第11章

Hismannerwasnoteffusive。Itseldomwas；buthewasglad，I think，toseeme。Withhardlyawordspoken，butwithakindlyeye，hewavedmetoanarmchair，threwacrosshiscaseofcigars，andindicatedaspiritcaseandagasogeneinthecorner。Thenhestoodbeforethefire，andlookedmeoverinhissingularintrospectivefashion。 “Wedlocksuitsyou，“heremarked。“Ithink，Watson，thatyouhaveputonsevenandahalfpoundssinceIsawyou。“ “Seven，“Ianswered。 “Indeed，Ishouldhavethoughtalittlemore。Justatriflemore，Ifancy，Watson。Andinpracticeagain，Iobserve。Youdidnottellmethatyouintendedtogointoharness。“ “Thenhowdoyouknow？“ “Iseeit，Ideduceit。HowdoIknowthatyouhavebeengettingyourselfverywetlately，andthatyouhaveamostclumsyandcarelessservantgirl？“ “MydearHolmes，“saidI，“thisistoomuch。Youwouldcertainlyhavebeenburnedhadyoulivedafewcenturiesago。ItistruethatIhadacountrywalkonThursdayandcamehomeinadreadfulmess；butasIhavechangedmyclothes，Ican’timaginehowyoudeduceit。AstoMaryJane，sheisincorrigible，andmywifehasgivenhernotice；butthereagainIfailtoseehowyouworkitout。“ Hechuckledtohimselfandrubbedhislongnervoushandstogether。 “Itissimplicityitself，“saidhe，“myeyestellmethatontheinsideofyourleftshoe，justwherethefirelightstrikesit，theleatherisscoredbysixalmostparallelcuts。Obviouslytheyhavebeencausedbysomeonewhohasverycarelesslyscrapedroundtheedgesofthesoleinordertoremovecrustedmudfromit。Hence，yousee，mydoubledeductionthatyouhadbeenoutinvileweather，andthatyouhadaparticularlymalignantboot-slickingspecimenoftheLondonslavey。Astoyourpractice，ifagentlemanwalksintomyrooms，smellingofiodoform，withablackmarkofnitrateofsilveruponhisrightforefinger，andabulgeonthesideofhistophattoshowwherehehassecretedhisstethoscope，ImustbedullindeedifIdonotpronouncehimtobeanactivememberofthemedicalprofession。“ Icouldnothelplaughingattheeasewithwhichheexplainedhisprocessofdeduction。“WhenIhearyougiveyourreasons，“I remarked，“thethingalwaysappearstomesoridiculouslysimplethatIcouldeasilydoitmyself，thoughateachsuccessiveinstanceofyourreasoningIambaffled，untilyouexplainyourprocess。Andyet，Ibelievethatmyeyesareasgoodasyours。“ “Quiteso，“heanswered，lightingacigarette，andthrowinghimselfdownintoanarmchair。“Yousee，butyoudonotobserve。Thedistinctionisclear。Forexample，youhavefrequentlyseenthestepswhichleadupfromthehalltothisroom。“ “Frequently。“ “Howoften？“ “Well，somehundredsoftimes。“ “Thenhowmanyarethere？“ “Howmany？Idon’tknow。“ “Quiteso！Youhavenotobserved。Andyetyouhaveseen。Thatisjustmypoint。Now，Iknowthereareseventeensteps，becauseI havebothseenandobserved。Bytheway，sinceyouareinterestedintheselittleproblems，andsinceyouaregoodenoughtochronicleoneortwoofmytriflingexperiences，youmaybeinterestedinthis。“Hethrewoverasheetofthickpink-tintednotepaperwhichhadbeenlyingopenuponthetable。“Itcamebythelastpost，“saidhe。“Readitaloud。“ Thenotewasundated，andwithouteithersignatureoraddress。 “Therewillcalluponyouto-night，ataquartertoeighto’clock，“ itsaid，“agentlemanwhodesirestoconsultyouuponamatteroftheverydeepestmoment。YourrecentservicestooneoftheroyalhousesofEuropehaveshownthatyouareonewhomaysafelybetrustedwithmatterswhichareofanimportancewhichcanhardlybeexaggerated。Thisaccountofyouwehavefromallquartersreceived。Beinyourchamber，then，atthathour，anddonottakeitamissifyourvisitorwearsamask。“ “Thisisindeedamystery，“Iremarked。“Whatdoyouimaginethatitmeans？“ “Ihavenodatayet。Itisacapitalmistaketotheorizebeforeonehasdata。Insensiblyonebeginstotwistfactstosuittheories，insteadoftheoriestosuitfacts。Butthenoteitself—— whatdoyoudeducefromit？“ Icarefullyexaminedthewriting，andthepaperuponwhichitwaswritten。 “Themanwhowroteitwaspresumablywelltodo，“Iremarked，endeavoringtoimitatemycompanion’sprocesses。“Suchpapercouldnotbeboughtunderhalfacrownapacket。Itispeculiarlystrongandstiff。“ “Peculiar——thatistheveryword，“saidHolmes。“ItisnotanEnglishpaperatall。Holdituptothelight。