The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-02-12

Oank, It was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in a petty way as ever came before me. Now. let me Just run over the course of events, and you will contradict me if go wrong."
 The man sat huddled up in his chair, with his head sunk upon his breast, like one who is utterly crush ed. Holmes stuck his feet up on the corner of the mantelpiece, and, lean ing back with his hands in his pock- cts, began talking, rather to himself as 1t seemed, than to us.
 The man married woman very much olden than himself for her money" said he. "and he enjoyed the use of the money of the daughter as long as she lived with them IL was a considerable sum, for people in their position, and the loss of it would have made a serious difference. It was worth an effort to preserve it. The daughter was of a good, amiable disposition, but affectionate and warna-hearted in her ways so that it was evident that with her fair per sonal advantages, and her little in- come, she would not be allowed to re- main single long. Now her marriage would mean, of course. the loss of hundred a year, so what does her stepfather do to prevent it He takes the obvious course of keeping her at home, and forbidding her to seek the company of people of her own age. But soon he found that that would not answer forever. She became rest1Ve, insisted upon her rights, and finally announced her positive inten- tion of going to a certain ball. What does her clever stepfather do then? lie concelves an idea more creditable to his head than to his heart. With the connivance and assistance of his wife he disguised himself, covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses, masked the face with a nustache and a pair of bushy whiskers, sunk that clear voice into an insinuating whiS- per, and doubly secure on account of the girls short sight. he appears as other lovers by making love himself"
 fIt was only a joke at first" groan- ed our visitor. We never thought that she would have been so carried away"
 ''Very likely not. However that may be, the young lad was very de- cidedly carried away. and having quite made up her mind that her step father was in France, the suspicion of treachery never for an instant en- tered her mind. She was f1attered by the gentleman's attentions, and the effect was increased by the loudly ex- pressed admiration of her mother. Then MT. Angel began to call, for 1t was obvious that the matter should be pushed as far as it would go if real effect were to be produced. There were meetings, and an engagem which would finally secure the girls affections from turning towards any one else. But the deception could no, be kept up forever. These pretended journeys to France were rather cum brous. The thing to do was clearly to bring the business to an end in such a dramatic manner that it would leave a permanent impression upon | the young 1ady's mind, and prevent | har ffnr ofJ
 suitor for some time to come Hence
 those VOWS of fidelity exacted upon a i Testament, and hence also the allu- | sions to a possibility of something | happening on the very morning of l the wedding. James Windibank wish | ed Miss Sutherland to be so bound to Hosmer Angel, and so uncertain as | to his fate, that for ten years to come, | at any rate, she would not listen to another man. As far as the church door he brought her, and then, as he could go no farther. he conveniently | vanished away by the old trick of
 stepping in at .one door of a four
 wheeler, and out at the other.
 think that that was the chain of
 events, MT. Windibank!"
 l Our visitor had recovered some
 thing of his assurance while Holmes
 had been talking, and he rose from
 his chair now with a bold sheer upon
 his pale face.
 l IL IIldy De so, or may not,
 Holiness said he, Out if. you are SC
 very sharp you ought to be sharI | enough to know that it is you who are l breaking the law now, and not me. have done nothing actionable from
 the first, but as long as you keep thai
 door locked you lay yourself open te
 an action for assault and illegal con.
 straint.''
 'tThe law cannot. as you say, toucr
 you" said Holmes. unlocking and
 throwing open the door, t'yet there never was a man who deserved pun
 ishment more. If the young lady ha:
 a brother or a friend, he ought to la,
 a whip across your shoulders. B!
 Jove!" he continued, flushing up a the sight of the bitter sheer upon tn duties to my client, but here's a hunt , ing crop handy. and I. think I shal just treat myself to- He took tw, swift steps to the whip, but before h.
 could grasp it there. was a wild clat ! ter of steps upon the stairs, the heav, . hall door banged and from the win
 dow we could see MT. James Windi bank running at the top of his spec
 down the road.
 There's a cold-b1ooded scoundreli I said Holmes, laughing. as he threS
 himself down into his chair ono
 more. That fellow will rise fror crime to crime until he does some I thing very bad. and ends on a galIows The case has. in some respects, bee . not. entirely devoid of interest," I | 'I cannot now entirely see all tn V steps of your reasoning,' I remarked
 Well, of course it was obviou | from the. first that this MT. Hosme Angel must have some strong objet D for his curious conduct. and it wa S equally clear that the only man wh
 really profted by the incident. as ia S as we could see, was the stepfathe = Then the fact that the two men wer : never together, but that the one a f ways appeared when the other wa |. away, was suggestive So were th a | inted spectacles and the curious voic
 1 which both hinted at a disguise. { 9 did the bushy whiskers. My suSpit r. ions were all confirmed by his pt e cu1iar action in typewriting his sig
 nature, which. of course. inferred tn; l. his handwriting was so familiar 1 d her that she would recognize even tf a smallest sample of it. You see a
 these isolated facts. together wi, :" many minof ones, all pointed in il 70 same direction
 i- "And how did you verify them d Having once spotted my man, n was easy to get corroborati ton. | ,kne