Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1902-08-07
CnApTER II--ContInned


without having seen or heard OF one
or the other. SO all life II a great
chain, the nature OF which is known
whenever We are shown n single link
OF II. Like all other arts. the soience
Of deduction and analysis In one which
can only be acquired by long and pm
tient study, nor Is life long enough TO
allow any one mortal to attain the
highest possible perfection In II. BE.
fore turning 10 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 q fell
low mortal. learn at glance TO dis.
tingulsh the history OF the man. and
the trade or profession 10 which he be.
longs. Peurlle as such an exercise may
seem. II aharpens the faculties OF OBJ
Rervatlon and teaches one where 10
look and what % look for BY mans
finger nails. by his coat sleeve. by his
boot. by his trouser knees. by the cal
lositlcs OF HIS forehnger and thumb,
by his expression. by his shirt cuffs
by each OF these things n mans call.
Ing is plainly revealed. That all unit.
ed should fall 10 enlighten the com.
petent inquirer In any case Ia almost
uncomfortable"
what lneffable twaddlei" I cried.
slapping the magazine down on the
table. Il never read such rubbish In
my life"
"what is ~" asked Sherlock
Holmes.
why. this article" ! said, pointing
at II with my egg spoon as sat down
to my breakfast. Il see that you have
read II. since you have marked H.
don't deny that II Ia smartly written,
II irritates me though. II is evidently
the theory OF some arm chair lounger
who evolves all these neat little para.
doxes In the secluslon OF his own
study. II Is not practical. should
like to see him clapped down In
thIrd.class carriage on the Under
ground. and asked 10 give the trades
OF all OF his fellow travellers, would
lay Il thousand to one against him"
"You would lose your money" Sher.
lock Holmes remarked calmly. "As
for the article. wrote II myself"
"You!"
"YeB; have turn both for obser.
vation and for deduction, The theories
which | have expressed there. and
which appear to you TO be 30 chimeri-
cal. are really extremely praetical-so
practical that depend upon them for
my bread and cheese"
And how?" asked involuntarily,
well. have trade of my own. |
suppose am the only one In the
world. I'm a consulting detective. II
you can understand what that is. Here
In London we have lots of government
detectives. and lots OF private ones.
When these fellows are ut fault they
come 10 me, and | 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 II
you have all the details OF thousand
at your finger ends. II Is odd II you
can't unrayel the thousand and first.
Lestrade Is a well.known detective.
He got himself into q fog recently
over a 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 little enlightening. listen
to their story, they listen to my com.
ments. and then pocket my fee"
But do you mean to say" said.
that without leaving your room you
gal uyh 90
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 case turns
up which Is little more complex.
Then | have to hustle about and see
things with my own eyes. You see,
have a lot of special knowledge which
apply to the problems, and which fa-
cilitates matters wonderfully. Those
rules OF deduction laid down in that
article which aroused your scorn are
invaluable to me in practical work.
Observation, with me, ls second ma
tire. You appeared to be surprised
when told you, on our first meeting,
that you had come from Afghanistan.
s"You were told, no doubt"
Nothing OF the sort. knew you
came from Afghanistan.. From long
habit the train of thought ran so swift.
ly through my mind that I arrived at
the conclusion without being conscious
OF intermediate steps. There were such
steps, however. The train of reason.
ing ran; Here Is a gentleman of a
medical type, but with the air of a mil
itary man. Clearly an army doctor
then. He has just come frem the
tropics, for his face Is dark, and that
Is not the natural tint of his skin, for
his wrists are fair. He has undergone
hardship and sickness, as his hAggard
face says clearly. His left arm has
been injured, He holds It In stiff
and unnatural manner, Where In the
tropics could an English army doctor
seen much hardship and got his arm
wounded? Clearly In Afghanistan. The
whole train of thought did not occupy
a second. l then remarked that you
came from Afghanistan, and you were
astonished,"
"It Is simple enough as You explain
It." | said, smiling. "You remind me
, of Edgar Allen Poe's Dupin. had nc
idea that such individuals did exist
outside of stories"
Sherlock Holmes rose and lighted
r his pipe, @
mo doubt you think that you are
complimenting me In comparing me to
Dupin," he observed. %Now, in my
opinion Dnpin was a. very inferior fel
low. That trick Of his of breaking In
on his friends thoughts with an apro'
pos remark after quarter of an hours
silenceis really very showy and super
Acial. He had some analytical genius