good stone is. They are the devil’s pet baits. In the larger and older

jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty

years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is

remarkable in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is

blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a

sinister history. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide,

and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of

crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor

to the gallows and the prison? I’ll lock it up in my strong box now and

drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it.”


“Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?”


“I cannot tell.”


“Well, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had

anything to do with the matter?”


“It is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an absolutely

innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he was carrying was of

considerably more value than if it were made of solid gold. That, however, I

shall determine by a very simple test if we have an answer to our

advertisement.”


“And you can do nothing until then?”


“Nothing.”


“In that case I shall continue my professional round. But I shall come

back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I should like to see

the solution of so tangled a business.”


“Very glad to see you. I dine at seven. There is a woodcock, I believe.

By the way, in view of recent occurrences, perhaps I ought to ask Mrs. Hudson

to examine its crop.”


I had been delayed at a case, and it was a little after half-past six when I

found myself in Baker Street once more. As I approached the house I saw a tall

man in a Scotch bonnet with a coat which was buttoned up to his chin waiting

outside in the bright semicircle which was thrown from the fanlight. Just as I