A regular theater goer was dismayed to find that he had a seat near the rear of the house for the performance of an eagerly awaited mystery thriller. With half an hour to go before curtain up, he summoned an usher and said: 'Could you possibly help me? I have been looking forward to this play for weeks, but I am not happy with my seat. You see, my eyesight and hearing are not what they were and, in order to be able to follow the intricate plot and work out the clues, I need a seat nearer the front of the house. If you can get me a better seat, I'll give you a handsome tip.'

The usher promised to do what he could and after twenty-five minutes of delicate negotiations, he was finally able to offer the man a seat right in the middle of the front row. The man took his seat, thanked the usher, and handed him a dollar by way of a tip.

The deflated usher took one look at the dollar and then whispered in the man's ear: 'The butler did it with the candlestick in the ballroom.'