The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-03-12

oSSioiS' IL We-Couid prove bicycle
10 have been in his possession. But
TINS we have utterly failed TO do. This
track. as YOU perceive. was made by
. rider who was soinS from the direc-
ton of the school,.
or towards it2''
No, no. my dear Watson. The more
deeply sunk impression is, OF course,
the hind wheel. upon which the weight
rests. You perceive several places
where II has passed across and Oblit-
Grated the more shallow mark of the
'front.' one II was undou btediy head
ing away from the school. It may or
may not De connected with our inquiry
but we will follow il backwards before
we go any farther"
We did so. and at the end ola few
hundred yards lost the tracks as we
emerged from the DOGGY portion of the
moor Following the path backwards,
we picked out another spot. where
spring trickled across it. Here, once
again. was the mark of the bicycle,
though nearly obliterated by the hOOfS
of COWS. After that there was no sign,
but the path ran right on into Ragged
Shaw. the wood which backed on to
the school. From this wood the cycle
must have emerged Holmes sat down
on a boulder, and rested his chin in his
lands. I had smoked two cigarettes
before he moved.
Well WE'LL said he at last. 'Tt is.
of course, possible that cunning man
might change the tire of his bicycle
- order to leave unfamiliar tracks. A
criminal who was capable of such a
thought is a man whom 1 should be
proud to do business with. We viii
leave this question undecided and bark
hsck to our morasS again, for we have
left 4 good deal uneXplOred."
We continued our systematic survey
OF the edge of the sodden portion of
the moor. and soon our perseverance
vas EloriOusly rewarded. Right across
the lower part of the bog lay a miry
,ath Holmes gave q cry of delight rs
he approached it. An impression like
q fire bundle of telegraph wires ran
down the center OF it. 1t was the Pal
mcr tire.
Here IS Herr Heidegger. sure
erOugh,- cried Holmes. eXultantly.
MY reasoning seems to have been
pretty sound, Watson"
Il congratulate you"
"But we have a long way still to go
Kindly walk clear of the path. Now
let us follow the trail. 1 fear that it
VIII not lead very far"
We found, however, as we advanced,
that this portion of the moor is inter
sected with soft patches, and, though
We frequently lost sight of the track,
we always succeeded in picking it up
once more.
10 YOU observe" said Holmes. that
the rider is now undoubtedly forcing
the pace? There can be no doubt Of
81. Look at this impression, where you
get both tires clear. The one is as deep
as the other. That can only mean that
the rider is throwing his weight onto
the handlebar, as a man does when he
is sprinting. BY Jove, he has had
fail"
There was a broad. irregular smudge
covering some yards of the track
Then there were a few fOotmarks. and
the tire reappeared once more.
"A side Slip." i suggested.
Holmes held up a crumpled branch
of Towering gorse. To my horror,
perceived that the yellow blossoms
were all dabbled with crimson. On the
path. too. and among the heather were
dark stains of clOtted blood
Bad" said Holmes Bad! Stand
clear, watson Not an unnecessary
footstep What do I read here? He
fell wOunded-he stood up-he remount-
ed-he proceeded. But there is no 9TH
er track. Cattle on this side path. He
was surely not gored by bull? I'm
possibleI But 1 see no traces Of any
one else. We must push on. Watson.
Surely. with stains as we'll as the track
to guide us, he cannot escape US now
Our search was not q very long one.
The track of the tire began to curve
Enthusiastically upon the wet and shin
ing path. Suddenly. as / looked ahead,
the CLEAN of metal caught my eye
from amid the thick gorse- bushes. out
of them we dra gged a bicycle. Palmer
tyred, one pedal bent, and the whole
front of it horribly sreared and ElOb-
bered with blood. On the other side of
the bushes, a shoe was projecting We
ran round, and there lay the unfOr-
tunate rider He was tall man, full
bearded. with spectacles. one glass of
Of which had been knocked out.
The cause of his death was Il frightful
blow upon the head. which had crushed
in part of his skull. That he could
have gore on after receiving such an
injury said much for the vitality and
courage Of the man. He wore shoes.
but no socks, and his open coat dis
closed a night shirt beneath it. 1t was
undoubtedly the German master.
Holmes turned the body over rever-
emily. and examined il with great at
tention. He then sat in deep thought
for a time and l could see by his ruff
fled brow that this grim discovery had
not, in his opinion, advanced US much
i'm our inquiry.
1T 10 a little difficult to know what
to do, watson" said he, at last. My
own nclnatiOns are to push this III
quiTy on, for We have already lost so
much time that we cannot afford to
waste another hour. On the other hand
we are bound to inform the police of
the discovery. and to see that this poor
fellows body is looked after
II could take a note back"
But L need your company and as
sistance Wait a bit, There is a fell
low cutting peat up yonder. Bring him
over here. and he viii guide the police"
I brought the peasant across. and
Holmes dispatched the frightened man
with note 10 DIR. HuXtabie.
Now. Watson" said he. we nave
picked up two clues this morning. One
j. the bicycle with the Palmer tyre.
and we sec what that has led to. The
other is the bicycle with the patched
Dunlop. Before we start to investigate
that. let US try to Tealie what we do
know. so as 70 make the most of it.
and 10 separate the essential from the
accidental"
First of all. I wish to impress upon
YOU that the toy certainly left Of his
own free will He got down from his
window and he went off. either alone or
with someone. That is sure"
I assented.
well. now. let US turn to this unfor-
tunate German master. The boy was
fully dressed wheE he fled. Therefore.
he foresaw what he would do. But
the German went without his socks.
He certainly acted On very short no
tice."
Undoubtedly
why did he go? Because. from his
bedroom window he saw the flight of
the boy; because he wished to overtake
him and bring him back. He seized his
bicycle. pursued the lad. and i'm pursu-
ing him met his DEATH
so il would seem