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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Times, 1907-09-05, Page 7TI WINGIIAM TIA(FS, SEPTI tiMI3ER 5, 1907 • TheHoundothe Baskervilles Another Adventure of Sheriock Hoimes. BY A. CONAN DOYLB. Author of "The Green•FIag" and `The Great Boer Wary' Copyright (lOO) by A. Conan Doyle. ; 4 +++++++4++++++++++++4 +4-÷44F+++++++++++++++++1 There he was, sure enough, a small urchin with a little bundle upon his shoulder, toiling slowing up the hill. When lie reached the crest I saw the ragged uncouth tgure outlined for an instant against the cold blue sky. He ioolted round him, with a furtive and stealthy air, as one who dreads pur- suit. Then he vanished over the hill. "Well! Am I right?" "Certainly, there is a boy 'wale seems to have some secret errand." "And what the errand is even a county constable could guess. But not one word sball they have from me, and I'bind you in secrecy also, Dr, Wat- son. Not a word! You understand!" "Just as you wish." "They have treated me shamefully --shamefully, When the facts come out in Frankland v. Regina I venture to think that a thrill of indignation Rx will run through the country. Nothing would induce me to help the police in :any way. For all they cared it might have been me, instead of my. effigy, which these rascals burned at the -stake. Surely you are not going! You will help me to empty the decanter in honor of this great occasion'." But I resisted all his solicitations :and succeeded in dissuading him from his annouhced intention of walking home with me. I kept the road as long • as his eye was on me, and then I •struck off across the moor and made 'for the stony hill over which the boy 'had disappeared, Everything wasNork- ing in my favor, and I swore that it •should not be through lack of energy ,or perseverance that I should miss the -chance which Fortune had thrown in my way. The sun was already sinking when I reached the summit 01 the hill, and the long slopes beneath me were all golden -green on one side and grey she - slow on the other. A haze lay low upon the farthest say -line, out of which jut- ted the fantastic shapes of Belliver .and Vixen Tor. Over the wide expanse 'there was no sound and no movement. -One great grey bird, a gull or curlew, soared aloft in the blue Heaven. He and I seemed to be the only living r things between the huge arch of the sky and the desert beneath it. The barren scene, the sense of loneliness, -and the mystery and urgency of my task all struck a chill into my heart. The boy was nowhere to be seen. But •down beneath me in a cleft of the hills . there was a circle of the old stone .huts, and in the middle of them there -was one which retained sufficient roof to act as a screen against the weather. My heart leaped within me as I saw it. 'This must be the burrow where the stranger lurked. At last my foot was on the threshold of his hiding place - his secret was within my grasp. As I approached the hut, walking as warily as Stapleton would do when with poised net he chew near the set- tled butterfly, I satisfied myself that the place had indeed been used as a habitation. A vague pathway among the boulders led to the dilapidated openina which served as a. door. All was silent within. The unknown might be larking there, or he might be prowl- ing on the moor. My nerve s tingled 'with the sease of adventure. Throwing aside my cigarette, I closed my hand upon the butt of my revolver and, walking swiftly ep to the door, I loop- ed in. The place was empty. But there were ample signs that I !had not come upon a false scent. This' .was certainly where the man Iived. Some blankets rolled in a waterproof lay upon that very stone slab upon which neolith1c man had once slumber - r: ed. The ashes of a .tire were heaped in .a rude grate. Beside it ley some cook - dug utensils and a bucket half -full of water. A litter of empty tins showed that the place had been ocoupied for Some time, and I saw, as my eyes be- eame accustomed to the chequered ,dight, a pannikin and half -full bottle of spirits standing in the corner. In the middle of the hut a flat stone ser- ved the purpose of u table, and upon -this stood a sntali cloth bundle -the .same, no doubt, which I "had seen through the telescope upon the shoul- der of the boy. It contained a loaf of ,bread, a tinned tongue and two tins of 'iche.F►'Soone Way+ There's ndthmg too good to go into MOONI Y'S CRACKERS. The best flout that Canada mills, the best butter and cream that Canada's famous dairies can produce, and the best equipped bakrY Can ado. to convert them into the best crackers you ever ate- Moon ey's Perfection Cream Sodas They are good eating any tithe and all the time. Crisp, inviting, toothsome. .. . 