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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1905)
THE StJ2DAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 26, 1905. 1 1 EmsmammmaB&Bjmmm "G OOD MORNIN", Majah!" "Good mornln', Amos! How're 'you this mornln?" "Just tolerable, thank you. How're you?" "Just tolerable- Goln' up to the court house, I suppose?" "Yes, sah. I've got a little business up there. Tou know I've had that nig gah Silas arrested for his everlastin EtealinV "Well, I've got the same kind of busi ness. I'm coin' to prosecute old Jake. 1 hate to do It, but I've decided, sah, that It's my duty. He mighty nigh killed Mose Baglcy, his son-in-law, with a hoe. At least they say it was Jake, and I don't deny it. They've had a right smart of quarrels, but I always thought It was because Jake had an Idea that he ought to be boss of all the hands, since he's been In the family so long. This was different, bowe-er, although I have been unable to find out what the real cause of it was. Ho lias been a good servant to me and mine, Amos. He was the only one who remained faithful during the wah and since. But I must stop this lawlessness, Amos; I must stop it." The Major sank into a deep reverie, and his companion, lees deeply concerned, forbore to rouse him from It, preferring rather to enjoy the beauty and fresh ness of the morning. It was a perfect June day in tide water Virginia. The trumpet-flower and the Virginia creeper dripped and sparkled with dew, the air was fragrant with the perfume of honeysuckle and magnolia and vibrant with the triumphant love songs of the cardinal and the mocking bird. It was one of those mornings on which the soul, unless overweighted with trouble or grief, 1 eacms to transcend Its habitat of clay and ' to flit hither and thither with .the pure joy of living. But the Major's soul was so sorely" per plexed that he was oblivious of all the beauty about him. In spite of the solu tion of the problem which he had reached, i his brow was deeply furrowed. Once when 1 his horse shied playfully as a bird flitted across the road close in front of her, ho i to far forgot himself as tp Jerk her ! sharply back and then spur her forward. The next instant he apologized to her handsomely, like the gentleman he was, and tenderly stroked her arching neck, "I tell you. Amos," said the Major breaking the long silence, "this thing of haiin' to put the screws to old Jake, cuts . me to the quick. He has served me long and faithfully, and I- hope I am not wantin' in gratitude to him. Moreover, this Is the first time he has ever been in a scrape of thig sort But there has been so much of this cuttin' and slashln and beatin' among the other hands, especially the younger ones, that I am goln' to try to put a stop to it. I'm goin' to practice what I preach, sail. I don't believe that he had any cause except pure jealousy. And what It he did? They've got to learn to settle their differences by law. I'll 'just make an example of one or two of them, and then maybe I can have a minute's peace. They all know what Jake has been to me, and If I come down on him, they'll know what they'll get." "Tell. Majah. what good will it do? Tou can't hang 'Im for beatin one an other over the head, for you know, sah, they can't kill a niggah that way. Put 'em In jail, but what do they care lor that? They'd rather be there than not. THE RETURN -OF SHERLOCK HOLMES C0NFSI?SS E dowed, had been turned into a court of in vestigation. Holmes sat in a groat old fashioned chair, his inexorable eyes gleam ing out of his haggard face. I could read In them a set purpose to devote his life to this quest until the client whom he had failed to save should at last be avenged. The trim Inspector Martin, tho old, gray headed country doctor, myself and a stolid village policeman made up the rest of that strange company. The two women told their story cloarly enough. They had been aroused from their sleep by the sound of an explosion, which had been followed a minute later by a second one. They slept in adjoining rooms, and Mrs. King rushed in to Saun ders. Together they had descended the stairs. The door of tho study was open, and a candle was burning upon the table. The master lay upon his face In the cen ter of tho room. He was quite dead. Near the window his wife was crouching, her head leaning against the wall. She was horribly wounded, and the side of her face was red with blood. She breathed nea 11 . but was Incapable of saying any- thing. The passage, as well as the room, was full of smoke and the smell of pow der. The window was certainly shut and fastened upon the inside. Both womon erc positive upon the point. They had at once sent for the doctor and for the Nonstable, Then, with the aid of the groom and the stable-boy, they had con ic cd their injured mistress to ber room. Both she and her husband had occupied the bed. She was clad in her dress he in his dressing-gown, over his night-clothes. Nothing had been moved In the study. So far as they knew, there had never been any quarrel between husband and wife. They had always looked upon them as a cry united