Pittston Gazette

              KSTABI.ISIIK1MK50. I VOL. XLV. NO. .i« I Oldest Newspaper in the Wyoming Valley. PITTSTON, LUZERNE CO., PA., FRIDAY. APRIL 11, 181)5. A Weekly Local and Family Journal. C*,-a?3WSffln' THE 11 Of TIE FOOD. I have waited to licar from him, lor ho often likes to bo alone, but an hour ago 1 feared that something was amiss, so I went up and peeped through the keyhole. You must go up, Mr. Tliaddeus. You must go up and look for yourself. I havo seen Mr. Bartholomew Sholto in joy and in sorrow for ten long years, but I never saw him with such a face on him as that." '•It Is the wooden legged man." "Hero's a nusiness," he cried in a muffled, husky voice. "Here's a pretty busi ness. Hut who are all these? Why, the house seems to lio as full as a rabbit war- within my breast or the etlort ot self restraint which held me back. My sympathies and my love went out to her, oven as my hand had In the garden. I felt that years of tho conventionalities of lifo could not teach mo to know hor sweet, brave nature as had this ono day of strange experiences. Yet there were two thoughts which sealed tho words of affection upon my lips. Sho was weak and helpless, shaken In mind and nerve. It was to take her at a disadvantage to obtrude lovo upon hor at such n timo. Worse still, sho was rich. If Holmes' researches wero success ful, she would be an heiress. Was it fair, was it honorable, that a half pay surgeon should take such advantago of an Intimacy which chanco had brought about? Might she not look upon me as a mere vulgar fortune seeker? I could not bear to risk that such a thought should cross her mind. This Agra treasure intervened like an impassable barrier between us. 01 emmneys, out no presently reap pear ru and then vanished once more upon tliu opposite side. When I made my way round there, I found him seated at one of the corner eaves. BILLN ] EAMIUROVER not oven ton my wne, ror sno, ioo,_nas her household matters to think of, lint I wanted to tell somo kind friend, who would not run right to tho .telephone with it, that I foar congress is concealing something from mel tempted to do it, for it was a;jri:;(t honor, hut I remembered how close tho t. »• is in tho senate chamber und how many interruptions I would havo while doing literary work and while other senators were speaking and when I needed absolute quiet, bo I declined the seat. Besides, too, the salary is only $5,000 pet year, and I would ha7e to make campaign speeches every fall without any box office receipts. I would have to give a large part of my salary to various charities, and little red babies would be named after me, each of whom would havo to receive a silver mug. The papurs at home would attack me every timo I failed to vote, and even harder perhaps when I did vote. My business at home would go to the dogs, and if I failed of a re-eloction I would be mad and sick at heart. My boys would grow up to think the government ought to provide for them and the railroads give them passes. My wife would need a new dress, and we would feel hurt If we did not got as much attention as the wiators from Now York and Massachu- "Quite so. Hut there has been some one else—a very able and efficient ally. Could you scale that wall, doctor?" D.IOPS IN ON THE PRESI 1 looked out of the open window. The moon still shono brightly on that angle of the house. We wero a good »i0 feet from the ground, and look where I would I could see no foothold nor as much as a crevice in the brickwork. -» "I think you must recollect me, Mr. Athelnoy Jones," said Holmes quietly. ten." "That you, Watson?" ho cried, BY A CON AN DOYLE, "Yes." DtiNl ANJ H Ao A CHAT "Why, of course I do," lie wheezed. "It's Mr. Sherlock Holmes, tho theorist. Remember you? I'll never forget how you lectured us all on causes and infer ences and effects in tho Bishopgate jewel case. It's true you set us on tho right track, but you'll own now that it was more by good luck than good guidance." "It was a piece of very simple reason- "This is the placo. What is that black thing down there?" "A water barrel." "Top on it?" "Yes." "I do not know what it is, but I know it is something. Whenevor I run across congress suddenly it stops what it was speaking abott and looks out of the window for quite a spell and seems to be cerebrating. Of course that is all assumed, for congress never cerebrates. Now, no one can understand how unhappy all this makos me unless he hag been president himself and had a congress on his hands that doos not yield him its full confidence. [continued.] CHAPTER V Sherlock Holmes took the lamp and led the way, for Tliaddeus Sholto's teeth wero chattering In his head. So shaken Was he that 1 had to pass my hand under his arm as wo went up the stairs, for his knees were trembling under him. Twice as we ascended Holmes whipped his lens out of his pocket and carelully examined marks which appeared to mo to be mero shapeless smudges of dust upon the cocoanut matting which served as a stair carpet. We walked slowly from step to step, holding the lamp low and shooting keen glances to right and left. Miss Morstan had remained with the frightened house Not Intciiiletl For Publication, but Is During; Wliieh He Lepras Koine TfiinRM "It Is absolutely impossible," I an swered. Able to SuD- ili.it f-.i-erytliiug Will He It was nearly 11 o'clock when wo reached this final stago 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 cloar enough to see for some distance, but Tliaddeus Sholto took down one of tho 6ide lamps from the carriage to give us a bettor light upon our way. "No sign of a ladder?" "No." All Itiglit Soon Oil tlie income Tax. "Without aid it is so. Hut suppose you had a friend up here who low'ered you this.good stout rope which I seo in the corner, securing ouo end of it to this great hook in the wall. Then, I think. If you were an active man, you might swarm up, wooden leg and all. You would depart, of course, in the same fashion, and your ally would draw up the rope, untie it from tho book, shut the window, snib it on the inside and get away in the way that ho originally came. As a minor point it may be noted," he continued, fingering the rope, "that our wooden legged friend, though a fair climber, was not a professional sailor, llis hands were far from horny. My lens discloses more than ono blood mark, especially toward the end of tho rope, from which I cither that ho slipped down with such velSf.ity that he took tho skin off his hands. (Copyright, 1805, iDy Edgar W. Nye.] "Confound the follow! It's a most breakneck place. 1 ought to be able to oome down where bo could climb up. The water pipe feels pretty firm. Here goes anyhow." I'robubly next to Mr. Cleveland himself Secretary Danit 1 S. Lament is the strongest evidence and tho brightest example now living of what may be done by an ambitious American boy. Lamont is tho f ivorite in tho present cabinet not onlv of those who know hi/n generally, but of the president himself. ing.' "Oh, coine, now, coino. Never he ashamed to own tip. But what is all this? iiau nusiness, nao nusmessi titer n tact here—110 room for theories. How lucky that I happened to lie out at Norwood over another easel I was at the station when a message arrived. What d'you think the man died of?" There was a scuttling of 'the foet, and tho lantern began to come steadily down tho side of tho wall. Then with a light spring he came on to tho barrel and from there to the earth. "Tho first sign I noticed of reserve was when congress was out till after 13 o'clock one night and did not tell me where it had been. Tho next morning it could not look mo in the face. I fear that it is loading a doublo life. 