"We can do nothing more here, Colonel," noted Holmes. "The scene of the crime is what's wanted. Watson, ring for the boots and -- "

"Have him order a cab," I interrupted.

"Watson, as usual you see but you do not observe. Gaze upon your feet and mine. They are clad in slippers, surely not the proper garb for the outdoors. The boy has not yet brought up our cleaned boots, and surely we will require them.

"You'd best bring along your Ely's No. 2 as well, Watson. I'll have my stick. And tell the boy we shall indeed require a cab, but to take not the first nor the second, nor even in this case the third to present itself. In fact, let him go around the corner and hail the fourth."

The fog had again descended, so we saw little of the streets through which we passed until we pulled up at a gate flanked by two stone pillars atop each of which rested a lioness with her paw upon her cub. Passing through the gate we approached a large red brick house, covered with ivy and flanked by blooming Wisteria bushes. We drew to a halt before the door, and Holmes jumped out of the cab, flinging himself prone upon the ground and searching through the grass with the aid of his magnifying glass.

"Do you suspect intruders, Holmes?" I queried. "Can you see footprints?" "Not at all, Watson. As you might remember, we are going fishing tomorrow, and this wet grass is the perfect place to find the worms we'll need as bait."

It was almost twenty minutes before Holmes completed his thorough search of the soaked area and Motherspaw was permitted to show us into the house. Despite its pedestrian exterior, the door opened into a baronial hall, with a large table flanked by two dozen chairs filling its center. Regimental flags, some tattered and torn and apparently quite ancient, hung from the beamed ceiling. At the rear was a large fireplace, on either side of which stairs led to the upper stories.

Striding to the fireplace, Holmes whipped out a pair of silver-framed pince nez and placed them upon his nose. "Clever, Watson, aren't they? Wearing these magnifying glasses leaves my hands free."

Holmes reached for the poker, absent-mindedly straightening a bend in it before using the tip to stir the ashes. At the sound of a faint clink he bent and rose again. In his hand was a strange knife, rather longer than a dagger, decorated with a ship upon the hilt. "Aha, the very think to inflict a navel wound," he murmured, a faint twinkle in his eye. "And what have we here?"

Motherspaw and I both peered over his shoulder, though in my case I had to stand on my tip toes to do it. Small paw prints were visible in the ashes. "Have you a cat?"

"No," replied Motherspaw, "no pets at all." "But there was something here. These look like the prints of a monkey's paw. And there's this," expostulated Holmes as he produced a sooty paper as if by legerdemain. "You have received a letter, have you not? One which angered you enough to cause you to throw it into the fire. And yet you have said nothing of it to me!"

"It seemed to have nothing to do with the matter," replied the Colonel. "That is for me to decide," responded Holmes. "I cannot make bricks without straw nor a case without data. What was the letter about? I can only make out the words "rights" and "langur."

"I could make no sense of it at all, but if you like, I will tell you what I remember. Please,