, while even one of them would cripple him to -a very serious extent. My morning's work has not been wasted, -since it has proved that he has the very strongest motives for -standing in the way of anything of the sort. And now, Watson, -this is too serious for dawdling, especially as the old man is -aware that we are interesting ourselves in his affairs; so if you -are ready, we shall call a cab and drive to Waterloo. I should be -very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your -pocket. An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen -who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and a tooth-brush -are, I think, all that we need." - -At Waterloo we were fortunate in catching a train for -Leatherhead, where we hired a trap at the station inn and drove -for four or five miles through the lovely Surrey lanes. It was a -perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the -heavens. The trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out -their first green shoots, and the air was full of the pleasant -smell of the moist earth. To me at least there was a strange -contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this -sinister quest upon which we were engaged. My companion sat in -the front of the trap, his arms folded, his hat pulled down over -his eyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast, buried in the -deepest thought. Suddenly, however, he started, tapped me on the -shoulder, and pointed over the meadows. - -"Look there!" said he. - -A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, -thickening into a grove at the highest point. From amid the -branches there jutted out the grey gables and high roof-tree of a -very old mansion. - -"Stoke Moran?" said he. - -"Yes, sir, that be the house of Dr. Grimesby Roylott," remarked -the driver. - -"There is some building going on there," said Holmes; "that is -where we are going." - -"There's the village," said the driver, pointing to a cluster of -roofs some distance to the left; "but if you want to get to the -house, you'll find it shorter to get over this stile, and so by -the foot-path over the fields. There it is, where the lady is -walking." - -"And the lady, I fancy, is Miss Stoner," observed Holmes, shading -his eyes. "Yes, I think we had better do as you suggest." - -We got off, paid our fare, and the trap rattled back on its way -to Leatherhead. - -"I thought it as well," said Holmes as we climbed the stile, -"that this fellow should think we had come here as architects, or -on some definite business. It may stop his gossip. -Good-afternoon, Miss Stoner. You see that we have been as good as -our word." - -Our client of the morning had hurried forward to meet us with a -face which spoke her joy. "I have been waiting so eagerly for -you," she cried, shaking hands with us warmly. "All has turned -out splendidly. Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it is unlikely -that he will be back before evening." - -"We have had the pleasure of making the doctor's acquaintance," -said Holmes, and in a few words he sketched out what had -occurred. Miss Stoner turned white to the lips as she listened. - -"Good heavens!" she cried, "he has followed me, then." - -"So it appears." - -"He is so cunning that I never know when I am safe from him. What -will he say when he returns?" - -"He must guard himself, for he may find that there is someone -more cunning than himself upon his track. You must lock yourself -up from him to-night. If he is violent, we shall take you away to -your aunt's at Harrow. Now, we must make the best use of our -time, so kindly take us at once to the rooms which we are to -examine." - -The building was of grey, lichen-blotched stone, with a high -central portion and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab, -thrown out on each side. In one of these wings the windows were -broken and blocked with wooden boards, while the roof was partly -caved in, a picture of ruin. The central portion was in little -better repair, but the right-hand block was comparatively modern, -and the blinds in the windows, with the blue smoke curling up -from the chimneys, showed that this was where the family resided. -Some scaffolding had been erected against the end wall, and the -stone-work had been broken into, but there were no signs of any -workmen at the moment of our visit. Holmes walked slowly up and -down the ill-trimmed lawn and examined with deep attention the -outsides of the windows. - -"This, I take it, belongs to the room in which you used to sleep, -the centre one to your sister's, and the one next to the main -building to Dr. Roylott's chamber?" - -"Exactly so. But I am now sleeping in the middle one." - -"Pending the alterations, as I understand. By the way, there does -not seem to be any very pressing need for repairs at that end -wall." - -"There were none. I believe that it was an excuse to move me from -my room." - -"Ah! that is suggestive. Now, on the other side of this narrow -wing runs the corridor from which these three rooms open. There -are windows in it, of course?" - -"Yes, but very small ones. Too narrow for anyone to pass -through." - -"As you both locked your doors at night, your rooms were -unapproachable from that side. Now, would you have the kindness -to go into your room and bar your shutters?" - -Miss Stoner did so, and Holmes, after a careful examination -through the open window, endeavoured in every way to force the -shutter open, but without success. There was no slit through -which a knife could be passed to raise the bar. Then with his -lens he tested the hinges, but they were of solid iron, built -firmly into the massive masonry. "Hum!" said he, scratching his -chin in some perplexity, "my theory certainly presents some -difficulties. No one could pass these shutters if they were -bolted. Well, we shall see if the inside throws any light upon -the matter." - -A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which -the three bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third -chamber, so we passed at once to the second, that in which Miss -Stoner was now sleeping, and in which her sister had met with her -fate. It was a homely little room, with a low ceiling and a -gaping fireplace, after the fashion of old country-houses. A -brown chest of drawers stood in one corner, a narrow -white-counterpaned bed in another, and a dressing-table on the -left-hand side of the window. These articles, with two small -wicker-work chairs, made up all the furniture in the room save -for a square of Wilton carpet in the centre. The boards round and -the panelling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old -and discoloured that it may have dated from the original building -of the house. Holmes drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat -silent, while his eyes travelled round and round and up and down, -taking in every detail of the apartment. - -"Where does that bell communicate with?" he asked at last -pointing to a thick bell-rope which hung down beside the bed, the -tassel actually lying upon the pillow. - -"It goes to the housekeeper's room." - -"It looks newer than the other things?" - -"Yes, it was only put there a couple of years ago." - -"Your sister asked for it, I suppose?" - -"No, I never heard of her using it. We used always to get what we -wanted for ourselves." - -"Indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there. -You will excuse me for a few minutes while I satisfy myself as to -this floor." He threw himself down upon his face with his lens in -his hand and crawled swiftly backward and forward, examining -minutely the cracks between the boards. Then he did the same with -the wood-work with which the chamber was panelled. Finally he -walked over to the bed and spent some time in staring at it and -in running his eye up and down the wall. Finally he took the -bell-rope in his hand and gave it a brisk tug. - -"Why, it's a dummy," said he. - -"Won't it ring?" - -"No, it is not even attached to a wire. This is very interesting. -You can see now that it is fastened to a hook just above where -the little opening for the ventilator is." - -"How very absurd! I never noticed that before." - -"Very strange!" muttered Holmes, pulling at the rope. "There are -one or two very singular points about this room. For example, -what a fool a builder must be to open a ventilator into another -room, when, with the same trouble, he might have communicated -with the outside air!" - -"That is also quite modern," said the lady. - -"Done about the same time as the bell-rope?" remarked Holmes. - -"Yes, there were several little changes carried out about that -time." - -"They seem to have been of a most interesting character--dummy -bell-ropes, and ventilators which do not ventilate. With your -permission, Miss Stoner, we shall now carry our researches into -the inner apartment." - -Dr. Grimesby Roylott's chamber was larger than that of his -step-daughter, but was as plainly furnished. A camp-bed, a small -wooden shelf full of books, mostly of a technical character, an -armchair beside the bed, a plain wooden chair against the wall, a -round table, and a large iron safe were the principal things -which met the eye. Holmes walked slowly round and examined each -and all of them with the keenest interest. - -"What's in here?" he asked, tapping the safe. - -"My stepfather's business papers." - -"Oh! you have seen inside, then?" - -"Only once, some years ago. I remember that it was full of -papers." - -"There isn't a cat in it, for example?" - -"No. What a strange idea!" - -"Well, look at this!" He took up a small saucer of milk which -stood on the top of it. - -"No; we don't keep a cat. But there is a cheetah and a baboon." - -"Ah, yes, of course! Well, a cheetah is just a big cat, and yet a -saucer of milk does not go very far in satisfying its wants, I -daresay. There is one point which I should wish to determine." He -squatted down in front of the wooden chair and examined the seat -of it with the greatest attention. - -"Thank you. That is quite settled," said he, rising and putting -his lens in his pocket. "Hullo! Here is something interesting!" - -The object which had caught his eye was a small dog lash hung on -one corner of the bed. The lash, however, was curled upon itself -and tied so as to make a loop of whipcord. - -"What do you make of that, Watson?" - -"It's a common enough lash. But I don't know why it should be -tied." - -"That is not quite so common, is it? Ah, me! it's a wicked world, -and when a clever man turns his brains to crime it is the worst -of all. I think that I have seen enough now, Miss Stoner, and -with your permission we shall walk out upon the lawn." - -I had never seen my friend's face so grim or his brow so dark as -it was when we turned from the scene of this investigation. We -had walked several times up and down the lawn, neither Miss -Stoner nor myself liking to break in upon his thoughts before he -roused himself from his reverie. - -"It is very essential, Miss Stoner," said he, "that you should -absolutely follow my advice in every respect." - -"I shall most certainly do so." - -"The matter is too serious for any hesitation. Your life may -depend upon your compliance." - -"I assure you that I am in your hands." - -"In the first place, both my friend and I must spend the night in -your room." - -Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in astonishment. - -"Yes, it must be so. Let me explain. I believe that that is the -village inn over there?" - -"Yes, that is the Crown." - -"Very good. Your windows would be visible from there?" - -"Certainly." - -"You must confine yourself to your room, on pretence of a -headache, when your stepfather comes back. Then when you hear him -retire for the night, you must open the shutters of your window, -undo the hasp, put your lamp there as a signal to us, and then -withdraw quietly with everything which you are likely to want -into the room which you used to occupy. I have no doubt that, in -spite of the repairs, you could manage there for one night." - -"Oh, yes, easily." - -"The rest you will leave in our hands." - -"But what will you do?" - -"We shall spend the night in your room, and we shall investigate -the cause of this noise which has disturbed you." - -"I believe, Mr. Holmes, that you have already made up your mind," -said Miss Stoner, laying her hand upon my companion's sleeve. - -"Perhaps I have." - -"Then, for pity's sake, tell me what was the cause of my sister's -death." - -"I should prefer to have clearer proofs before I speak." - -"You can at least tell me whether my own thought is correct, and -if she died from some sudden fright." - -"No, I do not think so. I think that there was probably some more -tangible cause. And now, Miss Stoner, we must leave you for if -Dr. Roylott returned and saw us our journey would be in vain. -Good-bye, and be brave, for if you will do what I have told you, -you may rest assured that we shall soon drive away the dangers -that threaten you." - -Sherlock Holmes and I had no difficulty in engaging a bedroom and -sitting-room at the Crown Inn. They were on the upper floor, and -from our window we could command a view of the avenue gate, and -of the inhabited wing of Stoke Moran Manor House. At dusk we saw -Dr. Grimesby Roylott drive past, his huge form looming up beside -the little figure of the lad who drove him. The boy had some -slight difficulty in undoing the heavy iron gates, and we heard -the hoarse roar of the doctor's voice and saw the fury with which -he shook his clinched fists at him. The trap drove on, and a few -minutes later we saw a sudden light spring up among the trees as -the lamp was lit in one of the sitting-rooms. - -"Do you know, Watson," said Holmes as we sat together in the -gathering darkness, "I have really some scruples as to taking you -to-night. There is a distinct element of danger." - -"Can I be of assistance?" - -"Your presence might be invaluable." - -"Then I shall certainly come." - -"It is very kind of you." - -"You speak of danger. You have evidently seen more in these rooms -than was visible to me." - -"No, but I fancy that I may have deduced a little more. I imagine -that you saw all that I did." - -"I saw nothing remarkable save the bell-rope, and what purpose -that could answer I confess is more than I can imagine." - -"You saw the ventilator, too?" - -"Yes, but I do not think that it is such a very unusual thing to -have a small opening between two rooms. It was so small that a -rat could hardly pass through." - -"I knew that we should find a ventilator before ever we came to -Stoke Moran." - -"My dear Holmes!" - -"Oh, yes, I did. You remember in her statement she said that her -sister could smell Dr. Roylott's cigar. Now, of course that -suggested at once that there must be a communication between the -two rooms. It could only be a small one, or it would have been -remarked upon at the coroner's inquiry. I deduced a ventilator." - -"But what harm can there be in that?" - -"Well, there is at least a curious coincidence of dates. A -ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and a lady who sleeps in the -bed dies. Does not that strike you?" - -"I cannot as yet see any connection." - -"Did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed?" - -"No." - -"It was clamped to the floor. Did you ever see a bed fastened -like that before?" - -"I cannot say that I have." - -"The lady could not move her bed. It must always be in the same -relative position to the ventilator and to the rope--or so we may -call it, since it was clearly never meant for a bell-pull." - -"Holmes," I cried, "I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at. -We are only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible -crime." - -"Subtle enough and horrible enough. When a doctor does go wrong -he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge. -Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession. -This man strikes even deeper, but I think, Watson, that we shall -be able to strike deeper still. But we shall have horrors enough -before the night is over; for goodness' sake let us have a quiet -pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more -cheerful." - - -About nine o'clock the light among the trees was extinguished, -and all was dark in the direction of the Manor House. Two hours -passed slowly away, and then, suddenly, just at the stroke of -eleven, a single bright light shone out right in front of us. - -"That is our signal," said Holmes, springing to his feet; "it -comes from the middle window." - -As we passed out he exchanged a few words with the landlord, -explaining that we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance, -and that it was possible that we might spend the night there. A -moment later we were out on the dark road, a chill wind blowing -in our faces, and one yellow light twinkling in front of us -through the gloom to guide us on our sombre errand. - -There was little difficulty in entering the grounds, for -unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall. Making our way -among the trees, we reached the lawn, crossed it, and were about -to enter through the window when out from a clump of laurel -bushes there darted what seemed to be a hideous and distorted -child, who threw itself upon the grass with writhing limbs and -then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness. - -"My God!" I whispered; "did you see it?" - -Holmes was for the moment as startled as I. His hand closed like -a vice upon my wrist in his agitation. Then he broke into a low -laugh and put his lips to my ear. - -"It is a nice household," he murmured. "That is the baboon." - -I had forgotten the strange pets which the doctor affected. There -was a cheetah, too; perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders -at any moment. I confess that I felt easier in my mind when, -after following Holmes' example and slipping off my shoes, I -found myself inside the bedroom. My companion noiselessly closed -the shutters, moved the lamp onto the table, and cast his eyes -round the room. All was as we had seen it in the daytime. Then -creeping up to me and making a trumpet of his hand, he whispered -into my ear again so gently that it was all that I could do to -distinguish the words: - -"The least sound would be fatal to our plans." - -I nodded to show that I had heard. - -"We must sit without light. He would see it through the -ventilator." - -I nodded again. - -"Do not go asleep; your very life may depend upon it. Have your -pistol ready in case we should need it. I will sit on the side of -the bed, and you in that chair." - -I took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table. - -Holmes had brought up a long thin cane, and this he placed upon -the bed beside him. By it he laid the box of matches and the -stump of a candle. Then he turned down the lamp, and we were left -in darkness. - -How shall I ever forget that dreadful vigil? I could not hear a -sound, not even the drawing of a breath, and yet I knew that my -companion sat open-eyed, within a few feet of me, in the same -state of nervous tension in which I was myself. The shutters cut -off the least ray of light, and we waited in absolute darkness. - -From outside came the occasional cry of a night-bird, and once at -our very window a long drawn catlike whine, which told us that -the cheetah was indeed at liberty. Far away we could hear the -deep tones of the parish clock, which boomed out every quarter of -an hour. How long they seemed, those quarters! Twelve struck, and -one and two and three, and still we sat waiting silently for -whatever might befall. - -Suddenly there was the momentary gleam of a light up in the -direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately, but was -succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal. -Someone in the next room had lit a dark-lantern. I heard a gentle -sound of movement, and then all was silent once more, though the -smell grew stronger. For half an hour I sat with straining ears. -Then suddenly another sound became audible--a very gentle, -soothing sound, like that of a small jet of steam escaping -continually from a kettle. The instant that we heard it, Holmes -sprang from the bed, struck a match, and lashed furiously with -his cane at the bell-pull. - -"You see it, Watson?" he yelled. "You see it?" - -But I saw nothing. At the moment when Holmes struck the light I -heard a low, clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashing into my -weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which -my friend lashed so savagely. I could, however, see that his face -was deadly pale and filled with horror and loathing. He had -ceased to strike and was gazing up at the ventilator when -suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the most -horrible cry to which I have ever listened. It swelled up louder -and louder, a hoarse yell of pain and fear and anger all mingled -in the one dreadful shriek. They say that away down in the -village, and even in the distant parsonage, that cry raised the -sleepers from their beds. It struck cold to our hearts, and I -stood gazing at Holmes, and he at me, until the last echoes of it -had died away into the silence from which it rose. - -"What can it mean?" I gasped. - -"It means that it is all over," Holmes answered. "And perhaps, -after all, it is for the best. Take your pistol, and we will -enter Dr. Roylott's room." - -With a grave face he lit the lamp and led the way down the -corridor. Twice he struck at the chamber door without any reply -from within. Then he turned the handle and entered, I at his -heels, with the cocked pistol in my hand. - -It was a singular sight which met our eyes. On the table stood a -dark-lantern with the shutter half open, throwing a brilliant -beam of light upon the iron safe, the door of which was ajar. -Beside this table, on the wooden chair, sat Dr. Grimesby Roylott -clad in a long grey dressing-gown, his bare ankles protruding -beneath, and his feet thrust into red heelless Turkish slippers. -Across his lap lay the short stock with the long lash which we -had noticed during the day. His chin was cocked upward and his -eyes were fixed in a dreadful, rigid stare at the corner of the -ceiling. Round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band, with -brownish speckles, which seemed to be bound tightly round his -head. As we entered he made neither sound nor motion. - -"The band! the speckled band!" whispered Holmes. - -I took a step forward. In an instant his strange headgear began -to move, and there reared itself from among his hair the squat -diamond-shaped head and puffed neck of a loathsome serpent. - -"It is a swamp adder!" cried Holmes; "the deadliest snake in -India. He has died within ten seconds of being bitten. Violence -does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls -into the pit which he digs for another. Let us thrust this -creature back into its den, and we can then remove Miss Stoner to -some place of shelter and let the county police know what has -happened." - -As he spoke he drew the dog-whip swiftly from the dead man's lap, -and throwing the noose round the reptile's neck he drew it from -its horrid perch and, carrying it at arm's length, threw it into -the iron safe, which he closed upon it. - -Such are the true facts of the death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of -Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that I should prolong a -narrative which has already run to too great a length by telling -how we broke the sad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed -her by the morning train to the care of her good aunt at Harrow, -of how the slow process of official inquiry came to the -conclusion that the doctor met his fate while indiscreetly -playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I had yet to learn -of the case was told me by Sherlock Holmes as we travelled back -next day. - -"I had," said he, "come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which -shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from -insufficient data. The presence of the gipsies, and the use of -the word 'band,' which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to -explain the appearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of -by the light of her match, were sufficient to put me upon an -entirely wrong scent. I can only claim the merit that I instantly -reconsidered my position when, however, it became clear to me -that whatever danger threatened an occupant of the room could not -come either from the window or the door. My attention was -speedily drawn, as I have already remarked to you, to this -ventilator, and to the bell-rope which hung down to the bed. The -discovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to -the floor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was -there as a bridge for something passing through the hole and -coming to the bed. The idea of a snake instantly occurred to me, -and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was -furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I -was probably on the right track. The idea of using a form of -poison which could not possibly be discovered by any chemical -test was just such a one as would occur to a clever and ruthless -man who had had an Eastern training. The rapidity with which such -a poison would take effect would also, from his point of view, be -an advantage. It would be a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who could -distinguish the two little dark punctures which would show where -the poison fangs had done their work. Then I thought of the -whistle. Of course he must recall the snake before the morning -light revealed it to the victim. He had trained it, probably by -the use of the milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned. -He would put it through this ventilator at the hour that he -thought best, with the certainty that it would crawl down the -rope and land on the bed. It might or might not bite the -occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but -sooner or later she must fall a victim. - -"I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his -room. An inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in -the habit of standing on it, which of course would be necessary -in order that he should reach the ventilator. The sight of the -safe, the saucer of milk, and the loop of whipcord were enough to -finally dispel any doubts which may have remained. The metallic -clang heard by Miss Stoner was obviously caused by her stepfather -hastily closing the door of his safe upon its terrible occupant. -Having once made up my mind, you know the steps which I took in -order to put the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss -as I have no doubt that you did also, and I instantly lit the -light and attacked it." - -"With the result of driving it through the ventilator." - -"And also with the result of causing it to turn upon its master -at the other side. Some of the blows of my cane came home and -roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person -it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. -Grimesby Roylott's death, and I cannot say that it is likely to -weigh very heavily upon my conscience." - - - -IX. THE ADVENTURE OF THE ENGINEER'S THUMB - -Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr. -Sherlock Holmes, for solution during the years of our intimacy, -there were only two which I was the means of introducing to his -notice--that of Mr. Hatherley's thumb, and that of Colonel -Warburton's madness. Of these the latter may have afforded a -finer field for an acute and original observer, but the other was -so strange in its inception and so dramatic in its details that -it may be the more worthy of being placed upon record, even if it -gave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of -reasoning by which he achieved such remarkable results. The story -has, I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers, but, -like all such narratives, its effect is much less striking when -set forth en bloc in a single half-column of print than when the -facts slowly evolve before your own eyes, and the mystery clears -gradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which leads -on to the complete truth. At the time the circumstances made a -deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly -served to weaken the effect. - -It was in the summer of '89, not long after my marriage, that the -events occurred which I am now about to summarise. I had returned -to civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his Baker -Street rooms, although I continually visited him and occasionally -even persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to come -and visit us. My practice had steadily increased, and as I -happened to live at no very great distance from Paddington -Station, I got a few patients from among the officials. One of -these, whom I had cured of a painful and lingering disease, was -never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavouring to send -me on every sufferer over whom he might have any influence. - -One morning, at a little before seven o'clock, I was awakened by -the maid tapping at the door to announce that two men had come -from Paddington and were waiting in the consulting-room. I -dressed hurriedly, for I knew by experience that railway cases -were seldom trivial, and hastened downstairs. As I descended, my -old ally, the guard, came out of the room and closed the door -tightly behind him. - -"I've got him here," he whispered, jerking his thumb over his -shoulder; "he's all right." - -"What is it, then?" I asked, for his manner suggested that it was -some strange creature which he had caged up in my room. - -"It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring him -round myself; then he couldn't slip away. There he is, all safe -and sound. I must go now, Doctor; I have my dooties, just the -same as you." And off he went, this trusty tout, without even -giving me time to thank him. - -I entered my consulting-room and found a gentleman seated by the -table. He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with a -soft cloth cap which he had laid down upon my books. Round one of -his hands he had a handkerchief wrapped, which was mottled all -over with bloodstains. He was young, not more than -five-and-twenty, I should say, with a strong, masculine face; but -he was exceedingly pale and gave me the impression of a man who -was suffering from some strong agitation, which it took all his -strength of mind to control. - -"I am sorry to knock you up so early, Doctor," said he, "but I -have had a very serious accident during the night. I came in by -train this morning, and on inquiring at Paddington as to where I -might find a doctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me -here. I gave the maid a card, but I see that she has left it upon -the side-table." - -I took it up and glanced at it. "Mr. Victor Hatherley, hydraulic -engineer, 16A, Victoria Street (3rd floor)." That was the name, -style, and abode of my morning visitor. "I regret that I have -kept you waiting," said I, sitting down in my library-chair. "You -are fresh from a night journey, I understand, which is in itself -a monotonous occupation." - -"Oh, my night could not be called monotonous," said he, and -laughed. He laughed very heartily, with a high, ringing note, -leaning back in his chair and shaking his sides. All my medical -instincts rose up against that laugh. - -"Stop it!" I cried; "pull yourself together!" and I poured out -some water from a caraffe. - -It was useless, however. He was off in one of those hysterical -outbursts which come upon a strong nature when some great crisis -is over and gone. Presently he came to himself once more, very -weary and pale-looking. - -"I have been making a fool of myself," he gasped. - -"Not at all. Drink this." I dashed some brandy into the water, -and the colour began to come back to his bloodless cheeks. - -"That's better!" said he. "And now, Doctor, perhaps you would -kindly attend to my thumb, or rather to the place where my thumb -used to be." - -He unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. It gave even -my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it. There were four -protruding fingers and a horrid red, spongy surface where the -thumb should have been. It had been hacked or torn right out from -the roots. - -"Good heavens!" I cried, "this is a terrible injury. It must have -bled considerably." - -"Yes, it did. I fainted when it was done, and I think that I must -have been senseless for a long time. When I came to I found that -it was still bleeding, so I tied one end of my handkerchief very -tightly round the wrist and braced it up with a twig." - -"Excellent! You should have been a surgeon." - -"It is a question of hydraulics, you see, and came within my own -province." - -"This has been done," said I, examining the wound, "by a very -heavy and sharp instrument." - -"A thing like a cleaver," said he. - -"An accident, I presume?" - -"By no means." - -"What! a murderous attack?" - -"Very murderous indeed." - -"You horrify me." - -I sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it, and finally covered -it over with cotton wadding and carbolised bandages. He lay back -without wincing, though he bit his lip from time to time. - -"How is that?" I asked when I had finished. - -"Capital! Between your brandy and your bandage, I feel a new man. -I was very weak, but I have had a good deal to go through." - -"Perhaps you had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently -trying to your nerves." - -"Oh, no, not now. I shall have to tell my tale to the police; -but, between ourselves, if it were not for the convincing -evidence of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if they -believed my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one, and I -have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up; and, -even if they believe me, the clues which I can give them are so -vague that it is a question whether justice will be done." - -"Ha!" cried I, "if it is anything in the nature of a problem -which you desire to see solved, I should strongly recommend you -to come to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, before you go to the -official police." - -"Oh, I have heard of that fellow," answered my visitor, "and I -should be very glad if he would take the matter up, though of -course I must use the official police as well. Would you give me -an introduction to him?" - -"I'll do better. I'll take you round to him myself." - -"I should be immensely obliged to you." - -"We'll call a cab and go together. We shall just be in time to -have a little breakfast with him. Do you feel equal to it?" - -"Yes; I shall not feel easy until I have told my story." - -"Then my servant will call a cab, and I shall be with you in an -instant." I rushed upstairs, explained the matter shortly to my -wife, and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with my -new acquaintance to Baker Street. - -Sherlock Holmes was, as I expected, lounging about his -sitting-room in his dressing-gown, reading the agony column of The -Times and smoking his before-breakfast pipe, which was composed -of all the plugs and dottles left from his smokes of the day -before, all carefully dried and collected on the corner of the -mantelpiece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion, -ordered fresh rashers and eggs, and joined us in a hearty meal. -When it was concluded he settled our new acquaintance upon the -sofa, placed a pillow beneath his head, and laid a glass of -brandy and water within his reach. - -"It is easy to see that your experience has been no common one, -Mr. Hatherley," said he. "Pray, lie down there and make yourself -absolutely at home. Tell us what you can, but stop when you are -tired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant." - -"Thank you," said my patient, "but I have felt another man since -the doctor bandaged me, and I think that your breakfast has -completed the cure. I shall take up as little of your valuable -time as possible, so I shall start at once upon my peculiar -experiences." - -Holmes sat in his big armchair with the weary, heavy-lidded -expression which veiled his keen and eager nature, while I sat -opposite to him, and we listened in silence to the strange story -which our visitor detailed to us. - -"You must know," said he, "that I am an orphan and a bachelor, -residing alone in lodgings in London. By profession I am a -hydraulic engineer, and I have had considerable experience of my -work during the seven years that I was apprenticed to Venner & -Matheson, the well-known firm, of Greenwich. Two years ago, -having served my time, and having also come into a fair sum of -money through my poor father's death, I determined to start in -business for myself and took professional chambers in Victoria -Street. - -"I suppose that everyone finds his first independent start in -business a dreary experience. To me it has been exceptionally so. -During two years I have had three consultations and one small -job, and that is absolutely all that my profession has brought -me. My gross takings amount to 27 pounds 10s. Every day, from -nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, I waited in my -little den, until at last my heart began to sink, and I came to -believe that I should never have any practice at all. - -"Yesterday, however, just as I was thinking of leaving the -office, my clerk entered to say there was a gentleman waiting who -wished to see me upon business. He brought up a card, too, with -the name of 'Colonel Lysander Stark' engraved upon it. Close at -his heels came the colonel himself, a man rather over the middle -size, but of an exceeding thinness. I do not think that I have -ever seen so thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into nose -and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn quite tense over -his outstanding bones. Yet this emaciation seemed to be his -natural habit, and due to no disease, for his eye was bright, his -step brisk, and his bearing assured. He was plainly but neatly -dressed, and his age, I should judge, would be nearer forty than -thirty. - -"'Mr. Hatherley?' said he, with something of a German accent. -'You have been recommended to me, Mr. Hatherley, as being a man -who is not only proficient in his profession but is also discreet -and capable of preserving a secret.' - -"I bowed, feeling as flattered as any young man would at such an -address. 'May I ask who it was who gave me so good a character?' - -"'Well, perhaps it is better that I should not tell you that just -at this moment. I have it from the same source that you are both -an orphan and a bachelor and are residing alone in London.' - -"'That is quite correct,' I answered; 'but you will excuse me if -I say that I cannot see how all this bears upon my professional -qualifications. I understand that it was on a professional matter -that you wished to speak to me?' - -"'Undoubtedly so. But you will find that all I say is really to -the point. I have a professional commission for you, but absolute -secrecy is quite essential--absolute secrecy, you understand, and -of course we may expect that more from a man who is alone than -from one who lives in the bosom of his family.' - -"'If I promise to keep a secret,' said I, 'you may absolutely -depend upon my doing so.' - -"He looked very hard at me as I spoke, and it seemed to me that I -had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye. - -"'Do you promise, then?' said he at last. - -"'Yes, I promise.' - -"'Absolute and complete silence before, during, and after? No -reference to the matter at all, either in word or writing?' - -"'I have already given you my word.' - -"'Very good.' He suddenly sprang up, and darting like lightning -across the room he flung open the door. The passage outside was -empty. - -"'That's all right,' said he, coming back. 'I know that clerks are -sometimes curious as to their master's affairs. Now we can talk -in safety.' He drew up his chair very close to mine and began to -stare at me again with the same questioning and thoughtful look. - -"A feeling of repulsion, and of something akin to fear had begun -to rise within me at the strange antics of this fleshless man. -Even my dread of losing a client could not restrain me from -showing my impatience. - -"'I beg that you will state your business, sir,' said I; 'my time -is of value.' Heaven forgive me for that last sentence, but the -words came to my lips. - -"'How would fifty guineas for a night's work suit you?' he asked. - -"'Most admirably.' - -"'I say a night's work, but an hour's would be nearer the mark. I -simply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine which -has got out of gear. If you show us what is wrong we shall soon -set it right ourselves. What do you think of such a commission as -that?' - -"'The work appears to be light and the pay munificent.' - -"'Precisely so. We shall want you to come to-night by the last -train.' - -"'Where to?' - -"'To Eyford, in Berkshire. It is a little place near the borders -of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of Reading. There is a -train from Paddington which would bring you there at about -11:15.' - -"'Very good.' - -"'I shall come down in a carriage to meet you.' - -"'There is a drive, then?' - -"'Yes, our little place is quite out in the country. It is a good -seven miles from Eyford Station.' - -"'Then we can hardly get there before midnight. I suppose there -would be no chance of a train back. I should be compelled to stop -the night.' - -"'Yes, we could easily give you a shake-down.' - -"'That is very awkward. Could I not come at some more convenient -hour?' - -"'We have judged it best that you should come late. It is to -recompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a -young and unknown man, a fee which would buy an opinion from the -very heads of your profession. Still, of course, if you would -like to draw out of the business, there is plenty of time to do -so.' - -"I thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful they -would be to me. 'Not at all,' said I, 'I shall be very happy to -accommodate myself to your wishes. I should like, however, to -understand a little more clearly what it is that you wish me to -do.' - -"'Quite so. It is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which -we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity. I -have no wish to commit you to anything without your having it all -laid before you. I suppose that we are absolutely safe from -eavesdroppers?' - -"'Entirely.' - -"'Then the matter stands thus. You are probably aware that -fuller's-earth is a valuable product, and that it is only found -in one or two places in England?' - -"'I have heard so.' - -"'Some little time ago I bought a small place--a very small -place--within ten miles of Reading. I was fortunate enough to -discover that there was a deposit of fuller's-earth in one of my -fields. On examining it, however, I found that this deposit was a -comparatively small one, and that it formed a link between two -very much larger ones upon the right and left--both of them, -however, in the grounds of my neighbours. These good people were -absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was -quite as valuable as a gold-mine. Naturally, it was to my -interest to buy their land before they discovered its true value, -but unfortunately I had no capital by which I could do this. I -took a few of my friends into the secret, however, and they -suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little -deposit and that in this way we should earn the money which would -enable us to buy the neighbouring fields. This we have now been -doing for some time, and in order to help us in our operations we -erected a hydraulic press. This press, as I have already -explained, has got out of order, and we wish your advice upon the -subject. We guard our secret very jealously, however, and if it -once became known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our -little house, it would soon rouse inquiry, and then, if the facts -came out, it would be good-bye to any chance of getting these -fields and carrying out our plans. That is why I have made you -promise me that you will not tell a human being that you are -going to Eyford to-night. I hope that I make it all plain?' - -"'I quite follow you,' said I. 'The only point which I could not -quite understand was what use you could make of a hydraulic press -in excavating fuller's-earth, which, as I understand, is dug out -like gravel from a pit.' - -"'Ah!' said he carelessly, 'we have our own process. We compress -the earth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealing -what they are. But that is a mere detail. I have taken you fully -into my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley, and I have shown you how I -trust you.' He rose as he spoke. 'I shall expect you, then, at -Eyford at 11:15.' - -"'I shall certainly be there.' - -"'And not a word to a soul.' He looked at me with a last long, -questioning gaze, and then, pressing my hand in a cold, dank -grasp, he hurried from the room. - -"Well, when I came to think it all over in cool blood I was very -much astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission -which had been intrusted to me. On the one hand, of course, I was -glad, for the fee was at least tenfold what I should have asked -had I set a price upon my own services, and it was possible that -this order might lead to other ones. On the other hand, the face -and manner of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon -me, and I could not think that his explanation of the -fuller's-earth was sufficient to explain the necessity for my -coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should tell -anyone of my errand. However, I threw all fears to the winds, ate -a hearty supper, drove to Paddington, and started off, having -obeyed to the letter the injunction as to holding my tongue. - -"At Reading I had to change not only my carriage but my station. -However, I was in time for the last train to Eyford, and I -reached the little dim-lit station after eleven o'clock. I was the -only passenger who got out there, and there was no one upon the -platform save a single sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passed -out through the wicket gate, however, I found my acquaintance of -the morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without a -word he grasped my arm and hurried me into a carriage, the door -of which was standing open. He drew up the windows on either -side, tapped on the wood-work, and away we went as fast as the -horse could go." - -"One horse?" interjected Holmes. - -"Yes, only one." - -"Did you observe the colour?" - -"Yes, I saw it by the side-lights when I was stepping into the -carriage. It was a chestnut." - -"Tired-looking or fresh?" - -"Oh, fresh and glossy." - -"Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue -your most interesting statement." - -"Away we went then, and we drove for at least an hour. Colonel -Lysander Stark had said that it was only seven miles, but I -should think, from the rate that we seemed to go, and from the -time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He sat -at my side in silence all the time, and I was aware, more than -once when I glanced in his direction, that he was looking at me -with great intensity. The country roads seem to be not very good -in that part of the world, for we lurched and jolted terribly. I -tried to look out of the windows to see something of where we -were, but they were made of frosted glass, and I could make out -nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light. Now -and then I hazarded some remark to break the monotony of the -journey, but the colonel answered only in monosyllables, and the -conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping of the -road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a gravel-drive, -and the carriage came to a stand. Colonel Lysander Stark sprang -out, and, as I followed after him, pulled me swiftly into a porch -which gaped in front of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of -the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed to catch the -most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant that -I had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us, -and I heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage -drove away. - -"It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled -about looking for matches and muttering under his breath. -Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and a -long, golden bar of light shot out in our direction. It grew -broader, and a woman appeared with a lamp in her hand, which she -held above her head, pushing her face forward and peering at us. -I could see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with which -the light shone upon her dark dress I knew that it was a rich -material. She spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as -though asking a question, and when my companion answered in a -gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly -fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her, whispered -something in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the room -from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the -lamp in his hand. - -"'Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a -few minutes,' said he, throwing open another door. It was a -quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the -centre, on which several German books were scattered. Colonel -Stark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the -door. 'I shall not keep you waiting an instant,' said he, and -vanished into the darkness. - -"I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my -ignorance of German I could see that two of them were treatises -on science, the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked -across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of -the country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded -across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There was an old -clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise -everything was deadly still. A vague feeling of uneasiness began -to steal over me. Who were these German people, and what were -they doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? And -where was the place? I was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was -all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or west I had no -idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other large towns, -were within that radius, so the place might not be so secluded, -after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness, -that we were in the country. I paced up and down the room, -humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling -that I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee. - -"Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the -utter stillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman -was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind -her, the yellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager and -beautiful face. I could see at a glance that she was sick with -fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one -shaking finger to warn me to be silent, and she shot a few -whispered words of broken English at me, her eyes glancing back, -like those of a frightened horse, into the gloom behind her. - -"'I would go,' said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, to -speak calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is no -good for you to do.' - -"'But, madam,' said I, 'I have not yet done what I came for. I -cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.' - -"'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass -through the door; no one hinders.' And then, seeing that I smiled -and shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and -made a step forward, with her hands wrung together. 'For the love -of Heaven!' she whispered, 'get away from here before it is too -late!' - -"But I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready to -engage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I -thought of my fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of -the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to -go for nothing? Why should I slink away without having carried -out my commission, and without the payment which was my due? This -woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout -bearing, therefore, though her manner had shaken me more than I -cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention -of remaining where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties -when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several footsteps -was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up -her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and -as noiselessly as she had come. - -"The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick man -with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double -chin, who was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson. - -"'This is my secretary and manager,' said the colonel. 'By the -way, I was under the impression that I left this door shut just -now. I fear that you have felt the draught.' - -"'On the contrary,' said I, 'I opened the door myself because I -felt the room to be a little close.' - -"He shot one of his suspicious looks at me. 'Perhaps we had -better proceed to business, then,' said he. 'Mr. Ferguson and I -will take you up to see the machine.' - -"'I had better put my hat on, I suppose.' - -"'Oh, no, it is in the house.' - -"'What, you dig fuller's-earth in the house?' - -"'No, no. This is only where we compress it. But never mind that. -All we wish you to do is to examine the machine and to let us -know what is wrong with it.' - -"We went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, the -fat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house, -with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little -low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the -generations who had crossed them. There were no carpets and no -signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster -was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in -green, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned an -air as possible, but I had not forgotten the warnings of the -lady, even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen eye upon -my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent -man, but I could see from the little that he said that he was at -least a fellow-countryman. - -"Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door, which -he unlocked. Within was a small, square room, in which the three -of us could hardly get at one time. Ferguson remained outside, -and the colonel ushered me in. - -"'We are now,' said he, 'actually within the hydraulic press, and -it would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were -to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the -end of the descending piston, and it comes down with the force of -many tons upon this metal floor. There are small lateral columns -of water outside which receive the force, and which transmit and -multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The machine -goes readily enough, but there is some stiffness in the working -of it, and it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you will -have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set -it right.' - -"I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very -thoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of -exercising enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and -pressed down the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by -the whishing sound that there was a slight leakage, which allowed -a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders. An -examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was -round the head of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not quite to -fill the socket along which it worked. This was clearly the cause -of the loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions, who -followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical -questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When I -had made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the -machine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. -It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller's-earth -was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose -that so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate a -purpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a -large iron trough, and when I came to examine it I could see a -crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was -scraping at this to see exactly what it was when I heard a -muttered exclamation in German and saw the cadaverous face of the -colonel looking down at me. - -"'What are you doing there?' he asked. - -"I felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as -that which he had told me. 'I was admiring your fuller's-earth,' -said I; 'I think that I should be better able to advise you as to -your machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which it -was used.' - -"The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of -my speech. His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in -his grey eyes. - -"'Very well,' said he, 'you shall know all about the machine.' He -took a step backward, slammed the little door, and turned the key -in the lock. I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle, but it -was quite secure, and did not give in the least to my kicks and -shoves. 'Hullo!' I yelled. 'Hullo! Colonel! Let me out!' - -"And then suddenly in the silence I heard a sound which sent my -heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the levers and the swish -of the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lamp -still stood upon the floor where I had placed it when examining -the trough. By its light I saw that the black ceiling was coming -down upon me, slowly, jerkily, but, as none knew better than -myself, with a force which must within a minute grind me to a -shapeless pulp. I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and -dragged with my nails at the lock. I implored the colonel to let -me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my -cries. The ceiling was only a foot or two above my head, and with -my hand upraised I could feel its hard, rough surface. Then it -flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend -very much upon the position in which I met it. If I lay on my -face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to -think of that dreadful snap. Easier the other way, perhaps; and -yet, had I the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly black -shadow wavering down upon me? Already I was unable to stand -erect, when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope -back to my heart. - -"I have said that though the floor and ceiling were of iron, the -walls were of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around, I saw -a thin line of yellow light between two of the boards, which -broadened and broadened as a small panel was pushed backward. For -an instant I could hardly believe that here was indeed a door -which led away from death. The next instant I threw myself -through, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel had -closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp, and a few -moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told me -how narrow had been my escape. - -"I was recalled to myself by a frantic plucking at my wrist, and -I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor, -while a woman bent over me and tugged at me with her left hand, -while she held a candle in her right. It was the same good friend -whose warning I had so foolishly rejected. - -"'Come! come!' she cried breathlessly. 'They will be here in a -moment. They will see that you are not there. Oh, do not waste -the so-precious time, but come!' - -"This time, at least, I did not scorn her advice. I staggered to -my feet and ran with her along the corridor and down a winding -stair. The latter led to another broad passage, and just as we -reached it we heard the sound of running feet and the shouting of -two voices, one answering the other from the floor on which we -were and from the one beneath. My guide stopped and looked about -her like one who is at her wit's end. Then she threw open a door -which led into a bedroom, through the window of which the moon -was shining brightly. - -"'It is your only chance,' said she. 