14"1"C.:., w lis.. o WtE' PER` ECTIO }' li�hh It J "�naoaury nt. ettea a ryaatzv rn At alb' Ott,. COS preserved peaches. As I set it down again, after having examined it, my heart leaped to see that beneath it there lay a sheet of paper with writing upon it. I raised it, and this was what I read, roughly scrawled in pencil:-- "Dr. Watson bas gone to Coombe Tracey." For a minute I stood there with the paper in my hands thinking out the meaning of this curt message. It was I, then, and not Sir Henry, who was being dogged by this secret man. He had not followed me bimself, but he had set an agent -the boy, perhaps=.•• upon my track, and this was his re- port. Possibly I had taken no step since I had been upon the moor which had not been observed and repeated. Always there was this feeling of an unseen -force, a fine net drawn round us with infinite skill and delicacy, holding us.so lightly that it was only at some supreme element that one realized that one was indeed en- tangled in its meshes. If there was one report there might be others, so I looked round the but in search of them. There was no trace, however, of anything of the kind, nor could I discover any sign which might indicate the character or intentions of the man who lived in this singular place, save that he must be of Spar- tan habits, and cared. little for the comforts of life. When I thought of the heavy rains and looked at the ga- ping roof I understood how strong and immutable must be the purpose which had kept him in that inhospitable abode. Was he our malignant enemy, or was he by chance our guardian angel? I swore that I would not leave the hut until I knew. Outside the sun was sinking low and the west was blazing with scarlet and gold. Its reflection was shot back hi ruddy patches • by the distant pools which lay amid the great Grimpen Mire. There were the two towers of Baskerville Hall, and there a distant blur of smoke which marked the vil- lage of Grimpen. Between the two, be- hind the hill, was the house of -the Stapletons. All was sweet and mellow and peaceful in the golden evening light, and yet as I looked at them my soul shared none of the peace of na- ture, but quivered at the vagueness and the terror of that interview which every instant was bringing nearer. With tingling nerves, but a fixed pur- nose, I sat in the dark recess of the hut and waited with sombre patience for the coming of its tenant. And then at last I heard him. Far away came the sharp clink of a boot striking a stone. Then another and yet another, coming nearer and nearer. I shrank back into the darkest corner, and cocked the pistol in my pocket, determined not to discover myself un- til I had an opportunity of seeing some- thing of the stranger. There was a 1 shrank Sack into the darkest corner and cocked the pistol in niy pocket. long pause which showed that he had stopped. Then once more the footsteps approached and a shadow fell across the opening of the hut. "It is a lovely evening, my dear Watson," said a well-known voice. "I really think that you will be more cotnfortabe outside than in." CI•i'APTES.NIL For a moment or two t sat breath- less, hardly able to believe my ears. Then my senses and my voice came back to me, while a crushing weight of responsibility seemed hi an instant to be lifted from mysoul. That cold, Incisive, ironical voie could belong to but one man in all the world. "Holmes!" I cried -"Holmes!" "Come out," said he, "and please be careful with the ''evolver." I stooped under the rude 11ntel, and there he,sat upon a stone outside, his grey eyes dancing with amusement. as they fell upon ray astonished features. He was thin and worn, but clear and Meet, his keen face bronzed by the sun and ,roughened by the wind. in his tweet! suit and cloth cap he !Coped lute any other tourist upon the moor, and he had contrived, with that Bat- like love Of personal cleanliness whieh was one of his eharncteristles, that his ehin should be as smooth and his linen as perfect as if he were in Daher Street. JJ Was se :fan . I never w , morr lac! to oto one in my life,," said I, es I wrung akin by the band. "Or mors: astonished, t'h?" ell, If mulct confess to it" Side, I assure you. I had no idea that you bast found tiny occasional retreat, stilldoor."less that you were inside it, un- til I was within twenty raceee of the "My footprint, .I presume?" 