A young woman receives letters with drawings of dancing men. Sherlock Holmes finds out that the notes are written by her former fiancé of the woman, a Chicago gangster.

Mr. Hilton Cubitt, a representative of the most ancient family in the English county of Norfolk, turns to Sherlock Holmes for help. A year ago, Mr. Cubitt married a young American woman named Ilsey. Before the wedding, the girl took a word from him that he would never ask her about her past life. All this time the couple lived in love and harmony, but for some time now something strange began to happen to Ilsi.

First, she received a letter from America, which she immediately burned. Soon a picture appeared on one of the window sills, which depicted dancing men. Some of them were holding flags. The drawing was erased without attaching importance to this, but Ilsi found out about this and asked to be informed if similar drawings still appeared. Soon a leaf with the same figures was found in the garden. Seeing this, Ilsi fainted. Since then, she has been living in a dream, and her eyes are full of horror. Mr. Cubitt does not want to go to the police, because he is afraid that he will be ridiculed there. He also cannot ask his wife: a promise is a promise. It remains only to ask for help from the famous detective.

Sherlock Holmes agrees to help. He asks Mr. Cubitt to keep a close eye on the appearance of strangers in their area and carefully copy new dancing men.

Two weeks later, Mr. Cubitt visits the Baker Street flat again. He is anxious and depressed. Drawings appear again and again, and Ilsey melts before our eyes. One night, Mr. Cubitt decided to lie in wait for the draftsman with a revolver in his hand, but his wife persuaded him to go to bed. Then he noticed someone sitting under the door. Mr. Cubitt wanted to catch the night visitor, but Ilsey would not allow it, and in the morning he found a drawing on the door.

Sherlock Holmes begins to carefully study the drawings left to him by Mr. Cubitt. After some time, a letter arrives from Norfolk with a new drawing, which alarms the detective. He takes the next train to Mr. Cubitt's house, but the tragedy has already happened: Mr. Hilton Cubitt is killed and his wife is seriously injured. According to the police, Mrs. Cubitt killed her husband, and then decided to commit suicide. The cook and the maid say the same thing: they were awakened by the sound of a shot, then they heard a second shot. Going downstairs, the women saw the dead owner and his wounded wife lying nearby unconscious. The windows of the door were closed, and there was a smell of gunpowder in the room.

Studying the situation in the room, Sherlock Holmes sees a bullet hole in the window frame and a handbag full of bank notes. Under the window, traces of men's boots and a cartridge case are visible. The great detective pulls out sheets of paper with drawings of dancing men from his pocket and plunges into work. He writes a note and asks him to give it to a man named Ab Slany, who lives on the Elridge farm. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes tells the police inspector about Mr. Cubitt's visits and shows him the drawings. Dancing men are a cipher, and flags are used to mark the end of words. Gradually, the great detective deciphered this cipher and realized that the drawings were left by an American named Ab Slany, who now lives on the Elridge farm. At first, Ab Slany persuaded Ilsi about the meeting, then he began to threaten her. Having made a request, Holmes learned that Ab Slany is one of the most dangerous gangsters in Chicago. Knowing the code, the detective wrote him a note on behalf of Ilsi.

The American who appeared is sure that Mrs. Cubitt wrote the note, since no one except her knew the cipher. Upon learning that Ilsi had attempted suicide and was now in critical condition, Ab Slany did not resist justice. Ilsey's father was the leader of the Chicago gang and came up with a cipher from dancing men. Ab loved Ilsi and was supposed to marry her, but the girl did not want to have anything to do with the bandits and fled to England. Having learned where she was hiding, Ab began to pursue her. Ilsi begged to be left alone, offered money, but Ab could not come to terms with the loss of his beloved woman. During the conversation, her husband appeared and pulled out a revolver. Ab and Mr. Cubitt fired at the same time: Mr. Cubitt missed, and Ab's shot was accurate. Seeing that there was a murder, the American ran away and returned only because he received a coded note.

