The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-05-24
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
Original e Great lad A Famous
! Author, A. Conan Doyle, Famous


establishment. Now that you call it
to my mind, he answered, 'Brunton did
ask me about the height of the tree
some months ago, In connection with
some little argument with the groom.
| "This was excellent news, Watson,
for it showed me that / was on the
right road. I looked up at the sun. 1t
was low in the heavens, and >calcu-
| lated that in less than an hour it would
lie Just above the topmost branches OF
the old oak. One condition mentioned
in the Ritual would then be fulfilled.
And the shadow Of the elm must mean
wise the trunk would have been chosen
as the guide. I had. then, to find
where the far end of the shadow would
fall when the sun was just clear of the
oak.''
"That must have been difficult,
Holmes, when the elm was no longer
''Well, at least I knew that if Brun-
ton could do it I could also. Besides,
there was no real difficulty. I went
with Musgrave to his study and whit
tied myself this peg, to which I tied
this long string with a knot at each
yard. Then I took two lengths Of a
and [ went, back with my, client to
where the elm had been. The sun was
just grazing the top of the oak. I fas-
tened the rod on end, marked out the
direction of the shadow, and measured
it. It was nine feet in length.
"Of course the calculation now was
a, simple one: If a rod of six feet
sixty-four feet would throw one of
ninety-six, and the line of the one
would of course be the line of the
other. I measured out the distance,
which brought me almost to the wall
Of the house, and I thrust peg into
the spot. You can imagine my exulta-
tion, Watson, when within two inches
of my peg I saw a conical depression
in the ground. / knew that it was the
mark made by Brunton in his measure
ments. and that I was still upon his
trail.
"From this starting point I pro-
ceeded to step, having first taken the
cardinal points by my pocket compass.
Ten steps with each foot took me along
parallel with the wall of the house, and
again l marked my spot with a peg.
: east and two to the south. 1t brought
me to the very threshold Of the old
, door. Two steps to the west meant
now that | was to go two PAGES down
the stone-fagged passage, and this was
the place indicated by the ritual.
"Never have I felt such cold chill
of disappointment, Watson. For a mo-
;. be some radical mistake in my calcu-
lations. The setting sun shone full
, upon the passage floor, and [ could see
, that the old, foot-worn gray stones
!, with which it was paved were firmly
cemented together, and had certainly
not been moved for many long year.
:, Brunton, had not been at work here
! | tapped upon the floor, but it sounded
! the same all over, and there was no
= sign of any crack or crevice. But, for
! tunately, Musgrave, who had begun to
] appreciate the meaning Of my proceed.
I 1ngs, and who was now as excited as
: myself, took out his manuscript to
s check my calculations.
v And UNDER he cried. you have
l omitted the "and under.'''
> 81 had thought that it meant that
we were to dig, but now, of course, l
y saw at once that I was wrong. 'There
, is a cellar under this, then?' [ cried.
Il Yes, and as old as the house
!, Down here, thru this door,
4 "We went down a winding stone
e STAIR, and my companion, striking g
@ match, lit a large lantern which stoo(
d on a barrel in the corner. In an in
O slant it was obvious that we had al
e last come upon the true place, and that
/, we had not been the only people t.
( visit the spot recently.
t cit had been used for the storag,
t. of wood, but the billets, which had evi
a IDENTIFY been Uttered over the floor, wer,
It now piled at the sides, so as to leave
!; clear space in the middle. In thi.
u space lay a large and heavy fagstont
to which a thick shepherd s check muf
L fier was attached
"By Jove!n cried my client
. THAT'S Brunton s muffler. have seer
- it on him, and could swear to it. Wha
J has the villain been doing here7'
e AT my suggestion a couple of thu
" country police were summoned to b,
It present, and 1 then endeavored to rails,
the, stone, by pulling on the cravat.
- could only move it slightly, and i
was with the aid Of one Of the con
# rying it to one side. A black hol,
yawned beneath, into which we al
it peered, while Musgrave, kneeling a
the side, pushed down the lantern.
q "a small chamber about seven fee
IL deep and four feet square lay open t,
= 4 us. At one side of this was squat
= brass bound wooden box, the lid O.
d who was hinged upwards, will
u this. curious old-fashioned key pro
d 1furrerd outside b. by az thick la We
. of dust, and damp and worms hat
!" eaten thru the wood, so that crop o
T livid fungi was growing on the insid
OF it. Several discs of metal, old coin
,e apparently, such as / hold here, wer
!. scattered over the bottom of the box
% but it contained nothing else.
d At the moment, however, we ha
lie no thought for the old chest, for .ou
eyes were riveted upon that whic
# crouched beside it. 1t was the fgur
e Of a man, clad in suit of black, VIII
y squatted down upon his hams with hi
forehead sunk upon the edge of tn
er box and his two arms thrown out o
Is each side of it. The attitude had draw
N all the stagnant blood to the face, an
- no man could have recognized that dis
torted iver-colored countenance; blu
q his height, his dress, and his hair wer
"a all sufficient to show my client, whe
IS we had drawn the body up, that it wa
n indeed his missing butler He had bee