Chippenfield.

The inspector was so wary about disclosing what was in his mind in regard
to the letter that Rolfe, who disliked his chief very cordially, jumped
to the conclusion that Inspector Chippenfield had no intelligible ideas
concerning it.

"If it was burglars they took nothing as far as we can ascertain up to
the present," said Inspector Chippenfield after a pause.

"They were surprised to find anyone in the house. And after the shot was
fired they immediately bolted for fear the noise would attract
attention."

"What knocks a hole in the burglar theory is the fact that Sir Horace was
fully dressed when he was shot," said the inspector. "Burglars don't
break into a house when there are lights about, especially after having
been led to believe that the house was empty."

"So you think," said Rolfe, "that the window was forced after the murder
with the object of misleading us."

"I haven't said so," replied the inspector. "All I am prepared to say is
that even that was not impossible."

"It was forced from the outside," continued Rolfe. "I've seen the marks
of a jemmy on the window-sill. If it was forced after the murder the
murderer was a cool hand."

"You can take it from me," exclaimed Inspector Chippenfield with
unexpected candour, "that he was a cool hand. We are going to have a bit
of trouble in getting to the bottom of this, Rolfe."

"If anyone can get to the bottom of it, you can," said Rolfe, who
believed with Voltaire that speech was given us in order to enable us to
conceal our thoughts.

Inspector Chippenfield was so astonished at this handsome compliment that
he began to think he had underrated Rolfe's powers of discernment. His
tone of cold official superiority immediately thawed.

"There were two shots fired," he said, "but whether both were fired by
the murderer I don't know yet. One of them may have been fired by Sir
Horace. Just behind you in the wall is the mark of one of the bullets. I
dug it out of the plaster yesterday and here it is." He produced from a
waistcoat pocket a flattened bullet. "The other is inside him at
present." He waved his hand in the direction of the room in which the
corpse lay.

"Of course you cannot say yet whether both bullets are out of the same
revolver?" said Rolfe.

"Can't tell till after the post-mortem," said the inspector. "And then
all we can tell for certain is whether they are of the same pattern. They
might be the same size, and yet be fire