"Well," said Halliday, smoking thoughtfully, "we are not entirely certain yet if such a gang exists. It's all theory anyhow, in spite of the letters you drew from this person and the other. Penn certainly explained the scent, but told an obvious lie, since Miss Armour has it. I don't say that she knows anything, but it is strange that she should possess the Sumatra perfume."
"Other people can send the same perfume to England," retorted Freddy. "Penn isn't the sole person who has friends in Sumatra. Mrs. Jarsell, since she gave the scent to Miss Armour, may have friends in that island. Ask her."
"No," said Dan, very positively. "I shall ask no one until I make Penn speak out. In any case, I want to know why he told a lie."
"Then, to put it plainly--you suspect Mrs. Jarsell?"
"To answer plainly, I don't. There can be no connection between two harmless old ladies living in these wilds and the murder of Sir Charles. Yet this confounded scent forms a link between the dead man, Mrs. Jarsell, and Penn."
Laurance rubbed his chin reflectively. "It's odd, to say the least of it. I suppose you are certain the perfume is the same?"
"I'll swear to it." Dan rose and knocked the ashes out of his pipe. "And I intend to learn how Mrs. Jarsell became possessed of it. I may be on a wild goose chase. All the same, with the stake I have, I can't afford to lose an opportunity."
"So Miss Armour said, when she told your fortune," commented Freddy thoughtfully.
"Yes. I wonder what she meant?" Dan stretched himself. "I'm for bed. Ring the bell, and ask Mrs. Pelgrin for the spirits."
Laurance, not feeling called upon to resume the conversation, as he was tired himself, did as he was told, and Mrs. Pelgrin, raw-boned and grim, bounced aggressively into the room, to demand fiercely what they required. She sniffed when whiskey was ordered, but as its consumption would increase her bill, she brought in a bottle of "Johnny Walker" and a siphon of soda, without argument. When she turned to depart, and wished them good-night in tones suggestive of a jailer, a sudden thought struck Dan. It would not be amiss, he thought, to question Mrs. Pelgrin concerning the hermit ladies. Not that he expected a great deal to result from his exanimation, as the worthy woman was a she-cat, and what she knew would probably have to be clawed out of her.