"No one saw him," the funny creature retorted, "for he did it at the moment of the greatest confusion. The butler had run in with the news of the burglary, the Colonel jumped up and ran out through the hall, the guests had not yet made up their minds what to do. In moments like this there are always just a few seconds of pandemonium, quite sufficient for a boy like Gerald to make a dash for the smoking-room."
"But after that——"
"He took the revolver out of the drawer and ran out through the French window."
"But the shutters were found to be bolted on the inside," I argued, "when they were examined by the police inspector."
"So they were," he admitted. "Miss Monica had already been in there with young Gerald. They had seen to the shutters."
"Then you think that Monica knew?"
"Of course she did."
"Then her desire to prove Morley Thrall guilty——"
"Was partly hatred of him, and partly the desire to shield her brother," the funny creature concluded as he collected traps, his bit of string and his huge umbrella. "Think it over; you will see that I am right. I am sorry for those two, aren't you? But they are selling Brudenell Court, I understand, and their mother's fortune has become theirs absolutely. They will go abroad together, make a home for themselves, and one day, perhaps, everything will be forgotten, and a new era of happiness will arise for the innocent, now that the guilty has been so signally punished. But it was an interesting case. Don't you agree with me?"