Here
is a transverse section of his hair, which is quite circular--unlike
yours or mine, which would be oval. We have the mother-of-pearl dust
from the outside of the hat, and from the inside similar dust mixed with
various fibres and a few granules of rice starch. Those are our data."
[Illustration: TRANSVERSE SECTIONS OF HUMAN HAIR: _A_, OF A NEGRO; _B_,
OF AN ENGLISHMAN; _C_, OF THE BURGLAR. ALL MAGNIFIED 600 DIAMETERS.]
"Supposing the hat should not be that of the burglar after all?" I
suggested.
"That would be annoying. But I think it is his, and I think I can guess
at the nature of the art treasures that were stolen."
"And you don't intend to enlighten me?"
"My dear fellow," he replied, "you have all the data. Enlighten yourself
by the exercise of your own brilliant faculties. Don't give way to
mental indolence."
I endeavoured, from the facts in my possession, to construct the
personality of the mysterious burglar, and failed utterly; nor was I
more successful in my endeavour to guess at the nature of the stolen
property; and it was not until the following morning, when we had set
out on our quest and were approaching Limehouse, that Thorndyke would
revert to the subject.
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