The evening world. Newspaper, February 11, 1905, Page 11

§7ag looonly alert, and that his eyes, were fixed intently upon the atream °+¢ passersby, It was a bleak and bolaterous night, and the wind whisiled shruly down the long street, Many people were moving to and tro, most of them muffled & thelr coats and cravats, Once or twive it seemed to me that 1 had seun the same figure before, and I especially noticed two men who appeared to be sheltering themselves from the wind in the doorway of a house some dastance up tho street. 1 trie@ to draw my companion’s amention to them, but he gave a lity Ge ejaculation of impatience and continued to stare into the street, More than Once he Admeted with his feet and tapped rapidly with hie fingers upon the wall. It was evident to me that he wan becoming uneasy, and that his plans were not Working om ajtogether as he had hoped, At lag. as midnight approached and the street gradually cleared, bo paced up and down the room tn uncontrollable agitas tiom, I was about to meke somo remark to him, when I raised my eyea is ‘he Mghted window and again experienced almost ap great a surprise ag before I clutched Holmes's arm and pointed upward, “The shadow haa moved!" I cried 3 was indeed no longor the profile, but the back, which was turned toward us, ‘Three years had certainly not amoothod the asperities of hia temper on his tm- Patience with @ less active intelligence than hie owa, “Of course i has moved,” said he, “Am I such @ farcical bungler, Wateon, that I should erect an obvious dummy, and expect that some of the sharpest men in Europe would be deceived by it? We have been in this room two hours, and Mrs, Hudson has made some change in that figure elght times, or once In every quarter of an hour. She works it from the front, so that her shadow may never be seen, Ah!” He drew in his breath with a shrill, excited intake. In the din Night I sow his head thrown forward, his whole attitude rigid with attention. Outside the street was absolutely deserted. Those two men might still be crouching in the doorway, but I could no longer see them, All was still and ark, save only that briljiant yellow screen in front of ua with the black figure outlined upon ite contre. Again in the utter silence I heard that thin, sibilant note which spoke of intense suppressed excitement, An instant later he pulled me back Into the blackest corner of the room, and I felt his warning hand upon my lips. The fingera which clutched me were quivering. Never had I known my friend more moved, and yet the dark otreet still stretched lonely and mo- donless before us, But suddenly I was aware of that which his keener senses had already dis- tinguished. A low, stealthy sound came to my ears, not from ‘the direction of Baker street, but from the back of the very house In which we lay concealed, A door opened and shut. An instant later steps crept down the passage—steps which were meant to be silent, but which reverberated harshly through the empty house, Holmes crouched back against the wall and I did thy same, my hand closing upon the handle of my revolver, Peering through the gloom, I taw the vague outline of a man, a shade blacker than the blackness of the open door, He stood for an Instant, and then he crept forward, crouching, menaciag, Into the room, He was within three yards of us, thie sinister Agure, and 1 had braced myself to meet his spring, before F realized that he had no idea of our Presence. He passed close beside us, stole over to the window, and very softly and noiselessly raised {t for half a foot, As he sankk to the level of this open- ing, the light of the street, no longer dimmed by the dusty glasa, fell full upon his face, The man seemed to be beside himeelt with excitement, bis two eyen shone like stars and his features were working convulsively, He was an elderly man, with a thin, projecting nose, a high, bald forehead and a huge grizzled mustache, An opera hat was pushed to the back of his head and an evening dress shirt front gleamed out through his open overcoat, His face wae gaunt and swarthy, scored with deep savage lines, In his hand he carried what Appearcd to be a stick, bui as he iald it dowa upon the floor it gave a metalic ang, Then from the pocket of his overcoat he drew a bulky object, and he busied himself in some task which onded wiih @ loud, sharp click, as if @ spring or bolt had fallen into its pla:e, Still kneeling upon the floor he beat forward and threw all his weight and strength upon some lever, with the reeult that there came a long, whirling, grinding noise, ending once more in a power ful click, He straightened himself then, and J saw that what he held in hia hand was a sort of a gun, with a curiously misahapen butt, He opened it at the breech, put something in, and snapped ‘the breeoh-block, Then, crouching dowh, he rested the end of the barrel upon the ledge of the open window, and J saw bis long mustache droop over the stock and his eye gleam as it peered along the sights I heard a little sigh of satisfaction as he cuddled the butt into his shoulder, and saw that amaging target, the black man on the yellow