" He turned it over to expose the central page. "Here it
is, and with your permission I will read it to you. Listen to
this, Mr. Holmes. The head-lines are: `Mysterious Affair at
Lower Norwood. Disappearance of a Well-known Builder. Suspicion
of Murder and Arson. A Clue to the Criminal.' That is the clue
which they are already following, Mr. Holmes, and I know that it
leads infallibly to me. I have been followed from London Bridge
Station, and I am sure that they are only waiting for the warrant
to arrest me. It will break my mother's heart -- it will break
her heart!" He wrung his hands in an agony of apprehension,
and swayed backwards and forwards in his chair.
I looked with interest upon this man, who was accused of being
the perpetrator of a crime of violence. He was flaxen-haired
and handsome in a washed-out negative fashion, with frightened
blue eyes and a clean-shaven face, with a weak, sensitive mouth.
His age may have been about twenty-seven; his dress and bearing
that of a gentleman. From the pocket of his light summer
overcoat protruded the bundle of endorsed papers which
proclaimed his profession.
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