I smiled at his foolishness and told him what I had done.
"What time to-day did this Mr. Marsh first go to River Mansions?" Quarles asked when I had finished.
"The porter didn't say."
"They're not expensive flats, are they?"
"No."
"You've got on the trail cleverly, but you haven't proved it murder yet," he said. "The first question Zena asked me was whether I was certain the stiletto wasn't a hatpin."
"There might be a pair, and so it would be a clew," explained Zena.
"It was too much of a weapon for a hatpin," I said.
"Exactly my answer," said Quarles, "and Zena went and fetched that thing lying on the writing-table. That came from Norway and is a hatpin, though you might not think it."
It was indeed a fearsome looking weapon, and a deadly stroke might be dealt with it.