Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 308, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 December 1912 — ADVENTURE OF THE DEVIES FOOT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ADVENTURE OF THE DEVIES FOOT

(Continued.) "Our next obvious step is to check, so far as we can, the movements of Mortimer Tregennis after he left the room. In this there is no difficulty, and they seem to be above suspicion. Knowing my methods as you,do, you were, of course, conscious of the somewhat clumsy water-pot expedient by which I obtained a clearer impress of his foot than might otherwise have been possible. The Wet, sandy path took It admirably. Last night was also wet, you will remember* and it was not difficult—having obtained a sample print—to pick out his track among others and to follow his movements. He appears to have walked swiftly in the direction of the vicarage. “If, then, Mortimer Tregennis disappeared from the soene, and yet some outside person affected the card players, how can we reconstruct that person, and how was such an impression of horror conveyed? Mrs. Porter may be eliminated. She is evidently harmless. Is there any evidence that some one crept up to the garden window and in some manner produced so terrific an effect that he drove those who saw it out of their senses? The only suggestion in this direction comes from Mortimer Tregennis himself, who says that his brother spoke about some movement in the garden. That is certainly remarkable, as the night was rainy, cloudy and dark. Anyone who had the design to alarm these people would be compelled to plaoe his very face against the glass before he could be seen. There is a three-foot flower border outside this window, but no Indication of a footmark. It is difficult to imagine, then, how an have made so terrible an impression upon the company, nor have we fdhnd any motive tor so strange and elaborate an attempt You perceive our difficulties, Watson?” “They are only too clear,” I answered, with conviction. “And yet, with a little more material, we may prove that they are not Insurmountable,” said Jlohnes. “I fancy that among your extensive archives, Watson, you may find Borne which were nearly as obscure. Meanwhile, we shall put the case aside until data are available, and devote the morning to the pursuit of neolithic man." I may have commented upon my friend’s power of mental detachment, but never have I wondered at it more than upon that spring morning in Cornwall when for two hours he discoursed upon celts, arrowheads and shards as lightly as if no sinister mystery was waiting for his solution. It was not until we had returned in the afternoon to our cottage that we found a visitor awaiting us, who soon brought our minds back to the matter in hand. Neither of us needed to be told who that visitor was. The huge

body, the craggy and deeply seamed ffcce with the fierce eyes and hawklike nose, the grizzled hair which nearly brushed our cottage celling, the beard —golden at the fringes and white near the lips, save for the nicotine stain from his perpetual cigarall these were as well known in London as in Africa, and could only be associated with the personality of Dr. Leon 8 tern dale, the great lion hunter and explorer.

We had beard of his presence in the district, and had once or twice caught sight of his tall figure upon the moorland paths. He made no advances to us, however, ( nor would ,we .have dreamed of doing so to Him, as it was well known that it was his love of seclusion which caused him to* spend the greater part of the intervals between his journeys in a small bungalow buried in the lonely wood of Beauchamp Arrianoe. Here, amid his. books and his maps, he lived an absolutely lonely life, attending to his own simple wants, and paying little apparent heed to the affairs of his neighbors. It was a surprise to me, therefore, to hear him asking Holmes, In an eager voioe, whether he had made any advance in his reconstruction of this mysterious episode. "The oounty police are utterly at fault,” said he; "but perhaps your wider experience has suggested some conceivable explanation. My only claim to being taken into your confidence is that during my many residences here I have come to know this family of Tregennis very well —indeed, upon my Cornish mother’s side I could call them cousins—and their strange fate has naturally been a great shock to me. I may tell you that I had got as far as Plymouth upon my way to Africa, but the news reached me this morning, and I came straight back again to help in the inquiry.” * Holmes raised his eyebrows. “Did you lose your boat through it?” “I will take the next.” “Dear me! that is friendship indeed.” “I tell you they were relatives.” “Quite so—cousins of your mother. Was your baggage aboard the ship?” "Some of it, but the main part at the hotel.” “I see. But surely this event could not have found its wayfinto the Plymouth morning papers?” "No, sir; I had a telegram.” “Might I ask from whom?” A shadow passed over the gaunt face of the explorer. , “You are very Inquisitive, Mr. Holmes.” “It is my business.” With An effort Dr. Stemdale recovered his ruffled composure.' “I have no objection to telling you,”

