“ Yes, sir.”
“ What wages?”
“ Eight pounds a month.”
“ Could you start at once?”
“ As soon as I get my kit.”
“ Have you your papers?”
“ Yes, sir.” He took a sheaf of worn and greasy forms from his pocket. Holmes glanced over them and returned them.
“ You are just the man I want,” said he. “Here’s the agreement on the side-table. If you sign it the whole matter will be settled.”
The seaman lurched across the room and took up the pen.
“ Shall I sign here?” he asked, stooping over the table.
Holmes leaned over his shoulder and passed both hands over his neck.
“ This will do,” said he.
I heard a click of steel and a bellow like an enraged bull. The next instant Holmes and the seaman were rolling on the ground together. He was a man of such gigantic strength that, even wit
