nt moment?'

'That means you are not sure.'

'It may mean, Mr. Dacre, that I am employed by Mr. Gibbes, and do not
feel at liberty to disclose the results of my quest without his
permission.'

'But Mr. Bentham Gibbes and I are entirely at one in this matter.
Perhaps you are aware that I am the only person with whom he has
discussed the case beside yourself.'

'That is undoubtedly true, Mr. Dacre; still, you see the difficulty of
my position.'

'Yes, I do, and so shall press you no further. But I also have been
studying the problem in a purely amateurish way, of course. You will
perhaps express no disinclination to learn whether or not my
deductions agree with yours.'

'None in the least. I should be very glad to know the conclusion at
which you have arrived. May I ask if you suspect any one in
particular?'

'Yes, I do.'

'Will you name him?'

'No; I shall copy the admirable reticence you yourself have shown. And
now let us attack this mystery in a sane and businesslike manner. You
have already examined the room. Well, here is a rough sketch of it.
There is the table; in this corner stood the chair on which the coat
was flung. Here sat Gibbes at the head of the table. Those on the
left-hand side had their backs to the chair. I, being on the centre to
the right, saw the chair, the coat, and the notes, and called
attention to them. Now our first duty is to find a motive. If it were
a murder, our motive might be hatred, revenge, robbery--what you like.
As it is simply the stealing of money, the man must have been either a
born thief or else some hitherto innocent person pressed to the crime
by great necessity. Do you agree with me, Monsieur Valmont?'

'Perfectly. You follow exactly the line of my own reasoning.'

'Very well. It is unlikely that a born thief was one of Mr. Gibbes's
guests. Therefore we are reduced to look for a man under the spur of
necessity; a man who has no money of his own but who must raise a
certain amount, let us say, by a certain date. If we can find such a
man in that company, do you not agree with me that he is likely to be
the thief?'

'Yes, I do.'

'Then let us start our process of elimination. Out goes Viscount
Stern, a lucky individual with twenty thousand acres of land, and God
only knows what income. I mark off the name of Lord Templemere, one of
His Majesty's judges, entirely above suspicion. Next, Sir John
Sanclere; he also is rich, but Vincent Innis is still richer, so t