Chapter One<br >Saturday， September 1， 1888<br >"It is not really difficult to construct a se-<br >ries of inferences， each dependent upon its<br >predecessor and each simple in itself."<br > --The Adventure of the Dancing Men<br >ID ~ ~ perfectly marvelous， gruesome experience，" ob-<br > served Sherlock Holmes brightly as he and Wat-<br > .， .son wended their way through the crowds stream-<br >ing out of the theater into the gaiety and glare of the gaslit<br >Strand. "I cannot thank you enough for insisting that I accom-<br >pany you this evening， Watson. Rarely have I been witness to a<br >more dramatic transformation of good to evil， either onstage or<br >off， than our American friend has so ably portrayed for us."<br > He pondered for a while as they walked， his sharp profile<br >silhouetted against the glow of light. It was the first of Septem-<br >ber， the night was warm and clinging， the myriad smells of the<br >city an almost palpable presence. London， noisy， noisome， nat-<br >tering London: aged， ageless， dignified， eccentric in her ways--<br >seat of empire， capital of all the world; that indomitable gray<br >lady of drab aspect but sparkling personality--was at her very，<br >very best and most radiant. And Holmes， ebullient and uncom-<br >monly chatty， was in a mood to match.<br > "I have no doubt the author was telling us，" he said after a<br > time， "that we are all capable of such a transformation. Or，<br > should I say transmogrification?fsuch a wonderful word， don t<br > you think?---capable of it even without the benefit of a remark-<br > able chemical potion; that we all， each and every one of us， have<br > the capacity for good and evilfthe capability of performing<br > both good works and ill--and precious little indeed is required<br >