The Barnwell people. (Barnwell, S.C.) 1884-1925, October 09, 1913, Image 2
0 ft
A STUDY IN
SCARLET.
Fy Sir A. Conan Poylr.
Chapter Xll 1.
he found evil Udlnft evaltlnf him.
There had been a schism among the
<" trou People a few months before,
so of the younger members of the
<•: ji h having rebelled against the
Mttlit dty of the elders, and the result
v 'ja ;joj oj pottnu'Biu paq jeqqajQ
;• li | <}jod.*j jouiny enoil paq Caqj
a Mdinf ouo on paa uosjaRuv^g
uia
had been the seeeH.ron of a certain
nirnber of tho malcontentH, who had
left Wtah find become (lentlles.
Among thee*' had been Drebber and
“Married yenterdav—that’s what
those flags are for on the Endowment
House. There was some words be
tween young Drebber and young
Stangerson as to which was to have
her. They'd both been in the party
that, followed them, and Htangerson
had shot her father, which seemel to
give him the best claim; but when
they argued it out In council Dreb-
her’s party was the stronger, so the
] “ophet tr:• ve her over to him. No
one won't have her very long, though,
1 r I -aw (bath in her face yesterday
f :>• j- mere Mke a ehost than a w >-
t t \re von of. then’"
*V« - I'm e'f " sab! Je T erS'in Ifop*.
v he le t ri'-i <> from 1,i seat
f . j. It!' m .mi ! 1
o ;l • ' ni lrt/tc. > turd and so s-d .
- ' ■ n. v. !-,!•• ! , e;.... 1
g > >■ <1 with a iiaiei ul iiKht.
“Where are you going'’''
“Never mini,'' he answered; and,
slinging his weapon on hts shotil ter.
strode off down tho gorge and so
sway into the heart of the mountains
to the haunts of tiie wild boa*?*
Among 'hem all there was none • >
flsrre snd so dangerous as himself
Tho prediction of the Mormon was
osly too » el 1 fulfilled W tie? her I'j
i
was the terrlbls dra’h of h> r fs?her
m th« offsets of the ha’eful msrrlsgi' (
Into which ahe ha! tH.en forced, ;*>or
\.%rj ne>er he'd up her teat again j
Sat plnet away an 1 J ed w!’h n a
tnoBlh Her antt.ah hushant >
had married her principally for (hr
•aka of John t errier a pr<>;>a*»y ? 1
BOt Bffee* anv feat C r ?e' *• fit
re<B*ea>«nt hut tlt« t'r' srw
B. o u r n ed over her ant aa' up • * h
k*W he C f . t ha' r e ’.he t irta aa «
tka M‘'rm 'tj r*s*oro Ther »efr.
•rostp*.} found Ih* bier n the ear 1
turar* of (ha a. - > r B : B g ah an to t *i *■ r
laaa P ’ ••• b a 'ear as! aa? ■ r ’ a ' tr r • •
tka * as * .B| epe aa 1 a an
a4• Ic'k'Bg aaa'her ^ea'an n as 'r
tat'are*! aarmee?* a'frje
rwom u? a t ar a er a »>>•
to tka rw.aerlag %o3-ee be • a be* j*
is tka • h!' a s’ae; I flg j fa » ‘•vb fc*?
OS cm roa(a oad (I'a pu'a »>«! ef I n • f
I'Wrlef H(o«.p!a g »«f bar ha praaa
•4 his Mpa faveran? f her c. .}
f^rwhaal ao ! i.'.ao ana I rg up * ef
kBS J S a ? r>.. i the • a d! c ( ' S g ' »■ > X
ker Sr. gaf
""•ha #^. a! a • ‘u» birind n '‘a 1
ka rrla J •" h a ferr # sear' an?
