Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1905-07-28
BY A. CONAN DOYLE,


can look into It from the road. you see.
That Is about the only bit Of consola-
ton have had today. Lestrade was
not there, but his head constable did
the honors. They had Just found a
great treasure trove. They had spent
the morning raking among the ashes
Of the burned wood pile, and besides
the charred organic remains they hud
secured several discolored metal disks.
! l examined them with care, and there
was no doubt that they were trouser
buttons. even distinguished that one
Of them was marked with the name Of
Hyams. who was Oldacre's tailor. l
then worked the lawn very carefully
for signs and traces. but this drought
has made everything as hard as iron.
Nothing was to be seen save that some
body or bundle had been dragged
through low privct hedge which is In
line with the wood pile. All that, Of
course, fits In with the official theory.
l crawled about the lawn with an
August sun Oh my back, but got up
Mt the end Of an hour no wiser than
before.
"welI after this fiasco I went into
the bedroom and examined that also.
The blood stains We're very slight, mere
smears and discolorations, but I'M
doubtedly fresh. The stick had been
removed, but there also the marks
were slight. There Is no doubt about
the stick belonging to our client. He
admits It. Footmarks Of both men
could be made out on the carpet, but
none Of any third person, which again
is a trick for the other side. They
were piling I'D their score all the time,
and we were ut a standstill.
'.Only one little CLEAN Of hope did
get, and yet 1t amounted to nothing.
l examined the contents Of the safe.
most Of which had been taken out and
left OH the table. Tie papers had been
made up into sealed envelopes, one or
two of which had been opened by the
police. They were not, 80 far as I
could fudge. Of any great value, nor
did the bank book show that Mr.. Old
acre was In such very affluent circum-
stances. But It seemed to me that all
the papers were not there. There
were illusions to some deeds-possibly
the more valuable-which could not
find This. of course, II we could def
nitely provo II. would turn Lestrades
argument aRainst himself. for who
would stenl n thing II he knew that b,
would shortly inherit It?
l
cover and picked no no scent. I tried
INV luck with the bousekeeper. Mrs
Lexington ia her name-a little. dark
silent person. with suspicious and side
long ewes. She could tell MS som.thin.
IL she would. | am convinced Of It
But she was MS close AS wax. Yes. sh,
had let Mr. McFarlnne I'm, at half pas
0. She wished her hand had witheret
before she had done so. She had gon,
TO bed at half past 10. Her room wa,
mt the other end of the house and sh,
could hear nothing of what passed
Mr.. McFarlane had left his hat and, I,
the best Of her belief, his stick In til,
hail. She had been awakened by til,
alarm Of fire. Her poor, dear maste
| Uuu CeTtululy Deen muTutTtu. iluu ~
any enemies? Well, every man ha,
enemies, but Mr.. Oldacre kept himsel
very much to himself and only me
people In the way Of business. She hat
J seen the buttons and was sure tina
they belonged to the clothes which h
had worn last night. The wood pill
was very dry, for 1t had not rainet
J for a month. 1t burned like finder
and by the time she reached the spo
nothing could be seen but fumes. Sh
md all the firemen smelled the burn
ed flesh from inside 1t. She knew
nothing OF the papers nor OF MI. old
acres private Affairs.
80, my dear watson, there's my re
port Of failure. And yet-and YET
3. he clinched his thin hands In par
oxysm Of convictlon-"l know It's III
: wrong. l feel 1t In my bones. Iher
Is something that mas not come Out
and that housekeeper knows II. Iher
/, was sort OF sulky deiiance In ne
7 eyes which only goes Win guilt