he gun and silencer which Nita herself had
stolen from Hugo. I couldn't tell him that you are convinced that
Lydia's alibi for him is a genuine one, for apparently Lydia hasn't told
either Flora or Tracey that she was able to furnish Sprague an alibi.

"And that's all, except that Peter asked me to convey to you his
apologies for his rudeness Monday afternoon.... Penelope Crain."

With a deep sigh Dundee laid Penny's report aside.

"And that does seem to be all, 'my dear Watson'," he told the parrot.
"Exactly half a dozen possible suspects, and not an atom of actual
evidence against one of them--except that Judge Marshall owned the gun.
Six--count 'em: Judge Marshall, John Drake, Flora Miles, Clive Hammond,
Polly Beale, Janet Raymond.... Every single one of them a possible
victim of blackmail, since the girls all attended the Forsyte School,
where Nita directed the Easter play for two years, and since the men
make several trips a year to New York.... Six people, all of whom
probably knew of the existence of the secret shelf.... Six people who
knew Nita was in her bedroom, either from having seen her go or from
hearing her powder box tinkling its damnable tune!... Yes, Penny! You're
right! That's all--so far as Hamilton is concerned! If Sanderson won't
let me go to New York--which is where this damned business started--I'll
resign and go on my own, without wasting another day here!"

But Dundee did not go to New York the next morning. He was far too busy
in Hamilton....

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"Hello, Penny!" Dundee greeted the district attorney's private secretary
Thursday morning at five minutes after nine. "Any news from Sanderson?"

"Yes," Penny Crain answered listlessly. "A night letter. He says his
mother is still very low and that we're to wire him at the Good
Samaritan Hospital in Chicago if anything turns up."

"Then I suppose I can reach him there by long distance," and Dundee
lifted the telephone from Penny's desk to put in the call.

"What's happened?" Penny demanded, her brown eyes wide and startled.

"And hurry it up, will you, please?" Dundee urged the long distance
operator before hanging up the receiver and answering Penny's question.
"That's just the trouble--nothing's happened, and nothing is very likely
to happen here. I'm determined to go to New York and work on this pesky
case from that end--"

"Then you've come around to Captain Strawn's theory that it was a New
York gunman?" Penny