February SO, 1900.
THE OMAIIA" ILLUSTRATED BEE.
3!
(
If
1
The Return of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of the Dancing Men
(Copyright, by "A. Conan Doyle and
Coiller'a WMklr)
(Copyright. 1M6. br McClurt, Phillips A Co.)
5LME8 hod been seated for nmt
hour In silence with his long.
thin back curved oyer a chemical
vtfMl In which ha was brewing
a particularly malodorous prod
uct. His head was sunk upon his breast
and 1) looked from my point of view like
a strange, lank bird, with dull grey plumage
and a black top-knot.
"Bo. Watson," said he. suddenly, "you do
not propose to invest In South African se
curities?" ' I gave a start of astonishment Accus
tomed as I was to Holmes' curious facul
ties, this sudden Intrusion Into my most In
timate thoughts' was utterly Inexplicable.
"How on earth do you know that?" I
aiked.
He wheeled round upon his stool, with a
steaming test-tuba In his hand, and a gleam
of amusement In his deep-net eyes.
"Now, Watson, confess yourself utterly
taken aback." said he.
"I am."
"I ought to make you sign a paper to that
effect."
"Why?"
"Because in Ave minutes you will say that
it Is all so absurdly simple."
"I am sure thai I shall say nothing of the
kind."
"Tou see, my dear Watson" ha proppel
his test-tube In the rack and bngan to lec
ture with the air of a professor addressing
his class "It is not really difficult to con
struct a aeries of inferences, each depend
ent upon its predecessor and each simple In
Itself. If, after doing so, ons simply knocks
out all the central Inferences and presents
one's audience with the starting point and
the conclusion, one may produce a startling,
though possibly a meretricious, effect. Now,
it was not really difficult, by an Inspection
of the groove between your left forefinger
and thumb, to feel sure that you did not
propose to Invest your small capital in the
goldnelds."
"I see no connection."
"Very likely not; but I can quickly show
you a close connection. Here are the miss
ing links of the very simple chain: 1. Tou
had chalk between your left finger and
thumb when you returned from the club
lust night. 2. Tou put ohalk there when
you play billiards to steady the cue. t. Tou
never play billiards except with Thurston.
4. You told me, four weeks, ago, that
Thurston had an option on some South
African property which would expire In a
month, and which he desired you to share
with him. 5. Your check-book Is locked In
my drawer and you have not asked for the
key. . Tou do not propose to Invest your
money In this manner."
"How absurdly simple!" I cried.
"Quite so," said he, a little nettled.
"Every problem becomes very childish when
once it Is explained to you. Here is an un
explained one. See what you can make of
that, friend Watson." He tossed a sheet of
paper upon the table, and turned once more
to his chemical analysis;
I looked with amazement at the absurd
hieroglyphics upon the paper.
"Why, Holmes. It is a child's drawing'
I cried. . . , .M , i
"Oh, that's your Idea,!"
"What else should It be?"
"That is what Mr. HUton Cubltt of Rid
Ing Thorpe Manor, Norfolk, is very anx
ious to know. This little conundrum came
by the first post, and he was to follow
by the next train. There's a ring at the
bell, Watson. I should not be very much
elrprlsed If this were ha"
'A heavy step was heard upon the stairs,
- fid an instant later there- entered a tall,
ruddy, clean-shaven gentleman, whose
dear eyes and florid cheeks told of a Ufa
led far from the fogs of Baker street
He seemed to bring a whiff of his strong,
fresh, bracing, east coast air with him as
lie entered. Having shaken hands with
eaoh of us, he was about to sit down, -when
his eye rested upon the paper with the
curious markings, whioh I had Just exam
lned and left upon the table.
"Well, Mr. Holmes, what do you make of
these V he cried. "They told me that you
were fond of queer mysteries, and I don't
think you can find a queerer one than that
I sent the paper on ahead, so that you
might have time to study it before I came."
. "It is certainly rather a curious produc
tion." said Holmes. "At first sight It
would appear to be some childish prank.
