The evening world. Newspaper, April 15, 1905, Page 12

a ee Oe heey ear about it,’ said be. BWM thy facto pretty clear,” sald Stanley Hopkins. “All 1 want now P What they oli mean, The story, so far as 1 can make it out, Is Pome years ago this country house, Yoxley Old Place, was taken iy Man who gave the name of Prof, Coram B48, bal? the time and the other half hobbling round the house or being pushed about the grounds by the gardener in a bath- ‘Was well liked by the few neighbors who called upon him, and FUplitation down there of being a very learned man. WA bo consist of an eldery horsekeeper, Mrs, Marker, and of a maid on. These have both been with him since his a Women of excellent character, The professor is writing at learned fie found it necessary about a year ago to engage a secretary, NWO that He tried were not successes, but the third, Mr, Willoughby 6 Very youtig man straight trom the university, seems to have been Bs employer wanted, His work consisted In writing all the ‘We the proféssor’s dictation, and he usually spent the evening ih WP fofereH6es dod passages which bore upoh the next day's work, ighby Smith had nothing against him, either aa a boy at Upping- ie GF 44 & young man at Cambridge, I have seen hts testimonrals, and p the first he Was a decent, quiet, hard-working fellow, with no weak tm fim at all. And yet this Is the lad who met his denth this {ft the professor's study under circumstances which can point only ‘THe Wikd howled and screamed at the windows. Holmes and I drew He was an invalid, His house- ival, and thoy i to the fire, while the young inspector slowly and point by point devel- oped his sibGular narrative, iy If yO Were to search all Mneland,” sald he, “I don't suppose you could - ypaweread more self-contained of free from outside Influences. Whole WOUId pass, and not one of them gu past the garden gate The Pro: Wad Buried in his work and existed for nothing else. Young Smith BOWOdY in the neighvorhood, and lived very much as his employer did, two Women had nothing to take them from the house. Mortimer, the er, Who wheels the bath-chalr, is an army penstoner—an old Crimean n Of @oéllent character. He does not live In the house, j 00 d oittage at the other ond of the garden, Those are the only people ta it You Wotlld find within the grounds of Yoxley Old Place, At the sam Hine, the Mate of the garden is 4 hundred yards from the main london to tham road, 1t opens with a latch, aud there is nothing to prevent dtiy 266M Walking in. “Mow 1 will give you the evidence of Susan Tarlton, who ts the only Who can sy nhything positive about the matter. It was in the between 1‘ and 12. She was engaged at the moment in hanging ome ctittains in the upstairs front bedroom, Prof! Coram was still in bed, jor when the weather {8 bad hé seldom rises before midday. The house- W8s busied with some work in the back of the house, Willoughby hed been in his bedroom, which he uses as a sitting-room: but the Maré tim at that moment pass along the passage and descend to the p MiiiMediately below her, She did not see him, but she says that she fot be mistaken in his quick, firm tread, She did not hear the study 1686, but a minute or so Inter there was a dreadful ery in the room , tt was a wild, hoarse scream, so strange and unnatural that it might GuMe eliher from a man of woman. At the same Instant there was 4 Ahitd which shook the old house, and then ali was silence. The matd Pettified for a moment; and then, recovering her courage, she rah down- Phe study door was shut and she opened It. Inside young Mr, Willowgh- Smith was stretchéd upon the floor. At first she cotild see no Injury, bit as tried to raise him she saw that blood wes pouring from the andersidé of pnesk. tt was plerced by a very smal! tut very deep wound, whith had 4 the carotid artery, The instrument with which the Injury Had been lay upon the carpet beside him. Tt was one of those amal! sedling- Maives to be foiind on old-fashioned writing-tables, with an {rory dle And a sift Hinde. but In a three- wes a Tt was part of the fittings of the Professor's own “at fitet the maid thought that young Smith was already dead, but on pourliig bome water from the carafe over his forehead he opened his eyes aii instant, ‘The Professor,” he nurmured—it was she.’ Uprepated to swear that thoxe were the exact words. The mald is He tried desperately to Then he fell fay somothing elsé, And he held his right hand up in the alr, Moack dead. | “Ih the mean-iime the housekeep- ler had also arrived upon the scene, but she Was just too Inte to catch i young man’s dying words, Leav- Ing Sua with the body, she hur- ied to the professor's room, He wus pitting up in bed horribly agitated, he had heard enough to convince im that something terrible had oc- ‘ed, Mrs. Marker is prepared to pWeas that the professor was still in is night-clothes, and, indeed, it was ible for him to dress without the help of Mortimer, whose orders re to come at 12 o'clock. The pro- or declares that he heard the dis ery, but that he knows nothing He can give no explanation of the young man's last words, ‘The 8 Bmiths Bony Professor’ Study A Rough Plan Was she,’ but imagines that they