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 postmanlike rattat. keeper. It was nearly 2 o'olock when wo reached Mrs. Cecil Forrester's. Tlio servants had retired hours ago, hut Mrs. Forrester had been so interested by tho strange message which Miss Morst.au had received that she sat up in the hope of her return. She opened the door herself, a middle aged, graceful woman, and it gave me joy to see how tenderly her arm stole round tho other's waist and how motherly was tho Voice In which she greeted her. She was clcarly no mere pnid dependent, hut an honored friend. I was Introduced, and Mrs. Forrester earnestly begged me to step in and to tell her our adventures. I explained, however, the importance of my errand and promised faithfully to call and report any progress which wc might make with the ease. As wc drovo away I stole a glance back, and I still seem to see that little group on the step, the two graceful, clinging figures, tho half open door, the hall light shining through stained glass, the barometer and 9 m bright stair rods. It was soothing to catch even that passing glimpse of a tranquil English home in tlie midst of tho wild, dark business which had absorbed us. "It was easy to follow him," ho said, drawing 011 his stockings and boots. "Tiles were loosened the whole way along, and in his hurry ho had dropped this. It confirms my diagnosis, as you doctors exnmui tt " With all duo respect, to. the present secretary of the treasury, I think ho is a greater legislator than financier. Why we should think in this republio that a man who can make a good speech can therefore shine as a warrior or a financier I do not know. Eminence of one kind is not the evidence of greatue Tho third flight of stairs ended in a straight passage of some length, with a great picture in Indian tapestry upon the right of it and three doors upon tho left. Holmes advanced along it in the saino slow and methodical way, while we kept close at his heels, with our long black shadows streaming backward down the corridor. The third door was that which wo were seeking. Holmes knocked without receiving any answer and then tried to turn the handle and forco it open. It was locked on tho inside, however, and by a broad and powerful bolt, ns we could seo when we sea our lamp up against it. Tho key being turned, however, tho hols was not entirely closed. Sherlock bent down to it and instantly rose again with • sharp intaking of the breath. "Oh, this is hardly a twse for me to theorize over," said Holmes dryly. "No, no. Still we can't deny that you hit the nail on the head sometimes. Dear me! Door locked, I understand. Jewels worth half a million missing. How was the window?" "What would yon do if you wore in my place? "Of courso somo of tho things congress does gets into Tho Congressional Record, bnt that is only a blind, for surely what wo seo in Tho Record could not tako up one-fourth of its time. "Who is there?" cried a gruff voice from ■within. Tiio ohjoct which he held up to me was a small pocket, or pouch, woven out of colored grasses and with a few tawdry beads strung round it. In shape and size it was not unlike a cigarette case. Inside were half a dozen spines of dark wood, sharp at one end and rounded at the other, like that Which had struck Bartholomew Sholto. tts. I would have to bring my team hero to Washington, where feed is high, and tho reporters would be all the time asking mo what was done during the exocntivo sessions, and they would roast mo and rake up old personalities if I refused to toll them, and the senate would despise me if did not refuse, and there you are. "It is I, McMurdo. You surely know my knock by this time." 'Fastened, lDut there are steps on the a totally different direction, and t ass in hat is ike in '•This is all very well," said I, "but tho tKing becomes more unintelligible than ever. How about this mysterious ally? How came he into the room?" sill.' where we inako a great big mista There was a grumbling sound and a clanking and jarring of keys. The door swung heavily back, and a short, deep chested man stood in the opening, with the yellow light of tho lantern shining upon his protruded faco and twinkling, distrustful eyes. "Well, well, if it was fastened, the steps could have nothing to do with the matter. That's common sense. Man might have died in a fit, but then the jowels are miss ing. Ha, 1 have a theory! These Hashes come upon me at times. Just step outside, sergeant, and you, Mr. Sholto. Your friend can remain. What do you think of this, Holmes? Sholto was, on his own confession, with his brother last night. The brother died in a fit, on which Sholto walked olT with tho treasure. llow's that?" // "Now and then congress passes an act authorizing the building of a bridge perhaps and sends it down hero for my ignature, but that is only to mislead mo and make mo think that I havo its confidence and am allowod to come in on the ground floor. "Yes, the ally," repeated Holmes penlively. "There are features of interest about this ally. He lifts tho case from tho regions of tho commonplace. I fancy that this ally breaks fresh ground in tho annals of crime in this country, though parallel cases suggest themselves from India, and, if my memory serves mo, from Senegam bia." "They are hellish things," said ha "Look out that you don't prick yourself. I'm delighted to have them, for tho chances are that they are all ho has. There is tho less fear of you or mollnding one in our skin before long. I would sooner face a martini bullet myself. Are you game for a six mile trudge, Watson?" _T,f IA "That you, Mr. Thaddeus? But who are the others!1 1 had no orders about them from the master." On tho whole, I decided to remain free as a bird, free to eat with my knife, free to express my opinions, free to ride on the horse cars, free to attend whichever church I chose, free to criticise legislation, froe to go to sleep in the pross gallery and free to write as I am now writing. "Formerly congress usod to come right up to me and look mo straight in tho eye and allow me to smell of its breath, and there was absoluto confidence between us, but now tho momont I go up thero to listen to the conversation both houses go into executive session, and I havo to go out and sit on the doorstep. It has been so all winter. "No, McMurdo? You surprise mol I told my brother last night that I should bring some friends." "There is something devilish in this, Watson," said he, more moved than I had ever before seen bill). "What do you make of it?" "He hain't been out o' his room today, Mr. Thaddeus, and I have no orders. You know very well that I must stick to regulations. I can let yon in, but your friends they must just stop where they are." How camo ho then?" I reiterated "On which the dead ninn very consider ately got up and locked tho door on the Inside." "Certainly!" I answered. 1 stooped to the hole and recoiled in horror. Moonlight was streaming into the room, and it was bright w ith a vague and shiftly radiance. Looking straight at mo and suspended, as it were, in tho air, for all beneath was in shadow, there hung a face—the very face of our companion Thaddens. There was the same high, shining head, tho same circular bristle of red hair, the same bloodless countenance. The features were sot, howaver, in a horrible smile, a fixed and unnatural grin, which in that still and moonlit room was moro jarring to the "The door is locked, the window is inac cessiblo. Was it through the chimney?" " Your leg will stand it?" "The grate is much too small," he answered. "I had already considered that "Hero you arc, doggy! Good old Tobyl Smell It, Toby, smell it!" Ho pushed the oreosote handkerchief under the dog's nose, while the creature stood with Its Huffy legs separated and with a most comical cock to its head, liko a connoisseur sniffing the bouquet of a famous vintage. Holmes then throw the handkerchief to a distance, fas jencit a stout cord to the mongrel's collar and l:d him to the foot of the water barrel. The creaturo Instantly broke Into a succession of high, tremulous yelps, and with his nose on the ground and his tail in the air pattered off tipon the trail at a puce which strained his leash aud kept up at the top of our speed. "Oh, yes!" Yesterday I received advance sheets of a new poetic volume which will soon astonish the world. It is by a rising poet, who asks me to mention