"Was there a fellow about thirty, black-bearded, dark, of middle size?" "Yes; he was the last to pass me.""That is your man, I fancy.I can give you his description, and we have a very excellent outline of his footmark.That should be enough for you.""Not much, Mr.Holmes, among the millions of London.""Perhaps not.That is why I thought it best to summon this lady to your aid."We all turned round at the words.There, framed in the doorway, was a tall and beautiful woman--the mysterious lodger of Bloomsbury.Slowly she advanced, her face pale and drawn with a frightful apprehension, her eyes fixed and staring, her terrified gaze riveted upon the dark figure on the floor.
"You have killed him!" she muttered."Oh, Dio mio, you have killed him!" Then I heard a sudden sharp intake of her breath, and she sprang into the air with a cry of joy.Round and round the room she danced, her hands clapping, her dark eyes gleaming with delighted wonder, and a thousand pretty Italian exclamations pouring from her lips.It was terrible and amazing to see such a woman so convulsed with joy at such a sight.Suddenly she stopped and gazed at us all with a questioning stare.
"But you! You are police, are you not? You have killed Giuseppe Gorgiano.Is it not so?""We are police, madam."
She looked round into the shadows of the room.
"But where, then, is Gennaro?" she asked."He is my husband, Gennaro Lucca.I am Emilia Lucca, and we are both from New York.Where is Gennaro? He called me this moment from this window, and I ran with all my speed.""It was I who called," said Holmes."You!How could you call?""Your cipher was not difficult, madam.Your presence here was desirable.I knew that I had only to flash 'Vieni' and you would surely come."The beautiful Italian looked with awe at my companion."I do not understand how you know these things," she said."Giuseppe Gorgiano-- how did he--" She paused, and then suddenly her face lit up with pride and delight."Now I see it! My Gennaro! My splendid, beautiful Gennaro, who has guarded me safe from all harm, he did it, with his own strong hand he killed the monster! Oh, Gennaro, how wonderful you are! What woman could every be worthy of such a man?""Well, Mrs.Lucca," said the prosaic Gregson, laying his hand upon the lady's sleeve with as little sentiment as if she were a Notting Hill hooligan, "I am not very clear yet who you are or what you are; but you've said enough to make it very clear that we shall want you at the Yard.""One moment, Gregson," said Holmes."I rather fancy that this lady may be as anxious to give us information as we can be to get it.You understand, madam, that your husband will be arrested and tried for the death of the man who lies before us? What you say may be used in evidence.But if you think that he has acted from motives which are not criminal, and which he would wish to have known, then you cannot serve him better than by telling us the whole story.""Now that Gorgiano is dead we fear nothing," said the lady."He was a devil and a monster, and there can be no judge in the world who would punish my husband for having killed him.""In that case," said Holmes, "my suggestion is that we lock this door, leave things as we found them, go with this lady to her room ,and form our opinion after we have heard what it is that she has to say to us."Half an hour later we were seated, all four, in the small sitting-room of Signora Lucca, listening to her remarkable narrative of those sinister events, the ending of which we had chanced to witness.She spoke in rapid and fluent but very unconventional English, which, for the sake of clearness, I will make grammatical.
"I was born in Posilippo, near Naples," said she, "and was the daughter of Augusto Barelli, who was the chief lawyer and once the deputy of that part.Gennaro was in my father's employment, and I came to love him, as any woman must.He had neither money nor position--nothing but his beauty and strength and energy--so my father forbade the match.We fledtogether, were married at Bari, and sold my jewels to gain the money which would take us to America.This was four years ago, and we have been in New York ever since.
"Fortune was very good to us at first.Gennaro was able to do a service to an Italian gentleman--he saved him from some ruffians in the place called the Bowery, and so made a powerful friend.His name was Tito Castalotte, and he was the senior partner of the great firm of Castalotte and Zamba, who are the chief fruit importers of New York.Signor Zamba is an invalid, and our new friend Castalotte has all power within the firm, which employs more than three hundred men.He took my husband into his employment, made him head of a department, and showed his good- will towards him in every way.Signor Castalotte was a bachelor, and I believe that he felt as if Gennaro was his son, and both my husband and I loved him as if he were our father.We had taken and furnished a little house in Brooklyn, and our whole future seemed assured when that black cloud appeared which was soon to overspread our sky.
"One night, when Gennaro returned from his work, he brought a fellow-countryman back with him.His name was Gorgiano, and he had come also from Posilippo.He was a huge man, as you can testify, for you have looked upon his corpse.Not only was his body that of a giant but everything about him was grotesque, gigantic, and terrifying.His voice was like thunder in our little house.There was scarce room for the whirl of his great arms as he talked.His thoughts, his emotions, his passions, all were exaggerated and monstrous.He talked, or rather roared, with such energy that others could but sit and listen, cowed with the mighty stream of words.His eyes blazed at you and held you at his mercy.He was a terrible and wonderful man.I thank God that he is dead!
