udice against marrying a woman with any
sort of past."

"I don't think Simpkins would mind," said the Major, "if he thought she
had any money. That's the kind of beast he is."

"She has plenty," said Meldon, "Lorimer's, I daresay. At least she
looks as if she had plenty, and that's the same thing in this case. If
Simpkins marries her, it's extremely unlikely that he'll live long
enough to find out whether she really has a large fortune, or is simply
spending her capital."

After breakfast Major Kent returned to the subject of Miss King.

"I suppose," he said, "that you're absolutely certain that you've got a
hold of the right woman? You couldn't be making any sort of mistake?"

"I told you last night that I was certain, and I gave you my reasons;
pretty convincing ones I imagine--the sort of reasons that would be
conclusive to any man at all accustomed to criminal investigation. I
don't myself see how you can get behind the portrait and the lady's own
confession."

"You couldn't possibly have mistaken about that, could you? I mean she
couldn't have been confessing anything else which you could have taken
up to mean murder?"

"No, she couldn't. In the first place, it isn't at all likely that
there would be two attractive-looking lady criminals, travelling about
in trains at the same time, both wanting to confess what they had done.
In the second place, her crime must have been pretty serious, for she
was particularly anxious to find out whether it was likely to shock
you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. She mentioned you by name, and asked particularly whether
you'd be likely to be shocked, when you found out who she was. Now, if
she had simply been slipping trifling articles off shop counters into
her muff, she wouldn't have expected you to be shocked. That's what
makes me say her crime was a serious one."

"Still," said the Major, "even supposing she really was afraid of
shocking me; though I can't see how she came to consider me at all--"

"She did. You may take that for certain."

"There are other things besides murder that I should strongly
disapprove of."

"You're thinking of divorce court proceedings now. But she's not that
sort of woman at all. I had every opportunity of studying her
character in the train, and I'm certain that she wouldn't mix herself
up with anything of a disreputable kind. Whatever poor Lorimer may
have had to complain of--and I don't in the least deny that he had a
grievan