"Thank God!" said the man on the terrace. "Will you come up, sir? I thought it was the gamekeeper I was speaking to." "What is the matter?" asked Stafford as he vaulted over the parapet. "Mr. Crotin has shot himself, sir," said the butler in quavering tones. * * * * * Twelve hours later Stafford King reported to his chief, giving the details of the overnight tragedy. "Poor fellow!" said Sir Stanley. "I was afraid of it ending that way." "Did you know he was being blackmailed?" asked Stafford. Sir Stanley nodded. "We had a report, which apparently emanated from Jack o' Judgment, who of late has started sending his communications to me direct," said Sir Stanley. "You can, of course, do nothing with Pinto. Your evidence isn't sufficient. What a pity you hadn't a second witness." He thought for a moment. "Even then it wouldn't have been sufficient unless we had Crotin to support you." Stafford cleared his throat. "I have a second witness, sir," he said. "The devil you have!" Sir Stanley raised his eyebrows. "Who was your second witness?" "Jack o' Judgment," said Stafford, and Sir Stanley jumped to his feet. "Jack o' Judgment!" he repeated. "What do you mean?" "Jack o' Judgment was there," said Stafford, and told the story of the remarkable appearance of that mysterious figure. He told everything, reserving the identification of Jack till the last. "And then you flashed the lamp on his face," said Sir Stanley. "Well, who was it?" "Maisie White," said Stafford. "Good Lord!" Sir Stanley walked to the window and stood looking out, his hands thrust into his pockets. Presently he turned. "There's a bigger mystery here than I suspected," he said. "Have you asked Miss White for an explanation?" Stafford shook his head. "I thought it best to report the matter to you, sir, before I asked her to----" "To incriminate herself, eh? Well, perhaps you did wisely, perhaps you did not. I should imagine that her explanation is a very simple one." "What do you mean, sir?" "I mean," said Sir Stanley, "that unless Jack o' Judgment has the gift of appearing in two places at once, she is not Jack." "But I don't understand, sir?" "I mean," said Sir Stanley, "that Jack o' Judgment was in the colonel's room last night, was in fact sitting by the colonel's bedside when that gentleman awoke, and according to the statement which Colonel Boundary has made to me about two hours ago in this room, warned him of his approaching end." It was Stafford's turn to be astonished. "Are you sure, sir?" he asked incredulously.