'Watson;. I fear th4t I could not undertake to recognize your footprint amid alI the footprints of the world. If you seriously desire to deceive me you must change your tobacconist; for when I see the stub of a cigarette marked Bradley, Oxford Street, I know that my friend Watson is in the neigh- borhood. You will see it there beside the path. You threw it down, no doubt, at that supreme moment When you charged into the empty hut." "Exactly," "I thought as much --and knowing your adnlirabie tenacity I was eanvin- ced that you were sitting in ambush, a weapon within reach, waiting for the tenant to return. So you actually thought that I• was the criminal?" "I did not know who you were, but I was determined to find out." "Excellent, Watson! And bow did you localize me? You saw me, perhaps, on the night of the convict hunt, when I was so imprudent as to allow the moon to rise behind me?" "Yes, I saw you then," "And have no doubt searched all the buts until you came to this one?" "No, your boy had been observed, and that gave me a guide where to look." `The old gentleman with the teles- cope, no doubt. I could not make it out when first I saw the light flashing upon the lens." He rose and peeped into the hut. "Ha, I see that Cart- wright has brought up some supplies. What's this paper? So you have been to Coombe Tracey, have you?" "Yes." "To see Mrs, Laura Lyons?' "Exactly." "Well done! Our researches have evidently been running on parallel lines, and when we unite our results I expect we shall have a fairly full knowledge of the ease." "Well, I am glad from my heart that you are here, for indeed the responsi- bility and the mystery were both be- coming too much, for my nerves. But how in the name of wonder did you come here, and what have you been do- ing? I thought that you were in Baker Street working out that case of black- mailing." "That was what I wished you to think." • "Then you use me, and yet do not trust me!" I cried, with some bitter- ness. "I think that 1 have deserved better at your hands, I-Iolmes." "My dear fellow, you have been in- valuable to me in this as in many other eases, and I beg that you will forgive me if I have seemed to play a trick upon you. In truth, it was partly for your own sake that I did it, and it was my appreciation of the danger which yon ran which led me to come down and examine the matter for myself. Had I been with Sir Henry and you it is confident that my point et view would have been th n Aro you Courting Trouble of horror and anguish burst out of the Do not neglect your Iaidneys andtbus. silence of the moor. That frightful cry court the return of your old. friend Rlteu. turned the blood to ice in ra veins. inatistn for the Winter, start at once taking "vhr my God!" I gasped. "What is c;•'..' i*, a.:....' 11. \Vhat Sloes it mean?" Holmes had sprung to his feet, and I taw his dark, athletic outline at the and by Winter your Kidneys and System will be fortified. against Rbetuuatism or any other K,iduey trouble. 50c. a box at Drug Stores or by Malt. 91 The MAKIN CUEMICM CO. Wailed, WINDSOR. Ont. telligenee which you have shown over an extraordinary difficult ease." I was still rather raw over the de- ception which had been practised upon me; but the warmth of Holmes's praise drove my anger from my mind. I felt also in my heart that be was right in what he said and that it was really best for our purpose that I should not have known that he was upon the moor. "That's better," said he, seeing the shadow rise from my face. "And now tell Inc the result of your visit to Mrs. Later? Lyons --it was not difficult for me to guess that it was to see her that you had gone, for I am already awake that she is the one person in Coombe Tracey who might be of service to us in the matter. In fact, if you had nbt gone to -day it is exceedingly probable that I should have gone to -morrow." The sun had set and dusk was set- tling over the moor, The air had turn- ed chili and we withdrew into the hut for warmth. There, sitting together in the twilight, I told Holmes of my con- versation with the lady. So interested was he that I had to repeat some of It twice before he was satisfied. "This is most important," said be, when I bad concluded. "It fills up a gap which I had been unable to bridge, in this most complex affair, You are aware, perhaps, that a close intimacy exists between this lady and the man Stapleton?" "I did not know of a close intimacy." "There can be no doubt about the matter. They