The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 23, 1905, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY . CALL. h police he new Holm ut any ac hint apers. thou Hc me ab he uds Conan Doyle ekly.) cClure, Phillips unusual thing for Scotland Yard to of an.evening, and to Sherlock enabled him to all that w guing adquarters. » In re- s which Lestrade s was always ready details de! able occasjonal- tive interfer: to uggestion drawn owledge and ex- evening Lestrade weather and the n silent, cigar. Imes—nothin ut- it.” h a hatred of N at he would break he, could see.” his chair reported 3 It on, who wa was had left the front shop for ay instant, when he heard andf hurrying bust offNapuleon, th several ofher works into frag He road, but, although declared that they r g shivered »ut into the passers-by had nfticed a man D, he pould neither he fipd any means ascal. § It seemed to ssfacts of Hog time to time, to the constable on ster ¢ shillings, r, 1y rushed severg was and the wh affair peared to be too childish any particular inves- tigation. “The second case, how§ver, was more serious, and also mor{ singular. It occurred only last nigh “In Kennington Roadland within a few hundred vards of Mbrse Hudson's shop, there lives a well-Hpown medical practiCyner, named Dr. Barnicot, who has one of the largest phacticedNapon the south side of the Thanfes. Hiis Nesi- dence and principal consuftingfroom\{s at Kennington Road. but} hff has branch surgery #&nd difgfnsary at Lower Brixton Road, two miles away. This Dr. Barnicot is an emthusiastic admirer of Napoleon, and his house is full of books, pictures and reljes of the French Emperor. Some little time ago he purchased from Morse Hudson two duplicate plaster casts of-the famous head of Napoleon by the French sculp- tor, Devine. his ball One of these he placed in in the house at Kennington Road, and the other on the mantelpiece of the surgery at Lower Brixton. Well, when Dr. Barnicot came down this morning he was astonished to find that bis house had been burgled during the guight, but that nothing had been taken save the plaster head from the hall. It had been carried dashed savagely against wall, under which ments were discov: out and had been the garden its splintered frag- ered.” Holmes -rubbed his hands. “This is certainly very novel.” said he. “J thought ft would please you, But I have nat got to the end yet. Dr. Bar- nicot 'was due at his surgery at 12 *o'clock, and you amagement when, found that the window had been opened . in the night, and can magine his on arriving there, he that _the broken of the second ‘bust ‘were strewn 2il over the room. It nad been smash- ed to atoms where it stdod. In neither case were therelany signs which could give us a clewjas to tne criminal or lunatic who hag done the mischief. Now, Mr. Holrpes, you have got the facts.” “They are siffeula¥, not to say gro- tesque,” said {Holmes. “May I ask whether the twh hbusts smashed in Dr. Barnicot’s rooms were the exact dupli- cates of the which destroyed in Morse Hudgon's shop? “They were ftakén from Such a f3t must tell against the theory that $i¢ man who breaks them is influencedfPy any general hatred of Napoleon. ¢ dering how many hun- dreds of stftues of the great Emperor must ex n London, it-is too much to suppose h a cuincidence as that a promiscuops iconoclast shouwid chance to begin ¥pon three ‘specimens of the e busjy.’ ell, thought as you do,” said Lestrade. § “On the other hand. this Morse Hudgon is the purveyer of busts in that par&of London, and these thr were the onl§ ones which had been in o1 the same ties of monomania,” I answered. “There taking ‘a loAg stride. This was clearly 80 on vour s the condition which the modern French psychologists have cafled the ‘idee fixe,’ which may be trifling in character, and accompanied by com- ‘A ¥ 2 > wmn back for a light, and there was you might see lete sanity in every . " - DEIE SRR Cvery ?'her“a{ Acypani ol poor fellot, a great gash in his him ml,gn me th vho had read deeply about Napoleon, throat and the whole pl swimhit % or who had possibly receiyed some her- - B S SRR up iy editary family injury through the great war, might conceivably form such an” Jee fixe,’ and under its influence be