It consists of a number of absurd little
figures dancing across the paper upon
which they are drawn. Why should you
attribute any importance to so grotesque
an object?"
"I never should, Mr. Holmes. But my
wife dovs. It is frightening her to death.
She anys nothing, but I can see terror in
her eyes. That's why I want to sift the
matter to the bottom."
Holmes held up the paper so that the
sunlight shone full upon It. It waa a page
torn from a notebook. The markings were
done lrr pencil, and ran In this way:
X
J
r
then, folding It carefully up, he placed it
in his pocketbook.
"This promises to be a most Interesting
and unusual case," said he. "Tou gave
me a few particulars In your letter, Mr.
' Hilton Cubltt, but I should be very much
obliged If you would kindly go over It all
again for the benefit of my friend, Dr.
Watson."
"I'm not much of a story-teller,1 said
eur visitor, nervously clasping and un
clasping his great strong hands. "You'll
Just ask me anything that I don't make
clear. I'll begin at the time of my mar
Mage last year, but I want to say first of
all that, though I'm not a rloh man, my
people have been at Biding Thorpe for a
matter of five oenturlee, and there la ne
better known family in the county of Nor.
folk. Last year I oame up to London for
the Jubilees, and I stopped at a boarding
house in Russell square, because Parker,
the vicar of our parish, was staying In It
There waa an American young woman
there Patrick was the name-Elsie Pat
rick. In some way we became friends,
until before my month waa up I was as
much In love as man could be. We were
quietly married at a registry office, and we
returned to Norfolk a wedded couple. You'll
think It very mad, Mr. Holmes, that a man
Of a good old family should marry a wife
In this fashion,, knowing nothing of her
past or of her people, but if you saw her
and knew her. It would help you to under
stand. "Bhe was very straight about It, was Bole,
I can't say that she did not give me every
chance of getting out of it If I wished to do
so. 'I have had some very disagreeable
assooletlona in my life,' said aha, 'I wish to
forget all about them. I would rather
never allude to the past, for It la very
painful to ma If you take m hii
you will take a woman who has nothing
that she need be personally ashamed of; but
yeu will have to be content with my word
for it and allow me to ha u .n.n.
all that Duud tin In tk. !.. v
- - ...iia .un) 4 DS-
7 came yours. If these conditions are too
hard, then go back to Norfolk and leave
me to the lonely life In which you found
me.' It was only the day before our wed
ding that she said those very words to ma
I told her that I waa oonteut to take her
fi i ; "
IS
111; "
I 1.1 II ' 11 '
i
S
r-1 QUES3 THE) BBflT CA8H X CAN MAKB FOR JtYSELJ1 18 TUB ABSOLUTE NAKED TRUTH."' -
on her own terms, and I have been as good
as my word.
"Well, we have been married now for a
year, and very happy we have been.' -But
about a month ago, at the end of June, I
saw for the first time signs of trouble. One
day my wife received a letter from Amer
ica. Z saw the American stamp. She
turned deadly white, read the letter, and
threw It Into the fire. Bhe made no allu
sion to It afterward, and I made none, for
a promise Is a promise, but she has never
known an - easy hour from that moment
There la always a look of fear upon her
face a look as If she were watting and ex
pecting. She would do better to trust mo.
She would find that I was her best friend.
But until she speaks, I can say nothing.
Mind you, she Is a truthful woman, Mr.
Holmes, and whatever troubles there may
have been In her past life It has been no
fault of hers. I am only a simple Norfolk
squire, but there Is not a man In Bngland
who ranks his family honor more highly
than Z do. 8he knows it well, and she
knew It well before she married ma She
would never bring any stain upon it of
that I am sure.
"Well, now I come to the queer part of
my story. About a week ago it was the
Tuesday of last week I found on one of
the wlndowsllls a number of absurd little
dancing figures like these upon the paper.
