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1"Very well, sir. And this stone?" "Ah, yes, I shall keep the stone. Thank you. And, I say, Peterson, just buy a goose on
2your way back and leave it here with me, for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place of the one which your
3family is now devouring." When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and held it against the light.
4"It's a bonny thing," said he. "Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every
5good stone is. They are the devil's pet baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed.
6This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable
7in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its
8youth, it has already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several
9robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so pretty
10a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? I'll lock it up in my strong box now and drop a line to the
11Countess to say that we have it." "Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?" "I cannot tell." "Well, then, do you
12imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had anything to do with the matter?" "It is, I think, much more likely that
13Henry Baker is an absolutely innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he was carrying was of considerably more
14value than if it were made of solid gold. That, however, I shall determine by a very simple test if we have an answer to
15our advertisement." "And you can do nothing until then?" "Nothing." "In that case I shall continue my professional
16round. But I shall come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I should like to see the solution of so
17tangled a business." "Very glad to see you. I dine at seven. There is a woodcock, I believe. By the way, in view of
18recent occurrences, perhaps I ought to ask Mrs. Hudson to examine its crop." I had been delayed at a case, and it was a
19little after half-past six when I found myself in Baker Street once more. As I approached the house I saw a tall man in
20a Scotch bonnet with a coat which was buttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the bright semicircle which was thrown
21from the fanlight. Just as I arrived the door was opened, and we were shown up together to Holmes' room. "Mr. Henry
22Baker, I believe," said he, rising from his armchair and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he
23could so readily assume. "Pray take this chair by the fire, Mr. Baker. It is a cold night, and I observe that your
24circulation is more adapted for summer than for winter. Ah, Watson, you have just come at the right time. Is that your
25hat, Mr. Baker?" "Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat." He was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and
26a broad, intelligent face, sloping down to a pointed beard of grizzled brown. A touch of red in nose and cheeks, with a
27slight tremor of his extended hand, recalled Holmes' surmise as to his habits. His rusty black frock-coat was buttoned
28right up in front, with the collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded from his sleeves without a sign of cuff or
29shirt. He spoke in a slow staccato fashion, choosing his words with care, and gave the impression generally of a man of
30learning and letters who had had ill-usage at the hands of fortune. "We have retained these things for some days," said
31Holmes, "because we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your address. I am at a loss to know now why you
32did not advertise." Our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh. "Shillings have not been so plentiful with me as they
33once were," he remarked. "I had no doubt that the gang of roughs who assaulted me had carried off both my hat and the
34bird. I did not care to spend more money in a hopeless attempt at recovering them." "Very naturally. By the way, about
35the bird, we were compelled to eat it." "To eat it!" Our visitor half rose from his chair in his excitement. "Yes, it
36would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so. But I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is
37about the same weight and perfectly fresh, will answer your purpose equally well?" "Oh, certainly, certainly," answered
38Mr. Baker with a sigh of relief. "Of course, we still have the feathers, legs, crop, and so on of your own bird, so if
39you wish--" The man burst into a hearty laugh. "They might be useful to me as relics of my adventure," said he, "but
40beyond that I can hardly see what use the disjecta membra of my late acquaintance are going to be to me. No, sir, I
41think that, with your permission, I will confine my attentions to the excellent bird which I perceive upon the
42sideboard." Sherlock Holmes glanced sharply across at me with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "There is your hat, then,
43and there your bird," said he. "By the way, would it bore you to tell me where you got the other one from? I am somewhat
44of a fowl fancier, and I have seldom seen a better grown goose." "Certainly, sir," said Baker, who had risen and tucked
45his newly gained property under his arm. "There are a few of us who frequent the Alpha Inn, near the Museum--we are to
46be found in the Museum itself during the day, you understand. This year our good host, Windigate by name, instituted a
47goose club, by which, on consideration of some few pence every week, we were each to receive a bird at Christmas. My
48pence were duly paid, and the rest is familiar to you. I am much indebted to you, sir, for a Scotch bonnet is fitted
49neither to my years nor my gravity." With a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and strode off
50upon his way. "So much for Mr. Henry Baker," said Holmes when he had closed the door behind him. "It is quite certain
51that he knows nothing whatever about the matter. Are you hungry, Watson?" "Not particularly." "Then I suggest that we
52turn our dinner into a supper and follow up this clue while it is still hot." "By all means." It was a bitter night, so
53we drew on our ulsters and wrapped cravats about our throats. Outside, the stars were shining coldly in a cloudless sky,
54and the breath of the passers-by blew out into smoke like so many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang out crisply and
55loudly as we swung through the doctors' quarter, Wimpole Street, Harley Street, and so through Wigmore Street into
56Oxford Street. In a quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at the Alpha Inn, which is a small public-house at the
57corner of one of the streets which runs down into Holborn. Holmes pushed open the door of the private bar and ordered
58two glasses of beer from the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord. "Your beer should be excellent if it is as good as
59your geese," said he. "My geese!" The man seemed surprised. "Yes. I was speaking only half an hour ago to Mr. Henry
60Baker, who was a member of your goose club." "Ah! yes, I see. But you see, sir, them's not our geese." "Indeed! Whose,
61then?" "Well, I got the two dozen from a salesman in Covent Garden." "Indeed? I know some of them. Which was it?"
62"Breckinridge is his name." "Ah! I don't know him. Well, here's your good health landlord, and prosperity to your house.
63Good-night." "Now for Mr. Breckinridge," he continued, buttoning up his coat as we came out into the frosty air.
64"Remember, Watson that though we have so homely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain, we have at the other a man
65who will certainly get seven years' penal servitude unless we can establish his innocence. It is possible that our
66inquiry may but confirm his guilt; but, in any case, we have a line of investigation which has been missed by the
67police, and which a singular chance has placed in our hands. Let us follow it out to the bitter end. Faces to the south,
68then, and quick march!"
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