Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-06-21
The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
No. l2 of the Series
ScsNrisbf, l9o4, y 4 Conan Doyle and collisrs
 Weekly) (Cetyvishf, 1905, 5y Mcclure, Phillips 9 Co., [CoNTINuED.l


 It was the body of a tall, well made man about forty years of age. He lay upon his back, his face upturned with his white teeth grinning through his short black beard His two 2 clinched hands were raised above his head, and a heavy blackthorn stick { lay across them. His dark, handsome, aIuiline features were convulsed into spasm of vindictive hatred, which s had set his dead face in a terribly 5 fiendish expression. He had evidently been in his bed when the alarm had broken out, for he wore foppish, em- broidered nightshirt, and his bare feet projected from his trousers. His head F was horribly injured, and the whole s room bore witness to the savage feroc- 3ty of the blow which had struck him down. Beside him lay the heavy poker, bent into curve by the concussion. Holmes examined both it and the inde- scribable wreck which it had wrought.
 He must be a powerful man, this elder Randall" he remarked.
 Yes" said Hopkins. T have some 2 record of the fellow, and he is a rough , customer"
 You should have no difficulty in get ting him."
 Not the slightest. We have been on the lookout for him, and there was some idea that he had got away to America Now that we know that the gang are here I don't see how they can escape. We have the news at every seaport already, and a reward will be offered before evening What beats me is. how5they. could have done SO mad thing knowing that the lady could describe them and that we could not fail to recognize the description
 Exactly. One would have expected that they would have silenced Lady Brackenstall as well.'
 "They may not have realized I sug- gested, that she had recovered from her faint"
 That is likely enough. If she seem- ed to be senseless they would not take her life. What about this poor fel- low, Hopkins? I seem to have heard some queer stories about him.
 'He was good hearted man when he was sober, but perfect fiend when he was drunk. or rather when he was half drunk, for he seldom really went the whole way. The devil seemed to be in him at such times, and he was capa- ble of anything. From what I hear, in spite of all his wealth and his title he very nearly came our way once or twice. There was a scandal about his drenching dog with petroleum and setting it on fire-her ladyship's dog, to make the matter worse-and that was only hushed up with difficulty. Then he threw a decanter at that maid, The resa Wright; there was trouble about that. On the whole, and between our selves. 1t will be a brighter house with out him. What are you looking at now%
 Holmes was down on his knees ex- amining with great attention the knots upon the red cord with which the lady had been secured. Then he carefully scrutinized the broken and frayed end where 1t had snapped off when the bur glar had dragged it down.
 ''Whea this was pulled down the bell in the kitchen must have rung loudly" he remarked.
 No one could hear it. The kitchen stands right at the back of the house"
 How did the burglar know no one would hear it? How dared he pull at . bell rope in that reckless fashion,"
 Exactly. MT. Holmes. exactly. You put the very question which I have asked myself again and again. There can be no doubt that this fellow must have known the house and it's habi.s. He must have perfectly understood that the servants would all he in bed at that comparatively early hour and that no one could possibly hear a bell ring in the kitchen Therefore he must have been in close league with one of the servants. Surely that is evident But there are eight servants. and all of good character"
 .Other things being equal" said Holmes. "one would suspect the one at whose head the master threw de canter And yet that would involve treachery toward the mistress 10 whom this woman seems devoted. Well. vell. the point is a minor one and when 7ou have Randall you will probably .snd no difficulty in securing his ac- compllce. The iady's story certainly seems to he corrobOrated. if it needed corrObor1tiun. hy every detail which we see before usr He walked to the French window and threw t open. There are no signs here. but the ground is iron hard. and one would not expect them. I sec that these can dles in the nantelpiece have heen Eghtei-
 -Yes: t was hy their light and that of the lady's besir0om candle that the burglars saw their way about
 And what did they takeE-
 Well they did not take much-ouiy salf a dozen articles of plate of the sidebosrd Lady BrsckenstaH thinks that they were themselves so disturbed by the death of Sir Eustace that they dbd not rsnSack the house. as they would otherwise have done
 No doubt that Is true. and yet they drank some wine. understand--
 To steady their nerves
 E1actiy- These three glasses upon the sideboard have been uutouchei. I suppose