They were scrawled with ohalk. I thought
that it was the stable boy who had drawn
them, but the lad swore he knew nothing
about It. Anyhow, they had come there
during the night. I had them washed out,
and I only mentioned the matter to my wife
afterward. To my surprise, she took It
very seriously and begged me if any more
came to let her see them. None did come
for a week, and then yesterday rooming I
found this paper lying on the sun dial In
the garden. I showed it to Elsie, and down
she dropped In a dead faint Since then she
has looked like a woman In a dream, half
dased and with terror always lurking In her
eyes. It was then that I wrote and sent the
paper to you, Mr. Holmes. It was not a thing
that I could take to the police, for they
would have laughed at me, but you will tell
me what to do. I am not a rich man, but
If there la any danger threatening my
little woman, I would spend my last cop
per to shield her."
He waa a fine creature, this man of the
old English soil simple, straight and
gentle, with his great, earnest blue eyes
and broad, comely face. His love for hla
wife and his trust in her shone in bis fea
tures. Holmes had listened to his story
with the utmost attention, and now he sat
for some time In silent thought.
"Don't you think, Mr. Cubltt," said he at
last, "that your best plan would be to
make a direct appeal to your wife and ask
her to share her secret with you?"
Hilton Cubltt shook hU marsive head.
"A promise is a promise, Mr. Holmes. If
Elsie wished to tell me she would. If net.
it is not for me to force her confidence. But
I am Justified in taking my own line and I
will."
"Then I will help you with all my heart.
In the first place, have you beard of any
strangers being seen In your neighbor
hood?" "No."
"I presume that it is a very quiet placa
Any fresh face would cause comment?"
"In the immediate neighborhood, yes. But
we have several small watering places not
very far away. And the farmers take in
lodgers."
"These hieroglyphics have evidently a
meaning. If It is a purely arbitrary one.
It may be impossible f.r us to solve It
If, on the other hand, it is systematic. I
have no doubt that we shall get to the
bottom of It. ' Hut this particular sample
Is so short that I can do nothing, and the
fact! which you have brought me are so
Indefinite that we have no basis for an
Investigation. I would suggest that you
return to Norfolk, that you keep a keen
lookout, and that you take an exact copy
of any fresh dancing men which may ap
pear. It Is a thousand pities that we have
not a reproduction of those which were
dona In chalk upon the window sill. Make
a discreet inquiry also as to any strangers
In the neighborhood. When you have col
lected some fresh evidenoe, come to me
again. That is the beet advioe which X
can give you, Mr. Hilton Cubltt. If there
are any pressing fresh developments, I
shall be always ready to run down and see
you In your Norfolk home."
The Interview left Sherlook Holmes very
thoughtful, and several times in the next
few days I saw him take hla slip of paper
from his notebook and look long amt ear
nestly at the curious figures Inscribed upon
It He made no allusion to the affair,
however, until one afternoon a fortnight or
o later. I was going out when he called
me back.
'"You had better stay here, Watson."
"Because Z bad a wire from Hilton Cubltt
this morning. Tou remember Hilton Cubltt
of the dancing men? He was to reach
Liverpool street at 1:30. He may be here
at any moment I gather from hla wire
that there have been some new Incidents
Of Importance."
We had not long to wait for our Nor
folk 'squlrs came straight from the station
as fast aa a hansom could bring him. He
Was looking worried and depressed, with
tired eyes and a lined forehead.
"It's getting on my nerves, this business,
Mr. Holmes," said he as he sank, like a
wearied man, into an armchair. "It's bad
enough to feel that you are surrounded
by unseen, unknown folk, who have some
kind of design upon you, but when, In
addition to that, you know that It Is Just
killing your wife by Inches, then It be
comes as much aa flesh and blood can en
dura She's wearing away under it Just
wearing away before my eyes."
"Has she sair anything yet?"
"No. Mr. Holmes, she has not. And yet
there have been times when the poor girl
has wanted to speak, and yet could not
quite bring herself to take the plunge. I
have trtl(, to helj) hjr but j dar x
did it clumsily, and scared her from It She
has spoken about my old family, and our
reputation In the county, and our pride
In our unsullied honor, and I. always
felt It was leading to the point but some
now it turned off before we got there."
