”Iconfess，”saidtheColonel，”thatevennowIcannotseehowithelpsus。””Itwasthefirstlinkinmychainofreasoning。Powderedopiumisbynomeanstasteless。Theflavorisnotdisagreeable，butitisperceptible。Wereitmixedwithanyordinarydishtheeaterwouldundoubtedlydetectit，andwouldprobablyeatnomore。
Acurrywasexactlythemediumwhichwoulddisguisethistaste。Bynopossiblesuppositioncouldthisstranger，FitzroySimpson，havecausedcurrytobeservedinthetrainer’sfamilythatnight，anditissurelytoomonstrousacoincidencetosupposethathehappenedtocomealongwithpowderedopiumupontheverynightwhenadishhappenedtobeservedwhichwoulddisguisetheflavor。Thatisunthinkable。
ThereforeSimpsonbecomeseliminatedfromthecase，andourattentioncentersuponStrakerandhiswife，theonlytwopeoplewhocouldhavechosencurriedmuttonforsupperthatnight。Theopiumwasaddedafterthedishwassetasideforthestable-boy，fortheothershadthesameforsupperwithnoilleffects。Whichofthem，then，hadaccesstothatdishwithoutthemaidseeingthem?”BeforedecidingthatquestionIhadgraspedthesignificanceofthesilenceofthedog，foronetrueinferenceinvariablysuggestsothers。TheSimpsonincidenthadshownmethatadogwaskeptinthestables，andyet，thoughsomeonehadbeeninandhadfetchedoutahorse，hehadnotbarkedenoughtoarousethetwoladsintheloft。Obviouslythemidnightvisitorwassomeonewhomthedogknewwell。”Iwasalreadyconvinced，oralmostconvinced，thatJohnStrakerwentdowntothestablesinthedeadofthenightandtookoutSilverBlaze。Forwhatpurpose?Foradishonestone，obviously，orwhyshouldhedrughisownstable-boy?AndyetIwasatalosstoknowwhy。Therehavebeencasesbeforenowwheretrainershavemadesureofgreatsumsofmoneybylayingagainsttheirownhorses，throughagents，andthenpreventingthemfromwinningbyfraud。
Sometimesitisapullingjockey。Sometimesitissomesurerandsubtlermeans。Whatwasithere?I
hopedthatthecontentsofhispocketsmighthelpmetoformaconclusion。”Andtheydidso。Youcannothaveforgottenthesingularknifewhichwasfoundinthedeadman’shand，aknifewhichcertainlynosanemanwouldchooseforaweapon。Itwas，asDr。Watsontoldus，aformofknifewhichisusedforthemostdelicateoperationsknowninsurgery。Anditwastobeusedforadelicateoperationthatnight。Youmustknow，withyourwideexperienceofturfmatters，ColonelRoss，thatitispossibletomakeaslightnickuponthetendonsofahorse’sham，andtodoitsubcutaneously，soastoleaveabsolutelynotrace。Ahorsesotreatedwoulddevelopaslightlameness，whichwouldbeputdowntoastraininexerciseoratouchofrheumatism，butnevertofoulplay。””Villain！Scoundrel！”criedtheColonel。”WehaveheretheexplanationofwhyJohnStrakerwishedtotakethehorseoutontothemoor。Sospiritedacreaturewouldhavecertainlyrousedthesoundestofsleeperswhenitfelttheprickoftheknife。Itwasabsolutelynecessarytodoitintheopenair。””Ihavebeenblind！”criedtheColonel。”Ofcoursethatwaswhyheneededthecandle，andstruckthematch。””Undoubtedly。ButinexamininghisbelongingsIwasfortunateenoughtodiscovernotonlythemethodofthecrime，butevenitsmotives。Asamanoftheworld，Colonel，youknowthatmendonotcarryotherpeople’sbillsaboutintheirpockets。Wehavemostofusquiteenoughtodotosettleourown。IatonceconcludedthatStrakerwasleadingadoublelife，andkeepingasecondestablishment。Thenatureofthebillshowedthattherewasaladyinthecase，andonewhohadexpensivetastes。Liberalasyouarewithyourservants，onecanhardlyexpectthattheycanbuytwenty-guineawalkingdressesfortheirladies。I