d probably be

some time before she could regain consciousness. on the

question of whether she had been shot or had shot herself

he would not venture to express any decided opinion.

certainly the bullet had been discharged at very close

quarters. there was only the one pistol found in the room,

two barrels of which had been emptied. mr. hilton cubitt

had been shot through the heart. it was equally

conceivable that he had shot her and then himself, or that

she had been the criminal, for the revolver lay upon the

floor midway between them.

"has he been moved?" asked holmes.

"we have moved nothing except the lady. we could not leave

her lying wounded upon the floor."

"how long have you been here, doctor?"

"since four o'clock."

"anyone else?"

"yes, the constable here."

"and you have touched nothing?"

"nothing."

"you have acted with great discretion. who sent for you?"

"the housemaid, saunders."

"was it she who gave the alarm?"

"she and mrs. king, the cook."

"where are they now?"

"in the kitchen, i believe."

"then i think we had better hear their story at once."

the old hall, oak-panelled and high-windowed, had been

turned into a court of investigation. holmes sat in a

great, old-fashioned chair, his inexorable eyes gleaming

out of his haggard face. i could read in them a set

purpose to devote his life to this quest until the client

whom he had failed to save should at last be avenged. the

trim inspector martin, the old, grey-headed country doctor,

myself, and a stolid village policeman made up the rest of

that strange company.

the two women told their story clearly enough. they had

been aroused from their sleep by the sound of an explosion,

which had been followed a minute later by a second one.

they slept in adjoining rooms, and mrs. king had rushed in

to saunders. together they had descended the stairs. the

door of the study was open and a candle was burning upon

the table. their master lay upon his face in the centre of

the room. he was quite dead. near the window his wife was

crouching, her head leaning against the wall. she was

horribly wounded, and the side of her face was red with

blood. she breathed heavily, but was incapable of saying

anything. the passage, as well as the room, was full of

smoke and the smell of powder. the window was certainly

shut and fastened upon the inside. both women were

positive upon the point. they had at once sent for the

doctor and for the constable. then, with the aid of the

groom and the stable-boy, they had conveyed their injured

mistress to her room. both she and her husband had

occupied the bed. she was clad in her dress -- he in his

dressing-gown, over his night clothes. nothing had been

moved in the study. so far as they knew there had never

been any quarrel between husband and wife. they had always

looked upon them as a very united couple.

these were the main points of the servants' evidence. in

answer to inspector martin they were clear that every door

was fastened upon the inside, and that no one could have

escaped from the house. in answer to holmes they both

remembered that they were conscious of the smell of powder

from the moment that they ran out of their rooms upon the

top floor. "i commend that fact very carefully to your

attention," said holmes to his professional colleague.

"and now i think that we are in a position to undertake a

thorough examination of the room."

the study proved to be a small chamber, lined on three

sides with books, and with a writing-table facing an

ordinary window, which looked out upon the garden. our

first attention was given to the body of the unfortunate

squire, whose huge frame lay stretched across the room.

his disordered dress showed that he had been hastily

aroused from sleep. the bullet had been fired at him from

the front, and had remained in his body after penetrating

the heart. his death had certainly been instantaneous and

painless. there was no powder-marking either upon his

dressing-gown or on his hands. according to the country

surgeon the lady had stains upon her face, but none upon

her hand.

"the absence of the latter means nothing, though its

presence may mean everything," said holmes. "unless the

powder from a badly-fitting cartridge happens to spurt

backwards, one may fire many shots without leaving a sign.

i would suggest that mr. cubitt's body may now be removed.

i suppose, doctor, you have not recovered the bullet which

wounded the lady?"

"a serious operation will be necessary before that can be

done. but there are still four cartridges in the revolver.

two have been fired and two wounds inflicted, so that each

bullet can be accounted for."

"so it would seem," said holmes. "perhaps you can account

also for the bullet which has so obviously struck the edge

of