THE STORYTELLER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 270, 7 November 1908, Page 4

THE STORYTELLER.

THE SILVER CANDLESTICK . ANOTHER UF SEXTON BLAKES SLNUILAIv ADVENTUBES. I. It was a few commonplace words which Sexton Wake chanced to overhear whilst biiyiag a tooth-brush wlmh furnished him with the clue that ultimately enabled him to solve the mystery of the burglary at Lgthorpe Lodge. ' He had gone down to lgthorpe, a little seaside village in Lincolnshire, in order to examine the parish register for certain information in connection with a case he had on hand. On unpacking his ibag, late in thei afternoon, he discovered that he had come away without a toothbrush; and, accordingly, he strolled rouiid to the village chemist's to buy one. He was on the point of leaving, when a stylishly-dressed young woman, wlio would have been pretty but for a distiguringpatch of eczema on her rig'it cheek, came into the shop. " Will you please make me up another box of ointment and another bottle of medicine V she said. "The iron medicine or the sulphur medicine?" inquired the chemist. "The sulphur mediciiie," she replied. "The same that I've "been taking for the last fortnight. You have the prescription t" "Oh, yes," said the clremist. "Shall t send them up to the lodge!" "I'll call for them in about half an hour,"' she said. And with that she left the shop. "That was Jliss Flower," said the chemist to Sexton Blake. " Her fath.-r is Lord Borrowhy's agent, you know." The detective neither knew nor cared to know. He gathered up his change,, and returned to the inn, where he spent the night. Next morning, after breakfast, the detective -wag just setting out for the station, to catch the half-past seven train to town, when a dogcart rattL'd up to the front door of the inn, and a:i elderly man, with iron-grey hair, sprang out. i

"Mr. Sexton Blake?" lie inquired. "That's me," said the detective, who was just coming out of the door, bag in hand. * Thank goodness, I've caught you in time!" said the new arrival. "My name is Flower. I'm Lord Borrowby's agent. A burglary has been committed at my house, and a bag containing nearly six hundred pounds has been stolen." I've communicated with the police, of course, bnt having heard that you were in thu neighbourhood, I've decided to ask you to make an independent investigation. If you will, I'll drive you to my house —which is about two miles from here—and HI give you all the details on the way."

■ The detective having expressed lis willingness to undertake the case, he .and Mr. Flower drove off. in the direction of Ugthorpe Lodge. "Now, begin at the beginning, and ; tell me all about it, said Sexton Blake. "IS I am to begin at the beginning," i Mid Mr. Flower, " I must first tell you ! ' that yesterday I drove" to Kedmires, , which is a village about seven miles from here, in order to receive the rents of those of Lord Borrowby's tenants who have holdings on that portion of , the estate. When 1 returned to ■ DgT thorpe Lodge—the name of my house— I had over five hundred pounds—nearly six, as a matter of fact —in a small, black-leather handbag. About fil;y pounds was in notes; the rest was hi gold and Silver. "On arriving at my house, about halfpast eleven last night, I placed the bag and its contents in a roll-top desk in my library, intending to bank the

/ money to-day. I have locked money in that desk for the last twenty years, and never until now have 1 had reason to regret it. " I ought, perhaps, to explain that I am a widower. My household consists of myself, my daughter—who is just out of her teens—and a couple of female servants." He stopped suddenly, seeming to find the detective's keen glance disconcerting.

-" To resume my narrative," he continued, " 1 went to bed soon after m'dnigbt, and by one o'clock was fast asleep. Two hours later 1 awoke—for | no particular reason—and as I lay awake in bed I fancied I heard somebody in the library. "I slipped out of bed and stole dowastairs. A feeble glimmer of light was streaming under the library door, and 1 distinctly heard two people talking. By that time, however, the burglars—for such they were, of course, had evidently heard me coming downstairs: for suddenly the light was extinguished. "With a ringing shout, by which I hoped to rouse the servants, I rushed to the library door, and thing it open. No sooner had I done so than one of the burglars—whom I could not see in the darkness, oi course—sprang at me, and enveloped my head and shoulders in a rug. '"Bun—run!' 1 heard him say to his confederate in a low, excited -whisper. " 1 struck out wildly, and tried to free myself from the rug. la doing so, 1 slipped and fell, and as I- fell I struck my head against the corner of the table. The blow stunned me for a ie.v minutes, and when 1 regained my senses the burglars had disappeared, and I was lying on the library lloor, surrounded by my daughter and tlec two servants. 1 struggled to my- feet, and told them briefly what had happened. J then proceeded to examine the room. "The first thing I discovered was that the burglars had ha<l the impudence toraid my larder, and regaHe themselves oa ehicken and claret! Standing on the library table were a silver candlestick, which they had taken from 'he hall-stand, the remains of a cold chick.-n which they had found iu the lardc, some bread and butter, and a newlyopened bottle of claret. " Finally, I must tell yon," lie concluded, " that the library window—which is a French window—was wide open—which showed how the scoundre's had gained admittance to the house. and how they had escaped." " But when did you discover that the money had -been stolen'?" said Se.viton Blake. »

