| Show thee he infill II W A Adv vee th Of d 3 i the BUe arf r I had called upon my friend Sherlock Sherlock Sherlock Sher- Sher lock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas with the Intention of ot wishing him the compliments of ot the season He lie was lounging upon the a a purple purle dressing gown a pipe pipe- rack within his reach upon the right right and a pile pie of crumpled morning moring papers paper evidently newly studied studie near at hand Beside eside the couch was ws a wooden chair and tand on the angle anle of ot the te back hung a avery avery very seedy and disreputable hard felt hat hat much the worse for wear and ad I cr cracked In several places plaes A lens and anda a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair suggested that the hat had ha been suspended In this manner for tho the purl purpose pur pur- purs l pose oso of ot examination You ou are engaged said I perhaps I Interrupt you rou Not a at al all al I am glad to have a friend frend with wih whom I can discuss my re re- re suIts The Tle matter mater Is a a perfectly trivial one ohe ohe he Jerked his hla thu thumb b In the tho di direction dl- dl of the old hat but there are points In connection with wih It which are not not entirely devoid pf f Interest and even of c of Instruction I 1 seated myself In his armchair and Warmed I my hands before his crackling tre pred for a sharp frost had set In and the the- te windows were thick with vit the Ice crystals c I suppose I remarked that hat homely as It looks this thing has some deadly story stor linked on to it that that It It f. f Is the clue which will guide gide 3 ou in the solution of some mystery an aria anC the punishment of crime No no No crime said Sherlock Holmes laughing Only one of those tose whimsical little Incidents which will wi happen when you nave liae nave four million human beings all al Jostling each other the space Of bf a a. a few square miles mies oter Amid Anid the he action and reaction of so dense denso a swarm of ot humanity every possible pos pos- Ible sible combination of events may be ex expected expected expected ex- ex to take taie tae place and many a little Ute problem will wi be presented which may maybe ma i b be striking and bizarre biarre without being 1 I criminal We Va have had hae already ex experience ex- ex of such I t So much so I remarked that of ot the last lat six cases which I have added to my notes notes three thre have been entirely free of any legal crime Precisely Well Wel I have no doubt that this small matter will wn fall in to the same fame Innocent category You know Pearson the commissionaire Yes es It Is to him that tat this trophy bel belongs belongs be- be l longs 7 Is IsIt It his hat No no He found It Its Is owner Is unknown I r beg that you will wi look lok pon it it not s as s a a- battered but pt as as an Intelligent problem And rat as a to how it came here It I ar- ar jived Ived upon Christmas morning In company corn com pany with a good fat goose which Is I have no doubt roasting at this moment In lii front of Petersons Peterson's fire The facts are ke re these About 4 o'clock on Christ Christ- 4 j m mas s morning moring Peterson who as a you JOW is Is' Isa a very ho honest est fellow was re returning re- re turning from some small Jollification And nd was his way homeward 4 d wn Tottenham court road In front him he saw in the gaslightS gaslight a tall taIl tal- tal 1 man walking with a slight stag- stag r and carrying a white goose slung ber o er iver his shoulder As he reached the corner of Goodge street a row rw broke out ut between the stranger and a litt It little Knot of roughs One of the latter knocked off the te mans man's hat on which he raised his stick to defend himself himsel and swinging It over his head smashed the shop window behind him him Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his assailants but theman tho the man shocked at having broken the tho window windoW and seeing an official looking person In uniform rushing towards him dropped his goose took to his heels and vanished amid the labyrinth of ol small m l streets which lie le at the back of ol Tottenham court cour road The me roughs roughs' had also fled fed at the appearance of Peterson Pe Pe- Pe- Pe terson teron so that tat ho he was ws I left ft n possession posses- posses sion slon of the te field of battle batte and also of tho spoils of victory in the shape of I this battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas go se t Which surely he restored to their owner owner My dear fellow there lies les the lem Jem em It It I Is true tre that For Mrs Henry I Baker was was printed upon a small card which h was tied ted to the te birds bird's left leg and It Is also true tre that tat the initials I te H H. B. B B. B are ar legible upon the lining of this hat but as there are ar some thousands thou I thousands thou thou- sands of Bakers and some hundreds hundreds' I of Henry Bakers In this city ety of ours it is not easy to restore lost property to any anYone one of them tem What then ten did Peterson do He brought round both both- hat and andi I 2 i goose gooe to me ne on Christmas Christas morning I f knowing that even the tho te smallest smallest- problems i lems are of Interest to me The goose we retained until this morning when there were signs sigs