capame fantastic outrage.” That wopft do, my dear Watson,” said Holp#s, shakingthis head, “for no amounpf ‘idee fixe’ would enable your interggfing monomaniac ‘to find out wh hese busts were situated.” Fell, how do you explain jt7” 1 don’t attempt to do so. I would nly observe that there is a certain *W8s,' said Lestrade. nt now that the affair has pefi 2 very much graver turn.” “What has it turned to, then?” “To murder. Mr. Harker, will you tell these gentlemen exactly what has occurred?” X ‘The man in the dressing gown turn- ed ppon us with a most melancholy face. “It’s an extraordinary thing,” said to be 3 ti . he, “that all my life I have been col- lecting other people’s news, an@ now that a rea] piece of news has come my own way I um so confused and bother- ed that I can't put two words together. If T had come in here as a journalist 1 should haye interviewed myself and had two columns in every evening pa- pber. As it is, I am giving away valua- ble copy by telling my story over and over to a string of different people, and I can make no use of it myself. How- ever, I've heard your name, Mr, Sher- loek Holmes, and if youw'll only explain this queer Business I shall be paid for my trouble in telling you the story." Holmes sat down and listened. “It all seems to center round that bust of Napoleon which I bought for this very room about four months ago. 1 picked it up cheap from Harding Brothers, two doors from the High- street station. A great deal of my Journalistic work is done at night, and I often write uuntil the early morning. Eu it was to-day. I was sitting in my den, which is at the back of the top of the house, about 3 o'clock, when I was convinced that 1 heard some scunds downstairs, I listened, but they were not repeated, and I concluded that they came from outside. Then sudden- 1y, about five minutes later, there came a most Lorrible yell—the most dreadful sound, Mr. Holmes, that ever I heard, It will ring in my ears as long as 1 live. I sat frozen with herror for a minute or two. Then I seized the poker and went downstairs. When I entered this room I found the window wide open, and I at once observed that the bust was g¢ what the burglar had done, so I went round and opened the door. Stepping out into the dark, I nearly fell over a dead man who was lying there. I in blood. He'lay on his back, his knees drawn up and his month hor- ribly open. I shall see him in my dreams. I had just time tc blow on my police-whistle, and then 1 must have fainted, for I knew nothing more until I found the policeman standing over me in the-halll" “Well, who was the murdered man?”’ asked Holmes. “There's nothing to show who he “You shall see TIL RETURN o~ Sherlock Tolmes. no8 /4 77 The possession oM worth more in the ey® criminal than a human one point. Then there is th¥ fact that he did not break it :house or immediately outside the hi if to break it was his sole object.” *‘He was rattled and bustled by meet- . Ing this other fellow. He hardly knew \own there.” what he was doing.” 5 g n rapid succession we passed “Well, (that's likely enough. But I' th\gugh the fringe of fashlonable Lon- wish to cali your attenion very par- dorf hotel Licndon, theatrical London, ticularly to the position of this house literyry London, commercial London, in the garden of which the bust was and, \gnally, maritime London," till we destroyed.” g : came (Na riverside city of 100,000 souls, Lertrade looked about him. Where tiW enement-houses swelter and “It was an empty house and so he reek the outcasts of Europe. knew that he would not be disturbed Here §n a broad thoroughfare, once in the garden.” _ the’abbde of wealthy city merchants, “Yes, but theérc is another empty we fofnd the sculpture works for house farther up the street which he which fve searched. Outside was a.con- must have passed before he came to siderafle yard full of monumental ma- this one. Why did he not break it sonry. \Inside was a large room in there,- since it is evident that every which fffty workers were carving or vard that he carried it increased the moldingl The manager, a big -blonde risk of some ‘one meeting him?” Germygh, received us civilly and gave “I give it up,” said Lestrade. > a clegr answer to all Holmes' ques- Holmes pointed to the street lamp tions. \A reference to his -books showed above our heads. that huMdreds of casts had been taken “He could see what he was doing from a ndgrble copy of Devine's head trifiing bust was Holmes, as we emerged from the shop. That IS tor, both in Kennington and in Ken- gular sington, so that 1s wofth a ten-mile the drive. Now, Watson, let us make for se- Gelder & Co. of Stepney, the source and origin of the busts. 