V
THE' SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, OCTOBER i, 190o.
A Case of
Identity
(Copyright by A. J3onan Doyle and Harper &
JBros.)
Y DEAR FELLOW," said Sher
jl lock Holmes, as we sat on either
side of the Are In his lodgings at
Baker street, "life Is infinitely stranger
than anything -which the mind of man
rould invent. We -would not dare to con
ceive the things which are really mere
commonplaces of existence. If we could
fly out of that window hand in hand,
hover over this great city, gently remove
the roofs and peep in at the queer things
which are going on, the strange coinci
dences, the plannings, the cross-purposes,
the wonderful chain of events, working
through generations, and leading to the
most outre results, it would make all Ac
tion with Its conventionalities and fore
seen conclusions most stale and unprofit
able." "And yet I am not convinced of It," I
answered. "Tho cases which come to
light in tho papers are, as a rule, bald
enough and vulgar enough. We have Jn
our police reports realism pushed to its
extreme limits, and yet the result if, it
must be confessed, neither fascinating
nor artistic"
"A certain selection and discretion must
be used In producing a realistic effect,"
remarked Holmes. "This is wanting In
tho police report, where more stress is
laid, perhaps, upon the platitudes of the
magistrate than upon tho details, which
to an observer contain the vital essence
of the whole matter. Depend upon it,
there is nothing so unnatural as the com
monplace." I smiled and shook my head. "I can
quite understand your thinking so," said I.
"Of. -course. In your position of unofficial
adviser and helper to everybody who Is
absolutely puzzled, throughout three con
tinents, you are brought in contact with
all that is strange and bizarre. But
here" I picked up the morning paper
from the ground "let us put it to a prac
tical test. Here Is the first heading upon
which I come. 'A husband's cruelty to
his wife.' There is half a column of
print, but I know without reading it that
it Is all perfectly familiar to me. There
is, of course, the other woman, tho drink,
the push, the blow, the bruise, the sym
pathetic sister or landlady. Tho crudest
of writers could invent nothing more
crude "
"Indeed, your example Is an unfortu
nate one for your argument," said
Holmes, taking the paper and glancing
his eye down It. "This is the Dundas
separation case, and, as It happens, I was
engaged in clearing up some small points
in connection with It. The husband was
a teetotaler, there "was no other woman.
and the conduct complained of was that
he had drifted into the habit of winding
up every meal by taking-, out his false
teeth and hurling them at his wife, which,
you will allow, is not an action likely to
occur to the Imagination of the average
story-teller. Take a pinch of snuff t doc
tor, ar 1 acknowledge that 1 have scorfed
ever ou xr. ur"txample."
He held out his snuffbox of ol,l goicf,
with a great amethyst In the center Of
the lid. Its splendor was In such contrast
to his homely ways and simple life that
I could not help commenting upon it.
"Ah," said he, "I forgot that I had not
6een you for some weeks. It is a little
souvenir from tho King of Bohemia In
Tcturn for my assistance ' in the case of
the Irene Adler papers."
"And the ring?" I asked, glancing at a
remarkable brilliant' which sparkled upon
his finger.
"It was from the rejgnlng family In
Holland, though the matter In which"" I
served them was of such delicacy that I
cannot confide It even to you, who have
been good enough to chronicle one or two
of my little problems."
"And hae you any on hand Just now?" '
I asked, with Interest.
"Some ten or twelve, but none which
present any feature of interest. They are
important, you understand, without being
interesting. Indeed, I have found that It
is usually in unimportant matters that
there is a field for the observation, and
for the quick analysis of cause and ef
fect which gives the charm to an investi
gation. The larger crimes are apt to be
the simpler, for the bigger the crime, the
more obvious, as a rule, is the motive.
In these cases, save for one rather intri
cate matter which has been referred to
me from Marseilles, there is nothing
which presents any features of interest.
It is possible, however, that I may have
something better before very many min
utes are over, for this Is one of my
clients, or I am much mistaken.
He had risen from his chair and was
standing between the parted blinds, gaz
ing down into the dull, neutral-tinted
London street. Looking over his shoul
der, I saw that on the pavement opposite
there stood a large woman with a heavy
fur boa round her neck, and a large
curling red feather In a broad-brimmed
hat, which was tilted In a coquettish
Duchess-of-Devonshlro fashion over her
ear. From under this great panoply she
peeped up in a nervous, hesitating fash
Ion at our windows, while her body oscil
lated backward and forward, and her
Angers fidgeted with her glove buttons.
