Етюд у багряних тонах

What John Rance had to tell.

           Ihadthisfellow’sstridebothontheclayoutsideandonthedustwithin. ThenIhadawayofcheckingmycalculation. Whenamanwritesonawall,hisinstinctleadshimtowriteaboutthelevelofhisowneyes. Nowthatwritingwasjustoversixfeetfromtheground. Itwaschild’splay.” 

           “Andhisage?”Iasked. 

           “Well,ifamancanstridefouranda-halffeetwithoutthesmallesteffort,hecan’tbequiteinthesereandyellow. Thatwasthebreadthofapuddleonthegardenwalkwhichhehadevidentlywalkedacross. Patent-leatherbootshadgoneround,andSquare-toeshadhoppedover. Thereisnomysteryaboutitatall. IamsimplyapplyingtoordinarylifeafewofthosepreceptsofobservationanddeductionwhichIadvocatedinthatarticle. Isthereanythingelsethatpuzzlesyou?” 

           “ThefingernailsandtheTrichinopoly,”Isuggested. 

           “Thewritingonthewallwasdonewithaman’sforefingerdippedinblood. Myglassallowedmetoobservethattheplasterwasslightlyscratchedindoingit,whichwouldnothavebeenthecaseiftheman’snailhadbeentrimmed. Igatheredupsomescatteredashfromthefloor.ItwasdarkincolourandflakeysuchanashasisonlymadebyaTrichinopoly. Ihavemadeaspecialstudyofcigarashesinfact,Ihavewrittenamonographuponthesubject. IflattermyselfthatIcandistinguishataglancetheashofanyknownbrand,eitherofcigaroroftobacco. ItisjustinsuchdetailsthattheskilleddetectivediffersfromtheGregsonandLestradetype.” 

           “Andthefloridface?”Iasked. 

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Roboto Lora
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