1 shall be qurprised if we don't get some help here gnd he could not there. That was of Napoleo, but that the three which his reéason.” had been ser} to Morse Hudson a year "By Jove that's true,” said the de- or so before Nad been |half of a batch tective. “Now that I come to think of six, the atAer three being sent to of it, Dr. Barnicot’s bust Wwas broken Harding Brot\ers of Kensington. not far from his red lamp. Well, Mr. There was no ason why those six Holmes, what are we to do with that should be differen\to any of the other fact?" casts,. He could ggest no possible “To remember it—to docket it. We causé why any ongfshould wish to de- may come on something later which Stroy thenygoig t, he laughed at the will bear Uipon it. What steps do you idea. Tfeir wholesale price was &ix propose to take now, Lestrade?” shilling§, but the retaller would get “The most practical way of getting twelve & more. The cast was taken in at it, in my opinion, 15 10 identify the two mol from each side of the face dead man. There should be no difi- and these“two profiles of plaster culty about that. When we have Of PalNs were joined together to make found who he is and who his agso- the complete bust. The work was ciates are we should have a good start usuallf dohe by Italians in the room in learning what he was doing in Pitt We wdre in. When finished the busts street last night and who it was whe Were Mt on a table in the passage to met him and killed him on the door- dry anX afterward stored. That was e o 2 , ne from the mantelpiece, step’of Horace Harker. Don't -you &l he cduld tell us, ues in London, it is versprobable tha¢ MRE Dasses my understanding, fof it “No doubt, and yet it is not quite the 8raph hfa a remarkable effect upon these thiee Beis Oy once i fhat, o8 um') a »_m?mr cast, and of no real way in which I should approach the the manfger. His face flushed with , district, et 2" local fanatic o ue Whatever case.” anger ghd his brows knotted over his fegin with them, What do you YOU €an see for vourself that any “What would vou do then?" blue Putonic eyes. think, Dr. Watson?" = ome zoing out through that open win- “Oh,” You must not let me inKuchee h, the rascal!" he cried. ‘“Yes, There are mo limits to the possibili- J2% €oWld reach the frout duorsten bY you in any way. I suggest tha\you indeed, 1 know him very well This line and I on mine. \We has always been a respectable estab- can compare notes afterward and eXch lishment, and the only time that we will suppléement the other.” have ever had the police in it was over “Very good,” said Lestrade. . this very fellow. - It was more than a “If you are back to Pitt stree\ Y°ar ago now. He knifed another Ital- ¥ race Harker. Telll 140 in the stteet and then he came to 1 have quite made works with the police on his heels mind and that it is certain that 8id as.laken here. Beppo was his 4 dangerous homicidal lunatic with Na- Dame—his seedpd name ] never knew. poleonic delusions was in .his house S€rVC me righfefe a\ng a man last night. It will be useful for his ar- With such a face. But he Yvas a good ticle.” workman—one of the best. Lestrade stared. 3 “What did he get?" “You don't seriously believe that?” ~ "The man lived and he gdt off with Holmes smiled. a year. 1 have no doubt Re Is out “Don’t 17 Well, perhaps T don’t. Butr 1OW, but he has not dared td show his I am sure that it will interest Horace Nose here. We have a coufin of his Harker and the subscribers of the Cen- here and I dare say he could tell you tral Press Syndicate.. Now, Watson, I Where he is.” Ahink that we shall find that we have “Ne, no,” cried Holmes, “n it 2 word meihod in the gentleman's eccentric the body at the mortuary. but we have a long and rather complex day's work t0 the cousin—not a word, I bdg of you. prgceedingg For