Omaha
LLUSTRATED
NUMBER 331.
Entered Second Class at Omaha Postoffice Published "Weekly by The Bee Publishing Co. Subscription, $2.50 Per Year.
OCTOBER 15, 1905.
The
Bee
Exploits of Sherlock HolmesThe Mystery of the Yellow Face
How the Mystery of the Widow from America, Who Became the Wife of a Hop Grower, Was Solved to the Satisfaction of All Parties Concerned in the Incident
Thrilling Chapters from the Life Story of the
World's Greatest Detective Character
about that. A man can tell
easily enough when a woman
SHERLOCK HOLMES was a man who seldom took exercise for
exercise's sake. Few men were capable of greater muscu
lar effort, and he was undoubtedly one of the finest boxers
of his weight that I have ever seen; but he looked upon
aimless bodily exertion as a waste of energy, and he seldom bestirred
himself save where there was some professional object to be served.
Then he was absolutely untiring and Indefatigable. That he should
have kept himself In training under such circumstances is remark
able, but his diet was usually of the sparest, ana ms ubuiu lovea hlm But ere- this se-
slmple to the verge of austerity. Save for the occasional, use of cret U8 and we can
cocaine, he had no vices, and he only turned to the drug as a pro-. never be the game mm u u
test against the monotony of existence when cases were scanty and cleared
the papers uninteresting. "Kindly let me have the
One day In the early spring he had so far relaxed as to go for a factg( Mf Munro Bal(1 iIoimes,
walk with me In the rark. where the first faint shoots of green were wUh gome lmpatIeacei
breaking out upon the elms, and the sticky spear heads of the chest-, ,ni te, you whnt j know
nnts were Just beginning to btirst into their five fold leaves! For two ftbout Effle8 hl(jtory Sne wa9 a
hours we rambled about together, In silence for the most part, as oems
two men who know each other intimately. It was nearly 5 o'clock be
fore we were back In Baker street once more.
"Beg pardon, sir," said our page boy, as he opened the door.
"There's been a- gentleman here asking for you, sir."
Holmes glanced reproachfully at me. "So much for afternoon
walks! said he. "Has the gentleman gone, then?"
"Yes. sir."
"Didn't yon ask him In 7"
"Yes, sir; be came In.'
"How long did he wait?"
"Half an hour, air. He "was a Very restless gentleman, sir,
a-walkln and a-stampln an the time he was here. I was waitin' out
side the door, sir, and I could hear him. At last he out into the pas
sage, and he cries, 'Is that man never goln to come? Those were his
very words, sir. 'You'Ii only need to wait a little longer,' says I.
Then I'll wait In the open air, for I feel half choked, says he. 'I'll be
back before long. And with that he ups and he outs, and all I could
say wouldn't hold him back."
"Well, well, you did your best," said Holmes, as we walked Into had been 80 welJ mvested by
our room. "It's very annoying, though, Watson. I was badly In need him lt returned an average
of a case, and this looks, from the man's Impatience, as If It were of of 7 cent glle had only beon
importance. Hullo! that's not your pipe on the table. He must have B,x montng at pinner when I
left his behind him. A nice old brier with a good long stem or what
the tobacconists call amber. I wonder how many real amber mouth
pieces there are In London? Some people think that a fly In it is a
sign. Well, he must have been disturbed in his mind to leave a pipe
behind him which he evidently values highly."
"How do your know that he values it highly?" I asked.
"Well, I should put the original cost of the pipe at 7 and 6 pence.
Now lt has, you see, been twice mended, once in the wooden stem and
once in the amber. Each of these mends, done, as you observe, with
silver bands, must have cost more than the pipe did originally. The
man must valne his pipe highly when he prefers to patch lt up rather
than buy a new one with the same money."
"Anything else?" I asked, for Holmes was turning the pipe about
in his hand, and staring at lt la his peculiar, pensive way. ,
He held lt np and tapped on It witn his long, thin forefinger, as a
professor might who was lectnrlng on a bone. -
"Pipes are occasionally of extraordinary Interest," said he. "Noth
ing has more individuality, save perhaps watches and bootlaces.' The
widow when I met . her first,
though quite young only 25.
