Quotes About Clues

nondescript individuals put in an appearance, Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle

think that it is quite clear that there must be more than one of them.

It was my first visit to the scene of the crime--a high, dingy, narrow-chested house, prim, formal, and solid, like the century which gave it birth.

screened by a young beech. Where the two walls joined, several bricks had been loosened, and the crevices left were worn down and rounded upon the lower side, as though they had frequently been used as a ladder. Holmes clambered up, and taking the dog from me he dropped it over upon the other side. "There's the print of Wooden-leg's

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

All knowledge comes useful to the detective," remarked Holmes.

walking calendar of crime

may be very obtuse, Holmes, but I fail to see what this suggests.' 'No? You surprise me. Look at it in this way, then. Captain Morstan disappears. The only person in London whom he could have visited is Major Sholto. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. Four years later Sholto dies. Within a week of his death Captain Morstan's daughter receives a valuable present, which is repeated from year to year and now culminates in a letter which

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

It would be superfluous to drive us mad, my dear Watson

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

Now, Watson, said he, we have picked up two clues this morning. One is the bicycle with the Palmer tyre, and we see what that has led to. The other is the bicycle with the patched Dunlop. Before we start to investigate that, let us try to realize what we do know, so as to make the most of it, and to separate the essential from the accidental.

Arthur Conan Doyle

You will not apply my precept, he said, shaking his head. How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth? We know that he did not come through the door, the window, or the chimney. We also know that he could not have been concealed in the room, as there is no concealment possible. When, then, did he come? Sherlock Holmes in The Sign of the Four

Whatever remains, However improbable

Una vieja máxima mía dice que, cuando has eliminado lo imposible, lo que queda, por muy improbable que parezca, tiene que ser la verdad.

Ya le he explicado otras veces que en esta clase de casos lo extraordinario constituye antes que un estorbo, una fuente de indicios. La clave reside en razonar a la inversa, cosa, sea dicho de paso, tan útil como sencilla, y poquísimo practicada