'
'Do you wish me to give you the name of the criminal?' asked his
lordship.
'Is his name known to you?' I asked in return.
'Yes. John Haddon stole the necklace.'
'Did you give that name to the police?'
'Yes.'
'Why didn't they arrest him?'
'Because the evidence against him is so small, and the improbability
of his having committed the crime is so great.'
'What is the evidence against him?'
His lordship spoke with the dry deliberation of an aged solicitor.
'The robbery was committed on the night of October the fifth. All day
there had been a heavy rain, and the grounds were wet. For reasons
into which I do not care to enter, John Haddon was familiar with this
house, and with our grounds. He was well known to my servants, and,
unfortunately, popular with them, for he is an openhanded spendthrift.
The estate of his elder brother, Lord Steffenham, adjoins my own to
the west, and Lord Steffenham's house is three miles from where we
sit. On the night of the fifth a ball was given in the mansion of Lord
Steffenham, to which, of course, my niece and myself were invited, and
which invitation we accepted. I had no quarrel with the elder brother.
It was known to John Haddon that my niece intended to wear her
necklace of emeralds.
Pages:
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353