Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton

exactly what we know him to have done. He disposes of his possibly inquisitive family, on different pretexts. You said, I think, that the secretary, Torrance, happened to be in Manchester last Thursday. I shouldn’t wonder if it turned out that he went there at Saxonby’s suggestion.
    â€œYou also said that Saxonby had a visitor, who gave the name of Yates, and was a stranger to the staff. Was he the man who brought X? In any case, we will suppose that Saxonby obtained this mysterious object in the course of the day, and put it in wallet number one. When the time came to go home, his chief concern was lest his pocket should be picked. So he takes all precautions. Instead of walking to Cannon Street, he sends for a taxi, a thing, apparently, which he has never been known to do before. Arrived at the station, he secures, at considerable expense, a carriage to himself, and sees that the door is locked. He fancies then that he is secure. He can’t be expected to divine the deep-laid schemes of the old man with the short grey beard.”
    â€œUpon my word, Merrion, your imagination gets more vivid every day!” Arnold exclaimed. “Don’t let any doubting attitude on my part cramp your style. Can’t you deduce the identity of the murderer in the same brilliant fashion?”
    â€œDo you know, I’m almost tempted to make a guess? You don’t happen to have that automatic in your pocket by any chance, do you?”
    â€œNo, I left it at the Yard for the experts to report upon.”
    â€œYou said it had initials engraved upon it. Can you describe them?”
    â€œYes, W.S., in rather ornate letters in the form of a mono-
gram.”
    â€œA monogram! Then how do you know that the initials are W.S. and not S.W.?”
    â€œFor the simple and fairly obvious reason that Sir Wilfred’s initials were W.S.”
    Merrion smiled. “Saxonby’s daughter married a Major Wardour. Have you ever inquired what his Christian name is? What would you say if it turned out to be Samuel?”
    â€œDash it all, that’s going too far!” Arnold exclaimed. “I can swallow a good deal, but not that. There isn’t the slightest reason to suspect Major Wardour. Besides, he’s in the South of France, or was when Sir Wilfred was killed.”
    â€œSo we are told. And, since at present there isn’t the slightest reason to suspect anybody in particular, we may as well begin with Wardour. Let’s see how he fits in. I’ve shown you how the murderer must have been somebody with an intimate knowledge of Saxonby. Wardour, as his son-in-law, may be supposed to have that knowledge. There seems to be some sort of trouble brewing between Wardour and his wife, in which, apparently, Saxonby took his daughter’s side. The two men may have been on bad terms in consequence. If I were you, I’d try to find out rather more about Wardour than you know at present.”
    Arnold grunted. “I’ve got to find out a lot more about several people, it seems to me,” he replied. “Your suggestions are stimulating, my friend, but for the present I find them a bit bewildering. I’d rather stick to plain facts. As I see it, this is pretty much what happened.
    â€œA certain individual was already seated in the train at the time when Sir Wilfred secured his solitary compartment. This individual appeared to be elderly, bearded, and somewhat decrepit. Until the train started, he kept a careful watch upon the platform. To explain this, he deliberately gave Mrs. Clutsam and her daughter the impression that he was expecting somebody to join him. Just before the train entered the tunnel, he left the compartment.
    â€œI think we may assume that he was elaborately disguised. The next question is, what became of him? He did not enter any of the compartments occupied by the surviving first-class passengers. He may have entered Sir Wilfred’s compartment, but he was not