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Page 143
"Moriarty?"
"They have secured the whole gang with the exception
of him. He has given them the slip. Of course, when
I had left the country there was no one to cope with
him. But I did think that I had put the game in their
hands. I think that you had better return to England,
Watson."
"Why?"
"Because you will find me a dangerous companion now.
This man's occupation is gone. He is lost if he
returns to London. If I read his character right he
will devote his whole energies to revenging himself
upon me. He said as much in our short interview, and
I fancy that he meant it. I should certainly
recommend you to return to your practice."
It was hardly an appeal to be successful with one who
was an old campaigner as well as an old friend. We
sat in the Strasburg salle-�-manger arguing the
question for half an hour, but the same night we had
resumed our journey and were well on our way to
Geneva.
For a charming week we wandered up the Valley of the
Rhone, and then, branching off at Leuk, we made our
way over the Gemmi Pass, still deep in snow, and so,
by way of Interlaken, to Meiringen. It was a lovely
trip, the dainty green of the spring below, the virgin
white of the winter above; but it was clear to me that
never for one instant did Holmes forget the shadow
which lay across him. In the homely Alpine villages
or in the lonely mountain passes, I could tell by his
quick glancing eyes and his sharp scrutiny of every
face that passed us, that he was well convinced that,
walk where we would, we could not walk ourselves clear
of the danger which was dogging our footsteps.
Once, I remember, as we passed over the Gemmi, and
walked along the border of the melancholy Daubensee, a
large rock which had been dislodged from the ridge
upon our right clattered down and roared into the lake
behind us. In an instant Holmes had raced up on to
the ridge, and, standing upon a lofty pinnacle, craned
his neck in every direction. It was in vain that our
guide assured him that a fall of stones was a common
chance in the spring-time at that spot. He said
nothing, but he smiled at me with the air of a man who
sees the fulfillment of that which he had expected.
And yet for all his watchfulness he was never
depressed. On the contrary, I can never recollect
having seen him in such exuberant spirits. Again and
again he recurred to the fact that if he could be
assured that society was freed from Professor Moriarty
he would cheerfully bring his own career to a
conclusion.
"I think that I may go so far as to say, Watson, that
I have not lived wholly in vain," he remarked. "If my
record were closed to-night I could still survey it
with equanimity. The air of London is the sweeter for
my presence. In over a thousand cases I am not aware
that I have ever used my powers upon the wrong side.
Of late I have been tempted to look into the problems
furnished by nature rather than those more superficial
ones for which our artificial state of society is
responsible. Your memoirs will draw to an end,
Watson, upon the day that I crown my career by the
capture or extinction of the most dangerous and
capable criminal in Europe."
I shall be brief, and yet exact, in the little which
remains for me to tell. It is not a subject on which
I would willingly dwell, and yet I am conscious that a
duty devolves upon me to omit no detail.
It was on the 3d of May that we reached the little
village of Meiringen, where we put up at the
Englischer Hof, then kept by Peter Steiler the elder.
Our landlord was an intelligent man, and spoke
excellent English, having served for three years as
waiter at the Grosvenor Hotel in London. At his
advice, on the afternoon of the 4th we set off
together, with the intention of crossing the hills and
spending the night at the hamlet of Rosenlaui. We had
strict injunctions, however, on no account to pass the
falls of Reichenbach, which are about half-way up the
hill, without making a small detour to see them.
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