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- Артур Конан Дойл
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“
I
think
we
gain
a
little
,
”
said
Jones
,
with
his
eyes
on
the
Aurora
.
“
I
am
sure
of
it
,
”
said
I
.
“
We
shall
be
up
with
her
in
a
very
few
minutes
.
”
At
that
moment
,
however
,
as
our
evil
fate
would
have
it
,
a
tug
with
three
barges
in
tow
blundered
in
between
us
.
It
was
only
by
putting
our
helm
hard
down
that
we
avoided
a
collision
,
and
before
we
could
round
them
and
recover
our
way
the
Aurora
had
gained
a
good
two
hundred
yards
.
She
was
still
,
however
,
well
in
view
,
and
the
murky
uncertain
twilight
was
setting
into
a
clear
starlit
night
.
Our
boilers
were
strained
to
their
utmost
,
and
the
frail
shell
vibrated
and
creaked
with
the
fierce
energy
which
was
driving
us
along
.
We
had
shot
through
the
Pool
,
past
the
West
India
Docks
,
down
the
long
Deptford
Reach
,
and
up
again
after
rounding
the
Isle
of
Dogs
.
The
dull
blur
in
front
of
us
resolved
itself
now
clearly
enough
into
the
dainty
Aurora
.
Jones
turned
our
search
-
light
upon
her
,
so
that
we
could
plainly
see
the
figures
upon
her
deck
.
One
man
sat
by
the
stern
,
with
something
black
between
his
knees
over
which
he
stooped
.
Beside
him
lay
a
dark
mass
which
looked
like
a
Newfoundland
dog
.
The
boy
held
the
tiller
,
while
against
the
red
glare
of
the
furnace
I
could
see
old
Smith
,
stripped
to
the
waist
,
and
shovelling
coals
for
dear
life
.
They
may
have
had
some
doubt
at
first
as
to
whether
we
were
really
pursuing
them
,
but
now
as
we
followed
every
winding
and
turning
which
they
took
there
could
no
longer
be
any
question
about
it
.
At
Greenwich
we
were
about
three
hundred
paces
behind
them
.
At
Blackwall
we
could
not
have
been
more
than
two
hundred
and
fifty
.
I
have
coursed
many
creatures
in
many
countries
during
my
checkered
career
,
but
never
did
sport
give
me
such
a
wild
thrill
as
this
mad
,
flying
man
-
hunt
down
the
Thames
.
Steadily
we
drew
in
upon
them
,
yard
by
yard
.
In
the
silence
of
the
night
we
could
hear
the
panting
and
clanking
of
their
machinery
.
The
man
in
the
stern
still
crouched
upon
the
deck
,
and
his
arms
were
moving
as
though
he
were
busy
,
while
every
now
and
then
he
would
look
up
and
measure
with
a
glance
the
distance
which
still
separated
us
.
Nearer
we
came
and
nearer
.
Jones
yelled
to
them
to
stop
.
We
were
not
more
than
four
boat
’
s
lengths
behind
them
,
both
boats
flying
at
a
tremendous
pace
.
It
was
a
clear
reach
of
the
river
,
with
Barking
Level
upon
one
side
and
the
melancholy
Plumstead
Marshes
upon
the
other
.
At
our
hail
the
man
in
the
stern
sprang
up
from
the
deck
and
shook
his
two
clinched
fists
at
us
,
cursing
the
while
in
a
high
,
cracked
voice
.
He
was
a
good
-
sized
,
powerful
man
,
and
as
he
stood
poising
himself
with
legs
astride
I
could
see
that
from
the
thigh
downwards
there
was
but
a
wooden
stump
upon
the
right
side
.
At
the
sound
of
his
strident
,
angry
cries
there
was
movement
in
the
huddled
bundle
upon
the
deck
.
It
straightened
itself
into
a
little
black
man
—
the
smallest
I
have
ever
seen
—
with
a
great
,
misshapen
head
and
a
shock
of
tangled
,
dishevelled
hair
.
Holmes
had
already
drawn
his
revolver
,
and
I
whipped
out
mine
at
the
sight
of
this
savage
,
distorted
creature
.
He
was
wrapped
in
some
sort
of
dark
ulster
or
blanket
,
which
left
only
his
face
exposed
;
but
that
face
was
enough
to
give
a
man
a
sleepless
night
.
Never
have
I
seen
features
so
deeply
marked
with
all
bestiality
and
cruelty
.
