Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 92, Number 281, 25 November 1922 — Page 5

THE RICHMOND PALLADIUM AND SUN-TELEGRAM, RICHMOND, IND., SATURDAY, NOV. 25, 1922.

PAGE SEVEN By SIR ARTHUR CON AN DOYLE Copyright, 1922, by The McClure Newspaper Syndicate

It was the spring of the year, 1897 that Holmes's Iron constitution showed some symptoms ot giving way In the face of constant hard work of a most exciting klad, aggravated perhaps by occasional Indiscretion ot his own. In March of that year Dr. Moore Agar, of Harley Street,- gave positive Injunctions that the famous private agent would lay asideall his oases and surrender himself to "complete rest if he wished to avert an absolute breakdown. Thus it was that in the early spring of that year we found ourselves together in a small cottage near Poldhu Bay at the further extremity of the Cornish peninsula. It was a singular spot, and one peculiarly well suited to the grim humor of my patient From the windows ot our little white-washed house, . which stood high upon a grassy headland, we

looked down upon the whole sinister

semi-circle ot Mounts Bay, that old death trap of sailing vessels with its

fringe of black cliffs and surge-swept reefs on which innumerable seamen

have met their end. .

On the land side our surroundings

were as sombre as on the sea. It was a country of rolling moors, lonely

and dun-colored, with an occasional

church tower to mark the site of Borne old-world village. In every direction upon these moors there were traces

of some vanished race which had pas

Bed utterly away, and left as Its sole

record strange monuments of stone, Irregular mounds which contained the burned ashes of the dead, and curious earthworks which hinted at prehistoric strife. The glamor and mystery of the

place with its sinister atmosphere of forgotten nations, appealed to the imagination of my friend. The ancient Cornish language had also arrested his attention, and he had, I remember,

conceived the idea that it was akin to

the Chaldean, and had been largely

derived from the Phoenician traders

in tin.

I have said that scattered towers marked the villages which dotted this

part of Cornwall The nearest of these was the hamlet of Treadannlck Wollas,

where the cottages of a couple ot hun

dred inhabitants clustered round an ancient moss-grown church. The vicar of the parish, Mr. Roundhay, was something of an archaeologist, and as

such Holmes made his acquaintance.

At his invitation we had taken tea at the vicarage, and had come to know,-

also, Mr. Mortimer Tregennis, an in

dependent gentleman, who increased

the clergyman's scanty resources by taking rooms in his large, straggly

house. The vicar, being a batchelor,

was glad to come to such an arrangement, thdugh he had little in common with his lodger, who was a thin, dark, spectacled man, with a stoop which

gave the impression of actual physical deformity. These were the two men who entered abruptly Into our little sitting room on Tuesday, March the 16th. "Mr. Holmes," said the vicar, in an Bgltate4 voice, "the most extraordinary and tragic affair has occurred during the night It is the most unheard-of business. I may explain that our friend here spent last evening In the company of his two brothers, Owen and George, andof his sister Brenda, at their house of Tredannick Wartha which is near the old stone cross upon the moor. He left them shortly after ten o'clock, playing cards round the flining room table, in excellent health ind spirits. This morning, being an Barly riser, he walked in that direc

tion before breakfast, and was overtaken by the carriage of Dr. Richards,

who explained that he had just been

sent for on a most urgent call to Tre-

flannick Wartha. Mr. Mortimer TreSennis naturally went with him. When

he arrived at Tredannick Wartha he

found an extraordinary state of

things. His two brothers and his sis

ter were seated round the table exact

ly as he had left them, the cards still

spread in front of them and the can-Sles-burned down to their sockets.

