The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-20


The family was at one time among
the richest in England. and the estates
extended over the borders into Berk-
shire in the north and Hampshire in
the west. In the last century, how
ever, four successive heirs were of
dissolute and wasteful disposition, and
the family ruin was eventually com
pleted by gambler in the days of the
Regency. Nothing was left save a few
acres of ground and the 200-year-old
house, which is itself crushed under
heavy mortgage. The last squire
dragged out his existence there. living
the horrible life of an aristocratic pau
per; but his only son, my stepfather,
seeing that he must adapt himself to
the new conditions. obtained an ad-
vance from q relative which enabled
him to take a medical degree and went
over to Calcutta. where. by his profess
sional skill and his force of character,
ne established a large practice In
NJ OF anger, however, caused by some
rCbberies which had been perpetrated
in the house he beat his native butler
10 death and narrowly escaped a CAPT
tai sentence. As il was, he suffered
ii long term of imprisonment and after
ward returned to England moroSe and
disappointed man.
When DIR. Roylott was in India he
married my mother, Mrs. Stoner. the
young widow of Major General Stoner
OF the Bengal artillery. My sister Julia
and were twins, and we We're only
two years old at the time of my moth
er's remarriage. She had a consider
able sum Of mOney-not less than 1 GOO
pounds year-and this she bequeathed
To DR.. RoylOtt entirely while we resided
with him, with provision that a Ger
tain annual sum should be allowed to
each Of us in the event of our mar
rage. Shortly after our return to Eng
lanC my mother ~died-she was killed
eight years ago in a railway accident
near Crewe. DR.. Roylott then aban-
doned his attempts to establish him
self in practice in London and took
Us to live with him iD the old ancestral
house at Stoke Moran. The money
which my mother had left was enough
for all our wants. and there seemed
To be no obstacle i'm cur happiness.
But terrible change came over my
stepfather about this time. Instead of
making friends and exchanging visits
with our neighbors, who had at first
been overjoyed to see a ROylott of
Stoke Moran back in the old family
seat, he shut himself up in his house
and seldom came out. save to indulge
in ferocious quarrels with whoever
might cross his path Violence of tenn
per approaching to mania has been her
editary in the men OF the family, and
in my stepfather'S case it had I be-
lieve. been intensified by his long resi-
dence in the tropics. \ series of dis
graceful braWls took place, two Of
which ended in the police court. until
at last ne became the terror of the
village, and the folks would fly at his
approach, for he is man OF immense
strength and absolutely uncomfortable
I'm his anger.
Last week he hurled the local black
smith over a parapet into stream.
and Il was Qplv bS pay ing over All
the money which | could gather TO-
gether that I was able to avert another
public exposure. He had no friends.
at all save the wandering gypsfes, ana
be would give these vagabonds leave
TO encamp upon the few acres OF oran-
bIe-cOVered land which represent the
family estate and would accept in re-
turn the hospitality of their tents, wan
dering away with them sometimes for
weeks on end. He has a passion also
for Indian animals, which are sent over
to him by a correspondent and he mas
al this moment a cbeetah and baboon,
which wander freely over his grounds
and are feared by the villagers almost
as -cuch as their master
You can imagine from what l say
that my poor sister Julia and l had
no great pleasure in our lives. No SER
want would stay with US. and for
long time we did all the work of the
house. She was but so at the time of
her death. and yet her hair had already
begun to whiten. even as mine has,
Your sister is dead, them?
she died just two years ago. and it
is of her death that I wish TO speak to
you. You can understand that, living
the life which 1 have described, we were
little likely to see anyone of our own
age and position. We had. however,
an aunt my mothers maiden sister.
Miss IIonoria WestD hail. who lives
near Harrow, and we were occasionally
allowed to pay short visits at this
lady's house. Julia went there at
Christmas two years ago and met there
a half pay major OF marines, TO whom
she became engaged My stepfather
learned of the engagement when my
sister returned and offered no objection
to the marriage: but within a fort
night of the day which had been fixed
for the wedding the terrible event Oc-
CURED which has deprived me OF my
only com 9aniOn."
Sherlock Holmes had been leaning
back i'm his chair with his eyes closed
and his head sunk in cushion, but he
half opened his lids now and glanced
across at his visitor
Pray be precise as 10 Details he
said
1T is easy for me to be SO. for every
event Of That dreadful time is scared
into my memory. The mannor house
is as I have already said, very old,
81 only one wing Is now inhabited.
Tine. bed rooms in this wing are on the
ground floor. the sitting rooms being in
the central block Of the buildings. OF
lofts. the second my sisters and the
third my own There is no commune
cation between them. but they all open
out into the same corridor Do L make
myself 2Iain?"
'Perfectly so"
The windows Of the three rooms
open out upon the lawn. That fatal
night DR.. Roylott had gone to his room
early. though we knew that he had not
retired TO rest. for my sister was trou-
bled by the smell of the strong Indian
cigars which IL was his custom TO
smoke. She left her room. therefore.
and came into mine. where she sat for
some time. chatting about her ap-
preaching wedding. At II o'clock she
rose TO leave me. but she paused at
the door and looked sack.
Tell me. Helen. said she have
you ever heard anyone whistle in the
dead OF the night?
Never said 7.
I suppose that yeu could not pos
sibly whistle. yourself, in your sleep?'
Certainly not. But why?'
Because during the last few nights
7 have always, about in the morning
heard "A Tow, clear whistle. J am a
light sleeper. and il has awakened me.
l cannot tell where it came from-per-
haps from the next room. perhaps from
the lawn. ! thought that 1 would just
ask you whether you had heard it