Her name then was Mrs. Heb
ron. She went to America when
she was young, lived In the town
of Atlanta, married this Hebron,
who was a lawyer with a good
practice. They had one child,
but the yellow fever Moke out
badly In the place, and both hus
band and child died of it. I
have seen bis death certificate.
This sickened her of America,
and she came back to live with
a maiden aunt at Pinner, In
Middlesex. I may mention that
her husband had left her com
fortably off, and that she had a
capital of about 4,500, which
met her; we fell In love with,
each other, and we married a
few weeks afterwards.
"I am a hop merchant my
self, and as I have an income
of seven or eight hundred, we
found ourselves comfortably off,
and took a nice 80-a-year villa
at Norbury. Our little place
was very . countrified, ' consider
ing that it Is so close to town.
We had an Inn and two houses
a little above us, and a single
cottage at the other side of the
field which faces us, and ex
cept those there were no houses
until you got, half way to the
station. My business . took me
"HE HELD OL'T HIS OTHER HAND TO HIS WIFE."
Indications here, -however, are neither very marked nor-.-very .'" into town at certain seasons.
portant The owner Is obviously a muscular man, left-handed, with an but . In summer I had less to do, and then In our country home my wife untimely preparation, when suddenly my half-opened eyes fell upon
excellent Bet of teeth, careless in mi namta, anq witn no neea to prac- and j were just as happy as could te wished. I tell you that there her face, Illuminated by the candle light, and astonishment held me -face- That was comfortable and elegant, and all my suspicions rose
tion. Then, as I approached th door, she seized my sleeve and pulled
me back with convulsive strength.
" 'I implore you not to do this, Jack.' Phe cried. 'I swear that I
will tell you everything some day, but nothing but misery can come
of it if you enter that cottage.' Then, as I tried to shake her off, she
clung to me In a frenzy of entreaty.
" 'Trust me, Jack!' she cried. 'Trust me only this once. You will
never have cause to regret it. You kuow that I would not have a secret
from you If it were not for your own sake. Our whole lives are at
stake in this. If you come home with me, all will be well. If you
force your way into Unit cottage, all is over between us.
"There was such earnestness, such despair In her manner, that het
words arrested me, and I stood Irresolute lefore the door.
" 'I will trust you on one condition, and on one condition only,
said I at last. 'It Is that this mystery comes to an end from now. You
are at liberty to preserve youi secret, but you must promise me that
there shall be no more nightly visits, no more doings which arc kert
from my knowledge.' I am wiling to forget those which are passed 14
you will promise that there shall be no more in the future.
" "I wits sure that you would trust me, she rrled, with a great
sigh of relief. 'It shall be just as you wish. Come away oh, come
away up to the house.'
"Still pulling at my sleeve, she led me away from the cottage. At
we went I glanced back, uud there was the yellow, livid face watching
us out of the upper window. What link could there be between that
creature and my wife? Or how could the coarse, rough woman whom
I had seen the day before be connected with her? It was a strange
puzzle, and yet I knew that my mind could never kuow ease again
until I had solved it
"For two days after this I 6tayed at home, and my wife appeared
to abide loyally by our eiigcgement for, as far as I know, she never
stirred out of the house. On the third day, however, I had ample evi
dence that her solemn promise was not enough to hold her back from
tliis secret influence which drew her away from her husband and her
duty.
"I had gone Into town on that day, Vnt I returned by the 2:40 in
stead of the 3:36, which Is my usual train. As I entered the house the
maid ran Into the hall wit'i a startled face.
" 'Where Is your mistress?" I asked.
" 'I think that she has gone out for a walk, she answered.
' "My mind was instantly filled with suspicion. I rushed upstairs
to make sure that she wn not In the house. As I did so I happened '
to glance out of one of the upper windows, and I saw the maid with
whom I had Just been speaking running across the field In the direction
of the cottage. Then, of course, I saw exactly what lt all meant My
wife had gone over there, and had asked the servant to call her If I
should return. Tingling witn anger, I rushed down and hurried across,
determined to end the mr.tter once and forever. I saw my wife and
the maid hurryiug back nlonj; the lane, but I did not stop to speak
with them. In the cottage lay the secret which was casting a shadow
over my life, and I vowed that come what might It should be a secret
no longer. I did not even knock when I reached it, but turned the
handle and rushed Into the passage.
