"I am inclined to agree. But let me just be clear on one or two
points." He took out the bulging note-book and also a fountain-pen
with which he prepared to make entries. "About this cabman, now. You
didn't by any chance note the number of his cab?"
"I did not."
"What build of man was he?"
"Over medium height and muscular. Somewhat inclined to flesh and past
his youth, but active all the same."
"Dark or fair?"
"Dark and streaked with grey. I noted this particularly in dressing
his skull. He wore his hair cropped close to the scalp. He had a short
beard and moustache and heavily marked eyebrows. He seemed to be very
short-sighted and kept his eyes so screwed up that it was impossible
to detect their colour, by night at any rate."
"What sort of wound had he on his skull?"
"A short ugly gash. He had caught his head on the footboard in falling.
I may add that on the occasion of his professional visit his breath
smelled strongly of spirits, and I rather suspected that his accident
might have been traceable to his condition."
"But he wasn't actually drunk?"
"By no means. He was perfectly sober, but he had recently been
drinking--possibly because his fall had shaken him, of course."
"His hands?"
"Small and very muscular. Quite steady. Also very dirty."
"What part of the country should you say he hailed from?"
"London. He had a marked cockney accent."
"What make of cab was it?"
"I couldn't say."
"An old cab?"
"Yes.
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