A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
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for twenty minutes or more he continued his researches, measuring with_the most exact care the distance between marks which were entirely invisible to_me, and occasionally applying his tape to_the walls in an equally incomprehensible manner . in one place he gathered up very carefully a little pile of grey dust from_the floor, and packed it away in an envelope . finally, he examined with_his glass the word upon_the wall, going over every letter of it with_the most minute exactness . this done, he appeared to_be satisfied, for he replaced his tape and_his glass in_his pocket .

" they say that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains," he remarked with a smile ." it's a very bad definition, but it does apply to detective work ."

Gregson and Lestrade had watched the manoeuvres {9} of_their amateur companion with considerable curiosity and some contempt . they evidently failed to appreciate the fact, which I had begun to realize, that Sherlock Holmes' smallest actions were all directed towards some definite and practical end .

" what do_you_think of it, sir ? " they both asked .

" it would_be robbing you of_the credit of_the case if i_was to presume to help_you," remarked my friend ." you_are doing_so well now that_it would_be a pity for anyone to interfere ." there_was a world of sarcasm in_his voice as he spoke ." if_you_will let me know how your investigations go," he continued, " I_shall_be happy to_give_you any help I_can . in_the meantime i_should like to_speak to_the constable who found the body . can_you_give me his name and address ? "

Lestrade glanced at his note- book ."John Rance," he_said ." he_is off duty now . you_will_find him at 46, Audley court, Kennington park gate ."

Holmes took a note of_the address .

" come along, doctor," he_said; " we_shall go and look him up .I'll tell you one_thing which_may help_you in_the case," he continued, turning to_the two detectives ." there_has_been murder done, and_the murderer was a man . he_was more than six feet high, was in_the prime of life, had small feet for_his height, wore coarse, square- toed boots and smoked aTrichinopoly cigar . he_came here with_his victim in afour- wheeled cab, which_was drawn by a horse with three old shoes and one new one on_his off fore leg . in all probability the murderer had a florid face, and_the finger-nails of_his right hand were remarkably long . these are only a few indications, but they_may assist you ."

Lestrade and Gregson glanced at each_other with an incredulous smile .

" if_this man was murdered, how was_it done ? " asked the former .

" poison," said Sherlock Holmes curtly, and strode off ." one other thing, Lestrade," he added, turning round at_the door: "`Rache,' is_the German for ` revenge;' so don't lose your time looking for miss Rachel ."

with_which Parthian shot he walked away, leaving the two rivals open- mouthed behind him .

chapter IV .

what JOHN RANCE had to_tell .

it_was one o'clock when we left no .3, Lauriston Gardens .Sherlock Holmes led me to_the nearest telegraph office, whence he dispatched a long telegram . he then hailed a cab, and ordered the driver to_take us to_the address given us by Lestrade .

" there_is nothing like first hand evidence," he remarked; " as a matter of fact, my mind is entirely made up upon_the case, but still we_may as_well learn all that is_to_be learned ."

" you amaze me, Holmes," said I ." surely you_are_not as sure as_you pretend to_be of all those particulars which you_gave ."

" there's no room for a mistake," he answered ." the very first thing which I observed on arriving there_was that a cab had made two ruts with its wheels close to_the curb . now, up_to last night, we_have_had no rain for a week, so that_those wheels which left such a deep impression must_have been there during the night . there were the marks of_the horse's hoofs, too, the outline of one of which_was far more clearly cut than that of_the other three, showing that that was a new shoe . since_the cab was there after_the rain began, and was not there at any_time during the morning -- I_have Gregson's word for_that -- it follows that_it must_have been there during the night, and, therefore, that_it brought those two individuals to_the house ."

" that seems simple enough," said I; " but how about_the other man's height ? "

" why, the height of a man, in nine cases out of ten, can_be told from_the length of_his stride . it_is a simple calculation enough, though there_is no use my boring you with figures .I had this fellow's stride both on_the clay outside and on_the dust within . then I had a way of checking my calculation . when a man writes on a wall, his instinct leads him to write about_the level of_his own eyes . now that writing was just over six feet from_the ground . it_was child's play ."

" and_his age ? " I asked .

" well, if a man can stride four and a- half feet without the smallest effort, he_can't be quite in_the sere and yellow . that was_the breadth of a puddle on_the garden walk which he had evidently walked across . patent- leather boots had gone round, and square-toes had hopped over . there_is no mystery about_it at all . I_am simply applying to ordinary life a few of_those precepts of observation and deduction which I advocated in_that article . is_there anything else that puzzles you ? "

" the finger nails and_the Trichinopoly," I suggested .

" the writing on_the wall was_done with a man's forefinger dipped in blood . my glass allowed me to observe that_the plaster was slightly scratched in doing it, which would_not_have_been the case if_the man's nail had_been trimmed .I gathered up some scattered ash from_the floor . it_was dark in colour and flakey -- such an ash as is only made by aTrichinopoly . I_have_made a special study of cigar ashes -- in_fact, I_have written a monograph upon_the_subject .I flatter myself that I_can distinguish at a glance the ash of any known brand, either of cigar or of tobacco . it_is just in_such details that_the skilled detective differs from_the Gregson and Lestrade type ."

" and_the florid face ? " I asked .

"Ah, that was a more daring shot, though I_have no_doubt that i_was right . you_must not ask me that at_the present state of_the affair ."

I passed my hand over my brow ." my head is in a whirl," I remarked; " the more one thinks of it the more mysterious it grows . how came these two men -- if there were two men -- into an empty house ? what has become of_the cabman who drove them ? how could one man compel another to_take poison ? where did the blood come from ? what_was the object of_the murderer, since robbery had no part in_it ? how came the woman's ring there ? above all, why should the second man write up the German word RACHE before decamping ? I confess that I cannot_see any possible way of reconciling all these facts ."

my companion smiled approvingly .

