“Fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official detective force! This incident gives zest to our investigation, however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer from her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her. And now, Watson, we shall order breakfast, and afterwards I shall walk down to Doctors’ Commons, where I hope to get some data which may help us in this matter.”

It was nearly one o’clock when Sherlock Holmes returned home. He held in his hand a sheet of blue paper, covered with notes.

“I have seen the will of Miss Stoner’s mother,” said he. “The income is now not more than 750 pounds. Each daughter can have an income of 250 pounds, in case of marriage. It is clear, therefore, that if both girls had married, our pleasant visitor would have had very little left, even one marriage would take a lot of money from him. He has the strongest motives for preventing his stepdaughters’ marriage. And now, Watson, this is very serious and we must hurry, as the old man knows of our interest in his affairs; so if you are ready, we shall call a cab and drive to Waterloo. And remember to take your revolver with you. It is a good argument with gentlemen who can bend pokers.”

At Waterloo we took a train for Leatherhead, the station nearest to Stoke Moran, where we got into a cab and drove for four or five miles to our client’s house. It was a perfect day, with a bright sun and a few clouds in the sky. The trees were just throwing out their first green leaves, and the air was full of the pleasant smell. To me there was a strange contrast between the beautiful spring day and the tragic event we had arrived to investigate. My companion sat in the cab, his hat pulled down over his eyes, lost in the deepest thought [18] . Suddenly, however, he pointed to the left.

“Look there!” said he.

I saw a park with a very old house in it.

“Stoke Moran?” said he.

“Yes, sir, that is the house of Dr. Grimesby Roylott,” answered the driver.

“There’s the village,” said the driver, pointing to some houses to the left; “but if you want to get to the house, you’ll find a road over the fields. There it is, where the lady is walking.”

“And the lady, I believe, is Miss Stoner,” said Holmes.

We got off and the cab drove back to Leatherhead.

1. Answer the questions:

1. Did Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson come to any conclusion about the case?

2. Who suddenly came into the room?

3. What did Dr. Roylott look like?

4. How did he learn about Miss Stoner’s visit to Sherlock Holmes?

5. Why did Dr. Roylott come to Sherlock Holmes?

6. What did Sherlock Holmes find out about Dr. Roylott’s financial position?

7. How did Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson reach Stoke Moran?

Think and say

1. How did Sherlock Holmes’ and Dr. Roylott’s behaviour characterize them?

2. Why did Sherlock Holmes think that they had to hurry?

2. Find the following phrases in the text and reproduce situations from the text with them. Give Russian equivalents.

1. from the outside

ant. from the inside

2. there is no doubt (about smth / that…)

3. in a low voice

4. to follow smb

3. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences so as to use the phrases above.

1. The actors spoke very quietly and we couldn’t hear anything.

2. When Steven arrived home he found the house locked by somebody who was in it. Steven rang the bell and knocked on the door but without any result.

3. Alex was a private detective and very often his job was to watch people and write reports about their actions for his clients.

4. After the doctor examined the dead man, the cause of his death was quite clear.

5. We are absolutely sure that the window was broken by somebody who was not in the house.

6. The cat watched every movement of the mouse.

7. I am sure the police are after us.