"I don't understand," he said.
She did not answer.
"Alwynne!" he said urgently.
She looked at him absently.
"Scratches? What are you driving at?"
"Oh," she said dully, "there was a nail in her shoe. She had tried to hammer it in at the morning school. It had made scratches all over the rostrum. I was rather cross about it."
"But I don't see," he began, and stopped, realising suddenly her meaning.
"You mean—she must have stood on the ledge—to make those marks?"
"Yes," said Alwynne. Then, fiercely, "Well?"
"Yes, that's conclusive," he admitted. He looked at her pityingly. "You poor child! And you never told?"