so sure he was gone and his things with him that she
and Lydia went to town this morning and left Ralph Hammond here to go
through the place as freely as he liked, making his estimates on the job
of finishing up the other half of this floor. And Ralph--but let that
wait for the moment."

"Got any real proof that it was Sprague who stayed here and not the
Hammond boy?" Strawn interrupted shrewdly.

"I'm coming to the proof," Dundee assured him, "or rather, the rest of
the proof that I haven't already given you. You're damned hard to
convince, chief! But let me go on with my theory, which I think covers
the facts.... At luncheon, when Nita received that note from Sprague, I
imagine she got a hunch that he hadn't taken her seriously, that he had
not removed his belongings. You remember Penny Crain said Nita had Lydia
follow her into her bedroom, as soon as Nita got home from the
luncheon?... Well, it's my hunch that Nita asked Lydia if Sprague's
things were gone when she cleaned these rooms this morning, and that
Lydia said no. Nita then probably told Lydia to pack them herself, and I
feel positive that Lydia did so, for she must have felt safe when she
protested to me that Sprague was not Nita's lover. I also feel sure that
Sprague arrived at least half an hour before he said he did, by some
back path across the meadow; that he came up to these rooms that he
considered his, found his things packed, but went about shaving and
changing his shirt and collar, regardless. I also feel sure that Lydia
followed him upstairs to explain and impress upon him that Nita had
meant what she said. And it is quite likely that she was not through
picking up after him when he descended by the back stairs and surprised
Janet Raymond on the front porch. That accounts, of course, for Lydia's
not hearing the kitchen bell the first time Mrs. Dunlap rang."

"Umm," Strawn grunted. "What about the proofs you're holding back?"

"Come along, chief--you, too, Carraway!" Dundee answered, and led the
way into the bathroom. "I felt sure these rooms would yield a very
definite clue, even though Sprague, when he sneaked back tonight to get
his tell-tale bag, apparently made every effort to wipe his fingerprints
off the furniture and bathroom fixtures.... Now, Carraway, if you'll
step upon this little stool and look along the top of this medicine
cabinet, you'll find what I found--and didn't touch."

The fingerprint expert did as he was told. When he s