that that In spite spie of the slight frost It It would be well that tat It I should be eaten eten without unnecessary dela delay Its Is finder ha has baa carried it oft off of I therefore to fulfill tuli the ul ultimate mate destiny of a goose sose while I continue to r retain tin the hat of the unknown unknown- gentleman who ho lost his Christmas dinner dinner I Did he not advertise No o oh Then n. n what clue could you OU h have as to his identity e Only as much as we can cn deduce From om his hat hat hat- Precisely But Dut you are ar Joking What can you I gather from this old battered felt fel Here is my roy lens You know my t m methods What can you ou gather yourI yourself your your- I self as to the Individuality of the man who ho has worn this article I took the te tt tattered red o object In my hands bands and turned it over rather ruef rue rue- f fully ly It was a a. very ver ordinary black hat bat of the usual round shape hard and much the worse orse for tor wear The lining had had- been or of ot- ot otred red silk sik but was a good deal discolored There del was o no no makers maker's name but but as Holmes had remarked tile tHe tle Initials H B. B were ere scrawled upon on one one side It I was pierced in fn the te brim for tor a hat securer but the elastic was missing For the rest Test It I a was was- cracked exceedingly dusty and spotted In sev several set set- era eral places although there seemed sev- sev several to hn have bave ve been some attempt to hide the discolored patches by smearing Ing them wih with ink n IX r see nothing said I r handing hading It back to my friend On the contrary cont Watson Waton you OU can see everything You ou fall fail an however to reason from what you YOt see sec You are too timid In drawing your inferences Inferences Then pray tell tel me me what It is that you ou can infer inCer from this hat I Ho picked it I up and gazed at It I in Iii L the peculiar Introspective fashion which L was characteristic of him It I is per per- haps less suggestive than it I might have hava F been he remarked and yet there tere ar are area area a a few others oters which represent at t least leasta a stong strong strong- balance balace of probability That Thai the man ma W was s highly intellectual Is of oC course e obvious upon the face of It I and L he was wa fairly fart well to with with- wih- wih in the last three tree years although he has hac I fallen falen upon evil evi days He had I f foresight sight but hut has less now than tan formerly for tor- merly pointing to a moral retrogression slon sion which when taken with te the de- de of ot his fortunes seems to Indi Indi- Indicate cate some some evil evi influence probably drink at work him upon This ma may P account account also for the obvious fact that thai his hs wife wie has ceased to love h him My My d dear dea Holmes Holmes He has however retained soie some degree de de- deI I gree of self respect he continued disregarding disregarding dis dis- dis- dis regarding r my remonstrance He lie is a aman aman man who leads a sedentary life goes o out ut little lite Is out out of training entirely ly Is middle aged ha has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the tho last few days and which he anoints with wit lime lime- Ime- Ime c cream ream These are the more patent facts acts f which are to be deduced from his I hat Also by the wa way that it is ex extremely cx- cx t remely improbable that he has gas l laid aid on in his house You are certainly Joking Holmes Not in t the th least Is s it I possible that even evert now when I give you these thee re results re- re re- re s you yoi are unable to see how they are ae attained I have no doubt that I am very stupid but I must confess that I am unable to fol follow w you For example how did you deduce that this man was i Intellectual For answer Holmes clapped capped the ha hat upon his head It came right over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of oC his nose It Is a question queston of cubic capacity said he a man with wih so l largo arge a brain must have something in it It it The Tho decline of his fortunes then This his hat is three years ars old These flat brims curled at the edge came In then It I Is a hat of the very ver best quality Look Lok at the band of ribbed silk sik and the excellent lining If I this man could afford aford to buy so expensive a ahat ahat ahat hat three thre years ago aso and ad ha has had no hat since then he has assuredly gone down in the world Well Wel that Is clear cear enough certainly But how about the foresight and the te the moral retrogression Sherlock Holmes laughed Here Is the foresight said he he putting his finger finger finger fin fin- ger upon the little desk and loop of the hat securer They are never sold upon hats If this man ordered o one e It Is 1 a sign of a certain amount of foresight since he went out of his way to take this p precaution against the wind But Dut since we see that he has broken the elastic and has not troubled to replace It I it I ts is r obvious that he has less foresight foresight fore fore- foresight sight now than formerly which Is a distinct proof of a weakening nature On the other hand he has endeavored to conceal some of ot these stains upon the belt by daubing them with wih Ink which is a sign that he has not entirely lost his