'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 wineglasses.'
'What about the wineglasses?'
'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 beeswing 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 beeswing.'
'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 beeswing. That does not appear probable. No, no, I am sure that I am right.'
'What, then, do you suppose?'