f<w« aa a a-m fou.d t-o ral*ad aprarg
4awr. 1 ha stairs ant • aa g re s
•trae f e *1,} e' v as " • e a ’e
tka’ t*a w a' befa r g*' ha»e • , - •
of s> fora boob rlrramstancws pr*T*nt- onar aald. slowly "I wsnt to t»U
rd kls iBBTiAf t hs oUasw for B«*rly yos ger 11 am an stl about it "
fl?*. At tb* rnd of tbst ttms. how- "Hadn't you botter rrsorr* thst for
•▼rr, bis m«aory of bis wrosgs snd your trial aaksd tkr Inapartor
bis cravings for rrvongB wars quits "I may nrvar bs trird,'' hr snawrr-
as koon as on that mrmorable night od. “You nooda't look startled. It
whrn bs had stood by John Frrrier's isn't sulclds I am thinking of. Are
grsve. Disguised, and undsr an as- you s doctor?’*
turned name, bs returned to Salt He turned his tsree. dark eyes
I^ake City, careless wbst became of upon me as be asked this last ques-
bls own life as long as he obtained tlon.
There
what he knew to be justice
large part of his property Into money,
snd that he had departed a wealthy
man, while his companion, Stanger-
son, wan comparatively poor. There
was no clew at all, however aa to
their whereabouts.
Many a man, however vindictive,
would have abandoned all thought of
revenge In the face of such a diffi
culty, but Jefferson Hope never fal
tered for a moment. With tho small
competence he possessed, eked out by
such employment a* he could pick up,
he traveled from town to town thru
the i’nlted States in quest oi his ene
mies. Year passed into year, his
black hair turned to grizzled, but
still he wandered on. a human blood
hound, with his mind wholly set up
on tho one object to which he had
devoted his life. At last his perse-
vt ranee was rewarded. It was but a
g'ance of a faro in a window, but that
cue glance told him that Cleveland,
in Ohio, possessed the men whom lie
was In pursuit of. He returned to
his miserable lodgings with his plan
«»f v< ?;geance all arranged. I? chanc
ed. howewr, that Drebber, looking
’'?-" n his w indow, had recognized the
W'g'.,... ; n 1 1,,, s’r'-ft and had real
*i■ ,mi'■ r in liis oy< s He hurried be
fore a Jucticp of the peace, accom
panied by Stangerson. who had ! o-
corne bis pr;\a?o secretary, and rep
resented to Mm that they were in
danger of their lives from the Jeal-
ou*v and ba'-< 1 of an old rival
That e?. nlng Jefferson Hope w.is
taken Into custody, and. not bo‘nr
a* !e to ’’n 1 sure' <•* » a « de'a'ne,) for
seme week* When »t las? he s as
M hers ted it waa onlv to fin! tha*
Drebber * house * xs <1 eaert**d, and
thst tie and his •c're'ary had depart
rd 'er Europe
».-••• wan 1
g »»r
“Yes, I am." I an*wered.
“Then put your hand here,” he
aaid, with a amlle, motioning with his
manacled wrlata toward his chest.
I did *0, and btcame at once con
scious of an extraordinary throbbing
and commotion which was going on
inside. The walls of his chest seem
ed to thrill and quiver as a frail
building would do Inside when some
powerful engine was at work. In the
silence of the room I could hear a
dull humming and buzzing noise
which proceeded from the same
source.
“Why,” I cried, “you have aortic
aneurism! ”
“That’s what they call it,” he said,
placidly. “I went to a doctor last
week about It, and he told me that it
was hound to burst before many days
passed. It has been getting worse
for years. I got it from over-expo
sure and underfeeding among the
Salt Take mountains. I’ve clone my
work now, and I don’t care how soon
I go, but I should like to leave some
aceount of the business behind me
T don’t want to be remembered as a
common cut throat.”
