"They put it into a cart and took it away."
"How do you know that?" asked the major, all on the alert.
"Why," said Arkel, fingering his fat chin, "it was raining, as you may remember on that night."
"Not until after the body had been stolen," returned Jen, mindful that Isabella had come into the library dry-shod.
"How do you know that?" asked the inspector sharply.
Jen was rather taken aback by the quickness of this query, and saw that if he wished to preserve the secret of Isabella, upon which depended her reputation, it behooved him to be careful.
"Well," said he cautiously, "I looked out at the night when the hour was twelve, and--"
"It might have rained between that time and three," said Arkel, with swift interruption; "and I believe it did rain, for you see, major, we found the mark of wheels in the lane, which would not have been left had not a considerable amount of rain fallen."
"Did you follow the trail?" asked the major, waiving the question of rain or no rain.
Arkel made a gesture of disappointment.