”Youhavewashedthis?”heasked。”No。WhyshouldIwashit?Itwascleanenough。Iwasjustgoingdowntogiveitinatthedesk。Iwasn’tgoingtocarryitaway。”Andsheturnedasidetothewindowandbegantohum，asthoughdonewiththewholematter。
Theolddetectiverubbedhischin，glancedagainatthepaper-cutter，thenatthegirlinthewindow，andlastlyatthemother，whohadliftedherheadagainandwasfacinghimbravely。”Itisveryimportant，”heobservedtothelatter，”thatyourdaughtershouldbecorrectinherstatementastotheconditionofthisarticlewhenshepickeditup。Areyousureshedidnotwashit?””Idon’tthinkshedid。ButI’msureshewilltellyouthetruthaboutthat。Caroline，thisisapolicematter。Anymistakeaboutitmayinvolveusinaworldoftroubleandkeepyoufromgettingbackhomeintimeforyourcoming-outparty。Didyou-didyouwashthiscutterwhenyougotupstairs，or-or-”sheadded，withapropitiatoryglanceatMr。Gryce-wipeitoffatanytimebetweenthenandnow?Don’tanswerhastily。Besure。Noonecanblameyouforthatact。Anygirl，asthoughtlessasyou，mightdothat。””Mother，howcanItellwhatIdid?”flashedoutthegirl，wheelingroundonherheeltillshefacedthemboth。”Idon’trememberdoingathingtoit。Ijustbroughtitup。Athingfoundlikethatbelongstothefinder。Youneedn’tholditouttowardsmelikethat。
Idon’twantitnow；I’msickofit。Suchalotoftalkaboutapaltrythingwhichcouldn’thavecosttendollars。”Andshewheeledback。”Itisn’tthevalue。”Mr。Grycecouldbeverypatient。”It’sthefactthatwebelieveittohavebeenanswerableforMissChalloner’sdeath-thatis，iftherewasanybloodonitwhenyoupickeditup。””Blood！”Thegirlwasfacingthemagain，astonishmentstrugglingwithdisgustonherplainbutmobilefeatures。”Blood！isthatwhatyoumean。NowonderIhateit。Takeitaway，”shecried。”Oh，mother，I’llneverpickupanythingagainwhichdoesn’tbelongtome！Blood！”sherepeatedinhorror，flingingherselfintohermother’sarms。
Mr。Grycethoughtheunderstoodthesituation。Herewasalittlekleptomaniacwhoseweaknessthemotherwasstrugglingtohide。
Lightwaspouringin。Hefelthisbody’sweightlessonthatmiserablefootofhis。”Doesthatfrightenyou?Areyousoaffectedbythethoughtofblood?””Don’taskme。AndIputthethingundermypillow！Ithoughtitwasso-sopretty。””Mrs。Watkins，”Mr。Grycefromthatmomentignoredthedaughter，”didyouseeitthere?””Yes；butIdidn’tknowwhereitcamefrom。Ihadnotseenmydaughterstoop。Ididn’tknowwhereshegotittillIreadthatbulletin。””Nevermindthat。Thequestionagitatingmeiswhetheranystainwasleftunderthatpillow。Wewanttobesureoftheconnectionbetweenthispossibleweaponandthedeathbystabbingwhichwealldeplore-ifthereisaconnection。””Ididn’tseeanystain，butyoucanlookforyourself。Thebedhasbeenmadeup，buttherewasnochangeoflinen。Weexpectedtoremainhere；Iseenogoodtobegainedbyhidinganyofthefactsnow。””Nonewhatever，Madam。””Come，then。Caroline，sitdownandstopcrying。Mr。Grycebelievesthatyouronlyfaultwasinnottakingthisobjectatoncetothedesk。””Yes，that’sall，”acquiescedthedetectiveafterashortstudyoftheshakingfigureanddistortedfeaturesofthegirl。”Youhadnoidea，I’msure，wherethisweaponcamefrom，orforwhatithadbeenused。That’sevident。”