"
"But you told me to examine it."
"You got it, then?"
"Yes, I got it."
"I am very glad if I have helped you."
"But you haven't helped me. You have made the affair far more
difficult. What sort of burglars are they who steal silver and
then throw it into the nearest pond?"
"It was certainly rather eccentric behaviour. I was merely
going on the idea that if the silver had been taken by persons
who did not want it, who merely took it for a blind as it were,
then they would naturally be anxious to get rid of it."
"But why should such an idea cross your mind?"
"Well, I thought it was possible. When they came out through
the French window there was the pond, with one tempting little
hole in the ice, right in front of their noses. Could there be
a better hiding-place?"
"Ah, a hiding-place -- that is better!" cried Stanley Hopkins.
"Yes, yes, I see it all now! It was early, there were folk
upon the roads, they were afraid of being seen with the silver,
so they sank it in the pond, intending to return for it when
the coast was clear. Excellent, Mr. Holmes -- that is better
than your idea of a blind.
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