hooded cobra snakes, that I want to get. Singa Phut is still
in town."

"Does that answer all your questions, Colonel?" inquired Dr. Warren.
"I'll tell you all I can, in reason, but if--"

"Thank you! You've told me all I cared to know. I have some theories
I want to work on, and I'm not sure how they'll turn out."

"I s'pose you think Darcy didn't do this job," cut in Carroll, rather
sneeringly.

"I'm positive he didn't, sir!" and the colonel drew himself up and
looked uncompromisingly at the headquarters detective. "If I thought
he had done it, I would not be associated with his case."

"You're going to have a sweet job proving he didn't do it," laughed the
officer.

"Maybe," assented the colonel unruffled.

"Who else could have croaked her?" pursued Carroll. "Here he goes and
has a quarrel with the old lady just before he goes to bed. He's sore
at her because he thinks she's keeping back part of his coin. Then
he's sore because she made some cracks about his girl--that's enough to
get any man riled. I don't blame Darcy for going off his nut. But he
shouldn't have croaked the old lady. He done it all right, and we got
the goods on him! You'll see!"

"Well, it's your business, of course--yours and that of the
prosecutor--to prove him guilty," said the colonel. "And you can't
quarrel with me if I try to prove him innocent."

"Sure not, Colonel. Every man's got to earn his bread and butter
somehow. Only I hate to see you kid yourself along believing this guy
didn't do the job. He done it, I tell you!"

"Maybe," half assented the colonel. "Thank you, Dr. Warren. We shall
meet again," and, with a military salute, the colonel went out of
police headquarters. As he descended the steps he silently mused:

"I wonder what Carroll and Thong would say if they knew about the
diamond cross, and heard that Spotty Morgan had it? I guess they would
change some of their theories then. Which reminds me that I have more
irons in the fire than I suspected. I must not lose sight of Cynthia.
She will be getting anxious about her diamonds, and I would like to see
what she says when she hears the truth."

Though Colonel Ashley had given up all hopes of having a use for his
beloved fishing rods and flies, at least on this trip to Colchester, he
did not give up his perusal of Walton's book.

It was one evening while sitting in his room at the hotel, idly turning
over the pages, hardly able to concentrate hi