But there was a delay in that answering telegram, and two days of impatience followed, during which Holmes pricked up his ears at every ring of the bell.On the evening of the second there came a letter from Hilton Cubitt.All was quiet with him, save that a long inscription had appeared that morning upon the pedestal of the sun-dial.He inclosed a copy of it, which is here reproduced:--GRAPHIC
Holmes bent over this grotesque frieze for some minutes, and then suddenly sprang to his feet with an exclamation of surprise and dismay.His face was haggard with anxiety.