"What was the nature of these papers?" asked Rolfe.
"Well, sir, I never read them. Sir Horace set such store by them that I never dared to open them for fear he would find out. They were mostly letters and they were tied up with a piece of silk ribbon."
"A lady's letters, of course," said Rolfe.
"Judging from the writing on the envelopes they were sent by a lady," said Hill.
Rolfe breathed quickly, for he felt that he was on the verge of a discovery. Here was evidence of a lady in the case, which might lead to a startling development. Perhaps Crewe was right in declaring that Birchill was the wrong man, he said to himself. Perhaps the murderer was not a man, but a woman.
"And who do you think stole them?" he asked Hill.
"That is more than I would like to say," replied the butler.
"Are you sure they were in this hiding place when Inspector Chippenfield took charge of everything?"
"Yes, sir. I dusted out the room the morning you and he came to Riversbrook together, and the papers were there then, because I happened to touch the spring as I was dusting the desk, and it flew open and I saw the bundle there."
"Why didn't you tell Inspector Chippenfield about the papers and the secret drawer?"