”Butthewritingisnothisown。””Precisely。Itisawoman’s。””Aman’ssurely，”Icried。”No，awoman’s，andawomanofrarecharacter。Yousee，atthecommencementofaninvestigationitissomethingtoknowthatyourclientisinclosecontactwithsomeonewho，forgoodorevil，hasanexceptionalnature。Myinterestisalreadyawakenedinthecase。IfyouarereadywewillstartatonceforWoking，andseethisdiplomatistwhoisinsuchevilcase，andtheladytowhomhedictateshisletters。”WewerefortunateenoughtocatchanearlytrainatWaterloo，andinalittleunderanhourwefoundourselvesamongthefir-woodsandtheheatherofWoking。Briarbraeprovedtobealargedetachedhousestandinginextensivegroundswithinafewminutes’
　　walkofthestation。Onsendinginourcardswewereshownintoanelegantlyappointeddrawing-room，wherewewerejoinedinafewminutesbyaratherstoutmanwhoreceiveduswithmuchhospitality。Hisagemayhavebeennearerfortythanthirty，buthischeeksweresoruddyandhiseyessomerrythathestillconveyedtheimpressionofaplumpandmischievousboy。”Iamsogladthatyouhavecome，”saidhe，shakingourhandswitheffusion。”Percyhasbeeninquiringforyouallmorning。Ah，pooroldchap，heclingstoanystraw！Hisfatherandhismotheraskedmetoseeyou，forthemerementionofthesubjectisverypainfultothem。””Wehavehadnodetailsyet，”observedHolmes。”I
　　perceivethatyouarenotyourselfamemberofthefamily。”
　　Ouracquaintancelookedsurprised，andthen，glancingdown，hebegantolaugh。”OfcourseyousawtheJHmonogramonmylocket，”
　　saidhe。”ForamomentIthoughtyouhaddonesomethingclever。JosephHarrisonismyname，andasPercyistomarrymysisterAnnieIshallatleastbearelationbymarriage。Youwillfindmysisterinhisroom，forshehasnursedhimhand-and-footthistwomonthsback。Perhapswe’dbettergoinatonce，forIknowhowimpatientheis。”
　　Thechamberinwhichwewereshownwasonthesamefloorasthedrawing-room。Itwasfurnishedpartlyasasittingandpartlyasabedroom，withflowersarrangeddaintilyineverynookandcorner。Ayoungman，verypaleandworn，waslyinguponasofaneartheopenwindow，throughwhichcametherichscentofthegardenandthebalmysummerair。Awomanwassittingbesidehim，whoroseasweentered。”ShallIleave，Percy?”sheasked。
　　Heclutchedherhandtodetainher。”Howareyou，Watson?”saidhe，cordially。”Ishouldneverhaveknownyouunderthatmoustache，andIdaresayyouwouldnotbepreparedtosweartome。ThisIpresumeisyourcelebratedfriend，Mr。SherlockHolmes?”
　　Iintroducedhiminafewwords，andwebothsatdown。
　　Thestoutyoungmanhadleftus，buthissisterstillremainedwithherhandinthatoftheinvalid。Shewasastriking-lookingwoman，alittleshortandthickforsymmetry，butwithabeautifulolivecomplexion，large，dark，Italianeyes，andawealthofdeepblackhair。Herrichtintsmadethewhitefaceofhercompanionthemorewornandhaggardbythecontrast。”Iwon’twasteyourtime，”saidhe，raisinghimselfuponthesofa。”I’llplungeintothematterwithoutfurtherpreamble。Iwasahappyandsuccessfulman，Mr。Holmes，andontheeveofbeingmarried，whenasuddenanddreadfulmisfortunewreckedallmyprospectsinlife。”Iwas，asWatsonmayhavetoldyou，intheForeignOffice，andthroughtheinfluencesofmyuncle，LordHoldhurst，Iroserapidlytoaresponsibleposition。
　　Whenmyunclebecameforeignministerinthisadministrationhegavemeseveralmissionsoftrust，andasIalwaysbroughtthemtoasuccessfulconclusion，hecameatlasttohavetheutmostconfidenceinmyabilityandtact。”Nearlytenweeksago——tobemoreaccurate，onthe23dofMay——hecalledmeintohisprivateroom，and，aftercomplimentingmeonthegoodworkwhichIhaddone，heinformedmethathehadanewcommissionoftrustformetoexecute。”’This，’saidhe，takingagrayrollofpaperfromhisbureau，’istheoriginalofthatsecrettreatybetweenEnglandandItalyofwhich，Iregrettosay，somerumorshavealreadygotintothepublicpress。Itisofenormousimportancethatnothingfurthershouldleakout。TheFrenchortheRussianembassywouldpayanimmensesumtolearnthecontentsofthesepapers。
