“But look here, Jeeves. I don’t get this. Wasn’t Mr. Sipperley pretty shirty when he came to and found that you had been soaking him with putters?”

“He was not aware that I had done so, sir. I took the precaution of waiting until his back was momentarily turned.”

“But how did you explain the bump on his head?”

“I informed him that your new vase had fallen on him, sir.”

“Why on earth would he believe that? The vase would have been smashed.”

“The vase was smashed, sir.”

“What!”

“In order to achieve verisimilitude, I was reluctantly compelled to break it, sir. And in my excitement, sir, I am sorry to say I broke it beyond repair.”