meet, they write, there is a complete understanding between them. Now, this puts a very powerful weapon into our hands. If I could only use it to detach his wife—" "His wife?" "I am giving you some information now, In return for all that you have given me. The lady who has passed here as Miss Stapleton is in reality his wife." "Good heavens, Holmes! Are you sure of what you say? How could he have permitted Sir Henry to fall in love with her?" "Sir Henry's falling in love could do no harm to anyone except Sir Feeney. He took particular care that Sir Henry did not make love to ber,, as you have yourself olserved. I re- peat that the lady is his wife and not a sante as yours, his sister." and my presence would have warned "But whythis elaborate deception?" our very formidable opponents to be I "Because he foresaw that she would on their guard. As it is, I have been be very much more useful to him in able to get about as I could .not pos- the character of a free woman." sibly have done had I been living in All myl} unspoken instincts, my the Hall, and I remain 20 unknown , vague suspicions, suddenly took shape factor In the business, ready to throw and centred upon the naturalist. In in all my weight at a critical mo- that impassive, colorless man, with his nient. ' straw hat and his butterfly -net, I seem - "But why keep me in the dark?" eel to see something terrible -a crea- "For you to know could not have ture of infinite patience and craft, with helped us, and might possibly have 1ed:�,,a, smiling face and a murderous heart. to my discovery. You would have i ' "It is he; then, who is our enemy - wished to tell me something, or in it is he who dogged us in London?" I your kindness you would have brought "So I read the riddle." me out some comfort or other, and so "And the warning --it must have an unnecessary risk would be run. I comp from her!" brought Cartwright clown with me- ' "Exactly." you remember the little chap at the The shape of some monstrous via Express Office -and he has seen atter lainy, half seen, half guessed, loomed my simple wants; a loaf of bread and i through the darkness which had girt a clean collar. What does man want ! me so long. more? He has given me an extra pair 1 "But are you sure of this Holmes? of eyes upon a very active pair of feet, ' How do you know that the woman Is and both have been invaluable•" his wife?" "Then my reports have all 'been i 'Because he so far forgot himself Wasted!" -My voice trembled as 1 re- as to tela you a true piece of autobio- Called the pains and the pride with gra.phy upon the occasion when he which I had composed them., 1 first met you, and I daresay he has Holmes took a bundle of papers many a time regretted it since. He was from his pocket. ' once Y0 schoolmaster in the North of "Here are your reports, my dear fel- England. Now, there is no one more low, and very well thumbed, I assure easy to trace than a schoolmaster. you, I made excellent arrangements, There are scholastic agencies by and they are only delayed one clay up- which one may identify any man who on their way. I must compliment you has been in the profession. A little in. exceedingly_ upon the -zeal and the iu- vestigation showed ane that a school had come to grief under atrocious cir- cumstances, and that the man who had _.... owned it -the name was different-- 1For Diarrhoea, Dysentery AND ALL Summer Complaints DR. FOWLER'S EXTRACT OF WILD STRAWBERRY 18 AN INSTANTANEOUS CURE. It has been used in thousands of homes during the past sixty-two years and has always given satisfaction. Every home should have a bottle so as Lobe ready in ease of emergency. Price 35 cents at all druggists and dealers. tlo not let so018 unprincipalled druggist humbug you into taking so- called Strawberry Compound, 'rhe or- iginal is Dat. Fowl nna's. The rest are sub. stitutea. Mrs. G. Pude, Lethbridge, Alta., writes : "We have used Dn. r'o'c iziee 1".,YTuAct' or WILT) STR WnEnhT and found it a great remedy for Diarrhoea,rrhoea , Summer Complaint and Cramp!. We would not like to be without it ft had disappeared with his wife. The descriptions agreed. When I learned that the missing man was devoted to entomology the identification was complete." The darkness was rising, but much was still hidden by the shadows. "If this woman is in truth his wife, where does Mrs. Laura Lyons come in?" I asked, "That Is one of the points upon which your own researches have shed a light. Your interview with the lady hal cleared the situation very much. I did not know abdut a projected