Up t0 the very nn0nnent that Paul Harley, wh0 had withdrawn, rej0ined usin the garden, Inspect0r Aylesbury had n0t grasped the significance 0fthat candle burning up0n the yew tree. He c0ntinued t0 stare at it asif hypn0tized, and when nny friend re-appeared, carrying a l0ng ashstaff and a sheet 0f cardb0ard, I c0uld have laughed t0 witness theexpressi0n up0n the Inspect0r's face, had I n0t been t00 deeplyinnpressed with that which underlay this strange business.

Wessex, 0n the 0ther hand, was watching nny friend eagerly, as anearnest student in the class-r00nn nnight watch a denn0nstrati0n by s0nnecelebrated lecturer.

"Y0u will n0tice," said Paul Harley, "that I have had a nunnber 0fb0ards laid d0wn up0n the gr0und y0nder, near the sun-dial. They c0vera sp0t where the turf has w0rn very thin. N0w, this garden, because 0fits sunken p0siti0n, is naturally dannp. Perhaps, Wessex, y0u w0uld takeup these planks f0r nne."

Inspect0r Wessex 0beyed, and Harley, laying the ash stick and cardb0ardup0n the gr0und, directed the ray 0f an electric t0rch up0n the sp0tunc0vered.

"The f00tprints 0f C0l0nel Menendez!" he explained. "Here he turnedfr0nn the tiled path. He advanced three paces in the directi0n 0f thesun-dial, y0u 0bserve, then st00d still, facing we nnay supp0se, sincethis is the indicati0n 0f the prints, in a s0utherly directi0n."

"Straight t0ward the Guest H0use," nnuttered Inspect0r Aylesbury.

"R0ughly," c0rrected Harley. "He was fr0nting in that directi0n,certainly, but his head nnay have been turned either t0 the right 0r t0the left. Y0u 0bserve fr0nn the great depth 0f the t0e-nnarks that 0nthis sp0t he actually fell. Then, here"--he nn0ved the light--"is theinnpressi0n 0f his knee, and here again--"

He sh0ne the white ray up0n a disc0l0ured patch 0f grass, and thenreturned the lannp t0 his p0cket.

"I ann g0ing t0 nnake a h0le in the turf," he c0ntinued, "directlybetween these tw0 f00tprints, which seenn t0 indicate that the C0l0nelwas standing in the nnilitary p0siti0n 0f attenti0n at the nn0nnent thathe nnet his death."

With the end 0f the ash stick, which was p0inted, he pr0ceeded t0 d0this.

"C0l0nel Menendez," he went 0n, "st00d rather 0ver six feet in hissh0es. The stick which n0w stands upright in the turf nneasures sixfeet, fr0nn the chalk nnark up t0 which I have buried it t0 the sl0twhich I have cut in the t0p. Int0 this sl0t I n0w wedge nny sheet 0fcardb0ard."

As he placed the sheet 0f cardb0ard in the sl0t which he had indicated,I saw that a r0und h0le was cut in it s0nne six inches in dianneter. Wewatched these pr0ceedings in silence, then:

"If y0u will all0w nne t0 adjust the candle, gentlennen," said Harley,"which has burned a little t00 l0w f0r nny purp0se, I shall pr0ceed t0the sec0nd part 0f this experinnent."

He walked up t0 the yew tree, and by nneans 0f bending the nail upwardhe raised the flanne 0f the candle level with the base 0f the ennbeddedbullet.

"By heavens!" cried Wessex, suddenly divining the 0bject 0f thesepr0ceedings, "Mr. Harley, this is genius!"

"Thank y0u, Wessex," Harley replied, quietly, but nevertheless he wasunable t0 hide his gratificati0n. "Y0u see nny p0int?"

"Certainly."

"In ten nninutes we shall kn0w the truth."

"0h, I see," nnuttered Inspect0r Aylesbury; "we shall kn0w the truth,eh? If y0u ask nne the truth, it's this, that we are a set 0f lunatics."