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distance.”
    â€œBut, sir, if you had inquired of the poor creature who redeemed the set—”
    â€œThe poor creature? I don’t understand.”
    The severity of Holmes’s tone frightened the man. With the tradesman’s instinct to please, he hastened to apologise. “Forgive me, sir. My heart went out to the woman. In fact, I let her have the case at a too generous price. Her terribly disfigured face has haunted me.”
    â€œAh,” murmured Holmes. “I see.” He was turning away in clever disappointment when his hawk’s-face brightened. “A thought occurs to me. The man who originally pledged the case—if I could get in touch with him …”
    â€œI doubt it, sir. It was some time ago.”
    â€œHow long?”
    â€œI would have to consult my ledger.”
    Frowning, he produced a ledger from underneath the counter and thumbed through it. “Here it is. Why, it has been almost four months. How time flies!”
    â€œQuite,” agreed Holmes, drily. “You have the name and address of the man?”
    â€œIt was not a man, sir. It was a lady.”
    Holmes and I glanced at each other. “I see,” said Holmes. “Well, even after four months, it might still be worth an effort. What is her name, pray?”
    The pawnbroker peered at his ledger. “Young. Miss Sally Young.”
    â€œHer address?”
    â€œThe Montague Street Hostel.”
    â€œOdd place of residence,” I ventured.
    â€œYes, mein Herr . It is in the heart of Whitechapel. A dangerous place these days.”
    â€œIndeed it is. Good-day to you,” said Holmes, civilly. “You have been most accommodating.”
    As we walked away from the pawnshop, Holmes laughed softly. “A type who must be adroitly handled, this Joseph Beck. One can lead him great distances, but he cannot be pushed an inch.”
    â€œI thought he cooperated handsomely.”
    â€œIndeed he did. But the least odour of officialdom in our inquiry and we should not have pried the time of day out of him.”
    â€œYour theory that the scalpel was removed as a purely symbolic gesture, Holmes, has been proved correct.”
    â€œPerhaps, though the fact is of no great value. But now, a visit to the Montague Street Hostel and Miss Sally Young seems in order. I’m sure you have formed opinions as to the stations of the two females we are seeking?”
    â€œOf course. The one who pawned the set was clearly in straitened financial circumstances.”
    â€œA possibility, Watson, though far from a certainty.”
    â€œIf not, why did she pledge the set?”
    â€œI am inclined to think it was a service she rendered a second party. Someone who was unable or did not care to appear personally at the pawn-shop. A surgeon’s-kit is hardly an article one would expect to find a lady owning. And as to the woman who redeemed the pledge?”
    â€œWe know nothing of her except that she sustained some injury to her face. Perhaps she is a victim of the Ripper, who escaped death at his hands?”
    â€œCapital, Watson! An admirable hypothesis. However, the point that struck me involves something a little different. You will remember that Herr Beck referred to the one who redeemed the case as a woman , while he spoke in a more respectful tone of the pledger as a lady . Hence, we are safe in assuming that Miss Sally Young is a person to command some respect.”
    â€œOf course, Holmes. The implications, I am frank to admit, escaped me.”
    â€œThe redeemer is no doubt of a lower order. She could well be a prostitute. Certainly this neighbourhood abounds with such unfortunates.”
    Montague Street lay at no great distance; it was less than a twenty-minute walk from the pawn-shop. It proved to be a short thoroughfare connecting Purdy Court and Olmstead Circus, the latter being well-known as a refuge for London’s swarms of beggars. We turned into Montague