Sherlock Holmes proves that Mr Cubitt fired first. Given this circumstance, the court replaces the death penalty with hard labor for Abu Slani. Mrs. Cubitt recovers and dedicates her life to caring for the poor.

Mr. Hilton Cubitt, a representative of the most ancient family in the English county of Norfolk, turns to Sherlock Holmes for help. A year ago, Mr. Cubitt married a young American woman named Ilsey. Before the wedding, the girl took his word from him that he would never ask her about her past life. All this time the couple lived in love and harmony, but for some time now something strange began to happen to Ilsi.

First, she received a letter from America, which she immediately burned. Soon a picture appeared on one of the window sills, which depicted dancing men. Some of them were holding flags. The drawing was deleted without attaching importance to this, but Ilsi found out about this and asked to be informed if such drawings still appeared. Soon a leaf with the same figures was found in the garden. Seeing this, Ilsi fainted. Since then, she has been living in a dream, and her eyes are full of horror. Mr. Cubitt does not want to go to the police, because he is afraid that he will be ridiculed there. He also cannot ask his wife: a promise is a promise. It remains only to ask for help from the famous detective.

Sherlock Holmes agrees to help. He asks Mr. Cubitt to keep a close eye on the appearance of strangers in their area and carefully copy new dancing men.

Two weeks later, Mr. Cubitt visits the Baker Street flat again. He is anxious and depressed. Drawings appear again and again, and Ilsey melts before our eyes. One night, Mr. Cubitt decided to lie in wait for the draftsman with a revolver in his hand, but his wife persuaded him to go to bed. Then he noticed someone sitting under the door. Mr. Cubitt wanted to catch the night visitor, but Ilsey would not allow it, and in the morning he found a drawing on the door.

Sherlock Holmes begins to carefully study the drawings left to him by Mr. Cubitt. After some time, a letter arrives from Norfolk with a new drawing, which alarms the detective. He takes the next train to Mr. Cubitt's house, but the tragedy has already happened: Mr. Hilton Cubitt is killed and his wife is seriously injured. According to the police, Mrs. Cubitt killed her husband, and then decided to commit suicide. The cook and the maid say the same thing: they were awakened by the sound of a shot, then they heard a second shot. Going downstairs, the women saw the dead owner and his wounded wife lying unconscious nearby. The windows of the door were closed, and there was a smell of gunpowder in the room.

Studying the situation in the room, Sherlock Holmes sees a bullet hole in the window frame and a handbag full of bank notes. Under the window, traces of men's boots and a cartridge case are visible. The great detective pulls out sheets of paper with drawings of dancing men from his pocket and plunges into work. He writes a note and asks him to give it to a man named Ab Slany, who lives on the Elridge farm. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes tells the police inspector about Mr. Cubitt's visits and shows him the drawings. The dancing men are the cipher, and the flags are used to mark the end of words. Gradually, the great detective deciphered this cipher and realized that the drawings were left by an American named Ab Slany, who now lives on the Elridge farm. At first, Ab Slany persuaded Ilsi about the meeting, then he began to threaten her. Having made a request, Holmes learned that Ab Slany is one of the most dangerous gangsters in Chicago. Knowing the code, the detective wrote him a note on behalf of Ilsi.

The American who appeared is sure that Mrs. Cubitt wrote the note, since no one but her knew the cipher. After learning that Ilsi tried to commit suicide and is now in serious condition, Ab Slany did not resist justice. Ilse's father was the leader of the Chicago gang and came up with a cipher from dancing men. Ab loved Ilsi and was supposed to marry her, but the girl did not want to have anything to do with the bandits and fled to England. Having learned where she was hiding, Ab began to pursue her. Ilsi begged to be left alone, offered money, but Ab could not come to terms with the loss of his beloved woman. During the conversation, her husband appeared and pulled out a revolver. Ab and Mr. Cubitt fired at the same time: Mr. Cubitt missed, and Ab's shot was accurate. Seeing that there was a murder, the American ran away and returned only because he received a coded note.

