首页 >出版文学> Uv024>第9章

第9章

  “Youappearedtoreadagooddealuponherwhichwasquiteinvisibletome,“Iremarked。
  “Notinvisible,butunnoticed,Watson。Youdidnotknowwheretolook,andsoyoumissedallthatwasimportant。Icanneverbringyoutorealizetheimportanceofsleeves,thesuggestivenessofthumbnails,orthegreatissuesthatmayhangfromabootlace。
  Now,whatdidyougatherfromthatwoman’sappearance?Describeit。“
  “Well,shehadaslate-colored,broad-brimmedstrawhat,withafeatherofabrickishred。Herjacketwasblack,withblackbeadsseweduponitandafringeoflittleblackjetornaments。Herdresswasbrown,ratherdarkerthancoffeecolor,withalittlepurpleplushattheneckandsleeves。Herglovesweregrayish,andwerewornthroughattherightforefinger。HerbootsIdidn’tobserve。Shehadsmallround,hanginggoldearrings,andageneralairofbeingfairlywell-to-do,inavulgar,comfortable,easygoingway。“
  SherlockHolmesclappedhishandssoftlytogetherandchuckled。
  “’Ponmyword,Watson,youarecomingalongwonderfully。Youhavereallydoneverywellindeed。Itistruethatyouhavemissedeverythingofimportance,butyouhavehituponthemethod,andyouhaveaquickeyeforcolor。Nevertrusttogeneralimpressions,myboy,butconcentrateyourselfupondetails。Myfirstglanceisalwaysatawoman’ssleeve。Inamanitisperhapsbetterfirsttotakethekneeofthetrouser。Asyouobserve,thiswomanhadplushuponhersleeve,whichisamostusefulmaterialforshowingtraces。Thedoublelinealittleabovethewrist,wherethetypewritistpressesagainstthetable,wasbeautifullydefined。
  Thesewingmachine,ofthehandtype,leavesasimilarmark,butonlyontheleftarm,andonthesideofitfarthestfromthethumb,insteadofbeingrightacrossthebroadestpart,asthiswas。Ithenglancedatherface,andobservingthedintofapince-nezateithersideofhernose,Iventuredaremarkuponshortsightandtypewriting,whichseemedtosurpriseher。“
  “Itsurprisedme。“
  “But,surely,itwasveryobvious。Iwasthenmuchsurprisedandinterestedonglancingdowntoobservethat,thoughthebootswhichshewaswearingwerenotunlikeeachother,theywerereallyoddones,theonehavingaslightlydecoratedtoecapandtheotheraplainone。Onewasbuttonedonlyinthetwolowerbuttonsoutoffive,andtheotheratthefirst,third,andfifth。Now,whenyouseethatayounglady,otherwiseneatlydressed,hascomeawayfromhomewithoddboots,half-buttoned,itisnogreatdeductiontosaythatshecameawayinahurry。“
  “Andwhatelse?“Iasked,keenlyinterested,asIalwayswas,bymyfriend’sincisivereasoning。
  “Inoted,inpassing,thatshehadwrittenanotebeforeleavinghome,butafterbeingfullydressed。Youobservedthatherrightglovewastornattheforefinger,butyoudidnot,apparently,seethatbothgloveandfingerwerestainedwithvioletink。Shehadwritteninahurry,anddippedherpentoodeep。Itmusthavebeenthismorning,orthemarkwouldnotremainclearuponthefinger。
  Allthisisamusing,thoughratherelementary,butImustgobacktobusiness,Watson。WouldyoumindreadingmetheadvertiseddescriptionofMr。HosmerAngel?“
  Iheldthelittleprintedsliptothelight。“Missing,“itsaid,“onthemorningofthefourteenth,agentlemannamedHosmerAngel。
