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"Well then," I blurted out, "it's absurd--but I suspect Miss Howard of not telling all she knows!"

"Miss Howard?"

"Yes--you'll laugh at ," I continued blunderingly; "that we've rather left her out of the possible suspects, si been away from the place But, after all, she was only fifteen miles away A car would do it in half an hour Can we say positively that she ay froht of the murder?"

"Yes, my friend," said Poirot unexpectedly, "we can One ofup the hospital where she orking"

"Well?"

"Well, I learnt that Miss Howard had been on afternoon duty on Tuesday, and that--a convoy coht duty, which offer was gratefully accepted That disposes of that"

"Oh!" I said, rather nonplussed "Really," I continued, "it's her extraordinary vehe her I can't help feeling she'd do anything against hi about the destroying of the will Sheit for the earlier one in his favour She is so terribly bitter against him"

"You consider her vehemence unnatural?"

"Y--es She is so very violent I wondered really whether she is quite sane on that point"

Poirot shook his head energetically

"No, no, you are on a wrong tack there There is nothing weak-enerate about Miss Howard She is an excellent specilish beef and brawn She is sanity itself"

"Yet her hatred of Inglethorp seems almost a mania My idea was--a very ridiculous one, no doubt--that she had intended to poison hiot hold of it by mistake But I don't at all see how it could have been done The whole thing is absurd and ridiculous to the last degree"

"Still you are right in one thing It is alise to suspect everybody until you can prove logically, and to your own satisfaction, that they are innocent Nohat reasons are there against Miss Howard's having deliberately poisoned Mrs Inglethorp?"

"Why, she was devoted to her!" I exclaiue like a child If Miss Hoere capable of poisoning the old lady, she would be quite equally capable of si devotion No, we must look elsewhere You are perfectly correct in your assulethorp is too violent to be natural; but you are quite wrong in the deduction you draw from it I have drawn my own deductions, which I believe to be correct, but I will not speak of them at present" He paused a , there is one insuperable objection to Miss Howard's being the murderess"