me to border upon affectation, he lounged up and down the pavement, and gazed

vacantly at the ground, the sky, the opposite houses and the line of railings.

Having finished his scrutiny, he proceeded slowly down the path, or rather down

the fringe of grass which flanked the path, keeping his eyes riveted upon the

ground. Twice he stopped, and once I saw him smile, and heard him utter an

exclamation of satisfaction. There were many marks of footsteps upon the wet

clayey soil, but since the police had been coming and going over it, I was

unable to see how my companion could hope to learn anything from it. Still I had

had such extraordinary evidence of the quickness of his perceptive faculties,

that I had no doubt that he could see a great deal which was hidden from me.

 

At the door of the house we were met by a tall, white-faced, flaxen-haired man,

with a notebook in his hand, who rushed forward and wrung my companion’s hand

with effusion. “It is indeed kind of you to come,” he said, “I have had

everything left untouched.”

 

“Except that!” my friend answered, pointing at the pathway. “If a herd of

buffaloes had passed along there could not be a greater mess. No doubt, however,

you had drawn your own conclusions, Gregson, before you permitted this.”

 

“I have had so much to do inside the house,” the detective said evasively. “My

colleague, Mr. Lestrade, is here. I had relied upon him to look after this.”

 

Holmes glanced at me and raised his eyebrows sardonically. “With two such men as

yourself and Lestrade upon the ground, there will not be much for a third party