  Aboutfivefeetseveninchesinheight;stronglybuilt,sallowcomplexion,blackhair,alittlebaldinthecenter,bushyblackside-whiskersandmustache;tintedglasses;slightinfirmityofspeech。Wasdressed,whenlastseen,inblackfrock-coatfacedwithsilk,blackwaistcoat,goldAlbertchain,andgrayHarristweedtrousers,withbrowngaitersoverelastic-sidedboots。KnowntohavebeenemployedinanofficeinLeadenhallStreet。Anybodybringing,“etc。,etc。
  “Thatwilldo,“saidHolmes。“Astotheletters,“hecontinued,glancingoverthem,“theyareverycommonplace。AbsolutelynoclewinthemtoMr。Angel,savethathequotesBalzaconce。Thereisoneremarkablepoint,however,whichwillnodoubtstrikeyou。“
  “Theyaretypewritten,“Iremarked。
  “Notonlythat,butthesignatureistypewritten。Lookattheneatlittle’HosmerAngel’atthebottom。Thereisadate,yousee,butnosuperscriptionexceptLeadenhallStreet,whichisrathervague。
  Thepointaboutthesignatureisverysuggestive——infact,wemaycallitconclusive。“
  “Ofwhat?“
  “Mydearfellow,isitpossibleyoudonotseehowstronglyitbearsuponthecase?“
  “IcannotsaythatIdo,unlessitwerethathewishedtobeabletodenyhissignatureifanactionforbreachofpromisewereinstituted。“
  “No,thatwasnotthepoint。However,Ishallwritetwoletterswhichshouldsettlethematter。OneistoafirmintheCity,theotheristotheyounglady’sstepfather,Mr。Windibank,askinghimwhetherhecouldmeetushereatsixo’clockto-morrowevening。Itisjustaswellthatweshoulddobusinesswiththemalerelatives。
  Andnow,doctor,wecandonothinguntiltheanswerstothoseletterscome,sowemayputourlittleproblemupontheshelffortheinterim。“
  Ihadhadsomanyreasonstobelieveinmyfriend’ssubtlepowersofreasoning,andextraordinaryenergyinaction,thatIfeltthathemusthavesomesolidgroundsfortheassuredandeasydemeanorwithwhichhetreatedthesingularmysterywhichhehadbeencalledupontofathom。OnceonlyhadIknownhimtofail,inthecaseoftheKingofBohemiaandtheIreneAdlerphotograph,butwhenI
  lookedbacktotheweirdbusinessofthe“SignoftheFour,“andtheextraordinarycircumstancesconnectedwiththe“StudyinScarlet,“Ifeltthatitwouldbeastrangetangleindeedwhichhecouldnotunravel。
  Ilefthimthen,stillpuffingathisblackclaypipe,withtheconvictionthatwhenIcameagainonthenexteveningIwouldfindthatheheldinhishandsalltheclewswhichwouldleaduptotheidentityofthedisappearingbridegroomofMissMarySutherland。
  Aprofessionalcaseofgreatgravitywasengagingmyownattentionatthetime,andthewholeofnextdayIwasbusyatthebedsideofthesufferer。Itwasnotuntilcloseuponsixo’clockthatIfoundmyselffree,andwasabletospringintoahansomanddrivetoBakerStreet,halfafraidthatImightbetoolatetoassistatthedenouementofthelittlemystery。IfoundSherlockHolmesalone,however,halfasleep,withhislong,thinformcurledupintherecessesofhisarmchair。Aformidablearrayofbottlesandtest-
  tubes,withthepungent,cleanlysmellofhydrochloricacid,toldmethathehadspenthisdayinthechemicalworkwhichwassodeartohim。
  “Well,haveyousolvedit?“IaskedasIentered。
  “Yes。Itwasthebisulphateofbaryta。“
  “No,no;themystery!“Icried。
  “Oh,that!IthoughtofthesaltthatIhavebeenworkingupon。
