Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1894-10-11
his nands IN pompous and self,satis-

his nands IN pompous and self-satis-
fed manner.
'Mr. Gregson," he said. II have just
made discovery of the highest Inn
port0uce, aud one which would have
been overlooked had not made care
full examination of the walls"
The little mans eyes sparkled as he
spoke. and he was evidently In state
of suppressed exultation at having
scored point against his colleagues
Come here" he said, busting back
into the room, the atmosphere Of which
felt clearer since the rcmovaN its
chastity inmate. Nov, stand there"
He struck a match on his boot and
held 1t up against the wall. q
"Look at that!' he said, triumphanta
".
have remarked that the paper had
| fallen away In parts. In this .pardcu
! lar corner of the room q large piece
had peeled OF. leaving yellow square
of coarse plastering. Across this bare
space there was scrawled in blo0d-red
! letters single word-'Rache."
What do you think Of that" cried
the detective with the air Of a show
man exhibiting his show. This was
overlooked because it was in the dark
est corner of the room, and no one
thought of looking there. The murder
er has written it with his or her own
blood. See this smear where it has
| trinkled dow nthe wall That disposes
Of the idea of suicide anyhow. Why
was that corner chosen to write 1t on?
will tell you. See that candle on the
mantel-piece? 1t was lit at the time,
and If was lit this corner would be
the brightest instead of the darkest por-
ton of the wall"
'And what does it mean. now that
you have found it?" asked Gregson, In
depreciatory voice.
Mean? Why, it means that the writ
err was going to put the female name
Rachel, but was disturbed before he or
she had time to finish. You mark my
words, when this case comes to be
cleared up. you will find that a woman
named Rachel has something to do
with it. It's all very well for you to
laugh, Mr.. Sherlock Holmes. You may
be very smart and clever. but the old
hound is the best, when all is said and
done"
Il really beg your PARDON said my
companion, who had rutfied the little
mans temper by bursting into an ex-
plosion Of laughter. You certainly
have the credit of being the first of us
to find this out. and, as you say, it
bears every mark of having been writ
ten by the other participant in last
nights mystery I have not had time
to examine this room vet. but with
your permission l shall do so now
AS he spoke lie whipped a tape meas
ure and large round magnifying glass
from his pocket. With these two i'm
Elements he trotted noiSelessly about
the room. sometimes stopping, occa
sionally kneeling. anil once lying fiat
upon his face. So engroSsed was he
with his occupation that he appeared
to have forgotten our presence, for he
chatted away to himself under his
breath tie whole time. keeping up a
running fire Of cxclamations. groans,
whistles ard little cries suggestive of
encouragement and of hope. AS I
watched him was irresistibly remind.
ed of pure blooded. well-trained fox
hound as it dashes backward and for
ward through the covert, whining in its
eagerness. until it comes across the lost
scent. For twenty minutes or more he
continued his researches. measuring
with the most exact care the distance
between marks. which were entirely
invisible to me, and occasionally apply
ing his tape to the walls in an equally
incomprehensible manner In one place
he gathered up very carefully little
pile of gray dust from the floor aud
packed it away in an envelope. Final.
ly he examined with his glass the word
upon the wall, going over every letter
of 1t with the most minute exactness.
This done,he appeared to be satisfied,
for he replaced his tape and his glass
in his pocket.
'"They say that genius is an infinite
capacity for taking palms, he remark
ed. with smile. Its very bad def
milton, but it does apply to detective
work.
Gregson and Lestrade had watched
the manoeuvres of their amateur COM
panion with considerable curiosity and
some contempt. They evidently failed
to appreciate the fact which l had be-
gun to realize that Sherlock Holiness
smallest actions We're all directed to-
ward some definite and practical end
"W!lat do you think Of it sir?" they
both asked.
CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.