Holmes rubbed his hands and chuckled with delight.
“Our material is rapidly accumulating,” said he.
“Three days later a message was left scrawled upon paper, and placed
under a pebble upon the sun-dial. Here it is. The characters are, as you
see, exactly the same as the last one. After that I determined to lie in
wait; so I got out my revolver and I sat up in my study, which overlooks
the lawn and garden. About two in the morning I was seated by the
window, all being dark save for the moonlight outside, when I heard
steps behind me, and there was my wife in her dressing-gown. She
implored me to come to bed. I told her frankly that I wished to see who
it was who played such absurd tricks upon us. She answered that it was
some senseless practical joke, and that I should not take any notice of
it.
“'If it really annoys you, Hilton, we might go and travel, you and I,
and so avoid this nuisance.'
“'What, be driven out of our own house by a practical joker?' said I.
'Why, we should have the whole county laughing at us.'
“'Well, come to bed,' said she, 'and we can discuss it in the morning.'
“Suddenly, as she spoke, I saw her white face grow whiter yet in the
moonlight, and her hand tightened upon my shoulder. Something was moving
in the shadow of the tool-house. I saw a dark, creeping figure which
crawled round the corner and squatted in front of the door. Seizing my
pistol I was rushing out, when my wife threw her arms round me and held
me with convulsive strength. I tried to throw her off, but she clung to
me most desperately. At last I got clear, but by the time I had opened
the door and reached the house the creature was gone. He had left a
trace of his presence, however, for there on the door was the very same
arrangement of dancing men which had already twice appeared, and which
I have copied on that paper. There was no other sign of the fellow
anywhere, though I ran all over the grounds. And yet the amazing thing
is that he must have been there all the time, for when I examined the
door again in the morning he had scrawled some more of his pictures
under the line which I had already seen.”
“Have you that fresh drawing?”
“Yes; it is very short, but I made a copy of it, and here it is.”