The Red Cloud chief., 1893-12-01
CHAPTER IL
THE SCIENCE OF DEDUCTION.

THE SCIENCE OF DEDUCTION.
We met next day as he had ar
ranged, and inspected the rooms at
No. 22lB Baker street, Of which he had
spoken at our meeting. They con-
sisted Of a couple of comfortable bed
rooms and a single large, airy sitting
room, cheerfully furnished, and H.
Illuminated by two broad windows. So
desirable in every way were the apart
ments, and SO moderate did the terms
seem when divided between us, hat
the bargain was concluded upon the
spot, and we at once entered into pos
session. That very evening I moved
my things round from the hotel, and
on the following morning Sherlock
Holmes followed me with several
boxes and portmanteaus. For a day OF
two we were busily employed in I'M
packing and laying out our property
to the best advantage. That done, we
gradually began to settle down and to
accommodate ourselves to our new Sur
roundings.
Holmes wa certainly not a difficult
man to live with. He vas quiet in his
ways and his habits were regular. 1t
was rare for him to be up after ten at
night, and he had invariably break
tasted and gone out before ] rosc in
the morning. Sometimes he spent his
day at the chemical laboratory, some
times in the dissecting-rooms and &C.
~casionally In long walks, which ap-
peared to take him into the lowest por-
tions Of the city. Nothing could *
coed his energy when the working fit
was upon him, but now and again n re-
action would seize him and for days
on end he would lie upon the sofa in
the sitting-room. hardly uttering q
word or moving q muscle from MORN
ing to night. On these occasions
have noticed such a dreamy, vacant
expression in his eyes that l might
have suspected him Of being addicted
to the use Of some narcotic had not
the temperance and cleanliness OF his
whole life forbidden such a notion.
As the weeks went by, my interest
III him and my curiosity as to his aims
in life gradually deepened and in
creased. His very person and APP
pearance were such as to strike the at
tention of the most casual observer.
In height he was rather over six feet,
and SO excessively lean that he seemed
to be considerably taller. His eyes
were sharp and piercing, save during
those intervals of torpor to which l
have alluded; and his thin, hawk-like
nose gave his whole expression an air
of alertness and decision. His chin,
too, had the prominence and square
ness which mark the man of determine
ton. His hands were invariably blotted
with ink and stained with chemicals,
yet he was possessed of extraordinary
delicacy of touch, as l frequently had
occasion to observe when I watched
him manipulating his fragile philo-
sophical instruments.
The reader may set me down as a
hopeless busybody, when l confess
how much this man stimulated my
curiosity and how often ] endeavored
to break through the reticence which
he showed on all that concerned him
self. Before p%ronouncing Judgment,
however, be it remembered how object
less was my life and how little there
was To engage my attention. My
health forbade me from venturing on,
unless the weather was exceptionally
genial, and I had no friends who would
call upon me and break the monotony
Of my daily existence. Under these
circumstance l eagerly hailed the lit
tic mystery which hung around my
companion, and spent much Of my
time in ~endeavoring to unravel IL.
lie was not studying medicine. liz
had himself, in reply to a question
confirmed Stamford's opinion upor
that point. Neither did he appear &c
have pursued any course Of reading
which might lit him for q degree
In science or any other recognized
portal which would give him an en-
trance into the learned world. Ye,
his zeal for certain studies Ma ~