s
fixed on his.

"Please, sir----"

"Yes, Ann, go on," prompted the detective encouragingly.

But the woman didn't go on; there crept into her face instead an
obstinate look, her mouth closed tightly, and her hands ceased
twitching.

"I've told you everything, sir," she said quietly.

"You've not told me you found the meter turned on when you got up next
morning," replied the detective sternly.

The woman's fat face turned haggard with anxiety, and then she began to
cry softly with her apron to her eyes.

"Why did you not tell us this, Ann?"

"If you please, sir, I thought that the master mightn't like it if he
knew. He's very particular about having the gas turned off at night, and
he might have thought I had forgotten it."

Colwyn gave her another searching look.

"Even if that were true, Ann, you have no right to keep back anything
that may tend to shield the guilty, or injure the innocent."

"I didn't think it mattered, sir."

"You still say that you heard nothing after you went to bed?"

"No, sir. I fell asleep as soon as I got into bed."

"So you said before, but you did not tell us the whole truth yesterday,
you know, and I do not know whether to believe you now."

"Hush, sir, there's somebody coming down the passage."

Colwyn strolled into the passage and encountered Superintendent Galloway
coming towards the kitchen. He stared at the detective and exclaimed:

"Hello, you're up early."

"Yes; I found it difficult to sleep, so I came downstairs."

"I hope you've not been making love to Ann," said Galloway, who had his
own sense of humour. "I'm looking for this infernal waiter, Charles. He
is never about when he's wanted. Charles! Charles!"

Superintendent Galloway's shouts brought Ann hurrying from the kitchen,
and she explained to him, as she had explained to Colwyn, that Charles
had gone on to the marshes to look for fish.

"Send him to my room as soon as he comes in; I've other fish for him to
fry," grumbled the superintendent. "A queer household this," he said to
Colwyn, as they walked along the passage. "Ah, here is Charles, fish and
all."

The fat waiter was hurrying in with a string of fish in his hand, and he
came towards them in response to Superintendent Galloway's commanding
gesture. The superintendent told him to go out and intercept Constable
Queensmead before he went out with his search party, and bring him to
the inn. Charles nodded an indication that he understood the