Sherlock Holmes proves that Mr Cubitt fired first. Given this circumstance, the court replaces the death penalty with hard labor for Abu Slani. Mrs. Cubitt recovers and dedicates her life to caring for the poor.

Summary of Doyle's short story "The Dancing Men"

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Arthur Conan Doyle

dancing men

For many hours Sherlock Holmes sat hunched over a glass tube in which something extremely stinking was brewing. His head was lowered on his chest, and he seemed to me like a strange thin bird with dull gray feathers and a black tuft.

So, Watson,” he said suddenly, “you are not going to invest your savings in South African securities, are you?”

I winced in surprise. No matter how accustomed I was to Holmes's extraordinary abilities, this sudden intrusion into my thoughts was completely inexplicable.

How the hell did you find out about this? I asked.

He turned in his chair, smoking test tube in hand, and his deep-set eyes glittered with satisfaction.

Admit, Watson, that you are completely bewildered, he said.

I confess.

I should have made you write it down on a piece of paper and sign your name.

Because in five minutes you will say that all this is unusually simple.

I'm sure I won't.

You see, my dear Watson ... - He fixed the test tube on a tripod and began to lecture me with the air of a professor addressing the audience. - It is not so difficult to construct a series of conclusions in which each subsequent one follows from the previous one in the simplest way. If, after this, all the middle links are removed and only the first link and the last are communicated to the listener, they will produce a stunning, albeit false impression. Looking at the hollow between the thumb and forefinger of your left hand, it was not at all difficult for me to conclude that you were not going to invest your small capital in gold placers.

But I don't see any connection between the two!

I willingly believe. However, I will prove to you in a few minutes that such a connection exists. Here are the missing links of this simplest chain: first, when we returned from the club last night, the hollow between the index and thumb on your left hand was smeared with chalk; secondly, whenever you play billiards, you rub this hollow with chalk so that the cue does not slip in your hand; thirdly, you play billiards only with Sirston; fourthly, a month ago you told me that Sirston offered you to buy South African securities with him, which will go on sale in a month; fifth, your checkbook is locked in my desk drawer and you didn't ask me for the key; sixth, you are not going to invest your money in South African securities.

How simple! I exclaimed.

Of course," he said, slightly stung, "every problem is very simple after it has been explained to you. Here's a problem that hasn't been solved yet. Let's see, friend Watson, how you can handle it.

He took a piece of paper from the table, handed it to me, and returned to his chemical analysis.

I was surprised to see that some meaningless hieroglyphs were drawn on the sheet.

Excuse me, Holmes, but this was drawn by a child! I exclaimed.

You think so?

What could it be?

Mr. Hilton Cubitt of Readling Thorpe Manor in Norfolk would like to know what that might be. He sent us this little puzzle with the first mail, and he himself left here by the next train. Do you hear the call, Watson? This is probably him.

Heavy footsteps were heard on the stairs, and a minute later a tall, ruddy, clean-shaven gentleman entered us. From his clear eyes and blossoming cheeks it was immediately evident that his life had been spent far from the mists of Baker Street. He seemed to have brought with him a breath of strong, fresh wind from the eastern shore. Shaking hands with us, he was about to sit down, when suddenly his eyes fell on a piece of paper with funny signs, which I had just examined and left on the table.

What do you think of this, Mr. Holmes? he exclaimed. “I was told that you are a great lover of all sorts of mysterious cases, and I decided that you couldn’t find anything stranger than this. I sent you this paper in advance so that you have time to study it before my arrival.

It is indeed a highly curious drawing, said Holmes. - At first glance, it can be mistaken for a childish prank. Who, it would seem, except children, could draw these tiny dancing men? Why did you attach such importance to such a bizarre trifle?

Yes, I would not attach any importance to him if it were not for my wife. She was mortally frightened. She doesn't say anything to me, but I see horror in her eyes. That's why I decided to find out what's the matter.

Holmes lifted the paper, and the rays of the sun illuminated it. It was a piece of paper torn from a notebook. On it were drawn with a pencil the following figures:

I carefully examined the sheet. Holmes carefully folded it and hid it in his wallet.

