Evening star., 1905-10-08


however, have already gained publicity
through tho papers, and otAers have not
offered a field for those peculiar qualities
which nv friend possessed in so high de-
gree, and which 1t Is the object of these
paDers to Illustrate. Some, too, have baf-
fed his analytical skill, and would be, as
narratives, beginnings without an ending,
while others have been but partially cleared
up, and have their explanations founded
rather. upon conjecture and surmise than
on that absolute logical proof which was SO
dear to him. There is. however, one OF
these last which was SO remarkable in It's
details and so startling in its results that
1 am tempted to give some account OF 1t,
in spite of the fact that there are points
in connection with it which never have
been, and probably never will be, entirely
cleared up.
The year 81 furnished us with long
series Of cases OF greater OF less interest,
Of which l retain the records. Among
my headings under this one twelve months
l find an account of the adventure of the
ParadOI chamber of the Amateur Mendl-
cant Society who held a luxurious club
in the lower vault of furniture warehouse,
of the facts connected with the loss or the
British bark Ssphy Anderson, of the slngu-
lar adventures of the Grlce Pattersons In
the Island of Una, and hnally of the Cam
berwel poisoning case In me latter, as
may be remembered, Sherlock Holmes was
able. by winding up the dead mans watch
10 prove that it had been wound UP two
hours before, and that therefore the de-
ceased had gone to bed within that time
q deduction which was of the greatest i'm
portance in clearing up the case. All these
l may sketch out at some future date, but
none of them present such singular features
as the strange train of circumstances
which have now taken up my pen to de-
scribe.
1t was In the latter days of September
and the equinoctial gales had set in with
cxcetional violence. All day the wind had
screamed and the rain had beaten against
the windows so that even here in the heart
of great, handmade London we were forced
TO raise our minds for the instant from the
routine OF life, and to recognize the pres
enCe of those great elemental forces which
Shrek at mankind through the bars OF his
civilization. Ike untamed beasts in a cage.
As evening drew in, the storm grew higher
and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed
like a child In the chimney. Sherlock
Holmes sat mOOdily on one side of the fire.
place Cross-indeXing his records of crime,
while l at the other was deep in one of
Clark Russells fine stories, until the
howl of the gale from without seemed to
blend with the text, and the splash of the
rain to lengthen out into the long swash of
the sea waves. My wife was on a visit to
her mothers for a few days was dwell
er once more in my old quarters at Baker
street.
Why said I, glancing up at my COM
panion, that was surely the bell. Who
could come tonight? Some friend of yours,
perhaps?"
Except yourself I have none" he an
swered. Il do not encourage visitors"
"A client. them
"If so, 1t Is a serious case. Nothing less
would bring man out on such day and
at such an hour. But l take 1t that it is
more likely to be come crony of the land
lady's."
Sherlock Holmes was wrong in his con-
lecture, for there came a step In the pas
sage and tapping at the door. He
stretched out his long arm TO turn the lamp
away from himself and toward the vacant
chair upon which a newcomer must sit.
Come In" said he.
The man who entered was young, some
two-and-twenty at the outside, we'll
groOmed and trinity clad. with something
of refinement and deicacy in his bearing.
The steaming umbrella which he held in his
hand and his long. shining waterproof told
of the fierce weather through which he had
come. He looked about him anXiously IN
the glare of the lamp, and I could see that
his face was pale and his eyes heavy, like
those of a man who is weighed down with
some great anxiety.
I owe you an apology he said, raising
his golden pince nez to his eye. II trust
that I am not intruding. fear that
have brought some traces OF the storm
and rain into your snug chamber"
Give me your coat and umbrella" said
Holmes. They may rest here on the hook
up from the southwest, | see"
Yes, from Horsham.'
That clay and chalk mixture which I
see upon your toe caps is quite distinc-
Il have come for advice"
That is easily got
And help"
That is not always so easy"
L have heard Of you, Mr.. Holmes. l
heard from Major Prendergas how you
saved him in the Tankerville Club scan
dal."
"Ah. of course. He was wrongfully ac-
cused Of cheating at cards"
He said that you could solve anything
He said too much"
That you are never beaten
7 have been beaten four times--three
times by men and once by a woman.
But what Is that compared with the
number OF your successes
1T is true that l have been generally
successful"
I beg that you will draw your chair up
to the fire and favor me with some details
to your case.
TT Is no ordinary one
None OF those which come to me are. L
am the last court Of appeals
And yet l question. sir, whether, in all
your experience, you nave ever LtSteAeG eSt 10 10
OF events than those which have happened
in my own family.
you I'll me with interest said Holmes.
pray give US the essential facts from the
COMMENCEMENT. and l can afterward ques-
ton you as 10 those details which seem to
me to be most important
The young man pulled his chair up and
pushed his wet feet out toward the blaze.
My name" said he. lis John Openshaw,
but my own affairs have. as far as l can
understand It. little to do with this awful
business II Is a hereditary matter, so in
order to give you an idea of the facts must
20 back TO the commencement of the AFFAIR.
You must know that my grandfather
had two sons-my uncle .4Iias and my IA
ther Joseph. My father had small fac
tory at Coventry which he enlarged at the
time OF the invention of bicycling. He was
the patentee Of the Openshaw uubreakable
tire and his business met with such success
that he was able to sell II anu to retire upon
a handsome competence,
My uncle Elias emigrated to America
when he was a young man, and became
planter In Florida, where he was reported
to have done very well At the time of
the war he fought In Jackson's army, and
afterward under Hood, where he rose TO be
a colonel When Lee laid down his arms
my uncle returned 10 his plantation.
where he remained for three or four years.
About 1863 or 1870 he came back to
Europe and took a small estate in Sussex.
10 baI