‘I tell you, Seb,’ said Cubitt quite mildly, ‘I don’t know whose head it was. I merely know it was there. It simply butted against my knees and drew away quickly.’

‘Well, of course!’ said Parish. ‘It was Abel.’

‘Why Abel?’

Parish turned to Alleyn.

‘Abel dropped the bottle of iodine just before the lights went out. I remember that. He must have stooped down to try and find it.’

‘If it was Abel he didn’t succeed,’ said Alleyn. ‘The bottle was found under the settle, you know.’

‘Well, it was dark.’

‘So it was,’ agreed Alleyn. ‘Why did you think it might be Mr Legge’s head?’

Parish at once became very solemn. He moved to the hearthrug. He thrust his hands into the pockets of his shorts, pulled in his belly, and stuck out his jaw.

‘God knows,’ he began. ‘I don’t want to condemn any man, but Norman and I have talked this thing over.’

‘Come off it, Seb,’ said Cubitt. ‘We haven’t a blessed thing against the fellow, you know. Nothing that would be of any interest to Mr Alleyn. I’m very well aware that my own ideas are largely self-protective. I suppose you know, Mr Alleyn, that Watchman left me some of his money.’

‘Yes,’ said Alleyn.

‘Yes. It’s as good a motive as any other. Better than most. I don’t fancy I’m in a position to make suggestions about other people.’

He said this with a sort of defiance, looking out of the window and half-smiling.

‘This sort of thing,’ added Cubitt, ‘finds out the thin patches in one’s honesty.’

‘If you can admit as much,’ said Alleyn quickly, ‘perhaps they are not so very thin.’

‘Thanks,’ said Cubitt dryly.

‘Well,’ began Parish with the air of running after the conversation. ‘I don’t altogether agree with you, Norman. I make no secret about dear old Luke leaving the rest of his money to me. In a way it was the natural thing for him to do. I’m his next-of-kin.’

‘But I,’ said Cubitt, ‘am no relation at all.’

‘Oh, my dear old boy!’ cried Parish in a hurry, ‘you were his best friend. Luke said so when he—’ Parish stopped short.

‘To revert,’ said Alleyn, ‘to Mr Legge. You were going to talk about Mr Legge, weren’t you?’

‘I was,’ said Parish. ‘I can’t help what you think, Norman, old boy. It seems to me that Legge’s hand in this ghastly business is pretty obvious. Nobody but Legge could have known the poisoned dart would take effect. I must say I don’t see that there’s much mystery about it.’

‘And the motive?’ asked Cubitt.

Alleyn said, ‘I understand your cousin told you that he and Mr Legge were strangers to each other.’