LITMIR.BIZ

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he said he would wait for him in the study and write some letters; so I showed him into the study and shut the door."

      "What happened next?"

      "Nothing. Then Mr. Hurst came home at his usual time—a quarter to six—and let himself in with his key. He went straight through into the study, where I supposed Mr. Bellingham still was, so I took no notice, but laid the table for two. At six o'clock Mr. Hurst came into the dining-room—he has tea in the City and dines at six—and when he saw the table laid for two he asked the reason. I said I thought Mr. Bellingham was staying to dinner.

      "'Mr. Bellingham!' says he. 'I didn't know he was here. Why didn't you tell me?' he says. 'I thought he was with you, sir,' I said. 'I showed him into the study,' I said. 'Well, he wasn't there when I came in,' he said, 'and he isn't there now,' he said. 'Perhaps he has gone to wait in the drawing-room,' he said. So we went and looked in the drawing-room, but he wasn't there. Then Mr. Hurst said he thought Mr. Bellingham must have got tired of waiting and gone away; but I told him I was quite sure he hadn't, because I had been watching all the time. Then he asked me if Mr. Bellingham was alone or whether his daughter was with him, and I said that it wasn't that Mr. Bellingham at all, but Mr. John Bellingham, and then he was more surprised than ever. I said we had better search the house to make sure whether he was there or not, and Mr. Hurst said he would come with me; so we went all over the house and looked in all the rooms, but there was not a sign of Mr. Bellingham in any of them. Then Mr. Hurst got very nervous and upset, and when he had just snatched a little dinner he ran off to catch the six-thirty train up to town."

      "You say that Mr. Bellingham could not have left the house because you were watching all the time. Where were you while you were watching?"

      "I was in the kitchen. I could see the front gate from the kitchen window."

      "You say that you laid the table for two. Where did you lay it?"

      "In the dining-room, of course."

      "Could you see the front gate from the dining-room?"

      "No, but I could see the study door. The study is opposite the dining-room."

      "Do you have to come upstairs to get from the kitchen to the dining-room?"

      "Yes, of course you do!"

      "Then might not Mr. Bellingham have left the house while you were coming up the stairs?"

      "No, he couldn't have done."

      "Why not?"

      "Because it would have been impossible."

      "But why would it have been impossible?"

      "Because he couldn't have done it."

      "I suggest that Mr. Bellingham left the house quietly while you were on the stairs?"

      "No, he didn't."

      "How do you know he did not?"

      "I am quite sure he didn't."

      "What makes you feel sure he did not?"

      "I am quite certain he didn't."

      "But how can you be certain?"

      "Because I should have seen him if he had."

      "But I mean when you were on the stairs."

      "He was in the study when I was on the stairs."

      "How do you know he was in the study?"

      "Because I showed him in there and he hadn't come out."

      Mr. Loram paused and took a deep breath, and his lordship flattened his eyelids.

      "Is there a side gate to the premises?" the barrister resumed wearily.

      "Yes. It opens into a narrow lane at the side of the house."

      "And there is a French window in the study, is there not?"

      "Yes; it opens on to the small grass plot opposite the side gate."

      "Were the window and the gate locked, or would it have been possible for Mr. Bellingham to let himself out into the lane?"

      "The window and the gate both have catches on the inside. He could have got out that way, but, of course, he didn't."

      "Why not?"

      "Well, no gentleman would go creeping out by the back way like a thief."

      "Did you look to see if the French window was shut and fastened after you missed Mr. Bellingham?"

      "I looked at it when we shut the house up for the night. It was then shut and fastened on the inside."

      "And the side gate?"

      "That was shut and latched. You have to slam the gate to make the latch fasten, so no one could have gone out of that gate without being heard."

      Here the examination-in-chief ended, and Mr. Loram sat down with an audible sigh of relief. Miss Dobbs was about to step down from the witness-box when Mr. Heath rose to cross-examine.

      "Did you see Mr. Bellingham in a good light?" he asked.

      "Pretty good. It was dark outside, but the hall-lamp was alight."

      "Kindly look at this"—here a small object was passed across to the witness. "It is a trinket that Mr. Bellingham is stated to have carried suspended from his watch-guard. Can you remember if he was wearing it in that manner when he came to the house?"

      "No, he was not."

      "You are sure of that?"

      "Quite sure."

      "Thank you. And now I want to ask you about the search that you have mentioned. You say that you went all over the house. Did you go into the study?"

      "No—at least, not until Mr. Hurst had gone to London."

      "When you did go in, was the window fastened?"

      "Yes."

      "Could it have been fastened from the outside?"

      "No; there is no handle outside."

      "What furniture is there in the study?"

      "There is a writing-table, a revolving-chair, two easy chairs, two large bookcases, and a wardrobe that Mr. Hurst keeps his overcoats and hats in."

      "Does the wardrobe lock?"

      "Yes."

      "Was it locked when you went in?"

      "I'm sure I don't know. I don't go about trying the cupboards and drawers."

      "What furniture is there in the drawing-room?"

      "A cabinet, six or seven chairs, a Chesterfield sofa, a piano, a silver-table, and one or two occasional tables."

      "Is the piano a grand or an upright."

      "It is an upright grand."

      "In what position is it placed?"

      "It stands across a corner near the window."

      "Is there sufficient room behind it for a man to conceal himself?"

      Miss Dobbs was amused and did not dissemble. "Oh, yes," she sniggered, "there's plenty of room for a man to hide behind it."

      "When you searched the drawing-room, did you look behind the piano?"

      "No, I didn't!" Miss Dobbs replied scornfully.

      "Did you look under the sofa?"

      "Certainly not!"

      "What did you do, then?"

      "We opened the door and looked into the room. We were not looking for a cat or a monkey; we were looking for a middle-aged gentleman."

      "And am I to take it that your search over the rest of the house was conducted in a similar manner?"

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