The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1906-07-26

passages which bore upon the next
days work. This wllloughby Smith
has nothing against him. either as n
hoy az UppinEham or rs n young man
at Cambridge. I have seen his testl-
moulals. and from the first he was n
decent. quiet. Woodworking fellow. with
NJ weak spot iu him az all. Aud yet
this In the lad who has met his death
his morning In the professor study
under circumstances which can point
only to murder"
Tho wind howlcd ana screamed nj
the windows. Holmes and drew
closer Co the FIRE. while the young In
spcctor slowly and point by point de-
vclopcd hia singular narrative.
III q were 10 search oil England"
said he. II don't suppose you could
find n household more self contained or
frccr from outside influences. Whole
weeks would pass and not one OF them
would go past h garden gate. The
professor was buried In hts work and
existed for nothing else. Young Smith
knew nobody In the neighborhood. and
lived very much as his employer did.
The two women had nothing to take
them from the house. Mortimer. the
gardener. who wheels the bath chair.
II an army p~cnS!oncr-an old Crimcan
man OF excellent character. lie does
not live I'm the house. bat I'm a three
u NNN - 80 VIZ VI 'ANA w
the garden. Those are the only people
that you would find within the grounds
OF Yoxicy old Place. AZ the same time.
n gate OF the garden " "A hundred
yards from the main London To- Chath-
man road. IL opens with a latch. and
there " nothing TO prevent anyone from
walking In.
Now I viii give you the evidence 81
Susan Tarlton. who Is the only person
who can say anything positive about
h matter. II was ~ the forenoon be-
tween lever and twelve. She was en-
gagged at the moment g. hanging some
curtains In the upstairs front bedroom.
Professor Coram was still en- bed. for
when the weather II bad he seldom
rises before midday. The h-uusekceper
was busted with some work Ia the back
OF the house. wIlougkby Smith had
been IN his bedroom. which he uses nS
n sitting room. but the maid heard him
NJ that moment pass along the passage
and descend to the study Immediately
below her. She did not see him. but
she says that she could not be mis-
taken in his quick. firm tread. She did
not hcar the study door close. but n
minute or So later there was "A dreadful
cry IN the room below. II was a Wild.
hoargc scream so strange and unnat-
ural that IL might have come either
from a man or a woman At The same
instant there was a heavy thud. which
shook the old house. and then all was
silence. Tho maid stood rctriled for "a
moment, and then. recovering her our
age. she ran downstairs. The study
dour WINS shut and she opened H.. In
side. young Mr.. willouEhby Smith was
stretched upon the floor. ~ FIRST she
could see no injury. but as ghc tried
To- raise him she saw that the blood
was pouring from h undcrsidc OF his
neck. u was pierced by a very small
but very deep wound. which had d.
yidcd the carotid artery. The iG-trG-
mCnt with watch tho injury had been
inflicted lay upon the carpet bcside
him. II was ono OF those small seal
ing wax knives TO be found on old fash
ioncd writing tables. with an ivory
handle and n stiff blade. II was part
OF the fittings OF the professors own
desk.
AZ FIRST the maid thought Tint
young Smith was already dead. but on
pouring some water from the Carafc
over his forehead he opened his eyes
murmured-it was She The maid Is
prepared To swear that those were the
exact words. lie tried desperately Ia
say somthiug else. and he held his
right and up In the air. Then he fell
back dead.
In the meantime tho hpusckgeper
had also arrived upon the scene. but
she was just too late to catch th.
young mans dying words. Leaving
susan witt the body. she hurried TO
the professors room. He was sitting
up In bed horribly agitatcd for he had
heard enough to convince him tina
something terrible had occurred. Mrs.
Marker ~ prepared To swear that the
professor was stu in his night clothes.
and Indeed ~ was impossible for him
to dress without the help Of Mortimer,
whose orders were to come NJ Twelve
o'clock. The professor declares that he
heard The distau cry. but that he
knows nothing more. He can give no
explanation OF The young man last
words. The profcssor-it was She but
lmugincs that they were the outcome
OF dclirum. He believes that willoughby
Smith had not an enemy in the world.
and can give no reason FOR the crime.
His FIRST action was To send Mortimer.
the gardener. FOR the local police. \
little later the chief constable sent FOR
me. Nothing was moved before / got
there. n strict orders were given that
uo one should awlk upon the paths lead
chance uf putting your theories into
practice. Mr.. Sherlock Holmes. There
waE really nothing wanting"
Except Mr.. Sherlock Holmes" said
my companion. with a somewhat bitter
smile. We'll let us hear about a..
What sort uf a Job dil YOU make al IT,"
Il must ask you nrst. Mr.. Holmes. 10
glance Mt this rough plan. which viii