she wishes to secure it after her death to a young man
whom she likes, and who has known how to win her good graces. That
afternoon the nephew begs, entreats for more money; they have a row; the
poor woman is in tears, and is only temporarily consoled by a pleasant
visit at the theatre.

"At 2 o'clock in the morning young Greenhill parts from her. Two minutes
later the nephew knocks at the door. He comes with a plausible tale of
having missed his last train, and asks for a 'shake down' somewhere in
the house. The good-natured woman suggests a sofa in one of the studios,
and then quietly prepares to go to bed. The rest is very simple and
elementary. The nephew sneaks into his aunt's room, finds her standing
in her nightgown; he demands money with threats of violence; terrified,
she staggers, knocks her head against the gas bracket, and falls on the
floor stunned, while the nephew seeks for her keys and takes possession
of the L800. You will admit that the subsequent _mise en scene_--is
worthy of a genius.

"No struggle, not the usual hideous accessories round a crime. Only the
open windows, the bitter north-easterly gale, and the heavily falling
snow--two silent accomplices, as silent as the dead.

"After that the murderer, with perfect presence of mind, busies himself
in the house, doing the work which will ensure that Mrs. Owen shall not
be missed, at any rate, for some time. He dusts and tidies; some few
hours later he even slips on his aunt's skirt and bodice, wraps his
head in a shawl, and boldly allows those neighbours who are astir to see
what they believe to be Mrs. Owen. Then he goes back to her room,
resumes his normal appearance and quietly leaves the house."

"He may have been seen."

"He undoubtedly _was_ seen by two or three people, but no one thought
anything of seeing a man leave the house at that hour. It was very cold,
the snow was falling thickly, and as he wore a muffler round the lower
part of his face, those who saw him would not undertake to know him
again."

"That man was never seen nor heard of again?" Polly asked.

"He has disappeared off the face of the earth. The police are searching
for him, and perhaps some day they will find him--then society will be
rid of one of the most ingenious men of the age."

CHAPTER XXXVI

THE END

He had paused, absorbed in meditation. The young girl also was silent.
Some memory too vague as yet to take a definite form was persistently
hauntin