"But you have found out something for
yourself?"
"A good deal, Mr. Holmea I have sev
eral fresh dancing men pictures for you
to examine, and. what is more Important.
I have seen the fellow."
"What the man who draws them'"
"Tes. I saw him at his work. But I
will tell you everything In order. ' When
ot I" "r my visit to you. the very
first thing I saw next morning was a freah
crop of dancing men. They had been
drawn In chalk upon the black wooden
door of the tool house, which stands be
side the lawn in full view of the front
windowa I took an exact copy, ,nd here
it la He unfolded a paper and laid It
upon the table. Here is a copy of the
hieroglyphics:
"Excellent!" said Holmes. "Excellent!
Pray continue."
"When I had taken the copy, I rubbed
out the marka but, two mornings later,
a fresh inscription had appeared. I have
a copy of It here:"
Holmes rubbed his hands and chuckled
with delight
"Our materia la rapidly accumulating,"
said ha
"Three days later a message waa left
scrawled upon paper, and placed under a
pebble upon the sun dial. Here It la The
characters are, as you see, exactly the
same as the last one. After that I de
termined to lay In wait, so I got out my
revolver and I sat up in my study, which
overlooks the lawn and garden. About 2
In the morning I was seated by the win
dow, all being dark save for the moon
light outside, when Z head steps behind
me, and there was my wife in her dress
ing gown. She implored me to oome to
bed. Z told her frankly that I wished to
see who It was who played euoh absurd
tricks upon ua She answered that It was
soma senseless practloaj Joke, and that I
should not take any notice of It
' If It really annoys you, Hilton, we
might go and travel, you and I, and so
avoid this nulsanoe.'
" 'What, be driven out of your own house
by a practical Joker?' said I. 'Why, we
should have the whole county laughing
at ua'
" "Well, come to bed,' said she, 'and we
can discuss it In the morning.'
"Suddenly, as she spoke, I saw her white
face grow whiter yet in the moonlight, and
her hand tightened upon my shoulder.
Something was moving in the shadow of
the tool house. I saw a dark, creeping
figure which crawled round the comer and
squatted In front of the door. Seizing my
pistol, I was rushing out, when my wife
threw her arms round me and held me
with convulsive strength. I tried to throw
her off, but she clung to me moat desper
ately. At last I got clear, but by the
time I had opened the door and reached
the house the creature was gone. He had
left a trace of his presence, however, for
there on the door was the very same er
rangerosnt of dancing men which hall al
ready twice appeared, and which I have
copied on that paper. There were no other
sign of the fellow anywhere, though I
ran all over the grounds. And yet the
amaxlng thing Is that he must have been
there all the time, for when I examined
the door again In the morning he had
scrawled some more of his pictures under
the line which I had already seen."
"Have you that fresh drawing?"
''Yes, it Is short, but I made a copy of
it, and here It Is."
Again he produced a paper. ' The new
dance was In this form:
"Tell me," said Holmes and I could see
by his eyes that he was much excited
"waa this a mere addition to the first, or
did it appear to be entirely separate?"
"It was on a different panel of the door."
"Excellent! This Is far the most Im
portant of all for our purpose. It fills me
with hopes. Now, Mr. Hilton Cubltt
please continue your most Interesting state
ment." "I have nothing more to say, Mr. Holmes,
except that I was angry with my wife that
night for having held me bock when 1 1
might have cauxflt the skulking rascal.
She said that she feared that I might come
to harm. For an instant it had crossed
my mind that perhaps what she really
feared was that he might come to harm,
for I could not doubt that she knew who
this man was. and what he meant by these
strange signals. But Uiere Is a tone In my
wife's voice, Mr. Holmes, and a look In
her eyes which forbid doubt, snd I am sure
that It was Indeed my own saf4y that
was In her mind. There's the whole case,
and now I want your advice as to what I
might to do. My own Inclination is to put
half a dosen of my farm lads In the
shrubbery, and when this fellow cornea
again to give him such a hiding that he
will leave us In peace for the future."
