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"It was the man's own pouch, sir. His initials were inside it. And it was of seal-skin - and he an old sealer."

"But he had no pipe."

"No, sir, we could find no pipe; indeed, he smoked very little. And yet he might have kept some tobacco for his friends."

"No doubt. I only mention it because if I had been handling the case I should have been inclined to make that the starting-point of my investigation.

However, my friend Dr. Watson knows nothing of this matter, and I should be none the worse for hearing the sequence of events once more.

Just give us some short sketch of the essentials."

Stanley Hopkins drew a slip of paper from his pocket.

"I have a few dates here which will give you the career of the dead man, Captain Peter Carey.

He was born in '45 - fifty years of age.

He was a most daring and successful seal and whale fisher.

In 1883 he commanded the steam sealer SEA UNICORN, of Dundee.

He had then had several successful voyages in succession, and in the following year, 1884, he retired.

After that he travelled for some years, and finally he bought a small place called Woodman's Lee, near Forest Row, in Sussex.

There he has lived for six years, and there he died just a week ago to-day.

"There were some most singular points about the man.

In ordinary life he was a strict Puritan - a silent, gloomy fellow.

His household consisted of his wife, his daughter, aged twenty, and two female servants.

These last were continually changing, for it was never a very cheery situation, and sometimes it became past all bearing.

The man was an intermittent drunkard, and when he had the fit on him he was a perfect fiend.

He has been known to drive his wife and his daughter out of doors in the middle of the night, and flog them through the park until the whole village outside the gates was aroused by their screams.

"He was summoned once for a savage assault upon the old vicar, who had called upon him to remonstrate with him upon his conduct.

In short, Mr. Holmes, you would go far before you found a more dangerous man than Peter Carey, and I have heard that he bore the same character when he commanded his ship.

He was known in the trade as Black Peter, and the name was given him, not only on account of his swarthy features and the colour of his huge beard, but for the humours which were the terror of all around him.

I need not say that he was loathed and avoided by every one of his neighbours, and that I have not heard one single word of sorrow about his terrible end.

"You must have read in the account of the inquest about the man's cabin, Mr. Holmes; but perhaps your friend here has not heard of it.

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