und and it
was not a pure mastiff; but it appeared to be a combination of
the two--gaunt, savage, and as large as a small lioness. Even
now, in the stillness of death, the huge jaws seemed to be
dripping with a bluish flame and the small, deep-set, cruel eyes
were ringed with fire. I placed my hand upon the glowing muzzle,
and as I held them up my own fingers smouldered and gleamed in
the darkness.

"Phosphorus," I said.

"A cunning preparation of it," said Holmes, sniffing at the dead
animal. "There is no smell which might have interfered with his
power of scent. We owe you a deep apology, Sir Henry, for having
exposed you to this fright. I was prepared for a hound, but not
for such a creature as this. And the fog gave us little time to
receive him."

"You have saved my life."

"Having first endangered it. Are you strong enough to stand?"

"Give me another mouthful of that brandy and I shall be ready for
anything. So! Now, if you will help me up. What do you propose to
do?"

"To leave you here. You are not fit for further adventures
to-night. If you will wait, one or other of us will go back with
you to the Hall."

He tried to stagger to his feet; but he was still ghastly pale
and trembling in every limb. We helped him to a rock, where he
sat shivering with his face buried in his hands.

"We must leave you now," said Holmes. "The rest of our work must
be done, and every moment is of importance. We have our case, and
now we only want our man.

"It's a thousand to one against our finding him at the house," he
continued as we retraced our steps swiftly down the path. "Those
shots must have told him that the game was up."

"We were some distance off, and this fog may have deadened them."

"He followed the hound to call him off--of that you may be
certain. No, no, he's gone by this time! But we'll search the
house and make sure."

The front door was open, so we rushed in and hurried from room to
room to the amazement of a doddering old manservant, who met us
in the passage. There was no light save in the dining-room, but
Holmes caught up the lamp and left no corner of the house
unexplored. No sign could we see of the man whom we were chasing.
On the upper floor, however, one of the bedroom doors was locked.

"There's someone in here," cried Lestrade. "I can hear a
movement. Open this door!"

A faint moaning and rustling came from within. Holmes struck the
door just over the lock with the flat of his fo