"I believe," said he, suddenly, "that it was your precious Mrs. Higgs that murdered the man. I'm quite sure she's capable of it, or of any other villainy."
Carrie leaned forward and looked at him earnestly.
"But what should he want to shelter Mrs. Higgs for, if she had done it?"
And to this Max could find no answer.
"And why, if he had nothing to do with the murder, should he be so much afraid of Mrs. Higgs that he steals away by himself to see her when she sends him a message?"
Max sprang up.
"Steals away! By himself!" faltered he.
"Why, yes. Did you really think he would come back? Didn't you know that the ten minutes he spoke of were only a blind, so that he could shake you off, and not make Mrs. Higgs angry by taking another man with him? Surely, surely, you guessed that! Surely, you knew that if the ten minutes had not been an excuse, he would have been back here long ago."
Max felt the blood surging to his head. The girl was right, of course. He leaned against the bookcase, breathing heavily.
"You knew! You guessed! Why didn't you—why didn't you tell me?"