"Again, some of them are missing; there were at least a dozen before, now there are only three or four. The old revolver and some cartridges have been taken away, and a newer weapon substituted."
"Indeed! But why?" said Moore sceptically.
"Partly because"—and Oakes was decisive, curt, master of the situation—"because this one cannot be loaded. See!" He then tried to turn the chamber and showed us that the mechanism was faulty.
"The old revolver," said he in a low tone, "and some cartridges were taken away, and in order that its absence should be less noticeable, this one was left here—it being useless.
"Now, boys, the cartridge I found downstairs on the cellar floor is a 45-calibre and belongs to those of the pouch and the original revolver, as you see."
He took it from his pocket and showed us that it did not fit the weapon in his hand but matched the cartridges in the pouch. It belonged to the old weapon.
"We are closing in," said I.
"Yes—the man of the robe has the old revolver and cartridges; he took them within the last few days, finding his own weapon out of order. It is he who is responsible for the mystery in this house—and in all probability it is he who shot Winthrop Mark. You remember, the evidence at the inquest showed that a heavy revolver had been used—a 44 or 45 calibre—exactly such an one as the old weapon which I saw here."
"Excellent, Oakes," remarked Moore. "There's only one objection."
"Yes, I know," said Oakes. "You were going to ask why the fellow did not take all these cartridges and put his own in the pouch to match the weapon he left here."