Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-06-28


ago." said he. 1T was at The shop OF
Morse Hudson. who has a place for the
sale OF pictures n statues in the Ken
nington Road. The assistant had lef,
the front shop for an instant. when he
heard a crash. and hurrying in he
founda plaster bust OF Napoleon, which
stood with several other works OF art
upon the counter, lying shivered into
fragments. He rushed out into the road,
but. although several passersby de.
clared they had noticed n man run out
of the shop. ne could neither see any.
n nor could ne find any means OF
Identifying the rascal. 1t seemed to be
one of those senseless acts OF Hooligan.
ism which occur from time to time, ant
1t was reported to the constable On the
beat as such. The plaster cast was
not worth more thar a few shillings,
and the whole affair appeared to be toe
childish for any particular investiga.
ton.
The second case. however. was more
serious. and also more singular. 1t oc.
Cured only last night.
I'm Remington Road. and within a
Few hundred yards Of Morse Hudson'e
shop, there lives a well known medical
practitioner. named Or. Barnicot. who
has one of the largest practices upon
the south side of the Thames. His
residence and principal consulting room
Is at Remington Road, but he has a
branch surgery and %dispensary ut
Lower Brixton Road. two miles away
This DR.. Barnicot Is an enthusiastic
admircr Of Napoleon, n his house ia
full of books. pictures and relics Of the
French emperor. Som little time ago
he purchased from Morse Hudson two
duplicate plaster casts of the famous
head of Napoleon by the French sculp-
tor. Devine. One of these he placed in
his hall in the house at Remington
/ Doc o~I t10 ~I0, ~n A.
piece of the surgery at Lower Brixton.
Well, when DR.. Barnicot came down
this morning he was astonished to find
that his house had been burgled DUR
ing the night. out that nothing had
been taken save the plaster head from
the hall. 1t nae been carried out and
had been dashed savagely against the
garden wall. under which It's splintered
fragments We're discovered
Holmes rubbed his hands.
This is certainly very novel; said
he.
~ thought It would pi.ase you. But
I have not got to the end yet. Dr..
Barnicot was due at his surgery at
twelve o'clock. and you can imagine
his amazement when. on arriving there,
he found that the window had been
! opened in the night. and that the
broken pieces of his second bust were
strewn all over the room. 1t had been
sIittSueu W dtoIIlS Wuere IL StOOO. In
neither case were there n signs which
could give US a clew as to the criminal
or unatic who has lone the mischief.
Now, Mr.. Holmes. you have got the
facts"
They are singular. not to say
grotesque,' said Mr.. Holmes May I
ask whether the two busts smashed in
DR.. Barnicot's rooms We're the exact
duplicates of the one which was de-
Stroyed in Morse Hudson's shop?"
They were taken from the same
mould"
Such a fact must :sI against the
theory that the man who breaks them
is influenced by my general hatred of
Napoleon. Considering how many hun-
Gieds of statues of the great emperor
must exist ir London. it is too much to
suppose such a coincidence as that a
promiscuous iconoclast should chance
to begin upon three specimens of the
same bust
We'll / thought as you do" said
Lestrade. "On h other hand, this
Morse Hudson is the purveyo of busts
in that part of London. and these three
were he only ones which had been in
his shop for years. So. although. as you
say. there are many hundreds Of
statues in London, it is very probable
I'm that district. Therefore. a local
fanatic would begin with them. What
do you think, DR.. Watson?"
There are no limits to the possibili-
ties of monomania." 1 answered. There
is the condition which the modern
French psychologists lave called the
'idee fixe.' which may be trining in
plete sanity in every other way. A man
who had read deeply about Napoleon.
or who had possibly received some
hereditary family injury through the
great war, might conceivably form
such an 'idee fiNe' and under its in
fuence be capable of any fantastic out
raCe."
"Tha. went do, my dear Watson"
said Holmes, shaking his head, for no
amount of 'idee fixe' would enable your
interesting monomaniac to find out
where these busts were situated"
We'll. how do you explain it?"
Il don't attempt to do 30. I would
only observe hat there is a certain
method in the gentleman's eccentric
proceedings. For -xample. in DIR.
Barnicot's hall, where a sound might
o u the family. the bust was taken
outside before being broken. whereas
In the surgery. where there was less
danger of an alarm. It was smashed
where 1t stood. The affair seems 3D.
surdly trifling, n yet 1 dare call moth.
ing trivial when I reflect that some Of
my most classic cases have had the
least promising commencement. You
will remember. Watson. how the dread.
full business Of the Abernetty family
was first brought to my notice by the
depth which the parsley had sunk into
the butter upon a hot day. 1 can't at.
ford. therefore. to smile ut YOU three
broken busts. Lestrade. and 1 shall be
very much obliged to you II you will
let me hear of any fresh development
Of SO singular a chain of events"
The development for which my friend
had asked came in a quicker and an
infnifQ1v moro fro OiC Por~, <L.- =.