The Return of Sherlock Holmes

There was no reason why those six busts should be different from any of the other casts. He could not think of a reason why anyone would want to destroy them - in fact, he laughed at the idea. The wholesale price of a bust was was six shillings, but the retailer would get twelve shillings or more. The cast was made by taking two moulds, one from each side of the face. Then these two profiles were joined together to make the complete bust. The work was usually done by Italians, who worked in the room we were in at that moment. When they were finished, the busts were put in the passage to dry, and afterwards taken to a storeroom. That was all the manager could tell us.

But the sight of the photograph had a remarkable effect upon the manager. His face went red with anger, and his eyebrows came down over his blue Teutonic eyes. 'Ah, the rascal!' he cried. 'Yes, indeed, I know him very well. This has always been a respectable place. The only time that we have ever had the police here was because of this fellow. It was more than a year ago now. He stabbed another Italian in the street. Then he came in here with the police on his heels, and he was arrested here. Beppo was his name - I never knew his surname. It serves me right for employing a man with such a face. But he was a good workman - one of the best. The man he stabbed did not die. Because of this Beppo got off with a year in prison. I have no doubt he is out now, but he has not dared to show his nose here. We have a cousin of his here, and I am sure he could tell you where Beppo is.'

'No, no,' cried Holmes, 'the matter is very important. The more I discover, the more important it seems to become. When you looked in your ledger to see about the sale of those casts, I saw that you sold them on June 3rd of last year. Could you give me the date when Beppo was arrested?'

Vocabulary:

Wholesale: The price a factory sells to a shop
Retailer: The shop that sells to the public
Mould: Here it means the shape used to pour the plaster into
Profiles: View of something from the side
Teutonic: Of a German person
Rascal: Someone who does not behave properly
Stab: To put a knife into
On his heels: Right behind him
Serve me right: It is my fault, so I deserve it
Ledger: A book of business records