The Sensible Necktie and Other Stories of Sherlock Holmes by Peter K Andersson

Author:Peter K Andersson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sherlock Holmes, mystery, crime, british crime, sherlock holmes novels, sherlock holmes fiction, sherlock holmes short fiction
ISBN: 9781780928166
Publisher: Andrews UK
Published: 2015-11-02T05:00:00+00:00

The Adventure of the Hobnailed Boots

The case of the six Napoleon busts which I have recounted previously in these annals, was, as my trusty readers might recall, a mystery of some momentum that had its beginnings in something seemingly trivial, brought to Sherlock Holmes’ attention by Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard. Holmes’ subsequent success in solving this case was met with much admiration from the good inspector, who proceeded by approaching Holmes in the following months with a number of similar trifles, expecting the consulting investigator to reveal their connection to some significant crime. Most of these cases, I am sorry to say, proved to be nothing more than the trifles they appeared to be at first sight. Among them were the amusing incident of the corn dolly, the slight but diverting case of the red-nosed pickpocket, and the affair of the bigamist Oliver Treadwell, who managed to keep three wives oblivious of each other’s existence in different flats of one and the same house. But in this mostly unrewarding string of investigations, I retain in my records notes of one that proved much more consequential than was first suspected.

It began, as all of the cases mentioned above, with our receiving a visit from Lestrade, who was, at this time, in the habit of dropping by at Baker Street in the afternoons to enjoy a free cigar from Holmes’ seemingly endless supply, which he eccentrically stored in the coal scuttle. Holmes questioned the unassuming little policeman on his recent work, ever eager to find a gem of a puzzle within the output of commonplace matters that made up the majority of the police work. On this occasion, Lestrade had been looking impatient from the moment he arrived, and it was apparent to me that he was enjoying the sensation of knowing something that Holmes did not know but would be very interested in.

“Do you know,” he said after chatting with us for nigh on twenty minutes, “there is a small affair that has come my way recently which might be right up your street, Mr Holmes.”

“And you are referring to the theft of your bicycle?” said Holmes.

Lestrade was distracted from the relish of his secret. “How the devil did you know about that?”

“I know that you are a keen cyclist in your leisure time, and the traces are usually apparent in the characteristic marks on your boots. But you have been wearing a new pair of boots on your two recent visits, and they lack the distinctive marks from the pedals. Thus, you have not been indulging in your favourite pastime for at least two weeks, and when a man is as passionate about something as you clearly are, one concludes that he has been robbed of this pleasure through circumstances that are beyond his control.”

Lestrade leaned forward in his chair and touched the side of his left boot. “The blackguards took it straight from the driveway. The sheer nerve!”

“It was not my intention to remind you of sadder things,” said Holmes.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.