But the morning papers of the following day did full justice to the
sensation. It was the month of August when Parliament is "up," the Law
Courts closed for the long vacation, and when everybody who is anybody is
out of London for the summer holidays. News was scarce and the papers
vied with one another in making the utmost of the murder of a High Court
judge. Each of the morning papers sent out a man to Hampstead soon after
the news of the crime reached their offices in the afternoon, and some of
the more enterprising sent two or three men. Scotland Yard and
Riversbrook were visited by a succession of pressmen representing the
London dailies, the provincial press, and the news agencies.

The two points on which the newspaper accounts of the tragedy laid stress
were the mysterious letter which had been sent to Scotland Yard stating
that Sir Horace Fewbanks had been murdered, and the mystery surrounding
the sudden return of Sir Horace from Scotland to his town house. On the
first point there was room for much varied speculation. Why was
information about the murder sent to Scotland Yard, and why was it sent
in a disguised way? If the person who had sent this letter had no
connection with the crime and was anxious to help the police, why had he
not gone to Scotland Yard personally and told the detectives all he knew
about the tragedy? If, on the other hand, he was implicated in the crime,
why had he informed the police at all?

It would have been to his interest as an accomplice--even if he had been
an unwilling accomplice--to leave the crime undiscovered as long as
possible, so that he and those with whom he had been associated might
make their escape to another country. But he had sent his letter to
Scotland Yard within a few hours of the perpetration of the crime, and
had not given the actual murderer time to get out of England. Was he not