Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-08-10

setting II on f1re--her ladyship's dog, to |
make the matter worse--and that was |
only hushed up with difficulty. Then |
he threw q decanter mt that mald The |
J resa Wright; there was trouble about |
that. On the whole. and between our |
selves. Il will be a brighter house with
out him. What are you looking at
nowT
Holmes was down on his knees ex-
aiming with great attention the knots
upon the red cord with which the lady
had been secured Then he carefully
scrutinized the broken and frayed end
where Il had snapped on when the bur.
glar had dragged II down.
"When this was pulled down the bell
In the kitchen must have ruiig loudly"
he remarked.
mo one could hear II. The Kitchen
stands right at the back Of the house"
"How did the burglar know no one
would hear It? How dared he pull at
n bell rope in that reckless fashion"
Exactly. Mr.. Holmes. exactly. You
put the very question which l have
asked myself again and again, There
can be no doubt that this fellow must
have known the house and Its habits.
He must have perfectly understood
that the servants would nil be In bed
at that comparatively cnrly hour and
that no one could possibly henr bell
ring In the kitchen. Therefore he must
have been in close league with one Of
the servants. Surely that is evident.
But there are eight servants. and all Of
good character"
"Other things being equal" said
Holmes, zone would suspect the one
Mt whose head the master threw n de-
canter And vet that would involve
trenchery toward the mistress to whom
this woman seems devoted. Well, WELL
the point is minor one. and when
you have Randall you will probably
find no difficulty IN securing his nc-
complete. The lady's story certainly
eeems to be corroborated, II ii needed
confederation. by every detail which
we see before US" He walked to the
French window and threw it open.
There are no signs here hut the
ground is iron hard. and one would
not expect them. see that these can
dies in the mantelpiece have been
lighted"
Yes; IL was ny 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 dozen articles of plate OF the
sideboard. Lady Brnckenstall thinks
that they were themselves so disturbed
by the death Of Sir Eustuce that they
did not ransack the house, rs they
would otherwise have done"
mo doubt that is true, and yet they
drank some wine, understand"
"1'o steady their nerves."
Exactly. These three glasses upon
the sideboard have been untouched,
suppose"
Eyes, and the bottle stands as they
left It,"
LET us look at it, Hello. hello:
What Is this?'
. The three glasses were grouped to-
! gether. all OF them tinged with wine
and one of them containing some dregs
of beeswing. The bottle stood near
, them, two-thirds full. and beside it lay
long deeply stained cork. Its ap-
pearance and the dust upon the bottle
! showed that WAS no common vintage
, which the murdsrers had enjoyed.
, a change had come over Holmes
. manner. He had lost his listless en-
I preston. and again saw an alert
light OF interest in his keen. deep set
eyes. He raised the cork and exam
: ined il infinitely.
} "IIow did they draw it?" he asked.
, Hopkins pointed to Il half opened
2 drawer. In it lay some table linen and
) a large corkscrew.
Did Lady Rrackenstall say that
) screw was used:'
mo; you remember that she was
= senseless ut the moment when the bot
! tie was opened"
"Qute so. As a matter Of fact the
= screw was not used. This bottle was
opened by a pocket screw. probably
contained in n knife and not more than
p an inch and n half long. If you will
4 examine the top of the cork. you will
observe that the screw was driven In
three times before the cork was ex.
trncted. 1t has never been transfixed
l. This long screw would have transfixed
u 1t and drawn it up with a single pull
When you catch this fellow you will
$ find that he has one of these multiplez
knives in his possession
: Excellent" said Hopkins.
"But these glasses do puzzle me.
confess. Lady BrackenstalI actually
y saw the three men drinking, did she
y not?"
" "Yes; she was clear about that"
:. "Then there Is an end Of 1t. Wha'
:, more is to be said? And yet you mus
admit that the three glasses are very
!, remarkable. Hopkins. What? You sc,
:, nothing remarkable? Well. we'll. let 4
: pass. Perhaps when man has specia
:, knowledge and special powers like m!
own 1t rather encourages him to scel
complex explanation when simple
+. one Is at hand or course 1t must he {
mere chance about the glasses. Well
n good morning, Hopkins. l don't se'
=, that I can be Of any use to you. ant
you appear to have your case very clear
1. You will let me know when Randall 4
arrested and any further development
m which may occur. ! trust that I shal
"a soon have to congratulate you upon