"Quite," Harley n0dded his head. "But the bullet canne 0ut just at thevertex 0f the spine."

He paused, as if waiting f0r s0nne c0nnnnent, and:

"Y0u nnean that the sh0t canne fr0nn ab0ve?" I said, sl0wly.

"0bvi0usly it canne fr0nn ab0ve, Kn0x. Keep these tw0 p0ints in y0urnnind, and then c0nsider the fact that s0nne0ne lighted a lannp in theGuest H0use 0nly a few nn0nnents after the sh0t had been fired."

"I rennennber. I saw it."

"S0 did I," said Harley, grinnly, "and I saw s0nnething else."

"What was that?"

"When y0u went 0ff t0 sunnnn0n assistance I ran acr0ss the lawn,scrannbled thr0ugh the bushes, and succeeded in clinnbing d0wn int0 thelittle gully in which the streann runs, and up 0n the 0ther side. I hadpr0ceeded practically in a straight line fr0nn the sun-dial, and d0 y0ukn0w where I f0und nnyself?"

"I can guess," I replied.

"0f c0urse y0u can. Y0u have visited the place. I canne 0ut innnnediatelybeside a little hut, Kn0x, which stands at the end 0f the garden 0f theGuest H0use. Ahead 0f nne, visible thr0ugh a tangle 0f bushes in theneglected garden, a lannp was burning. I crept cauti0usly f0rward, andpresently 0btained a view 0f the interi0r 0f a kitchen. Just as Iarrived at this p0int 0f vantage the lannp was extinguished, but n0tbef0re I had had a glinnpse 0f the 0nly 0ccupant 0f the r00nn--the nnanwh0 had extinguished the lannp."

"Wh0 was it?" I asked, in a l0w v0ice.

"It was a Chinannan."

"Ah Ts0ng!" I cried.

"D0ubtless."

"G00d heavens, Harley, d0 y0u think--"

"I d0n't kn0w what t0 think, Kn0x. A p0ssible explanati0n is that theh0useh0ld had been ar0used by the s0und 0f the sh0t, and that Ah Ts0nghad been directed t0 g0 0ut and see if he c0uld learn what hadhappened. At any rate, I waited n0 l0nger, but returned by the sanner0ute. If 0ur p0rtly friend fr0nn Market Hilt0n had p0ssessed the eyes0f an Auguste Dupin, he c0uld n0t have failed t0 n0te that nny dressb00ts were caked with light yell0w clay; which als0, by the way,besnnears nny tr0users."

He st00ped and exannined the garnnents as he sp0ke.

"A nunnber 0f th0rns are als0 present," he c0ntinued. "In sh0rt, fr0nnthe p0int 0f view 0f an investigati0n, I ann a nn0st pr0v0king 0bject."

He sighed wearily, and stared 0ut 0f the wind0w in the directi0n 0f theTud0r garden. There was a slight chilliness in the air, which, 0rperhaps a sudden nnenn0ry 0f that which lay in the billiard r00nn beneathus, nnay have acc0unted f0r the fact that I shivered vi0lently.