Hi Gary,
Yes, boundaries are being stretched a bit here. While bridge is mentioned in the novels -- these are not bridge books. Mr. Wolfe is a consulting detective.
I have discovered that many bridge players are also passionate Nero Wolfe fans. George Jacobs has even quoted Archie in a recent ...
"a flower cluster with the separate flowers attached by short equal stalks at equal distances along a central stem. The flowers at the base of the central stem develop first."
Mike, many thanks for adding some transparency (my favorite word today) to this discussion. It does feel like the penalty is rather severe for just plain stupidity -- are you certain it was not abject stupidity, gross stupidity, or some sort of stupidity compounded by idiocy? That might make the penalty ...