Cheraw chronicle. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1896-2005, July 04, 1912, Page PAGE THREE, Image 3
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ADVENTURE
Of THE
DEVILS FOOT
"Upon my word, Watson!" said
Holmes at last, with an unsteady
voice, "I owe you both my thanks and
an apology. It was an unjustifiable !
experiment even for oneself, and
doubly so fpr a friend. I am really
very 60rry."
"You know," I answered, with some
'emotion, for I had never seen so
much of Holmes' heart before, "that
it is my greatest joy and privilege to
help you."
He relapsed at once into that halfhumorous,
half-cynical vein which was
his habitual attitude to those about
him. "It would be superfluous to drive
us mad, my dear Watson," said he.
"A candid observer would certainly
declare that we were so already before
we embarked upon so wild an
experiment. I confess that I neuer
Imagined that the effect could be so
sudden and so severe." He dashed
iniO III*; I'Ulia&e, auu,
with the burning lamp held at fall
arm's length, he threw It among a
bank of brambles. "We must give the
room a little time to clear. I take It,
Watson, that you have no longer a
shadow of a doubt as to how these
tragedies were produced?".
"None whatever."
"But the cause remains as obscure
as before. Come Into the arbor here,
and let us discuss It together. That
villainous stuff seems still to linger
round my throat. I thftak we must adthis
man, Monlmer Tregennls^nav!^
been the criminal in the first tragedfV
though he was the victim in the ^iC*
?. ond one."
"Then his own death was suicide!"
"Well, Watson, it is on the face of
it a not impossible supposition. The
man who had the guilt upon his soul ,
of having broughi such a fate upon
his own family might well be driven
by remorse to inflict it upon himself.
There are, however, some cogent reasons
against it. Fortunately, there is
? ? - ? 1- Irnnn'C oil
one man in r<i>Kiauu now *??? .
about it, and 1 have made arrangements
by which we shall hear the
facts this afternoon from his own lips.
Ah! he is a li:tl? before his time.
Perhapr you wruld kindly step this
way, Dr. Leon S; rndale. We have
been conducting a chemical experiment
indoors which has left our llttlo
room hardly fit fcr the reception of i
so distinguished a visitor."
1 had heard the click of the garden j
gate, and now the majestic figure of I
the great African explorer appeared |
upon the path. lie turned in some I
surprise towards the rustic arbor iti I
which we sat.
"You sent for me, Mr. Holmes. I
had your note about an hour ago, and
1 have come, though 1 really do not
know why I should obey your summons."
"Perhaps we can clear the point tip
before we separate," said Holmes.
"Meanwhile, I urn much obliged to you
fgr your courteous acquiescence. You
will excuse this informal reception In
the open air, but my friend Watson
and I have nearly finished an additional
chapter to what the papers call
.m/t n-n nrof.ii* :i ^
liJtr v. uiiiir.ii i.uuui, uuu ??v v.v. ?
clear atmosphere for the present.
Perhaps, since the matters which we
have to discuss will affect you personally
in a very intimate fashion, it.
is as well that wo should talk where
there can be no eavesdropping."
The explorer took a cigar from his
lips and gazed sternly at my co r pinion.
"I am at a lm-* ' . *> v, sir." 1 >
said, "what y: ! i
about which . ; . ,-_vr. !y it;
a very !-. !' . fash.
"The :.g t- TrcgcnBis,"
5 -h. Ho1 s.
For a mom ;.r ' .vished that I wore
armed. Sterne, .j's lk'rce face turned
ic a dusky :id, his eyes glared, and
the knotted, passionate veins started
out in his forehead, while he sprang
forward with clenched hands towards
my companion. Then ho stopped, and
2 with a violent effort he resumed a
cold, rigid calmness which was, perhaps.
more suggestive of danger than
his hot-headed outburst.
"I have lived so long among sav
ttisccuccsof
IER10CK
[OIME5
tr CotwtfDoj/Jc
moils by V.LBdrnes
i
ages and beyond the law," said he,
"that I have got Into a way of being
a law to myself. You would do well,
Mr. Holmes, not to forget It, for I
have no desire to do you an Injury."
"Nor have I any desire to do you
an Injury, Dr. Sterndale. Surely the
clearest proof of It is that, knowing
what I know, I have sent for you and
not for the police."
