The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1905-07-21

Exactly. The idea crossed my
mind But we found the knife some
feet away from the body. so that
seems impossible. Then. Of course,
there are the mans own dying words.
And, finally, there was this very i'm
portant piece OF evidence which was
found clasped in the dead mans right
hand"
From his pocket Stanley Hopkins
drew a small paper packet He IN
folded it and disclosed a golden pince-
nez. with two broken ends Of black
silk cord dangling from the end Of it..
'Wiliouslby Smith had excellent
sight" he added There can be no
question that this was snatched from
the face or the person of the assassin Sc
Sherlock Holmes took the glasses in
10 his hand ana examined them with
the utmost attention and interest. He
held them on his nose, endeavored TO
read through them went to the win
dow and stared up the street with
them, looked at them most infinitely in
the full light of the lamp and finally.
with chuckle seated himself at the
table and wrote few lines upon a
sheet Of paper. which be tossed across
TO Stanley Hopkins
That's the best I can do for YOU"
said he. 1T may prove to be of some
use"
The astonished detective read the
note aloud It ran as follows:
Wanted. a woman Of good address. at
tired like a lady. She has a remarkably
thick nose. with eyes which are set close
upon either side Of il She has a pucker-
ed forehead. a peering expires on and
probably rounded shoulders Z ere are
indications that she has had recourse to
an optician at least twice during the last
few months. As her glasses are Of re-
markable strength and as opticians are
not very numerous there should be no
difficulty in tracing her.
Holmes smiled ut the astonishment
of Hopkins which must have been
reflected upon my features.
Surely my deductions are simplicity
ITSELF said he. 1T would be difficult
TO name any articles which afford a
finer field for inference than a pair of
glasses, especially so remarkable a pair
as these. That they belong TO a woman
l infer from their delicacy and also of
course from the last words of the dying
man. AS to her being a person of re-
hnement and well dressed. they are. as
you perceive. handsomely mounted in
solid gold. and it is inconceiyable that
any one who wore such glasses could
be slatternly in other respects. You
will find that the clips are too wide for
your nose showing that the lady'S nose
was very broad at the base This sort
of nose is usually Il short and coarse
one, but there is Il sufficient number of
exceptions TO prevent me from being
dogmatic or from insisting upon this
point in my description. My own face
u narrow one, and vet find that l
cannot get my eyes into the center nor
near the center of these glasses.
Therefore the lady's eyes are set very
near TO the sides of the nose. You will
perceive. Watson, that the glasses are
concave and Of unusual strength. A
lady whose vision has been so extreme
ly contracted all her life is sure to have
the physical characteristics of such
vision. which are seen in the forehead.
the eyelids and the shoulders"
Yes" | said. Il can follow each of
your arguments. | confess, however,
that ! am unable to understand how
you arrive at the double visit to the
optician"
Holmes took the glasses in his hand.
"You will perceive" he said. that
the clips are lined with tiny bands Of
cork TO soften the pressure upon the
nose. One of these is discolored and
worn to some slight extent. but the
other is new. Evidently one has fallen
off and been replaced. l should judge
that the older of them has not been
there more than a few months. They
exactly correspond, so ! gather that the
lady went back TO the same establish
ment for the second"
by George. it's marvelous. cried
Hopkins, in an ecstasy of admiration.
ITO think that had all that evidence
In my hand and never knew it, | he'd
intended, however. to go the round Of
the London opticians"
"Of course you would Meanwhile
nave you anything more to tell US about
the case?"
Nothing, Mr. Holmes. 1 think that
you know as much as l do now-prob-
ably more, We have had inquiries
made as to any stranger seen on the
country roads or at the railway sta
ton. We have heard of none. What
beats me is the utter want of all object
in the crime. Not a ghost of motive
can any one suggest"
"Ah, there l am not in a position to
help youl But l suppose you want us
TO come out tomorrow"
IF it is not asking too much, Mr..
Holmes. There's a train from Charing
Cross to Chatham at 6 in the morning.
and we should be at Yoxley Old Place
between and %
'HThen we shall take it, Your case
has certainly some features of great
interest, and l shall be delighted to
look into it. Well, it's nearly l, and
we had best get a few hours sleep.
dare say you can manage all right on
the sofa in front of the fire. I'll light
my spirit lamp and give you a cup of
coffee before we start"