Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Tainted Canister Read Online Free Page B

far too long since I visited your master. Is he here?”
    â€œBless you, sir, you’ve come on the only night all week that he goes out. This time it’s whist at the Bagatelle Club, and he’s been gone since seven.”
    â€œWhat time do you expect him to return?”
    â€œWell, sir, that’s difficult to say. If he wins, it’s usually early, so he might be in at any moment. But these past few months, it’s later and later every week. Some nights, he comes home looking black as thunder!” Too late, Merrick realized that he might be transgressing butlerly discretion. “You’ll pardon me, I’m sure, sir, seeing as how you and Dr. Anstruther are old friends.”
    â€œOf course, Merrick. So you really can’t say when he’ll be home?”
    â€œNo, sir.” He added, with a slightly anxious look, “Usually, with your permission, the doctor tells me to go up to bed.”
    â€œBy all means,” I agreed. “Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll wait for Richard in the library for, let’s say, half an hour. You can leave a key with me. If he’s not home by then, I’ll let myself out and put the key under the doormat. Will that be acceptable?”
    â€œOh, yes, sir! Dr. Anstruther will have his key. I’ll say goodnight, then, if there’s nothing more that you’ll be wanting. You remember the way to the library, Dr. Watson?” This last was an afterthought, thrown over Merrick’s shoulder as he tottered down the hall.
    â€œI think so. It’s a large house, you know, Merrick. Much bigger than either of us had in Paddington.” I thought that I heard something then about “bloody lot more house than one man needs!” But he was almost out of earshot, so I may have been mistaken.
    In fact, I did recall the library’s location, as well as the general layout of the house. There were two wings; and Anstruther’s bedroom was in this one, on the first floor immediately above the library. Merrick’s bedroom, in the servant’s quarters, was on the second floor of the other wing. For all practical purposes, therefore, Richard and I would be alone when he returned.
    I found the library easily and waited for the stipulated time, trying to calm myself by reviewing my diagnoses of the patients I had seen that day. When the clock on the mantelpiece struck ten, I returned to the foyer, scribbled a note upon a calling card, and left it in a salver on a table by the door. Then, on impulse, I opened the door and walked outside, eager for a breath of air. It was a moonless night, but wonderfully clear by London standards. For one solitary moment in eternity, I stood there, gazing at the myriad of stars and offering a prayer for absolution. I did not place Merrick’s key under the doormat, for I intended to pass that way again.
    Reentering the house, I removed my boots and carried them, with my medical bag, down the hallway in my stockings, keeping closely to the left-hand wall. In my present state of nerves, I was thankful that no stair creaked when I mounted to the upper floor, although Merrick could not in any case have heard it. Anstruther’s bedroom was indeed where I remembered it; the latch clicked softly as I opened his door and stepped inside. There, the bedside lamp cast a soft glow upon the sheets, which had already been turned back invitingly. Anstruther’s dressing gown and slippers lay ready for his use. On that June evening, Merrick had not lit a fire, so the bedroom was a trifle chilly. That suited my purpose very well. Setting down my boots, I put on my former colleague’s slippers. He was a smaller man than I was, so they were a little tight. Then I unclasped my doctor’s bag, placed it carefully open on its side above the turned-down sheets, and waited. At that hour of the night, every creature seeks out warmth and darkness. Afterward, I took my bag and boots and hid myself