The sister lay back stone-dead in her :hair, while the two brothers sat on

arh side of her laughing, shouting and singing, the senses stricken clean out of them. All three of them, the dead woman and the two demented men, retained upon their faces an expres

sion ot utmost horror a convulsion of terror which was dreadful to look upon. There waB no house, except Mrs. of anyone in the house, except Mrs. Porter, the old cook and housekeeper, 'ho declared that she had slept deeply and heard no sound during the night. There is the situation, Mr. Holmes, in a nutshell, and if you can help us to clear it up you will have done a greak work." 1 "I will look Into this matter. Holmes said at last. "On the face of It, it would appear to be a case of a very exceptional nature, v How far is it to the house where this singular tragedy occurred?" "About a mile Inland. "Then we shall walk over together. But, before we start, I must ask you a few qnestions, Mr. Mortimer Tregennis. Tell me about last night" "Well, Mr. Holmes, I supped there, as the vicar has said, and my elder

brother George proposed a game ot

whist afterwards. We sat down about

nine o ciocK. it was a quarter past ten when I moved to go. I left them all around the table, as merry as could

be." "Who let you out?"

"Mrs. Porter had gone to bed, bo I

let myself out. I shut the hall door

behind me. The windows of the room In which they sat were closed, but the

blinds were mot drajn down."

"The facts as you state them, are rertainly most remarkable," said

Holmes. "As to yourself. Mr. Trerennis.

take it you were divided in some way

from your family, since they lived to

gether and you had room apart?"

"That is so, Mr. Holmes, though the

matter is past and done with. We

were a family of tin miners at Red

ruth, but we sold? out our venture to a company, and so retired with enough to keep us. I won't deny that there , was-some feeling about the division of the money, and It stood between us tor a time, but it was all forgiven and

forgotten, and we were the best of

friends together."

"Looking back at the evening which

you spent together, does anything stand out in your memory as throwing any possible light upon the tragedy?

ininK carefully, Mr. Tregennis, for

any. clue which can help me." "There Is one thing occurs to me,1

saia ne at last T "As we sat at the table my back was to the winAow, and

iuj uiuuirr ueorge, ne jeeing my partner, at cards, was facing it I saw him once look hard over my shoulder, so I turned round and looked also. The blind was up and the window shut but I could just make out the bushes on the lawn, and It seemed to me for a

i

moment that I saw something moving'

among them. When I asked him what

he was looking at he tola me tnat ne had the same feeling. That is all that I can Bay.

"Did you Investigate?" "No; the matter passed as unim

portant"

"I am not clear how you came to

hear the news so early this morning."

I am an early riser, and generally

take a walk before breakfast This morning I had hardly started when the doctor in his carriage overtook me. He told me that old Mrs. Porter had

sent a boy down with an urgent message. I sprang in beside him and we drove on. When we got there we looked into that dreadful room.. Ob, It was awful to see! I couldn't stand

it and the doctor was as white as a

sheet Indeed, he fell into a chair in a sort of faint, and we nearly had him on our hands as well!"

Remarkable most remarkable!"

said Holmes, rising and taking his hat

I .think, perhaps, we had better go

down to Tredannick Wartha without

further delay."

Our proceedings of that first morn

ing did little to advance tie investiga

tion. It was marked, however, at the outset by an incident which left the most sinister impression upon my

mind. The approach to the spot at

which the tragedy occurred is down a narrow, winding country lane. While we made our way along it we heard

the rattle of a carriage coming towards us, and stood aside to let it pass. As

it drove by us I caught a glimpse

through the closed window of a hor

ribly contorted face glaring out at us.

Those stating eyes and gnashing teeth

flashed past us like a dreadful vision.

"My brothers!" cried Mortimer Tre

gennis, white to his lips. "They are

taking them to Helston."

It was a large and bright dwelling,

ramera vma man a cottage, with a considerable garden- which was al

ready, in that Cornish air, well filled

with spring flowers. Towards this gar

den the window of the Bitting-room

fronted, and from it, according to Mor

timer Tregennis, must have come that thing of evil which had by sheer horror in a single instant blasted their minds. Holmes walked slowly and thoughtfully among the flower-plots and along the path before we entered the porch. So absorbed was he in his thoughts, I remember, that he

stumbled over the watering-pot, upset

us concents, ana aeiugea both our

feet and the garden path. Inside the

house we were met by the elderly

LOrmsn nousekeeper, Mrs. Porter, who,

with the aid of a young girl, looked after the wants of the family. She

had fainted with horror upon enter

ing the room in the morning and see

ing that dreadful company round the

table. She had, when she recovered

thrown open the window to let the

morning air in, and had run down to the lane, whence she sent a farm-tad for the doctor. The lady was on her bed upstairs, if we cared to see her.