example; in Dr. Bar- nicot’s hall, where a sound arouse, the famf outsiGe before being broken, whereas in the surgery, where tnere was less DOTer. A horn-handled clasp knife was keep.this photograph found made nothing of it up to now. He is and yet does not appear to be a la- before us. I should be glad, Lestrade, The matter {s very importand| and the might 2 tall man, sunburned, very powerful, if yéu could make it convenient to meet f&rtier I go with it the mory impor- the bust wus taken N0t more than 30. He is poorly dressed us at Baker street at 6 o'clock this 3Dt it seems to grow. When Xou re- Until then I should like to ferred in your ledger to the sde evening. . in the those casts I obseryed that the of ate danger of ap alarm, it was smashed YN8 in a pool of blood beside him. dead man's pocket, It s possible that Was June 3 of last year. Couid where it stood. The affair seems ab- ‘Vhether it was the weapon which did, I may have to ask your company and Bive me the date when. Beppo was ar surdly trifiing, and yet I dare call he deed or whether it belonged to the assistance upon a small expedition Tested? nothing trivial when I reflect that some 9€2d man, T do not know. There was which will have to be undertaken to- the my most cla least prom dreadful business of the Abernetty family was first brought {o my notice by the depth which the parsley had sunk into the butter Upon a hot day. I can’t afford, therefore, to smile at your three broken busts, Lestrade, and 1 shail be very much obliged to you if vau will lex me hear of any fresh de- veldpment of so singular a chain of €vents.” The development for which my friend hag asked came in a quicker and an in- tinitely more trag’c form than he could have imagined. 1 was still dressing in my bedroom acxt morning when thera was & tap at the door and Holmes en- tered, a telegram in his’hand. He read it aloud: “Come instantly, 131 Pitt street, Ken- sington. Lestrade.” “What is it, then?" 1 asked. “Don’t know—may be anything. Bu 1 suspect it is the sequel of the story of the statues. In that fase ok friend, the image-breaker, Ra: gug\opera- tions in another qui r A \of don. Thegre’s coffee on the fable, sol and v a cab at the Roor.” {@lf an hour welhad reached Njtt street\a quiet little Ghckwater just bg- side ondof the briskest qurrents of Lo: don life.\No 131 waf ome of a row, al flat-chestey, respegfable, and most un- romantic dyellingg. As we drove up we fouhd the raifings in front of the house lined b} 2 durious crowd. Holmes whistled. “By George' Mt's attempted murder at the least. Nothing less will hold the London 1nessage boy. There's a deed of violence indicated in that fel- low’s round shoulders and outstretched neck. What's this, Watson? The top @ photograph, Here it is.” It was evidently taken by a snap- shot from a small camera. It repre- sented an alert, sharp-featured simian man, with thick eyebrows and a yvery peculiar prujection of the lower part of the face, Jike the muzzle of a ba- boon “And what became of the bust?’ asked Holmes, after a careful study of this picture. “We had news of it just before you came. It has been found in the front sarden of an empty house in Camp- den House Road. It was broken into fragments. I am going round now to see it. Will you come?” “Certainly, I must just take one look round.” He examined the carpet and the window. “The fellow had either very long legs or was a most active man,” said he. “With an area beneath, it was no mean feat to reach that win- dow-ledge and open that window. Get- ting back was comparatively simple, Arefvou coming with us to see the re- Rife of your bust, Mr. Harker?" 4 disconsolate journaiist had seat- 4 hifpself at a writing-tabie, ( ‘I must try and make something of ith* saMl hep“though 1 have no doub that thy firg\ editions’ of the even phpers A already with. full jd% ils. Itlige luck! ' You rem Per when Nof stafd fell at Doncasfer? ell, I .was"the oNy journalist infthe stand. and my ‘joulgal the only Fone that had no accountgf it, Ifwas too shaken to write it) be too late with a murdd own doorstep.” As we left the room we he¥ I my it "I could tell you roughly by the cases have had DO Name on his clothing and nothing night if my chain ‘of reasoning should Paylst," the manager answered. “Yes," g commencement. iD ’his vockets save an apple, some prove to be correct. You will remember, Watson, how the SUiN8 a shilling map of London and .by and good luck!