Sturgis nodded his acquiescence.
"Well, gentlemen, here is my street," continued the banker. "Good evening, good evening."
And he was off.
"Whither are you bound now, Thurston?" asked the reporter, as the two friends resumed their walk.
"Home and to bed like a sensible fellow," replied the physician.
"Don't you do anything of the sort. Come along with me to my rooms. I must arrange the data so far collected in the two interesting cases that I have taken up to-day; and in the cab mystery, at least, you can probably be of assistance to me, if you will."
"Very well, old man; lead on. I am curious to know what theories you have adopted in these two cases."
"Theories!" replied Sturgis; "I never adopt theories. I simply ascertain facts and arrange them in their proper sequence, as far as possible. When this arrangement is successfully accomplished, the history of the crime is practically completed. Detection of crime is an exact science. Here, as in all other sciences, the imagination has an important part to play, but that part consists only in co-ordinating and interpreting facts. The solid foundation of facts must invariably come first."