uld not do, because the letter
was confidential and was addressed in the principal's handwriting. And
the principal would have almost certainly added a postscript; and,
moreover, he does not smoke. This, however, is all very obvious; but
here is something rather more subtle which I have put aside for more
detailed examination. What do you make of it?"

He handed me a small parcel to which was attached by string a
typewritten address label, the back of which bore the printed
inscription, "James Bartlett and Sons, Cigar Manufacturers, London and
Havana."

"I am afraid," said I, after turning the little packet over and
examining every part of it minutely, "that this is rather too subtle for
me. The only thing that I observe is that the typewriter has bungled the
address considerably. Otherwise this seems to me a very ordinary packet
indeed."

"Well, you have observed one point of interest, at any rate," said
Thorndyke, taking the packet from me. "But let us examine the thing
systematically and note down what we see. In the first place, you will
notice that the label is an ordinary luggage label such as you may buy
at any stationer's, with its own string attached. Now, manufacturers
commonly use a different and more substantial pattern, which is attached
by the string of the parcel. But that is a small matter. What is much
more striking is the address on the label. It is typewritten and, as you
say, typed very badly. Do you know anything about typewriters?"

"Very little."

"Then you do not recognise the machine? Well, this label was typed with
a Blickensderfer--an excellent machine, but not the form most commonly
selected for the rough work of a manufacturer's office; but we will let
that pass. The important point is this: the Blickensderfer Company make
several forms of machine, the smallest and lightest of which is the
literary, specially designed for the use of journalists and men of
letters. Now this label was typed with the literary machine, or, at
least, with the literary typewheel; which is really a very remarkable
circumstance indeed."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"By this asterisk, which has been written by mistake, the inexpert
operator having pressed down the figure lever instead of the one for
capitals. The literary typewheel is the only one that has an asterisk,
as I noticed when I was thinking of purchasing a machine. Here, then, we
have a very striking fact, for even if a manufacturer chose to