'Here?'

'Somewhere in the grounds. I sent her and the servant out for a walk,
and told them not to return till luncheon time, as the constable and I
had something to do, and did not wish to be interrupted.'

The man ran his hand through his long tangled beard.

'I should like to be trimmed up a bit before I see Sophia,' he said.

'I can do that for you, my lord,' cried the constable.

'My lord?' echoed the man. 'Oh, yes, I understand. You are a
policeman, are you not?'

'Yes, my lord, chief constable.'

'Then I shall give myself up to you. I killed the butler.'

'Oh, impossible, my lord!'

'No, it isn't. The beast, as I called him, was getting old, and one
morning he forgot to close the door behind him. I followed him
stealthily out, and at the head of the stair planted my foot in the
small of his back, which sent him headlong. There was an infernal
crash. I did not mean to kill the brute, but merely to escape, and
just as I was about to run down the stairway, I was appalled to see my
father looking like--looking like--well, I won't attempt to say what
he looked like; but all my old fear of him returned. As he strode
towards me, along the corridor, I was in such terror that I jumped
through the secret door and slammed it shut.'

'Where is the secret door?' I asked.

'The secret door is that fireplace. The whole fireplace moves inward
if you push aside the carved ornament at the left-hand corner.'

'Is it a dummy fireplace, then?'

'No, you may build a fire in it, and the smoke will escape up the
chimney. But I killed the butler, constable, though not intending it,
I swear.'

And now the constable shone forth like the real rough diamond he was.

'My lord, we'll say nothing about that. Legally you didn't do it. You
see, there's been an inquest on the butler and the jury brought in the
verdict, "Death by accident, through stumbling from the top of the
stair." You can't go behind a coroner's inquest, my lord.'

'Indeed,' said his lordship, with the first laugh in which he had
indulged for many a year. 'I don't want to go behind anything,
constable, I've been behind that accursed chimney too long to wish any
further imprisonment.'

7. _The Liberation of Wyoming Ed_

A man should present the whole truth to his doctor, his lawyer, or his
detective. If a doctor is to cure, he must be given the full
confidence of the patient; if a lawyer is to win a case he needs to
know what tells against his cli