Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-15
Professors
bed room

/ numerous. there should be no difficulty in
| tracing her"
| Hopkins, which must have been reflected
| upon my features.
Surely my deductions are simplicity it
| self said he 1T would be difficult to
| name any articles which afford finer field
] for inference than a pair of glasses, espe
| ciaily so remarkable a pair as these. That
| they belong to a woman | infer from their
deiicacy, and also, of course, from the last
| words of the dying man. As to her being
/ person of refinement and we'll dressed, they
are, as you perceive, handsomely mounted
in solid gold, and it is inconceivable 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 a short and coarse one but there is
! a sufficient number of exceptions to prevent
| me from being dogmatic or from insisting
| upon this point in my description. My own
| face is narrow one and yet | find that
/ cannot get my eyes into the center. nor
near the center, of these glasses. There
/ fore, the ladys eyes are set very near TO
| the sides of the nose. You will perceive,
F! Watson, that the glasses are concave and
| of unusual strength. A lady whose vision
/ has been so extremely contracted all her
| life is sure to have the physical characters
| ties of such vision. which are seen in the
| forehead the eyelids and the shoulders
| Yes" L said, Il can follow each of your
arguments. | confess. however, that L am
|
| 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. I should
| judge that the older of them has not been
| there more than a few months. They ex-
actly correspond, so I gather that the lady
| went back to the same establishment for
! the second"
| by George it's marvelousr" cried Hop
| kins. in an ecstasy of admiration. ITO
think that 1 had all that evidence in my
hand and never knew it, l had intended,
however. to go the round of the London
opticians"
"Of course you would. Meanwhile. have
you anything more to tell us about the
case?"
Nothing, Mr.. Holmes I think that you
know as much as L do now-probably more
We have had inquiries made as to any
stranger seen on the country roads or at
the railway station. We have heard of
none. What beats me Is the utter want of
all object in the crime. Not a ghost of a
motive can any one suggest"
"Ah! there 1 am not in a position to help
you. But 1 suppose you want US to come
out tomorrow
IF it is not asking too much, Mr..
Holmes. There's train from Charing
Cross to Chatham at in the morning, and
We should be at Yoxley Old Place between
and o.
Then 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
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"
The gale had blown itself out next day,
but it was a bitter morning when we
started upon our journey We saw the cold
winter sun rise over the dreary marshes
nf ha a amos q M he lnocr nt,A-l
of the river, which l shall ever associate
with our pursuit of the Andaman Islander
in the earlier days of our career. After a
long and weary journey, we alighted at a
small station some miles from Chatham.
While horse was being put into a trap
at the local inn, we snatched a hurried
breakfast, and so we were all ready for
business when We at last arrived at Yoxley
Old Place. A constable met US at the
garden gate.
well. Wilson, any newsr'
mo, sir-nothing."
mo reports of any stranger seen?''
mo, sir Down at the station they are
certain that no stranger either came or
went yesterday"
Have you had inquiries made at inns
and lodgings?"
Yes, sir; there is no one that we cannot
account for"
well, it's only a reasonable walk to
Chatham. Any one might stay there or take
q train without being observed. This Is
the garden path of which 1 spoke, Mr..
Holmes. I'll pledge my word there was
no mark on 1t yesterday"
ION which side were the Vlarks on the
grass?
This side. sir. This narrow margin Of
grass between the path and the flower-bed.
I can't see the traces now, but they were
clear to me then.
Eyes, yes: some one has passed along"
said Holmes, STOPPING over the grass bor-
der. Our lady must have picked her steps
carefully. must she not since on the one
f1A ct,x yarfld Lon a rQo n n no no
and on the other an even clearer one on
the soft bed?'
Eyes, sir; she must have been a cool
hand"
/ saw an intent look pass over Holmes
face.
you say that she must have come back
this wayT
Eyes, sir, there Is no other"
ION this strip OF grass!
Certainly, Mr.. Holmes"
Hum! 1t was a very remarkable per-
formance-very remarkable. Well, / think
we have exhausted the path. Let US go
open I suppose? Then this visitor had
nothing to do but to walk in. The idea of
murder was not in her mind, or she would
have provided herself with some sort Of
weapon instead of having to pick this knife
off the writing table. She advanced along
this corridor, leaving no traces upon the
cocoanut mating. Then she found herself
in this study. How long was she there?
We have no means of judging"
mot more than few minutes, sir. I
forgot to tell YOU that Mrs. Marker, the
housekeeper had been In there tidying not
very long before-about a quarter OF an
hour. she says
WELL that gives us a limit. Our lady
enters this room and what does she doe
She goes over to the writing table. What
for? Not for anything In the drawers II
there had been anything worth sher taking,
1t would surely have been locked up. No.
it was for something in that wooden bu-
reau. Halloa! what Is that scratch upon
the face of it7 Just hold match, Wat
son. Why did you not tell me OF this, Hop
kinsT'
The mark which he was examining
began upon the brass work on the right