Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-10-05

RrfEDoPrTUH& III llpil Us VI GIL tN IL
E661MNSE ing, and his visits We're
kS9NgEH welcome to Sherlock
Holmes. for they enabled
him to keep in touch with all that was
going on at the police headquarters.
In return for the news which Lestrade
would bring. Holmes was always ready
to listen with attention to the details
of any case upon which the detective
was engaged and was able OCCASION
ally without any active interference to
give some hint or suggestion drawn
from his own vast knowledge and ex-
perience.
On this particular evening Lestrade
had spoken of the weather and the
newspapers. Then he had fallen silent,
Holmes looked keenly at him.
Anything remarkable on hand?" he
asked.
"Oh, no, Mr.. Holmes-nothing very
particular"
''Then tell me about it."
Lestrade laughed.
well. Mr.. Holmes. there is no use
UGLY Liz Cldl ulelt Is SOlueluluS Oh INV
mind. And vet it is such an absurd
business that I hesitated to bother you
about it. On the other hand. although
it is trivial. it is undoubtedly queer.
and know that you have a taste for
sill that is u of the common. But. in
my opinion, it comes more in DR.. Wat
sons line than ours"
"Disease:' sid I.
madness, anyhow. and a queer mad
ness too. You wouldn't think there
was any one living at this time of day
who had such a hatred of Napoleon I.
that he would break any image Of him
that he could see"
Holmes sank back in his chair.
That's no business of NINE" said he.
Exactly. That's what 1 said. But,
then, when the man commits burglary
in order to break images which are
not his own, that brings it away from
the doctor and or to the policeman"
Holmes sat up again.
Burglary. This is more interesting.
Let me hear the Details"
Lestrade took out his official note
OOOh liz lelItSIlcu MS memory from
its pages.
"The first case reported was four
days ago." said he. 1T was at the
shop of Morse Hudson, who has a
place for the sale Of pictures and stat
ues in the Remington road. The as
sistant had left the front shop for an
instant when he heard a crash, and,
hurrying in. he found a plaster bust
Of Napoleon, which stood with several
other works of art upon the counter,
lying shivered into fragments. He
rushed out into the road; but, although
several passersby declared that they
had noticed a man run out of the shop.
he could neither see any one nor could
he find any means of identifying the
rascal. 1t seemed to be one Of those
~senseless acts of HooliganisIn which
occur from time to time, and it was re-
ported to the constable on the beat as
such. The plaster cast was not worth
more than a few shillings. and the
whole affair appeared to be too child
ish for any particular investigation.
"The second case, however. wa more
serious and also more singular. 1t oc-
Cured only last night.
"1n Remington road and within a
few hundred yards of Morse Hudson's
shop there lives q we'll known medical
practitioner named DR.. Barnicot, who
has Il Of the largest practices upon
the south side of the Thames. His res
1dence and principal consulting room is
at Remington road, but he has a
branch surgery and ~dispensary at Low
er Brixton road, two miles away. This
DR.. Barnicot is All enthusiastic admir-
er OF Napoleon, and his house is full
OF BOOKS, pictures md relics Of the
French emperor. Some little time ago
he purchased from Morse Hudson two
duplicate plaster casts Of the famous
head of Napoleon by the French sculp-
tor Devine. One Of these he placed In
his hall in the house at Remington
road and the other on the mantelpiece
OF the surgery at Lower BriXton.
Well, when DR.. Barnicot came down
this morning he was astonished to find
that his house had been burgled dur
ing the night, but that nothing had
been taken save the plaster head from
the hall. 1t had been carried out and
had been dashed savagely against the
garden wall, under which it's splinter
ed fragments We're discovered"
Holmes rubbed his hands.
"This is certainly very novel," said
he.
II thought it would please you. But
I have not got to the end yet. DR.. Bar
nicot was due at his surgery ut IL
O'Clock, aRd you can imagine his amaze
u1ent when on arriving there he found
that the window had been opened In
the night and that the broken pieces
OF his second bust were strewn all over
the room. 1t had been smashed to
atoms where 1t stood. In neither case
there ans signs which could give