"It was all still and quiet upon the ground floor. In the kitchen a
kettle was singing on the fire, and a large black cat lay coiled op la
the basket; but there was no sign of the woman whom I had seen be
fore. I ran Into the othei room, but it was equally deserted. Then I
rushed up the stairs, only to find two other rooms empty and deserted
at the top. There was no one at all In the whole house. The furni
ture and pictures were of the most common and vulgar description.
save in the one chamber at the window of which I had seen the strange
tlce economy." ...... , never waB a shadow between us until this accursed affair began.
My friend threw ont the Information in jrrery offhand way, but I . - "There's one thfng-1 ought to tell you- before I go further. When
saw that he cocked his eye at me to see If I had followed his reasoning. Ve married my wife made over all her property to me rather against
"You think a man must be well-to-do if he smokes a 7-shilling my will, for I saw how awkward it would be If my business affairs
pipe," said I.
"This Is Grosvenor mixture at 8 pence an ounce," Holmes an
swered, knocking a little out on his palm. . "As be might get an excel
lent smoke for half the price, he has no need to practice economy." .
"And the other points?"
"He has been in the habit of lighting bis pipe at lamps and gas
Jets. You can see that it Is quite charred all down one side. Of course
a match could not have done that Why should a man hold a match
to the side of his pipe? But you cannot light lt at a lamp without
getting the bowl charred. And lt Is all on the right side of the pipe.
went wrong. However, she would have It so, and It was done. Well,
about six weeks ago she cr.me to me.
"'Jack,' said she, 'when you took my money you said that if ever
I wanted any I was to ask you for it'
" 'Certainly,' said L 'It's all your own.'
" 'Well said She. 'I want 100.
"I was a bit staggered at this, for I had Imagined it was simply a
new dress or something of the kind that she was after.
" 'What on earth for?' I asked.
dumb. She wore an expression such as I had never seen before such
as I should have thought her Incapable of assuming. ' She was deadly
pale and breathing fast glancing furtively towards the bed as she fas
tened her mantle, to see If she had disturbed me. Then, thinking that
I was still asleep, she slipped noiselessly from the room, and an In
stant later I heard a sharp creaking which could only come from the
binges of the front door. I sat up In bed and rapped my knuckles
against the rail to make certain that I was truly awake. Then I took
my watch from under the pillow. It was 3 in the morning. What on
earth could my wife be doing-out on the country road at 3 In the
morning?
"I had sat for about twenty minutes turning the thing over in my
mind and trying to find some possible explanation. The more I thought
From that I gathered that he Is a left-handed man. You hold your my banker, and bankers ne er ask questions, you know
" 'Oh said she, in her playful way, 'you said that you were only the more extraordinary and Inexplicable did It appear. I was still
own pipe to the lamp, and sec how naturally you, being right-handed.
hold the left side to the flame. You might do it once the other way,
but not as a constancy. This has always been held so. Then he has
bitten through his amber. It takes a muscular, energetic fellow, and
one with a good set of teeth, to do that But if I am not mistaken I
hear him upon the stair, sov we shall have something more interesting
than his pipe to study."
An instant later our door opened, and a tall young man entered
"If you really mean It of course you shall have the money footsteps coming np the stairs.
puzzling over lt when I "heard the door gently close again, and her
said I.
" 'Oh, yes, I really mean it
"'And you won't tell me what you want lt for?'
" 'Some day, perhaps, but not Just at present, Jack
"So I had to be content with that, though it was the first time that
" 'Where in the world have you been, Effle?' I asked as she entered.
She gave a violent start and a kind of gasping cry when I spoke,
Into a fierce, bitter flame when I saw that on the mantelpiece stood a
copy of a full length photograph ef my wife, which had been taken
at' my request only three months ago.
"I stayed long enogu to make certain that the house was abso
lutely empty. Then I left It feeling a weight at my heart such as I
had never had before. My wife came out into the hall as I entered
my house; but I was too hurt and angry to speak to her, and, push
ing past her, I made my waj into my study. She followed me, how
ever, before I could close the door.
