I must say that I had watched every step of the methods by which he had tracked the various windings of this complex case. Though I could not yet understand how the case would end, I understood clearly that Holmes expected this criminal to make an attempt to destroy the two remaining busts. One of these, I remembered, was in Chiswick. No doubt the reason for our journey was to catch the criminal in the act. I had to admire the cunning with which my friend had put a wrong clue in the evening paper, which would give the criminal the idea that his real plans had not been discovered.

I was not surprised when Holmes suggested that I should take my revolver with me. He himself had picked up the loaded hunting-crop, which was his favourite weapon.

A carriage was at the door at eleven. We drove in it to a spot at the other side of Hammersmith Bridge. Here the cabman was directed to wait. A short walk brought us to a quiet road with pleasant houses, each in its own garden. In the light of a street lamp we read 'Laburnum Villa' upon the gate-post of one of the houses.

The occupants had evidently gone to sleep, for all was dark except for a light over the hall door, which made a single blurred circle on the garden path. The wooden fence which separated the grounds from the road threw a dense black shadow upon the inner side. It was here that we hid.

'I am afraid that we'll have a long wait," Holmes whispered. "We may thank our stars that it is not raining. I don't think we can even dare to smoke to pass the time. However, it's a two-to-one chance that we will get something to pay us for our trouble.'