I -
TIIE SUXDAY OREGOXIAX. TOIITLAXD,
1911.
THE ADVEMTUSE
OF 1jtEI
A AN ANOMALY which often atnick
me Ib tha character of tny friend
Sherlock Holmes waa that. al
though Id' his methods of thought be
ru the neeteat and moat methodical
of mankind, and although also ha af
fected a certain quiet primness of dresa.
he waa none the lees In hla personal
habits one of the most untidy men that
ver drove a fellow-lodger to distrac
tion. Not that I am In the least con
ventional In that respect myself. The
rough-and-tumble work of Afghanistan,
camtnf on the top of a natural Bo
hetnlanlsm of disposition, haa made me
rather more las than befits a medical
man. But with me there Is a limit, and
when I find a man who keeps his clears
In the coal-scuttle, his tobacco In the
toe end of a Persian slipper, and his
unanswered correspondence transfixed
by a jack-knife Into the Tory center of
his wooden mantelpiece, then I begin
to give myself virtuous alra I have
always held. too. that pistol practice
phould be distinctly an open-air pas
time: and when Holmes. In one of hla
queer humors, would sit In an arm
chair with his hair-trigger and a hun
dred Boitr cartridges, and proceed to
adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic
V. R. done In bullet-pocks, I felt
strongly that neither the atmosphere
nor the appearance of our room was
Improved by It. - .. .
Our chambers were always full or
chemicals and of criminal relics which
had a way of wandering Into unlikely
positions, and of turning up In tha butter-dish
or la even less desirable places.
But hla papers were my great cms. He
had a horror of destroying documents,
especially those which were connected
wltS his past cases, and yet It wan only
once In every year or two that be would
muster energy to docket and arrange
them: for. as I have mentioned some
where In these Incoherent memoirs, the
outbursts of passionate energy when
he performed the remarkable feats with
whloh his name Is associated were fol
lowered by reactions of lethargy during
which he would He about with his
violin and hla books, hardly moving
save from the sofa to tha table. Thua
month after month his papera accumu
lated, until every comer of tha room
waa stocked with bundlea of manu
script which were en no account to be
burned, and which could not be put
away save by their owner. One Win
ter's night, as we sat togsther by tha
fire. I ventured to suggest to him that,
as he had finished pasting extracts Into
his common-place book, he might em
ploy the next two hours In making our
room a little more habitable. He could
not deny the Justice of my request, so
with a rather rueful face he went off
to his bedroom, from which ha returned
presently p'llllng a large tin bos be
hind him. Thla he placed In tha middle
of the floor, and. squatting down upon
a stool In front of It. he threw back
the lid. 1 could sea that It waa already
a third full of bundlea of papers tied
up with red tap Into aeparate pack
ages. -There are rases enough here. Wat
son." said he. looking at me with mis
chievous evea "I think that If you.
knew all that X had tn thla bos you
would ask me to pull soma out Instead
of putting others In."
Thsse are the records of your early
work, thenr I asked. "1 have often
wished that I had notes of those cases."
"Tee. my boy. these were all dona
prematurely before my biographer had
come to glorify me." He lifted bundle
after bundle In a tender, caressing aort
of way. They are not all successes.
Watson." said he. -But there ara eoma
pretty little problems among them.
Here's the record of the Tarleton mur
ders, and the ease of Vamberry. the
wine merchant, and tha adventure of
the old Russian woman, and tha sin
gular affair of the aluminium crutch, aa
well as a full account of Rlcolettl of the
club-foot, and his abominable wife. And
here ah. now. thla really la something
a little recherche."
He dived his arm down to the Bot
tom of the chest- and brought up a
small wooden bos with a sliding lid.
such as fhlldren's toys ara kept In.
From wlfhln ha produced a crumpled
piece of paper, an old-fashioned brass
key. a peg of wood with a ball of string
attached to It. and three rusty old disks
of metal.
"Well, mv boy. what do you make of
this lotT" lie asked, smiling at my ex
pression. -ft Is a curious collection."
"Very curious, and the story that
hangs round It will strike you aa be
ing mora curious still."
-These relics have a hlatory. then?"
"So much ao that they are history."
-What do you mean by that?"
Sherlock Holmes picked them up one
by one. and laid them along the edge
of the table. Then he reseated himself
la his chair and looked them over with
a gleam of satisfaction In his ayes.
