`H'm?' inquired Miss Bitton, arching her brows. She glanced at the doctor, and an expression of delight again animated her sparkling eyes. `Oh, I say! You are a dear!' she cried

Dr Fell jumped violently. There were no inhibitions whatever about Sheila Bitton.

`About Mr Hadley?' she inquired, candidly. `Oh, Bob said he didn't look like anything in particular.'

Dalrye spread out his hands behind her back in helpless pantomime to the others.

`and I've always wanted to meet the police, but the only kind I ever meet are the kind who ask me why I am driving down streets where the arrows point the other way; and why not? because there's no traffic coming and I can go ever so much faster.’ And Then she remembered again why she was here, and stopped with a jerk; the rest of them were afraid there would, be sudden tears.

'Of course, Miss Bitton,' the chief inspector said, hastily. `Now if you'll just sit down a moment and get your breath, then I'm sure.'

`Excuse me,', said Dalrye. `I'm going to wash my hands.' Hee shivered a little, shut his jaws hard and left the room. Miss Bitton said, `Poor Phil' suddenly, and sat down.

There was a silence.

`You….. somebody,' she remarked in a small voice, `somebody's tipped over that pretty little figure on the mantel. I'm sorry, It was one of the things I wanted to take back with me.'

`Had you seen, it before?' asked Hadley. His discomfort had disappeared as he saw a possible lead.