Gordon ruminated while I studied his face with breathless interest.
"This may be only a snare," he mattered, "or an attempt to draw me away from Sir Haldred, but——"
I held my breath.
"I am a gambler by nature," he said slowly. "I am going to follow what you Americans call a hunch—but God help you if you are lying to me!"
I sprang erect.
"Thank God! Now aid me with this suit, for I must be wearing it when I return to the automobile waiting for me."
His eyes narrowed as I shook out the horrible masquerade and prepared to don it.
"This shows, as always, the touch of the master hand. You were doubtless instructed to leave marks of your hands, encased in those hideous gauntlets?"
"Yes—though I have no idea why."
"I think I have—the Master is famed for leaving no real clues to mark his crimes—a great ape escaped from a neighboring zoo earlier in the evening and it seems too obvious for mere chance, in the light of this disguise. The ape would have gotten the blame of Sir Haldred's death."