Dowker did not lose his temper.
"No; but I want to know what took place between you on that night."
"Simply nothing. He was in a hurry, and seemed annoyed at my stopping him, but that was only natural on such a beastly night. I asked him to call on me here, and also asked where Calliston was; he told me yachting and then he went off. Nothing more took place."
"Humph!" said Dowker thoughtfully. "It was curious he should have been there at the time."
"I don't see it at all. If you ask him, I've no doubt he'll give you a good account of himself. Besides, he had no motive in murdering Miss Sarschine--he is in love with Miss Penfold."
"I don't say he deliberately murdered her," said Dowker quietly, "but there might have been an accident. You see this?" taking the Malay kriss out of his pocket and unwraping the papers.
"Yes--a dagger. Is that the----" said Ellersby, recoiling.
"No; but I shrewdly suspect it's the neighbour to it. Down at Cleopatra Villa there were a lot of these sort of things hanging against the wall, arranged in a kind of pattern. One side of the pattern was incomplete, and I found out from Miss Fenny that Miss Sarschine had taken one of the daggers, with a view to trying it on Calliston if he did not give up his design of eloping. She was mad with rage or she would never have thought of such an idea. Well--cannot you guess what follows?--she has the dagger with her--doubtless shows it to Myles Desmond during her stormy interview with him, and leaves the house in a rage. He follows her to try and take such a dangerous weapon from her--meets her in Jermyn Street--struggles to get it, and in the scuffle wounds herself; consequently she dies, and Myles Desmond keeps quiet lest he should be accused of murder."
"Seems possible enough," said Ellersby, resuming his seat, "but I doubt its truth. However, the only thing to be done is to see Desmond, and find out what took place at Calliston's rooms. But tell me, what are you going to do with that other dagger?"
"I want to find out if it's poisoned," said Dowker, handling it gingerly. "If it is, it will show that the other weapon was the one with which the crime was committed."