He looked at the clergyman with a new interest. Copplestone also glanced at him quickly.
"Even the thunder would hardly have drowned a sharp cry, and some one would surely have heard it."
"Probably she hadn't time," suggested the manager. "No doubt he sprang out and attacked her from the back. He must have been as quick as the lightning itself."
Monsieur Dupont drew Tranter aside.
"Our clerical friend does not realize the importance of his own point," he said softly. "But he has put his finger on the key to the whole mystery."
"The key?" Tranter repeated.
"If Christine Manderson had uttered a cry for help, this would have been a simple, straightforward case," said Monsieur Dupont. "In the fact that she did not lies the whole secret of the crime."
"Bolsover's reason would seem to be the obvious one," Tranter returned. "The assault must have been made so quickly that she had no time."
"Mr. Bolsover's reason is, as you say, the obvious one," admitted Monsieur Dupont. "But it is not the correct one. I have already warned Inspector Fay to disregard the obvious. If he will not take my advice, that is his affair."
"But what do you mean?" asked Tranter.