Freddie apparently had been tabulating his conclusions as he went along, and he was able to answer her without a pause.

“Three people. I can’t get nearer than that.”

“And they are?” inquired Mrs. Caistor Scorton, with just a touch of eagerness.

“Miss Cressage, of course,” responded Freddie at once. “I think her doings need looking into. I’ll pay special attention to her.”

“Quite true. There’s a good deal that would be all the better of some explanation. I don’t pretend to see through it myself. Now, the next person?”

“The American, obviously. If we knew all that he knows we might know a good deal more than we do know,” explained Freddie, with the air of a Sibyl uttering some profound monition.

“Possibly. And the third person?”

“Eric Dangerfield. Curious that I hadn’t thought of him before, isn’t it?”

“Very strange,” agreed Mrs. Caistor Scorton. “You’re usually so quick at conclusions, Mr. Stickney.”

She rose to her feet with an air of dismissal.