d the door,
put the key in his pocket, pulled a couple of cushions off a couch,
placed them on the piano, perched himself up on top of the improvised
seat, with his feet on the ivory keys, and then calmly proceeded to
fill his well-worn pipe with some of that strong-smelling shag tobacco
that he generally used when he started a meditation, or pipe-dream,
just as you prefer to call it.

I knew what was coming, so I opened one of the windows all the way up,
to let out the terrific fumes of the uncivilized stuff that he smoked,
while he curled himself up comfortably in his strange position on top
of the piano, with his chin resting on one hand, and his elbow on some
sheet-music, and then smoked away like a steam-engine, as immovable as
a bronze statue, while he thought and pondered and meditated, and then
thought some more, about the stolen diamond cuff-buttons,--with me all
the time sitting on the couch like a bump on a log, trying my best to
figure out the conflicting testimony advanced by the fourteen
different servants and the seven other persons.

Time rolled on, and the clock on the marble mantel struck half-past
eleven,--twelve,--half-past twelve,--one,--and at length came to a
quarter past one, while I couldn't dope out who swiped the
cuff-buttons to save my neck!

"I've got it!" shouted Holmes suddenly, as he jumped off the piano,
scattering the sheet-music right and left, and paced up and down in
front of the mantel, while I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Time for luncheon, ain't it, Holmesy, old boy?" I questioned.

"Yes. Sure, Watson. I'm hungry, too, after all that heavy thought.
We'll go in and have luncheon now, and then we'll get some swift
action."

Thereupon Holmes led the way to the dining-room, where the others
awaited us.

And so we did get some swift action, but not exactly what Holmes had
expected, sad to relate. To all adroit inquiries on the part of the
Earl as to what he had deduced, Holmes returned a smiling and evasive
answer during the elaborate luncheon, which proceeded to the
end,--when the finger-bowls were brought on,--without untoward
incident.

As my partner deftly massaged his long tapering digits in the perfumed
water, he leaned over and whispered to Inspector Letstrayed, who sat
next to him. Letstrayed's eyes bulged out, and Holmes then arose,
pushed his chair back, inserted his left thumb in the left armhole of
his vest, expanded his chest, cleared his throat, and pointed his