"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

22.05.2007