No. 7 The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle
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the adventure of_the blue carbuncle

no .7 from_the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

by Arthur Conan Doyle

I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holrnes upon_the second morning after Christmas, with_the intention of wishing him the compliments of_the season . he_was lounging upon_the sofa in a purple dressing- gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon_the right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand . beside the couch was a wooden chair, and on_the angle of_the back hung a very seedy and disreputable hard- felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several places .a lens and a forceps lying upon_the seat of_the chair suggested that_the hat had_been suspended in_this manner for_the_purpose of examination .

" you_are engaged," said l; " perhaps I interrupt you ."

" not at all . I_am glad_to_have a friend with_whom I_can discuss my results . the matter is a perfectly trivial one" -- he jerked his thumb in_the direction of_the old hat -- " but there_are points in connection with it which are_not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction ."

I seated myself in_his armchair and warmed my hands before his crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and_the windows were thick with_the ice crystals ."I suppose," I remarked, " that, homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to_it -- that_it_is the clue which will guide you in_the solution of some mystery and_the punishment of some crime ."

" no, no . no crime," said Sherlock Holmes, laughing ." only_one of_those whimsical little incidents which will happen when_you have four million human beings all jostling each_other within_the space of a few square miles .Amid the action and reaction of so dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events may_be expected to_take place, and many a little problem will_be presented which_may_be striking and bizarre without being criminal . we_have already had experience of_such ."

" so_much so," l remarked, " that of_the last six cases which I_have added to my notes, three have_been entirely free of any legal crime ."

" precisely . you allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler papers, to_the singular case of miss Mary Sutherland, and to_the adventure of_the man with_the twisted lip . well, I_have no_doubt that_this small matter will fall into_the same innocent category . you_know Peterson, the commissionaire ? "

" yes ."

" it_is to him that_this trophy belongs ."

" it_is his hat ."

" no, no, he_found it . its owner is unknown .I beg that you_will look upon it not as a battered billycock but as an intellectual problem . and, first, as_to how it came here . it arrived upon Christmas morning, in company with a good fat goose, which_is, I_have no_doubt, roasting at_this moment in front of Peterson's fire . the facts are these: about four o'clock on Christmas morn- ing, Peterson, who, as_you_know, is a very honest fellow, was returning from some small jollification and was making his way homeward down Tottenham court road . in front of him he_saw, in_the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and carrying a white goose slung over his shoulder . as he reached the corner of Goodge street, a row broke out between this stranger and a little knot of roughs . one_of_the latter knocked off the man's hat, on_which he raised his stick to defend himself and, swinging it over his head, smashed the shop window behind him . Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from_his assailants; but the man, shocked at having broken the 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 small streets which lie at_the back of Tottenham court road . the roughs had also fled at_the appearance of Peterson, so_that he_was left in possession of_the field of battle, and also of_the spoils of victory in_the shape of_this battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas goose ."

" which surely he restored to_their owner ? "

" my dear fellow, there lies the problem . it_is true that ' for_Mrs Henry baker' was printed upon a small card which_was tied to_the bird's left leg, and it_is also true that_the initials 'H .B .' are legible upon_the lining of_this hat, but as there_are some thousands of Bakers, and some hundreds of Henry Bakers in_this city of ours, it_is_not easy to restore lost property to any_one_of_them ."

" what, then, did Peterson do ? "

" he brought round both hat and goose to_me on Christmas morning, knowing that even the smallest problems are of interest to_me . the goose we retained until this_morning, when there were signs that, in_spite of_the slight frost, it would_be well that_it should_be eaten without unnecessary delay . its finder has carried it off, therefore, to fulfil the ultimate destiny of a goose, while I continue to retain the hat of_the unknown gentleman who lost his Christmas dinner ."

" did he not advertise ? "

" no ."

" then, what clue could you_have as to_his identity ? "

" only as_much as_we_can deduce ."

" from_his hat ? "

" precisely ."

" but you_are joking . what can_you gather from_this old battered felt ? "

" here_is my lens . you_know my methods . what can_you gather yourself as_to_the individuality of_the man who has worn this article ? "

i_took the tattered object in my hands and turned it over rather ruefully . it_was a very ordinary black hat of_the usual round shape, hard and much the worse for wear . the lining had_been of red silk, but was a good_deal discoloured . there_was no maker's name; but, as Holmes had remarked, the initials "H .B ." were scrawled upon one side . it_was pierced in_the brim for a hat- securer, but the elastic was missing . for_the rest, it_was cracked, exceedingly dusty, and spotted in several places, although there seemed to_have_been some attempt to hide the discoloured patches by smearing them with ink .

" I_can_see nothing," said I, handing it back to my friend .

" on_the contrary, Watson, you_can see everything . you fail, however, to reason from what you_see . you_are too timid in drawing your inferences ."

" then, pray tell me what it is_that you_can infer from_this hat ? "

he picked it up and gazed at it in_the peculiar introspective fashion which_was characteristic of him ." it_is perhaps less suggestive than it might_have_been," he remarked, " and yet there_are a few inferences which are very distinct, and a few others which represent at_least a strong balance of probability . that_the man was highly intellectual is of_course obvious upon_the face of it, and also that he_was fairly well- to- do within_the last three years, although he has now fallen upon evil days . he had foresight, but has less now than formerly, pointing to a moral retrogression, which, when taken with_the decline of_his fortunes, seems to indicate some evil influence, probably drink, at work upon him . this_may account also for_the obvious fact that his wife has ceased to love him ."

