”Andthepractice?””Idomyneighbor’swhenhegoes。Heisalwaysreadytoworkoffthedebt。””Ha！Nothingcouldbebetter，”saidHolmes，leaningbackinhischairandlookingkeenlyatmefromunderhishalfclosedlids。”Iperceivethatyouhavebeenunwelllately。Summercoldsarealwaysalittletrying。””Iwasconfinedtothehousebyaseverchillforthreedayslastweek。Ithought，however，thatIhadcastoffeverytraceofit。””Soyouhave。Youlookremarkablyrobust。””How，then，didyouknowofit?””Mydearfellow，youknowmymethods。””Youdeducedit，then?””Certainly。””Andfromwhat?””Fromyourslippers。”IglanceddownatthenewpatentleatherswhichIwaswearing。”Howonearth——”Ibegan，butHolmesansweredmyquestionbeforeitwasasked。”Yourslippersarenew，”hesaid。”Youcouldnothavehadthemmorethanafewweeks。Thesoleswhichyouareatthismomentpresentingtomeareslightlyscorched。ForamomentIthoughttheymighthavegotwetandbeenburnedinthedrying。Butneartheinstepthereisasmallcircularwaferofpaperwiththeshopman’shieroglyphicsuponit。Dampwouldofcoursehaveremovedthis。Youhad，then，beensittingwithourfeetoutstretchedtothefire，whichamanwouldhardlydoeveninsowetaJuneasthisifhewereinhisfullhealth。”
LikeallHolmes’sreasoningthethingseemedsimplicityitselfwhenitwasonceexplained。Hereadthethoughtuponmyfeatures，andhissmilehadatingeofbitterness。”IamafraidthatIrathergivemyselfawaywhenI
explain，”saidhe。”Resultswithoutcausesaremuchmoreimpressive。YouarereadytocometoBirmingham，then?””Certainly。Whatisthecase?””Youshallhearitallinthetrain。Myclientisoutsideinafour-wheeler。Canyoucomeatonce?””Inaninstant。”Iscribbledanotetomyneighbor，rushedupstairstoexplainthemattertomywife，andjoinedHolmesuponthedoor-step。”Yourneighborisadoctor，”saidhe，noddingatthebrassplate。”Yes；heboughtapracticeasIdid。””Anold-establishedone?””Justthesameasmine。Bothhavebeeneversincethehouseswerebuilt。””Ah！Thenyougotholdofthebestofthetwo。””IthinkIdid。Buthowdoyouknow?””Bythesteps，myboy。Yoursarewornthreeinchesdeeperthanhis。Butthisgentlemaninthecabismyclient，Mr。HallPycroft。Allowmetointroduceyoutohim。Whipyourhorseup，cabby，forwehaveonlyjusttimetocatchourtrain。”
ThemanwhomIfoundmyselffacingwasawellbuilt，fresh-complexionedyoungfellow，withafrank，honestfaceandaslight，crisp，yellowmustache。Heworeaveryshinytophatandaneatsuitofsoberblack，whichmadehimlookwhathewas——asmartyoungCityman，oftheclasswhohavebeenlabeledcockneys，butwhogiveusourcrackvolunteerregiments，andwhoturnoutmorefineathletesandsportsmenthananybodyofmenintheseislands。Hisround，ruddyfacewasnaturallyfullofcheeriness，butthecornersofhismouthseemedtometobepulleddowninahalf-comicaldistress。Itwasnot，however，untilwewereallinafirst-classcarriageandwellstarteduponourjourneytoBirminghamthatIwasabletolearnwhatthetroublewaswhichhaddrivenhimtoSherlockHolmes。”Wehaveaclearrunhereofseventyminutes，”Holmesremarked。”Iwantyou，Mr。HallPycroft，totellmyfriendyourveryinterestingexperienceexactlyasyouhavetoldittome，orwithmoredetailifpossible。
Itwillbeofusetometohearthesuccessionofeventsagain。Itisacase，Watson，whichmayprovetohavesomethinginit，ormayprovetohavenothing，butwhich，atleast，presentsthoseunusualandoutr?