Late last August, a curious little incident occurred in Torquay, and an innocent man very nearly found himself the unfortunate victim of a miscarriage of justice. Over the course of one weekend, three local businesses were burgled of a substantial sum of valuables. A number of witnesses reported catching glimpses of a suspicious figure -- a distinctive looking man, tall, muscular, and well-tanned with a prominent nose and a great big bushy beard.
Local police suspected that the beard was a disguise, and after some diligent searching, they located a straight razor and a amound of facial hair in a quiet nook not far from the rear of one of the burglary sites. Suspicioun fell on a local wood merchant, who was undeniably tall, tanned, muscular, clearn-shaven and nasally endowed; furthermore, the fellow made deliveries of firewood to all three of the businesses. He had been out of the town over that weekend, and therefore had no plausible alibi.
It was the man himself who made contact with Holmes, laying out the avove details and begging for aid in clearing his name. Holmes didn't feel any need to take the case on, but he did send the chap a brief note pointing out one salient fact. This alone was sufficient for the fellow to persuade the police to discount him entirely, as his effusive letter of thanks later attested.
Can you figure out what Holmes told the chap?
См. статью: The Wood Merchant - A Sherlock Holmes Puzzle?