Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Three

(reply to Annie's narrative) I really enjoyed the trip up north to Rhodesia.There is something new and exciting to see every day.First, the wonderful scenery of the Hex Valley, then the sad and desolate beauty of the Karoo, and finally the straight and wonderful track of Bechuanaland, and the admirable toys that the natives brought to sell.Suzanne and I were almost left behind at every stop - if you can call those stations.It seems like at every stop, just as the train stops, a horde of Aboriginal people pops up, selling bowls, sugar cane, and awe-inspiring wood-carved animals.Suzanne immediately acquired the woodcut animals.I'm like her - most of these woodcut animals cost threepence and each one is different.There are giraffes, tigers, snakes, sad-looking African antelopes, and ridiculous little black warriors.We are all happy.

Sir Eustace tried to restrict our purchases - but he was in vain.I still think it's a miracle we weren't left at some stations along the line.When trains in South Africa restarted, there was no whistle or noise, they just drove away quietly, and when you were negotiating prices, you looked up and saw that the train had restarted, and you had to run desperately and jump on the train. You can imagine Suzanne's surprise when she saw me climb onto the train that day in Cape Town, and we thoroughly reviewed the whole situation that night, and we talked for half the night. It was clear to me that the strategies on both offense and defense had to be adjusted.I am quite safe traveling with Sir Eustace and others.Both he and Colonel Race were strong protectors, and I judged my enemies would be afraid to mess with this hornet's nest.And, as long as I was near Sir Eustace, I had more or less access to Pagett—and Pagett was the center of the secret.I asked Suzanne if, in her opinion, Pagett was the mysterious "Colonel."His subordinate position at that time certainly contradicted this assumption, but it sometimes surprises me that, however arbitrary Sir Eustace may be, his secretary really has a lot of influence over him.He was a man of his own accord, and one who could be played in the palm of his hand by an astute secretary.His more ambiguous status may in fact work to his advantage, since he certainly does not want to be conspicuous.

Suzanne, however, vehemently rejected these ideas. She did not believe that Pagett was the ruler.The real boss—the "Colonel"—was in the background, and was probably in Africa long before we got there. I agree with her that it makes sense, but I'm not entirely satisfied.For in every dubious instance Pagett appeared in command.His personality seemed to lack the confidence and determination expected of a crime boss—but, according to Colonel Race, after all, the enigmatic leader offered only brain work, and creative geniuses often With a weak and timid physical structure. "That's what the professor's daughter said," she interrupted when I argued this point with her.

"Anyway, it's still true that, on the other hand, Pagett might be the head of state." I was silent for a minute or two, then went on thoughtfully, "I wish I knew Lord Eustace." How the Jazz make money!" "Doubt again?" "Suzanne, I'm in a state of having to doubt! I don't really doubt him—but, after all, he's Pagett's employer, and he owns the 'mill'." "I've heard he makes his money in a way he can't name," said Suzanne thoughtfully, "but that doesn't necessarily mean crime—it might be making tin pins or hair restorer!"

I agree with her somewhat reluctantly. "I wonder," Suzanne said doubtfully, "could we have been on the wrong guy? I mean, led in the wrong direction by assuming Pagett was complicit? After all, if he's completely upright." What about the innocent?" I thought about it for a minute or two, then shook my head. "I can't believe it." "After all he has his explanation for everything." "Yes—yes, but none of those explanations are very convincing. For example, the night he was on the Gillmordenburg, trying to push me overboard, he said, he followed Rayburn to the deck, and Ray Ben turned and knocked him down. Now we know that wasn't true."

"True," said Suzanne reluctantly, "but we only found out about that through Sir Eustace. It might have been different if we had heard it directly from Pagett himself. You know people in When retelling a certain thing, there is always a little bit of discrepancy." I ran that event over again in my mind. "No," I said at last, "I don't see any other possibility. Pagett is guilty. After all, you can't deny the fact that Pagett wanted to push me into the sea, and the other coincident events." .Why are you so insisting on this new view of yours?"

"Because of his face." "His face? But—" "Yes, I know what you're going to say. It's the face of a criminal, all right. No one with a face like that would really be a criminal. That would be one of nature's great jokes." .” I don't quite buy Suzanne's defense, I've learned a lot about nature over the years.If she has a sense of humor, it doesn't show much.Suzanne is the kind of person who will add her own subjective favorable color to nature. Let's skip that and move on to current plans.It was clear to me that I had to have some sort of position, and I couldn't go on avoiding explanations.The answers to all the puzzles are already in my hands, although I sometimes don't think of them. "Daily Gazette"!Neither my silence nor my speech affected Harry Raeburn any longer.It's not my fault that he was referred to as "The Man in Brown".I was doing him the best favor by taking what seemed to be antagonizing him. The "Colonel" and his partisans must not have suspected any kind of affection between me and their chosen scapegoat for Marlowe's murder.As far as I know, the identity of the murdered woman is still unknown.I shall telegraph Lord Nasby to remind him that she is "Natina," the Russian dancer who has long delighted Paris.It seemed unbelievable to me that she had not been identified—but as I got to know the case better, I knew it was a natural occurrence.

Nadina had not been to England when she was successful in Paris.London audiences didn't know her.The photographs of Marlowe's victims that appeared in the newspapers were so blurred and illegible that it was not surprising that no one could recognize them.And, on the other hand, Nadina deliberately kept her visit to England highly secret.The day after the murder, her manager received a letter purporting to be from her saying that she had returned to Russia on a personal emergency and that he had to deal with her breach of contract as best he could. Of course, these are all things I learned later.With Suzanne's full consent, I sent a long telegram from Diar, which arrived just in time (this, of course, I later found out. The Daily Gazette was short of sensational news. My guesses were Verified to be correct, and the Daily Gazette has its first scoop since its inception. "Mill Murder Victim Identified by Our Correspondent." Etc. "Our Correspondent Sailed with the Killer. What does the man in brown look like?")

The main parts were of course also forwarded to the South African newspapers, but I myself did not see the long-form report I had written until several days later!I received telegrams of commendation and instructions at Braval.I've become a member of the Daily Gazette and I've had a separate congratulations from Lord Nasby.I'm duly assigned to hunt down the murderer, and I, only I know that the murderer is not Harry Raeburn!But let the world think it was him—for the time being it was best.