™ he continued, after some turning over of vpages, “he was paid last on May Sherlock Holmes and 1 walked to- 20.” > gether to the High street, where we “Thank you,” said Holmes. “I don't stopped at the shop of Harding Broth- think that I need intrude upon your ers, whence the bust had been pur- time and patience any more.” With a chased. A young assistant informed Iast word of caution that he should us that Mr. Harding would be absent Say nothing as to our researches we until afternoon and that he was him- turned our faces westward once more. self a newcomer who could give ug no _ The afterncon was far advanced be- information. Holmes' face showed his fore we were able to snatch a hasty disappointmert and annoyance. luncheon at a restaurant. A newsbill “Well, well, we can’t expect to Have 4t the entrance announced “Kensing- it all our own way, Wnum' he said . ton Outiage. Murder by a Madman,” at Jast. “We inust come back in the 3nd the contents of the paper showed afternoon if Mr. Harding will not be that Horace Harker had got his ac- here until then. I am, as you:have no Count into, print after all. Two col- doubt surmised, endeavoring to trace UMAs were occupied with & highly sen- these busts to their source in order to Satlonal ahd flowery rendering of the find if there Is not something peculiar WOle incident. Holmes propped Wwhich Jnay accourt for their remark- able fate. Let us make for Morse Hudson of the Kennington Rosd and see if he can throw any light upon the ° problem.” . ol g . A drive of an hour brought us to the {;, F picture deater'’s cstablishment. He was membor ot the - Hor a small, stout man S, the ¥ith.a red face and Sherlbck Nolme: 4 peppery manner, . iy _ sultigg ex s, sir. On my very counter, sir,” concl ’:"n b sagl\he. “What we pay rates and taxes yoag lo: n for} Ndon’t know, when any ruffian can grom Heliberate Sgimey corge\n and break oneis -goods. Yes, save fnental aberratio: sit} it \as I who sold Dr. Barnicot his twoj statyes. Disgraceful, sir! A Until then good+ at is all right, Watson,” said he. to/ this: It is satisfactory to \ The “press, WatNg \Ugible institution, if yoW . Qiligt plot\that's what 1 make it. No' HoWfto use it. And now Iy g i 4ld o about Quite finished we will hark\pe bl’:::ga:t‘a n::chgi yould go about o [, o M see what the s §f Harding Brothers has to say % natter.” ‘The founder of that great emporid proved to be a brisk, crisp little per son, very dapper and quick, with a lear head and a ready tongue. “Yes, sir, I have already read the account in the ‘evening ' papers. Hor- thit's what I'\all ‘eif. get the statues hom? . that has to do w¥h really want to kno Gelder & Co. in Chu: stree They are a well-knokvn hous LY _A- COYAV DOrer. v"vv QL this strange ‘‘We have this Beppo as a common fac-* traveling ghrilly over the foN§tap. steps swilled down and the other ones dry. Footsteps enough, anyhow! Well, well, there's Lestrade at the front win- down and we shall soon know all about n The official received us with & very grave face and showed us into a sitting- room,” where an exceedingly unkempt and agitated elderly man, clad in a flannel dressing gown, was pacing up and down. He was introduced to us as the owner of the house—Mr. Horace Harker, of the Central Press Syndi- cate. s “It's the Napoleon bust business again,” sald Lestrade. “You seemed interested last night, Mr. Holmes, so I thought perhaps you would be glad The spot where the fragments of the bust had been found was only a few hundred yards away. For the first time our eyes rested upon this presentment of the great Emperor, which seemed to ‘raise such frantic and destructive hatred in the mind of the unknown. It lay scattered, in splintered shards, upon the grass. Holmes picked up sev- eral of them and examined them care- fully. I was convinced from his in- tent. face and his purposeful manner that at last he was upon a clew. “Well?” asked Lestrade. Holmes shrugged his shoulders. “We have a long way to go yet,” said he. “And yet—and yet—well, we have . s¥me sugeestive facts to