kly.

"I see," said Mr. Flexen. "What time was it when he left you?"

"I can't rightly say. But it wasn't half-past eleven," she said.

He perceived that that was true. At the moment there was no more to be
learned from her. If she could throw any more light on the doings of
James Hutchings, she was on her guard and would not. But he had learned
that James Hutchings had not entered the Castle by the side door. Had he
entered it and left it by the library window?

He asked Elizabeth a few more unimportant questions and dismissed her.

Inspector Perkins, having sent a groom to inform the coroner of the
murder, and of the need for an early inquest into it, came back to him.
They discussed the matter of James Hutchings, and decided to have him
watched and arrest him on suspicion should he try to leave the
neighbourhood. The inspector telephoned to Low Wycombe for two of his
detectives.

Mr. Flexen questioned the rest of the servants and learned nothing new
from them. By the time he had finished the two detectives from Low
Wycombe arrived, and he sent them out to make inquiries in the village,
though he thought it unlikely that anything was to be learnt there,
unless Hutchings had been talking again.

He had risen and was about to go to the smoking-room to look round it
again, on the chance that something had escaped his eye, when Mrs.
Carruthers, the housekeeper, entered the room. None of the servants had
mentioned her to him, and it had not occurred to him that there would of
course be a housekeeper.

"Good morning, Mr. Flexen. I'm Mrs. Carruthers, the housekeeper," she
said. "You didn't send for me. But I thought I ought to see you, for
I know something which may be important, and I thought you ought to
know it, too."

"Of course. I can't know too much about an affair like this," said Mr.
Flexen quickly.

"Well, there was a woman, or rather I should say a lady, with his
lordship in the smoking-room last night--about eleven o'clock."

"Indeed?" said Mr. Flexen. "Won't you sit down? A lady you say?"

"Yes; she was a lady, though she seemed very angry and excited, and was
talking in a very high voice. I didn't recognize it, so I can't tell you
who it was. You see, I don't belong to the neighbourhood. I've only been
here six weeks."

"And how long did this interview last?" said Mr. Flexen.

"I can't tell you. It was no business of mine. I was making my round last
thing to see that the servants had left nothin