Wallowa chieftain. [volume] (Joseph, Union County, Or.) 1884-1909, 1902-09-04
CHAPTER II-Continued.

writer, "a logician could infer the pos
sibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara
without having seen or heard of one
or the other. So all life is a great
chain, the nature of which is known
whenever We are shown a single link
OF it. Like all other arts, the science
of deduction and analysis is one which
can only be acquired by long and pa
tient study, nor is life long enough to
allow any one mortal to attain the
highest possible perfection in it. Be
fore turning to those moral and mental
aspect of the matter which present the
greatest difficulties, let the inquirer
begin by mastering more elementary
problems. Let him, on meeting a fell
low mortal, learn at a glance to dis
tinguish the history of the man. and
the trade or profession to which he be-
longs. Peurile as such an exercise may
seem, it sharpens the faculties of OBJ
servation and teaches one where to
look and what to look for. By mans
finger nails. by his coat sleeve, by his
boot by his trouser knees, by the cal
losities of his forefinger and thumb,
by his expression, by his shirt cuffs
by each of these things a mans call
ing is plainly revealed. That all unit
ed should fail to enlighten the com
petent inquirer in any case is almost
tnconceivable."
What ineffable twaddle!" I cried.
Giapping the magazine down on the
table. 81 never read such rubbish in
my life"
What is it?" asked Sherlock
Holmes.
why. this article" I said pointing
it
to my breakfast 81 see that you have
read it, since you have marked it.
don't deny that it is smartly written.
1t irritates me though. 1t Is evidently
the theory of some armchair lounger
who evolves all these neat little para
doxes in the seclusion of his own
study. 1t is not practical. I should
like to see him clapped down in a
third-class carriage on the Under
ground, and asked to give the trades
of all of his fellow travellers. I would
lay thousand to one against him"
you would lose your money" Sher-
lock Holmes remarked calmly. "As
for the article, wrote it myself"
"You!"
Eyes; l have a turn both for obser-
vation and for deduction. The theories
which l have expressed there, and
which appear to you to be so chimeri-
cal, are really extremely practical-so
practical that depend upon them for
my bread and cheese"
"And how" | asked involuntarily.
"Well, have a trade of my own.
suppose l am the only one in the
world. I'm a consulting detective, If
you can understand what that is. Here
IN London we have lots of government
detectives, and lots of private ones.
When these fellows are at fault they
come to me- and l manage to put
them on the right scent. They lay all
the evidence before me, and | am gen.
orally able, by the help of my knowl-
edge of the history of crime to set
them straight. There is a strong fam
lily resemblance about misdeeds, and il
you have all the details of a thousand
at your finger ends, it is odd if you
can't unravel the thousand and first
Lestrade is a well-known detective
He got himself into fog recently
over forgery case, and that was what
brought him here"
And these other people?"
They are mostly sent out by private
inquiry agencies. They are all people
who are in trouble about something
and want a little enlightening. lister
TO their story, they listen to my com
ments. and then l pocket my fee."
But do you mean to say" | said
that without leaving your room yol
can unravel some knot which othel
men can make nothing of, although
they have seen every detail for them
selves?"
Quite so. have a kind of intuition
that way. Now and again a case turn!
up which is a little more complex
Then | have to hustle about and SEE
things with my own eyes. You see,
have a lot of special knowledge which
1 apply to the problems, and which ia
cilitates matters wonderfully. Those
rules of deduction laid down in tha
article which aroused your scorn are
Invaluable to me in practical work
Observation, with me- is second ma
ture. You appeared to be surprised
when I told you, on our first meeting
that you had come from Afghanistan.
you were told, no doubt"
Nothing of the sort. l knew yol
came from Afghanistan. From Ions
habit the train of thought ran so swift
iy through my mind that arrived a
the conclusion without being conscious
of intermediate steps. There were sucl
steps, however. The train of reason
ing ran: Here is a gentleman of
medical type, but with the air of mil
itary man. Clearly an army doctor
then. He has just come from tn,
tropics, for his face is dark, and tha
is not the natural tint of his skin, fo
his wrists are fair. He has undergon,
hardship and sickness, as his nsggart
face says clearly. His left arm hal
been injured. He holds it in stiff
and unnatural manner. Where in tn,
tropics could an English army docto
seen much hardship and got his arm
wounded? Clearly in Afghanistan.' TIL,
whole train of thought did not occup.
a second. I then remarked that yol
came from Afghanistan, and you wer'
astonished."
''It is simple enough as you explain
It," said, smiling. you remind m'
of Edgar Allen Poe's Dupin. had NJ