Tile inspector ami the two de'ec-
thes had a hurried discussion as to
the advisability of allowing him to
(Hi tils c tory,
"I)o vou ron>-i !
all that t o « v the* Bovjid bho■ t
Ixiadon I * •• aiaa)* at :heir h*< 1*
Sometime* | followBd thBOi on my
cah. and ao:r*t!ii>«*« on foot, hut the
former was the be«t. for thea they
could not get away from me It w aa
only early In tb« morning or late at
nlgkt that I could earn anything, bo
that I begat to get behindhand with
my employer. I did not mind that,
however, aa long a* I could lay my
baad upon the men I wanted.’’
“They were very canning, though.
They mu*t have thought that there
was Home chance of thetr being fol
lowed, for they would go out
alone, and never after nightfall. Dur
Ing the two weeka I drove behind
them every day, and never once aaw
them separate. Drebber himself was
drunk half the time, but Stangerson
was not to be caught napping. I
watched them late and early, but
never saw the ghost of a chance; but
I was not discouraged, for aomething
told me that the hour had almost
come. My only fear was that this
thing in my chest might burst a little
too soon and leave my work undone.
“At last, one evening, I was driv
ing up and down Torquay Terrace, as
the street was called in which they
boarded, when I saw a cab drive up
to their door. Presently some lug
gage was brought out, and after a
time Drebber and Stangerson follow
ed it and drove off. I whipped up
my horse and kept within sight of
them, feeling ill at ease, for I feare 1 |
that they were going to shift their
quarters. At Knston Station they
got out, and I left a hov to hold m*
horse and followed them on to the I
platform I heard them ask for the!
rak. h# halted b>b ead Jam pad la [
T>rl*« m» to HaiII4ay t PrtvBta
Hotel, aaid ha
“Whea 1 had him fairly tnalda my
cab my heart Jumied ao with joy that
I feared icat at thla laat moment my
aneurism might go wrong. I drove
• lonf slowly, weighing la my own
mind what It was beat to do I might
Lake him right out Into the country,
and there In some deeerted lane have
my l.iat Interview with him. I had
almost decided upon this, when he
•alved the problem for me. The
craze for drink had seized kim again,
and ho ordered me to pull up outside
a gin palace. He went In, leaving
word that I should wait for him.
There he remalnejl until closing time,
and when he came out he was so far
gone that I knew the game was in my
own hands.
“Don’t Imagine that I Intended to
kill him in cold blood. It would only
have been rigid justice If I had done
so, but I could not bring myself to do
it. I had long determined that he
should have a show for his life* If he
chose to take advantage of it. Among
tho many billets which I have filled
in America during my wandering life,
I was once a janitor and sweeper-out
of the laboratory at York College.
One day the professor was lecturing
on poisons, and he showed his stu
dents some alkaloid, as he called it,
which he had extracted from some
South American arrow poison, and
which was so powerful that the least
(train meant instant death. I spotted
the hottle in which this preparation
was kept, and when they were all
gone I helnod myself to a little of it
thorn
\ .1!]
irn medial*
it
mor a>k*‘l.
■ M-.-t cTtaniy
- !
' In that ra'o it u
in I'm |n>.<■,«•« o'
)*’ i' ••tnen ? '' •■aid t h *
ar« at 1 b-rty »;r to giro
count » * I' h ! again 'Arirn
ho ’ikcfi I an"
I o!t !< » n vk ' 1 V..
• r,. r »4 t
*, ' . » r d TV 4 a no •'«■
tnak'-a n - t r«*.! at |
» ' »1 !..•»' an t.nu r ar i
! t »•?<• r« I m ■ ‘
• 1 «- * • a i o • • ! ! a ' M •
DDerpon! frtiln. red ? , 'f'
guard an-
or. dnrt,
r t'm?
a v\ eroq that one ha 1 just
gone. and
larger'’"
th** for-
there would not be a no’ h ■
r for some
h-'ur* S*angers*.n (*••< •".<>
1 to be pv
thoro is.
’ I an
(■lit v »'| 11 but Dr* 11 ber
was rather
p'- n 1 'Mm <•?*■. rvx!s»>
I got SO
r 1 • ■ a r 1 v n
ir du f v.
