The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 9, 1905, Page 2

THE SAN* FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. a bottle of rum and two dirty sses stood upon the table.” said Holmes; “I think that inferences are permissible. Was other spirit but rum in the “Yes,” whisky on the sea- » importance to us, e decanters were full, fore not been used.” nce has some ~However, the ob- u 1o bear ba ybacco pouch upon here mentioned being made at the fear that complete stock of ti in South ust s is at some weeks n can trace the sha: had been examining note-book with his ms is some discoloration told the ir, it is a blood-stain. I I picked the book off s the blood-stain above or t On the side next the boards.” Which p es, of course, the k was dropped after the crime was ted Holmes. I appreciated I conjectured that it the murderer in his It lay near the door one of these securi- mong the prop- opped flight I suppose that ave been foun f the dead man € you any reason to suspect r ing seemed to e has nd’s property. was lost in thought for some ead identified it as being man he, ne out * said at last, “T suppose T have a look y Hopkins gave a cry of joy. T 0 That will, indeed weight off my mind.” imes shook his finger at the in- t would have been an easier task a * said he. “But even now be entirely fruitl spare the time, I very glad of your company u will call a four-wheeler, Hop- we shall be ready to’ start for rest Row in a quarter of an hour.” lighting at the small wayside sta- i we drove for some miles through remains of widespread woods, were once part of that great for so long held the aders at bay—the impene- ,” for sixty years the rk of Britain. Vast sections of e been cleared, for this is the first iron works of the nd the trees have been felled the ore. Now the richer of the north have absorbed the nothing save these ravaged in the earth Here, in green slope of a stone house, ng drive run- . Nearer the nded by three sid a small outhouse, the door facing was the scene ago i woman, murdered man, a deep-lined face, with look of terror in the depths of old of the years ge which w she ughter, a e eyes blazed defia hat she we s dead and that she bles: father the hand which had struck him down. It was a terrible household that Black Peter Carey had made for himself, d it was with a sense of relief that we found ourselves in the sunlight again and making our way along a path which had been worn across the fields by the feet of the dead man. The outhouse was the simplest of awellings, wooden-walled, shingle- roofed, one window beside the door and one on the farther side. Stanley Hopkins drew the key from his pocket and had stooped to the lock, when he paused with & look of attention and surprise upon his face. “Some one has been tampering with it,” he said. There could be no doubt of the fact. The woodwork was cut and the scratches showed white through the paint, as if they had been that instant done. Holmes had been examining the window. “Some one has tried to force this also. Whoever it was has failed to make his way in. He must have been 2 very poor burglar.” “This is 2 most extraordinary thing,” said the inspector. “I could swear pecting Vi tried to get in with the blade of a that these marks were not here yes- terday evening.” “Some curious person from the vil- lage, perhaps,” I suggested. “Very unlikely, Few of them would dare to set foot in the grounds, far less try to force their way cabin. Holmes?"” into the ‘What do you think of it, Mr. “I think that fortune is very kind to us.” “You mean that the person will come again?” “It is very probable. to find the He came ex- door, open. He nall ‘penknife. He could not manage it. What would he do?" “Come again next night with a more useful tool.” “So I should say. we are not there to ’ It will be our fault it receive hir. Meanwhile, let me see the inside of the cabin.” The traces of the tragedy had been re- moved, but the furniture within the little room still stood as it had beén on the night of the crime. For two hours, with most intense concentra- tion, Holmes examined every object in turn, but his face showed that his quest was not a successful one. Once only he paused in his patient investi- gation. “Have you taken anything off this shelf, Hopkins?” “No, I have moved nothing-” “Something has been taken. ' There is less dust in this corner of the shelf than elsewhere. It may have been a book lying on its side. It may. have been a box. Well, well, T can do noth- ing more. Let us walk in these beau- tiful woods, Watson, and give a few hours to the birds and the flowers. We shall meet you here later, Hopkins, and see if we can come to closer guarters with the gentleman who has paid this visit in the night.” It was past 11 o'clock when we formed our little ambuscade. Hopkins was for leaving the door of the hut open, but Holmes was of the opinion 1 FBAVE NEVLE LT AWY LTI BIING 70 AF72Z7477 70 BE 1l SUCH A FITIABLE 77647 that this would- rouse -the ‘suspicions of the stranger. The lock was a per- fectly simple one, and only a strong blade was needed to push it back. Holmes also suggested that we should wait, not inside the hut, but outside it among the bushes which grew