the book casually in tho paper, so that the publio may be prepared for it and not fool away its money on other literary trash prior to tho appearance of this work. "Hum! There's a flaw there. Let us apply common sense to the matter. This Thaddeus Sholto was with his brother. There was a quarrel. So much we know. The brother is dead, and the jewels are gone. So much also we know. No one saw the brother from the time Thaddeus left him. His bed lias not been slept in. Thaddeus Is evidently In a most disturbed state of liilnd. His appearance Is—well, not attractive. You see that I am weaving my web round Thaddeus. Tlionet begins to close upon him." And the more I thought of what lind happened-the wilder and darker It grew. I reviewed the whole extraordinary sequence of events as I rattled on through the silent gaslit streets. There was the original problem. That at least was pretty clear now. The death of Captain Morstan, the sending of the pearls, tho advertisement, the letter—we had had light upon all thoso events. They had only led us, however, to a deeper and far more tragic mystery. The Indian treasure, tho curious plan found among Morstan's baggage, the strange scene at Major Sholto's death, the rediscovery of tho treasure, Immediately followed by tho murder of the discoverer, the very singular accompaniments to the crime, the footsteps, tho remarkable weapons, the words upon the card, corresponding with those upon Captain Morstan's chart—hero was Indeed a labyrinth In which a man less singularly endowed than my fellow lodger might well despair of ever finding tho clew. This was an unexpected obstacle. Thaddeus Sholto looked about him In a ]x rplexed and helpless manner. "This is too bad of you, McMurdo!" ho said. "If I guarantee them, that is enough for you. There is tho young lady too. She cannot wait in the public road at this hour." "How then?" I persisted. "You will not apply my precept,," he Raid, snaKing ms heTu. "now orien nave I said to you that when you have eliminated the Impossible whatever remains, however Improbable, must bo the truth? We know that he did not come through the door, the window or the chimney. Wo also know that ho could not have been concealed In the room, as there is no concealment possible. Whence, then, did ho possibility." "No one can fully sympathize with mo, for no one understands the case. Some ask me if I intend to call an extra session. What should I call an extra session for when congress is so reticent and taciturn when in my society? "Very sorry, Mr. Thaddeus," said tho porter Inexorably. "Folk may be friends o' yours and yet no friends o' the master's. Ho pays me well to do my duty, and my duty I'll do. I don't know none o' your friends." In a frank outburst of poetio passion the poet writes on the title page aa follows:"Of course I feel hurt and grieved, for when a congress will not give tho prosident its confidence and comes ii late of nights and takes off its boots ti go np stairs ono feels that it must come to a bad end." nerves than any scowl or contortion. So liko was the face to that of our littlo friend that I looked round at him to make suro that ho was indeed with us. Then I recalled to mind that he had mentioned to us that his brother and ho were twins. "This is terrible," I said to Holmes. "What is to be done?" come?" " Vou are not quite in possession of the facts yet," taid Holmes. "This splinter of wood, which 1 have every reason to be lieve to be poisoiicti, was in the man's scalp where you still see the mark. This card, inscribed as you see it, was on the table, and beside it lay this rather curious stone headed instrument. How does all that fit into your theory!"' "Confirms it in every respect," said the fat detective pompously. ''House Is full of Indian curiosities. Thaddeus brought tills up, and if this splinter bo poisonous Thaddeus may as well have made the murderous use of it as any other man. Tho card Is some hocus pocus—a blind as like as not. Tho only question Is, How did he depart? Ah, of course, here is a hole in the roof." With great activity, considering Ills bulk, ho sprang up the steps and squeezed through Into the garret, and immediately afterward wo heard his exultliig voloo proclaiming thut he had found tho trapdoor. If all thi' poems I havo written Was piled together in a pile. And with a candel it was litten. You could see the fire for 14 a mil®. If all the gold that I have gotten For all the poems I have wrote. It would not hurt the feeblest kitten To pour it molten down her throat. The book teems with snch beautiful figments of tho brain as this and will mark an era in the literary history of tho United States. I was about to Bay that it sounds the tocsin of a literary revolution, but perhaps I should Bay tha antitoxine instead. "Oh, yes, you do, McMurdo," cried Sherlock Holmes genially. "I don't think you can have forgotten mo. Don't you remember the amateur who fought three rounds with you at Alison's roouis on tho night of your benefit four years back?" "He camo through the hole in tho roof," I cried. WITH THE PRESIDENT. national affairs. Edgar A. Poe wrote boiuo wonderful poems, but an a business man he did not resoluble Russell Sage in any way. "Of course he did. He must liavo done so. If you will have the kindness to hold tho lamp for me, we shall now extend our researches to tho room above—the secret room In which the treasuro was found." Tho cast had been gradually whitening, and wo could now see some distance in the cold gray light. The square, massive houso, with Its black, empty windows and high, bare walls, tovyered up sad and forlorn behind us. Our course led right across the grounds, In and out among the trenches uiid pits witij which they were acarrcd aud intersected. Tho whole place, with its scattered dirt heaps and ill grown shrubs, hnd a blighted, ill omened look which harmonized with tho black tragedy which hung over it. With that the president wiped away a big hot tear. As I came away his hoad was bowed sorrowfully on his desk, and We often find a bright editor sold out by the sheriff because it is very different writing comments on current events from preparing dividends for stockholders. , "Not Mr. Sherlock Holmes!" roared tho prizefighter. "God's truth, how could I have mistook you? If instead o' standin there so quiet you had just stepped up and given me that cross lilt o' yours under the jaw I'd ha' known you without a question. Ah, you're oue that has wasted ▼our gifts, you have! You might have almeu high it you naa joinea tne tancy." "The door must come down," he answered, and springing against it he put all his weight upon the lock It. creaked and groaned, but did not yield. Together we flung ourselves upon it onco more, and this time it gave way with a sudden 6nap, •and we found ourselves within Bartliolo mew Sholto's chamber. He mounted the steps, and seizing a rafter with either hand he swung himself up into tho garret. Then, lying on his fact?, ho reached down for tho lamp and held it while I followed him. Pinchin lane was a row of shabby two storied brick houses in tho lower quarter of Lambeth. I had to knock fur some tlmo at No. 3 before I could make any impression. At last, however, thero was a glint of a candle behind tho blind, and a face looked out at the upper window. Mr. Lamont is a sound headed, cool business man who could not on tho spur of the moment writo a Bonnet that The Century Magazine would give over $8 for, and yet ho makes a most successful minister. He also turns down his wineglass, and that is a good thing to do in these days of ' 'overwork.'' Tho chamber in which we found ourselves was about ten foet one way and six the other. The floor was formed by rafters, with thin lath and plaster between, so that in walking one had to etcp from beam to beam. The roof ran to an apex and was evidently tho inner shell of tho true roof of tho houso. There was no furniture of any sort, and tho accumulated dust of years lay thick upon the floor. "You st*, Watson, If all else fails me, I