Finally he sprang down with an ejaculation of satisfaction.
"It's all right, Watson," said he."We have got our case --one of the most remarkable in our collection.But, dear me, how slow-witted I have been, and how nearly I have committed the blunder of my lifetime! Now, I think that with a few missing links my chain is almost complete.""You have got your men?"
"Man, Watson, man.Only one, but a very formidable person.
Strong as a lion -- witness the blow that bent that poker.
Six foot three in height, active as a squirrel, dexterous with his fingers; finally, remarkably quick-witted, for this whole ingenious story is of his concoction.Yes, Watson, we have come upon the handiwork of a very remarkable individual.
And yet in that bell-rope he has given us a clue which should not have left us a doubt.""Where was the clue?"
"Well, if you were to pull down a bell-rope, Watson, where would you expect it to break? Surely at the spot where it is attached to the wire.Why should it break three inches from the top as this one has done?""Because it is frayed there?"
"Exactly.This end, which we can examine, is frayed.He was cunning enough to do that with his knife.But the other end is not frayed.You could not observe that from here, but if you were on the mantelpiece you would see that it is cut clean off without any mark of fraying whatever.You can reconstruct what occurred.The man needed the rope.He would not tear it down for fear of giving the alarm by ringing the bell.What did he do?