3 Holmes’s Story

Chapter 3 Holmes's Story Sherlock Holmes seated himself in the armchair opposite me. He was still dressed in the shabby coat of the bookseller, but the remainder of his disguise, along with the books, lay in an untidy pile at his feet. His thin frame and pale skin told me that his recent life had not been full of health, yet the old sparkle remained in his eyes. "I had no trouble getting out of the waterfall, Watson," he said, "because I never fell into it, despite the best efforts of Professor Moriarty. He knew he was finished and his only desire was to take revenge on the man who had ruined his life. He rushed at me and we struggled together on

the brink of the waterfall. I don't mind telling you, Watson, it was looking dicey for a while. "Fortunately, I have some knowledge of baritsu, an ancient Japanese style of wrestling, and I was able to slip free of his grasp. Then Moriarty stumbled. He clawed the air with his hands, but could not regain his balance. He uttered a terrible scream, and I watched him fall, and saw his body bounce off a rock and disappear into the thundering waters."

I listened in amazement to this explanation. "But what about the footprints?" I cried. "I saw two sets going up the path and none coming back." "I will explain," said Holmes. "As I watched the professor fall, I realized what an extraordinary opportunity I'd just been given. You see, Moriarty wasn't the only man who wanted me dead. At least three of his followers had also vowed to kill me. These were ruthless men, and I would have to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. On the other hand, if the world was convinced I was dead, these men would relax their guard. I could work behind the scenes to bring them to justice. All this went through my head in a flash before Moriarty's body had even reached the bottom of the waterfall.

"But if my plan was to work, I couldn't return along the path leaving another set of footprints. My only chance was to try and scale the cliff next to the path. In your account of these events in The Final Problem, which I enjoyed very much by the way, you said the cliff was smooth and vertical. That wasn't quite true. "In fact, I detected a few small footholds and a narrow ledge about halfway up. It was not a comfortable experience climbing that cliff, Watson. The waterfall roared beneath me and I almost swore I could hear Moriarty screaming to

me from its waters. The smallest slip could have been fatal. More than once, a tuft of grass came out in my hand or my foot slipped on the wet rock, nearly sending me tumbling. But I struggled on and at last I reached the narrow ledge covered with soft green moss. Here I lay unseen while you and the others came looking for me. "Eventually, having decided that I was dead, you departed and I was left alone. I had just started to relax when a huge rock came tumbling down from above. It flew past me, struck the path, and bounced into the chasm. I assumed at first it was a natural rock fall, but looking up I saw a man outlined against the darkening sky.

"He hurled another stone, which struck the ledge within a foot of my head. I realized, with alarm, that Moriarty hadn't been alone. This man must have kept guard while the professor attacked me. He'd witnessed his friend's death and my escape and was now trying to succeed where Moriarty had failed.