Mallow stared at her, astonished at the earnestness with which she spoke. "I am afraid I don't quite follow you," he said at length. "Of course Carson knows Dr. Drabble. He met him at Casterwell."
"That is just the point. Was it for the first time he met him at Casterwell?"
"I--I suppose so; but, so far as I could see, he was never very intimate with the man."
"Then why should he present him with a pair of gold wrist-buttons," said Olive--"especially the pair he wore himself; the pair he had made to match that bracelet?"
"Yes that is strange," admitted Mallow.
"It would be, if it were a fact," said Olive. "But I do not for one moment believe that he gave them to Drabble at all."
"Then how do you suppose Drabble came by them?"
"That," said Olive, "is just where I am at a loss, and where I need your help. That is what we must find out."
"But, Mrs. Carson----"
"One minute, Mr. Mallow. Am I Mrs. Carson?"