His voice dropped off. He stood for a minute or so in absolute silence, drumming noiselessly with his finger tips upon the window-sill, then turned abruptly and spoke to Mr. Narkom.
"Go on with the story, please," he said. "There was a fifth man, I believe. When and how did his end come?"
"Like the others, for the most part, but with one startling difference: instead of being undressed, nothing had been removed but his collar and boots. He was killed on the night I started with Dollops for the Continent in quest of you; and his was the second body that was not actually found _on_ the heath. Like the first man, he was found under the wall which surrounds Lemmingham House."
"Lemmingham House? What's that--a hotel or a private residence?"
"A private residence, owned and occupied by Mr. James Barrington-Edwards."
"Any relation to that Captain Barrington-Edwards who was cashiered from the army some twenty years ago for 'conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman'?"
"Oho! the same man, eh?" Cleek's tone was full of sudden interest. "Stop a bit! Let me put my thinking box into operation. Captain Barrington-Edwards--hum-m-m! That little military unpleasantness happened out in Ceylon, did it not? The gentleman had a fancy for conjuring tricks, I believe; even went so far as to study them firsthand under the tutelage of native fakirs, and was subsequently caught cheating at cards. That's the man, isn't it?"
"Yes," said Narkom, "that's the man. I'll have something startling to tell you in connection with him presently, but not in connection with that card-cheating scandal. He always swore that he was innocent of that. In fact, that it was a put-up job by one of the other officers for the sake of ruining him."
"Yes, I know--they all say that. It's the only thing they can say."
"Still, I always believed him, Cleek. He's been a pretty straightforward man in all my dealings with him, and I've had several. Besides which, he is highly respected these days. Then, too, there's the fact that the fellow he said put up the job against him for the sake of blackening him in the eyes of his sweetheart, eventually married the girl, so it does look rather fishy. However, although it ruined Barrington-Edwards for the time being, and embittered him so that he never married, he certainly had the satisfaction of knowing that the fellow who had caused this trouble turned out an absolute rotter, spent all his wife's money and brought her down to absolute beggary, whereas, if she'd stuck to Barrington-Edwards she'd have been a wealthy woman indeed, to-day. He's worth half a million at the least calculation."