"Lord Arthur knew now that when it was discovered he was no longer
the heir, the moneylenders would come down upon him. The police
believe that he at once sought out his brother to beg for money to
cover the post-obits, but that, considering the sum he needed was
several hundreds of thousands of pounds, Chetney refused to give it
him. No one knew that Arthur had gone to seek out his brother. They
were alone. It is possible, then, that in a passion of
disappointment, and crazed with the disgrace which he saw before him,
young Arthur made himself the heir beyond further question. The death
of his brother would have availed nothing if the woman remained
alive. It is then possible that he crossed the hall, and, with the
same weapon which made him Lord Edam's heir, destroyed the solitary
witness to the murder. The only other person who could have seen it
was sleeping in a drunken stupor, to which fact undoubtedly he owed
his life. And yet," concluded the Naval Attache, leaning forward and
marking each word with his finger, "Lord Arthur blundered fatally. In
his haste he left the door of the house open, so giving access to the
first passer-by, and he forgot that when he entered it he had handed
his card to the servant.
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