"He wasn't going to draw attention to it. By trying it on you it might pass without notice being drawn to it, and he talked about the size just to put everybody off. But surely it must mean that the man who shot at you held the pistol in his _left_ hand." "So we've got to look for a left-handed man," said Loraine thoughtfully. "Yes, and I'll tell you another thing. That was what Battle was doing looking through the golf clubs. He was looking for a left-handed man's." "By Jove," said Jimmy suddenly. "What is it?" "Well, I don't suppose there's anything in it, but it's rather curious." He retailed the conversation at tea the day before. "So Sir Oswald Coote is ambidextrous?" said Bundle. "Yes. And I remember now on that night at Chimneys--you know, the night Gerry Wade died--I was watching the bridge and thinking idly how awkwardly someone was dealing--and then realizing that it was because they were dealing with the left hand. Of course, it must have been Sir Oswald." They all three looked at each other. Loraine shook her head. "A man like Sir Oswald Coote! It's impossible. What could he have to gain by it?" "It seems absurd," said Jimmy. "And yet--" "No. 7 has his own ways of working," quoted Bundle softly. "Supposing this is the way Sir Oswald has really made his fortune?" "But why stage all that comedy at the Abbey when he'd had the formula at his own works." "There might be ways of explaining that," said Loraine. "The same line of argument you used about Mr. O'Rourke. Suspicion had to be diverted from him and placed in another quarter." Bundle nodded eagerly. "It all fits in. Suspicion is to fall on Bauer and the Countess. Who on earth would ever dream of suspecting Sir Oswald Coote?" "I wonder if Battle does," said Jimmy slowly. Some chord of memory vibrated in Bundle's mind. _Superintendent Battle plucking an ivy leaf off the millionaire's coat._ Had Battle suspected all the time? CHAPTER XXIX SINGULAR BEHAVIOUR OF GEORGE LOMAX "Mr. Lomax is here, my lord." Lord Caterham started violently, for, absorbed in the intricacies of what not to do with the left wrist, he had not heard the butler approach over the soft turf. He looked at Tredwell more in sorrow than in anger. "I told you at breakfast, Tredwell, that I should be particularly engaged this morning." "Yes, my lord, but--" "Go and tell Mr. Lomax that you have made a mistake, that I am out in the village, that I am laid up with the gout, or, if all else fails, that I am dead." "Mr. Lomax, my lord, has already caught sight of your lordship when driving up the drive." Lord Caterham sighed deeply. "He would. Very well, Tredwell, I am coming." In a manner highly characteristic, Lord Caterham was always most genial when his feelings were in reality the reverse. He greeted George now with a heartiness quite unparalleled.