I
shall return to this presently.
"The other was that the candlestick on the bedside table was empty. It
was a peculiar candlestick, having a skeleton socket formed of eight
flat strips of metal. The charred wick of a burnt-out candle was at the
bottom of the socket, but a little fragment of wax on the top edge
showed that another candle had been stuck in it and had been taken out,
for otherwise that fragment would have been melted. I at once thought of
the candle-end in the hall, and when I went down again I took that end
from the tray and examined it. On it I found eight distinct marks
corresponding to the eight bars of the candlestick in the bedroom. It
had been carried in the right hand of some person, for the warm, soft
wax had taken beautifully clear impressions of a right thumb and
forefinger. I took three moulds of the candle-end in moulding wax, and
from these moulds have made this cement cast, which shows both the
fingerprints and the marks of the candlestick." He took from his box a
small white object, which he handed to the coroner.
"And what do you gather from these facts?" asked the coroner.
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