The old butler busied himself at the sideboard as Colwyn remained seated at the table sipping his wine. His movements were so deliberate as to convey a suspicion that he was in no hurry to leave the room, and the glances he shot at Colwyn whenever he moved out of the range of his vision carried with them the additional suggestion that the detective was the unconscious cause of his slowness. More than once, after these backward glances, he opened his lips as though to speak, but did not do so. It was Colwyn who broke the silence. "Tufnell!" he said. "Yes, sir?" The butler deposited a dish on the sideboard and stepped quickly to the detective's chair. "I want to ask you a question or two. It was you who found the back door of the left wing unlocked on the night of the murder, was it not?" The butler gravely bowed, but did not speak. "What made you try the door? Did you suspect that it was unlocked?" "No; it was just chance that caused me to turn the handle. I'm so used to locking up the house at nights that I did it without thinking. I certainly never expected to find it unlocked, and the key in the inside of the door. That was quite a surprise to me. I have often wondered since who could have unlocked it and left the key in the door." "You told me last time I was here that this door is usually locked and the key kept in the housekeeper's apartments. I suppose there is no doubt about that?" "Not the least, sir. The key is hanging there now with a lot of others. Nobody ever thinks of using the door. That is why I was so astonished to find it open that night." "If the key was hanging with a number of others it might have been taken some time before and not be missed?" "That's just it, sir. It might not have been missed by now if I had not discovered it that night." "What time was it when you found it?" "Shortly before six o'clock--getting dusk, but not dark." "You are quite sure you locked the door after finding it open?" "There can be no doubt of that, sir. The lock was stiff to turn, and I tried the handle of the door to make sure that I had locked it properly." "Did you return the key to the housekeeper's apartments immediately?" "I intended to return it after dinner, but I forgot all about it in the excitement and confusion. It was still in my pocket when I informed Mr. Musard about it." "Here is another question, Tufnell, and I want you to think well before answering it. Do you think it would have been possible for anybody to enter the house and gain the left wing unobserved while the household was at dinner that night?" "I have asked myself that question several times since, sir--feeling a certain amount of responsibility. It would have been difficult, because the windows of the downstairs bedrooms of the left wing were all locked. There was always the chance of some of the servants seeing anybody crossing the hall on the way to the staircase, unless the--person watched and waited for an opportunity."