-These." said he. "are all that I
have left to remind me of the adven
ture of the Musgrave Ritual."
I hesrd him mention the css more
than once, though I had never been able
to gather the details. "I should bo ao
Clad." aald L "If you would give ma
an account of It."
-And leave the litter aa It is?" ha
rrted. mischievously. "Tour tidiness
won't bear much strain after all. Wat
son. But I should be glad that you
should add this case to your annals,
for there are points In It which make
It quits unique In the criminal records
of this or. I believe, of anv ether coun
try. A collection of my trifling achieve
ments would certainly be Incomplete
which contained no account of thla very
singular business.
-You msv remember how the affair
of the ;.orla Scott, and my conversa
tion with the unhappy roan whose fate
I told you of. first turned my attention
In the direction of tha profession which
has become my I. le a work. Ton aea
me now when my name baa become
known fare and wide, and when I am
generally recognised both by the pub
lie and by the official force aa being
a final court of appeal in doubtful
raaes. Evea when you knew me first,
at tha time of the affair which yon
have commemorated In 'A rHudy In
Hcarlet," I had already established a
considerable, though not a very lucra
tive, connection. You can hardly re
alise, then, how difficult I found It at
flrat, and how long I had to wait be
fore I succeeded In making any head
way. -When I flrat came up to London I
had rooms in Montague street. Just
round the comer from the British Mu
seum, and there I waited, filling la my
loo abundant leisure time b studying
all those branchee of science which
might make me more efficient. Now
and sgsla cases came In my way. prin
cipally through the Introduction of old
fallow. students, for during my last
years at the university there waa a
good deal of talk there about myself
and my methods. The third of thee a
rasea waa that of the Musgrave Ritual,
and It la to t he Intereet which waa
aroused by that singular chain of
events, and the large Issues which
proved to be at atake. that I trace my
first stride toward tha position which
a rew hold.
"Reglnal Musgrave had Keen In
tha aam college aa myself, and I had
some slight acquaintance with him.
lie waa not geaeraiiy .popular among
the undergraduates, though It always
aeemed to ma that what waa aet down
aa pride waa really an attempt to cover
extreme natural diffidence. In ap
pearance he waa a man of an exceed
ingly arlatocratio type, thin, high
nosed and large eyed, with languid and
yet courtly manners. He waa Indeed
a aeloa of ona of the very oldeat fam
ilies In the kingdom, though hla branch
waa a cadet one which had separated
from the Northern Musgraves some
time In the lth century, and had es
tablished Itself In Western Sussex,
where tha Manor House of Hurlstone la
perhaps the oldeat Inhabited building
In the county. Something of hla birth
place aeemed to cling to the man. and
I never looked at hla pale, keen face
or the poise of hla head without asso
ciating him with gray archways and
mullloned wlndowa and all the vener
able wreckage of a feudal keep. Once
or twice we drifted Into talk, and I
' 1 iff iftSn ' 'w
ItpLif fit
can remember that more than once ha
axpreaaed a keen lntereat in my meth
oda of observation and inference.
"For four yeara I had aeen nothing
of him until one morning he walked
Into my room In Montague street. He
had changed little, waa dressed Ilka
a young man of faahlon he waa al
ways a bit of a dandy and preserved
the asms quiet, suave manner which
had formerly distinguished him.
"How haa all gone with yon, Mus
grave r I asked, after wa had cordially
ahaken hands.
"You probably heard of my poor
father'a death.' aald he: 'he waa car
ried off about two yeara ago. Since
then I have, of course, had the Hurl
atone eatatea to manage, and as I am
member for my district aa well, my
life haa been a buay one. But I un
derstand. Holmes, that you are turning
to practical ends those powers with
which you used to amaxa us?
"Yes." said I, -I have taken to liv
ing by my wits.'
" '1 ara delighted to hear It. for your
advice at present would be exceedingly
valuable to me. Wa have had some
very atranga dolnga at Hurlatone. and
the police have been able to throw no
light upon the matter. It la really the
moot extraordinary and Inexplicable
business.
"You can Imagine with what eager
ness I listened to him. Watson, for the
very chence for which I had been
panting during all thoae montha of
Inaction aeemed to have coma within
my reach. In my inmost heart I be
lieved that I could aucceed where oth
ara failed, and now I had tha oppor
tunity to teat myself.
