'That is the strangest and most terrible thing about
him.' Holmes laughed angrily. 'He is everywhere, but
nobody knows him. Like his crimes, he is fantastic.'
I listened in silence as Holmes told me about Moriarty.
'He is an extraordinarily intelligent man. At the age of
twenty-one he was a professor of mathematics. For years he was one of the most important men in the
world of mathematics. Then he disappeared from
university life. Soon after that I began to realize that
crime in London was changing. Someone was telling
criminals - who are usually stupid and uninteresting
little men - what to do. They were obeying the orders
of a mastermind. It could only be Moriarty. But I
could never catch him. I hate his crimes, but I
recognize his intelligence. He is the only criminal who
interests me, because he is the only criminal who is as
intelligent as I am.
'Then, in August, everything changed. Criminals
became stupid again. In the middle of all his success,
Moriarty had disappeared. Why?'
'Holmes!' I cried. 'The reason is clear. The Whitechapel
murders began in August. It must be .. .'
'No, Watson,' Holmes said. 'It is not clear. Someone
like Moriarty does not break locks and climb through
windows himself. He gave orders to others. He was
the commander-in-chief of the criminal world, not a
foot-soldier.'
'Then why ... I mean, how ... ?'