couple. These were the main points of the scr antr evidence. In answer to Inspector Martin, they were clear that every door was fastened upon the inside, and that no ere could have escaped from the house. In answer to Holmes, they both remem bered that they were conscious of the smell of powder from the moment that they ran out of their rooms upon the top loor "I eoramond that fact very carc fullj to yqur attention," said Holmes to his professional colleague. "And now I think that we arc in a position to under take a thorough examination of the room " The study proved to be a small cham ber lined on three sides with books, and rith a writing-table facing an ordinary window, which looked out upon the gar fr . Our first attention was given to the body of the unfortunate squire, whose ? i gc frame lay stretched across the room, tts disordered dress showed that he had ben hastily aroused from tdeep. The bul 'ct had been fired at him from tho front, and had remained in his body after oenc- rr-Mnig me neart. lils death had cer tainly been Instantaneous and nalnless. There was no powder-mark either upon lu? dressing-gown or on his hands. Ac cording to tho country surgeon, the lady had Rtalns upon her face, but none upon her hand. Th absence of the latter moans noth though Its presence may mean every thing," said Holmes. "Unless the powder from a badly fitting, cartridge happens to Fpurt backward, ono may fire manv shots without leaving a sign. I would suggest that Mi. Cubitt's body may now be removed. I suppose, doctor, you have nt recovered the bullet which "wounded the Jadj ?" 'A Ferlous o Deration will hi iipnnsRnrv before that can bo done. But there areH sun four cartridges in the revolver. Two have been fired, and two wounds inflicted, iriMt mi ii m tt i i it ks imtttth snmt' 7 I . In Winter it means a good place to sleep and plenty to eat and no work. Their friends supply them with all the tobacco they want. And' when they come out they're Just as good, or a little better than before in -the eyes of the others." "I know It, Amos. I know It. But the law says the violator must be punished, sah, and we can inflict only such punish ment as the law allows." "Tell you what I think," said Amop. "I think the best -thing wo can do Is to re vive the whipping post. Puttln' a niggah in jail is just like beatin him over the head he don't feel It. You can't hurt his feelln's of pride, because he hasn't any. But when he knows that he's goin to bo strapped to 'Ole Sal' and the lash laid aoross his naked hide if he don't behave himself, I tell you, sah, he's goln to bo mighty ca-arcful." "Yes, but that's brutal. It don't do him any good: It don't reform him." "Butal or not brutal," retorted Amos, "I believe in doln' something that will put a stop to It." "But I am afraid that would not slop it, Amos." the Major said. As the Major replied they reached the brow of the hill, turned sharply to tho so that each bullet can be accounted for." "So It would seem," said Holmes. "Per haps you can account also for the bullet which has so obviously struck the edge of the window?" He had turned suddenly, and his long, thin finger was pointing to a hole which had been drilled right through the lower window-sash, about an inch above tho bottom. "By George!" cried the inspector. How ever did you see that?" "Because I looked for it." "Wonderful!" said the country doctor. "You arc certainly right, sir. Then a third shot has been fired, and thoroforc a third person must have been prosent But who could that have been, and how could he have got away?" "That is the problem which we are now about to solve," said Sherlock Holmes. "You remember. Inspector Martin, when the servants said that on leaving their room they were at onpe conscious of a. smell of powder, I remarked that the point was an extremely important one?" "Yes, sir; but 1 confess I did not quite follow you." "It suggested that at the time of the firing, the window as well as the door of the room had been open. Othorwise the Jlimes of powder could not have been blown so rapidly through the house. A draught in the room was necessary for that. Both door and window wore only open for a very short time, however." "How do you prove that?" "Because the candle was not guttered." "Capital!" cried the Inspector. "Capi tal!" "Feeling sure that the Window had been open at the time of the tragedy, I con ceived that there might have been a third person in tho affair, who stood outside this opening and fired through it Any shot directed at this person might hit the sash. I looked, and there, sure enough, was tlMsJjullet mark!" "But how came tho window to be shut and fastened?" "The woman's first instinct would bo to shut and fasten the window. But, hal lao; what is this?" It was a lady's handbag which stood upon tho study table a trim little hand bag of crocodile sxm and silver. Holmes opened it and turned the contents out There were 20 50-pound notes of tho Bank of England, held together by an india-rubber band nothing else. "This must be preserved, for it will fig uro in tho trial," said Holmes, as ho handed the bag with its contents to tho