"I fear It is too deep a case for such
sttmplo u-emedles," eald Holmes. "How
long can you stay In London?"
"I must go back today. I would not
leave my wife alone at night for anytblng.
She Is very nervous, and begged me to
come back."
"I dare say you are right. But If you could
have stopped I might possibly havef een
able to return with you in a day or two.
Meanwhile you will leave mo these papers,
and I think that It Is very likely that I
shall be able to pay you a visit shortly
and to throw some llht upon your case."
Sherlook Holmes preserved his calm profes
sional manner Until our visitor had left us,
although It was easy for me, who knew
him so well, to see that ho was profoundly
excited. The moment that Hilton Cubltt's
broad back had disappeared through the
dooor my comrade rushed to the table,
laid out all the slips of paper containing
dancing men in front of him, and threw
himself Into an Intricate and elaborate
calculation. For two hours I watched klm
as he covered sheet after sheet of paper
with figures and letters, so completely ab
sorbed In his task that he had evidently
forgotten my presence. Sometimes he was
making progress and whistled and sang
at his work; sometimes he wa puszled,
and would sit for long spells ,wlth a fur
rowed brow and a vacant eye. Finally he
sprang from his chair with a cry of satis
faction, and walked up and down the room
rubbing his hands together. Then he wrote
a long telegram upon a cable form. "If my
answer to this Is as I hope, you will have
a very pretty case to add to your collection,
Watson," said he. "I expect that we shall
be able to go down to Norfolk tomorrow,
and to take our friend some very definite
news as to the secret of his annoyanca"
I confess that I was filled with curiosity,
but I was aware that Holmes liked to make
hla disclosures at his own time and in his
own way, so I waited until it should suit
him to take me Into bis confidence.
But there was a delay In that answering
telegram, and two days of Impatience fol
lowed, 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 Cubltt. All waa quiet with
him, save thut a long Inscription had ap
peared that morning upon the pedestal of
the sun dial. He Inclosed a copy of it,
which Is here reproduced:
Holmes hent over this grotesque frlese
for some minutes and then suddenly sprang
to his feet with an exclamation of surprise
and dismay. His face waa haggard with
anxiety.
"We have let this affair go far enough,"
said he. "Is there a train to North Wal
sham tonight?"
I turned up the timetable. The last had
Just gone.
'Then we shall breakfast early and take
the very first In the morning," said Holmea.
"Our presence Is most urgently needed. Ah!
here Is our expected cablegram. One
moment, Mrs. Hudson, there may be an
answer. No, that Is quite as I expected.
This message makes it even more essential
that we should not lose an hour In letting
Hilton t'ubltt know how matters stand, for
It la a singular snd a dangerous web In
which our simple Norfolk suulre Is en
tangled."' Bo, Indeed, It proved, and as I come to the
dark conclusion of a story which had
seemed to me to be only childish and bl
sarre. I experience once again the dismay
and horror with which X was filled. Would
thnt I had pome brighter ending to com
municate te any readers, but these ere the
cbronlcieo of fact, and I must foikw to
tholr dark crll the strange rhsln of events
which for torn iy made Riding Thorpe
manor a household word through the length
snd breadth ef England.
We had hsrrlly slighted at North Ws
sham and mentioned the narr of our desti
nation, when the station master hurried to
w.ird ua "1 suppese that you aro the de
tectives from London T' said he.
A look of annoyance passed over Holmes'
fare. ' .
"What makes you think such a thing?"
"Because Infractor Martin from Norwich
has Just paed through. But maybe you
are the surgeons. She's not dead or wasn't
by last accounts. Tou may bei In time lo
save her yet -though It be for the gallows."
Holmes' brow wa dark with anxiety.
"Wo ere roln to Riding Thorpe manor."
said he, "but we have heard nothing of
what Ms passed there."
