The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen thesteps which lead up from the hall to this room.”
“Frequently.”
“How often?”
“Well, some hundreds of times.”
“Then how many are there?”
“How many? I don’t know.”
“Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. Thatis just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps,because I have both seen and observed. By the way, since you areinterested in these little problems, and since you are good enoughto chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences, you may beinterested in this.” He threw over a sheet of thick, pink-tintednote-paper which had been lying open upon the table. “It came bythe last post,” said he. “Read it aloud.”
The note was undated, and without either signature or address.
“There will call upon you to-night, at a quarter to eight o’clock,”
[it said], a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a matter ofthe very deepest moment. Your recent services to one of the royalhouses of Europe have shown that you are one who may safely betrusted with matters which are of an importance which can hardlybe exaggerated. This account of you we have from all quartersreceived. Be in your chamber then at that hour, and do not take itamiss if your visitor wear a mask.
“This is indeed a mystery,” I remarked. “What do you imaginethat it means?”
“I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise beforeone has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories,instead of theories to suit facts. But the note itself. What do youdeduce from it?”
I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which itwas written.
“The man who wrote it was presumably well-to-do,” I remarked,endeavouring to imitate my companion’s processes. “Such papercould not be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarlystrong and stiff.”
“Peculiar—that is the very word,” said Holmes. “It is not anEnglish paper at all. Hold it up to the light.”
I did so, and saw a large “E” with a small “g,” a “P,” and a large “G”
with a small “t” woven into the texture of the paper.
“What do you make of that?” asked Holmes.
“The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather.”
“Not at all. The ‘G’ with the small ‘t’ stands for ‘Gesellschaft,’
which is the German for ‘Company.’ It is a customary contractionlike our ‘Co.’ ‘P,’ of course, stands for ‘Papier.’ Now for the ‘Eg.’
Let us glance at our Continental Gazetteer.” He took down aheavy brown volume from his shelves. “Eglow, Eglonitz—here weare, Egria. It is in a German-speaking country—in Bohemia, notfar from Carlsbad. ‘Remarkable as being the scene of the death ofWallenstein, and for its numerous glass-factories and paper-mills.’
Ha, ha, my boy, what do you make of that?” His eyes sparkled, andhe sent up a great blue triumphant cloud from his cigarette.
“The paper was made in Bohemia,” I said.
“Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German.
Do you note the peculiar construction of the sentence—‘Thisaccount of you we have from all quarters received.’ A Frenchmanor Russian could not have written that. It is the German who is souncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discoverwhat is wanted by this German who writes upon Bohemian paperand prefers wearing a mask to showing his face. And here hecomes, if I am not mistaken, to resolve all our doubts.”
As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses’ hoofs andgrating wheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at thebell. Holmes whistled.
“A pair, by the sound,” said he. “Yes,” he continued, glancingout of the window. “A nice little brougham and a pair of beauties.
A hundred and fifty guineas apiece. There’s money in this case,Watson, if there is nothing else.”
“I think that I had better go, Holmes.”
“Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without myBoswell. And this promises to be interesting. It would be a pity tomiss it.”
“But your client—”
“Never mind him. I may want your help, and so may he. Herehe comes. Sit down in that armchair, Doctor, and give us your bestattention.”
A slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairsand in the passage, paused immediately outside the door. Thenthere was a loud and authoritative tap.
“Come in!” said Holmes.
A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet sixinches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules. His dresswas rich with a richness which would, in England, be looked uponas akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed acrossthe sleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat, while the deepblue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined withflame-coloured silk and secured at the neck with a brooch whichconsisted of a single flaming beryl. Boots which extended halfwayup his calves, and which were trimmed at the tops with rich brownfur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence which wassuggested by his whole appearance. He carried a broad-brimmedhat in his hand, while he wore across the upper part of his face,extending down past the cheekbones, a black vizard mask, whichhe had apparently adjusted that very moment, for his hand wasstill raised to it as he entered. From the lower part of the face heappeared to be a man of strong character, with a thick, hanginglip, and a long, straight chin suggestive of resolution pushed to thelength of obstinacy.
“You had my note?” he asked with a deep harsh voice and astrongly marked German accent. “I told you that I would call.”
He looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which toaddress.
“Pray take a seat,” said Holmes. “This is my friend and colleague,Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me in mycases. Whom have I the honour to address?”
“You may address me as the Count Von Kramm, a Bohemiannobleman. I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is aman of honour and discretion, whom I may trust with a matterof the most extreme importance. If not, I should much prefer tocommunicate with you alone.”