briefly, watson, i am in the midst of a very remarkable inquiry, and i have hoped to find a clue in the incoherent ramblings of these sots, as i have done before now. had i been recognised in that den my life would not have been worth an hour’s purchase; for i have used it before now for my own purposes, and the rascally lascar who runs it has sworn to have vengeance upon me. there is a trap-door at the back of that building, near the corner of paul’s wharf, which could tell some strange tales of what has passed through it upon the moonless nights."