The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1906-03-01
BY A. CONAN DOYLE.



: trust that when sae you I'm No ava,
Ing / viii be able to report mar
S have Deen able TO do something :,
"A this unfortunate youngster, who IN
thrown himself upon my protection"
i II w8s late when my friend ret1rna5
and could see. by a glance Mt hi
I haggGrd and anxious face that III
high hopes With which he had startp,
had rot been Quilted. For an nom, II,
/ dToncd away upon his violin, en6eay.
oTing TO soOtha his own RULED sufrifs
At last he flung down the Instrument
: his m~fea6venru,,as
wrong as IT can go NM a h,1T Ia a.
before Lestrade, but, upon my soul,
believe that for once tie fellow is or
the right track and we ara on the
wrong. All my instincts are one way
and all the facts are the otber, am5
much fea" that British juries have moi
Vet attained that pitch of intelligence
when they will give the preferences n
my theories over LestraGe's facts"
Did You go to EIe~akheath?"
Yes, Watson. I went there, and 7
round very quickly that the late
lamented Oidacre was a pretty con-
siderable blackguard. The father WAS
away in search Of his son. The mother
was at home-a little. fluffy. bIun-eve6
pe.son, in q tremor OF fear and i16i@1o
ton. or course, she would not admit
even the possibility Of his guilt. But
she would not express either surnrisn
or regret over the fate of OIdacro. on
the contrary, she spoke of him with
such bitterness that she was uncon-
5clouSIy considerably Strengthening the
case OF the police, for, OF course. if har
son had heard her speak of the man
IN this fashion, it would p~red!spose him
towards hatred and violence. He was
more i1ke a malignant and cunning ape
IMAM a human being said she, and he
al"ays was, ever since he was a young
man
You knew him at that tIrne?"
said I. LII
Yes. ! knew him well, in fact. he
was an old suitor Of mine. ThanE
heaven that l had the sense to turn
away from him, and TO marry a hetta~
if poorer man. I was engaged to hiyo
Mr.. Holmes, when I heard a shocEing
story of how he had turned a cat looee
III an aTlary, and I was Mortified 81
his brutal cruelty that l would have
nothing more to do with him. She
rummaged in a bureau, and presently
she produced a photograph of a wom-
an, shamefully defaced and mutiI9ted
with a knife. That is my own photo
graph she said. He sent il to mo il,
that state, with his curse, uDOn INV
wedding morning.
"'NNeil,' said l. at least he has for
given YOU nov, since he has left al bir
property to your SON. 80
Neither my son nor I want a,r
thing from Jonas Oidacre. dead Nv
alive!' she cried, with a DrOper snirit
There is a God in heaven. Mr.. Holmes
ana mat same God who has punished
n a wicked man Will show, in dis own
good time, that my sons hands arc
Of his blood
Wen, | tried one or two leads. h,t
could get at nothing which would heir
Dur hypothesis, and several noints
which would make against if. 7 eava
1t UP at last, and off 1 went to Nor
wood.
This place. Deep Dene house. is
Dig modern villa OF staring brick
back in it's own grounds v,ith
laurel-clumped lawn in front Of #
70 the right and som distance hack
the road was the timber yo1.d
which had been the scene Of thc Gro
u rough plan on n leaf Of NV
1ote book. This window on thn laf+
S the one which opens into Oldacre,s
DOM. You can look into # from tbo
Dad, you see. That is about tha oniy
of consolation l have had TODAY
was not there. h,,t his hand
did the honors. They baJ
Hst found a great reasure-trove TO-
ad spent the morninn ~rol;nr 80
he ashes OF the burned wood nile
nd besides the charred ]oreanic rn'
nains they had secured several dis !
olored metal discs. 7 examined +hao, |
+ rn~1 ~.l ,