The Irish standard., 1895-05-11
HE HELD DOWN THE LAMP TO THE FLOOR.

whipped out his lens and a tape meas.
ure, and hurried about the room on his
knees, measuring, comparing, examin-
ing, with his long thin nose only a few
inches from the planks, and his beady.
eyes cleaning and deep-set like those
of bird. So swift, silent and furtive
were his movements, like those Of
trained bloodhound picking out a
scent, that could not but think what
q terrible criminal he would have
made had he turned his energy and
sagacity against the law, instead of ex-
erting them in it's defense, AS he
hunted about, he kept muttering to
himself, and finally he broke out into,
loud crow Of delight = g.
eve are certainly in luck" said he.
"We ought to have very little trouble
now. Number One has had the misfor-
tune to tread in the creosote. You can
see the outline Of the edge OF his SNAIL
foot here at the side of this evilAsmel1-
ing mess. The carbov has been cracked,
you see, and the stuff has leaked out.
81 'tWhat then?'' asked. g@ M
'sWhy, we have got him. that's ALL"
said he. II know dog that would
follow that scent to the worlds end.
If pack can track q trailed herring
across shire, how far can a specially
trained hound follow so pungent
smell as this? It sounds like. sum in
/. the rule Of three. The answer should
give as the. But halloo! here are the
accredited representatives Of the law. =.
Heavy steps and the clanor of loud.
voices were audible from below, and
the hall door shut with q. loud crash.
Before theys come,' said Holmes,
'.just put your hand here on this poor
fellows arm, and here on his leg. What
do you feel?"
.'The muscles are as hard as q board"
I answered.
''Quite so. They are in state of ex-
treme contraction, far exceeding the
usual rigor mortis. Coupled with this
distortion Of the face, this Hippocratic.
smile, or 'risus sardonicus, as the old
writer's called it, what conclusion would !.
it suggest to your mind?"
Death from some powerful yegeta-
BILE alkaloid," I answered--.'some
strychuine-like substance which would
produce tetanus.
ssThat was the idea which occurred
to me the instant I saw the; drawn
muscles Of the face. On getting into
the room / at once looked for the
means by which the poison had entered
the system. AS you saw, / discovered
thorn which had been driven or shot
with no great force into the scalp.
You observe that the part struck was
that which would be turned towards
the hole in the ceiling If the man wered
erect in his chair. Now examine this /
thorn
took it up gingerly and held it. in
the light Of the lantern. 1t was long, 4
sharp and black, with, glazed look
near the point az though some gummy
substance had dried upon it. The
blunt end had been trimmed !. and
rounded of with . knife.
SIS this an English thorn3'' he asked.
s:No, it certainly is not. . ,s
&, with all these data you should BE /
able to draw some just inference. But
here are the regulars; SO the auxiliary
forces may beat q retreat. ~ 4, s5.5.3
4 AS he spoke, the steps which had
been coming nearer sounded loudly on
the passage, and q very stout, portly
man il q gray suit strobe heavily into
the room. he was red-faced, burl and
.plethoric,, with II pair Of very small
twinkling eyes which looked keenly
out from behind swol Hen and puffy
pouches. he was closely followed by
m inspector Il uniform, and BY the