Hetookthetime（Pacific）byhiswatch，correctingitforlocaltime。
　　Hepacedoffthedistancefromthecabinsitetothecorpse，andcorrectedthatfortidaldifferentiation。Hetookthealtitudewithapocket—aneroid，andthetemperaturewithapocket—thermometer。Finallyhesaid，withastatelybow:
　　"Itisfinished。Shallwereturn，gentlemen？"
　　Hetookupthelineofmarchforthetavern，andthecrowdfellintohiswake，earnestlydiscussingandadmiringtheExtraordinaryMan，andinterlardingguessesastotheoriginofthetragedyandwhotheauthorofitmighthe。
　　"My，butit’sgrandluckhavinghimhere——hey，boys？"saidFerguson。
　　"It’sthebiggestthingofthecentury，"saidHamSandwich。"It’llgoallovertheworld;youmarkmywords。"
　　"Youbet！"saidJakeParker，theblacksmith。"It’llboomthiscamp。
　　Ain’titso，Wells—Fargo？"
　　"Well，asyouwantmyopinion——ifit’sanysignofhowIthinkaboutit，Icantellyouthis:yesterdayIwasholdingtheStraightFlushclaimattwodollarsafoot;I’dliketoseethemanthatcangetitatsixteento—day。"
　　"Rightyouare，Wells—Fargo！It’sthegrandestluckanewcampeverstruck。Say，didyouseehimcollarthemlittleragsanddirtandthings？Whataneye！Hejustcan’toverlookaclue——’tain’tinhim。"
　　"That’sso。Andtheywouldn’tmeanathingtoanybodyelse;buttohim，why，they’rejustabook——largeprintatthat。"
　　"Sure’syou’reborn！Themoddsandendshavegottheirlittleoldsecret，andtheythinkthereain’tanybodycanpullit;but，land！whenhesetshisgriptherethey’vegottosqueal，anddon’tyouforgetit。"
　　"Boys，Iain’tsorry，now，thathewasn’theretoroustoutthechild;
　　thisisabiggerthing，byalongsight。Yes，sir，andmoretangledupandscientificandintellectual。"
　　"Ireckonwe’reallofusgladit’sturnedoutthisway。Glad？’George！
　　itain’tanynameforit。Dontchuknow，Archycould’velearntsomethingifhe’dhadthenoustostandbyandtakenoticeofhowthatmanworksthesystem。Butno;hewentpokingupintothechaparralandjustmissedthewholething。"
　　"It’strueasgospel;Iseenitmyself。Well，Archy’syoung。He’llknowbetteroneofthesedays。"
　　"Say，boys，whodoyoureckondoneit？"
　　Thatwasadifficultquestion，andbroughtoutaworldofunsatisfyingconjecture。Variousmenwerementionedaspossibilities，butonebyonetheywerediscardedasnotbeingeligible。NoonebutyoungHillyerhadbeenintimatewithFlintBuckner;noonehadreallyhadaquarrelwithhim;hehadaffrontedeverymanwhohadtriedtomakeuptohim，althoughnotquiteoffensivelyenoughtorequirebloodshed。Therewasonenamethatwasuponeverytonguefromthestart，butitwasthelasttogetutterance——FetlockJones’s。ItwasPatRileythatmentionedit。
　　"Oh，well，"theboyssaid，"ofcoursewe’veallthoughtofhim，becausehehadamillionrightstokillFlintBuckner，anditwasjusthisplaindutytodoit。Butallthesamethere’stwothingswecan’tgetaround:
　　foronething，hehasn’tgotthesand;andforanother，hewasn’tanywhereneartheplacewhenithappened。"
　　"Iknowit，"saidPat。"Hewasthereinthebilliard—roomwithuswhenithappened。"
　　"Yes，andwasthereallthetimeforanhourbeforeithappened。"
　　"It’sso。Andluckyforhim，too。He’dhavebeensuspectedinaminuteifithadn’tbeenforthat。"
　　III
　　Thetaverndining—roomhadbeenclearedofallitsfurnituresaveonesix—footpinetableandachair。Thistablewasagainstoneendoftheroom;thechairwasonit;SherlockHolmes，stately，imposing，impressive，satinthechair。Thepublicstood。Theroomwasfull。Thetobacco—smokewasdense，thestillnessprofound。
　　TheExtraordinaryManraisedhishandtocommandadditionalsilence;helditintheairafewmoments;then，inbrief，crisptermsheputforwardquestionafterquestion，andnotedtheanswerswith"Um—ums，"nodsofthehead，andsoon。BythisprocesshelearnedallaboutFlintBuckner，hischaracter，conduct，andhabits，thatthepeoplewereabletotellhim。ItthustranspiredthattheExtraordinaryMan’snephewwastheonlypersoninthecampwhohadakilling—grudgeagainstFlintBuckner。
