"Mr. Barnes claims that I have admitted that I knew the woman. I claim that I have merely admitted that I knew her name, which is a very different thing."
"You admitted more than that," said the detective testily, "for you must have known more than her name to be able to give a name to this dead body."
"You are quite right, Mr. Barnes, I must also have known her face. In the same way I know both name and face of Lillian Russell. Were I to identify her dead body, would that prove that I was a personal acquaintance?"
"Certainly not, but you cannot claim that this woman was known to you in that way, for she was not a public character."
"How do you know that?"
"Well then, was she?"
"That is another question, and I decline to answer it, at least before witnesses. If you will walk with me as far as my hotel I will do the best I can to explain to you how I could identify this corpse without having been acquainted with the woman herself."
"Of course I will go with you, for explain this you must"; and together the two men left the building.
They walked across to Fifth Avenue and down that thoroughfare for several blocks in silence. Mr. Mitchel was evidently thinking over the position in which he found himself, and Mr. Barnes was satisfied not to hasten the explanation. He thus gave himself time to make a few mental notes, which if written down would have read as follows:
"Why did both of these men start when I said that the jewels were hidden off the train. It might be because both knew that to be a fact. If a fact, Thauret might have known it, because he himself may be the thief. In that case, either Mitchel is an accomplice, or he saw the other man hide the satchel at some station. Could Mitchel himself have hidden the satchel? How could he have done so when I watched his section all night, unless of course I fell asleep, which is not probable. It follows then that I must discover what acquaintanceship exists between these men, in order to determine whether they are in league together.