Show THE STORY OF A CLUE 1 I see youre impatient to bo be off sergeant bald my friend with a faintly contemptuous smile so if you havo have nothing more to suggest and you really would rather not have another glass of ot alky I 1 you nor I 1 you sir air replied the detective rising 1 if I I 1 batann d you hy by this time that hint its it care cape of I 1 min am not likely to succeed by more talking we lieve no doubt shout ll it 9 M thata all I 1 will tiny any and yet you profess to want ant a cert t lain man height 6 feet bald licud head war poor oer the left eyebrow cyp liow in fact 0 a pretty exact counterpart of myse if prad r arav x r av laughing and you otter offer reward for any information that 1111 lead to oh nothing interrupted the 0 ther other lit all done to gritis ty the public thy they always expect something of that sort and as aa you know the old man did P a few hours before lit death dath i mcelve a visit from some ome otaw on ans answering er to that thai description so po perhaps it la Is just al ai T well ell to find him if 1 possible arid and mr hoard board the four notes in the little scarlet silk bilk bag lord bles blesi i you sir turn up sooner booner or later I 1 dont doubt and p perhaps cr sonic memo letter or other showing h nil lis intention of 0 making away alth ith himself unless indeed it vas mas a 0 sudden jm put pul as very likely it may have been that overtook him title shaving that has haa happened bhore now ho he had be to shave for the brush was wet and there them are tried dried suds as aa well as blood on the razor exactly paid aid my friend leaning deanin 9 back in hla his chair and smiling A with ith hot halt CIO closed B ed eyes at al the detective exactly t there h re were suds ud on the bazar by the by tile the police dont man want t this thin do they be h added cmel essly pal pointing n ting to 1 ia c circular shaving soup soap box which stood stand on tho the table beside him 1 IT not 01 us bald sergeant bloxam with it grin wo we know your taste for or them sort of things mr estay nor bald my friend pointing painting to a dirty little towel at his elbow no nor that echoed the detective grinning more broadly than ever nor we dont went want the old boys hair brushes nor yet hla his nail scissors neither nor for the matter ot of that ilia his bootjack ila ha hill ha youre quite welcome to them all sir goodnight good night and laughing at ills his own easy caay wit sergeant bloxam took his big departure well the pollee police are confident enough said 1 I as aa the door closed be hind him but what has haa been the of 0 your inquiries have you got a clue exray smoked for FL a quarter of an hour in silence and apparently wrapped i in n thought then he looked up av with ith unc ulle of his charming smiles and said pleasantly aloft antly sly my dear wilkins I 1 have got mo acme me thing more than a clue I 1 have ro found the man well am aa I 1 knew my friends extraordinary powers I 1 could not restrain my astonishment at ills his reply what I 1 exclaimed with no other pieces lie dc conviction than a tin of 0 shaving 11 laiq 9 soap 0 an a and i I 1 d a towel estay smiled again eulth the same charm hand me inne the tin said and ta lavor v or m me with w ill your attention lention st you it hlll III ob obnere tere that tho the soap has haa been much used you eon in see gee in tact fact from tho the deep concavity which liaa ita been made in it by the shaving brush that the cake caho Is arly fini s lied though I 1 cannot pre pretend tend analytic acumen I 1 hid had drawn the SIT aarao 0 conclusion from the fact act that very lttie ittle of 0 the cake was left but it confirmed me in my judgment to ind find tit that at he lad arrived at the same result by ft a different route kindly examine the edge of the disk the rim so BO to speak spoilt of that cup of soap in your hand I 1 did to be from one halt half ot of its lt circumference cum curn ference a thin layer laver had bad been patently parent ly shaven off and tho the other h halt if inda was covered with at number of 0 indefinitely minute which it hashed flashed across me in a moment mu arut it be human bristles I 1 repelled my suspicion to exray who complimented me on the accuracy of my diagnosis lit in the process of the second arcond soaping lie ho bald let a bristle 1 or two tuo will ill often attach itself to the brush and lie he transferred to tho the soap cake and lit ill the course of the days week mocks or months during which N aich the soap i asin e in use these theme bristles accumulate r round 0 und the pail sit untouched by the brush I 1 have removed as you see sec a I 1 thin han slice ot of the disk and have prepared a slide elide from jt it which you will nill find U under ader my oblige me by inspecting spec ting it your what nhat I 1 asked oh nothing raid paid exray carelessly its only a little invention of 0 my illy own tor for intensifying the colors of microscopic crosco cro plo objects some som day when nhen I 1 hae done with it mage eiselt it I 1 shall present it to lo tile tho rodal boole society ty well lie ho inquired inquire cl after a pause i what hat do you all make of 0 them what about their color color they are of all colors there ate aie black white brown gray red yellow and the flaxen daen black bristles and white i hite red