'It is high, but it may be -that you can jump it.' - -"As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the -passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark -rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a -butcher's cleaver in the other. I rushed across the bedroom, -flung open the window, and looked out. How quiet and sweet and -wholesome the garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be -more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but I -hesitated to jump until I should have heard what passed between -my saviour and the ruffian who pursued me. If she were ill-used, -then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance. -The thought had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at -the door, pushing his way past her; but she threw her arms round -him and tried to hold him back. - -"'Fritz! Fritz!' she cried in English, 'remember your promise -after the last time. You said it should not be again. He will be -silent! Oh, he will be silent!' - -"'You are mad, Elise!' he shouted, struggling to break away from -her. 'You will be the ruin of us. He has seen too much. Let me -pass, I say!' He dashed her to one side, and, rushing to the -window, cut at me with his heavy weapon. I had let myself go, and -was hanging by the hands to the sill, when his blow fell. I was -conscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into the -garden below. - -"I was shaken but not hurt by the fall; so I picked myself up and -rushed off among the bushes as hard as I could run, for I -understood that I was far from being out of danger yet. Suddenly, -however, as I ran, a deadly dizziness and sickness came over me. -I glanced down at my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and -then, for the first time, saw that my thumb had been cut off and -that the blood was pouring from my wound. I endeavoured to tie my -handkerchief round it, but there came a sudden buzzing in my -ears, and next moment I fell in a dead faint among the -rose-bushes. - -"How long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have been -a very long time, for the moon had sunk, and a bright morning was -breaking when I came to myself. My clothes were all sodden with -dew, and my coat-sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded -thumb. The smarting of it recalled in an instant all the -particulars of my night's adventure, and I sprang to my feet with -the feeling that I might hardly yet be safe from my pursuers. But -to my astonishment, when I came to look round me, neither house -nor garden were to be seen. I had been lying in an angle of the -hedge close by the highroad, and just a little lower down was a -long building, which proved, upon my approaching it, to be the -very station at which I had arrived upon the previous night. Were -it not for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had passed -during those dreadful hours might have been an evil dream. - -"Half dazed, I went into the station and asked about the morning -train. There would be one to Reading in less than an hour. The -same porter was on duty, I found, as had been there when I -arrived. I inquired of him whether he had ever heard of Colonel -Lysander Stark. The name was strange to him. Had he observed a -carriage the night before waiting for me? No, he had not. Was -there a police-station anywhere near? There was one about three -miles off. - -"It was too far for me to go, weak and ill as I was. I determined -to wait until I got back to town before telling my story to the -police. It was a little past six when I arrived, so I went first -to have my wound dressed, and then the doctor was kind enough to -bring me along here. I put the case into your hands and shall do -exactly what you advise." - -We both sat in silence for some little time after listening to -this extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down -from the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in which he -placed his cuttings. - -"Here is an advertisement which will interest you," said he. "It -appeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this: -'Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, aged -twenty-six, a hydraulic engineer. Left his lodgings at ten -o'clock at night, and has not been heard of since. Was -dressed in,' etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time that -the colonel needed to have his machine overhauled, I fancy." - -"Good heavens!" cried my patient. "Then that explains what the -girl said." - -"Undoubtedly. It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and -desperate man, who was absolutely determined that nothing should -stand in the way of his little game, like those out-and-out -pirates who will leave no survivor from a captured ship. Well, -every moment now is precious, so if you feel equal to it we shall -go down to Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary to starting for -Eyford." - -Some three hours or so afterwards we were all in the train -together, bound from Reading to the little Berkshire village. -There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector -Bradstreet, of Scotland Yard, a plain-clothes man, and myself. -Bradstreet had spread an ordnance map of the county out upon the -seat and was busy with his compasses drawing a circle with Eyford -for its centre. - -"There you are," said he. "That circle is drawn at a radius of -ten miles from the village. The place we want must be somewhere -near that line. You said ten miles, I think, sir." - -"It was an hour's good drive." - -"And you think that they brought you back all that way when you -were unconscious?" - -"They must have done so. I have a confused memory, too, of having -been lifted and conveyed somewhere." - -"What I cannot understand," said I, "is why they should have -spared you when they found you lying fainting in the garden. -Perhaps the villain was softened by the woman's entreaties." - -"I hardly think that likely. I never saw a more inexorable face -in my life." - -"Oh, we shall soon clear up all that," said Bradstreet. "Well, I -have drawn my circle, and I only wish I knew at what point upon -it the folk that we are in search of are to be found." - -"I think I could lay my finger on it," said Holmes quietly. - -"Really, now!" cried the inspector, "you have formed your -opinion! Come, now, we shall see who agrees with you. I say it is -south, for the country is more deserted there." - -"And I say east," said my patient. - -"I am for west," remarked the plain-clothes man. "There are -several quiet little villages up there." - -"And I am for north," said I, "because there are no hills there, -and our friend says that he did not notice the carriage go up -any." - -"Come," cried the inspector, laughing; "it's a very pretty -diversity of opinion. We have boxed the compass among us. Who do -you give your casting vote to?" - -"You are all wrong." - -"But we can't all be." - -"Oh, yes, you can. This is my point." He placed his finger in the -centre of the circle. "This is where we shall find them." - -"But the twelve-mile drive?" gasped Hatherley. - -"Six out and six back. Nothing simpler. You say yourself that the -horse was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be that -if it had gone twelve miles over heavy roads?" - -"Indeed, it is a likely ruse enough," observed Bradstreet -thoughtfully. "Of course there can be no doubt as to the nature -of this gang." - -"None at all," said Holmes. "They are coiners on a large scale, -and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the -place of silver." - -"We have known for some time that a clever gang was at work," -said the inspector. "They have been turning out half-crowns by -the thousand. We even traced them as far as Reading, but could -get no farther, for they had covered their traces in a way that -showed that they were very old hands. But now, thanks to this -lucky chance, I think that we have got them right enough." - -But the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not -destined to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled into -Eyford Station we saw a gigantic column of smoke which streamed -up from behind a small clump of trees in the neighbourhood and -hung like an immense ostrich feather over the landscape. - -"A house on fire?" asked Bradstreet as the train steamed off -again on its way. - -"Yes, sir!" said the station-master. - -"When did it break out?" - -"I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse, -and the whole place is in a blaze." - -"Whose house is it?" - -"Dr. Becher's." - -"Tell me," broke in the engineer, "is Dr. Becher a German, very -thin, with a long, sharp nose?" - -The station-master laughed heartily. "No, sir, Dr. Becher is an -Englishman, and there isn't a man in the parish who has a -better-lined waistcoat. But he has a gentleman staying with him, -a patient, as I understand, who is a foreigner, and he looks as -if a little good Berkshire beef would do him no harm." - -The station-master had not finished his speech before we were all -hastening in the direction of the fire. The road topped a low -hill, and there was a great widespread whitewashed building in -front of us, spouting fire at every chink and window, while in -the garden in front three fire-engines were vainly striving to -keep the flames under. - -"That's it!" cried Hatherley, in intense excitement. "There is -the gravel-drive, and there are the rose-bushes where I lay. That -second window is the one that I jumped from." - -"Well, at least," said Holmes, "you have had your revenge upon -them. There can be no question that it was your oil-lamp which, -when it was crushed in the press, set fire to the wooden walls, -though no doubt they were too excited in the chase after you to -observe it at the time. Now keep your eyes open in this crowd for -your friends of last night, though I very much fear that they are -a good hundred miles off by now." - -And Holmes' fears came to be realised, for from that day to this -no word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, the -sinister German, or the morose Englishman. Early that morning a -peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very -bulky boxes driving rapidly in the direction of Reading, but -there all traces of the fugitives disappeared, and even Holmes' -ingenuity failed ever to discover the least clue as to their -whereabouts. - -The firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements -which they had found within, and still more so by discovering a -newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor. -About sunset, however, their efforts were at last successful, and -they subdued the flames, but not before the roof had fallen in, -and the whole place been reduced to such absolute ruin that, save -some twisted cylinders and iron piping, not a trace remained of -the machinery which had cost our unfortunate acquaintance so -dearly. Large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered stored -in an out-house, but no coins were to be found, which may have -explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have been -already referred to. - -How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed from the garden to -the spot where he recovered his senses might have remained -forever a mystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us a -very plain tale. He had evidently been carried down by two -persons, one of whom had remarkably small feet and the other -unusually large ones. On the whole, it was most probable that the -silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than his -companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious man out -of the way of danger. - -"Well," said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to return -once more to London, "it has been a pretty business for me! I -have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what -have I gained?" - -"Experience," said Holmes, laughing. "Indirectly it may be of -value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the -reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your -existence." - - - -X. THE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELOR - -The Lord St. Simon marriage, and its curious termination, have -long ceased to be a subject of interest in those exalted circles -in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves. Fresh scandals have -eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have drawn the -gossips away from this four-year-old drama. As I have reason to -believe, however, that the full facts have never been revealed to -the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a -considerable share in clearing the matter up, I feel that no -memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of -this remarkable episode. - -It was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I -was still sharing rooms with Holmes in Baker Street, that he came -home from an afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table -waiting for him. I had remained indoors all day, for the weather -had taken a sudden turn to rain, with high autumnal winds, and -the Jezail bullet which I had brought back in one of my limbs as -a relic of my Afghan campaign throbbed with dull persistence. -With my body in one easy-chair and my legs upon another, I had -surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers until at last, -saturated with the news of the day, I tossed them all aside and -lay listless, watching the huge crest and monogram upon the -envelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friend's -noble correspondent could be. - -"Here is a very fashionable epistle," I remarked as he entered. -"Your morning letters, if I remember right, were from a -fish-monger and a tide-waiter." - -"Yes, my correspondence has certainly the charm of variety," he -answered, smiling, "and the humbler are usually the more -interesting. This looks like one of those unwelcome social -summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie." - -He broke the seal and glanced over the contents. - -"Oh, come, it may prove to be something of interest, after all." - -"Not social, then?" - -"No, distinctly professional." - -"And from a noble client?" - -"One of the highest in England." - -"My dear fellow, I congratulate you." - -"I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that the status of my -client is a matter of less moment to me than the interest of his -case. It is just possible, however, that that also may not be -wanting in this new investigation. You have been reading the -papers diligently of late, have you not?" - -"It looks like it," said I ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in -the corner. "I have had nothing else to do." - -"It is fortunate, for you will perhaps be able to post me up. I -read nothing except the criminal news and the agony column. The -latter is always instructive. But if you have followed recent -events so closely you must have read about Lord St. Simon and his -wedding?" - -"Oh, yes, with the deepest interest." - -"That is well. The letter which I hold in my hand is from Lord -St. Simon. I will read it to you, and in return you must turn -over these papers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter. -This is what he says: - -"'MY DEAR MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES:--Lord Backwater tells me that I -may place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion. I -have determined, therefore, to call upon you and to consult you -in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in -connection with my wedding. Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, is -acting already in the matter, but he assures me that he sees no -objection to your co-operation, and that he even thinks that -it might be of some assistance. I will call at four o'clock in -the afternoon, and, should you have any other engagement at that -time, I hope that you will postpone it, as this matter is of -paramount importance. Yours faithfully, ST. SIMON.' - -"It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, -and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink -upon the outer side of his right little finger," remarked Holmes -as he folded up the epistle. - -"He says four o'clock. It is three now. He will be here in an -hour." - -"Then I have just time, with your assistance, to get clear upon -the subject. Turn over those papers and arrange the extracts in -their order of time, while I take a glance as to who our client -is." He picked a red-covered volume from a line of books of -reference beside the mantelpiece. "Here he is," said he, sitting -down and flattening it out upon his knee. "'Lord Robert Walsingham -de Vere St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral.' Hum! 'Arms: -Azure, three caltrops in chief over a fess sable. Born in 1846.' -He's forty-one years of age, which is mature for marriage. Was -Under-Secretary for the colonies in a late administration. The -Duke, his father, was at one time Secretary for Foreign Affairs. -They inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent, and Tudor on -the distaff side. Ha! Well, there is nothing very instructive in -all this. I think that I must turn to you Watson, for something -more solid." - -"I have very little difficulty in finding what I want," said I, -"for the facts are quite recent, and the matter struck me as -remarkable. I feared to refer them to you, however, as I knew -that you had an inquiry on hand and that you disliked the -intrusion of other matters." - -"Oh, you mean the little problem of the Grosvenor Square -furniture van. That is quite cleared up now--though, indeed, it -was obvious from the first. Pray give me the results of your -newspaper selections." - -"Here is the first notice which I can find. It is in the personal -column of the Morning Post, and dates, as you see, some weeks -back: 'A marriage has been arranged,' it says, 'and will, if -rumour is correct, very shortly take place, between Lord Robert -St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral, and Miss Hatty -Doran, the only daughter of Aloysius Doran. Esq., of San -Francisco, Cal., U.S.A.' That is all." - -"Terse and to the point," remarked Holmes, stretching his long, -thin legs towards the fire. - -"There was a paragraph amplifying this in one of the society -papers of the same week. Ah, here it is: 'There will soon be a -call for protection in the marriage market, for the present -free-trade principle appears to tell heavily against our home -product. One by one the management of the noble houses of Great -Britain is passing into the hands of our fair cousins from across -the Atlantic. An important addition has been made during the last -week to the list of the prizes which have been borne away by -these charming invaders. Lord St. Simon, who has shown himself -for over twenty years proof against the little god's arrows, has -now definitely announced his approaching marriage with Miss Hatty -Doran, the fascinating daughter of a California millionaire. Miss -Doran, whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much -attention at the Westbury House festivities, is an only child, -and it is currently reported that her dowry will run to -considerably over the six figures, with expectancies for the -future. As it is an open secret that the Duke of Balmoral has -been compelled to sell his pictures within the last few years, -and as Lord St. Simon has no property of his own save the small -estate of Birchmoor, it is obvious that the Californian heiress -is not the only gainer by an alliance which will enable her to -make the easy and common transition from a Republican lady to a -British peeress.'" - -"Anything else?" asked Holmes, yawning. - -"Oh, yes; plenty. Then there is another note in the Morning Post -to say that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet one, that it -would be at St. George's, Hanover Square, that only half a dozen -intimate friends would be invited, and that the party would -return to the furnished house at Lancaster Gate which has been -taken by Mr. Aloysius Doran. Two days later--that is, on -Wednesday last--there is a curt announcement that the wedding had -taken place, and that the honeymoon would be passed at Lord -Backwater's place, near Petersfield. Those are all the notices -which appeared before the disappearance of the bride." - -"Before the what?" asked Holmes with a start. - -"The vanishing of the lady." - -"When did she vanish, then?" - -"At the wedding breakfast." - -"Indeed. This is more interesting than it promised to be; quite -dramatic, in fact." - -"Yes; it struck me as being a little out of the common." - -"They often vanish before the ceremony, and occasionally during -the honeymoon; but I cannot call to mind anything quite so prompt -as this. Pray let me have the details." - -"I warn you that they are very incomplete." - -"Perhaps we may make them less so." - -"Such as they are, they are set forth in a single article of a -morning paper of yesterday, which I will read to you. It is -headed, 'Singular Occurrence at a Fashionable Wedding': - -"'The family of Lord Robert St. Simon has been thrown into the -greatest consternation by the strange and painful episodes which -have taken place in connection with his wedding. The ceremony, as -shortly announced in the papers of yesterday, occurred on the -previous morning; but it is only now that it has been possible to -confirm the strange rumours which have been so persistently -floating about. In spite of the attempts of the friends to hush -the matter up, so much public attention has now been drawn to it -that no good purpose can be served by affecting to disregard what -is a common subject for conversation. - -"'The ceremony, which was performed at St. George's, Hanover -Square, was a very quiet one, no one being present save the -father of the bride, Mr. Aloysius Doran, the Duchess of Balmoral, -Lord Backwater, Lord Eustace and Lady Clara St. Simon (the -younger brother and sister of the bridegroom), and Lady Alicia -Whittington. The whole party proceeded afterwards to the house of -Mr. Aloysius Doran, at Lancaster Gate, where breakfast had been -prepared. It appears that some little trouble was caused by a -woman, whose name has not been ascertained, who endeavoured to -force her way into the house after the bridal party, alleging -that she had some claim upon Lord St. Simon. It was only after a -painful and prolonged scene that she was ejected by the butler -and the footman. The bride, who had fortunately entered the house -before this unpleasant interruption, had sat down to breakfast -with the rest, when she complained of a sudden indisposition and -retired to her room. Her prolonged absence having caused some -comment, her father followed her, but learned from her maid that -she had only come up to her chamber for an instant, caught up an -ulster and bonnet, and hurried down to the passage. One of the -footmen declared that he had seen a lady leave the house thus -apparelled, but had refused to credit that it was his mistress, -believing her to be with the company. On ascertaining that his -daughter had disappeared, Mr. Aloysius Doran, in conjunction with -the bridegroom, instantly put themselves in communication with -the police, and very energetic inquiries are being made, which -will probably result in a speedy clearing up of this very -singular business. Up to a late hour last night, however, nothing -had transpired as to the whereabouts of the missing lady. There -are rumours of foul play in the matter, and it is said that the -police have caused the arrest of the woman who had caused the -original disturbance, in the belief that, from jealousy or some -other motive, she may have been concerned in the strange -disappearance of the bride.'" - -"And is that all?" - -"Only one little item in another of the morning papers, but it is -a suggestive one." - -"And it is--" - -"That Miss Flora Millar, the lady who had caused the disturbance, -has actually been arrested. It appears that she was formerly a -danseuse at the Allegro, and that she has known the bridegroom -for some years. There are no further particulars, and the whole -case is in your hands now--so far as it has been set forth in the -public press." - -"And an exceedingly interesting case it appears to be. I would -not have missed it for worlds. But there is a ring at the bell, -Watson, and as the clock makes it a few minutes after four, I -have no doubt that this will prove to be our noble client. Do not -dream of going, Watson, for I very much prefer having a witness, -if only as a check to my own memory." - -"Lord Robert St. Simon," announced our page-boy, throwing open -the door. A gentleman entered, with a pleasant, cultured face, -high-nosed and pale, with something perhaps of petulance about -the mouth, and with the steady, well-opened eye of a man whose -pleasant lot it had ever been to command and to be obeyed. His -manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an undue -impression of age, for he had a slight forward stoop and a little -bend of the knees as he walked. His hair, too, as he swept off -his very curly-brimmed hat, was grizzled round the edges and thin -upon the top. As to his dress, it was careful to the verge of -foppishness, with high collar, black frock-coat, white waistcoat, -yellow gloves, patent-leather shoes, and light-coloured gaiters. -He advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from left to -right, and swinging in his right hand the cord which held his -golden eyeglasses. - -"Good-day, Lord St. Simon," said Holmes, rising and bowing. "Pray -take the basket-chair. This is my friend and colleague, Dr. -Watson. Draw up a little to the fire, and we will talk this -matter over." - -"A most painful matter to me, as you can most readily imagine, -Mr. Holmes. I have been cut to the quick. I understand that you -have already managed several delicate cases of this sort, sir, -though I presume that they were hardly from the same class of -society." - -"No, I am descending." - -"I beg pardon." - -"My last client of the sort was a king." - -"Oh, really! I had no idea. And which king?" - -"The King of Scandinavia." - -"What! Had he lost his wife?" - -"You can understand," said Holmes suavely, "that I extend to the -affairs of my other clients the same secrecy which I promise to -you in yours." - -"Of course! Very right! very right! I'm sure I beg pardon. As to -my own case, I am ready to give you any information which may -assist you in forming an opinion." - -"Thank you. I have already learned all that is in the public -prints, nothing more. I presume that I may take it as correct--this -article, for example, as to the disappearance of the bride." - -Lord St. Simon glanced over it. "Yes, it is correct, as far as it -goes." - -"But it needs a great deal of supplementing before anyone could -offer an opinion. I think that I may arrive at my facts most -directly by questioning you." - -"Pray do so." - -"When did you first meet Miss Hatty Doran?" - -"In San Francisco, a year ago." - -"You were travelling in the States?" - -"Yes." - -"Did you become engaged then?" - -"No." - -"But you were on a friendly footing?" - -"I was amused by her society, and she could see that I was -amused." - -"Her father is very rich?" - -"He is said to be the richest man on the Pacific slope." - -"And how did he make his money?" - -"In mining. He had nothing a few years ago. Then he struck gold, -invested it, and came up by leaps and bounds." - -"Now, what is your own impression as to the young lady's--your -wife's character?" - -The nobleman swung his glasses a little faster and stared down -into the fire. "You see, Mr. Holmes," said he, "my wife was -twenty before her father became a rich man. During that time she -ran free in a mining camp and wandered through woods or -mountains, so that her education has come from Nature rather than -from the schoolmaster. She is what we call in England a tomboy, -with a strong nature, wild and free, unfettered by any sort of -traditions. She is impetuous--volcanic, I was about to say. She -is swift in making up her mind and fearless in carrying out her -resolutions. On the other hand, I would not have given her the -name which I have the honour to bear"--he gave a little stately -cough--"had not I thought her to be at bottom a noble woman. I -believe that she is capable of heroic self-sacrifice and that -anything dishonourable would be repugnant to her." - -"Have you her photograph?" - -"I brought this with me." He opened a locket and showed us the -full face of a very lovely woman. It was not a photograph but an -ivory miniature, and the artist had brought out the full effect -of the lustrous black hair, the large dark eyes, and the -exquisite mouth. Holmes gazed long and earnestly at it. Then he -closed the locket and handed it back to Lord St. Simon. - -"The young lady came to London, then, and you renewed your -acquaintance?" - -"Yes, her father brought her over for this last London season. I -met her several times, became engaged to her, and have now -married her." - -"She brought, I understand, a considerable dowry?" - -"A fair dowry. Not more than is usual in my family." - -"And this, of course, remains to you, since the marriage is a -fait accompli?" - -"I really have made no inquiries on the subject." - -"Very naturally not. Did you see Miss Doran on the day before the -wedding?" - -"Yes." - -"Was she in good spirits?" - -"Never better. She kept talking of what we should do in our -future lives." - -"Indeed! That is very interesting. And on the morning of the -wedding?" - -"She was as bright as possible--at least until after the -ceremony." - -"And did you observe any change in her then?" - -"Well, to tell the truth, I saw then the first signs that I had -ever seen that her temper was just a little sharp. The incident -however, was too trivial to relate and can have no possible -bearing upon the case." - -"Pray let us have it, for all that." - -"Oh, it is childish. She dropped her bouquet as we went towards -the vestry. She was passing the front pew at the time, and it -fell over into the pew. There was a moment's delay, but the -gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again, and it did not -appear to be the worse for the fall. Yet when I spoke to her of -the matter, she answered me abruptly; and in the carriage, on our -way home, she seemed absurdly agitated over this trifling cause." - -"Indeed! You say that there was a gentleman in the pew. Some of -the general public were present, then?" - -"Oh, yes. It is impossible to exclude them when the church is -open." - -"This gentleman was not one of your wife's friends?" - -"No, no; I call him a gentleman by courtesy, but he was quite a -common-looking person. I hardly noticed his appearance. But -really I think that we are wandering rather far from the point." - -"Lady St. Simon, then, returned from the wedding in a less -cheerful frame of mind than she had gone to it. What did she do -on re-entering her father's house?" - -"I saw her in conversation with her maid." - -"And who is her maid?" - -"Alice is her name. She is an American and came from California -with her." - -"A confidential servant?" - -"A little too much so. It seemed to me that her mistress allowed -her to take great liberties. Still, of course, in America they -look upon these things in a different way." - -"How long did she speak to this Alice?" - -"Oh, a few minutes. I had something else to think of." - -"You did not overhear what they said?" - -"Lady St. Simon said something about 'jumping a claim.' She was -accustomed to use slang of the kind. I have no idea what she -meant." - -"American slang is very expressive sometimes. And what did your -wife do when she finished speaking to her maid?" - -"She walked into the breakfast-room." - -"On your arm?" - -"No, alone. She was very independent in little matters like that. -Then, after we had sat down for ten minutes or so, she rose -hurriedly, muttered some words of apology, and left the room. She -never came back." - -"But this maid, Alice, as I understand, deposes that she went to -her room, covered her bride's dress with a long ulster, put on a -bonnet, and went out." - -"Quite so. And she was afterwards seen walking into Hyde Park in -company with Flora Millar, a woman who is now in custody, and who -had already made a disturbance at Mr. Doran's house that -morning." - -"Ah, yes. I should like a few particulars as to this young lady, -and your relations to her." - -Lord St. Simon shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows. -"We have been on a friendly footing for some years--I may say on -a very friendly footing. She used to be at the Allegro. I have -not treated her ungenerously, and she had no just cause of -complaint against me, but you know what women are, Mr. Holmes. -Flora was a dear little thing, but exceedingly hot-headed and -devotedly attached to me. She wrote me dreadful letters when she -heard that I was about to be married, and, to tell the truth, the -reason why I had the marriage celebrated so quietly was that I -feared lest there might be a scandal in the church. She came to -Mr. Doran's door just after we returned, and she endeavoured to -push her way in, uttering very abusive expressions towards my -wife, and even threatening her, but I had foreseen the -possibility of something of the sort, and I had two police -fellows there in private clothes, who soon pushed her out again. -She was quiet when she saw that there was no good in making a -row." - -"Did your wife hear all this?" - -"No, thank goodness, she did not." - -"And she was seen walking with this very woman afterwards?" - -"Yes. That is what Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, looks upon as -so serious. It is thought that Flora decoyed my wife out and laid -some terrible trap for her." - -"Well, it is a possible supposition." - -"You think so, too?" - -"I did not say a probable one. But you do not yourself look upon -this as likely?" - -"I do not think Flora would hurt a fly." - -"Still, jealousy is a strange transformer of characters. Pray -what is your own theory as to what took place?" - -"Well, really, I came to seek a theory, not to propound one. I -have given you all the facts. Since you ask me, however, I may -say that it has occurred to me as possible that the excitement of -this affair, the consciousness that she had made so immense a -social stride, had the effect of causing some little nervous -disturbance in my wife." - -"In short, that she had become suddenly deranged?" - -"Well, really, when I consider that she has turned her back--I -will not say upon me, but upon so much that many have aspired to -without success--I can hardly explain it in any other fashion." - -"Well, certainly that is also a conceivable hypothesis," said -Holmes, smiling. "And now, Lord St. Simon, I think that I have -nearly all my data. May I ask whether you were seated at the -breakfast-table so that you could see out of the window?" - -"We could see the other side of the road and the Park." - -"Quite so. Then I do not think that I need to detain you longer. -I shall communicate with you." - -"Should you be fortunate enough to solve this problem," said our -client, rising. - -"I have solved it." - -"Eh? What was that?" - -"I say that I have solved it." - -"Where, then, is my wife?" - -"That is a detail which I shall speedily supply." - -Lord St. Simon shook his head. "I am afraid that it will take -wiser heads than yours or mine," he remarked, and bowing in a -stately, old-fashioned manner he departed. - -"It is very good of Lord St. Simon to honour my head by putting -it on a level with his own," said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. "I -think that I shall have a whisky and soda and a cigar after all -this cross-questioning. I had formed my conclusions as to the -case before our client came into the room." - -"My dear Holmes!" - -"I have notes of several similar cases, though none, as I -remarked before, which were quite as prompt. My whole examination -served to turn my conjecture into a certainty. Circumstantial -evidence is occasionally very convincing, as when you find a -trout in the milk, to quote Thoreau's example." - -"But I have heard all that you have heard." - -"Without, however, the knowledge of pre-existing cases which -serves me so well. There was a parallel instance in Aberdeen some -years back, and something on very much the same lines at Munich -the year after the Franco-Prussian War. It is one of these -cases--but, hullo, here is Lestrade! Good-afternoon, Lestrade! -You will find an extra tumbler upon the sideboard, and there are -cigars in the box." - -The official detective was attired in a pea-jacket and cravat, -which gave him a decidedly nautical appearance, and he carried a -black canvas bag in his hand. With a short greeting he seated -himself and lit the cigar which had been offered to him. - -"What's up, then?" asked Holmes with a twinkle in his eye. "You -look dissatisfied." - -"And I feel dissatisfied. It is this infernal St. Simon marriage -case. I can make neither head nor tail of the business." - -"Really! You surprise me." - -"Who ever heard of such a mixed affair? Every clue seems to slip -through my fingers. I have been at work upon it all day." - -"And very wet it seems to have made you," said Holmes laying his -hand upon the arm of the pea-jacket. - -"Yes, I have been dragging the Serpentine." - -"In heaven's name, what for?" - -"In search of the body of Lady St. Simon." - -Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily. - -"Have you dragged the basin of Trafalgar Square fountain?" he -asked. - -"Why? What do you mean?" - -"Because you have just as good a chance of finding this lady in -the one as in the other." - -Lestrade shot an angry glance at my companion. "I suppose you -know all about it," he snarled. - -"Well, I have only just heard the facts, but my mind is made up." - -"Oh, indeed! Then you think that the Serpentine plays no part in -the matter?" - -"I think it very unlikely." - -"Then perhaps you will kindly explain how it is that we found -this in it?" He opened his bag as he spoke, and tumbled onto the -floor a wedding-dress of watered silk, a pair of white satin -shoes and a bride's wreath and veil, all discoloured and soaked -in water. "There," said he, putting a new wedding-ring upon the -top of the pile. "There is a little nut for you to crack, Master -Holmes." - -"Oh, indeed!" said my friend, blowing blue rings into the air. -"You dragged them from the Serpentine?" - -"No. They were found floating near the margin by a park-keeper. -They have been identified as her clothes, and it seemed to me -that if the clothes were there the body would not be far off." - -"By the same brilliant reasoning, every man's body is to be found -in the neighbourhood of his wardrobe. And pray what did you hope -to arrive at through this?" - -"At some evidence implicating Flora Millar in the disappearance." - -"I am afraid that you will find it difficult." - -"Are you, indeed, now?" cried Lestrade with some bitterness. "I -am afraid, Holmes, that you are not very practical with your -deductions and your inferences. You have made two blunders in as -many minutes. This dress does implicate Miss Flora Millar." - -"And how?" - -"In the dress is a pocket. In the pocket is a card-case. In the -card-case is a note. And here is the very note." He slapped it -down upon the table in front of him. "Listen to this: 'You will -see me when all is ready. Come at once. F.H.M.' Now my theory all -along has been that Lady St. Simon was decoyed away by Flora -Millar, and that she, with confederates, no doubt, was -responsible for her disappearance. Here, signed with her -initials, is the very note which was no doubt quietly slipped -into her hand at the door and which lured her within their -reach." - -"Very good, Lestrade," said Holmes, laughing. "You really are -very fine indeed. Let me see it." He took up the paper in a -listless way, but his attention instantly became riveted, and he -gave a little cry of satisfaction. "This is indeed important," -said he. - -"Ha! you find it so?" - -"Extremely so. I congratulate you warmly." - -Lestrade rose in his triumph and bent his head to look. "Why," he -shrieked, "you're looking at the wrong side!" - -"On the contrary, this is the right side." - -"The right side? You're mad! Here is the note written in pencil -over here." - -"And over here is what appears to be the fragment of a hotel -bill, which interests me deeply." - -"There's nothing in it. I looked at it before," said Lestrade. -"'Oct. 4th, rooms 8s., breakfast 2s. 6d., cocktail 1s., lunch 2s. -6d., glass sherry, 8d.' I see nothing in that." - -"Very likely not. It is most important, all the same. As to the -note, it is important also, or at least the initials are, so I -congratulate you again." - -"I've wasted time enough," said Lestrade, rising. "I believe in -hard work and not in sitting by the fire spinning fine theories. -Good-day, Mr. Holmes, and we shall see which gets to the bottom -of the matter first." He gathered up the garments, thrust them -into the bag, and made for the door. - -"Just one hint to you, Lestrade," drawled Holmes before his rival -vanished; "I will tell you the true solution of the matter. Lady -St. Simon is a myth. There is not, and there never has been, any -such person." - -Lestrade looked sadly at my companion. Then he turned to me, -tapped his forehead three times, shook his head solemnly, and -hurried away. - -He had hardly shut the door behind him when Holmes rose to put on -his overcoat. "There is something in what the fellow says about -outdoor work," he remarked, "so I think, Watson, that I must -leave you to your papers for a little." - -It was after five o'clock when Sherlock Holmes left me, but I had -no time to be lonely, for within an hour there arrived a -confectioner's man with a very large flat box. This he unpacked -with the help of a youth whom he had brought with him, and -presently, to my very great astonishment, a quite epicurean -little cold supper began to be laid out upon our humble -lodging-house mahogany. There were a couple of brace of cold -woodcock, a pheasant, a pâté de foie gras pie with a group of -ancient and cobwebby bottles. Having laid out all these luxuries, -my two visitors vanished away, like the genii of the Arabian -Nights, with no explanation save that the things had been paid -for and were ordered to this address. - -Just before nine o'clock Sherlock Holmes stepped briskly into the -room. His features were gravely set, but there was a light in his -eye which made me think that he had not been disappointed in his -conclusions. - -"They have laid the supper, then," he said, rubbing his hands. - -"You seem to expect company. They have laid for five." - -"Yes, I fancy we may have some company dropping in," said he. "I -am surprised that Lord St. Simon has not already arrived. Ha! I -fancy that I hear his step now upon the stairs." - -It was indeed our visitor of the afternoon who came bustling in, -dangling his glasses more vigorously than ever, and with a very -perturbed expression upon his aristocratic features. - -"My messenger reached you, then?" asked Holmes. - -"Yes, and I confess that the contents startled me beyond measure. -Have you good authority for what you say?" - -"The best possible." - -Lord St. Simon sank into a chair and passed his hand over his -forehead. - -"What will the Duke say," he murmured, "when he hears that one of -the family has been subjected to such humiliation?" - -"It is the purest accident. I cannot allow that there is any -humiliation." - -"Ah, you look on these things from another standpoint." - -"I fail to see that anyone is to blame. I can hardly see how the -lady could have acted otherwise, though her abrupt method of -doing it was undoubtedly to be regretted. Having no mother, she -had no one to advise her at such a crisis." - -"It was a slight, sir, a public slight," said Lord St. Simon, -tapping his fingers upon the table. - -"You must make allowance for this poor girl, placed in so -unprecedented a position." - -"I will make no allowance. I am very angry indeed, and I have -been shamefully used." - -"I think that I heard a ring," said Holmes. "Yes, there are steps -on the landing. If I cannot persuade you to take a lenient view -of the matter, Lord St. Simon, I have brought an advocate here -who may be more successful." He opened the door and ushered in a -lady and gentleman. "Lord St. Simon," said he "allow me to -introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Francis Hay Moulton. The lady, I -think, you have already met." - -At the sight of these newcomers our client had sprung from his -seat and stood very erect, with his eyes cast down and his hand -thrust into the breast of his frock-coat, a picture of offended -dignity. The lady had taken a quick step forward and had held out -her hand to him, but he still refused to raise his eyes. It was -as well for his resolution, perhaps, for her pleading face was -one which it was hard to resist. - -"You're angry, Robert," said she. "Well, I guess you have every -cause to be." - -"Pray make no apology to me," said Lord St. Simon bitterly. - -"Oh, yes, I know that I have treated you real bad and that I -should have spoken to you before I went; but I was kind of -rattled, and from the time when I saw Frank here again I just -didn't know what I was doing or saying. I only wonder I didn't -fall down and do a faint right there before the altar." - -"Perhaps, Mrs. Moulton, you would like my friend and me to leave -the room while you explain this matter?" - -"If I may give an opinion," remarked the strange gentleman, -"we've had just a little too much secrecy over this business -already. For my part, I should like all Europe and America to -hear the rights of it." He was a small, wiry, sunburnt man, -clean-shaven, with a sharp face and alert manner. - -"Then I'll tell our story right away," said the lady. "Frank here -and I met in '84, in McQuire's camp, near the Rockies, where pa -was working a claim. We were engaged to each other, Frank and I; -but then one day father struck a rich pocket and made a pile, -while poor Frank here had a claim that petered out and came to -nothing. The richer pa grew the poorer was Frank; so at last pa -wouldn't hear of our engagement lasting any longer, and he took -me away to 'Frisco. Frank wouldn't throw up his hand, though; so -he followed me there, and he saw me without pa knowing anything -about it. It would only have made him mad to know, so we just -fixed it all up for ourselves. Frank said that he would go and -make his pile, too, and never come back to claim me until he had -as much as pa. So then I promised to wait for him to the end of -time and pledged myself not to marry anyone else while he lived. -'Why shouldn't we be married right away, then,' said he, 'and -then I will feel sure of you; and I won't claim to be your -husband until I come back?' Well, we talked it over, and he had -fixed it all up so nicely, with a clergyman all ready in waiting, -that we just did it right there; and then Frank went off to seek -his fortune, and I went back to pa. - -"The next I heard of Frank was that he was in Montana, and then -he went prospecting in Arizona, and then I heard of him from New -Mexico. After that came a long newspaper story about how a -miners' camp had been attacked by Apache Indians, and there was -my Frank's name among the killed. I fainted dead away, and I was -very sick for months after. Pa thought I had a decline and took -me to half the doctors in 'Frisco. Not a word of news came for a -year and more, so that I never doubted that Frank was really -dead. Then Lord St. Simon came to 'Frisco, and we came to London, -and a marriage was arranged, and pa was very pleased, but I felt -all the time that no man on this earth would ever take the place -in my heart that had been given to my poor Frank. - -"Still, if I had married Lord St. Simon, of course I'd have done -my duty by him. We can't command our love, but we can our -actions. I went to the altar with him with the intention to make -him just as good a wife as it was in me to be. But you may -imagine what I felt when, just as I came to the altar rails, I -glanced back and saw Frank standing and looking at me out of the -first pew. I thought it was his ghost at first; but when I looked -again there he was still, with a kind of question in his eyes, as -if to ask me whether I were glad or sorry to see him. I wonder I -didn't drop. I know that everything was turning round, and the -words of the clergyman were just like the buzz of a bee in my -ear. I didn't know what to do. Should I stop the service and make -a scene in the church? I glanced at him again, and he seemed to -know what I was thinking, for he raised his finger to his lips to -tell me to be still. Then I saw him scribble on a piece of paper, -and I knew that he was writing me a note. As I passed his pew on -the way out I dropped my bouquet over to him, and he slipped the -note into my hand when he returned me the flowers. It was only a -line asking me to join him when he made the sign to me to do so. -Of course I never doubted for a moment that my first duty was now -to him, and I determined to do just whatever he might direct. - -"When I got back I told my maid, who had known him in California, -and had always been his friend. I ordered her to say nothing, but -to get a few things packed and my ulster ready. I know I ought to -have spoken to Lord St. Simon, but it was dreadful hard before -his mother and all those great people. I just made up my mind to -run away and explain afterwards. I hadn't been at the table ten -minutes before I saw Frank out of the window at the other side of -the road. He beckoned to me and then began walking into the Park. -I slipped out, put on my things, and followed him. Some woman -came talking something or other about Lord St. Simon to -me--seemed to me from the little I heard as if he had a little -secret of his own before marriage also--but I managed to get away -from her and soon overtook Frank. We got into a cab together, and -away we drove to some lodgings he had taken in Gordon Square, and -that was my true wedding after all those years of waiting. Frank -had been a prisoner among the Apaches, had escaped, came on to -'Frisco, found that I had given him up for dead and had gone to -England, followed me there, and had come upon me at last on the -very morning of my second wedding." - -"I saw it in a paper," explained the American. "It gave the name -and the church but not where the lady lived." - -"Then we had a talk as to what we should do, and Frank was all -for openness, but I was so ashamed of it all that I felt as if I -should like to vanish away and never see any of them again--just -sending a line to pa, perhaps, to show him that I was alive. It -was awful to me to think of all those lords and ladies sitting -round that breakfast-table and waiting for me to come back. So -Frank took my wedding-clothes and things and made a bundle of -them, so that I should not be traced, and dropped them away -somewhere where no one could find them. It is likely that we -should have gone on to Paris to-morrow, only that this good -gentleman, Mr. Holmes, came round to us this evening, though how -he found us is more than I can think, and he showed us very -clearly and kindly that I was wrong and that Frank was right, and -that we should be putting ourselves in the wrong if we were so -secret. Then he offered to give us a chance of talking to Lord -St. Simon alone, and so we came right away round to his rooms at -once. Now, Robert, you have heard it all, and I am very sorry if -I have given you pain, and I hope that you do not think very -meanly of me." - -Lord St. Simon had by no means relaxed his rigid attitude, but -had listened with a frowning brow and a compressed lip to this -long narrative. - -"Excuse me," he said, "but it is not my custom to discuss my most -intimate personal affairs in this public manner." - -"Then you won't forgive me? You won't shake hands before I go?" - -"Oh, certainly, if it would give you any pleasure." He put out -his hand and coldly grasped that which she extended to him. - -"I had hoped," suggested Holmes, "that you would have joined us -in a friendly supper." - -"I think that there you ask a little too much," responded his -Lordship. "I may be forced to acquiesce in these recent -developments, but I can hardly be expected to make merry over -them. I think that with your permission I will now wish you all a -very good-night." He included us all in a sweeping bow and -stalked out of the room. - -"Then I trust that you at least will honour me with your -company," said Sherlock Holmes. "It is always a joy to meet an -American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the -folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone -years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens -of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a -quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes." - -"The case has been an interesting one," remarked Holmes when our -visitors had left us, "because it serves to show very clearly how -simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight -seems to be almost inexplicable. Nothing could be more natural -than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady, and nothing -stranger than the result when viewed, for instance, by Mr. -Lestrade of Scotland Yard." - -"You were not yourself at fault at all, then?" - -"From the first, two facts were very obvious to me, the one that -the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony, -the other that she had repented of it within a few minutes of -returning home. Obviously something had occurred during the -morning, then, to cause her to change her mind. What could that -something be? She could not have spoken to anyone when she was -out, for she had been in the company of the bridegroom. Had she -seen someone, then? If she had, it must be someone from America -because she had spent so short a time in this country that she -could hardly have allowed anyone to acquire so deep an influence -over her that the mere sight of him would induce her to change -her plans so completely. You see we have already arrived, by a -process of exclusion, at the idea that she might have seen an -American. Then who could this American be, and why should he -possess so much influence over her? It might be a lover; it might -be a husband. Her young womanhood had, I knew, been spent in -rough scenes and under strange conditions. So far I had got -before I ever heard Lord St. Simon's narrative. When he told us -of a man in a pew, of the change in the bride's manner, of so -transparent a device for obtaining a note as the dropping of a -bouquet, of her resort to her confidential maid, and of her very -significant allusion to claim-jumping--which in miners' parlance -means taking possession of that which another person has a prior -claim to--the whole situation became absolutely clear. She had -gone off with a man, and the man was either a lover or was a -previous husband--the chances being in favour of the latter." - -"And how in the world did you find them?" - -"It might have been difficult, but friend Lestrade held -information in his hands the value of which he did not himself -know. The initials were, of course, of the highest importance, -but more valuable still was it to know that within a week he had -settled his bill at one of the most select London hotels." - -"How did you deduce the select?" - -"By the select prices. Eight shillings for a bed and eightpence -for a glass of sherry pointed to one of the most expensive -hotels. There are not many in London which charge at that rate. -In the second one which I visited in Northumberland Avenue, I -learned by an inspection of the book that Francis H. Moulton, an -American gentleman, had left only the day before, and on looking -over the entries against him, I came upon the very items which I -had seen in the duplicate bill. His letters were to be forwarded -to 226 Gordon Square; so thither I travelled, and being fortunate -enough to find the loving couple at home, I ventured to give them -some paternal advice and to point out to them that it would be -better in every way that they should make their position a little -clearer both to the general public and to Lord St. Simon in -particular. I invited them to meet him here, and, as you see, I -made him keep the appointment." - -"But with no very good result," I remarked. "His conduct was -certainly not very gracious." - -"Ah, Watson," said Holmes, smiling, "perhaps you would not be -very gracious either, if, after all the trouble of wooing and -wedding, you found yourself deprived in an instant of wife and of -fortune. I think that we may judge Lord St. Simon very mercifully -and thank our stars that we are never likely to find ourselves in -the same position. Draw your chair up and hand me my violin, for -the only problem we have still to solve is how to while away -these bleak autumnal evenings." - - - -XI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORONET - -"Holmes," said I as I stood one morning in our bow-window looking -down the street, "here is a madman coming along. It seems rather -sad that his relatives should allow him to come out alone." - -My friend rose lazily from his armchair and stood with his hands -in the pockets of his dressing-gown, looking over my shoulder. It -was a bright, crisp February morning, and the snow of the day -before still lay deep upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the -wintry sun. Down the centre of Baker Street it had been ploughed -into a brown crumbly band by the traffic, but at either side and -on the heaped-up edges of the foot-paths it still lay as white as -when it fell. The grey pavement had been cleaned and scraped, but -was still dangerously slippery, so that there were fewer -passengers than usual. Indeed, from the direction of the -Metropolitan Station no one was coming save the single gentleman -whose eccentric conduct had drawn my attention. - -He was a man of about fifty, tall, portly, and imposing, with a -massive, strongly marked face and a commanding figure. He was -dressed in a sombre yet rich style, in black frock-coat, shining -hat, neat brown gaiters, and well-cut pearl-grey trousers. Yet -his actions were in absurd contrast to the dignity of his dress -and features, for he was running hard, with occasional little -springs, such as a weary man gives who is little accustomed to -set any tax upon his legs. As he ran he jerked his hands up and -down, waggled his head, and writhed his face into the most -extraordinary contortions. - -"What on earth can be the matter with him?" I asked. "He is -looking up at the numbers of the houses." - -"I believe that he is coming here," said Holmes, rubbing his -hands. - -"Here?" - -"Yes; I rather think he is coming to consult me professionally. I -think that I recognise the symptoms. Ha! did I not tell you?" As -he spoke, the man, puffing and blowing, rushed at our door and -pulled at our bell until the whole house resounded with the -clanging. - -A few moments later he was in our room, still puffing, still -gesticulating, but with so fixed a look of grief and despair in -his eyes that our smiles were turned in an instant to horror and -pity. For a while he could not get his words out, but swayed his -body and plucked at his hair like one who has been driven to the -extreme limits of his reason. Then, suddenly springing to his -feet, he beat his head against the wall with such force that we -both rushed upon him and tore him away to the centre of the room. -Sherlock Holmes pushed him down into the easy-chair and, sitting -beside him, patted his hand and chatted with him in the easy, -soothing tones which he knew so well how to employ. - -"You have come to me to tell your story, have you not?" said he. -"You are fatigued with your haste. Pray wait until you have -recovered yourself, and then I shall be most happy to look into -any little problem which you may submit to me." - -The man sat for a minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting -against his emotion. Then he passed his handkerchief over his -brow, set his lips tight, and turned his face towards us. - -"No doubt you think me mad?" said he. - -"I see that you have had some great trouble," responded Holmes. - -"God knows I have!