ed.

"Me?" said his visitor with an innocent air, and yet with a twinkle for
an instant in his eye. "I am a mere stranger to the place, and if you
and Mr. Rattar and the police are baffled, what can I suggest?"

Ned seemed for a moment a trifle disconcerted. Then he said:

"That's so, of course, Mr. Carrington. But since we happen to be talking
about it--well, I guess I'm quite curious to know if any ideas have just
happened to occur to you."

"Well," said the other, "between ourselves, Mr. Cromarty, and speaking
quite confidentially, one idea has struck me very forcibly."

"What's that?" asked Ned eagerly.

"Simply this, that though it _might_ be conceivable to think of somebody
or other, the difficulty that stares me in the face is--motive!"

Ned's face fell.

"Well, that's what has struck all of us."

"Sir Reginald was a popular landlord, I hear."

"The most popular in the county."

"This isn't Ireland," continued Carrington. "Tenants don't lay out their
landlords on principle, and in this particular instance they would
simply stand to lose by his death. Then take his tradesmen and his agent
and so on, they all stand to lose too. An illicit love affair and a
vengeful swain might be a conceivable theory, if his character gave
colour to it; but there's not a hint of that, and some rumour would
have got about for certain if that had been the case."

"You may dismiss that," said Ned emphatically.

"Then there you are--what's the motive?"

"If one could think of a possible man, one could probably think of a
possible motive."

On Carrington's face a curious look appeared for an instant.

"I only wish one could," he murmured.

A gong sounded and Ned rose.

"That means tea," said he. "I always have it in my sister's room. Come
up."

They went up the stone stair and turned into Miss Cromarty's boudoir. On
her, Mr. Carrington produced a favourable impression that was evident at
once. At all times she liked good-looking and agreeable gentlemen, and
lately she had been suffering from a dearth of them. She had been
suffering also from her brother's pig-headed refusal to reconsider his
decision not to buy a car; and finally from the lack of some one to
sympathise with her in this matter. In the opulent-looking and
sportingly attired Mr. Carrington she quickly perceived a kindred
spirit, and having a tongue that was not easily intimidated even by the
formidable looking laird, she launched into her grievance.