The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1894-06-15
BY CONAN DOYLE.

ness. could imagine his giving a friend
II pinch of the latest vegetable alkaloitl,
not out of nalevolcncc. you understand.
but simply out Of spirit OF inquiry
in order 10 have an accurate idea III
the effects. To do him justice, think
that he would take it hims If with the
same readiness. He appears to have
Il passion for definite and exact SnOwl-
edge"
+; Very right. too"
Yes: hut 1t may he pls:.d to on
cess. When it comes To beating the
subjects in the disSccting rooms with !,
stick. 1t is certainly taking rather Il
I bizarre shape"
Heating the subjects"
Yes. to verify how far bruises may
I've produced after death. l saw him
! at it with my own eyes,"
And yet you say he is not Il medical
| STUDENT"
NO. Heaven knows what the OBJ
iccts Of his duties are. But here we
| are. and you must fOsm Your own i'm
pnsSions about hiul AS he spok,,
We turned down IL narrow lane and
passed through Il small side door which,
OPT ned into II wing of til. great hos
pital. 1t was familiar ground to me.
and needed no guiding as we ascend
cd the bleak. stone staircase ana made
our way down the long corridor with
its vista OF whitcwashetl walls and dim
colorcd doors. Near tho farther end
Il low. arclled passage bl1nclicd away
| from it and led to the chemical labor
:ltory.
This was a lofty chamber. lined and
Uttered with countless bottles. Broad.
| low tables were scattered about. which
lristlrd with rctortS, test-tubcs and lit
Tie Hunscn lamps. With their blue.
Pickering flames. There was only one
student in the room. who Nas bending,
over a distant table absorbed in his
work. AT the sound of our steps he
glanced round and spr:,ng to his feet
with Il cry Of pleasure i've found
ii. I've found ii" lie shouted TO my
companion. running toward us with IL
test tube III his hand. Il have found
a reagcnt which is prccipitated by haze
moglobin. and by nothing else" Had
he discovered Il gold mine. greater de-
light could not have shown upon his
features.
DIR. Watson-AIr Sherlock Holiness -
said Stamford. introducing us.
How are yom:" hc aid. cordially.
FtIpIiufS lily WIKI
for which should hardly have given
him credit. You have been in Afghan
istan, l perceive"
How on earth did YOU know that:"
l asked. in establishment.
Never mind" said lie, chuckling to
himself. 1.-The question now is about
haemoglobin. No doubt you see the
significance of this discovery Of minc:''
1T is interesting. chemically. 10
doubt" answered.; but practically
why, man, it is the most practical
medio-lrgal discovery for years. Don't
you see that it gives lis an infalliblc
test for blOod-StainS? Come over here.
now" He seized me by the coat sleeve
in his cagerlless. and drew ne over to
the table ut which he had been work
ing. Let us have some fresh bloou.'
he said. digging Il long bolkin into his
finger and drawing off the resulting,
drop of blood in II chemical p:pettr
Now. | add this small quantity of
blood to Il litre of water. You per-
ccivc that the resulting mixture has
the appearance Of pure water. The
proportion Of blood cannot be more
than one in Il billion. have no doubt,
however, that we shall be able to OBJ
tain the characteristic reaction" AS
he spoke lie threw into the vessel !,
few white crystals. and til III added
some drops of IL transparent fluid. In
an instant the contents assumed Il dull
mahogany color, and Il brOw.lish dust
was precipitatcd to the bottom of the
glass jar.
"Ha. hat lie cried. Chipping his
hands and looking as delighted as !,
child with Il new toy. What do YOU
think of that"
1T seems to be Il very delicate test"
l remarked.
Beautiful! beautiful! The old yuaia-
cum test was very clumsy and uncer-
| tain. So is the microscopic examina-
| tiOn for blood c0rpuscles. The latter
is valucless If the stains are II few
hours old. Now, this appears to act
us we'll whether the blood is old or
new. Had this test been invented,
there are hundreds of men now walk
ing the earth who would long ago have
paid the penalty Of their crimes"
"lndecd!' ] mur'nured.
Criminal cases are continually hing
ing upon that one point A man is
suspected of Il crime months, perhaps,
after it has been committed. His linen
or clothes are examined. and brownisll
stains discovered upon them. Arc they
blood stains. or mud stains. or rust
stains, or fruit stains, or what are
they! That is IL question which has
puzzled many an expert, and why? Be-
cause there was 10 reliable test. Now
We have the Sherlock Holmes test, and
there will no longer be any difficulty
His eyes fairly glittcred as he spoke.
and he put his hand over his heart AMI
bowed as If to some applauding crowd
cOniured up by his imagination.
You are to be congratulated" l re-
marked, considerably surprised ut his
enthusiasm.
There was the case of Won Bischoff
at Frankfort last y"lr. He would ccr-
tainly have been hung had this test
Mason of Bradford, and the notorious
Muller. and I.cfcvre of Montpelier. and
Samson Of New Orleans. l could name
Il score of cases in which it would
have been decisive"
You seem to be Il walking calendar
of crime" said Stamford, with a laugh.
You might start II paper OH those
lines. Call 1t the Police News of the
Past"
Very interesting reading it might be
too remarked Sherlock Holmes, stick,
ing a small piece of plaster over the
prick of his finger. Il have to be care.
full" he continued. turning to me will
4 smile. for ! dabblc with pOisons Il
good DEAL He held out his hand as
he spoke. and ! noticed that it was all
mOttlal over with similar pieces OF
plaster and discolOretl with stron.
acids.
I'VE came here on business" said
Stamford, sitting down on tllrec-lcg
ged stool and pushing another in my
direction with his foot. MY friend
here wants 10 take lodgings, and us
you We're complaining that y.u could
get no one to 60. halves with you.
thought that had better bring You to
gether'
Sherlock Holmes seemed delighted
Mt the idea Of sharing his rooms will
me. Il have my eye OH Il suite il
Baker street, he said. which wolllt
suit us down TO the ground. You don
mind the smell of strong tobacco,
hopc;'
=! always snake ships myself"
answered.
That's good enough. general,
have chemicals about, and OCCASIONAL!
do experiments. Would that ammo.
y0u?''
by no means"
LET me sec--wllat arc my othc
shortcomings? get in the dumps y:
times, and don't open my mouth fo
days on end. You must not think an
sulky when do that. just let III
alone. and i'll soon be all right. VIVA
| have yOu 10 confess nuW2 It's inst n.