This case promises a lot of curious and extraordinary, - he said. “You have already told me something in your letter, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, but I should be very grateful if you would kindly agree to repeat your story so that my friend, Dr. Watson, can hear it.

I'm a bad storyteller,” our guest said, nervously clenching and unclenching his big strong hands. - If in my story something seems unclear to you, please ask me questions. To begin with, I got married last year ... But first I must say that although I am not a rich man, our family has been living in Readling Thorp for five centuries and is considered the most noble family in all Norfolk County. Last year I came to London for the holidays and stayed in furnished rooms in Russell Square because Parker, the parish priest, was staying there. In these furnished rooms lived a young American lady named Patrick, Ilsey Patrick. We soon became friends with her. Less than a month later, I fell in love with her with the most ardent love. We quietly got married and left for me in Norfolk.

It must seem strange to you, Mr. Holmes, that a man of good old family should marry a woman without knowing anything about her past or her family. But if you saw her and recognized her, it would not be difficult for you to understand me. She was very frank with me, my Ilsie, she gave me every opportunity to refuse the wedding if I wanted to. “I had very unpleasant acquaintances in my former life,” she said, “I want to forget about them. I don't want to remember the past because it hurts me. If you marry me, Hilton, you will marry a woman who has done nothing shameful herself, but you must take my word for it and let me keep silent about everything that happened to me before I became yours. If this condition seems too hard for you, return to Norfolk and let me continue the lonely life that I led before I met you.

Plan:

Introduction

• 1 Description
• 2 Characters
  • 2.1 Main
  • 2.2 Minor
• 3 Code
  • 3.1 Alphabet
  • 3.2 Codes
  • 3.3 Decryption
• 4 Bibliography
  • 4.1 First publication in England
  • 4.2 Publications in Russia

Introduction

dancing men- one of 56 stories by the English writer Arthur Conan Doyle about the detective Sherlock Holmes, included by the writer in the collection of 13 stories "The Return of Sherlock Holmes".

The writer himself included this story among his 12 best works about Holmes.

In the story, the great detective Sherlock Holmes exposes the riddle of a mysterious cipher consisting of images of dancing men.

1. Description

dancing men

Another case of Sherlock Holmes revolves around strange dancing little men - at first glance, an innocent child's drawing.

Mr. Hilton Cubitt turns to Sherlock Holmes for help. A year ago he married Miss Ilsey Patrick, and a month ago his wife received a letter from America, which greatly disturbed her. Mr. Cubitt could not find out what was in the letter - after all, he had promised her not to ask, and the letter was destroyed by Mrs. Cubitt immediately after reading it.

Soon, drawings of dancing men began to appear near the house of Mr. Cubit. When Mrs. Cubitt first saw them, she fainted, and now her eyes are constantly filled with horror.

Holmes and Cubit decide that Cubit will stay at home and monitor all the incidents, and send new drawings of dancing men to Holmes.

Having accumulated a sufficient number of dancing men, Holmes reveals their secret and sends a telegram. After 2 days, Cubitt sends new "dancing men". Seeing them, Sherlock decides to immediately go to North Welsh with the words: "We let this thing go too far." Upon receiving the telegram, Holmes says that Cubitt has fallen into an "extremely dangerous web". When Holmes finally arrived at North Welham, Hilton Cubitt was killed and his wife badly wounded.

As a result, the dancing men turned out to be a simple substitution cipher with flags - word separators. Sherlock Holmes, who previously analyzed 160 different ciphers, cracked the cipher using a matched plaintext attack. The last message said "ILSI PREPARE TO DIE". The killer and the author of the drawings turned out to be Mr. Ab Slany - the former fiancé of Ilsey Patrick, a bandit from the Chicago gang. She fled from him to England, and he sought her out. As a result of their correspondence, she agreed to talk to him through the window at three in the morning, when her husband would be sleeping, in exchange for Ab's promise to leave her alone. She offered him money to pay off, which made him furious, grabbed her hand, but then her husband came running with a revolver. Ab and Hilton shot at each other: Cubitt was killed, Slaney remained intact. After that, Ilsie tried to shoot herself. Sherlock Holmes, having arrived and examined the crime scene, sent a note to Abu Slani, in which the dancing men said: "COME IMMEDIATELY." Mr. Slaney came and was taken by Holmes.