--a trouble which is enough to unseat my -reason, so sudden and so terrible is it. Public disgrace I might -have faced, although I am a man whose character has never yet -borne a stain. Private affliction also is the lot of every man; -but the two coming together, and in so frightful a form, have -been enough to shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone. -The very noblest in the land may suffer unless some way be found -out of this horrible affair." - -"Pray compose yourself, sir," said Holmes, "and let me have a -clear account of who you are and what it is that has befallen -you." - -"My name," answered our visitor, "is probably familiar to your -ears. I am Alexander Holder, of the banking firm of Holder & -Stevenson, of Threadneedle Street." - -The name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior -partner in the second largest private banking concern in the City -of London. What could have happened, then, to bring one of the -foremost citizens of London to this most pitiable pass? We -waited, all curiosity, until with another effort he braced -himself to tell his story. - -"I feel that time is of value," said he; "that is why I hastened -here when the police inspector suggested that I should secure -your co-operation. I came to Baker Street by the Underground and -hurried from there on foot, for the cabs go slowly through this -snow. That is why I was so out of breath, for I am a man who -takes very little exercise. I feel better now, and I will put the -facts before you as shortly and yet as clearly as I can. - -"It is, of course, well known to you that in a successful banking -business as much depends upon our being able to find remunerative -investments for our funds as upon our increasing our connection -and the number of our depositors. One of our most lucrative means -of laying out money is in the shape of loans, where the security -is unimpeachable. We have done a good deal in this direction -during the last few years, and there are many noble families to -whom we have advanced large sums upon the security of their -pictures, libraries, or plate. - -"Yesterday morning I was seated in my office at the bank when a -card was brought in to me by one of the clerks. I started when I -saw the name, for it was that of none other than--well, perhaps -even to you I had better say no more than that it was a name -which is a household word all over the earth--one of the highest, -noblest, most exalted names in England. I was overwhelmed by the -honour and attempted, when he entered, to say so, but he plunged -at once into business with the air of a man who wishes to hurry -quickly through a disagreeable task. - -"'Mr. Holder,' said he, 'I have been informed that you are in the -habit of advancing money.' - -"'The firm does so when the security is good.' I answered. - -"'It is absolutely essential to me,' said he, 'that I should have -50,000 pounds at once. I could, of course, borrow so trifling a -sum ten times over from my friends, but I much prefer to make it -a matter of business and to carry out that business myself. In my -position you can readily understand that it is unwise to place -one's self under obligations.' - -"'For how long, may I ask, do you want this sum?' I asked. - -"'Next Monday I have a large sum due to me, and I shall then most -certainly repay what you advance, with whatever interest you -think it right to charge. But it is very essential to me that the -money should be paid at once.' - -"'I should be happy to advance it without further parley from my -own private purse,' said I, 'were it not that the strain would be -rather more than it could bear. If, on the other hand, I am to do -it in the name of the firm, then in justice to my partner I must -insist that, even in your case, every businesslike precaution -should be taken.' - -"'I should much prefer to have it so,' said he, raising up a -square, black morocco case which he had laid beside his chair. -'You have doubtless heard of the Beryl Coronet?' - -"'One of the most precious public possessions of the empire,' -said I. - -"'Precisely.' He opened the case, and there, imbedded in soft, -flesh-coloured velvet, lay the magnificent piece of jewellery -which he had named. 'There are thirty-nine enormous beryls,' said -he, 'and the price of the gold chasing is incalculable. The -lowest estimate would put the worth of the coronet at double the -sum which I have asked. I am prepared to leave it with you as my -security.' - -"I took the precious case into my hands and looked in some -perplexity from it to my illustrious client. - -"'You doubt its value?' he asked. - -"'Not at all. I only doubt--' - -"'The propriety of my leaving it. You may set your mind at rest -about that. I should not dream of doing so were it not absolutely -certain that I should be able in four days to reclaim it. It is a -pure matter of form. Is the security sufficient?' - -"'Ample.' - -"'You understand, Mr. Holder, that I am giving you a strong proof -of the confidence which I have in you, founded upon all that I -have heard of you. I rely upon you not only to be discreet and to -refrain from all gossip upon the matter but, above all, to -preserve this coronet with every possible precaution because I -need not say that a great public scandal would be caused if any -harm were to befall it. Any injury to it would be almost as -serious as its complete loss, for there are no beryls in the -world to match these, and it would be impossible to replace them. -I leave it with you, however, with every confidence, and I shall -call for it in person on Monday morning.' - -"Seeing that my client was anxious to leave, I said no more but, -calling for my cashier, I ordered him to pay over fifty 1000 -pound notes. When I was alone once more, however, with the -precious case lying upon the table in front of me, I could not -but think with some misgivings of the immense responsibility -which it entailed upon me. There could be no doubt that, as it -was a national possession, a horrible scandal would ensue if any -misfortune should occur to it. I already regretted having ever -consented to take charge of it. However, it was too late to alter -the matter now, so I locked it up in my private safe and turned -once more to my work. - -"When evening came I felt that it would be an imprudence to leave -so precious a thing in the office behind me. Bankers' safes had -been forced before now, and why should not mine be? If so, how -terrible would be the position in which I should find myself! I -determined, therefore, that for the next few days I would always -carry the case backward and forward with me, so that it might -never be really out of my reach. With this intention, I called a -cab and drove out to my house at Streatham, carrying the jewel -with me. I did not breathe freely until I had taken it upstairs -and locked it in the bureau of my dressing-room. - -"And now a word as to my household, Mr. Holmes, for I wish you to -thoroughly understand the situation. My groom and my page sleep -out of the house, and may be set aside altogether. I have three -maid-servants who have been with me a number of years and whose -absolute reliability is quite above suspicion. Another, Lucy -Parr, the second waiting-maid, has only been in my service a few -months. She came with an excellent character, however, and has -always given me satisfaction. She is a very pretty girl and has -attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about the place. -That is the only drawback which we have found to her, but we -believe her to be a thoroughly good girl in every way. - -"So much for the servants. My family itself is so small that it -will not take me long to describe it. I am a widower and have an -only son, Arthur. He has been a disappointment to me, Mr. -Holmes--a grievous disappointment. I have no doubt that I am -myself to blame. People tell me that I have spoiled him. Very -likely I have. When my dear wife died I felt that he was all I -had to love. I could not bear to see the smile fade even for a -moment from his face. I have never denied him a wish. Perhaps it -would have been better for both of us had I been sterner, but I -meant it for the best. - -"It was naturally my intention that he should succeed me in my -business, but he was not of a business turn. He was wild, -wayward, and, to speak the truth, I could not trust him in the -handling of large sums of money. When he was young he became a -member of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming -manners, he was soon the intimate of a number of men with long -purses and expensive habits. He learned to play heavily at cards -and to squander money on the turf, until he had again and again -to come to me and implore me to give him an advance upon his -allowance, that he might settle his debts of honour. He tried -more than once to break away from the dangerous company which he -was keeping, but each time the influence of his friend, Sir -George Burnwell, was enough to draw him back again. - -"And, indeed, I could not wonder that such a man as Sir George -Burnwell should gain an influence over him, for he has frequently -brought him to my house, and I have found myself that I could -hardly resist the fascination of his manner. He is older than -Arthur, a man of the world to his finger-tips, one who had been -everywhere, seen everything, a brilliant talker, and a man of -great personal beauty. Yet when I think of him in cold blood, far -away from the glamour of his presence, I am convinced from his -cynical speech and the look which I have caught in his eyes that -he is one who should be deeply distrusted. So I think, and so, -too, thinks my little Mary, who has a woman's quick insight into -character. - -"And now there is only she to be described. She is my niece; but -when my brother died five years ago and left her alone in the -world I adopted her, and have looked upon her ever since as my -daughter. She is a sunbeam in my house--sweet, loving, beautiful, -a wonderful manager and housekeeper, yet as tender and quiet and -gentle as a woman could be. She is my right hand. I do not know -what I could do without her. In only one matter has she ever gone -against my wishes. Twice my boy has asked her to marry him, for -he loves her devotedly, but each time she has refused him. I -think that if anyone could have drawn him into the right path it -would have been she, and that his marriage might have changed his -whole life; but now, alas! it is too late--forever too late! - -"Now, Mr. Holmes, you know the people who live under my roof, and -I shall continue with my miserable story. - -"When we were taking coffee in the drawing-room that night after -dinner, I told Arthur and Mary my experience, and of the precious -treasure which we had under our roof, suppressing only the name -of my client. Lucy Parr, who had brought in the coffee, had, I am -sure, left the room; but I cannot swear that the door was closed. -Mary and Arthur were much interested and wished to see the famous -coronet, but I thought it better not to disturb it. - -"'Where have you put it?' asked Arthur. - -"'In my own bureau.' - -"'Well, I hope to goodness the house won't be burgled during the -night.' said he. - -"'It is locked up,' I answered. - -"'Oh, any old key will fit that bureau. When I was a youngster I -have opened it myself with the key of the box-room cupboard.' - -"He often had a wild way of talking, so that I thought little of -what he said. He followed me to my room, however, that night with -a very grave face. - -"'Look here, dad,' said he with his eyes cast down, 'can you let -me have 200 pounds?' - -"'No, I cannot!' I answered sharply. 'I have been far too -generous with you in money matters.' - -"'You have been very kind,' said he, 'but I must have this money, -or else I can never show my face inside the club again.' - -"'And a very good thing, too!' I cried. - -"'Yes, but you would not have me leave it a dishonoured man,' -said he. 'I could not bear the disgrace. I must raise the money -in some way, and if you will not let me have it, then I must try -other means.' - -"I was very angry, for this was the third demand during the -month. 'You shall not have a farthing from me,' I cried, on which -he bowed and left the room without another word. - -"When he was gone I unlocked my bureau, made sure that my -treasure was safe, and locked it again. Then I started to go -round the house to see that all was secure--a duty which I -usually leave to Mary but which I thought it well to perform -myself that night. As I came down the stairs I saw Mary herself -at the side window of the hall, which she closed and fastened as -I approached. - -"'Tell me, dad,' said she, looking, I thought, a little -disturbed, 'did you give Lucy, the maid, leave to go out -to-night?' - -"'Certainly not.' - -"'She came in just now by the back door. I have no doubt that she -has only been to the side gate to see someone, but I think that -it is hardly safe and should be stopped.' - -"'You must speak to her in the morning, or I will if you prefer -it. Are you sure that everything is fastened?' - -"'Quite sure, dad.' - -"'Then, good-night.' I kissed her and went up to my bedroom -again, where I was soon asleep. - -"I am endeavouring to tell you everything, Mr. Holmes, which may -have any bearing upon the case, but I beg that you will question -me upon any point which I do not make clear." - -"On the contrary, your statement is singularly lucid." - -"I come to a part of my story now in which I should wish to be -particularly so. I am not a very heavy sleeper, and the anxiety -in my mind tended, no doubt, to make me even less so than usual. -About two in the morning, then, I was awakened by some sound in -the house. It had ceased ere I was wide awake, but it had left an -impression behind it as though a window had gently closed -somewhere. I lay listening with all my ears. Suddenly, to my -horror, there was a distinct sound of footsteps moving softly in -the next room. I slipped out of bed, all palpitating with fear, -and peeped round the corner of my dressing-room door. - -"'Arthur!' I screamed, 'you villain! you thief! How dare you -touch that coronet?' - -"The gas was half up, as I had left it, and my unhappy boy, -dressed only in his shirt and trousers, was standing beside the -light, holding the coronet in his hands. He appeared to be -wrenching at it, or bending it with all his strength. At my cry -he dropped it from his grasp and turned as pale as death. I -snatched it up and examined it. One of the gold corners, with -three of the beryls in it, was missing. - -"'You blackguard!' I shouted, beside myself with rage. 'You have -destroyed it! You have dishonoured me forever! Where are the -jewels which you have stolen?' - -"'Stolen!' he cried. - -"'Yes, thief!' I roared, shaking him by the shoulder. - -"'There are none missing. There cannot be any missing,' said he. - -"'There are three missing. And you know where they are. Must I -call you a liar as well as a thief? Did I not see you trying to -tear off another piece?' - -"'You have called me names enough,' said he, 'I will not stand it -any longer. I shall not say another word about this business, -since you have chosen to insult me. I will leave your house in -the morning and make my own way in the world.' - -"'You shall leave it in the hands of the police!' I cried -half-mad with grief and rage. 'I shall have this matter probed to -the bottom.' - -"'You shall learn nothing from me,' said he with a passion such -as I should not have thought was in his nature. 'If you choose to -call the police, let the police find what they can.' - -"By this time the whole house was astir, for I had raised my -voice in my anger. Mary was the first to rush into my room, and, -at the sight of the coronet and of Arthur's face, she read the -whole story and, with a scream, fell down senseless on the -ground. I sent the house-maid for the police and put the -investigation into their hands at once. When the inspector and a -constable entered the house, Arthur, who had stood sullenly with -his arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention to charge -him with theft. I answered that it had ceased to be a private -matter, but had become a public one, since the ruined coronet was -national property. I was determined that the law should have its -way in everything. - -"'At least,' said he, 'you will not have me arrested at once. It -would be to your advantage as well as mine if I might leave the -house for five minutes.' - -"'That you may get away, or perhaps that you may conceal what you -have stolen,' said I. And then, realising the dreadful position -in which I was placed, I implored him to remember that not only -my honour but that of one who was far greater than I was at -stake; and that he threatened to raise a scandal which would -convulse the nation. He might avert it all if he would but tell -me what he had done with the three missing stones. - -"'You may as well face the matter,' said I; 'you have been caught -in the act, and no confession could make your guilt more heinous. -If you but make such reparation as is in your power, by telling -us where the beryls are, all shall be forgiven and forgotten.' - -"'Keep your forgiveness for those who ask for it,' he answered, -turning away from me with a sneer. I saw that he was too hardened -for any words of mine to influence him. There was but one way for -it. I called in the inspector and gave him into custody. A search -was made at once not only of his person but of his room and of -every portion of the house where he could possibly have concealed -the gems; but no trace of them could be found, nor would the -wretched boy open his mouth for all our persuasions and our -threats. This morning he was removed to a cell, and I, after -going through all the police formalities, have hurried round to -you to implore you to use your skill in unravelling the matter. -The police have openly confessed that they can at present make -nothing of it. You may go to any expense which you think -necessary. I have already offered a reward of 1000 pounds. My -God, what shall I do! I have lost my honour, my gems, and my son -in one night. Oh, what shall I do!" - -He put a hand on either side of his head and rocked himself to -and fro, droning to himself like a child whose grief has got -beyond words. - -Sherlock Holmes sat silent for some few minutes, with his brows -knitted and his eyes fixed upon the fire. - -"Do you receive much company?" he asked. - -"None save my partner with his family and an occasional friend of -Arthur's. Sir George Burnwell has been several times lately. No -one else, I think." - -"Do you go out much in society?" - -"Arthur does. Mary and I stay at home. We neither of us care for -it." - -"That is unusual in a young girl." - -"She is of a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young. She -is four-and-twenty." - -"This matter, from what you say, seems to have been a shock to -her also." - -"Terrible! She is even more affected than I." - -"You have neither of you any doubt as to your son's guilt?" - -"How can we have when I saw him with my own eyes with the coronet -in his hands." - -"I hardly consider that a conclusive proof. Was the remainder of -the coronet at all injured?" - -"Yes, it was twisted." - -"Do you not think, then, that he might have been trying to -straighten it?" - -"God bless you! You are doing what you can for him and for me. -But it is too heavy a task. What was he doing there at all? If -his purpose were innocent, why did he not say so?" - -"Precisely. And if it were guilty, why did he not invent a lie? -His silence appears to me to cut both ways. There are several -singular points about the case. What did the police think of the -noise which awoke you from your sleep?" - -"They considered that it might be caused by Arthur's closing his -bedroom door." - -"A likely story! As if a man bent on felony would slam his door -so as to wake a household. What did they say, then, of the -disappearance of these gems?" - -"They are still sounding the planking and probing the furniture -in the hope of finding them." - -"Have they thought of looking outside the house?" - -"Yes, they have shown extraordinary energy. The whole garden has -already been minutely examined." - -"Now, my dear sir," said Holmes, "is it not obvious to you now -that this matter really strikes very much deeper than either you -or the police were at first inclined to think? It appeared to you -to be a simple case; to me it seems exceedingly complex. Consider -what is involved by your theory. You suppose that your son came -down from his bed, went, at great risk, to your dressing-room, -opened your bureau, took out your coronet, broke off by main -force a small portion of it, went off to some other place, -concealed three gems out of the thirty-nine, with such skill that -nobody can find them, and then returned with the other thirty-six -into the room in which he exposed himself to the greatest danger -of being discovered. I ask you now, is such a theory tenable?" - -"But what other is there?" cried the banker with a gesture of -despair. "If his motives were innocent, why does he not explain -them?" - -"It is our task to find that out," replied Holmes; "so now, if -you please, Mr. Holder, we will set off for Streatham together, -and devote an hour to glancing a little more closely into -details." - -My friend insisted upon my accompanying them in their expedition, -which I was eager enough to do, for my curiosity and sympathy -were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened. I -confess that the guilt of the banker's son appeared to me to be -as obvious as it did to his unhappy father, but still I had such -faith in Holmes' judgment that I felt that there must be some -grounds for hope as long as he was dissatisfied with the accepted -explanation. He hardly spoke a word the whole way out to the -southern suburb, but sat with his chin upon his breast and his -hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought. Our client -appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope -which had been presented to him, and he even broke into a -desultory chat with me over his business affairs. A short railway -journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the modest -residence of the great financier. - -Fairbank was a good-sized square house of white stone, standing -back a little from the road. A double carriage-sweep, with a -snow-clad lawn, stretched down in front to two large iron gates -which closed the entrance. On the right side was a small wooden -thicket, which led into a narrow path between two neat hedges -stretching from the road to the kitchen door, and forming the -tradesmen's entrance. On the left ran a lane which led to the -stables, and was not itself within the grounds at all, being a -public, though little used, thoroughfare. Holmes left us standing -at the door and walked slowly all round the house, across the -front, down the tradesmen's path, and so round by the garden -behind into the stable lane. So long was he that Mr. Holder and I -went into the dining-room and waited by the fire until he should -return. We were sitting there in silence when the door opened and -a young lady came in. She was rather above the middle height, -slim, with dark hair and eyes, which seemed the darker against -the absolute pallor of her skin. I do not think that I have ever -seen such deadly paleness in a woman's face. Her lips, too, were -bloodless, but her eyes were flushed with crying. As she swept -silently into the room she impressed me with a greater sense of -grief than the banker had done in the morning, and it was the -more striking in her as she was evidently a woman of strong -character, with immense capacity for self-restraint. Disregarding -my presence, she went straight to her uncle and passed her hand -over his head with a sweet womanly caress. - -"You have given orders that Arthur should be liberated, have you -not, dad?" she asked. - -"No, no, my girl, the matter must be probed to the bottom." - -"But I am so sure that he is innocent. You know what woman's -instincts are. I know that he has done no harm and that you will -be sorry for having acted so harshly." - -"Why is he silent, then, if he is innocent?" - -"Who knows? Perhaps because he was so angry that you should -suspect him." - -"How could I help suspecting him, when I actually saw him with -the coronet in his hand?" - -"Oh, but he had only picked it up to look at it. Oh, do, do take -my word for it that he is innocent. Let the matter drop and say -no more. It is so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in -prison!" - -"I shall never let it drop until the gems are found--never, Mary! -Your affection for Arthur blinds you as to the awful consequences -to me. Far from hushing the thing up, I have brought a gentleman -down from London to inquire more deeply into it." - -"This gentleman?" she asked, facing round to me. - -"No, his friend. He wished us to leave him alone. He is round in -the stable lane now." - -"The stable lane?" She raised her dark eyebrows. "What can he -hope to find there? Ah! this, I suppose, is he. I trust, sir, -that you will succeed in proving, what I feel sure is the truth, -that my cousin Arthur is innocent of this crime." - -"I fully share your opinion, and I trust, with you, that we may -prove it," returned Holmes, going back to the mat to knock the -snow from his shoes. "I believe I have the honour of addressing -Miss Mary Holder. Might I ask you a question or two?" - -"Pray do, sir, if it may help to clear this horrible affair up." - -"You heard nothing yourself last night?" - -"Nothing, until my uncle here began to speak loudly. I heard -that, and I came down." - -"You shut up the windows and doors the night before. Did you -fasten all the windows?" - -"Yes." - -"Were they all fastened this morning?" - -"Yes." - -"You have a maid who has a sweetheart? I think that you remarked -to your uncle last night that she had been out to see him?" - -"Yes, and she was the girl who waited in the drawing-room, and -who may have heard uncle's remarks about the coronet." - -"I see. You infer that she may have gone out to tell her -sweetheart, and that the two may have planned the robbery." - -"But what is the good of all these vague theories," cried the -banker impatiently, "when I have told you that I saw Arthur with -the coronet in his hands?" - -"Wait a little, Mr. Holder. We must come back to that. About this -girl, Miss Holder. You saw her return by the kitchen door, I -presume?" - -"Yes; when I went to see if the door was fastened for the night I -met her slipping in. I saw the man, too, in the gloom." - -"Do you know him?" - -"Oh, yes! he is the green-grocer who brings our vegetables round. -His name is Francis Prosper." - -"He stood," said Holmes, "to the left of the door--that is to -say, farther up the path than is necessary to reach the door?" - -"Yes, he did." - -"And he is a man with a wooden leg?" - -Something like fear sprang up in the young lady's expressive -black eyes. "Why, you are like a magician," said she. "How do you -know that?" She smiled, but there was no answering smile in -Holmes' thin, eager face. - -"I should be very glad now to go upstairs," said he. "I shall -probably wish to go over the outside of the house again. Perhaps -I had better take a look at the lower windows before I go up." - -He walked swiftly round from one to the other, pausing only at -the large one which looked from the hall onto the stable lane. -This he opened and made a very careful examination of the sill -with his powerful magnifying lens. "Now we shall go upstairs," -said he at last. - -The banker's dressing-room was a plainly furnished little -chamber, with a grey carpet, a large bureau, and a long mirror. -Holmes went to the bureau first and looked hard at the lock. - -"Which key was used to open it?" he asked. - -"That which my son himself indicated--that of the cupboard of the -lumber-room." - -"Have you it here?" - -"That is it on the dressing-table." - -Sherlock Holmes took it up and opened the bureau. - -"It is a noiseless lock," said he. "It is no wonder that it did -not wake you. This case, I presume, contains the coronet. We must -have a look at it." He opened the case, and taking out the diadem -he laid it upon the table. It was a magnificent specimen of the -jeweller's art, and the thirty-six stones were the finest that I -have ever seen. At one side of the coronet was a cracked edge, -where a corner holding three gems had been torn away. - -"Now, Mr. Holder," said Holmes, "here is the corner which -corresponds to that which has been so unfortunately lost. Might I -beg that you will break it off." - -The banker recoiled in horror. "I should not dream of trying," -said he. - -"Then I will." Holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it, but -without result. "I feel it give a little," said he; "but, though -I am exceptionally strong in the fingers, it would take me all my -time to break it. An ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do -you think would happen if I did break it, Mr. Holder? There would -be a noise like a pistol shot. Do you tell me that all this -happened within a few yards of your bed and that you heard -nothing of it?" - -"I do not know what to think. It is all dark to me." - -"But perhaps it may grow lighter as we go. What do you think, -Miss Holder?" - -"I confess that I still share my uncle's perplexity." - -"Your son had no shoes or slippers on when you saw him?" - -"He had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt." - -"Thank you. We have certainly been favoured with extraordinary -luck during this inquiry, and it will be entirely our own fault -if we do not succeed in clearing the matter up. With your -permission, Mr. Holder, I shall now continue my investigations -outside." - -He went alone, at his own request, for he explained that any -unnecessary footmarks might make his task more difficult. For an -hour or more he was at work, returning at last with his feet -heavy with snow and his features as inscrutable as ever. - -"I think that I have seen now all that there is to see, Mr. -Holder," said he; "I can serve you best by returning to my -rooms." - -"But the gems, Mr. Holmes. Where are they?" - -"I cannot tell." - -The banker wrung his hands. "I shall never see them again!" he -cried. "And my son? You give me hopes?" - -"My opinion is in no way altered." - -"Then, for God's sake, what was this dark business which was -acted in my house last night?" - -"If you can call upon me at my Baker Street rooms to-morrow -morning between nine and ten I shall be happy to do what I can to -make it clearer. I understand that you give me carte blanche to -act for you, provided only that I get back the gems, and that you -place no limit on the sum I may draw." - -"I would give my fortune to have them back." - -"Very good. I shall look into the matter between this and then. -Good-bye; it is just possible that I may have to come over here -again before evening." - -It was obvious to me that my companion's mind was now made up -about the case, although what his conclusions were was more than -I could even dimly imagine. Several times during our homeward -journey I endeavoured to sound him upon the point, but he always -glided away to some other topic, until at last I gave it over in -despair. It was not yet three when we found ourselves in our -rooms once more. He hurried to his chamber and was down again in -a few minutes dressed as a common loafer. With his collar turned -up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots, he -was a perfect sample of the class. - -"I think that this should do," said he, glancing into the glass -above the fireplace. "I only wish that you could come with me, -Watson, but I fear that it won't do. I may be on the trail in -this matter, or I may be following a will-o'-the-wisp, but I -shall soon know which it is. I hope that I may be back in a few -hours." He cut a slice of beef from the joint upon the sideboard, -sandwiched it between two rounds of bread, and thrusting this -rude meal into his pocket he started off upon his expedition. - -I had just finished my tea when he returned, evidently in -excellent spirits, swinging an old elastic-sided boot in his -hand. He chucked it down into a corner and helped himself to a -cup of tea. - -"I only looked in as I passed," said he. "I am going right on." - -"Where to?" - -"Oh, to the other side of the West End. It may be some time -before I get back. Don't wait up for me in case I should be -late." - -"How are you getting on?" - -"Oh, so so. Nothing to complain of. I have been out to Streatham -since I saw you last, but I did not call at the house. It is a -very sweet little problem, and I would not have missed it for a -good deal. However, I must not sit gossiping here, but must get -these disreputable clothes off and return to my highly -respectable self." - -I could see by his manner that he had stronger reasons for -satisfaction than his words alone would imply. His eyes twinkled, -and there was even a touch of colour upon his sallow cheeks. He -hastened upstairs, and a few minutes later I heard the slam of -the hall door, which told me that he was off once more upon his -congenial hunt. - -I waited until midnight, but there was no sign of his return, so -I retired to my room. It was no uncommon thing for him to be away -for days and nights on end when he was hot upon a scent, so that -his lateness caused me no surprise. I do not know at what hour he -came in, but when I came down to breakfast in the morning there -he was with a cup of coffee in one hand and the paper in the -other, as fresh and trim as possible. - -"You will excuse my beginning without you, Watson," said he, "but -you remember that our client has rather an early appointment this -morning." - -"Why, it is after nine now," I answered. "I should not be -surprised if that were he. I thought I heard a ring." - -It was, indeed, our friend the financier. I was shocked by the -change which had come over him, for his face which was naturally -of a broad and massive mould, was now pinched and fallen in, -while his hair seemed to me at least a shade whiter. He entered -with a weariness and lethargy which was even more painful than -his violence of the morning before, and he dropped heavily into -the armchair which I pushed forward for him. - -"I do not know what I have done to be so severely tried," said -he. "Only two days ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without -a care in the world. Now I am left to a lonely and dishonoured -age. One sorrow comes close upon the heels of another. My niece, -Mary, has deserted me." - -"Deserted you?" - -"Yes. Her bed this morning had not been slept in, her room was -empty, and a note for me lay upon the hall table. I had said to -her last night, in sorrow and not in anger, that if she had -married my boy all might have been well with him. Perhaps it was -thoughtless of me to say so. It is to that remark that she refers -in this note: - -"'MY DEAREST UNCLE:--I feel that I have brought trouble upon you, -and that if I had acted differently this terrible misfortune -might never have occurred. I cannot, with this thought in my -mind, ever again be happy under your roof, and I feel that I must -leave you forever. Do not worry about my future, for that is -provided for; and, above all, do not search for me, for it will -be fruitless labour and an ill-service to me. In life or in -death, I am ever your loving,--MARY.' - -"What could she mean by that note, Mr. Holmes? Do you think it -points to suicide?" - -"No, no, nothing of the kind. It is perhaps the best possible -solution. I trust, Mr. Holder, that you are nearing the end of -your troubles." - -"Ha! You say so! You have heard something, Mr. Holmes; you have -learned something! Where are the gems?" - -"You would not think 1000 pounds apiece an excessive sum for -them?" - -"I would pay ten." - -"That would be unnecessary. Three thousand will cover the matter. -And there is a little reward, I fancy. Have you your check-book? -Here is a pen. Better make it out for 4000 pounds." - -With a dazed face the banker made out the required check. Holmes -walked over to his desk, took out a little triangular piece of -gold with three gems in it, and threw it down upon the table. - -With a shriek of joy our client clutched it up. - -"You have it!" he gasped. "I am saved! I am saved!" - -The reaction of joy was as passionate as his grief had been, and -he hugged his recovered gems to his bosom. - -"There is one other thing you owe, Mr. Holder," said Sherlock -Holmes rather sternly. - -"Owe!" He caught up a pen. "Name the sum, and I will pay it." - -"No, the debt is not to me. You owe a very humble apology to that -noble lad, your son, who has carried himself in this matter as I -should be proud to see my own son do, should I ever chance to -have one." - -"Then it was not Arthur who took them?" - -"I told you yesterday, and I repeat to-day, that it was not." - -"You are sure of it! Then let us hurry to him at once to let him -know that the truth is known." - -"He knows it already. When I had cleared it all up I had an -interview with him, and finding that he would not tell me the -story, I told it to him, on which he had to confess that I was -right and to add the very few details which were not yet quite -clear to me. Your news of this morning, however, may open his -lips." - -"For heaven's sake, tell me, then, what is this extraordinary -mystery!" - -"I will do so, and I will show you the steps by which I reached -it. And let me say to you, first, that which it is hardest for me -to say and for you to hear: there has been an understanding -between Sir George Burnwell and your niece Mary. They have now -fled together." - -"My Mary? Impossible!" - -"It is unfortunately more than possible; it is certain. Neither -you nor your son knew the true character of this man when you -admitted him into your family circle. He is one of the most -dangerous men in England--a ruined gambler, an absolutely -desperate villain, a man without heart or conscience. Your niece -knew nothing of such men. When he breathed his vows to her, as he -had done to a hundred before her, she flattered herself that she -alone had touched his heart. The devil knows best what he said, -but at least she became his tool and was in the habit of seeing -him nearly every evening." - -"I cannot, and I will not, believe it!" cried the banker with an -ashen face. - -"I will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night. -Your niece, when you had, as she thought, gone to your room, -slipped down and talked to her lover through the window which -leads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right -through the snow, so long had he stood there. She told him of the -coronet. His wicked lust for gold kindled at the news, and he -bent her to his will. I have no doubt that she loved you, but -there are women in whom the love of a lover extinguishes all -other loves, and I think that she must have been one. She had -hardly listened to his instructions when she saw you coming -downstairs, on which she closed the window rapidly and told you -about one of the servants' escapade with her wooden-legged lover, -which was all perfectly true. - -"Your boy, Arthur, went to bed after his interview with you but -he slept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts. -In the middle of the night he heard a soft tread pass his door, -so he rose and, looking out, was surprised to see his cousin -walking very stealthily along the passage until she disappeared -into your dressing-room. Petrified with astonishment, the lad -slipped on some clothes and waited there in the dark to see what -would come of this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the -room again, and in the light of the passage-lamp your son saw -that she carried the precious coronet in her hands. She passed -down the stairs, and he, thrilling with horror, ran along and -slipped behind the curtain near your door, whence he could see -what passed in the hall beneath. He saw her stealthily open the -window, hand out the coronet to someone in the gloom, and then -closing it once more hurry back to her room, passing quite close -to where he stood hid behind the curtain. - -"As long as she was on the scene he could not take any action -without a horrible exposure of the woman whom he loved. But the -instant that she was gone he realised how crushing a misfortune -this would be for you, and how all-important it was to set it -right. He rushed down, just as he was, in his bare feet, opened -the window, sprang out into the snow, and ran down the lane, -where he could see a dark figure in the moonlight. Sir George -Burnwell tried to get away, but Arthur caught him, and there was -a struggle between them, your lad tugging at one side of the -coronet, and his opponent at the other. In the scuffle, your son -struck Sir George and cut him over the eye. Then something -suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had the coronet -in his hands, rushed back, closed the window, ascended to your -room, and had just observed that the coronet had been twisted in -the struggle and was endeavouring to straighten it when you -appeared upon the scene." - -"Is it possible?" gasped the banker. - -"You then roused his anger by calling him names at a moment when -he felt that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not -explain the true state of affairs without betraying one who -certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He -took the more chivalrous view, however, and preserved her -secret." - -"And that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw the -coronet," cried Mr. Holder. "Oh, my God! what a blind fool I have -been! And his asking to be allowed to go out for five minutes! -The dear fellow wanted to see if the missing piece were at the -scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him!" - -"When I arrived at the house," continued Holmes, "I at once went -very carefully round it to observe if there were any traces in -the snow which might help me. I knew that none had fallen since -the evening before, and also that there had been a strong frost -to preserve impressions. I passed along the tradesmen's path, but -found it all trampled down and indistinguishable. Just beyond it, -however, at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood -and talked with a man, whose round impressions on one side showed -that he had a wooden leg. I could even tell that they had been -disturbed, for the woman had run back swiftly to the door, as was -shown by the deep toe and light heel marks, while Wooden-leg had -waited a little, and then had gone away. I thought at the time -that this might be the maid and her sweetheart, of whom you had -already spoken to me, and inquiry showed it was so. I passed -round the garden without seeing anything more than random tracks, -which I took to be the police; but when I got into the stable -lane a very long and complex story was written in the snow in -front of me. - -"There was a double line of tracks of a booted man, and a second -double line which I saw with delight belonged to a man with naked -feet. I was at once convinced from what you had told me that the -latter was your son. The first had walked both ways, but the -other had run swiftly, and as his tread was marked in places over -the depression of the boot, it was obvious that he had passed -after the other. I followed them up and found they led to the -hall window, where Boots had worn all the snow away while -waiting. Then I walked to the other end, which was a hundred -yards or more down the lane. I saw where Boots had faced round, -where the snow was cut up as though there had been a struggle, -and, finally, where a few drops of blood had fallen, to show me -that I was not mistaken. Boots had then run down the lane, and -another little smudge of blood showed that it was he who had been -hurt. When he came to the highroad at the other end, I found that -the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to that clue. - -"On entering the house, however, I examined, as you remember, the -sill and framework of the hall window with my lens, and I could -at once see that someone had passed out. I could distinguish the -outline of an instep where the wet foot had been placed in coming -in. I was then beginning to be able to form an opinion as to what -had occurred. A man had waited outside the window; someone had -brought the gems; the deed had been overseen by your son; he had -pursued the thief; had struggled with him; they had each tugged -at the coronet, their united strength causing injuries which -neither alone could have effected. He had returned with the -prize, but had left a fragment in the grasp of his opponent. So -far I was clear. The question now was, who was the man and who -was it brought him the coronet? - -"It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the -impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the -truth. Now, I knew that it was not you who had brought it down, -so there only remained your niece and the maids. But if it were -the maids, why should your son allow himself to be accused in -their place? There could be no possible reason. As he loved his -cousin, however, there was an excellent explanation why he should -retain her secret--the more so as the secret was a disgraceful -one. When I remembered that you had seen her at that window, and -how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again, my conjecture -became a certainty. - -"And who could it be who was her confederate? A lover evidently, -for who else could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must -feel to you? I knew that you went out little, and that your -circle of friends was a very limited one. But among them was Sir -George Burnwell. I had heard of him before as being a man of evil -reputation among women. It must have been he who wore those boots -and retained the missing gems. Even though he knew that Arthur -had discovered him, he might still flatter himself that he was -safe, for the lad could not say a word without compromising his -own family. - -"Well, your own good sense will suggest what measures I took -next. I went in the shape of a loafer to Sir George's house, -managed to pick up an acquaintance with his valet, learned that -his master had cut his head the night before, and, finally, at -the expense of six shillings, made all sure by buying a pair of -his cast-off shoes. With these I journeyed down to Streatham and -saw that they exactly fitted the tracks." - -"I saw an ill-dressed vagabond in the lane yesterday evening," -said Mr. Holder. - -"Precisely. It was I. I found that I had my man, so I came home -and changed my clothes. It was a delicate part which I had to -play then, for I saw that a prosecution must be avoided to avert -scandal, and I knew that so astute a villain would see that our -hands were tied in the matter. I went and saw him. At first, of -course, he denied everything. But when I gave him every -particular that had occurred, he tried to bluster and took down a -life-preserver from the wall. I knew my man, however, and I -clapped a pistol to his head before he could strike. Then he -became a little more reasonable. I told him that we would give -him a price for the stones he held--1000 pounds apiece. That -brought out the first signs of grief that he had shown. 'Why, -dash it all!' said he, 'I've let them go at six hundred for the -three!' I soon managed to get the address of the receiver who had -them, on promising him that there would be no prosecution. Off I -set to him, and after much chaffering I got our stones at 1000 -pounds apiece. Then I looked in upon your son, told him that all -was right, and eventually got to my bed about two o'clock, after -what I may call a really hard day's work." - -"A day which has saved England from a great public scandal," said -the banker, rising. "Sir, I cannot find words to thank you, but -you shall not find me ungrateful for what you have done. Your -skill has indeed exceeded all that I have heard of it. And now I -must fly to my dear boy to apologise to him for the wrong which I -have done him. As to what you tell me of poor Mary, it goes to my -very heart. Not even your skill can inform me where she is now." - -"I think that we may safely say," returned Holmes, "that she is -wherever Sir George Burnwell is. It is equally certain, too, that -whatever her sins are, they will soon receive a more than -sufficient punishment." - - - -XII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHES - -"To the man who loves art for its own sake," remarked Sherlock -Holmes, tossing aside the advertisement sheet of the Daily -Telegraph, "it is frequently in its least important and lowliest -manifestations that the keenest pleasure is to be derived. It is -pleasant to me to observe, Watson, that you have so far grasped -this truth that in these little records of our cases which you -have been good enough to draw up, and, I am bound to say, -occasionally to embellish, you have given prominence not so much -to the many causes célèbres and sensational trials in which I -have figured but rather to those incidents which may have been -trivial in themselves, but which have given room for those -faculties of deduction and of logical synthesis which I have made -my special province." - -"And yet," said I, smiling, "I cannot quite hold myself absolved -from the charge of sensationalism which has been urged against my -records." - -"You have erred, perhaps," he observed, taking up a glowing -cinder with the tongs and lighting with it the long cherry-wood -pipe which was wont to replace his clay when he was in a -disputatious rather than a meditative mood--"you have erred -perhaps in attempting to put colour and life into each of your -statements instead of confining yourself to the task of placing -upon record that severe reasoning from cause to effect which is -really the only notable feature about the thing." - -"It seems to me that I have done you full justice in the matter," -I remarked with some coldness, for I was repelled by the egotism -which I had more than once observed to be a strong factor in my -friend's singular character. - -"No, it is not selfishness or conceit," said he, answering, as -was his wont, my thoughts rather than my words. "If I claim full -justice for my art, it is because it is an impersonal thing--a -thing beyond myself. Crime is common. Logic is rare. Therefore it -is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should -dwell. You have degraded what should have been a course of -lectures into a series of tales." - -It was a cold morning of the early spring, and we sat after -breakfast on either side of a cheery fire in the old room at -Baker Street. A thick fog rolled down between the lines of -dun-coloured houses, and the opposing windows loomed like dark, -shapeless blurs through the heavy yellow wreaths. Our gas was lit -and shone on the white cloth and glimmer of china and metal, for -the table had not been cleared yet. Sherlock Holmes had been -silent all the morning, dipping continuously into the -advertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last, -having apparently given up his search, he had emerged in no very -sweet temper to lecture me upon my literary shortcomings. - -"At the same time," he remarked after a pause, during which he -had sat puffing at his long pipe and gazing down into the fire, -"you can hardly be open to a charge of sensationalism, for out of -these cases which you have been so kind as to interest yourself -in, a fair proportion do not treat of crime, in its legal sense, -at all. The small matter in which I endeavoured to help the King -of Bohemia, the singular experience of Miss Mary Sutherland, the -problem connected with the man with the twisted lip, and the -incident of the noble bachelor, were all matters which are -outside the pale of the law. But in avoiding the sensational, I -fear that you may have bordered on the trivial." - -"The end may have been so," I answered, "but the methods I hold -to have been novel and of interest." - -"Pshaw, my dear fellow, what do the public, the great unobservant -public, who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a -compositor by his left thumb, care about the finer shades of -analysis and deduction! But, indeed, if you are trivial, I cannot -blame you, for the days of the great cases are past. Man, or at -least criminal man, has lost all enterprise and originality. As -to my own little practice, it seems to be degenerating into an -agency for recovering lost lead pencils and giving advice to -young ladies from boarding-schools. I think that I have touched -bottom at last, however. This note I had this morning marks my -zero-point, I fancy. Read it!" He tossed a crumpled letter across -to me. - -It was dated from Montague Place upon the preceding evening, and -ran thus: - -"DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether -I should or should not accept a situation which has been offered -to me as governess. I shall call at half-past ten to-morrow if I -do not inconvenience you. Yours faithfully, - "VIOLET HUNTER." - -"Do you know the young lady?" I asked. - -"Not I." - -"It is half-past ten now." - -"Yes, and I have no doubt that is her ring." - -"It may turn out to be of more interest than you think. You -remember that the affair of the blue carbuncle, which appeared to -be a mere whim at first, developed into a serious investigation. -It may be so in this case, also." - -"Well, let us hope so. But our doubts will very soon be solved, -for here, unless I am much mistaken, is the person in question." - -As he spoke the door opened and a young lady entered the room. -She was plainly but neatly dressed, with a bright, quick face, -freckled like a plover's egg, and with the brisk manner of a -woman who has had her own way to make in the world. - -"You will excuse my troubling you, I am sure," said she, as my -companion rose to greet her, "but I have had a very strange -experience, and as I have no parents or relations of any sort -from whom I could ask advice, I thought that perhaps you would be -kind enough to tell me what I should do." - -"Pray take a seat, Miss Hunter. I shall be happy to do anything -that I can to serve you." - -I could see that Holmes was favourably impressed by the manner -and speech of his new client. He looked her over in his searching -fashion, and then composed himself, with his lids drooping and -his finger-tips together, to listen to her story. - -"I have been a governess for five years," said she, "in the -family of Colonel Spence Munro, but two months ago the colonel -received an appointment at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and took his -children over to America with him, so that I found myself without -a situation. I advertised, and I answered advertisements, but -without success. At last the little money which I had saved began -to run short, and I was at my wit's end as to what I should do. - -"There is a well-known agency for governesses in the West End -called Westaway's, and there I used to call about once a week in -order to see whether anything had turned up which might suit me. -Westaway was the name of the founder of the business, but it is -really managed by Miss Stoper. She sits in her own little office, -and the ladies who are seeking employment wait in an anteroom, -and are then shown in one by one, when she consults her ledgers -and sees whether she has anything which would suit them. - -"Well, when I called last week I was shown into the little office -as usual, but I found that Miss Stoper was not alone. A -prodigiously stout man with a very smiling face and a great heavy -chin which rolled down in fold upon fold over his throat sat at -her elbow with a pair of glasses on his nose, looking very -earnestly at the ladies who entered. As I came in he gave quite a -jump in his chair and turned quickly to Miss Stoper. - -"'That will do,' said he; 'I could not ask for anything better. -Capital! capital!' He seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his -hands together in the most genial fashion. He was such a -comfortable-looking man that it was quite a pleasure to look at -him. - -"'You are looking for a situation, miss?' he asked. - -"'Yes, sir.' - -"'As governess?' - -"'Yes, sir.' - -"'And what salary do you ask?' - -"'I had 4 pounds a month in my last place with Colonel Spence -Munro.' - -"'Oh, tut, tut! sweating--rank sweating!' he cried, throwing his -fat hands out into the air like a man who is in a boiling -passion. 'How could anyone offer so pitiful a sum to a lady with -such attractions and accomplishments?' - -"'My accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,' said I. -'A little French, a little German, music, and drawing--' - -"'Tut, tut!' he cried. 'This is all quite beside the question. -The point is, have you or have you not the bearing and deportment -of a lady? There it is in a nutshell. If you have not, you are -not fitted for the rearing of a child who may some day play a -considerable part in the history of the country. But if you have -why, then, how could any gentleman ask you to condescend to -accept anything under the three figures? Your salary with me, -madam, would commence at 100 pounds a year.' - -"You may imagine, Mr. Holmes, that to me, destitute as I was, -such an offer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman, -however, seeing perhaps the look of incredulity upon my face, -opened a pocket-book and took out a note. - -"'It is also my custom,' said he, smiling in the most pleasant -fashion until his eyes were just two little shining slits amid -the white creases of his face, 'to advance to my young ladies -half their salary beforehand, so that they may meet any little -expenses of their journey and their wardrobe.' - -"It seemed to me that I had never met so fascinating and so -thoughtful a man. As I was already in debt to my tradesmen, the -advance was a great convenience, and yet there was something -unnatural about the whole transaction which made me wish to know -a little more before I quite committed myself. - -"'May I ask where you live, sir?' said I. - -"'Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper Beeches, five miles -on the far side of Winchester. It is the most lovely country, my -dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.' - -"'And my duties, sir? I should be glad to know what they would -be.' - -"'One child--one dear little romper just six years old. Oh, if -you could see him killing cockroaches with a slipper! Smack! -smack! smack! Three gone before you could wink!' He leaned back -in his chair and laughed his eyes into his head again. - -"I was a little startled at the nature of the child's amusement, -but the father's laughter made me think that perhaps he was -joking. - -"'My sole duties, then,' I asked, 'are to take charge of a single -child?' - -"'No, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,' he -cried. 'Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would -suggest, to obey any little commands my wife might give, provided -always that they were such commands as a lady might with -propriety obey. You see no difficulty, heh?' - -"'I should be happy to make myself useful.' - -"'Quite so. In dress now, for example. We are faddy people, you -know--faddy but kind-hearted. If you were asked to wear any dress -which we might give you, you would not object to our little whim. -Heh?' - -"'No,' said I, considerably astonished at his words. - -"'Or to sit here, or sit there, that would not be offensive to -you?' - -"'Oh, no.' - -"'Or to cut your hair quite short before you come to us?' - -"I could hardly believe my ears. As you may observe, Mr. Holmes, -my hair is somewhat luxuriant, and of a rather peculiar tint of -chestnut. It has been considered artistic. I could not dream of -sacrificing it in this offhand fashion. - -"'I am afraid that that is quite impossible,' said I. He had been -watching me eagerly out of his small eyes, and I could see a -shadow pass over his face as I spoke. - -"'I am afraid that it is quite essential,' said he. 'It is a -little fancy of my wife's, and ladies' fancies, you know, madam, -ladies' fancies must be consulted. And so you won't cut your -hair?' - -"'No, sir, I really could not,' I answered firmly. - -"'Ah, very well; then that quite settles the matter. It is a -pity, because in other respects you would really have done very -nicely. In that case, Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a few more -of your young ladies.' - -"The manageress had sat all this while busy with her papers -without a word to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so -much annoyance upon her face that I could not help suspecting -that she had lost a handsome commission through my refusal. - -"'Do you desire your name to be kept upon the books?' she asked. - -"'If you please, Miss Stoper.' - -"'Well, really, it seems rather useless, since you refuse the -most excellent offers in this fashion,' said she sharply. 