of L50 each."

CHAPTER XXVII

TWO BLACKGUARDS

"Tell me what you think of it," said the man in the corner, seeing that
Polly remained silent and puzzled.

"Well," she replied dubiously, "I suppose that the so-called Armand de
la Tremouille's story was true in substance. That he did not perish on
the _Argentina_, but drifted home, and blackmailed his former wife."

"Doesn't it strike you that there are at least two very strong points
against that theory?" he asked, making two gigantic knots in his piece
of string.

"Two?"

"Yes. In the first place, if the blackmailer was the 'Comte de la
Tremouille' returned to life, why should he have been content to take
L10,000 from a lady who was his lawful wife, and who could keep him in
luxury for the rest of his natural life upon her large fortune, which
was close upon a quarter of a million? The real Comte de la Tremouille,
remember, had never found it difficult to get money out of his wife
during their brief married life, whatever Mr. Morton's subsequent
experience in the same direction might have been. And, secondly, why
should he have typewritten his letters to his wife?"

"Because--"

"That was a point which, to my mind, the police never made the most of.
Now, my experience in criminal cases has invariably been that when a
typewritten letter figures in one, that letter is a forgery. It is not
very difficult to imitate a signature, but it is a jolly sight more
difficult to imitate a handwriting throughout an entire letter."

"Then, do you think--"

"I think, if you will allow me," he interrupted excitedly, "that we will
go through the points--the sensible, tangible points of the case.
Firstly: Mr. Morton disappears with L10,000 in his pocket for four
entire days; at the end of that time he is discovered loosely tied to an
arm-chair, and a wool shawl round his mouth. Secondly: A man named
Skinner is accused of the outrage. Mr. Morton, although he himself is
able, mind you, to furnish the best defence possible for Skinner, by
denying his identity with the man who assaulted him, refuses to
prosecute. Why?"

"He did not wish to drag his wife's name into the case."

"He must have known that the Crown would take up the case. Then, again,
how is it no one saw him in the company of the swarthy foreigner he
described?"

"Two witnesses did see Mr. Morton in company with Skinner," argued
Polly.

"Yes, at 9.20 in West Street; that would give Edward Skinner ti