The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, May 08, 1895, Image 1
?HE SUMTER WATCHMAN, Katabiished April,.1850. "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's." THE TRUE SO?THKON, Established Jone, 136
Consolidated Aug. 2,1881. SUMTER, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1895. Xew Series-Vol. XIV. No. 41
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CHAPTER IV.
THE STOBT OF THE BALD-HEADED MAN.
We followed the Indian down the
sordid and common passage, ill lit and
worse furnished, until he came to a
door upon the right, which he threw
open. A blaze of yellow light streamed
ont upon ns, and in the center of the
glare there stood a small man with
a very high head, a "bristle of red
hair all round the fringe of it, and
a bald shining Scalp, which shot
out from.among it like a mountain
peak from fir trees. He writhed his
hands together as he stood, and his
features were in a perpetual jerk, now
smiling, now scowling, but never for
an instant in repose. Nature had given
h?TP a pendulous lip, and a too visible
line of yellow and irregular teeth,
which he .strove feebly to conceal by
constantly passing his hand over the
lower part of his face. In spite ?* his
obtrusive baldness, he gave the impres?
sion of youth. In point of fact he had
just turned his thirtieth year.
"Your servant, Miss Mors tan," he
kept repeating in a thin, high voice.
"Your servant, gentlemen. Pray step
into my little sanctum. A small place,
miss, but furnished to my own liking.
An oasis of art in the howling desert of
South London."
We were all astonished by the ap?
pearance of the apartment into which
he invited us. In that sorry house it
looked as out of place as a diamond of
the first water in a setting of brass.
The richest and glossiest of curtains
and tapestries draped the walls, looped
back here and there to expose some
richly mounted painting or Oriental
vase. The carpet was of amber and
black, so soft and so thick that the
foot sank pleasantly into it, as into a
bed of moss. Two great tiger-skins
thrown athwart it increased the sug?
gestion of eastern luxury, as did a
huge hookah which stood upon a mat
in the corner. A lamp in the fashion of
a silver dove was hung from an almost
invisible golden wire in thc center of
the room. As it burned it filled the air
with a subtle and aromatic odor.
"Mr. Thaddeus Sholto," said the little
man, still jerking and smiling. "That
is my name. You are Miss Mors tan, of
course. And these gentlemen-"
"This is Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and
this Dr. Watson."
"A doctor, eh?" cried he, much ex?
cited. "Have you your stethoscope?
Might I ask you-would you have the
kindness? I have grave doubts as to
my mitral valve, if you would be so very
good. The aortic I may rely upon, but
I should value your opinion upon the
mitral."
1 listened to his heart as requested,
but was unable to find anything amiss,
save indeed that he was in an ecstasy
of fear, for he shivered from head to
foot. "It appears to be normal, ' I
said. "You have no cause for uneasi?
ness."
"You will excuse my ansiety, Miss j
Morsta.ru" he remarked, airily. "I am !
a great sufferer, and I have long had
suspicions as to that valve. I am de?
lighted to hear that they are unwar?
ranted- Had your father, Miss Mor
stan, refrained from throwing a strain
upon his heart he might have been
alive now."
?- could have struck the mau across
the face, so hot was I at this callous
and off-hand reference to so delicate a
matter Miss Morstan sat down ano
her face grew white to the lips. "I
knew in my heart that he was dead," i
said she.
"I can give you every information,"
said he, "and, what is more, I can do
you justice; and I will, too, whatever
Brother Bartholomew may say. I am
so glad to have your friends here, not
only as an escort to you, but also as
witnesses to what I am about to do and
say. The three of us can show a bold
front to Brother Bartholomew. But let
us have no outsiders-no police or ofd
cials. We can settle everything satis?
factorily among ourselves, without any
into: f ero nee. Nothing would annoy
Brother Bartholomew more than any
publicity'." He sat down upon a low
settee and blinked at us inquiringly
with his weah, watery blue eves.
"For my part." said Holmes, "what?
ever you may choose to say will go no
further."
I nodded to show my agreement.
"That is well! That is well!" said he'
"May I offer you a glass of Chianti,
Miss Morstan? Or of Tokay? I keep
no other wines. Shall I open a flask?
No? Well, then, I trust that you have
no objection to tobacco smoke, to the
mild balsamic odor of the eastern to?
bacco. I am a little nervous, and I find
my hookah an invaluable sedative."
He applied a taper to the great bowl,
and the smoke bubbled merrily through
the rose water. We sat all three in a
semicircle, with our heads advanced,
and our chins upon our hands, while
the strange, jerky little fellow, with
his high, shining head, puffed uneasily
in the center.
