"There is a silversmith just round the corner," said Bess in great excitement. "Do come and let him see it. I want to know for certain that it is silver."
"I do not know what good that will do Miss Bess. If it is silver that will not help us to catch Frisco any the sooner."
"No! but you can't think what discoveries you might make if you knew it was silver for certain. I know how you can put things together, and a piece of evidence like this--oh I am sure you could do a lot with it."
Bridge in his own heart did not very well see what he could do. But he was not proof against flattery as the artful Bess well knew, so he went round the corner with her to a convenient jeweller's and offered him the bullet. "Will you please to tell me what this is?" he said in his most official tone. "Do not destroy it Mr. Blinks, or deform it in any way. It is the property of the Crown. All the Crown wants to know is the metal of which this is formed."
Mr. Blinks was much impressed with this speech. Promising to be careful he took the bullet into the next room--into his workshop and there performed some trick of the trade. When he returned he handed the bullet to Bridge very little altered. "It is of silver, Mr. Bridge," he said.
"All of silver?" asked Bridge while Bess tried to suppress her excitement.
"All of silver Mr. Bridge. It has been cast in a mould. Probably a cup or a silver plate has been melted down. What is it Mr. Inspector?"
"The property of the Crown," replied Bridge solemnly and departed. When in the office he locked up the bullet and looked at Bess. "I really do not see how this discovery can help me," he said.
"Think over it Mr. Inspector. You will be certain to hit upon some link."
But Bess herself was as far away from the truth as the Inspector. As she drove back to Saxham, she wondered how it came about that the bullet which had killed Carr was cast in silver, and to this she could find no answer.
The surprising discovery that the bullet was of silver, elevated the crime from the common-place to the romantic. That an old-fashioned weapon should have been used in these days when firearms have reached such a pitch of perfection, was remarkable enough, but that the assassin should have reverted to the superstitions of the Middle Ages for his missile, was almost beyond belief. In spite of her quick brain, Bess could not come to any decision. Failing a discussion with Dr. Jim she resolved to leave the vexed question at rest.