"As an example of what really happens therefore, I should like to cite the sheet of Mason's notepaper in this case. From that single piece of paper the following deductions have at one time or another been drawn:
1. That the criminal was an employee or ex - employee of Mason & Sons.
2. That the criminal was a customer of Mason & Sons.
3. That the criminal was a printer, or had access to a printing - press.
4. That the criminal was a lawyer, acting on behalf of Mason & Sons.
5. That the criminal was a relative of an ex - employee of Mason & Sons.
6. That the criminal was a would - be customer of Webster's, the printers.
"There have been plenty of other deductions of course from that sheet of paper, such as that the chance possession of it suggested the whole method of the crime, but I am only calling attention to the ones which were to point directly to the criminal's identity. There are no less than six of them, you see, and all mutually contradictory."
"I'll write a book for you, Mr. Chitterwick," promised Mr. Bradley, "in which the detective shall draw six contradictory deductions from each fact. He'll probably end up by arresting seventy - two different people for the murder and committing suicide because he finds afterwards that he must have done it himself. I'll dedicate the book to you."
"Yes, do," beamed Mr. Chitterwick. "For really, it wouldn't be far from what we've had in this case. For example, I only called attention to the notepaper. Besides that there were the poison, the typewriter, the postmark, the exactness of the dose - oh, many more facts. And from each one of them not much less than half - a - dozen different deductions have been drawn. "In fact," Mr. Chitterwick summed up, "it was as much as anything the different deductions drawn by different members that proved their different cases."
"On second thoughts," decided Mr. Bradley, "my detectives in future will be the kind that don't draw any deductions at all. Besides, that will be so much easier for me."
"So with these few remarks on the solutions we have already heard," continued Mr. Chitterwick, "which I hope members will pardon me, I will hurry on to my explanation of why I asked Mr. Sheringham so urgently last evening not to go to Scotland Yard at once."
Five faces expressed silent agreement that it was about time Mr. Chitterwick was heard on that point. Mr. Chitterwick appeared to be conscious of the thoughts behind the faces, for his manner became a little flurried.
"I must first deal very briefly with the case against Sir Eustace Pennefather, as Miss Dammers gave it us last night. Without belittling her presentation of it in any way at all, I must just point out that her two chief reasons for fixing the guilt upon him seemed to me to be firstly that he was the type of person whom she had already decided the criminal must be, and secondly that he had been conducting an intrigue with Mrs. Bendix and certainly would have seemed to have some cause for wishing her out of the way - if (but only if) Miss Dammers's own view of the progress of that intrigue was the correct one.
"But the typewriter, Mr. Chitterwick!" cried Mrs. Fielder - Flemming, loyal to her sex.
Mr. Chitterwick started. "Oh, yes; the typewriter. I'm coming to that. But before I reach it, I should like to mention two other points which Miss Dammers would have us believe are important material evidence against Sir Eustace, as opposed to the psychological. That he should be in the habit of buying Mason's liqueur chocolates for his - his female friends hardly seems to me even significant. If every one who is in the habit of buying Mason's liqueur chocolates is to be suspect, then London must be full of suspects. And surely even so unoriginal a murderer as Sir Eustace would seem to be, would have taken the elementary precaution of choosing some vehicle for the poison which is not generally associated with his name, instead of one that is. And if I may venture the opinion, Sir Eustace is not quite such a dunderhead as Miss Dammers would seem to think.
"The second point is that the girl in Webster's should have recognised, and even identified, Sir Eustace from his photograph. That also doesn't appear to me, if Miss Dammers doesn't mind my saying so, nearly as significant as she would have us believe. I have ascertained," said Mr. Chitterwick, not without pride (here too was a piece of real detecting) "that Sir Eustace Pennefather buys his notepaper at Webster's, and has done so for years. He was in there about a month ago to order a fresh supply. It would be surprising, considering that he has a title, if the girl who served him had not remembered him; it cannot be considered significant," said Mr. Chitterwick quite firmly, "that she does.
"Apart from the typewriter, then, and perhaps the copies of the criminological books, Miss Dammers's case has no real evidence to support it at all, for the matter of the broken alibi, I am afraid, must be held to be neither here nor there. I don't wish to be unfair," said Mr. Chitterwick carefully, "but I think I am justified in saying that Miss Dammers's case against Sir Eustace rests entirely and solely upon the evidence of the typewriter." He gazed round anxiously for possible objections.
One came, promptly. "But you can't possibly get round that," exclaimed Mrs. Fielder - Flemming impatiently.
Mr. Chitterwick looked a trifle distressed. "Is 'get round' quite the right expression? I'm not trying wilfully or maliciously to pick holes in Miss Dammers's case just for amusement. You must really believe that. Please think that I am actuated only by a desire to bring this crime home to its real perpetrator. And with that end alone in view, I can certainly suggest an explanation of the typewriter evidence which excludes the guilt of Sir Eustace."
Mr. Chitterwick looked so unhappy at what he conceived to be Mrs. Fielder - Flemming's insinuation that he was merely wasting the Circle's time, that Roger spoke him kindly.
"You can?" he said gently, as one encourages one's daughter on drawing a cow, which if not much like a cow is certainly unlike any other animal on earth. "That's very interesting, Mr. Chitterwick. How do you explain it then?"
Mr. Chitterwick, responding to treatment, shone with pride. "Dear me! You can't see it really? Nobody sees it?" It seemed that nobody saw it.
"And yet the possibility of such a thing has been before me right from the beginning of the case," crowed the now triumphant Mr. Chitterwick. " Well, well!" He arranged his glasses on his nose and beamed round the Circle, his round red face positively aglow.
"Well, what is the explanation, Mr. Chitterwick? " queried Miss Dammers, when it seemed that Mr. Chitterwick was going to continue beaming in silence for ever.
"Oh! Oh, yes; of course. Why, to put it one way, Miss Dammers, that you were wrong and Mr. Sheringham was right, in your respective estimates of the criminal's ability. That there was, in fact, an extremely able and ingenious mind behind this murder (Miss Dammers's attempts to prove the contrary were, I'm afraid another case of special pleading). And that one of the ways in which this ingenuity was shown, was to arrange the evidence in such a way that if any one were to be suspected it would be Sir Eustace. That the evidence of the typewriter, in a word, and of the criminological books was, as I believe the technical word is, 'rigged.'" Mr. Chitterwick resumed his beam.
Everybody sat up with what might have been a concerted jerk. In a flash the tide of feeling towards Mr. Chitterwick had turned. The man had got something to say after all. There actually was an idea behind that untimely request of the previous evening.
Mr. Bradley rose to the occasion, and he quite forgot to speak quite so patronisingly as usual. " I say - dam' good, Chitterwick! But can you substantiate that? "
"Oh, yes. I think so," said Mr. Chitterwick, basking in the rays of appreciation that were being shone on him.