"I am
curious to know, Lady Constance, what you were doing in the house at
that time. I do not for one moment suspect that you shot these men;
indeed, I have plenty of evidence that the shots were fired from some
other place than the area."

"Suppose I say," she countered, "that I was giving a party that night,
that I did not leave my house."

"If you said that," he interrupted, "you would be contradicting
something you have already said; namely, that you did leave the house, a
journey in the middle of the night as far as I can gather, and evidently
one which was of considerable moment."

She looked past him out of the window, her face set, her brows knit in a
thoughtful frown.

"I can tell you a lot of things that possibly you do not know," she
said, turning to him suddenly. "I can explain my return to Great Bradley
very simply. There is a friend of mine, or rather a friend of my
friend," she corrected herself, "who has recently returned from West
Africa. I received news that he had gone to Great Bradley to carry a
message from some one who was very dear to me."

There was a little tremor in her voice, and, perfect actress as she
might be, thought T. B., there was little doubt that here she was
speaking the truth.

"It was necessary for me that I should not miss this visitor," said Lady
Constance, quietly, "though I do not wish to make capital out of that
happening."

"I must again interrupt you," said T. B. easily. "The person you are
referring to was Dr. Thomas Goldworthy, who has recently returned from
an expedition organized by the London School of Tropical Medicine, in
Congoland; but your story does not quite tally with the known fact that
Dr. Goldworthy arrived in Great Bradley the night before your party, and
you interviewed him then. He brought with him a wooden box which he had
collected at the Custom House store at the East India Docks. An attempt
was made by two burglars to obtain possession of that box and its
contents, a fact that interested me considerably, since a friend of mine
is engaged upon that somewhat mysterious case of attempted burglary. But
that is confusing the issue. These are the facts." He tapped the table
slowly as he enumerated them. "Dr. Goldworthy brought this box to Great
Bradley, telegraphed to you that he was coming, and you interviewed him.
It was subsequent to the interview that you returned to London for your
party. Really, Lady Constance, your memory is rather bad."

S