The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-02-19
number of books and papers.

number of books and papers.
 "There's the advantage of being a builder" said Holmes. as we came out. He was able to fix up his own little hiding place without any con federate-save, of course, that prec- ious housekeeper of his, whom I should lose no time in adding to your bag, Lestrade."
 'Ill take your advice. But how did you knew of this place. MT. Holmes?'
 T made up my mind that the fel- low was in hiding In the house. When l paced one corridor and found it six feet shorter than the corresponding one below it was pretty clear where he was. I thought he had not the nerve to lie quiet before an alarm of fire. We could of course, gone in and taken him, but it amused me to make him reveal himself besides. 1 owed you a little mystfication, Les trade, for your chaff in the morning"
 Well, sir, you certainly got equal with me on that. But how in the world did you know that he was in the house at all?'
 "The thumb mark, Lestrade. You said it was final and so 1t was. in a very different sense. 1 knew 1t had not been there the day before. I pay a good deal of attention to matters of detail, as you may have observed, and l had examined the hall. and was sure that the wall was clear. There fore, it had been put on during the night"
 But how?"
 "Very simply. When those packets were sealed up, Jonas Oldaere got McFarlane to secure one of the seals by putting his thumb upon the soft wax. It would be done so quickly and so naturally, that 1 dare say the young man himself has no recollection of it. Very likely 1t just so happened and Oldacre had himself no notion of the use he would put it to. Brooding over the case in that den of his, 1t suddenly struck him what absolutely alarming evidence he could make against McFarlane by using that thumb mark. It was the simplest thing in the world for him to take a wax impression from the seal. to moisten it in as much blood as he could get from a pin-prick, and to put the mark upon the wall during the night, either with his own hand or with that of his housekeeper If you examine among those documents which he took with him into his re- treat, I will lay you wager that you find the seal with the thumb-mark upon it."
 Wonderful" said Lestrade. Won derful, It's all as clear as crystal as you put 1t. But what is the object of this deep deception. MT. Holmes?"
 It was amusing to me 10 see how the detectlye's overbearirg manner had changed suddenly to that of child asking questions of it's teacher.
 'Well. l don't think that is very hard to explain. A very deep, ma licious. ylndietive person Is the gem tleman who is now waiting us down. stairs You know that he was once refused by McFarlane's mother? Y You don't I told you that you should go to Blackheath first and Norwood afterwards. Well, this injury, as he would consider it. has rankled in his wicked, scheming brain, and all his life he has longed for vengeance but never seen his chance. During the 5 last year or two, things have gone against him--secret speculation, I think--and he finds himself in a bad way. He determines to swindle his creditors. and for this purpose he pays large cheques to a certain MT. Cor