- -Pray, let me have the details." I
cried.
"Reginald Musgrave aat down oppo
atte to me. and lit the cigarette which
I had puahed towards him.
" 'You must know.' said he. 'that
though I am a bachelor I have to keep
up a considerable atatf of servants at
Hurlstone. for It is a rambling old
place and takes a good deal of looking
after. I preserve, too. and in the
pheasant months I usually have a
house party, so that It would not do
to be ehort-handed. Altogether there
are eight maids, ths cook, the butler,
two footmen and a boy. Ths garden
and tha stables, of course, have a aep
arate ataff.
"Of theee servants the one who
had been longest In our service was
Brurton, the butler. He waa a yowtia
schoolmaster out of place when he
waa firat taken up by my father, but
he waa a man of great energy and
character, and he aoon became quite
Invaluable la the household. He was
a well-grown, hsndsome man, with a
splendid forehead, and though he has
been with us tor 20 years ha cannot
be tore than 40 now. With hla per
sonal advantages and his extraordin
ary gifts for he can speak several
languages and play nearly every mu
sical Instrument It Is wonderful that
he should have been satisfied so long
In auch a position, but I suppose that
be was comfortable, and lacked energy
to make any chsngs. The butler of
Hurlstone Is always a thing that is
remembered by all who visit ua.
" 'But thla paragon haa ona fault,
jl, ie a bit of a Pon Juan, and yon
can Imagine that for a man Ilka him
It la not a very difficult part to plav
In a quiet country district. When he
was married It waa all right, but alnce
he haa been a widower we have had
no end of trouble with him. A tew
montha aao we were In hopea that ne
was about to ssttle down again, for
ha became engaged to Rachel Hcwells.
our ' second housemaid: but he haa
thrown her over alnce then and taken
up with Janet Tregellla, the daughter
of the head gamekeeper. Rachel who
la a very rood girt but of an excitable
Welsh temperament had a aharp
touch of train fever, and goes about
the house now or did until yesterday
Ilka a Kaok-eyed shadow of her for
mer aelf. That waa our first drama
at Hurlstone; hut a second one came
to drive It from our minds, and It was
prefaced by tha dlsgraoe and dismissal
of Butler B ronton.
"Thla waa how It came about. I
have aald that tha man was intelli
gent, and thla very Intelligence haa
caused his ruin, for It aeema to have
led to an Insatiable curiosity about
things which did not In tha leaat con
cern him. I had no idea of tha lengtha
to whloh thla would carry him. until
the merest accident opened my eyea
to It.
-I have saM that the house la a
rambling one. One day laat week
on Thursday night to ba mora exact
I found that I could not sleep, having
foolishly taken a cup of atrong cafe
noir after my dinner. After struggling
against It until I In the morning. I
felt that It waa quite hopeless, ao I
rose and lit the candle with the In
tention of continuing a novel which I
waa reading. The book.- however, had
,e ii in " m'V -
Ibeen left In the bllllard-room, ao I
pulled on my dressing-gown and start
ed off to get It.
" In order to reach the billiard-room
I had to descend a flight of stairs and
then to cross tha head of a passage
which led to tha library and the gun
room.. Yon can Imagine my surprise
when, as I looked down this corridor.
I saw a glimmer of light coming from
the open door of tha library. I had
myself extinguished the lamp and
closed the door before coming to bed.
Naturally my first thought waa of bur
glars. The corridors at Hurlstone
have their walls largely decorated with
trophies of old weapons. From one
of these I picked a battle-ax, and then,
leaving my candle behind roe. I crept
on tiptoe down the passage and
peeped in at the open door.
" 'Brunton, the butler, was in tha
library. He waa alttlng, fully dressed.
In an easy chair with a slip ot paper
which looked like a map upon bis
knee, and hos forehead sunk forward
upon bis hand in deep thought. I stood
dumb with astonishment, watching
him from the darkness. A small taper
on ths edge of the table shed a feeble
light which sufficed to show me that
he waa fully dressed. Suddenly, aa I
looked, he rose from his chair, and
walking over to a bureau at the
side, he unlocked It and drew out one
of tha drawers. From thla he took a
paper, and returning to hia seat he
flattened It out bealde the taper on tha
edge of tha table, and began to study
It with minute attention. My Indigna
tion at this calm examination of our
family doeumenta overcame me so far
that I took a step forward, and Brun
ton. looking up, saw me standing In the
doorway. He aprang to hla feet, hla
face turned livid with fear, and he
thrust Into hla breaat the chart-like
paper which he had been originally
studying.
