"You can't prove that."
"Am I proving anything? I am simply showing you what strong cases can be built up out of nothing. Well then, Tidman sees the scarf put in the coat by a young man, whom he knows is at enmity with the deceased, and takes it out again. He gets Miss Wharf to come on to the terrace--any pretext will do, as he is her lover and her old friend. There, he strangles her on the steps and taking the fan, passes it along to the Chinaman who makes for the yacht. So you see if I chose I can build up a case against each of these three gentlemen, and each equally strong. Why if I had a mind to entangle young Mr. Burgh in the affair I could do so."
"But Tung-yu, Mr. Burgh and Major Tidman might prove alibi's."
"So they might, and Mr. Ainsleigh might do so also."
"He has not done so yet and if he was in danger, he would."
"Quite so," said Rodgers quickly, and seeing the slip, "and his very reluctance to prove an alibi--for surely someone besides Tidman must have seen him on the beach--shows me he is innocent. However this isn't business Mr. Young, so I'll go and see what evidence I can gather."
So to Dr. Forge went the detective, feeling very bewildered over the case. And small blame to him, for the matter was surely most perplexing. It is only in novels that the heaven-born detective (in the confidence of the author) displays wonderful cleverness in finding clues where none exist. But a flesh and blood worker like Rodgers had to puzzle out the matter in real life as best he could. He was not at all sanguine that he would run down the assassin of Miss Wharf. On the face of it, Rupert Ainsleigh appeared to be guilty, and Rodgers doubted his guilt for this very reason. "I believe one of these Chinaman did it," said Rodgers as he rang Forge's bell.
Dr. Forge was within, and consented at once to see the detective. When the two were in the Chinese room, Rodgers unfolded himself, and asked Forge, who knew the Chinese character, what he thought.
"My dear sir, the case is plain," said Forge calmly, "Tung-yu gave Hwei the office, and lured Miss Wharf on to the steps where Hwei strangled her with the scarf stolen by Tung-yu so as to throw suspicion on Mr. Ainsleigh."
"Humph. It looks like it," said Rodgers musingly. "So you believe this wild story of Major Tidman's."