ons offered by Mr. Crawford's revelations; and I, for
one, think such benefit of immense importance."

"That will do," said Mr. Goodrich, whose troubled face had cleared at my
suggestion. "You are quite right, Mr. Burroughs. And the `surveillance'
will be a mere empty formality. For a man who has confessed as Mr.
Crawford has done, is not going to run away from the consequences of his
confession."

"I am not," said Mr. Crawford. "And I am grateful for this respite from
unpleasant publicity. I will take my punishment when it comes, but I
feel with Mr. Burroughs that more progress can be made if what I have
told you is not at once generally known."

"Where now does suspicion point?"

It was Mr. Randolph who spoke. His legal mind had already gone ahead
of the present occasion, and was applying the new facts to the old
theories.

"To Gregory Hall," said the district attorney.

"Wait," said I. "If Mr. Crawford left the bag and the newspaper in the
office, we have no evidence whatever that Mr. Hall came out on that late
train."

"Nor did he need to," said Mr. Goodrich, who was thinking rapidly. "He
might have come on an earlier train, or, for that matter, not by train
at all. He may have come out from town in a motor car."

This was possible; but it did not seem to me probable. A motor car was
a conspicuous way for a man to come out from New York and return, if he
wished to keep his visit secret. Still, he could have left the car at
some distance from the house, and walked the rest of the way.

"Did Mr. Hall know that a revolver was kept in Mr. Crawford's desk
drawer?" I asked.

"He did," replied Philip Crawford. "He was present when I took my pistol
over to Joseph."

"Then," said Mr. Goodrich, "the case looks to me very serious against
Mr. Hall. We have proved his motive, his opportunity, and his
method, or, rather, means, of committing the crime. Add to this
his unwillingness to tell where he was on Tuesday night, and I see
sufficient justification for issuing a warrant for his arrest."

"I don't know," said Philip Crawford, "whether such immediate measures
are advisable. I don't want to influence you, Mr. Goodrich, but suppose
we see Mr. Hall, and question him a little. Then, if it seems to you
best, arrest him."

"That is a good suggestion, Mr. Crawford," said the district attorney.
"We can have a sort of court of inquiry by ourselves, and perhaps Mr.
Hall will, by his own words, justify or relieve our su