“And I am pleased with you. You have a good memory, and you have given me the facts faithfully. Of the order in which you present them, I say nothing⁠—truly, it is deplorable! But I make allowances⁠—you are upset. To that I attribute the circumstance that you have omitted one fact of paramount importance.”

“What is that?” I asked.

“You have not told me if Mrs. Inglethorp ate well last night.”

I stared at him. Surely the war had affected the little man’s brain. He was carefully engaged in brushing his coat before putting it on, and seemed wholly engrossed in the task.

“I don’t remember,” I said. “And, anyway, I don’t see⁠—”

“You do not see? But it is of the first importance.”