Mrs. Octagon may know, as I do, that Maraquito is the niece of
Emilia."
"Are you sure of that?" asked the detective eagerly.
"As sure as I am that she is no Spaniard, nor even a Spanish
Jewess, as she claims to be. She doesn't even know the
language. Her name, to fit a woman, should terminate in a
feminine manner. She should be called Maraquita, not
Maraquito. That little grammatical error doubtless escaped
her notice. But as I was saying, Maraquito--we will still
call her so--may have sent for Mrs. Octagon."
"Mrs. Octagon, so far as I have seen, is not the woman to obey
such a call," said Jennings grimly.
"Maraquito may have compelled her to come."
"For what reason?"
"Well, you see, Emilia was said by Isabella Loach--Mrs.
Octagon that is--to have fallen from the plank. But Mrs.
Octagon may have pushed her off."
"May have murdered her in fact."
"Quite so. Isabella loved me, and was, and is, a very violent
woman. It may be that she pushed Emilia off the plank, and
Maraquito, through her dead father, may have learned the
truth. This would give her a hold over Mrs. Octagon."
"But Selina may have killed Emilia. That would explain her
hermit life, inexplicable in any other way."
"No," said Caranby in a shaking voice, "I am sure the woman I
loved would never have behaved in that way. Isabella killed
Emilia--if it was a murder--and then threatened to
denounce Selina unless she gave up the idea of marrying me.
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