" 'I am sorry that I broke my promise. Under the circumstances
I am sure that you would forgive me."
" 'Tell me everything, then tffild I.
"'I cannot Jack, I cpuhot she cried.
" 'Until you tell me who it is that has been living In that cottage,
and who it is to whom you have given that photograph, there can
never be any confidence between us said I, and breaking away from
her I left the house. That was yesterday, Mr. Holmes, and I have
not seen her since, nor do I know anything inore about this strange
business. It is the first shadow that hos come between us, and lt has
and that cry and start troubled me more than all the rest for there so shaken me that I do not kuow what I should do for the best Sud-
was something Indescribably guilty about them. My wife had always
been a woman of a frank, open nature, and it gaye me a chill to see
there had ever been any secret between us. I gave her a check, and
I never thought any more of the matter. It may have nothing to do her allnkin Into her own room, and crying out and wincing when her
the room. He was well but quietly dressed In a dark gray suit and with what came afterwards, but I thought it only right to mention lt own husband spoke to her.
carried a brown wideawake In his hand. I should have put him at "Well. I told you Just now that there is a cottage not far from u.Yon awaUe JackP ghe cried with a nervous laugh. 'Why I
about 30, though he was really some years older. our house. There is Just a field between us, but to reach it you have tt nothing could awake you '
"I beg your pardon' said he, with some embarrassment; "I supr to go along the road and then turn down a lane. Just beyond it is a 'Where have you teen'' I asked more sternly
1 uu-' "l -- u"'" ve ui ocoicu lira, uuu I oseu to te very rono or Strolling ,T Ann,t tha rnn r .nrnrl.l ' BHirt unit T mil Id rpp
deuly this morning lt occurred to me that you were the man to advise
me, so I have hurried to you now, and I place myself unreservedly In
your hands. If there Is any point whioh I have not made clear, pray"
question me about It.. But, above all, tell me quickly what I am to do,,
for this misery 1b more than I can bear."
Holmes and I had listened with the utmost interest to this ex
traordinary statement wb!cb had been delivered in the Jerky), broken
rasnion or a man wno is undtr the influence of extreme emotion. Mj
The fact is that I am a little upset and you must put it all down to down there, for trees are always neighborly kind of things. The cot- tit her fingers were tren bilng as she undid the fastenings of her companion sat silent now for some time, with his chin upon his hand.
uiuu uo yuoocu mm uuu ... "Ju " "j," ""u uceu outuumg emuiy una eigui mouuis, ana it was a pity, ror manie 'Why I never remember having done such a thing in my 1081 ,u tuougnt
duied, and then fell rather more than sat down upon a chair.
"I can see that you have not slept for a night or two," sold
Holmes, In his easy, genial way. "That tries a roan's nerves more
than work, and more even than pleasure. . May I auk how I can help
you?"
it was a pretty two-storied place, with an old-fashioned porch and
honeysuckle about lt I have stood many a time "and thought what
a neat little homestead it would make.
"Well, last Monday, evening- I was taking a Btroll down that way,
when I met an empty van coming up the lane, and saw a pile of car-
"I wanted your advice, sir. I dont know what to do, and my pets and things lying about on the grass plot beside the porch. It was
whole life seems to have gone to pieces." clear that the cottage had at last been let. I walked past It and then
"Tou wish to employ me as a consulting detective?" stopping, as an idle man might I ran my eye over it and wondered
"Not that only. I want your, opinion as a Judicious man as a what sort of folk they were who had come to live so near us. And as
man of the world. I want tc know what I ought to do next I hope I looked I suddenly became aware that a face was watching me out
to Ood you'll be able to tell me." ' of one of the upper window.