Sterndale sat down wi* a gasp,
overawed, perhaps, the fir , time in
his adventurous life. Tt. e was a
calm assurance of power in Holmes'
manner which could not be withstood.
Our visitor stammered for a moment,
his great hands opening and shutting
in his agitation."
"What do you mean?" he asked, at
last. "If this is bluff upon your part,
Mr. Holmes, you have chosen a bad
man for your experiment. Let us have"
no more beating about the bush. What
do you mean?"
"I will tell you," said Holmes, "and
the reason why I tell you is that I
hope frankness may beget frankness.
What my next step may be will de.
pend entirely upon the nature of
your own defense."
"My defense."
"Yes, sir."
"My defense against what?"
"AgainBt the charge of killing Mortimer
Tregennis."
Sterndale mopped his forehead with
his handkerchief. "Upon my word,
you are getting on,'! said he. "Do all
your successes depend upon this prodigious
power of bluff?"
"The bluff," said Holmes, sternly,
A Thick Black Cloud Swirled Before
My Eyes.
"is upon your side, Dr. Loon Sterndale,
and not upon mine. As a proof
i v ill tell you some of the facts upon
which inconclusions are based. Of
your return to Plymouth, allowing
much of your property to go on to
Africa, I will say nothing save that it
lirst informed me that you wore one
of the factors which had to be taken
into account in reconstructing this
drama."
"I came back?"
"I have heard your reasons and regard
them as unconvincing and inadequate.
We will ya~s that. You came
down here to ask me whom I suspected.
I refused to answer you. You
then went to the vicarage, waited out,
side it for some time, and linally returned
to your cottage."
"How do you know that?"
"1 followed you."
"1 saw no one."
"That is what you may expect to
see when I follow you. You spent a
restless night. at your cottage. and
you formed certain plana, winch In
the early morning you proceeded to
put into execution. Leaving your door
I just as day was breaking, you filled
j your po< k? t with some reddish gravel
which was lying beside your gale."
St<rndale gave a violent start and
locked at Ilolmes in amazement.
"You then walktd swiftly for toe
mile which separated you from the
vicarage. You were wearing, I may
remark, the same pair of ribbed tennis
shoes which are at the present
moment upon your feet. At the vicarage
you passed through the orchard
and the side hedge, coming out under
the window of i!o lodger, Tregonnis.
It was now daylight, but the household
was not yet stirring. You drew
some of the gravel from your pocket,
r
and you th -.. the window
above you?"
Stemdale sprang to his feet.
"I believe that you are the devil
himself!" he cried.
Holmes smiled at the compliment.
"It took two, or possibly three, handfuls
before the lodger came to the
window. You beckoned him to come
down. He dressed hurriedly and descended
to his sitting-room. You entered
by the window. There was an
interview?a short one?during which
you walked up and down the room.
Then you passed out and closed the
window, standing on the lawn outside
smoking a cigar and watching
what occurred. Finally, after the
death of Tregennis, you withdrew as
you had come. Now, Dr. Stemdale,
how do you Justify such conduct, and
what were the motives of your actions?
If you prevaricate or trifle
with me, I give you my assurance that
the matter will pass out of my hands
forever."
Our visitor's face had turned ashen
gray as he listened to the words of
his accuser. Now he sat for some
time in thought with his face sunk in
his hands. Then, with a sudden impulsive
gesture, he plucked a photograph
from his breast pocket and
' * *A - ? * no '
rnrew 11 on me rusuu unuic no.
"That is why I have done it," said
he. '
It showed the bust and face of a
very beautiful woman. Holmes stooped
over it.
"Brenda Tregennfs," said he.
"Yes, Brenda Tregennis," repeated
our visitor. "For years I have loved
her. For years she has loved me.
That is the secret of that Cornish seclusion
which people have marveled
at. It has brought me close to the
one thing on earth that was dear to
me. I could not marry her, for I have
a wife who has left me for years, and
yet whom, by the deplorable laws of
England, I could not divorce. For
years I waited. And this is what we
have waited for." A terrible sob
shook his great frame, and he clutched
his throat under his brindle beard.
Then with an effort he mastered himself
and spoke on.
