The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-03-20

ed in the case If YOU are ready We
M start at oucel for Woking and sef
this diplomatist who Is in such evil
case and the lady to whom he die
|tatcs his letters"
We Herc fortunate enough TO catch
an early train at Wateloo and i'm lit
Tie less than an our W found our
selves among the fiT-wOOds and tn"
heather Of Working. BridTbrae proved
cd to be Il large detached house stand
ing in extensive grounds within 4 5c';
minutes walk Of the station. ON send
ing in our cards we were hoWn into
an elegantly appointed drawing room,
where we were joined in a few min
utcs By a rather stout man who re-
ceiVed VI with much hospitality. His
age may have been nearer forty than
thirty. but his checks were 50 rudy.
and his eyes 50 merry that he still
conveyed the impression of Il plump
ana mischicvious boy.
II am 50 slad that you have ome
said he, shaking u hands with eff
fusion. Percy has been cnquiring Tor
YOU all morning. All, poor BID chap.
h" clings to any straw. His father and
his mother asked me to see you, fer
the mere mention of the subject is
very painful to them
we have had no details yet" OBJ
served Holmes. Il perceive that You
yourself are not q member Of the fam
lily
Our acquaintance looked surprised
and thcn glancing down, he began to
laugh.
OF course you saw the J. H. mon
ogram on my locket," said lie. For a
moment | thought you had ono some
thing clever. Joseph Ha"rison is my
name, n as Percy is to marry my
sister Annie. / shall at least be a re-
| l., IL, Nv - - ,Tn Fn NnI, ,,-ilI G11 ~ y
sister in his room, for she mas nurseG
him h~and-and-foot this two months
back. Perhaps we a better go in at
once, for | know how impatient he is
The chamber into which we were
shown was on the same floor as the
drawing room. It was furnished part
ly as a sitting and partly as q hed
room. with flowers arranged daintily
in every nook and corner. a young
man very pale and worn. was lying
upon Il sofa near the open window,
through which came the rich Scent OF
the garden and the balmy summer air
\ woman was sitting beside him, who
rose as we entered.
Shall | leave Percy?' she asked.
He clutched her and to detain her.
How are you, Watson?' said he cor
daily. 4 should never have known
you under that moustache, and / dare
say you would not be prepared tC
swear to me. This, [ presume, is you,
celebrated friend, Mr.. Sherlock
HolmeS?'
| introduced him in a few words and
we both sat down. The stout young
man had left us, but his sister still re-
manned with her hand in hat of the
invalid. She was a striking looking
woman, a little short and thick fol
symmetry. but with a beautiful Olive
complexion. large. dark, Italian eyes
and a wealth of deep, black hair. Her
rich tints made the whole face OF
her companion h more worn and
hagard by the contrast.
Il won't waste your time said he,
raising himself pom the sofa. I'll
plunge into the matter without furth-
c. preamble. | was a happy and sue
ceSSful man, Mr.. Holmes, and on the
eve of being married, when a sudden
and dreadful misfortune wrecked all
my prospects i'll life.
Il w a as Watson may nave old
you, in the Foreign Office, IN through
the influence Of my uncle, Lord told
hurst, | rose rapidly to u re-
sponsible position. When my uncle
became foreign minister in this adj
ministration he gave me several mis-
sions of trust, n as | always brought
came at last to have the utmost conf
dcnce in my ability and tact.
NEARLY ten weeks ago-to be more
accurate, on the Esd of Maybe call
ed me into his private room, and af-
ter complimenting me on the good
work that | had done, he Informed me
that he had a new commission of trust
for me to execute.
This" said he, taking Il gray roll of
paper from his bureau. lis the original
of that secret treaty between England
and Italy of which, | eyre to say,
some runners have already got into
the public press. 1t is OF enormous inn
portance that nothing furthcr should
leak out. The French or the Russian
embassy would pay an immense sum
to learn the contents Of these papers.
They should not leave my bureau were
it not that it is absolutely necessary to
have them copied. You have Il disk in
your office
"'Yes. sir
Then AXE the treaty and lock it
up there. | shall give directions thai
YOU may remain behind when the 9TH
crS so, SO that you may copy it at
your leisure without fear of being over
looked. When you have finished. re-
lock both the original and the draft
in your desk and hand them over to
me personally, tomorroW morning.
Il took the pcpar and
Excuse me an instant. said
Holmes. were you alone during this
conversation
".AbsoIutcly.'
In II large ROOM
Thirty feet each way
"In the ccntcr?"
Yes, about it."
And speaking low
My uncIe's voice is always remark
ably low. / hardly spoke at all
THANK YOU" said Holmes, shutting
his eyes. pray go on y
Il did exactly what he indicated.
and waited until the other clerks had
departed. one OF them in my room.
tCharles Gorot. had some arrears Of
work to make up. 50 | left him there
and Went out to dine. When | return
ed he was one WAS anxious to hur-
Try my work. for | knew that Joseph
the Mr. Harrison whom You saw just
noW-was in town. and that he
would travel down 10 Working by the
eleven o'clock train. II | wanted. If
possible. to catch it.
when | came to examine the trca-
~ | saw ut once that il was of such
Importance that my uncle had been
guilty OF no dSScratlon in what he
ih1,I said NNitInIIf trninU into details