story which i see interests you very much well count it seems that michael clear was an the silent house actor who bore a strong resemblance to mr save that he had not a on his face at bath was always clean shaven now he wears a long white beard but that is neither here nor there clear had a moustache but when that was shaved off he looked exactly like for purposes of your own which you can easily guess you made the acquaintance of this man a and a and proposed for a certain sum of money to be paid to his wife that he michael clear should nd live in the silent house in square under the name of you knew that clear was slowly dying of consumption and drink so you trusted that he would die as that mrs � who i believe is in the plot � would recognise the corpse by the description in the newspapers and that when clear was buried as she would get the assurance money and you that is clever said the count with a sneer but is it true you know best answered coolly however all turned out as you expected for clear died as � or rather was murdered at your command as he did not die quickly enough � his body was recognised by mrs buried as her husband and she got the assurance money the only thing that remains for your conspiracy to be entirely successful is that mrs should marry you and � as i was told by mr � that has pretty well been arranged the silent house do you think then that would let his daughter marry a man who has done all this said who was now very pale i don t believe knows anything about it replied coldly you and mrs made up this pretty plot between you himself told me how you him from and took him to mrs clear s in where he passed as her husband although as she she kept him as a kind of prisoner but this is wrong cried trying to laugh this is most foolish how would a man of his own will pass as the husband of a woman he knew not a sane man would not but none knew better than you count that was not sane and that you him with and let mrs clear keep him locked up in her house until you put him in the asylum was a in your hands and you locked him up in an asylum a fortnight after the man who him was murdered you intended to marry mrs and keep her wretched husband in that asylum all his life � the best place for a lunatic said ah i cried then you admit that that was mad i admit nothing not even that he is alive if what you say is true said the italian how came it that the murdered man had the on his cheek he might have been like eh but not so much the silent house mrs clear explained that replied quickly you made that count with or some such stuff you don t know for nothing i see i am quite ignorant of said sullenly heard a different story in in i did ask about me there said the count in alarm he did and heard some strange tales count come now it is no use your trying to this matter further can prove that you put into his asylum under the name of clean miss can prove that the so called clear is her father and mrs clear � who has turned queen s evidence � has exposed the whole of your conspiracy the game s up count sprang from his seat and began to walk hastily up and down the room he looked haggard and pale and years older as he recognised his position for he saw very plainly that he was and that nothing remained to him but flight but how to fly he stopped opposite to what do you intend to do he demanded in a hoarse voice have you arrested along with mrs replied making this threat to force into defending himself or mrs is innocent � she knows nothing about this conspiracy as you call it i planned the whole thing myself the silent house you admit then that the so called was really michael clear yes i got him to the man so that i could get the assurance money when i married i chose clear because he was like i made the on the cheek and i thought he would die soon being and you killed him no no i swear i did not kill him did you not take that from no i never did i am telling the truth i do not know who killed clear did you not visit in street yes i was the man saw in the back yard i was waiting for mrs clear to take her to and in the meantime i thought i would climb over the fence and see clear but the girl saw me so i ran away and joined mrs clear up the road i was not aware at the time that the woman who saw me was afterwards i went to with mrs clear to sec did you buy the cloak i that girl in co s told a lie for me i was warned by mrs that you had made questions about the cloak so i went to the girl and told her you were a jealous husband and paid her to say it was not i who bought the cloak she did so quite ignorant of the real reason i wished her to deny knowing me the silent house why did you buy the cloak asked satisfied with this explanation i bought it for he asked me to buy it but what he wanted it for 