Sherlock Holmes sat silent for a few minutes with his fingertips still
pressed together, his legs stretched out in front of him, and his gaze directed
upward to the ceiling. Then he took down from the rack the old and oily clay
pipe, which was to him as a counsellor, and, having lit it, he leaned back in
his chair, with the thick blue cloud-wreaths spinning up from him, and a look
of infinite languor in his face.
"Quite an interesting study, that maiden," he observed. "I found her more
interesting than her little problem, which, by the way, is rather a trite one.
You will find parallel cases, if you consult my index, in Andover in '77, and
there was something of the sort at The Hague last year. Old as is the idea,
however, there were one or two details which were new to me. But the maiden
herself was most instructive."
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Sherlock Holmes demeura quelques instants silencieux, les doigts serrés, les
jambes étendues, le regard obstinément fixé au plafond. Puis il décrocha de
son chevalet la vieille pipe de terre huileuse qui était en tout temps sa
conseillère et l’ayant allumée il se renversa sur sa chaise. Bientôt un
nuage de fumée l’enveloppa tandis que son visage reflétait une langueur
extrême. — Le problème est banal, observa Holmes, mais la jeune personne
est intéressante à étudier. J’ai déjà vu des cas semblables ; mon
recueil fait mention d’une circonstance analogue à Andover en 77. L’année
dernière même, à La Haye, il s’est passé une chose similaire, et, quelque
ancienne que soit la ruse, j’ai noté ici cependant deux détails absolument
inédits. Mais la jeune fille à elle seule est une étude.
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