brim bristles ties and gray sang my accomplished friend gayly tor for lip ho was aas in high spirits at his success well what do you make of that I 1 could make nothing of 0 it and said go 0 o my aly dear wilk ins pal said d exray alter after watching my perplexed tace face tor for a few moments lit in amused silence im ill terribly afraid that never make a rood good amateur detective however ill give ou another chance would you mind fitting that on your nose dose no not that the next to it its a little contrivance of 0 mine for giving the olfactory organs tile the name game sort of lift JUL that the microscope gives to the mechanism ot of sight in other words it Is a dodge for magnifying scents when I 1 have done with it I 1 shall rhill present it to the college of Illy have you adjusted it all pinell this towel I 1 did tie so and almost started from my chair ily nostrils were filled with a most pungent odor of bay rum now what do you say nay asked exray in ct a tone of triumph well said I 1 1 I should shou lil say ray that tho the deceased was in ill the habit at 0 using bay rum after shaving pooh how many people who shave shava ti themselves lem selves do that not many perhaps pel naps haps hut but some may and this towel oh 1011 jiang hang tile the towel exclaimed my friend who was beginning to love lose hla his patience ei J only thre threw it in as an additional dit dil ional lonal piece of evi evidence dence and as you dont seem to tu tl IV well drop it look hero ill put it in this way suppose 0 old id mandrake was in the cabi t or of us using ing bay rum when lio lie shaved him self Is it till sit equally probable t ion I 1 that hat the bristles on his face bete of six elx different colors Is it possible then continued exray with increasing impatience that you don t sea the obvious inference at tile the moment of 0 tits his death the tha wretched old did man was in the act of be ing shaved by a barbera barber bar berd a b barber s aber who brought hla his own app ilance 8 for or tho the purpose pur poso and am amon ong thum mimi this thin cuke cake of ahava n g boap L p upon aih which I Ih the wall bristles e a ot of a series e ic of f customers black haired d gray haired red balfred and so bo forth have gradually accumulated and the th barber who shaved him was the tha 1 allain who who barbarously murdered him I 1 cried in horror borrow 1 so say y rather w who he cruelly murdered h him lm corrected my friend in a tone of severity this la Is not tl a fitting sub eject for or feeble jokes I 1 had riot not intended one but I 1 felt that appearances wello roe me and bowed to the 1 reproof le e proof bowed do vou 8 see e e now whom suspicion points to 1 I do I 1 it gravely implicates cates allo a molon num numbering boring many of 0 man you hoe hae more thon than flue cne clue il 11 ll fly you have rok nn IA bl number po not flat attempt any adly hooly a ald coldly colda lt it lf its void vi ill upon apoll QU ou there inere tiro us aa you bay ay many thousands of f barbers in london but a man living in stoan stepney ey would not be likely I 1 imagine to send for a 0 barber to step around front from a shop in kilburn to shave him or even perhaps to ono one irk in holborn hoi bar n true ue I 1 said but thre there must be b daveral barbers barben in stepney eltray returned return edno no answer but opening a cardboard box he took froni from it a very minute blue feather which he laid before nw me you yon arf arc hy by way ot of trine being an th tholo elsi wilkins ho he said do you know what blid betl that came cam from I 1 it closely i and my ignorance exray drew from his waistcoat pocket a a small vial containing a strong acid unit und lot let fall aill A drop upon the feather eathor eath cr which immediately turned to LL a nark dark led cd this sudden chonge duo due to its strongly ackal I 1 n 0 composition at onea onca enlightened m me C 1 I know it 11 now nowa I 1 exclaimed acclaimed it la is it feather cathar I 1 ra m the tasmania Taa manla rill rank tailed on ins e 0 f the rarest of 01 aus a annu i Z dd I 1 believe there was a 9 single specimen in england rn gland 1 I dont know of 0 more anro thin than one said eltray grimly and that one Is stuffed thi the bather who committed I 1 this hla murder had bad just been stu stifling fling it 11 and brought this almost invisible little littie feather eather sticking to t his clothes cloth ca it tell fell froni from them to the noor floor where e I 1 found it there are arc as a you yell tay say ma many arty barbers barbera in stepney iland many stepney barbers are doubtless doubt leim alno ajo bird stuff ers erp but I 1 doubt whether there Is more mor a than one bird stuffing barber or barbering bird r who has hao recently set bet up a specimen of the tasmanian tasmania ring tailed in hla his shop window but there la Is ant conr anil and we are solve going to pay him a visit this very afternoon come aloni along and knocking knock lne the ashes out of his bis pipe against ill tho mantelpiece ebony quietly slipped a rev revolver a iver into ills hla pocket and we SAM oil forth halt ila it art an hours cab drive brought us to the barbers shop and there sure enough in tho window was the stuffed tasmanian Tasman liin bird but what almost more surprised me was to conspicuously in the same earns shop