The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-08-31
DR.. JOSEPH BELL.

"avliy as stapleton would do when with
poiseo net he drew near the settled but
Fad ;n3a. s,as,siled myself that the place
vague nath pesn used as a habitation-,
to the diapitated openin nv, wb;cb ssrvesi
unkno1 uyof Ill, ~ vas silent within. The
might be '', pEow,, be lurking there, or he
nerves tingled with the sense of adveri,
Closed mn MOVING wing aside my cigarette.
revolver. and. walking svyffty W, uI M, ~
the door. L looked in The n,acsp VS. az
empty. P''ies was
But there were ample signs that T had
not come upon false scent. :Fhis was
certainly where the man lived. Some
blankets pa rolled in a waterproof lay upon
mat very stone slab upon which neo-
lithic man had once slumbered. The
ashes OF fire We're heaped in rude
crate, Beside it lay some cooking usen-
Sis ana a bucket half full of water
a litter OF empty tins showed that the
place mad been occupied for some time.
ana ! sa -, as my eyes became accus-
kin and a half-full bottle of spirits stand
ing IN me corner. In the middle of the
nut a nat stone served the purpose of
pundle-the same, no doubt, which I had
seen through the telescope upon the
shoulder OF the boy. 1t contained a loaf
of bread. a timed tongue and two tins
Of preserved peaches. AS I set it down
again. after having examined it nv heart
leaped to see that beneath it there lay n
S Taissa Of + PapaT With rb!I Writing upon it
roughly scrawled in penc:
DR. Watson has gone to Coombs
Tracey"
For minute I stood there with the
paper in my hands thinking out the
then. and not Sir Henry, who was being
dogSed by this secret man. He had not
followed me himself. but he had set an
agsntIthe boy. perhaps-upon my track
taken no step since / had been upon the
moor which had not been observed and
repeated Always there was this feeling
us with infinite skill and delicacE. hold
ing US so lightly that it was only at soma
supreme moment that one realized that
one was indeed entangied in its mesh
es. It there was one report there might
be others. SO I looked round the hut in
search of them. There was no trace.
howe hoWeVer .t OF ANYTHING OF the kind. nor
indicate the character or intentions of
the man who lived in this singular place.
save that he must be of Spartan habits,
and cared little for the comforts of life
When 1 thought of the heavy rains and
looked al the gaping roof l understood
now strong and lnmutabie must be the
purpose which had kept him in that IN
hospitabie abode; Was he our malignant
enemy, or was he by chance our guar
dian angelo l swore that l would not
leave the hut until I anew.
Outside the sun was sinking low and the
west was blazing with scarlet and gold.
Its reflection was shot back in ruddy
patches, by the distal.t pools which lay
amid the great Grimpen Mire. There
Wee the two towers. of Baskerville Hail.
and there distant blur of smoke which
marked the village of Grimpen- Between
the two. behind the HILL was the house Of
the Stapletons. All was swee and mel
low and peaceful In the golden evening
light. and yer as | looked at them nv
soul shared none OF the peace of nature,
but quivered at the vasueness and the
terror of that interview which every in
slant was bringing nearer With ting
ling nerves, but a fixed purpose I sat
in the dark recess of the hut and waited
with sombre patience for the coming OF
its tenant.
And then at last I heard him Far
away came the sharp cink of boot
striking upon stone Then another and
vet another coming nearer and nearer.
7 shrank back into the darkest corner
and cooked the pistol IN my pocket de-
termined not to discover myself until
had an opportunity of seeing something
of the Strang ger. There was a long pause
which showed that he had stopped. Then
once more the footsteps approached and
a shadow fell across the opening of the
hrIr
'.It is a lovely evening. my dear Wat
SON said q well-known voice II really
think that you will be more comfortable
outside than in
tTo be Continued>