"Dear me! Dear me!" he said at last. "Well, now, who would
have thought it? And how deceptive appearances may be, to be
sure! Such a nice young man to look at! It is a lesson to us
not to trust our own judgment, is it not, Lestrade?"
"Yes, some of us are a little too much inclined to be cocksure,
Mr. Holmes," said Lestrade. The man's insolence was maddening,
but we could not resent it.
"What a providential thing that this young man should press his
right thumb against the wall in taking his hat from the peg!
Such a very natural action, too, if you come to think of it."
Holmes was outwardly calm, but his whole body gave a wriggle
of suppressed excitement as he spoke. "By the way, Lestrade,
who made this remarkable discovery?"
"It was the housekeeper, Mrs. Lexington, who drew the night
constable's attention to it."
"Where was the night constable?"
"He remained on guard in the bedroom where the crime was
committed, so as to see that nothing was touched."
"But why didn't the police see this mark yesterday?"
"Well, we had no particular reason to make a careful examination
of the hall. Besides, it's not in a very prominent place,
as you see.
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