Page:Marsh--The seen and the unseen.djvu/48

24 "You see," commented Mr. Dodsworth, "she has concealed the prisoner's name."

"Do you mean to tell me seriously, Mr. Dodsworth, that you wish me to take this as a bona fide portrait of the man Solly?"

"Here is Mr. Murray, and here is Mr. Slater: they were present at the time—ask them! I took the negatives straight home; they are now lying before you on the table. What you are holding in your hand was printed, in the usual manner and in the ordinary course, from the second plate which I exposed."

"Then do you wish me to infer that about the matter there is something supernatural, Mr. Dodsworth?"

Mr. Dodsworth shrugged his shoulders.

"It is not for me to draw inferences. I am a photographer. It is my duty to lay before you the results of the camera. That is a print from the third exposure, Mr. Paley."

Mr. Dodsworth laid the third photograph before the governor.

"Really, Mr. Dodsworth, this is too much! Do you expect me to take this as a portrait of the man George Solly? Why, there's nothing of the man to be seen!"

"Quite so—the, woman has stepped in front of him, and conceals him wholly."

"Do you wish me to infer that the man is behind the woman then? They will require the magnifying glasses which Sam Weller alluded to, if that portrait is to be of much service to them at Scotland Yard."