　　Mr。Holmessmiledcompassionatelyuponthewitness，andasked，languidly:
　　"DoanyofyougentlemenchancetoknowwheretheladFetlockJoneswasatthetimeoftheexplosion？"
　　Athunderousresponsefollowed:
　　"Inthebilliard—roomofthishouse！"
　　"Ah。Andhadhejustcomein？"
　　"Beenthereallofanhour！"
　　"Ah。Itisabout——about——well，abouthowfarmightitbetothesceneoftheexplosions"
　　"Allofamile！"
　　"Ah。Itisn’tmuchofanalibi，’tistrue，but——"
　　Astorm—burstoflaughter，mingledwithshoutsof"Byjiminy，buthe’schain—lightning！"and"Ain’tyousorryyouspoke，Sandy？"shutofftherestofthesentence，andthecrushedwitnessdroopedhisblushingfaceinpatheticshame。Theinquisitorresumed:
　　"TheladJones’ssomewhatdistantconnectionwiththecase"（laughter）
　　"havingbeendisposedof，letusnowcalltheeye—witnessesofthetragedy，andlistentowhattheyhavetosay。"
　　Hegotouthisfragmentarycluesandarrangedthemonasheetofcardboardonhisknee。Thehousehelditsbreathandwatched。
　　"Wehavethelongitudeandthelatitude，correctedformagneticvariation，andthisgivesustheexactlocationofthetragedy。Wehavethealtitude，thetemperature，andthedegreeofhumidityprevailing——
　　inestimablyvaluable，sincetheyenableustoestimatewithprecisionthedegreeofinfluencewhichtheywouldexerciseuponthemoodanddispositionoftheassassinatthattimeofthenight。"
　　（Buzzofadmiration;mutteredremark，"ByGeorge，buthe’sdeep。"）Hefingeredhisclues。"Andnowletusaskthesemutewitnessestospeaktous。
　　"Herewehaveanemptylinenshot—bag。Whatisitsmessage？This:thatrobberywasthemotive，notrevenge。Whatisitsfurthermessage？This:
　　thattheassassinwasofinferiorintelligence——shallwesaylight—
　　witted，orperhapsapproachingthat？Howdoweknowthis？BecauseapersonofsoundintelligencewouldnothaveproposedtorobthemanBuckner，whoneverhadmuchmoneywithhim。Buttheassassinmighthavebeenastranger？Letthebagspeakagain。Itakefromitthisarticle。
　　Itisabitofsilver—bearingquartz。Itispeculiar。Examineit，please——you——andyou——andyou。Nowpassitback，please。Thereisbutonelodeonthiscoastwhichproducesjustthatcharacterandcolorofquartz;andthatisalodewhichcropsoutfornearlytwomilesonastretch，andinmyopinionisdestined，atnodistantday，toconferuponitslocalityaglobe—girdlingcelebrity，anduponitstwohundredownersrichesbeyondthedreamsofavarice。Namethatlode，please。"
　　"TheConsolidatedChristianScienceandMaryAnn！"wasthepromptresponse。
　　Awildcrashofhurrahsfollowed，andeverymanreachedforhisneighbor’shandandwrungit，withtearsinhiseyes;andWells—FargoFergusonshouted，"TheStraightFlushisonthelode，andupshegoestoahunchedandfiftyafoot——youhearme！"
　　Whenquietfell，Mr。Holmesresumed:
　　"Weperceive，then，thatthreefactsareestablished，towit:theassassinwasapproximatelylight—witted;hewasnotastranger;hismotivewasrobbery，notrevenge。Letusproceed。Iholdinmyhandasmallfragmentoffuse，withtherecentsmelloffireuponit。Whatisitstestimony？Takenwiththecorroborativeevidenceofthequartz，itrevealstousthattheassassinwasaminer。Whatdoesittellusfurther？This，gentlemen:thattheassassinationwasconsummatedbymeansofanexplosive。Whatelsedoesitsay？This:thattheexplosivewaslocatedagainstthesideofthecabinnearesttheroad——thefrontside——forwithinsixfeetofthatspotIfoundit。
　　"IholdinmyfingersaburntSwedishmatch——thekindonerubsonasafety—box。Ifounditintheroad，sixhundredandtwenty—twofeetfromtheabolishedcabin。Whatdoesitsay？This:thatthetrainwasfiredfromthatpoint。Whatfurtherdoesittellus？This:thattheassassinwasleft—handed。HowdoIknowthis？Ishouldnotbeabletoexplaintoyou，gentlemen，howIknowit，thesignsbeingsosubtlethatonlylongexperienceanddeepstudycanenableonetodetectthem。Butthesignsarehere，andtheyarereinforcedbyafactwhichyoumusthaveoftennoticedinthegreatdetectivenarratives——thatallassassinsareleft—