' ! ■.■•(■ to th. :u In '.he bu
*?:*■* that !
1 o
oV<* hli
(■Ml Mar * v - v u or 1 '
1 l’ p l« J * 1
toot dart lag skaa
gad kar from k«r alaugbtwrad fifthdr
aad borB bar away ta your aoctra*
and shaaatoM haramV
“ *lt waa not I who ktll»d bar fath
er.’ ha crlad
“ Hut It was yoa who broka
innocent heart.’ I shrieked. thrBfll
the box before him. I^et tba hi
God judge betwaen us. Choojs auc
eat. There Is death In one a|d life
In the other. I shall take whbt you
leave. Let us see If there Is justice
upon the earth, or If we are ruled by
chance.* ,
“He <cowered away with wild cries
and prayers for mercy, but I drew my
knife and held it to hla throat uAtll
he had obeyed me. Then I swallow
ed the other, and we stood facing
each other In alienee for a minute dr
more, waiting to see which waa to
live and which was ta die. Shall I
ever forget the look which came over
his face when the first warning pangs
told him that the poison was in his
system? I laughed as ^ saw it, and
held Lucy’s marriage ring in front of
his eyes. It was but fofi a moment,
for the action of the alkaloid is rapid.
A spasm of pain contorted his fea
tures; he threw his hands out In
front of him, staggered, and then,
with a hoarse cry, fell heavily upon
the floor. I turned him oyer with
my foot and placed my hand upon his
heart. There was no movement. He
was dead!
“The blood had been streaming
from my nose, but I had taken no no
tice of it. I don’t know what it wss
that put it into my head to write
upon tho wall with it Perhaps it
t ' !'
» a
I V
ns
a
fair! - .’
good dis
penser, so I
was some miscievous idea
of setting
wor
k
1 t
his a'ka’oid intt
small, solu-
the police upon a wrong tra-’k, for I
Me
Pil
Is.
and '■
a h pill I
put in a box
felt light-hearted and cheer
ful 1 ro-
W 1 ’ 1
i n
: i 1 a r
p ’ 11 xx i t b o
ut poison I
membered a German being
fonn 1 in
det*
ru
iin
• d at
the time
that, when I
New York with ‘Rache’ wri
tten upon
1 ad
n.
\ i
hum ••
, my gen'!
emen should
above him. and it was arg'
el at tho
* v
11
ru
e a di
aw out of
one of !hese
time in the newspapers tha
t the geg-J
bo.
■ *,
\N
Mb* I
eat the
; ill that re-
r*t »oc]et!«* must have done it. I
na
1' u o
u!d be qu'
'*> as d* adly.
guess**! that what puzzled
the New
at. 1
a
r
•d dr
i! !> «s !*••*
s nosy than
Yorkers w mid puzzle the 1
ondoners,
firlr
c
t\
r >*>« a
h a n d k e r i
b of Krotn
so I d pped my finger in
m y o w n
thst <lar I had filwav* my pl!l b<>iM*
\» I' h, m c an!'!
•» h* n ! » ax to -
•> t irn*- ha.
i <* #* them
no’
•a \« a
• a'<■ r nfi•• 11
an
t A ■ ’ Y ♦
• *« n!eh' ‘
*
!r.f * at<
n torrents
M«*
r a! k* 1
! * \s rl* 1
*
! *: 1 !l "A
Mood and print** 1 it on a convenient
pla<*« on the wall When I walked
down to n.y cab and found that there
a as nobody about, and 'hat *he night
waa a'Hl *er* wild I ha! driven
it I
1 hare »’
■' n !'
some dls'ar.-e when 1
Into the porVet In w*
kept ! urr « ring and
*> as not 'here I * as
an 1
I
l r 1
« h
* *• • '
'a * ' -n a’ !!a''’'»
• c
» k r
1 a (* - P
*■'** - x«
•n It.
a •
VI f
\\
^
?! •
• ' r it w x» t
Vx ,. 0 »x *
r
f \
• t I
had of her
TMr.k
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r:
g h'
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r t
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r k - » ■ ' one ' * 1 4e 'i n.» t‘,»* !