Suddenly, with a plunge, as of the swim
mer who leaver the bank, she hurried
across the road and we heard the sharp
clang of the bell.
"I have seen those symptoms before,"
said Holmes, throwing his cigarette Into
the fire. "Oscillation upon the pavement
always means an affaire de coeur. She
would like advice, but Is not sure that the
matter is not too delicate for communi
cation. And yet even here we may dis
criminate. When a woman has been se
riously wronged by a man she no longer
oscillates, and the usual symptom Is a
broken bell wire. Here we may take it
that there is a love matter, but that the
maiden Is not so much angry as perplexed,
or grieved. But here she comes in person
to resolve our doubts."
As ho spoke there was a tap at the
door, and the boy in buttons entered to
announce Miss Mary Sutherland, while
the lady herself loomed behind his small
black figure like a full-sailed merchant
man behind a tiny pilot-boat Sherlock
Holmes welcomed her with easy courtesy
for which he was remarkable, and having
closed the door and bowed her Into an
armchair, he looked her over in a minute,
and yet abstracted ashion which was pe
culiar to him.
"Do you not find." he said, "that with
your short sight It Is a little trying to
do so much typewrltlhc?"
"I did at first," she answered, "but now
I know where' the letters are without
looking." Then, suddenly realizing the
full purport of his words, she gave a vio
lent start and looked up, with fear and
astonishment upon her broad, good-humored
tace. "You've heard about me.
Mr. Holmes." she cried, "else how could
you know all that?"
"Never mind," said Holmes laughing;
"it is my business to know things. Per
haps I have trained myself to see what
others overlook. If not, why should you
come to consult me?"
"I came to you, sir, because I heard
of you from Mrs. Ethcrege, whose hus-
ijband you found so easy when the police
,snd everyone had given hlra uj? is dcwl.
1.. h. w.., mmt ms,m.ri iiKBmMiM mtmwmw wh w. 'sy. m' m m m i wm m m t h ai mm mmr m mm bi m k. in m mm i i i
Oh, Mr. Holmes.. I wish you would do as
much for me. I'm not rich, but still I
have a hundred a year in my own right,
besides the little that I make by tho
machine, and I would give it all to know
what has become of Mr. Hosmor Angel."
"Why did you come away to consult me
in such a hurry?" asked Sherlock Holmes,
with his Anger-tips together, and his eyes
to the celling.
Again a startled look came over the
somewhat vacuous face of Miss Mary
Sutherland, "Yes, I did bang out of .the
house," she said, "for It made me angry
to see the easy way in which Mr. Windl
bank that is, my father took it all. He
would not go to the police, and he would
not go to you, and eo at last, as he would
do nothing, and keep on saying that there
was no harm done, it made me mad, and
I just on with me things and came right
away to you."
"Your father," said Holmes, "your step
father, surely, since the name Is differ
ent?" "Yes, my stepfarthcr. I call him father,
though it sounds funny, too, for he is
only Ave years and two months older
than myself."
"And you mother is alive?"
"Oh, yes, mother is alive and well. I
wasn't best pleased, Mr. Holmes, when
she married again so soon after father's
death, and a man who was nearly 15
years younger than herself. Father was
a plumber In the Tottenham Court Road,
and he left a tidy business behind him.
which mother carried on with Mr. Hardy,
the foreman, but when Mr. Wlndlbank
came he made her sell the business, for
he was very superior, being a traveler in
wines. They got 4700 for tho good-will
and interest, which -wasn't near as much
as father could have got if he had been
alive."
I had expected to see Sherlock Holmes
Impatient under this rambling and Inoon
sequental narrative, but, on the contrary,
he had listened with the greatest concen
tration of attention.
"Your own little income." he asked,
"does It come out of the business?"
"Oh. no, sir. It is quite separate, and
was left me by my Uncle Ned In Auck
land. It Is In New Zealand stock, paying
4i per cent. Two thqusand five hundred,
pounds was the amount, but I can only
touch the Interest."
"You Interest me extremely," said
Holmes. "And since you draw so large a
sum as a hundred a year, with what you
earn lilto the-batwin, jyu tki druiUt grav
el a Utile, and jfAuljse yourself In even
,way. X believe that a single lady can get
on very nicely upon an Income of about
"I could do with much less than that,
Mr. Holmes, but you understand that as
long as 1 livo at home I don't wish to
be a burden to them, and so they Jiave
the use of the money Just while I am
staying with, them. Of course, that is
only Just .for the time. Mr. Wlndlbank
draws my interest every quarter, and
pays it over to mother,, and I find, that
I can do -pretty well with what I earn at
typewriting. It brings me twopence a
sheet, and I can often do from 15 to 20
sheets'ln a day."
