it she would have had to
pass the spot where she said the man was standing."

Mr. Goodge nodded his head appreciatively.

"The next point was that I discovered it was Lady Glanedale who
suggested to the police inspector that means should be taken to
prevent anyone approaching the water-pipe by which the man was
supposed to have climbed. She was anxious that the footprints should
be preserved.

"Another point was that young Glanedale happened to remark that his
step-mother was much addicted to bridge, and that the stakes were
too high to admit of his joining in. Also that men who have
themselves accumulated their wealth know the value of money. Sir
Roger disliked bridge and probably kept his lady short."

"Most likely," agreed Mr. Goodge. "He has the reputation of being a
bit shrewd in money matters. When did you begin to suspect Lady
Glanedale?"

"From the first," was the reply. "Everything rang false. Lady
Glanedale's story suggested that it had been rehearsed until she had
it by heart," continued Malcolm Sage. "It was too straightforward,
too clearly expressed for the story of a woman who had just lost
eight thousand pounds' worth of jewels. When I put questions to her
she hesitated before replying, as if mentally comparing her intended
answer with what she had already told.

"Then she was so practical in preparing a list of the lost jewels at
once, and in warning her stepson not to go near the spot beneath her
window, as there might be footprints; this at a time when she was
supposed to be in a state of great excitement."

"Did you suspect young Glanedale at all?" queried Mr. Grimwood.

"No," said Malcolm Sage, "but to make quite sure I cast doubt upon
the possibility of anyone climbing the pipe. If he had been
concerned he would not have volunteered to prove I was wrong."

"True," said Mr. Goodge as he examined critically the glowing end of
his cigar. "Lady Glanedale seems to have done the job very clumsily,
now that you have explained everything."

"Even the professional criminal frequently underrates the
intelligence of those whose business it is to frustrate him; but
Lady Glanedale's efforts in marking the water-pipe would not have
deceived a child. A powerful magnifying-glass will show that on all
such exterior pipes there is an accumulation of dust, which would be
removed from a large portion of the surface by anyone climbing
either up or down. Lady Glanedale had thought marks made by a boot
or a