“He was a good-hearted man when he was sober, but a perfectfiend when he was drunk, or rather when he was half drunk, for heseldom really went the whole way. The devil seemed to be in himat such times, and he was capable of anything. From what I hear,in spite of all his wealth and his title, he very nearly came our wayonce or twice. There was a scandal about his drenching a dog withpetroleum and setting it on fire—her ladyship’s dog, to make thematter worse—and that was only hushed up with difficulty. Thenhe threw a decanter at that maid, Theresa Wright—there wastrouble about that. On the whole, and between ourselves, it willbe a brighter house without him. What are you looking at now?”
Holmes was down on his knees, examining with great attentionthe knots upon the red cord with which the lady had been secured.
Then he carefully scrutinized the broken and frayed end where ithad snapped off when the burglar had dragged it down.
“When this was pulled down, the bell in the kitchen must haverung loudly,” he remarked.
“No one could hear it. The kitchen stands right at the back ofthe house.”
“How did the burglar know no one would hear it? How dared hepull at a bell-rope in that reckless fashion?”
“Exactly, Mr. Holmes, exactly. You put the very question whichI have asked myself again and again. There can be no doubt thatthis fellow must have known the house and its habits. He must1054 The Complete Sherlock Holmes
have perfectly understood that the servants would all be in bed atthat comparatively early hour, and that no one could possibly hearbell ring in the kitchen. Therefore, he must have been in closeleague with one of the servants. Surely that is evident. But thereare eight servants, and all of good character.”
“Other things being equal,” said Holmes, “one would suspectthe one at whose head the master threw a decanter. And yet thatwould involve treachery towards the mistress to whom this womanseems devoted. Well, well, the point is a minor one, and when youhave Randall you will probably find no difficulty in securing hisaccomplice. The lady’s story certainly seems to be corroborated, if itneeded corroboration, by every detail which we see before us.” Hewalked to the French window and threw it open. “There are no signshere, but the ground is iron hard, and one would not expect them. Isee that these candles in the mantelpiece have been lighted.”
“Yes, it was by their light and that of the lady’s bedroom candle,that the burglars saw their way about.”
“And what did they take?”
“Well, they did not take much—only half a dozen articles ofplate off the sideboard. Lady Brackenstall thinks that they werethemselves so disturbed by the death of Sir Eustace that they didnot ransack the house, as they would otherwise have done.”
“No doubt that is true, and yet they drank some wine, Iunderstand.”
“To steady their nerves.”
“Exactly. These three glasses upon the sideboard have beenuntouched, I suppose?”
“Yes, and the bottle stands as they left it.”
“Let us look at it. Halloa, halloa! What is this?”
The three glasses were grouped together, all of them tinged withwine, and one of them containing some dregs of beeswing. The bottlestood near them, two-thirds full, and beside it lay a long, deeplystained cork. Its appearance and the dust upon the bottle showedthat it was no common vintage which the murderers had enjoyed.
A change had come over Holmes’s manner. He had lost hislistless expression, and again I saw an alert light of interest in hiskeen, 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 tablelinen and a large corkscrew.
“Did Lady Brackenstall say that screw was used?”
“No, you remember that she was senseless at the moment whenthe bottle was opened.”
“Quite so. As a matter of fact, that screw was not used. Thisbottle was opened by a pocket screw, probably contained in a knife,and not more than an inch and a half long. If you will examine theThe Return of Sherlock Holmes 1055
top of the cork, you will observe that the screw was driven in threetimes before the cork was extracted. It has never been transfixed.
This long screw would have transfixed it and drawn it up with asingle pull. When you catch this fellow, you will find that he hasone of these multiplex knives in his possession.”
“Excellent!” said Hopkins.
“But these glasses do puzzle me, I confess. Lady Brackenstallactually 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? Andyet, you must admit, that the three glasses are very remarkable,Hopkins. What? You see nothing remarkable? Well, well, let itpass. Perhaps, when a man has special knowledge and specialpowers like my own, it rather encourages him to seek a complexexplanation when a simpler one is at hand. Of course, it must bea 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 tohave your case very clear. You will let me know when Randallis arrested, and any further developments which may occur. Itrust that I shall soon have to congratulate you upon a successfulconclusion. Come, Watson, I fancy that we may employ ourselvesmore profitably at home.”
During our return journey, I could see by Holmes’s face that hewas much puzzled by something which he had observed. Everynow and then, by an effort, he would throw off the impression, andtalk as if the matter were clear, but then his doubts would settledown upon him again, and his knitted brows and abstracted eyeswould show that his thoughts had gone back once more to thegreat dining-room of the Abbey Grange, in which this midnighttragedy had been enacted. At last, by a sudden impulse, just as ourtrain was crawling out of a suburban station, he sprang on to theplatform and pulled me out after him.