motive for the crime. And why should these proofs of the deed be
sent to Miss Sarah Cushing? Probably because during her
residence in Liverpool she had some hand in bringing about the
events which led to the tragedy. You will observe that this line
of boats call at Belfast, Dublin, and Waterford; so that,
presuming that Browner had committed the deed and had embarked at
once upon his steamer, the May Day, Belfast would be the first
place at which he could post his terrible packet.

"A second solution was at this stage obviously possible, and
although I thought it exceedingly unlikely, I was determined to
elucidate it before going further. An unsuccessful lover might
have killed Mr. and Mrs. Browner, and the male ear might have
belonged to the husband. There were many grave objections to
this theory, but it was conceivable. I therefore sent off a
telegram to my friend Algar, of the Liverpool force, and asked
him to find out if Mrs. Browner were at home, and if Browner had
departed in the May Day. Then we went on to Wallington to visit
Miss Sarah.

"I was curious, in the first place, to see how far the family ear
had been reproduced in her. Then, of course, she might give us
very important information, but I was not sanguine that she
would. She must have heard of the business the day before, since
all Croydon was ringing with it, and she alone could have
understood for whom the packet was meant. If she had been
willing to help justice she would probably have communicated with
the police already. However, it was clearly our duty to see her,
so we went. We found that the news of the arrival of the packet--
for her illness dated from that time--had such an effect upon