"The vicar knew. He was in our
confidence. He would tell you that
she was an angel upon earth. That
was why he telegraphed to me and I
returned. What was my baggage or
Africa to me when I learned that such
a fate had come upon my darling?
There you have the missing clew to
my action, Mr. Holmes."
?mv^-friend. - v
Dr. Sterndale drew from his pocket
a paper picket and laid it upon the
table. On the outside was written,
"Radix pedis diaboli," with a red poison
label beneath it. He pushed It
towards me. "I understand that you
are a doctor, sir. Have you ever
heard of this preparation?"
"Devil's-foot root! No, I have never
heard of it."
"It is no reflection upon your professional
knowledge," said he, "for I
believe that, save for one sample in
a laboratory at Buda, there is no
other specimen in Europe. It has
not yet found its way either into the
pharmacopeia or into the literature
of toxicology. The root is shaped like
a foot, half human, half goatlike;
tlip fanciful name Riven by a
botanical missionary. It is used as
an ordeal poison by the medicine-men
in certain districts of West Africa,
and is kept a secret among thejn
This particular specimen I obtained
under very extraordinary circumstances
in the Ubanghi country." lie
opened the paper as he spoke, and
disclosed a neap of reddish-brown,
snuff-like powder.
"Well, sir?" said Holmes, sternly.
"I am about to tell you, Mr. Holmes,
oil that actually occurred, for you already
know so much that it is clearly
to my interest that you should know
all. I have already explained the relationship
In v.l.fc'i I uood to the Trtpennis
family. For tho sake c-f the I
sister I was fri-sidlv with the broth-1
ers. 'Ji"-i?' v..s a irtmiiy t?nu:el I
about money which (-stripped this
mar. M"rtii.i<r, bin i! v-as s imposed to
be made up, and I al'tcrwaids inet him
as I did the o" iiers. lie was a sly,
subtle, scheming man, and scv< ral
things arose which pave me a surplcion
of him, but I had no cause for
any positive quarrel.
"One day, only a couple of weeks
ago, he came down to my cottage and
1 showed him some of my African curiosities.
Among other things, I exhibited
this powder, and I told him
of its strange properties, how it stimulates
those brain centers which control
the emotion of fear, and how
either madness or death is the fate of
the unhappy native who is subjected
to the ordeal by the priest of his
tribe. I told him also how powerless
European science would ho to detect
it. How he took it I cannot say, for
I never left the room, but there Is
no doubt that it was then, while I
was opening cabinets and stooping to
boxes, that he managed to abstract
some of the devil's-foot root I well
remember how he plied me with questions
as to the amount and the time
that was needed for its effect, but I
IP
you I Demanc the
o/coa-Cda. f ' j^P
^SU- .., the COCA-CI
T"1 Our new booklet, tel
1* lf0k& vindication at Chati
& II vv asking, ^
little dreamed that he could have a "f ha
personal reason for asking. Central
"I thought no more of the matter half flnl
until the vicar's telegram reached' me "Go i
at Plymouth. This villain had thought Holmes,
that I would be at sea befbre the news to prev<
could reach me, and that I should be . Dr. S
lost for years in Africa. But I re- ure, bot
Ju,rneiL,|it once. :Of, course, I could the arb
not listen to the details without feel- handed
ing assured that my poison had been "Sonv
I used. I came round to see you on the ous Woi
I chance that some other explanation yie. "I
! had suggested itself to you. But that it
there could be none. I was convinced called v
fhat Mortimer Tregennis *as the mur- gation 1
derer; that for the sake of money, action *
and with the idea, perhaps, that if the denounc
other members of his family were all "Certi
Insane he would be the sole guardian ?<j j,a^
of their joint property, he had used j ^id a
the devil's-foot powder upon them, mct sue
driven two of them out of their senses, our jaw]
and killed his sister Brenda, the one knows?
