"'D'you mean to say those are mine?' he cried.
"They were certainly very much larger than any which he could have made,and were evidently quite fresh. It rained hard this afternoon, as youknow, and my patients were the only people who called. It must have beenthe case, then, that the man in the waiting-room had, for some unknownreason, while I was busy with the other, ascended to the room of myresident patient. Nothing had been touched or taken, but there were thefootprints to prove that the intrusion was an undoubted fact.
"Mr. Blessington seemed more excited over the matter than I should havethought possible, though of course it was enough to disturb anybody'speace of mind. He actually sat crying in an arm-chair, and I couldhardly get him to speak coherently. It was his suggestion that I shouldcome round to you, and of course I at once saw the propriety of it,for certainly the incident is a very singular one, though he appears tocompletely overrate its importance. If you would only come back with mein my brougham, you would at least be able to soothe him, though Ican hardly hope that you will be able to explain this remarkableoccurrence."
Sherlock Holmes had listened to this long narrative with an intentnesswhich showed me that his interest was keenly aroused. His face was asimpassive as ever, but his lids had drooped more heavily over his eyes,and his smoke had curled up more thickly from his pipe to emphasize eachcurious episode in the doctor's tale. As our visitor concluded, Holmessprang up without a word, handed me my hat, picked his own from thetable, and followed Dr. Trevelyan to the door. Within a quarter of anhour we had been dropped at the door of the physician's residencein Brook Street, one of those sombre, flat-faced houses which oneassociates with a West-End practice. A small page admitted us, and webegan at once to ascend the broad, well-carpeted stair.
But a singular interruption brought us to a standstill. The light atthe top was suddenly whisked out, and from the darkness came a reedy,quivering voice.
"I have a pistol," it cried. "I give you my word that I'll fire if youcome any nearer."
"This really grows outrageous, Mr. Blessington," cried Dr. Trevelyan.
"Oh, then it is you, doctor," said the voice, with a great heave ofrelief. "But those other gentlemen, are they what they pretend to be?"
We were conscious of a long scrutiny out of the darkness.
"Yes, yes, it's all right," said the voice at last. "You can come up,and I am sorry if my precautions have annoyed you."
He relit the stair gas as he spoke, and we saw before us asingular-looking man, whose appearance, as well as his voice, testifiedto his jangled nerves. He was very fat, but had apparently at some timebeen much fatter, so that the skin hung about his face in loose pouches,like the cheeks of a blood-hound. He was of a sickly color, and histhin, sandy hair seemed to bristle up with the intensity of his emotion.In his hand he held a pistol, but he thrust it into his pocket as weadvanced.
"Good-evening, Mr. Holmes," said he. "I am sure I am very much obligedto you for coming round. No one ever needed your advice more than I do.I suppose that Dr. Trevelyan has told you of this most unwarrantableintrusion into my rooms."
"Quite so," said Holmes. "Who are these two men Mr. Blessington, and whydo they wish to molest you?"
"Well, well," said the resident patient, in a nervous fashion, "ofcourse it is hard to say that. You can hardly expect me to answer that,Mr. Holmes."
"Do you mean that you don't know?"
"Come in here, if you please. Just have the kindness to step in here."
He led the way into his bedroom, which was large and comfortablyfurnished.
"You see that," said he, pointing to a big black box at the end of hisbed. "I have never been a very rich man, Mr. Holmes--never made butone investment in my life, as Dr. Trevelyan would tell you. But I don'tbelieve in bankers. I would never trust a banker, Mr. Holmes. Betweenourselves, what little I have is in that box, so you can understand whatit means to me when unknown people force themselves into my rooms."
Holmes looked at Blessington in his questioning way and s
hook his head.
"I cannot possibly advise you if you try to deceive me," said he.
"But I have told you everything."
Holmes turned on his heel with a gesture of disgust. "Good-night, Dr.Trevelyan," said he.
"And no advice for me?" cried Blessington, in a breaking voice.
"My advice to you, sir, is to speak the truth."
A minute later we were in the street and walking for home. We hadcrossed Oxford Street and were half way down Harley Street before Icould get a word from my companion.
"Sorry to bring you out on such a fool's errand, Watson," he said atlast. "It is an interesting case, too, at the bottom of it."
"I can make little of it," I confessed.
"Well, it is quite evident that there are two men--more, perhaps, butat least two--who are determined for some reason to get at this fellowBlessington. I have no doubt in my mind that both on the first and onthe second occasion that young man penetrated to Blessington's room,while his confederate, by an ingenious device, kept the doctor frominterfering."
"And the catalepsy?"