'You -can hardly expect us to exert ourselves to find another such -opening for you. Good-day to you, Miss Hunter.' She struck a gong -upon the table, and I was shown out by the page. - -"Well, Mr. Holmes, when I got back to my lodgings and found -little enough in the cupboard, and two or three bills upon the -table, I began to ask myself whether I had not done a very -foolish thing. After all, if these people had strange fads and -expected obedience on the most extraordinary matters, they were -at least ready to pay for their eccentricity. Very few -governesses in England are getting 100 pounds a year. Besides, -what use was my hair to me? Many people are improved by wearing -it short and perhaps I should be among the number. Next day I was -inclined to think that I had made a mistake, and by the day after -I was sure of it. I had almost overcome my pride so far as to go -back to the agency and inquire whether the place was still open -when I received this letter from the gentleman himself. I have it -here and I will read it to you: - - "'The Copper Beeches, near Winchester. -"'DEAR MISS HUNTER:--Miss Stoper has very kindly given me your -address, and I write from here to ask you whether you have -reconsidered your decision. My wife is very anxious that you -should come, for she has been much attracted by my description of -you. We are willing to give 30 pounds a quarter, or 120 pounds a -year, so as to recompense you for any little inconvenience which -our fads may cause you. They are not very exacting, after all. My -wife is fond of a particular shade of electric blue and would -like you to wear such a dress indoors in the morning. You need -not, however, go to the expense of purchasing one, as we have one -belonging to my dear daughter Alice (now in Philadelphia), which -would, I should think, fit you very well. Then, as to sitting -here or there, or amusing yourself in any manner indicated, that -need cause you no inconvenience. As regards your hair, it is no -doubt a pity, especially as I could not help remarking its beauty -during our short interview, but I am afraid that I must remain -firm upon this point, and I only hope that the increased salary -may recompense you for the loss. Your duties, as far as the child -is concerned, are very light. Now do try to come, and I shall -meet you with the dog-cart at Winchester. Let me know your train. -Yours faithfully, JEPHRO RUCASTLE.' - -"That is the letter which I have just received, Mr. Holmes, and -my mind is made up that I will accept it. I thought, however, -that before taking the final step I should like to submit the -whole matter to your consideration." - -"Well, Miss Hunter, if your mind is made up, that settles the -question," said Holmes, smiling. - -"But you would not advise me to refuse?" - -"I confess that it is not the situation which I should like to -see a sister of mine apply for." - -"What is the meaning of it all, Mr. Holmes?" - -"Ah, I have no data. I cannot tell. Perhaps you have yourself -formed some opinion?" - -"Well, there seems to me to be only one possible solution. Mr. -Rucastle seemed to be a very kind, good-natured man. Is it not -possible that his wife is a lunatic, that he desires to keep the -matter quiet for fear she should be taken to an asylum, and that -he humours her fancies in every way in order to prevent an -outbreak?" - -"That is a possible solution--in fact, as matters stand, it is -the most probable one. But in any case it does not seem to be a -nice household for a young lady." - -"But the money, Mr. Holmes, the money!" - -"Well, yes, of course the pay is good--too good. That is what -makes me uneasy. Why should they give you 120 pounds a year, when -they could have their pick for 40 pounds? There must be some -strong reason behind." - -"I thought that if I told you the circumstances you would -understand afterwards if I wanted your help. I should feel so -much stronger if I felt that you were at the back of me." - -"Oh, you may carry that feeling away with you. I assure you that -your little problem promises to be the most interesting which has -come my way for some months. There is something distinctly novel -about some of the features. If you should find yourself in doubt -or in danger--" - -"Danger! What danger do you foresee?" - -Holmes shook his head gravely. "It would cease to be a danger if -we could define it," said he. "But at any time, day or night, a -telegram would bring me down to your help." - -"That is enough." She rose briskly from her chair with the -anxiety all swept from her face. "I shall go down to Hampshire -quite easy in my mind now. I shall write to Mr. Rucastle at once, -sacrifice my poor hair to-night, and start for Winchester -to-morrow." With a few grateful words to Holmes she bade us both -good-night and bustled off upon her way. - -"At least," said I as we heard her quick, firm steps descending -the stairs, "she seems to be a young lady who is very well able -to take care of herself." - -"And she would need to be," said Holmes gravely. "I am much -mistaken if we do not hear from her before many days are past." - -It was not very long before my friend's prediction was fulfilled. -A fortnight went by, during which I frequently found my thoughts -turning in her direction and wondering what strange side-alley of -human experience this lonely woman had strayed into. The unusual -salary, the curious conditions, the light duties, all pointed to -something abnormal, though whether a fad or a plot, or whether -the man were a philanthropist or a villain, it was quite beyond -my powers to determine. As to Holmes, I observed that he sat -frequently for half an hour on end, with knitted brows and an -abstracted air, but he swept the matter away with a wave of his -hand when I mentioned it. "Data! data! data!" he cried -impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay." And yet he would -always wind up by muttering that no sister of his should ever -have accepted such a situation. - -The telegram which we eventually received came late one night -just as I was thinking of turning in and Holmes was settling down -to one of those all-night chemical researches which he frequently -indulged in, when I would leave him stooping over a retort and a -test-tube at night and find him in the same position when I came -down to breakfast in the morning. He opened the yellow envelope, -and then, glancing at the message, threw it across to me. - -"Just look up the trains in Bradshaw," said he, and turned back -to his chemical studies. - -The summons was a brief and urgent one. - -"Please be at the Black Swan Hotel at Winchester at midday -to-morrow," it said. "Do come! I am at my wit's end. HUNTER." - -"Will you come with me?" asked Holmes, glancing up. - -"I should wish to." - -"Just look it up, then." - -"There is a train at half-past nine," said I, glancing over my -Bradshaw. "It is due at Winchester at 11:30." - -"That will do very nicely. Then perhaps I had better postpone my -analysis of the acetones, as we may need to be at our best in the -morning." - -By eleven o'clock the next day we were well upon our way to the -old English capital. Holmes had been buried in the morning papers -all the way down, but after we had passed the Hampshire border he -threw them down and began to admire the scenery. It was an ideal -spring day, a light blue sky, flecked with little fleecy white -clouds drifting across from west to east. The sun was shining -very brightly, and yet there was an exhilarating nip in the air, -which set an edge to a man's energy. All over the countryside, -away to the rolling hills around Aldershot, the little red and -grey roofs of the farm-steadings peeped out from amid the light -green of the new foliage. - -"Are they not fresh and beautiful?" I cried with all the -enthusiasm of a man fresh from the fogs of Baker Street. - -But Holmes shook his head gravely. - -"Do you know, Watson," said he, "that it is one of the curses of -a mind with a turn like mine that I must look at everything with -reference to my own special subject. You look at these scattered -houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, -and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their -isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed -there." - -"Good heavens!" I cried. "Who would associate crime with these -dear old homesteads?" - -"They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, -Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest -alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin -than does the smiling and beautiful countryside." - -"You horrify me!" - -"But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion -can do in the town what the law cannot accomplish. There is no -lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of -a drunkard's blow, does not beget sympathy and indignation among -the neighbours, and then the whole machinery of justice is ever -so close that a word of complaint can set it going, and there is -but a step between the crime and the dock. But look at these -lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part -with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the -deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, -year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser. Had this -lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in Winchester, I -should never have had a fear for her. It is the five miles of -country which makes the danger. Still, it is clear that she is -not personally threatened." - -"No. If she can come to Winchester to meet us she can get away." - -"Quite so. She has her freedom." - -"What CAN be the matter, then? Can you suggest no explanation?" - -"I have devised seven separate explanations, each of which would -cover the facts as far as we know them. But which of these is -correct can only be determined by the fresh information which we -shall no doubt find waiting for us. Well, there is the tower of -the cathedral, and we shall soon learn all that Miss Hunter has -to tell." - -The Black Swan is an inn of repute in the High Street, at no -distance from the station, and there we found the young lady -waiting for us. She had engaged a sitting-room, and our lunch -awaited us upon the table. - -"I am so delighted that you have come," she said earnestly. "It -is so very kind of you both; but indeed I do not know what I -should do. Your advice will be altogether invaluable to me." - -"Pray tell us what has happened to you." - -"I will do so, and I must be quick, for I have promised Mr. -Rucastle to be back before three. I got his leave to come into -town this morning, though he little knew for what purpose." - -"Let us have everything in its due order." Holmes thrust his long -thin legs out towards the fire and composed himself to listen. - -"In the first place, I may say that I have met, on the whole, -with no actual ill-treatment from Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle. It is -only fair to them to say that. But I cannot understand them, and -I am not easy in my mind about them." - -"What can you not understand?" - -"Their reasons for their conduct. But you shall have it all just -as it occurred. When I came down, Mr. Rucastle met me here and -drove me in his dog-cart to the Copper Beeches. It is, as he -said, beautifully situated, but it is not beautiful in itself, -for it is a large square block of a house, whitewashed, but all -stained and streaked with damp and bad weather. There are grounds -round it, woods on three sides, and on the fourth a field which -slopes down to the Southampton highroad, which curves past about -a hundred yards from the front door. This ground in front belongs -to the house, but the woods all round are part of Lord -Southerton's preserves. A clump of copper beeches immediately in -front of the hall door has given its name to the place. - -"I was driven over by my employer, who was as amiable as ever, -and was introduced by him that evening to his wife and the child. -There was no truth, Mr. Holmes, in the conjecture which seemed to -us to be probable in your rooms at Baker Street. Mrs. Rucastle is -not mad. I found her to be a silent, pale-faced woman, much -younger than her husband, not more than thirty, I should think, -while he can hardly be less than forty-five. From their -conversation I have gathered that they have been married about -seven years, that he was a widower, and that his only child by -the first wife was the daughter who has gone to Philadelphia. Mr. -Rucastle told me in private that the reason why she had left them -was that she had an unreasoning aversion to her stepmother. As -the daughter could not have been less than twenty, I can quite -imagine that her position must have been uncomfortable with her -father's young wife. - -"Mrs. Rucastle seemed to me to be colourless in mind as well as -in feature. She impressed me neither favourably nor the reverse. -She was a nonentity. It was easy to see that she was passionately -devoted both to her husband and to her little son. Her light grey -eyes wandered continually from one to the other, noting every -little want and forestalling it if possible. He was kind to her -also in his bluff, boisterous fashion, and on the whole they -seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secret sorrow, -this woman. She would often be lost in deep thought, with the -saddest look upon her face. More than once I have surprised her -in tears. I have thought sometimes that it was the disposition of -her child which weighed upon her mind, for I have never met so -utterly spoiled and so ill-natured a little creature. He is small -for his age, with a head which is quite disproportionately large. -His whole life appears to be spent in an alternation between -savage fits of passion and gloomy intervals of sulking. Giving -pain to any creature weaker than himself seems to be his one idea -of amusement, and he shows quite remarkable talent in planning -the capture of mice, little birds, and insects. But I would -rather not talk about the creature, Mr. Holmes, and, indeed, he -has little to do with my story." - -"I am glad of all details," remarked my friend, "whether they -seem to you to be relevant or not." - -"I shall try not to miss anything of importance. The one -unpleasant thing about the house, which struck me at once, was -the appearance and conduct of the servants. There are only two, a -man and his wife. Toller, for that is his name, is a rough, -uncouth man, with grizzled hair and whiskers, and a perpetual -smell of drink. Twice since I have been with them he has been -quite drunk, and yet Mr. Rucastle seemed to take no notice of it. -His wife is a very tall and strong woman with a sour face, as -silent as Mrs. Rucastle and much less amiable. They are a most -unpleasant couple, but fortunately I spend most of my time in the -nursery and my own room, which are next to each other in one -corner of the building. - -"For two days after my arrival at the Copper Beeches my life was -very quiet; on the third, Mrs. Rucastle came down just after -breakfast and whispered something to her husband. - -"'Oh, yes,' said he, turning to me, 'we are very much obliged to -you, Miss Hunter, for falling in with our whims so far as to cut -your hair. I assure you that it has not detracted in the tiniest -iota from your appearance. We shall now see how the electric-blue -dress will become you. You will find it laid out upon the bed in -your room, and if you would be so good as to put it on we should -both be extremely obliged.' - -"The dress which I found waiting for me was of a peculiar shade -of blue. It was of excellent material, a sort of beige, but it -bore unmistakable signs of having been worn before. It could not -have been a better fit if I had been measured for it. Both Mr. -and Mrs. Rucastle expressed a delight at the look of it, which -seemed quite exaggerated in its vehemence. They were waiting for -me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching -along the entire front of the house, with three long windows -reaching down to the floor. A chair had been placed close to the -central window, with its back turned towards it. In this I was -asked to sit, and then Mr. Rucastle, walking up and down on the -other side of the room, began to tell me a series of the funniest -stories that I have ever listened to. You cannot imagine how -comical he was, and I laughed until I was quite weary. Mrs. -Rucastle, however, who has evidently no sense of humour, never so -much as smiled, but sat with her hands in her lap, and a sad, -anxious look upon her face. After an hour or so, Mr. Rucastle -suddenly remarked that it was time to commence the duties of the -day, and that I might change my dress and go to little Edward in -the nursery. - -"Two days later this same performance was gone through under -exactly similar circumstances. Again I changed my dress, again I -sat in the window, and again I laughed very heartily at the funny -stories of which my employer had an immense répertoire, and which -he told inimitably. Then he handed me a yellow-backed novel, and -moving my chair a little sideways, that my own shadow might not -fall upon the page, he begged me to read aloud to him. I read for -about ten minutes, beginning in the heart of a chapter, and then -suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he ordered me to cease and -to change my dress. - -"You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, how curious I became as to -what the meaning of this extraordinary performance could possibly -be. They were always very careful, I observed, to turn my face -away from the window, so that I became consumed with the desire -to see what was going on behind my back. At first it seemed to be -impossible, but I soon devised a means. My hand-mirror had been -broken, so a happy thought seized me, and I concealed a piece of -the glass in my handkerchief. On the next occasion, in the midst -of my laughter, I put my handkerchief up to my eyes, and was able -with a little management to see all that there was behind me. I -confess that I was disappointed. There was nothing. At least that -was my first impression. At the second glance, however, I -perceived that there was a man standing in the Southampton Road, -a small bearded man in a grey suit, who seemed to be looking in -my direction. The road is an important highway, and there are -usually people there. This man, however, was leaning against the -railings which bordered our field and was looking earnestly up. I -lowered my handkerchief and glanced at Mrs. Rucastle to find her -eyes fixed upon me with a most searching gaze. She said nothing, -but I am convinced that she had divined that I had a mirror in my -hand and had seen what was behind me. She rose at once. - -"'Jephro,' said she, 'there is an impertinent fellow upon the -road there who stares up at Miss Hunter.' - -"'No friend of yours, Miss Hunter?' he asked. - -"'No, I know no one in these parts.' - -"'Dear me! How very impertinent! Kindly turn round and motion to -him to go away.' - -"'Surely it would be better to take no notice.' - -"'No, no, we should have him loitering here always. Kindly turn -round and wave him away like that.' - -"I did as I was told, and at the same instant Mrs. Rucastle drew -down the blind. That was a week ago, and from that time I have -not sat again in the window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor -seen the man in the road." - -"Pray continue," said Holmes. "Your narrative promises to be a -most interesting one." - -"You will find it rather disconnected, I fear, and there may -prove to be little relation between the different incidents of -which I speak. On the very first day that I was at the Copper -Beeches, Mr. Rucastle took me to a small outhouse which stands -near the kitchen door. As we approached it I heard the sharp -rattling of a chain, and the sound as of a large animal moving -about. - -"'Look in here!' said Mr. Rucastle, showing me a slit between two -planks. 'Is he not a beauty?' - -"I looked through and was conscious of two glowing eyes, and of a -vague figure huddled up in the darkness. - -"'Don't be frightened,' said my employer, laughing at the start -which I had given. 'It's only Carlo, my mastiff. I call him mine, -but really old Toller, my groom, is the only man who can do -anything with him. We feed him once a day, and not too much then, -so that he is always as keen as mustard. Toller lets him loose -every night, and God help the trespasser whom he lays his fangs -upon. For goodness' sake don't you ever on any pretext set your -foot over the threshold at night, for it's as much as your life -is worth.' - -"The warning was no idle one, for two nights later I happened to -look out of my bedroom window about two o'clock in the morning. -It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the lawn in front of the -house was silvered over and almost as bright as day. I was -standing, rapt in the peaceful beauty of the scene, when I was -aware that something was moving under the shadow of the copper -beeches. As it emerged into the moonshine I saw what it was. It -was a giant dog, as large as a calf, tawny tinted, with hanging -jowl, black muzzle, and huge projecting bones. It walked slowly -across the lawn and vanished into the shadow upon the other side. -That dreadful sentinel sent a chill to my heart which I do not -think that any burglar could have done. - -"And now I have a very strange experience to tell you. I had, as -you know, cut off my hair in London, and I had placed it in a -great coil at the bottom of my trunk. One evening, after the -child was in bed, I began to amuse myself by examining the -furniture of my room and by rearranging my own little things. -There was an old chest of drawers in the room, the two upper ones -empty and open, the lower one locked. I had filled the first two -with my linen, and as I had still much to pack away I was -naturally annoyed at not having the use of the third drawer. It -struck me that it might have been fastened by a mere oversight, -so I took out my bunch of keys and tried to open it. The very -first key fitted to perfection, and I drew the drawer open. There -was only one thing in it, but I am sure that you would never -guess what it was. It was my coil of hair. - -"I took it up and examined it. It was of the same peculiar tint, -and the same thickness. But then the impossibility of the thing -obtruded itself upon me. How could my hair have been locked in -the drawer? With trembling hands I undid my trunk, turned out the -contents, and drew from the bottom my own hair. I laid the two -tresses together, and I assure you that they were identical. Was -it not extraordinary? Puzzle as I would, I could make nothing at -all of what it meant. I returned the strange hair to the drawer, -and I said nothing of the matter to the Rucastles as I felt that -I had put myself in the wrong by opening a drawer which they had -locked. - -"I am naturally observant, as you may have remarked, Mr. Holmes, -and I soon had a pretty good plan of the whole house in my head. -There was one wing, however, which appeared not to be inhabited -at all. A door which faced that which led into the quarters of -the Tollers opened into this suite, but it was invariably locked. -One day, however, as I ascended the stair, I met Mr. Rucastle -coming out through this door, his keys in his hand, and a look on -his face which made him a very different person to the round, -jovial man to whom I was accustomed. His cheeks were red, his -brow was all crinkled with anger, and the veins stood out at his -temples with passion. He locked the door and hurried past me -without a word or a look. - -"This aroused my curiosity, so when I went out for a walk in the -grounds with my charge, I strolled round to the side from which I -could see the windows of this part of the house. There were four -of them in a row, three of which were simply dirty, while the -fourth was shuttered up. They were evidently all deserted. As I -strolled up and down, glancing at them occasionally, Mr. Rucastle -came out to me, looking as merry and jovial as ever. - -"'Ah!' said he, 'you must not think me rude if I passed you -without a word, my dear young lady. I was preoccupied with -business matters.' - -"I assured him that I was not offended. 'By the way,' said I, -'you seem to have quite a suite of spare rooms up there, and one -of them has the shutters up.' - -"He looked surprised and, as it seemed to me, a little startled -at my remark. - -"'Photography is one of my hobbies,' said he. 'I have made my -dark room up there. But, dear me! what an observant young lady we -have come upon. Who would have believed it? Who would have ever -believed it?' He spoke in a jesting tone, but there was no jest -in his eyes as he looked at me. I read suspicion there and -annoyance, but no jest. - -"Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there -was something about that suite of rooms which I was not to know, -I was all on fire to go over them. It was not mere curiosity, -though I have my share of that. It was more a feeling of duty--a -feeling that some good might come from my penetrating to this -place. They talk of woman's instinct; perhaps it was woman's -instinct which gave me that feeling. At any rate, it was there, -and I was keenly on the lookout for any chance to pass the -forbidden door. - -"It was only yesterday that the chance came. I may tell you that, -besides Mr. Rucastle, both Toller and his wife find something to -do in these deserted rooms, and I once saw him carrying a large -black linen bag with him through the door. Recently he has been -drinking hard, and yesterday evening he was very drunk; and when -I came upstairs there was the key in the door. I have no doubt at -all that he had left it there. Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle were both -downstairs, and the child was with them, so that I had an -admirable opportunity. I turned the key gently in the lock, -opened the door, and slipped through. - -"There was a little passage in front of me, unpapered and -uncarpeted, which turned at a right angle at the farther end. -Round this corner were three doors in a line, the first and third -of which were open. They each led into an empty room, dusty and -cheerless, with two windows in the one and one in the other, so -thick with dirt that the evening light glimmered dimly through -them. The centre door was closed, and across the outside of it -had been fastened one of the broad bars of an iron bed, padlocked -at one end to a ring in the wall, and fastened at the other with -stout cord. The door itself was locked as well, and the key was -not there. This barricaded door corresponded clearly with the -shuttered window outside, and yet I could see by the glimmer from -beneath it that the room was not in darkness. Evidently there was -a skylight which let in light from above. As I stood in the -passage gazing at the sinister door and wondering what secret it -might veil, I suddenly heard the sound of steps within the room -and saw a shadow pass backward and forward against the little -slit of dim light which shone out from under the door. A mad, -unreasoning terror rose up in me at the sight, Mr. Holmes. My -overstrung nerves failed me suddenly, and I turned and ran--ran -as though some dreadful hand were behind me clutching at the -skirt of my dress. I rushed down the passage, through the door, -and straight into the arms of Mr. Rucastle, who was waiting -outside. - -"'So,' said he, smiling, 'it was you, then. I thought that it -must be when I saw the door open.' - -"'Oh, I am so frightened!' I panted. - -"'My dear young lady! my dear young lady!'--you cannot think how -caressing and soothing his manner was--'and what has frightened -you, my dear young lady?' - -"But his voice was just a little too coaxing. He overdid it. I -was keenly on my guard against him. - -"'I was foolish enough to go into the empty wing,' I answered. -'But it is so lonely and eerie in this dim light that I was -frightened and ran out again. Oh, it is so dreadfully still in -there!' - -"'Only that?' said he, looking at me keenly. - -"'Why, what did you think?' I asked. - -"'Why do you think that I lock this door?' - -"'I am sure that I do not know.' - -"'It is to keep people out who have no business there. Do you -see?' He was still smiling in the most amiable manner. - -"'I am sure if I had known--' - -"'Well, then, you know now. And if you ever put your foot over -that threshold again'--here in an instant the smile hardened into -a grin of rage, and he glared down at me with the face of a -demon--'I'll throw you to the mastiff.' - -"I was so terrified that I do not know what I did. I suppose that -I must have rushed past him into my room. I remember nothing -until I found myself lying on my bed trembling all over. Then I -thought of you, Mr. Holmes. I could not live there longer without -some advice. I was frightened of the house, of the man, of the -woman, of the servants, even of the child. They were all horrible -to me. If I could only bring you down all would be well. Of -course I might have fled from the house, but my curiosity was -almost as strong as my fears. My mind was soon made up. I would -send you a wire. I put on my hat and cloak, went down to the -office, which is about half a mile from the house, and then -returned, feeling very much easier. A horrible doubt came into my -mind as I approached the door lest the dog might be loose, but I -remembered that Toller had drunk himself into a state of -insensibility that evening, and I knew that he was the only one -in the household who had any influence with the savage creature, -or who would venture to set him free. I slipped in in safety and -lay awake half the night in my joy at the thought of seeing you. -I had no difficulty in getting leave to come into Winchester this -morning, but I must be back before three o'clock, for Mr. and -Mrs. Rucastle are going on a visit, and will be away all the -evening, so that I must look after the child. Now I have told you -all my adventures, Mr. Holmes, and I should be very glad if you -could tell me what it all means, and, above all, what I should -do." - -Holmes and I had listened spellbound to this extraordinary story. -My friend rose now and paced up and down the room, his hands in -his pockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon -his face. - -"Is Toller still drunk?" he asked. - -"Yes. I heard his wife tell Mrs. Rucastle that she could do -nothing with him." - -"That is well. And the Rucastles go out to-night?" - -"Yes." - -"Is there a cellar with a good strong lock?" - -"Yes, the wine-cellar." - -"You seem to me to have acted all through this matter like a very -brave and sensible girl, Miss Hunter. Do you think that you could -perform one more feat? I should not ask it of you if I did not -think you a quite exceptional woman." - -"I will try. What is it?" - -"We shall be at the Copper Beeches by seven o'clock, my friend -and I. The Rucastles will be gone by that time, and Toller will, -we hope, be incapable. There only remains Mrs. Toller, who might -give the alarm. If you could send her into the cellar on some -errand, and then turn the key upon her, you would facilitate -matters immensely." - -"I will do it." - -"Excellent! We shall then look thoroughly into the affair. Of -course there is only one feasible explanation. You have been -brought there to personate someone, and the real person is -imprisoned in this chamber. That is obvious. As to who this -prisoner is, I have no doubt that it is the daughter, Miss Alice -Rucastle, if I remember right, who was said to have gone to -America. You were chosen, doubtless, as resembling her in height, -figure, and the colour of your hair. Hers had been cut off, very -possibly in some illness through which she has passed, and so, of -course, yours had to be sacrificed also. By a curious chance you -came upon her tresses. The man in the road was undoubtedly some -friend of hers--possibly her fiancé--and no doubt, as you wore -the girl's dress and were so like her, he was convinced from your -laughter, whenever he saw you, and afterwards from your gesture, -that Miss Rucastle was perfectly happy, and that she no longer -desired his attentions. The dog is let loose at night to prevent -him from endeavouring to communicate with her. So much is fairly -clear. The most serious point in the case is the disposition of -the child." - -"What on earth has that to do with it?" I ejaculated. - -"My dear Watson, you as a medical man are continually gaining -light as to the tendencies of a child by the study of the -parents. Don't you see that the converse is equally valid. I have -frequently gained my first real insight into the character of -parents by studying their children. This child's disposition is -abnormally cruel, merely for cruelty's sake, and whether he -derives this from his smiling father, as I should suspect, or -from his mother, it bodes evil for the poor girl who is in their -power." - -"I am sure that you are right, Mr. Holmes," cried our client. "A -thousand things come back to me which make me certain that you -have hit it. Oh, let us lose not an instant in bringing help to -this poor creature." - -"We must be circumspect, for we are dealing with a very cunning -man. We can do nothing until seven o'clock. At that hour we shall -be with you, and it will not be long before we solve the -mystery." - -We were as good as our word, for it was just seven when we -reached the Copper Beeches, having put up our trap at a wayside -public-house. The group of trees, with their dark leaves shining -like burnished metal in the light of the setting sun, were -sufficient to mark the house even had Miss Hunter not been -standing smiling on the door-step. - -"Have you managed it?" asked Holmes. - -A loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs. "That is -Mrs. Toller in the cellar," said she. "Her husband lies snoring -on the kitchen rug. Here are his keys, which are the duplicates -of Mr. Rucastle's." - -"You have done well indeed!" cried Holmes with enthusiasm. "Now -lead the way, and we shall soon see the end of this black -business." - -We passed up the stair, unlocked the door, followed on down a -passage, and found ourselves in front of the barricade which Miss -Hunter had described. Holmes cut the cord and removed the -transverse bar. Then he tried the various keys in the lock, but -without success. No sound came from within, and at the silence -Holmes' face clouded over. - -"I trust that we are not too late," said he. "I think, Miss -Hunter, that we had better go in without you. Now, Watson, put -your shoulder to it, and we shall see whether we cannot make our -way in." - -It was an old rickety door and gave at once before our united -strength. Together we rushed into the room. It was empty. There -was no furniture save a little pallet bed, a small table, and a -basketful of linen. The skylight above was open, and the prisoner -gone. - -"There has been some villainy here," said Holmes; "this beauty -has guessed Miss Hunter's intentions and has carried his victim -off." - -"But how?" - -"Through the skylight. We shall soon see how he managed it." He -swung himself up onto the roof. "Ah, yes," he cried, "here's the -end of a long light ladder against the eaves. That is how he did -it." - -"But it is impossible," said Miss Hunter; "the ladder was not -there when the Rucastles went away." - -"He has come back and done it. I tell you that he is a clever and -dangerous man. I should not be very much surprised if this were -he whose step I hear now upon the stair. I think, Watson, that it -would be as well for you to have your pistol ready." - -The words were hardly out of his mouth before a man appeared at -the door of the room, a very fat and burly man, with a heavy -stick in his hand. Miss Hunter screamed and shrunk against the -wall at the sight of him, but Sherlock Holmes sprang forward and -confronted him. - -"You villain!" said he, "where's your daughter?" - -The fat man cast his eyes round, and then up at the open -skylight. - -"It is for me to ask you that," he shrieked, "you thieves! Spies -and thieves! I have caught you, have I? You are in my power. I'll -serve you!" He turned and clattered down the stairs as hard as he -could go. - -"He's gone for the dog!" cried Miss Hunter. - -"I have my revolver," said I. - -"Better close the front door," cried Holmes, and we all rushed -down the stairs together. We had hardly reached the hall when we -heard the baying of a hound, and then a scream of agony, with a -horrible worrying sound which it was dreadful to listen to. An -elderly man with a red face and shaking limbs came staggering out -at a side door. - -"My God!" he cried. "Someone has loosed the dog. It's not been -fed for two days. Quick, quick, or it'll be too late!" - -Holmes and I rushed out and round the angle of the house, with -Toller hurrying behind us. There was the huge famished brute, its -black muzzle buried in Rucastle's throat, while he writhed and -screamed upon the ground. Running up, I blew its brains out, and -it fell over with its keen white teeth still meeting in the great -creases of his neck. With much labour we separated them and -carried him, living but horribly mangled, into the house. We laid -him upon the drawing-room sofa, and having dispatched the sobered -Toller to bear the news to his wife, I did what I could to -relieve his pain. We were all assembled round him when the door -opened, and a tall, gaunt woman entered the room. - -"Mrs. Toller!" cried Miss Hunter. - -"Yes, miss. Mr. Rucastle let me out when he came back before he -went up to you. Ah, miss, it is a pity you didn't let me know -what you were planning, for I would have told you that your pains -were wasted." - -"Ha!" said Holmes, looking keenly at her. "It is clear that Mrs. -Toller knows more about this matter than anyone else." - -"Yes, sir, I do, and I am ready enough to tell what I know." - -"Then, pray, sit down, and let us hear it for there are several -points on which I must confess that I am still in the dark." - -"I will soon make it clear to you," said she; "and I'd have done -so before now if I could ha' got out from the cellar. If there's -police-court business over this, you'll remember that I was the -one that stood your friend, and that I was Miss Alice's friend -too. - -"She was never happy at home, Miss Alice wasn't, from the time -that her father married again. She was slighted like and had no -say in anything, but it never really became bad for her until -after she met Mr. Fowler at a friend's house. As well as I could -learn, Miss Alice had rights of her own by will, but she was so -quiet and patient, she was, that she never said a word about them -but just left everything in Mr. Rucastle's hands. He knew he was -safe with her; but when there was a chance of a husband coming -forward, who would ask for all that the law would give him, then -her father thought it time to put a stop on it. He wanted her to -sign a paper, so that whether she married or not, he could use -her money. When she wouldn't do it, he kept on worrying her until -she got brain-fever, and for six weeks was at death's door. Then -she got better at last, all worn to a shadow, and with her -beautiful hair cut off; but that didn't make no change in her -young man, and he stuck to her as true as man could be." - -"Ah," said Holmes, "I think that what you have been good enough -to tell us makes the matter fairly clear, and that I can deduce -all that remains. Mr. Rucastle then, I presume, took to this -system of imprisonment?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"And brought Miss Hunter down from London in order to get rid of -the disagreeable persistence of Mr. Fowler." - -"That was it, sir." - -"But Mr. Fowler being a persevering man, as a good seaman should -be, blockaded the house, and having met you succeeded by certain -arguments, metallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your -interests were the same as his." - -"Mr. Fowler was a very kind-spoken, free-handed gentleman," said -Mrs. Toller serenely. - -"And in this way he managed that your good man should have no -want of drink, and that a ladder should be ready at the moment -when your master had gone out." - -"You have it, sir, just as it happened." - -"I am sure we owe you an apology, Mrs. Toller," said Holmes, "for -you have certainly cleared up everything which puzzled us. And -here comes the country surgeon and Mrs. Rucastle, so I think, -Watson, that we had best escort Miss Hunter back to Winchester, -as it seems to me that our locus standi now is rather a -questionable one." - -And thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the -copper beeches in front of the door. Mr. Rucastle survived, but -was always a broken man, kept alive solely through the care of -his devoted wife. They still live with their old servants, who -probably know so much of Rucastle's past life that he finds it -difficult to part from them. Mr. Fowler and Miss Rucastle were -married, by special license, in Southampton the day after their -flight, and he is now the holder of a government appointment in -the island of Mauritius. As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend -Holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no further -interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one -of his problems, and she is now the head of a private school at -Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success. - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by -Arthur Conan Doyle - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES *** - -***** This file should be named 1661-8.txt or 1661-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/6/1661/ - -Produced by an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer and Jose Menendez - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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For example, if the line terminator is `\n` and the regex - /// pattern is `\w+\n\w+`, then the presence of `\n` will cause this error. - LiteralNotAllowed(char), - /// An unused enum variant that indicates this enum may be expanded in - /// the future and therefore should not be exhaustively matched. - #[doc(hidden)] - __Nonexhaustive, -} - -impl error::Error for Error { - fn description(&self) -> &str { - match *self { - Error::Regex(ref err) => err.description(), - Error::LiteralNotAllowed(_) => "use of forbidden literal", - Error::__Nonexhaustive => unreachable!(), - } - } - - fn cause(&self) -> Option<&error::Error> { - match *self { - Error::Regex(ref err) => err.cause(), - _ => None, - } - } -} - -impl fmt::Display for Error { - fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result { - match *self { - Error::Regex(ref err) => err.fmt(f), - Error::LiteralNotAllowed(chr) => { - write!(f, "Literal {:?} not allowed.", chr) - } - Error::__Nonexhaustive => unreachable!(), - } - } -} - -impl From for Error { - fn from(err: regex::Error) -> Error { - Error::Regex(err) - } -} - -impl From for Error { - fn from(err: syntax::Error) -> Error { - Error::Regex(regex::Error::Syntax(err.to_string())) - } -} +pub extern crate grep_matcher as matcher; +pub extern crate grep_printer as printer; +pub extern crate grep_regex as regex; +pub extern crate grep_searcher as searcher; diff --git a/grep/src/literals.rs b/grep/src/literals.rs deleted file mode 100644 index 5e3dc8ea..00000000 --- a/grep/src/literals.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,274 +0,0 @@ -/*! -The literals module is responsible for extracting *inner* literals out of the -AST of a regular expression. Normally this is the job of the regex engine -itself, but the regex engine doesn't look for inner literals. Since we're doing -line based searching, we can use them, so we need to do it ourselves. - -Note that this implementation is incredibly suspicious. We need something more -principled. -*/ -use std::cmp; - -use regex::bytes::RegexBuilder; -use syntax::hir::{self, Hir, HirKind}; -use syntax::hir::literal::{Literal, Literals}; - -#[derive(Clone, Debug)] -pub struct LiteralSets { - prefixes: Literals, - suffixes: Literals, - required: Literals, -} - -impl LiteralSets { - pub fn create(expr: &Hir) -> Self { - let mut required = Literals::empty(); - union_required(expr, &mut required); - LiteralSets { - prefixes: Literals::prefixes(expr), - suffixes: Literals::suffixes(expr), - required: required, - } - } - - pub fn to_regex_builder(&self) -> Option { - if self.prefixes.all_complete() && !self.prefixes.is_empty() { - debug!("literal prefixes detected: {:?}", self.prefixes); - // When this is true, the regex engine will do a literal scan. - return None; - } - - // Out of inner required literals, prefixes and suffixes, which one - // is the longest? We pick the longest to do fast literal scan under - // the assumption that a longer literal will have a lower false - // positive rate. - let pre_lcp = self.prefixes.longest_common_prefix(); - let pre_lcs = self.prefixes.longest_common_suffix(); - let suf_lcp = self.suffixes.longest_common_prefix(); - let suf_lcs = self.suffixes.longest_common_suffix(); - - let req_lits = self.required.literals(); - let req = match req_lits.iter().max_by_key(|lit| lit.len()) { - None => &[], - Some(req) => &***req, - }; - - let mut lit = pre_lcp; - if pre_lcs.len() > lit.len() { - lit = pre_lcs; - } - if suf_lcp.len() > lit.len() { - lit = suf_lcp; - } - if suf_lcs.len() > lit.len() { - lit = suf_lcs; - } - if req_lits.len() == 1 && req.len() > lit.len() { - lit = req; - } - - // Special case: if we have any literals that are all whitespace, - // then this is probably a failing of the literal detection since - // whitespace is typically pretty common. In this case, don't bother - // with inner literal scanning at all and just defer to the regex. - let any_all_white = req_lits.iter() - .any(|lit| lit.iter().all(|&b| (b as char).is_whitespace())); - if any_all_white { - return None; - } - - // Special case: if we detected an alternation of inner required - // literals and its longest literal is bigger than the longest - // prefix/suffix, then choose the alternation. In practice, this - // helps with case insensitive matching, which can generate lots of - // inner required literals. - let any_empty = req_lits.iter().any(|lit| lit.is_empty()); - if req.len() > lit.len() && req_lits.len() > 1 && !any_empty { - debug!("required literals found: {:?}", req_lits); - let alts: Vec = - req_lits.into_iter().map(|x| bytes_to_regex(x)).collect(); - let mut builder = RegexBuilder::new(&alts.join("|")); - builder.unicode(false); - Some(builder) - } else if lit.is_empty() { - None - } else { - debug!("required literal found: {:?}", show(lit)); - let mut builder = RegexBuilder::new(&bytes_to_regex(&lit)); - builder.unicode(false); - Some(builder) - } - } -} - -fn union_required(expr: &Hir, lits: &mut Literals) { - match *expr.kind() { - HirKind::Literal(hir::Literal::Unicode(c)) => { - let mut buf = [0u8; 4]; - lits.cross_add(c.encode_utf8(&mut buf).as_bytes()); - } - HirKind::Literal(hir::Literal::Byte(b)) => { - lits.cross_add(&[b]); - } - HirKind::Class(hir::Class::Unicode(ref cls)) => { - if count_unicode_class(cls) >= 5 || !lits.add_char_class(cls) { - lits.cut(); - } - } - HirKind::Class(hir::Class::Bytes(ref cls)) => { - if count_byte_class(cls) >= 5 || !lits.add_byte_class(cls) { - lits.cut(); - } - } - HirKind::Group(hir::Group { ref hir, .. }) => { - union_required(&**hir, lits); - } - HirKind::Repetition(ref x) => { - match x.kind { - hir::RepetitionKind::ZeroOrOne => lits.cut(), - hir::RepetitionKind::ZeroOrMore => lits.cut(), - hir::RepetitionKind::OneOrMore => { - union_required(&x.hir, lits); - lits.cut(); - } - hir::RepetitionKind::Range(ref rng) => { - let (min, max) = match *rng { - hir::RepetitionRange::Exactly(m) => (m, Some(m)), - hir::RepetitionRange::AtLeast(m) => (m, None), - hir::RepetitionRange::Bounded(m, n) => (m, Some(n)), - }; - repeat_range_literals( - &x.hir, min, max, x.greedy, lits, union_required); - } - } - } - HirKind::Concat(ref es) if es.is_empty() => {} - HirKind::Concat(ref es) if es.len() == 1 => { - union_required(&es[0], lits) - } - HirKind::Concat(ref es) => { - for e in es { - let mut lits2 = lits.to_empty(); - union_required(e, &mut lits2); - if lits2.is_empty() { - lits.cut(); - continue; - } - if lits2.contains_empty() { - lits.cut(); - } - if !lits.cross_product(&lits2) { - // If this expression couldn't yield any literal that - // could be extended, then we need to quit. Since we're - // short-circuiting, we also need to freeze every member. - lits.cut(); - break; - } - } - } - HirKind::Alternation(ref es) => { - alternate_literals(es, lits, union_required); - } - _ => lits.cut(), - } -} - -fn repeat_range_literals( - e: &Hir, - min: u32, - max: Option, - _greedy: bool, - lits: &mut Literals, - mut f: F, -) { - if min == 0 { - // This is a bit conservative. If `max` is set, then we could - // treat this as a finite set of alternations. For now, we - // just treat it as `e*`. - lits.cut(); - } else { - let n = cmp::min(lits.limit_size(), min as usize); - // We only extract literals from a single repetition, even though - // we could do more. e.g., `a{3}` will have `a` extracted instead of - // `aaa`. The reason is that inner literal extraction can't be unioned - // across repetitions. e.g., extracting `foofoofoo` from `(\w+foo){3}` - // is wrong. - f(e, lits); - if n < min as usize { - lits.cut(); - } - if max.map_or(true, |max| min < max) { - lits.cut(); - } - } -} - -fn alternate_literals( - es: &[Hir], - lits: &mut Literals, - mut f: F, -) { - let mut lits2 = lits.to_empty(); - for e in es { - let mut lits3 = lits.to_empty(); - lits3.set_limit_size(lits.limit_size() / 5); - f(e, &mut lits3); - if lits3.is_empty() || !lits2.union(lits3) { - // If we couldn't find suffixes for *any* of the - // alternates, then the entire alternation has to be thrown - // away and any existing members must be frozen. Similarly, - // if the union couldn't complete, stop and freeze. - lits.cut(); - return; - } - } - // All we do at the moment is look for prefixes and suffixes. If both - // are empty, then we report nothing. We should be able to do better than - // this, but we'll need something more expressive than just a "set of - // literals." - let lcp = lits2.longest_common_prefix(); - let lcs = lits2.longest_common_suffix(); - if !lcp.is_empty() { - lits.cross_add(lcp); - } - lits.cut(); - if !lcs.is_empty() { - lits.add(Literal::empty()); - lits.add(Literal::new(lcs.to_vec())); - } -} - -/// Return the number of characters in the given class. -fn count_unicode_class(cls: &hir::ClassUnicode) -> u32 { - cls.iter().map(|r| 1 + (r.end() as u32 - r.start() as u32)).sum() -} - -/// Return the number of bytes in the given class. -fn count_byte_class(cls: &hir::ClassBytes) -> u32 { - cls.iter().map(|r| 1 + (r.end() as u32 - r.start() as u32)).sum() -} - -/// Converts an arbitrary sequence of bytes to a literal suitable for building -/// a regular expression. -fn bytes_to_regex(bs: &[u8]) -> String { - let mut s = String::with_capacity(bs.len()); - for &b in bs { - s.push_str(&format!("\\x{:02x}", b)); - } - s -} - -/// Converts arbitrary bytes to a nice string. -fn show(bs: &[u8]) -> String { - // Why aren't we using this to feed to the regex? Doesn't really matter - // I guess. ---AG - use std::ascii::escape_default; - use std::str; - - let mut nice = String::new(); - for &b in bs { - let part: Vec = escape_default(b).collect(); - nice.push_str(str::from_utf8(&part).unwrap()); - } - nice -} diff --git a/grep/src/nonl.rs b/grep/src/nonl.rs deleted file mode 100644 index 3beb5f61..00000000 --- a/grep/src/nonl.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,74 +0,0 @@ -use syntax::hir::{self, Hir, HirKind}; - -use {Error, Result}; - -/// Returns a new expression that is guaranteed to never match the given -/// ASCII character. -/// -/// If the expression contains the literal byte, then an error is returned. -/// -/// If `byte` is not an ASCII character (i.e., greater than `0x7F`), then this -/// function panics. -pub fn remove(expr: Hir, byte: u8) -> Result { - assert!(byte <= 0x7F); - let chr = byte as char; - assert!(chr.len_utf8() == 1); - - Ok(match expr.into_kind() { - HirKind::Empty => Hir::empty(), - HirKind::Literal(hir::Literal::Unicode(c)) => { - if c == chr { - return Err(Error::LiteralNotAllowed(chr)); - } - Hir::literal(hir::Literal::Unicode(c)) - } - HirKind::Literal(hir::Literal::Byte(b)) => { - if b as char == chr { - return Err(Error::LiteralNotAllowed(chr)); - } - Hir::literal(hir::Literal::Byte(b)) - } - HirKind::Class(hir::Class::Unicode(mut cls)) => { - let remove = hir::ClassUnicode::new(Some( - hir::ClassUnicodeRange::new(chr, chr), - )); - cls.difference(&remove); - if cls.iter().next().is_none() { - return Err(Error::LiteralNotAllowed(chr)); - } - Hir::class(hir::Class::Unicode(cls)) - } - HirKind::Class(hir::Class::Bytes(mut cls)) => { - let remove = hir::ClassBytes::new(Some( - hir::ClassBytesRange::new(byte, byte), - )); - cls.difference(&remove); - if cls.iter().next().is_none() { - return Err(Error::LiteralNotAllowed(chr)); - } - Hir::class(hir::Class::Bytes(cls)) - } - HirKind::Anchor(x) => Hir::anchor(x), - HirKind::WordBoundary(x) => Hir::word_boundary(x), - HirKind::Repetition(mut x) => { - x.hir = Box::new(remove(*x.hir, byte)?); - Hir::repetition(x) - } - HirKind::Group(mut x) => { - x.hir = Box::new(remove(*x.hir, byte)?); - Hir::group(x) - } - HirKind::Concat(xs) => { - let xs = xs.into_iter() - .map(|e| remove(e, byte)) - .collect::>>()?; - Hir::concat(xs) - } - HirKind::Alternation(xs) => { - let xs = xs.into_iter() - .map(|e| remove(e, byte)) - .collect::>>()?; - Hir::alternation(xs) - } - }) -} diff --git a/grep/src/search.rs b/grep/src/search.rs deleted file mode 100644 index 49ddf1f8..00000000 --- a/grep/src/search.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,356 +0,0 @@ -use memchr::{memchr, memrchr}; -use syntax::ParserBuilder; -use syntax::hir::Hir; -use regex::bytes::{Regex, RegexBuilder}; - -use literals::LiteralSets; -use nonl; -use smart_case::Cased; -use word_boundary::strip_unicode_word_boundaries; -use Result; - -/// A matched line. -#[derive(Clone, Debug, Default, Eq, PartialEq)] -pub struct Match { - start: usize, - end: usize, -} - -impl Match { - /// Create a new empty match value. - pub fn new() -> Match { - Match::default() - } - - /// Return the starting byte offset of the line that matched. - #[inline] - pub fn start(&self) -> usize { - self.start - } - - /// Return the ending byte offset of the line that matched. - #[inline] - pub fn end(&self) -> usize { - self.end - } -} - -/// A fast line oriented regex searcher. -#[derive(Clone, Debug)] -pub struct Grep { - re: Regex, - required: Option, - opts: Options, -} - -/// A builder for a grep searcher. -#[derive(Clone, Debug)] -pub struct GrepBuilder { - pattern: String, - opts: Options, -} - -#[derive(Clone, Debug)] -struct Options { - case_insensitive: bool, - case_smart: bool, - line_terminator: u8, - size_limit: usize, - dfa_size_limit: usize, -} - -impl Default for Options { - fn default() -> Options { - Options { - case_insensitive: false, - case_smart: false, - line_terminator: b'\n', - size_limit: 10 * (1 << 20), - dfa_size_limit: 10 * (1 << 20), - } - } -} - -impl GrepBuilder { - /// Create a new builder for line searching. - /// - /// The pattern given should be a regular expression. The precise syntax - /// supported is documented on the regex crate. - pub fn new(pattern: &str) -> GrepBuilder { - GrepBuilder { - pattern: pattern.to_string(), - opts: Options::default(), - } - } - - /// Set the line terminator. - /// - /// The line terminator can be any ASCII character and serves to delineate - /// the match boundaries in the text searched. - /// - /// This panics if `ascii_byte` is greater than `0x7F` (i.e., not ASCII). - pub fn line_terminator(mut self, ascii_byte: u8) -> GrepBuilder { - assert!(ascii_byte <= 0x7F); - self.opts.line_terminator = ascii_byte; - self - } - - /// Set the case sensitive flag (`i`) on the regex. - pub fn case_insensitive(mut self, yes: bool) -> GrepBuilder { - self.opts.case_insensitive = yes; - self - } - - /// Whether to enable smart case search or not (disabled by default). - /// - /// Smart case uses case insensitive search if the pattern contains only - /// lowercase characters (ignoring any characters which immediately follow - /// a '\'). Otherwise, a case sensitive search is used instead. - /// - /// Enabling the case_insensitive flag overrides this. - pub fn case_smart(mut self, yes: bool) -> GrepBuilder { - self.opts.case_smart = yes; - self - } - - /// Set the approximate size limit of the compiled regular expression. - /// - /// This roughly corresponds to the number of bytes occupied by a - /// single compiled program. If the program exceeds this number, then a - /// compilation error is returned. - pub fn size_limit(mut self, limit: usize) -> GrepBuilder { - self.opts.size_limit = limit; - self - } - - /// Set the approximate size of the cache used by the DFA. - /// - /// This roughly corresponds to the number of bytes that the DFA will use - /// while searching. - /// - /// Note that this is a per thread limit. There is no way to set a global - /// limit. In particular, if a regex is used from multiple threads - /// simulanteously, then each thread may use up to the number of bytes - /// specified here. - pub fn dfa_size_limit(mut self, limit: usize) -> GrepBuilder { - self.opts.dfa_size_limit = limit; - self - } - - /// Create a line searcher. - /// - /// If there was a problem parsing or compiling the regex with the given - /// options, then an error is returned. - pub fn build(self) -> Result { - let expr = self.parse()?; - let literals = LiteralSets::create(&expr); - let re = self.regex(&expr)?; - let required = match literals.to_regex_builder() { - Some(builder) => Some(self.regex_build(builder)?), - None => { - match strip_unicode_word_boundaries(&expr) { - None => None, - Some(expr) => { - debug!("Stripped Unicode word boundaries. \ - New AST:\n{:?}", expr); - self.regex(&expr).ok() - } - } - } - }; - Ok(Grep { - re: re, - required: required, - opts: self.opts, - }) - } - - /// Creates a new regex from the given expression with the current - /// configuration. - fn regex(&self, expr: &Hir) -> Result { - let mut builder = RegexBuilder::new(&expr.to_string()); - builder.unicode(true); - self.regex_build(builder) - } - - /// Builds a new regex from the given builder using the caller's settings. - fn regex_build(&self, mut builder: RegexBuilder) -> Result { - builder - .multi_line(true) - .size_limit(self.opts.size_limit) - .dfa_size_limit(self.opts.dfa_size_limit) - .build() - .map_err(From::from) - } - - /// Parses the underlying pattern and ensures the pattern can never match - /// the line terminator. - fn parse(&self) -> Result { - let expr = ParserBuilder::new() - .allow_invalid_utf8(true) - .case_insensitive(self.is_case_insensitive()?) - .multi_line(true) - .build() - .parse(&self.pattern)?; - debug!("original regex HIR pattern:\n{}", expr); - let expr = nonl::remove(expr, self.opts.line_terminator)?; - debug!("transformed regex HIR pattern:\n{}", expr); - Ok(expr) - } - - /// Determines whether the case insensitive flag should be enabled or not. - fn is_case_insensitive(&self) -> Result { - if self.opts.case_insensitive { - return Ok(true); - } - if !self.opts.case_smart { - return Ok(false); - } - let cased = match Cased::from_pattern(&self.pattern) { - None => return Ok(false), - Some(cased) => cased, - }; - Ok(cased.any_literal && !cased.any_uppercase) - } -} - -impl Grep { - /// Returns a reference to the underlying regex used by the searcher. - pub fn regex(&self) -> &Regex { - &self.re - } - - /// Returns an iterator over all matches in the given buffer. - pub fn iter<'b, 's>(&'s self, buf: &'b [u8]) -> Iter<'b, 's> { - Iter { - searcher: self, - buf: buf, - start: 0, - } - } - - /// Fills in the next line that matches in the given buffer starting at - /// the position given. - /// - /// If no match could be found, `false` is returned, otherwise, `true` is - /// returned. - pub fn read_match( - &self, - mat: &mut Match, - buf: &[u8], - mut start: usize, - ) -> bool { - if start >= buf.len() { - return false; - } - if let Some(ref req) = self.required { - while start < buf.len() { - let e = match req.shortest_match(&buf[start..]) { - None => return false, - Some(e) => start + e, - }; - let (prevnl, nextnl) = self.find_line(buf, e, e); - match self.re.shortest_match(&buf[prevnl..nextnl]) { - None => { - start = nextnl; - continue; - } - Some(_) => { - self.fill_match(mat, prevnl, nextnl); - return true; - } - } - } - false - } else { - let e = match self.re.shortest_match(&buf[start..]) { - None => return false, - Some(e) => start + e, - }; - let (s, e) = self.find_line(buf, e, e); - self.fill_match(mat, s, e); - true - } - } - - fn fill_match(&self, mat: &mut Match, start: usize, end: usize) { - mat.start = start; - mat.end = end; - } - - fn find_line(&self, buf: &[u8], s: usize, e: usize) -> (usize, usize) { - (self.find_line_start(buf, s), self.find_line_end(buf, e)) - } - - fn find_line_start(&self, buf: &[u8], pos: usize) -> usize { - memrchr(self.opts.line_terminator, &buf[0..pos]).map_or(0, |i| i + 1) - } - - fn find_line_end(&self, buf: &[u8], pos: usize) -> usize { - memchr(self.opts.line_terminator, &buf[pos..]) - .map_or(buf.len(), |i| pos + i + 1) - } -} - -/// An iterator over all matches in a particular buffer. -/// -/// `'b` refers to the lifetime of the buffer, and `'s` refers to the lifetime -/// of the searcher. -pub struct Iter<'b, 's> { - searcher: &'s Grep, - buf: &'b [u8], - start: usize, -} - -impl<'b, 's> Iterator for Iter<'b, 's> { - type Item = Match; - - fn next(&mut self) -> Option { - let mut mat = Match::default(); - if !self.searcher.read_match(&mut mat, self.buf, self.start) { - self.start = self.buf.len(); - return None; - } - self.start = mat.end; - Some(mat) - } -} - -#[cfg(test)] -mod tests { - use memchr::{memchr, memrchr}; - use regex::bytes::Regex; - - use super::{GrepBuilder, Match}; - - static SHERLOCK: &'static [u8] = include_bytes!