were the outcome of delirium fie pelleves that Willoughby Smith had not an enemy in the world, and can @ AG rksob for the crime, His first action was to send Mortimer, the her, fot the local police. A little later the chief constable sent for me, jothing Was moved before I got there, and strict orders were given that no @ ehiould Walk upon the paths leading to the house, It was a splendid ‘ Of Piitting your theories into practice, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, There reatly WUthing wanting.” sqmacept Mr. Sherlock Holmes,” said my companion, with a somewhat BHNIE, “Well, let us hear about it, What sort of a job did you make t dist Gek you first, Mr. Holmes, to glance at this rough plan, which Pgive YOU & coneral idea of the position of the Professor's study and the PIRES of the cave. It will help you in following my investigation.” Wifelded the rough chart, which | here reproduce, and he laid it : a knee. I roee, and, standing bebind Holmes, | studied it ‘dwalaer. oy Wer rough, of course, and it only deals with the points which treble $0 be essental. All the rest you will see later for yourself, Now, THE WORLD: SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 15, 1905, exceedingly complicated. ‘The escape must have also been made along that line, for of the two other exits from the room one was blocked by Susan as she ran downstairs and the other leads straight to the Professor's bed- room, I therefore directed my attention at once to the garden path, which was soturuted with recent rain and would certainly show any footmarks. “My exumination showed me that ! was dealing with a cautious ahd ex- pert erminal, No fsoumarks were to be found on the path, There could be no question, howeyer, that some one had passed along the grass border which lines the path, and that he had done so in order to avoid leaving 1 track, I conld not find anything iu the nature of a distinct Impression, but the grass was trolden down and some one bad undoubtedly passed, It could “Now, itty Gear Hopkins, draw up atid wart your toes.” , only have been the murderer, since netther the gardener nor any one else had been there that morning and the rain had only begun during the night.” “One moment,” said Holmes, “Where does this path lead to?” “To the road.” * “How long js it?” “A hundred yards or so.” “At the point where the path passes through the gate you could surely pick up the tracks?" “Unfortunately, the path was tiled at that pommt.” “Well, on ttie road itself?” “No; It was all trodden into mire.” “but tut! Well, then, these tracks upon th grnss, Were they corilig or going?” “tt was timpossthle fo say. “A large foot of a small?” “You could not distinguish.” Holmes gavé an @jaculation of finpatience. ‘It has been potining rain and blowing a hurricane éver since,” sald he. “Tt will be harder to read now than that palimpsest. Well, well, it can’t be helped. What did you do, Hopkins, after you had made certain that you had made certain of nothing?” “1 think I made certain of a good deal, Mr, Holmes. one had entered the house cautiously from without. There was never any outline,” I knew that some I next examined the It is Hned With cocoanut matting, and had taken no impression of any kind, This brought me Into the study itself, It was a scantily furnish- ed corridor. ‘vom ~The main article is a large writing table, with a fixed bureau Professors rnis yureau consists of a double col- Bedroom iin ot drawers, with & cslitrad amail cupboard between (hem, The drawers the cupboard locked. Th» drawers, it seems, were always open, and nothing of value was kept in them. There were some pipers of importance In the enpboard, but there this had tampered with, and the professor ag- were open, Corridor were no signs that been sures me that nothing was missing, It is certain that no robbery has been committed, “T come now to the body of the Tt was found near the The stab was of the House. young man, Wureav, and just to the left of it, as marked upon that chart on the right side of the neck and from hehind forward, 6o that i! is almost impossible that it could have been self-inflicted." “Unless he fel! upon the knife,” sald Holmes “Exactly, The idea crossed my mind, But we found the knife some feet away from the body, so that seems impossible. ere the man’s own dying words. Then, of course, there And, finally, there was this very impor- tant plece of evidence, which was found clasped in the dead man’s right hand.” From his pocket Stanley Hopkins drew a small paper packet. folded it and disc! He un- losed a golden pince-nez, with two broken ends of black silk cord dangling from the end of It. “Willoughby Smith had excellent “There can be no question that this was snatehed from the face or the person of the assassin" sight,"" he added, Sherlock Holmes took the glasses Into his hand, and examined them with the utmost attention and interest. He held them on his nose, en- deavored to read through them, went to the window and stared up the street with them, looked at them most minutely in the full light of the lamp, and finally, with a chuckle, seated Rimself at the table and wrote a few lines upon a sheet of paper, which he tossed