The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-17


 bed in your room, and if you would be so good as to put it on we should both be extremely obliged
 "rhe dress which I found waiting for me was of a peculiar shade of blue. It was of excellent material. a sort Of blege, but it bore unfnistakable signs of hay- ing been worn before. It could not have been a better fit if I had been measured for it. Both Mir. and Mrs Rucastle ex- pressed a delight at the looks of 1t, which seemed quite exaggerated in it's yehe- l mence. They were waiting for me in the drawingroom, which is very large room, stretching along the entire front of the house, with three long windows reach | ing down to the floor A chair had 5een placed close to the central window, with it's back turned toward it. In this l was asked to sit, and then MT. Rucastle, walking up and down on the other side of the room, began to tell me series Of the funniest stories that l have ever | listened to. You cannot imagine how comical he was, and l laughed until l was quite weary Mrs Rucastle, how ever who has evidently no sense or hu- nor, never so much as smiled, but sat with her hands in her lap, and sad, anxious look upon her face. After an hour or so, MT. Rucastle suddenly re- marked that it was time to commence , the duties of the day, and that l might l change my dress and go to little Edward | in the nursery.
 1.-TWO days later this same performance was gone through under exactly simi- lar circumstances. Again I changed my l dress, again | sat in the window, and again laughed very heartily at the fun ny stories of which my employer had | an immense repertoire, and which he told 1 inimitably Then he handed me vel low-backed novel, and moving my char a little sideways. that my own shadow might not fall upon the page, he begged me to read aloud to him. I read for l about ten minutes, beginning in the heart | of a chapter, and then suddenly in the | middle of a sentence, he ordered me to cease and to change my dress. "You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, | how curious I became as to what the meaning of this extraordinary perform ance could possibly be. They were al- ways very careful, observed, to turn my face away from the window. so that I became consumed with the desire to | see what was going on behind my back. 1 At first 1t seemed to be impossible, but | I soon devised means. My hand-mirror had been broken, so a happy thought | seized me, and l concealed a piece of the | glass in my handkerchief. On the next 1 occasion, in the midst of my laughter, I put the handkerchief up to my eyes, and was ab' with a little management ! | { confess that I was disappointed. There was nothing. At least, that was my first ! impression At the second glance, how | ever, I perceived that there was man ! standing in the Southampton Road, a small bearded man, in a gray suit who l seemed to be looking in my direction. l The road is an important highway, and there are usually people there. This man, however was leaning against the rail- | ings which bordered our field, and was l looking earnestly up. I lowered my handkerchief and glanced at Mrs Ru- castle, to find her eyes fixed upon me with a most searching gaze. She said nothing, but I am convinced that she had divined that I had mirror in my hand and had seen what was behind me She rose at once.
 'Jephro,' said she, there is an im- pertinent fellow upon the road there who stares up at Miss Hunter
 " No friend of yours, Miss HunterT he asked.
 'No I know no one in these parts
 Dear mel How very impertinent Kindly turn round and motion to him to go away
 Surely, it would be better to take no notice.'
 :. No. no. we shuld have him lettering here always. Kindly turn round. and wave him away, like that.
 'I did as l was told, and at the same instant Mrs Rucastel drew down the blind. That was a week ago, and from that time I have not sat again in the window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor seen the man in the road"
 Pray continue," said Holmes Your narrative promises to be a most interest," ing one.'
 You will find 1t rather disconnected. fear, and there may prove to be little relation between the different incidents of which speak On the first day that I was at the Copper Beeches, MT. Rucastle took me to small out-house which stands near the kitchen door. As we approached 1t heard the sharp rat ting of a chain. and the sound as of a large animal moving about.
 Look in here said MT. Rucastle, showing me a slit between two blanks. | Is he not beauty?'
 ..I looked through and was conscious of two glowing eyes. and of vague fig ure huddled up in the darkness.
 l Don't be frightened, said my em- ployer, laughing at the start which had given, Its only Carlo. my mastiff. call him mine, but really old Toller, my groom, is the only man who can do any thing with him. We feed him once day and not too much then, so that he Is al ways as keen as mustard. Toller lets him loose every night, and God help the trespasser whom he lays his fangs upon. For goodness sake don't you ever on any pretext set your foot over the threshold at night for it is as much as your life is worth'
 "The warning was no idle one, for two nights later l happened to look out of my bedroom window about 2 o'clock in