The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-08-13

NOT IN the least, II Is poaslpie Aii"e
even now when l give you these results,
you are unable to see how they are at
tanned"
Il have no doubt that am very stupid,
but | must confess that | am unable
to follow you. For example, how did you
deduce that this man was intellectualy'
For answer, Holmes clapped the hat
upon his head. 1t came right over the
forehead and settled upon the bridge Of
his nose. 1T is question of cubic ca
pacity," said he; "a man with SO large
brain must have something in it,.
THE decline of his fortunes, them"
This hat is three years old These
fiat brims curled at the edge came in
then. 1t is hat of the very best quality
Look at the band of ribbed silk and the
excellent lining. If this man could af-
ford to buy SO expensive a hat three
years ago. and has had no hat since,
then he has assuredly gone down in the
world"
well, that is clear enough. certainly
But how about the foresight and the
moral retrogression?
Sherlock Holmes laughed. Here is the
foresight said he, putting his finger
upon the little disk and loop of the hat
securer. tThey are never sold upon hats
If this man ordered one, it is a sign of a
certain amount of foresight since he
went out of his way to take this precau-
ton against the wind. But since We see
that he has broken the elastic, and has
not troubled to replace it, 1t is obvious
that he has less foresight now than for
merly, which is distinct proof of a
weakening nature. On the other hand he
has endeavored to conceal some of these
stains upon the hat by daubing them
with ink, which IS a sign that he has not
entirely lost his self-respect"
Your reasoning Is certainly plausible"
1.-THE further points, that he is middle
aged, that his hair is grzzed that it
has been recently cut and that he uses
lime cream, are all to be gathered from
close examination of the lower part
of the lining. The lens discloses a large
number of hair-ends. clean cut by the
scissors of the barber They all appear
to be adhesive and there is a distinct
odor of lime cream This dust, you will
observe is not the gritty gray dust of
the street. but the fluffy brown dust of
the house. showing that 1t has been hung
W indoors most of the time while the
marks of moisture upon the inside are
proof positive that the wearer perspired
very freely, and could, therefore, hardly
be in the best of training"
But his wfe--yon said that she had
ceased to love him.
MS nat ms not Deen DfuSned Tor
weeks. When ! see you, my dear Wat
son. with a weeks accumulation of dust
upon your hat and when your wife al
lows you to go out In such a state /
shall fear that you also have been I'M
fortunate enough to lose your wifes af-
fection."
but he might be a bachelor"
Nay, he was bringing home the goose
as peaee-offering to his wife. Re-
member the card upon the birds leg"
You have an answer to everything
But how on earth do YOU deduce that the
gas Is not laid on In his house?"
zone tallow stain. or even two, might
come by chance. but when I see no less
than five, ! think that there can be little
doubt that the individual must be brought
into frequent contact with burning tall
low-walks upstairs ut night probably
with his hat in one hand and guttering
candle in the other. Anyhow he never
got tallow-stains from gas jet Are you
satisfied?
well 1t is very Ingenious" said 7,
laughing 'but since. as you said Just
now, there has been no crime committed,
and no harm done. save the loss of a
goose all this seems to be rather a waste
OF energy
Sherlock Holmes had opened his mouth
to reply when the door flew open. and
Peterson. the COMMISSIONERS. rushed into
the apartment with flushed cheeks and the
face of man who is dazed with astonsh-
ment.
1.-THE goose, Mr.. Holmesl The goose,
sir" he gasped
"Eh? What Of 1t, then? Has 1t return
ed to life and tapped off through the
kitchen Window" Holmes twisted him
self round upon the sofa to get a fairer
view of the mans excited face.
q. ...xI
in its cropr' He held out his hand and
displayed upon the center of the palm a
brilliant scintilating blue stone, rather
smaller than bean in size, but of such
purity and radiance that it twnkled like
an electric point in the dark hollow OF
his hand.
Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle.
"By Jove, Peterson" said he, this Is
treasure trove indeed. l suppose you
know what you have got?'
"A diamond, sir? A precious stone. 1t
cuts into glass as though 1t were putty
TITS more than a precious stone. 1t Is
the precious stone.'
NAT the Countess of Morcars blue car
bunuele?" | calculated.
Precisely so | ought to know Its size
and shape, seeing that | have read the
advertisement about 1t In the Times every
dav lately. 1t is absolutely unique, and
the reward offered of G10O0 is certainly
not within a twentieth part of the mar
ket price"
"a thousand poundsl Great Lord of
mercyp The commissionaire pumped
down into a chair, and stared from one
to the other Of us
s,rhat Is the reward. and have reason
to know that there are sentimental consid-
erations in the background which would
to with lulf her
fortune If she could but recover the
gem"
.It was lost, If I remember Alright, at
the Hotel Cosmopolitan" ! remarked.
..precisely so. on December %. Just five
days ago, John IIorner, a plumber was
accused of having distracted 1t from the
lady's Jewel case The evidence against
him was so strong that the case mas peen
referred to the assizes | have some ac-
count of the matter here. l believe He
rumn,aged amid his newspapers. glanc-
ing over the dates. until at last he
smoothed one out, doubled 1t over, and
read the following paragraph.
.IIotal Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery.
Iohn Uorner. twenty-six, plumber was
brought up upon the charge OF having
upon the 22nd inst distracted from the
Jewel ease of the Countess of Morcar, the
valuable gem known as the blue carbun-
Gle. James RYDER upper attendant at the
hotel. gave his evidence to the effect that
he had shown Horner up to the dressing
room of the Countess of Morcar upon
the day of the robbery, in order that
he might solder the second bar OF the
crate. which was loose. He had remained
with Horner some little time, but had
finally been called away. On returning, he
found that Horner had disappeared, that
the bureau had been forced open, and
al co elk % in which