“That was clever of you, Edward,” he said. “And merciful. The inaction was driving the child frantic. Now you have given her something to do and made her feel that she has actually helped already.” Lady Kean’s eyes stole to her husband’s face. To her, his tact and consideration had always been unfailing, but it had never been his way to show much kindness to others and she had often been half amused, half exasperated, by the cold courtesy with which he had treated even her closest friends. She felt very grateful to him now for his gentleness to Cynthia. “As a matter of fact,” he said slowly, “it wasn’t all eyewash. She can be quite useful and it will keep her out of mischief. She’s got a head on her shoulders and plenty of grit. Leslie’s a lucky man.” “I only hope his luck won’t fail him now,” put in his wife. “Don’t you worry, my dear,” Kean assured her. “We’ll pull him through, all right. You needn’t lose any sleep over him!” His hand was on hers and Fayre, after a glance at them, slipped out of the room and settled himself by the fire in his bedroom. For one thing, he wanted to think; for another, he possessed tact enough to leave these two to their own devices till the time came for Kean to catch the London train. With a smile at his own childishness, he fell back on the time-honoured method of all detectives of fiction and set to work with a pencil and paper to get his thoughts in order. According to Gregg, Mrs. Draycott had been shot some two hours before Leslie discovered her body in the sitting-room at the farm. Going on this assumption Fayre headed his paper: “_March 23rd. Between six and seven, Mrs. Draycott shot._” When he had finished, half an hour later, his notes ran as follows: “_John Leslie. According to his own account at six o’clock was walking across the fields in the direction of Besley. Motive: apparently none. Have only his own explanation of his movements and of the empty chamber in his revolver._” “_Tramp seen by juryman outside Whitbury: May have no connection with the person whose footsteps were found by the police outside the sitting-room window at Leslie’s farm. Some one undoubtedly slept in the barn on the day of the murder and this man was passing through Whitbury at four o’clock. This would get him to the farm before six. Motive: Robbery? May have been scared away by Leslie or the police._” “_Cynthia Bell. Was at Galston Manor by six. Note: See lodge-keeper at Galston for corroboration. Motive: None, unless she and Leslie are keeping back Leslie’s possible connection with Mrs. Draycott in the past. This is unlikely, as Mrs. Draycott herself stated that she had never met Leslie._” Fayre sat back in his chair and contemplated his handiwork. He did not seem to have got very far. Then he picked up his pencil again. “May as well go through the lot of them,” he muttered, out of patience with his own futility.