"When I first determined to make
this communication to you." said he,
"I might have given you my address,
but I feared that you might disregard
my request and bring unpleasant peo?
ple with you. I took the liberty, there?
fore, of making an appointment in such
a way that my man Williams might be
able to see you first. I have complete
confidence in his discretion, and he had
orders, if he were dissatisfied, to pro?
ceed no further in the matter. You
will excuse these precautions, but I a:n
a man of somewhat retiring, and I
might even say refined, tastes, and
there is nothing more unassthetic than
a policeman. I have a natural shrink?
ing from all forms of rough material?
ism. I seldom come in contact with
the rough crowd. I live, as you see,
with some little atmosphere of ele?
gance around rae. I may call myself a
patron of the arts. It is my weakness.
The landscape is a genuine Carot, and,
though a connoisseur might perhaps
throw a doubt upon that Salvator Rosa,
there cannot be the least question about
the Bouguereau. I am partial to the
modern French school."
"You will excuse me. Mr. Sholto,"
said Miss Morstan. "but I am here at
your request to learn something which
you desire to tell me. It is very late,
and I should desire the interview to be
as short as possible."
"At the best it must take some time."
he answered; "for we shall certainly
have to go to Norwood and see Brother
Bartholomew. Yve shall all go and try
if we can get the better of Brother
Bartholomew. He is very angry with
me .or taking the course which has
seemed right to me. I had quite high
words with him last night. You can?
not imagine what a terrible fellow he
is when he is angry."
"If we are to go to Norwood it would
perhaps be as weU to start at once," I
ventured to remark.
He laughed until his ears were quite
red.
4That would hardly do," he cried. "I
don't know what he would say if I
"THAT WOULD HARDLY DO," HE CRIED.
brought you in that sudden way. No,
I must prepare you by showing you
' how we all stand to each other. In the
first place, I must tell you that there
are several points in the story of which
? am myself ignorant. I can only lay
the facts before you as far as I fctaow
I them myself.
j "My father was, as you may have
guessed, Maj. John Sholto. once of the
Indian army. He retired some eleven
years ago, and came to live at Pondi
cherry lodge in Upper Norwood. He
had prospered in India, and brought
back with him a considerable sum of
money, a large collection of valuable
curiosities and a staff of native serv
j ants. With these advantages he bought
! himself a house and lived ir. great lux?
ury. My twin brother Bartholomew
and I were the only children.
"1 very well remember the sensation
which was caused by the disappear?
ance of Capt Morstan. We read the
de tai] s in the papers, and, knowing
that he had been a friend of our fa?
ther's, we discussed the case freely in
his presence. He used to join in our
speculations as to what could have hap?
pened. Never for an instant did we
suspect that he had the whole secret
hidden in his own breast-that of all
men he alone knew the fate of Arthur
Morste? n.
"We did know, however, that some
mystery-some positive danger-over?
hung our father. He was very fearful
of going out alone, and he always em?
ployed two prize fighters to act as por?
ters at Pondicherry lodge. Williams,
who drove you to-night, was one of
them. He was once light-weight cham
pion of England. Our father would
ne^ver tell us what it was that he feared,
but he had a most marked aversion to
men with wooden legs. On one occa?
sion he actually fired his revolver at a
wooden-legired man, who proved to be
a harmless tradesman canvassing for
orders. Wc had to pay a large sum to
hush the matter np. My brother and I
; used t.? think this a mere whim of my
j father's, but events haw- since led us
j to change our opinion,
j "Early in 1SS2 ray father received a
; letter from india which was a great
J shock to him. He nearly fainted at the
; breakfast table when he opened it, and
j from that day he sickened to his death.
What was in the letter wc could never
discover, bat 1 coul \ se?' as he held it
that it was short and written in a
scrawling hand. He had suffered for
years from an njnrged spleen, but he
now became rapidly worse.and towards
the end of April wa were informed that
he was beyond all hope, and that he
wished to make a last communication
to us.
"When we entered his room he wa:
propped np with pillows and breathing
heavily. He besought us to lock th<
door and to come upon either side o:
the bed. Then, grasping our hands, h<
made a remarkable statement to us, ii
a voice which was broken as much b-\
emotion as by pain. I shall try .an<
give it to you in his own very words.
" 'I have only one thing,' he said.
