tragedy has been played, and upon which we may help to play it again."

"It must be a wild place."

"Yes, the setting is a worthy one. If the devil did desire to
have a hand in the affairs of men--"

"Then you are yourself inclining to the supernatural explanation."

"The devil's agents may be of flesh and blood, may they not?
There are two questions waiting for us at the outset. The one
is whether any crime has been committed at all; the second is,
what is the crime and how was it committed? Of course, if Dr.
Mortimer's surmise should be correct, and we are dealing with
forces outside the ordinary laws of Nature, there is an end of
our investigation. But we are bound to exhaust all other
hypotheses before falling back upon this one. I think we'll shut
that window again, if you don't mind. It is a singular thing,
but I find that a concentrated atmosphere helps a concentration
of thought. I have not pushed it to the length of getting into
a box to think, but that is the logical outcome of my convictions.
Have you turned the case over in your mind?"

"Yes, I have thought a good deal of it in the course of the day."

"What do you make of it?"

"It is very bewildering."

"It has certainly a character of its own. There are points of