The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-02-26

out"
 How could they get in Through the front door,
 "It was barred in the morning." | Then it was barred after them.' | How do you know" | "l saw their traces. Excuse me a l moment, and I may be able to give | you some further information about | it."
 He went over to the door, and | turning the lock he examined 1t in his | nethodical way. Then he took out | the key, which was the inside, and | carpet, the chairs, the n1ant1epiece. | the dead body,and the rope were each | in turn examined, until at last he l professed himself satisfied, and with my aid and that of the inspector cut down the wretched object and laid it reverently under a sheet. How about this rope?'' he asked. ''It is cut off this" said Dr. Trevel- | van, drawing a large coil from under l the bed. ''He was morbidly nervous of fire, and always kept this beside him, so that he might escape by tn. | window in case the stairs were burn | ing"
 That must have saved them trou- b1e," said Holmes, thoughtfully. "Yes, the actual facts are very plain, and I shall be surprised if by the afternoon them as well. I will take this photo graph of Blessington, which I see upon the mantelpiece, as it may help me in my inquiries"
 "But you have told us nothingi" cried the doctor.
 "Oh, there can be no doubt as to the sequence of events," said Holmes. There were three of them in it: the young man, the old man. and a third, to whose identity I have no clue. The first two, I need hardly remark, are the same who masqueraded as the Russian count and his son, so we can give very full description of them They were admitted by a confederate inside the house. If I might offer you word of advice, Inspector, it would be to arrest the page, who, as I understand, has only recently come into your service. Doctor
 ''The young imp cannot be found" said pr. Trevelyan; "the maid and the cook have just been searching for him."
 Holmes shrugged his shoulders.
 He has played a not unim portant part in this drama" said he. 'The three men having ascended the stairs, which they did on tiptoe, the elder man first, the younger man second, and the unknown man in the rear"
 My dear HolmesI' calculated.
 "Oh, there could be no question as to the supnrimposing of the foot marks I had the advantage of learn ing which was which last night. They ascended, then. to MT. Blessington's room, the door of which they found to be locked. With the help of wire, however, they forced round the perceive, by the scratches on this ward, where the pressure was applied.
 "On entering the room their first proceeding must have been to gag MT. Blessington. He may have been asleep, or he may have been so paral- yzed with terror as to have been un- able to cry out These walls are thick, and it is conceivable that his ShrieS, if he had time to utter one, was unheard.
 Having secured him, it is evident to me that a consultation of some sort was held. Probably, it was some ceeding. It must have lasted for some time for it was then that these cigars were smoked. The older man sat in that wicker chair; it was he who used the cigar holder The younger man sat. over wonder; ne knocked his ash off against the chest of drawers The third fellow paced up and down. Blessington, l think. sat upright in the bed, put or that cannot be absolutely certain.
 well, it ended by their taking Blessington and hanging him. The matter was so prearranged that IL Is my belief that they brought W1lh them some sort of block or pulley which might serve as a gallows. That screw-driver and those screws were, as I conceived. for fixing it up. seeing the hook, however, they naturally saved themselves the trouble. Hay ing finished their work they made off, and the door was barred behlnd them by their confederate
 We had all listened with the deep est interest to this sketch of the nights doinss, which Holmes had de- duced from signs so subtle and minute that, even when he had pointed them out to us, we could Scarcely 1olloW him in his reasonings. The inspector -S.,I on instant inouiries about the page, While Holmes and I returned to Baker Street for breakfast
 sIH be back by three," said he, when we had finished our meal. Both the inspector and the doctor will meet me here at that hour, and hope by that time to have cleared up any nt, It, tie obscurity which the case may stlll present"
 Our visitors arrived at the appoint ed time but it was a quarter to four before my friend put in an appearance. however I could see that all had gone well with him.
 Any news, Inspector?
 We have got the boy, sir
 Excellent, and l have got the
 You have got them!" we cried, all
 ..Weu, at least I have got their identity. This So-calIed .6leSslhSloIi is as I expected, well known at mead quarters and so are his assallantS- Their names are Riddle, Hayward and Moffat.''
 ..The Worthingdon bank gang, cried the inspector.
 precisely" said Holmes:
 Then Blessington must have been Sutton.''
 t"EHactly.'' said Holmes.
 Why, that makes it as clear as Ct-vstal'' said the inspector
 But TrevelyaTi and I looked at each other in bewildeTment.
 You must surely remember the great Worthingdo don bank business, said Holmes Five men were in it these four and a fifth called Cart wright Tob:n, the caretaker, was murdered, and the thieves got away with seven thousand pounds They