The Return of Sherlock Holmes

With the bound of a tiger Holmes was on his back, and an instant later Lestrade and I had him by either wrist, and the handcuffs had been fastened. As we turned him over I saw a hideous, sallow face, with writhing, furious features, glaring up at us. I knew at once that it was indeed the man of the photograph whom we had secured. But it was not our prisoner to whom Holmes was giving his attention. Squatting on the doorstep, he was engaged in most carefully examining the thing that the man had brought from the house.

It was a bust of Napoleon. It was like the one which we had seen that morning, and it had been broken into similar fragments. Carefully Holmes held each separate shard to the light, but in no way did it differ from any other shattered piece of plaster. He had just completed his examination when the hall lights flew up, the door opened, and the owner of the house, a jovial, rotund figure in shirt and trousers presented himself.

'Mr. Josiah Brown, I suppose?' said Holmes.

'Yes, sir and you, no doubt, are Mr. Sherlock Holmes? I had the note which you sent by the express messenger, and I did exactly what you told me. We locked every door on the inside and awaited developments. Well, I'm very glad to see that you have got the rascal. I hope, gentlemen, that you will come in and have some refreshment.'

Vocabulary:

Bound: A fast forward jump, ending standing up
Writhing: Twisting like a snake
Secured: Here it means 'arrested'
Squatting: Bending the knees while standing, so you almost appear to sit
Fragments: Broken pieces
Shard: Sharp fragments
Jovial: Friendly and cheerful
Rotund: Rather fat
Express: Sent quickly and directly
Rascal: Someone who does not obey the law