"It's a terrible business." said the station
master. "They are shot, both Mr. Hilton
Cuhltt and his wife. Bhe shot him and
then herself so the servants sy. He's
dead and her life Is dplred of. Dear,
dear, one of the oldest families In the
county of Norfolk, and one of thenost
honored."
Without a word Holmes hurried to a car
riage, and during the long seven miles'
drive he never opened his mouth. Seldom
have I seen him so utterly despondent He
had been uneasy during all our Journey
from town, and I had observed that he had
turned over the morning papers with
anxious attention, but now this sudden
realisation of his worst fears left him in a
blank melancholy. He leaned backfttn his
seat, lost In gloomy speculation. Tet there
was much around to Interest us, for we
were passing through as singular a country-side
as any In England, where a
few scattered cottages represented
the population of today, while
on every hand enormous squsre
towered churches bristled up from the flat
green landscape and told of the glory and
prosperity of old East Anglla. At last the
violet rim of the German ocean appeared
over the green edge of the Norfolk coast
and the driver pointed with his whip to
two old brick and timber gnbles which pro
jected from a grove of treea "That's Rid
ing Thorpe manor," said he.
Aa we drove up to the portlcoed front
door I observed In front of It, beside the
ten n l.i lawn, the black tool house and the
pedeslalled sun dial with which we had
such strange association A dapper little
man with a quick, alert manner and a
waxed mustache, had Just descended from
a high dog cart. He introduced himself as
Inspector Martin of the Norfolk constabu
lary and he was considerably astonished
when he heard the name of my companion.
"Why, Mr. Holmes, the crime was only
committed at 3 this morning. How could
you hear of It In London and get to the
spot as soon as I?"
"I anticipated it. I came in the hope of
preventing it."
"Then you must have important evidence,
of which we are ignorant, for they were
said to be a most united couple."
"I have only the evidence of the dancing
men," said Holmea "I will explain the
matter to you later. Meanwhile, slnoe It
is too late to prevent this tragedy, I am
very anxious that I should use the knowl
edge which I possess In order to Insure that
Justice be done. Will you associate me In
your investigation, or will you prefer that
I should act independently?"
"I should be proud to feel that we were
anting together, Mr. Holmea," said the In
spector, earnestly.
"In that case I should be glad to hear the
evidence and to examine the premises with
out an Instant of unnecessary delay."
Inspeotor Martin had the good sense to
allow my friend to do things In his own
fashion and contented himself with care
fully noting the results. The local sur
geon, an old, white-haired man, had Just
come down from Mrs. Hilton Cubltt's room,
and he reported that her injuries were se
rious, but not necessarily fatal. The bullet
had passed through the front of her brain
and it would probably be some time before
she could regain consciousness. On the
question of whether .she had been shot or
had shot herself he would not venture to
express any decided opinion. Certainly the
bullet had been discharged at very close
quarters. There was only the one platol
found In the room, two barrels of which
had been emptied. Mr. Hilton Cubltt had
been shot through the heart. It was equally
conceivable that he had shot her and then
himself, or that she had been the criminal,
for the revolver lay upon the floor midway
between them.
"Has he been moved?" asked Holmes.
"We have moved nothing except the
woman. We could not leave her lying
wounded upon the floor."
"How long have you been here, doctor?"
"Since 4 o'clock."
"Any one else?"
"Tes: the constable here."
"And you have touched nothing?"
"Nothing."
"Tou have acted with great discretion.
Who sent for you?"
"The housemaid, Saunders."
"Was It she who gave the alarm?"
"She and Mrs. King, the cook."
"Where are they now?"
"In the kitchen, I believe."
"Then I think we had better hear their
story at once,"
The old hall, oak-panelled and high
windowed, had been turned Into a court
of Investigation. Holmes sat in a great,
old-fashioned ohalr, his Inexorable eyes
gleaming out of his haggard face. I could
read In them a set purpose to devote his
life to this quest until the client whom he
had failed to save should at last be
avenged. The trim Inspector Martin, the
old, grey-headed country doctor, myself,
and a stolid village policeman made up the
rest of that strange company.
