Penelope
refused to sit down.
"I have not much to say to you, Mr. Harvey," she said. "There is
just something which I have discovered and which you ought to
know. I want to tell it you as quickly as possible and get away."
"A propos of our last conversation?" he asked eagerly.
She bowed her head.
"It concerns Prince Maiyo," she admitted.
"You are sure that you will not sit down?" he persisted. "You
know how interesting this is to me."
She smiled faintly.
"To me," she said, "it is terrible. My only desire is to tell you
and have finished with it. You remember, when I was here last,
you told me that it was your firm belief that somewhere behind
the hand which murdered Hamilton Fynes and poor Dicky stood the
shadow of Prince Maiyo."
"I remember it perfectly," he answered.
"You were right," Penelope said.
The Ambassador drew a little breath. It was staggering, this,
even if expected.
"I have talked with the Prince several times since our
conversation," Penelope continued. "So far as any information
which he gave me or seemed likely to give me, I might as well
have talked in a foreign language. But in his house, the day
before yesterday, in his own library, hidden in a casket which
opened only with a secret lock, I found two things."
"What were they?" the Ambassador asked quickly.
"A roll of silken cord," Penelope said, "such as was used to
strangle poor Dicky, and a strangely shaped dagger exactly like
the picture of the one with which Hamilton Fynes was stabbed.
Pages:
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158