round the farther window. In this way we should be able to watch our man if he struck a Jight, and see what his gbject was in this stealthy nocturnal visit. It was a long and melancholy vigil, and yet brought with it something of the thrill which the hunter feels when he lies beside the water pool and waits, for the coming of thethixsty beast of prey. What savage creatjre was it which might steal upon. us out of the darkness? Was it ‘a flerce tiger: of crime, which' could -only ‘be taken fighting -hard, flashing fang and claw, or: would. it vrove to be some skulking jackal, danger- ous only to the weak and unguarded? In ‘absolute silence we crouched Bmong the bushes, -Waiting for, whatever might >rome: At flrst the steps of ‘a few be- lated villagers, or the . sound of volces from the vitlage, light- ened our vigil, but one by one these in- terruptions died away, and an absolute stillness fell upon us, save for the chimes of the distant church, which told us of the progress of the night, and for the rustle and whisper of a fine rain falling "amid the foliage which roofed’ us in. Half-past two had chimed, and it was the darkest hour which precedes the dawn, when we all started as a low but sharp click came from the di- rection o# the gate. Some: one had en- tered thé drive. Again there was a long silence, and I had begun to fear that it was'a falée alarm, when a stealthy &tep was heard upon the other side of the hut, and a moment later a metallic scraping and clinking.. The man was trying to force the lock- This time his skill was greater or his. tool was bet- ter, for there was a sudden snap’and a creak of the hinges. Then a match was struck, and next instant the steady light from a candle filled. the interior of the hut. Through the gauze curtain our eyes were all riveted upon the scene within ~withs The nocturnal visitor was a-young man, frail and thin, with a black mustache, which intensified the dead- ly pallor of his face. He could not have been much above twenty years of age. 1 have never seen any human being who appeared to be in such a pitiable fright, for his teeth ~were visibly chattering, ' and he was shaking in every limb. He was dressed like a gentleman, in Norfolk jacket and knickerbockers, with a cloth cap upon his head.. We watched him staring round with frightened eyes. Then he lald the candle-end upon the table, and disappeared from our view into.one .of the corners. He returned with a large book, one of the logbooks which, formed a line upon the shelves. Leaning onthe table, he rapidly turned over the leaves of this volume until he came to the en- try which he sought. Then, with an angry gesture of his clenched hand, he closed the book, replaced it in the cor- ner and put out the light. He had hardly -turned to leave the hut when Hopkins' hand-was on the fellow’s col- lar, and I heard his loud gasp of terror as he. ynderstood that he was taken. The candle was relit, and there was our wretched captive; shivering and cower- ing in the grasp of the detective. He sank down upon. the sea chest' and logked helplessiy from-ene -of us-to-the other. . “Now, my fne fellow,” said Stanley Hopking, “who are you, and what dp you:want here?” . The man pulled himself to- <ether, and faced us with an effort at self-composure. “You are detectives, I suppose?” said he. *“You imagine I am connected with the death of Cap- tain Peter Carey. I as- sure that that I am in- nocent.” % “we'll see about that,” said Hopkins. “First of all, what is your name?"” ~Tt is John Hopley. Neligan.” I saw Holmes and Hopkins exchange a quick glance e SISy, % s % £ i 80 L7 u%{, |72 Feyy ' £ ““What are you doing herey” “Can I speak confidentially?” No, certainly not.” Why should I tell you?” ‘If ‘you have no amswer, it may go badly with you at the trial.” The young man winced. “‘Well, I will tell you,” he said. “Why should I not? And yet I hate to think of this old scandal gaining a new lease of life. Did you ever hear of Dawson and Neligan?” % 1 could see, from Hopkins’ face, that he riever had, but Holmes was keenly interested. . x “You mean the West-country-bank- ers,” said he. “They failed for a a mil- lion, ruined half the county tnmllla."ct Cornwall, and Neligan disappeared.’ - “Exactly. Neligan was my father. At Tast we vore getting something positive, and yet it seemed a long gap between an absconding banker and Captain Peter Carey pinned against the wall with one of his own harpogns. We all listened intently to the young man’s words. “It was my father who was really concerned. Dawson had retired. I was only ten years of age at the time, but, 1 was old enough to feel the shame and horror of it all. . It has always been said that my father stole all the securi- tieg and fled. It is not true. It was his belief that if he were given fime in ‘which to realize them all would be well and every creditor id in full, He started in his little yacht for Norway Just before the warrant was issued for his arrest. I can remember that last night, when he bade farewell to my mother. He left us a list of the securi- ties he was taking, and he swore that he would come back with his honor cleered, and that none who had trusted him would suffer. Well, no word was ever