"Ah, yes. He was poisoned, you think?"
"I expect so. And yet where could he get the poison? Nobody comes here. Perhaps it was not poison after all."
A thin smile flickered on Ralph's face.
"Yes, it was," he said; "the dog was poisoned by a bee sting."
CHAPTER XXVI GEOFFREY BEGINS TO UNDERSTAND
Geoffrey had no words for a time. Slowly the hideousness of the plot was beginning to beat in upon him. Mrs. May had mentioned bees to her mysterious companion, who had so remarkable a likeness to Marion, and by a strange chance Ralph Ravenspur had the same morning, at breakfast, mentioned a certain Asiatic bee, whose poison and whose honey were fatal to human life.
"Ah," said Geoffrey slowly, "the bees Mrs. May mentioned."
"Precisely, my boy. And the bees that I mentioned also. Tchigorsky found the dog but a minute or two ago. He slipped downstairs with me the minute we heard the wagonette drive away. He was very anxious to see the hives. Directly he caught sight of Tut lying there he knew what had happened. He has gone to my room for something. When he comes back he will have something to show you."