front f n t tho the fo police blit bill offering ferIng rif a reward remard tor r tilt the discovery ot of tho the bald spaded man with the sear near or the left eye they alway si do that sald eary exray noticing my look of astonishment it Is to disarm suspicion this chap however has to do something more I 1 than ban clearm suspicion he has to defeat der eat conviction vic vict tion lon sly my men e r from scotland nd yard are dutt duo at aniu a quarter a arter to C G he added looking at ills his watch only another ten minutes and then by jo jove e he is 13 going goine out that must be stopped anyhow howl and seeing the barber about to tako take oft off ills hla apron daray stepped briskly into the shop chop ond and plumped down into tho the shaving ln chair hair haar cutting sir air said the barber re fastening hl his apron ills his countenance was certainly villainous but hla him demeanor wis unconcerned hair cutting or shave sir air he repeated repealed I 1 looked at exray and tor for the first time time in his life I 1 saw him turn ral pale his 1115 position was waa indeed EL dreadful one ile he could not accept the barters barbers invitation for jie he wore were n a wig bet to be shaved to place under the razor of 0 a murderer I 1 pitied him sincerely but I 1 could not offer to take hla his place for fear oar of arousing the mans suspicions suspicion but wore were they not already aboud aroused hesitation to accept or refu refuse be his oter offer ba hart d called ai I 1 C d the barbers attention n to lila his borrowed hair from which after a moment his glance descended to my friends brow ito ho stared hor bor eibl no shaving please bald exray at last with will a 9 naughty effort and the th barber pulling himself together began alv slowly ly to soap its hla customers face all of a sudden as a he was bending over him to apply the soap underneath mth the chin lie he stopped in thop operation as aa if 1 he had been shot his graze gaze was waa intently fixed downward it seemed 10 to lo be endeavoring to penetrate the nor row raw chasm chaam between J xray trays s collar and ana his neck as though to investigate tho the material of his hid underclothing was the man mad at t that moment the door opened and two policemen entered exray who had bad become more and more nervous under the barbers begalor be acha halor lor sprang lathered from his chau and was waa nil ait avancing to meet them the barber b r to my iny amazement flung himself between b them 0 no o you dont ho he earled out and the words constable I 1 glye give this man in charge for murder I 1 lang ang out out t so eo exactly simultaneously from two voices that I 1 could hardly believe that both men had spoken but each had the other by the collar arrest him gasped exray ill explain tho the evidence against him when wo we get cl to tile thi police station cop him panted the bather hes hed the cove that a wanted in your bill sear scar over the left eye and plucking ot off Ex ezraya trays alg alff as bald as a new laid hess hegg and it if you unbutton hla his sh I 1 rt lie he i went cut on grasping glaspi n g exray by the collar stud find the governors scarlet silk bag mith the bank notes neung round him you infernal ass cried my frand indignantly thai s my red flannel flanne i cheat protector look ere gents said the other celina constable ble producing an evening paper front from his coat pocket you urt yourselves ere arcs tho ilia stepney mystery explained tho the old boya hank bank notes hug bag has been found up the chim hembley bley and chiq nephew who he camo came home from mea aea this morning has haa only just juat got 11 ills Is uncles atler telling bim lit in was coiner to commit suicide we W looked at each other for a a moment in silence tile tho barber burdt burat out I 1 lau laughing karay did not look lacre said lie ho at last in LL slightly injured tone perhaps some game one will nill explain how he came to ha have v 0 an unmistakable bar barbera ticen towel and shaving soap in ills possession why you blooming idelt exclaimed figaro laughing more n ore loudly than ev ever or heans a barber his himself self aye and a alid attner too and owner of this here bere vory very shop why he ha set net up that thero there bird orly ony the day afeie he fie killed or lf the closefisted close fisted old moke make to take anay ilia woin out and used d up c caKe 0 o of soap to 10 shave ahava with ar at h home me 1 vc e C could 0 U lad I 1 lave have told you he wax wasi a ib babber be mr exray said one of tile the lea with a falle I 1 looked at my friend IT he e never phone moro more than in the hour of 0 detent defeat Shi shave lve please lie he sald paid re seating himself calmly in the barbers ell chair air and as aa you havn token taken the liberty of removing ny my wig you yell may as well give it a touch letich up with brilliantine and vi lien hen you are climento cred eald bald 1 I determined riot not to bo be outdone in magnanimity you will perhaps be b gool good enough to iron iran my hat td rth tax N I 1 SM c 7 h F offer aez i under ad ak I 1 liy ley raj A washington is toddy arted r cealan by hin d r I 1 14 sons les tee on ath J Is 11 extra session 0 t the and arli uh ahter hc C r breeder to I 1 ten it of noth 1 lh of in etnar 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