Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-07-13

tWo men who appeared to be sheltering
themselves from the wind in the door,
a or a house some distance up the
street. l tried to draw my companions
attention to them. but he gave a little
evacuation of Impotence, and con-
tlhued to stare into the street. More
IMAM once he fdgeted With his feet and
tapped rapidly with his fingers upon
the wall. 1t was evident to me that he
was becoming uneasy, and that his
as he had hoped. At last. as midnight
approached and the street gradually
cleared. he paced up and down the
room in uncomfortable agitation. 1 was
ABOUT to make some remark to him,
when 1 raised my eyes to the lighted
WINDOW, and again experienced almost
as great a surprise as before. l clutched
Holmes arm and pointed upwards.
The shadow has moved!" 1 cried.
1t was indeed no longer the profile.
but the back, which was turned to-
ward US.
Three years had certainly not
smoother the asperities OF his temper
or his impotence with Il less active in
telligence h his own.
o course it has moved" said he.
Am l such a farcical bungler. Watson.
That j should erect an obvious dummy.
and expect that some of the sharpest
men in Europe would be deceive by
II! We have been in this room two
hours. and Mrs. Hudson has made
some change i'm that figure eight times.
or once In every quarter Of an hour.
She works it from the front. SO that
her shadow may never be seen. Ah!"
He drew in his breath with "A shrill,
excited intake. In the dim light l saw
his head thrown forward. his whole at
titude rigid with attention. Outside
he street was absolutely deserted.
Those two men might still be c%rouching
In the doorway, but l could no longer
see them. All was still N dark, save
only that brilliant yellow screen i'm
front of us with the black figure out
lined upon Its center. Again in the ut
ter silence / heard that thin. sibilant
note which spoke OF intense suppressed
excitement. An instant later he pulled
me back into the blacklist corner Of the
room, and l felt his warning hand upon
my lips. The fingers which clutched
me were quivering. Never had l known
my friend more moved. and yet the
dark street still stretched lonely and
motionless before us.
But suddenly l was aware of that
which his keener senses had already
distinguished. A low. stealthy sound
came to my ears, not from the direction
OF Baker street, but from the back of
he very house in which we lay con-
cealed. A door opened and shut. An
instant later steps crept down the pas
sage-steps which We're meant to be
silent. but which reverberated harshly
through h empty house. Holmes
crouched back against the wall and 1
did the same. my hand closing upon
the handle Of my revolver. Peering
through the gloom. l saw the vague
outline of "A man, a shade blacker than
the b~lackness of the open door. He
stood for am instant, and then crept
1nCN Hd nVnJ1rhiNU yrnnnoat~~ {,n%o a..
room. He was within three yards of
us. this sinister figure. and had
braced myself to meet his spring. be-
fore l realized that he had no idea of
our presence. He passed close beside
us. stole over to the window. and very
a foot. AS he sank to the level of this
opening. the light of the street, no
longer dimmed by the dusty glass. fell
upon his face. The man seemed to be
beside himself with excitement. His
two eyes shone like stars, N his fea-
lures We're working convulsiyely. He
was an elderly man, with q thin, pro-
jecting nose. a high, bald forehead, and
a huge grizzled mustache. An opera
hat was pushed to the back OF his head.
II an evening dress shirt front
cleaned out through his open overcoat.
His face was gaunt and swarthy,
scored with deep, savage lines. In his
sNHsA sS Ala lSu w Ne
a stick. but as he aid it down upon
the floor 1t gave a metallic clang. Then
from his pocket of his overcoat he drew
a bulky object, n he busted himself
in some task which ended with a loud,
sharp click. as IL a spring or bolt had
upon the floor he bent forward and
threw all his weight n strength upon
some lever, with the result that there
came a long, whirling, grinding noise,
ending once more In a powerful click.
He Strengthened himself then. and /
saw that what he held in his hand
was a sort OF a gun, with a c%uriously
%misshapen butt. He opened It at the
breech, put something in, and snapped
the breechblock. Then. cr%ouching
down, he rested the end of the barrel
upon the ledge of the open window. and
l saw his long moustache droop over
he stock and his eye CLEAN as it peered
of satisfaction as he cuddled the butt
into his shoulder. and saw that alnaz-
ing target, the black man on the yellow
ground. standing clear at the end OF his
foresight. For an instant he was rigid
and motionless. Then his fingers
tightened on the trigger. There wa a
strange. loud whiz and a long. silvery
tinkle of broken glass. At tina instant
Holmes sprang like a tiger onto the
marksman's back, and hurled him fat
upon his face. He was up again in a
moment. and with convulsive strength
he seized Holmes by the throat, but l
struck him or the head with the butt
of my revolver. and he dropped again
upon the floor. I fell upon him, and as
1 held him my comrade blew a shrill
call upon a whistle. There was the
clatter OF running feet upon the pave
ment, and two policemen in uniform.
with ono plain-clothes detective, rushed
through the front entrance and into the