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"Then might I ask, Miss Perigal," the Chief Inspector interrupted, "how ye expected to get in?"

"Oh!" She smiled again, and this second smile momentarily swept the horror from her eyes. "That's quite simple. Marcus always hides the key, or what he calls hiding it, in the flower box outside, you see."

"What!" Firth turned frowningly to Lord Marcus. "Do ye mean to say, sir, that it is a habit of yours to leave the key outside the door?"

That old-world, dignified inclination of the head answered him.

"I confess to being somewhat absent-minded, Chief Inspector, and therefore invariably I leave my key in a corner of one of the stone boxes, as Miss Perigal has told you."

"Good lord!" murmured Bluett.

"What did you say?" Firth inquired.

"I said 'Good lord'!" Bluett, whose pencil had broken, delved in an inside pocket and produced the evening paper. This he placed in an outside pocket, then sought, and found, another pencil.

"As you can see from my condition," Fay added, "it was raining quite fast, and I practically ran here. Truly, Marcus, I didn't know what else to do."