The fact that Mrs. Vernon undoubtedly came from this
establishment on the night of the crime, and that the proprietors of the
nursing home fled immediately, leaving absolutely no clue behind them,
complicates the mystery which Scotland Yard is engaged in unraveling.
It is generally believed that the woman, Proctor, and her associates
had actually no connection with the crime, and that realizing that
the inquiry might turn in their direction, they decamped. The obvious
inference, of course, is that the nursing home was conducted on lines
which would not bear official scrutiny.
The flight of the butler, Soames, presents a totally different aspect,
and in this direction the police are very active.
Soames searched the remainder of the paper scrupulously, but failed to
find any further reference to the case. The second Scottish stimulant
had served somewhat to restore his failing courage; he congratulated
himself upon taking the only move which could have saved him from
arrest; he perceived that he owed his immunity entirely to the
protective wings of Mr. King. He trembled to think that his fate might
indeed have been that of the man arrested at Olton; for, without money
and without friends, he would have become, ere this, just such an
outcast and natural object of suspicion.
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