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1"He was in the house about half an hour, and I could catch glimpses of him in the windows of the sitting-room, pacing up
2and down, talking excitedly, and waving his arms. Of her I could see nothing. Presently he emerged, looking even more
3flurried than before. As he stepped up to the cab, he pulled a gold watch from his pocket and looked at it earnestly,
4'Drive like the devil,' he shouted, 'first to Gross & Hankey's in Regent Street, and then to the Church of St. Monica in
5the Edgeware Road. Half a guinea if you do it in twenty minutes!' "Away they went, and I was just wondering whether I
6should not do well to follow them when up the lane came a neat little landau, the coachman with his coat only
7half-buttoned, and his tie under his ear, while all the tags of his harness were sticking out of the buckles. It hadn't
8pulled up before she shot out of the hall door and into it. I only caught a glimpse of her at the moment, but she was a
9lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for. "'The Church of St. Monica, John,' she cried, 'and half a sovereign
10if you reach it in twenty minutes.' "This was quite too good to lose, Watson. I was just balancing whether I should run
11for it, or whether I should perch behind her landau when a cab came through the street. The driver looked twice at such
12a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he could object. 'The Church of St. Monica,' said I, 'and half a sovereign if you
13reach it in twenty minutes.' It was twenty-five minutes to twelve, and of course it was clear enough what was in the
14wind. "My cabby drove fast. I don't think I ever drove faster, but the others were there before us. The cab and the
15landau with their steaming horses were in front of the door when I arrived. I paid the man and hurried into the church.
16There was not a soul there save the two whom I had followed and a surpliced clergyman, who seemed to be expostulating
17with them. They were all three standing in a knot in front of the altar. I lounged up the side aisle like any other
18idler who has dropped into a church. Suddenly, to my surprise, the three at the altar faced round to me, and Godfrey
19Norton came running as hard as he could towards me. "'Thank God,' he cried. 'You'll do. Come! Come!' "'What then?' I
20asked. "'Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal.' "I was half-dragged up to the altar, and before I
21knew where I was I found myself mumbling responses which were whispered in my ear, and vouching for things of which I
22knew nothing, and generally assisting in the secure tying up of Irene Adler, spinster, to Godfrey Norton, bachelor. It
23was all done in an instant, and there was the gentleman thanking me on the one side and the lady on the other, while the
24clergyman beamed on me in front. It was the most preposterous position in which I ever found myself in my life, and it
25was the thought of it that started me laughing just now. It seems that there had been some informality about their
26license, that the clergyman absolutely refused to marry them without a witness of some sort, and that my lucky
27appearance saved the bridegroom from having to sally out into the streets in search of a best man. The bride gave me a
28sovereign, and I mean to wear it on my watch chain in memory of the occasion." "This is a very unexpected turn of
29affairs," said I; "and what then?" "Well, I found my plans very seriously menaced. It looked as if the pair might take
30an immediate departure, and so necessitate very prompt and energetic measures on my part. At the church door, however,
31they separated, he driving back to the Temple, and she to her own house. 'I shall drive out in the park at five as
32usual,' she said as she left him. I heard no more. They drove away in different directions, and I went off to make my
33own arrangements." "Which are?" "Some cold beef and a glass of beer," he answered, ringing the bell. "I have been too
34busy to think of food, and I am likely to be busier still this evening. By the way, Doctor, I shall want your
35co-operation." "I shall be delighted." "You don't mind breaking the law?" "Not in the least." "Nor running a chance of
36arrest?" "Not in a good cause." "Oh, the cause is excellent!" "Then I am your man." "I was sure that I might rely on
37you." "But what is it you wish?" "When Mrs. Turner has brought in the tray I will make it clear to you. Now," he said as
38he turned hungrily on the simple fare that our landlady had provided, "I must discuss it while I eat, for I have not
39much time. It is nearly five now. In two hours we must be on the scene of action. Miss Irene, or Madame, rather, returns
40from her drive at seven. We must be at Briony Lodge to meet her." "And what then?" "You must leave that to me. I have
41already arranged what is to occur. There is only one point on which I must insist. You must not interfere, come what
42may. You understand?" "I am to be neutral?" "To do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small unpleasantness.
43Do not join in it. It will end in my being conveyed into the house. Four or five minutes afterwards the sitting-room
44window will open. You are to station yourself close to that open window." "Yes." "You are to watch me, for I will be
45visible to you." "Yes." "And when I raise my hand--so--you will throw into the room what I give you to throw, and will,
46at the same time, raise the cry of fire. You quite follow me?" "Entirely." "It is nothing very formidable," he said,
47taking a long cigar-shaped roll from his pocket. "It is an ordinary plumber's smoke-rocket, fitted with a cap at either
48end to make it self-lighting. Your task is confined to that. When you raise your cry of fire, it will be taken up by
49quite a number of people. You may then walk to the end of the street, and I will rejoin you in ten minutes. I hope that
50I have made myself clear?" "I am to remain neutral, to get near the window, to watch you, and at the signal to throw in
51this object, then to raise the cry of fire, and to wait you at the corner of the street." "Precisely." "Then you may
52entirely rely on me." "That is excellent. I think, perhaps, it is almost time that I prepare for the new role I have to
53play." He disappeared into his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in the character of an amiable and simple-minded
54Nonconformist clergyman. His broad black hat, his baggy trousers, his white tie, his sympathetic smile, and general look
55of peering and benevolent curiosity were such as Mr. John Hare alone could have equalled. It was not merely that Holmes
56changed his costume. His expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every fresh part that he assumed. The
57stage lost a fine actor, even as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in crime. It was a quarter
58past six when we left Baker Street, and it still wanted ten minutes to the hour when we found ourselves in Serpentine
59Avenue. It was already dusk, and the lamps were just being lighted as we paced up and down in front of Briony Lodge,
60waiting for the coming of its occupant. The house was just such as I had pictured it from Sherlock Holmes' succinct
61description, but the locality appeared to be less private than I expected. On the contrary, for a small street in a
62quiet neighbourhood, it was remarkably animated. There was a group of shabbily dressed men smoking and laughing in a
63corner, a scissors-grinder with his wheel, two guardsmen who were flirting with a nurse-girl, and several well-dressed
64young men who were lounging up and down with cigars in their mouths. "You see," remarked Holmes, as we paced to and fro
65in front of the house, "this marriage rather simplifies matters. The photograph becomes a double-edged weapon now. The
66chances are that she would be as averse to its being seen by Mr. Godfrey Norton, as our client is to its coming to the
67eyes of his princess. Now the question is, Where are we to find the photograph?" "Where, indeed?"
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