Why a fire?" he asked once. "Had

they always a fire in this small room

on a spring evening?"

Mortimer Tregennis explained that

the night was cold and damp. For

that reason, after his arrival, the fire wa3 lit

It was not until lone after we were

back in Poldhu Cottage that Holmes broke his complete and absorbed si

lence. Finally he laid down his pipe and sprang to his feet

"It won't do, Watson!" said he. with

a laugh. "Let us walk along the cliffs together and search for flint arrows. Now, let us calmly define our position, Watson," he continued, as we skirted the cliffs together. "I take it, in the place .that neither of us is prepared to admit diabolical intrusions into the affairs of men. Let us begin by ruling that entirely out of our minds. Very good. There remains three persons who have been grieviously stricken by some conscious or unconscious human agency. That is firm ground.

Now, when did this occur? Evidently, assuming his narrative to be true, it was immediately after Mr. Mortimer Tregennis had left the room. That is a very Important point The presumption is that it was within a few min

utes afterwards. The cards still lav

upon the table.' It was already past

tneir usual nour ror bed. Yet they had not changed their position or pushed

nacK tneir cnairs. I repeat then, that the occurrence was immediately after his departure, and not later than

eleven oclock last night

Our next obvious step is to check.

so far as we can, the movement of Mortimer Tregennis after he, left the room. In this there is no difficulty, and they seem to be above suspicion.

Knowing my methods ay 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

loos: u aamiraDiy. Last nignt wasJ

also wet, you will remember, andit was not difficult having obtained a

sample print to pick out his -traak among others and to follow his movements. He appears to have walked away swiftly in the direction ot the vicarage.

If, then, Mortimer Tregennis" dia-

appeared.from the scene, and yet some

outside person affected the card-

players, how can we reconstruct that

person, and how was such an impression ot horror conveyed ? Mrs. Porter may be eliminated. She is evidently

harmless. Is there any evidence that someone 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 place his very face against the glass before he could be seen. There is a threefoot flower-border outside this window, but no indication of a footmark. It is difficult to imagine, then, how an outsider could have made bo terrible

an impression upon the company, nor have we found any possible motive for

so strange and elaborate an attempt. You perceive our difficulties, Watson?" We returned In the afternoon to our cottage when we found a visitor awaiting us. Neither 6f us needed to be told wiio that visitor was. The huge bodysie craggy and deeply seamed face with the fierce eyes and hawk

like nose, the grizzled hair which nearly brushed our cottage ceiling, the beard golden at the fringes and white near the lips, save for the ni-tine stain from his perpetual cigar all Inese were as well known in London

as in Africa, and could only be asso

ciated with the tremendous nersonal-

iU U AotiA turkjsd all . ftl" w3US

viUpufiLa horrible f a-ll ikat to0tt,str?U5

Ity of Dr. Leon Sterndale, the great lion hunter and explorer. We had heard of his presence in the district and had once or twice caught sight of his tall figure upon the moorland paths. Here, amid his books and his maps, he lived an absolutely lonely life, attending to hiff own sim'ple 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

voice, whether he had made any ad

vance in his reconstruction ot ' this mysterious episode. "The county police are utterly at fault," said he; "but perhaps your wider eyperience has suggsted 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."

Did you lose your boat through

it?"

"I will take the next"

"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 way into the Plymouth morning papers?"

"No sir; I had a telegram." "Might I ask from whom?" "I have no objection to telling yon,"

he said. "It was Mr. Roundhay, the

vicar, who sent me the telegram which

recalled me."

"Thank you," Baid Holmes. "I may say in answer to your original question, that I have not cleared my mind entirely- on- the subject of the case, but that I have every hope of reaching some conclusion. It would be premature to say more." "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. I was shaving at my window in the morning when J heard the rattle of

hoofs, and, looking up, saw a dogeart coming at a gallop down the road. It pulled up at our door, and our frleijd the vicar sprang from it and rushed up our garden path. Holmes was already dressed, and we hastened down to meet him. "We are devil-ridden, Mr. Holmes! My poor parish is devil-ridden!" he

cried. "Satan himself is loose in itl We are given over into his hands!"

