University of South Carolina Libraries
The door of the left-ha .a flat upon *$he third lending was tanding ajar. The Red Steps Pointed Toward Us. Gregson pushed it open. Within all was absolute silence and darkness. I struck a match, and lit the detective's lantern. As 1 did so, and as the flicker steadied into a flame, we all gave a gasp of surprise. On the deal boards of the carpetless floor there was outlined a fresh track of blood. The red steps pointed towards us, and led away from an inner room, the ^ .door of which was closed. Gregson -Jktng It open and held his light full ablaze in front of him, whilst we all .peered eagerly over his shoulders. In tb^ middle of the floor of the empty room was huddled the figure of 'an Enormous man, his clean-shaven, warthy face grotesquely horrible Id its contortion, and his head encircled iby a ghastly crimson halo of blood. Hying in a broad wet circle upon the 'White woodwork. His knees were drawn up, his hands thrown out la agony, and from the center of his abroad, brown, upturned throat there projected the white haft of & knife driven blade-deep into his body. Giant as he was, the man must have gone down like a pole-axed ox before that terrific blow. Beside his right. hand a most formidable horn-handled, twomofc edged dagger lay upon the floor, and himself!" cried the American detect- 1 lve. "Some one has got ahead of us this time." "Here is the candle in the window, "Mr. Holmes," said Grcgson. "Why, whatever are you doing?" Holmes had stepped across, had lit the candle, and was passing it backwards and forwards across the window-panes. Then he peered into the darkness, blew the candle out, and threw it on the floor. "I rather think that will be helpful," said he. He came over and stood in deep thought, while the two professionals were examining the body. "You say that three people came out from the flat while you were waiting downstairs," said he, at last. "Did you observe them closely?" "Yes, I did." "Was there a fellow about thirty, black-beardcd, dark, cf middle size?" "Yes; he was the last to pass me." "That is vcur man, I fancy. I can give you his description, and we have a very excellent outline of his footmark. That should be enough l'cr you." "Not much, Mr. Holmes, among the millions of London." "Perhaps not. That is why I thought it best to summon this lady to vcur aid." We all turned round at the words. There, framed in the doorway, was a tall and beautiful woman?the mysterious lodger of Bloomsbury. Slowly she advanced, her face pale and drawn with a frightful apprehension, her eyes fixed and staring, her terrified gaze riveted upon the dark figure on the floor. "You have killed him!" she muttered. "Oh, Dio mio, you have killed him!" Then 1 heard a sudden sharp intake of her breath, and she sprang into the air with a cry of joy. Round and round the room she danced, her hands clappinc. her dark eyes gleaming with delighted wonder, and a thousand pretty Italian exclamations pouring from her lips. Tt was terrible and amazing to see such a woman so con vuiseu wnn joy at Mien a sikih. ouudenly she stopped and jtnzed at us all with a questioning stare. "Rut you! You are police, are you not? You have killed Giuseppe Gorgiano. Is it not so?" "We are police.^-nailam." She lookid round into tiic shadows of the room. "Rut where, then, is Gcnnaro?" rhe asked. "He is my hushattd. Ger.naro Lucca. 1 ant KtniLa Lucca, and we are both from .\'< w York. Where is Gennaro? lie railed nte this moment from this window, and 1 ran with all I my^spced." "It was I who called," said Holmes. "You! How could you call?" "Your cipher was not difficult, madam. Your presence here was desirable. I knew that I had only to flash 'Vieni' and you would surely come." The beautiful Italian looked with awe at my companion. "I do not understand how you know these things," she said. "Giuseppe Gorgiano?liow did lie?" She pauseu, and tnen suddenly her face lit up with pride and delight. "Now I see it! My Gennaro! My splendid, beautiful Gennaro, who has guarded me safe from all harm, he did it, with his own strong hand he killed the monster! Oh, Gennaro, how wonderful you are! What woman could ever be worthy of such a man?" "Well, Mrs. Lucca," said the prosaic Gregson, laying his hand upon the lady's sleeve with as little sentiment as if she were a Not ting Hill hooligan, "I am not very clear yet who you are or what you are; bui you've said enough to make it clear that we shall want you at the Yard." "One moment, Gregson," said Holmes. "I rather fancy that this lady may be as anxious to give us information as we can be to get it. You understand, madam, that your husband will be arrested and tried for the death of the man who lies before us? What you say may be used in evidence. But if you think that he has acted from motives which are not criminal, and which he would wish to have known, then you cannot serve him better than by telling us the whole story." "Now that Gorgiano Is dead we fear nothing," said the lady. "He was a devil and a monster, and there can be no judge in the wcrld who would punish my husband for having filled him." "In that case," said Holmes, "my suggestion is that we lock this door, leave things as we found them, go with pris lady to her room, and forn^ our opinion after we have heard what it is that she has to say to us." Half an hour later we were seated, ail four, in the small sitting-room of Signora Lucca, listening to her remarkable narrative of those sinister events, the ending of which we had ' chanced to witness. She spoke in , rapid and fluent but very unconventional English, wjiich, for the sake of clearness, I wiH^make grammatical. "I was born in Posllippo, near Na- ? pies," said she, "and Was the daughif iuBMln iBssrlli, t&w* chief lawyer and once the deputy