Vilich weighs upon my mind at thii
supreme moment. It is my treatmeni
of poor Morstan's orphan. The cursec
greed which has been my besetting sii
through life has withheld from he:
the treasure, half at least of whicl
should have been hers. And yet I hav<
made no use of it myself-so blind anc
foolish a thing is avarice. The me?
feeling of possession has been so deai
to me that I could not bear to share il
with another. See that chaplet tipped
with pearls beside the quinine bottle'
Even that I could not bear to part
with, although I had got it out witt
the design of sending it to her. You,
my sons, will give her a fair share oi
the Agra treasure. But send her noth?
ing-not even the chapletr-until I arr
gone. After all, men have been as bad
as this and have recovered.
" T will tell you how Morstan died,
he continued. 'He had suffered foi
years from a weak heart, but he con?
cealed it from everyone. I alone knew
it. When in India, he and I, through a
remarkable chain of circumstances,
came into possession of a considerable
treasure. I brought it over to Eng?
land, and on the night of Morstan's ar?
rival he came straight over here tc
claim his share. He walked over from
the station, and was admitted by my
faithful old Lal Chowdar, who is now
dead. Morstan and I had a difference
of opinion as to the division of the
treasure, and we came to heated words.
Morstan had sprung out of his chair in
a paroxysm of anger, when he sudden?
ly pressed his hand to his side, his face
turned a dusky hue, and he fell back?
wards, cutting his head against the
corner of the treasure-chest. When I
stooped over him I found, to my horror,
that he was dead.
"'For a long time I sat half dis?
tracted, wondering what I should do.
My first impulse was, of course, to
caU for assistance; but I could not but
! recognize that there was every chance
j that I would be accused of his murder.
! His death at the moment of a quarrel,
! and the gash in his head, would be
black against me. Again, an official
1 inquiry could not be made without
! bringing out some facts about the
! treasure, which I was particularly
anxious to keep secret. He had told
me that no soul upon earth knew
where he had gone. There seemed to
be no necessity why any soul ever
should know.
" 'I was still pondering over the mat?
ter, when, looking up, I saw my serv?
ant, Lal Chowdar, in the doorway.
He stole in, and bolted the door behind
him. "Do not fear, sahib,'" he said.
"No one need know that you have
killed him. Let us hide him away,
and who is the wiser?" "I did not
kill him," said L Lal Chowdar shook
his head, and smiled. "I heard it all,
sahib," said he. "I heard you quarrel,
and I heard the blow. Dut my lips
are sealed. All are asleep in the house.
Let us put him away together." That
was enough to decide me. If my own
servant could not believe my inno
! cence. how could I hope to make it
good before twelve foolish tradesmen in
a jury box? Lal Chowdar and I dis
? posed of the body that night, and
I within a few days the London papers
! were full of the mysterious disappear
; ance of Capt. Morstan. You will see
j from what I say that I can hardly be
I blamed in the matter. My fault lies, in
the fact that we concealed, not
only the body, but also the
treasure, and that 1 have clung
to Morstan's share as well as to
my own. I wish you, therefore, to
make restitution. Put your ears down
to my mouth. The treasure is hidden
in-' At this instant a horrible change
came over his expression; his eyes
stared wildly, his jaw dropped, and he
! yelled in a voice I can never forget:
j 'Keep him out! For Christ's sake keep
him out!' We beth stared round at the
window behind us upon which his gaze
was fixed. A face was looking in at us
out of the darkness. We could see the
whitening of the nose where it was
pressed against the glass. It was a
[ bearded, hairy face, with wild, cruel
e\*es and an expression of concentrated
malevolence. My brother and I rushed
towards the window, but the man was
gone. When we returned to my father
his head had dropped and his pulse had
ceased to beat.
"We searched the garden that night,
but found no sign of the intruder, save
that just under the window a single
footmark was visible in the flower-bed.
! But for that one trace, we might nave
thought that our imaginations had con?
jured up that wild, fierce face. Wre
soon, however, had another and more
striking proof that there were secret
agencies at work all around us. The
window of my father's room was found
open in the morning, his cupboardsand
! boxes had Wer. rifled, and upon Iiis
i shest was fixed a torn piece of paper,
with the words 'The sign of the four'
scrawled across it. What the phrase
meant, or who our secret visitor may
have been, wc never knew. As f ir as
we can judge, none of my fathers
property had been actually stolen,
though everything ?tail been turned
out. My brother and I naturally asso
! ciated thus peculiar incident with thc
j fear which haunted my father during
his Hf.-: but it is still a complete mys?
tery to us."
