\"Ifearitisrathertoolateanhourforexplanations，\"saidHolmes。\"Besides，thereareoneortwodetailswhicharenotfinishedoff，anditisoneofthosecaseswhichareworthworkingouttotheveryend。Ifyouwillcomeroundoncemoretomyroomsatsixo’clockto—morrowIthinkIshallbeabletoshowyouthatevennowyouhavenotgraspedtheentiremeaningofthisbusiness，whichpresentssomefeatureswhichmakeitabsolutelyoriginalinthehistoryofcrime。IfeverIpermityoutochronicleanymoreofmylittleproblems，Watson，IforeseethatyouwillenlivenyourpagesbyanaccountofthesingularadventureoftheNapoleonicbusts。\"
WhenwemetagainnexteveningLestradewasfurnishedwithmuchinformationconcerningourprisoner。Hisname，itappeared，wasBeppo，secondnameunknown。Hewasawell—knownne’er—do—wellamongtheItaliancolony。Hehadoncebeenaskilfulsculptorandhadearnedanhonestliving，buthehadtakentoevilcoursesandhadtwicealreadybeeningaol——onceforapettytheftandonce，aswehadalreadyheard，forstabbingafellow—countryman。HecouldtalkEnglishperfectlywell。
Hisreasonsfordestroyingthebustswerestillunknown，andherefusedtoansweranyquestionsuponthesubject；butthepolicehaddiscoveredthatthesesamebustsmightverywellhavebeenmadebyhisownhands，sincehewasengagedinthisclassofworkattheestablishmentofGelderandCo。Toallthisinformation，muchofwhichwealreadyknew，Holmeslistenedwithpoliteattention；butI，whoknewhimsowell，couldclearlyseethathisthoughtswereelsewhere，andIdetectedamixtureofmingleduneasinessandexpectationbeneaththatmaskwhichhewaswonttoassume。Atlasthestartedinhischairandhiseyesbrightened。Therehadbeenaringatthebell。Aminutelaterweheardstepsuponthestairs，andanelderly，red—facedmanwithgrizzledside—whiskerswasusheredin。Inhisrighthandhecarriedanold—fashionedcarpet—bag，whichheplaceduponthetable。
\"IsMr。SherlockHolmeshere？\"
Myfriendbowedandsmiled。\"Mr。Sandeford，ofReading，Isuppose？\"