"
I said nothing on my side. ROBINSON CRUSOE--God knows how--had got into
my muddled old head. If Sergeant Cuff had found himself, at that
moment, transported to a desert island, without a man Friday to keep him
company, or a ship to take him off--he would have found himself exactly
where I wished him to be! (Nota bene:--I am an average good Christian,
when you don't push my Christianity too far. And all the rest of
you--which is a great comfort--are, in this respect, much the same as I
am.)
Sergeant Cuff went on:
"Right or wrong, my lady," he said, "having drawn my conclusion, the
next thing to do was to put it to the test. I suggested to your ladyship
the examination of all the wardrobes in the house. It was a means of
finding the article of dress which had, in all probability, made the
smear; and it was a means of putting my conclusion to the test. How did
it turn out? Your ladyship consented; Mr. Blake consented; Mr. Ablewhite
consented. Miss Verinder alone stopped the whole proceeding by refusing
point-blank. That result satisfied me that my view was the right one.
If your ladyship and Mr. Betteredge persist in not agreeing with me,
you must be blind to what happened before you this very day.
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