The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-03-03


 friend. Sherlock Holmes. as we sat yone winters night either side of
 the fire, which I really think, Wat
 son. that it would be worth your while to glance over. These are the adocuments in the extraordinary case sof the Gloria Scott and this is the message which struck Justice of the lPeace Trevor dead with horror when she read it.''
 He had picked from a drawer a lit ft1e tarnished cylinder, and, undoing ethe tape, he handed me a short note Escrawled upon a half-sheet of slate sgray paper
 ''The supply of game for London is kgoing steadily up." it ran. Head Keeper Hudson, we believe. has been 5snow told to receive all orders for kfypaper and for preservation of your shen-pheasant's S. life.
 As I glanced up from reading this fenigmatical message, | saw Holmes kchuckling at the expression upon my tface.
 t1You look a little bewildered,' said sne.
 las this could inspire horror. It kseems to me to be rather grotesque fahan otherwise"
 srVery likely Yet the fact remains that the reader, who was a fine, TO- Ebust old man, was knocked clean Fdown by it as if it had been the butt eof a. pistol''
 'sYou arouse my curiosity said I. t"But why did you say just now that Ethere were very particular reasons Swhy I should study this easel" Because it was the first in which q was ever engaged"
 had often endeavored to elicit 5fom my companion what had first sturned his mind in the direction of Fcrininal research. but had never stive humor. Now he sat forward in fhis armchair and spread out the fdocuments upon his knees. Then he hit his pipe and sat for some time tsnoking and turning them over-
 "You never heard me talk of Vic stor Trevor?" he asked. He was tthe only friend I made during the 1.-two years I was at college I was knever very sociab1e fellow, Watson, always rather fond of moping in my Erooms and working out my own lit Etle methods of thought, so that '! my year. Bar fencing and boxing l lhad few athletic tastes. and then tmy line of study was quite distinct from that of the other fellows so that we had no points of contact at ta1- Trevor the only man tknew, and that only through the ac- tcident of his bull terrier freezing on Ito my ankle one morning as went down to chapel
 1 .'It was a prosaic way of forming Ia. friendship, but it was effective. twas laid by the heels for ten days, land Trevor used to come in to in Equire after me. At first it was only Ia minutes chat, but soon his visits : heightened, and before the end of the snerm we were close friends. He was a hearty, fun-blooded fellow, full of spirits and energy. the very opposite eo me in most respects, but we had
 some subjects In common, and It was a bond of union when found that he was as friendless as I. Ff- na11y, he invited me down to his fathers place at Donnithorpe, in Nor folk, and I accepted his hospitality 4, of Ea "a
 'sOld Trevor was evidently a man of some wealth and consideration, a U. F., and a landed proprietor Don nithorpe is a little hamlet just to the the Breads. The house was an old fashioned, widespread, oak-beamed brick building, with a fine lime-lined avenue leading up to it. There was !. excellent wild duck shooting in the Efens, remarkably good fishing. a s small but select library, taken over, as understood, from former oc- cupant, and a to1erable cook, so that Ehe would be a fastidious man who E could not put in a pleasant month E there.
 ! Trevor senior was a widower, and my friend his only son.
 '.There had been a daughter, I heard, but she had died of diphtheria while ! on a visit to Birmingham The father ! man of little culture, but with a. con ' siderable amount of rude strength, both physically and mentally He ! knew hardly any books. but he had l travelled far, had seen much of the world, and had remembered all that he had learned In person he was thick-set, buriy man with shock of griZZled hair, a. brown, weather beaten face, and blue eyes which were E keen to the verge of ferceness. Yet he had a reputation for kindness and | charity on the countryside, and was ; noted for the leniency Of his sen i; tenceS from the bench
 "One evening, shortly after my ar rival we were sitting over a glass or ! port after dinner. when young Trevor ! began to talk about those habits or observation and inference which had already formed into a system, all i thougo I had not yet appreciated the ! part which they were to pfay In my | life. The old man evidently thougnt 1 that his son was exaggerahng in his ! description of one or two trrNlaI teats which had performed "sC.ome now MT. Holmes said he, h1aurhing good-humoredly. I'm an eX- ! ceIlent subject, If you can ueouce sanything from me CT fear there is not very much, 1 answered; T might suggest that you | have gone about in fear Of some per ! sonaI attack within the last twelve saThe laugh faded from his lips, and 1. he stared at me in great surprlse; E well, that's true enough said ne ! syou. know, Victor turning to his son. when we broke up that poach- ing gang they swore to knafe us, and Sir Edward Holly has actually i been attacked. I've always been on
 nv guard since then, though l nave i no idea how you know it..
 you have a. very handsome stick, 5 I answered By the lnscrlp1on l oo- 5 served that you had not had 1t more
 than a year. But you have taken
 some pains to bore the head of it and
 rour melted lead into the hole so as
 idef l
 ere,;ad that you would not take such 2 precautions unless ou had some dan
 ger to fear
 Anything else?' he asked sm1l- E. ing
 !, your youth