Evening star., 1925-03-08

Il L the dry chuckle which was
his nearest approach to a
laugh, he tossed it over to me-
For mixture of the modern and
medieval, of the practical and the
wildly fanciful, | think this is surely
the limit said he. What do you
make Of il, Watson?"
read a follows:
as. Old Jerry.
Nov. 18th.
Re Vampires
Sir: Our client, MIR. Robert Fergu-
son of Ferguson e Muirhead. tea
brokers of Mincing Lane, has made
some inquiry from us In a communi-
cation of even date concerning vam-
pires. As our firm specializes en-
ttrely upon the assessment of ma
chinery, the matter hardly comes
within our purview, and we have
therefore recommended Mr.. Ferguson
to call upon you and lay the matter
before you. We have not forgotten
your successful action in the case of
Matilda Briggs.
We are. Sir,
Faithfully yours
MORRISON, MORRISON & DODD
per E. j. c.
Matilda Briggs was not the name
Of a young woman, Watson" said
Holmes. in a reminiscent voice. 1t
was A ship which is associated with
the giant rat of Sumatra. A story for
which the world is not yet prepared
But what do we know about vam-
pires? Does 1t come within our pur-
view, either? Anything is better
than stagnation, but really we seem
to have been switched on to a Grimm S
fairy tale. Make long arm. Wat
son, and see what V has to say"
| leaned down and took down the
great index volume to which he re-
ferred. Holmes balanced II on his
knee, and his eyes moved slowly and
lovingly over the record of old cases,
mixed with the accumulated informa-
tion of a lifetime.
Voyage of the Gloria Scott" he
read. That was a bad business. |
have some recollection that you made
a record of it, Watson, though l was
unable to congratulate you upon the
result. Victor Lynch, the forger.
Venomous lizard or gila. Remark
able case, that, Vittoria, the circus
belle. Vanderbilt and the yeggman.
Vipers. Vigor the Hammersmith
Wonder. Hullo. Hullo. Good old in
deX. You can't beat it. Listen to
this, Watson. Vampirism in Hun
gary. And again, Vampires in
He turned over the pages with
eagerness, but after short, intent
perusal he threw down the great book
with a snarl of disappointment.
rubbish, Watson, rubbish! What
have we to do with walking corpses,
who can only be held in their grave
by stakes driven through their hearts.
It's pure lunacy."
But surely" said l. the vampire
living person might have the habit.
l have read, for example, of the old
sucking the blood of the young in
order to retain their youth"
You are right, Watson. 1t men
tions the legend in one of these refer
ences. But are we to give serious
attention to such thfngs2 This agency
stands f1at-footed upon the ground.
and there it must remain. This world
is big enough for u.s. No ghosts need
apply. ! fear that we cannot take
Mr. Robert Ferguson very seriously.
Possibly this note may be from him.
and may throw some light upon what
is worrying him.
X
LIE took up second letter. which
had lain unnoticed- upon the table
while he had been absorbed with the
first. This he began to read with a
smile of amusement upon his face.
which gradually faded away into an
expression of intense interest and
concentration. When he had finished.
he sat for some little time lost in
thought, with the letter dangling from
his fingers. Finally with a start he
aroused himself from his reverie.
Cheeseman's. Lamberley. Where is
Lamberley, Watson?'
ut is in Sussex, south of Horsham
Not very far. Ell? And Cheese
man's?"
II know that country. Holmes. It
IS full of old houses, which are named
after the men who built them CEN
turtes ago. You get Odley's and Har-
Vey's and Carrit ton 's-the folk are for
gotten but their names live in their
houses"
Precisely" said Holmes. coldly. It
was one of the pecuis rites of his
proud, self-contained nature that.
though he docketed any fresh fnfor-
nation very quickly and accurately
in his brain. he seldom made any
acknowledgment to the giver. II
rather fancy we shall know a good
deal more about Cheeseman's. Lam
herley. before we are through The
letter is, as 1 had hoped. from Robert
Ferguson. BY the way, he claims ac-
quaintance with you
W ltn me.
You had better read it," He hand
eH the letter across It was headed
with the address quoted
Dear Mr.. Holmes" it said. II have
been recommended TO you by my law
yers, but indeed the matter is so ex-
traordinarily delicate that It is most
diffiCClc to discuss. II concerns
friend for whom am acting This
gentleman married some five years
ago a Peruvian lady, the daughter Of
4. Peruvian merchant. whom he had
met in connection with the importa-
tion of nitrateS. The lady was very
beautiful. but the fact Of her foreign
birth and of her religion always
caused a separation of interests and
Of feelings between husband and wife,
50 that after a time his love may
have cooled toward her and he may
have come to regard their union as
mistake He felt there were sides of
her character which he could never
explore or understand. This was the
more painful as she was as lovizg
wife as a man could have--te all ap-
pearances absolutely devoted.
Now for the point which | will
make more plain when we meet. In
deed this note is merely to give you
a general idea of the situation and to
ascertain whether you would care to
interest yourself in the matter. The
lady began 10 show some curious
traits quite allen to her ordinarily
sweet and gentle disposition. The
gentleman had been married TWICE
and he had one son BY the first wife.
This boy\was now Is. very charm
ing and affectionate youth, though
unhappily injured through an acci-
dent in childhood. Twice the wife
was caught in the act of assaulting
/ T.. IL 1. =.
way. Once she struck him with
stick and left d great welt on his arm.