The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-11-14

ever, half asleep, with his lcng. thin
FORM curled up in the recesses of his
armchair \ formidable array OF bot
ties and tes-tubes, with the Duncent
cleanly smell of h~ydrochloric acid.
told me that he had spent his day in
the chelnical work which was so dear
to him.
Well have YOU solved it," 1 sked.
as / entered.
Yes. 1t was the b~isuphate OF
baryta."
No. no, the mystery cried.
on, that I thought of the salt that
/ nave been working upon. There
was never any mystery in the matter.
Ihough. as I said yesterday. some Of
the details are of interest. The only
drawback is tina there is no law. +
Tear, that can touch the scoundreI"
VINO was he, then. and what was
ms object in deserving Miss Suther-
land?"
n question was hardly out of my
mouth, and lolrnes had not Yet open
ca his lips 10 reply, when we heard a
aeaFy football in the passage, and a
tap at the door.
This is the girls s~tep-father. Mr..
James Windibank." said Holmes.
He has written me to say TIA he
would be here at six. Come in"
h man who entered was a sturdy.
middle-sized fellow. some thirty years
OF age. clean shaver, and sallow
skinned with a bland, i~nsinuating
manner. and a pair OF wonderfully
sharp and penetrating gray eyes.
lie shot a questioning glance at each
OF US, placed his shiny top hat upon
the side-board. and with a slight bow
sided down into the nearest chair.
'G~Ood-eVening, MI. james Windi-
bank said Holmes. L think that
this typewriter letter is from you,
in which you made an appointment
with me for six o'clock?n
Yes, sir. l am afraid that am
q little late, but / am not quite my
w master, o know. / am sorry
that Miss Sutherland has troubled you
about this LATHE matter, for l think
1t is far better not to wash linen of
the sort in public. It was quite
against my wishes that she came, but
she is a very excitable, impulsive
girl. as you may have noticed, and
she is not easily controlled when she
has made UP her mind on a point.
OF course, l did not mind you so
much, as Q are not connected with
the official police, but it is not pleas
this noised abroad. Besides, it is a
useless expense, for how could you
possibly find his Hosmer Angelo"
ION the contrary" said Holmes,
quietly; Il have every reason to be-
lieve that [ will succeed in discover
las A%1i ok ZtIIStl.
Mr.. Windibank gare Il violent start,
and dropped his gloves. 4 am de-
lighted to hear it," he said.
1T is a curious thing" remarked
Holmes. that a typewriter has really
quite as much individuality as a
quite new, no two of them write
exactly alike. Some letters get more
worn han others, and some wear
only on one side. Now, you remark
in this note Of yours. Mr.. Windi-
bank. that in every case there is some
little slurring over OF the e. and q
slight defect III the tail OF the r
There are fourteen other character
tstics, but those are the more OBJ
vious."
we do all our correspondence with
this machine at the office, and no
doubt it is a little worm" our visitor
answered, CHANGING keenly at Holmes
with his bright little eyes.
And now ] viii show you what is
really a very interesting study, ar.
Windibank," holmes continued. II
think Of writing another little mono-
grap pin some of these days on the type
writer and its relation to crime. It
is a subject to which have devoted
some little attention. l have here
four letters which purport to come
from the missing man. They are al
typewriter. In each case. not only
are the 'e's' slurred and the RS tail
less, but you will observe, II 0 care
to use my magnifying lens. hat the
fourteen other characteristics to
which l have alluded are there as
WE'LL
Mr.. W'indibank sprans out Of his
chair. and picked up his hat. 4 can
not waste time over this sort of fan
tastic talk, Mr.. Holiness" he said. III
you can catch the man, catch him.
and let me know when Q lave done
it,"
Certainly" said Holmes, stepping
over and turning the key in the door.
Il let you know. then, that l have
caught him."
What where?" houted Mr.. VII
dibank. turning white to his lips, and
about him like a rat in "a
trap
"Oh. Il won't do-really it won't"
said Holmes, suavely. There is no
possible getting out of 1t. Ir. Windi-