“Hardly,” was the dry retort. “I caused the door leading to the rear hall to be locked long ago.”
I bowed in admiration of his caution.
“No one can pass from the upper to the lower portion of this house without going by this door; how else could I be sure the diamonds had not already been smuggled out of the building?”
“And you are positively sure that, as it is, they are still here.”
“Positively.”
“And that Philippa, although she will not speak, knows who took the jewels, or at least who it was that entered the room above while Mrs. Winchester was down here?”
“Yes.”
“Then,” I declared, “our coast is clear. To find the diamonds it is only necessary to search the house, and as for the culprit, Philippa will find it difficult to keep silence when once the law has taken its course, and duty as well as honor compels her to speak.”
He nodded and stood a moment thinking.