"You kept them!" he gasped. "You had the nerve--" Her scornful expression checked him. "Comment is unnecessary," she said. "Take the letters and destroy them." Wallace's uncomprehending stare frightened her. Was his old failing upon him--had he been drinking? For a long minute they regarded each other. Slowly he put out his hand, took the package, and without a glance at them or at her turned and walked away. * * * * * Inspector Mitchell left Charles Craige to enter "Rose Hill" alone. "I'll be in shortly," he exclaimed. "Wait until I get there." And, not waiting to hear even if Craige made an answer, the Inspector headed for the house adjoining the Baird mansion on the east. Craige paused a second to give an order to his chauffeur, then mounted the long steps to the vestibule where Mandy stood awaiting his arrival. "I done see'd yo' comin'," she remarked, closing the door with a bang. "Go right in de lib'ry, Mister Charles. I'll tell Miss Kitty yo' am hyar jes' as soon as my gran'son gets back from the sto'." And Mandy resumed her place in the parlor window from whence she could obtain an unobstructed view up and down Q Street. Craige's heavy footsteps did not cause a man, standing in front of the open Dutch door in the library, to turn around, so fixed was his attention on the view into the garden. Craige paused just over the threshold of the library door. "Why, hello, Ben!" he exclaimed. "I didn't know you were here." With a convulsive start, Ben Potter swung around and Craige recoiled a step or two. The rage stamped on Potter's countenance had distorted it almost beyond recognition. "God bless my soul!" Craige ejaculated. "Ben, what is it?" Potter passed a hand across his face and with an effort regained some semblance of self-control. "Nothing, nothing," he stammered. "Where's Kitty?" "I am sure I don't know." Craige's astonishment increased. "Probably upstairs." Potter brushed past him without a word and disappeared into the hall. Craige advanced farther into the library and paused in indecision. From where he stood he faced the Dutch door, the upper half of which stood open, and thus had an uninterrupted view of the garden. It did not need remarkably keen eyesight to recognize the man and woman standing near the sun-dial. Craige stared at the tableau for fully a minute, then turned thoughtfully away just as Leigh Wallace took the package from Nina Potter. Kitty, awakened from her sleep by Ben Potter's unceremonious entrance into her bedroom, was gazing at her cousin in utter bewilderment. "What are you saying?" she demanded for the second time. "That your revolver was found by Inspector Mitchell on the floor of Ted Rodgers' car," repeated Potter. He made no attempt to modify his angry tones and his voice carried through the open door and across the hall into Ted Rodgers' bedroom.