“Then? What did you think of later?”
“I remembered that I saw Mr. Wheeler in the living-room—in the north end of it—where he never goes——”
“You know about his restrictions?”
“Oh, yes, sir. The servants all know—we have to. Well, it was natural, poor man, that he should go to look at the fire!”
“You’re sure of this, Rachel?”
“Sure, yes; but don’t let’s tell, for it might get the master in trouble.”
“On the contrary it may get him out of trouble. To break his parole is not as serious a crime as murder. And if he was in the north end of the living-room he couldn’t have been in the den shooting Mr. Appleby.”
“That’s true enough. And neither could Mrs. Wheeler have done it.”
“Why not?”
“Well—that is—she was right ahead of me——”