"You have made your position very
clear to me." said Holmes. "This Is my
friend. Dr. Watson, before whom you can
'sjeak as freely as before myself. Kindly
tell us now all about your connection
with Mr. Hosmer Angel."
A flush " stole over Miss Sutherland s
face, and she picked7 nervously at the
fringe of her jacket. "I met him at the
gasfitters' ball," she said. "They used to
send father tickets when he was alive,
and then afterwards they remembered us,
and sent them to mother. Mr. Wlndl
bank did not wish us to go. He never .did
wish us to go anywhere. He would get
quite mad if I wanted so much as to
join the Sunday-school treat. But this
time I was set on going, and I would go;
for what right had he to prevent? He
said the folk were not fit for us to know,
when all father's friends were to be
there. And he said I had nothing fit to
wear, when I had my purple plush that
I had never so much as taken out of the
drawer. At last, when nothing else would
do, ho went off to France upon the busi
ness of the firm, but we went, mother
and I. with Mr. Hardy, who used to be
our foreman, and It was there I met Mr.
Hosmer Angel."
"I suppose," said Holmes, "that when
Mr. Wlndlbank came back from France
he was very annoyed at your having gone
to the ball."
"Oh, well, he was very good about It.
He laughed, I remember, and shrugged
his shoulders, and said there was no use
denying anything to a -woman, for she
would have her way."
"I see. Then at the gasfitters' ball you
met, as I understand, a gentleman called
Mr. Hosmer Angel."
"Yes. sir. I met him that night, and
he called next day to ask if we had got
home all safe, and after that we met him
that Is to say, Mr. Holmes, I met him
twice for walks, but after that father
came back again, and Mr. Hosmer Angel
could not come to the house any more."
"Nor
"Well, you know, father didn't like any
thing of the sort. He wouldn't have any
visitors if he could help It, and he used
to say that a woman should be happy In
hef own family circle. But then, as I
used to say to mother, a woman wants
her own circle to begin with, and I had
not got mine yet."
"But how about Mr. Hosmer Angel?
Did he make no attempt' to sec you?"
"Well, father was going off to France
again in a week, and Hosmer wrote and
said It would be safer and better not to
see each other until he had gone. We
could write in the meantime, and he used
to write every day. I took the letters in
the morning, so there was no need for
father to know."
"Were you engaged to the gentleman
at this time?"
"Oh, yes, Mr. Holmes. We were en
gaged after the first walk that we took.
Hosmer Mr. Angel was a cashier In an
office In Leadcnhall street and
"What office?"
"That's the worst of It, Mr. Holmes,
I don't know."
"Where did he liver'
"He slept on the premises.
"And you don't know his address?".
"No except that it was Lcadenhall
street."
"Where did you address your letters,
then?"
"To the Leadenhall-strect postofflce. to
be left till called for. He said that if they
were sent to tne oince ne would be
chaffed by all the other clerks about
having letters from a lady, so I offered
to typewrite them, like he did his, but he
wjldn't have that, for he said that when
I fcTfifce thJCUJ tb.ey seemed t poor Icpta.
it when they were typewritten he
always felt that the machine bad come
betwpen us. That will show ycu Just how
fond he was of roe, Mr. Holmes, and the
little things that he would think -of."
"It .was most suggestive," said. Holmes.
"It has long been an axiom of mine 'that
the Httie things are infinitely; the most
Important. Can you remember any other
little things about Mr. Hosmer Angel?"
"He was a very shy man. Mr. Holmes.
He would rather walk with me In tho
evening than in the daylight, for he said
that he hated to be conspicuous. Very re
tiring and gentlemanly he was. Even his
voice was gentle. He'd had the quinsy
and swollen glands when ,he was young,
fie told me,' and it had Jeft"hlm with a
weak throat, and a hesitating, whispering
fashion of speech. He was always well
dressed, very neat and plain, but his eyes
were weak,. Just as mine are, and he
wore tinted glasses against the glare."
"Well, and what happened when Mr.
Wlndlbank, your stepfather", returned to
France?"
