I hardly expected you would. You must keep on until you do. Here are
your wages." [13] He handed each of them a shilling.

"Now, off you go, and come back with a better report next time."

He waved his hand, and they scampered away downstairs like so many rats,
and we heard their shrill voices next moment in the street.

"There's more work to be got out of one of those little beggars than
out of a dozen of the force," Holmes remarked. "The mere sight of an
official-looking person seals men's lips. These youngsters, however, go
everywhere and hear everything. They are as sharp as needles, too; all
they want is organisation."

"Is it on this Brixton case that you are employing them?" I asked.

"Yes; there is a point which I wish to ascertain. It is merely a matter
of time. Hullo! we are going to hear some news now with a vengeance!
Here is Gregson coming down the road with beatitude written upon every
feature of his face. Bound for us, I know. Yes, he is stopping. There he
is!"

There was a violent peal at the bell, and in a few seconds the
fair-haired detective came up the stairs, three steps at a time, and
burst into our sitting-room.

"My dear fellow," he cried, wringing Holmes' unresponsive hand,
"congratulate me! I have made the whole thing as clear as day."

A shade of anxiety seemed to me to cross my companion's expressive face.

"Do you mean that you are on the right track?" he asked.

"The right track! Why, sir, we have the man under lock and key."

"And his name is?"

"Arthur Charpentier, sub-lieutenant in Her Majesty's navy," cried
Gregson, pompously, rubbing his fat hands and inflating his chest.

Sherlock Holmes gave a sigh of relief, and relaxed into a smile.

"Take a seat, and try one of these cigars," he said. "We are anxious to
know how you managed it. Will you have some whiskey and water?"

"I don't mind if I do," the detective answered. "The tremendous
exertions which I have gone through during the last day or two have worn
me out. Not so much bodily exertion, you understand, as the strain upon
the mind. You will appreciate that, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, for we are both
brain-workers."

"You do me too much honour," said Holmes, gravely. "Let us hear how you
arrived at this most gratifying result."

The detective seated himself in the arm-chair, and puffed complacently
at his cigar. Then suddenly he slapped his thigh in a paroxysm of
amusement.

"The fun of it is," he cried, "that that f