He spoke In little, kherp, Jerky outbursts, and lt seemed to me "I don't know what there was about that face, Mr. Holmes, but
that to speak at all was very painful to him, and that his will all lt seemed to send a chill right down my back. I was some little way
through was overriding his Inclinations. off, so that I could not makj out the features, but there was something
"It's a very delicate thing." said he. "One does not like to speak unnatural and Inhuman about the face. That was the Impression
of one's domestic affairs to strangers. It seems dreadful to discuss the that I bad, and I moved quickly forward to get a nearer view of the
conduct of one's wife with two men whom I have never seen before, person who was watching me. But as I did so the face suddenly dls
It's horrible to have to do it But I've got to the end of my tether, and appeared, so suddenly that lt seemed to have been plucked away Into
I must have advice." the darkness of the room. I stood for five minutes thinking the busi
ly dear Mr. Grant Monro," began Holmes. ness over, and trying to analyze my Impressions. I could not tell if
Our visitor sprang from his chair. "What." he cried, "you know the face were that of a man or a woman. It had been too far from me
my name?" . " for But lt color what impressed me most It was of a
"If you wish to preserve your Incognito," said Holmes, smiling, "I livid chalky white, and with something set and rigid about which was
would suggest that you cease to write your name upon the lining of shockingly unnatural So disturbed was I that I determined to see a
your hat, or else that you turn the crown towards the person whom little more of the new lnrcates of the cottage. I approached and
you are addressing. I was about to Bay that my friend and I have knocked at the door, which was Instantly opened by a tall, gamut
listened to a good many strange secrets in this room and that we have woman, with a harsh, forbidding face.
had the good fortune to bring peace to many troubled souls. I trust " 'Whut may you be wautiu'V' she asked, in a northern ascent
that we may do as much for you. Might I beg you, as time may prove 44 'I alu your neighbor over yonder said I, nodding towards my wbleD Da(1 looked out at me on the day before. As I stood there,
to be of Importance, to furnish me with the facts of your case without house. 'I see that you have only Just moved in, so I thought that if I lnlaSiue mv surprise, Mr. Holmes, when the door suddenly opened and
further delay?" could be of any help to you in any' my wife walked out .
Our visitor again passed his hand over his forehead, as if he " 'y, we'll Just ask ye when we want ye said she, and shut the was struck dumb with astonishment at the slKht of her; but
found It bitterly hard. From every gesture and expression I could see door to my face. Annoyed at the churlish rebuff, I turned my back mv emotions were nothing to those which showed themselves upon her
that he was a reserved, self-contained man, with a dash of pride in his and walked home. All evening, though I tried to think of other ace when our eyes met. She seemed for an instant to wish to shriuk
nature, more likely to hide his wound than to expose them. Then things, my mind would still turn to the apparition at ine window and hack Inside the house again: and then, seeing how useless all conceal
suddenly, with a fierce gesture of his cloned hand, like one who throws the rudeness of the woman. I determined to say nothing about the mnt must be, she came forward, with a very white face and fright
reserve to the -winds, he began. - former to my wife, for she U a nervous, highly strung woman, and I ened eye8 which belied the smile mon her lips.
"The facts are these, Mr. nolmes," said he. "I am a married man, had no wish that she should share the uupleasant impression which " 'Ah, Jack she said, 'I have just been in to see if I can lie of any
and have been to for three years. During that tlmt my wife and I had been produced upon mjself. . I remarked to her, however, before assistance to our new neighbors. Why do you look at me like that,
have loved each other as fondlv and lived as happily as any two that I '-'U asleep, that the cottage was now occupied, to which she returned Jck- You are not angry with me?'
ever were joiued. We have not had a differeucts, uoi one, in thought or " rejily. 0t sala i j, la wnere you went during the night
word, or deed. And now, since last Monday, there ha suddenly "I am usually an extremely sound sleeper. It has been a stand- "'What do you mean?" hhe cried.
