Lord Darcy spread his hands. "This was, of course, a tissue of lies. But Laird Duncan believed everything. So great was his ego that he could not believe in her infidelity, although he has been paralyzed for five years." "How can you be certain that Lady Duncan told the truth?" Father Bright asked warily. "Aside from the matter of the gown--which Count D'Evreux kept only for women of the common class, _not_ the aristocracy--we have the testimony of the actions of Laird Duncan himself. We come then to-- "_Secondus_: Laird Duncan could not have committed the murder physically. _How could a man who was confined to a wheelchair go up that flight of stairs?_ I submit to you that it would have been physically impossible. "The possibility that he has been pretending all these years, and that he is actually capable of walking, was disproved three hours ago, when he actually injured himself by trying to throttle me. His legs are incapable of carrying him even one step--much less carrying him to the top of that stairway." Lord Darcy folded his hands complacently. "There remains," said Father Bright, "the possibility that Laird Duncan killed Count D'Evreux by psychical, by magical means." Lord Darcy nodded. "That is indeed possible, Reverend Sir, as we both know. But not in this instance. Master Sean assures me, and I am certain that you will concur, that a man killed by sorcery, by black magic, dies of internal malfunction, not of a bullet through the heart. "In effect, the Black Sorcerer induces his enemy to kill himself by psychosomatic means. He dies by what is technically known as psychic induction. Master Sean informs me that the commonest--and crudest--method of doing this is by the so-called 'simalcrum induction' method. That is, by the making of an image--usually, but not necessarily, of wax--and, using the Law of Similarity, inducing death. The Law of Contagion is also used, since the fingernails, hair, spittle, and so on, of the victim are usually incorporated into the image. Am I correct, Father?" The priest nodded. "Yes. And, contrary to the heresies of certain materialists, it is not at all necessary that the victim be informed of the operation--although, admittedly, it can, in certain circumstances, aid the process." "Exactly," said Lord Darcy. "But it is well known that material objects can be moved by a competent sorcerer--'black' or 'white'. Would you explain to my lady the Countess why her brother could not have been killed in that manner?" * * * * *