The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-10-26

young man was imprisoned, and like
his hero, Holmes, he acted on the spur
of the moment, hurried to an express
and was soon on the scene of action.
Bringing to bear the famous
Holmes system OF deduction Sir; Ar
thur went to work on the case with
an energy that would have thrilled his
hero's Boswell, CDR. Watson" I'll
wasn't long before he had something
to work on, and presently he knew
that Edalji could not have committed
the crimes with which he was charg
ed. It was perfectly simple, yet an
parently conclusive point.
At his first meeting with Edalji the
latter peered at him steadfastly an
though trying to see through a fog
and when Sir Arthur extended his
hand the young man CROPPED for a
moment in the air before he could
grip the novelist's fingers.
'sNear-sighted," said the real "Sher
lock Holiness" almost blind"
And such was the case. Edalji had
been a close student all his days, and
he did not realize that his eyes, never
naturally strong, were growing weak.
er and weaker. Sir Arthur, himself a
physician, ordered specatcles for his
protege. Then, as he thought it over.
he realized what his discovery meant
How could a man who was almost
sightless, to whom the world appeared
as in a mist, steal across moor, bog
and field on the darkest nights, creep
upon horses in the pasture, or find
his way into a stable, slash the ami
mails after the manner Of the Great
Wyrley fend, and then steal noiseless.
ly away into the dark? How could
such a man find his way over streams
and bitches without a slip or a false
step to betray him?
If Sir Arthur had any doubt of his
clients innocence, this development
removed the last trace of it.
Then began the battle between the
real sherlock Holmes and his thee.
ries, and the stern law which called
for facts as loudly and as insistently
as ever did Mr.. Gradgrind. There
were sneers for Sir Arthur; he was
called dreamer" "idle theorist,'' and
even Crank" The secretary of state
for home affairs, before whom he car.
ried the case, snubbed the authorize.
tective, and other government officials
followed suit.
But Sir Arthur had much of the pub
lie with him, and so great became the
popular clamor that after Edalji had
served three years, the home. secre
tary, Mr.. Herbert Gladstone, an.
nounced that the crown would "par
don" the young man. So Edalji got
out of prison with a pardon, but not .
vindication; he was free, but he could
obtain no satisfaction for the years he
had spent in Jail.
Edalji, with Sir Arthurs aid, then
began a. fight to clear his name and
recover damages for false imprison
ment. But the government was obdur
ate. A pardon" was all Edalji could
get.
Then, like thunderbolt from 81
clear sky, came the news that the
Great Wyrley flasher" was at work
again. And this time Edalji was q
hundred miles away at the hour the
outrages were committed. Sir Arthur
had prophesied when he was arguing
with the government, that the slash
er" would return, and that Edaljl
would then have an absolute alibi
Time has indicated his client.
At last the officials made an arrest
of a suspect at Wolverhamton. There
wasn't anything very important abou!
this arrest itself, for the prisoner il
not supposed to be the man wanted
and Sir Arthur has theory that
points vastly different way. But II
did show absolutely that the polica
were ready to admit that Edalji had
been wrongfully accused, and that Sill
Arthur was right in his protestations
of his clients innocence.
That Edalji will get the compensa,
ton he seeks for false Imprisonment
and full restoration Of his rights, no
one doubts. Meanwhile Sir Arthur
may prevail upon his friend, DR.. Wat
son, to tell another story of the real
Sherlock Holmes"
In an interview the other day on the
Edalji case Sir Arthur said:
There is no doubt In my mind that
the crimes of 1903 and 1907 were com
mitted by the same man. When at
Great Wyrley, where, by the way, no
body knew me, traced back the his.
tory Of the whole miserable business
to personal vengeance. For reasons
which need not go into there were
two brothers who hated Eda1ji like
poison. One Of them Els now dead; the.
other, who is still alive, appears to
me, speaking as a medical man, to be
a type of the malignant degenerate.
HE undoubtedly is mailman. His
particular mania might be called cru.
ETY. to animals. 1t is sort of blood
lust, and well known to students Of
the psychology Of crime. It can be
seen frequently in children who do
fendish things to animals and BIRDS
Should the Wolverhamton suspect
prove his innocence it is quite likely
that the police, now thoroughly hum.
bled, will seek out Sir Arthur and take
up his once despised theory Of the
mailman, even as they Endorsed his
efforts by deciding to make the first
| arrest