u anything I can," the constable
answered with his eyes upon the little golden disk.

"Just let us hear it all in your own way as it occurred."

Rance sat down on the horsehair sofa, and knitted his brows as though
determined not to omit anything in his narrative.

"I'll tell it ye from the beginning," he said. "My time is from ten at
night to six in the morning. At eleven there was a fight at the 'White
Hart'; but bar that all was quiet enough on the beat. At one o'clock it
began to rain, and I met Harry Murcher--him who has the Holland Grove
beat--and we stood together at the corner of Henrietta Street a-talkin'.
Presently--maybe about two or a little after--I thought I would take
a look round and see that all was right down the Brixton Road. It was
precious dirty and lonely. Not a soul did I meet all the way down,
though a cab or two went past me. I was a strollin' down, thinkin'
between ourselves how uncommon handy a four of gin hot would be, when
suddenly the glint of a light caught my eye in the window of that same
house. Now, I knew that them two houses in Lauriston Gardens was empty
on account of him that owns them who won't have the drains seed to,
though the very last tenant what lived in one of them died o' typhoid
fever. I was knocked all in a heap therefore at seeing a light in
the window, and I suspected as something was wrong. When I got to the
door----"

"You stopped, and then walked back to the garden gate," my companion
interrupted. "What did you do that for?"

Rance gave a violent jump, and stared at Sherlock Holmes with the utmost
amazement upon his features.

"Why, that's true, sir," he said; "though how you come to know it,
Heaven only knows. Ye see, when I got up to the door it was so still and
so lonesome, that I thought I'd be none the worse for some one with me.
I ain't afeared of anything on this side o' the grave; but I thought
that maybe it was him that died o' the typhoid inspecting the drains
what killed him. The thought gave me a kind o' turn, and I walked back
to the gate to see if I could see Murcher's lantern, but there wasn't no
sign of him nor of anyone else."

"There was no one in the street?"

"Not a livin' soul, sir, nor as much as a dog. Then I pulled myself
together and went back and pushed the door open. All was quiet inside,
so I went into the room where the light was a-burnin'. There was a
candle flickerin' on the mantelpiece--a red wax one--and by its light I
saw--