The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-10-29

Trevor senior was a widower. and my friend his only son.
 There had been a daughter I heard, but she had died of diphtheria while on a visit to Birmingham. The father inter- ested me extremely. He was a man of little culture, but with a considerable amount of rude strength. both physically and mentally. He knew hardly any books but he had travelled far. and seen much of the world, and had remembered all that he had learned. In person he was a thfck-set, burly man, with a shock ol grizzled hair. a brown. weather beaten face. and blue eyes which were keen to the verge of fierceness. Yet he had repu- tation for kindness and charity on the country side, and was noted for the len iency of his sentences from the bench.
 "One evening shortly after my arrival we were sitting over a glass of port after dinner when young Trevor began to talk about those habits of observation and inference which l had already formed into a system, although I had not yet ap. preciated the part which they were--tt play in my life. The old man evidently thought that his son was exaggerating II his description of one or two trivial feats which I had performed.
 Come, now, MT. Homes,' said he laughing good-humoredly, I'm an excel N@A@eFc from me
 "I fear there is not very much, answered. might suggest that you have gone about in fear of some personal at tack within the last twelve-month.'
 "The laugh faded from his lips, and he stared at me in great surprise.
 .''Well. that's true enough, said he You know, Victor turning to his son when we broke up that poaching gang kt.- 1rx.ff IH I pf Holly has actually been attacked. I've always been on my guard since then though l have no idea how you know It.
 You have very handsome stick answered. By the inscription I observed that you had not had it more than a year But you have taken some pains to bore the head of 1t and pour melted lead into the hole so as to make it a formidable weapon. I argued that you would mol take such precautions unless you hat some danger to fear
 Anything else? he asked, smiling.
 You have boxed a good deal in youi youth
 Right again. How did you know 1t Is my nose knocked a little out of tht straight?
 No" said I, it is your ears. They have the peculiar f1attening and thicken ing which marks the boxing man.
 Any thing else?
 " You have done a good deal of dig ging by your callousities. " Made all my money at the gold fields. "'You have been in New Zealand " Right again..
 !" You have visited Japan Quite true '''And you have been most intimatel, associated with some one whose initials were J. A., and whom you afterward were eager to entirely forget
 MT. Trevor stood slowly up. fixed hi large blue eyes upon me with a strang' wild stare, and then pitched forward, witl his face among the nutshels which strew ed the cloth, in a dead faint.
 "You can imagine. Watson, how shock ed both his son and I were. His attacl did not last long, however, for when VI undid his collar, and sprinkled the wa ter from one of the finger glasses over hi face he gave a gasp or two and sat up "'Ah, boys said he, forcing a smile I hope haven't frightened you. Stron as I look there is a weak place in m. heart, and it does not take much t knock me over. I don't know how yoi me that all the detectives of fact and o That's your line of life, sir and you ma! take the word of a man who has seer something of the world
 And that recommendat tion with the ex | aggerated estimate of my ability witt which he prefaced it. was, If you will be lieve me, Watson, the very first thing which ever made me feel that a pro fession could be made out of what hat