across to Stanloy Hop- that the assassin entered the house, how did he or kine, weaned the P ‘bp the warden path and the back door, from “That's the best I can do for you,” sald he, ‘It may prove to be of , Any other way would have been gome use.” “The astonished detective read the note aloud. It ran as follows:— ‘Wanted, a woman of good adcress, attired like a lady, She has a re- markably thick nose, with eyes which are set close upon either side of it, SHe has a puckered forehend, a peering expression, and probably rounded shouldera, There are indications that she has had recourse to an optician at least twice during the last few months. As her glasses are of remark- able strength, and a8 opticians are not very tutherous, there should be no difficulty im tracing her,” Holmes smiled at the astonishinent of Hopkins, which niust have re- flected upon my features. “Surely my doductions are simplicity itselt,” sald he. “It would be dif- ficult to name dtiy atticles which af- ford a finer fletd for thference than a pair of glasses, éepectiilly fo remark- able a pair as these, That they be- long to a womati I infer from their “delicacy, and also, of course, trom the last words of the dying man, As to her being a person of refinement and weit dyessel, they are, as you per- celve hanasomely mounted in solid gold; and it 1s inconceivable that any one who wore such glasses could be slatternly !n other respects. You will find that th® clips aré too wide for your nose, showing that the lady's nose was very broad at the base, This sort of nose is usually @ short and cofirse one, but there are sufi- clent number of exceptions to pre- vent me from being dogmatic or from {insisting upon this point in my de- scription. My own face is a narrow oné, and yet I find that I cannot get my éyés Into the centre, or near the cehitre, of these glasses, Therefore, the lady's eyes are set very near to the sides of the nose, You will per- ceive, Watson, that the glasses are concave and of unustal strength. A lady whose Vision has been 80 ex- tremely contracted all her life is eure to have the physical characteristics of such vision, Which are seen in the forehead, the eyelids and the @houl- ders.” “yes,” I said, “I can follow each of yoitr arguients. 1 confess, however, that I am unable to understand how yOu fitrive at the double visit to the optician.” Holmes took the elasses in hin hand. “You will péteeive.” he sald, “that the clips are Hined with tiny bands of cork to soften the presétire upon the nose, One of these Is discolored and Worn to some slight extent, but tre other ts new. Hvidently one has fallen oft and been replaced, I should judge that the older of them has not been there more than a few months. They exactly corr¢spond, so I gather that the lady went back to the Same establishment for the second.” “By George, it’s marvellous!” cried Hopkins, in an ecstasy of admiration, “Ng think that I had all that evidence in my hand and never knew it! I had {titetided, however, to go the found of the London opticlans.” “Ot course you Would. Meanwhile, have you anything more to tell us about the case,” “Nothing, Mr. Holmes, 1 think that you know af much as I do how— probably more. ‘We have had inquiries mado as to any stranger seeh on the country roads or at the railway station, We hare heard of none, What heats mé is the utter want of all object in thie crime, Not a ghost of a mo- tive cam any one suggest.” “Yes, sir, it is a crushing blow,’”’ said the old man, aquiline face which was turned toward us, with piercing, dark éyé&, Which “Ah! there I am not in a position to help you. But I suppose you want us to come out tu-morrow?" N} “Tf It 1s not asking too much, Mr, Holmes, There's a train from, Char- ing Cross to Chatham at 6 o'clock in the morning and we should be at Yox- ley Old Place between 8 and 9 o'clock.” “Then we shall take it, Your case hag certainly some features of great interes: and I shall be delighted to look {hto it, Well, it’s nearly 1 o'clock and we had best get a few hours’ sleep, I dare aay you can manage all right on the sofa in front ef the fire. I’M light my spirit lap and give you a cup of coffee before we start.” : The gale had blown we started wpou our dreary Marshes of t} which J shall ever associate with our pursuit of the Andaman Islander in the earlier doys of our career, After a long and weary journéy, we alighted at € sma’! station some miles from Chatham, While a horse wes being put into a trap at the local inn, we snatched a hurried breakfast, and so we were all ready for business when we at last arrived at Youley Old Piace, A constable met us at the garden gate. “Well, Wilson, any news?” “No, sir, nothing.” “No reports of any stranger seen?” “No, sit, Down at the station they are certain that no stranger either came or went yesterday ” ] “Have you had inquirles made at inng and lodgings?” “Yeo, sir; there is no one that we cannot account for.” ‘swell, it’s only a reasonsble walk to OHAtHaf. Any one might stay there or take a train without being observed, This fe thé gurdéh path of which I spoke, Mr. Holmes, I'll pledgé iny word there was no mark on it vesterday.”” “On which side were the marks on the