To our astonishment we
found she had only seen him once since the murder, and that was the
night the bodies were discovered."
"How could you extract that from a self-contained woman like Agnes
Wilt?" asked Duff Salter, deeply interested.
"We got it from Podge Byerly."
"Jerusalem!" exclaimed Duff Salter aloud, knocking over the snuff-box
and forgetting to sneeze. "Mr. Calvin Van de Lear, it is a damned lie."
Calvin locked up with some surprise but more conceit.
"I'm a first-class eavesdropper," he wrote, and held it up on the tablet
to Duff's eyes. "We got the fact from Podge's bed-ridden brother, a
scamp who destroyed his health by excesses and came back on Podge for
support. Knowing how corruptible he was, I got access to him and paid
him out of your funds to wheedle out of Podge all that Lady Agnes told
her. She had no idea that her brother communicated with any person, as
he was unable to walk, and she told him for his amusement secrets she
never dreamed could go out of the house. We corresponded with him by
mail."
"Calvin," wrote Duff Salter, "you never thought of these things
yourself."
"To give the devil his credit, my brother's wife suggested that device."
"Jericho-o-o-oh!"
Duff Salter was himself again.
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