She considered a moment before answering, and then said, very frankly: "As a matter of fact, I did not touch on that point because, I must admit, I haven't the slightest information that would throw any light on this very mysterious phase of the case. I have been puzzled, completely puzzled, and after careful investigation, I have failed to discover the origin of Mr. Zzyx. I have no idea how he came to be in the rocket."
"We're all puzzled, for that matter," McGinity remarked; "and I think it's very necessary that we should establish his origin in order to settle the whole case."
"Of course it is," Mrs. LaRauche assented. "But his presence in the rocket is just one of those irregular happenings that can't be explained. I saw Mr. Zzyx on several public occasions, and I was terribly impressed. He answered in every detail the fairest description that could ever be given of some strange creature from another planet. Recalling my first impressions of him, as an ape-man from the jungles of Mars, I feel, even now, as if I might have been imagining all that I've just told you, and that Mr. Zzyx, the rocket and the radio messages after all, did originate on Mars."
"In other words, the Martian mystery is still a mystery," McGinity said, "and will continue to be so until the origin and identity of Mr. Zzyx are established."
"And that's going to be rather difficult, I'm afraid," murmured Mrs. LaRauche.
And, then, the unexpected happened. The door-bell jangled loudly, and in an incredibly short time, the manservant, whom I had engaged the night before, entered the room, and politely announced a visitor who wouldn't give his name.
"I can't imagine what this means," said Mrs. LaRauche, "but I hope it's nothing unpleasant. So, whoever he is, send him in," she concluded, with an impressive gesture of command to the manservant.
XXXI
The visitor turned out to be a stout, middle-aged Italian, rather furtive-looking; a stranger to me, but evidently not unfamiliar to Chief of Police Meigs, who moved towards him the moment he entered the room.