"I think so, but it is purely theoretical."
"I dare say; for what motive could any woman have for such a crime?"
"Do you think a woman always requires a motive?" She looked at him in surprise.
"Certainly I do; there can be no cause without an effect."
"In some cases yes," he replied, gravely; "in this case I believe the woman had no motive in committing the crime."
"Then why did she do it?" asked Carmela, looking at him.
"That is what I have to find out," he answered, and so the conversation ended.
It was one o'clock when the steamer got into St. Katherine's Docks, and on the shore crowds of people were waiting to meet their friends. No one, however, came to meet Pat and Ronald, so their mutual sense of loneliness drew them yet closer together.
"Where are you going to stop?" asked Pat, linking his arm in that of the Australian.
"The Tavistock," replied Ronald, "the Australian cricketers generally stop there, so it will feel home-like."