The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1906-03-01
BY A. CONAN DOYLE.
CssysssAt. 1905.
By Aecisrs. Phillips q Co.

trust that when ! sec you Ia the even
Ing | viii be able To report that
have pccn able to do something for
this unfortunate youngster. who has
thrown himself upon my protection"
IL was late when my friend returned.
and I could see, by a glance nj his
haEgard and anxious face that the
high hopes with which he had started
had not been fulfilled. For an hour he
droned away upon his vieffu. endeas-
oring 20 soothe his own FufIicd spirits.
At last he flung down the instrument.
and plunged Into "A detailed account OF
his mlsadventuTcs.
It's all going wrong. Watson-all as
wrong AS IL can go. kept n bold face
before Lcstrade. but. upon my soul.
believe that for once the fellow IN on
the right truck and we are on the
wrong. All my instincts are one way.
and all the facts are the other, and i
much fea- that British juries have not
yet attained that pitch OF intelligence
when they Will give the preference to
my theories over Lesttade's facts"
Did you 20 To- Blenkhcath"''
Yes. Watson. I went there. and i
found very quickly that the late
lamented Oidacre was a pretty con-
siderable BLACKBOARD. The father was
away In search OF his son. The mother
was at home-a little, fluffy. blue-cyed
ton. or course. she would not admit
even the possibility OF his guilt But
she would not express either surprise
or regret over the fate or Oldacrc. on
the contrary. she spoke OF him with
such bitterness that she was uncon-
sciously considerably strengthening the
case OF the police. for. OF course. IL her
son had heard her speak OF the man
In this fashion. IL would predispose him
towards hatred and violence. He was
more like n malignant and cunning ape
than n human being said she, and he
always was. ever since he was young
man
"'You knew him At that tIme:''
said I.
was an old sutton OF mine. Thank
heaven that had the sense 20 turn
away from him. and to marry n better,
| III poorer man. 1 was engaged TO him,
MIR Holmes. when I heard n shocking
story OF how he had turned a cat loose
In an nviary, and I was Mortified 1T
his brutal cruelty that would have
nothing more TO do with him. She
rummaged In a bureau. and presently
she produced n photograph OF n wom-
an. shamefully defaced and mutilated
with a knife. That IL my own photo
/ graph she said. He sent IL Co me In
| that state. with his curse. upon my
wedding morning.
well said l. at least he has for
| given you now. Cince he has left all his
| property To your SON.
Neither my son nor I want any
thing from Jonas Oldacre. dead or
| alive,' she cried. with n proper spirit.
| There Is a God In heaven. Nr. Holmes.
| and that same God who has punished
| that wicked man viii show. In His own
good time. that my sons hands are
| guiltless OF his blood
| Well. l tried one or two leads, but
could get at nothing which would help
! our hypothesis. and several points
| which would make against IL. ! gave
IL up at last, and OF l went To Nor
wood.
This place. Deep Dene house. II a
/ big modern villa OF staring brick
standing back In it's own grounds. with
\ "A laurel -clumpcd lawn in front OF H.
To the right and some distance back
from the road was the timber yard
which had been the scene 81 the IRE
Here's "a rough plan on leaf OF my
note book. This window on the left
IL the one which opens into OldaCre's
/ room. You can look into IL from the
road. you see. That IL about the only
bit OF consolation I have had today
Lcstradc was not there. but his head
constable did the honors. They had
Just found "a great treasure-trove. They
had spent the morning raking among
the ashes OF the burned wood pile
and besides the charred organic re.
mains they had secured several dis.
colored metal discs. l examined then
with care. and there was no doub
that they were trouser buttons. I ever
distinguished that one OF them wa
marked with the name OF Hyams' whc
worked the lawn very carefully for signi
and traces. but this drought has made
everything as hard as iron. Nothing
was To be seen save that some bod,
or bundle had been dragged through
low privet hedge. which In I'm n line
with the wood pile. All that. OF course
fits In with the official theory.
crawled about the lawn with an Aug
ust sun on my back, hut got up ut thu
end OF an hour no wiser than before.
Well. after this nasco I went int,
the bed room and examined that also
The blood stains were very slight. meT,
smears and discolorations. but un
doubtedly fresh. The stick had beet
removed. but there also the marks wer
slight. There IL no doubt about tn
stick belonging To our client. He adj
mlts H. Footmarks OF both men Couli
be- made out on the carpet. but non
OF any third person, which again II
> trick for the other side. They wrr
pilIng up thei- score all the ;ime. an
, we were Mt staudstiil.
only one little gleam % hope al
" I gct-aud yet IL amounted To nothinI
= examined the contents OF the SAT,
most OF which had been taken out an
{ left on the table. The papers had bee
!, made up into sealed envelopes, one q