The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-07-27

out delay. There is only one provision
| which Ismust make You certainly must
not go alone
! Or. Mortimer returns with me-
But DR.. Mortimer has his practice to
attend to- and his house is miles away
from yours. With all the good will in the
world he may be unable TO help you. No,
Sir Henry, you must take with YOU some
one. a trusty man, who will be always by
your side"
s'ls it possible that you could come your
self, Mr.. Holiness
IF matters came to a crisis I
should endeavor to be present in
person; but you can understand
that, with my extensive consulting rrac-
tice and with the constant appeals which
reach me from many quarters, it is i'm
possible for me to be absent from London
for an indefinite time. At the present
instant one of the most revered names
in England is being besmirched by a.
biackmailer, and only can stop disas-
trous scandal. You will see how i'm
possible it is for me to go to Dartmoor."
Whom would you recommend, them"
Holmes laid his hand upon my arm
IF my friend would undertake it there
IS no man who is better worth having
at your side when you are in tight
place. No one can say SO more conf
IDENTIFY than t.
The proposition took me completely by
surprise. but before I had time to an
swer, Baskerville seized me by the hand
and wrung it heartily.
well. now. that is real kind of you.
Dr. Watson" said he. You see how it
is with me, and you know just as much
about the matter I do If you will
come down to Baskerville Hall and see
me through I'll never forget it,
The promise of adventure had always
a f3 Scina for and commit
mented by the words of Holmes and by
the eagerness with which the baronet
hailed me as a companion.
81 will come, with pleasure said I.
II do not know how l could employ my
time better.
to me-, said Holmes. when a crisis
comes. as it Will do, I will direct how
you shall act. 1 suppose that by Satur-
day all might be ready?"
would that suit Dr. Watson?"
Perfectly"
Then on Saturday, unless You hear
to the contrary, we shall meet at the
1890 train from Paddington.
We had risen to depart when Basker
vile gave a cry of triumph and diving
into one of the corners of the room he
drew a brown boot from under a cabinet.
My missing boot!' he cried.
MAY all our difficulties vanish as
But it is a very sinsuiac thing DR..
Mortimer remarked, Il searched this
room carefully before lunci1-''
"And SO did l." said Baskerville.
Every inch of it.
There was certainly no boot in it
then.
In that case the waiter must have
placed it there while we We're luncnlng.
The German was sent for, out professed
to know nothing of the matter, nor could
any inquiry clear it up. Another item
had been adued to that constant and APP
parently purposeless series of small mys-
teries which had succeeded each other SO
rapidly. Setting aside the whole grim story
of Sir Charles death, we had a line of
ineNplicable incidents all within the
limits of two days. which included the
receipt of the printed letter, the black
bearded spy in the hanson, the loss of
the new brown boot. the loss of the old
black boot, and now the return of the
new brown boot Holmes sat in silence
in the cab as we drove back to Baker
Street, and I knew from his drawn brows
and keen face that his mind. like my
own. was busy in endeavouring to frame
some scheme into which all these strange
and apparently disconnected episodes
could be fitted. All afternoon and late
into the evening he sat lost in tobacco
and thought.
Just before dinner two kilograms were
handed in. The first ran:
Have just heard that Barrymore is
at the Hall.-BASkERVILLE. The
second:
Visited twenty-three hotels as directed.
but sorry to report unable to trace cut
sheet of Times CARTWRIGHT."