Pittston Gazette

              E8TABLISHEID1850. » VOL. XLV. NO. H6. f Oldes Newspaper in the Wyoming Valley. PITTSTON, LUZERNE CO., " FRIDAY. APRIL 5, 1895. A Weekly local and Family Journal. TOE SIGH OF THE FOUR. the fonii of tno nana, with lithotypcs of the hands of slaters, sailors, cork cutters, compositors, weavers and diamond polishers. That is a matter of great practical interest to the scientific detective, especially in oases of unclaimed bodies or in discovering the antecedents of criminals. But I weary you with my hobby." I had opened my mouth to reply to this tirade when, with a crisp knock, our landlady entered, bearing a card upon the brass salvor. a bright, kindly glance from one to the other of us sho replaced hor pearl box in her bosom and hurried away. Standing at the window, I watched her walking briskly down the street until the gray turban and white feather were but a speck in tho somber crowd. Morstan's manner that she was suffering from the same feeling. Holmes alono could rise superior to petty influences. Ho held his open notebook upon his knee, And from time to time ho jotted down figures and memoranda in the light of his pocket lantern. At the Lyceum theater tho crowds were already thick at tho sido entrances. In front a continuous stream of hansoms and four wheelers wore rattling up, discharging their cargoes of shirt fronted men and beshawled, bediamonded women. We had hardly reached tho third pillar, which was our rendezvous, before a small, dark, brisk man In tho dress of a coachman accosted us. 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 smoko— to tho mild, balsamic odor j of the eastern tobacco. 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 rosewater. Wo sat all three In a semicircle, with our heads advanced and our chins upon our hands, while the strange, jerky littlo fellow, with his high, shining head, puffed uneasily in the center. "When I first determined to make this communication to you," said ho, "I might have given out my address, but I feared that you might disregard my request and bring unpleasant people with you. I took the liberty, therefore, of making an appointment in such a way that my man Williams might bo able to see you first. I have complete confldenco in his discretion, ond ho had orders, if he were dissatisfied, to proceed no further In tho matter. You will excuse these precautions, but I am a man of somewhat retiring, and I might oVen say refined, tastes, and there is nothing more unaestheticthan a policeman. I have a natural shrinking from all form of rough materialism. I seldom come In contact with tho rough crowd. I live, as you see, with some littlo atmosphere of eleganco around me. I may call myself a patron of the arts. It Is my weakness. The landscapo is a genuine Corot, and though a connoisseur might perhaps throw a doubt upon that Salvator Rosa there cannot bo 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 tho interview to be as short as possible."have clung to Morstan's share as wen as to my own. I wish you, therefore, to make restitution. Put your ears down to my mouth. The treasuro Is hidden in'— At this instant a horrible ohange came over his expression. His eyes stared wildly, his jaw dropped, and he yelled in a voice which I can never forget: 'Keep him out For Christ's sake, keep him out I' We both stared round at the window behind us upon which his gaze was fixed. A faco 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 eyes and an expression of concentrated malevolenoe. My brother and 1 rushed toward the window, but the man was gone. When we returned to my father, his head had dropped and his pulse had ceased to beat. SKETCHES OF LINCOLN. bim from a day's work fn th« woods, b«* sides affording him a muoh desired opportunity to watch the movement of the mlll'i primitive and cumbersome machinery. It was on many of these trips that David Turnham accompanied him. In later yean Mr. Lincoln related the following reminiscence of his ezperienoe as a miller In Iffdiana: One day, taking a bag of oorn bt mounted the old Qea bitten gray mare and rode leisurely to Gordon '■ mill. Arriving somewhat late, his turn did not oome till almost sundown. In obedlenoe to the onstom requiring each man to farnlah hii own power, be hitched the old mare to the arm, and as the animal moved round the machinery responded with equal speed. Abe was mounted on the arm, and at frequent Intervals made use of his whip to urge the animal on to better speed. With a careless "Gee up, you old hussy!" he applied the lash at each revolution of the arm. In the midst of the exclamation, or just as half of it had escaped through his teeth, the old jade, resenting the continued use of the goad, elevated her shoeless hoof, and striking the yoang engineer In the forehead sent him sprawling to the earth. Miller Oordon hurried In, pioked up the bleeding, senseless boy, whom he took for dead, and at onoe sent for his tether. Old Thomas Lincoln came—came "A young lady for you, sir," she satd, addressing my companion. Remarkable Stories of His Boy- BY A CONAN DOYLE. "Miss Mary Morstan," ho read. "Hum. I have no recollection of tho name. Ask the young lady to step up, Mrs. Hudson. Don't go, doctor. I shall prefer that you remain." "What a very attractive woman!" I ex claimed, turning to my companion. hood Days. CHAPTER L "Not at all," I answered earnestly. "It Is of the greatest Interest to me, especially since I have had the opportunity of observing your practical application of It. But you spoke just now of observation and deduction. Surely the one to some extent Implies the other." Ho had lit his pipe again and was leaning baok, with drooping eyelids. "Is shef" he Raid languidly. "I did not observe." Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantelpiece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morooco case. With his long, wbwe, nervous fingers he adjusted tho delicate noodle and rolled back his left* shirt cuff. For some Uttle time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the slnowy forearm and wrist all dotted and scarred with Innumerable puncture marks. Finally he thrust the sharp point home, pressed down the tiny piston and sank back Into the velvet lined armchair with a long sigh of satisfaction. HE BEADS HIS FIRST LAWBOOK. CHAPTER II. "You really arc on automaton, a calculating machine," I cried. "Thero Is something positively inhuman in you at times." Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. She was a blond young lady, small, dainty, well glovod and dressed in the most perfect ta6te. There was, however, a plainness and simplicity about her costume which bore with It a suggestion of limited means. The dress was a sonibor grayish beige, uutrlmmed and unbraided, and she wore a small turban of tho same dull hue, relieved only by a suspicion of white feather In the sido. Hor face had neither regularity of feature nor beauty of complexion, but her expression was sweet and amiable, and her large blue eyes were singularly spiritual and sympathetic. In an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents I have never looked upon a face which gave a clearer promlso of a and sensitive nature. I could not but observe that as she took the scat which Sherlock Holmes placed for her her lip trembled, her hand quivered, and sho showed every sign of Intense Inward agitation.A. Terrible Backwoods Battle—A Wedding Sour — Going to Mill —Restless Under "Why, hardly," he answered, leaning back luxuriously In his armchair and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe. "For example, observation shows mo that you have been to tho Wiginore street postofflce this morning, but deduction lets me know that when thero you dispatched a telegram. Ho smiled gently. "It Is of tho first importance," ho said, "not to allow your judgment to lie biased by personal qualities. A client is to me a mere unit, a factor in a problem. Tho emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their Insurance money, and the most repellent man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor." Home Rule—The Trip to New Orleans "Are you tho parties who came with Miss Morstan?" he asked. and Knconnter With Marauding Negroes. "I am Miss Morstan, and these two gentlemen are my friends," said she. (Prom the "Life of Lincoln" by William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik. Copyright, 1888, by Jesse W. Weik. Copyright, 18fB, by D. Appleton & Co.] He bent a