Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-09-14


One Is that after the second glass RAJ
filled the bottle was violently agitated.
and so the third glass received the
beeswing. That does not ~ppear prob
able. No. no.. / am sure that i am
right"
What, then, do you suppose?"
THAT only two glasses were used.
and that the dregs of both were poured
into a third glass, so as to give the false
impression that three people had been
here. In that way all the beeswing
would be ir h last glass. YOU 1t
not? Yes, / am convinced that this is
so. But If / have hit upon the true ex-
PLANTATION of this one small phenome-
non. then in an instant the case rises
from the commonplace to the exceed
ingly remarkable, for it can only mean
that Lady irackenstall and her maid
l. we deliberately lied to us, that not
one word OF their story is to be be-
lieved, that they have some very strong
reason for covering the real criminal,
and that we must construct our case
for ourselves without n help from
them, That is the mission which now
Ii s before us, and here, Watson, is the
Sydenham train"
The household at the Abbey Grange
were much surprised at our return, u
Sherlock Holmes, finding that Stanley
Hopkins had gone off TO report to head
quarters. took possession of the dining
room. locked the door upon the inside,
and devoted himself for two hours to
one of those minute and laborious in
v~estigations which form the solid basis
on which his brilliant edifices of de-
duction We're reared. Seated in a cor
ner like an interested student who OBJ
serves the demonstration of his profess
Sor. | followed c y step OF that re-
markable research. 7. e window, the
curtains, the carpet, the chair, the
~rope-each in turn was infinitely ex-
amined and duly pondered. The body
Of the unfort nate baronet had been
removed. md all else remained as we
had seen 1t in the morning. 'inally,
to my establishment, Holmes climbed
up on to the massive mantelpiece. Far
above his @ huns, the few inches OF
red cord which were still attached TO
The wire. For a long time he gaZed up
wards at it, and then I'm an attempt TO
get nearer to 1t he rested his knee upon
a wooden bracket on the wall. This
brought his hand within a few inches
Of the broken end Of the rope. but 1t
was not this so much as the bracket
Itself which seemed to engage his at
tention. Finally. he sprang down with
an ejaculation Of satisfaction.
It's all right. Watson" said he. I'VE
have got our case-one of the most re-
markable In our collection. But. dear
me, how slow-witted have been, and
blunder OF my lifetime! Now, I think
that, with a few missing links. my
chain is almost complete"
You have got your men?"
Man. Watson, man. Only one, but
a very formidable person. Strong as
a lion-Nitness the blow that benz that
poker! Six foot three In height, active
as a squirrel, dextcrous with his I'm
gers. finally, remarkably uuick-witted,
for his whole ingenious story is OF his
concoction. Yes, Watson, we have come
upon the handiwork of a very remark
able individual. And yet, in that bells
rope, he has given us a clue which
should not have left us a doubt"
Where was the clue?"
well, IL you were to pull down a
bell-rope, Watson, where would you ex-
pect il to break? Surely at the spot
where it is attached to the wire. Why
should it break three inches from the
top, as this one has done?"
Because il Is frayed there!"
Exactly. This end, which we EAR ex-
anime, is frayed. He was cunning
enough to do tina with his knife. But
the other end is not frayed. You could
not observe that from here, but If you
were on the mantelpiece you would see
that ii is cut clean off without any
mark of fraying whatever. You oan
reconstruct what occurred. The man
needed the rope. He would not tear IL
down for fear Of giving the alarm by
ringing the bell. What did he do? He
sprang up OF the mantelpiece. could
not quite reach it. put his knee on the
bracket-you will see the impression in
the dust-and so got his knife to bear
upon the cord. l could not reach the
place by at least three inches-from
which / infer that ne is at least three
inches a bigger mar h a I. Look at
that mark upon the seat of the oaken
chair! What is it,"
Blood"
Undoubtedly It is blood. This alone
puts the lady's story out of court. If
she were seated on the chair when the
crime was done. how comes that mark.
No. no, she was placed in the chair
after the death of her husband. I'll
wager that the black dress shows q
corresponding mark to this. We have
not yet met u Waterloo, Watson, but
this is our Marengo, for IL begins in
defeat and ends in victory. L should
like now to have a few words with the
nurse. Theresa. We must be wary for
awhile, X We are TO get the informa-
ton which we want"
She was an interesting person, this
stern Australian nurse-taciturn. sus-
picious, ungracious, 1t o or time
before Holmes pleasant manner and
frank acceptance OF all that she said
thawed her into a corresponding amia-
bility. She did not attempt to conceal
her hatred for her late employer.
Continued Next Weekly