human being whom I have ever loved fen(j y0
or who has ever loved me. There was wjiat is
his crime; what was to ha his punish- ^e win
mem: starting
"Should I appeal iO iho law? Where unlike i
were my proofs? I knew that tile den. 0
facts were true, but could I help to been dr
make a jury of countrymen believe cottage
so fantastic a story? I might or I lamp si
might not. Rut I could not afford to the rer
fail. My soul cried out for revenge, shield w
1 I have said to you once before, Mr. ly obvic
i Holmes, that I have sp nt much of Watson,
my life outside the la'.., and that I matter I
have come at last to be a law to my- with a
self. So it was now. I determined of thos<
that the fate which he had given to surely t
others should be shared by himself, branch *
Hither that, or I w- chl do justice upon
him with my own nand. In all Eng- ^
land there can be no man who sets
lees value upon his own life than I
j do at the present moment. l icgnss
"New T hrv* ycu -.11. You have set
yourself supplied the rest. I did, as'fllying i
you say, after a restless night, set omail. Pe
early front my cottage. I foresaw i'.a eS? jn a
difficulty of arousing him, so I h-! Tha.t*a w
ercd some gravel from the pile which !
you have mentioned, and I used it u
to throw up to his window. Ho came an(* lunf
down and admitted me through the medicine
window of the sitting-room, f laid his a dreadl
offense before him. I told hiir. I had Davis, <
come both as judge and executioner. (ioctor's
The wretch sank into a chair nara-1 ..
, , . .t , ? , ' , ernes na
lyzed at the sight of my revolver. I
lit the lamp, put the powder above It, <lua"e?*
and stood outside the window, ready bottle fi
to carry out my threat to shoot hirn Sons.
should he try to leave the room. In jn tin
five minutes he died. My God! how ;her and
he died! Hut my heart was flint, for op,
he endured nothing which my inno- t)V ^yj]
cent darling had' not felt before hin?. years o
There is my story, Mr. Holmes. Per- y^g ^rai
haps, if you loved a woman, you would ter nii|j
have done as much yourself. At any ^j's
rate, I am in your hands. You can jt
take what steps you like. As I have jo^ed ^
already said, there is no man living
who can fear death less than I do." some w,
Holmes sat for some time in silence. j
"What were your plans?" he asked, '
? . , ieart.
at last.
^Satisfies
There never was a
hirst that Coca-Cola
uldn't satisfy.
)es, straight as an aro
the dry spot,
besides this,
; to a T the call foi
ing purely delicious
eliciously pure?and
esome.
Delicious
Refreshing
hirst-Quenching !f
i Genuine as made by
DLA CO., ATLANTA, CA.
ling of Coca-Cola
tanooga, for the
W
~ll
d Intended to bury myself In!
Africa. My work there Is but
ished."
ind do the other half," said
, "I, at least, am not prepared
snt you."
terndale raised his giant flgjved
gravely, and walked from
or. Holmes, jjt his pipe ayi
me his pouch. ' * e
fumes which are not poisonild
be a welcome change," said
think you must agree, Watson,
is not a case in which we are
ipon to interfere. Our investilas
been Independent, and our
shall be also. You would not
:e the man?"
dnlv not." I answered.
ie never loved, Watson, but if
nd if the woman I loved had
h an end, I might act even aa
less lion-hunter has done. Who
Well, Watson, I will not ofur
intelligence by explaining
obvious. The gravel under
dow-sill was, of course, the
point of my research. It was
inything in the vicarage garnly
when my attention had
awn to Dr. Sterndale and his ..
did I find its counterpart. The
lining in broad daylight and
nains of powder upon the
rere successive links in a fairlus
chain. And now, my dear
I think we may dismiss the
from our minds, and go bark
clear conscience to the study
e Chaldean roots which ate
0 be traced in the Cornish
of the great Celtic speech."
I
fail Carriers Will Fly.
s an age o". great discoveries,
j rides in the air. Sjju we
1 Unci) Sam's mail carriers
n all directions, transporting
iople take a wonderful interdiscovrey
that benefits them,
rhv rir Kine's New Discovery
ghs, Colds and other throat
; diseases is the most popular
in America. "It cured me of
Cul cough," writes Mrs. J. F.
Stickney Corner, Me., "after
treatment and all other remtd
failed." For coughs, colds
Price 50c. and $1.00. Trial
ee at T. E. Wannamaker -fe
; presence of his widowed moI
a brother, John tV. Stevenson,
, was shot aud instantly killed
liam Poole, a boy about 15
Id, also the son of a widow,
sjedy occurred at the Manchesvlllage,
Rock Hill, both of the
ing been operatives in that
was another case of the "un!un.".
The boys were playing
j pistol, the weapon being in
ay discharged and the unforboy
was shot through thn
i