“Yes, sir,” Sapcote answered. “He took a lot of pleasure in the beasts. Some of them are in cages out behind the cottage.” He reflected for a moment, then added: “Somebody'll have to look after the poor beasts, now he's gone. Would there be any objection to my taking them away, sir? They'll have to be fed.” Sir Clinton, to whom the question was obviously addressed, gave permission at once. “We mustn't let the beasts starve. You'll have to take the cages too, of course?” “Yes, sir. I can put them in my backyard at home.” The constable paused for a moment, then, a little shamefacedly, he added: “Peter was a good friend to me; and I wouldn't like to see his pets fall into anybody's hands that might be cruel to them or neglect them. He was real fond of them.” Wendover's eye fell upon a small white paper bag on one of the dresser shelves. He stepped across, opened the parcel, sniffed for a moment, and then handed the thing to Sir Clinton. “Here's where the perfume comes from, Clinton—a bag of pear-drops, just as the constable said. He must have been eating some just before he died.” The chief constable looked at the crumbled paper. “Not much chance of getting any fingerprints on _that_, even if we wanted them. You'd better hand the bag over to the inspector. We may as well get them analysed. Poison's always a possibility—— Ah, inspector, you haven't been long over that.” Inspector Armadale emerged from the bedroom and stolidly made his report. “Nothing that I can see on the body, sir, except the marks we noted already. No wounds of any sort, no bruises—nothing suspicious whatever. It almost looks like a mare's nest, except for these four marks.” Sir Clinton nodded as though he had received confirmation of some very doubtful hypothesis. He moved across the room and seemed to become engrossed in a study of the squirrel's antics. In a few moments he turned to the constable. “You knew Peter Hay well, constable. I want some notions about his habits and so forth. What did he do with himself all day?” The constable scratched his ear, as though to stimulate his memory by the action.