Sherlock Holmes Investigates

Holmes leapt on to his back like a tiger. A second later Lestrade and I had caught each of his wrists, and we had put handcuffs on him. As we turned him over I saw a terrifying, unhealthy-looking face, with a twisted, furious expression on it as our prisoner glared up at us. I knew at once that we had indeed arrested the man we had seen in the photograph. But Holems was not looking at our prisoner. He was at the doorstep of the house, where he was very carefully looking at what the man we had arrested had taken from inside.

It was a bust of Napoleon. It was like the one which we had seen that morning, and it too had been smashed to pieces. Holmes carefully held up each separate fragment to the light. But each broken piece of plaster looked very much the same as the others did. Holmes had just completed his study of the fragments when the lights went on in the house. The door opened, and the owner appeared. He was a cheerful, rather fat person who was wearing a shirt and trousers.

'Mr. Josiah Brown, I suppose?' said Holmes.

'Yes Sir, and no doubt you are Mr. Sherlock Holmes? I received the note which you sent by special messenger. I did exactly what you told me. We locked every door on the inside and waited to see what happened. Well, I'm very glad to see that you have caught the criminal. I hope that you will come indoors and have something to eat or drink.'