Inspector. "It is now necessary that we should try to throw some light upon this third bullet, which has cloarly, from tho splintering of the wood, been fired from inside the room. I should like to see Mrs. King, the cook, again. You said, Mrs. King, that you were awakened by a loud explosion. When you sajd 'that, did you mean that It seemed to you louder than the second one?" "Well, sir, it wakened me from my sleep.. and so it is hard to judge. But it did seem very loud." "You don't think that It might havo been two shots fired almost at the same instant?" "I am sum I couldn't say, sir." "I believe that It was undoubtedly so. I rather think. Inspector Martin, that wo have now exhausted all that this room can teach us. ir you will kindly step round with mc, wc shall sec what fresh evidence the garden ha to offer." A flower bed extended up to the study window, and we all broke into an ex clamation as we approached It Tho flowers were trampled down, and the soft soil was Imprinted " all oyer v left and drew rein before Hanover Court House. The spacious yard was filled with groups of men standing and sitting under the huge old elms and locusts, many of which had Imbedded in thoir trunks six and eight pounders, all but overgrown now. sas grim reminders of the terrific battle fought .for this point of vantage. The Courthouse itself Is a long, low. one story brick building, erected, so the tablet- above the door reads. In 1734. Within Its walls, tradition says, the volco of Patrick Henry was often heard. It stands as firmly now as It did the day It was built. But the old bricks carry the scars of many wounds made by bullets, grape and canister, and at one end, a little to the right of the Judge's bench. Is a spot, marked by white plaster within and modern brick without, where a larger ball went crashing through this temple of justice, as if sent by Mars himself to taunt Its priestess with her Impotence. The first case on the docket was that in which the Major was interested, and when the "Oh ycz! Oh yez!" of the, bail iff .-announced the convening of court, everybody moved toward the courtroom. The Judge was already In hia chair, the jury filed Into the box, and old Jake was brought irr by the Sheriff and placed in the prisoner's pen. The. clerk arose and mumbled the words of the indictment, the only Intelliglblo part of which was the phrase, "charged with assault with intent to kill one. Moses Baglcy." "You have heard the charge," said the Judge, fuming to the prisoner. "Arc you guilty or not"" guilty?" "May it please the1 court," interrupted the Major. "I am prosecuting this old man. But I want him to have every chance tho law allows. I see that he Is without counsel, and, if he has no money with which to employ an attorney, I sug gest that the court appoint someone to act iu that capacity. I will ccc that ho gets his fee." Jake had remained standing since first addressed, his hands gripping the railing in front of him. His head was white and his shoulders stooped from his many years of work in the field. Hie face was with footmarks. Large, masculine feet they were, with peculiarly long, sharp toes. Holmes hunted about among the grass and leaves like a retriever after a wounded bird. Then, with a, cry of satisfaction, he bent forward and picked up a little brazen cylinder. "I thought so," said he; "the re volver had an ejector, and here is tho third cartridge. I really think. Inspect or Martin, that our case is almost com plete." The country inspector's face had shown his intense amazement at tire rapid and masterful progress of Holmes' Investigation. At first ho had shown some disposition .to assert his own position, but now he was over come with admiration, and ready to follow without question wherever Holmos led. "Whom do you suspect?" he asked. "I'll go Into that, later. There are several points in this problem which I have not been able to explain to yon yet Now that I have got so far, I had best proceod on my own linos, and then clear the whole matter up once and for all." "Just as you wish, Mr. Holmes, so long as we get our man." "I have no dcslro to make mysteries, but It is Impossible at the moment of action to ontcr into long and complex explanations. I havo the threads of this affair all in my hand. Even If this lady should never recover consciousness, we can still reconstruct the events of last night, and. insure that Justice be done. First of all, I wish to know whether there is any inn in this neighborhood known as 'Elrlge's'?" The servants were cross-questioned, but none of them, had heard of such a place. The stable-boy threw a light upon the matter by remembering that a. farmer of that name lived some miles off, in the direction of East Ruston. "Is .it a lonely farm?" "Very lonely, sir." "Perhaps they have not heard yet of all tnat happened here during the night?" "Maybe not, sir." Holmos thought for a little, and then a curious smllo played over his face. "Saddle a horse, my lad," said he. "I shall wish you to take a note to Elrlge's farm." He took from. his pocket tho various slip's of the dancing men. With these in front of him, ho