bave still one of the scientific professions open to me," said Holmes, laughing. ''Our friend won't keep us out In tho cold now, I am suro." It appeared to liavo been fitted up as a chemical laboratory. A double line of glass stoppcrod bottles was drawn up upon the wall opposite the door, and the table was littered over with Bunscn burners, test tubes and retorts. In tho corners stood carboys of acid in wicker baskets. One Of these appeared to leak or to have been broken, for a stream of dark colored liquid had trickled out from it, and tho air was heavy with a peculiarly pungent tarliko odor. A set of steps stood at one sido of the room in tho midst of a litter of lath and plaster, and above them there was an opening in the ceiling largo enough for a man to pass through. At the foot of the steps a long coil of ropo was thrown carelessly together. On reaching the boundary wall Toby run along, whining eagerly, underneath Its shadow and stopped finally a corner screened by a young beech. f*'here the two walls joined several bricks fcud been loosened, and tho crcviees left were worn down and rounded upon the lower side, as though they had frequently been used as a ladder. Holmes clambered up, aud taking the dog from me ho dropped ltover upon the other side. "Go on, you drunken vagalxmd," said the face. "If you kick up any moro row, I'll open the kennels and let out 43 dogs HARD TO ANSWER. "In you come, sir, in you come, you and your friends," he answered. "Very ■orry, Mr. Thaddeus, but orders are very strict. Had to bo certain of your friends before I let them in." upon you." "Overwork" is gotting altogether too common among great men—overwork of the growler it would be called if foond in the lower walks of life. "If you'll let ono out, It's just'what I have come for," said I. Kom« Questions the Little Girl Put to Bar "Here you are, you see," said Sherlock Holmes, putting his hand against the sloping wall. "This is a trapdoor which leads out onto tho roof. I can press it back, and here is tho roof itself, sloping at a gentle angle. This, then, Is tho way by which No. 1 entered. Let us soe if wo can lind some other traces of his individuality.""Ho can find something," remarked Holmes, shrugging his shoulders. "He has occasional glimmerings of reason. II n'y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont do l'osprit!" The little misB and her mother wert on their way to Washington. It wm night, and the moon shone brightly. The little tot had her nose flattened against the car window, as children of 6 years delight to do. Our good natured friend, the fat man, was chuckling in a subdued way over some stale jokes In a comic weekly, and the grumpy man, he of dyspepsia and disappointment, had been subdued by sleep. The train had stopped, and what might be described as a "deathlike" stillness prevailed. Suddenly the little girl turned to her mother and said: Mother. "Go on!" yelled the voice. "So help me gracious, I have a wiper In this bag, and I'll drop it on your 'ead if you don't hook It." It requires a good deal of genuine oourage sometimes for a mau who is oalled genial to go through a four hour dinner aud make a humorous aud sparkling speech on apollinaris. But it can be done—so I am told—and has been done. Inside a gravel path wound through desolate grounds to a huge clump of a house, square and prosaic, all plunged in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmerod in a garret window. The vast size of tho building, with its gloom and its deathly silence, •truck a chill to tho heart. Even Thaddeus Sholto seemed ill at case, and the lantern quivered and rattled in his hand. "There's tho print of wooden leg's hand," ho remarked as I mounted up beside him. ' You see the slight smudge of blood upon the white plaster. What a lucky thing it Is that w have had no very heavy rain sinoe yesu?nl..y! The scent will Ho upon the road in spite of their eight and twenty hours' start." "You see," said Athelney Jones, reappearing down tho steps again. "Facta aro better than mero theories, after all. My view of the case in confirmed. There is a trapdoor communicating with the roof, and it is partly open." "I won't bo argued with!" shouted Mr. Sherman. "Now, stand clear, for when I say three' down goes tho wiper." "Hut I want a dog," I cried. Ho held down tho lamp to thofloor, and as ho did so I saw for the second time that night a startled, surprised look coino over his face. For myself, as I followed his gaze my skin was cold under my clothes. The floor was oovcred thickly with tho prints of a naked foot—clear, well defined, perfectly formed, but scarce half tho sizo of those of an ordinary miin. GOING TIlP.OUGn A BANK. By tho table In a wooden armchair tho master of tho house was seated all in a heap, with his head sunk upon his left shoulder and that ghastly, Inscrutable smile upon his face. Ho was stiff and cold and had clearly been dead many hours. It seemed to mo that not only his features but all his" limbs were twisted and turned in tho most fantastic fashion. By his hand upon tho table there lay a peculiar instrument—a brown, close grained stick, with a stono head like a hammer, rudely lash«d on with coarse twine. Beside it was a torn sheet of note paper, Wltn some worus scrawicu upon it. Holmes glanced at it and then handed It "Mr. Sherlock Holmes," I began, but tho words had a most magical effect, for the window instantly slammed down, and within a minute the door was unbarred and open. Mr. Sherman was a lanky, lean old man, with stooping shoulders, a stringy neck and bluo tinted glasses. I made a visit at the White Houso not long ago, and though I am not at liberty to repeat fully tho conversation between Mr. Cloveland and myself 1 can truly say that times will be easier and better inside of a few weeks. a live green Potomac frog that tho president had in his pocket to fish with after 4 o'clock had escaped and had, after a cold plunge in the inkstand, quietly vetoed a bill relative to the collection of the income tax. It was I who opened it." "I cannot understand it." he said. "There must be some mistake. I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here, and yet there is no light in liis window. I do not know what to make of it." '"Oh, indeed. You did notice It, thenV" He seemed a little crestfallen at the discovery. "Well, whoever noticed it, it shows how our gentleman got away. Inspector."I confess that 1 had my doubts myself when I reflected upon the great traffic which had passed along tho London road In tho interval. My fears were soon appeased, however. Toby never hesitated or swerved, but waddled on in his peculiar rolling fashion. Clearly the pungent smell of the creosote rose high above all other contending scents. "A friend of Mr. Sherlock is alwaTfl wclcomc," said he. "Step In, sir. Keep dear of the badger, for he bites. Ah, naughty, naughty, would you tako a nip at the gentleman?" This to a stoat which thrust its winked head and red eyes between the liars of its cago. "Don't mind that, sir. It's only a slow worm. It hain't got no fangs, so I gives it the run o' the room, for it keeps the beetles down. You must not mind my bein just a little short wi' you at first, for I'm guyed at by the children, and there's many a one just romes down this lane to knock me up. What was It that Mr. Sherlock Holmes wanted, sir?" With a card from tho secretary of war I dropped in on Secretary Thurber one pleasaut afternoon with no designs on the president, for it was cabinet day, and you will never catch me breaking up a cabinet meeting with tho condition that national affairs are now in. I like Washington, as we say in North Carolina, right much. I have had no leisure for loneliness or ennui. The man who can be ennuied in Washington must be an abnormal anthropoid. Hero you see everybody. The people send their statesmen here and then come here to see how they are behaving themselves. Thus wo havo tho opportunity of meeting tho eminent and those who made them so. "Holmes," I said in a whisper, "a