"The butler says yes. But if he did it's gone."

Crewe stood up and examined the hole in the wall where Inspector
Chippenfield had dug out the smaller bullet.

"Sir Horace made a bid for his life but missed. Of course, he had no time
to take aim while there was a man on the other side of the room covering
him, but in any case those fancy firearms cannot be depended upon to
shoot straight."

"You think Sir Horace fired at his murderer--fired first?" asked Rolfe.

"This small bullet suggests one of those fancy silver-mounted weapons
that are made to sell to wealthy people. Sir Horace was a bit of a
sportsman, and knew something about game-shooting, but, I take it, he had
no use for a revolver. I assume he kept one of those fancy weapons on
hand thinking he would never have to use it, but that it would do to
frighten a burglar if the occasion did arise."

"And when he was held up in this room by a man with a revolver he made a
dash for his own revolver and got in the first shot?" suggested Rolfe,
with the idea of outlining Crewe's theory of how the crime was committed.

"It is scarcely possible to reconstruct the crime to that extent," said
Crewe with a smile. "But undoubtedly Sir Horace got in the first shot. If
he fired after he was hit his bullet would have gone wild--would probably
have struck the ceiling--whereas it landed there. Let us measure the
height from the floor." He pulled a small spool out of a waistcoat pocket
and drew out a tape measure. "A little high for the heart of an average