He nodded gravely. “All that may be. Does anything else occur to you in this connection?”
“Nothing about the others at the moment, but Blunt sticks in my mind. You say he was partly Oriental?”
“He had native blood. I’m sure of that.”
“Then he was probably occult. Father was, but I have never told mother that. And death might not mean much to him, as after death he would expect his soul to live on in some other body. The poison he took must have been almost instantaneous, and—”
She looked up suddenly. The big figure of Sergeant Burke was coming rapidly up the narrow brick walk that led to the porch. Hat off, he mopped at his red brow. A bicycle stood against the gate.
“He seems very upset. Perhaps you’d better speak to him, Jack.”
She used the word before she knew it and bit her lip. Derrick hesitated a moment, sent her a brilliant smile, and went out. The sergeant’s bulk filled the doorway, and he breathed fast.
“I’m glad to find you, sir. Went to the Lodge first, and Miss Derrick told me you were here.” He gulped in more air. “A very extraordinary thing has happened.”
“What’s that?”
“Blunt, sir, has escaped!”