* ! q * r.ed :t and led Mtn Ir'o
lla#«»ra ! ataotj* t v•*
lag a a'raaxe w 1 :
fa k'a hra-t ta- ff-rc,
gwaacs wbi.b p. — sra.
ware to! J n the cf y
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ng
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• 1
1
) 9
t ' e (
r;me f .r
let whistled tbr
■ugh St angers m *
n 1 r -
■ n d ’ I *
H
• k ' 11,. r os.
vx X q 1 .
*■ A H -
un.Mo
I 1
..*.•• car
wtadow and lattet
. ed 1 (Sid' Upon ’be
1 -»r* *
bed 1 '«
(' S IXS ’ b' Ugh to
r ] , * | ]
1 ''(0.1?
w
b me,
and
X( IX e fid-
wall within a foot
f him ( m a no*;,
r\
<nr#» 1
• v'f ('
•j f
t *;*■ v xx 1 re f r* ••
*. 1 1
. :tn n
r. 1
b’s a■
' o;:ip
e . \ (-r
ar ck 1 aslon. as I)r.
•bt**' r paxso 1 u n 1< r
rf» TT1 (V ••
I rem*”
, V,
, r '*),(* J ' *'OUg),'
t W(> cot
Mti'-n
s
until I
(dig
bt t'o m
B ellff. a gTea’ bow
bl**r crash* d d ox n
t ■)
r* \no] f
«s I < \
.‘•1
b: ui that 1 h id
The V th
ought
to
?i r " m*
• out.
bu* tb* >
tm him. and he 0
nlv phi aped a ter-
i1"Tn
■n a nio
ro
pow. rfullv built
could t!
<t do
It
If I .
ie to
morrow .
” af- !t 's*x c'.alti.that sa’!)«-
••r'nr a- ' ••••’ jrne.1 ‘ nt !n ?* In
'vs: I ! a 1 tak**n a mo’ !!r,r * !'
! * a 1 a !;p’' a 1 e con*'ru' tel ’’▼
1 er. * f t* •« ? ha 1 a c...s • . a* ! .■ ,\a t
•• »; ■? !n th * r'cat ( ’r a here I
'i'1 r.'v upon b»• ‘ne free from !n-
r ** m ! r\ e \
the » ;ir t he
w > re walking
ark
front
«a! 1
H.
to get Drebt>er to
n have a light
rtble d*v«th iir throwing himself upon
hi* face The two young Mormons
were not long \ji discovering the ren
son of these attempt* upon their
live#, and led repea'ed expeditions
lato the motintalns In the hope of
capturing or killing their enemy, but
always without success. Then they
adopted the precaution of never go
ing out alone or after nightfall, and
of having their houses guarded. Af
ter a time they were able to relax
these measures, for nothing was elth-
bt heard or seen of their opponent,
and they hoped that time had cooled
hi* vlndlctlvenegs.
Far from doing so, it had, if any
thing, augmented it. The hunter's
mind was of a hard unyielding' na
ture, and the predominant Idea of
rovenge had taken such complete pos-
aeaalon of it that there was no room
for any other emotion. He was, how
ever, above all things practical. He
Boon realized that even his iron con
stitution could not stand the inces
sant strain which he was putting up
on It. Exposure and want of whole
some food were wearing him out. If
be died like a dog among tho moun-
tAins, what was to become of his re
venge then? And yet such a death
wm aure to overtake him If he per
sisted. He felt that that was to play
hla enemy’s game, so he reluctantly
retained to the old Nevada mines,
there to recruit his health and to
tmam money enongh to allow him to
••me hla object without privation.
