Plot Summary:Sherlock Holmes'advice is sought by the elderly Mrs. Mary Maberley who has a particularly odd puzzle for him to solve. About one year ago she bought her current house, The Three Gables, and had lived there with her grandson until his recent death following complications from a ruptured spleen. She was shocked when approached by an estate agent who essentially offered her a blank cheque to buy The Three Gables from her in its entirety, including all of the contents. The old lady was keen to sell as, having lost her grandson, she now hoped to finance a 'round-the-world tour. The terms however included that she take nothing whatsoever from the house, not even the portrait of her grandson hanging on the wall. This she could not do and declined the offer to purchase. Did she make the right decision, she asks Holmes? It is evident that there is something in the house that someone is prepared to pay any price to get their hands on. Holmes soon finds that the connection has to be the grandson and a romance he recently had with a very attractive older woman.