“At this very time, Mrs. Breese proposed to marry the actor, Thomas. Naturally, Mr. Rice is opposed to any man entering the establishment. It will weaken his power. But not only does Mrs. Breese plan a second marriage, but, with her characteristic dominance, proposes to manage her own affairs. Mr. Rice is in a dilemma. He cannot tell Mrs. Breese that he has tied up all her money in his own ventures. Mrs. Breese becomes obstinate. “An ordinary man would have broken down and confessed. But Rice has the soul of the born adventurer and gambler. Pressed to the wall, he thinks how convenient it would be if Mrs. Breese were out of the way. He knows that she has left a will naming him as executor. He wants none of her money. He has it. All he seeks is to retain his unquestioned control. “So he plans. First, he angles for an invitation to dinner at the American Minister’s. No alibi could be more substantial or impressive. Then he arranges the radio, and takes care to let everyone except Mrs. Breese know that it needs repair, and should not be tampered with. Then he arranges to telephone Mrs. Breese and, ascertaining that she is alone, tells her to tune in on her favorite hobby, companionate marriage. He hangs up. He is safe. Mrs. Breese goes to the radio, turns to sixty as she was instructed and is killed. “Mr. Rice rightly figures that the police will not examine the contents of the radio set. It is an easy matter for him to remove the weapon at the first opportunity. “But all crimes have their complications. Whatever it was that Mr. Rice told Trenholm when he first ordered his diabolical mechanical murderer, there seems to be no question that Trenholm guessed or knew that he was indirectly responsible for the death of Mrs. Breese. “Trenholm is timid. Like most mechanics, he has a hard-grained uprightness in his soul. His conscience troubles him. Although Trenholm made few acquaintances, he did strike up a friendship with one of his own kind, the mechanic Spence, who ran a bicycle shop. In a burst of confidence, Trenholm tells Spence exactly what has occurred. But Spence has no false ideas of morals. He sees it as a golden opportunity to milk Rice. “Behold! We come to the night of the funeral on the yacht. Hitherto, Trenholm has been free from all police surveillance. On that night he is plunged into the melodramatic third-degree to which we subjected all of you. Rice is shrewd enough to see that it is all a plan, a trick. But Trenholm is nervous. Rice determines to get rid of Trenholm. He must, otherwise Trenholm will expose him. So Rice picks Mr. Smith’s pocket, shoots Trenholm and then puts the revolver back in my colleague’s pocket. “Then Rice feels free. At last his crime is covered. He can leave the country. All will be well. Incidentally, some of his ventures have now recovered. He will be able to straighten out the estate. There is not a breath of suspicion.