The two women told their story dearly
enough. They had been aroused from their
sleep by the sound of an explosion, which
had been followed a minute later by a
second one. They slept in adjoining rooms,
and Mrs. King bad rushed In to Saunders.
Together they had descended the stairs.
The door of the study was open, and a
candle was burning upon the table. Their
master lay upon his face In the oenter of
the room. He was quite dead. Near the
window his wife was crouching, her head
leaning against the wall. Bhe was horribly
wounded, and the side of her face was red
with blood. She breathed heavily, but was
incapable of saying anything. The passage,
as well as tha room, waa full of smoke and
the smell of powder. The window was cer
tainly shut and fastened upon the Inside.
Both women were positive upon the point.
They had at once sent for the doctor and
for the constable. Then, with the aid of
the groom and the stableboy, they had
conveyed their Injured mistress to her
room. Both she and her husband had oc
cupled the bed. Bhe was clad in her dress
-he in his dressing gown, over his night
clothes. Nothing had been moved In the
study. Bo far as they knew, there had
never been, any quarrel between husband
and wife. They had always looked upon
them as a very united couple
These were the main points of the ser
vant evidence. In answer to Inspector
Martin,, they were clear that every door
was fastened upon the Inside, and that no
one could have escaped from the house. In
answer to Holmes, they both remembered
that they were conscious of the smell of
powder from the moment that they ran
out of their rooms upon the top floor. "I
commend that fact .very carefully to your
attention," sal a Holm to his pryfo.ual
colleague. "And now I think that we aro
In a rosltlon undertake a thorough ex
amination of the room."'
The study proved to be a small chamber,
lined en three skies with books, and) wrtk
a writing table facing an ordinary window,
which looked out upon the garden. Our
first attention was give to tho body of
the unfortunate squire, whose huge frame
lay stretched aero the room. Hla das
ordered dress showed that he had been
hastily aroused from sleep. The bullet had
been fired at him from tho front end bad
remained in his body after penetrating tho
heart. His death had certainly been In
stantaneous and painless. Thero was no
powiler marking either upon his dressing
gown or on his hands. According to the
country surgeon, the lady had stains upeo
her face, but none upon her hand.
"The absence of the latter means noth
ing, though its presence may mean every
thing," said Holmes. "Unless the powder
from a badly fitting cartridge happens to
spurt backwards, one may fire many sbofci
without leaving a sign. I would suggest
tliat Mr. .Cubltt's body may now be re
moved. I suppose, doctor, you have not'
recovered the bullet which wounded the
lady?"
"A serious operation will be neoeasans
before that can be dona But there are
still four cartridges In the revolver. Two
have been fired and two wounds lnflioted,
so that each bullet can be accounted for."
"So It would seem," said Holmes. "Per
haps you can account also for tho bullet
which has so obviovsly struck the) edge)
of the window?"
He had turned suddenly, and hla long,
thin finger was pointing to a hole whioh)
had been drilled right through the low
window saah, about an inch abora tho
bottom.
"By George!" cried tho inspeotor. "He
ever did you ee that?"
"Because I looked tor It"
"Wonderful!" said the country doctor.
"You are certainly right sir. Then third
shot has boen fired, and therefor a third
person muat have been present But who
could that have been, and how could ho
have got away?"
"That Is the problem which we are now
about to solve," said Sherlock Holmes.
"You remember, Inepector Martin, when
the servants said that on leaving their room
they were at once conscious of a smell of
powder, I remarked that tho point waa
an extremely Important one?"
"Yea sir; but I confess I did not quite
follow you."
"It Buggetttsd that at the time of the
firing, the window as well as tho door of
the room had been open. Otherwise the
fumes of powder could not have been blown
so rapidly through the house. A draught
in the room was neoessary for that Both
door and window were only open for a
very short time, however."
"How do you prove that?"
' "Because ths candle was not guttered."