-"So!"' said I. "This is how you re
pay the trust which we have reposed in
you. You will leave my service tomor
row." " 'He bowed with tha look of a man
who Is utterly crushed, and slunk past
me without a word. The tsper waa
still on the table, and by its light I
glanced to see what the paper was
which Brunton bad taken from the bu
reau. To my aurprlse It was nothing
of any Importance at all. but simply a
copy of the questions and answers In
the singular old observance called the
Musgrava Ritual. It la a aort of cere
mony peculiar to our family, which
each Musgrave for centurlea paat baa
gone through on hla coming of age
a thing of private interest, and per
haps of some little Importance to tha
archaeologist, like our own blaxonlnga
and charges, but of no practical use
whatever."
- -We had better come back to tha
paper afterwards.' aaid I.
"If you think It really necessary." he
answered, with some hesitation. 'To
continue my statement, however: I re
locked the bureau, using tha key whloh
Brunton had left, and I had turned to
go when I waa aurprlsed to find that
the butler had returned, and was stand
ing before me.
""Mr. Musgrave. sir." be cried. In a
voice which was hoarse with emotion,
can't bear disgrace, air. I've alwaya
been proud above my station In life,
and disgrace would kill me. My blood
will be on your head, air It will. In
dead if you drive ma to deapalr. If
you cannot keep me after what baa
paseed. then for God's sake let me give
you notice and leave In a month, as If
of my own free wllL I could stand
that. Mr. Musgrave, but not to ba cast
out before all the folk that I know so
well."
- -You don't deserve much consider
ation. Brunton." I answered. "Your
conduct has been most Infamoua How
ever, as you have been a long time In
tha family. I have no wlah to bring
disgrace upon you. A month, however,
la too long. Take yourself away In
week, and give what reason you Ilka
for going."
""Only a week, alrT" he cried. In a
despairing voice. "A fortnight say at
least a fortnight!"
"-A week." I repeated, "and you
may consider yourself to have been
very leniently dealt with."
- "He crept away, his face sank upon
his breast, like a broken man, while I
put out tha light and returned to my
room.
" 'For two daya after this Brunton
waa moat assiduous In his attention to
his dutlea. ' I maje no allusion to what
had passed, and waited with soma cu
riosity to see how he would cover hla
disgrace. On the third morning, how
ever, he did not appear, aa waa hla
custom, after breakfast, to receive my
Instructions tor the day. As I left the
dining-room I happened to meet Rachel
Howells. the maid. I have told you
that she had only recently recovered
from an Illness, and was looking ao
wretchedly pale and wan that I remon
atrated with her for being at work.
" "You ahould be In bed." I aald.
-Come back to your dutlea when you
are stronger."
" 'She looked at me with ao atrange
an axpresalon that I began to auspect
that her brain waa affected.
" ' '"I am atrong enough, Mr. Mus
gTave," aald ahe.
" "Wa will aee what the doctor
aye," I anawered. "You must stop
work now, and when you go downstalra
Juat say that I wish to see Brunton."
" "The butler Is gone," said she.,
"'"Gone! Gone where!"
" ' "He Is gone. No one has aeen him.
Ho la not In his room. Oh. yes, he Is
gone, ha la gone!" She fell back against
the wall with shriek after shriek ot
laughter, while I. horrified at thla aud
den, hyaterlcal attack, rushed to the
bell to summon help. The girl was
taken to her room, still screaming and
sobbing, while I made inquiries about
Brunton. There was no doubt about It
that he had disappeared. His bed had
not been slept In, he had been seen by
no one since he had retired to his
room tha night before, and yet It was
difficult to see how he could have
left the house, aa both windows and
doors were found to ba fastened in the
morning. Hla clothea, his watch, and
even his money were In his room, but
the black suit which ho usually wors
was missing. His slippers, too. were
gone, but his boots were left be
hind. Where then could Butler Brun
ton have gone In. the night, and what
could have become of him now?