"Mr. Hosmer Angel came to the house
again and proposed that we should marry
before father came back. He was In
dreadful earnest, and made me swear,
with my hands on the Testament, that
whatever happened I would always bo
true to him. Mother said that it was
quite right to make me swear, and that
It was a sign of his passion. Mother was
all In his favor from the first, and wm
even fonder of him' than I was. Then."
when they talked of marrying within tho
week, I began to ask about father: but
they both said never to mind about
father, but Just to tell him afterwards,
and mother said she would make It all
Tight with him. I didn't quite like that.
Mr. Holmes. It seemed funny that 1
should ask his leave, as he was only a
few years older than me, but I dldn t
want to do anything on the sly, 'so I wrote
to father at Bordeaux, where the com
pany has its French offices, but the let
ter came back to me on the very morning
of the wedding."
"It missed him then?"
"I came to you, lr, because
"Yes, sir; for he had started to Eng
land Just before It arrived."
"Ha! that was unfortunate. Your wed
ding was arranged, then, for Friday Was
It to be In church?"
"Yes, sir, but very quietly. It was to be
at St Saviour's, near King's Cross, and
we were to have breakfast afterwards at
the St Pancras Hotel. Hosmer came for
us In a hansom, but as there were two of
us, he put us both Into It and stepped
hlnjpclf Into a four-wheeler, which hap
pened to be the only other cab in the
street We got to the church first and
when the four-wheeler drove up we wait
ed for him to step out but he never did,
and when the cabman got down from the
box and looked there was no ofie there!
The cabman said that he could not imag
ine what had become of him. for he had
seen him get In with his own eyes. That
was last Friday. Mr. Holmes, and I never
have seen or heard anything sinco then
to throw any light upon what became of
him."
"It seems to me that you have been very
shamefully treated," said Holmes.
'Oh, no, sir! He was too good and kind
to leave me so. Why, all the morning he
was saying to me that, whatever hap
pened I was to be true; and that If even
something quite unforeseen occurred to
separate us, I was always to remember
that 1 was pledged to him, and that he
would claim hbj pledge sooner or later.
It seemed strange talk for a wedding
morning, but what has happened since
gives a meaning to It"
"Most certainly It does. Your own opin
ion is, then, that some unforeseen catas
trophe has occurred to him?"
"Yes, sir. I believe that he foresaw
some danger, or else he would not have
talked so. And then I think that what
he foresaw happened."
"But you have no notion as to what It
could have been?"
"None."
"One more question. How did your
mother take the matter?" .
"She was angry, and said ;that I was
never to speak of the matter again."
"And your father? Did you tell him?"
"Yes; and he seemed to think, with me,
that something had happened, and that I
should hear of Hosmer again. As he
said, what Interest could any one have
In bringing me to the doors of the church,
and then leaving me? Now. if he had
borrowed my money, or If ho had married
me and got my money settled on him,
there might be some reason; but Hosmer
was very Independent about money, and
never would look at a shilling of mine.
And yet what could have happened? And
why could he not write? Oh, it drives me
half-mad to think of, and I can't sleep a
wink at night" She pulled a little hand
kerchief out of her muff and began to
sob heavily into It"
"I shall glance Into the case for you."
said Holmes, rising; and I have no doubt
that we shall reach some definite result
Let the weight of the matter rest upon
mo now, and do not let your mind dwell
upon It further. Above all, try to let Mr.
Hosmer Angel vanish from your memory,
as he has done from your life."
"Then you don't think I'll ee him
again?"
"I fear not"
"Then what has happened to him?"
"You will leave that question in my
hands. I should like an accurate descrip
tion of him, and any letters of his which
you can spare."
"I advertised for him In last Saturday's
Chronicle," said she. "Here Is the slip,
and here are four letters from him."'
"Thank you. And your address?"
"No. 31 Lyon Place, Camber well."
"Mr. Angel's, address you never had, I
understand. Where Is your father's place
of business?"
'H travels for Westhouse & Marbank.
the great claret importers, of Fcncburch
trvu"
hvIRsvQ CFl9H lMBHflfRKBiBi nDfl -Jt mmmmmmmwitfmmtrmfwmmmmm I
1 mjdmr Viinl mt9mmmrrSrm1m .sS fmmmmmmMlmm9t3SmWtl
"Thank you. You have mado your state
ment very clearly. You will leave the
papers here, and remember the advice
which I have given you. Let the whole
incident be a sealed book, and do not
allow It to affect your life."
"You are very kind. Mr. Holmes, but I
cannot do that. I shall be true to Hos
mer. He shall find- me ready when he
comes back."
