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"Here we are!" said Holmes cheerily as we filed into the room. "The fire looks very seasonabe in this weather. You look cold, Mr. Ryder. Pray take the basket-chair. I will just put on my slippers before we settle this little matter of yours. Now, then! You want to know what became of those geese?"

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"Yes, sir."

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"Or rather, I fancy, of that goose. It was one bird, I imagine in which you were interested -- white, with a black bar across the tail."

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Ryder quivered with emotion. "Oh, sir," he cried, "can you tell me where it went to?"

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"It came here."

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"Here?"

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"Yes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. I don't wonder that you should take an interest in it. It laid an egg after it was dead -- the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen. I have it here in my museum."

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Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece with his right hand.


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