Chief Inspector Kerry wore a very narrow-brimmed bowler hat, having
two ventilation holes conspicuously placed immediately above the band.
He wore this hat tilted forward and to the right.
"Red Kerry" wholly merited his sobriquet, for the man was as red as
fire. His hair, which he wore cropped close as a pugilist's, was
brilliantly red, and so was his short, wiry, aggressive moustache. His
complexion was red, and from beneath his straight red eyebrows he
surveyed the world with a pair of unblinking, intolerant steel-blue
eyes. He never smoked in public, as his taste inclined towards Irish
twist and a short clay pipe; but he was addicted to the use of
chewing-gum, and as he chewed--and he chewed incessantly--he revealed
a perfect row of large, white, and positively savage-looking teeth.
High cheek bones and prominent maxillary muscles enhanced the
truculence indicated by his chin.
But, next to this truculence, which was the first and most alarming
trait to intrude itself upon the observer's attention, the outstanding
characteristic of Chief Inspector Kerry was his compact neatness. Of
no more than medium height but with shoulders like an acrobat, he had
slim, straight legs and the feet of a dancing master. His attire, from
the square-pointed collar down to the neat black brogues, was
spotless.
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