di- vorce between herself and her hus- band. In that ease, regarding Staple- ton as an unmarried man, she counted no doubt upon becoming his wife." "And when she is undeceived?" "Why, then we may find the lady of service. It must be our first duty to see her -both of us-tonnorrow. Don't yon think, Watson, that you are away from your charge rather long? Your place should be at Baskerville Hell." The last red streaks had faded away In the west and night had settled upon the moor. A few filet stars were gleaming hi a violet sky. "One last question, Holmes," I said, as I rose. "Surely there is no need of seereey 'between you and me. What is the meaning of it all? What is he rafter?" Hcilmes's voice sank as he answer- ed: - "It is murder, Watson -refined, cold-blooded, deliberate murder. Do not ask inc for particulars, My nets are closing upon hire, even as his aro upon Sir Henry, and with your help he is already almost -at my mercy, There is but one danger which can threaten ns. It is that he should strike before we are ready to do so. Another day --two at the most ---and I have city I ease complete, but until then guard your charge as closely as ever ft fond mother watched' her ailing child. 'S Cour 3 nl ±181011 to - day has Instilled itself, and yet I could alma trt wish thaty ou had net lest his side -Hark:" A, to ,,i.11a_ It was a prostrate man, /ace downwards door of the hut, his shoulders stooping, his head thrust forward, his face peer- ing into the darkness. "Hush!" he whispered. "Flush!" ' The cry bad been loud on account of its vehemence, but it had pealed out from somewhere far off on the sha- dowy plain. Now it burst upon our ears, nearer, louder, more urgent than before, Where is it?" Holmes whispered; and I knew from the thrill of his voice that he, the man of iron, was shaken to the soul. "Where is it, Watson?" 'There, I think." I pointed into the darkness. "No, there!" Again the agonized cry swept through the silent night, louder and much nearer than ever. And a new sound mingled with it, a sleep, mutter- ed rumble, musical and yet menacing, rising and falling like the low, con- stant murmur of the sea. "The hound!" cried Holmes. "Come, Watson, come! Great heavens, if we are too late!" He bad started running swiftly over the moor, and i had followed at Ids heels. But now from somewhere among the broken ground immediately in front of us there came one last des- pairing yell, and then a dull, heavy teed. We halted and listened. Not another sound broke the heavy si- lence of the windless night. I saw Boltnes put his hand to his forehead like a man distracted. He stamped his feet upon the ground. "He has beaten us, Watson. We aro too !:ate." ' No, no, surely not!" "Fool that I was to hold my hand.' And you Watson, see what comes of abandoning your charge! But, by Heav- en, if the worst has happened, we'll avenge hint!" Blindly we ran through the gloom, blundering against boulders, forcing our way through gorse bushes, panting up hills and rushing down slopes, head- ing always in the direction whence I those dreadful sounds bad come. At every rise I-Ioltnes looked eageriy 1 round ]tint, but the shadows were thicit upon the moor, and nothing moved upon its dreary face. "Can you see anything?" "Nothing." "But, hark, what is that?" A low moan had fnllen upon ottr ears. There it was again upon.our le::! On that side a ridge of rocks ended in a sheer cliff which overloolced a stone - strewn slope. On its jagged face w.•.r spread-eagled some dark, irregular o. jest. As we ran towards it t'te var,:• • outline hardened into a definite shape. It was a prostrate man face do :�� e- wards upon the ground, the hc: 'i doubled under him at. a horrible augi.,, the shoulders rounded and the body hunched together as if in the act of throwing a summersault. So grotesqu. was the attitude that I could not fc: the instant realize that that moan hee ; been the passing cf his soul. Not whisper, not a rustle, rose now free. ; the dark figure over which we stool:- ed. tool: ed. Holmes laid his hand upon hip"e and held it up again, with an exclama tion of horror. The gleans of the xlmtea. Nvbich he struck alzene upon his clottee fingers and upon the ghastly po.0 which widened slowly from the emir:: ed skull of the victim. Aud it shone upon something else which turned our hearts sick and faint within us -the body of Sir henry Baskerville! • There was no chance of either of us forgetting that peculiar ruddy tweed suit -the very one which he had worn tun the first morning that we had