His thoughts turned to the scene he had just witnessed.
“No wonder the poor old chap’s worried. A sleep-walking daughter is enough to worry anyone. There’s no saying what mischief she might get into.”
A fresh line opened up his mind.
“He said he wasn’t shielding anyone. Did he mean merely that he wasn’t covering up a theft? If Helga took the thing while she was asleep, there would be no question of ‘shielding’ at all. I wish that girl hadn’t arrived just when she did. She interrupted him just at the critical moment. Perhaps he knows she took it and is simply waiting to get it back eventually. That would account for all this coolness under a huge loss. It wouldn’t be a real loss at all. The thing’s bound to be somewhere near by; it’s only a case of laying hands on it eventually. She’d be sure to give it away sooner or later if she goes on sleep-walking. And that’s one of the reasons why he was watching for her to-night, perhaps.”
Chapter XI
On the following day, Westenhanger took the earliest opportunity of informing Douglas about the developments in the night. He had been strongly impressed by old Dangerfield’s denial of Eric’s responsibility, and he felt that it would be unfair to suppress this information and so leave suspicion afloat in his friend’s mind.
“Well, we can take the old man’s word for it,” was Douglas’s verdict, when he had heard the whole story. “He wouldn’t tell a lie, I’m sure of that. And, apparently, from what you say, he thought he had good enough grounds, though he didn’t throw much light on them.”
“He convinced me. I’m quite satisfied, now, we’re on the wrong track.”
“Then the great elimination stunt has been a wash-out?”
Westenhanger gloomily accepted this estimate.