"Oh, you admit that, do you?"
"Naturally. But I fail to see how it came to be beside the body of Rufus Shepley."
"A man who has committed a murder generally is in a hurry to get away," said the captain. "It is easy to drop a fountain pen from a pocket, especially if a man is bending over."
"I don't even know where Shepley's rooms were located," Prale said. "I didn't know the pen was missing until this minute——"
"Possibly not," replied the captain of detectives.
"And I am quite sure I do not know how it came to be beside the body, but of one thing I am certain—I did not drop it there."
"Naturally, you would say that."
"And where is the motive?" Prale demanded. "Suppose you tell me what you have against me, and then I'll proceed to tear your shabby evidence to pieces."
"We have this particular case so well in hand that I can afford to do that," the captain said. "Attend me closely and you'll see the futility of denying your guilt."
"I am waiting to hear the evidence," Prale said.