"
"How did you know it, then?"
Mrs. Douglas's face lit with a quick smile. "Can a husband ever
carry about a secret all his life and a woman who loves him have
no suspicion of it? I knew it by his refusal to talk about some
episodes in his American life. I knew it by certain precautions
he took. I knew it by certain words he let fall. I knew it by
the way he looked at unexpected strangers. I was perfectly
certain that he had some powerful enemies, that he believed they
were on his track, and that he was always on his guard against
them. I was so sure of it that for years I have been terrified
if ever he came home later than was expected."
"Might I ask," asked Holmes, "what the words were which attracted
your attention?"
"The Valley of Fear," the lady answered. "That was an expression
he has used when I questioned him. 'I have been in the Valley of
Fear. I am not out of it yet.'--'Are we never to get out of the
Valley of Fear?' I have asked him when I have seen him more
serious than usual. 'Sometimes I think that we never shall,' he
has answered."
"Surely you asked him what he meant by the Valley of Fear?"
"I did; but his face would become very grave and he would shake
his head.
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