nt to be treated with levity.

"Tell us now what you saw, Mr. Trenholme," he said.

"When the shot was fired, I recognized it as coming from a
high-velocity rifle," said the artist. "I was surprised that such a
weapon should be used in an enclosed park of this nature, and looked
toward the house to discover whether or not any heed would be given to
the incident there. From where I was seated I could see the whole of
the south front, but not the east side, where the brass fittings of
the automobile alone were visible, glinting through and slightly above
a yew hedge.

"Now, when Miss Manning returned to the house and entered by way of a
window on the ground floor, I noticed that no other window was open.
But after the report of the gun, I saw the end window of the first
floor on the southeast side slightly raised--say six inches; and some
one in the room was, as I regarded it, gesticulating, or making signs.
That continued nearly half a minute and then ceased. I don't know
whether the person behind the glass was a man or a woman, but some one
was there, and engaged in the way I have described. If your theory is
correct, the motions would be precisely those you suggest, similar to
those of a fisherman reeling in a line."

"Your simile happens to be exact," said Winter. "While Hilton Fenley
and my friend here were having a dust-up in the Quarry Wood I searched
his rooms; and among other things I came upon a salmon reel carrying
an exceptional quantity of line. So our case is fairly complete. I'm
sorry to have to inform you, Mr. Fenley, that not only did your half
brother kill your father, but he tried his level best to put the crime
on your shoulders.

"He overreached himself in sending for Scotland Yard men. We have seen
too much of the seamy side of life to accept as Gospel truth the first
story we hear. The very fact that Hilton Fenley was attacking you in
your absence prejudiced us against him at the outset. There were other
matters, which I need not go into now, which converted our dislike
into active suspicion.

"But it is only fair that you should understand how narrow was your
escape from arrest. Had the local police been in sole charge I am
bound to say you would have passed this night in a cell. Luckily for
you, Mr. Furneaux and I set our faces against the notion of your guilt
from the beginning. Long before we saw you, we were keeping an eye on
the real criminal. When you did appear, your conduct only conf