The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-09-24

with sundials and papers. l shall take
no notice of such nonsense
81 should certainly speak to the
police / said.
And be laughed at for my pains.
Nothing of the sort.
Then let me do SOP
NO, I forbid you. 1 won't have a
fuss made about such nonsense
"It was in vain to argue with him,
for he was a very obstinate man.
went about, however, with a heart
which was full of forebodings.
ION the third day after the coming
of the letter my father went from
home to visit an old friend of his, Ma
jor Freebody, who is in command OF
one of the forts upon Portsdown Hill.
was glad that he should go, for it
sc emad to me that he was farther
from danger when he was away from
home. In that, however, l was in
error. Upon the second day of his
absence | received a telegram from
the Major, imploring me to come al
once. My father had fallen over one
of the deep chalk-pits which abound
in the neighborhood, and was lying
senseless, with a shattered skull.
hurried to him, but he passed away
without having ever recovered his
consciousness. He ha1 as it appears,
been returning from Fareham in the
twilight, and as the country was un-
known to him, and the chalk-pit un-
fenced, the jury had no hesitation in
bringing in a verdict of Death from
accidental causes. Carefully as / ex-
amined every fact connected with his
death, / was unable to find anything
which could suggest the idea of mur-
der. There were no signs of violence,
l1n a1lx
of strangers having been seen upon
the roads. And yet / need not tell
you that my mind was far from at
ease, and that | was wellnigh certain
that some foul plot had been woven
round him.
in this sinister wa I came into
my inheritance. You will ask me why
did not dispose of it? answer be-
cause I was well convinced that our
troubles were in some way dependent
upon an incident in my uncle's life,
and that the danger would be as press
ing in one house as in another
1T was in January, 'S5 that my poor
father met his end and two years and
eight months have elapsed since then.
During that time l have lived happily
at Horsham, and / had begun to hope
that this curse had passed away from
the family, and that it had ended with
the last generation. / had begun to
take comfort too soon, however; yes
terday morning the blow fell in the
very shape in which it had come upon
my father"
The young man took from his waist
coat crumpled envelope. and, turn
ing to the table, he shook out upon
it five little dried orange pips.
'This is the envelope" he continued.
hn 1.ly iC OF
division. Within are the very words
which were upon my fathers last
message: X. K. X; and then Put
the papers on the sundial.'"
What have you done?" asked
Holmes.
Nothing
Nothing? p.
ITO tell the truth"-he sank his
face into his thin, white hands-'I
have felt helpless. / have felt like
one of those poor rabbits when the
snake is writhing towards it. / seem
to be in the grasp of some resistless,
iEeXorable evil, which no foresight and
no precautions can guard against
Tut! tut" cried Sherlock Holmes.
You must act, man, or you are lost.
Nothing but energy can save you. This
is no time for despair
Il have seen the police
"Ah!"
But they listened to my story with
smile. l am convinced that the in
spectOr has formed the opinion that
the letters are all practical jokes, and
that the deaths of my relations were
really accidents, as the jury stated,
and were not to be connected with
the warnings"
Holmes shook his clenchpd hands in
a le,f IL
q led.
''They have, however, allowed me a
= lieeman. who lazy remain in the
hoLse with ne"
Has he come with you tonight p
mo. His orders We're to stay in
the house."
Again Holmes raved in the air.
why did you come to me?" ne
said; "and, above all, why did you not
come at once ?"
II did not know. 1t was only to-
gast about my troubles, and was ad-
vised by him to come to you
1T is really two days since you had
the letter. We should have acted be-
fore this. You have no further evil
dence, l suppose, than that which
you have placed before us-no sug-
gestive detail which might help us?"
Ihere is one thing" said John
Openshaw. He rummaged in his
coat pocket, and drawing out a piece
of discolored blue-tinted paper, he
laid it out upon the table. 81 have
some remembrance" said he, that on
the day when my uncle burned the
papers l. observed that the small,
unburned margins which lay anil
the ashes were of this particular color.
| found this single sheet upon the
floor of his room, and l am inclined
to think that it may be one of the
papers which has, perhaps, fluttered
out from among the others, and in
that way has escaped destruction.
Beyond the mention of pips, | do not
see that it helps much. I think my
self that it is a page from some pri-
vate diary. The writing is undoubted
ly my uncles.
Holmes moved the lamp, and We
both bent over the sheet of paper,
which showed by its ragged edge that
it had indeed been torn from a book
1t was headed, March, 1862" and
beneath were the following enigmat-
ical notices:
18th. Hudson came. Same old
platform.
9TH. Set the pips on McCauley,
Paramore. and John Swain, of st.