? ? ? ? "He looks like a beaten man," cried Phelps.
? ? ? ? I was forced to confess that he was right. "After all," said I, "the clue of the matter lies probably here in town."
? ? ? ? Phelps gave a groan.
? ? ? ? "I don't know how it is," said he, "but I had hoped for so much from his return. But surely his hand was not tied up like that yesterday. What can be the matter?"
? ? ? ? "You are not wounded, Holmes?" I asked as my friend entered the room.
? ? ? ? "Tut, it is only a scratch through my own clumsiness," he answered, nodding his good-morning to us. "This case of yours, Mr. Phelps, is certainly one of the darkest which I have ever investigated."
? ? ? ? "I feared that you would find it beyond you."
? ? ? ? "It has been a most remarkable experience."
? ? ? ? "That bandage tells of adventures," said I. "Won't you tell us what has happened?"
? ? ? ? "After breakfast, my dear Watson. Remember that I have breathed thirty miles of Surrey air this morning. I suppose that there has been no answer from my cabman advertisement? Well, well, we cannot expect to score every time.
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