Show H S IL I L V E R B LA L. L A Z E I PART PAiT TWO Copyright right 1921 by Harper Bros Published Published pub pub- Pub Pub- I by special arrangement with the McClure New Newspaper paper Syndicate The story thus thu far Silver Sliver Blaze the great race horse oflings of King lings Kings s Pyland Dartmoor yas first ra fa favorite a- a for the Wessex cup a race soon to tobe to bc be run J John hn Straker his this trainer I had three thre bo s under unde ot of wh whom m sta stayed ed at night with the horse borse the other I two of whom slept in the barn On the night In lue ton the tho maid in Strakers Straker's s shouse house went with a n dish of curried lamb I from supper for tor the boy on duty She I Imet I Imet met a man asking him about the great I horse The Tho boy refused to talk and ran attar him with nith the dog TO TODAY'S DAYS DAY'S INSTALMENT One moment I asked Did the stable boy when he ran out with the the tha I dog leave the door unlocked behind him Excellent Watson excellent murmured murmured mur mur- my companion The importance of or the point struck me so forcibly that r I C sent lent a special wire to Dartmoor yesterday yes yes- to clear the matter up The boy bov loci ed the door before he be left it The window I may add was not large enough for a man to get through 1 Hunter waited until hi his fellow grooms groom had returned when h hi sent a message l to tlc the trainer and told him whit had Straker was excited at it hearIng hear hea ing the account although he does n not t seem to have quite quito realized Its true significance sig sir It left him however vaguely ague uneasy une and Mrs Straker waking waiting at 1 in the morning foun found 1 that he was dressing dress dress- ing In reply to her Inquiries he said that he be could not sleep on account of his anxiety about the horses and that he Intended to walk down to the stables to sea seo that all was well She begged him to remain at once as she could hear the rain pattering against the window but in spite of her entreaties he pulled on his large macl mackintosh and left toe uie Mrs Straker awoke at 7 in the mornIng morning morn morn- Ing to find that her husband had not yet vet returned She dressed herself hastily hast hast- ily called the maid and set off for the stables The door was open huddled together upon a chair hair Hunter was sunk in a state of absolute stupor the favorites favorite's s stall was empty and there were no no signs of his trainer The two lads who slept in the chaff chaft cutting loft loffi above the harness room were quickly aroused They had heard nothing during the night for they are both sound sleepers Hunter was ob- ob ob obviously obviously under the influence of some powerful drug and as no sense could be got out of him he was left to sleep it off while the two lads and the two women ran out in search of the absentees ab ab- The They still had hopes that the trainer had for Cor some reason taken out the horse for early exercise but on ascending tho the knoll near the house from which all the neighboring moors were visible they the not only could see no signs feigns of the missing favorite but they perceived something which warned them that they were in the presence of a tragedy About a quarter of a i mile mUe from the stables John Strakers Straker's s overcoat was flapping from a furze bush Immediately Immediate Immediate- ly beyond there was a bowl shaped depression depression depression de de- de- de in the moor and at the bottom of this was found the dead body of the unfortunate trainer His head had Jad been shattered by a n savage blow from some heavy weapon and he was wounded on the thigh where there was a l ng clear clean cut Inflicted evidently by some Vcr ver very sharp instrument It was clear however however how now ever that Straker had defended himself vigorously against his assailants for in his 1 right hand he e held d a small n f knife n J db he which I f was was' s clotted I e with b blood up t to the handle while in his left he clasped ared a a. ared red and black silk cravat which was recognized recognised by the maid as having been worn on the preceding ev evening by the stranger who aio had visited the stables Hunter on recovering recovering- from rom his stupor was alsO quite positive as as- asto to the tim owner ownership ship of the cravat He was equally certain certain tam tain that the same amo stranger had while standing at the window drugged his curried mutton and so deprived the stables of their watchman As to the missing horse there were abundant proofs In the mud which lay at the bottom bottom bot bot- tom of the fatal Catal hollow that he had been there thero at the time of the struggle But Hut from that morning he has disappeared red and although a large reward has been offered and all the gypsies of are on the alert no news has come ol ot him Finally an analysis has shown that the th remains of his supper left b by bythe bythe the stable lad contain an appreciable quantity of powdered opium while the tire people at the house partook 0 of the same dish on the same night without any ill effect Those are the main facts of the case I stripped of all surmise and stated as as' as I II baldly as possible I shall shan now recapitulate recapitulate I I what the police have done in the I matter Inspector i Gregory to whom the case I is extremelY has beeri- beeri been committed an I competent officer Were Vere he but gifted with imagination he might rise to great heights