grass?” “This path, sir This narrow margin of #rass between the path and the flower-bed. I can't see the traces now, but they were Clear to me (hén.” “Yes, yes: some one has passed along,” sata Holines, stoopiig ovér the gross border. ‘Our lady must have picked her steps carefully, must #hé not, since on the one side she would leave a track on the path, and on thé 6ther an even clearer one on the soft bed?" “Yes, sir, she must have been a cool hand,” 1 saw an intent look pass over Holties’s face. “You say that she must have cothe back this way?" “Yes, sir; there ts no other.” “On this strip of grass?” “Certainly, Mr. Holmes.” “Hum! It was o very termarkable perforttiahté—very remarkable. Well, 1 think we have exhausted the path, Let dé g0 further, This garden door {8 tigually kept open, 1 suppsse? Then this vlaltor Had nothing t6 do but walk in, The Idea of murdér WAS fot If her filHd, ot she would have provited herself with some sort of Weapoh instead of having to pick this Khife off the writing-table, She advanced along thié corridor, leavitig no traces upon the cocoanut matting. Then she foiifid herself in this stady How long was she there? We have no mein of judging.” “Not more than a few minutes cir, 1 forgdt to tell you that Mrs, Marker, the housekeeper, had been in there tidying not very long before—abou € quarter of an hour, she suys.’ “Well, that gives usa limit, Our lady enters this toom, and what does she do? She goes over to the writing-table, What for? Not for afiything in the drawers. If there had been anything Worth hér taking it Would surely have been locked up, No: {t was for something in that Wodden bureau, Hello! what ts that scratch upon the flee of it? Just hold & match, Watson. Why did you not tell me of this, Hopkins?” ‘The mark which he was exaniining begat upon the brass work on the right-hand sido of the keyhole, and éttéhded for aboit four inches, where it had scratched the varnish from the surface, “1 noticed it, Mr, Holmes; but you alWays find actatches round a key- hole.” “This is recent, quite recent. See how thé bras shines where it ts cut. ‘An old cut would be the same color as thé sarfiée. Look at it thfough my lens. There's the varnish, too, Ike the éarth of Bath H1d6 of a futtow. Is Mrs. Marker there?” A sad-faced, elderly woman came into the room. “Did you dust this bireau yesterday morhitig?” “Yes, sir.” “Did you notice this seratch ?" “No, sir, I did not.” “Tam sure you did not, for a duater would have @Wapt Away these shreus of varnish, Who has the key of thia buréau?” “The Professor keeps it of his watch-chaln.” “Ie {t a simple key?” “No, sir: It is a Chubb’s key.” “Very good, Mra, Marker, you cth go. Now we are midting a little ptog ress. Our lady énters thé robin, advances to the bureal atid eithet opéns it or tries to do gu, While she 18 this eHwaked, younk Wilibughby Smith en- tera the room. In her hifry to withdr#w the key shé thkes this scratch upon the door, Hé seizes her and she, #hatehing tp the KeArest ohfect, which Keppens to be this knife, strikes At Ble if Grder & Make him tet @o his Bold. ‘The bow ts a fatal one. He N18 and she escapes, either with or Without the object for which she has comé, Ie Stisan, the maid, there? Could any one have got away through that door after the time that you |, Heard the ery, Stsan?” “NO, sir; it is tmpossthle. Before I got down the stair I'd have seen any oné In the passage. Besides, the door néver operied, tor I would have heard it.” “That settles this exit. Then no doubt the liidy went out the way she came. 1 utiderstand that this other passage teads only to the Professor's room, There is no exit that way?” “No, air.” “We shall go down it #fd make the acquaintance of the Professor. Halloa, Hopkins! This {§ very im- portant, very important. Hidéed, The Protessr's corridor is ale® lifiéd with cocoanut matting.” “Well, sir, what of that?” “Don’t you see any DeaMfg upon the caso? Well, woll, I d@f’t insist upon ft. No doubt Iam #rqm®, And yet it seems to me to be atiipestive, Come with me and Introdtteé H6.” We passed down the paanage, which was of the same loéith a8 that ” which led to the garden, At thé end was a short flight of step efdifig in a door. Our guide knockéd afd then ushered us Into the Proféseer’s bed- room, Tt was a very large clatibér, lined with innumerable volumes Which had overflowed from the shelvés and lay in piles in the corntt# 6¢ Were stacked all round at the bass Of the cases. The bed was in thé céfitfe of © the room, and In it, propped ti With pillows, was the ownor of thé house, 1 have seldom seen a nibté PéfiArk- able looking person. It Wa 4 @dunt, lurked in dees hollows under overhung and tufted brows, His Malt and beard were white, save that the latter was curiously stained With yellow around his mouth. A cigarette glowed amid the tangle of whHé Half, and the air of the room was fetid with stale tobacco-smoke, As he held out his hand to Holmes, I perceived that it was also stained with yellow filcos tine. “A smoker, Mr. Holmes?” sald he, speaking in well-chodéi Fs roan with @ curious little minuing accent. “Pray take a cigeretts, And sir? 1 can recommend them, for I have them especially 4 ) | | H