es, of course you do!"

"Then might not Mr. Bellingham have left the house while you were coming
up the stairs?"

"No, he couldn't have done."

"Why not?"

"Because it would have been impossible."

"But why would it have been impossible?"

"Because he couldn't have done it."

"I suggest that Mr. Bellingham left the house quietly while you were on
the stairs?"

"No, he didn't."

"How do you know he did not?"

"I am quite sure he didn't."

"What makes you feel sure he did not?"

"I am quite certain he didn't."

"But how can you be certain?"

"Because I should have seen him if he had."

"But I mean when you were on the stairs."

"He was in the study when I was on the stairs."

"How do you know he was in the study?"

"Because I showed him in there and he hadn't come out."

Mr. Loram paused and took a deep breath, and his lordship flattened his
eyelids.

"Is there a side gate to the premises?" the barrister resumed wearily.

"Yes. It opens into a narrow lane at the side of the house."

"And there is a French window in the study, is there not?"

"Yes; it opens on to the small grass plot opposite the side gate."

"Were the window and the gate locked, or would it have been possible for
Mr. Bellingham to let himself out into the lane?"

"The window and the gate both have catches on the inside. He could have
got out that way, but, of course, he didn't."

"Why not?"

"Well, no gentleman would go creeping out by the back way like a thief."

"Did you look to see if the French window was shut and fastened after
you missed Mr. Bellingham?"

"I looked at it when we shut the house up for the night. It was then
shut and fastened on the inside."

"And the side gate?"

"That was shut and latched. You have to slam the gate to make the latch
fasten, so no one could have gone out of that gate without being heard."

Here the examination-in-chief ended, and Mr. Loram sat down with an
audible sigh of relief. Miss Dobbs was about to step down from the
witness-box when Mr. Heath rose to cross-examine.

"Did you see Mr. Bellingham in a good light?" he asked.

"Pretty good. It was dark outside, but the hall-lamp was alight."

"Kindly look at this"--here a small object was passed across to the
witness. "It is a trinket that Mr. Bellingham is stated to have carried
suspended from his watch-guard. Can you remember if he was wearing it in
that manner when he came to the house?"

"No, he was not."

"You a