Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-07-05
panion said, confidently. .au the

panion said, confidently. ''al1 the
threads which have formed such q
tangle. There are, of course, details
to be filled in, but am as certain of
all the main facts. from the time that
D-cbber parted from Stangerson at
. the station up to the discovery of the
them with my own eyes. will give
you proof of my knowledge. Could
you lay your hand upon those pills?''
81 have them," said Lestrade, pro-
ducing a small white box. ST took
them and the purse and the telegram,
intending to have them put in place
of safety at the police station. 1t was
the merest chance, my taking these
pills, for am bound to say that do
not attach any Importance to them"
''Give them here" said Holmes.
"Now, DOCTOR turning to me, ''are
those ordinary pills?"
They certainly were not. They
were of pearly gray color, small,
round and almost transparent against
the light. From their lightness and
transparency / should imagine that
they are soluble in water" remarked.
Precisely so," answered Holmes.
"Now, would you mind going down
and fetching that poor little devil of a
terrier which has been bad SO long,
and which the landlady wanted you to
put out of its pain yesterday?'
/ went downstairs and carried the
dog upstairs in my arms. Its labored
breathing and glazing eye showed that
it was not far from it's end. Indeed,
it's snow-white muzzle proclaimed that
it had already exceeded the usual term
of canine existence. Iplaced it upon
a cushion on the rug.
81 will now cut one of these pills in
two" said Holmes, and drawing his
penknife he suited the action to the
word. "One-half we return into the
box for future purposes. The other
half will place in this wine glass, in
which is teaspoonful of water. You
perceive that our friend, the doc
tor, is right, and that it readily dis
solves"
'This may be very interesting" said
Lestrade, in the injured tone of one
who suspects that he is being laughed
at. 81 cannot see, however, what it
has to do with the death of Mr.. Joseph
Stangerson."
Patience, my friend, patience! You
will find in time that it has everything
to do with it. l shall now add a little
milk to make the mixture palatable,
and on presenting it to the dog we find
he laps it up readily enough"
AS he spoke he turned the contents
of the wine glass into a saucer and
placed it in front of the terrier, who
speedily licked it dry. Sherlock
Holmes earnest demeanor had so far
convinced us that we all sat in silence,
watching the animal intently, and ex-
pecting some startling effect. None
such appeared, however. The dog con-
tinued to lie stretched upon the
cushion, breathing in a labored way,
but apparently neither the better nor
worse for Its draught.
Holmes had taken out his watch, and
as minute followed minute without re-
suit, an expression of the utmost cha
grin and disappointment appeared
upon his features. He gnawed his lip,
drummed his fingers upon the table,
and showed every other symptom of
acute impatience. So great was his
emotion that felt sincerely sorry for
him, while the two detectives smiled
derisively, by no means displeased at
this check which he had met.
est can't be a coincidence" he cried,
at last, springing from his chair and
pacing wildly up and down the room;
lit is impossible that it should be .