pair of wonderfully penetrating and questioning eyes upon us. "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 have thought that our Imaginations had conjured up that wild, fierce face. We soon, however, had another and a more striking proof that there were secret agencies at work all round us. The window of my father's room was found open In the morning, his cupboards and boxes had been rifled, and npon his chest was fixed a torn pleoe 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 we never knew. As far as we can judge, none of my father's property had been aotually stolen, though everything had been turned out. My brother and I naturally associated this peculiar incident with the fear which haunted my father during his life, but it is still a complete mystery to us." "You will excuso me, miss," he said, with a certain dogged manner, "but I was to ask vou to uive mo your word that neither of your companions Is a police officer." Although imbued with a marked dislike for manual labor, It cannot be truthfully said that Lincoln was indolent From a mental standpoint he was one of the most energetic young men of his day. He dwelt altogether in the land of thought. His deep meditation and abstraction easily lnduoed the belief among bis horny handed companions that he was lazy. In fact, a noighbor, John Romine, makes that charge. "He worked forme," testifies the latter, "but was always reading and thinking. I used to get mad at him for It. I say he was awfully lazy. He would laugh and talk, crack jokes and tell stories all the time—didn't love work half as muoh as his pay. He said to me one day that his father taught him to work, but he never taught him to love It" Verily there was but one Abraham Llnooln.Thraa times a day for many months I had witnessed this performance, but custom bad not reconciled my mind to It. On the oontrary, from day to day I had beoome more irritable at the sight, and my conscience swelled nightly within me •t the thought that 1 had lacked the courage to protest. Again and again I had registered a vow that I should deliver my ■oul upon the subject, but there was that In the cool, nonchalant air of my companion which made him the last -ian with whom one would ctre to take at?D thing approaching to a liberty. His great powers, his masterly manner and the experience which I had had of his many extraordinary qualities, all made me diffident and backward In crossing him. "Right," said L "Right on both points. But I confess that I don't seo how you arrived at it. It was a sudden Impulse upon my part, and I have mentioned it to no one." "It is simplicity itself," he remarked, chuckling at my surprise, "so absurdly simple that an explanation Is superfluous, and yet It may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction. Observation tall# you have a little reddish mold adhering to your Instep. Just opposite the Seymour street office thoy have taken up the pavement and thrown up some earth, which lies in such a way that it is difficult to avoid treading in It In entering. The earth is of that peculiar reddish tint which is found, as far as I know, nowhere else In tho neighborhood So much is observation. The rest Is deduction. " "In this case, however"— swered, "I give you my word on that," sho an "I never make exceptions. An exception disproves the rule. Have you ever had occasion to study character In handwriting? What do you make of this fellow's scribble?" Ho gavo a shrill whistle, on which a street Aral) led across n four v 1 eeler and opened tho door. The man \ o had nddressed us mounted to tho bC while wo took our places inside. We id hardly done so before tho driver whlp,,vd up his hoTse, and wo plunged away at a furious pace through tho foggy streets. Tho situation was a curious one. We were driving to an unknown place on an unknown er rand. Yet our invitation was either a completo hoax, which was an inconceivable hypothesis, or else we had good reason to think that important issues might hang upon our journey. Miss Morstan's de meanor was as resolute and collected as ever. I endeavored to cheer and amuse her by reminiscences of my adventures in Afghanistan; but, to tell the truth, I was myself so excited at our situation and so curious as to our destination that my stories were slightly involved. To this day she declares that I told her one moving anecdole as to how r. musket looked into my tent at the dead of night, and how I fired a double barreled tiger cub at it. At first I had soino idea as to tho di roction in which wo were driving, but soon, what with our paco, the fog and my own limited knowledge of London, I lost my bearings and knew nothing save that wo seemed to be going a very long way. Sherlock Holmes was never at fault, however, and he muttered tho names as tho cab rattled through squares and in and out by tortuous bystreets. as soon as embodied listlessnees could move—loaded the lifeless boy In a wagon and drove home. Abe lay unoonsdous all night, but toward break of day the attendants notloed signs of returning consciousness."It is legible and regular," I answered 'A man of business habltg and some force of character." Holmes shook his head. "Look at his long letters," ho said, "lhoy hardly rise above the common herd. That d might be an a and that 1 an o. Men of character ulways differentiate their long letters, however illegibly they may writo. There is vacillation in his k's and self esteem In his capitals. I am going out now. I have Mine few references to make. Let me recommend this book, ono of tho most remarkable ever penned. It is Winwood Keade's 'Martyrdom of Man.' I shall be liack in an hour." HI* Physical Prowess. "I have come to you, Mr. Holmes," sho said, "because you once enabled my employer, Mrs. Cecil Forrester, to unravel a little domestic complication. She was muoh Impressed by your kindness and skill." By the time he had reached his seventeenth year he had attained the physical proportions of a fall grown man. He wai employed to assist James Taylor In the management of a ferryboat across the Ohio river near the month of Anderson's creek, but was not allowed a man's wages forth* work. He received 87 oents a day for what he afterward told me was the roughest work a man oould be made to do. In the midst of whatever work be was engaged on he still found time to utilize his pen. He prepared a composition on the American government, calling attention to the necessity of preserving the constitution Yet upon that afternoon, whether It was the Beaune which I had taken with my lunch or the additional exasperation produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner, I suddenly felt that I could bold out no longer. "How, then, did you doduce tho telegram?"His ohlef delight during the day, if unmolested, was to lie down under the shade of some inviting tree to read and study. At night, lying on his stomach in front of the open fireplace, with a piece of charcoal he would cipher on a broad wooden shovel. When the latter was covered over on both sides, he would take his father's drawing knife or plane and shave it off clean, ready for a fresh supply of inscriptions- the next day. He often moved about the cabin with a piece of chalk, writing and ciphering on boards and the flat sides of hewed logs. When every bare wooden surfaoe had be6n filled with his letters and ciphers, he would erase them and begin anew. The first lawbook Lincoln ever read was "The Statutes of Indiana." He obtained the volume from his friend David Turn ham, who testifies that he fairly de: voured the book In his eager efforts to ab- "Mrs. Cecil Forreeter," ho repented thoughtfully. "I believe that I was of some slight service to her. Tho case, however, as I remember it, was a very simple one." The little man stopped to relight his hookah and puffed thoughtfully for a few moments. We had all sat absorbed, listening to his extraordinary narrative. At the short account of her father's death Miss Morstan had turned deadly white, and for a moment I feared that she was 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. Sherlook Holmes leaned back in his chair with an abstracted expression and the lids drawn low over bis glittering eyes. As I glanced at him I could not but think how on that very day he had complained bitterly 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 produced and then continued between the puffs of his overgrown pipe. "Which is It today," I asked, "morphine or cooalne?" "Why, of course