Sherlock Holmes took the glasses into his hand, and examinedthem with the utmost attention and interest. He held them on hisnose, endeavoured to read through them, went to the window andstared up the street with them, looked at them most minutely inthe full light of the lamp, and finally, with a chuckle, seated himselfat the table and wrote a few lines upon a sheet of paper, which hetossed across to Stanley Hopkins.
“That’s the best I can do for you,” said he. “It may prove to beof some use.”
The astonished detective read the note aloud. It ran as follows:
“Wanted, a woman of good address, attired like a lady. She has aremarkably thick nose, with eyes which are set close upon eitherside of it. She has a puckered forehead, a peering expression, andprobably rounded shoulders. There are indications that she has hadrecourse to an optician at least twice during the last few months. Asher glasses are of remarkable strength, and as opticians are not verynumerous, there should be no difficulty in tracing her.”
Holmes smiled at the astonishment of Hopkins, which musthave been reflected upon my features. “Surely my deductionsare simplicity itself,” said he. “It would be difficult to name anyarticles which afford a finer field for inference than a pair ofglasses, especially so remarkable a pair as these. That they belongto a woman I infer from their delicacy, and also, of course, fromthe last words of the dying man. As to her being a person ofrefinement and well dressed, they are, as you perceive, handsomelymounted in solid gold, and it is inconceivable that anyone whowore such glasses could be slatternly in other respects. Youwill find that the clips are too wide for your nose, showing thatthe lady’s nose was very broad at the base. This sort of nose isusually a short and coarse one, but there is a sufficient number ofexceptions to prevent me from being dogmatic or from insistingupon this point in my description. My own face is a narrow one,and yet I find that I cannot get my eyes into the centre, nor nearthe centre, of these glasses. Therefore, the lady’s eyes are set verynear to the sides of the nose. You will perceive, Watson, that theglasses are concave and of unusual strength. A lady whose visionhas been so extremely contracted all her life is sure to have thephysical characteristics of such vision, which are seen in theforehead, the eyelids, and the shoulders.”
“Yes,” I said, “I can follow each of your arguments. I confess,however, that I am unable to understand how you arrive at thedouble visit to the optician.”
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Holmes took the glasses in his hand.
“You will perceive,” he said, “that the clips are lined with tinybands of cork to soften the pressure upon the nose. One of theseis discoloured and worn to some slight extent, but the other isnew. Evidently one has fallen off and been replaced. I shouldjudge that the older of them has not been there more than a fewmonths. They exactly correspond, so I gather that the lady wentback to the same establishment for the second.”
“By George, it’s marvellous!” cried Hopkins, in an ecstasy ofadmiration. “To think that I had all that evidence in my hand andnever knew it! I had intended, however, to go the round of theLondon opticians.”
“Of course you would. Meanwhile, have you anything more totell us about the case?”
“Nothing, Mr. Holmes. I think that you know as much as Ido now—probably more. We have had inquiries made as to anystranger seen on the country roads or at the railway station. Wehave heard of none. What beats me is the utter want of all objectin the crime. Not a ghost of a motive can anyone suggest.”
“Ah! there I am not in a position to help you. But I suppose youwant us to come out to-morrow?”
“If it is not asking too much, Mr. Holmes. There’s a train fromCharing Cross to Chatham at six in the morning, and we shouldbe at Yoxley Old Place between eight and nine.”
“Then we shall take it. Your case has certainly some featuresof great interest, and I shall be delighted to look into it. Well, it’snearly one, and we had best get a few hours’ sleep. I daresay youcan manage all right on the sofa in front of the fire. I’ll light myspirit lamp, and give you a cup of coffee before we start.”
The gale had blown itself out next day, but it was a bittermorning when we started upon our journey. We saw the coldwinter sun rise over the dreary marshes of the Thames and thelong, sullen reaches of the river, which I shall ever associate withour pursuit of the Andaman Islander in the earlier days of ourcareer. After a long and weary journey, we alighted at a smallstation some miles from Chatham. While a horse was being putinto a trap at the local inn, we snatched a hurried breakfast, andso we were all ready for business when we at last arrived at YoxleyOld Place. A constable met us at the garden gate.
“Well, Wilson, any news?”
“No, sir—nothing.”
“No reports of any stranger seen?”
“No, sir. Down at the station they are certain that no strangereither came or went yesterday.”
“Have you had inquiries made at inns and lodgings?”
“Yes, sir: there is no one that we cannot account for.”
1020 The Complete Sherlock Holmes
“Well, it’s only a reasonable walk to Chatham. Anyone mightstay there or take a train without being observed. This is thegarden path of which I spoke, Mr. Holmes. I’ll pledge my wordthere was no mark on it yesterday.”
“On which side were the marks on the grass?”
“This side, sir. This narrow margin of grass between the pathand the flower-bed. I can’t see the traces now, but they were clearto me then.”
“Yes, yes: someone has passed along,” said Holmes, stooping overthe grass border. “Our lady must have picked her steps carefully,must she not, since on the one side she would leave a track on thepath, and on the other an even clearer one on the soft bed?”
“Yes, sir, she must have been a cool hand.”
I saw an intent look pass over Holmes’s face.
“You say that she must have come back this way?”
“Yes, sir, there is no other.”
“On this strip of grass?”
“Certainly, Mr. Holmes.”