have escaped that way. Moreover, by this time the policeman
was standing blocking the pathway to the station. Again, the
alarm was given immediately by the other servants, who rushed
to the sitting-room on hearing Susan's scream, and the
policeman at once searched the house. No one was found.

"Now what are we to make of all this? The doctor declares
that Miss Loach when discovered had been dead half an hour,
which corresponds with the time the door was heard to open or
shut by Thomas. So far, it would seem that the assassin had
escaped then, having committed the crime and found the coast
inside and outside the house clear for his flight. But who
rang the bell? That is the question we ask. The deceased
could not have done so, as, according to the doctor, the poor
lady must have died immediately. Again, the assassin would
not have been so foolish as to ring and thus draw attention to
his crime, letting alone the question that he could not have
escaped at that late hour. We can only offer this solution.

"The assassin must have been concealed in the bedroom, and
after Susan ascended the stairs to let Mr. Clancy out, he must
have stolen into the sitting-room and have killed the old lady
before she could even rise. She might have touched the bell,
and the button (the bell is an electric one) may have got
fixed. Later on, the heat of the room, warping the wood round
the ivory button, may have caused it to slip out, and thus the
bell would have rung. Of course our readers may say that when
pressed down the bell would have rung continuously, but an
examination has revealed that the wires were out of order. It
is not improbable that the sudden release of the button may