y considered
it necessary to hide all Mark's clothes; not just the suit, but
everything which he was wearing, or supposed to be wearing, at the time
of the murder. But he hadn't hidden the collar. Why? Had he left it out
by mistake? So I looked in the cupboard. It wasn't there. Had he left it
out on purpose? If so, why?--and where was it? Naturally I began to say
to myself, 'Where have I seen a collar lately? A collar all by itself?'
And I remembered--what, Bill?"

Bill frowned heavily to himself, and shook his head.

"Don't ask me, Tony. I can't--By Jove!" He threw up his head, "In the
basket in the office bedroom!"

"Exactly."

"But is that the one?"

"The one that goes with the rest of the clothes? I don't know. Where
else can it be? But if so, why send the collar quite casually to the
wash in the ordinary way, and take immense trouble to hide everything
else? Why, why, why?"

Bill bit hard at his pipe, but could think of nothing to say.

"Anyhow," said Antony, getting up restlessly, "I'm certain of one thing.
Mark knew on the Monday that Robert was coming here."

CHAPTER XIX. The Inquest

The Coroner, having made a few commonplace remarks as to the terrible
nature of the tragedy which they had come to investigate that afternoon,
proceeded to outline the case to the jury. Witnesses would be called to
identify the deceased as Robert Ablett, the brother of the owner of the
Red House, Mark Ablett. It would be shown that he was something of a
ne'er-do-well, who had spent most of his life in Australia, and that he
had announced, in what might almost be called a threatening letter,
his intention of visiting his brother that afternoon. There would
be evidence of his arrival, of his being shown into the scene of the
tragedy--a room in the Red House, commonly called "the office"--and of
his brother's entrance into that room. The jury would have to form their
own opinion as to what happened there. But whatever happened, happened
almost instantaneously. Within two minutes of Mark Ablett's entrance, as
would be shown in the evidence, a shot was heard, and when--perhaps five
minutes later--the room was forced open, the dead body of Robert Ablett
was found stretched upon the floor. As regards Mark Ablett, nobody had
seen him from the moment of his going into the room, but evidence would
be called to show that he had enough money on him at the time to take
him to any other part of the country, and that a man answ