in his profession On his arrival I he promptly found and arrested theman the theman man upon whom suspicion naturally rested There was little difficulty in I finding him for he inhabited one ol or those villas which I have His name it appears was Fitzroy Simpson Simp Simp- I son He was a man an of excellent birth and education who had squandered a I fortune upon the turf and who lived now by doing a little quiet and genteel bookmaking in the sporting clubs of I London An examination of his bettIng book shows that bets to the amount of five thousand pounds had been registered registered registered regis regis- I by him against the favorite On being arrested he volunteered the statement state state- ment me that he had come down to DartmOOr Dartmoor Dartmoor Dart Dart- I moor in the hope of getting some Information information information mation about the Kings King's s Pyland horses and also about Desborough the second I favorite which was in n charge of Silas I Brown at the Mapleton l stables He lIe did not attempt to deny that he had acted I as described bed upon the evening before but declared that he had no sinister de designs designs de- de I If signs and had simply wished Sh to Ob obtain I f tS t When h first hand information confronted confronted con con- fronted with his cravat he turned very I pale and was utterly unable to account I Ifor for its presence in the hand of the Ue murdered murdered murdered mur mur- dered man His lBs wet clothing showed that he had been out in the storm of the night before and his stick which was a i lawyer weighted with lead was just such a weapon as might by re reI repeated repeated re- re I blows have Inflicted the terrible I Ito I Injuries to which the trainer had succumbed suc suc- I I On the other hand there was no wound upon his person while the I state of Strakers Straker's s knife would show that I one at least of his assailants must bear his mark upon him There you jou OU have it It all in a nutshell Watson Vatson and if YOUcan YOU vou youcan can give me any light I shall be Infinitely infinitely Infinite Infinite- infinite infinite- ly obliged to you I had listened with the greatest Interest interest inter Inter- est eat to the statement which Holmes with characteristic clearness had laid before me Though most of the facts were fa fa familiar to me I had not sufficiently appreciated appreciated ap ap- predated their relative Importance nor their connection to each other Is Is it not possible I suggested that the incised wound upon Straker may have been caused by his own knife In Inthe Inthe inthe the convulsive struggles which follow v any brain injury c I s sIt It It is more than possible It is probable probable probable able said Holmes In that case one of the main points in favor of the accused Disappears And yet et said r I even now I fail fall to understand what the theory of th the th police can be I I afraid that am whatever theory we state has very grave objections to It h It returned my companion The police imagine I t take ke It It that this Fitzroy Simp Simpson pon on having drugged the sad lad arl and anel having in some way obtained a duplicate duplicate cate ke key opened the stable door am and I took out the horse with the intention apparently of him altogether I His bridle is ml missing so that Simpson I must have put this on Then having r left the door open behind him he was leading the horse away over the moor when he was either I met or overtaken bv by the trainer A Arow row naturally ensued Simpson beat out the trainers trainer's s brains with his heavy stick slick without receiving any injury from the small knife which Straker used in self defense and then the thief either led the horse on ii to some secret hiding place or else it pay may have bolted during the struggle and be benow benow now wandering out on the moors That Thatis is the case as it appears to the police and improbable as it is all other ex explanations explanations ex- ex are more Improbable still However I shall very quickly test the matter when I am once upon the spot and until then I cannot really see how we can get much further than our present present present pres pres- ent position It was evening before we reached the little town of Tavistock which lies like the te boss of a shield in the middle of the huge circle of Dartmoor Two gentlemen gentlemen gentlemen gentle gentle- men were awaiting us in the station station- the tho one a tall fair man with hair hall and board and curiously penetrating ing light blue eyes tyes the other a small alert person very neat and dapper in a frock coat and gaiters with trim little side whiskers and an eyeglass The latter latter latter lat lat- lat lat- ter was Colonel Ross the well known sportsman the other Inspector Gregory a man who was rapidly making his name in the English detective service I am delighted that you jou ou have come down Mr Holmes said the colonel The inspector here has done all that tha could possibly be suggested but I wish to leave no stone un unturned turned in trying to avenge my horse poor r Straker and in recovering Have there been any fresh developments develop develop- ments meats asked Holmes I I am sorry to say that we have made very little progress said the inspector We We Ve have an open carriage carnage outside and as you jou ou would no doubt like to see the place before the light fails falls we might talk tatk it over as we drive Tomorrow Silver Tomorrow Silver Blaze continued |