“Well, well, my dear fellow, be it so. We have shared this sameroom for some years, and it would be amusing if we ended bysharing the same cell. You know, Watson, I don’t mind confessingto you that I have always had an idea that I would have madea highly efficient criminal. This is the chance of my lifetime inthat direction. See here!” He took a neat little leather case outof a drawer, and opening it he exhibited a number of shininginstruments. “This is a first-class, up-to-date burgling kit, withnickel-plated jemmy, diamond-tipped glass-cutter, adaptable keys,and every modern improvement which the march of civilizationdemands. Here, too, is my dark lantern. Everything is in order.
Have you a pair of silent shoes?”
“I have rubber-soled tennis shoes.”
“Excellent! And a mask?”
“I can make a couple out of black silk.”
“I can see that you have a strong, natural turn for this sort ofthing. Very good, do you make the masks. We shall have some coldsupper before we start. It is now nine-thirty. At eleven we shalldrive as far as Church Row. It is a quarter of an hour’s walk fromthere to Appledore Towers. We shall be at work before midnight.
Milverton is a heavy sleeper, and retires punctually at ten-thirty.
With any luck we should be back here by two, with the Lady Eva’sletters in my pocket.”
Holmes and I put on our dress-clothes, so that we might appear tobe two theatre-goers homeward bound. In Oxford Street we pickedup a hansom and drove to an address in Hampstead. Here we paid offour cab, and with our great coats buttoned up, for it was bitterly cold,and the wind seemed to blow through us, we walked along the edgeof the heath.
“It’s a business that needs delicate treatment,” said Holmes.
“These documents are contained in a safe in the fellow’s study,and the study is the ante-room of his bed-chamber. On the otherhand, like all these stout, little men who do themselves well, he isa plethoric sleeper. Agatha—that’s my fiancee—says it is a joke inthe servants’ hall that it’s impossible to wake the master. He has asecretary who is devoted to his interests, and never budges fromthe study all day. That’s why we are going at night. Then he has abeast of a dog which roams the garden. I met Agatha late the lasttwo evenings, and she locks the brute up so as to give me a clearrun. This is the house, this big one in its own grounds. Throughthe gate—now to the right among the laurels. We might put onour masks here, I think. You see, there is not a glimmer of light inany of the windows, and everything is working splendidly.”
With our black silk face-coverings, which turned us into twoof the most truculent figures in London, we stole up to the silent,gloomy house. A sort of tiled veranda extended along one side ofit, lined by several windows and two doors.
“That’s his bedroom,” Holmes whispered. “This door opensstraight into the study. It would suit us best, but it is bolted as wellas locked, and we should make too much noise getting in. Comeround here. There’s a greenhouse which opens into the drawingroom.”
The place was locked, but Holmes removed a circle of glassand turned the key from the inside. An instant afterwards he hadclosed the door behind us, and we had become felons in the eyesof the law. The thick, warm air of the conservatory and the rich,choking fragrance of exotic plants took us by the throat. He seizedmy hand in the darkness and led me swiftly past banks of shrubswhich brushed against our faces. Holmes had remarkable powers,carefully cultivated, of seeing in the dark. Still holding my handin one of his, he opened a door, and I was vaguely conscious thatwe had entered a large room in which a cigar had been smokednot long before. He felt his way among the furniture, openedanother door, and closed it behind us. Putting out my hand I feltseveral coats hanging from the wall, and I understood that I wasin a passage. We passed along it and Holmes very gently openeda door upon the right-hand side. Something rushed out at us andmy heart sprang into my mouth, but I could have laughed when Irealized that it was the cat. A fire was burning in this new room,and again the air was heavy with tobacco smoke. Holmes enteredon tiptoe, waited for me to follow, and then very gently closed thedoor. We were in Milverton’s study, and a portiere at the fartherside showed the entrance to his bedroom.
It was a good fire, and the room was illuminated by it. Nearthe door I saw the gleam of an electric switch, but it wasunnecessary, even if it had been safe, to turn it on. At one side ofthe fireplace was a heavy curtain which covered the bay windowwe had seen from outside. On the other side was the door whichcommunicated with the veranda. A desk stood in the centre,with a turning-chair of shining red leather. Opposite was a largebookcase, with a marble bust of Athene on the top. In the corner,between the bookcase and the wall, there stood a tall, green safe,the firelight flashing back from the polished brass knobs uponits face. Holmes stole across and looked at it. Then he crept tothe door of the bedroom, and stood with slanting head listeningintently. No sound came from within. Meanwhile it had struck methat it would be wise to secure our retreat through the outer door,so I examined it. To my amazement, it was neither locked norbolted. I touched Holmes on the arm, and he turned his maskedface in that direction. I saw him start, and he was evidently assurprised as I.
“I don’t like it,” he whispered, putting his lips to my very ear. “Ican’t quite make it out. Anyhow, we have no time to lose.”
“Can I do anything?”
“Yes, stand by the door. If you hear anyone come, bolt it on theinside, and we can get away as we came. If they come the otherway, we can get through the door if our job is done, or hide behindthese window curtains if it is not. Do you understand?”