“I know nothing about it?”
“I judged not,” he said, unwittingly reverting to his patronizing manner. “However, it seems to me the individual who searches for truth—in the happenings of the day—would be better fortified for his labors if he applied the methods of the chemist.”
“As, for instance?”
“Let us suppose there has been a crime. The crime is a result. An inevitable result of the combination of certain elements. Given the crime, the chemist should be able to analyze it and to separate its elements.”
“I believe that is the method of story-book detectives.”
“No.... No.... This is science, logic. A simple example. You hold a substance in your hand. You moisten it with iodine. If the substance turns purple you know starch is present. Do you see?”
“I’m sure I don’t see.”
“What do you think of Abner Fownes?” he asked, with uncharacteristic swerving from the subject.
“I think he is abominable.”
“Possibly.... But impersonally, as an individual—what then?”