Ilsey Patrick recovered, and Ab Slany was sentenced to hard labor.

2. Characters

2.1. Main

1. Sherlock Holmes- private detective
2. Dr. Watson- friend of Sherlock Holmes
3. Mister Hilton Cubitt from Readling Thorpe Manor in Norfolk - a client of Sherlock Holmes
4. Mrs. Ilsey Cubitt (Ilsey Patrick) is Mr Cubitt's wife
5. Mister Ab Slany- former fiancé of Ilsey Patrick, a gangster from the Chicago gang

2.2. Minor

1. Sirston - the man who offered Watson to buy South African securities
2. The boy who worked in the stable
3. Mrs. Hudson
4. station master
5. Inspector Martin of Norwich
6. Coachman
7. Constable
8. Maid Saunders
9. Cook Mrs. King
10. Village Cop
11. Farmer Elridge
12. Mr Patrick - Ilsey's father
13. Two policemen

3. Cipher

3.1. Alphabet

The Chukovskys' translation uses an alphabet of 23 characters:

3.2. Ciphergrams

The phrases are encrypted in the work (in chronological order):

• "I'm here Ab Sleni" (Ab Sleni)

• "If I live at Elridge's" (Ab Slany)

• "Ilsi come" (Ab Sleni)

• "Never" (Ilsey Patrick)

• "Ilsi prepare for death" (Ab Sleni)

• "Come immediately" (Sherlock Holmes)

3.3. Decryption

With such a small number of characters (67 men), it is extremely unlikely that Holmes could decipher the ciphergram using the frequency analysis method. Moreover, the frequencies of letters in the ciphergrams he had are very different from the frequencies of letters for texts in Russian (see table).

Sherlock used a chosen-plaintext attack. Also, he was guided by the fact that the flags in the ciphergrams are word separators.

Decryption process:

1. Holmes suggested that the first word of the second and third ciphergrams was an address to Mrs. Cubitt, "Ilsie." Thus, he received 3 letters - "I", "L", "S".
2. Further, I paid attention to the second word of the third ciphergram - from 7 letters, the third and last - "I". From the assumptions about the possible meaning of the entry, it followed that it was "COME". Found letters: "P", "R", "X", "O", "D".
3. The fourth ciphertext, according to Sherlock, was written by Mrs Cubitt. Just one word: .I. O.D. - NEVER. Sherlock received the letters: "H", "K", "G", "A".
4. Now the first entry looked like this: . .D. S. A. SL.NI. Ab and Sleni are common first and last names in America, respectively. The first word is I, the second is HERE. The whole phrase is "I AM HERE AB SLENIE". New letters: "I", "Z", "E", "b", "B".
5. The second note: Ya.I .. . .LRID.A - "I LIVE AT ELRIDGE". New letters: "Ж", "В", "У", "Э".
6. The last note of Aba Sleni: ILSI GO.OVSIA TO S.ER.I - stands for simply (ILSI PREPARE FOR DEATH). Received letters: "T", "M".

Thus, Holmes had 23 letters in his hands.

4. Bibliography

4.1. First publication in England

• The Strand Magazine, 26, no. 156 (December 1903)