worked for some tlmo at the study-table. Finally he handed a nolo to the boy. with directions to put it into the hands of the person to whom it was addressed, and especially to answer no questions of any sort which might be put to him.. I saw the outside of tho note, addressed in straggling. Ir regular characters, very unlike Holmes' usual precise hand. It was signed to Mr. Abe Slaney, Elrlge's -Farm. East Huston, Norfolk. "I think. Inspector," Holmes re marked, "that you would do well to telegraph for an escort, as. If my calcu lations prove to be correct, you may have a particularly dangerous prisoner to convey to the county goal. The boy who takes tills nctfe could no doubt for ward your telegram. If there Is an af ternoon train to town. Watson, I think we should do well to take it, as I havo a chemical analysis of gpmo intcrost to finish, and this Investigation draws rap idly to a close." When the youth had been dispatched with the note. Sherlock Holmes gave his instructions to the servants. If any gaunt and drawn, his eyes moist and bloodshot. While the clerk was reading the charge he gazed steadily at the floor. When the Judge addressed him he raised his head, and the look on his face showed that he felt keenly the disgrace of his position. He looked first at the Major, then at the Judge, and began: "Yo Honah. I don want nobody ter talk for me, I ain' neyah been in co't befo an I donno zactly what ter do, but if you'll lemme Jes' talk cr llttlj, den I'll tell you-all If 'twas meat buss dat scoun'I Mose Bagley ovah de hade wld er hoe." The Judge smiled and nodded assent. Jake turned to the Major and con tinued: "Marse Bent, somehow hit don seem jos right, sah, dat you wants ter sen' me ter jail, 1'se done worked fer you an Miss Mary mos all my life, an aln nevah give you-all no trouble befo'; but I'so he'p'd you-all some, I 'sp'ec. Does yer 'member. Marse Bent, when we wuz little fellahs, how yes use ter tek mo wid yer huntln an fishln, an how Miss Martha would'n' trus' yer wld nobody but me? Does yer member dat night down In de ole rivah bot tom, sah, when dc ax slip off dat big olo sycamore we wuz a-ohoppin' down ter git do coon an' cut yo lage, how yer couldn walk an' I done tote yer all Jo way home on my back? Doe3 yer 'mem ber dem time, Marse Bent. "An when de wah broke out how yer had ter go an' he'p fight an leav Miss Mary an yo' little Miss Milly, wid nobody ter keer fer dem 'ccp me an' Dinah, fer all dc odah nlggahs done run off? Did Miss Mary evah tell yer, sa'n. 'bout dc time rc Yanks come on stole all de horses an' mules an' cows an carried dem off an how Jey whup me an tried ter mek me tell whah all de meat an' flour wuz hid an how I wouldn do hit? No. sah, I woulJn do dat If dey killed me dade. Did she tell yer tlat, Marse Bent? An did you evah yeah, sah. how I got dis scan when I wuz a-comln bade right frough de middle of do whole Yankee army aftih I jdone 'livered de lettah dat Mias Mary writ you a-tellln you not to try ter come an" see dem, cuz dey wuz all right an' you miprht git snot? "An when yer cum back from de wall, aah, yer foun everythln gone an de barn all burned up an' nobody dere 'cepln' Miss Mary an Miss Milly an' me an Dinah. Did any of dc odah free nlggahs stay wid yer den, fah when yer dldn have no money an he'p yer git a Tjudah slant? I reck'n yo done rerget all rem 'currences. aln' yer. Marse Bent?" Tho Major was standing when Jak received permission to speak, but sur mising what ho was going to say, sat down Impatiently. For a time he looked the old man straight in tho eye. but soon directed bis attention to the floor. As question followed question, spoken In such pathetic, appealing: toces. he became more and more restless, and when they ceased his elbows were rest ing on his knees, his hands were tigh Un clasped, and his head was bowed low on his breast. The room was hot, and he seemed to have difficulty In breathing. visitor were to call asking for Mrs. Hilton Cubltt, no Information should be given as to her condition, but he was to be shown at once into, the drawing room. He impressed these points upon them with the utmost earnestness. Finally he led the way Into the drawing-room, with the remark that the business was now out of our hands, and that we must while away the tlmo as best we might until we could see what was In store for us. The doctor had departed to his patients, and only the Inspector and myself remained. "I think that I can help you to pass an hour in an interesting and profitable manner," said Holmes, drawing his chair up to the tabic, and spreading out in front of him the various papers upon which were recorded the antics of the dancing men. "As to you, friend Wat son, I owe you every atonement for hav ing allowed your natural curiosity to remain so long unsatisfied. To you, In spector, the whole Incident may appeal as a remarkable professional study. I must toll you, first of all. the Interest ing circumstances connected with tho prc- i vlous consultations which Mr. Hilton Cu i bltt has had with mc In Baker street" He then shortly recapitulated the facts which have already been recorded. "I