“When did you first begin to suspect the truth of the matter?”
“When I began to work the right way—from _within_! I could not make
that shooting affair fit in—but when I saw that the net result of
it was that _the Prime Minister went to France with his face bound
up_ I began to comprehend! And when I visited all the cottage
hospitals between Windsor and London, and found that no one
answering to my description had had his face bound up and dressed
that morning, I was sure! After that, it was child’s-play for a
mind like mine!”
• • • • • • •
The following morning, Poirot showed me a telegram he had just
received. It had no place of origin, and was unsigned. It ran:
“In time.”
Later in the day the evening papers published an account of the
Allied Conference. They laid particular stress on the magnificent
ovation accorded to Mr. David MacAdam, whose inspiring speech had
produced a deep and lasting impression.