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"No, no. No crime," said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. "Only one of

those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have

four million human beings all jostling each other within the

space of a few square miles. Amid the action and reaction of so

dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events

may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be

presented which may be striking and bizarre without being

criminal. We have already had experience of such."

"So much so," I remarked, "that of the last six cases which I

have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any

legal crime."

"Precisely. You allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler

papers, to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to the

adventure of the man with the twisted lip. Well, I have no doubt

that this small matter will fall into the same innocent category.

You know Peterson, the commissionaire?"

"Yes."

"It is to him that this trophy belongs."

"It is his hat."