Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-09-25

tnucd to look across and your face
was thoughtful You were recalling |
the incidents of Beecher's caree. l |
was well aware that you could not do |
this without thinking of the mission |
which he undertook on behalf of the
North At the time Of the Civil War, for |
l remember YOU expressing your pas |
sionate indignation Mt the way in |
which he was received by the more |
turbulent of our people. You felt 20
strongly about il that / knew you could |
not think of Beecher without thinking
of that also. When a moment later / |
SAW your eyes wander away from the |
picture, / suspected that your mind had
now turned to the Civil War, and when |
l observed that your lips set, your eyes
sparkled, and your hands chnched, |
was positive that you were indeed
thinking of the gallantry which was
shown by both sides in that desperate
struggle. But then again, your face
grew sadder; you shook your head.
You were dwelling upon the sadness
and horror and useless waste of life
Your hand stole toward your own old
wound, and smile quivered on your
lips, which showed me that the ridic-
uous side of this method of settling
international questions had forced it.
self upon your mind. At this point |
agreed with you that it was preposter-
Gus, and WAS glad TO find that all my
deductions had been correct"
"Absolutelyw said l. "And now that
YOU have explained it, | confess that
am rs amazed as before" o.
at was very superficial, my dear
Watson, | assure you. | should not
have intruded it upon your attention
had YOU not shown some incredulity the
other day. But the evening has brought
breeze with it. What do YOU say TO
ramble through London
was weary of our little sitting-room
and gladly acQuesced. For three hours
we strolled about together, watching
the ever-changing Kaleidoscope of life
as it Gibbs and flows through Fleet
Street and the Strand. His character
istc talk, with it's keen observance Of
detail and subtle power of Inference,
held me amused and enthralled. IL
was ten o'clock before we reached
Baker Street again. 4 brougham was
waiting at our door.
"Huml A doctors general practi-
toner, perceive" said Holmes Not
been long in practice, but has had a
good deal to do. Come to consult us,
fancy, Lucky we came back
was sufficiently conversant with
Holiness methods to I've able to follow
his reasoning and to see that the nature
and state of the various medical instrI-
ments in the wicker basket which
hung in the lamphght inside the hrough-
am had given him the data for his
swift deduction. The light in our
window above showed that this late
visit was indeed intended for us. With
some curiosity as to what could have
sent brother medico TO us at such an
hour. followed Holmes into our sane
tum.
A pale. taper-faced man with sandy
whisllers rose up from chair by the
FIRE as we entered. His age may not
! have been more than three or four and
thirty. but his haggard expression and
unhealthy hue told of n life which had
sapred his strength and robbed him OF
| his youth. His manner was nervous
| and shy, like that Of sensitive gentle
man, and the thin white Ind which he
! laid on the mantelpiece as he rose wa.
! that of an artist rathe rthan s surgeon
| His dress was quiet and somhre-,
black frock-coat. dark trousers, and ;
touch of color about his necktic.
"Good-evening, doctor" said Holmes
cheerily Il am glad TO see that yol
have only been waiting q very few
minutes
You spoke to my coachman, them
mo. il was the candle on the side
table that told me. Pray resume you
seat and let me know how ] can serve
you"
MY name is Doctor Percy Trevel
van" said our visitor, and | live a
403 Brook street
Are YOU not the author of mono
graph upon obscure nervous lesionso'
! | asked
His pale cheeks flushed with pleas
ure at hearing that his work was know
TO me.
Il so seldom hear of the work tina
| thought it was quite dead said he
My publishers gave me a most dis
couraglng account of Its sale. You ar,
yourself, / presume, a medical man.
"A retired army surgeon"
MY OWN DDDbN LAS aiNaNs oeci
nervous disease. | should wish {,
make it an absolute speciality, but, o
course, a man must take what he cal
get at first. This, however, is besid
the question, Mr.. Sherlock Holmes, an,
/ quite appreciate how valuable you
time is. The fact is that a very singu
lar train of events has occurred re
Gently at my house in Brook street
and tonight they came to such hea'
that felt it was quite impossible 70
me to wait another hour before askin
, for YOUR advice and assistance"
Sherlock Holmes sat down and lit hi
, pipe. You are very welcome TO both.
said he. Pray let me have detaile
> account Of what the circumstances ar
which have disturbed you"
, Zone or two of them are so trivial,
said DR.. Trevelyan, that really i an
almost ashamed 10 mention them. Blu
J the matter is so inexplicable and tn
lrecent turn which it has taken is s.
elaborate, that / shall lay it all befor
you, and you shall judge what is essen
tial and what is not
~ am compelled TO begin with X