The inspector smiled at him tolerantly as he also rose. “Because she looked pretty and innocent, and you thought at one time she might be going to make a match of it with your cousin, sir? Because you saw her, in fact, as the pretty little heroine of one of your own books?”
“I suppose so,” Roger admitted.
The inspector patted him on the shoulder with a large and consoling hand. “Do you know what’s the matter with you, sir?” he said kindly. “You’ve been reading too many of those detective stories.”
the end
Transcriber’s Notes
This transcription follows the text of the edition published by Simon and Schuster in 1927. However, the following alterations have been made to correct what are believed to be unambiguous errors in the text:
- “Maragaret” to “Margaret” (Chapter IX);
- “Couston Hall” to “Clouston Hall” (Chapter XI);
- “witholding” to “withholding” (Chapter XVII);
- “Morseby” to “Moresby” (Chapter XVII);
- “currare” to “curare” (Chapter IX); and
- the phrase “any he was” to “and he was” (Chapter XXVI).