" Sot for several minutes,'' said Sir. •Flower. "In fact, after examining the room, 1 had come to the conclusion that I had surprised the. burglars before they had time to steal anything, when it occurred to me to look in my desk. Tlu:i I found that it had been iorced open, and closed again. The lock, in fact, had been smashed; and when I raised the roll-top. I saw at a glance that the bag had disappeared, "On bearing my announcement tint the bag had been, stolen, my daughter fainted. After L had, satisfied myself tliat nothing el* hail been stoWn, t dressed, drove to the village, informed Ute constable of what liad occurred, and then drove to the Tcwers. and informed Lord Borrowl>y. It was at his suggestion that I decidml to ask ycat to i >- vestigate the case. 'And now"—lie hcivcd a sigh of relief—" 1 think I've told you everything.'' ■■ \ \ ) A few minutes laier they reached Ugthorpe Lodge.

In accordance with Mr. Flower's instructions, nothjnj; luul been ilistur,V:l in tlie library. Sexton Blake niacin a rapid examination of tlie room; then lie turned to Mr. Flower. "You spoke of burglars in the plural number," he said, pointing to the table. " As you see. however, only one of tlron roust have lieen hungry. There is: only one plate, one glass, and one knife ami fork."

"Humph!" growled Mr. Mower. "I h.idn't noticed that beforet It is. however, as you say. Only one of flic scoundrels was regaling htinisclf at my expense when I disturbed them." The detective next examined the I'oVi top desk. The lock was of the most primitive description, and had been smashed open by maia force. " Amateurish—very amateurish!'" he murmured! '' This is, not the work of a professional!" ' He examined the window. As alneady •tated. it was a. French window, ami was secured on "the inside by a covple of bolts at the top. and another pair Kt the bottom. Clearly, therefore, nobml\ outside tliei window could have unfastened these colts without first, niak- * in<r a breach in the panes, yet both the panes were intact. "You didn't thijik. I suppose," i'd mid, "of examininpr the other windows of the house?" "OP. ves, T did!'' said .\'fr. Khmer. "I .arcfully examined every door and window in the house, and all of hliein y ' were securely fastened," Sexton Blake made no remark on tibia -titemont: bill, in his. own mind, he registered it us a fact Jieyond all doifrit that the burglars—or one of them, at miv rate—had been admitted into the library by «omcbody JnsJde the house.

! He examined the ground outside thwindow. To the untrained eye thee was nothing to be seen; but, to Sexton Wake, a double track of footprints, one, leading to the window and the other away from it, was as clear as the noonday sun. But the footprints were •„) "like; they were tile footprints 0 f o ue "'an, not two.

Ins, ot course, continued Sexton -Blake a theory. Somebody had walked "1> to the outside of the window; a second person, inside the house, had opened the window and admitted him; and, after Mr. Flower had been stunned the first man had stepped through the window and escaped, leaving the second person m the house.

Nho was the second person'; Clearly it could only have been one of three people-Miss Flower or one of the tiv o : female servants.

Whilst Sexton Blake was pondering over this discovery, lie happened to glance at the silver candlestick, which' was ,till standing o n the table by the side ot the remains of the bur-dar's supper. °

He picked up the candlestick and closely examined it. A black sta.n 1 which he had observed .was apparently of recent origin, and was due to a deposit of sulphide of silver. To what was this deposit due' There was only one possible explanation. The silver—of which the candlestick wms composed—had been brought in contact with sulphur in some form. But how? Again there was only one explanation. Sexton Wake, who had had a medicil training, was well aware that persons who are taking medicine containing sulphur exude small quantities of the drug iu their perspiration, with the result that any silver articles they handle, or any silver articles in their pocketssuch as a silver watch, or silver coinsare tarnished and blackened by the sulphur, which combines with the silver to form silver sulphide. The explanation of the dark stain on the candlestick was, therefore, perfectly i clear. Somebody who was taking sulphur medicine had recently handled the candlestick. In a Hash the detective remembered the conversation he had overheard in the chemist's shop the day before.

