Omaha daily bee., 1905-08-27

smarting of It recalled in an instant all
the particulars Of my nights adventure.
and l sprang to my feet with the feeling
that I might hardly yet be safe from my
pursuers. But, to my establishment, when
/ came to look round me, neither house
nor garden were to be seen. 1 had been
lying in an angle of the hedge close by
the high-road, and just a little lower
down was long building, which proved,
upon my approaching II, to be the very
station at which 1 had arrived upon the
previous night. Were 1t not for the ugly
wound upon my hand. all that had passed
during those dreadful hours might have
been an evil dream.
Half dazed, went into the station and
asked about the morning train There
would be one TO Reading in less than an
hour. The same porter was on duty, I
found, as had been there when arrived.
1 inquired of him whether he had ever
heard Of Colonel Lysander Stark. The name
was strange to him. Had he observed
carriage the night before waiting for me?
No, he had not. Was there police station
anywhere near? There was one about
three miles of.
'It was too far for me to go, weak and
I'll as l was. I determined to wait until
1 got back to town before telling my story
to the police. 1t was a little past when
I arrived, so 1 went first to have my wound
dressed. and then the doctor was kind
enough to bring me along here. l put the
case into your hands and shall do exactly
what you advise"
We both sat in silence for some little
time after listening to this extraordinary
narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled
down from the shelf one of the ponderous
commonplace books In which he placed
his cuttings.
Here is an advertisement which will
interest YOU" said he, TT appeared In
all the papers about a year ago. Listen
to this: Lost, on the 9th inst. Mr.. Jere-
miah Hayllng, aged twenty-siX. q hydraulic
engineer. Left his lodgings at ten o'clock
at night. and has not been heard Of since.
Was dressed In etc, etc. Ha! That rep
resents the last time that the colonel
needed to have his machine overhauled
fancy"
Good heavensl" cried my patient. Then
that explains what the girl said"
Undoubtedly. II is quite clear that the
Colonel was a cool and desperate man,
who was absolutely determined that nothing
should stand in the way of his little game
like those out-and-out pirates who will
leave no survivor from a captured ship
Well, every moment now is precious, 50
II you feel equal to it, we shall go down
TO Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary
to starting Cor Eyford."
Some three hours OF so afterward. we
were all in the train together, bound from
Reading to the little Berkshire village
There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic
engineer Inspector Bradstreet, Of Scotland
Yard, a plain-clothes man and myself
Bradstreet had spread an ordnance mar
Of the county out upon the seat and wa'
busy with his compasses drawing a crcl,
! with Eyford for its centre
There you are" said he. That circl,
is drawn at a radius of ten miles from
the village The place we want must b'
somewhere near that line, You said tel
miles, l think, sir"
, 1T was an hours good drive"
. And you think that they brought yol
{ back all that way when you were un
e conscious2
They must have done so. I have a con
. fused memory, too, OF having been lifte,
Z and conveyed somewhere"
What l cannot understand" said l. Il
0 why they should have spared you whel
4 they found you lying fainting In the gar
/ den. Perhaps the villain was Softened b,
. the wonan's entreausA."