Этюд в багровых тонах / A Study in Scarlet. Артур Конан Дойл

      “The last link!” he cried, exultantly.

      The two detectives stared at him in amazement.

      “Now I know everything,” my companion said, confidently, “What about those pills?”

      “I have them,” said Lestrade. He showed us a small white box; “I took them and the purse and the telegram.”

      “Give them here,” said Holmes. “Now, Doctor,” he turned to me, “are those ordinary pills?”

      They certainly were not. They were of a pearly grey colour, small, round, and almost transparent.

      “I think that they are soluble in water,” I remarked.

      “Precisely so,” answered Holmes. “Now please go down and fetch that poor little terrier which the landlady wanted you to put out of its pain[46]yesterday.”

      I went downstairs and carried the dog upstairs in my arms. It was not far from its end. I placed the terrier upon a cushion on the rug.

      “I will now cut one of these pills in two,” said Holmes. “One half we return into the box. The other half I will place in this glass, in which is a teaspoonful of water. You perceive that our friend, the Doctor, is right, and that it readily dissolves.”

      “This may be very interesting,” said Lestrade, “I cannot see, however, how it is connected with the death of Mr. Joseph Stangerson.”

      “Patience, my friend, patience! I shall now add a little milk and give this mixture to the dog.”