The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-09-07

I NerSatl0n with the lady. so interested
was he that 1 had TO repeat some OF
it twice before he was satisfied.
This is most important" said he.
when / had concluded. 1T fills up a
gap which / had been unable to bridge,
in this most complex affair. You are
aware, perhaps. that a close intimacy
exists between this lady and the man
Stapleton ?"
Il did not know of a close intimacy"
There can be no doubt about the
matter. They meet, they write. there
is complete understanding between
them Now, this puts very powerful
weapon into our hands. If I could only
use it tofdetach his wife"
His wife?"
81 am giving you some information
now, in return for all that you have
given me. The lady who mas passed
here as Miss Stapieton is in reality his
Wife,
I Good heavens, Holmes, Are you
sure of what YOU say? How could he
have permitted Sir Henry to fall in
love with herr"
Sir Henry's falling in love could do
no harm to anyone except Sir Henry.
He took particular care that Sir Henry
did not make love to her, as you have
yourself observed. 1 repeat that the
lady is his wife and not his sister"
But why this elaborate deception ?"
Because he foresaw that she would
be very much more useful to him in
the character of a free woman"
All my unspoken instincts, my vague
suspicious, suddenly took shape and
centered upon the naturalist. In that
impassive, colcrless man, with his
straw hat and his but
ter-f1y net, I seemed TO see
something terrible-a creature of in
finite patience and craft, with a smil-
ing face and a murderous heart
1T is he, then, who is our enemy-it
is he who logged us in LOndon?"
80 l read the riddle"
And the warning-it must have
come from hertz
Exactly"
The shape of some monstrous viii
lainy, half seen. half guessed, doomed
through the darkness which had girt
me so long.
But are you sure of this, Holmes
How do you know that the woman is
his wife?'
Because he so far forgot himself as
to tell you a true piece of autobio-
graphy upon the occasion when he
first met YOU, and 1 daresav he has
many time regretted it since He
was once schoolmaster in the North
of England. Now, there is no one
more easy to trace than a school
master. There are scholastic agencies
by which one may identify any man
who has been in sthe profession. A
little investigation showed me that a
school had come to grief under afro
cious circumstances. and that the man
who had owned 1.-THE name was diff
ferent-had disappeared with his wife
The descriptions agreed. When /
learned that the missing man was de-
voted to entomology the Identification
| was complete"
The darkness was rising. but much
was still hidden by the shadows.
| IF this woman is in truth his wife
where does Mrs. Laura Lyons come
In?" 1 asked
That is one of the points upon
which your own researches have shed
| a light. Your interview with the lady
has cleared the situation very much
l did NOV know about a projected d.
vorce between herself and her hus-
| band. In that case, regarding Staple
ton as an unmarried man, she counted
no doubt upon becoming his wife"
| And when she is undeceived?"
why, then we may find the lady OF
| service. 1t must be our first duty tc
see her-both of us-to-morrow. DOM
you think, Watson, that you are awaN
from your charge rather long? Yom
place should be at Baskerville Hall"
The last red streaks had faded away
In the west and night had settled
upon the moor. A few faint stars
were cleaning in a violet sky.
Zone last question, Holiness" I said
| as ! rose. Surely there is no need o.
| secrecy between you and me- Wha
is the meaning of it all? What is he
| after?
| Holmes voice sank as he answered
1T is murder, Watson-refined, cold.
blooded. deliberate murder. Do not ash
me for particulars. My nets are clos
ing upon him, even as his are upo1
| Sir Henry. and with your help he i.
already almost at my mercy. There i,
hut one danger which can threaten us
1t is that he should strike befor,
we are ready to do so. An
| other day-two at the mos
| and l have my case complete but
until then guard your charge as close
ly as ever a fond mother watcher her
ailing child. Your mission to-day has
justified itself, and yet l could almost
wish that you had not left his side
Hark!'
terrible scream-a prolonged vel
| of horror and anguish bnrst out of the
| silence of the moor. That frightfu
| cry turned the blood to ice in my
veins
"oh. my God!" 1 gasped. what is
| it? What does IT mean?'
Holmes had sprung to his feet an6
l saw his dark, athletic outline al
the door of the hut, his shoulders
| STOPPING. his head thrust forward, his
face peering into the darkness.
"Hush!" he whispered Hush!
The cry had been loud on account
of its vehemence, but it had pealed our
from somewhere far off on the shad.
owy plain. Now it burst upon gu,
ears, nearer, louder, more urgent thar
before.
Where is it?" Holmes whispered
and l knew from the thrill of his voice
that he, the man of iron, was shaker
to the soul. Where is it, Watson?"
There, I think" l pointed into the
darkness.
mo. there!'
Again the agonized cry swept
through the silent night, louder ant
much nearer than ever. And a new
sound mingled with it. a deep. NUT.
tered rumble, musical and yet menac.
ing. rising and falling like the low
| constant murmur of the sea.
The hound!" cried Holmes Come
Watson, come. Great hevans, if we
are too late"
He had started running swiftly over
the moor, and / had followed at his
heels. But now from somewhere
among the broken ground Immediately
In front of us there came one last de-
| spairing YELL and then dull. heavy
| thud. We halted and listened Not
another sound broke the heavy silence
a.