The Borough Treasurer

on with all the rest of the townsfolk who had contrived to squeeze into the old court-house, had been immensely interested in Br

r table. "And yet-you really looked as if you did-and contrived to throw something very like it into your voice, too! Man, alive!-half

nasty evidence against Harborough, there's also the presumption-founded on words from her own lips-that Miss Pett expects to benefit by this old man's death. She's a strong and wiry woman, and you tell me Kitely was getting somewhat en

er?" demanded Bent. "Tha

believe this murder to be either an exceedingly simple affair, or a very intricate affair. Wait a little-wait

ly beyond me to imagine why her father can't say where he was last night

d an hour to return, and that would account for his whereabouts between nine and ten last night, and between five and six this morning. That wouldn't do-because, according to the evidence, Kitely left his house just before nine o'clock, and he may have been killed immediately. Supposing Harborough killed him at nine o'clock precisely, Harborou

aching expeditions, I

to see this thing right through! The Norcaster Assizes will be on next month, and of course Harborough will be brought up then. I shall stop in this neighbourhood and work out the case-it'll do m

lad, old chap. But what a queer case it is! I'd give some

to have. Do you think it likely that he'd have killed Kitely for thirty pounds? Again-does anybody of sense believe that a man of Harborough's evident ability would have murdered his victim so clumsily as to leave a direct clue behind him? Now turn to another side. Is it not evident that if Miss Pett wanted to murder Kitely she'd excellent chances of not only doing so, but of directing suspicion to another person

to get possession of the bit he had to leave?" asked Ben

h him that she couldn't wait a year or two for his natural decease; I've heard of a case in which an elderly woman poisoned her twin-sister, so that she could inherit her sh

's suspected by the police-Miss Pett's suspected by you. And it may be, and probably

ty is to prove that my client is not guilty. And as you're going to attend to your b

ly. He had said to Bent all that was in his mind about Harborough and about Miss Pett-but he had said nothing, had been determined to say nothing, about a curious thought, an

serve, and he was always giving it a further training and development. He had felt certain as he sat at supper with him, the night before, that Cotherstone had something in his thoughts which was not of his guests, his daughter, or himself. His whole behaviour suggested pre-occupation, occasional abse

's astonishment on hearing Garthwaite's announcement was not feigned, was not a piece of pure acting. Why? He smiled cynically as he answered his own question. The ans

ards of the dead man, until he suddenly checked himself, thrust the lantern into Garthwaite's hands and said that of course he didn't know where the body was! Now might not that really mean, when

m ten minutes to nine o'clock until five minutes to ten. He was clearly excited when he returned: he was more excited when he went with the rest of them up t

'clock. It might be well to find out, quietly, what Mallalieu was doing with himself up to ten o'clock. But the main thing was-what was Cother

r. He had not been up there since the previous evening; it now occurred to him that it would be well to see how the place looked by daylight. There was no difficulty about finding the exact spot, even in tho

es from Norcaster, were inside it, evidently searching the ground with great care. Round and about the fenced-in portion stood townsfolk, young and old, talking, speculating, keenly alive to the goings-on, hoping that the searchers would find something just then, so that they themselves could c

ing why the police should be so foolish as to waste time

As far as we can reckon from the disturbance of these pine needles, the murderer must have sprung on Kitely from behind that clump of gorse-there where it's grown

startled out of his habitu

e they'd had of doing anything systematically. They found the bank-notes which Kitely got at the Bank yesterday evening, and a quantity of

they?" aske

nt has them," answered the detective. "He'd

superintendent's office without delay. That official immediately drew

at-hole in the thatch of Harborough's shed these were, sir-upon my honour, I don't know what to make of it! You'd have thought

did put them there," said Br

visitor to sit by him and then o

ly about old books, antiquarian matters, and so forth-some scraps of newspaper cuttings, of the same nature. And this bit of a memorandum book, that fits

ion, especially to the recent entries. And one of these, made within the last three months, struck him as soon as he looked at it, insignificant as it seemed to be. It was only of one line, and the one line was only of a few initials, an abbreviation or two, a