May I, then, as a complete stranger to all concerned, tell you how this minor episode strikes me.

Mr.Grant, I understand, denies having seen or spoken to Miss Melhuish during the past three years.

None of the others now in his house had met her at all.
Really, if a man may not give a dinnerparty in these conditions, dining-out would become a lost art." Elkin was obviously seeking for some retort which, though forcible, would not offend a possible patron.

But Siddle answered far more deftly than might be looked for from the horse-dealer.
"Your contention, sir, is just what the man of the world would hold," he said, "but, in this village, where we live on neighborly terms, such an incident would be impossible in almost any other house than The Hollies." Mr.Franklin nodded.

He was convinced.