"Mr. Mortimer Tregennis - died dur

ing the night and with exactly the

same symptoms as the rest of his family.

"Mr. Roundhay, we are entirely at your disposal. Hurry hurry, before

things get disarranged."

The atmosphere of the -room 'was

of a horrible and depressing stuffiness. The servant who had first en

tered had thrown up the window, or

it would have been even more into!

erable. 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 I 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. He was fully clothed,

though there were signs that his dres

sing had been done in a hurry. We

tad already learned that his bed had

been slept in, ana tnat tne tragic end

had come to him in the early morning.

One realized the red-hot energy which underlay Holmes's phlegmatic

exterior when one saw the sudden

change which 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 eager ac

tivity. He was out on the lawn, in

through the window, for all the world like a dashing fox-hound 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 ot 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 talc shield which covered the top of the 'chimney, and scraped off some ashes which adhered

to its upper surface, putting some of them into an envelope, which he placed in his pocketbook. Finally, Just as the doctor and the official police put in an appearance, he beckoned to the vjcar and we all three went out. During the next two days Holmes spent some of his time smoking and

dreaming in the cottage; but a greater portion in the country walks which he undertook alone, returning after many hours without remark as to where he had been. One experiment served to show me the line of his investigation. He had bought a lamp which was the duplicate of the one which had burned in the room of Mortimer Tregennis on the morning of the tragedy. This he filled with the same oil as that, used at the vicarage, and he carefully timed the period which it would take to be exhausted. Another experiment which he made was of a more unpleasant nature, and one which I am not likely ever to forget. "You will remember, Watson," he remarked one afternoon, "that there

is a Bingle common point or resemblance in the varying reports which have reached us. This concerns the effect of the atmosphere- the room

in each case upon those who had first

entered it You will recollect that Mortimer Tregennis, in describing

the episode of his last visit to his

brother's house, remarked that the doctor on entering the room fell into

chair? You had forgotten? Well I

can answer lor it tnat airs, sorter,

the housekeeper, told us that she her

self fainted unon- entenne the room

and had afterwards opened the win

dow. In the second case that of Mor

timer Tregennis himself you cannot

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have forgotten the horrible stuffiness

of the room when we arrived, though the servant had thrown up the win

dow. That servant, I found upon inquiry, was so ill that she had gone

to her bed. You will admit Watson,

that these facts are very suggestive. In each case there is evidence of a poisonous atmosphere. In each case, also, there is combustion going on in the room -in the one case a fire, in the other a lamp. The fire was needed, but the lamp was lit as a comparison of the oil consumed will show long after it was broad daylight Why? Surely because there is some connection between three things the burning, the stuffy atmosphere, and finally,

the madness or death of those unfortunate people. That is clear, is it

not?" "It would appear bo." "At least we may accept It as

working hypothesis. We will suppose,

then, that something was burned in each case which produced an atmos

phere causing strange toxic effects. Very good. In the first instance that

of the Tregennis family this sub

stance was placed in the fire. Now,

the window was shut but the fire would naturally carry fumes to some

extent up the chimney. Hence one would expect the effects of the poison to be less than in the second case,

where there was less escape for the vapor. The result seems to Indicate that It was so, since in the first case only the woman, who had presumably

the more sensitive organism, was kil

led, the others exhibiting that tem

porary or permanent lunacy which is evidently the first effect of the drug. In the ' second case, ther result was complete. The facts, therefore, seem

to bear out the theory of a poison

which worked by combustion. .

"With the train of reasoning in my

head I naturally looked about In Mor

timer Tregennis s room to rind some

remains of this substance. The o

vious place to look was the talc shield

or smoke-guard ot the lamp. There, sure enough, I perceived a number of flaky ashes, and round the edges a fringe ot brownish powder, wliich had not yet been consumed. Half ot this I took, as you saw, and I placed it in an envelope. . "Now Watson, - we will light our

lamp; we will," liowevef, takV the pro-

caution to open our window . to avoid

the premature decease of two deserving members. of society, and you will seat yourself near that window in an arm-chair, unless, like a sensible man, you determine to have nothing to do with the affair. Oh, you will see it out will you? I thought I knew my Watson. This chair I will place opposite yours, so that we may be the

same distance from the poison, and

face to face. The door we will leave

ajar. Each is now In a position to

watch the other and to tring the ex

periment to an end should the symptoms seem alarming. Is that all clear? Well, then, I take our powder

what remains of it from the en-

elope, and I lay it above the burning lamp. So! Now, Watson, let ue sit down and await developments." , .