act _upon. trade and have been this twenty How many had I? Three—two ani are three—two of Dr. Barnicot's one smashed in broad daylight on éwn counter. Do I know that photo graph? No, I don’t. Yes, I do, though. Why, it's Beppo. He was a kind of Italian piece-work man who made him- self useful in the shop. He could carve a bit and gild and frame and do 0dd jobs. The fellow left me last week and I've heard nothing of him since. No, I don’t know where he came from nor where he went to 1 had nothing against him while he was here. He was gone two days before the bust was smashed.” ¥ : “Well, that's all we could reasonably expect from Morse Hudson,” said watch upon that book. Well, well. it's a very strange business and I hope that you will let me know if anything comes of your inquiries.” Holmes had taken several notes dur- ing Mr. Harding’s evidence and I could see that he was thoroughly satisfled by the turn which affairs were taking. He made no remark, however, save that. unless we hurried, we should be late for our appointment with Lestrade. Sure enough, when we reached Baker street the detective was already there and we found him pacing up and down in a fever of impatience. His look of importance showed that his day’s work had not been in vain. “Well?” he asked. “What luck, Mr. Holmes?" “We have had a very busy day, and not entirely a wasted one,” my friend explained. “We have seen both the re- tailers and also the wholesale manu- facturers. I can trace each of the busts now from the beginning.” “The busts!” cried Lestrade. ““Well, well, you have your own methods, Qherlock Holmes, and it is not for me t\gay a word against them, but ¥ think 1 ive done a better day’'s work than yo! have -identified the dead man.” “Yo\ don’t say so?” “And¥Yound a cause for the crime.” an inspector who makes Saffron Hill and the Ital- ian quarter. \Well, this dead man had some Catholidyemblem round his neck, and that, alo) with his color. made ofe think he w8 from the south. In- spector Hill kne him the moment he caught sight of \pim. His name is Piefro Venucei fiym Naples, and he iS ome of the greégtest cutthroats in London. éo is edgnected with the Mafla, which, as yoll know, is a secret political society, enf§rcing its decrees by murder. Now yoij see how the af- falr begins to clear fup. The other fellow is probably an Mtalian also and a T of the A He has brok- en the rulés in some faghion. Pietro'is set upon his track. Pypbably the pho- tograph we found in Ms pocket is the man himself, so that hf may not knife _ the wiong person. Hejdogs the fellow, he sees him' enter a Mouse, he waits outside for him and the scuffle he ves his own th - wound. Hew nes - 3 lhands approv- itradef excellent!” ke guite follow your ftruction of the . bu nefer can get those \iead Atter all, th:t _nofhing; pelky \arefny. six months at thf most. It is \agjmurder that we are rfally investigatigl, and 1 tell you am gathering aN the threads into nds.’ i#d the next stage?” a very simple ome. I shall go with Hill to the Itallan quarter, the man whose photograph we "W.x, got and arrest him on the chuxe_ f flurder. Will you come with ua? \&H think not. I fancy we can attain ouMend in a simpler way. I can’t say for certain because it all depends— well, it all depends upon a factor which is completely outside our con- edjur is a customer of ours. We supplied him with . the "bust some months ago. We ordered three busts of that sort from Gelder & Co. of Stepney. They are all sold now. To whom? Oh, I dare say by consulting our salesbook we could very easily tell you. Yes. we have the entries here. “No, I fancy Chiswick is an address One to Mr. Harker, you see, and one which is more likely to find him. If to Joslah Brown of Laburnum Lodge, you will come with me to Chiswick to- Laburnum Vale, Chiswick, and one to night, Lestrade, I'll promise to 5o to Mr. Sandeford of Lower Grove road, the Italian quarter with you to-mor- Reading. No, I have never seen this row, and no harm will be done by tae face which you show me in the pho- delay. And now I think that a few “tograph. You would hardly forget it, hours’ sleep would do us all good, for would you, sir, for I've seldom seen an I do not propose to leave before 11 uglier. Have we