We had had but three days of rest since the last case, and we sat in close to silence, Sherlock and I, in the sitting room, awaiting a customer of ours. His name was Eugene Starper and he had called us earlier that day to ask if he would be permitted to enter our home with a case of his. Of course Sherlock, always hungry for another mystery, agreed. I had only just woken up and come down to breakfast when he burst into the room with his face full of excitement.

"Watson! I have the best of news!" He had exclaimed in a manner quite unlike him. I, startled, paused in raising my fork to my mouth and simply stared. Holmes seemed not to notice, and instead jumped straight into an explanation.

"I have just been rung by a most intriguing man by the name of Eugene Starper who claimed instantly upon my answering that he had the most intricate and confusing case in the history of mysteries. I, of course, had doubts upon this, for as I have told you, every case is simply a copy of another, until he started to describe this problem of his.

"Now, Mr. Starper is not a normal man. I had not known this then, but by a quick background read on him, I have found that he is one of the best detectives of this century, and may, I admit, be even better than I. Much of the case he seems to have already figured out. He told me this: a man was murdered at neigh of eight o'clock on this day nearly a year ago. This man went by the name of Jonathan Oper. He was not a particularly important man, but he was well off. As far as anyone knows, he had no enemies, but nor did he have many friends. Mr. Oper had only one close relation, and this was his daughter from his deceased wife, who had died on the exact day of his murder, one year earlier. His daughter, Miss Lucile Oper, has been living with a family friend, Rupert and Clara Young.

"I tell you this because the man who was recently found deceased was a relative of Mr. Young, his cousin who was visiting town. The man's name was Huston Young, the son of Rupert Young's brother. The brother died early from a stroke neigh on six years ago. Mr. Huston Young, however, was on the peak of his health and had just departed his cousin's house about an hour ago when they grew suspicious of foul play. You see, Huston had promised to call in on them when he arrived at his hotel, for they were worried he would lose his way in a new city. However, they also knew that the trip to said hotel was only half of an hour on foot, and less in a cab. When he still had not phoned in in two hours, the family went out after him. He was found, much to their dismay, not a mile from their home, on the exact spot that Miss Oper's father had been killed. After this, they immediately called up Mr. Starper.

"Starper arrived not five minutes after the call, according to him, and noticed right away that there were no footprints or marks leading away from the scene as it was raining and had been raining for several hours. This was a frustrating fact, for that eliminated the chance for a scent trail. Being a grand detective, he searched out in great circles, searching for mud tracks or an entry to some building, but, after around three hours, he returned to the site of the crime and proceeded to search the body, which had been, mercifully, covered by a hanging sheet by some kind soul from the family. Upon close observation, Starper found a piece of cloth, though very small, containing a single design of a crescent moon. Unfortunately, he could find no clue as to what this could mean, even within the family and most of their communications. He also found a small chip of iron upon the man's cheek, so small it could hardly be seen. He has already searched the iron mines around the city as to clues, but has thus far found none. Now, stumped, he has called upon me, for it seems that my name is quite well known."

Holmes finished with a self-satisifed look, but he turned back to me from where he had been pacing the floor as he narrated the information he had been provided. His head cocked at a slight angle as he watched me digest this information.

"So you accepted?" i question at last, not sure what else to say.

"But of course!" He exclaimed incredulously. "How could I have turned down such a golden opportunity of the exertion of the powers of my brain?" He gazed at me a moment longer. "By the way, Mr. Starper requested we come as soon as possible. You should run and get ready, and bring your breakfast to go."

"I never said I would help!" I protested. Holmes didn't look surprised or hurt.

"But of course you are! Don't speak such nonsense, man. Now go get ready, and be ready to leave in a half of an hour." He replied, turning and sauntering up the stairs. With one last look at my plate, I stood and headed back towards my room.