FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155  
156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   >>   >|  
ng in the middle of the room. He had tied his cord to the hook on which the heavy lamp used to hang, and he had jumped off from the top of the very box that he showed us yesterday." Holmes stood for a moment in deep thought. "With your permission," said he at last, "I should like to go upstairs and look into the matter." We both ascended, followed by the doctor. It was a dreadful sight which met us as we entered the bedroom door. I have spoken of the impression of flabbiness which this man Blessington conveyed. As he dangled from the hook it was exaggerated and intensified until he was scarce human in his appearance. The neck was drawn out like a plucked chicken's, making the rest of him seem the more obese and unnatural by the contrast. He was clad only in his long night-dress, and his swollen ankles and ungainly feet protruded starkly from beneath it. Beside him stood a smart-looking police-inspector, who was taking notes in a pocket-book. "Ah, Mr. Holmes," said he, heartily, as my friend entered, "I am delighted to see you." "Good-morning, Lanner," answered Holmes; "you won't think me an intruder, I am sure. Have you heard of the events which led up to this affair?" "Yes, I heard something of them." "Have you formed any opinion?" "As far as I can see, the man has been driven out of his senses by fright. The bed has been well slept in, you see. There's his impression deep enough. It's about five in the morning, you know, that suicides are most common. That would be about his time for hanging himself. It seems to have been a very deliberate affair." "I should say that he has been dead about three hours, judging by the rigidity of the muscles," said I. "Noticed anything peculiar about the room?" asked Holmes. "Found a screw-driver and some screws on the wash-hand stand. Seems to have smoked heavily during the night, too. Here are four cigar-ends that I picked out of the fireplace." "Hum!" said Holmes, "have you got his cigar-holder?" "No, I have seen none." "His cigar-case, then?" "Yes, it was in his coat-pocket." Holmes opened it and smelled the single cigar which it contained. "Oh, this is an Havana, and these others are cigars of the peculiar sort which are imported by the Dutch from their East Indian colonies. They are usually wrapped in straw, you know, and are thinner for their length than any other brand." He picked up the four ends and examined them with his pocket-lens
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155  
156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Holmes
 

pocket

 

impression

 

entered

 

picked

 
peculiar
 
affair
 

morning

 
driven
 

judging


Noticed

 

opinion

 
rigidity
 

suicides

 
muscles
 

deliberate

 
senses
 
hanging
 

common

 

fright


fireplace

 

imported

 

Indian

 

cigars

 

contained

 

Havana

 

colonies

 

examined

 

length

 

wrapped


thinner

 
single
 

smelled

 

smoked

 

heavily

 
driver
 

screws

 
opened
 

holder

 
dreadful

bedroom
 

doctor

 
matter
 
ascended
 

spoken

 

scarce

 
appearance
 

intensified

 
exaggerated
 

flabbiness