'Now you can see that the story becomes more understandable. The other fellow is probably also Italian, and he is probably also a member of the Mafia. Maybe he has broken the rules in some way. Pietro is told to go after him. Probably the photograph we found in his pocket is a picture of this man, so that he would not knife the wrong person. So he followed the fellow, he saw him enter a house, he waited outside for him. Then there was a fight and he was killed instead of the person he meant to kill. How is that, Mr. Sherlock Holmes?'

Holmes clapped his hands approvingly.

Excellent, Lestrade, excellent!' he said. 'But I didn't quite understand why the busts were broken.'

'The busts! You never can get those busts out of your head. In the end they do not matter. That is a small, unimportant theft. Even if we catch the criminal he will get no more than six months in prison. It is the murder that we are really investigating, and I tell you that I am beginning to understand exactly what is going on.'

'And what will happen next?'

'It is very simple. I and Hill will go to the Italian Quarter, find the man in the photograph, and arrest him for murder. Will you come with us?'