"What was that?" asked the detective carelessly. Miss Doon recounted the episode of the dagger. "It was in the dustbin, and Gander thought the jewels were real. She gave notice, only to find that the dagger was a stage jewel that had been worn by Mrs. Fane at a fancy ball."
"You knew that, I suppose?" said Jasher, much interested.
"No. She has not been to a fancy ball since I was with her, and that is three years. But she said the dagger was hers, and Gander was in a great state."
Jasher asked for a description of the dagger, which she gave. Then Mrs. Varney returned with the tea, and the conversation became more general. But the detective left with a firm conviction that Calvert had left the dagger in the dust-hole after killing the woman.
CHAPTER XIV
[THE NEW TENANT]
Arnold one day received a note from Luther Tracey asking him to call at Fairy Lodge, Coleridge Lane, Hampstead. Wondering what the American was doing in that house, Calvert lost no time in obeying the summons. He knew Tracey very slightly, having only met him when paying a visit to the Baldwins, when Laura was stopping there. But he was aware that Tracey was a smart man, and long-headed. It struck Calvert as possible that Laura might have consulted with the American about the matter of the murder, and that this invitation might be the outcome of a consultation between them. And it was creditable to Calvert's sagacity that this is precisely what had happened.
On arriving at Fairy Lodge, Arnold saw the engineer in the garden with his inevitable cigarette in his mouth.
"Well, I guess you're a smart chap," said Tracey, shaking hands heartily. "You don't let the grass grow under your feet like the majority of these English. No!"
"I think curiosity brings me up so quickly," said Arnold as they strolled up to the door. "I was wondering what you were doing in this galley."