The dose was no doubt nicely calculated and the boy would probably have awakened naturally in a few hours.
“That done, Tremaine walks boldly out upon the pier. Old Graham sees him; perhaps challenges him; but of course allows him to approach as soon as he recognises him. They talk together for a moment; then Tremaine, swift as lightning, knocks the other down. Graham probably fell without crying out. I fancy I can see Tremaine pausing to make sure his victim is dead before he goes on to the end of the pier to get the necklace.”
I shivered; I could see him, too, bending over in the darkness, with a horrible calmness…
“That throwing of the pistol into the boat,” continued Godfrey, “was one of those flashes of inspiration which come to a man sometimes. It was superb! It proves that our friend is really an artist. Not one man in a thousand would have thought of it. He must have laughed with sheer satisfaction when he heard it clatter safely into the boat.”
He paused for a moment to think of it, to turn it over, to taste it.
“Well,” he continued, at last, “he secures the necklace, throws away the bottle, and probably goes down to the water’s edge to wash his hands.”
“Did he take the necklace with him to the house?” I asked.
“No,” said Godfrey decidedly. “There was no reason whatever for him to run that risk. He had doubtless picked out a safe hiding-place for it in the afternoon. The necklace once deposited there, he
