“As low as you can,” he answered; “I have excellent ears. If you would be so kind to get rid[7] of your friend I’ll be very glad to have a little talk with you.”

“I have a cab outside.”

“Then please send him home in it. You may safely trust him, because he looks too weak to get in any trouble. I recommend you also to send a note by the cabman to your wife to say that you have thrown in your lot with me.[8] If you wait outside, I will be with you in five minutes.”

It was difficult to refuse any of Sherlock Holmes’s requests, for they were always very definite, and put forward[9] in such imperative manner. I felt, however, that when Whitney was put in the cab my mission was practically over; and for the rest, I could not wish anything better than to be together with my friend in one of those adventures, which were the normal condition of his existence. In a few minutes I had written my note, paid Whitney’s bill, led him out to the cab, and seen him driven through the darkness. In a very short time a figure of the old man had appeared from the opium den, and I was walking down the street with Sherlock Holmes. For two streets he shuffled along with a bent back and an uncertain foot. Then, looking quickly round, he straightened himself out and burst into hearty laughter.

“I was certainly surprised to find you there,” I said.

“But not more so than I to find you.”

“I came to find a friend.”

“And I to find an enemy.”

“An enemy?”

“Yes; one of my natural enemies, or, shall I say, my natural prey. Briefly, Watson, I am in the middle of a very remarkable inquiry, and I have hoped to find a clew in the mumbling of these dregs, as I have done before. If I were recognized in that den my life would not have been worth an hour’s purchase;[10] for I have used it before for my own purposes, and the evil Lascar[11] who runs it has sworn to have vengeance[12] upon me. There is a trap-door at the back of that building, near the corner of Paul’s Wharf, which could tell some strange tales of what has passed through it upon the moonless nights.”

“What! Do you mean bodies?”

“Yes, bodies, Watson. We would be rich if we had 1000 pounds for every poor man who died in that den. It is the most dangerous murder-trap on the whole riverside, and I’m afraid that Neville St. Clair has entered it to never leave it. But our cart should be here.” He put his two fingers between his teeth and whistled a signal which was answered by a similar whistle from the distance, followed by the cart, that appeared out of the darkness.

“Now, Watson,” said Holmes “You’ll come with me, won’t you?”

“If I can help you.”

“Oh, a trusty friend and a chronicler can always help. My room at The Cedars is a double-bedded one.”

“The Cedars?”

“Yes; that is Mr. St. Clair’s house. I am staying there while I conduct the inquiry.”

“Where is it, then?”

“Near Lee, in Kent. It’s seven miles away from here.”

“But I am all in the dark.[13]”

“Of course you are. You’ll know all about it presently. Jump up here. All right, John; we shall not need you. Here’s half a crown. Wait for me tomorrow, about eleven. Goodbye, then!”

I. Note the use of the phrasal verb to put forward. What other phrasal verbs with put do you know? Find a synonym for each verb in the second column.

II. Fill the gaps with the words from the table. NB! You’ll need one more phrasal verb with put. Take notice of the correct word order.

Isa Whiney’s wife couldn’t … with her husband’s long absence, so she … her black veil and headed for her old friends’ in order to ask for their advice. Dr. Watson and his wife Mary were not at all … by this late visit, on the contrary, they were eager to help. This commission couldn’t have been …, so Watson had to go to the opium den, to find Isa and to … his request to return home immediately. It is possible, that Isa hadn’t … enough money to pay for the opium and Watson did it for him, but he is too modest to mention that.

III. Suggest your own examples of the use of the phrasal verbs with put.

IV. Read the phrases below. In what order do they appear in the chapter? Fill the following table.

a) “Good heavens! I thought it was Wednesday. It is Wednesday. What do you want to frighten me for?”

b) “As low as you can. I have excellent ears.”

c) “Then I should go in it. But I must owe something. Find what I owe, Watson. I am all off colour. I can do nothing for myself.”

d) “I tell you that it is Friday, man. Your wife has been waiting this two days for you. You should be ashamed of yourself!”

e) “We would be rich if we had 1000 pounds for every poor man who died in that den. It is the most dangerous murder-trap on the whole riverside, and I’m afraid that Neville St. Clair has entered it to never leave it. But our cart should be here.”

f) “It was very sweet of you to come. Now, you must have some wine and water, and sit here comfortably and tell us all about it. Or would you like me to send James off to bed?”

g) “Oh, no, no! I want the doctor’s advice and help, too. It’s about Isa. He has not been home for two days. I am so frightened about him!”

h) “Near Lee, in Kent. It’s seven miles away from here.”

V. Attribute each phrase from the exercise IV to the person who said it.

VI. Rewrite the phrases given above into the indirect speech. Use the following verbs.

To exclaim; to whisper; to remark; to explain; to reproach; to demand; to decline; to encourage.

VII. Correct the mistakes in the following phrases. Find as many as you can. Justify your corrections.

1. “Yes, bodies, Watson. We will be rich if we had 1000 pounds for every poor man who died in that den. It is the dangerest murder-trap on the whole riverside, and I’m afraid that Neville St. Clair has entered it to never leave it. But our cart should be here.” He put his two fingers between his teeths and whistled a signal which was answered by a similar whistle from the distance, followed by the cart, that appeared out of the darkness.

2. Could I accompany her to this place? And then, as a second thought, why she should come at all? I was Isa’s Whitney doctor, and so I had influence over him. I could do it better if I were alone. I gave her my word that I will send him home in a cab within two hours if he were indeed at the adress whose she had given me. And so in ten minutes I leaved my armchair and cheerful sitting-room behind me, and was speeding to the east in a cab on a strange commission, as it seemed to me at the time, though the future only could show how strange it was to be.

3. It was difficult to refuse any of Sherlock Holmes’s requests, for they were always very definite, and put forward in so imperative manner. I felt, however, that when Whitney was put in the cab my mission was practically over; and for the rest, I could not wish anything rather than to be together with my friend in one of this adventures what were the normal condition of his existence. In a few minutes I had written my note, paid Whitney’s bill, led him out to the cab, and seen him driving through the darkness.