for her hand, would have been of great benefit to her?"

"Miss Temple could have no hand in such an affair. It is preposterous!"
I cried angrily.

"I do not imply that she could, or would." The Inspector was
irritatingly calm. "I merely asked you if such an event or events would
not have been to her benefit?"

"I suppose they would," I answered, sulkily, "if you put it that way."

"Did not Miss Temple ask you to assist her in preventing this marriage,
Mr. Morgan, the night before the tragedy, and did you not promise to
help her in every way in your power?"

"This is absurd," I cried, now thoroughly angry. "You will be accusing
me of murdering Mr. Ashton next."

"So long as we have not done so, Mr. Morgan, you need not accuse
yourself. We only know, so far, that the jewel for which Mr. Ashton was
murdered has been found in your possession."

The significant way in which he uttered these words thrilled me with a
vague sense of alarm. There upon the table, before Sergeant McQuade, lay
Miss Temple's telegram. It was open, and I felt sure he had already read
it. My mind seemed confused--my brain on fire. The Inspector turned to
McQuade. "Sergeant," he said, "you have the handkerchief in question
with you, I believe?"

McQuade nodded, then drew from his pocket a leather wallet, and,
extracting the folded handkerchief from its recesses, spread it
carefully upon the table. He then produced a magnifying glass from one
of his pockets and requested me to examine the surface of the bit of
cambric and lace. I did so, and observed that it was covered with minute
particles of some green substances, some very small, others of
considerable size. I did not at first realize what they were.

"Do you see anything?" asked the Inspector.

"Yes," I replied. "The handkerchief is full of fine green specks, but I
cannot imagine what they are."

"They are bits of soap, Mr. Morgan," said the detective, as he folded up
the handkerchief and replaced it in his wallet.

"Soap," I cried, more than ever mystified.

"Exactly!" The Inspector looked at me keenly. "Has it not occurred to
you, Mr. Morgan, that in order to place the jewel inside the cake of
soap, it was first necessary to cut it in two, and hollow out a space in
the interior? Is it not also quite evident that anyone so hiding the
jewel would perform this operation very carefully, so as to leave behind
no traces, and that the bits of soap removed from the interior of the
cake mu