"We will proceed on the questions and answers system," said Arkel, precisely, "and thrash out the matter in that way. You were in the library on that night?" "Yes, I saw all was right in the house at twelve o' clock, and I slept on in my chair from that hour until three." "Good, Then between twelve and three the body must have been stolen. You are a light sleeper, I heard you say, major?" "Well, yes," returned Jen, with a thought upon the rapping of Isabella upon the window. "It does not take much to waken me." "You would have heard Jaggard call out, I suppose?" "Certainly. The bedroom is no great distance from the library, and the door of the latter was open. But then Jaggard didn't cry out!" "Precisely," said Arkel, laying his forefinger on Jen's chest with an air of triumph. "He did not cry out. Had he been asleep and woke up in time to see the robbers get in by the window, he would have called out at once for assistance." "True enough," rejoined the major, struck by this sensible deduction. "Still, he might not have heard them forcing the window." "I doubt that, I doubt that. Jaggard, like yourself, is an old campaigner, and no doubt an alert sleeper; that is," explained Arkel, "he would wake up at the least sound." "Yes, I think he would. But what does all this tend to?" "Simply to a theory I have in my head. Jaggard was drugged, sir." "But the wound at the back of the head which stunned him?" "There you have it," cried Arkel, with a nod. "The wound at the back of the head was caused by his falling like a log when he was drugged." "H'm! This is all building on sand," said Jen, doubtfully. "Even to drug him, these men must have entered by the window." "No. Do you not remember when we examined the window that it was opened from the inside?" "Egad, you are right. Then you think that someone must have been concealed in the room, and sprung out from hiding to drug Jaggard." "No," said Arkel again, "no one was concealed in the room." "Confound it, man, you don't mean to say that Jaggard opened the window?" cried Jen, starting from his seat with some show of temper. "Ay, but I do, major. Jaggard helped to steal the body of Mr. Alymer. He opened the window to admit his accomplices. When they fulfilled their task and got the body out of the room they turned on Jaggard and betrayed him. That is, they drugged him and knocked him down." "I don't agree with you at all, Arkel. Jaggard is perfectly honest and was as devoted to Maurice as he is to me. Besides, even granting the possibility of such a thing, which I do not in the least, why should Jaggard's accomplices betray him?" "I can't say," returned Arkel, shrugging his shoulders. "They may have been bribed to steal the body, and on accomplishing their task did not want to share the bribe with Jaggard." "Rubbish!" said Jen, tartly. "They must have known that he would betray them when he recovered his senses!"