Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-09-28

Iclliiilllleu WIlti iiiodilt, vi lidl I III
mediate effect was to drive the unhap-
Ply woman out of her mind. At pres
ent she is unable to give any coherent
account Of the past, and the doctors
hold out no hopes OF the r~e-establish-
ment of her reason. There is evidence
that a woman, who might have been
Nine. Fournaye, was seen for some
hours upon Monday night watching the
house in Godolphin street"
what do you think of that,
Holmes?" / had read the account
aloud to him, while he finished his
breakfast.
My dear watson" said he, as he
rose from the table and paced UP and
down the room, you are most long
suffering. but if I have told you moth
ing in the last three days, it is be-
aus there is nothing to tell. Ever
now this report from Paris does not
help us much
surely it is final as regards the
mans death"
The mans death is a mere incident
"a trivial episode-in comparison with
our real task, which is to trace this
document and ave a European catas-
trophe. Only one important thing has
happened in the last three days. and
that Is that nothing has happened. !
get reports almost hourly from the gov-
eminent. and it is certain that nowhere
in Europe is there any sign Of trouble.
Now, IL this letter were loose-no, ii
can't be loose-but if 1t isn't loose,
where can it be? Who has it2 Why is
it held back? That's the question that
beats in my brain like a hammer. Was
should meet his death on the night
when the letter Disappeared Did the
letter ever reach him? If so, why is
it not mons his papers? Did this mad
wife of his carry 1T off with her? IL
so, is it in her house in Paris? How
could / search for ii without the French
police having their suspicious aroused?
It is a case. my dear Watson, where the
law is as dangerous to us as the crimi-
nails are. Every mans HAND is against
US, and yet the interests at stake are
colossal. Should | bring ii TO a sue
cessfui conclusion, it will certainly rep
resent the browning glory Of my career.
All, here is my latest from the 'front.'"
He glanced hurriedly at the note which
had been handed in. "Halloa! Les
trade seems to have observed some
thing Of interest. Put on your hat,
Watson, and we will stroll down to-
gether to Westminster"
It was my first visit to the scene
of the crime-a high, dingy, narrow
chested house. prim, formal, and solid,
like the century which gave it birth.
Lestrade's bulldog features gazed out
at us from the front window, and he
greeted us warmly when a big con-
stable had opened the door and let us
in. The room into which we were
shown was hat in which the crime
had been committed, but no trace Of it
now remained, ave al ugly, irregular
stain upon the carpet. This carpet was
a small square drugget in the center OF
the room, surrounded by a broad ex-
panse Of beautiful, old-fashioned wood
flooring in square blocks highly polish
ed. yer the fireplace was q magnif-
CEN trophy Of weapons, one of which
had been used on that tragic night. In
the window was a sumptuous writing
desk. and every detail of the apart
ment, the pictures. the rugs, and the
~hangings, all pointed to a taste which
luxurious TO the verge of effemin-
acy.
seen the Paris news?" asked Les
trade.
Holmes nodded.
Our French friends seem 70 have
touched the spot his time. No doubt
it's just as they say. She knocked at
the door-surpTise visit, l guess, for he
kept his life in water-tight compart-
ments-he let her in, couldn't keep her
in the street. She told him how she
had traced him, ~reproached him, one
81 ~ " GtiACNllNl ILL AilNll v l Via
dagger SO handy the end soon came.
1t wasn't all Ions in an instant, though,
for these chairs were all swept over
yonder, and he had one in his hand as
if he had tried to hold her off with it.
We've got it all clear as If we had seen
it,"
Holmes raised his eyebrows.
And yet you nave sent for me?"
"Ah, yes, that's another matter-a
mere trifle, but the sort of thing you
take an interest in-queer, you know,
and what you might cali freakish. 1t
has nothing to 10 with the main fact
can't have, on the face of it,"
What is it, them"
well, o know, after a crime
of his sort we are very care
full to keep things in their posi-
ton. Nothing has been moved. Of
fcer in charge here day and night. This
morning, as the man was buried and
the investigation over-so far as this
room is concerned-we thought we
could tidy up n bit. This carpet. You
see, it is not fastened down, only just
laid there. We had occasion to raise
1t. We found
Yes? You found
Holmes face grew tense with anx-
iety.
We'll, I'm sure you would never
guess in a hundred years what we did
find. You see that stain on the carpet?
Well, a great lea must have soaked
through, must it not?"
Undoubtedly it must
We'll. you will be surprised to hear
that there is no stain on the whit
woodwork to correspond"
mo STAIN! But there must"
Yes, so you would say. But the
fact remain that there isn't
He took the corner Of the carpet In
his hand and, turning ii over, he show
ed that 1t was indeed as he said.
But the underside is as stained as
the upper. 1t must have left a mark"
Lestrade chuckled with delight at
having puzzled the famous expert.
Now. I'll show you the explanation.
There is a second stain, but it Ices
not correspond wi,a The other. See for
yourself" AS he spoke he turned over
another portion of the carpet, and
there, sure enough. was a great GRIM
son snill % the square white facing
Of the old-fashioned floor. What do
you make of that. Mr.. Holmes?"
why, it is simple enough. The two
stains did correspond. but the carpet
has been turned around. AS it was
square and unfastened it was easily
done"
The official police don't need you,
Mr. Holmes, to tell them that the car
pet must have been turned round.
That's clear enough, for the stains lie
above each other-if you ley X over
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