4.2. Publications in Russia

1. Doyle, Arthur Conan "Collected Works" in 8 volumes. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Book 7. M., type. Sytin, 1904.
2. Doyle, Arthur Conan Complete Works. Books 1-22. St. Petersburg, Soikin, 1909-1911. (Free supplement to the journal "Nature and People").
3. Doyle, Arthur Conan [Stories] Vladikavkaz, S. Kazarov, (1910).
4. Doyle, Arthur Conan "The Redhead Union and Other Stories". M.-L., F-ka children's book, Detgiz, 1945.
5. Doyle, Arthur Conan "Dancing Men, Stories". M., Voen. Published., 1946. (Library of the magazine "Krasnoarmeets").
6. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Kuibyshev, 1956. (Translated by N. Voitinskaya).
7. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. M., Detgiz, 1956. (Translated by M. and N. Chukovsky).
8. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Kyiv, "Youth", 1957.
9. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Chisinau, State Publishing House of Moldova, 1957.
10. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Ulyanovsk, Ulyanovsk Pravda, 1957. (Translated by N. Voitinskaya).
11. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Frunze, Kirgizuchpedgiz, 1957.
12. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Alma-Ata, Kazuchpedgiz, 1957.
13. Doyle, Arthur Conan "Collected Works" in 8 volumes. M., "Pravda" (library "Spark"), 1966.
14. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Alma-Ata, "Zhazushy", 1969.
15. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Tashkent, "Ukituvchi", 1974.
16. Doyle, Arthur Conan "The Hound of the Baskervilles". M., "Fiction", 1974.
17. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Chisinau, Lumina, 1977.
18. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Dushanbe, Maorif, 1978.
19. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. M., "Children's Literature", 1978.
20. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Stavropol, Book publishing house, 1978.
21. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Dushanbe, Maorif, 1979.
22. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. M., "Children's Literature", 1979.
23. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. M., Kolos, 1981.
24. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. M., "Nedra", 1981.
25. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. M., "Children's Literature", 1983.
26. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Len., "Children's Literature", 1984.
27. Doyle, Arthur Conan The Hound of the Baskervilles. Stories." M., "Fiction", 1987.
28. Doyle, Arthur Conan The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. M., "Soviet Russia", 1991.
29. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. Kharkov "Folio", M. "AST", 1998.
30. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Notes on Sherlock Holmes. M., "Rosman", 1998.
31. Arthur Conan Doyle. World Novel Library. M, "Belfry-MG", 2000.
32. Doyle, Arthur Conan The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. M., "Olma-press", 2002.

Arthur Conan Doyle

"Dancing Men"

Mr. Hilton Cubitt, a representative of the most ancient family in the English county of Norfolk, turns to Sherlock Holmes for help. A year ago, Mr. Cubitt married a young American woman named Ilsey. Before the wedding, the girl took a word from him that he would never ask her about her past life. All this time the couple lived in love and harmony, but for some time now something strange began to happen to Ilsi.

First she received a letter from America, which she immediately burned. Soon a picture appeared on one of the window sills, which depicted dancing men. Some of them were painted with flags. The drawing was erased without attaching importance to this, but Ilsi, having learned about it, asked to be shown to her if such drawings still appeared. Soon a leaf with the same figures was found in the garden. Seeing this, Ilsi fainted. Since then, she lives like in a dream and her eyes are full of horror. Mr. Cubitt does not want to go to the police, because he is afraid that he will be ridiculed there. And he cannot ask his wife either: a promise is a promise. It remains only to ask for help from the famous detective.

Sherlock Holmes agrees to help. He asks Mr. Cubitt to keep a close eye on the appearance of strangers in their area and carefully copy new dancing men.

Two weeks later, Mr. Cubitt visits the apartment on Baker Street again. He is anxious and depressed. Drawings appear again and again, and Ilsey melts before our eyes. One day, Mr. Cubitt decided to watch the draftsman with a revolver in his hand at night, but his wife persuaded him to go to bed. Then he noticed someone sitting under the door. Mr. Cubitt wanted to catch the night visitor, but Ilsey would not allow it, and in the morning he found a drawing on the door.

Sherlock Holmes began to carefully study the drawings left to him by Mr. Cubit. After some time, a letter arrived from Norfolk with a new drawing, which alerted the detective. He took the next train to Mr Cubitt's house. But a tragedy has already happened there: Mr. Hilton Cubitt was killed, and his wife was seriously injured. The police version was that Mrs. Cubitt killed her husband and then decided to commit suicide. The cook and the maid showed the same thing: they were awakened by the sound of a shot, then they heard a second shot. Going downstairs, the women saw the dead owner and his wounded wife lying nearby, unconscious. The windows of the door were closed, and there was a smell of gunpowder in the room.