"Capital!" cried the Inspeotor. "Capital!"
"Feeling sure that the window had been
open at the time of the tragedy I con
ceived that there might have been a third
peasan in the affair, who stood outside this
opening and fired through It Any shot di
rected at this person might hit the sash.
I looked, and there, sure enough, waa tha
bullet markl"
"But how came the window to bo ahu
and fastened?"
"The woman's first Instinct would bo to
shut and fasten the window. But hailoal
what Is this?"
It waa a woman's handbag whioh stood
upon the study table a trim little hand
bag of crocodile-skin and stiver. Holmes)
opened It and turned the contents out.
There were twenty 50 notes of tho Bank
of England, held together by an India
rubber band nothing else.
"This must be preserved, for it will figure
In the trial," said HolmeB. as he handed
the bag with its contents to the Inspeotor.
"It is now necessary that wo should try,
to throw some light upon this third bul
let, which has clearly, from tho splinter
ing of the wood, been fired from lnsld
the room. I should like to see Mrs. King,
the cook, again. You said, Mrs: King,
that you were awakened by a loud ex
plosion. When you said that, did you
mean that It seemed to you to bo louder
than the second one?"
"Well, sir It wakened me from my sleep,
and so it is hard to Judge. But it did seem
very loud."
"You don't think that it might have been
two shots fired almost at the same In
stant?" "I am sure I couldn't say, sir."
"I believe that it was undoubtedly so,
I rather think, Inspector Martin, that wa
have now exhausted all that this room
ran teach us. If you will kindly step
round with me, we shall see what fresh
evidence the garden has to offer."
A flower-bed extended up to tho study
window, and we all broke Into an
exclamation as we approached it Tho
flowers were trampled down, and
the soft soil was Imprinted all over
with footmarks. Large, masculine feet they,
were, with peculiarly long, sharp toes.
Holmes hunted about among the grass and
leaves as a retriever would after a wounded
bird. Then, with a cry of satisfaction, ha
bent forward and picked up a little brasen
cylinder.
"I thought so," said he; "the revolver
has an ejector, and herb is the third cart
ridge. I really think, Inspeotor M actio,
that our case Is almost complete."
The country Inspector's face had shown,
his Intense amazement at the rapid and
masterful progress of Holmes' Investiga
tion. At first he had shown soma disposi
tion to assert his own position, but now
he was overeome with admiration and)
ready to follow without question whereves
Holmes led.
"Whom do you suspect?" he asked,
"I'll go Into that later. There are several
points In this problem which Z have not
been able to explain yet. Now that Z have
got so far, I had best proceed along on
my own lines, and then clear tha wbola
matter up once for all."
"Just as you wish, Mr. Holmes, so long
as we get our man."
"I have no desire to make mysteries, but
It is impossible at the moment of action to
enter Into lung and complex explanatlona
I have the threads of this affair all in my
hand. Even If this lady should never re
cover consciousness, we can still recon
struct the events of last night and Insure
that Justice be done. First, of all. I wish
to know whether there is any inn, In this
neighborhood known as 'Elrlge's?' "
The servants were cross-questioned, but
none of them hud beard of euoh a placa
Ths stable boy threw a light upon tha
matter by remembering that a farmer of
that name lived some miles off. In tha
direction of East Huston.
"Is It a lonely farm?"
"Very lonely, sir."
"Perhaps they have not heard yet of all
that -happened here during the night?"
"Maybe not, sir."
Holmes thought for a little, and then a
curious stnllo played over his face.
"Saddle a horse, my lad," said ha "I
shall wish you to take a note to Elrlge's
farm."
He took from his pocket the various slips
Of the dancing men. With these In front
of hlin, he worked for some time at tha
study i.iT. Finally he handed a note to
the hoy, with directions to put It Into
the hands of the person to whom It was
addressed, and especially to answer no
questions of any sort which might be put
to him. I saw the outside of tha note,
t Continued oa 'Page Eight)
' J- -ft. m .Me .. NkVfiu -
J
