You may have observed that some of
them were marked with ticks, and the others -- the great
majority -- were not. Those which are ticked have been traced
on the London market; but the others presumably were still in
the possession of Carey, and young Neligan, according to his own
account, was anxious to recover them in order to do the right
thing by his father's creditors. After his flight he did not
dare to approach the hut again for some time; but at last he
forced himself to do so in order to obtain the information
which he needed. Surely that is all simple and obvious?"
Holmes smiled and shook his head.
"It seems to me to have only one drawback, Hopkins, and that
is that it is intrinsically impossible. Have you tried to drive
a harpoon through a body? No? Tut, tut, my dear sir, you must
really pay attention to these details. My friend Watson could
tell you that I spent a whole morning in that exercise.
It is no easy matter, and requires a strong and practised arm.
But this blow was delivered with such violence that the head of
the weapon sank deep into the wall. Do you imagine that this
anaemic youth was capable of so frightful an assault? Is he the
man who hobnobbed in rum and water with Black Peter in the dead
of the night? Was it his profile that was seen on the blind two
nights before? No, no, Hopkins; it is another and a more
formidable person for whom we must seek.
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