Discuss the following in pairs or in small groups

How did Holmes’ digressions sometimes prove in the end to have a bearing on the matter on hand? Discuss this with reference to all the apparently irrelevant points he was trying to gather information from.

Holmes digressions proved to be very significant by the time the criminal was caught. His recognition of the well-worn English dress and making up of a Mayor proved that Evans wasn’t the lawyer from America. His questioning of the house agent led him to discover that Presbury was the previous tenant. All the small references were a major part of the puzzle.