havo hero in Tront of me these singular productions, at which due might smile, had they not proved tncmselvcs to be tho forerunners of so terrible a tragedy. I am fairly familiar with all forms of secret writings, and am myself the au thor of a trifling monograph upon the subject, in which I analyso 100 separate ciphers, but I confess that it Is entirely new to me. The object of those who in vented the system has apparently been to conceal that these characters convey a message, and to give the Idea that thoy aro tho mere random sketches of children. "Having once recognized, however, that the symbols stood for letters, and having applied the rules which guide us in all forms of secret writings, the solution was easy enough. The first message submitted to me was so short that it was impos sible for me to do more than to say, with some confidence, that the symbol XJtood for E. As you ore aware D Is tho most common letter In tho English alphabet, and it predomi nates to so marked an extent that even in a short sentence one would expect to find It most often. Out of 15 symbols In the first message, four were the same, so It was reasonable to set this down as E. It la true that In some cases tho figure was bearing a flag, and in some cases not, but It was probable, from the way in which the flags were distributed, that they were used to break the Q pajuasajdaj sva. g imfi pajou T pus sisaqiod.iri v stj sun pajdab - -oxt i -spjoiv ojuj dn wuajuas "Hut now came the real difficulty of the Inquiry. The order of the English letters after E Is by no means well marked, and any preponderence which rnay he shown In an average of a printed sheet may be revised lr a single short sentence. Speaking roughly, T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R, D, and I arc the numerical order in which letters occur; but that T, A, O. and I are very nearly abreast of each other, and it would be an endless task to try eah combination until a meaning was arrived at I tnercfore waited for fresh material. In my second Interview with Mr. Hilton Cubltt he was able to. give me two other short sentences and one message, which appeared since 'thero was no flag to bo a. single word. Here arc the symbols. Now. in the single word j I have already got tho two Es coming Tnerc was a moment of profound si lence. The Majur did not look up, and Jakcwas just turning to the Judge to answer to the charge against him, wlien there was a commotion in tho crowd standing near the door in the rear of the room. A -woman was trying to force her way through. With one hand she shoved the men asldo and with tne other pressed closely to her bosom a little baby. Her dress was draggled, torn and covered with dust, licr face was cut and swollen. Her eyes gleamed with excitement, and her short heavy breathing- could be heard throughout the room. Mose, who was present to glv testimony. If necessary, against Jake, saw her first perhaps he was expecting her and cowered down m his corner like a whipped cur. Jake saw her, too, but the effect on him was far different. He faced the Judge and shouted: "Yo Honah, I pleads guilty. I did try ter breic dat houn's hade." . As soon as the woman reached the clear part of the ulsle. a whisper ran through the crowd: "Jake's daughter!" She was now close in front of 'the Judge She looked quickly about, saw her father standing there and her husband crouching behind the Major. But she had only one fear now. "Please, sah. don' let dem hang him," she gasped. "He dldn' know what he wuz doln, sah. He come in dc cabin jes when Mose done Knock me down an wuz a chokin de breff out er me, an I was too weak ter wait on him. He beat him wid his hoe and would a killed him if 't hadn' been fer me. When dat man come an carried him off ter Jail I tried ter tell him all 'bout hit, but Mose kep' me lock up in de cabin, an say he'd kill me if I tol anybody. But when he wen' away dls mornln' I buss out an run all de way hyah. cuz I know you-all's- gwlnter hang my po olo pap If I don me'k has'e. Why does you-all look at me dat away? Ob God! I ain too late. Is IT "Your honor." said 'the Major, loudly, In order to conceal the strangely thick and husky condition of his voice, "I move that this indictment be dismissed." "So ordered," the Judge replied In That afternoon the people returning from the courthouse saw the Major's sad dle marc fuming and fretting over having to serve In harness and draw a carriage ,and three people, four counting one, whose voice was the principal part of him. Amos overtook them a mile or two out from town and rallied the Major on the subject of preaching aud practicing. "How could I help it, Amos?" the Major asked in reply. "You would have done the same thing If you thought as much of this old niggah as I do though I sup pose I oughtn't to let him hour me say so, because the black rascal will be takin advantage of me for IL I intended to be gin practicing on Jake here, but I've de cided that Mose Is a better subject." "Are you suro you will stick to that If Lucy there comes around and asks you to let him off, Majah?" "Now, Amos, don't you go puttln any nonsense like