•' Jgli Intention had been to be absent
VfMT the most but a combination
man nn! bin li.irk, sun'oitm-! far*'
boro nn '■xpm*«lon of <l('ft'r?ninii ,l on
and rrmrgv which was as formidable
as his personal strength.
“If there's a vacant place for a
chief of the police, I reckon you are
tho man for it." ho said, gazing with
undisguised admiration at my fellow-
lodeor. “Tho way you kopt on my
trail was a caution."
“You had bottor oomo with me.”
said Holmos to tho two detectives.
“I can drive you,” said Lestrado.
“Good! and Gregson can come in
side with me. You too, doctor; you
have taken an Interest in the case,
and may as well stick to us.”
I assented gladly, and we all de
scended together. Our prisoner
made ^.o attempt at escape, but step-
ped calmly into the cab which had
been his, and we followed him. Les-
trado mounted the box, whipped up
the horse, and brought us in a very
short time to our destination. We
were ushered into a small chamber,
where a police inspector noted down
our prisoner’s name and the names of
the men with whoso murder he had
been charged. The official was a
white fared, unemotional man, who
went through his duties in a dull,
mechanical way. “The prisoner will
be put before the magistrates In the
course of the week,” he said. "In
the meantime, Mr. Jefferson Hope,
have you anything that you wish to
say? I must warn you that your
words will b« taken down and may be
used against yon."
“I’ve a good deal to My," our pria-
as Is likely enough, I die knowing
that my work in tills world Is done,
and well done They have perished,
and by my hand. There is nothing
left for me to hope for or to desire.
“They were rich and I was poor, so
that it was no easy matter for pie to
follow them. When I got to London
my pocket was about empty, and I
found that I must turn my hand to
something for my living. Driving
and riding are as natural to me as
walking, so I applied at a cab-owner’s
office and soon got employment. I
was to bring a certain sum a week to
the owner, and whatever was over
that I might keep for myself. There
was seldom much over, but I manag
ed to scrape along somehow. The
hardest job was to learn my way
about, for I reckon that of all the
mazes that were ever contrived, this
city is the most confusing. I had a
map beside me. though, and when
once I had spotted the principal ho
tels and stations I got on pretty well.
“It was some time before I found
out where my two gentlemen were
living; but I inquired and Inquired
until at last I dropped across them.
They were at a boarding house at
Camberwell, over on the other side of
the river. When once I found them
out I knew that I had them at my
mercy. I had grown my heard, and
there was no chance of their recog
nizing me. I would dog them and
follow them until I aaw my oppor
tunity. I waa determined that they
tbonld not eeeepe me afain.
"They war* vary near doing It, far
’* a* Lou*" w.n the difficult problem
u M' h I now ha 1 to solve
' !!“ walked flown the road and
went Into one or two liquor Minim,
-tayir for nearly half an hour in the
last of ’hem When he came out he
staggered In his walk, and was evi
dently pretty well on There was a
hansom ’ust In front of me. and he
hailed it. I followed it so close that
the nose of my horse was within a
yard of his driver the whole way.
We rattled across Waterloo Dridge
and through miles of streets, until,.to
my astonishment, we found ourselves
bark in the terrace In which he had
boarded. I could not imagine what
his intention was in returning there,
but I went on and pulled up my cab
a hundred yards or so from the house.
He entered It and his hansom drove
away. Give me a glass of water, if
you please. My mouth gets dry with
the talking.”
I handed him the glass, and he
drank It down.
“That’s better." he said. “Well,
I waited for a quarter of an hour or
more, when suddenly there came a
noise like people struggling Inside
the house. Next moment the door
was fljjnj^qjien and two men appear
ed. one/of whom was Drebber and the
othci* was a yming chap whim I had
never seen before. Thte fellow had
Drebber by the collar, and when they
came to the head of the steps he gave
him a shove and a kick which sent
him half across the road. ’You
hound" he cried, shaking his stick at
him. Til teach you to insult an hon
est girl" He was so hot that I think
he would have thra*hed Drebber with
hi* cudgel only that the car dagger
ed away down the road aa faat aa hla
legi would cAiry him. Ha ran as fax
as th# comer, aad than, —sing my
" 1
«’n’\ • g
I '• 'A - I!
