Sherlock Holmes Investigates

Holmes shrugged his shoulders.

He said "We have a long way to go yet. But - well, we have some suggestive facts to help us. Owning this unimportant bust was worth more to this strange criminal than a human life. That is one thing. Then there is the singular fact that he did not break the bust in the house, or just outside the house, if he just wanted to break it."

"He was rattled and rushed by meeting this other fellow. He hardly knew what he was doing."

"Well, that's quite likely. But I want you to look particularly at the position of this house, the one where the bust was destroyed in the garden."

Lestrade looked about him.

"It was an empty house, and so he knew that he would not be disturbed in the garden."

"Yes, but there is another empty house farther up the street. He must have passed that before he came to this one. Why did he not break it there? It is evident that every yard that he carried it increased the risk of someone meeting him?"

"I give up," said Lestrade.

Vocabulary:

Shrugged: Lifting the shoulders up and down
Suggestive: Making you think in a particular way
Singular: Exceptional, very different
Rattled: Upset and confused
Evident: Obvious
Risk: The chance of something bad happening