After examining the situation in the room, Sherlock Holmes saw a bullet hole in the window frame and a handbag full of bank notes. Traces of men's boots and a cartridge case were found under the window. The great detective pulled out sheets of paper with drawings of dancing men from his pocket and plunged into work. He wrote a note and asked that it be given to a man named Ab Slaney, who lives on the Elridge farm. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes tells the police inspector about Mr. Cubitt's visits and shows him the drawings. The dancing men are the cipher, and the flags are used to mark the end of words. Gradually, the great detective deciphered this cipher and, knowing that Mrs. Cubitt was an American, he realized that the drawings were left by an American named Ab Slaney, who now lives on the Elridge farm. At first, Ab Slany persuaded Ilsi about the meeting, then he began to threaten her. Having made a request, Holmes learned that Ab Slany is one of the most dangerous gangsters in Chicago. Knowing the code, the detective wrote him a note on behalf of Ilsi.

The American who appeared was sure that the note was written by Mrs. Cubitt, since no one except her knew the cipher. Upon learning that Ilsi had attempted suicide and was now in critical condition, Ab Slany did not resist justice. Ilsey's father was the leader of the Chicago gang and came up with a cipher from dancing men. Ab loved Ilsi and was supposed to marry her, but the girl did not want to have anything to do with the bandits and fled to England. Having learned where she was hiding, Ab began to pursue her. Ilsi begged to be left alone, offered money, but Ab could not come to terms with the loss of his beloved woman. During the conversation, her husband appeared and pulled out a revolver. Ab and Mr. Cubitt fired at the same time: Mr. Cubitt missed, and Ab's shot was accurate. Seeing that there was a murder, the American ran away and returned only because he received a coded note.

Sherlock Holmes proved that Mr Cubitt fired first. Considering this circumstance, the court commuted the death penalty of Abu Slaney to hard labor, and Mrs Cubitt recovered and devoted her life to caring for the poor. retold Gisele Adam

Hilton Cubitt, a representative of the oldest family of the English county of Norfolk, turns to Sherlock Holmes for help. The happy marriage of Mr. Cubitt to the young American Ilsie was overshadowed by mysterious events. Before marriage, the beauty forced her future husband to promise never to be interested in her past. Recently, she received a message from America, after which strange drawings with dancing men began to appear in the house, and Ilsi herself was clearly horrified and began to fear something. Mr. Cubitt could not directly ask his wife about what was happening, because he did not want to break his promise, so he turned to the famous detective for help.

Holmes agreed to help and recommended that Cubitt keep track of the appearance of strangers in their district and carefully copy new drawings of dancing men. Mr. Cubitt again pays a visit to Sherlock Holmes, he talks about recent events and leaves the detective with some new drawings. Later, a letter arrives with a copy of the last image, Holmes sees it as a threat and rushes to Mr. Cubit's house. Fears are fully justified - Hilton Cubitt is killed, and his wife is seriously injured.

The detective manages to decipher the mysterious drawings - this is a kind of cipher, where the words flags mean the end of the word. On behalf of Ilsey Holmes, he writes an encrypted letter to a suspected American named Ab Slany, who turns out to be one of Chicago's most dangerous criminals. Ab loved Ilsi very much and wanted to marry her, but the girl did not want to connect her life with a bandit. She fled to England, but the enamored Slany continued to pursue her, settled on the nearest farm and began to write messages using the cipher of dancing men. Ilsie tried to get rid of the bandit by offering him money. The husband caught them together during a conversation, he shot at Ab, but missed. The bandit turned out to be more successful - he shot Mr. Cubit and fled, and Ilsie tried to commit suicide.

As a result, the court sent Aba Slany to hard labor, and Mrs Cubitt came to her senses and devoted her life to charity.