Holmes unfolded the note carefully and spread it on his knee. He took a magnifying glass
out of his pocket and examined the paper.
'This paper was made in India,' he remarked. 'Have a look at it, Watson.'
I took the note and studied it carefully. The paper was thin and old.
'It looks like the plan of a large building,' I said. 'But what are these n~llles at the bottom?
And what is the meaning of - "The Sign- of Four"?'
'I don't understand 'what this note means,' said Holmes. 'But it might be important.'
There were many people outside the theatre. The letter had told us to stand outside on
the left. We waited. Suddenly a small dark man appeared.
'Are you Miss Morstan and her friends?' he asked.
'Yes,' she said.
'You must promise me that these men are not policemen,' said the stranger.
'They are not policemen,' replied Miss Morstan.
'Then come with me,' said the man.
He led us quickly across the street to another cab and opened the door. We went inside.
The man closed the door and jumped Liponto the driver's seat of the cab. The horse moved
off quickly.
We passed through so many streets that I
was very soon lost.
At last we stopped. We were outside a
house in a dark quiet street. We knocked
at the door. It was opened immediately by
an Indian servant. The Indian was wearing
a bright yellow turban on his head. He had
white clothes and a yellow belt. It was very
strange to see such brightly coloured clothes
in this quiet street in London.
'My master is waiting for you,' said the
servant.
As he spoke, we heard a man's voice.
'Bring them in to me,' the voice called. 'Bring them straight in to me.'
4 The Death of Major Sholto
We followed the Indian servant into the house. He stopped in front of an open door.
We entered and were astonished. The room in which we were standing was full of Indian
paintings and ornaments. The carpet was soft and very thick. There were two large
tiger-skins on the walls. In the centre of the room stood a strange little man with a bald
head. He was smiling, but he seemed very nervous.
'My name is Thaddeus Sholto. You are Miss Morstan, of course. And these two
gentlemen ..?
'This is Mr Sherlock Holmes and this is Doctor Watson.'
'A doctor!' cried Thaddeus Sholto excitedly. '011, please could you listen to my heart?
r am very worried about my heart.'
1 The Death offMajor Sholto
I listened to his heart beating. 'There is nothing wrong with your heart,' J told him.