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Page 78
"You see, Inspector, I regarded it as my duty to patrol the grounds of
the house at nightfall, since, for all I knew to the contrary, some of
the servants might be responsible for the attempts of which the Colonel
complained. I had descended from the window of my room, had passed
entirely around the house east to west, and had returned to my
starting-point when Mr. Knox, who was looking out of the window,
observed Colonel Menendez entering the Tudor garden."
"Oh. Colonel Menendez was not visible to you?"
"Not from my position below, but being informed by my friend, who was
hurriedly descending the ladder, that the Colonel had entered the
garden, I set off running to intercept him."
"Why?"
"He had acquired a habit of walking in his sleep, and I presumed that
he was doing so on this occasion."
"Oh, I see. So being told by the gentleman at the window that Colonel
Menendez was in the garden, you started to run toward him. While you
were running you heard a shot?"
"I did."
"Where do you think it came from?"
"Nothing is more difficult to judge, Inspector, especially when one is
near to a large building surrounded by trees."
"Nevertheless," said the Inspector, again raising his finger and
frowning at Harley, "you cannot tell me that you formed no impression
on the point. For instance, was it near, or a long way off?"
"It was fairly near."
"Ten yards, twenty yards, a hundred yards, a mile?"
"Within a hundred yards. I cannot be more exact."
"Within a hundred yards, and you have no idea from which direction the
shot was fired?"
"From the sound I could form none."
"Oh, I see. And what did you do?"
"I ran on and down into the sunken garden. I saw Colonel Menendez lying
upon his face near the sun-dial. He was moving convulsively. Running up
to him, I that he had been shot through the head."
"What steps did you take?"
"My friend, Mr. Knox, had joined me, and I sent him for assistance."
"But what steps did you take to apprehend the murderer?"
Paul Harley looked at him quietly.
"What steps should you have taken?" he asked.
Inspector Aylesbury cleared his throat again, and:
"I don't think I should have let my man slip through my fingers like
that," he replied. "Why! by now he may be out of the county."
"Your theory is quite feasible," said Harley, tonelessly.
"You were actually on the spot when the shot was fired, you admit that
it was fired within a hundred yards, yet you did nothing to apprehend
the murderer."
"No," replied Harley, "I was ridiculously inactive. You see, I am a
mere amateur, Inspector. For my future guidance I should be glad to
know what the correct procedure would have been."
Inspector Aylesbury blew his nose.
"I know my job," he said. "If I had been called in there might have
been a different tale to tell. But he was a foreigner, and he paid for
his ignorance, poor fellow."
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