The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans | Page 5

point close to the station, where the line emerges from the tunnel in
which it runs. The head was badly crushed--an injury which might well
have been caused by a fall from the train. The body could only have
come on the line in that way. Had it been carried down from any
neighbouring street, it must have passed the station barriers, where a
collector is always standing. This point seems absolutely certain."
"Very good. The case is definite enough. The man, dead or alive, either
fell or was precipitated from a train. So much is clear to me. Continue."
"The trains which traverse the lines of rail beside which the body was
found are those which run from west to east, some being purely
Metropolitan, and some from Willesden and outlying junctions. It can
be stated for certain that this young man, when he met his death, was
travelling in this direction at some late hour of the night, but at what
point he entered the train it is impossible to state."
"His ticket, of course, would show that."
"There was no ticket in his pockets."
"No ticket! Dear me, Watson, this is really very singular. According to
my experience it is not possible to reach the platform of a Metropolitan

train without exhibiting one's ticket. Presumably, then, the young man
had one. Was it taken from him in order to conceal the station from
which he came? It is possible. Or did he drop it in the carriage? That is
also possible. But the point is of curious interest. I understand that there
was no sign of robbery?"
"Apparently not. There is a list here of his possessions. His purse
contained two pounds fifteen. He had also a check-book on the
Woolwich branch of the Capital and Counties Bank. Through this his
identity was established. There were also two dress- circle tickets for
the Woolwich Theatre, dated for that very evening. Also a small packet
of technical papers."
Holmes gave an exclamation of satisfaction.
"There we have it at last, Watson! British government--Woolwich.
Arsenal--technical papers--Brother Mycroft, the chain is complete. But
here he comes, if I am not mistaken, to speak for himself."
A moment later the tall and portly form of Mycroft Holmes was
ushered into the room. Heavily built and massive, there was a
suggestion of uncouth physical inertia in the figure, but above this
unwieldy frame there was perched a head so masterful in its brow, so
alert in its steel-gray, deep-set eyes, so firm in its lips, and so subtle in
its play of expression, that after the first glance one forgot the gross
body and remembered only the dominant mind.
At his heels came our old friend Lestrade, of Scotland Yard--thin and
austere. The gravity of both their faces foretold some weighty quest.
The detective shook hands without a word. Mycroft Holmes struggled
out of his overcoat and subsided into an armchair.
"A most annoying business, Sherlock," said he. "I extremely dislike
altering my habits, but the powers that be would take no denial. In the
present state of Siam it is most awkward that I should be away from the
office. But it is a real crisis. I have never seen the Prime Minister so
upset. As to the Admiralty--it is buzzing like an overturned bee-hive.
Have you read up the case?"

"We have just done so. What were the technical papers?"
"Ah, there's the point! Fortunately, it has not come out. The press
would be furious if it did. The papers which this wretched youth had in
his pocket were the plans of the Bruce-Partington submarine."
Mycroft Holmes spoke with a solemnity which showed his sense of the
importance of the subject. His brother and I sat expectant.
"Surely you have heard of it? I thought everyone had heard of it."
"Only as a name."
"Its importance can hardly be exaggerated. It has been the most
jealously guarded of all government secrets. You may take it from me
that naval warfare becomes impossible withing the radius of a
Bruce-Partington's operation. Two years ago a very large sum was
smuggled through the Estimates and was expended in acquiring a
monopoly of the invention. Every effort has been made to keep the
secret. The plans, which are exceedingly intricate, comprising some
thirty separate patents, each essential to the working of the whole, are
kept in an elaborate safe in a confidential office adjoining the arsenal,
with burglar-proof doors and windows. Under no conceivable
circumstances were the plans to be taken from the office. If the chief
constructor of the Navy desired to consult them, even he was forced to
go to the Woolwich office for the purpose. And yet here we find them
in the pocket of a dead junior clerk in the heart of