End of Penelope's evidence--and
very pretty and convincing, too. Signed, Gabriel Betteredge.
The Sergeant's next proceeding was to question me about any large dogs
in the house who might have got into the room, and done the mischief
with a whisk of their tails. Hearing that this was impossible, he next
sent for a magnifying-glass, and tried how the smear looked, seen that
way. No skin-mark (as of a human hand) printed off on the paint. All the
signs visible--signs which told that the paint had been smeared by some
loose article of somebody's dress touching it in going by. That somebody
(putting together Penelope's evidence and Mr. Franklin's evidence) must
have been in the room, and done the mischief, between midnight and three
o'clock on the Thursday morning.
Having brought his investigation to this point, Sergeant Cuff discovered
that such a person as Superintendent Seegrave was still left in the
room, upon which he summed up the proceedings for his brother-officer's
benefit, as follows:
"This trifle of yours, Mr. Superintendent," says the Sergeant, pointing
to the place on the door, "has grown a little in importance since you
noticed it last.
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