" "Of course, we searched the house
from cellar to garret, but there was
no trace of him. It la, aa I have aald,
a labyrinth of an old houae, especially
the original wing, which la now prac
tically uninhabited, but wo ransacked
every room and cellar without dlscov
ering the least sign of the missing man.
It waa Incredible to me that he could
have gone away leaving, all his prop
erty behind him, and yet where eould
he be? I called In the local police, but
without auccess. Rain had fallen on
tha night before and we examined the
lawn and the paths all around the
houae, but in vain. Matters were In
this atate when a new development
quite drew our attention away from the
original mystery.
" "For two days Rachel Howells had
been ao 111. sometimes delirious, some
times hysterical, that a nurse had been
employed to sit up with her at night.
On tha third night after Brunton's dis
appearance, the nurse, finding her pa
tient sleeping nicely, had dropped into
a nap In the arm chair, when she woke
In the early morning to find the bed
empty, the window open, and no algna
of the Invalid. I waa Instantly aroused
and with the two footmen started off at
once In search of tha missing girl. It
waa not difficult to tell the direction
which aha had taken, for starting from
under her window we could follow her
footmarks easily across the lawn to the
edge of the mere, where they vanlahed
close to tha gravel path which leada
out of the grounds. The lake there la
eight feet deep, and you can Imagine
our feelings when we saw that tha
trail of the poor demented girl came
to an end at the edge ot It
"'Of course, we had the drags at
once, and set to work to recover the
remains, but no trace of the body could
we find. On the other hand, we brought
to tha surface an object of a most un
expected kind. It was a linen bag.
which contained within It a mass of old
rusted end discolored metal and sev
eral dull-colored pieces of pebble or
glass. This strange And waa all that
we could get from the mere, and al
though we made every possible aearch
and inquiry yesterday, we know noth
ing of the fate either of Rachel How
ells or of Richard BAinton. The county
police are at their wlta' end and I have
come tip to you aa a last resource.'
"You can Imagine, Watson, with what
eagerness I listened to this extraordin
ary sequence of events and endeavored
to piece them together and to devise
some common thread upon which they
might all hang. The butler was gone.
The maid was gone. The maid had
loved the butler, but had afterwards
had cause to hate him. She wss of
Welsh blood, fiery and passionate. Sha
had been terribly excited Immediately
after his dlsapeparance. She had flung
into the lake a bag containing some
curious contents. These were all fac
tors which had to be taken into con
sideration and yet none of them got
quite to the heart of the matter. What
waa the starting point of this chain
of events? There lay the end of this
tangled line.
" "I must see that paper, Musgrave.'
said I. "which this butler of yours
thought It worth hia while to consult.
i
even at tha risk of ths loss of his
place.'
" It la rather an absurd business, this
ritual of ours.' he answered. 'But It
has at least tha saving grace of an
tiquity to excuse it. I have a copy
of tha questions and anawera here. It
you care to run your eye over them.'
"He handed me the very paper which
I have here, Watson, and this is the
strange catechism to which each Mus
grave had to submit when he came to
man'a estate. I will read you the ques
tions and answers as they stand.
" "Whoso was ltr
"His who is gone.'
"Who shall have ltr
" 'Ho who will come."
" 'Where was tha sun?
"Over the oak.'
" "Where waa the shadow?
" "Under the elm."
" 'How was It atepped?
" "North by ten and by ten. east by
five and by five, aouth by two and by
two, weat by ona and by one, and so
under.'
" -What shall we glvo for ltr
"'All that is ours.'
" "Why ahould we give ltr
" "For the sake of the trust.'
" 'The original haa no date, but Is In
the spelling of the middle of the sev
enteenth century.' remarked Musgrave.
"I am afraid, however, that It can be
of little help to you in solving this
mystery.'
"'At least,' said I, 'it gives us an
other myatery, and one which la even
more IntereaUng than the first. It may
be that the solution of the one may
prove to be the solution of the other.
You will excuse me, Musgrave, if I
say that your butler appears to mo to
have been a very clever man and to
have had a clearer Insight than ten
generations of his masters.'
- "I hsrdly follow you.' aald Mus
grave. The paper aeems to mo to be
of no practical Importance.'
" "But to me It aeems Immensely
practical, and I fanoy that Brunton
took the same view. He had probably
aeen it before that night on which you
caught him.'