His
small
eyes
glowed
and
burned
with
a
sombre
light
,
and
his
thick
lips
were
writhed
back
from
his
teeth
,
which
grinned
and
chattered
at
us
with
a
half
animal
fury
.
“
Fire
if
he
raises
his
hand
,
”
said
Holmes
,
quietly
.
We
were
within
a
boat
’
s
-
length
by
this
time
,
and
almost
within
touch
of
our
quarry
.
I
can
see
the
two
of
them
now
as
they
stood
,
the
white
man
with
his
legs
far
apart
,
shrieking
out
curses
,
and
the
unhallowed
dwarf
with
his
hideous
face
,
and
his
strong
yellow
teeth
gnashing
at
us
in
the
light
of
our
lantern
.
It
was
well
that
we
had
so
clear
a
view
of
him
.
Even
as
we
looked
he
plucked
out
from
under
his
covering
a
short
,
round
piece
of
wood
,
like
a
school
-
ruler
,
and
clapped
it
to
his
lips
.
Our
pistols
rang
out
together
.
He
whirled
round
,
threw
up
his
arms
,
and
with
a
kind
of
choking
cough
fell
sideways
into
the
stream
.
I
caught
one
glimpse
of
his
venomous
,
menacing
eyes
amid
the
white
swirl
of
the
waters
.
At
the
same
moment
the
wooden
-
legged
man
threw
himself
upon
the
rudder
and
put
it
hard
down
,
so
that
his
boat
made
straight
in
for
the
southern
bank
,
while
we
shot
past
her
stern
,
only
clearing
her
by
a
few
feet
.
We
were
round
after
her
in
an
instant
,
but
she
was
already
nearly
at
the
bank
.
It
was
a
wild
and
desolate
place
,
where
the
moon
glimmered
upon
a
wide
expanse
of
marsh
-
land
,
with
pools
of
stagnant
water
and
beds
of
decaying
vegetation
.
The
launch
with
a
dull
thud
ran
up
upon
the
mud
-
bank
,
with
her
bow
in
the
air
and
her
stern
flush
with
the
water
.
The
fugitive
sprang
out
,
but
his
stump
instantly
sank
its
whole
length
into
the
sodden
soil
.
In
vain
he
struggled
and
writhed
.
Not
one
step
could
he
possibly
take
either
forwards
or
backwards
.
He
yelled
in
impotent
rage
,
and
kicked
frantically
into
the
mud
with
his
other
foot
,
but
his
struggles
only
bored
his
wooden
pin
the
deeper
into
the
sticky
bank
.
When
we
brought
our
launch
alongside
he
was
so
firmly
anchored
that
it
was
only
by
throwing
the
end
of
a
rope
over
his
shoulders
that
we
were
able
to
haul
him
out
,
and
to
drag
him
,
like
some
evil
fish
,
over
our
side
.
The
two
Smiths
,
father
and
son
,
sat
sullenly
in
their
launch
,
but
came
aboard
meekly
enough
when
commanded
.
The
Aurora
herself
we
hauled
off
and
made
fast
to
our
stern
.
A
solid
iron
chest
of
Indian
workmanship
stood
upon
the
deck
.
This
,
there
could
be
no
question
,
was
the
same
that
had
contained
the
ill
-
omened
treasure
of
the
Sholtos
There
was
no
key
,
but
it
was
of
considerable
weight
,
so
we
transferred
it
carefully
to
our
own
little
cabin
.
As
we
steamed
slowly
up
-
stream
again
,
we
flashed
our
search
-
light
in
every
direction
,
but
there
was
no
sign
of
the
Islander
.
Somewhere
in
the
dark
ooze
at
the
bottom
of
the
Thames
lie
the
bones
of
that
strange
visitor
to
our
shores
.
“
See
here
,
”
said
Holmes
,
pointing
to
the
wooden
hatchway
.
“
We
were
hardly
quick
enough
with
our
pistols
.
”
There
,
sure
enough
,
just
behind
where
we
had
been
standing
,
stuck
one
of
those
murderous
darts
which
we
knew
so
well
.
It
must
have
whizzed
between
us
at
the
instant
that
we
fired
.
Holmes
smiled
at
it
and
shrugged
his
shoulders
in
his
easy
fashion
,
but
I
confess
that
it
turned
me
sick
to
think
of
the
horrible
death
which
had
passed
so
close
to
us
that
night
.
