It had not been difficult to see that Thorndyke was very well pleased with the results of our search, but excepting the letter⁠—which undoubtedly opened up a channel for further inquiry and possible identification⁠—I could not perceive that any of the traces that we had found justified his satisfaction. There were the spectacles, for instance. They were almost certainly the pair worn by Mr. Graves. But what then? It was exceedingly improbable that we should be able to discover the maker of them, and if we were, it was still more improbable that he would be able to give us any information that would help us. Spectacle-makers are not usually on confidential terms with their customers.