Sherlock Holmes held up the paper so that the sunlight shone full upon it. It was a page torn from a notebook. “They had been drawn in chalk upon the black wooden door of the tool-house, which stands beside the lawn in full view of the front windows. I took an exact copy, and here it is.” He unfolded a paper and laid it upon the table. Here is a copy of the hieroglyphics:
Holmes rubbed his hands and chuckled with delight, “Excellent!” he said, “Excellent! Pray continue.” “When I had taken the copy, I rubbed out the marks, but, two mornings later, a fresh inscription had appeared. I have a copy of it here”:
Holmes examined it for some time, and then, folding it carefully up, he placed it in his pocketbook. “This promises to be a most interesting and unusual case,” said he.
