AlmostbeforeIcouldpointherout，shehadseizedherdaughterbythearmandhurriedhertowardstheelevator。Iwantedtofollowher，butyoumayprefertomakeyourowninquiries。Herroomisontheseventhfloor，number712，andhernameisWatkins。Mrs。HoraceWatkinsofNashville。”
Mr。Grycenoddedthoughtfully，butmadenoimmediateefforttorise。”Isthatallyouknowabouther?”heasked。”Yes；thisisthefirsttimeshehasstoppedatthishotel。Shecameyesterday。Tookaroomindefinitely。Seemsallright；butshedidblush，sir。Ieversawitsbeatinayounggirl。””Callthedesk。SaythatI’mtobetoldifMrs。WatkinsofNashvilleringsupduringthenexttenminutes。We’llgiveherthatlongtotakesomeaction。Ifshefailstomakeanymove，I’llmakemyownapproaches。”
Sweetwaterdidashewasbid，thenwentbacktohisplaceinthelobby。
Buthereturnedalmostinstantly。”Mrs。Watkinshasjusttelephoneddownthatsheisgoingto-toleave，sir。””Toleave?”
Theoldmanstruggledtohisfeet。”No。712，doyousay?Sevenstories，”hesighed。Butasheturnedwithahobble，hestopped。”Therearedifficultiesinthewayofthisinterview，”heremarked。”Ablushisnotmuchtogoupon。I’mafraidweshallhavetoresorttotheshadowbusinessandthatisyourwork，notmine。
Butherethedooropenedandaboybroughtinalinewhichhadbeenleftatthedesk。Itrelatedtotheverymatterthenengagingthem，andranthus：”IseethatinformationisdesiredastowhetheranypersonwasseentostooptothelobbyfloorlastnightatorshortlyafterthecriticalmomentofMissChalloner’sfallinthehalfstoryabove。Icangivesuchinformation。Iwasinthelobbyatthetime，andintheheightoftheconfusionfollowingthisalarmingincident，Irememberseeingalady，-oneofthenewarrivalstherewereseveralcominginatthetime-stoopquicklydownandpickupsomethingfromthefloor。Ithoughtnothingofitatthetime，andsopaidlittleattentiontoherappearance。Icanonlyrecallthesuddennesswithwhichshestoopedandthecolourofthecloakshewore。Itwasred，andthewholegarmentwasvoluminous。Ifyouwishfurtherparticulars，thoughintruth，I
havenomoretogive，youcanfindmein356。”HENRYA。MCELROY。””Humph！Thisshouldsimplifyourtask，”wasMr。Gryce’scomment，ashehandedthenoteovertoSweetwater。”Youcaneasilyfindoutifthelady，nowonthepointofdeparture，canbeidentifiedwiththeonedescribedbyMr。McElroy。Ifshecan，Iamreadytomeetheranywhere。””Heregoesthen！”criedSweetwater，andquicklylefttheroom。
Whenhereturned，itwasnotwithhismosthopefulair。”Thecloakdoesn’thelp，”hedeclared。”Nooneremembersthecloak。
ButthetimeofMrs。Watkins’arrivalwasallright。Shecameindirectlyontheheelsofthiscatastrophe。””Shedid！Sweetwater，Iwillseeher。Manageitformeatonce。””Theclerksaysthatithadbetterbeupstairs。Sheisaverysensitivewoman。Theremightbeascene，ifshewereinterceptedonherwayout。””Verywell。”Butthelookwhichtheolddetectivethrewathisbandagedlegswasnotwithoutitspathos。
AndsoithappenedthatjustasMrs。Watkinswaswatchingthewheelingoutofhertrunks，thereappearedinthedoorwaybeforeher，anelderlygentleman，whoseexpression，alwaysbenevolent，saveatmomentswhenbenevolencewouldbequiteoutofkeepingwiththesituation，hadforsomereason，somarkedaneffectuponher，thatshecolouredunderhiseye，and，indeed，showedsuchembarrassment，thatalldoubtoftheproprietyofhisintrusionvanishedfromtheoldman’smind，andwiththeeaseofoneonlytoowellaccustomedtosuchscenes，hekindlyremarked：”AmIspeakingtoMrs。WatkinsofNashville?””Youare，”shefaltered，withanotherrapidchangeofcolour。”I-
Iamjustleaving。Ihopeyouwillexcuseme。I-””IwishIcould，”hesmiled，hobblinginandconfrontingherquietlyinherownroom。”ButcircumstancesmakeitquiteimperativethatIshouldhaveafewwordswithyouonatopicwhichneednotbedisagreeabletoyou，andprobablywillnotbe。MynameisGryce。
Thiswillprobablyconveynothingtoyou，butIamnotunknowntothemanagementbelow，andmyyearsmustcertainlygiveyouconfidenceintheproprietyofmyerrand。Abeautifulandcharmingyoungwomandiedherelastnight。MayIaskifyouknewher?””I?”Shewastremblingviolentlynow，butwhetherwithindignationorsomeothermoresubtleemotion，itwouldbedifficulttosay。”No，I’mfromtheSouth。Ineversawtheyounglady。Whydoyouask?Idonotrecogniseyourright。I-I-”
