Julius inclined his head.
“Speaking as a married man,” he said discreetly, “I ought to know.”
“But you ‘grappled’?”
“In a sense,” said Mr. Superbus, “only in a sense. When a man grapples with—with—a problem, does he catch it by the ear, or punch it under the jaw? No, ma’am. When I say grappled, I’m speaking in a general way.”
“But you saw——”
Here Julius was on safer ground.
“Well, it looked like a man.... I’ll tell you the truth, it looked like Uncle Isaac. Don’t imagine for one second that it was Uncle Isaac,” he warned them. “I cast no aspersions. He got through the door before I could properly see him.”
“You must have been mistaken, Mr. Superbus,” said Diana.
“I saw it slip past me and out of that door.” Julius pointed.
“You were mistaken,” said Diana. “The man went out of the window and from the window into the courtyard. And then over the wall. The window was found open.”