"
"Then you ought to tell us, Mr. Viner," said Drillford a little sulkily.
"You oughtn't to keep any information to yourself."
"You're going on the wrong tack, or I might," retorted Viner. "But you'll
know all in good time. Now, I ask you again--where's Ashton's purse? You
know as well as I do that when his clothing was examined, almost
immediately after his death, all his effects were gone--watch, chain,
rings, pocketbook, purse. If Hyde took the whole lot, do you think he
would ever have been such a consummate ass as to wait until next morning
to pawn that ring in Edgware Road? The idea is preposterous!"
"And why, pray?" demanded Drillford, obviously nettled at the turn which
the conversation was taking.
"I wonder your own common sense doesn't tell you," said Viner with
intentional directness. "If Hyde took everything from his victim, as
you say he did, he would have had a purse full of ready money. He could
have gone off to some respectable lodging-house. He could have put a
hundred miles between himself and London by breakfast-time. He would
have had ready money to last him for months.
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