A Study In Scarlet Part 2 (2/2)
”The finger nails and the Trichinopoly,” I suggested
”The writing on the as done with a lass allowedit, which would not have been the case if the athered up some scattered ash from the floor It was dark in colour and flakey -- such an ash as is only ar ashes -- in fact, I have written a raph upon the subject I flatter lance the ash of any known brand, either of cigar or of tobacco It is just in such details that the skilled detective differs froson and Lestrade type”
”And the florid face?” I asked
”Ah, that was a ht You must not ask me that at the present state of the affair”
I passed my hand over my brow ”My head is in a whirl,” I rerows How came these two men -- if there were two men -- into an empty house? What has become of the cabman who drove them? How could one man compel another to take poison? Where did the blood come from? What was the object of the murderer, since robbery had no part in it? How ca there? Above all, why should the second ? I confess that I cannot see any possible way of reconciling all these facts”
My coly
”You sum up the difficulties of the situation succinctly and well,” he said ”There is h I have quite made up my mind on the main facts As to poor Lestrade's discovery it was si track, by suggesting Socialism and secret societies It was not done by a German The A, if you noticed, was printed somewhat after the German fashi+on Now, a real German invariably prints in the Latin character, so that we may safely say that this was not written by one, but by a clumsy imitator who overdid his part It was sioing to tell you ets no credit when once he has explained his trick, and if I show you too , you will come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all”
”I shall never do that,” I answered; ”you have brought detection as near an exact science as it ever will be brought in this world”
My companion flushed up with pleasure at my words, and the earnest way in which I uttered them I had already observed that he was as sensitive to flattery on the score of his art as any girl could be of her beauty
”I'll tell you one other thing,” he said ”Patent leathers {10} and Square-toes caether as friendly as possible -- arot inside they walked up and down the room -- or rather, Patent-leathers stood still while Square-toes walked up and down I could read all that in the dust; and I could read that as he walked he grew th of his strides He was talking all the while, and working hiedy occurred I've told you all I know myself now, for the rest isbasis, however, on which to start We o to Halle's concert to hear Norman Neruda this afternoon”
This conversation had occurred while our cab had been threading its way through a long succession of dingy streets and dreary by-ways In the dingiest and dreariest of them our driver suddenly came to a stand ”That's Audley Court in there,” he said, pointing to a narrow slit in the line of dead-coloured brick ”You'll find me here when you come back”
Audley Court was not an attractive locality The narrow passage led us into a quadrangle paved with flags and lined by sordid dwellings We picked our way ah lines of discoloured linen, until we came to Number 46, the door of which was decorated with a sraved On enquiry we found that the constable was in bed, and ere shown into a little front parlour to await his co a little irritable at being disturbed in his slumbers ”I made my report at the office,” he said
Holn froht that we should like to hear it all from your own lips,” he said
”I shall beI can,” the constable answered with his eyes upon the little golden disk
”Just let us hear it all in your oay as it occurred”
Rance sat down on the horsehair sofa, and knitted his brows as though deter in his narrative
”I'll tell it ye froht to six in the ht at the `White Hart'; but bar that all was quiet enough on the beat At one o'clock it began to rain, and I met Harry Murcher -- hiether at the corner of Henrietta Street a-talkin' Presently -- ht I would take a look round and see that all was right down the Brixton Road It was precious dirty and lonely Not a soul did I h a cab or tent past me I was a strollin' down, thinkin' between ourselves how uncolint of a light caught my eye in theof that same house Now, I knew that them two houses in Lauriston Gardens was empty on account of hih the very last tenant what lived in one of them died o' typhoid fever I was knocked all in a heap therefore at seeing a light in the , and I suspected as soot to the door ----”
”You stopped, and then walked back to the garden gate,” my coave a violent jump, and stared at Sherlock Holmes with the utmost amazement upon his features
”Why, that's true, sir,” he said; ”though how you coot up to the door it was so still and so lonesoht I'd be none the worse for so on this side o' the grave; but I thought thatthe drains what killed hiave ate to see if I could see Murcher's lantern, but there wasn't no sign of him nor of anyone else”
”There was no one in the street?”
”Not a livin' soul, sir, nor as ether and went back and pushed the door open All was quiet inside, so I went into the rooht was a-burnin' There was a candle flickerin' on the ht I saw ----”
”Yes, I know all that you saw You walked round the room several times, and you knelt down by the body, and then you walked through and tried the kitchen door, and then ----”
John Rance sprang to his feet with a frightened face and suspicion in his eyes ”Where was you hid to see all that?” he cried ”It seems to me that you knows a deal hed and threw his card across the table to the constable ”Don't get arresting me for the murder,” he said ”I ason or Mr Lestrade will answer for that Go on, though What did you do next?”
Rance resu his ate and sounded ht Murcher and two more to the spot”
”Was the street empty then?”
”Well, it was, as far as anybody that could be of any good goes”
”What do you rin ”I've seen many a drunk chap in my time,” he said, ”but never anyone so cryin' drunk as that cove He was at the gate when I cain' at the pitch o' his lungs about Coluled Banner, or some such stuff He couldn't stand, far less help”
”What sort of a man was he?” asked Sherlock Holmes
John Rance appeared to be soression ”He was an uncommon drunk sort o' man,” he said ”He'd ha' found hisself in the station if we hadn't been so took up”
”His face -- his dress -- didn't you notice them?” Holmes broke in i that I had to prop hi chap, with a red face, the lower part muffled round ----”
”That will do,” cried Holh to do without lookin' after hier he found his way hoht”
”Hoas he dressed?”
”A brown overcoat”
”Had he a whip in his hand?”
”A whip -- no”
”He must have left it behind,” muttered my companion ”You didn't happen to see or hear a cab after that?”
”No”
”There's a half-sovereign for you,”his hat ”I am afraid, Rance, that you will never rise in the force That head of yours should be for use as well as ornaht The man whom you held in your hands is the man who holds the clue of thisabout it now; I tell you that it is so Coether, leaving our informant incredulous, but obviously unco fool,” Hols ”Just to think of his having such an incoe of it”
”I am rather in the dark still It is true that the description of this man tallies with your idea of the second party in this mystery But why should he co it? That is not the way of cri: that hat he ca hi I shall have him, Doctor -- I'll lay you two to one that I have hione but for you, and so have missed the finest study I ever came across: a study in scarlet, eh? Why shouldn't we use a little art jargon There's the scarlet thread of h the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it And now for lunch, and then for Nor are splendid What's that little thing of Chopin's she plays soback in the cab, this amateur bloodhound carolled away like a lark while I meditated upon the many-sidedness of the human mind
CHAPTER V