“Besides, he knew exposure to the frost would be very dangerous for you; you told him you had been ill,” Lucy interposed.

“I did,” Lawrence agreed.  “Of course if the fellow had wanted to make an end of me, it’s obvious that he took a clever line; but people don’t do that kind of thing for nothing.  Suppose he was a friend of Daly’s, it certainly wouldn’t have suited the latter’s plans.”

“That,” said Mrs. Stephen, “is what Lucy and I thought.  You can be frank, Mr. Foster, because we know Lawrence’s story.”

“He was very wise to tell it you,” Foster replied, and turned to his partner.  “You imagined that Daly only wanted to extort money?  Well, my explanation is that he had another object.  We’ll go back to the night Fred Hulton was shot.  You thought you saw the watchman in the passage; was he far in front?”

“Perhaps a dozen yards; it’s a long passage.”

“He was going towards the office and stopped at the door, with his back to the light?”

“Yes; if he’d gone in I would have seen his face.”

“And the remark you made indicated that you thought him the watchman ?”

“Suggested it,” said Lawrence thoughtfully.  “There might have been a doubt.”

“Exactly!  The man saw you.  The light shone out from the office behind him.”

“Yes,” said Lawrence, “I see your point.  I don’t think the fellow could have been certain I didn’t get a glimpse of his face.”

“You said nothing about the meeting at the inquiry, which might look as if you had been warned not to do so.”

“Nobody asked a question that led up to it.  I didn’t learn he wasn’t the watchman until afterwards.”

Foster turned to the others.  “I think my story has shown you that we have to deal with a gang of clever criminals.  You’ll note that Lawrence saw the only man who knows the truth about Fred Hulton’s death.”

Mrs. Stephen made a sign of understanding.  Lucy shivered, then her eyes sparkled angrily, but Lawrence looked obstinate.

“Jake,” he said rather dryly, “you ought to have been a barrister!  You have made a clever use of the evidence, but it has some weak points and leaves room for doubt.  What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m going to start again to-morrow to look for Daly,” Foster replied.

Lucy gave him a grateful glance, and Mrs. Stephen began to talk about something else.  By and by she turned to Lawrence, who looked tired, and reminded him that it was past the time at which he ought to go to bed.  He grumbled a little but went, and soon afterwards Mrs. Stephen left the others.  Foster thought the girl wished this, but had not noticed that she gave her mother a hint.  He felt rather awkward, but there was something to be said.

“I suppose you are going to marry my partner,” he remarked.

“Yes,” she replied, with a pretty flush.  “Are you surprised?”