The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-09-20

ne Is lHe NdpOleOu VI CIlLuS, Ndt
son. He is the organizer of half that
is evil. and of nearly all that is un.
detected in his great city. He is a
genius. philosopher, an abstract
thinker He has brain of the first
order. He sits motionless, like a
spider in the center of its web, but
that web has a thousand radiations
and he knows well every culver of
each of them. He does little himself
He only plans. But his agents ara
numerous and splendidly organized.
Is there crime to be dane, a paper
to be distracted, We will say house
to be rifled, man to be removed
| the word is passed to the professor,
the matter is organized and carried
out. The agent may be caught In
that case money is found for his bail
or his defense. But the central DOW
| er, which uses the agent is never
caught-never so much as suspected.
This was the organization which !
deduced, Watson, and which devoted
my whole energy to exposing and
breaking up.
But the professor was fenced
| iOuud Will SO CunHlHSy
devised, that, do what would, it seem
| ed impossible to get evidence which
would convict in a court of law. You
may know my powers, my dear Wat
/ son, and yet at the end of three
months | was forced to confess / had
at last met an antagonist who was my
intelligent equal. My horror at his
crimes was lost in my admiration al
1 p,1t ut 1oe =
only a little, little trip-but it was
more than he could afford, while I
was so close upon him. l had my
chance, and starting from that point,
| have woven my net around him un-
til it is now all ready to close In
| three days-that is to say, on Monday
next-matters will be ripe. and the
professor. with all the principal mem
J bers of his gang will be in the hands
of the police Then will come the
greatest criminal trial of the century,
the clearing up of over forty mys-
teries, and the rope for all of them:
but if we move at all prematurely, you
understand, they may slip out of our
hands even at the last moment.
Now, if l could have done this
without the knowledge of Professor
Moriarty, all would have been we'll
| But he was too wiley for that. He
saw every step which I took to draw
my tolls round him. Again and again
he strove to break away, but I as
often headed him off I tell you, my
friend, that if a detailed account of
that silent contest could be written,
it would take its place as the most
brilliant piece of thrust and parry
work in the history of detection,
Never have l risen to such a height.
and never have been so hard pressed
by an opponent He cuts deep, and
yet / Just undercut him. This morn
ing the last steps were taken, and
three days only were wanted to COM
plete the business. l was sitting in
my room thinking the matter over.
when the door opened and Professor
Morarity stood before me.
MY nerves are fairly proof, Wat
son, but I must confess to a start
when I saw the very man who had
been so much in my thoughts stand
ing there on my threshold. His 2p-
pearance was quite familiar to me.
He is extremely tall and thin, his
forehead domes out in a wide curve,
and his two eyes are deeply sunken
: in his head. He is clean-shaven, pale,
!, and ascetic-looking, retaining some
thing of the professor in his features.
His shoulders are rounded from much
study, and his face protrudes forward,
and is forever slowly oscillating from
side to side in a curiously reptilian
fashion. He peered at me with great
curiosity in his puckered eyes.
You have less frontal develop
ment than / should have expected
, said he, at last 1T is a dangerous
habit to finger loaded firearms in the
, pocket of ones dressing-gown.'
! Tho fact is that upon his entrance
had instantly recognized the ex
IRENE personal danger in which l lay
4, The only conceivable escape for him
: lay in silencing my tongue. In ar
: instant l had slipped the revolver
: from the drawer into my pocket, and
, was covering him through the cloth
!. At his remark drew the weapon out
: and laid it cooked upon the table. He
> still smiled and blinked. but there
i was something about his eyes which
made me feel very glad that l had il
there.
1 "'You evidently don't know me,
: said he.
e Ion the contrary, I answered, =
+ think it is fairly evident that l do
= Pray take a chair l can spare you
2 five minutes if you have anything tc
: say
5 "'All that have to say already has
= crossed your mind said he.
8 Then possibly my answer has
crossed yours?' l replied.
e You stand fast?'