"And who did they make apparently certain you were not? A British officer! That was the natural conclusion when they opened that drawer. No, no, the Rendalls come out of it all right. Then let's take the doctor. He looks at you suspiciously--as well he might." "Before I spoke!" I interjected. "And do you flatter yourself that your appearance, without a cap and in a buttoned-up oilskin on a fine day, was reassuring?" "But the blind?" "Did you never see a blind come down with a run by mistake? There's a blind in my smoking room at home that comes down like that whenever you touch it. There's nothing against the doctor either--so far anyhow." "And his friend O'Brien?" "Ah, that's a different story. Mind you, you have shown me not a shred of evidence against the fellow. Still, what's he doing there? That's a thing I'm going to find out within the next four and twenty hours. But you can't prove that he _did_ anything, and you can't suspect a man of treason just because you don't like his looks. There are possibly prejudiced people who don't like ours." "Wait till you see him." "I shall," said my cousin with an emphasis that hardly seemed to mean what I meant. "As for the Scollay family--nothing against them whatever, except that they live at a lonely spot on the shore, which I should say was rather their misfortune than their fault." "And the old boy on the road, who, Miss Rendall declared, doesn't exist?" "How long did you give her to run over all the inhabitants of the island? Did she look up a list of them, or a rent roll or anything?" "No," I admitted. "Still, she seemed very positive, and she lives in the place and must know everybody. If she fibbed, that's certainly suspicious. If she was correct, then I met some one in disguise." "Well," said he with an indulgent and extremely irritating smile, "I shall enquire about that old gentleman too. But, frankly, I've no doubt whatever that Miss Rendall simply forgot him when you asked her." "All the characters seem cleared except mine," I remarked. "Wait a bit, old chap. Now we'll come to the really suspicious things that you actually did see. First, the man on the shore." "Can't he be explained away?" "Possibly," said Jack imperturbably, "but he needs a good deal more explaining. You admit you became a bit light-headed soon afterwards." "I've thought of that explanation myself, but it won't wash when he or one of his friends went for me on the shore." "Are you dead certain anybody did try to go for you? You admit you saw nobody." "I saw that curved thing--like a scimitar." "But who on earth would be using a scimitar in these islands? And what a futile way to use it--jabbing down at you from overhead!" "The point of it hit the rock hard enough." "You had only the sound to go by." "That's all," I admitted. "And you heard that in the dark." He shook his head, "My dear fellow! I know you are telling me honestly what you _think_ happened, but to be quite frank--"