At this moment Eliza entered with a bundle, which she threw on the floor; and to this Drek turned his attention. Coat, trousers, and waist-coat were all of light-grey cloth, and on the arms of the coat and the knees of the trousers were splashes of dried mud, red in hue. The inspector glanced at them, then at the startled face of Lester, and searched the pockets with a practised hand. He could not find a single article in any one of them.
"Where is the pistol, Dr. Lester?" he asked, rising from his knees.
"Pistol! What pistol?" said Lester, with a nervous tremour.
"The revolver which you took out last night."
"How--how do you know I took a revolver out last night?" asked the doctor, with a start.
"I saw you take it out, sir," broke in Eliza. "You took it out to kill Miss Milly!"
Lester gave a cry of alarm, and fell back in his chair. "Are--are you mad?" he said. "I--I--kill--kill my own daughter!"
"Well, you said you wanted to last night," persisted Eliza.
"No--no--no!" cried the doctor, covering his face. "It is impossible!"
"Improbable, but not impossible," corrected Drek. "Where is the revolver?"