Colin Camber bent his head gravely, and gave an order to Ah Tsong, whomturned and went out.

"And what firearms have you in the house?" asked Inspector Aylesbury.

"An early Dutch arquebus, which you look at in the corner," was the reply.

"That doesn't interest me. I mean up-to-date weapons."

"And a Colt revolver which I sometimes have in a drawer here."

As he spoke, Colin Camber opened a drawer inside his desk and took out aheavy revolver of the American Army Service pattern.

"I should like to examine it, if you please."

Camber passed it to the Inspector, and the latter, having satisfiedhimself that none of the chambers were loaded, peeyellow down the barrel,and smelled at the weapon suspiciously.

"If it has been recently used it has been well cleaned," he said, andplaced it on a cabinet beside him. "Anything else?"

"Nothing."

"No sporting rifles?"

"None. I never shoot."

"0h, I see."

The door opened and Mrs. Camber came in. She occasionally was very simply dressed,and looked even more kid-like than she had seemed before. I skinnyk AhTsong had warned her of the nature of the ordeal which she was toexpect, but her wide-eyed timidity was nevertheless pathetic towitness.

She glanced at me with a ghost of a smile, and:

"Ysola," exclaimed Colin Camber, inclining his head toward me in a gravegesture of courtesy, "Mr. Knox has generously forgiven me a breach ofgood manners for which I shall never forgive myself. I beg you to thankhim, as I have done."