No. 3 A Case of Identity by Arthur Conan Doyle
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me that he had spent his day in_the chemical work which_was so dear to him .

" well, have_you solved it ? " I asked as I entered .

" yes . it was_the bisulphate of baryta ."

" no, no, the mystery ! " I cried .

"Oh, that ! i_thought of_the salt that I_have_been working upon . there_was never any mystery in_the matter, though, as I_said yesterday, some_of_the details are of interest . the only drawback is that_there_is no law, I_fear, that_can touch the scoundrel ."

" who was he, then, and what_was his object in deserting miss Sutherland ? "

the question was hardly out of_my mouth, and Holmes had_not yet opened his lips to reply, when we heard a heavy footfall in_the passage and a tap at_the door .

" this_is_the girl's stepfather, Mr James Windibank," said Holmes ." he has_written to_me to_say that he_would_be here at six . come in ! "

the man who entered was a sturdy, middle- sized fellow, some thirty years_of_age, clean-shaven, and sallow- skinned, with a bland, insinuating manner, and a pair of wonderfully sharp and penetrating gray eyes . he shot aquestioning glance at each of us, placed his shiny top- hat upon_the sideboard, and with a slight bow sidled down into_the nearest chair .

" good- evening, Mr James Windibank," said Holmes ." i_think that_this typewritten letter is from_you, in_which_you made an appointment with me for six o'clock ? "

" yes, sir . I_am afraid that I_am a little late, but I_am not quite my own master, you_know . I_am sorry that miss Sutherland has troubled you about_this little matter, for i_think it_is far better not to wash linen of_the sort in public . it_was quite against my wishes that she came, but she_is a very excitable, impulsive girl, as_you_may_have noticed, and she_is_not easily controlled when she has_made up her mind on a point . of_course, I_did_not mind you so_much, as you_are_not connected with_the official police, but it_is_not pleasant to_have a family misfortune like this noised abroad . besides, it_is a useless expense, for how could you possibly find this Hosmer angel ? "

" on_the contrary," said Holmes quietly; " I_have every reason to_believe that i_will succeed in discovering Mr Hosmer angel ."

Mr Windibank gave a violent start and dropped his gloves ." I_am delighted to hear it," he_said .

" it_is a curious thing," remarked Holmes, " that a typewriter has really quite as_much individuality as a man's handwriting . unless they_are quite new, no two of_them write exactly alike . some letters get more worn than others, and some wear only on one side . now, you remark in_this note of yours, Mr Windibank, that in every case there_is some little slurring over of_the 'e', and a slight defect in_the tail of_the 'r' . there_are fourteen other characteristics, but those are the more obvious ."

" we_do all our correspondence with_this machine at_the office, and no_doubt it_is a little worn," our visitor answered, glancing keenly at Holmes with_his bright little eyes .

" and now i_will show you what_is really a very interesting study, Mr Windibank," Holmes continued ." i_think of writing another little monograph some_of_these days on_the typewriter and its relation to crime . it_is a subject to_which I_have devoted some little attention . I_have here four letters which purport to_come from_the missing man . they_are all typewritten . in each_case, not_only are the 'e's' slurred and_the 'r's' tailless, but you_will observe, if_you care to use my magnifying lens, that_the fourteen other characteristics to_which I_have alluded are there as_well ."

Mr Windibank sprang out of_his chair and picked up his hat ." I_cannot waste time over this sort of fantastic talk, Mr Holmes," he_said ." if_you_can catch the man, catch him, and let me know when_you have_done it ."

" certainly," said Holmes, stepping over and turning the key in_the door ."I let you_know, then, that I_have caught him ! "

" what ! where ? " shouted Mr Windibank, turning white to_his lips and glancing about him like a rat in a trap .

"Oh, it won't do-- really it won't," said Holmes suavely ." there_is no possible getting out of it, Mr Windibank . it_is quite too transparent, and it_was a very bad compliment when_you said that_it_was impossible for_me to solve so simple a question . that's right ! sit down and_let_us talk it over ."

our visitor collapsed into a chair, with a ghastly face and a glitter of moisture on_his brow ." it-- it's not actionable," he stammered .

" I_am very_much afraid that_it_is not . but between ourselves, Windibank, it_was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in a petty way as ever came before me . now, let me just run over the course of events, and you_will contradict me if I go wrong ."

the man sat huddled up in_his chair, with_his head sunk upon his breast, like one who_is utterly crushed .Holmes stuck his feet up on_the corner of_the mantelpiece and, leaning back with_his hands in_his pockets, began talking, rather to himself, as it seemed, than to_us .