ground, standing clear at the end of his fore-sight. For an instant he was rigid and motionless. Theu his finger tightened on the trigger. There was a strange, loud whiz and a long, silvery tinkle of broken glass, At that instant Holmes sprang like a tiger onto the marksman's back and hurled him flat upon his face, He was up again in a moment, and with convulsive strength he selaed Holmes by the throat, but I struck him on the head with the butt of my revolver, and he dropped again upon the fluor, I fell upom him, and as I held him my com: rade blew a shrill call upon a whistle, “Chere was a olatter. of running feet upon tho pavement, and two policemen in uniform, with one plaln-clothes detective, Tushed through the front entrance and into the room, “That you, Lestrade?" said Holmes. “Yes, Mr. Holmes, I took the job myself, It's good to see you back in Lon: don, sir." “I think you want @ little unofficial help. ‘Three undetected murders in one year won't do, Lestrade. But you handled the Molesey Mystery with leas than your usual—that's to say, you nandled it fairly well’ ‘We had all risen to our feet, our prisoner breathing hard, with a stalwart constable on each side of him, Already a few loiterera had begun to collect in the street, Holmes stepped up to the window, closed it and dropped the blinds, Lestrade had produced ¢wu candles and the policemen had uncovered their lan- terns, I was able atrlast to have a good look at our prisoner. It was a tremendously virile and yet sinister face which was turned towards us. With the brow of a philosopher above and the jaw of a sensualist below, the man must have started with great capacities for good or for evil. But one could not look upon his cruel blue eyes, with thelr drooping cynical lida, or upon the flerce, aggressive nose and the threatening, deep-lined brow without reading Nature's plainest danger cignals. He took no heed of any of us, but hie eyes were fixed upon Holmes's face with an expression in which hatred and amage- “You flend!’’ he kept on muttering; “you clever, meni wero equally blended, clever fiend!” “Ah, Colonel’ said Holmes, arranging his rumpled collar; “ ‘journeys end A SPECIAL ¢ 9 s g s OFFER To Out-of-Town Readers. The thirteen copies of the SATURDAY EVENING WORLD containing the complete set of FINAL ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES will be mailed week by week to any ad- dress, postage paid, on receipt of 25 cents, Address “Cashier, Evening World, Pulitzer Building, New York,” An DON’T MISS THIS # # vw GREAT OPPORTUNITY. SS in lovera ro wal ‘faa the old play says. -1 don't think I have had the pleasure of s.sing you singe you favored me with those attentions a8 I lay on the ledge above the Reichenbach Fall.” The Colonel still stared at my friend like A man in a trance, “You cunning, cunning flend!” was all he could say. ‘YT have not Introduced you yet," sald Hulmes, ‘This, gentlemen, is. Col. fabastian Moran, once of Her Majesty's Indian Army, and the best heavy game shot that our Hustern Enipire has eye pro@uged, I believe I am correct, Colonel, in saying that your bag of tigers still remaing unrivalled?” The flerce old man sald nothing, but stil ylared at my companion, with his savage oyes and bristling mustache, he was wonderfully like a tigen himeelt. “I wonder that my very simple aratagem could deceive 80 old a shikert,”’ ald Holmes, ‘It must be very familiar to you, Have you not tethered a young kid under a tree, lain above it with your rifle and waited for the bait to bring up your tiger? This empty house ia my trea and you axe my tigen You have possibly had other guns in reserve in vaad there should be several tigers, oF in the unlikely supposition of your own alin falling you, ‘Thege," he polnted ground, ‘are my other guns, The paralie) is exact,’ Col. Moran sprang forward with a snarl of rage, but the constables draggeq him back. The fury upon his face was terrible to look at, “JT confess that you had one small surprise for mo," sald Holmes, “I did WORLD: SATURDAY EVENIN iG, FEBRUARY 11, 1905, () “Not so, Leatrade, I do not propose to aypear in the matter at all, To you, and to you only, belongs the credit uf the remarkable arrest which you have effected, Yes, Lestrade, Icongratulate you! With your usual happy mixture vf cunning and audachiy you have got him,” “Got him! Got whom, Mr, Holmes?” : “The man that the whole force has been seeking in vain~-Col, Sebastian Moran, who shot the Honorable Ronal! Adaly with an expanding bullet from an altegun through the opon window of the second floor front of No, 427 Park lane, upon the 3th of lask month. Thut's the charge, Lestrade, And now, Wat+ son, If you can endure the draught front a broken window, I think that half aa hour in my study over a cigar may afford you some profitable amusement." Our old chambers had been left unchung?d through the supervision of Mycroft Holmes and tha immediate care of Mrs, bivdsya, As I entered 1 saw, it is true, an unwonted tidings, but the old landmarke wero all in (heir place, There wag the chemical oornun and the aokd-atained, Geal-topped table, There upon a shelf was the row of