Calico Classics Illustrated: Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of Baskervilles
Interesting though elementary he said as he settled in his favorite corner of the settee Oh did something escape me I asked I am afraid my dear Watson that when I said you inspire genius I meant that your mistakes help guide me toward the truth Though this man is certainly a country doctor who walks a great deal Then I was right To that extent he said Since he is a medical man the stick was almost certainly given to him by the Charing Cross Hospital or C C H Now what does that suggest That he practiced in town before moving to the country Certainly that but we can assume the stick was likely awarded at the time of the moving to a country practice Now since a celebrated doctor or administrator rarely moves from a thriving position to the country we might assume this was upon his moving from a position of senior student to his own practice 6
I nodded tentatively Thus your elderly country doctor transforms into a young man under thirty He is absent minded and has a beloved dog that is larger than a terrier but smaller than a mastiff At this Holmes leaned back and gazed at the ceiling Since the doctor had left his card I pulled out a medical directory and looked up his name It showed that he was all the things Holmes said though I still could see no reason to deduce that he had a dog and mentioned as much The dog has carried the stick Holmes said The marks are clear on the wood Thus the dog must be large enough to bear a heavy stick and we can see by the bite width that it could not be a beast as large as a mastiff In fact it is a curly-haired spaniel Now how could you possibly know that I asked I see him on our doorstep with his owner Now let us see what Dr James Mortimer the 8
man of science asks of Sherlock Holmes the specialist in crime Come in The man who entered was very tall and thin with a long nose like a beak His gray eyes were closely set and sparkled brightly behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses His frock coat was dingy and his trousers were frayed As soon as he spotted his stick in Holmes’s hand he ran toward it with an exclamation of joy I am delighted that you found my stick he said A presentation I see Holmes said Yes from friends at Charing Cross on the occasion of my marriage Oh Holmes said shaking his head I nearly smiled to see him proved wrong in a small deduction Yes sir I married and so left the hospital to begin a consulting practice and make a home of my own I presume that I am addressing Mr Sherlock Holmes and this would be He looked at me then 9
