fficult to
believe that she searched for it after committing the murder, and then
restored it to the drawer where it was kept. That argues too much
cold-blooded deliberation even in a murderer, and more especially when
the murderer is supposed to be a young girl."

"I am not so sure of that," responded Caldew, with a shake of the head.
"Murder is a cold-blooded crime."

"On the contrary, murders are almost invariably committed under the
influence of the strongest excitement, even when the incentive is gain,
and the murder has been deeply premeditated. That is a remarkable truth
in the psychology of murder. But the important fact about the theft of
the necklace is that even if Hazel Rath knew where the key of the
jewel-case was kept she had not time to obtain it from the drawer on the
other side of the bed, steal the necklace, restore the key to its place,
and escape from the room before the guests from downstairs entered the
bedroom. If Hazel Rath was indeed the murderess, time was of paramount
importance to her. She must have realized that the scream of her victim
would alarm the household downstairs, and that some of the men must have
started upstairs before the subsequent shot was fired."

Caldew was silent for a space, cogitating over these points with a
troubled look which contrasted with his previous confident expressions
of opinion about the case. His inward perturbation was made manifest in
the question:

"Do you also share Mr. Heredith's view that Hazel Rath is innocent?"

"I cannot say. The facts against her are very strong."

"Of course they are strong!" exclaimed Caldew eagerly, as though
clutching this guarded expression of opinion as a buoy for his own
sinking conviction. "They are so strong that it is quite certain she
committed the murder."

Colwyn remained silent. A statement which was merely an expression of
opinion did not call for words.

Caldew, always impressionable, became uneasy under his companion's
silence, and that uneasiness was tinctured in his mind with such a dread
of the possibility of mistake that it flowed forth in impulsive words:

"I wish you would tell me what you really think of the case, Mr. Colwyn.
I have been waiting for years for the chance of handling a big murder
like this, and now that it has come my way I should like to pull it off.
It means a lot to me," he added simply.

Colwyn reflected that he had already given away more information about
the Heredith case th