" you sum up the difficulties of_the situation succinctly and well," he_said ." there_is much that_is still obscure, though I_have quite made up my mind on_the main facts . as_to poor Lestrade's discovery it_was simply a blind intended to_put the police upon a wrong track, by suggesting socialism and secret societies . it_was not done by a German . the A, if_you noticed, was printed somewhat after_the German fashion . now, a real German invariably prints in_the Latin character, so_that we_may safely say that_this was not written by one, but by a clumsy imitator who overdid his part . it_was simply a ruse to divert inquiry into a wrong channel .I'm not going to_tell you much more of_the case, doctor . you_know aconjuror gets no credit when once he has explained his trick, and if I show you too_much of_my method of working, you_will come to_the conclusion that I_am a very ordinary individual after all ."

" I_shall never do_that," I answered; " you_have brought detection as near an exact science as it ever will_be brought in_this world ."

my companion flushed up with pleasure at my words, and_the earnest way in_which I uttered them .I had already observed that he_was as sensitive to flattery on_the score of_his art as any girl could_be of her beauty .

"I'll tell you one other thing," he_said ." patent leathers {10} and square-toes came in_the same cab, and_they walked down the pathway together as friendly as possible -- arm- in- arm, in all probability . when_they got inside they walked up and down the room -- or rather, patent-leathers stood still while square-toes walked up and down . I_could read all that in_the dust; and I_could read that as he walked he grew more and more excited . that_is shown by_the increased length of_his strides . he_was talking all the while, and working himself up, no_doubt, into a fury . then the tragedy occurred .I've told you all I_know myself now, for_the rest is mere surmise and conjecture . we_have a good working basis, however, on_which to start . we_must hurry up, for i_want to_go to Halle's concert to hear Norman Neruda this afternoon ."

this conversation had occurred while our cab had_been threading its way through a long succession of dingy streets and dreary by-ways . in_the dingiest and dreariest of_them our driver suddenly came to a stand ." that's Audley court in there," he_said, pointing to a narrow slit in_the line of dead-coloured brick ." you'll find me here when_you come back ."

Audley court was not an attractive locality . the narrow passage led us into a quadrangle paved with flags and lined by sordid dwellings . we picked our way among groups of dirty children, and through lines of discoloured linen, until we came to number 46, the door of which_was decorated with a small slip of brass on_which the name Rance was engraved . on enquiry we_found that_the constable was in bed, and we were shown into a little front parlour to await his coming .

he appeared presently, looking a little irritable at being disturbed in_his slumbers ." I_made my report at_the office," he_said .

Holmes took a half- sovereign from_his pocket and played with it pensively ." we thought that we_should like to hear it all from your own lips," he_said .

" I_shall_be most happy to_tell you anything I_can," the constable answered with_his eyes upon_the little golden disk .

" just let_us hear it all in your own way as it occurred ."

Rance sat down on_the horsehair sofa, and knitted his brows as_though determined not to omit anything in_his narrative .

"I'll tell it ye from_the beginning," he_said ." my_time is from ten at night to six in_the morning . at eleven there_was a fight at_the ` white Hart'; but bar that all was quiet enough on_the beat . at one o'clock it began to rain, and I met Harry Murcher -- him who has_the Holland grove beat -- and we stood together at_the corner of Henrietta street a-talkin' . presently -- maybe about two or a little after -- i_thought i_would take a look round and_see that all was right down the Brixton road . it_was precious dirty and lonely . not a soul did I meet all the way down, though a cab or two went past me . i_was astrollin' down, thinkin' between ourselves how uncommon handy afour of gin hot would_be, when suddenly the glint of a light caught my eye in_the window of_that same house . now, I_knew that them two houses in Lauriston Gardens was empty on account of him that owns them who won't have the drains seed to, though the very last tenant what lived in one_of_them died o' typhoid fever . i_was knocked all in a heap therefore at seeing a light in_the window, and I suspected as something was wrong . when I got to_the door ----"

" you stopped, and then walked back to_the garden gate," my companion interrupted ." what did you do_that for ? "

Rance gave a violent jump, and stared at Sherlock Holmes with_the utmost amazement upon his features .

" why, that's true, sir," he_said; " though how you come to_know it, heaven only knows . ye see, when I got up_to_the door it_was so still and so lonesome, that i_thought I'd be none the worse for some one with me .I ain't afeared of anything on_this side o' the grave; but i_thought that maybe it_was him that died o' the typhoid inspecting the drains what killed him . the thought gave_me a kind o' turn, and I walked back to_the gate to_see if I could_see Murcher's lantern, but there wasn't no sign of him nor of anyone else ."

" there_was no one in_the street ? "

" not alivin' soul, sir, nor as_much as a dog . then I pulled myself together and went back and pushed the door open . all was quiet inside, so I went into_the room where the light was a-burnin' . there_was a candle flickerin' on_the mantelpiece -- a red wax one -- and by its light I_saw ----"

" yes, I_know all that you saw . you walked round the room several_times, and you knelt down by_the body, and then you walked through and tried the kitchen door, and then ----"

John Rance sprang to_his feet with a frightened face and suspicion in_his eyes ." where was you hid to_see all that ? " he cried ." it seems to_me that you knows a deal more than you_should ."

Holmes laughed and threw his card across the table to_the constable ."Don't get arresting me for_the murder," he_said ." I_am one_of_the hounds and not the wolf; Mr Gregson or Mr Lestrade

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