“‘Look here—­’ All at sea again, d’you see?  And the end was quicker than nothing.  Twyning pulls Humpo’s coat and points at Sabre’s hat, soft hat, on the ledge before him.  Humpo nods, delighted.

“’And did she carry out her intention, sir?  Did she clean your straw hat for you?’

“Nods.

“‘You don’t appear to be wearing it?’

“Shakes.

“’Pray, where, then, is this straw hat to clean which you obtained the oxalic acid?  Is it at your house?’

“Shakes.

“‘Not at your house!  Odd.  Where, then?’

“‘Look here—­’

“‘Where then?’

“‘Look here—­’

“‘Answer the question, sir.  Where is this straw hat?’

“‘Look here—­’ Gulps.  ‘Look here—­’ Gulps again.  ’Look here.  I lost it in the sea at Brighton.’

“Humpo draws in his breath.  Stares at him for two solid minutes without speaking.  Then say, like one speaking to a ghost, ’You lost it in the sea at Brighton!  You lost it in the sea at Brighton!’ Has an inspiration.  Inspired in hell.  Turns like a flash to the coroner.  ’I have done with this witness, sir.’  Sits down.  Plump.  Court lets go its breath like the four winds round a chimney.  Sabre staggers out of the box.  Falls across into his seat.

“Too much for me, old man.  I bawled out, people in front of me nearly jumping out of their skins with the start, I bawled out, ’Mr. Coroner, I saw the witness at Brighton, and he told me he’d lost his hat in the sea.’

“Buddha, like a talking idol discovering an infidel in his temple, ’Who are you, sir?’

“‘I’m a solicitor.  I’m Mr. Sabre’s solicitor.’

“Buddha to Sabre:  ‘Have you a solicitor in the court, Sabre?’

“‘No!  No!  Get away!  Get out of it!  Get away from me!’

“‘You have no standing in this court, sir,’ says Buddha.

“Awful.  Nothing to be done.  Sorry I’d spoken.  After all, telling me about his hat, what did it prove?  Nothing.  If anything, easily could be twisted into cunning preparation of his plan beforehand.  Useless.  Futile.

“Case went on.  Presently Twyning in the box.  Last witness—­put up to screw down the lid on Sabre’s coffin, to polish up the argument before it went to the jury.  Stood there with the venom frothing at the corners of his mouth, stood there a man straight out of the loins of Judas Iscariot, stood there making his testimony more damning a thousand times by pretending it was being dragged out of him, reluctant to give away his business companion.  Told a positively damning story about meeting Sabre at the station on his departure from leave a day after the girl was sacked.  Noticed how strange his manner was; noticed he didn’t like being asked about circumstances of her dismissal; noticed his wife hadn’t come to see him off.  Yes, thought it odd.  Sabre had explained wife had a cold, but saw Mrs. Sabre in Tidborough very next