("./data/sherlock.txt"); - - fn find_lines(pat: &str, haystack: &[u8]) -> Vec { - let re = Regex::new(pat).unwrap(); - let mut lines = vec![]; - for m in re.find_iter(haystack) { - let start = memrchr(b'\n', &haystack[..m.start()]) - .map_or(0, |i| i + 1); - let end = memchr(b'\n', &haystack[m.end()..]) - .map_or(haystack.len(), |i| m.end() + i + 1); - lines.push(Match { - start: start, - end: end, - }); - } - lines - } - - fn grep_lines(pat: &str, haystack: &[u8]) -> Vec { - let g = GrepBuilder::new(pat).build().unwrap(); - g.iter(haystack).collect() - } - - #[test] - fn buffered_literal() { - let expected = find_lines("Sherlock Holmes", SHERLOCK); - let got = grep_lines("Sherlock Holmes", SHERLOCK); - assert_eq!(expected.len(), got.len()); - assert_eq!(expected, got); - } -} diff --git a/grep/src/smart_case.rs b/grep/src/smart_case.rs deleted file mode 100644 index 1379b326..00000000 --- a/grep/src/smart_case.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,191 +0,0 @@ -use syntax::ast::{self, Ast}; -use syntax::ast::parse::Parser; - -/// The results of analyzing a regex for cased literals. -#[derive(Clone, Debug, Default)] -pub struct Cased { - /// True if and only if a literal uppercase character occurs in the regex. - /// - /// A regex like `\pL` contains no uppercase literals, even though `L` - /// is uppercase and the `\pL` class contains uppercase characters. - pub any_uppercase: bool, - /// True if and only if the regex contains any literal at all. A regex like - /// `\pL` has this set to false. - pub any_literal: bool, -} - -impl Cased { - /// Returns a `Cased` value by doing analysis on the AST of `pattern`. - /// - /// If `pattern` is not a valid regular expression, then `None` is - /// returned. - pub fn from_pattern(pattern: &str) -> Option { - Parser::new() - .parse(pattern) - .map(|ast| Cased::from_ast(&ast)) - .ok() - } - - fn from_ast(ast: &Ast) -> Cased { - let mut cased = Cased::default(); - cased.from_ast_impl(ast); - cased - } - - fn from_ast_impl(&mut self, ast: &Ast) { - if self.done() { - return; - } - match *ast { - Ast::Empty(_) - | Ast::Flags(_) - | Ast::Dot(_) - | Ast::Assertion(_) - | Ast::Class(ast::Class::Unicode(_)) - | Ast::Class(ast::Class::Perl(_)) => {} - Ast::Literal(ref x) => { - self.from_ast_literal(x); - } - Ast::Class(ast::Class::Bracketed(ref x)) => { - self.from_ast_class_set(&x.kind); - } - Ast::Repetition(ref x) => { - self.from_ast_impl(&x.ast); - } - Ast::Group(ref x) => { - self.from_ast_impl(&x.ast); - } - Ast::Alternation(ref alt) => { - for x in &alt.asts { - self.from_ast_impl(x); - } - } - Ast::Concat(ref alt) => { - for x in &alt.asts { - self.from_ast_impl(x); - } - } - } - } - - fn from_ast_class_set(&mut self, ast: &ast::ClassSet) { - if self.done() { - return; - } - match *ast { - ast::ClassSet::Item(ref item) => { - self.from_ast_class_set_item(item); - } - ast::ClassSet::BinaryOp(ref x) => { - self.from_ast_class_set(&x.lhs); - self.from_ast_class_set(&x.rhs); - } - } - } - - fn from_ast_class_set_item(&mut self, ast: &ast::ClassSetItem) { - if self.done() { - return; - } - match *ast { - ast::ClassSetItem::Empty(_) - | ast::ClassSetItem::Ascii(_) - | ast::ClassSetItem::Unicode(_) - | ast::ClassSetItem::Perl(_) => {} - ast::ClassSetItem::Literal(ref x) => { - self.from_ast_literal(x); - } - ast::ClassSetItem::Range(ref x) => { - self.from_ast_literal(&x.start); - self.from_ast_literal(&x.end); - } - ast::ClassSetItem::Bracketed(ref x) => { - self.from_ast_class_set(&x.kind); - } - ast::ClassSetItem::Union(ref union) => { - for x in &union.items { - self.from_ast_class_set_item(x); - } - } - } - } - - fn from_ast_literal(&mut self, ast: &ast::Literal) { - self.any_literal = true; - self.any_uppercase = self.any_uppercase || ast.c.is_uppercase(); - } - - /// Returns true if and only if the attributes can never change no matter - /// what other AST it might see. - fn done(&self) -> bool { - self.any_uppercase && self.any_literal - } -} - -#[cfg(test)] -mod tests { - use super::*; - - fn cased(pattern: &str) -> Cased { - Cased::from_pattern(pattern).unwrap() - } - - #[test] - fn various() { - let x = cased(""); - assert!(!x.any_uppercase); - assert!(!x.any_literal); - - let x = cased("foo"); - assert!(!x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased("Foo"); - assert!(x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased("foO"); - assert!(x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased(r"foo\\"); - assert!(!x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased(r"foo\w"); - assert!(!x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased(r"foo\S"); - assert!(!x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased(r"foo\p{Ll}"); - assert!(!x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased(r"foo[a-z]"); - assert!(!x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased(r"foo[A-Z]"); - assert!(x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased(r"foo[\S\t]"); - assert!(!x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased(r"foo\\S"); - assert!(x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - - let x = cased(r"\p{Ll}"); - assert!(!x.any_uppercase); - assert!(!x.any_literal); - - let x = cased(r"aBc\w"); - assert!(x.any_uppercase); - assert!(x.any_literal); - } -} diff --git a/grep/src/word_boundary.rs b/grep/src/word_boundary.rs deleted file mode 100644 index 8e6b86d1..00000000 --- a/grep/src/word_boundary.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,53 +0,0 @@ -use syntax::hir::{self, Hir, HirKind}; - -/// Strips Unicode word boundaries from the given expression. -/// -/// The key invariant this maintains is that the expression returned will match -/// *at least* every where the expression given will match. Namely, a match of -/// the returned expression can report false positives but it will never report -/// false negatives. -/// -/// If no word boundaries could be stripped, then None is returned. -pub fn strip_unicode_word_boundaries(expr: &Hir) -> Option { - // The real reason we do this is because Unicode word boundaries are the - // one thing that Rust's regex DFA engine can't handle. When it sees a - // Unicode word boundary among non-ASCII text, it falls back to one of the - // slower engines. We work around this limitation by attempting to use - // a regex to find candidate matches without a Unicode word boundary. We'll - // only then use the full (and slower) regex to confirm a candidate as a - // match or not during search. - // - // It looks like we only check the outer edges for `\b`? I guess this is - // an attempt to optimize for the `-w/--word-regexp` flag? ---AG - match *expr.kind() { - HirKind::Concat(ref es) if !es.is_empty() => { - let first = is_unicode_word_boundary(&es[0]); - let last = is_unicode_word_boundary(es.last().unwrap()); - // Be careful not to strip word boundaries if there are no other - // expressions to match. - match (first, last) { - (true, false) if es.len() > 1 => { - Some(Hir::concat(es[1..].to_vec())) - } - (false, true) if es.len() > 1 => { - Some(Hir::concat(es[..es.len() - 1].to_vec())) - } - (true, true) if es.len() > 2 => { - Some(Hir::concat(es[1..es.len() - 1].to_vec())) - } - _ => None, - } - } - _ => None, - } -} - -/// Returns true if the given expression is a Unicode word boundary. -fn is_unicode_word_boundary(expr: &Hir) -> bool { - match *expr.kind() { - HirKind::WordBoundary(hir::WordBoundary::Unicode) => true, - HirKind::WordBoundary(hir::WordBoundary::UnicodeNegate) => true, - HirKind::Group(ref x) => is_unicode_word_boundary(&x.hir), - _ => false, - } -} diff --git a/grep2/COPYING b/grep2/COPYING deleted file mode 100644 index bb9c20a0..00000000 --- a/grep2/COPYING +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3 +0,0 @@ -This project is dual-licensed under the Unlicense and MIT licenses. - -You may use this code under the terms of either license. diff --git a/grep2/Cargo.toml b/grep2/Cargo.toml deleted file mode 100644 index caaf7a9c..00000000 --- a/grep2/Cargo.toml +++ /dev/null @@ -1,23 +0,0 @@ -[package] -name = "grep2" -version = "0.2.0" #:version -authors = ["Andrew Gallant "] -description = """ -Fast line oriented regex searching as a library. -""" -documentation = "http://burntsushi.net/rustdoc/grep/" -homepage = "https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep" -repository = "https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep" -readme = "README.md" -keywords = ["regex", "grep", "egrep", "search", "pattern"] -license = "Unlicense/MIT" - -[dependencies] -grep-matcher = { version = "0.0.1", path = "../grep-matcher" } -grep-printer = { version = "0.0.1", path = "../grep-printer" } -grep-regex = { version = "0.0.1", path = "../grep-regex" } -grep-searcher = { version = "0.0.1", path = "../grep-searcher" } - -[features] -avx-accel = ["grep-searcher/avx-accel"] -simd-accel = ["grep-searcher/simd-accel"] diff --git a/grep2/LICENSE-MIT b/grep2/LICENSE-MIT deleted file mode 100644 index 3b0a5dc0..00000000 --- a/grep2/LICENSE-MIT +++ /dev/null @@ -1,21 +0,0 @@ -The MIT License (MIT) - -Copyright (c) 2015 Andrew Gallant - -Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy -of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal -in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights -to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell -copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is -furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: - -The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in -all copies or substantial portions of the Software. - -THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR -IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, -FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE -AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER -LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, -OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN -THE SOFTWARE. diff --git a/grep2/README.md b/grep2/README.md deleted file mode 100644 index 86cc8c2c..00000000 --- a/grep2/README.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4 +0,0 @@ -grep ----- -This is a *library* that provides grep-style line-by-line regex searching (with -comparable performance to `grep` itself). diff --git a/grep2/UNLICENSE b/grep2/UNLICENSE deleted file mode 100644 index 68a49daa..00000000 --- a/grep2/UNLICENSE +++ /dev/null @@ -1,24 +0,0 @@ -This is free and unencumbered software released into the public domain. - -Anyone is free to copy, modify, publish, use, compile, sell, or -distribute this software, either in source code form or as a compiled -binary, for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, and by any -means. - -In jurisdictions that recognize copyright laws, the author or authors -of this software dedicate any and all copyright interest in the -software to the public domain. We make this dedication for the benefit -of the public at large and to the detriment of our heirs and -successors. We intend this dedication to be an overt act of -relinquishment in perpetuity of all present and future rights to this -software under copyright law. - -THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, -EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF -MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. -IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR -OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, -ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR -OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. - -For more information, please refer to diff --git a/grep2/src/lib.rs b/grep2/src/lib.rs deleted file mode 100644 index b6e02684..00000000 --- a/grep2/src/lib.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10 +0,0 @@ -/*! -TODO. -*/ - -#![deny(missing_docs)] - -pub extern crate grep_matcher as matcher; -pub extern crate grep_printer as printer; -pub extern crate grep_regex as regex; -pub extern crate grep_searcher as searcher; diff --git a/src/args.rs b/src/args.rs index 7def2706..7a3bd62c 100644 --- a/src/args.rs +++ b/src/args.rs @@ -1,88 +1,109 @@ use std::cmp; use std::env; use std::ffi::OsStr; -use std::fs; +use std::fs::File; use std::io::{self, BufRead}; use std::path::{Path, PathBuf}; use std::sync::Arc; -use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering}; -use clap; -use encoding_rs::Encoding; -use grep::{Grep, GrepBuilder}; -use log; -use num_cpus; -use regex; -use same_file; -use termcolor; - -use app; use atty; +use clap; +use grep::matcher::LineTerminator; +use grep::searcher::{ + BinaryDetection, Encoding, MmapChoice, Searcher, SearcherBuilder, +}; +use grep::printer::{ + ColorSpecs, Stats, + JSON, JSONBuilder, + Standard, StandardBuilder, + Summary, SummaryBuilder, SummaryKind, +}; +use grep::regex::{RegexMatcher, RegexMatcherBuilder}; use ignore::overrides::{Override, OverrideBuilder}; use ignore::types::{FileTypeDef, Types, TypesBuilder}; -use ignore; -use messages::{set_messages, set_ignore_messages}; -use printer::{ColorSpecs, Printer}; -use unescape::{escape, unescape}; -use worker::{Worker, WorkerBuilder}; +use ignore::{Walk, WalkBuilder, WalkParallel}; +use log; +use num_cpus; +use path_printer::{PathPrinter, PathPrinterBuilder}; +use regex::{self, Regex}; +use same_file::Handle; +use termcolor::{ + WriteColor, + BufferedStandardStream, BufferWriter, ColorChoice, StandardStream, +}; +use app; use config; use logger::Logger; +use messages::{set_messages, set_ignore_messages}; +use search::{PatternMatcher, Printer, SearchWorker, SearchWorkerBuilder}; +use subject::SubjectBuilder; +use unescape::{escape, unescape}; use Result; -/// `Args` are transformed/normalized from `ArgMatches`. -#[derive(Debug)] -pub struct Args { +/// The command that ripgrep should execute based on the command line +/// configuration. +#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)] +pub enum Command { + /// Search using exactly one thread. + Search, + /// Search using possibly many threads. + SearchParallel, + /// The command line parameters suggest that a search should occur, but + /// ripgrep knows that a match can never be found (e.g., no given patterns + /// or --max-count=0). + SearchNever, + /// Show the files that would be searched, but don't actually search them, + /// and use exactly one thread. + Files, + /// Show the files that would be searched, but don't actually search them, + /// and perform directory traversal using possibly many threads. + FilesParallel, + /// List all file type definitions configured, including the default file + /// types and any additional file types added to the command line. + Types, +} + +impl Command { + /// Returns true if and only if this command requires executing a search. + fn is_search(&self) -> bool { + use self::Command::*; + + match *self { + Search | SearchParallel => true, + SearchNever | Files | FilesParallel | Types => false, + } + } +} + +/// The primary configuration object used throughout ripgrep. It provides a +/// high-level convenient interface to the provided command line arguments. +/// +/// An `Args` object is cheap to clone and can be used from multiple threads +/// simultaneously. +#[derive(Clone, Debug)] +pub struct Args(Arc); + +#[derive(Clone, Debug)] +struct ArgsImp { + /// Mid-to-low level routines for extracting CLI arguments. + matches: ArgMatches, + /// The patterns provided at the command line and/or via the -f/--file + /// flag. This may be empty. + patterns: Vec, + /// A matcher built from the patterns. + /// + /// It's important that this is only built once, since building this goes + /// through regex compilation and various types of analyses. That is, if + /// you need many of theses (one per thread, for example), it is better to + /// build it once and then clone it. + matcher: PatternMatcher, + /// The paths provided at the command line. This is guaranteed to be + /// non-empty. (If no paths are provided, then a default path is created.) paths: Vec, - after_context: usize, - before_context: usize, - byte_offset: bool, - can_match: bool, - color_choice: termcolor::ColorChoice, - colors: ColorSpecs, - column: bool, - context_separator: Vec, - count: bool, - count_matches: bool, - encoding: Option<&'static Encoding>, - files_with_matches: bool, - files_without_matches: bool, - eol: u8, - files: bool, - follow: bool, - glob_overrides: Override, - grep: Grep, - heading: bool, - hidden: bool, - ignore_files: Vec, - invert_match: bool, - line_number: bool, - line_per_match: bool, - max_columns: Option, - max_count: Option, - max_depth: Option, - max_filesize: Option, - mmap: bool, - no_ignore: bool, - no_ignore_global: bool, - no_ignore_parent: bool, - no_ignore_vcs: bool, - null: bool, - only_matching: bool, - path_separator: Option, - quiet: bool, - quiet_matched: QuietMatched, - replace: Option>, - sort_files: bool, - stdout_handle: Option, - text: bool, - threads: usize, - type_list: bool, - types: Types, - with_filename: bool, - search_zip_files: bool, - preprocessor: Option, - stats: bool + /// Returns true if and only if `paths` had to be populated with a single + /// default path. + using_default_path: bool, } impl Args { @@ -99,24 +120,28 @@ impl Args { // trying to parse config files. If a config file exists and has // arguments, then we re-parse argv, otherwise we just use the matches // we have here. - let early_matches = ArgMatches(app::app().get_matches()); + let early_matches = ArgMatches::new(app::app().get_matches()); set_messages(!early_matches.is_present("no-messages")); set_ignore_messages(!early_matches.is_present("no-ignore-messages")); if let Err(err) = Logger::init() { - errored!("failed to initialize logger: {}", err); + return Err(format!("failed to initialize logger: {}", err).into()); } - if early_matches.is_present("debug") { + if early_matches.is_present("trace") { + log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Trace); + } else if early_matches.is_present("debug") { log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Debug); } else { log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Warn); } - let matches = Args::matches(early_matches); + let matches = early_matches.reconfigure(); // The logging level may have changed if we brought in additional // arguments from a configuration file, so recheck it and set the log // level as appropriate. - if matches.is_present("debug") { + if matches.is_present("trace") { + log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Trace); + } else if matches.is_present("debug") { log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Debug); } else { log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Warn); @@ -126,23 +151,230 @@ impl Args { matches.to_args() } - /// Run clap and return the matches. If clap determines a problem with the - /// user provided arguments (or if --help or --version are given), then an - /// error/usage/version will be printed and the process will exit. + /// Return direct access to command line arguments. + fn matches(&self) -> &ArgMatches { + &self.0.matches + } + + /// Return the patterns found in the command line arguments. This includes + /// patterns read via the -f/--file flags. + fn patterns(&self) -> &[String] { + &self.0.patterns + } + + /// Return the matcher builder from the patterns. + fn matcher(&self) -> &PatternMatcher { + &self.0.matcher + } + + /// Return the paths found in the command line arguments. This is + /// guaranteed to be non-empty. In the case where no explicit arguments are + /// provided, a single default path is provided automatically. + fn paths(&self) -> &[PathBuf] { + &self.0.paths + } + + /// Returns true if and only if `paths` had to be populated with a default + /// path, which occurs only when no paths were given as command line + /// arguments. + fn using_default_path(&self) -> bool { + self.0.using_default_path + } + + /// Return the printer that should be used for formatting the output of + /// search results. + /// + /// The returned printer will write results to the given writer. + fn printer(&self, wtr: W) -> Result> { + match self.matches().output_kind() { + OutputKind::Standard => { + let separator_search = self.command()? == Command::Search; + self.matches() + .printer_standard(self.paths(), wtr, separator_search) + .map(Printer::Standard) + } + OutputKind::Summary => { + self.matches() + .printer_summary(self.paths(), wtr) + .map(Printer::Summary) + } + OutputKind::JSON => { + self.matches() + .printer_json(wtr) + .map(Printer::JSON) + } + } + } +} + +/// High level public routines for building data structures used by ripgrep +/// from command line arguments. +impl Args { + /// Create a new buffer writer for multi-threaded printing with color + /// support. + pub fn buffer_writer(&self) -> Result { + let mut wtr = BufferWriter::stdout(self.matches().color_choice()); + wtr.separator(self.matches().file_separator()?); + Ok(wtr) + } + + /// Return the high-level command that ripgrep should run. + pub fn command(&self) -> Result { + let is_one_search = self.matches().is_one_search(self.paths()); + let threads = self.matches().threads()?; + let one_thread = is_one_search || threads == 1; + + Ok(if self.matches().is_present("type-list") { + Command::Types + } else if self.matches().is_present("files") { + if one_thread { + Command::Files + } else { + Command::FilesParallel + } + } else if self.matches().can_never_match(self.patterns()) { + Command::SearchNever + } else if one_thread { + Command::Search + } else { + Command::SearchParallel + }) + } + + /// Builder a path printer that can be used for printing just file paths, + /// with optional color support. + /// + /// The printer will print paths to the given writer. + pub fn path_printer( + &self, + wtr: W, + ) -> Result> { + let mut builder = PathPrinterBuilder::new(); + builder + .color_specs(self.matches().color_specs()?) + .separator(self.matches().path_separator()?) + .terminator(self.matches().path_terminator().unwrap_or(b'\n')); + Ok(builder.build(wtr)) + } + + /// Returns true if and only if the search should quit after finding the + /// first match. + pub fn quit_after_match(&self) -> Result { + Ok(self.matches().is_present("quiet") && self.stats()?.is_none()) + } + + /// Build a worker for executing searches. + /// + /// Search results are written to the given writer. + pub fn search_worker( + &self, + wtr: W, + ) -> Result> { + let matcher = self.matcher().clone(); + let printer = self.printer(wtr)?; + let searcher = self.matches().searcher(self.paths())?; + let mut builder = SearchWorkerBuilder::new(); + builder + .preprocessor(self.matches().preprocessor()) + .search_zip(self.matches().is_present("search-zip")); + Ok(builder.build(matcher, searcher, printer)) + } + + /// Returns a zero value for tracking statistics if and only if it has been + /// requested. + /// + /// When this returns a `Stats` value, then it is guaranteed that the + /// search worker will be configured to track statistics as well. + pub fn stats(&self) -> Result> { + Ok(if self.command()?.is_search() && self.matches().stats() { + Some(Stats::new()) + } else { + None + }) + } + + /// Return a builder for constructing subjects. A subject represents a + /// single unit of something to search. Typically, this corresponds to a + /// file or a stream such as stdin. + pub fn subject_builder(&self) -> SubjectBuilder { + let mut builder = SubjectBuilder::new(); + builder + .strip_dot_prefix(self.using_default_path()) + .skip(self.matches().stdout_handle()); + builder + } + + /// Execute the given function with a writer to stdout that enables color + /// support based on the command line configuration. + pub fn stdout(&self) -> Box { + let color_choice = self.matches().color_choice(); + if atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) { + Box::new(StandardStream::stdout(color_choice)) + } else { + Box::new(BufferedStandardStream::stdout(color_choice)) + } + } + + /// Return the type definitions compiled into ripgrep. + /// + /// If there was a problem reading and parsing the type definitions, then + /// this returns an error. + pub fn type_defs(&self) -> Result> { + Ok(self.matches().types()?.definitions().to_vec()) + } + + /// Return a walker that never uses additional threads. + pub fn walker(&self) -> Result { + Ok(self.matches().walker_builder(self.paths())?.build()) + } + + /// Return a walker that never uses additional threads. + pub fn walker_parallel(&self) -> Result { + Ok(self.matches().walker_builder(self.paths())?.build_parallel()) + } +} + +/// `ArgMatches` wraps `clap::ArgMatches` and provides semantic meaning to +/// the parsed arguments. +#[derive(Clone, Debug)] +struct ArgMatches(clap::ArgMatches<'static>); + +/// The output format. Generally, this corresponds to the printer that ripgrep +/// uses to show search results. +#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)] +enum OutputKind { + /// Classic grep-like or ack-like format. + Standard, + /// Show matching files and possibly the number of matches in each file. + Summary, + /// Emit match information in the JSON Lines format. + JSON, +} + +impl ArgMatches { + /// Create an ArgMatches from clap's parse result. + fn new(clap_matches: clap::ArgMatches<'static>) -> ArgMatches { + ArgMatches(clap_matches) + } + + /// Run clap and return the matches using a config file if present. If clap + /// determines a problem with the user provided arguments (or if --help or + /// --version are given), then an error/usage/version will be printed and + /// the process will exit. /// /// If there are no additional arguments from the environment (e.g., a /// config file), then the given matches are returned as is. - fn matches(early_matches: ArgMatches<'static>) -> ArgMatches<'static> { + fn reconfigure(self) -> ArgMatches { // If the end user says no config, then respect it. - if early_matches.is_present("no-config") { + if self.is_present("no-config") { debug!("not reading config files because --no-config is present"); - return early_matches; + return self; } // If the user wants ripgrep to use a config file, then parse args // from that first. let mut args = config::args(); if args.is_empty() { - return early_matches; + return self; } let mut cliargs = env::args_os(); if let Some(bin) = cliargs.next() { @@ -150,656 +382,266 @@ impl Args { } args.extend(cliargs); debug!("final argv: {:?}", args); - ArgMatches(app::app().get_matches_from(args)) + ArgMatches::new(app::app().get_matches_from(args)) } - /// Returns true if ripgrep should print the files it will search and exit - /// (but not do any actual searching). - pub fn files(&self) -> bool { - self.files - } - - /// Create a new line based matcher. The matcher returned can be used - /// across multiple threads simultaneously. This matcher only supports - /// basic searching of regular expressions in a single buffer. - /// - /// The pattern and other flags are taken from the command line. - pub fn grep(&self) -> Grep { - self.grep.clone() - } - - /// Whether ripgrep should be quiet or not. - pub fn quiet(&self) -> bool { - self.quiet - } - - /// Returns a thread safe boolean for determining whether to quit a search - /// early when quiet mode is enabled. - /// - /// If quiet mode is disabled, then QuietMatched.has_match always returns - /// false. - pub fn quiet_matched(&self) -> QuietMatched { - self.quiet_matched.clone() - } - - /// Create a new printer of individual search results that writes to the - /// writer given. - pub fn printer(&self, wtr: W) -> Printer { - let mut p = Printer::new(wtr) - .colors(self.colors.clone()) - .column(self.column) - .context_separator(self.context_separator.clone()) - .eol(self.eol) - .heading(self.heading) - .line_per_match(self.line_per_match) - .null(self.null) - .only_matching(self.only_matching) - .path_separator(self.path_separator) - .with_filename(self.with_filename) - .max_columns(self.max_columns); - if let Some(ref rep) = self.replace { - p = p.replace(rep.clone()); - } - p - } - - /// Retrieve the configured file separator. - pub fn file_separator(&self) -> Option> { - let contextless = - self.count - || self.count_matches - || self.files_with_matches - || self.files_without_matches; - let use_heading_sep = self.heading && !contextless; - - if use_heading_sep { - Some(b"".to_vec()) - } else if !contextless - && (self.before_context > 0 || self.after_context > 0) { - Some(self.context_separator.clone()) - } else { - None - } - } - - /// Returns true if the given arguments are known to never produce a match. - pub fn never_match(&self) -> bool { - !self.can_match || self.max_count == Some(0) - } - - /// Returns whether ripgrep should track stats for this run - pub fn stats(&self) -> bool { - self.stats - } - - /// Create a new writer for single-threaded searching with color support. - pub fn stdout(&self) -> Box { - if atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) { - Box::new(termcolor::StandardStream::stdout(self.color_choice)) - } else { - Box::new( - termcolor::BufferedStandardStream::stdout(self.color_choice)) - } - } - - /// Returns a handle to stdout for filtering search. - /// - /// A handle is returned if and only if ripgrep's stdout is being - /// redirected to a file. The handle returned corresponds to that file. - /// - /// This can be used to ensure that we do not attempt to search a file - /// that ripgrep is writing to. - pub fn stdout_handle(&self) -> Option<&same_file::Handle> { - self.stdout_handle.as_ref() - } - - /// Create a new buffer writer for multi-threaded searching with color - /// support. - pub fn buffer_writer(&self) -> termcolor::BufferWriter { - let mut wtr = termcolor::BufferWriter::stdout(self.color_choice); - wtr.separator(self.file_separator()); - wtr - } - - /// Return the paths that should be searched. - pub fn paths(&self) -> &[PathBuf] { - &self.paths - } - - /// Returns true if there is exactly one file path given to search. - pub fn is_one_path(&self) -> bool { - self.paths.len() == 1 - && (self.paths[0] == Path::new("-") || path_is_file(&self.paths[0])) - } - - /// Create a worker whose configuration is taken from the - /// command line. - pub fn worker(&self) -> Worker { - WorkerBuilder::new(self.grep()) - .after_context(self.after_context) - .before_context(self.before_context) - .byte_offset(self.byte_offset) - .count(self.count) - .count_matches(self.count_matches) - .encoding(self.encoding) - .files_with_matches(self.files_with_matches) - .files_without_matches(self.files_without_matches) - .eol(self.eol) - .line_number(self.line_number) - .invert_match(self.invert_match) - .max_count(self.max_count) - .mmap(self.mmap) - .quiet(self.quiet) - .text(self.text) - .search_zip_files(self.search_zip_files) - .preprocessor(self.preprocessor.clone()) - .build() - } - - /// Returns the number of worker search threads that should be used. - pub fn threads(&self) -> usize { - self.threads - } - - /// Returns a list of type definitions currently loaded. - pub fn type_defs(&self) -> &[FileTypeDef] { - self.types.definitions() - } - - /// Returns true if ripgrep should print the type definitions currently - /// loaded and then exit. - pub fn type_list(&self) -> bool { - self.type_list - } - - /// Create a new recursive directory iterator over the paths in argv. - pub fn walker(&self) -> ignore::Walk { - self.walker_builder().build() - } - - /// Create a new parallel recursive directory iterator over the paths - /// in argv. - pub fn walker_parallel(&self) -> ignore::WalkParallel { - self.walker_builder().build_parallel() - } - - fn walker_builder(&self) -> ignore::WalkBuilder { - let paths = self.paths(); - let mut wd = ignore::WalkBuilder::new(&paths[0]); - for path in &paths[1..] { - wd.add(path); - } - for path in &self.ignore_files { - if let Some(err) = wd.add_ignore(path) { - ignore_message!("{}", err); - } - } - - wd.follow_links(self.follow); - wd.hidden(!self.hidden); - wd.max_depth(self.max_depth); - wd.max_filesize(self.max_filesize); - wd.overrides(self.glob_overrides.clone()); - wd.types(self.types.clone()); - wd.git_global( - !self.no_ignore && !self.no_ignore_vcs && !self.no_ignore_global - ); - wd.git_ignore(!self.no_ignore && !self.no_ignore_vcs); - wd.git_exclude(!self.no_ignore && !self.no_ignore_vcs); - wd.ignore(!self.no_ignore); - if !self.no_ignore { - wd.add_custom_ignore_filename(".rgignore"); - } - wd.parents(!self.no_ignore_parent); - wd.threads(self.threads()); - if self.sort_files { - wd.sort_by_file_name(|a, b| a.cmp(b)); - } - wd + /// Convert the result of parsing CLI arguments into ripgrep's higher level + /// configuration structure. + fn to_args(self) -> Result { + // We compute these once since they could be large. + let patterns = self.patterns()?; + let matcher = self.matcher(&patterns)?; + let mut paths = self.paths(); + let using_default_path = + if paths.is_empty() { + paths.push(self.path_default()); + true + } else { + false + }; + Ok(Args(Arc::new(ArgsImp { + matches: self, + patterns: patterns, + matcher: matcher, + paths: paths, + using_default_path: using_default_path, + }))) } } -/// `ArgMatches` wraps `clap::ArgMatches` and provides semantic meaning to -/// several options/flags. -struct ArgMatches<'a>(clap::ArgMatches<'a>); - -impl<'a> ArgMatches<'a> { - /// Convert the result of parsing CLI arguments into ripgrep's - /// configuration. - fn to_args(&self) -> Result { - let paths = self.paths(); - let line_number = self.line_number(&paths); - let mmap = self.mmap(&paths)?; - let with_filename = self.with_filename(&paths); - let (before_context, after_context) = self.contexts()?; - let (count, count_matches) = self.counts(); - let quiet = self.is_present("quiet"); - let (grep, can_match) = self.grep()?; - let args = Args { - paths: paths, - after_context: after_context, - before_context: before_context, - byte_offset: self.is_present("byte-offset"), - can_match: can_match, - color_choice: self.color_choice(), - colors: self.color_specs()?, - column: self.column(), - context_separator: self.context_separator(), - count: count, - count_matches: count_matches, - encoding: self.encoding()?, - files_with_matches: self.is_present("files-with-matches"), - files_without_matches: self.is_present("files-without-match"), - eol: b'\n', - files: self.is_present("files"), - follow: self.is_present("follow"), - glob_overrides: self.overrides()?, - grep: grep, - heading: self.heading(), - hidden: self.hidden(), - ignore_files: self.ignore_files(), - invert_match: self.is_present("invert-match"), - line_number: line_number, - line_per_match: self.is_present("vimgrep"), - max_columns: self.usize_of_nonzero("max-columns")?, - max_count: self.usize_of("max-count")?.map(|n| n as u64), - max_depth: self.usize_of("max-depth")?, - max_filesize: self.max_filesize()?, - mmap: mmap, - no_ignore: self.no_ignore(), - no_ignore_global: self.no_ignore_global(), - no_ignore_parent: self.no_ignore_parent(), - no_ignore_vcs: self.no_ignore_vcs(), - null: self.is_present("null"), - only_matching: self.is_present("only-matching"), - path_separator: self.path_separator()?, - quiet: quiet, - quiet_matched: QuietMatched::new(quiet), - replace: self.replace(), - sort_files: self.is_present("sort-files"), - stdout_handle: self.stdout_handle(), - text: self.text(), - threads: self.threads()?, - type_list: self.is_present("type-list"), - types: self.types()?, - with_filename: with_filename, - search_zip_files: self.is_present("search-zip"), - preprocessor: self.preprocessor(), - stats: self.stats() - }; - if args.mmap { - debug!("will try to use memory maps"); - } - Ok(args) +/// High level routines for converting command line arguments into various +/// data structures used by ripgrep. +/// +/// Methods are sorted alphabetically. +impl ArgMatches { + /// Return the matcher that should be used for searching. + /// + /// If there was a problem building the matcher (e.g., a syntax error), + /// then this returns an error. + fn matcher(&self, patterns: &[String]) -> Result { + let matcher = self.matcher_rust(patterns)?; + Ok(PatternMatcher::RustRegex(matcher)) } - /// Return all file paths that ripgrep should search. - fn paths(&self) -> Vec { - let mut paths: Vec = match self.values_of_os("path") { - None => vec![], - Some(vals) => vals.map(|p| Path::new(p).to_path_buf()).collect(), - }; - // If --file, --files or --regexp is given, then the first path is - // always in `pattern`. - if self.is_present("file") - || self.is_present("files") - || self.is_present("regexp") { - if let Some(path) = self.value_of_os("pattern") { - paths.insert(0, Path::new(path).to_path_buf()); + /// Build a matcher using Rust's regex engine. + /// + /// If there was a problem building the matcher (such as a regex syntax + /// error), then an error is returned. + fn matcher_rust(&self, patterns: &[String]) -> Result { + let mut builder = RegexMatcherBuilder::new(); + builder + .case_smart(self.case_smart()) + .case_insensitive(self.case_insensitive()) + .multi_line(true) + .dot_matches_new_line(false) + .unicode(true) + .octal(false) + .word(self.is_present("word-regexp")); + if !self.is_present("multiline") { + builder.line_terminator(Some(b'\n')); + } + if let Some(limit) = self.regex_size_limit()? { + builder.size_limit(limit); + } + if let Some(limit) = self.dfa_size_limit()? { + builder.dfa_size_limit(limit); + } + Ok(builder.build(&patterns.join("|"))?) + } + + /// Build a JSON printer that writes results to the given writer. + fn printer_json(&self, wtr: W) -> Result> { + let mut builder = JSONBuilder::new(); + builder + .pretty(false) + .max_matches(self.max_count()?) + .always_begin_end(false); + Ok(builder.build(wtr)) + } + + /// Build a Standard printer that writes results to the given writer. + /// + /// The given paths are used to configure aspects of the printer. + /// + /// If `separator_search` is true, then the returned printer will assume + /// the responsibility of printing a separator between each set of + /// search results, when appropriate (e.g., when contexts are enabled). + /// When it's set to false, the caller is responsible for handling + /// separators. + /// + /// In practice, we want the printer to handle it in the single threaded + /// case but not in the multi-threaded case. + fn printer_standard( + &self, + paths: &[PathBuf], + wtr: W, + separator_search: bool, + ) -> Result> { + let mut builder = StandardBuilder::new(); + builder + .color_specs(self.color_specs()?) + .stats(self.stats()) + .heading(self.heading()) + .path(self.with_filename(paths)) + .only_matching(self.is_present("only-matching")) + .per_match(self.is_present("vimgrep")) + .replacement(self.replacement()) + .max_columns(self.max_columns()?) + .max_matches(self.max_count()?) + .column(self.column()) + .byte_offset(self.is_present("byte-offset")) + .trim_ascii(false) + .separator_search(None) + .separator_context(Some(self.context_separator())) + .separator_field_match(b":".to_vec()) + .separator_field_context(b"-".to_vec()) + .separator_path(self.path_separator()?) + .path_terminator(self.path_terminator()); + if separator_search { + builder.separator_search(self.file_separator()?); + } + Ok(builder.build(wtr)) + } + + /// Build a Summary printer that writes results to the given writer. + /// + /// The given paths are used to configure aspects of the printer. + /// + /// This panics if the output format is not `OutputKind::Summary`. + fn printer_summary( + &self, + paths: &[PathBuf], + wtr: W, + ) -> Result> { + let mut builder = SummaryBuilder::new(); + builder + .kind(self.summary_kind().expect("summary format")) + .color_specs(self.color_specs()?) + .stats(self.stats()) + .path(self.with_filename(paths)) + .max_matches(self.max_count()?) + .separator_field(b":".to_vec()) + .separator_path(self.path_separator()?) + .path_terminator(self.path_terminator()); + Ok(builder.build(wtr)) + } + + /// Build a searcher from the command line parameters. + fn searcher(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> Result { + let (ctx_before, ctx_after) = self.contexts()?; + let mut builder = SearcherBuilder::new(); + builder + .line_terminator(LineTerminator::byte(b'\n')) + .invert_match(self.is_present("invert-match")) + .line_number(self.line_number(paths)) + .multi_line(self.is_present("multiline")) + .before_context(ctx_before) + .after_context(ctx_after) + .passthru(self.is_present("passthru")) + .memory_map(self.mmap_choice(paths)) + .binary_detection(self.binary_detection()) + .encoding(self.encoding()?); + Ok(builder.build()) + } + + /// Return a builder for recursively traversing a directory while + /// respecting ignore rules. + /// + /// If there was a problem parsing the CLI arguments necessary for + /// constructing the builder, then this returns an error. + fn walker_builder(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> Result { + let mut builder = WalkBuilder::new(&paths[0]); + for path in &paths[1..] { + builder.add(path); + } + for path in self.ignore_paths() { + if let Some(err) = builder.add_ignore(path) { + ignore_message!("{}", err); } } - if paths.is_empty() { - paths.push(self.default_path()); + builder + .max_depth(self.usize_of("max-depth")?) + .follow_links(self.is_present("follow")) + .max_filesize(self.max_file_size()?) + .threads(self.threads()?) + .overrides(self.overrides()?) + .types(self.types()?) + .hidden(!self.hidden()) + .parents(!self.no_ignore_parent()) + .ignore(!self.no_ignore()) + .git_global( + !self.no_ignore() + && !self.no_ignore_vcs() + && !self.no_ignore_global()) + .git_ignore(!self.no_ignore() && !self.no_ignore_vcs()) + .git_exclude(!self.no_ignore() && !self.no_ignore_vcs()); + if !self.no_ignore() { + builder.add_custom_ignore_filename(".rgignore"); } - paths + if self.is_present("sort-files") { + builder.sort_by_file_name(|a, b| a.cmp(b)); + } + Ok(builder) } +} - /// Return the default path that ripgrep should search. - fn default_path(&self) -> PathBuf { - let file_is_stdin = - self.values_of_os("file").map_or(false, |mut files| { - files.any(|f| f == "-") - }); - let search_cwd = atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdin) - || !stdin_is_readable() - || (self.is_present("file") && file_is_stdin) - || self.is_present("files") - || self.is_present("type-list"); - if search_cwd { - Path::new("./").to_path_buf() +/// Mid level routines for converting command line arguments into various types +/// of data structures. +/// +/// Methods are sorted alphabetically. +impl ArgMatches { + /// Returns the form of binary detection to perform. + fn binary_detection(&self) -> BinaryDetection { + if self.is_present("text") || self.unrestricted_count() >= 3 { + BinaryDetection::none() } else { - Path::new("-").to_path_buf() + BinaryDetection::quit(b'\x00') } } - /// Return all of the ignore files given on the command line. - fn ignore_files(&self) -> Vec { - match self.values_of_os("ignore-file") { - None => return vec![], - Some(vals) => vals.map(|p| Path::new(p).to_path_buf()).collect(), - } + /// Returns true if the command line configuration implies that a match + /// can never be shown. + fn can_never_match(&self, patterns: &[String]) -> bool { + patterns.is_empty() || self.max_count().ok() == Some(Some(0)) } - /// Get a sequence of all available patterns from the command line. - /// This includes reading the -e/--regexp and -f/--file flags. + /// Returns true if and only if case should be ignore. /// - /// Note that if -F/--fixed-strings is set, then all patterns will be - /// escaped. Similarly, if -w/--word-regexp is set, then all patterns - /// are surrounded by `\b`, and if -x/--line-regexp is set, then all - /// patterns are surrounded by `^...$`. Finally, if --passthru is set, - /// the pattern `^` is added to the end (to ensure that it works as - /// expected with multiple -e/-f patterns). + /// If --case-sensitive is present, then case is never ignored, even if + /// --ignore-case is present. + fn case_insensitive(&self) -> bool { + self.is_present("ignore-case") && !self.is_present("case-sensitive") + } + + /// Returns true if and only if smart case has been enabled. /// - /// If any pattern is invalid UTF-8, then an error is returned. - fn patterns(&self) -> Result> { - if self.is_present("files") || self.is_present("type-list") { - return Ok(vec![self.empty_pattern()]); - } - let mut pats = vec![]; - match self.values_of_os("regexp") { - None => { - if self.values_of_os("file").is_none() { - if let Some(os_pat) = self.value_of_os("pattern") { - pats.push(self.os_str_pattern(os_pat)?); - } - } - } - Some(os_pats) => { - for os_pat in os_pats { - pats.push(self.os_str_pattern(os_pat)?); - } - } - } - if let Some(files) = self.values_of_os("file") { - for file in files { - if file == "-" { - let stdin = io::stdin(); - for line in stdin.lock().lines() { - pats.push(self.str_pattern(&line?)); - } - } else { - let f = fs::File::open(file)?; - for line in io::BufReader::new(f).lines() { - pats.push(self.str_pattern(&line?)); - } - } - } - } - // It's important that this be at the end; otherwise it would always - // match first, and we wouldn't get colours in the output - if self.is_present("passthru") && !self.is_present("count") { - pats.push("^".to_string()) - } - Ok(pats) - } - - /// Converts an OsStr pattern to a String pattern, including line/word - /// boundaries or escapes if applicable. - /// - /// If the pattern is not valid UTF-8, then an error is returned. - fn os_str_pattern(&self, pat: &OsStr) -> Result { - let s = pattern_to_str(pat)?; - Ok(self.str_pattern(s)) - } - - /// Converts a &str pattern to a String pattern, including line/word - /// boundaries or escapes if applicable. - fn str_pattern(&self, pat: &str) -> String { - let litpat = self.literal_pattern(pat.to_string()); - let s = self.line_pattern(self.word_pattern(litpat)); - - if s.is_empty() { - self.empty_pattern() - } else { - s - } - } - - /// Returns the given pattern as a literal pattern if the - /// -F/--fixed-strings flag is set. Otherwise, the pattern is returned - /// unchanged. - fn literal_pattern(&self, pat: String) -> String { - if self.is_present("fixed-strings") { - regex::escape(&pat) - } else { - pat - } - } - - /// Returns the given pattern as a word pattern if the -w/--word-regexp - /// flag is set. Otherwise, the pattern is returned unchanged. - fn word_pattern(&self, pat: String) -> String { - if self.is_present("word-regexp") { - format!(r"\b(?:{})\b", pat) - } else { - pat - } - } - - /// Returns the given pattern as a line pattern if the -x/--line-regexp - /// flag is set. Otherwise, the pattern is returned unchanged. - fn line_pattern(&self, pat: String) -> String { - if self.is_present("line-regexp") { - format!(r"^(?:{})$", pat) - } else { - pat - } - } - - /// Empty pattern returns a pattern that is guaranteed to produce an empty - /// regular expression that is valid in any position. - fn empty_pattern(&self) -> String { - // This would normally just be an empty string, which works on its - // own, but if the patterns are joined in a set of alternations, then - // you wind up with `foo|`, which is invalid. - self.word_pattern("(?:z{0})*".to_string()) - } - - /// Returns true if and only if file names containing each match should - /// be emitted. - /// - /// `paths` should be a slice of all top-level file paths that ripgrep - /// will need to search. - fn with_filename(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> bool { - if self.is_present("no-filename") { - false - } else { - self.is_present("with-filename") - || self.is_present("vimgrep") - || paths.len() > 1 - || paths.get(0).map_or(false, |p| path_is_dir(p)) - } - } - - /// Returns a handle to stdout for filtering search. - /// - /// A handle is returned if and only if ripgrep's stdout is being - /// redirected to a file. The handle returned corresponds to that file. - /// - /// This can be used to ensure that we do not attempt to search a file - /// that ripgrep is writing to. - fn stdout_handle(&self) -> Option { - let h = match same_file::Handle::stdout() { - Err(_) => return None, - Ok(h) => h, - }; - let md = match h.as_file().metadata() { - Err(_) => return None, - Ok(md) => md, - }; - if !md.is_file() { - return None; - } - Some(h) - } - - /// Returns true if and only if memory map searching should be tried. - /// - /// `paths` should be a slice of all top-level file paths that ripgrep - /// will need to search. - fn mmap(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> Result { - let (before, after) = self.contexts()?; - let enc = self.encoding()?; - Ok(if before > 0 || after > 0 || self.is_present("no-mmap") { - false - } else if self.is_present("mmap") { - true - } else if cfg!(target_os = "macos") { - // On Mac, memory maps appear to suck. Neat. - false - } else if enc.is_some() { - // There's no practical way to transcode a memory map that isn't - // isomorphic to searching over io::Read. - false - } else { - // If we're only searching a few paths and all of them are - // files, then memory maps are probably faster. - paths.len() <= 10 && paths.iter().all(|p| path_is_file(p)) - }) - } - - /// Returns true if and only if line numbers should be shown. - fn line_number(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> bool { - if self.is_present("no-line-number") || self.is_present("count") { - false - } else { - let only_stdin = paths == [Path::new("-")]; - (atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) && !only_stdin) - || self.is_present("line-number") - || self.is_present("column") - || self.is_present("pretty") - || self.is_present("vimgrep") - } - } - - /// Returns true if and only if column numbers should be shown. - fn column(&self) -> bool { - if self.is_present("no-column") { - return false; - } - self.is_present("column") || self.is_present("vimgrep") - } - - /// Returns true if and only if matches should be grouped with file name - /// headings. - fn heading(&self) -> bool { - if self.is_present("no-heading") || self.is_present("vimgrep") { - false - } else { - atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) - || self.is_present("heading") - || self.is_present("pretty") - } - } - - /// Returns the replacement string as UTF-8 bytes if it exists. - fn replace(&self) -> Option> { - self.value_of_lossy("replace").map(|s| s.into_bytes()) - } - - /// Returns the unescaped context separator in UTF-8 bytes. - fn context_separator(&self) -> Vec { - match self.value_of_lossy("context-separator") { - None => b"--".to_vec(), - Some(sep) => unescape(&sep), - } - } - - /// Returns the preprocessor command - fn preprocessor(&self) -> Option { - if let Some(path) = self.value_of_os("pre") { - if path.is_empty() { - None - } else { - Some(Path::new(path).to_path_buf()) - } - } else { - None - } - } - - /// Returns the unescaped path separator in UTF-8 bytes. - fn path_separator(&self) -> Result> { - match self.value_of_lossy("path-separator") { - None => Ok(None), - Some(sep) => { - let sep = unescape(&sep); - if sep.is_empty() { - Ok(None) - } else if sep.len() > 1 { - Err(From::from(format!( - "A path separator must be exactly one byte, but \ - the given separator is {} bytes: {}\n\ - In some shells on Windows '/' is automatically \ - expanded. Use '//' instead.", - sep.len(), - escape(&sep), - ))) - } else { - Ok(Some(sep[0])) - } - } - } - } - - /// Returns the before and after contexts from the command line. - /// - /// If a context setting was absent, then `0` is returned. - /// - /// If there was a problem parsing the values from the user as an integer, - /// then an error is returned. - fn contexts(&self) -> Result<(usize, usize)> { - let after = self.usize_of("after-context")?.unwrap_or(0); - let before = self.usize_of("before-context")?.unwrap_or(0); - let both = self.usize_of("context")?.unwrap_or(0); - Ok(if both > 0 { - (both, both) - } else { - (before, after) - }) - } - - /// Returns whether the -c/--count or the --count-matches flags were - /// passed from the command line. - /// - /// If --count-matches and --invert-match were passed in, behave - /// as if --count and --invert-match were passed in (i.e. rg will - /// count inverted matches as per existing behavior). - fn counts(&self) -> (bool, bool) { - let count = self.is_present("count"); - let count_matches = self.is_present("count-matches"); - let invert_matches = self.is_present("invert-match"); - let only_matching = self.is_present("only-matching"); - if count_matches && invert_matches { - // Treat `-v --count-matches` as `-v -c`. - (true, false) - } else if count && only_matching { - // Treat `-c --only-matching` as `--count-matches`. - (false, true) - } else { - (count, count_matches) - } + /// If either --ignore-case of --case-sensitive are present, then smart + /// case is disabled. + fn case_smart(&self) -> bool { + self.is_present("smart-case") + && !self.is_present("ignore-case") + && !self.is_present("case-sensitive") } /// Returns the user's color choice based on command line parameters and /// environment. - fn color_choice(&self) -> termcolor::ColorChoice { + fn color_choice(&self) -> ColorChoice { let preference = match self.value_of_lossy("color") { None => "auto".to_string(), Some(v) => v, }; if preference == "always" { - termcolor::ColorChoice::Always + ColorChoice::Always } else if preference == "ansi" { - termcolor::ColorChoice::AlwaysAnsi + ColorChoice::AlwaysAnsi } else if preference == "auto" { if atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) || self.is_present("pretty") { - termcolor::ColorChoice::Auto + ColorChoice::Auto } else { - termcolor::ColorChoice::Never + ColorChoice::Never } } else { - termcolor::ColorChoice::Never + ColorChoice::Never } } @@ -824,184 +666,210 @@ impl<'a> ArgMatches<'a> { Ok(ColorSpecs::new(&specs)) } - /// Return the text encoding specified. - /// - /// If the label given by the caller doesn't correspond to a valid - /// supported encoding (and isn't `auto`), then return an error. - /// - /// A `None` encoding implies that the encoding should be automatically - /// detected on a per-file basis. - fn encoding(&self) -> Result> { - match self.value_of_lossy("encoding") { - None => Ok(None), - Some(label) => { - if label == "auto" { - return Ok(None); - } - match Encoding::for_label_no_replacement(label.as_bytes()) { - Some(enc) => Ok(Some(enc)), - None => Err(From::from( - format!("unsupported encoding: {}", label))), - } - } + /// Returns true if and only if column numbers should be shown. + fn column(&self) -> bool { + if self.is_present("no-column") { + return false; } + self.is_present("column") || self.is_present("vimgrep") } - /// Returns whether status should be tracked for this run of ripgrep - - /// This is automatically disabled if we're asked to only list the - /// files that wil be searched, files with matches or files - /// without matches. - fn stats(&self) -> bool { - if self.is_present("files-with-matches") || - self.is_present("files-without-match") { - return false; - } - self.is_present("stats") - } - - /// Returns the approximate number of threads that ripgrep should use. - fn threads(&self) -> Result { - if self.is_present("sort-files") { - return Ok(1); - } - let threads = self.usize_of("threads")?.unwrap_or(0); - Ok(if threads == 0 { - cmp::min(12, num_cpus::get()) + /// Returns the before and after contexts from the command line. + /// + /// If a context setting was absent, then `0` is returned. + /// + /// If there was a problem parsing the values from the user as an integer, + /// then an error is returned. + fn contexts(&self) -> Result<(usize, usize)> { + let after = self.usize_of("after-context")?.unwrap_or(0); + let before = self.usize_of("before-context")?.unwrap_or(0); + let both = self.usize_of("context")?.unwrap_or(0); + Ok(if both > 0 { + (both, both) } else { - threads + (before, after) }) } - /// Builds a grep matcher from the command line flags. + /// Returns the unescaped context separator in UTF-8 bytes. /// - /// If there was a problem extracting the pattern from the command line - /// flags, then an error is returned. - /// - /// If no match can ever occur, then `false` is returned. Otherwise, - /// `true` is returned. - fn grep(&self) -> Result<(Grep, bool)> { - let smart = - self.is_present("smart-case") - && !self.is_present("ignore-case") - && !self.is_present("case-sensitive"); - let casei = - self.is_present("ignore-case") - && !self.is_present("case-sensitive"); - let pats = self.patterns()?; - let ok = !pats.is_empty(); - let mut gb = GrepBuilder::new(&pats.join("|")) - .case_smart(smart) - .case_insensitive(casei) - .line_terminator(b'\n'); - - if let Some(limit) = self.dfa_size_limit()? { - gb = gb.dfa_size_limit(limit); + /// If one was not provided, the default `--` is returned. + fn context_separator(&self) -> Vec { + match self.value_of_lossy("context-separator") { + None => b"--".to_vec(), + Some(sep) => unescape(&sep), } - if let Some(limit) = self.regex_size_limit()? { - gb = gb.size_limit(limit); - } - Ok((gb.build()?, ok)) } - /// Builds the set of glob overrides from the command line flags. - fn overrides(&self) -> Result { - let mut ovr = OverrideBuilder::new(env::current_dir()?); - for glob in self.values_of_lossy_vec("glob") { - ovr.add(&glob)?; - } - // this is smelly. In the long run it might make sense - // to change overridebuilder to be like globsetbuilder - // but this would be a breaking change to the ignore crate - // so it is being shelved for now... - ovr.case_insensitive(true)?; - for glob in self.values_of_lossy_vec("iglob") { - ovr.add(&glob)?; - } - ovr.build().map_err(From::from) - } - - /// Builds a file type matcher from the command line flags. - fn types(&self) -> Result { - let mut btypes = TypesBuilder::new(); - btypes.add_defaults(); - for ty in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type-clear") { - btypes.clear(&ty); - } - for def in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type-add") { - btypes.add_def(&def)?; - } - for ty in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type") { - btypes.select(&ty); - } - for ty in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type-not") { - btypes.negate(&ty); - } - btypes.build().map_err(From::from) - } - - /// Parses an argument of the form `[0-9]+(KMG)?`. + /// Returns whether the -c/--count or the --count-matches flags were + /// passed from the command line. /// - /// This always returns the result as a type `u64`. This must be converted - /// to the appropriate type by the caller. - fn parse_human_readable_size_arg( - &self, - arg_name: &str, - ) -> Result> { - let arg_value = match self.value_of_lossy(arg_name) { - Some(x) => x, - None => return Ok(None) - }; - let re = regex::Regex::new("^([0-9]+)([KMG])?$").unwrap(); - let caps = - re.captures(&arg_value).ok_or_else(|| { - format!("invalid format for {}", arg_name) - })?; - - let value = caps[1].parse::()?; - let suffix = caps.get(2).map(|x| x.as_str()); - - let v_10 = value.checked_mul(1024); - let v_20 = v_10.and_then(|x| x.checked_mul(1024)); - let v_30 = v_20.and_then(|x| x.checked_mul(1024)); - - let try_suffix = |x: Option| { - if x.is_some() { - Ok(x) - } else { - Err(From::from(format!("number too large for {}", arg_name))) - } - }; - match suffix { - None => Ok(Some(value)), - Some("K") => try_suffix(v_10), - Some("M") => try_suffix(v_20), - Some("G") => try_suffix(v_30), - _ => Err(From::from(format!