The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1895-10-05

"A doctor, ch?" cried he. much ex-
cited. "Haye you Your stethoscope?
Might ask you--wonld you have the
kindness? have grave doubts rs to
my mitral valve, II you would be so very
good. The aortic may rely upon, but
! should value your opinion upon the
mitral."
listened TO his heart as requested.
but was unable 70 find anything amiss,
save indeed that he was in an ecstasy
of fear, for he shivered from head TO
foot. ut appears TO be normal, |
said "You have no cause for uneasi-
ness"
'.You viii excuse my anxiety, Miss
Morstan.." he remarked, airily. ~ am
a great sufferer, and l have long had
suspicious as 10 that valve. ! am de-
lighted to hear that they are unwar-
ranted. Had your father, Miss Nor
stan. refrnincd from throwing q strain
upon his heart he might have been
alive now"
/ could have struck the man across
the face, so hot was l at this callous
and off-hand reference TO so delicate
matter. Miss Morstan sat down and
her face grew white TO the lips. II
knew In my heart that he was dead"
said she.
81 can give you every information"
said he, "and, what is more, can do
yon justice; and / viii. too, whatever
Brother Bartholomew may say. lam
so glad TO have your friends here, not
only as an escort TO you, but also as
witnesses 20 what am about TO do and
say. The three of us can show bold
front 10 Brother Bartholomew. But let
us have no outsiders-no police or Off
cials. We can settle everything salts
factorily among ourselves, without any
interference. Nothing would annoy
Brother Bartholomew more than any
publicity" He sat down upon n low
settcc and blinked at us inquiringly
with his weak, watery blue eyes.
''For my part" said Holmes, what
ever you may choose to say will go no
further"
nodded to show my agreement.
"That is welll That Is welll'' said he
MAY offer you glass Of Chianti,
Miss Morstan? Or Of Tolxay? / keep
no other wines. Shall open a flask?
No? Well, then, trust that you have
no objection TO tobacco smoke, TO the
mild balsamic odor of the eastern to-
my hoolxah an invaluable sedative.
He applied taper 10 the great bowl,
and the smoke bubbled merrily through
the rose water. We sat all three in
semicircle, with our heads advanced,
and our chins upon our hands, while
the strange, jerlxy little fellow, with
his high, shining head, pulled uneasily
in the center.
"When ! first determined TO make
this communication TO you," said he,
II might have given you my address,
but feared that you might disregard
my request and bring unpleasant peo-
pie with you. took the liberty, there
fore, of making an appointment In such
n way that my man Williams might be
able 10 see you first. have complete
confidence in his discretion, and he had
orders, II he were dissatisfied, to pro-
ceed no further in the matter. You
will excuse these precautions, but i am
n man of somewhat retiring, and
might even say refined, tastes, and
there Is nothing more unmsthctic than
n policeman. I have a natural shrink
ing from all forms of rough material
ism. | seldom come in contact with
the rough crowd. ! live, as you see,
with some little atmosphere of clc-
gance around me. may call myself n
"a tren ef the -ts /. Is isyf weakness.
The landscape Is genuine Carrot. and,
though connoisseur might perhaps
throw doubt upon that Salvador Rosa,
there cannot be the least question about
the Bouguercau | am partial to the
modern French school"
lyon will excuse me, Mr.. Sholto."
said Miss Morstan, ''but am here at
your request 10 learn something which
You desire TO tell me. II Is very late,
and should desire the interview 10 be
as short as possible"
AT the best IL must take some time"
he answered; ''for we shall certainly
have 20 go TO Norwood and see Brother
Bartholomew. We shall all go and try
IL we can get the better Of Brother
bartholomew. He Is very angry with
me for taking the course winch has
seemed right to me. ! had quite high
words with him last night. You cam
not Imagine what terrible fellow he
Is when he Is angry"
IF we are 10 go TO Norwood IL would
perhaps be as well TO start at once"
ventured to remark.
lie laughed until his ears were quite
red.
THAT would hardly do" he cried. II
don't know what he would say II
brought You In that sudden way. No.
l must prepare you by showing you
how we all stand 10 each other. In the
FIRST place, | must tell you that there
arc several points ia the story of which
am myself ignorant. can only lay
the facts before you as far as know
them myself.
My father was, as you may have
guessed, Maj. John Sholto, once Of the
Indian army. lie retired some eleven