Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-02-14

the strange business upul. which we were engaged. combined to make me nervous and depressed. 1 could see from Miss Morstan's manner that she was suffering from tho same feeling. Holmes alone could rise superior to petty influences, He held his open notebook upon his knee, and from time to time he jotted down fig ures and memoranda in the light of his pocket lantern. At the Lyceum theatCr the crowds were already thick at the side entrances In front n continuous stream of hanSoms and four wheClcrs were rnttling up, discharginG their cargoes of shirt fromted mCu and bcSbawled, bediamonded women. Wa had hardly reached the third pillar. which was our rendezvous, before a small, dark, brisk man in the dress of n coachman aCcustCd us.
 Arc You tho parties who came with Miss MOrsttns' he asked
 II am Miss Morstan. and these two gentlemen gro my friends, " said she
 He bert Q pair of wonderfully penetrat- Ing ard qusticpipg eyes upon Ills.
 You vii! Cxcuso nc, miss, hc said, with a certain dogged manner, but l Nas to ask you to give me your word that neither of your .,:. ... A police officer
 II give you my w"r,i on that she an. swered
 He gave n shrin whistle, on which a | street Arab led across a four wheeler and | opened the door. The man who had ad dressed us mounted 10 tho box, while VIC | took our places inside. We had hardly | Eone so before tho driver whipped up his horse, and wa plunged away Ut furious pace through the foggy streets. The sitna- | tion was q curious one. We were driving
 
 | rand. Yet our invitation was either n complete hoax, which was an inconceiva. ble hypothesis, or olso VIC had good reason | to think that important issues might hang | upon our tourney. Miss MorStan's de | meanor was as resolute md collected ever. endeavorcd to cheer and amuse | her ky reminiscenceS of my adventures in Afghanistan; but, to tell the truth, l was myself so excited at our situation l and so curious as to our destination that | my stories were slightly involved To | this day she declares that l told her one | moving anccdoto as to how 6 musket look ed into my tent at the dead of night, and how fired double barrclcd tiger cub at 1t. At first had some idea as to the di, rection in which WIG were driving, but soon, what with our pace, the fog and my | own limited knowledge of London, I lost my hearings and knew nothing save that we seemed to be going a very long way. | Sherlock Holmes was never at fault, how ever and he muttered 10 names ns the cab rattled through squares and in and out by tortuouS bystreets-
 Rochester row, said he. Now Vim cent squnro Now we come out on tho Vauxhall Bridge road Wo are making for the Surrey sido apparently. Ycs, l thought so Now we arc on the bridge I eli Of fha riTNr v
 We did indeed set q feeting view of the 'tretch of the Thames, with the lamps shining upon tho broad, silent water, but our cab dashed on and was soon involved in a labyrinth of streets upon the other side
 Wordsworth road" said my compan- ion. "Priory road, Lark Hall lane, Stock we'll place, Robert street, Cold Harbor lane Our quest does not appear to take us to very fashionable regions.
 We had indeed reached questionable and forbidding neiRhborhood. Long lines of dull brick houses wero only relieved by the coarse glaro and tawdry brilliancy of Spublic houses at the corner. Then came rows of two storied villas, each with a | fronting of minia ture garden, and then again interminahlo lines of new staring brick buildings, the monster tentacles which the giant city was throwing out into the country. At last the cab drew up at the third house in a new terrace None of tho other houses was inhabited, and that at which we stopped was us dark as its neig ghbors, save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window. On our knock ing, however, the door was instantly thrown open by a Hindoo servant clad in yellow turban, white loose fitting clothes and yellow sash. There was something strangely incongruous in this oriental figure framed In the commonplace door way of third rate suburban dwelling house.
 "The sahib awaits you, |" said he, and even as he spoke there came high piping voice from some inner room. show them in to me, khitmutgar. 1t cried Show them straight In to me"