child has done this horrid thing." "Ask Air. Sholto to step this way. Mr. Sholto, it is my duty to inform you that anything which you may say will' be used against you. I arrest yon in the queen's name as being concerned In the death of your brother." "Yes, sir," from the passage. "Mamma, is the moon the biggest window in God's house?" "Does ho always guard tho premises in this way?" asked Holmes. Ho had recovered his self possession in an instant. "I was staggered for tho moment," lie said, "but tho thing Is quite natural. My memory failed me, or I should have boen able to foretell it. There is nothing moro to bo learned here. Let us go down." "Yes, he has followed my father's custom. He was the f." » rite son, you know, and I sometimes t *ik that my father may have told him more than he ever told me. That is Bartholomew's window up there where the moonshine strikes. It is quite bright, but there is no light from within, I think." This amused the fat man ao much that his laugh awoke the dyspeptic gentleman from his slumbers, whereupon he said something about children being a nuisance. But the mother was sorely puzzled. So she said: "Do not Imagine," said Holmes, "that I depend for my succoss In this case upon the moro chance of ono of these follows having put his foot in the chemical. I have knowledge now which would enable mo to trace them In many different ways. This, however, is tho readiest, and sines fortune has put it into our hands I should be culpable If I neglected It. It has, however, prevented tho case from becoming the pretty little intellectual problem which It at ono time promised to bo. There might have been some credit to be gained out of it but for this too palpable clew." "There Is credit and to spare," said L "I assuro you, Holmes, that I marvel at tho means by which you obtain your results in this case even more than I did In the Jefferson IIopo murder. Tho thing seems to mo to be deeper and more inexplicable. How, for example, could you describe with such confidence the wooden legged man?" "There, now! Didn't I tell you?" cried the poor little man, throwing out his hands and looking from one to the other of us. Mr. Thurbor is a very busy man in a trying place, but the manages to keep good natnred and preserves the peace pretty well between the enterprising press and tho administration. "You see," he said, with a significant raising of tho eyebrows. to mo. "What is your theory, then, as to thoso footmarks?" I asked eagerly when we had regained the lower room onco more. "What makes you ask?" "Why, you told me, mamma, that the stars wero windows in hoaven, and that is God's house, so I just thought that the moon must be the bay window." "None," said Holmes. "But I see the glint of a light in that little window beside tho door." In the light of the lantern I read with a thrill of horror, "Tho sign of tho four." "In God's name, what docs it all mean?" I asked. "Don't troublo yourself about It, Mr. Sholto," said Holmes. "I think that I can engage to clear you of tho charge." Here wo find the blade, then the ear and after that the full corn iu the ear. Tho root and branch of government are here, and if you keep your eye out you will also find the foliage—the verdancy, so to speak. It comes to seek appointment or appropriation and sometimes blows out the gas. "My dear Watson, try a little analysis yourself," said ho, with a touch of Impatience. " You know my methods. Apply them', and it will bo instructive to comnare results." One of his experiences, if I have not told it before, may bear telling here, for it shows one phase of his life as a bodyguard to the president of a great Democratic nation. "Ah, that is tho housekeeper's room. That is where old Mrs. Bernstono sits. She can tell us all about it. But perhaps you would not mind waiting hero for a minute or two, for if we all go In together and she has. had no word of our coming she may bo alarmed. But hush. What is that?" "Don't promise too much, Mr. Theorist. Don't promise too much," snapped the detective. "You may find it a harder matter than you think." "It means murder," said he, stooping over tho dead man. 1 "Ah, I expccted it. Look here!" He pointed to what looked like a long, dark thorn stuck in the skin just alwve the ear. "Ho wanted a dog of yours." "Ahl that would lie Toby." "Yes, Toby was the name." Then our fat friend laughed louder than ever, and our dyspeptic friend grunted. Then tho mother said, somewhat thoughtfully: "I cannot concoive anything which will cover tho facts," I answered. "Not only will I clear him, Mr. Jones, but I will make you a free present of the name and description of one of tho two people who were in this room last night. His name, I have every reason to believe, Is Jonathan Small. He is a poorly educated man, smn.ll, active, with his right leg off and wearing a wooden stump which is worn away upon tho Inner side. His left boot has a coarse, square toed sole, with an Iron band round the heel. He is a middle aged man, much sunburned, and bus been a convict. These few indications may be of some assistance to you, coupled with tho fact that there is a good deal of skin missing from*the palm of his hani. Tho other man"— "Toby lives at No. 7, on the left here." A very attractive and gentlo mannered woman called to boo tho president on an important niattor, but he was very busy, and tho secretary said it would be oat of the question. "It will iDe clear„enough to you soon," ho said in an ofThand way. "I think that there Is nothing elso of importance hero, but I will look." He whipped out his lens and a tape measure und hurried about tho room on his knees, measuring, comparing, examining, with his long, thin nose only a few inches from the planks and his beady eyes gleaming and deep set like thoso of a bird. So swift, silent and furtive woro his movements, like thoso of a trained bloodhound picking out n scent, that I could not but think what a terrible criminal ho would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against tho law instead of exerting them in its defense. As ho hunted alDout he kept muttering to himself, and iinally ho broke out into a loud crow of delight. Ho moved slowly forward with his candle among tho queer animal family which he had gathered round him. In tho uncertain, shadowy light I could see dimly that there were glancing, glimmering eyes peeping down at us from every cranny and corner. Even the rafters above our heads wero lined by solemn fowls, who lazily shifted their weight from one leg to the othor as our voices disturbed their slumbers."No, my dear, God put the moon up In heaven so we could see at night." "It losks like a thorn," said I. ''It is a thorn. You may pick it out. But be careful, for it is poisoned." I am interested in politics—only as every citizen the head of a family shoul d be, I apprehend. As a taxpayer of courso I am interested. I am emphatically down on the income tax, as every man is who has any principlo or interest.He held up the lantern, and his hand shook until the circles of light flickered and wavered all round us. Miss Morstan seized my wrist, and we all stood with thumping hearts straining our ears. From tho great black house there sounded through the silent night tho saddest and most pitiful of sounds—the shrill, broken whimpering of a frightened woman. That satisfied the child for a moment She turned away and again flattened her chubby little nose against the window pane. But it was only for a moment. Thon the child turned, and with an aggressiveness quite humorous in one of ber tender years said: i I took it up lDctween my finger and thumb. It canio away from tho skin so readily that hardly any mark was left behind. Ono tiny spcck of blood showed where tho puncture had boen. So she laid her caso in oxtenso before Mr. Thurber in order that he might present it to the president. Tho matter involved a good deal of detail, and the secretary saw at once that ho could not trust his memory with it. So ho asked her to be kind enough to write out the case