The San Francisco call., 1905-03-05

gown which he took from his efhsy.
The old shikari's nerves have not
lost their steadiness. nor his eyes tnelr
keenness," said he, with a lauSn, d
he inspected the shattered forehead OF
his bust.
Plumb in the middle Of the back
or the head and smack through the
brain. lie was the best shot In INDIA
and 1 expect that there are few better
i'll London. Have you heard the
name -
mo. have not
."Well, well, such is fame! But.
then, IL 1 remember right, you had not
heard the name OF Professor James
Moriarty, who had one OF the great
brains of the century. Just give me
down my index of biographies from
the she'll
He turned over the pages lazily.
leaning back in his chair and blow
ing great clouds from his cigar.
My collection OF Ms is a fine one,
said ne. "MOriarty himself is enough
to make any letter illustrious. and
here is Morgan the poisoner, and Mer-
ridew of abominaDle memory and
Mathews. who Knocked out my LETT
canine i'm the waiting-rOom at Charing
Cross. and, finally, here is our friend
OF tonight.
read: Moran. ~ Sebastian, Colonel
Unemployed. Formerly 1st Bengalore
Pioneers. Born London, 1S4e- Son
OF Sir Augustus Moran, C.B.s once
British Minister TO Persia Educated
Elton and Oxford. Served in Jowaki
Campaign. Afghan Campaign. Char
asiab tdespatches). Sherpur, and Ca
bull Author of Heavy Game Of the
Western Hinalayas' Q3S1); Three
Months in the Jungle C1SSD. Address:
Conduit street. Clubs: The Anglo-In-
dian, the Tankerville, the Bagatelie
Card Club"
On the margin was written in
Holmes precise. hand: THE second
most dangerous man in London" ~.
This is astonishing" said / as I
handed back the volume. The mans
career is that OF an honorable soldier
TT is true" Holmes answered. Up
to a certain point he did well. He was
always a man OF iron nerve and the
story is still told in India how be
crawled down drain after a wounded
man-eating tiger. There are some
trees, Watson, which grow TO a GER
tain height and then suddenly develop
some unsightly eccentricity. You VIII
see 1t often in humans. I have
theory that the individual represents In
his development the whole procession
of his ancestors, and that SUCH sud-
den turn to good or evil stands Tor
some strong influence which came into
the line of his pedigree. The person
0COOAAAC1B
history OF his own family. go
1T Is surely rather fancifuf."
We'll, i don't insist upon 1t. What
ever the cause, Colonel Moran began
to so wrong. Without any open scan
dal he still made India too hot to hold
him. He retired. came to London and
again acquired an evil name. 1t was
at this time that he was sought out
by Professor Moriarty, to whom for a
time he was chief Of the staff Mo-
riarty supplied him literally with
money and used him only in one or,
two very high-class jobs. which no or
dinary criminal could have undertaken.
You may have some recollection of the
death of Mrs Stewart Of Lauder in
1881 Not? Well, I am sure Moran was
at the bottom of il, but nothing could
be proved. So cleverly was the colonel
concealed that even when sthe Moriarty
gang was broken uD we could not. In
criminate him. You remember at that
date, when 1 called upon you In your
rooms, how I put up the shutters for
fear OF air-guns? No doubt you
thought me fancfful. / knew exactly
what / was doing, for / knew of the
existence of this remarkable gun and
I knew also that one OF the best shots
IN the world would be behind it. When
we were In Switzerland he followed US
with Moriarty and it was undoubtedly
he who gave me that evil five min-
utes on the Reichenbach ledge.
You may think that 1 read the
papers with some attention during my
sotourn in France on the lookout for
any chance OF laying him by the heels
So long as he was free in London my
gife would really not have been worth
living. Night and day the shadow
would have been over me and sooner
or later his chance must have come.
What could I do? / could not shoot
him at sight or should myself be IN
the dock. There was no use appealing
to a magistrate. They cannot inter-
fere on the strength Of what would
appear to them to be wild suspicion.
So could 40 nothing. But / watched
the criminal news, knowing that soon
er or later / should get him. Then
came the death Of this Ronald Adair-
My chance had come at last. knowing
what I did, was it not certain that
Colonel Moran had done it? He had
played cards with the lad. he had fol-
lowed him home from the club, he had
shot him through the open window.
There was not a doubt of it. The bull
let's alone are enough to put his head
in a moose. i came over at once.
was seen by the sentinel. who would,
/ knew, direct the colonePs attention 10
my presence. He could not fail TO con-
meet my sudden return with his crime,
and to be terribly alarmed. I was
sure that he would make an attempt
to get me out OF the way at once and
would bring round his murderous
weapon for that purpose. / left him
an excellent mark in the win
dow, and having warned the police
that they might be needed-by the
way, Watson, you spotted their pres
ence in that doorway with unerring ac-
curaey-I took I'D what seemed to me
to be judiciOus post for observation.
never dreaming that he would choose
e 60 III II
dear Watson, does anything remain for
me to explain?
Yes" said /. You have not made
1t clear what was Colonel Moran's mo-
tive in numbering the Honorable Ron
aid Adair?" 81.
''Ah. my dear Watson, there we come
into those realms of conjecture, where
the most logical mind may be at fault
Each may form his own hypothesis
on the present evidence, and yours is
as likely to be correct as mine.'
You have formed one them"