What was vital was overlaid and hidden by what was irrelevant. Ofall the facts which were presented to us we had to pick just thosewhich we deemed to be essential， and then piece them togetherin their order， so as to reconstruct this very remarkable chain ofevents. I had already begun to suspect Joseph， from the fact thatyou had intended to travel home with him that night， and thattherefore it was a likely enough thing that he should call for you，knowing the Foreign Office well， upon his way. When I heardthat some one had been so anxious to get into the bedroom， inwhich no one but Joseph could have concealed anything—youtold us in your narrative how you had turned Joseph out when youarrived with the doctor—my suspicions all changed to certainties，especially as the attempt was made on the first night uponwhich the nurse was absent， showing that the intruder was wellacquainted with the ways of the house.”
“How blind I have been！”
“The facts of the case， as far as I have worked them out， arethese： This Joseph Harrison entered the office through theCharles Street door， and knowing his way he walked straightinto your room the instant after you left it. Finding no one therehe promptly rang the bell， and at the instant that he did so hiseyes caught the paper upon the table. A glance showed him thatchance had put in his way a State document of immense value，and in an instant he had thrust it into his pocket and was gone.
A few minutes elapsed， as you remember， before the sleepycommissionnaire drew your attention to the bell； and those werejust enough to give the thief time to make his escape.
“He made his way to Woking by the first train， and， havingexamined his booty and assured himself that it really was ofimmense value， he had concealed it in what he thought was a verysafe place， with the intention of taking it out again in a day or two，and carrying it to the French embassy， or wherever he thought thata long price was to be had. Then came your sudden return. He，without a moment’s warning， was bundled out of his room， andfrom that time onward there were always at least two of you thereto prevent him from regaining his treasure. The situation to himmust have been a maddening one. But at last he thought he saw hischance. He tried to steal in， but was baffled by your wakefulness.
You remember that you did not take your usual draught that night.”
“I remember.”
“I fancy that he had taken steps to make that draught efficacious，and that he quite relied upon your being unconscious. Of course，I understood that he would repeat the attempt whenever it couldbe done with safety. Your leaving the room gave him the chancehe wanted. I kept Miss Harrison in it all day so that he might notanticipate us. Then， having given him the idea that the coast wasclear， I kept guard as I have described. I already knew that thepapers were probably in the room， but I had no desire to rip up allthe planking and skirting in search of them. I let him take them，therefore， from the hiding-place， and so saved myself an infinity oftrouble. Is there any other point which I can make clear？”
“Why did he try the window on the first occasion，” I asked，“when he might have entered by the door？”
“In reaching the door he would have to pass seven bedrooms.
On the other hand， he could get out on to the lawn with ease.
Anything else？”
“You do not think，” asked Phelps， “that he had any murderousintention？ The knife was only meant as a tool.”
“It may be so，” answered Holmes， shrugging his shoulders. “Ican only say for certain that Mr. Joseph Harrison is a gentleman towhose mercy I should be extremely unwilling to trust.”
The Final Problem
It is with a heavy heart that I take up my pen to write thesethe last words in which I shall ever record the singular gifts bywhich my friend Mr. Sherlock Holmes was distinguished. In anincoherent and， as I deeply feel， an entirely inadequate fashion， Ihave endeavored to give some account of my strange experiencesin his company from the chance which first brought us togetherat the period of the “Study in Scarlet，” up to the time of hisinterference in the matter of the “Naval Treaty”—an interferencewhich had the unquestionable effect of preventing a seriousinternational complication. It was my intention to have stoppedthere， and to have said nothing of that event which has created avoid in my life which the lapse of two years has done little to fill.
My hand has been forced， however， by the recent letters in whichColonel James Moriarty defends the memory of his brother， andI have no choice but to lay the facts before the public exactlyas they occurred. I alone know the absolute truth of the matter，and I am satisfied that the time has come when no good purposeis to be served by its suppression. As far as I know， there havebeen only three accounts in the public press： that in the Journalde Genève on May 6th， 1891， the Reuter’s despatch in the Englishpapers on May 7th， and finally the recent letter to which I havealluded. Of these the first and second were extremely condensed，while the last is， as I shall now show， an absolute perversion of thefacts. It lies with me to tell for the first time what really took placebetween Professor Moriarty and Mr. Sherlock Holmes.