But she was not to be caught. "My theory is," she smiled, "that as Goethe says, 'We are all capable of crime, even the best of us.' I truly think that most human beings could commit crime, given sufficient motive and opportunity."

"All very fine in theory," said Gibbs, smiling, "but are you willing to a.s.sert that Miss Prall or--or yourself, would be capable of the murder of Sir Herbert Binney, if you had a perfect opportunity and if you considered your motive strong enough?"

"Oh, _I_ wouldn't have done it!" and Mrs Everett looked shocked, indeed, "but,--well, maybe I do think Let.i.tia Prall would have done it."

"Aided and abetted by Miss Gurney," the detective egged her on.

"Yes; Eliza would have been not only a help but a commander,--a tyrant, even."

"And Miss Gurney wished the old gentleman out of the way?"

"Oh, yes; as much, perhaps, as Let.i.tia. You see, if he died just now, his fortune would be young Bates' and the boy could go on with his chosen career, without being pestered to make buns! Moreover, Sir Herbert favored Rickey's marriage----"

"To your daughter?"

"To anybody,--any nice young woman. My daughter is out of the question and not to be spoken of in this connection."

Mrs Everett drew herself up in with an effect of injured dignity and looked scornfully at Gibbs.

"But you seem to eliminate the young people themselves as factors in the romance part of it all."

"They are not factors. My daughter has sufficient confidence in my judgment to agree to my advice. She knows my att.i.tude toward Miss Prall and she would not encourage or accept the attentions of her nephew."

"You're sure of this?"

"Of course I'm sure of it! Dorcas is a sweet, obedient child, and she would not deceive her loving and beloved mother. Also, she knows the despicable and unworthy nature of Miss Prall, and she a.s.sumes, as I do, that Richard is of the same stamp."

"Then you don't know the young man? You only a.s.sume his character? Is that quite fair?"

"Fair enough for anybody belonging to the Prall family! They cannot expect fairness! They wouldn't even appreciate it! Let.i.tia Prall is a mean, low type of womanhood,--a deceitful, unjust, disloyal, contemptible snake in the gra.s.s!"

"That's so," chimed in Kate; "she's proved all that over and over,--and more too! She has no notion of common decency toward her neighbors; she is a two-faced, backbiting, sneaky, tattletale!"

"But this doesn't prove young Bates----"

"Yes, it does!" the detective's argument was cut off; "she brought him up, and she taught him all her own evil principles, and her own way of thinking and talking----"

"But you scarcely know the man,----"

"That's doesn't matter! He's the nephew of Let.i.tia Prall,--and that's enough for me! My daughter shall never speak to him,--never meet him,--and lest such a chance should occur accidentally, I am planning to move away."

"You don't think your daughter is--is interested in Mr Bates?"

"I know she is not! Dorcas is a wayward-tempered child, but she is loyal to her mother and her mother's wishes. She wouldn't dream of seeing Richard Bates against my will."

Now, as it happened at that very moment, the loyal child was apparently quite oblivious of the wishes of her beloved mother, for she was sitting by the side of the objurgated Richard on a bench in Central Park.

When told to leave the room by her mother, she had also left the Everett apartment, and later, the house.

By some discreet telephoning she had summoned the despised young man and the two had sauntered out of The Campanile, separately, and joined company soon after.

"It's a risk," Dorcas was saying, "and if mother, catches on, she'll give me Hail Columbia, but I just had to see you! Do you know what they're saying about your uncle's murder, now?"

"No; and I don't want to hear from you. Please, dear, let's leave all that horror out of our conversation. We get so few moments together and I need every one of them to tell you how I love you."

"Then," the red lips pouted, "when am I to tell you how much I love you?"

"Oh, Dork! you do say the sweetest things! Tell me, darling, tell me, first, then I'll tell you----"

"We may as well both talk at once," Dorcas laughed. "We can say the same things,--it'll really be a duet!"

"All right, say with me,--I love you. Ready, one, two, three, go!"

"I love you!" they said in concert.

"No fun," decided Dorcas; "I want you to tell me separately."

So Richard did, to such an extent and with so much detail and reiteration that the moments flew by, and it was time to go home before the other side of the shield was painted.

"But, Ricky, dear," Dorcas said finally, "I must talk a little about this awful thing. I've heard a lot of hints and whispers,--for mother and Kate shut up as soon as I come into the room,--and I want to know this: Is your aunt, Miss Prall, suspected of killing Sir Herbert?"

"Good Lord, no! What an awful idea! Where did you dig that up?"

"I've heard a lot, I tell you. And some people do think so!"

"But it's absurd! Impossible! Also, I won't have such talk going around!

You must tell me, Dork, where you heard it! Tell me all you know."

"I don't _know_ anything, Rick, but I think you ought to do something definite in the way of detective work. Those men don't get anywhere?"

"Why, what do you mean? What do you know about that, Little Peachbloom?"

"I don't know anything. And you don't, either. But unless you find out something there'll be trouble. Now, Rick, stop treating me as a baby and talk about it. Who do you think killed him?"

"Honestly, Dorrie, I think, just as he wrote, some women did it. I don't know who they were, and I'm not sure I care to know,--for they were, no doubt, some--some people with whom we have no concern."

"That may be," said the girl, very soberly, "and it may not be. You must realize, Rick, that those silly little chorus girls might have had reason to hate the man, but they could scarcely compa.s.s that killing."

Bates looked at her in astonishment.

"What _do_ you mean?" he said, slowly; "that is, what are you hinting?"

"Only that I think the murderers are of a higher type of women than giddy youngsters,----"

"Murderers can't be of a very high type----"

"I don't mean high type of character, but of brains. To my mind, that deed implies women of cleverness and mental power."

"Such as,----?"