Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-13
By AGATHA CHRISTIE.
Copyright by Dodd. Mead & Co.

''In the silver table in the drawing
room"
WHAT" I exclaimed.
The others looked at me.
| YES, doctor?" said the inspector
encouragingly
It's nothing"
| Yes. DOCTOR" said the inspector
again, still more encouragingly.
ITS so trivial / explained apollo
getically. only that when I arrived
| last night for dinner ] heard the lid
| Of the silver table being shut down in
| the drawing ROOM.
| / saw profound skepticism and a
trace of suspicion on the Inspector
countenance.
How did you know 1t was the
silver table lid?"
| I was forced to explain in detail
| long, tedious explanation which
would infinitely rather not have had
to make.
The inspector heard me to the end.
WAS the dagger in its place when
YOU were looking over the contents?"
he asked.
II don't know" l said. ST can't
say / remember noticing it-but, of
course, it may have been there all the
time
Wed better get hold of the house
keeper remarked the inspector, and
pulled the bell.
A few minutes later Miss Russell,
summoned by Parker, entered the
room.
II don't think / went near the silver
table she said. when the inspector
had posed his question II was look
ing to see that all the flowers were
fresh. Oh. yes, l remember now.
The silver table was open-which it
had no business to be. and | shut the
lid down as / passed"
She looked at him aggressvely.
Il see," said the inspector. Can
you tell me If this dagger was In its
place them"
Miss Russell looked at the weapon
composedly.s
Il can't say, I'm sure" she replied.
II didn't stop to look. ] knew the
and / wanted to get away"
Thank YOU" saSA the inspector.
There was just Il tt&ea of hesitation
in his manner, as though he would
have liked to question her further.
but Miss Russell clearly accepted the
words as a dismissal, and glided from
the room.
Rather a Tartar, should fancy,
eh?" said the inspector, looking after
her. LET me see. This silver table
is In front of one of the windows. /
think you said, doctor?"
Raymond answered for me.
Yes, the left-hand window
And the window was open?"
They were both ajar."
"Well, don't think we need go into
the question much further. Some
body-I'll just say somebody-could
ho+ Ia $sya,a
exactly when he got it doesn't matter
in the least. III be coming up in the
morning with the chief constable, Mr..
Raymond. Until then, I'll keep the
key of that door. / want Col. Melrose
to see everything exactly as 1t is.
happen to know that he's dining out
the other side of the county, and,
believe. staying the night. /. -
We watched the inspector take up
the jar.
II shall have to pack this care
fully" he observed. ITS going to be
an important piece of evidence in
more ways than one"
A few minutes later as / came out
of the billiard room with Raymond,
the latter gave a low chuckle of
amusement.
/ felt the pressure of his hand on
my arm, and followed the direction of
his eyes. Inspector Davis seemed to
be inviting Parker's opinion of a
small pocket diary.
IA little obvious" murmured my
companion. $50 Parker is the sus-
pect, is he? Shall we oblige Inspector
Davis with a set of our fingerprints
also?'
Heat took two cards from the card
tray, wiped them with his silk hand
kerchief then h9 ufjed one tn me and
took the other himself. Then, with
a grin, he handed them to the police
inspector.
Souvenirs" he said. No. 1, DR..
Sheppard; No. 2. my humble self. One
from Maj. Blunt will be forthcoming
in the morning."
Youth is very buoyant. Even the
brutal murder of his friend and en-
ployer could not dim Godfrey Ray
mond's spirits for ;ong. Perhaps that
is as it should be. I do not know.
I have lost the quality of residence
long since myself.
and / hoped that Caroline would
have gone to bed. / might have
known better.
She had hot cocoa waiting for me,
and whilst / drank 1t she extracted
the whole history of the evening from
me. / said nothing of the blackmail-
ing business, but contented myself
with giving her the facts of the muir
der.
1.-THE police suspect Parker said,
as | rose to my feet andaprepared to
ascend to bed. There seems a fairly
clear case against him.
Continued in Tomorrow's Starr