I know that you had not written a letter, since I sat opposite to you all morning. I see also in your open desk there that you have a sheet of stamps and a thick bundle of postcards. What could you go into the postofflce for then but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth." "At the best It must take some time," he answered, "for wo shall certainly have to go to Norwood and see Brother Bartholomew. We shall all go and try if we can ect the better of Brother Bartholomew. Ho Is very angry with me for taking the course which has seemed right to me. I had quite high words with him last night. You cannot imagine what a terrible fellow he is when he is angry." "If we are to go to Norwood, it would perhaps bo as well to start at once," I ventured to remark. He laughed until his ears were quite red. "That would hardly do," he cried. "I don't know what he would say If I brought you in that sudden way. No, I must nrenarn vou bv show in t» vou 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 I am myself ignorant. I can only lay the facts before vou as far as I know them myself. "My father was, as you may have guessed, Major Johu Sholto, once of the Indian army. He retired some 11 years ago and camo to live at Pondicherry Lodge, in Upper Norwood. Ho had prospered in India and brought hack with him a considerable sum of money, a large collection of valuable curiosities and a staff of native servants. With these advantages he bought himself a house and lived in great luxury. My twin brother Bartholomew and I were tho only children. "I very well remember the sensation which was caused by tho disappearance of Captain Morstan. We read tho details in the papers, and knowing that he had been a friend of our father's we discussed the case freely in his presence. He used to join In our speculations as to what could have happened. Never for an Instant did we suspect that he had tho whole secret hidden in his own breast; that of all men ho alone knew tho fate of Arthur Morstan. "Wo did know, however, that some mystery, some positive danger, overhung our father. He was very fearful of going out alone, and he always employed two prizefighters to act as porters at Pondicherry Lodge. Williams, who drove you tonight, was one of them. He was once lightweight champion of England. Our father would never tell us what It was he feared, but he had a most marked aversion to men with wooden legs. On one occasion he actually fired his revolver at a wooden leggod man, who proved to be a harmless tradesman canvassing for orders. Wo had to pay a large sum to hush the matter up. My brother and I used to think this a mere whim of my father's, but events have since led us to change our opinion. He raised his eyes languidly from the old black letter volume which ho bad opened. "It is cocaine," he said, "a 7 per osnt solution. Would you care to try It?" I sat in tho window with tho volume in ;uy hand, but my thoughts were far from the daring speculations of the writer. My mind ran upon our late visitor—her smiles, the deep rich tones of her voice, the strange mystery which overhung her life. If ehe were 17 at the time of her father's disappearance, she must bo 27 now —a sweet age, when youth has lost Its self consciousness and become a little sobered by experience. So I sat and mused until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that I hurried away to aiy desk and plunged furiously into tho latest treatise "She did not think so. But at least you cannot say the same of mine. I can hardly imagine anything more strange, more utterly inexplicable, than the situation in which I find mysolf." "No, indeed," I answered brusquely. "My constitution has not got over the Afghan oampaign yet. I cannot afford to throw any extra strain upon it." "In this case it certainly is so," I replied after a little thought. "The thing, however, is, as you say, of the slmpiost. Would yon think me impertinent if I were to put your theories to a more sovere testf" end perpetuating the Union, which, with characteristic modesty, he turned over to his friend and patron, William Woods, for safekeeping and perusal. Through the Instrumentality of Woods It attracted the attention of many persona, among them one Pitcher, a lawyer at Rockport, who with faintly oonoeeled enthusiasm declared "the world oouldn't beat It." Holmes rubbed his bands, and bis eyes glistened. He leaned forward in his chair with an expression of extraordinary concentration upon his clear cut, hawklike features. "State your case," said he in brisk business tones. He smiled at my vehemenoe. "Perhaps you are right, Watson," he said. "I suppose that its Influence is physically a bad one. I find It, however, so transoendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action Is a matter of ■mall moment." "On tho oontrary," ho answered, "it would prevent me from taking a second dose of cocaine. I should be delighted to look into any problem which you might submit to me." I telt that my position was an embarrassing one. "You will, I am sure, ex cuso me," I said, rising from my chair. "But consider," I said earnestly. "Count the coat. Your brain may, as you say, be roused and excited, but it Is a pathological and morbid process which Involves Increased tissue change and may at last leave a permanent weakness. You know, too, what a black reaction comes upon you. Surely tho game is hardly worth the candle. Why should you, for a mere passing pleasure, risk the loss of those great powers with which you have been endowed? Remember that I speak not only as one comrade to another, but as a medical man to one for whose constitution he la to some extent answerable." To my surprise tho young lady held up her gloved hand to detain me. "If your friend," she said, "would be good enough to stop, he might be of inestimable service tome." upon pathology. What was I, nn nrmy surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking account, that I should dan* to think of such tilings? She was a unit, a factor—nothing more. If my futuro were black, it was better surely XxJace it like a mau than fa attempt to ln*»hten it by mere will-o'-the-wisps of the imagination. "Rochester row," said ho. "Now Vin cent square. Now wo como out on the Vauxhall Bridge road. Wo are making for tho Surrey sido apparently. Yes, 1 thought so. Now we are on the bridge You win catch glimpses of tho river." An artlole on temperanoe was shown under similar olroumstanoes to Aaron Farmer, a Baptist preaoher of local renown, and by him furnished to an Ohio newspaper for publication. The thing, however, which gave him such prominenoe —a prominence, too, whloh oould have been attained in no other way—was his remarkable physloal strength, for he wai beoomlng not only one of the longest bat one of the strongest men around Gen try - ville. He enjoyed the brief distinction his exhibitions of strength gave him mora than the admiration of his friends for his literary or forenslo efforts. Some of the feats attributed to him almost surpass belief. One witness declares he was equal to three men, having on a oertaln occasion carried a load of 600 pounds. At another time he walked away with a pair of logs which three robust men were skeptical of their ability to carry. "He oould strike with a maul a heavier blow, oould sink Ml ax deeper into wood than any man I ever saw," la the testimony of another witness. After he had passed bis nineteenth year and was nearing his majority he began to chafe and grow restless under the restraints of home rule. Seeing no prospeot of betterment In his condition, so long as his fortune was interwoven with that of bis father, he at last endeavored to strike out into the broad world for himself. Having great faltfa In the judgment and Influence of his fast friend Wood, he solicited from him a recommendation to theofflcsn "I have heard you say that it is difficult for a man to have any object in dally use without leaving the impress of his individuality upon it in suoh a way that a trained observer might read it. Now, I have here a watch which has recently oomo into my possession. Would you have the kindness to let me have an opinion upon the character or habits of tho late owner?" "My brother and I," said he, "were, as you may imagine, muoh excited as to the treasure which my father had spoken of. For woeks and for months we dug and delved In every part of the garden without discovering Its whereabouts. It was maddening to think that the hiding place