any Italians on the o'clock, and it is unlikely that we shall staff? Yes, sir; be back before morning. You'll dine with us, Lestrade; and then you are dare say they might get a peep at . welcome to the sofa until it is time salesbook if wanted to. There I8 for.us to start. In the meantime, Wat- no particular reason for keeping a som, I should be glad if you would ring trol. t 1 have great hopes—in fact, the beB(?!nc is exactly 2 to l—that if you will come with us to-night I shall be able to help you to"lay him by the heels.” n the Italian quarter?” L S — — S s S fo: au express messenger, for I have a letter to send. and it is important that it should go at once.” . Holmes spent the evening in rum- maging among thee« flles of the old daily papers with which one of our lumber-rcoms was packed. When at last he descended it was with triumph in his eyes, but he said nothing to either of us as to the result of his re- searches. For my own part I had fol- lowed step by step the methods by which he had traced the various wind- ings of this complex case, and though 1 could not yet perceive the goal which we would reach I understood clearly that Holmes expected this grotesque criminal to make an attempt upon the two remaining busts, one of which, I remembered, was at Chiswick. No doubt the object of our journey was to catch him in the very act, and I could not but admire the cunning with which my friend had inserted a wrong clew in the evening paper so as to the fecllow the idea that he oould - tinue his scheme with impunity. I was not surprised when Holmes suggested’ that 1 should take my revolver with me. He had himself plelged up the loaded hunting-crop, which was his fa- vorite weapon. ' A four-wheeler was ‘at the door at 11 and in it we drove to a spot at the other side of Hammersmith bridge. Here the cabman was directed to wait. A short walk brought us to a secluded road fringed with pleasant houses, each standing in its own grounds. In the light of a street’ lamp we read “La- burnum Villa” upon the gatepost of one of them. The occupants had evi- dently retired to rest, for all was dark save for a fanlight over the hall door. which shed a single blurred circle on to the garden path. The wooden fence which separated the grounds from the road threw a dense black shadow upon the inner side. and here it was jhat we crouched. 1 “1 fear that you'll have a long wait,"” Holmes whispered. “We may think our stars that it is not raining. 1 don't think we can even venture to smoke to pass the time. However, it's a 2 to 1 chance that wegget something to pay us for our trouble.” . It proved, however, that our vigil was not to be so long as Holmes had led us to fear, and it ended in a very sudden and singular fashion. In an instant, without the least sound to warn us of his coming, the garden gate swung open and a lithe, dark fizure as swift and active as an ape rushed up the garden path. We saw it whisk past the light thrown from over the door and disappear against the black shadow of the house. There was a long pause, during which we held our breath and then a very gentle creak- ing sound came togour ears. The win- dow was belrig opened. The noise ceased, and again there was a long silence. The fellow was making his way into the house. We saw the sud- den flash of a dark lantern i the room. What he sought was eVvidently not there, for again we saw the fl:ll. through another blind and then' through another. “Let us get to the open window. We will nab him as he climbs out,” Lestrade whispered. But before we could move the man had emerged again. As he came out into the glimmering patch of light we saw that he carried so white under his arm. He looked stealthily all round him. The silence of the de- serted street reassured him. Turning his back upon us he laid down his burden and the naxt instant there was thnmollmup.uuowd” a clatter and rattle. The man ws so igtent upen what he was doing that he’ never heard our steps as across the grass plot. With the bound of a tiger Holmes was on his back, and an instant later Lestrade and I had im by either wrist and the handcuffs had beén fastened. As we turned him ] over I saw a hideous, sallow face with writhing, furious features, glaring l’l ._gumxmuucumw/