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 SHERLOCK HOLMES, WITNESS

SHERLOCK

HOLMES,

471

WITNESS

THE FAMOUS DETECTIVE TESTIFIES By Donald R. Richberg MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES," called the lawyer. A long, lean gentleman, with remarkably keen, penetrating eyes, walked slowly to the witness stand, fol lowed by an inoffensive appearing man, whose air of quiet assertiveness stamped him as a practising physician. "We will call you shortly, Dr. Watson," said the lawyer, whereat that gentleman bowed with professional gravity and re sumed his seat. "Raise your right hand," droned the clerk, following the command with a hope less rush of words, ending explosively with "selp ye God!" "I do," replied Sherlock Holmes. On being asked to state his name, resi dence and occupation, the witness replied. "Sherlock Holmes, Baker street, Lon don, England, criminal investigator, an alyzer and deducer." The detective was then qualified through a'long series of questions, most of them being sufficiently ungrammatical to serve as professional models. Then came the real examination. "What do you know about this case?" asked Mr. Sharp, attorney for the de fendant. "Everything," replied the witness. "I move to strike out that answer, in competent, irrelevant, absurd," shouted Mr. Quick, for the plaintiff. "Motion sustained," said the court. "Are you familiar with the house and grounds known as Gridsly Manor?" was the next question. "I am." "Describe the conditions you found there on the evening of June 16th, of this year." "As I entered my compartment in the

4:12 express at Charing Cross, I noted that the guard was laboring under great stress of emotion. While he was gazing fixedly at the small coin which I had just given him, it was evident his emotion was not gratitude. In fact he hastily removed the 'reserved' sign from the window of my compartment and ran down the platform. I had observed, however, that he had red dish hair and a slight droop of the right shoulder." "I move to strike all this out." inter rupted Mr. Quick. "If your honor please, this court is seeking light as to whether John Gridsly of Gridsly Manor, England, was murdered or committed suicide. This witness has been imported into this country by the defense to cast some alleged illumi nation on that question. I do not believe your honor cares to waste your time or that of counsel listening to old lady's tales of a train journey." "Strike it out," said the court. "If your honor please," remonstrated Mr. Sharp, "if Mr. Holmes can be allowed to tell his story his own way, I'm sure —" "We'll be here all night," said th; court. "Get off the train, Mr. Holmes, take a cab, get to Gridsly Manor somehow, then tell us what you saw." Holmes was evidently much displeased at the court's abruptness, but he only exhibited his feelings by slightly raising his eyebrows at Dr. Watson, who smiled back sympathetically. With an accent of tol eration the great detective continued: "To give only the barest details I may say that when I entered the room wherein John Gridsly had passed away I saw at once that ha had not been alone when he died." "I object," howled Quick. "Witness