The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-09-12

men, retained upon their faces an ex-
preston OF the utmost horror-a ron
Vuision of terror which was dreadful
TO look upon. There was no sign OF
the presence of any one in the house
except Mrs. Porter, the old cook and
h~OuSkeeper, who declared that she
had slept deeply and heard no sound
during the night. Nothing had been
stolen or disarransed- and there -
absolutely no explanation of what the
horror can be which has frightened a
TO death and two strong men
out of their senses. There is the sit
uation, Mr.. Holmes, in a nutshell. and
if you can help US TO clear it up you
Will have done a great work.
/ had hoped that in some way i
could coax my companion back into
h quiet which a been the object
of our journey; but one glance at his
intense face and contracted eyebrows
toid me how vain was now the expec-
tation. He sat for some little time in
silence, absorbed in the strange
drama which had broken in upon
our peace.
Il will look into this matter" he
said at last. On the face of it, it
would appear to be a ease of a very
exceptional nature. Have You been
there yourself. Mr.. Roundhay?"
NO. Mr. Holmes. Mr.. Tregennis
~ ooNh ~ N'>
vicarage, and [ at once hurried over
with him to consult you"
How far is it to the house where
this singular tragedy occurred?'
About a mile inland"
Then We shall walk over together.
But, before We start, / must ask you
a few questions, Mr.. Mortimer e
gennis."
The other had been silent all this
time but l had observed that his more
controlled excitement was even great
er than the obtrusive emotion of the
clergyman. He sat with a pale.
| drawn face, his anxious gaze fixed
upon Holmes, and his thin hands
clasped convuisively together. His
pale lips quivered as he listened to
the dreadful experience which 4, had
befalien his family, and his dark EYES
seemed to reflect something of the
horror of the scene. (
ASK what you like. Mr. Holmes"
said he, eagerly. 1t is a bad thing to
speak of. but / will answer you the
truth"
Tell me about last night
Well, Mr.. Holmes, l supped there,
as the vicar has said, and my elder
brother George proposed a game of
whist afterwards. We sat down about
inc O'Clock. 1t was a quarter-past
ten when I moved to go. | left them
all around the table as merry as
could be-"
who let Q out?"
MRS. Porter had gone to bed. SO l
let myself out. I shut the hall door
behind me. The window Of the room
in which they sat was closed. but the
blind was not drawn down There was
no change in the door or window this
morning, nor any reason to think
hat any stranger had been to the
house. Yet there they sat. driven
clean mad with terror, and Brenda
lying a Of fright, With her head
hanging over the arm Of the chair
I'll never get the sight of that room
out of my mind SO long as / live
THE facts, as YOU state them. are
certainly most remarkable said
Holmes. L take it that YOU nave no
theory yourself which can in any way
account for them"
Its de.ilish. Mr.. Holiness: devil
ish,'' cried Mortimer Tregennis- 1t is
not of. his. world. Something has
come into that room which has dash
ed the light Of reason from their
minds. h human contrivance
could do that?"
4 fear" aid Holmes, that if the
matter is beyond humanity it is GER
tainly beyond me. Yet we must ex-
haust all natural explanations be-
fore We fall back upon such a
theory as this. AS to yourself. Mr..
Tregennis, I take it you We're divided
in some way from your family, since
they lived together and YOU had
rooms apart?"
That is SO, Mr.. Holmes, though
the matter is past and done with. We
were a family of tin-miners at Red
ruth, but We sold out our venture to a
company and SO retired with enough
to keep us. / won't deny that there
WAS some feeling about the division
Of the money and it stood between us
for a time, but it was all forgiven and
forgotten, and We were the best OF
friends together
Looking back at the evening which
you spent together, does anything
stand out in your memory as throw
ing any possible light upo the trag-
edy? Think carefully. Mr. ~Tregennis.
I for any clue which a help me-
.aI,hara Is nothing at all sir.