that In Lucy's head. By the way. Amos, what about your Silas? What did they-do with him?" "Fined him," Amos replied. "And sent him to jail for want of mon ey to pay the fine?' "No." Amos answered, reluctantly. "What! Silas surely dl-n't " "No. confound It. Majah," Amos Inter rupted, "I paid the fine." When the Major recovered from his laughter. In which Amos Joined hirn. he said: "Amos, ride on down home with me. I have some splendid Bourbon and some fresh mint. We'll have a julep to gether over this day's work. We ought to congratulate. ourselves on It" "Thank you. MaJah; I'm right thirsty.' second and fourth In a word of five let ters. It might be 'sever,' or 'lever, or 'never.' There can be no question that the latter as a reply to an appeal Is far the most probable, and the circum stances pointed to Its being a reply writ ten by the lady. Accepting It as correct, wc are now able to say that the symbols stand respectively for N, V sHF andR- "Even now I was in considerable dif ficulty, but a happy thought -put me In possesion of several other letters. It occurred to me' that If these appeals came, as I expected, from someone who had been intimate with the lady in her early life, a combination which contained two E's with three letters between might very well stand for the name- 'Elsie.' On examination I found that such a combina tion formed the termination of the mes sage which was throe times repeated. It was certainly some appeal to 'Elsie, In this way I got my L, S and I. But what appeal could It be? There were only four letters In the word which preceded 'Elsie, and it ended in E. Surely the word must be 'come.' I tried all other four letters ending In E but none could fit the. case. So now I was iu possession of C, O and M, and I was in a position to attack th first message once more, dividing It into words and putting -dots for each symbol which was still unknown. .So treated, it worked out In this fashion: . M . ERE . . E SL . NJ3. "Now the first letter can only be A, which Is a most useful discovery, since It occurs no fewer than three times in this short sentence, and the H is also apparent in the second vord. Now it becomes: AM HERE A. E. SLANE. Or, filling Iu the obvious vacancies in tho name: AM HERE ABE SLANEY. I had so many letters now that I could proceed with considerable confidence, to the second message which worked out in this fashion: A. ELRI. ES. Here I could only make sense by putting T and G for the missing letters, and sup posing that the name was that of some house or Inn at which the writer was staying." Inspector Martin and I listened with the utmost interest to tho full and clear ac count of how my friend had produced results' which had led to so complete a command over our difficulties. "What did you do then, sir?" asked the Inspector. "I had every reason to suppose that this Abo Slaney was an American, since Abe is an American contraction; and since a letter from America had been the starting point of all the trouble. I had also every causto to think that there was some criminal sacret in thCmatter. The lady's allusion to her past, and her re fusal to take her husband into hor con fidence, both pointed In that direction. I therefore cabled to my friend, Wilson Hargreave, of the New York Police Bu reau, who has more than once made use of my knowledge of London crime. I asked whether the name of Abe Slaney was knqwn to him. Here Is his reply: The moat dangerous crook In Chicago. On the very evening upon which I had his answer. Hilton Cubltt sent me the last message from Slahey. Working with known letters. It took this form: ELSIE . RE . ARE TO MEET THY GO. The addition of a P aud a D completed a message which showed mc that the rascal was proceeding from persuasion to threats, and my knowledge of the crooks of Chicago prepared mc to find that he might very rapidly put his word3 into action. I at once came to Norfolk with my colleague. Dr. Watson, but, un happily, only In time to find that tho worst had already occurred." "It Is a privilege to be associated with you In tho handling of a case." said the Inspector, warmly. "You will excuse me, however. If I speak frankly to you. You are only answerable to yourself, but I have to answer to my superiors. If this Abe Slaney, living at Elrlge's. Is indeed the murderer, and if he has made his. escape while T am seated here. I should certainly get into- serious trouble." "You need not be uneasy. He will not try to escape." "How do you know?" "To fly would be a confession of guilt" , "Then let us go .to. arrest him-" "I expect him here every instant." "But why should he come?"