as clearly and succinctly as possible for his convenience. "Pshaw, my dear boy, it was simplicity itself I I don't wish to bo theatrical. It is all patent and abovoboard. Two officers who are in command of a convict guard learn an Important secret as to buried treasure. A map is drawn for them by an Englishman named Jonathan Small. You remember that we saw the namo upon tho chart In Captain Morstan's possession. Ho had signed It in behalf of himself and his associates—tho sign of tho four, as ho somewhat dramatically called it. Aided by this chart the officers or ono of them gets tho treasure and brings it to England, leaving, wo will suppose, some condition under which he received it unfulfilled. Now, then, why did not Jonathan Small get the treasure himself? Tho answer is obvious. Tho chart is datod at a time when Morstan was brought into closo association with convicts. Jonathan Small did not get the treasure because ho and his associates wero themselves convicts and could not get awav." "This is all an insolublo mystery to me," said I. "It grows darker Instead of clearer." When we get where we must tax enterprise and impose a fine upon business intelligence by taxing a laudible ambition and exempting and rowarding mismanagement, we need the aid and commiseration of other nations. It is the praiseworthy ambition of every good citizen to make of his particular business an honorable success. The income tax punishos him for this and encourages him to do exactly what Ananias did. And to go still further with the simile he is supposed to report the income of his wife Sapphira. Sapphira is not a oitizon. She has no rights, and the collector has no authority to question her about her income; but I, for instance, still carrying out this idoa, will be required to report my wife's income, and if our united incomes should be over the stipulated amount I must pay a tax on it, so my not only disfranchised, but the fact is emphasized by making me a detective, and I must not only pay a tax on my efforts to earn more than $3,500 per year, but I must go through my wife's pockots after she has retirod, no mattor how difficult it may be to ascertain where those pockets are and how to get' into them, in order to ascertain what she got for hor butter and eggs during tho current year, and if I fail to do this and to add it to my own income I am a traitor to my country. Toby proved to bo an ugly, long haired, lop eared creature, half spaniel and half lurcher, brown and white in color, with a very clumsy, waddling gait. It accepted ifter some hesitation a lump of sugar which tho naturalist handed to me, and having thus sealed an alliance it followed me to the cub and mado no difficulties about accompanying ino. It had just struck y on tiio palaco clock when I found myself back once more at Pondicherry Lodge, y io ex-prizefighter McMurdo had, I found, oeen arrested as uu accessory, and both he and Mr. Sholto had been marched off to the station. Two constables guarded the narrow gate, but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detcctivo's name. That was a poser. The mother in 6hoer desperation said: ' "Who puts it out?" "It is Mrs. Bernstono," said Sholto. "She is tho only woman in the house. Wait here. I shall be bo back In a moment." He hurried for the door and knocked in his peculiar way. We could ■ee a tali old woman admit him and sway with pleasure at tho very sight of him. "On the contrary," ho answered, ''it clears every Instant. I only require a few missing links to have an entirely connected case." "My child, whatever in the world makes you ask 6uch a question?" "But could you not remomber it yourself, Mr. Thurber?" she inquired, with big, blue, appealing, childlike oyes. Wo had almost forgotten our companion's presence sinco wo entered the chamlDor. Ho was still standing in tho doorway, the very picture of terror, wringing his hands and moaning to himself. Suddenly, however, ho broke out into a sharp, querulous cry. "Ah, tho other man?" asked Athelney Jones in a sneering voice, but impressed none tho less, as I could easily see, by tho lirecision of tho other's manner. "Well, mamma, I supposed, of oourae, God's wifo put it out when he came home late, as you do for papa." "Oh, Mr. Thaddeus, sir, I am so glad you have come! I am so glad you have come, Mr. Thaddeus, sir!" Wo heard her reiterated rejoicings until tho door was closed, and her voico -died away into a muffled monotone. "Wo are certainly in luck," said ho. "We ought to have very little trouble now. Xo. 1 has had tho misfortune to treud in the creosote. You can see the outline of the edge of his small foot here "Is a rather curious person," said Sherlock Holmes, turning upon his hoci "I hope before very long to bo ablo to introduce you to a pair of them. A word with you, Watson." "No, madam," said he. "With tho volume of other matters and tho great variety of widely different affairs that I am obliged to keep in mind from day to day I am sure that I could not rely upon myself to rotain all these details. It would be a physical impossibility." Then there was a howl, iijwhioh even our dyspeptic friend joined. When it had subsided, the mother said: "The treasure is gone," he said. "They havo robbed him of the treasure. There is tho hole through which wo lowered It. I helped him to do it. I was the last person who saw him. I left him hero last night, and I heard him lock the dour as I came down stairs." "Why, God has no wife, my dear," and 6he stroked the child's head and called her attention to the rapidly moving moonlit panorama outside. The mother had had all she wanted of the argument, but not so the child. After a little thought she returned to the conflict, and it was evident from her manner that she felt she had an unanswerable argument at last at the side of thisevil smelling mess. The carboy has been cracked, you see, and tho stuiT lias leaked out." He led 1110 out to tho head of the stairs. "This unexpected occurrence," he said, "lias caused us rather to loso sight of tho original purpose of our journey." our guide nail im ns tne i an tern. Holmes swung it slowly round and peered keenly at the house and at the great rubbish heaps which cumbered the grounds. Miss Morstan and I stood together, and her hand was in mine. A wondrous subtle thing is love, for hero were wo two who had never soon each other before' that day, between whom no word or oven look of affection had ever passed, and yet now loan 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 hor so, and, as sho has often told me, there was in her also the Instinct to turn to me for comfort and protection. So we stood h .nd in hand, like two children, and there was peace In our hearts for ail the dark things that surrounded us. "So yon could not keep the matter in mind without a written memorandum?" she asked. "What then?" I asked "Why, wo liavo got him, that's all," said he. "I know a dog that would fol low that scent to tho world's end. If a pack can track a trailed herring across a shire, how far cun a specially trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this? It sounds like a sum in tho rule of three. Tho answer should give us tho— But, hollo! Here aro tho accredited representatives of the law.™ "I have just been thinking so," I an swered. "It Is not right that Miss Morstan should remain in this stricken house." Holmes was standing on tho doorstep, with his hands in his pockets, smoking his pipe. 