Chapter 5 Methods of Research

‘Where on earth have you been, Tuppence?’ demanded her husband whenhe returned to the family mansion¹ the following day.
‘Well, last of all I’ve been in the cellar²,’ said Tuppence.
‘I can see that,’ said Tommy. ‘Yes, I do see. Do you know that your hair isabsolutely full of cobwebs?’
‘Well, it would be of course. The cellar is full of cobwebs. There wasn’tanything there, anyway,’ said Tuppence. ‘At least there were some bottlesof bay rum.’
‘Bay rum?’ said Tommy. ‘That’s interesting.’
‘Is it?’ said Tuppence. ‘Does one drink it? It seems to me most unlikely.’
‘No,’ said Tommy, ‘I think people used to put it on their hair. I meanmen, not women.’
‘I believe you’re right,’ said Tuppence. ‘I remember my uncle–yes, I hadan uncle who used bay rum. A friend of his used to bring it him fromAmerica.’
‘Oh really? That seems very interesting,’ said Tommy.
‘I don’t think it is particularly interesting,’ said Tuppence. ‘It’s no help tous, anyway. I mean, you couldn’t hide anything in a bottle of bay rum.’
‘Oh, so that’s what you’ve been doing.’
‘Well, one has to start somewhere,’ said Tuppence. ‘It’s just possible ifwhat your pal³ said to you was true, something could be hidden in thishouse, though it’s rather difficult to imagine where it could be or what itcould be, because, you see, when you sell a house or die and go out of it,the house is then of course emptied, isn’t it? I mean, anyone who inheritsit takes the furniture out and sells it, or if it’s left, the next person comes inand they sell it, and so anything that’s left in now would have belonged tothe last tenant⁴ but one and certainly not much further back than that.’
‘Then why should somebody want to injure you or injure me or try toget us to leave this house–unless, I mean, there was something here thatthey didn’t want us to find?’
‘Well, that’s all your idea,’ said Tuppence. ‘It mightn’t be true at all. Any-way, it’s not been an

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