The Washington times., 1895-04-14

hERAINDA. Oiicn fle WOuI0 put
in his pockets bits OF mud. small sticks and
stones, andsinIilar thiags which an ordinary
detective would doubtless have regarded
as mere rubbish. Luccettina meanwhile,
seemed to find him vastly entertaining, and
once she mounted astride his back. and he
conveyed her considerable distance in
this manner 1t was perhaps half an hour
before they returned together to The yeranda
We'll, Holiness" / exclaimed, what
success?''
He gave me a vacant glance. but made no
| reply. His face was pale, and there was a
drawn stern look about his mouth. For
ten minutes, during which neither Higgins
nor myself ventured TO draw breath, he
strode moodly up and down the veranda,
hishands thrust deep into his trouserpockets,
and bis chin sunk upon Ills breast. Sud
denly, without moments warning, ne
dashed through the western door, which
opened into the dining room. and slammed
violently behind him. What did it all
mean?
Higgins and i exchanged q startled look.
| We listened. A low, unmistakabe gurgl-
| ing noise struck our ears We sprang 10
| our feet, and could it be that my poor friend,
J defeated at last by the insurmountahle
| difficulties of this problem, had preferred
| death 10 dishonor? We rushed into the
| room.
The following spectacle met our gaze:
Holmes sat at the table holding 10 his
| lips pocket flask the last drops from which
| he was pouring down bis throat. / know
il to contain Three Stars Brandy, and l
leaped forwards, hoping TO secure n drain
for myself. But he had been too quck for
me.
Holmes, y gasped, staggering back from
| a well ell-delivered blow on the eye, have
you solved the problem?"
| ''The problem?" he repeated with an
amused smile, rolling up the solid silver
flask as il it had been whisp OF paper in
his sinewy fingers, and placing it in his
wateh-fob, The problem, as you call it,
my dear watson, was solved three hours
agoi'
'.How?-what?" exclaimed Higgins and
/ in a breath.
II have here" replied he, producing the
article as he spoke. a twelve ounce bag full
of perique tobacco, and pipe If you
have no objection 1 viii smoke the former
in the latter while relating my investlga
tions.''
Higgins signified his compliance, we al
three returned to the veranda, where
Holmes, from the midst of the blue CLIQUE
in which ne speedily enveloped himself
spoke as follows:
MY friend Watson, here, will bear me
out in saying thatmy interest in this case has
been due rather TO its romantic and semi
tropical surroundings than to anything
specially abstruse in the circumstances them
selves The two volumes of my "Ad
ventures" and Memoirs" which he hal
already published, and which, if you hav'
not already secured them, l should advise
you to obtain without delay, contain, some
what embeIllshed perhaps, a few OF such
my experiences as the present state o
, | European politics make it judicious e
publish. 1 was about to say that my firs
glimpse of your little advertisement con
. | yinced me that it must be Lucettina VIII
had lost the Object. OF course, the stnmbl
of the little girl over my legs was not tn
, | accident that il seemed to be, but par
n ! of my carefully prepared plan. My subse
uuent cross examination OF her, which {
| YOU no doubt appeared so aimless an
inconsequential, really informed me tha
she had had knife which she had lost, an
, a dog which had been killed by kick froT
: a horse on which she had been riding.
I was at this juncture that we visited tn
pasture, during our stay in which elicite
the information that she had put her knii
! in her pocket just before taking her rid'
. Her pocket having at the time been full {
u other matter, at once perceived that III
a knife might easily have become dislodge'
2 Drobably in the act of her being placed c
r the horse by the groom, or in the subs
3 uuent gallop. The pocket is on the righ
r hand side of the dress; it was therefo
on the right-han side of the path that
:. conducted my scrutiny. Satisfied that