'What time was that?" "No; I am quite sure I could not." "It was 10 o'clock. And now ho is dead, and tho polico will be called in, and I shall bo suspected of having had a hand in it. Oh, yes, I am sure I shall. But you don't think so, gentlemen? Surely yon don't think that it was I? Is it likoly that I would have brought you hero if it were I? Oil, dear; oh, dear! I know I shall go mad." Ho jerked his arms and stumped his foot la u kind of convulsive frenzy. "No; you must escort her homo. She lives with Mrs. Cecil Forrester, in Lower Camborwell, so it is not very far. I will wait for you hero if you will drive out again, or perhaps you are too tired?" "Ah, you have him there!" said he. "Good dog, then. Athelney Jones has gone. Wo have had an immense display of energy since you left. Ho has arrested not only friend Thaddeus, but tho gatekeeper, tho housekeeper and tho Indian servant. Wo have tho place to ourselves but for a sergeant up stairs. Leave tho dog hero and como up." "Woll, then, "said she as sho drew herself up to her full height, "all I've got to say is that you'vo got a d d poor memory!" [TO BR CONTINUED.] "You say God has no wife, mamma?" she queried. j With this terse remark she turned the blinding glare of a big diamond on the astonished secrotary and floated away like a beautiful droam. " By no means. I don't think I coUd rest until I know moro of this fantastic business. I bavo soeu something of the rough sid» of life, but I give you my word thut this quick succession of strange surprises tonight has shaken my nerve completely. I should like, however, to soo tho matter through with you, now that I bavo got so far." IIin Life Secret, "Well, how is it," and the little one slipped down and stamped ber tiny foot, "how is it," she repeated, with great emphasis, "that you told me that we were all God's children?"—Washington Prnefc  "Of courso not, my dear." Heavy steps and tho clamor ot louu voices were audible from below, und the hall door shut with a loud crash Heroine (despairingly)—How much are you paid fur thus relentlessly pursuing me? While we were talking the cabinet filed out, and the president, with ill concealed delight, askod me to come in. He does his work in a large, bare looking room at tho back of thoWhite House, on the second floor, overlooking the park and monument. "Before they come," 6aid Holmes, "just put your hand here on this poor fellow's arm and here on his leg. What do you feel?" Wo tied Toby to tho hull tabloand rowcended tho stairs. Tho room was as wo hud loft it, savo that a shoot hud been draped over tho ccntrul llgure. A weary looking police sergeant reclined in tho corner.Heavy Villain (forgetting himself)— A paltry $15 a week and expenses, ma'am. —Buffalo Courier. "You have no reason for fear, Mr. Sholto," said Holmes kindly, putting his hand upon his shoulder. "Takemy advice and drive down to the fetation to report tho matter to tho police. Offer to assist them in every way. Wo shall wait here until your return." The little man obeyed in a half stupefied fashion, and wo heard him stumbling down the stairs ia tho dark. "What a strange plaool" she said, look lng round. "The muscles are as hard as a board," I answered. Differently Employed. "Mammy's knittin dad a pair of socks." Turnpike Walker (in languorous mood, to his fellow tramp)—Dear Willie.A Romano* of the Road. "Your presence will bo of groat service to me," ho answered. ' Wo shull work tho cuso out independently and leave this follow Jones to exult over any mare's nest which ho mny choose to construct. When you have dropped Miss Morstan, I wish you to goon to b Plncliin lane, down near tho water's edge, at Lamltoth. Tho third house on tho right hand side is n bird stutter's. Sherman is the naiuo. You will see a weasel holding a young rabbit in the window. Knock uhl_Shcrinfin tip and tell him, with my compliments, that X want Toby at once. uu will i.ring Toby hack in tho cab with you." "It looks as though all the moles In England had been let loose in it. I have seen something of tho sort on tho side of a bill near iiallarat where the prospectors bad been at work." "(Juitoso. They are in a stato of extreme contraction, far exceeding the usual rigor mortis. Coupled with this distortion of tho face, this Hippocratic smile, or 'risus sardonicus,' as tho old writers called it, what conclusion would It suggest to your mind?" "Lend mo your bullseye, sergeant," said my companion. "Now tie this bit of card round uiy nock, so as to hang it in front of mo. Thank you. Now I must kick oil my boots and stockings. Just you carry them down with you, Watson. 1 um going to do a little climbing. And dip tuy handkerchief into the creosote. That will do. Now come up into the garret with 1110 for a moment." As wo talked ho toyed with the Waste paper basket, swinging it to and fro by the ears while four or fivo official heads, still warm and wet with clotted blood iu the olusteiing hair, rolled about and bumped agaitist each other inside. Whatever future generations may say of our intelligence and statesmanship I know not, but I am positive that their remarks regarding tho income tax will bo entirely unfavorable. "Yes." "Come, road to mo some poem, Some simple and heartfelt lay, Tli.Lt shall soothe this restless feeling And banish the thoughts of day. NDDt from the grand old masters, Not from the lords sublime, Whoso distant footsteps echo Through the corridors of time. Read from some humbler poet, Whose songs gushed from his heart As showers from the clouds of summer Or tears from the eyelids start. Such songs liave power to quiet The restless pulse of care. And come like the benediction That follows after prayer." Willie Work (soulfully, from a scrap of an old newspaper)—How does this striko you, my boy? "An what's dad a doin of?" "Prayin to the Lcrd fer shoes."—Atlanta Constitution. "And from tho same cause," said Holmes. "These am the traces of the treasure seekers. You must remember that they were six years looking for It. No wonder that the grounds look liko a gravel pit." CHAPTER VI I am also required to report the incomo of minor childron and to go through their littlo toy banks while they are asleep. "Now, Watson," said Holmes, rubbing his hands, "wo have half an hour to ourselves. Let us make good use of it. My caso is, as I have told you, almost roniplete, but we must not err on tho sido of overconfidence. Simple as tho caso seems now, there .may bo something deeper underlying it." "Death from some powerful vegetable alkaloid," I answered. "Home stryehninelike substance which would produce tet- Another of Time's I'aaulble Revenges. (The above is a figure of speoch, of course, for, as a matter of fact, there was nothing in tho basket whatever excopt a torn note from a New York publisher asking tho president to write an article for his holiday number on "Advantages and Disadvantages of Bait That Has Boon Spat Upon. ") Now Woman (in irowdud car, speaking indignantly to herself)—I didn't mind giving tho young man my soat, but he might at least have had tho decency to thank mo for it.—Chicago Tribune. anus." Wo clambered up through the hole. Holmes turned his light once more upon the footsteps in the dust. I was a postmaster once, and 1 point to that era of prosperity with pride. I held the office but four years, and yet it was a period of uninterrupted peace and comfort . Wheat was $1 a bushel and hay $20 per ton. Everybody had employment, and dress sleeves did not require crinoline to hold them in shape. Thoro were no strikes, and poor people did not study Delsarte. At that moment tho door of tho houso burst open, and Thaddeus Sholto came running out, with his hands thrown forward and terror in his eyes. "That was tho idea which occurred to me tho instant I saw the drawn musclot of the face. On getting into tho room I at once looked for tho means by which tho poison had entered tho system. As you saw, I discovered a thorn which had lDoen driven or shot with 110 great force into the scalp. You observe that the part strm k was that which would be turned toward tho hole in the ceiling if tho man were erect in his chair. Now, examine this "I wish you particularly to notlco these footmarks," ho said. "Do you observe anything noteworthy about them?" A dog, I suppose." "Thero is something amiss with Bartholomew," he cried. "I am frightened. My nerves cannot stand it." Ho was indeed half blubbering with fear, and his twitching, feeble face peeping out from the great astrakhan collar had tho helpless, appealing expression of a torriliid child "Simple!" I ejaculated "Yes, a queer mongrel, with n most amazing power of scent. 