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Rh without dreaming of the necessity of verifying them; statements which might very easily have been doctored by a desperate man who constantly hoped to recoup on the market and thus cover up his peculations.

At a first glance it had seemed inconceivable that the man should have sawed through the top step of the stairs and then deliberately have precipitated himself down them next morning; but on second thought Odell began to see the possibilities. Lorne might well have planned that episode to throw suspicion from himself in the inevitable investigation, meaning merely to roll down the stairs uninjured, and then have miscalculated his fall. If he were indeed guilty, his dissimulation to Titheredge and his professed determination to call in the police rebounded against him as evidence of his craftiness. He would have had ample time to tamper with the stairs after the attorney went to sleep, and by keeping him there as a guest his own alibi was established.

Then a quick revulsion of feeling came, and Odell reminded himself sternly that he had not one shred of real evidence against this man, nothing but the vague suspicions of the trained nurse and his own specious imaginings. Time above all things was essential in this case, and he could afford to waste none of it on idle speculations.

One seemingly inconsequential thought still rankled in his brain—the hint which the mysterious Gerda had given him concerning insanity. He knew better than to approach her now for further enlightenment, for he had read the finality in her manner during their first interview; but if he had some weapon to wield over her and force her confidence. … If he could learn her purpose there, discover the identity of the man upon whom she had looked