("invalid suffix for {}", arg_name))) + /// If --count-matches and --invert-match were passed in, behave + /// as if --count and --invert-match were passed in (i.e. rg will + /// count inverted matches as per existing behavior). + fn counts(&self) -> (bool, bool) { + let count = self.is_present("count"); + let count_matches = self.is_present("count-matches"); + let invert_matches = self.is_present("invert-match"); + let only_matching = self.is_present("only-matching"); + if count_matches && invert_matches { + // Treat `-v --count-matches` as `-v -c`. + (true, false) + } else if count && only_matching { + // Treat `-c --only-matching` as `--count-matches`. + (false, true) + } else { + (count, count_matches) } } /// Parse the dfa-size-limit argument option into a byte count. fn dfa_size_limit(&self) -> Result> { - let r = self.parse_human_readable_size_arg("dfa-size-limit")?; - human_readable_to_usize("dfa-size-limit", r) + let r = self.parse_human_readable_size("dfa-size-limit")?; + u64_to_usize("dfa-size-limit", r) } - /// Parse the regex-size-limit argument option into a byte count. - fn regex_size_limit(&self) -> Result> { - let r = self.parse_human_readable_size_arg("regex-size-limit")?; - human_readable_to_usize("regex-size-limit", r) + /// Returns the type of encoding to use. + /// + /// This only returns an encoding if one is explicitly specified. When no + /// encoding is present, the Searcher will still do BOM sniffing for UTF-16 + /// and transcode seamlessly. + fn encoding(&self) -> Result> { + let label = match self.value_of_lossy("encoding") { + None => return Ok(None), + Some(label) => label, + }; + if label == "auto" { + return Ok(None); + } + Ok(Some(Encoding::new(&label)?)) + } + + /// Return the file separator to use based on the CLI configuration. + fn file_separator(&self) -> Result>> { + // File separators are only used for the standard grep-line format. + if self.output_kind() != OutputKind::Standard { + return Ok(None); + } + + let (ctx_before, ctx_after) = self.contexts()?; + Ok(if self.heading() { + Some(b"".to_vec()) + } else if ctx_before > 0 || ctx_after > 0 { + Some(self.context_separator().clone()) + } else { + None + }) + } + + + /// Returns true if and only if matches should be grouped with file name + /// headings. + fn heading(&self) -> bool { + if self.is_present("no-heading") || self.is_present("vimgrep") { + false + } else { + atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) + || self.is_present("heading") + || self.is_present("pretty") + } + } + + /// Returns true if and only if hidden files/directories should be + /// searched. + fn hidden(&self) -> bool { + self.is_present("hidden") || self.unrestricted_count() >= 2 + } + + /// Return all of the ignore file paths given on the command line. + fn ignore_paths(&self) -> Vec { + let paths = match self.values_of_os("ignore-file") { + None => return vec![], + Some(paths) => paths, + }; + paths.map(|p| Path::new(p).to_path_buf()).collect() + } + + /// Returns true if and only if ripgrep is invoked in a way where it knows + /// it search exactly one thing. + fn is_one_search(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> bool { + if paths.len() != 1 { + return false; + } + self.is_only_stdin(paths) || paths[0].is_file() + } + + /// Returns true if and only if we're only searching a single thing and + /// that thing is stdin. + fn is_only_stdin(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> bool { + paths == [Path::new("-")] + } + + /// Returns true if and only if we should show line numbers. + fn line_number(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> bool { + if self.output_kind() == OutputKind::Summary { + return false; + } + if self.is_present("no-line-number") { + return false; + } + + // A few things can imply counting line numbers. In particular, we + // generally want to show line numbers by default when printing to a + // tty for human consumption, except for one interesting case: when + // we're only searching stdin. This makes pipelines work as expected. + (atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) && !self.is_only_stdin(paths)) + || self.is_present("line-number") + || self.is_present("column") + || self.is_present("pretty") + || self.is_present("vimgrep") + } + + /// The maximum number of columns allowed on each line. + /// + /// If `0` is provided, then this returns `None`. + fn max_columns(&self) -> Result> { + Ok(self.usize_of_nonzero("max-columns")?.map(|n| n as u64)) + } + + /// The maximum number of matches permitted. + fn max_count(&self) -> Result> { + Ok(self.usize_of("max-count")?.map(|n| n as u64)) } /// Parses the max-filesize argument option into a byte count. - fn max_filesize(&self) -> Result> { - self.parse_human_readable_size_arg("max-filesize") + fn max_file_size(&self) -> Result> { + self.parse_human_readable_size("max-filesize") + } + + /// Returns whether we should attempt to use memory maps or not. + fn mmap_choice(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> MmapChoice { + // SAFETY: Memory maps are difficult to impossible to encapsulate + // safely in a portable way that doesn't simultaneously negate some of + // the benfits of using memory maps. For ripgrep's use, we never mutate + // a memory map and generally never store the contents of memory map + // in a data structure that depends on immutability. Generally + // speaking, the worst thing that can happen is a SIGBUS (if the + // underlying file is truncated while reading it), which will cause + // ripgrep to abort. + let maybe = unsafe { MmapChoice::auto() }; + let never = MmapChoice::never(); + if self.is_present("no-mmap") { + never + } else if self.is_present("mmap") { + maybe + } else if paths.len() <= 10 && paths.iter().all(|p| p.is_file()) { + // If we're only searching a few paths and all of them are + // files, then memory maps are probably faster. + maybe + } else { + never + } } /// Returns true if ignore files should be ignored. fn no_ignore(&self) -> bool { - self.is_present("no-ignore") - || self.occurrences_of("unrestricted") >= 1 + self.is_present("no-ignore") || self.unrestricted_count() >= 1 } /// Returns true if global ignore files should be ignored. @@ -1019,18 +887,341 @@ impl<'a> ArgMatches<'a> { self.is_present("no-ignore-vcs") || self.no_ignore() } - /// Returns true if and only if hidden files/directories should be - /// searched. - fn hidden(&self) -> bool { - self.is_present("hidden") || self.occurrences_of("unrestricted") >= 2 + /// Determine the type of output we should produce. + fn output_kind(&self) -> OutputKind { + let (count, count_matches) = self.counts(); + let summary = + count + || count_matches + || self.is_present("files-with-matches") + || self.is_present("files-without-match") + || self.is_present("quiet"); + if summary { + OutputKind::Summary + } else { + OutputKind::Standard + } } - /// Returns true if and only if all files should be treated as if they - /// were text, even if ripgrep would detect it as a binary file. - fn text(&self) -> bool { - self.is_present("text") || self.occurrences_of("unrestricted") >= 3 + /// Builds the set of glob overrides from the command line flags. + fn overrides(&self) -> Result { + let mut builder = OverrideBuilder::new(env::current_dir()?); + for glob in self.values_of_lossy_vec("glob") { + builder.add(&glob)?; + } + // This only enables case insensitivity for subsequent globs. + builder.case_insensitive(true)?; + for glob in self.values_of_lossy_vec("iglob") { + builder.add(&glob)?; + } + Ok(builder.build()?) } + /// Return all file paths that ripgrep should search. + /// + /// If no paths were given, then this returns an empty list. + fn paths(&self) -> Vec { + let mut paths: Vec = match self.values_of_os("path") { + None => vec![], + Some(paths) => paths.map(|p| Path::new(p).to_path_buf()).collect(), + }; + // If --file, --files or --regexp is given, then the first path is + // always in `pattern`. + if self.is_present("file") + || self.is_present("files") + || self.is_present("regexp") + { + if let Some(path) = self.value_of_os("pattern") { + paths.insert(0, Path::new(path).to_path_buf()); + } + } + paths + } + + /// Return the default path that ripgrep should search. This should only + /// be used when ripgrep is not otherwise given at least one file path + /// as a positional argument. + fn path_default(&self) -> PathBuf { + let file_is_stdin = self.values_of_os("file") + .map_or(false, |mut files| files.any(|f| f == "-")); + let search_cwd = + atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdin) + || !stdin_is_readable() + || (self.is_present("file") && file_is_stdin) + || self.is_present("files") + || self.is_present("type-list"); + if search_cwd { + Path::new("./").to_path_buf() + } else { + Path::new("-").to_path_buf() + } + } + + /// Returns the unescaped path separator as a single byte, if one exists. + /// + /// If the provided path separator is more than a single byte, then an + /// error is returned. + fn path_separator(&self) -> Result> { + let sep = match self.value_of_lossy("path-separator") { + None => return Ok(None), + Some(sep) => unescape(&sep), + }; + if sep.is_empty() { + Ok(None) + } else if sep.len() > 1 { + Err(From::from(format!( + "A path separator must be exactly one byte, but \ + the given separator is {} bytes: {}\n\ + In some shells on Windows '/' is automatically \ + expanded. Use '//' instead.", + sep.len(), + escape(&sep), + ))) + } else { + Ok(Some(sep[0])) + } + } + + /// Returns the byte that should be used to terminate paths. + /// + /// Typically, this is only set to `\x00` when the --null flag is provided, + /// and `None` otherwise. + fn path_terminator(&self) -> Option { + if self.is_present("null") { + Some(b'\x00') + } else { + None + } + } + + /// Get a sequence of all available patterns from the command line. + /// This includes reading the -e/--regexp and -f/--file flags. + /// + /// Note that if -F/--fixed-strings is set, then all patterns will be + /// escaped. If -x/--line-regexp is set, then all patterns are surrounded + /// by `^...$`. Other things, such as --word-regexp, are handled by the + /// regex matcher itself. + /// + /// If any pattern is invalid UTF-8, then an error is returned. + fn patterns(&self) -> Result> { + if self.is_present("files") || self.is_present("type-list") { + return Ok(vec![]); + } + let mut pats = vec![]; + match self.values_of_os("regexp") { + None => { + if self.values_of_os("file").is_none() { + if let Some(os_pat) = self.value_of_os("pattern") { + pats.push(self.pattern_from_os_str(os_pat)?); + } + } + } + Some(os_pats) => { + for os_pat in os_pats { + pats.push(self.pattern_from_os_str(os_pat)?); + } + } + } + if let Some(files) = self.values_of_os("file") { + for file in files { + if file == "-" { + let stdin = io::stdin(); + for line in stdin.lock().lines() { + pats.push(self.pattern_from_str(&line?)); + } + } else { + let f = File::open(file)?; + for line in io::BufReader::new(f).lines() { + pats.push(self.pattern_from_str(&line?)); + } + } + } + } + Ok(pats) + } + + /// Returns a pattern that is guaranteed to produce an empty regular + /// expression that is valid in any position. + fn pattern_empty(&self) -> String { + // This would normally just be an empty string, which works on its + // own, but if the patterns are joined in a set of alternations, then + // you wind up with `foo|`, which is currently invalid in Rust's regex + // engine. + "(?:z{0})*".to_string() + } + + /// Converts an OsStr pattern to a String pattern. The pattern is escaped + /// if -F/--fixed-strings is set. + /// + /// If the pattern is not valid UTF-8, then an error is returned. + fn pattern_from_os_str(&self, pat: &OsStr) -> Result { + let s = pattern_to_str(pat)?; + Ok(self.pattern_from_str(s)) + } + + /// Converts a &str pattern to a String pattern. The pattern is escaped + /// if -F/--fixed-strings is set. + fn pattern_from_str(&self, pat: &str) -> String { + let litpat = self.pattern_literal(pat.to_string()); + let s = self.pattern_line(litpat); + + if s.is_empty() { + self.pattern_empty() + } else { + s + } + } + + /// Returns the given pattern as a line pattern if the -x/--line-regexp + /// flag is set. Otherwise, the pattern is returned unchanged. + fn pattern_line(&self, pat: String) -> String { + if self.is_present("line-regexp") { + format!(r"^(?:{})$", pat) + } else { + pat + } + } + + /// Returns the given pattern as a literal pattern if the + /// -F/--fixed-strings flag is set. Otherwise, the pattern is returned + /// unchanged. + fn pattern_literal(&self, pat: String) -> String { + if self.is_present("fixed-strings") { + regex::escape(&pat) + } else { + pat + } + } + + /// Returns the preprocessor command if one was specified. + fn preprocessor(&self) -> Option { + let path = match self.value_of_os("pre") { + None => return None, + Some(path) => path, + }; + if path.is_empty() { + return None; + } + Some(Path::new(path).to_path_buf()) + } + + /// Parse the regex-size-limit argument option into a byte count. + fn regex_size_limit(&self) -> Result> { + let r = self.parse_human_readable_size("regex-size-limit")?; + u64_to_usize("regex-size-limit", r) + } + + /// Returns the replacement string as UTF-8 bytes if it exists. + fn replacement(&self) -> Option> { + self.value_of_lossy("replace").map(|s| s.into_bytes()) + } + + /// Returns true if and only if aggregate statistics for a search should + /// be tracked. + /// + /// Generally, this is only enabled when explicitly requested by in the + /// command line arguments via the --stats flag, but this can also be + /// enabled implicity via the output format, e.g., for JSON Lines. + fn stats(&self) -> bool { + self.output_kind() == OutputKind::JSON || self.is_present("stats") + } + + /// Returns a handle to stdout for filtering search. + /// + /// A handle is returned if and only if ripgrep's stdout is being + /// redirected to a file. The handle returned corresponds to that file. + /// + /// This can be used to ensure that we do not attempt to search a file + /// that ripgrep is writing to. + fn stdout_handle(&self) -> Option { + let h = match Handle::stdout() { + Err(_) => return None, + Ok(h) => h, + }; + let md = match h.as_file().metadata() { + Err(_) => return None, + Ok(md) => md, + }; + if !md.is_file() { + return None; + } + Some(h) + } + + /// When the output format is `Summary`, this returns the type of summary + /// output to show. + /// + /// This returns `None` if the output format is not `Summary`. + fn summary_kind(&self) -> Option { + let (count, count_matches) = self.counts(); + if self.is_present("quiet") { + Some(SummaryKind::Quiet) + } else if count_matches { + Some(SummaryKind::CountMatches) + } else if count { + Some(SummaryKind::Count) + } else if self.is_present("files-with-matches") { + Some(SummaryKind::PathWithMatch) + } else if self.is_present("files-without-match") { + Some(SummaryKind::PathWithoutMatch) + } else { + None + } + } + + /// Return the number of threads that should be used for parallelism. + fn threads(&self) -> Result { + if self.is_present("sort-files") { + return Ok(1); + } + let threads = self.usize_of("threads")?.unwrap_or(0); + Ok(if threads == 0 { + cmp::min(12, num_cpus::get()) + } else { + threads + }) + } + + /// Builds a file type matcher from the command line flags. + fn types(&self) -> Result { + let mut builder = TypesBuilder::new(); + builder.add_defaults(); + for ty in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type-clear") { + builder.clear(&ty); + } + for def in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type-add") { + builder.add_def(&def)?; + } + for ty in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type") { + builder.select(&ty); + } + for ty in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type-not") { + builder.negate(&ty); + } + builder.build().map_err(From::from) + } + + /// Returns the number of times the `unrestricted` flag is provided. + fn unrestricted_count(&self) -> u64 { + self.occurrences_of("unrestricted") + } + + /// Returns true if and only if file names containing each match should + /// be emitted. + fn with_filename(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> bool { + if self.is_present("no-filename") { + false + } else { + self.is_present("with-filename") + || self.is_present("vimgrep") + || paths.len() > 1 + || paths.get(0).map_or(false, |p| p.is_dir()) + } + } +} + +/// Lower level generic helper methods for teasing values out of clap. +impl ArgMatches { /// Like values_of_lossy, but returns an empty vec if the flag is not /// present. fn values_of_lossy_vec(&self, name: &str) -> Vec { @@ -1043,16 +1234,15 @@ impl<'a> ArgMatches<'a> { /// If the number is zero, then it is considered absent and `None` is /// returned. fn usize_of_nonzero(&self, name: &str) -> Result> { - match self.value_of_lossy(name) { - None => Ok(None), - Some(v) => v.parse().map_err(From::from).map(|n| { - if n == 0 { - None - } else { - Some(n) - } - }), - } + let n = match self.usize_of(name)? { + None => return Ok(None), + Some(n) => n, + }; + Ok(if n == 0 { + None + } else { + Some(n) + }) } /// Safely reads an arg value with the given name, and if it's present, @@ -1064,11 +1254,56 @@ impl<'a> ArgMatches<'a> { } } - // The following methods mostly dispatch to the underlying clap methods - // directly. Methods that would otherwise get a single value will fetch - // all values and return the last one. (Clap returns the first one.) We - // only define the ones we need. + /// Parses an argument of the form `[0-9]+(KMG)?`. + /// + /// If the aforementioned format is not recognized, then this returns an + /// error. + fn parse_human_readable_size( + &self, + arg_name: &str, + ) -> Result> { + lazy_static! { + static ref RE: Regex = Regex::new(r"^([0-9]+)([KMG])?$").unwrap(); + } + let arg_value = match self.value_of_lossy(arg_name) { + Some(x) => x, + None => return Ok(None) + }; + let caps = RE + .captures(&arg_value) + .ok_or_else(|| { + format!("invalid format for {}", arg_name) + })?; + + let value = caps[1].parse::()?; + let suffix = caps.get(2).map(|x| x.as_str()); + + let v_10 = value.checked_mul(1024); + let v_20 = v_10.and_then(|x| x.checked_mul(1024)); + let v_30 = v_20.and_then(|x| x.checked_mul(1024)); + let try_suffix = |x: Option| { + if x.is_some() { + Ok(x) + } else { + Err(From::from(format!("number too large for {}", arg_name))) + } + }; + match suffix { + None => Ok(Some(value)), + Some("K") => try_suffix(v_10), + Some("M") => try_suffix(v_20), + Some("G") => try_suffix(v_30), + _ => Err(From::from(format!("invalid suffix for {}", arg_name))) + } + } +} + +/// The following methods mostly dispatch to the underlying clap methods +/// directly. Methods that would otherwise get a single value will fetch all +/// values and return the last one. (Clap returns the first one.) We only +/// define the ones we need. +impl ArgMatches { fn is_present(&self, name: &str) -> bool { self.0.is_present(name) } @@ -1085,83 +1320,46 @@ impl<'a> ArgMatches<'a> { self.0.values_of_lossy(name) } - fn value_of_os(&'a self, name: &str) -> Option<&'a OsStr> { + fn value_of_os(&self, name: &str) -> Option<&OsStr> { self.0.value_of_os(name) } - fn values_of_os(&'a self, name: &str) -> Option> { + fn values_of_os(&self, name: &str) -> Option { self.0.values_of_os(name) } } +/// Convert an OsStr to a Unicode string. +/// +/// Patterns _must_ be valid UTF-8, so if the given OsStr isn't valid UTF-8, +/// this returns an error. fn pattern_to_str(s: &OsStr) -> Result<&str> { - match s.to_str() { - Some(s) => Ok(s), - None => Err(From::from(format!( + s.to_str().ok_or_else(|| { + From::from(format!( "Argument '{}' is not valid UTF-8. \ Use hex escape sequences to match arbitrary \ bytes in a pattern (e.g., \\xFF).", - s.to_string_lossy()))), - } + s.to_string_lossy() + )) + }) } -/// A simple thread safe abstraction for determining whether a search should -/// stop if the user has requested quiet mode. -#[derive(Clone, Debug)] -pub struct QuietMatched(Arc>); - -impl QuietMatched { - /// Create a new QuietMatched value. - /// - /// If quiet is true, then set_match and has_match will reflect whether - /// a search should quit or not because it found a match. - /// - /// If quiet is false, then set_match is always a no-op and has_match - /// always returns false. - fn new(quiet: bool) -> QuietMatched { - let atomic = if quiet { Some(AtomicBool::new(false)) } else { None }; - QuietMatched(Arc::new(atomic)) - } - - /// Returns true if and only if quiet mode is enabled and a match has - /// occurred. - pub fn has_match(&self) -> bool { - match *self.0 { - None => false, - Some(ref matched) => matched.load(Ordering::SeqCst), - } - } - - /// Sets whether a match has occurred or not. - /// - /// If quiet mode is disabled, then this is a no-op. - pub fn set_match(&self, yes: bool) -> bool { - match *self.0 { - None => false, - Some(_) if !yes => false, - Some(ref m) => { m.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst); true } - } - } -} - -/// Convert the result of a `parse_human_readable_size_arg` call into -/// a `usize`, failing if the type does not fit. -fn human_readable_to_usize( +/// Convert the result of parsing a human readable file size to a `usize`, +/// failing if the type does not fit. +fn u64_to_usize( arg_name: &str, value: Option, ) -> Result> { use std::usize; - match value { - None => Ok(None), - Some(v) => { - if v <= usize::MAX as u64 { - Ok(Some(v as usize)) - } else { - let msg = format!("number too large for {}", arg_name); - Err(From::from(msg)) - } - } + let value = match value { + None => return Ok(None), + Some(value) => value, + }; + if value <= usize::MAX as u64 { + Ok(Some(value as usize)) + } else { + Err(From::from(format!("number too large for {}", arg_name))) } } @@ -1169,7 +1367,6 @@ fn human_readable_to_usize( #[cfg(unix)] fn stdin_is_readable() -> bool { use std::os::unix::fs::FileTypeExt; - use same_file::Handle; let ft = match Handle::stdin().and_then(|h| h.as_file().metadata()) { Err(_) => return false, @@ -1185,44 +1382,3 @@ fn stdin_is_readable() -> bool { // always return true. true } - -/// Returns true if and only if this path points to a directory. -/// -/// This works around a bug in Rust's standard library: -/// https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/46484 -#[cfg(windows)] -fn path_is_dir(path: &Path) -> bool { - fs::metadata(path).map(|md| metadata_is_dir(&md)).unwrap_or(false) -} - -/// Returns true if and only if this entry points to a directory. -#[cfg(not(windows))] -fn path_is_dir(path: &Path) -> bool { - path.is_dir() -} - -/// Returns true if and only if this path points to a file. -/// -/// This works around a bug in Rust's standard library: -/// https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/46484 -#[cfg(windows)] -fn path_is_file(path: &Path) -> bool { - !path_is_dir(path) -} - -/// Returns true if and only if this entry points to a directory. -#[cfg(not(windows))] -fn path_is_file(path: &Path) -> bool { - path.is_file() -} - -/// Returns true if and only if the given metadata points to a directory. -/// -/// This works around a bug in Rust's standard library: -/// https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/46484 -#[cfg(windows)] -fn metadata_is_dir(md: &fs::Metadata) -> bool { - use std::os::windows::fs::MetadataExt; - use winapi::um::winnt::FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY; - md.file_attributes() & FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY != 0 -} diff --git a/src/args2.rs b/src/args2.rs deleted file mode 100644 index 6a5d1502..00000000 --- a/src/args2.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1384 +0,0 @@ -use std::cmp; -use std::env; -use std::ffi::OsStr; -use std::fs::File; -use std::io::{self, BufRead}; -use std::path::{Path, PathBuf}; -use std::sync::Arc; - -use atty; -use clap; -use grep2::matcher::LineTerminator; -use grep2::searcher::{ - BinaryDetection, Encoding, MmapChoice, Searcher, SearcherBuilder, -}; -use grep2::printer::{ - ColorSpecs, Stats, - JSON, JSONBuilder, - Standard, StandardBuilder, - Summary, SummaryBuilder, SummaryKind, -}; -use grep2::regex::{RegexMatcher, RegexMatcherBuilder}; -use ignore::overrides::{Override, OverrideBuilder}; -use ignore::types::{FileTypeDef, Types, TypesBuilder}; -use ignore::{Walk, WalkBuilder, WalkParallel}; -use log; -use num_cpus; -use path_printer::{PathPrinter, PathPrinterBuilder}; -use regex::{self, Regex}; -use same_file::Handle; -use termcolor::{ - WriteColor, - BufferedStandardStream, BufferWriter, ColorChoice, StandardStream, -}; - -use app; -use config; -use logger::Logger; -use messages::{set_messages, set_ignore_messages}; -use search::{PatternMatcher, Printer, SearchWorker, SearchWorkerBuilder}; -use subject::SubjectBuilder; -use unescape::{escape, unescape}; -use Result; - -/// The command that ripgrep should execute based on the command line -/// configuration. -#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)] -pub enum Command { - /// Search using exactly one thread. - Search, - /// Search using possibly many threads. - SearchParallel, - /// The command line parameters suggest that a search should occur, but - /// ripgrep knows that a match can never be found (e.g., no given patterns - /// or --max-count=0). - SearchNever, - /// Show the files that would be searched, but don't actually search them, - /// and use exactly one thread. - Files, - /// Show the files that would be searched, but don't actually search them, - /// and perform directory traversal using possibly many threads. - FilesParallel, - /// List all file type definitions configured, including the default file - /// types and any additional file types added to the command line. - Types, -} - -impl Command { - /// Returns true if and only if this command requires executing a search. - fn is_search(&self) -> bool { - use self::Command::*; - - match *self { - Search | SearchParallel => true, - SearchNever | Files | FilesParallel | Types => false, - } - } -} - -/// The primary configuration object used throughout ripgrep. It provides a -/// high-level convenient interface to the provided command line arguments. -/// -/// An `Args` object is cheap to clone and can be used from multiple threads -/// simultaneously. -#[derive(Clone, Debug)] -pub struct Args(Arc); - -#[derive(Clone, Debug)] -struct ArgsImp { - /// Mid-to-low level routines for extracting CLI arguments. - matches: ArgMatches, - /// The patterns provided at the command line and/or via the -f/--file - /// flag. This may be empty. - patterns: Vec, - /// A matcher built from the patterns. - /// - /// It's important that this is only built once, since building this goes - /// through regex compilation and various types of analyses. That is, if - /// you need many of theses (one per thread, for example), it is better to - /// build it once and then clone it. - matcher: PatternMatcher, - /// The paths provided at the command line. This is guaranteed to be - /// non-empty. (If no paths are provided, then a default path is created.) - paths: Vec, - /// Returns true if and only if `paths` had to be populated with a single - /// default path. - using_default_path: bool, -} - -impl Args { - /// Parse the command line arguments for this process. - /// - /// If a CLI usage error occurred, then exit the process and print a usage - /// or error message. Similarly, if the user requested the version of - /// ripgrep, then print the version and exit. - /// - /// Also, initialize a global logger. - pub fn parse() -> Result { - // We parse the args given on CLI. This does not include args from - // the config. We use the CLI args as an initial configuration while - // trying to parse config files. If a config file exists and has - // arguments, then we re-parse argv, otherwise we just use the matches - // we have here. - let early_matches = ArgMatches::new(app::app().get_matches()); - set_messages(!early_matches.is_present("no-messages")); - set_ignore_messages(!early_matches.is_present("no-ignore-messages")); - - if let Err(err) = Logger::init() { - errored!("failed to initialize logger: {}", err); - } - if early_matches.is_present("trace") { - log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Trace); - } else if early_matches.is_present("debug") { - log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Debug); - } else { - log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Warn); - } - - let matches = early_matches.reconfigure(); - // The logging level may have changed if we brought in additional - // arguments from a configuration file, so recheck it and set the log - // level as appropriate. - if matches.is_present("trace") { - log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Trace); - } else if matches.is_present("debug") { - log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Debug); - } else { - log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Warn); - } - set_messages(!matches.is_present("no-messages")); - set_ignore_messages(!matches.is_present("no-ignore-messages")); - matches.to_args() - } - - /// Return direct access to command line arguments. - fn matches(&self) -> &ArgMatches { - &self.0.matches - } - - /// Return the patterns found in the command line arguments. This includes - /// patterns read via the -f/--file flags. - fn patterns(&self) -> &[String] { - &self.0.patterns - } - - /// Return the matcher builder from the patterns. - fn matcher(&self) -> &PatternMatcher { - &self.0.matcher - } - - /// Return the paths found in the command line arguments. This is - /// guaranteed to be non-empty. In the case where no explicit arguments are - /// provided, a single default path is provided automatically. - fn paths(&self) -> &[PathBuf] { - &self.0.paths - } - - /// Returns true if and only if `paths` had to be populated with a default - /// path, which occurs only when no paths were given as command line - /// arguments. - fn using_default_path(&self) -> bool { - self.0.using_default_path - } - - /// Return the printer that should be used for formatting the output of - /// search results. - /// - /// The returned printer will write results to the given writer. - fn printer(&self, wtr: W) -> Result> { - match self.matches().output_kind() { - OutputKind::Standard => { - let separator_search = self.command()? == Command::Search; - self.matches() - .printer_standard(self.paths(), wtr, separator_search) - .map(Printer::Standard) - } - OutputKind::Summary => { - self.matches() - .printer_summary(self.paths(), wtr) - .map(Printer::Summary) - } - OutputKind::JSON => { - self.matches() - .printer_json(wtr) - .map(Printer::JSON) - } - } - } -} - -/// High level public routines for building data structures used by ripgrep -/// from command line arguments. -impl Args { - /// Create a new buffer writer for multi-threaded printing with color - /// support. - pub fn buffer_writer(&self) -> Result { - let mut wtr = BufferWriter::stdout(self.matches().color_choice()); - wtr.separator(self.matches().file_separator()?); - Ok(wtr) - } - - /// Return the high-level command that ripgrep should run. - pub fn command(&self) -> Result { - let is_one_search = self.matches().is_one_search(self.paths()); - let threads = self.matches().threads()?; - let one_thread = is_one_search || threads == 1; - - Ok(if self.matches().is_present("type-list") { - Command::Types - } else if self.matches().is_present("files") { - if one_thread { - Command::Files - } else { - Command::FilesParallel - } - } else if self.matches().can_never_match(self.patterns()) { - Command::SearchNever - } else if one_thread { - Command::Search - } else { - Command::SearchParallel - }) - } - - /// Builder a path printer that can be used for printing just file paths, - /// with optional color support. - /// - /// The printer will print paths to the given writer. - pub fn path_printer( - &self, - wtr: W, - ) -> Result> { - let mut builder = PathPrinterBuilder::new(); - builder - .color_specs(self.matches().color_specs()?) - .separator(self.matches().path_separator()?) - .terminator(self.matches().path_terminator().unwrap_or(b'\n')); - Ok(builder.build(wtr)) - } - - /// Returns true if and only if the search should quit after finding the - /// first match. - pub fn quit_after_match(&self) -> Result { - Ok(self.matches().is_present("quiet") && self.stats()?.is_none()) - } - - /// Build a worker for executing searches. - /// - /// Search results are written to the given writer. - pub fn search_worker( - &self, - wtr: W, - ) -> Result> { - let matcher = self.matcher().clone(); - let printer = self.printer(wtr)?; - let searcher = self.matches().searcher(self.paths())?; - let mut builder = SearchWorkerBuilder::new(); - builder - .preprocessor(self.matches().preprocessor()) - .search_zip(self.matches().is_present("search-zip")); - Ok(builder.build(matcher, searcher, printer)) - } - - /// Returns a zero value for tracking statistics if and only if it has been - /// requested. - /// - /// When this returns a `Stats` value, then it is guaranteed that the - /// search worker will be configured to track statistics as well. - pub fn stats(&self) -> Result> { - Ok(if self.command()?.is_search() && self.matches().stats() { - Some(Stats::new()) - } else { - None - }) - } - - /// Return a builder for constructing subjects. A subject represents a - /// single unit of something to search. Typically, this corresponds to a - /// file or a stream such as stdin. - pub fn subject_builder(&self) -> SubjectBuilder { - let mut builder = SubjectBuilder::new(); - builder - .strip_dot_prefix(self.using_default_path()) - .skip(self.matches().stdout_handle()); - builder - } - - /// Execute the given function with a writer to stdout that enables color - /// support based on the command line configuration. - pub fn stdout(&self) -> Box { - let color_choice = self.matches().color_choice(); - if atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) { - Box::new(StandardStream::stdout(color_choice)) - } else { - Box::new(BufferedStandardStream::stdout(color_choice)) - } - } - - /// Return the type definitions compiled into ripgrep. - /// - /// If there was a problem reading and parsing the type definitions, then - /// this returns an error. - pub fn type_defs(&self) -> Result> { - Ok(self.matches().types()?.definitions().to_vec()) - } - - /// Return a walker that never uses additional threads. - pub fn walker(&self) -> Result { - Ok(self.matches().walker_builder(self.paths())?.build()) - } - - /// Return a walker that never uses additional threads. - pub fn walker_parallel(&self) -> Result { - Ok(self.matches().walker_builder(self.paths())?.build_parallel()) - } -} - -/// `ArgMatches` wraps `clap::ArgMatches` and provides semantic meaning to -/// the parsed arguments. -#[derive(Clone, Debug)] -struct ArgMatches(clap::ArgMatches<'static>); - -/// The output format. Generally, this corresponds to the printer that ripgrep -/// uses to show search results. -#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)] -enum OutputKind { - /// Classic grep-like or ack-like format. - Standard, - /// Show matching files and possibly the number of matches in each file. - Summary, - /// Emit match information in the JSON Lines format. - JSON, -} - -impl ArgMatches { - /// Create an ArgMatches from clap's parse result. - fn new(clap_matches: clap::ArgMatches<'static>) -> ArgMatches { - ArgMatches(clap_matches) - } - - /// Run clap and return the matches using a config file if present. If clap - /// determines a problem with the user provided arguments (or if --help or - /// --version are given), then an error/usage/version will be printed and - /// the process will exit. - /// - /// If there are no additional arguments from the environment (e.g., a - /// config file), then the given matches are returned as is. - fn reconfigure(self) -> ArgMatches { - // If the end user says no config, then respect it. - if self.is_present("no-config") { - debug!("not reading config files because --no-config is present"); - return self; - } - // If the user wants ripgrep to use a config file, then parse args - // from that first. - let mut args = config::args(); - if args.is_empty() { - return self; - } - let mut cliargs = env::args_os(); - if let Some(bin) = cliargs.next() { - args.insert(0, bin); - } - args.extend(cliargs); - debug!("final argv: {:?}", args); - ArgMatches::new(app::app().get_matches_from(args)) - } - - /// Convert the result of parsing CLI arguments into ripgrep's higher level - /// configuration structure. - fn to_args(self) -> Result { - // We compute these once since they could be large. - let patterns = self.patterns()?; - let matcher = self.matcher(&patterns)?; - let mut paths = self.paths(); - let using_default_path = - if paths.is_empty() { - paths.push(self.path_default()); - true - } else { - false - }; - Ok(Args(Arc::new(ArgsImp { - matches: self, - patterns: patterns, - matcher: matcher, - paths: paths, - using_default_path: using_default_path, - }))) - } -} - -/// High level routines for converting command line arguments into various -/// data structures used by ripgrep. -/// -/// Methods are sorted alphabetically. -impl ArgMatches { - /// Return the matcher that should be used for searching. - /// - /// If there was a problem building the matcher (e.g., a syntax error), - /// then this returns an error. - fn matcher(&self, patterns: &[String]) -> Result { - let matcher = self.matcher_rust(patterns)?; - Ok(PatternMatcher::RustRegex(matcher)) - } - - /// Build a matcher using Rust's regex engine. - /// - /// If there was a problem building the matcher (such as a regex syntax - /// error), then an error is returned. - fn matcher_rust(&self, patterns: &[String]) -> Result { - let mut builder = RegexMatcherBuilder::new(); - builder - .case_smart(self.case_smart()) - .case_insensitive(self.case_insensitive()) - .multi_line(true) - .dot_matches_new_line(false) - .unicode(true) - .octal(false) - .word(self.is_present("word-regexp")); - if !self.is_present("multiline") { - builder.line_terminator(Some(b'\n')); - } - if let Some(limit) = self.regex_size_limit()? { - builder.size_limit(limit); - } - if let Some(limit) = self.dfa_size_limit()? { - builder.dfa_size_limit(limit); - } - Ok(builder.build(&patterns.join("|"))?) - } - - /// Build a JSON printer that writes results to the given writer. - fn printer_json(&self, wtr: W) -> Result> { - let mut builder = JSONBuilder::new(); - builder - .pretty(false) - .max_matches(self.max_count()?) - .always_begin_end(false); - Ok(builder.build(wtr)) - } - - /// Build a Standard printer that writes results to the given writer. - /// - /// The given paths are used to configure aspects of the printer. - /// - /// If `separator_search` is true, then the returned printer will assume - /// the responsibility of printing a separator between each set of - /// search results, when appropriate (e.g., when contexts are enabled). - /// When it's set to false, the caller is responsible for handling - /// separators. - /// - /// In practice, we want the printer to handle it in the single threaded - /// case but not in the multi-threaded case. - fn printer_standard( - &self, - paths: &[PathBuf], - wtr: W, - separator_search: bool, - ) -> Result> { - let mut builder = StandardBuilder::new(); - builder - .color_specs(self.color_specs()?) - .stats(self.stats()) - .heading(self.heading()) - .path(self.with_filename(paths)) - .only_matching(self.is_present("only-matching")) - .per_match(self.is_present("vimgrep")) - .replacement(self.replacement()) - .max_columns(self.max_columns()?) - .max_matches(self.max_count()?) - .column(self.column()) - .byte_offset(self.is_present("byte-offset")) - .trim_ascii(false) - .separator_search(None) - .separator_context(Some(self.context_separator())) - .separator_field_match(b":".to_vec()) - .separator_field_context(b"-".to_vec()) - .separator_path(self.path_separator()?) - .path_terminator(self.path_terminator()); - if separator_search { - builder.separator_search(self.file_separator()?); - } - Ok(builder.build(wtr)) - } - - /// Build a Summary printer that writes results to the given writer. - /// - /// The given paths are used to configure aspects of the printer. - /// - /// This panics if the output format is not `OutputKind::Summary`. - fn printer_summary( - &self, - paths: &[PathBuf], - wtr: W, - ) -> Result> { - let mut builder = SummaryBuilder::new(); - builder - .kind(self.summary_kind().expect("summary format")) - .color_specs(self.color_specs()?) - .stats(self.stats()) - .path(self.with_filename(paths)) - .max_matches(self.max_count()?) - .separator_field(b":".to_vec()) - .separator_path(self.path_separator()?) - .path_terminator(self.path_terminator()); - Ok(builder.build(wtr)) - } - - /// Build a searcher from the command line parameters. - fn searcher(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> Result { - let (ctx_before, ctx_after) = self.contexts()?; - let mut builder = SearcherBuilder::new(); - builder - .line_terminator(LineTerminator::byte(b'\n')) - .invert_match(self.is_present("invert-match")) - .line_number(self.line_number(paths)) - .multi_line(self.is_present("multiline")) - .before_context(ctx_before) - .after_context(ctx_after) - .passthru(self.is_present("passthru")) - .memory_map(self.mmap_choice(paths)) - .binary_detection(self.binary_detection()) - .encoding(self.encoding()?); - Ok(builder.build()) - } - - /// Return a builder for recursively traversing a directory while - /// respecting ignore rules. - /// - /// If there was a problem parsing the CLI arguments necessary for - /// constructing the builder, then this returns an error. - fn walker_builder(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> Result { - let mut builder = WalkBuilder::new(&paths[0]); - for path in &paths[1..] { - builder.add(path); - } - for path in self.ignore_paths() { - if let Some(err) = builder.add_ignore(path) { - ignore_message!("{}", err); - } - } - builder - .max_depth(self.usize_of("max-depth")?) - .follow_links(self.is_present("follow")) - .max_filesize(self.max_file_size()?) - .threads(self.threads()?) - .overrides(self.overrides()?) - .types(self.types()?) - .hidden(!self.hidden()) - .parents(!self.no_ignore_parent()) - .ignore(!self.no_ignore()) - .git_global( - !self.no_ignore() - && !self.no_ignore_vcs() - && !self.no_ignore_global()) - .git_ignore(!self.no_ignore() && !self.no_ignore_vcs()) - .git_exclude(!self.no_ignore() && !self.no_ignore_vcs()); - if !self.no_ignore() { - builder.add_custom_ignore_filename(".rgignore"); - } - if self.is_present("sort-files") { - builder.sort_by_file_name(|a, b| a.cmp(b)); - } - Ok(builder) - } -} - -/// Mid level routines for converting command line arguments into various types -/// of data structures. -/// -/// Methods are sorted alphabetically. -impl ArgMatches { - /// Returns the form of binary detection to perform. - fn binary_detection(&self) -> BinaryDetection { - if self.is_present("text") || self.unrestricted_count() >= 3 { - BinaryDetection::none() - } else { - BinaryDetection::quit(b'\x00') - } - } - - /// Returns true if the command line configuration implies that a match - /// can never be shown. - fn can_never_match(&self, patterns: &[String]) -> bool { - patterns.is_empty() || self.max_count().ok() == Some(Some(0)) - } - - /// Returns true if and only if case should be ignore. - /// - /// If --case-sensitive is present, then case is never ignored, even if - /// --ignore-case is present. - fn case_insensitive(&self) -> bool { - self.is_present("ignore-case") && !self.is_present("case-sensitive") - } - - /// Returns true if and only if smart case has been enabled. - /// - /// If either --ignore-case of --case-sensitive are present, then smart - /// case is disabled. - fn case_smart(&self) -> bool { - self.is_present("smart-case") - && !self.is_present("ignore-case") - && !self.is_present("case-sensitive") - } - - /// Returns the user's color choice based on command line parameters and - /// environment. - fn color_choice(&self) -> ColorChoice { - let preference = match self.value_of_lossy("color") { - None => "auto".to_string(), - Some(v) => v, - }; - if preference == "always" { - ColorChoice::Always - } else if preference == "ansi" { - ColorChoice::AlwaysAnsi - } else if preference == "auto" { - if atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) || self.is_present("pretty") { - ColorChoice::Auto - } else { - ColorChoice::Never - } - } else { - ColorChoice::Never - } - } - - /// Returns the color specifications given by the user on the CLI. - /// - /// If the was a problem parsing any of the provided specs, then an error - /// is returned. - fn color_specs(&self) -> Result { - // Start with a default set of color specs. - let mut specs = vec![ - #[cfg(unix)] - "path:fg:magenta".parse().unwrap(), - #[cfg(windows)] - "path:fg:cyan".parse().unwrap(), - "line:fg:green".parse().unwrap(), - "match:fg:red".parse().unwrap(), - "match:style:bold".parse().unwrap(), - ]; - for spec_str in self.values_of_lossy_vec("colors") { - specs.push(spec_str.parse()?); - } - Ok(ColorSpecs::new(&specs)) - } - - /// Returns true if and only if column numbers should be shown. - fn column(&self) -> bool { - if self.is_present("no-column") { - return false; - } - self.is_present("column") || self.is_present("vimgrep") - } - - /// Returns the before and after contexts from the command line. - /// - /// If a context setting was absent, then `0` is returned. - /// - /// If there was a problem parsing the values from the user as an integer, - /// then an error is returned. - fn contexts(&self) -> Result<(usize, usize)> { - let after = self.usize_of("after-context")?.unwrap_or(0); - let before = self.usize_of("before-context")?.unwrap_or(0); - let both = self.usize_of("context")?.unwrap_or(0); - Ok(if both > 0 { - (both, both) - } else { - (before, after) - }) - } - - /// Returns the unescaped context separator in UTF-8 bytes. - /// - /// If one was not provided, the default `--` is returned. - fn context_separator(&self) -> Vec { - match self.value_of_lossy("context-separator") { - None => b"--".to_vec(), - Some(sep) => unescape(&sep), - } - } - - /// Returns whether the -c/--count or the --count-matches flags were - /// passed from the command line. - /// - /// If --count-matches and --invert-match were passed in, behave - /// as if --count and --invert-match were passed in (i.e. rg will - /// count inverted matches as per existing behavior). - fn counts(&self) -> (bool, bool) { - let count = self.is_present("count"); - let count_matches = self.is_present("count-matches"); - let invert_matches = self.is_present("invert-match"); - let only_matching = self.is_present("only-matching"); - if count_matches && invert_matches { - // Treat `-v --count-matches` as `-v -c`. - (true, false) - } else if count && only_matching { - // Treat `-c --only-matching` as `--count-matches`. - (false, true) - } else { - (count, count_matches) - } - } - - /// Parse the dfa-size-limit argument option into a byte count. - fn dfa_size_limit(&self) -> Result> { - let r = self.parse_human_readable_size("dfa-size-limit")?; - u64_to_usize("dfa-size-limit", r) - } - - /// Returns the type of encoding to use. - /// - /// This only returns an encoding if one is explicitly specified. When no - /// encoding is present, the Searcher will still do BOM sniffing for UTF-16 - /// and transcode seamlessly. - fn encoding(&self) -> Result> { - let label = match self.value_of_lossy("encoding") { - None => return Ok(None), - Some(label) => label, - }; - if label == "auto" { - return Ok(None); - } - Ok(Some(Encoding::new(&label)?)) - } - - /// Return the file separator to use based on the CLI configuration. - fn file_separator(&self) -> Result>> { - // File separators are only used for the standard grep-line format. - if self.output_kind() != OutputKind::Standard { - return Ok(None); - } - - let (ctx_before, ctx_after) = self.contexts()?; - Ok(if self.heading() { - Some(b"".to_vec()) - } else if ctx_before > 0 || ctx_after > 0 { - Some(self.context_separator().clone()) - } else { - None - }) - } - - - /// Returns true if and only if matches should be grouped with file name - /// headings. - fn heading(&self) -> bool { - if self.is_present("no-heading") || self.is_present("vimgrep") { - false - } else { - atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) - || self.is_present("heading") - || self.is_present("pretty") - } - } - - /// Returns true if and only if hidden files/directories should be - /// searched. - fn hidden(&self) -> bool { - self.is_present("hidden") || self.unrestricted_count() >= 2 - } - - /// Return all of the ignore file paths given on the command line. - fn ignore_paths(&self) -> Vec { - let paths = match self.values_of_os("ignore-file") { - None => return vec![], - Some(paths) => paths, - }; - paths.map(|p| Path::new(p).to_path_buf()).collect() - } - - /// Returns true if and only if ripgrep is invoked in a way where it knows - /// it search exactly one thing. - fn is_one_search(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> bool { - if paths.len() != 1 { - return false; - } - self.is_only_stdin(paths) || paths[0].is_file() - } - - /// Returns true if and only if we're only searching a single thing and - /// that thing is stdin. - fn is_only_stdin(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> bool { - paths == [Path::new("-")] - } - - /// Returns true if and only if we should show line numbers. - fn line_number(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> bool { - if self.output_kind() == OutputKind::Summary { - return false; - } - if self.is_present("no-line-number") { - return false; - } - - // A few things can imply counting line numbers. In particular, we - // generally want to show line numbers by default when printing to a - // tty for human consumption, except for one interesting case: when - // we're only searching stdin. This makes pipelines work as expected. - (atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdout) && !self.is_only_stdin(paths)) - || self.is_present("line-number") - || self.is_present("column") - || self.is_present("pretty") - || self.is_present("vimgrep") - } - - /// The maximum number of columns allowed on each line. - /// - /// If `0` is provided, then this returns `None`. - fn max_columns(&self) -> Result> { - Ok(self.usize_of_nonzero("max-columns")?.map(|n| n as u64)) - } - - /// The maximum number of matches permitted. - fn max_count(&self) -> Result> { - Ok(self.usize_of("max-count")?.map(|n| n as u64)) - } - - /// Parses the max-filesize argument option into a byte count. - fn max_file_size(&self) -> Result> { - self.parse_human_readable_size("max-filesize") - } - - /// Returns whether we should attempt to use memory maps or not. - fn mmap_choice(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> MmapChoice { - // SAFETY: Memory maps are difficult to impossible to encapsulate - // safely in a portable way that doesn't simultaneously negate some of - // the benfits of using memory maps. For ripgrep's use, we never mutate - // a memory map and generally never store the contents of memory map - // in a data structure that depends on immutability. Generally - // speaking, the worst thing that can happen is a SIGBUS (if the - // underlying file is truncated while reading it), which will cause - // ripgrep to abort. - let maybe = unsafe { MmapChoice::auto() }; - let never = MmapChoice::never(); - if self.is_present("no-mmap") { - never - } else if self.is_present("mmap") { - maybe - } else if paths.len() <= 10 && paths.iter().all(|p| p.is_file()) { - // If we're only searching a few paths and all of them are - // files, then memory maps are probably faster. - maybe - } else { - never - } - } - - /// Returns true if ignore files should be ignored. - fn no_ignore(&self) -> bool { - self.is_present("no-ignore") || self.unrestricted_count() >= 1 - } - - /// Returns true if global ignore files should be ignored. - fn no_ignore_global(&self) -> bool { - self.is_present("no-ignore-global") || self.no_ignore() - } - - /// Returns true if parent ignore files should be ignored. - fn no_ignore_parent(&self) -> bool { - self.is_present("no-ignore-parent") || self.no_ignore() - } - - /// Returns true if VCS ignore files should be ignored. - fn no_ignore_vcs(&self) -> bool { - self.is_present("no-ignore-vcs") || self.no_ignore() - } - - /// Determine the type of output we should produce. - fn output_kind(&self) -> OutputKind { - let (count, count_matches) = self.counts(); - let summary = - count - || count_matches - || self.is_present("files-with-matches") - || self.is_present("files-without-match") - || self.is_present("quiet"); - if summary { - OutputKind::Summary - } else { - OutputKind::Standard - } - } - - /// Builds the set of glob overrides from the command line flags. - fn overrides(&self) -> Result { - let mut builder = OverrideBuilder::new(env::current_dir()?); - for glob in self.values_of_lossy_vec("glob") { - builder.add(&glob)?; - } - // This only enables case insensitivity for subsequent globs. - builder.case_insensitive(true)?; - for glob in self.values_of_lossy_vec("iglob") { - builder.add(&glob)?; - } - Ok(builder.build()?) - } - - /// Return all file paths that ripgrep should search. - /// - /// If no paths were given, then this returns an empty list. - fn paths(&self) -> Vec { - let mut paths: Vec = match self.values_of_os("path") { - None => vec![], - Some(paths) => paths.map(|p| Path::new(p).to_path_buf()).collect(), - }; - // If --file, --files or --regexp is given, then the first path is - // always in `pattern`. - if self.is_present("file") - || self.is_present("files") - || self.is_present("regexp") - { - if let Some(path) = self.value_of_os("pattern") { - paths.insert(0, Path::new(path).to_path_buf()); - } - } - paths - } - - /// Return the default path that ripgrep should search. This should only - /// be used when ripgrep is not otherwise given at least one file path - /// as a positional argument. - fn path_default(&self) -> PathBuf { - let file_is_stdin = self.values_of_os("file") - .map_or(false, |mut files| files.any(|f| f == "-")); - let search_cwd = - atty::is(atty::Stream::Stdin) - || !stdin_is_readable() - || (self.is_present("file") && file_is_stdin) - || self.is_present("files") - || self.is_present("type-list"); - if search_cwd { - Path::new("./").to_path_buf() - } else { - Path::new("-").to_path_buf() - } - } - - /// Returns the unescaped path separator as a single byte, if one exists. - /// - /// If the provided path separator is more than a single byte, then an - /// error is returned. - fn path_separator(&self) -> Result> { - let sep = match self.value_of_lossy("path-separator") { - None => return Ok(None), - Some(sep) => unescape(&sep), - }; - if sep.is_empty() { - Ok(None) - } else if sep.len() > 1 { - Err(From::from(format!( - "A path separator must be exactly one byte, but \ - the given separator is {} bytes: {}\n\ - In some shells on Windows '/' is automatically \ - expanded. Use '//' instead.", - sep.len(), - escape(&sep), - ))) - } else { - Ok(Some(sep[0])) - } - } - - /// Returns the byte that should be used to terminate paths. - /// - /// Typically, this is only set to `\x00` when the --null flag is provided, - /// and `None` otherwise. - fn path_terminator(&self) -> Option { - if self.is_present("null") { - Some(b'\x00') - } else { - None - } - } - - /// Get a sequence of all available patterns from the command line. - /// This includes reading the -e/--regexp and -f/--file flags. - /// - /// Note that if -F/--fixed-strings is set, then all patterns will be - /// escaped. If -x/--line-regexp is set, then all patterns are surrounded - /// by `^...$`. Other things, such as --word-regexp, are handled by the - /// regex matcher itself. - /// - /// If any pattern is invalid UTF-8, then an error is returned. - fn patterns(&self) -> Result> { - if self.is_present("files") || self.is_present("type-list") { - return Ok(vec![]); - } - let mut pats = vec![]; - match self.values_of_os("regexp") { - None => { - if self.values_of_os("file").is_none() { - if let Some(os_pat) = self.value_of_os("pattern") { - pats.push(self.pattern_from_os_str(os_pat)?); - } - } - } - Some(os_pats) => { - for os_pat in os_pats { - pats.push(self.pattern_from_os_str(os_pat)?); - } - } - } - if let Some(files) = self.values_of_os("file") { - for file in files { - if file == "-" { - let stdin = io::stdin(); - for line in stdin.lock().lines() { - pats.push(self.pattern_from_str(&line?)); - } - } else { - let f = File::open(file)?; - for line in io::BufReader::new(f).lines() { - pats.push(self.pattern_from_str(&line?)); - } - } - } - } - Ok(pats) - } - - /// Returns a pattern that is guaranteed to produce an empty regular - /// expression that is valid in any position. - fn pattern_empty(&self) -> String { - // This would normally just be an empty string, which works on its - // own, but if the patterns are joined in a set of alternations, then - // you wind up with `foo|`, which is currently invalid in Rust's regex - // engine. - "(?:z{0})*".to_string() - } - - /// Converts an OsStr pattern to a String pattern. The pattern is escaped - /// if -F/--fixed-strings is set. - /// - /// If the pattern is not valid UTF-8, then an error is returned. - fn pattern_from_os_str(&self, pat: &OsStr) -> Result { - let s = pattern_to_str(pat)?; - Ok(self.pattern_from_str(s)) - } - - /// Converts a &str pattern to a String pattern. The pattern is escaped - /// if -F/--fixed-strings is set. - fn pattern_from_str(&self, pat: &str) -> String { - let litpat = self.pattern_literal(pat.to_string()); - let s = self.pattern_line(litpat); - - if s.is_empty() { - self.pattern_empty() - } else { - s - } - } - - /// Returns the given pattern as a line pattern if the -x/--line-regexp - /// flag is set. Otherwise, the pattern is returned unchanged. - fn pattern_line(&self, pat: String) -> String { - if self.is_present("line-regexp") { - format!(r"^(?:{})$", pat) - } else { - pat - } - } - - /// Returns the given pattern as a literal pattern if the - /// -F/--fixed-strings flag is set. Otherwise, the pattern is returned - /// unchanged. - fn pattern_literal(&self, pat: String) -> String { - if self.is_present("fixed-strings") { - regex::escape(&pat) - } else { - pat - } - } - - /// Returns the preprocessor command if one was specified. - fn preprocessor(&self) -> Option { - let path = match self.value_of_os("pre") { - None => return None, - Some(path) => path, - }; - if path.is_empty() { - return None; - } - Some(Path::new(path).to_path_buf()) - } - - /// Parse the regex-size-limit argument option into a byte count. - fn regex_size_limit(&self) -> Result> { - let r = self.parse_human_readable_size("regex-size-limit")?; - u64_to_usize("regex-size-limit", r) - } - - /// Returns the replacement string as UTF-8 bytes if it exists. - fn replacement(&self) -> Option> { - self.value_of_lossy("replace").map(|s| s.into_bytes()) - } - - /// Returns true if and only if aggregate statistics for a search should - /// be tracked. - /// - /// Generally, this is only enabled when explicitly requested by in the - /// command line arguments via the --stats flag, but this can also be - /// enabled implicity via the output format, e.g., for JSON Lines. - fn stats(&self) -> bool { - self.output_kind() == OutputKind::JSON || self.is_present("stats") - } - - /// Returns a handle to stdout for filtering search. - /// - /// A handle is returned if and only if ripgrep's stdout is being - /// redirected to a file. The handle returned corresponds to that file. - /// - /// This can be used to ensure that we do not attempt to search a file - /// that ripgrep is writing to. - fn stdout_handle(&self) -> Option { - let h = match Handle::stdout() { - Err(_) => return None, - Ok(h) => h, - }; - let md = match h.as_file().metadata() { - Err(_) => return None, - Ok(md) => md, - }; - if !md.is_file() { - return None; - } - Some(h) - } - - /// When the output format is `Summary`, this returns the type of summary - /// output to show. - /// - /// This returns `None` if the output format is not `Summary`. - fn summary_kind(&self) -> Option { - let (count, count_matches) = self.counts(); - if self.is_present("quiet") { - Some(SummaryKind::Quiet) - } else if count_matches { - Some(SummaryKind::CountMatches) - } else if count { - Some(SummaryKind::Count) - } else if self.is_present("files-with-matches") { - Some(SummaryKind::PathWithMatch) - } else if self.is_present("files-without-match") { - Some(SummaryKind::PathWithoutMatch) - } else { - None - } - } - - /// Return the number of threads that should be used for parallelism. - fn threads(&self) -> Result { - if self.is_present("sort-files") { - return Ok(1); - } - let threads = self.usize_of("threads")?.unwrap_or(0); - Ok(if threads == 0 { - cmp::min(12, num_cpus::get()) - } else { - threads - }) - } - - /// Builds a file type matcher from the command line flags. - fn types(&self) -> Result { - let mut builder = TypesBuilder::new(); - builder.add_defaults(); - for ty in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type-clear") { - builder.clear(&ty); - } - for def in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type-add") { - builder.add_def(&def)?; - } - for ty in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type") { - builder.select(&ty); - } - for ty in self.values_of_lossy_vec("type-not") { - builder.negate(&ty); - } - builder.build().map_err(From::from) - } - - /// Returns the number of times the `unrestricted` flag is provided. - fn unrestricted_count(&self) -> u64 { - self.occurrences_of("unrestricted") - } - - /// Returns true if and only if file names containing each match should - /// be emitted. - fn with_filename(&self, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> bool { - if self.is_present("no-filename") { - false - } else { - self.is_present("with-filename") - || self.is_present("vimgrep") - || paths.len() > 1 - || paths.get(0).map_or(false, |p| p.is_dir()) - } - } -} - -/// Lower level generic helper methods for teasing values out of clap. -impl ArgMatches { - /// Like values_of_lossy, but returns an empty vec if the flag is not - /// present. - fn values_of_lossy_vec(&self, name: &str) -> Vec { - self.values_of_lossy(name).unwrap_or_else(Vec::new) - } - - /// Safely reads an arg value with the given name, and if it's present, - /// tries to parse it as a usize value. - /// - /// If the number is zero, then it is considered absent and `None` is - /// returned. - fn usize_of_nonzero(&self, name: &str) -> Result> { - let n = match self.usize_of(name)? { - None => return Ok(None), - Some(n) => n, - }; - Ok(if n == 0 { - None - } else { - Some(n) - }) - } - - /// Safely reads an arg value with the given name, and if it's present, - /// tries to parse it as a usize value. - fn usize_of(&self, name: &str) -> Result> { - match self.value_of_lossy(name) { - None => Ok(None), - Some(v) => v.parse().map(Some).map_err(From::from), - } - } - - /// Parses an argument of the form `[0-9]+(KMG)?`. - /// - /// If the aforementioned format is not recognized, then this returns an - /// error. - fn parse_human_readable_size( - &self, - arg_name: &str, - ) -> Result> { - lazy_static! { - static ref RE: Regex = Regex::new(r"^([0-9]+)([KMG])?$").unwrap(); - } - - let arg_value = match self.value_of_lossy(arg_name) { - Some(x) => x, - None => return Ok(None) - }; - let caps = RE - .captures(&arg_value) - .ok_or_else(|| { - format!