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1I held the little printed slip to the light. "Missing," it said, "on the morning of the fourteenth, a gentleman named
2Hosmer Angel. About five ft. seven in. in height; strongly built, sallow complexion, black hair, a little bald in the
3centre, bushy, black side-whiskers and moustache; tinted glasses, slight infirmity of speech. Was dressed, when last
4seen, in black frock-coat faced with silk, black waistcoat, gold Albert chain, and grey Harris tweed trousers, with
5brown gaiters over elastic-sided boots. Known to have been employed in an office in Leadenhall Street. Anybody
6bringing," &c, &c. "That will do," said Holmes. "As to the letters," he continued, glancing over them, "they are very
7commonplace. Absolutely no clue in them to Mr. Angel, save that he quotes Balzac once. There is one remarkable point,
8however, which will no doubt strike you." "They are typewritten," I remarked. "Not only that, but the signature is
9typewritten. Look at the neat little 'Hosmer Angel' at the bottom. There is a date, you see, but no superscription
10except Leadenhall Street, which is rather vague. The point about the signature is very suggestive--in fact, we may call
11it conclusive." "Of what?" "My dear fellow, is it possible you do not see how strongly it bears upon the case?" "I
12cannot say that I do unless it were that he wished to be able to deny his signature if an action for breach of promise
13were instituted." "No, that was not the point. However, I shall write two letters, which should settle the matter. One
14is to a firm in the City, the other is to the young lady's stepfather, Mr. Windibank, asking him whether he could meet
15us here at six o'clock to-morrow evening. It is just as well that we should do business with the male relatives. And
16now, Doctor, we can do nothing until the answers to those letters come, so we may put our little problem upon the shelf
17for the interim." I had had so many reasons to believe in my friend's subtle powers of reasoning and extraordinary
18energy in action that I felt that he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy demeanour with which he
19treated the singular mystery which he had been called upon to fathom. Once only had I known him to fail, in the case of
20the King of Bohemia and of the Irene Adler photograph; but when I looked back to the weird business of the Sign of Four,
21and the extraordinary circumstances connected with the Study in Scarlet, I felt that it would be a strange tangle indeed
22which he could not unravel. I left him then, still puffing at his black clay pipe, with the conviction that when I came
23again on the next evening I would find that he held in his hands all the clues which would lead up to the identity of
24the disappearing bridegroom of Miss Mary Sutherland. A professional case of great gravity was engaging my own attention
25at the time, and the whole of next day I was busy at the bedside of the sufferer. It was not until close upon six
26o'clock that I found myself free and was able to spring into a hansom and drive to Baker Street, half afraid that I
27might be too late to assist at the dénouement of the little mystery. I found Sherlock Holmes alone, however, half
28asleep, with his long, thin form curled up in the recesses of his armchair. A formidable array of bottles and
29test-tubes, with the pungent cleanly smell of hydrochloric acid, told me that he had spent his day in the chemical work
30which was so dear to him. "Well, have you solved it?" I asked as I entered. "Yes. It was the bisulphate of baryta." "No,
31no, the mystery!" I cried. "Oh, that! I thought of the salt that I have been working upon. There was never any mystery
32in the matter, though, as I said yesterday, some of the details are of interest. The only drawback is that there is no
33law, I fear, that can touch the scoundrel." "Who was he, then, and what was his object in deserting Miss Sutherland?"
34The question was hardly out of my mouth, and Holmes had not yet opened his lips to reply, when we heard a heavy footfall
35in the passage and a tap at the door. "This is the girl's stepfather, Mr. James Windibank," said Holmes. "He has written
36to me to say that he would be here at six. Come in!" The man who entered was a sturdy, middle-sized fellow, some thirty
37years of age, clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a bland, insinuating manner, and a pair of wonderfully sharp and
38penetrating grey eyes. He shot a questioning glance at each of us, placed his shiny top-hat upon the sideboard, and with
39a slight bow sidled down into the nearest chair. "Good-evening, Mr. James Windibank," said Holmes. "I think that this
40typewritten letter is from you, in which you made an appointment with me for six o'clock?" "Yes, sir. I am afraid that I
41am a little late, but I am not quite my own master, you know. I am sorry that Miss Sutherland has troubled you about
42this little matter, for I think it is far better not to wash linen of the sort in public. It was quite against my wishes
43that she came, but she is a very excitable, impulsive girl, as you may have noticed, and she is not easily controlled
44when she has made up her mind on a point. Of course, I did not mind you so much, as you are not connected with the
45official police, but it is not pleasant to have a family misfortune like this noised abroad. Besides, it is a useless
46expense, for how could you possibly find this Hosmer Angel?" "On the contrary," said Holmes quietly; "I have every
47reason to believe that I will succeed in discovering Mr. Hosmer Angel." Mr. Windibank gave a violent start and dropped
48his gloves. "I am delighted to hear it," he said. "It is a curious thing," remarked Holmes, "that a typewriter has
49really quite as much individuality as a man's handwriting. Unless they are quite new, no two of them write exactly
50alike. Some letters get more worn than others, and some wear only on one side. Now, you remark in this note of yours,
51Mr. Windibank, that in every case there is some little slurring over of the 'e,' and a slight defect in the tail of the
52'r.' There are fourteen other characteristics, but those are the more obvious." "We do all our correspondence with this
53machine at the office, and no doubt it is a little worn," our visitor answered, glancing keenly at Holmes with his
54bright little eyes. "And now I will show you what is really a very interesting study, Mr. Windibank," Holmes continued.
55"I think of writing another little monograph some of these days on the typewriter and its relation to crime. It is a
56subject to which I have devoted some little attention. I have here four letters which purport to come from the missing
57man. They are all typewritten. In each case, not only are the 'e's' slurred and the 'r's' tailless, but you will
58observe, if you care to use my magnifying lens, that the fourteen other characteristics to which I have alluded are
59there as well." Mr. Windibank sprang out of his chair and picked up his hat. "I cannot waste time over this sort of
60fantastic talk, Mr. Holmes," he said. "If you can catch the man, catch him, and let me know when you have done it."
61"Certainly," said Holmes, stepping over and turning the key in the door. "I let you know, then, that I have caught him!"
62"What! where?" shouted Mr. Windibank, turning white to his lips and glancing about him like a rat in a trap. "Oh, it
63won't do--really it won't," said Holmes suavely. "There is no possible getting out of it, Mr. Windibank. It is quite too
64transparent, and it was a very bad compliment when you said that it was impossible for me to solve so simple a question.
65That's right! Sit down and let us talk it over." Our visitor collapsed into a chair, with a ghastly face and a glitter
66of moisture on his brow. "It--it's not actionable," he stammered. "I am very much afraid that it is not. But between
67ourselves, Windibank, it was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in a petty way as ever came before me. Now, let
68me just run over the course of events, and you will contradict me if I go wrong."
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