foynrdadle serap-booke and books of referones: whivh many of our fellow-chiixens would have been 6 glad to burn, ‘The stay grams, the violin-case and the pipe-rack—oven the Persian slipper which cons tained the tobaccoall met my oyas as J glance around. There were two oc- cupants of the roam—one Mra. Hudson, who heamed upon us both aa we entered; the other the strange dummy which had played ro Important @ part in the Coh Moran Sprang Forward With a Sarl of Rage, not entlolpate that you would yourself make tse of this empty house ard this convenient front window. I had imagined you as operating from the street, where my friend Lestrade and his merry men were awaiting you. With that exception, all has gone as I expacted,” Col. Moran tucned to the official detective, “You may or may not have just cause for arresting me,” sald he, “but at least there can be no reason why I should submit to the gibes of thia person, If 1 am in the hands of the law let things be done in a legal way.” “Welt, that’s reasonable enough,” sald Lestrade, “Nothing further you nave to say, Mr. Holmes, before w2 gv?" Holmes had picked up the powerful airgun from the floor and was exam- ining its mechanism. “An admirable and unique weapon,” sald he; “noiseless and of tremendous power. I knew Von Herder, the blind German mechanic, who constructed it to the order of the ate Prof, Moriarty, For years I have been aware of its exist- ence, though I have never before had the opportunity of handling tt. T commend {t very spectajly to your attention, Lestrade, and also the bullets which fit it.’ “You can trust us to took after that, Mr, Hoimes,” said Lestrade, as the whole party. moved towards the door, “Any‘hing further to say?’ “Only to ask what charge you intend to prefer” “What charge, sir? Why, of course, the attempted murder of Mr, Sherluck Holmes," evening's adventures, It was a wax-color’d model of my friend, so admirably done that it was a perfect facyimile, It ateod on a small pedewal table with Qn’ old dregsing-gown of Holmes's 90 draped around it that the Mlusion from ‘the street was absolutely perfect, “I hope you preserved all precautions, Mra, Hudson?" snid Holmes, “I went to it on my knees, sir, Just a8 you told me.” “Bxvellent. You carried the thing! gut very well, Did you observe whore the bullet went?’ "Yes, sir, I'm afraid it has spoiled your beautiful bust, for tt passed right through the head and flattened itself on the wal, I picked it up from the car vet, Here it is!" Holmes held it aut to me. “A soft revolver bullet, as you perceive, Watson. ‘There's genius in that, for who would expect to find such @ thing fired from an alr-gun, All right, Mrs, Hudson, I am much obliged for your assistance. And now, Watson, let me see you in your old seat onge more, for there are several pointe which I should like to discuss with you,” He had thrown off the seedy frock-coat, and now he was the Holmes of old in the mouse-colored dressing-gown which he took from his effigy. “The old shikarl's nerves have not loat thelr steadiness, nor hin eyes thelr keenness,” said he, with » laugh, as he inspected the battered forehead of hia bust, ” “Plumb in the milddle of the back of the head and smack through the brain, Saturday, Feb. “ “ 18—The 25—The “ « # 1The « 18—The « « — 95—The “ April 1--The « &The «“ 22—-The 29--The May 6—The GET THEM ALL! THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES The securing of this new series of Shertock Holmes stories is one of the greatest of modern newspaper achievements. It gives THE EVENING WORLD readers a complete story every Saturday for 13 consecutive Saturdays, and they are the hest detective stories of twentieth century production, The other 12 stories of this series will appear in THE EVENING WORLD on the following dates: 1l—The Mystery of the Empty House. Adventure of the Norwood Builder, Mystery of the Dancing Men. March 4—The Mystery of the Solitary Cyclist, Adventure of the Priory School, Mystery of Black Peter, Mystery of Charles Augustus Milverton. Adventure of the Six Napoleons, Mystery of the Three Students. 15—The Adventure of the Gold Pinc-Nez, Mystery of the Missing Three-Quarter. Mystery of the Abbey Grange. Adventure of the Second Stain, GET THEM ALL! _ Murderous weapon for that purpose, I left him an exeollent nierk ti "te was the best shot tn India, and K expect that don. Have you heard the name?” ‘No, I have not” $ “Well, well, sueh ig fame! But, then, if I remember right, y He turned over the pages ‘aally, leaning back in jas chalr and blowin clouds from bia elgar, \ Beye “My collection of M's la 4 fine one,” eald ha ‘Morlarty himself ts r to make any letter illustrious, and here is Morgan the polsoner, and M of abominable memory; and Mathews, who knocked out my lem ca walting-toom at Charing Croas, and iinally here is our friend of (o-nl He hande@ over the book aud I read; “Moran, Sabastian, Co ployed, Formerly Firat Bengalore Pioneers, Born, London, 1840 Soft gustus Moran, ©, B, once British Minister to Persie ford, Berved in Jowaki canipulys, Afghan campaign, Charaaiab (dei fherpur and Cabal Author of ‘Heavy Game of the Western