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After pausing a few ave hie

"Aha!" he cried "So he has found the extra coffee-cup That is good He has -faced Monsieur Lawrence of yours!"

I did not ence; but I forebore to contradict Poirot, and gently took hi my instructions as to which were Cynthia's days off

"It is true I have the head of a sieve However, the other young lady was most kind She was sorry forin the kindest way"

"Oh, well, that's all right, then, and you o to tea with Cynthia another day"

I told him about the letter

"I am sorry for that," he said "I always had hopes of that letter But no, it was not to be This affair must all be unravelled frorey cells It is 'up to them'--as you say over here" Then, suddenly, he asked: "Are you a judge of finger-marks, my friend?"

"No," I said, rather surprised, "I know that there are no two finger-oes"

"Exactly"

He unlocked a little drawer, and took out soraphs which he laid on the table

"I have numbered them, 1, 2, 3 Will you describe thereatly er-prints; thuer No 2 are a lady's; they are much smaller, and quite different in every way No 3"--I paused for soer- the others?"

"Yes"

"You recognize them beyond fail?"

"Oh, yes; they are identical"

Poirot nodded, and gently taking the photographs froain

"I suppose," I said, "that as usual, you are not going to explain?"

"On the contrary No 1 were the finger-prints of Monsieur Lawrence No 2 were those of Mademoiselle Cynthia They are not important I merely obtained them for comparison No 3 is a little nified Youall across the picture I will not describe to you the special apparatus, dusting powder, etc, which I used It is a well-known process to the police, and by er-prints of any object in a very short space of tier-marks--it remains to tell you the particular object on which they had been left"