was on his very lips at the moment that he died. Wo could judge the splendor of the missing riches by the chaplet which he had taken out. Over this chaplet my brother Bartholomew and I had some little discussion. The pearls were evidently of great value, and he was averse to part with them, for lDetween friends my brother was himself a little 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 address and send her a detached pearl at fixed Intervals, so that at least she might never feel destitute." "Briefly," she continued, "the facts are these: My father was an officer in an Indian regiment who sent mo home when I was quite a child. My mothor was dead, and I had no relative in England. I was placcd, however, in a comfortable boarding establishment at Edinburgh, and there I remained until I was 17 years of age. In tho year 1878 my father, who was senior captain of his regiment, obtained 12 months' leave and came home. Ho telegraphed to me from London that he had arrived all safe and directed me to come down at once, giving the Langham hotel as his address. His message, as I remember, was full of kindness and love. On reaching London I drove to the Langham and was Informed that Captain Mors tan was staying there, but that he had gone out tho night before and had not returned. I waited all day without news of hlra. That night, on tho advice of the manager of the hotel, I communicated with the police, and next morning we advertised in all the papers. Our inquiries led to no result, and from that day to this no word has ever been heard of my unfortunate father. He came home with his heart full of hope to find some peace, some comfort, and Instead"— She put ber hand to her throat, and a choking sob out short the sentence. I relapsed into my chair. We did indeed get a fleeting view of the stretch of the Thames, with the lamps shining upon the broad, silent water, but our cab dashed on and was soon Involved in a labyrinth of streets upon the other side. CHAPTER III. I handed him over tho watch, with some slight feeling of amusement In my heart, for the test was, as I thought, an impossible one, and I intended It as a les son against the somewhat dogmatic tone which he occasionally assumed. Ho bal anced the watch in his hand, gazed hard at the dial, opened the back and examined the works, first with his naked eyes and then with a powerful convex lens. I could hardly keep from smiling at his crestfallen face when he finally snapped the case to and handed it back. It was half past 6 lDeforu Holmes re turned. Ho was bright, eager ami in ex cellent spirits—a mood which In his ease alternated with fits of tho blackest deprcs lion. . "Wordsworth road," said my com pan ion. "Priory road, Lark Hall lane, Stockwell placo, Robert street, Cold Harbor lane. Our quest does not appear to take us to very fashionabro regions." He did not seem offended. On the contrary, be put his finger tips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of his chair, Uke one who has a relish for conversation. "There is no great mybVry in this matter," ho said, taking the Qiip of tea which I had pouml out for him. "The facts appear to admit of only one explanation." Wo had' indeed reached a questionable and forbidding neighborhood. Long lines of dull brick houses were only relieved by the coarse glare and tawdry brilliancy of public houses at the corner. Thon came rows of two storied villas, each with a fronting of miniature garden, and then again Interminable lines of new staring brick buildings, tho monster tentacles which the giant city was throwing out into tho country. At last the cab drew up at the third house In a new torrace. None of tho other houses was inhabited, and that at which we stooped was as dark as its neighbors, save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window. On our knocking, however, the door was instantly thrown open by a Hindoo servant clad in a yellow turban, white, loose fitting clothes and a yellow sash. There was something strangely lnoongruous in this oriental figure framed In the commonplace doorway of a third rate suburban dwelling house. "My mind," be said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created It, for I am the only one in the world." "What! Have you solved it aln'ady?" "Well, that will bo too much to say. I havo discovered a suggestive fact, that is all. It is, however, very suggestive. The details aro still to be added. I havo just found, on consulting tho back filos of Tho Times, that Major Sholto of Upper Norwood, late of tho Thirty-fourth Bombay Infantry, died upon tho 38th of April, 1882." ABRAHAM'S STEPMOTHER. stract the store of knowledge that lay between the lids. No doubt, as Turnham insists, the study of the statutes at this early day led Abe to think of the law as his calling In maturer years. At any rate, he now began to evince no little zeal in the matter of public speaking—in compliance with the old notion, no doubt, that a lawyer can never succeed unless he has the elements of the orator or advocate In his construction—and even when at work In the field he could not resist the temptation to mount the nearest stump and practioe on bis fellow laborers. "There are hardly any data," he re marked. "The watch has been reoently cleaned, which robs me of my most sug gestlve facts." "You are right," I answered. "It was cleaned before being sent to ma" In my heart I accused my companion of putting forward a most lame and impotent excuse to oover his failure. What data could he expect from an uncleaned watch? "It was a kindly thought," said our companion earnestly. "It was extremely good of you." "The only unofficial detective?" I said, raising my eyebrows. "I may be very obtuse, Holmes, but 1 fall to see what this suggests." "The only unofficial consulting detective," be answered. "I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection. When Greg son and Les trade and Atbelney Jones are out of their depths, which, by the way, la their normal state, the matter la laid before ma I examine the data as an expert and pronounce a specialist's opinion. I claim no credit in such cases. My name figures in no newspaper. The work itself, the pleasure of finding a field for my peculiar powers. Is my highest reward. But you have yourself had some experience of my methods of work In the Jefferson Hope oass." "No? You surprise me. Look at it in this way, thon. Captain Mnrstan disap pears. The only person in don whom ho could havo visited is .D...jor Sholto. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. Four years later Sholto dies. Within a week of his death Captain Morstan's daughter receives a valuable present, which is repeated from year to year and now culminates in a letter which descrllies her as a wronged woman. What wrong can it refer to except this deprivation of her father? A nd why should the presents begin immediately after Sholto's death unless it is that Sholto's heir knows something of tho mystery and desires to make compensation? Havo you any alternative theory which will meet tho facts?" The little man waved his hand deprecatingly. "We were your trustees," he said. :'That was the view which I took of It, though Brother Bartholomew oould not altogether seo it in that light. We had plenty of money ourselvea. I desired no more. Besides it would have been such bad taste to have treated a young lady in so scurvy a fashion. 