Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-07-16
GHc,
ADVENTURE
OF TIE
DEVILS FOOT

IN X0SVAO AAVAAA SAk0V w SAAAA0 0SAAA0
,of the curious experiences and inter
esting rscollections which associate
with my long and intimate friendship
with Mr.. Sherlock Holmes. have con-
'tinually been faced by difficulties
caused BY his own aversion to pub
licity. TO his somber and cynical
spirit all popular applause was always
abhorrent. and nothing amused him
more It the end Of = successful case
than to hand over the actual exposure
ito some orthodox omcial. and to listen
with q mocking smile to the general
chorus Of misplaced congratulation.
It was indeed this attitude upon the
part Of my friend. and certainly not
any lack ofinteresting material. which
has caused me Of late years to lay
very few Of my records before the
public. Ny participation in some Of
his adventures was always privilege
which ontailed discretion and reti.
,cenoe upon me-
It was. then, with considerable sur
prise that received . telegram from
Holmes last Tuesday-he has never
been known to write whore telegram
would, serve-in the following terms:
why not tell them Of the Cornish
horror-strangest case have hand
ted" have no idea what backward
sweep OF memory had brought the
matter fresh to his mind, or what
freak had caused him to desire that I
should recount It: but hasten. before
another cancelling telegram may ar
rive. to hunt out the notes which give
me the exact details Of the case. and
to lay the narrative before my read
era. !,
It was. then, in the spring Of the
year 1897 that Holmes iron constitu-
ton showed; some symptoms Of giving
way In the cace Of constant hard work
Of . most exacting kind. aggravated.
perhaps. by occasional indiscretions Of
his own. In March Of that year DR..
Moore Agar. Of Harley street, whose
dramatic introduction to Holmes !
may some day recount. gave positive
.injunctions that tho famous private
agent should lay aside all his cases
and surrender himself to complete
lrsst II he wished to avert an absolute
tsbreakd1wn. Tho Etate LOT fja health
sWns not mattsr In which no himself
took the faintest interest, for his men,
lital detachment was absolute, but he
was induced ct last, on tho threat OF
being permanently disqualified from
work, 10 give himself q complete
tange Of scene and air. Thus 1t was
hat in the early spring Of that year
lye found ourselves together in small
cottage near Poldhu bay, at tho
farther extremity of the Cornish PEN
Ursula.
It wasSa singular spot, ana one Pc
culiarly well suited to the grim hu-
NOR Of my patient From the windows
of our little whitewaahed house..
which stood high upon grassy head:
land, w looked down upon the whole
sinister semicircle Of Mounts bay, that
old death-trap Of sailing vessels. with;
tts fringe Of black cliffs and surge
twept reefs on which innumerable sea-.
hen have met their end.
On the land side our surroundings
tere d .ssmber % on the ssa. Il wasi
n Acountry OF rolling moors. lonely and
tn-co3orn, with an occasional church
jwer 10 mark the site Of some old
brld Village. In Svsgy direction upon
Use m0prs there were traces Of some
lnished race which had passed ut
fly away. and left ~ IT, sole record
Ean0D monuments Of stone, irregu-
Il mounds. which contained the
krneA ashes Of the dead. and curious
krthworks which limited ut prehis-
Iric strife. Tho glamour and mys.
Try Of the place, with ito sinister at
iospherel OF forgotten nations. APP
kaled to the Imagination Of my friend.
Id ho spent much Of his time IN long
hlks and solitary meditations upon
le moor. The ancient Cornish Ian
tage Ind also arrested his attention,
Id h had, remember, conceived
te idea. that It was akin to the Chal-
Ian. Our simple life and peace.
/. healthy routine were violent.
interrupted, and We were precid-
led into the midst Of q series
events which caused the utmost
kcftemept not only in Cornwall,
lat thionghout the whole west Of
Englapd. Many Of my readers may re-
hin some recollection Of what was
lalled tat the tins The Cornish Hor-
|or," though a most imperfect account
b the matter reached the London
tress. Now. after thirteen years.
I'LL give the true details Of this incon.
Ieiyable AFFAIR to tho public.
have said that scattered towers
Inarkel the villages which dotted this
tart Of Cornwall. The nearest Of these
has tia hamlet Of Tredannick wollas.
i n D