"It was the man's own pouch, sir. His initials were inside it.
And it was of sealskin -- and he was 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 sketches 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 bom 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 succes-
sion, 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.
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