" "It la very possible. We took no
pains to hide It.'
"He ' simply wishsd. I should Im
agine, to refresh his memory upon that
last occasion. He had. as I understand,
some- sort of map or chart which he
was comparing with the manuscript,
and which he thrust into hla pocket
when you appeared."
" That Is true. But what could he
have to do with this old family custom
of ours, and what does this rigmarole
mean 7 , ,
" 1 don't think that we ahould have
much difficulty In determining that,'
said I. "With your permission we will
take the first train down to Sussex
and go a little more deeply into the
matter upon the spot.'
"The same afternoon saw us both at
Hurlstone. Possibly you have seen
pictures and read descriptions of the
tamous old building, so I will confine
my account of it to saying that It Is
built in the shape of an I the long
arm being tho more modern portion,
and the ahorter the ancient nucleus,
from which the other has developed.
Over the low, heavy-llnteled door, in
the center of this old part, is chiseled
the date, 1607, but experts are agreed
that the beama and atonework are
really much older than thla The enor
mously thick walla and tiny wlndowa
of .thia part had in the last century
driven the family Into building the new
wing, and the old one was used now
as a storehouse and a cellar when it
was used at all. , A splendid park with
fine, old timber surrounds the house,
and the lake to which my client had
referred lay close to the avenue, about
300 yards from tha building.
"I waa already firmly convinced.
Watson, that there were not three sea
arate mysteries here, but one only, and
that if I could read the Musgrave rit
ual aright I should hold in my hand the
clue which would lead me to the truth
concerning both the butler Brounton
and the maid Howells. To that then
I turned all my energies. Why should
-1.1- . V. ...U. n m-.t thla
old formula? Evidently because he eaw
something in it wnicn can escapee an
those generations of country squires,
and from which ha expected aome per
aM.i rivntaa-a. What was It then.
and how had It affected his fate? .
It was perfectly oDvioua to me, on
reading the ritual, that tha measure
ments must refer to some spot to which
the rest of the document alluded, and
that if wo could find that spot, we
should be in a fair way towards finding
what the secret wss which the old Mus
graves had thought it necessary to
embalm'ln so curious a fashion. There
were two guides given us to start with,
an oak and an elm. As to tha oak there
could be no queatlon at all. Right In
livui v i . " --- -
side of the drive, there stood a patriarch
among oaks, one of the most magnifi
cent, irees ihm a wu.
- That was mere wnen your ritual
was drawn up,' said .1. ss we drove
past it.
" It wag taore at voa fivrmau vou-
quest in all probability," ha answered.
'It has a girth of II feet.'
"Here was one of my fixed points se
cured. "Have you any old elms?" I asked.
" There used to be a very old one
over yonder, but It waa struck by light
ning 10 years ago, and we cut down
the stump."
" "You can see where It used to bet
"Oh, yes.'
" There are no other elms?"
" "No old ones, but plenty of beeches.'
" "I should like to see where It grew.'
"We had driven up In a dogcart, and
my client led me away at once, without
our entering the house, to the scar on
the lawn where the elm had stood. It
was nearly midway between the oak
and the house. My Investigation seemed
to be progressing. -
" 'I suppose it Is Impossible to find
out how high the elm was? I asked.
"1 can glvo you it at once. It waa
64 feet.'
" "How do you come to know ltr I
asked, is surprise. i
" "When my old tutor used to give
me an exercise in trigonometry, it al
waya took the- shape of measuring
heights. When' I was a lad I worked
out every tree and building In the es-
' tate."
"This was an unexpected piece of
luck. My data were coming more quick
ly than I could have reasonably hoped.
" "Tell me,' I asked, 'did your butler
ever ask vou such a Question r
"Reginald Musgrave looked at roe In
astonishment. "Now that you call It to
my mind,' be answered, 'Brunton did ask
me about the height of the tree some
months ago. In connection with some
little argument with the groom.
This was excellent news. Watson,
for It showed me that I was on the
right road. I looked up at the sun. It
was low in the heavens, and I calculated
that In less than an hour it would lie
Just above the topmost branches or ins
old oak. One condition mentioned in
the Ritual would then be fulfilled. And
the shadow of the elm must mean the
farther end of the shadow, otherwise
the trunk would have been chosen .as
the guide. I had, then, to find where
the far end of the shadow -would fall
when the sun was Just clear of the
oak."