For all the preposterous hat and the
vacuous face, thero was something noble
In the simple faith of our visitor which
compelled our respect She laid her little
bundle of papers upon the table, and went
her way, with a promise to come again
whenever she might bo summoned.
Sherlock Holmes sat silent for a few
minutes with his finger-tips still pressed
together, his legs stretched out in front
of him, and his gaze directed upward to
the celling. Then he took down from the
rack the old and oily clay pipe, which
was to him as a counsellor, and, having
lit It, he leaned back in his chair, with
the thick blue cloud-wreaths spinning up
from him, and a look of infinite languor In
his face.
"Quite an interesting Uudy, that maid
en." he observed. "I found her more in
teresting than her little' problem, which,
by the way, la rather a trite one. You
will And parallel cases. If you consult
my Index, in Andover In Ti, and there
was something of the sort at The Hague
last year. Old as is the Idea, however,
there were one or two details which were
new to me. But the maiden herself was
.most instructive."
"You appeared to read a good deal upon
her which was quite Invisible to me." I
remarked.
"Not Invisible, but unnoticed, Watson.
You did not know where to look, and so
you missed all that was important- I
can never bring you to realize the im
portance of sleeves, the suggestlveness of
thumbnails, or the great issues that may
hang from a boot lace. Now, what did
you gather from that woman's appear
ance? Describe It"
."Well,-she had a slate-colored, broad-
I heard of yon from Mrs. Etherise. whbm harfjaad yoa fotrad so easy.M
brimmed straw hat. with a feather of a
brlcklsh red. Her jacket was black, with
black beads sewn upon it and a fringe of
little black Jet ornaments. Hen. dress was
brown, rather darker than coffee color,
with a little purple plush at the neck and
sleeves. Her gloves were grayish, and
were worn through at the right foreAnger.
Her boots I didn't observe. She had small,
round, hanging gold car-rings, and a gen
eral air of being fairly well-to-do. In a
vulgar, comfortable, easy-going way."
Sherlock Holmes clapped his hands soft
ly together and chuckled.
"Pon my word Watson, you are
coming along wonderfully. You have
renlly done very well, indeed. It Is
truo that you have missed everything
of importance, but you have hit upon
the method, and you havo a quick eye
for color. Never trust to general Im
pressions, my boy. but concentrate
yourself upon details. My first glance
Is always at a. woman's sleeve. In a
man It Is. perhaps better first to take
the knee, of the trouser. As you ob
serve, this woman had plush upon her
sleeves, which Is a most useful ma
terial for showing traces. Tho double
line a little above the wrist where
the typewrltlst presses against the
table, was beautifully defined. The
swing machine, of the hand-type,
leaves a similar mark, but only on the
left arm, and on the siJe of it farthest
from the thumb, lnstead-of being right
aoross the broadest part as this was.
1 then glanced at her face and, observing-
Vtje dint of a plncencs at either
side of her nose. I ventured a remark
upon short sight and typewriting-,
which seemed to surprise her."
"It surprised me."
"But surely it was very obvious. I
was then .much surprised and Inter
ested on glancing down to observe
that though the boots which she was
wearing were not unlike each other,
they were really odd ones; the one
having a slightly 'decorated toe-cap.
and the other a plain one. One was
buttoned only in the two lower but
tons out of Ave, and the other at tho
first third and fifth. Now. when you
see that a young lady, otherwise neat
ly dressed, has come away from home
with odd boots, half-buttoned, it is no
;rreat deduction to say that she came
away In a hurry."
"And what else?" I asked, "keenly
Interested, as I always was, by my
friend's incisive reasoning.
"I noted. In passing, that she had
written a note before leaving home,
hut after being fully dressed. - You ob
served that her right glove was torn
at the foreAnger. but you did not ap
parently ee that both glove and An
ger were stained with violet Ink. She
had written Jn a hurry and dipped her
pen too deep. It must have been this
morning, or the mark would not re
main clear' upon the Anger. All thl3
Is amusing, though rather-elementary,
but I must so back to business. Wat
son. "Would you mind reaJIng- me tho
advertised description of Mr. Hosmer
Angel?"
