from the back I could see into the writing-room through the open
window. There was nobody in there, so I climbed over the sill, walked to
the bell and rang it, and then sat down to write a letter I had meant to
write the next day. I saw by the clock that it was a little past eleven.
When the waiter answered the bell I asked for a glass of milk and a
postage stamp. Soon afterwards I went up to bed. But I could not sleep.'

Mr Cupples, having nothing more to say, ceased speaking. He looked in
mild surprise at Trent, who now sat silent, supporting his bent head in
his hands.

'He could not sleep,' murmured Trent at last in a hollow tone. 'A
frequent result of over-exertion during the day. Nothing to be alarmed
about.' He was silent again, then looked up with a pale face. 'Cupples,
I am cured. I will never touch a crime-mystery again. The Manderson
affair shall be Philip Trent's last case. His high-blown pride at length
breaks under him.' Trent's smile suddenly returned. 'I could have borne
everything but that last revelation of the impotence of human reason.
Cupples, I have absolutely nothing left to say, except this: you have
beaten me. I drink your health in a spirit of self-abasement. And you
shall pay for the dinner.'

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Trent's Last Case, by
E.C. (Edmund Clerihew) Bentley

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