'Le mauvals gout mene au orime.' The Frenoh have a very neat way of putting these things. Our difference of opinion on this subject went so far that I thought it best to set np rooms for myself. So I left Pondicherry Lodge, taking tho old khltrautgar and Williams with me. Yesterday, however, I learned that an event of extreme Importance had oocurred. The treasure has been discovered. I Instantly communicted with Miss Morstan, 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." "Though unsatisfactory, my search has not been entirely barren," he observed, staring up at the ceiling with dreamy, lack luster eyes. "Subject to your correction, I should judge that the watch bolonged to your elder brother, who Inherited It from your father." of some one of the boats plying up and down the river, hoping thereby to obtain employment more congenial than doll, fatiguing work of the farm. To this project the judicious Wood waa much opposed and therefore suggested to the would be boatman the moral duty that rested on him to remain with his father till the law released him from that obligation. With deep regret he retraced his steps to the paternal mansion, seriously determined not to evade the claim from which in a few weary months he would be finally released. Meanwhile occurred his first opportunity to see the world. "The date?" asked Holmes, opening his notebook. With all his peaceful propensities Abe was not averse to a contest of strength, either for sport or In settlement—as in one memorable case—of grievances. Personal enooanters were of frequent occurrence in Gentry vllle in those days, and the prestige of having thrashed an opponent gave the vlotor marked social distinction. Green B. Taylor, with whom Abe worked the greater part of one winter on a farm, furnished me with an acoount of the noted fight between John Johnson, Abe's stepbrother, and William Grigsby, In which stirring drama Abe himself played an Important role before the ourtaln was rung down. Taylor's father was the seoond for Johnson, and William Whitten officiated In a similar capacity for Grigsby. "That you gather no doubt from the H W. upon the back?" "He disappeared on the 8dof December, 1878, nearly ten years ago." "His luggage?" "Remained at the hotel. Thepffjwas nothing In It to suggest a clew—Some clothes, some books and a considerable number of curiosities from the Andaman islands. Ho hod been one of the officers in charge of the convict guard there." "The sahib awaits you," said he, and even as ho spoke there came a high piping ▼oice from somo inner room. "Show them in to me, khitmutgar," it cried. "Show them straight in to me." "Quite bo. Tho W suggests your own name. The date of the watch is nearly 60 years back, aud the initials are as old as the watch, so it was made for the last generation. Jewelry usually desoends to the eldest son, and ho is most likely to havo the same name as the father. Your father has, if I remember right, been dead many years. It has therefore been in the hands of your eldest brother." "Tee, Indeed," said I cordially. "I was never so struck by anything in my life. I even embodied it in a small brochure With the somewhat fantastio title of 'A Study In Scarlet' " CHAPTER IV. "Early In 1882 my father roceived a letter from India which was a great shock to him. Ho nearly fainted at the breakfast table when he opened it, and from that day he sickened to his death. What was in the letter we could never discover, but ID could see as he held it that It was short and written in a scrawling hand. He had suffered for years from an enlarged spleen, but he now became rapidly worse, and toward the end of April we were informed that he was boyond all hope, and that he wished to make a last communication to us. "Whon we entered the room, he was propped up with pillows and breathing heavily. He besought us to lock the door and to come up on either side of the bed. Then, grasping our hands, he made a remarkablo statement to us in a voice which was broken as much by emotion as by pain. I shall try to give It to you in his own very words. " 'I have only one thing,' he said, 'which weighs upon my mind at this supreme moment. It is my treatment of poor Morstan's orphan. The cursed greed which has been my besetting sin through life had withheld from her the treasure, half at least of which should have been hers. And yet I have made no use of it myself, so blind and foolish a thing is avarice. Tho mere feeling of possession has been so dear to me that I could not bear to share with another. See that chaplet tipped with pearls beside the quinine bottlo. Even that I could not bear to part with, although I had got it out with the design of sending it to her. You, my sons, will give her a fair share of the Agra treasure. But send her nothing, not oven tho chaplet, until I am gone. After all, men have been as bad as this and have recovered."Hod he any friends In town?" "But what a strango compensation! And how strangely made! Why, too, should ho write a letter now rathor than six years ago? Again, the lotter speaks of giving her justice. What Justice can she have? It Is too much to suppose that her father is still alive. There is no other injustice in her case that you know of." We followed tho Indian down tho 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 out upon us, and in the center of tho glare there stood a small man, with a very high head, a bristle of rod hair all around the frlngo of It, and the bald, shining scalp, which shot out from among it liko a mountain peak from flr trees. Ho writhed his hands together as he stood, and his features were in a perpetual jerk, now smiling, now scolding, now scowling, but ijever for an instant in repose. Nature had given him a pendulous lip and a too visible line of yellow and irregular teeth, which he strove feebly to ooncoal by constantly passing his hand over tho lower part of his face. In spite of his obtrusive baldness, he gave the Impression of youth. In point of fact he had just turned his thirtieth year. "Only one that we know of—Major Sholto of his own regiment, tho Thirtyfourth Bombay Infantry. The major had retired some little time before and lived at Upper Norwood. We communicated with him, of course, but ho did not even know that his brother officer was in England."In March, 1828, James Gentry, for whom h&hpd been at work, ted fitted out a boat WTOTa stocic ot grain ana meat lor a trading expedition to New Orleans and placed his son Allen in charge of the cargo for the voyage. Abe's desire to make a river trip was at last satisfied, and he aooompanled the proprietor's son, serving aa "bow hand." His pay was |8 a month and board. In due course of time the navigators returned from their expedition with the evidence of profitable results to gladden the heart of the owner. The only oocurrenoe of Interest they oould relate of the voyage was the encounter with a party of marauding negroes at the plantation of Mme. Duchesne, a few miles below Baton Rouge. Abe and Gentry, having tied up for the night, were fast asleep on their boat when aroused by the arrival of • crowd of negroes bent on plunder. They set to work with clubs and not only drove off the Intruders, but pursued them Inland; then, hastily returning to their quarters, they out loose their craft and floated down stream till daylight. He shook his head sadly. "I glanced over It," said he. "Honestly I cannot congratulate you upon it Detection Is or ought to be an exact science and should be treated In the same cold and unemotional manner. You have attempted to tinge It with romanticism, which produces much the same effect as if you worked a love story or an elopement Into the fifth proposition of Euclid." "Right so far," said L "Anything else?" "He of untidy habits—TVT nntidy and careless. He was left with good prospects, but he threw away bis chances, lived for some time in poverty, with occasional short Intervals of prosperity, and finally, taking to drink, he died. That Is all I can gather." Mr. Thaddeus Sholto ceased and eat twitching on his luxurious settee. We all remained silent, with our thoughts upon the new development which the mysterious business had taken. Holmes was the first to spring to his feet. "They had a terrible fight," relates Taylor, "and it soon became apparent that Grigsby was too much for Lincoln's man, Johnston. After they had fought a long time without interference, it having been agreed not to break the ring, Abe burst through, caught Grigsby, threw him off and some feet away. There he stood, proud as Lucifer, and swinging a bottle of liquor over his head swore ho was 'the big buck of the lick.' 