I stnklnv a nnt< h and putting !t
j w ax I in 1 !*» v* h:i h I hail brought
^ me ‘Now. limn h Drebber.' 1
tinned, turning to him and
j
| the light to my own face, 'Who am
I"
"He gazed at me with bleared,
drunken eyes for a moment, and then
I saw a horror spring up In them and
convulse his whole features, which
showed me that he knew me. He
staggered back with a livid face, and
I saw the perspiration break out up
on his brow, while his teeth chatter
ed. At the sight I leaned my back
against the door and laughed loud
and long. I had always known that
vengeance would be sweet, but had
never hoped for the contentment of
soul which now possessed me.
“ ’You dog!’ I said, ‘I have hunted
you from Salt Lake City to St. Peters
burg, and you have always escaped
me. Now at last your wanderings
have come to an end, for either you
or I shall never see to-morrow’s sun
rise.’ He shrunk still further away
as I spoke, and I could see on his fare
that he thought I was mad. So I
was, for the time. The pulses In my
temples beat like sledgehammers,
and I believe I would have had a fit
of some sort If the blood had not
gushed from my nose and relieved
me.
“ ‘What do you think of Lucy Fer-
rler now?’ I cried, locking the door
and shaking the key in his face. ‘Pun
ishment has been slow In coming, but
it has overtaken you at last.* I saw
his coward lips tremble as I spoke.
He would have begged for his life,
but he knew well that It was useless.
'* ’Would yon murder me?* he
stammered.
** ’There 1* no mnrder,’ I answer
ed. 'Who talks ef murdering
* mad dog? WluU mercy had yon
n v Into ki* room in tba
<( !*•• lawn I »ok«* h'm up.
i]>] bin] tba? th» hour toi l • omo
he wa» to anawr for th*> 'v
long before 1 <*,
‘ d.-at h av?
t !.*» n.i mo i ho; • of the
JnxtcaJ of graaping
o of saVt\ who h tbat of-
h»* sprang from his bed
my throat In *•.•!f de-
• d him tot lit' lo'.i rt 11
boon tho samo In any
ho had tak*-n ao
r be ! Dr* !
I g a v »> him
poisoned
at tho chanr
f'-rod him.
and flow at
ft-neo I stall
would havo
caso, for Providence would never
have allowed his guilty hand to pick
out anything but the poison.
“I have little more to say, and it’s
as well, for I am about done ,up. I
wont on cabbing it for a day or so, In
tending to keep at it until I could
save enough to take me back to
A.merica. I was standing In the yard
when a ragged youngster asked if
there was a cabby there called Jeffer
son Hope, and said that his cab was
wanted by a gentleman at 2 2 21 B
Baker Street. I went round, suspect
ing no harm, and the next thing I
knew this young man here had the
bracelets on my wrists, and as neatly
shackled as ever I was in my life.
That’s the whole of my story, gentle
men. You may consider me to be a
murderer, but I hold that I am just
as much an officer of justice as you
are.*
So thrilling had the man’s narra
tive been, and his manner was so im
pressive, that we had sat silent and
absorbed. Even the professional de
tectives, blase as they were in every
detail of crime, appeared to be keen
ly Interested In the man’s story.
When he finished we sat for some
minutes In a stillness which was only
broken by 5 the scratching of L^
trade’s pencil as he gave the flnishir
touches to his shorthand account.
“There is only one point on which
I should like a little more informa
tion.” Sherlock Holmes said at last.
“Who was your accomplice mho came
for the ring which I advertised?”
The prisoner winked at my friend
Jocoeely.
. (To be continued.)