- "Because I have written and asked him." "But this is incredible, Mr. Holmes! Why should he come because you have asked him? Would not such a. "request rather rouse his suspicions and cause him to fly?" "I think I have known how to frame the letter." said Sherlock Holmes. '"In fact If I am net very much mistaken, here Is the gentleman himself coming up the drive." A man was striding up the path which led to the door. He was a tall, handsome, swarthy fellow, clad in a 'suit of gray flannel, with a Panama hat, a l?ristllng black beard, and a great, aggressive hooked nose, and flourishing a cane as he walked. He swaggered up the path as If the place belonged to hjm, and we heard his loud, confident peal at the bell. "I think, gentlemen." ssld Holmes, quietly, "that we had best take up our position behind the door. Every precau tion Is necessary when dealing with such a fellow. Y'ou will need your handcuffs. Inspector. Y'ou can leave the talking to me." We waited In silence for a minute one of those minutes which one can never for get. Then the door opened and the man stepped in. In an instant Holmes clapped a pistol to his head, and Martin slipped the handcuffs over his wrists. It was all done so swiftly and deftly that the fellow was helpless before he knew that he was attacked. He glared from one to the other of us with a pair of blazing black eyes. Then he burst Into'a bitter laugh. "Well, gentlemen, you have the drop on me this time. I seem to have knocked up against something hard. But I came here In answer to a letter from Mrs. Hilton Cubltt. Don't tell me that she Is in this? Don't tell roe that she helped to set a trap for me?" "Mrs. vHIIton Cubltt was seriously In jured, and is at death's door." The man gave a hoarse cry of grief, which rang through the house. "You're crazy;' he cried, fiercely. "It was he that was hurt not she. Who would have hurt little Elsie? I may have threatened her God. forgive me! but I would not have touched a hair of her pretty head. Take it back--you! Say that she is not hurt!" "She was found, badly wounded, by the side of her dead husband." He sank with a deep groan on to the settee, and' buried his face in his man acled hands. For five minutes he was si lent. Then he raised his face once more, and spoke with the cold composure of despair. "I have nothing to hide from you, gen tlemen," said he- "If I shot the man he had his shot at me, and there's no murder In that But If you think I could have hurt that woman, then you den't know either me or her. I tell you. there was never a man In this world loved a woman more than 1 loved her. I had a right to her. She was pledged to me years ago. Who was this Engllshmnn that he should come between us? I tell you that I had the first right to her. and that I was only claiming my own." "She broke away from your influence when she found the man that you are." paid Holmes, sternly. "She fled from Am erica to avoid you. and she married an honorable gentleman !n England. You dogged her and followed her and made life a- misery to her. In order to induce her to abandon the husband whom she loved and respected In order to fly with you, whom she feared and hated. You have ended by bringing about the death of a noble man and driving his wife to suicide. That Is yjour record In this busi ness, "Mr. Abe Slaney, and you will an swer for It to the law." "If Elsie dies. I care nothing what be comes of me," said the American. He opened one of his hands, and looked at a note crumpled up in his palm. "See here, mister," he cried, with a gleam of suspicion In his eyes, "you're not trying to scare mo over this, are you? If the lady Js hurt as bad as you say, who was It that wrote this note?" He tossed it forwards on to the table. "I wrote It. to bring you here." "You wrote it? There was no one on earth outside the Joint who knew the secret of the dancing men. How came you to write It?" VWhat one man can invent another can discover." said Holmes. "There Is a cab coming to convey you to Norwich, Mr. Slaney. But meanwhile, you have time to make some small reparation for tho Injury that you have wrought. Are you aware that Mrs. Hilton Cubltt has herself lain under crave suspicion of the murder of her husband, and that It was only my presence here, ami the knowledge which; I happened to possess, which has saved her from tho accusation? The least that you owe her is to make It clear, to tho whole world that she "was in no way, directly or indirectly, responsible for his tragic end." "I ask nothing better," said the Amer ican. "I guess the very best case. I can make for myself Is the absolute naked truth." "It is my duty to warn you that It will be used against you," cried the Inspector, with the magnificent fatr-play of the British criminal law. Slaney shrugged his shoulders. "I'll chance that," said he. "First of all, I want you gentlemen to understand that I have- known this lady sinco she was a child. There were seven of us In a. gang In Chicago, and Elsie's father was WRITE FOR PRICES Portland General Electric Company SEVENTH AND Portland the boss of the Joint. He was a clever man. was old Patrick. It was he who in vented that writing, which would pass as a child's scrawl unless you just happened to have the key to It Well. Elsie learned some of our ways, but she couldn't stand the business, and she had a bit of honest money or her own, so sho gave us all the slip and got away to London. She had been engaged to me. and she would have married me. I believe, if I had taken over another profession, but she would have nothing to do with anything on the cross. It was only after her marriage to this Englishman