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