Part 34 (1/2)
”It suddenly struck me,” said he, ”that Lady Cromarty might think it somewhat unseemly of me to come enquiring about shooting so soon after her bereavement; so I gave her a somewhat different explanation. She is not likely to make any further enquiries about me and so you need say nothing about my visit.”
He was careful however to impress on his friend Mr. Bisset that he actually had come from purely sporting motives. In fact he professed some anxiety to get in touch with Sir Malcolm on the subject, even though a.s.sured that the young baronet had nothing to do with the shootings.
”Ah, but it will gratify him, Bisset,” said he, ”and I think it is the nice thing to do. Could you give me his London address?”
He jotted this down in his pocket book, and then as he was leaving he said confidentially:
”You tell me that you think Sir Malcolm is interested in Miss Farmond, though she seemed not so keen on him?”
”That was the way of it to my thinking,” said Bisset. ”And what deduction would you draw from that, sir?”
”I should deduce,” said this sympathetic and intelligent visitor, ”the probable appearance of certain evidence bearing on our theories, Bisset.”
Mr. Bisset thought he had seldom met a pleasanter gentleman or a more helpful a.s.sistant.
XXV
A TELEGRAM
The car took Mr. Carrington straight back to the town and dropped him at the door of Mr. Rattar's office.
”I shall want you again at two o'clock sharp,” he said to the chauffeur, and turned in to the office.
He caught the lawyer just before he went out to lunch and said at once:
”I want to see Sir Malcolm Cromarty. Can you arrange for him to run up here for a day?”
Simon stared at him hard, and there seemed to be even more caution than usual in his eye; almost, indeed, a touch of suspicion. The lawyer was not looking quite as well as usual; there was a drawn look about the upper part of the face and a hint of strain both in eyes and mouth.
”Why do you want to see Sir Malcolm?” he enquired.
”Well,” said Carrington, ”the fact of the matter is, Mr. Rattar, that, as you yourself said, the direct evidence is practically nil, and one is forced to go a good deal by one's judgment of the people suspected or concerned.”
Simon grunted sceptically.
”Very misleading,” he said.
”That depends entirely on one's judgment, or rather on one's instinct for distinguis.h.i.+ng bad eggs from good. As a matter of observation I don't find that certain types of men and women commit certain actions, and I do find that they are apt to commit others. And contrariwise with other types.”
”Very unsafe doctrine,” said Simon emphatically.
”Extremely--in the hands of any one who doesn't know how to apply it. On the other hand, it can be made a short and commonsense cut to the truth in many cases. For instance, the man who suspected Mr. Bisset of committing the crime would simply be wasting his time and energy, even if there seemed to be some evidence against him.”
”Any man can commit any crime,” said Simon dogmatically.
Carrington smiled and shook his head.
”Personally,” said he, ”if you had a young and pretty wife, I am capable of running away with her, and possibly even of letting her persuade me to abscond with some of your property, but I am not capable of laying you out in cold blood and rifling that safe. And a good judge of men ought to be able to perceive this and not waste his time in trying to convict me of an offence I couldn't commit. On the other hand, if the crime was one that my type is apt to commit he would be a fool to acquit me off-hand, even if there was next to no evidence against me.”