n of your saying at the inquest that there was no
jealousy between you, at the time of his death, as regards Mrs.
Saumarez?"

"Just so! There couldn't be any jealousy, could there, after what we'd
heard?"

"You believed this, then?"

"We couldn't do anything else! The man whom Mrs. Mallett employed is a
thoroughly dependable man. There's not the slightest doubt that Mrs.
Saumarez secretly met Mallett and spent most of the afternoon with him,
under the circumstances I mentioned, on three separate occasions."

"And that's the reason of Mrs. Mallett's sudden flight--if you call it
so; is it, doctor?" asked Hawthwaite, who had been listening intently.

"That's the reason--yes," replied Wellesley.

"What's she going to do?" inquired Hawthwaite. "Divorce?"

"She said something about a legal separation," answered Wellesley. "I
suppose it will come to the other thing."

"And how do you think this is related to Wallingford's murder?" asked
Hawthwaite with sudden directness. "Let's be plain, doctor--do you
suspect Mallett?"

Wellesley showed signs of indecision.

"I don't like to say that I do," he replied at last. "And yet, I don't
know. I've rather wondered if there'd been any meeting between Mallett
and Wallingford after Wallingford knew about this: I believe they did
meet, on business, during the day. Now, to tell you the truth,
Wallingford was much more--shall we say upset?--about this affair than I
was: he was very much gone on Mrs. Saumarez. It's struck me that he may
have threatened Mallett with exposure; and exposure, of course, would
mean a great deal to a man in Mallett's position--a bank-manager, and
Town Trustee, and so on. And----But I really don't know what to think."

"There's a thing I'd like to know," said Brent. "What do you think about
the woman in the case? You've had chances of knowing her."

Wellesley gave his questioner a searching look.

"I would rather not say, Mr. Brent," he replied. "Discoveries of this
sort, substantiated, are--well, disconcerting. Besides, they tend to a
revision of opinion; they're sidelights--unfortunate ones."

"Look here," said Brent, "were you greatly surprised?"

"Well, looking back," responded Wellesley thoughtfully, "perhaps not
greatly. I think she's a bit of a mystery."

Brent turned to Hawthwaite. Hawthwaite, however, looked at the doctor.

"Well, doctor," he said, "I think you've done right to tell this.
There's something in the suggestion that there m