'If anyone doubts It,'he shouted, 'he has only to come on and whet his horns.' " A general engagement followed his challenge, but at the end of hostilities tho field was cleared, and the wounded retired amid the exultant shouts of their victors. "Thero are difficulties, there are certainly difficulties," suid Sherlock Holmes pensively. "But our expedition of tonight will solve them oil. Ah, here is a four wheeler, and Miss Morstan is insido. Are you all ready? Then we had bettor go down, for it is a little past tho hour." "A singular case," remarked Holmes. "I havo not yet described to you the most singular part. About six years ago —to be exact, upon tho 4th of Moy, 1882— an advertisement appeared In Tho Times asking for the address of Miss Mary Morstan and stating that it would be to her advantage to come forward. There was no name or address appendod. I had at that time just entered the family of Mrs. Cecil Forrester In tho capacity of governess. By her advlco I published my address in the advertisement column. The same day there arrived through the post a small cardboard box addressed to me, which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. " But the romanoe was there," I remonstrated. "I could not tamper with the tacts." "Ton 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 yon. But, as Miss Morstan remarked just now, It is late, and we had best put the matter through without delay." I sprang from my chair and limped 1m patiently about the room, with considerable bitterness in my heart. I "Some facts should be suppressed, or at least a just sense of proportion should be observed in treating them. The only point In the oase which deserved mention was the curious analytical reasoning from effects to oauses by whioh I succeeded In unraveling it" "This Is unworthy of you, Holmes," 1 s»id. "I could not have believed that you would have descended to this. You have made inquiries into the history of my un happy brother, and you now pretend to deduoe this knowledge in some fanciful way. You oannot expect me to believe that you have read all &la..from his old watcn. It is unkind, ana, to speak plain ly, has a touch of charlatanism In it." I picked up my hat and my heaviest stick, but I observed that Holmes took his revolver from his drawer and slipped it into his pocket. It was clear that he thought that our night's work might-bo a serious one. Our new acquaintance very deliberately colled up the tube of his hookah and produced from behind a curtain a very long befrogged topcoat with astrakhan collar and cuffs. This he buttoned tightly up in spite ot tne extreme oioseness 01 tne night and finished his attire by putting on a rabbit skin cap with hanging lappets which covered the ears, so that no part of him was visible save his mobile and peaky face. "My health is somewhat fragile," he remarked as he led the way down the passage. "I am compelled to be a valetudinarian."Miss Morstan was muffied In a dark oloak, and her sensitive face was composed, but pale. She must have been more than womun if she did not feol some uneasiness at the strango enterprise upon which wo wero embarking, yet her self control was perfect, and sho readily answered tho few additional questions which Sherlock Holmes put to her. "Your servant, Miss Morstan," ho kept repeating in a thin, high Toice. "Your servant, gentlemen. Pray step Into my little sanctum. A small placo, miss, but furnished to my liking. An oasis of art in the howling desert of south London." I was annoyed at this criticism of a work whloh had been specially designed to please him. I confess, too, that I was Irritated by the egotism which seemed to demand that every line of my pamphlet ■hoald be devoted to his own special doings. More than onoe during the years that I had lived with him in Baker street I had observed that a small vanity underlay my companion's quiet and dldactlo manner. I made no remark, however, but ■at nursing my wounded leg. I had bad a Jezall bullet through It some time before, and though it did not prevent me from walking It ached wearily at every change of the weather. Keeping Close to History. " My dear doctor," said he kindly, "pray accept my apologies. Viewing the matter •s an abstract problem, I had forgotten how personal and painful a thing it might be to you. I assure you, however, that I never even knew that you had a brother until you handed me the watch." Much of the latter end of Abe's boyhood would have been lost in the midst of tradition but for the store of information and reoolleotions I was fortunate enough to secure from an Interesting old lady whom I met in Indiana in 1805. She was the wife of Josiab Crawford—"Blue Nose," as Abe had named him—and possessed rare accomplishments for a woman reared in the backwoods of Indiana. She was not only Impressed with Abe's early efforts, but expressed great admiration for his sister Sarah, whom she often had with her at her own hospitable home and whom she described as a modest, Industrious and sensible sister of a humorous and equally sensible brother. From Mrs. Crawford I obtained the few specimens of Abe's early literary efforts and much of the matter that follows in this chapter. The introduction here of the literary feature as affording us a glimpse of Lincoln's boyhood days may to a certain extent grate harshly on overrefined e%rs, but still no apology is necessary, for, as intimated at the outset, I intend to keep close to Lincoln all the way through. Some writers would probably omit these songs and backwoods ro oitals as savoring too strongly of the baoobanalian nature, but that would be a narrow view to take of history. If we expect to know Lincoln thoroughly, we must be prepared to take him as he really was. "Nowordof writing was Inclosed. Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box containing a similar xjearl without any clow as to the sender. They havo been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. You can see for yourselves that they aro very handsome." She opened a flat box as she spoko and showed me six of tho finest pearls that I had ever seen. We wore all astonished by the appearance 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 tapostries draped tho walls, looped back here and there to expose somo 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 suggestion 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 the center of tho room. As it burnad it filled the air with a subtle and aromatic odor. Washington, hearing that the colored sentinels could not be trusted, went out one night to ascertain if the report was oorreot The countersign was "Cambridge," and the general, disgnised, as he thought, by a large overcoat, approached a oolored sentry. He Knew Him. "Major Sholto was a very particular friend of papa's," sho sold. "His letters wero full of allusions to the major. He and pupa were in command of tho troops at the Andaman islands, so they wore thrown a great deul together. By the wuy, a curious paper was found in papa's desk which no one could understand. I don't suppose that it is of tho slightest importance, but I thought you might care to seo it, so I brought It with me. It Is hero." "Then how in the name of all that is wonderful did you get these facts? They are absolutely corrcct In every particular." "Ah, that Is good luck. I Id only say what was the balance of 1 did not expect to be so accurate." Our cab was awaiting us outside, and our programme was evidently prearranged, for the driver started off at onoe at a rapid pace. Thaddeus Sholto talked incessantly in a voice which rose high above the rattle of the wheels. "Who goes there?" cried the sentinel. "My practice has extend*! recently to the continent," said Hoi in en after awhile, filling np his old brier root pipe. "I was oonsulted last week by Francois le Vlllard, who as you probably know, has come rather to the front lately in the French deteotlve service. He has all the Celtlo power of quick. Intuition, but he la deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge essential to the higher development* of his art The oase was concerned with a will and possessed some features of Interest I was able to refer him to two parallel oases—the one at Riga In 1857 and the other at St. Louis to 1871—whloh have suggested to him the true solution. Here is tha letter whlob I had this morning acknowledging my assistance." He tossed over as he spoke a crumpled sheet of foreign note paper. I glanced my eyes down it, catching a profusion of notes of admlratipn, with stray magnifiques, coup da maitres and tours de force, all testifying to the ardent admiration of tha Frenchman. "Your statement Is most interesting," said Sherlock Holmes. "Has anything else occurred to you?" "A friend," replied Washington. "No, no. I never guess. It Is a shocking habit—destructive to the logical faculty. What seems strange to you is only so because you do not follow my train of thought or observe tho small facts upon which large Inferences may depend. For example, I began by stating that your brother was careless. When you observe the lower part of that watch ease, you notice that it is not only dented in two plaoos, but it is cut and marked all over from the habit of keeping other hard objects, such as ooins or keys, in tho same pocket. Surely It is no great feat to assumo that a man who treats a 50 guiDca watch so cavaliorly must bo a