'I'm so glad: said Thaddeus Sholto. 'Miss Morstan, your father had a very weak heart. If
his heart had been stronger, he would have been alive today.'
Miss Morstan sat down and her face turned very white.
'I knew that he was dead: she said. There were tears in her eyes.
'Please tell us why we have been brought here: said Miss Morstan.
'My father: Sholto said, 'was Major Sholto of the Indian Army. He retired from the army
about eleven years ago. My brother, Bartholomew, and I were his only children. We knew
that Captain Morstan and our father had been very good friends in India. My brother and I
also knew that our father was afraid of something. He never went out alone. He often spoke
about a man with a wooden leg who followed him. He seemed very afraid of this man.
'One day in 1882, our father received a letter from India. This letter upset him very much.
He became ill. Every day he grew weaker. At last, he was dying. He asked to see me and my
brother. He said that he wanted to tell us the truth about Captain Morstan's death.'
'When Father was in India with Captain Morstan, they found a great treasure. It was
called the Great Agra Treasure. The jewels in this treasure were worth more than a million
pounds. Father brought the Agra Treasure back to England. Morstan followed him and
came at once to the house to ask for his share. But the treasure had made Father greedy. He
wanted to keep it all for himself. They had a terrible argument. Father knew that Morstari's
heart was weak. Suddenly, the colour of Morstari's face changed. Father saw at once that
Morstan was dead. He did not know what to do. He decided to say nothing. He hid the body
and he also hid the Great Agra Treasure.
'He told us as he was dyi ng that he had been
awicked and greedy man. The Agra Treasure
never brought him happiness - only fear and
guilt. Then he began to tell us where he had
hidden the treasure. At that moment a terrible
change came over our father's face. He pointed
at the window and cried out in a voice full of
fear, "Keep him out! Keep him out!"
'My brother and I stared at the window.
We saw a horrid face looking in through the
window. It was wild and had a black beard and
cruel eyes. We rushed to the window but the
man had gone. When we went back to the bed,
Father was dead.'
'What did you do then?' asked Holmes.
'We ran out into the garden: replied Sholto.
'We looked everywhere, but we found nothing. In the morning, we went to our father's
ท'room. We founel that someone had been in the room during the night. There was a piece
of paper on the bed beside my father's body. And on this paper some words were written.
These words were "The Sign of Four".'
Total words: 2,119