“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 of plate off the sideboard.  Lady Brackenstall thinks that they were themselves so disturbed by the death of Sir Eustace that they did not ransack the house, as they would otherwise have done.”

“No doubt that is true, and yet they drank some wine, I understand.”

“To steady their nerves.”

“Exactly.  These three glasses upon the sideboard have been untouched, 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 with wine, and one of them containing some dregs of beeswing.  The bottle stood near them, two-thirds full, and beside it lay a long, deeply stained cork.  Its appearance and the dust upon the bottle showed that it was no common vintage which the murderers had enjoyed.

A change had come over Holmes’s manner.  He had lost his listless expression, and again I saw an alert light of interest in his keen, 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 table linen and a large corkscrew.

“Did Lady Brackenstall say that screw was used?”

“No, you remember that she was senseless at the moment when the bottle was opened.”

“Quite so.  As a matter of fact, that screw was not used.  This bottle 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 the top of the cork, you will observe that the screw was driven in three times before the cork was extracted.  It has never been transfixed.  This long screw would have transfixed it and drawn it up with a single pull.  When you catch this fellow, you will find that he has one of these multiplex knives in his possession.”

“Excellent!” said Hopkins.

“But these glasses do puzzle me, I confess.  Lady Brackenstall actually 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?  And yet, you must admit, that the three glasses are very remarkable, Hopkins.  What?  You see nothing remarkable?  Well, well, let it pass.  Perhaps, when a man has special knowledge and special 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 a 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 to have your case very clear.  You will let me know when Randall is arrested, and any further developments which may occur.  I trust that I shall soon have to congratulate you upon a successful conclusion.  Come, Watson, I fancy that we may employ ourselves more profitably at home.”