We tottered together upon the brink of the fall. I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me. I slipped through his grip, and he with a horrible scream kicked madly for a few seconds and clawed the air with both his hands.

All right, Watson. Don’t look so scared,” he muttered in a very weak voice. “It’s not as bad as it seems.” “Thank God for that!” “I’m a bit of a single-stick expert, as you know. I took most of them on my guard. It was the second man that was too much for me.” “What can I do, Holmes? Of course, it was that damned fellow who set them on. I’ll go and thrash the hide off him if you give the word.” “Good old Watson!(...)

The unexpected has happened so continually in my life that it has ceased to deserve the name.

I trust that age doth not wither nor custom stale my infinite variety.

The most difficult crime to track is the one which is purposeless.

For strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.

The weak man becomes strong when he has nothing, for then only can he feel the wild, mad thrill of despair.