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"What you say about Lawrence is a great surprise to me," I said

"But why? It was most obvious Did not Monsieur Lawrence make the sour face every tihed with his brother? He had taken it into his long head that Mademoiselle Cynthia was in love with Monsieur John When he entered his mother's room, and saw her obviously poisoned, he jumped to the conclusion that Made about the matter He was nearly driven desperate First he crushed the coffee-cup to powder under his feet, reht before, and he deter its contents Thenceforward, he strenuously, and quite uselessly, upheld the theory of 'Death from natural causes'"

"And what about the 'extra coffee-cup'?"

"I was fairly certain that it was Mrs Cavendish who had hidden it, but I had to make sure Monsieur Lawrence did not know at all what I meant; but, on reflection, he came to the conclusion that if he could find an extra coffee-cup anywhere his lady love would be cleared of suspicion And he was perfectly right"

"One thingwords?"

"They were, of course, an accusation against her husband"

"Dear h, "I think you have explained everything I alad it has all ended so happily Even John and his wife are reconciled"

"Thanks to me"

"How do you mean--thanks to you?"

"My dear friend, do you not realize that it was siain? That John Cavendish still loved his wife, I was convinced Also, that she was equally in love with him But they had drifted very far apart It all arose fro She married him without love He knew it He is a sensitive man in his way, he would not force himself upon her if she did not want him And, as he withdrew, her love awoke But they are both unusually proud, and their pride held thelement with Mrs Raikes, and she deliberately cultivated the friendship of Dr Bauerstein Do you remember the day of John Cavendish's arrest, when you founddecision?"

"Yes, I quite understood your distress"

"Pardon me, mon a to decide whether or not I would clear John Cavendish at once I could have cleared hiht have meant a failure to convict the real criminals They were entirely in the dark as to my real attitude up to the very last moment--which partly accounts for my success"