The man motioned me to a chair, and turned to resume his own. As
he did so I caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror over the
mantelpiece. I could have sworn that it was set in a malicious
and abominable smile. Yet I persuaded myself that it must have
been some nervous contraction which I had surprised, for he
turned to me an instant later with genuine concern upon his
features.

"I am sorry to hear this," said he. "I only know Mr. Holmes
through some business dealings which we have had, but I have
every respect for his talents and his character. He is an
amateur of crime, as I am of disease. For him the villain, for
me the microbe. There are my prisons," he continued, pointing to
a row of bottles and jars which stood upon a side table. "Among
those gelatine cultivations some of the very worst offenders in
the world are now doing time."

"It was on account of your special knowledge that Mr. Holmes
desired to see you. He has a high opinion of you and thought
that you were the one man in London who could help him."

The little man started, and the jaunty smoking-cap slid to the
floor.

"Why?" he asked. "Why should Mr. Homes think that I could help
him in his trouble?"

"Because of your knowledge of Eastern diseases."

"But why should he think that this disease which he has