I held the little printed slip to the
light "Mlaslng." it said, "on the
morning of the 14th, a gentleman
named Hosmer Angel. About 5 feet
7 Inches In height; strongly built, sal
low complexion, black hair, a little
bald In the center, bushy, black slde
whlskcrs and mustache; tinted glasses,
slight InArmlty of .speech. Was
dressed, when last seen. In black frock
coat faced with silk, black waistcoat
gold Albert chain and pray Harris
tweed trousers, with hrown gaiters
over elastlc-sMed shoes. Known to
LeaJenball street Anybody bringing1,"
etc etc.
"That will do." said Holmes. "As
to the letters." he continued, glancing
over them, "they are very common
place. Absolutely no clew In them to
Mr. Angel, save that he quotes Balzac
once. There is one remarkable point,
however, which will' no doubt strike
you."
"They are type written," I remarked.
"Not only that, but the signature Is
typewritten. Look at the neat little
'Hosmer Angel at the bottom. There
Is a date, you see, but no superscrip
tion except Leadennajlistreet. which. Is
rather vague. The$o!nt hbout the
signature is very suggestive In fact,
we may call Is conclusive."
"Of whatr
"My dear fellow. Is It possible you
do. not see how strongly it bears upon
the caseT
"I cannot say that I do. unless It
were that he wished to be able to deny
this signature if an action for breach
of promise were Instituted."
No. that was not the point How
ever, I shall write jtwo letters, which
3nouiu .seme mo matter, une is to
Arm In the city, the" other Is to the
young- lady's stepfather. Mr. Wlndl
bank, asking him! whether ho could
meet us here at sic o'clock, tomorrow
evening-. It Is Jusi. 'as well that we
should do business with the male rel
atives. And now, doctor, we. can do
nothing until the answers to those let
ters come, so we may put our little
problem upon the ' shelf for the In
terlm
I had had so many reasons to believe
In my friend's subtle powers of reason
Ing". and extraordinary energy In ac
tion, that I felt that tie must "oftye
some solid grounds for the assured and
easy demeanor with which he treated
the singular mystery which he had
been called upon to fathom. Once
only had I known him to fail. In the
case of the King of Bohemia and of tho
Irene Adler photograph; but when I
looked back to the weird business of
the Sign of the Four, and the extraor
dinary circumstances connected with
the Study In Scarlet I felt that It
would be a 'strange tangle, Indeed,
which he could not unravel.
I left him then, still pufflnp at his
black clay pipe, with tho conviction
that when I came again on the next
evening I would And that he held In
his hands all the clews which would
lead up to the Identity of the disap
pearing bridegroom of Miss Mary
Sutherland.
A professional case of great gravity
was engaging my own attention at the
time, and the whole of the next day I
was busy at the bedside of the suffer
er. It was not until close upon six
o'clock that I. found myself free, and
was able to spring into a hansom and
drive to Baker street half afraid that
1 might be too late to assist at the
denouement of the little mystery. I
found Sherlock Holmes alone, how
ever, half asleep, with his long, thin
form curled up In the recesses of his
arm chair. A formidable array of
bottles and test-tubes, with the pun
gent, cleanly smell of hydro-chloric
acid, told mo that he had spent his
day In the chemical work which was
so dear to him.
"Well, have you solved It?" I asked
as I entered.
"Yes. It was the blsulphate of
baryta."
"No, no, the mystery!" I cried.
"Oh. that! I thought of the salt that I
have been working upon. There was never
any mystery in the matter, though, as I
said yesterday, some of the details are
of interest The only drawback 'Is that
there Is no law. I fear, that can touch the
scoundrel."
"Who was he. then, and what was his
object In deserting Miss Sutherland?"
The question was hardly out of my
mouth, and Holmes had not yet opened
his Hps to reply, when we heard a heavy
footstep In the passage and a tap at the
'door.
"This is the girl's step-father. Mr. James
Wlndlbank." said Holmes. "He has writ
ten to me to say that' he would be here
at six. Come In."
The man 'who entered was a sturdy,
middle-sized fellow, some thirty years of
age. clean-shaven and sallow-skinned,
with a bland. Insinuating manner, and a
pair of wonderfully sharp and penetrating
gray eyes. He shot a questioning glance
at each of us. placed his shiny top hat up
on the side-board, and with a slight bow
sidled down upon the nearest chair.
"Good evening, Mr. James Wlndlbank,"
said Holmes. I think that this type-written
letter is from you. In which you made
an appointment with me for six o'clock."
