The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1905-09-13
Sherlock Holmes Story
The Mystery of the Dancing Men
Concluded

may have threatened her-God forgive
me!-but would not have touched a
hair of her pretty head. Take it back
you! Say that she is not hurt"
s'She was found badly wounded by
the side of her dead husband"
He sank with a deep groan on to
the setee and buried his face in his
mahacied hands. For five minutes he
was silent. Then he raised his face
once more and spoke with the cold
composure of despair.
Il have nothing to hide from you.
gentlemen" said he. "If shot the
man he had his shot at me, and there's
no murder in that. But if you think l
could have hurt that woman, then you
don't know either me or her. l tell
you. there was never man in this
world loved a. woman more than loved
her. had alright to her. She was
pledged to me years ago. Who was
this Englishman that he should come
between us?u1 tell you that had the
first right to her and that l was only
claiming my own"
she broke away from your in fluence
W men she found the man that.you are.
said Holmes sterniy. ''She fled from
America to avoid you, :and she married
an honorableI gentleman in IEngland.
You logged her and followed her and
made her life misery to her in order
to induce her to abandon the husband
whom she loved and respected in order
to fly with you, whom she feared and
hated. You have ended by bringing
about the death of noble man and
driving his wife!ttos suicide. That is
your record in the business. Mr.. Abe
Slaney. and you will answer for it to
the law"
"If Elsie dies l care nothing what
becomes Of me-" said the American.
he opened one of his hands and look
ed at note crumpled up in his palm.
"See here, mister he cried, with q
CLEAN of suspicion in his eyes, you're
not laying to scare me over this, are
you? If the lady is hurt as bad as
you say, who was it that wrote this
| note?" He tossed it forward on the
| table.
IL wrote it to bring you here. -
"Yov wrote it? There Mas no one
on earth outside the Joint who knew
the secret of the dancing men. How
came you to write it?"
"What one man can invent another
can discover" said Holmes There
8 cab coming to convey you to Nor
wich. Mr.. Slaney. But Meanwhile you
have time to make some small repara-
ton for the injury you haye wrought.
Are you aware that Mrs. Hilton Cutitt
has herself lain under grave suspicion
of the murder of her husband and that
u was only my presence here and the
kuowledge which l happened. to pos
sess which has saved her from ac-
euation. The least That you owe her
: TO make il clear TO the whole world
that she was in no way, directly or in
directly, responsible for his tragic
end,
Il ask nothing better" said the
American. II guess the very best case
can make for myself is the absolute
naked truth"
1t is my duty to warn you that il
will beaused against you, cried the in
spector, with the magnificent fair play
of the British criminal law
Slaney shrugged his shoulders
I'm chance that, said he. "Frs
of all. want you gentlemen to under
stand that ! have known this lad,
since she was child. There were
seven. OF lus in gang in Chicago. ant
Elsie's father was the boss of the Joint
He was clever man, was old Patriot
1t was he who invented that writing
which would pass as child's scraw
unless you just happened to have tn
key to it. Well, Elsie learned some O
our ways, and she couldn't stand uh
business, and she had bit of homes
money of her,own, 80 she gave us al
the slip and got away to London. Sh
had sbeen engaged to me, and sh
would have married ne, believe, if
had taken over another profession
but she would have nothing to do wit
anything on the cross. 1t was onl
after her.marriage to this Englishma
that was able to find out where sh
was. x wrote her, but got no answer
After thattI came oyer, and. as letter
were no use, / put my messages wher
she could read them.
well, l have been here mont
now, lived on that farm, where ha
a room down below, and could get i
and out every night and no one tn
wiser. tried all could to coax Elsi
away.E4I knew that she read the mes
sages, for once she wrote an answe