Mima “fhiee Months in the Jungle,’ 1844, Aduross: Condult street, Clubs: Tudian, the Tankerville, the Bagatelle Card Club,” On the margin was written in Holmes's precise hand; ‘The dangerous man in London,” “This ia astonishing,” said I, as I handed back tho volume, areer le that of an honorable soldier,” ¥ “It te true,’ Holmes anawered, “Up to a certain point he ald weil, always a man or iron nerve, and the story ts stilt told In India how he down a drain ufter a wounded man-eating tiges There are some trees, which grow to a ceriain height and thun suddenly develop some unal centriclty, You will see it oftyn in humane I have a theory that. vidual represents in his development the whole procession of its ances that a such sudden (urn to goud ov evil stands for some strong infi came into the line of his pedigree, ‘The person becomes, as it were, of the history of his own famil , “It {s surely rather fanelful.’ Ayame “Well, I don't Ingiat upon it. Whatever the xause, Col, Moran. rat wrong. Without any open scandal, he still made India too hot to hold hil retired, came to London, and agaig acquired ap evil name, It wan | time that he was sougit out by Prof, Morlarty, te whom for a th chiof of the staff. Moriarty supplied him iWrerglly with money an only in one or two very nigh-class joba which no ordinary eriminal Col undertaken, You may have some recollection of the death of Mra, Lauder, in 1887, Not? Well, I am aure Motan was at the bottom nothlug could be proved, Be cloverly was the Colonel concealed that, the Morlany gang was broken up we vould not incriminate, him. ¥% : at that dale, when I called upon you In your rooms, how I put up for fear of air-guns? No doubt you thought me fanciful, I knew T was doing, for I knew of the uxistonse of this remarkable gun also that one of the best shurs in the world would be behind it, in Switgorland he followed us with Moriarty, and It was undowbt wave me that evil five minutes on tho Reichenbach lodga, “You may think that [ read ie yapers with some attention’ Joura in France, on the lookout for any chance of laying him by long as he waa free in London my life would really not have been Night and day the shadow would hive been over me, and sooner: ehauce must have come, What could I do? I zould not shoot Aim 1 should myself be In the dock, ‘There was no use appealing to ‘They cannot interfere on the strength of what would appear to wild suspk ton. $1 could do nothing, But T watched the orimin ing that sooner'or later I could get him, Then cants the death Adair, My ohanve had come tt Irat! Knowing what I did) was it’ that Col, Moran had done It? He had played cards with the a lowed him home from the club; he had shot him through the open fi was not a doubt of It, ‘The bullets alone are enough to put his: came over at once, I waa sedn by the sentinel, Who would, 1 ‘Colonel's attention to my presence, fle could not fald to return with his crime and to be terribly alarmed. I was sure Make an attempt do get me out of the way at onve, and would dow, and, having warned the police that they rilght be Waison, you spotted thelr presenve in that doorway with unersug took up what seemed to me to be u judicious post for observatiun 1 ing that he would choose the same spot for his attack, Now, my dda does anything remain for me to oxpliin?’ ty "Yes," sald I. “You have not mada it clear what was Col, in murdering the Hon, Ronald Adair,” ¥ “Ah! my dear Watson, thero we vome into those realme of | the tnost Ingical mind may be at fault, Kavh may form his own) the present evidence, and yours is as likely to be correct as f “You have formed one, then?’ “I think that it ts not dimcult to explain the facts, It ¢ ‘ that Col. Moran and young Adalr had between thom won @ of money, Now, Moran undoubtedly pluyed foul—of that I have’ I believe that on the day of the mutder Adair had discovered cheating, Vevy likely he had spcken to him privately, and 4 expose him unless he voluntarily resigned his membership of the « ised not to play cards again, It is unlikely that a younster like \4 once make a hideous goandal by exposing a well-known man 90 iugh himself, Probably he acted vs I suggest. The exvlusion from, mean ruin to Moran, wha lived by his ill-gotten card galns, “He derod Adair, who at the time was endeavoring to work out should himself return, aimee he could not profit by his partner's, looked the door leat the ladies should surprise him and insist upon | he was doing with these names and colina, WWI it pass?” \ “E have no doubt that you have hit upon the truth,” “Tt will be verified oF disproved at the trial, Meanwhile, ogg Col, Moran will trouble ua no more; the famous alr-gua of Von Bs ms bellish the Scotland Yard Museum, and once again Mr. Sherlock, Ui m to devote hia life to examining those interostiag sttle problerag, : plex ilfe of London x0 plentifully presents.” . ¢ FOR I3 13 Complete Stori iM This series will soon appear in: book form and selh for cVENING WORLD readers will get them ahead of alt others a cost of only 13 cents, full exactly as Conan Doyle wrote them, and they will be i by F. D, Steele, Hladbadiais ra taked 5 3- laha