Free Inspector French and the Starvel Tragedy by Freeman Wills Crofts Page A

the corner of a carriage, weighing in his mind the significance of his discoveries. He considered the points in order.
    First. Old Averill was a miser who had filled up his safe with notes and gold. The notes had been seen on more than one occasion by Mr. Tarkington’s clerk, Bloxham, the last time being only a few days before the tragedy. Mr. Tarkington estimated there must have been some £30,000 to £40,000 worth of notes in the safe, though this was probably only a guess. But it was at least certain that before the fire it contained a very large sum in notes.
    Second. After the fire the gold was intact, or at least part of it was there, but there was no trace of the notes. It was perfectly true that a number of notes might have been burned and been crushed to powder by the falling sovereigns. But it was straining the probabilities too far to believe that no single fragment of any one note should remain. On the other hand, fragments did remain—but these were all of newspapers.
    Third. The newspapers, according to Mr. Stephenson’s evidence, were burned before the door of the safe had been closed.
    Gradually French came to definite conclusions. As far as his information went the following facts seemed to be established:
    First. That the safe was unlocked, and the notes were taken out before the fire.
    Second. That three or four newspapers were put in to replace them.
    Third. That the newspapers were set on fire and allowed to burn to ashes while the safe door was open.
    Fourth. That after they were burned the safe was locked.
    If these conclusions could be sustained it unquestionably meant that French was on to one of the most dastardly and terrible crimes of the century. He felt the sudden thrill of the hunter who comes across the fresh spoor of some dangerous wild beast. But he did not disclose his feelings. Instead he kept his own counsel, simply reporting to headquarters that the case seemed suspicious and that he was remaining on to make further inquiries.

CHAPTER V
FRENCH PICKS UP A CLUE
    The more Inspector French pondered over the problems which his discoveries had raised, the more difficult these problems seemed to grow. There was so desperately little to go on. It was a common enough trouble in detective work certainly, but this business was worse than the average. He could not recall a case which offered fewer clues or “leads.”
    As he turned over in his mind all that he had learned it seemed to him indeed that there was but one channel to be explored, and that a channel which offered a very poor chance of success—the £20 bank-note. If he were unable to trace the £20 bank note and the odds were enormously against his doing so, he did not see what other line of inquiry he could follow up.
    Of course, there was the usual police question: Who was seen in the vicinity of the crime at the time of its commission? But he had already put this inquiry to Kent, and the answer had been: “No one.”
    If, as seemed likely, Tarkington’s theory were true and this crime had been committed by the burglars who had already brought off so many coups in the district, French was up against a very able gang. For over six months the police had been searching for these men, and they seemed no nearer finding them now than in the beginning.
    The bank-note, then, appeared to be the only chance, and French decided that he would begin operations by trying to trace the passer, trusting that if this line failed, some other would by that time have opened out.
    The night was still young, and desiring to lose no time, French left his comfortable corner in the bar and went out to call on Mr. Tarkington.
    The bank manager was greatly interested when French revealed his calling and mission. He willingly repeated all he knew about old Simon Averill and his finances and explained his theories at length.
    “The only other thing I wish to ask you,” French remarked when the other showed signs of coming to an end, “is about previous sums