She had not even noticed how long he had been downstairs, for she had been reading with intense, painful care the column that the great daily paper they took in had allotted to the one-time famous detective.
According to this Special Investigator's own account he had discovered all sorts of things that had escaped the eye of the police and of the official detectives.

For instance, owing, he admitted, to a fortunate chance, he had been at the place where the two last murders had been committed very soon after the double crime had been discovered--in fact within half an hour, and he had found, or so he felt sure, on the slippery, wet pavement imprints of the murderer's right foot.
The paper reproduced the impression of a half-worn rubber sole.
At the same time, he also admitted--for the Special Investigator was very honest, and he had a good bit of space to fill in the enterprising paper which had engaged him to probe the awful mystery--that there were thousands of rubber soles being worn in London.

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And when she came to that statement Mrs.Bunting looked up, and there came a wan smile over her thin, closely-shut lips.