I

“ ‘Everything must go! I’m ruined⁠—done for. And you shall go with me. I shall shoot you first⁠—then myself. They will find our bodies here in the morning side by side⁠—together in death.’

“And so on⁠—a lot more. He had hold of Doris Evans by the arm and she, realising she had to do with a madman, made frantic efforts to free herself, or failing that to get the revolver away from him. They struggled together, and in that struggle he must have torn out a piece of her hair and got the wool of her coat entangled on a button.

“Finally, with a desperate effort, she freed herself, and ran for her life across the golf links, expecting every minute to be shot down with a revolver bullet. She fell twice⁠—tripping over the heather, but eventually regained the road to the station and realised that she was not being pursued.

“That is the story that Doris Evans tells⁠—and from which she has never varied. She strenuously denies that she ever struck at him with a hat pin in self defence⁠—a natural enough thing to do under the circumstances, though⁠—and one which may well be the truth. In support of her story a revolver has been found in the furze bushes near where the body is lying. It had not been fired.

“Doris Evans has been sent for trial, but the mystery still remains a mystery. If her story is to be believed, who was it who stabbed Captain Sessle? The other woman, the tall woman in brown whose appearance so upset him? So far no one has explained her connection with the case. She appears out of space suddenly on the footpath across the links, she disappears along the slip, and no one ever hears of her again. Who was she? A local resident? A visitor from London? If so, did she come by car or train? There is nothing remarkable about her except her height, no one seems to be able to describe her appearance. She could not have been Doris Evans for Doris Evans is small and fair, and moreover was only just then arriving at the station.”