“It is a difficult matter to unravel,” said Jennings.  “I think Mrs. Herne refused to raise her veil at the inquest so that the likeness between her and Maraquito might not be observed.  I was there, and if Mrs. Herne is what I say, she would have been put on her guard by Maraquito.  Though to be sure,” added Jennings in a vexed tone, “Maraquito did not know then, and perhaps does not know now, that I am a detective.”

“Clancy and Hale will enlighten her,” said Caranby, as the vehicle stopped, “will you not come in?”

“Not to-night.  I will do myself the honor of calling on you later, when I have more to say.  At present I am going to sort out what evidence I have.  To-morrow I’ll call on Miss Saxon.”

“Call on Mrs. Octagon,” were Caranby’s parting words, “believe me, she knows the truth, but I’ll tell you one thing.  Maraquito did not kill Miss Loach, for the death of Selina has given Juliet enough money to marry Cuthbert, independent of Mrs. Octagon’s wishes, and Maraquito would never have brought that about.”

“Yet all the same Miss Saxon will not marry.”

Caranby made a gesture to show that the matter was beyond his comprehension, and ascended the steps of the hotel.  Jennings, deep in thought, walked away, wondering how he was to disentangle the skein which Fate had placed in his hand to unravel.

That night the detective surveyed the situation.  So far as he could see, he seemed no further advanced than he had been at the inquest.  Certainly he had accumulated a mass of evidence, but it threw no light on the case.  From Caranby’s romance, it seemed that the dead woman had been connected with the Saul family.  That seemed to link her with Maraquito, who appeared to be the sole surviving member.  In her turn, Maraquito was connected in some underhand way with Mrs. Octagon, seeing that the elder woman came by stealth to the Soho house.  Mrs. Octagon was connected with the late Emilia Saul by a crime, if what Caranby surmised was correct, and her daughter was forbidden to marry Mallow, who was the nephew of the man who had been the lover both of Miss Loach and Emilia Saul.  Hale and Clancy were playing some game with Basil Saxon, who was the son of Mrs. Octagon, and he was associated with Maraquito.  Thus it would seem that all these people were connected in various ways with the dead woman.  But the questions were:  Had one of them struck the fatal blow, and if so, who had been daring enough to do so?

“Again,” murmured Jennings, “who touched that bell?  Not the assassin, who would scarcely have been fool enough to call anyone to examine his work before he had time to escape.  Certainly it may have been a woman!  Yes!  I believe a man killed Miss Loach, for some reason I have yet to learn, and a woman, out of jealousy, wishing to get him into the grip of the law, touched the bell so that witnesses might appear before the assassin could escape.  But who struck the blow?”