“Of course, I should have put myself out of the question,” added the weird old man, with that inimitable self-conceit peculiar to himself. “I guessed then and there in a moment where the police were going wrong, and where they would go on going wrong until the mysterious death on the Underground Railway had sunk into oblivion, together with the other cases which they mismanage from time to time.
“I said there were three persons who understood the gravity of the two doctors’ statements—the other two were, firstly, the detective who had originally examined the railway carriage, a young man of energy and plenty of misguided intelligence, the other was Mr. Hazeldene.
“At this point the interesting element of the whole story was first introduced into the proceedings, and this was done through the humble channel of Emma Funnel, Mrs. Hazeldene’s maid, who, as far as was known then, was the last person who had seen the unfortunate lady alive and had spoken to her.
“ ‘Mrs. Hazeldene lunched at home,’ explained Emma, who was shy, and spoke almost in a whisper; ‘she seemed well and cheerful. She went out at about half-past three, and told me she was going to Spence’s, in St. Paul’s Churchyard, to try on her new tailor-made gown. Mrs. Hazeldene had meant to go there in the morning, but was prevented as Mr. Errington called.’
“ ‘Mr. Errington?’ asked the coroner casually. ‘Who is Mr. Errington?’
“But this Emma found difficult to explain. Mr. Errington was—Mr. Errington, that’s all.
“ ‘Mr. Errington was a friend of the family. He lived in a flat in the Albert Mansions. He very often came to Addison Row, and generally stayed late.’
“Pressed still further with questions, Emma at last stated that latterly Mrs. Hazeldene had been to the theatre several times with Mr. Errington, and that on those nights the master looked very gloomy, and was very cross.
“Recalled, the young widower was strangely reticent. He gave forth his answers very grudgingly, and the coroner was evidently absolutely satisfied with himself at the marvellous way in which, after a quarter of an hour of firm yet very kind questionings, he had elicited from the witness what information he wanted.
“Mr. Errington was a friend of his wife. He was a gentleman of means, and seemed to have a great deal of time at his command. He himself did not particularly care about Mr. Errington, but he certainly had never made any observations to his wife on the subject.
“ ‘But who is Mr. Errington?’ repeated the coroner once more. ‘What does he do? What is his business or profession?’
“ ‘He has no business or profession.
“ ‘What is his occupation, then?
“He has no special occupation. He has ample private means. But he has a great and very absorbing hobby.’
“ ‘What is that?’
“ ‘He spends all his time in chemical experiments, and is, I believe, as an amateur, a very distinguished toxicologist.’ ”
XI
Mr. Errington
“Did you ever see Mr. Errington, the gentleman so closely connected with the mysterious death on the Underground Railway?” asked the man in the corner as he placed one or two of his little snapshot photos before Miss Polly Burton.
“There he is, to the very life. Fairly good-looking, a pleasant face enough, but ordinary, absolutely ordinary.
“It was this absence of any peculiarity which very nearly, but not quite, placed the halter round Mr. Errington’s neck.
“But I am going too fast, and you will lose the thread.
“The public, of course, never heard how it actually came about that Mr. Errington, the wealthy bachelor of Albert Mansions, of the Grosvenor, and other young dandies’ clubs, one fine day found himself before the magistrates at Bow Street, charged with being concerned in the death of Mary Beatrice Hazeldene, late of No. 19, Addison Row.
“I can assure you both press and public were literally flabbergasted. You see, Mr. Errington was a well-known and very popular member of a certain smart section of London society. He was a constant visitor at the opera, the racecourse, the Park, and the Carlton, he had a great many friends, and there was consequently quite a large attendance at the police court that morning.
“What had transpired was this:
“After the very scrappy bits of evidence which came to light at the inquest, two gentlemen bethought themselves that perhaps they had some duty to perform towards the State and the public generally. Accordingly they had come forward, offering to throw what light they could upon the mysterious affair on the Underground Railway.
“The police naturally felt that their information, such as it was, came rather late in the day, but as it proved of paramount importance, and the two gentlemen, moreover, were of undoubtedly good position in the world, they were thankful for what they could get, and acted accordingly; they accordingly brought Mr. Errington up before the magistrate on a charge of murder.
“The accused looked pale and worried when I first caught sight of him in the court that day, which was not to be wondered at, considering the terrible position in which he found himself.
“He had been arrested at Marseilles, where he was preparing to start for Colombo.
“I don’t think he realized how terrible his position really was until later in the proceedings, when all the evidence relating to the arrest had been heard, and Emma Funnel had repeated her statement as to Mr. Errington’s call at 19, Addison Row, in the morning, and Mrs. Hazeldene starting off for St. Paul’s Churchyard at 3:30 in the afternoon.
“Mr. Hazeldene had nothing to add to the statements he had made at the coroner’s inquest. He had last seen his wife alive on the morning of the fatal day. She had seemed very well and cheerful.
“I think everyone present understood that he was trying to say as little as possible that could in any way couple his deceased wife’s name with that of the accused.
“And yet, from the servant’s evidence, it undoubtedly leaked out that Mrs. Hazeldene, who was young, pretty, and evidently fond of admiration,
