"Aye, I might," Merritt said, with a cunning grin in his eyes. "If I had a hundred pounds."
Chris glanced significantly at Littimer, who nodded and took up the parable.
"You shall have the money," he said. "And you shall go as soon as you have answered Miss Lee's questions."
Merritt proclaimed himself eager to say anything. But Merritt's information proved to be a great deal less than she had anticipated.
"I stole that picture," Merritt confessed. "I was brought down here on purpose. Henson sent to London and said he had a job for me. It was to get the picture from Dr. Bell. I didn't ask any questions, but set to work at once."
"Did you know what the picture was?" Chris asked.
"Bless you, yes; it was a Rembrandt engraving. Why, it was I who in the first place stole the first Rembrandt from his lordship yonder, in Amsterdam. I got into his lordship's sitting-room by climbing down a spout, and I took the picture."
"But the other belonged to Van Sneck," said Chris.
"It did; and Van Sneck had to leave Amsterdam hurriedly, being wanted by the police. Henson told me that Van Sneck had a second copy of 'The Crimson Blind,' and I had to burgle that as well; and I had to get into Dr. Bell's room and put the second copy in his portmanteau. Why? Ask somebody wiser than me. It was all some deep game of Henson's, only you may be pretty sure he didn't tell me what the game was. I got my money and returned to London, and till pretty recently I saw no more of Henson."
"But you came into the game again," said Littimer.