"That must have been difficult.
Holmes, when tho elm was no longer
there."
"Well, at least I knew that if Brun
ton could do it, I could also. Besides,
there was no real difficulty. I went with
Musgrave to his study and whittled
myself this peg, to wnicn x tiea mis
long string with a knot at each yard.
Then I took two lengths of a fishing-
rod, which came to. Just six feet and I
went back with my cueni to wnero uis
elm had been. The sun was Just graz
ing the top of the oak. I fastened the
rod on end, marked out the direction of
the shadow, and measured It. It was
nine feet in length.
"Of course, the calculation now waa
a simple one. If a rod of six feet threw
a shadow of nine, a tree of264 feet would
throw one of 96, and the line of the one
would, of course, be the line of the
other. I measured out the distance,
which brought me almost to the wall of
the house, and I thrust a peg Into the
spot. You can imagine my exultation,
Watson, when within two Inches of my
peg I saw a conical depression in the
ground. I knew that It was the mark
made by Brunton In his measurements,
and that I was still upon his trail.
"From this starting-point I proceed
ed to step, having first taken the car
dinal points by my pocket compass.
Ten steps with each foot took me along
parallel with the wall of tho house, and
again I marked my spot with a peg.
Then I carefully paced off five to the
east and two to the south. It brought
me to the very threshold of tha old
door. Two steps to the west meant now
that I was to go two paces down the
stone-flagged passage, and this was the
place indicated by th Ritual.
"Never have I felt such a cold chill
of disappointment, Watson. For a mo
ment it seemed to me that there must
be some radical mistake In my calcu
lations. The setting sun shone full
upon the passage floor, and I could see
that the old, foot-worn gray stones
with which It was paved were firmly
cemented together, and had certainly
not been moved for many a long year.
Brunton had not been at work here.
I tapped upon the floor, but It sounded
the same all over, and' there was no
algn of any crack or crevice. But, for
tunately, Musgrave, who had begun to
appreciate the meaning of my proceed
ings, and who was now as excited as
myself, took out his manuscript to
check my calculations.
""And under,' he cried. Tou have
omitted the "and under."
"I had thought that it meant that
we were to dig. but now, of course, I
saw at once that I was wrong. There
is a cellar under this thenr I cried.
" 'Yes. and as old as the house. Down
here, through this door."
"We went down a winding stone stair,
and my companion, striking a match, lit
large lantern which stood on a bar
rel ia the corner. In an instant.it wa;
obvious that wo had at last come upon
the true place, and that we had not
been the only people to visit the spot
recently.
"It had been used for the atorage of
wood, but the billets, which had evi
dently been littered over the floor, were
now piled at the sides, so as to leave
a clear space In the middle. In this
space lay a largo and heavy flagstone
with a rusted iron ring in the center
to which a thick shepherd's check muf
fler was attached.
"By Jove!" cried my client. That's
Brunton's muffler. I have seen It on
him, and could swear' to lt. What has
the villain been doing herer
"At my suggestion a couple of the
county police were summoned to be
present, and I then endeavored to raise
the stone by pulling on the cravat. I
could only move It slightly, and it was
with the aid of one of the constables
that I succeeded at last in carrying it
to one side. A black hole yawned be
neath, into which wa all peered, while
Musgrave, kneeling at tha aide, pushed
down the lantern.
"A small chamber about seven feet
deep and four feet square lay open to
us. At one side of this was a squat,
brass-bound wooden box, the lid of
which was hinged upwards, with this
curious old-fashioned key projecting
from the lock. It was furred outside
by a thick layer of dust, and damp and
worms had eaten through the wood, so
that a crop of livid fungi was growing
on the Inside of It. Several discs of
metal, old coins apparently, such aa I
hold- here, were scattered over tha bot
tom of the box, but it contained noth
ing else.
"At the moment, however, we had no
thought for tho old chest, for our eyes
were rlve.ed upon that whloh crouched
beside It. It was the figure of a man.
clad In a ault of black, who aqua Wed
down upon his hams, with hla forehead
aunk upon tho edge of the box
and his two arma thrown out on
each aide of it. The attituda had drawn
all the atagnant blood to the face, and
no man could have recognixed that dis
torted liver-colored countenance: but
hia height, hla dress, and his hair were
all sufficient to show my client when
we had drawn the body up. that it
waa indeed his missing butler. He had
been dead some days, but there waa no
wound or bruise upon his person to
show how ha had met his dreadful end.
