Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-07-20

but we FORMED ours yesterday, anu
now 1t proves to be correct, so you
must acknowledge that we have been
q little in front Of you this time, Mr..
Holiness"
you certainly have the air Of some
thing unusual having occurred" said
Holmes.
Lestrade laughed loudly.
You don't like being beaten any
more than the rest of us do" said he.
"a man can't expect always to have
1t his w way, can he. DR.. Watson?
Step this way, If you please, gentle
men. and l think l can convince you
once for all that it was John McFar-
lane who did this crime"
He led us through the passage and
out into a dark hall beyond.
This is where young McFarlane
must have come out to get his hat
after the crime was done," said he.
"Now, look at this" With dramatic
s~uddenness he struck a match and by
its light exposed a stain Of blood upon
the w~hitewashed wall. AS he held the
match nearer l saw that it was more
than a stain. 1t was the we'll marked
print Of a thumb.
Look Mt that with your magnifying
glass, Mr.. Holiness"
Eyes, am doing So"
marks are alike?"
II have heard something Of the kind"
well, then, will you please COM
pare that print with this wax impress
sion Of young McFarlane's right thumb
taken by my orders this morning?"
AS he held the waxen print close to
the blood stain it did not take a mag
nifying glass to see that the two were
undoubtedly from the same thumb. 1t
was evident to me that our unfortunate
client vas lost.
THAT is final" said Lestrade.
"Yes. that is final," 1 involuntarily
echoed.
ut is final" said Holmes.
Something in his tone caught my ear,
and I turned to look at him. An ex-
traordinary change had come over his
face. It was writhing with inward
merriment. His two eyes were shining
like stars. 1t seemed to me that he
was making desperate efforts to re-
strain q c%onvulsive attack of laughter.
Dear me! Dear met" he said at
last. well, now, who would have
thought it? And how deceptive ap-
pearances may be, to be sure! Such
a nice young man to look at! It is q
lesson to us not to trust our own judg,
ment, is it not, Lestrade?"
Yes, some of us are a little too much
inclined to be cocksure, MI. Holiness -
said Lestrade. The mans insolence
was maddening, but we could not re.
sent it.
what a providential thing that this
young mar should press his right
thumb against the wall in taking his
hat from the peg! Such a very natural
action, too, if you come to think Of it,
Holmes was outwardly calm, but his
whole body gave a wriggle Of sup
pressed excitement as he spoke. by
the way, Lestrade, who made this re.
markable discovery"
1T was the housekeeper, Mrs. Lex
ington, who drew the night constables
attention to it,"
where was the night constable?"
"He remained on guard in the bed
room where the crime was committed
SO as to see that nothing was touched"
But why didn't the police see this
mark yesterday"
well, we had no particular reason
to make a careful examination Of the
hall. Besides, it's not in a very promi.
nent place, as you see."
mo, no-of ours not. l suppose
there is no doubt that the mark was
there yesterday"
Lestrade looked at Holmes as if be
thought he was going out Of his mind
I confess that I was myself surprised
both at his hilarious manner and al
his rather wild observation.
81 don't know whether you think that
McFarlane came u Of jail in the
dead Of night in order to strengthen
the evidence against himself" said
Lestrade. II leave it to any expert
In the world whether that is not the
mark Of his thumb"
ut is unquestionably the mark OF
his thumb"
"There, that's enough" said Lestrade
Il am a practical man, Mr.. Holmes
and when 1 have got my evidence
come to my conclusions. If you have
anything to say you will find me writ
ing my report in the sitting room"
Holmes had recovered his equanimi
ty, though 1 still seemed to detect
CLEANS Of amusement in his expires
sion.
Dear me, this is q very sad devel
opment, Watson, is it not?' said he
"And yet there are singular points
about it which hold out some hopes fol-
our client"
II am delighted to hear it." said
heartily. Il was afraid it was all ur
with him"
II would hardly go so far as to say
that, my dear Watson. The fact is thai
there is n really serious flaw in this
evidence to which our friend attaches
SO much Importance
Indeed, Holmes! What is itY'
aI0pIv fhje thot T l,p,,, +bok 49,