The news & observer., 1905-12-17

OF mine. And Yet, what could have
happened? And why could he not
write? Oh, it drives me half-mad to
think of! and | can't sleep Il wink at
night" She pulled a little handker-
chief out of her muff and began to
sob heavily into it,
II shall glance into the case for
you said Holmes. rising; and | have
no doubt that we shall reach some
definite result. Let the weight of the
matter rest upon me now, and do not
let your mind dwell upon it further.
Above all, try to lei Mr.. Hosmer An
gel vanish from your memory, as he
has done from your life"
Then you don't think I'll see him
again."
Il fear not"
Then what has happened to him? ?"
"You will leave that question In
my hands. l should like an accurate
description Of him, and any letters
of his which you can spare"
IT advertised for him in last Satur-
days Chronicle" said she. Here Is
the slip, and here are four letters
from him.
THANK you. And your address,"
mo. 81 Lyon Place, Camberwell."
"Mr. Angels address you never had.
/ understand. Where is your fathers
place of business?"
HE travels for Westhouse & Mar
bank, the great claret importers Of
4,n.nurch street
THANK you. You have made your
statement very clearly You will leave
me papers here, ana remember the
advice which | have given you. Let
the whole incident be a sealed book.
and do not allow it to affect your
Iife.''
You are very kind, Mr.. Holmes.
but | cannot do that ! shall be true
to Hosmer. He shall find me ready
when he comes back
For all the preposterous hat and
the Vacuous face there was some
thing noble i'm the simple faith of our
visitor which compelled our respect
She laid her little bundle Of papers
upon the table. and went her way,
with a promise to come again when
ever she might be summoned
Sherlock Holmes sat silent for few
minutes with his fingertips still
pressed together, his legs stretched
out in front of him, and his gaze di-
rected upward to the ceiling. Then he
took down from the rack the old
and oily clay pipe, which was TO him
as a counsellor, and, having lit it.
he leaned back in his chair, with the
thick blue clOud-Wreaths spinning ~
from him. and a look Of infinite Ian
guor in his face.
quite an interesting study, that
maiden" he observed. Il found he:
more interesting than her little pro-
blem, which, by the way is rather
uite one. You will find parallel cases,
if you consult my index. in Andover
i'm II, and there was something OF the
sort at The Hague last year. GA rs
is the idea, however, there were Gne
or two details which were new To
me. But the maiden herself was most
instructive"
You appeared 70 read a good deal
upon her which was quite invisible to
me-" / remarked
mot invisible, but unnot.ced, Wat
son You did no. know whore to
look. and so you missed all that was
important. ! can never bring you TO
realize the Importance Of sleeves, the
sllggestiveness of thumb-na Is, or the
great ~fsues that may hang from
boot-lace Now, what did you gather
from that Woman's appearance? De-
scribe il"
"Wel, she had a slate-colored.
broad d-brmmed straw hat, with
feather of a brickish red. Her jacket
was black. with black beads sewn
upon it, and a fringe of little black jet
ornaments. Her dress was brown,
rather darker than cOffee-color, with
little purple plush at the neck and
sleeves. Her gloves wsre grayish,
and were worn through at the right
forefinger. Her boots ! didn't observe.
She had small. round, hanging gold
earrings. and general air of being
fairly well-to-do in vulgar, COM
forta ble easy going way.
Sherlock Holmes clapped his hands
softly together and chuckled.
"Pon my word, Watson, you are
coming along wonderfully. You have
really done very well indeed. 1t is
true that you have missed everything
of importance, but you have hit upon
the method. and you have a quick eye
for color. Never trust to general i'm
pressions, my boy. but concentrate
yourself upon details. My first glance
is always at d Woman'S S sleeve In
man it is perhaps better first to take
the knee of the trouser. AS you OBJ
serve, this woman had plush upon
her sleeves, which is a most useful
material for showing traces. The
double line a little above the wrist.
where the typewritist presses against
the table, was beautifully defined.
The sewing machine, of the hand-type.
leaves q similar mark, but only on
the left arm, and on the side of it
farthest from the thumb instead of
being right across the broadest part,
as this was. l then glanced at her
face, and observing the dnt of It
pincenez at either side Of her nose, |
ventured remark upon short sight
and typewriting, which seemed to sur
prise her"
''It surprised me-"
"But surely it was very obvious. l
was then much surprised and inter
ested on g!ancing down to observe
that, though the boots which she was
wearing were not unlike each other,
they were really odd ones; the one
having a slightly decorated toe-cap,