careless man. Neither is it a very far fetched In ference thot a man who inherits ono article of such value is pretty well provided for in other respects." "But It was not mere guesswork?" "Friend, advance unarmed and give the countersign," said the oolored man. "Yes, and no later than today. That Is why I have come to you. This morning I received this letter, whioh you will per haps read for yourself." "Bartholomew Is a clever fellow," said he. "How do you think he found out where the treasure was? He had come to the conclusion that it was somewhere indoors, so he worked out all the cubic space of the house and made measurements everywhere, so that not one inch should be unaccounted for. Among other things, he found that the height of the building was 74 feet, but on adding together the heights of all the separate rooma and making every allowance for the space between, which he ascertained by borings, he could not bring the total to more than 70 feet. There were four feet unaccounted for. These eauld only be at the top of the building. He knocked a hole, therefore, in the lath and plaster ceiling of the highest room, and there, sure enough, he 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." Washington came up and said, "Boxbury."Holmes unfolded the paper carefully and smoothed It out upon his knee. Hu then very methodically examined it all over with his double lens. " 'I will tell you how Morstan died,' he continued. 'Ho had suffered for years from a weak heart, but ho concealed It from every one. 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 England, and on the night of Morstan's arrival he came straight over hero to claim his share. He walked over from the station and was admitted by my faithful old Lai Chowdar, who is now dead. Morstan and I had a difference of opinion as to the division of the treasure, and wo came to heated words. Morstan had sprung out of his chair in a paroxysm of anger, when ho suddenly pressed his hand to his side, his face turned a dusky huo, and he fell backward, cutting his head against tho cornor of the treasure chest. When I stooped over him, I found, to mv horror that he was dead. " 'For a long time I sat half distracted, wondering what I should do. My first impulse was, of course, to call for assistance, but I could not but rocognize that there was every chanco that I would be accused of his murder. His death at the momont of a quarrel and the gash in his head would bo black against mo. Again an official 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 whero he had gone. There seemed to bo no necessity why any soul ever should know. " 'I was still" pondering over the matter when, looking up, Winw my servant, Lai Chowdar, in the dWrway. 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 *Jio wiser?' 'I did not kill him,' said I. Lai Chowdar shook his head and smiled. 'I heard it all, sahib,' said he. 'I heard you quarrel, and I heard tho blow. But my lips are sealed All are asleep In tho house. Let us puf him nway together.' That was enough to decide me. If my own servant could not believe my innocence, how could I hope to mako It good before 12 foolish trades men in a jury Ikjx? " 'Lai Chowdar and I disposed of the "No, sah," was the responsa "Medford," said Washington. "No, sah," returned the colored soldier."Thank you," said Hoiinos. "Tho en velope, too, please. Postmark London, S. W., date July 7. Hum! Man's thumb mark on corner—probably postman. Best quality paper. Envelopes at sixpence a packet. Particular man In his stationery. No address. 'Be at tho third pillar from the left outside tho Lyceum theater tonight at 7 o'clock. If you are distrustful, bring two friends. You are a wronged woman and shall have justice. Do not bring police, If you do, all will be in vain. Your unknown friend.' Well, really, this Is a very pretty little mystery. What do you Intend to do, Miss Morstun?" "It is paper of native Indian manufacture," ho remarked. "It has at some time been pinned to a board. The diagram upon It appears to bo a plan of part of a lurge building with numerous halls, corridors and passages. At ono point is a small cross dono in red ink, und abovo it Is '3.37 from left' in fuded pencil writing. In tho left hand corner Is a curious hieroglyphic iiko four crosses in a line, with their arms touching. Beside it is written in very rough and coarse characters, 'The sign of tho four—Jonathan Small, Mohammed Singh, Adbullah Khan, DostAkbor.' No, I confess that I do not see how this bears upon the matter. Yet It is evidently a document of importance. It has iDeen kept curefully in u pocketbook, for the ono 6ide Is as clean as the other." "Charleston," said Washington. "Mr. Thaddeus Sholto," said tho little man, still jerking and smiling. "That is my name. You are Miss Morstan, of course. And these gentlemen"— The colored man immediately exolaimed, "I tell you, Massa Washington, no man go by here 'out he say Cambridge I"—Youth's Companion. "This is Mr. Sherlock Holmes and this Dr. Watson." "A doctor, eh?" cried he, much excited. "Have you your stethosoope? Might I ask you—would you havo tho kindness? I have grave doubts as to my mitral valve, if you would be 6o very good. The aortic I may rely upon, but I should value your opinion upon tho mitral." His Little Scheme. Brown—Tell yon, old man, I have a goheme now that absolutely requires no oapital and 1b a sure winner every time. I am going to get riob. I nodded to show that I followed his reasoning. " inac is exactly wnac l want to ass you." In 1836 Abe's sister Sarah was marriod to Aaron Grlgsby, and at tbe wedding tbe Lincoln family sang a song composed In bonor of the event by Abe himself. It is a tiresome doggerel and full of painful rhymes. I reproduce it here from th« manuserint furnished me bv Mrs. Crawloro. xne author and composer called II "Adam and Eve's Wedding Song:" When Adam was created. He dwelt In Eden's shude, As Moses has recorded. And soon a bride was made. Baker—You wouldn't let a fellow in, would you? I listened to his heart as requested, but was unable to find anything amiss, save indeed that ho was in an ecstasy of fear, for he shiverod from head to foot. "It appears to bo normal," I said. "You have no cause for uneasiness." "It is very customary for pawnbrokers In England when they toko a watch to scratch tho number of the ticket with a pinpoint upon the inside of tho cose. It is more bandy than a label, as there is no risk of the numbers being lost or transposed. There are no less than four numbers visible to my lens on tho inside of this case. Inference—that your brother was often at low water. Secondary inference —that hehad occasional bursts of prosperity, or ho could not have redeemed the pledge. Finally, I ask you to look at the Inner plate, which oontains tho keyhole. Look at the thousands of scratches all round the hole—marks where the key had slipped. What sober msS's keyoould have scored those grooves? But you will never see u drunkard s watch without them. He winds it at night, and he loaves these traces of his unsteady hand. Whero is the mystery in all this?" ''Then wo shall most certainly go. You and I and—yes, why, Dr. Watson is tho very man. Your correspondent says two friends. Ho and I have worked together before." Brown—Well, seeing that it is you, I will let you in for f 5. "He speaks as a pupil to his master," Mid L "Oh, he rates my assistance too highly," •aid Sherlock Holmes lightly. "He has considerable gifts himself. He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. He la only wanting in knowledge, and that may come In time. He is now translating my small works into French." "It was in his pocketbook that wo found it" Baker—Oh, well, $5 is not muoh to risk on a good thing ! Here it is, and now tell me what your scheme is. Brown—That's it Bakor—What's it? "But would he come?" she asked, with something appealing in her voice and expression." Preserve it carefully, then, Miss Morstan, for it may prove to bo of use to us. I begin to suspect that this matter may turn out to bo much doeperand inoro subtle than I at first supposed. I must reconsider my ideas." He leaned back in tho cab, and I could soe by htfr drawn brow and his vacant eye that he was thinking Intently. Miss Morstan and I chatted in an undertone about our present-expedition and its possible outcome, but our companion maintained his impenetrable reserve until the end of our journey. At the mention of this gigantio sum we all stared at