"One moment" said Holmes, "are you sure about this whistle and of the sound of something metal falling? Are you sure that you heard them?"

"That was what the county coroner asked me at the inquiry. I really think that I heard it, and yet, with the noise of the storm and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly be wrong."

"Was your sister dressed?"

"No, she was in her night dress. In her right hand she was holding a burned match, and in her left hand she had a matchbox."

"This shows that she had light from the match and looked about her when the alarm took place. That is important. And what did the coroner decide?"