"For an instant I was on the point of rushing in. The door had
been opened to admit the men and their burden. It was the woman
who had opened it. But as I stood there she caught a glimpse of
me, and I think that she recognized me. I saw her start, and she
hastily closed the door. I remembered my promise to you, and here
I am."

"You have done excellent work," said Holmes, scribbling a few
words upon a half-sheet of paper. "We can do nothing legal
without a warrant, and you can serve the cause best by taking
this note down to the authorities and getting one. There may be
some difficulty, but I should think that the sale of the
jewellery should be sufficient. Lestrade will see to all
details."

"But they may murder her in the meanwhile. What could the coffin
mean, and for whom could it be but for her?"

"We will do all that can be done, Mr. Green. Not a moment will
be lost. Leave it in our hands. Now Watson," he added as our
client hurried away, "he will set the regular forces on the move.
We are, as usual, the irregulars, and we must take our own line
of action. The situation strikes me as so desperate that the
most extreme measures are justified. Not a moment is to be lost
in getting to Poultney Square.

"Let us try to reconstruct the situation," said he as we drove
swiftly past the Houses of Parliament and over Westminster
Bridge. "These villains have coaxed this unhappy lady to London,