Evening star., 1905-10-08

mystery and to punish the guilty parties.
Il thank you,'' said the young man, rfs-
ing and pulling on his overcoat. 'You
have given me fresh life and hope. 1 shall
certainly do as you advise"
Do not lose an instant. And, above all
take care of yourself in the meanwhile for
l do not think there can be a doubt that
you are threatened by very real and i'm
minent danger. How do you go back?"
BY train from Waterloo
1T is not yet g. The streets will be
crowded. SO l trust that you may be in
safety. And yet you cannot guard your
self too Closely
II am armed"
That is well. Tomorrow I shall set to
work upon your case
Il shall see you at Horsham. then?"
mo, your secret lies in London. It is
there that 1 shall seek It."
Then | shall call upon you in day. or
in two days, with news as to the box and
the papers l shall take your advice In ev-
cry particular" He shook hands with US
and took his leave Outside the wind still
screamed, and the rain splashed and pat
tered against the windows. This strange,
wild story seemed to have come to US from
amid the mad elements-blown in upon US
like sheet of seaweed in a gale-and now
to have been reabsorbed by them once
more.
Sherlock Holmes sat for some time in
silence. with his head sunk forward and
his eyes bent upon the red glow of the
fire. Then he lit his pipe, and leaning back
In his chair he watched the blue smoke
rings as they chased each other up to the
ceiling.
Il think, Watson he remarked at last,
that of all our cases we have had none
more fantastic than this
save. perhaps. the Sign of Four"
Well, yes Save, perhaps. that. And
yet this John Openshaw seems to me to be
walking amid even greater perils than did
the Sholtos'
But have you" I asked, formed any
definite conception as to what these nerfis
are?"
There can be no question as to their
nature" he answered.
Then what are they? Who is this K. x.
K. and why does he pursue this unhappy
family?''
Sherlock Holmes closed his eyes and
placed his elbows upon the arms of his
chair with his finger-tps together. '"The
ideal reasoner," he remarked, would, when
he had once been shown a single fact in all
its bearings, deduce from it not only all
the chain of events which led up to it, but
also all the results which would follow it.
AS Cuyier could correctly describe a whole
animal by the contemplation of a single
bone, so the observer who has thoroughly
understood one link In series of Incidents.
should be able to accurately state all the
other ones, both before and after. We have
not set grasped the results which the rea-
SON alone can attain to. Problems may be
solved In the study which have baff1ed all
those who have sought a solution by the
aid of their senses To carry the art how
ever. to its highest pitch. 1t is necessary
that the reasoner should be able to utilize
all the facts which have come to his knowl-
edge; and this In itself implies, as you will
readily see, possession OF all knowledge
which. even In these days of free educa-
ton and encyclopedias, Is somewhat rare
accomplishment. 1t is not so impossible,
however. that a man should possess ali
knowledge which is likely to be useful to
him in his work, and this | have endeav-
ored in my case to do. II remember rightly,
you on one occasion, in the early days of
our friendship, defined my limits in very
precise fashion"
yes" I answered laughing. at was a
singular document. Philosophy, astronomy
and politics were marked at zero, I renem-
Der. Botany variable, geology profound as
regards the mudstains from any region
within fifty miles Of town, chemistry eccen-
trio, anatomy unsystematic, sensational
literature and crime records unique, violin
poisoner by cocaine and tobacco. Those, I
think, were the main points of my an
alysis."
Holmes grinned at the last item. ''Wen,'
he said. 81 say now. as said then, that a
man should keep his little brain-attic stock
ed with all the furniture that he Is likely
to use. and the rest he can put away in the
lumber room of his library, where he can
get 1t IL he wants 1t. Now, for such a case
as the one which has been submitted to us
tonight, we need certainly to muster all our
resources. Kindly hand me down the letter K
Of the American Encyclopedia which stands
upon the shelf beside you. Thank you.
Now let us consider the situation, and see
what may be deduced from Ii. In the first
place we may start with a strong preslnp-
ton that Colonel Openshaw had some very