r Dupont's eyes were fixed on an unframed photograph of Christine
Manderson, which stood on a small cabinet in front of him.

"Please compound a felony," he said softly--and slipped it into his
pocket.

"Where are you to be found?" the inspector asked.

"At the Hotel Savoy." He yawned. "I am very sleepy," he complained. "If
you will finish with Mr. Tranter as soon as possible, he will take me
back in his car."

He turned to the door.

"Stay," said the inspector.

He stopped.

"You have not lost your old fantastic kink," said the inspector, with a
faint smile. "The last time we ran together you were five minutes ahead
of me at the finish. This time--we will see who is the first to pass the
post."

"My friend," said Monsieur Dupont, "I will do my best to give you a good
race."

He passed out of the room. The inspector followed him to the door, and
called for Mr. Tranter.

CHAPTER VII

TRANTER

"Mr. Tranter," said the inspector, "I understand that you were the last
person to see Miss Manderson alive."

"I believe I was," Tranter replied.

The inspector sat down again at the table, and re-opened his note-book.

"Will you kindly tell me exactly what happened from the time you went
out into the garden after dinner, and the time you left Miss Manderson?"

"We strolled away from the house together, in the direction of the
river. The events of the evening seemed to have upset her very much, and
she was nervous of the storm. We walked about, I should think, for
nearly half an hour, until the lightning became very vivid----"

"Did you see or hear any one in that part of the garden?" the inspector
interrupted.

"No. Most of the others went to the lawns, in the opposite direction.
When the lightning became very vivid, Miss Manderson said she would
return to the house, and asked me to go down to the lawns to find Mr.
Copplestone, and send him in to her. She was obviously unwell."

"You will be able to show me the place where you left her?"

"I think so. It was very dark--but I remember that we had just passed
under a number of rose-arches across the path."

"It was, I presume, further away from the house than the spot where the
body was found?"

"The body was found close to the river, about half-way between the house
and the place where I left her," Tranter replied.

"So we may surmise that she had got about half-way to the house before
the attack was made. How far would that actually be?"

"A