The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-07-02
The Adventure of Black Peter
with Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate
BY SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Copyright by Harper by spca arrangement

might need it before l was through.
Then at last he broke out at me, spit
ting and cursing, with murder in his
eyes and a great clasp-knife in his
hand. He had not time to get it from
the sheath before | had the harpoon
through him. Heavens! what a yell
he gave! and his face gets between
me and my sleep: | stood ther, with
his blood splashing around me, and l
waited for a bit, but all was quiet, 50
took heart once more. | looked
round, and there was the tin box on
the shelf. | had as much right to il
as Peter Carey anyhow. so | took i
with me and left the hut. Like a fool
| left my baccy-pouch upon the table.
Now I'll tell you the queerest part
of the whole story. | had hardly got
outside the hut when l heard some
one coming, and l hid among the
| bushes. A man came sinking along,
went into the hut, gave a cry as if
he had seen a ghost, and legged il
! as hard as he could run until he was
! out of sight. Who he was or what
| he wanted is more than l can tell.
! For my part I walked ten miles, got
a train at Tunbridge Wells, and so
reached London, and no one the wiser,
well, when | came to examine the
| box / found there was no money in
it, and nothing but papers that l would
not dare to sell. l had lost my hold
! on Black Peter, and was stranded in
! London without a shilling There was
| only my trade left. | saw these ad-
vertisements about harpooners, and
/ high wages, so | went to the shipping
! agents, and they sent me ehre. That's
all l know, and l say again that if l
| killed Black Peter, the law should give
me thanks, for I saved them the price
of a hempen rope"
"A very clear statement" said
| Holmes, rising and lighting his pipe.
! 4 think, Hopkins, that you should
lose no time in conveying your pris-
Oner to a place of safety. This room
is not well adapted for a cell, and
Mr.. Patrick Cairns occupies too large
a proportion of our carpet"
Mr. Holmes" said Hopkins. 81 do
not know how to express my graft
tude. Even now I do not understand
how you attained the result"
Simply by having the good fortune
to get the right clue from the begin.
| ming. 1t is very possible if I had
known about this notebook it might
have led my thoughts as it did yours
But all l heard pointed in the one di
Erection. The amazing strength, the
skill in the use of harpoon, the rum
and water, the sealskin tobacco-pouch
with the coarse tobacco-all these
:. pointed to a seaman, and one who haC
I hPpn W q Ion I NJ
the initials p. c. upon the pouch were
a coincidence, and not those of Peter
Carey, since he seldom smoked, anC
no pipe was found in his cabin. You
remember that | asked whether
whisky and brandy were in the cabin
You said they were. How many lands
men are there who would drink run
when they could get these othel
: spirits? Yes, | was certain it was {
seaman"
And how did you find him."
My dear sir, the problem had be
come very simple one If it were
a seamon, it could only be a seaman
who had been with him on the Sea
Unicorn. So far as | could learn b,
had sailed in no other ship. I spen
three days in wiring TO Dundee, anC
at the end Of that time I had ascer
tanned the names of the crew of tn
= Sea Unicorn in 1888. When l fount
: Patrick Cairns among the harpooners
: my search was nearing its end.
: argued that the man was probably il
! London. and that he would desire t.
leave the country for time I there
, fore spent some days in the East End
devised an Arctic expedition, put fort
] tempting terms for harpooners VIII