　　handed。"
　　"ByJackson，that’sso。"saidHamSandwich，bringinghisgreathanddownwitharesoundingslapuponhisthigh;"blamedifIeverthoughtofitbefore。"
　　"NorI！""NorI！"criedseveral。"Oh，therecan’tanythingescapehim——
　　lookathiseye！"
　　"Gentlemen，distantasthemurdererwasfromhisdoomedvictim，hedidnotwhollyescapeinjury。ThisfragmentofwoodwhichInowexhibittoyoustruckhim。Itdrewblood。Whereverheis，hebearsthetelltalemark。Ipickeditupwherehestoodwhenhefiredthefataltrain，"
　　Helookedoutoverthehousefromhishighperch，andhiscountenancebegantodarken;heslowlyraisedhishand，andpointed:
　　"Therestandstheassassin！"
　　Foramomentthehousewasparalyzedwithamazement;thentwentyvoicesburstoutwith:
　　"SammyHillyer？Oh，hell，no！Him？It’spurefoolishness！"
　　"Takecare，gentlemen——benothasty。Observe——hehastheblood—markonhisbrow。"
　　Hillyerturnedwhitewithfright。Hewasneartocrying。Heturnedthiswayandthat，appealingtoeveryfaceforhelpandsympathy;andheldouthissupplicatinghandstowardHolmesandbegantoplead:
　　"Don’t，oh，don’t！Ineverdidit;IgivemywordIneverdidit。ThewayIgotthishurtonmyforeheadwas——"
　　"Arresthim，constable！"criedHolmes。"Iwillswearoutthewarrant。"
　　Theconstablemovedreluctantlyforward——hesitated——stopped。
　　Hillyerbrokeoutwithanotherappeal。"Oh，Archy，don’tletthemdoit;
　　itwouldkillmother！YouknowhowIgotthehurt。Tellthem，andsaveme，Archy;saveme！"
　　Stillmanworkedhiswaytothefront，andsaid:
　　"Yes，I’llsaveyou。Don’tbeafraid。"Thenhesaidtothehouse，"Nevermindhowhegotthehurt;ithasn’tanythingtodowiththiscase，andisn’tofanyconsequence。"
　　"Godblessyou，Archy，foratruefriend！"
　　"HurrahforArchy！Goin，boy，andplay’emaknock—downflushtotheirtwopair’n’ajack！"shoutedthehouse，prideintheirhometalentandapatrioticsentimentofloyaltytoitrisingsuddenlyinthepublicheartandchangingthewholeattitudeofthesituation。
　　YoungStillmanwaitedforthenoisetocease;thenhesaid:
　　"IwillaskTomJeffriestostandbythatdooryonder，andConstableHarristostandbytheotheronehere，andnotletanybodyleavetheroom。
　　"Saidanddone。Goon，oldman！"
　　"Thecriminalispresent，Ibelieve。Iwillshowhimtoyoubeforelong，incaseIamrightinmyguess。NowIwilltellyouallaboutthetragedy，fromstarttofinish。Themotivewasn’trobbery;itwasrevenge。Themurdererwasn’tlight—witted。Hedidn’tstandsixhundredandtwenty—twofeetaway。Hedidn’tgethitwithapieceofwood。Hedidn’tplacetheexplosiveagainstthecabin。Hedidn’tbringashot—bagwithhim，andhewasn’tleft—handed。Withtheexceptionoftheseerrors，thedistinguishedguest’sstatementofthecaseissubstantiallycorrect。"
　　Acomfortablelaughrippledoverthehouse;friendnoddedtofriend，asmuchastosay，"That’stheword，withthebarkonit。Goodlad，goodboy。Heain’tloweringhisflagany！"
　　Theguest’sserenitywasnotdisturbed。Stillmanresumed:
　　"Ialsohavesomewitnesses;andIwillpresentlytellyouwhereyoucanfindsomemore。"Heheldupapieceofcoarsewire;thecrowdcranedtheirneckstosee。"Ithasasmoothcoatingofmeltedtallowonit。
　　Andhereisacandlewhichisburnedhalf—waydown。Theremaininghalfofithasmarkscutuponitaninchapart。SoonIwilltellyouwhereI
　　foundthesethings。Iwillnowputasidereasonings，guesses，theimpressivehitchingsofoddsandendsofcluestogether，andtheothershowytheatricalsofthedetectivetrade，andtellyouinaplain，straightforwardwayjusthowthisdismalthinghappened。"
