‘But the boots.’ I said. ‘What about the stolen boots?’
‘Watson, you are very slow,’ said Holmes. ‘It was a hunting dog. Hunting dogs follow a smell. Stapleton wanted some of Sir Henry’s clothes to give to the dog. He paid a waiter at the hotel to steal the boots. But the first boot did not work because it was new. It did not have Sir Henry’s smell. Then, remember, the dog hunted Selden because Selden was wearing Sir Henry’s old clothes.’
‘What a strange story,’ I said. ‘Stapleton was clever.’
‘Yes, my dear Watson.’ said Holmes. ‘I needed your help to catch him. Now, why don’t you write about it? Perhaps you can call your story The Case of the Stolen Boot?’