The little man stopped to relight his
hookah, and puffed thoughtfully for a
few moments. We had all sat absorbed,
listening to his extraordinary narra?
tive. At the short account of her fa?
ther's death Miss Morstan had turned*
deadly white,-and for a moment "I
feared that she ivas about to faint. She
rallied, however, on drinking- a glass of
water which I quietly poured out for
her from a Venetian carafe upon the
side table. Sherlock Holmes leaned
back in his chair with an abstracted
expression and the lids drawn low
over his glittering epes. As I glanced
at him I could not but think how on
that very day he had complained bit?
terly of the commonplaceness of life.
Here, at least, was a problem which
would tax his sagacity to the utmost.
Mr. Thaddeus Sholto looked from one to
the other of us with, an obvious pride
at the effect which his story had pro?
duced, and then continued between
the puffs of his overgrown pipe.
"My brother and I," said he, " were,
as you may imagine, much excited as
to the treasure which my father had
spoken of. For weeks and for months
THE LITTLE MAN SHOPPED TO LIGHT HTS
HOOKAH.
we dug and delved in every part of the
garden, without discovering its where?
abouts. It was maddening to think
that the hiding place was on his very
lips at the moment that he died. We
could judge the splendor of the missing
riches by the chaplet which he bad
taken out. Over this chaplet my
brother Bartholomew and I had some
little discussion. The pearls were evi?
dently of great value, and he was
averse to part with them, for, between
friends, my brother was himself a lit?
tle inclined to my father's fault. He
thought, too, that if we parted with,
the chaplet it might give rise to gossip,
and finally bring us into trouble. It
was all that I could do to persuade him
to let me find out Miss Morstan's ad?
dress and send her a detached pearl at
fixed intervals, so that, at least, she
might never feel destitute."
'*It was a kindly thought," said our
companion, earnestly. "It was ex?
tremely good of .you."
The little man waved his hand dep?
recatingly. "We were your trustees,"
he said. "That was the view which I
took of it, though Brother Bartholo?
mew could not altogether see it in that
Light. Wc had plenty of money our?
selves. I desired no more. Besides, it
would have been such bad taste to have
treated a young lady in so scurvy a.
fashion. 'Le mauvais gout men? au
2rime.' The French have a very neat
way of putting these things. Our dif?
ference of opinion on this subject went i
so far that I thought it best to set up
rooms for myself; so I left Pondicherry
lodge, taking the old khitrnutgar and
Williams with me. Yesterday, how?
ever, I learned that an event of ex?
treme importance has occurred. The
treasure has been discovered. I in?
stantly communicated with Miss Mor?
otai!, and it only remains for us to drive
out to Norwood and demand our share.
I explained my views last night to
Brother Bartholomew: so we shall be
expected, if not welcome, visitors."
Mr. Thaddeus Sholto ceased, and sat
twitching on his luxurious settee. We
all remained silent, with our thoughts
upon thc new development which the
mysterious business had taken, iiolmes
was the first to spring to his feet,
"You have done well, sir. from first
to last," said he. "It is possible that
we may be able to make you some
small return by throwing some light
upon that which is still dark to you.
But, as Miss Morstan remarked just
now, it is late, and we had best put the
matter through without delay."
Our new acquaintance very delib?
erately coiled up the tube of his
hookah, and produced from behind a
curtain a very long befrogged t > coat
with Astrakhan collars and cuffs. This
he buttoned tightly up, in spite of the
extreme closeness of the night, and
finished his attire by putting on a rab?
bit-skin cap. with hanging lappets
which covered the ears. so that no part
of him was visible save his mobile and
I peaky face. "My health is somewhat
j fragile,"' he remarked, as he led the
way down the passage. "I am com?
pelled to be a valetudinarian."
Our cab was awaiting us outside, and
our programme was evidently prear?
ranged, for the driver started off at
once at a rapid pace. Thaddeus Sholto
talked incessantly, in a voice which rose
! high above the rattle of the wheels.
I "Bartholomew is a clever fellow.'1
! Raia lie. "How do you think he found
j out where tho treasure was? Lie had
come t" the conclusion that it was
' somewhere indoors: so h ? worked out
: all the cubic space <>f the house and 1
made measurements everywhere, so
; that ::<>t one ii!. . ?i should lu- unaccount- :
; ed for. Among other things, he found j
: that the height "f the building was |
: seventy-four feet, but on ad.ling to- |
gcthcr the heights <>f all the separate
, rooms, and making every allowance
i r?ir the space between, which he as
, certamed by borings, he could not
i bring tlie total to more than seventy
j feet. There were four feet unaccount
! ed for. These could only be at the top
j of the building Ile kocked a hoie,
therefore, in the lath-and-plaster ceil
ing"?f the highest room," and There,
sure enough, ne came upon another
little garret above it, which had been
sealed up and was known to no one.
