New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-04-03


wastefu disposition, and the family rum was
eventually completed by gambler III the CAV
of the Regency. Nothing was left save II" "vio'
of ground, and the acknowledgement louNe,
which is itself crushed under a heavy nort9iet
The last squire dragged out his existence tncIe,
living the horrible life of an aristOcratc PluPi
but his only SON my stepfather, seeing tiat ne
must adapt himself 10 the new condltOhS, Oh,
tanned an advance from relative, which eHapIeu
him take medical degree, ana Wcit our 10
Calcutta where by his professional Skill ana Ills
force of character he established a large ptacuce
In a fit of anger, however, caused by some rop-
berries which had been pcrpetrated IN thc nous, ne
beat his native butler TO death, ana Narrowly
ESCAPED capital sentence. As ii was ne suffered
a long term Of imprisonment and attcrwaId re-
turned 20 England morose and disappointed man
When DR.. ROylott was in India he married
my mother, Mrs. StOner, the young widow or
Major-Gcneral Stoner, of the Bengal Artillery
My sister Julia and were twins, and we were
only two years old at the time Of my mother ; re-
marriage. She had considerable sum OF money,
not less than thousand year, and this she
bequcathed TO DIR. Roylott entirely whilst we re-
sided with him, with provision that certain
annual sum should be allowed 10 each OF us M
the event of our marriage. Shortly after our
return 10 England my mother dicd-sllc was Killed
eight years ago in railway accident near Crewc
Dr. ROylOtt then abandoned his attempts to estaD-
fish himself in practice in London, ana took us
to live with him in the old ancestral house at
Stoke Moran. The money which my mother had
left was enough for all our wants, and there
seemed to he no obstacle to our happiness.
But a terrible change came over our step
and exchanging visits with our neghbors who
had at first been ovcriOycd 10 see a Roylott OF
Stoke Moran back in the old family seat, he shut
himself up in the house. and seldom came out save
to indulge in fcrocious quarrcs with whoever
might cross his path. Violence Of temper APP
preaching 10 mania has been hereditary In the
men OF the family, and in my scpfathers case
it had believe, been intensified by his long resi-
dence in the tropics. y series Of diSgIacetui
brawls took place. two of which ended III the
police court until at last he became the terror
of the village. and the folks would fly at his
approach, for he is a man of immense strength, and
absolutely uncomfortable in his anger.
Last week he hurled the local blacksmith over
a parapet into stream, and il was only by paying
ali the money which could gather together that
able TO avert another public exposure: lie
had no friends AT all save the wandering
gyrSes, and he would give these VagabOnds
leave TO encamp upon the few acres OF
brambe-covcrcd land which represent the family
estate and would accept in return the hospitality
of their tents, wandering away with them some
for Indian animals which are sent over 10 him
by correspondent, and he has at this moment
q cheetah and baboon. which wander freely
over his grounds. and are feared BY the villagers
almost much as their master.
"Ycu can imagine from what | say that my
poor sister Julia and | had no great pleasure IN
for long time we did all the work Of the house:
She was but thirty at the time of her death. and
Yet her hair had already begun 10 whlten, even
as mine has,
" \ our sister l. dead, then
She died just two years ago, and it Is Of her
death that | wish TO speak TO yon. You can
understand that, living the life which have de-
scribcd, we were little likely to see any one of
however. an aunt. my mothers maiden sis
ter, Miss IIonoria Wcstphail. who lives near
Harrow and we were occasionally allowed TO
pay short visits at this ladys house. Julla went
there at Christmas two years ago. and met there
half-pay major Of marines. 10 whom she bccame
engaged. Ny Stepfathcr learned of the engage
=. .,,I, .tfrpa M oh
lection 10 the marriage but within fortnight
of the day which had been fixed for the wedding
the terrible event occurred which has deprived
ne of my only companion.'
Sherlock Holmes had been leaning back in his
chair with his eyes closed. and his head sunk IN
cushion. but lie half opened his lids now. ana
glanced across at his visitor.
PRAY be precise az to details. said lie.
a. 1t is easy for me to BE- 50. for every event OF
that dreadful time is scared into my memory.
TIE manor honse is, as | have already SAID, very
old and only wing Is now inhabited. he
bedrooms in this wing are on tie Ground il"or:
tie sitting-roOms being in the central block Of
the bindings. OF these bedrooms the hrSt Is
Dr. ROvlotts the second my sisters. and the
third nv own. There was no communication he
tween them. but they all open ont into the same
corridor. Do make myself plain?'
Perfectly SO.
The windows Of the three rooms open ont
upon the lawn. That fatal night DR.. Roylott had
gone 10 his room early. though we knew that he
had not retired to rest. for my sister was troubled
was his custom to smoke. She left her room.
therefore, and came into mine. where she sat for
some time. chatting about her approaching we'd
ding At II o'clock size rose Ia leave me. but
paused at the door and looked back.
Tell me, Helen said She have yon ever
heard anyone whistle in tie dead Of the nielit =
Never said |.
/ supposr that You could not possibly whistle
yourself in your sleep
Certainly not. But why"
" 'Iiccause during the last few nights nave
abOuf : heard
clear whistle. ! am light sleeper. and it has
awakened me | cannot tell where il comes
frOn-perhaps from The next ROOM perhaps from
the lawn. ! thought that would just ask you
whether you had heard it.
No, | have not. II must be those wrctched
gypsics in the plantation
u Very likely And yet If IT were on the lawn
| wonder that you did not hear it also
Alb, but sleep more heavily than yon
rate she smiled back at me, closed nv door,
and a few moments later heard her key turn
Indeed" said Holmes "was it Your custom
always to lock yourselves in at night
Always"
And why?'
Il think that / mentioned TO you that the
doctor kept cheetah and a baboon. We had no
feeling OF security uniess our doors were locked.
quite So Pray proceed with your statement.
4" | could not sleep that night. vague feeling
of impending misfortune impressed me. My sister
and ], you will rccollect, were twins and you
know how subtle the links which bind two
souls which are 20 closely allied. II was wild
night The wind was bowling outside and the
rain was beating and splashng against the win
dows. Suddenly. amidst all the hubbub Of the
gale there burst forth the wild scream OF ter
rfed woman ! knew that il was my sister :
voice. sprang from my bed wrapped shawl
round me- and rushed into the corridor. As |
opened my door ! seemed to hear low whistle.
such as my sister described. and few moments
later a changing sound, as if mass Of metal hai
fallen. As | ran down the passage my sister :
door was unlocked. and revolved slowly upon It's
hinges | stared at il horrorstrckcn. not know
ing what was about 10 issue from it. By the
light Of the corridor lamp | saw my sister appear
at the opening. her face blanchcd with terror.
her hands cropping for help, her whole figure
swaying to and fro like that Of a drunkard. |
ran 10 her and threw my arms round her, but
at that moment her knees seemed 70 give way and
she fell to the ground She writhcd as one who