“I could see that he hadn’t the faintest idea what I was driving at. I could also see that Lenham’s eyes had suddenly become strained.
“ ‘It means,’ I went on, ‘that if a witness—let us say—is proved to have told one lie, there is strong presumptive evidence that he has told several. At any rate, the value of his statement is greatly diminished. Do you agree?’
“ ‘Certainly,’ he answered. ‘But I don’t see——’
“ ‘You will shortly, inspector,’ I remarked. ‘Now who would you consider the principal witness against Mr. Fairfax?’
“ ‘Mr. Fairfax himself,’ said the inspector, promptly.
“ ‘And leaving him out?’ I asked.
“ ‘Well—I suppose—this gentleman here.’ He nodded towards Lenham, who was sitting quite motionless, watching me.
“ ‘Precisely,’ I murmured. ‘Then why was it necessary for Mr. Lenham to state that his name was Lenham, and further to swear that he had never seen Mr. Marley before—when both those statements were lies?’
“ ‘What the devil do you mean?’ snarled Lenham, rising from his chair. ‘What do you mean by saying my name is not Lenham?’
“ ‘You wanted to know about the burglar who took nothing, didn’t you?’ I said, grimly. ‘Well—I was the burglar, and I took something very valuable—an address.’