conspiracy to murder him, and the deliberate, persistent manner in which
that object was being pursued points to a very strong and definite
motive. Then the tactics adopted point to considerable forethought and
judgment. They are not the tactics of a fool or an ignoramus. We may
criticize the closed carriage as a tactical mistake, calculated to
arouse suspicion, but we have to weigh it against its alternative."

"What is that?"

"Well, consider the circumstances. Suppose Weiss had called you in in
the ordinary way. You would still have detected the use of poison. But
now you could have located your man and made inquiries about him in the
neighbourhood. You would probably have given the police a hint and they
would almost certainly have taken action, as they would have had the
means of identifying the parties. The result would have been fatal to
Weiss. The closed carriage invited suspicion, but it was a great
safeguard. Weiss's method's were not so unsound after all. He is a
cautious man, but cunning and very persistent. And he could be bold on
occasion. The use of the blinded carriage was a decidedly audacious
proceeding. I should put him down as a gambler of a very discreet,
courageous and resourceful type."

"Which all leads to the probability that he has pursued his scheme and
brought it to a successful issue."

"I am afraid it does. But--have you got your notes of the
compass-bearings?"

"The book is in my overcoat pocket with the board. I will fetch them."