s this?"
the three glasses were grouped together, all of them tinged with
wine, and one of them containing some dregs of bees-wing. the
bottle stood near them, two-thirds full, and beside it lay a long,
deeply-stained cork. its appearance and the dust upon the bottle
showed that it was no common vintage which the murderers had
enjoyed.
a change had come over holmes's manner. he had lost his listless
expression, and again i saw an alert light of interest in his
keen, deep-set eyes. he raised the cork and examined it minutely.
"how did they draw it?" he asked.
hopkins pointed to a half-opened drawer. in it lay some table
linen and a large cork-screw.
"did lady brackenstall say that screw was used?"
"no; you remember that she was senseless at the moment when the
bottle was opened."
"quite so. as a matter of fact that screw was _not_ used. this
bottle was opened by a pocket-screw, probably contained in a
knife, and not more than an inch and a half long. if you examine
the top of the cork you will observe that the screw was driven in
three times before the cork was extracted. it has never been
transfixed. this long screw would have transfixed it and drawn it
with a single pull. when you catch this fellow you will find that
he has one of these multiplex knives in his possession."
"excellent!" said hopkins.
"but these glasses do puzzle me, i confess. lady brackenstall
actually _saw_ the three men drinking, did she not?"
"yes; she was clear about that."
"then there is an end of it. what more is to be said? and yet
you must admit that the three glasses are very remarkable,
hopkins. what, you see nothing remarkable! well, well, let it
pass. perhaps when a man has special knowledge and special powers
like my own it rather encourages him to seek a complex explanation
when a simpler one is at hand. of course, it must be a mere
chance about the glasses. well, good morning, hopkins. i don't
see that i can be of any use to you, and you appear to have your
case very clear. you will let me know when randall is arrested,
and any further developments which may occur. i trust that i
shall soon have to congratulate you upon a successful conclusion.
come, watson, i fancy that we may employ ourselves more profitably
at home."
during our return journey i could see by holmes's face that he was
much puzzled by something which he had observed. every now and
then, by an effort, he would throw off the impression and talk as
if the matter were clear, but then his doubts would settle down
upon him again, and his knitted brows and abstracted eyes would
show that his thoughts had gone back once more to the great
dining-room of the abbey grange in which this midnight tragedy had
been enacted. at last, by a sudden impulse, just as our train was
crawling out of a suburban station, he sprang on to the platform
and pulled me out after him.
"excuse me, my dear fellow," said he, as we watched the rear
carriages of our train disappearing round a curve; "i am sorry to
make you the victim of what may seem a mere whim, but on my life,
watson, i simply _can't_ leave that case in this condition. every
instinct that i possess cries out against it. it's wrong -- it's
all wrong -- i'll swear that it's wrong. and yet the lady's story
was complete, the maid's corroboration was sufficient, the detail
was fairly exact. what have i to put against that? three
wine-glasses, that is all. but if i had not taken things for
granted, if i had examined everything with the care which i would
have shown had we approached the case _de novo_ and had no
cut-and-dried story to warp my mind, would i not then have found
something more definite to go upon? of course i should. sit down
on this bench, watson, until a train for chislehurst arrives, and
allow me to lay the evidence before you, imploring you in the
first instance to dismiss from your mind the idea that anything
which the maid or her mistress may have said must necessarily be
true. the lady's charming personality must not be permitted to
warp our judgment.
"surely there are details in her story which, if we looked at it
in cold blood, would excite our suspicion. these burglars made a
considerable haul at sydenham a fortnight ago. some account of
them and of their appearance was in the papers, and would
naturally occur to anyone who wished to invent a story in which
imaginary robbers should play a part. as a matter of fact,
burglars who have done a good stroke of business are, as a rule,
only too glad to enjoy the proceeds in peace and quiet without
embarking on another perilous undertaking. again, it is unusual
for burglars to operate at so early an hour; it is unusual for
burglars to strike a lady to prevent her screaming, since one
would imagine that was the sure way to make her scream; it is
unusual fo
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