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Rh supernatural about the business, but—it's uncommonly queer."

"Supernatural! You had better make that suggestion to the police. The English law does not recognise the supernatural in crime."

"Possibly not. You say it was a man, Symonds thinks it was a woman; I believe both of you are wrong—that Lawrence was killed neither by a man nor a woman. Who or what is 'The Goddess'? Find that out, you'll have found the criminal!"

His lips curled in an ironic smile.

"I really wonder if you think that you can successfully play a game of bluff with me."

I laughed. The man was so full of verjuice that he could not resist an opportunity of squirting a drop or two in my direction. His intentions had not been over and above friendly before. Now that the shadow of a woman had come between us, I felt that he would stop at little which would help him hang me. That my innocence might be shown was a matter which would concern him not at all—so long as he had hung me first.

While I hesitated what to answer, for, though, I hoped, at the proper time, to take him by the neck and drop him from the window, my desire was, in the mean time, to treat him with the utmost courtesy—some one came rushing into