On the
other hand, Mrs. Inglethorp had no candlestick in the room, only
a reading-lamp."
"Then," I said, "what do you deduce?"
To which my friend only made a rather irritating reply, urging me
to use my own natural faculties.
"And the sixth point?" I asked. "I suppose it is the sample of
coco."
"No," said Poirot thoughtfully. "I might have included that in
the six, but I did not. No, the sixth point I will keep to
myself for the present."
He looked quickly round the room. "There is nothing more to be
done here, I think, unless"--he stared earnestly and long at the
dead ashes in the grate. "The fire burns--and it destroys. But
by chance--there might be--let us see!"
Deftly, on hands and knees, he began to sort the ashes from the
grate into the fender, handling them with the greatest caution.
Suddenly, he gave a faint exclamation.
"The forceps, Hastings!"
I quickly handed them to him, and with skill he extracted a small
piece of half charred paper.
"There, mon ami!" he cried. "What do you think of that?"
I scrutinized the fragment.
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