The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1895-05-08


does ne goo1 10 see :ou. Oh, out !
have been soreiy tired this day"
Our companion patscd her thin. work
worn hand, and murmured some FEY:
words of kindly womanly colnfoT:
which brought the color back into the
others bloodless cheeks
master has locked himself in and
will not answer me-" she explained.
"An day / have waited to hear from
him, for he often likes to be alone; but
anhour ago 1 feared that something was
amiss, so I went up and peeped through
the keyhole. You must go up, Mr..
Thaddeus-you must go up and look
for yourself. I have seen Mr.. Barthol-
omew Sholto in joy and in sorrow for
ten long years, but | never saw him
with such a face on him as that"
Sherlock Holmes took the lamp and
led the way, for Thcddeus sholto's
teeth were chattering in his head. SO
shaken was he that / had TO pass my
hand under his arm rs we went up the
stairs, for his knees were trembling
under him. Twice as we assembled
Holmes whipped his lens out OF his
pocket and carefully examined marks
which appeared to me TO be mere
shapeless smudges Of dust upon the
cocoa-nut mating which served as a
~stair-carpet. He walked slowly from
step to step, holding the lamp low, and
shooting keen glances to right and
left. Miss Morstan had remained be-
hind with the frightened housekeeper.
The third fight Of stairs ended in a
straight passage Of some length, with
a great picture in Indian tapestry'upon
,e right OF it and three doors upon the
left. Holmes advanced along it In the
same slow and methodical way, while
we kept close at his heels, with u
long black shadows streaming back
wards down the corridor. The third
door was that which we were seeking.
Holmes knocked without receiving any
answer, and then tried TO turn b
handle and force it open. It was
locked on she inside, however, and by a
broad and powerful bolt, as we could
see when we set our lamp up against
it. The key being turned. however,
the hole was nc. entirely closed Sher-
lock Holmes bent down to il and in
stantly rose again with a shs intak-
ing Of the breath.
There is something devilish in this,
Watson" said he, more moved than /
had ever before seen him. What do
you make Of it?"
I stopped to the hole, and recoiled m
horror. Moonlight was Streaming into
the room, and it was bright with q
vague and shifty sadiance. Looking
straight at me, and suspended, as It
were, in the air. for all beneath was in
shadow, there hung a face-the very
face Of our companion Thaddeus.
There was the same high, shining
head, the same circular bristle Of red
hair. the same bloodless countenance.
The features were set, however, in a
horrible smile, q fixed and unnatural
grin. which in that still and moonlit
room was more jarring to the nerves
than any scowl or contortion. So like
was the face to that Of our little friend
that | looked round at him to make
sure that he was indeed with US. Then
/ recalled to mind that he had men
toned to rs that his brother and he
were twins.
ssThis is terrible"I said to Holmes
sWhat is to be done?'
THE door must come down." he an
swered, and, springing against it, he
put all his weight upon the lock. It
creaked and groaned, but did not yield.
Together we flung ourselves upon it
once more, and this time it gave way
with a sudden snap, and we found our
chamber.
It appeared to have ocen fitted up as
a chemical laboratory. A double line
Of glass-stoppered bottles was drawn
up upon the wall opposite the door,
and the table was Uttered over with
Bunsen burners, test tubes and retorts.
In the stood carboys of acid in
wicker baskets. One of these appeared
co leak or to have been broken, for a
stream of ~da-k-colored liquid had
trickled out from it, and the air was
heavy with a peculiarly pungenJ tar
like odor. A set Of steps stood at one
side of the room, in the midst Of a lit
ter of lath and plaster, and above
them there was an opening in the CELL
ing large enough for a man to pass
through. At the fcol Of the steps a
long coil of rope wasthrown carelessly
together.
BY the table. in a wooden armchair,
the master of the house was seated all
in a heap, with his aead sunk upon his
left shoulder, and that ghastly, inscrut-
able Smile upon his face. He was stiff
and cold, and had clearly been dead
many hours. 1t seemed to me that not
only his features but all his limbs were
twisted and turned in the most fan
tastic fashion. BY his hand upon the
table there lay a peculiar instrument,
"a brown. close-grained stick, with a
stone head like a hammer, rude.y
dashed on with coarse Irvine. Beside it