“ Ididso，andsawalargeEwithasmallg，aPandalargeGwithasmalltwovenintothetextureofthepaper。 “Whatdoyoumakeofthat？“askedHolmes。 “Thenameofthemaker，nodoubt；orhismonogram，rather。“ “Notall。TheGwiththesmalltstandsfor’Gesellschaft，’whichistheGermanfor’Company。’Itisacustomarycontractionlikeour’Co。’P，ofcourse，standsfor’Papier。’NowfortheEg。Letusglanceatour’ContinentalGazetteer。“Hetookdownaheavybrownvolumefromhisshelves。“Eglow，Eglonitz——hereweare，Egria。ItisinaGerman-speakingcountry——inBohemia，notfarfromCarlsbad。’RemarkableasbeingthesceneofthedeathofWallenstein，andforitsnumerousglassfactoriesandpapermills。’ Ha！ha！myboy，whatdoyoumakeofthat？“Hiseyessparkled，andhesentupagreatbluetriumphantcloudfromhiscigarette。 “ThepaperwasmadeinBohemia，“Isaid。 “Precisely。AndthemanwhowrotethenoteisaGerman。Doyounotethepeculiarconstructionofthesentence——’Thisaccountofyouwehavefromallquartersreceived’？AFrenchmanorRussiancouldnothavewrittenthat。ItistheGermanwhoissouncourteoustohisverbs。Itonlyremains，therefore，todiscoverwhatiswantedbythisGermanwhowritesuponBohemianpaper，andpreferswearingamasktoshowinghisface。Andherehecomes，ifIamnotmistaken，toresolveallourdoubts。“ Ashespoketherewasthesharpsoundofhorses’hoofsandgratingwheelsagainstthecurb，followedbyasharppullatthebell。 Holmeswhistled。 “Apair，bythesound，“saidhe。“Yes，“hecontinued，glancingoutofthewindow。“Anicelittlebroughamandapairofbeauties。A hundredandfiftyguineasapiece。There’smoneyinthiscase，Watson，ifthereisnothingelse。“ “IthinkIhadbettergo，Holmes。“ “Notabit，doctor。Staywhereyouare。IamlostwithoutmyBoswell。Andthispromisestobeinteresting。Itwouldbeapitytomissit。“ “Butyourclient——“ “Nevermindhim。Imaywantyourhelp，andsomayhe。Herehecomes。Sitdowninthatarmchair，doctor，andgiveusyourbestattention。“ Aslowandheavystep，whichhadbeenhearduponthestairsandinthepassage，pausedimmediatelyoutsidethedoor。Thentherewasaloudandauthoritativetap。 “Comein！“saidHolmes。 Amanenteredwhocouldhardlyhavebeenlessthansixfeetsixinchesinheight，withthechestandlimbsofaHercules。Hisdresswasrichwitharichnesswhichwould，inEngland，belookeduponasakintobadtaste。Heavybandsofastrakhanwereslashedacrossthesleevesandfrontofhisdouble-breastedcoat，whilethedeepbluecloakwhichwasthrownoverhisshoulderswaslinedwithflame-coloredsilk，andsecuredattheneckwithabroochwhichconsistedofasingleflamingberyl。Bootswhichextendedhalfwayuphiscalves，andwhichweretrimmedatthetopswithrichbrownfur，completedtheimpressionofbarbaricopulencewhichwassuggestedbyhiswholeappearance。Hecarriedabroad-brimmedhatinhishand，whileheworeacrosstheupperpartofhisface，extendingdownpastthecheek-bones，ablackvisardmask，whichhehadapparentlyadjustedthatverymoment，forhishandwasstillraisedtoitasheentered。Fromthelowerpartofthefaceheappearedtobeamanofstrongcharacter，withathick，hanginglip，andalong，straightchin，suggestiveofresolutionpushedtothelengthofobstinacy。 “Youhadmynote？“heasked，withadeep，harshvoiceandastronglymarkedGermanaccent。“ItoldyouthatIwouldcall。“Helookedfromonetotheotherofus，asifuncertainwhichtoaddress。 “Praytakeaseat，“saidHolmes。“Thisismyfriendandcolleague，DoctorWatson，whoisoccasionallygoodenoughtohelpmeinmycases。WhomhaveIthehonortoaddress？“ “YoumayaddressmeastheCountvonKramm，aBohemiannobleman。I understandthatthisgentleman，yourfriend，isamanofhonoranddiscretion，whomImaytrustwithamatterofthemostextremeimportance。Ifnot，Ishouldmuchprefertocommunicatewithyoualone。“ Irosetogo，butHolmescaughtmebythewristandpushedmebackintomychair。“Itisboth，ornone，“saidhe。“Youmaysaybeforethisgentlemananythingwhichyoumaysaytome。“ Thecountshruggedhisbroadshoulders。“ThenImustbegin，“saidhe，“bybindingyoubothtoabsolutesecrecyfortwoyears；attheendofthattimethematterwillbeofnoimportance。AtpresentitisnottoomuchtosaythatitisofsuchweightthatitmayhaveaninfluenceuponEuropeanhistory。“ “Ipromise，“saidHolmes。 “AndI。“