Superintendent Battle opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to think better of it. Jimmy Thesiger looked at him curiously. He would have given a lot to know just what was in Superintendent Battle's mind. "Must have been a champion runner," was all the Scotland Yard man contented himself with saying. "How do you mean, Battle?" "Just what I say, Mr. Lomax. I was round the corner of the terrace myself not fifty seconds after the shot was fired. And for a man to run all that distance towards me and get round the corner of the path before I appeared round the side of the house--well, as I say, he must have been a champion runner." "I am at a loss to understand you, Battle. You have some idea of your own which I have not yet--er--grasped. You say the man did not go across the lawn and now you hint--What exactly do you hint? That the man did not go down the path? Then in your opinion--er--where _did_ he go?" For answer, Superintendent Battle jerked an eloquent thumb upwards. "Eh?" said George. The Superintendent jerked harder than ever. George raised his head and looked at the ceiling. "Up there," said Battle. "Up the ivy again." "Nonsense, Superintendent. What you are suggesting is impossible." "Not at all impossible, sir. He'd done it once. He could do it twice." "I don't mean impossible in that sense. But if the man wanted to escape, he'd never bolt back into the house." "Safest place for him, Mr. Lomax." "But Mr. O'Rourke's door was still locked on the inside when we came to him." "And how did you get to him? Through Sir Stanley's room. That's the way our man went. Lady Eileen tells me she saw the door knob of Mr. O'Rourke's door move. That was when our friend was up there the first time. I suspect the key was under Mr. O'Rourke's pillow. But his exit is clear enough the second time--through the communicating door and through Sir Stanley's room, which, of course, was empty. Like everyone else, Sir Stanley is rushing downstairs to the library. Our man's got a clear course." "And where did he go then?" Superintendent Battle shrugged his burly shoulders and became evasive. "Plenty of ways open. Into an empty room on the other side of the house and down the ivy again--out through a side door--or, just possibly, if it was an inside job, he--well, stayed in the house." George looked at him in shocked surprise. "Really, Battle, I should--I should feel it very deeply if one of my servants--er--I have the most perfect reliance on them--it would distress me very much to have to suspect--" "Nobody's asking you to suspect anyone, Mr. Lomax. I'm just putting all the possibilities before you. The servants may be all right--probably are." "You have disturbed me," said George. "You have disturbed me greatly." His eyes appeared more protuberant than ever. To distract him, Jimmy poked delicately at a curious blackened object on the table. "What's this?" he asked.