he Bald. “It was Mr. Roundhay, the vicar, who sent ins the telegram ifliich recalled me.” “Thank you,” said Holmes. “I may say, in answer to your original question, that I have not cleared my mind entirely on the subject of this case, but I have every hope of reaching some conclusion. It would be premature to say more.” “Perhaps you would tell me if your suspicions point in any particular direction?” “No, I can hardly answer that." “Then I have wasted my time, and need not prolong my visit.” The famous doctor strode out of our cottage in considerable ill-humor, and within five minutes Holmes had followed him. I saw him no more until the evening, when he returned with a slow step and haggard face which assured me that he had made no great progress with his investigation. He glanced at a telegram which awaited him, and threw it into the g r ate. “From the Plymouth hotel, Watson,” he said. “I learned the name of it from the vicar and I wired to make oertain that Dr. Leon Sterndale’s account was true. It appears that he did indeed spend last night there, and that he has actually allowed some of his baggage to go on to Africa, while he returned to be present at this investigation. What do you make of that, Watson?" “He is deeply Interested.” “Deeply interested —yes. There Is a thread here which we have not yet grasped, and which might lead us through the tangle. Cheer up, Watson, for I am very sure that our material has not'Het all come to hand. When it does, we may soon leave our difficulties behind us.” Little did I think how soon the words of Holmes would be realised, or how strange and sinister would be that new development which opened up an entirely fresh line of Investigation. I was shaving at my window in the morning when I heard the rattle of hoofs, and, looking up, saw a dog cart coming at a gallop down the road. It pulled up at our door, and our friend the vicar sprang from it and rushed up our garden path. Holmes was already dressed, and we hastened down to meet him. Our visitor was so excited that he could hardly articulate, but at last in gasps and bursts his tragic story came out of him. "We are devil-ridden, Mr. Holmes! My poor parish is devil-ridden!” be erlsd. "Satan himself is loose In Iti

We are given over Into his hands!” He danoed about in his agitation, a ludicrous object If It were not for his ashy face and startled eyes. Finally he shot out bis terrible news. “Mr. Mortimer Tregennis has died during the night, and with exactly the same symptoms aB the rest of the family." . Holmes sprang to his feet, all energy in an instant "Can you fit us both Into your dogcart?” "Yes, I can." “Then, Watson, we will postpone

our breakfast Mr. Roundhay, we are entirely at your disposal. Hurry—hurry, before things get disarranged.” The lodger occupied two rooms at the vicarage, which were in an angle by themselves, the one above the other. Below was a large sittingroom; above, his bedroom. They looked out upon a croquet lawn which came up to the windows. We had arrived before the doctor or the polioe, so that everything was absolutely undisturbed. Let me describe exactly the scene as we 4 saw it upon that misty Marcl* morning. It has left an impression which can never be effaced from my mind. The atmosphere of the room was of a horrible and depressing stuffiness. The servant who had first entered had thrown up the window, or it would have been even mord intolerable. This might partly be due to the fact that a lamp stood flaring and smoking on the center table. Beside it sat the dead man, leaning back in his chair, his thin beard projecting, his spectacles pushed up on to his forehead, and his lean, dark face turned towards the window and twisted into the same distortion of terror which had marked the features of his dead sister. His limbs were convulsed and his fingers contorted, as though he had died in a very paroxysm of Dear. He was fully clothed, though there were signs that his dressing had been done in a hurry. We had already learned that his bed had been slept in, and that the tragic, end had come to him in the early morning. One realized the red-hot energy which underlay Holmes’ phlegmatic exterior when I saw the sudden change whjch came over him from the moment that he entered the fatal apartment. In an instant he was tense and alert, his eyes shining, his face set, his limbs quivering with an eager activity. He was out on the lawn, in through the windoV v room, and up into the bedroom, for all the world like a dashing foxhound drawing a cover. In the bedroom he made a rapid cast around, and ended by throwing open the window, which appeared to give him some fresh cause for excitement, for he leaned out of it with loud ejaculations of interest and delight. Then he rushed down the stair, out through the open window, threw himself upon his face on the lawn, sprang up and into the room once more, all with the energy of the hunter who is at the very heels of his quarry. The lamp, which was an ordinary standard, he examined with minute care, making certain measurements upon its bowl. He carefully scrutinized with his lens the talo shield which covered the top of the chimney, and scraped off some ashes which adhened to its upper surface, putting some of them into an envelope,' which he plaoed in his pocketbook. Finally, just as the doctor and the official police put in an appearance, he beckoned to the vicar and we all three went out upon the lawn. (TO BE CONTINUED.)

"You Are Very Inquisitive, Mr, Holmes."

By It Sat the Dead Man.

The Lamp, Which Was an Ordinary Standard, He Examined With Minute Care.