conveyed his effect by
one striking note. The rest of the picture was quite subsidiary to the
bold splurge of color evoked by actually naming the man he suspected of
murdering Adelaide Melhuish.

CHAPTER III

THE GATHERING CLOUDS

Thus, it befell that Grant was not worried by officialdom until long
after his housekeeper and her daughter had recovered from the shock of
learning that they were, in a sense, connected at first hand with a
ghastly and sensational crime.

Like Bates and their employer, neither Mrs. Bates nor Minnie had heard or
seen anything overnight which suggested that a woman was being foully
done to death in the grounds attached to the house. As it happened,
Minnie's bedroom, as well as that occupied by her parents, overlooked the
lawn and river. Grant's room lay in a gable which commanded, the
entrance. He had chosen it purposely because it faced the rising sun. The
other members of the household, therefore, though in bed, had quite as
good an opportunity as he, working in the dining-room beneath, of having
their attention drawn to sounds disturbing the peace of the night in a
quiet and secluded spot. Moreover, none of them was asleep. Minnie Bates,
in particular, said that the "grandfather's clock" in the hall struck
twelve before she "could close an eye."

At last, just as Grant was rising from an almost untasted luncheon, Mrs.
Bates, with a voice of scare, announced "the polis," and P.C. Robinson
introduced Superintendent Fowler. This time Grant did not resent
questions. He expected them, and had made up his mind to give full and
detailed answers. Of course, the finding of the body was again described
minutely. The superintendent, a man of experience, one whose manner was
not fox-like and irritating like his subordinate's, paid close attention
to the face at the window.

"There seems to be little room for doubt that Miss Melhuish did enter
your grounds about a quarter to eleven last night," he said thoughtfully.
"You recognized her at once, you say?"

"I imagined so. Until this horrible thing became known I had persuaded
myself that the vision was a piece of sheer hallucination."

"Let us assume that the lady actually came here, and looked in.
Evidently, her face was sufficiently familiar that you should know
instantly who this unusual visitor was. I understand, though, that you
had not the least notion she was staying in Steynholme?"

"Not the least."

"How long ago is it since