But you see that
these little dents are all at the same distance from the edges and the
corner." He demonstrated the fact with a pair of compasses. "And now
look at this sheet, which I obtained at Mr. Barlow's office. There are
two little indentations--rather faint, but quite visible--near the
bottom corner, and when we measure them with the compasses, we find that
they are exactly the same distance apart as the others, and the same
distance from the edges and the bottom corner. The irresistible
conclusion is that these four sheets came from the same packet."
The inspector started up from his chair, and faced Thorndyke. "Who is
this Mr. Barlow?" he asked.
"That," replied Thorndyke, "is for you to determine; but I can give you
a useful hint. There is only one person who benefits by the death of
Alfred Hartridge, but he benefits to the extent of twenty thousand
pounds. His name is Leonard Wolfe, and I learn from Mr. Marchmont that
he is a man of indifferent character--a gambler and a spendthrift. By
profession he is an engineer, and he is a capable mechanician. In
appearance he is thin, short, fair, and clean-shaven, and he has lost
the middle finger of his left hand.
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