The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Part 17 (2/2)
”Light-houses, ht little seeds in each, out of which will spring the wise, better England of the future I suppose that man Phelps does not drink?”
”I should not think so”
”Nor should I, but we are bound to take every possibility into account The poor devil has certainly got himself into very deep water, and it's a question whether we shall ever be able to get hiirl of strong character”
”Yes, but she is a good sort, or I am mistaken She and her brother are the only children of an iron-ed to her when traveling last winter, and she came down to be introduced to his people, with her brother as escort Then came the smash, and she stayed on to nurse her lover, while brother Joseph, finding hi a few independent inquiries, you see But to-day an
”Oh, if you find your own casesthanto say thatvery well for a day or two, since it is the slackest tiood-huether I think that we should begin by seeing Forbes He can probably tell us all the details ant until we know from what side the case is to be approached”
”You said you had a clue?”
”Well, we have several, but we can only test their value by further inquiry The most difficult crime to track is the one which is purposeless Now this is not purposeless Who is it who profits by it? There is the French aht sell it to either of these, and there is Lord Holdhurst”
”Lord Holdhurst!”
”Well, it is just conceivable that a statesht find himself in a position where he was not sorry to have such a document accidentally destroyed”
”Not a statesman with the honorable record of Lord Holdhurst?”
”It is a possibility and we cannot afford to disregard it We shall see the noble lord to-day and find out if he can tell us anything Meanwhile I have already set inquiries on foot”
”Already?”
”Yes, I sent wires fro paper in London This advertisement will appear in each of them”
He handed over a sheet torn from a note-book On it was scribbled in pencil: ”L10 reward The number of the cab which dropped a fare at or about the door of the Foreign Office in Charles Street at quarter to ten in the evening of May 23d Apply 221 B, Baker Street”
”You are confident that the thief came in a cab?”
”If not, there is no har that there is no hiding-place either in the room or the corridors, then the person must have coht, and yet left no trace of damp upon the linoleu, then it is exceeding probable that he came in a cab Yes, I think that we may safely deduce a cab”
”It sounds plausible”
”That is one of the clues of which I spoke ItAnd then, of course, there is the bell--which is the ? Was it the thief who did it out of bravado? Or was it some one ith the thief who did it in order to prevent the crime? Or was it an accident? Or was it--?” He sank back into the state of intense and silent thought froed; but it seemed to me, accustomed as I was to his every mood, that some new possibility had dawned suddenly upon him
It enty past three e reached our terminus, and after a hasty luncheon at the buffet we pushed on at once to Scotland Yard Hol to receive us--a small, foxy man with a sharp but by no id in his manner to us, especially when he heard the errand upon which we had come
”I've heard of your methods before now, Mr Holh to use all the information that the police can lay at your disposal, and then you try to finish the case yourself and bring discredit on them”
”On the contrary,” said Holmes, ”out of my last fifty-three cases my name has only appeared in four, and the police have had all the credit in forty-nine I don't bla and inexperienced, but if you wish to get on in your new duties you ith lad of a hint or two,” said the detective, changing his manner ”I've certainly had no credit from the case so far”
”What steps have you taken?”
”Tangey, the coood character and we can find nothing against hih I fancy she knows more about this than appears”
”Have you shadowed her?”
”We have set one of our woey drinks, and our woman has been with her then she ell on, but she could get nothing out of her”
”I understand that they have had brokers in the house?”
”Yes, but they were paid off”
”Where did the ht His pension was due They have not shown any sign of being in funds”
”What explanation did she give of having answered the bell when Mr Phelps rang for the coffee?”
”She said that he husband was very tired and she wished to relieve hi found a little later asleep in his chair There is nothing against them then but the woht? Her haste attracted the attention of the police constable”
”She was later than usual and wanted to get home”
”Did you point out to her that you and Mr Phelps, who started at least twenty ot home before her?”
”She explains that by the difference between a 'bus and a hanso her house, she ran into the back kitchen?”
”Because she had the money there hich to pay off the brokers”
”She has at least an answer for everything Did you ask her whether in leaving sheabout Charles Street?”
”She saw no one but the constable”
”Well, you seehly What else have you done?”
”The clerk Gorot has been shadowed all these nine weeks, but without result We can show nothing against hi else to go upon--no evidence of any kind”
”Have you for?”
”Well, I must confess that it beats ive the alarm like that”