at 6.30 a.m. Manderson went up to bed at 11 p.m., and Martin sat up till
12.30. Assuming that he went to sleep at once on turning in, that leaves us
something like six hours for the crime to be committed in; and that is a long
time. But whenever it took place, I wish you would suggest a reason why
Manderson, who was a fairly late riser, was up and dressed at or before 6.30;
and why neither Martin, who sleeps lightly, nor Bunner, nor his wife heard him
moving about, or letting himself out of the house. He must have been careful.
He must have crept about like a cat. Do you feel as I do, Murch, about all
this; that it is very, very strange and baffling?' 'That's how it looks,'
agreed the inspector.

'And now,' said Trent, rising to his feet, 'I'll leave you to your
meditations, and take a look at the bedrooms. Perhaps the explanation of all
this will suddenly burst upon you while I am poking about up there. But,'
concluded Trent in a voice of sudden exasperation, turning round in the
doorway, 'if you can tell me at any time, how under the sun a man who put on
all those clothes could forget to put in his teeth, you may kick me from here
to the nearest lunatic asylum, and hand me over as an incipient dement.'

CHAPTER V: Poking About

There are moments in life, as one might think, when that which is within us,
busy about its secret affair, lets escape into consciousness some hint of a
fortunate thing ordained. Who does not know what it is to feel at times a wave
of unaccountable persuasion that it is about to go well with him?--not the
feverish confidence of men in danger of a blow from fate, not the persistent
illusion of the optimist, but an unsought conviction, springing up like a bird
from the heather, that success is at hand in some great or fine thing. The
general suddenly knows at dawn that the day will bring him victory; the man on
the green suddenly knows that he will put down the long putt. As Trent mounted