Пригоди Шерлока Холмса
A Case of Identity
"’Ponmyword,Watson,youarecomingalongwonderfully. Youhavereallydoneverywellindeed.Itistruethatyouhavemissedeverythingofimportance,butyouhavehituponthemethod,andyouhaveaquickeyeforcolour. Nevertrusttogeneralimpressions,myboy,butconcentrateyourselfupondetails. Myfirstglanceisalwaysatawoman’ssleeve. Inamanitisperhapsbetterfirsttotakethekneeofthetrouser. Asyouobserve,thiswomanhadplushuponhersleeves,whichisamostusefulmaterialforshowingtraces. Thedoublelinealittleabovethewrist,wherethetypewritistpressesagainstthetable,wasbeautifullydefined. Thesewing-machine,ofthehandtype,leavesasimilarmark,butonlyontheleftarm,andonthesideofitfarthestfromthethumb,insteadofbeingrightacrossthebroadestpart,asthiswas. Ithenglancedatherface,and,observingthedintofapince-nezateithersideofhernose,Iventuredaremarkuponshortsightandtypewriting,whichseemedtosurpriseher."
"Itsurprisedme."
"But,surely,itwasobvious. Iwasthenmuchsurprisedandinterestedonglancingdowntoobservethat,thoughthebootswhichshewaswearingwerenotunlikeeachother,theywerereallyoddones;theonehavingaslightlydecoratedtoe-cap,andtheotheraplainone. Onewasbuttonedonlyinthetwolowerbuttonsoutoffive,andtheotheratthefirst,third,andfifth. Now,whenyouseethatayounglady,otherwiseneatlydressed,hascomeawayfromhomewithoddboots,half-buttoned,itisnogreatdeductiontosaythatshecameawayinahurry."
"Andwhatelse?"Iasked,keenlyinterested,asIalwayswas,bymyfriend’sincisivereasoning.
"Inoted,inpassing,thatshehadwrittenanotebeforeleavinghomebutafterbeingfullydressed.
