The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1906-08-02
ny A. CONAN DOYLE
Cspyrishs. 1905.
By Mcclure. PAiiiies a Co.

n NAAh III VII w 'hIFAA W ~ VI
happens 10 be this knife. strikes nj him
In order Ia make him let go his hold.
The blow is a fatal onc He falls and
she escapes. either with or without
the object for which she has come. Is
Susan. the maid. there Could anyone
have got away through that DOR after
tie time h "A you heard the cry. Su-
sam"
$50. sir. II Is impossible. Before I
got down the stair. I'd have seen any
one In the passage. Besides. the door
never O ened. or I would have heard
IT,"
THAT settles tina exit. Then no doub,
the lady wcn "a the way she came.
I understand that this other passage
leads only To the professors room.
There " no exit hat 'ay?"
No. SIR"
I'VE shall go down u and make tho
acquaintance OF the professor. Halloa,
Hopkins. this is very important. very
important indeed. The professors cor
ridor Is also lined with mat
ting
We'll. sir. what OF thatT"
Don't YOU see any bearing upon the
case? We'll well. l don't insist upon II.
No u | am wrong. And yet IL
seems To me To Do suggestive. Come
with me and introduce me-"
We passed down the passage. which
was or the same length ns hat which
led to- the garden. At the end was a
short flight OF steps ending In n door.
our guide knocked. and then ushcrcd
us into the professors bedroom.
II was n very large chamber. lined
with innumeTuble volumes. which had
~ovcrflowed from the shelves and lay In
piles In the corners. or were stacked
All oun NJ the base OF the cases. The
bel was In the center OF the room, and
in u, propped up with pillows. was the
owner OF the house. l have seldom
seen n more remarkable looking per-
son. IL was a gnunt. aquil!ne face
which was turned towards us. with
piercing dark eyes. which luri;cl I'm
deep hollows under overhung and
tufied brows His hair and beard were
white. save that the latter was curious
~ staiucd with yellow around his
mouth. a cigarette gluwed amid
the tanglc of white hair. and
The air OF the room was fetid
Win stale tohacco-Smokc. As he held out
hts hand TO Holmes. I perceived that a.
was also stained with yellow nicotine.
"A smoker. Mr. Holmcs?' said he.
speaking IN wcll-choscn English. with n
curious little mincing accent. PRAY tako
a c!Rnrct. And you. siTF I can recon-
mend them. for I havo them especially
prepared by Ion!dcs. OF Alexandria. He
sends me n thousand at n time. and I
grievc 20 say that ! have TO arrange for n
fresh supply every fortnight. BAD. sir.
very bad. but an old man has few pleas
urcs. Tobacco ana my w~ork-thai In all
that IL left TO me-"
Holmes had lNt n %clgarci. and was shoot
Ing little darling glanccs all over tho
room.
Tobacco and my work. hut now oniy
tobacco" the old man exclaimed. Alas!
what n fatal Interruption Who could have
forcsccn such n terrible catastrophe? SO
cst.mablc n young mar l assure you
that. after a few months training he was
an admirable assistant. What do you
thirk OF the matter. Mr.. Holmss%'
II have not yet made up my mind"
II shalt indeed h" Indebted To YOU n YOU
can throw "A llght where all IS so dark
10 uS. To n poor hookworm and Invalid
like myself such a blow II ~TiralyzinE. I
seem io have lost the faculty Of thought.
Eut YOU are a man OF action-you are a
man Of affairs. IL IL part Of the everyday
routine oi your lifc. You can preserve
your balance IN every emergency. We are
fortunate. indeed. IN having you at our
side"
Holmes waR pacing up and down ono
sld" % the room whilst the old professor
WAS talking. | observed that h. was
smoking with extraordinary rapidly. 10
~ - AA'ftA AlAA ~ titANfA hNE NHnA y IN
inE for the fresh AlDNaudriuu clgarrts.
yes. SIR. % - a crushing blow. " raId tho
old man. That H. my mngnum opus-'hc
pile % papers on the side table yoHd,r.
IL 81 my analysts OF tho documents found
In the Coptic mcnastcrics % syria and
Egypt. - work which will cut deep az the
very foundation ~ revealed religion. with
my rnfccbl-d health 7 do not know whoih-
Cr I shalt cycr be- able - complete IL. now
FNaT UaHa L.H 49, -. 90
re. D,r- me, A'r. i%lclrr,s. why. YOU are
cy,a q quicl"r rTckcr than l am myself"
I]u;fgcs agi cl.
- GA a roarn.-rcar." f.id h.. taking
emo her Cl.ar,t from the huN-hlH fourth
and lrht.rs g gr,m 10, Sub 81 that, which
he hal finished. II win not trouble you
with ans ln.r,ay REORGANIZATION. Pro-
fstEUr Coran. f.acc I gather that you
N,rr IN bed a. "a" t!Tar or the crime. and
could know n.'hrg ABOUT q. { would only
S.. has. Nult d. you lmag!u" that this
luEr f.l.5" meant ny his last words. Tho
prD., .g1r-l; vas sh-'."
The gspsors1e hook his head.
susan ~ 81 country Elrl." said ~. land
yau know IN" Incredible stupidity ~ that
y.aG9. ! fancy ,hat the poor fellow muir
wHyrI some !ncnhcrcnt. iclIrious words.
aId ,rg, shr twisted them into this mean
,-s,,.g Ul,sgaSc.'
20 sr". You have no explanation your.
re- 90 The tragedy"
Possibly an accident. possibly only
breath" 10 among ourFolv's-a suicide.
Young Non hayc their hidden ~tr0utl,g-
s..s, u.a!s 81 the heart. perhaps. which
~ haze rv,"r knowu. 1; is a more prob
a.ic superstition 'han murder"
"Iu' iEc oy,.gllssos?'
".H. ! am only "a Studcui-a man 81
GfrauT. l cannot explain the practical
things 81 life. hut E,lll. W. arr aware.
EiranE" shapes. lty all means take an
one appryrIat" them so. \ fan. q glove.
giassca-who knows what article may hc
carried as a token or treasured when =
man puts au end To- his life This gentle
man spglkr Of footsteps TN the grass. hut
after all. q o. easy 20 hc mistaken on such
a point. 81 10 the knife. 10 might wei u"
thrown FAR from the unfortunate man as
~ f.ll. Il ~ possible that | speak rs q
child. but to m- it seems hat wil3uuEhhy
Smith mas met hts fate hy his own hand"
Holmes seemed struck by the theory
thus pat forward. AMI be- continued 90
walk up and down Tor some time. LOST iu
thought ana consuming clEarct after
clgarUt.
Tell mo. Professor Coram." he said at
last. what 10 iu that cupboard Ia the bu-
rcaug'
Nothing that would help a th,ef. Fam
lly papers. letters from my poor wlf'. u!-
piomas of uuNcrsitos which have done
me honor. Here u the koy. You can look
Tor yourself
Holmes pirkcA W IN" key. and looked
at il Tor Au instant. then he handed 10