" my dear Holmes ! "

" he has, however, retained some degree of self- respect," he continued, disregarding my remonstrance ." he_is a man who leads a sedentary life, goes out little, is out of training entirely, is middle- aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within_the last few_days, and which he anoints with lime- cream . these are the more patent facts which are to_be deduced from_his hat . also, by_the_way, that_it_is extremely improbable that he has gas laid on in_his house ."

" you_are certainly joking, Holmes ."

" not in_the least . is_it possible that even now, when I give_you these results, you_are unable to_see how they_are attained ? "

" I_have no_doubt that I_am very stupid, but I_must confess that I_am unable to_follow you . for example, how did you deduce that_this man was intellectual ? "

for answer Holmes clapped the hat upon his head . it came right over the forehead and settled upon_the bridge of_his nose ." it_is a question of cubic capacity," said he; "a man with so large a brain must_have something in_it ."

" the decline of_his fortunes, then ? "

" this hat is three years old . these flat brims curled at_the edge came in then . it_is a hat of_the very best quality . look at_the band of ribbed silk and_the excellent lining . if_this man could afford 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 disc and loop of_the hat-securer ." they_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 precaution against the wind . but since we see that he has broken the elastic and has_not troubled to replace it, it_is obvious that he has less foresight now than formerly, which_is a distinct proof of aweakening nature . on_the other hand, he has endeavoured to conceal some_of_these stains upon_the felt by daubing them with ink, which_is a sign that he has_not entirely lost his self- respect ."

" your reasoning is certainly plausible ."

" the further points, that he_is middle- aged, that his hair is grizzled, that it_has_been recently cut, and_that he uses lime- cream, are all to_be gathered from a 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 odour 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 it_has_been hung up 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 wife -- you said that she had ceased to love him ."

" this hat has_not_been brushed for weeks . when I_see you, my dear Watson, with a week's accumulation of dust upon your hat, and when your wife allows you to_go out in_such a state, I_shall fear that you also have_been unfortunate enough to lose your wife's affection ."

" but he_might_be a bachelor ."

"Nay, he_was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to_his wife . remember the card upon_the bird's leg ."

" you_have an answer to everything . but how on earth do_you deduce that_the gas is_not laid on in_his house ? "

" one tallow stain, or even two, might come by chance; but when I_see no less_than five, i_think that there can_be little doubt that_the individual must_be brought into frequent contact with burning tallow -- walks upstairs at night probably with_his hat in one hand and aguttering candle in_the other .Anyhow, he never got tallow-stains from agasjet . are_you satisfied ? "

" well, it_is very ingenious," said I, 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 commissionaire, rushed into_the apartment with flushed cheeks and_the face of a man who_is dazed with astonishment .

" the goose, Mr Holmes ! the goose, sir ! " he gasped .

"Eh ? what of it, then ? has it returned to life and flapped off through_the kitchen window ? " Holmes twisted himself round upon_the sofa to_get a fairer view of_the man's excited face .

" see here, sir ! see what my wife found in its crop ! " he held out his hand and displayed upon_the centre of_the palm a brilliantly scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but of_such purity and radiance that_it twinkled 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 .I suppose you_know what you_have got ? "

"A diamond, sir ? a precious stone . it cuts into glass as_though it were putty ."

" it's . more than a precious stone . it_is_the precious stone ."

" not the countess of Morcar's blue carbuncle ! " I ejaculated .

" precisely so .l ought to_know its size and shape, seeing that I_have read the advertisement about_it in_the Times every day lately . it_is absolutely unique, and its value can only be conjec- tured, but the reward offered of 1000 pounds is certainly not within atwentieth part of_the market price ."

"A thousand pounds ! great lord of mercy ! " the commis- sionaire plumped down into a chair and stared from one to_the other of us .

" that_is_the reward, and I_have reason to_know that_there_are sentimental considerations in_the background which would in- duce the countess to part with half her fortune if she_could but recover the gem ."

" it_was lost, if I remember aright, at_the hotel Cosmopoli- tan," I remarked .

" precisely so, on December 22d, just five days_ago .John Horner, a plumber, was accused of having abstracted it from_the lady's jewel- case . the evidence against him was so strong that_the case has_been referred to_the Assizes . I_have some account of_the matter here, I believe ." he rummaged amid his newspapers, glancing over the dates, until at last he smoothed one out, doubled it over, and read the following paragraph:

" hotel cosmopolitan Jewel robbery .John Horner, 26, plumber, was brought up upon_the charge of having upon_the 22d inst ., abstracted from_the jewel- case of_the countess of Morcar the valuable gem known as_the blue carbuncle .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 grate, 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_that the small morocco casket in_which, as it afterwards transpired, the countess was accustomed to_keep her jewel, was lying empty upon_the dressing- table .Ryder instantly gave the alarm, and Horner was arrested the same evening; but the stone could_not_be found either upon his person or in_his rooms .Catherine Cusack, maid to_the countess, deposed to having heard Ryder's cry of dismay on discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into_the room, where she found matters as described by_the last witness . inspector Bradstreet, B divi- sion, gave evidence as_to_the arrest of Horner, who strug- gled frantically, and protested his innocence in_the strongest terms . evidence of a previous conviction for robbery having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate refused to deal summarily with_the offence, but referred it to_the Assizes .Horner, who

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