The room was small, dingy, and poorly furnished.Meeks seated himself dejectedly on a broken chair, while the great detective searched the walls and floor and the few sticks of old, rickety furniture for a clue.
At the end of half an hour Jolnes had collected a few seemingly unintelligible articles -- a cheap black hat pin, a piece torn off a theatre programme, and the end of a small torn card on which was the word "left" and the characters "C 12."Shamrock Jolnes leaned against the mantel for ten minutes, with his head resting upon his hand, and an absorbed look upon his intellectual face.
At the end of that time he exclaimed, with animation:
"Come, Mr.Meeks; the problem is solved.I can take you directly to the house where your sister is living.And you may have no fears concerning her welfare, for she is amply provided with funds -- for the present at least."Meeks felt joy and wonder in equal proportions.
"How did you manage it?" he asked, with admiration in his tones.
Perhaps Jolnes's only weakness was a professional pride in his wonderful achievements in induction.He was ever ready to astound and charm his listeners by describing his methods.
"By elimination," said Jolnes, spreading his clues upon a little table, "Igot rid of certain parts of the city to which Mrs.Snyder might have removed.You see this hatpin? That eliminates Brooklyn.No woman attempts to board a car at the Brooklyn Bridge without being sure that she carries a hatpin with which to fight her way into a seat.And now I will demonstrate to you that she could not have gone to Harlem.Behind this door are two hooks in the wall.Upon one of these Mrs.Snyder has hung her bonnet, and upon the other her shawl.You will observe that the bottom of the hanging shawl has gradually made a soiled streak against the plastered wall.The mark is clean-cut, proving that there is no fringe on the shawl.Now, was there ever a case where a middle-aged woman, wearing a shawl, boarded a Harlem train without there being a fringe on the shawl to catch in the gate and delay the passengers behind her? So we eliminate Harlem.
"Therefore I conclude that Mrs.Snyder has not moved very far away.On this torn piece of card you see the word "Left," the letter "C," and the number "12." Now, I happen to know that No.12 Avenue C is a first-class boarding house, far beyond your sister's means -- as we suppose.But then I find this piece of a theatre programme, crumpled into an odd shape.
What meaning does it convey.None to you, very likely, Mr.Meeks; but it is eloquent to one whose habits and training take cognizance of the small est things.
