THE BLUE FLOWER AND THE OTHER STORIES

for her (when she forget herself before superintendent Seegrave, on the previous day) being made for her over again, by a man who
couldnt have had MY interest in making itfor he was a perfect stranger ! kind of cold shudder ran through me, which "
couldnt account for at the time# " know, now, that " must have got my first suspicion, at that moment, of a new light (and horried
light) having suddenly fallen on the case, in the mind of sergeant $uffpurely and entired in conse%uence of what he had seen in
Miss &achel, and heard from Miss &achel, at that first interview between them# 'a young ladys tongue is a privileged member, sir, '
Say the sergeant to Mr# (ranklin# ')et us forget what has passed, and go straight on with this business# *hanks to you, we know
+hen the paint was dry# *he ne,t thing to discover is when the point was last seen without that smear# Y-. have got a head on
Your shoulders/ and understand what " mean# 0-1 *23 4"" Mr# (ranklin composed himself, and came back, with an effort
(rom Miss &achel to the matter in hand#5 " think " do understand, 'he said 'the more we narrow the %uestion of time, the more we
!lso narrow the held of in%uiry# '*hat it, sir,5 said the seargeant# '6id you notice your work here, on the +ednesday afternoon7
!fter you had done it75 Mr# (ranklin shook his head, and answered, '" cant say " did#5 '6id you75 in%uired Sergeant $uff, turning
*o me#5 " cant say " did either, sir# 'who was the last person in the room, the last thing on +ednesday night75 'Miss &achel, "
Suppose, sir# 'Mr# (ranklin struck in there, '-r possibly your daughter, 8etteredge# ' 2e turned to Sergeant $uff, and e,plained that
My daughter was Miss 9erinders maid# 'My# 8etteredge, ask your daughter to stop up# Stop Says the Sergeant, taking me away to
*he windows, out of earshot, 'Your Superintendent here,5 he went on, in a whisper, 'has made a pretty full report to me of the
Manner in which he has managed this case# !mong other, he has, by his own confession, set the servants back up# "ts very
"mportant to smooth them down again# *ell your daughter, and tell the rest of them, these two things, with my compliments: (irst,
*hat " have no evidence before me, yet, that the 6iamond has been stolen; " only know that the 6iamond has been lost# Second,
*hat my business here with the servants is simply to ask them to lay their heads together and help me to find it# 'My e,perience of
*he women/servant, when Superintendent Seegrave laid his embarge on their rooms, came in handy here# 'May " make so bold,
Sergeant, as to tell the women a third thing75 " asked# '!re they free (with your compliments) to fidget up and downstairs, and
+hisk in and out of their bed/rooms, if the fit takes them75 '<erfectly free, 'said the Sergeant# ' *2!* will smooth them down, sir, '
" remarked, ' from the cook to the scullion# ' '=o, and do it at once, Mr# 8etterdge# ' " did it in less that five minutes# *here was only
-ne difficulty when " came to the bit about the bed / rooms# "t took a pretty stiff e,ertion of my authority, as chief, to prevent the
+hole of the female household from following me and <enelope up/stairs, in the character of volunteer witness in a burning fever
-f an,iety to help Sergeant $uff# *he Sergeant seemed to approve of <enelope# 2e became a trifile less dreary; and he looked much as
2e had looked when he noticed the white musk rose in the flower/garden# 2ere is my daughters evidence, as drawn off from her by
*he Sergeant# She gave it, " think, very prettily/ but, there She is my child over: nothing of her mother in her; )ord bless you,
1othing of mother in her <enelope e,amined: *ook a lively interest in the painting on the door, having helped to mi, the
$olours# -1 *23 4"" > 1oticed the bit of work, under the look, because it was the last bit done# 2ad seen it, some hours
!fterwards, without a smear# 2ad left it, as late as twelve at night, without a smear# 2ad, at that hour, wished her young lady
=ood night in the bedroom; had hard the clock strike in the 'boudoir5; had her hand at the time on the handle of the painted door;
?new the paint was wet (having helped to mi, the colours, as aforesaid); took particular paints not to touch it; could swear that she
2eld up the skirts of her dress, and that there was no smear on the paint then; could not swear that her dress mightnt have touched
"t accidentally in going out; remembered the dress she had on, because it was new, a present from Miss &achel; her father
&emembered, and could speak to it; could and would, and did fetch it; dress recogni@ed by her father as the dress she wore that
1ight; skirts e,amined, along Aob from the si@e of them; not the ghost of a paint/stain discovered anywhere# 3nd of <enelops
3vidence/ and very pretty and convincing too# Signed, =abriel 8etteredge# *he Sergeants ne,t proceeding was to %uestion me about
!ny large dogs in the house who might have got into the room, and done the mischief with a whisk of their tails# 2earing that this
+as impossible, he ne,t sent for a magnifying/glass, and tried how the smear looked, seen that way# 1o skin/mark (as of a human
2and) printed off on the paint# !ll the signs visible/signs which told that the paint had been smeared by some loose article of
Somebodys dress touching it in going by# *hat somebody (putting together penelopes evidence and Mr# (ranklin evidence) must
2ave been in the room, and done the mischief, between midnight and there oclock on the *hursday morning# 2aving brought his
"nvestigation to this point, Sergeant $uff discovered that such a person as Superintendent Seagrave was still left in the room, upon
+hich he summed up the proceedings for his brother/officers benefit, as follows: '*his trifile of yours, Mr# Superintendent,5 says the
Sergeant, painting to the place on the door, ' has grown a little in importance since you noticed it last# !t the present stage of the
<!=3 *.&1 -93& <age BCBD