“I am not acquainted with old Ben or his ghost,” he said quietly. “I can only tell you that I went inside to reassure Mrs. Bates, and then strolled slowly to this very spot. Naturally, I could not miss the rope and the staple. To my mind, it was not intended that I or anyone else should miss them. I regarded them as so peculiar that I shouted for Bates. He came at once, and drew the body out of the water.”
“And you recognized the dead woman as the one you saw last night?”
“Yes.”
“At about ten minutes to eleven?”
“Yes.”
“Is it likely, sir, that any other person saw her in these grounds a bit earlier?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, sir, I can’t put it much plainer. Could anybody else have seen her here, say about 10.15?”
Grant met the policeman’s inquiring glance squarely before he answered.
“It is possible, of course,” he said, “but most unlikely.”