sprung up a barrier betweet us, and I find that there la something in lug Jest in the family that nothing could ever wake me during tho " 'You came here. I am sure of lt Who are these people, that
her life and to her thought of which I know as little as If she were the night And yet somehow on that particular night whether it may you should visit them at such an hourV
woman who brushes by me in the street We are estranged, and I have been the slight exclttn ent produced by my little .adventure or "'I have not been here before
want to know why. not, I know not but I slept much more lightly than usual. Half In "'How. can you tell m'what you know Is falser I cried. 'Your
"Now there Is one thing that I want to Impress upon you before I my dreams I was dimly conscious that something was going on in the very voice changes as you speak. When have I ever had a secret from
go any further, Mr. Holmes Effie loves me. Don't let there be any room, and gradually became aware that my wife had dressed herself you? I shall enter that cottage, and I shall piobe tiie matter to the
mittake about that. She loves me with her whole heart and soul, and and was slipping on her mantle and her bonnet My lips were parted bottom
never wore than now. I kxow it I feel it I don't want to argue to murmur put some aleepy words of surprise or remonstrance at thjJ Z.'yU Bi totOoi't taker she gasped, la lacontrollable eino-
life before. The fact is that I felt as though I were choking, and had a
perfect longing for a breath of fresh air. I really think that I should
have fainted if I had not gone out I stood at the door for a few min
utes, and now I am quite myself again
"All the time that she was telling me this story she never once
looked In my direction, and her voice was quite unlike her usuul tones.
It was evident to me that she was saying what was false. I said
nothing to reply, but turned my face to the wall, sick at heart with
my mind filled with a thousand venomous doubts and suspicious. What
was it that my wife was concealing from me? Where had she been
during that strange. expedition? I felt that I should have no peace
until I knew, and yet I shrank from asking her again after once she
had told me what was false. All the rest of the night I tossed and
tumbled, framing theory after theory, each more unlikely than the
last
"I should have gone to the city that day, but I was too disturbed
to my mind to be able to paj attention to business matters. My wife
seemed to be as upset as myself, and I could see from the little
questioning glances which she kept shooting at me that she under
stood that I disbelieved her statement, and that she was at her wits'
end what to do. We hardly exchanged a word during breakfast, and
Immediately afterwards I went out for a walk, that I might think the
matter out in the fresh morning air.
"1 went as rar as the Crystal palace, spent an hour in the grounds,
and back to Norbury by 1 o'clock. It happened that my way
took me past the cottage, and I stopped for an Instant to look at the
windows, and to see if I could catch a gUmpse of the strange face
,1't-. i i ..,..., ....
xeu me, sum u ai wax, "couiu you swear mat mis was a man s
face which you saw at tho window?"
"Each time that I saw it I was some distance away from It, so
that It is impossible for mi to say."
"You appear, however, to have been disagreeably Impressed by It"
"It seemed to be of an unnatural color, and to have a strange
rigidity about the features. When I approached It vanished with a
Jerk."
"How long is lt since your wife asked you for 100?"
"Nearly two months."
"Have you ever seen u photograph of her first husband?"
"No; there was a great fire at Atlanta very shortly after his death,
and all her papers were destroyed."
"And yet she had a certificate of death. You say that you taw
It"
"Yes; she got a duplicate after the fire."
"Did you ever meet any one who knew her in America?"
"No-."
"Did she ever talk of revisiting the place?"
"No."
"Or get letters from lt?"
"No."
"Thank you. I should like to think over the matter a Uttto
now. If the cottage is now permanently deserted we may have soma
difficulty. If, on the other hand, as I fancy it more likely, the In
mates were warned of your coming, and left before you entered
yesterday, then they may be back now, and we should clear lt all up
easily. Let me advise you, then, to return to Norbury, and to ex
amine the windows of the cottage again. If you have reason to be
lieve that It Is inhabited, do not force your way In, but send a wire
to my friend and me. We shall be with you within an hour of re
ceiving it, and we shall then very soon gel to the bottom of the
business."
"And if it 'is still empty?"
"In that case I shall come out tomorrow and talk lt over with
you. Goodby; and, above all, do not fret until you know that you
really have a cause for lt."
"I am afraid that this is a bad busipess, Watson," said my com
panion, as he returned after accompanying Mr. Grant Munro to the
door. "What do you make of it?"
"It bad an ugly sound," I answered.
"Yes. There's blackmail In It, or I am much mistaken."
"And who Is the blackmailer?"
"Well, lt must be the creature who lives In the only comfortable
room In the place, and has her photograph above his fireplace.
Upon my word, Wataon, there i something very attractive about
that livid face at the window, and I would not have missed the case
for worlds."
"You have a theory?"
,"Yes, a croviulonai one. But I thall be turprhied If