Ein beinah tödlicher Fall

Robert Ironside: [Inspecting a small envelope] Some miscellaneous nuts.

[Looks at Ed]

Robert Ironside: Some miscellaneous nuts?

Det. Sgt. Ed Brown: I tagged that one myself.

Robert Ironside: I don't believe it. You wrote "some miscellaneous nuts"?

Det. Sgt. Ed Brown: Well, what's the matter with it?

Robert Ironside: Why nothing at all. Except that in police work there is no such things as "some," numbers are important. And miscellaneous means a lot of different things, and these are all the same. And nuts is too general and happens to be incorrect. Otherwise, a splendid piece of labeling. One, two, three, four, five, six. Not some miscellaneous, just six. Now, six what? Not nuts, what?

[Toss the object to Ed]

Robert Ironside: Ed, what is that?

[Ed inspects it and then tosses it to Eve]

Robert Ironside: That's right, Miss Whitfield has had the benefit of an expensive classical education, perhaps...

Eve Whitfield: It's an acorn.

Robert Ironside: An acorn. Exactly. Six acorns. Now, what do we know about acorns? Come, come. Has no one ever told you that mighty oaks from little acorns grow? The acorn is the fruit of the oak, but do you see any oaks in among those sycamores. The nearest oak is a hundred yards from those sycamores. Now, query: how came those acorns among those sycamores?