In the center stood the treasure-chest,
resting upon two rafters. He lowered
it through the hole, and there it lies.
He computes the value of the jewels at
not less than half a million sterling."
At the mention of this gigantic sum
we all stared at one another open-eyed.
Miss Morstan, could we secure her
rights, would change from a needy
governess to the richest heiress in Eng?
land. Surely it was the place of a
loyal friend to rejoice at such news;
yet I am ashamed to say that selfish?
ness took me by the soul, and that my
heart turned as heavy as lead within
me. I stammered out some few halt?
ing words of congratulation, and then
sat downcast, with my head drooped,
deaf to the babble of our new ac?
quaintance. He was clearly a con?
firmed hypochondriac, and I was dream?
ily conscious that he was pouring forth
interminable trains of symptoms, and
imploring information "s to the com?
position m and action of innumerable
quack nostrums, some of which he bore
about in a leather cass in his pocket. I
trust he may not remember any of the
answers which I gave him that night.
Holmes declares that he overheard me
caution him against the great danger
of taking more than two drops of cas?
tor oil, while I recommended strych?
nine in large doses cs a sedative. How?
ever that may be, I was certainly re?
lieved when our cab pulled up with a
jerk and the coachman sprang down
to open the door.
"This, Miss Morstan, is Pondicherry
lodge," said Mr. Thaddeus Sholto, as
he handed her out.
CHAPTER V.
THE TRAGEDY OF PONDICHERRY LODGE.
It was nearly eleven o'clock when we
reached this final stage of our night's
adventures. We had left the damp fog
of the great city behind us, and the
night was fairly fine. A warm wind
blew from the westward, and heavy
clouds moved slowly across the sky,
with half a moon peeping occasionally
through the rifts. It was clear enough
to see for some distance, but Thaddeus
Sholto took down one of the side-lamps
from the carriage to give us a better
light upon our way.
Pondicherry lodge stood in its own
grounds, and was girt round with a
very high stone wall topped with
broken glass. A single narrow iron
clamped door formed the only means
of entrance. On this our guide knocked
with a peculiar postman-like rat-tat.
"Who is there?" cried a gruff voice
from within.
"It is I. McMurdo. You surely know
my knock by this time."
There was a grumbling sound and a
clanking and jarring of keys. Th?
door swung heavily back, and a short,
deep-chested man stood in the opening
with the yellow light of the lantern
shining upon his protruded face and
twinkling, distrustful eyes.
"That you, Mr. Thaddeus? But who
are the others? I had nc orders about
them "from my master."
"No, McMurdo? You surprise me! I
told my brother last night that I
should bring some friends."
"Ile hain't been out o' his room to- !
day, Mr. Thaddeus, and I have no or?
ders. You know very well that I must
stick to regulations. I can let 3-ou in,
but your friends they must just stop
where they are."
This was an unexpected obstacle.
Thaddeus Sholto looked about him in
a perplexed and helpless manner.
"This is too bad of you, McMurdo!" he
said. "If I guarantee them, that is
enough for }*ou. There is the young
lady, too. She cannot wait on the pub?
lic road at this hour."
"Very sorry. Mr. Thaddeus," said the 1
porter, inexorably. "Folk may be j
friends o" yours, and yet no friends o' !
the master's. He pays me well to do I
my duty, and my dun* I'll do. I don't j
know none o' your friends."
"Oh, yes, you do, McMurdo," cried ?
Sherlock Holmes, genially. "I don't ?
think vou can have forgotten me. I
Don't you remember the amateur who j
fought three rounds with you at Ali- ;
son's rooms on the night of your bene- j
fit four vears back?"
"Not Mr. Sherlock Holmes!" roared ;
the prize fighter. "God's truth! how j
could I have mistook you? If instead I
o' standin' there so quiet you had just
stepped up and given me that cross hit
of yours under the jaw, I'd ha' known
you without a question. Ah. you're j
one that has wasted your gifts, you !
have! You might have aimed high, if j
you had joined the fancy."
"You see, Watson, if all else fails me j
I have still one of the scientific profes- |
sions open to me," said Holmes, laugh- j
lng. "Our friend won't keep us out in ?
the cold now, I am sure."
