“I have none,” said the young man hopelessly. “I shall have to turn over the matter in my own mind, and then shall let you know.” Mr. Sorley carefully locked up the peacock in the cupboard and shrugged his shoulders. “I have thought over the problem for years, and I am no nearer the solution than ever I was. But if you solve it, you shall marry my niece.” “With such a prize in view I cannot fail,” said Fuller hopefully. All the same the outlook regarding the reading of the riddle was very doubtful. CHAPTER IX ANOTHER TRAIL Alan Fuller left The Monastery in a very perplexed state of mind, as may be guessed, for the revelations, made by Mr. Sorley startled him considerably. On the hints given by Miss Grison he had suspected that the man knew something about the Rotherhithe crime, and now the production of the golden peacock seemed to endorse his suspicions. According to Jotty—who could not have manufactured such a story—the deceased had been in possession of the ornament shortly before his death. Miss Grison also had stated that the same had been given by her to the man, although she admitted having stolen it from the great house. How then did it pass into Mr. Sorley’s hands unless that gentleman had committed the crime? Certainly his explanation, or rather his belief, that Miss Grison had restored the peacock to the cupboard when she paid her unexpected visit appeared to be feasible, but before Fuller could entirely believe this, it was necessary that Sorley’s suggestion should be supported by the woman’s acknowledgment. And it must be mentioned as a point in the man’s favor that he did not say positively Miss Grison had brought back the ornament on that occasion, but only gave out the idea to account for his own production of the article. “And,” considered Alan, while plodding homeward, “Sorley is not aware that it is known to Moon, Jotty, Dick, and me that the crime on the face of it was committed for the sake of the peacock. Had he known as much, he might have accounted for its coming into his possession by saying that Miss Grison had brought it back. But since he is ignorant, I don’t see the use of his making such an excuse. He could easily have said that the ornament had been mislaid, and that he had found it by chance. Or indeed that Miss Grison had hidden the thing when she stole it in some room, without troubling to remove it from the place. Sorley’s explanation certainly seems to point to his complete innocence.”