The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-06-11

light of interest in his keen, deep set eyes He raised the cork and examined it nlinutely.
 How did they draw it?'' he asked
 Hopkins pointed to haH-open drawer In it lay some table linen and a large cork-screw.
 Did Lady Brackenstan say that screw used?''
 senseless a the moment when the bottle was opened"
 Quite so. As matter of fact, that screw was not used. The bottle was opened by a, pocket screw, prob ably contained in a knife. and not more than an inch and half long. If you will examine the top of the cork, you will observe that the screw was driven in three times before tho cork was extracted. It has never been transfixed. This long screw would have transfiXed it and drawn 1t up with a single pull When you catch this fellow, you will find that he has one of these mu1tiplex knives in his possession.
 "Excellent.H said Hopkins
 But these glasses do puzzle me. [ confess. Lady Brackenstan actually saw the three men drinking, did she not?"
 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?
 
 well, let it pass Perhaps, when q man has special knowledge and spe- cia1 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 q | mere chance about the glasses. Well, good morning, Hopkins. I don't see that 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 oc- l cur. l trust that I shall soon have to congratulate you upon a success fui conclusion. Come. Watson, [ fancy that we may employ ourselves more profita ply at home"
 During our return journey I could see by Holmes face that he was much puzzled by something which he had observed Every now and then, by impression, and talk as if the mat 1 ter were clear, but then his doubts would settle down upon him again. 1 and his knitted brows and abstracted 1 eyes would show that his thoughts had gone back once more to the great dining-room of the Abbey Grange. in which this midnight tr4- gedy had been enacted At last, by | a sudden impulse, just as our train was crawling out of a suburban sta 1 ton, he sprang onto the platform and I pulled me out after him.
 1 Excuse me, my dear fellow" sad 1 he, as we watched the rear carriages | of our train disappearing round our curve, T am sorry to make you the | victim of what may seem a mere whim, but on my life, Watson, I sim ply can't leave that case in this con- 1 dition. Every instinct that I pos sess cries out againstsit It's wrong its all wrong-FH swear that it's wrong. And yet the lady's story 1 was complete. the maids corrobora- 1 ton was sufficient, the detail was fairly exact. What have I to put oiv,c+ Ia4o rlaG that is all. But if I had not taken things for granted, if I had examined everything with the care which should have shown had we approach ed the case de novo and had cut | and-dried story to warp my mind, should I not then have found some course, I should Sit down this | bench Watson, until a train for Chiselhurst arrives, and allow me to | lay the evidence before you, implor- i ing you in the first instance to dis miss from your mind the idea that anything which the maid or her mis- tress may have said must have nee essarily be true. The lady's charm ing personality must not be permit ted to warp our judgment
 Surely there are details in her story which, if we looked at in cold
 blood, would excite our suspicion. These burglars made q considerable haul at Sydenham. a fortnight ago. Some account of them and of their 1 appearance was m the papers, ana
 would naturally occur to anyone who
 wished to invent story in which i'm aginary robbers should play q part
 As a matter of fact. burglars who have done good stroke of business
 are, as a rule, only too glad to enjoy
 the proceeds in peace and quiet with
 out embarking on another pcriIous
 undertaking Again. 1t is unusual
 for burglars to strike a lady to pre- |, vent her screaming. since one would imagine that was the sure way to | make her scream; it is unusual for them to commit murder when their numbers are sufficient for them 10 l overpower one man: it is unusual for them to be content with limited
 plunder when their was much mora
 within their reach. and finally.