‘A little before half-past eleven. I brought him some whisky, and when I was coming out of his room the clock struck the half-hour.’ ‘And he didn’t go out again that night?’ ‘No, he went to bed about twelve. I heard him go up.’ ‘I see. And what was the next occasion he wore those shoes?’ ‘There wasn’t no next occasion. That was the only time he had them on.’ Tanner considered. This seemed to be pretty conclusive, but he was anxious to obtain even stronger evidence. After a moment he went on again. ‘I’m afraid I’m not quite clear about the thing yet. What I want to get at is whether anyone else could have got hold of those shoes and made the tracks I saw at the Abbey.’ ‘If that’s all’s worrying you, you may make your mind easy. Those shoes were in my charge from Monday evening till Mr Ponson put them on on Wednesday after dinner. Then I brought them down to clean before I went to bed that night, and they were there till he took them on Friday. I remarked them particularly because they were new, and if anyone had touched them I would have known. Besides, there was no one about that could do it.’ ‘What state were they in when you cleaned them?’ ‘Muddy—very wet and muddy. I couldn’t think where Mr Austin had been to get them into such a condition.’ ‘One more question, Mr Lewis. You tell me the shoes were not worn except on Wednesday evening. But could someone else not have worn them then? Suppose Mr Austin went out wearing some other pair, and some one else slipped in and got hold of these and made the tracks, and then put back the shoes without your knowing?’ The butler looked at the other with an expression of pitying scorn. ‘Why, Mr Inspector, I’m not altogether a fool. I tell you I saw them on Mr Austin’s feet when he was going out, and I saw them on his feet when he was coming in, so they weren’t in the house for anyone else to take. And what’s more, if that doesn’t convince you, every other pair of Mr Austin’s boots and shoes were in the house that evening. I know because I happened to look over them to see if any wanted mending. So if anyone else had his new shoes he must have been going about himself in his socks.’ It was enough. This placed the affair beyond doubt, or it would if one other point were settled. Tanner rose. ‘I am extremely obliged to you, Mr Lewis, and now I must beg your pardon for having played a little trick on you. I have the shoes. Mr Ponson gave them to me on Friday. Come with me to the hotel and have a drink, and tell me if the shoes I have are the ones you were speaking of, and that’ll be all I’ll ask you.’ That the butler was suspicious there was more in the questions than met the eye was obvious, but he made no remark, and on seeing the shoes, he identified them unhesitatingly as Austin’s. Tanner was pleased with the result of his inquiries. As he summed up the situation it stood as follows: