'Did Mr Baker put an advertisement in the newspaper
about his hat and goose?' I asked.
'No.' answered Holmes.
'Then how can we find him?'
'Well. perhaps his hat can help us.' said Holmes. 'Here's
my magnifying glass, Watson. Now, you be a detective for
a minute or two. What can you tell me about the owner of
this hat?'
I took the magnifying glass and looked at the hat. It was
black but old, and very, very dirty. I saw the letters H.B. in
it. For me it was no different from any other old black hat.
'I can see nothing.' I said, and I gave the hat back to my
friend.
'Excuse me, Watson. You do see. but you don't think
about what you see.'
~I right!' I said. 'What can you see in this hat?'
'The owner of this hat is an intelligent man.' said
Holmes. 'He was once rich and is now poor. His wife
loved him once but she doesn't love him now. And he's
thirty or forty years old.
'Well, perhaps I'm slow. Holmes, but I don't
understand.' I said. 'Why is he an intelligent man, do you
think?'
Holmes put the hat on his head. It came down to his
nose. 'This is a big hat. A man with a big hat has a big
head, and a man with a big head has a big brain. A man
with a big brain thinks a lot.'
'But you say he was once rich and is now poor. Why?'
'The hat is three years old. I remember these hats were
in all the shops then. They were very expensive too.
'Three years ago this man bought a good hat, so he
was rich then. But he has no money to buy a new hat