"It will be still more so before it's done. I found out from Lydia Fenny that Miss Sarschine discovered her lover was about to elope with Lady Balscombe, so went to his chambers to prevent it She arrived too late, as Lord Calliston had gone down to Shoreham by the ten minutes past nine train from London Bridge Station. Instead of Lord Calliston she found Mr. Desmond, his cousin, and I suppose he told her she was too late, for there was a row royal, and she left the chambers at twelve o'clock or thereabouts. Desmond followed shortly afterwards, and that was the last seen of her alive, as far as I know." "Why? Didn't Miss Sarschine return home when she discovered Calliston had gone off with Lady Balscombe?" "I can't tell you, sir; nor what took her to Jermyn Street, unless she got lost in the fog, or there was another man in the case." "Eh? Nonsense! what other man could there have been?" "Well," said Dowker slowly, "there was Mr. Desmond." "Pshaw!" said Ellersby, springing to his feet. "What rubbish! I've known Myles Desmond all my life, and he's not the fellow to commit such a crime!" "Yet I understand before you found the body you met Mr. Desmond coming up St. James's Street?" Spencer Ellersby swung round in a rage. "Confound you!" he said in an angry tone, "do you want me to give evidence implicating my friend?" Dowker did not lose his temper. "No; but I want to know what took place between you on that night." "Simply nothing. He was in a hurry, and seemed annoyed at my stopping him, but that was only natural on such a beastly night. I asked him to call on me here, and also asked where Calliston was; he told me yachting and then he went off. Nothing more took place." "Humph!" said Dowker thoughtfully. "It was curious he should have been there at the time." "I don't see it at all. If you ask him, I've no doubt he'll give you a good account of himself. Besides, he had no motive in murdering Miss Sarschine--he is in love with Miss Penfold." "I don't say he deliberately murdered her," said Dowker quietly, "but there might have been an accident. You see this?" taking the Malay kriss out of his pocket and unwraping the papers. "Yes--a dagger. Is that the----" said Ellersby, recoiling.