1 would i.itlnD have Toby's help than that of the wholi detective force of London." "They belong," 1 suid, "to u child or a small woman." Mrs. Watts—Don't you ovor do anything at all? One Tiling. "Surely," said he, with something of the air of a clinioal professor expounding to his elasss. ' Just sit in tho corner there, that your footprints may not complicate matters. Now to work. In tho lir*t place, how did these folks come, and how did they go? The door lias not lwen opened since last night. IIow of the win- "I am glad to soo yon, Nye," said the president, "for I know that you don't want anything. You don't know how weloome the friend is theso days whose cup of happinoss is full and who does not yoarn for anything. Would you mind looking through tho keyhole of that door a minute to see if any one has his eye or ear against it on tho other side?" "Apart from their slzo, though, Is there nothing else?" Weary Watkins—Oh, yes, mum. Sometimes 1 does timo.—Indianapolis "I shall bring him, then," said I. "It Is 1 now. 1 ought to be back Ia fore It if I can get a fresh horse." They uppeur to bo much as other foot Blue Points. Green Turtle Soup, Clear. Oyster Crabs and White Bait, Pried. marks." Journal. thorn." "And I," said Holmes, "shall see what I can learn from Mrs. Bernstone and from tho Indian servant, who, Mr. Thaddeus tells me, sleeps in tho next garret. The n 1 shall study the great Jones'methods and listen to his not too delicate sarcasms. 'Wirsind gewohnt, da.«s die menschen verhochiien, was sin niclit verstehen.' Goethe is always pltiiy." "Not at all. Look here. This Is the print of a right foot In the dust. Now I make one with my naked foot bcsldo it. What Is tho chief difference?" Strange, bat True. Teacher—Now, Robbie, you may tell us how tho earth is divided. Robbio—So that everybody wants more of it.—Chicago Inter Ocean. My office was rinsed out thoroughly every spring, and I have never repeated a word outside of my family which I road on any of tho postal cards passing through my hands. I regarded tho office as a solemn trust, and I never failed to put back the illustrated papers and magazines into their wrappers after I had glanced ovi r them. C iood white oak and hickory wood sold for D' I per cord, and wo were at peace with all the nations of tint earth. Letters left uncalled for for tho required timo were advertised in my own paper, and patrons of tho offico who suffered from drought had their stamps licked fur them without a Tartar Sauce. Filet Mignon, Sauce Bernaise. Potatoes Lorette. Sauterne Cup. Boiled Squab. Lettuce Salad. Ice Cream a la Waldorf. Roquefort Cheese. Biscuits. Coffee. "Coma into tho house," said Holmes in bis criDp, firm way. dow He carrlcd tho lamp across to it, muttering his observations aloud the while, but addressing them to himself rittlx r than tCi iu6. "Window is snibbed on the inner side. Framework is solid. No hinges at the side. Ixit us open it. No water pipe near. Roof quite out of reach. Yet a man has mounted by tho window. Jt. rained a little last night: Hi re is rhCC print of a foot in mold njwDn tho i 11 I took it iij) gingerly and held It In the light nf tho lantern. II, wan long, sharp and black, with a glazed look near tiie point, as though some gummy substance had dried upon it. Tho lillint end hud been trimmed and rounded oil with a knifo. "Yes, do," pleaded Thaddeus Sholto. "I reully do not feel equal to giving di nctlons." "Your toes are cramped together. The other print has each toe distinctly dividad.""Certainly not," said I, going to tha door and cursorily glancing through tho keyholo as he bade mo do. We all followed him into tho housekeeper's room, which stood upon tho left band Bide of the passage. Tho old woman was paring up and down, with a scared look and restless, picking fingers, hut the sight of Miss Morstan appeared to have a soothing effi et upon her. "Quito so. That is tho point. Hear that in mind. Now, would you kindly step over to that flap window and smell tho edge of the woodworivY 1 shull stay over here, as 1 have this handkerchief in my Limited "Is that, an Knp)tsh thornf" ho nsktxl. "No, it certainly is nut." "With nil these data yon should fm iihle lint. hern Richard Brinsley Sheridan, while vistting, feeling rather weary and wishing to rest, was asked by a fellnW gtl' St, whom ho did iint uditiii if ho did not visli to no. , iv hi r for a walk —Detroit Free Press. CHAI'THR VII. ■ li.nl hri.UL'lit a C all with thrjii, "Well," said ho, dropping his voice to a whisper, "I wanted to say a word to you privately. You aro a safe man to intrust with a confidence, I know, for evi n though you write for tho press you would not betray mo, I know, and even il' you did no ono would beliovo what to (1 raw The poll find in Ho Irticl Advice. A nil I me thi' r.' luay lDC at a hand 1 did as he directed and was instantly conscious of a strong tarry smell. '"1 hat is win re ho put his foot In getting out. if you can trace him, 1 should think Toby wiil have no dillieulty. Now rundown stairs, loose the dog and look A blacksmith was once summoned to a county court as a witness in a dispute between two of his workmen. The judge, after hearing tho testimony, asked him why ho did not ndvis-. them to sottlo, as the costs had already amounted to three times tho disputed sum. He replied: "I told tho fools to settle, for, 1 said, tho clerk would take their coats, the lawyers their shirts, and if they not into your honor's court you'dskin 'em!"—Newcastle Chronicle. ' " ' God bless your sweet, calm face!" she cried, with a hysterical n:Ii. "It does me good to wo you. Oh, hut I have been sore ly tried this day?" by tl.i III ! I i m oii I n- 1 As ho spoke I com inn nearer i):iss!itas, ami a to her home Aller the ungC lie fashion of Women she had borne trouble with u calm face as long as there was some one weaker than herself to support, and I had found her bright and placid by the side of the frightened housekeeper. In the cab, however, she first turned faint and then burst Ula cing not oi tho window, Sheridan replied: "it is very cloudy. Wo shall \h» caught in (lie lain. " The other.waited awhile. Short ly tho sun came through tho clouds. "Shall wo go now?" she really a very | fv dtii alron. Well defined 1 looked mudily disk said I. the r Our companion patted her thin, work ■worn hand and nturninnrd some few words of kindly womanly comfortv hich brought the color back into the other's bloodless checks. « gray suit strode I lie was red faced, I in11 and pli ii ® ! v. i i Mil D-i u said. murmur. It. is something much more va wit h a pair of \ which looked I. askod. "It has cleared up." "Why, yes; so 1 see," said Sheridan. "It has "I have been wanting to tell some one for a longtime this little truth that is eating my lifo slowly away. I could not toll it to members of tho cabinet very well, for each of them has his .own personal troubles to worry over. I can- Only once I had congressional ambitious, and that was temporary. I visited Wyoming at tho timo of her admission to the (Tniou as a state, and the legislature offered to make mo a senator if I would become a citizen, and I was to us. It is the impression of a wooden stump. You see here on the sill is the boot mark—a heavy boot, w th a bro; d, metal heel—and beside it is Jie mark of the timber tm " into a passion of weeping, so sorely had I;D- tins time that I nut out into tho grounds Sherlock Holmes was on the roof, and I 0' iiiid m i' hiln like an enormous glowworiu crawling very slowly along tho 1 lost sight of him bulliml u btuck I swollen and puffy pouches lb* was close- I ly followed by an inspector in uniform Isiml by the still palpitating Thaddeus tihulto. kIiu tried by the adventures of the night. Slio bus i..Id mi' since Mint kIio nloaroil up enough fur one, but not enough for two. Vou go.''—Cyclopedia of Anecdotes. "Master has locked himself In and will pot answer me." she exolalned. ' All day thought int. cold and distant upon that luurncv fcibo little vuufc&ul the btruKtde riUj.