--- The Adventure of the Dancing Men.
HOLMES had been seated for some hours in silence with his long,
thin back curved over a chemical vessel in which he was brewing
a particularly malodorous product. His head was sunk upon his
breast, and he looked from my point of view like a strange,
lank bird, with dull grey plumage and a black top-knot.
"So, Watson," said he, suddenly, "you do not propose to invest
in South African securities?"
I gave a start of astonishment. Accustomed as I was to Holmes's
curious faculties, this sudden intrusion into my most intimate
thoughts was utterly inexplicable.
"How on earth do you know that?" I asked.
He wheeled round upon his stool, with a steaming test-tube
in his hand and a gleam of amusement in his deep-set eyes.
"Now, Watson, confess yourself utterly taken aback," said he.
"I am."
"I ought to make you sign a paper to that effect."
"Why?"
"Because in five minutes you will say that it is all so
absurdly simple."
"I am sure that I shall say nothing of the kind."
"You see, my dear Watson" -- he propped his test-tube in the
rack and began to lecture with the air of a professor addressing
his class -- "it is not really difficult to construct a series
of inferences, each dependent upon its predecessor and each
simple in itself.
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