”It’scharcoal，”hecried。”Giveittime。Itwillclear。”Peeringin，wecouldseethattheonlylightintheroomcamefromadullblueflamewhichflickeredfromasmallbrasstripodinthecentre。Itthrewalivid，unnaturalcircleuponthefloor，whileintheshadowsbeyondwesawthevagueloomoftwofigureswhichcrouchedagainstthewall。Fromtheopendoortherereekedahorriblepoisonousexhalationwhichsetusgaspingandcoughing。Holmesrushedtothetopofthestairstodrawinthefreshair，andthen，dashingintotheroom，hethrewupthewindowandhurledthebrazentripodoutintothegarden。”Wecanenterinaminute，”hegasped，dartingoutagain。”Whereisacandle?Idoubtifwecouldstrikeamatchinthatatmosphere。Holdthelightatthedoorandweshallgetthemout，Mycroft，now！”
Witharushwegottothepoisonedmenanddraggedthemoutintothewell-lithall。Bothofthemwereblue-lippedandinsensible，withswollen，congestedfacesandprotrudingeyes。Indeed，sodistortedweretheirfeaturesthat，saveforhisblackbeardandstoutfigure，wemighthavefailedtorecognizeinoneofthemtheGreekinterpreterwhohadpartedfromusonlyafewhoursbeforeattheDiogenesClub。Hishandsandfeetweresecurelystrappedtogether，andheboreoveroneeyethemarksofaviolentblow。Theother，whowassecuredinasimilarfashion，wasatallmaninthelaststageofemaciation，withseveralstripsofsticking-plasterarrangedinagrotesquepatternoverhisface。Hehadceasedtomoanaswelaidhimdown，andaglanceshowedmethatforhimatleastouraidhadcometoolate。Mr。Melas，however，stilllived，andinlessthananhour，withtheaidofammoniaandbrandyIhadthesatisfactionofseeinghimopenhiseyes，andofknowingthatmyhandhaddrawnhimbackfromthatdarkvalleyinwhichallpathsmeet。
Itwasasimplestorywhichhehadtotell，andonewhichdidbutconfirmourowndeductions。Hisvisitor，onenteringhisrooms，haddrawnalife-preserverfromhissleeve，andhadsoimpressedhimwiththefearofinstantandinevitabledeaththathehadkidnappedhimforthesecondtime。Indeed，itwasalmostmesmeric，theeffectwhichthisgigglingruffianhadproducedupontheunfortunatelinguist，forhecouldnotspeakofhimsavewithtremblinghandsandablanchedcheek。HehadbeentakenswiftlytoBeckenham，andhadactedasinterpreterinasecondinterview，evenmoredramaticthanthefirst，inwhichthetwoEnglishmenhadmenacedtheirprisonerwithinstantdeathifhedidnotcomplywiththeirdemands。
Finally，findinghimproofagainsteverythreat，theyhadhurledhimbackintohisprison，andafterreproachingMelaswithhistreachery，whichappearedfromthenewspaperadvertisement，theyhadstunnedhimwithablowfromastick，andherememberednothingmoreuntilhefoundusbendingoverhim。
AndthiswasthesingularcaseoftheGrecianInterpreter，theexplanationofwhichisstillinvolvedinsomemystery。Wewereabletofindout，bycommunicatingwiththegentlemanwhohadansweredtheadvertisement，thattheunfortunateyoungladycameofawealthyGrecianfamily，andthatshehadbeenonavisittosomefriendsinEngland。WhilethereshehadmetayoungmannamedHaroldLatimer，whohadacquiredanascendancyoverheandhadeventuallypersuadedhertoflywithhim。Herfriends，shockedattheevent，hadcontentedthemselveswithinformingherbrotheratAthens，andhadthenwashedtheirhandsofthematter。Thebrother，onhisarrivalinEngland，hadimprudentlyplacedhimselfinthepowerofLatimerandofhisassociate，whosenamewasWilsonKemp——thatthroughhisignoranceofthelanguagehewashelplessintheirhands，hadkepthimaprisoner，andhadendeavoredbycrueltyandstarvationtomakehimsignawayhisownandhissister’sproperty。Theyhadkepthiminthehousewithoutthegirl’sknowledge，andtheplasteroverthefacehadbeenforthepurposeofmakingrecognitiondifficultincasesheshouldevercatchaglimpseofhim。Herfeminineperception，however，hadinstantlyseenthroughthedisguisewhen，ontheoccasionoftheinterpreter’svisit，shehadseenhimforthefirsttime。Thepoorgirl，however，washerselfaprisoner，fortherewasnooneaboutthehouseexceptthemanwhoactedascoachman，andhiswife，bothofwhomweretoolsoftheconspirators。