The parlourmaid, not knowing which leg, looked at all three so as to be safe.
'What do you see?' he asked.
The parlourmaid was reluctant to say. What she saw was piano-legs, but she felt that wasn't the right answer.
'What do you not see?' Wemyss asked, louder.
This was much more difficult, because there were so many things she didn't see; her parents, for instance.
'Are you deaf, woman?' he inquired.
She knew the answer to that, and said it quickly. 'No sir,' she said.
'Look at that piano-leg, I say,' said Wemyss, pointing with his pipe.
It was, so to speak, the off fore-leg at which he pointed, and the parlourmaid, relieved to be given a clue, fixed her eye on it earnestly.
'What do you see?' he asked. 'Or, rather, what do you not see?'