"The sulphur medicine," Miss Flower had said. "The same that I've been taking for the last fortnight." There was still a loophole of escape from the terrible conclusion to which Sexton Blake was being forced. lie turned to Mr. Flower. "'Can you find out when this candlestick was last cleaned';" lie asked. Mr. Flower rang the bell for the housemaid. " I cleaned it yesterday evening," she said, in reply to the detective's question. That settled the matter. It was /Miss Flower who had admitted the burglar; who-had carried the candlestick to the larder in search of food for him; who had escaped from the library—and had doubtless returned to her bed-room —when the burglar, after flinging the rug over her father's head, had whispered, "Run—run!" It was a horrible solution of the mystery; but suddenly another thought occurred to Blake. He went to the door, and caught the housemaid at the head of the stairs. To her he put a rapid question, and he breathed a sigh of relief at her reply. 1 His musings euded in a sudden start. Through the open window he saw a girlish figure stealing down the drive, and ever and anon glancing furtively behind her, as if she feared to be seen. He recognised her at a glance. It was the girl he had seen in the chemist's shop the day before. * The detective turned to Mr. Flower. j. " Will you fetch me another bottle of claret, the same as this?" he asked. Completely mystified, Mr. Flower left : the room; and the moment he had dU- ! appeared the detective stepped through the open window, and darted after M ; ss Flower. ' I

•'Good-morning, Miss Flower!" he said, overtaking her. Hadn't you better let me do it?" She gazeU at him with frightened eyes. "Do—do what?" she faltered. "(Jo to your brother," said Sexton Blake, and beg him to return the niomy which,"unknown to you, he stole iivm his father's desk." With a piteous moan, the poor girt reeled, and would have fallen if he had not caught her. His 1 rapid question to the housemaid had provided liim with the key to the mystery. He liad noted Mr. Flower's hesitation when he described the members of his family, and the girl had told him that one had been left uuiuentio.ied—a scapegrace sou, who had disappeared two years before. The matchless brain of the detective brought him to the conclusion that, unknown to his father, the son had returned. Miss Flower had admitted hiui to give him food* and perhaps money. While she was in the larder the scamp had abstracteff "the money. Miss Flowvr liad no idea of this; that was why she had fainted when the robbery was ma lemanifest. "Now tell me all about it," he said gently. And she told him—told him everything. Her.brother had returned to tho villagif penniless and starving. He had sent her a note, begging her to grant him an interview; and after that everything had happened as the detective surmised. '■ He must have yielded to a sudden temptation, and broken open the desk whilst I was in the larder," she sobbed. "He isn't really bad, Mr. Blake, only a bit wild; and by this time, I know, he has bitterly repented of his mad act. If only 1 could have seen him, before his guilt was discovered, he would have given me the bag, and all might have been well. And EOT it is too late —too late!"

" Not yet," said Sexton Blake softly. " I have told nobody but you of my discoveries; and if your brother is truly repentant, all may still be well. Ie!l me where he is staying, then go back to the house, and leave the rest to me."

Two hours later the detective stepped back into the library, through the open window, with a small black-leather handbag in his hand. Mr. Flower was standing there looking abjectly miserable. Suddenly he saw the bag. "Vou—you don't mean to say you'.c iound it?" he gasped. Sexton Blake smiled and handed him the bag. v '' "You'll find all the money there," he said, '"except >"v fee of twenty guinea", which I've taken the liberty of extracting. No; don't-ask any questions, Best content to have recovered your property, and accept my giving me the opportunity of tackling a very interesting problem." Before the astounded agent could question him further, he was trudging down the drive. At the gatcsjie met Miss Flower. ~

" The bag is now in your father's possession," he said. "It was as you guessed, a ease of a sudden temptation on your brother's part, followed by swift remorse. So satisiied was 1, in fact, of lis repentance that, in order to enable him to make a fresh start mi lite I save him— —" lie smiled and rai-.ed hi- hat. "Some very good advice. Oood-byc: And it was not until long aflerwai:!s that -Miss Flower learned from her brother, who was then in Canada, tlvat Sexton Blake, in addition to giving hi.u " some very good advice/' had al-o given him twenty guineas.