Meanwhile, I should like in your presence, Mr. Overton, to go
through these papers which have been left upon the table."
There were a number of letters, bills, and note-books, which
Holmes turned over and examined with quick, nervous fingers and
darting, penetrating eyes. "Nothing here," he said, at last.
"By the way, I suppose your friend was a healthy young fellow --
nothing amiss with him?"
"Sound as a bell."
"Have you ever known him ill?"
"Not a day. He has been laid up with a hack, and once he
slipped his knee-cap, but that was nothing."
"Perhaps he was not so strong as you suppose. I should think
he may have had some secret trouble. With your assent I will
put one or two of these papers in my pocket, in case they
should bear upon our future inquiry."
"One moment! one moment!" cried a querulous voice, and we
looked up to find a queer little old man, jerking and twitching
in the doorway. He was dressed in rusty black, with a very
broad brimmed top-hat and a loose white necktie -- the whole
effect being that of a very rustic parson or of an undertaker's
mute. Yet, in spite of his shabby and even absurd appearance,
his voice had a sharp crackle, and his manner a quick intensity
which commanded attention.
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