Certainlyheremotionmustbethatofsimpleindignation。Mr。Grycemadeoneofhislowbows，andproppinghimselfagainstthetablehestoodbefore，remarkedcivilly：-”Ihadrathernotforcemyrights。Thematterissoveryordinary。
IdidnotsupposeyouknewMissChalloner，butonemustbeginsomehow，andasyoucameinattheverymomentwhenthealarmwasraisedinthelobby，Ithoughtperhapsyoucouldtellmesomethingwhichwouldaidmeinmyefforttoelicittherealfactsofthecase。
Youwerecrossingthelobbyatthetime-””Yes。”Sheraisedherhead。”Sowereadozenothers-””Madam，”-theinterruptionwasmadeinhiskindliesttones，butinawaywhichneverthelesssuggestedauthority。”Somethingwaspickedupfromtheflooratthatmoment。Ifthedozenyoumentionwerewitnessestothisactwedonotknowit。Butwedoknowthatitdidnotpassunobservedbyyou。AmInotcorrect?Didn’tyouseeacertainperson-Iwillmentionnonames-stoopandpickupsomethingfromthelobbyfloor?””No。”Thewordcameoutwithstartlingviolence。”Iwasconsciousofnothingbuttheconfusion。”Shewasfacinghimwithdeterminationandhereyeswerefixedboldlyonhisface。Butherlipsquivered，andhercheekswerewhite，toowhitenowforsimpleindignation。”ThenIhavemadeabigmistake，”apologisedtheever-courteousdetective。”Willyoupardonme?ItwouldhavesettledaveryseriousquestionifitcouldbefoundthattheobjectthuspickedupwastheweaponwhichkilledMissChalloner。ThatismyexcuseforthetroubleIhavegivenyou。”
Hewasnotlookingather；hewaslookingatherhandwhichrestedonthetablebeforewhichhehimselfstood。Didthefingerstightenalittleanddigintothepalmtheyconcealed?Hethoughtso，andwasveryslowinturninglimpinglyabouttowardsthedoor。
Meanwhile，wouldshespeak?No。Thesilencewassomarked，hefeltitanexcuseforstealinganotherglanceinherdirection。Shewasnotlookinghiswaybutatadoorinthepartitionwallonherright；andthelookwasoneveryakintoanxiousfear。Thenextmomentheunderstoodit。Thedoorburstopen，andayounggirlboundedintotheroom，withthemerrycry：”Allready，mother。I’mgladwearegoingtotheClarendon。I
hatehotelswherepeoplediealmostbeforeyoureyes。”
Whatthemothersaidatthisoutburstisimmaterial。Whatthedetectivedidisnot。Keepingonhisway，hereachedthedoor，butnottoopenitwider；rathertocloseitsoftlybutwithunmistakabledecision。Thecloakwhichenvelopedthegirlwasred，andfullenoughtobecalledvoluminous。”Whoisthis?”demandedthegirl，herindignantglancesflashingfromonetotheother。”Idon’tknow，”falteredthemotherinveryevidentdistress。”Hesayshehasarighttoaskusquestionsandhehasbeenaskingquestionsabout-about-””Notaboutme，”laughedthegirl，withatossofherheadMr。Grycewouldhavecorrectedinoneofhisgrandchildren。”Hecanhavenothingtosayaboutme。”Andshebegantomoveabouttheroominanaimless，half-insolentway。
Mr。Grycestaredhardatthefewremainingbelongingsofthetwowomen，lyinginaheaponthetable，andhalfmusingly，halfdeprecatingly，remarked：”Thepersonwhostoopedworealongredcloak。Probablyyouprecededyourdaughter，Mrs。Watkins。”
Theladythusbroughttothepointmadeaquickgesturetowardsthegirlwhosuddenlystoodstill，and，witharisingcolourinhercheeks，answered，withsomeshowofresolutiononherownpart：”YousayyournameisGryceandthatyouhavearighttoaddressmethuspointedlyonasubjectwhichyouevidentlyregardasserious。
Thatisnotexactenoughforme。Whoareyou，sir?Whatisyourbusiness?””Ithinkyouhaveguessedit。IamadetectivefromHeadquarters。
WhatIwantofyouIhavealreadystated。Perhapsthisyoungladycantellmewhatyoucannot。Ishallbepleasedifthisisso。””Caroline”-Thenthemotherbrokedown。”Showthegentlemanwhatyoupickedupfromthelobbyfloorlastnight。”
Thegirllaughedagain，loudlyandwithevidentbravado，beforeshethrewthecloakbackandshowedwhatshehadevidentlybeenholdinginherhandfromthefirst，asharp-pointed，gold-handledpaper-cutter。”ItwaslyingthereandIpickeditup。Idon’tseeanyharminthat。””Youprobablymeantnone。Youcouldn’thaveknownthepartithadjustplayedinthistragicdrama，”saidtheolddetectivelookingcarefullyatthecutterwhichhehadtakeninhishand，butnotsocarefullythathefailedtonotethatthelookofdistresswasnotliftedfromthemother’sfaceeitherbyherdaughter’swordsormanner。