The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1894-06-29
CHApTER. u-tCont,nuc,,.,


"Well, have Il trade of my own. 1
suppose am the only one in the world.
I'm a consulting detective, Il YOU can
understand what that Is. HIRE in
London we have lots of government dc.
tectivcs and lots of private ones. When
these fellows are mt fault they come to
me, and manage to put them on the
right scent. They lay all the evidence
before me. and 1 am grncr lily able,
by the help If my knowledge If tho
history of crime. TO set them st.,:sbt.
There is 81 strong family resemblance
about mis,lcctls, and if YOU have ali
the details of q thousand ut your finger
cntls. 1t is odd il YOU can't unravcl The
thousand ami first. I.cstrade is IL well
known detective. lie got hims If into
fog recently over. forgery case.
and that was what brought him hero"
And these other pcoplc:"
They arc mostly sent out by pri-
vatc inquiry agencies They arc all
people who are in trouble ab ylt some
thing and want little cnlightcu'Dg.
1 listen TO their story. they listen to
my comments, and then l pocket my
fec
But do you mean to say" 1 said,
THAT without leaving your room YOU
can unl;ivcl some knot which other men
can make nothing of. although they
have seen every detail for themselves"
Quite SO. have Il kind OF intuition
that way. Now and again case t,,ns
up which is Il little more complex. Then
1 have 10 hustle about and sec things
with my own eyes. You see 1 have
lot of special knowledge which L
apply to the problem. and which fa-
cilitatcs matters wonderfully. Those
rules of deduction laid down in that ar
ticle which aroused your scOrn are III
valuable to me in practical work. Oh
servati"n Win me s second nature.
You appeared To be surprised when
told you, on our first meeting that
You had come from Afgllanistan."
You were told. no doubt
Nothing of the sort. ] know You
came from Afglanistan. From long
habit the train of thoughts ran so
swiftly through my mind that l ar
rived ut the conclusion without being
conscious of intermediate steps. There
were such steps. however. The train
of reasoning ran. Here is Il gentleman
of Il medical type, but with the air
OF Il military man. Clearly an army
doctor. then. He has just come from
the tropics. for his face is dark. and
that Is not the natural tint of his skin,
for his wrists are fair. He has UNDER
gone hardship and sickness, as his nag
gard face says clearly. His left arm
has been injured. He holds it In Il stiff
and unnatural manner. Where in the
tropics could an English army doctor
have seen such hardship and got his
arm wounded! Clearly in Afrhanis-
TAM The whole train of thought did
not occupy Il second. then remarked
that You came from Afghanistan, and
you We're astOnished."
1T Is simple enough, as YOU explain
It," said. smiling. You remind me of
Edgar Allan Poc's 'Dupin.' had no
idea that such individuals did exist
outside of storics.'
Sherlock Holmes rose and Dit his pine.
NO doubt you think yeu are compli-
menting me in comparing me to Du.
pin,' he observed. Now, IN my opin-
ion, Dupin was Il very inferior fellow.
That trick Of his Of breaking in on
his friends thoughts with an apropos
remark after quarter of an hours
silence is really very snowy and super.
fetal. lie had some analytic genius.
no doubt. but he was by no means
such phenomenon as Poe appeared
to imagine
Have you read Gaboriau's works."
I asked. Does Lccoq come up to
your idea of n detective!'''
Sherlock Holmes shifted sardonically.
"Lccoq was Il miserable bunGler," he
said in an angry voice: ''he lad only
one thing to recommend him, ind that
was his energy. The book made me
positively i'll. The question was how
to identify an unknown prisoner. 1
could have done it in twenty-four hours.
LccOq took six months or so. 1t might
be made textbook for detectives to
teach them what to avoid"
felt rather indignant mt having two
characters whom l had admired treat
ed in this cavalier style. 1 walked over
to the window and stood looking out
into the busy street. This fellow may
be very clever" said to myself, but
he is certainly very cOnceited."
There are no crimes and no crimi-
nails in these days." he said, qucrulous-
". What is the use of having brains
III our profession? / know we'll that
have 1t In me to make my name fam
olls No man lives or has ever lived
who has brought the sama amount of
study and of natural talent to the detec,
ti0n of crime which have lone. And
what is the result? There is no crime
to detect, or, at most, some bungling
villainy with n motive so transparent
that even n Scotland Yard official can
see through It,"
was still annoyed at his bunlptio,::
style Of conversation. thought it best
to change the topic.
Il wonder what the fellow is looking
fOr!" asked, pointing to a stalwart,
plainly-lrcssed individual who was
walking slowly down the other side of
the street, looking anxiously ut the
numbers. File had a large blue cnvel-
ope in his hand, and WIS evidently the
bearer Of i message.
You mean the retired sergeant of
Marines" said Sherlock Holmes.
'Brag and bounccy' thought I to my
self. He knows that l cannot verify
his guess"
The thought had hardly passed
through my mind when the man whom
we were watching caught sight of the
number Oh our door, and ran rapidly
acltss the roadway. We heard Il loud
knock. deep voice below, and heavy
steps ascending the stairs.
For Mr.. Sherlock Holiness" he said,
stepping into the room and handing
my friend the letter.
Here was an opportunity of taking
the conceit out Of him. He little
thought Of this when he made that
random shot. May ask. my lad"
I said, blandly, "what your trade may
beY
"Commissionairc, SIR" he said, gruff-
ly. "Unif,rm away for repairs
''And you wcre? asked, with q
slightly malicious glance ut my COM
panion.
"a sergeant, sir, Royal Marine Light
Tnfuntry, ci, NJ nnS,x,otY Ilfu1,f oil,