The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-03-21

On, lne mystery! ne exclaimed, :
coming back with a start to the realities
of life. "Well. it would be absurd to
deny that the case is a very abstruse
and complicated one. but I can promise
you hat / will look into the matter
and let you know any points which may
strike me-
"Do you see any elue?"
you have furnished me with seven,
but. Of course. l must test them be-
fore can pronounce upon their value"
You suspect some one?"
Il suspect myself"
"What!'
"of coming to conclusions too rap
idly"
"Then go to London and test your
conclusions"
Your advice is very excellent, Miss
Harrison said Holmes. rising. az
think, Watson, we cannot do better.
Do not allow yourself to indulge in
false hopes, Mr.. Phelps. The affair is
a very tangled one"
II shall be in a fever until ] see o
again." cried the diplomatist.
well, I'll come out by the same
train tomorrow, though it's more than
likely that my report will be a 8
tive one"
Cod bless you for promising to
come cried our client. "It gives me
fresh life to know nat something is
being done. BY the way. I nave had
a letter from Lord Holdhurst.'
"Ha! what did he say?"
"He was cold. but not harsh. I dare
say mn severe Illness prevented him
from being that. He repeated that the
matter was of the utmost Importance.
and added that no steps would be
taken about my future--by which he
means, of course, my dlsmissal-until
my health was restored and l had an
opportunity of repairing my misfor-
tune"
well. that was reasonable and con-
siderate,' said Holmes. Come, Wat
son. for we ave a good days work be-
fore us in town"
Mr.. Joseph Harrison drove us down
to the station, and we we're soon whirl-
ing up in a Portsmouth train. Holmes
was sunk in profound thought. and
hardly opened his mouth until we had
passed Clapham Junction.
ITS a, very CHEEKY thing to come
into London by any OF these lines
which run high, and allow you to look
down upon the houses like this"
l thought he was joking, for the view
was sordid enough, but he soon ex-
planned himself.
Flock at those big, isolated clumps
of building, rising up above the states,
like brick islands in a lead-colored
sea-
1.-THE bo~ard-schools."
Lighthouses, my boy! Beacons of
the future! Capsules with hundreds of
bright little seeds in each. out of which
will spring The wiser. better England OF
the future. | suppose that man Phelps
does not drink ?"
81 should not hin So
Nor SHOULD /. but we are bound TO
take every possibility into account. The
poor devil has certainly got himself into
very deep water. and it's a question
whether we shall ever be able to get
him ashore. What did you think of
Miss Harrison
"a girl of strong character"
Yes, but she is a good sort, or ! am
mistaken. She and her brother are
the only children of an iron-master
somewhere up Northumberland way.
He got engaged to her when travelling
last winter. and she came down to be
introduced to his people, with her
brother as escort. Then came the
smash, and she stayed on to nurse her
lover. while brother Joseph, finding
himself pretty snug, stayed on, too. I've
been making Il few independent in
q%uiries, you sec. But today must be a
day of inquiries"
my Practise / began.
ooh, If you find your own cases more
interesting than mine" said Holmes,
with some asperity.
Il was going to say that my practise
could get along very well for a day or
two, since it is the slackest time in the
year"
Excellent said he, recovering his
good humcr. '"Then Wen look into this
matter together. l think that we should
begin by seeing Forbes. He can prob
ably tell us all the details we want until
we know from what side tho case is to
be approached"
You said you had a clue
"Vrell, we have several, but we can
only test their value by further in
quiry. The most difficult crime to rack
is the one which is purposeless. Now.
this is not purposeless. Who is
it who profits by it? There is the
French ambassador, there is the Rus
sian. there is whoever might sell it TO
either of these, and there is Lord Hold
hurst"
Lord H%oldhurst!"
"WelI. it is just conceivable that o
statesman might find himself in a po-
sition where he was not sorry TO have
such n document accidentally de-
%stroyed."
4 Not a statesman with the honorable
record of Lord Holdhurst?'
1T is a possibility and we cannot af-
ford to disregard it. We shall see the
noble lord today and find out if he can
tell us anything. Meanwhile I w
already set inquiries on foot"
"Already?"
Eyes, l sent wires from Working sta
ton to every evening paper in Lon
don. This advertisement viii appear
in each of Them
He handed over a sheet torn from q
note book. On it was scrubbed i'm pen
ell: "E1O reward. The number of the
cab which dropped a fare at or about
the door of the Foreign Office in
Charles street at quarter to 10 in the
evening of May %, Apply 221 b., Baker
street"
you are confident that the thief
came in a cab?'