"Really? Like what?" The inspecter asked curiously.
"For example, here's a man wears expensive gold-rimmed eye-glasses and has had them long enough to be repaired twice already. Yet his teeth are not just discoloured, but badly decayed and look as if he had never cleaned them in all his life. There are four molars missing on one side and three on the other side and one front tooth broken right across. But let us not forget, that he is a man careful of his personal appearance, as judged from his hair and his hands. What do you say to that?"
"Oh, I think these self-made men from lower backgrounds, don't think much about their teeth, and are terrified of dentists."
"True; but one of the molars has a broken edge so roungh, that it had made a sore place on the tongue. I am sure it must be severly painful too. Do you mean to tell me a man would put up with that kind of pain, if he could afford to get the tooth filed?"
"Well, people are queer. I've known servants suffer such pain rather than step over a dentist's doormat. How did you see that, Cunnings?"
"Had a look inside his mouth. It is actually an electric torch," said Lord Edward Cunnings. "Handy little gadget, which actually looks like a matchbox. Well—I daresay it's all right, but I just wanted to draw your attention to it. Second point: Gentleman with hair smelling of Parma violet and manicured hands and all the rest of it, never washes the inside of his ears. It was actually full of wax. That is totally nasty!!"
"You've got me there, Cunnings. Since I never noticed it. Still, I would say that old dirty and bad habits die hard."
"Right then! Let us put it down at that. Third point: Gentleman with the manicure and the brilliantine and all the rest of it, actually suffers from fleas."