A Study in Scarlet (Serial Edition Cover) — page 55: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A STUDY IN SCARLET. 47 floor. It was dark in color and flaky—such an ash as - is only made by a Trichinopoly. I have made a spe- cial study of cigar-ashes—in fact, I have written a mon- ograph upon the subject. I flatter myself that I can distinguish at a glance the ash of any known brand either of cigar or of tobacco. It is just in such details that the skilled detective differs from the Gregson and Lestrade type.” “And the florid face?” I asked. “Ah, that was a more daring shot, though I have no doubt that I was right. You must not ask me that at the present state of the affair.” I passed my hand over my brow. “My head is in a whirl,” I remarked; “the more one thinks of it, the more mysterious it grows. How came these two men—if there were two men—into an empty house? What has become of the cabman who drove them? How could one man compel another to take poison? Where did the blood come from? What was the object of the murderer, since robbery had no part in it? How came the woman’s ring there? Above all, why should the second man write up the German word RACHE before decamping? I confess that I cannot see any possible way of reconciling all these facts.” My companion smiled approvingly. “You sum up the difficulties of the situation succinctly and well,” he said. ‘ There is much that is still obscure, though I have quite made up my mind on the main facts. As to poor Lestrade’s discovery, it was simply a blind intended to put the police upon a wrong track, by suggesting socialism and secret societies. It was not Gomicboo (Q)