the adventure of dancing men

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are approached by Hilton Cuppet, who is concerned about a series of stick figure letters he has been receiving. Cuppet reveals that he has killed Ace Patrick, an American woman who had been receiving these letters. Holmes agrees to investigate and realizes that the stick figures are a code. He deciphers the message, which warns of danger. Holmes and Watson go to Riding Sophie Manor where Cuppet and his wife are staying, only to find that Ace has been kidnapped and Cuppet has been shot. Before dying, Cuppet tells Holmes that he recognizes the kidnapper. Holmes and Watson track down the kidnapper, Elvis Laney, who was Ace's former lover from America. Laney is arrested and Ace is saved. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are visited by Hilton Cuppet, who shows them a piece of paper with a sequence of stick figures drawn on it. Cuppet explains that he has recently murdered an American woman, named Ace Patrick, and that she has been receiving letters with similar stick figures. The letters have been considered her great distress, and Cuppet is worried for his safety. Holmes agrees to take the case. Holmes quickly realizes that the stick figures are a code, and he sets about deciphering it. He discovers that the code is a simple submission. Sharp, and he is able to read the message. The dance is on. Death awaits him who disturbs it. Holmes and Watson travel to Riding Sophie Manor, where Cuppet and his wife are staying. They arrive to find that Ace has been kidnapped and that Cuppet has been shot. Cuppet dies soon after, but not before telling Holmes that he recognizes the kidnapper's face. Holmes and Watson set about trying to track down the kidnapper. They eventually discover that the man is Elvis Laney, a former lover of Ace, who had followed her to England from America. His name is arrested, and Ace is rescued.