Text    The Great Idea of Mr.Budd(1)
　　￡500 REWARD
　　The Evening Messenger has decided to offer the above reward to any person who gives information
　　which results inthe arrest of William Strickland,
　　who is wanted by the police in connection with the murder of Emma Strickland in Manchester.
　　DESCRIPTION OF THE WANTED MAN
　　This is the official description of William Strickland;
　　Age forty-three;height about six feet one inch;
　　thick silver-grey hair,which may be dyed;
　　full grey beard,but may now have been shaved off;light grey eyes;
　　large nose;strong white teeth,of which some are filled with gold;
　　left thumbnail damaged by a recent blow.
　　Mr.Budd read the description carefully.
　　There were hundreds of barbers'shops in London.
　　It was unlikely that William Strickland would choose his small shop for a haircut,
　　a shave or even to have his hair dyed.
　　Three weeks had passed since the murder,
　　and it seemed very probable that William Strickland had already left the country.
　　But in spite of this Mr.Budd memorised the description as well as possible.
　　There was a chance.
　　These were difficult times for Mr.Budd,
　　and he was attracted by any opportunity of making money.
　　It may seem strange that,
　　in an age when it was fashionable for ladies to have their hair styled,
　　Mr.Budd should search for opportunities of making money.
　　But recently a new"Ladies Hairdressing Department"had opened opposite.
　　The result was an endless stream of young ladies
　　who hurried there to make appointments.
　　Day after day,Mr.Budd watched them goingin and out of the rival shop
　　and hoped that some of them would come over to him;but they never did.
　　And yet Mr.Budd knew that he was the better hairdresser.
　　He had studied especially the art of hair-dyeing,
　　and it made him quite angry to see the careless way in which his rival did this particular branch of his work.
　　Mr.Budd put the newspaper down,
　　and as he did so,caught sight of his face in the mirror.
　　He was not the sort of man who catches a violent murderer by himself.
　　Even with a razor,he would be no match for William Strickland,
　　who had murdered his old aunt so violently.
　　Mr.Budd shook his head doubtfully
　　and walked to-wards the door to watch the busy shop opposite.
　　As he did so,
　　he nearly ran into a large man who suddenly came in through the door-way.
　　"I beg your pardon,sir,"said Mr.Budd politely,
　　not wanting to lose any money."Would you like a shave,sir?"
　　The large man quickly took off his coat.
　　"Are you ready to die?"he asked fiercely.
　　The question was so close to Mr.Budd's thoughts about murder
　　that for a moment he was quite frightened.
　　"I beg your pardon,sir,"he managed to say at last.
　　"Do you dye hair?"said the man impatiently.
　　"Oh!"said Mr.Bubb,feeling relieved,"yes,sir,certainly."
　　This was a stroke of luck.He could get a good price for dyeing.
　　"Good",said the man,sitting down and allowing Mr.Budd to put a cloth about his neck.
　　"The fact of the matter is that my young lady doesn't like red hair.
　　I thought that perhaps it could be changed to something less noticeable.
　　Dark brown is the colour that she would like.What do you think?"
　　Mr.Budd,in the interests of business,agreed that dark brown would be very nice.
　　Besides,it was very likely that there was no young lady.
　　When a man is going to do something foolish he prefers,
　　if possible,to put the responsibility on to someone else.
　　"Very well,then,"said the man,
　　"carry on.And I'm afraid that the beard must go.

　　My young lady doesn't like beards."
　　The man sat back,and Mr.Budd noticed strong,well-kept teeth,
　　one of which was filled with gold.
　　"I see that you have used a dye before,sir,"said Mr.Budd.
　　"Could you tell me--?"
　　"Eh?"said the man.
　　"Oh,yes--well the fact is that my young lady is much youner than I am.
　　You can see that my hair began to go grey early in my life and so I had it dyed.
　　But she doesn't really like the colour.
　　I should change it to a colour she does like,eh?"
　　Mr.Budd got from the man the name of the dye which had been used before
　　and decided that he would have to be careful.
　　Some dyes do not mix well with other dyes.
　　He shaved off the beard.He washed the hair and then began to dry it.
　　Meanwhile,he talked about sport and politics,
　　and passed on naturally to the Manchester murder.
　　"The police seem to have given up in despair,"said the man.
　　"Perhaps the reward will help,"said Mr.Bubb who was still thinking of the subject.
　　"Oh,there's a reward,is there?I hadn't seen that."
　　"It's in this evening's paper,sir.Would you like to have a look at it?"
　　"Thanks,yes,I would."
　　Mr.Budd fetched the Evening Messenger.
　　The stranger read the article carefully
　　and Mr.Budd,watching him in the mirror,saw him suddenly pull back his left hand
　　which had been resting carelessly on the arm of the chair.
　　But not before Mr.Budd had seen the misshapen thumbnail.
　　The man looked up sharply
　　and Mr.Budd saw his eyes watching him closely in the mirror.
　　He was examining Mr.Budd's face to find out how much he knew.
　　"I've no doubt,"said Mr.Budd,
　　"that the man is safely out of the country by now.
　　They've offered the reward too late,I think."
　　The man laughed.
　　"I think they have,"he said.
　　Mr.Budd wondered whether many men
　　who had a damaged left thumb also had an upper tooth filled with gold.