s health, and she is anxious,
above all things, to remove his mental worry and unrest. The mere fact
that you have undertaken to make further inquiries into the case will do
much to ease his mind."

"I will do what I can. My principal difficulty is to pick up the threads
of the case. It is some time since the murder was committed, and the
attendant circumstances which might have helped me in the beginning no
longer exist. It is like groping for the entrance to a maze which has
been covered over by the growths of time."

"Do you yourself believe it possible that Hazel Rath is innocent?"

"I have come here to investigate the case. The police account for the
girl's possession of Captain Nepcote's revolver, with which Mrs.
Heredith was shot, by the theory that she obtained it from the gun-room
of the moat-house shortly before the murder. There is work for me to do
both here and in London, in clearing up this point. It is so important
that I cannot understand the attitude of Detective Caldew in dismissing
it as a matter of no consequence. If Hazel Rath were convicted with that
question unsettled, she would be condemned on insufficient evidence. It
is for this reason I have taken her interests into my hands. But, apart
from this point, I am bound to say that the case against her strikes me
as a very strong one."

"Yet it is quite certain that Phil Heredith believes her innocent,"
remarked Musard thoughtfully.

"Belief is an intangible thing. In any case, his belief is not shared by
you."

"How do you know that?"

"You would have said so."

"Well, I will go so far as to say that Hazel Rath is a most unlikely
person to commit murder."

"Murder is an unlikely crime. There is no brand of Cain to reveal the
modern murderer. Finger-prints are a surer means of identification. This
unhappy girl may be the victim of one of those combinations of sinister
events which sometimes occur in crime, but I do not intend to form an
opinion about that until I know more about the case. For that reason I
shall be glad if you will give me your account of everything that
happened on the night of the murder. Philip Heredith's story is
incomplete, and I wish to hear all the facts."

Musard nodded, and related the particulars with an attention to detail
which left little to be desired. His version filled in the gaps of
Phil's imperfect narrative, and enabled the detective to visualize the
murder with greater mental distinctness. The two st