self sel Your reasoning Is certainly plaus plaus- ible The further points that he is mid mid- aged dle that his hair is grizzled grizzled that It I has ha been recently cut and that he i uses lime cream crea are all aU lo to be gathered I from a close close eJ examination n of the lower lowr part of the lining The he I lens ns discloses loses oses I a large number ends end clean cean cut by the scissors of the barber They all l appear to be adhesive and there is a distinct odor of cre lime m. m This dust you will wi observe It n not t the gritty gray dust of ot the street but the fluffy nuffy brown dust of the house showing that It has been hung up indoors most of the time while the marks of f moisture upon the inside are proof prof positive lv that the wearer wearer perspired perspired very freely and could therefore hardly be in the best o of training But his wife you wIfe you said sald that she had ceased to love him This hat has ha not been brushed f for r weeks When I s see e you my dear Watson Wat Wat- son soil son with a weeks week's accumulation of dust upon your hat and when your wife allows you to go out in such a state I Ishall shall shaH fear that you also have been unfortunate unfortunate unfortunate un un- un- un fortunate enough to lose your wife's affection But he might be a bachelor I Nay Nag Nay he was wa bringing home the goose as a peace-offering peace to his wife Remember the te card upon the birds bird's I lea leg cart I I You have an answer to everything But how on earth do you deduce that the gas ga is not laid on in his house One tallow stain or even two might come by chance but when I 1 see no noless noless noless less than five ve I think that there can be little tte doubt that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with wih burning tallow walks tallow walks walks upstairs at night probably with wih his hat hat in one hand and anda a guttering candle in the other Anyhow Anyhow Any Any- how he never got tallow stains from a agas agas agas gas Jet Are you ou satisfied Well Wel it is very ver Ingenious ingenious- said I laughing but since as you said Just now there has been no crime committed com com- and no harm done save the loss of oC a go goOse se all al this se seems ms to be rather a waste of oC energy Sh Sherl Sherlock ck Holmes had opened his mouth to reply when the door flew few open and Peterson the commissionaire rushed into the apartment with wih flushed cheeks checks chees and the face fac of a man who Is dazed wih with astonishment The goose Mr Holmes The goose sir he gasped Eh What of it It I. I then Has Ha it re returned returned re- re i turned to life Ufe and flapped off through the kitchen kichen window Holmes twisted himself round upon the sofa to get a fairer view of ot the man mans man's excited face See here sir See what my wife found in fn its crop He lie held out his hand ard and displayed upon upon the enter center of ot the the- palm a brilliantly scintillating blue bluestone bluestone stone tone rather smaller than a bean ben in insi si size e. e but butof of such purity and nd radiance that It twinkled like an electric point In the dark hollow of his hand Sherlock Holmes sat st up with wih a a a whistle By Joye Peterson I said he this Is treasure trove Indeed I suppose suppose sup sup- sup sup- pose you ou know what know what you have got A A diamond sir precious A-precious stone It cuts Into glass as though It U were putty were Its Is more than a precious stone It Is the precious stone I I Not the Countess of ot blue e il carbuncle I ejaculated I Precisely ly so I ought to know its size siz and shape seeing that I have hav read Is the advertisement about it I in The Times every ever day lately It is absolutely unique and its Is value can only be con con- conjectured but the reward offered of ot 1000 is certainly not within a twentieth t th part part of the market price A thousand pounds Great Lord of I mercy The c commissi commissionaire l plumped down Into a L chair and stared from one to the oth other r of t us us That is the reward and I have havo reason reason rea rea- rea- rea son to know krow that that there are sentimental tal tal- considerations tons In the background which would Induce the countess to part half hal her fortune if she could but recover the gem It I tw was as lost lost if I T r remember aright at the Hotel Cosmopolitan I remarked Precisely so on December 22 Just five days ays ays ago John Horner Homer a plumber plum plum- ber was acc accused sd of having abstracted it from the ladys lady's Jewel case cae The evidence evi evi- dence against him lm was was was' 50 o 0 strong that the case has been cae has referred to the Assizes I have some account of the matter mater here I believe beeve He rummaged amid his newspapers glancing over the dates until at last he smoothed one out out doubled It I over ver and read the te followIng following fol fol- fol- fol lowing paragraph Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewelry Rob Rob- bery ber John Horner Homer 26 26 plumber was brought up upon the charge of having upon the abstracted from the Jewel case of the Countess of the valuable gem known as the blue carbuncle James ames Ryder upper attendant attendant attend attend- ant the h hotel tel at gave save hi his to t tu t the he effect that he had shown Horner Homer |
