"I know he did, and Miss Sandoval gives the same explanation for her fainting as he did. Both of them saw the Blue Mummy on Grent's desk, and its connection with his murder came so forcibly to their memories that they fainted. Now, I said before, and I say again that the explanation is feeble and untrue." "But surely you don't think Donna Maria guilty of the crime?" "No; don't jump to conclusions. I think both she and Vass are innocent enough, but I fancy they know something likely to clear up the mystery of the death, if they would but speak." "Torry," cried Darrel earnestly, "I am sure Donna Maria wishes to discover the assassin of her uncle. You heard her say so?" "Oh, yes I heard her say so. Words! words! words Why does she not own up?" "Own up what?" inquired Frank obstinately. "The truth." "She doesn't know it." "She may not know all of it, but she knows half, and Vass knows the other half. If those two would only put their halves together we might arrest this mysterious assassin." "But why should they not speak out?" argued Darrel. "Because they are shielding someone." "Whom?" Torry looked straight at the young man. "Let us say Donna Inez." "You are mad!" "Bah! I am only theoretical," retorted Torry coolly. "Listen. So far as I can see by the imperfect and scattered evidence we have collected, there is a choice of two motives to account for this crime One is that Grent was murdered for the sake of that ten thousand pounds." "But you can't prove that he had the money. Vass says----" "I know what Vass says--that the money was in the safe after Grent went. Well, that seems to dispose of the robbery motive. All the same, I would have you remember that when you met Grent he had on him some valuable which he fancied you might take from him. I suggested at our first conversation that it might be a jewel." "Now, I know that if he carried anything to the rendezvous with Julia Brawn it was that stolen money." "Rubbish! I say again that you can't prove how it came into Grent's possession." "Vass might have taken it out of the safe and given it to his master next day." "Torry," said Darrel gravely, "when Vass left the bank on Friday night the money was in the safe." "Are you certain of that?" "I am. Leighbourne told me that he saw it there before he left the office. Vass left the bank along with Leighbourne. The next day he was ill." "Who was--Vass or Leighbourne?" "The former. Don't you remember Leighbourne told us so?" "Ah, yes," cried Torry, with a recollection of the conversation with the banker. "And I thought it was an unnecessary piece of information. Leighbourne said that Vass had been absent from the bank from Saturday till the day we called--that was Tuesday." "Then," said Frank gravely, "you see how unjust your suspicions are. Vass could not have given Grent the money, since he--Grent--was murdered on Sunday morning."