Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-07-11

years from a weak heart, but he con-
cealed it from everyone / alone knew
1t. When in India, he and /, through a
remarkable chain of circumstances,
came into possession of a considerable
treasure. I brought it over to Eng
land, and on the night of Morstan's ar
rival he came straight over here to
claim his share. He walked over from
the station, and was admitted by my
faithful old Lal Chowdar, who is now
dead. Morstan and had difference
OF opinion as to the division of the
treasure, and we came to heated words.
Morstan had sprung out of his chair in
paroxysm of anger, when he sudden
ly pressed his hand to his side, his face
turned a dusly hue, and he fell back
wards, cutting his head against the
corner of the treasure-chest. When l
stopped over him found, to my horror,
that he was dead.
For a long time 1 sat half dis
tracted, wondering what 1 should do.
My first impulse was, of course, to
call for assistance; but I could not but
recognize that there was every cha nee
that would be accused of his murder.
His death at the moment of quarrel,
and the cash in his head, would be
black against me. Again, an official
inquiry could not be made without
bringing out some facts about the
treasure, which 1 was particularly
anxious to keep secret. He had told
me that no soul upon earth knew
where he had gone. There seemed to
be no necessity why any soul ever
should know.
ha T..
ter, when, looking up, 1 saw my serv-
ant, Lal Chowdar, in the doorway.
He stole in, and bolted the door behind
him. do not fear, sahib." he said.
mo one need know that you have
killed him. Let US hide him away,
and who is the wiser?" 81 did not
kill him." said 1. Lal Chowdar shook
his head, and smiled. II heard it all,
sahib," said he. Il heard you quarrel,
and heard the blow. But my lips
are sealed. All are asleep in the house.
Let US put him away together" That
was enough to decide me. If my own
servant could not believe my inno-
cence, how could I hope to make it
good before twelve foolish tradesmen in
a jury box? Lal Chowdar and dis
posed of the body that night, and
within a few days the London papers
were full of the mysterious disappear
ance of Capt. Morstan. You will see
from what say that I can hardly be
blamed in the matter. My fault lies in
the fact that we concealed, not
only the body. but also the
treasure, and that 1 have chung
to Morstan's share as well as to
my own. 1 wish you, therefore, to
make restitution. Put your ears down
to my mouth. The treasure is hidden
in At this instant a horrible change
came over his expression; his eyes
stared wildly, his jaw dropped, and he
yelled in a voice I can never forget:
Keep him out! For Christ's sake keep
him outr We both stared round at the
window behind us upon which his gaze
was fixed. A face was looking in at US
out of the darkness. We could see the
whitening of the nose where it was
pressed against the glass. 1t was a
bearded, hairy face. with wild, cruel
eyes and an expression of concentrated
malevolence. My brother and I rushed
towards the window, but the man was
gone. When we returned to my father
his head had dropped and his pulse had
ceased to beat.
I'VE searched the garden that night,
but found no sign of the intruder, save
that just under the window single
footmark was visible in the fiower-bed.
But for that one trace, we might have
thought that our imaginations had con-
jured up that wild, fierce face. We
soon, however, had another and more
striking proof that there were secret
agencies at work all around US. The
window of my fathers room was found
open in the morning, his cupboards and
boxes had been rified, and upon his
chest was fixed a torn piece of paper,
with the words The sign of the four
scrawled across it. What the phrase
meant, or who our secret visitor may
have been, we never knew. AS far as
we can judge, none of my fathers
property had been actually stolen,
though everything had been turned
out. My brother and naturally asso-
ciated this peculiar incident with the
fear which haunted my father during
his life; but it is still complete mys-
terry to u.s."
The little man stopped to relight his
hookah, and pulled thoughtfully for a
few moments. We had all sat absorbed,
listening to his extraordinary narra-
tive At the short account of her IA
theirs death Miss Morstan had turned
deadly white, and for a moment I
feared that she was about to faint. She
rallied, however, on drinking glass of
water which quietly poured out for
her from Venetian carafe upon the
side table. Sherlock Holmes leaned
back in his chair with an distracted
expression and the lids drawn low
over his glittering epes. AS glanced
at him could not but think how on
that very day he had complained Bit
terly of the commonplaceness of life.
Here, at least, was a problem which
would tax his sagacity to the utmost.
Mr. Thaddeus Sholto looked from one to
the other of us with an obvious pride
at the effect which his story had pro-
duced, and then continued between
the puffs of his overgrown pipe.
'My brother and L" said he, were,
as you may imagine, much excited as
to the treasure which my father had
spoken of. For weeks and for months
we dug and delved in every part of the
garden, without discovering its where
abouts 1t was maddening to think
that the hiding place was on his very
lips at the moment that he died We
could judge the splendor of the missing
riches by the chaplet which he had
taken out Over this chaplet my
brother Bartholomew and had some
little discussion. The pearls were evil