The San Francisco call., 1905-05-07

motives are, or what exact part you
play In this strange business ] am not
yet able to say. In a few minutes
shall probably hear 1t from your own
lips. Meanwhile / will reconstruct
what is past for your benefit, 80 that
You may know the information which
still require.
"a lady yesterday entered your
study. She came with the Intention OF
possessing herself Of certain documents
which were in your bureau. She had
Key of her own. have had an op-
portunity of examining yours. and do
not find that slight discoloration which
the scratch made upon the var
nish would have produced. You
were not an accessory therefore and
she came. so far as can read the evil
dence. without your knowledge to rob
YOU"
The professor blew cloud from his
lips. This is most interesting and in
structive." said he. Have you no more
to add Surely. having traced this lady
SO far, you can also say what has be-
come OF her."
"I will endeaver to do so. In the
first place she was seized by your sec
retary and stabbed him in order to
escape. This catastrophe l am in
clined to regard as an unhappy acci-
dent, for am convinced that the lady
had no intention of inf1icting SO grtev-
Gus an injury. An assassin does not
come unarmed. Horrified by what she
had done, she rushed wildly away
from the scene of the tragedy. I'm
fortunately for her. she had lost her
glasses in the scuffie. and as she was
extremely short-sighted she was really
helpless without them. She ran down
a corridor, which she imagined to be
that by which she had come-both
were lined with cocoanut mating
and 1t was only when 1t was too late
that she understood that she had
taken the wrong passage and that her
retreat was cut off behind her. She
could not remain where she was. She
,must go on. She went on. She mounted
a stair, pushed open a door, and found
herself in your room."
The old man sat with his mouth
open, staring wildly at Holmes.
Amazement and fear were stamped
upon his expressive features. Now,
with an effort, he shrugged his shoul-
ders and burst into insincere laughter.
'An very fine, Mr.. Holmes" said
he. But there is one little flaw in
your splendid theory. / was myself
in my room, and I never left 1t dur
ing the day"
st am aware Of that. Professor
Coram."
"And you mean to say that I could
lie upon that bed and not be aware
that woman had entered my room?"
II never said so. You were aware OF
it. You spoke with her. You recog-
nized her. You aided her to escape"
Again the professor burst into high
keyed laughter. He had risen to his
feet and his eyes glowed like embers.
You are madi" he cried. You are
talking insanely. I helped her to es-
cape? Where is she now?"
"She is there" said Holmes, and he
pointed to a high bookcase in the cor
ner of the room.
] saw the old man throw up his arms,
a terrible CONFUSION passed over his
grim face, and he fell back in his chair.
At the same instant the bookcase at
which Holmes pointed swung round
upon a hinge, and woman rushed out
into the room. "You are right" she
cried, in strange, foreign%voice. You
are right! / am here
She was brown with the dust, and
draped with the cobwebs, which had
come from the walls of her hiding
place. Her face, too, was streaked with
CRIME, and at the best she could never
have been handsome, for she had the
exact physical characteristics which
Holmes had OWNED, with, in addition,
long and obstinate chin. What with
her natural blindness, and what with
the change from dark to light, she
stood as one dazed, blinking about her
to see where and who we were. And
yet, in spite of all these disadvantages,
there was certain nobility in the wo-
mans bearing-a gallantry in the de-
fiant chin and in the upraised head,
which compelled something Of respect
and admiration.
Stanley Hopkins had laid his hand
upon her arm and claimed her as his
prisoner, but she waved him aside gent
ly, and yet with an overmaster-
ing dignity which compelled obedience.
The old man lay back in his chair with
a twitching face. and stared at her
with brooding eyes.
Yes, sir, I am your prisoner" she
said. From where I stood / could
hear everything, and I know that you
have learned the truth. confess 1t
all. It was / who killed the young
man. But you are right-you who say
it was an accident. I did not even
know that 1t was a knife which held
in my hand. for in my despair /
snatched anything from the table and
struck at him to make him let me go.
1t is the truth that 1 tell
Madam" said Holmes, II am sure
that it is the truth. / fear that you
are far from WE'LL"
She had turned dreadful color. the
more CHASTITY under the dark dust
streaks upon her face. She seated her
self on the side of the bed; then she re-
sumed.
"I have only a little time here" she
said, "but / would have you to know
the whole truth. l am this mans wife.
He is not an Englishman. He Is q
Russian. His name I will not tell"
For the first time the old man stirred.
"God bless you, Anna!" he cried. God
bless you'
She cast a look of the deepest disdain
in his direction. why should you
cling so hard to that wretched life Of
yours, Sergius?" she said. ut has done
harm to many, and good to none-not
even to yourself. However. it Is not
for me to cause the frail thread to be
snapped before Gods time. I have
enough already upon my soul since.
crossed the threshold of this cursed
house Rut I must speak or I shall be
too late.
II have said. gentlemen. that am
this mans wife. He was fifty and a
foolish girl cf twenty when we mar
ried. 1t was In a city of Russia, uni
yersity-I will not name the place."
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