that I was able to find out where she was. I wrote to her. but got no answer. After that I came over, and, as letters were no use, I put my messages whero she could read them. "Well. I have been here a month now. I lived in, that farm, where I had a room down below, and could get In and out every night, and no one the wiser. I tried all I could to coax Elsie away. I know that she read the mes sages, for once she wrote me an answer .under one of them. Then my temper got the better of me. and I began to threaten her. She sent me a letter then. Implor ing me to go away, and saying that it would break her heart If any scandal should come upon her husband. She said that she would come down when her hus band was asleep at U in the morning, and speak with tne through the end window. If I wquld go away afterwards and eave her In peace. She came down and brought money with htr. trying to bribe me to go. This made me mad, and I caught her arm and tried to pull her throush the window. At that moment In rushed the husband with his revolver In his hand. Elsto had sunk down upon the flooc. and we were face to face. I was heeled also, and I hyld up my gun to scare him off and Ut me get away. He fired and missed mc. I pulled off almost at the same lustant. and down he dropped. I made awny across the garden, and as I went I heard the window shut behind me. That's God's truth, gentlemen, every word of it; and I heard no more about It until that lad came riding up with a note which made me walk in here, like a Jay, and give my self into your hands." A cab had driven up whilst the Ameri can had been talking. Two uniformed police sat inside. Inspector Martin rose and touched hi3 prisoner on the shoulder. -It is time for us to go." "Can I see her first?" "No. she is not conscious. Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I only hope that If ever again I have an important case, I shall have the good fortune to have you by my side." We stood at the window and watched the cab drive away. As I turned back, my eye caught the pellet of paper which the prisoner had tossed upon tho tabic. It was the note with which Holmes had decoyed him. "See if you can readmit. Wat3on," said he. with a smile. It contained no word, but this little line of dancing men: "If you use the code which I havo ex plained," said Holmes, "you will find that it simply means 'Come here at once.' I was convinced that it was an Invitation which he would not refuse, since he could never imagine that it could come from anyone but the lady. And so. my dear Watson, we have ended by turning the dancing men to good when they havo so often been the agents of evil, and I think that I have fulfilled my promise of giving you something unusual for your notebook. Three-forty Is our train, and I fancy we should be back in Baker street for din ner." Only one word of epilogue. The Ameri can. Abe Slaney, was condemned to death at the Winter assizes at Norwich, but his penalty was changed to penal servitude in consideration of mitigating circum stances, and the certainty that Hilton Cubltt had fired the first shot. Of Mrs. Hilton Cubitt I only know that I have heard she recovered entirely, and that sha still remains a widow, devoting her whola life to the care of the poor and to the ad ministration of her husband's estate (Copyright 1S03, by A. Conan Doyle and Collier's Weekly.) (Copyright, 1905. by McClurc, Phillips & Co.) Good Stories Travel Fast. Persons who wonder at the rapidity with which a popular expression becomes circulated through the country generally ascribe the spreading of the phrase to the actors, but long before the actors begin to use the expression it has been flashed ail over tho country on the tele graph wires. Chatting over the wire is forbidden, but there comes a slack moment now and then when the operator swaps a story with a man hundreds of miles away, and a story told in New York today may reach San Francisco by Wednesday. It frequently happens that an espe cially good story or rhyme is typwrltten and passed around the room, and in turn this Is sent out over half a hundred wires running to all points of the compass. When the Western Union race .bureau was still in existence the wires from this room spread all over the country, direct wires running into the San Fran cisco poolrooms and giving the result of the races across the bay more quickly than the result could be telephoned by a man at the track. In tho early hours the work wars' light and the poolroom operators always had a lot of new stories to tell the frequent ers of the room, who promptly' spread them among their friends. In those days the vaudeville jokes on Monday oh q'na t coast were laughed at on the other coast next aftcrnoop. A Child's Dictionary. Dust Mud with the juice squeezed out pf .It. Snoring Letting off sleep. Apples The bubbles that apple tr.eer blow. Fan A thing to brush the warm off with. . Ice Water that went to sleep In thf cold.- Frederick R. Coudert-' THE LUXURY OF MODERN LIVING FINDS FULLEST EXPRESSION I N THE USE OJ ELECTRIC HEAT--ING DEVICES, AND ESPECIALLY WITH ELECTRIC SMOOTHING IRONS ALDER STREETS Oregon 4