“Of course not! But neither did the Wheelers!”
“No one of them?”
“Certainly not.”
“Who did, then?”
“I don’t know; but you yourself insisted on some marauder.”
“Only to get suspicion away from the family. But there’s no hope of finding any evidence of an outside job. You see, I’ve made some inquiries myself, and the servants’ tales make it pretty sure that no intruder could have been here. So, the Wheelers are the only suspects left.”
“And am I not as good for a suspect as they are—if I make due confession?”
“No, Allen, you’re not. You’re in love with Miss Maida——”
“I’m engaged to her!”
“All right; don’t you see, then, the absurdity of expecting any one to believe that you, a decent, law-abiding young citizen, would commit a murder which would positively render impossible a marriage with the girl you love?”