down the road, and equally of course it was no trick to whisk the
body out of the neighborhood.'

"Sir Henry got half up on his feet with his energy in the
solution of the thing. He thrust his spread-out fingers down.
on the table like a man, by that gesture, pressing in an
inevitable, conclusive summing up."

The girl paused. "It was splendid, I thought. I applauded like
an entranced pit!

"But Mr. Meadows didn't say a word. He took up the big glass we
had used about the inspection of the place, and passed it over
the prints Sir Henry was unconsciously making in the dust on the
polished surface of the table. Then he put the glass down and
looked the excited baronet calmly in the face.

"`There,' cried Sir Henry, `the thing's no mystery.'

"For the first time Mr. Meadows opened his mouth. `It's the
profoundest mystery I ever heard of,' he said.

"Sir Henry was astonished. He sat down and looked across the
table at the man. He wasn't able to speak for a moment, then he
got it out: `Why exactly do you say that?'

"Mr. Meadows put his elbows on the table. He twiddled the big
reading glass in his fingers. His face got firm and decided.

"`To begin with,' he said, `the door to this house was never