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"What was it?"

"Locked up in the desk in the boudoir, they found a will of Mrs Inglethorp's, dated before her lethorp It ed It came quite as a surprise to Wells-- and to John Cavendish also It ritten on one of those printed will forms, and witnessed by two of the servants--not Dorcas"

"Did Mr Inglethorp know of it?"

"He says not"

"One rain of salt," I re Tell me, how did those scribbled words on the envelope help you to discover that a as made yesterday afternoon?"

Poirot s a letter, been arrested by the fact that you did not kno to spell a certain word?"

"Yes, often I suppose every one has"

"Exactly And have you not, in such a case, tried the word once or twice on the edge of the blotting-paper, or a spare scrap of paper, to see if it looked right? Well, that is what Mrs Inglethorp did You will notice that the word 'possessed' is spelt first with one's' end subsequently with two--correctly To make sure, she had further tried it in a sentence, thus: 'I am possessed' Nohat did that tellthe word 'possessed' that afternoon, and, having the fragrate fresh in my mind, the possibility of a will--(a document almost certain to contain that word)--occurred to me at once This possibility was confireneral confusion, the boudoir had not been swept that , and near the desk were several traces of brown mould and earth The weather had been perfectly fine for some days, and no ordinary boots would have left such a heavy deposit

"I strolled to the , and saw at once that the begonia beds had been newly planted The mould in the beds was exactly similar to that on the floor of the boudoir, and also I learnt from you that they had been planted yesterday afternoon I was now sure that one, or possibly both of the gardeners-- for there were two sets of footprints in the bed--had entered the boudoir, for if Mrs Inglethorp had merely wished to speak to them she would in all probability have stood at the , and they would not have come into the room at all I was now quite convinced that she had ardeners in to witness her signature Events proved that I was right in my supposition"