　　Hepausedamoment，foreffect——toallowsilenceandsuspensetointensifyandconcentratethehouse’sinterest;thenhewenton:
　　"Theassassinstudiedouthisplanwithagooddealofpains。Itwasagoodplan，veryingenious，andshowedanintelligentmind，notafeebleone。Itwasaplanwhichwaswellcalculatedtowardoffallsuspicionfromitsinventor。Inthefirstplace，hemarkedacandleintospacesaninchapart，andlititandtimedit。Hefoundittookthreehourstoburnfourinchesofit。Itrieditmyselfforhalfanhour，awhileago，up—stairshere，whiletheinquiryintoFlintBuckner’scharacterandwayswasbeingconductedinthisroom，andIarrivedinthatwayattherateofacandle’sconsumptionwhenshelteredfromthewind。Havingprovedhistrialcandle’srate，heblewitout——Ihavealreadyshownittoyou——
　　andputhisinch—marksonafreshone。
　　"Heputthefreshoneintoatincandlestick。Thenatthefive—hourmarkheboredaholethroughthecandlewithared—hotwire。Ihavealreadyshownyouthewire，withasmoothcoatoftallowonit——tallowthathadbeenmeltedandhadcooled。
　　"Withlabor——veryhardlabor，Ishouldsay——hestruggledupthroughthestiffchaparralthatclothesthesteephillsidebackofFlintBuckner’splace，tugginganemptyflour—barrelwithhim。Heplaceditinthatabsolutelysecurehiding—place，andinthebottomofithesetthecandlestick。Thenhemeasuredoffaboutthirty—fivefeetoffuse——thebarrel’sdistancefromthebackofthecabin。Heboredaholeinthesideofthebarrel——hereisthelargegimlethediditwith。Hewentonandfinishedhiswork;andwhenitwasdone，oneendofthefusewasinBuckner’scabin，andtheotherend，withanotchchippedinittoexposethepowder，wasintheholeinthecandle——timedtoblowtheplaceupatoneo’clockthismorning，providedthecandlewaslitabouteighto’clockyesterdayevening——whichIambettingitwas——andprovidedtherewasanexplosiveinthecabinandconnectedwiththatendofthefuse——whichI
　　amalsobettingtherewas，thoughIcan’tproveit。Boys，thebarrelisthereinthechaparral，thecandle’sremainsareinitinthetinstick;
　　theburnt—outfuseisinthegimlet—hole，theotherendisdownthehillwherethelatecabinstood。Isawthemallanhourortwoago，whentheProfessorherewasmeasuringoffunimplicatedvacanciesandcollectingrelicsthathadn’tanythingtodowiththecase。"
　　Hepaused。Thehousedrewalong，deepbreath，shookitsstrainedcordsandmusclesfreeandburstintocheers。"Danghim！"saidHamSandwich，"that’swhyhewassnoopingaroundinthechaparral，insteadofpickinguppointsoutoftheP’fessor’sgame。Lookyhere——heain’tnofool，boys。"
　　"No，sir！Why，greatScott——"
　　ButStillmanwasresuming:
　　"Whilewewereoutyonderanhourortwoago，theownerofthegimletandthetrialcandletookthemfromaplacewherehehadconcealedthem——itwasnotagoodplace——andcarriedthemtowhatheprobablythoughtwasabetterone，twohundredyardsupinthepinewoods，andhidthemthere，coveringthemoverwithpineneedles。ItwastherethatIfoundthem。
　　Thegimletexactlyfitstheholeinthebarrel。Andnow——"
　　TheExtraordinaryManinterruptedhim。Hesaid，sarcastically:
　　"Wehavehadaveryprettyfairytale，gentlemen——veryprettyindeed。
　　NowIwouldliketoaskthisyoungmanaquestionortwo。"
　　Someoftheboyswinced，andFergusonsaid:
　　"I’mafraidArchy’sgoingtocatchitnow。"
　　Theotherslosttheirsmilesandsobereddown。Mr。Holmessaid:
　　"Letusproceedtoexamineintothisfairytaleinaconsecutiveandorderlyway——bygeometricalprogression，sotospeak——linkingdetailtodetailinasteadilyadvancingandremorselesslyconsistentandunassailablemarchuponthistinseltoyfortressoferror，thedreamfabricofacallowimagination。Tobeginwith，youngsir，Idesiretoaskyoubutthreequestionsatpresent——atpresent。DidIunderstandyoutosayitwasyouropinionthatthesupposititiouscandlewaslightedatabouteighto’clockyesterdayevening？"