“Here on the island?”

“That’s my opinion, in hiding on the island.”

Williams spoke with an air of patient reminder:

“Ain’t we gone over it with a fine-tooth comb?”

Rawson pointed to the ceiling:

“How about that top story? A person—we won’t say who—could have killed the woman, entered the house while the rest of you were on the beach, put back the pistol, and gone up-stairs.”

Williams made a motion to heave himself up from his chair.

“Well, if that’s how you feel about it let’s go up and have a look for the person.”

“We needn’t do that just now. They’re as safe as if they were behind bars. There’s something I want to do down here first—have a talk with Miss Tracy. She may be able to give us a little light.”

“She can’t help you,” said Bassett. “They weren’t on confidential terms. She’d be the last person he’d tell anything to.”