Page:Waylaid by Wireless - Balmer - 1909.djvu/209

Rh "Ah!" he exclaimed with gratification. "This is very good!"

"What?"

"I was doubtful of the absolute reliability of the description of the criminal, even if we could secure a statement from Mr. Hareston. Considering the confessed condition of the witness at the time of the robbery and attack, I was afraid that his statement could not hold conclusively. But, of course, the steward, with whom he bargained, had a most excellent chance of observing the man, and the purser also remembers him."

"Yes, and they say—they say?"

"Fortunately," the inspector continued. The operator had finished the sheet and the inspector tore it off and held it before him. "Fortunately the statements and descriptions of all three exactly agree. I think there can be no doubt of this; this is final."

"What is it, then?"

"The man who made the attack and put Mr. Hareston aboard shortly before twelve, 185