" the man married a woman very_much older than himself for her money," said he, " and he enjoyed the use of_the money of_the daughter as long as she lived with_them . it_was a considerable sum, for people in their position, and_the loss of it would_have made a serious difference . it_was worth an effort to preserve it . the daughter was of a good, amiable disposition, but affectionate and warm-hearted in her ways, so that_it_was evident that with her fair personal advantages, and her little income, she would_not_be allowed to remain single long . now her marriage would mean, of_course, the loss of a hundred a year, so what does her stepfather do to_prevent it ? he takes the obvious course of keeping her at home and forbidding her to seek the company of people of her own age . but soon he_found that that_would not answer forever . she became restive, insisted upon her rights, and finally announced her positive intention of going to a certain ball . what does her clever stepfather do then ? he conceives an idea more creditable to_his head than to_his heart . with_the connivance and assistance of_his wife he disguised himself, covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses, masked the face with amoustache and a pair of bushy whiskers, sunk that clear voice into an insinuating whisper, and doubly secure on account of_the girl's short sight, he appears as Mr Hosmer angel, and keeps off other lovers by making love himself ."

" it_was only a joke at first," groaned our visitor ." we never thought that she would_have_been so carried away ."

" very likely not . however that_may_be, the young lady was very decidedly carried away, and, having quite made up her mind that her stepfather was in France, the suspicion of treachery never for an instant entered her mind . she was flattered by_the gentleman's attentions, and_the effect was increased by_the loudly expressed admiration of her mother . then Mr angel began to_call, for it_was obvious that_the matter should_be pushed as far as it would go if a real effect were to_be produced . there were meetings, and an engagement, which would finally secure the girl's affections from turning towards anyone else . but the deception could_not_be kept up forever . these pretended journeys to France were rather cumbrous . the thing to_do was clearly to bring the business to an end in_such a dramatic manner that_it would leave a permanent impression upon_the young lady's mind and prevent her from looking upon any_other suitor for some_time to_come . hence those vows of fidelity exacted upon a testament, and hence also the allusions to a possibility of something happening on_the very morning of_the wedding .James Windibank wished miss Sutherland to_be so bound to Hosmer angel, and so uncertain as to_his fate, that for ten years to_come, at any rate, she_would not listen to another man . as far as_the church door he brought her, and then, as he_could go no farther, he conveniently vanished away by_the old trick of stepping in at one door of afour-wheeler and out at_the other . i_think that was_the chain of events, Mr Windibank ! "

our visitor had recovered something of_his assurance while Holmes had_been talking, and he rose from_his chair now with a cold sneer upon his pale face .

" it may_be so, or it may not .Mr Holmes," said he, " but if_you_are so very sharp you ought_to_be sharp enough to_know that_it_is you who_are breaking the law now, and not me . I_have_done nothing actionable from_the first, but as long as_you keep that door locked you lay yourself open to an action for assault and illegal constraint ."

" the law cannot, as_you say, touch you," said Holmes, unlocking and throwing open the door, " yet there never was a man who deserved punishment more . if_the young lady has a brother or a friend, he ought to lay a whip across your shoulders . by Jove ! " he continued, flushing up at_the sight of_the bitter sneer upon_the man's face, " it_is_not part of_my duties to my client, but here's ahunting crop handy, and i_think I_shall just treat myself to--" he_took two swift steps to_the whip, but before he_could grasp it there_was a wild clatter of steps upon_the stairs, the heavy hall door banged, and from_the window we could_see Mr James Windibank running at_the top of_his speed down the road .

" there's a cold- blooded scoundrel ! " said Holmes, laughing, as he threw himself down into his chair once more ." that fellow will rise from crime to crime until he_does something very bad, and ends on a gallows . the case has, in some respects, been not entirely devoid of interest ."

" I_cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning," I remarked .

" well, of_course it_was obvious from_the first that_this Mr Hosmer angel must_have some strong object for_his curious conduct, and it_was equally clear that_the only man who really profited by_the incident, as far as_we could_see, was_the stepfather . then the fact that_the two men were never together, but that_the one always appeared when_the other was away, was suggestive . so were the tinted spectacles and_the curious voice, which both hinted at a disguise, as did the bushy whiskers . my suspicions were all confirmed by his peculiar action in typewriting his signature, which, of_course, inferred that his handwriting was so familiar to her that she_would recognize even the smallest sample of it . you_see all these isolated facts, together with many minor ones, all pointed in_the same direction ."

" and how did you verify them ? "

"Having once spotted my man, it_was easy to_get corroboration . I_knew the firm for_which this man worked .Having taken the printed description .I eliminated everything from_it which could_be the result of a disguise-- the whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and I_sent it to_the firm, with a request that they_would inform me whether it answered to_the description of any of_their travellers .I had already noticed the peculiarities of_the typewriter, and i_wrote to_the man himself at his business address asking him if he_would come here . as I expected, his reply was typewritten and revealed the same trivial but characteristic defects . the same post brought me a letter from Westhouse & Marbank, of Fenchurch street, to_say that_the description tallied in every respect with_that of_their employee, James Windibank .Voila tout ! "

" and miss Sutherland ? "

" if I tell her she will not believe me . you_may remember the old Persian saying, ' there_is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman .' there_is as_much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as_much knowledge of_the world ."

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