"Yes, slrv I am afraid that I am a little
late, but I am not quite my own master,
youknow. ,J am sorry that Miss Suther
land has troubled you about this little
matter, for I think It is far better not to
wash linen of the sort in public It was
quite against my wishes that she came,
but she Is a very excitable. Impulsive girl,
as you may have noticed, and she is not
easily control'ed when she has made up
her mind upon a point Of course, I did
not mind you so much, as you are not
connected with the official police, but It
is not pleasant to have a faratlv misfor
tune like this noised abroad. Besides, It
Is a useless expense, for how could you
possibly find this Hosmer Angel?"
"On the contrary." said Holmes, quietly;
"I have every reason to believe that I will
succeed In discovering Mr. Hosmer An-
"Mr. Wlndlbank gave a violent start.
and dropped his gloves. "I am delighted
to hear It." he said.
"It is a curious thing." remarked
Holmes, "that a typewriter has really
qulto as much Individuality as a man's
handwriting. Unless they are quite new.
no two of them write exactly alike. Some
letters get more worn than others, and
some wear only on one side. Now, you
remark in this note of yours, Mr. Wlndl
bank. that In everycase there Is some lit
tle slurring over the 'e,' and a slight de
fect In the tall of the r. "There are 14
omer cnaraciensucs, out inoae are ine
most obvious.
"We do all our correspondence with this
machine at the office, and no doubt it Is
a little worn." our visitor answered, glanc
ing keenly at Holmes with his bright lit
tle eyes.
"And now I will show you what is really
a very Interesting study. Mr. Wlndlbank;"
Holmes continued. "I think of writing
another little monograph some of these
days on the typewriter and Its relation to
crime. It Is a subject to which I have de
voted some little attention. I have here
four letters which purport to come from
the missing man. ' They are all typewrit
ten, in each case, not onlv are the 'e's'
slurped and the 'rV tailless, but you will
observe. It you care to use my magnifying
lense. that tho 14 other characteristics to
which I have alluded are there as well."
Mr. Wlndlbank sprang out of his chair
and picked up his hat. "I cannot waste
time over this sort of fantastic talk. Mr.
Holmes," he said. "If you can catch the
man. catch him, and let me know when
you have done It."
"Certainly," said Holmes, stepping over
and' turning the key in the door. "I let
you know, then that I have caught him!"
"What! where r shouted Mr. Wlndl
bank, turning white to his Hps and glanc
ing about him like a rat In a trap.
"Oh, It won't do really It won't," said
Holmes, suavely. "There Is no possible
getting out of it Mr. Wlndlbank. It quite
too transparent, and It was a very bad
compliment when you said that it was Im
possible for me to solve so simple a ques
tion. That's right! Sit down and let us
talk It over."
Our visitor collapsed Into a chair, with a
-ghastly face, and a glitter of moisture on
his brow. "It It's not actloname, ne
stammered.
"I am very much afraid that It Is not.
But between ourselves, Wlndlbank, It was
as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick
In a petty way as ever came before me.
Now. let me Just run over the course of
events, and you will contradict me If I
go wrong."
The man sat huddled up ,ln his chair,
with his head sunk upon his breast, like
one who Is utterly crushed. Holmes stuck
his feet up on the corner of - the mantle
plece, and, leaning back with his hands In
his pockets, began talking, rather to him
self, as It seemed, than to us."
"The man married a woman very much
older than himself for her money," said
he, "and he enjoyed the use of the money
of the daughter as long as she lived with
them. It was a considerable sum. for peo
ple In their position, and the loss of It
would have made a serious difference. It
was worth an effort to preserve It. The
daughter was of a good, amiable disposi
tion, but effectlonate and warm-hearted
in her ways, so that it was evident that
with her fair personal adTantages and her
little Income she would not be allowed to
remain single long. Now, her marriage
would mean, of course, the loss of a hun
dred a year, so what does her step-father
do to prevent It? He takes the obvious
course of keeping her at home, and for
bidding her to seek the company of people
of her own age. But soon he found that
that would not' answer forever. She be
came restive. Insisted upon her rights,
and finally announced her positive Inten
tion of going to a certain ball. What does
her clever step-father do then? He can
celves an idea more creditable to his head
than- to his hyut. Wlh the ooiinlvnnce hQy wmild inform e a heiher It al
and aasiati7.ee of his v!fe -b thMgulstd : swored to the description of any of
himsMf. covered those keen eyes wltn
tinted classes, masked the face with a
TOiistache and a pair of bushy, whiskers.
sunk that clear voice Into an Insinuating
whisper, and doubly secure on account ot
the girl's short sight, he appears as Mr.
Hosmer Angel, and keeps off other lovers
by making love himself."
