“You see, I am not one who believes in magic and such things.  I am for facts all the time; and I always find in the long-run that there is a reason and a cause for everything.  This new gentleman says these things were stolen out of his room in the hotel.  The lamps, I take it from some things he has said, really belong to Mr. Trelawny.  His daughter, the lady of the house, having left the room she usually occupies, sleeps that night on the ground floor.  A window is heard to open and shut during the night.  When we, who have been during the day trying to find a clue to the robbery, come to the house, we find the stolen goods in a room close to where she slept, and opening out of it!”

He stopped.  I felt that same sense of pain and apprehension, which I had experienced when he had spoken to me before, creeping, or rather rushing, over me again.  I had to face the matter out, however.  My relations with her, and the feeling toward her which I now knew full well meant a very deep love and devotion, demanded so much.  I said as calmly as I could, for I knew the keen eyes of the skilful investigator were on me: 

“And the inference?”

He answered with the cool audacity of conviction: 

“The inference to me is that there was no robbery at all.  The goods were taken by someone to this house, where they were received through a window on the ground floor.  They were placed in the cabinet, ready to be discovered when the proper time should come!”

Somehow I felt relieved; the assumption was too monstrous.  I did not want, however, my relief to be apparent, so I answered as gravely as I could: 

“And who do you suppose brought them to the house?”

“I keep my mind open as to that.  Possibly Mr. Corbeck himself; the matter might be too risky to trust to a third party.”

“Then the natural extension of your inference is that Mr. Corbeck is a liar and a fraud; and that he is in conspiracy with Miss Trelawny to deceive someone or other about those lamps.”

“Those are harsh words, Mr. Ross.  They’re so plain-spoken that they bring a man up standing, and make new doubts for him.  But I have to go where my reason points.  It may be that there is another party than Miss Trelawny in it.  Indeed, if it hadn’t been for the other matter that set me thinking and bred doubts of its own about her, I wouldn’t dream of mixing her up in this.  But I’m safe on Corbeck.  Whoever else is in it, he is!  The things couldn’t have been taken without his connivance—­if what he says is true.  If it isn’t—­well! he is a liar anyhow.  I would think it a bad job to have him stay in the house with so many valuables, only that it will give me and my mate a chance of watching him. we’ll keep a pretty good look-out, too, I tell you.  He’s up in my room now, guarding those lamps; but Johnny Wright is there too.  I go on before he comes off; so there won’t be much chance of another house-breaking.  Of course, Mr. Ross, all this, too, is between you and me.”