of ' that part. Gennaro was in my father's < employment, and I came to love him, , as any woman must. He had neither money nor position?notions: but bis beauty and strength and clergy?so my father forbade the matcr^We fled together, were married at Bari, and sold my jewels to gain the money ' which would take us to America. This < was four years ago, and we have been in New York ever since. "Fortune was very good to us at first. Gennaro was able to do a scrv- < ice to an Italian gentleman?he saved ( him from some ruffians in the place called the Bowery, and' so made a ' powerful friend. His name was Ti'o Castalotte, and he was the senior , partner of the great firm of Castalotte j and Zamba, who are the chief fruit r importers of New York. Sigr.or Zan ba is an invalid, and our new friend Castalotte lias all power within the I firm, which employs mofe llian three j' hundr.-d men. He" took my husband j into his employment, made liira head i 1 i1 I ma i wBmssmmm , |lM#^ahgSp|; "By George, It's Elack Zoriano Him- i ! 6elf," Cried the American Detective. I I of a department, and showed his | goodwill towards him in every way. j Signer Castalotte was a bachelor, and I believe that he folt as if Gen-1 naro was his son, and both my hus-1 band and I loved him as if ho were; our father. We had taken and fur-' I (To be Continued Next Week.) | The Roac A A vanished thirst? refreshed one; the M way is via a glass oi \Qm I Ideally delicious?pur ft sparkling as frost. . ft Free ?< rne' JL I of Coca at Chattanooga, Demand 1 as m * THE COC AT LAI T^T T^r ^ 1 t I. X ?! fbo Yoi % { Assist t T T V If you want a r V X and if we haven X X we can get it. f* ; ing mjiiic hilt ica . > in and some bus "f Y that will vield X " X your investment i % ?* Come in and our list of homes, y farms. Buy now ' y "j* and you will neve % | Maynard-Raloy E V Offices Ranard Hotel B f f t ? t V ?; I A A A A A.^ VVVVW i < ? ~T:zzi1 ere's 1 to Comfort^! -a cool body and a sure way?the only r bottle of ^ /W 1 ma I e as purity?crisp and J w booklet, telling m -Cola vindication M for the asking. J :he Genuine adc * A-COLA CO. you see an itrp i p? Arrow think 1, of Coca-Cola. i T| X u Need I I tance? | f V lome we have it, V ' v 't what you want X We are also offer- .j! idence lots, close Y iness lots at prices ? Y good returns on ? f bought now. % i let us show you % , vacant lots and ... vhile dirt is cheap t :r regret it. yj ;t tally I Trust Co. | ldg. - Phone 84 Vi T f! ? > f V WHY WOMEN SUFFER. Many Chcrnw Women are Learning the Cure. ? Women often suffer, not knowing the cause. Bachache, headache, dizziness, nervousness. Irregular urinary passages, weakness, languor? Each a seeming torture of itself. Together tell of weakened kidneys. Strike at the root?get to the cause. Quickly give the help the kidneys need. No remedy endorsed like Doan's Kidney Pills. Here's convincing proof from this locality. Mrs W. F_ Russell, Jr\ DeKalb street, Camden, S. C., says: "I used Doan's Kidney Pills with satisfactory results and I am justified in recommending them. Dizzy and nervous spells bothered me and my back and head ached, plainly showing that my kidneys were out of order. When sntnennp advised me to take Doan'a Kklney Pills, I immediately gpt a box and they soon made me strong and wel." t * For sale by all dealers. Price 50 cents. Foster-Milburn Co., .Buffalo, New York, sole agents for the United States. Remember the name?Doan's?ani take no other.?***8. A Household Jfecesslty. Such is the Singer and the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machines. Nedles, oil and machine supplies always on hand. See the little No. 20 Singer for the little girls. 8. I. CATO, Agent Cheraw, S. C. 24 July 12. MASTER'S SALE. _____ bounty of Chesterfield. State of South Carolina, Court of Common Pleas T. S. Gregory, Plaintitff against J. W. Crowley, and P. S. Gillespie, )efendants. Pursuant to a decree of his Honor, T. H. Spain, dated April 23rd, 1912, in tho above entitled ase. I will offer for frale^ before the Court House door, af Chester- "^1 field, S. C., on the first Monday in ^ June, 1912, (same being the 3rd), o the highest bidder for cash, beween the legal hours of sale, the ollowing real estate, to wit; "All that piece, parcel or tract of land, Ritnntc lvinir and beincr in the j ? J ?0 w County and State aforesaid, conaining twenty-five (25) acres, nore or less, and bounded as folows: North by lands of J. "W. Crowley, east by the Public Road tinning from Chesterfield to Patrick; south by the lauds of Frank Davis, and west by the lands of J. W. Crowley. P. A. MURRAY, Jr., Master. MASTER'S SALE. I bounty of Chesterfield. State of South Carolina, Court of Common Pleas. Mattie L. Smith Plaintiff, against F. S. Gillespie, Defendant. I Pursuant to a decree of his Ilofior, Judge John S. Wilson, in I lie above entitled case, dated April | 7th, 1912, 1 will offer for sale before the Court House door at Chesterfield, S. C., on the first Monday in June, 1912, (same being the 3rd), between the legal hours of bale, to the highest bidder for cash, the following described real * - ?-A 4 k TIM. 4- m'aon ! si ate, #io vwri i um uci uuu l?arccl or tract of land, situate, lyn# a ml briii# in tile County of .'lirstrrfirld, State of South Car lina, near the town of Patrick, outainin# forty and one-fourth * 1 J 40 J-4"i acres, more or le.ss, uounud 011 the north by the Davis land; ast by C'oker Draueh; south by amis of 0'. L. Gillespie, and west y lauds of F. AV. Pankey and F. \W Davies; same being more fully hown by Plat made in August, 00.0. by AY. L. Gillespie, Surrey or. P. A. MURRAY, Jr., Muster. Now is the time to get rid of your rheumaism. You can do it by applying Chamberlains Liniment and masasging the parts freely at each applica tion. For sale by all dealers. . ?