The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1905-06-29
: BY A. CONAN DOYLE.

tesque and bizarre than dangerous
That a man should lie In wait for and
follow very handsome woman Is no
unheard Ct thing. and II he has so llt
tie audacity that he not only dared not
address her. but even fed from her ap-
proach, he was not a very formidable
assailant The rufian Woodley was a
very different person. but except on one
occasion ne had not molested our client,
and now he visited the house Of Car
ruthefs without intruding upon her
presence. ,ihe max on the bicycle was
dountless q member Of those week end
parties at the han OF which the pub
lican had spoken. but who he was or
what he wanted was as obscure as
ever. Il was the severity Of Holmes
manner and the fact that he Slipped
revolver into his pocket before leaving
our rooms which impressed me with
the feeling that tragedy might prove
to lurk behind this curious train Of
events.
A rainy night had been followed by a
glorious morning, and the heath COW
cred countryside, with the glowing
clumps Of Towering gorse, seemed all
the more beautiful to eyes which were
weary Of tke duns and drabs and slate
grays Of London. Holmes Nn6 / walk.
ed along the broad, sandy road, inhal-
ing the fresh morning air and rejoicing
in the music Of the birds and the fresh
breath Of the spring From a rise Of
the road on the shoulder of Crooksbury
h.. haI L~ta
out from amid the ancient oaks, which.
old as they vgere. were still younger
than the building which they surround
ed Holmes pointed down the long
tract Of road which wound, a reddish
yellow band, between the brown OF the
heath and the budding green of the
woods. Far away, a black dot, we
could see a vehicle moving in our direc-
tion. Holmes gave an exclamation Of
lmpatience.
II have given a margin OF half an
hour" said he III that is her trap
she must be making for the earlier
train. fear, Watson. that she will be
past Charlington before we can possi-
bly, meet her"
From the instant that we passed the
rise we could no longer see the vehicle,
but we FASTENED onward at such a
pace that my sedeptary life began to
tell upon me, and I was compelled to
fall behind. Holmes, however, was al
ways in training for he had inexhaust-
ible stores Of nervous energy upon
which to draw. His springy step never
slowed until suddenly, when he was a
hundred yards in front of me, he halt
ed, and 1 saw him throw up his hand
with a gesture OF grief and despair.
At the same instant an empty dogcart,
the horse cantering the relns trailing,
appeared round the curve Of the road
and ratified swiftly toward us
'Too late, watson; too latew cried
Holmes as l ran painting to his side.
Fool that ! was not to allow for that
earlier train It's abduction, Watson
abducuon Murderl Heaven knows
what! Block the roadl Stop the horsel
That's right. Now, jump in and let us
see If l can repair the consequences OF
my own blunder"
We had sprung into the dogcart, and
Holmes, after turning the horse, gave
it a sharp cut with the whip, and we
few back along the road AS we turn
ed the curve the whole stretch Of road
between the hall and the heath was
opened up. l grasped Holmes arm.
That's the man. ! gasped.
A solitary cycllst was coming toward
us His head was down and his shoul-
ders rounded as he Put every ounce Of
energy that he possessed on to the
pedals He was dying like racer
Suddenly be raised his bearded face,
saw us close 20 him and puI.s5 up,
sprlnging from his machine. That coal
black beard was IN singular contrast
to the pallor Of his face and his eyes
were as bright as II he had fever
He stared at US and at the dogcart;
then a look Of amazement came over
his face
"Hellol Stop therev he shouted.
holding his bicycle to block our road.
where did you get that dogcartf Pull
up. manr' he yelled, drawing a pistol
from his side pocket. Pull up, say,
or, by George. III put bullet into your
horse"
Holmes threw the reins into my lap
and sprsng down from the cart
You're the man we want to see.
Where Is Miss Violet Smith?" he said
IN bis quick, clear way,
That's what I'm asking you. You're
In her dogcart. You ought to know
where she u.s.
"We met the dogcart on the road.
There was no one IN IT, We drove back
to help the young lady"
Good Lord, good Lord What shall
! dor cried the stranger In an ecstasy
Of despair They've got her-that hell
hound Woodley and the blackguard
pars0n. Come, man, come. II you really
are her friend. Stand by me. and Wen
save her, II l have 70 leave my caroass
In Charlington wood.
He ran distracted!y, his pistol IN his
hand, toward gap in the hedge
Holmes followed him. and /, leaving
the horse grazing beside the road, fol-
lowed Holmes.
''This is where they came through,
said be, pointing 10 the marks Of sew
eral feet upon the muddy path. "Hellol
Stop a minute who's this In the
bushY
II was u young fellow about seven
teen. dressed Ike a hostler, with leath-
er cords aud CATERS. He lay upon his
back. bis knees drawn up, a terrible
cut upon his head He was insensi5le.
but alive. A glance at his wound told