seen him in Baker Street. We caught tba one clear glimpse of it, and then the match flickered and went vat, even as the hope had gone out of our souls. Holmes groaned, and his face glimmer- ed white through the darkness. "The brute! the brute!" I cried, with clenched hands. "Oh, Holmes, I shall never forgive myself for having left him to his fate" "1 anll more to blame than you, Wat- son. In order to have mycase well rounded and complete, I ave thrown away the life of niy client. It is the greatest blow which has befallen me in my career. But how could I know-- how could I know• --that he would risk his life alone upon the moor in the face of all my warnings?" "That we should 'have heard his screams ---my God, those screams! - and yet have been unable to save him! Where is this brute of a hound which 'drove bim to his death? it may be lurk- ing among these rocks at this instant. And Stapleton, where is he? Ile shall answer for this deed." "Ile shall. I will see to that. 'Mete and nephew have been murdered -the one frightened to death by the very sight of a beast which he thought to be supernatural. the other driven to hi* in his wild fI •ht t escape front end ls d t o s, ri it. But now we have to prove the eon - neaten between the man and the beast. Save front what we heard, Ivo cannot eves swear_ tote existence of The Kind Yen Have Always l3oug?at, and which itas been. In use for over 10 .years, l:as borno the signature o* r- - and has been made under his per.. rional supervision since its infancy.. Allowno one to deceive you in this,. Ail Counterfeits, Imitations and "Just -as -good" are bud Experiments that trifle with and endanger the health or' Tp%':},nt5 and Children -Experience against Experiment, t is CAST R1A Castoria is a harmless substitute for Castor Oil, Pare- goric, Drops and Soothing Syrups. It is Pleasant. It: contains neither Opium, Morphine nor other Narcotic substance. Its age is its guarantee. It destroys Worn* and allays Feverishness. It cures Diarrhoea and Wind Celle. It relieves Teething, Troubles, cures Constipation and Flatulency, It assimilates the Food, regulates the Stomach and J13owels, giving healthy and natural sleep. The Cihllklreaes Panacea—bo ?llathcr's Friend. CEMU E CAST R IA ALW BC.^..ra tb.e Signature of J+, YS The Kind You Have Always Boiight'' In Use For Over 30 Years. ,',CNTAUR Ct.k'ANV, 7T t1URRAV GTRCCT, NCW YCf„e C,TY. ;.e.aere., etita Jit"so.'Uiax �(J,,aefel1 ee.P Meana the latter, since Sir Henry has eat- I dentiy died from the fall. But, by heav- ens, cunning as be is, the fellow shall be in my power before another day is past!" We stood with bitter hearts on either side of the mangled. body, over- whelmed by this sudden and irrevo- cable disaster which had brought all our long and weary labors to so piteous an end. Then, as the moon rose, we climbed to the top of the rocks over which our poor friend had fallen, and from the summit we gazed out over the shadowy moor, half silver and half gloom. Far away, miles off, in the direction of Grimpeu, a single steady yellow light was shining. It could only come from the lonely abode of the Stapletons. With a bitter curse I shook my fist at it as 1 gazed. "Why should we not seize him at once?” "Our case is not complete. The fea low is wary and cunning to the last degree. It is not what we know, but what we can prove. If we make oue false move the villain may escape us yet." "What can we do?" "There will be plenty for us to do to -morrow, To -night we can only per- form the last offices to our poor friend: ' Together we made our way down the precipitous slope and approached the body, black and clear against the sil- vered stones. The agony of those con- torted limbs struck me with a spasm of pain and blurred my eyes with tears. "We must send for help, Holmes! We cannot carry him all the way to the Hall. Good heavens, are you mad?" He had uttered a cry and bent over the body. Now he was dancing and laughing and wringing my hand. Could this be my stern, self-contained friend? These were hidden fires, in- deed! "A beard! A beard! The man has a beard!" "A beard?" "It is not the baronet -.it is -why, it is my neighbor, the convict!" With feverish haste we had turned the body over, and that dripping beard was pointing up to the cold, clear moon. There could be no doubt about the beetling forehead, the sunken ani- mal eyes. It was, indeed, the same face which had glared upon me in the light of the candle from over the rock -the face of Selden, the criminal. Thenin an instant it was