heard from him' again. Both the yacht and he vanishéd utterly. We be- lieved, my mother and I, that he and it, with the securities that he had taken with him were at the bottom of the sea. We had a faithful friend, however, who is a business man, and-it was he who discovered some time ago that some of the securi- ties which my father had with him had reappeared on the London miarket. ‘You can imagine our amazement. I spent months in trying to trace them. and at last, after many doubtings and diffi- culties, I discovered that the original seller had been- Captain Peter Carey, the owner of this hut. “Naturally, I made some induiries about the man. I found that he had been in command of a whaler which was due to return from the Arctic seas at the very time when my father was crossing to Norway. The autumn of that year was a stormy one, and there was a long succession of southerly gales. . My father's yacht may well have been blown to the north. and there met by Captain Peter Carey's ship. If that were so, what had become Of my fathér? In any case, if I could prove from Peter Carey's evidence how these securities came on the market it would be a proof that By father had not sold them, and .that he had no view to per- sonal profit when he took them. “1 came down to Sussex with the in- tention of seeing the captain, but it was at this moment that his terrible death occurred. I read at the inauest a description of his cabin, in which it stated that the d:d ‘x"'?Z“?: o{ hl; were preserved in struc! me that if I could see what occurred in the month of At st, 1883, on board the Sea Unicorn, might settle tha mystery of my father's fate, I tried last night to get at, these logbooks. butswas unable to open the door. To- night I tried again and succeeded. but I find that the pages which. deal with thdt month have been torn from the book. It was at that moment I found myself a prisoner in your hands.” “Is that all?” asked HopKkins. “Yes, that is all.” His eyes shifted as He said it. “You have nothing else to tell us?” He hesitated. i “No, there is nothing.” “You have not been here befare last night " “No. “Then how do you account for that?” cried Hopkins, as he held up the damn- ing note-book, with the initials of our prisoner on the first leaf and the blood- stain on the cover. The wretched man collapsed. He sank his face in his hands and trembled all over. “Where did you get it?’ he groaned. “I did not know., I thought I had lost it ‘at the hotel.” is enough,” said Hookins, stel “Whatever else you have to say, you may say in court. You will walk down with me now to the wpolice TI. ‘Well, Mr. Holmes, I am very xc ‘abliged to you and to your friend for coming down to help me. As it turns Qut your presence was unneces- sary, and I would have brought the case to this successful issue without you, but, none the less, I am grateful, Rooms have been reserved for you at the Brambletye Hotel, so we can all walk down to the village together.” ““Well, Watson, what do you think of it?” asked Holmes, as we traveled back next morning. “I can see that you are not satis- fied.” *“‘Oh, yes, my dear Watson, I am per- fectly satisfled. At the same time. Stanley Hopkins’ methods do not com- mend themselves to me. I am disap- pointed in Stanley Hopkins. I had hoped for better things from him. One should always look for a possible al- ternative, and provide against it. It is the first rule of criminal investiza- tion.” ‘“What, then, is the alternative?” “The, line of investigation which I have myself been pursuing. It may 8%ve us nothing. I cannot tell. But at least I shall follow it to the end.” Several letters were waiting for Holmes at Baker street. He snatched one of them up, opened it, and burst out into a triumphant chuckle of laughter. “‘Excellent, tive develops. ‘Watson! The alterna- Have you telegraph forms? Just write a couple of mes- sages for me: ‘Sumner, Shipping Agent, Ratcliff Highway. Send three men on. tosarrive ten to-morrow morning.—PBasil:’ - That's my pame in those parts. The other is: ‘Ifspector Stanley Hopkins, 46 Lord Street, Brixton. Come breakfast to-morrow at nine-thirty. Important. Wire if unable to come.—Sherlock Holmes.’ There, Watson, this infernal case has haunted me for ten days. I hereby banish it completely from my pres- ence. To-morrow I trust that we shall hear the st of it forever.” Sharp at ‘the hour named Inspector Stanley Hopkins appeared, and we sat down together to the excellent break- fast which Mrs. Hudson had prepared. The young detective was in high spir- its at his success. “You really think that your solution must be correct?” asked Holmes. “I could not imagine a more com- plete case.” t did not seem to me conclusive.” You astonish me, Mr. Holmes. What more could one ask for?” ‘‘Does your explanation cover every point?” “Undoubtedly. Neligan arrived Hotel on the very He came on the protense of playing golf. His room was on the ground floor, and he could get out when he liked. That very night he went down to "Woodman's Lee, saw Peter Carey at the hut, quarreled with him, and killed him with the harpoon. Then, horrifled by what he had done, he fled out'of the hut, dropping the note-book which he had brought with him in