Evening star., 1925-03-29
MURDEROUs ATTACK UPON SHEER.
LOCK HOLMES.

think stood stunned for some
moments. Then / have a confused
recollection of snatching at paper,
Of the remonstrance OF the man whom
I had not paid, and, finally, Of stand
ing in the doorway of a chemists
shop while I turned up the fatefuI
paragraph. This is how it ran:
I'VE learn with regret that Mr.
Sherlock Holmes, the well known pri
vate detective. was the victim this
morning of murderous assault
which has left him in a precarious
position. There are no exact details
to hand. but the event seems to have
occurred about IL o'clock in Regent
street, outside the Cafe Royal. The
attack was made by two men, arm
ed with sticks. and Mr.. Holmes was
beaten about the head and body, re-
ceiving injuries which the doctors de-
scribe as most serious. He was car
ried TO Charing Cross Hospital and
afterward insisted upon being taken
to his rooms in Baker street. The
miscreants who attack ed him appear
to have been respectfully dressed men
who escaped from the bystanders by
passing through the Cafe Royal and
out into Glasshouse street behind it.
No doubt they belonged TO that Grim
inal fraternity which has so often had
occasion to bewail the activity and
ingenuity OF the injured man"
l need not say that my eyes had
ha rdly glanced over the graph
before I had sprung into hanson
and was on my way to Baker street.
found Sir Leslie Oakshott, the
famous surgeon, in the hail and his
brougham waiting at the curb.
"No imm ediate danger" was his re-
port. Two lacerated scalp wounds
and some considerab BILE bruises. Sew
eral stitches have been necessary.
Morphine has been injected and quiet
is essential, but an interview of a
few minutes would not be absolutely
forbidden.
With this permission I stole into
the dark ened room. The sufferer was
wide awake, and I heard my name
in a hoarse whisper. The blind was
three-quarters down, but one ray of
sunlight slanted through and struck
the bandaged head of the injured man.
A crimson patch had soaked through
the white linen compress. l sat be-
side him and bent my head.
"All right, Watson. Don't look so
scared" he muttered in a very wea *
voice. IT'S not nearly as bad as it
seems"
Thank God for that"'
I'm a bit of, a single stick expert,
as you know. I took most OF them on
my guard. 1t was the second man
that was too much for me-"
y y * !:
EXNHAT can do. Holmes? OF
w course, It was that damned fell
low who set them on. I'll go and
! thrash the hide off him If you give
the word"
Good old waston. No, we can do
To-,
their hands on the men. But their
getaway had been well prepared.
We may be sure of that. Wait a lit
tie. l have my plans. The first thing
! is to exaggerate my injuries. They'll
come to you for news. Put ii on
thick, Watson. Lucky IL I live the
week out-concussion - delirium - what
you like! You can't overdo it."
But Sir Leslie Oakshott"
"Oh. he's all right. He shall see
the worst side of me. I'll look after
/ that"
"Anything else?"
Yes. Tell Shinwell johnson to get
that girl out OF the way. Those
beauties will be after her now. They
know. OF course, that she was with
me in the case. If they dared to do
me in, II is not likely that they will
neglect her. That is urgent. Do it
tonight
I'll go now. Anything more?"
Put my pipe on the table--and the
tobacco slipper. Right Come in
each morning and we will plan our
! campaign
/ arranged with Johnson that even
ing to take Miss Winter to a quiet
suburb and see that she lay low
until the danger was past.
For six days the public was under
the impression that Holmes was at the
door of death. The bulletins were
very grave, and there were sinister
paragraphs in the papers. My con-
tinual visits assured me that it was
not so bad as that His wiry con-
stitution and his determined will were
working wonders. He was recovering
fast, and I had suspicious at times
that he was really finding himself
faster than he pretended, even to me.
There was a curious secretive streak
in the man which led to many dra-
matte effects, but left even his
closest friend guessing as to what
his exact plans might be. He pushed
to an extreme the axiom that the
only safe pfotter waS he who plotted