hone on, as I wouldn't care to leave you
by yourself now even for a moment. It's a wonder that none of the
servants heard the noise."

"They're all out, Jim."

"That's lucky in one way," I said. "Now, Moira, I want you to understand
that the safety of us both depends on how far you back me up. We can't
touch your uncle until the police come; there'd be trouble if we did.
I'm going to ring up now, and in the meantime you'd better find some of
your uncle's cartridges."

"Why, Jim?"

"I'll tell you when I come back," I said. "Just do as I tell you. There
should be some in the drawer of that table. Be careful how you get them
out; you don't want to have to touch anything more than you can help.
I'll leave the door open so I can see you from the 'phone. You won't be
frightened?"

She shook her head, but her white face told me as plainly as so many
words that the sooner I came back the better. Accordingly I wasted no
further time, but turned on the hall light and took up the
telephone-book. For a wonder I had no difficulty in getting connected
with either the doctor or the police, and, once I had made my meaning
plain, I hung up and returned to Moira.

"The police'll be here in ten minutes at the outside," I said. "I've got
just that time to make you word-perfect. You've got the cartridges?
Thanks. I only want one. Now listen. Your story's thin, it's so thin
that there's many a detective wouldn't believe it; but I'm not going to
give them a chance. I'm going to rig up things so that they'll look
right. What happened is this:--You and I were out in the next room,
reading if you like, when we heard a shot. We rushed in and found your
uncle just as he is now. We've no idea who shot him, and neither you nor
I fired a shot. When we find your uncle's revolver in the drawer with
its seven chambers undischarged we're going to be just as much at sea as
anybody else."

"But I did fire a shot," she objected. "How can you get away from that?"

"Easy. First of all I take out the discharged cylinder. Then I clean out
the gun. I mustn't forget to clean it out, because if I do and people
examine it, they'll see that it's been discharged, and they'll begin to
suspect. We mustn't leave the least ground for suspicion. Now, there's
the gun ready loaded in all its chambers and as clean as the day it came
out of the shop. Back it goes into the drawer, and it stays there until
the police find it. You understand just what you've to do now?