Who was this
Englishman that he should come between us? I tell you that I
had the first right to her, and that I was only claiming my own."
"She broke away from your influence when she found the man that
you are," said Holmes, sternly. "She fled from America to avoid
you, and she married an honourable gentleman in England.
You dogged her and followed her and made her life a misery to her
in order to induce her to abandon the husband whom she loved and
respected in order to fly with you, whom she feared and hated.
You have ended by bringing about the death of a noble man and
driving his wife to suicide. That is your record in this
business, Mr. Abe Slaney, and you will answer for it to the law."
"If Elsie dies I care nothing what becomes of me," said the
American. He opened one of his hands and looked at a note
crumpled up in his palm. "See here, mister, he cried, with a
gleam of suspicion in his eyes, "you're not trying to scare me
over this, are you? If the lady is hurt as bad as you say, who was
it that wrote this note?" He tossed it forwards on to the table.
"I wrote it to bring you here.
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