The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-08-02
The Adventure Of the Noble Bachelor

aHa1rT Every cleW seems to slip thru
7; ny Fl ffn dgsT ), I have been at work upon
"And very wet it seems to have
made you, said Holmes, laying his
hand upon Sle arm of the pea jacket.
= yes, I have been dragging the
,Serpentine. !"
In Heaven IS name, what forq"
:. In search of the body OF Lady st.
Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his
chair and laughed heartily.
Have you dragged the basin Of
Trafalgar Square fountain9,' he asked.
nWhy2 What do you meanao
Because you have just as good
chance of finding this lady in the one
as in the other
Lestrade shot an angry glance at my
companion; suppose you know all
about it, he snarled.
facts, but my mind is made up. =
"Oh, indeed! Then you think that
ter?n
Then perhaps you will kindly ex-
it," He, opened his bag as he spoke,
and tumbled onto the floor a wedding
dress Of watered silk, pair of white
satin shoes, and bride IS wreath and
veil, all discolored and soaked in water.
....There, - said he, putting a new we'd
f Singing upon S?11, the tep Of the pile:
M ahere i little nut foar you to crack
"Oh, indeed!"' said my friend, blow
ing blue rings into the air. "You
dragged them from the Serpentine7" =
mo. They were found floating near
the margin BY parkkeeper;, They have
been identified as her, clothes, and it
seemed to me that if the clothes were
there the body would not be far off. -
every. man s body is to be found in the
neighborhood of his wardrobe And
pray what did you hope to arrive at
Eat some evidence duplicating Flora
Mi1lar in the disappearance.
difficult
care you, indeed, nows" cried Les
afraid, Holmes, that you are not very
practical with you'd deductions and your
differences. You have made two glund
in as many ". minutes 7 This dress does
:" In the dress is pocket. In the peck
ct is card-case. In the cardcase is
a note. And here is the very note y
He slapped 1t down upon the table in
front Of him. "Listen to this: you
will see me when all is ready. Come
at once. F. II. M Now my theory all
along has been that Lad, St: Simon was
she, with confederates, no doubt, was
response BILE for her disappearance
Here, signed with her initials, is the
very note which was no doubt quietly
! slipped into her hand at the door, ano
which lured her within their reach
Very mHyery ge99d; Lestrade,, said HOLMES
indeed. Let me see it, He took "
the paper in listless way, but his at
tention instantly became riveted, anC
he. gave, little cry of satisfaction
ll".This is indeed Important" said he. .
CHA! you find it SO ~ sf = .aa9@E1t
warmly -
his head to 1ooI " be s sbre Gea
"you re looking at the wrong side!''
con the contrary, this is the right
side.o
"The right sideq You're mad
Here is the note written in pencil ove1
here"
j ."And over here is what appears t.
be the fragment of q hotel bill, which in
terests me deeply.''
it before, said ep Lestrade: l4e oet 18th h
rooms ss., breakfast Is 3d., cocktail Is.
lunch Sin2 rs !, ed a1af glass a sherry 3d. SCI
every likely not. It is most import
ant, all the same. AS to the note, it il
important also, or at least the initials
are, 50 congratulate you again.
we wasted time enough,'' sait
Lestrade,- rising. ~ believe in hare
work, and not in sitting by the fire spin
ming fine theories. -Goodday, Mr.
| Hn1noS nd Sha11 i17bi DO -
the bottom Of the matter first He gath
cred up the garments, thrust them int
the bag, and made for the door.
just one hint to you, Lestrade,' ,
drawled Holmes, before his rival van
ished; g will tell you the true solution
of the matter. Lady st. Simon is
myth. There is not, and there never hal
been, any such person. -
Lestrade looked sadly at m,
companion.
| Then he turned to me, tapped hi
forehead three times, shook his heat
solemnly and hurried away.
1 He had hardly shut the door behint
him when Holmes rose and put on hi
| overcoat "There is something in wha
he remarked, $50 I think, Watson, th;:
l must leave you to your papers for {
litt;e0
1t was after O'Clock when Sherlocl
Holmes left me, but I had no time t,
be lonely, for within an hour Their
arrived a confectioner' man with
very large fat box. This he unpacke.
with the help Of a youth whom he ha'
brought with him, and presently, t.
my very great astonishment, a quit
epicurean little cold supper began t.
be laid out upon our humble lodgir,
house mahogany. There were a coupl
of brace of cold woodcock, a pheasant
pate de foie gras pie, with grnu
! of ancient and cobwebby bottles. Hav
ing laid out all these luxnries. my tw
, visitors vanished away, ike the gem
, Of the Arabian Nights, with no eSplana
ton save that the things had been rai
for and were ordered to this address
Just before 9 o clock Sherlock lIolme
, stepped briskly into the room. Hi
features were gravely set, but there wa
light in his eye which made me thin
that he had not been disappointed j.
his conclusions.
"They have laid the. supper, then,
, he said, rubbing his hands
"You seem to expect company. The
have laid for fiveO
eyes, I fancy we may have som
, company dropping in, said he. 81 al
) surprised that Lord st. Simon has nc
! already arrived. Ha! fancy that.
: hear his step now upon the stai1s.''
: 1t was indeed our visitor Of the .ncr1
| ! ing who came busting in, dangling hi
! glasses more vigorously than ever. an
/ with a very perturbed expression upo
his aristocratic features.
4 Ny messenger reached you, thens
3 asked Holmes.