order to question Peter Carey about these different securities. You may have observed that some of them were marked with ticks, and the others— the great majority—were not. Those which are ticked have been . traced on the London market, but the others, presumably, were still in the posses- ston of Carey, and young Neligan, ac- cording to his own account, was anx- jous to recover them in order to do the right thing by his father’s cred- itors. After his flight he did not dare to approach the hut again for some time, but at last he forced himself to do so in order to obtain the Informa- tion which he needed. Surely that is all simple and obvious.” Holmes smiled and shook his head. “It seems to me to have only one drawback, Hopkins, and that is that it is intrinsically impossible. Have you tried to drive a harpoon through a body? No? Tut, tut, my dear sir, you must really pay attention to these details. My friend Watson could tell you that I spent a whole morning in that exercise. It is no easy matter, and requires a strong and practiced arm. But this blow was delivered with such violence that the head of the weapon sank deep into the wall Do you imagine that this anaemic youth was capable of so frightful an assault? Is he the man who hob- nobbed in rum and water with Black Peter in the dead of the night? Was it his profile that was seen on the blind two nights before? No, no, Hopking, it is another and more for- midable person for whom we must seek.”™ The T find that young the Brambletye 1y of the crime. detective’'s face had grown longer and longer during Holmes' speech. His hopes and his ambitions were all crumbling about him. But he would not abandon his position with- qut a struggle. “You can't deny that Neligan was present that night, Mr. Holmes. The book will prove that. I fancy that I have evidence enough to satisfy a jury, even if. you are able to pick a hole in it Besides, Mr. Holmes, I have laid my hand upon my man. As to this ter- rible person of yours, where is he?” “1 rather fancy that he is on the stair,” said Holmes, serenely. “I think, Watson, that you would do well to put that revolver where you can reach it." He rose and laid a written paper upon a side-table. “Now we are ready,” said he. éChere had been some talking in gruff volces outside, and now Mrs. Hudson opened the door to say that there were three men inquiring for Captain Basil. “Show them in one by one,” said Holmes. . The first who entered was a little ribston-pippin of a man, with ruddy cheeks and fluffy white side whiskers. Holmes had drawn a letter from his pocket. “What name?” he asked. “James Lancaster.” “I am sorry, Lancaster, but the berth is full. Here is half a sovereign for your trouble. Just step into this room and wait there for a few minutes.” The second man was a long, dried- up creature, with lank hair and sallow cheeks. His name was Hugh Pattins® He also received his dismissal, his half-sovereign and the order to walt. The third applicant was a man of remarkable appedrance. A flerce bull- dog face was framed in a tangle of hair and beard and two bold, dark eyes gleamed behind the cover of thick, tufted, overhung eyebrows. He saluted and stood sallor-fashion, turn- ing his cap round in his hands. “Your name?” asked Holmes. “Patrick Cairns.” “Harpooner 2" “Yes, sir. Twenty-six voyages.” “Dundee, 1 suppose?” “Yes, sir.” g ‘And read; ploring ship “‘Yes, sir. “What wages?” “Elght pounds a month.” “Could you start at once?” “As soon as 1 get my ki “Have you your papers “Yes, .sir"” He took a sheaf of worn and greasy forms from his pocket. Holmes glanced over them and returned them. “You are just the man I want,” sald he. “Here’s the agreement on the side-table. If you sign it the Wwhole matter will be settled.” to start with.an ex- The seaman lurched across the Toom and took up tHe pen. ‘Shall I sign re?" he asked, stooping over the table. ' Holmes leaned over his shoulder and passed both hands over his neck. “This will do,” said he. I heard a - steel and a bellow like an enraged bull. The next instant Holmes and the seaman were rolling on the ground together. He was a man of such gigantic strength that, h the handcuffs which Holmes had so deftiy fastened upon his wrists, he would have very quick- ly overpowered my friend had Hop- king and I not rushed to his rescue. Only when I pressed the cold muzzle of the revolver to his temple did he at last understand that resistance was vain. We lashed his ankles with cord and rose breathless from the struggle. “I must apo) Hopkins,” sald Sherlock Holmes. “I fear : that the scrambled eggs are cold. However, you will enjoy the rest of your breakfast all the better, will you not, for the thought that you have brought your case to a triumuphant conclusion?™ Stanley Hopkins was speechless with amazement. “I den’t know what to ‘say, Mr. Holm: * he blurted out at last, with a very red face. “It seems to me that I have been making a fool of myself from the beginning. I derstand row, what I should never have forgotten— that I am the pupil and you are the 1wmaster. - Even now I see what you have done, but I don’t w how you did it or what it signifies.’ “Well, well,” said Holmes, good hu- moredly. “We all learn by experience, and your lesson this time is that you should never lose sight of the alterna- tive. You were so absorbed In young Neligan that you could not spare . a thought to Patrick Cairns, the true murderer of Peter Carey.” The hoarse voice of the seaman broke in on our conversation. “See ‘here, mister,” said he, “I make no complaint of being man-handled in this fashior, but I would have you call things by their right names. You say I murdered Peter Carey; I say I killed Peter Carey, and there's all the dit- ference. Maybe you don’t believe what I say; maybe you think I am just sitnging you a yarn.” “Not at all,” said Holmes. “Let us hear what you have to say.” “It's soon told, and, by the Lord, ev- ery word of it is truth. I knew Black Peter, and when he pulled out his knife I whipped a harpoon through him sharp, for [ knew that it was him or me. That's how he died. You can call it murder. Anyhow, I'd as soon die with a rope around my neck as with Black Peter's knife in my heart.” “How came you there?” asked Holmes. “I'IL tell it you from the beginning. Just =it ap a little, so I can speak easy. It was in 'S that it happened—Au- gust of that year. Peter Carey was master of the Sea Unicorn, and I was spare harpooner. We e coming out of the ice pack on our way home, with head winds and a week's sontherly gale, when we picked up a little eraft that had been blown north. There was one man on her—a landsman. The crew had thought she would founder and had made for the Norwegian coast in the dingy. I guess they were all drowned. Well, we took him on board, this man, and he and the skipper had some long talks In the cabin. All the baggage we taok off with him was one tin box. So far as I know the man's name was never mentioned, and on the sécond night he disappeared as if he had never been. It was given out that he had either thrown himself overboard or fallen overboard in the heavy weather that we were having. Only one mar knew what had happened to him, and that was me, for, with my own eyes, | saw the skipper tip up his heels and put I over the rail in the middle watch a dark night, two days before we sighted the Shetland Lights. “Well, I kept my knowledge to my- self, and waited to see what would come of it. When we got back to Scot- land it was easily hushed up, and no- body asked any questions. A stranger died by accident, and it was nobody's business to inquire. Shortly after Peter Carey gave up the sea, and it was long years before I could find where he was. I guessed that he had done the deed for the sake of what was in the tin box and that he could afford now to pay me well for keeping my mouth shut. “I found out where he was through a sailor man that had met him in Lon- don, and down I went to squeeze him. The first night he was reasonable enough, and was ready to give me what would make me free of the séa for life. We were to fix it all two nights later. When I came I found him three parts drunk and in a vile temper. We sat down and we drank and we yarned about old times, but the more he drank the less I liked the lcok on his face. I spotted that har- poon upon the wall and I thought I might need it before I was through. Then at last he broke out at me, spit- ting and cursing, with murder in his eyes and a great claspkpife in his hand. He had not time to get it from the sheath before I had the harpoon through him. Heavens! what a.yell he gave! and his face gets between me and my sleep. I stood there, with his blood splashing round me, and I waited for a bit, but all was quiet. so I took heart once more. I looked round and there was the tinbox on the shelf. I had as much right to it as Peter Carey anyhow, so I took it with me and left the hut. Like a fool I left my baccy-pouch upon the table. “Now I'll tell you the queerest part of the whole story. I had hardly got outside the hut when I heard some one coming and I hid among the bushes. A man came slinking along, went into the hut, gave a cry as if he had seen a ghost and legged it as hard as he could run until he was out of sight. Who he was or what he wanted is more than I can tell. For my part I walked ten miles, got a train at Tunbridge Wells and so reached London and. no one the wiser. “Well, when I came to examine the box I found there was no money in it and nothing but papers that I would not dare to sell. I had lost my hold on Black Peter and was stranded in London without a shilling. There was only my trade left. I saw these adver- tisements about harpooners and high wages so I went to the shipping agents and they sent me here. That's all I know, and I say again that if I killed Black Peter the law should give me thanks, for I saved them the price of a hempen rope.” “A very clear said statement,” Holmes, rising and lighting his pipe. ° “I think, Hookins, that you should lose no time in donveying your prison- er to a place of safety. This room is not well adapted for a cell and Patrick Cairns occupies too large a proportion of our carpet.” “Mr. Holmes,” saild Hopkins, “I do not know how to express my gratitude. Even now I do not understand ho you attained this result.” . “Simply by having the good fortune to get the right clue from the begin- —— Continued on Page Five. N