“ ‘Good! That’s a promise,’ said he, rising from his chair. ‘Well,I’m delighted to have got so good a man for my brother. Here’syour advance of a hundred pounds, and here is the letter. Make anote of the address, 126B Corporation Street, and remember thatone o’clock to-morrow is your appointment. Goodnight; and mayyou have all the fortune that you deserve!’
“That’s just about all that passed between us, as near as I canremember. You can imagine, Dr. Watson, how pleased I was atsuch an extraordinary bit of good fortune. I sat up half the nighthugging myself over it, and next day I was off to Birmingham ina train that would take me in plenty time for my appointment. Itook my things to a hotel in New Street, and then I made my wayto the address which had been given me.
“It was a quarter of an hour before my time, but I thought thatwould make no difference. 126B was a passage between two largeshops, which led to a winding stone stair, from which there weremany flats, let as offices to companies or professional men. Thenames of the occupants were painted at the bottom on the wall,but there was no such name as the Franco-Midland HardwareCompany, Limited. I stood for a few minutes with my heart in myboots, wondering whether the whole thing was an elaborate hoaxor not, when up came a man and addressed me. He was very likethe chap I had seen the night before, the same figure and voice,but he was clean shaven and his hair was lighter.
“ ‘Are you Mr. Hall Pycroft?’ he asked.
“ ‘Yes,’ said I.
“ ‘Oh! I was expecting you, but you are a trifle before your time.
I had a note from my brother this morning in which he sang yourpraises very loudly.’
“ ‘I was just looking for the offices when you came.
“ ‘We have not got our name up yet, for we only secured thesetemporary premises last week. Come up with me, and we will talkthe matter over.’
“I followed him to the top of a very lofty stair, and there, rightunder the slates, were a couple of empty, dusty little rooms,uncarpeted and uncurtained, into which he led me. I had thoughtof a great office with shining tables and rows of clerks, such as Iwas used to, and I daresay I stared rather straight at the two dealchairs and one little table, which, with a ledger and a waste paperbasket, made up the whole furniture.
“ ‘Don’t be disheartened, Mr. Pycroft,’ said my newacquaintance, seeing the length of my face. ‘Rome was not builtin a day, and we have lots of money at our backs, though we don’tcut much dash yet in offices. Pray sit down, and let me have yourletter.’
“I gave it to him, and he read it over very carefully.
“ ‘You seem to have made a vast impression upon my brotherArthur,’ said he, ‘and I know that he is a pretty shrewd judge. Heswears by London, you know; and I by Birmingham; but this time Ishall follow his advice. Pray consider yourself definitely engaged.’ ”
“ ‘What are my duties?’ I asked.
“ ‘You will eventually manage the great depot in Paris, whichwill pour a flood of English crockery into the shops of a hundredand thirty-four agents in France. The purchase will be completedin a week, and meanwhile you will remain in Birmingham andmake yourself useful.’
“ ‘How?’
“For answer, he took a big red book out of a drawer.
“ ‘This is a directory of Paris,’ said he, ‘with the trades after thenames of the people. I want you to take it home with you, and tomark off all the hardware-sellers, with their addresses. It would beof the greatest use to me to have them.’
“ ‘Surely, there are classified lists?’ I suggested.
“ ‘Not reliable ones. Their system is different from ours. Stick atit, and let me have the lists by Monday, at twelve. Good-day, Mr.
Pycroft. If you continue to show zeal and intelligence you will findthe company a good master.’
“I went back to the hotel with the big book under my arm, andwith very conflicting feelings in my breast. On the one hand, Iwas definitely engaged and had a hundred pounds in my pocket;on the other, the look of the offices, the absence of name on thewall, and other of the points which would strike a business manhad left a bad impression as to the position of my employers.
However, come what might, I had my money, so I settled down tomy task. All Sunday I was kept hard at work, and yet by Monday Ihad only got as far as H. I went round to my employer, found himin the same dismantled kind of room, and was told to keep at ituntil Wednesday, and then come again. On Wednesday it was stillunfinished, so I hammered away until Friday—that is, yesterday.
Then I brought it round to Mr. Harry Pinner.
“ ‘Thank you very much,’ said he, ‘I fear that I underrated thedifficulty of the task. This list will be of very material assistance tome.’
“ ‘It took some time,’ said I.
“ ‘And now,’ said he, ‘I want you to make a list of the furnitureshops, for they all sell crockery.’
“ ‘Very good.’
“ ‘And you can come up to-morrow evening at seven and let meknow how you are getting on. Don’t overwork yourself. A coupleof hours at Day’s Music Hall in the evening would do you no harmafter your labors.’ He laughed as he spoke, and I saw with a thrillthat his second tooth upon the left-hand side had been very badlystuffed with gold.”
Sherlock Holmes rubbed his hands with delight, and I staredwith astonishment at our client.
“You may well look surprised, Dr. Watson, but it is this way,”
said he: “When I was speaking to the other chap in London, atthe time that he laughed at my not going to Mawson’s, I happenedto notice that his tooth was stuffed in this very identical fashion.
The glint of the gold in each case caught my eye, you see. When Iput that with the voice and figure being the same, and only thosethings altered which might be changed by a razor or a wig, I couldnot doubt that it was the same man. Of course you expect twobrothers to be alike, but not that they should have the same toothstuffed in the same way. He bowed me out, and I found myself inthe street, hardly knowing whether I was on my head or my heels.