"In you come, sir, in you come-you }
and your friends," he answered. "Very ;
sorry. Mr. Thaddeus, but orders are j
very strict. Had to be certain ol" your j
friends before 1 let them in."
Inside, a gravel path wound through
desolate grounds toa huge clump of a
house, square and prosaic, all plunged
in shadow save where a moonbeam
6truck one ?-"nier and glimmered in a |
garret window. The vast size of the I
building, with its gloom and its deathly ;
silence, struck a chill to the heart. |
Even Thaddeus Sholto seemed iii at
ease, and the lantern quivered and rat?
tled in his hand.
"I cannot understand it," he said.
"There must be some mistake. I dis?
tinctly told Bartholomew that we
should be here, and yet there is no
light in his window. I do not know
what to make of it."
"Does he always guard the premises
in this way?" asked Holmes.
"Yes; he has followed my father's
custom. He was the favorite son, yon
know, and I sometimes think that py
father may have told him more tfcan
he ever told me. That is Barthol?
omew's window np there where the
moonshine strikes. It is quite brigh"
but there is no light from within, I
think."
"None," said Holmes. "But I see
the glint of a light in that little win?
dow beside the door."
"Ah, that is the housekeeper's room.
That is where old Mrs. Bernstone sits.
She can tell us all about it. But per?
haps you would not mind waiting here
for a minute or two, for if we all go in
together, and she has no word of our
coming, she may be alarmed. But
hush! What is that?"
He held up the lantern, and his hand
shook until the circles of light flickered
and wavered all round us. Miss Mor
stan seized my wrist, and we all stood
with thumping hearts, straining our
ears. From the great black house there
sounded through the silent night the
saddest and most pitiful of sounds
the shrill, broken whimpering of a
frightened woman.
"It is Mrs. Bernstone," said Sholto.
"She is the only woman m the house.
Wait here. I shall be back in a mo?
ment." He hurried for the door, and
knocked in his peculiar way. We
could si?e a tall old woman adm?t him
and sway with pleasure at the very
sight o:: him.
"Oh, Mr. Thaddeus, sir, I am so glac
you- have come! I am so glad yon
have come, Mr. Thaddeus, sir!" We
heard her reiterated rejoicings until
the door was closed and her voice died
away into a muffled monotone.
Cur guide had left us the lantern.
Holmes swung it slowly round, and
peered keenly at the house, and at the
KE HELD UP THE LANTERN.
great rubbish heaps which cumbered
the grounds. Miss Morstan an? ? stood
together, and her hanjupes iii atine. A
wondrous subtle thi?jP Iff&ve, for here
were we two who had ii&?i ?cen each
other before that day. between whom
no word or even look of affection had
ever passed, and yet now in an hour of
trouble our hands instinctively sought
for each other. I have marveled at it
since, but at the time it seemed the
most natural thing that I should go
out to her so. and. as she has often told
me, there was in her also the instinct
to turn to me for comfort and protec?
tion. So we stuod hand in hand, like
two children, and there was peace m
our hearts for all the dark things that
surrounded us.
"What a strange place!" she said,
looking around.
"It looks as though all the moles in
England had been let loose in it. I
have seen something of the sort on the
side of a hill near Ballarat, where the
prospectors had been at work."
"And from the same cause," said
ITolmes. ' "These are the traces of
treasure-seekers. You must remember
that they were six years looking for it..
No wonder that the ground looks like
a gravelpit."
At that moment the door burst open,
and Thaddeus Sholto came running
out, with his hands thrown forward
and terror in his eyes.
"There is something amiss with Bar?
tholomew!" he cried. "1 am fright?
ened! My nerves cannot stand it." He
was. indeed, half-blubbering with fear,
and his twitching, feeble face, peeping
out from the great Astrakhan collar,
had the helpless, appealing expression
of a terrified child.
"Come iuto the house/' said Holmes,
in his crisp, firm way.
"Yes. do!" pleaded Thaddeus Sholto.
"I real ly do not feel equal to giving di?
rections."
We all followed him into the house?
keepers room, which stood upon the
left-hand side of the passage. The old
woman was pacing up and ?own with
a scared look and restless, picicing
fingers, but the sight of Miss Morstan
appeared to have a soothing effect anon
"God bless your sweet calm face!"
vit.' cried, with a hysterical sob. "It
?HE SUMTER WATCHMAN, Katabiished April,.1850. "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's." THE TRUE SO?THKON, Established Jone, 136
Consolidated Aug. 2,1881. SUMTER, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1895. Xew Series-Vol. XIV. No. 41