But no! one look along the polished boards convinced me that
whatever else had been dusted in this room this shelf had not. The
accumulation of days, if not of months, was visible from one end to
the other of its unrelieved surface save where the handkerchief had
lain, and - the greatest discovery yet - where five clear spots just
to the left of the center showed where some man's finger-tips had
rested. Nothing but the pressure of fingertips could have caused
just the appearance presented by these spots. By scrutinizing them
closely I could even tell where the thumb had rested, and at once
foresaw the possibility of determining by means of these marks both
the size and shape of the hand which had left behind it so neat and
unmistakable a clue.
Wonderful! but what did it all mean? Why should a man rest his
finger-tips on this out-of-the-way shelf ? Had he done so in an
effort to balance himself for a look up the chimney? No; for then
the marks made by his fingers would have extended to the edge of the
shelf, whereas these were in the middle of it. Their shape, too,
was round, not oblong; hence, the pressure had come from above and -
ah! I had it, these impressions in the dust of the shelf were just
such as would be made by a person steadying himself for a close look
at the old picture.
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