Этюд в багровых тонах
The Conclusion.
Inaturallybeganbyexaminingtheroadway,andthere,asIhavealreadyexplainedtoyou,Isawclearlythemarksofacab,which,Iascertainedbyinquiry,musthavebeenthereduringthenight. Isatisfiedmyselfthatitwasacabandnotaprivatecarriagebythenarrowgaugeofthewheels. TheordinaryLondongrowlerisconsiderablylesswidethanagentleman’sbrougham.
“Thiswasthefirstpointgained. Ithenwalkedslowlydownthegardenpath,whichhappenedtobecomposedofaclaysoil,peculiarlysuitablefortakingimpressions. Nodoubtitappearedtoyoutobeameretrampledlineofslush,buttomytrainedeyeseverymarkuponitssurfacehadameaning. Thereisnobranchofdetectivesciencewhichissoimportantandsomuchneglectedastheartoftracingfootsteps. Happily,Ihavealwayslaidgreatstressuponit,andmuchpracticehasmadeitsecondnaturetome. Isawtheheavyfootmarksoftheconstables,butIsawalsothetrackofthetwomenwhohadfirstpassedthroughthegarden. Itwaseasytotellthattheyhadbeenbeforetheothers,becauseinplacestheirmarkshadbeenentirelyobliteratedbytheotherscominguponthetopofthem. Inthiswaymysecondlinkwasformed,whichtoldmethatthenocturnalvisitorsweretwoinnumber,oneremarkableforhisheight(asIcalculatedfromthelengthofhisstride),andtheotherfashionablydressed,tojudgefromthesmallandelegantimpressionleftbyhisboots.
