Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1905-08-19
KED UP HIS HUNTING CROP AND STRUCK NAPOLEON

nesses. It is simply to say that yol
| transfer every possible right that yol
ever had in the bust to me. I am ;
methodical man, you see, and you nev
| er know what turn events might tak'
| afterward. Thank you, Mr.. Sandeford
Here is your money, and l wish you
very good evening"
| When our visitor had disappeared
Sherlock Holmes movements wer'
such as to rivet our attention. He be
gan by taking a clean white cloth from
! a drawer and laying it over the table
Then he placed his newly acquired bus
in the center of the CLOTH. Finally h
picked up his hunting crop and strucl
Napoleon a sharp blow on the top o.
the head. The figure broke into frag
ments, and Holmes bent eagerly ovel
! the shattered remains. Next instant
with a loud shout of triumph, he held
up one splinter, in which a round, dark
object was fixed like a plum in a pud-
ding
Gentlemen" he cried, "let me intro
duce you to the famous black pearl of
the Borgias."
Lestrade and 1 sat silent for mo-
ment, and then, with spontaneous
impulse, we both broke out clapping,
as at the we'll wrought crisis Of a play.
A flush of color sprang to Holmes pale
ho ~ 10
master dramatist who receives the
homage of his audience. 1t was at
such moments that for an instant he
ceased to be a reasoning machine and
betrayed his human love for admiration
and applause. The same singularly
proud and reserved nature which turn
ed away with disdain from popular no
toriety was capable Of being moved to
its depths by spontaneous wonder and
praise from a friend.
Eyes, gentlemen" said he, sit is the
most famous pearl now existing in the
world, and it has been my good for
tune, by a connected chain of induc-
tive reasoning, to trace it from the
Prince of Colonna's bedroom at the
Dacre hotel, where it was lost, to the
interior of this, the last of the six
busts Of Napoleon which were manu-
featured by Gelder & Co. of Stepney.
You will remember, Lestrade, the SEN
sation caused by the disappearance OF
this valuable jewel and the vain efforts
of the London police to recover it. L
was myself consulted upon the case,
but l was unable to throw any light
of the princess, who was an Italian,
and it was proved that she had
brother in London, but we failed to
trace any connection between them.
The maids name was Lucretia Venue
ci, and there is no doubt in my mind
that this Pietro who was murdered
two nights ago was the brother.
have been looking up the dates in the
old files Of the paper, and find that
the disappearance of the pearl was
exactly two days before the arrest of
Beppo for some crime of violence-an
event which took place in the factory
of Gelder & Co. at the very moment
when these busts were being made.
Now you clearly see the sequence of
events, though you see them, of
course, in the inverse order to the way
in which they presented themselves
to me. Beppo had the pearl in his
possession. He may have stolen it from
Pietro, he may have been Pietros con-
federate, he may have been the go
between of Pietro and his sister. 1t is
of no consequence to us which is the
correct solution.
''The main fact is that he had the
pearl, and at that moment, when it was
on his person, he was pursued by the
police. He made for the factory in
which he worked, and he knew that he
had only few minutes in which to
conceal this enormously valuable prize,
which would otherwise be found on
him when he was searched. Six plas-
ter casts Of Napoleon were drying in
the passage. One of them was still
soft. In an instant Beppo, a skillful
workman, made a small hole in the
wet plaster, dropped in the pearl and
with few touches covered over the
aperture once more. 1t was an adj
mirabIe hiding place. No one could
possibly find it. But Beppo was con
demned to Il years imprisonment and
in the meanwhile his six busts were
scattered over London. He could not