"It explains my presence in
the house."
"Oh," said the Inspector, "I see. It looks as though he might have done
better if he had applied to me."
Paul Harley glanced across in my direction and smiled grimly.
"As I had predicted, Knox," he murmured, "my Waterloo."
"What's that you say about Waterloo, Mr. Harley?" demanded the
Inspector.
"Nothing germane to the case," replied Harley. "It was a reference
to a battle, not to a railway station."
Inspector Aylesbury stared at him dully.
"You quite understand that you are giving evidence?" he said.
"It were impossible not to appreciate the fact."
"Very well, then. The late Colonel Menendez thought he was in danger
from negroes. Why did he think that?"
"He was a retired West Indian planter," replied Harley, patiently, "and
he was under the impression that he had offended a powerful native
society, and that for many years their vengeance had pursued him.
Attempts to assassinate him had already taken place in Cuba and in the
United States."
"What sort of attempts?"
"He was shot at, several times, and once, in Washington, was attacked
by a man with a knife.
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