“Ever seen this before, Mr. Raymond?”
“Why—I believe—I’m almost sure that is a curio given to Mr. Ackroyd by Major Blunt. It comes from Morocco—no, Tunis. So the crime was committed with that? What an extraordinary thing. It seems almost impossible, and yet there could hardly be two daggers the same. May I fetch Major Blunt?”
Without waiting for an answer, he hurried off.
“Nice young fellow that,” said the inspector. “Something honest and ingenuous about him.”
I agreed. In the two years that Geoffrey Raymond has been secretary to Ackroyd, I have never seen him ruffled or out of temper. And he has been, I know, a most efficient secretary.
In a minute or two Raymond returned, accompanied by Blunt.
“I was right,” said Raymond excitedly. “It is the Tunisian dagger.”
“Major Blunt hasn’t looked at it yet,” objected the inspector.
“Saw it the moment I came into the study,” said the quiet man.
“You recognized it, then?”
Blunt nodded.
“You said nothing about it,” said the inspector suspiciously.
“Wrong moment,” said Blunt. “Lot of harm done by blurting out things at the wrong time.”
He returned the inspector’s stare placidly enough.