"I telephoned to his housekeeper in the name of a local grocer and asked if it would be Sir Jasper who had ordered some marmalade, as an assistant could not remember the gentleman's name. That grocer, I suspect, got into trouble, as the housekeeper seemed to expect him to know that Sir Jasper disliked marmalade." "Well, you seem to have got the thing pretty well figured out," remarked Sir John Dene grimly. "Another man's life and liberty were at stake," was the calm reply, "otherwise----" he shrugged his shoulders. "As Sir Jasper did not come forward I wrote to him yesterday giving him until noon to-day to make a statement," continued Malcolm Sage, "otherwise I should have to take steps to save the man condemned." Then after a short pause he continued: "In Sir Jasper Chambers you have an illustration of the smallness of a great mind. He has devoted his vast wealth to philanthropy; yet he was willing to allow another man to be hanged for his crime." "And this, I take it," said Sir John Dene, "is his reply," and he handed a letter across to Malcolm Sage. "Read it out," he said. Malcolm Sage glanced swiftly through the pages and then read:-- My Dear Dene,---- By the time you receive this letter I shall be dead. I have just received a letter from Mr. Malcolm Sage, which shows him to be a man of remarkable perception, and possessed of powers of analysis and deduction that I venture to think must be unique. All he says is correct, but for one detail. I left the laboratory in the first instance with the deliberate intention of returning, although I did not realise the significance of the manuscript until after I had tampered with the fastenings of the doors. Had my servants found that my bed had not been slept in, suspicion might have attached itself to me. I therefore returned to remedy this, and I left a note to say that I had gone out early for a long walk, a thing I frequently do. In his experiments McMurray had succeeded beyond his wildest imaginings, and I foresaw the horrors that must inevitably follow such a discovery as his. I had to choose between myself and the welfare of the race, and I chose the race. I did not come forward to save the man condemned for the crime, as I regarded my life of more value to the community than his. Will you thank Mr. Sage for the very gentle and humane way in which he has written calling upon me to see that justice be not outraged. I am sending this letter by hand. My body will be found in my study. I have used morphia as a means of satisfying justice. Very sincerely yours, Jasper Chambers. "It was strange I should have made that mistake about the reason for his leaving the laboratory," said Malcolm Sage meditatively. "I made two mistakes, one I corrected; but the other was unpardonable." And he knocked the ashes from his pipe on to the copper tray before him with the air of a man who is far from satisfied.