these two.”
“Do you know who they were?”
“No. Mrs. Potter and I hurried to the crossroads just as soon as I was able to walk—I fainted, you know. There wasn’t a sign of anyone near the wreck.”
“Perhaps the two who left the inn took the victims to the hospital,” Mr. Drew suggested.
“That’s so. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“In that event, their hasty leave-taking would be perfectly natural. Of course, one of the persons might have snatched your purse and used the accident as a pretext to get away.”
“That’s what I thought,” Mrs. Willoughby said eagerly.
“The clue will bear investigation,” Mr. Drew continued; “but I am inclined to believe it will not lead to anything.”
“After all, it may have been the waiter. I was suspicious of him from the moment I stepped into the inn. He kept looking at my handbag.”
“I understand he submitted to a search.”
“Yes, I insisted upon it. The jewels weren’t found upon his person, but he might have hidden them.”
“I see by the paper that the handbag was rather larger than those usually carried and was highly ornamented.”
“Yes. I knew I should need a large bag for those jewels. Still, it was not so large that it could not be stolen and concealed.”