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 sundial. 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.”
Again he produced a paper. The new dance was in this form: