which had taken place in the library. That her wrap should be lying
here was not strange, but that the wedding bouquet -

That it really was the wedding bouquet and that this was the room
in which the bride had dressed for the ceremony was apparent to the
most casual observer. But it became an established fact when in my
further course about the room I chanced on a handkerchief with the
name Veronica embroidered in one corner.

This handkerchief had an interest apart from the name on it. It was
of dainty texture and quite in keeping, so far as value went, with
the other belongings of its fastidious owner. But it was not clean.
Indeed it was strangely soiled, and this soil was of a nature I did
not readily understand. A woman would doubtless have comprehended
immediately the cause of the brown streaks I found on it, but it took
me several minutes to realize that this bit of cambric, delicate as
a cobweb, had been used to remove dust. To remove dust! Dust from
what? From the mantel-shelf probably, upon one end of which I found
it. But no! one look along the polished boards convinced me that
whatever else had been dusted in this room this shelf had not. The
accumulation of days, if not of months, was visible from one end to
the other of its unrelieved surface save where the handkerchief had
lain, and - the greatest discovery yet - where five clear spots just
to the left of the center showed where some man's finger-tips had
rested. Nothing but the pressure of fingertips could have caused
just the appearance presented by these spots. By scrutinizing them
closely I could even tell where the thumb had rested, and at once
foresaw the possibility of determining by means of these marks both
the size and shape of the hand which had left behind it so neat and
unmistakable a clue.