The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-16

p ficnlt for me, out of sucf wealth of material, to se- lect the cases which are
 most interesting in them
 selves, and at the same time most conducive to a display of those peculiar powers for which my !. friendswas famous. As l turn over the pages, see my notes upon the re- pulsivelstory of the red leech and the terrible death of Crosby, the banker. Here also l find an account of the Addleton tragedy. and the singular contents of the ancient British bar TOW. The famous Shit Mortimer suc-
 eession case comes also within this period, and so does the tracking and arrest of Huret the Boulevard assas- | sin-aD exploit which won for Holmes an autograph letter of thanks from ! the French President and the Order of the Legion of Honor Each of these would furnish a narrative. but on the whole I am of opinion that none of them unites so many singular points of interest as the episode of Yoxley old Place, which includes not only the 1amentable death of Young Will 1oughby Smith, but also those subse- auent developments which threw SO curious light upon the causes of the crime.
 IL was Wlfuy UlBnlt toward the close of November Holmes and I sat together in silence all tho evening, he engaged with a powerful lens decipherng the remains of the original inscription upon q palimpsest, l deep in recent treatise upon surgery. Outside the wind howled down Baker street, while the rain beat fiercely against the windows. It was strange there. in the very depths of the town. with ten miles of mans handiwork on every side of us to feel the iron grip of nature, and to be con- scious that to the huge elemental forces all London was no more than the molehills that dot the fields I walked to the window, and looked out on the deserted street. The occ9 sional lamps gleamed on the eXpanse of mud dy road and shining pavement. single cab was splashing it's way from the Oxford street end.
 Well, Watson. it's as well we have not to turn out tonight" said Holmes, laying aside his lens and rolling up the palimpsest. i've done enough for one sitting. It Is trying to work for the eyes, So far as l can make out, it Is nothing more exciting than an abbey's accounts dating from the sec ond half of the fifteenth century Hal 1oai ha1loal halloal Whats this?'
 Amid the droning of the wind there had come the stamping of a horses hoofs, and the long grind of a wheel as it rasped against the curb. The cab which 1 had seen had pulled up at our door
 "What can he want?' I calculated, as man stepped out of 1t.
 ''Want? He wants LIS. And me, my poor Watson want overcoats and era VII 1 man ever invented to fight the wealth CT. Wait bit, though! There's the cab off again! There's hope yet. He'd have kept 1t if he had wanted us to come. Run down. my dear fellow and open the door for all virtuous folk have been long in bed"
 When the light of the hall lamp fell upon our midnight visitor I had no difficulty in recognizing him. It was young Stanley Hopkins, a promising detective. in whose career Holmes had several times shown very practical interest.
 "1s he in?' he asked, eagerly.
 Come up, my dear sir" said Holmes voice from above. T hope you have no designs upon us such night as this.'
 The detective mounted the stairs, and our lamp gleamed upon his shin ing water proof. l helped him out of it. while Holmes knocked a blaze out the logs in the grate.
 Now, my dear Hopkins, draw up and warm your toes,' said he. Heres a cigar, and the doctor has a prescrip- tion containing hot water and a lemon which is good medicine on a night like this. It must be something inn portant which has brought you out in such a gale"
 Tt Is. indeed MT. Holmes. I've had bustling afternoon, l promise you. Did you see anything of the YoXley case in the latest editions?"
 i've seen nothing later than the fifteenth century today"
 well, it was only a paragraph, and all wrong at that, so you have not missed anything. l haven't let the grass grow under my feet It's down in Kent, seven miles from Chatham and three from the railway line. l was wired for at three-fifteen, reached Yoxley Old Place at five, conducted my investigation. was back at Charing Cross by the last train, and straight to you by cab."
 (Which means. I suppose, that you are not quite clear about your case?"
 Ut means that I can make neither head nor tail of it. So far as I can see, it is just as tangled a business as ever I handled, and yet at first 1t seemed so simple that one couldn't go wrong. There's no motive, MT. Holmes. That's what bothers mel can't put my hand on a motive. Here's man dead-there's no denying that but, so far as I can see no reason on earth why anyone should wish to harm him."
 Holmes lit his cigar and leaned back in his chair.
 Let us hear about it." said he.
 "Tve got my facts pretty clear.'
 said Stanley Hopkins. All 1 want now Is to know what they all mean. The story, so far as l can make it out, is like this: Some years ago this country house, Yoxley Old Place, was taken by an elderly man, who gave the name of Professor Coram. He was an invalid keeping his bed half the time and the other half bobbling round the house with stick or being pushed about the grounds by the gar dener in a bath chair. He was well liked by the few neighbors who called upon him. and he has the reputation down there of being a very learned man. His household used to consist of an elderly housekeeper Mrs. Mar ker, and of a maid, Susan Tarlton. These have both been with him since his arrival, and they seem to be wo- men of excellent character. The pro lessor Is writing a learned book, and he found 1t necessary, about year ago, to engage a secretary. The first two that he tried were not successes, but the third, MT. Wiloughby Smith. a very young man straight from the university, seems to have l-en just what his employer wanted. His work consisted in writing all the morning to. the professors dictation, and he usu- ally spent the evening in hunting up references and passages which bore upon the next days work. This Will loughby Smith has nothing against