("invalid format for {}", arg_name) - })?; - - let value = caps[1].parse::()?; - let suffix = caps.get(2).map(|x| x.as_str()); - - let v_10 = value.checked_mul(1024); - let v_20 = v_10.and_then(|x| x.checked_mul(1024)); - let v_30 = v_20.and_then(|x| x.checked_mul(1024)); - let try_suffix = |x: Option| { - if x.is_some() { - Ok(x) - } else { - Err(From::from(format!("number too large for {}", arg_name))) - } - }; - match suffix { - None => Ok(Some(value)), - Some("K") => try_suffix(v_10), - Some("M") => try_suffix(v_20), - Some("G") => try_suffix(v_30), - _ => Err(From::from(format!("invalid suffix for {}", arg_name))) - } - } -} - -/// The following methods mostly dispatch to the underlying clap methods -/// directly. Methods that would otherwise get a single value will fetch all -/// values and return the last one. (Clap returns the first one.) We only -/// define the ones we need. -impl ArgMatches { - fn is_present(&self, name: &str) -> bool { - self.0.is_present(name) - } - - fn occurrences_of(&self, name: &str) -> u64 { - self.0.occurrences_of(name) - } - - fn value_of_lossy(&self, name: &str) -> Option { - self.0.value_of_lossy(name).map(|s| s.into_owned()) - } - - fn values_of_lossy(&self, name: &str) -> Option> { - self.0.values_of_lossy(name) - } - - fn value_of_os(&self, name: &str) -> Option<&OsStr> { - self.0.value_of_os(name) - } - - fn values_of_os(&self, name: &str) -> Option { - self.0.values_of_os(name) - } -} - -/// Convert an OsStr to a Unicode string. -/// -/// Patterns _must_ be valid UTF-8, so if the given OsStr isn't valid UTF-8, -/// this returns an error. -fn pattern_to_str(s: &OsStr) -> Result<&str> { - s.to_str().ok_or_else(|| { - From::from(format!( - "Argument '{}' is not valid UTF-8. \ - Use hex escape sequences to match arbitrary \ - bytes in a pattern (e.g., \\xFF).", - s.to_string_lossy() - )) - }) -} - -/// Convert the result of parsing a human readable file size to a `usize`, -/// failing if the type does not fit. -fn u64_to_usize( - arg_name: &str, - value: Option, -) -> Result> { - use std::usize; - - let value = match value { - None => return Ok(None), - Some(value) => value, - }; - if value <= usize::MAX as u64 { - Ok(Some(value as usize)) - } else { - Err(From::from(format!("number too large for {}", arg_name))) - } -} - -/// Returns true if and only if stdin is deemed searchable. -#[cfg(unix)] -fn stdin_is_readable() -> bool { - use std::os::unix::fs::FileTypeExt; - - let ft = match Handle::stdin().and_then(|h| h.as_file().metadata()) { - Err(_) => return false, - Ok(md) => md.file_type(), - }; - ft.is_file() || ft.is_fifo() -} - -/// Returns true if and only if stdin is deemed searchable. -#[cfg(windows)] -fn stdin_is_readable() -> bool { - // On Windows, it's not clear what the possibilities are to me, so just - // always return true. - true -} diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs index 41e4dc19..772cb106 100644 --- a/src/main.rs +++ b/src/main.rs @@ -1,22 +1,13 @@ -#![allow(dead_code, unused_imports, unused_mut, unused_variables)] - extern crate atty; -extern crate bytecount; #[macro_use] extern crate clap; -extern crate encoding_rs; -extern crate encoding_rs_io; extern crate globset; extern crate grep; -extern crate grep2; extern crate ignore; #[macro_use] extern crate lazy_static; -extern crate libc; #[macro_use] extern crate log; -extern crate memchr; -extern crate memmap; extern crate num_cpus; extern crate regex; extern crate same_file; @@ -24,416 +15,279 @@ extern crate termcolor; #[cfg(windows)] extern crate winapi; -use std::error::Error; +use std::io; use std::process; -use std::result; -use std::sync::Arc; -use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering}; -use std::sync::mpsc; -use std::thread; -use std::time::{Duration, Instant}; +use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex}; +use std::time::Instant; + +use ignore::WalkState; use args::Args; -use worker::Work; - -macro_rules! errored { - ($($tt:tt)*) => { - return Err(From::from(format!($($tt)*))); - } -} +use subject::Subject; #[macro_use] mod messages; mod app; mod args; -mod args2; mod config; mod decompressor; mod preprocessor; mod logger; -mod main2; mod path_printer; -mod pathutil; -mod printer; mod search; -mod search_buffer; -mod search_stream; mod subject; mod unescape; -mod worker; -pub type Result = result::Result>; +pub type Result = ::std::result::Result>; -fn main() { - main2::main2(); - // reset_sigpipe(); - // match Args::parse().map(Arc::new).and_then(run) { - // Ok(0) => process::exit(1), - // Ok(_) => process::exit(0), - // Err(err) => { - // eprintln!("{}", err); - // process::exit(2); - // } - // } -} - -fn run(args: Arc) -> Result { - if args.never_match() { - return Ok(0); - } - let threads = args.threads(); - if args.files() { - if threads == 1 || args.is_one_path() { - run_files_one_thread(&args) - } else { - run_files_parallel(args) +pub fn main() { + match Args::parse().and_then(run) { + Ok(true) => process::exit(0), + Ok(false) => process::exit(1), + Err(err) => { + eprintln!("{}", err); + process::exit(2); } - } else if args.type_list() { - run_types(&args) - } else if threads == 1 || args.is_one_path() { - run_one_thread(&args) - } else { - run_parallel(&args) } } -fn run_parallel(args: &Arc) -> Result { - let start_time = Instant::now(); - let bufwtr = Arc::new(args.buffer_writer()); - let quiet_matched = args.quiet_matched(); - let paths_searched = Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0)); - let match_line_count = Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0)); - let paths_matched = Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0)); +fn run(args: Args) -> Result { + use args::Command::*; - args.walker_parallel().run(|| { - let args = Arc::clone(args); - let quiet_matched = quiet_matched.clone(); - let paths_searched = paths_searched.clone(); - let match_line_count = match_line_count.clone(); - let paths_matched = paths_matched.clone(); + match args.command()? { + Search => search(args), + SearchParallel => search_parallel(args), + SearchNever => Ok(false), + Files => files(args), + FilesParallel => files_parallel(args), + Types => types(args), + } +} + +/// The top-level entry point for single-threaded search. This recursively +/// steps through the file list (current directory by default) and searches +/// each file sequentially. +fn search(args: Args) -> Result { + let started_at = Instant::now(); + let quit_after_match = args.quit_after_match()?; + let subject_builder = args.subject_builder(); + let mut stats = args.stats()?; + let mut searcher = args.search_worker(args.stdout())?; + let mut matched = false; + + for result in args.walker()? { + let subject = match subject_builder.build_from_result(result) { + Some(subject) => subject, + None => continue, + }; + let search_result = match searcher.search(&subject) { + Ok(search_result) => search_result, + Err(err) => { + // A broken pipe means graceful termination. + if err.kind() == io::ErrorKind::BrokenPipe { + break; + } + message!("{}: {}", subject.path().display(), err); + continue; + } + }; + matched = matched || search_result.has_match(); + if let Some(ref mut stats) = stats { + *stats += search_result.stats().unwrap(); + } + if matched && quit_after_match { + break; + } + } + if let Some(ref stats) = stats { + let elapsed = Instant::now().duration_since(started_at); + // We don't care if we couldn't print this successfully. + let _ = searcher.printer().print_stats(elapsed, stats); + } + Ok(matched) +} + +/// The top-level entry point for multi-threaded search. The parallelism is +/// itself achieved by the recursive directory traversal. All we need to do is +/// feed it a worker for performing a search on each file. +fn search_parallel(args: Args) -> Result { + use std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool; + use std::sync::atomic::Ordering::SeqCst; + + let quit_after_match = args.quit_after_match()?; + let started_at = Instant::now(); + let subject_builder = Arc::new(args.subject_builder()); + let bufwtr = Arc::new(args.buffer_writer()?); + let stats = Arc::new(args.stats()?.map(Mutex::new)); + let matched = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false)); + let mut searcher_err = None; + args.walker_parallel()?.run(|| { + let args = args.clone(); let bufwtr = Arc::clone(&bufwtr); - let mut buf = bufwtr.buffer(); - let mut worker = args.worker(); - Box::new(move |result| { - use ignore::WalkState::*; + let stats = Arc::clone(&stats); + let matched = Arc::clone(&matched); + let subject_builder = Arc::clone(&subject_builder); + let mut searcher = match args.search_worker(bufwtr.buffer()) { + Ok(searcher) => searcher, + Err(err) => { + searcher_err = Some(err); + return Box::new(move |_| { + WalkState::Quit + }); + } + }; - if quiet_matched.has_match() { - return Quit; - } - let dent = match get_or_log_dir_entry( - result, - args.stdout_handle(), - args.files(), - ) { - None => return Continue, - Some(dent) => dent, + Box::new(move |result| { + let subject = match subject_builder.build_from_result(result) { + Some(subject) => subject, + None => return WalkState::Continue, }; - paths_searched.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst); - buf.clear(); - { - // This block actually executes the search and prints the - // results into outbuf. - let mut printer = args.printer(&mut buf); - let count = - if dent.is_stdin() { - worker.run(&mut printer, Work::Stdin) - } else { - worker.run(&mut printer, Work::DirEntry(dent)) - }; - match_line_count.fetch_add(count as usize, Ordering::SeqCst); - if quiet_matched.set_match(count > 0) { - return Quit; - } - if args.stats() && count > 0 { - paths_matched.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst); + searcher.printer().get_mut().clear(); + let search_result = match searcher.search(&subject) { + Ok(search_result) => search_result, + Err(err) => { + message!("{}: {}", subject.path().display(), err); + return WalkState::Continue; } + }; + if search_result.has_match() { + matched.store(true, SeqCst); + } + if let Some(ref locked_stats) = *stats { + let mut stats = locked_stats.lock().unwrap(); + *stats += search_result.stats().unwrap(); + } + if let Err(err) = bufwtr.print(searcher.printer().get_mut()) { + // A broken pipe means graceful termination. + if err.kind() == io::ErrorKind::BrokenPipe { + return WalkState::Quit; + } + // Otherwise, we continue on our merry way. + message!("{}: {}", subject.path().display(), err); + } + if matched.load(SeqCst) && quit_after_match { + WalkState::Quit + } else { + WalkState::Continue } - // BUG(burntsushi): We should handle this error instead of ignoring - // it. See: https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/issues/200 - let _ = bufwtr.print(&buf); - Continue }) }); - if paths_searched.load(Ordering::SeqCst) == 0 { - eprint_nothing_searched(); + if let Some(err) = searcher_err.take() { + return Err(err); } - let match_line_count = match_line_count.load(Ordering::SeqCst) as u64; - let paths_searched = paths_searched.load(Ordering::SeqCst) as u64; - let paths_matched = paths_matched.load(Ordering::SeqCst) as u64; - if args.stats() { - print_stats( - match_line_count, - paths_searched, - paths_matched, - start_time.elapsed(), - ); + if let Some(ref locked_stats) = *stats { + let elapsed = Instant::now().duration_since(started_at); + let stats = locked_stats.lock().unwrap(); + let mut searcher = args.search_worker(args.stdout())?; + // We don't care if we couldn't print this successfully. + let _ = searcher.printer().print_stats(elapsed, &stats); } - Ok(match_line_count) + Ok(matched.load(SeqCst)) } -fn run_one_thread(args: &Arc) -> Result { - let start_time = Instant::now(); - let mut stdout = args.stdout(); - let mut worker = args.worker(); - let mut paths_searched: u64 = 0; - let mut match_line_count = 0; - let mut paths_matched: u64 = 0; - for result in args.walker() { - let dent = match get_or_log_dir_entry( - result, - args.stdout_handle(), - args.files(), - ) { +/// The top-level entry point for listing files without searching them. This +/// recursively steps through the file list (current directory by default) and +/// prints each path sequentially using a single thread. +fn files(args: Args) -> Result { + let quit_after_match = args.quit_after_match()?; + let subject_builder = args.subject_builder(); + let mut matched = false; + let mut path_printer = args.path_printer(args.stdout())?; + for result in args.walker()? { + let subject = match subject_builder.build_from_result(result) { + Some(subject) => subject, None => continue, - Some(dent) => dent, }; - let mut printer = args.printer(&mut stdout); - if match_line_count > 0 { - if args.quiet() { + matched = true; + if quit_after_match { + break; + } + if let Err(err) = path_printer.write_path(subject.path()) { + // A broken pipe means graceful termination. + if err.kind() == io::ErrorKind::BrokenPipe { break; } - if let Some(sep) = args.file_separator() { - printer = printer.file_separator(sep); - } - } - paths_searched += 1; - let count = - if dent.is_stdin() { - worker.run(&mut printer, Work::Stdin) - } else { - worker.run(&mut printer, Work::DirEntry(dent)) - }; - match_line_count += count; - if args.stats() && count > 0 { - paths_matched += 1; + // Otherwise, we have some other error that's preventing us from + // writing to stdout, so we should bubble it up. + return Err(err.into()); } } - if paths_searched == 0 { - eprint_nothing_searched(); - } - if args.stats() { - print_stats( - match_line_count, - paths_searched, - paths_matched, - start_time.elapsed(), - ); - } - Ok(match_line_count) + Ok(matched) } -fn run_files_parallel(args: Arc) -> Result { - let print_args = Arc::clone(&args); - let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel::(); - let print_thread = thread::spawn(move || { - let mut printer = print_args.printer(print_args.stdout()); - let mut file_count = 0; - for dent in rx.iter() { - if !print_args.quiet() { - printer.path(dent.path()); - } - file_count += 1; +/// The top-level entry point for listing files without searching them. This +/// recursively steps through the file list (current directory by default) and +/// prints each path sequentially using multiple threads. +fn files_parallel(args: Args) -> Result { + use std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool; + use std::sync::atomic::Ordering::SeqCst; + use std::sync::mpsc; + use std::thread; + + let quit_after_match = args.quit_after_match()?; + let subject_builder = Arc::new(args.subject_builder()); + let mut path_printer = args.path_printer(args.stdout())?; + let matched = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false)); + let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel::(); + + let print_thread = thread::spawn(move || -> io::Result<()> { + for subject in rx.iter() { + path_printer.write_path(subject.path())?; } - file_count + Ok(()) }); - args.walker_parallel().run(move || { - let args = Arc::clone(&args); + args.walker_parallel()?.run(|| { + let subject_builder = Arc::clone(&subject_builder); + let matched = Arc::clone(&matched); let tx = tx.clone(); + Box::new(move |result| { - if let Some(dent) = get_or_log_dir_entry( - result, - args.stdout_handle(), - args.files(), - ) { - tx.send(dent).unwrap(); - if args.quiet() { - return ignore::WalkState::Quit + let subject = match subject_builder.build_from_result(result) { + Some(subject) => subject, + None => return WalkState::Continue, + }; + matched.store(true, SeqCst); + if quit_after_match { + WalkState::Quit + } else { + match tx.send(subject) { + Ok(_) => WalkState::Continue, + Err(_) => WalkState::Quit, } } - ignore::WalkState::Continue }) }); - Ok(print_thread.join().unwrap()) -} - -fn run_files_one_thread(args: &Arc) -> Result { - let mut printer = args.printer(args.stdout()); - let mut file_count = 0; - for result in args.walker() { - let dent = match get_or_log_dir_entry( - result, - args.stdout_handle(), - args.files(), - ) { - None => continue, - Some(dent) => dent, - }; - file_count += 1; - if args.quiet() { - break; - } else { - printer.path(dent.path()); + drop(tx); + if let Err(err) = print_thread.join().unwrap() { + // A broken pipe means graceful termination, so fall through. + // Otherwise, something bad happened while writing to stdout, so bubble + // it up. + if err.kind() != io::ErrorKind::BrokenPipe { + return Err(err.into()); } } - Ok(file_count) + Ok(matched.load(SeqCst)) } -fn run_types(args: &Arc) -> Result { - let mut printer = args.printer(args.stdout()); - let mut ty_count = 0; - for def in args.type_defs() { - printer.type_def(def); - ty_count += 1; - } - Ok(ty_count) -} +/// The top-level entry point for --type-list. +fn types(args: Args) -> Result { + let mut count = 0; + let mut stdout = args.stdout(); + for def in args.type_defs()? { + count += 1; + stdout.write_all(def.name().as_bytes())?; + stdout.write_all(b": ")?; -fn get_or_log_dir_entry( - result: result::Result, - stdout_handle: Option<&same_file::Handle>, - files_only: bool, -) -> Option { - match result { - Err(err) => { - message!("{}", err); - None - } - Ok(dent) => { - if let Some(err) = dent.error() { - ignore_message!("{}", err); - } - if dent.file_type().is_none() { - return Some(dent); // entry is stdin - } - // A depth of 0 means the user gave the path explicitly, so we - // should always try to search it. - if dent.depth() == 0 && !ignore_entry_is_dir(&dent) { - return Some(dent); - } else if !ignore_entry_is_file(&dent) { - return None; - } - // If we are redirecting stdout to a file, then don't search that - // file. - if !files_only && is_stdout_file(&dent, stdout_handle) { - return None; - } - Some(dent) + let mut first = true; + for glob in def.globs() { + if !first { + stdout.write_all(b", ")?; + } + stdout.write_all(glob.as_bytes())?; + first = false; } + stdout.write_all(b"\n")?; } -} - -/// Returns true if and only if the given `ignore::DirEntry` points to a -/// directory. -/// -/// This works around a bug in Rust's standard library: -/// https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/46484 -#[cfg(windows)] -fn ignore_entry_is_dir(dent: &ignore::DirEntry) -> bool { - use std::os::windows::fs::MetadataExt; - use winapi::um::winnt::FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY; - - dent.metadata().map(|md| { - md.file_attributes() & FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY != 0 - }).unwrap_or(false) -} - -/// Returns true if and only if the given `ignore::DirEntry` points to a -/// directory. -#[cfg(not(windows))] -fn ignore_entry_is_dir(dent: &ignore::DirEntry) -> bool { - dent.file_type().map_or(false, |ft| ft.is_dir()) -} - -/// Returns true if and only if the given `ignore::DirEntry` points to a -/// file. -/// -/// This works around a bug in Rust's standard library: -/// https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/46484 -#[cfg(windows)] -fn ignore_entry_is_file(dent: &ignore::DirEntry) -> bool { - !ignore_entry_is_dir(dent) -} - -/// Returns true if and only if the given `ignore::DirEntry` points to a -/// file. -#[cfg(not(windows))] -fn ignore_entry_is_file(dent: &ignore::DirEntry) -> bool { - dent.file_type().map_or(false, |ft| ft.is_file()) -} - -fn is_stdout_file( - dent: &ignore::DirEntry, - stdout_handle: Option<&same_file::Handle>, -) -> bool { - let stdout_handle = match stdout_handle { - None => return false, - Some(stdout_handle) => stdout_handle, - }; - // If we know for sure that these two things aren't equal, then avoid - // the costly extra stat call to determine equality. - if !maybe_dent_eq_handle(dent, stdout_handle) { - return false; - } - match same_file::Handle::from_path(dent.path()) { - Ok(h) => stdout_handle == &h, - Err(err) => { - message!("{}: {}", dent.path().display(), err); - false - } - } -} - -#[cfg(unix)] -fn maybe_dent_eq_handle( - dent: &ignore::DirEntry, - handle: &same_file::Handle, -) -> bool { - dent.ino() == Some(handle.ino()) -} - -#[cfg(not(unix))] -fn maybe_dent_eq_handle(_: &ignore::DirEntry, _: &same_file::Handle) -> bool { - true -} - -fn eprint_nothing_searched() { - message!( - "No files were searched, which means ripgrep probably \ - applied a filter you didn't expect. \ - Try running again with --debug."); -} - -fn print_stats( - match_count: u64, - paths_searched: u64, - paths_matched: u64, - time_elapsed: Duration, -) { - let time_elapsed = - time_elapsed.as_secs() as f64 - + (time_elapsed.subsec_nanos() as f64 * 1e-9); - println!("\n{} matched lines\n\ - {} files contained matches\n\ - {} files searched\n\ - {:.3} seconds", match_count, paths_matched, - paths_searched, time_elapsed); -} - -// The Rust standard library suppresses the default SIGPIPE behavior, so that -// writing to a closed pipe doesn't kill the process. The goal is to instead -// handle errors through the normal result mechanism. Ripgrep needs some -// refactoring before it will be able to do that, however, so we re-enable the -// standard SIGPIPE behavior as a workaround. See -// https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/issues/200. -#[cfg(unix)] -fn reset_sigpipe() { - unsafe { - libc::signal(libc::SIGPIPE, libc::SIG_DFL); - } -} - -#[cfg(not(unix))] -fn reset_sigpipe() { - // no-op + Ok(count > 0) } diff --git a/src/main2.rs b/src/main2.rs deleted file mode 100644 index 4ad18f44..00000000 --- a/src/main2.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,263 +0,0 @@ -use std::io; -use std::process; -use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex}; -use std::time::Instant; - -use grep2::printer::Stats; -use ignore::WalkState; - -use args2::Args; -use subject::Subject; -use Result; - -pub fn main2() { - match Args::parse().and_then(run) { - Ok(false) => process::exit(1), - Ok(true) => process::exit(0), - Err(err) => { - eprintln!("{}", err); - process::exit(2); - } - } -} - -fn run(args: Args) -> Result { - use args2::Command::*; - - match args.command()? { - Search => search(args), - SearchParallel => search_parallel(args), - SearchNever => Ok(false), - Files => files(args), - FilesParallel => files_parallel(args), - Types => types(args), - } -} - -/// The top-level entry point for single-threaded search. This recursively -/// steps through the file list (current directory by default) and searches -/// each file sequentially. -fn search(args: Args) -> Result { - let started_at = Instant::now(); - let quit_after_match = args.quit_after_match()?; - let subject_builder = args.subject_builder(); - let mut stats = args.stats()?; - let mut searcher = args.search_worker(args.stdout())?; - let mut matched = false; - - for result in args.walker()? { - let subject = match subject_builder.build_from_result(result) { - Some(subject) => subject, - None => continue, - }; - let search_result = match searcher.search(&subject) { - Ok(search_result) => search_result, - Err(err) => { - // A broken pipe means graceful termination. - if err.kind() == io::ErrorKind::BrokenPipe { - break; - } - message!("{}: {}", subject.path().display(), err); - continue; - } - }; - matched = matched || search_result.has_match(); - if let Some(ref mut stats) = stats { - *stats += search_result.stats().unwrap(); - } - if matched && quit_after_match { - break; - } - } - if let Some(ref stats) = stats { - let elapsed = Instant::now().duration_since(started_at); - // We don't care if we couldn't print this successfully. - let _ = searcher.printer().print_stats(elapsed, stats); - } - Ok(matched) -} - -/// The top-level entry point for multi-threaded search. The parallelism is -/// itself achieved by the recursive directory traversal. All we need to do is -/// feed it a worker for performing a search on each file. -fn search_parallel(args: Args) -> Result { - use std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool; - use std::sync::atomic::Ordering::SeqCst; - - let quit_after_match = args.quit_after_match()?; - let started_at = Instant::now(); - let subject_builder = Arc::new(args.subject_builder()); - let bufwtr = Arc::new(args.buffer_writer()?); - let stats = Arc::new(args.stats()?.map(Mutex::new)); - let matched = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false)); - let mut searcher_err = None; - args.walker_parallel()?.run(|| { - let args = args.clone(); - let bufwtr = Arc::clone(&bufwtr); - let stats = Arc::clone(&stats); - let matched = Arc::clone(&matched); - let subject_builder = Arc::clone(&subject_builder); - let mut searcher = match args.search_worker(bufwtr.buffer()) { - Ok(searcher) => searcher, - Err(err) => { - searcher_err = Some(err); - return Box::new(move |_| { - WalkState::Quit - }); - } - }; - - Box::new(move |result| { - let subject = match subject_builder.build_from_result(result) { - Some(subject) => subject, - None => return WalkState::Continue, - }; - searcher.printer().get_mut().clear(); - let search_result = match searcher.search(&subject) { - Ok(search_result) => search_result, - Err(err) => { - message!("{}: {}", subject.path().display(), err); - return WalkState::Continue; - } - }; - if search_result.has_match() { - matched.store(true, SeqCst); - } - if let Some(ref locked_stats) = *stats { - let mut stats = locked_stats.lock().unwrap(); - *stats += search_result.stats().unwrap(); - } - if let Err(err) = bufwtr.print(searcher.printer().get_mut()) { - // A broken pipe means graceful termination. - if err.kind() == io::ErrorKind::BrokenPipe { - return WalkState::Quit; - } - // Otherwise, we continue on our merry way. - message!("{}: {}", subject.path().display(), err); - } - if matched.load(SeqCst) && quit_after_match { - WalkState::Quit - } else { - WalkState::Continue - } - }) - }); - if let Some(err) = searcher_err.take() { - return Err(err); - } - if let Some(ref locked_stats) = *stats { - let elapsed = Instant::now().duration_since(started_at); - let stats = locked_stats.lock().unwrap(); - let mut searcher = args.search_worker(args.stdout())?; - // We don't care if we couldn't print this successfully. - let _ = searcher.printer().print_stats(elapsed, &stats); - } - Ok(matched.load(SeqCst)) -} - -/// The top-level entry point for listing files without searching them. This -/// recursively steps through the file list (current directory by default) and -/// prints each path sequentially using a single thread. -fn files(args: Args) -> Result { - let quit_after_match = args.quit_after_match()?; - let subject_builder = args.subject_builder(); - let mut matched = false; - let mut path_printer = args.path_printer(args.stdout())?; - for result in args.walker()? { - let subject = match subject_builder.build_from_result(result) { - Some(subject) => subject, - None => continue, - }; - matched = true; - if quit_after_match { - break; - } - if let Err(err) = path_printer.write_path(subject.path()) { - // A broken pipe means graceful termination. - if err.kind() == io::ErrorKind::BrokenPipe { - break; - } - // Otherwise, we have some other error that's preventing us from - // writing to stdout, so we should bubble it up. - return Err(err.into()); - } - } - Ok(matched) -} - -/// The top-level entry point for listing files without searching them. This -/// recursively steps through the file list (current directory by default) and -/// prints each path sequentially using multiple threads. -fn files_parallel(args: Args) -> Result { - use std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool; - use std::sync::atomic::Ordering::SeqCst; - use std::sync::mpsc; - use std::thread; - - let quit_after_match = args.quit_after_match()?; - let subject_builder = Arc::new(args.subject_builder()); - let mut path_printer = args.path_printer(args.stdout())?; - let matched = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false)); - let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel::(); - - let print_thread = thread::spawn(move || -> io::Result<()> { - for subject in rx.iter() { - path_printer.write_path(subject.path())?; - } - Ok(()) - }); - args.walker_parallel()?.run(|| { - let args = args.clone(); - let subject_builder = Arc::clone(&subject_builder); - let matched = Arc::clone(&matched); - let tx = tx.clone(); - - Box::new(move |result| { - let subject = match subject_builder.build_from_result(result) { - Some(subject) => subject, - None => return WalkState::Continue, - }; - matched.store(true, SeqCst); - if quit_after_match { - WalkState::Quit - } else { - match tx.send(subject) { - Ok(_) => WalkState::Continue, - Err(_) => WalkState::Quit, - } - } - }) - }); - drop(tx); - if let Err(err) = print_thread.join().unwrap() { - // A broken pipe means graceful termination, so fall through. - // Otherwise, something bad happened while writing to stdout, so bubble - // it up. - if err.kind() != io::ErrorKind::BrokenPipe { - return Err(err.into()); - } - } - Ok(matched.load(SeqCst)) -} - -/// The top-level entry point for --type-list. -fn types(args: Args) -> Result { - let mut count = 0; - let mut stdout = args.stdout(); - for def in args.type_defs()? { - count += 1; - stdout.write_all(def.name().as_bytes())?; - stdout.write_all(b": ")?; - - let mut first = true; - for glob in def.globs() { - if !first { - stdout.write_all(b", ")?; - } - stdout.write_all(glob.as_bytes())?; - first = false; - } - stdout.write_all(b"\n")?; - } - Ok(count > 0) -} diff --git a/src/path_printer.rs b/src/path_printer.rs index 96017ff1..324a27c4 100644 --- a/src/path_printer.rs +++ b/src/path_printer.rs @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ use std::io; use std::path::Path; -use grep2::printer::{ColorSpecs, PrinterPath}; +use grep::printer::{ColorSpecs, PrinterPath}; use termcolor::WriteColor; /// A configuration for describing how paths should be written. diff --git a/src/pathutil.rs b/src/pathutil.rs deleted file mode 100644 index 0b51bfbc..00000000 --- a/src/pathutil.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,39 +0,0 @@ -/*! -The pathutil module provides platform specific operations on paths that are -typically faster than the same operations as provided in `std::path`. In -particular, we really want to avoid the costly operation of parsing the path -into its constituent components. We give up on Windows, but on Unix, we deal -with the raw bytes directly. -*/ -use std::path::Path; - -/// Strip `prefix` from the `path` and return the remainder. -/// -/// If `path` doesn't have a prefix `prefix`, then return `None`. -#[cfg(unix)] -pub fn strip_prefix<'a, P: AsRef + ?Sized>( - prefix: &'a P, - path: &'a Path, -) -> Option<&'a Path> { - use std::ffi::OsStr; - use std::os::unix::ffi::OsStrExt; - - let prefix = prefix.as_ref().as_os_str().as_bytes(); - let path = path.as_os_str().as_bytes(); - if prefix.len() > path.len() || prefix != &path[0..prefix.len()] { - None - } else { - Some(Path::new(OsStr::from_bytes(&path[prefix.len()..]))) - } -} - -/// Strip `prefix` from the `path` and return the remainder. -/// -/// If `path` doesn't have a prefix `prefix`, then return `None`. -#[cfg(not(unix))] -pub fn strip_prefix<'a, P: AsRef + ?Sized>( - prefix: &'a P, - path: &'a Path, -) -> Option<&'a Path> { - path.strip_prefix(prefix).ok() -} diff --git a/src/printer.rs b/src/printer.rs deleted file mode 100644 index 20fd1c4d..00000000 --- a/src/printer.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,928 +0,0 @@ -use std::error; -use std::fmt; -use std::path::Path; -use std::str::FromStr; - -use regex::bytes::{Captures, Match, Regex, Replacer}; -use termcolor::{Color, ColorSpec, ParseColorError, WriteColor}; - -use pathutil::strip_prefix; -use ignore::types::FileTypeDef; - -/// Track the start and end of replacements to allow coloring them on output. -#[derive(Debug)] -struct Offset { - start: usize, - end: usize, -} - -impl Offset { - fn new(start: usize, end: usize) -> Offset { - Offset { start: start, end: end } - } -} - -impl<'m, 'r> From<&'m Match<'r>> for Offset { - fn from(m: &'m Match<'r>) -> Self { - Offset{ start: m.start(), end: m.end() } - } -} - -/// `CountingReplacer` implements the Replacer interface for Regex, -/// and counts how often replacement is being performed. -struct CountingReplacer<'r> { - replace: &'r [u8], - count: &'r mut usize, - offsets: &'r mut Vec, -} - -impl<'r> CountingReplacer<'r> { - fn new( - replace: &'r [u8], - count: &'r mut usize, - offsets: &'r mut Vec, - ) -> CountingReplacer<'r> { - CountingReplacer { replace: replace, count: count, offsets: offsets, } - } -} - -impl<'r> Replacer for CountingReplacer<'r> { - fn replace_append(&mut self, caps: &Captures, dst: &mut Vec) { - *self.count += 1; - let start = dst.len(); - caps.expand(self.replace, dst); - let end = dst.len(); - if start != end { - self.offsets.push(Offset::new(start, end)); - } - } -} - -/// Printer encapsulates all output logic for searching. -/// -/// Note that we currently ignore all write errors. It's probably worthwhile -/// to fix this, but printers are only ever used for writes to stdout or -/// writes to memory, neither of which commonly fail. -pub struct Printer { - /// The underlying writer. - wtr: W, - /// Whether anything has been printed to wtr yet. - has_printed: bool, - /// Whether to show column numbers for the first match or not. - column: bool, - /// The string to use to separate non-contiguous runs of context lines. - context_separator: Vec, - /// The end-of-line terminator used by the printer. In general, eols are - /// printed via the match directly, but occasionally we need to insert them - /// ourselves (for example, to print a context separator). - eol: u8, - /// A file separator to show before any matches are printed. - file_separator: Option>, - /// Whether to show file name as a heading or not. - /// - /// N.B. If with_filename is false, then this setting has no effect. - heading: bool, - /// Whether to show every match on its own line. - line_per_match: bool, - /// Whether to print NUL bytes after a file path instead of new lines - /// or `:`. - null: bool, - /// Print only the matched (non-empty) parts of a matching line - only_matching: bool, - /// A string to use as a replacement of each match in a matching line. - replace: Option>, - /// Whether to prefix each match with the corresponding file name. - with_filename: bool, - /// The color specifications. - colors: ColorSpecs, - /// The separator to use for file paths. If empty, this is ignored. - path_separator: Option, - /// Restrict lines to this many columns. - max_columns: Option, -} - -impl Printer { - /// Create a new printer that writes to wtr with the given color settings. - pub fn new(wtr: W) -> Printer { - Printer { - wtr: wtr, - has_printed: false, - column: false, - context_separator: "--".to_string().into_bytes(), - eol: b'\n', - file_separator: None, - heading: false, - line_per_match: false, - null: false, - only_matching: false, - replace: None, - with_filename: false, - colors: ColorSpecs::default(), - path_separator: None, - max_columns: None, - } - } - - /// Set the color specifications. - pub fn colors(mut self, colors: ColorSpecs) -> Printer { - self.colors = colors; - self - } - - /// When set, column numbers will be printed for the first match on each - /// line. - pub fn column(mut self, yes: bool) -> Printer { - self.column = yes; - self - } - - /// Set the context separator. The default is `--`. - pub fn context_separator(mut self, sep: Vec) -> Printer { - self.context_separator = sep; - self - } - - /// Set the end-of-line terminator. The default is `\n`. - pub fn eol(mut self, eol: u8) -> Printer { - self.eol = eol; - self - } - - /// If set, the separator is printed before any matches. By default, no - /// separator is printed. - pub fn file_separator(mut self, sep: Vec) -> Printer { - self.file_separator = Some(sep); - self - } - - /// Whether to show file name as a heading or not. - /// - /// N.B. If with_filename is false, then this setting has no effect. - pub fn heading(mut self, yes: bool) -> Printer { - self.heading = yes; - self - } - - /// Whether to show every match on its own line. - pub fn line_per_match(mut self, yes: bool) -> Printer { - self.line_per_match = yes; - self - } - - /// Whether to cause NUL bytes to follow file paths instead of other - /// visual separators (like `:`, `-` and `\n`). - pub fn null(mut self, yes: bool) -> Printer { - self.null = yes; - self - } - - /// Print only the matched (non-empty) parts of a matching line - pub fn only_matching(mut self, yes: bool) -> Printer { - self.only_matching = yes; - self - } - - /// A separator to use when printing file paths. When empty, use the - /// default separator for the current platform. (/ on Unix, \ on Windows.) - pub fn path_separator(mut self, sep: Option) -> Printer { - self.path_separator = sep; - self - } - - /// Replace every match in each matching line with the replacement string - /// given. - pub fn replace(mut self, replacement: Vec) -> Printer { - self.replace = Some(replacement); - self - } - - /// When set, each match is prefixed with the file name that it came from. - pub fn with_filename(mut self, yes: bool) -> Printer { - self.with_filename = yes; - self - } - - /// Configure the max. number of columns used for printing matching lines. - pub fn max_columns(mut self, max_columns: Option) -> Printer { - self.max_columns = max_columns; - self - } - - /// Returns true if and only if something has been printed. - pub fn has_printed(&self) -> bool { - self.has_printed - } - - /// Flushes the underlying writer and returns it. - #[allow(dead_code)] - pub fn into_inner(mut self) -> W { - let _ = self.wtr.flush(); - self.wtr - } - - /// Prints a type definition. - pub fn type_def(&mut self, def: &FileTypeDef) { - self.write(def.name().as_bytes()); - self.write(b": "); - let mut first = true; - for glob in def.globs() { - if !first { - self.write(b", "); - } - self.write(glob.as_bytes()); - first = false; - } - self.write_eol(); - } - - /// Prints the given path. - pub fn path>(&mut self, path: P) { - let path = strip_prefix("./", path.as_ref()).unwrap_or(path.as_ref()); - self.write_path(path); - self.write_path_eol(); - } - - /// Prints the given path and a count of the number of matches found. - pub fn path_count>(&mut self, path: P, count: u64) { - if self.with_filename { - self.write_path(path); - self.write_path_sep(b':'); - } - self.write(count.to_string().as_bytes()); - self.write_eol(); - } - - /// Prints the context separator. - pub fn context_separate(&mut self) { - if self.context_separator.is_empty() { - return; - } - let _ = self.wtr.write_all(&self.context_separator); - self.write_eol(); - } - - pub fn matched>( - &mut self, - re: &Regex, - path: P, - buf: &[u8], - start: usize, - end: usize, - line_number: Option, - byte_offset: Option - ) { - if !self.line_per_match && !self.only_matching { - let mat = - if !self.needs_match() { - (0, 0) - } else { - re.find(&buf[start..end]) - .map(|m| (m.start(), m.end())) - .unwrap_or((0, 0)) - }; - return self.write_match( - re, path, buf, start, end, line_number, - byte_offset, mat.0, mat.1); - } - for m in re.find_iter(&buf[start..end]) { - self.write_match( - re, path.as_ref(), buf, start, end, line_number, - byte_offset, m.start(), m.end()); - } - } - - fn needs_match(&self) -> bool { - self.column - || self.replace.is_some() - || self.only_matching - } - - fn write_match>( - &mut self, - re: &Regex, - path: P, - buf: &[u8], - start: usize, - end: usize, - line_number: Option, - byte_offset: Option, - match_start: usize, - match_end: usize, - ) { - if self.heading && self.with_filename && !self.has_printed { - self.write_file_sep(); - self.write_path(path); - self.write_path_eol(); - } else if !self.heading && self.with_filename { - self.write_path(path); - self.write_path_sep(b':'); - } - if let Some(line_number) = line_number { - self.line_number(line_number, b':'); - } - if self.column { - self.column_number(match_start as u64 + 1, b':'); - } - if let Some(byte_offset) = byte_offset { - if self.only_matching { - self.write_byte_offset( - byte_offset + ((start + match_start) as u64), b':'); - } else { - self.write_byte_offset(byte_offset + (start as u64), b':'); - } - } - if self.replace.is_some() { - let mut count = 0; - let mut offsets = Vec::new(); - let line = { - let replacer = CountingReplacer::new( - self.replace.as_ref().unwrap(), &mut count, &mut offsets); - if self.only_matching { - re.replace_all( - &buf[start + match_start..start + match_end], replacer) - } else { - re.replace_all(&buf[start..end], replacer) - } - }; - if self.max_columns.map_or(false, |m| line.len() > m) { - let msg = format!( - "[Omitted long line with {} replacements]", count); - self.write_colored(msg.as_bytes(), |colors| colors.matched()); - self.write_eol(); - return; - } - self.write_matched_line(offsets, &*line, false); - } else { - let buf = if self.only_matching { - &buf[start + match_start..start + match_end] - } else { - &buf[start..end] - }; - if self.max_columns.map_or(false, |m| buf.len() > m) { - let count = re.find_iter(buf).count(); - let msg = format!("[Omitted long line with {} matches]", count); - self.write_colored(msg.as_bytes(), |colors| colors.matched()); - self.write_eol(); - return; - } - let only_match = self.only_matching; - self.write_matched_line( - re.find_iter(buf).map(|x| Offset::from(&x)), buf, only_match); - } - } - - fn write_matched_line(&mut self, offsets: I, buf: &[u8], only_match: bool) - where I: IntoIterator, - { - if !self.wtr.supports_color() || self.colors.matched().is_none() { - self.write(buf); - } else if only_match { - self.write_colored(buf, |colors| colors.matched()); - } else { - let mut last_written = 0; - for o in offsets { - self.write(&buf[last_written..o.start]); - // This conditional checks if the match is both empty *and* - // past the end of the line. In this case, we never want to - // emit an additional color escape. - if o.start != o.end || o.end != buf.len() { - self.write_colored( - &buf[o.start..o.end], |colors| colors.matched()); - } - last_written = o.end; - } - self.write(&buf[last_written..]); - } - if buf.last() != Some(&self.eol) { - self.write_eol(); - } - } - - pub fn context>( - &mut self, - path: P, - buf: &[u8], - start: usize, - end: usize, - line_number: Option, - byte_offset: Option, - ) { - if self.heading && self.with_filename && !self.has_printed { - self.write_file_sep(); - self.write_path(path); - self.write_path_eol(); - } else if !self.heading && self.with_filename { - self.write_path(path); - self.write_path_sep(b'-'); - } - if let Some(line_number) = line_number { - self.line_number(line_number, b'-'); - } - if let Some(byte_offset) = byte_offset { - self.write_byte_offset(byte_offset + (start as u64), b'-'); - } - if self.max_columns.map_or(false, |m| end - start > m) { - self.write(b"[Omitted long context line]"); - self.write_eol(); - return; - } - self.write(&buf[start..end]); - if buf[start..end].last() != Some(&self.eol) { - self.write_eol(); - } - } - - fn separator(&mut self, sep: &[u8]) { - self.write(sep); - } - - fn write_path_sep(&mut self, sep: u8) { - if self.null { - self.write(b"\x00"); - } else { - self.separator(&[sep]); - } - } - - fn write_path_eol(&mut self) { - if self.null { - self.write(b"\x00"); - } else { - self.write_eol(); - } - } - - #[cfg(unix)] - fn write_path>(&mut self, path: P) { - use std::os::unix::ffi::OsStrExt; - let path = path.as_ref().as_os_str().as_bytes(); - self.write_path_replace_separator(path); - } - - #[cfg(not(unix))] - fn write_path>(&mut self, path: P) { - let path = path.as_ref().to_string_lossy(); - self.write_path_replace_separator(path.as_bytes()); - } - - fn write_path_replace_separator(&mut self, path: &[u8]) { - match self.path_separator { - None => self.write_colored(path, |colors| colors.path()), - Some(sep) => { - let transformed_path: Vec<_> = path.iter().map(|&b| { - if b == b'/' || (cfg!(windows) && b == b'\\') { - sep - } else { - b - } - }).collect(); - self.write_colored(&transformed_path, |colors| colors.path()); - } - } - } - - fn line_number(&mut self, n: u64, sep: u8) { - let line_number = n.to_string(); - self.write_colored(line_number.as_bytes(), |colors| colors.line()); - self.separator(&[sep]); - } - - fn column_number(&mut self, n: u64, sep: u8) { - self.write_colored(n.to_string().as_bytes(), |colors| colors.column()); - self.separator(&[sep]); - } - - fn write_byte_offset(&mut self, o: u64, sep: u8) { - self.write_colored(o.to_string().as_bytes(), |colors| colors.column()); - self.separator(&[sep]); - } - - fn write(&mut self, buf: &[u8]) { - self.has_printed = true; - let _ = self.wtr.write_all(buf); - } - - fn write_eol(&mut self) { - let eol = self.eol; - self.write(&[eol]); - } - - fn write_colored(&mut self, buf: &[u8], get_color: F) - where F: Fn(&ColorSpecs) -> &ColorSpec - { - let _ = self.wtr.set_color(get_color(&self.colors)); - self.write(buf); - let _ = self.wtr.reset(); - } - - fn write_file_sep(&mut self) { - if let Some(ref sep) = self.file_separator { - self.has_printed = true; - let _ = self.wtr.write_all(sep); - let _ = self.wtr.write_all(b"\n"); - } - } -} - -/// An error that can occur when parsing color specifications. -#[derive(Clone, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)] -pub enum Error { - /// This occurs when an unrecognized output type is used. - UnrecognizedOutType(String), - /// This occurs when an unrecognized spec type is used. - UnrecognizedSpecType(String), - /// This occurs when an unrecognized color name is used. - UnrecognizedColor(String, String), - /// This occurs when an unrecognized style attribute is used. - UnrecognizedStyle(String), - /// This occurs when the format of a color specification is invalid. - InvalidFormat(String), -} - -impl error::Error for Error { - fn description(&self) -> &str { - match *self { - Error::UnrecognizedOutType(_) => "unrecognized output type", - Error::UnrecognizedSpecType(_) => "unrecognized spec type", - Error::UnrecognizedColor(_, _) => "unrecognized color name", - Error::UnrecognizedStyle(_) => "unrecognized style attribute", - Error::InvalidFormat(_) => "invalid color spec", - } - } - - fn cause(&self) -> Option<&error::Error> { - None - } -} - -impl fmt::Display for Error { - fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result { - match *self { - Error::UnrecognizedOutType(ref name) => { - write!(f, "Unrecognized output type '{}'. Choose from: \ - path, line, column, match.", name) - } - Error::UnrecognizedSpecType(ref name) => { - write!(f, "Unrecognized spec type '{}'. Choose from: \ - fg, bg, style, none.", name) - } - Error::UnrecognizedColor(_, ref msg) => { - write!(f, "{}", msg) - } - Error::UnrecognizedStyle(ref name) => { - write!(f, "Unrecognized style attribute '{}'. Choose from: \ - nobold, bold, nointense, intense, nounderline, \ - underline.", name) - } - Error::InvalidFormat(ref original) => { - write!( - f, - "Invalid color spec format: '{}'. Valid format \ - is '(path|line|column|match):(fg|bg|style):(value)'.", - original) - } - } - } -} - -impl From for Error { - fn from(err: ParseColorError) -> Error { - Error::UnrecognizedColor(err.invalid().to_string(), err.to_string()) - } -} - -/// A merged set of color specifications. -#[derive(Clone, Debug, Default, Eq, PartialEq)] -pub struct ColorSpecs { - path: ColorSpec, - line: ColorSpec, - column: ColorSpec, - matched: ColorSpec, -} - -/// A single color specification provided by the user. -/// -/// A `ColorSpecs` can be built by merging a sequence of `Spec`s. -/// -/// ## Example -/// -/// The only way to build a `Spec` is to parse it from a string. Once multiple -/// `Spec`s have been constructed, then can be merged into a single -/// `ColorSpecs` value. -/// -/// ```rust -/// use termcolor::{Color, ColorSpecs, Spec}; -/// -/// let spec1: Spec = "path:fg:blue".parse().unwrap(); -/// let spec2: Spec = "match:bg:green".parse().unwrap(); -/// let specs = ColorSpecs::new(&[spec1, spec2]); -/// -/// assert_eq!(specs.path().fg(), Some(Color::Blue)); -/// assert_eq!(specs.matched().bg(), Some(Color::Green)); -/// ``` -/// -/// ## Format -/// -/// The format of a `Spec` is a triple: `{type}:{attribute}:{value}`. Each -/// component is defined as follows: -/// -/// * `{type}` can be one of `path`, `line`, `column` or `match`. -/// * `{attribute}` can be one of `fg`, `bg` or `style`. `{attribute}` may also -/// be the special value `none`, in which case, `{value}` can be omitted. -/// * `{value}` is either a color name (for `fg`/`bg`) or a style instruction. -/// -/// `{type}` controls which part of the output should be styled and is -/// application dependent. -/// -/// When `{attribute}` is `none`, then this should cause any existing color -/// settings to be cleared. -/// -/// `{value}` should be a color when `{attribute}` is `fg` or `bg`, or it -/// should be a style instruction when `{attribute}` is `style`. When -/// `{attribute}` is `none`, `{value}` must be omitted. -/// -/// Valid colors are `black`, `blue`, `green`, `red`, `cyan`, `magenta`, -/// `yellow`, `white`. -/// -/// Valid style instructions are `nobold`, `bold`, `intense`, `nointense`, -/// `underline`, `nounderline`. -#[derive(Clone, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)] -pub struct Spec { - ty: OutType, - value: SpecValue, -} - -/// The actual value given by the specification. -#[derive(Clone, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)] -enum SpecValue { - None, - Fg(Color), - Bg(Color), - Style(Style), -} - -/// The set of configurable portions of ripgrep's output. -#[derive(Clone, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)] -enum OutType { - Path, - Line, - Column, - Match, -} - -/// The specification type. -#[derive(Clone, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)] -enum SpecType { - Fg, - Bg, - Style, - None, -} - -/// The set of available styles for use in the terminal. -#[derive(Clone, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)] -enum Style { - Bold, - NoBold, - Intense, - NoIntense, - Underline, - NoUnderline -} - -impl ColorSpecs { - /// Create color specifications from a list of user supplied - /// specifications. - pub fn new(user_specs: &[Spec]) -> ColorSpecs { - let mut specs = ColorSpecs::default(); - for user_spec in user_specs { - match user_spec.ty { - OutType::Path => user_spec.merge_into(&mut specs.path), - OutType::Line => user_spec.merge_into(&mut specs.line), - OutType::Column => user_spec.merge_into(&mut specs.column), - OutType::Match => user_spec.merge_into(&mut specs.matched), - } - } - specs - } - - /// Return the color specification for coloring file paths. - fn path(&self) -> &ColorSpec { - &self.path - } - - /// Return the color specification for coloring line numbers. - fn line(&self) -> &ColorSpec { - &self.line - } - - /// Return the color specification for coloring column numbers. - fn column(&self) -> &ColorSpec { - &self.column - } - - /// Return the color specification for coloring matched text. - fn matched(&self) -> &ColorSpec { - &self.matched - } -} - -impl Spec { - /// Merge this spec into the given color specification. - fn merge_into(&self, cspec: &mut ColorSpec) { - self.value.merge_into(cspec); - } -} - -impl SpecValue { - /// Merge this spec value into the given color specification. - fn merge_into(&self, cspec: &mut ColorSpec) { - match *self { - SpecValue::None => cspec.clear(), - SpecValue::Fg(ref color) => { cspec.set_fg(Some(color.clone())); } - SpecValue::Bg(ref color) => { cspec.set_bg(Some(color.clone())); } - SpecValue::Style(ref style) => { - match *style { - Style::Bold => { cspec.set_bold(true); } - Style::NoBold => { cspec.set_bold(false); } - Style::Intense => { cspec.set_intense(true); } - Style::NoIntense => { cspec.set_intense(false); } - Style::Underline => { cspec.set_underline(true); } - Style::NoUnderline => { cspec.set_underline(false); } - } - } - } - } -} - -impl FromStr for Spec { - type Err = Error; - - fn from_str(s: &str) -> Result { - let pieces: Vec<&str> = s.split(':').collect(); - if pieces.len() <= 1 || pieces.len() > 3 { - return Err(Error::InvalidFormat(s.to_string())); - } - let otype: OutType = pieces[0].parse()?; - match pieces[1].parse()? { - SpecType::None => Ok(Spec { ty: otype, value: SpecValue::None }), - SpecType::Style => { - if pieces.len() < 3 { - return Err(Error::InvalidFormat(s.to_string())); - } - let style: Style = pieces[2].parse()?; - Ok(Spec { ty: otype, value: SpecValue::Style(style) }) - } - SpecType::Fg => { - if pieces.len() < 3 { - return Err(Error::InvalidFormat(s.to_string())); - } - let color: Color = pieces[2].parse()?; - Ok(Spec { ty: otype, value: SpecValue::Fg(color) }) - } - SpecType::Bg => { - if pieces.len() < 3 { - return Err(Error::InvalidFormat(s.to_string())); - } - let color: Color = pieces[2].parse()?; - Ok(Spec { ty: otype, value: SpecValue::Bg(color) }) - } - } - } -} - -impl FromStr for OutType { - type Err = Error; - - fn from_str(s: &str) -> Result { - match &*s.to_lowercase() { - "path" => Ok(OutType::Path), - "line" => Ok(OutType::Line), - "column" => Ok(OutType::Column), - "match" => Ok(OutType::Match), - _ => Err(Error::UnrecognizedOutType(s.to_string())), - } - } -} - -impl FromStr for SpecType { - type Err = Error; - - fn from_str(s: &str) -> Result { - match &*s.to_lowercase() { - "fg" => Ok(SpecType::Fg), - "bg" => Ok(SpecType::Bg), - "style" => Ok(SpecType::Style), - "none" => Ok(SpecType::None), - _ => Err(Error::UnrecognizedSpecType(s.to_string())), - } - } -} - -impl FromStr for Style { - type Err = Error; - - fn from_str(s: &str) -> Result { - match &*s.to_lowercase() { - "bold" => Ok(Style::Bold), - "nobold" => Ok(Style::NoBold), - "intense" => Ok(Style::Intense), - "nointense" => Ok(Style::NoIntense), - "underline" => Ok(Style::Underline), - "nounderline" => Ok(Style::NoUnderline), - _ => Err(Error::UnrecognizedStyle(s.to_string())), - } - } -} - -#[cfg(test)] -mod tests { - use termcolor::{Color, ColorSpec}; - use super::{ColorSpecs, Error, OutType, Spec, SpecValue, Style}; - - #[test] - fn merge() { - let user_specs: &[Spec] = &[ - "match:fg:blue".parse().unwrap(), - "match:none".parse().unwrap(), - "match:style:bold".parse().unwrap(), - ]; - let mut expect_matched = ColorSpec::new(); - expect_matched.set_bold(true); - assert_eq!(ColorSpecs::new(user_specs), ColorSpecs { - path: ColorSpec::default(), - line: ColorSpec::default(), - column: ColorSpec::default(), - matched: expect_matched, - }); - } - - #[test] - fn specs() { - let spec: Spec = "path:fg:blue".parse().unwrap(); - assert_eq!(spec, Spec { - ty: OutType::Path, - value: SpecValue::Fg(Color::Blue), - }); - - let spec: Spec = "path:bg:red".parse().unwrap(); - assert_eq!(spec, Spec { - ty: OutType::Path, - value: SpecValue::Bg(Color::Red), - }); - - let spec: Spec = "match:style:bold".parse().unwrap(); - assert_eq!(spec, Spec { - ty: OutType::Match, - value: SpecValue::Style(Style::Bold), - }); - - let spec: Spec = "match:style:intense".parse().unwrap(); - assert_eq!(spec, Spec { - ty: OutType::Match, - value: SpecValue::Style(Style::Intense), - }); - - let spec: Spec = "match:style:underline".parse().unwrap(); - assert_eq!(spec, Spec { - ty: OutType::Match, - value: SpecValue::Style(Style::Underline), - }); - - let spec: Spec = "line:none".parse().unwrap(); - assert_eq!(spec, Spec { - ty: OutType::Line, - value: SpecValue::None, - }); - - let spec: Spec = "column:bg:green".parse().unwrap(); - assert_eq!(spec, Spec { - ty: OutType::Column, - value: SpecValue::Bg(Color::Green), - }); - } - - #[test] - fn spec_errors() { - let err = "line:nonee".parse::().unwrap_err(); - assert_eq!(err, Error::UnrecognizedSpecType("nonee".to_string())); - - let err = "".parse::().unwrap_err(); - assert_eq!(err, Error::InvalidFormat("".to_string())); - - let err = "foo".parse::().unwrap_err(); - assert_eq!(err, Error::InvalidFormat("foo".to_string())); - - let err = "line:style:italic".parse::().unwrap_err(); - assert_eq!(err, Error::UnrecognizedStyle("italic".to_string())); - - let err = "line:fg:brown".parse::().unwrap_err(); - match err { - Error::UnrecognizedColor(name, _) => assert_eq!(name, "brown"), - err => assert!(false, "unexpected error: {:?}", err), - } - - let err = "foo:fg:brown".parse::().unwrap_err(); - assert_eq!(err, Error::UnrecognizedOutType("foo".to_string())); - } -} diff --git a/src/search.rs b/src/search.rs index c27237db..df14aee4 100644 --- a/src/search.rs +++ b/src/search.rs @@ -2,10 +2,10 @@ use std::io; use std::path::{Path, PathBuf}; use std::time::Duration; -use grep2::matcher::Matcher; -use grep2::printer::{JSON, Standard, Summary, Stats}; -use grep2::regex::RegexMatcher; -use grep2::searcher::Searcher; +use grep::matcher::Matcher; +use grep::printer::{JSON, Standard, Summary, Stats}; +use grep::regex::RegexMatcher; +use grep::searcher::Searcher; use termcolor::WriteColor; use decompressor::{DecompressionReader, is_compressed}; @@ -95,7 +95,6 @@ impl SearchWorkerBuilder { #[derive(Clone, Debug, Default)] pub struct SearchResult { has_match: bool, - binary_byte_offset: Option, stats: Option, } @@ -105,15 +104,6 @@ impl SearchResult { self.has_match } - /// Whether the search found binary data, and if so, the first absolute - /// byte offset at which it was detected. - /// - /// This always returns `None` if binary data detection is disabled, even - /// when binary data is present. - pub fn binary_byte_offset(&self) -> Option { - self.binary_byte_offset - } - /// Return aggregate search statistics for a single search, if available. /// /// It can be expensive to compute statistics, so these are only present @@ -168,10 +158,8 @@ impl Printer { total_duration: Duration, stats: &Stats, ) -> io::Result<()> { - let mut wtr = self.get_mut(); - write!( - wtr, + self.get_mut(), " {matches} matches {lines} matched lines @@ -295,9 +283,7 @@ fn search_path( searcher.search_path(&matcher, path, &mut sink)?; Ok(SearchResult { has_match: sink.has_match(), - binary_byte_offset: sink.binary_byte_offset(), stats: sink.stats().map(|s| s.clone()), - ..SearchResult::default() }) } Printer::Summary(ref mut p) => { @@ -305,9 +291,7 @@ fn search_path( searcher.search_path(&matcher, path, &mut sink)?; Ok(SearchResult { has_match: sink.has_match(), - binary_byte_offset: sink.binary_byte_offset(), stats: sink.stats().map(|s| s.clone()), - ..SearchResult::default() }) } Printer::JSON(ref mut p) => { @@ -315,9 +299,7 @@ fn search_path( searcher.search_path(&matcher, path, &mut sink)?; Ok(SearchResult { has_match: sink.has_match(), - binary_byte_offset: sink.binary_byte_offset(), stats: Some(sink.stats().clone()), - ..SearchResult::default() }) } } @@ -338,9 +320,7 @@ fn search_reader( searcher.search_reader(&matcher, rdr, &mut sink)?; Ok(SearchResult { has_match: sink.has_match(), - binary_byte_offset: sink.binary_byte_offset(), stats: sink.stats().map(|s| s.clone()), - ..SearchResult::default() }) } Printer::Summary(ref mut p) => { @@ -348,9 +328,7 @@ fn search_reader( searcher.search_reader(&matcher, rdr, &mut sink)?; Ok(SearchResult { has_match: sink.has_match(), - binary_byte_offset: sink.binary_byte_offset(), stats: sink.stats().map(|s| s.clone()), - ..SearchResult::default() }) } Printer::JSON(ref mut p) => { @@ -358,9 +336,7 @@ fn search_reader( searcher.search_reader(&matcher, rdr, &mut sink)?; Ok(SearchResult { has_match: sink.has_match(), - binary_byte_offset: sink.binary_byte_offset(), stats: Some(sink.stats().clone()), - ..SearchResult::default() }) } } diff --git a/src/search_buffer.rs b/src/search_buffer.rs deleted file mode 100644 index 2777a06c..00000000 --- a/src/search_buffer.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,424 +0,0 @@ -/*! -The `search_buffer` module is responsible for searching a single file all in a -single buffer. Typically, the source of the buffer is a memory map. This can -be useful for when memory maps are faster than streaming search. - -Note that this module doesn't quite support everything that `search_stream` -does. Notably, showing contexts. -*/ -use std::cmp; -use std::path::Path; - -use grep::Grep; -use termcolor::WriteColor; - -use printer::Printer; -use search_stream::{IterLines, Options, count_lines, is_binary}; - -pub struct BufferSearcher<'a, W: 'a> { - opts: Options, - printer: &'a mut Printer, - grep: &'a Grep, - path: &'a Path, - buf: &'a [u8], - match_line_count: u64, - match_count: Option, - line_count: Option, - byte_offset: Option, - last_line: usize, -} - -impl<'a, W: WriteColor> BufferSearcher<'a, W> { - pub fn new( - printer: &'a mut Printer, - grep: &'a Grep, - path: &'a Path, - buf: &'a [u8], - ) -> BufferSearcher<'a, W> { - BufferSearcher { - opts: Options::default(), - printer: printer, - grep: grep, - path: path, - buf: buf, - match_line_count: 0, - match_count: None, - line_count: None, - byte_offset: None, - last_line: 0, - } - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print a 0-based offset of the - /// matching line (or the actual match if -o is specified) before - /// printing the line itself. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn byte_offset(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.byte_offset = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print a count instead of each match. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn count(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.count = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print the count of individual matches - /// instead of each match. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn count_matches(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.count_matches = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print the path instead of each match. