? ? ? ? "When I returned to London I called upon the milliner, who had recognized Straker as an excellent customer of the name of Derbyshire. who had a very dashing wife, with a strong partiality for expensive dresses. I have no doubt that this woman had plunged him over head and ears in debt, and so led him into this miserable plot."
? ? ? ? "You have explained all but one thing," cried the colonel. "Where was the horse?"
? ? ? ? "Ah, it bolted. and was cared for by one of your neighbours. We must have an amnesty in that direction, I think. This is Clapham Junction. if I am not mistaken, and we shall be in Victoria in less than ten minutes. If you care to smoke a cigar in our rooms, Colonel. I shall be happy to give you any other details which might interest you."
? ? ? ? In choosing a few typical cases which illustrate the remarkable mental qualities of my friend, Sherlock Holmes, I have endeavoured, as far as possible, to select those which presented the minimum of sensationalism, while offering a fair field for his talents. It is, however, unfortunately impossible entirely to separate the sensational from the criminal, and a chronicler is left in the dilemma that he must either sacrifice details which are essential to his statement and so give a false impression of the problem, or he must use matter which chance, and not choice, has provided him with.
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