“But he did not. The night porter used to see the light in his rooms at one o’clock in the morning. In the sitting-room, too, you remember. But he seems to have been in the habit of reading in bed⁠—or perhaps smoking⁠—for here is a candlestick with the remains of a whole dynasty of candles in it. As there is gas in the room, he couldn’t have wanted the candle to undress by. He used stearine candles, too; not the common paraffin variety. I wonder why he went to that expense.”

“Perhaps the smell of the paraffin candle spoiled the aroma of the opium,” I suggested; to which Thorndyke made no reply but continued his inspection of the room, pulling out the drawer of the washstand⁠—which contained a single, worn-out nailbrush⁠—and even picking up and examining the dry and cracked cake of soap in the dish.