The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-07-05
The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
with The Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate
BY SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Copyright 1921 Harper special

these he placed in his hall in the
house at Remington Road, and the
other on the mantelpiece of the sur
gerry at Lower Brixton. Well, when
Dr. Barnicot came down this morn
ing he was astonished to find that
his house had been burgled during
the night, but that nothing had been
taken save the plaster head from the
hall. 1t had been carried out and had
been dashed savagely against the gar
den wall, under which its splintered
fragments were discovered"
Holmes rubbed his hands.
This is vertainly very novel" said
he.
81 thought it would please you. But
have not got to the end yet. DR. Bar
nicot was due at his surgery at twelve
O'Clock, and You can imagine his
amazement when, on arriving there,
he found that the window had been
opened in the night, and that the
broken pieces of his second bust were
strewn all over the room. 1t had been
smashed to atoms where ii stood. In
neither case were there any signs
which could give us clue as to the
criminal or lunatic who had done the
mischief Now, Mr.. Holmes, you have
got the facts"
| They are singular. not to say gro
tesque," said Holmes. May | ask
whether the two busts smashed in DR.
| Barnicot's rooms were the exact dupli
Gates of the one which was destroyed
! in Morse Hudson's shop?"
They were taken from the sam,
mold"
"Such a fact must tell against thu
| theory that the man who breaks then
! is Influenced by any general hatred o.
| Napoleon. Considering how man!
hundreds of statues of the great En-
peror must exist in London, it is toC
much to suppose such coincidence n!
that a promiscuous iconoclast should
chance to begin upon three specimen!
! of the same bust
We'll, l thought as you do sail
Lestrade. On the other hand, thi'
! Morse Hudson is the purveyor of bust
/ in that part of London and these wer'
the only ones which had been in hi
shop for years. So, although, as yol
say, there are many hundreds of stat
ues in London. it is very probable tina
these three we're the only ones in tina
district. Therefore, a local fanati
would begin with them. What do 20,
think, DR.. Watson %
There are no limits to the possibi'
tiles of monomania." answered
There is the condition which tn
modern French psychologists hav
called the idee fxe," which may b
triffing in character, and accompanie
;, by complete sanity in every other way
A man who had read deeply abou
Napoleon, or who had possibly re
ceiyed some hereditary family 1njur
through the great war, might conceiN
> ably form such an idee fxe' and unde
its influence be capable of any fantas
tic outrage"
That won't do my dear Watson
said Holmes, shaking his head, &c
no amount of idee fxe' would enabl
your interesting monomaniac to fin
] out where these busts were situated
} We'll, how do you explain it?"
. Il don't attempt to do so. I wouI
? only observe that there is a certai
e method in the gentleman's eccentr
= proceedings. For example, in DR.. Ba
nicots hall, wher a sound migl
S arouse the family, the bust was take
:. outside before being broken wheres
in the surgery, where there was lie:
a danger of an alarm, it was smashe
l. where it stood. The affair seems a
n surdly trifing, and yet dare call not
: ing trivial when | reflect that some
). my most classic cases have had II
q least promising commencement. W
!. will remember, Watson, how Il