Tney were not long in coming. I

had hardly settled in my chair before

I was conscious of a thick, mucky odor, subtle and nauseous. At the very first

whiff of it my brain and my imagina

tion were beyond all control. A thick, black cloud swirled before my eyes, and in this cloud, unseen as yet but about to spring out upon my appalled senses, lurked all that was vaguely horrible, all that was monstrous and

inconceivably wicked in the universe The turmoil within my brain was such that something must surely snap. I

tried to scream, and was vaguely

aware of Borne hoarse croak which was my , own voice, but distant and detached from myself. At the same mo

ment in some effort of escape, I broke

through that cloud of despair, ana

bad a glimpse of Holmes's face, white, rigid and drawn with horror the very

look which I had seen upon the features of the dead. It was that vision which gave me an Instant of sanity

and of strength. I dashed from my chair, threw my arms round Holmes and together we lurched through the door, and an instant afterwards - had

thrown ourselves down upon the grass

plot and were lying side by side, con-i scious only ot the glorious sunshine which was burning its way -through the hellish cloud of terror which had girt us in. i' "Upon my word, Watson!" said Holmes at last with aft unsteady voice, "I owe you both my thanks and an apology. It was an unjustifiable experiment even for oneselt, and doubly so for a friend. I am really very sorry. I confess that I never

imagined that the effect could be so sudden and so severe." " He dashed to the cottage, and reappeared with the burning lamp held. at , full arm's length, threw it among a bank of brambles. "We "must give the room a little time to clear. I take it Watson,

that you have no longer a shadow of doubt as to how these tragedies were produced?" " . -

"None wnatever. , . - "But the cause remains as obscure

as before. Come Into the arbor here ad let us discuss it together. I think

we must admit-that all the evidence

points to this man, Mortimer Tregennis, r having been the criminal in the first tragedy, though he was the

victim in the second one. We must

remember, in the first place, that

there is some story of a family quarrel, followed by a reconciliation. Well, in the next place, you will remember

that this idea of someone moving in the garden, which took our attention

for a moment from the real cause7 of

the tragedy, emanated from him. He had a motive In misleading us. Finally, if he did not throw this substance

into the fire at the moment of leaving, the room, who did do. so? The affair happened Immediately after his departure. Had anyone else come in, the family would certainly have risen

from the table. We may take It tnen.

that all the evidence points to Mor

timer Tregennis ; aa the culprit" "Then his own death was suicide!" "Well, Watson, it is on the face of it a not impossible supposition. There are, however, some cogent : reasons against it Fortunately, there is one firm In England who knows" all about it and I have made arrangements by which we shall hear the - facts this afternoon from his own lips. Ah! he is a little before his time:- Perhaps you would kindly step this way, D. Leon Sterndale." . . r. "You sent for. me, Mr. Holmes. I had your note about an hour ago, and I have come, though I am at a loss to know, sir, what you can have to speak about which affects me personally in a very, intimate fashion." i " -

The killing ' of Mortimer .Tregen

nis," said Holmes.' '

What do you mean?" he asked, at

last.

I will tell you," said Holmes, "and

the reason why I tell you is that I

hope frankness may beget frankness. What my next step may be will depend entirely upon the nature of your own defense." '

Sterndale mopped Vs forehead with

his handkerchief. "Uponymy word.

you are getting on," 6aid he. "Do all

your successes depend upon this pro,1 f M . . . . mi

UH5KJUH power oi Diuii : -.- "The bluff," said Holmes, sternly, "Is upon your Bide, Dr. Leon Sterndale. and not upon mine. As a proof, I will tell you some of the facts upon which my conclusions are based. You came down here to ask me whom I

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