The Return Of Bulldog Drummond by Sapper Page B

forcibly. No one knew better than he did that there was an enormous amount in what had been said. He could imagine the headlines in the papers: “Police Inspector sees Ghost. New Scope of Activity for Scotland Yard.” And even nearer ahead, the thought of telling his own Chief Constable – a retired Major of unimaginative temperament – was not one that he relished. If only the constable wasn’t there it would be so much easier. And then a sudden inspiration came to him – a perfect way out of the dilemma. He cleared his throat again.
    “I think we can look at it this way, gentlemen,” he remarked. “The crime we are investigating began with the death of Morris in Grimstone Mire. Nothing that has happened subsequent to that can have any bearing on the crime. In other words, the fact that we saw this ghost has nothing whatever to do with the matter. It lends a certain air of truth to part of Morris’ rigmarole, I agree: and, as you said, Mr Hardcastle, if he were still alive it would be our duty to say what we had seen. But as he isn’t, it is a thing which it seems to me does not come within the scope of enquiry. Naturally, Captain Drummond will have to state what was said by Morris to him and his friends, but at that I think we are entitled to leave it. It is no part of the duty of the police to cause inconvenience to law-abiding citizens, and I quite understand that you, sir, would find it most annoying to have crowds of inquisitive people all round the house.”
    “Good,” said Drummond. “The oracle has spoken: ghosts are off. And that being so, I think we might go home, Ted, and hit the hay. My kindest regards, Mr Hardcastle, to the Comtessa, and I sincerely hope that the little wanderer is laid for tonight, at any rate. But you must certainly rope her in for the cinema work your daughter tells me you are interested in. Damned good performer, and no screw to pay. Night, night, souls: we shall doubtless hear, Inspector, when and where our presence is desired.”
    And it was not until they reached the main road that he spoke again.
    “There’s no doubt about it, boys,” he said, “that that little bunch of beauties is pretty high up in the handicap. It’s a pleasure to have met them. There’s a calm nerve about their doings which beats the band. It’s gorgeous. And having shown us the damned old ghost, the subtle way Hardcastle got round the Inspector was a delight. The actual suggestion to say nothing about it came much better from the police than from anyone else.”
    “I gathered from your face you were a bit sceptical about the spectre,” said Darrell.
    “Sceptical!” laughed Drummond. “I should say. For a moment I admit I was taken in: the thing was staged so well. And I’d been going on the assumption that there was only one female in the house. But then I went back to our one basic idea – that Morris was speaking the truth. And that being so, the Inspector’s profound statement that a ghost can’t carry a suit of clothes on its arm assumes a rather different complexion from what the worthy warrior intended. That was the woman whom Morris saw, and who gave him the clothes. And having done her little piece at the top of the stairs, she backed into ‘honey’s’ room, who then bolted the door and let out an ear-splitter. Meanwhile, the ghost vanishes through some secret panel, and that’s that.”
    “Probably you’re right, old boy,” said Jerningham. “But for the life of me I can’t see their object in doing it.”
    “That’s what I was trying to get at, Ted, all the time we were in the hall. And I think it’s this way. Their original plan miscarried owing to our being there, and so they had to amend it. They knew the police would arrive shortly, and that from then on there would always be at least one constable in the house. They knew also that we should mention the woman, which would cause awkward questions. So the first thing they do is to send the Comtessa along after us