The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-01-09

oreata, m~usfr.ar effort. AID he was
Undoubtedly one Of the finest boXe
Of his weight that / have ever seen;
but he IOOkei upon ain1IeSS bodilA tH-
crtion as waste Of energy and ne sell
dom bestirred himself save where
there was some professional object 10
b.. served. Then he was absolutely
antiriug and interchangeable. mat ne
should have kept himself in training
lnder such circumstances is remark
bile. but MS diet was usually 81 Inc
epareet. and his habits We're simple 10
the verse Of austcrity. save Tor IN"
occasional use Of cocaine, he had no
vices. ana he only turned to the drug
as a protest Against the m~onotony Of
existence WheT cases were Scal4iE dIfb
the papers uninteresting.
one day in early spring he had s."
far relaxed as to go for q walk Wlth
me in the Park. where the first faint
shoots of green We're out
upon the elms. and the sticky spear
hears of the chestnuts were Just begin
ring 20 burst into their fiVe-fOld leaves.
For two hours we ramb!ed about to-
eethel. in silence for the most part, as
BELTS two men h know eacn other
intimately. II was nearly five before
we were back in Baker street once
more.
Peg pardon. sir" said our age
tov. as h. opened the door. "There'a
been Il gentleman here asking for you,
sir"
Holmes glanced r~cprcachfully at me.
$50 much for afternoon I'll Sald
he. Has this gentleman gone, then?
Yes, sir
"Didn't you 2sk him in?"
yes, sir; he came in"
How long did he watt"
HAL al hour, sir. He was a very
restless gentleman, sir, a-Walkin' and
a-stampin' al! the time he was mere.
1 was Waitin' outside the door sir, and
/ could hear him. AT last he out INTO
the passage. and he cries. Is tina man
never goin' to Gomez Those were his
very words, sir. 'You'H only need to
wait a little longer says /. Then IN
wait in the open air. for | feel half
choked,' says he. III be back before
long And with that he ups and he
outs, and all / couId say wouldn't
hold him back"
"WelI. Well, you did your best"
said Holmes, as we walked into our
hoom. It's very annoying, though
Watson. | was badly in need of a
case, and this looks. from the mans
Impotence, as if ii We're Of Importance.
Hullo, that's not your pipe on the
table. He must have left his behind
him. A nice Old brier with a good
long stem of what the tobacconists call
amber. wonder how many real am
Der mOuthpieces there are in London?
Some people think that a fly in it is a
sign. Well, he must have been dis
turbed in his mind to leave a pipe be-
hind him which he evidently values
nighly.'
"How DO you know that he values il
highly?" / asked.
We'll. l should put the original cost
Of the pipe at seven and ~sixpence.
Now, it has, you see, been twice
mcnded. once in the wooden stem and
once in the amber. Each of these
mends, done, as you observe, with
silver bands, must nave cost more than
the pipe did originally. The man must
value the pipe highly when he prefers
to patch it up rather than buy a new
one with the same money"
"Anything else?' 1 asked, for
Holmes was turning the pipe about in
his hand, and staring at it IN his pc
culiarly persive way.
He held it up and tapped on it with
his long, him fOrefinger, as a professor
might who was lecturing on a bone.
pipes are occasionally of extraordi-
nary Interest," said he. "Nothing has
more Individuality, say perhaps,
watches and b~ootlaces. The indica-
tions here. however. are neither very
marked nor very important. The owner
is obviously Il muscular man.. left
handed, With an excellent set Of teeth.
careless iii his habits. and with no
need to practice economy"
My friend threw out the Informal
ton in a very off-hand way, but l saw
that he cooked his eye at me to see if
| had followed his reasoning.
"YCu think a man must be Well-tO-
do if he smokes a seVen-shilling pipe"
said |.
This is Grosvenor mixture at eight
pence al ounce" Holmes answered,
knocking a little out on his palm.
he might get an excellent smoke for
half the price, he has no need to
practice economy"
And the other points,"
II has been in the habit of light
ing his pipe at lamps and gas-jets.
You can see that it is quite charred all
down one side. OF course a match
could not have done that. Why should
a man held a match to the side of his
pipe? Blu you cannO light it at a
lamp without getting the bowl charred.
And it is all on the right side of the
pipe. From that | gathered that he is
a left-handed man. YOU hold your
own pipe to the lamp, and see how
naturally YOU, being ri~ght-handed. hold
the left side to the flame. You might
do it once the other way. but not as a
constancy. This has always been held
50. Then he has bitten through his
amber. 1t takes a muscular, energetic
lelIoW, ana one with q good Set of
teeth, to do that. But if l am not mis-
taken | hear him upon the stair. so we
Shall have something more interesting
than his pipe to study
An instant later our door opened.
n a tall young man entered the
room. He was we'll but quietly
dressed in a dark-gray suit, and car
ried Il brown WideaWake in his hand.
/ should have put him at about thirty.
though he was really some years older.
Il beg your PARDON said he. With
some embarrassment. Il suppose |
should have knocked. The fact is that
| am a little upset, and you must put
it all down to that" He passed his
hand over his forehead like a man
who is half daZed. and then fell rather
than sat down upon a chair.
4 can see that you have not slept
for q night or two said Holmes. in
lis easy, genial way. THAT tries a
mans nerves more han work, and
more even tha pleasure. May | ask
how | can lelD you?"
4 wanted your advice. sir. I don't
know what to do. and my whole life
seems to have gone to pieces"
ENnl, TyiS1 to ~ y ~ - =,