one another open eyed. Miss Morstan, could we secure her rights, would changofrom a needy governess to tho riohest heiress In England. Surely it was the place of a loyal friend to rojolce at suoh news, yet I am ashamed to say that selfishness took me by the soul, and that my heart turned as heavy as lead within me. I stammered out some few halting words of congratulation and then sat downcast, with my head drooped, deaf to the babble of our new acquaintance. He was clearly a confirmed hypochondriao, and I was dreamily conscious that he was pouring forth interminable trains of symptoms and imploring information as to the composition and action of innumerable quack nostrums, some of whioh he .bore about in a leather case in his pocket. I trust that he may not remember any of tho 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 castor oil, while I recommended strychnine in largo doses as a sedative. However that may be, I was oertainly reliovod when our cab pulled up with a jerk and the coachman sprang down to open tho door. "You will excuse my anxiety, Miss Morstan," he remarked airily. "lama great sufferer, and I havo long had suspi clous as to that valve. I am delighted to hear that they aro unwarranted. Had your father. Miss Morstan, refrained from throwing a strain upon his heart he might havo I wen alive now." "I should bo most proud and happy," said I fervently, '"if I can be of any servloe."Brown—That is. Haven't I just made a five out of it? Go tbou and do likewise.—Cincinnati Tribuna The Lord then was not willing That man should be alone, But caused a sleep upon him, And from him took a bone. "You are both very kind," she answered. "I have led a retired life and have no friends whom I could appeal to. If I am here at 6, It will do, I suppose?" xour worn or I could have struck the man across the face, so hot was I at this callous and off hand reference to so delicate a matter Miss Morstan sat down, and her face grew white to the lips "I knew in my heart that ho was dead," said she. A Change From the Old Way. He—They married in haste. She—And of course repented at leisure."Oh, didn't you know?" he crieu, laughing. "Yes, 1 have been guilty of several monographs. They ore all upon technical subjects. Here, for example, Is one "Upon the Distinction Between the Ashes of the Various ToImiccos. " In it I enumerate 140 forms of cigar, cigarette and pipo tobacco, with colored plates illustrating tho difference in the ash. It is a point which In continually turning up In criminal trials, and which Is sometimes of supreme importance as a olew. If you can say definitely, for example, that some murder has been done by a man who was smoking an Indian lunkah, it obviously narrows your field of search. To the trained eye there is as much difference between the black ash of aTrlcliinopoly and the white fluff of birds' eye as there is between a cabbage and a potato." And closed tlv» flesh Instead thereof And then he took the same And of it made a woman And brought her to the man. "You must not be later," said Holmes. "There Is one other point, however. Is this handwriting tho some as that upon the pearl box addresses?" He—No. She—No? It was a September evening and not yet 7 o'clock, but the day had boen a dreary one, and a dense drizzling fog lay low upon tho great city. Mud colored clouds drooped sadly over tho muddy streets. Down tho Strand the lamps were but misty splotches of diffused light which threw a feeble circular glimmer upon the slimy pavement. Tho yellow glare from tho shop windows streamed out into the steamy, vaporous air and throw a murky, shifting radlanco across tho crowded thoroughfare. There was to my mind something eerie and gbostllko In the endless procession of faces which flitted across these narrow bars of light—sad faces and glad, haggard and merry. Like all humankind, they flitted from the gloom Into tho light, and so back Into the gloom once more. I am uot subject to impressions, but the dull, heavy evening, with t tho strange business upon which we were [engaged, combined to moke me nervous im' ,..il f in1«l Then Adam he rejoiced To see his loving bride A part of his own body. The product of his side. "I have them hero," she answered, pro duclng half a dozen pieces of paper. "I can Km' you every Information," said lnD, "and, what is more, I can do y«»u ju.stiop, 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, hut also as witnesses to what I am about to do and pay. The three of us can show a hold front to Brother Bartholomew. But let us have no outsiders, no police or officials. Wo can settlo everything satisfactorily among ourselves without any Interference. Nothing would annoy Brother Bartholomew more than any publicity." He sat down upon a low settee and blinked at us Inquiringly with his weak, watery blue eyes. He—No. They repented the same way. —Detroit Free Press. "You aro certainly a model client. You have the oorrect intuition. Let us seo now." He spread out tho papers upon the table and gave little darting glances from one to the other. "They are disguised hands except tho letter," he said present ly, "'but there can be no question as to the authorship. See how tho irrepressible Greek e will break out, and seo tho twirl of tho final s. They are undoubtedly by the same person. I should not like to suggest false hopes, Miss Morstan, but is there any resemblance between this hand and that of your father?" "It Is as clear as daylight," I answered. "I regret the Injustice which I did you. I should have had more faith In your marvelous faculty. May I ask whether you have any professional Inquiry on foot at present?" The woman was not taken From Adam's feet, we see. Bo he must not abuse her. The meaning seems to be. Struck by Them. Absentminded Professor (who has been snowballed by naughty boys on the hillside)—I must send a communication to the academy regarding the phenomenally Ivge snowflakes • this winter.— Fliegende Blatter. TTie woman was not taken Prom Adam's head, we know, To show she must not rule him— 'Tis evidently so. "None; hence the cocaine. I cannot live without brain work. What else Is there to live for? Stand at the window here. Was ever suoh a dreary, dismal, unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across dun colored houses. What could be more hopelessly prosalo and material? What Is the use of having powers, doctor, when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime Is commonplace, and existence is commonplace, and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function unon enrth." The wijfcan she was taken From under Adam's arm. So she must lDe protected From Injuries and harm. With the Jokers. "Who was the wisest of the wise?' "You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae," I remarked. The teacher asked, and then His stupid pupils he observed With fierce and threatening ken. "This, Miss Morstan, is Pondloherry Lodge," said Mr. Thaddeus Sholto as he handed her out [TO BE COKTUOJEDj } Poor Sarah, at whose wedding this song was sung, never lived to seo the glory nor share in the honor that afterward fell to the lot of her tall and angular brother. Within two years after her marriage she died In childbirth. "I appreciate their Importance. Here Is my monograph upon the tracing of footsteps, with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of parts as a preserver of Impresses. Here, too, is a curious littlo work minn flu* nf fr.ule liuoM "I expected to hear you say so. We shall look out for you then at 0. Pray allow me to keep tho papers. I may look Into the matter before then. It is only half past 3. Au revoir, then." "Nothing could be more unlike." "For my part," said Holmes, "whatever you may choose to say will go na further." body that night, and within a few days the London papers were full of tho mysterious disappearance of Captain Morstan. You will see from what I say that I can hardly be blamed In tho matter. My fault lies In the ffcet that we concealed not only the body, hut al 'o the treasure, nnd that 1 A little fellow raised his hand— " 'Twos Noah, sir," he explained. "Whyt" " 'Cause," he answered prompt and clear, "He went in when it rained." I nodded to show my agreement. "That is well! That is well!" said ho. Mm»» I von n n»l'»ca r% f f'htnptt \fi^9 Houses In Plttaton from $4 to 95,00 monMj. O F. Thompson. No feature of his backwoods life pleased Abe so well na truing to mill. It released ' An rev .1 our vi- itor. and with —Boston Budget.