dangerous man to fall foul of! See here. He stepped swiftly forward,
seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands.
See that you keep yourself out of my grip, he snarled, and hurling
the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the room.
He seems a very amiable person, said Holmes, laughing. I am not
quite so bulky, but if he had remained I might have shown him that my
grip was not much more feeble than his own. As he spoke he picked up
the steel poker and, with a sudden effort, straightened it out again.
Fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official
detective force! This incident gives zest to our investigation,
however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer from
her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her. And now, Watson, we
shall order breakfast, and afterwards I shall walk down to Doctors
Commons, where I hope to get some data which may help us in this
matter.
It was nearly one o clock when Sherlock Holmes returned from his
excursion. He held in his hand a sheet of blue paper, scrawled over
with notes and figures.
I have seen the will of the deceased wife, said he. To determine its
exact meaning I have been obliged to work out the present prices of the
investments with which it is concerned. The total income, which at the
time of the wife s death was little short of 1,100, is now, through
the fall in agricultural prices, not more than 750. Each daughter can
claim an income of 250, in case of marriage. It is evident,
therefore, that if both girls had married, this beauty would have had a
mere pittance, while even one of them would cripple him to a very
serious extent. My morning s work has not been wasted, since it has
proved that he has the very strongest motives for standing in the way
of anything of the sort. And now, Watson, this is too serious for
dawdling, especially as the old man is aware that we are interesting
ourselves in his affairs; so if you are ready, we shall call a cab and
drive to Waterloo. I should be very much obliged if you would slip your
revolver into your pocket. An Eley s No. 2 is an excellent argument
with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and a
tooth-brush are, I think, all that we need.
183