"A clew!" repeated the bewildered Robinson.
"Yes. I"m telling you, though I kept dark before the other fellows.
Didn"t you say Grant"s cheek was bleeding on Tuesday morning?"
"I did."
"Well, the whiskers were held on by wires that slip over the ears. One wire was sharp as a needle. I know, because it stuck into a finger more than once. Why shouldn"t it scratch a man"s cheek, and the cut open again next morning?"
"By jing, you"ve got your knife into Mr. Grant, an" no mistake,"
commented Robinson.
"You yourself gave him a nasty jab at the inquest," sneered Elkin.
"I was just tellin" the facts."
"So am I. I think you ought to know about that hat and the other things.
I would recognize them anywhere. Furneaux had something up his sleeve, too, or he wouldn"t have pumped Tomlin... Woa, boy! So long, Robinson! I must put this youngster into his stall."
"I"ll wait, Mr. Elkin," said Robinson solemnly. "I want to have a word with you."
The policeman was glad of the respite. He needed time to collect his thoughts. The story of the dinner-party and its excitement disposed completely of Elkin"s malicious theory with regard to Grant, but, since the horse-dealer was minded to be communicative, it would be well to encourage him.
"Come in, and have a drink," said Elkin, when the colt had been stabled.
"No, thanks--not when I"m on duty."
Elkin raised his eyebrows sarcastically. He could not possibly guess that Robinson was adopting Furneaux"s pose of never accepting hospitality from a man whom he might have to arrest.
"Well, blaze away. I"m ready."
The younger man leaned against a gate. He looked ill and physically worn.
"Your business has kept you out late of a night recently, you say, Mr.
Elkin," began the other, speaking as casually as he could contrive. "Now, it might help a lot if you can call to mind anyone you met on the roads at ten or eleven o"clock. For instance, last night--"
Elkin laughed in a queer, croaking way.
"Last night my mare brought me home. I was decidedly sprung, Robinson.
Glad you didn"t spot me, or there might have been trouble. What between the inquest, an" no food, an" more than a few drinks at Knoleworth, I"d have pa.s.sed Owd Ben himself without seeing him, though I believe I did squint in at The Hollies as I went by."
"What time would that be?"
"Oh, soon after eleven."
"Sure."
"I can"t be certain to ten minutes or so. The pubs hadn"t closed when I left Knoleworth. What the devil does it matter, anyhow?"
It mattered a great deal. Robinson could testify that Elkin did not cross Steynholme bridge "soon after eleven."
"Nothing much," was the answer. "You see, I"m anxious to find out who might be stirring at that hour, an" you know everybody for miles around.
I"d like to fix your journey by the clock, if I could."
"Dash it all, man, I was full to the eyes. There! You have it straight."
"Were you out on Monday night?"
"The night of the murder?"
"Yes."
"I left the Hare and Hounds at ten, and came straight home."
"Who was there with you?"
"The usual crowd--Hobbs, and Siddle, and Bob Smith, and a commercial traveler. Siddle went at half past nine, but he generally does."
"You met no one on the road?"
"No."
The monosyllable seemed to lack Elkin"s usual confidence. It sounded as if he had been making up his mind what to say, yet faltered at the last moment.
Robinson ruminated darkly. As a matter of fact, long after eleven o"clock on that fateful night, he himself had seen Elkin walking homeward. He was well aware that the licensing hours were not strictly observed by the Hare and Hounds when "commercial gentlemen" were in residence. Closing time was ten o"clock, but the "commercials," being cheery souls, became nominal hosts on such occasions, and their guests were in no hurry to depart. Robinson saw that he had probably jumped to a conclusion, an acrobatic feat of reasoning which Furneaux had specifically warned him against. At any rate, he resolved now to leave well enough alone.
"Well, we don"t seem to get any forrarder," he said. "You ought to take more care of your health, Mr. Elkin. You"re a changed man these days."
"I"ll be all right when this murder is off our chests, Robinson. You won"t have a tiddley? Right-o! So long!"
Robinson walked slowly toward Steynholme. At a turn in the road he halted near the footpath which led down the wooded cliff and across the river to Bush Walk. He surveyed the locality with a reflective frown. Then, there being no one about, he made some notes of the chat with Elkin. The man"s candor and his misstatements were equally puzzling. None knew better than the policeman that the vital discrepancy of fully an hour and a half on the Monday night would be difficult to clear up. Tomlin, of course, would have no recollection of events after ten o"clock, but the commercial traveler, who could be traced, might be induced to tell the truth if a.s.sured that the police needed the information solely for purposes in connection with their inquiry into the murder. That man must be found.
His testimony should have an immense significance.
That evening, shortly before seven o"clock, a stalwart, prosperous-looking gentleman in tweeds "descended" from the London express at Knoleworth. The local train for Steynholme stood in a bay on the opposite platform, and this pa.s.senger in particular was making for it when he nearly collided with another man, younger, thinner, bespectacled, who hailed him with delight.
"You, too? Good egg!" was the cry.
The gentleman thus addressed did not seem to relish this geniality.
"Where the deuce are you off to?" he demanded.
"To Steynholme--same as you, of course."
"Look here, Peters, a word in your ear. If you know me during the next few days, you"ll never know me again. I suppose you"ll be staying at the local inn--there"s only one of any repute in the place?"
"That"s so. I"ve got you. May I take it that you will reciprocate when the time comes?"
"Have I ever failed you?"
"No. We meet as strangers."