ilous 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 for them to commit
murder when their numbers are sufficient to overpower one man; it is
unusual for them to be content with a limited plunder when there is
much more within their reach; and finally I should say that it was very
unusual for such men to leave a bottle half empty. How do all these
unusuals strike you, Watson?"

"Their cumulative effect is certainly considerable, and yet each of them
is quite possible in itself. The most unusual thing of all, as it seems
to me, is that the lady should be tied to the chair."

"Well, I am not so clear about that, Watson; for it is evident that they
must either kill her or else secure her in such a way that she could
not give immediate notice of their escape. But at any rate I have shown,
have I not, that there is a certain element of improbability about
the lady's story? And now on the top of this comes the incident of the
wine-glasses."

"What about the wine-glasses?"

"Can you see them in your mind's eye?"

"I see them clearly."

"We are told that three men drank from them. Does that strike you as
likely?"

"Why not? There was wine in each glass."

"Exactly; but there was bees-wing only in one glass. You must have
noticed that fact. What does that suggest to your mind?"

"The last glass filled would be most likely to contain bees-wing."

"Not at all. The bottle was full of it, and it is inconceivable that
the first two glasses were clear and the third heavily charged with it.
There are two possible explanations, and only two. One is that after the
second glass was filled the bottle was violently agitated, and so the
third glass received the bees-wing. That does not appear probable. No,
no; I am sure that I am right."

"What, then, do you suppose?"

"That only two glasses were used, and that the dregs of both were poured
into a third glass, so as to give the false impression that three people
had been here. In that way all the bees-wing would be in the last glass,
would it not? Yes, I am convinced that this is so. But if I have hit
upon the true explanation of this one small phenomenon, then in
an instant the case rises from the commonplace to the exceedingly
remarkable, for it can only mean that Lady Brackenstall and her maid
h