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn files_with_matches(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.files_with_matches = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print the path of files that *don't* match - /// the given pattern. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn files_without_matches(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.files_without_matches = yes; - self - } - - /// Set the end-of-line byte used by this searcher. - pub fn eol(mut self, eol: u8) -> Self { - self.opts.eol = eol; - self - } - - /// If enabled, matching is inverted so that lines that *don't* match the - /// given pattern are treated as matches. - pub fn invert_match(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.invert_match = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, compute line numbers and prefix each line of output with - /// them. - pub fn line_number(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.line_number = yes; - self - } - - /// Limit the number of matches to the given count. - /// - /// The default is None, which corresponds to no limit. - pub fn max_count(mut self, count: Option) -> Self { - self.opts.max_count = count; - self - } - - /// If enabled, don't show any output and quit searching after the first - /// match is found. - pub fn quiet(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.quiet = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, search binary files as if they were text. - pub fn text(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.text = yes; - self - } - - #[inline(never)] - pub fn run(mut self) -> u64 { - let binary_upto = cmp::min(10_240, self.buf.len()); - if !self.opts.text && is_binary(&self.buf[..binary_upto], true) { - return 0; - } - - self.match_line_count = 0; - self.line_count = if self.opts.line_number { Some(0) } else { None }; - // The memory map searcher uses one contiguous block of bytes, so the - // offsets given the printer are sufficient to compute the byte offset. - self.byte_offset = if self.opts.byte_offset { Some(0) } else { None }; - self.match_count = if self.opts.count_matches { Some(0) } else { None }; - let mut last_end = 0; - for m in self.grep.iter(self.buf) { - if self.opts.invert_match { - self.print_inverted_matches(last_end, m.start()); - } else { - self.print_match(m.start(), m.end()); - } - last_end = m.end(); - if self.opts.terminate(self.match_line_count) { - break; - } - } - if self.opts.invert_match && !self.opts.terminate(self.match_line_count) { - let upto = self.buf.len(); - self.print_inverted_matches(last_end, upto); - } - if self.opts.count && self.match_line_count > 0 { - self.printer.path_count(self.path, self.match_line_count); - } else if self.opts.count_matches - && self.match_count.map_or(false, |c| c > 0) - { - self.printer.path_count(self.path, self.match_count.unwrap()); - } - if self.opts.files_with_matches && self.match_line_count > 0 { - self.printer.path(self.path); - } - if self.opts.files_without_matches && self.match_line_count == 0 { - self.printer.path(self.path); - } - self.match_line_count - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn count_individual_matches(&mut self, start: usize, end: usize) { - if let Some(ref mut count) = self.match_count { - for _ in self.grep.regex().find_iter(&self.buf[start..end]) { - *count += 1; - } - } - } - - #[inline(always)] - pub fn print_match(&mut self, start: usize, end: usize) { - self.match_line_count += 1; - self.count_individual_matches(start, end); - if self.opts.skip_matches() { - return; - } - self.count_lines(start); - self.add_line(end); - self.printer.matched( - self.grep.regex(), self.path, self.buf, - start, end, self.line_count, self.byte_offset); - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn print_inverted_matches(&mut self, start: usize, end: usize) { - debug_assert!(self.opts.invert_match); - let mut it = IterLines::new(self.opts.eol, start); - while let Some((s, e)) = it.next(&self.buf[..end]) { - if self.opts.terminate(self.match_line_count) { - return; - } - self.print_match(s, e); - } - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn count_lines(&mut self, upto: usize) { - if let Some(ref mut line_count) = self.line_count { - *line_count += count_lines( - &self.buf[self.last_line..upto], self.opts.eol); - self.last_line = upto; - } - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn add_line(&mut self, line_end: usize) { - if let Some(ref mut line_count) = self.line_count { - *line_count += 1; - self.last_line = line_end; - } - } -} - -#[cfg(test)] -mod tests { - use std::path::Path; - - use grep::GrepBuilder; - - use printer::Printer; - use termcolor; - - use super::BufferSearcher; - - const SHERLOCK: &'static str = "\ -For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -and exhibited clearly, with a label attached.\ -"; - - fn test_path() -> &'static Path { - &Path::new("/baz.rs") - } - - type TestSearcher<'a> = BufferSearcher<'a, termcolor::NoColor>>; - - fn search TestSearcher>( - pat: &str, - haystack: &str, - mut map: F, - ) -> (u64, String) { - let outbuf = termcolor::NoColor::new(vec![]); - let mut pp = Printer::new(outbuf).with_filename(true); - let grep = GrepBuilder::new(pat).build().unwrap(); - let count = { - let searcher = BufferSearcher::new( - &mut pp, &grep, test_path(), haystack.as_bytes()); - map(searcher).run() - }; - (count, String::from_utf8(pp.into_inner().into_inner()).unwrap()) - } - - #[test] - fn basic_search() { - let (count, out) = search("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s|s); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -"); - } - - #[test] - fn binary() { - let text = "Sherlock\n\x00Holmes\n"; - let (count, out) = search("Sherlock|Holmes", text, |s|s); - assert_eq!(0, count); - assert_eq!(out, ""); - } - - - #[test] - fn binary_text() { - let text = "Sherlock\n\x00Holmes\n"; - let (count, out) = search("Sherlock|Holmes", text, |s| s.text(true)); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs:Sherlock\n/baz.rs:\x00Holmes\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn line_numbers() { - let (count, out) = search( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.line_number(true)); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs:3:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -"); - } - - #[test] - fn byte_offset() { - let (_, out) = search( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.byte_offset(true)); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:0:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs:129:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -"); - } - - #[test] - fn byte_offset_inverted() { - let (_, out) = search("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.invert_match(true).byte_offset(true) - }); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:65:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:193:can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:258:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs:321:and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn count() { - let (count, out) = search( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.count(true)); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs:2\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn count_matches() { - let (_, out) = search( - "the", SHERLOCK, |s| s.count_matches(true)); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs:4\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn files_with_matches() { - let (count, out) = search( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.files_with_matches(true)); - assert_eq!(1, count); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn files_without_matches() { - let (count, out) = search( - "zzzz", SHERLOCK, |s| s.files_without_matches(true)); - assert_eq!(0, count); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn max_count() { - let (count, out) = search( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.max_count(Some(1))); - assert_eq!(1, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -"); - } - - #[test] - fn invert_match_max_count() { - let (count, out) = search( - "zzzz", SHERLOCK, |s| s.invert_match(true).max_count(Some(1))); - assert_eq!(1, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -"); - } - - #[test] - fn invert_match() { - let (count, out) = search( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.invert_match(true)); - assert_eq!(4, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs:and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn invert_match_line_numbers() { - let (count, out) = search("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.invert_match(true).line_number(true) - }); - assert_eq!(4, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:2:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:4:can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:5:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs:6:and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn invert_match_count() { - let (count, out) = search("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.invert_match(true).count(true) - }); - assert_eq!(4, count); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs:4\n"); - } -} diff --git a/src/search_stream.rs b/src/search_stream.rs deleted file mode 100644 index b218dd19..00000000 --- a/src/search_stream.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1466 +0,0 @@ -/*! -The `search_stream` module is responsible for searching a single file and -printing matches. In particular, it searches the file in a streaming fashion -using `read` calls and a (roughly) fixed size buffer. -*/ - -use std::cmp; -use std::error::Error as StdError; -use std::fmt; -use std::io; -use std::path::{Path, PathBuf}; - -use bytecount; -use grep::{Grep, Match}; -use memchr::{memchr, memrchr}; -use termcolor::WriteColor; - -use printer::Printer; - -/// The default read size (capacity of input buffer). -const READ_SIZE: usize = 8 * (1<<10); - -/// Error describes errors that can occur while searching. -#[derive(Debug)] -pub enum Error { - /// A standard I/O error attached to a particular file path. - Io { - err: io::Error, - path: PathBuf, - } -} - -impl Error { - fn from_io>(err: io::Error, path: P) -> Error { - Error::Io { err: err, path: path.as_ref().to_path_buf() } - } -} - -impl StdError for Error { - fn description(&self) -> &str { - match *self { - Error::Io { ref err, .. } => err.description(), - } - } - - fn cause(&self) -> Option<&StdError> { - match *self { - Error::Io { ref err, .. } => Some(err), - } - } -} - -impl fmt::Display for Error { - fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result { - match *self { - Error::Io { ref err, ref path } => { - write!(f, "{}: {}", path.display(), err) - } - } - } -} - -pub struct Searcher<'a, R, W: 'a> { - opts: Options, - inp: &'a mut InputBuffer, - printer: &'a mut Printer, - grep: &'a Grep, - path: &'a Path, - haystack: R, - match_line_count: u64, - match_count: Option, - line_count: Option, - byte_offset: Option, - last_match: Match, - last_printed: usize, - last_line: usize, - after_context_remaining: usize, -} - -/// Options for configuring search. -#[derive(Clone)] -pub struct Options { - pub after_context: usize, - pub before_context: usize, - pub byte_offset: bool, - pub count: bool, - pub count_matches: bool, - pub files_with_matches: bool, - pub files_without_matches: bool, - pub eol: u8, - pub invert_match: bool, - pub line_number: bool, - pub max_count: Option, - pub quiet: bool, - pub text: bool, -} - -impl Default for Options { - fn default() -> Options { - Options { - after_context: 0, - before_context: 0, - byte_offset: false, - count: false, - count_matches: false, - files_with_matches: false, - files_without_matches: false, - eol: b'\n', - invert_match: false, - line_number: false, - max_count: None, - quiet: false, - text: false, - } - } - -} - -impl Options { - /// Several options (--quiet, --count, --count-matches, --files-with-matches, - /// --files-without-match) imply that we shouldn't ever display matches. - pub fn skip_matches(&self) -> bool { - self.count || self.files_with_matches || self.files_without_matches - || self.quiet || self.count_matches - } - - /// Some options (--quiet, --files-with-matches, --files-without-match) - /// imply that we can stop searching after the first match. - pub fn stop_after_first_match(&self) -> bool { - self.files_with_matches || self.files_without_matches || self.quiet - } - - /// Returns true if the search should terminate based on the match line count. - pub fn terminate(&self, match_line_count: u64) -> bool { - if match_line_count > 0 && self.stop_after_first_match() { - return true; - } - if self.max_count.map_or(false, |max| match_line_count >= max) { - return true; - } - false - } -} - -impl<'a, R: io::Read, W: WriteColor> Searcher<'a, R, W> { - /// Create a new searcher. - /// - /// `inp` is a reusable input buffer that is used as scratch space by this - /// searcher. - /// - /// `printer` is used to output all results of searching. - /// - /// `grep` is the actual matcher. - /// - /// `path` is the file path being searched. - /// - /// `haystack` is a reader of text to search. - pub fn new( - inp: &'a mut InputBuffer, - printer: &'a mut Printer, - grep: &'a Grep, - path: &'a Path, - haystack: R, - ) -> Searcher<'a, R, W> { - Searcher { - opts: Options::default(), - inp: inp, - printer: printer, - grep: grep, - path: path, - haystack: haystack, - match_line_count: 0, - match_count: None, - line_count: None, - byte_offset: None, - last_match: Match::default(), - last_printed: 0, - last_line: 0, - after_context_remaining: 0, - } - } - - /// The number of contextual lines to show after each match. The default - /// is zero. - pub fn after_context(mut self, count: usize) -> Self { - self.opts.after_context = count; - self - } - - /// The number of contextual lines to show before each match. The default - /// is zero. - pub fn before_context(mut self, count: usize) -> Self { - self.opts.before_context = count; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print a 0-based offset of the - /// matching line (or the actual match if -o is specified) before - /// printing the line itself. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn byte_offset(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.byte_offset = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print a count instead of each match. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn count(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.count = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print the count of individual matches - /// instead of each match. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn count_matches(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.count_matches = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print the path instead of each match. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn files_with_matches(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.files_with_matches = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print the path of files without any matches. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn files_without_matches(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.files_without_matches = yes; - self - } - - /// Set the end-of-line byte used by this searcher. - pub fn eol(mut self, eol: u8) -> Self { - self.opts.eol = eol; - self - } - - /// If enabled, matching is inverted so that lines that *don't* match the - /// given pattern are treated as matches. - pub fn invert_match(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.invert_match = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, compute line numbers and prefix each line of output with - /// them. - pub fn line_number(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.line_number = yes; - self - } - - /// Limit the number of matches to the given count. - /// - /// The default is None, which corresponds to no limit. - pub fn max_count(mut self, count: Option) -> Self { - self.opts.max_count = count; - self - } - - /// If enabled, don't show any output and quit searching after the first - /// match is found. - pub fn quiet(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.quiet = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, search binary files as if they were text. - pub fn text(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.text = yes; - self.inp.text(yes); - self - } - - /// Execute the search. Results are written to the printer and the total - /// number of matches is returned. - #[inline(never)] - pub fn run(mut self) -> Result { - self.inp.reset(); - self.match_line_count = 0; - self.line_count = if self.opts.line_number { Some(0) } else { None }; - self.byte_offset = if self.opts.byte_offset { Some(0) } else { None }; - self.match_count = if self.opts.count_matches { Some(0) } else { None }; - self.last_match = Match::default(); - self.after_context_remaining = 0; - while !self.terminate() { - let upto = self.inp.lastnl; - self.print_after_context(upto); - if !self.fill()? { - break; - } - while !self.terminate() && self.inp.pos < self.inp.lastnl { - let matched = self.grep.read_match( - &mut self.last_match, - &self.inp.buf[..self.inp.lastnl], - self.inp.pos); - if self.opts.invert_match { - let upto = - if matched { - self.last_match.start() - } else { - self.inp.lastnl - }; - if upto > self.inp.pos { - let upto_context = self.inp.pos; - self.print_after_context(upto_context); - self.print_before_context(upto_context); - self.print_inverted_matches(upto); - } - } else if matched { - let start = self.last_match.start(); - let end = self.last_match.end(); - self.print_after_context(start); - self.print_before_context(start); - self.print_match(start, end); - } - if matched { - self.inp.pos = self.last_match.end(); - } else { - self.inp.pos = self.inp.lastnl; - } - } - } - if self.after_context_remaining > 0 { - if self.last_printed == self.inp.lastnl { - self.fill()?; - } - let upto = self.inp.lastnl; - if upto > 0 { - self.print_after_context(upto); - } - } - if self.match_line_count > 0 { - if self.opts.count { - self.printer.path_count(self.path, self.match_line_count); - } else if self.opts.count_matches { - self.printer.path_count(self.path, self.match_count.unwrap()); - } else if self.opts.files_with_matches { - self.printer.path(self.path); - } - } else if self.opts.files_without_matches { - self.printer.path(self.path); - } - Ok(self.match_line_count) - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn terminate(&self) -> bool { - self.opts.terminate(self.match_line_count) - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn fill(&mut self) -> Result { - let keep = - if self.opts.before_context > 0 || self.opts.after_context > 0 { - let lines = 1 + cmp::max( - self.opts.before_context, self.opts.after_context); - start_of_previous_lines( - self.opts.eol, - &self.inp.buf, - self.inp.lastnl.saturating_sub(1), - lines) - } else { - self.inp.lastnl - }; - if keep < self.last_printed { - self.last_printed -= keep; - } else { - self.last_printed = 0; - } - if keep <= self.last_line { - self.last_line -= keep; - } else { - self.count_lines(keep); - self.last_line = 0; - } - self.count_byte_offset(keep); - let ok = self.inp.fill(&mut self.haystack, keep).map_err(|err| { - Error::from_io(err, &self.path) - })?; - Ok(ok) - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn print_inverted_matches(&mut self, upto: usize) { - debug_assert!(self.opts.invert_match); - let mut it = IterLines::new(self.opts.eol, self.inp.pos); - while let Some((start, end)) = it.next(&self.inp.buf[..upto]) { - if self.terminate() { - return; - } - self.print_match(start, end); - self.inp.pos = end; - } - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn print_before_context(&mut self, upto: usize) { - if self.opts.skip_matches() || self.opts.before_context == 0 { - return; - } - let start = self.last_printed; - let end = upto; - if start >= end { - return; - } - let before_context_start = - start + start_of_previous_lines( - self.opts.eol, - &self.inp.buf[start..], - end - start - 1, - self.opts.before_context); - let mut it = IterLines::new(self.opts.eol, before_context_start); - while let Some((s, e)) = it.next(&self.inp.buf[..end]) { - self.print_separator(s); - self.print_context(s, e); - } - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn print_after_context(&mut self, upto: usize) { - if self.opts.skip_matches() || self.after_context_remaining == 0 { - return; - } - let start = self.last_printed; - let end = upto; - let mut it = IterLines::new(self.opts.eol, start); - while let Some((s, e)) = it.next(&self.inp.buf[..end]) { - self.print_context(s, e); - self.after_context_remaining -= 1; - if self.after_context_remaining == 0 { - break; - } - } - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn print_match(&mut self, start: usize, end: usize) { - self.match_line_count += 1; - self.count_individual_matches(start, end); - if self.opts.skip_matches() { - return; - } - self.print_separator(start); - self.count_lines(start); - self.add_line(end); - self.printer.matched( - self.grep.regex(), self.path, - &self.inp.buf, start, end, self.line_count, self.byte_offset); - self.last_printed = end; - self.after_context_remaining = self.opts.after_context; - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn print_context(&mut self, start: usize, end: usize) { - self.count_lines(start); - self.add_line(end); - self.printer.context( - &self.path, &self.inp.buf, start, end, - self.line_count, self.byte_offset); - self.last_printed = end; - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn print_separator(&mut self, before: usize) { - if self.opts.before_context == 0 && self.opts.after_context == 0 { - return; - } - if !self.printer.has_printed() { - return; - } - if (self.last_printed == 0 && before > 0) - || self.last_printed < before { - self.printer.context_separate(); - } - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn count_byte_offset(&mut self, buf_last_end: usize) { - if let Some(ref mut byte_offset) = self.byte_offset { - *byte_offset += buf_last_end as u64; - } - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn count_individual_matches(&mut self, start: usize, end: usize) { - if let Some(ref mut count) = self.match_count { - for _ in self.grep.regex().find_iter(&self.inp.buf[start..end]) { - *count += 1; - } - } - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn count_lines(&mut self, upto: usize) { - if let Some(ref mut line_count) = self.line_count { - *line_count += count_lines( - &self.inp.buf[self.last_line..upto], self.opts.eol); - self.last_line = upto; - } - } - - #[inline(always)] - fn add_line(&mut self, line_end: usize) { - if let Some(ref mut line_count) = self.line_count { - *line_count += 1; - self.last_line = line_end; - } - } -} - -/// `InputBuffer` encapsulates the logic of maintaining a ~fixed sized buffer -/// on which to search. There are three key pieces of complexity: -/// -/// 1. We must be able to handle lines that are longer than the size of the -/// buffer. For this reason, the buffer is allowed to expand (and is -/// therefore not technically fixed). Note that once a buffer expands, it -/// will never contract. -/// 2. The contents of the buffer may end with a partial line, so we must keep -/// track of where the last complete line ends. Namely, the partial line -/// is only completed on subsequent reads *after* searching up through -/// the last complete line is done. -/// 3. When printing the context of a match, the last N lines of the buffer -/// may need to be rolled over into the next buffer. For example, a match -/// may occur at the beginning of a buffer, in which case, lines at the end -/// of the previous contents of the buffer need to be printed. -/// -/// An `InputBuffer` is designed to be reused and isn't tied to any particular -/// reader. -pub struct InputBuffer { - /// The number of bytes to attempt to read at a time. Once set, this is - /// never changed. - read_size: usize, - /// The end-of-line terminator used in this buffer. - eol: u8, - /// A scratch buffer. - tmp: Vec, - /// A buffer to read bytes into. All searches are executed directly against - /// this buffer and pos/lastnl/end point into it. - buf: Vec, - /// The current position in buf. The current position represents where the - /// next search should start. - pos: usize, - /// The position immediately following the last line terminator in buf. - /// This may be equal to end. - /// - /// Searching should never cross this boundary. In particular, the contents - /// of the buffer following this position may correspond to *partial* line. - /// All contents before this position are complete lines. - lastnl: usize, - /// The end position of the buffer. Data after this position is not - /// specified. - end: usize, - /// Set to true if and only if no reads have occurred yet. - first: bool, - /// Set to true if all binary data should be treated as if it were text. - text: bool, -} - -impl InputBuffer { - /// Create a new buffer with a default capacity. - pub fn new() -> InputBuffer { - InputBuffer::with_capacity(READ_SIZE) - } - - /// Create a new buffer with the capacity given. - /// - /// The capacity determines the size of each read from the underlying - /// reader. - /// - /// `cap` must be a minimum of `1`. - pub fn with_capacity(mut cap: usize) -> InputBuffer { - if cap == 0 { - cap = 1; - } - InputBuffer { - read_size: cap, - eol: b'\n', - buf: vec![0; cap], - tmp: vec![], - pos: 0, - lastnl: 0, - end: 0, - first: true, - text: false, - } - } - - /// Set the end-of-line terminator used by this input buffer. - pub fn eol(&mut self, eol: u8) -> &mut Self { - self.eol = eol; - self - } - - /// If enabled, search binary files as if they were text. - /// - /// Note that this may cause the buffer to load the entire contents of a - /// file into memory. - pub fn text(&mut self, yes: bool) -> &mut Self { - self.text = yes; - self - } - - /// Resets this buffer so that it may be reused with a new reader. - fn reset(&mut self) { - self.pos = 0; - self.lastnl = 0; - self.end = 0; - self.first = true; - } - - /// Fill the contents of this buffer with the reader given. The reader - /// given should be the same in every call to fill unless reset has been - /// called. - /// - /// The bytes in buf[keep_from..end] are rolled over into the beginning - /// of the buffer. - fn fill( - &mut self, - rdr: &mut R, - keep_from: usize, - ) -> Result { - // Rollover bytes from buf[keep_from..end] and update our various - // pointers. N.B. This could be done with the ptr::copy, but I haven't - // been able to produce a benchmark that notices a difference in - // performance. (Invariably, ptr::copy is seems clearer IMO, but it is - // not safe.) - self.tmp.clear(); - self.tmp.extend_from_slice(&self.buf[keep_from..self.end]); - self.buf[0..self.tmp.len()].copy_from_slice(&self.tmp); - self.pos = self.lastnl - keep_from; - self.lastnl = 0; - self.end = self.tmp.len(); - while self.lastnl == 0 { - // If our buffer isn't big enough to hold the contents of a full - // read, expand it. - if self.buf.len() - self.end < self.read_size { - let min_len = self.read_size + self.buf.len() - self.end; - let new_len = cmp::max(min_len, self.buf.len() * 2); - self.buf.resize(new_len, 0); - } - let n = rdr.read( - &mut self.buf[self.end..self.end + self.read_size])?; - if !self.text { - if is_binary(&self.buf[self.end..self.end + n], self.first) { - return Ok(false); - } - } - self.first = false; - // We assume that reading 0 bytes means we've hit EOF. - if n == 0 { - // If we've searched everything up to the end of the buffer, - // then there's nothing left to do. - if self.end - self.pos == 0 { - return Ok(false); - } - // Even if we hit EOF, we might still have to search the - // last line if it didn't contain a trailing terminator. - self.lastnl = self.end; - break; - } - self.lastnl = - memrchr(self.eol, &self.buf[self.end..self.end + n]) - .map(|i| self.end + i + 1) - .unwrap_or(0); - self.end += n; - } - Ok(true) - } -} - -/// Returns true if and only if the given buffer is determined to be "binary" -/// or otherwise not contain text data that is usefully searchable. -/// -/// Note that this may return both false positives and false negatives. -#[inline(always)] -pub fn is_binary(buf: &[u8], first: bool) -> bool { - if first && buf.len() >= 4 && &buf[0..4] == b"%PDF" { - return true; - } - memchr(b'\x00', buf).is_some() -} - -/// Count the number of lines in the given buffer. -#[inline(never)] -pub fn count_lines(buf: &[u8], eol: u8) -> u64 { - bytecount::count(buf, eol) as u64 -} - -/// Replaces a with b in buf. -#[allow(dead_code)] -fn replace_buf(buf: &mut [u8], a: u8, b: u8) { - if a == b { - return; - } - let mut pos = 0; - while let Some(i) = memchr(a, &buf[pos..]).map(|i| pos + i) { - buf[i] = b; - pos = i + 1; - while buf.get(pos) == Some(&a) { - buf[pos] = b; - pos += 1; - } - } -} - -/// An "iterator" over lines in a particular buffer. -/// -/// Idiomatic Rust would borrow the buffer and use it as internal state to -/// advance over the positions of each line. We neglect that approach to avoid -/// the borrow in the search code. (Because the borrow prevents composition -/// through other mutable methods.) -pub struct IterLines { - eol: u8, - pos: usize, -} - -impl IterLines { - /// Creates a new iterator over lines starting at the position given. - /// - /// The buffer is passed to the `next` method. - #[inline(always)] - pub fn new(eol: u8, start: usize) -> IterLines { - IterLines { - eol: eol, - pos: start, - } - } - - /// Return the start and end position of the next line in the buffer. The - /// buffer given should be the same on every call. - /// - /// The range returned includes the new line. - #[inline(always)] - pub fn next(&mut self, buf: &[u8]) -> Option<(usize, usize)> { - match memchr(self.eol, &buf[self.pos..]) { - None => { - if self.pos < buf.len() { - let start = self.pos; - self.pos = buf.len(); - Some((start, buf.len())) - } else { - None - } - } - Some(end) => { - let start = self.pos; - let end = self.pos + end + 1; - self.pos = end; - Some((start, end)) - } - } - } -} - -/// Returns the starting index of the Nth line preceding `end`. -/// -/// If `buf` is empty, then `0` is returned. If `count` is `0`, then `end` is -/// returned. -/// -/// If `end` points at a new line in `buf`, then searching starts as if `end` -/// pointed immediately before the new line. -/// -/// The position returned corresponds to the first byte in the given line. -#[inline(always)] -fn start_of_previous_lines( - eol: u8, - buf: &[u8], - mut end: usize, - mut count: usize, -) -> usize { - // TODO(burntsushi): This function needs to be badly simplified. The case - // analysis is impossible to follow. - if buf[..end].is_empty() { - return 0; - } - if count == 0 { - return end; - } - if end == buf.len() { - end -= 1; - } - if buf[end] == eol { - if end == 0 { - return end + 1; - } - end -= 1; - } - while count > 0 { - if buf[end] == eol { - count -= 1; - if count == 0 { - return end + 1; - } - if end == 0 { - return end; - } - end -= 1; - continue; - } - match memrchr(eol, &buf[..end]) { - None => { - return 0; - } - Some(i) => { - count -= 1; - end = i; - if end == 0 { - if buf[end] == eol && count == 0 { - end += 1; - } - return end; - } - end -= 1; - } - } - } - end + 2 -} - -#[cfg(test)] -mod tests { - use std::io; - use std::path::Path; - - use grep::GrepBuilder; - use printer::Printer; - use termcolor; - - use super::{InputBuffer, Searcher, start_of_previous_lines}; - - const SHERLOCK: &'static str = "\ -For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -and exhibited clearly, with a label attached.\ -"; - - const CODE: &'static str = "\ -extern crate snap; - -use std::io; - -fn main() { - let stdin = io::stdin(); - let stdout = io::stdout(); - - // Wrap the stdin reader in a Snappy reader. - let mut rdr = snap::Reader::new(stdin.lock()); - let mut wtr = stdout.lock(); - io::copy(&mut rdr, &mut wtr).expect(\"I/O operation failed\"); -} -"; - - fn hay(s: &str) -> io::Cursor> { - io::Cursor::new(s.to_string().into_bytes()) - } - - fn test_path() -> &'static Path { - &Path::new("/baz.rs") - } - - type TestSearcher<'a> = Searcher< - 'a, - io::Cursor>, - termcolor::NoColor>, - >; - - fn search_smallcap TestSearcher>( - pat: &str, - haystack: &str, - mut map: F, - ) -> (u64, String) { - let mut inp = InputBuffer::with_capacity(1); - let outbuf = termcolor::NoColor::new(vec![]); - let mut pp = Printer::new(outbuf).with_filename(true); - let grep = GrepBuilder::new(pat).build().unwrap(); - let count = { - let searcher = Searcher::new( - &mut inp, &mut pp, &grep, test_path(), hay(haystack)); - map(searcher).run().unwrap() - }; - (count, String::from_utf8(pp.into_inner().into_inner()).unwrap()) - } - - fn search TestSearcher>( - pat: &str, - haystack: &str, - mut map: F, - ) -> (u64, String) { - let mut inp = InputBuffer::with_capacity(4096); - let outbuf = termcolor::NoColor::new(vec![]); - let mut pp = Printer::new(outbuf).with_filename(true); - let grep = GrepBuilder::new(pat).build().unwrap(); - let count = { - let searcher = Searcher::new( - &mut inp, &mut pp, &grep, test_path(), hay(haystack)); - map(searcher).run().unwrap() - }; - (count, String::from_utf8(pp.into_inner().into_inner()).unwrap()) - } - - #[test] - fn previous_lines() { - let eol = b'\n'; - let text = SHERLOCK.as_bytes(); - assert_eq!(366, text.len()); - - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 366, 100)); - assert_eq!(366, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 366, 0)); - - assert_eq!(321, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 366, 1)); - assert_eq!(321, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 365, 1)); - assert_eq!(321, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 364, 1)); - assert_eq!(321, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 322, 1)); - assert_eq!(321, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 321, 1)); - assert_eq!(258, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 320, 1)); - - assert_eq!(258, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 366, 2)); - assert_eq!(258, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 365, 2)); - assert_eq!(258, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 364, 2)); - assert_eq!(258, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 322, 2)); - assert_eq!(258, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 321, 2)); - assert_eq!(193, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 320, 2)); - - assert_eq!(65, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 66, 1)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 66, 2)); - assert_eq!(64, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 64, 0)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 64, 1)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 64, 2)); - - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 0, 2)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 0, 1)); - } - - #[test] - fn previous_lines_short() { - let eol = b'\n'; - let text = &b"a\nb\nc\nd\ne\nf\n"[..]; - assert_eq!(12, text.len()); - - assert_eq!(10, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 12, 1)); - assert_eq!(8, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 12, 2)); - assert_eq!(6, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 12, 3)); - assert_eq!(4, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 12, 4)); - assert_eq!(2, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 12, 5)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 12, 6)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 12, 7)); - assert_eq!(10, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 11, 1)); - assert_eq!(8, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 11, 2)); - assert_eq!(6, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 11, 3)); - assert_eq!(4, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 11, 4)); - assert_eq!(2, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 11, 5)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 11, 6)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 11, 7)); - assert_eq!(10, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 1)); - assert_eq!(8, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 2)); - assert_eq!(6, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 3)); - assert_eq!(4, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 4)); - assert_eq!(2, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 5)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 6)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 7)); - - assert_eq!(8, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 9, 1)); - assert_eq!(8, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 8, 1)); - - assert_eq!(6, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 7, 1)); - assert_eq!(6, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 6, 1)); - - assert_eq!(4, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 5, 1)); - assert_eq!(4, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 4, 1)); - - assert_eq!(2, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 3, 1)); - assert_eq!(2, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 2, 1)); - - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 1, 1)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 0, 1)); - } - - #[test] - fn previous_lines_empty() { - let eol = b'\n'; - let text = &b"\n\n\nd\ne\nf\n"[..]; - assert_eq!(9, text.len()); - - assert_eq!(7, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 9, 1)); - assert_eq!(5, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 9, 2)); - assert_eq!(3, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 9, 3)); - assert_eq!(2, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 9, 4)); - assert_eq!(1, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 9, 5)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 9, 6)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 9, 7)); - - let text = &b"a\n\n\nd\ne\nf\n"[..]; - assert_eq!(10, text.len()); - - assert_eq!(8, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 1)); - assert_eq!(6, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 2)); - assert_eq!(4, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 3)); - assert_eq!(3, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 4)); - assert_eq!(2, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 5)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 6)); - assert_eq!(0, start_of_previous_lines(eol, text, 10, 7)); - } - - #[test] - fn basic_search1() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s|s); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -"); - } - - #[test] - fn binary() { - let text = "Sherlock\n\x00Holmes\n"; - let (count, out) = search("Sherlock|Holmes", text, |s|s); - assert_eq!(0, count); - assert_eq!(out, ""); - } - - #[test] - fn binary_text() { - let text = "Sherlock\n\x00Holmes\n"; - let (count, out) = search("Sherlock|Holmes", text, |s| s.text(true)); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs:Sherlock\n/baz.rs:\x00Holmes\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn line_numbers() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.line_number(true)); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs:3:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -"); - } - - #[test] - fn count() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.count(true)); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs:2\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn byte_offset() { - let (_, out) = search_smallcap( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.byte_offset(true)); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:0:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs:129:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -"); - } - - #[test] - fn byte_offset_with_before_context() { - let (_, out) = search_smallcap("dusted", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).byte_offset(true).before_context(2) - }); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs-3-129-be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -/baz.rs-4-193-can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:5:258:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -"); - } - - #[test] - fn byte_offset_inverted() { - let (_, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.invert_match(true).byte_offset(true) - }); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:65:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:193:can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:258:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs:321:and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn count_matches() { - let (_, out) = search_smallcap( - "the", SHERLOCK, |s| s.count_matches(true)); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs:4\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn files_with_matches() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.files_with_matches(true)); - assert_eq!(1, count); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn files_without_matches() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap( - "zzzz", SHERLOCK, |s| s.files_without_matches(true)); - assert_eq!(0, count); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn max_count() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.max_count(Some(1))); - assert_eq!(1, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -"); - } - - #[test] - fn invert_match_max_count() { - let (count, out) = search( - "zzzz", SHERLOCK, |s| s.invert_match(true).max_count(Some(1))); - assert_eq!(1, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -"); - } - - #[test] - fn invert_match() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap( - "Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| s.invert_match(true)); - assert_eq!(4, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs:and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn invert_match_line_numbers() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.invert_match(true).line_number(true) - }); - assert_eq!(4, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:2:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:4:can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:5:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs:6:and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn invert_match_count() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.invert_match(true).count(true) - }); - assert_eq!(4, count); - assert_eq!(out, "/baz.rs:4\n"); - } - - #[test] - fn before_context_one1() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).before_context(1) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs-2-Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:3:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -"); - } - - #[test] - fn before_context_invert_one1() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).before_context(1).invert_match(true) - }); - assert_eq!(4, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs-1-For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs:2:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs-3-be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -/baz.rs:4:can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:5:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs:6:and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn before_context_invert_one2() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap(" a ", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).before_context(1).invert_match(true) - }); - assert_eq!(3, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs:2:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always --- -/baz.rs-4-can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:5:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -"); - } - - #[test] - fn before_context_two1() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).before_context(2) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs-2-Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:3:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -"); - } - - #[test] - fn before_context_two2() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("dusted", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).before_context(2) - }); - assert_eq!(1, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs-3-be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -/baz.rs-4-can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:5:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -"); - } - - #[test] - fn before_context_two3() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap( - "success|attached", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).before_context(2) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs-1-For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs:2:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always --- -/baz.rs-4-can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs-5-but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs:6:and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn before_context_two4() { - let (count, out) = search("stdin", CODE, |s| { - s.line_number(true).before_context(2) - }); - assert_eq!(3, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs-4- -/baz.rs-5-fn main() { -/baz.rs:6: let stdin = io::stdin(); -/baz.rs-7- let stdout = io::stdout(); -/baz.rs-8- -/baz.rs:9: // Wrap the stdin reader in a Snappy reader. -/baz.rs:10: let mut rdr = snap::Reader::new(stdin.lock()); -"); - } - - #[test] - fn before_context_two5() { - let (count, out) = search("stdout", CODE, |s| { - s.line_number(true).before_context(2) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs-5-fn main() { -/baz.rs-6- let stdin = io::stdin(); -/baz.rs:7: let stdout = io::stdout(); --- -/baz.rs-9- // Wrap the stdin reader in a Snappy reader. -/baz.rs-10- let mut rdr = snap::Reader::new(stdin.lock()); -/baz.rs:11: let mut wtr = stdout.lock(); -"); - } - - #[test] - fn before_context_three1() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).before_context(3) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs-2-Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:3:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -"); - } - - #[test] - fn after_context_one1() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).after_context(1) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs-2-Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:3:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -/baz.rs-4-can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -"); - } - - #[test] - fn after_context_invert_one1() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).after_context(1).invert_match(true) - }); - assert_eq!(4, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:2:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs-3-be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -/baz.rs:4:can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs:5:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs:6:and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn after_context_invert_one2() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap(" a ", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).after_context(1).invert_match(true) - }); - assert_eq!(3, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs:2:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs-3-be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes --- -/baz.rs:5:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs-6-and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn after_context_invert_one_max_count_two() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true) - .invert_match(true) - .after_context(1) - .max_count(Some(2)) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:2:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs-3-be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -/baz.rs:4:can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs-5-but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -"); - } - - #[test] - fn after_context_two1() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).after_context(2) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs-2-Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:3:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -/baz.rs-4-can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs-5-but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -"); - } - - #[test] - fn after_context_two2() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("dusted", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).after_context(2) - }); - assert_eq!(1, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:5:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs-6-and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn after_context_two3() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap( - "success|attached", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).after_context(2) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:2:Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs-3-be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -/baz.rs-4-can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; --- -/baz.rs:6:and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn after_context_two_max_count_two() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap( - "Doctor", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).after_context(2).max_count(Some(2)) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs-2-Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs-3-be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes --- -/baz.rs:5:but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs-6-and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn after_context_three1() { - let (count, out) = search_smallcap("Sherlock", SHERLOCK, |s| { - s.line_number(true).after_context(3) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs:1:For the Doctor Watsons of this world, as opposed to the Sherlock -/baz.rs-2-Holmeses, success in the province of detective work must always -/baz.rs:3:be, to a very large extent, the result of luck. Sherlock Holmes -/baz.rs-4-can extract a clew from a wisp of straw or a flake of cigar ash; -/baz.rs-5-but Doctor Watson has to have it taken out for him and dusted, -/baz.rs-6-and exhibited clearly, with a label attached. -"); - } - - #[test] - fn before_after_context_two1() { - let (count, out) = search( - r"fn main|let mut rdr", CODE, |s| { - s.line_number(true).after_context(2).before_context(2) - }); - assert_eq!(2, count); - assert_eq!(out, "\ -/baz.rs-3-use std::io; -/baz.rs-4- -/baz.rs:5:fn main() { -/baz.rs-6- let stdin = io::stdin(); -/baz.rs-7- let stdout = io::stdout(); -/baz.rs-8- -/baz.rs-9- // Wrap the stdin reader in a Snappy reader. -/baz.rs:10: let mut rdr = snap::Reader::new(stdin.lock()); -/baz.rs-11- let mut wtr = stdout.lock(); -/baz.rs-12- io::copy(&mut rdr, &mut wtr).expect(\"I/O operation failed\"); -"); - } -} diff --git a/src/worker.rs b/src/worker.rs deleted file mode 100644 index cd8b81d2..00000000 --- a/src/worker.rs +++ /dev/null @@ -1,397 +0,0 @@ -use std::fs::File; -use std::io; -use std::path::{Path, PathBuf}; - -use encoding_rs::Encoding; -use grep::Grep; -use ignore::DirEntry; -use memmap::Mmap; -use termcolor::WriteColor; - -// use decoder::DecodeReader; -use encoding_rs_io::DecodeReaderBytesBuilder; -use decompressor::{self, DecompressionReader}; -use preprocessor::PreprocessorReader; -use pathutil::strip_prefix; -use printer::Printer; -use search_buffer::BufferSearcher; -use search_stream::{InputBuffer, Searcher}; - -use Result; - -pub enum Work { - Stdin, - DirEntry(DirEntry), -} - -pub struct WorkerBuilder { - grep: Grep, - opts: Options, -} - -#[derive(Clone, Debug)] -struct Options { - mmap: bool, - encoding: Option<&'static Encoding>, - after_context: usize, - before_context: usize, - byte_offset: bool, - count: bool, - count_matches: bool, - files_with_matches: bool, - files_without_matches: bool, - eol: u8, - invert_match: bool, - line_number: bool, - max_count: Option, - quiet: bool, - text: bool, - preprocessor: Option, - search_zip_files: bool -} - -impl Default for Options { - fn default() -> Options { - Options { - mmap: false, - encoding: None, - after_context: 0, - before_context: 0, - byte_offset: false, - count: false, - count_matches: false, - files_with_matches: false, - files_without_matches: false, - eol: b'\n', - invert_match: false, - line_number: false, - max_count: None, - quiet: false, - text: false, - search_zip_files: false, - preprocessor: None, - } - } -} - -impl WorkerBuilder { - /// Create a new builder for a worker. - /// - /// A reusable input buffer and a grep matcher are required, but there - /// are numerous additional options that can be configured on this builder. - pub fn new(grep: Grep) -> WorkerBuilder { - WorkerBuilder { - grep: grep, - opts: Options::default(), - } - } - - /// Create the worker from this builder. - pub fn build(self) -> Worker { - let mut inpbuf = InputBuffer::new(); - inpbuf.eol(self.opts.eol); - Worker { - grep: self.grep, - inpbuf: inpbuf, - decodebuf: vec![0; 8 * (1<<10)], - opts: self.opts, - } - } - - /// The number of contextual lines to show after each match. The default - /// is zero. - pub fn after_context(mut self, count: usize) -> Self { - self.opts.after_context = count; - self - } - - /// The number of contextual lines to show before each match. The default - /// is zero. - pub fn before_context(mut self, count: usize) -> Self { - self.opts.before_context = count; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print a 0-based offset of the - /// matching line (or the actual match if -o is specified) before - /// printing the line itself. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn byte_offset(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.byte_offset = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print a count instead of each match. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn count(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.count = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print the count of individual matches - /// instead of each match. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn count_matches(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.count_matches = yes; - self - } - - /// Set the encoding to use to read each file. - /// - /// If the encoding is `None` (the default), then the encoding is - /// automatically detected on a best-effort per-file basis. - pub fn encoding(mut self, enc: Option<&'static Encoding>) -> Self { - self.opts.encoding = enc; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print the path instead of each match. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn files_with_matches(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.files_with_matches = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, searching will print the path of files without any matches. - /// - /// Disabled by default. - pub fn files_without_matches(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.files_without_matches = yes; - self - } - - /// Set the end-of-line byte used by this searcher. - pub fn eol(mut self, eol: u8) -> Self { - self.opts.eol = eol; - self - } - - /// If enabled, matching is inverted so that lines that *don't* match the - /// given pattern are treated as matches. - pub fn invert_match(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.invert_match = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, compute line numbers and prefix each line of output with - /// them. - pub fn line_number(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.line_number = yes; - self - } - - /// Limit the number of matches to the given count. - /// - /// The default is None, which corresponds to no limit. - pub fn max_count(mut self, count: Option) -> Self { - self.opts.max_count = count; - self - } - - /// If enabled, try to use memory maps for searching if possible. - pub fn mmap(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.mmap = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, don't show any output and quit searching after the first - /// match is found. - pub fn quiet(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.quiet = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, search binary files as if they were text. - pub fn text(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.text = yes; - self - } - - /// If enabled, search through compressed files as well - pub fn search_zip_files(mut self, yes: bool) -> Self { - self.opts.search_zip_files = yes; - self - } - - /// If non-empty, search output of preprocessor run on each file - pub fn preprocessor(mut self, command: Option) -> Self { - self.opts.preprocessor = command; - self - } -} - -/// Worker is responsible for executing searches on file paths, while choosing -/// streaming search or memory map search as appropriate. -pub struct Worker { - grep: Grep, - inpbuf: InputBuffer, - decodebuf: Vec, - opts: Options, -} - -impl Worker { - /// Execute the worker with the given printer and work item. - /// - /// A work item can either be stdin or a file path. - pub fn run( - &mut self, - printer: &mut Printer, - work: Work, - ) -> u64 { - let result = match work { - Work::Stdin => { - let stdin = io::stdin(); - let stdin = stdin.lock(); - self.search(printer, Path::new(""), stdin) - } - Work::DirEntry(dent) => { - let mut path = dent.path(); - if self.opts.preprocessor.is_some() { - let cmd = self.opts.preprocessor.clone().unwrap(); - match PreprocessorReader::from_cmd_path(cmd, path) { - Ok(reader) => self.search(printer, path, reader), - Err(err) => { - message!("{}", err); - return 0; - } - } - } else if self.opts.search_zip_files - && decompressor::is_compressed(path) - { - match DecompressionReader::from_path(path) { - Some(reader) => self.search(printer, path, reader), - None => { - return 0; - } - } - } else { - let file = match File::open(path) { - Ok(file) => file, - Err(err) => { - message!("{}: {}", path.display(), err); - return 0; - } - }; - if let Some(p) = strip_prefix("./", path) { - path = p; - } - if self.opts.mmap { - self.search_mmap(printer, path, &file) - } else { - self.search(printer, path, file) - } - } - } - }; - match result { - Ok(count) => { - count - } - Err(err) => { - message!("{}", err); - 0 - } - } - } - - fn search( - &mut self, - printer: &mut Printer, - path: &Path, - rdr: R, - ) -> Result { - let rdr = DecodeReaderBytesBuilder::new() - .encoding(self.opts.encoding) - .utf8_passthru(true) - .build_with_buffer(rdr, &mut self.decodebuf)?; - let searcher = Searcher::new( - &mut self.inpbuf, printer, &self.grep, path, rdr); - searcher - .after_context(self.opts.after_context) - .before_context(self.opts.before_context) - .byte_offset(self.opts.byte_offset) - .count(self.opts.count) - .count_matches(self.opts.count_matches) - .files_with_matches(self.opts.files_with_matches) - .files_without_matches(self.opts.files_without_matches) - .eol(self.opts.eol) - .line_number(self.opts.line_number) - .invert_match(self.opts.invert_match) - .max_count(self.opts.max_count) - .quiet(self.opts.quiet) - .text(self.opts.text) - .run() - .map_err(From::from) - } - - fn search_mmap( - &mut self, - printer: &mut Printer, - path: &Path, - file: &File, - ) -> Result { - if file.metadata()?.len() == 0 { - // Opening a memory map with an empty file results in an error. - // However, this may not actually be an empty file! For example, - // /proc/cpuinfo reports itself as an empty file, but it can - // produce data when it's read from. Therefore, we fall back to - // regular read calls. - return self.search(printer, path, file); - } - let mmap = match self.mmap(file)? { - None => return self.search(printer, path, file), - Some(mmap) => mmap, - }; - let buf = &*mmap; - if buf.len() >= 3 && Encoding::for_bom(buf).is_some() { - // If we have a UTF-16 bom in our memory map, then we need to fall - // back to the stream reader, which will do transcoding. - return self.search(printer, path, file); - } - let searcher = BufferSearcher::new(printer, &self.grep, path, buf); - Ok(searcher - .byte_offset(self.opts.byte_offset) - .count(self.opts.count) - .count_matches(self.opts.count_matches) - .files_with_matches(self.opts.files_with_matches) - .files_without_matches(self.opts.files_without_matches) - .eol(self.opts.eol) - .line_number(self.opts.line_number) - .invert_match(self.opts.invert_match) - .max_count(self.opts.max_count) - .quiet(self.opts.quiet) - .text(self.opts.text) - .run()) - } - - #[cfg(not(unix))] - fn mmap(&self, file: &File) -> Result> { - Ok(Some(mmap_readonly(file)?)) - } - - #[cfg(unix)] - fn mmap(&self, file: &File) -> Result> { - use libc::{EOVERFLOW, ENODEV, ENOMEM}; - - let err = match mmap_readonly(file) { - Ok(mmap) => return Ok(Some(mmap)), - Err(err) => err, - }; - let code = err.raw_os_error(); - if code == Some(EOVERFLOW) - || code == Some(ENODEV) - || code == Some(ENOMEM) - { - return Ok(None); - } - Err(From::from(err)) - } -} - -fn mmap_readonly(file: &File) -> io::Result { - unsafe { Mmap::map(file) } -}