  Therewasneveranymysteryinthematter,though,asIsaidyesterday,someofthedetailsareofinterest。Theonlydrawbackisthatthereisnolaw,Ifear,thatcantouchthescoundrel。“
  “Whowashe,then,andwhatwashisobjectindesertingMissSutherland?“
  Thequestionwashardlyoutofmymouth,andHolmeshadnotyetopenedhislipstoreply,whenweheardaheavyfootfallinthepassage,andatapatthedoor。
  “Thisisthegirl’sstepfather,Mr。JamesWindibank,“saidHolmes。
  “Hehaswrittentometosaythathewouldbehereatsix。Comein!“
  Themanwhoenteredwasasturdy,middle-sizedfellow,somethirtyyearsofage,cleanshaven,andsallow-skinned,withabland,insinuatingmanner,andapairofwonderfullysharpandpenetratinggrayeyes。Heshotaquestioningglanceateachofus,placedhisshinytophatuponthesideboard,and,withaslightbow,sidleddownintothenearestchair。
  “Goodevening,Mr。JamesWindibank,“saidHolmes。“Ithinkthistypewrittenletterisfromyou,inwhichyoumadeanappointmentwithmeforsixo’clock?“
  “Yes,sir。IamafraidthatIamalittlelate,butIamnotquitemyownmaster,youknow。IamsorrythatMissSutherlandhastroubledyouaboutthislittlematter,forIthinkitisfarbetternottowashlinenofthesortinpublic。Itwasquiteagainstmywishesthatshecame,butsheisaveryexcitable,impulsivegirl,asyoumayhavenoticed,andsheisnoteasilycontrolledwhenshehasmadeuphermindonapoint。Ofcourse,Ididnotmindyousomuch,asyouarenotconnectedwiththeofficialpolice,butitisnotpleasanttohaveafamilymisfortunelikethisnoisedabroad。
  Besides,itisauselessexpense,forhowcouldyoupossiblyfindthisHosmerAngel?“
  “Onthecontrary,“saidHolmes,quietly,“IhaveeveryreasontobelievethatIwillsucceedindiscoveringMr。HosmerAngel。“
  Mr。Windibankgaveaviolentstart,anddroppedhisgloves。“Iamdelightedtohearit,“hesaid。
  “Itisacuriousthing,“remarkedHolmes,“thatatypewriterhasreallyquiteasmuchindividualityasaman’shandwriting。Unlesstheyarequitenewnotwoofthemwriteexactlyalike。Somelettersgetmorewornthanothers,andsomewearonlyononeside。
  Now,youremarkinthisnoteofyours,Mr。Windibank,thatineverycasethereissomelittleslurringoverthee,andaslightdefectinthetailofther。Therearefourteenothercharacteristics,butthosearethemoreobvious。“
  “Wedoallourcorrespondencewiththismachineattheoffice,andnodoubtitisalittleworn,“ourvisitoranswered,glancingkeenlyatHolmeswithhisbrightlittleeyes。
  “AndnowIwillshowyouwhatisreallyaveryinterestingstudy,Mr。Windibank,“Holmescontinued。“Ithinkofwritinganotherlittlemonographsomeofthesedaysonthetypewriteranditsrelationtocrime。ItisasubjecttowhichIhavedevotedsomelittleattention。Ihaveherefourletterswhichpurporttocomefromthemissingman。Theyarealltypewritten。Ineachcase,notonlyarethee’sslurredandther’stailless,butyouwillobserve,ifyoucaretousemymagnifyinglens,thatthefourteenothercharacteristicstowhichIhavealludedarethereaswell。“
  Mr。Windibanksprungoutofhischair,andpickeduphishat。“I
  cannotwastetimeoverthissortoffantastictalk,Mr。Holmes,“hesaid。“Ifyoucancatchtheman,catchhim,andletmeknowwhenyouhavedoneit。“
  “Certainly,“saidHolmes,steppingoverandturningthekeyinthedoor。“Iletyouknow,then,thatIhavecaughthim!“