　　Theyshouldnotleavemybureauwereitnotthatitisabsolutelynecessarytohavethemcopied。Youhaveadeskinyouroffice?””’Yes，sir。’”’Thentakethetreatyandlockitupthere。Ishallgivedirectionsthatyoumayremainbehindwhentheothersgo，sothatyoumaycopyitatyourleisurewithoutfearofbeingoverlooked。Whenyouhavefinished，relockboththeoriginalandthedraftinthedesk，andhandthemovertomepersonallyto-morrowmorning。’”Itookthepapersand——””Excusemeaninstant，”saidHolmes。”Wereyoualoneduringthisconversation?””Absolutely。””Inalargeroom?””Thirtyfeeteachway。””Inthecentre?””Yes，aboutit。””Andspeakinglow?””Myuncle’svoiceisalwaysremarkablylow。Ihardlyspokeatall。””Thankyou，”saidHolmes，shuttinghiseyes；”praygoon。””Ididexactlywhatheindicated，andwaiteduntiltheotherclerkshaddeparted。Oneoftheminmyroom，CharlesGorot，hadsomearrearsofworktomakeup，soIlefthimthereandwentouttodine。WhenI
　　returnedhewasgone。Iwasanxioustohurrymywork，forIknewthatJoseph——theMr。Harrisonwhomyousawjustnow——wasintown，andthathewouldtraveldowntoWokingbytheeleven-o’clocktrain，andIwantedifpossibletocatchit。”WhenIcametoexaminethetreatyIsawatoncethatitwasofsuchimportancethatmyunclehadbeenguiltyofnoexaggerationinwhathehadsaid。
　　Withoutgoingintodetails，ImaysaythatitdefinedthepositionofGreatBritaintowardstheTripleAlliance，andfore-shadowedthepolicywhichthiscountrywouldpursueintheeventoftheFrenchfleetgainingacompleteascendancyoverthatofItalyintheMediterranean。Thequestionstreatedinitwerepurelynaval。Attheendwerethesignaturesofthehighdignitarieswhohadsignedit。Iglancedmyeyesoverit，andthensettleddowntomytaskofcopying。”Itwasalongdocument，writtenintheFrenchlanguage，andcontainingtwenty-sixseparatearticles。
　　IcopiedasquicklyasIcould，butatnineo’clockI
　　hadonlydoneninearticles，anditseemedhopelessformetoattempttocatchmytrain。Iwasfeelingdrowsyandstupid，partlyfrommydinnerandalsofromtheeffectsofalongday’swork。Acupofcoffeewouldclearmybrain。Acommissionnaireremainsallnightinalittlelodgeatthefootofthestairs，andisinthehabitofmakingcoffeeathisspirit-lampforanyoftheofficialswhomaybeworkingovertime。
　　Irangthebell，therefore，tosummonhim。”Tomysurprise，itwasawomanwhoansweredthesummons，alarge，coarse-faced，elderlywoman，inanapron。Sheexplainedthatshewasthecommissionnaire’swife，whodidthecharing，andI
　　gavehertheorderforthecoffee。”Iwrotetwomorearticlesandthen，feelingmoredrowsythanever，Iroseandwalkedupanddowntheroomtostretchmylegs。Mycoffeehadnotyetcome，andIwonderedwhatwasthecauseofthedelaycouldbe。Openingthedoor，Istarteddownthecorridortofindout。Therewasastraightpassage，dimlylighted，whichledfromtheroominwhichIhadbeenworking，andwastheonlyexitfromit。Itendedinacurvingstaircase，withthecommissionnaire’slodgeinthepassageatthebottom。Halfwaydownthisstaircaseisasmalllanding，withanotherpassagerunningintoitatrightangles。Thissecondoneleadsbymeansofasecondsmallstairtoasidedoor，usedbyservants，andalsoasashortcutbyclerkswhencomingfromCharlesStreet。Hereisaroughchartoftheplace。””Thankyou。IthinkthatIquitefollowyou，”saidSherlockHolmes。”Itisoftheutmostimportancethatyoushouldnoticethispoint。Iwentdownthestairsandintothehall，whereIfoundthecommissionnairefastasleepinhisbox，withthekettleboilingfuriouslyuponthespirit-lamp。Itookoffthekettleandblewoutthelamp，forthewaterwasspurtingoverthefloor。ThenIputoutmyhandandwasabouttoshaketheman，whowasstillsleepingsoundly，whenabelloverhisheadrangloudly，andhewokewithastart。”’Mr。Phelps，sir！’saidhe，lookingatmeinbewilderment。”’Icamedowntoseeifmycoffeewasready。’”’IwasboilingthekettlewhenIfellasleep，sir。’
　　Helookedatmeandthenupatthestillquiveringbellwithanever-growingastonishmentuponhisface。”’Ifyouwashere，sir，thenwhorangthebell?’heasked。”’Thebell！’Icried。’Whatbellisit?’