all clear to Inc. I remembered how the baronet bad told me that he had handed his old wardrobe to Barrymore. Barrymore had passed it on in order to help Sel- den in his escape. Boots, shirt, cap - it was all Sir Henry's. The tragedy was still black enough, but this man had at least deserved death by the laws of his country. I told Holmes how the matter stood, my heart bubbling over with thankfulness and joy, "Then the clothes have been the poor devil's death," said he. "It is clear enough that the hound has been laid on from some article of Sir Henry's -- the hoot which was .abstracted in the hotel, in all probability ---and so rrc'i this mist down, 'rltere is one very sin- gular thing, hdwever: How carte Sel- den, in the darkness, to know that the hound was on his trail'?"' ,ban." IIe !.card "To hear a hound upon the moor Would not work a hard man nice tbl, convict into- such a paroxysm of, ter- ror that he would risk recapture ;r sereaming wildly for help. By his erase he must have run a long way after he knew the animal was on his tree''.. How did he know?" "A ric.:ter mystery to me it why this hound, presuming that all our cetijoctsres are correet----" "I liresttn'e nothing." "Wen. tbt n, wi:y this !round should be loose= to- tight. 1 .^.:'ppose that it dot's not «tl4,ay:; 1011 loose stye the moor. Stapleton would nc,t let it go 110 - lest her Lad :•Sawa to think that Sir !loud' would be there." "My dilfleulty i; the more fertrid- t:arle ef the two. for i thin!; taunt we rit ill very t:i m tlFti t��t•ti M Y et "Lrentie ef yours nit, mune may remain f. ever a mystery. The cues .a.t now Is, what shall wt• uo with this pour ll's bodp' eannot heave St here to the foxes and the ravens." "I suggest that we put it in one of the huts until we can communicate with the police." "Exactly. I have no doubt that yon and I could carry it so far. Halloo., Watson, what's this? It's the mats himself, by all that wonderful and aur dations'. Not a word to show your sus- picions -not a word, or my plans crumble to the ground." A figure was approaching us over the.moor, and I saw the dull red glow' of a cigar. The moon shone upon him, and I could distinguish the dapper shape and jaunty walls of the natural- ist. He stopped when he saw us, and then came on again. "Why, Dr. Watson, that's not you,. is it? You are the last man that 1 should have expected to see out on the moor at this time of night. But, dear me, what's this? Somebody hurt? Not -don't tell the that et is our friend Sir Henry!" He hurried past me and stoop- ed over the dead man. I heard a sharp• intake of his breath and the cigar fell from his fingers, "Who -who's this?" he stammered.i "It is Selden, the man who escaped from Prineetown." Stapleton turned a ghastly face upon us, but by a supreme effort he had overcome his amazement and his dis- appointment. He looked sharply from Holmes to me. "Dear me! What a very shocking af- fair! How did he die?" "He appears to have broken his neck by falling over these rocks. My friend and I were strolling on the moor when we heard a cry." "I heard a cry also. That was what brought the out. I was uneasy about Sir Henry." "Why abort. Sir Henry in particu- lar?" articular?" I could not help asking. "Because I had suggested that he should come over. When he did not come I was surprised, and I naturally became alarmed for his safety when I heard cries upon the moor. By the way" -his eyes darted from my face to Holtnes's--"did you hear anything else besides a cry?" "No," said Holmes; "did you?" "Oh, you know the stories that tb.e peasants tell about a phantom hound, and so on. It is said to be heard at night upon the moor. I was wondering If there were any evidence of such rz sound to -night." "We heard nothing of the ltinalr," saidAn1. "d what is your theory of this poor till ve low'sno deathdoub?" "I t that anxiety awl exposure have driven bird off his head. He has rushed about the moor in a, (TO be continued ) is the FOREMOST MEDICINE of the DAL it is a purely vegetable compound pos-. sessing perfect regulating powers over all the org.tns of the system and eontroll. ing their secretions. It so purifies the blood that it tures- all urdyail blood huniot- and diseases, and this totnbined with its unrivalled regulating, cleansing and purifying in]Iuent"r, renders it unequalled for all diseax"a of the skin. Mr. Robert Parton, Millbank, lt writes : "Some time agoIwva. troubled with boils and pimples, which kept break • ing out eonstantiy. After taking two bottles ahtr.}3d„rf Blood Utters on