”Idon’tknowthat。TomycertainknowledgehehasactedonbehalfofthreeofthereigninghousesofEuropeinveryvitalmatters。””Butyouknowhimwell，Watson。HeissuchaninscrutablefellowthatIneverquiteknowwhattomakeofhim。Doyouthinkheishopeful?Doyouthinkheexpectstomakeasuccessofit?””Hehassaidnothing。””Thatisabadsign。””Onthecontrary，Ihavenoticedthatwhenheisoffthetrailhegenerallysaysso。Itiswhenheisonascentandisnotquiteabsolutelysureyetthatitistherightonethatheismosttaciturn。Now，mydearfellow，wecan’thelpmatterbymakingourselvesnervousaboutthem，soletmeimploreyoutogotobedandsobefreshforwhatevermayawaitusto-morrow。”Iwasableatlasttopersuademycompaniontotakemyadvice，thoughIknewfromhisexcitedmannerthattherewasnotmuchhopeofsleepforhim。Indeed，hismoodwasinfectious，forIlaytossinghalfthenightmyself，broodingoverthisstrangeproblem，andinventingahundredtheories，eachofwhichwasmoreimpossiblethanthelast。WhyhadHolmesremainedatWoking?WhyhadheaskedMissHarrisontoremaininthesick-roomallday?WhyhadhebeensocarefulnottoinformthepeopleatBriarbraethatheintendedtoremainnearthem?IcudgelledmybrainsuntilIfellasleepintheendeavortofindsomeexplanationwhichwouldcoverallthesefacts。
Itwasseveno’clockwhenIawoke，andIsetoffatonceforPhelps’sroom，tofindhimhaggardandspentafterasleeplessnight。HisfirstquestionwaswhetherHolmeshadarrivedyet。”He’llbeherewhenhepromised，”saidI，”andnotaninstantsoonerorlater。”
Andmywordsweretrue，forshortlyaftereightahansomdasheduptothedoorandourfriendgotoutofit。Standinginthewindowwesawthathislefthandwasswathedinabandageandthathisfacewasverygrimandpale。Heenteredthehouse，butitwassomelittletimebeforehecameupstairs。”Helookslikeabeatenman，”criedPhelps。
Iwasforcedtoconfessthathewasright。”Afterall，”saidI，”theclueofthematterliesprobablyhereintown。”
Phelpsgaveagroan。”Idon’tknowhowitis，”saidhe，”butIhadhopedforsomuchfromhisreturn。Butsurelyhishandwasnottieduplikethatyesterday。Whatcanbethematter?””Youarenotwounded，Holmes?”Iasked，asmyfriendenteredtheroom。”Tut，itisonlyascratchthroughmyownclumsiness，”