It was not until we were in the library, with the doors closed, and the full blaze of a gas-burner turned on, that I took from my pocket the weapon, and handed it to my companion. Both of us bent curiously forward to examine it. "This," said the detective, in a surprised and somewhat agitated tone, "is a surgical instrument. You see, it is quite unlike a common knife. It corroborates one of my conclusions. I told you the blow was dealt by a practiced hand--it has been dealt by one skilled in anatomy. There's another link in my chain. I hope I shall have patience until I shall have forged it together about the guilty." "There is no longer any doubt about the dead-letter referring to the murder. You see the instrument is broken," I remarked. "No doubt, indeed," and Mr. Burton went to a drawer of a secretary standing in the room, and took out the little piece of steel which had been found in Henry Moreland's body. "You see it is the very fragment. I obtained this important bit of evidence, and laid it away, after others had given up all efforts to make it available. How fortunate that I preserved it! So, the wedding is to take place within three months, is it? Richard, we must not rest now. A great deal can be done in three months, and I would give all the gold I have in bank to clear this matter up before that marriage takes place. Should _that_ once be consummated before we are satisfied with our investigations, I shall drop them for ever. A doctor--a doctor"--he continued, musingly--"I knew the fellow had half-studied some profession--he was a surgeon--yes! By George!" he exclaimed, presently, leaping from his chair as if he had been shot, and walking rapidly across the room and back. I knew he was very much excited, for it was the first time I had heard him use any expression like the above. I waited for him to tell me what had flashed into his mind so suddenly. "The fellow who married Leesy's cousin, and ran away from her, was a doctor--Miss Sullivan has told me that. Richard, I begin to see light!--day is breaking!" I hardly knew whether his speech was figurative or literal, as day was really breaking upon us two men, plotting there in the night, as if we were the criminals instead of their relentless pursuers. "Three months! There will be time, Richard!" and Mr. Burton actually flung his arms about me, in a burst of exultation. CHAPTER III. THE CONFESSION.