"it was omy a joxe - ursi, b'"""--"
nnr visitor. "We never thought that
she would have been so carried away."
"Very likely not However tnat maj
be. the young lady was very decldedly
carrled away, and, having ulte made
up her mind that her stepfather was
In France, the suspicion of treachery
never for an Instant entered ner mina.
She was flattered by the gentleman's
attentions and the effect was In
creased by the loudly expressed ad
miration of her mother. Then Mr. An
gel began to call, for it was obvious
that the matter should be pushed as
far' a It would go. If a real effect were
to be produced. There were meetings,
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ly secure the girl's affections from
turning- towards anyone olse. But the
deception could not be kept up for
ever. These pretended journeys to
France were rather cumbrous. Tho
thing to do was clearly to brine the
business to an end in such a dramatic
manner that It would leave a perma
nent Impression upon the young- lady's
mind and prevent her from looking:
upon any other suitor for some tlmo
to come. Hence those vows of fldellty
exacted upon a Testament, and hence
also the allusions to a possibility of
something- happening on the very
morning of the wedding. James Wlndl
bank wished Miss Sutherland to bo so
bound to Hosmer Angel, and so uncer
tain as to his fate, that for 10 years to
come, at any rate, she would not listen
to another man. As fur as the church
door he brought her, and then, as ho
could go no further, he conveniently
vanished away by the old trick of step
ping In at one door of a four-whealer
and out at the other. I think that that
was the chain of events, Mr. Wlndl
bank!" Our visitor had recovered something
of his assurance while Holmes had
been talking, and he rose from his
chair now with a cold sneer upon his
pole face.
"It may be so. or It may not. Mr.
Holmes." snld he, "but If you arc so
very sharp you ought to be sharp
enough to know that It is you who are
breaking the law now. and not me. I
have done nothing actionable from tho
first, but as long as you keep that door
locked you lay yourself open to an
action for assault and Illegal con
straint." "The law cannot, as you say, touch
you." said Holmes, unlocking and
throwing open the door, "yet thero
never was a man who deserved pun
ishment more. If the young lady has
a brother or a friend, he ought to lay
a whip across your shoulders. By
Jove!" he continued, flushing up at
the sight of the bitter fcneer upon tho
man's face. "It Is not part of my duties
to my client, but here's a hunting crop
handy, and I think I shall just treat
myself to " He took two swift steps
to the whip, but before he could grasp
It there was a wild clatter of steps
upon the stairs, the heavy hall door
banged, and from the window he could
see Mr. James Wlndlbank running at
the top of his speed down tho road.
"There's a cold-blooded scoundrel!"
said Holmes, laughing, as he threw
himself down Into his chair once more.
"That fellow will rise from crime to
crime until he does something very
bad, and ends on a gallows. The case
has. In some respects, been not entire
ly devoid of Interest"
"I cannot now entirely see all the
steps of your reasoning." I remarked.
"Well, of course. It was obvious from
the first, that this Mr. Hosmer Angel
must have some strong object for his
curious conduct, and It was equally
clear that the only man who really
profltod by the Incident, as far as we
could see. was the stepfather. Then
the fact that the two men were never
together, but that the one always ap
peared when the other was away, was
suggestive. So were the tinted spec
tacles and the curious voice, which
both hinted at a disguise, as did tho
bushy whiskers. My suspicious were
all confirmed by his peculiar action In
typewriting his signature, which, of
course, inferred that his handwriting
was so familiar to her that she would
recognize even the smallest sample of
It You see all these isolated facts, to
gether with many minor ones, all
pointed In the same direction."
"And how did you verify them?"
"Having once spotted my man. It
was easy to get corroboration. I knew
the firm for which this man worked.
Having- taken the printed description.
I eliminated everything from It which
could be the result of a disguise the
whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and T
sent H to the firm, with n request that
thelrtravelers. I had already noticed
the peculiarities of the typewriter, and
I wrote to the man himself at his busi
ness address, asking- him If he. would
como here. As I expected, his reply
was typewritten, and revealed the
same trivial but characteristic de
fects. The same post brought me a
letter from Westhouse & Marbank. of
Fenchurch street, to say that the de
scription tallied In every respect with
that of their employe, James Wlndl
bank. Voila tout!"
"And Miss Sutherland?"
"If I tell her she will not believe m.
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saying. 'There is danger for him who
taketh the tiger cub. and dnnger alsc
for whoso snatches a delusion from a
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