When hl body had been carried from
the cellar we found ourselves atlll con
fronted with a problem which was al
most as formidable aa that with which
we had started.
"I confess that so far, Watson, I had
been disappointed In my investigation.
I had reckoned upon solving the mat
ter when once I had found the place
referred to In the ritual: but now I
was there, and was apparently as far
as ever from knowing what it waa
which the family had concealed with
such elaborate precautions. It Is true
that I had thrown a light upon the
fate of Brunton, but now I had to as
certain how that fate had come upon
him, and what part had been played
In the matter by the woman who had
disappeared. I sat down upon a keg in
the corner and thought the whole mat
ter carefully over.
"You know my methods In auch
cases, Watson. I put myself in tha
man's place and, having first gauged
his intelligence, I try to imagine how
I should myself have proceeded under
tho same circumstances. In this case
the matter was simplified by Brunton's
Intelligence being quite first rate, so.
that it was unnecessary to make any
allowance for the personal equation, as
the astronomers have dubbed It. Ho
knew that something valuable waa con
cealed. He had spotted the place. He
found that the stone which covered it
was Just too heavy for a man to move
unaided. What would he do next? Ho
could not get help from outside, even
If he had some one whom he oould
trust, without the unbarring of doora
and considerable risk of detection. It
was better, if he could, to have his
helpmate Inside the house. But whom
could he ask? This girl had been de
Voted to him. A man always finds 14
hard to realize that he may have finally,
lost a woman's love, however badly
ha may have treated, her. Ho would'
try by a few attentiona to make hia
peace with the girl Howells, and then,
would engage her aa his accomplice.:
Together they would come at night t
the cellar, and their united-force would
suffice to raise the stone. So far I
could follow their actions aa if I had
actually seen them.
"But for two of them, and one a
woman. It must have been heavy work
the raising of that stone. A burly
Sussex policeman and I had found it
no light Job. What would they do to
assist them? Probably what I should
have done myself. I rose and examined
carefully tha different billets ot wood
which were scattered round the floor.
Almost at once I -came upon what I
expected. One piece, about three feet
in length, had a very marked indenta
tion at one end, while several were
flattened at the sides aa If they had
been compressed by some considerable
weight. Evidently, as they had dragged
the stone up they had thrust the chunks
of wood into the chink, until at last,
when the opening was large enough to
crawl through, they would hold It open
by a billet placed lengthwise, which,
might very well become Indented at
the lower end, since the whole weight
of the stone would press it down on
to the edge of this other slab. So fat:
I waa still on safe ground.
"And now how was I to proceed to
reconstruct thla midnight drama?
Clearly, only one could fit Into the
hole, and that one was Brunton. Tho
girl must have waited above. Brunton
then unlocked the box, handed up ths
contents presumably since they were
not to be found and then and then
what happened?
"What smoldering fire of vengeance
had suddenly sprung into flame in this
passionate Celtic woman's soul when
she saw the man who had wronged her
wronged her, perhaps, far more than
wa suspected In her power? Was it
a chance that the wood had slipped,
and that the stone had shut Brunton
Into what had become his sepulchre?
Had she only been guilty of silence sa
to his fate? Or had some sudden blow
from her hand dashed the support away
and sent tha alab crashing down into
ita place? Be that aa It might. I seemed
to aee that woman'a figure still clutch
ing at her treasure trove- and flying
wildly up the winding stair, with her
ears ringing perhapa with tha muffled
acreams from behind her and with the
drumming of frenzied hands agatnut
the slab of stone which was choking
her faithless lover's life out.
"Here was the secret of her blanched
face, her shaken nerves, her peals of
hyaterlcal laughter on the next morn
ing. But what bad been In the box?
What had she done with that? Of
course, it must have been the old metal
and pebbles which my client had
dragged from the mere. She had thrown
tbem In there at the first opportunity
to remove tne isst trace of her crime.
"For twenty minutes I had sat mo
tionless, thinking the matter out. Mus
grave still stood with a very pale face.
iConoludsd on fags 7.
J
I