Central High School - Almanac Yearbook (Toledo, OH)

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there? Now, this bears upon its surface a message so plain that any one may read it, tell me what it is. I must confess that I do not see anything. Come now, you are excessively modest. But look, see how deeply these are imprinted, that proves conclusively that our previous diner was- A man, said I confidently. Wrong, a woman. These show great development of the maxillary muscles, a development rarely found in the male and only attainable by constant and vigorous exercise, our diner then was a woman. There is another considera- tion, when one is quiescent, at rest in mind and body, he bites with the front teeth, nibbles as it were, When agitated or ill at ease, one places the food well under the molars in an effort to vent his feelings in the vigorous motion thus produced. Observe the marks, they are the impressions left by the first three molars, hence we conclude With the geat- est precision that the individual in question was laboring under extreme mental excitement-extreme I say, for no ordinary mood could have produced marks such as these. So much as to the steak. Here is another matter: Ascend- ing the trellis employed by the thief in his descent on the night of the robbery, I found this bit of satin from a fan or something of that sort, upon it you will see traced, very faintly with apencil, the name CW-i-l-l G-a-r-d-i-n-e-r,' and below the initials 'R-H-B ' . I see, said I excitedly, go on! Furthermore, I found this little bauble in the umbrella jar where I purposely dropped my pocket-book, not an hour ago, and he pulled from his vest pocket and presented to my gaze a stone of dazzling brilliancy and great size, larger by far than any which I had ever seen before, even in India. The Tanjora Diamond! I gasped. The Tanjora Diamond, he echoed, and now what do you make of it? Why, said I, eager to open the nut now that he had

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Holmes was evidently very gloomy. He tore the bread and stabbed savagely at the steak. Worrell, said he suddenly, do you notice anything peculiar about this steak?', '4It is very tough,', said I. True, that is an innate quality of all steakg I refer to my steak, this upon my platefi I looked at it for a moment, No, said I, I see noth- ing peculiar about it. Without further comment he wrapped the steak care- fully in his napkin, dropped it into a side pocket, and then strode up to the desk. I do not know just how it happened, but he very clumsily let his purse fall into the umbrella-jar, a very unusual thing for one always so graceful and precise in all his movements. He fumbled for a moment and recov- ered it, and we ascended to the street. Apparently forget- ful of his original intention, he turned homeward, and when we were once more Within the cosy precincts of his reading room he threw off the air of reserve which he had worn of late and became quite voluble. You may know, he began in the serious style of a platform lecturer, that there is a great difference between teethg between the teeth of a man and those of a woman, between the teeth of one individual and those of another, and between the precise conditions of the same teeth at one time and another, involving different conditions. I nodded. ' Now, as to this steak, it is made of Para rubber of good quality, and it is of the regular shape and dimensions, it is in fact the same as the ordinary steaks found in every restaurant, but you will notice the difference between this and the steak you had, for instance. This is comparatively new, it has not been used more than once or twice, I should say, whereas yours was covered with the myriad indenta- tions left by previous lunchers and diners, this bears traces of only one. Do you see those marks there, and there, and

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tiara at all? Would she not have kept the pretty toy intact? Again, I examined the bruise on the forehead of the Baronin and I found not the slightest scratchy on the contrary she seemed to have been struck by a well delivered blow from the shoulder, a thing impossible for a woman, even such as Miss Brockway. My head was ia a whirl, I arose and started for the door, I turned, and then a terrible thought surged through my brain. When at this distant time of writing I reflect coolly upon the doings of that night I do not know how I dared attempt such a deed, how I dared to match my puny strength and resources against that giant mind and body, but I had started and I could not stop now. With a swift motion I drew a small revolver which I always carry. with me and leveled it straight at his great forehead rising full above those clear, wonderful eyes. U Silence ! I cried, not a word ! not a motion ! '9 . He did not move. There he sat with one arm in his lap and the other resting at full length on the table. His eyes were full upon me and watched my every movement. I glided toward him and soon had the nasty little weapon pressed against his forehead. Sir, I said in a low tone, I have an oath-I have an oath-I can not break it. Jardinier is my friendg so long as there is power within my hands, guilty or innocent, he shall not be convicted of this shocking crime. Swear to me that you will keep silent-swear to me that you will not use the proofs that you have found ! I waited a momentg he did not move or speak, but con- tinued to regard me with those fixed lustrous eyes. 'f Swear it I I repeated. I waited. Still no reply. Still I waited. A slight rustle in the corridor ! I started-ever so little-and that great arm swung around from the table with lightning speed and struck me on the side of the head with a blow that I believe would have felled an ox. In