matter, mr. holmes?"
"i have not yet made up my mind."
"i shall indeed be indebted to you if you can throw a light
where all is so dark to us. to a poor bookworm and invalid
like myself such a blow is paralyzing. i seem to have lost
the faculty of thought. but you are a man of action -- you
are a man of affairs. it is part of the everyday routine of
your life. you can preserve your balance in every
emergency. we are fortunate indeed in having you at our
side."
holmes was pacing up and down one side of the room whilst
the old professor was talking. i observed that he was
smoking with extraordinary rapidity. it was evident that he
shared our host's liking for the fresh alexandrian
cigarettes.
"yes, sir, it is a crushing blow," said the old man. "that
is my _magnum opus_ -- the pile of papers on the side table
yonder. it is my analysis of the documents found in the
coptic monasteries of syria and egypt, a work which will cut
deep at the very foundations of revealed religion. with my
enfeebled health i do not know whether i shall ever be able
to complete it now that my assistant has been taken from me.
dear me, mr. holmes; why, you are even a quicker smoker than
i am myself."
holmes smiled.
"i am a connoisseur," said he, taking another cigarette from
the box -- his fourth -- and lighting it from the stub of
that which he had finished. "i will not trouble you with
any lengthy cross-examination, professor coram, since i
gather that you were in bed at the time of the crime and
could know nothing about it. i would only ask this. what
do you imagine that this poor fellow meant by his last
words: 'the professor -- it was she'?"
the professor shook his head.
"susan is a country girl," said he, "and you know the
incredible stupidity of that class. i fancy that the poor
fellow murmured some incoherent delirious words, and that
she twisted them into this meaningless message."
"i see. you have no explanation yourself of the tragedy?"
"possibly an accident; possibly -- i only breathe it among
ourselves -- a suicide. young men have their hidden
troubles -- some affair of the heart, perhaps, which we have
never known. it is a more probable supposition than
murder."
"but the eye-glasses?"
"ah! i am only a student -- a man of dreams. i cannot
explain the practical things of life. but still, we are
aware, my friend, that love-gages may take strange shapes.
by all means take another cigarette. it is a pleasure to
see anyone appreciate them so. a fan, a glove, glasses --
who knows what article may be carried as a token or
treasured when a man puts an end to his life? this
gentleman speaks of footsteps in the grass; but, after all,
it is easy to be mistaken on such a point. as to the knife,
it might well be thrown far from the unfortunate man as he
fell. it is possible that i speak as a child, but to me it
seems that willoughby smith has met his fate by his own
hand."
holmes seemed struck by the theory thus put forward, and he
continued to walk up and down for some time, lost in thought
and consuming cigarette after cigarette.
"tell me, professor coram," he said, at last, "what is in
that cupboard in the bureau?"
"nothing that would help a thief. family papers, letters
from my poor wife, diplomas of universities which have done
me honour. here is the key. you can look for yourself."
holmes picked up the key and looked at it for an instant;
then he handed it back.
"no; i hardly think that it would help me," said he. "i
should prefer to go quietly down to your garden and turn the
whole matter over in my head. there is something to be said
for the theory of suicide which you have put forward. we
must apologize for having intruded upon you, professor
coram, and i promise that we won't disturb you until after
lunch. at two o'clock we will come again and report to you
anything which may have happened in the interval."
holmes was curiously distrait, and we walked up and down the
garden path for some time in silence.
"have you a clue?" i asked, at last.
"it depends upon those cigarettes that i smoked," said he.
"it is possible that i am utterly mistaken. the cigarettes
will show me."
"my dear holmes," i exclaimed, "how on earth ----"
"well, well, you may see for yourself. if not, there's no
harm done. of course, we always have the optician clue to
fall back upon, but i take a short cut when i can get it.
ah, here is the good mrs. marker! let us enjoy five minutes
of instructive conversation with her."
i may have remarked before that holmes had, when he liked, a
peculiarly ingratiating way with women, and that he very
readily established terms of confidence with them. in half
the time which he had named he had captured the
housekeeper's goodwill, and was chatting with her as if he
had known h
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