rubbedhislong,nervoushandstogether.
“Itissimplicityitself,”saidhe“myeyestellmethatontheinsideofyourleftshoe,justwherethefirelightstrikesit,theleatherisscoredbysixalmostparallelcuts.Obviouslytheyhavebeencausedbysomeonewhohasverycarelesslyscrapedroundtheedgesofthesoleinordertoremovecrustedmudfromit.Hence,yousee,mydoubledeductionthatyouhadbeenoutinvileweather,andthatyouhadaparticularlymalignantboot-slittingspecimenoftheLondonslavey.Astoyourpractice,ifagentlemanwalksintomyroomssmellingofiodoform,withablackmarkofnitrateofsilveruponhisrightforefinger,andabulgeontherightsideofhistop-hattoshowwherehehassecretedhisstethoscope,Imustbedull,indeed,ifIdonotpronouncehimtobeanactivememberofthemedicalprofession.”
Icouldnothelplaughingattheeasewithwhichheexplainedhisprocessofdeduction.“WhenIhearyougiveyourreasons,”Iremarked,“thethingalwaysappearstometobesoridiculouslysimplethatIcouldeasilydoitmyself,thoughateachsuccessiveinstanceofyourreasoningIambaffleduntilyouexplainyourprocess.AndyetIbelievethatmyeyesareasgoodasyours.”
“Quiteso,”heanswered,lightingacigarette,andthrowinghimselfdownintoanarmchair.“Yousee,butyoudonotobserve.Thedistinctionisclear.Forexample,youhavefrequentlyseenthestepswhichleadupfromthehalltothisroom.”
“Frequently.”
“Howoften?”
“Well,somehundredsoftimes.”
“Thenhowmanyarethere?”
“Howmany?Idon’tknow.”
“Quiteso!Youhavenotobserved.Andyetyouhaveseen.Thatisjustmypoint.Now,Iknowthatthereareseventeensteps,becauseIhavebothseenandobserved.Bytheway,sinceyouareinterestedintheselittleproblems,andsinceyouaregoodenoughtochronicleoneortwoofmytriflingexperiences,youmaybeinterestedinthis.”Hethrewoverasheetofthick,pink-tintednotepaperwhichhadbeenlyingopenuponthetable.“Itcamebythelastpost,”saidhe.“Readitaloud.”
Thenotewasundated,andwithouteithersignatureoraddress.
“Therewillcalluponyouto-night,ataquartertoeighto’clock,”itsaid,“agentlemanwhodesirestoconsultyouuponamatteroftheverydeepestmoment.YourrecentservicestooneoftheroyalhousesofEuropehaveshownthatyouareonewhomaysafelybetrustedwithmatterswhichareofanimportancewhichcanhardlybeexaggerated.Thisaccountofyouwehavefromallquartersreceived.Beinyourchamberthenatthathour,anddonottakeitamissifyourvisitorwearamask.”
“Thisisindeedamystery,”Iremarked.“Whatdoyouimaginethatitmeans?”
“Ihavenodatayet.Itisacapitalmistaketotheorisebeforeonehasdata.Insensiblyonebeginstotwistfactstosuittheories,insteadoftheoriestosuitfacts.Butthenoteitself.Whatdoyoudeducefromit?”
Icarefullyexaminedthewriting,andthepaperuponwhichitwaswritten.
“Themanwhowroteitwaspresumablywelltodo,”Iremarked,endeavouringtoimitatemycompanion’sprocesses.“Suchpapercouldnotbeboughtunderhalfacrownapacket.Itispeculiarlystrongandstiff.”
“Peculiar—thatistheveryword,”saidHolmes.“ItisnotanEnglishpaperatall.Holdituptothelight.”
Ididso,andsawalarge“E”withasmall“g,”a“P,”andalarge“G”withasmall“t”wovenintothetextureofthepaper.
“Whatdoyoumakeofthat?”askedHolmes.
“Thenameofthemaker,nodoubtorhismonogram,rather.”
“Notatall.The‘G’withthesmall‘t’standsfor‘Gesellschaft,’whichistheGermanfor‘Company.’Itisacustomarycontractionlikeour‘Co.’‘P,’ofcourse,standsfor‘Papier.’Nowforthe‘Eg.’LetusglanceatourContinentalGazetteer.”Hetookdownaheavybrownvolumefromhisshelves.“Eglow,Eglonitz—hereweare,Egria.ItisinaGerman-speakingcountry—inBohemia,notfarfromCarlsbad.‘RemarkableasbeingthesceneofthedeathofWallenstein,andforitsnumerousglass-factoriesandpaper-mills.’Ha,ha,myboy,whatdoyoumakeofthat?”Hiseyessparkled,andhesentupagreatbluetriumphantcloudfromhiscigarette.
“ThepaperwasmadeinBohemia,”Isaid.
“Precisely.AndthemanwhowrotethenoteisaGerman.Doyounotethepeculiarconstructionofthesentence—‘Thisaccountofyouwehavefromallquartersreceived.’AFrenchmanorRussiancouldnothavewrittenthat.ItistheGermanwhoissouncourteoustohisverbs.Itonlyremains,therefore,todiscoverwhatiswantedbythisGermanwhowritesuponBohemianp