The Superintendent shook his head.
'This isn't a lady's glove – no, not even the large kind of loose glove ladies wear nowadays. Fit it on, sir, a moment.'
He adjusted the blackened object over Jimmy's hand.
'You see – it's large even for you.'
'Do you attach importance to this discovery?' inquired Sir Oswald coldly.
'You never know, Sir Oswald, what's going to be important or what isn't.'
There was a sharp tap at the door and Bundle entered.
'I'm so sorry,' she said apologetically. 'But Father has just rung up. He says I must come home because everybody is worrying him.'
She paused.
'Yes, my dear Eileen?' said George encouragingly, perceiving that there was more to come.
'I wouldn't have interrupted you – only that I thought it might perhaps have something to do with all this. You see, what has upset Father is that one of our footmen is missing. He went out last night and hasn't come back.'
'What is the man's name?' It was Sir Oswald who took up the cross-examination.
'John Bauer.'
'An Englishman?'
'I believe he calls himself a Swiss – but I think he's a German. He speaks English perfectly, though.'
'Ah!' Sir Oswald drew in his breath with a long, satisfied hiss. 'And he has been at Chimneys – how long?'
'Just under a month.'
Sir Oswald turned to the other two.
'Here is our missing man. You know, Lomax, as well as I do, that several foreign Governments are after the thing. I remember the man now perfectly – tall, well-drilled fellow. Came about a fortnight before we left. A clever move. Any new servants here would be closely scrutinised, but at Chimneys, five miles away –' He did not finish the sentence.
'You think the plan was laid so long beforehand?'
'Why not? There are millions in that formula, Lomax. Doubtless Bauer hoped to get access to my private papers at Chimneys, and to learn something of forthcoming arrangements from them. It seems likely that he may have had an accomplice in this house – someone who put him wise to the lie of the land and who saw to the doping of O'Rourke. But Bauer was the man Miss Wade saw climbing down the ivy – the big, powerful man.'
He turned to Superintendent Battle.
'Bauer was your man, Superintendent. And, somehow or other, you let him slip through your fingers.'
Chapter 24
BUNDLE WONDERS
There was no doubt that Superintendent Battle was taken aback. He fingered his chin thoughtfully.
'Sir Oswald is right, Battle,' said George. 'This is the man. Any hope of catching him?'
'There may be, sir. It certainly looks – well, suspicious. Of course the man may turn up again – at Chimneys, I mean.'
'Do you think it likely?'
'No, it isn't,' confessed Battle . 'Yes, it certainly looks as though Bauer were the man. But I can't quite see how he got in and out of these grounds unobserved.'
'I have already told you my opinion of the two men you posted,' said George. 'Hopelessly inefficient – I don't want to blame you, Superintendent, but –' His pause was eloquent.
'Ah, well,' said Battle lightly, 'my shoulders are broad.'
He shook his head and sighed.
'I must get to the telephone at once. Excuse me, gentlemen. I'm sorry, Mr. Lomax – I feel I've rather bungled this business. But it's been puzzling, more puzzling than you know.'
He strode hurriedly from the room.
'Come into the garden,' said Bundle to Jimmy. 'I want to talk to you.'
They went out together through the window. Jimmy stared down at the lawn, frowning.
'What's the matter?' asked Bundle.
Jimmy explained the circumstances of the pistol throwing.
'I'm wondering,' he ended, 'what was in old Battle 's mind when he got Coote to throw the pistol. Something, I'll swear. Anyhow, it landed up about ten yards farther than it should have done. You know, Bundle, Battle 's a deep one.'
'He's an extraordinary man,' said Bundle. 'I want to tell you about last night.'
She retailed her conversation with the Superintendent. Jimmy listened attentively.
'So the Countess is No. 1,' he said thoughtfully. 'It all hangs together very well. No. 2 – Bauer – comes over from Chimneys. He climbs up into O'Rourke's room, knowing that O'Rourke has had a sleeping draught administered to him – by the Countess somehow or other. The arrangement is that he is to throw down the papers to the Countess, who will be waiting below. Then she'll nip back through the library and up to her room. If Bauer's caught leaving the grounds, they'll find nothing on him. Yes, it was a good plan – but it went wrong. No sooner is the Countess in the library than she hears me coming and has to jump behind the screen. Jolly awkward for her, because she can't warn her accomplice. No. 2 pinches the papers, looks out of the window, sees, as he thinks, the Countess waiting, pitches the papers down to her and proceeds to climb down the ivy, where he finds a nasty surprise in the shape of me waiting for him. Pretty nervy work for the Countess waiting behind her screen. All things considered, she told a pretty good story. Yes, it all hangs together very well.'
'Too well,' said Bundle decidedly.
'Eh?' said Jimmy, surprised.
'What about No. 7 – No. 7 , who never appears, but lives in the background? The Countess and Bauer? No, it's not so simple as that. Bauer was here last night, yes. But he was only here in case things went wrong – as they have done. His part is the part of scapegoat; to draw all attention from No. 7 – the boss.'
'I say, Bundle,' said Jimmy anxiously, 'you haven't been reading too much sensational literature, have you?'
Bundle threw him a glance of dignified reproach.
'Well,' said Jimmy, 'I'm not yet like the Red Queen. I can't believe six impossible things before breakfast.'
'It's after breakfast,' said Bundle.
'Or even after breakfast. We've got a perfectly good hypothesis which fits the facts – and you won't have it at any price, simply because, like the old riddle, you want to make things more difficult.'
'I'm sorry,' said Bundle, 'but I cling passionately to a mysterious No. 7 being a member of the house- party.'
'What does Bill think?'
'Bill,' said Bundle coldly, 'is impossible.'
'Oh!' said Jimmy. 'I suppose you've told him about the Countess? He ought to be warned. Heaven knows what he'll go blabbing about otherwise.'
'He won't hear a word against her,' said Bundle. 'He's – oh, simply idiotic. I wish you'd drive it home to him about that mole.'
'You forget I wasn't in the cupboard,' said Jimmy. 'And anyway I'd rather not argue with Bill about his lady friend's mole. But surely he can't be such an ass as not to see that everything fits in?'
'He's every kind of ass,' said Bundle bitterly. 'You made the greatest mistake, Jimmy, in ever telling him at all.'
'I'm sorry,' said Jimmy. 'I didn't see it at the time – but I do now. I was a fool, but dash it all, old Bill –'
