Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-06-03


this. Have you endeavored to trace
any OF the securities here mentioned?"
INQUIRIES are now being made at
the offices. but l fear that the COM
plete register of the stockholders Of
these South American concerns is in
South America and that some weeks
must elapse before we can trace the
shares
Holmes had been examining the COW
er of the notebook with his magnifying
lens.
Surely there is some discoloration
here" said he.
Yes. sir; it is blood stain l told
you that 1 picked the book of the
floor
WAS the blood stain above or be-
low"
ION the side next the boards"
(which proves. of course, that the
book was dropped after the crime was
committed"
Exactly, Mr.. Holmes. l appreciated
that point, and l coniectured that it
was dropped by the murderer in his
hurried flight. 1t lay near the door"
Il suppose that none of these securi-
ties have been found among the prop
erty of the dead MANI"
NO, sir"
Have you any reason to suspect rob-
berry"
NO, sir. Nothing seemed to have
been touched
teresting case. Then there was a knife,
was there not:"
"A sheath knife, still in its sheath
Ii lay at the feet of the dead man.
Mrs. Carey has identified it as being
her husbands property"
Holmes was lost in thought for some
time.
We'll" said he at last. II suppose l
shall have to come out and have look
at it,
Stanley Hopkins gave a cry of joy.
THANK you. sir. That will, indeed,
be a weight off my mind"
Holmes shook his finger at the in
spectOr.
1T would have been an easier task
week ago" said he. But even now
my visit may not be entirely fruitless
Watson. if you can spare the time l
w 49, ShoN VI jun
If you will call a four wheeler Hop
kins, we shall be ready to start for
Forest Row in a quarter of an hour"
Alighting at the small waysIde sta
ton, we drove for some miles through
the remains of widespread woods
which were once part OF that great for
est which for so long held the Saxon
invaders at bay-the impenetrable
weald for sixty years the bulwark
Of Britain. Vast sections of it have
been cleared, for this is the seat of the
first iron works OF the country, and the
trees have been felled TO smelt the ore.
Now the richer fields of the north have
absorbed the trade, and nothing save
these ravaged groves and great scars
in the earth shows the work of the past.
Here, in a clearing upon the green
slope of hill, stood a long, low stone
house, approached by a curving drive
running through the fields. Nearer the
bushes was a small clubhouse, one win
dow and the door facing in our direc-
ton. 1t was the scene Of the murder.
Stanley Hopkins led us first to the
house, where he introduced us to a bag
gard. gray haired woman, the widow
Of the murdered man, whose gaunt and
deep lined face, with the furtive look of
terror in the depths of her red trimmed
eyes, told of the years of hardship and
Ill usage which she had endured. With
her was her daughter, pale, fair hair
ed girl, whose eyes bIazed defiantly Mt
US as she told us that she was glad that
her father was dead and that she bless
ed the hand which had struck him
down. 1t was a terrible household that
Black Peter Carey had made for him
self. and il was with a sense OF relief
that we found ourselves in the sunlight
again, making our way along a path
which had been worn across the fields
by the feet of the dead man.
The clubhouse was the simplest of
dwellings. wooden walled, shingle roof
cd, one window beside the door and one
on the farther side. Stanley Hopkins
drew the key from his pocket and had
stopped to the lock when he paused
with look Of attention and surprise
upon his face.
Some one has been tampering with
It," he said
There could be no doubt of the fact.
The woodwork was cut, and the
scratches showed white through the
paint. as IL they had been that instant
done. Holmes had been examining the
window
Some one has tried to force this
also. Whoever IL was has failed to
make his way in. He must have been
a very poor burglar
'"This is most extraordinary thing"
said the inspector Il could swear
that these marks were not here yester-
day evening"
Some curious person from the viii
iage. perhaps" l suggested.
Very unlikely. Few of them would
dare To set foot I'm the grounds, far
less try To force their way into the
cabin. What do you think of IT, Mr..
Holiness"
L think that fortune is very kind to
US"
You mean that the person will come
againI7