The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-12-05

~, 1900 a. oAFo4 Attc "a
men ne ciambered up to the rim o.
the hollow, and crawled about auons
the ferns and bushes.
/ am afraid that there are no NOR,
tracks, said the Inspector. II have
examined the ground very carefully
LOT q hundred yards in each direc.
ton"
In@eed.' said Holmes. rising. q
should not have the impertinence tc
40 II AGAIN after what you say. But
l sno0ld like to take a little walk over
the moor before il grows dark that
may Know my ground tomorrow, and
l think thai / shah put this horse
shoe into my pocket for luck
Coionei Ross, who had shown some
signs Of impatience at my compan-
IONS quiet and systematic method O,
Work anced at his watch. Il wish
you would come back with me, In
spector," said he. There are several
points on which I should ike you,
advice, and especially as TO whether
We do not Owe it to/the public to re
move u horses name from the en-
tries Tor h Cup"
Certainly not" cried Holmes, with
decision. = should let the name
stand"
The Colonel bowed. ct am very
sSad to have had your opinion, SIR
said he. You will find. us at poor
~Straker's house when you have finish
ed your walk, and we can drive to-
gether into Tavistock."
He turne pack with the Inspector,
while Holmes and walked slowly
across the moor. The sun was be-
ginning to sink behind the stable OF
Mapleton, and the long, sloping plain
IN front OF Us was tinged with gold,
deepening into rich, rudy browns
Where h faded ferns and brambles
caught the evening light. But the
glories of the landscape were all vast
&c upon my companion, who was sunk
in the deepest thought.
IT'S this way, WATSON said he al
last. W may leave the question OF
who killed John straker for the in
slant. and contine ourselves to finding
out what has become Of the horse.
Now, supposing that he broke away
during or after the tragedy, where
could he have gone to? The horse is
a very Sregaricus creature. If left
to himself his instincts would have
been either to return to Kings Pyland
he run wild upon the moor? He
would surely have been seen by now.
And why should gypsies kidnap him ?
These people always clear out when
they hear of trouble, for they do not
wish to be pestered by the police. They
COu1U NOT nope 70 Sell SUCH d Nurse.
They would run a great risk n gain
nothing by taking him. Surely that is
clear
where is he, Them"
"I have already said that he must
have gone to Kings Pvland or to
Mapleton. He is not at Kings Py-
land. Therefore he is at MapletOn. Let
US take that as a working hypothesis
and see what it leads US to. This part
~ tho v,on~ &c fho foCnac\np n = q RI
ed. is, very hard and dry. But it falls
away towards Napoleon, and you can
see from here that there is a long hol-
low over yonder. which must have
been very wet or Monday night. II
III suppositiOn is correct, then the
horse must have crossed that, and
there Is the point where We should
look for his tracks,
We had been walking briskly dur
ing this conversation, and q Few more
minutes brought III to the hollow in
question. AT Holmes request l walk
ed down the AMI to the right, and
he to the left, but I had not taken
fifty PAGES before I heard him give g
shout and saw him waving his hand
to me. The track Of 8 horse was
plainly outlined in the soft earth in
front Of him, and h shoe which he
took from his pocket exactly fitted the
impression.
"See the value Of Imagination said
Holmes. ut IS h one quality which
Gregory lacks. We imagined what
might have happened, acted upon the
supposition, and find ourselves justi-
fed. Let IS proceed
We crossed the marShy bottom and
over 2 quarter Of q mile OF dry,
hard turf. Again the ground sleped,
again we came on the TRACKS.
we lost them for half a mile, but
only to pick them up once more quite
TO Mapleton. 1t was Holmes
who saw them first, and he stood
with q look Of triumph upon
his face. a mans rack was visible
beside the horses.
Tho morse was alone before !
cried.
'Ouite so. It was alone before.
what is this?'
The double track turned sharp of
took the direction Of Kings Py-
land. Holmes whistled, n we Dotn
followed along after it. His eyes were
on fine trail. but I happened to look q